Stepping off the train, Harry felt a thrill of excitement deep in the pit of his stomach. This was it, the beginning of his new life.

Steven stepped down beside him, with Ron taking the other side.

It was fantastic; he hadn't even reached Hogwarts and he already felt as though he'd made two friends. This was two more friends than he'd had in his entire life. There had been those in his Muggle life who might have been interested, but none of them had been willing to face Dudley and his friends.

Steven wouldn't have been afraid of Dudley. If he said strange things from time to time, and if expressions of sorrow occasionally passed over his face when he thought no one was looking, he was loyal and kind.

Ron seemed simpler, but Harry thought he also wouldn't have let Dudley stop him.

It was dark, but in the distance a familiar voice called out "First years! First years here!"

Hagrid towered over the sea of small bodies, more than eleven feet high.

Beside him, Steven stopped for a moment. "Is he a fusion?"

Harry glanced over at him, and then at Ron. At Ron's inquisitive look, he shrugged. He didn't always understand Steven, but he assumed it was just another Americanism.

Ron probably thought it was a Muggle expression.

"Mind yer step now, follow me!" Hagrid called out.

They followed Hagrid down a steep, narrow path. Harry worried a little about tripping, especially with the hems of his robe being unfamiliar.

"Won't be long now. Just 'round the bend here," Hagrid said.

Harry heard gasps from up ahead. A moment later as he and his friends rounded the bend he stared too.

There was a great black lake and on the other side, atop a mountain was a great castle with towers and turrets.

Steven wasn't one of those who gasped, Harry noticed. He simply looked up and nodded a little.

"Just four to a boat" Hagrid said.

Harry, Ron and Steven took one boat, with the girl Hermione scrambling in behind them.

"Everbody in?" Hagrid called out. He had a boat to himself. "Then FORWARD!"

Steven didn't seem impressed even when the boats all seemed to move on their own. Even Ron, who had been raised in the Wizarding world seemed a little impressed.

Of course, Steven had admitted to not being completely human. He hadn't said anything more about it, but maybe he knew a lot about magic from the magical side of his family.

The little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy into a dark tunnel in the cliff face. They reached a small, rocky harbor and they scrambled out.

Harry would have thought that Steven would have had difficulty getting out of the boat. He was heavyset, and if it had been Dudley he'd have been lucky not to fall into the water. Steven scrambled out the boat easily though.

They followed Hagrid up a passageway into the rock leading to a door.

Hagrid pounded on the door, and a moment later it swung open.

A tall, stern faced witch stood before them, and Harry couldn't help but feel a little intimidated. He glanced over at Steven, who was watching the woman intently. Steven didn't seem intimidated, and Harry forced himself to stand up straight.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said.

They followed the witch through a vast entrance hall floored in marble. Torches on the wall cast light across the space and in the distance Harry could see a marble staircase.

They could hear hundreds of voices in the hallway to the right.

The professor began to explain the House system, and sorting, and Harry's stomach began to tighten up.

They hadn't even begun school and there was going to be a test?

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Pulling the hat off, Harry walked shakily to the Gryffindor table.

The table clapped and cheered. Harry was so relieved to have been chosen than he barely noticed what people were saying around him.

There were only five names after his. Dean Thomas and Lisa Turpin.

Steven's name was called next, and he strode forward to sit on the stool. From this distance he looked tiny. Harry was one of the smallest boys in his class, probably because the Durselys didn't feed him much, but Steven was even shorter.

Somehow his personality seemed to make up for his lack of size. He just seemed to take up much more space than other people.

The hat shouted "HUFFLEPUFF!" almost the moment it touched Steven's head.

Instead of getting up, Steven simply sat there for several long moments, almost as though he was arguing with the hat. Finally he pulled the hat off and handed it to professor McGonagall. He glanced over at Harry regretfully and shrugged his shoulders.

Harry felt a moment of regret. He'd hoped that Steven would have been in the same House.

Ron was next, though, and the hat shouted "Gryffindor!"

Harry felt relieved. Ron had desperately wanted to be in Gryffindor, and now they would both be in the same house. At least one of his friends would be with him.

For a moment he worried that Steven would be alone in his house, but a moment later he dismissed the thought.

Someone like Steven would have no problem making friends wherever he went. Besides, from what the hat sang, his house was all about loyalty and friendship.

Still, it felt strange that Harry had been placed in the house that valued courage while Steven had not.

Harry sometimes felt as though he had no courage at all. He had many fears, maybe more than most people. It wasn't as though the Dursleys hadn't given him more than enough to be afraid of.

Of course, if he'd given into those fears he'd have never been able to leave his cupboard under the stairs.

Maybe courage wasn't about being afraid, but about facing those fears?

The Headmaster said something that Harry didn't catch, and then dinner was served.

The food simply appeared before him, and Harry stared in astonishment. This wasn't a half eaten sandwich. The amount of food in front of his plate alone would have fed him for a month.

Hogwarts was an entirely different world.