The Phoenix and the Serpent

Chapter Two - Platform Nine and Three-Quarters

Tom's last week at home was a blur of packing, endless hugs from his mother, and special visits from his many aunts, uncles, and cousins. George - he refused to be called "Uncle" - had even managed to slip him a package which was to be kept strictly hidden from his mother and not opened until he arrived at Hogwarts. Derrick was too young to understand what all the fuss was about, but Lily and Emily tagged along after Tom wherever he went, and even Jamie admitted that he'd miss him. McGonagall owled back at last with permission for Medusa to accompany Tom to Hogwarts, but warned that if Medusa bit anyone, she'd be sent home at once. ("Ass if I would ever do ssuch a thing!" Medusa had said in indignation.)

September the first dawned bright and clear, and Tom woke up as the first pale streams of light came filtering in through his bedroom window. By the time Tom had gotten dressed, eaten a hasty breakfast, and double and triple-checked his trunk, the rest of the family was beginning to wake up.

Lily, Emily, and Derrick, over-excited by the tense and eager atmosphere in the house, wouldn't sit still for a moment, and it took the combined efforts of Tom, his Mum, Dad, and Dobby to get everyone dressed and fed. The hands of the clock were inching closer and closer to "You're late!" by the time the whole family - except Dobby and Derrick - were all piled in the borrowed car and ready to go.

"Medusa, are you comfortable?" Dad asked in Parseltongue, adjusting the mirrors of the car and checking the strange lights and numbers behind the steering wheel.

"Yess, thank you," Medusa said. "Thiss traveling case iss perfect."

"Well then, we're off!" Dad said, and shifted the car into gear.

Lily and Amy were fascinated enough by the relative novelty of using something so completely Muggle that they kept quiet for most of the car ride, but Jamie asked endless questions about batteries and electricity and other Muggle inventions. Tom was mostly quiet; it was hard to believe that this was the last he would be seeing of his family for months.

They reached King's Cross at a quarter to eleven. Dad heaved Tom's trunk onto a cart while Tom carefully picked up Medusa's traveling case and fastened the top. Mum grabbed hold of Lily and Emily's hands, and with Dad wheeling the cart, they all headed into the station.

Jamie looked around wide-eyed at the throngs swarming past. "These people are all Muggles?" he asked at last after several minutes of walking.

"Yes," Dad said, smiling. "Though I expect some of the families are wizard families; platform nine and three-quarters is just ahead, behind that barrier over there. Tom, you go first. Just walk straight at the barrier, and don't worry about crashing into it."

The barrier looked very solid. Tom knew perfectly well that it wasn't really, but the idea of walking into a brick wall still wasn't very appealing. Tom tightened his grip on Medusa's traveling case and broke into a determined half-run. His nerve failed him at the last moment and he shut his eyes, half-expecting to knock himself senseless.

But there was no crash, and Tom opened his eyes.

A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock. Tom looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it. As he watched, the cart and trunk and then Dad appeared through archway.

"Looks just as I remember it," Dad said, smiling. "I haven't been here for a while - it's nice to see it all again."

Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntle sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.

The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats.

"Wow!" Jamie had come hurtling through the barrier and was looking around eagerly; Mum and the two girls followed him.

"Let's find you a seat, Tom," Mum said briskly.

With Dad pushing the cart, they all headed down the platform.

"Do you think Adrian is here yet?" Mum said.

"Definitely," Dad said, grinning. "Fleur would never be so late. Adrian wouldn't want his Mum hanging around, though, so chances are she's left by now. Adrian's probably on the train already, but don't worry, he'll find Tom once they're at Hogwarts and show him around."

Jamie was the one who found an empty compartment at last, near the end of the train. Tom went in first and put Medusa's traveling case on one of the seats, then opened the lid to check on her. She was asleep, so Tom left the lid unfastened and went back outside to help his father with the trunk. Together, they heaved the trunk onto the train and tucked it away in a corner of the compartment, then rejoined the rest of the family outside on the platform.

For a minute they all just stood around silently, looking at each other.

"So... this is it," Dad said at last. "You're really leaving."

"We'll miss you, Tom," Mum said, giving him a hug. "Learn as much as you can, but don't forget to have fun."

"I still remember my first year at Hogwarts," Dad said, smiling. "It was wonderful. You'll love Hogwarts, Tom, I'm sure of it."

A whistle sounded.

"Already? Hurry - you don't want to be left behind!" Tom's mother gave him once last hug, and Tom dashed off to join the remaining few students jostling to get onto the train. When he reached his compartment at last, he leaned out the window to wave goodbye to his family.

"Don't get into too much trouble without me, Jamie," Tom said. "I'll miss you, everyone. Try to make sure Derrick doesn't forget me completely, okay?"

"I'll make sure he doesn't," his mother said, her eyes glistening.

"I'll write, Mum," Tom promised. "I'll tell you everything that happens. Well, maybe not if I get into trouble, but everything else."

Tom's father grinned. "A wise plan," he said, and then, looking suddenly serious, he switched over to Parseltongue. "Tom, remember what I told you about the Sorting Hat. No matter which house you end up in, though, always know that we love you, and don't do anything that I would disapprove of."

"I won't," Tom promised.

The train began to move, and after one last chorus of good-byes, Tom watched his waving family fading into the distance, his throat tightening.

"Anyone sitting with you?" A short, blond-haired boy was standing in the open doorway of the compartment, his trunk beside him. "Everywhere else is full."

Tom shook his head. The boy dragged his trunk into the compartment, sat down, and grinned.

"My name's Adam," he said. "First-year too?"

"Yes," Tom said.

"Do you have any older brothers or sisters here?"

"No, I'm the oldest."

"I have an older brother, but he's a - what do you call it? - Muggle. So are my parents. I have a twin sister, though, and she's here too. It was a real shock when we got our letters. Is your family all wizards?"

"Yes. Well, I think my father has a few relatives that are Muggles, but I've never met them."

"Wow. You must know loads of magic already, then."

"Not really. We don't get wands until we're old enough to start at Hogwarts. I only know what I've read in books. Well, except for Defense Against the Dark Arts - that's my father's specialty, so I've probably picked up enough to have a bit of a head start. That's just one subject, though, and anyway, there are plenty of people who come from Muggle families and they aren't any slower than everyone else - don't worry about it."

"What's Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"It's mostly learning how to protect ourselves against dangerous magical creatures and against different kinds of curses. We won't be doing any real wand work in first year, though, we'll just be doing theory."

Adam grinned. "Sounds exciting," he said. "Are there any regular classes? You know, like math and stuff?"

"No, Hogwarts is just for learning magic. We don't use our wands for all our classes, but even so, our most Muggle-like class is History of Magic, and that's all about magic, even if we're not actually learning anything magical."

While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They 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?"

Tom, who hadn't eaten anything since early in the morning, leapt to his feet and went out into the corridor, and Adam followed after him. The cart was loaded with the usual sweets, but Adam stared at it in amazement.

"What is all this stuff?" he asked.

"My favorites are the Pumpkin Pasties and Cauldron Cakes, but it's all good. We can get a little of everything - my Dad gave me quite a bit of pocket money."

Adam looked surprised. "I'm fine, thanks," he said. "My parents got some regular money changed at Gringotts. I still think that wizard money is weird, but I have plenty of it."

Tom selected only his favorite pasties and cakes, but Adam took Tom's advice and got a little of everything. They brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat, then began to eat their way through it.

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

"No," Tom said. "Gross. No, they're just chocolate. Some people like the cards, though."

"What?"

"Oh right, I keep forgetting you're Muggle-born. Cards of famous witches and wizards - kids collect them. My younger brother has about eight hundred, but of course my uncle started him off with more than five hundred cards from his old collection. Go on, see which card you got."

Adam unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. He stared at the picture, then turned it over to read the back.

"Who'd you get?"

"A man named Harry Potter."

There was a Chocolate Frogs card of his father? Wasn't Dad still too young for that? "Can I see?"

"Sure."

Tom took the card and read:

HARRY POTTER

Currently Head of

The Department of Magical Law Enforcement

A powerful wizard who is honored for his outstanding courage, Potter is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Voldemort (also referred to as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named) in 1981, which earned him his first title as The Boy Who Lived, and for his subsequent and final defeat of Voldemort in 1999. While still a student at Hogwarts, Harry Potter was Champion of the Tri-School Tournament and a gifted Quidditch player, a game which he still greatly enjoys.

Tom turned the card back over, but his father's image was gone.

"Adam? Can I keep this one?"

Adam was unwrapping another chocolate frog, but he looked up and said, "Sure. Why?"

"Well... it's my father," Tom said awkwardly. "It'll be nice to have a picture of him around. I didn't think to bring along any pictures of my family."

"Your father? Wow! Not that I have the faintest idea about even half of what the card was talking about, but it sounded pretty impressive."

"Yeah, well. He's definitely famous, and he's done loads of stuff, but I don't usually think about it - he's just my Dad."

The compartment door slid open and a small girl with chin-length blonde hair came in, already wearing her Hogwarts robes. "Hey, Adam," she said, smiling. "Found the sweets already?"

"Where have you been?" Adam asked.

"Oh, just around, trying to find out about teachers and stuff, getting to know the other first-year girls...."

"Typical," Adam said, grinning at her. He turned to Tom. "This is my sister Jennifer," he explained. "Jennifer, this is - uh - " He turned to Tom again, looking sheepish. "Sorry, I can't believe I forgot to ask you. What's your name?"

"Tom," he said, grinning.

"Hi, Tom," Jennifer said. "Nice to meet you." She turned back to Adam. "Listen, I've been asking around about the houses at Hogwarts, and I don't think we're going to end up in the same one - they sort us based on our personalities."

"How can they possibly know enough about us to do that?" Adam asked, frowning.

"Well, it's magic," Tom said. He looked at Jennifer. "Why? Which house do you think the two of you will be in?"

"I'll probably be in Ravenclaw," she said. "At least, that's the house I want to be in. Adam's brilliant, but he'll almost definitely be in Gryffindor - he's always sticking up for other people, and it takes a lot to scare him."

"Hey, thanks!" Adam said, grinning.

"Of course, he can also be incredibly annoying," Jennifer added. "What about you, Tom? Do you know where you'll be?"

"Well, my parents were both in Gryffindor, and I hope I'll be put there as well, but no one really knows for sure until they're sorted."

"Yes, that's what everyone's been saying - well, not everyone. A couple of people are sure they know which house they'll be in, but most people are nervous. Anyway, I'll see both of you later - we're almost there, you know, you two should change into your robes."

"See you," Adam said, and Jennifer left the compartment and slid the door shut behind her.

The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills. Tom and Adam turned back to the sweets.

"Did you try the Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans yet?" Tom asked.

"No." Adam opened a bag and chose a red bean.

"You want to be careful with those," Tom warned. "When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor. They have normal flavors like cherry and peppermint and chocolate, but you can also get mustard and spinach and grass."

Adam looked at his bean carefully, then bit off a corner.

"Chili pepper!" he gasped. He grabbed his glass of pumpkin juice and gulped it down.

Tom grinned. "I warned you," he said.

The compartment door slid open again, and two older-looking boys entered. Both were tall and burly, one with black hair and one with blond, and they looked over at Tom and Adam appraisingly.

"What are your names?" the black-haired boy asked.

"Adam Sutherland."

"Tom Potter."

"Harry Potter's son?" the boy asked.

"Yes," Tom said warily.

"Thought so," the boy said. "Saw you with your father on the platform; that's why we stopped by." He gestured to his blonde-haired companion. "This is MacDougal; my name is Rosier."

"Rosier?" Tom said. "Isn't that the name of - " He stopped abruptly.

"Yes," Rosier said, suddenly scowling. "My uncle was a Death Eater. Hoping to join your father in the fight against evil? Planning to send me to Azkaban?"

"No," Tom said, flustered. "I was just...."

"Spare me your pathetic explanations," Rosier said, cutting him off. "My father warned me that you'd be an arrogant little brat, and I see he was right on target." He glanced over at the Chocolate Frog card of Tom's father that was lying on the seat near Tom and his scowl deepened. "Taking along proof of how famous your father is? I think I'll do everyone a favor and throw this out a window." He snatched up the card.

Both Tom and Adam stood up.

"Give that back!" Tom said.

"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" MacDougal said, sneering.

"Unless Rosier gives Tom his card back and you both get out now," said Adam, glaring back.

"And who are you?" Rosier said. He looked at Adam contemptuously. "Sutherland, you said? There's no wizarding family that I know of by that name."

"My parents are Muggles, if that's what you want to know," Adam said. "Now give that back!"

"A Mudblood?" Rosier looked outraged. "And you dare tell me what to do?" He grabbed a handful of Adam's shirt and shoved him sideways, sending him sprawling across two seats. "Learn to speak less insolently to your betters, or next time you'll get a lot worse!"

Adam scrambled to his feet, looking furious. "There won't be a next time!" he said. He snatched the card away from Rosier and stuck it in his pocket. "You caught me by surprise just now - go on, let's see what you can do when I'm ready for you!"

"And you'll have to take me on as well," Tom added defiantly, moving to stand beside his new friend. He tried not to let his fear show on his face; if the two older boys used magic, he and Adam would be completely defenseless.

"MacDougal, keep the Potter kid from starting up," Rosier said, barely sparing Tom a glance. "I'll teach this flobberworm here some respect."

MacDougal nodded, and before Tom could react, he found his hands pinned together behind his back. He struggled, trying to kick out at MacDougal, but the burly teenager knocked him to the floor and sat on his legs. Still struggling, Tom watched helplessly as Rosier drew his wand and pointed it at Adam.

"Petri-"

"Friendss of yourss, Tom?" Medusa hissed. She slithered out of her traveling case and onto the seat, flicking her tongue in and out as she surveyed the room.

Rosier and MacDougal both turned pale. MacDougal released Tom and he and Rosier fled, almost crashing into each other in their haste to leave the compartment.

Tom sat up and rubbed his bruised wrists. "Thanks, Medusa," he said in Parseltongue, giving her a shaky smile. "Perfect timing."

"I could ssmell your fear." Medusa slithered up Tom's arm and looped herself around his shoulders. "How hass your journey been sso far?"

"Okay - until those two showed up. They - "

"Are you talking to that snake?"

Tom turned around. Adam was staring at him wide-eyed; he had backed away to the farthest end of the compartment.

"Yes, this is my - well, not pet exactly, because I'm a Parselmouth, I can talk to snakes. Medusa is more like a friend. You can come back here; she would never bite anyone."

"You're joking," Adam said. "You can talk to snakes? Any snake?" He came forward cautiously and stared at Medusa in fascination.

"Who iss thiss boy?" Medusa asked.

"I met him here on the train," Tom explained, switching back to Parseltongue. "He's a Muggle-born, so he's never heard of Parselmouths. Which is a good thing, really, because a lot of people think that all Parselmouths are dark wizards. Listen, Medusa - I think that once we get to Hogwarts, it'll be better if you stay on the train to get taken in with my trunk. I don't want any of the other kids getting scared before I have a chance to explain. Is that okay with you?"

"Yess, certainly," Medusa said. "I will return to my ssleep." She slithered back into the case and curled herself up, and Tom re-fastened the lid.

Adam was still watching, eyes wide. "That language is really creepy," he said. "Can a lot of wizards talk to snakes?"

"Nah, it's extremely rare. I got it from my father, he's a Parseltongue as well, but I think we might be the only two Parseltongues alive."

"Cool," Adam said. "You'll have to tell Jennifer - she would love to be able to do something like that. She was planning to be a veterinarian before we got our Hogwarts letter."

"What's a veterinarian?" Tom asked.

Adam looked surprised. "An animal doctor."

"A doctor is a Muggle Healer, right?"

"Uh - I guess so."

"And you have special Healers just for animals? Weird."

"What's strange about that? Animals get sick and hurt just like people, don't they? Besides, you actually talk to snakes - you shouldn't be calling anything weird! Oh, and here's the card of your father - I almost forgot." Adam took the card from his pocket and handed it to Tom.

"Thanks," Tom said, pocketing it. "Sorry - I didn't mean to get you involved."

"That was not your fault - those boys are creeps. But what's a Death Eater?"

"The dark wizard that my father defeated - Voldemort - had a bunch of followers called Death Eaters who went around killing and torturing people."

"That's horrible!" Adam said. "They're not still around, are they?"

"Most of them are dead or in prison, but there are some who are still around, in hiding. But don't worry, Hogwarts is really safe, one of the safest places in the world, and besides, there haven't been any attacks reported in years and years."

The compartment door slid open to reveal Tom's third-year cousin Adrian.

"Alright, Tom?" he asked, smiling.

"Hi, Adrian," Tom said, grinning back. "Everything's fine, thanks."

"Great. Listen, I just stopped by to let you know that we'll be at Hogwarts any minute now - you two should definitely change to your robes. I'll see you at Hogwarts, okay?" He gave Tom another quick smile and left the compartment, closing the door behind him.

Tom peered out of the window and saw that it was getting dark. Mountains and forests were silhouetted against a deep purple sky, and the train did seem to be slowing down.

He and Adam took of their jackets and pulled on their long black robes.

"I feel like I'm a little kid again and it's Halloween," Adam said, grinning.

"Halloween?" Tom asked, puzzled. "Why?"

"Well, I don't know about wizards, but Muggles - the kids - sometimes dress up on Halloween, and a lot of them dress up as witches or wizards."

Tom stared at Adam in shock. "But - how do they know? It's supposed to be a secret! Muggles know about magic?"

Adam laughed. "No, of course not," he said. "They don't think that witches and wizards are actually real - they're just dressing up, pretending. The truth is that I'm still finding it hard to believe that this all real, that it isn't just a dream, and wearing these robes just adds to the strangeness of it all."

Tom looked down at his own robes and then at Adam. "They're pretty ordinary... but I guess anything seems strange if you're not used to it."

A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately."

It was almost time for the Sorting, then. Tom's stomach lurched with nerves and Adam, he saw, was looking suddenly pale. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor.

The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Tom shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Tom heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! Good ter see you, Tom!"

Tom had known Hagrid ever since he could remember, and seeing his beaming face now over the sea of heads was somehow comforting.

"C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Tom thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much, and Tom found himself wishing he could see in the dark as well as Medusa could.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts jus' round this bend here," Hagrid called over his shoulder.

There was a loud "Oooooh!"

The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. None of his parents' descriptions could possibly have prepared Tom for its magnificence.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Tom and Adam found themselves a boat, and Jennifer detached herself from the crowd of first-years to join them. "We might as well stick together until the sorting," she told Adam cheerfully.

"Being in different houses doesn't have to mean that we'll never see each other," Adam pointed out. "We'll probably have some classes together, and as long as it's before curfew, we can arrange places and times to meet."

"I suppose," Jennifer said. "Still, it definitely won't -"

Hagrid's booming voice interrupted her. "Everyone in? Right then - FORWARD!"

And the little fleet of boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles. Then they climbed up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.

They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.

"Everyone here?"

Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.