The last few weeks before school flew by for Harry. Harry spent a majority of that time with his friends and family. It was a nice change from how this time had been spent last time around.

The only person he did not see much of was Draco. To keep from raising suspicions with Tonks and Charlie, he and Draco did not visit with Andromeda at the same time. When Professor Snape would come over to visit with Draco, Cissy and his mum, Harry found himself visiting Hermione while Dudley and Petunia would visit with Remus. They always left when Professor Snape came over otherwise he would not stay for very long.

Of course, that meant that Draco too tended to visit Hermione without him. While Draco was with Hermione, Harry visited with his mum, dad and Moony.

Draco would also spend time with Blaise at Remus'. Harry was extremely uncomfortable with this idea at first. So much so that he and Draco had had a huge fight about it. Harry did not feel it was safe for Blaise to know anything about Draco's whereabouts. Draco however was adamant in his belief that Blaise was on his side. Unfortunately for Harry, Narcissa, his parents and Remus felt they should give Blaise a chance and trust Draco's judgment. That was what had started their spending time by themselves.

Harry figured things would go back to normal once they were at Hogwarts. After all Draco would be in Gryffindor with Harry while Blaise was in Slytherin.

The full moon went extremely well. Remus had taken the wolfsbane potion Draco had brewed for him and it worked perfectly. He could not stay at Starlight Den since they did not want Pettigrew to know who was holding him. Remus refused to stay at the Bungalow since he was not about to risk infecting them in case the potion did not work.

In the end, they decided he would stay in an unused room at Crimson Hall. The elves would ward it with their own brand of magic on top of the wards Remus would put on the room. Harry's parents had insisted on being brought back to Crimson Hall so that Remus would not have to spend another full moon alone.

The day after the full moon Harry and Draco had paced anxiously waiting for Remus to arrive. When he turned up right before lunch, he immediately swept Draco up in a hug while profusely thanking him.

Harry was pleased. He trusted that Draco had known what he was doing. He was happy that Remus would no longer lose his mind on the nights of the full moon. With any luck, Padfoot would be able to spend the next full moon with Remus just like old times.

A few days after the full moon Remus once again turned up at the Bungalow with a spring in his step. Harry watched as he walked right over to his father.

"I've seen Padfoot Prongs. He looks dreadful just as Harry said he would but he is not insane. We talked for four hours Prongs. The more time I spent with him the more he seemed like his old self. It was wonderful Prongs. I told him about your portrait. He cannot wait to see you and Lily."

"I cannot wait to see him either Moony. I just hope that I see him sooner rather than later."

"I almost forgot. I ran into Madam Bones while I was there. His trial date has been set for September 2. If all goes well he will be out of there in a few weeks."

Harry frowned. He was thrilled that they had a definite date for the trial but was upset he would not be able to attend given he would be at Hogwarts at the time.

"What's wrong Harry?" Remus asked with a hint of concern in his voice.

"I'm a little bummed I won't get to see Sirius until Christmas time. By the time he comes home I will already be at Hogwarts."

Remus chuckled. "Don't worry about that. If I know Sirius, you are one of the first people he is going to want to see. If Dumbledore will not let you go to Sirius then Sirius will come to you. You know that he can find a way into that castle without being detected."

Harry brightened at this news. "You're right Moony. If he can get in as a fugitive with Hogsmeade and the castle surrounded by Dementors then getting in as a free man will be a piece of cake. Have you figured out where he will be staying once he's free?"

"Yes. Your parents, your aunt, Cissy and I had a conversation about it just the other day. We decided he would come here at first. We have already seen that owls cannot find us here as Link delivers our mail. Petunia and Cissy will move to the loft and I will sleep on the couch so that Sirius can have the bedroom. Once he has his strength back we will reassess the situation."

"That sounds like a good plan. Did Madam Bones say whether I could write him yet?"

"She did say you could correspond with him now that he was settled in. Just know this Harry, all of his mail will be screened so don't put anything in a letter you aren't okay with other people reading."

Harry nodded and went to the loft to write Sirius. It turned out to be much more difficult than Harry thought it would be. They was so much he wanted to say and so little, he actually could.

Dear Sirius,

I hope you are feeling better now that you are away from the dementors. Remus told me that you know of my parents' portrait. They are very anxious to see you, as am I.

My parents and Remus have told me all sorts of tales from your time at Hogwarts. I cannot wait to go there and see all of the things they have told me about. I am hoping to be in Gryffindor though mum, dad and Moony have assured me that they will love me regardless of what house I am in.

I am currently living with my Aunt Petunia and my cousin Dudley. Before you get upset since they left my uncle they have been treating me well. Dudley is a wizard too. He is so excited to start school. He thinks it would be cool to be in the same house as me but does not really seem to have a preference as to which house that is.

I have met your cousin Andromeda and her husband, Ted and daughter, Nymphadora who likes to go by Tonks. They seem like very nice people. Andromeda has been extremely helpful in getting you a trial. Her sister Narcissa has also been a big help from what I am told.

My cousin and I have already made a friend who will be going to school with us. We happened to run into her at a nearby park. She is brilliant. She believes she will be in Ravenclaw. With her intelligence, I would not be surprised. She has already read most of her schoolbooks from cover to cover. She is most looking forward to Transfiguration.

I am excited to learn about all of it. Until my letter came, I had no idea I was a wizard. My uncle forbid my aunt from telling me. That is okay because it is all working out rather well now.

I know you will not be able to write me back but if you tell Remus anything, I am sure he will let me know. I cannot wait to you see again. I have missed my Uncle Paddy. Yes, I do remember that. I hope to see you soon.

Love,

Harry

Harry felt when he was done he had done a good job. He knew it was not entirely truthful but he felt that if anyone read it no one would think anything was wrong. He knew that as soon as Sirius felt up to it his parents and Moony would fill him in on the real story. He hoped that his letter would cheer Sirius up. He also felt it would help his aunt and Cissy with their requests for Sirius.

The day before school started Remus showed up again. He told Harry that Padfoot loved the letter and said, "Tell Prongslet that I cannot wait to see him. I am grateful for his letter and to not worry I will take care of his family."

Remus felt that when Sirius found out that Harry considered Cissy family she too would be taken care of. For Harry it was all he could have asked for. He felt confident that while at school he would not have to worry so much about Cissy and his Aunt Petunia.

After dinner that night, he instructed his elves to obey Remus, Sirius, Petunia and Narcissa as they would him. Dobby had the same instructions from Draco. Harry felt things would work out well with the elves as according to Remus Dobby had taken a shine to Sunny. Harry would not be surprised at all, if he or Draco gained a new elf soon.

Before bed, he and Draco finally had a talk about their fight. Harry went out back where Draco was looking at the stars and sat down next to him.

"Listen Dray I am sorry about how I acted with Blaise. It is obvious that you were right about him and that he can be trusted."

"It's okay Harry. I am sorry too. I should have listened to your worries. For all your knowledge of what happened last time, you have next to no knowledge about Blaise. I should have included you in my decision. I could have had you hidden at Remus' just in case things went south. I handle it wrong Harry and for that I apologize."

Harry sighed. "I was just so scared Dray. You are the most important person in the world to me. I don't know what I would do without you."

"I feel the same way about you Harry. From now on we will make important decisions like that together and if we don't agree we will come up with a compromise that we can both live with."

Harry felt better that night as he drifted off to sleep. He and Draco were on the same page and Sirius would soon be out of jail. He was slightly worried about how the sorting would go tomorrow. He knew a lot of their plan hinged on Draco being in Gryffindor. Hopefully, everything would go smoothly.

The next morning started smoothly. Remus brought Harry and Dudley to the train station. They had already said goodbye to Petunia and Cissy before they left the Bungalow. It was not safe for Cissy to go to the train station and Harry would prefer that Petunia did not go either until Sirius was a free man.

Draco would wait until after the train took off and then Dobby would bring him to the compartment they were in. They felt it would be safer for Draco if his father had no access to him before school started.

Thanks to Professor Snape, Dumbledore knew what was going on with Draco and Cissy. At least he knew the story Draco and Cissy had told Madam Bones. He had agreed to protect Draco from Lucius should the need arise.

Hermione found them shortly after they had gotten settled into a compartment. She let Crookshanks out of his cage and he immediately curled up next to Dionysus. Harry had let Hedwig fly to school just as Draco did with Mercury.

Less than five minutes after the train started moving Dobby brought Draco aboard. They settled in rather quickly. Draco and Harry listened as Hermione and Dudley once again discussed what they thought Hogwarts would be like. They tried to stay out of these kinds of conversations because of their prior knowledge.

It was not far into the trip when Draco's friends found him. Pansy smothered him with a hug and bereted him for keeping her in the dark.

"I'm sorry Pansy. I just couldn't be sure that my letter wouldn't be intercepted." Draco turned to Crabbe and Goyle. "Guys it's good to see you. How was your summer?"

"It would have been better if we didn't have your father breathing down our necks Draco," Goyle stated.

"Yeah he was ruthless. He felt for sure that one of the four of us knew how to get to you," Crabbe added.

"Oh Draco it was terrible. When that article came out in the Daily Prophet that you had spoken with Madam Bones and the charges had been dropped it got even worse. How ever did you stand it darling?" Pansy asked.

Harry was not getting a good feeling about this. He could tell that Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle believed his mum had taken him and everything he had written in his letters to Pansy was untrue. Moreover, they had completely ignored his, Hermione and Dudley's presence. Blaise just stood there seemingly assessing the situation.

"First off my do not call me darling Pansy. How many times do I have to tell you that? Second off my mother did not kidnap me! I went with her willingly. I want nothing to do with Lucius. As soon as we are able to my mum and I will be renouncing the Malfoy name and we both will be Blacks. As far as I am concerned I am already Draco Black," Draco responded coldly.

Harry watched as Draco's friends looked dumbfounded. The only one who did not was Blaise. He sat down next to Hermione and finally joined the conversation.

"Hello I'm Blaise Zabini and these three are Pansy Parkinson, Greg Goyle and Vince Crabbe. Who might you three be?"

"Hermione Granger."

"Dudley Evans."

"Harry Potter."

If Harry thought Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy had looked dumbfounded before he was wrong. The news that Harry Potter was in the compartment with them shocked them.

"Draco what in Earth's name are you doing sitting with these people?" Pansy asked shock coloring her voice.

Draco rolled his eyes. "These are my friends Pansy. I told you I want nothing to do with Lucius. I have nothing against muggleborns and that pureblood nonsense will not be tolerated in my presence. If you are not okay with that you might as well leave now."

After a few minutes to determine if he was serious or not Pansy, Goyle and Crabbe left. Harry was sure the whole train would hear about Draco's new views before they arrived at Hogwarts.

It was a short while later that the Weasley twins stuck their heads in.

"Hello we were wondering if," one twin started. Harry thought it was George.

"the rumors were true?" finished the one Harry thought was Fred.

"Which rumors are you talking about?" Hermione asked politely.

"Well the ones about Malfoy of course," the twins said in unison.

"Do not call me that," Draco snapped. "If you cannot handle calling me Draco then refer to me as Black. I do not want to be associated with that name."

The twins looked shocked. Harry sighed. It seemed like all he and Draco did these days was shock people.

"Are you by any chance related to Charlie Weasley?" Dudley asked.

"Yes we are he," Fred started.

"is our older brother." George finished.

"Hold on," Draco interrupted. "I can't handle this back and forth thing. Either finish your sentences or don't bother talking to me."

Harry frowned. He knew Draco was thinking of the days when George had stayed with them. George would stop randomly in the middle of sentences and always look so sad that Fred was not there to finish them.

"Charlie is one of our older brothers. How do you know him?" Fred asked.

"I met him when Remus brought Harry, my mum and I to dinner at Mrs. Tonks' house," Dudley replied.

"That explains it Forge."

"Yes it does Gred. We both know how much time Charlie has been spending with the lovely Tonks."

Harry wondered why he never realized that the Weasleys had known Tonks prior to the Order of the Phoenix. He was surprised Ron or Ginny had not mentioned it.

"Those are some weird names," Blaise interjected.

"Oh those are just nicknames. I'm Fred," said the one Harry thought was George.

"And I'm George," responded the one Harry thought was Fred.

"It's nice to meet you," Hermione replied. "I'm Hermione Granger. These are my friends, Dudley Evans, Blaise Zabini, Harry Potter and Draco has already introduced himself."

Harry smiled. Fred and George did not even bat an eye when his name was mentioned though Blaise did seem surprised that Hermione had referred to him as a friend.

"As Dudley said we met your brother when Moony brought us to Andromeda's," Harry started intentionally saying Moony instead of Remus. "Your brother told us he had several siblings in school and that if we should ever need anything to ask you and you'd be more than willing to help."

Harry had to stifle a laugh. His name had garnered no reaction from Fred and George but Moony's name certainly had.

Harry turned to Draco. "Won't Moony, Padfoot and Prongs be happy to hear that we have already started to make new friends Dray?"

"Of course they will Harry. We will have to add that to the letter tonight."

"Did you just say Moony, Padfoot and Prongs?" the twins asked together their voices full of disbelief.

"Yes I did. Those are their nicknames. They gave them to each other while they were attending Hogwarts. Padfoot is my Godfather, Moony is my uncle and Prongs is my dad."

"You are the son,"

"of one of the Marauders?"

"Yes like I just said my father is Prongs."

"Wait a minute," George said. "Your father is dead. He died holding off You-Know-Who."

"Please don't do that You-Know-Who or He Who Must Not Be Named crap. Either refer to him as the Dark Lord, Voldemort or by his proper name of Tom Riddle," Draco stated.

"Why Tom Riddle?" Fred asked.

"Because that is his real name. He invented Voldemort. It is nothing more than an anagram. I am Lord Voldemort has all the same letters as his birth name of Tom Marvolo Riddle," Hermione answered.

"Back to your original question, yes my father died protecting me from Riddle but there is a portrait of him and my mum that made me promise to write."

The twins seemed satisfied by his answer. Harry figured that with a little bit of prodding he would have the map back in his possession before the end of the September.

When the witch with the tea trolley came around Harry bought snacks for everyone. The only one not interested was Hermione. Harry was not surprised. She had never been too fond of sweets.

A short time later Neville stuck his head in looking for his toad, Trevor. When he realized he was talking to the Harry Potter his eyes got wide. Harry assured him that Trevor would turn up and that it would probably be best if Neville stayed in the same place so Trevor could find him. Draco invited him to stay with them and to help himself to some of the treats they had left.

For the most part the train ride went smoothly. Blaise and Neville were fitting right in with their group. Draco did not seem too upset that Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle had not stayed. Harry figured it was because Draco had expected them to bail on him.

The only black mark was when Ron showed up. Harry had a hard time keeping his face neutral. He was so happy to see Ron. He had not seen Ron in over 5 years. Unfortunately, Ron did not stay long. He had come to see if the rumors were true. Unlike his brothers, the rumor he wanted confirmed was not about Draco it was about Harry.

"So is one of you really Harry Potter?" Ron asked looking slightly skeptical.

"That's Harry," Dudley answered. "Are you related to Fred and George?"

The look on Ron's face said he did not appreciate being asked that question. Harry had a feeling this meeting was not going to go well.

"Yeah what's it to you?"

"Oh I was just curious. We met them earlier."

"So Harry," Ron started ignoring Dudley, "I'm Ron Weasley. Why don't you come back to my compartment with me? Trust me you do not want to be caught sitting with Malfoy here. Everyone knows his father was You-Know-Who's right hand man."

Harry was furious. He could not believe Ron was acting like this. He did not know anything about Draco.

"No thanks. Draco is my friend. He wants nothing to do with his father. I am enjoying sitting with my friends. I would have asked you to join us but we wouldn't want to ruin your reputation by being caught with a Malfoy," Harry said with disgust.

Harry watched as the tips of Ron's ears turned pink before he turned and stormed away.

"Are you okay Harry?" Draco whispered to him a few minutes later.

"I'm fine Dray. Don't worry about," Harry responded. But Harry was nowhere close to being fine. His very first friend his own age disliked him. He had missed Ron so much but now it looked like he would not get to have his friend back. Harry hoped that when they got to Hogwarts things would change. Maybe after Ron spent some time with Draco he would see he was nothing like his father.

The rest of the trip went by rather quickly. No one else disturbed them. When it was time to ride the boats to the school, Draco, Dudley and Neville joined a boat containing Susan Bones while Harry, Blaise and Hermione got into a boat containing Hannah Abbott.

Harry managed to convey the appropriate amount of awe at seeing the castle for the first time. After all, it had been forever since he had seen it this way. He had forgotten how much he missed Hogwarts.

Just like last time Hagrid had found Trevor as they were leaving the boats. Neville seemed overjoyed that Harry had been right about Trevor turning up.

As they entered the Great Hall, it was filled with whispers though Harry could not be sure if they were about him or about Draco. First up was Hannah who was once again sorted into Hufflepuff.

Then came their first shock. Professor McGonagall had paused while looking at the next name. Harry was not sure why. He was pretty sure Susan was next to be sorted. Unfortunately, that was not the name she called out.

"Black, Draco!"

The whispering got much louder at that announcement. Harry watched as Draco walked quietly over to the stool. This time the hat, instead of shouting out Slytherin before it was barely on his head, made Draco's sorting seem to last forever.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat finally shouted.

The hall was dead silent. No one had expected Draco to be sorted into Gryffindor. Harry was relieved. They accomplished their goal. Somehow, Draco had talked the hat into putting him in Gryffindor. Nothing else mattered.

A short time later Harry watched as Crabbe was called up to the stool. Once again, this sorting took a much longer time than he remembered.

Finally, the hat said, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Harry saw that Crabbe seemed relieved. Did that mean he had wanted to be in Hufflepuff?

After Tracey Davis was sorted into Slytherin, it was Dudley's turn but once again, they received a surprise.

"Evans, Dudley!"

Harry could not believe it. Both Draco and Dudley had been called using their mum's maiden names. What was going on?

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted almost immediately.

The surprises did not end there.

"Goyle, Gregory!"

Harry wondered if Goyle would take as long to sort as Crabbe did but was surprised when a few seconds later the hat once again called out, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Harry caught Draco's eye. He seemed just as perplexed by the goings on as Harry felt. After that, Harry paid more attention than he expected to have to.

However, nothing changed. Hermione and Neville were still sorted into Gryffindor, Daphne Greengrass and Theodore Nott once again went to Slytherin, Ernie Macmillan was still a Hufflepuff, while Lily Moon and Morag MacDougal were still Ravenclaws.

"Parkinson, Pansy!"

Harry was tense as he watched Pansy go up to be sorted. He was not sure what to expect.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Harry stood there dumbfounded. So far, all of Draco's friends had been sorted out of Slytherin. He wondered where Blaise would end up.

Harry was so absorbed in his thoughts that he missed the next few sortings. He was pulled out of his thoughts when Professor McGonagall called, "Potter, Harry!"

Harry slowly made his way to the stool. He was just as nervous as last time but for an entirely different reason. He wondered briefly if he might end up in Slytherin without Draco. He certainly hoped not.

"Ah Mr. Potter how nice to meet you. Though this isn't our first meeting for you is it?"

All Harry could think was please put me with Draco.

"Mr. Black has told me all about your plans. I wish you luck Mr. Potter. GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry made his way slowly over to the Gryffindor table. He sat down next to Draco while the Gryffindors celebrated.

Unfortunately, the shocks were not over. Zacharias Smith went to Slytherin. Harry noticed he did not seem to upset by it. Harry actually felt quite bad for the Slytherins. Smith would make only the fifth person this year that had been sorted into Slytherin. Harry felt that chances were good that Blaise would not be a Slytherin this time either.

Finally, it was only Ron and Blaise left. Harry watched as Ron walked over to be sorted. He seemed quite pale. Harry watched as the hat spoke with him for quite a while. The longer the hat spoke with Ron the more worried Harry became. The longest conversations had resulted in people moving from the house they were in last time.

"SLYTHERIN!" the hat shouted finally.

Harry was as stunned as Ron was. He could not believe this. Ron a Slytherin? He watched as Ron warily made his way to the Slytherin table.

"Zabini, Blaise!"

Harry turned his attention back to Blaise. He was hoping with all his might that Blaise would go to Slytherin. Harry would feel better if Ron had someone in Slytherin with him that Harry trusted.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry just sat there stunned. Nothing had gone according to plan. Well except Draco being in Gryffindor with Harry. What had seemed rather easy was now going to be downright impossible with no contacts in Slytherin. Harry was not sure what he and Draco were going to do.