The First Train Ride

“The key to friendship is acceptance and understanding. You must accept that no one is perfect, not even yourself. But before you can accept, you must understand what makes others and yourself the way you all are. And once that is achieved, you can weather any storm with them.”

General (ret.) Jigme Dorji Wengshuk

Meanwhile, back inside King’s Cross, Harriet watched in disbelief as the Dursleys walked away, laughing hysterically. She looked around anxiously, wondering what to do. There were guards about, but every one of them looked agitated and stand-offish, and she didn’t feel like pestering them.

She looked at the big clock on the wall feeling antsier and antsier. She didn’t have much time left. She’d have to ask someone. Maybe, just maybe, that violin player outside the station would know how to find the platform. He was probably here a lot, perhaps he’d heard of it before.

No, he’d sounded so disapproving of her being alone when she’d walked over to him before. But maybe he’d seen the Dursleys leave too, and would know she was now alone. Then she remembered how Uncle Vernon had brought out a guard to shoo the man away after they had gotten into the station. That meant he wouldn’t be there anymore.

Finally, she made up her mind and walked up to a guard who looked not quite as busy as the rest.

“Excuse me, sir,” she started tugging on his sleeve. He looked around confused before looking down and seeing her. His irritated and gruff demeanour vanished instantly as he smiled.

“Yes dear, what may I do for you?” he asked giving a quick look around as if looking for her parents.

“Well, I’m… I’m supposed to get on a train on Platform Nine and Three Quarters…” she explained nervously.

The guard’s smile faded, and he looked at her with a furrowed brow. “Nine and Three Quarters?” he asked confused. “There is no Platform Nine and Three Quarters, who told you that?”

“It, it’s on my ticket, sir.” She went on, looking up at the guard nervously. He furrowed his brow looking around again.

“Are you here alone?” he asked curiously.

Harriet nodded.

“Who brought you here, your parents?”

Harriet opened her mouth to explain when suddenly she felt a hand on each of her shoulders.

“There you are you little scamp!” said a boy’s voice, starting to pull her away.

“Sorry, sir! She’s our cousin! We’re from up north, and she’s coming to stay with us for her schooling. We were meeting up here to take her home with us,” said another boy’s voice.

Harriet looked over her right shoulder to see a tall, red-haired boy smiling at the guard innocently. She looked over her other shoulder and blinked seeing the same boy standing there too. She looked back and forth again before realising it was a pair of identical twins.

The twin who had just spoken was pointing across the station to a family group, all of whom with flaming red hair. It was a sizeable family it seemed, five children including the two who were holding onto her shoulder. They were three boys and two girls, standing around a plump woman who was giving the guard a kindly smile as she waved at him. The most reassuring sight, however, was the owl in a bird-cage sitting on their luggage. They were witches and wizards too.

Harriet looked up at the guard, who seemed a little reassured, but still had an air of scepticism as he returned his attention to Harriet.

“Is that your family?” he asked.

Harriet looked back over her shoulder and looked at the plump woman again. Her smile was warm and inviting, and she gave a soft nod. As Harriet turned to look at the guard still, she also caught the eye of one of the twins who gave her a surreptitious wink. She looked back up at the guard and smiled.

“Oh yes sir,” she said, trying her best to sound relieved. “My aunt and these are my cousins; I’m from out of town too,” She lied quickly. The guard looked the family over again.

“Alright miss, glad your family found you, have a good trip all of you,” he said and waved at the woman who waved back smiling. The twins grinned as they led her back to the family.

“Well done,” said the one on her right.

“Yeah, quick on the uptake, I like that,” said the other twin who also gave her a wink.

“I’m Fred by the way,” said the one on her right.

“And I’m George,” said the other.

“And this is our mum,” said Fred as they reached the family.

The woman smiled warmly down at Harriet and gave her a quick one-armed hug. “Hello dear,” said the woman in a sweet, motherly tone.

She gave Harriet an odd feeling. It wasn’t unpleasant—far from it—just one she didn't find familiar. It was somewhat like the feeling Harriet would get stepping out into warm sunlight after a long time in her cupboard under the stairs. To her surprise, Harriet realised she felt safer and closer to these people than she'd ever felt with the Dursleys, and she'd only just met them.

“Your first time at Hogwarts?” the woman asked in a concerned voice, and Harriet nodded. She patted Harriet’s cheek softly. “It’s our Ronnie’s first year too, dear. Come with us, we’ll see you on the train.”

“Oh thank you,” Harriet said exhaling deeply. “I’ve been trying to find the platform, but it’s so busy, and I was told by my uncle and the guard over there that there is no Platform Nine and Three Quarters,” she went on feeling emotional from the relief and the situation as a whole.

The woman smiled in a motherly way, patting Harriet’s cheek again. “Oh, it’s quite alright dear. Come with us. I’m Mrs Molly Weasley, and this is the eldest here, Percy,” she said putting her hand on the shoulder of the tallest of the boys, who wore horn-rimmed glasses. He nodded down at her imperiously. Indeed, he slightly reminded Harriet of the owl that was sitting on top of the trunk he was pulling.

“And this is Fred and George,” she said moving on to the two twins who had already introduced themselves. They both nodded similarly to the way Percy had done, but their faces were much warmer, and undoubtedly much more prone to laughter. Harriet smiled back at them.

“And here is our oldest girl, Ronnie, and our youngest, Ginny,” Mrs Weasley went on.

Harriet greeted them both. Ronnie was tall for their age, and was wearing jeans with scuffed knees and had a smudge of dirt on her nose with shoulder-length, straight red hair that fell on her face. The younger girl, Ginny, seemed only a year younger than Harriet and Ronnie and was looking back at Harriet with a warm, inquisitive smile. Ginny also wore old, second-hand clothes, though her hair was long and came down almost to her waist.

“I’m Harriet,” she said smiling at them all.

Mrs Weasley beamed down at her and gestured towards the barrier between platforms nine and ten.

“Well my dear, this is the doorway here, hidden to the Muggles. Ronnie, it’s your first time too, why don’t you and Harriet here go together? Take it at a run, dears—don’t be afraid of crashing into it!” she added in afterthought.

Harriet lined up her trunk next to Ronnie’s. She felt a little foolish, about to run at a solid brick wall. Ronnie smiled at her somewhat smugly.

“I’ve done this more than a few times; just keep right by me and keep going,” Ronnie said reassuringly.

Ronnie counted down from three, and together, they started. Harriet ran, pushing her trolley as best she could while trying to keep pace with the taller girl beside her. The barrier kept getting closer and closer. Finally, Harriet closed her eyes, waiting for the collision.

It never came. The next thing Harriet knew, she felt Ronnie’s hand on her arm, pulling her to a stop. She opened her eyes and at the same moment became aware of the entirely new cacophony of noise all around them.

A steam whistle sounded, and cheerful voices filled the air. Owls hooted, cats meowed, frogs croaked, people laughed. The large steam engine before them was scarlet, and Harriet sighed in relief, seeing the words “Hogwarts Express” emblazoned on its side. Ronnie grinned at her and turned seeing the rest of the family making their way through.

“Well, here you are dear, safe and sound and just in time. You’d better get your things on the train and start meeting your fellow students and making new friends!” said Mrs Weasley, beaming down at her.

Harriet smiled back. “Oh thank you so much, Mrs Weasley,” Harriet replied, and Mrs Weasley gave her another soft hug around the shoulder.

“Here, we’ll help you with your trunk,” said George, eagerly, picking up Hedwig in her cage. Hedwig clicked her beak aggressively.

“Er, I’ll help with the trunk,” Fred said grabbing it up though grunting and muttering “blimey” under his breath as he tried to carry it. George glowered at Fred a little and followed, still carrying Hedwig.

Harriet looked at Ronnie, who looked just as confused as she shrugged and Harriet went off after them. Fred was forced to set her trunk down, and George put Hedwig back on top of it again. They lifted it together, carrying it onto the train for her, manoeuvring it in and down the hall and into a compartment. They set Hedwig down on the seat gingerly and hoisted her trunk up onto a rack for her. They paused in a self-satisfied way and smiled down at her.

“Well, there you are m’lady,” said Fred bowing deeply.

“A pleasure to have been of service,” said George bowing even more deeply, drawing a scathing look from Fred. Harriet barely suppressed a giggle at them and smiled.

“Well, thank you both very much, you’ve been my… knights in—um—shining armour…?” she said feeling slightly ridiculous. Fred and George smiled in, if possible, an even more self-satisfied way.

“Well, if you need us, we’ll be down the other end of the train. Come on George, if we don’t say goodbye Mum’ll have a Howler chasing down the train,” said Fred and they turned to leave.

As they did, Harriet absent-mindedly brushed her hair back behind her right ear. George paused, noticing out of the corner of his eye. He did a double take and fell back against the wall in shock as if someone had shoved him. His reaction was so sudden that Harriet started and Fred stopped, looking confused before he too his face became dumbstruck.

“What?” Harriet asked, bemused too at their reactions.

“Y-your forehead! That—that scar!” stammered George, still looking shocked, but now more amazed than aghast.

“Are you…? You’re Harriet Potter, aren’t you?!” exclaimed Fred in awe.

Harriet felt her face growing hot and knew she was starting to blush.

“I—well—yes,” she replied.

She felt anxious now like she had in the Leaky Cauldron and in Ollivander’s that summer when the Hogwarts game-keeper, a giant man named Rubeus Hagrid, had taken her to Diagon Alley, a wizarding shopping district in London for her school supplies. Everyone had known who she was there as well.

Fred and George continued to gawk, Harriet looking around a little nervously.

“Well, y-your family’s waiting, I won’t keep you,” she said before ushering them out of the compartment. She shut the door and flopped down into one of the seats, heaving a sigh. “Hagrid was right…” she mumbled under her breath. “Everyone does know my name…”

She looked out the window but ducked as she realised the Weasley family was standing right below her. She felt her blush grow as she heard the twins re-join the group.

“Mum!” she heard Fred say. “That girl we helped get onto the platform! Know who she is?!”

“Who?” asked Mrs Weasley, sounding distracted.

“Harriet Potter!” said George.

Immediately the younger girl, Ginny, started talking. Harriet could almost picture her tugging her mom’s sleeve in her excitement.

"She is?!" Ginny asked in a shrill voice. “Mum, can I go see her? I want to—”

“No, Ginny,” said Mrs Weasley, disapproving. "She's not a circus attraction to be ogled! Is she really?" she asked. "How do you know?"

“She told us, even showed us the scar!” answered Fred, excitedly.

“Oh, the poor dear,” Mrs Weasley went on, her voice full of concern. “I wondered what she was doing here alone, and she was so polite—the poor thing…”

“Do you think she remembers You-Know-Who at all?” asked Fred. Immediately Mrs Weasley’s voice changed to waspish outrage.

“I forbid you to ask her, Fred! As if she needs reminding of that on her first day at Hogwarts! Now, here, I’ve packed you all your sandwiches. Be good you two,” she said in a dangerous tone. “If I hear one word about you having blown up a toilet or—”

“Blown up a toilet? We’ve never blown up a toilet!” said George, disgruntled.

“Great idea though, thanks, Mum!” said Fred.

She heard the sound of feet pattering away on the pavement and Mrs Weasley calling after the twins.

Harriet sighed, staring up at the ceiling as she heard the conductors slamming the doors of the train shut. She watched out the window as the train started to chug to life, slowly pulling away from the platform. Ginny was running along with the train, a little further back, waving and obviously crying before she ran out of platform and had to stop.

Harriet sat back, trying to wrap her head around all that had happened. She was going! She was going to Hogwarts. A school for people like her and no Dudley and his gang to antagonise her.

The door to her compartment slid open, and Harriet looked to see Ronnie standing in the doorway. She looked embarrassed glancing down the corridor before looking back at Harriet.

“S-sorry,” Ronnie said looking anxious. “But everywhere else is full… c—can I join you?” she asked.

Harriet smiled and nodded. Ronnie looked relieved and took a seat opposite of Harriet, looking at her contemplatively.

“Are you really Harriet Potter…?” Ronnie asked abruptly, with the same air of scepticism in her voice that her mother had used.

Harriet nodded.

“The scar and everything?”

Harriet just pulled her hair back to show her.

Ronnie gaped with an open mouth. “Wow… I mean—sorry—didn’t mean to sound all doubting I just… Fred and George are sort of jokesters, so you kinda…”

“Yeah, I got that impression,” Harriet smiled. “Is your whole family wizards?” she asked, her curiosity at this obviously “Wizarding family,” like she’d heard about, starting to win her over.

“Oh yeah,” said Ronnie in a bored tone. “Well, I think I have an uncle who’s an accountant, but we never talk about him. Is it true you were brought up by Muggles?”

“Yeah, my aunt and uncle,” Harriet replied.

“What are they like?”

“Horrible,” Harriet answered. “Well my aunt and uncle are, but lots of Muggles are nice. Like one of our neighbours, Mrs Figg. She’s a bit batty—and okay I never really have much fun when I’m over there—but she is really nice all the same.”

Ronnie nodded still seeming awestruck.

“So what’s it like, growing up in a Wizarding family?”

Ronnie shrugged. “It’s alright, not sure how to compare it. My family’s huge; you only met part of my brothers. There’s my eldest brother, Bill. He’s already left Hogwarts, and he’s now a curse-breaker for Gringotts working in Egypt. My second eldest brother, Charlie’s, also left already; he’s studying dragons in Romania—”

“Dragons?!” Harriet exclaimed, starting to feel overwhelmed by the talk of dragons. Hagrid had spoken about wanting one as a pet that summer.

“Yeah,” said Ronnie with an indifferent shrug. “Then there’s Percy who you met. That’s about as cheery as he ever gets…” she muttered under her breath. “And then there’s Fred and George of course—”

“You called, little sis?” came Fred’s voice from the doorway. The twins were back and grinned at Harriet.

“Well nice to see you two found each other,” said George.

“Should’ve known our butch little sister would make the real first move,” Fred said in a taunting tone that made Ronnie go as red as her hair.

“Shut up,” said Ronnie getting up and starting to push them out. “It was you two—”

Fred and George simply chuckled and ruffled her hair. “Come on little sis, we’re just having some fun with you,” Fred sighed.

“Yeah,” said George, “anyway, just wanted to say if either of you needs us we'll be down the back end of the train, Lee's got a giant tarantula he's trying to smuggle in. See you Harriet, Ronal—”

He started to say in one last taunt, but Ronnie gave a final shove and pushed both out into the corridor, slamming the door after them and dropping back into her seat grumbling.

“Sorry about that,” said Ronnie brushing her bangs back out of her eyes.

“You should see my cousin,” said Harriet, pointing to her glasses with the cello-taped bridge. Ronnie looked with raised eyebrows.

“Did he do that?” she asked shocked. “Boys are such jerks…” she grumbled crossing her arms.

Harriet twisted her mouth a little sympathetically before more curiosity overtook her.

“So… was he about to call you ‘Ronald’…?” Harriet asked, but regretted it immediately upon seeing Ronnie’s face go bright red again.

“Oh, well, long story… anyway, yeah that’s Fred and George,” she said changing the subject rapidly. “And you met Ginny, my younger sister. She and I get on pretty well, I mean we’re the only two girls, after all, so we kinda stick together,” Ronnie said before she sighed looking out the window as the train moved along.

“I guess I’ve got a lot to live up to… Bill was head-boy. Charlie was captain of his Quidditch team. Percy's a prefect, while Fred and George cause a lot of trouble, but they’re really popular and get good marks, so everyone loves them. But I’m the first girl in our family, so I feel like I have to do it all, too…” Ronnie went on still looking out the window though she suddenly looked back.

“It’s not all been bad though, at least I get newer clothes. Fred and George have mostly had to get hand-me-downs, though it does make them a bit jealous sometimes I think. And I mean I like them, but we don’t get on much. I did get handed down Percy’s rat though, Scabbers,” Ronnie said and reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a rat. If Harriet couldn’t see him breathing slowly, she'd have thought he was dead.

“He’s useless though; just sleeps all the time,” Ronnie stuffed the rat back in her pocket and sighed.

Harriet sighed too. “I don’t know, I guess I have a lot to live up to too, but I don’t know what or how really. Everyone seems to know me, and they say I’m famous, but I don’t even remember what I’m supposed to be famous for.”

Ronnie looked up curiously. “Nothing at all?”

“No,” said Harriet. “Well, I remember a lot of green but other than that no, nothing. Not until Hagrid finally told me all about being a wizard and what happened to my parents and Voldemort anyway.” Harriet admitted honestly.

At the name ‘Voldemort,’ Ronnie let out a gasp and a squeak that Harriet didn’t quite think suited her. Ronnie jumped so severely, her rat, Scabbers, hopped out of her pocket and down onto the seat, where he immediately fell asleep again.

“What?” asked Harriet, her heart racing, Ronnie’s reaction having also startled her.

“You said his name! Out loud!”

“Who, Vold—”

Ronnie hissed a little at even just the first syllable of the name, so Harriet didn’t finish the word.

“S-sorry,” stuttered Ronnie, looking both impressed and still slightly terrified. “I mean you’d just think that you, out of anyone, would have the hardest time saying his name!”

Harriet merely shrugged. “I told you, I don’t know anything about the Wizarding world, or any of the rules, I have so much to learn… I just know I’m going to be awful at everything…”

“Nah. Honestly, I probably don’t know any more magic than you do. I mean yeah I’ve grown up seeing magic, but I’ve never actually been able to perform it.”

“Why not?”

“Blimey, we’re not allowed to do magic outside of school! And I only just got my wand anyway,” she said and drew it out, examining it wearily. “It’s not new either. It’s Charlie’s old one. He just got himself a new one.”

Harriet nodded, trying to hide the fact that even someone from what was apparently an ‘old wizarding family,’ didn’t know any more magic than she did had cheered her up considerably. She returned her attention to the window and realised how far they had travelled in such a short amount of time. Harriet took the time to ask Ronnie some questions, which Ronnie seemed only too happy to answer when she could.

“So, where is Hogwarts, exactly?” Harriet asked.

Ronnie shrugged. “Don’t know exactly. I mean, never been there before either, have I? It’s way north though, train ride takes about eight and a half hours I’ve heard, so it’d have to be in Scotland I’d say. Has a lake by it, in the wild, miles away from Muggles.”

Harriet nodded, absorbing the information.

“It’s a great big castle,” Ronnie went on. “Tall towers and gates and all that. Ghosts and other things all over. I’ve tried to ask Charlie the most about what it’s like, because Percy’s just a know-it-all prat, and Fred and George… you can guess how reliable anything they tell you is.”

Harriet smiled and nodded. “I’ve never seen a castle before; I’ve hardly ever even left Privet Drive where I grew up, except to go to school or… zoos…” Harriet muttered the last word, the memory of that odd and unpleasant day still uncomfortable.

“What are Muggle neighbourhoods like?” Ronnie asked.

Harriet shrugged now. “Boring. Privet Drive is, anyway. Little cookie-cutter houses that all look the same all squished in together with little matching gardens.”

“What was Muggle school like?” Ronnie asked, becoming even more interested.

“Lousy. Mostly because of my cousin. Biggest and meanest kid in the school, and he hates, me so naturally everyone else did too.”

Ronnie scowled at this. Indeed, Harriet was quite sure Ronnie was contemplating how to reach all the way back to London and punch Dudley in the face. Harriet found herself amused that once again she was seeing herself being the one answering more questions than asking.

“Not sure what you want to know about Muggles so much for…” Harriet said, amused.

Ronnie shrugged and blushed. “Oh, Dad likes them. Okay, that’s an understatement; he loves them. Guess in small ways it’s caught on. Dad likes their gizmos and how they make things work without magic.”

Harriet nodded and smiled. “Ah okay, and here I am wondering how magical people possibly do anything without stuff like electricity!”

They giggled a little at this before the moment was interrupted as the compartment door slid open, and a kind-faced witch peered in smiling.

“Care for something from the cart, my dears?” she asked.

Harriet, who hadn’t eaten all day, and now had a pocket full of coins, nearly sprang to her feet. Ronnie grimaced, looking at the bag of sandwiches her mother had given her, sitting, until then, forgotten beside her.

“I’m good…” she muttered in an ever-suffering voice.

Harriet had never been able to buy things like candy and snacks at the Dursleys. She had never had a friend to share anything with, either. Her pocket jingling, she stepped into the corridor to look at the cart.

Her jaw fell open at the spectacle. The cart was overflowing, though not with the usual treats Harriet had to force herself not to stare at when Aunt Petunia took her to the grocers. Instead, it was laden with sweets like Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Cauldron Cakes, Chocolate Frogs, and Pumpkin Pasties.

Unable to choose, Harriet just took a bit of everything, paid the witch, and turned back into the compartment. Ronnie’s eyes goggled at the sight of all the sweets.

“A bit peckish, maybe?” Ronnie asked, sounding amused.

“I’m famished,” Harriet replied as she dumped the food onto the seat. She picked up one of the Pumpkin Pasties and tore open the wrapper before taking a large bite. Ronnie meanwhile had opened the bag of sandwiches and grimaced again.

“All dry already…”

“Here, have a pasty then!” Harriet beamed handing one over to Ronnie.

Ronnie blushed brightly. “Oh, no that’s alright.”

“Oh please, take one. I’ve… well… I’ve never had anyone to share anything with before, or, anything to share really.”

Ronnie looked as though she was still inclined to refuse, but her stomach won out, and she relented. Before long they were laughing and chatting as they tried everything. As they talked, Harriet felt warmer and happier than she'd ever felt in her life, and as she looked at the tall red-headed girl sitting across from her, Harriet could not help but realise that she had, without even trying, just made the first real friend in her life.

The snacks were as fun to investigate as they were to eat. Harriet was relieved to discover the chocolate frogs were not in fact real frogs, and she had a lot of fun looking through the cards that came with the frogs, which Ronnie said were collectable. Her first was the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, who gave Harriet a considerable shock by walking out of his picture on the card and back again a few minutes later. It amused Harriet that Ronnie was just as amazed when Harriet told her that in non-magical pictures the subjects didn’t move at all.

The most fun, however, was the Every Flavour Beans, which quickly turned into a game of dare, Harriet and Ronnie daring each other to try different coloured beans to see what their flavour was.

Ronnie was now explaining the rules of Quidditch and all about her favourite team when the door to their compartment opened again, and a boy about their age walked in. He looked as though he’d been crying and didn’t seem to see them clearly at first through his watery eyes.

“Excuse me, but have any of you seen a to—”

The boy paused after wiping his eyes, and he seemed to finally register he was in a compartment with two girls, at which point his face immediately went scarlet, and he bolted from the compartment, not even shutting the door behind him. Harriet and Ronnie stared after him, utterly bewildered.

“Well, that was…”

“Different,” concluded Harriet with a nod. “I wonder who, or what he’s looking for…?”

“No idea,” said Ronnie with a shrug before getting up and sliding the compartment door shut again. She had barely sat back down when the compartment door flung open again, and another girl stepped in with the round-faced boy from a minute ago in tow behind her. She was about Harriet’s height but had thick, bushy brown hair, brown eyes, her two front teeth were somewhat more prominent than the others, and she had already put on her robes.

“Have either of you two seen a toad anywhere? Neville here has lost one,” the new girl asked. Her tone was self-important and impatient, but not snooty.

“Oh, is that what you were looking for?” Harriet asked, smiling at Neville while trying to sound polite, though he looked as though he wanted to fall through the floor of the train and disappear forever.

“A toad…? Why would you want to find it if it’s lost?” Ronnie asked.

Harriet shot a sideways look at Ronnie, having thought the question a bit rude given how upset Neville looked but was surprised to see the innocent look on Ronnie’s face. Well, I have my first best friend anyway, she thought, tactless, but my friend.

Harriet looked and saw the new girl had a somewhat disapproving look on her face as well.

"Well, I was only trying to help him, and I was only asking if you had seen one, not your opinion of toads altogether,” she said, her eyes finding Scabbers. “Though I see you have a rat, which is every bit as out of vogue, so I’m not really sure you have all that much room to talk.”

Ronnie’s ears went pink, and she looked a little mollified. “Sorry,” she muttered.

The new girl turned back to Harriet. “I’m Hermione Granger. You must be Harriet Potter; I see your scar.”

“Er—I—yeah,” Harriet said, feeling a bit of an ever-suffering tone in her voice as she brushed her bangs back down to cover the scar.

“I’ve read all about you of course,” the girl named Hermione went on. “You were in a few of the extra books I got in Diagon Alley: Modern Magical History, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century…”

“I am?” Harriet asked in astonishment.

“Oh, of course!” Hermione exclaimed. “How could you not be? So you were brought up by Muggles? My parents are Muggles. I didn’t know anyone in my family was magic. Pretty much none of them are, except for one of my cousins in France, though I’ve never really seen her that much.

“She’s going to Beauxbatons, which wouldn’t have been so bad to go to, or to Rathlin—though Rathlin’s really exclusive of course, and you have to have attended the primary school there to be eligible for the academy—but for all-out magical schools none of them come close to Hogwarts, especially under Professor Dumbledore. He’s supposed to be the greatest Wizard of our age, maybe of all time, after all. And he was a Gryffindor too which is the house I hope I get, though Ravenclaw wouldn’t be so bad. Anyway, we’d better go off and find your toad, Neville.”

Without another word or even a glance back, Hermione turned and dragged Neville back out of the compartment after her. Harriet and Ronnie stared after them for a moment.

“Well… she was certainly…”

“Spirited.” Harriet finished for Ronnie, trying to be polite.

“Er, yeah, that’s the word for it,” Ronnie said though Harriet was more than reasonably sure that was not the word she was going to use. Harriet looked out the window again. The train was starting to move up some mountains, and she could just see the tracks of the train behind them as they rounded a corner. It reminded Harriet of something.

“So, your brother Charlie, you said he works with dragons?”

“Oh yeah, he’s mental about them. Not that I blame him I mean they are fascinating aren’t they?” Ronnie asked with a shrug.

Harriet shrugged in return. “I suppose,” she replied sheepishly. “It’s just, I mean growing up I never heard about dragons all that much. Muggles think they’re just out of fairy stories. Now . I feel like I’ve heard about them more in the—like—two days or so I’ve spent with other witches and wizards than I have my whole life! The school’s game-keeper, Hagrid, who took me to Diagon Alley, said they had them at Gringotts even and how much he wanted one as a pet.”

At the last comment, Ronnie choked a little on the chocolate frog she had just tried to swallow. “‘Wanted one as a pet?’ He’s mental! Dragons are dangerous! They’re terrifying, dirty-great lizards with spines and great big fangs and claws that fly and breathe fire!”

Harriet shrugged. “Well, Hagrid himself is about twice as tall as a normal person so if anyone could it looks like he could be the one to handle one.”

Ronnie shook her head still in disbelief. She glowered at the door as it slid open yet again. But this time, it was not the round-faced boy Neville or the bushy-haired Hermione. This boy was thin and pale-skinned, with nearly white, blonde hair. Harriet had met this boy before, though she did not know his name. She met him in Diagon Alley in the robe-fitting shop. It was him who told Harriet that people from non-magical families shouldn’t come to Hogwarts. She had disliked him from the start.

This time he had two other boys with him. And instead of bored disinterest, he was looking at Harriet with almost hungry curiosity.

“So, you’re her are you? Harriet Potter…?” Draco Malfoy muttered in a way that Harriet wasn’t exactly sure if he was asking her or appraising her.

“Yes, yes I am,” Harriet said.

If she hadn’t liked Malfoy’s tone and look much back in Madame Malkin’s, she definitely didn’t like it now. She watched the boy’s eyes move up to her forehead, squinting trying to see the scar through her fringe which was still covering it, before moving down over the rest of her too. The feeling made her shiver.

“Malfoy, Draco Malfoy,” The boy said extending a hand.

Harriet didn’t take it. She gave Ronnie a sideways glance and noted the look of distaste on her face as she appraised Malfoy and the other two boys.

“And who’re these two gorillas?” Ronnie asked gruffly. Malfoy turned his eyes to her.

“This is Crabbe, and this is Goyle,” said Malfoy dismissively as he turned his scrutinising face to Ronnie. “And you are…?”

“Weasley,” Ronnie declared glaring. “Ronnie Weasley.”

“Weasley,” Malfoy said, saying the name with much the same expression Ronnie had worn when she ate a sprout Every Flavour Bean earlier. “So the family finally produced something other than a boy did it? Well at least that’ll help save on food bills and housework then won’t it?” Malfoy said lazily.

Ronnie’s face went red with mingled rage and shock, and Harriet was quite sure hers had gone a similar shade.

“You see, Potter—if that is who you are—there are good wizarding families, and bad ones. Good wizarding families, like mine, have a proper pride in their lineage and place in the world. Other wizarding families, however…” Malfoy muttered the last part under his breath and shot a sideways glance at Ronnie. Harriet felt her temper breaking.

“I think I can tell who ‘good’ and ‘bad’ wizards are all on my own,” she said with a slight snarl that wiped the smirk off Malfoy’s face entirely.

“You’d better watch that temper, it can get you into trouble, you know? Potter was a pure-blood family until your mother. You should have your proper pride too unless your mother truly did pollute that. Or maybe you aren't Potter after all? Crabbe, Goyle, check her for her scar," Malfoy ordered.

Crabbe and Goyle stepped forward, and Harriet and Ronnie leapt to their feet. Harriet and Ronnie raised their fists, but at that moment Crabbe’s right knee buckled and he toppled to the floor with a crash. He rolled over, stupidly looking towards the door. The rest spun around as well.

In the doorway, Harriet could see two more boys. They were both about the same height as Malfoy, but one had brownish-red hair and brown eyes, while the other had long, dark brown hair, tied back in a ponytail, and blue eyes. The brown-eyed one was putting some of his weight back on a club-headed walking stick with which he had apparently just jabbed Crabbe in the back of the knee.

Both boys were glaring at Malfoy. Harriet saw Crabbe get back to his feet and take a step towards the boy with the stick, but Malfoy held out a hand to stay him. As Harriet watched, she saw Crabbe’s eyes move to the other boy’s face, the stick, and his leg, and an inexplicable smirk spread across his otherwise gormless face.

“So,” said the blue-eyed boy with a distinct Scottish accent. “Think it’s alright forcing your will on young lassies eh?” he growled.

“Aye,” said the other boy, his Irish accent contrasting to his companion’s. “It’s a bit more gentlemanly to ask a lady when you have a request, and if she turns you down, it’s just as gentlemanly to honour it.”

Malfoy looked at the two appraisingly, then back at Harriet and Ronnie, who had both drawn their wands rather than their fists. Outnumbered now, he seemed to think better of the situation.

“Crabbe, Goyle, come. This place stinks of blood traitors and Muggle-lovers now…” he muttered, and they slouched off, Crabbe continuing to smirk at the boy with the walking stick as he made his way out, who glared back.

The blue-eyed boy turned to Harriet and Ronnie.

“You two okay?” he asked concerned.

Harriet opened her mouth to reply when Ronnie cut in. “We didn’t need your help, we’re not helpless little girls,” she barked, shortly. Harriet looked at her aghast as the boy took a step back, looking wounded.

“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to offend, we were just walking down the hall and heard what Malfoy was saying, it had nothing to do with you two being girls, honest.”

“Aye, woulda done just the same had ye been lads, too,” said the boy with the stick.

Ronnie did look a little abashed.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean… sorry,” she muttered and sat down.

The two boys seemed to collect themselves and smiled again.

“It’s alright,” the blue-eyed boy said again. “No harm was done, yeah? I’m Scott, Scott McIntyre,” he said and held out a hand to Ronnie who shook it.

“Aye, and I’m Kieran O’Brien,” the other said giving an awkward bow.

“So, what did Malfoy mean by ‘Blood trait—’” Harriet started to ask before being cut off by the bushy-haired Hermione re-entering the now quite cramped compartment.

“What have you all been doing? You haven’t been starting fights, have you? You're all going to be in trouble before we even start! Er, I’m Hermione Granger by the way,” she said to Kieran and Scott who smiled and introduced themselves to her in return.

“And, er, and I’m Harriet,” Harriet piped up, and the two boys looked at her and nodded.

“Aye, we kinda figured that overhearing Malfoy,” the boy named Kieran said.

“Oh, right,” Harriet said.

“Is that a shillelagh?” Hermione asked looking at Kieran’s walking stick.

Kieran smiled in an impressed way. “That it is,” he said holding it out to her. She took it looking at it with scrutiny.

“Is it magical?” she asked curiously.

“Aye, Scott cousin made it fer me this summer. I’d outgrown my last walking stick. I can make a Protego charm with it, and some others, but I’m not quite up to it yet. It’ll also grow with me as I do, and repels dirt and all sorts!” Kieran went on excitedly, while Scott looked at it with a little pride. “I got me wand there too; it reacted to me. It’s brother of Scott’s wand too.”

"Oh, are your family wand makers?" Hermione asked Scott, her eyes bright with interest.

Scott smiled. “Yeah, but we’ve never been flash about it like Ollivander is. It’s just a family thing for us.”

“So, what is a shilaylee whatsit, and why do you need it anyway?” Ronnie asked bluntly.

Kieran chuckled. “It’s a shillelagh; ancient Irish walking stick, and weapon, of sorts. And I need it cuz I got me a bum leg,” Kieran explained patting his leg.

“I had thought it looked club-like, yeah,” Ronnie said.

Hermione piped up again. “Well fascinating as this all is, I’ve just spoken to the driver, and we’re going to be there soon. You’d all better get changed!” she reiterated, and Harriet watched Ronnie give an eye roll out of the corner of her eye as Hermione turned and left the compartment again, looking flustered. Scott and Kieran looked after her slightly bemused.

“Well, uh, it was nice meeting you Harriet, Ronnie,” said Scott politely.

“Aye, we’ll see you around, yeah? Maybe even be in the same house?” Kieran said with a hopeful tone.

“Well, they seemed nice,” Harriet said after the two boys left.

“Yeah, nice blokes,” Ronnie said in agreement. “So, you’d already met Malfoy?”

“Yeah, in Diagon Alley; going on about how people from Muggle families shouldn’t be allowed in Hogwarts.”

Ronnie glowered. “I’ve heard about his family from Dad; long history of dark wizards, there. He’ll be in Slytherin; I’ll bet you a thousand galleons. Well, if I follow my family lineage at least I won’t be in the same house with him…”

“What house is your family, er, ‘lineage’?” Harriet asked as she drew her robes from her trunk.

“Gryffindor,” Ronnie answered in a bored voice. “Mum and Dad were, Bill was, Charlie was, Percy, Fred and George are… you get the idea. Anyway, I’m pretty sure it’s where I’ll end up but, honestly, even Hufflepuff I wouldn’t mind compared to Slytherin. It’s a pretty nice house, to be honest; if you listen to the actual description of what students in Hufflepuff are like."

“Heh, that’s what Hagrid said,” Harriet said.

Having Ronnie agree with someone as kind-hearted as Hagrid had the effect of cheering Harriet up considerably. Ronnie’s apparent quick temper had made her a little worried, but then she reminded herself that perhaps it was more of a chip on her shoulders than outright being easy to anger. It was probably something her brothers, who seemed to have a penchant for teasing her, had played more than one hand in as well.

They jumped as a loud, disembodied voice announced the train would be arriving in five minutes. They hurriedly packed away the remainder of the snacks, Ronnie stuffed Scabbers back in her pocket, and they joined the other students in the corridor as the train finally came to a halt.

Harriet felt as though her whole body had gone numb with nervousness. Ronnie was looking a little green too. They lurched forward as they finally filed off the train. It was dark already, something she hadn’t noticed inside the brightly lit train, but now the night seemed to weigh in on her from all directions.

She jumped again when a loud, though friendly, voice started calling for the first years. She and Ronnie made their way over to the voice and Harriet beamed seeing Hagrid’s grinning, hairy face as he waved to her. She returned it, drawing many rather impressed looks from the other first-years around her who naturally found Hagrid rather imposing (much as she had when first meeting him) before he turned and called for them all to follow him.

They followed him warily, going down a steep, winding path. Then the dark trees on either side of them broke, and they saw a lake. A wave of gasps and “oohs” went through the group, as they all looked up and saw, across the lake from them, its many windows blazing in the night, a castle. So that’s Hogwarts, Harriet thought to herself.

It was more than she had ever imagined. Ronnie’s description had done it no justice. It should have looked foreboding, she reminded herself, but it didn’t. Instead, it filled her with a sense of excitement, a sense of adventure, and an odd sense of belonging. I think I’m going to like it here… she thought to herself as they approached the lake.

Hagrid shepherded them down to the edge of the lake where a horde of boats was lined up and waiting. She and Ronnie climbed into one and to Ronnie’s annoyance so did Hermione and the boy Neville who’d lost his toad. Neville was still sniffling and looking thoroughly miserable. Harriet waved to Kieran and Scott who were in the boat next to theirs. With a shout, Hagrid had them off, the vessels seeming to propel themselves after his boat, of which he was the only occupant.

Harriet grew fainter and fainter as the boats approached the shore. After anticipating the start of the school year for the whole month of August, and despite her initial excitement at finally seeing the castle, Harriet wasn’t sure she was quite ready for this. She tilted her head back to keep the school in view as they made it to the cliff before Hagrid called for them all to get down as they sailed underneath low hanging rocks and ivy, into a large tunnel. It took them to a small pool where they parked the boats and climbed got out.

“Heyup, someone lose a toad?” Hagrid called curiously. Neville exclaimed in joy and ran forward, picking up the toad.

“It’s Trevor!” he cried and stuck the toad into his pocket as Hagrid smiled down at him and turned with his lamp and lead them up another passageway onto the grounds of the castle itself. They crossed the grounds and came to a broad set of stone stairs. As Hagrid climbed them and reached the doors, he lifted his giant fist and pounded on the door once, twice, three times. In an instant, the high doors finally swung open and filled the stairway with light.