Year One

Chapter 2

Frank and Alice

Breakfast was finished in a flash due to Harry and Neville's excitement to get to Diagon Alley as quickly as possible. On a normal day, Harry would come to the famous wizard shopping destination, to help Lily gather things for her work. Lily was the head Potion Mistress for the Ministry of Magic, a lucrative position that kept Lily busy all year long but could do from the home. This meant she was able to take care of Harry and keep her passion for Potions alive. This trip today, Harry felt, was purely about him. And Neville, of course. But mainly him. Neville already had his wand, it being passed down to him on his birthday. He wasn't allowed to use it until he was on the train to Hogwarts, though. One of many rules Augusta had laid down for him this year.

The little group arrived outside the Leaky Cauldron Pub where Harry and Neville were dumbstruck by the arrival of the most enormous man they had ever met. He stood a little over 8 foot tall, was wider than the door he was standing in front of, his face was completely covered in hair save for the two shining eyes that were like black beetles. "Well, as I live and breathe. Lily Potter and Remus Lupin, it's been far too long!" The giant boomed.

Neville took one wide-step backwards when the large man stomped forward and grabbed onto Remus's hand, shaking it so hard that Remus was lifted off the ground momentarily. Harry, unphased, fought back the urge to laugh as he watched one of his godparents flail around like a ragdoll.

"Friend of yours?" Harry asked, casually and looking up at his mother.

"Harry, Neville, I'd like you both to meet Rubeus Hagrid." Lily announced, happily. She didn't need to take Hagrid's hand for shaking because the huge man bowed to Lily as if she were a member of royalty. "A pleasure as always, Lily Potter. And Harry!" He boomed. Harry did flinch a little when he was directly spoken to. "Blimey, I ain't seen you since you were a baby, Harry. You used to be able to fit right in the palm of me hand. Look just like your dad, you do. Good to meet yer again, mate!" Said Hagrid, patting Harry on the head so hard that Harry felt his knees buckle.

Neville snorted, giving his presence away. He had been managing to hide stealthily by Remus – who was still a partial dizzy from the handshake – when Hagrid looked down at him. "And of course, how could I mistake Alice Longbottom's son for anyone else but yourself!" Hagrid boomed. He chuckled heartily when Neville gave him a shaky wave. His cheeks had turned bright red, and Harry could see a struggle there. Not many people mentioned Neville's parents so openly.

"It's so good of you to come here Hagrid. I did wonder who Dumbledore would send." Said Lily. She saw Harry give her a suspicious look, but she ignored it. "I hope we're not putting you to too much trouble."

"Not at all!" Hagrid laughed. "Be good to get out of the castle for a bit. Lots going on lately. Also, Mr Dumbledore has given me a top secret job to do!"

"What's that then?" Harry enquired. He was promptly poked in the back by his mother. She recognised the innocent voice. It was a tone of voice that Harry adopted in order to get things he wanted. Often things that no one his age should be allowed. For instance, spells or charms he'd wheedled out of Peter and Remus. "Just being polite!" Harry defended himself.

"Hogwarts business I'm afraid, young Harry." Hagrid told him with great importance. He tucked his thumbs into the leather belt around his waist and nodded. "Shall we? It's a quiet day so we should have the run of the place."

"Yes." Remus nodded. He was more alert than normal. Even more serious than usual. Harry had seen this kind of behaviour in his family before. It was only now that he fully understood why. Remus was on body-guard duty today. "Augusta already gave me the money for Neville's things. We could split up and meet back here in an hour?" He suggested.

"A good idea." Lily enthused. "It means we can get done quicker and get some lunch at the same time. I need to take Harry to Gringotts first."

"That works out perfectly!" Hagrid beamed. "That's where I'm headed."

"Excellent!" Lily beamed back. She put her arm around Harry's shoulder and hugged him to her side. Harry simply rolled his eyes. He was determined to not let his mother's overprotective ways get in the way of today's mission. All he would have to do is put up with the boring stuff. Once that was would of the way, he could get the real prize. His wand.

As a group they all entered the Leaky Cauldron. There were a few morning customers scattered around the dingy bar. Tom the Barman, who Harry recognised, gave them all a wave. "Good morning, Lily, Remus, Hagrid. Taking young Harry and Neville for their school supplies are you?" He said, pleasantly, cleaning a tankard with a manky cloth. "Lily Potter?" one of the patrons said in a grubby voice. When he spoke, the others all looked up and their eyes immediately zoned in on Harry. "Yes Tom, a big day for them." It was Remus who replied. Harry was feeling very uncomfortable because of the stares. However, when Remus spoke they all looked and instantly shied away from him. It was always handy to have Remus around if you wanted peace and quiet in public. Most wizards knew all the hallmarks of a werewolf when they saw one. Even one like Remus who did his best to blend in with Wizard society.

"Blimey, bunch of nosey buggers!" Hagrid boomed. Not bothering to keep his voice down when the group passed through. Harry and Neville both laughed. "I tell you, you'd likely get more attention if you drew a lightning bolt on your head and called yourself the chosen one or something!" Hagrid kept up his rant until they reached a wall in the back of Tom's inn.

"Well, when you're this good looking." Harry said, brushing his hand through his messy hair. "I can't really blame them for staring."

"Ha, just like your old man!" Hagrid said, meaning it to be a compliment.

Harry smiled awkwardly. A week ago, it would have pleased him to be compared to his father. In a way it still did. It was different now, though. Harry felt as though he now had a responsibility to live up to the memory of his father. So many people seemed to know James. They liked him, loved him. They saw him as a hero. It was a very big responsibility and even Harry, determined as he was, didn't know where to start. But he would find a way.

When the passageway to Diagon Alley opened, Hagrid hadn't been wrong about the street being empty. Normally the place was bustling with people running back and forth to get their things. Harry had heard from one of their neighbours that the lead up to school returning, Diagon Alley was heaving with crowds eager to get the best buys. Harry knew why this wasn't the case. Lily had chosen to leave it all last minute. She wanted the streets to be quiet. In a way it was better. It meant they could enjoy the day. On the other hand, it was another reminder of why Lily was so paranoid about Harry's safety. It only confirmed that she still believed Harry to be in danger.

"Right then." Remus said, placing his hand on Neville's shoulder. "A quick trip to Knock-turn Alley for us?"

"What?!" Neville gasped in fear.

"Not fair!" Harry complained.

"I'm kidding!" Remus said quickly, raising a hand to cut off anymore drama. "I'll take Neville to get his books."

"The one time you try having a sense of humour." Lily teased.

"I know." Remus said, mocking a sigh and turning from them. "My time will come. Come, Neville. Perhaps we'll find a joke book on our travels."

"Nice to see he's lightened up over the years." Hagrid said, once Remus and Neville had disappeared down the Alley.

"He's tried to." Lily sighed. "Sadly, he's been a 65 year old man since he was 11."

The conversation continued like this, with Lily and Hagrid swapping old stories about "The old gang." Harry once tricked Peter into sharing who the old gang were and found it all very fascinating. "The Old Gang" as they were commonly known in public, were part of a secret order that had once fought against those who served Lord Voldemort. Harry had only met a handful of the members, but he knew that his mother, Remus, Peter and Severus – in double agent status – all worked for the Order. He'd later learn that it was Albus Dumbledore himself that created the order. Most importantly to Harry, his dad had been a member as well. Given that Voldemort was gone, and his forces defeated, Harry wondered if there would ever be a need for such a group again. If so, then he would make sure to join up. It only made sense that James Potter worked with Albus Dumbledore. And it made even more sense that Harry should as well, if called for it.

Gringotts was a tall white building that was guarded by goblins. It was common knowledge that Gringotts was the best place to keep something safe. Mostly because Goblins were sneaky, secretive and very powerful beings. That Harry liked to annoy.

"Oh my god, what's wrong with that child, mommy?!" Harry had yelled, pointing at one of the goblins in mock horror. Harry often played a game where he pretended to be a muggle-born – a young wizard with very little knowledge of the new world they were entering - whenever he saw a new goblin at the door of the bank.

"I'm going to kill you." Lily said through gritted teeth. She slapped his hand down and gave him a gentle shove forward. "I swear if they try to attack you, again. I won't stop them."

"I gave as good as I got the last time." He beamed, thinking of the last time he'd mistaken the goblin at the door for a new one, only to realise he'd made that joke before and the goblin attempted to attack him. Harry was pretty good at fighting and only sustained one black eye and a bruised knuckle from that fight. It was the two week grounding with constant house-work and gardening that really hurt Harry.

"A scrapper, eh?" Hagrid asked. "If you ever need any tips on Muggle fighting, I'm a big fan of their boxing. I could show you a thing or…" Hagrid was cut short when Lily glared at him. Harry thought it was very impressive that his mother could make a man Hagrid's size cower in fear. Didn't do any good for his own bravery when it came to Lily, mind. "Er, right, well. I'll just go and take care of the thing…erm…meet you back here in a bit?"

"You best do that, Hagrid." Lily said. Her teeth hadn't quite unclenched yet. Only when Hagrid winked at Harry – who snorted – and wandered off in the opposite direction, did Lily's mouth relax when they were approached by a woman. "Hestia!"

"There's my favourite Potioneer!" Hestia Jones, in Harry's mind, was a very annoying person. Tall, thin and quite attractive, with long brown hair and soft brown eyes, she was one Lily's oldest school friends. Which was the only reason that Harry put up with the strangeness of the woman. "And my little man, excited to go to school?!"

"Super duper excited!" Harry answered back, making his voice sound really excited to mask the huge amounts of sarcasm that was dripping through each word he spoke. Not missed by Lily, Harry received another poke in the back, this time harder than the one before. "Ow." Harry muttered.

The two woman embraced, hugging for an exceptionally long time, or it just seemed longer to Harry because he wanted to get away from this annoying lady as fast as possible. It had always been the same way. Hestia would act as if she hadn't seen Lily in forever and always treat Harry like he was "Special" always speaking enthusiastically and being over friendly. He once asked Severus – who was usually dutifully honest with him – if Hestia was under any kind of weird enchantment to make her that annoying. Severus denied any knowledge of such a thing. Severus found her annoying as well. Hestia did have one use in Harry's mind though. She was a curse breaker for Gringotts. This put her in a very high position which was good when you wanted to get your gold fast.

It was only politely that Harry followed behind his mother and Hestia. The two woman were prattling on about a holiday they were planning to take, once Harry was off to school. Feeling slightly like a third wheel, he let his eyes wander the bank, taking in the faces of the people there. With no one of interest, Harry followed Lily and Hestia through a large door to one of the luxury carts. Harry liked these. Unlike the carts that most people have to use, which were rickety old things with no handles or soft seats. The Luxury carts were cushion soft, had seatbelts, glided like a cloud and didn't make you want to throw up.

"I really do like the idea that beach." Hestia was saying to Lily. "Warm, secluded. We could get up to anything we wanted and not worry about it." She said, giggling. Harry felt shivers going up his spine when he heard that giggle. He'd heard that giggle before, only it was a laugh and he was the one doing before he did something, risky.

"Mrs Potter!" A little goblin squeaked enthusiastically. "Welcome, welcome. And I see you've brought the little brawler with you!"

"There will be no fights today, Griphook." Lily said, looking away from Hestia long enough to give Harry a stern warning with her eyes.

"Oh, common, Lil!" Hestia chuckled. Lil, Harry hated that Hestia called his mother Lil, no one called Lily, Lil, it just didn't sound right. "He's a growing lad, he's going to get into plenty of fights at school."

"Not if he wants to live to see second year, he won't!"

"Eh…shall we?" Griphook suggested.

The tip into the vaults wasn't a particularly exciting thing for Harry. The Potter vault which could be accessed only by members of the Potter family was located deep beneath the earth. Harry wasn't entirely sure what his grandparents had done for a living in their youth but whatever it was, it had meant that the Potters were very well off when it came to money. Granted, it was something that Harry never had an interest in. Books were cheap, he didn't like brooms and parchment literally grew on trees. It sometimes annoyed Lily that her son never asked for much. Harry felt it was a good trade for the trouble he's been since birth.

Once the gold was retrieved and Harry and Lily said goodbye – finally – to Hestia. They re-joined Hagrid who, when asked, "So, how did the secret mission go?" By Harry, acted all shift and nervous until Lily bailed the giant out of answering. Harry was too focused on getting his wand to be interested in anything that a teacher would need. He imagined it was a rare spell-book or artifact of great use. And so, focused on his own mission. It started with clothes. Getting Hogwarts robes was very important, school clothes as well, books, potion ingredients and even Hagrid had surprised Harry by getting him a birthday present in the form of a small, fluffy, black kitten. First years were allowed to bring either an Owl, cat or toad to school. He had planned on bringing Hedwig, but she was the family owl and so, this little kitten would do. "I dub thee," Harry said, pausing briefly to check the sex of the kitten, "Novaria!"

"Novaria?" Lily had asked, confused by the name.

"Nova for short." Harry beamed. Nova, as she was now called, mewed in acceptance of the name and climbed up onto Harry's shoulder, where she remained. "See, loves me already. Thanks Mr Hagrid!"

"Just call me, Hagrid." Hagrid gushed, trying to hide the blush on his cheeks. "Now, I've made sure she's got talent. The shopkeeper told me that she follows commands well and can apparently fully communicate with the one she is bonded with."

"Fully communicate how?" Harry asked, curiously.

"Beats me. But she'll listen to you and that's the main thing." Hagrid chuckled.

"Well," Lily said, reaching out to lightly tickle the top of the kitten's head. "We've got one last thing to get."

"Yes!" Harry said, jumping a little and nearly knocking Nova off his shoulder. "Oh, sorry."

"Mew." Nova responded, sounding slightly annoyed.

"I'll be more careful." Harry promised.

"Mew."

"Pfft, bossy, aren't you?"

"Mew." Nova said apologetically.

"No need to apologise, it's all new. We'll get there." He assured her.

"Mew."

"Ha, me to!" Harry told Nova, starting to head towards the wand maker's shop.

"Wonderful." Lily sighed, looking up at Hagrid in annoyance. Hagrid took a careful step backwards. "Now he's got someone to share secrets with that I can't bully into telling me about."

"Ah! Lily Potter!" An elderly man called out pleasantly when Harry and Lily stepped through the door. Hagrid was too big and so had to wait outside for them. Mr Ollivanders shop was the number shop for wands and had been for centuries. He beamed with joy when he saw Lily and even more so when he saw Harry. "And Mr Potter, I'd been wondering when I'd see you here."

"Hello, Mr Ollivander." Said Lily, giving Harry a slight nudge forward. "Yes, we tried him with Fleamont's wand, but it didn't take." She told him. Harry was reminded of the disappointing moment when he had been handed his grandfather's wand and nothing, not a single spark erupted from the wand to signify that it now belonged to Harry. Disappointed, he admitted but there was something about a new wand, a wand of his own that appealed more.

"Well, you've come at the right time. You're the very last on the list which means you've got the run of the place." Ollivander said, staring directly at Harry. He meant this to be a good thing.

Harry didn't approve of this knowledge. His eagerness to have his wand was his obsession and had been for as long as he could remember. He didn't like that so many other children were right now playing with their wands, trying out first year spells while he was wandless and untrained. Eagerly, he stepped towards the counter.

"Right then, where shall we begin?" Ollivander asked, clapping his hands together and clearly speaking to himself rather than Harry. Who was trying not to drool over the many wands that were in the shelves around the shop. "Ah, let's try this one," He suggested, taking one down and opening the box, "Excellent for charms!"

In his eagerness Harry took the wand and held it like he had been using wands for years. This came from watching all the wizards and witches around him. He had studied the many wand holding techniques and decided some time ago to fashion his own. He held it lightly, between his fingers, twirling it and testing it's flexibility. "A natural." Ollivander commented, followed by Lily saying, "If this boy didn't know how to old a wand, I'd swear he wasn't my son." Harry, instantly twirled the wand and aimed the tip at Lily, saying loudly. "Orchideous!" When nothing happened, except a large pile of compost falling out the tip and onto the floor, instead of the flowers Harry intended to give his mother, he felt instantly disheartened.

"Don't worry, Sweetheart." Lily said, reaching out to stroke his cheek soothingly. "It's not the right one." She assured him. She took the wand from him and handed it back to My Ollivander, who got to work finding the right one. "I appreciate the gesture, though." She whispered, sneaking a kiss to the tip of his head when Ollivander wasn't looking.

"Mew." Nova had been quiet since they stepped through the door but had also nuzzled her face into Harry's cheek. He suddenly felt better, more enthusiastic.

It was something of a long process. Ollivander kept bringing wands back and the more Harry tried to use them, the more he was beginning to fear that something was wrong. He was capable of doing magic. He knew he could do spells. And yet, no wand was working for him. Each one he tried failed and caused nothing but chaos. The fear was growing, and he was beginning to think perhaps he had somehow lost his powers before he could get his wand. Until-

"I wonder." Ollivander said, mysteriously disappearing into the back for a few minutes. A frustrated Harry counted the seconds before the old man returned, this time holding a black and gold box which stood out among all the wands that Harry had been shown so far. "Given the history, this may just work."

For some reason, Harry feared this box. It looked so out of place that just being near it made his skin vibrate. Deeper, inside of himself he felt a strange pull towards it and for a moment, fear gripped him. He looked up at his mother, who nodded encouragement, though was watching the box warily. Harry unconsciously shrugged the shoulder that Nova was sitting on and she was up on her paws, sniffing the air around the box. Harry drew a breath and reached out. Ollivander opened the box and Harry took the wand that was inside. The moment it touched his skin, the wand shot red sparks into the air and for a moment, Harry could have sworn he heard a voice echoing in the back of his mind. He was sure, in that moment, the wand had just picked him and not the other way around.

"Curious." Ollivander muttered. "Very curious."

"What is?" Lily demanded to know. Harry was still staring at the wand, measuring it with his eyes. He was barely aware of the conversation, barely aware of what he was doing except looking at the thing his heart had desired for so long. And now it was his. Nothing could taint this moment.

"As you know, Lily. I remember every wand I have ever sold. Every, single, one." He replied. "You see the phoenix feather that came from this wand gave another. Just one other. It's curious to me that Harry be destined for this wand. When it's brother, Took James Potter from us."

Needless to say, the wand mission didn't end on such a high note as Harry would have liked. It wasn't until Remus and a slightly distraught looking Neville, appeared that Harry and Lily were able to put aside what Ollivander had told them.

"Neville?" Harry asked. There was a strange kind of instinct that took over Harry whenever Neville looked upset or afraid. He didn't have a name for it, but it took over when he saw the devastation on Neville's face. "What's wrong?!"

"Nothing." Neville mumbled, Looking down at the ground.

"We ran into Arthur Weasley." Remus told Lily.

"That no good, criminal?!" Hagrid boomed. "What did he do?"

"Nothing exactly." Remus said, holding his hands up to calm the two adults. "He mostly spoke to me but did mention, Frank and Alice to Neville."

"He what?!" Lily snarled. Her fury was so quick that it made Harry and Neville jump back in fear.

"There is no point getting upset." Remus said, placing a hand on her shoulder. She shrugged it off and looked as though she was ready to take her wand out. "He's long gone. He was getting things for his son, Ron. He'll be in first year with Harry and Neville."

"That vile man!" Lily growled. "If I run into him at the Ministry, I'll make him regret ever betraying…"

"Lily!" Remus and Hagrid both warned.

Lily looked down at Harry and Neville. She calmed instantly and her cheeks flared in embarrassment. She said nothing except to say, "We're going home. I've had enough of this place for one day."

After saying goodbye to Hagrid and thanking him for the kitten, Harry, like the rest of his family, all sat in silence on the journey home. He knew that Remus would make sure that Lily didn't do anything silly to these Weasley people. Right now, for Harry, Neville was the top priority. He didn't know the full story when it came to Frank and Alice Longbottom. Neville had never wanted to speak about it and Harry had never pushed the matter. Something that Neville was deeply grateful for. However, and Harry will never know what prompted Neville to do it, it was two days later when Diagon Alley seemed like a distant memory that he had asked Harry to meet him at their secret spot.

The secret spot being a magic made tree house in the middle of Catchpole forest – a gift from Peter – that only Harry and Neville knew about. Neville was already there when Harry arrived alone, not even with Nova, who had barely left Harry's side the last two days.

"You all right, mate?" Harry said the moment he climbed into the tree-house. As tree-houses go it was very well done. The outside looked old and rickety, but the inside was clean, homely. It had chairs to sit in, books to read, a fireplace, a thick carpet and a fridge that was powered by magic and never seemed to run out of snacks. Harry suspected that Peter refilled it regularly.

"I wanted to…" Neville was pacing back and forth when Harry sat in his usual seat. Neville often needed time to gather his thoughts before speaking. "My parents are in St Mungos!" He eventually blurted out.

Harry took a deep breath and nodded. "OK." He said, knowing it would be the only prompt that Neville would need.

"Because you told me about your dad and You know who, and almost everything else I didn't want to lie to you anymore." Neville talked very quickly. He was fumbling over his words a little, but Harry was able to make it all out. "You know how gran always takes me away for the day on my birthday, Christmas and every forth weekend?"

"Yes." Harry nodded. He knew he wasn't going to need to contribute much here.

"Well, it's because a very long time ago a witch by the name of Belletrix Lestrange, tortured both of them into madness." This came as a slight shock to Harry because he was under the impression that Neville's parents were both dead. It had only ever been an assumption. "She did it because they were working for that secret order of Dumbledores. They did it to get information. They never gave in, though. They fought back. I'm very proud to be their son, you know. I just, I never wanted you to feel bad for me because you had it worse."

"Worse?" Harry asked, confused.

"Well, yeah." Neville nodded. "Your dad's dead. He was murdered. Not driven mad and left to rot in St Mungos for the rest of their lives."

"Neville, that's a thousand times worse." Harry said, getting to his feet and putting a hand on Neville's shoulder. "Your parents, my dad, they fought bravely but he died. His pain is over and they're still suffering. I'm sorry you were keeping that to yourself. I really am. And you should be proud."

"We both should be." Neville said, sniffing. Harry wasn't embarrassed by tears like most people were. He could see how hard this was for Neville. And as his best friend, it was Harry's duty to help him out when Neville needed it. "I hope I meet her someday. Bellatrix. She's in Azkaban. I hope I get to meet her, and I hope…"

"Lets just focus on becoming the most powerful wizards in the world first, eh?" Harry suggested, grinning wide. "Then we can get to work on avenging our parents."

Neville smiled wide. "Yeah, agreed."

It was nice to know why Neville was the way he is. Harry couldn't understand the reason that Augusta was so hard on Neville, but it didn't make it right. He tried to think what it would have been like to visit James Potter in St Mungos if he had been driven mad by dark magic. Harry wasn't sure if he would have been as brave. He now had an even greater respect for Neville. And he would make sure that his best friend would one day get the revenge he desired most by helping him become as great a wizard as Harry believed Neville could become.