Chapter Two: The First Train Ride

The journey had taken no time at all in Sirius' car. The trip from Winchester to London never took long. Ron was the most relieved to arrive as Dorea made him uncomfortable. Harry could not help chuckling at his best friend.

Harry and Ron were almost like brothers, they were inseparable. They did everything together. They had been home-schooled together by Lily; they had learned Karate together and had gotten their black belts together just a few weeks ago. Ron even had his own room at Potter Manor. He was most definitely a part of the family as he was practically raised by James, Lily, Sirius, and Remus. He had learned so much from each of them. From James he had been taught to fly. From Sirius he had been taught how to treat girls (heavily supervised by Lily). From Remus he had learned tact. But from all of them he had learned about pranks and having fun. But of all of them, Ron looked up to Sirius the most. He and Harry both knew what they want to do when they were done with Hogwarts.

Once they were through the barrier to platform nine and three quarters, it was finally sinking in that they were going to Hogwarts. It was finally their turn. As Ron went to find his mum and his younger sister, James pulled Harry aside.

'You've got everything? The map and the cloak?' said James in a low voice.

'Yeah, they're both in my trunk, Dad,' replied Harry smiling.

'Good, now have fun, and don't work too hard, Harry,' said James.

'I agree whole-heartedly with my fellow Marauder. Play as many pranks as you can and snog as many girls as you can,' said Sirius.

'Sirius, do not tell my son to be like you were when you were at school!' scolded Lily, as Ron came back.

'Did I miss something?' he asked.

'Sirius said we were to play as many pranks as we can, and to snog as many girls as we can too,' Harry replied.

Ron laughed as Lily looked miffed at Sirius before she gave both Harry and Ron a hug each and said, 'Have a good time, you two. Try not to get into too much trouble, or overwork yourselves. But if I hear that you, Harry James Potter, are snogging girl after girl, I will ban Sirius from the house!'

'You wouldn't!' said Harry, Ron, James and Sirius together.

'Oh, all right, I wouldn't. James would mope all the time and I've got the rest of you big kids to look after, as well as the actual kids!' said Lily.

Harry and Ron got on board with their carry-on bags. As the whistle blew to let them know the train was about to leave.

'Don't forget to write! You too, Ron!' shouted Lily.

'We won't!' Harry and Ron shouted back as the train started to pull away. They then turned around to find a round faced boy with blond hair standing behind them.

'Alright, Nev!' said Harry.

'Yeah, mate, good to see you, and you, Ron,' replied Nev.

Nev was Neville Longbottom. He was another friend of theirs they had known since early childhood. He was shy but a good laugh at the same time. His parents were Aurors like James and Sirius were. He, Neville, had no desire to follow in their footsteps. He wanted to be a Herbologist – maybe even a teacher.

'Alright, Neville, good to see you too, shall we change into our robes?' said Ron.

Harry and Neville both nodded and together the three of them found somewhere to change. As Harry put his contacts in his eyes, Neville looked away. 'I dunno how you do that, Harry. Putting those things on your eyes,' he said.

'I've been doing it for ages, so it's second nature to me now,' replied Harry once he was done.

Once they were changed, they went to find a compartment. They walked past many that were already full, until they came to a compartment that was empty except for a girl with bushy brown hair who had already changed into her Hogwarts robes too.

'Come on, this'll do,' said Ron.

'But there's a girl in there!' said Neville.

Harry and Ron rolled their eyes and chuckled, before Ron said, 'Neville, you're seriously going to have to get over your Girl-o-phobia. I mean it was over a year ago! Look, she doesn't even have red hair!'

But before Neville could say anything else, Ron had already opened the door and said to the girl, 'Do you mind if we sit in here? Everywhere else is full.'

The girl turned around startled as she wiped her eyes and said, 'Okay, I can go somewhere else …'

When she finished talking she stood up but Ron said, 'Or, you can stay here and at least let us introduce ourselves?'

The girl sat back down again by the window, expecting all three of them to sit opposite her. However, Ron sat down beside her and said, 'I'll do the honours, shall I?' he then cleared his throat and said, 'Okay, the trembling blond sitting diagonally from you is Neville Longbottom, the boy next to him with the hair that makes him look like he's been dragged through a hedge backwards, is Harry Potter. As for me, I'm Ron, Ron Weasley,' he said offering his hand to shake.

'Um, I'm Hermione,' she said shaking his hand.

'Just Hermione, are you one of those muggle pop stars with only one name?' asked Ron.

'What's a pop star?' asked Neville.

'You'll have to forgive Neville, he's going to be the token ignorant pure-blood in the room, so do you have a last name?' said Ron smirking at his friend.

The girl took a deep breath and said, 'Yes, it's Granger. My name is Hermione Granger, and I'm a bit young to be a pop star.'

Ron smiled and said, 'It's nice to meet you, Hermione.'

'What's a pop star?' said Neville again.

'I'll tell you later, Neville,' said Harry.

Ron then asked Hermione to tell them all about herself.

'I don't have any brothers or sisters, my parents are dentists. I like to read and I can't wait to start learning magic – especially Transfiguration,' she said half-nervous half-excited.

'What's a dentist?' asked Neville.

'Dentists are muggle healers who specialise in oral hygiene,' replied Ron.

'Right, thanks, Ron,' said Neville.

'My dad is amazing at Transfiguration,' said Harry, 'I've got a brother and a sister who are twins, called Charlus and Dorea. My dad is an Auror – a Dark Wizard Catcher, and my mum is a full-time mum. My younger siblings are a year younger than I am, so they'll start Hogwarts next September. I like flying and playing Quidditch. Your turn, Neville.'

Neville cleared his throat and said, 'I have one sister, she's called Katherine, but prefers Kate. Both my parents are Aurors and I like plants. I want to be a Herbologist. Unlike these two, I don't like flying too much, I seem to have enough accidents with both feet on the ground, but I do like Quidditch.'

Ron then cleared his throat and said, 'My turn. I've got five older brothers and one younger sister. Bill is the oldest, he's a Cursebreaker and he works in Egypt. Then there's Charlie, he's a Dragon-keeper in Romania. Next comes Percy, he's a fifth year Prefect, and wants to work in the Ministry of Magic. Then it's the twins Fred and George, they're pranksters and want to open their own joke shop when they leave Hogwarts and are third years. Then it's me, and then my sister. She's called Ginny and starts Hogwarts next year along with Charlus, Dorea and Katherine.

'My dad works in the Ministry of Magic in the Muggle Liaison Office. My mum is a full-time mum and the best cook in the world. I like playing Chess, flying and Quidditch. I also like football, but I still prefer Quidditch. Harry and I are both black belts in Karate.'

'Black belts at eleven? Wow that's amazing!' said Hermione.

Ron smiled at her and said in a tentative voice, 'Hermione, when we came in here, you were crying. And then when we introduced ourselves you were reluctant to tell us your last name. Can you tell us why?'

'Um, yes, all right. I was sitting in another compartment with a couple of girls. We all took it in turns to introduce ourselves. I told them my name, and one of them said, "Granger? That's not a surname I recognise, do you?" her friend said "No", and told me to get out calling me some name I can't remember. I was crying because I hadn't even arrived at Hogwarts yet, and still managed to find people who hate me, it's just like primary school all over again!' she said as tears escaped from eyes again.

Ron, Harry and Neville all shared a look, before Ron took one of Hermione's hands and said, 'Hermione, please don't cry. Those girls are nothing but bigoted bitches with no minds of their own.'

'Bigoted?' asked Hermione.

Ron took another deep breath and said, 'Yeah, look, there are some people out there who think they're better than everyone else because they're pure-bloods. Now as a pure-blood myself, I can tell you that it's the biggest load of bollocks you'll ever hear! It makes no difference whether you're pure-blood, half-blood, or muggle-born. We are all the same; we all bleed, don't we? Please don't let these brainless ignorant inbred arseholes get to you. Lily, Harry's mum, is also muggle-born like you, and she was one of the best to ever pass through Hogwarts. But what did you mean by saying "it's just like primary school all over again"? You had friends there, right?'

Hermione just shook her head and looked down.

Ron then knelt in front of her, taking her other hand and said, 'Well, Hermione Granger, you have friends now! You've got me and Harry! You might even get Neville if he ever gets over his Girl-o-phobia!'

'R-really, you want to be my friend?' she asked.

'Of course I do! You're really nice!' said Ron.

'Yeah, what he said,' said Harry as Neville nodded.

'Girl-o-phobia?' asked Hermione.

Ron then proceeded to tell Hermione the story of Neville accidentally walking into the wrong room at Potter Manor. He had walked in on Dorea and Ginny getting changed and they had screamed bloody murder at him, scaring the crap out of him.

Once the story was told, Hermione was having some difficulty in keeping her face straight, until Neville just told her to laugh and so she did.

A few minutes later, the food trolley appeared and Harry and Ron both bought a ton of sweets (a bit of everything so that Hermione could try them) and the four of them began to eat, though Hermione reluctantly. Ron quickly told her that these sweets weren't bad for your teeth and so she indulged with her new friends.

As they ate they discussed houses and which one they wanted to go into, and Harry, Ron and Hermione said, 'Gryffindor,' as Neville said, 'Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, would be fine.'

They also talked about lessons and which ones they looked forward to the most and Harry and Ron told Hermione that they knew most of the professors of Hogwarts because they were friends with their parents and often visited Potter Manor and the Burrow for dinner. They even told Hermione some of their nicknames, and she could not help but laugh at some of them. They told her that they called Dumbledore, "Dumbles". They called Professor McGonagall, "Minnie". They called Professor Flitwick, "Big Phil", and of course they told her about Harry's two honorary uncles, Professors Lupin and Prince, who they called by their first names or even their Marauder names, and they told her what and who the Marauders were. Hermione could not believe that two of the teachers had been pranksters and mischief makers during their schooldays.

Ron could tell that Hermione had loads more questions and that she was very smart. He liked her a lot and thought she was very pretty.

But then the compartment door opened and there were three boys standing there. Two large bulking boys with a blond boy with a pointed chin standing between them, and it was him who spoke. 'So, who do we have in here?' he said in a drawling voice. 'This is Crabbe, and this is Goyle, and I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy.'

'Weasley, Ron Weasley,' said Ron, just about stopping himself from laughing at Malfoy.

'Harry Potter,' said Harry.

'Hermione Granger,' she answered confidently.

'Neville Longbottom,' answered Neville.

Malfoy paused for a moment before saying, 'One pure-blood, one half-blood, one blood-traitor, and one Mudblood.'

Harry and Ron both drew their wands so fast, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle had no time to react as Harry and Ron hexed Malfoy.

BANG!

Malfoy was sent flying back towards Crabbe and Goyle, who caught him.

However, his face was now covered in boils and he was starting to wretch, before bringing up a slimy slug on to the floor.

'DON'T YOU EVER USE THAT FUCKING WORD IN OUR PRESENCE AGAIN, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!' roared Ron angrily.

Malfoy then brought up another slug before Harry said in a deadly calm voice, 'If you ever come near us again and start trouble, we'll make your life a living hell, now, fuck off.'

Crabbe and Goyle pulled Malfoy out of the compartment and left as Malfoy continued to bring up slugs.

Ron calmed himself down and turned to see Hermione in tears and trembling slightly. He gathered her into his arms and whispered, 'Hermione, please don't cry. Like I said earlier, don't let the bigots ruin the wizarding world for you. Not all the pure-bloods think like him. Neville doesn't, Harry's dad doesn't, and my family and I don't either.'

'I'm sorry, what must you think of me crying like this all the time?' she said sadly.

'Don't be sorry, Hermione, you have nothing to be sorry for, I promise,' he said, as he pulled back to look at her.

She still had tears running down her face, but Ron caught them and gently wiped her tears away with his thumb. He then sat down and pulled her on to his lap and held her.

'I don't think I'm brave enough to be in Gryffindor,' she said sadly.

'Yes, you are. I think it takes a lot of bravery to practically give up the muggle world and join our world when you don't know all that much about it. I think exploring is a very brave thing to do and that's what you are doing, Hermione, exploring,' said Ron.

'He's right, Hermione, after all, Indiana Jones is an explorer of sorts, isn't he? And Jean-Luc Picard too,' said Harry.

'Besides, if being in Gryffindor is where you want to be, then you can tell that to the Sorting Hat, during your Sorting. Right, Harry?' said Ron.

'Yeah, absolutely, mate.'

'Who are Indiana Jones and John-Luke Picard?' said Neville.

But before any of them could answer Neville, the compartment door opened again and two identical, red haired boys came in and sat down next to Ron and Hermione.

'Fred, George, is there something you wanted?' asked Ron as he gently rubbed Hermione's back.

'Well, yeah, we just saw some kid with all the marks of your handiwork, Ronniekins,' said Fred.

'Yours too, Harrykins, so, what happened?' asked George.

Ron told them and the twins said that Ron and Harry were perfectly justified in hexing Malfoy. He also introduced them to Hermione at the same time.

Fred and George stayed and ate a few sweets with them until the door opened again and there stood a red haired boy with a Prefect's Badge pinned neatly to his robes.

'Hello, Percy,' said Ron.

'I've just heard from one of my fellow Prefects that you hexed a boy in here without provocation. Is this true, Ronald?' he asked pompously and sternly.

'No, Percy, I hexed the little prick for insulting Hermione, Lily, and our family,' he replied.

'Oh, I see, what did he say?' said Percy.

'He called me a blood-traitor and by extension the rest of us, and I won't repeat what he called Hermione. Malfoy used the M-word, Perce,' said Ron.

'Which made me hex him too, as you know my mum is muggle-born as well,' said Harry.

Then to their surprise, Percy said, 'Fair enough,' and helped himself to a few sweets and sat down in the crowded compartment, next to Neville.

Ron kept Hermione on his lap and it appeared that she did not seem to mind her seating arrangements one bit as they all helped themselves to what was left of the sweets and talked until the train arrived at Hogsmeade Station.