Lightning in a House of Serpents

He took the eleven o' clock train going anywhere

Harry's last month with the Durselys was extremely boring. Dudley was afraid of him and didn't do as much as glare at him anytime Harry walked by. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia seemed to think they were being watched and didn't shove Harry back into his cupboard or even give him a ridiculous amount of chores. They just left him alone to his room with his new school books. Harry tried his best to study his textbooks beforehand and even quizzed himself on chapters that seemed important. He didn't want to enter a new world completely clueless.

When the 1st of September came, Harry's relatives dumped him off at the station and sped away before he even had a chance to look back. He loaded his heavy trunk and Hedwig's cage onto a trolley and paced between platforms nine and ten. He kept glancing at his ticket and even thought of asking the guard for help.

'You'd think they'd give you directions..'

Harry parked his trolley in front of a barrier between the two platforms and leaned on it. He hadn't as much of an idea of what to do. He started to wonder if they would even notice if he didn't attend or if he'd be in trouble for not knowing how to get there.

He continued to go over his options of what to do when he felt himself falling backwards. He quickly caught his balance and turned around to see his trolley halfway through the barrier. Curious, Harry pushed his trolley forwards a little more and saw it almost completely vanish. He looked around him and when he saw no one looking, pushed the trolley and himself right through the barrier.

When he pushed through, he was met with a platform packed with people. He looked overhead to see a sign saying 'Hogwarts Express'. He pushed through the crowds of families and somehow dragged his stuff onto the train. He was looking for an empty compartment when he bumped into a boy with orangish hair.

"Sorry, didn't see you there," said the boy, "You're a first year aren't you? Would you mind sitting with me? I don't know anyone yet."

Harry was about to agree and find a compartment with the boy when he heard someone calling his name.

"Harry! Over here, hey!" the familiar voice called.

Harry looked up ahead to see the same pale faced boy from the robes shop. The boy scrunched up his nose and gave Harry a wary look.

"Sorry," Harry told the boy awkwardly while quickly slipping past him. He felt a little ashamed for leaving the boy alone, but he quickly forgot about the incident when he walked into the compartment, stowing away his trunk.

"Nice to see you, Draco," Harry said, setting down Hedwig's cage and sitting down. "Are you excited for school?"

Draco smiled and sat down himself.

"Of course I am! I would be concerned if anyone wasn't excited."

Harry nodded in agreement and looked out the window. There were some remaining kids giving their families hugs and farewells and many kids sticking their heads out the windows to wave at their families. It made Harry feel sad that he didn't have that. He didn't have anyone to see him off or anyone that would miss him while he was gone. He felt his face get redder the more he thought of it.

"Merlin, Harry," said Draco, pulling Harry from his thoughts, "You go red an awful lot. Missing your mum already?"

Harry went, if even possible, redder by the question. He looked up at Draco and gave him a sad smile.

"Both of my parents are dead. Have been since I was a baby..." replied Harry.

Harry saw Draco's face go through a various amount of emotions before he settled with a forced blank expression. Draco put his hand on Harry's arm and looked at him.