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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟕: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐲𝐬

"Wow," said Ron. He sat and stared at Harry for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked quickly out of the window again. 

"Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him.

 "Er — Yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."

 "So you must know loads of magic already."

 The Weasleys were clearly one of those old wizarding families the paleboy in Diagon Alley had talked about. 

"I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?"

 "Horrible — well, not all of them," Harry added as I raised an eyebrow at him. "My aunt and uncle and cousin are,though. Diane's not bad, but she is when she spits out facts about something. Wish I'd had three wizard brothers." 

"Five," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to.Bill and Charlie have already left — Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny.Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal,because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers.I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep."His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff — I mean, I got Scabbers instead." 

Ron's ears went pink. He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window.I didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl. Harry told Ron that he didn't have any money at all until last month, all about having to wear Dudley's old clothes and never getting proper birthday presents. And I told him how Mum and Dad never really let me have any money because they thought I'd spend it all on books. This seemed to cheer Ron up.

"...and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort —" 

Ron gasped and I clapped my palm over my mouth.

 "What?" said Harry, looking at both of us. 

I looked down, thoroughly blushing. Did Harry have to let everything slip away just as I was about to make my first friend? 

"You said You-Know-Who's name!" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people —"

 "I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name," said Harry, "Ijust never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn....I bet,"he added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying him a lot lately, "I bet I'm the worst in the class." 

"You won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough Like you," he added to me. 

"Diane learns really quickly," said Harry. 

"Probably an A student then," said Ron, looking at me again. 

"Probably," I agreed. 

 Now we were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. We were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past. Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"

Harry leapt to his feet, but Ron's earswent pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Harry went out into the corridor.

"Don't worry, Ron, I'm sure I can share with you," I said kindly, patting Ron's leg. 

"Er — no, really, it's okay,"  Ron replied as I got up. 

Harry had never had any money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that the had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry — but the woman didn't have Mars Bars as I looked into the trolley. What she did have were Bettie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum,Chocolate Frogs. Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things I had never seen in my life. Not wanting to miss anything, Harry got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts. 

Ron stared as Harry brought it all back into the compartment and tippedit onto an empty seat.

 "Hungry, are you?" 

"Starving," said Harry, taking a large bite out of a pumpkin pasty, and throwing one across the compartment to me.Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. 

He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef . . . " 

"Swap you for one of these," said Harry, holding up a pasty. "Go on —" 

"You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time,"he added quickly, "you know, with five of us."

"Go on, have a pasty," said Harry. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron and Harry, eating our way through all Harry's pasties, cakes, and candies (the sandwiches lay forgotten). 

"What are these?" Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "They're not really frogs, are they?" 

 "No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa." 

"What?" I asked.

 "Oh, of course, you wouldn't know — Chocolate Frogs have cards,inside them, you know, to collect — famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy." 

Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore. 

"So this is Dumbledore!" said Harry. 

"Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron. "Can I hav ea frog? I might get Agrippa — thanks —" 

Harry turned over his card and I read over his shoulder:

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS

Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.

Harry turned the card back over and saw, to our astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared. 

"He's gone!" 

"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron. "He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her...do you want it?You can start collecting." 

Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped. 

"Help yourself," said Harry. 

"But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos," I said. 

"Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed."Weird!" 

Harry stared as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on his card and gave him a small smile. Ron was more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Harry couldn't keep his eyes off them. Soon he had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus, and Merlin. He finally tore his eyes away from the Druidess Cliodna, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. 

"You want to be careful with those," Ron warned Harry. "When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor — you know, you get all the ordinary ones like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a booger-flavored one once."Ron picked up a green bean, looked at it carefully, and bit into a corner."Bleaaargh — see? Sprouts."

"Sprouts aren't bad," I said indignantly. "They give you energy." 

Ron looked at Harry who gave me his shut up you're talking too much look. 

 We had a good time eating the Every Flavor Beans. Harry got toast,coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, grass, coffee, sardine, and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny gray one Ron wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper.The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark greenhills.There was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy we had passed on platform nine and three-quarters came in. He looked tearful. 

"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"

 When we shook our heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!" 

"He'll turn up," said Harry. 

"Don't worry," I added calmly.

"Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him..."

He left. 

"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk." 

"But it's his pet, Ron!" I stated.

The rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap. 

"He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron indisgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, butthe spell didn't work. I'll show you, look..."He rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end. 

"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway —" 

He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again.The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.

 "Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. 

She had a bossy sort of voice, lots of bushy brown hair, and rather large front teeth. 

"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand.

 "Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."She sat down next to me and smiled.

Ron looked taken aback. 

"Er — all right."

 He cleared his throat. 

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep. 

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good,is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me.Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard — I've learned all our course books by heart, ofcourse, I just hope it will be enough — I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"She said all this very fast. 

Harry looked at Ron, and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn't learned all the course books by heart either. 

"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron muttered. 

"Diane Dursley!" I said energetically. "Oh I should have memorized the course books too!" 

Hermione gave me a great big smile. 

"And my family's not magic either. Except my aunt and uncle, I think. See, that's my cousin, their son!" I said as I pointed to Harry. 

Hermione's smile seemed to grow more. 

"Harry Potter," said Harry. 

"Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course — I got a few extra books, for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century." 

"Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed. 

"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; Ihear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad....Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You all had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon." 

And she left, taking the toadless boy with her. 

"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron. He threw his wand back into his trunk.

"Ron," I said sternly. 

"What, Diane? Stupid spell — George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud." 

"What house are your brothers in?" asked Harry. 

"Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again."Mum and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad, but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."

 "That's the house Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?" Harry corrected himself as I shot him a look. 

"Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed. 

"You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," saidHarry, trying to take Ron's mind off houses. 

"So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?" I asked. 

  "Charlie's in Romania studying dragons, and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," said Ron. "Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles —someone tried to rob a high security vault."

 Harry stared."Really? What happened to them?" 

"Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it." 

 "What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked me and harry. 

"Er — I don't know any." Harry confessed. 

"What!" Ron looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game inthe world —" And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. He was just taking Harry  and me through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy,or Hermione Granger this time.Three boys entered, and Harry recognized the middle one at once: it was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop. He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley. 

"Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?" 

"Yes," said Harry. He was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards. I edged closer to Harry a little. 

"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly,noticing where Harry was looking. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." 

Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him.

 "Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."He turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out 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 in 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. You hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys, that Hagrid, and that stupid girl, and it'll rub off on you."Both Harry and Ron stood up. 

"Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair. 

"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Malfoy sneered.

 "Unless you get out now," said Harry, more bravely than he felt, because Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than him or Ron. 

"But we don't feet like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some." 

Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron — Ron leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell.Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle — Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window, all three of them disappeared at once.

 Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard footsteps,because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in.

 "What has been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail. 

"I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry. He looked closer at Scabbers. "No — I don't believe it — he's gone back to sleep."And so he had.

 "You've met Malfoy before?" 

Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley. 

"I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side." He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?" 

"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!" 

"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Would you mind leaving while we change?" 

"All right — I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"

Ron glared at her as she left.

"I'm going for a little walk," I said. "Don't worry, I'll be back soon." 

I headed out the compartment, closing the door behind me. 

The words, you hang around with riffraff like the Weasleys, that Hagrid, and that stupid girl, and it'll rub off on you were swirling around my head. 

Was it true? Was I really going to be as stupid as Malfoy said? 

Not looking where I was going, I accidently bumped into a girl, making her trunk fall down. 

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" I said, hurrying to pick up all the stuff that had fallen out. 

"Oh it's no worries!" said the girl as I helped her. She stuck out her hand. "I'm —" 

"Lily?" interrupted another girl, poking her head out of her compartment. "Lily, what are you —" Then she seemed to notice me. 

"Oh hello!" she said. 

"Hi," I said. 

"I'm Lily Fawley," the girl with the outstretched hand said as I shook it. 

"I'm Leslie Fawley," the girl in the compartment said as she came out. I shook her hand too. 

Two more girls popped out from the compartment. 

"Made a new friend have you? I'm Belle Fawley, nice to meet you," one of them said. 

"I'm Cassie Fawley," the other said. 

"We're all cousins," they said all together.

"I'm Diane Dursley," I said. 

"Dursley, huh," Lily said thinking. "Are you a pure-blood?"

"A what?" I asked. 

"There are three blood statuses. Pure-blood, half-blood, and Muggle-born," explained Belle. 

"A pure-blood is when both your parents are from wizarding families. Half blood means one of your parents is from a wizarding family and the other is a Muggle. And a Muggle means that your family doesn't know magic," explained Cassie. 

"Oh, I'm a Muggle-born," I said. 

"Really?" all four of them said. 

"How do you do it without magic?" Belle asked. 

"Is it safe without magic?" Cassie asked. 

"What do you do without magic?" Leslie asked. 

But it was Lily who said, "Er — you see, we're pure-bloods. We're kind of intrigued by muggle stuff. Sorry." 

"No, it's okay!" I said. 

It looked like I already found some friends. 

Word count: 3527