"Who did what?" Severus demanded. "Are you certain the Dark Lord is gone?"

"Look at your arm, Severus," Lucius said. "The Dark Mark is completely gone this time, not merely faded as it's been since 1981. We're finally free of him. As to who, Sirius Black was among those working with the Unspeakables to find the Dark Lord's horcuxes. He found one in his ancestral home, stolen by Regulus who died in the effort but not before ordering his house elf to destroy the item. The elf, which is now bonded to the Malfoys, proved unable to do so, but once Pettigrew's testimony hit the Daily Prophet and he heard me speak of turning in an artifact that the Dark Lord entrusted to my keeping as a possible horcrux. Kreacher started bewailing his failure to complete the final task Regulus set him and I ordered him to identify the item for Sirius. As it turned out, Sirius had access to a second horcrux as well. The Dark Lord entrusted one to Bellatrix Lestrange, and Sirius found it in the Gringotts vault that reverted back to Black family control with the conviction and life sentences of all three of the Lestranges."

"Wait, are you saying Sirius Black destroyed the Dark Lord?" Severus asked in disbelief.

Lucius chose his words carefully. Severus might guess the truth, but he refused to outright divulge it to his friend. "Sirius had an appointment with the Unspeakables this morning, I know that much. He didn't tell me who else might be there or what the meeting was about. However, to the best of my knowledge, Sirius had no other connection to the Unspeakables aside from his previous and inadvertent custody of those two horcuxes."

Severus gazed contemplatively at his newly-unmarked arm. Could Black have somehow managed to locate Harry Potter without Dumbledore knowing about it? Or was it possible that the prophecy he'd overheard a part of on that long-ago day was false, a desperate attempt by a desperate alcoholic to find steady employment? He didn't know what to think. "You know more than you're telling me, don't you?" he asked.

"I do," Lucius admitted. "You work for Dumbledore, and it's no secret that I distrust the man. I don't believe you would deliberately divulge any secrets I might choose to tell you, but at the same time, I can't ignore the possibility of him finding ways to learn things you wouldn't tell him. As Headmaster of Hogwarts, he controls the wards. The portraits report to him. The school's house elves consider him the ultimate authority. I know you're a Master Occlumens, but he's a Master Legilimancer and I know for a fact he uses legilimancy on students when he feels the need, so I have to assume he also uses it on the staff."

"Professor Dumbledore does what?" Severus looked appalled. "How do you know?"

"He tried it on me in my fifth year," Lucius said calmly. "He believed I was somehow involved with that group caught brewing and selling illicit recreational potions, and attempted a probe when I denied it. However, my father taught me occlumency starting when I was ten years old, so by fifth year I already had a mindscape in place and defenses against probes. I didn't bother reporting it, because who would believe a Slytherin fifth year over Headmaster Dumbledore?" He paused and added, "I know you can keep the man out of your mind, Severus, but we both know that when emotions run high, even a Master Occlumencer's thoughts might run close enough to the surface to be picked up by passive legilimancy and not just active probes. We also both know you have, shall we say, a bit of a temper and a grudge over an incident in your past. Can you honestly say Dumbledore has never said something that seemed innocent on the surface but at the same time, seemed calculated to cause the most possible emotional or mental turmoil?"

Severus shook his head slowly. "I can't," he admitted. "The man has an uncanny knack for phrasing things in the most infuriating way possible. Merlin, I can't believe I never noticed it."

"Dumbledore might have been a Gryffindor," Lucius said, "but I'd wager the manor that he came very close to being in Slytherin. He's certainly more cunning and manipulative than half of those who were sorted there."

"He is," Severus agreed sourly. "I suppose you would prefer I didn't tell him the Dark Mark vanished?"

Lucius shrugged. "Considering he's at the ICW until Wednesday, so long as you wait until he's back and don't owl, firecall, or otherwise seek him out before his scheduled return, I don't care if you tell him or not. I'm sure he'll pull his disappointed-grandfather act on you about it, but since you're well aware of the meaning behind the Dark Mark vanishing, you can counter that it didn't seem important enough to warrant an immediate report. The Dark Lord has been gone for a decade, after all, and this is merely proof that there is no longer a chance of him returning."

Severus nodded. "Yes, that's reasonable enough," he said. Changing the subject, he asked, "How much trouble should I anticipate from having Draco in my House?"

Lucius chuckled. "Possibly none," he said. "I suspect Draco might break with tradition and be sorted somewhere other than Slytherin. Between the intervention of muggle healing allowing Aurora's birth, and discovering that a clear majority if not all of so-called muggleborn are actually descended from squibs, we Malfoys have learned to appreciate that muggles and muggleborn have much to offer the wizarding world. Draco is determined to try to aid any muggleborn students in his year rather than ignore or even hinder them. Ambitious enough for Slytherin, perhaps, but clever enough for Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff's willingness to take on a difficult task. I suppose there's even enough bravery in accepting such a challenge to satisfy Gryffindor, but I do hope he won't be sorted there – red and gold are just so garish!"

Severus stared at Lucius for a long moment, completely gobsmacked. And then laughed aloud at his old friend's final comment.

After a Sunday at Kensington Palace playing with Wills and little Harry, followed by Sirius bringing him back to Stephen's place on his motorcycle, Monday found Harry bouncing eagerly on his toes as he waited for Stephen to finish getting ready so they could go to Diagon Alley for his school supplies. Stephen finally emerged, chuckling at the boy's enthusiasm. "Do you want to try to hold your hair and eye colour today, or do you want your glamour?" he asked.

Harry thought for a moment. "Glamour, please. I'm supposed to be a muggleborn, so I don't want to have to explain how I've managed living among muggles with hair that changes colour if I can't manage to hold it steady."

"Mmm, good point," Stephen agreed, giving Harry his usual brown-hair-and-eyes look for the excursion. "Got your list?"

"Right here," Harry waved the parchment. "We've got to go to Gringotts first, though, right?"

"Yes, so that Garnok can officially recall your keys from Dumbledore and set the official audits in motion," Stephen confirmed. "Since Sirius filed for custody of you on Saturday, with a little luck, he'll be officially granted that today as well. And since Dumbledore is off at the ICW, he won't know about any of it before Wednesday evening if not Thursday morning."

Harry nodded. "Good. Is it time to go yet?"

Stephen laughed. "Sure, we can go now." He reached for the floo powder and tossed it into the fire. "Diagon Alley!" he called before stepping into the green flames with Harry.

They emerged from the public floo near Gringotts and made their way to the bank. Once inside, they quietly requested to speak with Garnock, who informed them that the Ministry had already confirmed Sirius as Harry's guardian. The goblin gave Harry his personal trust vault key, cautioning him that anyone in possession of the key would have access to the vault, so he needed to be careful not to lose it. A cart ride to the vault, which had Harry whooping with excitement, gave him the opportunity to scoop a seemingly impossible number of coins into a small pouch. On Stephen's advice, Harry also purchased a self-updating ledger for his trust vault so he could keep track of his expenditures.

Upon leaving the bank, they paused to decide on the best use of their shopping time and headed for Madam Malkins first. Harry could get his robes fitted and then return to pick up the altered garments later in the day, after they bought everything else he needed for Hogwarts. Stephen was glad they were the only ones in Ollivander's, as the elderly wandmaker made several insightful yet creepy statements regarding Harry's holly and phoenix feather wand. On his return to Madam Malkins to pick up his robes, he 'met' Draco Malfoy and his parents, and after a friendly exchange with the blond boy, agreed to go to Fortescue's together.

On the way to the ice cream parlour, the two boys noticed a severe-looking witch escorting a small group of three students who looked about their age; a tall black boy, a girl with dark auburn braids, and a girl with wildly curly brown hair, along with five obviously muggle adults. They appeared to be heading towards the archway to the Leaky Cauldron, carrying the results of their shopping.

"… the Express leaves at precisely 11:00 on the first of September, from Kings Cross Station, Platform 9-3/4," the witch informed the group in a no-nonsense voice. "The portal to the platform is the pillar at the far end of the platform between tracks 9 and 10. The children can simply walk right into and through the pillar. Unfortunately, it will not work for muggles, to prevent any accidents caused by someone merely leaning against it, so you'll need to bid your children farewell on the muggle side."

One of the men, the father of the girl with the frizzy curls if his own hair was any indication, nodded. "Thank you, Professor McGonagall, for taking the time to escort us into Diagon Alley and help us find our way around." The rest of the parents added their thanks as well before the professor took her leave.

The group started to move towards the Leaky Cauldron when Harry and Draco raced over. "Hi," Harry called. "We're starting our first year at Hogwarts as well. Would you like to get some ice cream with us before you leave? We've been hoping to make some more friends, so we'll have a big group to sit with on the Express."

Three eager faces turned pleading eyes on the parents. Five adults sighed. The two couples nodded, but the black woman shook her head. "I'm sorry, Dean, but we're already running late, and I have to pick up your sisters from the sitter's."

"Ma'am, where do you live?" Stephen asked as he and the Malfoys approached the group in time to hear her answer. "If you're willing to leave your son with us, I'd be happy to bring him home later. I'm muggleborn myself, so I know how to get about London without difficulties."

She wavered. "Are you sure? We don't live all that far, but I don't like the idea of Dean taking the tube by himself. I trust him, mind, but he's so tall, I always worry that he'll be harassed by gangs thinking he's older than he is."

Stephen smiled. "It's no trouble at all," he said. "And I'm sure Dean will enjoy getting to know a couple more of his future classmates. I'm Stephen Coyner, by the way, and this is my distant cousin Lucius Malfoy and his wife Narcissa."

"Clarice Thomas," she said. "Good to meet you. All right, if you're sure, then you can stay if you'd like, Dean. Mind your manners and if Mr. Coyner asks you to do something, do it."

"Thanks, Mum," Dean said happily. "And thank you as well, Mr. Coyner." He waved as his mother hurried through the archway to the Leaky Cauldron.

The other parents introduced themselves as well, the adults following the children as Harry and Draco led the way to Fortescue's. Draco led off the conversation. "I'm Draco," he said, "and this is Harry. He's muggle-raised although not muggleborn, and Cousin Stephen has been tutoring him for a couple of years now. I've always lived in the wizarding world, but I went to school with Harry last year. It was amazing!"

"I'm Dean, as you heard," Dean said with a smile. "I was surprised when I got my letter, but Mum said that my father vanished not long before I was born. She wondered, after I got my letter, if maybe he could have been a wizard who decided he didn't want to have to explain magic to her. But there's no way to know, of course."

The girl with the braids smiled as well. "I'm Sophie," she said. "My letter was a surprise, of course, but my gran who lives with us, she said her gran used to tell stories about magic and seeing unicorns and fairies and stuff. She said she always thought it was just made-up stories, but maybe her gran really did see such things. I hope I get to see a unicorn someday!"

"We get to pick electives for our third year," Draco told her. "One of the electives is called Care of Magical Creatures and I think unicorns are covered in that class. I'm not sure, though, neither of my parents took it."

"My name is Hermione," said the girl with the wild curly hair. "Both of my parents are dentists, so thank you very much for inviting me for ice cream – I usually only get it at my birthday and Christmas!"

The kids all giggled at that as they queued up to order their ice cream. Once they'd all placed their orders, Draco asked, "What's a dentist?"

Harry answered that one. "You know how a lot of muggle healers have specialties, like the one who helped your mother have Aurora? A dentist is a muggle healer who focuses on caring for the mouth and teeth."

"Which classes are you all most looking forward to?" Hermione asked. "I can't decide if Transfiguration or Potions looks the most interesting, although Charms looks as if it could be fun as well. I think it's a pity we can't take Ancient Runes until third year, but it ought to be interesting to compare the Astronomy class with muggle astronomy. And of course, History of Magic must be so fascinating…" she broke off as Draco and Harry both started laughing, looking hurt.

"I'm sorry, we weren't laughing at you," Harry said hastily when he saw her expression. "It's just, History of Magic is taught by a ghost and he's dead boring – pun fully intended."

"Father says the only way to get decent marks in History of Magic is to wear earplugs in class and read the book on your own, because Professor Binns only ever lectures about goblin rebellions and he drones on so much that nearly everyone considers that class to be nap time," Draco elucidated. "Mother says the same thing, and she actually got a NEWT in History of Magic. She's one of maybe half a dozen people to do so in the last fifty years or thereabouts, mainly because no one wants to put up with Binns longer than they absolutely have to."

Hermione looked appalled. "Why don't they get rid of him? And how can a ghost teach, anyway?"

"Supposedly Binns was the History of Magic teacher while he was still alive," Draco said. "Supposedly he died of old age in his sleep but his ghost just got up and carried on as usual, almost as if he didn't realise he was dead."

"I really like history, too," Harry said. "Stephen's going to try to find some of his old History of Magic exams so I'll know what I'll need to know to pass them, but I'm planning on doing the earplugs and self-study so that I'll actually learn something other than how to fall asleep at a desk."

All five kids laughed at that. Then Dean asked, "What sports are done at Hogwarts?"

"Quidditch, of course," Draco said. "What else is there? Well, I guess there's quadpot, but that's pretty much an American game."

Dean looked stricken. "No football? How can there be no football?"

Harry grinned a bit. "Because wizards are a lazy lot?" he said. "I think they're all allergic to the idea of actually running about and doing things physically when they can just wave their wands and do things by magic. But if you've got a football, bring it with you and we can at least kick it about some. Maybe some others will join in. Who knows? We might even get enough players for a proper game."

Draco turned up his nose. "Not me," he said promptly. "Football is fun to watch, I admit that, but the players always get so… dirty!"

"If you think footy is bad, Draco, I'll get Stephen to show you his tapes of American football sometime," Harry said. "I can't make heads nor tails of the game, especially not why they call it football since they hardly ever kick the ball, but a good lot of it appears to consist of knocking down members of the opposing team."

"Speaking of teams, who do you support?" Dean asked. "West Ham here!"

"Arsenal, if I have to choose," Harry said. "I enjoy playing although I'm not very good, but I'm not as keen on watching, at least not on the telly."

Sophie shrugged. "Dad likes Man U, but I don't really follow any teams."

Hermione sighed. "Crawley Town, since I live there, although I'm with Harry that footy isn't my favourite thing to watch. Or to play, for that matter. I'd rather be reading."

Draco grinned at Hermione's words. "Looks like we've got a Ravenclaw with us, Harry, what do you think?"

"Probably," Harry said. "Which is fine with me, I'd like to be a 'Claw myself."

Hermione tilted her head. "Oh?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "I like learning, and I want to do well. Of course, I'm willing to work hard for it, so I could fit Hufflepuff as well."

"While being brave enough for Gryffindor and ambitious enough for Slytherin," Draco teased. "Maybe you won't get sorted, you'll get rotated through the Houses instead."

"Professor McGonagall made it sound as if Gryffindor was the best House," Hermione said. "So of course I want to go there."

"Professor McGonagall is also Gryffindor's Head of House," Draco pointed out. "Of course she'll make it sound like the best house. Father said she's fair in how she treats students in her classroom, but she has got a bit of bias in favour of her House, especially when she's speaking with prospective students."

"Honestly, Hermione, if you like to read and study, I don't know if Gryffindor would be a good fit," Harry said. "From what I've been told, Gryffindor House as a whole is a bit, well, think a house full of football hooligans. Keen on sport, any excuse for a wild party, and no real respect for academics. Overall good sorts, from what I've heard, but definitely not people who will respect your study schedule." He hesitated, and added, "Mind, I'm not saying that Gryffindor is a bad House to be in, just that it's likely to be, erm, uncomfortable for you. Especially since you seem so enthusiastic about studying."

Hermione's face fell. "Oh… I'd really hoped Hogwarts would be different. That maybe I'd stop being a misfit because I'd be with other witches and wizards." She ducked her head. "That's why I thought you were laughing at me earlier," she mumbled. "Because I'm always the bossy, bushy-haired, bucktoothed, bookworm."

Harry reached out and put his hand over hers. "Well, you've got a friend in me," he told her softly. "I've been bullied before and I know how bad it can be. I can't promise I'll never laugh at something you say, but I won't be laughing at you, you know?"

"Thank you," she murmured, staring very hard at her empty ice cream dish.

Draco hesitated, but said, "I do have a suggestion, though, and this is for all three of you. The way you're used to acting, in school and such, I've learned over the last year going to school with Harry that muggle culture is a lot less formal than wizarding culture. Harry's said a few times that what we consider polite and proper behaviour seems like something out of Victorian times if not the Regency period to anyone raised in the muggle world. A lot of people will look down on you just because your parents are muggles, but also because they think you won't respect our traditions."

Hermione looked concerned. "But how are we supposed to know wizarding traditions?"

Draco smiled. "Thank Stephen for going to my father about that issue. Father is on the Hogwarts Board of Governors, and he pushed through that Wizarding Culture class that everyone will take first year. It's not as in-depth as it could be, but it does give a decent overview. That said, there are a couple other books that I think you'll find useful to help you get along with people."

"Books of etiquette and manners," Harry added. "They're not bad, actually. They explain when to bow and curtsey, stuff like that. Things the muggle world mostly doesn't do anymore, unless you're meeting the Queen or something."

Dean blinked. "Seriously? Bowing and kissing hands? That's just… different."

"That's what Stephen pointed out to my parents," Draco said. "That muggle customs and manners have changed enough that it was no wonder muggleborns kept getting it wrong, but also that since no one bothered to actually explain to the muggleborns how to get it right, wizards were making the problem worse. That people new to the wizarding world didn't realise they might as well be going to a foreign country and they ought to be the ones learning how to fit in, because we still live in Britain."

Sophie nodded. "Okay, that does make sense. I wouldn't go to France and loudly complain that snails are nasty and shouldn't be eaten, and I shouldn't come to magical Britain and complain that I shouldn't have to curtsey to anyone because nobody curtseys except to the Queen anymore."

"That's about right," Harry said. "Wizards celebrate different holidays, too. Yule instead of Christmas, for example. Those will be covered in the Wizarding Culture class, but Headmaster Dumbledore stopped celebrating the old ways at Hogwarts a while ago. Oh, they still have a feast for Samhain, but no ritual, and Dumbledore calls it Halloween, with his reasoning being that muggleborn students will be more comfortable with familiar holidays. Never mind that he's denying all the wizarding-raised students the chance to celebrate in the way they're used to, and up until the Wizarding Culture class started, the muggleborn students didn't even know that there were different holidays, much less to ask about the traditions surrounding them."

"You make it sound as if the Wizarding Culture class is a lot more important than I thought from looking at the booklist," Hermione said.

"It probably is," Dean said.

"I hate to say this, kids, but it's time to break up the party," Stephen said, walking over to their table from where he'd been sitting with the Malfoys and Sophie's and Hermione's parents. "Hermione's parents have a couple of appointments later today that they couldn't reschedule for whatever reason."

Hermione sighed. "Well, it's been lovely meeting all of you. Um, can we exchange phone numbers so we can talk between now and 1 September?"

"That's a good idea," Sophie said with a smile.

Hermione produced a biro and a small notepad, writing her name and number four times and passing the pages out to the others. Sophie and Dean followed suit. Draco put down the number for Stephen's rented house in Little Whinging.

"I don't actually live here, it's Stephen's place. But since I live in a wizarding home, we don't have a phone," he explained. "There's an answerphone, though, so if I'm not visiting, leave a message and Stephen will let me know to ring you back."

Harry hesitated a bit before putting down the Dursley's number. "This is my number for the moment, but I might be moving soon, I don't know if it will happen before we leave for Hogwarts or not," he said. "But I'll make sure to let everyone know if my number changes."

Draco shook hands with Dean and made Hermione and Sophie giggle and blush by bowing and kissing their hands. Harry followed suit with the girls before accompanying Dean and Stephen through the Leaky Cauldron and onto the tube for the trip to Dean's home. After dropping him off, Stephen found a secluded spot between the skips and side-along apparated Harry back to Little Whinging.