Harry woke up.
Now *that* was a weird dream. His parents dead, and Uncle Padfoot on the run from the ministry... something about *him* having to defeat the Dark Lord? Weird. He heard a tapping on the window and turned to open it for the owl, only to find his best friend Orion Black on the other side.
"Come on!" Orion yelled. "We're going to Diagon Alley to get our stuff today!! Mum's taking us!"
With that, Harry remembered that within a week, he'd be on his way to Hogwarts for the very first time.
"Who else is coming?" He asked, hurrying to get dressed so he could go eat and they could leave.
"Gemini, and my cousin Salazar, and Jake Lupin... and some Muggle-born girl. Mum volunteered to take her, since her parents obviously can't," Orion explained. "Her name's Hermione or something."
"Why isn't your Aunt taking Salazar?" Harry asked, pulling on a sock.
"She's got to watch the new baby, and she doesn't want to take him. And his dad can't, he's already at the school," Orion informed him. "It's going to be weird learning potions from my uncle..."
"Yeah," Harry sympathized. "And Defense Against the Dark Arts from your dad, too."
"Don't remind me," Orion groaned. "I can't get away from my parents!"
Harry laughed and the two headed to the Potters' kitchen. "Morning, Mum!" Harry called.
"Good Morning, Harry... Hello Orion," Lily Potter smiled.
"Morning, Aunt Lily. How are you?" Orion gave her the winning nice-boy smile that all the ladies of the neighborhood loved.
"Fine, thank you. And thank your mother for taking Harry along with you. Want some breakfast while you're here?" Lily asked. She knew Orion was the local "boy next door" that everyone loved, and he was good at playing the part, but Sirius and Lyria's son was just so... cute.
"Thank you, Auntie," Orion flashed the smile again—his mother always said it was directly inherited from his father—and sat down next to Harry.
"You've got to teach me to do that," Harry sighed.
"Family secret," Orion grinned. "But the first thing I'm doing once we get there is getting the spells to become an Animagus, because I want to learn that."
"Probably the only thing you want to learn," Harry grinned.
"Nah, I want to learn a couple good hexes too," Orion replied. "Let's hurry so we can go!"
They inhaled their breakfasts and scurried out the door and across the street to the Black house. Harry loved going to Orion's house for three reasons. First, there was a big field in the back that they could play Quidditch in all summer if they wanted to. Second, Orion had enough siblings that they only had to invite over Orion's three cousins and the Lupins to get a game going. Third, there was always something going on over there.
Jake Lupin was standing at the door. "COME ON!" he hollered at them. "Everyone just got here!"
Orion and Harry shared a grin and ran into the house.
"Mum!" Orion bellowed. "We're back!!"
"And you're covered in maple syrup," she pointed out. "You'd better change."
Scowling, Orion ran upstairs.
"There you are, Harry. Why don't you head into the living room and sit with the rest of the group," she suggested.
"Sure, Aunt Lyria. Mum said thanks for taking me, by the way."
"Welcome, dear. Now go on, both of you." Lyria shooed Jake and Harry into the other room.
Sitting on the sofa by himself and looking rather uncomfortable being alone with the girls was a tall boy with short black hair and black eyes. "There you are!" He cried delightedly. "I've been stuck here waiting for you all!"
"Sorry, Salazar. Orion had to go change," Jake explained.
"What did he get covered in this time?" Salazar Snape, Orion's cousin, grinned.
"Maple syrup. Mum fed him," Harry smiled back. He hadn't seen Salazar in a long time, but he didn't seem to have changed much.
"Doesn't she know she'll never get rid of him now?" Salazar smirked as Orion bolted down the stairs.
"I heard that!" He barked.
Salazar raised an eyebrow. "That was the point."
Gemini, sitting in a chair, sighed exasperatedly. "Hello, everyone. I'm fine, thank you for asking!"
"Oh, Gemini, bugger off!" sighed Orion to his twin sister.
"Who's your friend?" Jake asked, ever the polite one.
"I'm Hermione Granger," the other girl informed them. "I'm starting at Hogwarts this year as well."
Gemini took over. "Well, you know me, and that's Jake Lupin, Salazar Snape, Harry Potter, and my idiot brother Orion Black."
Lyria poked her head around the corner. "If everyone's ready, we can head to Diagon Alley..."
Six voices cheered and everyone trooped off to the fireplace.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hermione was still recovering from her first use of Floo Powder by the time all of them had arrived in the Leaky Cauldron.
"Is it always like that?" She asked dazedly.
"Yeah, but you get used to it. Can't wait 'til I'm old enough to Apparate," sighed Orion.
"Well you aren't old enough, and no one wants to hear you whine about it," Salazar informed him.
Orion growled at his cousin, but then Lyria arrived and reestablished order. "Come on, come on. Let's go. Wands first, so you all don't start a mutiny."
The group went cheerfully to Ollivander's, where he let them know that he'd been expecting them, much to the amusement of Jake.
"All of us together then?" He'd replied with a grin as Mr. Ollivander handed Salazar a wand.
Soon, Salazar was the proud owner of a rigid dragon heartstring & redwood wand, 12 inches. Jake was up next, and after several tries got a rather bendy oak and phoenix feather wand of eleven and three-quarters inches. Hermione, ever the eager one, went after Jake and found herself with a wand of unicorn hair & willow, 9 ¾ inches.
That left Gemini, Orion, and Harry still in need of wands, and Gemini got one of pine and phoenix feather, ten inches. It took Orion a bit longer, but soon he had a 13 inch long dragon heartstring and cedar wand.
It took fifteen wands before Mr. Ollivander retreated to the back of the store and handed Harry an eleven inch long holly and phoenix feather wand.
"Well done, kids," Lyria grinned as they all trooped out of the store.
The rest of the shopping was rather uneventful—except, of course, for Orion and Gemini quibbling back and forth—and soon Harry was back home.
He crossed another day off his calendar. Five days until Hogwarts.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Have fun, and behave. Send me an owl as soon as you get there." Lily Potter hugged her son.
"Mum! I'll be fine!" Harry managed.
As if being squeezed to death by his mother wasn't bad enough, Dad pulled Harry aside and handed him a parcel. "My friends and I found this stuff pretty useful when we were at school, and... it's time for you to have it."
Harry ripped it open and found a cloak of some sort and an old bit of parchment, but he knew immediately what they were. "Thanks, Dad!"
"Go on. You've got a train to catch," James Potter told his son with a grin. "Mind you behave yourself."
"Yes, sir!" Harry laughed, boarding the Hogwarts Express.
"Don't you go causing trouble." Lyria Black ordered her son.
"Dad'll stop him, Mum," Gemini tried to assure her mother.
"Somehow I doubt that," Lyria replied. "You hear me, Orion? I don't want an owl home every week explaining what you've done this time."
"Of course not, Mum!" Orion said out loud, mentally adding, 'I hope they go home more than once a week!'
Cassi Snape, meanwhile, was confident that her son would be well- behaved. "Have a good term, Salazar. Owl me when you get there."
"Of course, Mother," he assured her. "I'll tell Father you said hello."
Soon enough, the Hogwarts Express left the station...
Now *that* was a weird dream. His parents dead, and Uncle Padfoot on the run from the ministry... something about *him* having to defeat the Dark Lord? Weird. He heard a tapping on the window and turned to open it for the owl, only to find his best friend Orion Black on the other side.
"Come on!" Orion yelled. "We're going to Diagon Alley to get our stuff today!! Mum's taking us!"
With that, Harry remembered that within a week, he'd be on his way to Hogwarts for the very first time.
"Who else is coming?" He asked, hurrying to get dressed so he could go eat and they could leave.
"Gemini, and my cousin Salazar, and Jake Lupin... and some Muggle-born girl. Mum volunteered to take her, since her parents obviously can't," Orion explained. "Her name's Hermione or something."
"Why isn't your Aunt taking Salazar?" Harry asked, pulling on a sock.
"She's got to watch the new baby, and she doesn't want to take him. And his dad can't, he's already at the school," Orion informed him. "It's going to be weird learning potions from my uncle..."
"Yeah," Harry sympathized. "And Defense Against the Dark Arts from your dad, too."
"Don't remind me," Orion groaned. "I can't get away from my parents!"
Harry laughed and the two headed to the Potters' kitchen. "Morning, Mum!" Harry called.
"Good Morning, Harry... Hello Orion," Lily Potter smiled.
"Morning, Aunt Lily. How are you?" Orion gave her the winning nice-boy smile that all the ladies of the neighborhood loved.
"Fine, thank you. And thank your mother for taking Harry along with you. Want some breakfast while you're here?" Lily asked. She knew Orion was the local "boy next door" that everyone loved, and he was good at playing the part, but Sirius and Lyria's son was just so... cute.
"Thank you, Auntie," Orion flashed the smile again—his mother always said it was directly inherited from his father—and sat down next to Harry.
"You've got to teach me to do that," Harry sighed.
"Family secret," Orion grinned. "But the first thing I'm doing once we get there is getting the spells to become an Animagus, because I want to learn that."
"Probably the only thing you want to learn," Harry grinned.
"Nah, I want to learn a couple good hexes too," Orion replied. "Let's hurry so we can go!"
They inhaled their breakfasts and scurried out the door and across the street to the Black house. Harry loved going to Orion's house for three reasons. First, there was a big field in the back that they could play Quidditch in all summer if they wanted to. Second, Orion had enough siblings that they only had to invite over Orion's three cousins and the Lupins to get a game going. Third, there was always something going on over there.
Jake Lupin was standing at the door. "COME ON!" he hollered at them. "Everyone just got here!"
Orion and Harry shared a grin and ran into the house.
"Mum!" Orion bellowed. "We're back!!"
"And you're covered in maple syrup," she pointed out. "You'd better change."
Scowling, Orion ran upstairs.
"There you are, Harry. Why don't you head into the living room and sit with the rest of the group," she suggested.
"Sure, Aunt Lyria. Mum said thanks for taking me, by the way."
"Welcome, dear. Now go on, both of you." Lyria shooed Jake and Harry into the other room.
Sitting on the sofa by himself and looking rather uncomfortable being alone with the girls was a tall boy with short black hair and black eyes. "There you are!" He cried delightedly. "I've been stuck here waiting for you all!"
"Sorry, Salazar. Orion had to go change," Jake explained.
"What did he get covered in this time?" Salazar Snape, Orion's cousin, grinned.
"Maple syrup. Mum fed him," Harry smiled back. He hadn't seen Salazar in a long time, but he didn't seem to have changed much.
"Doesn't she know she'll never get rid of him now?" Salazar smirked as Orion bolted down the stairs.
"I heard that!" He barked.
Salazar raised an eyebrow. "That was the point."
Gemini, sitting in a chair, sighed exasperatedly. "Hello, everyone. I'm fine, thank you for asking!"
"Oh, Gemini, bugger off!" sighed Orion to his twin sister.
"Who's your friend?" Jake asked, ever the polite one.
"I'm Hermione Granger," the other girl informed them. "I'm starting at Hogwarts this year as well."
Gemini took over. "Well, you know me, and that's Jake Lupin, Salazar Snape, Harry Potter, and my idiot brother Orion Black."
Lyria poked her head around the corner. "If everyone's ready, we can head to Diagon Alley..."
Six voices cheered and everyone trooped off to the fireplace.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hermione was still recovering from her first use of Floo Powder by the time all of them had arrived in the Leaky Cauldron.
"Is it always like that?" She asked dazedly.
"Yeah, but you get used to it. Can't wait 'til I'm old enough to Apparate," sighed Orion.
"Well you aren't old enough, and no one wants to hear you whine about it," Salazar informed him.
Orion growled at his cousin, but then Lyria arrived and reestablished order. "Come on, come on. Let's go. Wands first, so you all don't start a mutiny."
The group went cheerfully to Ollivander's, where he let them know that he'd been expecting them, much to the amusement of Jake.
"All of us together then?" He'd replied with a grin as Mr. Ollivander handed Salazar a wand.
Soon, Salazar was the proud owner of a rigid dragon heartstring & redwood wand, 12 inches. Jake was up next, and after several tries got a rather bendy oak and phoenix feather wand of eleven and three-quarters inches. Hermione, ever the eager one, went after Jake and found herself with a wand of unicorn hair & willow, 9 ¾ inches.
That left Gemini, Orion, and Harry still in need of wands, and Gemini got one of pine and phoenix feather, ten inches. It took Orion a bit longer, but soon he had a 13 inch long dragon heartstring and cedar wand.
It took fifteen wands before Mr. Ollivander retreated to the back of the store and handed Harry an eleven inch long holly and phoenix feather wand.
"Well done, kids," Lyria grinned as they all trooped out of the store.
The rest of the shopping was rather uneventful—except, of course, for Orion and Gemini quibbling back and forth—and soon Harry was back home.
He crossed another day off his calendar. Five days until Hogwarts.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Have fun, and behave. Send me an owl as soon as you get there." Lily Potter hugged her son.
"Mum! I'll be fine!" Harry managed.
As if being squeezed to death by his mother wasn't bad enough, Dad pulled Harry aside and handed him a parcel. "My friends and I found this stuff pretty useful when we were at school, and... it's time for you to have it."
Harry ripped it open and found a cloak of some sort and an old bit of parchment, but he knew immediately what they were. "Thanks, Dad!"
"Go on. You've got a train to catch," James Potter told his son with a grin. "Mind you behave yourself."
"Yes, sir!" Harry laughed, boarding the Hogwarts Express.
"Don't you go causing trouble." Lyria Black ordered her son.
"Dad'll stop him, Mum," Gemini tried to assure her mother.
"Somehow I doubt that," Lyria replied. "You hear me, Orion? I don't want an owl home every week explaining what you've done this time."
"Of course not, Mum!" Orion said out loud, mentally adding, 'I hope they go home more than once a week!'
Cassi Snape, meanwhile, was confident that her son would be well- behaved. "Have a good term, Salazar. Owl me when you get there."
"Of course, Mother," he assured her. "I'll tell Father you said hello."
Soon enough, the Hogwarts Express left the station...