Chương 5: The Hogwarts Express
Rushing through King's Cross Station on a busy Sunday, Ron kept a hawkish eye out for his first glimpse of the Chosen One. If he recalled correctly, they ought to pass him on their way to the station. As they went through the station, Molly kept making sure he knew everything, asking question after question.
"So, what'll you being doing if you miss the train?"
"Go back to King's Cross, ask for Basil from the Department of Transportation." Ron repeated for the umpteenth time.
Though, admittedly, the original Ron had forgotten to do that in book 2, so it made sense for his mother to ask.
"Remember it's Department of Transportation, not Magical Transportation. If you say Magical, the Muggles'll look at you funny." Molly reminded him the importance of secrecy. "Now, what's the platform number?"
He opened his mouth to answer, but then he saw a dark-haired boy with unkempt hair. He looked scrawny and unimpressive, but through a thin part in his hair, Ron could see it: a scar shaped like a lightning bolt.
"Harry Potter." Ron whispered.
"What's that dear?" Molly asked.
"Err…"
"Platform Nine and Three-Quarters!" Ginny hopped in with an answer, sticking her tongue out at Ron. "Please mum, can't I go! I know more than Ron!"
"You're too young Ginny." Molly refused.
"It's not fair." Ginny grumbled.
Meanwhile, Ron had noticed Harry secretly following them. Honestly, he didn't care for the integrity canon whatsoever. If he didn't like Harry, he wouldn't be friends with him. That's all.
Shrugging it off, Ron waited for the natural progression of things. Molly quickly sent Percy through the wall, then Fred and George. Finally, it was his turn.
"Excuse me." Harry stepped in. "But I don't know how I'm meant to…"
He trailed off as he looked to the wall. But Molly caught on.
"You don't know how to get onto the platform, dear? It's really quite easy, now. You just head straight down to the column, right between platforms 9 and 10."
Harry looked at her like she was speaking a foreign language.
"Don't worry mate, it's my first year too. I'll show you how it is." Ron stepped in, turning to the wall.
Then he dashed right at it. Ron had to admit, part of him was thinking he'd crash right then and there. Go unconscious and wake up in a hospital bed, learning that this was all a dream. But he made it right on through, making it to the Hogwarts Express. Seeing the bright red steam train, whistling and smoking, he grinned.
Looking around he saw a lot of familiar characters. There was Dean and Seamus, who'd met up again and were boarding together. Not far from them, he saw a pair of Indian twins who ought to be the Patils. He also saw three people who were unmistakably Malfoy and his goons; as well as a couple future Slytherin girls near him. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were harder to pick out, but he noticed a few.
Then, he saw who he was looking for. A tubby blond boy with his grandmother, searching for his toad. Neville Longbottom. As the clumsiest student in first year, Neville would definitely be his cash cow once his business started. It was best to make introductions now.
At that moment, something big and slimy landed on Ron's foot. Looking down, he saw an ugly brown toad sitting on his shoe.
'Perfect.' Ron thought with a grin.
Flicking out his wand, he cast a Leg-Locker Curse on the toad not wanting it to escape. Then, he scooped it up and walked over.
"Trevor! Oh, Trevor where are you?" Neville wailed.
"Oh, enough of this, I'll just summon the bloody toad." His grandmother snapped, drawing her wand.
"But Trevor doesn't like that!" Neville protested.
"Excuse me, is this what you're looking for?" Ron asked, holding the restrained Trevor tightly in his hand.
"Oh Trevor! What's happened to your legs!" Neville cried out.
"It's a Leg-Locker curse, boy! And a bloody good one for a first year! If you'd bothered to look through any of your books other than that ruddy gardening manual, you might know that!" Neville's grandmother scolded. "Now, I'll be off."
Neville hung his head as she departed, grumbling under her breath.
"Ron Weasley, it's nice to meet you." Ron offered a hand.
Neville took it, his own hand covered in sweat and toad slime.
"Neville Longbottom."
Ron walked with Neville as the two of them got onto the train. Finding a compartment, he set his stuff in the overhead, helping Neville as he nearly took his own eye out. Then, the two sat opposite each other in silence.
"So, your Gran said something about gardening… do you like Herbology?" Ron broke the ice.
He immediately regretted it. If there was one thing that Neville Longbottom could talk about, it was Herbology. And he talked about it… A LOT.
Ron could even see his Dittany and Asphodel proficiency ticking up as he half-heartedly listened, but he felt no joy. When someone finally swung open the compartment door, he was giddy.
"Excuse me, is there any problem with me sitting here? Because there isn't anywhere else, and it wouldn't be quite safe to stand." A familiar voice asked.
Then, the girl looked down at Ron.
"Oh, it's you." Hermione blinked.
"Yeah, it's me." Ron said with a grin.
"Oh, alright then." Hermione slid her trunk into the overhead, not bothering for an answer.
Ron figured she was owed as much. He had swindled an entire galleon off her. Watching her take the seat next to Neville, the timid boy yelped a little, sliding as far from Hermione as he could in the small compartment. Then, the silence returned.
Hermione and Ron locked eyes, engaged in a long staring contest, while Neville looked as though he might jump out of the window. Finally, Hermione blinked.
"Haha! I win!" Ron cheered with a grin.
"No! I never said it was a contest!" Hermione puffed.
"You never said it wasn't."
Ron had a good time, poking fun at Hermione as she loosened up a little. She was still more than a little cross that Ron had hustled away all her pocket money, but her mood improved.
"So, have either of you put much time into reading the schoolbooks? I'm a little worried. I only had enough time to read them all twice. What if we're tested on the first day?" Hermione said nervously.
Neville looked pale as a sheet.
"We're not going to be tested on the first day." Ron assured, with Neville regaining a little colour.
"And how do you know that?" Hermione asked.
"Because none of my five brothers bothered to pre-read their textbooks, and two have already left Hogwarts with honours." Ron remarked.
It wasn't technically true. Percy had been exactly like Hermione but four out of five was good enough. This calmed Neville greatly, but Hermione seemed a little disappointed.
"Well anyways, have you read them?"
"A little." Ron replied.
"How little?"
"Enough to get the general idea."
"Then you won't be ready for classes!" Hermione harrumphed in displeasure.
"Th-that's not true. R-ron's really good at magic. He used the l-leg-locker curse on Trevor" Neville stuttered, raising his immobilized toad.
Hermione frowned, looking the toad over.
"But the Leg-Locker curse is in the second half of the curriculum!" Hermione cried. "Have you already learned that far ahead?"
"No, I just thought it was a little useful." Ron admitted.
But Hermione was less than happy with that answer. Pressing and pressing him for answers, time passed quickly while they chatted. Ron had almost entirely forgotten about Harry, who was likely sitting alone in his compartment right now. However, eventually, news came over to him, as the door slid open.
"Have you heard! Have you heard! Harry Potter's on the train! Right at the back!" An excitable girl cried.
She quickly ran off, going to the next compartment.
Ron was underwhelmed, already having had his glimpse of Harry. But Hermione and Neville seemed quite interested.
"Blimey… Harry Potter. Can you believe it? We're going to be going to school with Harry Potter!" Neville cried excitedly. "I mean, always knew he was our age, but I reckoned he'd have graduated Hogwarts by now!"
Ron chuckled, knowing that the current Harry was no better than the average Muggleborn. In fact, with Hermione bringing up the average, he was probably worse. He was talented, but that was all.
"I wonder if he knows all that's been written about him. It's quite contradictory you know." Hermione said, pulling out a thick stack of books. "Some say he was just lucky, others claim he used ancient magic, a few even say he's as dark a wizard as You-know-who. I wonder if he's got an opinion."
The trio then headed over to Harry's compartment, finding a large crowd already there. Fred and George were in the centre, sitting next to Harry as they fended off a dozen hands, all wanting to touch the scar.
"Oi! It's just a bloody gash, so why don't you back off!" George cried.
"I've got a scar on my left buttock if you want to touch it!" Fred snapped, threatening to pull down his pants.
Just as Ron, Hermione and Neville arrived, another trio had come, a blond boy flanked by two other boys..
"Oi, move aside, get out of my way!" Draco Malfoy snapped, asserting his way to the front of the crowd. Then he looked up at Harry. "So it's true then, Harry Potter's on the train. And thronged up with a bunch of Weasleys. I'd stay away from them Potter. Better to make friends with the right sort. I can help you with that."
Draco extended a hand.
Ron wondered if this Harry would take it. After all, canon had already changed without him there to spew anti-Slytherin propaganda.
"I think I've got an idea how to do that myself, thank you very much." Harry rejected, closing the door on the crowd.
People booed and complained, but eventually, they filed back into their own compartments. Draco rushed off, looking quite crossed.
"He seems quite bothered right now. That's a shame. I really wanted to speak with him." Hermione said.
Ron looked back at Harry. A lot had changed. He could only wonder how this would affect the future.
Arriving at Hogsmeade station; Ron, Hermione and Neville were led to the boats by Hagrid. Meeting the half-giant in real life was quite a surprise for Ron, who despite being quite tall for his age, was only barely half Hagrid's height.
At the boats, Ron, Hermione and Neville all got in together, and just as they were about to depart, they were joined by a very frazzled Harry Potter. Hermione looked excited, upset she'd left her books behind on the train. Neville was similarly excited, and he nearly fell off the boat before Ron caught him.
"Hello again." Ron greeted cordially. "I wanted to catch up on the train, but you seemed to have your hands full."
"Oh… thanks." Harry responded.
Then, there were naturally the common questions. Neville wanted to see the scar and Hermione asked about how it happened. Fortunately, the duo caught on quick that Harry didn't want to talk about it.
"So, have you got any ideas on what House you all want to be sorted into?" Hermione asked. "I've got my eye on Ravenclaw, though I suppose Gryffindor wouldn't be bad. They say Dumbledore was there."
"I reckon I'll be put into Hufflepuff. Best place for me. I'm not brave, clever, or cunning." Neville said.
"I dunno really. I don't think I'll want to be in Slytherin, but anything else should be fine." Harry responded.
Meanwhile, Ron had to think for a moment. If it was the old Ron, he'd hop right onto the Gryffindor band wagon. But he was very different.
What was the point of valuing bravery? Or wit? Or loyalty? Or cunning? He valued money and the power it brought him. Only with power could he keep himself and his family safe.
Then again, Ron reckoned if he was sorted anywhere but Gryffindor, he'd get an earful from Molly. Arthur would be alright with anything except Slytherin, while Fred and George would tease him to no end if he got sorted into Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw.
Ron pondered for a while as the boats arrived at the castle. He took a moment to appreciate its majesty, but his mind was still conflicted.
Even as he was about to enter the Great Hall. He didn't know what he'd do.
Maybe he'd casually ask the hat for Gryffindor, better not to rock the boat. Then, with a heavy heart, he stepped through the oak doors.
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