DISCLAIMER: Everything belongs to JKR.


Chapter 7: Hogwarts Express

"James, I told you we should have left earlier," Lily complained. "Now Harry's going to be late."

James rolled his eyes as he pushed Harry's cart through the crowded King's Cross, "We have ten minutes, that's plenty of time."

"But he'll need time to find a compartment."

"Don't worry, mum," Harry interrupted. "Ron and Hermione have prefects' duty, so I'll sit with Neville and Luna."

"What if their compartment is full?" she demanded.

Harry laughed, "You obviously don't know them."

They slipped easily through the barrier, put Harry's trunk just inside the train's door, and hugged each other.

"Have fun, but stay out of trouble," Lily tried to fix his hair again.

"And don't miss us too much," his dad added. "You'll be seeing us again before you know it."

"Alright," Harry jumped onto the train just as the whistle sounded. "Bye!" Harry and his parents waved to each other until the train rounded a corner. Then Harry got his trunk and went to find his friends.

When he got to the last car, he saw a poof of hair sticking out above a copy of the Quibbler and a teenage boy crawling under his seat in search of something. Harry stepped into the compartment, "Hi, Neville. Hey, Luna."

"Hi, Harry," the girl said dreamily from behind her magazine.

"Hi," the boy's voice was muffled by the seat, "I got him!" he crawled out holding his toad tightly.

The three of them swapped summer stories until their compartment door slowly slid open. Two small boys stood nervously in the entrance. "Can we sit in here?" one boy asked.

"Everywhere else is full," the other explained.

"Sure," Neville waved them in. "What are your names?"

"I'm Alex and this is Garrett," the light haired boy said as he took the seat by Neville.

Garrett sat down by Luna, "Thanks."

Harry shrugged as he opened his trunk, "You have to sit somewhere."

Garrett turned to stare at Harry, "Are you-?"

Harry let his trunk lid drop, "Am I what?"

"Harry Potter," the boy whispered.

"No," Harry groaned and started to beat his head against the window. "Why can't they just leave me alone?"

Ron, Hermione, and Ginny entered just then. Ron looked at the first years then at his best friend, "They asked you, didn't they?"

"Why can't they leave me alone?" he continued to hit his head.

Hermione was more that a little worried by Harry's behavior, "Stop, you'll hurt yourself."

Harry ignored her and continued. Ginny marched up to him, grabbed his arm, spun his around, and slapped him.

"That hurt!" he accused.

"And the window didn't?"

"Oh shut up," he muttered and sat down. Everyone moved to take a seat; the first years had to share one.

After everyone was settled, Ginny was still standing in the middle of the compartment. "Oh well," she shrugged and sat down in Harry's lap.

They chatted aimlessly for a moment until Harry's trunk hissed loudly. Harry replied and tried to reach his trunk but Ginny was in his way. "Could you open that, Ginny?"

"What's in there?" she pulled away nervously.

"Nagini," he explained. "Mum made me put her in there so she wouldn't attract attention in the station."

"Poor thing." Ginny opened Harry's trunk and pulled out a large snake. She stroked her a few times then wrapped it around Harry's neck like a scarf.

The first years stared at him. "That's a cool snake," Alex said. "Where did you get it?"

"She was Voldemort's. She sort of followed me home after the last battle." HE thought for a second, "She seems to like me for some reason. Doesn't that seem odd?"

Garrett stared at him, "She was You-Know-Who's!"

Harry cocked his head. "No, I don't know who. Perhaps you can tell me."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Leave him alone, Harry."

"But Voldemort's dead, saying his name won't bring him back," Harry complained.

Alex spoke up, "Who's Volda…Volly…. Who's that?"

Everyone stared at the boy in disbelief. Hermione asked him, "You're a muggle born, aren't you?"

"Yes," he admitted.

"He's the most evil wizard who ever lived," she explained. "He killed hundreds maybe thousands of people, but Harry killed him this summer."

Alex's eyes were very wide, "Oh."

They all sat in silence until Garrett changed to subject, "What house is each of you in? I'm going to be in Gryffindor," he declared proudly.

"We're all in Gryffindor," Ron said, "except Luna."

"House?" Alex was confused.

"There are four houses," Harry explained. "You sleep in the house dorms and go to class with the house members in your year.

"Also," Hermione added, "if you do well in your classes your house gets points, but if you get in trouble you lose points. Then at the end of the year, the house with the most points wins the House Cup. Gryffindor has won every year since we started school."

"What are the houses like?"

"Gryffindors are brave, Hufflepuffs are nice, Ravenclaws are smart, and Slytherins are evil," Ron explained.

Nagini hissed. "Whatever," Harry shrugged.

"What'd she say?" Ginny asked.

"She said they aren't evil, they're ambitious."

"She's right," Hermione agreed.

"Do you have a crush on a Slytherin?" Ron demanded.

"Shut up."

"How do we get into a house?" Alex interrupted.

"You have to fight a troll," Ron said with a perfectly straight face.


A/N: I hope you like to so far. It'll get more exciting when they actually get to school. R&R!