Emerging Darkness

10 - Hogwarts Express

Harry woke up early, and was in the shower before Dobby could come in to wake him. He was excited and it showed. He changed into the outfit that the Malfoys had suggested for ease of changing. Black slacks with a white collared shirt, topped with a blazer. It would be easy to take the blazer off to switch for the uniform. He knew that Dobby would take his trunk down as he packed his journal. He grabbed the diary and made his way to the dining room.

He greeted the elder Malfoys before offering the book to Lucius. "He said to give this back to you for safe keeping. Thank you for letting me talk to him."

Lucius gave him a warm smile before speaking, tucking the diary in his pocket. "Thank you, Harry. Sleep well? Where are Pansy and Draco?"

"Yeah I was just too excited to sleep any longer and I wanted to make sure I could get it to you. I'm sure they will be down in a few." He sat down to eat, not wanting to be too hungry on the train.

Draco and Pansy came down a few minutes later, Draco stopped for a moment when he saw Harry. "So this is where you ran off to."

Harry laughed, and they all were eating as the Parkinsons came in. "Who is ready for their first year at Hogwarts?" Mrs. Parkinson said with a smile.

The first years all smiled, but their mouths were full. The Parkinsons sat down to drink coffee as they waited to go. Narcissa clears her throat, "Pansy, they can't go to school like that."

Pansy giggles, "Right, all they have to do is admit, I am a pranking queen."

Draco resigns himself, "Pansy is a pranking queen." His hair changes back to his blonde.

Harry sighs and repeats after Draco. His hair goes back to normal.

Narcissa claps, "Good, now we will be apparating from the parlor to the station. Let's go say our goodbyes in there so that we don't have to worry about doing them at the station." It sounded harsh, until Harry realized they wanted to say goodbye without masks.

They all filed into the parlor, where their trunks were now sitting. Draco and Pansy were hugged by their parents, who were telling their kids how proud they were. Lucius and Narcissa then went and hugged Harry, which surprised him.

Lucius held his shoulder, "You will always be welcome here." Narcissa smiled warmly at him and smoothed his hair. Harry enjoyed it, this was the first parental affection he could remember.

He shook Mr. Parkinson's hand, and Mrs. Parkinson hugged him as well. Mr. Parkinson ordered him to look after Pansy with a playful glint in his eye. After that they are told to grab their trunks and are apparated onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Harry not enjoying feeling like he was being sucked through a much too narrow tube.

Harry opened his eyes after realizing he had closed them, and gasped as he saw the Hogwarts Express for the first time. He was in awe of the train, but schooled his features into a polite happiness, unable to hold an air of disdain with how excited he was. He shook the hands of Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Parkinson, and smiled at the mothers, who gently gripped his shoulder before telling him not to get into too much trouble.

Draco was smiling, his own disdainful countenance melting with the flame of excitement. "Come on, let's go get a compartment."

On their way to the train Harry spotted Remus, "One second guys." He walked up to Remus and gave him a polite smile, "Thank you for coming to see me off."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world. Do well in your studies, but don't forget to have fun."

"Thank you. That is solid advice." He holds out his hand for Remus to shake, but Remus pulls him into a hug. For a moment he is certain Remus took a sniff of his hair, but he dismissed it as some odd aspect of being a werewolf.