Chapter Text
Chapter One: First Steps
Harry Potter was not a normal eleven year old boy. Well, he was in a normal enough situation, pushing a trunk ahead of himself on a trolley walking through a train station on his way to boarding school wouldn’t be considered not normal. For an eleven year old to do so unaccompanied - that was unusual. For said eleven year old to be happy about it - even more so.
The amount of people and business going along the platforms at King’s Cross Station was more than Harry had ever seen in his life. If he had to admit it to himself, deep down, he was nervous and scared about the next steps he would have to take. But he wouldn’t admit it out loud - admitting weakness was a sure sign of bad things coming his way, after all.
Finally, after much hustling through the large early morning crowds, he found the flat section of wall he was looking for. Looking around, he was especially glad that he had thought to ask how he was supposed to get to a platform numbered so oddly as 9 3/4’s.
Oh, one more thing about Harry Potter. He was about as not normal as one could be - even for a wizard. Because that is what he was - a magic wielding male human, more commonly known as a wizard. He had his wand slid up his sleeve for easy access, and on top of his truck was a cage for a large snowy owl who was currently barking her uneasiness.
Even though he was sure people were watching, the young blonde girl he had met in the Diagonally challenged wizard’s market (more commonly called Diagon Alley) had assured him that no non wizard - or muggle - person would notice him walking through the wall. And so, with a bit of trepidation, he slipped through the wall, only feeling the dark and small space as almost normal… for him… until he came out the other side into the even busier wizarding space.
There was a massive bright red steam engine train taking up the bulk of his vision, but also dozens of strangely dressed people, almost all of which were wearing dark robes. A few had brightly coloured robes, however, and a handful had on slightly more normal clothing, as though they would have to mingle with muggles sooner or later, and knew what they were doing.
He looked around carefully after stepping out of the way of the barrier between wizard and muggle worlds, and then spotted a taller boy wearing robes that he recognized - Hogwart’s School of Witchcraft and Wizardry robes. The robes he had were trimmed with blue and bronze - not that Harry knew what that meant - but the large P badge he wore seemed like a badge of station, so that was good enough for him.
“Excuse me,” Harry asked, and the boy looked to him quickly. “Is there a quiet section of the train I could sit in?”
“Quiet: There won’t be much of that once more kids start getting here,” the boy said easily. “First year at Hogwarts?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, don’t worry. Just remember, we’ve all been there before, so don’t be afraid to ask for help.” The boy paused for a moment when someone started shouting close by. “Look, the Prefect’s compartment near the front of the train will be quiet for the most part - you’ll have to clear out for the meeting, but could slip back in afterward if you really want some quiet.”
“Thank you.”
“No worries - besides, you aren’t the only one looking for quiet - there’s a girl in there who looks like she could use a friend. Since I’m doing you a favour, want to do me one too?”
“I don’t have any friends anyway,” Harry pointed out. “Doubt she’d want much to do with me…”
The boy frowned at that, looking him over carefully. Harry shrugged his clothes slightly - definitely too big for his small frame - but tried not to meet his eye as he did so. “My name’s Malcom. Malcom Davies. If you need anything while at Hogwarts, I’ll be around. Still, head on in - maybe you’ll get on with the girl, too.” He paused for a moment, then looked back to Harry a bit sheepishly. “Never got her name, mind. Didn’t get your’s either…”
“Sorry Malcom, it’s Harry.”
Malcom flicked his eyes up to Harry’s forehead, and sighed. “Yeah, you’ll probably want the quiet. I’ll cover for you. And as for during the meeting… well, if you make nice with that girl, then I’ll open the front doors so the two of you can hide out there until we’re done, then slip back in. Deal?”
“I’ll try. And thanks, Malcom.”
Harry climbed the steps onto the Hogwart’s Express carefully, then pulled his trunk up behind him with a clatter. A quick wrench of the knob opened the door to the compartment Malcom had mentioned and he looked inside carefully.
The girl Malcom had mentioned was nowhere to be seen.
With a drawn out sigh, he pulled his truck inside and tucked it beneath the far seats so it was almost impossible to notice, and then turned to pick a seat to call his own before freezing. A bushy head of hair was the first thing he noticed, followed by the fact that deep brown eyes were following his every movement.
“Er… hi?” he tried, a little embarrassed that he had walked right passed where she had tucked herself.
The girl smiled - a pretty cute smile, if he had to admit it - and then closed the book in her lap. “Hi yourself,” she replied. “I thought this area was off limits to anyone but Prefects and the Head Boy and Girl…”
“You’re in here, aren’t you?” Harry said. “One of the Prefects - Malcom - said I could come in here for some peace.”
“He said the same to me, though we’ll have to clear out during the meeting. I just wanted somewhere quiet to do a bit of reading.”
“I don’t get much quiet myself, so just wanted…” Harry trailed off before sighing. “Might as well get this over with,” he said mostly to himself, but the girl looked to him, slightly confused. “I’m Harry.”
“Hermione,” she replied instantly before freezing. “Not… Harry Potter by any chance?” When she saw him wilt under the name, she kept going quickly. “I’ve read all about you in ‘Rise and Fall of the Dark’ and in ‘Modern Witches and Wizards of Our Time,’ of course. But…” she trailed off when he looked away.
“Never heard of either of those,” he admitted. “I only found out that I’m a wizard a couple of weeks ago. Before that…”
“I found out about the same,” she said quickly. “But… you didn’t grow up with wizards?”
“No,” he said simply, not wanting to expand on his home life. “I guess I grew up muggle.”
“I’m muggleborn,” Hermione admitted carefully. “Both my parents are dentists,” she added when he didn’t say anything else. There was silence between them for a few minutes before she finally sighed herself and put her book on the seat beside her before patting the one on the other side. “You could sit here if you want. I…”
When she trailed off, Harry walked over the rest of the way and sat down as suggested. When it was obvious she wasn’t going to say anything else, he looked back to her to find her looking close to tears and looking away from him. “What’s wrong?” he asked, worried suddenly.
She shook her head quickly, and then took a deep breath. “I’ve never been good at talking with people - I always upset them. And I’ve never had a friend before and now I’ve made a mess with the first person I met… sorry…” She moved to stand, and he reached out, not quite touching her - not able to bring himself to do so.
“I’ve never had a friend either,” he admitted despite himself. “Wasn’t allowed,” he added quietly.
She frowned at that and turned to him. “What do you mean?”
“My cousin’s a bit of a bully,” he explained. A bit of an understatement there… “And so everyone usually avoided me.”
“I read too much,” Hermione admitted. “And I’ve been called names because of it… People only wanted to be my friend because I could help them with homework, and then ignored me or made fun of me otherwise.”
“Homework…” Harry said slowly, a smile creeping onto his face. “I can actually do my homework now… didn’t think of that!”
Hermione looked at Harry funnily for a minute, just long enough for it to feel a bit uncomfortable before looking into his eyes and then reaching towards him slowly. Despite himself, Harry flinched away from her when she was halfway towards him, looking away quickly. Her breath caught and suddenly he could barely breathe through the tight hug she had wrapped him in.
“Can I be your friend?” she asked when she let go of him.
“What was that about?” he demanded instead.
“I… I understand more than most kids,” she admitted carefully, clearly thinking quickly about how to say something. “I won’t pry, don’t worry. But I won’t leave you alone either,” she added before wilting a bit. “I mean… if you’ll let me…”
“I could use a friend,” he said carefully, looking for some sign that maybe it was a trick, but finding none. Finally, he smiled. “Glad I got here in time to meet you first, Hermione…”
“Granger,” she provided. “Hermione Granger.”
“Harry Potter,” he said unnecessarily.
With that, Hermione opened her book again, stealing a glance at Harry to make sure he didn’t mind, and then started reading again. Harry, for his part, watched her for a moment with a smile in his mind - not on his face, he couldn’t show being happy about something - and then looked around the compartment carefully.
It was fully furnished and much bigger than should have been possible for a train, even a train the size of the Express. The room was almost twenty feet wide and thirty feet long, with a large round ringed table in the middle of it with seats on the inside and outside of the table. Almost fifty people could sit at the table at once, and that said nothing about the large cushioned benches along the sides of the room and massive picture windows that showed… mountains, lakes, clouds, waterfalls…
Harry shook his head and looked away from the windows before he confused himself further. He had seen several interesting examples of magic thus far, and he filed that one away for later. When he heard movement outside the door, he looked back to Hermione.
“Were…” he started before pausing.
She closed her book and stowed it in her bag. It was only then that he noticed her trunk was tucked under their seats. She took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes, I meant it,” she said firmly. “But I’ve never had a friend before either… so I’m probably not very good at being one, but I won’t leave you if you’ll put up with me.”
“Of course!” he exclaimed quickly.
“Malcom prepared a compartment at the front for me,” she explained. “He put a charm over it so others wouldn’t go in it yet - I asked if there was some way I could sit in the front, but he said we weren’t allowed to stay here once the train started moving. Once I go in the charm will fail. Maybe we can meet some other kids?”
“He said that he could sneak us in here for the whole trip if you’d like…” Harry mentioned quickly.
Hermione bit her lip in thought for a moment, pushing her hair out of her eyes when she looked back to him. “I think it would be better to try to meet some others,” she said carefully. “Knowing we’ll at least have each other means I’m a bit more willing to try if you are.”
Harry accepted that easily enough and went back to get his truck, apologizing quickly to his snowy owl Hedwig - so named after a witch from one of his history books. When he had noticed Hermione in the compartment, everything else had left his head as he tried to sort out what to do.
They pulled out of the massive area easily enough into a loud and boisterous train hall, and ducked into the first seating area, finding it empty as promised despite the crowd of people. The two talked quietly despite that, and Harry waved to Malcom when he walked passed, not noticing the smile on the older boy’s face when he saw the two together.
Once the train started moving, things in the hall calmed down quite a bit, but Hermione and Harry barely noticed, talking as they were. Although neither said much about their home lives - though Harry thought there was some way that Hermione knew about his - they still found lots to talk about. Magic, classes, hopes for the future…
They were interrupted by a croaking sound, and looked up to find a slightly pudgy boy standing there looking slightly confused with a large toad in his arms - large enough that it was almost dog sized! “Sorry…” he said nervously. “Everywhere else is full - do you mind if I sit in here?”
“Is that a toad?” Harry asked instead of answering.
“Er… yeah, he was a gift from my Uncle Algie,” the boy replied with a shrug. “Couldn’t really say no, and Trevor’s been great.”
Harry and Hermione looked to each other, and both shrugged at the same time before beckoning the boy inside. “What do you mean?” Hermione asked.
The boy looked at her for a moment before smiling slightly. “First generation?” he asked, not unkindly.
“You mean muggle?” Hermione said. “Yes, my parents are both dentists.”
“What’s a dentist?”
“Are you for real?” Harry interrupted. “Never heard of a dentist?”
“You’ll find wizards don’t know much about the muggle world,” the boy replied. “But it works in reverse too. Like this - you guys didn’t know that a toad familiar helps the witch or wizard see through obscuring charms and enchantments.”
“I thought that was broken on the compartment,” Harry said, looking to Hermione for confirmation.
“It is now, sorry,” the boy said quickly. “Another aspect, bringing a toad through such charms cancels them. That’s why toads are such handy familiars. Owls can deliver mail and find people, and cats, well they’re great for all sorts of rituals and healings.”
“That is amazing,” Hermione said, clearly absorbing all of the information easily. “So what else can familiars do to help?”
Harry cleared his throat, and Hermione looked to him quickly, surprised by the interruption. “I’m Harry,” he said quickly, looking back to the boy. “And this is Hermione.”
“I’m Neville,” the boy replied with a smile. He then frowned for a moment, before chancing a better look at Harry. “Sorry, and I’m sure you’ll get this a lot in the near future, but not…”
“Yeah, that one,” Harry stopped him.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t worry Neville,” Harry replied. “Not like I can hide it, after all, right?”
Neville smiled a bit nervously again before looking back to Hermione. “So… what are dentists, anyway?”
It was almost an hour further into the trip before the three were interrupted from their continued conversation about wizard and muggle differences. Hermione had been pleased to learn more about familiars - including how a toad can help identify poisonous plants and encourage roots to grow quickly, how a cat being close by makes lying to someone much more obvious, and how an owl allows for easier conversations.
However, a blonde haired boy throwing the door open kind of killed their easy talking. “So… it’s true. Harry Potter is coming to Hogwarts,” the boy sneered, looking at Harry from the entrance. “Looks like someone needs to take you under their wing, Potter,” the boy said. “Show you how proper wizards act, not like the squib here. And I don’t recognize the witch either, so a muggle born, and that means you need help now. I’m Draco Malfoy,” he added, holding out his hand.
“Don’t talk about my friends like that,” Harry replied with a frown. “I don’t know about how wizards act, but I know how a person should, and I don’t need you for that.”
“Careful, Potter. I can make your life much easier while at Hogwarts - my father is on the Board of Governors, after all - or I can make it much worse. Last chance - come on, or face the consequences.”
“Sod off, Malfoy,” Harry replied, eliciting a gasp from Hermione and a stunned look from Neville. “I don’t need you, and you just want to use me. Get lost.”
“You’ll regret this!” Malfoy said, slamming the door behind him as he stormed off.
“You…” Hermione started before Harry looked back to her instantly, his dark green eyes flashing slightly, causing her to falter.
Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking to Neville and then back to Hermione. “I’ve dealt with bullies for long enough,” he said softly, so much so that Neville could barely hear him and she had to guess at some of his words. “You are my first friend, Hermione. Nothing will change that,” he said more firmly.
There were tears in her eyes when she smiled and nodded, content not to say anything just yet in response. Neville, on the other hand, shook his head. “Malfoy is going to be trouble, Harry,” he said. “He wasn’t kidding when he said he can make life difficult, but he’s not the only one with important people in high places. My gran is on the Board, too. But… do you really want me as a friend?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Harry replied. “You’ve been nothing but friendly - he was not. I’m not much for making friends, and don’t have enough to throw away one of the two I do have… at least, that I hope I have.” He then held his hand out to Neville, who tentatively reached out and grasped it in return.
“The Longbottoms - that’s my family - and the Potters have had alliances for generations,” Neville said after a tense moment. “I would be glad to stand with you.”
“And I you, Neville.”
The rest of the train ride passed mostly uneventfully. There were a few people who stuck their heads in to look for Harry, and a larger number who just looked in from outside but didn’t say anything, but no further confrontations at least. When it was starting to get dark and they had almost arrived, Neville took a minute to explain to them both about the houses of Hogwarts - though Hermione already knew much of the information thanks to the book she was rereading - Hogwarts: A History.
Gryffindor, the House for the brave and daring. Ravenclaw, the House for the smart and wise. Slytherin, the House for the cunning and ambitious. Hufflepuff, the House for the loyal and strong. He explained that all four houses have good and bad points, but he suspected that Slytherin would be a bad place to be given the politics played in that house.
Each of the three privately guessed where they thought the others would end up. All three of them were wrong.
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