The light faded and they were back in the Great Hall. The sun was beginning to set softly into the West and the people in the Hall were wiping away tears. Each one of them had heard Officer McFinns words and they looked to Harry, who was standing beside Ginny. He had a small smile on his face, and his eyes looked watery. Mrs. Weasely came over to him and brought him into a tight hug. Only Umbridge looked indifferent.

Harry forgot that he was somewhat angry at her, for her earlier remark from the book's last chapter. He buried his head into her shoulder. Sirius came over to him and enveloped him into a hug as well.

"I miss him, I miss him so much." said Harry quietly. Mrs. Weasely pulled him away and wiped the tears off his face.

"I know dear, We all know. He was a good man, though we only saw him twice, he was a very good man. He loved you very much. I need to say something to you, dear, I'm so sorry Harry, for what I said earlier, it was completely out of line." said Mrs. Weasely, handing him a tissue.

"It's okay, I was just being defensive. I didn't expect you to say that." he said after he blew his nose.

"I never should have said that. Now let's sit you down," she said as she helped Sirius lay him down in the bowl and this time, Lupin supported his head. "and get some food into you."

The tables of food once again reappeared and she hurried off to get Harry a plate. Sirius lifted his feet and placed them on his lap. Harry still had tears falling down his face and Lupin took out his own handkerchief and dried his eyes.

"I'm acting like a baby." Harry whispered between wipes of the handkerchief.

"No, you're just remembering how much he meant to you. There is no shame in it. Sirius and I still have breakdowns over your parents. But we make it better now by trying our best to take care of you. Do you have a way that eases the pain?"

He thought carefully "I guess that would be my cooking, I always feel better when I'm in the kitchen." he said quietly.

"There you go, anytime you want to cook, I'm pretty sure Dumbledore will let you, and so will we when you come to live with us." said Lupin gently ruffling his head.

Mrs. Weasely brought over a plate of food and handed it to Harry. He didn't up to eating at the moment, he couldn't get The McFinns and Dr. Clark out of his mind. He missed Officer McFinn and he really wanted to find Dr. Clark, But he had tried, he tried very hard, he even enlisted the help of some very powerful people in the Muggle world to help him. Not even the most powerful person in the country could help him. Not that she didn't try, much like Harry's personal endeavors, she did all she could too, but to no avail.

He heaved a sigh and took a look at the food, he sneaked a look over to Lupin and Sirius and saw that neither of them were eating, they were looking at him.

"Aren't either of you hungry?" he said thickly. His throat was hoarse from crying.

"We won't start eating till you do." said Lupin firmly.

"I'm not hungry, actually." said Harry, his brain was acting fuzzy again. He couldn't think straight like he would normally do. Madame Pomfrey had told him that he would have a problem thinking clearly sometimes, due to either the fever he had experienced, or some sort of curse he was put under during the incident.

Lupin motioned over the Snape, he begrudgingly strode across the room.

"What?"

"Do you have a nutritional potion on you?"

"I do, why?" asked Snape with a bored look on his face.

"Could Harry have some? He's not feeling well enough to eat, and I don't want to force food down his stomach if he may throw it back up again." pleaded Lupin.

Snape thought about it for about half a second and took a small vial out of his cloak.

"Here Potter, drink it all." he said handing it straight to Harry.

Harry looked up to him, and Snape saw what appeared to be, pain. Not a physical pain, but a soulful pain. Any and all dislike he had for the boy temporarily disappeared. Harry took the vial and whispered 'thanks' and drank the potion down in one gulp.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore and Moody were in the small room off the Great Hall.

"What do you think about our chances of finding Dr. Clark, Alastor?" said Dumbledore seriously.

"Well, I still have some friends in the Rangers. They can hunt down anybody, Magical, or Muggle. They have to, being the frontlines of crime prevention, they have to be able to track people and discover their whereabouts. I can send an owl out to them right now and get them here. They would need an accurate description, if we have to, we can ask Potter for a memory of him. Without the help of the Rangers, our chances of finding the man is about ten percent. With their help, I would say, that the chances fly up to ninety-eight percent."

"I didn't know that you had friends in that secret society! How did that happen?" said Dumbledore in a pleased shock.

"Saved the life of one of English Captain's lieutenants. He rewarded me with this eye, let me tell you, getting used to it was really trying."

"I've always wondered where you got that." said Dumbledore looking pleased.

"Yeah, they're further up on the 'Magical Knowledge' rung of the ladder then even you Albus. I'll send an owl off and get 'em here."

"Thank you Alastor, it would mean the world to Harry." said Dumbledore with a smile.

"That kid deserves a break. More than anyone." said Moody gruffly.

When Dumbledore returned to the Great Hall, he saw that Harry was taking a potion and gulping it down. He hurried over to Harry and asked.

"Harry, what is wrong?" said Dumbledore worriedly.

"He's not in the mood to eat, we asked Severus if he had a nutritional potion, and he gave Harry one." said Remus.

Dumbledore looked carefully at Harry. "Are you alright, Harry."

Harry looked down gave no reply, but Dumbledore was not to be deterred. "You miss Officer McFinn, don't you?"

Harry gulped down a few tears and nodded.

"And Dr. Clark?" added Dumbledore softly. Again Harry nodded.

"Harry, we will find him. The non-magical world may have not been able to locate him, but we will. I promise, we won't stop till we get you an answer. Alright?" said Dumbledore seriously, but with a kind tone.

Harry, looked at Dumbledore, with a mixture of hopelessness and grief, he flung his arms around his neck.

Dumbledore was stunned for a moment, but as soon as he felt the hot tears fall on his shoulder, he returned the hug.

He patted Harry on the back and soothingly said to the distraught boy, "It's alright Harry, it'll be alright. Just let us take care of it now, we'll pick up where you left off. Moody is sending an owl to start the proverbial ball rolling."

"Can we get on with the book now?" said Umbridge in an irritated tone. "Were not getting any younger."

"That is evident just by looking at you." snarled Sirius.

"Do you feel up to continuing Harry?" said Dumbledore kindly.

"I don't see why it should be up to him!" said Umbridge, she was still glaring at Sirius.

"Harry must be present at all times, the books will immediately seal themselves if he isn't present." said one of the Unspeakables. Umbridge paled. There goes my plan. she growled to herself.

"Who would like to read now?" said McGonagall. Hermione looked at the next chapter and smiled.

"I nominate Ron." she said, grinning.

"I don't wanna read." he said quickly.

"Read the chapter title." she urged him.

He looked at it quickly and a smile came to him.

"Alright then, I'll read."

He cleared his throat dramatically and said aloud

The Journey From Platform Nine and Three-Quarters

"Alright! Finally, we're getting to Hogwarts!" yelled Sirius.

Harry's last month with the Dursleys wasn't fun.

"It never is." said Fred.

"And if it was." said George.

"It wouldn't be summer." they both finished.

True Dudley was now so scared of Harry he wouldn't stay in the same room,

The school cheered, Dudley would never bully Harry again. When one of the students voiced this, Harry only smiled sadly.

"You'd think that." that caused everyone to cease cheering.

while Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon didn't shut Harry in his cupboard,

"Well that's a bonus." said Dennis.

force him to do anything, or shout at him-

"Well, at least it sounds like they didn't hurt you any further." said Lupin rubbing Harry's arm.

in fact, they didn't speak to him at all.

"Even better!" shouted a Slytherin.

Half terrified,

"They should be!" yelled a Ravenclaw.

half furious,

"Aside from getting caught trying to stash you away from this place. Why did they not want you to leave their house? It sounds like they would love to be rid of you!" asked Draco.

"They wanted to keep their butler, chef, gardener and housekeeper." said Ginny with a scowl towards the book.

they acted as though any chair with Harry in it were empty.

"Nothing new." said Lee with a grim look. He was an only child and if he wasn't at the table for meals and making his parents laugh at his antics, they would think he wasn't well. He could hardly imagine his parent's ignoring him. It wasn't natural.

Although this was an improvement in many ways, it did become a bit depressing after a while.

The students turned to gape at Harry, but he was currently being comforted by the two men in the bowl with him and Madame Pomfrey. Harry tried to sit up, for reasons unbeknownst even to him, but a pain shot straight through him and he collapsed almost panting in pain.

Harry kept to his room, with his new owl for company. He had decided to call her Hedwig, a name he had found in A History of Magic.

"You actually read the book, Harry?" asked Hermione with great surprise. Thankfully, due to Madame Pomfrey's timely and many potions. He was feeling better.

"Yeah, I read it a few times." he said.

His school books were interesting. He lay on his bed reading late into the night,

"Oh Harry! HOW COULD YOU?" lamented the twins dramatically. The school laughed, even Harry chuckled a bit, which brightened the twins up quite a bit.

Hedwig swooping in and out of the open window as she pleased. It was lucky that Aunt Petunia didn't come in to vacuum anymore, because Hedwig kept bringing back dead mice.

"Ewww." said the girls in the room, but Hedwig, who had just returned, hooted indignantly.

Every night before he went to sleep, Harry ticked off another day on the piece of paper he had pinned to the wall, counting down to September the first.

"I did that too!" said almost every single Muggleborn in the school as well as some Half-bloods and Purebloods.

On the last day of August he thought he'd better speak to his aunt and uncle about getting to King's Cross stations the next day,

"Potter! Why did you wait until the very last day to ask them." said Snape sharply.

Harry rubbed his forehead, his mind was slowly getting back to normal. "I learned that asking them right away, and having the important day so far away, they could deny that I ever ask them. By asking them the day before, they can't say I never asked."

Snape looked down, that does sound like something Petunia would come up with for an excuse not to do something.

so he went down to the living room where they were watching a quiz show on television.

"Quiz show?" asked a Slytherin. "I hate tests, why would you watch a show about quizzes?"

"It's a show where people go and stand in front of a lot of people and answer a bunch of questions, you may or may not know the answer to. The more questions you answer right, the more money you get." said Harry.

"Wow? That sounds really easy!" said a few Purebloods.

Harry looked at them, sighed and asked them, "Yellow, brown, clear, blue, green, black, pink and red is the order of rarity of this valuable object."

The students looked at him in curiosity. The Muggleborns blinked then gasped and looked down, deep in thought.

"What nonsense are you rambling off Mr. Potter?" asked Umbridge with a puzzled look upon her face.

"One American quiz show, which has some following over here, gives you the answer; you have to give the question." He then looked over to the Purebloods who had said it was easy. "You have the question yet?" They shook their heads; he then looked over to the Muggleborns. Bill had his eyes closed, and then he had a smile upon his face.

"I've got it." said Bill "How do you answer the answer?" he said with a smirk.

"If the answer was a person you would say 'Who is..' an object would be 'What is' and so forth."

"Alright then, what is a diamond?" said Bill still smirking.

"You got it." he reached into his pocket and took out seven galleons and tossed them over to Bill. He caught them and stared at Harry. "You got the answer right." he said simply.

He cleared his throat to let them know he was there, and Dudley screamed and ran from the room.

"That is awesome!" said the students. "Serves you right, you great lump!"

"Er-Uncle Vernon?"

Uncle Vernon grunted to show he was listening.

"I'm amazed you know how to speak intelligently, Potter. Especially if for the most part you had to endure these people." said Professor Flitwick kindly, but then his tone turned to a stern one.

"Er-I need to be at King's Cross tomorrow to-to go to Hogwarts."

Uncle Vernon grunted again.

"Would it be all right if you gave me a lift?"

Grunt. Harry supposed that meant yes.

"Thank you."

"And I'm impressed that you knew manners." said Flitwick with amazement.

"You're so polite, Harry." cooed Bathilda Bagshot. "You are just as polite and sweet as when you were a baby."

Several people sniggered as Harry blushed.

He was about to go back upstairs when Uncle Vernon actually spoke.

"Funny way to get to a wizards' school, the train. Magic carpets all got punctures, have they?"

"I keep forgetting he's a bloody idiot."

"CHARLIE!" said Mrs. Weasely.

Harry didn't say anything.

"Where is this school, anyway?"

"Scotland." said several students.

"I don't know," said Harry, realizing this for the first time. He pulled the ticket Hagrid had given him out of his pocket.

"I just take the train from platform nine and three-quarters at eleven o'clock," he read.

His aunt and uncle stared.

"Platform what?"

"Nine and three-quarters."

"Don't talk rubbish," said Uncle Vernon. "There is no platform nine and three-quarters."

"Your Aunt Petunia is indeed a good faker Mr. Potter, she knew all about her sister going to Hogwarts and even went with her to that platform." said Snape bitterly.

"It's on my ticket."

"Barking," said Uncle Vernon. "howling mad, the lot of them.

"Saner then you, Mr. Driving-Across-The-Country-To-Avoid-The-Bloody-Pos t."

"Molly, you just told off Charlie for saying what he did." said Mr. Weasely, smiling and shaking his head.

You'll see. You just wait. All right, we'll take you to King's Cross. We're going up to London tomorrow anyway, or I wouldn't bother."

"Why are you going to London?" Harry asked, trying to keep things friendly.

"You really don't need to do that Harry," said Lupin with a frown on his face. "they don't try to make things friendly with you."

"Taking Dudley to the hospital," growled Uncle Vernon. "Got to have that ruddy tail removed before he goes to Smeltings."

"Good thing I wasn't that Doctor." said Hermione nastily.

"Why is that? We would have loved it, would've been great fun." said Fred and George.

"In order to see the tail clearly, he would've had to remove his trousers." said Hermione

George and Fred, plus several others, started to gag.

Harry woke at five o'clock the next morning and was too excited and nervous to go back to sleep.

"Explains what happened to you on the train." said Ron looking up from the book.

"What happened to you on the train?" asked Lupin quickly.

"It'll most likely come up. If not I'll tell you." said Ron with a secretive smile.

He got up and pulled on his jeans because he didn't want to walk into the station in his wizard's robes-he'd change on the train.

"Wise move, Potter." said Moody as he entered the Great Hall, he was just in time to catch the last sentence. He bent over to whisper in Dumbledore's ear.

"They're sending someone now."

Dumbledore smiled.

He checked his Hogwarts list yet again to make sure he had everything he needed, saw that Hedwig was shut safely in her cage, and then paced the room, waiting for the Dursleys to get up.

"That is some patience, you've got Harry." said Sirius.

"Too bad he doesn't have that anymore." smirked Dean.

"I use it when I really need it." said Harry absently.

People looked over to him, wondering what he meant by that.

Two hours later, Harry's huge, heavy trunk had been loaded into the Dursley's car, Aunt Petunia had talked Dudley into sitting next to Harry, and they had set off.

"'Talked' nothing, I made three batches of triple chocolate chip cookies, that morning once they all woke up. She gave him two of those three batches for him to eat on the way to London." said Harry.

"Did you at least get one cookie?" asked Mrs. Weasely.

"No, but I did have a spoonful of cookie dough." said Harry with a smile.

"Best part of baking cookies." said Ginny smiling.

"Did you say 'triple chocolate chip?'" said Lupin eagerly.

Harry and Sirius laughed.

"I'll bake you some tomorrow if you wish." said Harry laughing hard.

"Please?" pleaded Lupin.

"Us too!" shouted a majority of the students.

They reached King's Cross at half past ten. Uncle Vernon dumped Harry's trunk onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for him. Harry thought this was strangely kind until Uncle Vernon stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face.

"This won't end well, will it?" said Sirius worriedly.

"Well, there you are, boy. Platform nine-platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don't seem to have built it yet, do they?"

"It's there, it's just protected from Muggles finding it on accident." said Hermione.

He was quite right, of course. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all.

"Have a good term," said Uncle Vernon with an even nastier smile. He left without another word. Harry turned and saw the Dursley's drive away. All three of them were laughing.

Madame Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall voices rang superior over Mrs. Weaselys voice.

"HE COULD'VE BEEN KIDNAPPED! ANYTHING COULD HAVE HAPPENED!"

Harry's mouth went rather dry. What on earth was he going to do? He was starting to attract a lot of funny looks, because of Hedwig. He'd have to ask someone.

He stopped a passing guard, but didn't dare mention platform nine and three-quarters. the guard had never heard of Hogwarts and when Harry couldn't even tell him what part of the country it was in, he started to get annoyed, as though Harry was being stupid on purpose. Getting desperate, Harry asked for the train that left at eleven o'clock, but the guard said there wasn't one. In the end the guard strode away, muttering about time wasters. Harry was now trying hard not to panic.

"You never panic, Harry." said Ron with a smile.

According to the large clock over the arrivals board, he had ten minutes left to get on the train to Hogwarts and he had no idea how to do it;

"I couldn't see the outside very well to tell the time on my own." said Harry.

he was stranded in the middle of a station with a trunk he could hardly life, a pocket full of wizard money, and a large owl.

Hagrid must have forgotten to tell him something you had to do, like tapping the third brick on the left to get into Diagon Alley. He wondered if he should get out his wand and start tapping the ticket inspector's stand between platforms nine and ten.

"How foolish Mr. Potter." sneered Umbridge.

"He had no other recourse to act upon." said Snape quickly. He was going to say what she had said. But the moment she had said it, he wanted nothing to do with that thought.

At that moment a group of people passed just behind him and he caught a few words of what they were saying.

"-packed with Muggles, of course-"

"da-da-da-DA! The Weasely Calvary has arrived!"

Harry swung round. The speaker was a plump woman who was talking to four boys,

"I..am..so...sorry.." said Harry to Mrs. Weasely. She, however just smiled at him. Mr. Weasely whispered something into his wife's ear that made her giggle and blush.

all with flaming red hair. Each of them was pushing a trunk like Harry's in front of him-and they had an owl.

Heart hammering, Harry pushed his cart after them. They stopped and so did he, just near enough to hear what they were saying.

"Now, what's the platform number?" said the boy's mother.

"Molly! You had five boys before this even happened! How come you still ask what platform?" asked Tonks exasperated.

"This was the first time I brought Ginny with me. Other times she would stay home with Arthur and keep him company, and make sure he didn't blow up the house." she said teasingly.

"It's kinda a tradition with our family," said Charlie.

"You get to go to King's Cross the year before you are accepted at Hogwarts, that way, you are real excited for a whole year." said Fred and George.

"All Weasely's have done it that way." said Arthur.

"Oh...sorry.." said Tonks sheepishly.

"Nine and three-quarters!" piped a small girl, also red-headed, who was holding her hand, "Mom, can't I go..."

"If anyone 'aww's' or 'ohh's' I'm going to beat them to a pulp." threatened Ginny.

"Thank God we broke up." said Michael Corner quietly. Harry managed to catch what Michael had to say. Ginny also heard it but was unperturbed.

They broke up? thought Harry quickly, did he dare to cross that line? He would have to think about it, and decide fast.

"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet. All right, Percy, you go first."

What looked like the oldest boy marched toward platforms nine and ten. Harry watched careful not to blink in case he missed it-but just as the boy reached the dividing barrier between the two platforms, a large crowd of tourists came swarming in front of him and by the time the last backpack had cleared away, the boy had vanished.

"Fred, you next," the plump woman said.

"I'm not Fred, I'm George," said the boy. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother? Can't you tell I'm George?"

"Sorry, George, dear."

"Only joking, I am Fred," said the boy, and off he went.

"They love that joke." said their mother with smile. "It drives me nuts, but they love that joke."

His twin called after him to hurry up, and he must have done so, because a second later, he had gone-but how had he done it?

Now the third brother was walking briskly toward the barrier-he was almost there-and then, quite suddenly, he wasn't anywhere.

There was nothing else for it.

"Excuse me," Harry said to the plump woman.

"Hello, dear," she said. "First time at Hogwarts? Ron's new, too."

She pointed at the last and youngest of her sons. He was tall, thin, and gangling, with freckles, big hands and feet, and a long nose.

"Do I really look like that?" said Ron looking up from the book.

"You did when I was eleven, you don't look like that anymore." said Harry kindly.

"Yes," said Harry. "The thing is-the thing is, I don't know how to-"

"How to get onto the platform?" she said kindly, and Harry nodded.

"Not to worry," she said. "All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop and don't be scared you'll crash into it, that's very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. Go on, go now before Ron."

"Er-okay," said Harry.

He pushed his trolley around and stared at the barrier. It looked very solid.

"And when it's solid, boy is it ever." muttered Harry and Ron.

People looked at them in confusion, when was the Platform ever solid?

He started to walk toward it. People jostled him on their way to platforms nine and ten. Harry walked more quickly. He was going to smash right into that barrier and then he'd be in trouble-leaning forward on his cart, he broke into a heavy run-the barrier was coming nearer and nearer- he wouldn't be able to stop-the cart was out of control-he was a foot away-he closed his eyes ready for the crash-

It didn't come...he kept on running...he opened his eyes.

A scarlet steam engine was waiting next to a platform packed with people. A sign overhead said Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock. Harry looked behind him and saw a wrought-iron archway where the barrier had been, with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it. He had done it.

The students all cheered at this, but were temporarily silenced by pink sparks coming from Madame Umbridge's wand.

"Of course he made it! He's sitting there! Unfortunately." spat Umbridge. The last part she said out loud on accident, but didn't make it seem like it just slipped out.

"Apologize Delores." said Madame Bones. Her wand out. Lupin and Sirius's wands were also out and pointing at her.

"No, I don't apologize to children. Children should apologize to their elders. I demand an apology from Mr. Potter."

"He doesn't have anything to apologize for! What the heck are you talking about?" shouted Bill.

Fudge was looking over to Umbridge with a raised brow. What was she talking about?

"Because of him, I have been insulted and ridiculed. I demand an apology."

"Oh shut up, stupid woman!" shouted Madame Bones. "Continue Mr. Weasely, ignore her."

Ron nodded and continued.

Smoke from the engine drifted over the heads of the chattering crowd, while cats of every color wound here and there between their legs. Owls hooted to one another in a disgruntled sort of way over the babble and the scraping of heavy trunks.

The first few carriages were already packed with students, some hanging out of the window to talk to their families, some fighting over seats. Harry pushed his cart off down the platform in search of an empty seat. He passed a round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I've lost my toad again."

"Oh, Neville," he heard the old woman sigh.

People cheered when Neville, good-naturedly, took a bow.

A boy with dreadlocks was surrounded by a small crowd.

Lee then stood up and took a bow. They all knew it was him, no one else in the school had dreadlocks.

"Give us a look, Lee, go on."

Lee stood up and took another bow.

The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long, hairy leg.

Ron paled quickly, but recovered.

Harry pressed on through the crowd until he found an empty compartment near the end of the train. He put Hedwig inside first and then started to shove and heave his trunk toward the train door. He tried to lift it up the steps but could hardly raise one end and twice he dropped it painfully on his foot.

"Ooow!" moaned the students and absent-mindedly massaging their feet.

"Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins he'd followed through the barrier.

"Yes, please," Harry panted.

"Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!"

With the twin's help, Harry's trunk was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment.

"You mean to tell me, you two actually helped someone? Without pranking them afterword?" said Ginny with a mocked look of surprise.

"Oi! We aren't hooligans! Okay, maybe we are, but we aren't all that bad!" said Fred and George indignantly. Some people snorted.

"Thanks," said Harry, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes.

"I had no upper body strength at all, at that point." Harry said with a smirk. Sirius and Lupin smiled, he was at least feeling a little better. But then, they froze. Did he say 'at that point?' Mrs. Weasely, realizing that he was feeling a bit better, brought over a tray of food and laid it on his lap. He picked out a roll and munched on it.

"What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry's lightning scar.

"Blimey," said the other twin. "Are you-"

"He is," said the first twin. "Aren't you?" he added to Harry.

"What?" said Harry.

"Harry Potter," chorused the twins.

"Oh, him," said Harry. "I mean, yes I am."

"Why did you say that?" said Lupin, plucking a grape from the plate on Harry's lap and popping it into his mouth.

"From all the attention I was getting and some of the children's books I read in Flourish and Blotts, I was supposed to be some great warrior or something. A veritable superhero. I, in my opinion, hardly fitted the description. Still don't really. And I still couldn't believe that I was the reason that Voldemort, oh will you people get over it, that he was defeated. I learned later that I was right, it wasn't me that defeated him, but my mother. I just happened to survive by chance. If my mother wasn't there, I would have been dead, just like everyone else who fell before his wand." said Harry matter-of-factly.

Lupin almost choked on his grape. He hadn't thought about that, and now, when he was forced to, he couldn't bear it. He gripped Harry's hand tightly. Everyone else looked somber, it took Ron a moment to gather himself up and proceed with the reading.

The two boys gawked at him, and Harry felt himself turning red. Then, to his relief, a voice came floating in through the train's open door.

"Fred? George? Are you there?"

"Coming, Mom."

With a last look at Harry, the twins hopped off the train.

Harry sat down next to the window where, half hidden, he could watch the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying.

"You stalking us, Harry?" said Fred with an evil smirk.

"You reminded me of the McFinns, though they didn't have children, something about you reminded me of them." he said with a small smile. The Weaselys looked saddened but they smiled.

Their mother had just taken out her handkerchief.

"Ron, you've got something on your nose."

The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose.

"Aww, Mum, don't do that in front of people!" said Bill shaking his head.

Mrs. Weasely looked over at Ron, with an apologetic look on her face.

Ron merely shrugged.

"Mom-geroff." He wriggled free.

"Aah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins.

"We vow never to say 'ickle anykins' again." said George.

"Cause 'Horseface' said it." said Fred.

"Shut up," said Ron.

"Where's Percy? " said their mother.

"He's coming now."

The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes, and Harry noticed a shiny silver badge on his chest with the letter P on it.

"Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves-"

"Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?" said one of the twins, with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea."

"Hang on, I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once-"

"Or twice-"

"A minute-"

"All summer-"

"Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect.

"Wow, you do sound like a prat." said Sirius simply.

Percy began to turn red.

"How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins.

"Because he's a prefect," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term-send me an owl when you get there."

She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins.

"Now, you two-this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've-you've blown up a toilet or-"

"Molly! Don't give them any ideas!" admonished McGonagall.

"Don't say that! She's our best source of inspiration!" said the twins. The school erupted in a wave of laughter.

"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."

"Great idea though, thanks, Mom."

"It's not funny. And look after Ron."

"Don't worry, ickle Ronniekins is safe with us."

"Aww! Come on Ron! Come up with a different name! We don't want to remember that we and Horsie think the same!" cringed the twins.

"Shut up," said Ron again.

"You shut up." returned the twins with wide smiles.

he was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it.

"I get the feeling that my nose is going to be a focal point of this chapter." said Ron bitterly.

"Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?"

"That specky little shrimp we saw before we came on Platform Nine and Three-Quarters!" said the twins.

Harry leaned back quickly so they couldn't see him looking.

"You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?"

"Who?"

"Harry Potter!"

Harry heard the little girl's voice.

"Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see him, Mom, oh please..."

Someone was about to 'ooh' and 'aww' but a glare and a balled up fist reminded them of her threat.

"You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?"

"Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there-like lightning."

"Poor dear-no wonder he was alone, I wondered. He was ever so polite when he asked how to get onto the platform."

"You've always been so polite, Harry." said Mrs. Weasely kindly.

"Never mind that, do you think he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?"

Their mother suddenly became very stern.

"I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school."

"All right, keep your hair on."

"You two have a death wish." said Bill staring at the twins while Charlie whistled.

"He said it." said the twins pointing to each other.

A whistle sounded.

"Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered onto the train. They leaned out of the window for her to kiss them good-bye, and their younger sister began to cry.

"I'm warning all of you..." Ginny growled.

"Don't, Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls."

"We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat."

"George!"

"Only joking, Mom."

The train began to move. Harry saw the boy's mother waving and their sister, half-laughing, half-crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved.

"Awww!"

"ALRIGHT! WHO SAID IT?" shouted Ginny standing up.

Harry smiled and slowly stood up. "I did."

Ginny came over, and reared her fist back.

"Just like you, I keep my word." she then threw her fist forward. The teachers and Sirius and Remus moved quickly to try and stop her.

Harry smacked it swiftly away from its intended course, flipped his cane and shifted her leg. She fell backwards and Harry caught her in his right arm. She looked shocked but Harry simply smiled.

"Next time, be sure to connect." he said slyly. Ginny blushed, smiled and then nodded. Before he helped her stand again he pulled her close. "You and I both need to watch our tempers, I think." he whispered. She blushed even deeper.

As he watched her walk back to her chair he thought bitterly. Why didn't I kiss her just now? What am I waiting for?" Ginny was thinking along the same lines.

"I'm starting to think you have separate personalities." said Sirius looking at him with widened eyes.

"I'm starting to think so too, there are times that I act like I don't have a clue what is going on, and then I have my normal frame of mind back and going strong. I think that the incident is behind of my 'stripping my mind's gears' so to speak."

Ron stared at the both his sister and Harry, shook his head vigorously and continued on.

Harry watched the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. Houses flashed past the window. Harry felt a great leap of excitement. He didn't know what he was going to-but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind.

"Hell would have been better." muttered Harry darkly.

The door of the compartment slid open and the youngest red-headed boy came in.

"Anyone sitting there?" he asked, pointing at the seat opposite of Harry. "Everywhere else is full."

"Everywhere else wasn't, Ron, and you know it." said Hermione smiling.

"I didn't care if they were full or not. I was feeling a bit lonely." said Harry.

Ron grinned.

Harry shook his head and the boy sat down. He glanced at Harry and then looked quickly out of the window, pretending he hadn't looked.

"Didn't work." said Harry brightly.

Harry saw he still had a black mark on his nose.

"What is with you an observing things." said Ron in an irritated voice.

"Hey, Ron."

The twins were back.

"Listen, we're going down the middle of the train-Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there."

"Right," mumbled Ron.

"I wanted to tell you lot, to keep it down there and maybe have you shove it off the train." said Ron looking a bit pale.

"Harry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasely. And this is Ron, our brother. See you later, then."

"Short, sweet and to the point." smirked Harry.

"Bye," said Harry and Ron. The twins slid the compartment door shut behind them.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out.

Harry nodded.

"Oh-well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's joke," said Ron. "And have you really got-you know..."

"No, he don't know Weasely." said Draco with a snide smile.

He pointed at Harry's forehead.

Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared.

"So that's where You-Know-Who-?"

"Yes," said Harry, "but I can't remember it."

"Can't remember much of this either." said Harry bitterly, reaching behind himself. He then looked up at from where he laid, "Dumbledore, sir?"

"Yes, Harry?" said Dumbledore sitting back in his chair, drinking tea.

"I need to talk to you, when this is done for the day. I'm remembering some things."

"Do you wish to talk now?" said Dumbledore, almost spilling his tea.

"No it can wait a bit longer." said Harry.

Umbridge looked very worried.

"Nothing?" said Ron eagerly.

"Well-I remember a lot of green light, but nothing else."

"Wow," said Ron. He sat and stared at Harry for a few moments, then, as though he had suddenly realized what he was doing, he looked quickly out the window again.

"Are all your family wizards?" asked Harry, who found Ron just as interesting as Ron found him.

"Seriously mate?" asked Ron incredulously, Harry smiled and nodded.

"Er-yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mom's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him."

"Cause he insulted Dad in the worst way possible. Mom don't take too kindly to that." said Fred and George with a small scowl. "Neither do we, for that matter."

"So you must know loads of magic already."

The Weasely's were clearly one of those old wizarding families the pale boy in Diagon Alley had talked about.

"Yeah, he was one of the families I was talking about, but not really, Potter." said Draco quietly.

"I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?"

"Horrible-well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are, though.

"Bloody understatement." snarled Charlie quietly.

Wish I'd had three wizard brothers."

"You've got six now, Harry." Bill called over. Harry blinked, then he smiled.

"Five," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy,

"Why on earth were you gloomy?" asked Bill.

"I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left-Bill was head boy

"Only cause everyone else in the year were almost as stupid as trolls." said Bill with a small smile, but still concerned over his brother's behavior.

and Charlie was captain of Quidditch.

"Cause everyone else was a third year." said Charlie, not smiling, but looking at his little brother.

Now Percy's a prefect.

"Cause I'm a prat." said Percy kindly to Ron. Fred and George looked at each other and stared at their older brother.

Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny.

The twins said nothing, where was Ron going with this?

Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."

His brother's paled, Ron held all this in? Even Mr. and Mrs. Weasely looked concerned. They would have to have a talk with Ron once this chapter was done.

Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep.

"His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my mom and dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff-I mean, I got Scabbers instead."

Mr. Weasely gulped loudly. He needed to talk to Ron, very soon.

Ron's ears went pink. He seemed to think he'd said too much, because he went back to staring out the window.

Harry didn't think there was anything wrong with not having being able to afford an owl. After all, he'd never had any money in his life until a month ago, and he told Ron so, all about having to wear Dudley's old clothes and never getting proper birthday presents. This seemed to cheer Ron up.

"Oi, I thought he was overdramatizing it!" he said to all the glares he was receiving.

"...and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort-"

Ron gasped.

Ron repeated this act. Harry could hardly hold in his laughter.

"What?" said Harry.

"You said You-Know-Who's name!" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people-"

"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name," said Harry, "I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn...I bet," he added, voicing for the first time something that had been worrying him a lot lately, "I bet I'm the worst in the class."

"One moment, Mr. Potter, tomorrow, I want to give you a quick assessment test, just so we can rate you correctly. I have a feeling you have been holding back a majority of your knowledge from your schoolwork." said McGonagall quickly. Harry looked at Hermione nervously, then looked at his Head of House and nodded slowly.

"You won't be. There's loads of people who come from Muggle families and they learn quick enough."

While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past.

"We weren't quiet Harry, you were passed out asleep. I never met a guy in my life that didn't snore in their sleep." said Ron with a smirk.

"Explains the racket you make every night." said Harry with a smirk as well.

"I don't snore!" said Ron indignantly.

"The hell you don't!" said Harry, Neville, Dean, and Seamus. Ron looked a bit shocked and then vainly cleared his throat, to carry on.

Around half past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"

"Hearing her talk made you almost leap off the chair." said Ron with a smile.

Harry who hadn't any breakfast,

"They didn't feed you that morning?" asked Mrs. Weasely with a grim look.

"I spent the entire morning cooking food."

"You spent the whole morning baking cookies?" said Ginny with her eyes widened.

"No, cooking food to put in the freezer. I made enough meals to last them awhile. Remember, Aunt Petunia can't cook."

leapt to his feet, but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiches. Harry went out into the corridor.

He had never had money for candy with the Dursleys, and now that he had pockets rattling with gold and silver he was ready to buy as many Mars Bars as he could carry-but the woman didn't have Mars Bars.

"What are Mars Bars?" asked Draco.

Lupin reached deep into his cloak and brought out a slim, slightly cylinder wrapped chocolate bar, he tossed it over to Draco. Draco caught it and looked at it.

"That's a Mars Bar, it's a Muggle candy bar. Go ahead and try it, I have twenty more in my pockets." said Lupin kindly.

They all watched as Draco stared at it, looked over to Lupin and slowly opened it. He looked at it suspiciously and then took a small bite. His eyes lit up, he smiled, and he wolfed the whole thing down in three bites.

Blaise Zabini nor Theodore Nott ever saw him get that way with chocolate before. They looked over to Lupin, "Where can we get some of those Mars Bars?"

Lupin had just handed Harry an unwrapped one and said "Muggle World, they sell them everywhere." Harry took a big bite of his, closed his eyes and smiled.

"I can try and make these if you really want." said Harry to them.

"How can you?" said Lupin with widened eyes. Harry smiled.

"I can taste almost all the ingredients when I bite into something, makes replicating someone's favorite dish all the more easier."

Lupin and Sirius stared.

What she did have were Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Droobles Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, and a number of other strange things Harry had never seen in his life. Not wanting to miss anything, he got some of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts.

"I thought I had a sweet tooth, I bow and toast to a better." said Dumbledore jovially raising his tea cup.

Ron stared as Harry brought it all back in to the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat.

"Hungry, are you?"

"Starving," said Harry, taking a large bite out of pumpkin pasty.

"Didn't know he actually meant it." said Ron bitterly.

Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef."

"I was wondering what I was doing with tuna." said Fred looking down.

"Swap you for one of these," said Harry, holding up a pasty. "Go on-"

"Take it Ron, not your fault he doesn't know what the bartering system of lunches is." said a Hufflepuff muggleborn.

"You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "you know with five of us."

"I'm sorry, Ron." said Mrs. Weasely sadly. Ron looked guilty.

"Go on, have a pasty." said Harry, who had never had anything to share before or, indeed, anyone to share it with. It was a nice feeling, sitting there with Ron, eating their way through all Harry's pasties, cakes and candies (the sandwiches lay forgotten)

"I had the McFinns and Dr. Clark to share things with, but that was years before this. I had forgotten the feeling." said Harry, looking down with a slight smile.

"What are these?" Harry asked Ron, holding up a pack of Chocolate Frogs. "They're not really frogs, are they?" He was starting to feel that nothing would surprise him.

Ron laughed, "We had just taken a bite out of a cockroach cluster. When he saw one of the legs sticking out, he turned a shade of green that I never knew existed."

"No," said Ron. "But see what the card is. I'm missing Agrippa."

"Me too!" said a every student that was collecting them.

"What?"

"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know-Chocolate Frogs have cards inside them, you know, to collect-famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy."

"Agrippa and Ptolemy are the two of the rarest cards in the entire world. I myself only have six of Agrippa and two of Ptolemy." said Dumbledore serenely.

"I've got twenty of each card there is." said Lupin smiling. "Including Agrippa and Ptolemy."

Ron and Dumbledore stared at him. "Once again, I bow to sweeter sweet tooth then the one I possess." said Dumbledore in shock.

"What do you a charge a person just to look at it?" said Ron with widened eyes.

"But what I wouldn't give for is a Harry Potter card." said Lupin wistfully.

"W-W-What?" stammered Harry.

"Your card is actually the rarest in the world. There are only seven in circulation, and I am proud to say, that I have one of the seven."

"Holy cripes! How many Chocolate Frogs did you have to go through to get that?" said Ron with amazement.

"Seven hundred and fifty-three thousand two hundred and nineteen frogs. The chocolate from all of those Frogs are downstairs in the kitchen." said Dumbledore simply. The students sat and stared.

"Sounds like two years' worth of chocolate for you." said Sirius looking at Lupin.

"I melted some of that chocolate to make the Knickerbocker Glories. Sorry sir," said Harry apologetically.

"Not at all, use what you wish, that is what they are there for." beamed Dumbledore.

Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.

"I'm intensely honored that I was your first card, Harry." said Dumbledore with a broad smile.

"So this is Dumbledore!" said Harry.

"Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron. "Can I have a frog? I might get Agrippa-thanks-"

Harry turned over his card and read:

ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

CURRENTLY HEADMASTER OF HOGWARTS

Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times,

Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the

Dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the

twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy

with his partner, Nicholas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore

enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.

"What's chamber music?" asked a small Gryffindor.

"It's music played by a small group of amateur musicians in a home of a friend. Have you ever been to a child's piano recital played in their house?" said Dumbledore addressing the boy. He thought and nodded.

"That is a form of chamber music."

"Explains why he wants to have the school sing the school song almost every year." whispered Ron to Hermione who giggled.

Harry turned the card back over and saw, to his astonishment, that Dumbledore's face had disappeared.

"He's gone!"

"That frightened me for a moment." said Harry with a smile.

"Well, you can't expect him to hang around all day," said Ron.

"He'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her...do you want it? You can start collecting."

Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of Chocolate Frogs waiting to be unwrapped.

"Help yourself," said Harry.

"So polite." sighed Bathilda Bagshot.

"But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos."

"Do they? What, they don't move at all?" Ron sounded amazed, "Weird!"

"That IS weird!" said a few Slytherins.

Harry stared as Dumbledore sidled back into the picture on his card and gave him a small smile. Ron was interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Harry couldn't keep his eyes off them. Soon he had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe,

"You got a Circe?" said Sirius in amazement. "That...that is one rare card." Harry noticed that, that was not where he was going with the conversation, but he let it go.

He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. 'Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard-I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough-I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"

"Blimey, Hermione, you really need to learn to breathe when you're talking." said Ron, heaving a gasp. Hermione blushed slightly, while the rest of the school and the guests laughed.

"Miss Granger, you were very rude, for two reasons: you sat down, without being invited, and the other reason is the way you introduced yourself." admonished McGonagall. Hermione blushed deeper.

"Sorry, Ron, Harry." she said quietly.

"It's alright, Hermione." said both Ron and Harry.

She said all this very fast.

Harry looked at Ron, and was relieved to see by his stunned face that he hadn't learned all the course books by heart either.

"I'm Ron Weasely," Ron muttered.

"Harry Potter." said Harry.

"Are you really?" said Hermione.

"No Granger, he's lying to you." said Pansy with a smirk, to her dismay, no one laughed.

"I know all about you, of course-

"I'll admit it, you really sounded like a stalker, at the time, I found you a little creepy." said Harry with a slight smile. Hermione blanched.

I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're inModern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts andGreat Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."

"Am I?" said Harry, feeling dazed.

"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione.

"Wow, Hermione, you really didn't know how to talk to people did you." said Lupin with concern on his face.

"No, I really didn't, now that I look back." said Hermione sadly.

"Do either of you know what House you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad...Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad.

"For a moment there, I thought you forgot all about me." said Neville with a smile.

You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."

And she left, taking the toadless boy with her.

"Whatever House I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron.

The school gasped, how the heck did these three become the closest group of friend the school had ever known? What brought them together?

He threw his wand back into his trunk. "Stupid spell-George gave it to me, bet he knew it was a dud."

"And if he ever does that again, I'll have a few words with him." said Harry, following Bill's lead. The twin's eyes widened and they slowly leaned away from the raven-haired teen.

"What House are your brothers in?" asked Harry.

"Gryffindor," said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on him again. "Mom and Dad were in it, too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad,

"Not that I'm good enough for that house." said Ron with a smile.

"You can beat them all in chess, that's got to count for something, mate." said Harry.

but imagine if they put me in Slytherin."

"You sound like Draco, just a little bit." said Luna dreamily.

"I DO NOT SOUND LIKE HIM!" bellowed Ron and Draco at the same time.

"That's the House Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who was in?"

"Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking depressed.

"You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," said Harry, trying to take Ron's mind off Houses.

"Thanks mate, I needed that, actually." said Ron.

"You shouldn't be trying to make everyone else feel better, Harry. You need someone to make YOU feel better." said Lupin a little crossly.

"At that time, for the past three years, I got used to having no one to help me in the emotional or physical department. I knew Ron needed help, so I helped. Made me feel a lot better." said Harry quietly. "Besides, I don't want to be smothered."

"So what do your oldest brothers do now that they've left, anyway?

Harry was wondering what a wizard did once he'd finished school.

"Charlie's in Romania studying dragons,

Charlie stood up and waved, he also showed off a few burns on his muscular arms. A few girls whistled.

and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," said Ron.

"Curse Breaker," said Bill. A few more people cheered and a few more girls whistled. "Sorry girls, I'm taken, dating someone." said Bill. The girls groaned.

"Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the DailyProphet,but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles-someone tried to rob a high security vault."

Harry stared.

"Really? What happened to them?"

"You want to know what happens when you rob a bank do you?" said Lupin whispering into his ear.

Harry merely smiled.

"Nothing , that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happens in case You-Know-Who's behind it."

Harry turned this news over in his mind. He was starting to get a prickle of fear every time You-Know-Who was mentioned. He supposed this was all part of entering the magical world, but it had been a lot more comfortable saying "Voldemort" without worrying.

Ron stammered over the Dark Lord's name.

"You're getting better Ron." said Harry with a smirk.

"What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked.

"Puddlemere United!" said Harry, Dumbledore and Sirius.

"Chudley Cannons!" said Ron and Mr. Weasely defiantly.

"Holyhead Harpies!" said Ginny, Alicia, Katie and Angelina.

Other students and parents shouted their favorite teams.

"Er-I don't know any," Harry confessed.

"What!" Ron looked dumbfounded, "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world-"

"It is." said the Quidditch players and the fans.

And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he'd been to with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. He was just taking Harry through the finer points of the game when the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy, or Hermione Granger this time.

"Oh no." said Draco, covering his head.

Three boys entered, and Harry recognized the middle one at once: It was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop. He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley.

"Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"

"How did he and the rest of the train know? We didn't mention it!" said the twins.

"I didn't either." said Neville, looking puzzled.

"Sorry, Harry." said Hermione quietly.

"Yes," said Harry. He was looking at the other boys. Both of them were thickset and looked extremely mean. Standing on either side of the pale boy, they looked like bodyguards.

"They are." said Draco almost silently.

"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where Harry was looking. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him.

"Think my name's funny, do you?

"Actually, yeah." said Ron looking up at Draco. They glared at each other, until Harry coughed warningly. Which they took to mean 'don't try it.' They stopped glaring at each other and Ron continued reading.

No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weaselys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford."

The Weasely children turned slowly in their seats to face Draco, shifted in his seat and apologized before Professor Snape or Dumbledore could request that he do.

He turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

"You're a prat, you know that, right?" said Tonks severely. Draco looked down in a shamed sort of way. Though his family didn't like Tonks and her mother and father, he always thought she was really pretty cool.

He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it.

"Good for you Harry, stand up for your friends." said Bathilda Bagshot with a doting smile.

"You don't need to tell him that. He'll go to any lengths to protect his friends." said Dennis Creevy.

"You can say that again." said Ginny, Neville, Ron, and Hermione. Harry looked down, blushing heavily.

"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks." he said coolly.

"You go Harry!" shouted a few students.

Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks.

"For the Malfoy family, that is red." muttered Seamus.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same ways as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around with riffraff like the Weaselys and that Hagrid, and it'll rub off on you."

Professor Snape stomped over to Draco and pulled him out of his chair.

"You..me...now.." he said pulling him towards the door of the Great Hall. They left, Snape, slamming the door behind them.

Dumbledore watched with widened eyes towards the door. He then looked over to Ron.

"I think they wouldn't mind if we continued." said Dumbledore quietly.

Both Harry and Ron stood up.

"Say that again," Ron said, his face as red as his hair.

"Oh, you're going to fight us are you?" Malfoy sneered.

"Hopefully." said the twins sitting forward eagerly, forgetting that they knew what had happened.

"Unless you get out now." said Harry, more braver then he felt, because Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than him or Ron.

"That IS bravery, Harry. The very definition of bravery." said Dumbledore smilingly.

"But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seem to have some."

"Greedy gits." snarled Padma and Pavarti.

Goyle reached toward the Chocolate Frogs next Ron-Ron leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touched Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell.

"What happened?" said Sirius and Bill leaning forward eagerly.

Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle-

"Ouch!" moaned Sirius and Bill, absently massaging their hands.

"The only noble thing that little bastard ever did." growled Lupin.

Crabbe and Malfoy backed away as Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling,

People who were bullied by Goyle started to laugh so hard that tears came out of their eyes.

and when Scabbers finally flew off and hit the window,

"Good." said Lupin, Sirius, Ron, Harry and Hermione.

all three of them disappeared at once. Perhaps they thought there were more rats lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard footsteps,

"Cowards." muttered Lavender

because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in.

"Wow! They were scared of me." bragged Hermione. The students and a few Aurors laughed.

"Wait'll they get you angry in the third, they'll be downright terrified of you." smirked Harry.

"What has been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail.

"Take a guess, Hermione." said George.

"I think he's been knocked out," Ron said to Harry. He looked closer at Scabbers. "No-I don't believe it-he's gone back to sleep."

"What a stupid rat!" said Zacharias nastily. Thinking this would be a good insult, but it failed miserably when he saw Harry, Ron, Hermione, Sirius and Lupin laugh. One of his housemates noticed what he was attempting to do and smacked him soundly on the back of the head.

And so he had.

The school laughed, what a lazy rat!

"You've met Malfoy before?"

Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley.

"I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side."

"Mr. Malfoy and his family were exonerated from all suspicion." said Umbridge smugly.

"First name on the list I gave you, Madame Bones." said Harry looking over to the Law Enforcement Head. Umbridge deepened her snarl.

He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?"

"Never saw a gray area of politeness." said Charlie with a small smile.

"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on,

"You channeling Mrs. Weasely, Hermione?" smirked Tonks.

I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says were nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"

"What the...how did you two become friends? I kinda agree with Ron in this aspect, you were a bit much." said Sirius solemnly, Hermione nodded sadly.

"Scabbers has been fighting , not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Would you mind leaving while we change?"

"All right-I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice.

"Hermione, I really hate to pick on you too..." said Lupin wearily

"I wasn't picking on her!" said Sirius taken aback.

"but," holding up a hand to silence Sirius. "Hermione, you're on a train with kids seventeen years old and all the way down to eleven year olds. They are going to act childish." Hermione blushed and slowly nodded.

"And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?"

"AGAIN, WITH THE NOSE! LAY OFF WILL YA?" shouted Ron.

"Sorry." said Harry and Hermione both smiling broadly.

Ron glared at her as she left. Harry peered out of the window. It was getting dark. He could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down.

"Good observations, Potter. You'd make a fine Auror." said Moody approvingly.

He and Ron took off their jackets and pulled on their long black robes. Ron's were a bit short for him, you could see his sneakers underneath them.

"Well, now I have a clue to who bought me brand new robes for my birthday." said Ron looking over to Harry, who whistled innocently while looking up at the enchanted ceiling.

A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

Harry's stomach lurched with nerves and Ron, he saw, looked pale under his freckles.

"Wow, you two were scared?" said a majority of the school. They all knew that they were two of the three bravest people in the school and they couldn't picture them terrified.

They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor.

"Sweets before feasts." muttered several boys and nodding.

The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Harry shivered in the cold night air.

Lupin and Sirius adjusted the blankets.

Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a familiar voice:

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?"

Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads.

The students cheered.

"C'mon, follow me-any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagird down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there.

"Very good Mr. Potter." beamed Professor Sprout.

Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.

"I thought I lost Trevor." Neville said blushing.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagird called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."

There was a loud "Oooooh!"

The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

Several people sighed and leaned back in their chairs.

"Harry, your descriptions are positively lovely." said a fourth year Gryffindor girl Harry had never met, but she was batting her eyelashes.

"And their dead on, too." said Bill with a smirk.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Neville and Hermione.

"Bet Weasely was thrilled." said Blaise laughing.

"Oh, you have no idea how thrilled I was, at the time." smirked Ron.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then-FORWARD!"

And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass.

People closed their eyes and thought back to their boat ride a crossed the lake.

Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them.

"Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands.

"How did he get there?" asked a few puzzled students.

"Ask Trevor, cause we don't know." said Neville and Hermione.

Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.

They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.

"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"

"Yes and thanks for asking, Hagrid." said Neville happily.

Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

"Well, it's time for us to retire for the night, I think." said Dumbledore cheerfully.

Snape and Malfoy then came back into the Great Hall, Harry noticed that Malfoy was nursing his backside.

"You wanted to say something to Potter?" said Snape severely.

"Sorry, Potter. What I said four years ago, about your mum and dad." said Draco, wincing as he massaged his back end.

"It's alright, you were just repeating what your father said, you never knew just how bad it was till you hear it for yourself in the third person." said Harry kindly.

"Now Harry, you wanted to discuss something with me?" said Dumbledore, trying to hide his anticipation.

"Oh yeah, 'bout the incident. Do we talk here or elsewhere?" asked Harry standing up.

Snape came over and whispered into Dumbledore's ear. Dumbledore turned his head slightly towards Snape and nodded.

"I think my office might be the best place for it. Who would you like to have accompany us?" asked Dumbledore.

"Sirius and Lupin, I think. Just them, sorry Ron and Hermione, it's just..."

"We understand mate, when you're ready mate, you'll let us know." said Ron, taking ahold of Hermione's arm when she started to protest.

Snape, Lupin, Sirius and Dumbledore all helped Harry out of the Great Hall. Umbridge stared in fury at them leaving, was he starting to remember? She would have to put a stop to his remembering, now.