4 Hogwarts Express

Arth and his parents arrived at Kings Cross at ten forty five. They were given odd looks due to the attire of Mrs. Kingscrown and the amount of luggage Arth possessed in his cart. The fact that Corvus, the baby raven that Arth had gotten, was sitting proudly on top of Arth's head also did not help them seem any less conspicuous.

"How exactly do we get to platform nine and three quarters? I've checked the map beforehand and there was no platform none and three quarters."

Mr. Kingscrown let out a slight smile before stating, "If muggles could ride the train at any moment, it wouldn't be a wizard train wouldn't it?"

"What does that mean?"

"You'll see soon enough darling."

Grumbling to himself, Arth started to count the platform numbers as he passed them by.

"One... two.... six... seven... eight... and nine."

Arth stopped counting and glanced around looking for a platform nine and three quarters. Sadly, he didn't succeed.

He was about to ask his parents once more when he saw a large family of redheads pass by.

The eldest boy of the red head family suddenly broke off into a march straight into the dividing barriers between platforms nine and ten.

Unable to believe his eyes, Arth focused on the redhead family once more. This time two brothers that looked like twins ran into the barrier and disappeared.

He turned around to face his parents.

"Do you have to run into a wall in order to reach platform nine and three quarters?"

"Yes indeed."

The skinny boy with glasses he saw at Diagon Alley seemed to ask the mother of the brothers that had just ran in.

After all of the redheads entered the gate, Arth decided it was his turn. He directed his cart to head straight into the barrier. Right at the moment when the cart was about to hit the barrier, Arth closed his eyes expecting and impact. However it never came. Arth opened his eyes.

A scarlet steam engine was lying patiently as young children boarded the train. Checking behind him, Arth saw an iron archway with the words platform nine and three quarters.

He had made it. A few seconds later, his parents entered through the archway with a nostalgic smile.

"I can still remember our first day on the train."

"We shared the same compartment didn't we? At that time, you were short and scrawny."

"But ain't I strong and handsome now?"

"Oh you~."

A bit uncomfortable, Arth turned away from the sight of his parents flirting. He wished that he could teleport away when he noticed that a few people were chuckling at his parents.

He went off towards the back searching for an empty compartment. When he found one, he proceeded to heave his trunk up onto the train door. With great effort, he managed to get it into one of the corners of the compartment and sat down his chest heaving.

A boy with black hair and round glasses poked his head in.

Arth and the boy met eyes and awkwardly stared at each other.

The boy gave an awkward smile as he said "Hi, the other compartments are rather full, so would you mind if I sit here?"

"Er, I don't mind at all."

Seeing the boy struggle with getting his truck in, Arth couldn't help but sigh.

"The trunks are sure heavy, I had trouble too."

"Yeah... it... is," the boy said while gasping for air.

Arth winced when he saw the boy attempt to lift his trunk up the steps but could hardly raise one end and dropped it painfully on his foot.

"That looked painful. Need a hand?"

"Yes please," the boy panted.

However for some reason, the boy's trunk was about twice as heavy as his own. The two failed at dragging the trunk and crouched down to rest.

"Why... does... your... trunk weigh... so much?" Asked Arth with a pained expression.

"I... don't... really know... either," replied the boy.

"Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins that Arth observed at the barrier.

"Yes, please," the boy panted.

"Please do, this guys trunk weighs a ton.

"Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!"

With the twins' help, the boy's trunk was at last tucked away in another corner of the compartment.

"Thanks," said the boy, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes.

In that moment, Arth's eyes contracted as he saw a lightning shaped scar on the boy's forehead.

"What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at the boy's scar.

"Blimey," said the other twin. "Are you-"

"He is," said the first twin. "Aren't you?" he added to Harry.

"What?" said Harry.

"Harry Potter, "chorused the twins.

"Oh, him," said Harry. "I mean, yes, I am."

The two boys gawked at him, and Harry started turning red. Arth saw this and sighed to himself internally.

Fame was not always a good thing. He had read some books over the month and understood a few more things in the magic society. Harry Potter, the boy who lived, his magical feat of making the Dark Lord disappear mysteriously.

Although most admired him, he felt nothing but pity. Not pity, but something more on the lines of understanding the pain of losing a loved one.

A voice came floating in through the train's open door.

"Fred? George? Are you there?"

"Coming, Mom."

With a last look at Harry, the twins hopped off the train.

Harry sat down next to the window on the opposite side of Arth.

Arth pulled up the window and waved at his parents.

"BYE ARTH! REMEMBER TO STAY SAFE, AND BE KIND TO THE PROFESSORS! AND STAY AWAY FROM THE WHOMPING WILLOW!"

Arth smiled.

"KAY, BYE MOM, DAD."

"SEE YOU AT CHRISTMAS!"

The train began to move. Arth felt a great leap of excitement. He would finally get to explore magic. After reading about it for a whole month, his fingers twitched in anticipation.

The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest redheaded boy came in.

"Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat next to Harry.

"Everywhere else is full."

Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked. The boy had a black smudge on his nose that was very eye catching.

"Hey, Ron."

The twins were back.

"Listen, we're going down the middle of the train, Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."

"Right," mumbled Ron.

"Harry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother. And... who were you again?" Asked Fred, or George.

"It's Arthur, you can call me Arth."

"Oh, nice. See you later, then."

"Bye," said Harry, Arth, and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out.

"Er, Yes?"

"Wow... I thought it was just Fred and George kicking around... do you have that.. you know..."

Arth raised his eyebrows.

"Scar?"

"Yes! Exactly, scar. Thank you... erm..."

Arth rolled his eyes.

"Didn't I just introduce myself? It's Arth."

"Oh, thanks Arth."

Ron turned towards Harry once more causing Arth to feel a bit complicated.

Was his presence that weak?

Arth took out a book from within his trunk and started to read.

"Do you remember anything from... you know who?"

"Nope, only green flashes of light."

"Wicked."

Harry spoke up.

"Is your entire family made up of wizards?"

"Yes, except for my mom's second cousin. He's an accountant, we never talk about him."

"You must know loads of magic already then." Said Harry a bit jealous.

"I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?"

"Horrible -well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers."

"Five," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy.

"I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left -- Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."

Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep.

"His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff -- I mean, I got Scabbers instead."

Ron's ears went pink. He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window.

Arth, who was keeping quiet the entire time interjected with a nonchalant voice.

"Money isn't everything. You can gain more money than anyone else when you become successful. That is, if you have the talent. And just because others compare you to your brothers, doesn't mean you yourself have to. No one can be anyone but themselves so just succeed in your own way."

Arth turned to face Harry.

"And you don't have to worry about being a failure at magic. Kids aren't allowed to use magic anyways and some people are in the same boat as you, muggleborns who had no idea what magic was until they recurved their letter. In fact, I'm one of them."

Ron gaped in awe.

"How do you know so much about us then? You sound like a person who lived with magic his entire life."

Arth shrugged.

"I'm a muggleborn who has a wizard and witch as adopted parents. I wasn't aware of magic until recently, my parents didn't want me to feel left out. However, I lucked out and turned out to have magic powers in me. My parent filled me in about the wizarding world and I also read some books."

A smiling dimpled lady slid back the door and asked, "Anything off the cart, dears?"

Harry leapt to his feet while Rob quietly murmured something about sandwiches. Arth got up quietly.

"I'll take the lot."

"I'll just have some chocolate frogs."

After eating a few, Arth decided he had enough and gave the rest to Harry and Ron. Arth took out a book and started to read.

However, after about a few minutes, Arth couldn't help but take some Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and joined in on the fun. Soon the compartment was filled with laughter.

The door opened and a round faced boy entered.

"Sorry," He said. "Did you see a toad at all?"

Harry and Ron shook their heads.

"You'll find him eventually. Everything that goes to Hogwarts eventually get found, so don't worry."

Arth had finally recovered from a excrement flavored bean and opened a book swearing to never touch them ever again.

"Ok," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him please tell me."

He left.

"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."

The rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap.

"He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look..."

Ron took out a wand that looked as if it was on the verge of breaking. He was about to cast a spell when the door opened again.

The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth.

"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."

She sat down. Ron looked taken aback.

"Er -- all right."

He cleared his throat.

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard -- I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough -- I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you."

She said all this very fast.

Ron and Harry looked shocked while Arth raised his eyebrows.

"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered.

"Harry Potter," said Harry.

Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course -- I got a few extra books. for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."

"Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed.

"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far

the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad.... Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there

soon."

And she left, taking the toadless boy with her.

Arth sighed.

"I'm a just invisible to everyone? Why is that everyone just ignores me?"

Ron furrowed his eyebrows.

"Umm... sorry to ask, but who are you?"

Arth blankly stared disbelievingly at Ron.

"I'm just joking mate, just messing with ya."

Arth pulled out his wand with a threatening glare.

"I might not have a wand but I do know some spells. Want me to test them out?"

Ron paled while Harry roared with laughter.

Ron meekly gave Arth a pumpkin pasty as a tribute and Arth reluctantly accepted. After talking with Arth, Ron knew that Arth enjoyed wizard news.

"Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles -- someone tried to rob a high security vault."

Arth's eyes lit up.

"Really!? Isn't Gringotts supposed to be one of the best banks out there?"

"Yep, that's why everyone is scared, they think that you know who was behind it all."

Soon after they changed clothes, the door opened once more.

Ron complained, "Why does everyone open our door without knocking, can't you people knock?"

Three boys entered, one of whom Harry seemed to recognize.

"I heard that Harry Potter was in this compartment. Is it true?" He said while looking at Arth.

Happy that he was noticed, Arth let out a smile.

"Sorry, But I'm Arthur. Harry is the boy with black hair and glasses."

The boy gave an inquisitive look at Arth before moving on to Harry.

"Hi Harry, my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. Pleasure to meet you."

Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigget. Draco Malfoy looked at him.

"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."

He turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it.

"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly.

Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."

Both Harry and Ron stood up.

"Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair.

"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered.

"Unless you get out now," said Harry.

Ark watched Ron and Harry with a book in his hand. He imagined what would actually happen if they fought, Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than Harry or Ron.

"But we don't feet like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some."

Goyle reached toward the chocolate frogs and Ron let out an angry yell.

However, before they could engage in a fist fight, Arth drew out his wand.

"Those are my chocolate frogs. Can you please take your hands off that?"

Goyle dumbly stared at Arth before turning back towards Draco. Draco glanced at Arth and his wand before frowning.

"Lets go, it's beneath me to fight against the blood traitor and scar boy."

The three boys left, however, they knocked down an assortment of chocolate frogs onto the floor on there way out.

Arth silently stared at the frogs on the floor with a sad face. Harry and Ron sat down still fuming.

"Can't believe that guy," said Harry.

"I know his family," said Ron. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side."

The door opened and Hermione entered.

"Why does it look like there was a fight going on in here?"

"That's because a fight almost went down on here."

Hermione tilted her head and placed a finger in her cheek.

"And you are?"

Arth twitched as Harry and Ron attempted to keep their laughter in check.

"I'm Arthur, you can call me Arth."

From somewhere inside the train, a girl shouted.

"LOOK! ITS HOGWARTS!"

They had arrived.