A bead of sweat was balancing on the bridge of his nose and Harry was waiting for it to fall. It was sweltering outside. Inside the house the air conditioning was humming pleasantly, but Harry had been kicked out for the afternoon after muttering the word "magic" under his breath to annoy Dudley. He let out a sigh as the sweat dropped from his nose and onto the dry grass. He wished it would rain right now. He would run in the rain and let himself drown in it. He felt like he needed to drown right now to wash out his mind. He wanted to just wash out all the ideas of the wizarding world and its problems.

Not for the first time that summer, Harry wondered what it would be like if he had never been a wizard, if he had never gone to live with the Dursleys. Never found out about Hogwarts or Voldemort. What would be if he were an ordinary muggle teenager?

He got up from his seat on the lawn and brushed the dried grass off the back of his jeans. He was going to find out. For the rest of the day he was going to forget the war, the deaths he had experienced, and the fact that he was the-boy-who-lived. For the rest of the day he was going to be a normal muggle teenager.

***

He walked along the sidewalk for ten minutes before he realized something; He had no clue where muggle teenagers hung out. He knew a few places not to go. He would not go to the places where Dudley and his gang hung out. He gave a sigh at his annoying predicament and stuffed his hands in his jean pockets.

He was right in the center of a thick residential area. It was a very rich residential area it seemed by the gorgeous houses that lined the streets. Each house had a large lawn overflowing with flowers, even in the heat. One house had gardeners working diligently on the greenery. Harry smiled. The Dursleys probably had to hire a gardener during the school year when Harry couldn't tend to their lawn.

He walked along the streets, enjoying the exercise. The sun was starting to go down and the streetlights began to flick on. He didn't feel like heading back. It wasn't like they would be worried. They would probably hope he had gotten run over by a truck.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of music. He strained his ears and followed where the sound was coming from. As he rounded a corner, he saw that a little way down the block there was some commotion going on. He walked toward it, intrigued. As he approached, he smiled at what he saw. Muggle teenagers. He stood a few houses away when he realized he had no idea how to go up to them. It looked like a big party and he could probably just slip inside, but what would he do there? Even if he could talk to someone, it wasn't like he knew what muggles talked about.

He cautiously walked until he was right in front of the house. He stood there wondering what to do next. He was a wizard! What was he doing trying to be a muggle? Today you are not a wizard he reminded himself. Taking a deep breath, he walked up the driveway. There were teenagers everywhere. Harry wondered where the parents were. The rock music was blasting from the house and he could just imagine the Dursleys complaining about it. He leaned against one of the many cars and tried to look like he belonged. He busily tried to think of what to say if someone asked him what he was doing there. He was so stuck in his thoughts that he didn't notice someone lean against the car next to him.

"God, it's hot out here." a voice said. Harry quickly turned his head and noticed the girl next to him. She had wavy brown hair and dark eyeliner along her eyes. She was wearing a t-shirt that said "I love boys, they're stupid" and a jean skirt that just reached the top of her knees. She was looking straight ahead and for a moment Harry wasn't sure if she was talking to him until she turned her head to face him. Now that she was looking at him, Harry could see the deep brown eyes that were surrounded by the eyeliner. He randomly thought about how they looked like chocolate.

"Yeah," He muttered, not really sure what to say. He had never been really good at small talk.

"D'ya want to come inside?" she asked, tucking a bit of loose brown hair behind her ear. Harry now realized that it wasn't fully brown. It was more of a red, or maybe a little blond. It was like her hair couldn't decide what color it was.

"Um, yeah, sure," He said. She gestured for him to follow her and she walked up toward the house. Harry liked the way she walked. It was like she didn't have a care in the world. She practically skipped up the stairs to the porch. He followed her into the house, feeling the cold rush of the air conditioner blasting as he stepped into the crowded front hall. She was still walking, and looked back over her shoulder to make sure that he was following. She finally stopped in a small den that had only a few people in it. She grabbed a beer from the table and handed it to him before taking one for herself. He tried a bit of it. It was a little odd in his mouth and he would much prefer a butterbeer, but he continued to sip it.

"My brother got the beer," the girl said as she plopped onto the couch and Harry followed suit, "but I think it was intended for his friends." She smiled at Harry who was trying to look like he knew what she was talking about.

"You see, my brother is twenty. He is always having these parties because my dad is always away on business trips." She explained and took another sip of the beer. "He gets the beer and invites all his friends here. Of course, everyone in my school found out about the parties and they crash. My brother doesn't care because he gets to hit on my friends." She looked at her bottle for a moment and then at Harry. "You're not from Stonewall, are you?" she asked.

"No," he answered, remembering Stonewall to be the local high school.

"I didn't think so." She said with a smile. "What's your name?"

"Harry," he said.

"Jenna," she said and stretched out her hand. He took it tentatively and shook it once before dropping it. "So where do you go to school?" she asked.

"I go to a boarding school." He said.

"What is it called?"

"Oh, Hog-" he paused, realizing he had almost said the wizarding school's name. "-ington." He finished lamely.

"Where is Hogington?" she asked.

"It's in Scotland." He answered. She nodded and took another sip.

"You live around here during the summer?" she asked.

"Yup, I live with my aunt and uncle a little way from here." He answered. He didn't know why he was telling this girl that.

"Your aunt and uncle?" she said questioningly.

"Yeah, they took me in after both my parents died." He was a little surprised that he had said this. He had just met her. Pity washed over her face for a second before it was replaced with her usual expression. She looked down at her beer. Harry squirmed at the reaction. He should have lied. He didn't want her pity.

"I'm so sorry." she said quietly.

"It's okay. I was only one year old so I guess it's not too bad." He said, attempting to push off the topic, but she wouldn't let it drop.

"How did it happen?" she asked.

An evil wizard who was mad for power killed my parents. That wizard has returned and I'm the one who has to stop him. Of course you wouldn't know that because you're a muggle. He shook himself mentally. He had promised himself he would forget about that for tonight.

"It was a car crash. I was in the car as well, but I got off easy." He pushed aside his hair to reveal the scar on his forehead. "This is my souvenir from it." he said grimly. She looked up and saw the interesting shape of the scar. She reached up and gently ran her finger along the zigzag.

"It looks like a lightning bolt." She commented. He nodded and dropped the hair back onto his forehead as she pulled her hand away.

"That's how my mother died too." She said quietly, looking at her bottle again. "There was a drunk driver in the car that hit her." Harry realized that she was imparting personal information to him too. Maybe it was the comfort that they were strangers. That was why they were telling each other so much. "That's why I'm going to swear off drinking once I get my license. I'm going to get my fill of it now" she said half jokingly and held up her beer bottle.

For the next hour they talked about anything and everything. Harry was having fun making up his new muggle persona. He told her of the people in his dorm (using their actual names) and the teachers. He complained about Snape and Draco. She told him of her four annoying brothers and the fact that her father was never home. Harry really enjoyed this girl's company. He was finding it really easy just to spill out his problems (except for Voldemort) to her. Hermione and Ron had heard all of this a thousand times so it was refreshing to rant to someone who actually payed attention.

"Do you read?" she asked after they had talked a while. Harry raised his eyebrows at the funny question.

"Sometimes," he answered. He wasn't an avid reader like Hermione, but every once in a while he could find a good book in the school's library.

"I love to read." She gestured at the pile of books sitting next to the television. There looked to be about ten. Harry smiled at this. She was almost as bad as Hermione. "My brothers think I'm nuts, but I'm addicted. What kind of books do you like?" she asked, obviously loving conversations like these.

"I don't really have a preference." He said, hoping that was a safe answer.

"I love all types, too." She said. "My favorite type is fantasy. You know, magic and all that." He froze at her answer.

"Magic?" he said questioningly. She nodded.

"I can't get enough of it. Imagine being able to do anything with a word or a wand. Life would be a lot more interesting, don't you think so?" she answered enthusiastically, grinning at him.

He nodded and smiled. You have no idea, he thought. She amused him with an explanation of the most recent book she had read. She was interrupted from her description of the little town full of sorcerers and enchanters by a loud voice.

"Sis, are you boring him with your stories?" Harry turned around and he saw a tall man with dirty blond hair facing them.

"Bug off, Derrick." Jenna answered without turning around. Her brother turned to Harry instead.

"I haven't seen you around here." He said. "What's your name?"

"Harry," he answered.

"Of course you haven't seen him around here, Derrick. He goes to a boarding school." Jenna said, turning around to face her brother.

"A couple of my friends went to boarding schools." Derrick said. "What is your school called?"

"Hogington Academy," Harry answered. Derrick shook his head.

"I never heard of it." He plopped down next to his sister. She sighed and stood up.

"Come on, Harry." She said. "It suddenly started to stink in here." She glared at her brother and walked out of the den. Harry got up to follow. She was going up the stairs pretty quickly and he had to run a little to catch up.

She finally stopped in front of a room. The door had a large sign on it that said 'This is NOT a snogging room'. She pushed the door open and sat down on a chair inside, motioning for Harry to do the same. It took him a moment to realize that they were in her bedroom.

"Don't let my brother fool you. He's a git when you get to know him." she said. He just nodded a little and sat down on one of the butterfly chairs she had in her room. She looked straight at him, a thoughtful expression on her face. "All the blokes in my school are like that." She said. "I think you're different, Harry."

"Different?" he asked. She nodded.

"Any other guy I would have talked to would have started on how great they are at rugby or football. Any other guy would have made fun of me for liking fantasy books." She pointed out. That's because I can't tell you about how great I am at Quidditch and I'm living those fantasy books, he thought. "You're really nice to talk too." she said.

"Thanks," he said. "I liked talking to you, too." She smiled at him and then looked at her watch.

"Won't your Aunt and Uncle worry if you're not back yet?" she asked.

"What time is it?"

"Eleven o' clock," she answered. He cursed. The Dursleys would have no problem locking him out if he was late.

"I've got to go." He said, quickly standing up. She did the same.

"Okay, it was nice to meet you. Maybe we could get together again?" she suggested. He nodded.

"I'd like that." he said. She quickly reached for a pen and a pad of paper on her night table (Harry noticed there were wands all over the border of the paper) and scrawled something.

"Here's my mobile number." She said. "Call me, okay?" he took the paper, wished her good night, and got of the house quickly. He was practically running down the streets.

He finally approached the Dursley's house and knocked on the door. There was no answer and Harry sighed. He knew that the Dursleys probably weren't in bed yet, but were just ignoring him. He went to the side of the house and looked up at his window. There was a trellis that led to the window that looked like it would probably break under his weight, but he didn't really have another choice. Very carefully, he climbed up it and into the window that he had left open for Hedwig. He tumbled onto the floor and winced at the sound he made.

"What was that?!" he heard Uncle Vernon roar. He sighed as he heard his uncle coming to his room. The door was thrown open.

"It's after 11 o' clock! What the bloody hell do you think you are doing, making all that noise?" he roared at Harry, walking closer to him.

"Sorry about that." Harry mumbled. Vernon walked even closer to him and took a whiff. He glared at Harry.

"You smell like beer, boy." He whispered viciously. "Petunia! Petunia! Come here and see our nephew."

Petunia stumbled into the room a few moments later, her hair in curlers.

"What is it, Vernon?" she asked.

"Harry smells like beer." He said, grinning at Harry's predicament. Harry sighed inwardly. He hadn't even had a lot. He had drunk just a few sips and set it down. Petunia gasped dramatically.

"How dare you!" she shrieked. "Bringing this nonsense into our house! I'd throw you out right now if it wasn't for that crackpot old fool who teaches at your school." Harry grinned sadly to himself. The crackpot old fool that they spoke about was dead, but he wasn't about to let them know that. He let them berate him for half an hour before they finally left.

He got ready for bed and lay down, but wasn't able to sleep. All he could think about was Jenna. She was a bit on the odd side, but he liked her eagerness to make someone welcome. He looked at the paper she had given to him that now lay on his side-table. He hadn't really planned on calling her. This was just supposed to be for one night. Maybe he would call her just to see what would happen. He tried closing his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep. He didn't have a single dream about Voldemort that night.