Chapter 10

The next month passed with Harry and Draco reading their school books and practicing with their wands, thankful for the non-trace wards that kept the ministry from knowing about their under-age magic. Something Harry started noticing though was that Draco was becoming over protective. For some reason the boy was always worried about him if he wasn't in sight. In the couple weeks before Severus left, Draco flooed often to check on him. They went into muggle London to go to a restraunt for lunch one day. Harry met a boy a little older than themselves. They were talking and Draco glared at the boy the whole time. Harry rounded on him for being rude to such a nice guy when they were out of ear shot, and Draco just huffed and turned away.

The biggest show of over protectiveness and worry that happened was a week before they had to leave for Hogwarts. Lucius was at work for an emergency and Narcissa had errands to run in Diagon Alley so they went with her, though Nagi had stayed so he could hunt. It was the last minute rush, so families were running everywhere. It was even more crowded than when the Potters were in the alley. Harry had gotten seperated from Draco and Narcissa as the crowd was rushing. He was passing an open alley when he was roughly shoved by a passing student. Harry fell into someone and both tumbled down the stairs that led into a side alley, Harry landing on the other person. "Oww." Harry groaned.

"You okay kid?" a voice asked from under him.

"Y-yah. You?" he asked the boy as he got off of him.

"Not the worst tumble I've had." was the care-free reply. It was an older boy, maybe about to start his 4th year at Hogwarts. He was a Hufflepuff based on his robe's crest. He had short dark hair, warm brown eyes, and tan skin.

"Thanks for breaking my fall. I'm Harry." Harry held out his hand as both boys had sat up. The boy took it.

"Your welcome. I'm Cedric. I'm guessing you got seperated from your family." he gave a warm smile.

"Yah. My aunt and best friend." Harry explained. He looked warrily up the steps at the still rushing crowd. He didn't fancy going back into that.

"Who are they? I might be able to help you get back to them." Cedric offered. Harry smiled in relief.

"Narcissa and Draco Malfoy." he answered. "You don't mind that, do you?" he asked, remembering that not all wizards liked the Malfoy family.

"I don't mind them. My dad may not be a fan, but I couldn't care about their reputations or what ever." Cedric said with a shrug. Harry grinned largely at that.

"Thanks Cedric." Harry said, smiling as Cedric laughed.

"No problem kid." together they got up and Harry kept a hold of Cedric's robes while Cedric kept a hold of Harry's shoulder. They braved the large, sweeping crowd, not getting seperated as they got to the least busy place they could find,which happened to be Flortescue's Ice Cream parlor patio. "Think they'll think to look for you here?" he asked the small boy.

"I'm pretty sure they will." Harry replied. The duo talked for a while as they waited for the Malfoy matriarch and heir to show up. "So, were you here with anyone Ced?" he asked.

"Nah. My dad works in the Ministry and all of them were called in from all branches of it."

"Why is that?" Harry asked. "Uncle Luci had to be there too."

"I think that earlier this morning Gringotts was broken into."

"What? But Gringotts is supposed to be the safest place in our world...save Hogwarts, any how."

"Well, there's a first for everything. Speaking of Hogwarts, are you a first year this year?"

"Yah. I'm really excited about it too. Can you tell me anything?" Harry asked. Cedric grinned.

"I guess I could. But I'm not going to give up any of its secrets." Cedric said playfully. Harry laughed and nodded. "The food at Hogwarts is some of the most delicious I've ever had. The grounds are large and sweeping and beautiful." he said

"What do you think about the teachers?" Harry asked.

"Binns, ghost, History of Magic, and he is boring and dull. Sinistra, astronomy, is a strict teacher and a major night person. McGonagall, Transfiguration teacher, Griffyndor Head of House, is a stern, but fair professor. She expects you to try, even if you don't succeed at first. Sprout, Herbology teacher, my Head of House, is a really bubbly person. She really likes plants and will like you so long as you pay attention in her class. Flitwick, Charms teacher, Head of Ravenclaw House, is a very helpful and funny man. He enjoys it when the students have fun in his class. Snape, Head of Slytherin, and potions professor. The majority of the students thinks he's an overly strict git, but what they fail to understand is that potions is really dangerous, and some potions have yet to have a cure or reverse effect. One wrong move and 20 children could be severly injured beyond what he can reverse or heal. It's the most dangerous class that you'll ever have save maybe care of magical creatures. I really admired Snape for being able to deal with the stress his position has."

"So you think highly of dad." Harry noted. Cedric looked startled.

"Snape's your dad?" Harry flushed and nodded. "I think that's cool. You're really lucky to be able to see a side of him that has an emotion that isn't sarcasm or sneers." Cedric replied. Harry smiled.

"Thanks for accepting that about me." Harry smiled.

Before Cedric could reply, they heard a call for the smaller boy. "Harry!" they looked up to see the 2 blondes coming towards them. Both had relieved looks as they saw the boy. Draco's eyes narrowed at the sight of Cedric, but he didn't say anything. "There you are! I was so worried about you. We were together then you disappeared in the crowd." Narcissa said going over to hug the small boy. "And you are?" she asked.

Cedric stood up and held out his hand. "Cedric Diggory. Me and Harry ran into eachother and I brought him here." he told the woman. He was surprised when the woman hugged him instead of shaking his hand.

"Thank you so much for taking care of him until we could find him." she told him, relief filled in her voice.

"N-no problem." he stuttered as she let him go.

"Yes. Thanks again Cedric for staying with me until me and them could reunite." Harry told the boy with a soft, shy smile. Cedric nodded.

"Your welcome Harry. I've got to go. My mom expects me home soon. See you at Hogwarts Harry." with that, he left the patio.

"He's a nice boy that Cedric." Narcissa told them.

"Yah. He really is." Harry agreed. He was startled when Draco suddenly grabbed him in a tight hug. "D-Dray?" Harry asked returning it.

"I was really worried Hade. I didn't know where you were or if anything happened to you!" he told the smaller boy.

"But I'm fine though Dray. Really." he assured his friend. Draco nodded and he let his friend go after one last squeeze.

"Let's head home boys." Narcissa said with a smile. The 2 of them nodded and the trio went home. Later that night, when both boys were asleep, Narcissa went into Lucius's study to talk to him.

"What is it dear?" Lucius asked, seeing the look on her face.

"It's Draco. I think his inheritance might be coming into play." Lucius asked her to elaborate. "It's just I've noticed the past month that he's been more over protective of Harry lately. And just today, he was very jealous of a boy Harry met because he was hanging out with him after he got seperated from us." Lucius thought about it.

"Well, it's been known to happen with some that are very close and have a deep bond with someone they care deeply about." he said.

""How's it going to be for him?" she asked.

"It's just a small bit of his inheritance. He may become a bit more possessive of Harry, but over all it'll be him being protective of him." Narcissa let out a breath of relief.

"So it isn't anything to worry about."

"No, it isn't." Lucius smiled at his wife before they called it a night. The rest of the week passed well for the group. Finally, September 1st came and they were heading for Kings Cross.

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The Malfoys and Harry had walked through the barrier and the boys smiled at the sight of the large, scarlet train. "It's amazing." Harry murmurred at the sight. Draco nodded.

"Too bad it's scarlet." he sighed. Harry nodded at that as well. They were some of the first on the platform.

"Becareful. Stay out of trouble if you can." Narcissa said. "Don't antagonize any of the teachers. Write atleast once aweek. Tell us everything."

"Write to us tonight or in the morning though to tell us which house your in." she told the boys.

"Also, remember what I said you guys." Lucius said. "You can break the rules, but you can't get caught. If you get caught, you deserve your punishments." Narcissa smacked him on the arm,

"Lucius!" she hissed quietly. The man looked away and chuckled a bit.

"Sorry love." he said. The boys rolled their eyes.

"Oh just enjoy your first year at Hogwarts and tell me everything." Narcissa told the boys as more and more people started showing up on the platform.

"Come on Hade. Let's go find an empty compartment." Draco said, dragging his friend over to the train. They soon found a compartment at the back of the train. They said good bye to the Malfoy adults once more, both getting a hug from Narcissa. "Bye mother, father."

"Bye Aunt Cissy, Uncle Luci." Harry told them.

"Bye boys." they replied. They got to their compartment and watched as the Potters got onto the platform. They could tell by the large amount of reporters.

"Honestly, what do they see in that fool?" a voice asked at the compartment door. The boys looked up to see their friend. Daphne, all blonde curls, blue eyes, and cocasion skin had asked the question, fed up with the BWL after just a few minutes of being in his vicinity, despite being gentle and non-tempermental.

"Hey Daph. They see want they want to see. It's easier than accepting the truth. Besides, they believe what Albus tells them." Harry said. They nodded and decided to wait for their other friends, who showed up a few minutes later.

"Hey." Blaise said, dark hair, eyes, and dark tan skin as he entered the compartment. Following him was Theo with his brown hair, brown eyes, and light tan skin. They spent the first half of the train ride talking about their last month of summer and their house expectations. Theodore confided into his friends that he would most likely be in Ravenclaw. They assured him that they would still be friends and nothing would change that. Daphne then confided about how she realized that she'd likely be a Hufflepuff. They assured her that wouldn't keep them from being friends either.

"Even if one of us were put in Gryffindor, we'd still be friends, house rivalries be damned." Harry told the compartment. They all nodded, though they did wince at the name of the house. They were enjoying each others company.

Harry was on his way back from the bathroom when he stumbled upon a commotion. Curious he went to see what was going on. "I am Liam Potter! The BWL!" a voice growled dangerously. "How dare you bump into me." He saw Liam shouting at a girl with frizzy brown hair, brown eyes, and slightly large front teeth. Next to her was a slightly round boy, though not even close to Liam with soft brown hair and blue eyes. He didn't recognize the girl, but he knew the boy was Neville Longbottom, he had seen him at some of the Malfoy parties and they had spoken every now and then, becoming friends. They sometimes traded letters.

"And I told you that it was an accident, and I apologized for it. You stupid boy!" the girl growled at him. "Now leave us alone so we can get back into our compartment."

"This is our compartment now, muggle-born. Now take the squib and leave." Harry had heard enough and stepped into the fray.

"You do know that ginger mother of yours is muggle-born right? Also, Neville has a larger magical presence than yours. Honestly if any one here was a squib it'd be you." Harry turned to the girl and boy. "I suggest you come with me. The Idiot-Who-Lived has probably contaminated your compartment with his stupidity by now. I'll bring you to mine." he said. They nodded greatfully. He casted a protection and locking spell on their trunks through the open door, before looking back at the duo.

"If we're going by that logic though, half the train's probably contaminated by now. And the boys with the idiot have been around him too long. They're practically walking vegetables. I doubt they have any braincells left." the girl said with a mock sigh of pity. Harry smirked.

"I like you." he said to the girl. "Neville's got a good friend. Come on."

"Wait right there, you girly freak!" Liam growled, grabbing Harry's shoulder and turning him. Harry was surprised by the punch that landed on his cheek. He stumbled back a step but was able to keep his footing. Before he could react, his mind breifly going back to Dudley, Neville and the girl both brought out their wands and cast different spells. Soon Liam had green skin with silver hair-his hatred of slytherin was well known- and he was spouting a large nose that was the size of a melon. "Someone do something!" he yelled in panic. Harry quickly cast a picture capturing spell, causing Liam to pale. While people crowded around the BWL, Harry led the girl and Neville away.

"Thanks for that. It was pretty neat." he told them. "I'm Harry, by the way. Harry Snape." he said to the girl.

"I'm Hermione Granger. Pleasure to meet you." they shook hands.

"Thanks for sticking up for us Harry." Neville said.

"No problem. You payed me back with those spells you guys casted. Which of you cast which spell?"

"I casted the one that changed his colors." Hermione said with a smug grin. "He was talking about his dislike for slytherin, and I knew the house's colors. Unfortunately, it'll only hold for a couple hours."

"That's more than enough time for word to get around." Harry assured her.

"I guess you can tell that I casted the enlargement charm." Neville said with a grin. They halted in front of Harry's compartment.

"Is there a bruise?" Harry asked quietly before opening the door. Neville knew why he asked and gave a sad sigh as he nodded.

"Is something about to happen?" Hermione asked.

"My friend's been really over protective and has also been over reacting to things. Just be ready for a fuming, and muttering threats under his breath blonde boy." Harry said before he opened the door, gesturing the 2 in ahead of him. "Before you guys say anything, I brought them here." he told the group who couldn't see him well over the other 2. Introductions were given before they saw Harry. When they did, Draco shot out of his seat and stalked over to Harry.

'What happened?" he asked dangerously. The three of them explained what had happened. When they got to the part about Liam grabbing him and punching him, Draco's voice boomed in anger, shocking every one. "That bastard HIT you?! Oh he will pay for this!" he almost got out the door but Harry had grabbed him.

"He's already paid for it. Nev cast a spell that gave him a nose the size of a melon, and Mione turned his skin green and hair silver. Neither of them will wear off for a couple hours." Harry explained. He then brought out the picture he had used a spell to capture. Everyone stared for a whole minute before collapsing in laughter. Soon copies were made and owls sent out to friends on the train and family members. None of their friends or family liked the Potters, so this was beautiful revenge for their egotistic ways. The rest of the trip passed in friendly games and stories. Hermione was accepted into the group also, despite being muggle-born. That didn't matter to their group at all.