Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter universe J.K. Rowling does. I'm just playing around in her sandbox for my own personal enjoyment and will receive nothing back (except reviews I hope).
Chapter 11: Meetings
As dawn broke on the morning of September the first a little girl stared out her window in her rook shaped house and wished that she could be going to Hogwarts this year. She knew that the other children that were like her would all be starting school this year and she felt that she wouldn't be as welcome when she joined them because she was so much younger. Her dragon, Innogen, assured her many times that the others would welcome her with open arms regardless of her age, but the little girl still worried. Only time would tell which of them was correct, and the girl was growing more impatient by the day.
As the morning wore on many other children woke up and began to prepare for the trip to school. Some had already packed and were taking the time to eat a good breakfast and pack a nice lunch before heading out to get to the train early. Others were double checking that they had everything and packing last minute items. The majority had left packing until the last minute and were spending their morning frantically throwing things into their trunks and hoping that they got everything they needed before having to dash out the door in order to catch the train on time.
Hermione Granger was one of the ones that had a leisurely breakfast and came early. She wanted to make sure that she got a good compartment and was able to wander around to look for the other kids that were like her. She figured that if she could find them before the train left then they could all ride together and spend the whole ride getting to know each other. She had her parents drop her off at the station and then had them leave, she didn't want to be distracted from her search. When she made it onto the platform and saw the bright scarlet train she began to get truly excited. She would finally be going to Hogwarts and would finally be where she belonged.
As she moved farther onto the platform she felt like she was being pulled toward the back of the train. The pulling sensation increased until she was on the train and standing outside of a compartment, having left her truck on a trolley just outside the train. She opened the compartment door and saw a dark skinned boy sitting by the window. She knew as soon as she saw him that he was like her. Brigantia confirmed it when she whispered the name Vercobret in her mind.
"Hello I'm Hermione Granger, do you mind if I sit here?" Hermione said, not knowing it she should have said something else. The boy seemed to study her for a minute before responding.
"It's nice to meet you Hermione and I don't mind if you sit here. In fact I think we'll get along quiet well. I'm Blaise by the way, Blaise Zabini." The boy said.
"It's nice to meet you as well Blaise and I agree about us getting along. I just have to go get my things. I kind of left them on the platform." Hermione stated.
"I'll help you; my mum had to levitate my trunk onto the train for me, so I know how difficult it can be." Blaise said as he got up to help Hermione.
"Thank you, Blaise." Hermione said, wanting to say so much more but knowing that it would have to wait. Blaise and Hermione went out to her trolley and, between the two of them, managed to get Hermione's trunk loaded onto the train. After they got Hermione's truck stashed in the compartment, Blaise went over and closed and locked the compartment door.
"It's safe for us to talk now, I had Mother ward the compartment before she left." Blaise explained.
"You're the first one that I've met, so I don't really know what to say other than to introduce myself." Hermione said nervously.
"It's okay, you're the first I've met as well and it's not like there are any guidelines to go off of. But, Vercobret whispered the name Brigantia to me, is that your dragon?" Blaise responded.
"Yes, her name is Brigantia, and I'm assuming yours is Vercobret?" Hermione replied.
"Yeah, I'm guessing you had the same idea as me. Get here early, pick a compartment, and scan the crowds as they came in for the others." Blaise stated.
"Yeah, I thought we could use the trip to get to know each other." Hermione said, beginning to get past the slight awkwardness.
"That's what I thought as well. I hope the others show up soon. I would hate to be forced to share a compartment with some outsider and not be able to talk about anything." Blaise said.
"I'm sure they'll show up soon. They must be just as anxious as we are to meet. We could always get to know one another while we wait and just keep an eye out. I know that I felt like I was being pulled here, so maybe the others will as well." Hermione replied. Blaise agreed and the two spent the next twenty minutes chatting and getting to know each other. More kids had trickled in, but Blaise and Hermione didn't really pay attention until they both felt that someone was being pulled toward them.
The person that was turned out to be a pretty, young girl with silvery blonde hair. They saw her through the train window and knew that she was just like them. Hermione looked at Blaise and they both smiled and then lunged for the compartment door. Hermione beat Blaise to the door and swiftly unlocked and opened the door, rushing to the entrance where the new girl was standing. As Hermione appeared, the girl turned around and in that instance they both knew. Blaise joined them shortly after and the three of them could only smile at each other. That is until a man came over and interrupted them.
"You know, if I didn't know any better I'd think the three of you were friends who hadn't seen each other in years, instead of total strangers meeting for the first time." The man said with an American accent.
"How can you be sure we don't know each other?" Hermione snapped, irritated that this man made such assumptions.
"Well that would be because he is my Dad." The new girl responded with a smile.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so rude." Hermione apologized, feeling more than a little bit embarrassed.
"It's okay, but you three should probably get on the train. You're drawing attention and it's not safe." The man said. Hermione and Blaise both looked at him sharply. He couldn't know, could he? Seeing the looks on the other two kids faces, the girl decided to explain.
"Look my Dad knows and he's okay with it, but we need to get inside. Hopefully where no one can hear us." She said.
"We have a compartment, my Mum warded it. Should be private enough." Blaise spoke for the first time.
"Alright, Sida you go with these two and I'll load your trunk before coming and saying goodbye." The man told the girl.
"Okay Dad, see you in a bit." The girl said as she followed Blaise and Hermione back to their compartment. As soon as they were in and the door locked the both rounded on the newcomer.
"You told your Dad. Brigantia told me to tell no one." Hermione exclaimed.
"Do you know what could have happened to all of us if he hadn't taken the news well?" Blaise demanded.
"Look I didn't tell him without having a way to make him forget if he responded badly. The goblins have this tea that makes people forget, so I told my Dad knowing that the goblins would help me wipe it from his mind if things went wrong." The girl said.
"Oh, I didn't know goblins could do that." Hermione said.
"I didn't either and I'm a Pureblood." Blaise added.
"The goblins don't like it to be widely known, besides it doesn't matter if you're a Pureblood or not, magic is magic." The girl said.
"Well it's good to hear you say that, I'm a Muggleborn and from what I've been able to understand, a lot of witches and wizards view Muggleborns negatively. Blaise is the first wizard I've met that didn't look down on me even a little bit." Hermione said. Just then there was a knock on the compartment door and the girl went over and opened the door for her Dad.
"Well looks like you're all set now, kiddo. Don't forget to write like you promised and don't get into too much trouble." The man said as he hugged the girl.
"I won't forget, Dad." The girl said, not wanting to let go.
"Oh, we almost forgot to introduce ourselves. I'm Hermione Granger, my dragon is Brigantia." Hermione stated once the father and daughter had stopped hugging.
"I'm Blaise Zabini, my dragon is Vercobret." Blaise added his own introduction.
"I'm Cressida Valaris, my dragon is Andraste. Oh, and you guys can call me Sida." The girl said.
"I'm Sida's Dad, Ethan Carver. It's nice to meet both of you. I hope you all look out for each other and, like I told Sida before we came, tell no one about what you really are. Not everyone will be as understanding and may try to hurt you." The man warned.
"We won't tell anyone Mr. Carver. Brigantia wouldn't even let me tell my parents. I think it's because they're both Muggles, though." Hermione said.
"Vercobret didn't want me to tell my Mother and she is a Pureblood witch, so I don't think it really matters about them being Muggles." Blaise stated.
"I personally think it has more to do with a person's faith than their Blood status, but that's just my theory." Ethan added.
"What do you mean by faith Mr. Carver?" Hermione asked, never having read about witches and wizards having a faith.
"Well my family have been followers of the Old Ways for many generations. Followers of the Old Ways believe that Magic chooses who she will Bless and who she will not and that blood plays no factor in the strength of one's Magic. Which, from what Sida has told me, is also what the dragons believe." Ethan answered.
"Oh, I'll have to read about the Old Ways then." Hermione said, wanting to know more.
"I have some books in my trunk that you can borrow if you want." Sida said.
"I have a couple as well, my Mother isn't particularly religious but she insisted I learn and Vercobret encouraged me to learn as well." Blaise added.
"I've met your Mother a few times, Blaise, and she seems much too busy to take time to follow the Old Ways, but she does seem very fond of you. I remember shortly after I found my little Sida here, we spent half an hour of our meeting time just talking about the two of you." Ethan told Blaise.
"I never knew that she talked about me like that." Blaise mused.
"Well, I should let you three settle in. I'll just remind you all to be careful, look after each other, and write home often. Hermione, Blaise, you are both welcome to write to me if you have any questions or are having problems of any kind. Sida let the others know that they can write to me as well." Ethan said as he gave each child a hug. After getting a chorus of agreements from the three he turned and left the compartment, closing the door behind him. All three of the kids went to the window and watch Ethan leave, waving as he walked to the apparition point and then disappeared.
"Your Dad is really nice." Hermione commented.
"Yeah he's the best." Sida agreed.
The three soon settled down and began talking about various different things. Even the dragons had begun to join the conversation and the kids found that they could hear each other's dragons now that they were so close to each other. It was nice to hear the different dragons and to be able to talk freely about things that no one else would understand. About ten minutes after Ethan had left the three kids felt the arrival of two others. They talked and decided that Sida and Blaise would go out and fetch the two new comers and Hermione would guard the compartment. Sida and Blaise quickly made their way out into the every growing crowd and began to follow the pull they could feel. The first boy that they found was a rather quiet boy who was with an old woman, probably his Grandmother.
"Gran I should go get on the train, although I don't know where I'll sit." The boy said, while seeming to focus on something else that was far away.
"Neville just ask someone if you can sit with them, and don't forget to keep an eye on Trevor. Why your Uncle Algie gave you a toad that won't stay put I'll never know, but all the same, he is your responsibility so look after him." His Gran reminded him. Sida took this as her opportunity to get the boy back to their compartment.
"Oh, did I hear you needed a place to sit? Me and Blaise here are sharing a compartment with a girl named Hermione, so you could sit with us if you like." Sida said once she was close enough.
"See, Neville, this nice young girl here has already offered you a seat so there is nothing to worry about. Now, off you go. Have fun, be good, and write home every once in a while." Neville's Gran said and then gave him a push in Sida's direction.
"Just follow me and I'll show you where the compartment is. Blaise you go find that other friend of ours and bring them back to the compartment as well." Sida said as she grabbed the boy called Neville and began to weave her way through the even larger crowd to get back to the train.
Neville followed the girl as she dragged him, looking back briefly to see the boy she called Blaise disappear in the crowd. He knew as soon as he saw the two that they were like him. He heard Taranis whisper the names Andraste and Vercobret, so he assumed those were the names of the dragons that lived inside of them. He figured that the other people that were mentioned were like them as well and couldn't help but think that finding the others was a lot easier than he had anticipated. They made it to the train and got were struggling to get Neville's trunk loaded when Blaise came over with a blonde boy and his parents. The blonde boy's Father merely took out his wand and levitated both Neville's and his son's trunks onto the train. They thanked the man and, after the blonde boy's parents said their goodbyes, made their way back to the compartment where Hermione was waiting.
"I didn't think you would make it through that crowd and back in time. I don't understand why more people don't come earlier and avoid the crowds." Hermione said.
"The only reason I was early was because my Dad had a meeting he had to get to this morning. Otherwise I'd probably only just be arriving." Sida said.
"Same here, my Mother had a meeting so she dropped me off early, though she did offer to let me stay at home and then let me Floo to Hogsmeade from home." Blaise added.
"What's Floo?" Hermione asked.
"It's a method of travel that we use. You toss a special powder into a fireplace that's hooked up to the Floo Network and then you step in and clearly state where you want to go and then you get transported there." The blonde boy answered. "I'm Draco Malfoy, by the way, and my dragon is Louarn."
"A boy with the spirit of an ancient dragon living inside of him, who happens to be have a name that means Dragon, how funny. I'm Hermione Granger and my dragon is Brigantia." Hermione stated.
"Blaise Zabini, Vercobret." Blaise said simply.
"Cressida Valaris, but everyone calls me Sida, and my dragon is Andraste, I call her Andy." Sida said.
"I'm Neville Longbottom, my dragon is Taranis." Neville said in introduction.
"It's nice to finally meet you all. I think I know what one of the other two looks like. I met a boy in Madame Malkin's and I think he might be one of us." Draco said.
"Did you feel pulled toward him?" Hermione asked. Just as she asked they all felt another pull.
"You mean like that? No, I didn't, but Louarn thinks it's because he was asleep at the time and couldn't respond." Draco said.
"Well I'm gonna pop out and grab the newcomer, you all wait here. I hope the last one shows up soon because it's almost time to leave." Sida said as she left the compartment to find the newest arrival. The crowd was so thick that she had to rely on the pull to guide her. When she finally found the boy she didn't waste time with words; she just grabbed his arm and began pulling him away from the part of the train he was trying to enter. He turned and looked at her and seemed like he was going to argue or try to break loose but then just went with it. They made it to the right entrance and an older boy that had just entered the train helped them load the boy's trunk and owl. They thanked the boy and then made their way to the compartment.
"Sorry about just grabbing you and dragging you around, but the train is leaving soon and we didn't have much time." Sida said to the boy as she waited for one of the others to open the compartment, which was locked.
"No problem, once I realized who you were and why you were dragging me off I had no problems following you." The boy said, just as Hermione opened the door.
"Get in quick you two, the train should be leaving soon so we should get situated before it leaves." Hermione said as she gestured for the two to get inside. Once inside Draco quickly realized that the new boy was the boy he had met in the robe shop.
"Hey, I remember you from the robe shop. I thought you might be like all of us, but my dragon, Louarn, was asleep at the time so I couldn't be sure." Draco said.
"Yeah, I remember you as well. Bran thought that might be the case. I'm glad I finally get to meet you all." The boy said.
"Well not all of us, we seem to be missing one." Hermione said.
"Probably means that their not at Hogwarts. Their either too young or their parents set them to a different school." Blaise responded.
"Well assuming the whisper I heard and what you said are right and your dragon is Bran, that means the missing dragon is Innogen, which means last born, so I'm betting that she is just younger than us and we'll see her later." Sida stated.
"How do you know the last of us is a girl?" Neville asked.
"Well it seems to be that boy dragons ended up inside of boys and girl dragons ended up inside of girls." Sida said.
"I have to agree with her. The goblins have all kinds of information about the Great Dragons and I've been staying with them since shortly after I got my letter." The boy said as he pointed at Sida.
"Oh, we forgot to introduce ourselves again. I'm Hermione Granger, my dragon is Brigantia." Hermione said as she remembered that they hadn't introduced themselves to the new boy.
"I'm Blaise Zabini, my dragon is Vercobret." Blaise said.
"I'm Cressida Valaris, just call me Sida, and my dragon is Andraste." Sida said.
"I'm Draco Malfoy, my dragon is Louarn." Draco said.
"I'm Neville Longbottom, my dragon is Taranis." Neville said.
"Well I'm Harry Potter, and my dragon is Bran." Harry said as he introduced himself.
"No way! You're Harry Potter! I heard you were starting at Hogwarts this year but I never dreamed you would be one of us." Draco exclaimed. Neville and Blaise were equally shocked, the girls on the other hand just found the situation a little funny.
"Yeah, I'm Harry Potter. I know that in the wizarding world I'm some kind of celebrity, but you have to understand that I don't see myself that way. My Mum was the real hero. Well her and Bran, they're the ones that saved me. I did nothing." Harry said.
"I can understand that. My Mum died saving me, in a way." Sida said.
The children then began to settle into the compartment. Sida, Hermione, and Blaise sat on one side. Harry, Draco, and Neville sat on the other side. They decided to chat a bit before the train left, but were interrupted twice. Once, by a red haired boy who tried to force them to let him sit with them. Sida spotted a the rat that he was carrying and began to fake sneeze and proceeded to tell the boy that he had to leave because she was highly allergic to rats. The others jumped on the lie and used it to get the boy to leave. The second time they were interrupted was by a most unpleasant girl, named Pansy Parkinson, and two boys that stood behind her that looked like they could be part troll. She tried to squeeze into the compartment and sit with Draco by using her Blood Status and family name. Sida used her knowledge from her lessons with Andromeda and shut Pansy down and sent her packing quickly. Sida never knew that just knowing her family's place in the world could be such an effective weapon.
They settle back into their conversations and as the train pulled out of the station they began to tell each other about their lives. They were interrupted once, by a patrolling prefect just wanted to check in on them, and then only once more by the arrival of the lunch trolley. The kids bought a few treats but, for the most part, they shared the lunches that Hermione, Sida, and Harry had brought with them. Hermione had a bunch of fruits and veggies that she had packed to snack on the night before. Sida had a few bags of homemade jerky, the dragon part of them all craving the meat. Harry had been given a basket by the bank's house elves that contained a variety of sandwiches and several bottles of Butterbeer. The kids enjoyed the food and drinks and continued to talk and play games. As they got closer to the station they decided to change into their school uniforms. Sida and Hermione went out to grab their uniforms from their trunks and once they came back the boys left the compartment to let them change and to fetch their own uniforms. Once the girls were done they let the boys back in and then left to put their street clothes away to give the boys time to change. The boys filtered out to put their street clothes away one by one and once the last boy left to put his clothes away Sida and Hermione went back into the compartment.
The kids settled back down and went back to their games, having told each other as much as they were going to for now. It stuck each of them how similar they were and they promised to help each other out no matter what happened during the sorting. They all hoped that they were in the same house, but realized that it may not be possible. As they train came to a stop at Hogsmeade Station, the kids put their stuff away and left the train together. They gathered around the Half-Giant with the other first years and when it came time to split up to go in the boats they made sure to stay as far from the red headed rat lover and Pansy and her goons. Draco, Harry, and Sida shared a boat with a sweet girl named Hannah Abbot. Neville, Blaise, and Hermione shared a boat with a nice boy named Dean Thomas. As the castle came into view from across the lake, the same thought went through their minds: this is home.