Phew my longest chapter yet, six pages! Dang I'm good.

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"Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys. Look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death!"
- Sun Tzu, the Art of War

Chapter 4

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

The train journey

… … … … … … … … … … … … …

He had until the end of the month, which was about 2 weeks away. He was staying at the Leaky Cauldron and would be picked up when the time came. He was able to leave the pub as he pleased, and he used his mind cloak to visit Knockturn alley, but even though he was cloaked, he noticed a few witches and wizards looking his way.

"Deathsticks… buy 'em… five Sickles."

Xander paused and looked at the scab of a man, barely out of his thirties, and was astonished he was selling such disgusting things.

The Shadow part of his brain demanded that he do something, so he slipped into the greasy man's mind and turned him around. 'Go home.'

The man stopped, blinked, and looked around. "I think I'll go home and rethink my life," he said, smiling.

Several witches looked to where Xander was staring, but Xander starting laughing loudly and they backed off.

"The Shadow knows," he stated loudly before continuing on down the alley.

He found nothing of use, which was rather disappointing; sure, you could get all varieties of poison, but if all went to plan he would have a suitable teacher for that. Sighing, he left the alley and made his way up to the lighter parts of Diagon Alley, and when he thought himself sufficiently covered by passers-by, he decloaked and went to the bookstore.

"Hello again, Mr Potter."

Xander smiled at the bookstore owner. "I've got another list for you."

He handed it over, and the man nodded, "Okay, shouldn't be a problem, do you want me to send them to Tom?"

"Yes please."

Xander left and went back to the Cauldron. The time passed quickly, and during it he used a couple of quills and some parchment that he had picked up to make a rough map of the alley. He kept the information and things he didn't want discovered in the compartments in his trunk. It was just like Mad-Eye Moody's; he could step down into it using an inbuilt ladder and place things in shelves and drawers. It was no wonder that wizards didn't want Muggles to know about them; they'd lose all of their mysteriousness and their secrets.

Hagrid picked him up a little later and dropped him off at the train station. Xander made his way through the Muggles as quickly as possible, and once there, he cloaked himself and walked straight into the wall between the two stations. Relief at last.

A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said 'Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock'. Xander looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it. He had done it.

Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks. The first few carriages were already packed with students; some hanging out of windows to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Xander pushed his cart off down the platform in search of an empty seat. He passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again."

"Oh, Neville," he heard the old woman sigh.

Xander twitched the Hyena spirit and listened out for the telltale sound of croaking. After a few seconds, he heard it nearby, looked around and found the toad making a daring escape for freedom. Xander scooped the toad up in his hands and walked over.

"Excuse me?"

The tall woman looked down at him. Xander scowled, he wasn't used to being the height of an underfed eleven year old. "Is this Neville's toad?" he asked, struggling to hide his scowl.

The woman cracked a smile and nodded stiffly, her eyes had widened when she'd seen him. "Neville, dear," she called.

The young round boy bounced over happily. "Thank you," he said gratefully as Xander passed the toad to him.

"I'm going to get on the train, care to join me?" Xander said.

The boy's eyes widened and nodded profusely.

"Yes please," he said enthusiastically.

Xander chuckled, the poor kid was so nervous that he doubted that Neville had truly had any friends at all. Xander planned to change that; pack member number one added.

Xander hoped to make friends with Neville and train him hard; when the time came, Snape was going to have one hell of a hard time running the school.

Xander and Neville pressed on through the crowd until he found an empty compartment near the end of the train.

"Hedwig, would you mind some company during the train journey?" The owl swiveled its head around, looked at Xander and blinked. Xander lifted up the toad. "The toad keeps getting away all the time."

The owl shrugged its wings, at least, as far as Xander could determine it was a shrug. He put the toad in with the owl and the owl hooted once. The toad stood stock still, staring up at the giant bird of prey.

"Promise you won't eat him?"

Hedwig looked at Xander indignantly.

"I'll give you double treats when we get there," Xander said gently. The owl hooted happily.

"Damn that's weird," said Xander.

Neville looked at him and grinned. "I know, I'm still getting used to the idea that I'm actually going to Hogwarts. Talking to owls is the least of my fears."

Xander looked down at Neville's trunk.

"Right," he mused. "Best way to do this … each grab an end, I think."

Xander looked up to see George coming over.

"Want a hand?" said George.

"Wouldn't mind it, thanks."

"Sure," the redhead nodded. "Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!"

"What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Xander's lightning scar.

"Blimey," said the other twin. "Are you …"

"He is …" said the first twin. "Aren't you?" he added to Xander.

"What?" Xander said playing along. "I've not turned green, have I?"

Fred chuckled. "He's got a sense of humour, dear George."

"That he has Fred old boy."

"But I still have to be sure that he is who we think he is."

"Harry Potter," chorused the twins.

"Oh, him," Xander said with a grin. "I mean … yes, I am. This is my friend Neville, and no, he isn't green either."

"Neville Longbottom," the round-faced boy said blushing.

"Ah yes, we know of dear Neville's family. Good to meet you Neville," George said with meaning, Fred echoing the statement.

"Fred? George? Are you there?" Mrs. Weasley called.

"Coming, Mom."

"Come on," Xander said to Neville, "don't worry, they're cool."

"They seem like nice people."

'Yeah,' Xander thought darkly, 'as long as you ain't Snape or Umbridge.'

Xander met Ron and Hermione once he had settled himself and Neville in an empty compartment. The bushy haired witch had come in when Ron was trying to perform a spell on his rat.

"Well, that's not a very good spell is it?" she'd said mockingly.

He introduced the small gang to her and welcomed her into the conversation; he'd prepared for this and the two sent questions flying back and forth like a verbal tennis match.

Xander had been curious about the houses; Ron had been able to answer some of the questions, while Hermione had been able to give a more informed input … naturally, she'd researched it all in Hogwarts: A History. There were many interesting facts about the school, including the fact that it had ghosts.

The train journey seemed to speed along quicker than Harry's memories gave credit for, perhaps the old adage 'time flies when having fun' came into play here.

It was easy enough keeping everyone in conversation; all he had to do was keep the flow of questions moving, and even Neville seemed to enjoy the banter.

"But what if I don't get picked?"

"Don't be silly Neville," Hermione said, perhaps a little more harshly than she had intended. Neville found it remarkable how alike Hermione and his gran were.

"Well, let's put it this way…" Xander said. "You were frightened of coming here?"

"Yes," Neville replied quietly.

"Yet you came."

Neville nodded.

"You were frightened that you'd lost your toad," Xander continued.

"Yeah, but you found it for me and I made some friends," Neville said smiling.

Xander smiled. "You were frightened that you wouldn't be able to do magic?"

Neville looked at him sharply. "How did you know that?"

"I overheard you and your gran talking."

"Oh."

Xander nodded again. "What do you guys think?" he said, looking around the compartment at the others.

"Gryffindor, definitely…" Hermione stated at once.

"It's a sure bet," Ron said in agreement.

"I'd like to be in Gryffindor, my whole family was in there."

Xander shrugged his shoulders. "Personally I'm not bothered, good friends and company are all that worries me and so far I seem to have those two sorted out."

Everyone smiled at him.

"Hey, Ron."

"Wow!" Fred said, stopping as the two redheads looked in the carriage and Hermione arched an eyebrow upwards in response.

"Hello all," George said afterwards.

"Hello George, hello Fred."

Fred chuckled. "He's able to tell us apart better then our dear mother." Ron smiled.

"Perhaps you could give her tips?" George stated with a large smile.

"Listen," Fred went on. "We're going down the middle of the train - Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."

"Right," mumbled Ron, shuddering.

The twins promptly departed.

"Damn, I can't believe you're really Harry Potter!"

"Ron, it's not nice to gawk," Hermione scolded.

"Its all right, I'm used to it, besides, I'm sure a lot of people will do worse than look."

Xander lifted up his hair and showed the lightning bolt on his forehead.

"So that's where You-Know-Who …"

"Tried to kill me after murdering my father and slaying my mother like she was a piece of furniture?" Xander asked a little testily. Ron winced. "Yeah, its all right, again, I'm sorry, I'm sick of everyone treating me like I'm a beaten puppy, that's all. Tell me have I got the look right?"

He gave his best innocent look, and Ron burst out laughing. The others laughed as well, but not as heartedly.

"Down pat mate," Ron said still chuckling.

"So, seriously though, what were they talking about when George made comment about a toilet seat?" Xander asked.

Hermione arched the eyebrow again.

"Oh, that's George all right, they're a couple of pranksters at school, constantly getting into trouble."

"Do they ever get caught?"

"Only a few times," Ron said with a shrug. "Percy's always going on about how they manage to get around without being seen, I think he's jealous."

That was another thing added to his list. Xander mentally thanked Ron for that comment, as now he could ask the twins about the map.

"Is it true that you lived with Muggles?" Ron asked slowly.

"Yes, they're horrible, very biased in their ways, much like that Malfoy character. It'd have been much more interesting if I had a family like yours, at least I'd be able to do magic as well."

"It ain't all it's cracked up to be," Ron said scowling. "I'm the sixth one from my family going to Hogwarts."

"Well, at least we won't have to worry about losing him," Xander said with a smile, winking at Ron.

Chuckling, Ron continued.

"You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left - Bill was head boy and Charlie was Quidditch Captain. Now Percy's a Prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really 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 old wand, and Percy's old rat."

"Nothing wrong with that mate, at least they're proven to work, and looking after an old rat is easy."

Ron shrugged. "Still, wouldn't mind an owl or even a toad."

Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat grey rat, which was asleep.

"His name's Scabbers, and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a Prefect, but they couldn't aff… I mean, I got Scabbers instead."

"Don't worry about it, I'm sure the rat will live up to expectations."

As long as everything went according to plan, Ron would get a new owl out of it. Pettigrew was going to pay for the deaths he had caused, and for the fact that Sirius had been thrown into prison instead of him.

"Anything off the cart, dears?"

They all turned to the cart; Ron went pink again and shook his head while Xander and Neville looked over the goods.

"Y'know Neville it doesn't seem fair that we get all this food and don't share it around."

"Yeah, not fair at all."

"Have you got enough?" Xander leaned in and whispered. Neville nodded. "Okay then."

They made their choices and got triple the normal amount; drinks, sandwiches, sweets and pastries.

"What are you doing?"

Xander looked at Ron and shrugged. "It appears my eyes are bigger than my belly."

He picked up a pastry and chucked it Ron, who snapped it out of the air. "Eat and don't argue."

Hermione smiled and picked at her stuff as Neville and Ron explained what each was. Neville spat out one of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavoured Beans, which earned him a laugh from everyone.

"Nasty … snot flavoured!"

"I got puke once."

"Yergh."

Conversation turned around to Quidditch again, and Xander had to admit that he was looking forward to learning how to fly on a broomstick. Ron explained all about the sport with Neville's help, but Hermione looked nervous during the talk and remained quiet, which was very unlike her.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked, noticing her sudden silence.

"I don't know if I'll be any good or not," she said quietly.

Xander shrugged. "You won't know until you try, and hell, even if you do fail, remember the old saying …"

"Try, try and try again?"

"Exactly. Besides, you're not alone here, heights was never one of my favourites."

Hearing this, Hermione cheered up and joined in the conversation.

Xander's ears picked up. 'Oh crap,' he thought to himself. 'Incoming, Malfoy and cronies at twelve o' clock.'

Hermione whipped her head around and Ron looked up disgusted as the compartment door slid open and a sleek blonde head poked it's way through the gap. Xander was smiling though he'd been prepared.

"Is it true?" the blonde boy said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"

"Yup, alive and well thanks," replied Xander, his voice calm and level.

"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

Ron snorted in hidden laughter.

"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."

Xander stood up like a shot; insulting him was one thing, but insulting his friends was another, especially when they were the ones who had done nothing wrong.

"I heard a lot about your father dearest," Xander said with a sneer. Malfoy stopped his taunt and looked at Xander. "A submissive pure blood that bends to the will of others."

"How dare you…"

"Dare I what? Insult a man who stood up for and helped Voldemort kill my parents?" The boy paled even more.

"Yeah, I do dare say his name; the fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself," Xander continued smugly, remembering Dumbledore's quote from the book. "Tell Lucius the next time we meet I'll kick his arse."

"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," Draco replied slowly. "Unless you're a bit more polite 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."

"I have three witnesses that say this was provoked."

"What was provoked?"

Xander lurched forward, his fist slamming hard into Draco's chest. The boy let out a whoosh of air, crumpling to the ground. Xander looked up and smiled at the two oafs whose mouths hung open in shock. "If you think you can take me after my little demonstration, try it."

His voice was cold, perfected over time. The two scooped up Malfoy and scuttled away.

"Harry," Hermione said in whispered shock. "You'll get expelled."

Xander laughed. "Nobody insults my friends or family and if I get expelled for that, for defending people I like, so be it. Besides, you really think they're going to expel The Boy Who Lived?"

"Well, I suppose not."

"Come on Hermione, lighten up. With three witnesses backing me up, Malfoy doesn't have a leg to stand on."

"Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Ron asked with wide eyes.

"My cousin may be a brainless oaf but he does know how to box … I can teach you if you want?"

"Sure," both Ron and Neville chorused.

Hermione huffed but let it slide.

'That,' Xander thought with a cruel smile, 'was for the black eye and broken nose in Harry's fifth year.'

Xander could hear Potter laughing gaily in the back of his mind.