"So, we get to hear more about your take on Diagon Alley?" said Tonks brightly.

"Hopefully, nothing bad happens." said Bill.

"Well, not at the Burrow or in Diagon Alley at least." said Harry plainly.

"Where else did you go?" said Sirius quickly.

"Oh, you'll find out." said Fred and George excitedly.

Life at the Burrow was as different as possible from life on Privet Drive.

"I would certainly hope so, dear." said Mrs. Weasely, she sniffed in disgust, she had certainly hoped that her household was very different than an abusive one.

The Dursleys liked everything neat and ordered; the Weasleys' house burst with the strange and unexpected.

"Never a dull moment in our house." said Charlie with pride. "My friends love coming over and spending a day or two during the normal year. They love the spontaneity of it."

"Never knew Charlie knew such big words." whispered Fred to his twin.

Charlie heard what Fred had said and threw a handful of chestnuts at his younger brother.

Harry got a shock the first time he looked in the mirror over the kitchen mantelpiece and it shouted, "Tuck you shirt in, scruffy!"

"I received that as a present from Great Aunt Muriel when Bill was born, she went on about how boys were scruffy little monsters." said Mrs. Weasley smiling at all her children.

"It's a lot of fun to overwhelm it. It's image in the glass starts swirling around and tries to show you what you're supposed to look like. Mind you, the mirror's tastes are from the late 1800's." said Fred laughing hard.

"We laugh ourselves silly when we see what the mirror wants us to look like." said George trying not to fall off his seat laughing.

The ghoul in the attic howled and dropped pipes whenever he felt things were getting too quiet,

"Yeah, Merlin forbid that anyone gets any peace and quiet." said George shaking his head.

"Or gets any sleep." said Fred.

and small explosions from Fred and George's bedroom were considered perfectly normal.

"Except when it knocks the door right off it's hinges." said Mr. Weasely with a broad grin. "I've had to fix that door seven times in three years."

What Harry found most unusual about life at Ron's, however, wasn't the talking mirror or the clanking ghoul:

"I would have thought that those would have been the most unusual things." said Bill.

It was the fact that everyone there seemed to like him.

The Weasleys turned and stared at Harry.

"Why wouldn't we like you, mate?" said Ron.

"I never felt welcomed or even remotely liked at the Dursleys, it was an odd feeling." said Harry absently. "The last time I had felt liked at somewhere besides Hogwarts was the McFinn's."

"Yeah, Holly had a way of welcoming you into a house, no matter if she didn't like you or not. It was easy for her to welcome you into her house, she absolutely adored you." said Dr. Clark giving Harry a quick hug.

"I miss both of them." he said quietly. Dr. Clark kissed the top of Harry's head.

Mrs. Weasely fussed over the state of his socks

"There was holes in each pair he had!" said Mrs. Weasley to the staring eyes she received. "I made him ten new pairs of socks that summer."

"Were they warm?" asked Dr. Clark.

"They're really nice." said Harry with a smile. "You'd love them."

and tried to force him to eat fourth helpings at every meal.

"You didn't throw those meals up did you?" asked Remus quickly.

"Only after the first two days." said Harry with a smile. Mrs. Weasley looked around fearfully at Harry.

"After that, I could keep them down." said Harry trying to reassure her.

Mr. Weasley liked Harry to sit next to him at the dinner table so that he could bombard him with questions about life with Muggles, asking him to explain how things like plugs and the postal service worked.

"I never learned so much in one summer!" said Mr. Weasley with a smile over to Harry.

"Fascinating!" he would say as Harry talked him through using a telephone.

"From what happened when Ron used the phone, I think I should have told you how to use it twice." said Harry with a smile.

"Sorry about that, mate" said Ron.

"Ingenious, really, how many ways Muggles have found of getting along, without magic."

"Now that I think about it, it is amazing how we get along without it, but I guess we make up for it, with some of the stuff we invent." said Dr. Clark with a smile.

"It's true, Muggles make up for their lack of magic for their ingenuity with electricity." said Lionus with a smile.

Harry heard from Hogwarts one sunny morning, about a week after he had arrived at the Burrow. He and Ron went down to breakfast to find Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Ginny already sitting at the kitchen table. The moment she saw Harry, Ginny accidentally knocked her porridge bowl to the floor with a loud clatter.

"What the…? How come you all of a sudden became clumsy?" said Bill and Charlie to Ginny, who quickly blushed.

Ginny seemed very prone to knocking things over whenever Harry entered a room.

"Oh!" said Bill and Charlie nodding, they knew now what had caused their sister's clumsiness. Young girl crushes could be dangerous and disastrous things.

She dived under the table to retrieve the bowl and emerged with her face glowing like the setting sun.

Ginny did a pale imitation of her past self's blush. Harry smiled over to her.

Pretending he hadn't noticed this, Harry sat down and took the toast Mrs. Weasley offered him.

"He knew you had a crush on him, then." said Fred wickedly to Ginny.

"Letters from school," said Mr. Weasley, passing Harry and Ron identical envelopes of yellowish parchment, addressed in green ink. "Dumbledore already knows you're here, Harry—

"You stalking him too? Just like the Rangers?" said Remus quickly over to Dumbledore.

"For Harry's safety, I put monitoring wards around Privet Drive. If someone or something magical were to enter the perimeter, I would be aware of it." said Dumbledore calmly.

"So you knew about Dobby?" said Remus, "yet you didn't bother to tell the Ministry and clear Harry's record?" he finished angrily.

"I tried to tell Miss Hopkirk, but she wouldn't have it. She didn't believe me, I find that woman quite infuriating." said Dumbledore sternly, not to Remus but to the absent Mafalda.

doesn't miss a trick, that man. You've got them, too," he added, as Fred and George ambled in, still in their pajamas.

For a few minutes there was silence as they all read their letters. Harry's told him to catch the Hogwarts Express as usual from King's Cross station on September first. There was also a list of new books he'd need for the coming year.

SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS WILL REQUIRE:

The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2

by Miranda Goshawk

"I ordered that before Christmas the year prior. It was already in my trunk." said Harry with a smirk.

"You had the second year spellbook?" asked Hermione.

"I had grades 1-5 in my first year. When mastered the basics of each spell, in each book, I ordered the next year's." said Harry with a smile.

"Explains why your trunk was so damn heavy." said Fred rolling his eyes.

Break with a Banshee

by Gilderoy Lockhart

Gadding with Ghouls

by Gilderoy Lockhart

Holidays with Hags

by Gilderoy Lockhart

Travels with Trolls

by Gilderoy Lockhart

Voyages with Vampires

by Gilderoy Lockhart

Wanderings with Werewolves

by Gilderoy Lockhart

Year with the Yeti

by Gilderoy Lockhart

"What the hell?" said Remus slowly.

"Yeah, a whole book list of his stuff." said Ron rolling his eyes.

"I don't believe it, I was hoping we would only hear about 'Dazzle Gums' once this book!" said Remus groaning.

"Nope, his name pops up a lot this year." said Fred with a secretive sneer.

Fred, who had finished his own list, peered over at Harry's.

"You've been told to get all Lockhart's books, too!" he said. "The new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher must be a fan—bet it's a witch."

"Cough up." said Ron, whispering over to Fred.

"Doesn't count, he was as good as a witch." said Fred with a smirk.

At this point, Fred caught his mother's eye and quickly busied himself with the marmalade.

"That lot won't come cheap," said George, with a quick look at his parents. "Lockhart's books are really expensive…."

"I wouldn't give him three knuts for all of his books." said Kingsley shaking his head.

"I wouldn't even give him that much." said Remus snarling a bit.

"Well, we'll manage," said Mrs. Weasley, but she looked worried.

"Oh dear! I wish you wouldn't be so observant!" said Mrs. Weasley, she smiled but her face fell when she saw Harry look down in shame slightly. "Oh, Harry dear, I didn't mean it. I was kidding." Her face lit up when she saw him smile.

"I expect we'll be able to pick up a lot of Ginny's things secondhand."

"Oh, are you starting at Hogwarts this year?" Harry asked Ginny.

She nodded, blushing to the roots of her flaming hair, and put her elbow in the butter dish.

"I don't remember seeing that." said George looking at Ginny.

Fortunately no one saw this except Harry, because just then Ron's elder brother Percy walked in. He was already dressed, his Hogwarts prefect badge pinned to his sweater vest.

"Thank Merlin for Percy." said Ginny rolling her eyes.

"Morning, all," said Percy briskly. "Lovely day."

He sat down in the only remaining chair but leapt up again almost immediately, pulling from underneath him a molting, gray feather duster—at least, that was what Harry thought it was, until he saw that it was breathing.

"Poor Errol." said Fred and George, trying not to laugh.

"Be thankful that it wasn't Dudley that sat on him." said Harry with a snigger.

"He wouldn't be three-dimensional, if that had happened." said George laughing out loud.

"Errol!" said Ron, taking the limp owl from Percy and extracting a letter from under its wing. "Finally—he's got Hermione's answer. I wrote to her saying we were going to try and rescue you from the Dursleys."

"So you had an idea that something awful had happened." said Dr. Clark looking at the two in the loveseat.

"Well…we had a feeling." said Ron carefully.

He carried Errol to a perch just inside the back door and tried to stand him on it, but Errol flopped straight off again so Ron laid him on the draining board instead, muttering, "Pathetic."

A few giggles and snickers went through Great Hall, even Mr. Weasley smiled a little, making a mental note to get a new owl and retire his faithful pet.

Then he ripped open Hermione's letter and read it out loud:

"'Dear Ron, and Harry if you're there,

"'I hope everything went all right and that Harry is okay and that you didn't do anything illegal to get him out, Ron, because that would get Harry into trouble, too. I've been really worried and if Harry is all right, will you please let me know at once, but perhaps it would be better if you used a different owl, because I think another delivery might finish your one off.

"'I'm very busy with schoolwork, of course'—How can she be?" said Ron in horror. "We're on vacation!—'and we're going to London next Wednesday to buy my new books. Why don't we meet in Diagon Alley?

"'Let me know what's happening as soon as you can.

Love from Hermione.'"

"Nice to know that she can tell you off one minute and then ask to go shopping with you the next moment." said Ron with a smile.

"Well, that fits in nicely, we can go and get all your things then, too," said Mrs. Weasley, starting to clear the table. "What're you all up to today?"

"Hang Harry by his ankles from Ron's bedroom window, and see if he can fly again." said Fred and George together.

"You can fly?" said Dr. Clark.

"I'll tell you about it later." said Remus with a proud smile.

Harry, Ron, Fred, and George were planning to go up the hill to a small paddock the Weasleys owned. It was surrounded by trees that blocked it from view of the village below it, meaning that they could practice Quidditch there, as long as they didn't fly too high. They couldn't use real Quidditch balls, which would have been hard to explain if they had escaped and for one another to catch.

"It happened once with a bludger, the village florist was nearly pummeled to the ground by one of them." said Fred with a smirk.

They took turns riding Harry's Nimbus Two Thousand, which was easily the best broom; Ron's old Shooting Star was often out-stripped by passing butterflies.

"Despite it being dreadfully slow, it didn't stop Harry from doing some tricks on it." said Fred whispering to Charlie.

"On the Shooting Star? I'm not too sure I wanna play him now." said Charlie with a smirk.

"Trust me, it would be one hell of a game if you did." said George excitedly.

Five minutes later they were marching up the hill, broomsticks over their shoulders. They had asked Percy if he wanted to join them, but he had said he was busy.

"He hates sports." said Bill shaking his head.

"I was a Prefect!" said Percy defensively.

"I was a Prefect and Head Boy and I still went out and raised hell at a Quidditch game." said Bill looking over to Percy. "Hell, you were there! You saw me…." he looked quickly over to his mother and silenced himself. "Never mind." he said quietly.

Harry had only seen Percy at mealtimes so far; he stayed shut in his room the rest of the time.

"Wish I knew what he was up to," said Fred, frowning. "He's not himself. His exam results came the day before you did; twelve O.W.L.s and he hardly gloated at all."

"We snuck into his room, when he was sleeping and used a baby thermometer to see if he had a temperature. We shoved it under his armpit, and he nearly smacked the both of us in his sleep. I swear smacking us is a reflex of his." said Fred with a smirk.

"Ordinary Wizarding Level," George explained, seeing Harry's puzzled look.

"Did you know about O. at the time?" said George.

"I knew of them, but I was amazed, with all the panicking he did he managed to scrape twelve." said Harry with a smile.

"Bill got twelve, too.

"I didn't panic much, just enough to blend in with the others." said Bill laughing. "I wasn't too worried about them."

If we're not careful, we'll have another Head Boy in the family. I don't think I could stand the shame."

"That's nice." said Tonks.

Bill was the oldest Weasely brother. He and the next brother, Charlie, had already left Hogwarts. Harry had never met either of them, but knew that Charlie was in Romania studying dragons and Bill in Egypt working for the wizard's bank, Gringotts.

"Dunno how Mum and Dad are going to afford all out school stuff this year," said George after a while. "Five sets of Lockhart books! And Ginny needs robes and a wand and everything…."

Harry said nothing. He felt a bit awkward.

"Why are you feeling awkward?" asked Colin.

Stored in an underground vault at Gringotts in London was a small fortune that his parents had left him. Of course, it was only in the wizarding world that he had money;

"What? No money?" said Lionus with a raised brow.

Harry shifted uneasily. How much did this man….of course, the Rangers would know what he does, it was foolish of him to think it would go unnoticed by them.

"I stored my Muggle money away for someone else, after I established the funds to find Dr. Clark." said Harry with a small smile.

"Someone else? Finding Dr. Clark?" asked Remus.

"I have a….summer job….that I do from time to time and I started up a fund for me to go about and search for Dr. Clark. After I graduated from here or at the time, the Muggle School, I was going to go around the world and see if I can find him. No one else could, so I thought I would give myself a try." said Harry leaning on Dr. Clark's shoulder.

"What about the someone else?" said Sirius.

"It's a friend, I started a fund for her, she needed some help and I thought I'd help her out." said Harry.

"What's wrong with her? What did she need the help with?" asked Ron.

"Just something she needed." said Harry, the tone in his voice stated that the conversation was over.

"What summer job do you do?" asked Neville.

"You'll find out soon enough." said Lionus saving Harry the trouble of answering Neville.

you couldn't use Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts in Muggle shops. He had never mentioned his Gringotts bank account to the Dursleys; he didn't think their horror of anything connected with magic would stretch to a large pile of gold.

"They'd take it in a heartbeat." said Harry quietly. "I know they would."

"They wouldn't be able to get ahold of it." said Remus with a growl.

Mrs. Weasley woke them all early in the following Wednesday. After a quick half a dozen bacon sandwiches each,

"Six sandwiches? That's a hefty lunch." said Ernie.

they pulled on their coats and Mrs. Weasley took a flowerpot off the kitchen mantelpiece and peered inside.

"We're running low, Arthur," she sighed. "We'll have to buy some more today….Ah well, guests first! After you, Harry dear!"

And she offered him the flowerpot.

"What is he supposed to do with a flowerpot?" asked Colin.

Harry stared at them all watching him.

"W-what am I supposed to do?" he stammered.

"He's never traveled by Floo powder," said Ron suddenly. "Sorry, Harry, I forgot."

"I hate Floo powder travel." said Harry bitterly.

"Why? What is it like?" asked Dr. Clark.

"Harry only hates it, cause he does it wrong." said Ron with a smirk.

"I did it right when I did it a third time, and I still hated it." said Harry in retort.

"That was the last time you did it right." said Ron still smirking.

"Your first two tries didn't go too well, huh?" said Zacharias snidely.

"What happened with your first Floo powder traveling experience?" said Bill quickly.

Zacharias did a wonderful impression of a fish out of water, his mouth opening and closing quickly.

"Thought so." said Bill with a smug smile.

"Never?" said Mr. Weasley. "But how did you get to Diagon Alley to buy your school things last year?"

"I went on the Underground—"

"Really?" said Mr. Weasley eagerly. "Were there escapators? How exactly—"

"Not now, Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley.

"We never would have gotten to London if we had let Arthur interrogate Harry on those things." said Mrs. Weasley with a smile towards her husband.

"Floo powder's a lot quicker, dear,

"I would rather walk to London with rocks in my trainers than travel by Floo powder." said Harry in a quiet voice to Sirius. Sirius snorted and worked hard to hold his laughter in.

but goodness me, if you've never used it before—"

"He'll be all right, Mum," said Fred. "Harry, watch us first."

He took a pinch of glittering powder out of the flowerpot, stepped up to the fire, and threw the powder into the flames.

With a roar, the fire turned emerald green and rose higher than Fred, who stepped right into it, shouted, "Diagon Alley!" and vanished.

"You must speak clearly, dear," Mrs. Weasely told Harry as George dipped his hand into the flowerpot. "And be sure to get out at the right grate…."

"I saw your face before we left. You were pale and shaking." said George with a small smile.

"The right what?" said Harry nervously as the fire roared and whipped George out of sight too.

"Well, there are an awful lot of wizard fires to choose from, you know, but as long as you've spoken clearly—"

"He'll be fine, Molly, don't fuss," said Mr. Weasley, helping himself to Floo powder, too.

"But, dear, if he got lost, how would we ever explain to his aunt and uncle?"

"They would love to hear that." said Harry with an evil smirk.

"All you're doing is making me want to bite them, Harry." whispered Remus.

"I keep forgetting you're a werewolf." said Dr. Clark leaning back a little.

"He isn't F.M-ing yet." said Harry.

"F.M-ing?" said Sirius.

"Full Mooning." said Harry with a smirk.

"I'm gonna get you." said Remus with an evil smile.

"They wouldn't mind," Harry reassured her. "Dudley would think it was a brilliant joke if I got lost up a chimney, don't worry about that—"

"Well….all right…you go after Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley.

"It's alright that he get shoved up a chimney?" said Sirius staring at Mrs. Weasley.

"No, I…." said Mrs. Weasley quickly. "I just…."

"Let her be, it was a very tiring day." said Harry with a smile.

"Now, when you get into the fire, say where you're going—"

"And keep your elbows tucked in," Ron advised.

"And keep your eyes shut," said Mrs. Weasley. "The soot—"

"Don't fidget," said Ron. "Or you might well fall out of the wrong fireplace—"

"But don't panic and get out too early; wait until you see Fred and George."

"I think you overwhelmed his brain." said Dr. Clark with a smile.

Trying hard to bear all this in mind, Harry took a pinch of Floo powder and walked to the edge of the fire. He took a deep breath, scattered the powder into the flames, and stepped forward; the fire felt like a warm breeze; he opened his mouth and immediately swallowed a lot of hot ash.

"Oh, crap, we didn't tell you about that part." said Ron worriedly. "Sorry mate."

"And you didn't tell me to take off my glasses." thought Harry to himself.

"D-Dia-gon Alley," he coughed.

"That wasn't speaking clearly." said Bill shaking his head. "I hope you didn't get shot clear out of the country."

"No, I went to London." said Harry slowly.

"Well, that's good, but hopefully you landed in a good part of London." said Bill feeling reassured. But when he saw the look Harry's face, his face fell.

It felt as though he were being sucked down a giant drain.

"Yeah, that's what it normally feels like. I actually really like that sensation." said Sirius with a grin.

Harry stared at him, "If we go anywhere, I am taking the Knight bus, broom, car, train, or walking. I am not Flooing anywhere." said Harry looking over to Sirius sternly.

"Oooh! Are we demanding now?" said Sirius with a smirk.

"I'm not demanding, I'm pleading that we…don't…Floo…anywhere…." said Harry clasping his hands together dramatically. "You can, just don't ask me to."

Sirius smirked over to Remus, who shook his head. "Promise him, Padfoot."

"Alright, alright, I promise." said Sirius smiling at Harry and throwing his hands up in defeat.

He seemed to be spinning very fast—the roaring in his ears were deafening—he tried to keep his eyes open

"But Ron said to keep your eyes shut." said Dennis quickly.

ut the whirl of green flames made him feel sick—something hard knocked his elbow and he tucked it in tightly,

"We told you keep your elbows in." chided Fred mockingly.

still spinning and spinning—now it felt as though cold hands were slapping his face—

"Oh….crap…that means you're going somewhere you shouldn't be, right?" asked Charlie to his father.

"Yeah, he's going somewhere that isn't even open to the normal Floo network system anymore. He's going through an old, old Floo network path. One that had been shut down for at least eleven years." said Mr. Weasley.

squinting through his glasses he saw a blurred stream of fireplaces and snatched glimpses of the rooms beyond—

"Did you see anywhere familiar?" asked George eagerly.

"Not really, everything was moving way too fast, and I didn't want to open my eyes too wide.

his bacon sandwiches were churning inside him—

"That's why." said Harry with a smirk.

he closed his eyes again wishing it would stop, and then—

He fell, face forward, onto cold stone and felt the bridge of his glasses snap.

"I hope you didn't get hurt badly." said Madam Pomfrey.

"No, just my glasses, they suffered some damage." said Harry with a smile.

"That reminds me, we need to get you, some new glasses, how about Saturday, no readings to worry about or keep you here." said Remus with a smile over to Harry.

"Um…" said Harry looking over to Ginny quickly, "are they open Sunday? I have a…thing going on, on Saturday."

"Well, no, they're not open on Sunday, do you want to go next weekend then?" said Remus frowning at Harry, but then brightening up when he saw the significant look that was exchanged between the only Weasley daughter and Harry.

"Harry can go on this Saturday, his thing can wait till Sunday." said Ginny with a smirk.

"You sure?" asked Harry quickly.

"Go for it, I want to see what glasses you get." said Ginny with a smile.

"You two dating?" said Ron quickly.

"Saturday was going to be our first date." said Harry and Ginny with broad grins.

Cho Chang and Romilda Vane scowled from their seats.

Dizzy and bruised,

"I'm fine." said Harry tiredly as Sirius gripped his shoulder.

covered in soot, he got gingerly to his feet, holding his broken glasses up to his eyes.

"You couldn't just use 'Reparo'?" asked Neville.

"No, I still couldn't use magic cause of what happened at the end of first year and I didn't want to get another letter." said Harry with a smile.

He was quite alone, but where he was, he had no idea. All he could tell was that he was standing in the stone fireplace of what looked like a large, dimly lit wizard's shop—

"What drew you to that conclusion?" asked Anthony.

"One, I don't think that some stray witch or wizard could Floo into a muggle's house and the other was, I saw things that no Muggle-shop would carry. Not without being shut down permanently and the owner being arrested." said Harry.

but nothing in here was ever likely to be on a Hogwarts school list.

A glass case nearby held a withered hand on a cushion, a bloodstained pack of cards, and a staring glass eye. Evil-looking masks staring down from the walls, an assortment of human bones lay upon the counter, and rusty, spiked instruments hung from the ceiling.

"I would certainly hope those wouldn't show up on a school supply list." said Rivers with a disgusted look.

"It sounds like… Borgin and Burkes." said Dumbledore carefully.

"What are you doing in there?" asked Sirius quickly.

"You act like I asked to go there." said Harry with a pointed look.

"Right…I forgot…it was an accident…" said Sirius sheepishly.

Even worse, the dark, narrow street Harry could see through the dusty shop window was definitely not Diagon Alley.

"I was panicking a bit; I didn't know where I was. I thought for a moment that I was completely out of the country." said Harry with a small smile. "I didn't have Hedwig to send a message to anyone, no money on me to even hope for a train ticket or bus fare, and the contents of the shop scared me. I was actually frightened." said Harry shaking slightly.

The sooner he got out of here, the better.

"My sentiments exactly." said Dr. Clark uneasily.

Nose still stinging where it had hit the hearth,

"It was a scratch, nothing more." said Harry to the men in the bowl and to Madam Pomfrey.

Harry made his way swiftly and silently toward the door, but before he'd got halfway toward it, two people appeared on the other side of the glass—and one of them was the very last person Harry wanted to meet when he was lost, covered in soot, and wearing broken glasses: Draco Malfoy.

Draco paled, had Potter heard what his father had said to Mr. Borgin? He hoped not. His father would be in serious trouble if it had gotten out what he was doing there.

Harry looked quickly around and spotted a large black cabinet to his left; he shot inside it and pulled the doors closed, leaving a small crack to peer through.

"I learned from another book that was in my bedroom, that you don't close a cabinet when you're in there." said Harry with smile. Hermione smiled broadly.

"What book is that?" asked Seamus quickly.

"Chronicles of Narnia." said Harry and Hermione together.

Seconds later, a bell clanged, and Malfoy stepped into the shop.

"What on earth were you doing in that shop, Mr. Malfoy?" said McGonagall quickly.

"Um…" said Draco quietly.

"It will be revealed, I suspect." drawled Snape, coming to Draco's defense. He had been silent for so long, absently fingering the locket that rested in his hand. He didn't know how Potter was going to win it back, and a part of him wanted to just hand it over. But there was another part that wanted to hold onto it tightly.

The man who followed could only be Draco's father. He had the same pale, pointed face and identical cold, gray eyes. Mr. Malfoy crossed the shop, looking lazily at the items on display, and rang a bell on the counter before turning to his son and saying "Touch nothing, Draco."

"Why bring you to the shop if he feels that things are too dangerous for you to touch?" asked Terry.

"My mother wasn't with us that trip, we were doing my school shopping that day too." said Draco quickly.

"So instead of doing your school shopping another day, or going to Borgin and Burkes some other time, he brings you along?" said Tonks incredulously.

Draco looked down at his feet.

Malfoy, who had reached for the glass eye, said, "I thought you were going to buy me a present."

"What a brat." said Fred rolling his eyes.

"I said I would buy you a racing broom," said his father, drumming his fingers on the counter.

"What's the good of that if I'm not on the House team?" said Malfoy, looking sulky and bad-tempered.

"If we had acted like that, Mum would have smacked us." said Charlie to Bill.

"Harry Potter got a Nimbus Two Thousand last year. Special permission from Dumbledore so he could play for Gryffindor. He's not even that good,

"Good enough to impress the greatest Chaser Gryffindor ever had." said Dumbledore with a broad smile.

"Who was that, sir?" asked Dennis eagerly.

"That of course, would be Minerva McGonagall." said Dumbledore. He chuckled warmly as the stunned looks on the student's face. "Why one game, she scored thirty goals, all on her own, and within the same two hours."

The current Chasers of each house turned at stared at McGonagall.

"Got any tips?" asked Katie with a hopeful smile.

"None that you don't already know." said the Head of Gryffindor house. "I made sure that you were trained with the basics that I learned myself in my playing days.

it's just because he's famous…famous for having a stupid scar on his forehead…."

"Pretty accurate in my opinion." said Harry with a smirk.

Malfoy bent down to examine a shelf full of skulls.

"…everyone thinks he's so smart,

Harry looked thoughtful, "Who the heck thought I was smart? I was only aiming for slightly better than average grades."

"Beats me mate, maybe someone saw right through you." said Ron shrugging.

wonderful Potter with his scar and his broomstick—"

"You have told me this at least a dozen times already," said Mr. Malfoy, with a quelling look at his son.

"He didn't tell it to him, he whined it to him." smirked Fred.

"And I would remind you that it is not—prudent—to appear less than fond of Harry Potter, not when most of our kind regard him as they hero who made the Dark Lord disappear—

"So, fake fondness, huh? Good luck with that. I've seen what he looks like, he'll need all the help he can get to act fond." said Charlie.

ah, Mr. Borgin."

"So it is Borgin and Burkes." said Kingsley.

A stooping man had appeared behind the counter, smoothing his greasy hair back from his face.

"Mr. Malfoy, what a pleasure to see you again," said Mr. Borgin in a voice as oily as his hair. "Delighted—and young Master Malfoy, too—charmed. How may I be of assistance? I must show you, just in today, and very reasonably priced—"

"You have got to be kidding me! He's purchased stuff from Borgin and Burkes?" said Madam Bones.

"It…he…he could be doing….DOESN'T MEAN THAT HE'S DOING ANYTHING ILLICIT!" shouted Fudge. "He's been proven innocent, beyond a shadow of any doubt!"

"I don't remember holding a trial for him, when was this?" asked Madam Bones shrewdly.

"Well…it was by some members of the Wizengamot." said Fudge quietly.

"Really? The ones that we discovered were under the Imperius curse themselves?" said Madam Bones sternly.

"Well…um…" said Fudge, growing ever more quiet.

"I thought not…well let's add Mr. Malfoy's name to the group of people that needs to be investi…oh…his name's already on the list. Never mind." said Madam Bones. "I had forgotten that while reading the last chapter, Mr. Potter had informed me of several reasons to question Mr. Malfoy."

Fudge looked angrily down at Harry, who merely waved innocently.

"I'm not buying today, Mr. Borgin, but selling." said Mr. Malfoy.

"Selling?" The smile faded slightly from Mr. Borgin's face.

"Selling?" said Moody eagerly.

"You have heard, of course, that the Ministry is conducting more raids," said Mr. Malfoy, taking a roll of parchment from his inside pocket and unraveling it for Mr. Borgin to read. "I have a few—ah—items at home that might embarrass me, if the Ministry were to call…."

"Nice to know that he doesn't think he's so high up on the food chain, that he can't be subjected to raids." said Sirius bitterly.

Mr. Borgin fixed a pair of pince-nez to his nose and looked down the list.

"The Ministry wouldn't presume to trouble you, sir, surely?"

Mr. Malfoy's lip curled.

"I have not been visited yet. The name Malfoy still commands a certain respect, yet the Ministry grows even more meddlesome.

Fudge blinked hard. What did Lucius say?

There are rumors about a new Muggle Protection Act—no doubt that flea bitten, Muggle-loving fool Arthur Weasley is behind it—"

Bill and Charlie's faces were both contorted in snarls. Percy had turned white and looked down. Fred, George and Ron smirked evilly. They knew he was going to get his comeuppance.

Harry felt a hot surge of anger.

Mr. Weasley smiled over to Harry.

"Nice of you to get angry at that." said Charlie with a grin as well.

"I liked Mr. Weasley." said Harry simply.

"—and as you see, certain of these poisons might make it appear—"

"'Appear' nothing, no self-respecting wizard keeps poison about the place. Unless they're pest control poisons." said Tonks sharply.

"I understand, sir, of course," said Mr. Borgin. "Let me see…"

"Can I have that?" interrupted Draco, pointing at the withered hand on its cushion.

"Why?" asked Dr. Clark, wrinkling his nose at the description of it.

"It looked cool." said Draco simply.

"Children are psychotic nowadays." said Dr. Clark shaking his head.

"Ah, the Hand of Glory!" said Mr. Borgin, abandoning Mr. Malfoy's list and scurrying over to Draco. "Insert a candle and it gives light only to the holder! Best friend of thieves and plunderers! Your son has fine taste, sir."

"'The Hand of Glory?'" said Tempest inquisitively. "Wasn't that in Panic's care, Nightstrike?"

"He did have it in his possession, but he was the Death Eater spy in our company." said Nightstrike bitterly.

"Oh…my apologies, but it looks like he sold some of the weapons he was supposed to guard." said Tempest somberly.

"It seems that way, we'll have to hunt down the weapons and tools all over again." said Lionus tiredly. "I hate 'Weapons detail'."

"What is 'Weapon's detail'?" asked Padma quietly.

"In a nutshell, we go around the world and confiscate different weapons that could potentially be harmful to the masses. Each Operative has at least five to thirty different weapons in their protective custody. He had about twenty in his care, so we've got some searching to do, if he sold them." said Lionus.

"I hope my son will amount to more than a thief or a plunderer, Borgin," said Mr. Malfoy coldly, and Mr. Borgin said quickly, "No offense, sir, no offense meant—"

"Though if his grades don't pick up," said Mr. Malfoy, more coldly still, "that may indeed be all he is fit for—"

"Wow…nice dad…" said Dr. Clark with raised eyebrows.

"Gee, wonder who would get father of the year…Arthur or Lucius?" said Sirius with a smirk.

"Give me a moment to think about that." said Tonks, pretending to think hard.

"It's not my fault," retorted Draco. "The teachers all have favorites, that Hermione Granger-"

"We don't have favorites, we appreciate hard work from everyone, not just from Miss Granger." said Professor McGonagall.

"I would have thought you'd be ashamed that a girl of no wizard family beat you in every exam" snapped Mr. Malfoy.

"Nice, real nice." said Lavender. "Just what you want to teach your kids, sexual and blood discrimination."

"Ha!" said Harry under his breath, pleased to see Draco looking both abashed and angry.

"Don't get caught Harry!" said a second year Ravenclaw.

"Save the celebrating for later." said Moody.

"It's the same all over," said Mr. Borgin, in his oily voice. "Wizard blood is counting for less everywhere—"

"As it really should." said Harry with a slight smile. "Bloodlines should not be the first things you talk about in a conversation."

"Not with me," said Mr. Malfoy, his long nostrils flaring.

"No sir, nor with me, sir," said Mr. Borgin, with a deep bow.

"In that case, perhaps we can return to my list," said Mr. Malfoy shortly. "I am in something of a hurry, Borgin, I have important business elsewhere today—"

"Grrr…" snarled Harry, leaning forward in the bowl.

"What is it, pup?" said Sirius.

"Nothing, at least, nothing I'll tell you about yet." said Harry not meeting his eyes.

They started to haggle. Harry watched nervously as Draco drew nearer and nearer to his hiding place, examining the objects for sale. Draco paused to examine a long coil of hangman's rope and to read, smirking, the card propped on a magnificent necklace of opals, Caution: Do Not Touch, Cursed—Has Claimed the Lives of Nineteen Muggle Owners to Date.

"Hmph…he would smirk at something that hurt Muggles." said Hannah disgustedly.

Draco turned away and saw the cabinet right in front of him. He walked forward—he stretched out his hand for the handle—

"Done," said Mr. Malfoy at the counter, "Come, Draco—"

Harry wiped his forehead on his sleeve as Draco turned away.

"You have luck working for you in the oddest moments, dear boy." said Dumbledore letting out a sigh of relief.

"Good day to you, Mr. Borgin. I'll expect you at the manor tomorrow to pick up the goods."

The moment the door had closed, Mr. Borgin dropped his oily manner.

"Good day yourself, Mister Malfoy, and if the stories are true, you haven't sold me half of what's hidden in your manor…."

Moody looked at the book eagerly, "Did you catch what he was selling, boy?"

Harry scratched his head. "There were some poisons he mentioned. Other than that he only pointed and they haggled over the prices of the stuff."

"Hmm…too bad…" said Kingsley.

Muttering darkly, Mr. Borgin disappeared into a back room. Harry waited for a minute in case he came back, then, quietly as he could, slipped out of the cabinet, past the glass cases, and out of the shop door.

"Outside of that store is just about as dangerous as the inside." said Kingsley wisely.

Clutching his broken glasses to his face, Harry stared around.

"Bet you looked like a dork." said Pansy with a smirk.

"We could have been twins that day, Pansy!" said Harry gleefully.

Hermione tried to hold in her laugh, meanwhile Fred and George looked insulted

He had emerged into a dingy alleyway that seemed to be made up entirely of shops devoted to the Dark Arts. The one he'd just left, Borgin and Burkes, looked like the largest, but opposite was a nasty window display of shrunken heads and, two doors down, a large cage was alive with gigantic black spiders.

Ron cringed and moaned loudly.

"There are no spiders here, Ron." said Hermione soothingly.

Two shabby-looking wizards were watching him from the shadow of a doorway, muttering to each other.

"Don't go over there!" said Sirius quickly.

"Gee, I had no idea. Thanks for the warning." said Harry rolling his eyes.

"I'm not kidding!" said Sirius angrily. "There are some people down where you're at that kidnap children and sell them off to other people! Or people that would want to…hurt you…!"

"I know, I know. But calm down! I don't go over there, and someone comes to my rescue real soon." said Harry leaning against Sirius.

Feeling jumpy, Harry set off, trying to hold his glasses on straight and hoping against hope he'd be able to find a way out of here.

An old wooden street sign hanging over a shop selling poisonous candles

"Stay out of there boy, the air in there is toxic." said Moody with a stern gaze.

told him he was in Knockturn Alley.

"I always wanted to go down there, just to see what is there, I don't want to now." said Blaise.

This didn't help, as Harry had never heard of such a place. He supposed he hadn't spoken clearly enough through his mouthful of ashes back in the Weasley's fire.

"How could you speak clearly with hot ash in your mouth?" asked Dennis.

"You can't." said Harry with a frown.

Trying to stay calm, he wondered what to do.

"Not lost are you, my dear?" said a voice in his ear, making him jump.

An aged witch stood in front of him, holding a tray of what looked horribly like whole human fingernails. She leered at him, showing mossy teeth. Harry backed away.

"I know of that woman, she'll stun people and rip the nails right off people." said Snape quietly. People started to cringe and Sirius wrapped his arms around Harry.

"Why would someone want fingernails?" said Parvati with a green tint to her face.

"They are used for some poisons." said Snape plainly.

"I'm fine thanks," he said. "I'm just—"

"HARRY! What d'yeh think yer doin' down there?"

"Hagrid to the rescue!" shouted Charlie.

"How do you know?" asked a first year Slytherin.

"Who else talks like that?" said Charlie shrugging.

Harry's heart leapt. So did the witch; a load of fingernails cascaded down over her feet and she cursed as the massive form of Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper, came striding toward them, beetle-black eyes flashing over his great bristling beard.

"I believe that she was upset that she lost the opportunity to collect some young fingernails." said Snape quietly.

"And thank goodness for that." whispered Sirius.

"Hagrid!" Harry croaked in relief. "I was lost—Floo powder—"

Hagrid seized Harry by the scruff of the neck and pulled him away from the witch,

"Thank god!" sighed Dr. Clark

"I was sorta shocked ter see yeh down there." said Hagrid.

knocking the tray right out of her hands. Her shrieks followed them all the way along the twisting alleyway out into the bright sunlight. Harry saw a familiar, snow-white marble building in the distance—Gringotts Bank. Hagrid steered him right into Diagon Alley.

"I was never so happy to see the bank." said Harry with a broad smile.

"Yer a mess!" said Hagrid gruffly, brushing soot off Harry so forcefully he nearly knocked him into a barrel of dragon dung outside an apothecary.

"Sorry 'bout that." said Hagrid sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it, you caught me before I fell." said Harry brightly.

"Skulkin' around Knockturn Alley, I dunno—dodgy place, Harry—don't want no one ter see yeh down there—"

"I realized that," said Harry, ducking as Hagrid made to brush him off again. "I told you, I was lost—what were you doing down there, anyway?"

"Harry! He's an adult! He may go where he pleases." chided Mrs. Weasely.

"Well aware of that. But…I wanted to know if someone…" Harry looked over to Dumbledore. "sent him to find me."

"I had no notion that you were missing." said Dumbledore honestly. "If you were missing, I would have come and found you myself."

"I was lookin' fer a Flesh-Eatin' Slug Repellant," growled Hagrid. "They're ruinin' the school cabbages.

"Are the slugs flesh-eating, or the repellant?" asked Dean.

"The slugs are the ones that eat flesh. The repellant is quite safe." said Professor Sprout.

"They can keep the cabbages." said Ernie sticking his tongue out.

"I know a great Cheddar Cabbage Casserole recipe. I could make it for you and see if you still hate it." said Harry with a smile.

"Cheese and cabbage?" said Ernie a twinge of green in his cheeks.

"It's not just cheese and cabbage; it's got onion, cream of celery soup, mayonnaise and believe it or not, cornflakes. It's not too bad. Dudley hates cabbage too, but I have to make two baking dishes of it when I make it. Only time he eats the stuff."

"That's not his favorite dish is it? I don't want to be like him in any sense." warned Ernie.

"Almost everything is his favorite dish. You'll have to stop eating to be the opposite of him." said Harry with a smirk.

Yer not on yer own?"

"I'm staying with the Weasleys but we got separated," Harry explained. "I've got to go and find them…."

They set off together down the street.

"How come yeh never wrote back ter me?" said Hagrid as Harry jogged alongside him (he had to take three steps to every stride of Hagrid's enormous boots). Harry explained all about Dobby and the Dursleys.

"Oh…I fergot yeh told me 'bout it, sorry, 'arry." said Hagrid. "I didn' remember yeh tellin' me."

"Lousy Muggles," growled Hagrid. "If I'd've known—"

"And I don' think yeh told me everythin'. I'd've remembered the beatin' if yeh had told me. I woulda gone to the Dursley's and gave 'em what fer." said Hagrid softly, but his tone turned harsher towards the end of his statement.

"Harry! Harry! Over here!"

Harry looked up and saw Hermione Granger standing at the top of the white flight of steps to Gringotts. She ran down to meet them, her bushy brown hair flying behind her.

"What happened to your glasses? Hello, Hagrid—Oh, it's wonderful to see you two again—Are you coming into Gringotts, Harry?"

"How do shift from different topics like that without a clutch?" asked Dr. Clark looking at Hermione with an amused look on his face.

"What's a clutch?" asked Malfoy.

"It's the part of a car." said Dr. Clark with a smile. Malfoy looked down, he was taught to be harsh and aggressive towards Muggles and Muggle-borns, but this one…he sort of…liked.

"As soon as I've found the Weasleys," said Harry.

"Yeh won't have long ter wait," Hagrid said with a grin.

Harry and Hermione looked around: Sprinting up the crowded street were Ron, Fred, George, Percy and Mr. Weasley.

"I was amazed to see Percy running, he's thin, but I've never seen him take part in much exercise." said Harry.

"I run, just not often." said Percy quietly.

"Harry," Mr. Weasley panted. "We hoped you'd only gone one grate too far…." He mopped his glistening bald patch.

"Turns out, you went about thirteen grates too far." said Mr. Weasley.

"Molly's frantic—she's coming now—"

"Where did you come out?" Ron asked.

"Knockturn Alley," said Hagrid grimly.

"Excellent!" said Fred and George together.

"We've never been allowed in," said Ron enviously.

"If you had said Knockturn Alley, and underage, it would of course not have let you though." said Dumbledore with a smile. "I'm not too sure how you managed to get past the underage blocks in the Floo network. Perhaps…fate is what made you stop at that particular one. It was very fortunate, for someone that you did stop there." finished Dumbledore with a gentle smile.

"It's fortunate that Hagrid was down there." growled Remus not knowing the significance of Dumbledore's statement.

"I should ruddy well think not," growled Hagrid.

Mrs. Weasley now came galloping into view, her handbag swinging wildly in one hand, Ginny just clinging to the other.

"Oh, Harry—oh, my dear—you could have been anywhere—"

Gasping for breath she pulled a large clothes brush out of her bag and began sweeping off the soot Hagrid hadn't managed to beat away.

"And I thought I was prepared for anything." said Harry with a smile.

Mr. Weasley took Harry's glasses, gave them a tap of his wand and returned them, good as new.

"Well, gotta be off," said Hagrid, who was having his hand wrung by Mrs. Weasley ("Knockturn Alley! If you hadn't found him, Hagrid!"). "See yer at Hogwarts!" And he strode away, head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the packed street.

"Guess who I saw in Borgin and Burkes?" Harry asked Ron and Hermione as they climbed the Gringotts steps. "Malfoy and his father."

"Did Lucius Malfoy buy anything?" said Mr. Weasley sharply behind them.

"At least you're interested in catching the blighter as well." said Moody with a smirk.

"No, he was selling—"

"So he's worried," said Mr. Weasley with grim satisfaction. "Oh, I'd love to get Lucius Malfoy for something…."

"You be careful, Arthur," said Mrs. Weasley sharply as they were bowed into the bank by a goblin at the door. "That family's trouble. Don't go biting off more than you can chew—"

"So you don't think I'm a match for Lucius Malfoy?" said Mr. Weasley indignantly,

"It's my job to worry frantically." said Mrs. Weasley with a smile.

but he was distracted almost at once by the sight of Hermione's parents, who were standing nervously at the counter that ran all along the great marble hall, waiting for Hermione to introduce them.

"Why were they nervous?" asked Padma.

"This was the first time they were in Gringotts without someone there to mind us." said Hermione with a smile. "The first time, we had Professor McGonagall."

"But you're Muggles!" said Mr. Weasley delightedly. "We must have a drink! What's that you've got there? Oh, you're changing Muggle money, Molly, look!" He pointed excitedly at the ten pound notes in Mr. Granger's hands.

"For a moment, my parents thought you were mad. But then, after they talked with you a while longer, they really liked you." said Hermione brightly.

"Meet you back here," Ron said to Hermione as the Weasleys and Harry were led off to their underground vaults by another Gringotts goblin.

The vaults were reached by means of small, goblin-driven carts that sped along miniature train tracks through the bank's underground tunnels. Harry enjoyed the breakneck journey down to the Weasleys' vault,

"You weren't the only one. Fred and George were whooping it up on the way down." said Ron with a smile.

but felt dreadful, far worse than he had in Knockturn Alley, when it was opened. There was a very small pile of silver Sickles inside, and just one gold Galleon. Mr. Weasley felt right into the corners before sweeping the whole lot into her bag. Harry felt even worse when they reached his vault. He tried to block the contents from view as he hastily shoved handfuls of coins into a leather bag.

"Wow…I kinda would've gone bragging about all the money I had, if I had it." said Seamus quietly.

Back outside on the marble steps, they all separated. Percy muttered vaguely about needing a new quill. Fred and George had spotted their friend from Hogwarts, Lee Jordan. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were going to a secondhand robe shop. Mr. Weasley was insisting on taking the Grangers off to the Leaky Cauldron for a drink.

"So…there is no adult watching you." said Dr. Clark looking down at Harry.

"No, but we were always within shouting distance of someone. And we knew where everyone was." said Harry with a smile.

"We'll all meet at Flourish and Blotts an hour to buy your schoolbooks," said Mrs. Weasley, setting off with Ginny. "And not one step down Knockturn Alley!" she shouted at the twin's retreating backs.

"Did you listen to me for once?" said Mrs. Weasley quickly.

"We actually did." said Fred and George, "we went straight to Gambol and Japes."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione strolled off along the winding, cobbled street. The bag of gold, silver, and bronze jangling cheerfully in Harry's pockets was clamoring to be spent,

"I hope you didn't go spending your money frivolously, young man." said Sirius in a mock paternal voice.

so he bought three large strawberry-and-peanut-butter ice creams,

"Nope, you didn't, very practical." said Sirius with a smirk.

"Why would you mix strawberry and peanut butter together?" said Lavender looking revolted.

"We thought it was gross too, but Harry told us to try it. Turns out I love those two flavors together." said Hermione happily.

which they slurped happily as they wandered up the alley, examining the fascinating shop windows.

"We knew we weren't allowed in, so we just window shopped." said Ron with a smirk.

Ron gazed longingly at a full set of Chudley Cannon robes in the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies

"Took everything I had not to beg you to buy those for me." said Ron with a guilty smile.

"You never know…you could get them at some point." said Harry with a smile.

until Hermione dragged them off to buy ink and parchment next door.

"That sucked, we went from fun shopping to boring shopping in two minutes." sulked Ron.

In Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop, they met Fred, George, and Lee Jordan, who were stocking up on Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks,

"What did I tell you about those things?" scolded Mrs. Weasley.

"We forget, you tell us not to do so many things." said George cutely.

"I told you not to buy those before school starts. I don't need a letter telling me that you shot those things in corridors, and hurt someone!" she continued to scold.

"We don't set them off in the corridors!" said Fred indignantly.

"We set them off in the dorms." said George quietly with a smile.

and in a tiny junk shop full of broken wands,

"Ugh…we really need to speak to Turner…he shouldn't be selling broken wands." said McGonagall tiredly.

lopsided brass scales, and old cloaks covered in potion stains they found Percy, deeply immersed in a small and deeply boring book called Prefects Who Gained Power.

"How do you know it's boring?" said Percy defensively.

"I read it in my first year. Trust me, it's boring." said Harry shaking his head.

"A study of Hogwarts prefects and their later careers," Ron read aloud off the back cover. "That sounds fascinating…."

Fred and George high-fived their little brother.

"Go away," Percy snapped.

" 'Course, he's very ambitious, Percy, he's got it all planned out….He wants to be Minister of Magic…" Ron told Harry and Hermione in an undertone as they left Percy to it.

"He doesn't have what it takes." said Madam Bones sternly.

Percy shot back angrily. "What don't I have?"

"Loyalty to the people." said Madam Bones twice as stern as before. "You couldn't even show loyalty to your family."

Percy shuffled his feet guiltily.

An hour later, they headed for Flourish and Blotts.

"What the hell were you guys doing for an hour?" asked Fred.

"We were just bobbing about," said Harry. "doing nothing important."

They were by no means the only ones making their way to the bookshop. As they approached it, they saw to their surprise a large crowd jostling outside the doors, trying to get in.

"Are they having a big sale or what?" asked Dr. Clark.

"They only have a sale the first part of summer. For the students who are eager to start on the next year." said Flitwick.

The reason for this was proclaimed by a large banner stretched across the upper window:

GILDEROY LOCKHART

will be signing copies of his autobiography

MAGICAL ME

today 12:30 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.

"Oh…goody…" groaned Remus.

"Wonderful…" said Kingsley quietly.

"Tell me you don't go in." moaned Sirius.

"That's where we were told to meet the Weasley's so we don't have a choice." said Hermione with a smile.

"Hermione was overjoyed when she read that little sign." said Ron with a smirk. He had to dodge as she smacked him with a pillow.

"We can actually meet him!" Hermione squealed. "I mean, he's written almost the whole booklist!"

"You squealed?" said Remus in disbelief.

"He was…nice to look at…" said Hermione.

"Only if you don't know him." said Remus plainly. "Once you know him, you want to stab your eyes out with a rusty nail."

The crowd seemed to be made up mostly of witches around Mrs. Weasley's age.

"Bet Dazzle Gums didn't like that." said Sirius with a smirk.

"Why do you say that?" said Harry wonderingly. "It seemed like he was having a good time." he thought back to that day.

"He likes dates that are a little younger than him." said Remus rolling his eyes. He then blinked hard and slowly looked over to Harry, his eyes filled with worry.

A harassed-looking wizard stood at the door, saying, "Calmly, please, ladies….Don't push, there…mind the books, now…."

"He won't allow another author to do a book signing ever again. He suffered quite a lot of damages to the store." said Dumbledore shaking his head.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione squeezed inside. A long line wound right to the back of the shop, where Gilderoy Lockhart was signing his books. They each grabbed a copy of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2

"Why did you buy a second copy?" said Hermione curiously. "Why spend your money like that?"

"You wouldn't happen to be the unknown philanthropist that donates books to the 'Stray Spell' organization would you?" said Dumbledore beaming.

"What is that?" asked Seamus quickly.

"It's an organization that gives books and some equipment to Muggleborns, and Purebloods who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford it." said McGonagall.

Sirius looked down at his blushing godson and smiled broadly.

and sneaked up to the line to where the rest of the Weasleys were standing with Mr. and Mrs. Granger.

"Oh, there you are, good," said Mrs. Weasley. She sounded breathless and kept patting her hair. "We'll be able to see him in a minute…."

"Oh…boy…" moaned Remus.

"You looked great Mrs. Weasley," said Harry with a smile.

Gilderoy Lockhart came slowly into view, seated at a table surrounded by large pictures of his own face, all winking and flashing dazzlingly white teeth at the crowd.

"He hasn't changed a bit, has he?" said Sirius shaking his head.

"Not a bit. From what I hear." said Remus tiredly.

The real Lockhart was wearing robes of forget-me-not blue that exactly matched his eyes;

"He always wore the shade of blue that matched his eyes." said Sirius rolling his eyes. "According to him,' no other color would do'. He wasn't in Ravenclaw, but he would always wear at least a blue tie." said Sirius groaning.

"What House was he in?" asked Ron quickly. "Don't tell me Gryffindor!" he moaned.

"He was in Hufflepuff." said Professor Sprout, she looked slightly put out.

his pointed wizard's hat was set at a jaunty angle on his wavy hair.

"He always had his hat on a stupid angle." moaned Remus.

"I thought it looked pretty good." said Hermione sheepishly.

"You should have tried growing up with 'Dazzle Gums'." said Sirius rolling his eyes.

A short, irritable-looking man was dancing around taking photographs with a large black camera that emitted puffs of purple smoke with every blinding flash.

"He was taking so many pictures, that nobody could even breathe." said Fred.

"Out of the way, there," he snarled at Ron, moving back to get a better shot. "This is for the Daily Prophet—"

"Big deal." said Remus and Sirius.

"Big deal," said Ron, rubbing his foot where the photographer had stepped on it.

"Go Ron." said the two Marauders.

Gilderoy Lockhart heard him.

"Yeah, he always had a very high opinion of himself. He didn't like anyone else not having the same high opinion as he did." said Remus rolling his eyes.

He looked up. He saw Ron—and then he saw Harry. He stared.

"Bet he noticed the hair and the eyes first." growled Remus.

"Right now, I'm kinda hoping that he looked at the scar." said Harry shaking his head. "I don't think I want him hitting on me."

"Did he hit on you at all that year or…anything else...?" said Sirius carefully. Remus, Dumbledore and Dr. Clark looked quickly over to Harry.

"Not that I remember, and I think I would." said Harry shaking his head. "I'd remember if…Dazzle Gums…tried anything."

Then he leapt to his feet and positively shouted, "It can't be Harry Potter?"

"He still could've looked at your hair and eyes. There wasn't a person that your parent's went to school with that didn't your name. Your parents bragged about you all the time. 'Harry summoned all the cookies out of the cookie jar.' and stuff like that." said Sirius giving Harry a tight one armed hug.

The crowd parted, whispering, excitedly; Lockhart dived forward, seized Harry's arm, and pulled him to the front.

"Wow, if one didn't know better, I would think you didn't want to be up there." said Dr. Clark with a grin. "I still cannot believe that they find you famous here. And for such a horrible reason."

"You're telling me." said Harry shaking his head.

The crowd burst into applause. Harry's face burned as Lockhart shook his hand for the photographer, who was clicking away madly,

"Damn, would have loved to have seen that picture." said Sirius with a smirk.

"I've got a scrapbook." said Hermione, "It's got a whole bunch of pictures and newspaper clippings with Harry in them. Not the more recent ones though, those aren't worth the parchment their written on." Hermione said with a scowl. Rita Skeeter snarled over to her.

"Oh sure, nothing with me in there." said Ron indignantly.

"It's not just Harry! I've pictures of all three of us in there." said Hermione soothingly.

wafting thick smoke over the Weasleys.

"I'd kick the photographer." said Remus shaking his head.

"Nice big smile, Harry," said Lockhart, through his own gleaming teeth. "Together, you and I are worth the front page."

"Harry alone is worth a year full of front pages, and the pages after for that matter." said Sirius quickly.

"Harry didn't even smile, it was more like someone stamped on his foot and he was trying not to call out." said George with a grin.

When he finally let go of Harry's hand, Harry could hardly feel his fingers. He tried to sidle back over to the Weasleys, but Lockhart threw an arm around his shoulders and clamped him tightly to his side.

"Every time I tried to get away, he'd pull me back again." said Harry shaking his head.

"Tell me where he's at, and I'll rearrange his face for you." said Sirius quickly.

"Oh don't I wish you could, but…he's almost harmless now." said Harry slowly.

"What do you mean?" asked Remus carefully.

"He's…not all there anymore." said Ron with a smirk.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said loudly, waving for quiet. "What an extraordinary moment this is! The perfect moment for me to make a little announcement I've been sitting on for some time!

"He already came out of the closet in our third year…what extra info did he need to release?" mumbled Sirius to Remus quietly.

"When young Harry here stepped into Flourish and Blotts today, he only wanted to buy my autobiography—

"Bullshit…I didn't want that book." muttered Harry quietly.

Dr. Clark smacked the back of Harry's head. "Watch your mouth." he warned.

"Sorry." said Harry rubbing the back of his head.

"Did he have issues with language when he was little?" asked Remus with a smile.

"Not really, he didn't swear at James' or my place. I don't know where he got the mouth…" said Dr. Clark looking at Harry questioningly.

Fred and George smirked at each other.

"Wasn't just you two." said Harry quietly.

which I shall be happy to present him now, free of charge—"

"Bet you were thrilled!" mocked Remus.

"Even free, they weren't worth it." said Harry rolling his eyes.

The crowd applauded again. "He had no idea," Lockhart continued, giving Harry a little shake that made his glasses slip to the end of his nose, "that he would shortly be getting much, much more than my book, Magical Me.

Slowly, a scowl appeared on Sirius and Remus' face. When Harry heard the growls coming from both sides of him He looked up at them.

"What is it?" asked Harry.

"Don't mind us, we just aren't very comfortable with him touching you." said Sirius, his teeth bared.

Dumbledore looked over quickly, "Harry…he didn't…" he was pale and shaking.

"No, how many times…?" asked Harry shaking his head.

"After seeing the living daylights beaten out of you, we want to be absolutely sure that nothing…even more horrible has happened to you, dear boy." said Dumbledore with a sad smile.

"I know, I know…but still…nothing like, what you lot are thinking, happened." said Harry in a defeated voice.

He and his schoolmates will, in fact, be getting the real magical me.

"What did he just say?" said Dr. Clark slowly.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen. I have the great pleasure and pride in announcing that this September, I will be taking up the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

Remus, and Sirius stared at the book with their mouths opened, then they turned slowly to look at Dumbledore. "You didn't. He's kidding, right? said Sirius faintly.

"He was the only one who applied for the job, I waited to see if Remus would come back to the country sooner than what he did, but…" said Dumbledore rubbing the bridge of his nose. "He didn't, so, I had no other recourse to take."

"I knew I shouldn't have stopped at Amboro National Park." said Remus clapping a hand to his forehead. "I stayed an extra week just to explore that place."

"Did you enjoy yourself?" asked Hermione eagerly.

"Actually, I did. It was beautiful down there, the forest, the falls, the animals." said Remus fondly.

"Then we can forgive you for staying there, if you had fun. Though I don't think you got much of a tan down there." said Harry shoving Remus slightly.

"I burn, I don't tan." said Remus with a grin.

The crowd cheered and clapped and Harry found himself being presented with the entire works of Gilderoy Lockhart.

"How nice of him." said Tonks sarcastically. "Just what you always wanted."

Staggering slightly under their weight,

"Hey there were a lot of books and there wasn't a whole lot of room to walk." said Harry, slightly irritated by the snickering.

he managed to make his way out of the lime-light to the edge of the room,

"You never did like the lime-light did you?" asked George with a smile.

where Ginny was standing next to her new cauldron.

"You have these," Harry mumbled to her, tipping the books into the cauldron. "I'll buy my own—"

"Gee, and here I thought you were being kind." said Ginny sarcastically.

"Hey! I…no you're right, I was being cruel." said Harry with a broad smile. Ginny picked up an abandoned cushion and hurled it over to him. After it hit him in the face, he picked it up and threw it back to her, laughing.

"Oi!" said Sirius, after getting clipped by the second throw Ginny did. "Save it for the…never mind." said Sirius catching himself before he said something wrong.

"Good save." said Remus shaking his head.

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" said a voice Harry had no trouble recognizing. He straightened up and found himself face-to-face with Draco Malfoy, who was wearing his usual sneer.

"That was the only part that I saw a similarity between you and a Defense Professor." said Harry to Malfoy with a smirk. "Lockhart didn't respect personal space either."

"Gee, thanks." said Draco slightly scowling.

"Famous Harry Potter," said Malfoy. "Can't even go into a bookshop without making the front page."

"You've known him for a whole year, and you think he likes all that attention." asked Sirius stunned.

"Well…" said Draco quietly.

"He was only trying to push my buttons." said Harry to Sirius.

"Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!" said Ginny. It was the first time she had spoken in front of Harry. She was glaring at Malfoy.

"I was impressed, not even Neville wanted to stand up to him at first. I got a quick glimpse at the real you, though I was an immature little kid, I didn't know what it really meant." said Harry with a smile.

"Potter, you've got yourself a girlfriend!" drawled Malfoy.

"Only took me three years to wake up to that little fact." said Harry with a smirk.

Ginny went scarlet as Ron and Hermione fought their way over, both clutching stacks of Lockhart's books.

"Oh, it's you," said Ron, looking at Malfoy as if he were something unpleasant on the sole of his shoe.

Snickers and giggles could be heard rippling across the floor. "So much for the name of Malfoy commanding respect, huh?" said Anthony with a smirk on his face.

"Bet you're surprised to see Harry here, eh?"

"Not as surprised as I am to see you in a shop, Weasley," retorted Malfoy.

"So, does that mean that he had nothing to do with Dobby?" asked Tonks questioningly.

"Yeah, all he did was blink at me and think I was crazy." said Ron with a small smile.

"I suppose your parents will go hungry for a month to pay for all those."

"Sorry again." said Draco quietly.

"You already gave us a blanket apology, forget it." said Bill kindly.

Ron went as red as Ginny. He dropped his books into the cauldron, too,

"It was getting very, very heavy then." said Ginny.

"Sorry 'bout that." said Harry and Ron.

and started toward Malfoy, but Harry and Hermione grabbed the back of his jacket.

"Ron!" said Mr. Weasley struggling over with Fred and George. "What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."

"So you'd let them fight, if they were outside?" asked Bathilda incredulously.

"Boys will be boys." said Mr. Weasley, Sirius and Moody.

"Well, well, well—Arthur Weasley."

It was Mr. Malfoy. He stood with his hand on Draco's shoulder, sneering in just the same way.

"I started to think that a sneer is a Malfoy family trait. Like red hair with the Weasleys." said Harry with a smile. "Either that or a permanent fixture."

"Lucius," said Mr. Weasley, nodding coldly.

"Busy time at the Ministry, I hear," said Mr. Malfoy. "All those raids…I hope they're paying you overtime?"

"He knows you don't get overtime." said Fudge absently.

"How…would he know?" asked Madam Bones carefully.

"Well…he...uh…advised me…" said Fudge quietly.

"Stupid, stupid man." said Madam Bones and Tempest angrily.

"Well…that explains a lot." said Nightstrike looking at his Captain.

"You are done." said Lionus angrily to Fudge.

He reached into Ginny's cauldron and extracted, from amid the glossy Lockhart books, a very old, very battered copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration.

"Obviously not," Mr. Malfoy said. "Dear me, what's the use of being a disgrace to the name of wizard if they don't even pay you well for it?"

"I've known this man for one chapter, I already hate him." said Dr. Clark.

"What about the 'No hating people' shtick you tell me?" said Harry with an amused smile.

"This is different." said Dr. Clark sharply.

"Hypocrite." said Harry with a chuckle, but it was turned to high pitched laughter when Dr. Clark reached under his knee and began to tickle Harry.

Mr. Weasley flushed darker than either Ron or Ginny.

"We have a very different idea of what disgraces the name of wizard, Malfoy," he said.

"Any decent wizard's opinion is different from his." said Kingsley in his deep voice.

"Clearly," said Mr. Malfoy, his pale eyes straying to Mr. and Mrs. Granger, who were watching apprehensively. "The company you keep, Weasley….and I thought your family could sink no lower—"

A majority of people in the Great Hall began to snarl and growl towards the book and towards Draco. Draco shuffled his feet sheepishly. He opened his mouth to apologize, but Mr. Weasley stopped him.

"You didn't insult us, your father did." said Mr. Weasley, his tone slightly cold.

"I didn't stop him." said Malfoy quietly.

"You didn't want to at the time." said Charlie.

There was a thud of metal as Ginny's cauldron went flying; Mr. Weasley had thrown himself at Mr. Malfoy, knocking him backward into a bookshelf.

Bill and Charlie stared in amazement at their mild-mannered father. "You tackled Malfoy, Dad?" said Bill quietly.

"Awesome!" Charlie said in a whisper.

Dozens of heavy spellbooks came thundering down on all their heads;

Remus slowly turned and looked at Harry, Harry felt Remus looking at him and he leaned forward.

"What?" asked Harry. "Let me guess, 'did a book hit you?' I can understand you having an anxiety attack when something dangerous happens, but not when it's something this…for the want of a better word, petty. Please calm down, or you're gonna have Calming Draught coming out of your ears." said Harry with a small smile.

Remus sighed, "Well, at least you and I aren't fighting anymore." he smiled.

"We were never fighting, you were freaking out over something that happened years ago and it was getting a bit much." said Harry still smiling. "Well, getting back to where you were going, I did get hit in the head with a book, but I didn't sustain any real injuries."

there was a yell of, "Get him, Dad!" from Fred or George;

"I couldn't believe that you both shouted that." chided Mrs. Weasley.

"If they didn't, we would have." said Bill and Charlie grinning ear to ear.

Mrs. Weasley was shrieking. "No, Arthur, no!"; the crowd stampeded backward, knocking more shelves over; "Gentlemen, please—please!" cried the assistant,

"And that is the reason Flourish and Blotts will no longer do book signings. After the almost riot going on in their poor store, they banned them." said Dumbledore with a smile.

and then, louder than all—

"Break it up, there, gents, break it up—"

Hagrid was wading toward them through the sea of books.

"He didn't start the fight." said Fred.

"But he'll finish it." said George

In an instant he had pulled Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy apart. Mr. Weasley had a cut lip and Mr. Malfoy had been hit in the eye by an Encyclopedia of Toadstools.

"So…who won?" asked Colin curiously.

"I think it was a tie. To be perfectly honest." said Mr. Weasley. "It felt good to smack him with that book though."

"I would have beaten him with a thicker book than that one." said Kingsley with a smirk.

He was still holding Ginny's old Transfiguration book. He thrust it at her, his eyes glittering with malice.

"Bastard" Harry hissed. Dr. Clark quickly looked over to Harry.

"What the hell was that?" he asked

"What?" said Harry quickly.

"You sort of choked and hissed at the same time." said Dr. Clark.

"Oh…that was called Parseltongue, I can…talk to snakes…" said Harry quietly.

The Rangers' eyes flashed in excitement, while Dr. Clark blinked.

"Really? That's…really cool! Show me sometime, will you?" said Dr. Clark excitedly. "Always loved snakes…" he said absently.

The entire Slytherin house stared at him in amazement.

"Here, girl—take your book—it's the best your father can give you—"

"What a jerk." said Lavender angrily.

Pulling himself out of Hagrid's grip he beckoned to Draco and swept form the shop.

"Yeh should've ignored him, Arthur," said Hagrid, almost lifting Mr. Weasley off his feet as he straightened his robes. "Rotten ter the core, the whole family, everyone knows that—

Malfoy shuffled his feet.

"Yer getting' better." said Hagird gruffly down to the pale faced young man.

no Malfoy's worth listenin' ter—bad blood, that's what it is—come one now—let's get outta here."

The assistant looked as though he wanted to stop them from leaving, but he barely came up to Hagrid's waist and seemed to think better of it.

"You couldn't ask for a better protector." said Harry beaming up to Hagrid. He then looked to the men in the bowl with him. "When it comes to physical strength, I mean." he added quickly.

They hurried up the street, the Grangers shaking with fright

"They were afraid they would have to dodge spells and curses." said Hermione "They were relieved to not have to." said Hermione.

and Mrs. Weasley beside herself with fury.

"A fine example to set for your children…brawling in public…what Gilderoy Lockhart must've thought—"

"Who gives a damn what he thought?" said Remus.

"Well…it was his book signing" she said quietly.

"He was pleased," said Fred.

"Seriously?" asked Remus rolling his eyes.

"Didn't you hear him as we were leaving? He was asking that bloke from the Daily Prophet if he'd be able to work the fight into his report—said it was all publicity—"

"What a…" he gulped loudly and looked down at Harry. "an idiot."

"Not where you were heading." said Harry with a smirk.

"Don't want to swear, least not in front of you." said Sirius sternly.

"Whatever you say, I've heard worse…" said Harry with a smile.

But it was a subdued group that headed back to the fireside in the Leaky Cauldron, where Harry, the Weasleys, and all their shopping would be traveling back to the Burrow using Floo powder.

Sirius snorted loudly.

"Don't make me beat you." said Harry with a smirk.

They said goodbye to the Grangers, who were leaving the pub for the Muggle street on the other side; Mr. Weasley started to ask them how bus stops worked, but stopped quickly at the look on Mrs. Weasley's face.

"You were in so much trouble at that time, you didn't deserve a treat." said Mrs. Weasley frowning slightly at her husband.

Harry took off his glasses and put them safely in his pocket before helping himself to Floo powder.

"Well, at least you learned to not wear glasses when flooing." said Remus with a smile.

"Yeah, no one told me that rule when I left the first time." said Harry solemnly.

It definitely wasn't his favorite way to travel.

"What happened when you got back to the Burrow, was that a good landing?" asked Colin.

"I got shot out of the fireplace like a cannon." said Harry chewing his lip.

"Were you hurt?" asked Dr. Clark.

"No, I got thrown into the sofa." said Harry.

"Well…" said Dumbledore chuckling silently, " It's about six o'clock now, shall we read on, or have dinner first."

"Eeeek!" screamed Professor Sprout. She almost dropped the book as a Recollection scroll appeared.

"What could it be now?" said Harry questioningly. "Officer McFinn is gone, so are you." said Harry looking up to Dr. Clark. "What could it be, now?"

A red light, with golden twinges in the middle enveloped them all.