AN - Had another chapter, considered making you wait, decided I may as well post it - aren't I lovely! Anyway enjoy the return to Hogwarts

Chapter 10

Dear Padfoot

I, Son of Prongs, do solemnly swear that I am up to no good and that all I am about to write comes under the Marauder's Oath of Truth amongst Brothers. I have read my parent's journals and so I believe that you were not my parent's secret keeper, of course I don't know if you killed Wormtail or not, even if he did deserve it. I am also sure that you never had a trial and so I have spoke to Amelia Bones who is now the Head of the DMLE and she has given her Oath that if you turn yourself over to her at her home at Bones Manor in Norfolk she will guarantee you a fair trial, away from Dumbledore's influence and with veritaserum.

If you do not reply to this letter then I will be forced to assume that you are guilty of all offences and as much as it pains me to do so I will cut contact with you. There is so much I want to say to you but I do not want to get too involved only to be disappointed, I hope that you will present yourself to Madam Bones so that we can get to know each other and be the family we were supposed to be.

Yours Harry Potter

Son of Prongs

Sirius Black could not believe it as he looked at the Snowy Owl that was perched just inside the cave he was currently hiding in. It was a letter from Harry. This was enough to send him into raptures, an actual letter from his godson, but even more than that it was a letter that said he believed Sirius to be innocent. Harry must have been being cautious because for all he knew Sirius could still have killed the rat and all those muggles. Sirius accepted this, he would have been cautious in Harry's position too, but under all the formality there was a palpable sense of hope. The line about being a family tore at Sirius' heart; it was something he too desperately wanted.

His godson was obviously a smart kid because he had thoughtfully included a piece of parchment and a muggle biro for Sirius to reply with. The owl was still regarding him with slightly distrustful eyes as Sirius grabbed the pen hungrily to reply, feeling for the first time in many years a sense of hope filling his emaciated frame as he wrote his brief reply.

It was a shouting and cursing Harry that Hedwig returned to with her precious cargo, he just couldn't get the laptop to work properly. Everything he tried seemed to fail for some unfathomable reason. He looked up at Hedwig's announcing hoot and blanched slightly at her accusatory stare.

"Sorry girl I'll keep my language under control." She gave a satisfied hoot and stuck her leg out for him to remove the letter. Harry did just that and scanned it quickly. It was short and to the point, Sirius claimed innocence and was on his way now to Amelia's to present himself for a trial. He obviously didn't want to let himself get too attached either, in case he was sent back to Azkaban. Harry's cynicism fully appreciated that actual innocence or guilt was not necessarily a factor in the findings of the Wizemagot with its unfortunate levels of corruption and nepotism and it would seem that Sirius knew this as well. Quite sensibly Sirius had not given any indication as to where he was and so Harry had no idea how long it would take him to get to Amelia's house in Norfolk.

The final two weeks before Harry was due to return to Hogwarts passed remarkably quickly. Harry still had no news on Sirius; however he dismissed most of his worry about this. Had he been caught it would have been all over the news, he must just have been further away from Norfolk than Harry had anticipated. He had continued his reading at great pace and had finally got the laptop to work after much swearing and many false starts. He had begun the design process for a few programs that would help with his study of magic. The main problem that would require his immediate attention at Hogwarts was to find a way to build some sort of magical wifi receiver as he was sure that Hogwarts would be outside the range of every wifi and without this he wouldn't be able to connect to the internet. Again he had some ideas on how to get this done but he needed to be able to use magic to be able to transfigure some materials so that they could form the receiver.

The night before the 1st Julie and Rachael insisted that they all go out for a meal together to celebrate the new and improved Harry's re-entry into the magical world. He could tell that both women were worried for his safety and it was a new feeling that constricted his chest when he thought about this. It certainly was nice to have people who care about you. He presented an entirely confident and unconcerned visage to the both of them but inside he was worried about how people were going to react to the new version of Harry Potter and what Dumbles had up his garish sleeves. He had been furiously plotting over the last two days of how he could take the first steps towards removing Dumble's influence from the Hogwarts students. It was by no means an easy task but Harry had several ideas depending on whether Dumbles tried anything at the Sorting Feast which was the most likely time. He would be in for a nasty surprise if he tried Legillimency on Harry, he had made his defences nigh on impenetrable, or at least he thought so. The standard magical defences that he had created previously had been ably augmented with a combination of muggle technology and some of the things he had read in some of Rach's collection of comic books. For instance adamantium was now used liberally as a barrier and there were no less than three Iron Man suits patrolling the outer areas of his mental construct. Should any magical get through these defences, as unlikely as this was, they would still be required to have an intimate knowledge of how computers work. For that was where his memories now were, hidden behind layers of protection and code within a super computer in his internal library.

He was certain that he could defend against mental intrusion however he was worried that Dumbles would corner him somehow and reapply the blocks along with liberal use of a memory charm. He had however discovered a method in one the Occlumency books he got from the library. It was a way to create what was effectively a backup of all of a person's memories within a separate part of the mind, one that could not be touched by the standard memory charm. Ideally these memories were updated daily and had a safe word that released them back into the consciousness. Harry's newfound sense of paranoia meant that he religiously updated his backup and said the Parseltongue password at least three times a day. Of course with no way of testing this short of actually being obliviated he had no real idea if it would work so he resolved to try and avoid any potential situation where this could be a problem. Fundamentally this meant making sure that he was never alone with just Dumbles. More of his overall plan needed to go into action before he could even consider himself able to risk this. Therefore he resolved that if Dumbles ever called for a meeting, he had two choices, refuse to attend or to make sure McGonagall was present at the very least, if not a few other teachers. Hopefully this would be enough to counter Dumbles mind control techniques but Harry wasn't going to count on it. He had learnt that caution was a trait he needed to develop, while there was a time and a place for the rash Gryffindor response of rushing in, it was not all the time. Harry had to develop the Slytherin side of his conscious, in fact he needed to cherry pick the best virtues from each house and amalgamate them into a well rounded and balanced individual. This would be the key to success for the future.

The meal itself was a wonderful time filled with laughter and joking, proving just how far Harry had come in the short time with his new friends. Part of him wanted to call them family but he didn't think that either side were really at that stage. Harry did try and pay for his own meal at the very least but he was quickly shot down in tones that brooked absolutely no argument, he knew by now it was worthless even trying. The three of them walked home in the late summer evening chatting casually, trying to avoid the big goodbye that was looming on the horizon. In fact they put it off completely until the next morning, both sides making excuses. Harry that he needed to pack still (true) and Julie and Rachael that they had much to do for the next day at the hotel (not so true). However they all knew that tomorrow they would have to finally swallow their emotions and say goodbye for the year.

Packing was easy for Harry with the aid of his new trunk and the use of his old one as well. His clothes, the majority of his school things and less important items went into his old trunk as usual, while his electronics collection and associated tool kits, along with his invisibility cloak, photo album and various journals went into the new shrunken trunk. This could then go into his pocket with the money pouch, his ever present iPhone and his rapidly filling iPod. He had taken Rach's music instruction to heart and had put all of her cds onto the iPod and had started downloading a few other bits and pieces, he wasn't sure whether his favourite band was In Flames or Parkway Drive but Machine Head's newest album was certainly making them a challenge for top spot. His taste had developed so that he was listening to songs and bands that were laden with guitar riffs and solos. In fact he was unconsciously trying to play along with them, pretty much all the time, with his trusty air guitar. He intended to build himself a guitar when he got to Hogwarts as a little side project to blow off some steam when one of his other projects got too frustrating.

Everything was packed with plenty of time to spare and so he went to sleep at a sensible hour, unusually he didn't fall asleep with a book in his hands. Thanks to this he woke up fresh on the morning of September 1st, allowing more than enough time to go and make a proper farewell to two of the most important people in his life downstairs. The goodbyes themselves were tearful and heartfelt and Harry was forced to promise more times than he could count that he would call, text or email whenever he could. He tried to point out that he wouldn't be able to email for a while as he wouldn't be able to access the internet until he built his wifi receiver but it fell on deaf ears. He shook his head ruefully and chuckled at how both women had a fantastic ability to ignore statements they didn't want to hear.

The journey to Kings Cross was uneventful; he treated himself to a taxi rather than his usual walk because he couldn't be bothered to lug his trunk the whole way. He had sent Hedwig on this morning and shrunk her cage into his new trunk, thus avoiding the usual stares that accompanied the journeys of Hogwarts students. The station itself was busy as usual and he weaved through the crowd towards the platform. The barrier looked less daunting this year; he just hoped that Dobby wasn't interfering like last year, that would be annoying. He wasn't and the trip through was easy, almost casual. He walked purposefully to the train and unloaded his trunk; he wasn't given a second glance by the families saying their goodbyes. As usual this raised a bitter taste to his mouth as he thought on all he had missed out on throughout his life but he ruthlessly quelled this as he found an as yet unused carriage. He stored his trunk, removed a book, put his iPod in and began to read.

The peace and tranquillity was briefly interrupted by a few people poking their heads into the carriage but none of them stayed until the familiar bushy hair of Hermione appeared. She too was about to remove herself when Harry, looking on amusedly, decided to speak up.

"Alright Hermione how's things?"

She let out a little shriek before launching herself at him, speaking at her customary hundred miles an hour. "Harry! Where have you been? We have been so worried? Why haven't you replied to any of our letters? Or sent any to us? It was very foolish of you to go running away like that without telling anyone where you were. You could have been hurt or killed or had to sleep in a ditch. Dumbledore has been out of his mind with worry, we all have. You look so different what have you done to your hair? And why are you wearing those ridiculous clothes?"

Harry was taken aback by the onslaught although one part he did manage to digest, he hadn't sent any letters to his best friends. He had taken for granted that none of their letters would be able to reach him but he could still have sent a note or two to them with Hedwig. He hadn't even considered doing so, even more interestingly, now that he thought about it, he hadn't really missed them like he usually did. The detached part of his mind guessed that this was because he was for the first time enjoying a sense of independence on his own but another wondered if there might be more to it than that. He was saved from having to reply by the entry of Ron to the carriage.

"There you are mate. Where have you been, Mum's been going spare? What in Merlin's name are you wearing mate?"

"Well I went shopping over the summer, found some clothes that I actually like for once."

Ron looked sceptical at this, as if nobody could like things like Harry was wearing. "What's a Pantera when its at home then?"

"Its the Spanish word for a Panther" retorted Hermione automatically, Ron still looked confused. "Its a big black cat but what that has to do with Cowboys from Hell, I have no idea." This last part was almost painful to her if her voice was any guide.

Harry snorted "It does mean that literally, means that in Italian as well in case you were interested, but more importantly it's also a muggle band, an awesome one actually and Cowboys from Hell is the title of one of their albums, here have a listen." He handed over an earphone after flicking to the title track on his iPod. Hermione looked flabbergasted for some reason and Ron still looked confused, eying the headphone with no clue what it was.

"You can't listen to music here, any electronic won't work around magic" she finished in a superior tone.

With a shrug Harry simply pushed the headphone closer, "mine do. I've got loads of stuff that works around magic, here check this out" he said tossing his iPhone over.

"Bu...bu...but that's not possible. Electricity doesn't work around magic."

"Ah but it does my dear Hermione if you know how to fix it so that it will. I've got a laptop in my trunk that will work perfectly, even connect to the internet if I can work out how to fix it up." He smiled at her.

"Harry James Potter you will tell me this instant how you are doing this and who you stole these from." Hermione threw the earphone whose music was so offensive to her back at Harry.

"Why do you assume I stole them?" Harry was starting to get annoyed here; while he liked Hermione, he wasn't going to tell her how he had managed to do it after weeks of hard work just because she demanded it.

"Well these are expensive things and you couldn't have bought them, you don't have enough money. Plus there's no way you could have done this on your own, you must have had help and then taken them from whoever did the work. I should report you."

"And why would I not be able to do this on my own?" Harry's voice had taken on a dangerous edge now.

"Well you just couldn't, I mean you aren't very smart are you? Without me, you and Ron would have struggled to get all of your work done last year."

Harry stood up, eyes blazing "Is that what you really think? That without you, I'm nothing, too stupid to tie my own shoe." Hermione said nothing which was damning enough in Harry's eyes. "Get out" he shouted "get the hell out of the compartment before I show you some of the curses this idiot can manage to perform."

"What's going on?" Ron murmured.

"Quiet Ronald, can't you see that Harry has become a thief, taking credit for other peoples work. First whoever actually made those electronics and then me for all the work I did for the pair of you over the last two years." She screeched viciously, standing up and taking Ron's arm, dragging him from the compartment.

Harry was raging now, his wand was out and he was running through curses in his mind. "Fine, both of you get out, if that's what you want you crazy egomaniac bitch. I'll show you this year just how smart I actually am and then you'll be sorry Miss 'supposed smartest witch of her generation'. And when you come crawling back you better have a bloody good apology. Are you going Ron? You have to make a choice, it's me or her, stay or leave, I don't care which but do it now."

"Come on Ron let's leave this idiot and see how well he does without us to drag him out of every mess he gets himself into." Ron looked back and forth between his best friend and the girl he was starting to become a bit interested in, silently debating. In the end as is usual with teenage boys, one organ comfortably outvoted the other and he shrugged and followed Hermione from the compartment.

It took some time for Harry's rage to dissipate; his hands were shaking in anger, knuckles clenched, ready for a fight. At this point he had two choices, he could listen to some relaxing music to calm himself or he could put the heaviest stuff he had on his iPod on and embrace the anger. It is perhaps highly fortunate for Malfoy that Harry chose the first option.

It was inevitable that Malfoy would make his customary visit to bait Harry and his friends. Malfoy's first clue that all was not normal came when Harry was sat alone, he knew that the Weasel and the Mudblood would have had time to find Potty by now and so he was taken aback. However he wasn't one to fail to take advantage of a situation where he outnumbered his target three to one.

"Alright Potty, sat here all alone are we? Where are the Weasel and the Mudblood?" Draco drawled.

Harry said nothing, he didn't even react, he just sat there swaying slightly in a lazy rhythm with his eyes closed. Draco was highly perturbed by this turn of events, he was used to everyone paying him the attention he commanded and deserved. Even more disconcerting was the fact that he could see some strange string things coming from Potter's ears. What the hell was going on?

"Oi Potty I'm talking to you!" he tried again but still absolutely no reaction, Draco simply didn't understand. He then decided to try a less subtle approach, quite a difficult thing as it happened, as despite Draco's pride in his Slytherin heritage, he had about as much cunning and understanding of subtlety as a brick thrown through a window. He pulled out his wand and mentally ran through a select few interesting curses, trying to decide which to use first, however he was interrupted before he could begin.

"Must we always do this Draco, why can't we just agree to leave each other alone? Surely you have better things to do than to wander into every train carriage until you find me before insulting me, rather poorly I must add, before we eventually fight? It doesn't benefit either of us. So how about it, can we agree to just leave each other alone?" Harry took one earphone out to wait for the reply from Draco, he really hoped his answer would be favourable however he held very little hope that it would. This was quickly proved accurate as Draco raised his wand to let loose a curse. Harry sighed and flicked his own wand while saying expelliarmus, disarming Draco. Crabbe and Goyle stood there foolishly, awaiting instructions and so Harry took advantage, throwing Draco's wand into the hallway. The two trolls followed it as if they were chasing a stick, allowing Harry to close the carriage door and practise one of the wards he found in his dad's journal. It was a very basic one that would be broken in less than a second by anyone who knew anything about wards, however Harry was fairly certain that apart from a few sixth and seventh years no other students would be able to. Perhaps now I'll be left in peace for the journey he thought.