Harry Potter and all characters, etc. belong to J.K. Rowling, not me.
The Time Meddlers
Chapter Three - Second First Impressions
With plenty of time to spare, Harry exited the Knight Bus at Kings Cross Station. He quickly found a secluded spot where he got his school trunk out of his special trunk, so that he wouldn't look strange not having luggage. He also took out a book to read. He then sat in a spot that had full view of Platforms Nine and Ten and waited for a certain family to make an appearance. Within ten minutes, he heard the voices he was listening for.
"Are you sure that you've properly understood your instructions, Hermione?" asked a woman's voice, calling Harry's attention from his book. He couldn't stop the huge grin that formed on his face when he saw a little girl with bushy hair and buckteeth, pushing her trunk on a cart as tall as her, with her parents behind her. He wanted to kiss her right there, realizing just how much he'd missed his girlfriend for the past month. However, he knew that if things did go properly, she wouldn't be her old self for nineteen more days and would not appreciate his assault. However, that was no reason not to be friendly with her before then.
He carefully marked his place as Hermione answered, "Yes. To get to Platform Nine and Three Quarters…"
"Excuse me," said Harry, who had by this time approached them. The three Grangers looked uncomfortable, and he figured they thought he was a muggle and had overheard them. "Could you tell me how to get on Platform Nine and Three Quarters?"
Hermione's ears turned pink and she started looking at her shoes. "Er, I was joking. Of c-course there isn't a Platform Nine and Three Quarters."
"No, you weren't," he replied in a whisper. "I'm going to Hogwarts, too," he said, holding up his large tome to her. The cover said, Hogwarts, a History. Hermione's face lit up. Before she could respond, Harry continued. "The only problem is that Hagrid, the one who told me about the magical world, forgot to tell me how to get onto the platform."
"How dreadful," said Hermione, obviously appalled that someone would forget such an important detail. "Professor McGonagall, who delivered my letter, told me straight away." She then went into what Harry recognized as her lecture mode. "What we need to do is walk straight into the wall between Platforms Nine and Ten."
"Wow," he said, acting amazed.
"I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, and these are my parents," she said, holding out her hand to shake his. "And you are?"
Taking a deep breath, he said, "I'm Harry Potter."
Her eyes widened before looking up to his legendary scar. "You are him, aren't you?" She then frowned. "You're having me on. You knew full well how to get through."
"That was very rude, Hermione," chastised her mother.
"I was not," Harry said quickly, now worried that he'd ruined Hermione's first impression of him and he would have to wait three weeks to be friends with her. He phrased his words very carefully so that he wasn't lying to her. "I was raised by muggles who hate magic, and I didn't even find out I was a wizard until I got my letter." He took a deep breath. "Hagrid brought me the letter and took me shopping in Diagon Alley, but he forgot to tell me how to get onto the platform." He then decided to add, "That was also the first I'd heard the truth about my scar. My aunt told me I got it in the car crash that killed my parents."
For the second time, Hermione looked appalled. "A car crash? They didn't even tell you the truth about yourself? How awful."
"Yeah," Harry agreed. "Anyway, I think it's time we got onto the platform. I want to get a good seat. Do you want to sit with me?"
He didn't notice the grins that appeared on Mr. and Mrs. Granger's faces when they saw that someone seemed to be befriending their often lonely daughter, but he did see her smile. "Sure," she said simply before adding, "Let's go." Side-by-side, they ran through the barrier.
"Wow," said Harry, gazing at the train.
"Yeah," she said, also transfixed with the sight. Her parents appeared directly behind them.
"It really worked," commented Mr. Granger, sounding a bit surprised as he looked around. "Well, honey, I guess we'll get your stuff on the train." He took Hermione's trunk off her cart as Harry did the same with his. They quickly found an empty compartment with Hermione and her mother behind them. Thanks to his having previously reduced its weight magically, Harry managed to get his school trunk on the shelf without help.
Hermione was hugged by both of her parents, who then turned to Harry. "It was good to meet you, Harry," said her father.
"It was good to meet you, too, sir," he said while shaking his hand. Hermione's mum shook his hand as well, and they exited the train just as the whistle blew, signaling passengers to board the Express.
The two sat in silence for a few moments before Hermione spoke. "How do you like Hogwarts, a History?" she asked.
Harry grinned. "It's actually not bad. I've been reading as much as I could for the past month to try and prepare."
Her face lit up. "So have I. There are so many things that kids raised in the wizarding world take for granted that muggle-borns don't know, and I really want to do well."
"You will," said Harry confidently and sincerely. "I'm sure of it. I wouldn't be surprised if you end up being Head Girl like my mum. She was muggle-born, too, you know."
Hermione was blushing from the praise until the last sentence, when she looked a bit irritated. "The books that mention you never said that. They said the Potter family was an old pureblood one, but nothing about your mother."
Before Harry could respond to that, the door to their compartment was opened. A small, shy redheaded boy was on the other side. "Er, do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full."
Harry had to blink back tears as he saw his old friend alive. He resisted the urge to hug him as he said, "Sure. Come on in. This is Hermione Granger, and I'm Harry Potter."
Harry had to admit that despite how happy he was to see Ron, he was still irritated by the star-struck look he was giving him, especially when the redheaded boy glanced at his famous scar.
"Ron Weasley," said the boy as he sat down. Harry tensed up when he saw the cage that Ron was holding. When he actually saw the rat, he had a very hard time not pulling out his wand. "This is Scabbers," said Ron, not looking at Harry as he put down the cage. When he finally turned around and saw Harry's expression, he asked, "What's wrong?"
Shaking his head for a moment, the Boy-Who-Lived forced himself to calm down. "It's nothing. I once had a bad experience with a rat. That's all."
"Oh, well, you don't have to worry about Scabbers. He's been in the family for years and never hurt anyone. He's a family pet. He first belonged to my brother Percy, but since he was made prefect this year and got an owl, I got Scabbers."
"I thought that only owls, cats and toads were allowed at Hogwarts as pets," commented Hermione.
Harry looked flabbergasted. He'd never noticed that before. "It said that on my letter, too."
Ron's ears turned pink. "They let Percy keep him."
"I'm not doubting that, Ron," said Harry, "but it does seem a bit strange that they'd only mention those animals if any pet were fine."
"Yes," said Hermione, "They should say that rats are allowed as well, and any other animal that they don't mind, like perhaps gerbils."
"I suppose so," agreed Ron, now that he wasn't being defensive.
At that moment the snack trolley arrived, and Harry bought a bunch of snacks that he shared with his two friends, although Ron ate a lot more than him and Hermione put together. Harry managed to catch his chocolate frog before it got away this time. A short while later, Harry grinned when Neville arrived and asked if they'd seen his toad.
"Can't say that I have," said Harry, "But I'm sure he'll turn up. Why don't you sit down for a little while?"
"I suppose," said the shy boy as he complied.
"I'm Harry; this is Hermione; this is Ron."
Neville's eyes flicked up to see the scar. "You're Harry Potter."
"That's what my Hogwarts letter said. Would you like a chocolate frog?"
"Sure," said Neville. "My gran doesn't let me have any. She thinks they'll escape before I eat them."
"Sometimes they do," said Ron. "We should probably close the window - just in case."
The frog did leap for the window, but was stopped by it, and Neville grabbed the frog in the air and bit off its head.
While Ron and Neville were looking at chocolate frog cards, Harry turned back to Hermione and spoke softly. "The reason that no books mention that my mother was muggle-born is because of a ridiculous prejudice against muggle-borns that exists among the vast minority of the wizarding world." He sighed as he saw her start to frown. "Unfortunately, that minority currently holds the most wealth and political power. It actually has no basis in…"
At that moment, the door opened yet again, revealing Draco Malfoy and his two cronies. He glanced at each person in the compartment with a look of disgust, and then his eyes settled on Harry and did the familiar flick upward to his scar.
"You're Harry Potter!" he exclaimed. "You lied to me at Madam Malkin's!"
When Hermione looked confused, Harry explained while chuckling. "You see, we got our school robes at the same time, and he didn't know who I was while we were talking. I told him I was muggle-born, and suddenly he sniffed the air and said it stunk, like there really was some sort of difference between us. It was hilarious!" Harry's laughter was contagious as his other companions joined in laughing at how red Draco's ears were turning. "He's obviously been taught he's superior to us, especially you, even though he can't tell the difference between himself and the people he's supposed to be superior to." Harry was excitedly gesturing with his hands as he happily pointed out how stupid Draco's beliefs were. "If I'd have said I was a pureblood, he'd have claimed he could tell I was wonderful like him. Then again, if he finds a pureblood like Neville or Ron that disagrees with him, then they're automatically inferior, too." Hermione was laughing out loud as Harry continued. "I told him that idea was just like Hitler with the Jews and he lost his temper and said…"
"Stop laughing, you filthy…"
"Mud-Blood?" Harry said in a mocking tone. "Is that all you can say, you stupid bigot? The reason imbeciles like you say things like that is because most of the muggle-borns are smarter and more powerful than you, therefore taking away some of the influence your worthless families have. The simple fact is that you and your family are afraid of muggle-borns replacing you. That's why Moldy-shorts was able to get the stupidest of the rich purebloods to join him. I wonder if your family was among them. He must have really enjoyed the irony of having those prejudiced purebloods kissing his half-blood behind."
"The Dark Lord was NOT a half-blood!"
"Yes, the Dork Lard was. His name was Tom Marvolo Riddle, and he went to school at Hogwarts - even became Head Boy. He rearranged the letters of his name to form the sentence, `I am Lord Voldemort,' and started using that name so he could deceive the fools that followed him into believing he was a pureblood."
Malfoy and his goons stormed out of there with red faces. Harry didn't know if that helped the situation or not, but it felt good to tell Draco off. He'd thought about betting Draco that Hermione would do better than him in all their classes, but realized Malfoy would cheat, probably by getting Hermione injured so she couldn't study.
"Is that true, about You-Know-Who?" asked Ron when the dust settled.
"Yes," said Harry. "It's not known by many people, but once I learned about my parents, I made it my business to learn everything about him that I could, including the fact that he got an award for special services to the school while he was a prefect. According to the book I read, it's on display at Hogwarts right now."
"What book was that?" asked Hermione, looking very interested.
"I forget." When she looked disappointed, he said, "I'll figure it out and let you borrow the book before the end of the month, I promise."
"I'll hold you to that," she said. Then she pulled out her wand. "Have any of you practiced any spells?"
Harry and Neville shook their heads, but Ron spoke. "My brother Fred told me one that I tried yesterday, but it didn't work. It's supposed to turn Scabbers yellow," he said, indicating his rat. Harry thought of a few spells he'd like to practice on `Scabbers' that would do a lot more than turn him yellow. The red-head pointed his wand at his slumbering rat.
"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow.
Turn the stupid fat, rat yellow."
He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep.
Hermione looked skeptically at Ron, and Harry had a very hard time not laughing when she asked, "Are you sure that's a real spell? Well, it's not very good, is it?"
"Ron," said Harry, trying to stop an argument, asked, "Is there any chance that the spell could've been a joke?"
Ron's ears turned pink. "I'll bet it was," he said angrily. "Fred was having me on!"
"That's awful!" replied Hermione. "It's hard enough to learn magic without being lied to. That's why I always read about spells before using them."
Ron seemed irritated at that statement, but Harry said, "I agree. Books aren't always perfect, but they're more reliable than an older brother pulling a prank. What spells have you learned, Hermione?" He was curious what spell she would demonstrate, since he'd repaired his own glasses a few days after he returned to the past.
Hermione pulled her wand out, along with a book of matches. "I read about this spell in `A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.' One of the first spells is to change a match into a needle." She then took out a match and set it on the seat. After her first attempt, the match was silvery and pointed, but clearly it was still a match. She put down her head in shame.
Harry said, "Hermione, I think you didn't move your wand exactly right. Let me show you." He then demonstrated the movement with his wand, and she tried again. This time it became a needle.
Hermione smiled brightly at him. "Thanks, Harry!"
"No problem. That's what friends are for."
He heard her whisper, "Friends," as her eyes lit up. Harry had to fight the impulse to snog her right there and remembered that he was only eleven, and she barely knew him.
"D-do you think you can help me with that spell, too, Harry?" asked as nervous-looking Neville.
"Of course," said Harry, as he went over it again. He noticed Ron pretending not to pay attention, but moving his wand in the exact pattern the spell required.
The rest of the ride went by smoothly, as the four friends got to know each other - or in Harry's case, got reacquainted. Before long, the train came to a halt at Hogsmeade Station.
-
Please review. Thank you to those who have.
-->