Author's Note: I do not own Harry Potter or anything else that was created by J.K Rowling
Harry stared at the man who had entered the train compartment. He wore long black robes that matched his long black hair. For a reason that Harry could not understand, he looked at Harry with hatred. There was complete silence in the compartment since none of the children had expected the arrival of a professor in their compartment. Finally, the man spoke.
"Dueling, gentlemen? Before your Hogwarts career has even begun? Is it your desire to lose points for your house before you are sorted into one?"
Now Harry was really confused. What was the house that Professor Snape spoke of? And what points did Harry apparently lose for that house?
"I wish to speak with the two of you alone. Follow me to my compartment." Snape said glaring at Ron as he made to follow behind Harry.
"Do not worry, Mr. Weasley. You will see Mr. Potter as soon as I finish talking to him."
Ron immediately sat back down and said, "Yes, Sir."
"Come with me, Mr. Potter. Mr. Malfoy."
Harry and Draco began following Snape both glaring daggers at each other as they followed behind the professor.
Lucky for Professor Snape that the two boys were behind him. Otherwise he might have been caught smiling at the boys behavior towards each other. If only they knew how much more like each other they are Snape thought to his self as they arrived at his train compartment. He quickly wiped the smile off of his smile as he opened the door and directed Harry and Draco to enter.
As the boys sat down, Snape began to pace back and forth in front of them.
Finally, he stopped and looked at the boys. "Since you are first years on your way to Hogwarts, I feel like I have to impress on you the importance of following the rules. First of all, dueling is not tolerated by any of the professors, including Professor Dumbledore. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Sir" both boys replied although they were both glaring at each other.
"School has not even started yet and you are already making trouble." Snape began again. "Therefore, you will not lose points since I would not know which house to take points from."
"And you would never take points from Slytherin! Or me." Draco boasted.
"On the contrary, young man, I would most certainly take points away from you. I'm sure your father has told you that I am the least tolerant of all of the professors when it comes to students dueling. And don't count on being in Slytherin until you have been properly sorted. As I was saying before Mr. Malfoy interrupted me, you will both receive a detention for your behavior on the train today… and…"
"But," This time it was Harry who spoke out of turn, "you said that we broke the rules before school started. You can't give us detention!"
"I assure you, Mr. Potter, since I am a professor at Hogwarts, I am very capable of assigning you a detention. As for when the rule breaking took place you were on the train on your way to Hogwarts. Once you step foot on platform nine and three quarters you begin following Hogwarts rules and receive consequences for any such rule breaking. Am I clear Mr. Potter?"
Harry nodded silently.
"A verbal answer, please, Mr. Potter."
"Yes, Sir."
"Thank you. Now, I want the two of you to go back to your compartments without anymore infractions from either you or your friends."
Harry looked down sadly at that word. Friends. He wished that he had some friends. He had only just met Ron. What if Ron found out that Harry was a freak. Then he would never want to be friends with Harry. Just like every other kid that Dudley had frightened into hating Harry.
Severus watched as Draco and Harry exited his compartment. He couldn't believe that this was happening. "They should be getting along like the brothers they are." He said to himself. "Instead they are fighting like enemies." He shook his head sadly. He couldn't understand why Harry had looked so dejected after he had been dismissed. He looked almost depressed to be on the train going to school.
"Must be feeling homesick. I wonder how spoiled he was when he was at the Dursley's. I bet he thought he was going to be able to get away with everything like he does at his Aunt and Uncle's." Severus thought. "Never the less, I'll keep an eye on him and observe him for a little while. To make sure he adjusts to Hogwarts okay."
When Harry got back to the compartment where the other first years were he found that the only one in the compartment was Ron
"Where is everybody?" Harry asked Ron
"That girl named Hermione left right after you. She mentioned something about not wanting to get into trouble also. Crabbe and Goyle I think didn't hear Snape's words that he wanted to talk to you and Malfoy alone. They were following behind you. Speaking of which, what did Snape do to you?" Ron asked Harry.
"I haven't even seen Hogwarts yet and already I have detention. He said he couldn't take points away because he didn't know which house to take the points from. Do you know what he meant by that?"
Ron suddenly remembered that Harry didn't know anything about Hogwarts. He went into explaining everything he knew from what his brothers told him including the four houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. He was just explaining how first years are sorted into one of the houses but he couldn't exactly say how they were sorted. He told Harry how Fred said being sorted would hurt.
Just as he was saying, "I think he was just trying to scare me," the compartment was opened and Hermione stepped in and said, "I just spoke with a prefect. He said we will be arriving soon. The two of you should change into your robes." Then, as quickly as she had arrived in the compartment, she closed the compartment door and had disappeared.
Harry heard Ron mutter something about a "bossy know it all". However, Ron began to find his robes in his school trunk so Harry opened his trunk to change in to his robes.
His robes. He smiled to himself as he realized that these were the first clothes he had owned in ten years that Dudley hadn't worn first.
It wasn't long before they felt the train slowing to a stop. Harry and Ron left their trunks in the compartments. The trunks would be brought up to the schools separately. As Harry got off of the train he was glad that the first thing he heard was the voice of someone he was familiar with.
"Firs' Years! Firs' Years over here!"
"Hi Hagird!" Harry called as he led a shocked Ron over to where Hagrid was standing.
"Hi Harry. Ah and you must be the youngest Weasly boy! How is yer brother Charlie doing?"
"He's f…fine." Ron said in a small voice, "Right now he's working with dragons in Romania."
"Is he really?" Hagrid asked, "He was always good with animals when he was at Hogwarts. How does he like working with dragons? I've always wanted one."
As Hagrid said this Harry and Ron shared a surprised look.
"All right then" Hagrid said before Ron could answer his question. "Firs' Years follow me!"
Hagrid lead the first years to the edge of a lake where there was about a dozen small row boats waiting for them.
"Hogwarts is just across the lake" Hagrid explained. "Three students per boat." Hagrid finished as he settled into a boat big enough for only Hagrid to fit.
"I wonder where the oars are." Harry said to Ron as they climbed into one of the boats.
"What's an oar?" Ron asked sounding slightly annoyed. Harry was hurt at first by Ron's tone thinking that he had asked a ridiculous question. However, he soon realized that Ron wasn't annoyed at him. He was annoyed that Hermione had just climbed into the same boat as them.
Harry was about to ask Hagrid about the oars but suddenly Harry saw his first bit of magic since leaving the Hogwarts express. The boats started to move on their own!
Pretty soon, Harry heard the students in the boats ahead of his gasp and then go silent as though they were in awe of something. Then, on the horizon of the lake, Harry saw a magnificent castle which looked as though all the lights in the castle were turned on. "Wow!" Harry and Ron gasped at the same time which caused Harry to ask Ron, "You've never seen Hogwarts before? Even though you have so many older brothers?"
"No. My parents have always said that it's a special part of every student's Hogwarts experience to see the castle for the first time as they cross the lake with their fellow first years. If they ever had to come to Hogwarts for some reason, mostly the twins' behavior, they left Ginny and Me with the neighbors."
Just then the boats came to a halt of the shore. "Okay everybody. Out of the boats." Hagrid said as he led them up to a big stone door. "Welcome ter 'ogwarts" Hagrid said before he knocked on the stone door to the castle.