What if one small decision could change your entire life? What if it could change the world? It can if you're Harry Potter.
The Butterfly Factor: starts with a flutter, ends with a bang.
"Well, there you are, boy. Platform nine - platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere there in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?"
He was quite right, of course. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all.
"Have a good term," said Uncle Vernon with an even nastier smile. He left without another word. Harry turned and saw the Dursleys drive away. All three of them were laughing. Harry's mouth went dry. What on earth was he going to do? He was starting to attract a lot of funny looks, because of Hedwig. He'd have to ask someone. He decided to ask a guard, but for some reason, hesitated. A little voice in his head said No! Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of a familiar face. It was the boy from Madam Malkin's.
Harry's heart leapt. He would definitely know how to get to the platform! On closer inspection, he saw that a tall, stern-looking man in a crisp, black suit and a slim, pale woman with glistening hair flanked the boy. Undoubtedly, this was his mother and father, but Harry's first impression brought the words "maid" and "master" to mind.
Not knowing the boy's name, Harry nervously edged his way into plain view and waved shyly at the boy, hoping that he might look over and recognize him. Fortunately for Harry, he did.
"I remember you!" he called over to Harry, "I met you last week!" He beckoned for his mother and father to follow him as he ran to Harry's side.
"I'm Draco. Draco Malfoy." He said, holding out his hand in an almost regal manner. Uncertainly, Harry grasped it.
"I'm Harry, err, Harry Potter." he replied. At this, Draco Malfoy's eyes widened in shock.
"You're Harry Potter? Father's told me lots about you!" suddenly, his expression became sceptical. If you're Harry Potter, where's your scar? He challenged. Obligingly, Harry pushed back his messy fringe. Draco looked satisfied.
"So, what were you waiting for? Don't you know how to get on the platform?" He asked, with a hint of mocking.
"Err, no, I don't." Harry admitted, blushing in shame. Obviously, Draco did.
"Father already told me how. It's so easy; all you have to do is run into that ticket box. We could do it together, if you're scared." He bragged.
"I'm not scared!" Harry retorted indignantly. Nervous, maybe, but definitely not scared. "But can we still do it together? I've never had to run into a ticket box before." He added rather sheepishly. Draco's features softened slightly.
"Alright, but I just have to say goodbye to Mother and Father first." He said as he returned to his mother's open arms. Although Draco's mother had eyes only for her son, his father seemed to be surveying Harry out of the corner of his eye. Just for a second, an expression of greed marred his pale features, but before Harry had a chance to interpret what this meant, Draco's father had turned away. Harry did the same, rather uncomfortably. He had better chances of becoming Prime Minister than he did of having Aunt Petunia swooning over him. For a split second he allowed himself to toy with the notion of ever having someone kissing him goodbye as he left for school.
"Are you coming or not?" Draco called as he made his way towards the ticket box. Panicking, Harry snatched his trolley and tore after him. Harry caught up to him a few paces from the ticket box. It was coming closer, closer, closer… Harry shut his eyes as he reached it, praying that he would not bounce off… He opened his eyes to a new world of colour. An extravagant purple steam engine was surrounded by hundreds of excited teenagers and tearful mothers.
"Come on!" Draco muttered as he grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him through the crowd. Even after such a small amount of time, Harry knew that Draco wasn't the patient sort. He let go as they boarded the train and entered a compartment. Already seated were two rather thuggish looking boys.
"Oh, I forgot. Harry, this is Crabbe and Goyle." He inclined his head towards the seated boys. They grunted in return. After a few minutes of idle chitchat, Draco slyly reached into his pocket.
"Guess what I bought in Diagon Alley," he said with a gleam in his eye. Seeing as Harry had less knowledge of what a wizarding boy would possibly have in his pocket than a cabbage, and imagination took more brainpower than Crabbe and Goyle possessed put together, Draco got no answer. Unperturbed, he pulled out a packet of Filibuster's Wet Start Fireworks, savouring the eager looks on all of their faces. Smirking smugly, Draco set them of and watched as Harry's jaw dropped in awe.
Although there were still many surprises awaiting him, one thing was for certain: Harry was in for a very interesting year.
This story is dedicated to Savoir Faire, for inspiring me, and to Enchantress of the Dark, for converting me! Thankyou both very much for listening to my constant rambling about Harry Potter, it really means a lot to me.
The idea for this story came from Savoir Faire's Prescience, so if you weren't happy with this story and want to read something of a higher quality, or if you simply want to read a fantastic HD, you should read that too.