Chapter Two: Being Alone Isn't So Bad When You are With Someone Else

Chapter Two: Being Alone Isn't So Bad When You are With Someone Else

AN: Love the reviews so far. Thanks to everyone who sent in a review. They really are the reason that I am going to keep writing. So if you like my story, or don't like it, please send in a review. Now to the story… And sorry for the long time between updates. My computer crashed and I finally fixed it yesterday.

July 23rd, 1994: Surrey, England

Xavier couldn't believe that it had been an entire month since the day that turned his life upside down. To put it quite simply, Xavier was a mess. He no longer cared about his personal appearance, and he no longer felt the need to shower or dress in decent clothes. He just usually lounged around in his uncle's basement, which Xavier had turned into his bedroom. Xavier usually spent his days playing his Super Nintendo or staring at the wall, cursing his fate. Xavier considered going back to the States, but he couldn't bring himself to go back. This was partly because Tiffany was unusually cold to him whenever he called her. Xavier didn't realize how much he had hurt her by leaving her behind

"Xavier, can I talk to you for a minute?" Xavier heard his uncle calling him from upstairs.

"Yeah sure, Uncle Rick. I'll be up in a second…" Xavier called back, and slowly crept up the stairs. Xavier walked into the kitchen where his uncle was preparing lunch for the two of them. Rick was about thirty, and was still a bachelor, although Xavier thought he was a great guy. Rick was basically a more portly Xavier in appearance, except that he had brown eyes instead of Xavier's bright blue. Xavier's uncle was also cheerful and humorous, and Xavier thought of him as a young Santa Claus in personality and looks. This thought process was only enhanced by the fact that Rick didn't shave his beard, and he had a full brown beard, even in the heat of the summer.

"Xavier… I know that you're going through a bloody difficult time right now… But look at yourself in the mirror… You need to move on with your life. Take advantage of the fresh start that you are being given…" Rick was speaking slowly and clearly, not really lecturing his nephew, but trying to save him from his own grief and guilt. Xavier was about to flip out at his uncle when he glimpsed a reflection of himself in the kitchen window, and did not like what he saw.

"God damn, I look hideous…" Xavier said with a laugh. It was the first time he had smiled in nearly a week.

"Now that's more like my nephew!" Rick yelled with enthusiasm, and he clapped Xavier on the back.

"I'm going to clean up a little… Well clean up a lot I guess… and then I'm going to take a long walk outside. I'm starting to lose my Los Angeles tan…" Xavier left the kitchen, and went to take a long hot shower. He got out of the shower, shaved and then got dressed into a pair of nice khaki shorts and a blue polo. Grabbing his Red Sox hat off his bed, he told his uncle that he was leaving and walked out the front door. Xavier took two steps out the door before he realized that he had no idea where he could go. So he just decided to take a right turn, and keep walking straight so he didn't get lost.

Xavier was glad that it was a good day to be outside. It was warm, but not brutally hot, and the sun was shining bright on Xavier. He was glad that he had finally broken out of the nearly dead state that he had been in for the past two weeks. Xavier had been walking down the road for about forty-five minutes, not really thinking about anything at all, when he noticed an abandoned playground. Xavier was starting to get tired, so he figured that he would sit down on an empty swing for a few minutes and then head home for dinner.

Xavier sat down and started to swing very lightly, barely moving. He had been sitting for about two minutes when he heard footsteps coming towards him, and then a soft, sad voice reached him a few seconds after.

"This is the first time this summer that someone else has been here…" Xavier looked up and a short, thin black haired boy was walking towards him, and sat down on the swing next to the one Xavier was on.

"I like to come out here and just think… My name's Harry by the way. Harry Potter." Xavier shook the boy's hand, and noticed three things about him immediately. The first thing was that the boy was wearing old clothes that clearly didn't fit him too well. The second thing was that he had the brightest green eyes that he had ever seen. And the third thing that Xavier noticed was that Harry had a peculiar lightning bolt shaped scar on his head. Xavier was convinced that he wasn't seeing the scar clearly, and he just thought that it was a normal injury with an odd shape.

"I'm Xavier Dalton. And this does look like a good place to sit and think." Xavier responded cheerfully. Both boys sat in silence for a few minutes just thinking. Harry was very surprised at the impression that Xavier made on him. Harry was confused because every Muggle that Harry had ever met had avoided him or made fun of him because of his small size and his ratty clothes. But most wizards were always asking him about his famous scar and didn't really want to get to know Harry for Harry the boy, but Harry the hero. Harry wanted to figure it out, and asked,

"I've never seen you around before… Did you just move here or something?"

"Yeah I just moved here about three weeks ago. From the United States. Just outside a city called Boston. You ever heard of it?" When Harry shook his head no, Xavier continued. "It's a great city. And the best sports team in the world plays there… The Boston Red Sox." Seeing Harry's puzzled face, Xavier asked incredulously, "Wait… You've never heard of the Boston Red Sox… The best baseball team in the world!"

"What's baseball?" Harry asked right away. Xavier couldn't believe what he was hearing, but then he remembered that he was in a different country. And so for the next ten minutes, Xavier happily explained the rules of baseball to a very confused Harry.

"Wow… this is nothing like Quidd…" Harry blurted out. Harry's face went bright red. Harry was hoping that Xavier didn't catch that he almost said Quidditch.

"You play Quidditch?? That means that you are a wizard! Just like me… Awesome. I played chaser for my school in America. What do you play?" Harry was shocked to hear that Xavier knew what Quidditch was. And he was even more shocked that Xavier was a wizard.

"I play Seeker… Where do you go to school?" Harry asked

"I've complete five years at Los Angeles Academy of Magic. But starting in September, I will be transferring to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Is that where you go?"

"Yes. I love it there. It's my favorite place in the world… It's this massive castle and there's massive grassy grounds surrounding it, and there's a perfect Quidditch pitch" Harry was thinking about all the fond memories he had of the school as he spoke.

"Sounds great. What year are you in? Cause I spoke to Headmaster Dumbledore, and he wants me to start at fifth year…"

"That's what year I'm in too. But it's O.W.L year so that's going to be really hard." Harry knew about the O.W.L's mainly because Hermione had been freaking out about them since the end of third year.

"Damn… test year… I was hoping to avoid that. Because the American O.W.L's are after sixth year… But I guess that's why I got held back a year. So I didn't miss my fun and exciting tests…" Xavier said with a laugh. "Say… Why don't you come and have dinner with me and my uncle tonight. He's making really good fish and chips tonight."

Harry was starving because he was malnourished at the Dursleys. And since he also wanted to get to know Xavier better, he agreed to go, and the two boys started off for Xavier's house. Their conversation stayed with school, until Harry remembered something important, and said to Xavier,

"Were you planning at playing Quiddtich next year? Because if you are in my house, we already have three returning Chasers, but two of them are leaving after this year so there will be a spot for you next year…" Harry said amicably, but he didn't notice the horrible look that spread across Xavier's face, because he turned away from Harry as soon as the emotions rolling around inside him started coming to the surface. The guilt that he felt for failing to save his best friend, and the fact that he left the girl he loved, almost made him cry.

"That's alright. I didn't play on playing Quidditch anyway. My team won the American title this year anyway so I wanted to go out on top, you know…" Xavier managed to fake a laugh. He thought he had always been a good actor and a good liar, and he was pulling both on Harry, who bought it hook, line and sinker.

"That's very true. My old captain always spoke about that. And you won a national title? Wow that's bloody brilliant…" As he said this, Harry noticed Xavier pull a large gold metal out of his black warm up jacket and hold it up. Harry read it out loud… "American Interscholastic Quidditch Tournament National Champion: Xavier Matthew Dalton, Chaser, Los Angeles Academy of Magic Titans…" and then Harry noticed the small inscription at the bottom, "Chaser of the Tournament: 54 goals, 39 assists" Harry didn't know that Xavier was also named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament as well. But Xavier had laid that trophy on Steve's bedside table the night before he left. But Xavier wasn't about to tell that story to anyone. In fact, Xavier had crossed out his own name and position on the award, and carved Steve's name and position and statistics on the trophy instead.

"Wow. That's impressive…" Harry said with a laugh, which brought Xavier out of his miserable flashback. "I might just have to get you to play again. Assuming you're in my house. Otherwise, please don't play again…" Harry was laughing loudly when he said this, and even Xavier couldn't help but smile, even with all the painful memories that Quidditch brought to him.

"Harry, what's the deal with the houses that you keep mentioning?" Xavier had realized that he had no idea that Harry was talking about when he said "his house."

"Oh yeah…" Harry started. "When Hogwarts was formed, there were four founders. Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. These were the four greatest British wizards of the era. And they each left a house behind that was modeled on what they considered important. Gryffindor treasured bravery, Hufflepuff loyalty, Ravenclaw intelligence, and Slytherin cunning. And all four put a bit of magic into a hat, which a new student will put on, and the hat will decide which house is best for the new student. I am in Gryffindor, and that's where my parents were as well." Harry said this last part with pride

"I guess I sound like either a Gryffindor or a Hufflepuff then…" Xavier was thinking out loud.

"Both of those are very good houses. The only bad one is Slytherin…" Now it was Harry's turn to think out loud. Xavier was about to ask why when they reached his uncle's house. Xavier and Harry walked in, and Xavier called out to his uncle, who was frying fish in the kitchen,

"Uncle Rick, I'm home. And I brought a friend over for dinner. And don't worry, he's one of us…" Xavier knew that his uncle would panic if Xavier had brought a Muggle home because there were moving pictures and magical gadgets all over the house. Harry was looking around the house, and he noticed that it was a great place to just hang out. As Harry noticed that there were many Muggle luxuries as well as those of the wizarding variety, Harry saw Xavier's uncle come into the room. For half a second, Harry thought he was looking at his uncle Vernon. But then he noticed the beard, the jolly face, and the grin on Rick's face.

"Mr. Dalton. I'm Harry. Nice to meet you." Harry introduced himself. Rick and Harry shook hands, and Rick whispered to Harry while Xavier was putting his jacket into the hall closet.

"Does Xavier know who you are?" When Harry shook his head no, Rick smiled and said loudly,

"Alright boys, dinner's ready!" Rick, Xavier and Harry quickly ate all of the food. Harry thought that it was nearly as good as Hogwarts and Burrow food, and it was definitely better than anything that the Dursleys would feed him. Meanwhile, Xavier was eating more than usual because he hadn't been eating normally since he had come to England. And his uncle was just glad to see that Xavier was finally seeming to snap out of the depression that had gripped him since he had arrived. Harry stayed at the Dalton house for a few hours after dinner, and he was really happy that he found a friend to spend time with until he went back to school. That alone would make his time on Privet Drive nearly bearable. The next three days, Harry spent a lot of time with Xavier to get away from his aunt, uncle and cousin.

But then Harry completely dropped out of contact for a week. Xavier was starting to get worried about Harry when a snowy white owl flew through an open window one night. Landing on Xavier's lap, she allowed Xavier to untie the letter attached to her leg before flying off back into the night. Xavier slowly opened the letter, not knowing who would send him a letter by owl. Tiffany would call him, even though she never called anymore. His parents would call him, but his mom always cried on the phone, so Xavier couldn't bear to talk to her. James and Scott would call him, even though they mostly just yelled at him to get his ass back home. So Xavier wasn't that disappointed that he was getting a letter and not a phone call. Finally picking his letter open, Xavier read the letter to himself slowly, and a smile quickly came to his face.

Xavier,

Sorry about not telling you, but I had to leave Surrey for the summer.

I had some things to take care of. Come to Diagon Alley on the 25th

That's when I'm going shopping for my school supplies.

And there's some people that I want you to meet that day.

See you then,

Harry Potter

Xavier had thought there was something mysterious about Harry since the day he had met him, and the letter quickly confirmed Xavier's suspicions. Xavier looked at his Boston Red Sox 1994 calendar and saw that it was August 22nd. Xavier got up off the leather couch in the basement, pulled on some sweatpants and a tee-shirt, and ran upstairs looking for his uncle. Not seeing him in the kitchen, Xavier yelled up the spiral staircase that led to his uncle's bedroom.

"What's up, Xavier?" His uncle yelled down from the top of the stairs.

"I just wanted to know if you wanted to come to Diagon Alley with me in three days. Cause Harry is going that day and he wants me to meet him there cause he had to leave Surrey for the summer!" Xavier was yelling rapidly at the top of his lungs.

"Lets see… That's a Monday right? Yes it is… I have the day off, and that sounds good to me. Have you gotten your books list yet?"

"Yep." Xavier answered "And my parents wired me plenty of money at Gringotts." Xavier quickly added. Xavier's parents had sent him more than enough money to pay for anything that he could possibly need while he was in England, but they hadn't told him just how much they had actually sent because they wanted him to manage it carefully.

"All right then. That will be our first stop, so we'll have to leave early in the morning then. Like 8:00. Sound good?"

"Sounds good to me!" Xavier said with a laugh. The next two days for Xavier were spent driving around England with his uncle, who wanted to give him a tour of the country before he left for Hogwarts on the first of September. They drove to London and saw all the sights in the country's capital, then they went to Manchester and saw a Manchester United Champions League soccer game against FC Barcelona, which Man U won on a last second penalty kick by their captain. Xavier was surprised on how exciting a game with so little scoring or contact could be. But nonetheless, he decided that he was a fan, and he asked his uncle to update him on the team's success while he was at school. The next day, they went to the coast and also Xavier got his first taste of English pub food, which he thought was almost the best food he had ever tasted.

"Time to go, Xavier! You better be awake at least" His uncle called down to the basement. Xavier had in fact woken up early, and was already dressed. Wearing frayed cargo shorts, a gray polo shirt and his white Nike sneakers, Xavier ran up the stairs two at a time and almost ran into his uncle, who just laughed and said,

"Someone's a little excited to go, I guess. Grap my hand and I'll apparate us to the entrance to the alley." Xavier didn't like this method of travel, but it was the quickest so he complied, and after the trip, he was confused that he was standing inside a small, old pub.

"Hullo, Tom." Rick said to the barman who nodded and asked who Xavier was. "Oh, this is my nephew Xavier. Xavier, this is Tom, barman at the Leaky Cauldron." Xavier and Tom shook hands before Rick said that they were just passing through, and he took Xavier into the alleyway out behind the bar.

"Now Xavier…" Rick smiled at Xavier's really confused look and pulled out his wand before continuing. "Watch very, very closely. To get into Diagon Alley, you have to tap three bricks on the wall." Xavier watched very closely as his uncle tapped each brick, and then Xavier was shocked to see that the wall was falling away brick by brick. He was immeadley marveled by what he saw looking into the alley, wizarding shops and vendors as far as he could see. And at the end of the alley, he saw a massive stone building with massive dragon statues outside.

"That's the Gringotts bank. And that's our first stop…" Rick noticed the awed look on his nephew's face looking at the massive structure.

"That's a bit more impressive than the branches in Boston and Los Angeles…" Xavier recalled the small brick buildings that served as the wizarding banks in America. Xavier was so thunderstruck by the alley that he barely noticed walking up the stairs, and entering the bank. He noticed that there was only two wizards ahead of him in line, and so he waited for a few minutes. This gave him a chance to look around at the stone and the tile architecture all around him. When it was his chance, Xavier stepped up to the counter.

"Hello sir. I'd like to go to my vault please. My name is Xavier Dalton, and I have my key right here." Xavier pulled the massive bronze key out of his pocket and handed it to the goblin working at the desk.

"Vault 1012… Very well, hop in the cart." Xavier got into the mine cart, and looked at his uncle, who told him that he was going to his vault as well, so wouldn't be joining Xavier for the trip. Xavier enjoyed the ride, because it reminded him of flying, but then the thought of flying hit home, and he felt the pain and sadness starting to come back again. Thankfully he didn't have much of a chance to dwell on it because the cart came to a stop and the goblin opened the door to the small room. Xavier expected to see a small pile of gold Galleons and a few Knuts and Sickles. But instead he saw great mounds of all three coins.

"Are you sure that this is my vault? I didn't have this much money and my parents only gave me enough for my books…" Xavier questioned the goblin, who quickly responded.

"Actually, Mr. Dalton, your parents wired you 10,000 Galleons, which they asked us to convert 1000 of into Sickles and 1000 into Knuts. So your account here is valued at 10,576 Galleons, 9 Sickles and 12 Knuts. Xavier thanked the goblin for the information and quickly grabbed enough money to fill his pouch to the brim. Xavier then thought of an excellent idea and said to the goblin.

"I don't need all this money right now… Is there any way that I can have Gringotts invest a portion of my account?"

"Why, yes there is. Us Gringotts goblins are quite excellent at investing in both Wizarding and Muggle ventures. However, this skill comes at a price. It will cost you fifteen percent of your profits each year, which we will automatically take out of your account each month. We will also send you a detailed statement each month on your current portfolio." Xavier thought about it, and realized that it was a great opportunity and responded after a minute of thinking,

"That sounds agreeable. I would like to invest 5,000 Gallons then. Is that a good amount?"

"That was actually the amount I would have suggested to you." The goblin said with a hint of surprise in his voice in the smart decisions that the young boy next to him was making. But what the goblin didn't know was that Xavier's father was an investment banker, and that he had taught Xavier good money management. The goblin, whose name was Axefall, brought Xavier up to an office, where the boy signed a contract, which gave Axefall the 5000 Galleons to invest, and 15 percent of Xavier's total profits each month. Xavier then walked out of the bank with his uncle, and they decided to go and pick up Xavier's books before looking in any of the other stores. Xavier was about to enter the book store when he heard a familiar voice.

"Xavier! I'm glad I didn't miss you today!" Harry was walking across the road with a crowd of people who Xavier guessed were his friends and their families. Harry had told Xavier about how he lived with his aunt and uncle because his parents had died, and how his aunt and uncle had no interest in magic.

"Hey, Harry. What's up? What's with all the people?"

"Oh… right. Introductions." Harry said with a laugh. "The redheaded boy is my best mate Ron Weasley. The brown haired girl on his left is Hermione Granger. The girl next to her is Ron's younger sister Ginny. And behind them are Ron's parents. And the large man behind them is Rubeus Hagrid, a teacher at school. Everyone this is Xavier, who is staying with his uncle near Privet Drive." Xavier said hello to the entire group and introduced his uncle to everyone. The rest of the shopping trip passed in a blur for Xavier, who was seeing everything for the first time. Harry, Ron and Hermione were introducing him to nearly everyone they saw, including Neville Longbottom and Dean Thomas. Xavier also met Draco Malfoy for the first time, and the Slytherin boy mocked Xavier for being American. Ron and Harry had to hold Xavier back, as their rival was hitting a sore spot because Malfoy called Xavier a coward because he was American. This hit Xavier particularly hard because Tiffany had called him that for leaving in the first place. But Xavier enjoyed most of the day, and he also bought a large black owl that he named James. He also went home knowing that he wanted to join his new friends in Gryffindor house, but he wouldn't know his fate until he was sorted at the Welcoming Feast.