16 Four Snakes in a Train

"We get put into different houses?" Harry asked closing his book and setting it on his lap as he turns his head to the other four people in the compartment. "Did he ever tell us why his parents 'had' wands?" One of the boys said to the other sitting next to him. "No, he didn't." The other boy responded quietly. "Yes, he is quite the enigma, on one hand he can do wandless and silent magic, on the other hand he is clueless about the magical world he is in. Which is strange as he had magical parents" The girl that Harry watched walk through the wall chimed in, with a single eyebrow raised.

"Uh, before you continue talking about me as if I am not here, can we introduce ourselves? I am Harry and I'm a first year." Harry said waiting for them to respond. "Blaise Zabini" The African American boy quietly muttered, "Theodore Nott, but I go by Theo" he articulated. "I'm Tracey Davis or you can call me Trace, but only if your name is Daphne" she babbled, her black silky hair danced as she looked at her friend next to her. "Daphne Greengrass" she admitted as she finally lowered her eyebrow.

"Wait, we getting off track here, how the bloody hell can you cast spells without incantations and a wand?" Theo demanded, as the other three looked at Harry expecting answers. "Wait you can't?" Harry asked as Theo's eye twitched in annoyance. "Only a few can Harry, and every one of them was either feared, respected or both." Blaise voiced as he shrugged his shoulders. "My teachers had wands but they rarely used them, I thought it was normal, one had a staff but it was more for walking and pounding into the ground when he was annoyed." Harry said while remembering Merlin lecturing him on dueling. "I guess I will have to carry my wooden stick around when casting magic so no one will know." Harry murmured out loud as every eye narrowed at him. "It is not a wooden stick, Harry" demanded Daphne "It is a symbol of power, not some fallen branch you picked off the ground." She asserted, "If you say so Daphne" Harry said, "about the sorting" Harry asked trying to change the subject.

"Every person that attends Hogwarts goes through a sorting" Theo began "The sorting will put you with likeminded people and they become a second family during your time at Hogwarts" Theo finished as Blaise quietly chimed in "four different houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin." "They are named after the Four Founders?" Harry inquired, "Quite, the brave are put into Gryffindor, the hardworking get placed into Hufflepuff. The smart get sorted into Ravenclaw and the cunning go into Slytherin." Daphne explained as Tracey rolled her eyes and commented "What she really means is, the foolish are in Gryffindor, the talentless are in Hufflepuff, the lonely become Ravenclaw's and the people most likely to stab you in the back are in Slytherin." As Daphne, Theo and Blaise all nodded their heads in agreement.

As the girls started talking about what their future holds in Hogwarts and Theo was telling Blaise how he would learn wandless magic, Harry was in constant thought about what house he would join. "If Slytherin is the house of the cunning, wouldn't joining the house be self-defeating? What crafty person announces to everyone that they are in the house of cunning? I think a true Slytherin wouldn't allow themselves to join that house, they would instead be sorted into Gryffindor or Hufflepuff using the houses as a disguise." Harry concluded, looking at the future Slytherins'.

"Many people do not have a choice in the matter, getting sorted into somewhere else would bring shame to the family." Theodore sighed thinking about the matter. Before Theo could expand on his answer the door slid open. A bucktooth girl with frizzy hair popped her head in "Have any of you seen a toad, a boy Neville, seems to have lost his pet" She asked. "First thing I'm going to learn at Hogwarts is a locking spell" Theo joked to a nodding Blaise.

"A locking spell" the oblivious fizzy haired girl said as she stepped into the compartment. "I've read about those in our 'The Standard Book of Spell, Grade 1,' can anyone of you do it?" She taunted to the group, pulling out her wand. "I'll show you" she said nervously, biting her bottom lip as she closed the door, pointing her wand in between the handle and lock of the door. Her hand holding a wand moved as if she was drawing a question mark in the air. "Colloportus" she yelled as her wand tip exploded, throwing her small body into the unexpected Harry.

The force of the girl's body slammed into Harry as then they both slammed into the wall. Half their bodies crumpled against the back of the seats, as legs and arms were hanging off the side towards the floor. Harry could hear the others snickering, "Fuck, maybe you should wait till we are at Hogwarts to practice magic." Harry groaned as he pushed the girl off of him and began to right himself into the seat. The snickering turned into full blown laugher, as she looked up about to apologize as she saw his now visible forehead, "Crickey, your Harry Potter!" She exclaimed, as the laughter in the compartment instantly died and all that remained was silence.