Chapter 14 - Hogwarts Express

(Word Count: 3,111)

Harry, Sirius, and Remus apparated over to the Granger's backyard at 10 O'clock the day of departure. Hermione must have heard the series of pops because Harry could hear her shouting, “Mum! They're here! They're here!” excitedly.

This past month had gone by quickly, with frequent visits to help Hermione learn magic and wizarding culture. It did put a damper on things when they learned about the still-prevalent racism against the muggleborn. The parents nearly refused to let her go to Hogwarts. Sirius and Harry had to assure them of their positions, Harry's future positions, in the Wizengamot and that there were good people fighting against rampant prejudice. But it was ultimately Hermione that convinced them. She couldn't give up the chance to learn magic. It was too, well, magical.

The three wizards stood on the Granger's back porch and went to knock, but the door was yanked open by an excited Hermione.

“Harry! You're here!” She crashed into Harry in a hug.

“Oof!” Harry staggered a bit, but caught her. He hugged her back, nestling his head against hers. Her hair smelled like flowers.

She pulled back, “Harry, can you believe it? We're going to Hogwarts today!”

“Someone's excited!” Sirius laughed.

Emma came to the door with a smile. “She's been pacing back and forth all morning. Please, come on in. We're already done packing everything.”

“Then, pardon the intrusion,” Remus said politely as we entered.

“We can't stay for too long though, the train will be leaving in about an hour. If we take too long, there won't be any seats for the kids,” Sirius said.

Hermione's father, Dan, was coming down the stairs hauling Hermione's trunk.

“Ah! You're here! I think we have everything ready, now it's just a matter of getting to the station,” he said, placing the trunk by the front door. “We're going to use your teleporting, right?”

“Apparition, yes. We'll be appearing on the magical side of King's Cross,” Remus confirmed.

“And they'll only arrive at night?” Dan shook his head in exasperation. “I still don't get why we don't just pop straight on over to the school, if wizards have such fast means of travel. Why spend the entire day on a train?”

“Most wizards can't apparate over such a distance. We could technically use the floo to get to Hogsmead, the town outside of Hogwarts, but it's a tradition to give the students time to socialize and make their first circle of friends. It's how I became friends with Harry's father,” Sirius explained.

Dan clapped his hands together, “Right.” He looked at Emma. “We best be off then.”

“Here, let me get that trunk for you.” Remus stepped forward and pulled out his wand. “Reducio!”

The trunk shrunk down to the size of a matchbox. He picked it up from the ground and handed it to hermione. 

“Dan, you'll ride side-along with me, Emma, you'll go with Remus, and Hermione will go with Harry. Harry, you're okay with bringing someone else with you, right?” Sirius asked.

Harry stopped himself from rolling his eyes. “Yes, Sirius. It's not that hard.”

He had long since learned how to apparate, and with his high Control, he had no fear of accidentally splinching himself. When he had learned how to do it, Dumbledore even came with him to get his apparition license, which is how he had completed that Magic Quest.

He held out his arm for Hermione.

She took his arm nervously, “I've read it's nauseating, like being squeezed through a tube.”

“Don't worry, Hermione, it's very quick. I'll put in some extra power to make your first time gentler,” Harry comforted. Sirius chortled, but before he could say anything inappropriate, Remus elbowed him.

“What? We were all thinking it,” Sirius said defensively.

Harry shot him a glare, “I'll meet you guys there.”

He apparated out.

As his perk said, the apparition was an easy and instant experience. They popped out on the magical side of King's Cross station. Before them was a huge crowd of people. Students and parents were bustling, saying goodbyes, trying to find other family members, loading up luggage, and so on. Beyond them was a large steam train, in a brilliant shade of red. The Hogwarts Express.

“Oh, that wasn’t bad at all! Were they just trying to scare me?” Hermione asked. 

“No, that’s just a perk of traveling with me. Come on, Hermione, let’s clear the landing area.” They stepped to the side, to wait for their family.

Just moments later, a chastized looking Sirius popped in with Dan, then Remus and Emma. Dan and Emma both looked nauseous, and they had to take a moment to catch their breath. We caught their eye, and they came over.

Emma looked nearly in tears when she pulled Hermione into a hug. “Oh! This is it, isn’t it? My little girl’s going off to school!”

Dan pulled Harry aside, “Hermione's the most important thing in the world to me. With her going off to boarding school, in a world we barely understand, I won't be there to protect her if she needs me. I'll be relying on you to take care of her, Harry.”

“Don't worry, sir. I won't let anything happen to her,” Harry said.

Dan nodded and they shook hands. “You're a fine young man, Harry. Thank you for this past month.” With that, Dan went to his wife and daughter.

Harry went to Sirius and Remus, who were standing a bit to the side.

“It sucks that Dora's not here. I only have your ugly mugs to say goodbye to,” Harry joked. Dora couldn't come see him off because she was now in training to become an Auror. They had to say goodbye much sooner than he had wanted. It's the same way with Ginny and Luna. He knew that the Weasleys would arrive on the hour of the train leaving, so he had visited them the day before to give a proper goodbye to his other friends.

Sirius pretended to be hurt over the insult. “Hey, you can't diss this rugged charm.”

Remus just gave Harry a hug. “We'll miss you, Harry. You are an uncommonly kind young man, just like your mother.”

Sirius dropped the charade and also hugged him. “We'll see you over winter break, yeah?”

“Of course.”

At this point, some people noticed Harry among them, and a murmur went out in the crowd. “That's our cue. Best be off, then!” Harry said. People started to crowd towards them, so before they could get overwhelmed, both he and Hermione ran to board the train.

“Phew! That could have gotten pretty bad!” Harry said when they shut the doors behind them. They were now in the corridor of the train.

Hermione looked a bit pale. “You know, I've read about your fame in the books and newspapers, but I didn't realize that it would be quite that bad. It wasn't like that at Diagon Alley, wasn't it?”

“No, but people weren't expecting me to show up on a random day at the Alley. I'm willing to bet that half of those people showed up just to see me. It did seem overly crowded on the platform. I'm sorry about that.”

“It's not your fault, Harry,” Hermione comforted. “Come on, let's find a compartment.”

Together, they made their way down the train. Some of the older students pointed them down to the section for the first years.

Some of the kids murmured as they passed. 

“No way, is that Harry Potter?” 

“Who's that girl next to him?”

Eventually, Harry spotted a boy sitting by himself in one compartment, and he stopped. Neville Longbottom. He was a bit of a pudgy boy, but there wasn't anything wrong with that. He sat, looking out of the window to the station. He hadn't noticed them.

In many of the fanfics Harry had read in his last life, Neville would usually be his godbrother, through their mothers. Perhaps they were in other parallel worlds, but unfortunately in this one, they weren't. Their mother's were likely friends, as both the Longbottoms and the Potters worked in the Order of the Phoenix under Dumbledore, but Sirius was the only godparent he had.

Still, no matter the relations, Neville Longbottom was a great boy turned man in the books. In their first year, when Neville was his least confident, he had stood up to the golden trio when they were about to break the school rules. When the golden trio went on the run in their 7th year, it was Neville that led the resistance inside Hogwarts.

That's the kind of person that Harry would love to be friends with.

“Let's sit here,” Harry said.

Hermione glanced through the window to see Neville. She didn't see anything strange, so she agreed. Harry knocked on the door, catching Neville's attention.

Neville jumped a bit and looked at them through the window, and nervously came to open the door. “H-hello?”

“Hello, we were looking for a place to sit for the trip. Do you mind if we share compartments? I have one more friend on the way, but he'll be arriving on the hour, I imagine,” Harry asked politely.

“Y-yeah, I don't mind. Come in,” Neville stepped aside, letting them in. “Where’s your luggage?”

“Shrunken. Speaking of, Hermione, do you want me to unshrink your trunk? You'll need to get your school robes out sometime during the trip.”

“Oh, yes. Thank you, Harry.” Over the course of the last month together, Hermione had gotten used to him casting spells beyond the first year level. She took out the match-box sized trunk and placed it on the floor by the door.

A simple “Engorgio,” and the trunk was full sized again. He levitated it up into the storage above them.

“Woah! That was amazing! I don't think that was a first year spell! Where'd you learn that?” Neville marveled.

“I studied from my mum's old books, though I had help learning from my godfather. Anyway, it’s nice to meet you. My name's Harry Potter.”

“Y-yeah, you're pretty easily recognizable, Potter. You're amazing, being able to cast such complicated spells already. My name's Neville Longbottom, not really anything special compared to… well, anyone.”

“Don't be so harsh on yourself, Neville,” Harry said. “I'd love to be your friend, if you'll have me.”

Neville's eyes bugged out. “What? You want to be friends with m-me?”

“Well, why not?”

“B-but I… well I'm barely a wizard compared to you!” He blurted out, face turning red from embarrassment.

“That's nonsense. You're here aren't you?” 

Hermione was just standing to the side awkwardly, not really knowing how to place herself in the conversation. She wasn't used to socializing, and didn't want to ruin her chance to make another friend. Neville did seem to struggle making friends as well, so they had that in common at least. Harry noticed her standing awkwardly, and introduced her.

“Neville, this is my good friend, Hermione Granger. We met a month ago when we were shopping in Diagon Alley. She's brilliant.” Hermione blushed faintly at the compliments, but nodded in greeting.

“It's nice to meet you, Neville,” she said.

With the introductions out of the way, they all sat down. Neville was on one side, and Harry and Hermione on the other.

“Is your family all wizards, Neville?” Hermione asked.

“Yes, we're all wizards. Though, they thought that I wouldn't be,” Neville murmured the last part, but they still heard it.

“Why wouldn’t they?” Hermione asked.

Neville blushed in embarrassment. “They thought I was a squib. I didn't show any signs of accidental magic, not until my uncle dropped me out a window.”

Hemione gasped in horror. “O-oh! They dropped you out the window! Why would they do that?”

Neville glowered at the ground, “He said that either I would awaken my magic, or die. Either way, I would stop being a shame on the Longbottom family name. That's how I first used magic, it softened the ground for me and I just bounced back up.”

Hermione went from horrified to sad to angry real quick. Harry spoke up. “It sounds to me that it is your uncle that's the shame on the Longbottom name. Any man willing to kill a child is no man at all. I'm sorry you had to go through that, Neville. And I'm sorry we brought back those memories.”

“Yes! I'm so sorry,” Hermione jumped in apologetically.

Neville sniffed back tears. “It's alright. It did get me to use magic, after all.”

The conversation trailed off to an awkward silence.

“Anyway, what house are you looking to get into?” Harry asked.

“All of my family's always been in Gryffindor, so I'm hoping to get in there as well,” Neville said, “I'm just not sure if I’m brave enough for it.”

Hermione perked up, happy to have something in common. “I want to go to Gryffindor as well! I've read that many of the greatest witches and wizards came from Gryffindor! Even the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore himself came from there!”

“Looks like we all agree!” Harry smiled. “Most of my family's been in Gryffindor as well, including my parents. I'm looking to go there as well.”

From there, the conversation continued on until it was nearly 11. From his window seat, Harry had been watching the platform for the Weasleys, and not even 5 minutes left till 11, they finally showed up. The whole gang of redheads came running through the entrance of the platform, with the twins at the lead. Percy came next, then Ron. Finally Mrs. Weasely came through with Ginny holding her mother's hand.

While the boys were rushing to get their luggage into the storage and their trunks aboard with them, Ginny was looking around searching for someone.

“Looks like they've arrived,” Harry said to Neville and Hermione, pointing the family out. He opened the window and waved them down. Mrs. Weasley saw him first and smiled back. Ginny lit up when she noticed, eagerly waving goodbye at him. Ron saw him, but was too busy unloading his trolly onto the train.

The Weasley boys hopped onto the train, leaving the trolleys on the platform for their mother to put away, just in time as the train lurched into motion. A few minutes later, Ron came into their compartment and crashed down onto the empty seat by Neville with a tired sigh.

“That was a close one, Ron! You nearly missed the train!” Harry said.

Ron groaned. “Tell me about it, mate. It's been like this every year with my older brothers, but it's much worse now that I actually need to get aboard!”

With Ron now here, Harry closed the blinds to the corridor windows so they wouldn't be disturbed.

“Anyway, Ron, these are my friends, Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger. I met Hermione about a month ago while shopping for school supplies at the Alley and she's brilliant. We've met Neville just now, but he's amazing as well. They want to join us in Gryffindor. Neville, Hermione, this is my friend, Ron Weasley.”

Ron grinned at them, “Yeah, we've met once or twice. How are you, Neville?”

“Good,” Neville said.

Hermione frowned a bit at Ron. “You've got a bit of dirt on your nose. Just there,” she pointed to the side of her nose. “Did you know?”

Embarrassed, Ron scrubbed the side of his nose to get the dirt off before giving Harry a look that said, “Is she serious?” He just shrugged in response.

As time went by on their trip, they did talk for a bit before things quieted down. Hermione pulled out a book to read, and Neville and Ron chose to take a nap. 

About midway through the trip, there was a knock on the door. Harry went and opened it, and there was the trolly witch. An elderly woman in an apron greeted him. “Anything from the trolly, dears?” She asked.

“No thanks, I'm all set,” Ron said, holding up the corned beef sandwich his mother had packed for him.

“I'll take a licorice wand, please,” Neville ordered.

“Nothing for me, thank you,” Hermione said.

“I'll take a couple of chocolate frogs and a box of Bert's Every Flavor Beans, please,” Harry said.

Ron groaned, “Not the bert’s beans, mate.”

“What? I got some chocolate frogs to get any bad taste out of your mouth!”

“What’s wrong with jelly beans?” Hermione asked.

“When they say ‘Every Flavor Bean,’ they mean every flavor!” Ron explained. “George swears he got a boogie flavor once!”

Hermione’s face scrunched in disgust. “Ugh! Why would anyone want that?”

Harry shrugged. “It's a fun game to see if you get a good flavor or a bad flavor. You want to play?”

“No, thank you,” she said curtly, and returned to her book. As the daughter of two dentists, she wasn't a big fan of candy in the first place, so she had no interest in candy that had such horrible flavors.

Harry shook the box at Ron and Neville. “What about you two? eh?”

Ron and Neville shared a glance. “Okay, fine. But you go first!” Ron said.

After getting hit with sweaty sock and toad skin flavors, Neville called it quits, queasily chewing a chocolate frog. Harry and Ron continued torturing their taste buds when the door slammed open.

Draco Malfoy and his goons, Crabbe and Goyle, stood there in the doorway. He glanced around and found Harry. Malfoy sneered. “Potter. There you are.” Malfoy looked at Neville and Ron and scoffed in disgust.

“Of course you would be making friends with a squib and a blood traitor. You really are a disgrace to the Black name. It's a shame that such an esteemed name is now being dragged through the mud.”

Harry stood up and confronted them at the door so they couldn't step in. “I don't know about that, Draco. Arcturus seemed quite eager to make me his heir to make sure you didn't inherit the Black title.”

Malfoy sneered, “you better watch your tone with me, Potter. Your godfather isn't here to protect you anymore.”

“And what will you do? You don't have daddy dearest to hide behind either,” Harry scoffed at Malfoy's threat. “You should move along, Malfoy. I'm not interested in talking with you.”

Malfoy scowled angrily. “Why you!” He went to draw his wand, but Harry just slammed the door closed in his face.

There was some pounding on the door and a “My father will hear about this!”, before eventually Malfoy gave up and they left.

Hours later, the Hogwarts Express slowed to a stop at Hogsmeade station.

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