Warnings : Unedited.
Chapter Eight : All Aboard!
Hadrian adjusted the strap of his bag as he gathered his nerve.
The first few compartments he had passed already had students in them, mostly older ones that had reserved their seats for friends. When he had peeked in he had noticed some of them checking out his forehead, mostly out of curiosity since they didn't seem to disappointed at the lack scar visible underneath his wild hair.
He finally found an empty one not too far from the front and sat down. The seat wasn't too comfortable, though he could probably fall asleep on it if he wanted. He could have done without all the bright red though. It was like staring at the Iron Man suit for hours on end.
Hadrian took off his messenger bag and pulled out the box his mother had given him. He opened it, not surprised to see that it had another box inside of it, this one a smooth black with a combination lock. Hadrian entered his mom's actual birth year and the box clicked open to reveal a stack of photos.
They were all from the dance class Hadrian had tried out when he was younger and talked his mom into joining him. Hadrian found that ballet definitely wasn't for him, but had continued on for several lessons just to see his mom dance. The look on her face as she twirled around had been something Hadrian wanted her to do again and again.
Smiling softly, Hadrian put the pictures back in and closed both boxes, putting them back in his bag. He rummaged through it for a bit, ignoring the other gifts as he could check them out that night in his dorm, though he did slip on the necklace from Clint.
Agent Uncle wouldn't let him leave unless he had packed his bag to his specifications, leaving Hadrian with enough food and water rations, currency, and concealable weapons to last two months on the run.
Hadrian had just opened a chocolate chip granola bar when the door slid open to reveal a short girl with light brown hair done up in two braids and thin eyebrows. She didn't have any colored trim or tie yet so she was a first year like him.
"Oh, hi," She sounded surprised, like she hadn't expected to find any one in the compartment. She relaxed a little when she noticed that he wasn't an older year and probably wouldn't kick her out. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"
Hadrian shrugged. "Not at all. Want a granola?" He offered, holding his up for show.
Her brow furrowed in confusion as she took a seat across from him. "What's granola?"
"A snack bar. They're usually really healthy, with nuts and berries, but I have some with chocolate and marshmallows if that's what you like." Hadrian explained. He pulled out an unopened bar and showed it to her.
She took it from his hand as she sat down across from him and read the ingredients written on the shiny wrapping. Hadrian was glad his aunties liked the all natural ones as he really didn't want to get into a discussion about preservatives and whatnot.
"Do you have any with raspberries? They're my favorite." She finally asked, a note of curiosity in her tone.
Hadrian nodded and rooted through his stash looking for one, tossing it to her and catching the one she threw back at him. He watched her out of the corner of his eye while he shoved his snacks back in as she opened it and took a bite.
"This is really good. A bit chewy, though. I don't suppose you have some water on you, too? The trolley lady doesn't sell drinks."
Hadrian smiled and opened his bag again. "I have juice and water. I had my uncle put a few cooling charms on them."
"Apple juice?"
"Coming right up." Hadrian reached in his bag, noting that the girl's eyebrows rose at how far his arm went in but she didn't seem too surprised, and pulled out a juice box. She thanked him and took it from his hand.
"I'm Lisa Turpin." She had pinked when she realized that she was taking food and drink from someone and she hadn't even introduced herself.
Hadrian held out his hand. "Hadrian Romanoff."
"You're from the States?" Lisa inquired as she took his hand and shook it. "How come you're going to Hogwarts? Did you move here before you got your letter from an American school?"
"No, I was already attending a magical elementary school along with my tutoring. But my mom gave birth to me in London and my name was entered into the Hogwarts registry. I got my letter in America and my mom said if I wanted, I could come." Hadrian explained, making sure to make it sound as close to the truth as possible. None of what he had said was an out and out lie but it wasn't necessarily the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth either.
"That's amazing. I don't think my mom and dad would let me go to a boarding school in another continent." Lisa sounded impressed.
"Two of my uncles have places here so she could be closer by if she needs to." Hadrian shrugged it off.
Lisa looked thoughtful. "What's 'elementary' school?"
"Primary school." Hadrian answered before realizing she probably didn't know what that was either. Hogwarts was the only school witches and wizards attended in the British Isles and those born in the magical community never knew anything different unless they made friends with someone raised in the nonmagical world. "They're schools for younger kids, usually starting when they're about five years old, that teaches the basics of each subject so when they get to higher grades they have a better understanding."
"Higher grades?" Lisa asked.
"Oh, grades are the equivalent of years. Like, a twelfth grader in America is the same as a seventh year at Hogwarts."
Lisa nodded her head in understanding before tilting her head. "Why do you need more years to learn the subjects? There isn't that many according to my parents and my big sister."
"Oh, I forgot that Hogwarts offers less classes than the schools in America." Hadrian said honestly. Despite preparing himself for the culture shock he was about to go through he still used to his usual schooling. "A lot of magical schools in America also teach nonmagical classes so that the students aren't stuck with having to stay in the magical community because they don't have a 'normal' eduction." Hadrian explained the best he could.
"Plus, a lot of families in America want their kids to go to the same school if they're close in age and this way if a wizard has a sister who can't do magic, they can still go to the same school. She just doesn't take any classes where you do magic."
Lisa's hazel eyes had widened and lit up and she was leaning forward eagerly. "What classes do you have? I know Hogwarts teaches Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, History, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Herbology from the first year and on and they have Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies, Divination, and Care of Magical Creatures from third year and up." She rattled off, counting off on her fingers.
Hadrian scrunched up his nose at the choices. "Well, there are the core classes that every grade has, from elementary to high school, like Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, and Arithmancy for the magical side and English, Science, Social Studies, and Math for the nonmagical side."
Lisa opened her mouth to ask something when the door slid open again, this time revealing a tall lanky boy with short dark hair that had been styled with gel and big dark brown eyes. Another first year.
"Could I sit with you guys? The other kids I asked don't want a firstie sitting with them, I guess." He shrugged nonchalantly, apparently not bothered by it.
Hadrian shrugged as well, not particularly caring one way or the other, and Lisa just moved over to give the boy room to sit. He did and held his hand out first to Lisa then to Hadrian.
"Terry Boot, nice to meet you." Terry introduced himself with a smile. "What're we talking about?"
"Hadrian was telling me about the schools in America." Lisa said. "I'm Lisa Turpin by the way.
"Hadrian Romanoff."
"You from the States?" Terry asked with a raised eyebrow. Hadrian nodded.
"Hadrian says that they start their schooling when they're five years old and that most of their wizarding schools also teach muggle subjects. And that the... what did you call them? Core classes?" Lisa turned to ask Hadrian who nodded. "Yeah, core classes are Transfiguration, Potions, Charms, Arithmancy for witches and wizards and... what were the muggle ones?"
"English, Science, Social Studies, and Math." Hadrian supplied.
Terry looked confused. "You have a class that teaches you how to speak English? And how to be social?"
Hadrian almost laughed at the confusion. "No, uh, English is a class that teaches you how to write essays and term papers, and also study and analyze literary works. Social Studies is basically History." He explained and this time did laugh at the not quite understanding looks he got in return.
"And science is what muggles do instead of magic, right?" Lisa added.
"Pretty much." There was no way Hadrian was going to go into more detail about the different branches of science compared to the branches of magic and what science could do that magic can't and visa versa. If they really wanted to know he would just tell them to write his Uncle Tony - the man would probably send a several pages of rambling explanations back that would somehow manage to include his opinion on deep fried Twinkies.
"What about electives?" Terry asked curiously.
"Well, for magicals there's the usual Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes, but we don't have Muggle Studies or anything because when you first start school depending on your upbringing you have a Magical Customs course or a Nonmagical Customs course so most already know the differences and such." Lisa's eyes were wide and Terry looked thoughtful.
"A Wizarding Customs class would probably help lot for confused muggleborns." He said.
Hadrian nodded. "Uh, there's an advanced Arithmancy class as well. Plus Basic Healing and Advanced Healing which is split between years, Dueling which is considered a sport along with Quidditch and Quadpot on the magical side, Magical Art, Ghoul Studies which is like a companion class to Care of Magical Creatures, Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Warding, Wand Crafting, Spell Crafting, and I think a few more I can't remember. Oh! And Magical Languages, mostly Goblin Tongue, High Elvish, and Mermish."
Lisa and Terry were staring at him with their mouths open, obviously not expecting that many offered classes.
"How can there be so many?" Lisa exclaimed.
"Well, you have more years to take them, and a lot of them can be taken for one semester so you can take another for the second semester. And you have, like, a week at the beginning of the school year and second semester to see if you like it or if you want to change your schedule."
Terry was close to pouting. "And that's just the magical side, right? What about the muggle classes?"
"And Herbology?" Lisa added, recalling that Hadrian hadn't mentioned the class when he spoke about the core classes.
"Herbology and Botany, the nonmagical equivalent of Herbology, are part of science courses." Hadrian said. His nose scrunched up as he tried to remember all the nonmagical electives he could. "For the nonmagical electives, well, there's a whole lot of them and they differ depending on the school district. My school district had Art, Creative Writing, Wood Shop, Yearbook, Photography, Auto Shop, Library Aide, Health, plus Spanish and French are the common language classes. There's Theatre, Choir, and Band and a bunch of computer classes."
"Not possible." Lisa shook her head determinately. "There's no way for one school to have so many classes."
Hadrian shrugged. "What can I say? That's not even mentioning all the clubs, though most of them are part of elective classes, but there's also AV Club, Glee Club, Book Club, and others."
Terry exhaled loudly. "And sports? You mentioned Quidditch, Quadpot, and Dueling."
"Um, basketball, football, track and field, fencing, volleyball, swimming, tennis, soccer, cheerleading, and gymnastics. I think some schools have baseball, too." Hadrian had never realized how overwhelming this could all sound to someone who had grown up expecting six main classes and five offered electives.
"You gave all that up to come here? Won't you be bored or something?" Lisa questioned incredulously. "I can't imagine having all those classes and then getting stuck with a handful."
"Yeah, mate, I know Hogwarts is the oldest magical school and has put out some pretty great witches and wizards, but a lot people think it's been stagnating lately, especially those who have relatives at Durmstrang and Beauxbatons. They both have more classes than Hogwarts, but nowhere near the States it seems."
"Hogwarts is a legend and most of the professors are considered to be a genius in their fields, plus three of my uncles and one of my aunties went to Hogwarts and they all have amazing stories to tell." Hadrian said, hoping neither of them would ask more about it. "My mom says I can try it out for a year and if I don't like I can just enroll back in my old school. I might have to do a bit of catch up with the other kids, but that's fine."
"If you go, take me with you?" Lisa pleaded jokingly - maybe.
Terry laughed, sounding a lot like Sirius. "Yeah, we'll stowaway in your trunk and leave golems behind for our parents."
Lisa tilted her head. "What are you going to do if you do decide to go back after this year? Won't you have a lot of school work to catch up with?"
"Well, my mom set it up so that I'm basically being homeschooled for this year so I'll still complete the course work and everything. I just have to work it around the Hogwarts lessons." Hadrian shrugged. "It'll actually be easier than it seems since I won't have a lot of the other lessons I usually have as well so I'll probably have a lot of free time. That'll be weird."
"Over achiever," Terry coughed out.
They barely noticed the door open and a lanky red headed boy with a face full of freckles standing there. He frowned when he noticed the compartment already had people in it and stalked off.
"Is he still looking for a compartment? What's he been doing since the train started?" Terry wondered.
"Maybe he's looking for Harry Potter," Lisa suggested half heartedly.
Of course, as soon as she said that the door slid open and a slight boy with shocking platinum blond hair and an upturned nose stepped in. He, at least, introduced himself as Draco Malfoy and rather candidly announced that he was looking for Harry Potter.
"Haven't seen him." Terry said while Lisa shook her head and Hadrian shrugged.
Draco turned to leave before turning back and asking their names.
"Terry Boot."
"Lisa Turpin."
"Hadrian Romanoff."
Draco's eyes narrowed slightly at Hadrian's last name. "You wouldn't happen to be related to the Romanov Clan? Father says they're known for their magical power and their distinctive green eyes."
Hadrian knew for a fact that he wasn't, but his mother very well could be related to them in some way. Not wanting to commit himself to something he wasn't sure about, he shrugged and said, "I'm a Romanoff."
Draco looked at him appraisingly for a several seconds before nodding curtly and leaving, nearly slamming the compartment door shut behind him.
Lisa turned to Hadrian. "Are you related to the Romanov Clan or did you just say that to get him off your back?"
"I honestly have no idea. I have my mom's name and she has eyes just like mine so it's possible that we're distant relatives." Hadrian explained casually. He might have his mom look into it, just for fun. "But my mom's not magical so I don't know for sure." He grinned slightly when neither of them had any reaction to that little tidbit.
"Hadrian, could I have another granola? I'm still a bit hungry and the trolley lady only sells sweets." Lisa asked, holding her empty wrapper up for show.
"Yeah, yeah, Terry, you want one? I also have some cookies if you do want something sweet. Oh! Uncle Bruce must've slipped these into my bag when I wasn't looking." Hadrian exclaimed happily as he pulled out a cool to the touch lunchbox. Briefly wondering who charmed it, he opened to find several sandwiches and small baggies of chips. "You guys want one? Let's see, we got p-b-and-j, smoked ham, turkey, bologna, and brisket. And for chips I have regular potato chips and sour cream and onion."
"Chips?" Terry pointed at the small bags.
"Uh, crisps? That's what you call them here right?" Hadrian corrected.
Lisa looked over the choices offered to her before picking up a smoked ham sandwich and baggie of potato chips. "Thanks Hadrian, I'll make it up to you if you want something off the trolley."
Hadrian waved her off as Terry took two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and Hadrian picked out a brisket and a bag of sour cream and onion chips for himself. Without further ado, Hadrian peeled the top piece of bread off his sandwich and poured his chips out onto it before putting it back together. He took a bite out of his creation and looked up to see Lisa and Terry watching him in amusement.
"What?" Hadrian asked around his food, though he remembered to put a hand in front of his mouth like he had been taught. "I like crunch." He defended.
"Sure, mate." Terry laughed before taking a bite out of his own sandwich.
Lisa swallowed her mouthful. "Do you have more juice? I finished mine already. Another apple, please, if you do."
"One for me, too, mate." Terry said with food still in his mouth, not bothering to hide it behind his hand to Lisa's disgust. Hadrian laughed and threw them their juice boxes and put his own lemonade in his lap.
They all ate in peace, the only sounds being the crunch of the chips and Lisa occasionally smacking Terry's arm whenever he chewed with his mouth open. Lisa and Hadrian were finished with their food, Terry half way through his second sandwich, when the door slid open once again. Lisa caught Hadrian's attention and rolled her eyes.
"Have any of you seen a toad? Neville's lost his." A small girl with bushy light brown hair asked, her head tilted slightly up so it seemed she was looking down at them.
Terry and Hadrian shook their heads while Lisa answered for them. "No, but if we do we'll be sure to let you or him know." She promised with a smile.
The girl huffed a bit at that. "Well, alright. Be sure to let me know if you see it."
Just as she turned to leave, Hadrian got an idea. "You could ask one of the prefects, or an older year at least, to use a summoning charm for you."
"Hmm. I have read about that charm, but never managed to practice it at home." The girl said almost haughtily.
"H-hi, Her-Hermione, have y-you found Tr-Trevor yet?" A soft stammer came from behind Hermione, who moved to the side to show a chubby boy with light brown hair darkening at the roots. He seemed to be trying to stop himself from crying and looked close to pathetic.
"No, Neville, but we can always ask a prefect to do the summoning charm. They're responsible and would do it if we asked respectfully." Hermione said pointedly.
Terry piped up. "Yeah, mate, Hadrian here just thought of it. If any of us knew how to do it we would help you out, but a prefect's the next best thing. You should ask a Hufflepuff first, though."
Neville straightened a bit at that and didn't look so close to crying anymore. "Really? Thanks, uh, Hadrian?"
Hadrian stood up and reached his hand out. "Hadrian Romanoff. Nice to meet you, Neville."
"Longbottom. I'm Neville Longbottom." Something flashed across Hadrian's face at the name, but no one could see just what it was before he was smiling widely.
"That's Terry Boot and the lovely lady sitting next to him is Lisa Turpin." Hadrian introduced, making Neville and Lisa flush.
"You're from America?" Hermione asked. "How did you get an invitation to Hogwarts? It's only supposed to be for those from the British Isles."
"Was born in London, name got put in the registry." Hadrian waved it off, but Hermione didn't seem to want to let it go at that.
"So you got a Hogwarts letter and convinced your parents to let you go? Of course, I'm not surprised that they agreed, it is the most highly renown and prestigious magical school." Hermione added with a touch of superiority. "I mean, when I got my Hogwarts letter, I was ever so excited. Especially after I read Hogwarts: A History. I'm the first witch in my family so it came as quite a shock and I had to learn about everything on my own from books I got in Diagon Alley. I even managed to talk my father into getting me all the books about Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of our time, and Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. I've read all about both of them, you know, to be prepared. Even the spells I tried out at home all worked for me on the first try."
Terry, Lisa, and Neville were stunned by the load of information, not understanding her point, if she did indeed have one.
Hadrian, on the other hand, just tilted his head as if in thought. "I thought it was against the law for minors to do magic at home."
When Lisa confirmed that it was, Hermione glowered at them for a moment before grabbing Neville's sleeve and pulling him away to go find a prefect to do the spell. After they were gone, Lisa, Hadrian, and Terry shared a disbelieving look before promptly bursting into laughter.
Albus Dumbledore sat at his desk, a pensive frown on his face. His trip to the Dursley household had revealed his worst fear - Harry Potter was gone. Missing. Lost. Petunia was adamant that she had never found the boy on her doorstep on a cold November morning and a subtle look into her mind had shown that her memories hadn't been tampered with. Similiarly her husband hadn't come across the babe first and chosen to get rid of him before his wife found him, an act that Albus wouldn't have put past the contrary man. The way the large man spoke to him was an absolute disgrace.
Regardless of the distasteful way those muggles treated him the real issue was the disappearance of the Boy-Who-Lived. The boy had been missing for ten years and he hadn't even known something was amiss until Minerva had said something. If only he had bothered to check in on the boy before now, he could have had time to find him. Now it was too late and there was no way the boy would be on the train come September first.
His only hope was that wherever the boy was - whoever had taken the child - would send him anyway but that was a faint hope that he didn't focus on too much.
He could perhaps make a golem in the image of the illustrations from the many fictional stories written about the Boy-Who-Lived and use it as a holdover until he found the boy but he would have to keep a watchful eye on it to insure no one noticed something was wrong and it would be easy to cause damage to the vessel that he wouldn't be able to hide. All it would take was the golem being partnered with a horrendous student in potions and having it spilled on it.
With a sigh he put his half formed plans away for the moment. The only thing he knew with certainty was that he would have to work on damage control once it was revealed the Boy-Who-Lived wasn't at Hogwarts.
