The train started moving and the four of them made their way down the corridors of the train. Fred and George were talking about going to see something their friend had. Elizabeth and Ron were just looking for anywhere to sit. The twins had rushed off further down the train when Ron stopped outside a compartment.
"How about here?" Ron asked, trying to be civil to Elizabeth. "He looks like he could use some company."
The boy inside the compartment had black hair and round glasses. Elizabeth recognised immediately who he was from the encounter at the bookshop.
"No, Ron," she said. "I think we should leave him alone."
Elizabeth had read several of the books in the bookshop by her age, including history books. Tucked away amongst the thousands of books in Flourish & Blotts, one could find Harry's name scribbled across the pages of The Rise and Fall of the Darks Arts. Everyone in the wizarding world knew Harry as the Boy Who Lived; the one He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named could not kill. Ron was unaware who the boy in the compartment was, but Elizabeth knew all too well. She had only read about him dozens of times. He was somewhat of a fictional hero in her mind, much like the characters her grandfather read of in Muggle literature. Against all odds, he accomplished an incredible feat, and then vanished. Most people didn't know what happened to him after that fateful night. Having an image of a live person sitting there in the compartment to attach to the stories and the books was quite a surreal experience.
"But there's no where else to sit," Ron complained.
"There's gotta be."
"Then you can go find somewhere else. I'm sitting here." Ron slid the compartment door open and he went in. Elizabeth reluctantly followed him. "Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. "Everywhere else is full."
Harry shook his head and Ron and Elizabeth sat down. She gave Ron a dirty look before making herself comfortable and pulled out the book An Anthology of Eighteenth Century Charms. She had snatched it from her grandmother this morning while she was busy yelling at William.
Elizabeth noticed Ron glance at Harry and then quickly out the window, pretending he hadn't looked. She was about to scold him, but stopped herself. She didn't want Harry to know they knew who he was. She figured it must have been an awful lot of pressure to be him and she didn't want to add to it.
"Hey, Ron." The twins were back. "Listen, we're going down to the middle of the train ─ Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."
"Right," mumbled Ron.
Ron was terrified of spiders. She shared this fear and she always remembered that she could just thank Richard for giving her a book on acromantulas for that. Something about giant man eating anythings didn't go over well with Elizabeth, and ever since then she was terrified of the tiniest spider. She never told Ron though, because she refused to have anything in common with him.
"Harry," said George, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother."
"I don't suppose Miss Poor Sport over here bothered to introduce herself," said Fred. "She's Elizabeth Wellington."
They were clearly just as hung up about the tree as she was. Over the holiday, she found herself often escorting Richard when he went to visit Percy, never of her own accord, of course. She had always spent the time with Ginny, but one day this past holiday, somehow the twins had gotten hold of her and convinced her to climb the tallest tree they could find. It wasn't so much as they convinced her as they tossed her shoes up there, and she knew if she went home shoeless, her grandmother would kill her. So she climbed the tree to retrieve them, only to find that once she had gotten herself up, she couldn't get herself down. She had called for help, but the twins just left her. Eventually, Mr. Weasley had to stand below the tree and catch her as she jumped. Mrs. Weasley was so mad at Fred and George that Richard had told her Percy informed him that for the rest of the week they walked a little funny.
"Don't you two have a tarantula to play with?" Elizabeth hinted for them to leave.
"What have you got there?" George tapped the book.
"An Anthology of Eighteenth Century Charms," read Fred. "Sounds boring."
"I didn't know you could read, Fred," Elizabeth said, still reading the book.
Fred and George were quiet.
"All right, see you later then," said George.
The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them.
"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out. Elizabeth smacked his arm. "What?" Ron rubbed his arm. "I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes."
"No, I am," said Harry.
"Well, there you go, Ron," said Elizabeth. "It's not a joke. Leave him be."
"Have you really got ─ you know..." Ron pointed at Harry's forehead.
"Ron, don't point," Elizabeth said without looking up from her book.
Harry pulled back his fringe to show his lightning scar. Ron stared.
"So that's where You-Know-who..."
"Ron!" Elizabeth slammed her book closed and shot a vicious glare in Ron's direction. "Leave him alone about it." Elizabeth opened her book again. There was an awkward silence in the compartment.
"So do you remember it?" Ron asked.
Elizabeth was furious. "What did I just tell you?"
"Well ─ I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else," Harry said to Ron.
"Wow." Ron sounded amazed.
She turned the page of her book. "Please, don't encourage him, Harry."
"Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry, seeming to find Ron just as interesting as Ron found him.
"Er ─ yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."
"What about your family?" Harry asked Elizabeth.
She was becoming very annoyed with the conversation in this compartment. "Hmm," she said, tearing herself away from the book. "Oh, yes, they are. My family's been attending Hogwarts since its founding."
"Oh, here we go." Ron sighed. "The prestigious and ancient house of Wellington. Well, let me tell you, no one can be bothered with your family's history."
"Fine then, I won't say another word."
"Is that a long time?" said Harry. "Since Hogwarts was founded, I mean."
"I'm sorry," Elizabeth said with an attitude similar to Richard's. "I'm not allowed to answer any questions. If it doesn't involve Ron, it bores him and we can't have that."
"Be quiet," said Ron.
They were always bickering with each other, but only afterwards did Elizabeth realise what an awkward situation it must have been for Harry to sit there with them going at it as usual.
The train moved on. Ron had asked Harry about living with Muggles, and Harry had asked Ron about his brothers. They wound up talking about how neither of them could afford anything, that is until Harry was told he was a wizard.
Elizabeth was deep in her book. With each charm she read about, she wondered if it was what William was looking for and why he'd use it. She was in the middle of reading about a charm that William had circled when Ron gasped. She looked at him.
"What?" said Harry.
"You said You-Know-Who's name!" Ron sounded both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people ─"
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Fear of a name is ridiculous, Ron."
William had always told Richard and her that the people running around Diagon Alley in hushed whispers about You-Know-Who were absolutely ridiculous. The name itself was nothing to fear. He wasn't going to pop out from around the corner like a fairy tale monster if they said it aloud. He had gotten them to say it a few times in front of Margaret, who would simply turn her head slowly towards them and raise her eyebrows. They were surprised not to be in trouble, but she did warn them that if they said it around their grandfather, she would have to punish them.
They were all quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past. Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the trolley, dears?"
Harry leapt to his feet, but Ron's ears went pink and he muttered that he had brought sandwiches. This caught Elizabeth's attention. She loved Mrs. Weasley's meals. Her own grandmother had stuffed them full of things like steamed cabbage and raw broccoli. Mrs. Weasley's cooking was far different. It actually had a taste.
Ron and Elizabeth stared as Harry brought some of everything off the trolley back into the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat.
"Hungry are you?" Ron asked.
"Starving," said Harry.
Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled on of them apart. "She always forgets I don't like corned beef," he said to Elizabeth.
"Swap you for one of these," said Harry, holding up a pastry. "Go on ─"
"You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "you know, with five of us."
"Not much better than my gran," Elizabeth added.
"Packed your lunch again?" Ron asked.
Elizabeth pulled out a box and opened it. "She cut the crust off my sandwich again." She lifted the corner of the bread. "Peanut butter." She gagged and closed the box, putting it away.
Elizabeth was always complaining of Margaret's lunches, as they always consisted of a cold sandwich with the crust cut off, a red apple, and a glass of milk. Elizabeth never knew who was supposed to eat these lunches, as Richard never ate anything cold, Elizabeth and William liked the crust, all of them preferred green apples, and Thomas snuck everyone various fruit juices when Margaret wasn't looking. Apple juice happened to be Thomas's favourite, but Margaret insisted milk was healthier. Elizabeth was never fond of eating anything that came from a cow though.
"Go on, have a pastry," said Harry. Ron took it from him. Of course he would. He would never pass up food, especially junk food. "Here." Harry held out another pastry for Elizabeth.
"No, thank you, I'm not hungry."
"You should eat something," said Ron.
"I like the crust and I hate peanut butter and Gran doesn't allow sweets."
"Wow, that book must be dead interesting," said Harry, noticing Elizabeth had barely stopped reading since entering the compartment.
"Well —" Elizabeth started.
"No, she just reads anything," said Ron, taking a bite of the pastry Harry gave him.
Elizabeth found it ever so annoying when Ron brushed off everything she did. "Thanks, Ron."
"She lives above a bookshop," Ron told Harry. "In Diagon Alley. Flourish and Blotts. Dead boring if you ask me."
"Hey, I was there! I got my schoolbooks there."
"That's where everyone gets their schoolbooks," Elizabeth explained. "Only place that carries the entire Hogwarts required reading for each year."
"There was this odd old man that helped me and Hagrid."
Elizabeth looked up over her book. "That's my grandfather."
"Oh." Harry looked embarrassed.
Ron laughed, nearly choking on the pastry.
"Shut it," Elizabeth snapped.
The train moved on still. Ron and Harry were busy eating their way through all the pastries, cakes, and candies. Ron had to explain to Harry what Chocolate Frogs are and that when it comes to Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, they really do mean every flavour. The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The fields were gone and woods took their place. A round-faced boy had come into their compartment. The boy had lost his toad and seemed rather broken up about it. Ron had no sympathy for him.
"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron.
"He lost his pet, Ron." Elizabeth couldn't believe his insensitivity. "That's why he's so bothered. You know some people actually like their pets. Theirs aren't as useless as Scabbers."
"You lay off him!"
"Look at him." She motioned to the rat on Ron's lap. "He could die and you wouldn't know the difference. It'd be an improvement actually."
Elizabeth always hated Scabbers. He was old, he smelled like he had been dead for years, and he was missing a toe. He always seemed to be watching her with his beady little eyes and she just wanted to throw a sheet over him so she didn't have to see it.
"Leave him alone! He's fine!"
"You don't even like him! Tried to turn him yellow, you did."
"To make him more interesting! But the spell didn't work," Ron said to Harry. "I could show you, if you like..."
"Say no," Elizabeth told Harry. "It's not a real spell anyway."
"How do you know?" Ron sounded offended.
"Because Richard said so, genius. Fred and George tricked you again."
"Be quiet and let me show him."
He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and the unicorn's hair was poking out.
"That thing is so old, Ron, you could very well hurt yourself trying anything with it."
"I told you to be quiet."
He had just raised his wand when they were interrupted again. The boy that lost his toad was back with a girl already dressed in her Hogwarts robes.
"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth.
"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand.
"Oh, are you doing magic?"
"No, he is not," said Elizabeth firmly.
"Yes, I am," said Ron.
"Fine, count me out." Elizabeth went through her trunk.
"What are you doing now?"
"Looking for my robes. If you're going to be stupid, I want no part of it." She pulled out her robes and closed the trunk. She stood up. "I'm going to change." She slid the compartment door behind her with force to let Ron know she didn't approve of his actions one bit.
She walked down the corridors, pushing her way through rowdy people, trying to find somewhere to change. She managed to, after passing several young students running around, a few couples snogging, and the Weasley Twins trying to get a frightened looking second year to eat another one of their joke sweets. She could only imagine what this one did to the poor fellow who was foolish enough to consume it.
"What are you two doing?" she asked.
"Business," said Fred.
Elizabeth looked at the sweet. "Does this one cause uncontrollable vomiting as well?"
Fred and George had a knack for trouble and they also had a knack for creating terrible jokes. One from the previous holiday was a sweet that caused whoever consumed it to feel like they were puking out their intestines. It was meant just to be a way to play sick, only causing light vomiting for ten to twenty minutes after ingesting, but they had made it too strong and poor Percy spent the entire day hurling.
"Elizabeth, you're scaring away our customers," said George.
"Or does it just cause them to go into a coma?"
Another one of their tricks caused fainting, which could only be reversed by eating another sweet, but since the person was already passed out, Elizabeth failed to see how they could take the other sweet. Their jokes needing some work still.
"Elizabeth! To think ─"
"We trusted you ─"
"And this is how you repay us."
"You two are just lucky I don't go tell Percy what've you been up to."
Fred and George looked at each other. "Percy!" they said.
They rushed off towards the front of the train. Elizabeth knew whatever they were trying to make that second year eat was now going to wind up forcibly shoved down Percy's throat.
"You're welcome!" she called after them.
She had a troublesome time trying to dress with the train moving. She fell over a few times, but she managed to get dressed without any major injuries. She made her way back through the throngs of people, whom she wanted to yell at to get back to their compartments and stay there. Upon approaching the compartment, she saw the bossy girl leave, taking the toadless boy with her. Ron just stared at her as Elizabeth came back in.
"If anything happens to Percy, Fred and George did it," she said. Both Ron and Harry stared curiously at her as she took a seat. "What did I miss?"
"Well, lucky you missed that obnoxious girl," said Ron. "Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it."
"That bad?"
Ron nodded.
"What house are your brothers in?" asked Harry.
"Gryffindor," said Ron. "Mum and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not."
Harry looked at Elizabeth.
"My brother Richard's in Ravenclaw," she said. "Fifth year like Percy. My father and grandparents were too. Actually, all the Wellingtons were ─"
"Except your uncle," mumbled Ron under his breath.
"No one asked you, Ron."
"What house was your uncle in?" asked Harry, who had heard plenty about Ron's family and was interested in hearing about Elizabeth's.
"Gryffindor," Ron said smugly.
"You know that's where your family is, Ron." Ron fell silent. "Wouldn't be surprised if you're a Hufflepuff."
"Wouldn't be surprised if you're a Slytherin."
Elizabeth gasped. Ron had said some terrible things to her before, but that was down right awful.
"What's so wrong with Slytherin?" Harry asked.
Elizabeth picked up her book again. "They're slimy little low lives, that's what's wrong with Slytherin."
"It's where You-Know-Who was when he went to Hogwarts," Ron whispered. "You don't want to end up there."
"Ron, stop worrying him. You won't end up a Slytherin, Harry, although Ron over here might."
"No one asked your opinion!"
Elizabeth went back to her book after giving Ron a good kick in his shin. She let the boys crack on with their conversation. She wanted no part in it. She heard Harry ask Ron about what Bill and Charlie did and she was glad she wasn't being questioned anymore.
"What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked.
"Oh, no," Elizabeth muttered to herself.
"Er ─ I don't know any," Harry confessed.
"What!" Ron looked dumbfounded.
"Oh, Harry, why?" Elizabeth said in anguish. "Why would you say that? You've just doomed us both."
She would rather have been tortured with the Cruciatus Curse than listen to Ron talk about Quidditch. Once he started, he never stopped.
"You hush," said Ron. "Oh, wait Harry, 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 broomsticks he'd like to buy if he had the money.
"How many times do I have to tell you?" said Elizabeth to Ron. "All you have to do is ask nicely for your birthday."
"And how many times do I have to tell you? I don't want you to buy me a broom. You'd get it wrong anyway."
"How can I?" Elizabeth asked. "You only mention it twenty times daily."
"That's not funny!"
The compartment door slid open again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy, or the bossy girl he was with this time. Three boys entered and Elizabeth immediately recognised the middle one.
"Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"
"Yes," said Harry.
Elizabeth could tell he was uncomfortable. She felt so bad for him. The way people were treating him was completely unacceptable. He wasn't some exhibit in a zoo that people like Draco Malfoy could come gawk at. He seemed startled by the whole experience so far. It was exactly what she was afraid would happen.
Draco was busy introducing his cronies. Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle: two more people Elizabeth couldn't stand. She had never heard them speak. She wondered if they even could. Draco was introducing himself when she heard Ron snigger.
"Think my name's funny, do you?" Draco said to Ron. "No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have ginger hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."
She jumped up. "Shove off, Draco."
"Elizabeth." He looked her over. "Always a pleasure." She noticed his hands.
She smirked. "I see that fork wound hasn't healed yet."
"Look at you, defending blood traitors. I expected better of you."
He annoyed Elizabeth to her breaking point. He had all the same ideas as his obnoxious parents. He was rude and barely tolerable. She always tried to remember that he wasn't the worst person she had met, but he wound up pushing her too far most of the time. He did seem to hold his tongue a lot more than he used to ever since that night she acquainted him with her dinner fork.
"What do you want, Draco?"
"Just came to make sure Potter didn't go making friends with the wrong sort."
Elizabeth wished she had the strength to physically throw Malfoy and his goons from the train, or at least had her wand ready. She was becoming very angry. The Weasleys were some of the kindest people she had ever met, despite the fact that she got along with none of their sons. She wasn't going to let Draco insult them.
"Don't worry, as long as he stays away from you, he won't. Now, if you'll be so kind as to leave, we'd greatly appreciate it."
"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys?" said Malfoy, his cronies backing him up.
"I'm not afraid of you, Draco," said Elizabeth, honestly. "And I'm not afraid of your trained gorillas either."
A pink tinge appeared in Malfoy's pale cheeks. He turned back to Harry.
"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "You don't want to fall in with the likes of these two," he looked Elizabeth and Ron up and down, "Muggle lovers."
That was it. She was going to knock his teeth out. However, Ron and Harry both stood up to face Malfoy.
"Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair.
"Gonna fight us, are you?" said Malfoy
Elizabeth had silently been searching her trunk for her wand. Malfoy and his bodyguards hadn't seen her thanks to Harry and Ron standing in front of her. She finally found her wand and pushed in front of the boys to face Malfoy.
"No, they're not going to do anything," said Elizabeth. "You'd just set your goons on them and that wouldn't be a fair fight at all, now would it?"
"Who cares about fair?"
"I do." Elizabeth pointed her wand at him.
But before she could utter one spell, Goyle let out a loud yelp. Scabbers had sunk him teeth into Goyle's finger and refused to let go. Crabbe and Malfoy backed off as Goyle swung Scabbers around, howling, until Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window. All three of them disappeared at once, probably because they heard footsteps, because not a minute after they left, the girl from before was back.
"What has been going on?" she said, looking at Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail.
"I think he's been knocked out," said Ron to Harry and Elizabeth.
"Serves him right," said Elizabeth.
"How can you say that? He just protected you."
"He bit someone, Ron. It's not the first time he's done it. Poor boy should get tested for rabies now." Elizabeth sat back down and took her book out again.
"No," said Ron. Elizabeth's attention shot back to him holding Scabbers by the tail. "I don't believe it."
"What?" said Elizabeth. "That he's a vile, disgusting vermin. Everyone knows that."
"No, he's not knocked out, he's gone back to sleep."
And so he had.
Elizabeth attempted to go back to reading again, but was interrupted by the feeling she was being watched. She looked up to see the girl staring at her.
"May I help you?" Elizabeth said, annoyed.
"I didn't catch your name before," said the girl. "I'm Hermione Granger."
"Elizabeth Wellington." And with that she hid behind her book. She didn't feel much like talking, especially not to Hermione Granger.
"What are you reading?" Hermione asked, sitting next to Elizabeth.
Elizabeth looked over at her. "Is there a reason you came in here?"
"Alright ─ I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly," said Hermione in a sniffy voice.
"Oh, no, you don't say. Did you hear that, boys? Children acting childishly. Whatever is wrong with them?"
Elizabeth may not have noticed, but her grandparents sure did, that underneath that sweet eleven year old girl exterior was a bitter streak very similar to Richard's.
Ron and Elizabeth laughed, but Harry didn't. Elizabeth saw him smile and knew he was just holding in his laughter to be polite.
"Fine," said Hermione. "I'll leave." She turned to Harry and Ron. "You two better put your robes on. I've just been up front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there." She turned to leave, but suddenly directed her attention to Ron. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"
Ron and Elizabeth glared at her as she left.
"And you've got a stick up your bum, by the way, did you know?" said Elizabeth, mocking Hermione. She looked over to Harry. He was staring out the window. "You okay there, Harry? You've been awfully quiet."
"Yeah, I'm okay," said Harry.
She just felt downright awful. For children in the wizarding world, going to school for the first time was an exciting, somewhat nervous experience, but it was mostly one of great joy. Elizabeth couldn't have imagined what it must have been like for Harry. Normal children were supposed to look forward to attending Hogwarts. Harry was not normal though.
A/N: Quotes and plot from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling, Chapter Six, The Journey From Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, pages 98 to 110.