Harry and Danny's next month at the Leaky Cauldron was one of the best either of them had ever had. They spent most of the day leafing through their schoolbooks and making fun of each others' complete lack of knowledge about the magical world. In the evenings, they would sit at a table and talk about some funny aspects of their lives that had occurred while living with their Muggle families.
"So my mom came home and announced that she'd picked up some fudge at the mall, and when my dad heard that he started cheering and completely forgot about the device he was working on, so it blew up in his face and coated him with ectoplasmic goo! The stuff took a week to get off!" Danny said, and Harry guffawed.
"Okay, this one happened just a couple of weeks before you and Hagrid came to bring me here. It was my cousin's birthday and he, his friend, my aunt and uncle, and I all went to the zoo to celebrate. We went into the reptile house and Dudley kept tapping on the glass case of this massive boa constrictor, from Brazil. The snake didn't wake up, so he got bored and left. I went up to the case, and all of a sudden the snake woke up. I asked it if people usually annoyed it like that, you know, just for the sake of talking to someone and not really expecting an answer, when it nodded! Then, to see if I was actually communicating with it, I asked what Brazil was like. It started pointing with its tail at the sign that said 'born in captivity,' as though it knew exactly what I was saying! My cousin saw that it had woken up, so he shoved me out of the way to look at the snake. He leaned up against the glass to get a better look, and the glass disappeared. Just vanished into thin air. Dudley fell into the snake's habitat and it slithered out into the open, and when Dudley tried to get out, the glass had reappeared, so he was trapped inside!" By the end of the story, Danny was laughing so hard he was practically falling out of his seat.
"That's…hilarious!" Danny squeaked out in-between fits of laughter. He finally died down and the two of them sipped the tea that Tom had brought to their small table.
"You know A History of Magic?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, what of it?"
"Well, I was reading through it today and I decided to name my owl after one of the people mentioned in it, Hedwig."
"Hedwig…" Danny tried out the name and rolled it around on his tongue. "I like it," he said. "I've also been thinking. You know my ghost half?" He asked the last part in a whisper; he still wanted to keep his ghost half a secret from the general populace for the time being. Harry nodded.
"Well, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and I think I'll call it Danny Phantom."
"Nice…it's like your name, but is just different enough to make people not be able to tell you're the same person. And it's ghostly. Brilliant."
"Thanks! By the way, do you know how we're going to get to the station tomorrow morning?"
"I think we'll just take the Tube," Harry replied as he held up a map of the London Underground. "The Victoria Line has a stop at King's Cross, and we're within walking distance of one of its other stops, so it shouldn't be too difficult."
"Do you have any British Muggle money to buy us tickets?" Harry's gaze shifted to the ground.
"Well…I…uh…"
"Dude, relax. I've got some American money that we should be able to exchange, no problem." The two of them went upstairs not long afterwards, and each of them finished packing up their things and went to bed early so as to be prepared for the journey to Hogwarts the next morning.
September the First dawned overcast and chilly. Harry and Danny said goodbye to Tom and left the pub. They made their way over to the London Underground stop with difficulty, due to their various oddly-shaped packages, not to mention Hedwig. It was these same factors that earned them the stares of countless muggles as Danny exchanged some U.S. dollars for British Pounds so that he and Harry could buy tickets to ride the Tube. They got off at Kings Cross Station and checked their tickets to see which platform their train would arrive at.
"It says…platform nine and three quarters," Harry announced. He and Danny looked up. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all.
"Uh…" Danny stared blankly at the brick wall dividing the platforms as passersby began staring at Hedwig. "Maybe we should try and ask someone for help," he suggested. The two of them wheeled their carts over to a passing guard.
"Excuse me, but could you please direct us to the train leaving for Hogwarts?" Harry asked.
"Hogwarts? What rubbish is this?"
"It's our school, and we're supposed to take the train to it, but we can't find the platform…"
"What part of the country is it in?"
"Well, I'm not quite sure, really…" As Harry's voice trailed off, the guard took on a facial expression indicating that he thought Harry was being stupid on purpose, and he wasn't happy about it.
"What my friend means to say," Danny quickly interjected before the guard booted them out of the station, "is that we're looking for the train that leaves at eleven o'clock."
"There isn't one," the guard replied briskly, then walked away muttering to himself about time-wasters.
"Okay, don't panic," Harry said to himself. According to the big clock over the arrivals board, the two boys had ten minutes left to get on the train, and they had no idea whatsoever how to board said train. They were stranded in the middle of King's Cross Station with suitcases they could barely lift, pockets full of wizard money, and a large snowy owl.
"Hold on," Danny suddenly said, his facial expression one of someone engaged in deep thought. In fact, he was straining his ears to locate a person or persons he had just heard walk by, seeing as one of them had mentioned something about Muggles. He grabbed Harry by the arm and dragged the two of them, plus their suitcases and Hedwig, in the direction of the speaker. They encountered a plump woman who was talking to for boys, all of whom had red hair. The boys were all carrying suitcases similar to Harry's and Danny's, and furthermore, they had an owl. Harry and Danny shot each other hopeful glances, then followed the family and stopped just close enough to hear what they were saying.
"Now, what's the platform number?" The mother asked.
"Nine and three quarters!" A small redheaded girl piped up. The girl was holding her mothers hand and was much younger than any of the boys. "Mum, can't I go…" she complained.
"You're not old enough, Ginnny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first." What looked like the oldest boy marched towards platforms nine and ten. Harry and Danny tried to see exactly what he was doing, but unfortunately a big group of tourists swarmed in front of him and by the time that they'd passed him, he had vanished.
"Damn Americans," Danny muttered as he glared at the tourists. Harry looked at him oddly for a second, then turned his attention back to the family.
"Fred, you next," the plump woman said.
"I'm not Fred, I'm George. Honestly, woman, call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?" one of a set of twins replied.
"Sorry, George, honey."
"Only joking, I am Fred," the boy said, and he approached the divide and was followed immediately by his twin. They disappeared, but how had they done it? They couldn't have turned invisible like Danny; he was the only half-ghost Harry knew of. Then how? They didn't have any other options.
"Excuse me?" Harry asked as he and Danny approached the plump woman.
"Oh, hello. First time at Hogwarts also? Ron's new, too." She pointed at the last remaining brother, who was tall and lanky, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose.
"Yeah," Danny replied.
"Are you both twins as well?" The woman asked.
"No, just friends," Harry answered. "The thing is…the thing is, we don't know how to-"
"How to get on the platform?" she kindly interrupted. Danny and Harry both nodded. "It's simple. All you have to do is walk right at the barrier in-between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it. You can do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go ahead, before Ron."
"Uh, thanks," Harry said. He pushed the trolley containing his suitcase at the solid-looking barrier. He gulped as he began walking towards it. People jostled him on their way to platforms nine and ten, and Harry nervously walked more quickly. He closed his eyes and broke into a full run, expecting to hit the platform, but the impact never came. He kept running…and then opened his eyes.
A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed to the gills with people. A sign overtop of the barrier Harry had just passed through read Platform Nine and Three Quarters. He moved out of the way so Danny could get through.
"See, what did I tell you? I kept saying all we had to do was run at the barrier in-between platforms nine and ten, and we'd have made it, but you just wouldn't listen…" Danny joked. Harry rolled his eyes and the two of them pushed their trolleys down off the platform in search of an empty seat. They passed cats of every color, owls of every type, students either hanging out the window to talk to their families or fighting over seats…
"Gran, I've lost my toad again," a round-faced boy was complaining to his grandmother.
"Oh, Neville," the old woman sighed. A boy with shoulder-length dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd, two of whose members were the redheaded twins from before. He lifted the lid of a box he was holding and everyone shrieked and yelled as a long, hairy leg was poked out of the box.
They moved through the crowd until they found an empty compartment close to the end of the train. Harry put Hedwig inside first, then started to lift his suitcase towards the train door. Danny left his own suitcase and tried to help him lift the heavy thing, but the two of them together only managed to lift it high enough for it to hurt when it landed on Harry's foot.
"Need some help?" Someone suddenly asked. Danny and Harry looked up to see that the someone was one of the twins that they'd followed through the ticket box.
"Yes, please," Harry replied.
"Hey, Fred! Get your lazy butt over here and help!" George helped Harry lift his suitcase while Fred helped with Danny's.
"Thanks," Harry panted as he pushed his sweaty hair out of his eyes.
"What's that?" one of the twins asked as he pointed at Harry's scar.
"Holy…are you?" the other said.
"He is," the first replied. "Aren't you?" He added to Harry.
"What?" Harry asked, annoyed.
"Harry Potter," the twins said in sync.
"Oh him…I mean yes, I am." The twins gaped at him and Harry felt himself blushing; the twins' mother's voice floating in came as an immense relief to him.
"Fred, George, are you in there?"
"Coming, Mum!" With one last look at Harry, the twins got off the train. Harry and Danny watched as the redheaded family spoke on the platform.
"Wanna hear what they're saying?" Danny asked.
"Sure," Harry replied. After making sure nobody was looking, Danny transformed and made himself and Harry invisible and intangible. They flew through the wall of the train and hovered just above the family to listen in.
"Ron, you've got something on your nose," the mother said as she rubbed the end of it with her handkerchief.
"Aah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" One of the twins mocked.
"Shut it…" Ron replied darkly.
"Where's Percy?" the mother asked.
"He's coming now." The oldest boy approached his family, black Hogwarts robes billowing behind him. Harry and Danny noticed a small silver badge on his chest shaped in the letter 'P'.
"I can't stay long, mother. I'm up front, the prefects have two compartments to themselves," he announced.
"Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?" One of the twins asked, surprised. "You should have said something about it, we had no idea."
"Wait a moment, I think He said something about it once," the other twin replied.
"Or twice-"
"A minute-"
"All summer-"
"Oh, shut up," Percy chastised. The mother kissed him on the cheek and he left, then she turned on the twins.
"Now, you two-you'd better behave yourselves this year. If I get just one more owl telling me you've…blown up a toilet or something…"
"Blown up a toilet? We've never done that, Mom."
"Great Idea, though, thanks!"
"It's not funny. And look after Ron."
"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."
"Shut up," Ron warned again, his nose still pink where his mother had rubbed it clean.
"Hey Mum guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?"
"Who?"
"You know that kid with the black hair who was near us in the station?"
"Which one?"
"The green-eyed one. Guess who he is."
"Who?"
"Harry Potter!"
"Oh, Mum, can I go on the train and see him, Mum, oh please…" the girl whined.
"You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in the zoo…" Danny flew them back into the train, changed back to human, and collapsed on a seat.
"Whoa, how much energy did you use up?" Harry asked worriedly.
"Too much…" Danny muttered, then dozed off. Harry heard a whistle sound and all of the children, save for the little girl, boarded the train and got kissed goodbye by their mother. The train began to move, and the mother and girl waved until they disappeared as the train rounded a bend. Suddenly, the door of the compartment slid open and the youngest redhead came in.
"Is anyone sitting there?" He pointed to the seat next to Danny. "Everywhere else is full. Harry shook his head, and the boy sat down. He still had a black mark on his nose. The twins came up to the compartment and greeted their brother.
"Hey Ron, we're just going back down to the middle of the train; Lee Jordan's got a tarantula down there," one of them said.
"And Harry? We're Fred and George Weasley. And this is our brother, Ron."
"Nice to meet you. This is Danny, by the way," Harry said as he pointed at Danny. The twins nodded and left, and the compartment door slid shut behind them.
"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out. Harry nodded. "Oh…and have you really got…you know…" he pointed at Harry's forehead, and Harry pulled back the fringe of hair that covered the lightning-bolt scar.
"Is that where You-Know-Who-"
"Yeah, but I can't remember it."
"Nothing?"
"Well, a lot of green light, but nothing else…I was only a year old, after all." Ron nodded, then commenced staring out the window.
"Are all your family wizards?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, I think so…Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."
"So you probably know a lot of magic already, right?"
"Not really…I heard you had to live with Muggles. What are they like?"
"Terrible…well, not all of them. My aunt, uncle, and cousin are, though. Danny was actually from a family of muggles; he's the first in his family to get accepted to Hogwarts. I wish I'd had three wizard brothers, though."
"Five," Ron corrected. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie already left…Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Percy's a prefect, Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good grades and everyone thinks they're funny…everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's olf wand, and Percy's old rat." He reached inside of his jacket and pulled out a sleeping gray rat.
"His name's scabbers and he's completely useless. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff- I mean, I got Scabbers instead." Ron's ears went pink; he looked as though he thought he'd said too much. He contemptuously tossed Scabbers without really thinking, and the rat went sailing…right onto Danny's face.
"It's a lie, I'm not a ghost!" Danny yelled as he shot straight up, completely awake. He rubbed his eyes and glared at the two boys, who were laughing at him.
"Danny Fenton, Ron Weasley. Ron Weasley, Danny Fenton," Harry said in an attempt to introduce the two. Danny waved amiably, and Ron did the same.
"So you live with muggles as well?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, I didn't even know magic existed before I got my letter," Danny replied. "My parents are both professional ghost hunters."
"Wicked! I've heard that there are a lot of ghosts at Hogwarts!" Ron said. "But they're not malevolent, otherwise they'd be kicked out."
"Don't tell them that, or they'd be barging in toting Fenton Bazookas…they're a bit trigger happy, but still great parents. Much better than Harry's family, anyway."
"Yeah," Harry added. He told Ron about having to wear Dudley's old clothes and never getting any birthday presents. "And until Hagrid told me, I'd never even known anything about being a wizard or my parents or Voldemort-" He paused when Ron gasped.
"What?" Harry asked.
"You said You-Know-Who's name!" Ron exclaimed. "I'd have thought you, of all people…"
"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name. I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I bet…I bet I'm the worst in the class."
"You won't be," Ron reassured him. "There are loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quickly enough."
"They'd better," Danny warned, and the three boys chuckled.
The three of them fell silent as they watched the cow pastures and farms pass by. At around half-past twelve, there was an odd clattering noise outside of the compartment. A woman slid back the door and poked her head into the compartment.
"Anything off the trolley, dears?" Ron mumbled something about sandwiches, but Harry and Danny, who had skipped breakfast to try and make it to Kings Cross on time, leapt to their feet.
"Come to papa, Mars Bars," Harry muttered.
"Nah, it's all about Milky Ways," Danny replied.
Unfortunately for both of them, the trolley was lacking in Mars Bars and Milky Ways. It made up for the deficit, though, by being packed with Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other things. Not wanting to miss anything, the two boys bought a little of each and paid the woman twenty-two Sickles and fourteen Knuts. Ron stared openmouthed as they poured their goldmine of junk food onto an empty seat.
"Hungry much?" He finally asked.
"Starving," was the reply. Ron grimaced as he unwrapped a lumpy package containing four sandwiches.
"She always forgets I don't like corned beef…" he mumbled.
"So take some of these," Danny said as he tossed a Pumpkin Pasty at him. Ron caught the pasty and looked at him questioningly.
"Go on, eat it!" Harry exhorted. Ron gave them a look of immense gratitude and the three of them proceeded to eat their way through the monstrous pile of pasties and cakes.
"Say, what are these?" Harry asked as he held up some Chocolate Frogs. "They're not actual frogs, right?"
"Nah, but see what the card is." Harry and Danny stared at him, confused.
"Chocolate Frogs have collectors cards inside them, famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I'm missing Agrippa and Ptolemy." Harry unwrapped the card, revealing a man wearing half-moon glasses, a long crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and moustache. The name Albus Dumbledore was written underneath the picture.
"So that's Dumbledore," Danny mused as he read the name.
"Don't tell me you've never heard of Dumbledore!" Ron exclaimed. "Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa…thanks…" Harry turned the card over, where a description was written:
Albus Dumbledore, currently Headmaster of Hogwarts. Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindlewald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicholas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.
Harry turned the card back over and was surprised to see that Dumbledore's face had vanished.
"He's gone!" he exclaimed.
"Duh, you can't expect him to stay there all day, he'll be back." He looked at his card. "Dang it, I got Morgana again and I already have, like, six of her." As he turned his attention to the pile of Chocolate Frogs, Dumbledore returned to his picture and gave Harry a small smile. After a while, Harry had amassed a collection containing Dumbledore, Morgana, Hengist of Woodcroft and Alberic Grunnion. Danny, meanwhile, had Circe, Paracelsus, Merlin, and the druidess Cliodna. Danny opened up a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and Ron immediately jumped up and snatched the bag away just as Danny was about to reach inside and take a bean.
"Hey, what gives?" Danny asked, confused and a little angry.
"Be careful! When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor. You'll get chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but you can also get ones like spinach, liver, and tripe. George, you know, my brother, he says he thinks he got a booger-flavored one once." He carefully inspected a green bean and experimentally bit into a corner.
"Augh! See? Sprouts." The three of them had a good time eating the Every Flavor Beans. They unearthed toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and pepper.
At about the same time as Harry was nibbling on the end of the pepper-flavored bean, someone knocked on the door of the compartment and the round-faced boy named Neville came in, looking as though he was about to cry.
"Sorry, but have any of you seen a toad at all?" he asked. They shook their heads. "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!" he wailed.
"He'll turn up eventually," Harry consoled.
"Yeah," Neville sniffed. "Well, if you see him…" he turned around and left.
"Don't know what he's so worked up about," Ron said. "If I'd brought a toad, I'd try to lose it as quickly as I possibly could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't really talk." The fat rat was still sleeping on Danny's seat, where he had been knocked during Danny's rude awakening.
"For all we know, he died and we can't even tell the difference," Ron said disgustedly. "Fred gave me a spell to turn him yellow, but it didn't work. I'll show you, one second…" he rummaged through his suitcase and pulled out his wand. He'd just raised it when the compartment door slid open again. It was Neville, but this time he'd brought a girl with him who was already wearing her Hogwarts robes.
"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one." She had bushy brown hair and slightly larger-than-normal front teeth, and a bossy voice.
"We've already told him we haven't seen it," Ron replied, exasperated. The girl wasn't listening to him, though; she was looking at the wand he was holding.
"Oh, are you going to do magic? Let's see it, then." She sat down; Ron looked taken aback. He cleared his throat.
"Sunshine daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid, fat rat yellow." He waved his wand, and a yellow spark came out. Everyone present looked at Scabbers expectantly, but he remained gray and asleep.
"Are you sure that's a real spell?" the girl asked. "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 has any magic at all; it was a huge surprise when I got my letter. But I was so happy! After all, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard. I've already learned our required reading off by heart, of course, I just hope it'll be enough. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?" She said all this very quickly. The three boys looked at each other and their facial expressions indicated that none of them had memorized the required reading either.
"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.
"Danny Fenton. Nobody in my family is magic either; I'm the first also."
"Harry Potter," Harry said.
"Are you really?" Hermione asked, amazed. "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.
"Am I really?" Harry echoed, dazed.
"You mean you didn't know? I'd have found out everything I could if it was me. Anyway, do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it's supposed to be the best. I heard that Dumbledore himself was one, but I guess Ravenclaw is okay too…Anyway, I'm going to go help Neville look for his toad. You three should probably change into your robes; I bet we'll be there soon." She turned and left, and Ron sank back into his seat.
"Geez, whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," he said. He grimaced and threw his wand back into his suitcase. "Dumb spell…George gave it to me, I bet it was just a trick…"
"What house have all your brothers been in?" Harry asked.
"Gryffindor. Mom and Dad were in it too. I can't imagine what they'd say if I'm not. I guess Ravenclaw wouldn't be all that bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin…"
"The house Vol-I mean, You-Know-Who was in?"
"Yeah…" Ron replied with a sigh.
"Hey, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a little brighter!" Danny exclaimed as he stared at the rat. His efforts to cheer Ron up failed, though, as the taller boy still looked depressed.
"So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left Hogwarts, anyway?" Harry asked him.
"Charlie's in Romania studying dragons and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," Ron replied. "Say, did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don't suppose either of you get that, living with Muggles and all. Anyway, someone tried to rob a high-security vault."
"No way!" Harry and Danny chorused.
"Way!"
"What happened to them?" Danny asked.
"Nothing, that's why it's such huge news. The robbers haven't been caught. Dad says it had to have been a really powerful Dark wizard to get around Gringotts security, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. Of course, everyone freaks when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it." There followed an eerie silence.
"What's your Quidditch team?" Ron suddenly asked out of the blue.
"Uh…I don't know any," Danny said.
"Me neither," Harry added.
"What!" Ron asked, astounded. "Just you wait, it's the best game in the world!" and he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. Frankly, he reminded Danny of his father once the subject of ghosts had been broached in his presence. Ron was just talking his way through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but this time it wasn't Neville the Toadless Wonder or Hermione.
Three boys entered the compartment and Danny and Harry recognized the middle one immediately; he was the pale kid from Madam Malkin's robe shop. His disinterested gaze was replaced with an interested stare this time as he looked at Harry.
"Is it true?" He asked. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"
"Yeah," Harry replied distractedly. He was distracted because he was looking at the other two boys; both of them were muscular and looked extremely mean. They flanked the pale boy like bodyguards.
"Oh, these are Crabbe and Goyle," the pale boy said carelessly as he noticed where Danny, Harry, and Ron were looking. "And my name's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." Ron coughed slightly, which sounded like it might have been hiding a snigger.
"Smooth," Danny commented. Malfoy turned on Ron.
"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are; Father tells me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." He sneered as Ron's ears went pink and turned back to Harry.
"You'll soon find out that 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." He held out his hand as though to shake Harry's, but Harry declined.
"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly. Malfoy's pale cheeks took on a pink tinge.
"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter. Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riff-raff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid and it'll rub off on you." Both Harry and Ron stood up, Ron's face as red as his hair. Nobody had noticed that Danny had vanished.
"Say that again," Ron said.
"Oh, so you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy said with a sneer.
"Unless you get out now," Harry replied, sounding braver than he felt; Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than they were.
"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some." Goyle reached towards the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron. Ron leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle yelled and drew his hand back. Malfoy was pointing his wand right in-between Goyle's shoulder blades, and had clearly just used a curse of some sort on him to prevent him from going any further.
"On second thought, let's just go."
"But I'm so hungry…" Goyle whined.
"Quiet, dolt! Let's go, I said."
"But-" Crabbe began. Malfoy glared at him, and for a second Harry thought his eyes were glowing green. Malfoy flicked his wand and the pile of candy toppled over. He turned tail and left, and the two bigger boys reluctantly followed. Harry and Ron glanced at each other just as Hermione Granger came in.
"What a weird kid," Danny said, making everyone present jump.
"I didn't see you there," Ron said, his hand clutched over his heart. "You've met Malfoy before?" Danny and Harry told him and Hermione about their meeting at Madam Malkin's.
"I've heard of his family," Ron said darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it, he says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side. He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"
"You all had better hurry up and put your robes on, I just finished talking with the driver and he says we'll be there soon. By the way, you've got dirt on your nose, did you know?" Ron was glaring at her as she left the compartment and closed the door.
It was getting dark outside. The three boys could see mountains and forests, and noticed that the train seemed to be slowing down. They took off their jackets and put on their black school robes. A voice echoed through the train.
"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately." The three boys shot each other nervous glances. They crammed a few pieces of candy into their pockets and pushed their way into the crowd in the corridor. When the train slowed down and finally came to a stop, people began pushing towards the door and out onto a small platform. A lamp floated over the heads of the students and a voice called out.
"First years! First years over here!" Hagrid called. They all followed Hagrid down a steep, narrow path.
"You'll get your first sight of Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder. "Just around this bend here." They rounded said bend and everyone oohed.
The path had opened onto the edge of a monstrous black lake. On the other side, on top of a high mountain, was a huge castle with many turrets and towers.
"No more than four to a boat," Hagrid said as he pointed to a fleet of small boats floating by the shore. Harry, Danny, and Ron got into a boat and were followed by Hermione.
"Everyone in?" Hagrid shouted. His bulk dictated that he get a boat to himself. "Alright then…FORWARD!" The boats began moving all by themselves; as they glided across the lake everyone silently stared at the large castle that grew in size as they neared it.
"Heads down!" Hagrid yelled as the first boats reached the cliff that the castle was perched on top of. They bent their heads and the boats carried them though a curtain of ivy that hid an opening in the cliff face. They went through a dark tunnel that seemed to lead right underneath the castle. They reached an underground harbor where they climbed out of the boats.
"Hey, is this your toad?" Hagrid asked as he checked the boats.
"Trevor!" Neville cried as he blissfully held out his hands. They climbed up a passageway after Hagrid and eventually left rocks and pebbles for smooth, damp grass. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door. Hagrid raised a massive fist and knocked three times on the castle door.