Harry spent the next month practicing occlumency and figuring out how to get rid of Voldermort the first night. He also read any part of his textbooks that he thought would help him.

On September 1st, Harry went to Kings Cross with his aunt, uncle and cousin. They left him between platforms nine and ten and watched him run through the barrier. He quickly took a compartment near the end of the train and struggled with his trunk until the Weasley twins helped him.

"Thanks," said Harry. He didn't really want to reveal his scar, but knew that Ron had to end up in his compartment, so he pushed away his sweaty hair and let the Weasley twins gawk at him. He knew Fred and George would tell his family that Harry was there and wasn't surprised when Ron entered the car.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out.

"Unfortunately," Harry said.

"And you really got?" continued Ron looking at Harry's forehead.

Harry pushed back his hair.

"So that's where you-know-who?"

"Yes," said Harry.

"Do you remember it?" Ron asked eagerly.

"Unfortunately," Harry said.

"Can you tell me?" asked Ron.

"I guess I should get used to telling people," Harry said. "I haven't mentioned it in ten years."

Harry took a deep breath and told himself that this was a stage rehearsal.

"I was sitting in the living room with my parents. My dad was making colorful sparks with his wand, and I was having fun watching him. All of sudden, my dad said, 'He's here. Take Harry and run. I'll try to hold him off.' My mum carried me to my bedroom and put me in the crib. She stood in front of the crib to block me. I heard my dad and Voldermort-

"You said his name!" Ron said.

"So?" asked Harry.

"Nobody says his name," Ron told him.

"I do," said Harry. "What do you think will happen if you say it? Do you think snatchers are going to come and carry you off to his headquarters?"

Ron shook his head. Harry continued the story.

"Anyway, I heard dad and Voldermort fight. Then Voldermort walked into my bedroom. My mother yelled, 'Not Harry!' Voldermort laughed and said, 'Stand aside, stupid woman.' My mother yelled again, 'Not Harry!' Voldermort laughed this horrible laugh and said, 'Avada Kedavra!' and my mother died. Voldermort looked at me and laughed again. He said 'Avada kedavra' again. I saw green light come out of his wand. It hit me and bounced off. There was green light all over the room. It hit Voldermort, and his body disappeared. All that was left was his soul and a piece of that blasted off and went flying. Voldermort ran out of the room."

"I wish you wouldn't say his name," Ron said.

"I just told you the story of how my parents died, and you're complaining that I used his name?" exclaimed Harry.

"I understand why you never told anyone," Ron said. "It must have been so scary to watch your mum die. Thank you for telling me."

"I heard you live with muggles," Ron said changing the subject. "What are they like?"

"Horrible," said Harry. "I wish I had a big, fun, magical family like yours."

"It's not so great," Ron said.

He listed his brothers and their accomplishments and how he's expected to do well, but if he does, nobody cares. He showed his pet rat, Scabbers. Harry made sure that Ron saw him look closely at Scabbers. When the food cart came, Harry bought tons of food and shared it with Ron. A while later, Neville walked into their compartment.

"Sorry," he said, "But did you see a toad?"

"No," Harry said. "But I'm sure he'll turn up. He probably went exploring on the train and will come back to you by the time we get to school."

Neville left their compartment. Ron made his comments about toads and complained about Scabbers and his wand. He was about to try to turn Scabbers yellow when Hermione walked into their compartment with Neville.

"Have you seen a toad?" she asked. "Neville lost his."

Hermione watched Ron try to turn Scabbers yellow with the fake spell that Fred and George told him. Hermione rambled on about reading her books and trying spells before introducing herself and asking their names.

"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.

"Harry Potter," said Harry.

Hermione started talking about the books where she read about Harry.

"Don't believe everything you read," Harry told her.

She started rambling on about houses and how she hopes to be in Gryffindor.

"You must be very nervous or very excited," Harry interrupted. "Why don't you sit down and relax?"

"I'm nervous and excited," Hermione said. "How could you tell?"

"Usually when people talk fast in a bossy tone, they are either nervous or excited. I understand that you're probably not always like this, and I'm also nervous and excited, but sitting down helps you stay calm. When you talk so fast, you make other people nervous."

"I'll try to remember to slow down," Hermione said. "We need to find Neville's toad. We'll be in school soon."

"He will probably come back when the train stops," Harry said. "Pets are usually loyal to their owners. The toad probably wanted to explore the train. Why don't you sit down and relax until we get to school?"

Hermione and Neville sat down hesitantly.

"So where do you think you'll end up?" asked Hermione.

"My parents were both Gryffindors, so I'll probably end up there," said Harry.

"My brothers are all Gryffindors, so I'll probably end up there too," said Ron.

Just then, Draco came in their compartment with Crabbe and Goyle.

"Hi, Harry," Draco said. "I heard you were back here. I thought I would see you earlier."

"Hi, Draco," Harry responded. "Meet Ron, Hermione, and Neville."

"This is Crabbe and Goyle," Draco introduced.

"I know who you are," Draco said looking at Ron. "My dad told me"

Harry quickly interrupted.

"Remember when he were at Diagon Alley I told you how I feel. Do you think I would like your father?" Harry asked.

"Probably not," Draco admitted. "I could still repeat what he said."

"I would prefer not," Harry said. "I already told you that I have no problem being friends with anyone from any house, any blood status, any looks or financial situation, as long as they can share my attitude of accepting everyone."

"I'll try," Draco said sitting down and motioning to Crabbe and Goyle to do the same.

Ron and Neville exchanged nervous looks.

"You better change," Hermione said. "We should be there any minute."

Ron rolled his eyes.

"I guess if I answer the way I want to, you'll drop me as a friend?" he asked Harry.

"I'll answer for you," Harry said. "I'll give you a lesson on manners."

Draco snickered.

"Hermione, I know you are nervous and excited," Harry said. "You are right that we will be there soon and we should probably change, but when you use a nervous tone of voice, you sound bossy, and you scare Ron. We'll go change now."

Five minutes later, the train stopped and they rode to Hogwarts in boats. Harry rode with Ron, Neville and Hermione. As soon as the boats got to Hogwarts, Neville and his toad were reunited.

"You were right!" Neville exclaimed. "Trevor came back to me!"

Hagrid knocked on the door.

AN to DeliaDee: Thanks for the honest review. I'm actually going along with the original book which is why it's taking me so long to write. In the original story, Hagrid had to pull Harry away from Curses and Countercurses so I decided to let Harry get carried away with more books. I'll try to add a conversation about the books in the next chapter to clarify why Hagrid was stopping Harry.