Harry Potter and the Silent Dead: Book 1

Chapter 4: The arrival

The trip was mostly uneventful, though Harry felt uneasy at seeing the small red headed boy walk past, looking for someone. Luckily, the boy had simply looked at Draco and sneered, not bothering to enter the carriage like the bushy haired girl. That girl infuriated Harrison, and he'd hexed her the second she'd stopped talking to breath. The girl had run out crying and the other passengers in the carriages were just confused. "I thought you liked Muggleborns?" Pansy and Draco asked simultaneously. He smirked and wrote down quickly No, I don't care about their blood. If they're pretentious little know it alls, I'll treat them the same as anyone else who annoys me. Everyone in the carriage laughed at that and Draco said, "That sounds exactly like something my Uncle Sev would say. He's the Potions Professor at school you know. He taught me himself!" Draco had puffed his chest out and smoothed down his hair, looking very much like a peacock. Careful Draco, your ego is showing. Draco flushed bright red and smiled sheepishly.

Apart from the rude interruption, Harry was quite content on the journey. He simply listened to the others speak, occasionally interjecting a comment here and there, often garnering a laugh from the group. It was strange how quickly he had melded with them, and wondered how they would react if he ended up in Ravenclaw, as he believed he would. He prized knowledge over power, as knowledge was power, and his only ambitions were to get away from the Dursleys and become the best necromancer there is. Which wasn't hard as he was one of three alive in the world(Him, Ollivander-retired, and Voldemort-amateur).No, all Harry wanted was to tuck himself away into one of his manors with Elder and Shesha, practicing the dark arts. But he couldn't do that if he didn't have his wand, which he wouldn't if he didn't complete his exams. Harry was pulled out of his thoughts by the others standing and changing into their robes. As the train slowed to a halt, they all left the train.

Harry found himself overwhelmed by the sheer number of students. He had seen only a small percentage on the platform, most had already boarded the train.

He shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students. "First years! First years over here!" A tall man with a large unkempt beard strode over gathering the smallest children. Draco, who is that? Draco looked down at the note and rolled his eyes. "That giant oaf half-breed is Hagrid, the groundskeeper. My father said he is a half giant and school dropout to boot. Filth." Harry furrowed his eyes at the half breed comment but did not reply. He didn't know the full story, so wouldn't judge but......... he did so dislike the uneducated.

Hagrids big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads. "C'mon, follow me- any more first years? Mind yer step now! First years follow me!" Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. "Yeh'll get yer first sight o Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "Jus round this bend here." There was a loud "oooooh!"

Harry rolled his eyes as, he noticed, did the rest of his friends. They hadn't even seen the castle yet, and already they were acting like awed morons. Harry understood when it came to emotions, he wasn't the expert, but their over reactions seem a little far fetched, and his new group clearly agreed.

The narrow path opened suddenly on to the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, it's windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

Even Harry was impressed, as were his friends despite their pureblood masks. Awe filled their eyes, and he smirked before getting in a boat with Draco, Blaise and Theo. Daphne and Pansy joined Crabbe and Goyle in another, sailing across the lake. Finally they clambered up the front steps of the intimidating stone structure, and the half giants large hand curled into a fist and knocked on the castle door three times.