A/N: Here is the second chapter of the novel. Hope you enjoy it!
Please R&R.
Please note: College is in reference to high schools, not American-after-high-school-colleges.
Hogwarts is the film version, as is the lake. (Goblet of Fire version)
Thank you.
Chapter Two: The Scarlet Engine
The rest of the summer passed by in a whir. Hermione set up a simple repetitive regime of eating, sleeping and reading her way through all her school books. She even finished the extra books she had bought and, half-way through August had been able to persuade her parents to take her on another trip to Diagonal Alley and get more books.
Soon, it was August thirty-first and Hermione was ecstatic and hyper at the very thought of going to Hogwarts. She began counting down the hours and even minutes until The Hogwarts Express would leave Platform Nine and Three-Quarters at King's Cross. Her parents had never seen her like this and attempted to calm her down, but to no avail.
'I hope it's amazing and exciting' Hermione beamed at her parents. They could only smile and nod, they decided it was best to let it pass by itself. Soon, however, it was evening, and Hermione decided to go up to bed, so that she could be on the train quicker. She went to bed, but could not fall asleep. After the first hour, she decided to ignore it. After the second, she decided to get up and get a glass of water. After the third hour of not-falling-asleep, Hermione got up and decided to read until the early hours of the morning.
The morning dawned crisp and warm, as the first day of autumn arrived. Hermione was soon up, a bit tired, but otherwise excited. By nine-thirty, the Granger's were in the car, going around the morning traffic of September first, as cars honked and screeched, while children walked or were driven by their parents to school; they were excited (in the case of the younger ones) to go back and learn new things, or depressed (in the case of the older college students) as the black shadow that was school clouded over them.
Hermione was oblivious to all of this. She was in a joyful mood. Soon she would be on the train to start a brand new part of her life. A part of her life, that, two months ago, she never knew about. Mr Granger soon parked the car at King's Cross, and, after he deposited Hermione's trunk onto a trolley, the Granger's moved towards the platforms nine and ten.
Reaching the platform, Hermione looked around, she wanted to make sure that she was doing it right. She did not want to crash into the wrong barrier, by accident. After five minutes of looking around, she soon spotted a few groups of families seemingly disappear beside one of the barriers. Making her way over there, she took her parents with her, and jogging towards it, she went right through the barrier, emerging onto another platform.
It's real, she thought. Until this moments, a part of her, the logical part, had refused to believe in all this. Now, however, she was completely convinced. Looking around, she saw a sign:
Platform 9 3/4 - The Hogwarts Express
Regular services to Hogsmeade also available
Beside this was a clock. It read ten thirty-five. Looking around, Hermione saw it. A beautiful scarlet steam locomotive was visible through the thick vapour. It's side read:
The Hogwarts Express
est. 1837
Behind the locomotive were some dozen long carriages, each scarlet and each bearing the Hogwarts crest, with the lion, eagle, badger, snake and the letter 'H'. Arriving beside one of the carriages, Mr Granger heaved Hermione's trunk onto the floor of the narrow corridor and stepped down to stand beside his wife.
'Now, Draco, don't mingle with any muggle-borns, you're pure-blood, remember' said a tall blond-haired man to his son beside Hermione.
'Yes, Father' replied the boy with a drawl, like his father's.
'Okay, Seamus, enjoy your time at Hogwarts, honey' said a woman to her son.
'I will, mam' the boy replied.
'Okay honey, have a great and fun time there. Don't forget to write to us regularly, OK?' said Hermione's mother, tears in her eyes. 'Me and your father have to leave now, if we want to make it back to the clinic on time.' Mr and Mrs Granger had taken the morning off, so that they could come and see her off to Hogwarts. Their first appointment was at noon, and though they didn't know it, this arrangement was similar to what the Ministry of Magic allowed for it's employees. All employees of the Ministry were allowed the morning of September first off, so that they could see their children off.
'You have a good term, don't forget about Christmas, don't break any rules and just curse any of the boys that try to get to you' said Mr Granger, smiling down at his daughter.
'Dad, I'm not going to break any rules' said Hermione, ignoring her father's jibe.
'I know you're not' he said. 'Oh, I almost forgot! Here, something for the train, I believe that like any ordinary train, it probably has some sort of food trolley, although they probably don't accept pounds' he laughed, pulling out a small bag of coins. He handed the bag over to Hermione, who pocketed it. Mr Granger then hugged his daughter, while Mrs Granger kissed her cheek.
Climbing aboard the train, Hermione carried her luggage down to an empty compartment. She left her luggage and opened the window. She looked out, and after searching and finding her parents in the crowd, waved to them. They waved back, walking down the platform, back towards the barrier. They were soon out of sight, and Hermione, after heaving her trunk onto the luggage rack, dropped into her seat, with, as expected, a book, The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1), by Miranda Gioshawk.
After about twenty minutes, during which time, Hermione had read about the unlocking spell, Alohomora, and managed to change into her school robes,the train began to move. Hermione put the book down and looked out of the window, as the train moved out of the station. Soon, London was flying past the window, and a few minutes later, a gentle knock came from the door. Hermione looked around and saw a small round-faced boy, almost certainly a first-year outside the compartment. He opened the door.
'Hullo, is anyone else going to sit there?' he asked, with a nervous voice.
'Oh, no. You can sit there if you want' replied Hermione kindly.
'Thanks' the boy said. He sat down, opposite Hermione. 'I'm Neville, Neville L-Longbottom' he said shakily.
'I'm Hermione, Hermione Granger' answered Hermione.
'Are you a muggle-born, only, my Gran knows practically every wizarding family in Britain' said Neville.
'Oh, yes. I was so happy and excited when I was told about all this' Hermione said.
'I was just really happy when I got my letter. No one thought I would get in, see?' said Neville. 'They all thought I was a squib.'
'A squib, what's a squib' asked Hermione, confused, and slightly irritated that she didn't know this seemingly crucial piece of information.
'It's a non-magic witch or wizard. Someone whose family is all magical, but they're not' answered Neville, a bit confident, now that he was able to educate someone about his world. 'They're the opposite of a muggle-born really.'
'But why does all this muggle-born and pure-blood stuff matter, and what are the different terms and meanings?' asked Hermione.
'Well, I know that muggle-borns are witches and wizards born to muggles, obviously. Pure-bloods are witches and wizards whose entire ancestry is like, entirely witches and wizards, without one muggle or muggle-born anywhere. Half-bloods, though, are the most common. Their parents are either both half-bloods or one's a pure-blood and another's a muggle-born. Occasionally, you get a half-blood whose mother is like, half-blood and whose father is just a muggle' replied Neville.
'But why do some people make a deal out of it?' Hermione questioned.
'They think that pure-bloods are better and that muggle-borns are worse off because they're not real witches and wizards, they haven't been raised like pure-bloods' answered Neville. 'It's just really stupid, really. It's what You-Know-Who and his-' Neville stopped and looked at Hermione. 'Do you know who You-Know-Who is?'' he asked.
'Oh, yeah, I was told about him and read a bit about him' answered Hermione.
'Yeah, well, the whole pure-blood thing was what You-Know-Who believed in entirely' said Neville.
Hermione felt a bit disheartened at this news. This was not something written somewhere in a book. This was simply perception and opinion of a variety of people.
'How many people actually think all this?' she asked.
'A few, but most wizarding folk know better. They know that there are some pretty smart muggle-born witches and wizards out there. And Gran says that there are some stupid pure-bloods out there as well. She had to visit some of them once, I think they're called Crab and Gole, something like that' he replied.
Hermione sat back, digesting this new information. She would have never have known about this prejudice. It reminded her of the KKK in America and the Civil Rights Movement over there. She wondered, for the first time, just how she would fit into Hogwarts and the wizarding world in general. Perhaps it had something to do with the houses at Hogwarts?
'Neville, do you know anything about the houses?' asked Hermione after a while.
'Oh yeah' he replied. 'I know a bit about them. I know I'll probably be in Hufflepuff, but there are four. Do you want me to tell you about them?' he asked, looking at Hermione.
Before Hermione could reply, however, the compartment door opened. A plump, short, smiling woman appeared. She was pushing an old trolley which seemed to be piled high with an assortment of various colourful boxes and packets.
'Anything off the trolley, dears?' she asked kindly.
Hermione stood up, walking towards her. She noticed that Neville had stood up as well. She briefly wondered what kind of things a wizard train would sell, but this question was soon answered when Neville asked the witch.
Could I have a few Chocolate Frogs, some Cauldron Cakes, Pumpkin Pasties and two Liquorice wands' he told the witch, handing over a few gold coins. The witch took the gold and handed over the requested candies. The witch looked up at Hermione.
'Er, could I please have some of what Neville's having and a box of those jelly beans' said Hermione, pointing at a purple box of jelly beans, some of colours Hermione had never seen before. The witch handed the items over, taking Hermione's gold off her.
Hermione sat back with the items and tucked in, tasting the various wizarding candies provided. She was slightly surprised when she discovered that the chocolate frogs could actually bounce, but more interested in the cards that came with every frog. By the time she had gone through the box of chocolate frogs, Hermione's famous wizard collection included Dumbledore, Merlin, Morgana, Paracelsus and others.
When she got to the jelly beans, Neville stopped her.
'Oh, Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour Beans! Be careful, they really mean it when they say every-flavour' he said. 'You can get really weird ones, like vomit and plastic.' Hermione was suddenly a bit apprehensive about the beans, but she fished out a small white one. She looked at it for a bit, studying it, but decided to be brave and chewed the tip. Coconut, she thought and ate the rest of the bean. 'As I was saying earlier' continued Neville 'did you want to hear about the houses?'
'Yeah, sure' replied Hermione, with fake enthusiasm, and so Neville launched into a lecture about the four different houses, what their qualities were. How Slytherin had never had a muggle-born and how every single dark witch or wizard had only been in Slytherin. How Ravenclaw were really smart, and how Hufflepuff were considered to be a bit stupid, while Gryffindor sounded like the jocks of the school from some American high school film.
All the while, Hermione sat there, going her way through beans. She got mostly nice ones, some were plain, while a small group was simply disgusting. But Hermione could see the appeal of these beans. It would probably be fun to sit and try to eat these beans with friends. Unsure whether or not the green one is mint or tree leaves.
'-and Gran says that I might be put in Gryffindor, cos that's where everyone in our family has been put in for a few generations, but she says Hufflepuff isn't a bad place either. I'm just scared that I won't be sorted at all. Maybe they'll decide I'm too squib and send me back home' he finished fearfully.
He looked at Hermione expectantly.
'What? Oh, yes, I'm pretty sure you'll be sorted Neville' she said, dropping the bean she had been inspecting; a rather suspicious looking red one. Neville looked pacified at this assurance. Another few minutes passed, when suddenly:
'Trevor, where are you?' asked Neville to no one in particular. Hermione looked around at Neville. She had been gazing at the countryside whizzing by.
'Who's Trevor?' she asked.
'My toad. He's already disappeared a few times' replied Neville. He was looking under the seat, his large bottom visible under it.
'Here, I'll help you look for it. Why don't you go look in the corridor, and I'll look around the compartment' suggested Hermione. Neville looked around at her, fearfully. He then went out of the compartment.
Hermione stood up and paced the compartment. Where should she look? She knew that student's could bring an owl, cat or toad. She'd heard that owls were by far the most popular as they were the most useful, whilst toads were completely unfashionable. But she felt a stab of sympathy and pity for the poor boy, Neville. He didn't seem particularly bright.
She got down on her knees and looked under the seats. She knew what a toad looked like, and really, how many could there be on the train? She continued her search of the compartment. In the end, she had to admit defeat. Neville came in a few moments later, crestfallen.
'I couldn't find him. I asked around the carriage, but no one's seen him' he said.
'Come on, I'll go ask the neighbors' said Hermione.
'I've already asked, they said they hadn't seen him' replied Neville, looking up at Hermione resentfully.
'Perhaps you didn't ask hard enough' suggested Hermione.
Neville silently agreed and they stood up and walked out the compartment, going through the carriage and asking about. They met a few fellow first-years on the way. Hermione extended the necessary searching time, by talking with a few of them. She enjoyed talking with an Ernie Macmillan, who seemed very smart. She liked Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott well enough. Lavender Brown and Parvati and Padma Patil were also interesting.
She reached the last compartment. In it were two boys. One was tall, ginger and freckly. The other was rather short, skinny with messy jet black hair and round spectacles covered his emerald green eyes. They were surrounded by wrappers and the discards of food. Hermione opened the door and walked in, Neville trailing behind her.
'Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one' said Hermione.
'We've already told him we haven't seen it' said the ginger-haired boy. But Hermione wasn't listening, she had just noticed the tattered old one in the ginger boy's hand.
'Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then' she said to the boy. She sat down beside the black-haired boy. The ginger boy seemed a bit taken aback at Hermione's reaction.
'Er – all right' was all he said. He cleared his throat, raised his wand at the rat that was in his lap. 'Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat yellow.' He waved his wand but nothing happened.
'Are you sure that's a real spell?' asked Hermione. 'Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells, just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family is magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard – I've learnt all our set books off by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough' rambled Hermione. She suddenly looked up 'I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?'
'I'm Ron Weasley' said the ginger boy.
'Harry Potter' said the other boy. Hermione was stunned, but quickly got over it. She did, however question him, or interrogate, based on one's perception of the event.
'Are you really?' said Hermione. 'I know all about you, of course – I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century.'
'Am I?' asked the black-haired boy, Harry. He looked slightly sheepish at this news.
'Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it were me' said Hermione, slightly amazed that this boy didn't know he was in books. 'Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best. I hear Dumbledore himself was one, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad…' Hermione trailed off, thinking about that possibility.
She then remembered why she was in this compartment in the first place. 'Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon.' She finished. She stood up and left the compartment.
She and Neville looked around some more; finally finding Trevor beside the door leading to the neighboring carriage. Hermione decided to go up the train and see the driver, if there was one. She had an odd suspicion that the train might be magical, and might even run on its own.
She needn't have worried; there was a wizard in the drivers' compartment. He looked to be in his late forties or early fifties, with thinning grey hair. He was wearing dark pants with a grey shirt, and had numerous burns across his arms, while his face and hands were covered in coal. He was sweating profusely, though that would be because of the heat in the compartment. There was a raging fire in here, making the entire compartment seem like an oven. The driver introduced himself as Barry.
'When will we be there?' asked Hermione, after exchanging pleasantries.
'In about an hour, miss' Barry replied, shoveling coal into the fire.
'Thank you' said Hermione.
She went back towards her compartment. She found Neville there, looking slightly pale and worn out. Hermione asked him what was wrong.
'Draco M-Malfoy was in here a few minutes ago' he said.
Hermione looked at him sympathetically. Neville had mentioned the name Malfoy in his lecture about purebloods and had said that Malfoy was one of the worst. She hoped she wouldn't come across him too soon. She couldn't have been more mistaken.
Barely a minute later, she heard a commotion. She looked out of the compartment. People were running about the corridors, laughing and behaving immaturely. She saw a commotion in one of the compartments and went to investigate. When she looked into the compartment, she was surprised to find that she wasn't surprised that it was none other than Harry Potter and Ron Weasley.
'What has been going on?' she demanded of the boys, looking at the sweet wrappers and the rat, both of which were on the floor.
They ignored her. 'I think he's been knocked out' said Ron. 'No – I don't believe it – he's gone back to sleep.'
'You've met Malfoy before?' asked Harry. Hermione's ears pricked up, and she listened at what Ron said about the Malfoys and their ties to You-Know-Who. When he finished, Hermione told them:
'You better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up the front to ask the driver and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting. Have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!' she exclaimed, exasperated.
'Scabbers had been fighting, not us' said Ron, scowling at Hermione, though she didn't notice. 'Would you mind leaving while we change?'
'All right – I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors' said Hermione. 'And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?'
Hermione left them. She made her way down the corridor, just as a voice echoed throughout the train: 'We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately.'
Hermione decided that there was no point pushing through the crowds to get back to her compartment. She went towards the exit, as the train began slowing and then, finally, stopped. She was pushing along with the tide of the students rushing out of the door. She heard a loud voice call over everyone's heads: 'Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here!'
Hermione made her way towards the voice and looked up into the shaggy face of the tallest man she had ever seen. It looked like he had been enlarged massively. He was taller than any other wizard she had seen.
'C'mon, follow me – any more firs'-years? Mind yer step, now! Firs'-years follow me!'
Hermione followed the man towards a path, which seemed to lead towards a lake. Hermione tried to see between the trees, to catch a glimpse of the school, but couldn't.
As if he had read her mind, the man said 'Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec' Hagrid called over the crowd, 'jus' round this bend here.'
The path had opened to reveal a magnificent castle on the other side of the lake, though still on this end. The castle had numerous towers, but the most prominent was a very large thick one. Hermione knew, from Hogwarts: A History that this tower housed the Grand Staircase of Hogwarts, as well as hundreds of portraits and at the very top, Gryffindor tower. As for the lake, it stretched out for miles and miles, towards some distant hills.
'No mor'n four to a boat' called the man, pointing to the boats that were tied to the dock. Hermione was followed by Neville, as she climbed into a boat, behind Harry and Ron.
'Everyone in?' shouted the man, who was, himself, sitting in a boat by himself, as he occupied the entire boat. Hermione had a fleeting suspicion that this boat was even larger than the rest. 'Right then – FORWARD!'
The boats moved and rode the waves gracefully. The student's sailed towards the hundreds' of lights that made the castle visible. Hermione learned from Harry that the large man's name was Hagrid.
They arrived at the dock below the castle. The student's filed out of the boats, and Hagrid checked them.
'Oy, you there! Is this your toad?' said Hagrid, calling out to Neville, who had apparently escaped captivity again.
'Trevor!' cried Neville, running towards Hagrid and taking Trevor off of Hagrid's hands. Hagrid then lead them up a few flights of staircases, before arriving at and oak door, some thirty or forty feet high. Hagrid knocked. The doors open and there stood the woman who had told Hermione about the wizarding world: Professor McGonagall. She surveyed the mass of students in front of her.
There we go, another chapter done, next is The Sorting, which will be, hopefully, as long as this chapter, if I can make a large conversation out of what the hat and Hermione would be discussing.
Please note that I will use a lot of dialogue that is directly taken from the original books. I wish to remain faithful to the original series. I do not mean any copyright infringement, as everything in the Potterverse is Jo's creation (except for a few select things, Richard and Helen Granger, anyone?).
Please Review, suggestions are welcome. Third chapter up soon.
