A/N: of all the L/J fics on PK, i have to say that Pheonix Song's stories are my favorite, so i took the liberty of pulling a few situations from her story to toss into mine ^^a
The Boys Who Lived
Chapter 2: On A Rail
The weeks following the trip to Diagon Alley were uneventful at best. Partially because Harry was taking his father's advice and doing a quick review of the subjects he was taking that year. The sole argument that James had tossed into play was the simple fact that the better prepared Harry was, the less work he'd have to do, which would result in LOTS of free time to wander about.
But the main reason Harry was bored to tears in the month leading up to his departure was because he and Neville had both been grounded following their stint at Flourish & Blotts.
Maybe it was the mood he'd entertained over the duration of his punishment, but Harry felt a breathless excitement take hold as he was ushered through the magical barrier and took his first step onto Platform 9 and 3/4.
The feeling lasted up until the point a trolley was pushed through the barrier behind him and ran itself up the backs of his heels. As he belatedly moved away from the pillar with a startled yelp, he noticed a nearby guard giving him an I-Told-You-So stare. Apparently the wizard HADN'T simply been waving hello to him earlier.
"Sorry 'bout that, mate," a cheerful voice sounded over his shoulder.
Harry spun to see a lanky red-headed boy grinning widely at him. The boy extended his hand. "My name's..."
"...Fred Weasley," he introduced himself, startling Harry. He'd never known anybody able to throw their voice so well. He hadn't even seen him move his...
A second hand clapped onto his shoulder and Harry spun around again. Teleportation as well?
"Oh, don't scare him, George," the voice came again from behind him. "The poor boy hasn't recovered from your runaway trolley yet."
The boy in front of Harry put a hand to his chest in mock hurt and looked over Harry's head. "MY trolley, Fred? When clearly the poor bloke's shoes are sporting YOUR trolley's treadmarks."
Harry stepped back a pace and half turned, suddenly understanding the situation. Identical twins stood facing him, each sporting the same mop of red hair and grins reaching their ears.
James moved up to his side. "Most of your stuff's in the baggage car, Harry." He placed his owl cage down at his feet. "I'll leave Hedwig with you."
"Thanks." Harry turned back to look at the twins. "Oh! Sorry, where's my manners? This is.."
If anything, the twin's smiles grew bigger as one of them raised a hand in greeting. "Fred and George Weasley, Mr. Potter."
Harry glanced at his father, but James didn't look surprised that they knew their surnames. He merely gave an 'ah' of recognition and shook Fred's hand. Turning his head a bit more, he noticed Neville being scolded off by his grandmother again and he tugged on his dad's sleeve.
"Be back in a bit," he said. Then took off to see what his friend was being told off about NOW.
* * *
Almost half an hour later, the two were on the train and searching for an empty compartment as it made final preparations to leave.
"I've trained that stupid toad too well," Neville moaned as he collapsed into a couch.
"I only hope we find him before he gets half the school mad at you," Harry replied as he dropped into the opposite seat.
They both snapped their heads towards the door as it slid open. A apologetic face looked in and scanned the compartment briefly before the boy sighed and slid the door open the rest of the way. "Can I sit here? All the rest are taken."
Neville waved him in, "Sure, no problem."
Harry stared as the boy stepped in and tossed a trunk into the overhead racks. The mop of red hair on his head marked him as related to the twins he'd met earlier, and when Harry asked about it, the other nodded a confirmation.
"Ron Weasley," he said, settling down next to Neville. "This is my first year going to Hogwarts."
"Us too," Harry said. He ran a hand through his hair, trying to find a sudden itch. He held out his other hand, "Harry Potter, by the way."
Ron's eyes grew wide at the name, and wider still as Harry's scratching pulled a bit of hair away from his forehead. He looked over at Neville, who obligingly moved his hair away to display his own scar. "Bloody hell," he whispered. "I thought Fred and George were pulling my leg when they said they'd seen you."
"Yes, yes," Neville said with a sigh of long suffering. "Famous names, famous scars, missing toads. Who's up for a game of Exploding Snap?"
"Me," Harry said, looking at Ron.
"Eh, um, sure," he said, his face going almost as red as his hair.
Before they could start, however, they looked up as the door slid open again, a girl standing irritably in the corridor.
"Does this belong to anyone here?" she said, holding up a familiar amphibian.
"Not mine," Ron said.
"Trevor!" Neville exclaimed.
"..." Harry stared.
She stared back, her expression blank as recognition settled in. "I should have known," she spat as she all but threw the toad at Neville. She turned to leave.
"Wait!" Harry said. "It's not his fault, we lost him on the platform. We're glad you found him though, before he could do anything...rash."
"He jumped from the overhead racks and onto my head."
Neville winced.
Ron's gaze wavered back and forth between the two near the window and the one in the door. Finally it settled on the girl.
"You KNOW them?" he blurted out.
The girl frowned, her eyes starting to flash in anger, just as Harry liked to remember her. "Not really," she admitted. Apparently deciding not to be a human doorstop, she took an open seat on the same couch as Harry. It didn't escape anybody's attention, however, that she scooted herself as far away from him as possible, all but scrunching herself against the wall. "Hermione Granger," she introduced herself.
"Ron Weasley," the redhead replied.
"Neville Longbottom."
They turned to stare at Harry, who had gone back to staring. A shove from Neville shook him from his daze. "Er, Harry Potter," he mumbled.
Hermione's expression took on a new edge as she seemed to process this information. "I thought you'd be taller," she said, finally.
"First year at Hogwarts?" Neville asked in a conversational tone. He threw a grin at Harry as the two remembered their last conversation at the Leaky Cauldron. Harry responded with a warning glare as Hermione sat up straighter, oblivious to the exchange.
"Yes. Nobody in my family's magical at all. It was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but once the shock was over I was ever so pleased, of course."
She was speaking so rapidly it was a few moments for the rest of them to process what she'd even said. When she said 'of course' she made it sound as if her statements were the most obvious things in the world.
"It's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard. I've learned all of our course books by heart, of course; I just hope it will be enough, I've heard all sorts of things about the teachers there, I DO hope that they're as...."
She trailed off as she noticed the blank expressions facing her. "What?"
"Don't you ever need to BREATHE?" Ron exclaimed.
* * *
As an argument brewed on the door side of the compartment, Neville noticed Harry seemed to be lost in his thoughts. He was about comment on it when the toad in his arms croaked as if to remind him of his presence. Neville looked down, then he grinned as he picked his head back up.
Harry nearly jumped as Trevor jumped onto his head and began to croak loudly. He grabbed him from of his head with an annoyed sigh as Neville, laughing, pulled out the small tank he kept the toad in.
As Harry tossed him in, he noticed that the brief scene had been enough to distract Ron and Hermione from their little row. Both of them were looking in his direction and Hermione coughed distractedly in her throat.
"So..." she started, looking at Harry. She paused, seeming to collect her thoughts, and snapped her gaze to the side. "So Neville, you two are really the Boys-Who-Lived? I've heard so much about you, of course."
"Of course," the others repeated blankly.
"I've read several books about the wizarding world in my spare time, just for a little background reading. You're both mentioned in 'Modern Magical History' and 'The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts' and in 'Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century'"
Harry and Neville shared a glance which seemed to say this was news to them. Hermione looked at the two of them and threw her arms in the air.
"Goodness, didn't you know? I would have found out everything I could about myself if it were me!"
"Of course," Ron deadpanned.
The boys broke into laughter at his comment. Hermione bristled, then her mouth twisted into a small grin and she looked down. "I HAVE been running my mouth of haven't I?" she asked ruefully.
"Of course!" Neville howled, clutching his side as he laughed. He straightened up as a seat cushion bounced off his head.
"So have any of you given a thought to which houses you might go to?" Harry said, replacing the cushion.
"Well," began Hermione, looking crossly at Ron and Neville as they mouthed two familiar words and began sniggering. She paused and reconsidered what had probably been another rant in the making. "I wouldn't mind being in Ravenclaw, but after reading 'Hogwarts, A History', I think it'd be much more exciting to be in Gryffindor."
"Both our parents were in Gryffindor," Neville pointed out.
Harry looked at Ron, "What house are your brothers in?"
"Gryffindor." Ron looked glum, "My parents were in it too, so I can't imagine what would happen if I didn't get in. I guess Ravenclaw wouldn't be so bad, but if they stick me in Slytherin I'm leaving straight away."
"That's the house You-Know-Who was in!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Not just that," Ron replied. "My Dad works in the Ministry of Magic. Every wizard who went bad during that time was in Slytherin."
Harry arched an eyebrow as he turned towards Hermione. "I thought you said you were muggle-born."
"Yes, so?"
"Well, it's not like you grew up hearing horrible stories about him. Why don't you just say Voldemort's name?"
Ron hissed. Neville rolled his eyes at him.
Hermione's eyes went wide and started darting back and forth, as if reading the inside of her head, looking for an answer. "Well...it's just since the wizarding world finds the name a bit...shocking, and you know...well..."
She glanced down at her watch and suddenly stood. "You'd better change into your robes," she said. Her voice had gone back to its former lecturing tone. "It won't be long now until we arrive."
As she stepped out into the corridor, Ron slumped in his seat. "With that kind of attitude you'll both be in Gryffindor for sure." He tilted his head towards the door. "I hope she goes into Ravenclaw, I don't think I could stand a week being with her in the same house."
"Oh, I don't know," Harry mumbled.
* * *
Another half hour had gone by without incident, though the three had taken the time to unpack their robes and throw them on. Harry had entertained Ron with some of the stories his father had told him about his time at the school. Neville, having heard most of them already, pitched in by pointing out obvious embellishments that had accumulated with each retelling.
"...and so there he was, narrowly escaping certain death from thousands of bludgers all charmed to bash his head in, saving my Mum from equally certain death as he repelled them all with a wave of his wand and locked the doors so they couldn't get out!"
"Except," Neville leaned in. "The charm in question was a simple summoning charm, cast by the 'damsel in distress' herself. I'm still undecided at this point if she really was trying to take his head off or not, but Mr. Potter stopped talking when I asked."
"I like my version better."
"Your version is worse than your Dads! At least in his version there was no plot by Dark wizards to kill him with a quidditch equipment shed!"
Harry's face fell. "The Dark wizards came later."
Ron bit a chunk from a chocolate frog he'd gotten from the snack trolley, which had passed by minutes ago. His face took on a contemplative edge as he chewed, and as he swallowed he looked at the other two. "No more Dark wizards around though, thanks to you two."
"I don't know..." Harry said thoughtfully. "My Dad gave me a few names to watch out for, I'm pretty sure I told Neville."
The round-faced boy nodded.
Before Ron could pester them for names, the door slid open to reveal a trio of boys. The center one sported sharp, gray eyes, a pointed chin, and pale hair which was slicked back. He also carried a sneer which seemed to stay no matter how he contorted his face.
"So," he sniffed. "What they said all over the train is true then." He raised his chin and looked down at the compartment's occupants. "The great and legendary Boys-Who-Lived are coming to Hogwarts." His tone was mocking, his manner disrespectful. Clearly a Slytherin in the making.
Harry and Neville took this in at a glance and looked at each other. "Hello, Malfoy," they recited.
Malfoy straightened, his smirk growing even wider. "I'm honored, the two celebrities know who I am." He stepped into the compartment, hand outstretched.
"It doesn't take much to remember a git," Harry scoffed, stopping Malfoy in his tracks.
Ron's bark of laughter drew his attention, and he rounded on him. "Think that's funny? No need to ask who YOU are. Red hair...freckles..." He glanced at his robes. "Shoddy, second-hand robes. Or should I say third-hand?" He sniffed again. "I don't need to associate myself with a Weasley..."
Ron jumped to his feet, but the other two followed suit and clamped their hands on his shoulder. Malfoy glared at him for several moments longer before he spun around.
He swept back through the door, "I'll see you at school, Potter, Longbottom. Crabbe! Goyle! Let's go!" His voice carried down the corridor, the two boys outside dutifully following.
Ron's ears were turning pink as Harry and Neville sat back down. It was another few moments before he got his breathing under control and then he sank back into the cushions as well.
"I've heard of his family," he said in a low tone. "Dad told me about them too. They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. Rubbish. Dad says they didn't need an excuse to go join his side..."
"We heard the same," Neville said. "That little git's dad was in school at the same time ours were. Their whole family was insufferable." He looked down.
"Neville's family suffered at lot worse than mine," Harry said. "Their first casualty took place while our parents were at school. The Malfoys were part of what happened."
"Bloody hell," Ron whispered. "Is there anybody else I should know about?"
Harry looked thoughtful. "Dad said something about a snake?"
"I think it was Snape," Neville said.
"That's right, Snivellus Snape. Or was it Severus?"
"I think we should just stick to the last name..."
Ron's eyes had widened. "We're doomed."
"Why?"
"He's the Potions Professor at Hogwarts."
Neville blanched. Potions, though he had a reasonable grasp of it, had never been his favorite subject. "He's right, we're doomed."
Harry nodded. "Of course."