Chapter Ten: Hello, My Name is Harry
Diagon Alley, London, August 2011
The next stop in Diagon Alley for them was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, since Harry needed them for school and Wendy couldn't get them without confirming they would fit. The owner, Madam Malkin they presumed, looked like a woman who didn't exactly look like the type who really should work in fashion. Though to be fair, they were judging by New York standards, not English or wizarding.
Harry couldn't say he liked the idea of wearing robes like this on a regular basis. It just felt somewhat archaic, like the wizards were trying to be a stereotype. It was like if you saw somewhere in Tokyo where everyone still wore kimono as everyday clothing, nothing essentially wrong with it but you would wonder why they did that.
"None for the girls, they don't need them." Wendy told Madam Malkin when her gaze turned towards Coraline and Jane. With the two not being students, there was no need for them to get robes.
"Someone's watching." Jane whispered, getting them to look at a blonde boy who was sizing them up. Like he was trying to decide if they were worth the effort to say hello to. "Take a picture, it lasts longer."
The blonde boy frowned a bit, more annoyed than angered, but this motivated him to actually approach the group. "You're attending Hogwarts, right?" He asked Harry, seeing him as the only one getting robes.
Harry nodded. "Looks that way."
"Play quidditch?"
Harry arched an eyebrow. "Never heard of it. What is it?"
"What is it?" The blonde boy repeated, like he was surprised to hear it. "It's a sport. The best sport there is. I'm going to play, even though I have to wait for my second year to be allowed."
Harry shrugged. "That will give me plenty of time to learn."
Jane leaned closer to Coraline. "I'm noticing a trend here of everyone pretending we're not here."
Wendy put a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Well Harry is the main character dear, it kind of comes with the territory."
"What house will you be in?" The blonde boy asked. "My whole family has been in Slytherin so I'm positive that's where I'll be."
Harry nodded in acceptance. "I'm going to be in the fifth house."
The blonde boy looked confused. "Fifth house? But Hogwarts only has four houses."
"They changed that this year." Jane said before Harry could. "There's a new fifth house."
"My father's never said a word about a fifth house."
"Why would he?" Coraline asked.
"He's part of the Board of Governors. They are part of the school's management. They would have to know about such a house."
Harry shrugged. "Maybe he's not allowed to speak about it outside business. Or maybe since you're so certain you're going to be in Slytherin there's no need to tell you about it."
"Yeah, that could be it." The blonde boy accepted. "Well if you're not going to be in Slytherin, are you at least a pureblood?"
Harry got a bad feeling from that question for some reason. Something about the way he said it, it was like he was asking if Harry was good enough to keep talking to. But maybe this was just a cultural thing and he was imagining the offense.
"Don't know, if that's a British term it's not one we use back home."
"You're not British? Where are you from then? Your accent's not any I've heard."
"New York."
The blonde boy blinked, naturally surprised. "You're American? But why would an American come to Hogwarts?"
"Special request." Wendy said. "Dumbledore was practically bending over backwards to convince this boy to go to his school."
The blonde boy didn't respond, but they could tell from his eyes that he was curious and obviously starting to tell himself that Harry was not just another student.
"What's your name?" He asked.
"Harry Wolf. Yours?"
"Draco Malfoy. I'll be seeing you around then Wolf."
With that, the blonde boy left, robes tucked under his arm.
"Anyone else get a strange vibe from him?" Harry quietly asked.
"I'm thinking I might have some fun scaring him this year." Jane mentioned, a devious grin on her face.
After some uncomfortable fittings, Harry had robes that fit but would accommodate any growth experienced over the year, the group left the shop.
"Hey Harry!"
They looked and saw Hagrid coming towards them, looking like he had recovered from his motion sickness and had something under a cloak hanging in his left hand.
"Hagrid please, we're trying to not announce to the world that Harry is here." Wendy carefully warned.
The gentle giant nodded. "Sorry 'bout that, but I jus' got 'scited. This is fer you boy." He handed the boy what he was holding, and Harry removed the cloth to discover a birdcage containing a snowy owl.
"Oh wow, this is awesome." He exclaimed, having never seen an owl except for the zoo or the Farm.
"And yes Miss Wendy, it's perfectly safe. Check fer yerself all you want." Hagrid added.
"I'll take your word for it Hagrid, but I gotta ask. Why'd you get him a pet? Not that we don't appreciate it, but I have a feeling that you wouldn't do this for just any student." Wendy asked.
Hagrid scratched his beard for a moment. "Truth is his parents were good friends ter me and I wanna help their son. Think of this as ten years of birthday gifts I couldn't give him before."
"Thanks Hagrid." Harry said, wanting to bond with the owl once he could. It looked like it wanted to be let out of the cage soon too.
Hagrid smiled. "I live in a shack on the school grounds. Feel free ter come by anytime yeh want ter chat."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Now, sorry ter leave, but I oughta get back ter Dumbledore now. See yeh later Harry and friends."
"Now we're acknowledged." Jane muttered as Hagrid left.
Feeling hungry, the group looked for a place to eat. Most of the shops sold food meant to be eaten on the go or taken home, but there didn't seem to be anything like a restaurant or cafe where you could eat it there. Not in any of the places they were looking, so they went back to the Leaky Cauldron.
"Oh, pardon me." A man wearing a turban said as he tried to leave the inn the same time they tried to enter. He looked at the three kids for a moment but said nothing, and went on his way after they passed him.
Up in the inn room Harry sat down and released the owl, which hooted in appreciation and perched next to him. He petted her head and she seemed to like it.
"What are you going to name her?" Coraline asked.
"Not sure. I'm still wondering why owls are so popular here."
"Well you know how American wizards and witches like to use crows and ravens to carry messages and mail? It looks like here they prefer to use owls." Wendy told him.
"Then it's a real shame that I have no one here to send mail too. It's not like an owl can go to Fabletown and back." Harry commented.
"Either way, I'm sure she'll come in handy."
The next day, Wendy went back to Hogwarts to oversee the Fable dorm, and she took Jane and Coraline with her. But since Harry was still to be considered a student, he wasn't supposed to be on school grounds yet. So for now, he had some free time to himself, which he was sure Wendy wanted him to use to get more accustomed to his new surroundings.
At least he had time to have fun with his owl. At the moment he was sitting on a bench in Diagon Alley, reading a book going over the history of Magical Britain, trying to learn a little ahead of time and get ideas about what to name his owl, which was perched on his shoulders at the moment.
"Hello."
He looked up, seeing a red-haired girl close to his age looking at him. "Hi." He said back, with his owl hooting too.
"Mind if I sit down? Mom's with my brother and I don't want to stand around waiting for them to be done."
Harry nodded. "Go ahead." He scooted over a bit to give her more room. "My name's Harry. What's yours?"
The girl blinked, surprised. "I'm Ginny Weasley. Sorry, but... by any chance are you Harry Potter?"
"Yes, but I go by the name Harry Wolf now."
She looked confused. "Why?"
"I was raised by my mom's family, and their name is Wolf. It made more sense to call me Wolf than Potter."
"If you say so." She looked like she was nervous, unsure what to say. "Can I... see your scar?"
Nodding, he moved his hair to show the lightning bolt scar on his forehead. Ginny slowly raised her hand, wanting to touch it but not without his permission. A slight nod was enough for her, and she gently ran her fingers over it a few times.
"Thanks." She said when she was satisfied. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't someone pretending to be him."
"Can't say I blame you. I'm told I'm pretty famous." He replied, then saw an opportunity. "Can I ask you something?" She nodded. "Just what have you heard about me?"
"Umm... all sorts of things. My dad would tell me stories about you doing heroic things like hunting criminals, punishing necromancers, and saving dragons from poachers."
Harry looked like he didn't know whether to laugh or facepalm. "Seriously? I left England when I was one year old. Who told people I was some kind of superhero who did all these things yet never once made a public appearance?"
Ginny blinked. "You left England?"
He nodded. "Yeah, right after my parents were killed. And sorry to burst your bubble, but I haven't been doing any hero stuff these past ten years. All this time, I've just been a normal kid."
Ginny looked at him, as if confused on how to see him now. This was nothing like the Boy-Who-Lived that had been built up in her head all these years. "You've been... normal?"
"What, is that a bad thing?"
She quickly shook her head. "No, not at all. It's just... I... I don't know what to say here. I'm still processing the fact that I'm actually talking to you right now."
'She's seeing me as the character in the stories right now, not a person.' Harry thought. As a Fable, he was well aware of this mentality. Whenever a mundy or a wizard did find out about the Fables, it often took them a while to separate the story from the person. Most people would be surprised to learn Snow White actually loathed the seven dwarves or Goldilocks now shared the beds with the three bears.
"It's okay, just forget everything others told you about me. None of them actually knew me, so everything they said was just a story."
"You mean everyone who wrote the books about you was just lying?" Ginny asked.
"All I know is I've been living in New York since some guy killed my parents learning some magic and detective skills. Anyone who says otherwise, yeah, they're lying." He replied, leaning back. The owl on his shoulder hooted as if agreeing with him.
"I see." Ginny said, drooping her shoulders a bit. She looked and sounded a tiny bit disappointed, like a childhood dream of hers was ending. "You said you lived in New York?"
Harry nodded. "I still live there. I'm just here for school, then I go back in summer."
"I hear that New York is the most amazing muggle city in the world. Dad sometimes wishes he could see it, but there's no way Mum would get on one of those aero-plane things they fly with."
Harry smiled a bit. "It is a great place to live."
"Umm... Harry?" She asked. He didn't respond, but he did look at her. "Why are you here for school anyway? Don't they have magic schools in America?"
"Yeah there's one, but that Dumbledore guy really wants me here. If you ask me he's up to something, but Fabletown drives a hard bargain so good luck with that."
"Fabletown?" Ginny repeated, confused. "I thought you said you lived in New York."
He nodded. "Fabletown is a part of New York, sort of like this place is a part of London."
"Ah, so Fabletown is the wizarding section of the city?"
He shook his head. "Nope, it's the home of the Fables."
"What do you mean home of the Fables? Aren't fables just old stories for kids?" She asked, still perplexed.
He chuckled. "You're not the first one to ask me that. Actually, we're another group of magical beings, not quite wizards, we're much more magical. And we call ourselves Fables. Maybe at Hogwarts you can learn more about us."
Ginny just blinked and stared. "You're not a wizard?"
"Half wizard, half Fable." He corrected. "Part of the deal of me coming here was Hogwarts has to teach wizards about Fables."
"I... I think I'd rather learn from you." Ginny forced herself to say, turning red as she did. He arched an eyebrow in response. "Well, it's like you said, if all the stories I know about you are lies, who better to tell me the truth than you?"
The eleven year old boy grinned a little. "When we're at school, then sure."
She looked away a little. "That's a bit of a problem. I'm not starting until next year."
The owl hooted and nudged Harry like it was trying to tell him something. He was kind of annoyed by it, but then he remembered what Wendy told him about owls here. "Maybe we can write to each other?"
She looked at him, surprised and hopeful. "You mean it?"
He shrugged. "Why not? I would like to make a few friends here, friends that will accept me as I am instead of just see me as some story character..."
'Though considering I'm a Fable, that kind of contradicts itself.' He said to himself.
"... and it will give my owl something to do." He finished.
Ginny smiled. "I'd like that Harry. Thank you."
"So how do we write each other? I get that owls are used, but how do they know where to go?" He asked.
The redhead looked surprised to be asked that. "You know, I never really thought about it before. I always assumed that the owls just magically knew where to go as long as you told them who the letter was for."
"Maybe my owl needs to get familiar with you so she can track you later." Harry suggested. "If a puppet can become a real boy and a frog can become a prince, why can't an owl be like a bloodhound?"
The owl looked mildly offended at that, while Ginny laughed a bit even though she thought the comparison was a highly odd one to make. Nonetheless, she held out her arm and the owl gently came onto it, sizing her up as if getting familiar with her.
"She's lovely. What's her name?" Ginny asked.
"Haven't decided yet. But I will tonight."
"Ginny?" A woman who Harry could only presume was the girls mother called out, coming towards her with a red-haired boy beside her, both carrying a few things. This prompted the white owl to return to Harry's shoulder. "You know better than to talk to strangers like that."
"It's okay Mom. I just made a new friend." The young girl told her mother.
"Hi, I'm Harry Wolf." He answered when she looked at him, hoping she wouldn't ask if he was a Potter or not.
"Hello there. I'm sorry that my daughter was disturbing you. She gets bored easily."
Harry shook his head. "Wasn't bothered at all. I enjoyed talking to her."
"Where are your parents young man?" Miss Weasley asked, looking around.
"I'm just killing time right now." He answered simply, not wanting to go into further detail.
Miss Weasley looked shocked to hear this. "You can't be left alone like this. Come on, we'll take you somewhere safe and call your parents so they can take you home."
Harry shook his head. "No, I'm staying here."
"Young man, I'm just looking out for you."
Harry stood up. "So you're saying that if a child is alone and a complete stranger comes up to them telling the child to follow them home and is 'just looking out for them' then they should go along with it? Is that what you would tell your kids to do?"
Miss Weasley looked like she didn't know how to respond to that. "Still... kids your age shouldn't be left alone like this."
Harry sighed and took out his cellphone, dialing a number. "Hello Wendy? Hate to bother you, but could you make an appearance here? No weapons needed. Okay, thanks." He ended the call but kept the phone out of his pocket.
Miss Weasley looked at the device like she had never seen such a thing in her life, which she hadn't. "What was that? You're not supposed to be using magic outside of school."
"I didn't. It's not magic."
"But what else could it possibly-?"
She was cut off by Wendy appearing out of thin air. "Hey Harry, what's the problem?"
"Oh nothing, but could you let her know I'm fine?"
Wendy looked to Miss Weasley. "Ma'am?"
"Who are you?" Miss Weasley asked.
"I'm Harry's guardian."
Miss Weasley slightly frowned then. "Well, it's highly irresponsible for you to abandon him to himself in a public place. At least I was trying to look out for him."
Wendy crossed her arms. "While I appreciate your intentions ma'am, no one asked you to do that. And as you can see, Harry has access to me even from a distance so it's not like he's vulnerable."
"You shouldn't have been away from him in the first place." Miss Weasley insisted.
"With all due respect, you shouldn't be trying to take other people's kids home with you." Harry countered. "Legally, that's considered kidnapping."
Wendy nodded. "Harry's right. Whether you intended him harm or not is irrelevant. I trust Harry to be fine on his own. But since you don't, let me make it easier on you and take him with me."
Harry quickly looked to Ginny as Wendy put her hand on his shoulder. "It was nice talking to you Ginny. I'll find some way to write you."
The redhead girl smiled. "I'd like that Harry."
The boy next to her, her brother Harry assumed, looked at him then her and back again like he was trying to figure something out. "Wait, no way. You're not-"
Wendy disappeared, taking Harry with her before he could say the rest.
Mrs. Weasley stood there for a bit, then exhaled. "What a rude woman."
"Ginny, was that who I think it was?" The girl's brother asked.
She shook her head. "No Ron, he wasn't. His name is Harry Wolf, and he's... a very interesting boy."
"Oh don't tell me you're going to start crushing on him now instead."
Ginny just blushed and fidgeted.
Time went by, and it helped Harry get adjusted to the change in time zones. Though frankly that was probably going to be the easiest change to get used to here. The most notable thing he had done was name his owl. Looking through the book A History of Hogwarts he said the name Hedwig out loud and the owl responded with enthusiasm. Since then the name had stuck.
Then finally the day came where he'd had to go to this school that wanted him to attend so badly. Wendy could have transported them there, but she made it clear that riding the train would have been good for him. Help him interact with other kids first. Jane and Coraline would meet him there, though knowing Jane she'd find a way onto the train and say hi.
Apparently the station where he'd board the train was called Platform 9 and ¾, and apparently the traditional way to get into it was via a hidden entry in a mundy train station. How they made sure no mundy never saw this or accidentally used it Harry could only guess at, but it was irrelevant. Not every wizard used that way, particularly the ones who didn't live in London in the first place, but Wendy preferred they just transport directly in.
The station was pretty much exactly what Harry had expected it to be. Kids of all ages there, parents fussing over them, and an old-fashioned red train waiting to leave. A sign said 'Hogwarts Express' next to a clock, and owls flew around while just as many cats walked within a forest of legs like they owned the place.
"Alright, see you at the other end Harry. Just think of it as riding the subway, only much safer." Wendy advised with a chuckle. She smiled then disappeared into thin air.
Harry was ready to leave but he saw the only thing here that would be familiar to him, and they made eye contact with him in return.
"Harry, so glad to see you." Ginny said, coming up to him breaking away from her family.
"Ginny don't run off like that." Her mother warned, followed by who Harry could only assume were the girl's brothers.
"Hey Ginny, glad to see you again." Harry greeted with a smile, ignoring the older woman.
"Why haven't you written me yet?" She asked, sounding a little hurt.
"I thought I'd wait until I had something to tell you, like what being at the school was like. I was afraid anything else would just confuse you."
"Are you Harry Potter?" Ron asked.
Harry frowned a bit, annoyed by the abruptness. "My name is Harry Wolf. That's what I want to be called."
Two of the older brothers, twins from the looks of it, laughed. "Your name is Hairy Wolf?"
"What, was Fuzzy Kat already taken?" The other asked.
The train whistled.
"Boys, I hate to cut this short, but you better hurry up." Mrs. Weasley warned.
The twins left with a wave and a goodbye. Ron followed after letting his mother hug him, though he looked like he didn't enjoy it as much as she did.
"You better write me." Ginny whispered to Harry.
He nodded. "Will do." He went towards the end of the train and climbed in, watching others carry trunks of supplies and looking at him like he was the weird one since he was using a briefcase instead. The interior of the train was certainly different than a New York subway, having compartments rather than rows of seats and poles. Eyeing a random door, he opened and saw the room was empty, so he settled down and closed the door.
After a moment the train began moving away slowly, and he glanced out the window, seeing the waving parents saying one more goodbye to their children. A knock at the door drew his attention away, and it opened to reveal a redheaded boy with freckles and a round face.
"You're Ginny's brother am I right?" Harry asked, moving Hedwig's cage next to him so she could see out the window.
"Yeah I am. The name's Ron. You mind if I sit here since the train's already going?"
"Depends, are you going to just give me a hard time?" Harry asked.
Ron brought in his trunk and a cage with a rat in it. Hedwig got anxious at seeing the nervous rodent, but the rat was safe. "Naw, I've got no reason to. It's not like you can do anything to my sister for at least a year. I just figure it wouldn't hurt to get to know you."
"Why did you ask if my name was Potter?" Harry asked, already having a guess or two.
Ron shifted in his seat to get more comfortable. "Oh that? Well, my sis has had a thing for the 'famous' Harry Potter since she could speak. Since she took an interest in you and your name is Harry, I couldn't help but wonder."
"Ah, I see." Harry commented, getting an answer he didn't expect. He had figured it had either been Ginny who told them his original name, or just an assumption that any Harry his age could be Harry Potter. At least his hair was covering his scar, so the redhead boy wouldn't have more reason to think this. "Who were your brothers?"
"There's the twins George and Fred, and they're..." Ron struggled to think of a good way to describe them.
Suddenly the door opened and there stood an excited George and Fred. "Ron, you gotta come with us."
"Lee Jordan has a giant tarantula with him."
Ron panicked. "Why would I want to see that?"
"Think of all the fun we could have..."
"... with a spider like that on the train."
Harry arched an eyebrow. 'So they like to speak in tandem?'
Ron shook his head. "I don't want to be anywhere near a tarantula and I don't want to think about what you two would think is fun to do with one!"
One of the twins shrugged. "Suit yourself." They closed the door and left.
Ron exhaled but didn't look relaxed. "That was them, and they're..."
"No explanation necessary." Harry said for him. 'Obviously they're playful, but their definition of play is questionable.'
Ron fidgeted, still bothered by the idea of the twins bringing a magically altered tarantula right into the room. "The other one attending this year is Percy."
"You got a brother named Percy? How funny, I got a friend back home named that too." Harry noted.
"My Percy is a real stick in the mud. Follows the rules like it's a religion, and he expects everyone else to do the same. Worse is he made prefect this year, so now when he wants to enforce them he can."
"What's a prefect?" Harry asked.
"You don't know?" Ron asked back. Harry shook his head. "What, didn't your parents tell you anything about being at Hogwarts?"
"My parents are dead. I've been living with my grandpa in New York and he didn't attend this school. So no." Harry stated.
Ron looked naturally uncomfortable and awkward, but then he noted another thing his companion had said. "Wait, New York as in America?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "Yes, unless you know of another New York."
"Then why are you going here? I mean, yeah our school is the best in the world, but still, why?"
Harry leaned back. "Because the guy running the school came all the way to New York to beg me to come here. And frankly I want to see if this was worth it."
Ron looked quite surprised by this. "You're saying Professor Dumbledore himself asked you to come to Hogwarts?" Harry nodded. "Why?"
"That's what I'm here to find out."
Time went by and the train left the London area, going through open grassy fields filled with cows and sheep. The two boys continued to talk, Ron talking about his family a bit but shying away from any topic that involved money, and Harry talked about New York without mentioning anything about the Fables. After noon a woman in robes pushing a trolley cart came by and offered them cheap treats. Both boys turned her down and she continued on her way.
Ron was hungry though and took out some wrapped sandwiches, only to sigh. "I told Mum I don't like corned beef."
"I wonder what Wendy left for me." Harry said, opening his case. Wendy had left him a lunchbox but he hadn't checked what was inside. In hindsight that probably wasn't the best choice.
"Aren't you supposed to have a trunk?" Ron asked.
"There's no rule against cases. And this is easier to carry than something that looks like it belongs to a pirate." Harry commented, finding and pulling out the lunchbox. He opened it and smiled. "Ah score!"
"What do you got?" Ron asked, curious.
"Authentic New York pizza." Harry answered, pulling out a slice and taking a bite. "Mmm... going to miss this over here."
"What is pete-saw?" The redhead boy asked, unfamiliar with the substance he saw in the other boy's hand.
"It's one of the best things ever made in America. Here, try one." Harry offered him a slice, a plain pepperoni one. Ron accepted, though he studied it like he thought it might try to bite him before he could bite it. Still, Ron was never one to pass up food and tried a bite.
"Wow." He said, surprised as he chewed. "This is good. I got to see if Mum can make this back home."
"I'd be happier if the school could." Harry remarked, eating more off his slice as well as enjoying some soda.
A knock at the door was made and it opened to show a boy their age who looked like he was one bad thing away from crying. "Excuse me, have either of you seen a toad?"
"On this train? No, were we supposed to?" Harry replied.
"You lost your pet?" Ron asked.
The boy shedded a tear. "No, but Trevor keeps getting away."
"He's a toad, how far could he have gotten before you noticed?" Ron asked, making the boy cry a little more than leave.
"That was rude you know." Harry pointed out.
Ron just shrugged. "It's not like I'm wrong am I? If a toad could get away from him like that, then either he wasn't paying any attention to it or isn't looking that hard to begin with. We're on a train, there's only so many places a toad could be."
Harry couldn't help but concede, so he chose to let the matter drop.
Once again the door opened, this time without a knock prior, and a bushy-haired girl showed herself. "Either of you seen a toad wandering around?"
"We already told him no." Ron remarked.
The girl kept looking at them both, as if she was trying to get them to say more. But since neither were giving her any kind of verbal bait, she left.
"Lot of people coming in, eh Harry?"
Ron panicked and jumped, and Harry looked down to see Jane poke her head out from an overhead compartment.
He smiled. "I knew you'd show up sooner or later Jane."
"Can you help me out? This is a bit of a tight spot."
Harry reached up and helped pull the girl out and land on her feet, where she stretched and sat down next to him.
"Who the heck are you and how the heck did you fit in there?" Ron asked, looking into the compartment as best he could. There was room, but nowhere near enough for a person to fit.
"Just a special talent of mine." She answered playfully. "The name's Jane Darling. What's yours?"
"...Ron Weasley." He looked uncomfortable. "Why are you here?"
"Why not? Can't a girl pop in and say hi to a friend?" She replied, then looked to the door. "Speaking of which..." She got up and waved her hand over the entirety of the door frame. "There, now no more unwelcome guests."
"Wait, you shouldn't be using magic outside of school." Ron warned.
Jane smirked and sat down again. "That's okay, I'm not a student."
Ron blinked. "You're not?" She nodded. "Then why are you on this train in the first place?"
"I don't know you well enough to answer that just yet."
"Can you at least tell me what you just did?"
Jane nodded. "Oh sure. I shadow-sealed the door, making it difficult to open. We're New Yorkers, we don't like people just barging in like that."
Harry nodded alongside her.
The shadow-sealing proved particularly useful when someone again tried to open the door minutes later but could not. They made several attempts before appearing leaving.
Harry sighed in frustration. "What is going on here? Why does everyone on this train suddenly want to come in here? I swear I had more privacy on the subways."
Fortunately the rest of the train trip went in peace, though it did take several hours. Ron was willing to chat and inform Harry about a few details he knew, such as his brothers and quidditch, but oddly enough the one subject he didn't want to go over was his sister. Whenever Harry brought her up, Ron got disinterested and changed the subject. So after a bit, he stopped too, but that didn't mean he was done on the matter.
Then came the time when the train began to slow down, a station coming into view beside a lake and a small town.
"I better go Harry, people seeing me might just cause confusion." Jane said, getting up. She released her shadow-seal over the door, then climbed back into the overhead compartment, Harry supporting her so she could get in.
After the compartment door closed, Ron opened it and saw nothing but an empty compartment. "How the heck did she do that?" He asked, waving his hand inside as if to ensure she wasn't invisible.
"Jane's just really good at hiding." Harry answered, grabbing his case and Hedwig's cage, waiting for the train to stop.
When it did and a whistle announced it was clear to depart, all the students left the vehicle, stepping out into the open. According to the station, they were in between the Hogwarts school and a town called Hogsmeade, and first year students were directed to go to a lake. Second year and up were directed to carriages that had no horses attached.
"Alright, firs' years over here. Get inter whatever boat yeh wan' but no more than four in a one." Hagrid directed, apparently the guy escorting them the rest of the way.
Harry nonchalantly got into a boat, while Ron sat next to him looking like he was expecting Jane to reappear at any moment. As he sat down, he saw Draco Malfoy from before do the same in another and the two boys looked at each other. Neither said anything, but Harry could tell that Malfoy wished to speak to him again.
Ron saw this and with a frown elbowed Harry. "Hey, I know you're new here, so let me give you some advice. Stay away from that one. He's nothing but a jerk."
"You know him?" Harry asked while more kids he didn't recognize got into the boat. Hagrid appeared to choose this boat as the one to personally steer and attach guiding ropes to, which Harry suspected was not a coincidence.
"No, but my dad and his interact once in a while at work, and Dad's never had a nice thing to say about that family. They're all pureblood snobs who think money is everything and look down on my family just because we don't have gold pouring out of our ears like they do. Plus they're all Slytherins and everyone knows all Slytherins are dark wizards."
Harry looked away and out of the corner of his eye he saw Hagrid nod somewhat to him. This did not fit right with the young boy and he looked back to Ron.
"So you've never actually spoken to that boy yourself before?"
Ron looked confused. "Why would I ever want to? He's-"
"Have you ever actually spoken to him before?" Harry repeated, more insistent this time.
Ron frowned. "No, but again why would I? I know what he's like."
"No you don't. All you know is what your father said about his father and you're using it against him. If someone hated your father and used that against you, would they be right?"
"Why are you defending a Malfoy? What are you, a Slytherin?" Ron asked, offended.
"Harry ain't no Slytherin boy. It'd be a dishonor ter his folks." Hagrid chipped in.
Harry gave both of them harsh looks. "I will be the one who decides what I think of others. I will not have either of you tell me who to like and who to hate. If that's not good enough for you or anyone else, then that's your problem."
Ron frowned but didn't say another word. In his mind, it was like Harry was already choosing Malfoy over him. Hagrid looked like he didn't know what to think and instead focused on getting the boat across the lake, speaking up once to warn the children about the giant squid.
"Here we are kids, welcome ter Hogwarts." He announced when they got to the other side of the lake.