- 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey -
Appearing outside the front door of the Dursleys, Harry tried to stay on his feet as he leaned over, taking a moment to center himself as his stomach protested. Thankfully, Minerva's earlier words had proved true and this time wasn't as bad as the first time. 'Still not a pleasant feeling.' He groaned.
Feeling Minerva's hand gently patting his back, Harry smiled up at her, appreciating the continued support and kindness she'd shown him all day.
As he straightened up, he heard the sound of conversation and eating through the door; the Dursleys no doubt still having dinner. 'How Vernon hasn't died of a heart attack yet is a miracle.' Normally dinner would last up to an hour for most people, but at the Dursleys it lasted anywhere from 2 to 3 hours depending on what they chose to eat.
Straightening out her robes, Minerva silently raised her hand to knock firmly on the door. From inside the house, the sound of utensils clattering loudly onto plates could be heard as large footsteps made their way to the door.
Slowly, the door opened as Vernon's fearful face peaked out through the gap. "W-what are you doing back here?" He stuttered.
Not deigning to answer his question, Minerva instead asked her own with feigned politeness. "Good evening Mr. Dursley. May we come in?"
Fearfully, he tried to slam the door shut in their face.
Minerva quickly stuck her hand out, stopping it from closing in a surprising show of strength. As she leaned in to stare at Vernon's sweating pale face, she spoke up. "That was very rude, Mr. Dursley. Do not do that again." Her voice hardened as all politeness left her tone. "Now…let us in."
Pausing, Vernon reluctantly did as she said.
As the door opened, Harry couldn't help marveling at how much fear Minerva was able to instill in Vernon's face. During his time with the Dursleys, the most emotion Harry had ever seen from them was when Vernon's face would go purple with anger. The anger mostly directed at Harry for something he said or did, or that Dudley did but blamed on him.
Making their way into the living room, Harry noticed the other two Dursleys still sitting at the kitchen table. Harry and Minerva's presence in the living room went ignored by Dudley in favor of continuing to eat from his overflowing plate of food. Petunia, on the other hand, spotted them immediately and gasped in fear, flinching back at their arrival.
Quickly taking charge, Minerva ordered, "Mrs. Dursley, if you would be so kind as to join your husband in the living room with us." To force her point, Minerva slowly drew her wand out but left it at hanging her side.
Ushering a protesting Dudley up the stairs to his room, Petunia hesitantly joined Vernon in sitting on the couch.
Minerva moved to stand in front of the fireplace, staring down at them as Harry walked over to sit in Vernon's favorite chair. The act drawing a small sound from Vernon, too fearful to actually say anything.
"Normally," Minerva began, "I would not be so direct in dealing with parents and guardians regarding the children under their care. However…" she glared, "sometimes, a situation arises where more…hands on, measures must be taken."
As Vernon when to vehemently protest, she waved her wand to the side, silently transfiguring several pieces of furniture into a pride of lionesses. The full-sized, lifelike animals began pacing back and forth in front of the Dursleys as Vernon's protest became a strangled choke.
At his side, Petunia shook so badly that she looks moments away from feinting, and Vernon was not much better off, but commendably keeping it together to hold his wife.
Surprisingly, Petunia drew strength from her husband's touch and gathered enough courage to speak up. "Wh-What is this about? W-We did w-what you wanted us to do. We took him in!"
As she went on, her voice grew steadier. "We gave him a roof over his head and food to eat!" She was practically shouting at the end, only to be quickly silenced by one of the lionesses getting in her face and growling, bearing its sharp teeth as she flinched back away from it.
Silently, Harry was amazed at Minerva's mastery of Transfiguration. Not only do they look real, they also moved, acted, and sounded real.
'I have got to learn how to do that.' He thought.
Turning his attention away from the transfigurations, Harry refocused on the conversation as Minerva replied. "You also forced a child to sleep inside of a cupboard. Even when I know this house has two unoccupied rooms in it. And that's not even mentioning his obvious small frame from what is clearly a lack of food!" She exclaimed, her anger getting the better of her for a moment.
"Starting tonight, there will be changes." Minerva informed them, having made up her mind as to what was going to happen. "Harry will no longer be staying here for the rest of the summer."
That, unsurprisingly, brought joy to his Aunt and Uncle's faces. Before they could speak up, the lionesses growled loudly, quickly silencing them.
Focusing her attention on Petunia, Minerva directed her next words to the cowering woman. "I know that you have Lily's old things. You will go get them, and hand them over to Harry before we leave." She ordered. "If you try to damage them in any way, I will be most…displeased." Wordlessly, Petunia nods.
Without a word Minerva waved her wand, turning the pride back into furniture as she gestured for Petunia to leave.
Sparing a quick glance to Vernon, Petunia quickly scurried out of the living room and up the stairs towards the attic.
Glancing at Harry for the first time since the conversation started, Minerva motioned for him to follow her. Walking into the hallway, she turned to face him. Before she can say anything, Harry spoke up for the first time as he thanked her. "Thanks for that. I really appreciate everything you've done for me, Minerva."
Reaching out, Minerva drew him into a hug as she responded. "You're very welcome, Harry. You should not have had to go through what you did, but I cannot change what has happened." She sighed. "I can only do what I can to make sure it never happens again."
Releasing him, she motioned with a nod towards the cupboard. "Go gather anything that you wish to take with you from the cupboard."
Nodding, Harry picked out a few mementos from the cupboard, leaving behind all of the old, baggy clothes to gather dust. Never once looking back as he shut the door to it. There was almost a symbolic feeling at closing the cupboard, as if he was closing the first chapter of his life in the Wizarding World and moving on to bigger and better things.
Hearing footsteps coming from the stairs, they noticed Petunia carrying a box containing all of Lily's old things down the steps.
As Petunia reached the bottom of the stairs, Minerva called out to her. "Lily would be so disappointed in you, Petunia. Had your situations been reversed, you know she would have cared for and raised Dudley as if he was her own."
Her comment brought a look of shame to Petunia's face at the truth of what she said.
Her final piece said, Minerva quietly motioned Harry to take the box before she opens the front door, stepping outside with him.
…
Once outside, Minerva shrunk the box down to make it easier for them to carry as Harry picked it up to put into his large bag. At this point, everything had been shrunk down to fix inside a single bag that still weighed as light as a feather. The only thing not in the bag was Hedwig and her cage.
Thankfully, Hedwig had kept quiet the entire time that they were inside the house. That thought made Harry pause for a moment; wondering if she somehow knew it was important to not draw any attention to herself while Minerva was speaking with the Dursleys.
Glancing down at her, Hedwig stared back at him with her large, round amber eyes, before giving a single nod. 'Okay, that's pretty cool.'
Hearing the door close behind him, Harry saw Minerva stick out her arm once again. Without a word, he reached over to grabs the outstretched arm while making sure Hedwig's cage and the bag of shrunken items were firmly in his grasp.
Instantly, the familiar pop of Apparition signaled their departure from 4 Privet Drive for the last time. At the window, Petunia watched them disappear with a sad look in her eyes, Minerva's words resonating in her mind.
- The Leaky Cauldron, London -
Returning to the Leaky Cauldron, Minerva headed over to the bar to have a quiet word with Tom. After explaining that Harry's circumstances had changed, and that he would staying at the Leaky Cauldron until the start of the semester, Minerva rented a room for Harry to stay in for the rest of the summer.
Heading up the stairs, Tom led them down the familiar dark hallway, this time towards a different room. The number 11 on the front the only difference between it and the doors next to it.
Stepping inside, the room turned out to be fairly bland in decoration. A large, four-poster bed dominated most of the room, with a single nightstand by the bed resting beneath a small window. The best part of the room was actually the wall opposite the door, containing a reading nook covered with windows. All of which are faced out onto the cobblestone path of Diagon Alley's main street.
"Here ya go. One room fer the summer." Tom grinned at Harry. "Breakfast starts at 8 o'clock, an' housekeeping will be by every few days if ya need it. It's a pleasure havin' ya stay with us, Harry." Tom finished, reaching out to pat a comforting hand on his shoulder.
Harry and Minerva both thanked the man as he left the room to give them some space.
…
Once alone, Minerva looked around the room before giving it a nod; seemingly satisfied at the clean state of it. Turning to Harry, she reached into her hidden pocket before pulling out a small bundle of pounds.
Holding out her hand and seeing his confused look, she explained. "Use this to buy whatever you need from the nearby muggle shops…food, toiletries, and any other necessities you need to make your stay here easier."
Speechless, Harry took the money gratefully. "Th-Thank you. Really, thank you."
Smiling, she pulled out a single ticket before handing it over to him. "This is your ticket for the Hogwarts Express. You will need to use the Floo downstairs to reach King's Cross Station. If you have any trouble, feel free to ask Tom for help."
"Once you arrive at the Station, you will need to use the entrance to Platform 9 and 3/4's in order to reach the Hogwarts Express. You can find it by walking into the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10." She explained, waiting for him to nod in understanding before she continued.
It was important that he knew how to get onto the platform, otherwise he would be stuck outside of the boundary until someone could come to get him.
At his look she elaborated. "The barrier allows us the privacy to see our children off to Hogwarts without worrying about the muggles overhearing anything we say. Do not worry, if you are unsure that it will work, you can walk through it slowly the first time."
Smiling, Harry replied, "Thanks for the tip. I'll keep it in mind." Walking through it slowly sounded much better than Mrs. Weasley's idea on running.
"In that case, I shall see you at the start of term." Minerva said warmly, sharing a brief hug before exchanging goodbyes. Taking a moment to unshrink all of his purchases before she left him to enjoy his new room and freedom.
Walking down the stairs and towards the front door, Minerva waved goodbye to Tom; thanking him for his help and for agreeing to watch over Harry during his stay.
Releasing a large sigh, Minerva Apparated back to Hogwarts. Her tiredness finally catching up to her as she made her way to bed, ready to fall asleep after such a long day.
- Timeskip: End of Summer -
The last few weeks of summer had been some of the best days Harry ever had since waking up in the Harry Potter Universe.
Staying at the Leaky Cauldron meant that he could get a filling meal in the mornings before making his way into Diagon Alley to spend his mornings shopping. Exploring the place, Harry got to take in more of the sights and visit some of the shops he didn't have the chance to visit the day before.
Stopping off at Eeylops Owl Emporium, Harry picked up an owl bedpost and some treats for Hedwig. A necessary offering after he finally let her out of the cage last night.
Apparently, Hedwig had simply been holding off on expressing her dislike of Apparation until they were alone. The minute she was let out, she pecked at him multiple times before finally stopping, giving the owl equivalent of a huff before she flew over to sleep on the nightstand.
After exploring Quality Quidditch Supplies for a little while, and taking a moment to purchase a book on Quidditch and its rules while he was there; Harry made his way over to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour where he enjoyed a large chocolate and raspberry sundae topped with chopped nuts.
Sitting down at one of the tables inside the shop, Harry felt that things were finally starting to look up for him.
…
That evening, after sitting down at the bar of the Leaky Cauldron for another delicious meal (this time a steak with mashed potatoes), Harry figured that it was time to go through Lily's box.
Taking a look inside, Harry noticed that its full of old Hogwarts textbooks and journals. Opening the first book, Harry gazed at the name written on the first page:
Property of Lily Evans
Seeing his mother's name, written in her own handwriting, felt like an emotional punch to the gut. While he may not be the original Harry, he did have all of his memories; and that meant that this woman was still his mother in some way. And seeing her handwriting made it all the more real for him; it was proof that Lily had lived, and had truly loved him enough to sacrifice herself to save his life.
To Harry, it made more sense to simply think of it as having two sets of parents. The ones from his past life that he can vaguely recall from the memories Death gave back to him, and the ones from this life, the Potters, who gave their lives to protect him.
After finally getting his emotions under control, Harry sat down and got to work, pouring over every page as he read everything he could.
…
For the rest of the summer, Harry read every book he had from cover to cover. His past life's ability to read through entire books quickly -for lack of anything else to do while bedridden- meant that he was able to get through all of his school books for the year, and even the extra books on Hogwarts and Wizarding Law.
Running out of books to read, he dug through the box of his mother's things and found her old first-year books. Skim-readding through them, he jotted down all of the little notes and tips his mother had written in the margins. Luckily, there hadn't been much of a difference between his new texts and her old ones.
The most interesting reading, had been his mother's old journals. Apparently, Lily had kept journals documenting her life at Hogwarts.
Harry spent most of his nights before going to bed reading through her journals, learning about her experiences at Hogwarts. 'Turns out that trolls and basilisks are not a common thing at Hogwarts.' The most surprising things that had happened during his mother's years of schooling had been the Civil Blood War going on, but very little of it was able to affect life at Hogwarts with Dumbledore watching over everything.
After reading through his books, Harry pulled out his ebony wand and attempted to cast several of the spells in them. Unfortunately, without a proper lesson on how to wield his magic and cast spells, he couldn't practice most of the spells on his own.
The biggest let down for him was being unable to try any Transfiguration. It was warned multiple times in his books that he should not attempt any Transfiguration for the first time without an experienced witch or wizard around who could undo any of his mistakes.
Examples were included of children who hadn't heeded the warnings, and had tried to turn a matchstick into a needle; only to accidentally turn their finger or arm into a needle and had needed to be rushed to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
What he was able to get to work, was the spell Lumos. A simple spell that lit the tip of his wand with light.
He even made headway on several of the adaptations to the spell.
The first one he managed was the Lumos Maxima; which greatly enhances the brightness of the spell to cover a large area, and could even temporarily blind anyone who was staring directly into it.
The other adaptation he learned was the Lumos Solem; which changed the light produced by Lumos into sunlight. That one he remembered Hermione had cast in the storybooks to repel the Devil's Snare, and made sure to practice it repeatedly until he could do it silently.
Silent casting was another thing that he had practiced over the summer.
Apparently, casting a spell wordlessly was not as easy as it seemed. When he did manage to cast it, the spell ended up being weaker than when he used the incantation.
After looking through his mother's journals, he found out why.
When casting a spell, the incantation is what gives form to his magic. When a spell is done wordlessly, it takes more magic to form the spell as it needs to make up the difference in form.
Most students have to wait until their final years at Hogwarts to learn silent casting, because they don't have enough magic to make up for the difference. Luckily for Harry, it turns out that he has much more magic than someone his age normally should. Part of him wondered if that was because of the prophecy, or if had to do with Death.
After some more reading of his mother's journals and through his own experimentation, Harry was also able to figure out that reducing the wand movements of the spells, until he could simply point and cast them, thankfully didn't have an effect on the power of his spells.
What it did have an effect on, was his control of the spell.
When he tried to cast Lumos Solem without the wand movements, the spell would randomly switch back and forth between light and sunlight. Sometimes, the spell would work, but would shine the light at odd angles instead of where his was pointing to. A frustrating thing no doubt, but Harry wasn't put off by it.
After all, he was finally doing magic!
…
By the time summer was over, Harry had a firm grasp on what he would be expecting for his first year at Hogwarts. The excitement as the day drew near was actually keeping him awake most nights.
Before he knew it, it was time for him to leave for Hogwarts.
After packing all of his things into his school trunk, and sending Hedwig to fly ahead of him to Hogwarts, he made his way downstairs for one last breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron.
Taking a final bite of his delicious breakfast, Harry gave his goodbyes to Tom and a few of the other regulars that he had gotten to know before stepping over to the Floo section of the pub.
Remembering Tom's advice to speak clearly; Harry spoke loudly and confidently, "King's Cross Station."
Watching the flames turn green, he walked into them before disappearing.
- King's Cross Station -
Arriving at King's Cross, Harry looked around at the massive crowds moving through the station. Grabbing a cart to carry his trunk, it took him several minutes to find out where Platforms 9 and 10 were; eventually having to ask a local to point them out for him.
Surprisingly, Harry didn't spot any groups of redheads walking around. 'Then again, the Weasleys usually show up at the last minute.' Spotting a nearby clock, he was actually fairly early to the station and the Hogwarts Express wouldn't be leaving for another half an hour.
Heading towards the stone pillar that acted as the barrier to Platform 9 and 3/4's, he slowly pushed his cart through it. Even knowing what was supposed to happen, Harry couldn't shake the sudden nervous thought that it won't work, and he'd be stuck outside the barrier.
Mercifully, nothing went wrong and he stepped through the barrier out onto the platform. In front of him, a scarlet steam engine sat waiting next to the platform that was beginning to fill with people. A sign overhead reading:
Platform Nine and Three-Quarters
Hogwarts Express
Smoke from the engine drifted over everyone's heads as Harry made his way to the train. All around him, the sounds of trunks scraping against the ground and owls hooting loudly intermingled with the conversations of families saying their goodbyes to their children one last time before sending them off.
Quickly, Harry got his trunk and Hedwig's empty cage onto the train before making his way aboard.
- Hogwarts Express -
Stepping onto the train, Harry walked through the carriages, looking around hoping that he'd find an empty one to himself. After passing several carriages with people in them, Harry heard his name called out.
"Harry! Over here!" Looking around, he spotted Cho eagerly waving from a nearby carriage.
Pulling his trunk behind him as he made his way over to her, she offered, "Why don't you sit with us?"
Glancing behind her, Harry saw that only one other person in the carriage. A curly, reddish-blonde haired girl sitting on one of the seats smiles politely at him.
Agreeing, Cho stepped back into the carriage as Harry followed her inside. Taking a moment to get his trunk in the overhead compartment before sitting down across from Cho and the new girl.
Seeing his glance, Cho made introduction. "Harry, this is my friend Marietta. Mary, this is Harry."
As Harry waved at her in greeting as Marietta's eyes glanced at his forehead, noticing the scar.
"Wait…Harry? As in Harry Potter?!" Gaping at him for a second, Marietta turned to glare at Cho. "You didn't tell me you were friends with Harry Potter!"
Sheepishly, Cho tried to placate her friend. "I met him over the summer in Diagon Alley. Professor McGonagall asked me to help him get some of his things while she went to go do something." Waving a hand dismissively she added. "It's not a big deal."
"Getting some new shoes is 'not a big deal'! Finding a new book at Flourish and Blotts is 'not a big deal'!" Marietta exclaimed. "Meeting a world-renown celebrity is Cho!"
Turning back to Harry, she apologized. "Sorry about that! It's really nice to meet you Harry, I'm Marietta Edgecombe, but you can just call me Mary." Pointing a finger at Cho, she huffed. "This one always does, no matter how many times I try to get her to stop."
Cho playfully stuck her tongue out childishly at Marietta in response.
Waving her off, Harry replied with a grin, "It's fine. It's nice to meet you too Mary. If it makes you feel any better, Cho never told me anything about you either." At that, Marietta playfully glared at Cho who shrugged helplessly. "I take it the two of you are close?"
Nodding, Cho confirmed his statement. "Yeah, we met in our first year. The two of us were some of the only girls in Ravenclaw, so we ended up spending all of our time together. Next thing you know, we're the best of friends!"
Reaching over, Cho quickly grabbed and pulled Marietta into a hug; practically smooshing their faces together as Marietta glanced at Harry with a smile before rolling her eyes at Cho's behavior.
…
That broke the ice between them, and soon they were laughing together and talking about Hogwarts as they waited for the train to leave the station.
"So, Harry, what House do you think you'll be in?" Marietta asked, playfully batting Cho's hands away as she tried to mess with her hair.
Harry laughed at the scene as Cho tried unsuccessfully to play with her friend's hair, "I'm not sure. I think I'd like to be in either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, but I'm mostly leaning towards Ravenclaw."
"You're just saying that because you want us to be in the same House together." Cho groaned, rolling her eyes at him.
Harry joking replied, "Can you blame me? Who wouldn't want to be in the same house as two pretty girls like you?"
Laughing at their blushes, the three of them started bantering back and forth with each other as the train finally left the station. Over time, the conversation slowly died down as the girls pulled out some books to read.
Taking the time to look out the window, Harry stared out at the beautiful scenery, feeling a touch nervous at what awaited him.'I really hope I don't end up in Slytherin. I'd probably be dead before the year is over.'
He glanced at the girls from the corner of his eye for a moment. 'With any luck I get sorted into Ravenclaw…it would put a lot less attention on me than if I were to end up in Gryffindor.'
'Plus…I really want to learn as much as I can about magic, and being in Ravenclaw won't draw as much attention to me when I decide to spend more time reading books and studying than wanting to play something like Quidditch.'
That was a sport Harry really had no interest in. After reading over the rules and the many, many comments on the number of injuries someone could get from playing the game; he had no desire to participate in it. 'I'm sure it's a fun game…I just reallydon't think it's for me.'
…
For the next hour, the three of them enjoyed a comfortable silence together; occasionally speaking up every once in a while to comment on something or another.
Suddenly, the cabin's silence was broken by the door sliding open. Looking up in surprise, a girl with bushy brown hair and a nervous, round-faced boy stood outside the open door.
"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," the girl asked, her larger than normal teeth peeking out as she spoke in a slight bossy tone.
"Sorry, no." The three shook their heads, Cho responding for them group. "You should head to the front of the train and get one of the prefects to help you." She offered helpfully.
Thanking them, the girl quickly shut the door as she moved towards the front, the shy boy trailing after her like a lost puppy.
'So that's Hermione.' Harry thought, his eyes following her form as she disappeared from the doorway.
Marietta waited until after they left before speaking up, "Someone brought a toad to school? That's going to be rough."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked. While he didn't care much for toads, he couldn't see how it would cause someone trouble at school.
"Toads are a very old-fashioned pet." Marietta explained. "Nowadays, it's considered an insult to be given a toad to bring with you to Hogwarts." Before the conversation could continue, they were interrupted once again by the door sliding open. This time, it was pulled opened a lot rougher than before.
BANG!
Three boys entered the cabin as if they owned it. Two of them were incredibly large boys for their age, reminding Harry of Dudley as the boy leading them glanced around the small space with a sneer. His pale blond hair Harry recognized immediately. 'Aaaand there's Malfoy. Wow…He really does look like a ferret.'
"We're looking for Harry Potter, supposedly he's on the train this year." Malfoy looked at the girls before dismissing them with a glance as he spotted Harry's scar.
Walking up to him, Malfoy introduced himself. "So, it's you then, is it? My names Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." Pointing a thumb over his shoulder he added, "And this is Crabbe, and Goyle."
Glancing at Cho and Marietta, Malfoy frown in disgust before continuing. "You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort." The look he gave the girls making it clear who he was talking about.
"I can help you there." Draco held out his hand to shake Harry's, as if already expecting Harry to agree with him.
'Yeah…no.'
Staring straight into Draco's eyes, Harry didn't move a muscle as he spoke up. "Nice to meet you Malfoy. But I'm more than happy here with my friends." His tone was incredibly firm, refusing to let this spoilt brat badmouth Cho and Marietta after they had been so nice and welcoming to him.
Blinking, Malfoy's face grew angry as he opened his mouth. Before he got the chance to respond, no doubt to make some derogatory comment, a voice spoke up from behind Crabbe and Goyle.
"That's enough Malfoy, leave them alone." Standing behind them was an older girl with long, curly blonde hair already dressed in her Hogwarts robes; a shiny silver badge with a stylized 'P' attached to the front of her robes.
Turning around, Malfoy went to tell the person off for interrupting them before his mouth closed as he spotted the silver badge.
With a huff, Malfoy motioned for the other two boys to follow him. "Let's go Crabbe, Goyle." Sending a scathing look at Harry, he called out as he pushed past the older girl, "See you at Hogwarts, Potter."
Once the three boys were out of her sight, the older girl turned back to their cabin with a smile. "Sorry about that! Hope they didn't bother you too much Cho, Mary." Looking at Harry, she introduced herself. "Hello! You must be new; I'm Penelope Clearwater, a fifth-year prefect for Ravenclaw."
Harry smiled back at her; her friendly attitude contagious. "Hi there, I'm Harry."
As Penelope's eyes widened slightly, having overheard Draco's initial comments about Harry Potter being on the train, Cho spoke up. "Hey Penny, thanks for dealing with them. They just showed up unannounced and started bothering us."
Turning her attention back to Cho while occasionally glancing at Harry, Penelope waved her off. "Don't worry about it, Cho. Some of these first years are rowdier than usual." Glancing down at the watch on her wrist she continued in a rush, "Oops. Sorry, I can't stay to chat, I've got to continue my rounds."
Looking back at Harry, Penelope spoke warmly, "It was nice meeting you Harry."
"It was nice meeting you too Penelope."
With a wave, she closed the cabin door before heading off to continue down the train as Cho immediately burst into giggles once Penelope left. "Things sure get exciting with you around, Harry."
Sighing, Harry's head dropped at that, not able to deny it.
…
As it got darker outside, they changed into their Hogwarts robes. Harry politely stepped outside the cabin for a moment to give them some privacy before heading back inside to slide his robes on over his clothes.
Thankfully it was getting colder as they got closer to Hogwarts; otherwise his long-sleeved button-up and long trousers would be a little too warm under his robes.
Sparing a glance out the window of his cabin, Harry saw Hogwarts's lights in the distance, shining out through the darkness like a beacon. As the train pulled into Hogsmeade station, Cho and Mariette told him that first years entered Hogwarts differently than the other years, and that they'd see him at the Welcoming Feast.
Stepping off the train, Cho and Marietta waved at him before making their way over to a line of carriages. Surprisingly, Harry could see the Thestrals pulling the carriages. 'I mean, I have seen Death. Just, not the others have.'
Turning the other way, he walked over to where the rest of the first-years were gathered, getting his first look at Hagrid. His massive sized frame even more imposing to Harry's short size as he waved a hand twice the size of Harry's head. "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" Hagrid bellowed out, loud enough to be heard clearly over the sounds of conversations and laughter.
It took several minutes for the children to gather around him. Once the last of the first years got down off the train and had made their way over; Hagrid led them down a steep path towards a lake. "C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"
Slipping and stumbling, the first years followed Hagrid down the steep, narrow path. It was so dark that they couldn't see what was around them, the only light coming from the single lantern held by Hagrid. "Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder. "Jus' round this bend here."
Walking out to the shore of the lake, all of a sudden a loud "Oooooh!" rang out from the group of children as Hogwarts came into sight.
Reaching the edge of a lake at the back of the group, Harry got his first look of Hogwarts. Perched atop a high mountain, a massive castle with turrets and towers could be seen through the darkness. It's windows sparkling in the starry sky as it cast a reflection across the lake's crystal-clear surface.
Harry found himself speechless at the breathtaking sight.
"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called out, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Following the crowd, Harry got into a boat with two twin girls of Indian heritage and a dirty-blonde haired girl who was giggling with one of the twins.
"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then - FORWARD!"
As one, the fleet of little boats all began to move at his call; gliding across the lake until they reached a small harbor at the base of the castle.
Climbing out of the boats, the children following Hagrid as they made their way up a grassy hill towards a set of stone steps that led to a massive, oak front door.
At the top of the steps, Hagrid turned around before asking. "Everyone here?" Quickly look over the crowd, he nodded once before turning back to the door and raising a gigantic fist before knocking three times. Each knock sounding like a massive boom as the door shook under his strength.
In an instant, the door swung open.
Standing before them, dressed in familiar emerald-green robes and her black-hair tied into a tight bun; was the stern visage of Minerva McGonagall as she greeted the group of children.
"Welcome children, to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."