The Way Things Should Have Been

Eleven-year-old Harry Potter opened his eyes. He rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed. Sunlight poured through the open window. It was morning - Harry was excited, because he would be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - the same school his parents had.

Suddenly, the door flew open and bounding into his room, came his six-year-old sister, Emily. She jumped on his bed and started squealing annoyingly at the sight of him.

"Emily - get off!" Harry growled. Harry loved Emily, of course, but there were some things that she did which annoyed him - like jumping on his bed and squealing at the top of her lungs.

"Harry! You'd better hurry up and get ready - we'll be leaving for Platform 9 ¾ soon!" That was his mother, Lily Potter, calling at him from downstairs. "I hope you have your trunk packed!"

"Yes, Mum - I do!" Harry shouted back.

"Harry's going to school today! Harry's going to school!" Emily squealed in a sing-song voice. Harry rolled his eyes and gently pushed Emily off the bed. He slowly got out of bed and shoved Emily out of his room so he could change.

Pretty soon, Harry was changed and downstairs for a quick breakfast. Harry saw his father, James Potter, already sitting at the table reading the morning issue of The Daily Prophet - the newspaper for the magical folk.

"Good morning, Harry," James said, clearing his throat.

"Morning, Dad," Harry replied, sitting down at the table. Lily put a plate of pancakes and bacon on the table in front of Harry. Harry could feel his stomach growling, so he dug right in.

"Mum, what House do you think I'll be in?" Harry asked as he was eating.

"Well, your mother and I were both in Gryffindor - so I suspect that you'll be in Gryffindor, too," James answered.

"That's not always true, James dear," Lily pointed out. "Remember when Daisy Philips got put into Hufflepuff and both of her parents had been in Ravenclaw?" James just shrugged his shoulders at this. He went back to reading the paper.

"Well, don't worry Mum, I'm pretty sure I'll be in Gryffindor." Harry had high hopes to be in Gryffindor - he always wanted to be in the same House as his parents. Besides, he heard Gryffindor was the best. He just hoped he wouldn't get put into Slytherin House. Harry's heard lots of stories about the students who were sorted into Slytherin.

"You'll be in Slytherin!" Emily declared in a booming voice, coming into the kitchen. Then she burst out laughing. Harry shot Emily a look. Then Harry realized he shouldn't really listen to what she says - she was only six, after all, so she probably didn't even realize what she meant.

No need to panic - it's only my first day! Harry told himself silently.

* * * * *

A little while later, the Potters had reached King's Cross Station. "Mum," Harry asked. "How do we get to the train?"

"Oh, it's really quite simple, dear. You just run quickly through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Go ahead! We mustn't be late!" Harry took a deep breath and was soon standing in front of the Hogwarts Express train. His parents and sister came onto the platform right after him.

Harry's parents hugged him goodbye (Emily just made faces at him), and he got on the train. There were already a lot of Hogwarts students on the train. Feeling a bit lonely, Harry wandered off into an empty compartment.

He sat down and stared out the window...trying to find his parents in the crowd of other students' families. When he spotted them, he started waving. They saw and waved back.

The train's engine started up, and they were off. But it wasn't long before Harry was joined by three new Hogwarts students. Harry was just sitting there, staring out the window and minding his own business, when a small, pale-faced boy walked right into his compartment. He was followed by two bigger, but stupid-looking boys. All three had on their Hogwarts robes.

"Hello - is this seat taken?" the pale-faced boy asked, nodding toward the empty seat across from Harry. Harry shook his head and the three boys sat down. "I'm Draco Malfoy," said the boy, introducing himself. "This is Crabbe and Goyle," he added, nodding toward the two other boys next to him. "Are you a first year?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah..."

"So are we. We all hope to be in Slytherin House. What's your name, by the way?"

"Harry Potter," he answered.

"Pleased to meet you. What House do you think you'll be in?"

Harry shrugged. "Well, my parents were both put into Gryffindor, so that's where I'll probably end up."

"You should really be in Slytherin," Draco insisted. "It's probably the best House at Hogwarts. All Pure Bloods. Are you a Pure Blood?"

Harry nodded. "Uh-huh. My mum's a witch and my dad's a wizard."

"That's cool," said Draco. "Well, keep your fingers crossed to be in Slytherin House. I think it's wrong to be mixed in with half-bloods and Muggle-borns. What do you think?"

Harry could tell this Draco Malfoy was testing him. He didn't really like Malfoy all that much. But yet, Harry hardly knew Draco so he wasn't quite sure of what Draco was really like. However, if Harry was sorted into Slytherin, he knew he'd definitely end up being around Malfoy a lot.

In Diagon Alley where he had bought his school supplies, he had met a red-headed boy named Ron Weasley who was also going to Hogwarts. He liked Ron, and Ron said his whole family was in Gryffindor, so that was only another reason why he wanted to be in Gryffindor.

"Well?" Draco demanded, a little impatient.

"Oh, um - er, I really don't like Muggle-borns and half-bloods either," he lied. "Not my type."

"Then you'll definitely be in Slytherin!" Draco declared. "We Pure Bloods should stick together." Ron Weasley said he was a Pure Blood, so maybe he should introduce Ron to Draco. They might just hit it off. He smirked at this thought. "Well, see you at school, I guess." Draco said. "Come Crabbe and Goyle." Draco led the two gits out of Harry's compartment and back to their own.

Harry smiled to himself. Both Ron and Draco seemed like potential friends - maybe he wouldn't be so lonely after all at Hogwarts.