Harry Potter: A Variation

by HandGequalsMTB

Harry and the Dursleys move to the US after his parents are killed. Harry has his first year of magical schooling there, then starts at Hogwarts. He has 1 week to choose between Slytherin and Gryffindor; which house will it be?

Okay, so this is my first Harry Potter fan-fic as well as my first, if somewhat long one-shot, so have a look and let me know what you think. If I've gotten something wrong from within the book (other than my fictional insertations), please let me know. FYI, I know that Ginny didn't play Quidditch in her first year and yes, aeroplane is spelt like that outside of the United States. Seeing as this is actually set in England, I see no point in reverting into American English coz I mix things up and it pisses me off, to put it bluntly.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of its characters and I am not planning to make money off of what I am writing. Or if I did, my memory has since been obliviated. lol

What if Harry goes to live with the Dursleys after his parents are killed, but due to circumstances they move to America and Harry experiences his first year of magical schooling there? And what if, on returning to England, he has a week to choose whether he will go into Slytherin or Gryffindor? And how much of an influence does a certain younger red-headed girl have on his decision? Read and find out!

Minerva McGonagall (currently in her animagus form) crouched down on the grass of the number 4 Privet Drive when she heard the unmistakeable pop of somebody apparating into the area. When she saw it was Albus Dumbledore and that he was turning the lights of the street out with whatever that thing was that he had, she relaxed, moved forward, and changed into her human form.

*Extract from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*

She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. 'A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really has gone, Dumbledore?'

'It certainly seems so,' said Dumbledore. 'We have much to be thankful for.

.........

'You know what everyone's saying? About why he disappeared? About what finally stopped him?'

It seemed Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever 'everyone' was saying , she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore had told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer.

'What they're saying,' she pressed on, 'is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumour is that Lily and James Potter are-are-that they're-dead.'

Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.

'Lily and James...I can't believe it...I didn't want to believe it...oh, Albus...'

Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. 'I know...I know...'he said heavily.

Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. 'That's not all. They're saying that he tied to kill the Potter's son, Harry. But he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldermort's power somehow broke-and that's why he's gone.'

Dumbledore nodded glumly.

'How did the boy do that? He's not even one and a half years old and Voldemort has powers beyond measure!' McGonagall said, awed. Thinking of something, she panicked. 'What has been done to protect Harry?! There are still Death Eaters out there and who else know what!'

'Relax, Minerva,' Dumbledore said 'Hagrid is retrieving Harry from Godric's Hollow as we speak.'

'Hagrid?' Minerva asked sharply. Dumbledore peered at her questionly.

'Is there something wrong with that? I would trust Hagrid with my life.'

'Yes, oh, very well. I assume that you will be taking the boy to live with you?' McGonagall said.

'No, I will be entrusting him to the care of his only living relatives. The, uh, lady of this house here is Petunia Dursley, nee Evans, Lily's muggle sister,' Dumbledore said. McGonagall gaped at him.

'THESE people?' she hissed. 'I have been watching them all day, they are almost the worst kind of muggle you could find, only surpassed by those who abuse their families and kill other muggles. What's more, I saw a copy of a contract signed by Vernon Dursley that goes for ten years-in America of all places. The passports and aeroplane tickets on the table indicate that they are leaving tomorrow morning!' she said, as close to yelling that she could get to without notifying the muggles of their presence. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at her.

'Do you think that I have not taken this into account?' McGonagall closed her gaping mouth. Dumbledore sighed and continued. 'I believe this would be the best place for Harry. He will be with his relatives, something which I consider very important, he will be out of the country, safe from the threat of the Death Eaters, as you said, and he will have a chance to live a life on a continent where people know his name but are not nearly as affected by it, where he will have a chance to live a somewhat normal childhood as opposed to being overwhelmed by the magical community.' McGonagall's lips were pressed together in a very thin line, as though she could prevent an outburst by sealing her lips shut.

'I have made my decision,' Dumbledore said. 'I have contacted various associates in the United States, including Wilson Bones, cousin to Amelia Bones and equal to her in magical skill and intelligence. He and others will keep an eye on Harry and report back to me. Harry will attend his first magical school year in America and then we will arrange for the Dursleys to return to England and he will begin his second year at Hogwarts.' A rumbling sound began from behind them and grew to a roar as a huge man landed on the ground on a flying motorcycle, carrying a small, blanket-wrapped bundle.

'Evening Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall.'

"Hagrid, where did you get that motorcycle? And didn't you think it might just possibly wake up the muggles? McGonagall asked disapprovingly.

"It's alright, professor. I got it offa young Sirius Black. He says there's some sorta charm on it so that only wizards can hear or see it,' Hagrid said.

'Oh...very well then,' McGonagall muttered.

"House was almost destroyed when I got there, sir. But I got Harry out alright and here he is. He's got some sorta cut on his forehead, I didn't wanna try an' fix it in case it went wrong,' Hagrid said. He handed the blanket clad Harry over to Dumbledore.

'Not even I could fix this cut, Hagrid. It is the mark of a curse and could hurt Harry or myself if I tried,' Dumbledore said.

'Oh. Well. Lucky I didn't try then, eh?' Hagrid said.

'Indeed. Well, time to say goodbye, Harry.' Dumbledore walked to the door of the house, conjured a basket and laid Harry in it. He didn't stir. Pulling a slightly thick envelope from his cloak, he put it on top of Harry, who moved in his sleep, clutching the envelope. It contained a letter to the Dursley, a muggle passport that had magical pages at the back that only a magical person could see, and an aeroplane ticket. Walking back to the others, he waited for Hagrid to fly off on the motorcycle and McGonagall to transform herself back into a cat and pad away before he flicked the lights back on before disapparating from Privet Drive. His last words to Harry Potter were almost caught up in his disapparition.

'Good luck, Harry Potter.'

Almost 10 years later...

Ten-year-old Harry Potter surveyed the familiar scene in front of him and sighed, The Dursley family and he had just arrived at their sixth home since moving to America. He didn't remember much of the first two, but he did know that this was the sixth home because his Uncle Dursley had a contract that had moved him from England to the United States ten years ago and he spent two years in each location he was sent to before moving on to the next one. However, for whatever reason, Vernon Dursley's contract had been extended by one year and this was Harry's last year in America before he returned to England with the Dursleys. Surveying the luggage and all the furniture in the moving van, he sighed again. While he wasn't horribly mistreated, Harry was certainly the outcast of the family. He had no idea that the almost but very much not quite good treatment he received from the Dursleys was because of the monthly deposits made into their bank account for the expenses of looking after Harry. They had tried to use the funds for themselves but after receiving an exploding letter that yelled at them (while Harry and Dudley were out of the house) Vernon and Petunia Dursley decided that it was their best interest to follow their original instructions that they had received. None the less, as stated before, Harry was very much the outcast of the family. Therefore he had to help with the unpacking of all the items that were packed up each time the family moved while the Dursleys sat inside in the cool air conditioning. It didn't help that they always moved shortly after school finished, which was always in summer. Harry, seeing that there was a lot of work to do, went over to the moving van and picked up a chair. Several hours later, he went inside for the final time and sat down on one of the chairs in the lounge room, enjoying the cool air.

'Well, you've certainly taken your time today!' Uncle Vernon said to Harry. "You should be more positive, work like that is character building you know.' Harry bit his lip before he could come out with something about Dudley's obvious lack of character, since he had never lifted a finger in his life, except when playing on his play-station. Aunt Petunia walked into the room very dressed up.

'I'm going out to introduce myself to the new neighbours,' she said. More like going out to stickybeak, Harry thought. 'I might mention you,' she said to Harry, 'but don't you dare ruin our reputation of being a well off and normal family.' I hope you grow a pimple each time you meet a new person, just to give them a laugh, Harry thought.

'Well, I'm off. I'll be back shortly.' Petunia walked out the door. About half an hour later, she walked back through the front door, fuming. Harry looked up, saw who it was, went back to the book he was reading, and then startled, looked up again. There were pimples all over his aunt's face. What on earth? How did that happen? Harry thought in amazement. Aunt Petunia saw him and glared.

'This is all your fault, I know it is!' she yelled. Uncle Vernon walked in.

'What have you done now, boy?'Seeing Petunia, he also glared at Harry.

'It wasn't me!' Harry protested. Thinking desperately, he lied: 'I think I saw some poison ivy out the front, it might have been that!' Uncle Vernon frowned at him suspiciously. He grunted.

'Fine, it wasn't you. But you can go get rid of the stuff after tea!' The door bell rang. Dudley waddled over to answer it.

'Who are you?' he asked. Vernon, Petunia and Harry walked over to the door and saw a boy who looked to be about twelve years old standing there.

'Hi, there,' he said. 'I'm Jeremy Dwyer. I live across the road from you. My mum met you earlier, Mrs. Dursley.' Petunia smiled when Jeremy called her Mrs. Dursley, apparently showing her the proper respect she felt she deserved. Jeremy looked at Dudley and then looked away as though his eyes hurt. He looked at Harry and smiled. 'I saw there were a couple of kids so I thought I'd come and introduce myself. There's another boy who lives on the house to the right of you. He yelled out to me that if either of you were interested in play stations you could come over.' Dudley immediately waddled out the door. 'I guess that leaves you and me then,' Jeremy said to Harry. Harry knew better than to leave without permission as Dudley had.

'Can I go? I'll be back in time for tea and you'll get rid of me for a while,' he said.

'That's true,' Vernon muttered. 'Off you go then.' Harry didn't need to be told twice.

He followed Jeremy who led him to a park down the street and round the corner. They sat down on the bench.

'Phew. Your folks are a bit of a nasty lot, aren't they? What's your name?'

'I'm Harry Potter,' Harry said. 'But they aren't my parents, they're my aunt and uncle. Dudley is my cousin. My parents died when I was young.'

'Oh, sorry about that,' Jeremy said. He didn't linger on the topic. He did frown. 'Your name is Harry Potter? It sounds a bit familiar.' He shrugged. 'I'm glad you moved here, now there's another one of us in the neighbourhood about my same age.' Harry frowned.

'Another one of us? What do you mean?'

'Another magic person of course. Another wizard!' Jeremy said. Harry laughed.

'You're having me on, right?' Jeremy frowned.

'You mean you don't know? But you've got to be a wizard, you saw what happened to your aunt.'

'A wizard? Me? You sure you've got the right person?' Harry asked.

'I've got a talent for picking up on these things. I wonder why your family didn't tell you. Well obviously they're muggles but they still could have told you,' Jeremy mused.

'Muggles? What are they? I still think you've got the wrong guy,' Harry said.

'Muggles are non-wizarding folk,' Jeremy explained. 'Besides, surely that isn't the first time you've done magic? Have you ever done anything that you couldn't explain? Something strange?' Harry thought about it. The time that everybody in his family got food sickness in the restaurant they went to but he was perfectly fine. The time a mad dog had chased him down the street only to have Harry escape by going through an opening in the wall of his front yard that he had never seen before and never saw again. Harry looked up at Jeremy.

'Well, now that you mention it, yeah.'

'This is gonna be great!' Jeremy said. 'The school year starts the same time the muggle schools do. Principal Wilson will probably get your school stuff organised for you but in the mean time I can teach you all about magic!'

'Sorry to disappoint you,' Harry said, 'but I'll be going back to England in a year.' Jeremy shrugged.

'So? I'll have another friend for two years and then a pen pal for many years to come!'

Harry laughed.

'You're a very optimistic person.'

'It runs in the family, apparently. Some ancestor of mine invented a euphoria potion, another guy invented some lucky thing, Felix's fiddle or something. I don't know what's lucky about a fiddle, there's a fellow two blocks away learning to play one and it sounds like two cats having se-sounds bad anyway,' Jeremy finished hastily. Harry laughed. He knew what Jeremy was going to say. The two boys spent the summer with Jeremy teaching Harry all about the wizarding world and Harry teaching Jeremy all about the muggle world. When there was about a month of holidays left, a visitor arrived on the Dursley's front doorstep. Uncle Vernon answered the door.

'Who are you?' he asked rudely.

'I am Principal Wilson Bones from the Great Lake School of Magic. Vernon's jaw dropped. He sighed. 'Figured one of you people would show up one day. Boy! Harry came down the stairs. 'There's a man who needs to speak with you. Take him up to your room, I don't need Dudders to hear about any on this rubbish.'

'Uh, my room is this way, sir.' Harry walked up the stairs and Bones followed. He closed the door behind him. Harry pulled out the chair from his desk for him and then sat on his bed.

'Thank you, Mr. Potter,' Bones said, smiling at him broadly. 'I'm not sure if you heard my name when I introduced myself to your Uncle but I am Principal Wilson Bones.'

'Jeremy did tell me about you, sir,' Harry said.

'Yes, I know. Mrs. Dwyer wrote to me about your friendship with her son. I'm glad you've made a friend, Mr. Potter. What he has told you about the wizarding world will assist you when you attend your new school.'

'And what school might that be, sir?' Harry asked.

'The Great Lake School of Magic. Can't tell you which great lake, of course, the school is unplottable and that would make it pointless. I'll organise it for Jeremy to help you pick up all your school supplies and such. I have taken the liberty of removing some money from your parent's or I suppose it is now your vault so that you can pay for what you need. I suggest avoiding extravagant purchases, although at school you may have a cat, a toad or an owl, something you might wish to consider. Here is the money I took out of your vault (he pulled a drawstring sack from his pocket), and this envelope contains your school supplies required for the duration of the school year as well as a train ticket to get you there. Mr. Dwyer is now a second-year student so he will be able to assist you with anything else you need. Do you have any questions, Mr. Potter?' Bones asked.

'Yes, I do. Can you tell me anything about my parents?' Harry asked. Jeremy said that he had recognised Harry's name but didn't know where from. Bones sighed.

'Yes, I can. Your father's name was James and your mother's name was Lily. You look strikingly like your father, although you do have your mother's eyes,' he said, looking at Harry. 'They lived in a time when there was a very evil wizard named...Voldemort (he shuddered), although we only call him You-know-who. Voldemort attacked your parents at their home and killed them. When he attacked you, for some reason he couldn't kill you and it got him instead. The scar you bear on your forehead is a result of the curse he used on you. Some people over here will have heard of you, as opposed to in England, where everyone has heard of you and you are a complete phenomenon.'

'Me? I defeated a powerful evil wizard? How?' Harry asked in disbelief.

'I don't know,' Bones admitted. 'But don't let it affect you too much. Just try to enjoy life as much as you can. I'll leave you now to think about it. See you of the first of September, Mr. Potter.' He walked out the door,

'See you,' Harry muttered. He laid back on his bed and thought about what he had just learnt.

Harry, after much debating with himself whether to say anything or not, finally told Jeremy what Principal Bones had told him. Jeremy was shocked.

'That's where I know your name from,' he breathed. 'Man, that really, really sucks!' Harry laughed.

'That sums it up nicely,' he said. Jeremy changed the topic.

'Tell your aunt and uncle that you have to go get your school supplies. I'll show you around our local Magical Mall, you can get all your stuff there.' And so he did. Textbooks, parchment, quills, potions supplies, etc were bought-and an owl. A beautiful snow white owl. Harry named her Hedwig after a name he found in one of his textbooks. Finally the first day of school arrived. All of Harry's things were packed in the trunk he had bought. Mrs. Dwyer knocked on the Dursley's door about an hour before the train was due to leave. She came up to Harry's room and levitated his trunk down. He kept a small backpack with him that had his wand, a number of wizarding sweets that Jeremy had introduced him to, a book and his wizarding chess set, one of the few extravagant purchases he had allowed himself to buy. Jeremy had taught him some strategies over the summer-now to his regret, for Harry was now a better player than he was. Hedwig was in her cage for the journey, which she disliked but Harry kept her with him in the compartment, for she would have truly hated him if he had been stupid enough to put her in the baggage car. Harry, after a very brief goodbye from the Dursleys, left with the Dwyers, who drove him to the train station, an entirely magical building that no muggle could see. Jeremy and Harry boarded the train, waving furiously goodbye to Mrs. Dwyer and Jeremy's five year old sister. The train ride passed quickly with the boys swapping jokes and just having fun. Harry was growing more and more excited as they approached the school. One thing he really wanted to do was learn how to fly on a broomstick. He didn't have his own but the school owned several that the first years learnt to fly on. Finally they arrived. Jeremy left with the rest of the students who already went the Great Lake and Harry remained with the rest of the first years. They were led into a large hall, known simply as the Hall. There, a cheerful looking teacher told them about the four houses; Earth, Fire, Air, and Water. Earth was the green house, represented by a magical plant called Devil's Snare, Fire was red and was represented by a phoenix, air was yellow and was represented by a flying squirrel (the magical kind) and water was blue and was represented by a mermaid. The teacher, Mrs. Prewitt, informed them that being sorted into these four houses was just a way to determine which people were on which Quidditch teams. They were sorted and to Harry's happiness he was in Fire house with Jeremy, who quickly introduced him to his own friends and helped him make his own among the first years.

Harry quickly got used to his class schedules and found himself enjoying his schooling much more than he had at his old muggle school. On the Thursday of his first week, he had his very first flying lesson. Arianna Gallegant was the flying instructor.

'Class, flying is not something to be taken lightly,' she said. 'If you do not follow instructions you could be seriously injured. Just so you know, I do not expect any of you to be doing anything more advanced than hovering this lesson and very few of you will be able to do that.' The lesson proceeded. Three people in the class, including Harry, were able to hover.

'Well, that's pretty good.' Ms. Gallegant said in surprise. 'I think I'll try something different this year and watch you three one at a time try to fly.' The only girl who had succeeded took off, went forward for about five feet, began to nose dive but just managed to pull herself out of it before she staggered of her broom on the ground.

'Well done, Lara. Steady now. Okay, you go, Liam,' Ms. Gallegant said to the boy other than Harry who had succeeded. He fared slightly better than Lara, going for around ten feet. Then it was Harry's turn. He mounted his broom and then, holding his breath, kicked off the ground. He soared off the ground straight up into the air like a rocket. He heard the gasps of the class and Ms. Gallegant below him.

'Come down lower, Potter!' Ms. Gallegant shouted. He did as she said. 'You seem to have a knack for flying. I want you to fly over to that tree, go around it and come back here and land, as fast as you can without hurting yourself!' Harry sped off and Ms. Gallegant started a magical stopwatch she had pulled from within her robes. Harry zoomed over to the tree, did a u-turn around it that made Arianna Gallegant blink and pinch herself to ensure she wasn't seeing things, and landed on the ground to thunderous applause and cheering from the class. Ms. Gallegant stared at her stopwatch in disbelief. 'That was incredible, Potter!' she cried. 'I strongly suggest that you try out for your house Quidditch team! I believe the Fire house trials are being held on Monday after dinner. As for the rest of you, don't even think of trying to copy Mr. Potter's performance, as he has a rare talent for flying and I do believe the rest you would hurt yourselves should you attempt to copy him. That's the end of class, off to lunch!'

'She told you to try out for the Quidditch team!?' Jeremy gaped at dinner that night. 'She's never done that before, except to me when I, uh, was teaching one of my wizarding friends about baseball and hit a ball through the top window of the school-but that was at the end of the year when one of the beaters was transferring to a different school! Wow!'

'Are there any positions open?' Harry asked.

'Yeah actually, seeker and chaser. Well, they're all open really, except keeper, but that's coz the keeper is James, but those two positions were taken by seventh-years last year. The other people retrying out were in the other positions last year.' Harry knew what all the positions were, as Quidditch had been the topic of much discussion over the summer and Jeremy's parents had taken them both to a match. 'You should talk to James, he's the team captain-actually he's walking over here now!' Harry turned to see a lanky tall boy with black hair walking towards them.

'Hey. Is this him, Jeremy?' he asked.

''Yeah, this is Harry Potter. Harry this is James Sullivan. He's the keeper of the Fire team,' Jeremy said. James sat down on the bench next to them.

'Ms. Gallegant talked to me and said I should ask you to come to the Quidditch trials on Monday. She said she's never seen anyone as young as you fly like that before,' James said.

'People have got to stop saying stuff like that, my head's going to swell up,' Harry muttered. James and Jeremy laughed.

'None the less, come try out on Monday. Do you prefer being a chaser or a seeker?' James asked.

'I don't know,' Harry said truthfully. 'Today was the first time I've ever flown.'

'Wow,' James said, staring at him. 'Ms. Gallegant doesn't give out compliments very often. Well, Jeremy will show you the way to the pitch and then we'll have a look at how you do in both positions. See you on Monday, Harry?' James asked, standing up.

'Yeah, I'll see you then,' Harry replied.

Monday couldn't come fast enough for Harry. But finally it was there and he and Jeremy scarfed down their dinner and went down to the Quidditch pitch. James was there with a small crowd of students. There were no other first years.

'Okay, everybody pick up a broom. I want you to all do three laps around the pitch as fast as you can and come back to me. Off you go.' In unison, the ten students trying out kicked off the ground and began flying around the oval. Harry was surprised to see that he was towards the front of the group. He could see some of the others straining to maintain the speed he was going at, where as he was just relaxing and still beating them. Harry pushed his broom harder and ended up as second to finish, directly behind a seventh year.

'Well done, all of you!' James said. 'I'm going to ask you four to sit to the side please,' he pointed to the four last to finish, 'because speed isn't everything and I've still got to see some skills today.' The first of the four people to land was the other boy from Harry's first flying class. Apparently he had been practicing because he had improved a lot. Harry turned his attention back to the tryouts as James spoke his name. 'Now the only two new people are Waldo and Harry here. Harry doesn't really have a preference because he's new to flying. Waldo, what about you?' James asked.

'I'd prefer to be chaser. We'll see how we both go.' Waldo said, smiling at Harry.

'That's the right attitude, putting the team and not yourself first. I'm going to have you guys work with these guys. One at a time, Waldo, then you Harry head up in the air with Jasmine and Mark, and chuck around the quaffle for a bit. Off you go, Waldo,' James said. Waldo flew into the air and practiced passing and catching the quaffle with the confirmed chasers. He was very good. When it was Harry's turn, he got the hang of it after a minute or two but he wasn't quite as smooth at it as Waldo. He flew back down to the ground. 'Alright,' James said. 'Now let's see how you go with find the snitch,' He let the golden ball loose and soon it had disappeared somewhere on the Quidditch pitch. Waldo once again went first. He came back down five minutes later without the snitch.

'Sorry, James. I couldn't find it.'

'That's alright, Waldo, let's see what Harry here can do,' James said. Harry kicked off the ground. He began circling the pitch, keeping his eyes peeled for anything. The sunlight glinted off of something and Harry sped up, hoping that this was the snitch. As he got closer, he saw that it was. The snitch led Harry on a desperate chase, but three minutes after he started he landed on the ground with the snitch grasped firmly in his hand.

'Well done!' James roared. The others joined him in cheering and clapping for Harry. 'Well, didn't that work out well?! A new seeker and chaser and brilliant ones at that! Excellent work from all, our first practice is on Thursday afternoon.' The team began leaving but Harry walked over to James.

'What's up, Harry?' James asked.

'I'm not sure if Jeremy has told you,' Harry said, 'but I'm from England and I'm only going to be here for one more year before I go back with my family.' James frowned. 'But what I thought,' Harry went on, 'is that maybe that other first year could come along to practice, just so he can get better, and he might be a good seeker in one year's time.'

'Not a bad idea,' James mused. 'Thanks for letting me know, Harry. I'll get in touch with him.'

Harry's school year went by very quickly. One of the first memorable moments was when Hedwig delivered a package to him that contained a Nimbus 2000, the fastest broom available. It was a present from his relatives and Principal Bones. Bones had paid out of the goodness of his heart; the Dursleys paid because a letter instructed them that the monthly deposits they were still receiving ought to go to Harry in some way shape or form and this present was a good way to go about it. Harry's year was full of happy moments, winning the sporting cup, learning to swim properly in the Great Lake (and meeting a few lovely looking lady mermaids in the process) and of course, learning magic. All too soon, the year was over and Harry had said goodbye to Jeremy, James, his new friends, including Liam, the boy who was now ready to be seeker next year thanks to Harry and was sitting in the office of Principal Bones who had called him in for a final farewell.

'Well, Mr. Potter. It's been an interesting but wonderful year, hasn't it?' Principal Bones said.

'Yes, sir. I'm going to miss this place and the people here,' Harry said.

'Rest assured they will miss you, too, Mr. Potter. I'm sure that all your friends are hoping for you to return sometime in future. But now I must discuss with you a serious matter,' Bones said, unsmilingly. 'You will recall how last year I told you that you are a complete phenomenon in the wizarding world of Great Britain?' Harry smiled. He knew bones was joking.

'Yes...but surely you were only joking right? I'm just a kid.' Harry's smile faltered somewhat as Bones failed to crack a smile.

'I'm afraid not, Mr. Potter. Here you are not very well known and are just a 'kid' as you said. That is because You-Know-Who didn't have all that much to do with America. He might have, eventually, but you put a stop to him before he did. This makes you a huge celebrity in Britain's magical community. To most people you are Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, a saviour and an enigma, for nobody knows how you did what you did. I'm just trying to tell you how different things will be over there. Your new magical school will be Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am acquainted with the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore and he has told me to tell you that you will return to England with the Dursleys and he will arrange for you to start at Hogwarts about a week into the school year. He will also make arrangements for the classes that you are going to miss. He wants you to get to know the area that your relatives (and yourself during the summer months) will be living in.' Dumbledore actually wanted to cement the protection Harry would receive while staying in his family's home, but Harry nor Wilson Bones knew this. 'You will be sorted into your new house where I am sure you will make plenty of new friends.' Bones looked at his watch. 'It is now time for you to go,' He stood and Harry followed suit. 'Thank you, Harry,' Bones said, using Harry's given name for the first time. 'It has been a pleasure and an honour to have known you.'

'You too, sir.'

After a horribly long aeroplane ride (as the only type of flying Harry liked was done on a broomstick), the Dursleys and Harry arrived in England. They drove to their new (or rather old), home with, as per usual, a series of moving vans behind them. The Dursleys and Harry settled in fairly quickly. Harry and Dudley spent their time meeting people in the neighbourhood (Aunt Petunia was rather wary after that little incident last time), and learning about the area. Harry received the occasional letter from Jeremy and replied using Hedwig to carry the letter to the airmail portkey. On the Friday of the first week on school, Harry received a letter. The envelope also contained a train ticket, the train in question departing at eight from platform 9 ¾ at Kings Cross Station the following Monday. Harry quickly overlooked the strange number; he had learnt quickly there were some things in the wizarding world that you don't question, for they just are. Harry's letter stated:

Dear Mr. Potter,

Welcome back to England. As stated on your ticket, you will be leaving from Kings Cross Station on Monday. This same day you will begin your first classes at Hogwarts after being sorted into one of the following houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Rubeus Hagrid, the Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, will meet you at Platform 9 on Monday and escort you to the school. Tutoring arrangements have been made so that you can catch up the work you have missed from the first week; it will not take you long. Principal Bones has communicated to us the equipment that you already have; the only things you are missing are this year's textbooks and I have taken the liberty of purchasing these for you with money from your bank vault (a transaction record of this will be located in the front cover of one of your books). He has also given us an idea of your skills at magic so far and I am pleased to say that you will fit right in with the second year curriculum at Hogwarts. Please bring all of the magical/school related items you already own to school: you may also bring your broomstick and your owl. I will see you on Monday morning and I hope you will enjoy your time here.

Hoping to speak to you personally soon,

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore

(Insert scrawled signature here)

Uncle Vernon dropped Harry off with his trunk, owl, broomstick and the same backpack (packed with the same things that he had taken to his first trip to Great Lake School), at the station on Monday morning at 8:40. He quickly found a trolley and heaving his things onto it, began moving towards platform 9. Upon reaching it, he began to look around nervously. He had no idea what this Mr. Hagrid looked like...maybe he would be holding a sign with Harry's name on it much like the ones you would see at muggle airports? Then a deep voice called out:

'Harry! Harry Potter! O'er 'ere!' Harry turned to see who was calling and his eyes widened in shock. The voice belonged to the biggest (and not in a fat way, just big), man he had ever seen. He had long black hair and a long wild beard of the same colour and looked to be at least 2 ½ times Harry's body length. Harry walked up to the giant man slightly cautiously. The man grinned. 'Well now, haven't seen yer since you was a baby 'Arry but I'd recognise yer anywhere. Yer your dad through n' through, 'cept for them eyes of yours, them that belong to your mother,' he said.

'I presume you're Mr. Hagrid, sir, but how did you know my parents and me?' Harry asked. The man guffawed loudly.

'Mr. Hagrid?! Now that's one I 'aven't 'eard before. Just call me Hagrid, boy, everybody does. I knew your parents coz I went to Hogwarts back in the day, 'cept...well I got expelled but Dumbledore kept me on as a groundskeeper so I was there when they went to school. I, uh, helped get you away on that night...that's the last time I saw you.' Harry didn't need Hagrid to explain what 'that night' was. He changed the subject quickly before things got awkward.

'So where is this platform then? 9 ¾? That's a bit odd,' Harry said confusedly.

'Nah, just means none of them muggles can see us and no new kids hop on the wrong train. So, all yer've got ta do is walk at that there barrier.' He pointed at a very solid looking brick wall that divided the different platforms. Harry gulped. 'All you got to do is just keep walking. Just do that. Pick up a bit o' speed if yer want but it don't really matter, either way you'll get through.' And he did (albeit at a bit of a run). Harry looked around. There was a bright loud red train engine with a single carriage of the same colour attached behind it. He pushed his trolley towards it and Hagrid helped him load his things onto it. They went into one of the carriage, Harry holding his backpack and Hedwig in her cage, and sat down. Hagrid just managed to squeeze himself into the compartment. With a loud 'Whoo-whoo!' the train started.

'That's a nice bird yer've got there, 'Arry. Couldn't have picked a better one meself,' Hagrid said, admiring Hedwig. If Hedwig was a cat, she would have started purring but she wasn't so she just sat there happily, blinking.

'Thanks,' Harry said.

'So this, Harry, is called the Hogwarts Express. Now normally this train would have a lot more carriages coz it'd have the whole school on it but today this one is especially for you. They even got the trolley-' The door opened, interrupting Hagrid.

'Anything off the trolley, Hagrid, Mr. Potter?' A pleasant looking lady was standing there with a trolley loaded with wizarding sweets, far too many for a single person to eat without being sick.

'-lady ta come,' Hagrid finished belatedly. 'I'm fine, thanks. Yer want anything, 'Arry?'

'Yes, please.' Thankfully Harry had some of his money in his bag, although the most of the amount he had withdrawn before he left America was secured in his trunk. Harry picked out his favourite candies, some of which knew from America, some which he had never seen before. Or sweets now, Harry thought. There was something called Chocolate Frogs which he guessed were a bit like the wizarding Recess Cups, which had cards at the bottom of the packet to collect, only these wizards and witches were from Great Britain (or really, really famous internationally). The card Harry pulled out was Albus Dumbledore.

'Hey!' Harry said, holding the card out for Hagrid to see. 'This is the principal, I mean the headmaster at Hogwarts, isn't it?'

'Yep,' Hagrid said. 'He's a great man he is.' The rest of the train ride passed much the same way with more pleasant conversation. Then the trolley lady came and told Harry that he'd best put on his robes now and five minutes later, they were at Hogwarts.

'Now, when the firs' years get here they get up to the castle in these boats,' Hagrid said, waving his arms. 'The rest get on ta carriages coz they need ta get their firs' coz they need to be seated before the sortin'. Seeing as its yer first time, I figured you might as well go for a boat ride.' They climbed in and soon enough they were at the front of the giant castle that Harry had seen from the boat. Hagrid led Harry inside where an older woman was waiting for them.

'Here he is, Professor,' Hagrid said.

'Thank you, Hagrid,' the woman called as Hagrid lumbered off. 'Mr. Potter, my name is Professor McGonagall, I am the Head of Gryffindor and I teach transfiguration. Please come in to the Great Hall.' Professor McGonagall turned and walked through a large set of double doors. Harry followed. Students sitting at four long tables turned to stare at him.

That's odd, why don't they just sit where they want? Harry thought, puzzled. Whispers followed him as he walked to the front of the hall.

'That's Harry Potter.'

'Harry Potter? Really?'

'Yeah, check out his scar.'

'Wonder what house he's gonna be in?'

'Dunno. If he's an evil git, he'll be Slytherin, an idiot he'll be in Hufflepuff, a smart ass Ravenclaw, and a brave one he'll be in Gryffindor.'

Wow. They really take this sorting stuff seriously, Harry thought. At the front of the room there was a tattered old hat sitting on a stool.

'Now, Mr, Potter, if you will just place the sorting hat on your head, it will tell you which house you will be in.' Harry sat on the stool and put on the hat.

*Extract from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*

'Hmm,' a small voice said in his head. 'Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, oh my goodness, yes-and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting...So where shall I put you?

(My line) Gryffindor...or perhaps Slytherin?

You could be great, you know and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that.

*End of extract*

Harry made up his mind. He pulled off the hat. 'Oi, I haven't chosen yet,' said the indignant voice of the sorting hat.

'Professor,' Harry said, addressing the wizard with long white hair and a beard, 'the hat's suggested two houses to me but I don't know anything about any of them.'

'Oh, that's easy enough,' the sorting hat interrupted. It burst into song:

*Another extract from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone*(A/N: Last one, I swear)

Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat,

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true,

And unafraid of toil'

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

If you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin,

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folk use any means,

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none),

For I'm a thinking cap!

*End of extract*

Harry was unimpressed. He continued to talk to Professor Dumbledore.

'Well, that's very good and all,' he said. The students at the front sniggered and the sound was soon heard at the back of the Hall as the students there were told what he had said. (The hat sputtered and the sat there fuming.) 'But if it were possible, could I have a few days to choose?' Dumbledore sat there thoughtfully.

'I don't see why not, Mr. Potter,' he said at last. 'You may have one week. For six days you will alternate between the two houses the hat suggested to you. You will make your final decision on the seventh day or the hat will make it for you. During this week you will not have any points taken of you, except for serious transgressions and these will be taken from your house when it is decided. You will sleep in the dormitory of whatever house you are with for the day, although you are not allowed to share the location of these rooms, nor the password with anyone outside of that particular house,' he said. 'Is that clear?'

'Yes, sir,' Harry replied.

'Good,' Dumbledore said. 'For the remainder of the day you will be with Slytherin house. Tomorrow morning you will sit at the Gryffindor table. Feel free to go eat lunch now,'

'Thank you, sir,' Harry said. He walked over to the table that had a green banner with a snake hanging over it. Harry hesitating, wondering where to sit down, when he saw a boy with blonde hair beckoning at him. He sat down and an extra plate magically appeared.

'Hey, Potter. My name is Malfoy. Draco Malfoy,' the boy said. Harry didn't know whether the name was meant to mean anything so all he said was:

'Pleased to meet you.' Draco laughed.

'Well, you really put that hat in its place, didn't you? Stupid scrap of material,' he said.

'Yeah, I guess I did,' Harry said.

'So is it true then?' Harry frowned at him. 'Do you really have the scar?' Draco asked.

'Yeah,' Harry said. He pushed his hair out of his face, letting Draco stare at it for a moment.

'So how did you do it? How did you defeat You-Know-Who?' Draco said, staring intently at Harry.

'I don't know,' Harry said honestly. 'I just did.'

'Come off it,' Draco said sceptically. 'You must have some idea.'

Not a clue,' Harry said firmly. He began to eat his lunch and after a while, Draco did the same.

The first class that Harry had that day was potions. It was located down in the dungeons. A man with greasy black hair, sallow skin, and a hooked nose came into the room.

'Mr. Potter, my name is Professor Snape. For your information, there will be no foolish wand waving in this class. According to your previous teacher you are quite proficient at potions work; I shall reserve my judgement for now. Class, your instructions are on the board and the ingredients you do not own are on the table,' Professor Snape said. The room was filled with scraping noises as students pushed out their chairs to get their ingredients.

'Mr. Longbottom,' Professor Snape said in an annoyed voice. 'In future please remember to tuck in your chair. Five points from Gryffindor.' A slightly chubby boy who was picking up his ingredients bowed his head.

'That's a bit unfair, isn't it?' Harry said to Draco when he had sat down. 'Other kids left their chairs out.' Draco sniggered

'Yeah, but they were all Slytherins. Snape is the Head of Slytherin, he never takes points from us.' Harry wasn't convinced that this was fair but said nothing.

After dinner, Draco led Harry down to the Slytherin dormitories.

'You need the password to get in each time. Our's is open.'

'Well that's very original,' Harry said sarcastically. Draco frowned at him.

'What do you mean?'

'The password is open. What's so special about that?'

'Open? The password is just a special snake hiss, how did you get open from that?' Draco got the portrait to close again and then said the password again.

'Open. See?'

'Yeah, you hissed slightly, but you still said open.' Draco was confused but then he began to look excited.

'Do you mean to say you're a parseltongue?!'

'A what?' Harry asked confusedly.

'A parseltongue, you can talk to snakes!'

'I've never tried before. I don't know.'

'Come into the dormitory, I know a spell that shoots a snake out the end of my wand. You can try talking to it.' Draco led Harry into the Slytherin Common room where around ten students were sitting. 'Hey guys, I think Potter might be a parseltongue!' he yelled excitedly! 'Come watch, we're going to try it out!' The students gathered around Harry interestedly.

Draco pulled out his wand. 'Serpensortia!' A long black snake shot out of it.

'Hello,' it hissed at the group. 'What am I doing here? Ooh, don't you look tasty!' It lunged at one of the Slytherin girls, who shrieked.

'Stop!' Harry yelled. The snake turned to look at him.

'Well, a wizard who can talk to snakes. Haven't met one of them in a long while.'

'Potter, get him to do something. Tell him to come towards me and then turn around and go back to you!' Draco instructed.

'Uh, I'm trying to prove to them that I can talk to snakes. Could you go over to that blonde boy there and then come back to me?' Harry asked nervously.

'Certainly. Wouldn't want them to think you a liar. And I do so love to scare people.' The snake slithered over to Draco, the reared up and hissed, causing him to stumble backwards. The snake chuckled. 'Now wasn't that fun?' he turned and slithered back to Harry. Draco pointed his wand at the snake who could not see him and yelled:

'Vipera evanesca!' The snake disappeared. 'Wow! You really can talk to snakes! I think you belong in Slytherin. You know that Salazar Slytherin, the founder of this house, he was a parseltongue.'

'Really?' Harry asked. Draco nodded. A feeling of importance swelled over Harry.

The next morning, by the time Harry walked into the Great Hall, rumours had spread that he could talk to snakes. Draco walked him over to an older boy with red hair at the Gryffindor table.

'This is Percy Weasley,' Draco sneered. 'He's the Gryffindor prefect.' Percy stood up, glaring at Malfoy, although he smiled when he turned his attention to Harry.

'Nice to meet you, Harry. You'll be spending time with my younger brother Ron and his friend Hermione Granger. They're just down there.' He pointed down at the other end of the table where another red haired boy sat with a girl with large teeth and fuzzy brown hair. They waved at him.

Draco walked him down towards the Gryffindors he was to spend his time with.

'Do I feel sorry for you. You have to spend time with that blood traitor Weaselby who doesn't have a single galleon and the know-it-all mudblood has-to-answer-every-question-in-class Granger.'

'Hey, isn't that more than just a bit rude!' Harry protested at the use of the word mudblood.

Draco eyed him.

'It's true. You should know that mudbloods belong in their proper places-anywhere not in the wizarding world! See you later, Potter.' With a last confused glance at Harry, Draco walked away.

'Um, hi,' Harry said to the two people in front of him who, thankfully, hadn't heard a word Draco said.

'Hi. I'm Ron Weasley,' the red haired boy said, 'and this is my friend Hermione Granger.'

'Nice to meet you. You might have gathered that my name is Harry,' Harry said politely. He figured that he should find out the good things about these people before writing them off as Draco had. Hermione and Ron laughed.

'Yeah, we figured that out,' Hermione said. She stopped laughing and bit her lip. 'Is it true?' she asked.

'What?' Harry asked.

'Do you have a scar?' Ron asked. Harry pushed his hair back for what he felt must have been the hundredth time since he came to the school, as people kept stopping him in the corridor to ask the same question.

'No, Ron, I meant...can you really talk to snakes?' Hermione said, exasperated.

'Um, yeah. Is that a bad thing?' Harry asked.

'No,' Hermione said, although she hesitated. Harry thought that it might have something to do with 'snake-talking' being associated with being a Slytherin. 'It's just very unusual. Not many people can do it.'

'Well there's another thing that makes me special...aka stick out like a sore thumb,' Harry muttered. Ron and Hermione laughed. Over breakfast, Harry found out that Hermione was to be his tutor for the classes he had missed. When they had finished lunch that day, she took him to the library where she began to teach him a charm they had learnt in their first week. By the end of lunch, Harry had it down pat.

'Wow,' Harry said to Hermione admirably. 'Draco said you were smart and he was right.' Hermione choked.

'Malfoy said I was smart? Are we talking about the same person?' Harry looked down.

'Well he didn't say that exactly. He...he called you...a know-it-all mudblood...not that I agree with him or anything!' Harry added hastily. Hermione sighed.

'Now that sounds more like the Malfoy I know. Don't worry, I'm getting used to it.' But Harry did worry. He wasn't too sure that he wanted to be associated with Draco if he said things like that.

The last class Harry had that day was charms. Just before he walked into the classroom, yet another person walking by asked if they could see his scar. Harry pushed back his hair, but he was beginning to get irritated.

'Welcome, Harry, welcome!' said the small wizard standing on a stack of books who taught the class. 'My name is Professor Flitwick and if there is anything I can do to help you, don't hesitate to ask!'

'Well, sir,' Harry said, seizing on the opportunity to make his feelings known. 'I think I could get one of the girls to lend me a hair clip to push my hair out of my face, but do you think you could put a charm on the back of my robes in neon flashing letter saying 'YES, I DO HAVE A SCAR!' The class roared with laughter. Flitwick also chuckled.

'I'll think about it, Mr. Potter.' By the end of that evening most students had heard the story (and although didn't have neon letters flashing on his back, he had clipped his hair back with one of Hermione's hair clips). Nobody was asking him about it anymore, but several people walked by the Gryffindor table to have a look. Thankfully he was able to take the clip out by the next morning. It was when he was sitting with the Slytherin's again that the topic of Quidditch first came up.

'So, Harry, do you play Quidditch?' Draco asked.

'Yeah, I do actually. I started playing as a seeker last year for my team in America. Do you play?'

'In your first year, you say? That's pretty good. Unfortunately I already play the position of seeker for Slytherin, although some of the seventh years will be gone then so you can tryout then.'

Oh, yeah. That'd be great,' Harry said, pretending to be enthusiastic.

It came up again on his fourth day when he was sitting with Gryffindor again while he was talking to Hermione.

'Instead of tutoring, I'm going to go down to fly around for a while on the Quidditch pitch today,' he told her.

Hermione pursed her lips but didn't protest.

'You play Quidditch?!' Ron asked excitedly. 'Hermione isn't into it at all, but I am! What team do you go for?'

'I don't know about any of the teams over here, I only know the American ones,' Harry admitted. Ron immediately tried to convince him that the Chudley Cannons were the best team around (whoever they were). Harry stopped Ron's enthusiastic ranting by assuring him that yes, the Chudley Cannons sounded like a good team. They went up to the dormitories to get Harry's broom.

'Whoah, you have a Nimbus 2000! That's one of the fastest brooms available' Ron exclaimed.

'Yeah, it's pretty cool,' Harry said.

'I'll say. Come down to the pitch, I want to see you fly.' They went down to the Quidditch pitch and after showing Harry where the Quidditch balls were, Ron went and sat in the stands to watch. Harry released the snitch and after a minute took off into the air after it, causing Ron to whoop when he caught it again in less than five minutes. When Harry landed on the ground, Ron was already there waiting for him.

'That was amazing! You know it'd be perfect if you get into Gryffindor coz my younger sister is the seeker!' Harry frowned.

'You dislike your younger sister so much that you'd want me to take over her position?' he asked.

'No,' said Ron. 'One of our chasers left to go to Transylvania, some people say she got bitten by a vampire over the summer or something. Oliver Woods is our team captain and he's put Ginny on seeker coz it's easier for a new person to play chaser, but she'd prefer to be a chaser. Make sure you go see Wood if you get into Gryffindor, the first game is coming up soon!'

'Sure,' Harry said, actually enthusiastic this time.

Harry was beginning to think that Gryffindor was the house he wanted to be in and his thoughts were cemented over the next few days. On the fifth day he watched uncomfortably when Draco and his friends continued to torment first years, laughing when one of them burst into tears. On the sixth day when he was sitting next to Ron, he met Ginny Weasley when she came over to talk to Ron during lunch.

'Ron, here's a letter I got from Mum,' Harry heard a female voice from over his shoulder say. 'She says that I'm to read it first, then give it to you, then make sure you give it to Percy first because last time Fred and George dipped her letter in something that made his skin go all green for a week. I thought that was funny but apparently she disagrees.' Ron chortled. Harry turned around and saw a pretty girl with red hair and bright shining brown eyes talking to Ron.

'Gin, this is Harry. Harry, this is my younger sister Ginny,' Ron said. She turned to him and smiled.

'Nice to meet you.' She shook his hand. It felt warm in his. Harry's palm tingled.

'Hey Gin, do you know Harry plays seeker?' Her smile got even bigger.

'You do?! That's awesome, if you get in you can take my spot and I can be a chaser! That would be great!' 'Harry found himself smiling back, her smile was contagious.

'So I've been told.'

'I'm going to try and track down Hermione,' Ron said. 'Betcha she's in the library, I'd say it's her first home, not her second one.' Ron went off and Ginny sat down and kept talking to Harry.

'So, I guess being a seeker is just in your blood,' she said. Harry frowned.

'What do you mean?' Her eyes widened.

'You mean you don't know?' Harry shook his head. 'C'mon, let me show you.' She grabbed his hand and dragged him out off the Great Hall, not letting go until she had led him up several flights of stairs, through a series of corridors and in front of a glass cabinet. 'Look here,' Ginny said, pointing at one of the trophies. 'James Potter is your dad, isn't he?'

'Yeah.' Harry looked at the trophy. It was for Gryffindor winning the Quidditch Cup several years ago and underneath seeker, the name 'James Potter' was engraved. Ginny seemed to realise this was an important moment for him, so she stepped away from the glass case and stood there silently. Harry turned to her.

'Thank you. For showing me this. It means a lot to me.'

'No problem,' Ginny said. They walked back to the Great Hall where they found Ron and Hermione bickering, Ron saying that Hermione needed a social life and Hermione arguing that the book she was reading was really good and that Ron had interrupted her. Harry and Ginny sat down and the two of them didn't notice. Ginny mouthed to him 'Let's scare them.' Boo on the count of three. 1, 2, 3...'

'BOO!' Harry and Ginny said at the same time. Hermione shrieked and Ron fell out of his chair. Harry and Ginny roared with laughter.

'Very funny,' Hermione said. Ron just rubbed his sore backside silently.

And finally, it was the day. The day that they had all been waiting for. Harry had to make it choice. During breakfast time, Professor Dumbledore called Harry to the front where the Sorting Hat was sitting on a chair, glaring at him.

'Well, Mr. Potter? Have you made your decision or do you need to put on the hat again?' Dumbledore asked.

'I've made my choice, sir,' Harry said.

'And that is?' The students at the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables held their breath.

'Gryffindor,' Harry said firmly. The Gryffindor table burst into cheers while the Slytherins sent death glares in Harry's direction.

'Very well,' Dumbledore said. 'If you would please come here, Mr. Potter.' The cheers died down abruptly. 'Because you have seen the location of the Slytherin Common room, I will need to perform a memory charm on you. You will remember everything else, for example, as I have heard you are a parseltongue, but you will not know the location anymore. Come here, please.' Harry went and stood next to the professor who rapped him on the head with him wand as he whispered something that Harry didn't hear. He could no longer remember where the Slytherin common room was. 'That will be all, Mr. Potter. You may return to your table.' Harry sat down among the Gryffindors again who all patted him on the back and sent smiles in his direction. A boy came up to him.

'Harry, I'm Oliver Wood, the Gryffindor Quidditch team captain. Ginny tells me that you play seeker. We've got a practice at lunch today, so why don't you come down and show us your stuff?' he said.

'Sure thing,' Harry replied.

'See you there, Potter.

At lunch time, the only person who was on the pitch when Harry got there was Ginny.

'Hey, Harry. Thanks for trying out, I'm looking forward to being a chaser,' Ginny said.

'No problem,' said Harry. Ginny fixed him with a shrewd look in her eyes. 'What?' Harry asked.

'I think you made the right choice,' Ginny said. 'Race you round the pitch!' She kicked off the ground and flew off.

'Yeah, I think so, too,' Harry murmured before he chased after her.

The End