Upon arriving at King's Cross Station, Rio and Harry looked around confused. They couldn't see any special wizard area, or train.
Seeing their confused faces, Hagrid laughed.
"We need to go to Platform 9 and 3/4!"
The confusion on the boys' faces only grew, as did Hagrid's laughter, as he motioned for them to follow. The trio moved through the hustle and bustle of the busy station and eventually made their next to a brick wall, between Platforms 9 and 10.
"Here we are!"
For a moment, the boys looked at him blankly, but they were quickly distracted by something else – 2 ginger haired boys, older than them and almost – no, they were identical – ran headfirst into the wall! But before Harry or Rio could shout out, the twins somehow disappeared – literally, disappeared, as if they had phased into it.
"Yer see?" Hagrid said in amusement.
"Follow me!" and without waiting for their acknowledgement, the half-giant ran into the bricks, disappearing just like others, and he was followed by another ginger boy – about their age.
Rio and Harry looked at each other, still in doubt.
"I'll do it if you do it," Rio offered.
"Done," Harry said with a grin.
"3, 2, 1, GO!"
Both boys furiously charged at the wall, closing their eyes and braced for impact – but it never came, and when they opened their eyes, they were still in King's Cross Station – or what looked like it, at least. But strangely, there were no other platforms, other than a single one – 'Platform 9¾'.
While Harry marvelled at the magic of the wall, Rio looked around, taking in the world around him. It was almost the same atmosphere as Diagon Alley – busy and magical, except without the shops and stores. Wizards. I wonder how many of them hate my existence, he mused, thinking of Hagrid's warning. They'll probably already know magic too. I need to be careful to not go near any Slytherins – at least, not for the time being.
While Harry and Rio boarded the train, Hagrid left to go to another carriage, so that the boys could talk more and make more friends. Much to Rio's expectations, not many people came to talk to them, exchanging polite greetings at most. That was until the ginger haired boy from earlier showed up.
"Uh, hello. Is anyone sitting here?" he said loudly, pointing to an empty seat next to Rio.
Rio and Harry both smiled at him and told him to sit down, and they introduced themselves to each other.
"I'm Ron Weasley. What's your names?"
"I'm Harry Potter."
"And I-"
"Woah! You're Harry Potter? No way! Prove it!" Ron interrupted Rio and gestured to something on Harry's forehead. Harry shot Rio an apologetic look, but the latter wasn't really bothered. Ron probably didn't mean it out of any malice – Hagrid did say that Harry was a celebrity.
Harry pushed his long hair to the side, revealing a scar on his forehead, shaped almost like a lightning bolt. Probably a scar from the killing curse, Rio concluded.
With that, Ron seemed to believe Harry and proceeded to gush over him for about half a minute, before realising he sounded a bit like a fan.
"What's your name again?" he asked Rio bluntly, but again without malice. One of the loud ones, isn't he?
"I'm Rio Ramson," Rio replied, not unfriendly, but not rude either. Ron seemed loud, and loud people were often getting themselves into unnecessary trouble. I don't need that. "Nice to meet you, Ron."
"That's a cool name," Ron complimented him. "So, I take it you're a muggleborn?"
"Yep."
"My dad said to make sure to help out any muggleborns that seemed confused, but you don't seem confused. Either way though, if you need any help with anything, let me know – I'm Ron Weasley, and I'll be in Gryffindor," he said, with pride.
"You already know your house?" Harry asked.
"Nah, but all my brothers are in Gryffindor – I'll definitely be there too!" Ron spoke boastfully. Houses probably matter, don't they? That's new.
"I just hope I'm not in Slytherin," said Harry grimly.
"Same," affirmed Rio.
"Yeah," Ron laughed, "if a muggleborn was in Slytherin, that would be really bad news!"
Looking at Harry and Rio's less than pleased expressions, Ron's laughing face turned to one of panic and slight shame.
"Sorry, I didn't mean – well, don't worry, Rio – you have nothing to worry about. I'm pretty sure no muggleborn has ever been sorted into Slytherin, and I doubt they ever will."
Seeing the faces of his companions return back to normal, Ron breathed a sigh of relief, and quickly tried to change the subject.
"So, what subjects are you all most excited for?"
As the conversation ensured, Rio smiled inwardly. To be honest, Ron didn't seem to have a lot of common sense, or much of a filter – but he certainly wasn't a bad person.
Suddenly, as Ron was explaining a story he had heard from his brothers, the doors opened. In came a pale, blonde haired boy, followed by two other taller, bigger ones. To Rio, it was obvious that the smaller one was the 'leader' of the trio – especially by the haughty, arrogant way he carried himself, and the expensive looking robes. Definitely a pureblood, Rio thought, as the boy stopped in front of their table. This probably isn't going to be good.
The boy's beady eyes instantly locked in on Ron, and he sneered.
"Red hair and a hand me down robe? You must be a Weasley. My father says you all live in a rabbit burrow because you can't afford a house."
Rio was inwardly shocked at the rudeness – he would have thought this posh looking child, no matter how arrogant he seemed, wouldn't be so eager to make enemies on his first day.
Ron's already red face reddened even further, but he wasted no time retorting.
"Snakey little eyes and ugly blonde hair? You must be a Malfoy. Is your Death Eater daddy still paying the Ministry for his freedom?"
What's a Death Eater? And why is Malfoy's dad paying for his freedom?
"Shut up, you blood traitor. Besides," he continued, now looking directly at the scar on Harry's forehead.
"I'm not here for scum like you."
As Ron retorted with yet another insult, Malfoy ignored him and extended his hand out towards Harry, infuriating Ron even further.
"I'm Draco Malfoy, Potter. I believe we got off to the wrong start – you should come and sit with us. Don't associate yourself with low-lives like the Weasleys. You can even bring your friend," the blonde said, gesturing at Rio.
"Wait – what's your surname?" he asked Rio, before Harry could respond.
"Ramson," Rio replied, his voice betraying no emotion.
Malfoy's face twisted into another sneer.
"I haven't heard of that name before."
"You wouldn't have." Rio said cooly.
Malfoy looked at Rio with disgust, before turning back to Harry.
"Trust me, Potter. Don't associate yourself with blood traitors and filthy mudbloods. Come and sit with us."
Mudblood? Is that meant to be an insult?
Harry, who had been silently seething, finally spoke.
"Don't call them that, Malfoy. And the only type of people I don't want to associate with are people like you," he said, with a sneer matching Malfoy's.
Now, it was the blonde's turn to turn red.
"Careful, Potter. If you carry on talking to me like that, you could end up just like your parents. My father always did tell me they bit off more than they could-"
At his words, Ron and Harry stood up suddenly, facing the other three boys.
"Oh, I'm so scared," Malfoy mocked them.
"You want to fight, do you?"
"Come on, then!" Ron said, hot-headedly, and Harry, who had slightly more sense, still nodded in agreement. Malfoy's a snob and a racist, but I'm not getting involved until my house is sorted, thought Rio. Once I've confirmed I'm not in Slytherin, he's finished.
Before anything could kick off, the doors opened, and in came a trolley, full of chocolates, sweets, drinks, cards, and other items, wheeled in by a kind looking lady.
Malfoy sneered again.
"Come on, Crabbe and Goyle. I don't need to waste time with these trollops."
As he turned back to where he came from, he spoke one last time.
"If I were you, I'd watch out, Potter. My father will be hearing about this."
After Malfoy left, Ron and Harry finally sat down, still red.
"I hate him!" said Ron, venomously.
"Same," echoed Harry, scowling.
Suddenly, Ron whirled on Rio, who met his gaze.
"How could you let him say that about you?"
"Say what?"
"That word?"
"You mean, mudblood?"
Ron's face flushed again.
"Yeah, that. Why didn't you say anything?"
Because I'm not as reckless as you, Ron. But I'll play along with you.
"Is it a bad word?"
"Of course it is! It's the worst insult for muggleborns ever!"
"I didn't know that!" Rio said, matching Ron's fury at Malfoy. Seemingly satisfied that Rio was now angry at Malfoy as well, Ron continued his rant at Malfoy, with Harry occasionally chiming in in agreement.
Ron, you're nice, but I don't like the way you handle things. And by the looks of it, you're bringing Harry down with you. But don't worry, Rio thought.
Just because he hadn't said anything to Malfoy didn't mean he would let him get away with insulting him.
I'll make Malfoy regret that.
AN: Thanks for reading, everyone! Please remember to COLLECT and VOTE with POWER STONES for more chapters - I'll be releasing a BONUS chapter when we hit 25 Power Stones!