And here we are! I was really excited about this chapter because now my love is at Hogwarts :) I hope you all enjoy it. I know I posted this chapter really quickly, so please don't expect this to be a constant thing. I just couldn't help myself because I'm so excited!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, and I don't claim any ownership to these characters. All italicised passages are JKR's.

September 1st, 1991

For the rest of the month following their Diagon Alley outing, Harry spent it packing his trunk and spending as much time with his family as possible. He decided to pack his Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs plushies, and they fit nicely on top of all his things.

He also spent a lot of the time practising his magic. He knew there were rules about underage magic, but the Ministry of Magic had no way of tracking their magical signatures, so he ignored it. That was one of the many positives about living in hiding for eleven years; people had absolutely no way of tracking you.

Harry was fascinated by the Fidelius charm and wanted to learn to cast it one day. It seemed useful, but then again, if everything went as planned, there wouldn't be the need to hide by the time he was strong enough. For now, he practised the levitating charm, a useful little charm he read about that made inanimate objects sing, and more minor transfigurations.

On the day of September first, Harry woke up with the terrible feeling associated with change. He didn't want to leave. The thought of being alone, aside from his grandmother, for months was terrifying. He was thrilled to begin his education, of course, but he was afraid of being away from his family.

Some might've called it a minor case of separation anxiety, but instead of them leaving him, he was leaving them. Regardless, he got out of bed early and showered as he had a month ago. He made his way to his closet and slipped on a pair of boxers and then light-wash jeans. He rolled them up to his ankle and put on a pair of black socks. He put a black t-shirt on, and as always, his black leather jacket.

His mum didn't like the black leather jacket. She said it made him look like a punk, but he absolutely loved it. It was his favourite article of clothing, and he never had to worry about growing out of it because it was charmed to always fit him. It was genius, really, and part of him wanted to cast the charm on all his favourite pieces of clothing. It even had a special pocket for his wand; it was perfect.

Harry took his wand and muttered the incantation: "Wingardium Leviosa." He was getting better at floating larger items. In the beginning, he could barely float one of Hedwig's feathers, but now he could hold the trunk in the air. He was proud of himself. Reading the material was one thing, he had mastered the incantation years ago, but now he had to master the wrist movement and have the concentration to continue holding the object he was floating. Heavier items require more energy to hold for long periods, but that never deterred him.

Slowly, he walked out of his bedroom and floated the trunk downstairs. He grinned as he released his trunk at the bottom of the stairs. "I love magic."

"You're getting quite good at it. Most of your classmates won't master that charm until a few weeks into school," James said proudly.

"Most of my classmates haven't had their textbooks for five years. And most kids don't have the mental capacity to read a textbook half the time." Harry said humorously.

"You are absolutely right, my Fawn. You are a complete and utter nerd, and I love you for it."

"Says you. You nicknamed yourselves the Marauders when you were my age," Harry smirked. "And Mum said you acted like an idiot for six years trying to get her attention."

"You did," Lily said, smirking as well.

Sirius strutted into the room, "Alright, alright. As much as I love and adore Prongs versus Fawn sass battles, we don't want to be running late. Harry, you get Hedwig, I'll take your trunk."

"Thank you, Uncle Sirius," Harry said with a smile as he ran upstairs to grab Hedwig's cage. After a few hours, she had been relocated to his room, while Athena stayed in Lily and James' room. Their cages were always left open, so they could come and go whenever they wanted. It was like Hedwig knew they were leaving because she was nestled in her cage looking at him expectantly. "Alright, Hedwig. We're going to school now."

She nodded, and Harry latched the cage. He gently picked her up and carried her downstairs, careful not to thrash her around too much. "Alright, how are we getting there?" Harry asked once he and Hedwig were safely downstairs.

"There's an active floo network at King's Cross. We'll go through there and just walk to platform 9¾," James explained. "We should be on the platform in twenty minutes max."

They all nodded and made to grab their floo powder. It was a little awkward for Harry to stand comfortably in the fireplace with Hedwig's cage, but he managed. He said "King's Cross Train Station," clearly after his father had disappeared, and then he was whisked away. He stepped out of the fireplace and stuck a finger through the bars of Hedwig's cage so he could stroke her feathers. She hooted indignantly at him when they landed, so he wanted to appease her.

The rest of the family joined Harry and James at the train station in a matter of minutes, and together they walked to platform 9¾. Sirius had cast a feather-weight charm on Harry's trunk and carried it easily next to him. Harry tried to walk evenly so that Hedwig wouldn't shake around too much. She was already upset about the floo, and he didn't want to upset her more.

The train station was bustling with people. Most of whom gave the Potter-Lupin-Black clan strange looks as they passed. Harry assumed they were muggles. To them, seeing a boy carrying an owl was a peculiar sight.

Without any issues, they arrived at the junction between platforms nine and ten. There were massive stone columns that had the small signs reading the platform numbers. Harry knew the wall would allow them through, but it was still unnerving knowing that he was expected to run at 'solid' stone.

Sirius and Remus went first, followed by Lily, and finally James and Harry. Harry closed his eyes as he ran; there was a small pull on his body, and he opened them again. They were on a completely different platform now. It had a scarlet steam engine with a sign overhead that read Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock.

Harry was in awe. Magic was wonderful. As terrified as he was to leave, he was getting more and more excited to go to school and learn how to do things like this. He thought of how cool it would be if he could one day make a secret room in his library or something. You wouldn't be able to see it, and you had to run to get through it.

The thought fuelled him as they walked further onto the platform. They had arrived at King's Cross quite early, ten o'clock sharp. Harry wanted time to say goodbye to his family while also avoiding the public eye. They walked to a secluded corner of the platform. There were a few other people already there, but it was mostly empty.

James and Harry left quickly to put his things in a secluded train compartment. They returned, and they, Lily, Remus, and Sirius huddled close together to talk and say goodbye.

"We have two more gifts for you before you leave, Fawn," James said quietly.

Harry looked up at his dad, curiously. "I thought you gave me everything I'd needed for my birthday."

"First, this one is a sort of tradition. My father did it for me, and now I'm going to do it for you. One day, I hope you'd do it for your first-born son."

Harry's curiosity peaked. He had an idea, but it couldn't have been. He let out a soft gasp when his father reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the fluid and silvery grey cloak. "Really, Dad?"

"It's yours now," he said with a smile. "You can use it for whatever you want: if you want to be alone, if you want to cry because you lost Quidditch horrifically to Hufflepuff, or if you need to pull off a particularly good prank."

"But what about all of you. Don't you need it?"

"No, we can just transfigure our appearances if we need to go outside. We haven't needed to use it in a while, anyway. We already told Minerva that you'd have it, and she's alright with it."

Harry looked down at the glittering fabric reverently. It was like holding water, and it was elusive. This was the only cloak of its kind, that was genuinely authentic. Other invisibility cloaks have charms covering them, but they wear off eventually. The Invisibility Cloak had been passed through generations and had never lost its power. It was from Death's robe, and it was perfect.

Harry gently folded the fabric, and he put it in his pocket. Not even Ron knew about the Invisibility Cloak, and he planned to keep it a secret for a bit longer. He already spoke too much to Ron about his life; they planned to keep things secret, and he divulged too much when he was younger.

"Thank you, dad."

"Of course, Fawn. Just keep it safe and keep it a secret from everyone. It's fine to tell your friends, but don't go flaunting it. Now, as for the second gift," James said as he pulled from his cloak a small hand mirror with ornate detailing.

"I know. I think I'm going to keep it to myself for a little longer. I know we can trust the Weasleys, but I'm still uneasy sharing information," Harry said as he looked at the mirror. "What is it?"

"This is a mirror that Sirius and I enchanted. If you say my name clearly to the mirror, it'll go from being reflective to seeing us. It's the closest thing we can get to see you without actually seeing you."

Harry took the mirror from his dad. It was quite small, but it was heavy. He could feel the magic in each tiny detail, and it was amazing. "I'll use these both well," Harry said with a small smirk. He pocketed the mirror with the Invisibility Cloak.

"You can have as much fun as you want, but do your work! Don't get behind. You know how valuable your education is," Lily piped in quietly.

They stood there, talking quietly amongst themselves as the platform got more and more full. The more people that surrounded them, the more anxious Harry got. He felt like a deer in headlights whenever he felt someone's stare on him.

A little ways away, there was the familiar chatter of the Weasleys. Lily, James, Remus, Sirius, and Harry all looked up as the red-headed family approached them excitedly.

"Hiya, Harry! Are you excited?" Ron asked with a blinding grin.

Harry nodded, "Of course. I already grabbed a compartment, so you don't have to worry about finding somewhere for your stuff."

"What time is it?" Remus asked quietly.

"Ten forty-nine," Molly said chipperly.

Harry's jaw dropped. How had they been standing there talking for almost an hour? How was he expected to leave so soon? He felt his mum's hands on his shoulders, and he relaxed slightly. "It's alright, Fawn. We'll see you soon." she leaned down and whispered in his ear, "Just go to the common room tonight when it's empty with the mirror. Remember, same 'James Potter' clearly. We'll be waiting." She kissed his head softly and pulled him into a hug.

"We'll miss you, little Fawn," Sirius said as he hugged him. Remus nodded and joined the hug, followed by James. "We'll speak to you tonight."

Harry said his final goodbyes and walked with Ron to the train. It was bittersweet leaving; he didn't want to go, but he knew he needed to. They walked down the narrow corridor to where Harry had set his stuff earlier and was satisfied when no one else was in the compartment.

Ron set his trunk on the seat, and Harry looked back out the window to where his family was waiting. He waved at them sadly, and they smiled at him. He couldn't believe he was leaving them; it didn't feel right.

Within minutes of them sitting down, the train began to move. With it, Harry's heart lurched. He waved a final goodbye to his family as the train turned out of the station. Ron seemed content to leave his family; Harry didn't understand.

Harry leaned back in his seat and watched out the window as they sped past fields full of cows and sheep. Ron sparked up a conversation about magic, and Harry readily joined in. He knew that Harry was talented. It was something he'd never seen but expected from the person expected to defeat You-Know-Who.

"What class are you most looking forward to?" He asked.

Harry grinned, "Transfiguration!"

"Isn't transfiguration magic the hardest?"

"It might be, but I love it. I've probably read through our first year textbook three times already."

"In a month?" Ron asked, surprised.

"Oh, no. I've had most of our first year textbooks for years. I got them for my sixth birthday.

"Why?" Ron asked with his mouth agape, "When I was six, I got toys and sweets."

"I got those too. I just also wanted the textbooks. They're fascinating, you should read them."

"Can you actually do the things in the books?"

"Some of them," Harry said with a shrug. "It's not actually that difficult when you get the hang of the incantation. Adding in the wrist motions are a little tough at first, but muscle memory is a beautiful thing."

"Can you show me?" He asked curiously.

Harry nodded and took his transfiguration textbook from his trunk and his wand from his pocket. He pointed his wand at the book and muttered "Wingardium Leviosa," with a swish and flick of his wrist.

The book floated up gracefully into the air, and Harry grinned, "I'm getting better at this. It takes more concentration and energy to get heavier things to float for longer periods of time."

Ron was looking at Harry with his mouth a perfect o. He learned from Fred and George that they didn't learn how to levitate objects until a month into school. Harry let the book fall into his lap and put his wand back in his pocket.

"I can also change the colour of my hair and eyes. I learned when I was younger, and now I've perfected it."

"Like a metamorphmagus?"

"I suppose, but it takes energy. I can't change whatever part of my body I want at will."

"Can you show me?"

Harry closed his eyes and pictured his uncle's long, wavy, black hair. The magic slithered through him and to his head, and within seconds he felt his hair brush against his neck and shoulders. He opened them again and grinned at the gobsmacked look on Ron's face.

Harry kept scrunchies in his trunk. He wasn't sure why because his hair wasn't long enough to need them, but he took out the bright pink scrunchie his uncle had given him at some point and put his hair in a little bun. Having longer hair matched his outfit better.

They kept talking about magic and everything else they could think of. Harry explained some of the minor transfigurations and charms he had read about, and Ron talked about all the strange magic he had seen his brothers performing.

Around half-past twelve, there was a great clattering outside in the corridor, and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the cart, dears?"

Ron muttered that he'd brought sandwiches, but Harry went out into the corridor. He bought a few cauldron cakes and some chocolate frogs. Ron was mumbling about his sandwiches when Harry went back into the compartment. He set the sweets in an empty seat and took a cauldron cake.

"You can have some sweets, Ron. I got enough for us to share."

"You don't have to," Ron said quickly, but Harry shook him off and gestured to the chocolate frogs. Ron smiled and set down the sandwiches, "Thanks."

Harry smiled too and shook his head, "Which cards do you have?"

"I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy," he said with a shrug.

"My uncle usually keeps the cards. I'm not sure which ones he has and doesn't have. I'll probably send him the cards I get from these," Harry said as he unwrapped his chocolate frog and picked up the card. It showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and moustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.

Harry groaned internally. It had been about a year and a half ago that he learned about Dumbledore and had to embark on the ever painful journey of Occlumency. He felt bad, but he hadn't met the man and already disliked him. Because of Dumbledore, he got his head pried open every week for a little look around.

He was finally mastering Occlumency though. His walls could've been stronger, but he had mastered blocking out all his thoughts and throwing them up quickly. Minerva also started hitting him randomly to catch him off guard, which he could deflect.

He watched as the small Dumbledore walked out of the frame, and he looked back at Ron, "Do you want Dumbledore?"

"You don't want him?" Ron asked curiously.

"No," Harry said simply and reached for the frog, which had started to thrash around violently. He always felt bad eating the frogs; he knew it was just an enchantment, and that it would wear off, but something never felt right about eating it.

Once it stopped moving, Harry allowed himself to eat it. They had a good time talking and eating sweets. The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills.

Harry looked out the window, wondering when they would be arriving when there was a knock on the door of their compartment and a round-faced boy popped in. Harry felt bad; the boy looked tearful.

"Sorry, but have you seen a toad at all?" He asked sadly.

They both shook their heads, and Harry felt even worse when he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"

"He'll turn up," Harry said hopefully.

The boy remained miserable, "Well, if you see him…" Harry nodded, and the boy left the compartment. He slid the door shut behind him, and Harry turned back to Ron.

"Don't know why he's so bothered. If I'd brought a toad, I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk. He might have died, and you wouldn't know the difference. I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look…" Ron said bitterly. He pulled out his wand from his trunk. It was very battered-looking; it was chipped in places, and something white was glinting at the end.

Harry wondered what beating the wand had gone through in its lifetime, but he didn't ask. Ron raised the wand and was about to speak when the compartment door slid open again. The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.

Harry recognised her at once, and he was curious if she recognised him. Of course, he looked different with his hair and bright pink scrunchie, but he was the same. The past two times they had come across each other, Harry didn't know her by name, but he could feel her.

She stared at him for a second before she said, "Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one." Harry had never heard her speak before, but she had a bossy sort of voice. He was intrigued by her, to say the least.

"We've already told him we haven't seen it," Ron said, but it was obvious the girl wasn't paying any attention to him. She was watching his wand, and her eyes flicked between it, and Ron.

"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it then." She sat down next to Harry and watched Ron. He looked confused, and he looked up at Harry for support, but Harry shrugged.

"Er - all right." He said awkwardly, clearing his throat. "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow." He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed grey and fast asleep.

Harry shrugged, as did Ron. Neville looked uncomfortable like he wanted to cry still. The girl had no reservations though and began speaking again at a rapid pace. "Are you sure that's a real spell? Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practise, and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard - I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough - I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"

She did, indeed talk very fast. Harry had to hide his smirk when he saw Ron's stunned face. They had just met another person who memorised and read the course books.

"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron mumbled bitterly.

"Harry Potter," Harry said more politely.

Hermione studied Harry as if his name was supposed to mean something to her. Neville in the doorway of the compartment with the same look on his face. Suddenly it clicked for Harry that this boy was Neville Longbottom. He was the other prophecy kid. Harry would've said something to him, and asked to talk, but it didn't seem fitting in the presence of Ron or Hermione.

He didn't even know if Neville knew the prophecy. He remembered crying when he was five because Neville's parents got tortured to insanity. That was something they could talk about; Harry would've let him talk about how it made him feel, and they could work together.

He just stared at the boy for now. He didn't know anything about Neville, really, other than the prophecy and his parents. Maybe later he would make an effort to talk to the boy, without prying eyes and listening ears. Hopefully, they were both in Gryffindor so it wouldn't be weird to approach him.

Harry didn't realise that in his daze, Hermione began talking again. She was discussing Hogwarts houses now. She said that she wanted to be in Gryffindor because Dumbledore himself was in it. Harry couldn't understand why that would be a good thing, but he supposed that no one else knew the same Dumbledore he did.

She said goodbye promptly and left with Neville to continue looking for the toad. She did suggest they change into their Hogwarts robes soon. Harry wasn't sure how long they had been on the train, but he had to agree with her. Ron was still mumbling about the spell as Harry reached into his trunk and pulled out his robes. He took his wand from the pocket of his jacket and slipped it off.

He didn't see a point in changing into his button-up shirt, so he pulled a plain jumper over his head instead. It was tempting to slip the leather jacket back on, after all, it would adjust to fit him regardless of what he was wearing, but he decided against it. He felt a bit awkward changing into his trousers, so he folded them neatly and opted for walking down the corridor to the bathroom soon.

"I reckon the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," Harry said, trying to sound positive. Ron stopped complaining about the failed spell and smiled at him slightly.

"Thanks," he said as he reached into his back and pulled out his own robes. Harry suggested they walked to the bathroom together, and Ron agreed. They changed in about three minutes and made their way back to their compartment, talking about houses.

Harry put his neatly folded muggle clothes into his trunk with his leather jacket on top. The robes he wore had a nice pocket for his wand, and he stashed it away carefully.

They were talking about Charlie, Bill, and Quidditch when the compartment door slid open again. Harry audibly groaned when he saw the new occupants. Three boys entered, and Harry recognised the middle one at once: the Malfoy boy. He was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown back in Diagon Alley.

It took a minute for the boy to recognise Harry because his hair was much longer, and visibly more tamed. But his expression hardened at once, "So it's true then? You're Harry Potter?"

Harry smirked, "Ding, ding, Malfoy."

One of the boys next to him practically growled. Malfoy tried to hide his surprise that Harry knew who he was, but it was obvious what he was thinking. Harry knew he should've been intimidated by the thickset and extremely mean-looking boys on either side of him, but he wasn't. They didn't look like they could properly hold a wand, let alone understand how to attack someone.

Harry wondered what the boy's first name had been since he and his family referred to him strictly as Malfoy when he spoke again. "Well then, this is Crabbe, and this is Goyle," he said haughtily as if he was still trying to recover. He ignored Ron like he didn't deign to lower himself to speaking terms. "You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

Harry had no idea where he was going with that, but then Malfoy shocked him. The pale boy held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it. Was the Death Eater scum, really, trying to be friends? What did he think of accomplishing by that?

"I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," Harry said a bit coldly.

Malfoy glared at him, and a pale pink tinged his cheeks. "I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly, but Harry didn't let him continue.

"Your people already tried to kill me once, I don't know why I'd just push that aside and be friends," Harry said wryly. He absolutely knew that he should've been more careful in what he was saying and that he was being extremely reckless, but he felt compelled to say it.

Malfoy looked like he was going to say something else, but his goons pulled him back. Without another word, the trio left the compartment, practically slamming the door shut as they went. Ron looked at Harry with a shocked expression on his face. Harry shrugged, "Suppose I should make my hair shorter again."

He took the bright pink scrunchie from his hair and snapped it around his wrist. It was a stark contrast to his tanned skin. He pushed his glasses a bit further up his nose and rested back in his seat. He closed his eyes and focused on his normal, unruly black hair, and felt his hair shorten. When he opened his eyes again, he was pleased to feel his hair had returned to normal.

"You've met Malfoy before?"

"Yea, last month," Harry said and explained his last encounter with Malfoy.

Ron cringed, and they discussed how the Malfoy family were proud Death Eaters. They felt the train slow to a stop, and Harry frowned. He couldn't help but be nervous. The conductor's voice echoed through the train, telling them to leave their luggage on the train, and that they were there.

Harry's stomach lurched with nerves, and Ron looked pale under his freckles. Harry watched as people rushed onto the platform, and he and Ron walked out of their compartment to follow the crowd. When they reached the platform, Harry heard a voice calling: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

And so they followed the voice. Harry noticed it was a man. He was tall and had beady black eyes with a beard and hair that covered most of his face. They walked around a bend, and Harry couldn't stop his gasp. Many people gasped and looked in awe at the castle before them.

The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

"No more'n four to a boat!" The man called, and all the first years filed into different little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Neville and Hermione followed Harry and Ron into their boat, and Harry found himself smiling reassuringly at both Neville and Hermione.

The boat started to move once they were all settled in. It was a wondrous experience that was dulled by a looming sense of dread that flooded Harry's system. He tried to ignore it as they glided closer to the castle. They all ducked as they went under a curtain of ivy and soon found themselves stepping out of the boats.

Harry nervously followed the other students towards the great Castle doors, praying that everything would be alright. At some point, Neville had found his toad and was clutching onto him as if he would disappear.

They walked up closer to the castle, and Hagrid knocked three times. They waited, in anticipation and nerves. This was it.