II. On to Hogwarts

"Mother, don't fuss. I'll be all right," Eleven year old Tobias Ellewood assured his mother, who was quietly fussing over him.

Felicia Ellewood brushed back her son's dark hair and smiled. Toby was acting like a young man, but his eye belied the excitement he was feeling. He was mature for his age, acting as the man of the house and his mother's protector, but once in a while, she saw a glimpse of the little boy he was supposed to be, and was glad that he hadn't fully lost it. He wasn't taller than she was, but in a year or two, Felicia knew that he would tower over her. He may look like her, but his build and his dark hair was all his father's.

"I know dear, but you have to allow me this. I am your mother, after all," she said.

Toby looked at the woman who he loved more than anything in the world. She was younger than most of his friends' mothers, and was also his friend. He never really got into fights with her, unlike his other friends who always seemed to have something to complain about their own mothers. Even with the absence of his father, he didn't feel deprived. His mother was everything.

Suddenly caught by a sense of melancholy, Toby walked to his mother and hugged her. "I love you Mother."

Felicia hugged him back, tears shining in her eyes. "I love you Toby."

They stood there for a few minutes until the train conductor shouted "All aboard!" Parents gave their children last minute hugs and reminders, pushing them on the Hogwarts express. Toby's hands tightened around his mother's before he boarded the train. As it pulled out of the platform, he stood by the door, watching her watch him, until he could see her no longer.

Toby made his way to through the train, looking for an empty compartment. Most were already occupied by students who he presumed where second years and up, seeing as they already knew each other, calling greetings as they went past. Some looked at him with knowing smiles, making him a bit uneasy knowing they saw him as a lowly first year. But they weren't unfriendly, and he dared to smile back.

Towards the back of the carriage, the noise dwindled to a low hum, as most of the students converged at the middle. Here Toby found the compartments to be less occupied, sometimes having just two to three students compared to the jam-packed ones he had walked past. To his relief, the last compartment was empty. Not that Toby was anti-social by any means, but he thought that there was enough time to make friends when he got to Hogwarts. Right now, he was happy to spend some time on his own and get his bearings. He sat on the seat by the window and pulled out a book from the satchel he was carrying.

A few minutes into his reading, the compartment door slid open and a boy about his age slipped in. Toby threw him a cursory glance and went back to his book, then looked back at the boy. He had his back to Toby, peering out against the glass of the compartment, and he was breathing rather heavily, as if he had been running. He was still in Muggle clothes, with a satchel similar to Toby's slung over his shoulder. Ordinarily, Toby would go back to his book and ignore the boy, but what made him take a second look was that the boy had bright blue hair.

Toby was rarely surprised by things in the wizarding world, with a mother who came from a pureblood family. He may not have a father, but he certainly did have uncles and cousins who were strong influences in his life. A change of hair color was something not unusual, but seeing it on someone his age (and heading off to school to boot) was unexpected.

He must have made made some sound, because the boy turned. A wary look crossed his features as the two boys looked at each other. Realizing that maybe Tony was harmless, the blue-haired boy slowly walked to the seat across him.

"You a first year?" Blue Hair asked, as he lifted his satchel and sat down.

Toby nodded. "You?"

"Yeah." Blue Hair took a deep breath. "Sorry to barge in on you like this. McNair was following me and this is the only place I could run into."

Toby shook his head. "No problem. I don't think anyone would venture out here. Most kids decided to stay in the middle of the train." He cocked his head thoughtfully. "McNair? Tom McNair, tall somewhat hulking boy with a permanent scowl on his face?"

The blue-haired boy laughed. "Yeah, that one. I tripped over his luggage at the platform and he got mad." A rueful expression crossed the boy's face. "Which is ironic because I should be the one who's mad coz I got hurt."

"That's McNair all right. I suppose he said that you nicked his precious luggage that it's made from some animal?"

"Yeah! That's exactly that he said! You know McNair?"

Toby sighed and closed his book. "Unfortunately. My mother used to work for his family, and I tagged along sometimes. He's a git."

Blue Hair shot him a knowing look. "You got the receiving end of his temper too?"

"Not to mention his stupidity," Toby said.

Their eyes met and simultaneously, they burst into laughter. Unfortunately for Tom McNair, his reputation for being as dumb as he is as big preceded him.

The blue haired boy stuck his hand out to Toby. "I'm Teddy Lupin. Thanks for letting me stay here."

Toby took the offered hand and shook it. "Toby Ellewood. No problem, it's not as if I own this compartment."

Teddy laughed. "True, but you got here first, and could've thrown me out if you wanted. You're bigger than me."

Toby just shrugged. "Too much effort. Besides, I was too surprised by your hair."

"Oh?" Teddy lifted a hand to his hair. "Oh." He laughed. "Oh yeah, that's another reason why McNair was intent on following me. Probably to torture and figure out how I do it."

"Sorry? Do what?"

"This." To Toby's amazement, Teddy's hair changed from the bright blue to a shocking shade of purple, then to egg yolk yellow, moving to a lime green and then to candy apple red. The color change in itself was shocking, but for each color shift, the hair length and style changed. First it was short and blue, then longish, then a mohawk and so on. Finally, the hair changed into an untidy shock of mousy brown hair. Teddy grinned at the amazement on Toby's face. "Cool huh?"

Toby forced his slack jaw to close. "How in the world did you do that? That's some pretty advanced Transfiguration!"

His new friend smiled. "Nah. I didn't use any magic for that. I'm a Metamorphagus," he explained, waited for the inevitable question of "What's that?"

To Teddy's surprise, Toby didn't ask. Instead, he just continued gaping. "Shut up!" Toby exclaimed. "Really? But Metamorphagus are extremely rare! There's often just one in fifty people usually, and often skips generations! That's amazing! Do you have any other Metamorphagus in your family?"

Teddy blinked. He didn't expect anyone, especially kids his age, to know what a Metamorphagus is. "You know about Metamorphagus?" He asked Toby.

"Yeah. I read something about it way back. It's a pretty interesting topic you know. In the last ten years only about twenty Metamorphagus were noted here in Great Britain, while a lesser number were found in other parts of the world. People with your abilities are highly sought after by the defense branch of any Ministry of Magic." Toby rattled off these facts with ease.

"Well." Teddy was at a loss for words. "I guess you're a bookworm huh?"

Toby felt his face go red. "Uh, yeah."

"Cool. Can I copy your homework when we get them?"

Toby smiled. "Maybe. What'll you give me in return?"

"I can teach you Quidditch," Teddy offered.

Toby scoffed. "I already know Quidditch."

His new friend thought for a moment. "How about if I give you an autographed picture of a famous Quidditch player?"

"Who?"

"Ginny Weasley, er, Potter."

"Get out," Toby said, crossing his arms. "She doesn't like giving interviews and is stingy with autographs. How can you get one?"

Teddy's smile was smug. "I can."

Toby looked at Teddy, as if trying to figure him out. Teddy, suddenly became uneasy, not because he couldn't get the said autographed picture, but because he felt like Toby was probing into his mind, albeit unintentionally. He relaxed when Toby smiled.

"Ok, but maybe not copy. We'll get into trouble for that. I could help you and you make the effort to make it look like you made it on your own." He stuck his hand out.

Teddy took it. "Deal."

The two boys grinned at each other. It was as if the handshake wasn't just sealing the trade off, but a foundation of a new friendship.

***

Despite his out-worldliness, Toby couldn't help but feel giddy as the train pulled up at Hogwarts. Dusk was falling, and the students were piling out of the train on to the platform. There was a quiet hum of excitement among the younger kids, and Toby was caught up in it. He looked at his new friend, who had a grin on his face that Toby was sure mirrored his own.

Over the noise of the students, a loud voice called out "First years over 'ere please! First years!" and Toby saw a lamp swaying high up in the dark.

"Come on." Teddy touched his shoulder and jerked his head at the direction of the voice. "I'll introduce you to Hagrid."

Toby hooked his satchel over his shoulder and followed Teddy. "Who's Hagrid? And why aren't we going with the rest of the students?"

"Hagrid's a professor here, and he's in charge of bringing the first years to the castle. I dunno why we have to go to the lake, but it's tradition," Teddy replied. His face broke into a grin. "Hey Hagrid!"

For the second time that day, Toby felt his mouth open in disbelief. What he thought of as a huge tree trunk covered with an odd assortment of clothes was actually a man. A big man, probably ten feet tall, with a wide, round face, messy hair with pieces of twig stuck in it and hands that looked like it could easily crush a coconut. Toby gulped. He wasn't easily scared, but this man could easily take him down. "Teddy?" He whispered.

His friend didn't seem to hear him. Instead, he walked closer to the giant man and tugged on his clothes. The man turned and looked down. Toby was prepared to see Teddy fly but to his astonishment, Hagrid beamed down on Teddy. It didn't make him less scary, but his face became much friendlier.

"Hey Teddy!" Hagrid placed a big hand on the boy's shoulder, and Toby was scared his new friend might get crushed. "Finally here at Hogwarts are ye? First of teh family!"

"Yeah," Teddy looked bashful. "Oh, Hagrid, I'd like you to meet my friend Toby Ellewood. We met on the Express. Toby, this is Hagrid. He's a good friend of my family and he teaches here."

Toby gulped and stepped forward. "Pleased to met you sir," he said, unsure if he should hold his hand out for a shake. He settled for a wave instead.

Hagrid laughed. "Don't call me sir jus' yet Toby. Mebbe when we're in class. Pleased to meet yeh. Any friend of Teddy is a friend of mine. C'mon now, get on the boat. We need teh be at the castle soon."

The half-giant (Teddy whispered this fact to Toby as they joined the other first years) guided the children onto the boats. Teddy and Toby sat on the last boat with Hagrid, who could take an entire boat for himself but said that the weight of two young boys barely made a difference.

They floated across the dark, quiet lake. In the distance, Hogwarts rose majestically out of the darkness, lit up by thousands of candles inside. Toby couldn't help but stare at it in awe.

"Beautiful innit?" Hagrid asked. "I could never get tired of how it looks, even after all these years."

"Yeah," Toby could only whisper in reply.

Too soon they were docked on the shore, and Hagrid was guiding them to the castle doors. Toby didn't know where to look first. He wanted to take it all in. His glance met Teddy's, and he was gratified to see that his friend was as excited as he was.

They followed Hagrid to a set of giant double doors, one that dwarfed even the half-giant. He held up a hand and the first years stopped. Hagrid faced them and with a smile, pushed open the doors. "Welcome to Hogwarts," he said.

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A/N: Well, by now I guess you might have an idea about the basic premise of this story. To be honest, I don't really know where it's going, but I've got a few more chapters done, and will post them soon. Anybody want to be my beta? Though I have to study how the beta system works here on FF. Anyway, I've just finished watching "A Very Potter Musical" on YouTube. I loved it. Ok, on to my next work :)