The rest of Ivy Doom’s trip through Diagon Alley was fairly uneventful—
Aside from the moment he ran into Rubeus Hagrid and Harry Potter outside Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions while both of them happened to be carrying ice cream.
The instant Hagrid spotted Ivy, he visibly froze.
Only after Ivy nodded politely toward him did Hagrid finally remember that this strange child was also one of the incoming Hogwarts students.
“Oh—hello there,” Hagrid said awkwardly.
Something about Ivy’s handsome appearance and magnificent robes had clearly reminded him of someone unpleasant.
Probably not a happy memory.
“Hello, Mister Hagrid.” Ivy then shifted his attention toward the skinny black-haired boy standing beside him.
Harry looked extremely excited.
Simply arriving in Diagon Alley and finally stepping into the wizarding world had already pushed him into a state of overwhelming excitement.
“So this is Harry Potter?”
“Huh?
Oh—yeah, this is Harry,” Hagrid answered hesitantly.
His furry face looked conflicted, as though he couldn’t decide whether allowing Harry to interact with a Slytherin was a good idea.
“But how’d yeh know that?”
“When Professor McGonagall reported to Dumbledore that Harry Potter hadn’t received his acceptance letter yet, I happened to be standing nearby.”
Ivy smiled toward the curious-looking Harry.
“And I’m guessing Dumbledore sent a phoenix to deliver the message to you, right?
He wrote the note in front of us.
Then just as Professor Snape and I were leaving the Headmaster’s Office, you arrived.”
“Not exactly difficult to guess, was it?”
Ivy extended a hand.
“I’m Ivy Doom.
Also a first-year student.
Just call me Ivy.”
“Oh—okay, Ivy.”
Harry enthusiastically shook his hand before immediately firing off questions.
“You mean you were already at Hogwarts before school even started?
What’s it like there?
And Headmaster Dumbledore has a phoenix that delivers messages?
What exactly is a phoenix?”
“Alright there, Harry,” Hagrid interrupted before Ivy could answer anything.
“Ye’ll get answers to all those questions once yeh arrive at school.
Better ter leave a bit o’ mystery, eh?”
Using a hand nearly the size of a pot lid, Hagrid gently pushed Harry forward.
“Remember?
Yeh still need a wand, and I’ve got ter deliver somethin’ ter Dumbledore today.
Can’t waste more time—the sun’s already startin’ ter set.”
“In that case, I won’t keep you any longer,” Ivy said politely before adding one final sentence.
If you’re especially curious, you should buy a copy.”
“Thanks!”
Harry followed Hagrid away, though not before turning around and waving enthusiastically toward Ivy.
To accomplish this, he had to awkwardly shift the cage containing his snowy owl into his already overloaded hand.
Ivy waved back before turning and entering Madam Malkin’s shop.
Time always passed quickly.
And hopeful anticipation made it pass even faster.
September 1st.
The first day of school for Hogwarts—and for nearly every Muggle school across the Northern Hemisphere.
Ivy had already crossed through Platform Nine and Three-Quarters and successfully boarded the Hogwarts Express.
He knew perfectly well that the steam locomotive itself was over a century old—roughly the same age as him.
The difference was that while the train could hardly be considered “express” by 1991 standards, Ivy himself still ranked among the strongest dark wizards alive.
Ivy knocked lightly on a compartment door.
Inside, Harry stood leaning against the window, staring outside.
Judging by the glimpse of red hair visible through the open window, the people outside were clearly the Weasley family.
“Mind if I come in, Harry?”
“Huh?”
Harry turned around and immediately spotted Ivy wearing a simple short-sleeved T-shirt instead of his usual elaborate robes.
“Of course, Ivy.”
“Excellent.”
Ivy stepped inside and casually directed his luggage upward onto the rack using magic.
During the entire process, Harry stared with wide eyes while practically forgetting to breathe.
“Magic!”
Harry pointed dramatically at him.
“Don’t look so shocked,” Ivy said while sitting down comfortably.
“You’re a wizard too.
I’m sure it won’t take long before you can do things like this yourself.”
The moment those words left his mouth, the train whistle suddenly sounded.
Ivy immediately noticed Harry’s mood drop slightly.
He guessed Harry was worried about falling behind in magical studies, so Ivy smiled and said:
“Welcome to the wizarding world.”
Harry visibly relaxed, and a smile returned to his face.
Then the train jolted.
The Hogwarts Express had officially departed.
A moment later, the compartment door opened again.
A tall, skinny red-haired boy covered in freckles stepped inside.
“Can I sit here?” he asked while pointing toward the empty seat beside Harry.
“Everywhere else is full.”
“Of course!” Harry answered immediately.
Then he glanced toward Ivy, who gave a small nod of approval.
“Oi, Ron!”
Two identical red-haired heads suddenly popped through the still-open compartment doorway.
Fred Weasley and George Weasley.
“We’re heading down to the middle carriages,” one of them announced.
“Lee Jordan’s got a giant tarantula!”
Then both twins looked toward Ivy and Harry.
“Make sure you get along with your classmates.”
“Mhm,” the red-haired boy muttered vaguely.
Satisfied, the twins withdrew their heads and closed the compartment door behind them.
“Fred and George…” the boy explained with an embarrassed red face.
“My brothers.
Same surname as me.
Weasley.”
Then he quickly added:
“I’m Ronald.
But you can call me Ron.”
“Harry Potter.
You can call me Harry.” Harry nodded warmly.
After Diagon Alley, he had mostly gotten used to people acting excited around him.
“So you really are—”
Ron clearly wanted to say something more but suddenly remembered there was a third person sitting in the compartment.
His face instantly became even redder.
“Ivy Doom.
Just call me Ivy.”
Ivy’s introduction helped ease the awkwardness somewhat.
“Is your entire family made up of wizards?” Harry asked Ron curiously.
He obviously envied Ron for having so many wizard relatives.
“Oh!
Uh…
I think so…” Ron looked caught off guard by the question.
Still, the two boys quickly slipped into an easy conversation.
Harry complained about his awful relatives.
Ron complained about how difficult life was in a large family.
Before long, they had already found common ground.
“What about you, Ivy?” Harry suddenly asked while staring curiously through his round glasses.
“What were your parents like?”
“They’re both gone.”
Ivy answered simply.
And he immediately noticed the faint trace of shared understanding appearing in Harry’s eyes.
…….
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