Happy New Year, one and all!!!

This is, I think, quite possibly my longest chapter thus far, so appreciate it! Actually, I'm sort of cheating from about halfway through, as I've hit a point where the old HTCHB and the new one collide in terms of plot. So I'm having a lovely break with nothing more than cut and paste to do, with a few bits of editing. I'll enjoy it while it lasts!!!

My email, darn it, is still down, so review replies are still unavailable. However, hopefully it should be sorted soon, once my dad goes back to work and can re-load the programme.

But, thanks to a beautiful thing called "Stats", I have recently discovered that not only am I now over 200 on the review count, and the highest number of hits of any of my stories!!! Making this my all time most successful story, ratings waise. So yey for that!

So thanks to all of you wonderful reviewers, and hopefully, by next week, I'll be able to thank you all by name again!

Jane spent the last week of the summer absorbed in her new books. She was giving Harry the cold shoulder again, rather pointedly turning her back every time he turned to speak to her. Girls were the one thing he couldn't even begin to understand. One minute she was his best friend, the next she was taking herself off to god knows where.

The night before they were due to return to Hogwarts, she disappeared altogether. She was there at dinner, unusually quiet, but come Jacks bedtime she was no-where to be seen. Lily, at her wits end with trying to pack two children off to Hogwarts, fell into a rant about unhelpful children, while James, who had experience with this sort of thing, disappeared with his two youngest to their bedrooms. Harry, on the other hand, was on the hunt. He was fed up with the mood swings and the cold shoulder, and he was going to sort that out. Tonight.

Finding Jane wasn't nearly so hard as it sounded, when she had two houses and numerous attics and outhouses to hide in. Paddy, tongue lolling, was hungry, and since Jane was his feeder he was going to find her now. All Harry had to do was follow.

Paddy eventually stopped at the foot of a ladder in Cam's feed barn, looking up at it mournfully. Harry patted the dog, affectionately rubbing its ears.

"Thanks." he muttered, and started to climb.

Jane was sitting under the eaves, knees under her chin, staring out through the tiny window across the courtyard. The flattened patch of hay and pile of well-eared books hinted that this was a much used haunt.

She didn't seem to notice Harry until he settled down next to her, wincing slightly as the hay pierced his trousers and pricked at his legs.

"You alright?" asked Harry after a moment, when it became clear she wasn't going to talk.

Jane looked pale, and her hand was trembling. She half nodded, then thought about it, and shook her head.

"I'm scared." she whispered.

Harry smiled gently.

"Of going to Hogwarts?" he asked.

Jane nodded.

"Don't be." Harry said comfortingly.

"Were you scared?" Jane asked, curiosity pushing aside both her fear and her current dislike of her brother. Harry thought back to his first ride on the Hogwarts express.

"Not scared, so much." he said thoughtfully. "I wasn't sure what to expect, and so I was a bit nervous. But I was more pleased about leaving the Dursleys. Wherever I was going had to be better than what I was leaving behind."

Jane grinned a little, but then her fear seemed to return.

"But what if people don't like me?" she asked in a small voice.

Harry had to bite back a laugh. It had been a long time since he had thought of things like that.

"I can't promise everyone will like you." he said, hiding a smile. "I can think of some people who might not like you, if only because you're my sister. But lots of people will like you. Ron and Hermione did, and Ginny, and there will be lots of other people too."

Jane visibly brightened, and turned away from the window properly for the first time.

"And you'll be there too, won't you." she said happily.

Harry smiled. "I thought you didn't like me at the moment." he teased.

Jane frowned. "I don't know. You're strange."

"Thanks."

"No, I mean it. Strange strange. You know all this stuff that doesn't exist. Or didn't exist."

"You'll be learning about it too, though."

"Yeah."

Neither spoke for a while, the silence stretching between them like a blanket.

"I always thought you were a girl." offered Jane at last, half to herself.

"What?" Harry started, caught off guard by the strange comment.

"When mum and dad told us about the child that was lost, I always thought it'd be a girl. Older sister."

"Oh. Sorry."

She shrugged. "Not your fault."

"Is that why you don't like me?" Harry hazarded after a moment.

"Who says I don't like you?" The girl seemed truly shocked by this statement.

"You do. Or you sort of act like it."

"Well you act odd round me, too."

"You flat out ignore me!"

"Well sorry for being a bit bemused by the whole thing!"

"You could at least talk to me."

"I am!"

"Yeah, telling me you wished I was a girl."

"Well that's the truth!"

"Well stop saying well at the start of every sentence."

"I'm not!"

"Are too."

"Stupid."

"Shorty."

"Four eyes."

"Squirt."

Both grinned, albeit rather reluctantly.

"You know, we sound worryingly like mum and dad." said Jane with a sigh. "I'm turning into my parents at the age of 11."

"Worse things have happened."

"I suppose."

Silence fell, a more comfortable, companionable silence than the previous.

"Jane?" Harry ventured after a moment.

"Yeah?"

"That night, when the dementor came. What did you remember?"

She blinked, and looked surprised.

"How'd you know I remembered anything?"

"That's what dementors do. Make you relive the worst moments of your life over and over again."

"If I tell you, will you tell me?"

"Yeah."

"Kay. I was about five, maybe six. I couldn't even remember it before the other night. We were in some supermarket somewhere, and it was really busy. And suddenly, I was all on my own, and mum had disappeared and left me. I thought Id been abandoned, all alone forever and ever." She shuddered again at the memory. "What about you?"

"I remember the night I thought mum and dad died." Harry said softly.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Sorry."

"S'not your fault."

"I know. But I'm still sorry."

They sat in silence for a while, comfortable for a while in each other's company.

"I don't hate you." said Jane suddenly. "I just…I dunno. I'm the eldest. Or I was. I did everything first, knew more than the other two. But now you do instead. It's weird."

"It's a bit weird for me, too." said Harry with a grin. "The closest thing I've ever had to a family before now were my friends."

"I liked your friends." Jane said, conversationally. "They were funny."

Harry grinned. "I like them too."

"Is Hermione your girlfriend?" she asked with great curiosity.

Harry laughed.

"No." he said, still chuckling. "She's just my friend."

Jane nodded; this statement seemed to warrant deep thought.

"I think it'll be alright." she decided after a while, making Harry smile yet again at her odd way of speech.

He frowned suddenly, remembering something from his own first few weeks at Hogwarts.

"Jane, for the first few weeks a lot of people will be very interested in you."

"In me? Why?"

"Because nobody knew you existed until a few days ago. You and me are going to be subjects of great interest for a while."

Jane went pale again, and Harry smiled comfortingly.

"Don't worry." he added. "It will die down, just ignore it. I just thought a warning would help."

Jane nodded tightly.

Harry sat in silence for a while, lost in his own thoughts. What would it be like back at Hogwarts? he wondered to himself. There was going to be a lot of mutterings and whisperings, he knew. He was used to that. Not only did everyone now know he had been telling the truth, but he had the discovery of his family and the defeat of Voldemort thrown in as well. It would be the first time half the whispers directed his way were about something that made him happy, most likely the last. Best enjoy it while he had it.

HTCHB

The next morning found the Potters once more packed into the car, with two trunks, an owl and six people. A woeful Cam had been left with Gemma and Jack, since the Ministry had demanded Tonks accompany them, and there simply was not a car big enough to hold six Potters, two Jones's, one Lupin and one Tonks.

Lily, irritable at both the chaos of packing and the loss of her two eldest children, had sighed heavily when the insistence of Tonks accompanying them came through.

"Not that we don't love having you here." she assured the auror. "But honesty, surly the aurors would be much better placed hunting down the Death Eaters than protecting us from an unlikely attack in the middle of London on the one day of the year when it's packed with wizards and witches."

James rolled his eyes at Remus behind Lilys back – the morning had been hectic, and had reawakened Lilys famed temper.

"You be careful Prongs." cautioned Remus with a grin. "Remember what happened last time you aggravated her on September 1st. And that was when she had only herself to get on the train."

James snorted. "Hey, I was not aggravating her. I was simply being my usual friendly self."

Luckily, a further argument was waylaid by the radio newsreader announcing it was half ten, causing Lily to gasp in horror and peer out of the car windscreen in disgust.

"I hate September 1st."

HTCHB

Harry and Lupin went through the platform divide first, pushing the two trolleys. Lily, holding tight to Jane's hand followed then, James and Tonks joining them a moment later.

Jane was gazing up at the Hogwarts express with a mixture of fear and excitement. Around them, people bustled about, loading luggage on and off trolleys, conducting last minute checks and generally being to occupied in carting one or more children of to school to notice the arrival of the Potters.

Perhaps there was a god after all.

Suddenly, there was a cry from further along the platform.

"Harry! Jane!" Hermione was pushing her way along the platform, followed by Ron, Ginny, and Mr and Mrs Weasley. When they reached Harry, Hermione beamed.

"I can't tell you how odd it's been without you." she said, the words tumbling breathlessly out of her mouth.

Ron came up behind her and grinned. "All right Harry?"

Harry grinned back. "Hey Ron."

Next to him, Ginny was greeting Jane. Over Hermiones shoulder, Harry could see Mrs Weasley, Mr Weasley having already come forward to try and talk to Lily about Muggles.

Mrs Weasley smiled distractedly at him.

"Hello Harry dear." she said. "We missed having you over the summer." It was a strangely cold greeting from the normally vibrant Mrs Weasley, and it made Harry wonder.

At that moment, the whistle blew, and chaos resumed. Hugs all round - Lily squeezed her son for a moment, then released him, while James grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. Lupin did the same, and Tonks waved merrily before hugging Jane with the affection of one who has spent far too much time in someone's company.

Mrs. Weasley seemed to fight some sort of inner battle, before, with a glance at Lily, giving Harry a quick hug. Then the whistle blew again, and the two sets of parents started chivvying their children towards the train. Lugging their trunks onboard, they leaned out the window to wave goodbye. Harry's last sight before the train gathered speed and rounded the corner was of his mum and Mrs Weasley turning to talk to each other.

HTCHB

Pulling his head in, Harry turned to the others. Ron and Hermione smiled apologetically.

"We won't be too long." promised Hermione, and they headed for the Prefects compartment.

"Come on." said Ginny, tugging at her trunk. "Lets find somewhere to sit."

As the three of them started up the train, Harry became very aware of the fact that every time they passed a compartment, the occupants would stare as they passed, noses pressed to the windows. Several times people actually came out of their compartments to get a better look.

Eventually, having walked along almost half the train, they found a compartment whose only occupant was a small first year with golden-blond hair and brown eyes, clutching a grey kitten. She looked up as Ginny opened the door.

"Can we sit here?" Ginny asked the girl kindly, who nodded, looking terrified. Harry followed Ginny in, dumped his trunk in the luggage rack and helped Jane do the same. The girl huddled into a corner, as though she were trying to disappear completely. Ginny sat down opposite her.

"First year?" she asked, smiling gently.

The girl nodded again.

"Jane's new too." Ginny continued, indicating to Jane, who had sat gingerly next to the girl. They exchanged nervous looks.

"I'm Ginny." continued Ginny, still striving bravely for conversation. "And this is Harry."

Harry smiled at the girl, who looked, if anything, even more terrified. She glanced from Jane to Harry, but said nothing.

"What's your name?" asked Ginny, determined to hear the girl speak.

"Izzy." she said in a barely audible whisper.

Ginny opened her mouth to speak again, probably about the cat, when the compartment door opened. Neville peered nervously inside.

"Hi, Harry, Ginny. Can we sit here?" he asked, and Harry saw Luna standing behind him.

"Sure." said Ginny, and the two came in.

"Neville, Luna, this is my sister, Jane, and that's Izzy." Harry said, beginning the first of many introductions.

Neville's eyes almost popped out of his head as he looked at Jane, who smiled back at him; the presence of another terrified first year seemed to have calmed her nerves.

Luna looked dreamily at them both.

"Hello." she said serenely, before opening the copy of the Quibbler she was clutching, and disappearing behind it. Neville was still gazing at Jane.

"Did you have a good summer?" Ginny asked, trying to distract him as Jane shuffled uncomfortably under his gaze. It worked - Neville grinned, and turned away from Jane. He, Harry and Ginny spent a pleasant while discussing OWLs and Quidditch, when the compartment door opened again, and Ron and Hermione flopped down on the seats. They were followed a moment later by the trolley lady. Even Luna put down the Quibbler and dived into the mound of food that everyone bought. Only Izzy, who had been sitting quietly in the corner talking to Jane, didn't touch the it.

"Here, Izzy, have a chocolate frog." said Hermione, who had been introduced to the girl by Ginny. Izzy took the sweet and put it carefully in her mouth, almost as though she expected it to explode before she ate it. Harry wondered if she was Muggle-born.

After that, though, she seemed to gain confidence, and readily helped them finish off the cauldron cakes and liquorice wands that Neville had bought.

They were moving onto Hermione's Bertie Botts Every Flavoured Beans when the door slid open for the fourth time. This time, however, the people standing in the doorway weren't nearly so welcome. Malfoy looked about with a sneer.

"Well well well." he scorned. "The Potty, the Weasel, Longbottom and the Loony." His gaze fell scornfully onto each of them. "Another Weasley and…the Mudblood." he finished, with a contemptuous glance. Harry, Ginny and Ron leapt to their feet, Neville gasped and even Luna looked up from her magazine.

"Get out Malfoy." said Ron through gritted teeth. Crabbe and Goyle, standing either side of Malfoy, cracked their knuckles threateningly.

Malfoy smirked.

"Wait a moment, Weasel-head." he said. "There's a rumour going up the train that Potty's got a sister in here. I came to see if that's true."

His gaze fell on Jane, who was sitting in the corner.

"Leave her alone Malfoy." warned Harry.

Malfoy raised an eyebrow.

"In a moment. Surely I can have a quick word." Ignoring the glares of the others, Malfoy addressed himself to Jane.

"On our first trip on the Hogwarts Express, I made your brother an offer. He, rather stupidly, turned it down. So I'll give you the same offer. My cousin is starting this year as well. You won't know this, but some wizarding families are better than others. I can't blame you for sitting here; you know no different. But Claudia," he stepped aside to reveal what looked like a smaller, female version of himself, "is more than willing to teach you the difference."

He looked at Jane, and the girl called Claudia held out a hand. Harry was desperately restraining himself from interfering – slapping the blonde girls hand away right about now seemed like a good idea - but a warning glance from Hermione stilled him. Jane had to make her own choice.

Everybody seemed to be holding their breath. Jane looked Claudia up and down, then turned to Malfoy.

"I think I can tell the difference already." she said quietly. "You come in here, where no-one likes you, and insult my brother and the nicest people I have met in a long time, and you still expect me to be friends with you? Sorry. Try a different compartment, and a different method of buying friends for your cousin."

And she promptly turned her back on the door, and continued her chat with Izzy. Malfoy and his cousin both went red, and mouths were just opening for a retort when he spied Izzy for the first time.

"You." he said, and his voice was suddenly filled with a hatred that even Harry had never heard before.

"What are you doing in here? Mixing with Mudbloods and Blood-traitors? I never thought even you could stoop so low."

And with a final glare, he turned tail and marched off. Claudia followed, flicking her long, pale blond hair over her shoulder. Ron slammed the door shut behind them, narrowly avoiding shattering the glass. Everyone turned to look at Izzy, apart from Luna, who returned to the Quibbler.

"What was that all about?" asked Ginny, but Izzy simply shook her head and clutched her cat again. After a moment's scrutiny, everyone turned to Jane.

"Did you really mean that?" asked Hermione, hugging her. Jane had gone red, but she nodded defiantly.

"I meant it. You are the nicest people I've ever met." Neville blushed, and Ginny and Ron beamed. Luna looked up from the Quibbler.

"You are very nice." she informed them, before disappearing back behind its pages.

Jane beamed as though she'd just won the lottery.

And there you have it!

Next week...a sorting, several shocks, and a new DADA teacher...all is not as it seems...

Until then!