"Oh, well thanks, I'm glad I was able to fix them. Thanks for sitting with me too, I'm actually really nervous about all of this, but also really excited. I mean, I'm going to be a WITCH, I'll be casting spells and making potions, might even ride a broomstick! That last one seems really scary though." Hermione says fidgeting a bit with her hands.
"I saw some broomsticks while I was in Diagon Alley, I think it seems like it'd be pretty fun. Maybe if we do it together it'll be less scary?" Harry suggests.
"Just so long as you don't laugh at me when I do get scared." Hermione agrees, flashing a big smile. Harry briefly catches a glimpse that her front teeth are slightly "bucked" though not overly. Harry files this under 'Never to be brought up or discussed except for denials'.
"Just so long as you don't laugh when I inevitably mess up some spell and turn your hair blue. That already happened once! My aunt was so mad when she got the letter from my school about it." Harry laughs, while the punishment he had received from the Dursleys wasn't something he remembered fondly, seeing Old Ms. Jones try to figure out how he had managed to do so was rather amusing.
"Ooh! Mom had mentioned I had some accidental magic spells when I was younger too, apparently I liked to make toys from my toybox fly over to my bed because I was too lazy to walk over and get them." Hermione says, earning another round of laughter from both of them.
This surprisingly easy conversation between the pair went back and forth for roughly an hour before more students started to pour into the car. Harry asked Hermione nicely to not let anyone know that he was "Harry Potter '' and to simply let him try to make more friends as 'Harry' first. Hermione quickly agreed, happily noting to herself that Harry already considered her a friend.
The bustle of students coming in was quickly making both of the occupants of their compartment nervous. A few dozen students had passed by their compartment, a few who were even near their age, but none stopped in for a while; instead choosing to sit in already developed friend-groups. This however changed when three others their age popped in.
"Can we sit with you? We can't seem to find seats." One of the two girls in the group said. She had shoulder length wavy brown hair, and brown eyes.
"You're more than welcome, we were starting to get lonely here anyway. What are your names?" Hermione asks, gesturing to the open bench beside her, the two girls sit next to her, while the one boy sits with Harry.
"I'm Tracey Davis, I was supposed to be sitting with my friend Daphne Greengrass, but that jerk Malfoy kicked me out of that compartment." The girl who asked to join us says. Harry remembers meeting a Malfoy at Madam Malkin's Robe Shop. He didn't like the boy either.
"I'm Hannah Abbott," The other girl says. She has blonde hair done in pigtails, and brown eyes.
"Neville Longbottom," says the boy sitting next to Harry.
"I'm Hermione Granger, and this is Harry." Hermione says, gesturing between herself and Harry. "We met on the platform, we both grew up in the Muggle world, and apparently the person who told Harry about being a wizard didn't mention how to get to the platform."
"Ooh, I bet that was scary. All three of us grew up in the magical world, so we knew all about it." Hannah says, wide-eyed.
"Do you three know each other well then?" Harry asks.
"Well, mine and Hannah's moms are part of the same 'Women's club', which mostly exists as a way for them to share gossip." Tracey says, "We also used to have playdates with Neville when we were younger whenever one of our parents had to talk to his grandmother."
"Yeah, Gran is the head of the Longbottom family at the moment, so she gets to deal with all the family business. Supposedly I'll start learning about that when I'm 14." Neville says; he seems somewhat unnerved by the statement.
"Ooh! That sounds exciting! What is your family business if I may ask? Both of my parents are dentists, but I was never really interested in following in their footsteps." Hermione says, looking at Neville with unbridled excitement.
"I don't know what a dentist is, but the family business that I'm talking about is political. Old families in the wizarding world do the voting for things like new laws and things. As the heir to the Longbottom name, I'll be required to take her place in the political sphere when I turn 17." Neville explains. Tracey and Hannah nod along.
"Hannah and I get to avoid that for the time being," Tracey starts "Our fathers still have control of our family names, and probably will when we come of age. If one of them dies before we're married however, we'll have to take the seat instead. If we're married and didn't keep our last names, then the seat will be either dead or dormant until we have a kid who can carry on that name."
"Well, my Uncle could carry it on, although he's unlikely to unless I make him." Hannah says.
"Wow, that's a lot of pressure on you guys isn't it? Having to worry about stuff like carrying on lines when you're this young?" Harry says, bewildered.
"It's nothing we haven't known about all our lives. It's one of the big reasons we're sent to Hogwarts after all." Tracey says.
"What else would you do for education?" Hermione asks, seemingly aghast at the thought of not going to a school.