A/N: Thanks to Elased, Gilbertdieawesomekatzetammer, J. D. Von Wolfe, JuniperRose2, Liger48, Maraudersgal1989, NomNomNomJenna, RoPete, XtremeDreamer, jxski07, meadow-music, & Extremefire321 for the follows/favorites, & thanks to The Eclectic Bookworm & dianaanne for the reviews!
Here's chapter 7 - JKR owns all as always. Chapter 8 is a continuation of this one (would've been REALLY long if I'd kept it as one chapter) & will be up very shortly. Please R&R, & enjoy! :)
The conversation with their parents left the children with a lot to think about, but nothing could dampen their spirits about going to Hogwarts. They tore down the countdown to Harry's birthday and replaced it with one to September the first, their excitement only mounting ever higher as they crossed off the days.
As Sirius expected, Draco told Harry and Hermione about their conversation regarding the Sorting. They listened intently and nodded thoughtfully when he finished, and Draco was relieved when they didn't balk at the possibility.
"As long as you're still friends with us, we don't care where you end up," Harry said. "I mean, obviously it'd be great if we were all together, but if we can't, we'll find a way around it."
Sirius provided them with their 'way around it' the day before their departure. Draco and Hermione were keeping Harry company while he finished packing his trunk – Hermione's had been packed for days, and Draco had finally locked his earlier that morning.
"Knock, knock," Sirius called, even though Harry's door was wide open. "Can I come in?"
"Sure." Harry's voice was slightly muffled due to the fact that he was halfway under his bed, searching for a book he thought he'd left there. With a triumphant 'aha!' he wriggled out, the book safely in his grasp.
"I can see you've been cleaning under your bed really well," Sirius said sarcastically as he reached over to brush some dust out of Harry's hair. Harry turned pink and looked sheepish, Draco and Hermione sniggering behind him.
"Sorry, Padfoot," he said. "I'll clean it out once I'm done packing."
"Sure you will." Sirius grinned. "I've got something for you three." He reached into his pocket and produced three identical blank pieces of parchment, each about the size of a postcard.
"What are these?" Hermione asked as she received hers.
"Charmed parchment," Sirius said. "James – Harry's dad – and I had two-way mirrors when we were at school; used to use them to talk to each other when we were in separate detentions." The children laughed – they'd heard many stories about the Marauders' troublemaking tendencies.
"Anyway, these work a little like that, except I think they're actually a tad better since you could use them in class. Not that I'm condoning you not paying attention," he added, attempting to look stern and failing miserably, "but I figured they'd be useful if you wanted to talk to each other but couldn't do it face-to-face."
"Like if we were in the library, or separate rooms," Draco suggested.
"Exactly."
"How are they charmed?" Hermione wanted to know.
"You can personalize them to recognize a single magical signature," Sirius said. "Very useful for when you don't want other people reading your messages. All you need to do is touch the tip of your wand to your piece of parchment and state your full name, which is why you'll be able to use them as soon as you get to school – no fancy incantations required. When you get a message, your parchment will heat up, and the message will reveal itself once you touch it."
"Very cool," Harry said. "Have you and Mum got one?"
"We do," Sirius replied, "although we'd like to see some real letters occasionally too, you know. You really should only contact us via our parchment if it's an emergency or something else that can't wait for normal owl post."
"That makes sense," Hermione said, nodding thoughtfully. "Thank you, Mr. Padfoot, these are really great."
"Hermione, how many times do I have to tell you the 'Mr.' part isn't necessary?" Sirius said with a chuckle.
"At least once more, it seems." She gave an embarrassed-looking smile.
"Of course. Hurry up and finish, you lot – the Hogwarts Express waits for no one!"
The next morning, the children woke even earlier than they had on Harry's birthday. Unfortunately, their trunks were already packed and ready to go, so after breakfast, they found themselves with quite a bit of time to kill and nothing with which to kill it. They tried playing a spot of Quidditch, but they were so distracted that even flying lasted only about fifteen minutes before they couldn't handle it any longer, and they soon fell to pacing – inside, outside, wherever their anxious feet happened to take them. The adults all breathed a sigh of relief when they found it was time to load up the car.
Though it was midmorning, King's Cross Station had always been a major hub for Muggle Britain and was therefore rather crowded. The children kept close to their parents as they maneuvered their luggage carts through the throngs of people, who stared curiously at the owl cages perched on top of the boys' trunks. Finally, they reached the barrier between platforms nine and ten, which Lily and Sirius had already told them was the concealed entrance to Platform 9 ¾. According to Sirius, they were supposed to walk straight through the barrier, but it looked incredibly solid, and they approached it cautiously. Harry, who was in front, was amazed when the front of his trolley seemed to vanish in thin air when it touched the barrier, and Draco and Hermione watched in awe as Harry followed the cart through the wall and disappeared entirely. Emboldened by his success, they followed suit, and the resulting sight left them speechless. Platforms nine and ten were gone, and in its place was a different platform, a scarlet steam engine waiting proudly on the tracks. Hundreds of people milled about, and as the adults came through to join them, the children turned back to the barrier to see the sign overhead: Hogwarts Express, Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, Eleven O'clock.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Sirius asked when he noticed the look on the children's faces. They could only nod in reply.
"Get that excited every time you see something magical, and you won't speak for your entire Hogwarts careers," Lily quipped. "Come on – let's go find you a compartment."
Fifteen minutes later, three trunks, two owls, and one Kneazle-cat rested in a compartment halfway down the train, and their owners had returned to the platform to say their goodbyes.
"Promise you'll write?" Harry asked as he, Draco, and Hermione took turns hugging the adults.
"Every day, if you like," Lily replied, smiling fondly at her son. "You'd better write too – we didn't buy you those owls for nothing, you know."
"We'll put them to good use, we promise," Draco said. "I'm sure we'll have loads to tell you just after today."
"It's Hogwarts – you'll have loads to tell us every day," Sirius reminded him. "Now get on that train and go have some fun."
With a chorus of 'goodbyes' and a last round of hugs, the children disengaged themselves from the adults and boarded the train, hanging out of the window to wave as the whistle blew and the Express began to move.
"I can't believe it – we're finally going to Hogwarts!" Hermione squealed once they'd left the station and settled into their seats. She let Crookshanks out of his basket so he could stretch his legs before offering Berenice, Draco's beautiful tawny owl, a treat. Hedwig, Harry's equally lovely snowy owl, was already fast asleep with her head under her wing, so Hermione stored her treat away for later.
Lily and Sirius had told them the journey would take most of the day, so they'd been sure to bring plenty of entertainment. The three friends played several rounds of Exploding Snap, a highly exciting card game that had always been a personal favorite, and they enjoyed a few of their favorite sweets from the trolley after they'd finished the sandwiches Lily had packed. Sometime in the afternoon, a round-faced boy stopped by their compartment, tearfully asking if they'd seen a toad. They regretfully told him they hadn't, but Hermione offered to help him look – the boy, who introduced himself as Neville Longbottom, smiled gratefully and thanked her for the offer. While Hermione was gone, Draco and Harry immersed themselves in a game of wizard chess – Sirius had taught them to play two summers previous, and while neither of them were yet particularly good, they both enjoyed the game. Hermione returned just in time to see Draco's knight blast Harry's rook off the board, which caused her to jump and the boys to laugh. Harry ultimately won the game twenty minutes later when Draco's last pawn lost a fierce battle with his queen, and they packed away the board and changed into their new uniforms.
It was dark out when they reached Hogsmeade Station, so they couldn't see much as they hopped off the train and joined the crowd on the tiny platform.
"Firs' years! Firs' years this way!" called a booming voice. A lantern bobbed over the sea of heads, and Harry could just make out the outline of a huge man at the far end of the platform.
"That must be Hagrid," he said, remembering what his mum had told him about the gamekeeper. "Shall we?" Draco and Hermione nodded, and the three made their way towards the man. Up close, he seemed even bigger – he was easily twice as tall as a normal man and three times as wide, and his impressive quantity of black hair and beard made Hermione's curls look tame. In spite of his intimidating appearance, however, his eyes, which they could see clearly in the light of his lantern, were kind, and the smile he gave the first-years was genuine.
"Everyone here? Righ' then, this way!" The first-years followed Hagrid down a rocky path through what seemed to be a grove of trees. Gasps of awe and shock came from all directions as they cleared the last of the trees – they were standing on the edge of a great black lake, and on the other side of that lake was…Hogwarts.
