Just Another Harry Potter Fanfiction
{A/N: J.K. Rowling is the Queen. Every single thing from the Harry Potter Universe, including concepts of magic, belong to her intellectually. She is brilliant and wonderful and her books have been inspiring me for 17 years. Yes, the year the Scholastic print of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone came out in the USA, I was 11 years old. I grew up, literally, with Harry, Hermione, Ron, and all their friends. I am now considerably older (I mean, you can do the math and know my age, it's not hard) and I own both US and UK versions of the Harry Potter books. I have come to love the UK versions of the books even more than the US versions with which I grew up.
I realize that there are probably hundreds upon hundreds of time-travel, alternate universe fanfictions out there, so hopefully mine does not bore you to death. I also have real life, adult grown-up stuff going on in my life, so if updates are not as regular as you'd like, please don't get frustrated with me. I'm not particularly adept at writing over 2,000 words per chapter, but I will try my hardest to make them worthwhile.
Reviews are always welcome, particularly critical reviews. Tell me what I'm not doing well. Have I made the characters go out of character in conversation or action? Do you want to see more setting description? These are desperately important things to a good fanfiction, and always things I try to tell other fanfic authors on this site. You can also feel free to give me suggestions, and if they are plausible, they may end up in my fanfiction. Remember, to an author on this site, reviews are like...they're like...um...just imagine something wonderful you can't live without right now. They're like that.
I promise, not all author's notes will be as long as this one. I just had to get all this stuff out of the way.
Oh, and P.S. I got my original concept from Priya Ashok's fanfic Harry Potter and the Trip to the Past. She inspired me, and although the theme of time-travel is similar, I will not be copying her ideas. I am honestly trying to write my own story here, and without her, I'd never have tried to attempt it.}
Chapter One
"He'll be all right." At Ginny's murmur, Harry nodded, brushing his fingers past the scar that he had not felt twinge in 19 years.
"I know he will," he smiled wistfully at her. "I just don't know if I will be." For a brief moment, Harry's heart yearned to return to Hogwarts, to be in Albus's place, meeting his friends again, experiencing the train, and the crossing over the lake. If it were possible, would he mind being sorted into Slytherin this time?
Ginny's bright brown eyes tried to read Harry's odd expression as they walked back toward the barrier, Lily in tow. "What are you thinking about?" she asked softly.
"Missing Al already, and kind of jealous of him, actually," said Harry, a schoolboy smile crossing his face. "I was just wondering what kind of things I'd do differently if I got a second chance."
Ginny chuckled. "Oh really? Like what, Mr Boy-Who-Lived?"
A slight blush dusted Harry's cheeks. "Well, maybe I'd have payed attention to you sooner, Mrs Potter." The corner of his mouth twitched mischievously.
Ginny smacked his arm playfully. "Oh all right, sure," she laughed.
Harry's teasing smile widened as he chivvied Lily through the barrier to King's Cross.
Hermione and Ron caught up to them outside the barrier, and struck up a conversation about having lunch in London.
"Honestly, the sooner the better," groaned Ron, rubbing his stomach painfully. Hermione poked him right in his generous gut.
"You had plenty of your mother's mince pies when we stopped over this morning and nearly made us late to drop off Rose!"
"Yeah but I didn't did I?" argued Ron, the tips of his ears turning red. "She loves to feed us, you know that. Makes her happy."
"Yes, well…" Hermione grumbled. "I do love your mother, Ron, Ginny, I do, but next time, please, let's either arrive the day before, or set out early in the morning to arrive in London. I've never felt so agitated in my life!"
Behind her back, Ron and Harry grinned at one another, knowing that they could name plenty of times Hermione had been more agitated than she was this morning at arriving almost too late to Platform 9¾.
"It's really easy to please Mum, Hermione," said Ginny kindly, linking arms with her best friend. "And I'm sure if you showed up a day early next year, she would not complain!" At this, both Hermione and Ginny laughed, Lily and Hugo sharing confused looks as their mothers towed them along.
"Well, then instead of having lunch in London," said Ron, catching them up, Harry right behind, "Why don't we go back to the Burrow and have lunch with Mum!"
Hermione and Ginny's laughter faded, as Hermione sighed, "Well, all right. But we're not staying the night!"
Of course, they were staying the night. After a huge scrumptious supper of roasted potatoes, pan-fried chicken, and all sorts of green vegetables from the garden, all made and prepared by a deliriously happy Mrs Weasley, Ron, Hermione and Hugo were set up in Ron's old room, which had been given an enlargement charm by Hermione almost immediately ("There's hardly any room in here for two adults plus a child!" she'd grumbled as she set about casting the charm with a wave of her wand.) And Ginny, Harry and Lily were staying in Ginny's old room on the second floor. Lily was having fun jumping on Ginny's old bed that Harry had enforced with a bouncing charm when Ginny came in the room, shutting the door tight behind her and locking it with a wave of her wand. She then whispered "Muffliato!" at the door as well.
"Don't fancy your Mum coming in to check on us in the middle of the night?" Harry teased.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "More like to keep our bouncing bundle of joy in and keep her from waking up Mum and Dad in the night if she has another night terror." She said, gesturing at the still-bouncing Lily as she sat down on the large mattress Harry had conjured earlier, noticing it was bare.
"How is it that the greatest wizard of our time who defeated the Dark Lord Voldemort can't even conjure a bed up correctly?" she grinned, standing up and pulling Harry to his feet from where he'd been sitting next to her. She waved her wand and the bed was made with maroon-colored Egyptian cotton sheets and a lovely maroon down comforter, a golden snitch with silver wings superimposed in the middle.
"Oh and Harry," said Ginny, pausing to pull out a piece of rolled parchment from her robes, before she sat back down on the bed, "Albus wrote us this evening." Harry eagerly took the letter from Ginny, sitting down next to her and unrolling the parchment with excitement.
Dear Mum and Dad,
James was a huge git on the train, but he's normally a git, so who cares anyway. He kept telling me that the Sorting Ceremony was you having to put your hand in a box, and if you weren't sorted right away, it chomped your hand off. He scared Rose, but she didn't cry, she was very brave about it and told James if he was lying, she'd learn Mum's bat-bogey hex and use it on him. He laughed at her and left to go sit with his friends.
I was really nervous, but when I was called up to the front of the Great Hall to be Sorted, I pretended I wasn't nervous at all. I was really relieved that you were right about the Sorting Hat. I was kind of scared that James was right about the box.
"Looks like someone is going to need a howler at breakfast," Harry growled.
"That won't work with James, you know that," sighed Ginny. "If anything, it will encourage him to keep up his teasing."
Harry sighed as he continued reading.
You were right about me being able to choose the house I wanted, Dad. The hat said I would do well in Gryffindor or Slytherin. I met a kid earlier on the train, I think he's the son of one of your friend's, and he told me that he wanted to be sorted into Slytherin on purpose. When I asked him why, he said it was because he had a lot of ambitions to become a great wizard and he wanted to make his father proud of him. We became friends, and I told him I guessed I wouldn't mind being sorted into Slytherin either, for the same reasons. So when I thought about this while I was sitting with the Sorting Hat on my head, it shouted "SLYTHERIN!" I think I'm actually relieved about this, because now I won't have James in my Common Room to bully me around his friends.
Harry looked up from the letter with a huge smile on his face as his green eyes met Ginny's, and she smiled back, her eyes shining with a few unshed tears. "I know, Harry. It's wonderful, isn't it?"
"He is going to do wonders in Slytherin," murmured Harry happily, his eyes coursing down the parchment page as he found his place again among the happily scrawled letters.
I am a bit sad about not being in the house you and Mum were sorted into-
"Don't be upset about that, Albus," murmured Harry unconsciously as he kept reading.
-but I hope that I can make you both proud all the same. I have my new friend Scorpius and I can't wait for lessons to start on Monday! I'll write again soon, let you know how I'm getting along.
Love you both,
Albus
Harry let the parchment roll up into his hands and clasped it fervently between them. Then he turned and wrapped his arms around Ginny, and her arms reached around him, pulling him close.
Lily kept jumping loudly on Ginny's old bed, laughing happily and shouting "Albus is a sna-ake! Albus is a sna-ake!"
Next morning at breakfast, when everyone had more or less gathered around the table, Mrs Weasley bustled around serving everyone generous helpings of breakfast sausage, scrambled eggs, and toast, doting on her two grandchildren with plenty of kisses and extra helpings of pumpkin juice.
"You're spoiling them, Mum!" complained Ron as Hugo begged to have a chocolate frog instead of the heaping pile of scrambled eggs Mrs Weasley was about to pile onto his plate.
Ignoring her son, she smiled down at her grandson, her eyes twinkling. "Now Hugo, if you have a chocolate frog now instead of your eggs, what am I supposed to give you later for a treat?" Hugo laughed and allowed his grandmother to give him some eggs.
"Be nice to your mother, Ronald," scolded Hermione, and Ron's ears turned red as he took too-large bites of his own breakfast. "Thank you for feeding us so many wonderful meals, Molly. It really has been lovely to spend the night," Hermione said kindly to her mother-in-law.
"It's no trouble at all, dear," smiled Mrs Weasley. "I love having my grandchildren over for a visit." Ron gave an accentuated ahem! and Mrs Weasley added, "It's also nice to see my own children once in a while, when they're not being rude."
Ginny snorted into her pumpkin juice while Ron choked on a bite of egg. Mrs Weasley pretended to ignore her children and directed her next line of conversation to Harry and Hermione.
"So, busy day at the Ministry?" she asked nonchalantly.
Hermione nodded. "I have to get back to the office as soon as possible. Some newly found Dark object was just sent in, so I'm going to have to check it over with several Dark spells to find out exactly what it's for. Then I can disenchant it and throw it in the rubbish bin where it belongs."
"What about you, Harry?" asked Mrs Weasley, looking interested.
Harry set down his utensils, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Well, I won't know until I get in, but I don't think it'll be a very busy day for me. I'll just check in with the Minister and see if he has anything he wants me to check out."
"Well, I hope you both have a good day in the office."
"Thank you!"
"Thank you very much."
Their sentiments expressed, the conversation went on to Rose's and Albus's first day at Hogwarts.
"Rose sent us a short letter with her owl," explained Hermione as Ron continued onto his fourth plate of eggs and sausage. "She's been Sorted into Gryffindor!"
"Ruddy good of the Sorting Hat," said Ron around his mouthful of food. "I think I'd die of embarrassment if she'd turned out a Hufflepuff, don't you?"
Hermione elbowed him and he flinched away, trying to swallow his mouthful before he choked on it.
Ginny glared at her brother. "Well Al's been Sorted into Slytherin, and we're very proud of him!" Harry put his arm around her shoulders and nodded.
"Couldn't be happier."
Ron coughed a bit, pounding his own chest with a closed fist. "Slytherin! Bad luck, mate. What's poor Albus going to do in Slytherin?"
"Become a great wizard and help unite the Hogwarts houses, was my first hope," said Harry seriously.
Ginny still looked stormily at her older brother. "You know that prejudice against a certain type of people to create division and bigotry was Voldemort's calling card, don't you Ron?"
Shame crept over Ron's reddening face. "I'm not bigoted!" he stuttered.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Maybe not on purpose. But saying disparaging things about Slytherin? That's bigotry, Ronald."
Ron stood up from the table, looking angry and ashamed. "I'll go pack our things."
"Good idea," said Hermione sardonically as Ron stomped his way out of the kitchen and up the stairs.
Once outside the Burrow, Ginny and Harry shared a tender kiss (all the while Lily made gagging noises and groaned) before Ginny side-along apparated with Lily back to their home in Godric's Hollow, and Harry apparated to the Ministry.
"Good morning, Potter!"
"Hello, Potter!"
Harry nodded at the greetings from fellow wizards as he made his way to the elevators. Stepping inside an open grate to a semi-full elevator, he waited patiently for the grate to close as parchment airplanes hovered overhead.
When he'd reached the correct floor, Harry stepped out and began walking down the hallway, reaching the Minister's office. He could hear the low rumble of Kingsley Shacklebolt's voice as he approached the door, opening it by whispering the password to the keyhole. There was a click as the door unlocked and gently swung ajar just enough for Harry to push through.
Minister Shacklebolt was speaking to someone's head in the fire, another Auror by the name of Dolesley.
"...Death Eaters who want to create the old vendetta against muggles and muggleborn wizards," Dolesley was saying hurriedly, looking nervous. "We haven't found proof that they are reforming, but the rumor alone is worrying."
"Then we must create a task force to handle this," the Minister said, pacing before the green fire that engulfed Dolesley's head. "After 19 years of peace, we cannot have another War. We must hunt down and eliminate any so-called Death Eaters."
"Yes, Minister," said Dolesley solemnly.
"We have to start right away creating the task force, then," said Harry, striding up to the Minister, whose surprised turned to relief when he saw the Head of Department was already there.
"You are dismissed," he said to Dolesley's head, and the Auror disappeared, the fire turning normal. He turned to Harry. "I hope these are only rumors, Potter."
Harry looked grim. "So do I, Minister."
As their shoes crunched against broken glass and fallen brick, Harry could hear Dolesley's nervous breathing behind him and couldn't blame the older wizard a bit. Knockturn Alley wasn't exactly a place to be at ease, even in these peaceful times. In Harry's youth Knockturn Alley was a bad, bad place, but for it not to have changed much in the space of 19 years, well...that wasn't much of a good omen. Harry was glad he had never taken up the practice of reading his tea leaves; he had never been much into omens of good or ill.
As they passed a storefront where the glass had long been missing from the large front window, Harry felt a chill pass over him. He shook himself, physically, trying to get the nasty feeling to pass away, but not quite succeeding.
"You all right, Potter?" asked Dolesley, his voice cracking. Harry nodded without turning, his wand raised high, the end of it casting the bright light that illuminated the dark corners of the alleyway in front of them. "Why'd we have to come at night?"
"That's when all the nasty things come out to play, Dolesley," whispered Harry loudly enough for his companion to hear. "It's when you face your greatest enemies. If there is an uprising of Voldemort followers, they'll be operating at night."
"In Knockturn Alley?" asked Dolesley weakly. "It's been abandoned since the days of You-Know-Who's defeat."
"Makes it a perfect place for all the vermin to hide," said Harry thoughtfully, pausing in front of Borgin and Burke's old shop. Like all the other places in Knockturn Alley it looked devastatingly abandoned, but Harry was no longer a young naive wizard. He knew that things were not always as they looked or seemed. And something about this particular doorway felt wrong and strange somehow. Harry put his hand into his robes, feeling his father's cloak hidden deep in a pocket there, and felt reassured.
"You stay here Dolesley, keep your eyes peeled," Harry whispered, pulling the invisibility cloak out of his pocket and shaking it out, watching the fabric billow and spill down as he did so. He fastened it around his neck, his lower body disappearing underneath it. Before he pulled up the hood he gave Dolesley a reassuring smile. "If I'm not back in half an hour, go back to the Ministry immediately." The old wizard nodded fearfully, and Harry pulled up the hood of his magical cloak, disappearing completely.
He approached the ancient door to Borgin and Burke's, and examined it with his wand. There was only a lingering spell here, but it had not been cast very well, and Harry extinguished it with a wave of his wand, putting his hand on the doorknob and letting himself inside.
His shoe had barely set down upon the dust-covered floor when a group of dark figures materialized, their pointed hoods and masks hiding identities in a fearful masquerade.
"NOW!" a single voice shouted, and before Harry could throw up a barrier, there was another louder shout, voiced by the whole group,
"AEVITUS MEMORIA!"
And for Harry, all went dark.
It felt like he'd taken a bludger to the head. Harry groaned as he gingerly touched his face, covered in sweat. He opened his eyes and sat up, blinking in the dark. He saw a few small shafts of light spilling through cracks around a small door. Had he been buried? Worse, had he been captured by those mad Death Eaters and was he now in some kind of underground holding cell? Harry took several deep breaths, reaching for his wand. He felt his heart jump into his throat when he could not find it. He tried to get up and got tangled up in-a ragged blanket? Ooof! He fell down into a small space between where he had been, and now a wall, where the shafts of light were poking through.
"Up! Get up! Now!" screeched a familiar voice through the wall, a sharp rapping of knuckles accompanying it. When Harry did not respond, the voice again came through the wall sounding angry and rushed. "UP!" A few more short raps against the wall, and then Harry heard the footsteps march away impatiently.
Harry scrambled up, back onto what he now knew was a pathetic excuse for a bed. His heart pounding, he reached overhead and pulled on a string, turning on the light. He wasn't sure if this was a bad dream, or a bad joke. The cupboard under the stairs had once receded to a bad memory, but here it was in all its terrible glory, tiny and cramped and...Harry shook his head, trying to will himself awake. He must have gone into a coma when he was struck by that strange spell. He wished he could send an interdepartmental memo to Hermione asking her about it. But...if this was real, right here right now, then-
"Are you up yet?" demanded Aunt Petunia.
"I'm trying!" said Harry frustratedly at the door. "Give me half a moment!"
"Don't you speak in that nasty tone to me or you'll get no breakfast!" said his aunt angrily. "Get a move on and get to the kitchen! You have to watch the bacon and you had better not let it burn! Everything will be perfect for Dudley's birthday, and you are not going to ruin it!"
She stomped away down the hall, and Harry heard her setting the frying pan on the stove in the kitchen. He punched his thin mattress angrily. Why was he here, now? This was the most miserable time of his life, why on earth would he be back under the cupboard in the Dursley's house?
Wait half a minute! That spell! It had to have been the spell! How could the Death Eaters have found such a powerful spell to alter time and space? It was obvious to Harry why they would have done it. The chance to revive and this time keep alive Lord Voldemort was too good a chance to pass up.
Harry groaned angrily, punching the mattress again. He had to relive most of his life, and this time he had to figure out a way to defeat Voldemort as soon as possible. That meant tracking down the horcruxes and alerting Dumbledore.
A bright spark of hope lit up in Harry's chest. Dumbledore! He would be alive! Maybe this time Harry could save him, keep him from putting on that ring of Marvolo Gaunt, keep him from sacrificing himself. And then Cedric! He could save Cedric too, and his godfather Sirius! Harry felt that spark of hope turn into a roaring fire. He knew now, that those Death Eaters had made a huge mistake. Not only would he defeat Voldemort, he would save all those lives the Dark Lord had taken! Ha haa! The very thought made Harry burn with happiness, and he got up like a shot, dressing quickly and leaving the cupboard. He just had to be patient and try not to mess anything up.
It was so strange, re-living his memories. But he had to admit, the hardest part was trying to re-create them perfectly so he would not mess up his future life. Any wrong move and his children could be gone forever. Harry's throat tightened and he felt tears prick the corners of his eyes. He had to put those thoughts away. He could not afford to make any mistakes.
The zoo had gone mostly the way he had remembered, except when Dudley had punched Harry hard in the ribs, Harry focused on landing softly on the concrete instead of how angry he was with his cousin. The glass stayed intact. But Dudley had still gone out of his way to tell his parents that Harry was talking to the boa constrictor, and this abnormal behavior landed him the rest of the day in the cupboard. Harry didn't mind too much. He needed quiet time to plan anyway.
With no wand and a latent magic ability, Harry knew he was pretty helpless until Hagrid came to get him.
The letter! Harry sat up in his bed quickly. He had to make sure he was the one to retrieve the post every day and keep his eye out for his Hogwarts letter. He was not about to relive the agony of not getting his own letter. And there was no reason to force his aunt and uncle to travel round the country hiding from hundreds of letters that would follow them no matter where they went. He smiled as he wondered if Hagrid would ride up on his flying motorbike to collect him.
The day came that Harry recognized as the day his first Hogwarts letter would arrive. He felt excited and nervous. As soon as Aunt Petunia took Dudley off to London to buy his Smeltings uniform, Harry went out and sat on the front stoop, his eyes peeled for any owls. The sky was clear and it was very warm out, a lovely July day.
He didn't have to wait long. A lovely tawny owl soon swooped out of the blue sky, landing on the stoop beside him. He took the envelope from its beak and then said,
"Wait, don't leave without my reply!" He ran inside Number Four and came back out with a piece of scrap paper and a ball point pen. He hurriedly scribbled a quick "I, Harry Potter, have received my letter. I will be there on September the first." Then he rolled the paper up and tied it with a broken rubber band to the owl's leg.
"Thank you very much!" he said, a huge smile on his face as the owl hooted and took off over Privet Drive, disappearing over the roofs of the houses across the street. Harry went inside quickly and back to his cupboard, closing the door firmly as he turned on the light. He sat down on his bed and broke the seal on the letter, pulling out the parchment and opening it. The familiar words were there, telling him he had been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the second page telling him what school supplies he needed was like a friendly face.
A brief wave of doubt washed over him. He had messed up the events now. Would Hagrid still come on his eleventh birthday? Or would he come earlier now? Maybe the last time he'd come on his birthday was because Harry had not had the chance to receive a letter yet. Or maybe Hagrid really wanted to pick up Harry on his birthday for a treat. Harry's forehead furrowed as he frowned. He hoped he hadn't messed it up too much.
He didn't really have much to worry about. As it turned out, when the clock struck midnight, turning Harry eleven years old, Hagrid did appear. Harry was sitting out on the front stoop once more this time, dressed in his overly large and tattered clothing, ready to leave at once with Hagrid if he could. The sound of the motorbike started out sounding like one of the next-door neighbors had started their vacuum, but the roaring grew louder, and soon Harry could see a giant figure descending out of the dark and starry sky. When the motorbike landed on the dark pavement bathed in pools of the yellow light from the streetlamps, Harry jumped up, excited to see Hagrid. The giant man stepped away from his vehicle and pulled off his goggles, revealing affectionate beetle-black eyes beneath a wild tangle of hair. Harry's eyes filled up with tears. Hagrid was as good as a father to him, and seeing him here to take Harry and give him his start in the wizarding world brought back such good memories.
Hagrid approached Harry, looking confused.
"Er, hello there. I don' reckon yeh know who I am?" asked Hagrid cautiously.
"Someone to come get me for school?" asked Harry hopefully. "I know school doesn't start until September first, but...I was hoping...since it was my birthday...that something special would happen." Harry knew it would look suspicious if he already knew Hagrid and everything else about the wizarding world, so he tried to play as innocent as he could without being entirely cheesy.
"Well, yes, I'm here to help yeh get yer things fer school. The name's Rubeus Hagrid, but you can call me Hagrid. Yeh got yer letter all right 'n ev'rythin' I'm assumin'," said Hagrid, studying Harry as well as he could in the dim light. Harry tried not to let his feelings of affection get in the way. He wanted so badly to hug Hagrid and thank him for coming to take care of him, but that would also look suspicious.
"Thank you," he said. "Do I have to wait until morning?"
"No, no tha's fine," said Hagrid, his cautious air leaving. "I can put us up fer the night at the Leaky Cauldron-er, 'course yeh don' know what tha' is, but yeh'll see. Come on, you can climb up inter the sidecar."
Harry let Hagrid help him into the sidecar and smiled as Hagrid handed him a small helmet that fit him. In a few more moments Hagrid kicked the giant motorbike roaring to life.
"What about yer aunt 'n uncle?" Hagrid shouted above the roar of his bike.
"It's all right!" Harry shouted back. "I left them a note!"
"If yeh say so!" shouted Hagrid, and pushing a button, they rushed down the street and up into the air. As they ascended into the cool night air, Harry remembered the last time he had ridden in this sidecar, dodging Death Eaters and even Voldemort himself. Hedwig had been killed. But then again, that was another life, another timeline, and Hedwig was still alive, waiting for him in Diagon Alley. The thought of seeing his owl again gave Harry a burst of happiness.
Harry had drifted off to sleep, because he didn't remember much of the trip before they bumped softly down on the pavement outside the Leaky Cauldron. Harry sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as Hagrid parked the bike, and then helped Harry out of the side car.
"Jest follow me and yeh'll be fine," smiled Hagrid before leading the way into the pub/inn.
Tom was at the bar, rubbing it down, when they walked in. Old and bald and toothless, he smiled. "Hello Hagrid. Quite the late hour. Need a room tonight?"
"Yes, thank you, Tom," said Hagrid.
Tom spotted Harry who was trying to hide behind Hagrid and remain unnoticed. Luckily at this midnight hour the amount of patrons in the Leaky Cauldron was significantly less than the last time he was here, and so when Tom realized he was the Harry Potter the Boy who LIVED, Harry was not swarmed by a bunch of grown up strangers. Nor did he meet Quirrel, who was nowhere to be seen. Harry knew he needed to keep an eye out for him.
The next morning Harry woke up to the smell of breakfast, and the soft hooting of an owl. Harry sat up and saw Hagrid pouring some brandy into his morning tea, putting five small bronze coins into a pouch on a brown owl's leg, and then unfolding the Daily Prophet as the owl took off through the open window.
"Good morning, Hagrid!" said Harry cheerfully as he approached the small table and sat in the remaining chair. There was a breakfast tray wafting the delicious smells of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, meat pastries and what he knew would be pumpkin juice next to the tea, and Harry felt like he could eat all of it.
"Eat up, Harry, we got lots ter do today. Get yer school things and a wand and an owl."
"Would it be all right if we avoided all the people downstairs, Hagrid?" asked Harry tentatively.
"'Course it'd be all righ'," said Hagrid, the skin beneath his whiskers turning a slight shade of pink as he stared down at the Daily Prophet, avoiding eye contact. Harry knew that Hagrid, although he wouldn't boast directly, liked to be able to show people he was important and could be trusted, all for very good reasons. But Harry didn't want to be a show pony, and as much as he loved Hagrid, he just wanted to get to Diagon Alley and get his things.
"Thanks, Hagrid," smiled Harry as he piled breakfast onto his plate.
After going to Gringott's like last time with Hagrid and withdrawing money and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry found himself inside Madam Malkin's shop, getting measured by the witch for his new school robes, and wondered if he would see Draco. It was the same day as before, but Harry was here so much earlier in the day than he was last time. Some other students entered the shop while Harry paid for his robes, but no Draco Malfoy. Harry left feeling like that wasn't such a loss. Perhaps he could try making friends on the train. But then again, this opportunity would've been better, getting Malfoy alone without Crabbe and Goyle.
"You all righ' there, Harry?" asked Hagrid when he saw the ponderous look on Harry's face.
"Yeah," said Harry, smiling up at his friend. "Thanks for helping me, Hagrid. It's nice to have a grown up to take me to Gringott's and to get all my school stuff."
Hagrid blushed and waved a giant hand. "Ain' nothin'. Jus' glad t' help yeh."
The business with the wand was the same. Ollivander was just as strange and mysterious and had Harry try a number of wands before Harry recognized his holly and phoenix feather. It felt warm and friendly in his hand as he swished it and colorful sparks appeared.
"The wand chooses the wizard, Mr Potter. This is most curious," said Ollivander, and proceeded to tell Harry that his wand was a twin to Voldemort's. Harry knew this already of course, but did not reveal it.
They left Ollivander's, Harry feeling finally whole. With his wand back he could not stop smiling and feeling that now, no matter what, he could accomplish what he needed to. Maybe on the train he could immobilize Crabbe and Goyle and talk to Malfoy alone.
"Yeh sure yer all righ', Harry?" asked Hagrid again, setting his huge hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry had stopped in the middle of the walkway, his fist clenched tightly around his new wand. Wizards and witches parted around them as they passed, some throwing dirty looks at them. "Yeh seem preoccupied. I don' wan' to meddle or nothin', but…"
Harry shook his head. "Sorry Hagrid. I am acting odd, aren't I? I just...have a lot to think about."
"Sure yeh do!" chuckled Hagrid, patting Harry so hard that he nearly fell over onto the cobblestones. "I remember when I was yer age. Excited, nervous, eager t' please me dad. Drink it all in, Harry. Don' you worry, if yeh need th' extra time t' ponder, I'll not bother you anymore about it." Harry felt a surge of affection and he gave Hagrid as big a hug as he could muster.
When they were through buying Harry's books, the moment came that Hagrid said he wanted to buy Harry an owl for his birthday present. Harry nodded immediately.
"Oh yes please!"
They went into Eeylops Owl Emporium and came out rather quickly than last time, for Harry recognized Hedwig the moment he saw her. Breathless he had pointed at her cage as Hagrid asked him which he wanted, and his green eyes nearly spilled over with tears as he took in his hands the wooden cage and stared at his beautiful owl, alive and young with her bright eyes.
"I will never let anyone harm you," he whispered fiercely through the bars of her cage, glad beyond words to have her again.
The day over, Harry knew that he had to return to the Dursley's until September the first, and honestly he wasn't sure how they would react to him returning home after being gone for more than twenty-four hours. He felt a bit of trepidation as Hagrid magically squeezed his new trunk full of new books and school things and Hagrid's cage into the side-car. But he made sure not to let his worry show as he climbed up and got settled in, and as they ascended into the air, he started asking Hagrid questions, things he knew, but things he knew he didn't know the first time. Hagrid was patient, and at times hesitant, but their conversation carried them all the way to the Dursley's house at nightfall.
Hagrid got off the motorcycle and helped Harry get out with his things, setting his trunk and Hedwig on the stoop of #4.
"If yeh need anythin', anythin' at all, Harry, you jest write t'me. Yer owl'll know how ter find me." His kind eyes watched Harry, who hadn't said anything about the Dursley's treatment of him or how they would react to him being gone for so long and suddenly reappearing.
"I will, Hagrid, thanks," smiled Harry, wrapping his arms around as much of Hagrid as he could reach. Hagrid's large dustbin-sized hand patted his back gently, which knocked the wind out of Harry momentarily.
"I'll be seein' yeh soon!" And with that, Hagrid left on his motorcycle, the loud roar of his engine disappearing with his large flying image into the night sky.
Harry stood on the stoop, the yellow light bulb illuminating his new things. He could wait out the last of his days in this house and hope that the Dursley's treatment of him would get better knowing they lived with wizard. Or, he could live on his own for the next couple weeks, homeless, conjuring up food and temporary shelter for himself and apparate himself to King's Cross to get on the Hogwart's train. He didn't know how well this would work, however, as he remembered the underage magic tracker the ministry would have on him.
He sighed. Better to face the anger of the Dursley's than to receive punishment from the Ministry for Magic. He sat down on the stoop and waited anxiously for morning to arrive.
Vernon Dursley had not taken well to finding his nephew out on the front steps when he opened the door that morning to get the newspaper, the Daily Mail, and he looked infuriated to see that Harry had acquired a large trunk and an owl in a cage. However, beyond shoving Harry, along with his things, into the cupboard under the stairs and not letting him out, even for meals, Harry spent the last of his days otherwise unpunished. Harry didn't even mind it, having Hedwig to spend the time with, talking to her in a low voice that the Dursley's wouldn't hear, telling her all his worries and doubts and secrets and just overall enjoying the fact that she was alive again.
September 1st arrived, and Harry allowed himself to use one "Alohamora!" to get himself and his things out from under the cupboard and out of the house to meet Hagrid. It was early morning, the sun not quite having come up over the horizon, and Harry allowed himself a deep breath as he sighed happily. The sunrise was a beautiful yellow, orange, pink blaze, and Hagrid descended on his flying motorcycle out of the lightening early morning sky to bump down onto the pavement. He waved to Harry frantically, signalling him to hurry, and hopped off the motorcycle, leaving it idling loudly.
"Hurry quick now, Harry! We can't let the Muggles see us. I - er - well I can't modify nobody's mem'ries if they do!" Quickly Harry's things were magically fit into the sidecar and Harry hopped in as Hagrid swung his giant leg over the seat. They took off as the sun crested the horizon, sending bright sunbeams out over Privet Drive, and Harry felt a blaze of happiness and hope bloom just as brightly in his chest.
"Told yeh I'd come!" shouted Hagrid happily over the motorcycle's roar.
"I knew you would, Hagrid!" shouted Harry happily, clinging to Hedwig's cage as the snowy owl shifted nervously around inside on her perch, hooting indignantly.
The journey was easy, as it was still fairly early in the morning, but Harry wondered where they were going to land without being seen by Muggles, and shouted his question at Hagrid.
"Don' you worry, Harry! This motorcyle don' jes' fly, yeh know!" In a still sleepy looking part of London, Hagrid lowered the motorcycle and then they raced down the roads, headed towards King's Cross Station. Hagrid parked the motorcyle a little roughly, but helped Harry carry his things inside the station after getting a trolley for his trunk.
"Now, yeh have yer ticket, righ'?" Hagrid asked Harry almost breathlessly as Harry nodded, pulling the ticket from the pocket of his jeans. His eyes were bright and his cheeks rosy underneath all his whiskers. He looked for all the world jollier than Father Christmas. "I have to let yer get on the train by yerself, but you can do tha' jes' fine I reckon. Yeh've got some hours t'kill, but jes' find somewhere to wait near Platform 9¾. Keep yer eyes peeled, you'll see wizards and witches gettin' on the platform. Good luck, Harry, I'll see yeh at Hogwarts!" With a kind and surprisingly gentle hug, Hagrid left Harry just inside the station. Harry grinned. He knew what awaited him, and if he didn't mess anything up, he was about to meet his best friend and the family he would come to know and love as his own.
There they were, the Weasley's, coming into view. Harry perked up immediately and got up from where he'd been sitting against the wall near Platform 10. He watched Percy and Fred and George take their trolleys through the magical brick wall that hid Platform 9¾ from the Muggle world and quickly walked up to Mrs Weasley and Ron as the redheaded boy got ready to run at the wall.
"Excuse me!" Harry said, catching their attention. Mrs Weasley smiled kindly at Harry while Ron stared as only an 11 year old could.
"Hello dear, first time to Hogwarts?" asked Mrs Weasley. Harry wished he could hug her, but knew it would have to wait.
"Yes ma'am," he said politely, ducking his head to seem embarrassed.
"Don't worry, it's Ronald's first time too. All you have to do is take the wall at a run, don't worry, the barrier will let you right through to Platform 9¾. Just wait until this crowd of Muggles walk by and then off you go!"
Harry followed Ron through the barrier, coming out on the other side of the brick wall to a large scarlet engine puffing smoke and the sounds of people calling to one another mixed with the sounds of animals in their cages. Mrs Weasley and Ginny appeared behind Harry.
"You'll want to hurry and get your things on the train, dear! It's going to leave in just a few minutes!" said Mrs Weasley, rather like a mother hen as she pointed Harry in the direction to go. "You too, Ronald! Come get your brothers to help you and-I'm sorry, dear, what's your name?"
Harry grinned, "Harry Potter, ma'am."
She twinkled at him, "-and for Harry, here."
Ron rolled his eyes. "All right, mum!" and he ran off to gather his brothers. Mrs Weasley suddenly turned back to Harry, realization in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Harry dear, your last name was?"
"Potter," said Harry. Mrs Weasley's eyebrows raised considerably, but before she could say anything else to him, Ron and his twin brothers Fred and George had appeared to help with the trunks.
"Thank you!" shouted Harry as he followed the Weasley boys onto the train, waving back at Mrs Weasley and Ginny. He gave Ginny a rather roguish wink as he disappeared, and if he hadn't gone so quickly, he would have seen her turn a shade of red to rival her hair.
Fred and George had put Harry's trunk in the same compartment as Ron's, and they were all three waiting with raised eyebrows, the twins looking more mischievously curious.
"So, who's this?" asked Fred.
"Mum's rather taken a quick liking to you," said George.
"I'm Harry Potter," said Harry frankly.
Ron's jaw seemed to drop through the floor. "THE Harry Potter. Really?! Like, you're not having us on?"
Harry pushed back his fringe and this time the twins looked impressed, which was a mild reaction compared to Ron looking like he was standing before the Chudley Cannons, a mix of worship and fantastical horror on his face.
Fred kicked Ron in the shin. "Quit making that face, Ron, you look idiotic." He held his hand out for Harry to shake. "I'm Fred Weasley, this is my brother-"
"George Weasley," finished George, taking his turn to shake Harry's hand. "Interesting to meet you Harry. We hope to get to know you better!"
"Ron Weasley," Ron was finally able to squeak out, falling to his seat instead of offering his hand to Harry. Fred rolled his eyes.
"Well, we're off to go see what Lee's got in that box he was holding at the platform!" chuckled George. The twins left the compartment. Ron still looked like he had stars in his eyes.
"I can't believe it. I've got THE Harry Potter in my train compartment, on the way to Hogwarts," he mumbled, almost to himself it seemed. Harry resisted the urge to tease Ron.
"You can just call me Harry," he said eagerly. "Really. I'm nothing special. At least, that's what the Dursley's always believed of me, so they must be right." Ron looked puzzled.
"Hang on, who're the Dursley's?" he asked.
"My aunt, uncle and cousin. They're Muggles," explained Harry. "I was raised by them. They weren't always nice to me, but they gave me a place to live, so that's something."
"They must be mental," said Ron, sounding indignant for Harry's sake. "Don't they know how important you are to the Wizarding World?"
"No," said Harry hesitantly, remembering that he too wasn't supposed to know what he had done for the Wizarding World. "What am I supposed to have done?"
"Blimey Harry. Nobody's ever told you?" gaped Ron, growing more incredulous by the minute. Harry shrugged.
Ron looked uncomfortable. "I don't think I should be the one to tell you."
Ron was saved by the appearance of the trolley witch. Her kind eyes twinkled at them as her dimples appeared with her kind smile. "Anything off the trolley dears?" she asked. Harry, remembering that the first time he'd done this he had bought as much candy as his pocket gold would let him, knew that this would be a good start to his friendship with Ron, so as he had done once before, he asked for some of everything and paid for it with the sickles and knuts in his pockets.
"Hungry are you?" asked Ron. Harry could hear the tint of jealousy in his voice.
"You're welcome to it," Harry said warmly, holding out several of his treats. Ron sorrowfully pulled out a lumpy looking package, which when unwrapped, looked like lots of bread had been pushed together. Ron distastefully peeled one of the pieces of corned beef sandwich away from the others.
"No thanks. Mum packs us lunch. It shouldn't go to waste."
"Come on, just this once," cajoled Harry. Ron looked torn. "I'll trade you, here-" Harry held out a pumpkin pastry.
"You don't want this, the corned beef has gone dry," protested Ron, although he looked like he was caving. Harry reached across the compartment, easily tugged the sandwich out of Ron's hands and replaced it with the pumpkin pastry in exchange.
"There," Harry grinned. "Fair trade." Ron let a small chuckle escape.
"You're mad."
But in moments Harry had divided up the rest of his candies and treats in half and had dumped them on Ron's seat. As they ate their way through the candies, Harry spotted a chocolate frog package, and wondered if it would be the one with Dumbledore's card inside.
"Are these real frogs?" he asked Ron.
"No, they're just enchanted. But they've got cards inside you can collect. Let me know what you get, I'm missing Agrippa and Ptolemy."
Harry opened the package in excitement, forgetting to catch the frog and it hopped once before landing on the floor and its legs broke promptly off. Ron shook his head.
"That's too bad. They've only got one good hop in them to begin with." Harry looked surprised and Ron smiled.
To Harry's relief, the card was indeed Dumbledore, his crooked nose, half-moon glasses, and flowing silver hair and beard bringing a wistful happiness inside Harry. To think, in a mere few hours, he would see Albus Dumbledore again. He remembered with a small shiver of horror the night the Headmaster had died, and the subsequent funeral where he knew that he would have to go on alone, to find the rest of the Horcruxes without help from the old and wise wizard.
Just then a girl with bushy brown hair poked her head inside their compartment and Harry had to fight off a beaming smile. Hermione Granger in all her 11 year old glory, already dressed in her school robes, was peering around before asking,
"Have either of you seen a toad? Neville's lost one."