CHAPTER 6

Hermione passed a weary hand over her face, frustrated. They had been at it for three hours now and she had not managed more than accidently igniting Harry's bag, and that had been sheer emotion, not ability. She glanced over to where Harry was sitting, poring over their Transfigurations text. It wasn't his fault, really. He had been surprised when she hadn't been able to do it after the first few tries and had been exceedingly patient as time wore on.

The two were in the Grangers' backyard that had been fenced in so the danger of someone seeing them would be minimal. As Hermione sighed and stretched out on the grass, Harry looked up. He walked over to where she was and sat down cross legged, fingers playing with the grass absent-mindedly. They lay there like that for a while, neither of them making a sound.

"Hermione", Harry's voice broke the silence, startling her," We leave for Hogwarts in two days." Hermione scrambled to sit up. That declaration hadn't been close to the excitement the two had shared over going to Hogwarts. She looked at him, he was gazing at a tree on the other side of the yard. There was something wrong. She waited.

After what seemed like a long time, Harry finally spoke again.

"You remember the Houses we read about in Hogwarts: A History?" he began.

Then it dawned on Hermione. "Harry", she said firmly and waited until he turned around, "We will be in the same House, no matter what. You're the best friend I've ever had and even if we do get Sorted into different Houses, I expect you to be there as soon as classes are over, on the dot. And if you're late, Potter just remember that though I may be lousy at wandless magic, I will find the nastiest curse legally possible, practice till I can't feel my wand anymore and then, then I'm going to…" she broke off mid-rant as Harry burst out laughing. It was the first time she'd seen him laugh, really laugh and she was glad.

Harry was halfway through packing his trunk the night before he was to leave for Hogwarts when the cupboard door swung open. Standing in the doorway was a very red, very smelly and very drunk Uncle Vernon. Without a word, he grabbed Harry by the arm, who couldn't dodge the huge man in such a confined space, and yanked him out in a single motion. Harry stumbled but before he could regain his balance, he fell to the floor, a sharp pain in the side of his head as Uncle Vernon's fist came in contact with it.

Breathing heavily, the large man leaned down and grabbed hold of the scared boy's arm, his eyes gleaming savagely, "What's the matter, freak? I never thought you should go to that god awful excuse for a school and you won't! I can always tell Petunia it was an accident. Sure, I could. That's what I'll do! A few broken bones here and there, and there's no way you'll be able to leave tomorrow, is there, freak? LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!" he bellowed suddenly, twisting Harry's arm

"VERNON!"

Vernon Dursley looked up to see Petunia standing at the front door, keys in hand, cradling a bag of groceries. Her face showed nothing but shock and fright as she gazed on the scene unfolding in front of her. "Stay out of it, Petunia" he grunted before turning back to look at the boy on the floor.

Harry looked up and met his Uncle's eyes. The man barely had time to register the feeling of dread that flashed through him when a sharp pain in his head made him drop Harry's arm, yelping. As he stood shakily, holding his head, the large chair from the living room came hurtling through the doorway and smashed right into his side. Harry sprang to his feet, his eyes burning and Aunt Petunia took a step back. The boy looked half crazed and she was suddenly thankful Dudley never came home on time.

She watched as the boy swept into his room and came out dragging a large trunk and a cage. An enormous jet black owl was perched on his shoulder and she flinched as they drew closer. The boy did not stop, did not acknowledge her as he stormed out. She saw him make his way down the drive and to the road before disappearing around a corner. She felt her legs give way and collapsed, trembling. She should not have left the two alone, not when she had seen Vernon grab his favorite bottle of scotch from the cabinet. After the trembling subsided enough for her to stand, she closed the door awkwardly and went over to where her husband lay. He was snoring.

Harry whipped out his wand from where he had stuffed it up his sleeve as he walked to the end of Privet Drive. It was dark and there wasn't a soul in sight. Furiously swiping at the tears that were streaming down his face, he paused for a moment, taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. Feeling decidedly better, he looked around once more before sticking his wand out.

BANG!

Harry looked up from where he had had to roll to avoid being roadkill. The purple triple decker stood there silently, the gold lettering gleaming faintly by the light of the streetlamps far away. The door slid open and a young man jumped out. "Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency…" he noticed Harry. "Cor, ya seem to be making it a habit there, dontcha Harry?"

Harry got up grumbling and helped Stan Shunpike load his trunk and cage onto the bus. The Knight Bus had changed, the interior had been filled with chairs of different styles, sizes and age the last time he'd been on. Now it was filled with beds of varying designs. There was even a large four-poster in the back. Stan led him to an unoccupied new wrought iron near the front, right next to Ernie, the driver. Harry sat down and his Morfowl fluttered over, perching herself on a stand that had magically appeared. "Well, where to, young Harry?" asked Stan brightly. "Harry? Bless my soul, Mr Potter on my 'umble old bus again? Me thinks I is blessed sir!" Ernie turned around, grinning.

"WATCH THE ROAD!" yelled Harry and Stan in unison.

"Dumb ol' coot!", muttered Stan once they had managed to continue without murdering a couple of drunks, "So, Harry, what'll it be? Paris? Amsterdam? New York? Beijing? New Delhi? Hot chocolate?"

Harry tried to calm his thundering heart as Ernie wrestled with the wheel, narrowly avoiding a bypass construction site. He turned to Stan," The Leaky Cauldron this time, Stan. And no, thanks. I don't think I'd be able to keep it down."

Stan nodded happily and took the silver from Harry. "Right O, Ernie! Leaky Cauldron, and step on it!" There was a loud bang and Harry was thrown back against the head board. His owl disappeared only to come back, flapping her wings and looking far more dignified than had right to be in Harry's opinion. To the right, Harry heard something splattering against the floor of the bus and turned a faint shade of green as a chunk of half -digested meatloaf rolled over by the side of his bed. Just as he was sure he wouldn't be able to hold it in any longer, the bus screeched to a sudden halt, this time flattening him against the glass partition between him and Ernie.

Harry jumped out of the bus, hair in disarray, clothes scruffy but decidedly happy. His Morfowl had decided to turn a non-descript brown and shrunk in size before perching on his head. It was this strange sight that greeted Tom, the innkeeper when he peered over the counter.

"Good evening Tom, I'd like a room for the night please. I'll be leaving for Hogwarts in the morning, you see."

Tom smiled; a wide, toothless smile and gestured for Harry to follow him. As Harry followed the old innkeeper, he wondered what it meant, him storming out of the only place he could call his house after nearly killing the owner, his Uncle. He found he just could not be bothered about it. Happy to be finally free of the place, Harry walked into the room Tom had just opened the door to. It was an ordinary room, very clean with a bed against a wall, below a dark window, a table and chair and a small wardrobe in the corner. The floor was covered by a rug and a fire burned merrily in in the hearth.

"Should you require anything, Mr Potter, all you need do is ring the bell and someone will be up immediately. I trust the accommodation is suitable?" asked Tom in a kind voice.

Harry nodded, "Yes, very much so, Tom. Thanks."

Tom bid him a good night and left, closing the door behind him softly.

Harry looked to where his owl had settled herself on the perch by the table. She had tucked her head under a wing and appeared to be sleeping. He kicked his shoes off and fell onto the bed which was surprisingly soft and sighed heavily looking out the window. The sky was clear enough for him to see hundreds of stars, shining down on him as he lay. As he watched the stars, sleep finally overcame him.

Harry was woken up by the something poking his side. He was up in an instant thinking Aunt Petunia had grown tired of knocking and stepped inside. Taking in his surroundings, he suddenly remembered the events of last night. He was just about to fall back when another poke forced him to look down to where his owl had turned a beautiful snowy white. She hooted softly and Harry realized he had to get ready to leave if he wanted to make it to the Hogwarts Express in time.

He hurried through his morning ritual and went down for breakfast. Sitting at the counter, Harry feasted on sausages, bacon and eggs while sipping on coffee. It was delicious and Harry couldn't resist taking second helpings. Feeling comfortably full, he dropped his fork and sat back looking around the pub in interest. It seemed the crowd wouldn't be arriving for a while and the chairs and tables were flying around the place on their own accord, brooms sweeping the floor by themselves while mops skated across the room. The fireplace shuddered and a large amount of soot fell down to be immediately brushed away.

As Harry sat there taking in the unapologetic display of magic around the room, letting it envelope him. Tom came in to clear his plates away and seeing Harry sitting there, his face aglow, Tom smiled.

"Aye, it's a grand old site, isn't it? The Headmaster always helps me out when he drops in before opening hours. Fine man, he is."

Harry stiffened. Headmaster? What did Tom mean? The Headmaster of Hogwarts was here? Was he in trouble already? Had he killed Uncle Vernon? Were they going to expell him before he even started? No! He hadn't hit him that hard! Besides, the man was enormous! All that blubber ought to have saved him, oughtn't it….?

Harry shook his head violently, no. He was not going to dwell on it. If the Headmaster had been here to talk to him, he would have done so already which meant he wasn't here for him. Besides, based on what Tom had said about the Headmaster helping him when he dropped by, it seemed like a frequent occurrence. Harry climbed the stairs back to his room and looked around, he couldn't spot his trunk and his owl's cage. Figuring Tom had taken them downstairs for him, Harry turned to go back down. As soon as he reached the foot of the stairs, he stopped short.

There was a tall man with a sweeping white beard that had been tucked into a belt. His white hair was equally long and gave the impression of great age. The wizard (for Harry was sure he wasn't a non-magical person) wore startling robes of midnight blue with twinkling stars and planets embroidered in silver and gold around the edges. On his head was a large, pointed hat of the same colour with a golden tassel swinging from the tip. Brilliant blue eyes peered through half- moon glasses that were perched precariously at the tip of a long, crooked nose. The ancient wizard seemed to be chuckling at something Tom had just said.

Harry took a step back. The wizard was odd. Granted all wizards were odd, this one was odd for a wizard. He stood there in the shadows, undecided when a very familiar figure came up to the strange wizard. Professor McGonagall seemed to be in a temper from the look on her face and apparently the wizard decided it would be better not to keep her waiting for he bid a hurried goodbye to Tom before following the irate Professor out the door. Harry waited a couple of moments and when he deemed it safe enough, he walked out.

Tom was there, chuckling while wiping a glass as customers filed in. Seeing Harry, he waved and said, "Your trunk and cage are over there by the fire, sir. I took the liberty of bringing them down for you as I assumed you would want to leave directly you finished breakfast." Harry nodded, thanking him politely as he paid the innkeeper a few gold coins. A though struck him.

"Tom, what would be the best way to reach.." Harry pulled out his ticket and stared, "er.. platform Nine and three quarters?" Tom chuckled.

"I'd take the Knight Bus to King's Cross. The Floo won't take you any closer than the Owl Post Office about five blocks down. At least this way you'll be able to get down close to it."

Harry sighed. Great! Now he'd have to endure another ride in that ridiculous contraption. Or did he? He still had time, maybe he could take a taxi. "Tom, do you think I could get some of my galleons converted to Muggle money? I'd rather take a cab", he said.

Tom nodded, "Normally, you would have to go down to Gringotts. However, I happen to have some Muggle money that was all some Squibs had on them. I could exchange them with you if you'd like, sir?"

Relieved, Harry handed Tom some galleons and took the money in return. It was considerable. He figured he could get to Surrey if he wished. Tom helped Harry get his trunk into the boot of the cab. The cage with his jet black owl safely ensconced inside was riding with him in the back. The driver kept shooting curious glances at the black haired kid with bright green eyes, badly banged up glasses and an owl of all things throughout the ride to King's Cross. Harry ignored him while the owl glared at him balefully.

Once he got off, Harry handed the entire wad of notes Tom had given him to the driver whose eyes widened. He held the money up to the light before grinning and tipping his cap to Harry in thanks.

Harry found a trolley and made his way to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, his trunk and owl causing him to draw more than few curious glances. He reached Platform Nine and looked around. There wasn't anything here. He walked a bit further up. Platform Ten appeared and he stopped, confused. He checked his ticket again. It said Platform Nine and Three Quarters alright. A female voice announced that the ten thirty would depart from Platform Nine. Harry panicked. He barely had thirty minutes to get onto the platform! He tried to think about it logically. Nine and Three Quarters was between Nine and Ten, that meant that the Platform might be between Platforms Nine and Ten as well.

Looking around, he spotted a pillar about three fourths away from Platform Nine, between Nine and Ten. Not having a better idea, he pushed his trolley in the direction. Before he could take more than a couple of steps, however, what seemed like a caravan of trolleys cut right across him. Harry gaped. Each trolley was pushed by a red headed boy and one of them even had an owl in a cage! He was followed by twins with identical trolleys and clothes, even! After them, came a smaller boy, also pushing a trolley followed by a matronly woman with a smaller girl by her side. The girl seemed to be sniffing quietly.

"Alright, boys, line up, we haven't all that much time left seeing as someone decided to leave their packing till the last minute", said the red headed woman, giving the smallest boy a stern glance. The boy in question flushed and for a moment, Harry was very interested to see if the hair and face would match. Just then, however, the woman said briskly, "Percy, dear, why don't you go first?"

Percy, the tall, lanky boy with the owl in horn rimmed glasses nodded and ran full tilt at the columns Harry had been thinking of investigating. Harry stared, thinking the boy had gone insane. He waited for the crash and wondered why none of his family seemed to be stopping him. Just as Percy was about to reach the column however, a group of people moved in front of Harry's line of sight and Harry twisted impatiently, trying to see what had happened to Percy. The boy had vanished! Harry hadn't hear the sound of a crash and was sure there was something odd going on here.

He turned to the twins who had started running together, laughing and racing each other in the same direction Percy had run in before he disappeared. A different group of people moved behind the twins, effectively blocking them from view. Harry cursed, why didn't the damn people just cover his eyes and be done with it? He wasn't about to be disappointed again.

He pushed his trolley up to where the woman was standing with the girl and boy. "Excuse me, could you tell me how to…er.. how to .." Harry gestured helplessly. Fortunately, the woman understood what he was trying to say. "How to get onto the platform?" Harry nodded gratefully.

"Oh, it's easy, dear. All you have to do is run straight at the wall there between the Platforms Nine and Ten. It's best to do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous. You know, it's my son Ronald's first time too" she said kindly.

Harry thanked her and nodded awkwardly at Ronald. He turned to face the wall. Taking a deep breath, he squared his shoulders, tightening his grip on the trolley. He charged.

This is lunacy, thought Harry as he ran wildly at what was almost certainly going to be a nasty and embarrassing crash in the middle of a crowded station. As he neared the wall, he closed his eyes and scrunched up his face, waiting for the pain. Instead he kept running. He opened his eyes to see that he had emerged sideways onto a large platform. There were dozens of witches and wizards milling around, laughing, talking excitedly. What drew his attention, however, was the large bright scarlet engine waiting on the tracks, steam rising out of it with The Hogwarts Express stamped in gold.

As Harry stood there, smiling, there was a loud crash and he suddenly found himself on the ground, his head throbbing, spitting out feathers.

A/N: First off, I'd like to thank everyone for their reviews, follows and favorites. I really do appreciate it. And, well, thanks! I'm a bit unsure of a name for Harry's Morfowl. Any suggestions? Also, let's see how many of you manage to guess who crashed into Harry!