Disclaimer - I do not own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.

Harry's POV

I looked up as the compartment door opened. Three boys entered and I recognised the middle one at once: it was the pale boy from Madame Malkin's robe shop. He was looking at me with more interest than he had shown back in Diagon Alley. "Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"

"Yes," I said, looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards.

"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy in a careless manner. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him. "Think my name's funny, do you? 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." He turned back to me. "You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." He held his hand out for me to take it, but I didn't.

"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks." I said coolly. Draco didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks.

"I'd be careful if I were you Potter," he said slowly. "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 riff-raff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid and it'll rub off on you." Ron's face was as red as his hair. We started to get up, but then Malfoy's eyes flicked to Nico, who was glaring slightly at Draco. "Who's the stick in the corner?" Nico's glare deepened at this insult. He didn't seem very offended by the insult, just irritated, like he'd heard it too many times.

"Di Angelo, Nico Di Angelo." he said, mocking Draco's pompous voice. "Call me stick again and I'll send you to Tartarus." None of us really knew what that meant, only that he was threatening Malfoy, who seemed to have reached the same conclusion.

"My father will hear about this!" he spat, before turning to his two bodyguards, "Come on, Crabbe, Goyle. Their poverty is infectious." With that, he walked back out into the corridor and up the train. Nico smirked and Ron and I sat back down, a bit surprised. We heard footsteps and Hermione Granger came back in, she sat down next to Nico.
"You've met Malfoy before?" Ron asked. I explained our meeting in Diagon Alley, a few weeks earlier. "I've heard about his family," Ron said 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." He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"

"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up front to ask the driver and he says we're nearly there." she said. Ron scowled at her.

"Would you mind leaving while we change?" he said.

"All right - I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?" Ron glared at her as she left, and Nico let out a little laugh. I smiled and peered out of the window. It was getting dark. I could see mountains and forests under a deep-purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down. We all took off our jackets and pulled on our long black robes. Ron's were a bit short for him, you could see his trainers underneath them, whereas Nico's robes looked too long and baggy, like he was drowning in the fabric. A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to school separately." My stomach lurched with nerves and Ron, I saw, looked pale under his freckles. Nico however, had an unreadable expression adorning his face. We crammed our pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor. The train slowed down and finally stopped. People pushed their way towards the door and out onto a tiny, dark platform. I shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over our heads and I heard a familiar voice: "Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here! All right there, Harry?" Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over our heads. "C'mon, follow me- any more firs'-years? Mind yer step, now! Firs'-years follow me!" Slipping and stumbling, we followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark either side of us that I assumed there must have been thick trees there. None of us spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice. Nico was at the back of the group, with Ron and I, just staring ahead. "Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder. "Jus' round this bend here." There was a collected "Oooooh!". The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry night, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. "No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Ron and I were followed into our boat by Neville and Hermoine. I looked back, trying to find Nico. He was still on the shore, looking at the boats with a horrified expression. Hagrid had to pull him into the last empty boat, he obviously didn't like travelling on water. He was the only one in his boat and was gripping the sides like his life depended on it. "Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who also had a boat to himself, "Right then, FORWARD!" The little fleet moved all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over us as we sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood. Suddenly, waves started picking up, disrupting the smoothness of the lake. All of our boats were rocking now, but none more so than Nico's. He looked petrified, gripping the boat so hard, his knuckles went even white. His boat lurched and he fell into the dark waters. He was kicking and trying to stay afloat, but it looked as though he didn't know how to swim. His head kept dipping beneath the water and each time, the look of pure panic on his face grew in intensity. Hagrid quickly stopped the boats and diverted his boat to Nico. He pulled Nico onto his boat and the waves died down. He sat there shivering with his robes sticking to his thin figure. Draco and his 'friends' were laughing and making fun of him, but shut up after Nico gave him a glare. "Heads down" yelled Hagrid, still a little confused due to the sudden appearance of those waves. The first boats reached the cliff and we all ducked our heads as the little boats carried us through a curtain of ivy which hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbour, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles. "Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.

"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then we clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto a smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. We walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.

"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

A/N:

Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think x

-GazelleRLG