Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone: Take Two

by MysticSong1978

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot switch and any original characters I may add in as I deem necessary. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling. Should any other literary references be used, they will be so noted at that point.

Dialogue is in double quotes ("") and Thoughts are in single quotes ('').

The Dursley's dropped him off at the station, chortling about his imaginary train, thoroughly glad to be rid of the bloody boy and his ruddy bird which Harry had named Hedwig, a name he'd found in Hogwarts, a History. Harry had barely gotten his belongings out of the car before the Dursley's scorched away; no doubt hoping to avoid the potential wrath of Severus Snape.

Harry had no idea how to find a magic train. He tried to ask for help, but the station masters were all Muggles and thought Harry was just a prankster. As he ambled along, trying to decide if he should owl Snape after all, he heard a delightfully cheery voice mention 'Muggles' and '9 ¾'. He turned to see a gaggle of red-headed children, and presumably, their mother, laden down with trunks . . . and an owl! He watched the oldest, and then a set of twins walk right through a brick wall. Before they could all leave, Harry approached them. "Excuse me," he stammered.

"Your first time, is it dear?" Harry nodded, "It's Ron's first year too," the mother said, pointing to a boy Harry's age. Harry smiled tentatively at Ron, who grinned cheerfully at him.

"How do I get to the train, Ma'am?"

"My, my, aren't you a polite young man! Your parents must be very proud of you!" Harry wisely chose not to reply to that. The friendly woman continued, "Just go on through that wall and you'll find the Hogwarts Express on the other side. Best to do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous." Harry took her advice and pelted towards the wall. He found himself suddenly in an entirely new station, gasping for breath, staring at a lovely red train that was steaming and ready to go, waiting for all the students to hop aboard. Harry left Hedwig with the other owls, and climbed in to find a seat, pulling his trunk behind him.

He was very grateful for the lightening charm Snape had apparently added to it, as it was a lot lighter than he remembered it being at The Leaky Cauldron. And Vernon had made him keep it in the closet under the stairs, so that they could make sure he didn't 'do anything freaky' with it. Luckily, the box of leftover foods went completely unnoticed. Harry suspected Snape had had something to do with that as well.

A few minutes after Harry got settled in his cabin, Ron showed up. "Mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full up."


Updated 7 January 2017

Reminder: Very short chapters have been expanded as much as possible during revisions.

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