Of Monsters, Of Men

Chapter 6

September 1, 1938

During the early hours of September 1st, Harry and Tom grabbed their packed trunks and train tickets, and they took the bus to King's Cross Station, chatting as they waited. Their previous arguments had been pushed away for later. Harboring hard feelings towards each other would have been detrimental, what with quite literally exploring a new world, after all.

Once they entered the station, they stood between platforms nine and ten, observing the people that passed by. A family ran recklessly into the barrier with no regard for their health, disappearing before their very eyes. Harry's mind boggled at the sight. After the third family had passed through successfully, Tom told Harry to try it.

Harry scowled but did as he was told, walking towards the platform and ignoring the rational part of his brain that said he was going to crash straight into the bricks. Nonetheless, Harry, with his eyes closed in a half-grimace, felt nothing touch him physically even as he passed through the solid-appearing wall. When he finally opened his eyes on the other side, a scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people.

A few moments later, Tom appeared next to him. The crowd was a sea that tugged them this way and that as they stepped onto the train, moving from compartment to compartment until they found an empty one near the end of the train. They shut the door and tucked their trunks away in the corner. Harry glanced around at the red seats and wall lamps and thin carpet floor.

"It's nice," Harry said.

Tom paused rummaging through his bag to lift his eyes and nod.

"It's not bad," he agreed.

Once he had found what he had been looking for, Tom laid down and opened up Hogwarts: A History. Harry took the seat parallel to him and sighed, resigning himself to a long trip.

To be honest, any type of transportation that was over three hours long was a chore to him. Harry frequently became bored, and he would resort to nagging Tom for attention until Tom invariably snapped back at him. The minutes trickled by, and corrupting boredom ate away at his sanity. But being the good friend that he was, Harry decided to play war by himself rather than bug Tom. Today was not the day to interrupt Tom. The less Harry bothered him, the better, as a Tom in new situations without adequate preparation meant intense stress on his behalf. If Tom was even minorly interrupted, he would raise hell. Harry did not relish a repeat of the experience.

Harry brooded as he played absentmindedly. He had made up his mind: Slytherin over Ravenclaw. He couldn't bear to be separated from Tom, and if Tom was going to Slytherin, so would he. Whatever the other Slytherins threw at them, Tom and he could beat them at their own game. They had to.

Harry said, "Fine. Slytherin it is," breaking the large silence that stretched between them.

Tom put down his book, bookmarking the page before he closed it, and he interlaced his fingers. He said, "I see you've come to your senses."

"More like you won't come to yours," Harry snorted. "As much I want Ravenclaw, I won't let us become separated."

Just as Tom was about to respond, their compartment door opened. A plump woman pushed a trolley filled to the brim with what he guessed were sweets of all shapes and sizes.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" she asked.

"No," said Tom.

It was too bad they had no spare change after their shopping trips, as Harry would have liked to try some wizarding treats.

She hummed to herself and pushed the trolley past them into the next compartment.

As soon as she left, Harry asked Tom, "What were you going to say?"