Chapter Six
The Journey from Platform Nine and Three Quarters.
The last month with the Dursleys was not fun. Sure, Dudley was so scared of Harry that he refused to stay in the same room. While he was no longer locked in his cupboard or room, Uncle Vernon usually pretended any seat Harry occupied was empty. Aunt Petunia generally acted normal around Harry if Dudley and Uncle Vernon were not home. However, with the summer holidays, one or both were usually home, and when they were Aunt Petunia ignored Harry just like Uncle Vernon. It got a bit depressing after a while.
Harry typically kept to his room with his new owl for company. He decided to name her Hedwig after a witch he found in his history of magic book. After he brought her home, she disappeared for almost two days. Harry feared she had run away, but on the second day she returned carrying a letter from Violet.
Harry, I hope you're doing okay back with the Dursleys. I'm really worried about what Uncle Vernon will do to you now that you know the truth. Auntie was furious when I told her the lies he told you about Mum and Dad. She said she's going to talk to them about me living with you during the summer holidays from now on. I already know Professor Dumbledore won't let you live with us. He said as much the day he brought us to the Dursleys originally.
I'm so excited to start school! I'll get to see you again of course. But honestly it will be nice to be around more people our age. Don't get me wrong. Auntie spared no expense with my education and I'm grateful. But constant private tutors, lessons, and coaching didn't leave a lot of time for socializing. But then most of the people who live in Hogsmeade are retirees anyway, so there wasn't really anyone nearby to hang out with anyway.
Send me a letter as soon as you can. I want to make sure you're alright.
Your sister,
Violet
Letters to and from his sister kept Harry's spirits up for the month leading up to September 1st. On the last day of August, Harry approached his uncle about getting to King's Cross Station the next day. He entered the living room and cleared his throat, announcing his presence. Dudley gave a terrified squeak and ran from the room.
"Um, Uncle Vernon?" Harry said timidly. His uncle grunted in reply. "I was wondering if I could get a ride to London tomorrow?" Another grunt. "Thank you."
"Where is that school anyway?" Uncle Vernon asked suddenly with a sneer.
"Violet said it was in the Scottish Highlands. I don't know where exactly."
Uncle Vernon snorted irritably.
"If it's in Scotland, why am I taking you to London?"
"I'm supposed to take the train from Kings Cross."
"Funny way to get to a school of magic, isn't it?"
"I dunno. I just know I'm supposed to take the train from platform nine and three quarters at eleven o'clock in the morning."
Uncle Vernon looked at Aunt Petunia but she did not return his incredulous look. He looked at Harry instead.
"Fine. We'll take you to the station in time to make your train. I'm going to London anyway or else I wouldn't bother."
"Why are you going to London?" Harry asked, in effort to keep the conversation friendly.
"To have Dudley's tail removed before he starts school," Uncle Vernon growled.
Harry and Aunt Petunia exchanged a brief look before Harry decided to quickly return to his bedroom.
Harry woke early the next morning and was too excited to go back to sleep. So, he dressed, double checked he had everything packed in the trunk he had purchased at Diagon Ally, and waited for the Dursleys to get up. After they all got up, Uncle Vernon carried Harry's trunk to the car while Aunt Petunia coaxed Dudley into the car. Dudley was still afraid of Harry since learning the truth.
They drove to London and Uncle Vernon even loaded Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage onto a trolley. Harry thought this was an uncharacteristically nice gesture until they got into the station and his uncle stopped suddenly.
"Here we are boy. Platform nine. Platform ten. Yours should be in the middle, but it seems they haven't built it yet."
Uncle Vernon began walking back to the car, laughing. Aunt Petunia hung back and leaned close to Harry.
"It's alright," Aunt Petunia said quickly. "Just walk…"
"Petunia!"
She fell silent automatically. Harry tried to meet her eye but she did not look at him. After a moment, she looked to her left.
"They've got an owl." She spoke quietly and quickly.
"Petunia, are you coming?" Uncle Vernon called angrily.
She continued to stare pointedly over Harry's shoulder. Finally, he turned and saw a redhaired mother leading five ginger children along the platform. Sure enough, the eldest boy had a caged owl on top of the trolley he pushed.
"Be safe, Potter."
Harry barely heard her as he turned and began following the ginger haired family. As they walked along, one of the twin boys turned and looked at him. Harry lowered his eyes, but continued to follow them. The twins whispered to one other as they continued. Finally, the family stopped.
"Right then," the mother said. "Percy, you go first."
The oldest boy walked towards the wall separating platforms nine and ten, but a group of tourists passed in front of Harry, blocking the family from view. By the time they passed, the boy had vanished.
"Fred, you next."
"I'm not Fred. I'm George. Can't you tell I'm George?"
"Sorry, George dear."
"I'm only joking. I am Fred."
Before the plump woman could exact revenge for the trick, both boys vanished into the wall.
Finally, Harry summoned the courage to approach the woman.
"Excuse me?" The woman and her remaining two children looked at him as he approached. Harry smiled nervously at the girl and she blushed. Harry looked at the woman again. "Could you… er… tell me how to… to…?"
"How to get on the platform?" she asked kindly. "Yes, not to worry dear. It's Ron's first year as well." The youngest boy smiled nervously and nodded at Harry who returned the gesture. "Now all you do is walk straight at the wall between platforms nine and ten. It's best to do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on now before Ron."
"Good luck," the girl said.
"Thanks," he mumbled.
Harry ran at the wall expecting to crash, but he didn't. He found himself on a new platform: Platform 9 ¾!
"Harry!"
Harry looked up to see Violet waving at him through the crowd. Overjoyed to see a familiar face, he went to her, catching snatches of conversation on the way.
"Gran, I've lost my toad!"
"Oh Neville…!" the elderly woman responded, exasperatedly.
"Come on, Lee! Give us a look!"
A group of boys were gathered around another boy with dreadlocks who opened a large wooden box. Harry picked up speed as a hairy leg peeked out.
"I'm going to have us start training early this year if we can find a new Seeker," a burly fifteen year old boy was saying to a pair of girls.
"So," Violet said as he approached, "what do you think?"
"It's brilliant!"
"Come on. Let's get our trunks on the train."
But try as they might, Violet and Harry couldn't lift their trucks high enough to get them on the train. Unseen by both of them, the ginger haired girl had noticed their struggles and pointed it out to her brother, one of the twins. The twin nodded reassuringly to his sister and approached Harry and Violet.
"Need a hand, you two?"
"Yes. Thank you."
"Thanks." Violet smiled. The twin responded with a wink and she smiled, blushing slightly.
"Hey, Fred!" he called. "Give us a hand, will you?"
With the help of the twins, Violet and Harry got their things on the train. Harry wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. That was when the boy called Fred really noticed Harry.
"What's that?" he asked pointing at Harry's scar.
"Blimey!" the other cried. "It's you! You're…"
"…Harry Potter," Fred finished.
"Oh, him," Harry said, "I mean… Yea, that's me."
"Fred! George! Come here!"
"Coming Mum!"
Fred and George left with a final look at Harry.
"Come on, Harry," Violet said. "Let's find a compartment."
Harry attracted many stares until he flattened his bangs over his scar. Finally, the pair found an empty compartment to sit in. The ginger haired family was outside their window.
"And make sure you share them, Ron," the mother was saying as Harry and Violet took their seats. Violet saw Ron tuck a large parcel into his pocket.
"Yes, Mum."
"Where's Percy?" she asked looking around. "Percy!"
"Here I am. I can't stay long, Mum. The prefects have their own car."
"Prefect?" George said with false surprise. "Percy, you never told us you had been made prefect! Did he tell you Fred?"
"No, he never told me!"
"Wait, I think I remember him mentioning it once-"
"-or twice-"
"-a day-"
"-all summer."
Percy the Prefect ignored them. Inside the train, Violet giggled.
"I must be off, Mum."
"Alright, Percy."
"Mum!" Fred said suddenly. "Do you remember that kid following us at the station? Do you know who he is?"
"Who?"
"Harry Potter!" the twins said in one voice.
Harry sank deep into his chair to keep from being seen. Violet hid a smile behind her hand.
"You best start getting used to it now," she whispered. "Like it or not, you are a celebrity."
"Oh, Mummy! Can't I go see him? Can't I?" the red headed girl asked.
"You've already seen him, Ginny, and he's not something you gawk at in a zoo. Are you serious Fred? How do you know?"
"We asked him."
"We saw the scar too!"
"I thought your uncle said he had a sister. Why was he alone?"
"We saw his sister," George confirmed. He held his hand to shoulder height. "About this tall, auburn hair…"
"Pretty blue eyes," Fred added with a teasing look at his twin.
Inside the train, Harry grinned at Violet as she blushed.
"Oh, the poor dear. I did wonder why he was alone. And he was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform. You say his sister is with him? I wonder why they weren't together earlier."
"Never mind that!"
"Do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?"
The woman's kind features contorted into a sharp scowl.
"I forbid you to ask him about it! The last thing he needs on the first day of school is to be reminded of that! Now you two had better behave yourselves this year! I don't want to get a letter saying you've set anything on fire or blown up a toilet…"
"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."
"Great idea though, Mum!"
"George!"
Violet snickered from within the train.
Ginny started crying as they boarded the train.
"Don't Ginny."
"We'll write loads of letters…"
"… and send you a Hogwarts toilet seat!"
"Fred!"
The train started moving. The twins pulled their little brother onto the train. Ginny ran along side the train until she reached the end of the platform.
A moment later, Fred and George entered Harry and Violet's compartment with their little brother in tow.
"Harry, this is our brother Ron. By the way, I'm Fred and he's George."
"Ron, we're going to find Lee Jordan."
"Say's he has a tarantula!"
Ron nodded and his brothers left. Harry could hear them whispering in the corridor just outside the door. After a second, George doubled back.
"I didn't catch your name," he said.
"That's probably because I didn't throw it," she replied with a cheeky grin. George gave a fake pout. "Violet Potter."
"Well, Violet, if you need anything, just let me know."
Violet's eyes twinkled.
"I'll remember that if I need a toilet seat."
George winked at her then left.
"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted after several moments.
Violet, who had been staring after George, turned back towards the boys.
"Yes," Harry replied.
"Oh. I thought it might have been one of Fred and George's tricks. Do you… have the… scar?"
Harry pushed back his bangs.
"So that's where You-Know-Who…?"
"Yes, but I don't remember any of it."
"Nothing?"
"Just a load of green light."
"I remember mom putting us in Harry's crib and blocking Voldemort from us," Violet added. Harry looked at her, surprised by how casually she spoke of it. But then he saw the dark look in her eyes.
Ron looked at her in surprise.
"Y-you said his name!" he said in a terrified whisper.
"Yes. It drives Auntie up the wall, but I refuse to be afraid of a name."
Ron stared at Violet in a mixture of fear and awe.
"Are all of your family wizards?" Harry asked Ron.
"I think we are," Ron answered. "Mum mentioned a cousin who's an accountant, but I don't think I've ever met her."
"You must know lots of magic already then!" Harry said, very impressed.
"I heard you went to live with Muggles," Ron said. "What are they like?"
"Horrible. Not all of them of course, but my cousin and uncle are. I wish I had three wizard brothers."
"Five," Ron said gloomily. "I'm the sixth to go to Hogwarts. Bill and Charlie left already and were head boy and Quidditch captain. Percy is a prefect now. George and Fred mess around a lot but still get generally good marks and everyone thinks they're funny. I've a lot to live up to but even if I do well it won't matter because they did it first. And I never get anything new. I've got Bill's old wand and Percy's old rat." Ron pulled a fat rat from his pocket. "This is Scabbers. Mum and Dad were pleased when I got my letter. He used to be Percy's. When he made Prefect he got an owl, but they didn't have enough money… I mean… I got Scabbers."
His ears went red and seemed to think he had said something embarrassing. Harry told him that he had never had anything until he learned that he was a wizard, needless to say two friends to share with. This seemed to cheer Ron up, but Violet grew angry.
"Well, things are going to change when I move back in with you. Auntie won't stand for that!"
They spent the morning comparing home lives. Violet's upbringing was considerably stricter than Ron and even Harry. Nearly every moment was scheduled with tutors on basic Muggle school subjects, multiple foreign languages, flying, and music.
"I had to do one book report a week, no shorter than one and a half rolls of parchment. The only breaks I had were summer, Christmas, and the week of Halloween. And even when Auntie returned to teaching three years ago, she still made me do my reports."
"Who taught her classes while she was taking care of you?" Harry asked.
"Dumbledore." Harry's raised his eyebrows in surprise. "It's not so surprising. He was head of the transfiguration department before becoming headmaster."
"You must be excellent at writing essays," Ron said. "Maybe you could help me with my homework."
"Sure!"
Half past twelve, the compartment door opened and a kind, elderly witch poked her head in. "Anything off the trolley dears?"
Ron flushed bright red as he took a bundle from his pocket. Violet realized it was the same parcel his mother had given him on the platform.
"No thanks," he muttered miserably. "I'm all set."
Violet and Harry went into the corridor. Harry had not eaten breakfast and, his pocket jingling with money for the first time ever, intended to buy all the Mars bars he could carry.
"Three of everything, please," Violet ordered.
The woman smiled and handed over boxes for sweets and treats Harry did not recognize. Not wanting to miss a thing, Harry repeated Violet's order. Ron raised his eyebrows as the pair returned with their purchases.
"Hungry?"
"Starving!" Harry said.
Ron unwrapped his parcel and sighed, disappointed.
"She always forgets I don't like corned beef.
Violet and Harry dumped their purchases into the empty seat and Violet offered a pentagon shaped box to Ron.
"I love corned beef. I'll trade you for one of these. Or would you rather have a cauldron cake?"
"Or whatever this is," Harry offered as he looked at the wrapper of a pumpkin pasty.
"You don't want these. They're all dry. She doesn't have much time with so many of us."
"Oh go on," Harry insisted.
He had never had anything worth sharing before or anyone to share with. He explained this to Ron and it seemed to cheer his new friend up. The group had fun eating their way through the treats. Violet still ate a sandwich first (not bad but could have used some mustard), but the boys ignored them, preferring the cauldron cakes and pumpkin pasties. Harry picked up one of the pentagon shaped boxes.
"These aren't really frogs, are they?" Harry asked, starting to think it wouldn't surprise him if they were.
"No, but see what the card is," Ron said. "I'm missing Agrippa."
"What?"
"Chocolate frogs come with cards of various witches and wizards throughout history," Violet explained.
"I have about five hundred," Ron said. "But I'm missing Agrippa and Ptolemy."
"I should have a spare Ptolemy," Violet said. She reached into her trunk and rummaged around for several minutes, finally retrieving a large binder full of five sided cards.
Harry unwrapped the chocolate frog and looked at the card. A man with long silver hair and beard smiled back at him, his bright blue eyes twinkling behind half moon glasses.
"So this is Dumbledore."
"Don't tell me you've never heard of Dumbledore," Ron said as he retrieved his own binder of cards. His binder was considerably more forlorn than Violet's but seemed to hold far more cards.
Harry read the short biography on the back of the card as Ron and Violet negotiated a trade for Violet's spare Ptolemy card. To Harry's surprise, the small picture of Dumbledore was moving! The tiny Dumbledore smiled and waved at Harry before disappearing into the frame.
"Hey, he's gone," harry said in alarm.
"He'll be back," Violet said dismissively.
Sure enough, Dumbledore soon slid back into his frame.
Ron and Violet finally reached a fair trade for the Ptolemy card. Harry and Ron then enjoyed opening the rest of the chocolate frogs and looking at the cards. There was no Agrippa, but Harry soon had cards for Dumbledore, Morgana, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin. Finally, Harry pulled his gaze from the moving pictures on the cards and took a box labeled "Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans" as Violet took a guitar from her trunk. She strummed a half-finished melancholy tune as Harry opened the box.
"Careful with those," Ron said. "They mean EVERY flavor. Chocolate, peppermint, but also spinach and tripe. George says he even had a booger flavored one once." Ron carefully bit into the corner of a green bean. "Bleh! Sprouts. See what I mean?"
The box of Bertie Bott's Ever Flavor Beans were particularly fun as the Ron and Harry sampled the jelly beans while Violet strummed absently on her guitar.
"A fun prank we can pull on Dudley, Harry, is to get a big bin of Muggle jelly beans and then mix in some of Bertie's. Then you wait for him to get salmon or broccoli."
As the three laughed over the suggestion, the compartment door slid open. A round faced boy came in. Violet stopped strumming and lay her hand over the strings to silence them.
"Excuse me, have any of you seen Trevor, my toad? I've lost him again."
"No."
"Sorry."
"If we find it, I'll let you know," Violet promised the boy, kindly.
"Thanks," the boy mumbled, his cheeks reddening slightly. He shut the door as he left.
Ron frowned. "Dunno why he's so upset," Ron said dismissively. "If I'd brought a toad, I'd lose him quick as I could." Harry remembered Hagrid telling him that toads were not a fashionable pet anymore. Ron continued, "Still, I brought Scabbers, so I'm not one to talk."
"There's nothing wrong with toads or rats," Violet said firmly.
Ron sighed as he looked at the fat rat snoozing on his lap.
"He might have died and I wouldn't notice. I tried turning him yellow the other day, make him more interesting, you know. But it didn't work. Here, I'll show you." He rummaged in his trunk and took out a rather battered looking wand with something silvery poking out the tip. "The unicorn hair is poking through. Anyway…"
He raised his wand but the door opened again before he could say a word.
This time a bushy haired girl with large front teeth entered. Just behind her, Neville stood looking embarrassed.
"Has anyone seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one."
"He was just in here," Harry said.
"We still haven't seen it," Violet finished.
But the new girl wasn't listening. She noticed Ron had his wand out.
"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it then."
She sat down, leaving Neville standing awkwardly in the doorway. Ron and Harry exchanged surprised looks.
"Erm, alright then." Ron cleared his throat. "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow. Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."
He waved his wand but nothing happened. Scabbers remained grey and only twitched in his sleep.
"Are you sure that's a real spell? Well, it's not very good, is it? I've only tried a few simple spells, but they've all worked for me. No one in my family is magic, so I was wonderfully surprised to get my letter. And it certainly explained a lot. I've already memorize all our course books by heart. I hope it will be enough." She said all this very fast. Then she took a closer look at Harry. "Holy cricket! You're Harry Potter! I know all about you of course. I read about you in Modern Magical History, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century. I'm Hermione Granger." She looked at Violet and Ron. "And you are?"
"Violet Potter."
"Ron Weasley," Ron said thickly as he had just taken a bite from a chocolate frog.
"Pleasure. Are you his sister?"
Violet nodded.
"I'm in all those books?" Harry asked, looking uncomfortable.
"Didn't you know? I would have found out everything! You best change into your robes. I guess we'll be arriving soon. Oh, and you have dirt on your nose. Did you know? Just there."
Ron rubbed the dirt away as Hermione stood and left with Neville in tow.
"Mental she is," Ron muttered. He looked at his wand. "Stupid spell. Fred gave it to me. Probably knew it was a dud."
"Probably," Violet agreed. "Most spells you'll find here in Europe are based in Latin."
She picked up her guitar again.
"What house were your brothers in?" Harry asked in hopes of changing the subject.
"Gryffindor. Same as my parents. Not sure what they'll say if I'm not in it too. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff are alright, but imagine being in Slytherin."
Harry swallowed nervously.
"What do your brothers do now that they've left Hogwarts?" Harry asked, wondering what a wizard would do after school.
"Charlie is in Romania studying dragons."
"Really?" Violet asked excitedly. "That sounds amazing!"
"You say that, but you should see the burns he comes home with. Bill, on the other hand is in Africa doing something for Gringotts." Ron sat up excitedly. "Did you hear about what happened at Gringotts?"
"I did," Violet said solemnly. "Auntie tries not to show it, but the news made her pretty nervous."
"What happened?" Harry asked.
"Someone tried to rob a high security vault," Ron said in a dramatic whisper.
"Really? What happened to them?"
"Nothing. They weren't caught. That's why it's such big news. Nothing was stolen either so it makes it even stranger."
"Of course, people get scared when anything odd like that happens in case it's connected to Voldemort," Violet said. She turned to Ron. "So, what's your team?"
"Chudley Cannons," Ron said, his smile returning at last. "You?"
"Kenmare Kestrels. You gotta love the leprechauns."
"They've been improving. They may even get a go at Quidditch finals this year."
"What is Quidditch?" Harry asked.
After getting over the shock of the question, Ron and Violet did their best to describe the game. They were just describing some of the game's finer points when the door opened again. This time it was a boy Harry's age with blonde hair, pale skin and a pointed chin. Harry recognized him as the boy from the robes shop. He was flanked by two very large boys that seemed to exist to serve the small one. Violet glared at him.
"We heard Harry Potter was in this compartment." The pale boy looked at Harry. "It's you then."
"That's right."
The boy's eyes moved to Violet.
"So that means you're Violet Potter." She nodded curtly, clearly remembering their last encounter at Diagon Alley. The boy gestured to the large boys behind him. "This is Crabbe and Goyle. And I'm Draco Malfoy."
Ron choked on a pumpkin pasty. Malfoy glared at him.
"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask your name. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair and more children than they can afford."
Ron's ears grew red with anger. Violet looked ready to hit the boy. Malfoy looked back to Harry.
"Some wizard families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to be seen with the wrong sort. I can help you."
He offered his hand but Harry did not take it.
"I think I can manage with the friends I have, thanks."
An angry pink flush appeared on the apples of Draco Malfoy's cheeks.
"Be careful Potter. Hanging around riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid will rub off on you."
Ron stood angrily.
"Say that again."
"I believe it's time for you to go," Violet chimed. She set aside her guitar and stood in case she had to hold Ron back. Auntie would not be chuffed to hear she had been fighting before the school term started, but it might not be avoidable.
"I don't think so. We've run out of pumpkin pasties and I see you have plenty."
Goyle reached for the pile of sweets. Before Harry, Ron or Violet could strike, he let out a howl of pain. Scabbers was dangling from the large boy's finger. Goyle flung the rat on the wall and the three nasty boys left.
"Is he alright?" Violet asked.
Ron picked up Scabbers by the tail.
"He's fine. Knocked out I… No. I don't believe it! He's asleep again!"
And so he was. Hermione rushed in, jaw dropped.
"You lot having been fighting have you?"
"No," Violet said calmly as she pulled her robes from her trunk.
"We haven't been fighting, Scabbers has!"
Hermione made a "tuh!" and stalked away with her nose in the air. Violet rolled her eyes.
"Would it kill you two to be nice to her?"
"Me?" Harry said. "I didn't do anything!"
"Exactly."
"Who cares," Ron said as he put the sleeping rat in his pocket. "She's so full of herself anyway."
The color in Violet cheeks reddened. They changed into their robes and the rest of the train ride passed in silence.
"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes," a voice echoed through the train. "Leave your luggage on the train. It will be taken to the school separately."
Violet and Ron forgot all animosity as they got to the school. Nervous and excitedly, they looked out the window and got their first look at the castle towers of the school in the distance.
Ron gave Violet a look as they left the compartment.
"You grew up in Hogsmeade. You've seen the castle before."
Violet hopped down onto the platform.
"I've never gotten to see the main entrance. This is wonderful!"
"First years follow me!" Percy the Prefect called. "Ron! You and your friends, come over here!"
"First years this way!" another, familiar voice called.
Ron, along with everyone but Harry and Violet, looked at Hagrid in awe and almost fear.
"I can take 'em from here Percy," Hagrid told Percy the Perfect. "You run along now. Don't want ter be late, now do you?"
"Alright. First years follow Hagrid!"
"Hello, Hagrid," Harry said.
"Who's yer friend? Wait I know! You must be Fred and George's lil brother."
Ron's ears went red again as he muttered a yes.
"Right scoundrels, yer brothers are. Spen' half me life chasin' them away from the Dark Forrest." He addressed the crowd again. "Alright you lot! This way!"
Hagrid led the way down a narrow, cobbled path. It was so dark Harry couldn't see, but Violet told him the edge of something called The Forbidden Forest was mere feet to their right. Neville, the boy who lost his toad, heard her and Harry heard him sniff. Violet must have heard it too because she added rather quickly, "But nothing dangerous ever comes close to the edge of the forest, isn't that right, Hagrid?"
"That's right," Hagrid agreed. "Students aren't allowed in the forest but I've seen older students pair off for nice long walks around the edge."
Violet glanced at Neville. He looked back at her and managed an appreciative half smile.
"Yeh'll get yer first look at Hogwarts here, just aroun' the corner."
The was a collective "Oooooh!" as they turned the corner. The narrow path had led to a series of docks at the edge of a massive lake. On the other side of the lake, perched on a mountain, was a vast castle with tall turrets and towers. The lights in the windows twinkled like jewels.
"No more than four to a boat," Hagrid called.
The students began to divide themselves onto the docks and crawl into a bunch of small boats. Harry, Violet and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville. Hermione Granger shared a boat with a girl with blonde pigtails and a pair of Indian twins. Hagrid sat in a larger boat by himself.
"Everyone in?" Hagrid called. "Keep seated. Don't go stickin' yer hands in the water. Right then – FORWARD!"
The small fleet moved forward all at once. Everyone sat in silence, staring at the castle in awe as they sailed nearer the cliff face on which it stood.
"Heads down," Hagrid called.
They ducked their heads as they sailed gently under a curtain of ivy that hid an opening in the cliff. They disembarked onto another row of docks.
"You there," Hagrid called as he checked the boats. "Is this your toad?"
"Trevor!" Neville called happily as he held out his hands.
They walked up a stone passageway leading the way to a large oak door, taller even than Hagrid. He looked around, mentally counting the students to make sure everyone was there. Finally, he turned and knocked three times, each knock booming like thunder.
