THE WITCHING HOUR ➸ h. potter

4 - hogwarts express

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 disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.

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

Looking back at my mum, I smiled and hugged her. After taking a few minutes to say goodbye to her and promising to send letters every few days, I pushed my cart off down the platform, in search of an empty seat, Harry following me. We passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again. "

"Oh, Neville," I heard the old woman sigh.

A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd.

"Give us a look, Lee, go on. "

The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg. I shivered and looked away, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. Even mum had left. There was no going back now.

I pressed on through the crowd until I found an empty compartment near the end of the train. Putting Alaska's cage inside first, I then started to shove my suitcase toward the train door.

Out of the corner on my eye, I saw Harry trying to do the same thing, except with a truck that looked much heavier than mine. He tried to lift it up the steps but could hardly raise one end, and he dropped it twice on his foot. I winced, going to offer my help, but someone beat me to it.

"Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins we'd followed through the barrier.

"Yes, please," Harry panted.

"Oy, Fred! C'mere, and help!"

With the twins' help, Harry's trunk was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment.

"Thanks," said Harry, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

"What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at a scar on Harry's forehead I hadn't even noticed. I frowned, taking a closer look, as well. It was shaped like a bolt of lightning

"Blimey," said the other twin, "Are you- ?"

"He is," said the first twin, "Aren't you?" he added to Harry.

I was extremely confused. He seemed pretty normal to me — but the way the twins were looking at him, Harry could have been the most famous person they knew.

"What?" said Harry, looking as confused.

"Harry Potter," chorused the twins.

"Oh, him," said Harry, "I mean, yes, I am."

I shook my head, "Wait — how do you guys even know who he is?" I was finding this whole thing a bit creepy.

One of the boys laughed, "You'd be crazy not to know who he is! It's Harry Potter, after all! The Boy Who Lived! The Chosen One!"

Suddenly, one of the things Mum had told me about the wizarding world came rushing back.

"Some years ago, there was this boy . . . the Chosen One, they call him. The Boy Who Lived. The rouge wizard went to kill him — I'm not sure why. He managed to kill the boy's parents, but when he tried killing the boy, something happened — The wizard vanished."

"Wait . . . I think I've heard of you! Something about some dark wizard who tried to kill you?" Only after the words had spilled out of my mouth, did I realize how insensitive I must have sounded.

"Oh — I'm so sorry! I — I didn't mean it like that! I should've —"

Harry cut me off before I could continue, "It's fine. All that happened a long time ago, I barely remember any of it. Really, I don't mind."

But as we stood there, I couldn't help thinking that I had already screwed up any chance of ever being his friend.

The two boys were still gawking at him, and I could see Harry turning red. A voice came floating in through the train's open door before any of us could say anything else.