Chapter 6

~In Platform 9 ¾, a few moments later~

"Harry!"

Harry came out of the pillar to find the train already leaving, with kids and parents waving good-bye. Hermione had been running alongside it, trying to ge on, but with no luck. She rushed up to him.

"Harry, I couldn't get on in time! I put up my trolley, but then the train started moving and I couldn't get on in time!" Hermione looked like she was about to cry.

"Come with me," said Harry. He could probably catch up to the train with no pack, not to mention Hermione, but he wasn't leaving either of them. He pulled her into a corner and started adjusting his straps on his pack. Hermione was bewildered, temporarily forgetting that they had missed the train. "What are you doing?"

"Getting ready," replied Harry. He held out his hand. "I need you to hold on and do not let go."

Hermione eyed him suspiciously. "Why?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Hermione, if you want to get to Hogwarts, you need to trust me."

Hermione couldn't help noticing the similarities to Alladin. Harry was Alladin, she was Jasmine, and he was trying to get her to ride with him on his magic carpet. This thought brought a blush to her face, and Harry smiled like he knew what she was thinking. Tentatively, she put her hand in his, and he pulled her deeper into the dark corner.

And they were gone.

~In Hermione POV, during the shadow travel~

Hermione opened her eyes tentatively, and saw a huge ravine below her. Air was rushing past her, and as she looked up, she saw Harry looking forward confidently. He was flying, with her hand in his. His arm was entwined with dark tattoo-like designs, and he seemed… different. More powerful.

As they were flying past a web of chains, she thought she heard a scream. "Harry!" she yelled, trying to be heard over the whistling of the wind. "What was that?"

Harry turned to look at her, and she saw, not the green eyes that had captivated her on the platform, but pitch black eyes that seemed to look through her. Crying out in shock, she pulled her hand away from his. Harry's eyes widened in shock as she fell through the fog below them.

As she fell, all she could hear was the wind, and thunder. She screamed and curled up in the air. All she could do was wait for the fall to end.

She felt hands grab her and hold her close, and she felt them flying up and forward. At that moment, she blacked out.

~On the Hogwarts Express, Almost the instant after Harry and Hermione had disappeared from the platform~

Harry shook Hermione frantically. This was not how he wanted to start his year.

Hermione had traveled with him through hell, and had seen his Prince of Hell appearance. This had frightened her, and she had fallen. As Harry caught her, she had blacked out. He had traveled to an unoccupied compartment at the back of the train, and was now trying to wake her up.

Harry gritted his teeth, then made her feel terrified with his empathy. She shot up, screaming, and he then calmed her down.

She looked around, bewildered. She saw him, scrambled back, and said shakily, "Who are you?"

He tried to grab her hand. He didn't know why, but he wanted her to trust him. "I'm Harry MacLeod Potter. I'm just a student, like you, and I was just trying to get us onto the train."

Hermione was still nervous, he could tell that without his empathy. "What just happened?"

Harry hesitated. "I… ehm… Apparated." He sat against the wall of the compartment, deflated. He didn't like lying.

Hermione was still nervous around him, but she hated to see people unhappy. Gingerly, she put an arm around him. "I'm sorry. I can tell you didn't mean to scare me, you were only trying to help."

Harry looked at her gratefully, then stood up. "Let's go get your stuff."

Hermione saw he still had his pack on. She nodded, and walked away with him.

When out, they heard someone yelling. "Gerrof, Malfoy! Nobody wants you here!"

"Well said, Weaselby! Now how about you just get me out, cause it's obvious I'm not leaving!"

Harry walked up behind the two boys fighting. One had blonde hair, and the other was the redhead that had laughed at Harry at King's Cross. Harry tapped them both on the shoulder. When they both turned to look at him, he said, "What's the problem?"

The redhead was the first to speak. "Malfoy won't leave me and my friends alone!" He turned back to Malfoy. "You're not needed, Malfoy! Why don't you just go?"

Malfoy ignored him. He was examining Harry, and was impressed with what he saw. He'd be much better than Crabbe and Goyle, Malfoy thought. Holding out his hand, he said, "It's Draco Malfoy. I was just showing those other mudbloods and blood traitors who's boss," he looked at Hermione with distaste, who stepped behind Harry. "It would seem you've got one behind you, at the moment."

Harry disliked him from the start, and that dislike formed into hate the moment Malfoy insulted Hermione. "How about you just go back to whatever hole you crawled out of, Malfoy."

Malfoy sneered. "Make me."

Harry shrugged. "As you wish," and he grabbed Malfoy by the collar and threw him down the aisle. Malfoy scrambled up and looked at Harry in surprise.

The redhead was looking at Harry with something like worship. "Thanks, mate!" he said. "My name's Ronald Weasley. You can call me Ron."

"Hello, Ron. My name's Harry MacLeod Potter. And this is-"

"Hermione Granger. Pleasure," she said. Harry couldn't believe how casual she was acting. It was almost as if she hadn't just gone to Hell and back.

"We were just going down to get her stuff. Want to come?" asked Harry.

"Sure." They continued down the train.

Girls turned to look at Harry as he passed. He grinned. He wasn't bad-looking, with his hair, eyes and how fit he was. One girl, chinese by the looks of it, came over to introduce herself. "Hello! My name is Cho Chang. What's yours?"

"Harry MacLeod Potter."

Cho looked surprised. "Are you American?"

Harry sighed. "Yes."

"Cool," she said awkwardly. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Harry!"

Harry looked back at Hermione and Ron. Hermione was grinning, and Ron just shrugged. They continued.

When they finally got to Hermione's trolley, they got her robes. By then it was almost time to get their robes on, and they had to use the compartment that Ron had been in. His friends were Dean and Seamus. Dean and Seamus were pleasant enough, and Harry and Ron and Dean went in to change first.

This left Seamus and Hermione to change. Seamus grinned, and said, "There's probably not enough time. We'll have to change together."

Hermione looked uncomfortable, but Harry saw she wasn't going to say no. So he said it for her. "No, Seamus. Change first. If we get there first, I'll stay with her."

Seamus looked a bit annoyed, but he nodded and went in to change. Hermione smiled at Harry, and changed when Seamus was done.

When they got there, Harry led his friends out of the train. He had left his pack on the train, but had brought his knife with him.

"Firs' years! Firs' years, follow me please!" yelled a huge man at the end of the platform. As the first years seperated with the older students, Hermione grabbed Harry's hand so as not to get separated from him. He smiled at her, and held on. Soon, they were in a boat with two twins by the name of Padma and Parvati. Parvati seemed to be enraptured by the castle. Padma, however, was able to talk, and Harry found he liked her. She was intelligent, and had a sense of humor that soon had Harry and Hermione laughing.

When inside, the giant man herded them toward a tall woman in a lime green dress.

"Hello, students," she said. "I am Professor McGonnagal. Soon, you will be sorted into your houses. Give me a moment, and then you will be brought in."

As she left, Malfoy came up to Harry with two gorilla-like boys behind him. "Bet you won't be so confident now will you, eh?"

Harry grinned. "The name's Harry Potter, and if you really think they'll give me much of a fight, then you're delusional."

Malfoy laughed. "Don't be so sure. Crabbe and Goyle have both trained in the martial arts."

"You saw firsthand what I can do on the train. Do you really want to get caught in the middle of that again?"

"I won't," said Malfoy arrogantly. "You'll be on the floor, begging for mercy."

Harry took a step closer, and the trio unconsciously took a step back. "How about we set up a little something when we have time, eh?"

Malfoy's eyebrows furrowed. "Like what?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "A fight, genius."

"Oh," said Malfoy sheepishly. He stepped back into the crowd with his two thugs as McGonnagal came back.

"They're waiting for you," she said, and turned and walked out the doors. The students followed.

Inside, the students walked in, and were overwhelmed by the light and how many people there were. The first years walked down the aisle, staring up at the ceiling, which, Harry had read, was enchanted to look like the sky above it.

Professor McGonnagal stopped beside a stool that had the Sorting Hat sitting on top. Harry had heard from his mum that he would hear the Hat's voice in his head as it decided what House he would be in.

"Abbot, Hannah," called out Professor McGonnagal. A short, slightly plump witch walked out in front of the Great Hall. She sat on the stool, and Professor Mcgonnagal placed the Hat on her head. After a moment, the Hat called out, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Hannah went to sit at her table with students clapping her on the back and congratulating her. After that, Professor McGonnagal called out Susan Bones, who went to Hufflepuff as well.

Draco was called soon. The Hat hadn't even touched him when it yelled, "SLYTHERIN!"

"Well, that's not surprising," whispered Ron to Harry. "Can you imagine if it had said Gryffindor or something? Blimey, I would like to see that."

Harry grinned, then watched as Hermione was called.

She went up nervously. After a long moment of consideration, the Hat yelled, "RAVENCLAW!"

She grinned, and ran to her new House.

After a few more names, including Padma and Parvati, who ended up in different Houses, Harry was called.

"Harry MacLeod-Potter!"

Harry started up to the stool. Unseen by him, Dumbledore slightly rose out of his chair at the sound of his name, then sat back down. He would call Harry up to his office tomorrow to see if he was the son of James and Lily Potter.

Harry sat on the stool, slightly nervous. Lily had been in Gryffindor, and Crowley was a squib, so he hadn't gone to Hogwarts.

As Professor McGonnagal put the Hat on his head, he thought of how he didn't really care what House he would be in.

Aha! Said the voice of, presumably, the Hat. That's a bad decision, Mr. Potter… Cambion, eh? Can't say we've had one of those before, and I would know. Your demon heritage would suggest Slytherin, but everything about your personality suggests otherwise. Ah well, we'll see how this turns out, won't we?

Outside of Harry's head, the Hat shouted, "RAVENCLAW!"

That table clapped and cheered, Hermione among them. Harry was glad to see she had forgiven him. He went and sat beside her, then turned to watch the rest of the Sorting.

After a few more names, Ron was up. He walked up to the stool, and the Hat almost immediately called, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Ron grinned, and went to his table.

After Blaise Zabini, another Slytherin, Dumbledore stood. "I have a few words that I would like to say before we begin." He cleared his throat, drank a glass of water, and said, "A few words."

The students laughed, and food appeared on the table.

Padma looked at her spoon in wonder. "Is it real gold?"

A prefect, by the name of Roger Davies, said, "If you take it from the Great Hall, it will disappear. So don't be getting any ideas," he said, and winked. They laughed, and started eating.

Harry had never eaten so well in his life. Lily's cooking wasn't bad, but Crowley's was just plain horrible. Harry, looking around, saw nothing but perfection. He wanted to shake hands with the chef that cooked all this.

When the feast was over, Harry followed the rest of the first years up to the Ravenclaw Common Room.

The door knocker suddenly spoke, frightening a few girls that were standing a bit too close. "With three eyes and black as night, I knock down ten men in a single strike. What am I?"

The prefects were stumped. Harry thought about, but didn't know what it could be. Suddenly a voice piped up from behind him. "A bowling ball!"

Harry turned to find Hermione blushing. "Me and my parents bowl a lot."

The door knocker grinned, and the door swung open.

Inside, the prefects, Roger and another, Penelope Clearwater, explained where they would be staying. "Boys, upstairs, girls, downstairs," said Roger.

"Follow me," said Penelope, and led the girls down. Roger gestured, and the boys followed him.

In his dormitory, Harry grinned. He would be sharing the dorm with Terry Boot, Michael Corner, and Anthony Goldstein. He liked Terry and Michael, but Anthony rubbed him the wrong way. Harry would still be civil, but he would also not go out of his way to help him.

Harry shook his head as he drew the curtains back on his bed. Today couldn't have gone any better.

Wow, I'm zooming through this, aren't I? I could make the chapters longer, but my computer has a habit of deleting my documents. I don't want to lose too much if it decides to do that to The Demon Inside.

So, my poll had almost no results. 6 people! Is that the best you can do? Come on!

Here's to myreviews, from Sakura Lisel and KateKat:

Sakura Lisel: Harry wrote to them as Harry MacLeod-Potter. And he was called up with the same, so… Also, he wouldn't show up in their book because he's American.

KateKat: I can't wait for next chapter.

Thank you! Gridline out.