Raising Harry: Chapter 13

A month and a day later…

Today was the day: Harry was going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! Katrina woke up feeling excited for him and sad all at once: she knew Harry would have a wonderful time at Hogwarts, but she would miss him so! She knew it would be good for them, but at the same time she knew she was going to miss seeing his smiling face every day until the next summer. She felt as if she wanted to cry, but took a deep breath as she got out of bed, and looked at the clock: it was nine o'clock; she had to hurry since the train leaves at eleven precisely! McGonagall was already at the school, the first day back was always busy, especially since she was the Deputy Headmistress.

Katrina quickly got out of bed, startling her cat as she ran into the bathroom and showered. She picked out a red-floral dress that flowed down to her knees, and white sandals to go with it. She decided to put her hair partially-up, and put her favorite little silver necklace on before putting on a little makeup and heading down the stairs quickly to start breakfast. She would have woken Harry up, but she wanted him to get as much sleep as possible for his exciting day! She made cheesy-scrambled eggs on toast, making sandwiches, and a nice fruit salad to go with it. Soon enough she heard someone bounding down the stairs, wearing a dark blue polo shirt with light blue jeans and white sneakers, his emerald eyes shining with excitement behind his round glasses.

"Morning, Mum!" Harry said with a grin, and Katrina replied "Morning, dear! Today's the big day! You excited?"

He nodded with a smile, but looked also a bit nervous, which Katrina noticed as she handed him his plate of breakfast.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" she asked, and he sighed as he said "What if I don't make any friends? What if I'm the worst wizard at Hogwarts?"

Katrina sat down across from him and put her hand on his as she said "Aw honey, I had exactly the same fears at your age, but you know what? You WILL make friends, and you will be a fantastic wizard. And you know why?"

He shook his head "no" and she continued with a smile "Because you have your parent's blood flowing in your veins, and they are watching over you."

She had tears in her eyes, and she went over and hugged him tightly, and said "And you have me, too Harry."

He mumbled into her shoulder "I know, Mum."

She wiped tears from her eyes, and said "Alright, now, let's hurry and eat! We have to be at King's Cross by 10:40 at least!"

Harry nodded with a small smile as they ate quickly, and once they finished, Katrina put their plates in the sink, and she rushed upstairs with him to help him make sure that he had everything packed.

"Okay, so you've got your robes and all your clothes packed?" she asked, and Harry nodded. She asked "All your books, your cauldron, and your wand?" he nodded, and she asked "Your toiletries, including your tooth brush, tooth paste, shampoo, comb-"

Harry interrupted saying "Muuum!" in a slightly embarrassed tone.

She laughed and said "Okay okay, I'm sorry! I just wanted to make sure. Okay let's go, I'll take your owl, and then we can carry your trunk down the stairs together."

He nodded, and she asked "By the way, what did you decide to name her, she's beautiful!"

Harry said "I saw the name Hedwig in a book, so I think I'll call her that."

She nodded, and said "It sounds kind of regal, I like it!" with a smile.

As they carried it all down the stairs, she took a deep breath, and asked "So, are you ready, dear?" He took a look around, and nodded and she said "Alright, it's time to go; we'll have to apparate again," Harry nodded, and she said "Alright, hold on to my arm, as well as your trunk." He did as he was asked, and with a 'POP!' they went to King's Cross.

They appeared right in front of the King's Cross building, and Katrina asked "Do you feel okay?" He nodded, but looked somewhat pale. She said "Alright, take a deep breath of fresh air, and we'll wait a minute," she looked at her watch: it read 10:52. "Oh goodness! Alright it's time to get to Platform 9 ¾!"

He nodded, and they rushed, Hedwig in her cage and his trunk in hand. As they got to the wall between Platforms nine and ten, she said "Okay, Harry: This is part of the magic, we're going to run through that wall." Harry looked shocked, and she said "On the count of three, we'll run into it: one…two…three!" And they ran into the wall, and soon found themselves staring at the Hogwarts Express, at which Harry looked amazed.

She smiled at the awe in his emerald eyes, and said "Alright Harry, it's time for you to go. Oh I'm going to miss you so much!"

As she hugged him tightly, and he hugged her back, and she said "I love you, Harry."

He replied "I love you too, Mum," and she kissed his cheek as she let go of him and said "Hogwarts is waiting," with a smile.

He smiled back, and took his trunk and owl onto the train. As soon as he got on the train, tears streamed down her face: Her little boy was growing up. As the train started to leave, and the whistle sounded, she saw him appear in a compartment window, and he smiled as he waved to her. She waved back, and blew a few kisses to him as she watched the train carry him farther and farther away.

She then blew her nose into a tissue, and the tears still streamed down her face, but then she heard a kindly voice say behind her say "Oh, I know dear it's always hard, especially for the first one,"

Katrina turned around, and saw a slightly plump woman with red hair, wearing a tan cardigan over a brown dress.

Katrina smiled as she nodded, and the woman said "My sixth son just left for his first time at Hogwarts too, what's your name dear?"

Katrina dabbed at her eyes, and then held out her hand as she said "I'm Katrina Belmont, and you are?"

She took her hand and said "I'm Molly, Molly Weasley, and this is my youngest, and my only daughter, Ginny."

Katrina smiled as she said "So nice to meet you both, and thank you for your kind words, I really appreciate it."

Molly smiled, and asked "How would you like to come back and have a cup of tea with me at my home? You seem like you could do with some cheering up and a spot of tea."

Katrina smiled and said "That would be lovely actually, thank you so much!"

Soon she found herself apparating back with Molly and Ginny, and sitting at Molly's kitchen table with a nice pot of tea, and wonderful new friend.

On the Hogwarts Express…

Harry sighed as he thought 'this is it: I'm going to Hogwarts. I wonder which House I'll be sorted into…'

His thoughts we interrupted by a pretty young girl with long blonde hair and blue eyes, who wore a white t-shirt with light-blue jeans and white and blue sneakers as she poked her head in the compartment.

She asked timidly "Harry?" Harry looked alarmed to see "Mary!" she smiled, and he said "Come on in!" to which she replied "Thanks," and she sat down across from him.

He asked "So, how are things?" She looked sad as she looked out the window, and he frowned as he said "That bad, huh?"

She nodded, and said "But I don't wanna talk about it, if that's okay,"

He said "Oh yeah, that's fine! So are you excited to go to Hogwarts?"

She nodded, and just as she was about to ask him the same question, a red-headed boy poked his head into the compartment as well, and asked "Would you mind? Everywhere else is full."

Harry said "Sure!" and the boy came in and sat down next to Mary, and he said "Ron Weasley by the way,"

Harry said "I'm Harry, Harry Potter."

Ron and Mary both looked shocked, and Ron asked "Do you really have that, um, scar?"

Harry nodded, and lifted up his messy hair to reveal the scar, to which Ron replied "Wicked!" as he looked in awe, but then caught himself staring, and asked Mary "Who are you by the way?" she said shyly "I'm Mary, Mary Black."

Ron nodded to her, and then the trolley filled with candies pulled up, and the woman asked "Anything off the trolley, dears?"

Mary and Ron looked tempted, and Harry noticed, so he said "We'll take three pumpkin pasties, three chocolate frogs, three packs of licorice wands, and three boxes of Bertie Botts, please," as he pulled out the galleons he had left from his trip to Gringotts, and he handed out the candies he bought for each of them.

Mary smiled gratefully as she said "Thank you!" and Ron said "Yeah! Thanks Harry!" Harry smiled as he said "Anytime!"

They spent a good amount of the train ride talking and laughing, and after their candies were finished, a bushy-haired brunette in her Hogwarts robes came in and asked "Has anyone seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost one,"

They all shook their heads "no" and the girl said "Holy cricket! You're Harry Potter!" as she noticed his lightning bolt scar, and he smiled and nodded, and she said "I'm Hermione Granger, and you two are?" as she looked at the other two.

Ron replied with his last mouthful of Pumpkin pasty "Ron Weasley, and this is Mary Black,"

Hermione looked somewhat disgusted at Ron, but offered a small smile to Mary, and said "Pleasure. You all should put on your robes; I expect we'll be arriving shortly. Oh, and by the way, Ron, you've got dirt on your nose," and she left the compartment, leaving the trio somewhat bewildered.

Harry laughed and said "This is going to be a fun year!" Mary and Ron laughed too, and Harry realized that maybe his Mum was right: He would make some friends after all.