AUTHOR'S NOTE: As of now, this story will include Harry's life at Hogwarts, which means some of the dialogue will be taken from the book. Anything penned by JKR will be underlined. If it isn't underlined, it's in my own words. Thank you for reading.

Harry and Hermione made it onto the train without incident. Ron followed them. They picked a compartment right near the front of the train. Hermione sat down next to Harry, smiled at the both of them, pulled a book (Hogwarts, A History) out of her trunk, and began to read.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out. When Harry nodded, he continued, "And have you really got—you know…"

Ron pointed at Harry's forehead. This, surely, was what Sirius had been talking about. Lots of people would want to know if indeed he was Harry Potter. Harry wondered if he should have brought two valid forms of ID, just so people could really be sure.

Harry pushed back his bangs so Ron could see the lightning scar.

"So that's where You-Know-Who—"

"Yeah, but I can't remember it."

"Nothing?"

Hermione looked up from her book then.

"Do you really need to ask him about that?" she demanded. "It's rather rude, you know."

Harry was internally grateful, but he found himself saying, "Oh no, I don't mind...I'm used to paparazzi."

"I imagine you are," said Hermione, getting back to her book.

"Are all your family wizards?" Harry asked Ron.

"Er—yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."

Harry figured Ron came from an old Wizarding family, just like Sirius had—although he was pretty sure Ron didn't have a terrible family like Sirius's. Not all of the old blood was bad, as evidenced in his father's side of the family.

"I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?"

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Horrible—well, not all of them," Harry replied. "My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers."

"Five," said Ron, and then he was off explaining his very large family, about how he was always overshadowed by his brothers, and how he never got anything new. He introduced Harry to Scabbers, his fat gray rat.

"I know all about hand-me-down stuff," Harry said sympathetically. "Before I met Sirius, I was always forced to wear my cousin's clothes. I mean, at least your robes fit. None of my cousin's clothes ever fit because he's so fat, he must have weighed thirty pounds at his very birth."

Ron laughed, and Hermione rolled her eyes again.

Around twelve-thirty the snacks witch came rattling by. She slid open their compartment door and asked, "Anything off the cart, dears?"

Ron turned pink and muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Hermione made to get up.

"Don't worry about it, I'm buying," Harry told her. "We'll take the lot!"

Several minutes later, Harry, Ron and Hermione had a whole pile of sweets in their compartment. Hermione seemed to forget about her dentist ancestry for a moment and dug in, just like Harry and Ron did.

"What are these?" Harry asked, holding up a Chocolate Frog. "They're not really frogs, are they?"

"No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa."

When Harry seemed confused, Ron explained about how Chocolate Frogs have cards enclosed, each with a famous witch or wizard.

"Oh," said Hermione. "Sort of like baseball cards, then."

"What's baseball?" Ron asked her interestedly.

"Never mind," said Hermione.

Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and looked at the card. He was surprised when he saw a familiar face staring back at him—it was Albus Dumbledore. The picture was moving, just like the pictures Harry had of his parents.

"You know how they do that?" Hermione pointed to the moving picture. "All you need to do is take a photo with an ordinary camera, and then when you get them developed in the darkroom, you use a special potion, and that's what makes the pictures move."

"Huh," said Ron.

"Let's see what it says on his card," Harry added, turning it over.

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

Current Headmaster of Hogwarts

Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the Dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.

"In the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos," Harry told Ron.

"Do they? What, they don't move at all? Weird!"

They ate the Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans next. It seemed to Harry that Hermione had done her research on many things, but there were still some parts of the Wizarding world she didn't know about, either. This was evidenced by her biting into a dirt-flavored bean.

"Gross," she said, picking up a pink one. "This strawberry might get the taste out of my mouth—ugh, salmon!"

Harry and Ron laughed, and so did Hermione. It seemed she had the worst luck with the beans, although Harry did get a grass-flavored one. Neville came in not long after, looking for Trevor the toad, who had escaped once again.

"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron after Neville left. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk. He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference. I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look…"

Ron pulled Charlie's battered old wand out of his trunk. Hermione looked up from her book to watch, and Ron said a rhyme:

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,

Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

Nothing happened.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said Hermione, looking critical. "Well, it's not a very good one, is it?"

"No," Ron agreed glumly. "George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."

"All the spells I've tried have worked for me." Hermione shrugged.

"Oh yeah, she's really good," Harry told Ron, remembering Hermione's prowess at magic.

"Harry's good, too, though," Hermione added. "Yesterday when we were hanging out, he made my water cup levitate to me."

"Oh, well, y'know…practice makes perfect," said Harry, feeling his face turn a little hot when she smiled at him. But it was so good—she remembered their night together! He smiled back.

"You guys aren't…?" Ever-so-subtle as usual, Ron pointed to Hermione, then to Harry, and raised his eyebrows. Harry didn't know what he meant, but Hermione laughed.

"Oh no, we're just friends," she told him. "Interesting observation, though."

Harry thought about this for a moment, then something clicked—Ron thought Hermione was Harry's girlfriend. Well, that was weird…why would he think that? They were just best mates, weren't they? Yes, of course…if Hermione was my girlfriend, Harry thought, we'd probably be kissing all the time, like Sirius and Barbara do.

"Oh," said Ron. "I thought maybe you two were…y'know, going steady or something."

This comment was followed by a very awkward silence, which spiraled horribly until Hermione (to Harry's relief) changed the subject.

"Did you hear about Gringotts?" she asked them. "The break-in? It was in the Daily Prophet."

"How do you get the Daily Prophet if you have Muggle parents?" Harry asked.

"When I went to Diagon Alley to get my wand and books and everything, I got a subscription to the Daily Prophet as well," she explained. "I like to keep up-to-date on what's happening in the Wizarding world—and this was big."

"I heard about it too," said Ron. "Someone tried to rob a high-security vault, didn't they?"

Harry remembered Vault 711 and Bessie the dragon.

"Really?" he asked. "What happened to them?"

"Nothing happened!" Hermione told him. "That's why it's so important. The thief hasn't been caught."

"My dad said it must have been a really powerful Dark wizard, to get past all the Gringotts security," said Ron, "but what's odd is, they don't think the thief took anything. Of course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it."

They thought about it in silence for a moment, until Ron brought up Quidditch.

"I took Hermione for a ride on my broom," Harry told Ron, grinning and gesturing to Hermione. "She didn't like it so much, I reckon."

"No, we won't be doing that again," said Hermione. "I'm just really scared of flying."

"Are you saying you have your own broom?" Ron asked Harry. "Which one?"

"I have the Nimbus Two Thousand," said Harry. "Sirius—my godfather—bought it for me in Diagon Alley as my birthday gift."

"Wow!" Ron looked shocked. "He got you the Nimbus Two Thousand? Blimey, I wish I had a racing broom that good."

"You can always borrow mine," said Harry. "I mean…not this year, since first years can't have their own brooms. But next year, you can fly on it anytime you want."

"Thanks," said Ron. "I might have to take you up on that. Do you have a Quidditch team?"

"No," Harry told him. "I've played, but I don't know the teams."

"My favorites are the Chudley Cannons," said Ron, and he was telling Harry all about his favorite team when their compartment door slid open again.

In walked three boys. Harry recognized the one in the middle—it was Lucius Malfoy's son, Draco. Harry remembered their first encounter, as well as Sirius's warning about this boy, and hesitated to say hello.

"What were you doing, talking to Lucius Malfoy's son?" Sirius hissed. "I don't want you mixing with people like that!"

"M-Malfoy?" said Harry. "You mean, the family your cousin married into?"

"The very same!" Sirius said angrily. "I've never met the boy, but I could tell just by looking at him. He's the picture of his father, right down to that awful sneer. Don't go hanging around with him at school. I mean it."

"Trust me, I won't," said Harry. "He was very rude—and he said people from Muggle families shouldn't be allowed to go to Hogwarts."

"Of course he did," Sirius growled. "Narcissa married out of one snobby, prejudiced family right into the next!"

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

"Yes," said Harry, looking at the other two boys. They were both huge and very mean-looking.

"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said Malfoy, noticing Harry watching them. "And my name's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."

Ron disguised his laugh with a cough. Hermione was watching them all with a slight frown.

"Think my name's funny, do you?" said Malfoy. "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."

"Well, your father probably says a lot of things," Harry said angrily, "all of which are snobby and prejudiced, and none of which are true."

Hermione gave a small gasp, and Ron snorted with laughter again. But Malfoy narrowed his pale eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded.

"Old blood is counting for less everywhere," said Harry. He was basically just parroting things he had heard Sirius say, but Malfoy didn't have to know that. "Anyone who cares about that stuff is clinging to a time that's long gone. What matters is your magical ability, not what sort of blood you've got—for example, my friend Hermione here. She's the most talented witch I've ever met, and nobody in her family is magic at all."

Hermione's face turned bright red, but she smiled. Harry noticed she did it without her teeth. Malfoy looked livid.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Mudblood, it'll rub off on you."

Harry and Ron both stood up furiously. Sirius had told Harry what "Mudblood" meant.

"Say that again," Ron said, his face red with anger.

"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered.

"Unless you apologize to her RIGHT NOW!" Harry yelled, surprising even himself as he grabbed the front of Malfoy's robes. Unfortunately, that was when Goyle caught him from behind and put him in a headlock.

"Harry!" Hermione shrieked.

"Let him go!" Ron yelled, just before Crabbe had him in a headlock, too.

"As if Potty and the Weasel really thought they could win a fight with us." Malfoy looked triumphant. "But of course we've won."

"Not quite," said Hermione, standing up. Her face was still red, but this time it was because she was angry, not embarrassed. She withdrew her wand from her robes. "Make them let go!"

"And just what are you going to do with that?" Malfoy scoffed, pointing at her wand.

"I'm going to curse you if you don't let Harry and Ron go right now!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!" Hermione pointed her wand at Crabbe, Goyle, and Malfoy, saying the same curse three times: "Locomotor Mortis! Locomotor Mortis! Locomotor Mortis!"

It was the same one Hermione had practiced on Sirius, and it worked again—all three targets were frozen from the waist down. As Crabbe and Goyle fell to the floor, their grips slackened, releasing Harry and Ron.

"Wow, thanks, Hermione!" Harry gasped, running to give her a hug. "You saved us both!"

"Yeah," said Ron. "Thanks!"

"It was no problem at all," said Hermione, beaming, this time with her teeth. Then she turned to Malfoy and his comrades. "You'd better get out before I use the Full Body-Bind on you!"

"How can we?" Malfoy yelped. "We can't move our legs!"

"Finite! Finite! Finite!" Hermione freed them all. "Now go."

Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle didn't need telling twice. As soon as Hermione had freed them from the curse, they ran out of the compartment as fast as their newly-mobilized legs could carry them.

"I've heard of the Malfoy family," Ron told them darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side."

"I know about him too," said Harry. "His mother is Sirius's cousin. Sirius really, really hates the Malfoys."

"Well, after seeing that, I can't say I blame him," said Hermione, looking out into the hallway. "Why did you two get so angry when he called me that name before, though? What does it mean, do you know?"

"Mudblood is a really bad word," Harry explained. "It refers to someone Muggle-born, like you. Some wizards, like Malfoy's family, think they're better than others because their whole family was magic. So they use words like Mudblood—you know, dirty blood. But the rest of us know it doesn't matter."

"Yeah, that was some pretty cool magic you just did," Ron added.

Just then, they heard a voice echoing throughout the train.

"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time," it said. "Please leave your luggage on the train. It will be taken to the school separately."

Harry suddenly felt nervous; Ron and Hermione looked nervous, too. When the train stopped, everyone pushed their way towards the door and climbed out onto a tiny, dark platform. The dark air was chilly; Harry, Ron and Hermione were all shivering. Then Harry saw a lamp, and heard a voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"

Looking up to see who was talking, Harry noticed it was Hagrid, the giant who had retrieved the You-Know-What from Vault 713 and (according to Sirius) brought it to Hogwarts. Was it there now, he wondered?

"C'mon, follow me—any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

Everyone followed Hagrid down a steep, narrow path. Harry was sure trees were surrounding them. Neville, the toad boy, could be heard sniffling a little.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called, "jus' round this bend here."

Everyone said, "Ooooh!"

The narrow path had opened and now they could see a big lake—the Black Lake, Harry realized, the one into which his own father had once dared Sirius to jump, stark naked. There was also a squid there, he knew, but he didn't see it. But he wasn't looking at the lake for long, because there was Hogwarts, even more beautiful than he had imagined it. Hogwarts was a huge castle, with many towers and turrets, and, if what Sirius had said was true, even more secrets. Its windows were sparkling in the night sky.

"No more'n four to a boat!"

There was Hagrid's voice again. Harry looked where he was pointing, and he saw a bunch of little boats in the water by the shore. Harry, Ron, and Hermione climbed into a boat. Neville became their fourth passenger.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid. "Right then—FORWARD!"

The boats started to move off all at once. Everyone was staring at the castle on the cliff. When they were finally across the lake, Harry was happy to see that Hagrid found Neville's toad, just like Sirius had last time. Maybe Hagrid was a friend of the animals, like Sirius.

They all scrambled out onto the rocks and crowded around the massive oak doors of Hogwarts Castle. Hagrid raised his fist, and they all held their breath as he knocked on the door.

TO BE CONTINUED!