The Hogwarts Express

It was September 1st. Harry, Hermione, Lily, and James were in their car. They were heading to Kings Cross Station from their home in Hampstead. They finally arrived at Kings Cross. "That must've taken at least forty five minutes.." said Hermione as they were unloading their trunks. "Yeah, there was a lot of traffic today." said James. "Come on, we're still 30 minutes early. Do you both want something to eat?" asked Lily, checking her watch. "Yeah, sure. Can we have a hamburger each, please?" Harry asked. "Yes, sure, Harry." replied James. James went and bought the four of them some hamburgers. They ate and waited on the platform. When it was 10:45, James said, "C'mon, we don't want to be late, do we?"

They hurried off to a pillar between platforms nine and ten. Lily said, "This is how you get into the barrier." as she walked towards the pillar. Harry was afraid that she was going to crash, but she didn't. She simply dissolved into the pillar. He was shocked. This time, he went first. He ran towards the wall because James told them to if they were scared of ramming into the wall. Instead of hitting the pillar, he materialized into a new place. There was an old vintage-style train waiting there for him. A sign on the wall told him he was on Platform 9 ¾.

He moved aside just in time as Hermione came through the pillar with Lily. "Come on, dears, time to board the train." They boarded the train and chose a compartment where they could see James and Lily. Lily was advising Harry on how to impress everyone with his magical abilities, telling him that she was at the top of her year at Hogwarts, which was confirmed by James. "You'd better get good grades, Harry, or your mother's not going to be happy.." said James, and Lily stared at him. "Of course, I won't be happy either.." said James rather hastily. Harry looked at his watch. It was 10:55 AM. He knew the train would leave at exactly 11 'o' clock. Just then, he saw a family (he guessed it was a family) that all had red hair. They had just come through the barrier at the last minute. A small boy that looked around Harry's age was boarding the train. 2 identical ones were boarding after him. They walked down the corridor of the train; apparently it was full because they didn't get into any of the compartments. They stopped at Harry's compartment, because there was an empty seat. "Ron, you can sit here- BLIMEY!" One of the twins exclaimed. He was staring at Harry. Particularly his forehead. "I thought you were-" "Dead." The other twin finished for him. "Well, I know many people think I'm dead, but I actually survived. We just fled the house. Only Dumbledore and Sirius knew we were alive." Harry said. "Woah. That's-" He looked like he was going to say more, but just then, their mother called them. "Fred? George? Are you there?" came a voice from the door. "Coming, Mum!" With a last look at Harry, they jumped off the train. He peeked through the window. He saw his parents conversing with the red-haired family.

The children got on board, and Harry's parents came to say goodbye. They reminded him about what he had to do, and Harry was getting quite irritated, but listened anyway. The train started to move and they rounded the corner. They were chatting, and the youngest boy from the red-haired family came to the compartment. "D'you mind? Everywhere else is full." He said. "Not at all," Harry and Hermione said together. "I'm Ron, by the way. Ron Weasley." said the boy. "I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger." said Hermione. "I'm Harry. Harry Potter. But you already know that." Harry said. Ron just looked at him wide-eyed. "So, is it true then, do you really have the- the-" He was stammering. "The what?" Harry asked. Ron leaned in and said "Scar." in a rather low whisper. Harry just lifted his hair up and showed him the lightning shaped scar on his forehead."Wicked!" Ron said, grinning. Harry grinned back. Hermione didn't seem interested in the conversation. She was reading A Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1 and was trying to urge Harry and Ron to read it as well. They finally gave in and started reading. Harry looked down the hall and saw a plump woman pushing a food cart. A few minutes later, she stopped at their cart. "Anything off the trolley, dears?" Ron muttered that he had some sandwiches, but Harry said that he'll take some. He knew what type to expect. He took some of each, and soon, his pockets were filled with Drooble's Best Blowing Gum and Bertie Botts' Every Flavor Beans. The sandwiches lay forgotten on the seats, and the three of them were chatting and eating everything. Harry already had his favorite flavor of Bertie Botts' Every Flavor Beans, and so did the other two.

A few minutes later, when the three of them had decided to keep all the chocolates and candies for later, the door opened and a plump boy asked, "Sorry" He sounded tearful. "But have any of you seen a toad at all?" Ron shook his head, but Harry had seen it. "Just down the corridor, he was hopping around the end of one of the compartments." Harry pointed the boy in the direction, who said his name was Neville."

When Harry was about 20 pages into the book, the door opened again. This time, it wasn't Neville, but the boy that Harry saw in Madam Malkin's Robes. 2 beefy boys were behind him. "Is it true? They were saying in the train that Harry Potter was in this compartment." Harry was listening, but then his gaze turned to the two beefy boys. Malfoy noticed Harry looking at the boys and said, "This is Crabbe, and Goyle. And I'm Malfoy." He stepped up to Harry and said, "Draco Malfoy." Ron gave a slight cough and Hermione was just staring at the boy who had apparently disrupted something important. "Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask for yours. Red hair, and a hand-me-down robe? You must be a Weasley." He said, looking at Ron. Ron blushed. "You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort." He said, looking at Hermione and Ron. "Oh yeah? Well, let's see.. Would I make friends with someone who has no history of wrong-doing," He said, gesturing to Ron "Or a family who's been accused of supporting Voldemort?"

As soon as he said 'Voldemort' Ron winced, and Draco looked at him in shock. "How dare you say the name? Think you're better than others, eh, Potter?" He sneered. "Fine, then, I'll leave. Don't blame me if you get jeered at for being in the company of a blood traitor and a mudblood." Ron and Harry both gasped at this. Harry furiously muttered, "Colloshoo" and when Malfoy tried to go back to his compartment, he tripped, and fell straight on his nose. Everyone around laughed. "MY FATHER WILL HEAR ABOUT THIS, POTTER." Harry just laughed. Malfoy was struggling to get to his feet. Finally, Harry felt sorry and finally undid the hex, and Malfoy went back into his compartment. Harry didn't care. He knew that he didn't break the Decree for Underage Wizardry because he was on his way to school, and you could use magic on the train.

A few hours later, they decided to change into robes, because Harry told Ron and Hermione that they would arrive at Hogwarts when it was going to be night, and it was starting to turn dark. They'd been practicing spells they'd learned from the book, and finally, they saw a castle near the horizon. "We're here." Harry said. They got off, and Harry saw Hagrid on the platform. "FIRS' YEARS! FIRS' YEARS THIS WAY!" he yelled. "Hey, Hagrid!" Harry and Hermione said cheerfully. "'Ello Harry and Hermione! Had a good time?" They nodded. "Good! Follow me now!" They looked around and saw an entire line of people who looked the same age at them. One of them was Malfoy. Harry gave a look of pure disgust at him. They followed Hagrid to the edge of a lake where they saw at least a dozen boats. "Four people on a boat, or else it's gonna sink." Harry, Ron, Neville, and Hermione settled into a boat. In another, Draco was struggling to get Crabbe and Goyle together, but then decided to go sit in another boat because he couldn't fit with the both of them. Harry snickered at this. Suddenly, the boat started moving. He didn't see either Neville, Hermione or Ron rowing it, so it was moving on its own.

They were moving toward a cliff, and when they neared, everyone ducked to miss the low cliff. They entered what looked like an underground tunnel, so Harry knew they were below the castle. They finally docked at what looked like an underground harbor. "Oy! You there! Is this yer toad?" Hagrid asked as they climbed out of the boat. "Trevor!" said Neville, who scrambled to pick up the toad. They walked up a flight of stairs and stopped at the large oak front door. "Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.