Author's note: going back through and editing this story in several ways. The chapters currently published will be changed, but there should also be some new chapters added.

Lucy scowled at the mirror in frustration. Sometimes she still didn't recognize herself; her blue eyes and blondish hair still startled her. The features of a girl had become slightly more familiar over the years, but it still felt weird to see the physical differences that showed to all she was a girl. As she got older and started through puberty, those differences were becoming more evident.

She'd been furious at Carver for several reasons. Possibly, she was more mad to discover that she had blonde hair than anything else.

Luckily for him, it was a dirty blonde just a shade off from true brunette. It was very different from Malfoy's own platinum hair. There would have been no choice but to get a buzz cut or dye her hair if it had been the same color as Malfoy's.

"Are you ready yet dear?" her mother called as she walked by.

"Shortly!" Lucy rushed around the room to grab an outfit before her mother could come in and pick something for her.

Clothing and hair was still a bit of a hit and miss operation around the Ogden house. Lucy had never switched from her old life enough to be able to understand fashion. Her mother would often send her back to her room with orders to change. In addition, she'd never quite figured out why there were so many little buttons, clasps, and zippers covering girl's clothing. Despite all the extra frills and needless buttons, there was also a serious lack of pockets. It was the most aggravating thing in the world!

In addition, long hair was utterly miserable. If she could get away with it, Lucy probably would have cut off her hair years. Unfortunately, Mrs. Ogden was part of a traditionalist group of Purebloods who felt that appearances were critically important. Currently, Lucy knew three hairstyles: down and wild, pulled into a ponytail, or braided. Her mother was satisfied with these around the house, but she would subject Lucy to hours of torturous hair pulling to get her hair into a fancy up do if they were going out anywhere.

Despite Mrs. Ogden's frequent feelings that her daughter was somewhat of a wild child, everything Lucy did seemed to amuse her father. He would laugh when she came home with scuffed knees and messy hair.

"She's just a tomboy dear. I'm sure she'll grow out of it," he'd grab her hand, "Why, I happen to remember another young lady that used to act the same way. She turned out alright. In fact, I ended up marrying her."

She shook her head, "We'll have to see what Hogwarts and the professors there can do to tame her down."

Today, she doubted that her mother would be satisfied with anything she picked. A visit to Diagon Alley certainly deserved special attention to hair and clothing in her mother's world. She grabbed a sky blue dress. Lucy had discovered that dresses were often the correct choice because she didn't have to worry about trying to match two pieces together. She had started to brush her hair when her mother walked in.

Her lips pursed slightly at the sight of her daughter only half ready to go despite the time.

She snapped her fingers, "Mindy!"

A house elf appeared next to her, "Yes'm, what can I do for you misses?"

Unlike some House Elves, the elves at the Ogden house were treated very well. Mindy wore a sharply ironed dress. She was treated as a servant and never beaten or yelled at.

"Please do the lady's hair in a French braid," Mrs. Ogden instructed as she walked over to Lucy's closet. She wordlessly pulled out a pair of tights in one hand and a pair of white shoes in the other that she handed to Lucy.

Almost an hour later, the Ogden family exited the floos at the Leaky Cauldron. Lucy stumbled a bit and then scowled as she attempted to fix her twisted tights. Tights had to have been created to be a torture device; perhaps the inventor created them after a bad breakup?

"Lucy, stop messing with your tights! Honestly, it looks like you're grabbing yourself. And don't even think about touching your hair!" Darlene called as she crouched down to her daughter's height. Darlene wasn't a tall woman by anyone's standards, but Lucy was positively tine. Most people thought she was eight or younger instead of eleven.

Darlene glanced over her daughter with worry, perhaps she needed more protein? With a sharp jab of her wand, Darlene fixed Lucy's tights. As she started to put her wand away, she noticed an errant strand of hair and waved her wand to fix that too. She started to look over her daughter again when Mr. Ogden caught her eye. He shook his head with an exasperated sigh, so she nodded and put her wand away.

Lucy gave her parents a gentle smile before walking to the counter.

"Mr. Tom, what's today's special?" Lucy asked him.

Tom sent her a conspiratorial smile, "I assume ya'd be asking for ta dessert special?"

Lucy sent him a look of fake surprise, "Is there any other sort special?"

Tom laughed, "Today's special is blueberry pie."

Suddenly glassy eyed, Lucy looked over his shoulder, "A blue special to match a blue and rainy day."

Tom looked at the sunny window in confusion while the Ogdens shared a worried look. More and more, Lucy had been having these episodes. Normally small things like the weather or where a missing animal would turn up. Inevitably, they all ended up coming true.

"Perhaps it'll rain later, but it looks a'right now. How about a slice of pie?" Tom said as he turned to grab the pie.

The Ogdens grabbed Lucy and started to push her towards the corridor, "We're in a bit of a hurry. Maybe it'd be better to stop and chat another time?" Lucy frowned as she realized that she had concerned her parents by having an episode in public.

Tom leaned towards them as he lowered his voice, "Wouldn' be much of me place to go talkin' abou' a little girl's abilities. She's as safe here as she is in Diagon Alley." He slid a plate of warm blueberry pie in front of Lucy, the scoop of vanilla ice cream on top just starting to melt. "Don' look so serious, what could be wrong when there'd be warm pie."

She gave him a small smile before glancing at her parents. Mr. Ogden motioned for her to sit as he gave Tom a serious look. She climbed onto the bar stool and started to dig into the treat. Life at the Dursley's had ingrained a worry that food could be taken away at any time, so she was never one to deny a good dessert.

Tom met Mr. Ogden's stare evenly, "You don' need to look so serious. Lots of people travel through the Leaky Cauldron, but I'm not one given to gossipin'."

Mrs. Ogden placed her hand on Mr. Ogden's shoulder. Seers ran in her family, and she was more comfortable with the idea. Slowly, Mr. Ogden was accepting the idea. It wasn't that he doubted in the existence of seers, more so that he was worried about the future of his daughter. Seers were often taken advantage of.

Tom smiled as he saw Lucy Ogden dig into her blueberry pie. He quietly poured tea into two glasses for the older Ogdens, who both nodded their thanks to him as they watched their daughter.

Darlene looked slightly exasperated, "Honey, it's not going to run away. Try taking breaths between bites."

Robert just looked amused.

Few children realized until they were older that old Tom wasn't just a bar tender; he was also Keeper of the Entrance. Not any entrance, the entrance to Diagon Alley of course. And one of his most important duties as the Keeper was to recognize magical children. That way, if any children were to try running away or someone tried to kidnap them, he would notice and get help. He knew not to let children leave the Leaky Cauldron unattended.

He could still remember Lucy's first visit, when she was just a baby carried in her mother's arms.

The Ogden family wasn't as old and rich as say the Malfoy's or Black's (and honestly few were considering that both families had been around at least since the Founder's time), but they were still quite powerful. They were even more so sense Robert Ogden ad married the heiress of the Wicholm family. Now the Ogden head had the weight and power of two old families.

Poor Lucy, she would be fought after when she came of age. And probably not for her character or personality. Especially if people realized she was a Seer on top of heiress of two old families.

Tom wasn't too concerned about the Ogden family though. They seemed to have a good heiress. Now he was worried for the Malfoy family with its spoiled heir or for the Crabbe and Goyle families, not a brain cell between the two.

He leaned over the counter to fill a wizard's butter beer but stifled a laugh as he glanced back at the Ogden's. He passed Lucy a napkin to clean the blueberry filling from her face. He was glad in a way that she wasn't as serious or uptight as most Purebloods. In Tom's opinion, the Wizarding World was entirely too serious. That's probably why there was a new dark lord every few years.

Sure, Lucy had gone through a phase about four years back when she seemed slightly withdrawn and upset, but she'd quickly seemed to bounce back. Tom had long since explained that phase away with the near death experience she'd had. It was lucky that children could recover from such things so quickly.

Lucy now seemed to be happy. In addition, she was always willing to give a hand to someone in need. Tom had seen times when a witch came in struggling with packages, and Lucy had offered a hand.

Yes, Tom felt, the Ogden family would be alright.

Thirty minutes later, even though the weather was scheduled to be sunny and clear all day, the Ogdens heard the gentle prattle of rain on the roof of the Leaky Cauldron.

Lucy felt something in her chest tighten as she saw her parents communicate without words over her head. Harry had taken over Lucy's body four years ago. Four years of constant love and affection. It had been weird to get used to at first. It was good that she had experienced years with Molly Weasley and that brood, or she would never have been able to handle it. The time with the Ogden's had changed Lucy a lot. She was starting to become more comfortable with hugs and other physical forms of affection. A safe environment so reminiscent of those first few years at Hogwarts before the war started back up was also changing her. She felt happier. It was strange to have parents who cared, a family who loved her. Somehow, she felt that the stakes would be much higher this time around when she had a home to return to.

Sometimes the bond she was starting to form with her parents made her worried. She truly cared for them as her own parents, but she also knew what would be coming soon. Should she try to sever that bond to protect them? Perhaps she should, but Lucy also knew that part of her second chance was having a real family with parents who cared for her. It made more sense today why Carver put her with the Ogden's instead of those monks than it had four years ago. This was Lucy's chance to fix her life. She wouldn't let Voldemort ruin that.

As the brick archway formed, Lucy found herself smiling as she took in the Alley. The Alley was the first magical place she could remember visiting, and she always regarded it with fondness. She looked around at the bright shops and clearly magical sights.

A woman in a tall, pointed hat waved her wand at a several packages. The boxes floated in the air and shrunk – one by one – before drifting into her large carpetbag.

At Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, a new table and chairs popped into existence to deal with the crowds of back to school shopping.

Lucy happily walked with her parents through the massive doors of Gringotts. She wondered if the goblins were trying to compensate for their shortness by making everything else humongous. Perhaps Lucy should try that…

The silver doors still held the same inscription:

Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.

Then she frowned as she noticed several strange markings at the bottom of the doors. They looked sort of like the ancient runes that Hermione had once studied, and she wondered why she'd never noticed them before.

She shrugged, probably runes for some sort of ward. She remembered that Bill, or was it Hagrid, had once told her that the wards were strengthened each time a witch or wizard read the inscription, they were unconsciously donating a small amount of magical energy to them. Ever since then, she'd tried to avoid looking at the door.

"Ogden family vault," her dad said as he handed the glaring goblin a shiny golden key.

Lucy had learned that she had a trust vault for purchases, and that she would be able to access the family vault once she reached majority. She'd been furious to realize that Dumbledore and the Weasley's had probably conspired to hide the Potter family vaults from her. She couldn't help but wonder if there had been pictures of her parents or some other things that they'd saved for her in there.

After a thrilling, if cold, ride to the vaults, her family quickly filled up several money pouches. When they were done, they handed one to Lucy.

"I get one?" she asked. Her parents often filled up money pouches, but they'd never given her one, they would just give her the couple coins when she needed to buy things.

Her mother nodded, "Now that your heading to Hogwarts, we figured it was time for you to learn to handle money. That pouch holds all your spending money for the school year, use it wisely."

On the way back to the surface, Lucy tried again to count the turns they made. Left, right, right, left, right. Soon enough, she last track. She was positive that the goblins just went this fast to make sure any visitors would be thoroughly confused.

Her father looked slightly green after two trips, and Lucy felt it pertinent to keep her mother between them, just in case of unexpected barf.

Walking out, Lucy had to blink several times before she could completely register the situation. A large crowd, complete with paparazzi was blocking the alley. On the steps of the bank, she could see over enough people to see a small opening in the middle. Standing there was what seemed to be this version's Harry.

She was surprised at how different he looked. She remembered herself being small and shy at that age, this Harry had clearly taken nutrient potions, and he stood confidently at a good height for his age. In fact, he almost seemed to be basking in the attention.

In place of baggy castoffs of Dudley, Lucy could tell that he was wearing well-tailored, expensive robes.

Probably the biggest difference would be his hair. Lucy had always had long hair with longer fringe; this new Harry had a short haircut. His black locks were carefully gelled into messy spikes that clearly showed off the famous scar.

"What's going on?" she asked a random woman who was craning to get a glance at the center of the crowd.

"Haven't you heard? Harry Potter had come out for his school shopping! Why, there hasn't been a Harry Potter sighting since Christmas!" the woman said.

Lucy felt herself start to worry. One of the first things she'd done was to change Harry's living situation. An anonymous letter to the Ministry had been all that was needed to get the Ministry to investigate Harry's home life. She knew that they hadn't been seriously investigating, mostly just looking for an excuse to see their precious savior several years before his Hogwarts time, but the loose investigation had soon turned serious. Harry was quickly removed from the Dursleys (who were sent to a muggle prison) and sent to live with a very nice Pureblood family that had no other children.

Lucy could vaguely remember someone telling her in her previous life that the family had been one of the Order's financers, though they hadn't actively fought. So she knew that Dumbledore had used his typical manipulations to get Harry into a family that he could control. And she'd of course heard of the Harry Sightings. Several times a year, Harry would go for highly publicized visits to popular wizarding places like Diagon Alley, but she'd never actually seen one.

Now she worried about what had happened to Harry. How could he be so different in such short amount of time? Was everyone going to be different?

"Horrid event, showing that boy off like a prize pig," her mother complained.

Her father seemed to be contemplating things, "They say that the boy enjoys it, and his pictures would certainly suggest that."

"Then he's become an arrogant pig," her mother drawled. That was clearly the end of the discussion, so the Ogden's began the slow process of sneaking around the edge of the crowd.

On the other side, they spotted a beautiful Italian woman and her son. The pair was charming their way through the crowded streets, winks and flirty grins seemed to be coming nonstop from the two.

"There's Blaise and his mother," Lucy excitedly pointed.

"I swear there must be some veela in them," her mother murmured with a shake of her head.

"Not nearly blonde enough," her father countered as he took in the two.

"Perhaps some sort of Incubus blood?" her mother continued.

Lucy shook her head at the two, but she was grinning. Her parents refused to believe that the Zabini's were completely human, and given their pureblood heritage, it was completely possible that they had married some sort of seductive creature. It would certainly explain the aura of pure sex that surrounded them at all times.

Blaise immediately hugged Lucy. She giggled when she saw the expression on her mother's face when Darlene was forced to kiss cheeks with Mrs. Zabini, her typical greeting.

"I'm so glad that Blaise noticed you on the Gringotts' steps, we've been searching all through the crowd. I so hate crowds," Mrs. Zabini exclaimed.

"She doesn't actually mind; she's already gotten three floo addresses and at least five invitations to supper," Blaise stage whispered to Lucy.

Mrs. Zabini sent them a mock glare, but she wasn't able to hide her grin for long, "Actually six invites, darling, but really, who's counting."

Not even Mrs. Ogden could hide her laughter after that. The group quickly set out for shopping.

Lucy still couldn't understand how exactly she had become friends with the Italian boy, but she'd been glad for his friendship over the years. When she'd first been put into Lucy's body four years ago, she'd had to go to a Pureblood birthday party just two weeks later. Carver had started to fill her in on the proper customs and actions, but she was still in over her head. At the party, there had been a good mix of students. Most of them had been kids that she remembered going into Slytherin or Ravenclaw. She'd tried to stick to the edges to avoid causing a problem, when Blaise came over and stood by her.

Even at seven years old, it was obvious that he was being groomed by his mother. He'd given her a once over and seemed amused by her appearance. Lucy had scowled at him. She'd only become a girl two weeks ago, and it was hard to look prim and proper!

"Do you need something Zabini?" she'd asked.

He'd leaned closer, "I'll fix your outfit if you stay with me for the party."

"What?" she stared at him.

He rolled his eyes, "Your shirt is coming untucked, your hair bow is falling out, your bun has slid from the top of your head to your neck, and one sock is up higher than the other. I don't feel like talking to everyone, but I also can't seem antisocial. I help you, you help me."

Lucy looked into his eyes. She suddenly realized that just because Zabini had been trained by his mother to seek out attention and benefit from it didn't mean that he necessarily enjoyed it.

She held out her hand, "Deal!"

It was the start of what had turned into a friendship. She surprised herself by how much she sometimes enjoyed being around the dry and sarcastic humor of the future Slytherin.

"I'm hoping to keep this visit brief, mostly just to get the necessities," Mrs. Zabini said.

Mrs. Ogden nodded, "We were planning on a more leisurely trip, but we've changed our minds since seeing the crowds."

Mrs. Zabini shook her head, "I can't believe what they're doing to that poor boy. A little attention never hurt anyone, but he was clearly never taught to handle that attention."

The Ogdens quickly agreed, "He seems quite spoiled."

Lucy couldn't believe this! She'd never expected her parents to be part of the group that had started all those rumors about her.

Then she remembered the actions of Harry. Could her getting Harry away from the Dursley's really have changed him that much?

Their first stop was to send Mr. Ogden to Flourish and Blotts with strict orders to buy the school books and not dawdle.

"Of course, he'll probably come back with as many books for himself as for the children," Mrs. Ogden conspired with Mrs. Zabini.

Then they went to Madam Malkin's. Blaise and Lucy already owned an entire collection of casual robes, but they would each needs robes for Hogwarts and the Hogwarts uniform. Luckily, Madam Malkin had their measurements on file, so they only had to order what they wanted and she would owl it to their houses. Lucy was happy that she convinced her mother to buy her three pairs of slacks. Mind you, her mother also bought her seven skirts and gave her strict orders that the slacks were only for the occasional use.

Blaise was the only one to leave the pet store with a pet; Lucy wanted Harry to have the chance to create the memories she'd had with Hedwig – she knew, probably as part of the minor seer abilities that Carver had given her, that Harry would still get Hedwig – and she couldn't imagine getting another pet.

The pet store was empty except for Lucy's group, but she could've sworn that she could hear other voices. After looking behind the aisles filled with cages of Kneazles, toads, magical rats, magical garden snakes, and seeing no one, she wrote it off as her occasionally catching the sounds of the people passing outside.

The Apothecary was as creepy as she remembered it. Dark lighting cast shadows over the cut up animal parts. The horrible smell nearly made her gag, a mixture of rotten eggs and rotten cabbages. Giant barrels of beetle eyes stood next to shelves filled with hearts, spleens, and kidneys of various animals. Different bundles of dried herbs or feathers hung so low from the ceiling that Lucy feared it must occasionally brush the heads of buyers.

In another part of the store, shiny cauldrons were stacked according to size, and knives of vary sharpness hung on the wall. With a shudder, Blaise pointed out a jagged knife with a sign next to it that read:

Poison Knife
Cast iron specially treated in Hag's blood
Perfect for all your poison making needs
Guaranteed sharpness for 100 years

Lucy quickly grabbed a pewter cauldron and filled it with the different things she'd need. She was happy to leave there as fast as possible.

Outside, they met up with Mr. Ogden who was carrying a small bag; Lucy figured it made sense that he would shrink all the books, plus her mother now wouldn't know until they got home how many books he'd bought for himself.

"Alright, the last stop is wands," Mrs. Ogden murmured after a quick check of the Hogwarts' supply list.

That stop was the one that worried Lucy the most. Would she be put with the holly wand? She wasn't sure were the Harry Potter group had gone; Harry could have already taken that wand. Ollivander had had such trouble finding her a wand the first time, what if he couldn't find her a different wand? What if he eventually just gave up and declared that he would be informing Hogwarts that she clearly wasn't a real witch.

As if sensing her internal debate, Blaise put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Lucy took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and led the group to Ollivander's.

She hadn't faced Voldemort to be scared of a silly wand shop.