Harry didn't get the attention he feared during the ride. No longer having that famous scar seemed to make the interest in him become much lower than expected, which was really a relief. This didn't mean that he escaped all attention, though.
The first to come was the young Weasley. "I can't find any empty compartment," he said, and Harry could plainly see it was a lie. "Can I join you?"
Harry just shrugged. "There are no reserved compartments, as far as I know."
This less than enthusiastic welcome didn't deter the redhead. "I'm Ron Weasley," he said. "Who are you?"
"Neville Longbottom," the shy boy said formally, shaking hands with the redhead.
"Hermione Granger." Ron only looked at her curiously.
"Harry Potter." That got a response, alright. Ron's mouth opened in disbelief and his eyes darted to Harry's forehead, looking for the scar.
"You can't be!" he said, a moment later.
"Why can't I? My name is Harry Potter, whether you believe it or not."
"But you have no scar!" Ron blurted.
"Don't you think it could be healed in the time since I got it?"
Ron shut his mouth and sat down. The others didn't mind him too much, though. "Neville, assuming you could choose, which house would you like best?" Hermione asked.
Neville seemed to blush every time Hermione talked to him, yet he still answered. "I wouldn't like Slytherin, of that I'm sure. Most of those sorted to that house come from dark families, although there might be some good people there as well. Besides, I'm not cunning at all and not much ambitious either."
"All Slytherins are bad!" Ron blurted uninvited.
Neville surprised the others. "Not all of them. I know some former Slytherins and they are good people, firmly on the light side, while bad people can be found in all houses."
Ron seemed eager to argue, but seeing the other two taking Neville's side, decided to keep his mouth shut. Neville returned to the previous subject. "I'd like to be in Ravenclaw, but I'm not very smart, I've been told, and I'm certainly not very studious. I don't think I'm brave enough to be even considered for Gryffindor, so I'd probably end in Hufflepuff, the house of the loyal and hard-working, despite not liking hard work."
Ron opened his mouth again. "Hufflepuff is for dummies," he declared. He then noticed the way Harry and Hermione were looking at him. "I need to visit the loo," he said and rushed out of the compartment.
"Oof! He was grating on my nerves," Harry sighed in relief.
"On mine too," Hermione added.
Their relief was short-lived, though. Ron had probably talked with others, as some more people started coming into their compartment, looking for The Boy Who Lived. Harry didn't mind Ron's twin brothers – they were fun, at least – but some of the others were real nuisances. Most evident was the blond boy they'd already seen. He came in as if he was a prince inspecting his subjects, allowing them to bask in his glory. "I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," he said pompously.
Harry wasn't impressed. "I'm pleased to introduce Scion Longbottom, as well as Miss Hermione Granger, a very good friend of mine. I am Harry Potter,"
Draco looked dismissively at Hermione and didn't touch her hand. "You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."
He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it.
"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly.
Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared on his pale cheeks.
"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either."
Harry's face turned stony. "I think you should leave now," he said.
Draco smirked. "Or what? I'm a Malfoy. You can do nothing to me."
"We can see about that," Harry said. His hand barely moved as he cast a banishing charm, sending Draco and his two bodyguards into the corridor, where they bumped their heads against the wall and fell down in a heap. He then added some subtler hand movements, assuring the three of them would have problems sitting for the next few days and adding a delayed hex to make their faces rash in about an hour. He then slammed the door shut and locked it, assuring their privacy for a while.
They could still see through the door, due to another spell cast by Hermione. They saw the three boys rising from the floor and looking around before moving away, with Draco sending a venomous glance at the closed door.
"How did you two do this?" Neville asked.
"These are just simple charms I've found in my library. I'm sure you can master them in no time," Harry assured him.
Neville looked sceptical. Harry and Hermione spent a large part of the ride teaching him some of the simpler charms. Neville proved to be a good student. Before the end of the ride, he could already do a few spells wandlessly, raising his confidence tremendously.
\/\/\/
Neville seemed extremely anxious as they were nearing Hogwarts. "What if I'm not suitable for any house? Will they send me back home?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "The sorting hat will find what you're best fit for among the four houses. It must state one, eventually."
"How do you know?"
"It's written in 'Hogwarts, a History.' Didn't you read it?"
Neville blushed again. "I tried, but it was too boring. Maybe I should give it another chance, though."
"I think you should," Hermione said firmly.
Neville only nodded. He had come to the conclusion that she knew what she was talking about, despite being a girl, and he found that she could do magic just as well as Harry Potter. He thought it was worth trying to be friends with her. Besides, she wasn't as bothersome as some other girls.
The train slowed down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the doors and out onto a tiny, dark platform. Harry shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"
Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads.
"C'mon, follow me – any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"
They followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path.
"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry was followed into a boat by Neville and Hermione.
The small fleet crossed the lake as the young children looked at the magnificent view of the Hogwarts Castle lighted against the dark starry night, until they reached a small Harbor, just under the castle.
"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.
"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Hermione cast another calming charm on the amphibian, to make sure it didn't cause any problems during the coming ceremony and feast. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.
They were then led by Professor McGonagall to a small chamber off the Great Hall where they were ordered to wait and get ready for the sorting ceremony. Harry ended standing quite close to Malfoy in that crowded room, but both ignored each other completely. Harry was quite content with this. He didn't want to start school with a public quarrel, especially knowing who this boy was. It was bad enough to have attracted his attention already. Harry thought he should have been wiser and pretend to befriend Malfoy, yet it was too late to change it.
The sorting started a few moments later. Harry got excited despite knowing what was going on. He watched some of the new students being sorted. He was not surprised to hear that both Crabbe and Goyle – Malfoy's evident bodyguards – were sorted to Slytherin. They were sure ambitious, although he wouldn't associate them with cunning. One needed some brain to be cunning, something they both seemed to lack, by the short impression he had of them. It was then Hermione's turn. Harry was sure she'd end up in Ravenclaw, based on all that they'd both read. She was smart and studious, just as expected of a Raven. It took the hat quite a long time to sort her, though, until it finally announced, "Gryffindor!"
Harry was somewhat surprised, yet quite delighted to discover that Hermione had enough courage to be sorted that way. He was just worried he would be sorted differently. He wanted to be in the same house as his best friend. A nagging feeling insisted that Hermione was much more than that, but he had no name to put on the kind of relationship they were having.
Neville's turn came quickly after that. He looked pale and almost ill as he put the hat on his head, yet it didn't take long for the hat to announce, "Gryffindor!" making Neville smile widely and wave at Harry, mouthing "Thanks," before joining Hermione at the Gryffindor table. Harry was glad for the boy. Although he had already sensed that young Longbottom was much tougher than he seemed, he wasn't sure the hat could sense it as well.
A moment later, it was Malfoy's turn. The hat barely touched his head before announcing, "Slytherin!", just as expected. If Harry had any doubts, he was now sure that Slytherin was not for him, at least judging by the expected company in there.
He didn't have to wait too long before his name was announced. "Potter, Harry," Professor McGonagall said, and the hall erupted in whispers. He could hear some of them.
"So, it's true that Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts."
"Where's his scar?"
"Is that The Boy Who Lived?"
Harry ignored the whispers as he put the hat on. It slipped past his ears, blocking all sounds, for which Harry was thankful.
"Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, oh my goodness, yes – plenty of talent, and power as well. Now that's interesting… So where shall I put you?"
Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, Not Slytherin, not Slytherin.
"Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice. "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that – no? What about Ravenclaw, then? You can surely become one of the brightest stars in Ravenclaw."
Harry was suddenly hit by a strong urge to be with Hermione, wherever she may be. 'Put me in Gryffindor!'
"Gryffindor, you say? Well, you're his heir, but Rowenna's as well. Still, that doesn't mean any of them is the best for you."
'Only Gryffindor,' Harry insisted.
"Well, I can see you want to be with your mate, so if you're sure — better be GRYFFINDOR!"
Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off the hat and walked shakily toward the Gryffindor table. He was so relieved to have been chosen and not put in Slytherin, he hardly noticed that he was getting the loudest cheer yet. The redhead Prefect got up and shook his hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We got Potter! We got Potter!" Harry sat down beside Hermione, feeling that it was the right place for him.
Looking around, he noticed that Professor McGonagall looked quite pleased with his sorting. He didn't pay much attention until he heard "Weasley, Ronald," and saw Ron putting the hat on his head. It only took a second for the hat to shout, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Harry clapped loudly with the rest, although not really enthusiastically, as Ron joined the table, sitting on his other side, to Harry's dismay. He didn't like it better as the evening advanced, giving Ron a chance to show his (lack of) table manners. Instead, he tried to concentrate on Neville, considering him a better future friend and ally.
Still, his main attention was for Hermione. They couldn't have a private talk there, but Hermione managed to whisper, "I'll fade to your bed later. Just make sure to close the curtains and silence them as soon as you can."
\/\/\/
Harry retired to his bed soon after they reached the dormitory. "It's been a tiring day," he apologized, "and we start our studies tomorrow morning. We all need a good night's sleep."
Neville seemed to agree. "Goodnight, Harry," he said. The others seemed to ignore this, being too preoccupied with exchanging impressions of their sorting.
Hermione appeared at his side a few minutes later. As appropriate for Scotland, she was wearing a heavier nightgown than the one she had worn at home. Harry was also wearing his full pyjamas, so he didn't worry about offending her. Yet Hermione needed to talk first.
"What took the hat so long to sort you?" she asked.
"It considered putting me in Slytherin or in Ravenclaw before agreeing to place me here with you. Why was your sorting so long?"
He could see her smile despite the dim light. "It had some difficulty deciding, It did consider Slytherin, but it was not a good fit, especially since I have muggle parents. It almost decided to put me in Ravenclaw, but then it noticed my loyalty to my friends and family and considered Hufflepuff before deciding that my courage was the most prominent attribute, although mostly hidden, and put me here."
"I didn't really care where it would put me, as long as it was with you. It then agreed to put me with my mate. Isn't that just another word for a friend?"
Hermione nodded. She knew it was more than friendship by now, but she also had no name for it. Yet "mate" could also mean much more than just a friend. It could be a spouse. Was that what the hat meant?
They were too tired to speak any more. Hermione cuddled into Harry's embrace and they both fell asleep. By the time Harry woke up in the morning, he was alone in bed.