Author's Notes:
Hi everyone! I decided to post this regular weekly update early because of the holiday weekend. I have so much planned that I'm worried I won't have time or remember to upload. So, I'd rather give you this chapter early rather than late.
Beer of the Week: This update I actually drank wine! It's a rose called Prophesy which I think is pretty ironic given the whole basis for Harry Potter! Ha! But still, it's a really good rose if you're into that kind of thing!
Reviews: Midnitewanderer: I'm excited to have everyone read the sorting chapter! ...next week :). You'll have to wait and see where the dragon ends up going, but I think you'll enjoy the outcome. As for the Romione/dramione-This has always been intended to be a Romione fic. However, that doesn't mean I can't put some dramione (my secret, guilty pleasure) into it as well. And maybe that'll change as I develop the characters, who knows. You don't have issues and I never need to "bear with [you]" because I always love reading your reviews! Glad you enjoyed that surprise! Geekymom: Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I've missed your reviews and hope all is well!
Anyway! Please enjoy this next installment in Ignoring Destiny and Please Please review! Your reviews always give me so many ideas and encouragement to continue!
Chapter Thirty-Two: The Hogwarts Express
8 am the next morning came more quickly than the occupants of Potter Manner expected it to. Remus had already left to get his office and classroom at Hogwarts ready a few days prior to now, but James and Sirius sat with Harry at the breakfast table. They were all quietly eating their food, each of them waiting for another to start conversation.
"So," Sirius said, breaking the silence, "You excited to go to school, BK?"
Harry pushed his eggs around on his plate, and shrugged, "Kinda. I feel bad leaving you guys and for leaving Ginny behind. You know, she's going to be the only one at her house this year since all of her brothers will be at school or graduated."
"Why don't you write to her, then? And I bet you could talk Minnie into letting her come to visit."
"Maybe. I'll definitely write to her."
"But you'll have Ron and Draco there, plus any new friends you make," James added.
"Yeah. But I'm sure we won't all be in the same house. And what happens if Draco is in Slytherin and Ron is in Gryffindor? People from those two houses just don't keep up friendships."
James frowned and pushed his plate away before looking at Sirius, "Should I tell him about Lily?"
"Mum?" Harry asked, perking up, "What about mum?"
"Well," Sirius said slowly, "I don't see why not. He'll never run into Snivellus."
"Who's Snivellus?"
James snorted at the childhood name, "He was this greasy haired git from our year during Hogwarts. He had a thing for your mom. They had been friends from childhood on but when they got to Hogwarts they were sorted into different houses. Gryffindor and Slytherin. And I tell you, people never let them forget it—but that didn't stop them from remaining friends all the way through to our 5th year."
"Wait, don't you spend 7 years at Hogwarts? Why did they stop being friends in 5th year?"
"Well, that was really Snivelly's fault. He—he called her some rude names and, to be honest, they'd been off and on for a while as it was…"
"What did he call her?"
James and Sirius exchanged a look before Sirius sighed, "You'll hear the term eventually. He called her a mudblood."
James' eyes flashed as Harry asked, "What does that mean?"
"A mudblood," James spat, "means dirty blood. It's a derogatory term for a muggle born witch or wizard."
Harry frowned, "Why would he call her that if they were friends? Why would anyone use that term?"
"Because some pure bloods and half bloods think they're better than muggle borns and muggles because they come from wizarding families. Basically, because they come from magic," James explained.
"But aren't you both pure bloods?"
"Well, yeah. But my family never cared about blood status and Padfoot here, well, that's another story."
Harry turned to Sirius who sighed and leaned back in his chair, "I won't go into details with you, kid, but my family wasn't totally awesome."
"Grandma and Grandpa raised you, didn't they?"
Sirius let out a bark like laugh, "Yeah, Fee and Monty basically raised me, that's true. I lived here from about 5th year on with your dad after I left home. My parents were your traditional pure bloods. They raised me to live up to the Black family motto, Toujours Pur. My brother bought into those beliefs and went and got himself killed after he joined up with the death eaters."
"Your brother was a death eater?!" Harry asked, shocked.
"Yeah. Old Reg joined up before he even finished Hogwarts. I did my best to keep him from joining, tried to keep him away from our parents, but…he was the perfect Black according to my father. But, anyway, I made the decision that I didn't value the same ideals as they did long before I went to Hogwarts. I decided I valued my friends and others more than the pure blood status and I knew I had the ability to stand up to my parents for those things I valued. That's why I was sorted into Gryffindor instead of Slytherin. But, back to Lils and Snivelly."
James nodded, "Basically, we're saying you shouldn't worry about whether you can keep up a friendship with both Ron and Draco because if your mom could do it with that git for 5 years you shouldn't have any issues keeping one with a young man like Draco."
"But they ended up not friends in the end, right?"
"Because of his bigotry, yes. But, from what I've seen, Draco isn't anything like Snivellus was. And the was isn't occurring—it'll be easier for you two to stay friends no matter what house he's in."
"Yeah, you're probably right," Harry lied, "I'm going to go put the rest of my stuff in my trunk."
"Don't take too long. We need to leave soon so we can floo to the Leaky Cauldron and catch a taxi to the train station. I don't want you to miss your ride."
"Ok dad," Harry called as he headed upstairs.
Once in his room Harry sat down on his bed and looked at his packed trunk and Hedwig in her cage. He flopped down on his bed and the rolled over on his stomach, reaching for his end table, pulling out a letter he'd gotten early that morning.
Harry,
Don't worry about me, Bill and Charlie promised to come visit me a lot this year. I wish I could be going to Hogwarts with you guys though. Maybe I can sneak in in your trunk? Ha! But, seriously, they'll make sure I'm kept company. And I can write to you and Draco and Hermione, too.
I understand where you're coming from. Being in separate houses would probably be hard on your friendships with Ron and Draco. But, let's be honest, even if you and Ron are in Gryffindor and Draco ends up in Slytherin I don't think that will stop your friendships. And why should it? Friendships shouldn't end over something as stupid as past prejudice. I mean, really, do your houses even matter outside of Hogwarts? And why should the anger of the founders dictate how two groups of people can act with one another? And I know you—you'd never let something that stupid break up a friendship. You're too bullheaded to let that happen!
I'll be here if you need to talk to anyone about school. Mum says the first year is always the hardest for students but I can't imagine how hard it's going to be for you with how famous you are. So just remember you can always owl me if you need someone to talk to.
Miss you already!
Ginny
Harry read over the letter a few times, letting Ginny's words sink in. Ginny was one of the most levelheaded and reasonable people he knew—when she wasn't angry, anyway. And she was right, he was being stupid. Why should the houses separate him from his friends when prejudice couldn't separate his father from Sirius? And they still had no idea what house Draco would end up being in. Maybe he would be in Gryff—no that's just wishful thinking. Harry couldn't allow himself to be deluded into thinking Draco could be in Gryffindor, there was no way. But being in opposing houses shouldn't stop a friendship.
At a quarter to eleven Harry, James, and Sirius stepped out of the taxi at Kings Cross Station and started pulling Harry's trunk and cage out of the boot of the car.
"Hurry up, we only have 15 minutes until your train leaves," James said as he yanked Hedwig's cage unceremoniously from the car. She hooted at him indignantly.
Sirius ran over with a trolly and Harry helped him push his trunk onto it before they took off into the train station.
"What's the platform?" Harry asked.
"9 and 3/4," James replied.
Harry glanced around the station platforms, searching for platform 9 and 3/4 but he could only find platforms 9 and 10, "Dad. I don't see that platform. Maybe we should ask for help?"
James smiled and looked back at Harry, "Of course you can't see it. it's through here."
As he spoke James casually slid through the stone archway between platforms 9 and 10 and disappeared.
Harry's eyes widened as he watched is father disappear into a stone archway. As he moved forward to follow suit he heard a familiar voice calling behind him.
"Hurry up, hurry up or you'll miss the train!" Mrs. Weasley snapped at her children.
Harry smiled at the familiar faces approaching him and waived, "Mrs. Weasley!"
She looked around, confused for a moment, before catching sight of Harry and smiling warmly at him, "Harry dear how are you?"
"Hi Harry," Ginny said from beside her mother, blushing.
"Hey Ginny. Did you come to see us all off?"
"Yeah. I really want to go though. Can't I go mummy? Please?"
"No, Ginny, you're too young. You'll get to go next year."
Ginny pouted as Fred piped up, "Don't worry, Gin—"
"We'll send you something from school—"
"Now, you two—this year you will behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've—you've blown up a toilet or—"
"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."
"Brilliant idea though, Mum."
"Ginny, we'll send you a toilet seat, ok?"
Ginny beamed while Mrs. Weasley looked chastisingly at her sons, "Honestly you two, it's not funny! And look after Ron, won't you?"
Each twin rolled his eyes before disappearing through the archway. Percy followed suit, leaving just Ron, Harry, Ginny, Mrs. Weasley, and Sirius on the muggle platform.
"You two, go on now. If you're worried, best take it at a run," Mrs. Weasley said as she gestured toward the barrier.
Harry gripped his trolly tightly and turned towards the barrier and took it at a run, closing his eyes. When he opened them his mouth dropped open as he found himself looking at a large, scarlet steam engine. He carefully made his way toward the compartments where James was standing, Ron right on his heels. He could hear Ginny complaining to her mother as they followed behind them.
"Harry, let me help you get your trunk onto the train," James said as he caught sight of Harry and Ron, "You too, Ron."
"Thanks Mr. Potter!"
"Thanks dad!"
James quickly helped the boys get their trunks into an open compartment on the train before leading them back out to the platform to say their goodbyes.
Mrs. Weasley had made her way over to James and Sirius. Percy made his way over to his mother, his new prefects badge shining on his chest.
"Can't stay long, Mother," he said, "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves—"
"Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?" Fred asked, "You should have said something, we had no idea."
"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," George added, "Once—"
"Or twice—"
"A minute—"
"All summer—"
"Oh, shut up," Percy spat.
"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" George asked.
"Because he's a prefect," Said Mrs. Weasley fondly, "Alright, dear, well, have a good term—send me an owl when you get there." Mrs. Weasley kissed Percy on the Cheek before he left.
"Now, remember what I told you two. No more owls from McGonagall this term!" Mrs. Weasley chastised the twins, "And, Harry and Ron, you two have a good first term. Owl us as soon as you're sorted!"
"Will do Mrs. Weasley. Bye dad," Harry said as he hugged James and then Sirius, "Bye Uncle Padfoot. I'm going to miss you guys."
James and Sirius hugged Harry back tightly, "You packed that gift we gave you?" James asked.
Harry nodded, "Yeah, I have it."
"Ok. Be good this term. We'll see you at Christmas."
Harry smiled and turned to Ginny and gave her a tight hug and whispered in her ear, "Thanks for the letter. It really helped. I'll miss you this term—visit at Christmas?"
Ginny nodded into Harry's shoulder, hiding her cheeks from view as they grew pinker by the second. Harry quickly pulled back and engulfed Mrs. Weasley in a hug before hurrying off to the train. He and Ron made it on just as the whistle blew. They both stuck their heads out the window and waived at their parents before taking their seats.
"So, have a good summer?" Ron asked.
"Ron. You just saw me two weeks ago."
"Yeah, but I mean, you've had two weeks to have a good rest of your summer."
Harry laughed, "Yeah, it was pretty good. Any idea where Draco is?"
Ron shook his head, "I'm sure he'll come find us. I bet his dad put him in a compartment with those thick headed meat sacks he told us about."
"Oh right. I forgot his parents probably saw him off to the train."
As if on queue Draco knocked on their compartment door and slid it open.
"Hey guys. Do you have room in here? My dad put my stuff in with those blokes Crabbe and Goyle but I'd rather not hang out with them."
Harry scooted down on his seat to make room for Draco, "Sure! Do you need us to help you get your stuff?"
"Nah, I have it here," Draco dragged his trunk into the compartment, "Thanks guys. I don't know what I would have done if I had to spend the entire train ride with those two goons."
Ron and Harry laughed with Draco as he settled in. They sat talking about what each of them missed from their summers when a rat poked his head out from Ron's pocket.
"Uh, Ron, you have a rat in your pocket," Draco said cautiously.
Ron looked down and sighed, taking the rat out and holding him, "Yeah, this is Scabbers. Percy got a new owl for becoming a prefect so mum and dad couldn't aff—I mean, I ended up with him. He's useless, he hardly ever wakes up." Ron's ears went pink as he looked out the window. He seemed to think he said too much.
Harry didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl. He knew lots of people couldn't afford things and his dad used to tell him about how the Dursleys hardly ever got him anything new, putting him in Dudley's old, oversized clothes. Feeling that Ron would rather not have anyone commenting on Scabbers, He changed the subject.
"So, what do you guys think of the Tornado's chances for the world cup next year?"
This spurred enough conversation to carry the boys through to lunch when the trolly witch clattered to their compartment and slid back their door, asking if they wanted anything. Ron had pulled out some sandwiches while Harry and Draco decided to get some of everything, sharing their goodies with Ron. Eventually, his sandwiches laid forgotten on the seat while they munched on their goodies.
Eventually, they started playing a game with the Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. They would try to guess what flavor the bean was before eating it and, if they were right, they would get to choose the next bean the person ate. If they were wrong, they had to eat five beans at once. Those flavor combinations were beyond horrid. At one point Draco ate a combination of mint, vomit, pepper, tutti-frutti, and lemon. It was not pleasant.
While he watched Draco choke down that combination, Harry opened a chocolate frog. He got another Dumbledore card but he read it anyway, always interested in what they had to say even though they never changed.
The boys looked up when there was a knock on their compartment door. They watched as a round-faced boy opened it and poked his head in.
"Sorry to bother you—Harry, is that you?"
Harry furrowed his brow before recognizing the boy, "Neville! How are you?"
Neville opened the door the whole way and made his way into the compartment, "I'm doing ok. How are you? I haven't seen you in ages."
"I'm good. Have you met Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy yet?"
"Oh, no. It's nice to meet you guys. I'm Neville Longbottom."
"Hey," Draco and Ron said in unison.
"Anyway, I came in here to see if any of you have seen a toad at all? Mine got away from me again."
All three boys shook their heads, "No, sorry, Nev. I'm sure he'll turn up though."
"Yeah. Well, if you see him…"
"We'll let you know!"
"Thanks guys. See you later," Neville said as he closed the compartment door.
"I don't know why he's so bothered," Ron said, "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."
Ron looked down and saw the rat still snoozing on his lap, "He might be dead and you wouldn't know the difference. I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you guys, look…"
Ron quickly rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end.
"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway—"
He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again, revealing a familiar, bushy haired girl wearing Hogwarts school robes.
"Has anyone seen a—" Hermione began and cut off as she caught sight of the three boys in the room. comprehension dawned on her as she took in their faces and a wide smile spread across her face, "Harry! Draco! Ron! What—what are you doing here?" She gushed excitedly.
"Hermione!" all three boys shouted before standing up and rushing her, engulfing her in a three person hug.
"What are we doing here? What are you doing here?! You're a muggle aren't you?" Harry asked.
"Well, that's what my mom and I always thought! No one in my family is magical and it was such a surprise when I received my letter from Professor McGonagall. She came and explained Hogwarts to my parents and I was ever so pleased, of course, to be accepted here. I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is! Did you guys learn about Hogwarts when you got your letters too?"
Harry shook his head, "No. we're all from magical families. We had to hide magic from you when we would visit."
"Yeah," Draco agreed, "Harry even had to send you my letters and packages because my family can't get mail the muggle way but he can. That's why it would take so long for me to reply to you."
Hermione frowned, "I wish I had known. You three could have explained how I was able to do weird stuff as a child. But no matter! I'm so excited to be able to go to Hogwarts. I've already learned all our course books by heart, of course. I just hope it's enough."
"Come off it, Hermione," Ron said, "You're the smartest person we know. you'll have no problems fitting in."
Hermione blushed, "Thanks Ron. That means a lot."
"Do you want to join us, Hermione? We should be at school soon but we can catch up," Draco asked, indicating the empty space across from him, next to Ron.
"Well, I should help Neville find his toad…"
"Come off it. Trever will show up on his own," Harry said.
Hermione bit her lip and looked back behind her before stepping inside the compartment, closing the door, and taking a seat, "I really missed you guys. It was hard finding new friends after I moved."
"We've missed you, too," Draco said.
Soon the four of them were engrossed in conversation, catching each other up from the events over the last few years since Hermione has been gone. They talked for so long that the boys had to rush putting on their robes while Hermione went to find her trunk again. They agreed to find one another when the train stopped so they could head to the castle together. Nothing would separate them again.
End Notes:
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