The train ride was pleasent. The view was quite magnificent and the ride was smooth making the ride a great experience for Richard.
He was also accompanied by two other boys in the same compartment. One Ron Weasly and one Harry Potter.
"... they all expect me to be good as my brothers, but even if I was, it doesn't matter because they did it first." Ron talked about his family, describing his life in the wizard family, to which Richard paid only half an ear worth of attention. He may have it tough, but there are countless others who had it even worse.
As he dwelled in his thoughts, a question from the young Weasly brought him back to the present.
"What about you Richard?"
Startled by the sudden question, Richard paused for a couple of minutes before answering.
"Well, i never knew my parents either. I was raised in an orphanage in London.."
They both talked a bit about their living situations before moving back to the subject of Hogwarts.
The train chugged along as the three boys talked about what ever they could. And Harry was generous enough to buy many treats from the trolly much to both Ron and Richard's joy.
They met Hermione, who stumbled into their compartment when Ron was about to perform his trick magic, which led to her showing off her capabilities.
By the time they reached their destination, it was already dark.
Disembarking the train, the trio were greeted by a loud voice.
"Fir's years, over here, this way please, you all right Harry? "
Looking at the figure, Richard couldn't help but marvel. The man was huge. Simply gigantic in propotions with a wild mane of hair and a long bushy beard that hid most of his face.
" hey Hagrid!" Harry was quick to greet back. Within minutes, all the first years had gathered near the half giant, who then guided them to the bank of a moderate sized lake.
"No more'n four on a boat!" Hagrid called out as the students got onto their boats. Richard was in the same boat as Harry, Ron and Neville.
The boats rowed themselves, moving in a moderate but constant speed. And in no time, Hogwarts Castle came to view.
Richard had always wondered , why the first years were taken by boats. But after seeing the magnificent view of the glorious medieval castle, he now knew why. Gasps and exclaims of wonder filled the atmosphere as the boats pulled themselves closer to the castle, it's size ever increasing as they got closer.
After disembarking the boats, Hagrid guided them into the castle, where they came face to face with a stern looking , black haired witch dressed in emerald robes.
"The fir's years professor McGonagall" said Hagrid.
"Thank you Hagrid, I'll take it from here" professor McGonagall replied before guiding them to a small staircase.
"Welcome to Hogwarts" professor McGonagall greeted them, signalling the time for Richard to zone out. He knew everything he needed to know about the house system, so he had no intention of listening to the speech.
Quickly wrapping up the small informative speech, McGonagall left, leaving a group of curious eleven year olds to guess how they were to be sorted.
Richard didn't engage in the conversation though. He was considering the best house suitable for his future endeavours. Slytherin was off the table. With all the dark lord problems, the pure blood racism, he felt as if he was not suited for it.
Ravenclaw was a good choice if his future depended on academic achievements, which it was not. He had already chosen his path and he didn't need to be academically gifted to fulfil his plan.
However an obnoxious Malfoy managed to interrupt his thoughts. Though that didn't manage to escalate much far because of McGonagall's timely intervention.
"We are ready for you now"
The door opened revealing a massive hall filled with hundreds of students dressed in Hogwarts robes.
The sorting ceremony began promptly, as professor McGonagall took out a scroll and began reading out names. And it unfolded just as it was supposed to. Granger, Ron and Harry got sorted to Griffindor while Malfoy and this two stooges were sorted into Slytherin.
And after much internal debating, Richard choose Griffindor as his house as well, which the hat reluctantly agreed. But hey, if it was willing to put a coward like Pettigrew in Griffindor, then why not him?