His father stood at the top level of the Astronomy Tower, gazing out at the the vast Highland landscape. It was the middle of Summer, the Sun high in the sky, and Hogwarts stood empty of students once again. Thomas had pleaded with Dumbledore about staying over at the Weasley's for the holidays, but his father had argued against this, saying that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley simply didn't have the money to continually replace their orchard after Thomas' crashing into the trees with his broomstick.

Dumbledore also made mention of a certain task he wanted performed, but the only detail he passed on was that Thomas was to travel with Hagrid.

Now, Thomas and Hagrid were facing Dumbledore, who turned to look them each in the eye. "Thomas. Hagrid. I see Minerva gave you my message."

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore, sir," acknowledged Hagrid.

"Dad, what is it?" Thomas asked.

Dumbledore looked at them both with something akin to anticipation, before starting, "Eleven years ago, a young baby was almost killed, his mother and father murdered in front of him. Severus found them, and rescued the boy. Hagrid, Minerva, and I then took the boy to his only living relatives.

"Now, it seems he has begun to come into his magical abilities. His family - all muggles - have taken notice; we've sent owls to their residence concerning the boy's enrolement at Hogwarts, yet we have received no word from them. Mrs. Figg, a Squib and neighbour, was watching them closely, and last night reported that the entire family packed up and left. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to follow."

Dumbledore almost winked at the pair. "Naturally, I have located the family to a small island off the Cornish coast in the Scilly Isles. I'd like the two of you to retreive the boy and prepare him for his time here at Hogwarts."

Thomas took this all in, but Hagrid was the first to speak. "What the bloody 'ell are they doin' there? Don't they know they could get 'emselves killed?" When father and son both looked at him with questioning glances, he added, "Last I 'eard, there were a storm 'eadin' in, that part of the country."

"Who is it we're retreiving, by the way, Dad?" asked Thomas.

"Harry Potter."

Thomas' mouth dropped open. All his life he'd wanted to meet the Boy Who Lived, but he'd never had the chance. He looked at Hagrid, but apparently Hagrid already knew Harry's identity beforehand. Harry Potter, commonly known as the Boy Who Lived, had been born to Lily and James Potter in 1990. At the time, the wizarding world was under the oppression of Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters, Dumbledore, Hagrid, McGonagall, Snape, and many of the other Hogwarts professors all members of the Order of the Phoenix. The Order was a group of wizards and witches who stood firm against Voldemort and, according to McGonagall, Lily and James had also been members. That was until Voldemort had targeted their son Harry for death in 1991. When Thomas had asked his father about what happened, Dumbledore had simply stated that the house was in ruins, mainly due to Lily and James putting up a Hell of a fight against the Dark Lord.

Thanks mainly to Dumbledore, Harry had been kept away from his childhood fame. It made sense that Thomas' father would send someone to help ease him into the world of magic after living with muggles for so long.

"He's going to be in my year-group?" Thomas asked excitedly.

"Yes, he is," his father replied simply before focusing on Hagrid. "I trust you won't scare the boy too much, Hagrid."

"If that were the case, sir, I'd send Severus instead o' me," said Hagrid, chuckling.

"How very true," Dumbledore laughed. "Tomorrow will be Harry's birthday. I trust you will be punctual."

Thomas nodded, "To the letter, Dad."

Smiling, Dumbledore said, "That's all I ask, son."

Hey Ron,

First of all, thank you for my birthday present! I know it used to belong to Charlie in his first year, so I'm thanking him for the hat as well.

I'm not going to be able to write much at the moment, as Dad wants me and Hagrid to go rescue someone from his muggle family - I'll tell you more once term starts, but then again I can just point him out to you (he's starting up at Hogwarts with the two of us!). Well, I'll keep a look out for all of you on the train from London in a couple of months, and give your parents a hug from me.

Hope you have a great summer,

Thomas.

Thomas enclosed the letter into an envelope, wrote on the address, and handed it to Fawkes, his father's phoenix. He would've used an owl from the owlery, but he hadn't the time to rush there from his dad's office. Besides, Dumbledore did this all the time, so why shouldn't he do it, too? Fawkes, a large red-gold bird that resided within the office mostly perched on his stand, had been as familiar a sight to Thomas as seeing Filch lead first- and second-years into the Dark Forest. But that was just Filch being Filch.

After some careful persuasion from Thomas, Fawkes finally spread his wings and flew up and out of the nearest window. After watching for a further minute or so to make sure Fawkes didn't automatically come swooping back, Thomas set out for the Clock Tower to meet with Hagrid.

When he arrived, Thomas saw that Hagrid was armed with, unusually, an umbrella. The bearded man saw the look on Thomas' face, and said, "I use it instead of a wand; it were taken from me when I were...asked to leave Hogwarts," He looked a little uncomfortable. "Ready?" He asked.

"Whenever you are," Thomas replied, and took hold of Hagrid's enormous hand. With a loud pop! the pair disapparated away from Hogwarts.

Being so small in comparison to a giant, or half-giant in Hagrid's case, was almost a blessing for Thomas as he huddled underneath Hagrid's thick beard. When his father had said "small island", Thomas hadn't known how much he'd exaggerrated. The island, if you could even call it that, was around a couple of hundred metres long, and about half as wide. In the centre was a single wooden hut, a lone bastion against the prevailing storm. Clearly, these muggles were mad beyond words.

"Thomas," Hagrid shouted, attempting to be heard above the rain. "Let me do the talkin'. I've got more experience with muggles than you, ok?"

Thomas simply tugged on his beard to state acknowledgment.

Hagrid then made his way toward the hut's single door. Instead of just opening it, Hagrid slammed his forearm into the door. creating a rather loud bang. Several more bangs later, and the door came down off its' hinges and fell to the floor with a clang. A yelp was heard from inside, and Hagrid strode in on top of the felled door, and stopped.

"Sorry 'bout that."

Thomas jumped down from his perch and landed beside Hagrid, as he turned round, picked up the door, and put it back in place. Toward the back of the hut, in what was laughingly called a kitchen, was a portly boy in striped blue pyjamas, and on the rickety stairs stood a pair of adults, clearly muggles due to their fear. A woman, thin as a stick and wearing a nightshirt that barely clung to her, and rollers in her short brunette hair. Beside her was who appeared to be her husband, a man even more portly than the boy below, he wore a checkered brown gown over striped blue pyjamas, brown slippers, and a bushy moustache. His receeding light brown hair was sticking up at all angles. In his hands he held what Thomas assumed to be some sort of muggle technological monstrosity.

The man spoke up in the best imitation of anger he could muster, "I demand that you leave at once! You are breaking and entering!"

Hagrid went to stand just in front of him. "Dry up Dursley you great prune."

He bent the end of what turned out to be the man's weapon upward toward the ceiling, as when he tried to use it to attack Hagrid, something very loud erupted from the end of it. Instead of hitting Hagrid, it hit through the ceiling and then roof, bringing a small chunk of wood, several splinters, and rain showering around the muggles, who appeared to look more than a little nervous.

Hagrid and Thomas turned toward the boy at the back of the hut. "Well, I 'aven't seen you since you was a baby 'arry. But you're a bit more along than I would 'ave expected; particularly around the middle," he said as he indicated his own mid-section. The boy looked shocked.

"I'm not...I'm not Harry!"

A thinner boy, with short, dark brown hair, and round-framed glasses stepped out from behind the chimney-post. Thomas noticed a lightning bolt shaped-scar visible through his fringe. "I am."

Hagrid's face looked slightly relieved, "Well, of course you are!" He reached inside his jacket, and brought out a blue box. "Got something for ya. 'Fraid I might 'ave sat on it at some point! I imagine that it'll taste fine just the same."

Hagrid handed it to Harry, who looked at it curiously before opening it. Inside was a cake. "Baked it meself, words and all!"

On the cake, the green icing said, "Happee Birdae Harry". Harry's face almost exploded from absolute happiness. "Thank you!"

"It's not everyday that your young man turns eleven, now is it?" asked Hagrid rhetorically, as Thomas beamed at Harry. Surely this family had given him birthday cakes before?

Hagrid appeared to have found the only reasonable place to sit, and whilst doing so, had taken out his umbrella and pointed it at the fireplace. Twin jets of light shot out from its' tip, hitting the fireplace and setting whatever was already in it aflame. It seemed this was the first time the hut had ever felt warmth.

It was also another first, this time for Harry. As best as Thomas could tell, Harry's face was one of awe, with the slightest twinge of I-can't-believe-what-I'm-seeing in his eyes. He placed the cake on the nearby table, and asked, "Excuse me, but who are you?"

"Rubeus Hagrid. Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts," he said matter-of-factly. Thomas also introduced himself, before Hagrid went on. "Course, you'll know all about Hogwarts."

Harry looked glum. "Sorry, no," he said.

"No?" Thomas and Hagrid said together. "Blimey, 'arry, didn't you ever wonder where yer mum and dad learnt it all?" asked Hagird.

Perplexed, Harry asked, "Learnt what?"

Hagrid leant forward. "You're a wizard, Harry."

Harry took a step back, dawning comprehension on his face, giving Thomas the urge to giggle. "I...I'm a what?"

"A wizard," said Hagrid. "And a thumpin' goodun at that, I'd wager. Once you train up a little."

Harry's astonishment didn't falter. "No. You've made a mistake. I can't be a...a...a wizard. I mean, I'm just...Harry. Just Harry."

"Well," began Hagrid. " 'Just Harry', did you ever make anything 'appen? Anything you couldn't explain when you angry, or scared?"

As Harry begins to take all this in, Thomas takes out a letter, which is addressed to Harry, and gives it to him with a flourish. Harry then opened it, and read it aloud:

Dear Mr. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"He will not be going!" The muggle man could barely contain himself. "We swore when we took him in, we'd put an end to this rubbish!"

"You knew? You knew all along and you never told me?" Harry asked, almost enraged.

The muggle woman, her face bloated with embarrassment, began to walk over to the others. "Of course we knew. How could you not be? My perfect sister being who she was. Oh, my mother and father were so proud the day she got her letter. We have a witch in the family. Isn't it wonderful?" she asked rhetorically. "I was the only one to see her for what she was. A freak! And then she met that Potter, and then she had you, and I knew you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as ... abnormal. And then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up! And we got landed with you."

"Blown up?" Harry shouted. "You told me my parents died in a car crash!"

This in turn appeared to enrage Hagrid. "A car crash? A car crash kill Lily and James Potter?

"We had to tell him something," shot the woman. Behind them, meanwhile, the other boy had eyes and ears only for the cake, and had decided to take it upon himself to consume as fast as his mouth would allow.

"It's an outrage!" continued Hagrid. "It's a scandal!"

"He will not be going!" The man repeated.

Hagrid almost laughed at this. "Oh, and I suppose a muggle like yourself's going to stop 'im, are yer?"

Harry looked up at the half-giant, and asked, bewildered, "Muggle?"

"Non-magic folk," Hagrid explained. Continuing, he said, "This boy's had his name down ever since he was born! He's going to the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world, and he'll be under the greatest headmaster Hogwarts has ever seen: Albus Dumbledore," he said with the deepest of respect.

Man and wife looked flustered. "I will not pay for some crackpot old fool to teach him magic tricks!" said the man.

At this, Hagrid pointed his umbrella at him, with Thomas adding his brand new wand to the mix.

"Never. Insult Albus Dumbledore. In front. Of me," said Hagrid. Thomas could've sworn the couple had just come close to losing their lives. By Hagrid's hand or his own, he wasn't so sure.

Suddenly, Hagrid points his umbrella at the portly boy who, still eating the cake, never saw the spell that hit his rear end and causing a pig's tail to grow out from it. But boy, did he feel it. He screamed, as did the rest of the muggle family, who then proceeded to chase their son around the hut. Thomas and Harry laughed hysterically.

"Oh, umm...I'd appreciate if neither of yer told anyone at 'ogwarts 'bout that," said Hagrid. "Scrictly speakin', I'm not allowed ter do magic."

Harry nodded and said simply, "Ok."

Hagrid checked his pocket watch. "Ooh, we're a bit behind schedule. Best be off," he said as he allowed the door to fall off its hinges again. "Unless you'd rather stay, of course?" And with that, Hagrid went back out into the storm.

"Well?" Thomas asked Harry. "Do you really want to stay with them?" They looked at the muggles. The man was chasing the boy up the stairs, who then summarily tripped and fell back down, sending his father careening down with him. This only made the woman shriek beyond high Heaven. "I've always wanted to meet a banshee," said Thomas.