Hello hello! Thank you so much for all of your support on the first chapter. It was a bit short I will admit, but I like how it turned out. I believe I could have gone into more detail in the interview, but das es das.

Anyways, onto reviews! I will only be responding to ones who have questions or made a point about something, but to all those who gave me compliments and praise, thank you!

Hermione Lyra Malfoy-Riddle: Ooh! Can Sirius not go Azkaban? And raise Harry and Hermoine when their parents die? Great chapter!

You will just have to wait and see!

Proganthony: This is a good start. However, I'm wondering how Snape fits in. Surely he can't have told Voldemort about the prophecy only one minute after it's have been made and return to Dumbledore. Still, a good start and I am looking forward to the next chapter.

Who's to say he went and told Voldemort?

To the other 6 who reviewed this chapter, once again thank you for your compliments. I hope you all enjoy the chapter!


Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, as people had taken to calling him wherever he went, stood silently admiring the crimson locomotive. His trunk was still on the cart, and his owl sat in her cage on top of it, staring out at him. He almost felt as though she were waiting for him to make his next move, which, in a way, he was. He was still waiting to wake up from this wondrous dream. He was no longer "Scar-Face" or "Lighting Head" as his classmates had taken to calling him. Instead of a freak, he was a hero. A hero to every man, woman and child he seemed to come across in this new world.

Yet, this change in his life came with risks. If he didn't play his cards right, he may end up right back where he began. Only this time, he would face scrutiny from those who could pull pranks on him in ways he couldn't even imagine, after all, they could do magic. He had already concluded that he would hide his scar - a clear sign of his origin to those in the wizarding world - whenever possible, by covering it with his hair. He had also decided to not initiate conversations, in fear of his identity being revealed to the children at the school he would soon call home.

A large, familiar hand landed on his shoulder, breaking his meditation. As he turned around, he spotted the person who had saved him from his mundane life just a few months ago.

"Sirius!" He cried, "You scared me!"

Sirius gave a hearty laugh, "Well if me coming up behind you spooks you this badly, I don't know if we need you going to Hogwarts just yet." He joked. Sirius smiled as he looked down upon his Godson. A solemn look returned to his face as soon as he had finished chuckling. "Harry," he began, "there is one more thing I have to tell you before you head off to Hogwarts."

Harry stiffened. This obviously was something he was not gonna like. No one ever saved good news for right before parting.

"James and Lily, no matter what those fools the Dursley's told you when I wasn't around, loved you very much. You were their pride and joy. They gave their lives to protect you. Now, I know I'm not one to talk," he said sarcastically, "but you are important to me, and too many other people. So try not to get into too much trouble while you're at school, OK?" He gave a knowing smile.

Harry nodded. "I will Sirius."

The Hogwarts Express blew a warning whistle, announcing that it was soon time for students to be aboard the train. Dark clouds rose from the front of the engine, and several families quickly gathered, like Harry and Sirius, exchanging last goodbyes.

His Godfather smiled once more. "Good!" He cried, "Now get on that train! Can't have you being late on your first day, now can we?" Giving Harry a joking shove, he pushed the boy towards his new life, then helped him load his belongings onto the train, levitating his trunk up behind him.

Harry turned to give Sirius one last wave, then drug his featherlight trunk down the corridor. He was finally going to Hogwarts, and he couldn't contain his happiness.

This was going to be wonderful!


This was going to be awful!

The Hogwarts Express was leaving at precisely 11 o'clock, and she was running late! It was very uncommon for the underground to run late, and now she was going to be late for a train, because of a train!

This problem bothered Hermione Granger tremendously. She was always on time. Whether arriving for classes, turning in library books, really anything you could think of, she was not a moment late, and not a moment too early. Yet here she was, running desperately to try to catch a magical train.

Magical train…

It had barely occurred to her until now, the sheer insanity of that thought. In a few moments - well if she made it on time that is - she would be making her way to a magical school, on a magical train, to learn about magic.

As wonderful an opportunity as it may have seemed at first, now, after she had received her books, robes, and her wand, she thought about what exactly she was giving up. The girl realized that she was no longer a muggle, she was a witch. It bothered her that she would only see Gran occasionally when she visited home. Also, she would be living in a dormitory with other girls her age, which was a bit daunting as she had always had her own room, and hadn't even had a sleepover. These thoughts brought a frown to the young witches face.

Shaking herself from her worries, the girl focus on more positive thoughts. She would be expected to find her way to classes, to study hard, to achieve high marks, and once out of school she would join the wizarding workforce. These last thoughts excited her to no end. No more rude comments about her appearance, her study habits, or that nasty scar on her head. No, now she was free.

And she was also lost.

She looked back at her ticket. Platform 9 ¾. Nine and three quarters?! Where the bloody hell was that?

She chastised herself mentally for swearing and looked around. Platform 9 was to her left, and platform 10 was to her right. There was no such thing as platform 9 ¾!

What was she to do? The train would leave in 5 minutes! She almost imagined a whistle announcing this very fact as she paced and fretted, she needed to figure this out. It must be a test! A test to determine the mental know-how of upcoming students. Nothing The Girl Who Lived couldn't handle! She looked around again. Aside from the support pillars, there was nothing separating the left platform from the right, except for the occasional bench. The pillars themselves looked to be somewhat closer to the right side then to the left. Maybe it had something to do with that? Her analytical mind was grasping at straws trying to figure out this mystery.

A group of voices brought her out of her frantic thoughts. She watched as several red headed children, accompanied by what she assumed was their mother, began to run one by one at the very pillar she was staring at, and disappear.

Astonished by this discovery, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and ran straight forward into what she hoped would be her new life.


The seats of the Hogwarts Express were quite comfy, he decided, as he sprawled out and relaxed. He had been able to score an empty carriage and, most likely due to his scowls and surly attitude, had managed to keep it all to himself. This was a feat that he assumed was no small task, what with people running all over to find a place as the train sounded the final boarding whistle.

Harry's owl hooted in the corner. They had just left the station and she was already hungry. Sirius had warned him not to spoil her, and he had ignored those warnings. He now faced the consequences. He took out the special feed which he had bought that was apparently supposed to simulate the taste "of the hunt" as the packaging so eloquently put it, and poured it into her feeding bowl. Hoping that would tide the snow owl over for at least an hour, he sat back down and began to read from the textbook, Hogwarts: A History. It had been assigned to read at least partially over the summer, to give muggleborns (or, in his case, muggle raised) a chance to learn some of what the magically raised children would surely know about wizarding history – at least that of their new home for the coming months. He found his bookmark and began reading.

Cockatrice Scandal of 1792

With the Triwizard Tournament heating up, the second task of the famously deadly tournament involved participants catching the magical beast known as a Cockatrice. This magical beast, though small in stature, was well known to be incredibly dangerous. Measuring at just over half a meter tall, this creature has the body of a dragon, with the head of a rooster. It is known to spew fire, attack with its razor sharp claws, and kill anything which it thinks to be a threat. While not impervious to magic, its dragon ancestry gives rise to a certain resistance to many spells and has even been on occasion known to dodge spells directed at it, as if knowing what they are.

Gabrielle Mundungus, the Headmistress of Hogwarts from 1768 to 1792, was the member of the judiciary for this tournament who recommended this creature be used. Little is known as to why such a creature so adept at violence was chosen, however it stands to the testament of time that ramifications of this decision are profound.

While awaiting the beginning of the second task, one of the Cockatrices escaped containment and began a rampage around the grounds. Several people were injured in this incident, including Gabrielle Mundungus and two other judges. Due to this oversight, along with the long line of deaths which followed the Triwizard Tournament like a plague, public outcry for its banning became national news. In January of 1792, The Department of Magical Games and Sports Council unanimously voted 5 - 0 to put an end to the Triwizard Tournament and to ban it indefinitely. While several have attempted to bring the tournament back, those who have done so have been met with severe resistance.

Because of the public outcry of this event, coupled with the fact that the beast used was at the suggestion of herself, Headmistress Mundungus resigned her duties in February 1792. She went on to write a biography about her time in Hogwarts and later died of old age in 1871.

Harry put down the book. He decided that the history of Hogwarts would be much more entertaining when seen in person than it would be to read. Laying his head down, he attempted to drift off to sleep.

He was unable to however, after a loud knock was heard at the carriage door.

"Who in the bloody hell is still looking for a room?" He pondered to himself. Getting up, he unlatched the lock and opened the door.

Standing in front of him was a girl slightly older than him, with the very same scar he had come to know as his own.


"I made it!"

Hermione was panting almost dramatically as she made her way down the halls of the carriage. She found herself practically jumping for joy at the thought of successfully making it onto the train. "This was the start" she thought to herself "the start of Hermione Granger's ascent to the top of the world!" She finally had a chance to show the world that she was a force to be reckoned with. A mind so great, so powerful, that she would change the world.

But first, she needed to find a place to sit.

Looking down the hall, she watched closely as several students went to and fro from carriage to carriage. She paid close attention to their social cues. How to ask to join another party in one of these cars. How normal witches and wizards spoke, and most importantly, how social standings in the wizarding work functioned.

Many of them wore their house emblems. Emblems she recognized from reading Hogwarts: A History. As she suspected, Slytherins sat with Slytherins, Ravenclaws with Ravenclaws, Gryffindors with Gryffindors, and Hufflepuffs mixing in with the other three houses.

"Wait what?"

She broke from her observations. As it turned out, the house of loyalty seemed to express their loyalty to others, rather than allegiance to the house itself. A nice thing to realize when thinking about where she would end up, and where her best allies would come from.

She then looked for where other first years were sitting. It was odd however, because she could not for the life of her find any of them. No matter what carriage she passed, there were no first years. Of course, this was probably due to the fact that she was at the front of the train. Most of the first years, she imagined, would get on at the back of the train which was closest to the platform entrance. From there, she reasoned, they would simply pick the closet carriage, rather than the ones up at the front of the car.

No matter, she could make her way back to there before long and join up with the rest of her class. Right now, it would make sense to make friends with those in higher grades than her. But the question remained.

How?

"No better time than now, I guess" she mumbled to herself. Picking the first door she came to, she went over and gave it a quick knock.

She could hear rustling and grumbling in the compartment and immediately regretted her decision. It sounded as though she had just woken a bear!

Perhaps this upperclassmen was trying to sleep? He, whoever it was, had been rudely woken up by some nosey first year trying to make her way in a world she didn't understand. Should she run away? Hermione stood rooted in indecision as the latch was sprung.

After realizing that his attempt to drive her off was fruitless, he would growl at her and take note of her appearance, her scar, and her mousy demeanor. He would spread rumors about her around the school. Before long she would be hated around the school! It was all over now. Her first day and she had already messed up beyond belie-

Then the door opened. It was a first year, woken up yes, but appearing completely harmless.

Then she noticed his scar.

The two children stared at each other for a long moment, before the boy broke the silence.

"Uh… What's up?" He asked.

Hermione, somewhat awestruck at the sight of her scar on someone else's forehead, tripped a bit on her response.

"Wha- OH! Oh sorry I was just looking for a compartment to sit in while riding to Hogwarts." She chastised herself for her poor choice of words. Of course it was to Hogwarts! Where else would the bloody train be going?

She chastised herself again for her use of curses.

"Oh…" the young boy spoke, relief obvious in his voice. "Well you're welcome in here. No one else wanted to sit with me though." He finished. Without a word, he turned and sat back down on one of the benches in the carriage.

Taking it as her cue, Hermione did the same. Pulling her belongings into the car, and shutting the door behind her. After settling in for the ride, she sat down herself and looked at the odd boy once more.

He wore very nice glasses, though his hair was messy and unkempt, and he had not even changed into his robes yet. He stared out the window, almost as if she were not even there.

"How rude!" She thought to herself. Then she realized that she had intruded onto his private space, and had been invited to join him anyways. "I guess that's alright…" She reasoned to herself.

Looking around once more she noticed the owl that sat to the edge of the car. It peacefully ate from its feeding bowl completely ignoring her entrance. Getting closer she could not help but admire the beauty of the animal. She had wanted to get an owl as well, however it was too much for her Gran to pay for and there was no way she was asking the Deputy Headmistress to fork over the money for a non-essential. No, she could make due with the school owls she had read about. Particularly without the financial assistance of her new magical guardian.

"That's Hedwig," the boy commented, breaking the girl out of her thought-spell. "Got her as a present from my god-father."

"She's beautiful," the witch commented back. "How old is she?"

"Two, I think. Haven't had her for long, about a month or so." He answered. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask you, how'd you get the scar on your forehead?"

The young witch was taken aback by the abruptness of the question, as well as the hypocrisy in it. Somewhat jaded, she shot back off handedly, "Well I could ask the same thing of you." As she stood up, she noticed the boy looked at her astonished.

"How did you see it?" He asked rather loudly.

"See it? See what? The scar on your forehead I'm looking at right now?"

The boy stood frozen. Slowly, he lifted his hand towards his hair, which had always depended on to hide his scar, and noticed it was not covering it whatsoever.

Hermione looked rather confusedly at the boy. What was he trying to hide? She decided to probe further. "Well since you asked first, I guess I'll answer." She sat down on the bench, and before the young boy could speak, she began to spin her tale.

"When I was young, almost two, my parents were killed in some sort of home invasion. I had always been told up until now that it was some random thug, but that was just a cover until I got my magic I guess…" She paused for a moment before realizing she had left something important out. "I'm muggle born by the way. My parents died protecting me from some dark lord. I don't remember his name, but he tried to kill me too. The spell shot right back at him though and I got a scar from it on my forehead." She finished. As she did so, she laid her head on a closed fist and leaned against the wall of the car. "So what about you?"

The boy stared for a few long moments before uttering in shock, "You're the same as me." He leaned forward and brought his head very close to hers.

He was examining her scar!

Acting with rashness he pushed him back. As soon as she did so she regretted it, because the boy fell back onto the bench. From the embarrassed look on his face, he must have realized that he had invaded her personal space.

"S-Sorry!" He stuttered.

Hermione laughed a bit at the boy's lack of understanding, before raising her hand forward in front of her offering a handshake.

"It's alright." She began. "I'm sure you're just as tired as me from traveling here. Let's start over. My name is Hermione Granger, what's yours?"

The boy held off for a moment, before meeting her hand in the center of the car. He released a long breath, before speaking once more.

"Harry. Harry Potter."


I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. A bit longer this time. I am very happy with how this turned out. As always, if you see any grammatical or canonical errors please point them out. Rate and review!