Chapter 7: Hogwarts

"I heard that Harry Potter was in this compartment. Is that you?" Draco asked.

"Yes," Harry said. When he saw the two boys that were at least a head taller than Draco, he felt intimidated.

"Oh, this is Crabbe and Goyle. My name is Draco Malfoy,"

When Ron coughed to hide a chuckle, Draco looked at him.

"You think my name's funny, don't you? My father told me all about you guys. The Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford,"

He turned to Harry.

"You need to know that being friends with some people are going to be bad for your future and I can make sure that you have a bright one,"

Before Harry said anything, Argus stood up.

"Do you think I'm not worthy enough?" Argus said coldly. "You're just Malfoy scum. Get out of here,"

"You... You're that guy from Madam Malkins! You think you're getting away with insulting me this time? Hmph, you were so forgettable that I forgot to ask Father about you. Tell me who are you?" Draco asked with disdain.

"Argus. Argus Nidma. Son of Jack and Claire Nidma. If I'm forgettable then I suppose your measly Malfoy family must be even less than trash," Argus said with a snort. Harry and Ron were utterly shocked at the harsh words that Argus was spewing out.

Draco's face went red with anger.

"Don't even think about sending your two little rats to hurt me. If you do so, I'll make sure that the entire Nidma family will be thoroughly in war against your Malfoy family. Your family is strong, but we're just as powerful," Argus said with a smirk.

Draco stopped himself from sending Crabbe and Goyle.

"Argus Nidma, I'll get you back for this. Potter, I'd watch it if I were you. Being with these two blood traitors and Hagrid might rub off of you. Unless, you want to go the same way as your parents, I would be more careful,"

Harry and Ron stood up, but Draco and his entourage left.

"Who was he?" Harry asked.

"He's Draco Malfoy, part of the Malfoy family. Well just think of them as rich and old-fashioned. They were on You-Know-Who's side, but immediately came to our side saying they've been bewitched, but no one actually believes them," Argus said.

Hermione soon came to the room.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing just some pests," Argus said to her with a smile. However, Hermione didn't smile back.

"Well, you guys better hurry up, the train conductor said that we're almost at Hogwarts,"

"Then would you mind leaving so we can change?" Ron said scowling at her.

"Alright, I came only because there were a lot of people acting childishly outside running up and down the corridors. Oh and Ron, you got dirt on your nose," Hermione said contemptuously.

Ron glared at her as she left while Argus and Harry looked out the window. The sky was getting dark and they both were admiring the view of the mountains and the forests. The train started to slow down and the three started to change. While Harry and Argus' robes looked new and fit them perfectly, Ron's was a bit small on him and his sneakers were visible.

"We'll arrive at Hogwarts in approximately 5 minutes. Please leave your luggage in the train as they will be taken separately,"

Argus looked over at both Harry and Ron and both of their faces were pale from the nervousness.

"Guys, it's just school. It's not that bad," Argus said.

Hearing this did make them calm down a little, but Argus saw that it still did not really work.

When they left the train, Ron and Harry were shivering from the cold air, but soon he heard a familiar voice and a lamp above the heads of the students.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! Hey Harry and Argus, you doin all right there?" Hagrid said as he appeared in front of all the students.

"Alright everyone let's get to the boats. When we get there remember no more'n 5 per boat. Let's get going!" Hagrid led the student down a steep narrow path and when they turned, they saw the edge of a lake. On the other side was a mountain and on the peak of the mountain was a gigantic castle with many turrets and towers. Most of the kids were bewitched by it.

"That's Hogwarts. Well let's stop admirin' it and get on the boats. Remember no more'n 5 per boat," Hagrid said as he pointed to the little boats on the shore.

Argus, Harry, and Ron got in the boat with Hermione and Neville.

"Everyone in?" Hagrid said as he got on a boat by himself. "Alright --- Forward!"

The boats started to move and everyone was silent admiring the scenery except for Argus.

He got closer to Hermione and started to talk to her.

"It's beautiful isn't it," He said.

Hermione looked at him and went back to looking at Hogwarts.

"Yes, it is. I've never seen such a grand castle before," She said.

"Yeah, Hogwarts has the-"

"Heads down!" Hagrid screamed as the boats went through a curtain of ivy. They were led directly underneath the school until they reached an underground harbor.

"Yeh there, yer toad? Hagrid asked Neville who immediately went to get his toad.

"Trevor!" Neville screamed as he held his toad. Hagrid then led them up a flight of stone steps and then to a huge oak door.

"Everyone here?" Hagrid asked. He then proceeded to knock on the door three times. The door opened and a tall black-haired woman in green robes was standing there. Argus immediately recognized her.

"This is Professor Minerva McGonagall," Hagrid said.

"Thank you Hagrid, I'll take them,"

She pulled the door wide and Argus saw the grand entrance hall that he only saw from the movies. The students followed Professor McGonagall across the stone floors. Argus and Harry realized that they could hear hundreds of voices from a door to the right. Argus looked around to see that everyone was closer to each other than normal and looked at each other nervously.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said. "The banquet will begin soon, but before you go to your seats, you will be sorted into your house. The Sorting is a very important ceremony that will introduce you to your new family. You will basically do everything with them such as taking classes with them, sleeping with them, and spending your free time with them,"

She paused for a second before explaining once more.

"The four houses at Hogwarts are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin and each house has it own noble history and has many famous witches and wizards. In Hogwarts, we have a competition where we see who is awarded the most amount of house points. Your triumphs will earn your house points while rule breaking will lose your house points and at the end of the year, the house with the most points will be awarded the house cup, one of the greatest honor in this school. I hope that each and every one of you will be an important asset to your house,"

She then proceeded to look at Neville's cloak which was fastened under his left ear and on Ron's smudged nose.

"Well the Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes. I suggest that you clean up while you wait. I will return when we are ready. Please wait quietly," She said and immediately left the chamber.

After she left, Harry started to ask Ron and Argus questions.

"How will they sort us?" He asked.

"Oh, it's quite simple actually. They... You know I'll let you see for yourself," Argus said.

"Argus, you have to tell me," Harry said feeling even more frightened than before.

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking," Ron said.

Argus looked at Harry who was just shivering. He knew what Harry was thinking, but he didn't bother to fix it as there is no opening exam. He then went to Hermione who was whispering to herself reciting spells.

"Don't worry about it Hermione. They won't test you if you know different spells. There'd be no point then since it would take too much time,"

"Oh, but I need to do this just in case. What if they make me recite 5 different spells. If I already make a bad impression, it'll be horrible," Hermione said.

"Hermione, just relax. Believe me, you don't need to know all these different spells. I feel like they'll be even more surprised that you know so many spells even without any classes. Think of this like a Muggle school. A 2nd grade teacher won't expect her first graders that just moved on to the next grade to know multiplication,"

"You're right I should relax a little," Hermione said as she smiled at Argus. Seeing this smile almost made Argus' leg feel like putty.

He was relishing the smile until he heard everyone gasping. He then saw a group of ghosts flying around.

"Oh new kids, going to be sorted?" A fat monk asked. A few people nodded.

"Hope to see you at Hufflepuff. It's my house," He said. Suddenly, a sharp voice was heard.

"The Sorting Ceremony is about to start,"