Only Time Will Tell

Chapter 2: Only Time Will Tell

"Follow me and I'll show you where to put your stuff and then you can come sit with my friends and I," explained Hermione.

She was still a little giddy but one look at Adam's matchless face and she suddenly became solemn and calm "Oh. Okay. Thanks, Hermione," Adam muttered, still embarrassed. How did I not figure that out?

As Hermione led Adam through the station and onto the train, she was on the lookout for Harry and Ron. She had spotted them when she first came onto the platform, but by the time she had stopped laughing, they had vanished from sight. Eventually, she saw the bright red hair and commented, "Oh God, I hope he's not looking at my bum."

"Pardon?" Adam questioned.

Oh god, did I just say that out loud? It was now Hermione's turn to go red.

"Why are you all red, Hermy?" questioned Ron, as Hermione entered their compartment. But he never got an answer for at that moment a tall guy Ron had never seen before entered

"Everyone, this is Adam Stock. He's coming from... where, exactly?"

"Canada," Adam volunteered quickly. "Hi, guys."

"Hello, I'm Ron Weasley and this is my mate, Harry Potter."

"It's nice to meet you. So, how long exactly is this train ride?" Adam queried as he settled into his seat, his nerves simmered.

*****

Harry was glad to be back in the comfort of his friends' presence. His summer at number four was just as dull, frustrating and utterly maddening as it always had been. He had counted down this day for weeks and not even the emergence of a strange boy, with a weird tonal pattern (Did he really keep ending his sentences with 'eh?'), would spoil it. Even if this Adam fellow seemed to get along a little too well with Hermione.... he would not show his jealousy for all the Galleons he possessed. Adam completely loved Hogwarts already and they hadn't even arrived yet. Ron and Hermione were great; he was beginning to believe that he might actually make friends after all. Harry seemed a little quiet and appeared pensive with lots weighing on his mind; the fun Adam was engrossed in out-measured his thoughts on the pondering Harry; Wizarding chess was quite the game!

"So, what do you guys do for fun? At Hogwarts, I mean."

Ron thought for a second. "Well, lots really. Bloody brilliant things, mate. There is Hogsmeade, going to Tea with Hagrid.... Well, you wouldn't know about those things. Hogsmeade is a small wizarding town down the path from Hogwarts, and Hagrid is our friend and the school's gamekeeper. He was Care of Magical Creatures Professor but then an incident with a... Never mind that, you will meet him soon enough, but last but not least, there is of course, the best wizarding sport ever, Quidditch."

"Sorry? Quidditch?"

Ron and Harry's mouths dropped, their jaws shagging with the weight of dislocation.

"Are you bloody kidding me?"

"Oh, well no, I mean in my school last year we played mostly muggle sports like basketball and baseball. It was basically like going to a muggle school actually, the only difference was it was wizarding classes," Adam replied, nerves fired again. "But what is Quidditch?"

Ron took awhile to gather his thoughts, pondering on the best way to explain the best sport known to the wizarding world. How can a wizard live without Quidditch?

Just as Ron was wrapping up his brief (Could Ron be brief with his love affair with the game? Die-hard Chudley Canon fan after all.) explanation of Quidditch, the train slowed to a stop and Adam had to make a quick exit to find the giant called Hagrid; Hermione having told him that Hagrid would be his and all his fellow sorties' guide up to the castle. I'm finally here!

*****

"Welcome back, everyone! Please take your seats as this year's Sorting Ceremony is about to begin. Thank you."

Professor McGonagall always managed to convey her message with pristine clarity, the proof shown when all currently attending students were seated in a matter of minutes.

"Let the sorting begin."

Adam was more nervous than he had ever been before a game and all he had to do was sit under a ratty hat.

"Follow me. This way, please," informed one of the teachers.

With Adam being sixteen and going into his sixth year, his sorting was among the first few - the new seventh years taking priority because of seniority in the age bracket. His name was the third called following Caleb Tucker, a seventh year Hufflepuff, and Kelly Monroe, a sixth year Ravenclaw.

"Adam Stock."

Adam froze, took a deep breath, and paced forward; unsure of his destiny.

As he glanced upon the head table, he took note of a reassuring wink from Dumbledore; letting Adam smile and relax for a fleeting moment when he felt a sudden slight weight on his head.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

*****

After the golden goblets and plates had been magically wiped clean, the students began to meander out of the Great Hall and towards their respective domains. Adam tagged along Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the rest of the Gryffindor crew, suddenly feeling out of place as they laughed and giggled about adventures and topics unknown to him. It was the first time that day that Adam's mind wandered back to Anthony and all his other friends at Hickam's House of Wizarding.

He remembered the time when he and Anthony were partnered to dissect a frog (magic of any kind but wand prohibited, of course!) and were gifted by an enlarging charm, accidental courtesy on behalf of Anthony; the frog in turn exploding in a massive green gush all over Stacy McBride, Hickam's own princess. The two boys howled with laughter and no regrets all through detention in remembrance of how adorable she had become with her perfect blonde hair now streaked in goopy, green frog innards; the moment too priceless not to be cherished and immortalized.

Adam thought of writing his friend a letter when he arrived in Gryffindor tower, filling with excitement to use his new Snowy Owl, Eragon. But suddenly reality burst his glee bubble when he felt his left leg sink painfully downwards.

"Mate, you are supposed to skip that step," commented Ron through his steady laughter. As he and Harry grabbed him under the arms and pulled.

"Oh yeah, sorry, my mind was wandering."

Adam figured that now was the best time of all to start paying attention, especially when he noticed the shifting staircases ahead, the erratic movements throwing his brain and expanded stomach for a loop.

*****

Later that night as Harry climbed the stairs to his dormitory he was surprised to find that with the arrival of Adam Stock, he was no longer the only one to lay awake into the approaching hours of dawn. Adam was comfortably positioned in the windowsill overlooking the grounds.

Man, this guy has got some nerve.... First Hermione, and now my spot! Harry thought.

"Hi there, Harry. Are you a night owl, too?" questioned Adam, quietly.

"Yeah, I find I can never sleep when I want to, but don't worry about being quiet, these guys could sleep through an elephant stampede."

Adam nodded and grinned.

Maybe this guy isn't so bad, both boys thought simultaneously.