Harry Potter and the Secret of Greenhouse Four:
Chapter One
Harry Potter could not remember ever having felt this level of excitement. Or trepidation. The news of who he really was, finally told to him by Rubeus Hagrid, a giant of a man who made even beefy Uncle Vernon look small, took him by surprise. He had always known he had been different from the other kids at his school. Dudley had called it his freakishness, parroting the words of his mother and father, Harry's Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, and his legal guardians for the past 10 years.
How often had Harry been locked in his cupboard – a small, paltry crawlspace located under the stairs where his aunt and uncle had designated as "Harry's Room", not wanting to waste any more room than necessary on him – for things that were completely out of his control? How could he explain HOW he had ended up on the roof of the kitchens at his last school when running from Dudley and his gang? Or how his hair had seemed to miraculously grow back after a particularly horrible haircut from Aunt Petunia? And let's not forget Harry's latest show of "freakishness" – accidentally setting a boa constrictor on his cousin at the zoo. Accidentally being the operative word, of course. Not that Harry hadn't immensely enjoyed seeing Dudley and his friend Piers scramble in a panic when the snake had nipped at their heels. The memory brought a smile to his face. The memory of what followed made him shiver.
After Hagrid had told him the truth, that he Harry was really the son of talented sorcerers, a real witch and wizard, he had taken Harry to a wonderful place called Diagon Alley, a cobbled street only accessible through the back wall of a dingy old pub called the Leaky Cauldron. Diagon Alley was WONDERFUL! Harry had never seen so many interesting things in one place in all his life! There were shops dedicated to the sale of potions ingredients, shops that sold magic spell books, and even a magical bank called Gringotts, a large white marble building that covered up the fact that there were miles of tunnels running underneath London full of gold. Gringotts was run by the Goblin Banking Clan, a sect of Goblins who, according to Hagrid, preferred to count gold rather than fight in endless clan wars, but that they were still formidable, and should always be shown the greatest respect, so as not to give them reason to harm you. They were still Goblins after all.
One hair raising cart ride later, Harry found his pockets significantly heavier than before. He had to show serious self-control not to spend all the money in his parent's vault on every trinket and tome he laid his eyes on. After he had bought everything he needed – and Hagrid had even surprised Harry by buying him a snowy white owl for his birthday – Harry and Hagrid returned to the Dursley's home in Surrey. Hagrid had told Harry to hold onto his ticket for the Hogwarts Express, that if he lost it, he would not be able to board the train. He promised he would.
That brought him here. The Dursleys had agreed to take him to King's Cross station, Uncle Vernon even got a trolley for Harry's trunk and owl cage, before pointing out that there didn't seem to be a platform 9-3/4, the number printed on Harry's ticket. Howling with laughter, the Dursleys had then proceeded to leave him there in King's Cross by himself, with no idea what to do next.
Harry glanced at his ticket and then up at the clock that hung over the arrivals board. According to his ticket he had only 30 minutes to figure out where he needed to go. Frantically, he walked up to a gate guard and had asked for directions to Platform 9-3/4. Obviously thinking that Harry was deliberately trying to waste his time, the man shooed him away without another word.
Panic started to grip him then, and he began looking around frantically for anyone who might be able to help him. Or, barring that, to see some sign that this hadn't all been some elaborate hoax. That thought began to eat at his mind, and Harry felt the need to close his eyes and count down from ten. It was a skill that the school counselor, Mr. Abernant had taught him last year. It helped him greatly reduce his anxiety attacks and helped him think clearly. As if drawn to him by his counting, a voice from behind him brought him back to himself.
"Are you alright?"
Harry whipped around suddenly at the voice, almost falling over from the speed of it. In front of him stood a boy not much older than himself, perhaps 13 or 14 years old, with sandy colored hair, a kind disposition, and the most strikingly gray eyes Harry had ever seen. They reminded him of the sea just before a particularly violent storm.
"Sorry?" was all Harry seemed capable of saying. He was very much aware that he probably looked ridiculous, a boy of his age, alone with a massive trunk and an owl in a cage, while he himself was having a panic attack.
The sandy haired boy looked past him and over to his trolley before saying, "Oh! Are you just starting at Hogwarts?!" The boys face lit up with excitement at the realization, and Harry found the hard lump in his throat dissolve as he heard the other boy mention the wizarding school. Harry couldn't speak, afraid that his emotions might start to boil over if he dared try, so he only nodded.
"Brilliant!" the boy exclaimed, "follow me, I'll introduce you to my father and he'll be able to explain things better than I can on how to get onto the platform. I still don't really get how it works, but he'll be able to explain it better. My father knows everything!"
It was clear to Harry that this boy thought a great deal of his father, so Harry simply nodded again and followed him away from the main entrance. As they walked along, the boy turned back and looked at him, smiling, "I'm Ced, by the way, Cedric Diggory! My father's name is Amos. He works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the Ministry." He said all this very fast, but perfectly enunciated every word Harry noticed.
Remembering how people had reacted to him in the Leaky Cauldron, Harry quickly decided to give this boy a fake name so as not to cause a scene. His hair was already covering the lightning shaped scar that made him instantly recognizable.
"I'm Reggie," he replied sheepishly, "just Reggie."
"Well, 'just Reggie'", Cedric said with a slight drop in his demeanor, "where are your parents anyway? I'm sure my father would want to meet them."
Harry stopped for a moment, collecting himself before answering. "They're dead. They were killed by Voldemort…" Cedric flinched at the sound of the name and looked at Harry with amazement.
"Oh," he said lamely after a moment, "and here I thought you must've been a muggle-born who was just lost. I'm sorry." His demeanor had changed so much from what he had first shown to Harry that he almost felt as though he should apologize for making the older boy feel uncomfortable, but a small voice in the back of his mind resolutely told him not to apologize for the deaths of his parents. The resolve of that voice shocked him at first, for he had never had the nerve to stand up for himself before. The Dursley's had seen to that.
"Well, I WAS raised by muggles," Harry said, breaking the silence that had started to stretch between them, "so I suppose you're not entirely wrong there." He chuckled to himself, and he could see Cedric relax a bit. From somewhere in the distance, they heard a man's voice calling out, "Ced? Cedric, where have you gone?"
"Damn, that'd be my father. Come on, let's go before he decides to break the Statute of Secrecy to find me." Not knowing what this Statute of Secrecy was, Harry made a mental note to ask someone, perhaps Cedric himself.
After a brief jog, Harry and Cedric found his father, Amos Diggory, looking around and checking a gold pocket watch, obviously frustrated. As the boys walked up, Amos turned around, and seeing his son, his face relaxed slightly. VERY slightly, Harry noticed.
"Ah, Cedric, there you are! Where did you…?" He noticed Harry then, and one of his eyebrows rose a fraction of an inch as he regarded his son with a curious expression.
"Dad, this is Reggie!" Cedric said, sweeping his arm out as if to present Harry to his father. "Just Reggie. He's starting at Hogwarts as a first year, and he's having trouble getting on the platform. He…" Cedric looked back at him as if asking his permission to continue. Harry didn't care if people knew about his parents and their fate, however, even though he knew that eventually it would come out, he didn't want people gawking at him just for being who he was. It was why he'd not given Cedric his last name. He knew that as soon as people knew who he was, they'd all want to be his friend for the wrong reasons. Harry considered Cedric for a moment before giving an assenting nod to continue.
"His folks were taken out by You-Know-Who when he was young, and he was raised as a muggle. Can't you help him, Dad?"
Amos Diggory looked him up and down in a scrutiny that Harry found invasive, as if the cool steel eyes he shared with his son were able to peer through him and could see all his innermost secrets. After a few tense moments, his face softened and Harry felt himself relax, unaware that he had been clenching his jaw.
"Of course, Ced. Both of you, follow me!" As the older man turned and walked away, Cedric turned and smiled at Harry. "Come on!" A sparkle lit up his eyes, his adoration for his father clearly showing through. Harry grabbed the handle of his trolley, and turned in the direction the Diggory's had gone. When he had caught up with them, he looked and saw that they were standing directly between platforms 9 and 10.
"Now, the secret to getting onto the platform is simple really," Mr. Diggory began, "You must simply walk between the platforms here." He gestured toward the large steel pillar that sat between the platforms, separating them. "That's really it. So long as you have your ticket that is. You won't make it through the barrier without that!" He finished with a shrug. Seeing Harry's confused face, Amos turned to his son. "Ced, why don't you show our new friend what it is I mean?"
With a grin that threatened to split his face in two, Cedric grasped the handle of his own trolley and turned it toward the massive pillar. With a last look back at Harry, Cedric darted forward, pushing his trolley faster and faster. Harry was sure he was going to crash right into the pilar in front of him, but a moment later, he was gone. Wide eyed, Harry looked around and then up at Mr. Diggory, who had a knowing look on his face.
"Any questions, Mr. Potter?"
Harry's stomach lurched. Looking up at Mr. Diggory he managed to get out a single word before trepidation closed his throat, "How…?"
With a slight chuckle that didn't quite reach his eyes, Mr. Diggory said, "My dear boy, not only are you and your parents famous, as is the story that surrounds you, but I was at school with bot of your parents, and you could not look more like James Bloody Potter if he'd spat you from his arse!" He chuckled at the joke and then seemed embarrassed at his own crudeness.
Ignoring that, Harry said, "You knew my parents?"
A sad look entered Mr. Diggory's eyes then, and Harry thought it might've been the first honest emotion he'd seen in the man's face.
"I wish I could say I knew them, Mr. Potter. I was a few years above them, you see. But I knew of them. Your father was a prodigy at transfiguration, a very difficult branch of magic to work, much less master. Your mother on the other hand, could have had a mastery in potions and charms. Talent was in no short supply for either of them," he gave a warm smile then, and Harry's nerves seemed to relax a bit. "I expect we'll see great things from you, Mr. Potter. Now come along, or else Ced will think we've gotten stuck!"
With a flourish he turned towards the barrier, and placing a hand on Harry's trolley, he began to lead him along. Harry still wasn't sure what to expect when he got to the barrier. They picked up the pace a bit as people seemed to be milling about faster than usual. Harry clenched his eyes shut tight and braced himself for impact as they approached the great steel barrier, but it never came. Instead, after a second or two of standing there, he heard a slight snicker, and he cracked an eye open to see Cedric standing there grinning at him.
"Don't worry, Reggie," he said, his smile getting wider, "I thought I was going to crash my first time as well. It gets a lot easier after that!" His words reassured Harry, as he still wasn't sure what had happened. One second, he was nearly running towards the steel barrier, and the next — all other thoughts were driven from Harry's mind as he looked up and saw it. Sleek as an arrow, and the brightest shade of scarlet he had ever seen, Harry took in the sight of the Hogwarts Express, the locomotive standing tall and proud, with smoke already billowing out of the chimney. Harry stood in awe, unable to take his eyes off the scarlet steam engine. Unfortunately, he stood there a moment too long, and he nearly toppled to the floor of the platform as a mess of red hair slammed into him from the wall behind him.
"Watch it!" said the boy who had nearly used Harry as a welcome mat. He was slightly taller than Harry, and had a smattering of freckles all across his face, with evidence that he probably had them all over. He gave Harry a look of complete consternation. Harry shrank back from the boy's gaze, not wanting to make any enemies this soon.
"Oi! Weasley! What do you think you're playing at?" Cedric was suddenly at Harry's side, giving the red headed boy a stern look. 'Weasley' gave him a look that said he was surprised to see Cedric, and none too happy to be interrupted in his scolding of Harry.
After a moment of tense silence, in which Weasley seemed to be grappling with some internal struggle, he finally seemed to make up his mind about something, and simply said, "Diggory" with a nod of his head as he pushed his own trolley towards the train.
"Sorry about him," Cedric said, turning to Harry, "that's Ron Weasley. He and his family live not too far from us. The rest of his family is alright, but Ron…" he trailed off while looking at Ron's retreating back. "Ron's a bit of a prat." He finished with a sheepish grin. "Though he was right about one thing; we really should get moving, or else we'll get hit by more people! Besides, the train is leaving soon if the Weasleys are here. They're usually late." And without a backward glance, he led Harry to a car that seemed relatively empty near the rear of the train. After helping him with his trunk and owl cage, Cedric led him to an empty compartment, where they deposited their belongings. Harry looked at Cedric confused.
"Cedric? Don't you want to go sit with your friends? You don't have to stay with me if you don't want…" Harry couldn't bring himself to finish his thought. He liked Cedric. He was immensely kind, and Harry was glad to have met him, but he knew that the older boy must have friends from his time at school, and surely, he'd want to see them. Harry's musings were interrupted by Cedric clicking his tongue disapprovingly at him.
"Come now, Reggie, you can't really be this thick, can you?" He gave Harry a bright smile, and Harry's confusion seemed to amuse him. "YOU'RE my friend too, Harry! I would never leave a friend behind. Besides, I usually it back this way. If any of my friends want to find me, they know where to look." He finished with a wink to Harry, and then quite lazily, he threw himself down on the bench opposite Harry and made himself comfortable. Just as Harry made to sit down himself, he felt a lurch, and looking out the window, he could see they were moving along. A feeling of relief seemed to wash over him as if a bucket of water had been poured over his head. He was off! Soon he would begin his magical education, and with Cedric's proclamation of friendship, he felt a bit more confident that he might just make a few more friends during his time at Hogwarts. As he looked out the window at the countryside speeding past, he felt all his worries get left behind on the platform, and a feeling of pure excitement rushed through him.
He began to ask Cedric a bunch of questions then. Questions about Hogwarts, the houses, and the wizarding world as a whole. Cedric was a good sport, knowing that Harry had grown up with Muggles and therefore didn't know much about their world. He did his best to answer Harry's questions, and when he didn't know the answer, instead of making up something to appease Harry's curiosity, he was honest and told Harry who at Hogwarts might be better suited to answer those questions. Harry found himself beginning to relax more and more the more he and Cedric – who insisted that Harry call him Ced – talked about the wizarding world. His anxiety only returned as Ced began to ask Harry questions about what it was like growing up with Muggles.
Harry was able to deflect most questions with ease; he'd been coming up with cover stories regarding his home life for as long as he could remember. He felt guilty, Ced had been so open and honest with him about everything, and here he was, holding back information that he felt would cause the older boy to look at him with pity. Harry decided long ago he'd rather be hated than pitied. So, he made his life seem rather boring, which wasn't entirely a lie. When he wasn't dodging flying cookware that was launched at his head, or running from Dudley and his gang while they were 'Harry Hunting', Harry's life was pretty mundane. Up until a few weeks ago, he'd been confined to his cupboard when he wasn't doing chores. Now he spent his limited free time locked in the bedroom that his aunt and uncle had reluctantly given him when his Hogwarts letters started coming in.
After about an hour of getting to know each other better, Harry started to feel the consequences of skipping breakfast this morning. Holding a hand to his stomach to quiet his discomfort, Harry said, "Hey, Ced? How much longer before we get there?"
Cedric took a second to answer, pulling out a golden pocket watch and examining it. "Hmm. Not for another four or five hours, I'm afraid." He gave a sheepish grin, "Don't worry though, I'm sure the Trolley Witch will be along shortly."
Harry wasn't sure who or what the Trolley Witch was, but he hoped she had food.
Ten minutes later, Harry learned exactly who the Trolley Witch was, and while she had no real food, she did have sweets. However, these sweets were unlike anything Harry had ever seen in his life. Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Cockroach Cluster, Pumpkin Pasties, Acid Pops, and a slew of other sweets that Harry had never heard of. He supposed the Wizarding World must have a lot of things that were different, and he began to wonder how long it would take for him to get over some of the culture shock he was now experiencing.
The two boys continued to talk and eat their fill of sweets, Cedric less so as he had eaten right before leaving for King's Cross. Harry asked questions about the classes and professors at Hogwarts, wanting to reduce his chances of making a fool of himself as much as possible. A few of Cedrics friends stopped by their compartment to have a quick chat with Ced. They never stayed long, and Harry couldn't catch most of their names. At one point, though, a pair of red-haired twins who introduced themselves as Gred and Forge (Cedric later informed him that the twins were Ron Weasley's older brothers and were actually called Fred and George) came in to wish Cedric a good year in the upcoming quidditch season at Hogwarts, which lead to Cedric explaining to Harry exactly what quidditch was after the twins had left.
Just as Cedric was explaining the difference between the four balls used in quidditch (A quaffle, two bludgers and the golden snitch) the door to their compartment opened yet again, this time by a boy who had a panicked look about him. He was chubby, but certainly not fat, with dark brown hair that was combed over well, and dark eyes that shone with unshed tears. Just as the chubby boy was about to shut the door, something stopped him, and in walked three more boys. The one in the middle, who was obviously the leader of this little gang (Harry had seen enough of Dudley and his gang to recognize who the leader was), was a thin, pale boy, with pointed features, bright blond hair that was swept up into an impressive coif. The two boys on either side of him, Harry could only describe as ape-like. They had short, bristly hair, not a lot of neck, and as if they could count their collective IQ on one hand.
"What's all this then, boys?" Cedric said, getting to his feet. The blond boy shifted his gaze from the chubby boy to Cedric.
"Longbottom here attacked me." He said, a sneer on his lips, gesturing to the boy in front of him.
"Is that true, Mr. Longbottom?" Cedric said in a kind tone, "Did you attack this Mr..." he trailed off, gesturing towards the three other boys.
"Malfoy," the blond boy offered, "Draco Malfoy, and this is Crabbe and Goyle." He gestured to the boys standing beside him.
"No!" Longbottom said with fright, clearly thinking he was about to get in trouble for something. "No, I was just... walking down the length of the train. The train rocked a bit and I happened to fall over onto Mr. Malfoy here. That's it, I swear!" His eyes were large and pleading, willing Cedric to believe him.
"Ah," Cedric said frowning a bit, as if confused, "well that seems perfectly understandable, so I don't see what the problem is here Mr. Malfoy?"
Malfoy looked as though he could spit fire, "The problem, is that this filthy squib dared to put his hands on the scion of an Ancient and Noble house. I was going to teach him a lesson."
"Malfoy, are you unaware that House Longbottom is far older and nobler than House Malfoy? The Longbottom Family goes back as far as Merlin and Morgana."
Malfoy scowled, "It doesn't matter, he's still a filthy squib." He returned his gaze to the Longbottom boy. "You'll never amount to anything worth my time anyway, Longbottom. Crabbe, Goyle... we're leaving." And with a twirl he strode out of the compartment, his lunkish entourage following close behind. Just before they were out of earshot, Harry and the other two heard Malfoy say, "Potter wouldn't be near the back anyway."
"Potter?" The Longbottom boy said inquisitively. "Is he seriously looking for Harry Potter?"
"Well, my father did tell me that he should be starting at Hogwarts this year, though he's been out of the public eye for 10 years now, so no one really knows what he looks like. I'm Cedric, by the way, and this is Reggie-" he trailed off catching sight of Harry's face. "Oi, Reg? You alright mate?"
Harry took a moment to realize that he was being spoken to, as he'd started having an anxiety attack at hearing that there were people that horrible who were looking for him. After a moment, he came back to himself, and nodded. "Yeah, sorry. Who was that bloke? Why'd he seem to think he was some prince?" Cedric laughed at that.
"Well, Reg, seeing as we don't actually have titles like "Prince" in the wizarding world, I can still see why you'd think that. By Wizarding Standards, he'd be as close to a prince as you can get. Isn't that right, Mr. Longbottom?"
"Please, call me Neville. I don't typically hold to stuffy old Pureblood traditions unless it can't be avoided."
That gave Harry a look of consternation, and so Cedric and Neville took it in turn to explain how some wizards believed in the purity of blood. It sounded an awful lot like classism to Harry.
"So, tell us Neville," Cedric said, changing the topic with ease, "what exactly were you walking down the length of the train for?"
Neville blushed and said in an undertone that both boys had to strain to hear, "I was... looking for my pet toad Trevor." Then, as if he felt the need to explain himself, he said, "My Uncle Algie gave him to me as a gift for getting into Hogwarts. No one really thought I would, see, on account of me being... well..." He looked at the door where Malfoy and his cronies had been a few moments before.
"You are not a squib, Neville Longbottom. You'd have never gotten a Hogwarts letter if you were. Don't let bullies like Malfoy tell you otherwise, alright?"
Neville nodded sheepishly, and from there on out, Neville Longbottom became a part of their circle. The three boys rode the rest of the way to Hogwarts together with laughter and without further incident.
As the three boys stepped off the train at Hogsmeade Station, Cedric explained to the two younger boys that they would be getting to the castle a different way than everyone else, seeing as they were first years. "But don't worry, after the opening feast, I'll try and come find you. That's if you're not sorted into my house." He winked at the two boys in his black and yellow school robes and walked off towards a group of carriages that seemed to be pulling themselves.
As Harry and Neville watched him walk away, they heard the booming voice of Rubeus Hagrid call, "FIRS' YEARS THIS WAY!" and they walked in that direction, both boys nervous and excited to start this new chapter in their lives.
AN: I just want to say that I hope you all enjoy this story as much as I'm enjoying writing it. Expect the next chapter in a few days or so... As of right now, I don't have any kind of upload schedule planned, as I'm kinda just writing this story as I can between work and school. I'd love to hear your guys thoughts and theories in the comments! Thanks again so much to everyone who reads this. Until next time!