Harry stood at the entrance to Platform 9 with a trolley carrying his trunk and a cage that held a rather beautiful white owl. He had just bid a teary farewell to his Aunt and promised that he would write to her often. Hearing the owl hoot at him Harry's attention was drawn away from the brick wall that he'd been told he was to run into and settled on the odd choice of pet.
The bird had been a present, delivered to him by a giant of a man named Hagrid who Harry was convinced had to be half-giant due to his sheer size of him. The present was not one that Harry or his Aunt had expected and so they had both been rather confused when the rumbling of a motorcycle grew louder and louder before stopping in the driveway of the home they shared. Hagrid had strode to the door and introduced himself rather quickly, he had briefly mentioned that he'd known Harry's parents after they'd graduated from Hogwarts and that he was sure they'd have been proudly seeing him off to school if things had been different.
The small boy sighed as another hoot took him from his thoughts and planted him in the present once again.
"I'm sure this will be a completely safe thing to do and we won't end up injured, don't you think Hedwig?" Harry's question only received a blink in return and he found himself flushed at how ridiculous he must seem to anyone paying attention. Steeling his nerves he took a final look at the brick wall ahead of him and pushed his trolley through at a jog, eyes closed in anticipation of the pain that was sure to follow. Only there was no pain, just the sudden sounds of families speaking and pets calling for attention from their owners. As Harry opened his eyes he was assaulted by a myriad of colours, from the lightest of blues to the darkest of purples, he even saw a rather nausea-inducing yellow that seemed to be punishing him for having the audacity to have eaten that morning.
Closing his eyes, this time to seek a brief respite from the overwhelming lights, Harry took a moment to bask in the sounds and smells of the bustling platform. He heard bits and pieces of conversation from those around him as they prepared to leave their families. A rather uppity-sounding voice muttered something about weasels as it passed by him and Harry was confused momentarily as nowhere on the supply list did it mention those being allowed as pets. Another chorus of voices was discussing the sorting ceremony and he heard a panicked voice choke out the word troll.
-TIOF-
"Why didn't you tell me you were Harry Potter?" a voice asked him, the tone was light and held more curiosity than anything.
"I didn't much think it mattered." Harry began, turning to see the same girl he'd helped last month standing just behind him, her trunk held firmly by the handle in one hand and a book held to her chest with the other. Familiar violet lights slowly faded away as he continued his reply to her. "Only it's just that people here apparently have a very worrying obsession with me from what I've seen."
Hermione considered his words as she looked him up and down again, the boy was still much too thin and he still wore a jumper that didn't fit him quite right but his face was still graced by the same small smile that had eased her worries in Diagon Alley. "I thought you were a muggle-born like I am, not that you ever said you were but your clothes didn't look very wizarding and you seemed rather amazed by all the magic that was happening in Diagon..." her words tumbled out faster than she had intended, going so long without anyone to speak to while she'd been hidden away at a room in the Leaky Cauldron had made her more nervous than she had anticipated. Her eyes settled on Harry's face as she tried to catch the boy's eyes but he was avoiding looking at her again and she worried that she'd ruined her first chance at a friendship before it had truly begun. "I'm sorry if I offended you, especially after what you and your Aunt did for me, thank you again for that by the way it was incredibly kind of you to do." The tension in her body lessened at seeing the smile pulling wider at Harry's lips, he didn't seem to be offended and if anything was finding all of this rather amusing. She huffed as his lips twitched and their eyes finally met again.
"You're welcome, I'd like to think that someone would have helped me if I was in a similar situation," Harry said, forcing himself to maintain eye contact, his Aunt and Dr Carr had both mentioned before that others might find his seeming aversion to looking at those he spoke to rather rude. "And you haven't offended me but I do think we should find a compartment before the whole platform becomes aware that the hero of their silly little books is standing so close."
Hermione's cheeks tinged pink at his description of those books, she had picked up a few in Flourish and Blotts to help better understand the world that she would be spending the next few years of her life in and waited patiently as Harry picked up his trunk and owl cage before pushing his trolley into the pack of the rest of them just beside the entrance. She watched as the boy strolled past her, noting that one of his sleeves had pushed further up his arm to expose a rather nasty-looking scratch on his forearm that almost seemed to be raw when compared to the paleness of his skin. Harry Potter was truly a curious boy and Hermione Granger was determined to solve the mystery of him.
-TIOF-
The two first years had found themselves in a compartment that was somehow still empty and had fallen into easy conversation as the train pulled out of the station, beginning its journey towards Scotland, Hermione asked him about the wondrous world that she had read of in their school books while Harry answered what questions he could.
"I don't really know that much more than you do Hermione, only what little my Aunt knew from my Mum and what Hagrid, the groundskeeper, told me when he gave me Hedwig as a late birthday present," Harry told her as she questioned him on one of the books that had been on sale in Diagon, his voice sounding wistful at the mention of his mother. "I grew up with my Aunt mostly so there wasn't any magic around, excluding accidental magic of course."
"So you've definitely never used your magic to fight a dragon? Or rode a basilisk into battle against Dark Wizards and Witches?" Hermione's tone was teasing and she beamed at hearing Harry chuckle. The wizard opposite her was still just as softly spoken as when they'd first met but he seemed to be becoming more expressive.
"It was just the one Dark Witch, actually. She was disarmed by my dashing good looks and promised to turn her life around," he replied, affecting his best impression of a narcissistic older man whilst turning his nose up at her. "not that I could blame her really. Who wouldn't be pining after the Harry Potter from those books?"
Just as he had finished his playful reply, the door to their compartment was slammed open and Harry found himself scooting along his seat to gain distance from whoever had foisted themselves upon him.
-TIOF-
Standing in the doorway was an aristocratic-looking boy, or as aristocratic as a child of their age could really look, with platinum blonde hair slicked back and grey eyes. Those eyes surveyed the compartment, his lips pulling down into a frown upon seeing Hermione, who had sat up to her full height and palmed her wand at the intrusion before he squared them on Harry.
"Put your wand away, I doubt you have any idea what to do with it and I'd rather not need to take a trip to the hospital wing before the year has even properly started." the intruder instructed, not even bothering to look back at Hermione to see if she'd listened to him. His voice was dripping with condescension as he addressed her, a rather impressive feat for one so young but his tone quickly changed as he spoke at Harry. "Potter, my father made me aware that you would be here and I've searched through every compartment looking for you. I have little interest in his desires but can do very little to disobey his orders, as such I am here to offer you the friendship of House Malfoy."
The boy reached his hand out, seemingly as thrilled about this entire spectacle as Harry was and waited for a response.
"I have no idea what you're talking about and you haven't even introduced yourself. Maybe you should start from there?" Harry's voice was firmer now as he appraised the boy in front of him, his words had been a regal silver colour that Harry had not seen before. He hated situations like this and he could feel his heartbeat quickening in his chest.
"Draco, my name is Draco Malfoy." the blonde said, his tone wavering as he was thrown off script by the unexpected response.
Harry flicked his eyes to where Hermione sat, her face twisted in anger and felt a rush of something welling up in him. He hadn't had many friends growing up, not when his Uncle Vernon or cousin Dudley had still been around, and so he wasn't sure exactly how to respond. He knew that he wanted to make Draco leave but from what the other boy had said about his father Harry was torn. Vernon had been hard to disobey before Aunt Petunia had finally left him.
"I think you should apologise to Hermione, Draco." Harry stated, his heart beating like a drum in his chest. Confrontation had never been something he enjoyed, Vernon had seen to that.
Harry stared at the blonde as he flushed and spun to address Hermione, the drum in his chest calming as Draco's attention was directed elsewhere.
"I'm sorry, the way I spoke to you was unbecoming. Your name is Hermione? Are you a muggle-born?" Draco asked, his face softening. Before he could receive a response the door was opened once again and Harry swore his day couldn't possibly get any worse.
Harry isn't very well adjusted but he isn't a coward even if he struggles with confrontation and doesn't feel comfortable around bullies. Hermione hasn't received the most affection since finding out she's a witch but she still grew up around people who loved her. Draco isn't very kind but he's a child, albeit one raised in a very noble family, and not a caricature of a bigot.
I hope it reads well and if not, please lemme know.