September 1st, 1991, The Hogwarts Express, 9:42 AM.
The sun was shining brighter than ever, illuminating the evergreen scenery of Scotland. The billowing winds ran across the plateau as if racing with the red and black train, emitting streaks of white smoke from time to time.
Yet, in contrast to such wonderful weather, in a certain compartment, the poor Harry was standing amid the blazing glares of two boys, the ginger head one and, on the other side, the sleek blond youngster.
With his limited social skills, Harry breathed in a deep breath as he steadyed his voice. "P-PLEASE, S-stop, f-fighting..." His voice dimmed as he tried his best not to shed a tear.
On the other hand, the other two boys were startled by Harry's sudden shout, then confused by his timid posture.
"Err... Okey." Said the ginger as he quietly took the seat next to the slightly shivering Harry. The boy couldn't help but wonder what was happening to this hoody guy—why was he so timid?
'Just like a scaredy cat.' the red-haired boy commented inwardly.
"Ehem... Sorry, it wasn't appropriate of me." Draco also resumed his dignified sitting posture.
Harry breathed a sign of relief as he had accomplished something worthwhile—his first social handling.
"Anyway, I'm Ron Weasley. Nice meeting you." Ron smiled brightly at Harry, before giving Draco a side-eye.
"Draco Malfoy, pleasure." Draco's tone was monotonous as he side-eyed back at Ron.
It was at this moment that Harry realised he hadn't appropriately introduced himself to this two new compartment friends. So Harry quickly cleared his voice as he tried his best to look into the other two eyes.
"N-nice t-to m-meet you t-too, I'm H-Harry, Harry P-potter...h-hi..." Harry smiled wryly.
And he immediately regretted whatever kind of sound had just come out of his mouth for he saw Ron be taken aback with a gasp, his eyes widening in utter surprise.
"Blimey! You're the HARRY POTTER! The Boy-Who-Lived." Ron's eyes then sparkled with anticipation that was too overwhelming for Harry.
Hearing that title again, awkwardness ran down Harry's spine. "Uh..." He tried his best not to cover his face in shyness.
'I was only a baby! Merlin! This is so embarrassing. Ugh, why didn't Dad just let me change my name to Harry Esther.' Harry screamed inwardly
Draco, on the other hand, also showed a somewhat less exaggerated surprise reaction than Ron due to his calm posture.
"I did hear that Harry Potter will be enrolling at Hogwarts in the same year as us, but to meet such a figure right here, Merlin, what are the odds?" Harry could feel Draco's scrunitizing gaze, which sent a shiver down his spine.
"Oh, my apology." Draco immediately took his gaze as he saw Harry's discomfort.
Harry nodded in return with a wry smile, assuring the boy.
On the other hand, Ron, with his sparkling eyes, couldn't help but stare at Harry enthusiastically. "Merlin's bear! Wait till my mom hear about this! Mate, do you have any idea how famous you are? You could even be awarded the First Order of Merlin!"
'And I would rather they'd not award me with all there hectic attentions.' Harry now truly felt what those creatures in the zoo felt like; he dared not think of what would come next at the Sorting Ceremony.
"Hehe, Fred and George would be so jealous of this." Ron smirked inwardly.
"Ugh, Weasley, give him a breather; aren't you a little too overreacting?" Draco coldly reminded Ron, which Harry really appreciated.
"Erm...oh, sorry about that, hehe. It's just that I've never really thought." Ron scratched his head embarrassingly, seeing how Harry was all rounded up in the conner.
"I-it's fine..." Harry replied with a wry smile.
"Though I must truly ask, they said that... Is it true that, that you have err..." Ron pointed at his forehead, and his eyes once again sparkled with anticipation.
"W-what..." Harry puzzled.
"I think he meant the...scar." Draco delibrately lowered his voice.
"O-oh, Y-yes..." Sensing their curious gazes, Harry lifted his hood, clearing his slightly unruly hair to the side, revealing his prominent thunderbolt scar.
"Wicked." Ron exclaimed with a grin.
"Truly incredible." Draco had his eyes wide open as he examined the legendary scar.
*Clack*
Once again, the door to Harry's compartment swung open with brute, resolute force.
"Has anyone seen a toad? Specifically, a boy named Neville has lost one." Said the girl had a light complexion, bright brown eyes, lots of bushy brown hair, and prominent large front teeth. She looked elegant in her school uniform.
"No," Ron was the first to answer, followed by a shake from Draco, leaving Harry still showing his scar while starring at the girl.
"Holy cricket! You're Harry Potter." The bushy girl quickly took the seat next to Draco, her eyes glued to Harry's scar.
'Not you too.' Harry nodded before ducking back into his hood.
"Oh, I'm Hermione Granger. And... you are." She then scrunitized the other two.
"Draco Malfoy, it's a pleasure meeting you." The two shook hands.
"Ron Weasley." Ron chimed in
"Pleasure." Hermione raised her brow at the fiery red-haired, freckled boy, rendering a bemused grin from Draco, to which Ron quickly replied with a glare.
"What up with them." Hermionee asked, to which Harry only replied with a shrug.
"So anyway..." Draco soon broke the starring contest with Ron as he swiftly struck up a conversation with Hermione, which resulted quite well as the two soon found themselves discussing books and studying magic.
On the other hand, Ron first found it quite difficult to start a talk with Harry, but sensing Ron's discomfort, Harry tried his best to think up something.
'Come on, Harry, this is your chance. Ok, what would Dad do? Think, think.' Harry then asked about Hogwarts and the wizarding world, to which Ron happily demonstrated his expertise.
Despite having heard a lot from Luna and Ethan, Harry still found himself impressed by what Ron's said; some of the gossip he told was quite impressive too.
Eventually, Hermione too would ask many related and quite impressive questions, showing her curious nature and brightness. Whilst Draco would 'chimed in' in the middle of Ron's speech, rendering a few heated throwbacks and forts at each other,.
Rendering Harry the one to stop it from going over, while Hermione surely looked amused on the side.
Anyhow, this was indeed a memorable first-ever meeting for the four.
...
Time flew by quickly as they noticed the sky began to darken at a visible speed.
"Oh, you three'd better change into robes; I expect we'll be arriving soon." Hermione reminded as she got up "Right, I'll see around."
Then, just before she left, "And...Ron, you've got dirt on your nose, by the way." With that said, she walked away like a wind, leaving a slightly dumbfounded Ron trying to understand why he got dirt up there and Dracon suppressing his hearty laugh.
"Tsk," Ron grumbled as he tried to clean off the dirt. "Oh, not you too, Harry."
"S-sorry" Harry, in the conner, also had a smile on his face, though he did help Ron clean his nose.
'Hogwarts...' Looking out the window, Harry's mind began to fill with anticipation. He's really looking forward to his numinous magical school.