Disclaimer: Anything you recognize, I do not own


Hope had come a long way in a year. The first time she went to Diagon Alley, she had to walk there. She had no idea what to do or even what she needed for school. But, when she got her letter with her list of school supplies in August, she was more prepared.

Dobby must've given up on stealing her letters, because she was able to get letters to her friends finally. She didn't tell them what had happened; that was a story to tell in person. Through their etters, Regina and Hermes agreed to meet her Diagon Alley on a pre-set date. Cassie said she'd do her best to convince her family to do the same.

On that day, Hope got dressed in her usual Muggle clothes and decided it was too hot to walk the several miles to the Leaky Cauldron. She was going to try Floo Powder for the first time. She'd read the instruction book front to back at least twice. She was fairly confident she could make it work as long as ignored Kreacher's 'advice'.

Still, stepping into the empty fireplace seemed a bit odd. She clutched the fistful of floo powder in her hand and nervously dropped it to the floor of the fireplace. She immediately coughed as the dust came back up into her face and choked out 'Diagon Alley'. Green flames that didn't burn engulfed her immediately.

It felt as though she were being sucked down a giant drain. She seemed to be spinning very fast and not in a fun way. The roaring in her ears was deafening. She tried to keep her eyes open but the whirl of green flames made her feel sick. Something hard knocked her elbow and she tucked it in tightly, still spinning and spinning... Then it felt as though cold hands were slapping her face. Squinting through her glasses she saw a blurred stream of fireplaces and snatched glimpses of the rooms beyond. Then she fell, face forward, onto cold stone and felt the bridge of her glasses snap.

Dizzy and bruised, covered in soot, she got gingerly to her feet, holding her broken glasses up to her eyes. She was quite alone, but where she was, she had no idea. All she could tell was that she was standing in the stone fireplace of what looked like a large, dimly lit wizard's shop. But nothing in the shop was ever likely to be on a Hogwarts school list. A glass case nearby held a withered hand on a cushion, a bloodstained pack of cards, and a staring glass eye. Evil-looking masks stared down from the walls, an assortment of human bones lay upon the counter and rusty, spiked instruments hung from the ceiling.

Even worse, the dark, narrow street Hope could see through the dusty shop window was definitely not Diagon Alley. The sooner she got out of here, the better. Nose still stinging where it had hit the hearth, Hope made her way swiftly and silently toward the door, but before she'd got halfway toward it, she saw the outlines of people about to come in.

Cursing to herself for trying out transportation via fireplace in the first place, she dived for cover. Her cover turned out to be a large, black cabinet. She shot inside and pulled the doors closed, leaving just a tiny crack to see through.

Seconds later, a bell clanged and a family of four stepped into the room. She recognized them immediately, but decided to stay hidden. It was the Malfoy's. Cassiopeia Malfoy was there, looking nervous, and wearing one of her many fancy dresses. Her younger brother, Aries, was wearing a suit like the last time Hope had seen him. He was already a head taller than Cassie herself.

Cassie's parents didn't look nervous at all. Her mother was tall and blonde like the rest of her family. She would've been pretty, if she didn't turn up her nose and scowl at everything she saw in the shop. Cassie's father had longer hair than she did and wore a suit nearly identical to Aries's.

Mr. Malfoy crossed the shop, looking lazily at the items on display and rang the bell on the counter for service before turning back to his family.

"Touch nothing." He ordered. Aries Malfoy, who had reached for the glass eye, said angrily:

"I thought you were going to buy me a present."

"I said I would buy you a racing broom." His father corrected, drumming his fingers on the counter.

"What's the good of that if I'm not on the House team? They never let first year's play." Aries complained.

"I'm going to try out this year." Cassie put in.

"Yes, so you've said." Mr. Malfoy reminded her in a bored tone. "Ah, Mr. Borgin."

A stooping man had appeared behind the counter, smoothing his greasy hair back from his face.

"Mr. Malfoy, what a pleasure to see you again." Mr. Borgin had a voice as oily as his hair. "Delighted. And the Missus and young Masters Malfoy, too. Charmed. How may I be of assistance? I must show you, just in today, and very reasonably priced-."

"I'm not buying today, Mr. Borgin, but selling." Mr. Malfoy interrupted.

"Selling?" The smile faded slightly from Mr. Borgin's face.

"You have heard, of course, that the Ministry is conducting more raids." Mr. Malfoy went on, taking a roll of parchment from his inside pocket and unraveling it for Mr. Borgin to read. "I have a few, ah, items at home that might embarrass me, if the Ministry were to call..."

Mr. Borgin fixed a pair of pince-nez to his nose and looked down the list.

"The Ministry wouldn't presume to trouble you, sir, surely?" Mr. Malfoy's lip curled.

"I have not been visited yet. The name Malfoy still commands a certain respect, yet the Ministry grows ever more meddlesome. There are rumors about a new Muggle Protection Act. No doubt that flea-bitten, Muggle-loving fool Arthur Weasley is behind it-." Hope felt a hot surge of anger at Mr. Malfoy insulted Regina's father. Peering at Cassie, she saw her friend ducking her head to hide her expression, whatever it had been. "-And as you see, certain of these poisons might make it appear-."

"I understand, sir, of course. Let me see..."

"Can I have that?" Ares interrupted, pointing at the withered hand on its cushion. Mrs. Malfoy shot him a withering look; Cassie just looked up to see what he was pointing at.

"Ah, the Hand of Glory!" Mr. Borgin said, abandoning Mr. Malfoy's list and scurrying over to Aries and Cassie. "Insert a candle and it gives light only to the holder! Best friend of thieves and plunderers! Your children have fine taste, sir."

"I hope my children will amount to more than a thief or a plunderer, Borgin." Mr. Malfoy responded coldly and Mr. Borgin said quickly:

"No offense, sir, no offense meant-."

"Though if Cassiopeia's grades don't pick up that may indeed be all she is fit for." He added coldly. Hope restrained herself from jumping out and decking him.

"I'm second in my year!" Cassie told him quickly. Hope was surprised she wasn't angry at being berated but instead looked eager to prove herself.

"I would have thought you'd be ashamed that a boy of no wizard family beat you in every exam." Mr. Malfoy snapped and Cassie took to ducking her head and falling silent again.

"It's the same all over. Wizard blood is counting for less everywhere-." Mr. Borgin began.

"Not with me." Mr. Malfoy cut him off, his long nostrils flaring.

"No, sir, nor with me, sir." Mr. Borgin said quickly, with a deep bow.

"In that case, perhaps we can return to my list. I am in something of a hurry, Borgin, I have important business elsewhere today." They started to haggle.

Hope watched nervously as Aries drew nearer and nearer to her hiding place, examining the objects for sale. Aries paused to examine a long coil of hangman's rope and to read, smirking, the card propped on a magnificent necklace of opals: Caution: Do Not Touch. Cursed. Has Claimed the Lives of Nineteen Muggle Owners to Date

Cassie was looking around too, from her stationary place beside her mother. She spotted the cabinet, squinted and her jaw dropped. Hope frantically shook her head and Cassie seemed to get the message. She called her brother over to look at an evil-looking mask on the other side of the shop. Aries scampered over, leaving Hope's hiding place safe. She silently thanked her friend.

"Done." Mr. Malfoy said at the counter. "Come." He added to his family.

They headed for the door to the shop, with Mr. Malfoy pausing just before they left to turn back and say:

"Good day to you, Mr. Borgin. I'll expect you at the manor tomorrow to pick up the goods."

The moment the door had closed, Mr. Borgin dropped his oily manner.

"Good day yourself, Mister Malfoy, and if the stories are true, you haven't sold me half of what's hidden in your manor..." Muttering darkly under his breath, Mr. Borgin disappeared into a back room once more.

Hope waited for a minute in case he came back, then, as quietly as she could, she slipped out of the cabinet, past the glass cases,and out of the shop door. Clutching her broken glasses to her face, Hope stared around. She had emerged into a dingy alleyway that seemed to be made up entirely of shops devoted to the Dark Arts. The one she'd just left, Borgin and Burkes, looked like the largest, but opposite was a nasty window display of shrunken heads and, two doors down, a large cage was alive with gigantic black spiders. Two shabby-looking wizards were watching him from the shadow of a doorway, muttering to each other.

Trying to regain her confidence, Hope set off. An old wooden street sign hanging over a shop selling poisonous candles told Hope that she was in Knockturn Alley. This didn't help, as Hope had never heard of such a place. She supposed that she hadn't spoken clearly enough through her mouthful of powder. Either way, she wasn't going to be trying Floo Powder again. Walking was much safer. At least you always knew where you were going to end up...

"Not lost are you, my dear?" A voice asked in her ear, making her jump and whirl around. An aged witch had managed to sneak up on her. She was holding a tray of what looked horribly like whole human fingernails. She leered at Hope, showing mossy teeth. Hope backpedaled on instinct.

"I'm fine." She told the witch with as much confidence as she could muster. As long as you say something with confidence, there's a good chance people will believe whatever was said.

"HOPE! What d'yeh think yer doin' down there?" Hope's heart leapt. So did the witch; a load of fingernails cascaded down over her feet and she cursed. The massive form of Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper, came striding toward them, beetle-black eyes flashing over his great bristling beard.

"Hagrid!" Hagrid seized Hope by the scruff of the neck and pulled her away from the witch, knocking the tray right out of her hands. Her shrieks followed them all the way along the twisting alleyway out into bright sunlight.

Hope saw a familiar, snow-white marble building in the distance: Gringotts Bank. Hagrid had steered her right into Diagon Alley.

"Yer a mess!" Hagrid told her gruffly, brushing soot off Hope so forcefully he nearly knocked her into a barrel of dragon dung outside an apothecary. "Skulkin' around Knockturn Alley, I dunno. Dodgy place, Hope. Don' want no one ter see yeh down there-."

"I realized that." Hope replied, ducking as Hagrid made to brush her off again. "I got lost. Floo powder gone wrong. Anyway, were you doing down there?"

"I was lookin' fer a Flesh-Eatin' Slug Repellent. They're ruinin' the school cabbages. Yer not on yer own?" He asked suspiciously.

"I'm supposed to be meeting up with my friends." She dodged the question easily. Whether or not Dumbledore had told Hagrid about her living on her own, she didn't want to risk Hagrid's lecture about it. Still, she felt a flood of joy that he cared so much about her. Her was just about the only adult that did anymore.

Hagrid set off with her to find them, still muttering about how she shouldn't have been in Knockturn Alley at all.

"How come it took yeh so long to write back ter me?" He finally asked as they made their way down the winding streets that were finally familiar to Hope. She was jogging to keep up with him, stilling holding her glasses against her face.

Hope explained all about Dobby. Hagrid shook his head.

"Dumbledore wouldn't let there be a plot to kill yeh! Yer gonna be perfectly safe!" He protested. Hope nodded in agreement. Even if she wasn't, she sure as anything wasn't going to stay in Grimmauld Place instead of going back to her real home.

"Hope, Hope, over here!" Hope turned and saw Hermes Granger sprinting down the steps of Gringotts towards them, his bushy brown hair windswept and wilder than usual. He paused for breath as he got to them, but that only last a second or two. "What happened to your glasses? Hello, Hagrid. Oh, it's wonderful to see you two again!" He gushed.

"It's good to see you." Hope told him. She had to look up at him still; he hadn't stopped growing over the summer and towered over her even more than before. Hope was sure the only one of their group that could rival his height was Regina.

As if thinking about her summoned her, the entire Weasley family came bustling down the street. Regina spotted Hope and Hermes first and a grin erupted on her face. She came sprinting over and, naturally, the other Weasley's turned to see what was going on and started over as well.

Regina tackled Hope with a bone-crushing hug. She and Hermes started towards each other like they were going to do the same, then paused, held out their hands for a handshake. That died too, so they waved at each other from the grand distance of two feet instead.

"Awkward." Hope put in loudly. They both glared at her, but then started laughing.

"What happened to you, dear?" Mrs. Weasley demanded of Hope as the rest of the family caught up. She looked at the soot covering Hope's clothing in distaste and worry. Mr. Weasley took her glasses, magically repaired them and handed them back to her.

"Thank you. I went a gate too far when traveling by floo powder. Came out in Knockturn Alley." Hope explained.

"Excellent!" Fred and George told her with wide grins.

"We've never been allowed in." Regina whispered conspiratorially.

"I should ruddy well think not." Hagrid told her with a disapproving glare. "See yer at Hogwarts!" He told the rest of them. After shaking Hope's whole arm in farewell, he strode away, head and shoulders taller than anyone else in the packed street.

Hope turned to her two friends.

"You'll never believe what happened to me this summer."