(A/N: Thanks to Avista for educating me on British currency and to Vet who reads everything I write. To get the fullness of the chapters in Hogwarts I suggest listening to 'Angel' by Sara McLaughlan.)

Note: For some reason, earlier, chapter 2 took the place of chapters 1 and 2. So, if you've just started reading, you might want to make sure your first chapter started out with Harry on his way to Transfiguration. Thanks!

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PRESENT: HOGWARTS
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Ron and Hermione chattered happily about goodness-knows-what while Harry lagged along behind them, his hand in his pocket. He remembered that day. He remembered holding her hand while she cried and how different it felt, to be connected with another human being in such a way. 'Sometimes John gets mad and hits me...' Her words echoed in his mind and he cursed himself for not realizing it before.

"I was so stupid," he muttered to himself, causing Hermione to turn around and look at him worriedly.

"Are you alright, Harry? You look so sad, you've had your head down all day," she said, giving Ron's robes a tug to stop him from walking off so they could talk to Harry.

"Well..." Harry looked down and pulled the bracelet a little ways from his pocket so only he could see it. "I've just got something on my mind."

"You know you can talk to us, right?" Ron asked.

"Yeah and thanks for being so concerned." He gave them a weak smile, which they returned warmly and gave his robes a tug to get him to follow along with them.

"We're off to the Great Hall, Harry. In case you've completely cut off the world around you, I thought you might like to know that it's lunch time," said Hermione with a small laugh.

"Good, I'm famished after turning those candles into peanuts in Transfiguration," said Harry.

"They were supposed to be string beans," Ron said, arching a brow at Harry.

"Oh, then no wonder Professor McGonagall gave that 'paying attention in class' lecture." Harry laughed.

His two friends looked at him and exchanged glances with one another. Something was bothering him, they knew. Behind them, Harry sighed and kept his hand in his pocket.

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PAST: PRIVET DRIVE
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Two days after he first met Madison in the back yard, Harry awoke early, before the Dursley's did, and quietly went out the front. Petunia had left a list of chores from him to do on the refridgerator door, which he hurried to finish before noon. He wanted to have some extra time to talk to Madision and also to find some odd jobs he could actually get paid for. He'd never really wanted pocket money before, but he also had never wanted to buy a friend a birthday present before because he hadn't any.

'Alright,' thought Harry, just after finishing with raking the Dursley's front lawn. 'It's 10:43, I've got time to go down the street a bit and ask that woman about the dogs.'

Harry washed up, had himself a quick glass of orange juice, and left the house. The woman he was going to see was Miss Yvette Lafelliere, he'd heard Vernon talking about her before, who lived by herself with four dogs. The boy had often seen her struggling with the poodle, two miniature collies, and the one chocolate colored labrador as she walked down the street in the mornings. She couldn't really be walking the dogs, seeing as though they were actually walking her.

Miss Lafelliere, who, as Harry would soon learn, preferred to be called 'Madame Yvette', was very small in size. Why she even tried to walk all those dogs by herself was beyond Harry, and that's why he thought it would be a good idea to ask for a job walking them for her.

It wasn't long until he reached her house, which was just like all of the other houses on Privet, except this woman owned an old, blue jeep which Harry was able to mark her house by. He walked up to the door and knocked. Immediatley, he heard dogs barking in the house and he smiled.

A few moments later, the door opened and there stood a not-so-old woman wearing what looked to be at least fifty multi-colored bracelets and necklaces. Harry tore his eyes away from the strange jewlery and gave the woman the most charming smile he could.

"Yes?" The woman looked him over.

"Hi, ma'am," said Harry. "I noticed you had a lot of dogs and I was looking for some odd jobs to earn pocket money. May I walk them for you?"

Madame Yvette smiled broadly. "About time! I was hoping a youngster like yourself would ask me."

He stared blankly for a moment. "Why didn't you put an ad in the paper?"

"Because I don't read the paper. Bubblegoose here always wants to eat it, don't you Bubblegoosie?" Madame Yvette picked up the brown pomeranian (the other was white) and gave his head a loving nuzzle.

(A/N: My best friend named Bubblegoose.)

"Oh...well--"

"I'll pay you two pounds a dog for each morning. Three for Maggie, she's my labrador, since she's such a handful. How does that sound?"

Harry grinned like a maniac. "That sounds great!" Wow, getting a job wasn't hard at all. "Thanks, Miss Laf...er...Lafall...Fallaffal--"

The woman laughed happily at him. "Call me Madame Yvette. It's easier to remember and easier to pronounce. Won't you come in, dear? I'll introduce you to the doggies and then you can go ahead and walk them." Without even waiting for him to reply, Madame Yvette grabbed Harry's arm and jerked him inside.

He found himself pushed onto a dark blue couch and suddenly the woman was gone, though he could hear her humming in the kitchen.

"Just a moment, dear!" she called. "I just made some cookies, won't you have one?"

'Who makes cookies this early in the morning besides the bakery?' thought Harry. "Sure!" he called.

The room he was in was normal enough, if it weren't for the frogs. On every shelf and mantle, on the coffee table and the television set, there was a frog. They weren't real frogs, as Harry soon realized, but there sure were a lot of them. Most were ceramic but he spotted a few plastic ones as well.

On the couch beside Harry sat the black poodle, chewing happily on one of Madame Yvette's house slippers. Harry quietly took it from him and replaced it with a squeaky bone he'd spotted on the floor. The dog didn't seem phased at all. He spotted the brown pomeranian on the floor, napping, and the chocolate lab was stretched out in front of the merrily crackling fireplace. Luckily for him the dogs had learned to get along with one another and he wouldn't have to break up any doggie-quarrels while he walked them.

Madame Yvette walked back into the room with a cookie wrapped in a napkin and a glass of milk for him.

"Thank you," said Harry, feeling very grateful. Besides the cookie all he'd had that morning was orange juice.

"You're welcome, dear. Now, let me introduce you to the doggies. This one," she pointed to the black poodle, "is Nicole. She's such a sweetie, never really bothers anyone. And this," Madame Yvette notioned to the brown pomeranian, "is Bubblegoose. Maggie, as you know, is the chocolate lab over there. And then there's Danny...hmm...where is little Danny?"

She looked around the corner to the kitchen and called out. "Da-a-anny!"

A little white pomeranian came running in and jumped into Harry's lap, nearly scaring the dickens out of him. Madame Yvette laughed softly. "That's Danny," she said.

"Nice to meet you," Harry said, giving the dog a small pat on the head. Danny yipped and hopped onto the floor. Harry had, by then, finished his cookie and glass of milk..

"Alright then," said Madame Yvette. "I usually take the doggies around the block and back, they really do like their walkies. Don't you, doggies?" She looked lovingly over her fuzzy companions before reaching into a desk drawer by the door and handing Harry four leashes.

Harry, now very happy with himself for having acquired a job so quickly, leashed up the dogs and was soon on his way out the door and down the street.

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(A/N: Madame Yvette was name after my best friend! Yay!)