A New Life

Chapter Four: The Hogwarts Express

August had come and gone in a flurry, in fact from everyone's point of view it had hardly begun before it was over. Harry got permission to bring his snake, and Remus was accepted as the new Muggle Studies Professor. The only downside was that Remus found that he would need to choose a new course book after all, since the one on the list didn't cover half what Remus wanted to teach. That meant having new owls sent to the students at last moment, but Dumbledore wasn't complaining so everything worked out just fine.

Severus was the happiest Harry had seen him in a long time, though Harry suspected it had a lot to do with the fact that his father had been staying home to catch his dad up on recent events. Actually, Harry knew it wasn't the "catching up on school stuff" that was making his father happy, it was the "other things" that they were catching up on that made his parents look at each other and grin at any given time.

Harry knew his parents were going to be sharing quarters at Hogwarts, so he really didn't understand why they were acting as if they were a pair of love-struck teenagers. Not that he was going to say anything about it, but it was a bit strange. After years of being watched like a hawk, Harry was now handed money and told to catch a film for a few hours, or do anything else that would keep him occupied. Harry didn't know where the extra money was coming from, but the new trainers, the fifteen new anime mangas, and the ten new science-fiction and fantasy books he'd been pining for that were packed in his rucksack were a bonus that he wasn't going to complain about.

Now that it was time to leave for school, his reservations about going were a lot less then they'd been a month ago. Harry was feeling good about the fact that he was going to have both his parents at the school. Though at the same time, not that he wanted to admit it, he was slightly apprehensive as well. Having his dad there would be no problem, he was sure Remus wouldn't treat him much different then he did at home, but his father was another story. Harry knew that Severus was two different people between his public and private lives, and he was going to have to remember that in school "Father" would have to become "Sir" or "Professor Snape."

Harry was excited to be going to Hogwarts, but being it was now the morning of departure the jitters were setting in. Remus and Severus had already gone up to the school last night to set up their quarters and have last minute meetings and whatnot. That left Sirius to bring Harry to King's Cross Station, but once inside Harry would be on his own. Sirius wanted to go inside with him, but Remus and Severus had said it was a bad idea just in case anyone from the Ministry might be lurking, so Sirius grudgingly had to agree to drop Harry off and leave him alone.

'Nervous?' Sirius asked as they climbed into the off-yellow coloured Volkswagon beetle.

'A little,' Harry admitted, as he got comfortable.

'Ah, don't worry about it, Harry, you'll be fine. Which is more than I can say for me,' Sirius muttered as he wiggled round trying to get comfortable. 'How does your dad drive this thing?' he muttered.

Harry chuckled. 'He's a lot smaller than you are, Uncle Padfoot,' he pointed out.

'Well he could have picked a car that would fit bigger people as well,' Sirius snorted, then reached into his pocket for something. 'Ah, here we go, these are the keys for this thing, right?'

'Yup, that's them. You can tell because dad has the Mickey Mouse key chain on it. Now that was a cool holiday; I hope we can go to Disney World again because I hear they're adding a bunch of new things. Maybe now that dad's got a real job we can go you think?' he asked excitedly.

'We'll see. Maybe for Christmas Hols I can talk Moony into it, if you and your parents are able to leave the school,' Sirius said putting the key into the ignition.

'You mean Chanukah. Father and Dad are Jewish this year,' Harry said.

'What, they changed again? Weren't they Jewish last year?' Sirius asked.

'Nope, last year they were into Hinduism ... or maybe it was Shinto ... I don't really remember but it was one of those Asian religions anyway,' Harry shrugged.

'Whatever, it changes so often I can't keep track,' Sirius sniffed.

'Wish they would settle on something already. It's kind of annoying to keep changing what holidays I celebrate,' Harry muttered.

'Yeah well, be glad you at least have something to celebrate, Harry. I didn't get Christmas as a kid, my parents being what they were and -- oh shite!' he exclaimed as he flicked on the windscreen wipers. 'How the hell does that git drive this blasted thing?' Sirius complained.

Harry grinned knowing exactly whom Sirius was referring. 'Father never gets in Dad's car unless absolutely forced to. He says it's a "travesty to mankind," but Dad loves this car. Father wanted to get dad something bigger last year but dad wouldn't give up "Herbie." You have to admit the car kind of does look a lot like Herbie from the Love Bug films, except no big Number 8 logo painted on it. Umm ... you do know how to drive ... don't you, Uncle Padfoot?' he asked nervously now as he watched Sirius fiddle round with more things.

'Of course I do!' Sirius snapped then groaned when he nearly flooded the motor after twisting the key in the ignition twice. 'Err ... well it has been a few years actually ... '

'How ... many ... years?' Harry asked paling slightly at the rather ill sounding noises the car was starting to make.

'Too long apparently,' Sirius sighed and shut off the motor. 'Let's just ring for a cab; I never did enjoy driving cars anyway. Now give me a motorcycle and ... oh ... oh ... of course, that's it! It's bloody brilliant!' he said beaming as he struggled his way out of the small car.

'What's brilliant?' Harry asked breathing a sigh of relief, also getting out of the car.

'The Black Stallion, he's in the garage, I should have thought of him sooner,' Sirius said happily. He headed over and lifted up the garage door then walked over to a corner and pulled back a giant black tarp that had been covering a rather large object. 'Aha! There you are my pretty boy, Daddy's missed you,' he cooed.

'You've got to be kidding. Honestly, Uncle Padfoot, it's not alive,' Harry snorted.

'Don't let him hear you say that,' Sirius said whilst lovingly caressing the handlebars. 'Now don't you listen to him, Stallion, you're every bit alive, Harry just doesn't know it yet is all,' he said like a proud papa.

'Father is going to kill you ... and me ... if I get on that thing, you know that,' Harry said disagreeably.

'What that git doesn't know won't hurt him, Harry,' Sirius said with a mischievous glint in his eye as he rolled the motorbike out into the bright morning sun. 'He's a beauty isn't he?' he asked with a soft sigh.

'It is a motorbike,' Harry said with a shrug.

'Oh ho, that's where you're wrong, m'boy,' Sirius said grinning smugly and got on the bike. 'He's no ordinary bike. Hop on, you'll see!'

'Uncle Padfoot, aren't you forgetting something?' Harry asked.

'What?' Sirius asked puzzled.

'My things. You know ... my school trunk, my packages ... and most importantly ... Kaiba ... my snake?' Harry said glancing towards the small yellow VW.

'Oh,' Sirius said looking sheepish for a moment and thought over what he could do about the situation. After a moment, his face lit up again. 'No problem, we'll just shrink it all down till we get to the station.'

'Oh no, you're joshing right?' Harry asked then looked at Sirius as if he'd just spouted another head. 'And how are we supposed to un-shrink them when we get there? I'm sure that the Muggles would notice something like that.'

'Not a problem, Harry, not at all,' Sirius said. 'We'll fly into the back of the station then you pop round and bring back a trolley. We'll un-shrink the things, and then you can be on your way.'

'Fly?' Harry exclaimed in astonishment now. 'You didn't say anything about flying!'

'I didn't say we weren't flying, now did I,' Sirius said with a huge grin. 'Told you he was no ordinary bike.'

'Sirius ...' Harry began warningly, and by using his uncle's name, he was saying all too clearly he was not happy about the situation in which he was finding himself.

'Oh come on, Harry, are you a Marauder-in-training or not? No true Marauder would say no to a ride on the Black Stallion. Hell even your dad had a go on him a few times back in our school days,' Sirius said giving Harry an impish look that could rival the devil himself.

Harry sighed in exasperation. 'Oh all right, Uncle Padfoot, you win. Go on and shrink down everything ... it won't hurt Kaiba though, will it? He gets fussy you know,' Harry said worriedly.

'Nah won't hurt him a bit, promise,' Sirius said, then got off the bike and walked over to the front of the car. 'Right then, anyone looking?' he asked opening the boot of the car.

Harry did a double check and then shook his head. 'Nope, you're clear, go ahead.'

Sirius nodded and taking his wand out whispered a few words under his breath then reached in and pulled out a few pocket-sized packages. 'Here, Harry, come put these in your pockets so you don't lose them,' he said.

Harry went over and collected his things, putting them safely and securely in the pockets of his jacket then walked back over to the bike. Truth was he'd secretly always admired the bike from a distance, having heard tales from his uncle of the "Black Stallion" ever since he could remember. He'd never understood why Sirius didn't ride the bike these days, but since it was of a magical nature, and with Sirius always running from place to place in disguise or in his animagus form, it was probably best he didn't use it. Now, however, it would get them to the station and looking down at his wristwatch Harry gasped when he saw the time.

'Uncle Padfoot, we've got to go! It's twenty past ten already, we're late!' Harry exclaimed in a panic.

'Now don't get yourself in a loop, Harry, we'll make it with plenty of time to spare, you'll see,' Sirius said and mounted the bike, pulling Harry up behind him.

'How do you figure that? When Dad drives, he can't get to King's Cross Station in less than thirty minutes at this time of day. How will flying make it in any less amount of time?' Harry asked sceptically.

Sirius grinned then turned round, summoning up some goggles. 'You'll see. Trust me, we'll make it,' he said again then handed Harry a pair of goggles. 'Put these on, you'll need them.'

Harry didn't ask why, he had a bad enough feeling already about missing the train. He put the goggles on in silence then waited as the bike came to life. 'What now?' he yelled over the thrum of the engine.

'Put your arms round my waist!' Sirius yelled back, waiting until Harry did so. With a final check on things, he revved the motor then pressed a switch on the front panel. 'And off we go!' he called out like a little boy who just discovered he had won a years worth of sweets.

The next thing Harry knew they were taking off, but into the air not on the ground. His breath caught in his throat as he watched the ground fall away, and the bike rose higher than he'd even been, even on his broomstick. 'What about the Muggles?' he yelled.

Sirius didn't answer but he looked round then pressed up another switch on the front panel. 'Invisibility control!' he yelled back with a thumb up, and with that off they went.

Ten minutes later, they were pulling into a secluded area in the back of the KCS, and thankfully, no one had been the wiser. Harry quickly ran round to the front and got a trolley whilst Sirius returned everything to their proper size, then they loaded everything onto it.

'Whew, you were right, that was awesome, Uncle Padfoot! We've got to do that again!' Harry said with a huge grin. Now that the fear of being late was gone, an excited thrill took hold of him.

Sirius chuckled. 'Just don't let that greasy haired git find out all right?'

Harry nodded in agreement. 'Why do you and Father get on so badly, Uncle Padfoot?' he asked curiously.

'Oh ... err ... we have our reasons, Harry; it's a long story you don't have time for, so we'll save it for another time. Meanwhile, you best get inside before you end up too late,' Sirius said making a last minute check on Harry's things to make sure he'd not missed anything.

'All right, I'm off. I'll see you soon won't I?' Harry asked as he gave Sirius a final good-bye hug.

'Sooner than you think. Besides, thanks to that book you got me I've got a few ideas just how can scare a few folks up that way,' Sirius winked.

Harry laughed. 'Wicked! I can't wait to see what I will be when I become an animagus. I hope I become a snake,' he said.

'Oi, don't you let anyone hear you say that, Harry,' Sirius said then looked at Harry intensely. 'You're parents did have a chat with you about umm ... certain ... things ... regarding Kaiba ... didn't they?' he asked hesitantly.

Harry sighed and nodded. 'Yeah, they had the "talk," Uncle Padfoot, don't worry, I'll be careful,' he said.

Sirius sighed. 'It's going to be hard enough when people find out who you are let alone that you have that particular ... ability.'

'I know, somehow I get the feeling being father's son is far worse than being a Parselmouth,' Harry grimaced.

Sirius laughed and ruffled Harry's hair, which he'd tied back today or it would have been havoc for him whilst they'd been in the air. 'In that you probably right, Harry. Now go on, and remember the Hogwarts Express is between the pillars of Platforms 9 and 10, all right?'

'Right,' Harry said then with a wave headed inside the station. It didn't take him long to find Platforms 9 and 10, the only problem was that there were three places that the magical barrier to Platform 9 3/4's could be behind. 'Oh just great, trust him not to tell me which one to use!' Harry muttered under his breath then suddenly a voice drifted by that had some familiar words, so he quickly turned to locate the source.

'... same thing every year. Packed with Muggles,' a large and motherly looking woman in a green dress and red hair was saying in a frayed tone of voice.

'Well of course it's packed with Muggles, Mum, it is a Muggle train station after all,' a young boy, also with red hair and tons of freckles said rolling his eyes.

'Laugh as you will, Ron, but I still think they could do something else each year. This is always a hassle,' the woman said with a sniff. 'All right you first, Percy, off you goes then.'

Harry watched in awe as a boy with red hair and glasses took a bit of a run then headed his trolley straight at the wall. Seconds later, he was gone, not round the wall but clear through it. He watched then as a pair of twin redheaded boys also sailed through the brick wall. Finally, Harry decided to approach the woman and see if she could help him out.

'Excuse me, Ma'am?' he asked hesitantly.

The woman looked round a moment until she spotted Harry then she smiled. 'First time dear?' she asked kindly and Harry nodded. 'Ron's new this year as well.'

Harry looked over at the remaining redheaded boy who had been looking quite bored earlier, though now was somewhat interested since Harry had spoken up. Nodding at the other boy a moment Harry turned back to the woman and asked, 'Is there anything special I need to do to get onto the platform?'

'No, no, dearie, nothing special at all. All you have to do is take a bit of run, and head right for the wall. Very simple,' she smiled.

Harry smiled back. 'Thank you,' he said, then with a determined look on his face he positioned his trolley, and drawing in a deep breath headed for the wall.

He was sure he was going to crash, so right before he got to the wall he closed his eyes. As he passed through the wall, he felt nothing, however, so after a moment he reopened them, stopping his trolley to take in another deep breath. Before him was a bright red engine with at least ten cars attached to it, and it was beautiful.

'The Hogwarts Express,' he said to himself in awe. All his life he'd heard the tales from his parents and uncle about their times on this train, and now he was here himself!

Seeing that the hour was getting on he got his things on the train, then headed on board to look for a seat. Almost everywhere was full except for the last car, which had one person in it -- the redheaded, freckle-faced boy from the platform earlier.

'Mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full,' Harry asked.

The boy nodded. 'Have a seat. Sorry 'bout earlier, my Mum, she can be a pain sometimes. Name's Ron by the way, Ron Weasley,' the boy said holding out his hand.

Harry sat down and smiled at the other boy, clasping his hand for a moment then pulling back shyly. 'I'm Harry. Harry Lupin-Snape,' he said.

Ron's eyes grew wide and he nearly doubled over in shock. 'Snape? As in Snape, the bloke that teaches Potions?' he asked in pure astonishment.

'Is there more than one Snape teaching Potions?' Harry asked in amusement. 'Yes, that Snape. Is that a problem?'

'N-No ... just that ... well ... I suppose not. Are you a relative of his or something?' Ron asked curiously.

'He's my Father,' Harry said, wondering just how bad his father could be at school that he could leave impressions on first-years that hadn't even had class with him yet.

'Wicked!' Ron said in a hushed tone of voice. 'No way though, somehow I can't believe that.'

'Why is it so hard to believe? Honestly, he really is my Father, I wouldn't lie to you,' Harry said growing a bit impatient with the other boy.

'You do know that no one likes him, don't you? He's ghastly from what my brothers tell me,' Ron said.

Harry heard about enough, for some reason what Ron was saying bothered him more than he wanted to admit. Standing up he said, 'Maybe he just doesn't like your brothers is all,' he said coolly, then left the cabin before he could even get a reaction from the other boy.

He didn't stop until he got to the next section of the train, when he did, he just stood there shaking his head and sighing deeply. He realised now that he'd probably overreacted back there with Ron, but knowing how his father treated him at home, and hearing how bad he was to everyone else at school set off odd emotions in him he didn't like.

'Well, better get used to this, probably everyone will judge me because of Father before they even get to know me,' he said with a heavy sigh.

'I won't,' a new voice said from behind Harry, causing him to turn round quickly.

He looked at the new boy curiously then realization dawned on him. 'You're that bloke from Madam Malkin's,' he said.

The other boy nodded. 'Good of you to remember. Name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. So you're Professor Snape's son, you didn't tell me that before,' the boy said paying more attention to Harry then he had whilst at Diagon Alley.

'I was about to, but you left before I could,' he replied. 'Got a free compartment? There's a kid I really want to avoid right now,' he sighed.

'Let me guess, does he have red hair, too many freckles and an attitude?' Draco asked with amusement.

Harry nodded. 'Sounds about right.'

'A Weasley,' Draco said rolling his eyes. 'Come on, you can sit with me then.'

'You sure that you're all right with that? I told you I was half Gryffindor, so you're going to tarnish you're reputation by letting me sit with you before we even get there?' Harry asked.

Draco chuckled. 'Your parents and my Father knew each other very well so that's good enough for me. I didn't know Lupin and Snape were your parents or I'd have looked for you sooner. Besides, Snape's Head of Slytherin House, so even if you do go to Gryffindor you're still one of us,' Draco said firmly.

'An honorary Slytherin, eh? I can live with that I reckon, but what happens if you end up going to Gryffindor?' Harry teased.

Draco looked at Harry as if he'd gone mental then laughed. 'A Malfoy in Gryffindor? Now that would be something else,' he said shaking his head.

Harry grinned though he wasn't sure why at the moment. He suspected though that Draco was one of those elitist purebloods Sirius mocked all the time, but so far, Draco seemed nice enough. 'Thanks, for cheering me up and not judging me. How'd you know who I was though?' he asked curiously.

'The minute you left Weasley's compartment he ran out and told his brothers about you. I happen to overhear their not-so-nice comments and came looking for you. I figured you'd probably need some cheering up after hearing things about your father,' Draco said.

Harry groaned. 'I'm doomed,' he sighed. 'Is my father really that bad when he's at school?' he asked weakly.

'He's Head of Slytherin House, so I'm sure he's not a creampuff if that's what you mean. From what I've heard though, he hates everyone except Headmaster Dumbledore, so you can imagine that people are going to have a ruddy hard time believing there's someone out there that he doesn't hate. Let alone that fact that he has a family or a private life at all even,' Draco said dryly.

Harry scowled. 'My father is different in private, trust me, he's not all bad. He's cranky sometimes, but he's not mean and nasty, at least not to Dad and me. Just don't tell anyone all right?'

'You got a deal. Besides, I doubt anyone would believe me on that point,' Draco grinned, then held out his hand. 'Friends?'

Harry looked at Draco's outstretched hand for a moment then clasped it warmly. 'Friends,' he smiled.

As they walked into the cabin Draco had to himself, they settled in for the rest of the ride to the school. They played some Exploding Snap (they each won two games a piece) and a game of Chess (a stalemate) whilst discussing things at random. When the sweets trolley came round Draco was kind enough to buy double of everything on it since Harry hadn't brought any money with him. All his uncle had given him for the trip was a small sac lunch with a dry roast beef sarni and some crisps.

'I still don't see why you have to go to Slytherin though, Draco. I thought you said you don't always do what your dad wants,' Harry said opening up a Chocolate Frog. 'Darn, Dumbledore again, I have about fifty of him,' he said throwing down the card in disgust. 'Anyway, can't you just tell your dad to shove it or something and do what you want to do?'

Draco looked at Harry as if he'd just grown a second head. 'Defy my father? Are you daft?'

'Oh come on, what would happen if you didn't go to Slytherin? Honestly, Draco, what could he really do?' Harry asked.

Draco shrugged and glanced out the window. 'Knowing my father, that could be anything, Harry.'

'If he's a good father he'd love you no matter what you did, he'd want what's best for you,' Harry argued.

'He's not a good father, Harry, he's a Malfoy,' Draco said as if that explained everything.

'So that means you can't be a nice person? You don't seem evil to me,' Harry said.

'Slytherins aren't always evil you know,' Draco muttered.

'From the way my uncle talks you'd think the whole lot of them were evil prats,' Harry grinned mischievously.

Draco snorted. 'Sounds like a Gryffindor saying that.'

'He is,' Harry laughed. 'You can't believe how much he argues with Father.'

'Not surprising though. Gryffindors and Slytherins hate each other,' Draco said taking a bite of his pumpkin pasty.

'My parents don't. Is there some kind of rule set in stone that says they have to? Because if there is I wouldn't be here, Draco,' Harry said whilst grabbing up some Liquorice Twists. 'I mean, it seems rather stupid to base hate on something that happened over a thousand years ago.'

Draco shrugged. 'Maybe so, but that's the way it was back then and has been since. Your parents might be an exception to the rule, but Slytherins are just biased that way.'

'Then I'm glad I won't be going to Slytherin,' Harry said. 'I don't think I could handle being told how to think or act just because someone wants me to. I'm my own person, not someone else's puppet.'

Draco looked at Harry strangely for a moment. 'Do you really think it's that easy to just give up everything you've been told to believe in? Just like that?' he said with a snap of his fingers.

'That's exactly the point though, Draco,' Harry said. 'You've been told to believe. No one asked you if you really wanted to believe in those things or if they were even worth believing in. A person isn't born biased, they're made to be that way, believe me I know that all too well, but there's also people who don't follow the moulds. One my best friends back home, his parents really disapprove of my parents but he's still my best friend anyway because he likes me and doesn't think what his parents say is right.'

'You really think it's possible that even someone like me can change, Harry? Truly?' Draco asked curiously.

'Really and truly, Draco,' Harry nodded. 'No one should be forced into doing what they don't want to do, or being someone they don't want to be. My parents are really strict most times, but they've never forced me to do anything I didn't want to do ... except maybe coming to Hogwarts, but now I'm glad I did,' he grinned.

'I wish it were that easy,' Draco said with a slight sigh.

'It can be, if you want it to be, Draco. You just have to set your mind to it is all,' Harry said.

Before Draco could answer though, the door to the cabin slid open and someone walked in. 'Has anyone seen a toad?' a girl with bushy brown hair asked.

'A toad? Why?' Harry asked curiously.

'A boy named Neville's lost one, that's why,' the girl said. 'So have you seen one?'

'No, no toads here,' Draco said. 'Now go away.'

'You don't have to be rude about it,' the girl huffed then looked at Harry. 'If you see one will you let me know? I'm Hermione by the by, my cabin's two doors down.'

'I'm Harry and that's Draco,' Harry said nodding towards Draco. 'If we see one we'll let you know.'

'Thanks,' Hermione said.

'Now will you go away?' Draco said huffily.

'Some people, honestly! Try to do a good deed for someone and --'

'All right, I get the point! If we see your bloody toad we'll holler for you,' Draco muttered.

'Bye, Hermione,' Harry said as Hermione left the cabin then. 'You could have been nicer you know. She was only trying to help this Neville person.'

'Girls are annoying,' Draco shrugged, as if that answered everything.

'Yeah, they are, but still --' Harry started, but was cut off by a crackle from somewhere above his head.

'The Hogwarts Express will be arriving in Hogsmeade in five minutes, please have your robes on and gather your things. I repeat, the Hogwarts Express will be arriving in five minutes, please have your robes on and your things gathered.'

'Reckon that toad doesn't matter now, we're here,' Harry said apprehensively, the jitters from early morning returning.

Draco nodded. 'Suppose so,' he said a bit reluctantly, then looked over at Harry who was adjusting his school robe. 'Harry?'

'Yeah?' Harry asked and looked back up at him.

'Thanks,' Draco said.

'For what?' Harry asked puzzled.

'For today,' Draco smiled.

Harry shyly smiled back. 'Shame we can't be friends once we leave the train, Draco. I think I would have liked being your friend, even if you are a bit stuffy,' he said.

'I'll take that as a compliment,' Draco grinned then looked out the window pensively. 'I think I would have liked being your friend too, Harry.'

The train slowly came to a stop and they gathered up their belongings in silence then they head out, both of them wondering what things were in store for them next.