Disclaimer: I'm not even going to say anything: I've said it enough
times.
Responses to reviews:
HAZZAGRIFF: Thanks for reviewing - yet again!
lilly1023: Thanks!
Arsenal: I'll try not to disappoint you!
Author's note: I'm sorry I took so long updating: I've spent the last few days falling asleep in the worst places as a result of an antibiotic I'm on, which has been making me drowsy. I didn't dare start typing because I was afraid I'd make more mistakes than normal and have to spend ages fixing them.
Chapter Six
"Hey Ron." The twins were back. "Listen, we're going down the middle of the train - Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."
"Right," mumbled Ron.
"Harry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then."
"Bye," said Harry and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door closed behind them.
"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out. Harry nodded. "Oh - well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. "And you've really got - you know..." He pointed at Harry's forehead.
Harry pulled back his fringe to reveal his scar. Ron stared.
"So that's where You-Know-Who - ?"
"Yes," said Harry, "but I can't remember it."
"Nothing?" said Ron eagerly.
"Well, I can remember a lot of green light, but nothing else."
"Wow," said Ron. He sat and stared at H rry for a moment, then looked out the window.
"Are your family all wizards?" Harry asked, finding Ron just as interesting as Ron found him.
"Er - yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."
"So you must know loads of magic already."
"Where'd you disappear when Voldemort was defeated?" Ron asked.
"I was picked up by someone and given to a Muggle foster family. Aunt Chris - she's the one who picked me up - comes 'round once in a while to see me. Come to think of it, she promised to visit me at school. I've got two foster-brothers and a foster-sister. My brothers, Sonic and Manic, let me help them in playing pranks on Sonia, my foster-sister. How many brothers do you have?"
"Five," said Ron. For some reason he was starting to look gloomy. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left - Bill was Head Boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a Prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. I'm expected to do as well, but if I do it's no big deal, because they did it first."
Harry, noticing Ron was becoming uncomfortable, changed the subject. He started talking about him home life.
"...And until my aunt told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard, my parents or Voldemort - "
Ron gasped.
"What?" asked Harry.
"_You said You-Know-Who's name_!" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people - "
"I'm not trying to be _brave_ or anything, saying the name, I just never called him anything else. Besides, Aunt Chris told me never to call him by any other name."
Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside their compartment and a smiling, dimpled lady slid the door open and asked, "Amything off the trolley, dears?"
Harry got up and went to see what she had to offer. Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Liquorice Wands and a number of other strange things. Not wanting to miss anything, Harry bought a bit of everything and paid the woman eleven Sickles and seven Knuts.
Ron stared as Harry brought it all back into the compartment and tipped onto an empty seat.
"Hungry, are you?"
"Yeah," said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty. Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches in there. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef."
"Swap you for one of these," Harry offered, holdiong up a pasty. Go on - "
"You don't want this, it's all dry," Ron protested. "She hasn't got much time, you know, with five of us."
"Go on, have a pasty," said Harry, having had precious few friends in his life, regardless of his good home. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through pasties and cakes, while the sandwiches lay forgotten.
There was a knock on the door of their compartment and a round-faced boy came in. He looked tearful.
"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"
When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I keep losing him!"
"He'll turn up," said Harry.
"Yes, said the boy miserably, "Well, if you see him..."
He left.
Two minutes later, a girl opened the compartment door. "Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one."
"We already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron.
The girl nodded, then asked, "Either of you tried any spells yet? I've tried a few simple ones just for practice. No-one in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard - I've learnt all our set books off by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough - I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?" She said all this very fast.
Harry looked at Ron and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn't learned all the set books off by heart either.
"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.
"Harry Potter," said Harry.
"Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course - I got a few extra reading books for background reading, and you're in 'Modern Magical History', 'The Rise and fall of the Dark Arts', and 'Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century'."
"I am?" said Harry, feeling dazed.
"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," commented Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best, I hear Dumbledore himself was one, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad... Anyway, I'd better go look for Neville's toad. You too had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon." She left.
"What house are your brothers in?" Harry asked.
"Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mum and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw _would_ be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."
"That's the house Voldemort was in?"
Ron flinched, but said, "Yeah." He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed.
"So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?"
"Charlie's in Romania studying dragons and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts."
After a little while, three boys entered the compartment and Harry immediately recognised the middle one: it was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop. He was looking at Harry with a great deal more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley.
"Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"
"Yeah," Harry answered. "I've heard about you, Malfoy, and I can't say I'm impressed with what I've heard. Your dad served Voldemort before he fell, and probably will if he comes back. I don't want to spend time with a Death Eater's kid. Go away, Malfoy."
Malfoy sneered and walked out, tailed by his two lackies. A few minutes later, a voice echoed down the train. "We will be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."
Harry and Ron quickly changed into their robes, stuffed the last of the sweets into their pockets and joined the other people exiting the train.
Once on the platform, the boys heard a deep, booming voice call, "Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here!" Harry saw an enormous man with a wild, bushy beard over the sea of heads.
"C'mon, follow me - any more firs'-years? Mind yer step, now! Firs'- years follow me!"
Slipping and stumbling forward, they followed the man down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. No-one spoke much.Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad sniffed a bit.
"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," the man called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."
There was a loud "Oooooh!"
The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop the high mountain was a grand castle.
"No more'n four to a boat!" the man called, pointing to a fleet of boats sitting at the lakeshore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Hermione and Neville.
"Everyone in?" the man shouted. "Right then - FORWARD!"
And the fleet of boats moved off all at once, gliding across the smooth, glasslike lake. Everyone was silent, staring up at the castle. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearerto the cliff on which it stood. Finally they came to a wide opening in the cliff face, and were carried along down a dark tunnel which seemed to be taking them right under the castle. They reached a kind of harbour where they climbed out of the boats.
They walked up a flight of steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door. "Everyone here?" The man raised a fist and knocked three times on the castle door.
What do you think? Please review!
Responses to reviews:
HAZZAGRIFF: Thanks for reviewing - yet again!
lilly1023: Thanks!
Arsenal: I'll try not to disappoint you!
Author's note: I'm sorry I took so long updating: I've spent the last few days falling asleep in the worst places as a result of an antibiotic I'm on, which has been making me drowsy. I didn't dare start typing because I was afraid I'd make more mistakes than normal and have to spend ages fixing them.
Chapter Six
"Hey Ron." The twins were back. "Listen, we're going down the middle of the train - Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."
"Right," mumbled Ron.
"Harry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then."
"Bye," said Harry and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door closed behind them.
"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out. Harry nodded. "Oh - well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said Ron. "And you've really got - you know..." He pointed at Harry's forehead.
Harry pulled back his fringe to reveal his scar. Ron stared.
"So that's where You-Know-Who - ?"
"Yes," said Harry, "but I can't remember it."
"Nothing?" said Ron eagerly.
"Well, I can remember a lot of green light, but nothing else."
"Wow," said Ron. He sat and stared at H rry for a moment, then looked out the window.
"Are your family all wizards?" Harry asked, finding Ron just as interesting as Ron found him.
"Er - yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."
"So you must know loads of magic already."
"Where'd you disappear when Voldemort was defeated?" Ron asked.
"I was picked up by someone and given to a Muggle foster family. Aunt Chris - she's the one who picked me up - comes 'round once in a while to see me. Come to think of it, she promised to visit me at school. I've got two foster-brothers and a foster-sister. My brothers, Sonic and Manic, let me help them in playing pranks on Sonia, my foster-sister. How many brothers do you have?"
"Five," said Ron. For some reason he was starting to look gloomy. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left - Bill was Head Boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a Prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. I'm expected to do as well, but if I do it's no big deal, because they did it first."
Harry, noticing Ron was becoming uncomfortable, changed the subject. He started talking about him home life.
"...And until my aunt told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard, my parents or Voldemort - "
Ron gasped.
"What?" asked Harry.
"_You said You-Know-Who's name_!" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people - "
"I'm not trying to be _brave_ or anything, saying the name, I just never called him anything else. Besides, Aunt Chris told me never to call him by any other name."
Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside their compartment and a smiling, dimpled lady slid the door open and asked, "Amything off the trolley, dears?"
Harry got up and went to see what she had to offer. Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Liquorice Wands and a number of other strange things. Not wanting to miss anything, Harry bought a bit of everything and paid the woman eleven Sickles and seven Knuts.
Ron stared as Harry brought it all back into the compartment and tipped onto an empty seat.
"Hungry, are you?"
"Yeah," said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty. Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches in there. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef."
"Swap you for one of these," Harry offered, holdiong up a pasty. Go on - "
"You don't want this, it's all dry," Ron protested. "She hasn't got much time, you know, with five of us."
"Go on, have a pasty," said Harry, having had precious few friends in his life, regardless of his good home. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through pasties and cakes, while the sandwiches lay forgotten.
There was a knock on the door of their compartment and a round-faced boy came in. He looked tearful.
"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"
When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I keep losing him!"
"He'll turn up," said Harry.
"Yes, said the boy miserably, "Well, if you see him..."
He left.
Two minutes later, a girl opened the compartment door. "Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one."
"We already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron.
The girl nodded, then asked, "Either of you tried any spells yet? I've tried a few simple ones just for practice. No-one in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard - I've learnt all our set books off by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough - I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?" She said all this very fast.
Harry looked at Ron and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn't learned all the set books off by heart either.
"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.
"Harry Potter," said Harry.
"Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course - I got a few extra reading books for background reading, and you're in 'Modern Magical History', 'The Rise and fall of the Dark Arts', and 'Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century'."
"I am?" said Harry, feeling dazed.
"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," commented Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best, I hear Dumbledore himself was one, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad... Anyway, I'd better go look for Neville's toad. You too had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon." She left.
"What house are your brothers in?" Harry asked.
"Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mum and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw _would_ be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."
"That's the house Voldemort was in?"
Ron flinched, but said, "Yeah." He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed.
"So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?"
"Charlie's in Romania studying dragons and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts."
After a little while, three boys entered the compartment and Harry immediately recognised the middle one: it was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop. He was looking at Harry with a great deal more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley.
"Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"
"Yeah," Harry answered. "I've heard about you, Malfoy, and I can't say I'm impressed with what I've heard. Your dad served Voldemort before he fell, and probably will if he comes back. I don't want to spend time with a Death Eater's kid. Go away, Malfoy."
Malfoy sneered and walked out, tailed by his two lackies. A few minutes later, a voice echoed down the train. "We will be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."
Harry and Ron quickly changed into their robes, stuffed the last of the sweets into their pockets and joined the other people exiting the train.
Once on the platform, the boys heard a deep, booming voice call, "Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here!" Harry saw an enormous man with a wild, bushy beard over the sea of heads.
"C'mon, follow me - any more firs'-years? Mind yer step, now! Firs'- years follow me!"
Slipping and stumbling forward, they followed the man down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. No-one spoke much.Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad sniffed a bit.
"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," the man called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."
There was a loud "Oooooh!"
The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop the high mountain was a grand castle.
"No more'n four to a boat!" the man called, pointing to a fleet of boats sitting at the lakeshore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Hermione and Neville.
"Everyone in?" the man shouted. "Right then - FORWARD!"
And the fleet of boats moved off all at once, gliding across the smooth, glasslike lake. Everyone was silent, staring up at the castle. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearerto the cliff on which it stood. Finally they came to a wide opening in the cliff face, and were carried along down a dark tunnel which seemed to be taking them right under the castle. They reached a kind of harbour where they climbed out of the boats.
They walked up a flight of steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door. "Everyone here?" The man raised a fist and knocked three times on the castle door.
What do you think? Please review!