Harry closed the door of the compartment and sat down with a sigh. He closed his eyes, hoping he could get a few hours of sleep during the ride. He was tired. He and Ron had fallen asleep late the previous evening playing games like Exploding Snap and Chess. He was starting to regret doing so, especially considering Hermione had woken them really early in the morning as well. Then, there had been the usual morning rush of September First where the group arrived only minutes before the train departed, which had tired him even more.

Hermione had been, as usual, really excited to go back to Hogwarts. Harry had a suspicion that she also couldn't wait to finally get Harry's explanation on what had happened the night of the World Cup. He had seen her look at him weirdly many times, as if trying to figure out a puzzle. He knew she was probably dying to ask him his secret. He was thankful that she hadn't asked anything while they were still at the Burrow, but Harry held no illusion that Hermione would keep her restraint now that they were on the Hogwarts Express.

As if she could read his mind, she began. "Now that we are on the Express, will you tell us what happened that night?" she asked.

Harry opened one eye and looked at her. She looked excited, for some reasons. "Can't we wait until tomorrow? I'm tired." he tried, knowing it wouldn't work.

"Nope! You said you would tell us once we would be going to Hogwarts!"

"He said once we were at Hogwarts, Hermione." said Ron with amusement. Hermione sent him a glare, which made the red-head grin.

Harry chuckled. "Will you let me sleep if I tell you?"

Hermione grinned mischievously. "Perhaps."

"That's Hermione-slang for 'No'." commented Ron, making Harry snort. This time, Hermione glared at the both of them.

"Well, that's alright." said Harry, fully waking himself up as the train began to move. "I have something that will shut her up for a few hours, enough to get some rest." he grinned, thinking about the many notebooks filled with notes and ideas he had in his trunk.

Ron laughed and Hermione rolled her eyes. "You guys are impossible." she said with a huff, as if angry. Yet, both could tell that she didn't feel that way. The corners of her lips were twitching upward.

"Fine." said Harry, rising from his seat. Not wanting anyone to burst on their conversation, he lowered the blinds of the window of the door before locking it with a charm. Then, he sat back down and brought his right hand to his right hip, which was where the lightsaber was attached. As it was a cold day, Harry had decided to put on a cloak, which allowed him to hide the hilt. After grabbing it, Harry withdrew it from his belt, but kept it hidden from view.

Harry began speaking as if he was telling the most grandiose of tales. "Now, the story began one morning, in the middle of the country of England. In a moving red train, a young wizard – who was very handsome looking, by the way – was travelling with his two best friends toward the beautiful city of London. But, this young wizard had a troubled mind!" Ron was snickering at Harry's antics and Hermione was rolling her eyes. "While his best mate was trying to talk about the biggest Quidditch match of the century, – a beautiful tale for another time, of course, - the young handsome wizard was thinking about something important! He..."

"Can't you just tell us normally?" interrupted Hermione with hidden amusement.

"Fine!" huffed Harry as if she had just insulted him.

"Hey!" said Ron, laughing. "I was enjoying it!"

Harry let out a small laugh before he continued, this time normally. "Well in short, while we were on the Express to return home, I was thinking about all the times we ended up in danger. To be honest, it was kind of depressing me." His words had the effect of killing any amusement his two friends still felt. "One of those moments that stood out for me was in the Shrieking Shack when we were facing Sirius. We all ended-up wandless. If Sirius had truly been a murderer out for my blood, we wouldn't have come out alive."

"You're right." said Hermione with a shudder. Seeing this, Ron brought an arm around the brunette witch, who burrowed into him. The sight of his two best friends made him smile.

"We would have been toasted." said Ron with a nod.

"Indeed. So, the idea came to me to have another weapon other than our wands in case we ended up in a similar situation. I wanted something that was compact and that wouldn't stand out right away to a wizard. I also based myself on all my previous experiences, such as the Basilisk and Aragog to think about what would be a good weapon for these situations. The problem was that I couldn't figure out what I wanted... until something happened."

He didn't continue, instead grinning. His two friends look at him with impatience. "Well?" finally snapped Hermione. "What happened?"

Still grinning, Harry answered. "You invited us to your home."

He could see that his answer had confused his two friends. While Ron was simply looking at him incredulously, Harry could see that Hermione was thinking deeply. Her eyes weren't really focused on anything as she stared over his left shoulder. Suddenly, she gasped.

"No... you didn't!" she said. Harry grinned even further.

"Did what?" asked the confused Ron.

"Ron, what did we do in my house?" asked Hermioneé

"We watched movies." he answered.

"What movies?"

"The Star Wars trilogy." he said. Harry could see when it clicked. His eyes widened in shock before he looked at the still grinning Harry with childish glee. "NO!" he exclaimed. "Don't tell me you built a bloody lightsaber!?"

Harry brought forward his hand with the lightsaber and pointed it toward the ceiling before igniting it. With a hiss, the purple blade of his lightsaber rose, bathing the compartment in purple light. Ron started laughing. "That's amazing!" he said.

"That's incredible!" whispered Hermione. "How does it work?" she asked.

"It's rather complex and would take me a long time to explain but, basically, it's a combination of muggle technology, runes and enchantments. But, the most important piece of the lightsaber is its magical crystal, - I'm calling it the Kyber Crystal, of course – which powers the whole lightsaber magically. It also give its colour to the blade."

"I want one!" immediately said Ron.

"Well, that's good since I wanted you both to have your own. You'll have to build it yourself however, and it will involve brewing a potion." he said. His two friends reacted completely differently, which made him laugh. Ron groaned when he realized he would have to work for his lightsaber while Hermione looked very enthusiastic at the promise of a project.

"Do you have..." began Hermione but, she was interrupted by someone trying to open the door. Harry immediately shut down his lightsaber and dropped it on the empty seat next to him before rising and opening it. He had been expecting Malfoy, so he was surprised when he ended-up face to face with a young girl with long red hair. She had freckles around her nose and sky-blue eyes. She was looking at him timidly. The girl was already wearing her robes, yet she didn't have the crest or colours of any house on her robes, which told him that she was a first year. She seemed familiar. He couldn't help but wonder where he had seen her before.

"Hello." she said shyly. "Is there an empty seat here? Everywhere else is full."

Before he could say anything, Hermione answered behind him. "Of course!" she said. "We have plenty of places. Come inside."

The girl didn't move right away, instead glancing at Harry as if asking for his opinion. Realizing she was seeking his authorization to sit with them for some reason, he decided to smile at her kindly to show he was fine with it. "Sure, come in." he said. The girl visibly relaxed and smiled. Harry couldn't help but think that she looked rather pretty when she was smiling – for an eleven-years-old girl.

"Do you need help with your trunk?" asked Ron.

"Yes, thank you." she said with a smile.

"What is your name?" asked Hermione as Ron helped the red haired girl stow her trunk. "I'm Hermione Granger."

"Ron Weasley." said Ron, giving a last push to the trunk.

"Harry Potter." said Harry.

"Sarah Wintory." answered the girl. Harry was relieved that the girl didn't seem to recognize his name. He didn't know what he would have done if she had started acting like Colin Creevey during the ride. Yet, the feeling that he had already seen her before didn't leave him, so he asked her.

"Did we meet before?" he asked. "I could swear I've seen you before."

The girl suddenly started giggling, as if remembering something very funny. Harry looked at her, confused. "Are you alright?" he asked. Somehow, it made her giggle even more.

"I'm definitely missing something." said Ron as he sat down next to Hermione.

"Sorry, it's just -" she giggled. "I've seen you before. It was when Professor McGonagall brought me to buy my wand at Ollivander's."

Harry blinked. It came back to him. It had been the day he had successfully completed his lightsaber. It had been when he had nearly called Mr. Ollivander a 'crazy old bastard' in front of the Gryffindor Head of House. He groaned, putting his red face in his hands. Sarah was now laughing so hard she had fallen down on the seat next to Harry, holding her ribs.

"What are we missing?" asked Hermione.

"Nothin'." muttered Harry in his hands.

"Oh, I'm sure it's not too bad." said Ron grinning, evidently smelling a good story. "What happened, Sarah?"

"Well –" she started with a hiccup. "I was trying wands at Mr. Ollivander. Professor McGonagall was there, mentioning facts from time to time. Just a few seconds after I found my wand, Harry barged in the room, saying 'Where are you Garrick, you crazy old basta...' and stopped when he saw the Professor. Then, he just said 'Hello, Professor McGonagall!' as if nothing had happened!"

At the end of her tale, Harry's face was burning. Ron was laughing so hard his laughter was echoing in their compartment. "How did Professor McGonagall react?" asked Hermione. Harry could hear the amusement in her voice.

"She said she would have given him detentions for a month if they had been at Hogwarts." And that's when Hermione broke. Their laughter was contagious. Even Harry started laughing. It had been very funny, after all.

As the four were laughing, the door of the compartment opened again. This time, it was the usual and annual visit of Draco Malfoy.

"Well, well, well..." he drawled as the laughter died down. "Seem like we're having fun in here."

"I don't remember asking you to join in." scowled Harry.

"Not like I wanted to join a group like you." he sneered, looking at Hermione and Sarah. Sarah seemed afraid of Malfoy, trying to make herself as small as possible. This gesture angered Harry who rose on his feet.

"Get out." he growled. His tone of voice was very similar to how he had spoken to the Death Eaters at the World Cup. Malfoy's face flashed in surprise for a second before he quickly hid it with a scowl. Silently, he walked away from the compartment, followed by his two bookends. "Idiot." said Harry as he closed the door. Then, he turned toward Sarah. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Sarah nodded. "Who was that?" she asked.

"Draco Malfoy. A rich biggot in House Slytherin." answered Hermione.

"Well... I don't want to be in the same House as him." she said.

"Welcome to the club." said Harry with a smile as he sat down. "Ouch!" he suddenly exclaimed.

"Are you alright?" asked Sarah with concern.

"Yes." he said. "I just sat on something." he said looking down at the seat. It was his lightsaber. Harry grabbed it and sat back down.

"What's that?" asked Sarah, looking at the lightsaber.

"Huh, it's..."

"It look like a lightsaber!" she whispered. Harry gaped at her for a second before he realized she was talking about the Star Wars props. Yet, she had seen his face. She seemed as quick and bright as Hermione, yet as excitable as Ron as her face immediately showed glee. "It's really a lightsaber?" she asked.

"Yes." said Harry, figuring there was no point in hiding it from her. Also, part of him couldn't help but feel like she could be trusted, for some reasons. "But, don't tell anyone, okay?" Sarah shook her head and pretended to zip her lips. "Thank you." he said.

"Can... can I see your lightsaber?" she asked. Before he could answer, Harry heard Ron snort, followed by an exclamation of pain. Hermione had evidently elbowed him in the ribs. Harry sent a glare toward his best mate before he pointed the lightsaber up and ignited it.

"Wow!" she exclaimed. "That's so cool!" she said, looking at the purple blade. Harry let out a laugh. "Why is it purple?" she asked.

"It's because of the crystal in it. It gives it's colour to the lightsaber."

"Like a Kyber Crystal?" she asked.

Harry let out a laugh. "Exactly like it. You're a Star Wars fan, aren't you?" he asked, knowing Kyber Crystals weren't mentioned by name in the movies, if at all.

Sarah nodded. "I've read a few of the Expended Universe stories."

"Cool!"

"Anyway, how does it work, Harry?" interrupted Hermione. "You never answered."

Harry pressed back on the button to power-down the lightsaber. He attached it back to his belt. "I did. I said it would simply be too complicated to explain now and I'm too tired to do so." said the fourteen-years-old boy. When he saw Hermione pout in disappointment, he added "Look inside of my trunk. I have four notebooks inside where I wrote my thoughts, ideas, plans and concepts while working on it. Start with the black one."

"Really!? Thank you!" said Hermione excitingly before he went to Harry's trunk, opened it, grabbed the four notebooks, sat back down and began reading the black one.

"While you do that, I'm going to sleep a bit." said Harry, leaning back and closing his eyes.

"Sarah? Do you play chess?" he heard Ron ask.

"Yes! I'm really good at it! I was the best at my school."

"You mean Ron might have found someone who can beat him?" said Harry, immediately opening his eyes and straightening out his back. "I've got to see this."