Chapter Forty-Nine
Sirius woke up early on September 1st. He shot out of bed when something very, VERY wet exploded directly above his head. He shook his bleary (and wet) head vigorously. Hearing a giggle in the direction away from the bed, he chased blindly after the noise – only to crash straight into the wall.
The giggling only increased. Finally able to see, Sirius soon caught up to the culprit. Harry was rolling around on the floor, laughing his head off. Sirius quickly pounced on him.
Remus laughed and wiped his face, "all right you two, it's time to get breakfast."
Sirius, who was tickling Harry, looked up and asked, "coffee?"
"Dee's got it on the table," smiled Remus.
Sirius scrambled up and headed for the table, causing Harry to giggle harder.
Remus laughed and ruffled Harry's hair, "go get dressed!"
Harry nodded and ran out of the room, still giggling.
…..
Once breakfast (and coffee) was finished, the three took a portal to Remus and Sirius' London flat. From there they would walk to King's Cross and meet the Grangers outside the barrier. The Longbottoms would be waiting on the platform.
"When are we meeting them?" asked Harry for the hundredth time.
Sirius chuckled, "not til ten Pup,"
Remus smiled, "you did get up early."
"Don't remind me," grumbled Sirius into his fourth cup of coffee.
…
Albus smiled to himself as sat in the Great Hall and listened to the preparations for the Welcoming Feast, his eyes fixed dreamily at nothing in particular. Finally, he thought, after all my planning. This is the year Harry Potter comes to Hogwarts.
There had been several bumps in the road, mostly caused by Black and Lupin, but with his planning, he'd gotten most of what he'd wanted. Harry Potter would arrive at Hogwarts relatively ignorant of the Wizarding World and grateful to get away from his abusive relatives. Even the bits of knowledge he gained from the mutt and the wolf truly wouldn't make a difference in his plans.
Molly had already contacted him. Ron would be ready to approach him on the train. He knew his job was to make friends with Harry and attempt to keep others at bay. Albus let out a small, almost silent chuckle. No matter what, he was Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, and he would always get his way in the end.
….
Minerva flicked her eyes quickly toward Dumbledore again, trying not to let him catch her. He's planning something, she thought, he's always planning something. Calling on all her years of dealing with unruly students, she quickly suppressed her smile. Albus will be so surprised when all his plans fall apart, she gave a mental snort, and I have a front row seat.
…..
Harry excitedly ran toward the platform, narrowly missing at least four people in his rush.
"Slow down!" called a slightly huffing Sirius.
Harry stopped running and turned to Sirius, only to be surprised as he was all but knocked over in a tackle/hug by an equally excited Hermione.
"Ooof!" said Harry, falling back. Remus caught them and helped Harry stand straight again.
"Sorry!" Hermione exclaimed.
Harry smiled, "that's OK. Excited?"
"Yeah," said Hermione, "I didn't sleep much last night. You?"
"Me either," replied Harry.
Sirius snorted, "wouldn't know it from my early wakeup call," causing both Remus and Harry to laugh.
Hermione and her parents looked confused, so Harry explained his prank on Sirius, which caused the entire group to burst out laughing, to the dismay of Sirius.
Remus wiped his eyes and asked, "shall we go?"
Everyone nodded and they all made their way through the barrier.
Everyone but Sirius and Remus looked around at the platform, eyes wide with wonder. The train was not yet there, but already many families were on the platform.
They quickly met up with the Longbottoms, and the group wandered around, meeting several more people. Amelia Bones made a point of saying hello to Sirius Augusta, and Remus, and introducing herself to Harry. She also introduced her niece Susan and her friend Hannah Abbot. By the time the train arrived, the kids were becoming fast friends.
Sirius took hold of the trolley with Harry's trunk and owl cage, while Remus took Hemione's, "let's grab you a compartment," said Sirius.
The group walked along the train until they found a compartment. They loaded the kids' trunks and continued to talk until it was almost time for the train to leave. The kids got on the train and waved at the adults. At the last minute, Harry saw a large family of red heads rush toward the Express.
As the train started moving, Neville called, "anybody hungry? Gran packed lunch for me to share."
As Neville opened the huge basket, Hermione and Harry also brought out their own baskets.
"Whoa," said Susan at the frankly huge amounts of food the three brought out, "we can feed the whole train with all this!"
Neville smiled fondly, "that's Gran."
As the train traveled out of London, the group passed around the food and just talked. They talked about everything from family to their new classes and which House they would all be in. They were interrupted by the snack lady soon after the trip began, and again by Ron Weasley not long after.
A tall, gangly red head opened the door, looking around the compartment, finally zeroing in on Harry.
"Hello," said Hermione always eager to make new friends, "I'm Hermione Granger. What's your name?"
Harry couldn't help but notice the small sneer on the boy's face, but he answered somewhat politely, "I'm Ron Weasley," he looked at Harry again, "are you Harry Potter?"
Harry hid his grimace, "yeah."
Ron's eyes widened, but did not leave Harry as the rest introduced themselves.
Ignoring everyone else, Ron asked, "do you have the scar?"
This time, Harry could not hide his grimace, or the tone in his voice, "yes I do."
"Can I see it?"
"No."
Ron's eyes narrowed, "why not?"
Harry frowned, "I don't even like the stupid thing. Nor do I like people fawning all over me just because of it," he said stiffly.
Ron frowned in confusion, "why not? It's famous, you're famous."
Harry sighed and went into Remus' "talking to stupid people" voice, "why is it famous? Why am I famous?" When Ron just looked confused, he continued, "because my parents died and I didn't. Would you really want to be famous for that?"
When Ron just stood there, Harry sighed again, "just go away. I want friends not fans."
Ron yelled, "what! Not good enough for you am I? I guess you think they're your friends? I'm your friend and you're coming with me!" with that, Ron grabbed Harry's arm and tried to pull him from the compartment.
Harry was so surprised that Ron actually got him to move two steps before Harry yanked his arm free and stepped back.
Harry looked at the boy with narrowed furious eyes, "Don't. You. Ever. Touch. Me. Again." In a tone so cold even his friends shivered.
Oblivious, Ron grabbed for Harry again, only to be met by the fist of a furious Neville Longbottom. Ron fell back, yelling in shock. His nose was bleeding and obviously broken.
"I'll-I'll get you for that!" Ron threatened as he backed away.
Harry gave Neville a high five, turning to Ron, he spoke, voice still containing that deadly chill, "stay away from me. If you come after my friends, you will regret it."
Ron stared at the cold eyes of Harry Potter, turned quickly and ran away, hoping to find someone to fix his still bleeding nose.
Harry grinned, "way to go Neville! I think you broke his nose."
Hermione smiled, "good job getting rid of him. I hope you won't get in trouble."
They all agreed and went back to talking and eating, Ron Weasley all but forgotten.
