Chapter 6 – The Children on the Train go Up and Down...
Throughout history the many diverse cultures of humanity have all shared certain similarities that only serve to define us as human beings. One such similarity is the Rite of Passage. Whether it be a lone hunting expedition through the wilderness, participating in the Big O.E. or becoming a Bat/Bar Mitzvah, these rites of passage offer us a way to highlight key points in our lives.
In many cases such rites are purely symbolic and hold no special meaning for the person undergoing the rite. However, there are also those for whom the rite is a very special event, as it allows them to shed themselves of a life which has thus far been a burden for them, and to embrace the future which lies ahead.
It is for these people, that we should never belittle such traditions.
~oOo~
The remaining weeks of the summer holidays proved to be a rather stressful time within the Dursley household.
Petunia spent most of her time trying to avoid her nephew as much as was physically possible; even to the point of taking over most of the housework so that she wouldn't have to see him roaming about the house, completing his chores. On the few occasions where she was required to interact with him, she had resorted to using very short, crisp sentences. Usually something along the lines of 'Go away, Boy.'
Harry was starting to become concerned for her, as he had noticed that she seemed to have had trouble walking lately. He knew very well that some of the cleaning products that his aunt preferred to purchase had the ability to leave him feeling a little bit light-headed. But even so, Harry had never had trouble walking in a straight line when using them.
Vernon, on the other hand, wasn't trying to avoid Harry as far as the boy could tell. Neither was he trying to get in Harry's way. In fact, it now often seemed that he didn't realise that Harry was there at all. The few times that Harry had needed to talk to Vernon, his uncle had ended up taking on a peculiar expression which reminded Harry of a rather disturbing cross between a sun-burned sumo wrestler, a rampaging bull and a highly nervous chiwawa. Needless to say that Harry rapidly learned to remain as inconspicuous as possible when around his uncle.
When Dudley had discovered that Harry had not only been taken shopping for new school things but new clothes as well, he had immediately started demanding that he be taken shopping as well. The fact that he had been taken shopping for his Smelting things the previous week didn't seem to matter to him at all. Even so, that particular incident was nothing compared to when Dudley had discovered that Harry had actually received a birthday present. The resulting tantrum had highlighted to Harry that his cousin was of the firm belief that if Harry received a birthday present, then Dudley should receive two. Even if it wasn't his birthday.
Dudley, as it turned out, had actually become a welcome constant in Harry's life and Harry had no choice but to admit that that was a very depressing thought. Looking forward to being picked-on and chased couldn't possibly be a sign of a healthy mental well-being.
Later, Harry would say that he wasn't sure how he would have survived that month of August, if it weren't for three things. One was a beautiful white owl whom Harry had named Hedwig, and had become a near constant companion over that particular month. Another was the fact that he would soon be going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he was finally going to be with other people that were different, like him. The final thing (and the most treasured) was the birthday present that his parents had left for him.
Within this present, Harry had discovered both a letter and a colourfully wrapped parcel from each of his parents. His mother had given him a small collection of journals which appeared to chronicle her time at Hogwarts, the same school that Harry was soon to attend. He had already started reading the first one, trying to discover what the school was like; but he had quickly discovered that his mother was a very avid writer and seemed to never run out of things that needed to be written. As such, in the four-and-a-bit weeks of August, he had only just managed to finish the first three weeks of the journal entries.
That itself led to a rather curious question for Harry; he just couldn't work out how such a small book could contain so many pages. He suspected magic, but would have really liked something to explain what was happening because then he could perhaps reduce the sheer volume of course books that he was required to take with him to Hogwarts.
His father's parcel remained sealed. Try as he might, Harry still had now idea what was contained within it. The only clue that his father had given him was that only a marauder would know how to open it. He had needed to sneak his aunt's crossword dictionary out of the living room one night just to find out what a marauder was. But just how a pirate or a viking would be able to open the package, Harry didn't know; especially when it had already proven stubbornly resistant to scissors, knives and even his brand new magic wand (not that he knew how to use it yet, of course).
While such a predicament would have greatly frustrated his cousin, Harry actually found it to be like a rather fun puzzle. Kind of like that many-coloured cube puzzle that he had rescued when Dudley had thrown it away in frustration when he was unable to solve it. Harry was also unable to solve it, but there was just something about it that kept drawing him back to it every now and again.
And so it was like this, that the final weeks of summer had passed for the residents of the Dursley household. Until the final day arrived; the thirty-first of August.
~oOo~
Harry knew that if he didn't ask it soon, then it would likely be too late and he did not want to remain here for a whole year when he could be learning how to be a wizard. And that was the problem. Hogwarts was not in Little Whinging, or in Surrey; so in order to get there he would need to take a train.
To catch the train, Harry first had to get to London.
"Un..." Harry croaked, before stopping to clear his throat. "Uncle Vernon?"
Uncle Vernon continued to stare at the television but eventually grunted to show that he was listening.
"I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow. To... to get to school. Professor McGonagall said that you were going to be taking me?" he half asked.
His uncle sat still for a moment, not saying anything, although Harry could have sworn he that had heard what had suspiciously sounded like a growl coming from the man.
"What time do you have to be there?" his uncle eventually asked.
"The train leaves at eleven."
His uncle let out a half grunt, half growl. Harry took this to be a reluctant 'yes', so he turned around and was about to head back to his room (to double-check that he had everything packed) when his uncle spoke once more.
"Funny way to get to a wizards school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?"
Harry paused and turned back to his uncle. He didn't say anything though, as he was thinking about what Uncle Vernon had just said. He had already pondered this himself, a number of times. and had not been able to come up with an answer. He hadn't thought of the magic carpet option, though.
"Where is this school, anyway?" Uncle Vernon asked.
"I wasn't told. All I was told was that I need to be on the train leaving from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock."
His uncle turned and stared at him, before scoffing. "Nine and three-quarters?" he asked incredulously. "There's no such thing!"
"I was told that it was hidden. That you wouldn't be able to see it"
"Hidden platform? What a load of rubbish. You can't just hide a train platform, the tracks will always show where it is!" He paused for a moment, and a viscous gleam started to shine in his eyes, "Alright then, I'll drive you to London tomorrow. The walk back will do you good!"
Finally having the confirmation that he had been seeking, Harry quickly made his way upstairs before his uncle could change his mind. Harry smiled; he was finally going to go to magic school. He couldn't help but think a little niggling thought though: what if his Uncle was right and there was no platform? Or what if there was, but that he couldn't find it? He really didn't like the idea of having to walk back to Little Whinging.
That night, Harry's dreams were filled with visions of long treks along the motorway on a rainy day.
~oOo~
The following morning saw Harry being abruptly awoken by his uncle, long before the sun had even risen. Harry realised that he should have expected this, and even though he didn't like it, he had to agree that Uncle Vernon was correct: having the neighbours see him get into his uncle's car with a sizeable trunk was likely to raise too many questions. He had had many years in which to get use to being the only abnormal person in the area, and now that he was going to be learning how to use magic he figured that it would only get worse.
Uncle Vernon's plan of getting Harry away from Privet Drive without being seen wasn't quite successful. Whilst Harry was putting his trunk into the boot of the station wagon, a flutter of wings was heard moments before a snowy white owl settled upon Harry's shoulder.
"I'm going to miss you, Hedwig," Harry murmured as he stroked the owls feathers. He was thankful that Uncle Vernon was still eating his breakfast as it allowed him some time alone to say goodbye to Hedwig.
Contrary to what Harry believed, Hedwig was having none of that type of talk. After letting out an angry bark she cuffed Harry on the back of his head with her wing.
"Hey!" cried Harry as he did his best to dodge the offending appendage. "What's that for? You already knew I was going to go away to school. If only you knew where it was, then you could join me."
Hedwig stared at him for a moment before jumping from his shoulder and gliding through the open door to the boot of the car and perched on the backrest of the rear seat.
"Hedwig! What are you doing? Uncle Vernon won't want you in there."
Harry climbed into the boot to try to get Hedwig out of the car, but Hedwig just flew over to the front passenger seat. By the time Harry had climbed out of the boot and had gone around to open the front door, Hedwig was already back in the boot. This game of cat and mouse, or rather boy and bird continued for a few moments, before Harry gave up in defeat. It was no use, Hedwig just wouldn't get out of the car.
"Oh, Hedwig," Harry whined. "You have to believe me, Uncle Vernon will probably hurt you if he sees you in there." Hedwig still wouldn't move.
"Please, we can't let him see you, we have to..." Harry's voice trailed off as his eyes got a far away look. "Of course! Hedwig, get in the back seat and stay quiet," he instructed as he ran to the boot of the car, where he opened his trunk and started rummaging around.
Hedwig, feeling quite smug now that her pan had succeeded, did just as instructed and once more perched herself upon the backrest of the rear seat. Expecting that to be the end of the argument, she was rather surprised when the fledgeling dropped an empty book bag on top of her and scooped her off of her perch. Letting out a startled squawk, she did her best to escape from the sudden imprisonment.
"Hedwig, please," Harry implored. "You have to stay hidden and stay quiet, or he'll know your here. Please, listen to me. This way you can come with me to Hogwarts."
It was as if Harry had spoken magic words. After glaring daggers at him, Hedwig settled herself in for a rather unpleasant car ride stuck inside a book bag. She only hoped that the others would never learned of this. An owl should never have to smuggle themselves like this. Such indignity!
~oOo~
Given that it was a Sunday, there was very little traffic on the roads this early in the morning. As such, they ended up arriving outside King's Cross just before breakfast time. After carefully removing his book bag from the back seat, Harry retrieved his trunk from the boot. As soon as the boot was closed, he watched in surprise as his uncle drove away without saying a single word, leaving Harry standing, alone, on the side of the road.
Shaking it off, he quickly make sure that no one was watching, before freeing Hedwig from her confinement. Glancing at his watch (another 'rescued' item from when Dudley got a new one for his birthday this year) he saw that the train wasn't set to leave for four hours.
"It looks like were going to have a bit of a wait, Hedwig," he said while he cleared out the stray feathers from his bag and put its original contents back into place. A rumbling from his stomach told him that it was likely to be a long wait, as he hadn't had any breakfast yet.
With a sudden determined look, Harry rummaged around for the money pouch that Professor McGonagall had given him. If he remembered correctly, there should be some normal money in it. There was probably going to be a café in the train station, where he could get something to eat.
After managing to purchase his first ever café breakfast, Harry secluded himself at a table in an out of the way corner of the train station and pulled out one of his new school books. If he was going to have to wait four hours for the train, then he was going to need something to do.
While Harry was doing this, Hedwig had managed to find herself a perch up near the ceiling of the station and had begun her watch; all the while watching out for the others. She couldn't be seen until she was at the school, otherwise they would likely turn her away. The only reason that she hadn't been spotted so far was that she had managed to convince the near-ancient Hoot-twoot-click that she had been reinstated as a Watcher, and had been told to relieve him early this morning. She wasn't overly proud at having to deceive the old bird, but it had been a necessary evil to allow for her to get this far.
~oOo~
The sudden appearance of an white owl in the middle of the table made Harry jerk backward in surprise from where he had been reading his new herbology book. While not an overly fascinating book, he figured that it was the safest to read amongst the other people passing through King's Cross station.
"Hedwig? What's wrong girl? We still have another -" Harry checked his watch, "ten minutes to before the train leaves."
Hedwig didn't move, but continued to stare intently at him. Soon enough, Harry realised what it was that he had just said and, after double-checking the time, he paled.
"Ten minutes! Hedwig, we're going to miss the train!"
~oOo~
The people who worked at King's Cross station had all heard the stories. Each year, near the end of summer, strange people could be seen wandering around, if you knew what to look for. Why, just last year a junior train driver had sworn that he had seen an entire family walking down the platform next to his train, still wearing their bath robes.
Such sightings had traditionally been centred around the vicinity of platforms nine and ten. Strangely enough though, whenever they tried to check the security camera footage, they kept discovering that their cameras had stopped working. The cameras never showed any signs of tampering or damage, but each one had simply stopped working and needed to be replaced.
This year the recently promoted head of security was prepared and ready to finally get to the bottom of one of the greatest mysteries in King's Cross history. After calling in a favour he was owed from a friend from New Scotland Yard, he had managed to acquire a number of fancy, camouflaged cameras which had now been installed around the two platforms in question.
When the call finally come through to him, about someone seeing a young boy running between platforms nine and ten, whilst pulling a old-fashioned steamer trunk and being chased by a white owl, he knew that his planning had paid off. Unfortunately, a review of the recent footage from the hidden cameras showed that the boy looked to be completely normal. The only thing really odd about him was that there owl perusing him.
He had noted one intriguing thing though: two of the cameras had shown the boy running down the space between the two (currently empty) platforms, but not one of them had shown him returning. Going back further into the footage uncovered more people heading in the same direction, most of whom were average looking families. In each case though, the cameras all showed that any child whom appeared to be of secondary school age disappeared in the same fashion as the boy that had been chased by the owl.
The head of security now knew that something decidedly odd was happening here, and he was going to find out what.
~oOo~
Harry stood there for a moment, gasping for breath and trying to not to think about what he had just done. It wasn't every day that one ran, full speed, into a brick wall. He had even come to the conclusion (just before he had impacted the wall, in fact) that this had to have been the craziest things that he had ever done. Just what sort of crazy person would came up with that idea?
"All aboard!" a man shouted from the head of the train.
Groaning at the thought of having to run once more, Harry grabbed his trunk and hurriedly moved towards the train before climbing into the nearest carriage. Hedwig swooped in shortly afterwards, to regain her perch upon Harry's shoulder.
"Oy!" Harry complained as Hedwig gripped his shoulder tightly. "We made it didn't we?"
Hedwig responded by turning away from him.
"Okay, okay, so we nearly missed the train, but we're still here aren't we? There's no need to... Oh, just forget it," Harry grumbled as as he took stock of where he was.
Hedwig turned and gently nipped at his ear. She hadn't liked having the fledgeling rush through the crowded station as she had been hard pressed to stay on guard. But he was right; they were here now and that was what really mattered.
Harry had entered the train carriage closest to the entrance to the platform, which placed them at about the middle of the train. Mentally flipping a coin, Harry chose to move towards the front of the train, swaying a bit as it started to roll out of the station. He had passed through two of the carriages on his search for a place to sit, and had already received many curious looks along the way. Obviously it wasn't every day that a student comes running though the barrier just in time to jump onto the train.
Another carriage later and Harry finally managed to find a compartment which looked suitable. Well, it didn't have anyone in it that looked intimidating, which to Harry was very suitable. In fact the current occupants looked like they may be some of his future class-mates. Taking a calming breath and squaring his shoulders as well as he could (a delicate task when one has a sizeable owl resting upon one of them), Harry slid the door open.
"Uh, Hi. Sorry for intruding, but everywhere else looks full. Um, do you mind if I sit in here?" he asked. His hands were already starting to sweat as he thought back to what would likely happen in his old school if he were to ask a question such as that. He couldn't help but wonder if that would happen here as well.
The brown-haired boy before him stood, and stepped towards Harry, causing Harry to halfway lift a foot in preparation for a sudden retreat. Years of experience were preparing him for what had always been the inevitable. He was therefore surprised when the boy stuck out his hand, not in an attack, but as an offering.
"Justin Finch-Fletchley," the boy declared in a posh accent.
Tentatively taking the boys hand, he answered. "Harry... Harry Potter."
"Harry Potter? Are you really?" asked a bushy haired girl, who was already in her uniform. She practically launched herself out of her seat towards the two boys. "You're Harry Potter? The only son of the Lily Potter?" she asked as she stood next to the Justin, who just turned to stare at her in confusion.
"Uh... yes?" Harry responded slowly.
"Oh I've read all about her, oh, and you of course. I got a few extra books for background reading, you see. Your mother's in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century. She's sort of become my hero you know, well heroine actually, given that she was a muggle-born witch like me."
"She... what?" Harry asked, feeling rather dazed by the girl's delivery.
"Goodness, didn't you know? I'd have been sure to find out everything that I could about her if she was my mother," replied the girl. "Do you know what house you'll be in? Oh, that was a silly question, you'd bound to be in the same house that your mother was. I only wish that I can get sorted there as well. They say that even Dumbledore was a Gryffindor. Oh my! Where are my manners? I'm Hermione Granger."
Blinking at the hand that she thrust out at him, he tentatively accepted it, only to have it shaken rather enthusiastically. Harry couldn't help but wonder if the girl would hyperventilate if she knew that he was currently reading through his mother's journals. Realising that it would probably be best left for when someone like Madam Pomfrey was nearby, he decided to leave that little revelation until later. Much later.
After a few awkward moments, Justin and Hermione finally returned to their seats, allowing Harry to stow his trunk and sit down himself.
"Oh what a beautiful owl," Hermione cooed, causing Hedwig to stand up proudly from the perch she had made of the backrest of Harry's seat. "What's its name?"
"Hedwig," Harry replied, as he grinned at said avian's antics. "And, judging by her reaction, I think she likes your compliment."
"Oh, I wish my mother had let me buy and owl. They're ever so handy, I've been told. They can carry your mail and everything, so buying your own can only be a good idea. I read in Hogwarts, a History that the school has a large collection of owls that students are allowed to use, so I guess I'll just have to use one of those for now."
Harry screwed his face up in confusion as he processed what Hermione had just said. "Why would someone sell an owl? And for that matter, why would an owl carry mail?"
Hermione didn't answer that question. Harry couldn't help but feel that he had managed to induce a bout of confusion in her. It was known to happen from time to time at the Dursleys, usually before he got berated for being stupid.
"Professor Flitwick said that all mail in the wizarding world is carried by owl," Justin helpfully supplied. "So, I guess if you want your mail delivered, then you're going to need an owl. Where did you buy that one from?"
"Uh, I didn't buy her."
"Oh, I take it it was a gift then?"
"No, she... well, she just lives in the park near my relatives house... and... well... she didn't want to get out of my uncle's car this morning." Harry couldn't help but feel that his answer was more than a little bit odd.
"You kidnapped an owl?" cried Hermione, rejoining the conversation. Her sudden increase in volume was more than enough to startle the other occupants in the compartment. "I can't believe you would do something like that to the poor innocent creature," she continued, causing Hedwig to ruffle her feathers in agreement. She may not have thought of herself as a poor creature, but the book bag incident was definitely not an experience that she wished to repeat.
"Humph, your mother would be ashamed of you, Harry Potter. She would never have agreed to the kidnapping of a defenceless creature! I'm going for walk, and you should think about what you've done."
And with that Hermione rose and strode out of the compartment. Turning towards the compartment's only other remaining non-feathered occupant, he saw that Justin was alternating his confused gaze between Harry and the door through which Hermione had just left.
"But she wouldn't let me to leave her behind," Harry said lamely to the closed door.
~oOo~
Hermione's walk ended up taking just over an hour. When she did return, she just harrumphed at Harry, pulled out a book titled 'Hogwarts, A History' and started reading. Harry wasn't sure which was better, the hour where he had been stuck in awkward conversation with a boy whom would likely to have never spoken to him, if it weren't for the fact that they were both wizards; or after said hour, where he had had to deal with the awkward silence and occasional glare coming from Hermione.
Shortly after Hermione's return, he was saved from the awkwardness by a knock on the door.
"Anything from the trolley, dears?" asked an elderly lady after she had opened the door.
Harry hadn't really thought about it much, but a glance at his watch told him that it was past lunch time already. In all his nervousness he hadn't realised just how hungry he was. After all, it had been about five hours since he had eaten breakfast.
Leaving the compartment to get some lunch, he expected to find the trolley carrying sandwiches and juice. Instead, Harry was rather surprised to find that the old lady's food trolley consisted of nothing but sweets and chocolates, the likes of which he had never heard of before. Completely at a loss as to what was what, he grabbed a small selection of food and returned to his seat.
"Ugh!" said Hermione as she scrunched her nose up. "You are going to rot your teeth if you eat all that. My parents are both dentists, so they made sure to pack me a healthy lunch today." Almost as if to prove her point, she promptly pulled out a carrot stick and began munching on it. Harry couldn't help but envisage her at that moment with large grey ears similar to that cartoon rabbit on the telly which Dudley was always laughing at.
"I'm not sure what my mum packed for lunch," said Justin as he started digging into his bag. Eventually he pulled a brown bag that he opened and peered into it. "Hmm, a couple of salad rolls and juice of some type..." He pulled the juice bottle out for closer examination and raised a sceptical eyebrow at it. "Nectarine and raspberry?"
Harry didn't think much about the fruit juice but the filled rolls definitely sounded better to him than all the sweets that he had just bought. After all, he didn't fancy ending up looking like his cousin. Swallowing his sudden increase of nervousness, he glanced over at Justin. This had never worked before, but then again he was getting a chance at a new start with this school... wasn't he?
"Would you like to trade for a roll?" he asked as he held up a packet of something called Chocolate Frogs.
He held it there for a moment while Justin considered and was just about to lower them when Justine shrugged and replied, "Sure, why not?" He reached into the brown bag and passed Harry a roll, while Harry handed him the chocolate frogs.
For the first time, in many years, Harry felt that he might just have found somewhere where he would be accepted. He couldn't help but smile as he shared his roll with Hedwig, who had glided down from where she had been snoozing up on the luggage rack. This act had earned him a few glares from Hermione, but Harry didn't mind for now. Things were looking up for him at the moment and there was no Dudley to prevent him from making friends.
If Harry had known about a phenomenon commonly referred to as Murphy's Law, then perhaps he wouldn't have been feeling quite so optimistic just yet.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" drawled a voice from the door that had opened without them noticing. "This, boys, is what you would refer to as a Mud Pit."
Harry looked up from giving Hedwig a bit of ham to see a skinny blond-haired boy snaring at them. Behind him stood a pair of what Harry had to assume were the largest eleven year-olds that he had ever seen; those that weren't his cousin, of course. Whereas Dudley had the general physique of a baby whale, these two looked more like baby gorillas.
Harry found himself fighting that annoying lump in his throat again. Perhaps he wasn't as Dudley-free as he thought he had been.
"I don't know why you three even bothered to get on the train this morning," the boy droned on. "You'll soon find that Hogwarts is no place for people of your meagre abilities. I'd be surprised if you even lasted a single week," he added while casually examining his fingernails.
Harry wasn't sure what to think at that moment, but he did know this routine well. Glancing across to the other seat, he saw that Justin looked rather confused and a bit out of sorts, and Hermione was looking rather pale and worried. He briefly wondered if she had ever encountered bullies before.
While the three children in the compartment were all speechless at the blond boy's comment (though for very different reasons), the fourth occupant was clearly still able to act. With an angry bark and a flurry of wings, Hedwig launched herself from from Harry's knee and flew over to the three interlopers in an attempt to get them to stop interrupting her meal. The girlish squeal which came from the lead bully was enough to make Justin begin sniggering.
"Argh! Get back you mad bird!" the boy cried as he swung his arms up to protect his pointed nose.
The boy tried to back out of the compartment but run into a few obstacles. Namely, baby gorilla one and baby gorilla two. After a few more flaps of her wings, in which Hedwig finally managed to ruffle the boy's slicked hair, the owl returned to her original perch upon the luggage rack, where she glared down at the bullies.
Straightening himself up, the boy spun around towards Harry with an expression of rage upon his face. Even though Harry knew that now was likely to not be the best time to do so, he couldn't help but find humour in the boys expression. Whilst he was used to seeing people going red in the face when they were mad, this boy only seemed to be able to reach a slight shade of pink. In the end, Harry couldn't help himself: he snorted.
"Think that was funny do you?" the boy growled. "Typical mudblood, you can't even defend yourself; you need a bird to do it for you. There are many people who have cats on this train, I wonder who would protect you if I arranged for them to pay a visit? I'm sure that I can-"
"What's going on down there?" asked a stern voice from the corridor.
Harry blinked and took stock of the current situation. He was currently standing in front of the lead bully, whom was currently pointing a wand under Harry's chin. Try as he might, Harry couldn't work out how he went from sitting down to standing up without realising it; or what had driven him to stand up in the first place. Rapidly finding himself in uncharted territory, Harry couldn't help but worry that he was about to regret this action.
"Put that wand away!" the same voice snapped. An older boy with red hair had appeared and was looking though the window. "There is no magic allowed on the train. You three, go back to your compartment and leave these people alone."
Still no one moved.
"Now!" he barked, causing everyone but Harry to jump into action.
Eventually, Harry finally sat down and stared at his hands. They were shaking slightly. He couldn't believe he had just done that. If the older boy hadn't come along like that then he would have been in a whole mess of trouble. He really didn't want to imagine exactly what type of trouble, as even without the wand, the baby gorillas looked like they would have been able to do a much better job than Dudley.
"I'm going to be watching you, young man," the older boy coolly said to him. "If I hear of any more disturbances in here, I will be reporting you straight to your head of house when you get sorted."
As the boy turned and left, Harry glanced up from his shaking hands to check the other occupants in the room. Justin was just staring at Harry, while Hermione looked terrified.
"Sorry," he mumbled as he looked back down at his hands.
"S-so you should be," Hermione stammered as she stood up. "Because of you we're already in trouble and might end up expelled before school even starts!"
Hermione then headed out of the compartment and hurried off in the same direction that the older student student had gone. Harry could already hear her trying to explain her innocence.
So much for finally making friends, Harry thought dejectedly.
Hedwig, guessing the fledgeling's state of mind, flew down to his shoulder and butted his head with her own. She had known that the pale one with the greasy tuft of fur wasn't any significant threat, but she couldn't help but feel pleased at how the fledgeling had tried to defend her. She was more than able to look after herself, but it was nice to know that he cared for her too.
~oOo~
The rest of the afternoon passed in relative silence. Harry and Justin only saw Hermione one more time when she came back to collect her trunk and book bag. It was obvious that she had found somewhere else to sit, and the fact that she said as much to Justin while studiously avoiding Harry only made the boy feel depressed. Justin was still talking to Harry though, joking with him even. But Harry just couldn't help but feel that it was only to alleviate the boredom that continual silence would have created.
After what felt like an eternity to Harry, the voice of the conductor could be heard throughout the train, warning them of their upcoming arrival at a place called Hogsmeade and instructing them on what to do. Justin and Harry had barely finished straightening up their new uniforms when the breaks on the train activated, sending Justin sprawling back onto his seat. Harry however, remained standing.
"How is it that I fall flat on my bum, when I'm just standing there, and you've got one foot in the air to retie your shoelace, yet you barely even sway?" Justin humorously grumbled.
"Practice," Harry said, flashing Justin a grin. His first grin since the incident that had caused Hermione to abandon them. It had been practice as well; after all, climbing trees and clambering over obstacles to escape the local bullies tends to bestow a good sense of balance upon a child.
"Humph! Not fair."
"I think we're here," commented Harry as he took note of the old fashioned train station that was now drifting past the darkened window.
"Well, that certainly looks... rustic," added Justin as he looked out the window too. Eventually the train came to a halt, and Justin turned to leave. "Come on, let's go see where it is that we're to be living for the next ten months."
It ended up taking them more than a few minutes to get out of the train. Apparently they weren't the only students who wanted off. The ensuing surge in foot traffic was enough to make Harry wonder just how such a small train was able to hold everyone. Perhaps next time he would arrive on time and get to find out.
"Firs'-years! Firs'-years over 'ere! Firs'-years this way!" called a voice in the darkness.
Harry and Justin looked over in the direction of the voice and saw a lantern floating in the darkness, high above everybody's heads. As the lantern got closer Harry realised that it wasn't floating but was actually being carried by what had to be the largest person on the planet.
"Firs'-years! Come on Firs-years, this way! Over he-" the large man paused suddenly in front of Harry and blinked. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, as though trying to say something and eventually narrowed his eyes before asking, "An' what's yer name?"
"Harry, Sir. Harry Potter," Harry replied warily.
The large man seemed to rock back in shock before peering closely at Harry. "Blimey. Yeh look just like yer father. Ye've sure grown though. Why the las' time I saw you, I coul' fit yeh in the palm o' me hand! Rubius Hagrid's me name, bu' just call me Hagrid."
Trying to ignore the giggling that sprung up from a few of the surrounding first-years, Harry took the large hand that was offered to him and shook it. Well, more accurately, Harry's hand was swallowed by the man's dinner-plate sized fist and Harry was promptly shaken from head to foot whilst the large man pumped his arm.
"Welcome back, Harry. C'mon, follow me. Any more firs'-years? Min' yer step, now! Firs'-years, follow me!"
Slipping and stumbling, Harry and the other students followed Hagrid down a long winding path which lead away from the train station towards what turned out to be a little sheltered bay that contained a collection of small boats.
"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, as he climbed into a larger boat which sat in the middle of the fleet. "C'mon now, yeh'll get your firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec, jus' round tha' bend there."
Harry and Justin were followed into a boat by two Indian-looking girls. Harry had blinked owlishly for a moment before he realised that they were actually identical twins. He had heard about twins that looked alike, but had never actually met any before. Hedwig just preened under the ensuing cooing noises they made as soon as they had spotted her.
"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid. "Righ' then... FORWARD!"
The fleet of boats moved forward, gliding smoothly across the water. As they rounded the bend, Harry realised that they were in fact floating upon a massive highland loch. However, not even the spectacular sight of Hogwarts Castle sitting upon the cliff in front of them could fully take his mind off this fact that he was in a very small boat. You see, Harry had never been allowed to learn how to swim.
"Righ' then, Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as they approached the cliff.
Seeing that they were heading for a small cave, Harry managed to convince Hedwig that it would be better for her to fly up to the castle instead.
"What's the worst that could happen?" he had asked her. Only realising afterwards that there were in fact lots of things that could go wrong while one was stuck in the tiny little boat upon such a large lake.
When they passed through the Hanging Ivy and into the cave, Harry saw that the cave was actually a harbour of some sort, and the boats were arranging themselves neatly along a dock. From the harbour, they clamoured up an impossibly long flight of stone steps which were carved into one of the ridges of the cliff that the school sat upon. At the top of these steps, they passed through a wrought iron gate and found themselves standing in front of the largest set of doors that Harry had ever imagined.
It was upon these doors that Hagrid knocked three times.
A/N: (Bloody hell, the length of the chapters is starting to get away on me)
First up kudos to MartinDeShade for making me realise that I'm getting forgetful in my old age. I meant 'twice as deep' and will plead the fact that Harry only has an eleven year-old's education in calculus and geometry so doesn't know any better. (I'm sure Harry won't mind me blaming it on him this time).
Okay, Hermione fans, please, please stop sharpening your pitchforks! I didn't read the HP books until after seeing OotP at the cinema (I was off work with the flu and got bored so decided to pick up a book). As such, my perception of Hermione was tainted by Emma Watson's brilliant performance. Imagine my surprise when I read the first few books and found that (until GoF) Hermione Granger comes across as a self-righteous know-it-all who has little regard for the opinions of others. And that is coming from Harry's perspective. Whether her actions are intentional or accidental, it doesn't change the fact that she was.
Ah yes, Malfoy. Well, I never did like that insufferable brat and have never been able to understand why people write him in a positive light. Hedwig doesn't like him either.
Next up: The sorting. I bet you that nobody guesses what the hat's first comment will be when it peers into Harry's mind. I'm so confident that this hasn't been done before, that I'll willingly surrender a free spoiler to the first person who manages to guess correctly before I can post the next chapter, or can show me where it was done before (update: Vukk PM'd me with a reply that earned him a spoiler)
Finally, platform 9 3/4 (which JKR messed up, according to Wikipedia – I guess that means we can mess it up too). The train has been running for at least 20 years, most likely closer to 80 years. In all that time do you really believe that nobody has noticed anything? How many people pass though that station each day?