When Darkness Falls

Chapter Two - The Sorting Hat

Harry and Ronald soon learned that they were very similar; they both had the desire to be free of their families, to grow stronger and to create their own expectations of themselves, they both hated their home lives and had been forced to grow up much more quickly than they were supposed to. However, what the two bonded over the most was their dislike of Albus Dumbledore.
"Urgh, Dumbledore, again," Ronald complained as he threw his chocolate frog card to the floor.
"As in Albus Dumbledore?" Harry asked, curious about both Ronald's reaction to a man who every other person thought was great, and that he wanted to learn more about the man who had knowingly left him at the Dursleys.
"Yeah, I suppose you've heard of him." Ronald angrily bit the head off of his chocolate frog and continued to scowl at the image of him on the floor.
"Yeah," Harry said bitterly. "He's the one who left me at the Dursleys."
"I've never trusted that man," Ronald said.
Harry picked up the card off the floor and stared at the picture on it. "This is him? He's just an old man, what does everyone see in him that's so great?"
"No idea," Shrugged Ronald. "My family all seem to worship him or something. All I see is a manipulative, lying, controlling-"
'Son-of-a-bitch," Harry finished Ronald's sentence for him and a smile returned to both of their faces.
"Finally someone agrees with me!" Ronald cheers, a small laugh escaped out of his mouth. "And it's Harry Potter out of all the people."
"Well, look forward to more surprises Ronald because I am far from the picture-perfect Harry Potter I am made out to be," Harry smirked.
"Oh, I will look forward to it." Grinned Ronald, as he picked up another sweet from their pile.

Halfway through the journey, there was another knock at the compartment door, this time, Harry opened it and saw the pointy, blonde haired boy that he met in Madame Malkins. "You're the one from the robe shop." He said bluntly.
"I am, and you're Harry Potter," The blonde boy nodded. "I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." Harry's eyes flickered towards the two boulder-like people who flanked him like bodyguards. "Oh, and this is Crabbe, and this is Goyle." 
"Okay, well are you planning on standing outside for the rest of the journey?" Harry asked in a bored tone.
"Not at all." Draco Malfoy turned to his bodyguards. "You can leave if you want to, Pansy and Blaise are back at our compartment." Crabbe and Goyle grunted, then made their way back down the carriage, Draco walked into the compartment and sat down beside Harry. It was at this moment that he noticed Ronald. "Weasley." He commented upon seeing the hair.
"Malfoy," Ronald said in the same stiff voice. 
"Do you two know each other?" Harry asked.
"No." The two boys said simultaneously.
"I know of the Weasleys, they are one of the most famous wizarding families after all. Even if it is for their Good Samaritan ways." Draco's lip curled slightly at the end of the sentence.
"Well, Ronald is not like the rest of the Weasleys, and if you're to start an argument then proceed to the nearest exit," Harry said calmly.
"No, not here to start an argument, just came to see if you were the boy from the robe shop," Draco said with a slight reluctance. "So Weasley, what makes you so different from the rest of the clan?"
"Apart from the fact that I hate nearly everything they stand for?" Ronald asked snidely. "Also, call me Ronald, I'd rather not be associated with that name for the rest of my life."
"You hate nearly everything they stand for, that's always a good start. Do you have any proof of that?" Draco asked, not expecting Ronald to be able to prove that he was different. Ronald, however, pulled his shrunken textbook out of his robe pocket and showed Draco the tiny script on the front. "How were you able to come by this? It's only available to purchase from Knocturn Alley." Draco's eyes widened in shock as he looked up at Ronald again.
"I snuck away from my mother and bought it myself," Ronald said, his eyes glowed with pride as he spoke of his defiance of the family name. At that moment, Harry realised that that was the reason that Mrs Weasley had been holding onto Ronald's arm so tightly, she had not wanted him to slip out of her sights again. 
"Impressive Ronald," Draco nodded, his face showed that he truly meant that statement, which shocked not only Ronald but Draco himself. 
"I should think so Malfoy," Ronald was still preening over his achievements. 
Draco rolled his eyes and extended a hand out to Ronald. "Call me Draco."
"Sure thing," Ronald said as they shook hands. 
Draco was pleased with himself as he extended his friendship to a Weasley, they were notorious blood traitors, so it was the first step to becoming a different man to his father. He also knew that if his father found out he could say that it was necessary for gaining the trust of Harry Potter. 

"Hey, Harry?" Draco asked a while later.
"Yes, Draco?" Harry replied as he looked up from the book that he had.
"Have you learnt anything more since Diagon Alley? You were rather clueless about everything that day." Draco said with a small smirk on his face.
"Excuse you, I had only known I was a wizard for a day," Harry rolled his eyes and continued to answer the question seriously. "But, yes I have, I've read Hogwarts: A History, our school books and a book on hexes."
"Bravo, you can read," Draco said, his voice laced thickly with sarcasm. "Show me something that you learned."
"Really?" Harry asked thinking that it was a joke, but the look on Draco's face suggested otherwise. "Alright then." Harry pulled out his wand and thought of a hex that he could use. Just as he was about to start speaking, a girl with bushy hair pulled back into a ponytail forced her way into the locked compartment. "You can't just barge into people's compartments, it is rather rude you know." Harry turned to look at this girl and the wild expression on her face in annoyance.
"Are you doing magic?" She asked, his wand being pointed at Draco seemed to have changed her course of action.
"Well, yeah," Harry replied, he glanced at Ronald and Draco, but they just shrugged, clearly as confused as he was.
"Let's see then," She said, folded her arms and sat down next to Ronald.
"Hang on a moment," Ronald cut in. "You can't just come into locked compartments and demand for people to perform magic."
"Yes, it being locked did make it a slight challenge for me to get in, but are you really dimwitted enough to think that I am here just for that?" The girl shook her head. "He was already going to do magic, so I'm just going to make up the audience."
Ronald looked at the other two boys in disbelief as the mystery girl waited patiently for Harry to perform the spell. Harry now decided to rethink the hex that he was going to perform as this girl clearly wanted to be impressed by something, and giving a defenceless boy antlers was probably not going to be the answer. "Ronald, can I borrow your rat?" Harry asked.
"Sure." Ronald handed Harry the sleeping rat, which he placed on the seat next to him. 
Harry now pointed his wand at the rat and said clearly. "Entomorphis." Scabbers began to squeal as he began to shrink and morph. After a few moments, Ronald's rat had turned into an ugly grey beetle, which had begun running round in circles. Harry then muttered the counterspell and Scabbers returned to his rat form.
"Is that the best that Harry Potter can do?" The girl said smugly, she then created a ball of fire in the palm of her hand, without uttering a single word or using a wand. The fireball began to grow at an alarming rate until it was around the size of her head, the girl then made it vanish into a puff of smoke. "I'm Hermione Granger and I will be the greatest student in Hogwarts, I will not be second to a boy who is known for an act that he cannot even remember." Hermione Granger stood up and walked to the entrance of the compartment. "Lovely to meet you all." She said innocently, smiled at them sweetly and left, letting the compartment doors close with a crash behind her. The three boys stared in shock at the spot where the girl had been.
"What just happened?" Harry asked.
"It was wandless," Draco mumbled in disbelief, his father had not informed him of such a powerful witch due to attend Hogwarts, which meant that she was possibly Muggleborn. He knew his father would not be happy about him being behind a Muggleborn, but it would be impossible to get higher grades than her, except perhaps in potions.
"That was amazing." Ronald breathed dreamily, the sheer amount of power still rushed through his veins as he thought about it. He hoped that they would be in lessons together so that he could experience that amount of power firsthand again.
"Ronald?" Harry snapped his fingers in front of Ronald's dazed face. 
"Did you not feel the power?" Ronald asked, but was met with shakes of the head from the other two boys. "It was nothing like I have ever experienced, it was glorifying." Harry and Draco shared a look of confusion as Ronald continued to stare fixedly at the spot where Hermione Granger had been.