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"Really grandma, I'll be fine," Alaric placated his grandmother once again, glancing around the vibrant station which was crowded with all kinds of people today— more than any he had seen in one place before save perhaps Diagon Alley, which was odd because they were already late and the crowd must have thinned.
"My grandson has grown up," Elenor squeezed his hand and turned towards him with a teasing smile on her face as she fondly fixed his raven hair for what seemed to be the thousandth time today.
"Come on dear, he's going to miss the train if we keep standing here outside the platform," Octavius spoke from beside her, garbed in formal robes as he looked around with a hand placed on her shoulder.
"I know that Octavius, but it's not every day that he would start Hogwarts and you're the one who said we should arrive late to avoid being mobbed by the crowd."
"He won't be able to go to Hogwarts if he misses the train," His grandfather glanced at Elenor with amused eyes, more than used to her sweet antics by now, "I doubt there's much crowd now. Most kids are probably already on the train and the reporters are busy searching for Potter elsewhere."
"Fine, we shall depart then." Elenor spoke, before turning towards Alaric once again, "You remember how to get onto the platform?"
"Just walk through the barrier." Alaric repeated somewhat impatiently, he had been told this more times than he could count and he had practically memorized the lines by now, "I've been waiting for years to go to Hogwarts, and we've seen at least eight families already go ahead of us,"
"Yeah, let's go before the boy goes crazy at the thought of not seeing the Hogwarts library," his grandfather teased, making fun of his reading tendencies as he usually did.
"That's enough," Elenor broke the incoming argument before it could start just as Alaric opened his mouth to respond to his grandfather's taunt and gestured towards the barrier, "Now boys, let's go one at a time,"
Alaric scowled playfully at his grandfather who winked at him before he quickly grabbed his trunk and made his way to the other side of the barrier, a few moments later he was joined by his grandparents who elegantly walked into the platform behind him.
The platform was warded against apparition to prevent accidents and though they could have just used the Floo for the sake of convenience, his grandparents had decided to take a long tour of muggle London on his grandmother's insistence.
She was a half-blood who had not completely abandoned her mundane heritage in favour of her magical one and even remained in contact with her muggle relatives. Consequently, the Peverells were more acquainted with the muggle world than most other Houses of Magical Britain which Alaric was honestly glad for.
He loved magic more than anything, but he continued to find the wonders of science and technology more fascinating than most.
"I just don't understand how none of the Muggles ever notice," Octavius commented, looking around the crowded platform with nostalgia in his eyes— he had already been here many times before, usually with his dear son, "They have not updated the wards since the last two centuries. Someone's bound to have seen through the Notice-Me-Not Charms by now."
Alaric absently nodded, too busy staring at the sparking train before his eyes which he had dreamt of more than once to answer his grandfather. It was a wonder of magical engineering that every wizard of the last two centuries had heard about and indeed an ironic way to get to a magical school, the train.
"You are going to have to behave yourself at Hogwarts, Alaric" Elenor started, snapping him from his thoughts. Her eyes turned misty as she gently straightened his hair once again, "Now just eat your breakfast each day and make some great friends,"
"I would, grandmother," Alaric turned towards his grandmother and nodded, knowing that being here must have reminded her of his departed father whose memory had never truly left the Peverell household.
"Good. Now you have a good term and we'll see you at Christmas," Octavian told him, allowing him a moment of respite from his grandmother's well-intentioned clutches before giving him a brief but firm hug.
"Yes, and don't you dare forget to write," Elenor tearfully spoke as she gathered him into a gentle hug instantly afterward, "I want to know how your first day went, what house you are sorted into, and everything else that happens to you."
Alaric nodded, gently squeezing back. Perhaps he might've been embarrassed by such public displays of affection had he been mentally his age but his previous life had taught him to appreciate such moments.
Circumstances had once turned him into a logical person, practical and conservative in his approach. He had once been the type to only rock the boat when the benefits greatly outweighed the risk and he had risen high because of it but even back then, he never once would have hesitated in exchange it all for the warmth of love if given the chance.
It took a few more minutes to convince his grandmother that he would write to her every week and a few more minutes to say some more goodbyes before Alaric was finally able to get away from his grandparents and make his way onto the Hogwarts Express.
"That took forever," Alaric spoke to himself as he lifted his trunk onto the train. He paused for a moment and took in the moment before started searching for an empty compartment— this was it, the beginning of his magical journey that would surely end in greatness.
His search was interrupted when he bumped into a brunette.
"I'm sorry," He reflexively spoke, helping her balance herself when she wobbled back in surprise and held her head as if in pain.
"It's all right," She babbled, brushing herself as she finally glanced at him and his luggage, "Are you looking for a compartment or are you simply lost? All first-year compartments are already taken so you probably wouldn't find an empty one now,"
Alaric instinctively straightened his back to meet her bewildered gaze, eyes obstructed by shoulder-length brown hair which were just a shade too bright to be called black. Her skin was a rich healthy hue, the kind born from playing for far too long under the sun
"I'm not lost, I'm simply late," Alaric told her, amused despite himself, "You'd have to be pretty dumb to get lost on a train."
"Heh, you're funny" the witch grinned, straightening her hair and raising a curious brow when she saw how he could handle his sizable trunk without any problem. "Come sit in our apartment, I'm gonna introduce you to my friend. She speaks just as well you do,"
She grabbed Alaric before he could protest and practically dragged him down the hallway. After a brief walk, she opened a door and guided him into the compartment that had another witch who looked his age seated in it.
A gorgeous blond cocked her head to the side when she saw him enter behind her friend. Cerulean eyes peered at him curiously, near-platinum hair framing her aristocratic face that almost glowed because of its delicate parlour.
"Daphne, I brought you some company!" The girl dragging him cheerfully spoke, waving as she entered without care, "Now we don't have to sit all by our lonesome."
The blond witch carefully observed him for a moment before staring at Tracy in amusement as she pushed him in and closed the compartment door behind her before turning towards him once again, "Daphne Greengrass, nice to meet you. I apologize for her, she can be a real pain sometimes."
"Funny," Alaric said dryly as he levitated his trunk towards the small section meant for storing luggage with a wave of his hand, casually manifesting magic for a mundane task that he could have done himself had his grandmother not turned him into a true advocate of productivity enhanced by magic.
"Wow," The brown-haired witch who had dragged him inside exclaimed as she watched Alaric levitate his trunk effortlessly, "Are you a second year?"
"No, I'm a first-year," Alaric responded, "I just had nothing better to do for the past few years than study magic"
Her eyes widened. "Your parents let you learn magic already? You're so lucky, I'm Tracy the way, Tracy Davis."
Alaric nodded slightly, he would have shaken her hands had they not been occupied in the task of dragging him along, "Alaric Peverell, it's a pleasure."
Tracy blushed and tried to rub her nose for a moment before indeed words seemed to hit her. "Wait did you say Peverell?"
"Indeed," Alaric simply nodded, knowing he would have to reveal his identity sooner or later.
"Wow," Tracy said reverently as she shamelessly scanned him over, looking him over as if seeing him for the first time even though she had plenty of time to observe him before.
Alaric saw Daphne roll her eyes and he couldn't help but do the same, his house was rather famous in the wizarding world and not because of its age alone. The Peverell vaults might have fallen into decadence during the last few centuries but the prestige and influence behind the name had not dwindled. The achievements of his ancestors in the vast field of magic were endless and his grandfather held considerable influence in the Wizarding World even today even if not comparable to the likes of Lord Lucius Malfoy or Lord Arcturus Black.
Most of the older magical households were well acquainted with the rather legendary name, even if they were far from their previous heights.
"So, Tracy," Alaric broke the silence a moment later and continued a bit awkwardly, searching for topics to speak about before deciding on the one sport which every wizard knew of "You play Quidditch at all?"
That seemed to snap Tracy out of her daze. "Do I! I love Quidditch, I've been a Batswhile supporter for my entire life…"
Daphne seated beside them couldn't help but shake her head as Tracy began singing the praises of the Ballycastle Batswhile Alaric began arguing for the Pride of Portree. She was not interested in their talk and could tell that the two would be obsessing about Quidditch for some time so she simply continued reading her book on transfiguration and ignored any attempt by Tracy to bring her into their Quidditch conversation.
Soon Alaric found himself tuning out the banter in favour of observing the blond girl. He'd read the book she had in her hand and found it lacking in most ways compared to the other introductory books he'd read in his family library before. Honestly, this one didn't even mention the Laws of Transfiguration.
He too wanted to take out his Arithmancy textbook. He knew he would be starting the subject in his third year and had already decided to take it as his choice of electives.
He was more than pleased to find that Arithmancy was a major part of this world's magic. Seeing how he already had a college-level education in mathematics, it was child's play for him to understand the concepts that ruled over the laws of magic. Already he was starting to think about unravelling the mysteries of the unknown formulae of the numbers seven and thirteen one day.
It would take him a few years granted but figure them out he would.
Besides, there were an inordinate number of magicks that could be utilized with the proper array structure and layout including warding and spell casting. He had several theories on how he could apply arithmancy in various scenarios and projects that would be immeasurably valuable in the foreseeable future.
As the countryside began to pass, there was a knock on the compartment, and the door opened revealing a bushy-haired girl. "Excuse me, but have you seen a toad?" the girl asked as she practically dragged another boy into the compartment with her. "A boy named Neville has lost his and I'm helping him search for it."
Tracy looked up from her conversation with Alaric. "No, sorry, haven't seen one."
"Well, you can ask a senior for help, a summoning charm should do the trick" Alaric spoke even as his gaze sharpened. He recognized the name, and he could not help but observe twice over even though he had no intention of interfering in the escapades of what would someday become the golden trio.
The girl seemed oblivious to both his stare and Tracy's response though, as her eyes were locked onto Alaric. "I've never heard of that spell before. I've tried a few spells at home and they've all worked for me. I'm Hermione by the way, Hermione Granger."
"Alaric Peverell." He introduced himself even as she thanked him for his advice which was apparently enough to convince her to search for the prefects. Hermione left to go looking for Neville's toad once again when their brief conversation about the Hogwarts houses came to an end.
Daphne who had remained quiet all this time had looked as if she was actually going to contribute to that conversation before Tracy jumped in and proclaimed her to be a future Queen of Slytherin to which she simply nodded and went back to her reading
As the train ride continued and it began to get dark, the hallway outside once again became full of activity when a trio comprised of a blond followed by two meaty companions entered the hallway. It took Alaric one look between the pale-faced boy that had just entered and the pair of witches to let him know that nothing good was going to come of this meeting.
Alaric quickly stood up, closed the door, and locked it with a quick Colloportus before the boy could even react. He had a hunch regarding his identity already, and he was not interested in meeting him right now.
"Know him already?" Alaric asked the clearly surprised witches who appeared shocked because of his actions.
"Yeah," Daphne surprisingly spoke up first, glancing at the blond who had reached their compartment by now and was fervently knocking on their door even as something strange flashed through her blue eyes. None of them made a move to open the door, "He's a ponce."
"Who is he?" Alaric asked, having an inkling about her answer already.
"Draco Malfoy. His father is an acquaintance of Daphne's, he keeps going on and on about how superior he was because of his family."
"I have to tolerate him because of father," Daphne spoke, closing her book and finally joining the conversation, "But my mother doesn't like Lord Malfoy at all."
As Tracy began talking about how she couldn't wait for Daphne to learn how to curse Draco, Alaric shook his head and joined the conversation once again. It wasn't like he needed a class to learn how to curse people, he'd been subtlety cursing his grandfather since he got his wand— not that he had not noticed it, his grandfather was probably amused by his display of magic and allowed him to keep cursing him on a whim.
Thanks for reading.