Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, just writing down my own ideas.

It had been a long and dreary summer for Harry. He simply could not wait for that 11 o'clock train to leave with him on board. He could just imagine Ron and Hermione waving in the way they always did.

"Harry!"

His fantasizing was broken by the deafening screech from his Uncle Vernon.

"What is it now?" he murmured under his breath. Harry sat up on his bed and finally stood up as if he was half asleep. He walked to the door, dragging his feet along as he went. When his foot reached the last step, the screeching continued.

From what he could hear with the loud noise in his eardrum, they were going out to some restaurant he had never heard of. He got a firm warning not to touch anything in the house while they were gone and was sent up to his room.

When he had gotten into his small but cozy room, he got into his pajamas and slipped into bed.

Yet again, the motion picture in his mind played the fatal event of Sirius Black's death. He watched as Bellatrix LeStrange happily murdered Harry's beloved godfather. It played over and over again, making Harry feel worse each time. The fourth time it played, Harry woke up feeling sickened by the memory.

He tried to calm down; although it wasn't easy, he finally managed to slow his heartbeat. He settled back against his pillow and thought that maybe things would get better once he got back to Hogwarts.

The next morning, he awoke with his alarm making the buzzing sound in his already deafened ear. Annoyed, he hit the off button and went to get dressed for his trip to the train station.

FLASHBACK

"Yeah, mate, so I'll meet you there at your 'old folks' house'?" Ron asked.

"Of course," Harry answered, "I just want you to bring Mr. Weasley with you this time and make sure it's alright with Mrs. Weasley, too. You also better remember the date and time: August 27 at seven a.m. My snake of an uncle and my aunt will still be asleep."

"Okay," Ron said, and left.

END OF FLASHBACK

Harry just realized that there was a slight honking noise from Arthur Weasley's car. It was a flying model that he had borrowed from the Ministry. Harry was so excited, as if he had actually gotten a present from the Dursleys. He quickly got all of his luggage together and hopped out of his window into the dark green car.

As they were pulling out of the driveway in the air, he knew he had forgotten something.

"Wait! Stop!" Harry exclaimed. "I think I forgot Hedwig! Please go back!"

As it turned out, Hedwig was safely stowed away in the trunk of the car so they continued their journey.

They had finally reached the train station at 10:45 a.m. So they made sure that they had everything, said their goodbyes, and got on the magnificent Hogwarts Express.

There she was, intelligent Hermione, already studying her Ancient Runes book. As soon as she saw Harry enter the compartment, she quickly leapt up and hugged him tightly.

"Oh Harry, it's so good to see you!" She was so excited, she accidentally knocked off her schoolbooks from the seat that she was sitting on. "So Harry, how did you get out of that prison that you live in?" she sarcastically asked.

"Sorry, but it's a long story," Harry said.

"This is going to be a long train ride," Ron muttered.

"Hey wake up, sleepyheads, wake up!" shouted Neville Longbottom from the compartment door.

"What?" Hermione said sleepily.

"C'mon, it's time to go to the carriages!" Neville shouted again.

As they stepped off the train, they could see the top of the beautiful castle ahead. As they were getting into the carriage, Harry lost his balance and slipped on the carriage step, scraping his shin in the process. Hermione gasped in surprise.

"Harry, are you – " Hermione asked.

"I'm fine," Harry lied painfully.

As all three of them stepped into the great castle, they could smell the mucky, moldy dungeons from the entrance hall. They had arrived.

I am sssoooo sorry that this chapter is not very long at all, but I promise that I will make up for it in chapter 2.