"Hagrid?"

The half-giant's silhouette was almost all the boy could see in the dim lighting but from the sound of the gruff voice he had no reason to doubt. Harry was about to rush forward toward the scruffy man when a spindly hand touched his shoulder. While craning his neck back he saw a woman with rotting teeth and long grey hair dressed in black robes.

"Are you lost boy?" She ground out in a gravely tone laced with age.

"No I-"

"Why don't I show you a place for children?" She hummed with a crooked grin. Harry tried to remove the old woman's surprisingly vice like grip when suddenly the boy was lifted into the air by the back of his shirt.

"Alright! Scram will 'e!" The woman hissed before turning and seemingly floating away. Harry was then set back down on the ground to face the twinkling beady eyes of Hogwarts' groundskeeper.

"Thanks…" He murmured slightly while brushing off any remaining soot and dust from the shop.

"What are ye doin' in Knockturn Alle'? Some'ne 'ill think 'ur up to no good!" Hagrid berated while gesturing for Harry to follow him.

"I didn't mean to! It kind of just…happened." He decided to leave the part about Dobby out for now. Suddenly something dawned on him. "Hagrid, what were you doing down there?"

The scruffy man seemed to grunt before responding. "Flesh eatin' worm repellant. Nasty buggers."

The light seemed to intensify then and Harry had to squint his eyes against the sudden change. Now the boy found himself standing in the bustling center of Diagon Alley. School didn't start for another four weeks but already children were running in and out of shops like chickens with their heads cut off. Robes from various houses could be spotted everywhere and a line was seen farther down, spilling out of Flourish and Blotts.

"Harry!" The boy looked over at the sound of his name, spotting a bushy haired familiar face exiting a random shop and coming his way. She had on her school cloak, displaying her house proudly. "Hello Hagrid."

"'Ermione." He nodded.

"Hermione, what are you doing here?" She turned her head to look at Harry before frowning slightly.

"You glasses are broken again." She stated, ignoring the original question. She reached into her pocket, pulling out her wand. "Oculous reparo."

Harry touched his glasses while Hermione returned her want to its rightful pocket. He hadn't even noticed they were broken. "Thanks, I should really learn that one."

Hermione grinned before something glittering caught Harry's attention. "You're wearing the locket." He said, pointing to the small silver locket on a thin chain that Draco had given her for Christmas. She reached up and touched it softly.

"Did you put a picture in it yet?" He asked. Hermione shook her head, slightly sad.

"I will someday… I just have to find the right picture first." Suddenly a thought occurred to her. "Oh! Come on Harry! I want to show you something!" She said excitedly while grabbing the boy's arm and dragging him away. As an afterthought the two turned and waved.

"Bye Hagrid!"

"Gilderoy! Mr. Lockhart, over here!"

Camera flashes were everywhere when Harry and Hermione entered the bookstore, nearly blinding the two. The atmosphere was ecstatic with lots of chatter. A blond man in fancy robes stood behind a table stacked with books, blatantly posing for the camera. Many of the girls in the crowd squealed loudly when the man winked, simultaneously trying their best to attack the table with books in their hands.

"Hermione, what are we doing here?" Harry asked as loudly as he could over the chattering crowd. She turned to answer his question but a deep voice suddenly interrupted them, causing the boy to nearly jump out of his skin.

"Harry Potter! Come here my boy!" It was the blonde man gesturing for his attention. The whole crowd seemed to stop as they turned to face the young dark haired boy. He shared a look with Hermione but she just pushed him forward, putting him in unknown territory. Once at the front the man reached out and crushed Harry in a half sort of hug while the cameras for the Daily Prophet went wild.

"Gilderoy Lockhart my boy! I'm sure you've read some of my books!" He stated much to the embarrassment of Harry.

"Actually sir…no, I haven't." He stated with a flush of embarrassment. "You see my friend over there reads a lot so-"

"Let this be documented! As a sign of our friendship, I shall award Harry with my entire book collection! Free of charge of course." He then flashed a supposedly award winning smile, causing some of the girls to flush and giggle. Harry coughed when a whole set of books were shoved to his chest, effectively knocking the wind out of him. Finally released the boy was thrust forward and back to the crowd.

"Harry!" Hermione gushed as soon as she made her way over to the still embarrassed boy. "Those books would have cost a fortune by themselves! Isn't that great?" Her eyes seemed to twinkle at the thought, ever the book lover.

"Um…sure?" He stated while awkwardly shifting the books in his arms.

"What are you doing here Harry?" The boy wanted to roll his eyes. It was one distraction after another. Turning he was met with the face of a smiling Ron, donning his Gryffindor cloak, and a short girl with matching red hair standing shyly next to him. It wasn't missed on either Hermione or Harry that the redhead was still trying to be the boy's friend. Honestly, if the ginger wasn't rude to his first friends then Harry might have even given him a chance.

Harry just shrugged in response. "I was dragged here. Hermione wanted to show me something." Ron's smile turned to a frown then while shifting his gaze to an equally frowning Hermione, seemingly noticing the other person for the first time, before turning his gaze back to the boy.

"Of course she would drag you; no one would go with her willingly." He said with a smirk. He had honestly thought he had won points with Harry on that clever comment. Sadly, he was mistaken.

"I suggest you turn around and walk away Weasley while you still have your dignity intact." Suddenly the three turned their heads at the addition of a new voice. Looking up they spotted a glaring Draco Malfoy as he descended a set of stairs right next to where the three were standing, his cloak tied around his neck as well.

The redhead's face looked as if he had swallowed a lemon. "And what if I don't Malfoy." He spit the name like acid.

Draco had finished descending the rest of the steps, finding a place to stand before the four other kids. He crossed his arms and raised a brow, his expression smug. "You would really stay long enough to find out?"

The small girl next to Ron finally seemed to speak up, taking a step toward the blonde. "Leave my brother alone."

Draco turned his head toward the small Weasley girl, opening his mouth to speak before a silver snakes head sat itself on the blonde's shoulder. Hermione watched as the young Malfoy winced before narrowing his eyes in anger and then finally reeling in his expressions to cool submission, all the while his knuckles white as he clenched his fists.

"Draco…" The voice said, its voice held a deep vibrato but gave the others standing before the blonde goose bumps as it seemingly slithered coldly to your ears. The four standing followed the line of the cane to stare in the face an older looking blonde with sharp aristocratic features and steel grey eyes.

"Father." Draco greeted curtly. The cane was removed from the boy's shoulder but was then replaced with a long pale hand.

"Care to introduce me to your…friends?" He had a drawling voice that reminded Harry of his prejudice potions professor.

The young blonde shifted his gaze to Hermione, who was the furthest to his left, for the introductions. She was amazed to see how his normally bright expressive silver eyes seemed dull and slightly dead. They had turned cold and unfeeling in a matter of seconds.

"This is Hermione and the dark haired one is Harry Potter." Draco said in a flat monotone. He didn't bother to introduce Ron and frankly, the ginger didn't stop him. There was something eerie about the pale man in black before him.

"Ron, Ginny! Oh, there you two are." Another man seemed to join the growing group then. He had red hair with blue eyes, a pointy hat sitting atop his head. It was easy to see he was the Weasley patriarch of the clan. He suddenly seemed to take note of the group his children were standing with, particularly the tall blonde man.

"Lucius…" The ginger breathed out quietly following with a nod of his head in greeting.

The older Malfoy just raised his chin higher. "Arthur…"

It was awkward now. The children just stood as they observed the small staring match between the two males. It could of almost been seen as something you would see in nature, two head of a house trying to beat the other one and claim its territory.

"It seems you are still the same Arthur. Still working for the Ministry are you?" Lucius drawled.

A muscle in the ginger man's jaw twitched. "Yes, whatever puts food on the table at the end of the day." He replied in an off-hand manner as to appear casual.

The older Malfoy seemed to raise an eyebrow before turning to the small ginger girl and lifting a tattered book from her little pewter cauldron. "If your goal is to earn enough money to buy tatty books, then I would say you achieved it."

Arthur glared at the other man. "Now see here Lucius, this isn't school anymore! We have no reason to behave like children-"

"I have no intention of behaving as such." The blonde countered with a sharp shift in his gaze. Hermione sucked in a breath. Even though the look wasn't directed at her she could still feel its intensity.

"Let's leave being children to the children shall we? Come Draco." With that the older man replaced the ratty looking book and turned to leave. The younger blonde glanced back toward his father before looking at his friends and leaning closer.

"I'll see you guys later." He whispered before adding with a smirk. "By the way, the necklace looks nice on you Hermione."

Draco didn't even look long enough to see said girl's face flush red before sharing brief eye contact with Ron and then finally following his father out the door.

"Oh drat!" Hermione suddenly exclaimed while they were browsing through Quality Quidditch Supplies, something that Harry had insisted on. Hearing her exclamation, the dark haired boy looked at his companion who was sporting a rather frustrated look. "I forgot to ask Draco why he hadn't responded to my owls…In fact, you haven't either Harry."

The boy felt his face burn slightly in shame at the accusation. "I couldn't really…My uncle insisted on locking Hedwig away."

"Oh how awful!" She exclaimed, sympathy coloring her voice. Hermione would have felt terrible if Crookshanks was locked away from her, no matter how temperamental the half-kneazle could be. "You have her with you now right?"

Harry was about to open his mouth when a sudden realization hit him. He didn't have his trunk…or Hedwig. Seeing the look on Harry's face, Hermione's eyes widened.

"You didn't leave her there did you?" She asked slowly, hoping it wasn't true.

"I-I…don't know." He was sure now; he hadn't grabbed his things before Dobby had abruptly transported him. He hoped his owl was alright. There was no way he would ever forgive himself if he let his only friend at home be subject to Uncle Vernon's anger.

He felt a hand on his arm and he turned to look at Hermione. "I'm sure she's safe Harry. Maybe she'll appear at Hogwarts or something." All the boy could do was nod his head while they exited the store.

"Are your parents here with you Hermione?" Harry asked after a few moments of silence. They had gotten most of what they needed for the moment, now they were just mindlessly walking.

"No." She said rather plainly. "I left the house."

Harry stopped walking. "You left." He asked in disbelief. Hermione nodded while still walking ahead. The boy quickly jogged to catch up then, snapping out of his stupor. Sure he had no room to judge, he had done something similar but that didn't mean it didn't shock him hearing the words come from his 'responsible' friend's mouth.

"How did you get here then? And where are you staying?" Harry knew these were questions he should be asking himself but if he heard the answers from the girl beside him maybe it would help his dilemma.

"The Leaky Cauldron." She said while gazing in the window of a shop. "I convinced Tom, the landlord, to let me stay in a room upstairs till school starts despite my age."

"Why did you leave home then?" Harry added quickly. This caused Hermione to finally stop walking. She paused before turning around.

"They almost didn't let me go back to Hogwarts. They think I'm at some prestigious Muggle boarding school." She stated with a clipped tone. She obviously didn't like talking about it.

Seeing this, Harry changed the subject. "Do you think Tom will let me stay to? I didn't necessarily leave home on good terms…"

The subject change must have been a good move for Hermione suddenly smiled. "Of course! Come on, I'll help you book a room."

"Tom!"

"Oh yes! You two are finally here!" A woman who was clearing the table said with a smile as she watched the two enter the pub. She was middle aged and had a simple dress and slightly dirty apron on; her brown hair was tied in a bun with a few strands falling out as well as crooked teeth.

"Oh, Greta this is my friend Harry." Hermione greeted quickly. "Do you know where Tom is? I was wondering if you had a room avail-"

"Already set up deary." Greta interrupted while placing a rag on the large table to wipe off. "Upstairs in Room 12."

Slightly stunned the two said their thanks before running up the stairs and locating the room. Once there Harry looked at the door and reached for the brass knob and twisted, finding the door already unlocked. Pushing open the door, Harry's eyes immediately flew to the bed.

"Hedwig!" He hollered while racing forward. Said owl hooted at the sight of her master from her place in the cage atop the boy's trunk. Once reaching her Harry unlocked the cage and opened the door. The snowy owl quickly exited the metal contraption and circled the room, happy to stretch her wings again.

"That's great that you stuff is here Harry." Hermione said while watching the happy owl. "I was wondering how Greta knew you were coming."

"How long have you been here exactly Hermione." The boy asked, taking his eyes off his owl for a moment.

"A week I presume." She stated while giving his room a once over, "Looks almost identical to my room."

It was a nice room, something you didn't really expect from a pub. The bed was rather large and looked comfortable with the mustard yellow covering and wooden posts. The rest of the room was littered with high polished oak furniture. Despite the warm summer air there was even a fire burning dimly in the fireplace and windows supplying adequate lighting.

"I'll leave you to unpack then." Spoke Hermione as she headed to the open door. "And don't forget to study!"

The next few weeks before school passed in nothing short of a blur for Harry. Following the walk around in Diagon Alley, the two Hogwarts students didn't really have much contact aside from meals. Hermione was to busy studying and was often disappearing to Flourish and Blotts or with a book holed up in her room. Since he didn't have anything better to do, Harry had taken it upon himself to finally send out some letters.

In the following weeks the boy had kept busy replying to both Hagrid and Blaise with mindless chatter. Yet what still worried the boy the most was Draco. Despite seeing the blonde in the bookstore the letters from him were far and in-between, each one only a few sentences long and saying nearly nothing. When Harry asked Hermione if she had sent any letters she had replied that she was receiving the same treatment from the young Malfoy heir.

Blaise again had offered for the two to stay at his manor for the remainder of the summer but Harry felt the need to decline for now. He didn't want to feel like a burden on the Italian boy and intrude on his house, but had promised to stay during the holidays to stop his badgering. With the endless days finally behind them it was now the day of September 1st as Harry and Hermione stood with the barista by a slightly dirty unlit fireplace.

"Now, take this powder and throw it on the ground and say where you want to go clearly." Spoke Greta, a stern mother-like look adorning her slightly weathered face. It seemed rather out of place with the woman's laugh lines and crows feet.

"There should be a fireplace at Kings' Cross connected to this one. Once you arrive you can navigate from there, understand?" The two nodded and Hermione stepped into the fireplace first with her bags set at her feet, a handful of green powder clutched in her small fist.

"Kings' Cross Station!" She announced with crisp emphasis on the constants while dropping the powder simultaneously. Hermione erupted in a bright emerald flame similar to the fire in the Slytherin common room for a brief second. When the fire finally died, she was gone.

The barista smiled and nodded approvingly before turning her head toward Harry. "Alright! In you go!"

Harry's feet felt heavy as he was suddenly pushed into the sooty fireplace while dragging his trunk. The nerves were suddenly setting in from the unfamiliar travel method. Greta seemed to notice this and with a small click of her tongue and a roll of her eyes she grabbed some Floo Powder. The boy's eyes widened and the woman smiled kindly before tossing the powder at Harry's shoes.

"Kings' Cross Station!"

The flame went up, and Harry was gone.

"All aboard!"

The crowd was just as thick as the year before when Harry was flung from the fireplace a few paces away from the train. The boy stumbled out from where he appeared, running straight into a group of people from the lack of balance. He said a quick apology before his attention was diverted at the sound of his name.

"Harry! Come on or we'll be late!" The mentioned boy turned his head to spy a bushy haired girl and a dark skinned boy standing casually next to her. With another quick apology Harry grabbed his trunk and ran over to the two.

"Well if it isn't Potter." Blaise said, smirking in a teasing manner. Harry grinned and shook the boy's hand in greeting. "It's been a while hasn't it? Come on, let's find a compartment before they're all taken up."

The three battled their way through the pulsing crowd and steam before finally being able to enter a car closest to them. After a few minutes of peeking through windows and pushing past other students, Hermione stopped. With a wave of her hand she called out and finally caught their attention.

"Over here you two, I found Draco." True to her word through the window you could spy the blonde looking through the window.

Without a second thought Hermione pulled open the door, catching the blonde's attention as he turned his head. The girl frowned when she caught sight of the small bags under his eyes. Though his appearance was impeccable, with his slicked back hair, his face looked a little paler than normal. Choosing to ignore it, she moved when the other two boys pushed past her. Draco grinned a bit at the entering trio as they put their bags away and sat down, Blaise and Harry on one side while Hermione took a place beside the blonde.

"It's about time you three got here." Draco drawled while leaning back in his seat in a picture of ease.

Blaise rolled his eyes. "It's not like you exactly sent a letter to inform us where to meet." While it was easy to tell the Italian was joking the grin still slipped from Draco's mouth as he shifted in his seat a bit.

"About that I'm-" A hand shot up, interrupting him.

"It's fine. What's done is done but I expect letters next summer." Hermione chasted with a stern look, yet the twinkle in her eye gave her away. She was only giving him a hard time.

Draco seemed relieved at this and nodded his head. At that moment the train whistle blared followed by the lurching motion of the train squealing forward. It was a few moments more before the silence was finally broken.

"So what else did you three do for the summer?" Blaise asked, assuming a casual pose that nearly mirrored Draco's earlier one.

Hermione seemed to perk up at this. "About that! I received something strange-"

"Quibbler?"

The quartet's head's all snapped to the doorway of the compartment. Before them stood a girl with bright blonde hair, rivaling Draco's, blue eyes and an armful of magazine like books. Her head was tilted curiously as she held one out to the four of them, large silver dangling earrings in the shape of an eye visible. They hadn't even heard her open the door.

"Excuse me?" Harry asked dumbly while blinking.

"Quibbler?" She asked again while gesturing to the magazine in her hands. She wasn't wearing a house robe yet so she must have been an upcoming first year. "There's an interesting article about Thestrals this month. It's on page four."

"I'm sorry but, who are you?" Blaise said, staring at the girl incredulously. It wasn't everyday you had such a strange girl just enter your compartment.

The girl didn't seem fazed by the question and instead planted herself beside Harry, speaking in a wistful lilt like tone. "I'm Luna Lovegood."

Draco snorted, muttering under his breath. "Loony is more like it." Hermione elbowed him in the ribcage. "Ow!"

Harry seemed to shift uncomfortably a bit but decided to make idle conversation to make the situation less awkward. "What are Thestrals?"

Luna seemed to beam at the question and flipped a few pages in the small tabloid. Finding the desired page she held it out for everyone to see, a finger placed on a particular section.

"This is a Thestral." It was just a picture of a clearing on what looked like a cloudy day, a few trees standing proudly in the background.

Draco almost snorted again. "See? She is loony, there's nothing there."

The blonde girl didn't seem to be bothered with the boy's rude comment and instead rebutted in her airy voice. "I heard Thestrals pull the carriages full of students all the way to the school. They only appear to those who have seen death, though they are terribly camera shy."

The four seemed to share a look but shrugged. Suddenly she spoke again. "That's a beautiful hairpin. Pear blossoms I presume? They stand for health and hope you know."

The three boys looked up at Hermione then, wondering how Luna could have spotted something before they did. The bushy haired girl's face flushed a bit at the sudden change in attention and bit her lip. Sighing she opened her left hand to reveal the beautiful hair pin comprised of precious gems.

"I was just about to show this to you three before Luna walked in. I got it with my Hogwarts letter." She said while turning the pin slightly to catch the light entering the compartment from the window.

"That's peculiar." Luna said while suddenly standing. She walked out of the compartment then without another word. The group stared after her for a moment in silence, bewildered by the sudden departure, the only thing breaking the stupor being Draco.

"That girl is a nutter."

A/N: Well there you have it! Yay for summer vacation now I can finally type a bit more freely without having to juggle school. Sorry it took a bit longer than usual and that its a bit shorter than normal. I really hate filler like chapters but it sort of had to be done. Sorry that these two past chapters haven't really given you much but they do include a few important plot points that will be further developed soon.

Yay Luna! I really wanted to include her in this chapter through whatever means I could. Ginny was introduced in her first year at Hogwarts so why not Luna? I hope I captured her voice okay, I have a feeling I'm going to have a hard time keeping her in character but I just love her so much! And considering all the people who voted for Luna.

Yes this chapter was quite like the movie in the begining, though I hate to say it. Lots of Harry to, sorry for the lack of Draco and Hermione. I may add Harry and Luna to the character list and the summery a bit as well if it dosen't mess anything up. These next few chapters will hopefully make up for this one. I have a few changes and surprises coming that may answer a few of your questions soon! Please let me know what you think! I love to hear opinions/comments/critiques! Other wise...

Happy Reading!