A Summer at Private drive

4. Arrival

Scene: boys dorm rooms before leaving, 10:40am

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Pov: Harry Potter

"Right, I think it's about time we get down to the common room before 'mione throws a fit eh?" Ron announced more to himself than Harry as he flung his legs over the side of his bed and dragged his battered trainers on.

"The train doesn't leave for another forty-five minutes, we'll be fine," came Harry's reply from the bed next to Ron's.

"Ah, you know what she's like. Always fretting about being late. Cmon, better safe than sorry. She's been banging on about some 'mobile fi- pha- fony' thing she wants to teach me about, I bet dad doesn't even have one of those!"

Harry smiled at his best friends unawareness as he dragged himself across the room and towards his trunk, picking it up and leaving with Ron as the other boy mindlessly chatted about some chess strategy or other. Really he should start paying attention to these, but his thoughts were otherwise preoccupied at the moment.

Hermione's loud voice woke him up when they reached the common room. "Finally! Honestly boys, we're going to be late, hurry up," she exclaimed as she stood from her chair near the entrance, dragging her luggage with her.

They exited the common room and began their twenty minute walk to the train station as Hermione explained the concept of a taxi and a mobile phone to Ron. Harry zoned out for this- having grown up in the muggle world, he already knew all of this. Even if he didn't, he wouldn't have needed to. He didn't get to stay with Ron and Hermione.

His jealousy was almost consuming him the more they talked. Why couldn't he go? Dumbledore knew he didn't like staying at his uncles - understatement - so why send Ron instead? He didn't believe that it could have been randomised, Ron and Hermione were just too unlikely of a pair, as where Draco and Parkinson.

Dra- Malfoy. Harry had been thinking of him over the past couple weeks. He was acting strange. Strange in the sense that he had been leaving him alone. It wasn't logical- all of Slytherin was hurling insults at him at every chance they got, and this is the time Malfoy chose to mature and shut up? Not that he would admit it, not even to himself, but Harry quite missed the almost-banter he had with the boy. The insults had died down over third year and it turned into something more playful, but they still didn't 'get on' as such. Sometimes, when he was locked alone in his cupboard, Harry thought over how his life would have went differently if he chose to do or not to do certain things. Something he thought about quite often, is what his life would be like now if he had chosen to shake Draco's hand back in first year. Would he have been put in Slytherin? Probably, the hat did say he belonged there. He probably wouldn't be friends with Ron and Hermione, though, and Harry didn't think he could trade that bond for anything. He did doubt that he'd be a blood supremacist, even with the guidance of the Malfoys, due to his mother.

Once again, his internal convosation was cut short by Hermione's announcement. Surely they hadn't been walking for twenty minutes already? Luckily for them, they were some of the first students to make it, so they quickly boarded an empty carriage. Ron and Harry lifted all of their trunks into the overhead storage bins as Hermione cast locking and silencing spells over the doors. What they would do without her, the boys didn't want to know, and didn't intend to find out.

It was almost half an hour later when the train pulled out of the station, but they filled that gap with exploding snap and chocolate frogs, or in Hermione's case a transfiguration book and an apple. Whatever works, I suppose.

Though, good things don't last for long, and their conversation soon fell back towards summer.

"So, Harry, any big plans?"