The Scarlet Train to Hogwarts
James Potter and his family arrived on to platform nine and three-quarters at 10:45. James ran in search of an empty compartment and immediately found one at the very end of the train. He put his owl in and shoved up his trunk with his father's help, into the luggage compartment. And then, when he went to sit down in his compartment, he noticed a black-haired boy sitting there.
James didn't mind making friends. So, he went up to the boy and said, "Hey! I'm James Potter! And you are?". The boy looked hesitant and murmured, "Hi! I'm Sirius. Nice to meet you." He looked pleased when James sat in front of him, not noticing that he hadn't said his family name. Mr. and Mrs. Potter appeared outside the window and James waved at them. They smiled at Sirius and he wearily smiled back. "I'll be back alright?", said James and went to meet his family.
Sirius never thought that a person of Gryffindor lineage would become friends with a person having a Slytherin lineage. But he was sure this was not the case. He hadn't mentioned his last name. Otherwise, James would have either kicked him out of the compartment or went away to find someplace else to sit. But he knew for sure that he was not a Slytherin. Though his whole family was in Slytherin, he was certain that he won't be a Slytherin because he never acted like one or thought like one. He wasn't ambitious, or cunning, or anything with which a Slytherin was associated. Sighing heavily, he simply stared at the happy family, knowing full well that he'd never have that.
Somebody knocked on the compartment door and Sirius turned around to look at a weary looking boy who had cuts and scratches on his arms. "Can I sit here? I'm too tired to walk all the way to the front." asked the boy. "Sure. Welcome. There's one more person with me though." answered Sirius. "It's okay. No problem. Thank you." said the boy. James entered the compartment and saw the new boy and asked him, "Hey! Who are you? I'm James Potter!" The boy said, " I'm Remus. Remus Lupin. And you?", he asked Sirius. "He's Sirius, Remus. I hope we'll all be good friends at Hogwarts!" answered James because he saw Sirius was hesitating.
Soon, they all got to talking and found out more about each other. James happened to be a Quidditch fanatic and Remus seemed like a bookworm. Sirius was very charming and funny and was very witty too. Suddenly, the door of their compartment was pulled open very swiftly, and a boy hurriedly entered the compartment and closed the door behind him. He was sweating and whimpering in fear. Everybody looked puzzled. Remus calmly asked the boy, "What happened? Are you alright?", to which the boy replied, "The boys in the other compartment were bullying me and threatening to curse me! I ran away as fast as I could! Can I just sit here?". "Alright. No problem. What's your name?", said James. "Pettigrew. Peter Pettigrew. Thanks a lot!", the boy answered and sat down with them.
At around evening, a witch with a trolley full of snacks knocked at their compartment. James went and bought some of everything the witch had and shared it with everybody. "You don't have to do this James", said Sirius. James smiled and simply said, "You all are my friends!".
Two compartments away, Lily and Severus were engaged in serious conversation. Lily was still feeling bad about what Petunia did at home and how she had insulted both her and Sev at the station. Severus was trying to console her by telling her stories about Hogwarts and all other good thing about the Magical World. They suddenly heard noises outside and saw a small mousey boy running along the corridors. He looked scared. Lily was worried that she'll also be bullied like that. "No Lily! Don't worry. I won't let anyone bully you ever. I promise I'll make sure you'll never feel like an outsider ever again", Severus said. Lily smiled at him and said, "Thank you Severus. Thank you very much."
It was getting dark outside and so, they all changed into their Hogwarts robes knowing that they'll be arriving soon. True enough, the scarlet Hogwarts Express, pulled into Hogsmeade Station around supper time. They all got down and saw an enormous man calling out to the first-year students. "Firs' yers! Come ere! Follow me, firs' yers! Fall behind me! Come on! Firs'yers behind me!", shouted the man over the babble of hundreds of students. This man was Rubeus Hagrid, the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. He led the first years through a route which went winding ahead, from between huge trees. It was very dark and so, James, Sirius, Remus and Peter kept together. And a little way off from them Lily and Several huddled together due to the cold. Suddenly, the path opened out onto a vast lake and, atop the hill ahead, all of them got their first glimpse of Hogwarts! The huge castle with its turrets and towers and illuminated windows loomed over the Black Lake.
But how were they going to get to the castle? The answer came to them in the form of small boats with a room for 4 students in each boat. Hagrid took a whole boat for himself and the other students filed into the rest of them. Sirius, James, Peter and Remus got a boat for themselves and Severus and Lily shared a boat with two guys called Lucius and Theodore and when everyone was settled, Hagrid loudly said, "Forward!", and all the boats started moving towards the castle! The boats sailed smoothly on the glass like surface of the Black Lake and came to the edge of the castle grounds. All of them alighted the boats and went up to the Entrance Hall, where Hagrid left them to wait for someone else to guide them forward. Everyone had finally reached Hogwarts!