Harry sat in his bedroom for 15 minutes, and then, unable to stand the tension in the Dursleys house, which he briefly considered writing to Sirius about, only to remember the harsh reality that Sirius was dead. Harry kicked himself and then stuck his hands in his jeans pockets, shoving his wand in there too, and walked down the stairs of the Dursley house and out of the front door. He walked past Dudley and his gang, wishing that they would just give him a reason to smack one of them. "Oh look, its Potty Potter, the insane boy..." Polkiss sneered. It was then, that one of them tripped, or attempted to trip Harry up. Harry spun around and smacked Polkiss on the jaw, and Polkiss fell to the floor. Harry stood there, fuming. Dudley shoved past the remaining 3 and stood in front of Harry, who grinned and showed Dudley the wand in his pocket. "You wouldnt dare..." said Dudley,althought not entirely sure. Harry laughed as Polkiss got up and lunged for him, and Dudley, unsure, stopped Polkiss going for Harry. "What the hell Big D? Let me at 'im!" Harry smirked, satisfied that he had scared Dudley. Harry could hear the argument as he turned the corner, and they faded out as he walked down the street to the park.

He was planning on sitting on the swing that he had last year, just before the Dementors attacked him and Dudley, but as he approached the park, he saw that the girl he saw moving in was sat there. Harry paused for a moment and walked slower towards her, still fuming but also getting the feeling that he should be careful around her. But he didnt really notice the feeling of cautiosness. He stood at the gate, just able to see her through the gap in the structure that was a slide and some other things. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and she leant against the chain, her right arm wrapped around it, her hand dangling limply at her side. For a second, Harry thought she was dead, but then almost laughed at himself. Her left arm was on her lap, and in it she clasped a gold chain. Her hair was tied back in a high ponytail. Her brown eyes stared vacantly ahead, and every so often she would sniff. Leaning against one of the poles that held the swings up was a note pad. It A4 in size, looked battered and worn, and it was bulging so much that she had tied three elastic bands around it, to stop the loose sheets floating away in the slight breeze. Harry felt a sadness for the girl, wondering what could cause her so much pain, and Harry thought to himself that she looked exactly how he felt everytime he thought of Sirius. When he wasnt angry. Harry walked through the gate and sat on the swing beside her. She barely noticed him, but her eyes did flicker towards him and then back to whatever she was staring at, if she was staring at anything. Harry rocked himself slightly on the swing, his baggy jeans scraping along the floor, his oversize t-shirt making him look thinner than he was. The girl sat there, black flarey trousers with a red and orange flame shooting up the side of her left leg. Her black top wore the same flame. On the field next to them, a group of kids played football. On the baby swings, a mother pushed her son. A little girl went wooshing down the slide, giggling, happy. Had no idea what was happening in the wizarding world, and Harry was glad that the people around him were totally unaware of it. His heart ached to be one of them, not caring, not knowing, not having to deal with the death of Sirius, the return of Voldemort...

"Ignorance is bliss." the girl next to him said, in a raspy voice, showing that she had barely spoke over the past few hours.

"Huh?" came Harrys reply.

The girl licked her lips slightly, cleared her throat and turned her head slightly, looked at Harry. "Ignorance is bliss." Harry looked at her quizzacly, and the girl, obviously recognising her mistake, turned quickly and stood up. "Lucky them." She grabbed her book and walked from the park, quickly.

Too quickly, Harry thought, and got up and walked after her, pulling out his wand. The girl realised that she had said far too much to Harry although it had only been 5 words. But she was right. Ignorance was bliss. And that bliss had been shattered by her rude awakening. But never mind that now, she had been here barely a day and had already said the wrong thing to Harry. She ducked down an alley that would take her away from Privet Drive, and into the small town where she could get a coffee and maybe - "Dammit." she muttered, as she felt Harrys presence behind her in the alley. Slowly she turned around, knowing that he had his wand out. She was tempted to grab hers, but then it would reveal that she was a witch and he might see it as an attempt to start a fight...Plus, Dumbledore didnt want Harry knowing, but she thought honesty was needed at all times right now...But still, she didnt feel like talking about Sirius, especially to Harry.....too complicated. So she sighed, stopped in her tracks and turned around, right hand slacking to her side, holding the book.

"HEY!" Harry shouted. He pointed his wand right at her, knowing it was stupid, but knowing that if she was what he thought she was, a witch, it would get the right reaction from her, instead of a Muggle reaction which would be to laugh and -

"What are you gonna do? Hit me to death with your stick?" the girl said, smirking.

Harry had thought wrong. He put it away quickly, feeling stupid. The girl raised her eyebrow at him and then stopped smirking. She stood there, looking all attitude at him.

"What did you mean? Ignorance is bliss?" Harry demanded.

"The war."

"The war? How did you know?"

"Iraq. USA. England....its all over the news...." she quickly recovered from the blunder earlier. She wanted to know Harry as a normal person first, then get into the wizarding side of things. Too much too soon would....Hurt both of us. She could already see that Harry was very much like his father, but nowhere near as arrogant. More like Lily. Her eyes glassed over at the memory of - but she forced it away. She knew why Sirius was so proud of Harry.

"Oh..." came Harrys stunned reply.

The girl waved a little, then turned and walked away. Harry stood there, feeling stupid.