Chapter - 9 : A Different Kind of Magic part - 4

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There and then Hermione decided that her new mission in life was to be the best friend she could to Harry, the first boy ever to hug her. They chatted for hours, growing closer and closer the further from home they got. As they finally approached their destination, the pair took turns at waiting outside the carriage while the other changed into their Hogwarts robes.

Harry had one last word of warning for his new friend. "Hermione, I'm half expecting trouble when I get to Hogwarts. perhaps it would be better if..."

Hermione put an end to that avenue of thought in an instant. "No Harry, whatever you were going to say there is no chance I'm going back to the way I was before getting on this train. You're my friend and that's more important than any school."

The wide smile he gave her after this declaration did funny things to her stomach, Harry offering his arm saw her sporting a matching wide smile of her own.

"Shall we Miss Granger?"

It was time for the public face. "Delighted Mr Crow."

-oOoOo-

Hogsmead station hardly deserved the name, it had a platform to allow people access to and from the train and that was it. It also appeared to be in the middle of nowhere, with the few lit lamps fighting a losing battle against the rapidly encroaching darkness as evening fell. It was to be expected that the temperature in the Scottish Highlands would be considerably lower than that of London, a fact that saw most of the older students pull their robes tighter around them and head directly to the waiting carriages.

Harry and Hermione were halted from following their example by the appearance of a hairy man-mountain holding a lantern aloft. "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"

The towering figure was soon surrounded by all the first years. He appeared to be looking for someone in particular, it was also obvious from his expression that he didn't find who he was looking for. "C'mon, follow me — any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

They stumbled and slipped down a steep dark path that had Hermione mumbling a question to Harry, "Have they never heard of Health and Safety?"

They soon found the ground levelling off as they approached the shore of a dark body of water, it was the magnificent castle that seemed to grow out the mountain on the other side that demanded all their attention though. The castle was huge and had many turrets and towers, all sparkling with lights shining from the countless windows. Hogwarts was something straight out of the pages of a fairy tale.

It was only the large man shouting that drew their attention to the fleet of little boats sitting on the shore, Hermione thought they were coracles.

"No more'n four to a boat!"

Harry helped Hermione into the boat before also offering his assistance to the twin sisters who had approached with the hope of sharing.

The large man obviously had an entire boat to himself. He quickly checked that everyone was sitting in a boat before an order of 'forward' saw the little craft slip fully onto the water and begin to make their way toward the castle.

Parvati introduced both herself and her twin sister Padma Patil before proceeding to talk their ears off all the way across the lake. She appeared to have the annoying habit of asking a question and then providing her own answer. Her sister just sat quietly, probably immune to her twin's rantings by now. "What house do you think you'll be in? I don't really mind since we're the first of our family to attend a British magical school. Have you any idea how we get sorted? I heard it was some sort of test, though one boy was claiming we had to wrestle a troll..."

Harry could see Hermione starting to slip into panic mode at this onslaught of questions, probably because she didn't have any answers. He literally couldn't move any closer so placed a comforting hand on her knee. "My father told me an ancient magical artefact will decide which house we belong in. No tests, and certainly no trolls."

Parvati now appeared much more interested in Harry's hand resting on Hermione's knee. This resulted in a barrage of personal questions, questions that neither of the two had any intention of answering.

Only the boats entering a dark tunnel appeared to halt the verbal onslaught and soon they were disembarking onto a shingle beach. Harry was again a gentleman and helped all three girls out the boat. A long flight of stone steps ended at a massive oak door, anything less than oak would surely have disintegrated when the enormous man pounded on it with his fist.

The door was then opened by a black-haired witch in dark green robes, her entire demeanour screamed 'don't mess with me.'

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall, and he ain' amongst 'em!"

The big man appeared ready to burst into tears before the stern professor pulled him aside. Everyone could still hear their conversation though.

"Pull yourself together Hagrid, did you count them?"

The man they now knew was named Hagrid seemed affronted by this. "O' course I did, all present an' accounted fer professor." It was only then that what McGonagall was implying hit Hagrid, they were all here so the person he was looking for must be amongst them.

"We'll just let the sorting ceremony answer that question."

Hagrid went away happy while McGonagall began giving them a brief introduction to the Hogwarts Houses, and what they stood for. Harry and Hermione hardly heard a word, it was clear to both of them just who the staff were looking for.

As McGonagall left them for a moment to check how things were progressing, Harry took the opportunity to whisper to Hermione. "Just remember, I can look after myself..."

He didn't get to say anymore as the blond boy, who'd been one of the students looking for Harry Potter on the train, decided to hold court. "Harry Potter doesn't come to Hogwarts and they're all wetting themselves, pathetic. Do you know why he's not at Hogwarts? It's because he's dead! Do you really think a toddler could defeat the dark lord?"

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Welcome to the world of our fanfic! Your support is the heartbeat of this story, allowing us to craft new adventures and explore deeper character arcs. With over 55 chapters ahead, becoming a patron gives you exclusive access to bonus content and the chance to influence the narrative's direction.

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(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)

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