Harry James Potter watched with no small amount of dread as the Hogsmeade Train Station disappeared around the corner, the tall towers of Hogwarts peeking over the trees vanishing as well. The first place Harry could ever remember that made him feel safe, comfortable and free now nothing more than a memory until the summers end.

Blinking hard to dispel the depressing thoughts the eleven-year-old boy turned from the window to glance at his fellow Ravenclaw Hermione Granger sitting next to him. The bushy haired girl had been the only friend Harry made on the train to school almost a year ago to be sorted into his own house, so he stuck to her like glue. The mother hen in Hermione kept Harry's more self-destructive habits in check and in return Harry tried to do the same. It also helped that Hermione was the only other Ravenclaw in his year that wanted to attempt to keep up with muggle schoolwork so the two often studied together. They were no where near where their muggle counterparts would be in their education but at least the duo wasn't falling a great distance behind either. If Harry or Hemione decided to compete secondary muggle education after graduating Hogwarts they would at least have a foundation to stand on.

Sitting across from him was Ron Weasley, the first friend Harry had ever made. Steadfast and loyal to a fault the pure blood had stayed by Harry's side no matter how much their friendship had been tested. Ron had stayed by Harry even when the green-eyed boy had been sorted into Ravenclaw, made friends with Slytherins and when Harry tried to push all his friends away when things got too overwhelming. The freckled red head Gryffindor was currently pouring over a chess game he was playing with their other male companion.

Draco Malfoys inclusion into Harry's friend group had come at a surprise to everyone at Hogwarts. Rather than throw childish insults back at Draco's ignorant blood supremacist views like most children their age Harry combated it with wit and logic, calming talking circles around the blond. Draco's response was to do research in the library and then write home to his parents for information, determined to beat Harry at his own game. Unlike Dudley who had almost broken Harry's nose when the boy tried to use the same tactics to combat the Islamophobia his cousin had picked up from his parents.

By Halloween Draco had realized there was no hard factually tested evidence to support that magicians born to magical parents were more powerful than those born to muggles. After coming to this hard realization Draco had started following Hermione around to study her and gather his own evidence because she's the most powerful and successful muggleborn in their year. If the blond could figure out how Hermione was beating him in all their classes he could figure out how the other muggleborns were using magic too. Frustratingly Draco couldn't find anyway the younger witch was less powerful or intelligent than her pureblood counterparts. No ways she might be stealing magic from others. Her success was all due to natural talent, passion, discipline, hard work and a ridiculously long attention span for an eleven-year-old.

The real change in their Slytherin friend had come when he'd arrived back at school after Christmas break. To the surprise of no one Lucius Malfoy hadn't taken kindly to his son's new questions and doubts. The Draco that returned to school was pale, quiet, skinny and jumped at the slightest sound. Even though the blond hid the evidence of the abuse well Harry, who had also been on the receiving end of violence from the people who were supposed to love you, recognized the symptoms immediately and had marched Draco into Professor Flitwick's office.

Soon Draco was undergoing a detailed medical exam in hospital wing which releveled horrifying evidence of the blond being subjected to the curciatus curse. While the heads of house and Madam Pomfrey were having a hushed discussion in the med witch's office Harry, Hermione and Ron had been there when the blonds stoic mask finally cracked and the eleven-year-old started to sob. It hadn't been the kids who Draco's parents had pushed him to be friends with since he was little that were there to support him at his worst moment. It was the people who the boy's parents and taught him to hate. The same children he had harassed and bullied all year long were the ones to hold him unjudging while he cried for his broken childhood.

After that Draco stuck with Harry group as if he'd always been apart of it. He was there when Norbert the dragon was born. He was there beside Harry to face the shade of Voldemort in the forbidden forest, and instead of running like he so desperately wanted to him stayed by his friends' side even if all he could do was whimper pathetically. He was there by Harry's side when they once again faced Voldemort, this time at the end of the third-floor corridor. Again, he had been practically useless and in the way during the encounter but at least Harry hadn't had to face his parent's murderer alone.

By the end of the school year the ministry had relived Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy of guardianship and any legal parental rights they had over Draco. Narcissa could petition to gain custody of Draco again given she divorce her husband and could provide for them both but so far she hadn't made any effort to do so. Out of fear of her husband or because she just didn't want to Harry didn't know, but he pretended he thought the first option for Draco's sake. Sadly, but no surprising, the Malfoy wealth and sway once again kept Lucius out of Azkaban.

Severus Snape was next in line to gain custody of Draco as the boy's godfather but considering the man's dark past and pervious ties to Lucius the ministry was understandably reluctant to award him guardianship. Harry had mixed feeling about that. Snape had been outright hostile to him at the beginning of the year, but the bullying had faded as the months wore on to a subtle kind of favoritism. Not the disgustingly unfair kind the Slytherin head of house showered on the snakes. More that he now tolerated, maybe even accepted, Harry's and his friend's presence more than students from the other houses. Harry thought it had to do with their friendship with Draco because no matter how many bad things could be said about Snape no one who knew him could deny he had a soft spot for the blond boy.

As Snape's petition for guardianship of Draco was still ongoing that left the Slytherin homeless for the summer. Molly and Arthur had offered to foster Draco, but the ministry had shot that down on the grounds of the ongoing blood feud between the Weasleys and Malfoys. The ministry wisely didn't want to show support for one side or the other. Hermione had written to her parents asking if they could take her friend in, but they had shot that suggestion down as well. Mrs. And Mr. Granger understandably didn't feel comfortable leaving their pre-teen daughter alone for hours at a time while they were at work with another pre-teen boy they had never met. Near the end of the school year when all signs were looking towards the ministry assigning a stranger to foster Draco weirdly enough Professor McGonagall stepped up and offered to take the Slytherin in. Draco was just taking the train with his friends to give the Professor a few hours to wrap things up at Hogwarts.

As bizarre as it was Draco wasn't looking a gift horse in the mouth. He'd spend his summer practicing quidditch on the grounds of the Professor's private Scottish cottage, running awoke around Hogwarts when McGonagall made her tri-weekly visits to prepare for the next year, have access to the other teachers for homework help and multiple chances to visit Hagrid all summer long. All things said and done Harry was extremely jealous.

No matter how much Harry had begged and Flitwick had preached his case Dumbledore would not budge. Harry must return to the Dursleys. And whatever Dumbledore said goes. The same ministry that had gone to bat against one of the wealthiest pure-blood lords for Draco called Harry an troubled and attention seekingf because that was what Dumbledore had implied he was when Flitwick had tried to take Harry's case to a higher power. At the very least Harry had found an adult he could count on in Flitwick and he also suspected in McGonagall no matter how much their hands were tied on this particular issue.

"Pawn 3 to D 8," Ron said as a sly smirk crossed his face. The red heads old weary pawn moved slowly across the space to before proceeding to beat Draco's last rook to smithereens.

"Checkmate!" the Gryffindor crowed, his eyes alight with delight.

"How!" the blond snared as he threw his hands up in the air in frustration. No matter how many attempts he made he had never been able to beat Ron. Hermione and Harry have given up months ago, content to let their companion enjoy the one area where he could beat his friends in tests of intelligence. While Ron was in no means dumb he was friends with the top three students of their class and sometimes was prone to jealousy and self-esteem issues. Winning rounds of chess against them gave Ron the confidence boost he needed and the two Ravenclaws were happy to let him have it. On the other hand, chess was an area that Draco also excelled in and he was determined to beat Ron at least once.

"You made a mistake when you moved your knight. You were so overeager to put me in check that you left an opening."

"Drat. Harry, you wanna play?"

"No thanks, I've been beaten enough in the last week by you guys."

"Fine, be that way. Fancy a game Hermione?"

"No. I'm bored of chess, you two play nothing but. I got a deck of Uno cards in bag if you guys are interested."

The reluctant echo of agreement that rang out throughout the compartment soon turned to laughter and merriment as the Hogwarts express raced towards London. If the four friends knew how much the future of their friendship would be tested over the summer they might have been a bit more sober. But for now the pre-teens were happy to enjoy each other's company and pretend the train ride would never end.

Authors Note:

Sorry for the short chapter but that seemed like such a great place to end. I don't know when I'll update next. I'll start writing the next chapter tonight when things are fresh but after that my main priority is to finish playing Pokemon Shield and making whatever changes to my Pokemon story I need to based on what I discover in the game. So while I'm about to get a month off for winter break don't hold your breath for the next chapter.

That being said I'm blow away by the amount of love this story has been getting extremely thankful for it!

Remember to review! It makes me happy...