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 ('').
Chapter Eleven:
Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"
Harry, who, as usual, hadn't had any breakfast, leapt to his feet, but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Harry went out to the corridor.
He had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver, he was ready to buy as many Yorkies, Cadbury Flakes, and Aero Bars that he could carry – but the woman didn't have any of these items. What she did have were Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts.
Ron stared as Harry brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat.
"Hungry, are you?"
"Starving," said Harry. He was about to rip into his treats, when he had second thoughts. He quickly fished a nutrient potion out of his trunk and drank it down, grimacing a bit at the slightly bitter taste. Better safe than sorry. He picked up an item at random, opened it carefully, and took a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty. Except for the meat pie he had at The Leaky Cauldron, Harry thought it might be the best thing he'd ever tasted. It was really his first introduction to sweets. Aunt Petunia never let him have any.
Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef."
"Swap you for one of these," said Harry, holding up a pasty. "Go on –"
"You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us."
"Go on, have a pasty," said Harry, who had never had anything to share before, or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all of Harry's pasties, cakes, and candies as the sandwiches lay mostly forgotten. Harry, however, not wanting to bring down Snape's wrath, ate one of the sandwiches. It was rather dry, but someone's Mom made it. Harry couldn't remember ever having something from his Mom, so that alone made this sandwich pretty good.
"What are these?" Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "They're not really frogs, are they?" He was beginning to feel that nothing would surprise him.
"No," said Ron, "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa."
"What?"
"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know – Chocolate Frogs have trading cards inside them, you know, to collect – famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."
Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.
"So this is Dumbledore!" said Harry.
"Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron. "Can I have a frog?" he asked, not waiting for an answer to his first question, "I might get Agrippa – thanks—"
Harry turned over his card and read:
ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS
Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore
is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945,
for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on
alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore
enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.
Harry turned the card back over and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared.
"He's gone!"
"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron. "He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her . . . do you want it? You can start collecting."
Harry took the card and studied it. "Sure, I've heard of Headmaster Dumbledore," he said. "Professor Snape told me about him. But I didn't know what he looked like or anything."
Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped.
"Help yourself," said Harry. "But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos."
"Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed. "Weird!"
Harry watched in amusement as Dumbledore sidled back into his frame. He smiled at Harry and gave him a quick wink. Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Harry couldn't keep his eyes off them. Soon he had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin. He finally tore his eyes away from the druidess Cliodna, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans.
"You want to be careful with those," Ron warned Harry. "When they say every flavour, they mean every flavor – you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get dead fish, dog food, rotten egg, spinach. George reckons he had a bogey-flavoured one once."
Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a corner.
"Bleaaargh – see? Sprouts."
Harry didn't say anything, but he realized even this candy told him a great deal about the difference in his and Ron's childhood. Although some of those flavors were pretty noxious no matter what, spinach and sprouts sounded pretty good.
They had a good time eating the Every Flavour Beans. Harry got toast, coconut, baked bean, bacon, jalepeno pepper, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny gray one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper. It didn't taste bad, but it caught in the back of his throat just like real black pepper could, and made him cough. He followed this up with a darker grey one. That one turned out to be sardine. Which ... was a bit like what he imagined drinking motor oil might be like, and not at all what he thought fish, even candy fish, would be like. He swallowed it gamely. Gagged a bit, and quickly ate another pumpkin pasty to get rid of the taste.
The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills.
There was a knock on the door of their compartment and a round-faced boy Harry thought he had seen on platform nine and three-quarters came in. He looked tearful.
"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"
When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"
"I'm sure he'll turn up," Harry said kindly.
"Yes," said the boy miserably, "Well, if you see him . . ."
He left.
"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."
The rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap.
"He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting to make him more interesting, but he spell didn't work. I'll show you, look . . ."
He rummaged around in his truck and pulled out a very battered looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end.
"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway –"
He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.
"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, dark brown eyes, and rather large front teeth, although Harry didn't think they were terribly out of proportion with the rest of her face. Not that he knew a lot about it, but he'd spent much of his eleven years so far being the silent observer. It had kept him (mostly) safe.
"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand.
"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."
She sat down. Ron looked taken aback.
"Er – all right."
He cleared his throat.
"Sunshine daisies, butter mellow,
Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."
He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep.
"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and they've all worked for me. Nobody 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 learned all my course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough – I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, and 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 learnt all the course books 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 books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."
"Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed.
"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione.
Harry looked steadily at her for a moment before replying. "Hermione, I didn't even know I was a wizard until recently. How would I know I was famous for something I don't remember?"
Hermione was brought up a bit short by this. "Oh, I . . . would you like to borrow the books I have the mention you? You'll be careful with them though, right?"
"Yes, thank you, that would be very nice. And, yes, books should be carefully handled at all times." Hermione's eyes lit up at this. She hadn't expected to find anyone else on the train that understood this, despite what she had read about the House called Ravenclaw. She told Harry they were in her trunk, but she'd get them to him after they were all settled into their routine at school.
"Do either of you know which 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 in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad . . .Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."
And she left, taking the toadless boy with her.
"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron. He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell – George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."
"What house are your brothers in?" asked Harry.
"Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mom 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 Vold -, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?"
"Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed. "That house is full of bad wizards."
Harry shook his head. Professor Snape didn't seem bad to him. Snarky, certainly, and rather austere, but bad? Yes, he knew that Snape had hinted at some less-than-good connection with Voldemort. But Harry was clever. And observant. And he couldn't rightly imagine that the Headmaster would have sent someone dangerous to take him shopping for school. Not after hiding him from the Wizarding world for eleven years. Certainly not all Slytherins were inherently bad people. But he kept all that to himself. One thing at a time with Ron, he decided.
"You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," said Harry, trying to take Ron's mind off houses. "So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left Hogwarts, anyway?"
Harry was wondering what a wizard did once he'd finished school. Besides teach younger wizards and witches.
"Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," said Ron. "Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles – someone tried to rob a high security vault."
Harry stared. "Really? What happened to them?"
"Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it."
Harry turned this news over in his mind. He was starting to get a prickle of fear every time You-Know-Who was mentioned. He supposed this was all part of entering the magical world, but it had been a lot more comfortable saying 'Voldemort' without worrying.
"What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked.
"Er – I don't know any," Harry confessed.
"What!" Ron looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait; it's the best game in the world!" And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. He was just taking Harry through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy or Hermione Granger this time.
Three boys entered, and Harry recognized the middle one at once; it was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop. He was looking at Harry with a lot 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?"
"Yes," said Harry. He was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely unfriendly. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards.
"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking. "And my name's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."
Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him.
"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasley's have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."
He turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."
He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it.
"I think I can tell who the wrong sorts are for myself, thanks," is what Harry wanted to say. But years of keeping his natural reaction to himself silenced him. He did give the blond boy a rather appraising look though, waiting a long moment before he reached out to shake his hand.
But his thoughts must have been in his eyes. Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks.
He shook Harry's hand once, firmly, and then dropped it. "I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer, you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasley's, and it will rub off on you."
Both Harry and Ron stood up.
"Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair.
"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered.
"No, but I think you'd better leave now," said Harry, more bravely than he felt, because Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than him or Ron.
"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some."
Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron – Ron leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell.
Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle – Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flew off into the window, all three of them disappeared at once. Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger came in.
"What has been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail.
"I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry. He looked closer at Scabbers. "No – I don't believe it – he's gone back to sleep."
And so he had.
"You've met Malfoy before?"
Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley.
"He's a dark wizard," said Ron. His father and mine can't stand each other. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"
Harry pondered what Ron had told him. Draco did seem to be awfully rude, but that didn't mean he would follow in his Father's footsteps. Despite his initial views of the younger Malfoy, Harry grudgingly decided to himself that he would wait to pass further judgment. He was quite enjoying Ron's friendship, but he had the feeling that Ron had his own prejudices to overcome. Everything here was new to Harry and he thought it best to start off on the right foot with everyone; or at least as well as he could. He wondered at Ron's preemptory tone towards Hermione. True, she seemed the bossy sort, but she was coming into Hogwarts as blind as he was. Even if it did appear that she already knew everything.
"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on," Hermione was saying, "I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"
Harry smiled at Hermione and sank back into his seat. He tried to collect the scattered treats while Ron continued his surly behaviour. "Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Would you mind leaving while we change?"
"All right – I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"
Ron glared at her as she left. Harry peered out of the window. It was getting dark. He could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down.
He and Ron took off their jackets and pulled on their long black robes. Ron's were a bit short for him; you could see his sneakers underneath hem.
A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes time. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately."
Harry's stomach lurched with nerves and Ron, he saw, looked pale under his freckles. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor.
The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Harry shivered in the cold night air. Then came a lamp bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a booming voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"
A giant of a man came into view. "C'mon, follow me – anymore firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"
Slipping and stumbling, they followed the huge man down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so far on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.
"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," he called out, "jus' round this bend here."
There was a loud "Ooooooh!"
The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.
"No more'n four to a boat," the man called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione.
"Everyone in?" shouted their guide, who had a boat to himself, much to the relief of the students. "Right then – FORWARD!"
And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.
"Heads down!" yelled the guide as the first boats reach the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbour, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.
"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" the man boomed, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.
"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock, coming out last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.
They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.
"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"
He raised a gigantic first and knocked three times on the castle door.
Updated 7 January 2017
Original Author's Note from 2004-05:
Yes, I know some chapters are -similar- to the book, but I have tried to add in my own bits into the chapters that I felt essentially needed to be the same as the original. -MysticSong-
