Disclaimer: The usual, I don't own any of the characters or anything to do with Harry Potter. All credit goes to J.K Rowling. Anyone you don't recognise is owned by me.

Authors Note: I'm so sorry it's been so long, but life has really sucked the last few months. However, I was determined to finish this chapter; no matter how bad it came out (I was half asleep by the end cos it was past my bed time.) Any who, here it is.

CHAPTER FIVE

"Where the hell is Platform 9 ¾?" Tom hissed to Isolde as they stood between Platform 9 and Platform 10 at Kings Cross on September 1st. They were glad to have arrived early, thanks to Mrs Cole who seemed glad to see the pair out of the orphanage. They had reached a problem when they looked at their tickets to find they were supposed to board the Hogwarts Express on Platform 9 ¾, which couldn't possibly exist, right?

After admonishing Tom for his bad language, Isolde pointed out that maybe the entrance was like the one to Diagon Alley. They had just started to walk closer to the wall between Platforms 9 and 10, when a small group of people stopped a couple of metres in front of the barrier. Tom noticed that they had trunks and an owl, like the ones at Diagon Alley. He and Isolde stood there watching them, as one by the one they ran at the wall and disappeared through it.

Exchanging a look Tom and Isolde decided to take lead from them and ran at the wall. Instead of running into it, they ran through it like the other group they had seen.

"Wow." Isolde said when she spotted a large scarlet coloured steam engine next to the platform that was packed with people. There was a sign above it that said Hogwarts Express.

Tom grinned, turning to Isolde. "Come on." He said leading her down the platform.

"Isolde!" At the sound of her name, Isolde turned around to see Minerva and her parents standing near the train. Minerva was waving at her eagerly.

Isolde smiled. "Minerva." She said, heading towards her new friend. Tom followed with a scowl on his face. Isolde didn't see it, but Minerva did. There was something about that boy.

"Come on, let's go find a seat." Minerva said. It was at the end of the train that they found an empty compartment. Stowing their trunks in the overhead compartments, they bid Minerva's parents farewell, as the clock hit eleven, notifying them that the train was now leaving.

The journey began, leaving behind London and heading north. Minerva and Isolde chatted excitedly about the class they couldn't wait to take and the books they read. Isolde kept trying to draw Tom into the conversation, but all he would do is grunt or nod, before he fished Hogwarts: A History out of his trunk and settled down reading it. Giving a small sigh, Isolde returned her attention to her new friend.

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It was sometime later when Tom closed his book and sent a disgusted look at Minerva who still held Isolde's attention with her tale of a vacation she'd had with her parents in France. He placed the bookmark in his book and returned it to his trunk. Upset that Isolde hadn't even looked at him, Tom turned and slipped out of the compartment.

Walking down the train, Tom listened to the sound of the other students talking excitedly about their summers. He was halfway down the train when the door to a compartment opened and someone stepped out, walking into Tom.

"Watch where you're going." The person snarled.

"Why don't you watch it?" Tom sneered back; as he took in the boy he had bumped into. He looked to be about Tom's age with blonde hair that was almost white, pale skin and grey eyes.

The boy looked Tom up and down. "First year?" the boy asked.

"What's it too you?" Tom replied.

The boy smirked at him. "That's no way to greet a new classmate." He drawled. "Didn't your parents ever teach you manners?"

Tom glared at him. "They're dead." He answered shortly.

"oh." The boy said. "Sorry." He didn't look the slightest bit sorry. "Were they muggles?"

Tom hesitated for a second. Something told him to deny it, but if Isolde found out that he was lying, she would be very upset with him however at the same time, after reading a couple of his new books he knew that some people looked down on muggles and muggleborns. He didn't want to get off on the wrong foot. "I'm half-blood." He told the blond boy, figuring it was probably true anyway.

Lip curled slightly the boy replied, "Better than being a Mudblood I suppose." He held out his hand. "Abraxas Malfoy."

"Tom Riddle." Tom said, accepting the hand after a moment's hesitation, maybe if he had a new friend to wave in Isolde's face, it would make her realise how much she needed him and she would drop Minerva in an instant.

Abraxas dropped Tom's hand and turned, walking back into the compartment. Tom stared after him when he suddenly stepped back out, looking at Tom. "Well come on." He said, sounding a little annoyed, before walking back in.

The compartment was occupied by three other boys. A tall well built boy with curly black hair; a shorter boy with a slightly plump build and brown wavy hair; and another boy with dark blonde hair.

"Boys, this is Tom Riddle." Abraxas said, closing the door behind Tom. "Tom, this is Alphard Black." He gestured to the black haired boy. "Antonin Dolovho." The dark blonde nodded at him. "And Erebus Avery." The third boy was too busy eating from a bag of candy to greet Tom.

Abraxas flopped down on the seat between Alphard and Antonin, gesturing to Tom to take a seat beside Erebus. "First year too Tom?" Alphard asked him.

"Yes." Tom replied, surveying the boys in surrounding him. He took them in, trying to make out if they could be trusted, but it was too soon to tell for sure.

"So, Tom. Which house are you hoping to be sorted into?" Antonin asked from his position by the window.

Tom turned to him. "I'm not sure." He began slowly, noticing that all four boys were leaning towards him; even Erebus had pulled his face out of his candy bag. "Slytherin. Though Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad."

The boys leaned back. "Ravenclaw is alright, I suppose." Abraxas said. "Better then Gryffindor or Hufflepuff. Gah, Imagine if you got sorted into one of them. I think I'd leave school."

"My father would disown me if I got sorted into any house other than Slytherin." Alphard put in.

"Slytherin is the best house." Erebus piped up.

Abraxas smirked at Tom. "It definitely is. Every Malfoy has been in Slytherin since Hogwarts was first established." He stared hard at Tom. "Although your chances of getting into Slytherin might be slim. Only purebloods get into Slytherin."

Tom frowned, but kept quiet, glad he hadn't mentioned the possibility of being muggleborn. The door to their compartment suddenly opened and a girl with straight black hair stepped in. "I just saw Walburga and she told me that we will be arriving at Hogwarts soon, so it's best we get changed into our robes." This was directed at Alphard.

"Alright." Alphard said to her. "Oh, Lucretia, this is Tom. He's a first year as well. Tom, this is my cousin Lucretia."

Lucretia looked at him and smiled. "Nice to meet you Tom." She said, before frowning. "You don't know someone named Isolde, do you? Because there was a girl looking for someone named Tom."

Tom felt his heart beat faster at the thought of Isolde looking for him. "I better go find her." He said, standing up.

"We'll see you later then Tom." Abraxas said, with that smirk on his face.

Tom nodded, and then slid past Lucretia in search of Isolde. He found her just outside their compartment, dressed in her robes and looking frantic. She launched herself into his arms the minute she saw him. "Where have you been? I was so worried." She said.

Tom felt tension he hadn't even realised he was feeling, ease out of his body at the feel of Isolde in his arms. He didn't realise how much he had missed her in the short amount of time they had been apart. "I was exploring." He told her.

Isolde pulled away from him. "Come on, we're almost there." She said, dragging him into the compartment, where to his disappointment, Minerva was seated dressed in her own robes. "You need to get changed into your uniform. We'll wait outside."

Grabbing Minerva she dragged her out, leaving Tom to quickly change before giving them the okay to return. It wasn't long before the train came to a stop and everyone began disembarking. Tom reached for Isolde's hand, not wanting to lose her in the crush of students.

"First years, this way please first years." A voice shouted above the noise.

Minerva grabbed Isolde's sleeve. "Come on, this way." She said and Isolde followed holding Tom's hand tightly.

They came to a stop in front of a middle aged man holding a lantern, who was surveying the group. "Have we got everyone?" he asked, still looking them over. "Alright then, let's go."

He walked off and everyone followed him. Tom leaned over to Isolde and whispered in her ear. "This is it."

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As usual, please R&R. I've also taken the time to answer some of you reviews and thank you all personally.

moonstargazer – Yes, Tom is a tad jealous. He is going to get a whole lot worse. I'm glad you like my story.

Superdani a.k.a VioletFairchild – I know that Minerva is older them Tom, but in my story I wanted her to be the same age as Tom and Isolde for future chapters. I am also flattered to see that someone has a favourite line. I have to admit, it's probably one of my favourites as well.

David Fishwick – Here's your update. Sorry it took so long. Thank you for your review.

weirdunusalchick – I look forward to your future reviews. Hope you like this chapter.

Knights of Wattala – I'm glad you find my story interesting. My chapters are usually short because it takes me so long to write them and I just want to get a chapter up, but hopefully they will get longer as the story progresses.

Midaria – OMG, I have followers, that is so cool. I'm going to finish this story if it kills me. I hope this chapter is to your liking.

Kelli – I love Tom Riddle as well. Thanks for the review.

KnightmareAngel – Interesting, I love that word especially in reference to my story. Thanks for your review and I hope to see more in the future.