Harry pushed his cart through King's Cross Station. Uncle Vernon wasn't happy about having to drive Harry into London but thought it was better than Professor Snape or somebody else from Hogwarts coming to Privet Drive. His uncle stayed long enough to help Harry load his trunk onto a luggage trolley before getting back in the car and going home. None of the other Dursleys even came to say goodbye. It's not that that terribly upset Harry, or he would miss them but he knew most of the other kids would have their families there.

It was a good thing Professor Snape explained how to get onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. It wasn't a place most, if any, Muggle could help him find. One had to walk straight through a brick wall to get to the other side. The trickiest part was making sure nobody noticed your disappearance. Harry chose his moment as a local commuter train began loading on Platform Nine.

Harry let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding when he reemerged on the other side. A scarlet steam engine stood in front of him. The platform was crowded with people. Some students were already in their school robes, others in a combination of wizarding and Muggle attire. Harry navigated his cart down the train looking for an empty compartment. Spotting one that looked mostly empty Harry parked the cart and began to try and heave his trunk that weighed more than him onto the train.

"Do you want some help with that?" A man asked grabbing one of the ends of Harry's luggage. He was probably in his mid-40s or so. He wore khaki trousers and a dark blue button up shirt. His brown hair was close cropped, but little of it there was, was fuzzy.

"Yeah," Harry said with an appreciative sigh. Together the two were able to get it store an overhead compartment with no trouble.

"Thanks," Harry greeted breathlessly.

"It's no problem," the said brushing the dust off on his trousers.

"If you don't mind me asking, where are your parents?"

"Errr...they're dead," Harry said uneasily.

"I'm sorry to hear that, but where are your guardians?" The man asked instead.

"They're Muggles, so..." Harry began lamely.

"That doesn't mean they can't see you to the train." The man protested.

Harry didn't know what to say to the man. He wasn't wrong, but nobody before ever cared when the Dursleys did something like this. "They had an appointment," Harry tried lying.

The man looked at him skeptically but didn't argue the point any further. He seemed to be taking an inventory of Harry. The adolescent shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. He wasn't used to people looking at him like that. He was very glad Professor Snape insisted on going and getting Muggle clothes too.

"Your first year at Hogwarts?" The man finally asked.

Harry nodded.

"Come, I'll introduce you to my daughter. It's her first year too." The man said waving a hand for Harry to follow back off the train.

Harry shook his head. "No, sir. I... You should get to say goodbye... As a family..."

"Fine," the man conceded. "I'll send her in here then."

"Okay," Harry agreed. He sat on the seat doing his best not to watch the man go and rejoin his family. There was the girl he mentioned. She was probably around Harry's height, she had very bushy brown hair. The door slid open again.

"Can I sit here?" A round-faced boy asked.

"Sure," Harry agreed. "Do you know need help with your trunk?"

The boy nodded vigorously. "Gran's not really able to carry it."

Harry followed the boy back to his cart and a very stern looking old witch wearing a hat with a stuffed vulture on top. Each boy grabbed an end of the trunk. It was a bit harder to get the trunk in the storage compartment this time, but they managed. The man must have brought his daughter's in too while they were out are there were three in the luggage rack at the point. The boy disappeared again. Harry could hear through the open window he had misplaced his toad. It was sitting on the seat across from Harry it turned out.

"I think that boy who helped you is Harry Potter," the grandmother told the boy.

"I don't know," the round-faced boy replied. "He looks just like his father," she said pensively. "Just like him, except his eyes.  He must have his mother's eyes. You could learn a lot from him."

"Yes Gran," the boy agreed sadly. "Get on the train, Neville." The grandmother told the boy, Neville, issuing him back aboard. He stood at the door a moment. "I'll see you at Christmas. Don't forget to write to let me know you got there safely."

"Yes Gran," Neville said once more before rejoining Harry in their compartment. The girl with the bushy hair joined them a moment later. She and Neville waved to their families as they pulled out of King's Cross. They waved until they turned the corner, the station lost from view.

"I suppose I should introduce myself," the girl said turning to Neville, her hand extended. "I'm Hermione Granger." She had very large front teeth and a bossy sort of voice.

"I'm Neville," the boy said nervously shaking her hand awkwardly. Hermione then turned to the other boy.

"I'm Harry," he began to say.

"Holy cricket, you're Harry Potter," Hermione finished for him.

"Oh him, I mean yeah," Harry confirmed.

Neville looked at him again. "You are? My gran said you were."

"You're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century." She spoke very fast.

"Am I?" Harry asked.

"Oh yes, I got a few extra books for background reading." She explained.

"Do you really have the scar," Neville asked.

Harry lifted his fringe, putting the thin lighting bolt scar on display.

"Cool," Neville said sitting back. "Gran said you look just like your dad."

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. I don't remember him, or my mum."

"Haven't you seen a picture?" Hermione asked.

Harry shook his head. "My aunt and uncle don't have any pictures of them."

"What's it like living with Muggles?" Neville asked.

"Awful," Harry said instantly. "Not all Muggles, just my aunt, and uncle." He went on to explain about living in the cupboard under the stairs, never having any pocket money, the fact he only got his first birthday presents this year from his future teachers.

"That's horrible," Hermione sympathized. "My family would never do that."

"Are they Muggles?" Neville asked.

"Yes," Hermione agreed. She told them about her parents being dentists. She had to explain what that meant to Neville since his whole family was magical. Then they discussed how they all received their letters.  Neville's family actually worried he wasn't magical enough to get a letter until he was eight; when he bounced down the garden path when his great uncle dropped him out of a window.

"When is your birthday?" Neville asked Hermione.

"It's in September, or I would have started last year."

"Mine is July thirty-first," Harry told them.

"It's the day after mine," Neville stated. "I'm glad we went to Diagon Alley before my birthday, not after."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"There was a break-in at one of the high-security vaults at Gringotts," Neville told him. "It was on your birthday."

"Really?" Harry was surprised to hear that.

"Oh, I read about that in the Daily Prophet,” Hermione said excitedly. “They said nothing was taken, but they're adding additional security measures."

"Yeah," Neville agreed, "stuff like that makes Gran nervous. She gets worried because it would take really dark magic to break into a place like Gringotts."

The ride north seemed to fly by, Hermione had to step outside as the boys changed into their robes. Soon they were pulling into the station at Hogsmeade. Upon arriving at the station the students started filing off the train. They made sure Neville had a hold of Trevor before they disembarked.

A light waved over the heads of the children. A loud voice called, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" The lantern was held by Hagrid. Even in the dark of the platform, it was easy to make out the giant's figure. Harry and his fellow first years pushed their way through the crowd.

"Alright there, Harry?" Hagrid asked when the boy made it over to him.

Harry nodded. His nerves were starting to kick in. Professor Snape told him he would be Sorted as soon as he arrived at the castle, but he hadn't said how they did it. Another boy, a tall one with red hair and lots of freckles was telling some of the others how his older brothers said it hurt a lot, there was also something about trolls. Harry hoped that wasn't true. The professor would have told him about something like that right?

The group of first years began to move as the last of them joined. Harry's thoughts on the Sorting were temporarily distracted as Hogwarts came into view for the first time. They followed Hagrid around the shore of a dark lake. A fleet of little boats sat waiting at the water's edge. With a minimally amount of pushing the boys and girls climbed in threes and fours into the boats per Hagrid's instructions. With a wave of Hagrid's pink umbrella, they set sail across the lake. The windows' warm yellow light reflected on the surface of the water. They all had to duck as they went under a curtain of ivy hiding away the docks.

Once everybody was on land once more, and Neville's toad returned to its master after he went missing in the boats. Hagrid knocked on a hidden door. Harry was happy to get inside the warm castle and escape the cool night air. They were let in by a very stern looking woman. It was clear she was not one who approved of rule-breaking.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid mumbled.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

They were let into a huge entrance hall. Torches lit the stone walls. The ceiling high above, a magnificent marble staircase in front of them. They followed her across the flagged stone floor to a small empty chamber.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall greeted. "The start-of-term banquet will begin in a few moments. Before the feast can start, you must be Sorted. "The Sorting Ceremony is very important. It is where you are put into one of the four houses. The four houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. While you are at Hogwarts your house will be like your family. You will attend classes with your house, eat meals at your house table, and sleep in your house dormitory. Your triumphs will earn your house points while any rule-breaking will cost your house points.

"Now the ceremony will start in a few minutes, I suggest you take a few moments to smarten yourselves up." Her eyes lingered on Neville's misbuttoned cloak which was under his right ear and a large smudge of dirt on the red headed boy's nose. She turned and left them then.

A blonde leaning casually against the wall spoke up, "They were saying on the train you're Harry Potter."

Whispered conversation broke out among the students.

"Yeah," Harry confirmed. The boy stepped forward his hand extended.

"I'm Draco Malfoy," the tall red haired boy snickered at that. "You think my name is funny? Loads of red hair and hand me down robes, no need to ask your name, Weasley. See Potter, you'll learn that some wizarding families are better than others. I can help you with that."

Harry looked at Draco to Weasley, then back to Hermione and Neville. "I think I can figure that out for myself, thanks."

Professor McGonagall returned before Draco had a chance to respond. They followed her into a large chamber, the Great Hall. It's ceiling looked just like the night sky. Hermione explained to any who was listening that it wasn't really the sky, it was enchanted to look like it. Harry wasn't paying much attention, he was too nervous.

The queue of students came to a stop in front of the rest of the school. A three-legged stool was placed in the center of the room, a dirty hat on top of it, everyone was watching it. Harry stared at it confused until it began to sing. It sang of the qualities of the different houses. None of them sounded exactly like where Harry would fit. He didn't feel all that brave, curious, hard working, or cunning. He was more nervous and nauseous than anything.

He knew his parents were in Gryffindor, Professor Snape was the head of Slytherin. When Draco Malfoy was Sorted into Slytherin that made up Harry's mind. He didn't want to live with a boy that reminded him so much of Dudley. Neville and Hermione were both sorted into Gryffindor too.

When it was Harry’s turn the whole hall held its collective breath.

"Please, not Slytherin," Harry begged under his breath. "Please, not Slytherin."

"Not Slytherin hmmm... A fine mind, loyal, bravery oh yes, there is cunning too..." A voice whispered in his ear.

"Anywhere but Slytherin," Harry continued to chant.

"You could make many many important friends in Slytherin. It could help you on your way to greatness..."

"Please, not Slytherin."

"Well, if you're sure, better be Gryffindor!" The hat exclaimed the last word to the hall at large.

Harry walked over to his new table. He couldn't help but look up at the Head Table. Professor Dumbledore raised a glass to Harry, but it was the look of disappointment on Professor Snape's face that stuck with Harry.