Oops! Forgot to add the disclaimer last time, so here it is: I don't own any of the characters except for C.J. Don't sue.

OK, so I didn't get any reviews. I think my story has gotten lost somewhere amongst all the other HP stories, so I'll upload this chapter in hopes of getting it back to the front page of HP fics. Then, will you guys PLEASE review?? Yes, the scene from the last chapter was an alternate ending to book 4. Just go with me on this, people! Also, I know it was a little short, but just think of it as a prologue of sorts.

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Harry Potter sat straight up in bed. He had been relieving the terrible scene from last year ever since the day it had happened. He needed to find a way to get rid of these nightmares!

Harry climbed out of bed and checked his watch: 12:52.

"Happy birthday to me" he whispered glumly, walking over to stroke the soft white feathers of his owl, Hedwig. He wished that the Weaslys would come pick him up, already. Perhaps it would help if he was out of the terrible household of his aunt and uncle.

Harry sighed and got back into bed, hoping to get a little more sleep.

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The day dawned bright and sunny, but Harry was not having a good morning. He went downstairs and was greeted by a meager breakfast (1 slice of burnt toast and half a brown banana) and no presents from the aunt, uncle, and cousin that had raised him. His Aunt Petunia bade him do the dishes and mop the kitchen floor, and his cousin Dudley Dursley seemed to take particular delight in torturing poor Harry this morning. His Uncle Vernon, of course, just ignored him.

Harry had gone back upstairs to see if any of his friends had dropped off gifts or cake whilst he was upstairs, but no one had. Stomach growling, he had lay back down on his bed, still tired from his sleepless night.

Harry awoke to his uncle yelling at him.

"HARRY POTTER!!!!! YOU GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT AND TELL ME WHAT THESE FREAKS ARE DOING IN MY HOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Harry ran downstairs and was greeted by a most joyous sight: Two red-heads dressed in wizarding robes and a large black dog.

"Mr. Weasly!!! Ron!!!! SNUFFLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Harry ran over and hugged the large black dog with delight.

"Get that mangy mutt outta my house" Uncle Vernon muttered.

Suddenly, the dog disappeared and in its place stood a tall, dark-haired man.

"As you wish" he grinned. The dog in question was actually Harry's godfather, Sirius Black. He had escaped from the wizarding prison Azkebon the previous year, and it was a known fact that the Dursley family was scared to death of him. Sure enough, Uncle Vernon stepped back, stuttering.

"B-Begging pardon, sir. Please don't hurt me or my family."

Sirius laughed. "I'm not going to hurt you! But I might, if you don't let Harry come with us back to The Burrow!"

Harry glowed with delight. The Weasly's house, named The Burrow, was one of his favorite places in the whole world, next to Hogwart's itself.

"Go upstairs and get your things, boy" growled Uncle Vernon. Harry immediately did as he was told.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After a satisfying month at the burrow spent in the company of his two best friends, Ron Weasly and Hermione Granger, it was almost time to return to Hogwarts. Today was the day Ginny, the youngest Weasly at one year younger than Ron, and the only female child, returned from a summer at her friend's house. Harry and Ron were at the kitchen table, eating, when she walked through the door. Harry almost choked on his toast.

"Ginny?" he asked in disbelief. She had always been a slight little thing, with long red hair and no figure. Over the summer, however, she had matured. Her hair was now short, a layered cut that went down to her shoulders. She had grown breasts, and she had grown taller by a good two inches. Harry couldn't believe it.

"Hi, Harry!" Ginny said cheerfully. "I had a great time at Anne's, thank you for letting me go, Mum!" Ginny walked over to where her mother was standing in the kitchen doorway and hugged her. Ron and Harry finished their breakfasts quickly and headed upstairs.

"Don't even think about laying hands on my little sister!" Ron said fiercely to Harry once they were in his room. Harry backed away in surrender, palms out.

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Later that day, their book lists arrived.

"Shall we go to Diagon Alley?" Molly Weasly asked brightly, and all of the Weasly siblings who still lived there, plus Hermione and Harry, nodded eagerly.

"Right, then. Off we go!" Mrs. Weasly gathered up some Floo powder and off they went.

After purchasing their books and everything else they would need for the coming school year, Fred and George went off on their own. When asked where they were going, Fred and George didn't answer. Harry figured he had a pretty fair idea, however. The year before, he had won ten thousand Galleons (I can't remember if it was one thousand or ten, so we'll just say it's ten), and had given it to Fred and George to start their own joke shop. They would be graduating this year, and that was what they wanted to do. They were probably going to look for a property. Meanwhile, the rest of the gang headed over to The Leaky Cauldron for some butterbeer and conversation.

"Wonder where Fred and George are going?" asked Ron. Harry kept silent. He didn't think anyone would approve of what he had done.

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At long last, the day arrived. Harry went with the Weaslys and Hermione to platform 9 ¾ at the train station. They boarded the train quickly and headed to an empty compartment. Safe, they hoped, from any Slytherins; notably Draco Malfoy and his cronies Crabbe and Goyle. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny had just settled in when a girl rushed into their compartment.

"Hi!" she said in an American accent. "May I sit here? This is the only free space if I don't want to sit with that ugly, jerky blonde boy-"

The gang nodded in understanding. They knew exactly who the girl was talking about.

"I'm C.J."

"I'm Ginny, and this is Harry, Ron, and Hermione." Ginny introduced the gang.

"You don't look like a first year" said Hermione. "Are you a transfer student?"

The girl nodded. "From Armstrong Academy in America. I'm a 4th year."

"So am I!" Ginny said brightly. "These three." she gestured to Harry and Co. "are 5th years."

"Nice to meet you" said C.J. She had thick, dark brown hair down to her shoulders and cut in layers. It had red streaks in it. She also had sparkling blue eyes and a face full of freckles. She currently wore dark blue boot-cut jeans, a dark pink T-shirt, and black chunky ankle-boots.

"So. this is the Hogwarts express." C.J. looked around thoughtfully. It's nice. I can't wait to see the school. Then Hermione looked at her wristwatch and gasped. "We'd better change. We're almost there!"

The five students donned their robes and eagerly awaited the stopping of the large train.

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OK, I know this chapter was a little slow, but the next chapter's where they get to Hogwarts and the fun really begins!! Please Review!