Chapter 2
The train ride
The stay at the Leaky Cauldron was actually more pleasant than Harry had expected. It turned out that, to avoid having to bother staying much longer, Aunt Petunia had actually gone early and made a reservation for him. Harry was also glad to see that the witch assigned to keep an eye on him was an old acquaintance and friend. Of all the wizards to be assigned to keep watch over him, he had been pleased to see Nymphadora Tonks gotten he job. But, his stay was not quite as comfortable as it had at first seemed. It was sometimes hard to venture back out into Diagon Alley to purchase his school things at all. People would often come up to him, exclaim it was Harry Potter, then ask for a personal account of the story. In fact, by the time the Dursleys returned several weeks later to take him to King's Cross station, he never wanted to have to even think about it again! Much less tell the story to various strangers.
"Well, here we are." said Uncle Vernon sourly. "Now, get on that train with your freaky little friends."
Tonks, who had accompanied him, seemed quite appalled by Uncle Vernon's attitude towards Harry.
"Mr. Dursley. You're not going to see him for another year! Why not say goodbye or be nice?"
Uncle Vernon sniffed.
"Go! Both of you!"
And with that he, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley turned around and stalked. Harry noticed that TOnks had pulled her wand and flicked it slightly. Uncle Vernon fell to the floor in a great heap. Dudley tripped and fell on top of him, and Aunt Petunia stood, blushing at the scene.
"Wotchit, Harry." Tonks said, clearly pleased with herself. "Best get on the train!"
Harry grinned, grabbed his trolley and strode briskly toward the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. Just when it seemed that he would crash, he walked right through, and emerged before a brick wall on the other side. Nearby, a large sign read 'Platform 9 3/4'. All around him, students were bustling to and fro. A group of third years stood grinning not too far away from him, talking in hushed voices. Harry suspected that, as the lead trouble-makers Fred and George Weasley had graduated recently, all sorts of students had become rather keen on claiming the title of troublemaker, and these boys had just pulled a stunt to help gain that title.
"Well, go on!" Tonks said suddenly, making Harry jump. "You don't want to miss the train, now do you?" Harry strolled toward the train, waving goodbye to Tonks. After selecting a compartment near the very back, he simply sat and waited. About ten minutes later, Neville Longbottom arrived, seating himself next to Harry. The two boys didn't speak, old memories still lingering. The department of mysteries, the prophecy. Harry had yet to tell anybody that, if Voldemort hadn't gone after Harry, then he would have gone for Neville. He had also failed to mention to another living person that his destiny was to either kill lord Voldemort and save the wizarding world, or be killed and doom them all. The train was slowly starting to move, thick puffs of steam billowing from the top. Ron and Hermione burst into the cabin and stored their trunks up with the others. Then, spurting their apologies, they dashed off in the direction of the prefects cabin. Pigwidgeon hooted disheveled, and Hermione's ginger cat, Crookshanks, attempted to follow his mistress, but Harry grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.
As the train moved steadily in the direction of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After a time, Harry and Neville found themselves deep in conversation about their summers. Or, more Neville was talking and Harry was avoiding having to mention his own stay at the Dursleys. About an hour into the trip, Harry purchased some snacks from the woman pushing the trolley, and a half an hour after that, Hermione and Ron came into the carriage. Crookshanks leapt nimbly into Hermione's lap, purring loudly.
"Oh man, I'm starving!" Ron insisted, grabbing a cauldron cake and stuffing it into his mouth. "Ah! Musch Be'er!"
"Oh, chew your food, Ron!" Hermione insisted. Ron rolled his eyes. Sensing an argument, Harry interrupted.
"SO. Who do you think our new defense against the dark arts teacher is gonna be?"
"Dunno." Ron replied. "It's not like they're going to last for very long. Must I repeat it? One dead, one's memory reversed, one sacked, one locked in a trunk for a year, and the one taking his place got his soul sicked out, and one had to tolerate Fred and George, Peeves, and the entire school, then got attacked by centaurs. I'm pretty sure this one's not going to fare much better!"
"I hope Snape doesn't get the job!" Neville put in, suppressing a shiver. They all knew that poor Neville was terrified of Snape, and they all recalled how terrible it had been to have as a teacher for two classes in their third year.
"I'm sure he won't!" Hermione said. "He can't handle two subjects!"
"Umbridge got Defense Against the Dark Arts, and she was temporary headmistress, remember?"
"Yes, well." said Hermione. "See how well she turned out?"
A sudden thumping noise met their ears. Outside their compartment, someone was struggling to get a large trunk through the narrow aisles.
"Damn aisles! Why are they so small? Who built these things anyway? As if it isn't even hard enough to find a place to sit anyway!" Their door slid open and a young woman with a lightly freckled tanned face, shoulder-blade length auburn locks and icy sky blue eyes stared down at them. She said something very quickly, with an obvious accent, and they didn't understand a word.
"Huh?" Ron said, staring. The girl glared at him, then repeated herself very slowly.
"Is. This. Compartment. Full?"
"No." Hermione said. "Come on in."
The girl heaved a large trunk inside and stored it up with the rest of their trunks. Harry noticed that she had a longbow strapped to it, almost as big as she was. But before she could say anything, she had seated herself beside Ron, right next to the window.
"Hi, I'm Hermione Granger." Hermione said pleasantly.
Hermione shook the girl's hand.
"Ron Weasley."
"Neville Longbottom."
"Harry Potter."
"It's nice to meet you." she said pleasantly. Ron once again stared at her.
"What?" she asked, shifting uneasily away from him.
"Aren't you going to stare at him, or say something?"
"At Harry or Neville?"
"Harry! Do you realize that you're the first person I've met who hasn't stared at him?"
"Why would I stare at him? I mean, if you say I should be attracted to a complete stranger-"
"He defeated You-Know-Who!"
"No, I don't know who."
"He tried to kill me when I was a baby." Harry explained. "But the curse rebounded and almost killed him. I've had a couple of other encounters with him. His real name's Voldemort." Everybody flinched slightly, except for the girl and Harry.
"You're not from around here, are you?" Neville said.
"Gee, how could you tell?" she said sarcastically.
"Well, you sound like one of those cowboys."
The girl rolled her eyes.
"It's southern! I'm from Texas, America."
"Then what are you doing here?" Hermione asked.
"None of those schools would accept me."
"Excuse me for asking." Hermione went on. "But aren't you a bit old to be starting school like this." the girl shrugged.
"I'm sorry." Harry said. "But we didn't get your name."
"I'm Holly." she said. "Holly Brown. Pretty plain name."
"Why do you have a bow?" Neville asked. So, Harry hadn't been the only one to notice.
"It's sort of a trinket. I've had it for years, and I couldn't bear to leave it behind."
For the next few hours, the five students talked. They told Holly all about Hogwarts, and in turn, she told them all about Texas. Harry noticed that along with faded blue jeans and yellow shirt, ash also wore a large trench coat-like coat, brown scarves, and brown gloves.
"It's really cold in England!" she insisted. "I'd hate to find out how cold it gets in the winter! Of course, it would be nice to see snow!"
Hermione checked her watch and announced that they'd best change. Holly and Hermione left for the another compartment, and together, the boys slipped out of their muggle clothing and into their Hogwarts robes. Harry saw, along with Ron's trunk, there were two wooden crates right next to Pig's cage.
"What are those?"
Ron flushed.
"Fred and George figured that, since I'm still at Hogwarts, I could be their new salesperson! Besides, I needed to pay off that debt anyway. I hope you like those balls, Harry! I'm gonna be working until Christmas to pay them off."
Once they were all changed, Hermione returned.
"Holly won't be for a while. She didn't want to change in the same room as me. Hermione sat down, the leapt up and brushed some white feathers off the seat.
"Harry, I think Hedwig is malting."
"No. She's been in here cage this whole time."
Their conversation was cut short when Holly returned. Rather than one of the houses stamped over her heart, she had the Hogwarts crest. It would be odd to see a sixth year in the sorting.
The train slowed to a halt as they reached the school.
Cool, huh? listen, we need ideas for a DADA teacher!-Talon
The train ride
The stay at the Leaky Cauldron was actually more pleasant than Harry had expected. It turned out that, to avoid having to bother staying much longer, Aunt Petunia had actually gone early and made a reservation for him. Harry was also glad to see that the witch assigned to keep an eye on him was an old acquaintance and friend. Of all the wizards to be assigned to keep watch over him, he had been pleased to see Nymphadora Tonks gotten he job. But, his stay was not quite as comfortable as it had at first seemed. It was sometimes hard to venture back out into Diagon Alley to purchase his school things at all. People would often come up to him, exclaim it was Harry Potter, then ask for a personal account of the story. In fact, by the time the Dursleys returned several weeks later to take him to King's Cross station, he never wanted to have to even think about it again! Much less tell the story to various strangers.
"Well, here we are." said Uncle Vernon sourly. "Now, get on that train with your freaky little friends."
Tonks, who had accompanied him, seemed quite appalled by Uncle Vernon's attitude towards Harry.
"Mr. Dursley. You're not going to see him for another year! Why not say goodbye or be nice?"
Uncle Vernon sniffed.
"Go! Both of you!"
And with that he, Aunt Petunia, and Dudley turned around and stalked. Harry noticed that TOnks had pulled her wand and flicked it slightly. Uncle Vernon fell to the floor in a great heap. Dudley tripped and fell on top of him, and Aunt Petunia stood, blushing at the scene.
"Wotchit, Harry." Tonks said, clearly pleased with herself. "Best get on the train!"
Harry grinned, grabbed his trolley and strode briskly toward the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. Just when it seemed that he would crash, he walked right through, and emerged before a brick wall on the other side. Nearby, a large sign read 'Platform 9 3/4'. All around him, students were bustling to and fro. A group of third years stood grinning not too far away from him, talking in hushed voices. Harry suspected that, as the lead trouble-makers Fred and George Weasley had graduated recently, all sorts of students had become rather keen on claiming the title of troublemaker, and these boys had just pulled a stunt to help gain that title.
"Well, go on!" Tonks said suddenly, making Harry jump. "You don't want to miss the train, now do you?" Harry strolled toward the train, waving goodbye to Tonks. After selecting a compartment near the very back, he simply sat and waited. About ten minutes later, Neville Longbottom arrived, seating himself next to Harry. The two boys didn't speak, old memories still lingering. The department of mysteries, the prophecy. Harry had yet to tell anybody that, if Voldemort hadn't gone after Harry, then he would have gone for Neville. He had also failed to mention to another living person that his destiny was to either kill lord Voldemort and save the wizarding world, or be killed and doom them all. The train was slowly starting to move, thick puffs of steam billowing from the top. Ron and Hermione burst into the cabin and stored their trunks up with the others. Then, spurting their apologies, they dashed off in the direction of the prefects cabin. Pigwidgeon hooted disheveled, and Hermione's ginger cat, Crookshanks, attempted to follow his mistress, but Harry grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.
As the train moved steadily in the direction of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After a time, Harry and Neville found themselves deep in conversation about their summers. Or, more Neville was talking and Harry was avoiding having to mention his own stay at the Dursleys. About an hour into the trip, Harry purchased some snacks from the woman pushing the trolley, and a half an hour after that, Hermione and Ron came into the carriage. Crookshanks leapt nimbly into Hermione's lap, purring loudly.
"Oh man, I'm starving!" Ron insisted, grabbing a cauldron cake and stuffing it into his mouth. "Ah! Musch Be'er!"
"Oh, chew your food, Ron!" Hermione insisted. Ron rolled his eyes. Sensing an argument, Harry interrupted.
"SO. Who do you think our new defense against the dark arts teacher is gonna be?"
"Dunno." Ron replied. "It's not like they're going to last for very long. Must I repeat it? One dead, one's memory reversed, one sacked, one locked in a trunk for a year, and the one taking his place got his soul sicked out, and one had to tolerate Fred and George, Peeves, and the entire school, then got attacked by centaurs. I'm pretty sure this one's not going to fare much better!"
"I hope Snape doesn't get the job!" Neville put in, suppressing a shiver. They all knew that poor Neville was terrified of Snape, and they all recalled how terrible it had been to have as a teacher for two classes in their third year.
"I'm sure he won't!" Hermione said. "He can't handle two subjects!"
"Umbridge got Defense Against the Dark Arts, and she was temporary headmistress, remember?"
"Yes, well." said Hermione. "See how well she turned out?"
A sudden thumping noise met their ears. Outside their compartment, someone was struggling to get a large trunk through the narrow aisles.
"Damn aisles! Why are they so small? Who built these things anyway? As if it isn't even hard enough to find a place to sit anyway!" Their door slid open and a young woman with a lightly freckled tanned face, shoulder-blade length auburn locks and icy sky blue eyes stared down at them. She said something very quickly, with an obvious accent, and they didn't understand a word.
"Huh?" Ron said, staring. The girl glared at him, then repeated herself very slowly.
"Is. This. Compartment. Full?"
"No." Hermione said. "Come on in."
The girl heaved a large trunk inside and stored it up with the rest of their trunks. Harry noticed that she had a longbow strapped to it, almost as big as she was. But before she could say anything, she had seated herself beside Ron, right next to the window.
"Hi, I'm Hermione Granger." Hermione said pleasantly.
Hermione shook the girl's hand.
"Ron Weasley."
"Neville Longbottom."
"Harry Potter."
"It's nice to meet you." she said pleasantly. Ron once again stared at her.
"What?" she asked, shifting uneasily away from him.
"Aren't you going to stare at him, or say something?"
"At Harry or Neville?"
"Harry! Do you realize that you're the first person I've met who hasn't stared at him?"
"Why would I stare at him? I mean, if you say I should be attracted to a complete stranger-"
"He defeated You-Know-Who!"
"No, I don't know who."
"He tried to kill me when I was a baby." Harry explained. "But the curse rebounded and almost killed him. I've had a couple of other encounters with him. His real name's Voldemort." Everybody flinched slightly, except for the girl and Harry.
"You're not from around here, are you?" Neville said.
"Gee, how could you tell?" she said sarcastically.
"Well, you sound like one of those cowboys."
The girl rolled her eyes.
"It's southern! I'm from Texas, America."
"Then what are you doing here?" Hermione asked.
"None of those schools would accept me."
"Excuse me for asking." Hermione went on. "But aren't you a bit old to be starting school like this." the girl shrugged.
"I'm sorry." Harry said. "But we didn't get your name."
"I'm Holly." she said. "Holly Brown. Pretty plain name."
"Why do you have a bow?" Neville asked. So, Harry hadn't been the only one to notice.
"It's sort of a trinket. I've had it for years, and I couldn't bear to leave it behind."
For the next few hours, the five students talked. They told Holly all about Hogwarts, and in turn, she told them all about Texas. Harry noticed that along with faded blue jeans and yellow shirt, ash also wore a large trench coat-like coat, brown scarves, and brown gloves.
"It's really cold in England!" she insisted. "I'd hate to find out how cold it gets in the winter! Of course, it would be nice to see snow!"
Hermione checked her watch and announced that they'd best change. Holly and Hermione left for the another compartment, and together, the boys slipped out of their muggle clothing and into their Hogwarts robes. Harry saw, along with Ron's trunk, there were two wooden crates right next to Pig's cage.
"What are those?"
Ron flushed.
"Fred and George figured that, since I'm still at Hogwarts, I could be their new salesperson! Besides, I needed to pay off that debt anyway. I hope you like those balls, Harry! I'm gonna be working until Christmas to pay them off."
Once they were all changed, Hermione returned.
"Holly won't be for a while. She didn't want to change in the same room as me. Hermione sat down, the leapt up and brushed some white feathers off the seat.
"Harry, I think Hedwig is malting."
"No. She's been in here cage this whole time."
Their conversation was cut short when Holly returned. Rather than one of the houses stamped over her heart, she had the Hogwarts crest. It would be odd to see a sixth year in the sorting.
The train slowed to a halt as they reached the school.
Cool, huh? listen, we need ideas for a DADA teacher!-Talon