Chapter 4: The Journey To A New Home
When Simon returned to the Orphanage with his things, many of the children had learned that he had been accepted to a boarding school and became envious that he would be gone all year long from the dull and boring Orphanage. The end of July approached and then it was the beginning of August.
Through the month if August, Simon was given permission to visit the Potters and Weasleys whenever he was invited over.
Simon mostly hung out with Hugo and Lily learning more about the Magical World from Lily and playing magical games with Hugo like Exploding Snap, Gob-stones, or Wizard's Chess, which he thought were all really magnificent. He did enjoy playing the Wizard's Chess, but every time he played against Hugo, he would lose terribly. It was as if Hugo was a chess prodigy, and no one could beat him.
Simon had also made friends amongst Lily and Hugo's siblings and cousins. He even met a girl one day. She was short, skinny with brown hair and hazel eyes, and she was a bit clumsy always tripping over practically nothing. Her name was Alice Longbottom. Mrs. Potter told Simon, Hugo, and Lily was just like her father when he was young, which confused them a bit. Alice's father, a man named Neville whom Simon met the same day he met Alice, was not clumsy at all but very well balanced and confident.
Simon also found Lily's brother James and his best friend/cousin Fred Weasley, pretty hilarious as they were both inseparable and always making jokes and pulling pranks, usually on Albus, his best friend Scorpius, or their smart and nerdy cousin, Molly Weasley. Simon was amazed at how big the Weasley/Potter family was as they were all loving and kind. He wished he had at least a brother or a sister, or maybe even a funny uncle like Hugo's Uncle George.
Some of August was also spent at the park messing around, having fun, or being picked on by with Victor Markovics and his two friends, Brian Murphy and Jeffrey Dawson.
Simon, Hugo, and Lily would be the ones who were minding their own business when Markovics and his ghouls would start to talk rudely just to get a rise out of Simon again. Simon wanted to do something, but Lily urged him not to, and told him to just ignore it, which he tried to do. But they were still annoying and wouldn't shut up, so he pulled pranks on them with Fred and James who were happy to help him out.
Fred and James showed Simon some prank products Fred's father created called Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. They had all different kinds of prank items. One day, Markovics had ran home with pink hair and a nonstop nose bleed wearing a flowery dress. It was a memory that Simon would always remember, and it was a while before Markovics or his ghouls would bully him, Lily, or Hugo.
For the rest of August, Simon had one of the best summers ever visiting both the Weasleys' and Potters' houses. He learned a lot about both families and their extended families. He made many friends with Lily and Hugo's cousins. He also made a new friend in Harry's Godson, a young man named Teddy Lupin, a metamorphagus, which was a person who could magically change their appearance to whatever they want.
Now it was the day, September 1. It was the day Simon would go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Mr. Potter had informed Ms. Nielsen that Simon needed to be at King's Cross Station before Eleven o'clock, and told Simon to wait between Platforms 9 and 10.
"Now, Simon, Do you have everything you need?" Ms. Nielsen asked as a tiredly Simon slowly pulled his trunk down the stairs, holding a backpack on his shoulders; at six o'clock in the morning.
"Yes ma'am," Simon answered respectively, stopping in front of Ms. Nielsen who stood by the exit.
"Okay then, let's take you to London!" Ms. Nielson said, smiling, and picking up Simon's trunk and led him out of the Orphanage and towards a rental car. About five minutes later, the duo were on the road, and within a few more minutes, Simon was leaning against the passenger's window, asleep.
"Simon, wake up! We're here!"
Simon slowly opened his eyes, squinting at the bright sunlight, and sat up, stretching. He heard a door opened and turned to see Ms. Nielsen getting out of the car. A second later, he too exited the car, and looked around. They were in a parking lot, next to a train station, in London. Simon looked at his watch. It was 10:15 in the morning.
Once Simon put on his backpack and grabbed his trunk, Ms. Nielsen led the eleven year old into King's Cross station which was crowded with people, adults and kids of all ages, some pushing trollies, others carrying duffel bags or suitcases. Simon and Ms. Nielson grabbed a trolley for Simon, placing his trunk and backpack on it and pushed onto the platforms.
"Okay here we are," said Ms. Nielsen, stopping between platforms nine and ten. Simon stopped behind her, looking around at the people and trains. "Okay Simon. Mr. Potter said you were to wait here until it was time to leave, alright?" Simon nodded. "Okay," she said, and smiled down at young Simon. "Oh, I promised I wouldn't get emotional." Ms. Nielsen quickly bent down and gave Simon a hug, and he hugged her back.
Ms. Nielsen pulled back. "You behave yourself, and you be careful," she said to Simon who nodded as she rubbed his shoulders. "Well, goodbye." She sniffed.
"Bye," Simon replied with a smile. "See you next Summer."
"I'll be here waiting for you," Ms. Nielsen replied, standing up and then took her leave.
Simon watched her leave and once she was gone, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a ticket with the words Platform 9 and 3/4 on it. What Mr. Potter had really told him was that he was to wait for him and the others unless Simon was to find the barrier between platforms nine and ten. It was a magical barrier the magically led one to another train station with a train that led to Hogwarts.
Simon wasn't sure what a magical barrier looked like or if he could actually see one, but he looked around, looking for anything that was out of the ordinary. As he looked on, he didn't find anything at all. It was 10:30 and there was no sign of the Weasleys or Potters. Simon sighed and walked over to one of the red brick columns, but as he leaned on it, he yelped as he fell through it, tripping to the other side of the new-found barrier.
Simon landed on the ground with a groan, but once he heard the sounds of shouts and mumbles of conversation, and the sounds of a steaming train; he looked up. He was at a different train station filled with all kinds of witches and wizards. He was at Platform 9 3/4, and to the left of him was a beautiful and magnificent red train, The Hogwarts Express.
"Whoa " Simon breathed out in awe. Quickly, he stood up and traveled back through the barrier and grabbed his trolley and pushed it once more back through the barrier. He made his way though the crowd and towards the train. As he got closer, someone else's trolley ran into his.
"Oh, Merlin. I'm sorry!" said the person who ran into Simon who looked over to see that it was Alice Longbottom who had run into him.
"It's okay, Alice," Simon said, smiling. Alice looked over at the person who she ran into and was surprised to see Simon.
"Simon, hey," She greeted with a smile. "Sorry for running into you, but I lost my brother, Augie, and I was trying to find him. It's my first year, and my dad had to be up in the castle and my mum had to work, so it was Augie who was suppose to show me around."
"Oh," Simon said nodding, and the two made there way to one of the train entrances. "You haven't seen Hugo or Lily or any of the others, have you?"
Alice shook her head. "No, not really," she answered. "They're probably here and lost in the crowd like us. Hey, do you want to get a compartment together?"
"Sure," Simon answered with a nod.
Alice and Simon grabbed their trunks and Alice's ferret, and boarded the train, dragging their things through the train looking for an empty compartment. As he passed through, the compartments were filled with kids different ages possibly talking about their summers, making new friends, or playing games. They found one in the second to last car, entered it, and placed their things on the top rails.
"Where's you owl?" Alice asked when Simon helped put up her ferret.
"The Weasleys took him so I didn't have to have him in the Orphanage," Simon answered, then sat down. "If Mrs. Harris found an owl living in my room, she'd go mad and try to kill him."
"Oh," Alice said with a snort, and sat down across from Simon.
Then the whistle for the train blew. Simon looked at his watch which said 10:55, which meant there was only five minutes left and still no sign of Hugo or Lily. Alice and Simon waited in silence, both looking out the window at the adults and the children, who weren't old enough to attend Hogwarts, passing by. And a minute before the train was to leave, the compartment door opened and Simon was relieved to see Lily and Hugo enter with two trunks and three owls.
"Guys, what took you so long!" Simon said, standing up to help with his owl.
"James was taking too long for us," Lily spoke, placing her things on the rails above.
"Yeah, same with Rose, which was surprisingly unlike her," Hugo said, doing the same as Lily, and then both sat when the train began to move; Hugo next to Simon, and Rose next to Alice. "I don't know, but she has been distracted a lot this summer."
The compartment door opened once more, and entered another boy, as tall as Simon, with short light sandy-brown hair and grey eyes that looked hopeful.
"Hi, do you mind if I sit with you guys?" He asked. "A few fifth years threw me out of the one I was in and everywhere else is pretty much full."
"Sure," Lily answered, scooting over to Alice. The boy nodded and entered, sitting next to Lily. "What's your name?"
"Oh, I'm Gabriel Harkness," He greeted and smiled at the others. "And you are."
"Lily Potter," Lily greeted back then pointed at her friends. "That's Simon Ares, Hugo Weasley, and Alice Longbottom." And Gabriel's eyes went round in shock and awe.
"So are you a first year?" Hugo asked Gabriel who slowly nodded.
"Yes I am," He answered. "Are you?"
"Yeah, we all are," Hugo answered. Simon noticed that Gabriel still had his shock and awe look on his face.
"Are you alright?" Simon asked. Gabriel then looked over at Simon. "What's with your shock and awe look on your face?"
"You mean you don't know?" Gabriel incredulously asked.
"Know what?" Simon cluelessly inquired.
"She's the daughter of Harry Potter," Gabriel said to Simon, pointing at Lily rolled her eyes and sighed. He then pointed at Hugo. "And he's the son of Ronald Weasley." Then pointed at Alice. "And she is the daughter of Neville Longbottom."
"Yeah, tell me something I don't know," Simon said with a raised eyebrow, still don't understanding what the boy meant. "What's so special about their parents?"
"The boy who lived! The conqueror of He who must not be named!" Gabriel nearly shouted, a bit excited.
"I'm sorry but, no I don't seem to make a connection," Simon replied making Gabriel face palm himself.
He turned to Lily. "He doesn't know that truth about your father?"
Lily shrugged. "I asked what house do you think you're going to be in?" She asked, changing the subject before Simon could ask what was going on.
"House?" Simon asked looking puzzled.
"Oh yeah, I guess we forgot to tell you," said Hugo.
"There are four different houses, Simon," said Lily. "Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Ravenclaw."
"Yeah, Slytherin is for the ambitious cunning people and apparently for only pure-bloods, but I heard a muggleborn once got in," Hugo began to explain. "Hufflepuff is for very loyal and hard working people; Gryffindor is for the daring, the brave, and the chivalrous; and Ravenclaw is for the people who are very knowledgeable and have intelligent wit."
And then a second later, the compartment door opened once more.
"Well looky here, don't tell me the orphan is a wizard," said a boy Simon was all too familiar with, along with his two henchmen.
"What do you want Markovics," Simon asked while glaring at the bully saying his name with venom in his voice.
"Well, I was just wondering what my enemy was up to so I could finish what we couldn't the first time we met, and this time, no stupid pranks, and without anybody interrupting," said Markovics. "Especially that idiotic Saint Potter and his sidekick Weaslebee," he said, glancing at Lily and Hugo. "If they hadn't been there I would have beat you to a pulp. And now we're going to Hogwarts. I'm going to use magic as my advantage, since I know more about it than you do."
"Leave him alone," Alice said loud enough for Markovics to hear. He then looked over to her.
"And who's this Simon, your little girlfriend," Markovics sneered. Alice and Simon blushed, and both glared at Markovics.
"Leave Markovics or else," Hugo said defiantly.
"Or what ginger-head," Markovics said while his henchmen laughed. "Or you'll cry on me like that one time where I tripped you and you fell to your face?" Markovics started laughing but only for a few seconds because someone tackled him into the wall and that person was Simon. "Aargghh!"
Markovics hit the wall in the hallway. Simon was in front of him trying to punch him, but he only got one punch in because Markovics's two henchmen, Dawson and Murphy, grabbed Simon who tried to struggle to get loose. Markovics straightened, moving closer to Simon, and was about to punch him until someone intervened.
"Impedimentia!" yelled someone. The spell hit Markovics who just stopped suddenly. Simon, Murphy, and Dawson looked behind their leader to see who sent that spell, and it was a man, a very much older than the first years that were still standing there not knowing what to do. He was a tall man with dirty blond hair and green eyes, wearing dark green robes.
"What's going on here?" asked the man in an low authoritative voice. No one said anything. Lily, Alice, Gabriel, and Hugo were standing behind the windows watching the whole event that was going on in fright. The man stared at the first years and gave each one of them a scary look. The first years cowered in fear. "I suggest you all go back to your compartments." No one moved scared something might happen if they did. "Move!" yelled the man.
The three boys jumped at the shout and then went their separate ways leaving Markovics still frozen. The man walked past Markovics and lazily waved his wand. Markovics fell to the ground looking confused, then went in search of his friends but not before glaring Simon's way.
"Well that was a bit scary," Hugo said after Simon entered his compartment. Lily, Gabriel, and Alice all nodded in agreement. Simon moved back to his seat and sat down, looking out the window thinking of what he just witnessed. He witnessed more magic at hand and he thought it was incredible. He couldn't wait to get started on his own magic learning. Impedimentia, he thought. I gotta remember that one. It might come in handy one day.
The rest of the train ride was an amazing trip. When the trolley cart came, the five first years had bought many different kinds of sweets. Simon opened a chocolate frog, but the frog got away before he had a chance to eat it. Though he took out a card and read the name at the top. "Albus Dumbledore."
"Really," Hugo asked as he took the card out of Simon's hand and read it, and then handed it to Lily. "Those are kind of rare nowadays."
"Why?" Simon asked Lily as examined the card.
"I don't really know," Hugo said as Lily handed the card to Alice who looked at it. "But our parents told us stories about him living long ago."
"What about him?" Simon asked just as Alice handed the card to Gabriel who glanced at it then handed it back to Hugo who then Handed it back to Simon, and when their hands touched, Simon's eyes went blank, and he saw things in his mind.
There were images of a deep dark forest of some kind, then some large four creature growling and resembling a wolf, then a shiny black stone and a man with fangs, then some flashes of strange green light.
"Simon, leave me I don't think I can make it."
"No Hugo. I'm not gonna leave my best friend even if you are hurt." The sounds echoed as he was then brought back to reality.
"Simon!" Hugo called.
Simon snapped out of it and turned his head towards Hugo. "What?" he asked and looked around. Everyone was looking at him strangely. Hugo slowly pulled his hand away from Simon who took the card.
"Are you okay?" asked Lily.
Simon looked over to Lily. "Yeah I'm fine. I just spaced out for a minute. I'm fine now," he answered. Hugo, Gabriel, and Lily believed him though Lily still seemed concerned but it was Alice who looked at him, not believing him but didn't say anything about it. Simon rubbed his eyes and pushed that flash out of his mind to think on it later.
"So what were you saying?" Simon asked.
"We were about to explain to you who Albus Dumbledore was all about," Gabriel answered. "But you spaced out."
"Oh, well continue," Simon replied glancing at Alice who was staring at him.
"Well, Albus Dumbledore, he was a Headmaster at Hogwarts once, when my dad was in school," Hugo began to say as Simon listened intently. "My dad told me he was the most powerful wizard he had ever met."
"How powerful was he?" Simon asked.
"Powerful enough to overpower a very strong darkest wizard back in the Great War," Gabriel said.
"The Great War?" Simon said, puzzled.
"World War Two," Lily said for Simon who nodded.
"Dumbledore did great things with magic no one has ever seen before," Hugo continued. "My dad never really seen him duel but Uncle Harry had, and he said it was incredible at the things he pulled off, dueling against the another dark wizard, Lord Voldemort."
"And who's that?" Simon asked.
"Just another dark wizard," Alice answered. "He was the dark wizard during our parents time when they were young, and it was Mr. Potter who brought him down and defeated the monster."
"Oh."
"Anyways, Back to Dumbledore." Hugo said. "He was one of the greatest headmasters of Hogwarts. He was the most wisest and grateful man out parents ever knew. Uncle Harry looked up to him his whole life even after death."
"So, Dumbledore was great, okay," Simon said nodding. "How did he die?"
"Voldemort ordered an assassination against Dumbledore which was a success, but no one really knows who actually did it. Still a mystery to all witches and wizards alike to this day," Hugo explained.
"I bet Harry Potter knows," Gabriel said suddenly.
"What makes you say that?" Lily asked heatedly.
"No, I'm not trying to offend him or anything," Gabriel said, "I was just saying, I mean, He's the Head Auror who, in his work, captured all of the last remaining death eaters that escaped after the great battle of Hogwarts. So, out of all those Death eaters, one of them had to have killed Dumbledore. They told Potter but he has yet to release that information."
"Why would my dad keep information away from the public?" Lily asked crossing her arms.
"Because my dad's an Auror," Gabriel answered. "And he knows what goes on behind the curtains."
"My dad doesn't keep secrets," Lily argued. "He has made piece in this wizarding world for the last 20 years or so."
"That is until now," Gabriel spoke, leaning back.
"What do you mean?" Simon asked.
"Let's just say that I know for a fact that there has been activity of dark wizards running around today," Gabriel explained. "But no one has figured out who or what is happening. But it's not just Dark wizards, but werewolves."
"Werewolves!?" Simon said with stunned raised eyebrows. "Real life werewolves?" Gabriel nodded.
As they finished talking, the train slowed to a stop. An hour before they had stopped, the five eleven year olds had changed into their school robes. They were told to leave their things and go ahead and leave the train. Once Simon exited the train with his friends, he heard a loud booming voice.
"Firs' years! Firs' years this way," called the loud booming voice. All the first years walked up towards the man who called out. Simon knew this man as Hagrid, who would visit the Potters and Weasleys from time to time. "Ello there. I am Professor Hagrid and I am 'ere to take you to Hogwarts by crossing the lake. Okay now to the lake! Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"
The first years then began to follow Professor Hagrid. "Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "Jus' round this bend here."
"Look!" Gabriel breathed towards the others when they turned the bend. They were on the edge of a large lake, the water black in the night light. Simon's eyes then widened in shock and awe at was the magnificent castle of many turrets and towers which caught the attention from its perch on the mountain on the other side of the lake.
"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing at a large group of boats in the lake nearby. Simon, Alice, Hugo and Lily quickly climbed into one, leaving Gabriel who had to sit which three other first years.
"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who was in a boat by himself, "Right then—FORWARD!" And the boats began moving on their own.
"Heads down!" Hagrid called. The first boats had reached the cliff. Boat by boat, students ducked down as they passed into a dark tunnel, following it until they reached a small harbor where everyone scrambled out of their boats.
The students headed up a passageway, led by Hagrid. They came up in a grassy area, shadowed by the large castle before heading up a flight of stone stairs and grouped up at the large oak door.
"Everyone here?" Hagrid asked. Everyone nodded.
Hagrid raised one of his hands and knocked three times on the door. Simon suddenly felt his stomach tighten and his hand began to sweat, suddenly feeling more excited than he had all day. He glanced over at Alice, Lily, and Hugo, who seemed to be feeling the same way he was.