Dedication- I dedicate this story to my friend Emma: May our friendship last across space and time.

Chapter 1- September the First

The first of September was always a hectic time for parents in the wizarding world. Their children would scurry off to magic schools, leaving the house empty and dull. But the mornings were always a complete chaos. It seemed that on these days, everything that could go wrong would go wrong. Either Jennifer forgot her Potions book or William didn't have his dress robes. Whatever the reason, time seemed to fly faster than the latest broomstick.

This first of September was no different.

Crowds of people dressed in funny robes and tall pointy hats gathered around at platform 9 ¾. 9 ¾, you would ask? There is certainly no such thing. Of course there was Platform 9 and Platform 10. But undoubtedly 9 ¾ would not exist? But it surely must, for printed boldly and clearly on the wrought iron archway were the words Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

For the men, women and children gathered, this was no phenomenon. A few might throw a bored glance towards curious sign, but most simply were concentrated on what they were doing. Mothers were hugging their children desperately, as if they would never see them again, older teens would stamp impatiently and strain their necks to find their friends, younger underage children would nag their parents, asking if they can go as well and husbands would look awkwardly around them, obviously uncomfortable by their wives' public displays of affection.

Three people stood amongst the crowd in the middle of the platform; a young couple with a boy no older than eleven. There was nothing in particular that was special about them, though the middle-aged woman's flame red hair was rather attention grabbing. They were obviously a family. The boy that stood in front of the young couple was uncannily identical to his father, right down to the messy way his jet black hair stands. But his startlingly green eyes that danced with life were his mother's trait.

The young boy looked eagerly about him, absorbing his surrounding like a sponge in water. To his left side, a heavy looking trunk labeled H. Potter sat with a cage occupied by a snowy jeweled-eyes owl.

The mother bent down and hugged her son tightly, like so many other mothers around her did. "Oh Harry..." she murmured. "I can't believe that you're off to Hogwarts already. My little boy... all grown up. Doesn't time just fly? All of the sudden I'm old with wrinkles and my son is going to school."

Harry blushed and pushed his mother off. "Mum," he complained. "I'm fine. Stop fretting. You're embarrassing me."

His mum smiled at her son's uncomfortable look. "I'm a mother. Fretting is my job."

Harry rolled his eyes.

The father chuckled. "Lily," he teased, "You're not old, and you're certainly not wrinkled. You're as beautiful and youthful as the day I met you."

Lily threw her husband a sneer. "I really don't want to remember the day I met you, James Potter."

"What?" cried out her husband in mock curiosity, flinging his arms out. "Am I too much of a heart throb?"

Lily slapped James on the head playfully. "More like an arrogant idiot," she replied.

"Mum? Dad?" asked an embarrassed Harry, his gaze shifting between his parents. "Can you please quit it? I'm going to miss my train."

Lily turned her attention back to her son. She kneeled down and looked into his eyes that were identical to her own. "Now Harry," she started seriously, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I want you to promise me to be safe. God knows what can happen...with the war going on." She stopped and tears rolled down her young face.

Her husband shook his head sympathetically. "Lily, Harry is old enough to take care of himself. Besides, it's school he's going to, not some battleground. He'll be fine."

"Of course," she said, wiping her tears quickly. "Just being stupid." She stood up and sniffed. Then seeing her son's worried look, she promptly changed the subject. "Have you seen Ron yet?"

Harry shook his head. "Nah... I can't see him. He is coming, isn't he?" he asked half-fearfully. There were too many wizarding children that stopped coming to school in fear of the on-going war. It was too horrifying to think about, young children threatened in this world of chaos.

"Of course he is," replied Lily sympathetically. "They're probably just taking time getting ready. After all, the Weasleys do have so many people in their family. Honestly, I don't know how Molly manages them all, she's a miracle worker."

Harry nodded, knowing that his mother's words were correct.

"Have you got all of your stuff?" asked Lily. "If you need anything... if you've forgotten anything, just owl us and we'll send it straight there, okay?"

"Lily, stop panicking. We did this as well at Harry's age. We were fine, as Harry will be as well."

Lily didn't get the chance to retort, for an excited voice rang through the crowd. "Harry!" She turned and saw a red-head bob around the crowd, trying to make its way over. It pushed through masses of people, dodging and creeping past completely unnoticed. Soon, a flushed and excited Ronald Weasley came face to face with the Potters.

"Ron!" cried Harry, giving his best friend for years a hug. "Why are you so late?"

The red-head grinned sheepishly. "Ginny needed a bit of waking this morning, Percy took ages in the bathroom, and Fred and George decided to help matters by stealing and hiding my school books. It wasn't until Mum used a Summoning Spell did she get all of them. Then she got all steamy and yelled at them for being purposely troublesome. Complete chaos this morning, and by the end of it, we were running really late."

James grinned. He personally loved the Weasley twins, and often gave them tips on what pranks to do when they were out of ideas. It almost seemed that Fred and George were younger versions of the Marauders.

"James! Lily!" Molly Weasley had spotted them from afar. Pushing a trolley filled with trunks, she made her way over slowly, bumping accidentally into several people along the way. She was followed by a line of red-heads. The children moved to where Harry and Ron were standing, leaving the adults free to talk between themselves.

"Molly," greeted Lily, and then, noticing the absence of another red-head, asked, "Where's Arthur?"

Molly's face dropped slightly. "He has extra work at the Ministry."

Lily frowned at this remark but didn't pursue the topic any further, having sensed Molly's unhappiness. "Are you excited?" she asked, giving a nod in Ron's general direction.

Molly smiled at Lily's nervous yet excited expression. "Not really," she replied truthfully. "I've done this before, four times, to be precise. But you must be thrilled; I remember that I certainly was when Bill first went to Hogwarts. It's the first indication that our children are growing up, going to school."

James grinned and replied, "She's been crazy. For the whole summer holiday she's been jumping up and down, whether out of anxiety or fear I don't know. Sometimes I wonder who's more excited about going to Hogwarts, Harry or her."

Molly patted Lily on the shoulder, smiling knowingly. "Don't mind James, dear, men are always like that, so insensitive. I know exactly how you feel, I felt like that with Bill as well. It suddenly makes you feel very old, doesn't it?"

Lily nodded eagerly; glad that someone at least understood how she was feeling.

"Where are Sirius and Remus?" asked Molly, looking around. "Surely they all wanted to see Harry off?"

"Oh, they guys just wanted to give me and Lily some privacy," explained James. "They respect that it's a family thing, or at least, that's what Remus told me; and Remus has this odd talent of making the worst things sound fantastic. I reckon they just didn't want to be around a hysterical Lily."

Molly smiled.

The scarlet train that was labeled Hogwarts Express hooted loudly, and sent puffs of foggy grey smoke into the air. Molly spun around and cried out, "Dear Lord! We've just been standing here and yapping. The train is about to leave! Hurry, get the children on board!"

All the Weasleys (except for Ginny and Percy. who had disappeared long ago to find his prefect compartment) gave their mother a final round of quick goodbyes. Lily hugged Harry again, and after releasing him, bid him some more advice.

"Try not to get into too much trouble," she pleaded.

Harry grinned and his green eyes danced with mischievousness as he picked up the cage containing the snowy owl. "Of course not Mum, what makes you think that I will?"

Lily sneered. "What makes me think that? Hm... let's see. How about, you almost set the kitchen on fire last week just because you thought that the oven was a good place to store your Dr Filibuster's fireworks? Or remember that time when you nearly flooded the house by purposely leaving the shower on? Or what about when you switched the crushed Doxy droppings with pepper, and then sprinkled it onto your father's dinner plate?"

"But Mum," complained Harry. "Those weren't my fault. How was I to know that you were-"

Lily looked ready to explode.

James decided that it was time to intervene before his wife got too heated up. Personally, he was extremely proud of his son, but of course he couldn't voice out those opinions in front of Lily, unless he wanted to starve for the next few weeks.

"Lily," he said, "I think Harry had better go, else he'd miss the train."

"Right," said Lily, nodding. "Take care Harry and stay out of trouble!"

"Promise Mum," said Harry, grinning. He took out his wand from his jeans pocket and muttered, "Locomotor trunk!" The chest magically rose into the air, and levitated a few inches above the ground.

Lily frowned. "You know you shouldn't be doing magic yet."

Harry pretended not to hear her. "Bye Mum! Bye Dad! Don't forget to write" he yelled and turned to board the train, with his right hand gripping his wand tightly and maneuvering his trunk.

James couldn't resist. Over the roars of the train and shouts of goodbyes from parents, he shouted to Harry, "Give Snivellus my best wishes!"

Harry turned around and winked at his dad, then stepped into the train.

Lily whacked James on the arm. Quietly, she whispered, "I wish you would get over that little grudge against Severus. You know just as well as I that he is on our side of the war."

James shrugged carelessly. "Doesn't stop him from being an oily slimy git."

A whistle blew and the train hooted again. But this time, the wheels started to roll forward on the ready-set tracks. It started slowly but steadily gained speed. From one of the windows, Harry's head popped out and yelled, "Bye Mum, bye Dad!"

Lily chased the train, running and waving and crying at the same time. But the train soon was too quick, and she watched helplessly as it raced ahead of her and disappeared into a tiny speck of red amongst the dark green of the mountains.

She sobbed, and James held her securely in his arms.

"He'll be safe, wont he?" asked Lily like a little child seeking reassurance. "He won't get Harry, will he?"

James shook his head firmly. "Of course not. You're not thinking clearly, Lily. Its Hogwarts Harry is going to...Hogwarts, the safest place on earth. Dumbledore is there, and you know just as well as I do that Voldemort dare not attack where Dumbledore resides. He'll be safer at Hogwarts then he was at home, than anywhere. It's the best place he can be right now. And he'll make friends, he'll learn magic, get detentions, have fun."

"But... wouldn't that make Hogwarts more of a target? And Harry is already a target. A target on a target. I can't help but worry James. The prophecy..."

"...doesn't say who it is. It could be Neville for all we know. Stop worrying."

Lily stopped. "Neville is going to Hogwarts too this year, isn't he? I totally forgot. How come we didn't see Frank and Alice? They must've been here." She looked around, trying to find them.

"There are too many people here, Lily. You'll never find them."

Lily turned back to the direction the train had disappeared, feeling that her heart had disappeared with it. Be safe Harry, she thought silently, be safe.

----

Harry turned as the compartment door slid open. An old battered witch pushing a trolley of goodies came in, asking them if they wanted anything.

Ron looked at Harry hopefully.

Harry grinned and replied to the witch, "Yeah. I'll take ten chocolate frogs, a packet of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans and two Cauldron Cakes." Then he took out a few silver coins from his pocket and gave it to the witch, who in turn placed it inside a leather pouch hanging from the trolley. She handed the purchases to Harry and moved on to the next compartment dully.

"Thanks Harry," said Ron appreciatively, as he took a handful of chocolate frogs. "You're the best."

Harry munched on his cake and didn't reply.

Next to him, Ron groaned as he saw the picture on the chocolate frog card. "Morgana again!" he said. "This is like my seventh one!"

This reminded Harry of something. Swallowing his mouthful of cake, he said, "I got an Agrippa in the holidays."

Ron sighed. "Want to swap?" he asked hopefully, throwing aside the unwanted Morgana card. He grabbed a Cauldron Cake and took a large bite.

Before Harry could reply, the compartment door slid open again and a young girl wearing school robes stood in the doorway. She had long busy brown hair neatly tied back in a pony tail and large front teeth. An air of authority surrounded her as she stepped forward and introduced herself.

"Hi," she said, outstretching her hand, "I'm Hermione Granger. I'm a first- year."

Harry chook her hand and replied, "Me too. I'm Harry Potter and this is Ron Weasley."

She nodded lightly in Ron's direction to acknowledge him. She turned back to Harry and said, "There is a boy up the front who has lost his toad. I was wondering if you saw it."

Harry met Ron's amused gaze and grinned. "Neville, right?" he asked Hermione.

The young girl looked a bit shocked. "You know each other?"

Ron grinned and responded, "Of course. All our parents work in the-"

Ron stopped abruptly.

"Ministry," finished Harry for him. "Our parents all work in the Ministry of Magic."

Ron nodded continuously. "The Ministry, yeah."

Hermione had the feint impression that that wasn't what Ron was originally going to say, but she didn't question further. She had read enough of wizarding books to know that there was a war going on. She guessed correctly that Ron, Harry and Neville's parents probably all worked in some secret organization.

She pretended not to notice. "Well, if you see anything, make sure you tell me," she said and turned to go. "See you at school."

As soon as the door clicked shut Ron said grumpily, "I don't like her. She's one of those bossy goody-goody-two-shoes."

"I don't' like her either," agreed Harry. "And neither would Dad or Sirius for that matter."

Sirius Black was Harry's Godfather. He was James Potter's best friend, along with Remus Lupin. Both men were an important part of Harry's life so far. They were so much like family that Harry even called them 'Uncle Sirius' and 'Uncle Remus', until Sirius told him to stop, that is. It makes me feel old, the man had said haughtily. That was Sirius, never serious. Harry's mother claimed that he had not grown up a bit since their teen years. James Potter, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin had been inseparable during school, Lily had told Harry.

There was another, which Harry only knew as a round eager face with beady eyes. His name was Peter Pettigrew. Harry never met him, but knew that he was the fourth and last member of his father's little gang. Lily had told Harry that he was a small shy boy, nether the less very kind. From the bits and pieces Harry had gathered through eavesdropping, Pettigrew disappeared a few months after he was born. Although no one could prove it, it was rather obvious that Pettigrew was taken by Voldemort, or at least his supporters.

They never found him, not even a dead body. It seemed that this affected James a lot. Harry's father would always turn eerily serious and sober whenever the name 'Peter' or 'Pettigrew' was mentioned. At first Harry would ask questions, but quickly he learnt that his father was less than willing to share information. He would go uncharacteristically quiet whenever Harry inquired about Pettigrew.

Harry asked his mother why dad reacted like that. Lily had explained that the four of them had been very close in school. James was blaming himself for what happened to Pettigrew, even though what had happened was not his fault. Pettigrew had disappeared on a secret mission for the Order.

The Order. Harry knew about the Order, even though he wasn't supposed to. But that was just more reason to find out more. It wasn't all that hard. Adults have this funny way of letting things slip, and thus Harry knew much about this supposed secret organization. Its full name was the Order of the Phoenix. Why, Harry never managed to find out. He supposed that it was just a fancy name so that it wouldn't sound too suspicious.

What he did know was that there were many, hundreds, of witches and wizards involved, throughout England. They held meetings every week, and sometimes more. Albus Dumbledore, current Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and arguably the greatest wizard ever, was the head of it. Harry knew quite a bit about Dumbledore as his parents were always talking about him. But Harry had only seen Dumbledore a few times. He was a peculiar man, with a long flowing beard that was snow white, an incomprehensible sense of humour and a kind twinkle in his eyes. It was hard to believe that this aged old wizard was Voldemort's archenemy, and the only man he fears.

Harry was snapped back into reality as the compartment door opened for the third time since their journey. Three boys entered. The first one, obviously the leader, had white-blond hair that was brushed to perfection, pale skin and a pointed face. The two behind him were rather large and looked somewhat unintelligent. A smug smile played on the blonde boy's face as he saw Harry and Ron.

"Why, isn't it Potty and Weasel?" he sneered tauntingly. "Weasel, I have to say that I'm rather surprised to see you here. I hope that your parents did not have to steal to pay for your school fees."

Ron blushed and his ears turned red. "Get lost Malfoy," he said.

"Ooooh," screeched Malfoy, "Little freckle-face is scared of admitting that his family is poor. Ashamed aren't you? Well you should be more ashamed of associating with lesser people of the society- filthy mudbloods."

Ron's hands curled into a fist by his sides. "Eat dung Malfoy," he whispered fiercely.

Malfoy scorned. "If there was one family that would eat dung, Weasel, it would be yours because you can't afford anything else. I suppose that you parents had to sell that rotten little place you call home just to get you here, hey?"

Ron looked ready to punch him.

Harry pushed Ron back and glared him warningly. Then he turned back to Malfoy. "I'd be careful of what you say, Malfoy. This isn't your home anymore. You can't just prance around and act like you own everything." Harry grinned suddenly. "I'm surprised that you are coming to Hogwarts. Durmstrang not close enough to your dear mummy for you?"

Malfoy took a step forward into the compartment and swung his wand from his pocket, pointing it to Harry's face. "Are you asking for trouble, Potter?" he whispered.

"I hope we're not fighting here, boys," came a soft voice with authority. "You wouldn't want to get into trouble already; school has not even officially begun yet." A middle-aged man with light brown hair walked in, looking at the boys inquiringly.

Malfoy froze but quickly swung his wand down and placed it into one of his robe pockets in what he thought was a very careless manner. "Off course not Professor. Now why would you think that?" He turned back to Harry and Ron and gave them meaningful look, "I'll see you two at school."

Translation, thought Ron to himself, we'll finish this later.

Malfoy threw the sandy-haired man an innocent smile and left the compartment briskly, followed closely by his comrades. Only when the compartment door slid shut did Harry get a good view of the intruder.

"Remus!" cried Harry, running up to the man that seemed like an uncle. "What are you doing here?'

Remus Lupin grinned, "Patrolling."

What from, Harry and Ron did not need to ask. It was obvious. It seemed that no matter where one went, one could not outrun the fear of being attacked by Voldemort. There always seemed to armed Aurors around wherever you went, whenever you went. Even Diagon Alley wasn't deemed to be safe. Aurors patrolled the area day and night, in fear of a surprise attack.

Moving on, Harry asked, "But why you?" It made more sense that an Auror would be doing this job... unless... Harry nearly jumped with delight. "You're coming to Hogwarts, aren't you? You're going to teach there!"

Lupin smiled. "About time you figured it out."

"Why didn't you tell us Remus?" asked Ron. Because Ron has been Harry's best friend since they were five, he knew Remus extremely well. The fact that he was going to become a professor was as much of a surprise to Ron as it was to Harry.

"Thought you might've liked that little surprise," replied Remus humorously.

"This is fantastic!" shouted Harry. Then he stopped. "But what about..."

Harry had known Remus' secret since he was a little boy. He couldn't even remember how he found out. He had just grown up knowing that Remus was a werewolf and he accepted the man was he was. To Harry, Remus was a sweet and gentle man, who rarely spoke, but always have a knack of speaking precisely to the point.

Remus lost the playful expression. "Dumbledore and I have come up with certain precautions. Everything should be fine. And then there's the potion."

Harry nodded, knowing that Remus was talking about the newly discovered Wolfsbane Potion, which helped a transformed werewolf keep its human mind.

"What subject are you teaching?" asked Ron.

"Defence Against the Dark Arts," replied Lupin brightly. "Have plenty of experience in that area."

Ron shuddered. "Remus, I've heard that that job is haunted. Fred and George told me that not a single teacher who has taught Defence Against the Dark Arts has lasted more than a year."

Lupin shrugged offhandedly. "Maybe I'll be able to break the streak."

"So why did you get the job?" asked Harry. Harry's father and Sirius both were Aurors but Remus always refused. Harry used to be puzzled. He knew that Remus wasn't a lesser fighter than James and Sirius, but why then wasn't he too an Auror? In the end, he finally guessed that it was because of his 'problem'. Remus did the odd job now and then, like getting rid of house pests. He wasn't lavishly rich but always managed to make ends meet.

"Just wanted a change," replied Remus, carelessly shrugging. He lied through his teeth. The real reason he went to Hogwarts, why everyone wanted him was because of the prophecy. Harry and Neville were both starting Hogwarts. They needed extra protection. That was why Dumbledore hired him despite him being a werewolf. But Harry didn't know about the prophecy, and there was no way that Lupin was telling him at such a young age. So he lied.

"Anyway," said Remus, shaking himself away from his thoughts. "I'd better get going. Have a great trip. Don't forget to change into your school robes. And try to stay out of trouble."

Harry grinned. "Those were the precise words Mum said to me this morning."

"Yes," replied Lupin and he stepped out of the door. "I would imagine so."

With a soft 'click', the compartment door shut behind him.

"This is going to be a hell of a year," muttered Harry as he stared out of the window.

He couldn't have been more right.

----

Author's Notes: Sorry about the very late update. Everything's sorted now, finally.

Hope you've all enjoyed this chapter. Took me quite a while to write. I know it was kinda boring, but bear in mind that I'm just introducing my world (this is an AU) and what has happened. I promise it will get more interesting.

Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter. I would be no where without you guys. You're fantastic!!! And if you're a new reader... a big welcome from me!!!

Please leave a review and encourage me. I really want to know what you think, I don't mind if its just criticism.

Thank you all once again for reading my story.

Have a wonderful day.

Amyranth.