Harry and Susan were waiting on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. They had arrived early to collect the others in Harry’s gang. The Hogwarts Express was already waiting at the station. The gleaming red Hall class steam locomotive radiated an enormous amount of heat. It stood out like a brilliant beacon in Harry’s enhanced sight. There was coal in the tender, but Harry suspected the engine didn’t need coal since the fire in the firebox was fuelled by magic. Otherwise, the engine and the carriages seemed to work as they did when delivered from the railway workshops.
Regent Longbottom and Neville stepped through the floo.
“What is that, Neville?” Susan demanded, pointing at something sitting in Neville's hand.
“He’s Trevor, my toad. Longbottoms have always gone to Hogwarts with a toad as a pet. It’s traditional.”
Trevor dived to the platform and, in a few bounds, was gone into the crowd.
Harry drew his holly wand, “Accio Trevor!”
Trevor came flying back to Harry and slapped down onto his right hand.
“Here, Neville, let me fix something for Trevor.”
Harry conjured a glass box with some damp green things in it.
“Put Trevor in this and seal the lid.”
Trevor buried himself under the covering greenery.
Harry stepped up to Neville and spoke quietly, “When we get to Hogwarts, you can release Trevor in the dampest greenhouse. He’ll be happier there.”
Neville nodded.
Augusta Longbottom saw the whole series of events. “Casual displays of powerful magic are normal at The Ossuary these days, I see.”
Amelia replied, “Since Harry got his Ollivander wand, yes. He has been coaching Susan and the others; he doesn’t seem to notice that he performs seventh-year magic without effort and hasn’t started his first year.”
The Abbotts arrived. This time Hannah’s father was with them. The families and allies greeted each other.
Hannah Abbott took her father’s arm and guided him to Harry. “Father! Let me introduce Master Harry Potter, heir to the Ancient House of Potter.”
“I’m pleased to meet you, Mr Abbott.” Harry held out his hand.
“I’m pleased to meet you, Heir Potter.” The man took Harry’s offered hand and shook it.
“Hannah has gone from being a bit reserved about going to Hogwarts to anticipating the experience. She is expecting things to happen when you get there.”
Hannah hid her face.
Jane Abbott thumped Henry Abbott on his arm. “Don’t embarrass the girl, Henry!”
Henry Abbott laughed. Then he caught sight of someone. He suddenly became more serious.
“Have a good time at Hogwarts, Harry. But please watch out for Hannah and Susan. You may not be in the same house, but I have heard you will look out for your friends and allies.” Henry Abbott smiled at Harry, then glanced at the person he saw in the crowd and stepped to his wife’s side.
Harry slowly looked around. Behind him was a tall man dressed in rich robes. Beside him was a tall blonde woman with an aristocratic look about her. Her robes were equally rich. They were both looking at Harry with clear curiosity. A girl dressed in travelling robes took the woman’s hand. She was a smaller version of the aristocratic blonde.
Harry turned to look at Amelia. Amelia beckoned Harry to her, and she spoke quietly to him.
“That is Lord Cyrus Greengrass, his wife Lady Olivia Greengrass, and their daughter Daphne. Daphne will start at Hogwarts with you. Lord Greengrass has informants everywhere, so he will already know about you. He will try to use Daphne to approach you. They are neither Death Eaters nor aligned with any group politically. Lord Greengrass doesn’t splash his money around like the Malfoys, but he does make carefully considered donations to certain charities. It is rumoured that he has more money in the muggle world than in the magical, so I don’t know where he stands on the wealth scale, but he is up there with the Potters and the Blacks. The fact that he has kept his family neutral without paying bribes should tell you that he is an expert at surviving.”
Harry nodded. “I shall wait to see what they do.”
Amelia turned away from the lord’s scrutiny. “I should also add that Lord Greengrass’ title is actual, not like pretenders such as the Malfoys. His full title is the Marquis of Crécy, so his daughters are entitled to be called Lady Daphne and Lady Astoria.”
-ooOOoo-
In Azkaban, Harry had been briefed about the Greengrass family. If the Death Eaters made any move against a Greengrass business, a team of the toughest mercenaries would quickly arrive to smash the Death Eaters responsible. Eventually, Voldemort ordered his followers to leave them alone. He threatened terrible revenge on Lord Greengrass once he gained absolute power, but that never happened. The Greengrass family were always protected by their own security teams.
Sirius was dismissive of them. “They will end up siding with the winners, whomever the winners are.”
-ooOOoo-
Susan took charge, “We are all here. So let’s say goodbye, get onboard, and find a compartment. “
There were kisses, hugs, and handshakes. Harry was slowly adjusting to being touched. However, he still flinched if someone didn’t warn him about incoming hugs and kisses.
A compartment was found in the middle of the train, and the trunks, pet cages, and boxes were stored. As departure time approached, the platform crowd began to wave and shout at the train. Harry and the others crowded the windows to wave back. Harry looked at Susan and Hannah and started to understand that this was the first time they had been separated from their families. Their eyes were wet with tears, and they hugged each other. Harry flinched again. They both saw it and started to giggle.
Susan laughed over her tears. “Don’t worry, Harry! I’m not going to hug you. But you had better stay around when we get to Hogwarts. This is very frightening for Hannah and me.”
The red engine gave a long whistle, and the late arrivers scrambled onboard. The train started off in enormous clouds of steam and a hint of smoke.
The gang arranged a roster system for sitting next to the windows. The northern suburbs of London were flashing by. The train must have had its own track because there were no halts or delays as they progressed into the late summer countryside.
The compartment door slid open, and a young redheaded boy came in.
“Anyone sitting there?” he asked, pointing at the seat next to the door. “I was sitting with my brothers, but they told me to go and find some other firsties to sit with. Lee Jordan came into the compartment with a giant tarantula in a box, so I left. I hate spiders.”
Hannah said, “You can sit with us. I think I know you. What’s your name?”
“Oh! I’m Ron Weasley.”
“Yes! I thought so. You have five brothers and a sister, don’t you?”
“Yes, that’s us.” Ron looked around at the faces in the compartment. “I think I know some of you, but I’m no good at names.”
Neville said, “Let me do the introductions.
I’m Neville Longbottom, and she is Hannah Abbott,” Neville pointed at Hannah.
“Next to her is Susan Bones.”
Neville glanced at Harry, who gave him a little nod.
“This guy is Harry Potter.”
Ron looked at Harry sitting back in the corner of the compartment.
“WOW! ARE YOU REALLY HARRY POTTER?”
Harry didn’t say anything but nodded.
“Have you got … I mean … can I see it … the scar?”
Harry sighed. He removed his pointy black hat and sat up to face Ron.
Ron’s eyes widened as he saw the angry red scars on Harry’s face. The biggest went from his temple near his right eye, across his cheek, nose, and the left corner of his mouth and ended halfway along his left jaw.
Clearly visible on Harry’s forehead was the lightning-shaped black scar.
Four broad scars ran across Harry’s scalp; it looked like a wild animal had clawed him. No hair grew on these scars.
Ron pointed at the black lightning-shaped scar on Harry’s forehead.
“So that’s where You-Know-Who –?”
“Yes,” said Harry, “but I can’t remember it.”
“Nothing?” said Ron eagerly.
“Well – I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else.”
“Wow,” said Ron staring at Harry. Ron’s mouth was hanging open.
Harry put his hat on, slanted down to cover the lighting scar and sat back in his seat.
“How did you get all those other scars?” Ron finally asked.
“I don’t like to talk about it,” Harry answered in nearly a whisper.
“I also have very little eyesight. So, the healers gave me these spectacles to help me see. They are magical.”
Harry was staring back at Ron. Ron finally looked away.
“I heard you went to live with muggles,” said Ron. “What are they like?”
“They died. I lived in an institution after that.”
Harry tried to get the attention away from himself.
“What is your family like? You have a lot of brothers.”
“Five,” said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy.
“I’m the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. So, 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. Of course, 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 grey 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.
-ooOOoo-
“Don’t do anything rash, Harry. You and I can both see that it is Pettigrew. He’s been living with the Weasleys for years. He obviously feels safe there. He is in a place where he overhears a lot of talk about Dumbledore and The Order of the Phoenix. If you try to take him now, he will escape with that inside knowledge and leave you empty-handed.”
Harry listened to Tom.
“OK, Tom, I will set up magic suppression and animagus transfiguration wards somewhere at Hogwarts and trap him there. That will take some time. Fudge has limited what the aurors can do. Aunty Amelia can’t act until Pettigrew is in a cell at the DMLE.”
-ooOOoo-
After twelve, there was a jangling noise outside in the corridor, and a smiling woman slid back their door and said, “Anything off the trolley, dears?”
Neville leapt to his feet, but Ron’s ears went pink again, and he muttered that he’d brought sandwiches. Neville came back with pumpkin pasties and cauldron cakes. Susan and Hannah shared a cauldron cake.
Susan said, “Aunty says to watch what we eat at Hogwarts. The meals are huge and fattening, and we can quickly gain four sizes in a year if we aren’t careful.”
Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches in there. He pulled one of them apart and said, “She always forgets I don’t like corned beef.”
Harry took out his own thin sandwich. He was still on a light diet.
Harry had to look out the window when he saw the way Ron engulfed his sandwiches. Even Rabastan Lestrange, the depraved Death Eater, had better manners.
Harry decided to get Ron to talk about what he knew of the war. If Scabbers/Pettigrew had heard anything damaging, the urgency of dealing with him would increase.
“Ron, what did your parents tell you about the war against Voldemort.”
Ron gasped.
“What?” said Harry.
“You said You-Know-Who’s name!” said Ron, sounding shocked and frightened. “I’d have thought you, of all people –“
“Oh! Of course, Voldemort made the name taboo so anyone who said the word would be traced. The thing is, no one is reading that trace now. It will only matter if Voldemort regains a physical body and creates another taboo. That could happen, but it hasn’t yet.”
Ron huffed. “Look! Don’t say the name. People don’t like it.”
“OK! I won’t say the name. Fine!”
Neville looked at Harry and shook his head.
Neville then picked up Trevor’s box to see if he was happy.
Ron saw the toad and made a face. “If I brought a toad, I’d lose it as quickly as possible. But 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,” Ron said disappointedly.
“I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn’t work. I’ll show you, look …” He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a battered wand. It was chipped in places, and something white glinted at the end.
“Unicorn hair’s nearly poking out. Anyway –“
He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again.
This time there was a girl at the door. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.
“Can I sit with you?” she asked.
She had a bossy voice, bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth.
“There’s no room!” answered Ron.
“Of course, there’s room. You can sit beside me.” Neville said as he moved towards Harry to make some space.
The girl looked at the wand in Ron’s 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 grey 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 for practice, and it’s all worked for me. But, of course, nobody in my family’s magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter. Still, I was ever so pleased, of course. I mean, it’s the very best school of witchcraft there is, I’ve heard – I’ve learnt all our set books off 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.
“I’m Ron Weasley,” Ron muttered.
Neville glared at Ron and said brightly. “I’m Neville Longbottom, and this is Hannah Abbott, and this is Susan Bones, and he is Harry Potter.”
“Are you really?” said Hermione. “I know all about you, of course. I got a few extra books for background reading. You’re in Modern Magical History, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century.”
“Am I?” said Harry, feeling embarrassed.
“Goodness, didn’t you know, I’d have discovered everything I could if it was me,” said Hermione.
“Do any 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 one, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn’t be too bad.”
Hermione stopped talking and looked around at the others. “Can I ask you something? I was sitting in a compartment on my own, and all these older students came in. I tried to talk to them, but they didn’t answer me. Is that normal?”
“Some wizards won’t talk to people when they haven’t been introduced,” Susan asked.
“Like Pride and Prejudice, that’s ridiculous.” Hermione’s voice developed a bossy tone.
“What’s Pride and Prejudice?” Ron asked.
“It’s a novel set in old-fashioned society,” Hermione answered.
“Never heard of it.” Ron grumped.
“Don’t worry about those others,” said Neville, “You’re better off here with us.”
“They probably guessed that you are muggle-born. Most magical children know someone who is also in the first year. So if you are alone, you are almost certainly muggle-born.” Susan said.
Hermione replied gloomily. “I was so excited and looking forward to going to Hogwarts. Now I’m not so certain.”
Harry touched Neville’s arm. “Neville, can you go with Hermione to collect her trunk? She should have all her things here with us.”
Neville nodded, “Let’s go and get your trunk, Hermione.”
“Oh! Thank you, Neville.”
Neville and Hermione went to the door.
Hermione turned to Ron. “You had better change; we’ll be there soon. You have dirt on your nose, by the way.”
They went out and shut the door.
“Whatever house I’m in, I hope she’s not in it,” said Ron. He threw his wand back into his trunk.
“Stupid spell – George gave it to me. I bet he knew it was a dud.”
The door opened again. This time it was Draco Malfoy and two other boys.
“Found you at last, Harry,” he said. “They’re saying all down the train that you are in this compartment.”
Harry stood up and approached Malfoy. “Hello, Draco.”
Draco offered Harry his hand, and Harry shook it.
Harry was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and loomed menacingly. Standing on either side of Malfoy, they looked like bodyguards. “Oh, this is Crabbe, and this is Goyle,” said the Malfoy carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking.
Harry nodded to them as Malfoy mentioned their names. They didn’t offer their hands, and Harry did not offer his. Harry knew that these boys were Malfoy’s henchmen. They were on a lower social level than Malfoy and would not expect a handshake at any time.
Ron gave a snort of disgust. Draco Malfoy looked at him. “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 discover some wizarding families are much better than others, Harry. You don’t want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there.”
“Thank you for your kind offer, Draco. However, I already have the right friends and intend to keep them. I will keep the formal alliance between House Potter, House Longbottom, and House Bones and all their alliances, such as the House Bones alliance with House Abbott.”
Draco snorted. “Very well, Harry; we can discuss this later when there aren’t many people listening.”
“Goodbye, Draco,” Harry said.
Malfoy sneered at the occupants of the compartment and left.
Neville and Hermione returned soon after Malfoy had walked out.
Neville smiled at Harry, “We passed Malfoy in the corridor. He looked like he had swallowed a lemon. Was he just in here?”
Susan laughed, “Yes, he tried to insult us all and get Harry to become another of his cronies.”
Harry shook his head, “He says he will be in Slytherin. What a joke. He has ambition but is about as cunning as a charging bull. He is a better fit for Gryffindor.”
“Hey, that’s insulting! I’m going to be in Gryffindor.” Neville laughed.
Harry was still standing as the others sat down.
“Hermione, you need to have an intense tutorial on wizarding society. Our society is based on alliances. The blonde creep you met in the corridor is Draco Malfoy. The two goons with him, Crabbe and Goyle, are members of families allied with the Malfoy family. They do everything Malfoy tells them. They are all people to be avoided.
On the other end of the scale, there is us. Susan and Hannah are in a family alliance, and Susan, Neville and I are also in a family alliance. No matter what happens, we are always there for each other; this is bigger than Hogwarts house allegiances. You are the first of a new wizarding house. You need to be in an alliance, or you will find yourself isolated at Hogwarts.”
Hermione looked at Ron. “What about you, Ron?”
“My family has allies. We are allied to the Prewetts because mum was a Prewett, but we are not just in-laws but also allies. There are other allies like Dumbledore; we were all allied with Dumbledore in the Blood War.”
Harry continued, “Families are not as important as alliances. Neville and I are second cousins once removed; Draco Malfoy and I are second cousins once removed. I am a second cousin to Ron, his brothers, and his sister. Despite this, if the Blood War was to start again, Malfoy would try to kill everyone in this compartment. It wouldn’t matter that we are related; the Malfoy alliances matter more to Draco than being related.”
Harry paused and then continued.
“Guys, I don’t usually do things this quickly, but something else must be done. I have a heightened sense of magic. I have very little eyesight and have learned to see magic in a way that most people can’t.
I can see the most amazing magic in one person in this compartment.
That person will become an extremely powerful witch; that person is you, Hermione Granger.
Please don’t laugh at this. I am offering you the formal protection of House Potter. If you accept, that protection will bring you into the Potter-Longbottom-Bones alliance. If anything you don’t like happens at Hogwarts, I want you to bring it to me, Neville, Susan, or Hannah. We will do everything we can to help you.”
Neville looked at Hermione. “Say yes, Hermione! SAY YES! Harry can do this because he is the heir to the Ancient House of Potter, and there is no Potter regent.”
“You’re mental”, muttered Ron.
“It will be like you are a Potter. We will all be as close as brothers and sisters.” Susan said.
Hannah nodded.
“As soon as I heard about how those older students behaved, I knew you might be isolated and lonely at Hogwarts,” Harry added.
Ron shook his head. “Brothers aren’t always that great. My brothers use me to test their pranks.”
“Please say yes, Hermione. Harry knows a lot about magic.” Susan pleaded.
“My sister blames me if she breaks something,” Ron said.
“I don’t know what I’m doing, but one of my secret dreams is to have brothers and sisters. So yes, I will accept your protection.” Hermione said.
“You’re all mental. I’m going to get changed.” Ron picked up his school robes and left to change in the loo. He didn’t come back to the compartment.
Susan and Hannah gave Hermione a gentle Hufflepuff group hug.
Harry and Neville gave Hermione formal handshakes.
“Alliances and formal protections can be made and broken. If this isn’t what you want in the future, you can end it. But I hope you will keep it. Your magic is beautiful, and we need you to stay with us.” Harry said.
“I’m not beautiful,” Hermione replied.
Harry shook his head. “I mainly see your magic, which is beautiful.”
“Oh! Look!” Susan was pointing at the right sleeve of Hermione school robe.
A pattern was emerging from the material. Silk embroidery thread appeared in a complex and colourful shape.
Harry spoke. “That’s the Potter Crest. Potter family magic has accepted you as a Potter protectee. The two red bars under the crest signify you are a protectee.”
Susan looked worried. “Aunty Amelia said that house crests were not allowed at Hogwarts. Will there be trouble about this?”
Harry shrugged. “Headmaster Dumbledore has said for many years that house business is prohibited at Hogwarts. However, he has no authority to ban house crests from our robes. Now that the crest has appeared on Hermione’s robes, the Potter heir crest will appear on my robes. The Potter heir crest has a single blue bar under it. The alliance magic will make your crests appear on your robes.”
Susan, Hannah, and Neville checked their robes. Neville laughed. “The Longbottom crest is on the right sleeve of my robes. Gran will be delighted. She has always grumbled about not having our crest showing.”
Harry nodded. “If anyone tells you to remove these insignia, remind them that they are allowed under the rules approved by the Hogwarts Board of Governors. All the headmaster can say is that he doesn’t like them. He has no authority to ban them. If they are removed, our alliance magic will restore them anyway.”
Harry turned to his trunk and took out a handful of notebooks. “I want each of you to take one of these. These are linked journals. When you write a message, you can send it to every other journal by writing ‘All’ or ‘Alliance’ on the address line. Also, you can send a message to one other person in the alliance by writing their name in the address line.”
“Can anyone read them?” Hannah asked.
“They are keyed to the first person to write in them. After that, anyone else will only see blank pages or anything you write which are not addressed to anyone. So, you can also use them as your personal journal,” Harry said.
Hermione opened her journal. “How did you know to get one for me?”
“These are copies. I made them when I opened my trunk a minute ago,” Harry replied.
Neville laughed. “Gran said it. We have to get used to casual displays of powerful magic when Harry is here.”
Hermione wrote on the first address line, ‘All’.
Then she wrote, ‘The adventure begins’.
The others opened their journals, and on the first page was an entry.
To: All
From: Hermione Granger
Date: Sunday, September 1, 1991
Time: 5.03 pm
Message: The adventure begins
-ooOOoo-
The alliance finished changing into their Hogwarts robes. The announcement was heard throughout the train that they were arriving at the station. It was also announced that their trunks would be moved to their rooms after the sorting.
Harry had one last thing to say to the group. “We may be sorted into the same house; that would be great. However, I doubt very much that it will happen. We could end up in all four houses, which is a distinct possibility. Whatever happens, we are still an alliance, which will come first for me.”
-ooOOoo-
The train arrived at the Hogsmeade station. Hagrid tried to greet Harry on the platform, but the half-giant’s face fell when Harry didn’t smile back at him. Harry nodded to Hagrid and walked on.
Harry had made his way down the steep path without a problem. He could see clearly using his ability to sense magic and detect the warmth of the other students. They stood out against the dark cold of the lake water.
Harry needed a little time alone. The biggest stress of the night was still to come. Harry was not looking forward to the sorting. Susan, Hannah, Neville, and Hermione had taken one boat together. He had waved the others into their boat and took the next one with a bunch of firsties he had not met before.
The little boats sailed across the Black Lake towards the castle. It was an enchanting sight.
-ooOOoo-
“Hogwarts again! I’m not looking forward to this either. Horrors! One mistake, and Dumbledore or Snape will see me. Worse than that! Voldemort is inhabiting the shell of Quirrell!”
“Relax, Tom! Stick with the plan. Gus couldn’t break in, and I’ve been working every day on building my strength.”
-ooOOoo-
After landing in a cave under the castle, the firsties climbed the high staircase. Then Hagrid made the door to the Entrance Hall boom and shake three times with his fist.
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