Chapter One

The Witches Rune

It was a nice day especially because of how special that day was. Harry Potter was taking a walk towards downtown, and a smile stretched across his face. It was his seventeenth birthday, but it wasn't just that. It was also the last day he would ever have to spend with the Dursleys, his muggle family (if one could even call them family that is.) Harry had taken some money out of his Gringotts Account, changed it to muggle money, and now he had a fifty pound note in his hand. He wanted some new clothes before he went off to Diagon Alley in a week. Hermione and Ron had it arranged to meet in the Leaky Caldron. The he would go and meet Cho Chang in the ice cream parlour, then hopefully have some extra time with her. Cho was studying hydra-faeries in India now that she'd graduated from Hogwarts, but she and Harry still corresponded through owl post. She hadn't written him much in the past month though. She hadn't started her studies yet, but there seemed to be so much she had to do to settle in. He couldn't wait to see her though. The relationship over the past few years had been a little on and off and stressful, but Harry still had that feeling for her that he never really had for any other girl, and he wasn't ready to give it up. He wanted to look especially nice for her, so he decided a trip downtown to find some new clothes would do him well.

A shop called "Witches Rune" caught Harry's eye before he could walk any further. Was there really a magic shop in town that Harry had never known about? He peered through the windows, but he couldn't see anything. It was the type of glass that you couldn't see through when the sun was out, and even when it wasn't out, it was still difficult. Harry went to the door and read the shop description. It said

"Witches Rune

A unique shop for all your magickal needs

Incense, candles, tarot, books, Wicca,

Palm reading, skulls, piercing, leather, novelties

Tattoos, Tobacco"

Harry had read about "magick" in Muggle Studies. It was a religion that focused on the "magic" that most muggles actually possessed. Once they became really good at the practice, they could do many of the things first year Hogwarts students could do. It wasn't the same, but Harry had never encountered it up-close. Curious, he walked into the shop.

A little bell rang, and Harry's senses were overwhelmed with the sweet scent of Nag Champa. Strange music was playing all around him, and the lights were set very dim. It gave the place a certain mood, and Harry guessed that was probably what they were aiming for. From a curtained room near the back, a woman dressed like Professor Trelawney glided out to greet Harry.

"Good Afternoon to ye," she said. Her voice was wispy and dreamlike. She had really long hair that was dyed black and red, and it was braided in a few places so it gave her the look of a medieval maiden. Harry smiled and waved, but the woman approached him.

"Your energy is so strong," she wisped in disbelief. Harry didn't know what to say. He had never met such a strange muggle.

"What do you mean?" he finally asked.

"You have a golden aura," she answered. "I see very few people with that colour. You have gold and a little bit of silver." Harry soon became interested.

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"It means you have a very special power," she answered. "Why, I've been a high priestess in my coven for the past ten years, and even I don't have such a radiant aura. I've only seen one other person like that, and she's..." Her voice trailed off, but when she looked towards the other end of the shop, Harry knew who "she" was, and he quickly changed his mind about the shop keeper being the strangest person he had ever seen.

Looking at the different skulls was a girl who looked about Harry's age. She had jet black layered hair that draped gently onto her shoulders. She was wearing a long, black leather coat that went down to her calves. Knee high boots donned her feet and black fishnet stockings clung to her skinny, white legs. Her skin was as white as a vampire's, but Harry still couldn't see her face. He felt a strong need to know just what she looked like. Carefully, he walked over to the shelf with all the different skulls to get a look at the girl. He started looking at a skull that would've belonged to some kind of demon had it not been made of plaster when he slowly looked up to see the girl's face.

As he suspected, her face was white like the rest of her skin. Her eyes were surrounded by black eyeliner and eye shadow. Even her lips were painted black. She had headphones on that seemed to be blasting music with a lot of screaming. Her ears were pierced all the way up to the cartilage. Suddenly, she looked up at him, and Harry was taken by what he thought were the most beautiful pair of eyes he had ever seen. They were pale blue with an outline of amber. They stared wide-eyed back into Harry's green eyes, and then her mouth opened and she said-

"Stop staring at me."

Harry looked down, quickly, blushing.

"I'm sorry," he said, sounding stupid. "I was just-"

"Sorry to be harsh," she interrupted, "but I really can't have people staring at me." Harry smiled a bit.

"Pet peeve?" he asked, not looking up from the dragon-like skull. He saw her shake her head.

"Not exactly," she answered, and then she picked up a black candle and slipped it into her black purse. Harry was about to say something, but he decided not to.

"Some psychic she is," the girl said, indicating to the shop keeper. She was going through her books.

"I can give you money to pay for that," Harry offered. The girl smiled. Her teeth were white like her skin against the black lipstick.

"These are eight quid," she said. "I'm not paying that much for a damn candle and neither are you. This shop is a bit of a scam anyway."

"That doesn't mean you should stoop so low as to steal," Harry whispered as he leaned in a little closer. The girl laughed slightly. Her voice was pretty in a strange sort of way.

"Well aren't you the righteous one," she said in a friendly teasing manner. "Look, I haven't been caught for the past four years I've been coming here, and if I am ever going to be caught, today would be the perfect day since I'm leaving town anyway."

"Really? Where are you going?"

"I'm starting at a new school. I got accepted late, but the letter I got said they'd compensate for that." Harry looked at her, interested.

"What school?" he asked. She looked down at the floor, and Harry remembered about the staring thing. Quickly, he looked away.

"It's a school for the gifted," she said in a voice that sounded as though she were lying. He wanted to ask where she was really going, but he remembered the time when the Dursleys told Aunt Marge that he was in a juvenile detention centre, and he decided not to pressure her if she really felt uncomfortable. Instead, he extended his hand.

"My name's Harry Potter," he said. The girl took Harry's hand in her and shook it firmly. Her skin was cold.

"My name's Elizabeth Woodside," she responded. "And you... you sound very familiar, but I can't think of where I've heard your name before."

Harry suddenly felt himself falling as the bit in his stomach seemed to burn. Did muggles know about Harry's defeat of Voldemort, too? It seemed impossible, but Harry had learned to be surprised by nothing. Elizabeth smiled though as she remembered why his name sounded so familiar.

"Ah, now I know. Were you enrolled to go to the local public secondary school?" Harry nodded. Elizabeth smiled. "Well I'm honoured to have finally met 'The Dead Boy'." Harry gasped.

"The...what?"

"Our teacher called your name every morning, yet there was no Harry Potter. We all knew you were never coming, but she didn't know. I decided to call you 'The Dead Boy' because I thought it would be kind of funny if you had died, and she was still calling your name. Not that I want you to die or anything." Harry gave her an awkward glance.

"Well, that's an interesting way for an eleven year old to remember people," he commented, but remembered something worse, deciding to blurt it out. "Then again, a boy I go to school with seems to take pleasure on other people's misfortune. He once said he hoped my best friend would die." Elizabeth grimaced.

"Oh, what a bastard...unless your friend wasn't very nice, but otherwise, what a bastard. Someone should turn him into old woman's underwear." Harry burst out laughing, and the shop keep quickly glanced at them, but then she went back to arranging the clothing at the other end.

"You know, I think I'll try that," he said. Elizabeth probably didn't know he wasn't kidding. What a nightmare it would be for Malfoy to be an extra-large pair of granny-panties.

"Well, don't assume that any of the books here can help you do that," she suggested. Harry really wanted to laugh, but he chose not to.

"I'm sure I'll think of something."

Elizabeth smiled.

"Well, I'd better leave," Harry said. "I have some stuff I need, but it was really nice meeting you, Elizabeth." She smiled again and tipped an imaginary hat.

"Likewise," she replied.

"Good luck in school," Harry called back as he approached the door.

"Thanks. And Harry?" Harry stopped in the open doorway.

"What?" he asked.

"Thank you...about my eyes I mean. I don't get compliments too often." Harry's cheeks filled with blood.

"Oh, well...it's true. They are really pretty..." Harry paused, and then waved and left the shop.

It wasn't until he reached a small pub about five blocks down that Harry realised something about that compliment on Elizabeth's eyes he had made.

He never told her. He said it in his head!

Harry didn't bother saying "good-bye" to the Dursleys. The cab picked him up from the front porch, and the driver helped Harry load all of his stuff into the trunk...except for Hedwig.

"A pet owl, eh?" the man said, smiling. He smelled heavily of cigar smoke. "I've never heard o' that, but each to his own I always say."

Harry smiled and got into the back seat. He looked out the window and saw the three Dursleys watching him. Harry felt his blood burn, and then he did something he had always wanted to do to them: Harry rolled down the window, held his hand out, and yelled two words he had wanted to say to his terrible family since he met them (and he had the hand gesture to match). Harry would never forget the horrified look on the Dursleys' faces as the cab sped away. It felt as through a great weight had been lifted from Harry's heart. The driver turned to Harry, surprised but laughing.

"Were they really that bad?" he asked as he smoked a cigar.

"Worse," Harry replied. Hedwig gave Harry an expression of agreement.

Harry and the cab driver talked for a while as they drove to London. It turned out that his name was Harry, too, though his last name was Brennan. He was from Ireland, and he had a strong interest in the Irish folklore. They eventually changed the conversation over to Astronomy, and it turned out that Harry B. had taken an astronomy class at University, and he was surprised to hear that young Harry had already taken six courses at his school.

"What kind of school are you off to?" he asked.

Harry thought for a moment, and then said, "A school for the gifted." Harry B. smiled.

"Ah, a smart lad."

The cab stopped in Downtown London. Harry B. unloaded Harry P's luggage and got back into the car. Harry paid the driver, giving him a larger tip than usual.

"It was great talking to you," Harry P. said, sincerely. Harry B. smiled.

"The pleasure was mine. And good luck at that school of yours. Maybe I'll be pickin' you back up when you get out."

Harry nodded, and the he waved and brought his things into the Leaky Caldron. Hermione and Ron were waiting at a table. They both had very depressed looks on their faces. When they saw Harry, the two of them forced smiles and Hermione jumped up and hugged him.

"It's so good to see you," she said as she released her embrace. A look in her eyes told Harry that she had more to say that she didn't want to release.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, forgetting to greet them properly. Hermione sighed and handed Harry a letter. Harry looked at it suspiciously. Then carefully, he opened it.

Dear Harry,

I hope you had a great summer. I know I haven't written you much, but I've been so busy lately, that I just haven't had the time. One of the other students here has been helping me get adjusted. His name is Miguel and he's from Spain. I'm always with him, and he's really helped me with the faeries here.

Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry, but I just can't continue this way. Miguel and I really connect in a way that you and I never possibly could. He's tall, attractive, strong- not that you aren't any of those things...well, except maybe tall and advanced in magic the way he is, but that's really not the point. I have found the person I belong with, and I only hope you can find yours, Harry. It would mean a lot to me. Please don't be mad. I still care about you. Write to me, please.

-Cho.

Harry sighed and crumpled the letter up. So that was why they looked so glum. Ron and Hermione had to bear the bad news that Cho had found a Spanish hottie wizard who was better looking and far more advanced in magic than Harry was. Harry felt his blood singe.

"So this is it," he groaned. His eyes began to sting. The insults he had received from the Dursleys, Malfoy, and Snape combined could not account for how terrible Harry felt. "She's found someone better than me." Hermione took Harry's hand in hers.

"Oh, Harry, you should've know it would never work with her. She's nice, but..."

"But what?" Harry snapped. Hedwig let out a light shriek of surprise.

"I don't know but-"

Harry left them behind, exiting the Leaky Caldron and going into Diagon alley. He felt a need for the magical atmosphere he had been missing all summer, but it didn't help. He wanted the letter to be wrong, a prank maybe sent by Malfoy, but it couldn't be. He could smell Cho's perfume, and Malfoy couldn't duplicate a letter that well.

Harry walked aimlessly through the alley, not bothering with any of the shops. He just wanted to be left alone. He didn't want Ron or Hermione trying to comfort him. A day that began so well had come crashing down at lightening speed. After a good twenty minutes of aimless wandering, Harry went into the ice cream shop, but he didn't bother ordering anything. He just sat down and stared at the floor.

A dark figure approached him, but Harry didn't look up, until he got a sense of who it was. All he saw out of the corner of his eye was a long, black cloak, black hair, and thin, black legs. Harry shuddered at the thought of having to see Snape at such a horrible time.

That bastard will only make it worse, Harry thought to himself, still staring at the floor. The black figure began walking towards him and Harry scowled. It stopped right to the left of him, just out of clear view.

"Leave me alone," Harry barked.

"Excuse me, but don't I know you?" asked a girl's voice. Harry looked up startled.

It wasn't Snape staring down at him, but Elizabeth, the girl from the Witches Rune. Harry couldn't believe she was in Diagon Alley.

"How did...what...what are you doing here?" He asked. "Did you follow me because-?"

"I had to buy my school books," she interrupted. Harry stared at her, wide eyed.

"You're going to Hogwarts?" he asked, amazed. Elizabeth nodded.

"Are you?" Harry nodded in reply. Elizabeth's black lips formed a slight smile.

"Sorry I kind of snapped at you. I'm having a rough day, and I thought you were one of my professors that I hate." Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

"Well, yeah. He wears all black too, and his hair is about your length, though yours looks a hell of a lot better. It's not greasy like his is." Elizabeth laughed.

"Oh, mine's greasy in the morning if I don't wash it right when I wake up. You should see me. I look like I died, came back to life, tried to crawl out of a muddy grave and then died again on the way up."

"Well, you'll see him at Hogwarts. I hope you're not too offended. You definitely look a lot better than he does." Elizabeth nodded as she put on a weird smirk that reminded Harry even more of Snape.

"You always check out your teachers?" she asked.

"Erm, no, I didn't mean it like that." Elizabeth laughed and sat down next to Harry.

"I know. I'm just bothering you."

Elizabeth's smile widened, and Harry felt his cheeks get warm again. The dark atmosphere she emitted was somewhat intimidating, but she definitely had a certain charm to her. Harry sensed that she would be able to get out of any trouble she got herself into just by smiling at the professor...unless it was Snape.

"Do you want anything from that shop? The icecream there is great." Harry asked. Elizabeth shook her head.

"I ate a little while ago." Harry suddenly remembered something.

"By the way, I wouldn't try stealing anything around here," he said, quietly. "They have really crafty ways of catching you." Elizabeth nodded.

"I know," she said, nonchalantly. "I hold high respects to these shops. They're genuine. Not that crap from The Witches Rune."

"Did you always know you were a witch?" Harry asked. Elizabeth smiled strangely.

"Well, that's a bit complicated. I had always known I was...unusual, but never anything like this. I can make things happen just by thinking about them as well as a lot of other things. I read about it at school. Telekinesis, ESP, and everything like that. It was apparent that was telekinetic and clairvoyant, but there were a lot of other things I couldn't explain."

"Clairvoyant? Professor Trelawney will love you."

"Well, I hope she's nicer than the professor you told me about."

"What year are you being placed in by the way?" Harry asked.

Elizabeth pulled a slip of paper out of a bag she was holding and read over it.

"It says I'm being placed in the seventh year as a transfer student, and if I am able to 'live up to my magical potential' as they say, then I'll be graduating with the rest of the seventh years. Same year as you?"

"Yeah, and my friends back at the-"

Harry suddenly remembered that he had left his two friends back in The Leaky Caldron. He jumped up from his chair and started to walk away, but then turned back to Elizabeth, who didn't seem to really notice or care that Harry had left.

"Erm, would you like to come meet my friends?" he asked. Elizabeth looked up and seemed to think about it for a moment.

"As long as they're not bastards like that blonde kid I met." Harry's eyes darkened.

"Malfoy?" he asked. Elizabeth nodded.

"Yes, that's the one...I hope he dies." Harry laughed.

"That's the one I told you about in the shop," he said. "He feels that way about a lot of people. What did he say to you?"

"He asked who my parents were, and when I told him that I didn't know, he scoffed... and then mysteriously seemed to find himself face down on the floor a second or two later."

"Well, I promise my friends are a lot nicer."

"My parents are picking me up in about ten minutes actually, so I probably won't be able to. Maybe another time." Harry became confused.

"Wait, I thought you said you didn't know who your parents were."

"I don't. These are my adopted parents. Malfrey or whatever was referring to my biological parents."

"How did you know? Did he ask?"

"No, I just knew. I have a way with things like that." Harry was interested.

"You really don't know who your parents are?" he asked. Elizabeth shook her head.

"I was found on a street corner in the next town over from where you live. I was on Elizabeth Avenue and Woodside Drive. The social services thought it would make a good name for me. I was only a year old or so. I don't even know when my real birthday is. We celebrate the day I was rescued."

Harry felt sorry for her. He had never met his parents, but he knew who they were and what they looked like. Elizabeth didn't even know her birth name or birthday.

"Well, I'll look for you on the train," Harry said as he left her.

"I'll look for you, too, and don't worry. I know how to get to the platform."

Harry nodded, and went back to The Leaky Caldron. He looked back at the ice cream place before he turned the corner. Elizabeth had pulled out a book (he couldn't make out what the title was) and began reading as someone served her a drink. She looked like a shadow from the distance. Harry couldn't help but gaze at her though. As long as she didn't spot him staring, it would be okay. She set the book down for a moment, and Harry was almost afraid that she would snap at him for staring (because she hated that), but instead, she pulled out her headphones, put them on, and went back to reading. It would be difficult for her to adjust to Hogwarts life since she was entering her first year as a seventh year. She had lived in the muggle world far too long in Harry's opinion. Things were different, especially if she felt the need to continue what she had done in The Witches Rune.

Yes, but she definitely belongs there, he thought to himself. I can't figure out what it is other than her powers. There's just something calling her to Hogwarts