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Lucius nodded approvingly at his son, who tried to suppress a beaming grin, and managed to calmly nod back. "Shall we go onward to Flourish and Blotts, then, son?"

"Please, Father." They continued on to the book shop, unaware that a certain black haired, green eyed boy was not as far behind them as they'd think.

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I'm famous because some guy killed my parents and then accidentally offed himself by bouncing a spell off me. Right. Okay. Yeah. WHAT THE HELL?! Harry's mouth snapped shut from its previous fishlike position and he almost glared at the gigantic man across from him before regaining his composure. It's not his fault… Harry thought guiltily while pushing up his glasses and flashing Hagrid a worried smile to try and make up for the glare.

"'Arry, we 'ere thinkin' 'bout puttin' ya wit' a wizard fam'ly fer the res' o' the summer, so ya can get used ter magic." Hagrid continued, as if Harry had asked him, "Yer choice, o' course, an' we'll be meetin' lo's o' folks who'll be wan'in' ter take ya 'ome wit' them. (Your choice, of course, and we'll be meeting lots of folks who'll be wanting to take you home with them.)"

Harry blinked at the change in subject, then smiled at the giant, recognizing the attempt to shake him from his gloomy thoughts, "That sounds great!"

"Oh yeah, I almos' fergot!" Hagrid began digging around in his many pockets before pulling out a slightly squashed box. "'Appy Birthday. 'Arry." As Harry accepted and opened the box Hagrid rambled on nervously, "I might'n'a sat on it on some point, but it should be fine."

Harry grinned, first at the chocolate icing and lightening bolt on the cake, then up at Hagrid's face. "Brilliant! Thank you so much!" He carefully reclosed the box and stowed it away on top of the bag of his possessions. Refusing to be encumbered by the topics of their last conversation, Harry forced it to the back of his mind. "Where are we going to get all the stuff in this letter?" Harry gestured at the acceptance letter Hagrid had given him- that he had not let go of for fear of it disappearing or having all been a dream.

Hagrid smiled, or at least, his hair moved in a way that seemed to be smiling, and a twinkle appeared in his muddy brown eyes, "Oh, I think yer gonna enjoy this." He led Harry towards a door he hadn't seen before, and into a courtyard…

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Draco would have been humming and bouncing as he and his father left Flourish and Blotts if he had not been a Malfoy, but, as it was, he was gliding serenely alongside his father, doing any unseemly "bouncing" only on the inside.

Lucius pinched the bridge of his nose. "Oh, do tone down the enthusiasm, Madam Malkin's is not the finest place in the world." Okay, maybe he was walking just a little more energetically than normal.

"Of course, Father." They stopped at Madam Malkin's and Lucius turned to his son.

"The only reason I am in Diagon Alley with you now is to… 'run some errands' so I expect you to behave as a Malfoy should when I am not with you. Good day." He left without another word, and Draco, despite the icy tone, just knew his father was actually saying, "Do me proud." Of course, what else could it be? Some part of him commented snarkily, but he ignored it and managed to trip and fall onto someone in the proccess of "ignoring." He immediately rolled off and jumped to his feet. The shorter person was a bit slower to follow, groaning as they stood. When they turned to face him, he recognized the black hair and green eyes with a jolt.

"YOU!" They both jumped back and pointed dramatically, and the shorter boy snapped out of his shock and began laughing.

Draco smirked, the most he would allow himself, and asked, "So is Madam Malkin busy?"

The boy nodded, "Yeah, she said to wait here."

Draco nodded back, and took in the boy's clothes. The smirk left his face as he asked in contempt, "Are you a Mudblood?" The boy looked at him, confused, and Draco sighed in exasperation, "Are your mother and father Muggles?"

Comprehension dawned, and the boy shook his head, "No, my parents were a witch and a wizard, but they died when I was young, so I had to live with Muggles growing up. I thought they were called Muggleborns?"

Draco ignored the question and asked, in horror, "You had to live with Muggles?"

The brunette seemed to find his question funny and snorted, "It was awful. My so-called 'caretakers' are the biggest prats there are. Not all Muggles are bad, though."

"Another Muggle lover," Draco groaned, then cringed before remembering his father had left and he did not need to live up to the Malfoy standard.

The boy cocked his head, "Do you not like Muggles?"

Draco looked at the boy with an "Are-you-really-as-stupid-as-that-just-sounded" expression before stopping to think about what was asked. "I don't personally dislike Muggles, but… They are a threat to the wizarding world- why do you think it's been in hiding for so long?"

The boy paused before groaning and plopping to the floor dramatically, "I don't want to have to think deeply right now. I don't know anything about the wizarding world."

Draco smirked and sat beside him on the light wood floor, "Are you going to Hogwarts?"

"Yeah…"

"I'm going to Hogwarts, too! I could teach you!" Draco was pleased. He might be able to help the Dark Lord's cause if he would sway this boy, and through that, please his father.

"Er… It's not really necessary since I'm supposed to stay with a wizarding family for the rest of the summer, and by then they'll have filled me in on the important things." The boy looked sheepish and guilty, as if it would be a problem to turn Draco down. Which, to Draco, it actually was.

"Let me guess, Dumbledore's placing you."

The green-eyed wizard-in-training's brows furrowed in thought, "The headmaster! No, I'm supposed to choose from some candidates."

"Choose ours!" Every Death Eater counts, the part of him he thought he had silenced remarked sullenly.

"Which is?"

Draco successfully killed the urge to slap himself in the forehead. "I didn't introduce myself. I'm Draco Malfoy." He held out a hand.

The boy took it and smiled, "I'm Harry Potter."

Far off in a certain headmaster's office, many silver devices stopped moving for the first time since they had been built.