Diagon Alley

When I open my eyes I'll be at home in my cupboard.

"Pessimist," Ron muttered, only for Harry to elbow him in the side.

He sat up and Hagrid's heavy coat fell off him.

"That should prove it wasn't a dream," Hermione said. Harry just shrugged.

Harry scrambled to his feet, so happy he felt as though a large balloon was swelling inside him.

"It's the happy balloon," Fred and George exclaimed. Harry grinned, shaking his head in amusement.

Harry tried to wave the owl out of the way, but it snapped its beak fiercely at him and carried on savaging the coat.

"Don't mess with owls from the Daily Prophet. They can get vicious," Remus said with a small grimace.

"You sound like you speak from experience," Harry said. Remus grinned.

"Your idiot godfather thought it would be a good idea to annoy one that was delivering my paper in our fifth year. It didn't end well for him," Remus said, amusement evident in his voice. Harry grinned, loving learning anything about his parents. Snuffles whined slightly and Harry laughed, even as he reached over to scratch Snuffle's head.

Look in the pockets."

"Which pocket?" Neville asked.

"Best be off, Harry, lots ter do today, gotta get up ter London an' buy all yer stuff fer school."

"He made you do that when he was getting up anyway," Mrs Weasley asked.

"It's fine Mrs Weasley. I learn better from hand-on experience anyway," Harry said with a shrug, trying to placate her.

He had just thought of something that made him feel as though the happy balloon inside him had got a puncture.

"Not the happy balloon," George and Fred cried out.

"I haven't got any money — and you heard Uncle Vernon last night… he won't pay for me to go and learn magic."

"Your parents left you money Harry," Remus said gently. Harry shrugged.

"I didn't know that."

"But if their house was destroyed —"

"You thought wizards kept their money in their house?" Bill asked.

"I was eleven. And anything I had heard about wizards, which wasn't much since the Dursleys didn't let anything to do with magic in their house, including shows or fairy tales, had them hoarding their gold like dragons in muggle stories do."

"Goblins?"

"I was shocked as well," Hermione said. Many other muggle-borns murmured agreement.

Never mess with goblins, Harry.

Hermione and Ron looked at each other over Harry's head and sighed.

"Harry's going to rob it," they sighed.

"No, I'm not," he protested.

"I'm sorry Harry, but yes you are," Hermione said gently.

"And with your luck, you just jinxed it too," Ron added, causing Harry to scowl. The exchange wasn't missed by those who had been part of the multi-house group and a few of them exchanged uneasy looks. It was one thing for them to joke about it, but it was another for the trio in question to say it, since they knew each other best.

Fetchin' you — gettin' things from Gringotts — knows he can trust me, see."

Many of the teachers who had taught Lily and James groaned, knowing how something like that would cause either of them to investigate. And most of them knew that Harry had inherited both of their curiosity.

They settled down in the boat, Harry still staring at Hagrid, trying to imagine him flying.

Many people frowned, trying to imagine Hagrid flying.

"I still can't picture it," Harry said.

"He probably used a Thestral," Luna said dreamily. Harry nodded in agreement, thinking that that would make sense, especially since he couldn't see them until the start of that year.

"How did your relatives get back if you took the boat though?" Hermione asked.

"No clue. I didn't ask. But they were back before I got back from Diagon Alley."

"They say there are dragons guardin' the high-security vaults.

"That better not be true," Charlie growled at Bill.

"I don't know. I don't do vault security," Bill said hands raised in surrender against his normally laid-back brother; he knew better than to test Charlie. After all, Charlie was the one who worked with dragons.

Yeh'd die of hunger tryin' ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat."

"Unless you're Quirrell, apparently," Harry muttered under his breath, causing Hermione and Ron to nod in agreement. Luckily, Remus and Snuffles were far enough away that they didn't hear since the trio wanted to keep things quiet for as long as possible.

"Ministry o' Magic messin' things up as usual," Hagrid muttered, turning the page.

"No, we don't," Fudge exclaimed.

"Yes, you do," was muttered by the members of the DA, but not loud enough that any of the ministry workers could work out who had said anything.

Bungler if ever there was one.

"Do not insult the Minister," Umbridge cried. Everyone ignored her.

So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin' fer advice."

"Not anymore," Dumbledore said quietly.

"Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there's still witches an' wizards up an' down the country."

"We do more than that," Percy said. The twins turned to him, fierce expressions on their faces as they addressed their brother that had abandoned them.

"Really?"

"We would have never known."

"Especially since everything else that the Ministry,"

"Claim to do, never works."

Things these Muggles dream up, eh?"

"And you say I don't have tact," Ron said.

"You don't. And you know Hagrid would stand out no matter what, regardless of what he says," Hermione replied.

"Hagrid really wasn't the best option though," Tonks said.

"But they didn't think that Harry wouldn't know about magic or anything," Charlie reminded Tonks, who shrugged.

"Crikey, I'd like a dragon."

Minerva sighed again, not liking where this was going.

Neville glanced over at the trio on the couch, wondering if there had really been a dragon that night.

"You'd like one?"

"Bet Hagrid's the only person who would ever want a dragon as a pet," Lee said. Ginny grinned, glancing over at Charlie.

"I don't know. I know someone else who would like a dragon as a pet," she said slyly, eyeing her older brother, who noticed her look and grinned at her.

Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.

"Still don't know what that was meant to be. I never saw it again."

Harry unfolded a second piece of paper he hadn't noticed the night before, and read:

"How did you not notice it?" Fred asked.

"You notice everything," George added.

"I'd like to see you have your whole world and life's beliefs changed in one night and still notice everything."

"Touché."

2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

"Still don't know why we wear those," Seamus said.

"Don't you remember Halloween in first year Seamus? Pretty sure I found a great use for them," Harry called over, his resentment towards his year-mate having disappeared as they read. Seamus looked thoughtful for a moment, as did the other Gryffindors in their year, before he grinned, clearly remembering what Harry was meaning.

"Yeah, that's true."

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS

"Had that been a rule long?" Hermione asked.

"About twenty year; it was put in place in our second year. Why do you ask?" Remus said.

"Just the way it says that parents are reminded, making it seem like it was a new thing and that they'd forget. Like they'd be able to have brooms in their first year when they were students," Hermione explained.

"That's true. It wasn't a rule when we were at school," Mr Weasley agreed. Snuffles barked and Remus grinned.

"That was your father's fault. I can tell you the whole story at another time, but it had something to do with lots of arrogance, trying to show off, and water balloons filled with many liquids that weren't water. That was just the last straw on top of the many accidents from first-years who brought their own brooms that believed they were better in the air than they were and the injuries caused from it over the years," Remus said with a grin.

Could there really be piles of wizard gold buried miles beneath them? Were there really shops that sold spell books and broomsticks?

"Yes, yes, and yes," Ginny said.

Might this not all be some huge joke that the Dursleys had cooked up?

"Did you really think the Dursleys had enough brains to make that up?" Lee asked.

"Didn't they have no imagination?" Ginny added.

If Harry hadn't known that the Dursleys had no sense of humour, he might have thought so; yet somehow, even though everything Hagrid had told him so far was unbelievable, Harry couldn't help trusting him.

"You trust too easily boy," Moody growled.

"He really doesn't. He barely trusted any of our dorm or Hermione until after Christmas and that's people his own age; even the first spell he learnt was to protect himself since he didn't trust us; he learnt how to lock the curtains around his bed so no one could do anything to him while he was asleep. And adults are a whole other story, and they've just proven to him over the years that they can't trust him no matter how much he tries to convince himself that he can trust the teachers at school," Ron disagreed. Harry didn't say anything, not knowing what else he could say.

In fact, Harry had the most peculiar feeling that only he and Hagrid could see it.

"That's because muggles can't see it," Remus explained gently.

"And I was meant to know that how?" Harry asked with a pout.

"Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at Harry, "is this — can this be —?"

"And so, it begins," Harry said despondently, slumping slightly in his seat and gaining laughs from those in his group, all who knew how much he hated his fame.

The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and silent.

"That must have been a first," Amelia said.

"Welcome back, Mr Potter, welcome back."

"Where did you go Harry?" Luna asked.

"I'm not actually sure Luna. I never actually disappeared as far as I'm aware. I always knew where I was," he replied. His response generated laughs from his friends and he grinned.

Everyone was looking at him.

Ron suppressed a spark of jealousy that threatened to ignite, reminding himself that Harry didn't ask for his fame, that Harry hated his fame.

"So proud, Mr Potter, I'm just so proud."

"I actually have to ask. What was everyone proud of? I was a baby, I didn't actually do anything," Harry said, making everyone in the hall pause for a moment in thought, though no one answered.

He remembers me!"

"That would have just encouraged him," Minerva said softly with a sigh, making Filius and Pomona laugh quietly, both remembering the excitable student that Diggle had been.

"Harry, Professor Quirrell will be one of your teachers at Hogwarts."

Harry, Ron, and Hermione glared at the book, as did the staff who actually knew what had occurred at the end of the year that Quirrell had taught DADA for.

"Was he…?" Ron asked, trailing off his question as he knew Harry would understand. Harry thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"Not then," he replied.

"Why do you think that?" Hermione asked.

"No turban, and he shook my hand," Harry replied, his answer making no sense to anyone except Ron and Hermione.

"But that raises the question though," Hermione said.

"Yeah, when?" Ron agreed. Harry tilted his head, thinking back to his conversation with Quirrell at the end of that year.

"The next day, since he'd failed then," he said.

"That does make sense," Hermione agreed.

"Yeah, I can't see him taking failure well," Ron said.

"That," Harry agreed, snapping his fingers and pointing at Ron. Everyone else in the hall were exchanging looks, all of them completely confused by what had just occurred between the trio.

"P-P-Potter," stammered Professor Quirrell, grasping Harry's hand, "c-can't t-tell you how p-pleased I am to meet you."

"Damn stutter," Ron muttered, quiet enough that his mum couldn't hear, since she would probably yell at him for making for of his speech impediment.

"The stutter really wasn't necessary," Hermione agreed just as quietly.

"What sort of magic do you teach, Professor Quirrell?"

"Did he actually teach us anything?" Lee wondered aloud.

"A bit more than Lockhart," Fred said thoughtfully.

"Definitely more than the Toad," George agreed.

"D-Defence Against the D-D-Dark Arts," muttered Professor Quirrell, as though he'd rather not think about it.

"He can't teach if he can't even talk about the subject," Moody said gruffly, the thought echoed silently by Amelia and Kingsley.

"He didn't teach, not really," Michael Corner said, echoing what Lee had said earlier, since Lee's comment hadn't been loud enough for the whole hall to hear.

"He did teach us more than Lockhart and the Toad though," Anthony replied, getting quiet laughs from the DA at the Toad reference, as well as the few students who were starting to pick up who they were referring to when they mentioned the Toad.

He looked terrified at the very thought.

"He was definitely terrified of why he was at the Alley," Hermione said quietly, remembering what he was actually there for.

Even Professor Quirrell was tremblin' ter meet yeh — mind you, he's usually tremblin'."

"He wasn't before his year-long sabbatical though," Pomona said thoughtfully. Severus grimaced, being one of the few who actually knew the full story about why Quirrell had gone after the stone, meaning he was one of the few who knew why he had begun acting how he had, and he hadn't learnt until after the fact; the staff that did know that Quirrell had gone after the stone just thought he was greedy.

They say he met vampires in the Black Forest, and there was a nasty bit o' trouble with a hag — never been the same since.

"Wish it had only been a vampire and a hag," Ron said bitterly.

"Would have saved us a lot of trouble," Harry agreed. Remus was looking between the trio, becoming slightly worried about what they were talking about.

The brick he had touched quivered — it wriggled — in the middle, a small hole appeared — it grew wider and wider — a second later they were facing an archway large enough even for Hagrid, an archway onto a cobbled street that twisted and turned out of sight.

"I love Diagon Alley," a muggle-born first year said, with many other muggle-borns agreeing; it was a magical sight, the first time even more so, especially if you weren't raised around magic.

Snuffles let out a huff of air in the best sigh that a dog could do, Sirius lamenting the fact that it should have been Lily and James or him that took Harry to Diagon Alley for his first time.

Harry wished he had about eight more eyes.

"I did too," Hermine agreed.

"Same," most muggle-borns said.

"Eight eyes, really Harry," Ron moaned.

"Sorry mate. In my defence though, I didn't realise that my thoughts were going to be publicised."

"Yeah, that's a goblin,"

"They were a little scary the first time I saw them," Hermione muttered to Harry, who nodded in agreement.

Of finding more than treasure there.

"I do like that poem," Luna said in her normal dreamy voice.

"Like I said, Yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid.

"Well, we always knew Harry was mad," Ron said after sharing a look with Hermione. Harry didn't even try to argue, knowing that they were probably right and with his luck he, though more than likely they, would try to rob it for one reason or another in the future; he at least hoped he would have a good reason.

The fact that Harry didn't argue was caught by many and caused concerned looks to be exchanged between those who had been part of the multi-house gathering during the break. They had all thought that breaking into Gringotts was one of the more extreme things that they wouldn't read about; if they actually did read about the trio breaking into Gringotts, what else would they read about them doing?

"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of mouldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers.

"I don't think he would have like that," Bill said, shaking his head at Hagrid's actions.

"It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."

"Hagrid, you really shouldn't have said that," Minerva groaned, her head in her hands, muffling her words. She honestly couldn't blame Potter for being curious if that were what Hagrid had said.

"Especially in front of Potter," Severus agreed, remembering how curious Lily always was.

"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked.

"What was in there?" Dean asked.

"See. I'm not the only one who would be curious," Harry exclaimed, getting groans in reply from many of the teachers.

"So you do find out," Colin said eagerly.

"What was it?" Dennis asked.

"You'll see," Harry said with a secretive smile, causing many students who wanted to know to groan. There were a few, however, who made the connection between the title of the book and what would be in the vault, since it had to have been mentioned for a reason. Those people were wondering why the Philosopher's Stone had been taken to Hogwarts, and especially at the same time that Hagrid had been with Harry.

More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."

"That just makes me more curious," Tonks said with a laugh, not having made the connection since she had forgotten the title of the book.

"And you're not eleven," Charlie added with a grin which was matched by his friend.

Harry tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible.

"It's impressive that you remembered that much," Neville said.

"It really is. The tunnels are enchanted to prevent people remembering how they get to their vault," Bill said.

"How do you know that? I thought you weren't part of vault security," Charlie said lowly, glaring at his older brother.

"I'm not. I only know that because I was part of the warding team who had to renew the wards that summer after the break in," Bill said quickly, trying to calm his brother down.

Once, he thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late

That made Charlie glare at Bill even more, causing Bill to move his chair away from his brother slightly, not willing to face Charlie's share of the explosive Weasley temper.

"I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"

"Don't answer that Hermione. I know now and I like Hagrid's answer better," Harry said quickly as Hermione opened her mouth to answer his question.

Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid.

Many people laughed or chuckled at the answer.

All Harry's — it was incredible.

"That's only your trust vault," Remus said.

"Only my what?" Harry asked in shock. He had thought that that was his only vault.

"Your trust vault. You get access to the main Potter vault when you come of age," Remus explained. Harry just gaped at him.

How often had they complained about how much Harry cost them to keep?

"But you didn't cost them anything. They never even bought you anything," Hermione growled. Harry put his hand on Hermione's arm to calm her down and a quick look reminded Hermione that they had already started working on a plan for the Dursleys.

"He didn't cost them anything. They were given £300 a week from a fund Lily and James had created to go towards Harry's upbringing should anything happen to them," Dumbledore said.

"Which they clearly didn't spend on him," Minerva hissed.

Ron glanced towards his two friends and snapped his fingers to gain their attention, quickly signing what Dumbledore had said, since they had missed it during their exchange.

"That just gives us more ammunition then," Hermione said, quickly pulling the parchment out of her pocket where she had stashed it. She summoned the quill that was lying next to Fred, since the quill they had been using during the break had been left in the Room of Requirement and started quickly writing down what they had just learned and how they could use it. Harry and Ron just shrugged and left her to it, since they knew not to disturb her when she had that determined look on her face. Fred didn't even protest the theft of his quill when he saw Hermione's determined face.

"Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?"

"Why? They're fun," Harry commented, causing amused expressions to appear on his friends faces.

"One speed only," said Griphook.

"Hagrid must have annoyed them. There are various speeds for those that are pregnant, with young children, or who simply ask to go slower," Bill said. Then again, he thought, Hagrid did put mouldy dog biscuits on a teller's desk.

They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Harry leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, but Hagrid groaned and pulled him back by the scruff of his neck.

"Harry, I have to ask. Do you do anything without putting yourself at risk of bodily harm?" Hermione asked. Harry smiled sheepishly at her, while rubbing the back of his neck slightly at the small sting of Hagrid grabbing his neck how he had, but didn't reply.

Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole.

"That's high security," Bill said quietly, knowing that if he said it any louder then Charlie would probably get worked up again.

He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away.

"Cool," Colin breathed.

"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin.

"Lovely," Hermione said, looking slightly ill at the thought. She wasn't sure she wanted to actually go down to any of the vaults at Gringotts now, knowing that; she was happy to just keep exchanging muggle money.

Something really extraordinary had to be inside this top security vault, Harry was sure, and he leaned forward eagerly,

So did most of the students in the hall.

Harry longed to know what it was but knew better than to ask.

"If only that lasted," Ron said quietly to Hermione, leaning across Harry to prevent Harry from hearing. Hermione had to muffle her laughter and Harry mock scowled, guessing they were talking about him and his curiosity.

"Listen, Harry, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron?

"Hagrid!" many of the adults in the hall exclaimed.

"You left him alone. He was eleven," Mrs Weasley protested, at the same time that Minerva hissed,

"You left him to get a drink."

"Got the lot here — another young man being fitted up just now, in fact,"

"Oh, did you make a friend?" Tonks asked happily. Harry smirked.

"Not exactly," he replied, not entirely sure how else he could say that he met his school rival while getting his school uniform.

Across the hall, Draco had paused, remembering that he had met Potter in Madame Malkin's that day.

In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face

"Oh," Tonks said, realising who it was.

"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy.

"What good is that? The wand chooses the wizard," Hermione said.

"It can sometimes make wand selection easier if the wand maker has a judge of their personality from a family member. Not often, but sometimes," Remus explained.

He had a bored, drawling voice.

"He really does," Parvati said.

I think I'll bully father into getting me one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."

"Wouldn't have to smuggle it in if he was good enough to get on the team," Fred said.

"Then again, he doesn't have enough talent for that," George agreed.

Harry was strongly reminded of Dudley.

"I'm not like that filthy muggle," Draco protested.

"Sure, you aren't," Harry agreed sarcastically.

"No," Harry said again, wondering what on earth Quidditch could be.

Most of those who were or had been on the quidditch teams looked scandalised.

"That's fixed soon enough though," Ron said.

"Be glad that Oliver didn't hear that," Angelina called over. The Quidditch team all paused before they all shivered in horror, all of them thinking about what Oliver would say and do if he had heard.

"I do — Father says it's a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house,

"Hence he had to buy his way on," Harry agreed.

"Of course. We can't have the Malfoys committing crimes," Fred and George said dramatically, causing laughs to erupt from those who had heard.

"Well, no one really knows until they get there, do they, but I know I'll be in Slytherin, all our family have been — imagine being in Hufflepuff, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

"Hey," exclaimed the Hufflepuffs, as well as anyone who had friends in Hufflepuff.

He's a sort of servant, isn't he?"

"He's not a servant," Charlie said vehemently.

He was liking the boy less and less every second.

"I agree," Neville said.

I heard he's a sort of savage — lives in a hut on the school grounds and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting fire to his bed."

"No, that only happened once and it wasn't Hagrid's fault," Remus said with a grin, while Snuffles panted happily in as much of a smile as a dog could manage, his head tilted in almost a proud manner.

"Should I ask?" Harry asked cautiously, glancing at the way Snuffles was sitting in apprehension.

"I'll tell you the full story some other time, but it involved your dad and godfather, along with too much fire whiskey and game of truth or dare with Hagrid," Remus replied.

"I think he's brilliant," said Harry coldly.

"He is," Charlie agreed.

"Oh, sorry," said the other, not sounding sorry at all.

"How uncouth," Daphne Greengrass said, glaring at the boy in question. She was joined by a few of the more neutral Slytherins.

"But they were our kind, weren't they?"

"I'm pretty sure they were human, yes. Although I have been told that my dad could act like an animal at times," Harry said, gaining laughs from the few who knew about them being Animagi.

"They were a witch and wizard, if that's what you mean."

"That's a very political answer," Mr Weasley said with a nod of approval.

"Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose," said the drawling boy.

"Unfortunately," Harry and Ron said.

Anyway, what does he know about it, some o' the best I ever saw were the only ones with magic in 'em in a long line o' Muggles — look at yer mum! Look what she had fer a sister!"

"No thanks," George said.

"Would prefer not to look at the horse if we can help it," Fred agreed.

It's like — like soccer in the Muggle world

"What's soccer?" a pureblood Ravenclaw asked.

"Like Quidditch in the muggle world," another Ravenclaw answered absently, not even realising what they had said. Their friends clearly noticed though, if the laughter surrounding that Ravenclaw was any indicator.

Everyone says Hufflepuff are a lot o' duffers, but —"

"Hagrid," Pomona exclaimed.

"I cut him off Professor. He was probably going to say how being loyal and hardworking is a good thing," Harry said quickly.

"I bet I'm in Hufflepuff," said Harry gloomily.

"That wouldn't have been bad though. Hufflepuffs are nice," Harry said thoughtfully, ignoring the fact that they had turned on him multiple times throughout his time at Hogwarts.

You-Know-Who was one."

"Not all Slytherin's are bad," Harry said, causing everyone to look at him.

"That's true. They just have more that went Dark than other houses, since I would say anyone who becomes a Dark Lord would have to be more cunning and ambitious above being, say, loyal or chivalrous. That doesn't mean they're all bad," Hermione added.

"And Hagrid was probably speaking from experience when he said that all Slytherin's were bad," Harry said.

"I was trying to find out how to curse Dudley."

"We will corrupt you yet," Fred and George exclaimed.

He couldn't stop stammering his thanks, sounding just like Professor Quirrell.

Harry glared at the book, hating the fact that it had compared him to that coward, regardless of the fact that it had been written from his thoughts.

A magic wand… this was what Harry had been really looking forward to.

"It's what everyone looks forward to," Bill said.

Meanwhile, Harry was paling slightly, having just realised that everyone would find out about the connection his wand had to Voldemort's; that was something that only Dumbledore and Sirius knew; he hadn't even told Ron or Hermione.

For some reason, the back of his neck prickled. The very dust and silence in here seemed to tingle with some secret magic.

"Really, that's impressive," Kinglsey said.

"Impressive instincts. Imagine if he was trained," Moody agreed.

"You felt that?" Ginny asked. Harry nodded, not understanding why everyone was shocked by that.

"Only those very sensitive to magic can pick up on that," Remus explained, noticing Harry's confusion.

"I felt it too," Luna said.

Nice wand for charm work."

"Lily was always good at Charms," Filius said.

Those silvery eyes were a bit creepy.

"Agreed," was heard by many around the hall.

A little more power and excellent for transfiguration.

"Transfiguration was his best subject," Minerva said with a proud smile.

Remus heard the comment and grinned, an expression echoed by Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Snuffles; they couldn't wait until McGonagall found out just how good at Transfiguration James had been; the Order only knew that Sirius was an Animagus, and they didn't even all know that he was one, and none knew that all three of them had done it.

"But you don't use them?" said Mr. Ollivander sharply.

"Of course not," Lee said dramatically.

And of course, you will never get such good results with another wizard's wand."

"Too true," Ron said, glancing at his wand and remembering how much harder Charlie's owl wand had been.

Neville glanced at his own wand thoughtfully, wondering if that was why he struggled in classes so much. Maybe he should write to his gran.

Harry tried. And tried.

"How many did you try? It only took me four," Hermione said.

"Seven," Ron agreed.

"Um, I stopped counting after about twenty-five," Harry admitted with a sigh, knowing that his secret would be coming out very soon.

The pile of tried wands was mounting higher and higher on the spindly chair, but the more wands Mr Ollivander pulled from the shelves, the happier he seemed to become.

"He does like a challenge," Dumbledore said.

He raised the wand above his head, brought it swishing down through the dusty air and a stream of red and gold sparks shot from the end like a firework, throwing dancing spots of light on to the walls.

"Natural Gryffindor," Remus said with a grin, causing Harry to sink into the couch even further, wondering how everyone would react when they heard about his sorting.

Well, well, well… how curious… how very curious…"

"What's curious?" many people asked. Harry buried his head in his hands.

It is very curious indeed that you should be destined for this wand when its brother — why, its brother gave you that scar."

"You-Know-Who's wand is a brother to yours?" Neville asked. Harry nodded, not lifting his head from his hands, even as Snuffles moved over to him and lay his head on Harry's knee in comfort.

"That doesn't change anything though. I mean, Harry's wand has always been a brother wand to You-Know-Who. That doesn't change who Harry is now that we know about it," Ginny said, joining Ron and Hermione as they glared at anyone shooting Harry looks.

"And brother wands can't fight each other. Not properly," Remus said thoughtfully, trying to remember the wand lore that he knew.

"I know. It's the only thing that saved my life in June," Harry said quietly, lifting his head to look at Remus.

After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things — terrible, yes, but great."

"Is he complimenting You-Know-Who?" Amelia asked, shocked.

"Not the man, no. I'd say more of the magic itself," Dumbledore replied.

Everything looked so strange, somehow.

Many muggle-borns nodded in agreement, remembering how they felt after their first trip into the magical side of Britain.

"Everyone thinks I'm special,"

"You are special," many of the DA said, making Harry duck his head, blushing.

I'm famous and I can't even remember what I'm famous for.

"Let's go back to those not remembering days," Harry muttered, even as many people looked at him in surprise, shocked to hear that he didn't like his fame.

But yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts — I did — still do, 'smatter of fact."

"I do have a great time at Hogwarts," Harry agreed.

"Around all our crazy adventures," Hermione added.

"Eh, wouldn't be as fun without the risk," Ron added with a shrug; he had been terrified at the time during many of their 'adventures', but looking back, they had just made the trio closer.

See yeh soon, Harry."

"He didn't tell you how to get onto the platform," Neville said.

"I worked it out though," Harry added, grinning at the Weasleys.

Harry wanted to watch Hagrid until he was out of sight; he rose in his seat and pressed his nose against the window, but he blinked and Hagrid had gone.

"That's the end of the chapter," Filius announced as the book fell silent.

"Well, that was probably the least exciting chapter there is," Ron said.

"Well, that and the train," Harry agreed. Remus groaned; if that was the least excitement in a chapter, then he was slightly worried about what they got up to at school. He was really hoping that they just pulled a lot of pranks, even though he knew that they didn't, since he hadn't heard anything about the trio being pranksters, but he could hope.

A few minutes later, after allowing some time for discussion, Filius cast the spell again.

The Journey From Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.