Harry sat in the carriage with Ron, they both had just settled in and were excitedly looking out the window watching the scenery blur by. Harry looked up to Ron, there was no red blotches on his face or any swelling around his eyes, he didn't seem sad at all about leaving his family.

"Ron are you not sad about leaving your family?" Harry asked, he had known Ron since he could remember, and he wasn't embarrassed to ask Ron questions like this.

Ron looked away from the window, his face still full of excitement. "Well yeah I'm going to miss them obviously, but I'm more excited than anything."

His pale freckled face lit up with a smile and Harry couldn't help but do the same. Of course, Harry himself was excited for Hogwarts, he had been dreaming about attending it since Sirius began telling him stories about him and his Marauder days. However, there was still this spreading ache in his chest the further and further that he got from home, he didn't know how he was going to last till Christmas to see his uncles.

Harrys ears perked up when he could hear steps thundering towards the carriage, at once the door was thrown open and a sharp blonde boy greeted them with a smirk on his face. The boy who Harry had never seen before surveyed the carriage with his fiery grey eyes, the eyes after evaluating Ron fell on him and Harry watched with a mild perplexed look, as this boys face lit up with realisation.

"Is it true? They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So, it's you, is it?" The boy spoke as if he had just had tea and biscuits with the queen. Ron sniggered at him, finding it amusing but Harry was taught better than to laugh at others.

"Yes." Harry said nodding his head. Remus had warned him that he would fangirled for a while whilst he was at Hogwarts, but eventually the excitement would die down. However, Harry had not been expecting his first fangirl to be this person.

Harry eyed the boys behind the skinny one, they were the complete opposite of him, thickset and beady eyed. The boy noticing perked up slightly, seeming to have gotten to his favourite part.

"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," he waved his hand lazily. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." Harry watched Malfoy, confident and arrogant, he hadn't met anyone like Malfoy before, someone so confident of themselves and yet pretty rude.

Ron snickered slightly and coughed to cover it up, Malfoy eyed Ron with a nasty look in his eye. His mouth opened and Harry was pretty shocked at what had come out it. "think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles and more children than they can afford." Ron looked up at Malfoy, his face going red and his mouth open in shock.

Malfoy turned back to Harry, who was now not amused by the way he was best friend was being treated, but something in his head, perhaps an echo of Remus's teaching was telling him to not cast aside the boy without a second look.

"You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." Malfoy said, a magnificent glint in his eyes and his hand extended out. Harry stood up and looked at the hand, he did not shake it yet.

"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said calmy, however he wasn't finished yet. "But if you would like to be my friend you're gonna have to be nicer to mine." And with this he shook Malfoys hand. Malfoys mouth opened with shock, and a slight blush tinged his cheeks. Malfoy huffed slightly offended and left the carriage with the air of a prince. Ron watched on now more amused than offended.

"I don't know why you would even want to try being friends with that." Ron spoke, his face now less red.

"Remus always told me to be kind to others, and I think he's just trying to impress me that's why he was so rude."

"Well he certainly didn't go about impressing anyone!" Ron smirked sinking back into his seat.

"No, he didn't." Harry smiled.

The train ride continued on smoothly and after eating a weeks' worth of food from the food trolley Harry was about to fall asleep when the carriage door was once again slammed open.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Nevilles lost one." She said. The girl was slightly huffed with bushy out of place chestnut hair, her face was nice but her teeth seemed to be a bit bucked Harry noticed.

"Um no." Harry said, he vaguely remembered Ron speaking to a boy about a toad, but he was nearly asleep by then.

"I already told him we haven't seen one." Ron said, not impressed by the interruption, Harry looked over to Ron who had his rat Scabbers out and he seemed he was about to do a spell on him.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." The girl said, plopping herself down next to Harry. Ron looked at her, slightly taken aback.

"Er alright." Ron said, a small blush splotched his cheeks and Harry instantly knew what spell Ron was about to attempt. Harry wanted to giggle at Ron, but to save his mates ego he kept it in.

Ron cleared his throat and waved his hand at the sleeping rat, "sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow." The rat did not move and neither did it turn yellow.

Harry looked to the bushy haired girl who had a frown on her face.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" The girl said and continued, "well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. 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 will be enough - I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"

Ron and Harry both looked at Hermione with a slight shocked expression on their face, they both hadn't quite heard someone speak so much in one go and they were still processing everything that the girl had said.

"I'm Ron Weasley." Ron muttered, finally having processed what Hermione had said.

"Harry Potter." Harry spoke.

Hermione looked at him with a curious glint in her eye. "Are you really?" She said. "I know all about you, of course – I got a few extra books. for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."

Harry didn't know what to say to that, he had never read those books before. "Am I?" He finally said.

Hermione nodded her head, she seemed proud to know something that Harry did not.

"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," Hermione gushed. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad... Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."

Harry and Ron did not say a thing when she left, when the door finally closed and her footsteps no longer could be heard, Ron groaned and slid down his seat.

"I hope whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it."

Harry couldn't help but agree.

AN: sorry for the short chapter, nice long one up tomorrow :)