September 1, King's Cross Station, 10:30 a.m.
Half an hour until the Hogwarts Express departed.
Harry slowly pushed his trolley, suitcase and Element's cage piled on top. He had looked around the station three times now, but still couldn't find Platform 9¾.
"Maybe there's some kind of trick?" he wondered. Maybe, as at the Leaky Cauldron, he had to tap something with his wand to reach the platform, and Hagrid had forgotten to mention it. At first, the thought had barely crossed his mind. Surely Hagrid wouldn't forget to tell him something as important as how to get onto the platform. But after his third search, Harry finally realized there was no Platform 9¾ anywhere in the station.
Maybe it meant he should look between Platforms Nine and Ten?
Harry walked over to the sign marked Ten. There ought to be some kind of entrance nearby, but there was nothing suspicious between Platforms Nine and Ten except the barrier separating them. It had made him suspicious from the start. People with owls and suitcases approached it, did something or other, and disappeared. On his second search, Potter had even gone around to the side of the barrier and tapped it with his wand, but nothing happened.
Now that he was sure Platform 9¾ wasn't easy to find, he decided to follow some witches or wizards and see how they got onto it. He looked for the same clues he'd noticed before. Wizards weren't likely to talk loudly about their world, but there were a couple of ways to recognize them. For instance, they might have a pet with them. The letter said students could bring a cat, a toad, or an owl to Hogwarts, so he should look for people with one of those.
He spotted a family of redheads from a distance.
Actually, he didn't spot them. He heard them.
Their voices rang across the station. "I knew there'd be a whole crowd of Muggles here..."
Harry smiled. Wizards were wonderfully good at blending in. That worked in his favor. He pretended to be busy checking his things as the redheaded family approached the barrier and began talking among themselves. He had known the barrier had something to do with getting to Platform 9¾. Now he just had to find out how.
Meanwhile, the number of wizards waiting by the barrier began to dwindle. One after another, they "rolled" into it and disappeared. Once all the redheads had gone through, Potter approached the possible entrance and carefully reached out. Or tried to: his hand found only empty space.
Harry grabbed his trolley and pushed it toward the barrier. Two seconds of complete darkness, and then he was standing on Platform 9¾.
At the sight of what awaited him, he wanted to go back into the darkness. People and noise were everywhere: voices, the squeak of heavy suitcases, and the disgruntled hooting of owls talking to one another. At the center of the crowd stood the coveted scarlet steam engine, its first few carriages already crammed full of students leaning out of the windows to have one last chat with their parents.
Harry hurried toward the train. Getting there had taken a great deal of time and nerve. He'd chosen routes with fewer people instead of taking the shortest way. If ten people were in his path, he'd take a long detour to go where there were only eight. That way, he kept the risk of accidentally touching anyone to a minimum.
His efforts paid off. No one touched him the entire way, and no one even noticed his strange route. Everyone was busy with their own concerns, with no time to watch a boy picking his way through the crowd as if lost in a maze.
Once aboard, Harry ignored the other people and hurried off in search of an empty compartment. Near the end of the carriage, luck smiled on him: one was empty. He carried Element's cage inside and tried to lift his suitcase onto the luggage rack, but couldn't get it high enough. It fell twice, hitting him painfully on the leg.
"Need a hand?" a voice asked right beside his ear.
Harry spun around and jumped back in fright. It was one of the redheads.
"No, thanks," Harry replied, trying to keep his voice calm.
"Suit yourself," the redhead said with a shrug, and went into his own compartment.
Harry's leg throbbed in protest. He already regretted turning down the offer. It took him two more tries to get the suitcase onto the rack.
At last, once he had everything sorted out, Harry closed the compartment door, pointed his acacia wand at it, and said, "Colloportus!"
He'd learned the spell from a book about staying unnoticed. He tried the compartment door. It swung open.
Well, "learned" wasn't quite the word. Harry had thought he'd learned it.
"Colloportus," Potter said again.
This time, he felt a wave of strange energy. He was sure he'd gotten it right. Harry walked over and tried the door...
It opened without the slightest resistance.
"Damn it!" was all Harry could manage.
He'd often noticed that when wizards swore, they invoked Merlin or some Morgan. He'd never heard a wizard say "damn" or anything like it. Then again, he hadn't heard many wizards swear, just Hagrid and a couple of people he'd seen through the window of his room at the Leaky Cauldron. Harry preferred the curses he'd heard from the Dursleys. To him, they sounded more impressive, though perhaps that depended on how you were brought up.
Potter took out the book and carefully reread everything about Colloportus. It seemed he'd done everything right. Or had he moved his wand the wrong way?
Harry pointed his wand at the door again, made the movement precisely, and pronounced the spell syllable by syllable. "Col-lo-por-tus."
He felt absolutely nothing. It was as if he hadn't said a spell at all, just a word made up of random letters. He went over to the door and tried to open it. To his astonishment, it wouldn't budge. He pulled with all his strength, but it didn't even creak.
A smile lit Harry Potter's face.
He spent the entire journey reading Miranda Goshawk's Coursebook of Jinxes and Charms, and he was in an excellent mood. People knocked on his door six times during the trip. If he hadn't mastered Colloportus, he would have had to talk to them and maybe even shake their hands. The thought gave Harry goose bumps.
The Coursebook of Jinxes and Charms turned out to be just as interesting as Scamander's Fantastic Beasts. Miranda Goshawk had devoted an entire chapter to Colloportus, so Harry hadn't even needed to buy the book on staying unnoticed to learn the spell. Still, that purchase hadn't been a waste. It described plenty of other spells and tricks, such as a charm to turn people's eyes away and some kind of Disillusionment Charm that was supposed to make you completely invisible. Harry hadn't managed to make any of them work, but he was sure he'd learn sooner or later.
And so Harry spent the journey on the Hogwarts Express. The only discomfort he'd felt that day was intense hunger, but he was happy and paid it no mind.
Just as he finished reading the Coursebook of Jinxes and Charms, the train began to slow down. Potter started looking for his robes so he could change. It took him quite a while, and by the time he got off, the carriages were empty.
Harry looked around. A huge crowd filled the area, everyone climbing into carriages. If Potter hadn't been so anxious about the crowd, he would have noticed that no horses were harnessed to the carriages, and that the harnesses hung in the air as if fastened to something. But he noticed none of it. He looked frantically around for someone he knew, Hagrid or Justin. After two minutes of searching, he still hadn't found anyone. Hagrid wasn't exactly easy to lose; he was so big you could spot him anywhere.
There were plenty of older students around. Harry was terrified of them, but he had to overcome his fear and ask someone where to go. But who?
An older girl with pink hair walked right past him.
Pink hair?
Well, it was obvious who he should ask.
"Wait," Harry called. "Could you help me? I don't know where I'm supposed to go."
"Hi!" The older girl smiled. "You're a first-year, right? What am I asking? Of course you are. You're going across in boats with Hagrid. He's a really big giant, so you should be able to spot him."
"Except he's already left. About five minutes ago. That way."
She pointed toward the depths of the forest. If it weren't for her pink hair, Harry would have thought she was making fun of him.
Why did Potter trust this older girl? Just because she had pink hair? He didn't really know how hair color could affect how much he trusted someone. But after his teacher's hair had changed color, pink had become his favorite, and every good person he'd met had some bit of pink with them. Hagrid had a pink umbrella. Justin... Hmm. Justin had a pink book about flying. It wasn't really his, but it had been the subject of their conversation. Even when Harry bought Element, there had been pink parrots in cages nearby.
So Harry tried to look clever and confident, then stepped straight into the forest. The look quickly vanished when he tripped and fell after his very first step. He got up, pretended that was what he'd meant to do, brushed himself off, and headed in the direction she'd indicated. He walked for a while. Or rather, after a couple of yards, he remembered that Hagrid had left a full five minutes ago and broke into a run.
His efforts paid off. By the time he reached the boats, only one remained by the shore. Harry quickly climbed into it, hoping no one had noticed how late he was. There was only one girl in the boat.
"Everyone settled?" Hagrid called from his own boat. "Then off we go!"
And they set off. No one had to row. The boats moved on their own.
Harry looked up at the castle looming in the distance. So this was Hogwarts! It looked amazing. For a moment, he admired its beauty.
"Hi, I'm Hermione Granger," the girl said.
Potter turned around. She was looking right at him, waiting for an answer. What answer?
"Uh... Well, hi," Harry said.
She kept looking at him.
"I'm Harry," he added, realizing she was waiting for him to introduce himself.
"And your last name? You wouldn't happen to be Potter, would you?" Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
Harry pressed himself against the side of the boat in terror. He rapidly ran through the names of wizards he knew. Ollivander, Dumbledore, Hagrid, Merlin... None of those would work. There was someone else, wasn't there?
That's it!
"No, not Potter. I'm Harry Finch-Fletchley," he said, remembering Justin's last name.
"Nice to meet you," Hermione said, holding out her hand.
Harry broke into a fake coughing fit and pretended not to notice it.
"Which house do you want to be in?" Hermione asked.
Well, either she wasn't easily offended, or she believed he hadn't noticed her hand.
"Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, I guess," Harry answered after a moment's thought.
"Oh, those are great choices. I'm considering those two houses, too. But I think Gryffindor is the better choice," Hermione said, much more warmly.
During the boat ride, they had a great conversation about their studies and the books they'd read to prepare. Hermione was horrified when Harry told her he hadn't even started the Transfiguration textbook. Even the fact that he'd read all the other books they were only supposed to buy did nothing to appease her. Despite her persistence and slight know-it-all streak, Harry Potter liked Hermione.
That was before she brought up a certain topic.
As they neared Hogwarts, Hermione suddenly asked, "What do you think of Harry Potter?"
Harry was so stunned that he spent about ten seconds thinking of an answer. He couldn't think of anything except, "Well, I don't know... What about you?"
"Oh, he's a legend in the wizarding world. I've read everything about him that I could find. He's supposed to be starting at Hogwarts this year. Of course, he could go to another wizarding school, but I'm sure he'll follow in his parents' footsteps. I'd love to talk to him, though I imagine everyone else would, too."
All the happiness Harry had gained on the train vanished in a second. His legs began to tremble. He already regretted coming to Hogwarts. What did she mean, everyone wanted to talk to him? What if he didn't want to talk to everyone?
Hermione didn't notice the change in her boatmate. "We've arrived. Let's get out," she said calmly, stepping carefully from the boat onto solid ground.
The students climbed out of their boats and followed Hagrid. Trying not to attract anyone's attention, Harry followed the line as well. At last they reached a door, which immediately swung open. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood behind it.
Probably the head of Slytherin, Harry thought. He knew Slytherins wore green. He was a little wary of the house, but what terrified him more was the witch's face. He'd never seen such a stern expression. Even Aunt Marge looked friendlier.
Harry swallowed.
"Professor McGonagall, here are the first-years," Hagrid told her.
A professor? She was going to teach him something. Potter hoped it wasn't Transfiguration, whose textbook he hadn't even opened.
"Thank you, Hagrid," the witch said, nodding. "I'll take them from here."
Professor McGonagall led the first-years into a small room. It was so cramped that everyone was packed in, breathing down one another's necks. When Harry felt someone touch him, he quickly moved away and sat on a nearby bench.
Professor McGonagall looked over the first-years and began to speak. "Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term feast will begin shortly, but before you take your places at the tables, you will be sorted into houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony. From today until you leave school, your house will be your second family. You will study together, sleep in the same dormitory, and spend your free time in the room set aside for your house.
"There are four houses at the school: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each has an ancient history, and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you're at Hogwarts, your achievements will earn points for your house, and points will be deducted for every infraction. At the end of the year, the house with the most points wins the house competition. It is a great honor. I hope each of you will be a worthy member of your new family.
"The Sorting Ceremony will begin in a few minutes, in front of the entire school. Until then, you have a little time. I suggest you collect your thoughts."
Harry became even more afraid of Professor McGonagall. It would be hard to imagine a more severe speech.
"I'll come back when everyone is ready to meet you," Professor McGonagall said.
As soon as she stepped out, everyone began discussing the Sorting Ceremony. A pale, fair-haired boy walked up to Harry.
"Hi, you're Harry Potter, right?" he said, then continued without waiting for an answer. "I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."
A line from an old movie suddenly popped into Harry's head: "Bond. James Bond."
"You'll soon learn, Potter, that there are a few wizarding families in our world who are far better than everyone else. You shouldn't waste your time with people who aren't worthy of your friendship. You've already shown yourself to be a worthy person. I mean killing that Muggle. You did the right thing, don't worry. If you need my help, I'll be happy to help." Malfoy held out his hand.
Shake someone's hand voluntarily? No way!
When Malfoy saw that Harry had no intention of shaking his hand, he looked at him with surprise, then hatred.
"If I were you, I'd be more careful, Potter," he said slowly. "If you don't learn to be more polite, you'll end up like your parents. Like you, they didn't know what was good for them and what wasn't."
Until then, Harry had been a little afraid of the tall boy with the icy stare. After those words, he backed away in terror, opening and closing his mouth like a fish stranded on the shore.
"Line up," Professor McGonagall commanded as she suddenly returned. "And follow me!"
Everyone quickly obeyed and followed her out of the small room. But after Draco Malfoy's words, Harry couldn't even move. He sat on the bench, staring at his feet and wondering what to do. He remained there until someone came into the small room.
"Harry Potter, all your classmates are already in the Great Hall. Why are you still here?" Professor McGonagall asked.
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