#1.4
When the train finally came into a screeching halt at Hogsmeade station, Scorpius let out a long breath. After hours of nothing but some rest and the company of his books, this was it: his future for the next seven years.
To be more precise, it was more like six and a few years.
He placed his book back to his bag, careful not to put it above his wand case. Looking around to make sure he didn't leave anything behind, Scorpius stood up and got out of the compartment. The corridor outside was relatively empty, which either meant that he was one of the early ones to get out or the opposite.
Judging by the noise outside though, it was probably the latter. A few steps down the corridor to get to the end of the train, and then he stepped out of the Express.
Crowded couldn't even begin to describe the platform — it was packed full with lots of bustling First Years, dragging their owl cages along with their respective luggage. He didn't find that many taller students, though, they probably had gotten out even earlier.
He located his own trunk among a small pile near a pillar, and made a beeline towards it. Not that he was afraid that someone would take it, but his father had always reminded him to watch his own belongings. One huge man — Hagrid, if he wasn't mistaken — stood out in the middle of the steady flow of people getting down the platform, hands directing them to the direction of the gates. His mouth was moving, but Scorpius couldn't listen to what he said, drowned by the noise of the crowd.
So he grabbed his trunk, and entered the crowd. Due to his… height, which was a tad shorter than most people his age (he scowled at this), he couldn't quite see much above the heads. He felt someone's trunk pushing him from the behind, and with him sandwiched between two larger boys, it was all he could do to make his strides longer and at the same time making sure that he didn't trip upon any elevated slabs of rock.
His owl, Regius, was still back home, where his father had promised to deliver to him once he got to the castle. Scorpius didn't know precisely when Regius would arrive, just that he was told to check the Owlery right after the Sorting.
After heaving his trunk to the provided carriage, he chose to ride the next one, which still looked empty. But much to his dismay, he was not the first to get in, because there was a boy, probably his age but with a much bigger build, with short, black hair. The boy perked up upon seeing him, and Scorpius braced himself for the first conversation of his year (the one with Rose in the train excluded).
"Hullo there," the boy greeted with a nod. "You're Malfoy, yeah? Good t'see you."
Half of him wanted to disagree, but his polite self won and he found himself replying, "Likewise." Assuming that the boy knew he was a Malfoy, he didn't offer his name.
The boy stared at him for a few seconds, seemingly waiting for more. When nothing came, he grinned slightly. "Okay. I'm Stanley Goyle, and you must be… uh, Scor—"
"It's Scorpius," he interjected. So this was Mr. Goyle's son, whose father he'd seen a few times back in the Manor. Just looking at the dark hair and Scorpius could already say that he looked more like Mr. Goyle than his wife. Then again, he'd heard many that said he was almost the spitting image of his own father…
Silence ensued after that, an awkward one that both boys were not quite sure how to break. So before it became even weirder, he leaned back against the seat and looked outside.
He sincerely hoped that Hogwarts would not be as weird as this.