Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Not long after, the Potter family made its way through the entrance at Kings Crossing. They were delayed for a bit as both James and Jim had to glad-hand with various friends and hangers-on. A shy chubby kid named Longbottom was there with his grandmother (a stern-looking old biddy with what appeared to be a stuffed vulture mounted on her head) and his rather creepy-looking uncle who kept lecturing the boy about "not losing his toad." Harry actually assumed that was some strange magical euphemism until the boy pulled an actual toad out of a pocket to prove he still had it. Harry shrugged and shook his head. The ginger kid from Madam Malkins was also there, along with a small army of relatives, including another set of identical twins who seemed to idolize James Potter for his former juvenile delinquency and a young girl whose eyes were fixed on Jim with breathless adoration.

Oh, and they had to stop for pictures, as the Daily Prophet was on hand to chronicle the Boy-Who-Lived as he started off for Hogwarts and so wanted pictures of him and his parents standing next to the train. This was apparently something the Potters were used to, so much so in fact that they completely forgot about Harry ... again. So did most everyone else, as a photographer nearly knocked him down. After a few minutes, he leaned over to Longbottom's grandmother (who at least had the decency to seem appalled on his behalf at how the Potters were acting) and asked her to let his parents know he'd went ahead to find a seat.

Once aboard, Harry deliberately sought a compartment near the rear of the train, hoping it might take a while for Jim to find him. After the train pulled out, he sat alone for twenty minutes reviewing his copy of Dilworth's Guide to Wizarding Etiquette before the door opened, and a bushy-haired girl stepped into his compartment.

"Excuse me, but by any chance have you seen a toad? A boy named Neville has lost his."

"Blond first year? Yeah, I noticed them both on the platform before we left, but I haven't seen either him or his toad since." Harry thought for a moment. "You should ask one of the prefects. I think there's a summoning charm that should help, but it will be years before we're expected to know it. The incantation is Accio but I don't know the wand movements. Or if that doesn't work, I'm sure they know some kind of detection spell that would help."

"Oh, that is a good idea, thank you." Then, her eyes lit up. "Is that a book on wizarding etiquette? How interesting!" And then the girl was off, rattling off a startling number of personal details – how much she liked reading, how she was the first witch in her family and hoped she wouldn't be disadvantaged by that, how she'd read every single textbook assigned to First Years and even done a few spells, how her parents were both dentists – all on a single breath, before finally pausing to say "Oh, I'm sorry. I haven't even introduced myself. I'm Hermione Granger."

"Harry Potter. A pleasure to meet you."

"Potter? By any chance are you related to Jim Potter?"

Harry took a breath, and his fake smile slide back into place. Interestingly, Hermione Granger seemed a bit more astute than any of the Potters, and her face registered a mild concern, as if she'd just said something rude but wasn't sure what.

"Yes. He's my brother."

"Really? I've read several books about him and none of them mention him having a twin brother."

"I know. I've been living with relatives since I was a baby for ... reasons."

"... reasons?"

Harry paused and sighed. "Miss Granger, two things. First, I just found out about my parents, my brother and this whole 'Boy-Who-Lived' thing about a month ago. Which, I have to say, is a bit of a sore subject right now and, no offense, one I don't wish to discuss with someone I've just met."

Hermione blushed. "I understand. I apologize for any offense."

"None taken."

"And the other thing?"

Harry hesitated. "Well, now I'm worried that I might offend you. I promise I don't mean to but ... You say you've read all the text books already. Have you read any books on wizarding etiquette?"

Hermione stiffened at the preemptive apology but then was intrigued by his question. "No, no I haven't. There weren't any mentioned on the list we were given and it didn't occur to me to ask. I mean, other than the magic, Hogwarts is still just another British boarding school, isn't it? It's not like we're moving to Japan or Dubai or someplace that different."

"Actually, I've been cramming for the last month, and from what I've pieced together, it's a lot like moving to a foreign country. See, there's this thing called the Statute of Secrecy that was enacted about 300 years ago that requires near-total separation between wizards and Muggles, and Wizarding Britain takes it really seriously. That's three centuries in which most wizards ignored what Muggles were doing as much as possible. Most wizards don't know much about TV and movies and nothing at all about computers or the space program. With magic, you can instantly fix cavities and other tooth-related issues, so most wizards probably won't know what a dentist is or, if they've heard the word, will probably assume your parents yank teeth out with rusty pliers and no anesthetic. Now, I don't mean to say the wizarding world as backwards. It's actually a lot more progressive than the Muggle world in some ways but weirdly formal in others. For example, wizards don't have any problems at all with the idea of a woman in a position of high authority like Minister of Magic or Chief Warlock, but a lot of them seem to get really touchy if you don't properly refer to a woman as Madame if she's married and Miss if she's not. In a lot of ways, I think going away to school in Japan or Dubai might involve less culture shock than where we're headed."

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