"Have you got your owl?"
"It's been squawking in my ear the entire way here, of course I do."
"Your books?"
"Yep."
"Your wand?"
I patted the compartment on my belt and my father nodded. "You have fun, Adventurer."
"I will, dad." At least, I hoped I would. Maybe a serial killer would break into Hogwarts and I'd solve the mystery. Or the walls would start talking and I'd have to find the voice. Or a dragon would come to the school.
The last one's rather mundane compared to the others, but it would still be cool.
I boarded the Hogwarts Express with one more wave to my father and started choosing a booth.
Somewhere in the train, there was Draco, but I had quite literally known him since birth, so I decided I'd stray from him for a bit.
I jolted when I felt something land on my shoulder and I slowly turned, seeing a small toad standing there as if it were a stage. "Why, hello there." I held out my hand and it hopped into my palm. "And where'd you come from?"
I opened a booth and stowed away my luggage in the compartment above head.
"Trevor!" I heard from outside the booth. "Where'd you go, Trevor?"
My eyes travelled to the toad obediently resting on my hand. "Is that you?" I leaned my elbow on the booth's wall, my head leaning on my palm. "So you're a little daredevil, are you?"
The booth suddenly opened and a boy with a round face and large front teeth looked in, relief hitting his features when he noticed the toad in my hand. "Sorry, um..."
"He's yours?" I held out my hand and the toad immediately jumped out of it, but not into the boy's arms.
I kicked the booth's door closed and the boy knelt down to grab the toad before it could jump out of his grasp again. "Thank you..."
"It's not a problem, but where's your stuff?"
His eyes widened and he spun around to see that there was, indeed, no luggage behind him. "Oh no," he mumbled.
"Is it out there still?" I opened the window and peered outside, only seeing crying parents and, for some reason, a running ferret. "I don't see it outside. Did you already stop by a booth?"
"No..." He weaved his hands in his hair, his brows drawing together in distress. "Oh, my grandma's gonna kill me."
I hummed.
He came from the front of the train, so his bag is probably around the front.
"Hold on." I held out my arm as the train's horn whistled and I heard the conductor announce, "All aboard!"
The train moved and the boy grabbed a seat, holding onto his toad for dear life while I continued standing with my arm sticking out of the door.
"What are you doing?"
"Just wait a second."
The sound of something heavy dragging down the train echoed in my ears and a trunk was hurled into my arm. "Got it."
"You're a lifesaver!" The boy jumped from his seat and pulled the luggage into the booth. "Oh, um, sorry, would you rather sit alone?"
"Nah, it's fine." I sat across from him with my arms crossed. "So, what's your name?"
"I'm Neville Longbottom. Nice to meet you."
"Y/N. The pleasure is mine." He was a pleasant break from Draco's nonsense, with his soft features and bright smile making me feel a bit unsure of how I should act around him. Although I couldn't shake from my mind the fact that his last name sounded so familiar.
The door opened again and a girl with frizzy hair and a stare that made me feel stupid walked in. "Excuse me, is this booth full?"
"Not at all, sit right down."
She put her trunk in the compartment above and sat down beside me. "I'm Hermione Granger. You two are?"
"Y/N Griffin."
"Neville Longbottom."
"Pleasure." She held out her hand like it was an interview and I shook it, realizing her firm grip as she shook my hand once, then twice, before going to Neville.
I cleared my throat, hoping to make the conversation less small talk.
"So, any interested stories you guys want to share? Like, how'd you learn that you were magical?"
"It's hard to say," Neville mumbled. "I didn't even know I was a wizard until my uncle accidentally dropped me out of the window."
Hermione and I blinked at him for a while before glancing at each other, our eyes seeming to ask was yours like that?
"Well," I started as I cleared my throat. "I accidentally turned my mother's hair green."
"How did you do that?"
"Not sure. I was just playing around with it and it turned bright green. Both my parents are magical, so it wasn't too much of a surprise, but my mom sure didn't appreciate it."
Hermione chuckled a bit. "Mine's a bit boring. I just learned when the letter from Hogwarts came in."
"That would be a great way to learn." I leaned back with a sigh as the story line tumbled from my lips. "A child, raised as a muggle, suddenly gains a letter that says that she truly belongs in the world of magic. It sounds exciting."
"It came as a surprise to my parents, but they were supportive."
"That's good, then. It'd suck if they weren't."
Neville shifted in his seat, his eyes fixated on the world outside the window.
I heard the trolley rolling down the hall and a woman knocked on the door of the booth. "Hello you three. Would any of you like some sweets from the trolley?"
"Yes please." I pulled out a three galleons.
Hermione stared at my hand as the woman took the money from me and listened to my choosing.
I could tell from her wandering eyes that she was one who craved knowledge.
I opened a box of chocolate frogs, stabbing the frog inside with a quill before it could run off.
Neville and Hermione stared as if I had actually stabbed a frog, but were gracious to accept a piece of chocolate.
"Neville." I stared at the boy as I gave him a piece. "Quick question."
"Yeah?"
"Where did Trevor go?"
He looked down at his hands, seeing them barren of the toad, and we all turned to the door to see that the snack lady had left it ajar.
"Well that's just splendid!" I exclaimed, frustrated, as I jumped from my seat along with Hermione and Neville. "You two look at the front, I'll take the back."
I knocked on the doors of the different booths, asking those inside if they had seen a toad, which they hadn't.
"Excuse me, have— Draconis!"
His eyes diverted from the book I had smuggled to him before he shut his trunk to
leave, while a girl with short black hair and the two boys seated next to him turned to me. "Huh. So you can make friends."
"What do you want?" the girl snapped as if she'd known him all her life.
Trust me, I wouldn't wish that one upon my worst enemy. I'd wish it on a sane person so that Draco could've grown up sane as well.
"Shove off, Pansy." He stood up and walked out the door, closing it behind him. "What is it?"
"I have a better question than my original one: who's she?"
"Pansy something or the other. She's been on my ass since I got to the station, and now I'm trapped with her."
"Have fun with that one. Anyways, back to the original question: have you seen a toad?"
"A toad? No. Why, you tried to kiss it and it ran off?"
"No," I answered with a gentle slap on his arm.
He laughed and went back into his booth, where I caught a glimpse of Pansy batting her lashes at him. "Great, Draconis has himself a suitor."
He could have fun with that. I'd run through the halls of the castle-like building while he can run away from his fangirls.
"Y/N." Hermione had found me to say, "We're almost at the school. You should change into your uniform."
"Sure thing."
•••
I stood, waiting for the large hairy man to guide us, when I felt something walk across my foot. I looked down to see Trevor casually strolling through the crowd of students.
"Well would you look at that," I whispered as I knelt to pick him up. "You've found me again."
Groups of students got into canoes and we approached the school.
My eyes lit up, the windows with lights shining through, the tall towers, the stone walls, everything was straight out of a fantasy book.
"How big do you think the library is?" Hermione questioned with marvel.
"I'm itching to find out."
We docked and were led into the building and up long winding stairs lit by candles. "Neville!" I whisper-yelled, gaining his attention. I held out my hand, where Trevor stood peacefully in my palms.
"You found him!"
"More or less."
Once I gave him back his pet toad, we continued up the stairs. "The first years, Professor McGonagall," the large man said.
An elderly woman with a twisted hat and a long robe awaited us at the top, her eyes landing on each one of us as if she'd somehow do a headcount.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," she greeted, her voice not quite muggle tourist-like, but not quite scary teacher-like either. "The start of the term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin."
Draco and I found each others eyes in the crowd, smirking at each other at the naming of the houses.
"While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points."
Say it louder for Draco.
"At the end of the year, the house with the most points will be awarded the House Cup, a great honour. The sorting ceremony will begin momentarily."
She turned on her heel to leave and the moment she did, Draco spoke.
"It's true then, what they're saying on the train. Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts."
Lovely. The man-crush of seemingly all the Malfoys, Dobby somehow included in that. He'd know a lot about Harry, seeing as it was the topic of every conversation that was started by Draco.
"This is Crabbe and Goyle," Draco introduced, his head tilting to the two boys I had seen beside him on the train. "And I'm Malfoy." He walked up in front of the one that seemed to be Harry Potter. "Draco Malfoy."
There was a stifled giggle (which I didn't blame, the name sounded like a medicine) and Draco's head snapped to the red head in front of him. "You think my name's funny, do you? Well, no need to ask yours. Red hair and a hand me down robe... you must be a Weasley."
He turned back to Potter. "You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort." He held out his hand. "I can help you with that."
Potter glanced at his hand and replied, "I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks."
Oh wait, I was supposed to be the responsible one.
"Draco," I swam through the crowd to put my hand on his shoulder.
My eyes finally met the ones belonging to The Boy Who Lived. They glittered green, peering at me through his glasses' round frames. If it weren't for the unusually shaped scar, they would've been the most beautiful part of him.
I, however, find beauty in what is interesting.
The scar, shaped like a lightning bolt, was situated on the side of his forehead, poking through strands of unkept brown hair.
I didn't know much about The Boy Who Lived but he honestly appeared to be The Boy Who Had it Rough.
I pulled Draco back into the crowd and my brows raised to display my lack of amusement. "Social cues, Draco. Besides, Weasley seems to be Potter's friend, you wouldn't want to have a disappointing first impression like that."
"Fine, maybe I got a little carried away."
"'To a great mind, nothing is little.'"
"Don't you dare quote Sherlock."
"Everyone!" The two of us hushed as Professor McGonagall returned. "We are ready for you."