The Philosopher's Stone

Chapter Four

Platform 9 ¾

England

Edward was still not completely happy with this arrangement as he lead Yuery through the train station in search of the boy's platform. The trip had already been long, and the weather was as uncomfortable as he remembered. It did not help that they had traveled with Hedwig this entire time, who was not impressed with the long train ride anymore than Edward had been.

He had reluctantly agreed to arrive in the usual manner; therefore, he would be leaving Yuery on the platform with the other students instead of taking him all of the way to the school. In the crowd, he had hoped to spot the Blacks , no they were the Malfoys here, so the boys could travel together, but so far, he had not seen them.

"Dad, I think they are Hogwarts students." Yuery said as he pointed to a large family with bright red hair as they rushed by with several trolleys and an owl.

"Good catch." Ed nodded and followed behind the family, as they arrived at a particular pillar and began disappearing through it. Ed noticed the slight shimmer of energy in the barrier as they passed through it, even as he pushed Yuery forward to join the que and watched for strangers noticing them.

"Oh, Hello dear. You must be a first year like my Ron." The woman said with a smile as she saw Yuery standing at the back right behind Ron and his trolley. "

"Yes ma'am , so we get through at this point then?" Yuery asked.

"Yes, that's right." She said, before spotting Ed. "Hello. Molly Weasley."

"Edward Elric, and this is Yuery." Ed said in response. He was wearing his formal uniform instead of normal traveling clothes or his everyday uniform, his medals all shined. He smiled brightly at the short woman in front of him and shook her hand as her older boys slipped through the barrier.

"Ron, Yuery, why don't you go next? You can go together if you're nervous." She said as she turned her attention back to the children.

The boys rushed through the barrier together, followed closely by Edward then Mrs. Weasley and her daughter. Yuery looked around wide eyed at the bustling platform filled with students and their families. It seemed there might be more students here than at Xerxes then. His Dad was still talking to Mrs. Weasley and her daughter as the twins came up and offered to help get his trunk on board. They had already placed their own luggage. Ron stuck to his side with a smile, as the twins, introduced as Fred and George, helped them with their trunks.

"Would you like to sit together?" Ron asked, as the boys waved at their parents and climbed aboard. Yuery agreed but looked around for the cabin Draco had sat inside. Both Draco and Yuery had been instructed not to admit they knew each other since Draco had been hiding with his mother and they hoped to keep where hidden. However, the boys had agreed to 'meet' on the train instead of pretending to be strangers the whole year.

He didn't spot Draco much to his disappointment and joined Ron in an empty cabin. He hoped Draco caught up to him. He would insist on Draco sitting with them if he came in, of course. The twins came back in to tell them their mom and Yuery's Dad wanted them to pop out to say goodbye, just as they settled their luggage into the overhead racks.

Yuery jumped up quickly to go wave at his Dad, Ron following behind slightly slower with the twins trailing behind and joined by another brother as they all waved goodbye. They returned to their cabin as the train started to move and Ron pulled a rat from his pocket. "This is Scampers. He's pretty useless, but we're allowed a pet."

"Hedwig, I just got her as a birthday gift." Yuery said as he pointed to the cage but kept his eyes on the rat. Something about it felt off. He was trying to decide if it was something to do with magic or if it was something else, because it felt human.

The rat appeared to be a normal rat and wasn't behaving strangely. Ron was explaining how the rat used to belong to one of his brothers. Yuery nodded along, before adding. "We have two dogs, one is my grandmother's, and the other is mine, my grandfather gave her to me when I was a baby. Apparently, my Dad wasn't happy about it. We also have a cat, that technically belongs to my uncle but its always lived with us and my Dad's owl. Now my owl too. So, we have a lot of pets."

"Oh, we have a couple of owls and my rat, and chickens. Lots of chickens." Ron said with a smile then added with a laugh. "Mostly though, we have kids."

"We have kids too." Yuery nodded. "My Dad has two brothers and a sister, and I have two brothers and three sisters, and my uncle has a baby boy."

"Oh, well I meant in my house though. I have five brothers and a sister. You have a lot too." Ron said, perking up at the idea of meeting someone else with a big family. "Where are you? I'm second youngest."

"I'm eldest, then William, Maes, Trisha, Sarah and Izumi." Yuery said. "Plus, Tad and Lizzie are little too. Tad shares a room with me and William and Maes."

Before the conversation could continue, the door came open and Draco walked in already changed into his school uniform. "There's a rumor up and down the train that Harry Potter is attending this year and on the train." Draco flopped down in the seat next to Yuery. "Thought you should know."

"I know you, you're Draco Malfoy. You were in all the papers not long ago. They said your Dad is evil." Ron blurts out and Draco bristles.

"Well, I don't have to ask who you are, the hair and worn robes give it away, you must be one of the Weasleys." Draco sneered. He hated talking about his Dad and though his time in Amestris had shed most of the habits his father had instilled in him, he could still pull off rude and hateful easily.

Yuery shifted uncomfortably in his seat, he didn't want to be in the middle of an argument. Draco was already his friend, not that he was allowed to defend him or admit that, but Ron seemed nice too. He hoped the fight didn't go any further as Draco rose. "I think I should move to a nicer cabin. This one is infested with vermin." Draco pointed at Scampers as he said it, before storming out of the cabin.

"He didn't seem that bad, why did you pick on him?" Yuery frowned.

"Dad says the Malfoys are all bad news and to stay away from them. They are supporters of You Know Who. So, are you really Harry Potter then?" Ron rushed out.

"I'm Yuery Elric." Yuery said with a frown.

"Yeah, but Malfoy seemed to think they meant you. They say Harry would have black hair from his Dad and Green eyes from his mom." Ron said.

"Oh that. Yes, well my first name was Harry Potter, but I am Yuery Elric now, so please call me Yuery."

"Oh, of course. You're in hiding then? I heard your whole family was killed."

"I'm not in hiding. I grew up with my family. My first family did die but that was a long time ago, and I don't really know anything about it."

They lapsed into silence after that, neither really knowing what to say. Ron had continued to call him Yuery at least, and aside from his rude behavior toward Draco he seemed nice enough. Yuery decided to take a walk and see if he could find his friend, and perhaps convince him to come back just when a girl entered and asked about a toad. Then the snack trolley came by, and Yuery bought a few treats to share, before they pulled on their robes.

Draco reappeared at this point and flopped back down next to Yuery before grabbing up one of the chocolate frogs. "Crabbe and Goyle want me to sit with them. Do you mind if I have this one?"

"Of course, they aren't real though?" Yuery asked, after trying the jellybeans he wasn't completely trusting of the magic candy.

"No, but they are enchanted to hop around." Ron said, "The cards are what you really want."

"Bah. It's a Dumbledore. Here you can have it." Draco said handing Yuery the card. Yuery read it with interest since the name was the same as the man Dad said he didn't trust.

It mentioned Dumbledore's work with Flamel, which was a name Yuery knew well. It also mentioned defeating a dark wizard, and a bunch of accomplishments. Ron opened another one, and from there the three boys seemed to be getting along well enough. The girl, who had introduced herself as Hermione Granger when she reappeared, came in once again to tell them they were getting close to the school.

Soon after the train slowed and came to a stop as the children were instructed to leave their things behind and head to the platform. Yuery looked back uncertainly at this, but Ron assured him that the school would transport their things.

As the students flooded the platform, Hagrid stood off to the side calling for the first years to come to him. Everyone else made their way straight forward as the first years gathered around the large man. He spotted Yuery in the crowd as they all walked toward the boats on the lake "You alright there, Harry?" he asked, patting Yuery on the shoulder.

"It's Yuery sir, and I'm fine. How are you?" Yuery asked politely.

"I'm doing well, I hope the owl is to your liking."

"Yes, she's a very nice bird, thank you again." Yuery said and the conversation ended there as Hagrid returned his attention to the crowd to give them instructions on the boats. Yuery climbed into one quickly, followed by Ron and Draco and they were joined by another boy Neville Longbottom.

Neville sat miserably hunched in his seat not really saying anything to the others as their boat started to move. He explained quietly that his toad had gone missing on the train, and he hadn't been able to find it. "Well, it'll probably turn up when they bring up the luggage." Ron shrugged.

"Does he go missing often?" Yuery asked.

"I haven't had him long. I got him for my birthday." Neville sniffed. "Gram gave him to me as a birthday gift when I actually got into Hogwarts."

"Why wouldn't you have gotten in?" Yuery frowned.

"My family was fairly convinced I was a squib actually." Neville said.

"A squib? At Hogwarts? Why?" Draco demanded.

"Well, I'm not actually a squib, obviously." Neville said before turning away from the other boys.

"What is that?" Yuery asked Rob and Draco.

"A squib is a non-magic users born into a magic family." Ron explained. "It isn't common."

"It would be stupid to send a squib to a magic school." Draco added. "How would they take lessons? It wouldn't be fair."

Shortly after they landed, Hagrid handed the toad, Travis, back to Neville who seemed much happier afterward, before they made their way up the stairs into the castle. Ron seemed nervous suddenly, and did Neville, as they mentioned hearing there was a test. Draco didn't show his nerves, and Yuery was not terribly concerned. Surely, they wouldn't test first years beyond what you learned in accidental magic prevention classes.

"I already read all of the textbooks, so I think I would do well on a written exam. There won't be a practical exam this soon will there?" Hermione whispered behind them.

"Who finishes the books before school even starts? I haven't even looked through mine." Ron said.

"I finished them." Yuery said, with a nod toward Hermione. He had found a fellow bookworm it seemed.

"I read the chapter highlights already, and all of potions and transfiguration." Draco said.

"I read History of Magic and Herbology, and the chapter highlights for the rest" Neville agreed.

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