December First, 1987, Anno Domini

I don't think I will never understand why he and I are

classified as 'Freaks'. Until today, our teachers applauded our

smarts. I don't understand how a single incident on the

playground could get the few people who were nice to us to

abandon us so quickly. All that happened was that we were being

picked on by some bullies, two thugs named Dudley Dursley and

Michael Wormwood. The boys chased us, teasing us about having no

proper family and fo 'being charity cases'.

I stopped really fast and turned around, then puncnhed one in his

overly-large gut, then the other in his ratty nose. They tried to hit

me and all of a sudden, there was a bunch of green powder in their

faces, just the color of Harry's eyes. The two thugs started sneezing

their brains off, not that they had any before the incedent, but still.

A few of their friends showed up and all of a sudden, Harry and I

were on the roof. I really don't want to see Mrs. Cole's face when

the letters from Headmistress come berating us for 'climbing school

buildings'. We did nothing of the sort!

I gotta go, someone's knocking on my door. With cynicysm and love,

Remembrance Thorn Calida Jane Riddle-de Basiliscus.'

Thorn gave an exasperated sigh as she hid the old water-logged journal she had come across on the street in a crack in the wall. 'Come IN!' she yelled, and turned a page of the library book in front of her, not really reading it. She kicked her legs in the air lazily as the door creaked open. Someone - Namely Mrs. Cole - should really see about buying some oil for the hinges. The damn things gave her a bleeding headache.

'Thorn?' said a quiet voice. Thorn looked up and saw a skinny, bespectacled boy with ludicrously messy sable hair and eeiry green eyes. She smiled happily 'Hiya Harry. What's up? Do you remember the date? I can't seem to remember, hmm. Oh woe 'tis me! I simply cannot remember!' Thorn looked up at her best friend in the world with big doe eyes. Said best friend in the universe just rolled his eyes. Rude boy. He watched her rub her chin as if pondering something very serious. He grabbed the calender of it's tack on the wall and threw it to her, 'I'll give you a hint, it's circled in red at the bottom, with doodles and arrows all around and pointing to it, and you've been waiting for it because we're finally allowed to walk around, to get away from this icky place for a little while.' His use of the word 'icky' made her smile, even if the calender did hit the back of her head.

Thorn turned into a more comfortable position on her back, elbows resting on the pillow, head facing Harry. 'OH! Now I remember, oh most wonderful, inteligent, superbHarry the Great! Thank you, ever so much for pointing it out to me, Your Bigheadednes,' the sarcasm dripped in her tone like poison; Harry laughed. 'Second only to you my Queen!' he cried as he bounded over to her fingers outstretched. Thorn shrieked as he tickled her, finally kicking him in the groin to get him off her. Harry rolled onto the floor and Thorn gave a mock rebel yell and tackled him. He struggled as she twisted his arm behind his back, almost throwing her off. 'Ha ha!' she screeched. Silly boy had exposed his neck, she stuck her elbow there and he stopped struggling. 'Prat,' he muttered. 'The one and only, mate. The one and only. Oh, and that'd be Royal prat to you,' Thorn replied, then she laughed.

She pulled Harry up, 'C'mon, I want to explore London a bit more. Oh, what did ya come in here for, anyway?' Harry smirked, Thorn was the silliest girl on the planet. And the most confusing. And the most stubbon. The most demented. The most... Thorn. Harry was happy to have her as a best friend. 'Let's go for a walk.'

You see, these two strange little seven year olds were orphans. Harry had some relatives in Surrey, but they dropped him off here, saying that they couldn't keep him. Thorn personally thought they were bastards. But at least because of them Harry wasn't alone. Thorn... was a loner. She didn't need friends, but liked Harry. She was pale as death, and was about as warm. She had curly black hair with a purple tinge most of the time, and pale silver eyes that changed tints with her mood, however they usually stayed a nice silvery green. She could change her looks, sometimes even into an animal if she tired really hard; she usually didn't have the patience for it. She liked to read, and often read old fables and fairy tales, but for some reason couldn't stand more modern versions and stories. She had a passion for drawing and painting. She often drew pictures that almost moved if you looked at them long enough. She was very cold to most people, but she was genuinley nice to the few people she liked, to 'freaks' like her.

One example of this was a bushy haired girl she and Harry met one day when they had snuck off during a day trip to some old shopping market or other. In other words, an excuse for Cole to spend the day shopping while the orphans got a boring History lecture from a demented tour guide. They had gone off in the streets and ended up in a small book shope. There was a door by the books in the back, but only they could see it for some reason. No-one else even looked at it. The girl had asked her mum to let her look at the books behind the door, but her mother said there wasn't one, and to hurry up, they were meeting her father in an hour. Thorn had gone up to the girl while she waited for her parents, and told her that she and Harry could see the door too. She had then given the girl a peck on the cheek and waved good-bye, pulling Harry out the door as she went. The girl thought them both rather strange.

Harry was another oddity. He was very small for his age in everything but height. He was tall-ish, but not overly so. He had wide green eyes the colour of perfect grass, and onyx hair that always seemed messy. But every now and then, when Harry concentrated enough, he could change his hair colour and other features. But he never did so around Mrs. Cole or the other orphans. He didn't want any trouble for his 'freakishness'. They both got yelled at anyway. Harry was really nice, and he liked running a lot, he was very fast, even if he didn't look it. He was quite clever and had a knack for getting away by the skin of his teeth when he was in trouble. He was friendly to anyone that gave him a chance, but like Thorn, he had a mask that took a while to get through. He liked to laugh a lot, and had a really great sense of humour. He liked reading too, but was more interested in watching things. People never noticed him, and he heard more than anyone. He had a faint lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead, and for some weird reason, if Thorn started to get really mad at him, it twinged. They didn't know why it happened, but it calmed Thorn down right quick. She was very protective of her Harry.

Thorn knew the basics of her lineage, her birth father was bloody rich, and when he married for the third time, she was the result. Her French mother had died giving birth to her asking her dad to add de Basiliscus to her name if something ever happened, and her dad had raised her. He changed her name from Riddle to Riddle - de Basiliscus when she was two, but she did not know why; whatever her mum told him must have happened. She knew the meaning of her last name, and one of her middle names, Calida, in Latin, but why she should be given the names Cunning and of Basilisk, she had no idea. Maybe he had seen her talk to snakes, but did she already do that when she was young? She was to receive her inheritance at age 17, but until then she was considered a ward of the state. She had a brother, Tom, by her father's first wife Merope, but no one knew where he went after turning 17 and leaving the Orphanage. He would be about 60 now. Maybe he was dead. He had never come looking for her, and no-one had ever come looking for him, either according to Mrs. Cole

Maybe he didn't know she existed. He has been named for their father, and Marvolo for his mother's father. Naming him had been his mother's last act. Mrs. Cole told her that her father had only found out that he had a son when he brought Thorn to the orphanage. Maybe someday she might meet him, but if she didn't it was his loss. She didn't need anyone except her Harry, and only him. Harry came here when he was a year old, she at age three. They had both been adopted several times, only to be taken back to the orphanage because they scared their new 'parents' each time. They eventually stopped coming to the line-up for adoption so as to stop the disappointment. They had been here longer than any other children had been for a while. Mrs. Cole said Tom was like that too. Was he called a freak, too?

Thorn shook her head as if to disspell such thoughts. There was no need to dwell on the past. What happened had happened and she'd survived it, right? No use crying over spilt milk, she tried to convince herself. Thorn drummed her long fingers against her thigh, 'Harry, what's that building?'. They were in front of a grimy loking pub, but no-one seemed to see it but them, just like that door in the book shop. Everyone's eyes slid from the music store to the book shoppe on either side of it. 'Wow,' Harry said simply. That was the only explaination Harry had for it, maybe there were other people like them. There had to be somewhere. 'Well, d'you wanna go in?' Thorn asked, and the two strode inside, hand in hand.

^*-.-*^

'Bless My Soul! It's Harry Potter!' the bar man said as Harry and Thorn reached the counter. He reminded her of ragtime music and the like. He could definitely fit in that time period. There was a chorus of 'Harry Potter!' and squeals as eveyone rushed to Harry. Thorn's eyes narrowed, she really loathed crowds. The mob was nearly on them, and Thorn and Harry both cringed. A purple and green sheild appeared around them. A few people crashed into it and received some nasty burns, others stopped short just in time. Some folk pounded on it, only to get angry welts upon their hands. The bar man looked shocked. Then someone started yelling at her.

Thorn scowled and she screamed at them 'Shut up you big jerks! Leave him alone, what'd Harry do to you?!' People were yelling and screaming at her and Harry. What was going on?! 'Harry, I wanna go,' she whispered to her friend. Harry nodded and they both ducked their heads and ran for the door. The bar man followed them. The mob saw what they were doing and cut them off. Thorn looked around in fear, what did all these people want with them?! They were seven year olds for the love of God! Thier sheild dropped. They were at a dead end, the room was small, not many windows or vents, and the only good light came from some candles on the walls. There was a trach can on the back wall, but other than tables and chairs, that was it. She stood in front of Harry. No-one would hurt him. Not her friend.

The barman grabbed her and Harry and spun around. She felt like she was being smooshed into a tiny space that didn't have room for her. Where was Harry? She tried to turn toward him, but next thing she knew, there was a loud crack and the three of them were in a small room, like the kind in a hotel. She saw Harry sitting on the ground next to her. 'Harry!' she kneeled down and hugged him. He looked dazed. 'Ow.' Thorn laughed in spite of herself. There was a pounding on the door. Thornturned to watch the bar man, fear in her eyes, even if she tried to hide it.

The man waved a carved stick at the door, someone on the other side of it shouted something sounding like 'Aloe ham aura!' and a flash of blue light could be seen through the crack under the door. Thorn's eyes darted nervously to the bar man again. She shifted over as Harry tried to get around her. 'Stay put!' she hissed under her breath, still eying the other man warily. He just stood and waited like he had all the time in the world. He just leaned on the dark wooden door, his arms crossed with his stick in one hand, pointed upward. Maybe it was a wand, like the people in the old fables she read used... No, that was silly. She and Harry didn't need wands. Grrr, what was going on?! Someone must have kicked the door, because it shook, though the bar man seemed unfazed.

Thorn backed Harry against the wall, keeping him in place. She was better at controling... whatever it was that they did, magic, freakishness, whatever and she could aim it at specific places more easily. Personally, she didn't want to find out what it was like to actually be turned into a duck, like Harry had done to a lamp post once. She shivered. It was cold in here. She backed Harry against the dresser. Thorn muttered loudly, 'Why did you lot go nutters on my best friend?' Her head was level, her chin just a tad high, and she had all the regal bearing of a queen. She definitly did not look like a lowly seven year old orphan. She shook her hair back imperiously, and crossed her arms. She wanted an answer. She wanted one now. Harry stifled a laugh. Thorn turned to glare at him.

The bar man looked releived, he put his - maybe - wand into his vest. Thorn's eyes narrowed. 'Never let a possible enemy know where you keep your weapon, sir. Simple, really.' The man barked a laugh. Yep, definitely belonged in an old-fashioned cartoon. Maybe Pop-Eye or Mickey Mouse. 'You ever met Alastor Moody? Two people like you'd get along just fine after checking one another for bombs.' Thorn snorted. She doubted she'd ever meet someone as paranoid as she; they wouldn't get close enough to meet her. 'I'm Tom, I own this pub, the Leaky Cauldron, have for over a hundred years, and I'm sorry about everyone reaction but-'

'What is wrong with you guys?' Thorn interrupted with her tone was poisonously even, rather disconcerting with the long-suffering stare she gave the man before her, Tom. 'Mr. Tom, Harry is my best friend in the world. I want to know why people were mobbing him. You're all nutters.' Tom cleared his throat, he almost seemed... amused. Thorn didn't like it. Not by a mile long shot of gin. She kept her eyes narrowed as the man began to speak, 'Well, yes, I actually tend to agree with you, Miss - ?' 'Riddle, Riddle - de Basiliscus.' Thorn replied evenly. Surprised when the man stifled a flinch. What was wrong with her last name? 'Riddle?' Tom asked. Thorn nodded, trying not to be visibly confused.

Tom straightened up a little, adjusting his bow tie needlessly. 'All right, then, Miss... Riddle-de Basiliscus,' he said evenly. 'You see, Miss, Sir,' Tom bowed his head slightly towards Harry, 'Mister Potter here is rather famous here in the Wizarding world. I'll leave it to you two to find out later. It's not my story to tell you.' His eyes settled on Harry's scar before moving back to Thorn again.

'No-one knew where he was and many of us are rather pleased to see, and hopefully meet, him. We are Wizards, and I must assume that you are witch, my dear. You can do magic. Your earlier display proved that. Many of us were taken aback by the ward you two put up, because you controlled it better than most children your age. Very good display.' The door shook again. Maybe the peole were leaving, the noise was going down, at least. 'I really am terribly sorry about the mobbing, however, I hope you'll understand. People were excited to see Harry Potter and didn't think aboutwhat it might do if they scared him witless by mobbing him, I think most of them just wanted to shake his hand. Here, do you want to go to Diagon Alley?' Thorn an Harry nodded after glancing at each other.

Tom grabbed their arms again and they were in front of a brick wall. Across the room people were pounding on a door and muttering. Tom tapped a brick above the trash can, and the bricks behind Harry and Thorn turned into an archway. Thorn's mouth fell into a small, comical, 'o' of surprise. Then she grinned. `Wicked!` she and Harry whispered at the same time.

^*-.-*^

Author's Rambling's: I decided to re-post this, tim-buck-two pointed out a few things that I wasn't looking at objectively and after I did, agreed needed to be changed. The whole calling magic 'freakishness' thing, they've grown up for as long as they remember being called freaks and having magic called freakishness by Cole and the other orphans. It's what they're used to calling it, and they just discovered the magical world, they aren't quite sure if they're dreaming or not yet. Anyway, I really hope that this chapter is better than the original. If you didn't read this before I reposted it, not quite following cannon, considering keeping some people alive, and a certain evil twin of mine won't stop bugging me about crossong this over with Matilda, just because I told her it was a good ideawhen she first suggested it. Hint hint Katie. -EJ