"Talking"

"Parseltongue"

Chapter 14: Cars, Trains, and… Boats?

As soon as Harry got back from shopping he locked himself in his room and sent a letter to the Elite. He needed to give them directions for contacting him and for their activities in the coming year.

For the last month of the summer Harry enjoyed wandering the neighborhood and looking through the books he had bought. He also spent many hours creating false memories and a golden-boy image of himself. His new memories were simply based on how he imagined his life would have gone based on his memories before Nagini found him and on his near isolation after he returned from Diagon Alley.

On the last day of August he thought he'd better tell his aunt and uncle he'd be leaving the next day, so he went down to the living room where they were watching a quiz show on television. He cleared his throat to let them know he was there.

"Err – Uncle Vernon?"

Uncle Vernon grunted to show he was listening.

"Err – I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to – to go to Hogwarts."

Uncle Vernon grunted again.

"Um – my friends are going to be coming to pick me and take me to the train. Just thought I'd let you know so they don't um, surprise you."

Grunt. Harry figured he'd done his duty and turned around. He was just about to leave the room when Uncle Vernon actually spoke.

"Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?"

Harry didn't say anything. Though he sorely wished to tell the oversized Muggle exactly why magic carpets were now illegal, but resisted the temptation.

"Where is this school, anyway?"

"In Scotland somewhere, I think," said Harry. Then he turned and left before his 'relatives' could continue on this vein of sudden interest into his affairs.

Harry woke at five o'clock the next morning and was too nervous to go back to sleep. He got up and pulled on his jeans because he didn't want to walk into the station in his wizard's robes and he was supposedly raised in the middle of muggledom – he would change on the train.

Two hours later, after a tense breakfast with the Dursleys, there was a knock on the door. Rushing to answer it, Harry found himself looking at the Lamore brothers who had taught him about muggles.

"Ready to go?" asked Kelli. "Ramie's in the car waiting for us."

Harry looked behind Kelli, and sure enough, in the driver's seat of the black Dodge Viper sat Ramie.

"Sure," replied Alex, "my trunks in the last room on the second floor."

Kelli made a slight bow and headed up the stairs while Alex left the house and headed towards the car without a second glance at his relatives. Once they were all loaded up, Ramie drove from Private Drive and the three of them enjoyed a pleasant drive to London.

They reached King's Cross at half past ten. Kelli put Harry's trunk on a cart, explained how to get on the platform and with a final half bow, left his young master to get into the wizarding world on his own.

He headed to platform nine and quickly spotted the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Though he barrier seemed quite solid, he trusted his Elite to know what they were talking about and knew that many things in the Wizarding world were not always as they appeared. With that in mind, he headed towards the barrier and with a deep breath plunged into the wall…and through the barrier.

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

Harry moved down the train, looking for an empty carriage. He found an empty spot at near the back of the train and began to push and shove his trunk onto the train.

"Need a hand?" asked a voice behind him.

"Sure, thank you." Replied Harry.

"No problem,"

"Yeah, don't mention it" came from the identical freckled faces on either side of him as they moved to get his trunk and man handled it into Harry's chosen compartment.

"Blimeny, your Harry Potter!" they exclaimed together.

"Um, yeah…could you not tell people, please" begged Harry. The last thing he needed right now was to draw more attention to himself.

"Sure thing – "

"See you later then." Together they moved off down the train back to where ever they had come from.

The train ride passed fairly uneventfully. Harry was interrupted once by a bushy haired girl looking for a toad and again by Draco, not that he let Draco know who he was, though he desperately wanted to. When the trolley lady came around he bought a few cauldron cakes and chocolate frogs, but not much else. Finally, as it was approaching dark, the train pulled to a stop at the Hogsmeade station.

Leaving his trunk on the train, Harry followed the mass of students unto the platform and then struggled towards the Hagrid who was calling for the first years.

"Al'righ there 'Arry?" asked the friendly half giant.

Harry just gave him a weak smile and moved towards the boats. He stepped into a boat with a redheaded boy who looked similar to the twins who had helped him earlier, the bushy-haired witch and a mousy looking boy. Alex quickly categorized them as a Weasley, a muggle-born, and the Longbottom boy.

Soon Hagrid's voice rang out again, "No mor'n four ta a boat! Everyone in? Al'right, FORWARD." With that command, the boats were off, skimming across the lake. As the rounded the corner, and passed through a curtain of hanging vines, Harry got his first look at Hogwarts, and what he saw, took his breath away. The castle looked magnificent.

As the boats landed, the first years scrambled on shore and up the steps to the door to the castle. Once up the steps, Hagrid raised a large fist and rapped sharply, twice.

The door swung open to reveal a stern looking witch. "The firs'years Professor McGonagall."

"Thank you Hagrid. Follow me please." With that the Professor turned and led them into a large antechamber and told them to wait there before disappearing behind a closed door.

Alex looked around at his fellow first years impassively, only showing the barest hint of fondness when his eyes landed on Draco, but the emotion was gone as quickly as it came. Several first years screamed as ghosts floated through the far wall, stopping only briefly to take note of the fist years and wish them luck in their sorting before continuing their discussion and moving through the wall adjacent to the door, which opened to reveal Professor McGonagall.

"Follow me please." She led the first years through the door and into the Great Hall, onto the front of the raised dais on which was the teacher's table. She walked over to a stool on which sat an old hat and a scroll. Picking up the scroll she stood looking at the hat as if waiting --- and the hat began to sing:

Oh you may not think I'm pretty…

As the hat sang Alex took the time to look at the enchanted ceiling and was for once grateful that he could act naïve and uninformed in his role as Harry so he could stare at the ceiling. He then looked around at the rest of the school and began to catalogue, almost unconsciously, those he could approach and maybe persuade, and those who were best left alone.

So try me on because I'm a thinking cap!

Applause sounded throughout the hall and McGonagall began to read off names from the scroll:

Abbott, Hannah

HUFFLEPUFF

Alex quietly took note of which table stood and cheered the loudest and which students seemed the most sincere in their welcome.

Granger, Hermione

GRYFFINDOR

Alex was slightly surprised, he had pegged her as a Ravenclaw with all the knowledge she was spewing, but then she seemed a creature of logic and so he assumed it would have taken a lot of courage just for her to accept her invitation.

Longbottom, Neville

GRYFFINDOR

Alex took note of the shy, slightly pudgy boy who seemed afraid of his shadow and decided it might not hurt to make some overtures to the timid boy. It really was a shame about his parents, no one should have to grow up seeing their parents like that.

Malfoy, Draco

SLYTHERIN

The hat barely touched Draco's head and Alex was not at all surprised by the hat's choice.

Potter, Harry

Alex was a little startled when his alter ego was called, but quickly recovered and took a seat on the stool and placed the hat on his head and over his eyes.

"Well, what do we have here? Harry Potter? Or should I say Alexander Riddle? Not a bad mind, cold, a little ruthless, yes, yes you'll do well in…"

"Hufflepuff, I want to go to Hufflepuff! Had I stayed with my relatives it is very likely that I would have gone there. As an heir of the founders you will obey me."

"I'm not sure if I agree with that, I think you might have gone either to Gryffindor or Slytherin. Now, No need to be so nasty, I will do as you wish young master."

"HUFFLEPUFF"

Alex jumped off the stool and calmly walked to the Hufflepuff table which was fairly split with in their reaction. Many of the students were staring open mouthed, along with the rest of the shocked hall. However, a few students were loudly cheering and a couple of them were chanting, "We've got Potter, we've got Potter!"

Once he was seated, the sorting continued until finally, Zabini, Blaise was placed in Slytherin. After Zabini was seated, the Headmaster stood and gave a short speech and list of rules, none of which were even listened to by Alex, and then the feast began.

After the feast Alex followed the prefects to the Hufflepuff dorms where he quickly went to bed and fell asleep.