Disclaimer: the word disclaim means- To deny or renounce any claim to or connection with; disown. To deny the validity of; repudiate. Law. To renounce one's right or claim to.

The definition of the word explains it all

A/N: I don't know if anyone's even reading this anymore, but I'm posting it anyway. If anyone is reading this, I'm sorry it's taken so long to post, but I've been uber busy. Enjoy!

By the way, I still appreciate any CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, but if you want to flame, flame. I don't really care. If you don't like it, don't read it. Please review!

Chapter 6

Platform Nine and Three Quarters?

The next day Hermione woke up at eight o'clock to a loud bang on Windmill Drive. Not caring what had occurred, she got up and quickly got ready. Since her belongings were already packed away in her trunk, she slowly dragged it down the steps, struggling with the heavy object. By the time she had eaten breakfast, it was nine o'clock. She knew that she would need to leave in an hour if she wanted to get to the train in time. She decided to check to see if her mom was up yet. She walked up the wooden stairs quietly, and knocked on her mother's door.

"What do you want?"

"Mother, today is the day I leave. Would you please drive me to King's Cross in an hour?"

"Yes. I will be ready in thirty minutes. If you are not ready to leave by then, I will leave without you. I have some errands to run."

"Yes, mother." Hermione began to walk away, when her mother called to her.

"By the way, take your trunk to the car if you haven't already."

It took Hermione ten minutes to lug the trunk to her mother's car. The trunk was trouble enough, but she had also had to deal with the garage door that was difficult to open.

The minutes dragged by as Hermione waited for her mother to finish getting ready. Finally, her mother came down the stairs. She grabbed her keys and motioned for Hermione to follow her.

The next hour flew by, and before Hermione knew it, she was being dropped off at the train station.

"You better do well or your father and I will pull you out of school." was the only goodbye Hermione received from her mother.

Hermione had twenty minutes to get on the train. Luckily, she had read all about the train, so she knew how to get on it. She dragged her trunk to the wall in between platforms nine and ten, and briskly walked forward. She shut her eyes while passing through the wall, since it felt weird. She opened her eyes, and gasped at the sight that met them. There it was, the Hogwarts Express. It was scarlet colored. There was a sign next to it that read Hogwarts Express Eleven O'clock. Hermione found an empty compartment. Since her trunk was very large, she decided to try one of the spells she had read about. She took out her wand and shrunk her trunk to half its size and put it away. Not a minute later, an unorganized boy who looked to be her age stumbled in.

"Do you mind if I sit with you? There isn't anymore room anywhere else." The boy spoke quietly. Hermione assumed he must be a bit shy.

"Sure. I'm Hermione Granger, 1st year, and you are?"

"Sorry, forgot to introduce myself. I'm Neville Longbottom, also a 1st year."

"It's nice to meet you"

"Did you bring any pets to school?" Neville said, obviously trying to strike up a conversation.

"I brought my toad, Trevor. He was a gift from my great uncle."

"I didn't bring a pet, but maybe I'll get one for next year."

The train began to slowly pull away from the platform. Hermione watched as everything she had ever known disappeared before her very eyes.

Around twelve twenty, a woman came by and asked it they would like to buy anything off of her cart. She had sweets Hermione had never heard of before, such as Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Licorice Wands, and many other treats. Hermione did not want to eat too many sweets, since they were not good for her, but she did buy some Chocolate Frogs, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, and Pumpkin Pasties. She decided to not buy Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, since she was suspicious about what they meant by every flavor.

It wasn't long before the boy called Neville lost his toad. He went in search of it, and while he was out looking Hermione unshrunk her luggage and pulled out her robes. She changed, reshrunk her luggage, and began to read. Hermione had been reading Hogwarts, A History for the tenth time when Neville asked her to help him look for Trevor the toad. She set down her book with a sigh, and started asking around, but she had no luck. Neville told her that he thought some boys had lied to him about not seeing his toad because one of them had laughed at him when he told them. He walked with her to the compartment, and she slid open the door.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one." She spoke confidently, but she was actually nervous.

A boy with vibrant red hair and freckles answered her. "We've already told him we haven't seen it." She hadn't really been listening to his answer, because she was busy looking at his raised wand.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." She asked with interest.

The redheaded boy looked surprised. "Er– all right."

He cleared his throat, and began saying the most ridiculous spell she had ever heard.

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,

Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

As she had expected, nothing happened. "Are you sure that's a real spell?" she asked. "Well it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me." She was growing more nervous by the second, since she wasn't used to talking to people. She continued speaking. "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 and wizardry there is, I've heard – I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough." She then realized that she hadn't introduced herself, even after rambling like that. She mentally scolded herself. "I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"

"I'm Ron Weasley." Said the redheaded boy.

"Harry Potter." Said the other boy, who until now, she had barley realized was in the compartment. She recognized the name at once.

"Are you really? 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."

Harry Potter look a bit dazed at this information. "Am I?"

Hermione was surprised he didn't know. She knew that if it were her, she would have found out everything she could. She turned to Harry. "Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it were me." She continued, speaking faster by the second. "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 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." With that, she left their compartment bringing Neville with her.

They found Neville's toad hidden in a dark corner. While they were walking back to their compartment, three boys walked by them and sneered at them. Hermione rolled her eyes, and walked back to the compartment with Neville. He was looking at One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore, so she picked a book from her shrunken trunk, enlarged it, and began to read.

When she was done with her book she decided to talk to the conductor about how much longer until they arrived at Hogwarts. She walked toward the front of the train, and into the conductor's pit. "Excuse, me, sir, could you tell me how long it will be until we reach Hogwarts?" The conductor was a tall man with an American accent.

"We're nearly there. Shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes."

"Thankyou."

"Not a problem, kid."

She walked back toward her compartment, but had trouble since students were becoming rowdy, running and screaming up and down the hallway. She noticed a familiar compartment and snuck in, trying to get away from the annoying students. She looked around, noticing the compartment was in disarray. "What has been going on?"

The boys ignored her. Ron Weasley said to Harry Potter, "I think he's been knocked out." Hermione noticed he was referring to a rat. "No– I don't believe it – he's gone back to sleep. You've met Malfoy before?" Harry potter began talking about his experience in Diagon Alley.

Ron Weasley spoke again. "I've heard of his family. 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 stopped looking at Harry, and turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"

Hermione thought quickly. "You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, 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."

Ron scowled at her. "Scabbers has been fighting, not us. Would you mind leaving while we change?"

She sighed, and replied with, "All right. I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors." Before she left. She added. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"

She went back to the compartment, only to find it empty. Sighing, she sat down and unshrunk her luggage. She packed up the book she had been reading earlier, and locked her trunk. She was staring out the window, when she heard the conductor speak. "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

Hermione re-checked her trunk, making sure it was locked securely. She resumed staring into space. She didn't begin to feel nervous until the train slowed to a stop. Hermione walked out of the compartment and joined the packed isle of students, who were pushing their way toward the exit. She finally escaped the insanity and stepped into the cool night air. She looked around and noticed a lantern bobbing over the students' heads. She thought she heard someone, whom she presumed to be a man, so she walked closer to the light.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here." Said a very large man who was holding the lantern. Hermione supposed he must be at least part giant, since he was absolutely enormous.

The man spoke again. "C'mon, follow me – any more firs' years? Mind yer step now! Firs' years follow me!"

Hermione followed the other first years down what must have been a steep, narrow path. Hermione thought there were trees nearby since it was so dark.

The man called over his shoulder. "Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec, jus' round the bend here." There was a loud "Oooooooh" from the first years.

Hermione noticed that the narrow path opened up to a large black lake. She saw a magnificent castle perched atop a high mountain on the other side.

The man spoke once again, pointing to a fleet of small boats waiting on the shore. "No more'n four to a boat."

Hermione walked over to the last available boat, noticing that Harry and Ron were already in it. Neville got in behind her.

The man yelled over the buzz of the whispering students. "Everyone in? Right then – FORWARD!"

The fleet of little boats moved into the water at the same time, and began gliding across the lake. Everyone was still staring at the castle in awe, so all was silent. The boats took them into a tunnel, which Hermione supposed must be under the castle. They reached a sort of underground Harbor, where the boats stopped. The students got out and looked around.

The man was checking the boats as students were getting out of them. He turned to Neville. "Oy, you there! Is this your toad?"

"Trevor!" Neville cried happily. The students followed the man up a passageway in the rock. They walked onto damp grass just outside the castle. They walked up a flight of stone steps, and crowded around a huge oak door.

The man looked around. "Everyone here?" He stopped and looked at Neville. "You there, still got your toad?"He turned around, raising his huge fist, and knocked on the door three times.