Okay, here's the deal. The reason I was hesitant to do the rest of the train ride is that it's going to be very closely parallel to JKR's version. But, almost everyone who reviewed wanted to see it. So… here it is.
I realized that I didn't put in my thanks for the last chapter, so a belated Chapter 2 thank-you to Alix33, Reyna, shayacatalystscifigirl, gatermage, The Unknown Marauder, Becky Silver Black, sexyteluguchica, and uknowho. And now, Chapter 3 reviewers! BlackNeonTears, heather, Alix33, The Unknown Marauder, Reyna, Becky Silver Black, imakeeper, uknowho, and Sunny Moonlight!
Now on to the fic!
Nibbling on a licorice wand, Ron tried to imagine what he would have said if someone had told him he'd spend most of the train ride to Hogwarts sitting and talking to the Boy Who Lived. Only Ron was pretty sure he'd get thumped if he called Harry that. The messy-haired boy seemed to find fame a nuisance at best. "I lost my parents and have a scar. It doesn't make me all that special."
Special or not, Ron rather liked Harry. Of course, it was hard not to like someone who insisted on buying enough candy for an army and then insisted that you share it with him 'because I couldn't possibly eat it all alone.' The only odd thing about Harry was that he never seemed to look straight at Scabbers. There had to be something to it beyond Harry's explanation of not liking rats.
Eying the bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Ron suddenly grinned. "Bet you I can eat more than you without getting a gross one!"
"You're on!" Quickly dividing the bag in half, each boy started picking out beans and taking turns eating them. Ron was sure he had an advantage, having nicked Fred and George's index of colors and mostly memorized it, but Harry seemed to be pretty good at choosing, too. The game was interrupted momentarily when a boy came through looking for his toad, and when it resumed, it was Ron's turn.
Remembering that he was going to get the banana-flavored one next, Ron looked down at his pile of beans. And stared. They were all red. All of them, exactly the same shade of crimson. "Wha…? How?"
Harry started to laugh, and Ron looked at him accusingly. Harry's pile of Every Flavor Beans was completely ordinary. Ron threw Ginny's dragon at the other boy, and folded his arms. "What did you do to my beans, you prat?"
"Sorry. I couldn't resist." Harry caught the toy easily, and grinned. Ron couldn't help grinning back, shaking his head. Something told him Fred and George now had competition for pranks. Poor Hogwarts. "If you move one, they'll all go back to normal. It's a weak spell."
Sure enough, stirring the pile of beans about with a fingertip returned them all to their original colors. Ron glanced up at Harry and asked, "How's it work?"
Harry had just raised his wand when the door opened again.
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Hermione Granger had been elated upon receiving her Hogwarts letter. It explained some of the bizarre things that had happened to her, and Hermione hated unsolvable mysteries. As soon as the Hogwarts Express had left the station, she'd changed into her new Hogwarts robes, and most of the ride thus far had been spent going over her books again. She knew them from cover to cover already, but it never hurt to reread things.
She was just about to read about the uprising of Elfric the Eager for the fifth time when the door to her compartment slid open. A round-faced boy stood there, almost in tears. "Have you seen a toad? I've lost mine. He keeps getting away from me."
"No, I haven't seen one." Carefully marking her place, Hermione put up her book and stood. "But I'll help you look. My name's Hermione Granger. What's yours?"
"Neville Longbottom." The miserable boy followed her out into the aisle, and into the next compartment, where two boys sat with a pile of candy between them.
"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," Hermione asked because it was already on the tip of her tongue, but she was far more interested in the fact that the bespectacled boy had his wand out. The redhead said something, but Hermione was already moving to sit down. "Are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."
The two boys exchanged a look, then the one with the wand shrugged, and pointed at the pile of Every Flavor Beans in front of him. "Rufus exsto."
Hermione was fascinated by the blush that crept through the candies. They seemed to change color slowly, but it couldn't have been more than a few seconds before they were all a uniform red. "Not a very useful spell, is it? But then I suppose they can't all be useful. It's interesting, at least. Of course, all magic is interesting. 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 our course books by heart, of course. I just hope it's enough. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"
"Ron Weasley," the redhead muttered.
"Harry Potter," said the other.
Hermione was pleased and surprised to have her background reading pay off so soon, and said as much. She was slightly put off when Harry shrugged and waved his hand, saying "Yeah, I know," in an annoyed tone.
"Well there's no need to get so huffy about it. You've got to expect that kind of thing, don't you?" She decided it was time for a change of topic. "What house do you suppose you'll be in?"
Much to Hermione's surprise, Harry cut in before she could continue. "Probably Gryffindor. That's where the rest of my family's been. I'd be happy with anything but Slytherin, really."
The redhead nodded agreement, and Hermione was left without anything to talk about. "We had better go find Neville's toad. And you two had better change. We're almost there, you know."
With Neville in tow, Hermione headed out the door, rather hoping she'd end up in the same house as the boys. At least there would be someone she'd met, even if they were rude.
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When Ron had entered the compartment where Harry Potter sat, Scabbers almost had a heart attack. The very last person he wanted to see, and he'd been put in a train compartment with him. Well… almost the very last. Well, actually… Among the top ten of people he didn't want to see, and they were in a train compartment together.
Never in his life had Scabbers ever wanted to be invisible more than at that moment. And strangely, his wish seemed to be coming true. The boy's eyes seemed to slide right over him. He was a rat, however, and not likely to relax just because of a small triumph.
The real challenge was yet to come, however, as three more boys entered the compartment. Scabbers recognized them, of course—how could he not? They were the images of their fathers. The Malfoy brat had even perfected his father's sneer. Their presence put Scabbers in a quandary, though. He knew he had to hide from James's son. There was no way Sirius hadn't described Wormtail to him. But would Malfoy have told his son? How many people was Scabbers going to have to hide from?
The conversation drew Scabbers' attention, and he smiled to himself as Harry proved himself by telling Malfoy off. 'Prongs would be proud…'
"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," Malfoy 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…"
It was fortunate for Scabbers that no one was looking at him at that moment. And perhaps fortunate for Draco Malfoy as well. Even after all this time, despite everything that he had done, there was still a glimmer of Peter Pettigrew in the rodent's heart. There was still a hint of the Peter who had idolized his witty mischievous friend. Nobody insulted James Potter in Peter's hearing.
Which made it most satisfying when one of young Malfoy's goons put his hand within range of sharp angry teeth.
Rufus exsto, in case anyone cares, roughly translates to 'appear red.'
Wow. This is soooo not what I expected this chapter to be when I started. But it was fun! And I suppose we'll get to Hogwarts next chapter. If you have as much fun reading this as I did writing it, though, there shouldn't be too many complaints.
On another note, I have something else to poll you all about. I know that JKR says that Remus's middle name is John. But that's so BOOORING. So, although it won't come up for a while, I want to know what –you- think the 'J' in Remus J. Lupin should stand for. Be creative!