Harry Potter and the Untitled Story

Hey Harry!

Almost school! Excited? Hermione's practically hyper about it, judging by the owls she's sent me. Just think Harry…our fifth year at Hogwarts. Wow. We've made it through Five Years! Percy (ugh) hasn't been getting any owls from Penelope (his…[gag]…girlfriend) and he's shut himself in his room. Serves him right. Poor Pig is still recovering from being thrown into the dustbin. "Thought he was a rag". Yeah, right. Fred and George are trying to get started again on "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes", in secret. Good luck. Mum's still on the rampage about the Canary Cream Incident. Ginny is still crazy about you, so maybe this Valentine's day you could give her some recognition. I hope the Muggles are still treating you fair.

Poke Dudley for me,

Ron

Harry finished reading Ron's letter, and smiled. Things at the Weasley house seemed the same as always. Tomorrow he would head for London, to visit Diagon Alley, buy his school supplies, and catch up with Hermione and Ron. Nothing could spoil his good mood. Yells from downstairs drifted up to his room. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had been arguing every evening for the past week. Harry bitterly hoped that it would lead to divorce. He flopped onto his bed. Staring at the ceiling, he eventually drifted to sleep.

The next morning he was awoken by Hedwig screeching close to his ear. Harry sleepily sat up, and Hedwig fluttered away. Remembering what day it was, he leaped out of bed, and started getting ready. Galloping downstairs, he collided with Dudley, and got a firm smack in the shins with a Smelting Stick. Giving Dudley a poke, for Ron, Harry continued on his merry way. He reached the dining room, where his Aunt and Uncle were having a silent breakfast. "Guess what day it is?" he asked cheerily, unafraid of the remarks he might receive. Surprisingly, he got no angry retorts, no sarcastic witticisms. Instead he got a, "Time for you to go back to that ruddy school, and good riddance! You got all your…stuff?" "Yeah. Just drop me off. I know what to do."

Upon arriving, harry was practically pushed out of the car. "Good riddance to you, too!" thought Harry, sticking his tongue out at the back of the disappearing car. Marching off in the direction of The Leaky Caldron, Harry took a deep breath of…was it? Freedom. He sighed happily, and his step became bouncier.

Quickly reaching the Leaky Caldron, he strode in, and spotted a familiar, tall figure, sitting at the bar, chatting with Madame Rosmerta. "Hagrid!" "Harry!" the tall figure replied, looking at Harry. "Good to see ya! Good to see ya!" Hagrid got off the stool and crushed Harry in a giant hug. "Uh, thanks, Hagrid. Could you let go now?" Harry squeaked. "Oh, sorry Harry." Hagrid apologized sheepishly, releasing him.

Harry walked up to the bar to greet Tom, the toothless old innkeeper. "Ah, Harry. I knew you'd be here. Room five is all ready for you." "Thanks", said Harry and, trading his money for the room key, started up the stairs. Not being the least bit tired, he dropped his stuff in his room, and set out for Diagon Alley.

Scanning the crowd for a familiar shock of red hair, he almost ran into… "Hermione!" "Harry! I'm so glad you're here, it's seemed like ages since our fourth year! Have you seen Ron?" "No, not yet." Harry replied, looking over the crowd again. Then he saw, moving through the crowd, a tuft of Weasly-red hair. But it wasn't Ron. It was… "George!" One half of the Weasley twin duo broke through the crowd to meet them.

"I'm not George! I'm Fred!" He said, offended. "Oops. Sorry, Fred." But suddenly, a voice from behind Harry said, "No you're not! I'm Fred! You're just saying that because everybody wants to be me." "NO! I'm the real Fred! You see what he's trying to do to you, Harry?!" a twin asked, turning to Harry and pointing at his double.

"I know which is which." Said another voice from behind Harry. He whirled around, and saw… "Ron! Finally! Where have you been?" "We just got here." Then, Ron said, addressing Fred (Or was it George?), "Come here." "No! Er, why? Get away from me!" Ron grabbed the shoulder of Fred (or George's) sweater, and yanked it down. Pointing to the birthmark that was exposed, he yelled, "See!? This is GEORGE! Now you!" Ron said, pointing at who must be Fred, "You definitely are Fred, because last time I checked, there was only one George."

The twins ran off, their trick foiled. Harry laughed. "Where's your Mum and Dad?" "Oh, they're buying school stuff. Have you got yours yet?" "Uhh…nope." "Well then lets get going!" Hermione interjected, giving them a push in the direction of the shops. "Okay!" they yelled in unison, and ran off, leaving Hermione in the dust. She stared after them for a second, and joined the chase.

That evening they headed back to the Leaky Caldron, loaded down with all the things they had bought, and their own tiredness. "I'm staying in room ten. How about YAWN you guys?" Ron asked, stretching. "I'm in room five" Harry answered. "How about you, 'Mione?" "Oh, I'm staying in room fifteen. But my parents decided to stay home."

By now they had reached the hall of rooms. "'Night." Said Harry, entering his room. "See you both tomorrow!" "Yeah" Ron answered, yawning again. Unlocking the door, Harry walked into his room. Aside from being extremely tired, he was the happiest he had been in a while.

"BANG BANG BANG!" some one was trying to knock down his bedroom door. He had strange flashes of the night Hagrid had banged down the door of the hut-on-the-rock. But lifting up his head, he saw that he was still in a cozy room at the Leaky Caldron. "Coming." He croaked, sleepily. Peeking out the door, he Hermione's brightly smiling face staring him in the eye. "Time to get ready. We want to be at King's Cross on time, don't we?" Harry closed the door, and began preparing himself for school.

Minutes later he was out the door and downstairs in the bar, waiting for Mr. Weasley. "So, Ron, how are we getting to Kings Cross this time?" "My dad got to borrow some company cars again. You remember, those really nice ones?" "Oh, yeah." He looked over at Hermione. She was jumping up and down. "Er…excited, Hermione?" "What do you think? Hermione, are you bringing that…cat…again this year?" Hermione left off her jumping to answer Ron. "Well, of course! I couldn't leave him all alone!" "Ah. Of course." Said Ron in sarcastic understanding.

They heard a beep from outside. "That would be Dad." Ron said proudly, and marched out. After following Ron out, Harry saw that the cars weren't exactly what he expected. They were tiny, beat up cars that looked like they had been stolen from the junkyard and driven through a swamp, where it had been bitten by numerous reptiles. But as he got in the car, he found that there was plenty of room for all of them and then some.

Just like last year, the cars performed feats like squishing through teeny spaces, and arriving at Kings Cross in record time, without speeding. Piling out of the car, they started towards Platform 9 ¾. George went first. He walked towards the barrier with his nose in the air. Completely missing the barrier, he stampeded through a group of Muggles, and smacked into the side of a train. Rubbing his nose, and looking in front of him, George scrambled through the barrier. Fred followed, laughing at George's expense. Hermione, Harry and Ron ran through the barrier in single file, with everyone else close behind them.

As they prepared to board the train, there was the usual, "Be safe!"s and, "Now Harry…" s. Leading the way down the middle of the train, Harry found an empty compartment. They leaned out the window and waved goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Flopping back into his seat, Ron sighed. "Finally back to Hogwarts. I almost miss Malfoy." When he got shocked looks from Harry and Hermione, he said, "I said ALMOST!"

His eyes widened, as he remembered something. "I almost forgot! Since I don't have Scabbers anymore, Mum let me get this!" and he pulled a lizard out of his pocket. The lizard was a dark blue, with purple and light blue splotches on it. "His name's Robert. Much better than Scabbers, don't you think?" Harry stretched out his hand, and the lizard crawled on. Crookshanks eyed the lizard from his spot next to Hermione. "Cats…cats don't eat lizards, do they?" Ron asked cautiously. "I hope not." Hermione replied. "Do you want to hold him?" Harry asked her. "Erm…no thanks, Harry." She replied shaking her head. "Suit yourself." Ron replied, and put Robert on his head, where he went nicely with Ron's hair.

A sarcastic voice from the doorway drawled, "So, Weasley, your parents scrape together all their money and buy you a newt? Wow. Everyone wants a newt for a pet, don't they, Weasley?" All three looked over, and gasped. Malfoy was standing in the doorway, but he looked different. Very different. Instead of his greasy-looking gelled back hair, he sported blond spikes. Ron replied, "It's a lizard, Malfoy." "Whatever, Weasley. So, Potter, still in the company of your abnormal friends?" "Sod off." Harry retorted, and slammed the compartment door in Malfoy's face. "Did you see his shirt?" Hermione asked. "No, I didn't. Why?" "It said, "No flash photography please"!" "What?! Oh, come on, who wants a photo of him?"

Ten games of exploding snap, one snack, and three encounters of the lizard kind later, they arrived at Hogwarts. Ron stood up and yelled in pain. "Aah! My legs! They're asleep!" "Well, I told you not to sit cross legged, Ron." Hermione said matter-of-factly. Limping, Ron walked behind Harry and Hermione to the door. They stepped out of the train into the darkness of night. Hermione took a deep breath of the wonderfully cold air. "Aaah. Fresh air." Hagrid's tall self appeared in front of them, holding high the lantern that had led so many first years across the lake. "Wondered when you lot would get here!" he greeted them, and then continued his mantra of, "Firs' years! Firs' years this way!"

The three of them piled into a horseless carriage, which carried them to Hogwarts. Ron, whose leg was in the stage where it feels like you leg is really heavy, but it's being pulled up at the same time, fell out of the carriage. Picking himself up, he looked at Hogwarts. "Our home away from home. It's never felt so welcoming." "Yeah." Harry agreed, and they filed into the exquisitely warm Great Hall.