Chapter 20: A New School Year!
"You didn't have to take me to the train station," Harry said as I helped him roll his trunk to the train. It didn't have much in it, thanks to the magical rucksack he was wearing, but there was enough to make it unwieldy. He was holding Hedwig's cage close to his chest, watching me closely.
"I don't mind," I told him. "I'm glad to see you off to school."
I personally thought it was fitting. Today, Harry would be starting his First Year of Hogwarts, and tomorrow I would be starting my last year of secondary education. It was fittingly thematic.
We got to Platforms 9 and 10 with time to spare, and before stepping through the arch to the other side, I leaned down to give him a hug.
"You'll be starting a new phase of your life, soon," I told Harry. "Meet new friends, have fun experiences, learn as much as you can, and most of all, be happy."
"Of course!" he said, holding back tears. "Will you say 'Hi' to Sam for me? I haven't seen him for a while."
"You just saw him this weekend," I chuckled. "And if I recall, you cried into his shirt."
Harry let out a 'humph!' and looked to the side to wipe his tears away.
"Remember, you can always send me a message with Hedwig," I told him. "Both Sam and I are only an owl away. And be sure to keep up your Occlumency training! I'll quiz you the next time I see you!"
Harry nodded his head, forced a smile onto his face, and then went off, stepping through the arch. I smiled as he left. I was happy for him. It was time for him to write his own story. Heh. Meta-humor!
Harry POV
Platform 9 and Three-Quarters was a bustling busy place, with the gleaming Hogwarts express standing tall in front of everyone. It was an incredible sight, and Harry stared at it with eyes wide. With giddy steps, he boarded the train, hefting his trunk up the steps and hurried into the corridor.
There were plenty of available compartments, and Harry found one occupied by two people, one of whom he already knew.
"Hey, Hermione!" Harry said happily, spotting the bushy-haired girl.
"Harry! Come on in! Sit with us!" she said excitedly. She then began to coo over Hedwig when she spotted the owl.
Hedwig preened under the attention like the prima donna she was, but Harry smiled at the sight regardless. Seeing Hedwig happy made him happy.
He then glanced at the somewhat dumpy brown-haired boy sitting in the compartment as well, who was staring at Harry – no, at his forehead.
"Oh! Where are my manners!" Hermione said with a laugh, looking away from Hedwig for a moment. "Harry, this is Neville Longbottom! We met on the platform and decided to ride together. Neville, this is Harry Potter."
She then noticed Neville's stare.
"Um, although, it seems you already know that, though," she said.
"Um, sorry, I didn't mean to stare," Neville said, looking away from Harry's scar in embarrassment.
Harry just gave a thin smile. "It's okay. I suppose I'll have to get used to it," he told the other boy.
The trio chatted for a while, waiting for the train to fill up with students. Eventually, the train whistle blared, and the wheels began to turn.
At the same time, the door opened, and a freckle-faced red-head looked in.
"Um, hey, do you mind if I join you?" he asked. "My brothers are with their friends, and I don't know anyone else here."
"Sure! Come on in!" Hermione said cheerfully, trying to be as nice as she could to another potential friend.
As he sat down, his eyes widened when he spotted Harry. "Wicked! You're Harry Potter!"
"Yeah," Harry said with a quiet nod.
"I'm Ron! Ron Weasley!" the red-head chirped in greeting.
Harry squinted at Ron, the name tickling a memory in his mind, and with a brief bout of Occlumency, he was able to pull up the specific one.
"Weasley? Do you know Edward?" Harry asked curiously, the name of the family having come up a couple times in Edward's rants about magical society. He recalled Edward speaking fondly of them, though, even if they were, as the older boy put it, 'drinking Dumbledore's Kool-aid.' Which Harry wasn't entirely sure the meaning of, but he felt it had to do with them being good people despite trusting the old man who'd abandoned him to the Dursleys.
"Edward?" Ron asked, tilting his head to the side. His eyes then widened. "Wait, do you mean Eddy?"
"Do you two both know Mr. Rose?" Hermione asked, looking between the two.
"He used to be my neighbor, and would babysit me and Gin when there wasn't anyone else to watch us," Ron said, still giving Harry a surprised look. "He was best friends with Fred and George and Percy, before they went to Hogwarts. Still is with Fred and George, come to think of it. Percy? Not so much."
"He's also my neighbor. Sort of," Harry said quietly.
"Really? You mean he's been living next to you all this time and he never told us?" Ron asked, pouting fiercely.
"He wasn't supposed to tell anyone," Harry said, quickly defending Edward.
Ron didn't seem to like that, but nodded in understanding all the same. Meanwhile, Neville's forehead had wrinkled in confusion.
"Who's Edward?"
"My friend," Harry said.
"Someone Harry knows," Hermione claimed at the same time, while Ron also said, "A squib."
"Squib?" Hermione then asked.
"A non-magical person born to magical parents," Harry helpfully reminded her.
"Oh, like the opposite of witches and wizards being born to muggle parents?" Hermione inquired. "I think I remember something about that."
"Yup," Ron nodded. "Eddy moved to London to live among the muggles."
"But, if he was your neighbor, doesn't that mean you were living in the muggle world?" Neville asked Harry, still somewhat confused.
"Yes, that's correct," Harry said. "My… mother's sister lives there."
He couldn't bring himself to call that woman his aunt, not after everything that had happened with her, and even bringing up the fact the horse-woman was related to his mother seemed wrong to Harry, but he pushed through it thanks to Occlumency.
"So, the books written about you aren't real?" Ron asked, disappointed. "Man, Ginny's gonna be ruined."
"Yes, they're all fictional," Harry confirmed. "And I can't even try to get any royalties from them till I'm seventeen."
The quartet continued to chat throughout the train ride. Neville's toad, Trevor, tried to escape, but was caught by Harry before it could make it very far. That caused Ron to introduce Scabbers to everyone. Then when the snack trolley came around, Harry got everyone some sweets and treats to share.
Hermione then spent some time quizzing Ron and Neville about Hogwarts and the wider magical world, curiosity brimming. She's seemed disappointed that she couldn't use magic at home, and that there was such a difference between the magical and non-magical worlds, especially with their laws and social norms.
Their pleasant ride was interrupted when the door to their compartment slid open, revealing a trio of people. One was a petite platinum blond boy flanked by two much larger boys behind him. Harry unfavorably compared them to a pair of Dudleys with the way their eyebrows narrowed and they swept their eyes about, trying to size up the four of them.
"Can we help you?" Hermione asked, a bit annoyed at being interrupted mid-sentence. And Harry noted that while Ron and Neville had shared looks of relief at no longer being interrogated by the bushy-haired girl, their expressions had soured when they caught sight of just who it was that had 'saved' them.
"I heard Harry Potter was on the train," the blond said pompously.
"Who are you? And have you been going from compartment to compartment saying this in the hopes of being right at least once?" Harry couldn't help but ask, his question immediately sucking the wind out of the blond's sails for a moment.
"I'm Draco Malfoy," the blond said, trying to recover the momentum. "And with me are Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle."
"Well, I am Harry Potter," Harry said, trying to be polite for the moment. No need to antagonize anybody.
"Wonderful! You should come sit with me, that way I can teach you all about the right people you should be spending time with."
At that, Ron snorted, and Malfoy's easy grin immediately morphed into a frown. "Hmph. No need to introduce yourself, I suppose. Red hair, hand-me-down clothes, rude manners? You must be a Weasley," the blond sneered.
Harry immediately found himself disliking the pompous git. Draco's attitude rubbed him the wrong way, and it was clear the blond only wanted to get to know Harry because of his name, and by extension, his fame.
Not to mention, another snippet of wisdom Edward had passed to him surfaced in his mind.
"There's a couple of families you're going to want to be on guard against when you're at Hogwarts. Be wary of anyone with the name Malfoy, Nott, Crabb, Goyle, Flint, Rook, MacNair, Parkinson, Carrow, Rosier, Bulstrode, and Hunch. That's not all of them, but they are the ones who will have kids at Hogwarts around your age while you are there. They're a bunch of pureblood nobles that were Death Eaters during the last war. They claimed to have been under the Imperius spell after Voldemort bit it, and got off scott-free after some hefty bribes."
Harry could also remember the sheer loathing in Edward's voice as he'd spoken on the topic, and the way this boy was acting wasn't winning him any points.
"I'm fine where I am, thank you," Harry said, shutting down Draco Malfoy's offer.
"What? You're really going to stay with a bunch of failures and blood-traitors?" the Malfoy scion demanded.
"Aren't your parents the ones who are losers?" Harry asked, voice laden with snark. "After all, they were on the wrong side of the war."
That caused all three of the boys' faces to turn dark with anger, but Harry just stood up and slammed the door to the compartment shut on them, before turning the lock on it with a 'click.'
"Well, that was a bit unpleasant," Harry said, putting on a fake smile. "What were you talking about, Hermione? Something about the Four Houses?"
All of the other kids in the cabin shared surprised looks with each other, before Ron grinned widely and even Neville cracked a small smile at the sharp dismissal Harry had given the other boys.
"Right! I was!" Hermione said, getting back into the swing of things. "So, I'm thinking I'd like to be in Ravenclaw, but Dumbledore was a Gryffindor and he's considered the greatest wizard of the modern age…"
The group kept chatting about this and that, doing their best to forget the incident just earlier. Eventually, the train arrived at the station, and the group got off, all dressed up in their new robes. As they exited, they found a giant, burly man with a big beard calling out for the First Years. Harry stayed with his new friends (at least, he hoped they were) and approached, the four boarding a boat together.
Getting into boats and sailing across the dark lake up to the castle was interesting, especially after a massive tentacle rose up and waved at them (Harry of course waved back. It was only polite, after all). But the most amazing part of the ride over was without a doubt the first glimpse of Hogwarts Castle, the lights coming from its windows illuminating it like a scene from a fantasy book.
Harry's breath hitched as he saw it, and he wasn't alone, with Hermione gasping and in other boats, whispered awe broke out.
When they finally sailed into the grotto and disembarked from the enchanted boats, the new students were led up some stairs to a grand hallway, with impressively large double doors. Their chatter immediately ceased when they spotted a very stern looking elderly witch.
"Firs' years, Professr' McGonagall," their enormous guide said, waving a meaty hand at the children who'd stopped behind him.
"Thank you, Hagrid, that will be all," the professor said, eyeing the students carefully. As the big man lumbered off, she quickly explained they'd be sorted soon, and left, entering the great hall behind her, the doors opening and closing too fast to catch a glimpse of what lay beyond.
"How do you think they'll sort us?" a student wondered aloud.
"My brothers said we have to wrestle trolls," Ron claimed.
"That doesn't seem like a very good test," another student said.
"We obviously have to try and cast a spell to prove we deserve to be here," another voice declared, this one snooty and just as arrogant as Malfoy's, but it came from a different person. Harry wondered if he was one of the people he was supposed to look out for.
Further conversation was put on hold as shrieks rang out amongst the crowd when a bunch of ghosts burst out of the walls and began to fly around through the corridor.
"Whoa!" Harry breathed out, staring in awe at the crowd of transparent silver figures that were phasing through the walls and floating above the student's heads.
"Look! First Years!" a rotund ghost in a friar's outfit exclaimed. "Hello, there! You should definitely consider joining Hufflepuff!"
"Leave them alone," another ghost scolded the first one. "Let them make up their own minds. After all, Gryffindor is clearly the best House!"
The ghosts kept on arguing, even as they floated away out of sight.
"Neat," Harry said. A moment later, the doors swung open, and Professor McGonagall beckoned the students forward.
Harry had thought he'd be all out of gasps after the last few minutes, but the beautiful, transparent ceiling of the great hall managed to draw one more out of him.
"It's enchanted to reflect the night sky," Hermione murmured under her breath. "I read about it in 'Hogwarts: A History."
Harry felt silently impressed that Hermione had actually read through that dense tome already. He'd seen Edward's copy before buying his own, and 'thick' was the only proper way to describe that book.
Then, his attention was drawn to a ratty, old, pointy hat on a stool. Then, to his astonishment, it began to sing. He clapped for it along with the other students in the hall, and Professor McGonagall brandished a scroll in one hand, unrolling it as soon as the applause faded.
"Step forth when you hear your name!" the professor called out. "Abbott, Hannah!"
The names on the list were called out, and people came up to the stool, and put on the hat. It then belted out one of the four Houses, and the robes gained a colorful stripe to match. Green for Slytherin, Blue for Ravenclaw, Yellow for Hufflepuff and Red for Gryffindor.
Hemione was sorted into Gryffindor after a bit, and so was Neville, even if his Sorting took the longest out of anyone else who'd come up so far. Malfoy and his goons all went to Slytherin, though the fact the hat hadn't even sat fully onto the latter's head made Harry wonder how close exactly someone needed to be, and if the hat even needed to be worn.
"Potter, Harry!" Finally, his own name was called, and he walked up, feeling uncomfortable as countless eyes pierced him and a deathly hush fell onto the room.
He stepped up to the stool and let the fall onto his head, the brim cover his eyes and blocking out the rest of the great hall.
"Well, this is an interesting mind you've got," Harry heard within his head, and he tilted his head to the side.
"Hello," he murmured softly.
"Hello, my boy," the hat said. "Such a neatly ordered mind. I see you've practiced Occlumency?"
"Are you reading my mind?" Harry asked, curious. He felt a pang of nervousness at the idea of his Occlumency being so easily seen through, but the Sorting Hat just laughed.
"Do not worry, I cannot speak of what I see to anyone but you, and no one else can hear us, so long as you just think your questions," the hat assured him. "And may I say that you have very nice mental shields! Far superior to any of the other children I've sorted in the last couple of years who've also learned this discipline. The young man who taught you did so quite well. And yes, you're right, I don't need to sit on your head to see your thoughts. Though it helps."
"That's really neat," Harry said, feeling a bit excited. "You must have seen so much history!"
"I have, though sadly much of it comes from the memories of children, and they don't have the most reliable thoughts," the Sorting Hat sighed. "But based on that statement alone, I could say you'd fit in well with the Ravenclaws. Though not as much as Hufflepuff. Your loyalty to this 'Edward' fellow is admirable. Though since it's to just one person, I fear that Hufflepuff is not the best house."
"Can I not be put in Slytherin?" Harry inquired. "Is making requests something I can do?"
"Why not Slytherin? You would do great in there. You have a thirst to prove yourself. A hunger to be appreciated. And though the fame does not appeal, you do want the power to control your own destiny. Slytherin would let you cultivate all of that."
"Perhaps, but… I don't want to give up being a nice person to achieve what I want," Harry replied, and the Sorting Hat sighed again.
"Such a shame how far Salazar's legacy has fallen," the hat murmured sadly. "It will have to be someone else who manages to bring light back to that dreary darkness. Very well, then. In light of that, there is only one House that fits such drive, determination, and courage. GRYFFINDOR!"
The hat was whipped off his head as cheers erupted from the red-colored table, and a pair of red-headed twins shouted "We got Potter! We got Potter!"
His robes gained a red highlight and he quickly joined Hermione and Neville at the table, and waited for Ron to join them.
His prediction came true and Ron was one of the last to be Sorted, and he joined the House of the Lion with his siblings and friends.
And then, Dumbledore stepped up and began speaking. Harry couldn't focus on his words all that much, however. He vaguely heard something about a forbidden forest? Or was that a corridor on the third floor that was off-limits?
The reason he couldn't concentrate was the hook-nosed, greasy-haired man sitting at the professor's table that was glaring at him from across the hall.
His scar tingled, and Harry hid the urge to glower and just threw up even more mental shields before avoiding making eye-contact with the man. The odd feeling persisted, however, but it faded when food popped up and the man stopped glaring.
"Harry? You alright?" Hermione asked when she noticed he wasn't eating.
"Who's that man over at the table with the greasy hair?" Harry asked one of the older students nearby, who also had red hair.
"That is Professor Snape. He teaches potions, and is the Head of House for Slytherin," the boy said.
"He's also a right prick who takes points from us for even the smallest thing," another red head, one of the twins, claimed, leaning in.
"Fred!" the older boy hissed.
"I'm George, and you know I'm right, Percy," the boy said. "Snape's a git and it's better if the Firsty's find out now, instead of later during class."
"That's a shame," Harry muttered in disappointment. "I really liked potions."
"Potions? You've brewed them before?" Hermione asked in surprise.
"Yeah, Edward taught me how," Harry explained. "It's one of the few things he was able to show me."
"I thought he was a squib?" Ron asked, confused. "How can he brew potions? Don't you need magic for that?"
"Edward said that all things have magic. Even muggles have a tiny amount. Squibs can't use a magical foci, but they can still brew potions, so long as you don't need to use a wand for it. The magic of many potions comes from the magic within the ingredients, not the brewer," Harry said. "Honestly, potion making is a lot like cooking and chemistry. As long as you know what you're doing, you shouldn't have any problems."
Percy, the twins, and a couple other older students all shared looks with each other, some of which were pitying.
"Snape is going to eat the poor boy alive," someone muttered under their breath.
After dinner ended, Percy and another prefect led the Gryffindor First Years up to the dormitory. The password was uttered before a portrait of a fat lady, and then they all entered. Some rules were given, but Harry was just feeling tired, and when he finally got to his bed, it didn't take him long to get ready to sleep.
As he drifted off into Dreamland, a smile slipped on Harry's face. He was free! He didn't have to go home to the Dursleys for a long time.
No matter what happened, nothing going forward could possibly be as bad as those past ten years!
& & & & &
Author's Note:
Thanks for reading! And if you like it, why not check out Akashicrecordstrue on patty-ron for early chapters? Or if you want to support my work, Akashicrecords over at Ko-Fi is also an option!