Disclaimer: Refer to chapter 1.

A/N: MUAHAHAHAHA! I've come to torture you again! Just kidding. Actually, I've come to give you my newest addition to the story. Enjoy!

By the way, this chapter is dedicated to the super-awesome sophianwin, who not only became my first reviewer, but also gave me an excellent, constructive review. Thanks .

Chapter 2: Off to London We Go!

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

'Why must my alarm clock torture me everyday?'

Phoenix rolled over and slammed his hand down on the alarm clock, but the beeping continued. Confused, for he never missed his target, Phoenix smacked his alarm clock again. The beeping was still going on. He tried again and again, but to no avail. After about his 7th try, he started to hear snickering.

'It had not better be who I think it is, or else someone is gonna be dead.'

The tired, sleepy, and extremely ticked boy dared to open his eyes and found the sapphire-blue eyes of his best friend looking back at him.

"PECK! YOU ARE SO DEAD! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY FOR WAKING ME UP!"

At this, "Peck" started to laugh.

"Calm down Phoenix! I'm just waking you up! Jeez! I mean, today IS the day we go to London..."

"Oh yeah."

"Wow! He remembers!"

"Shut up."

"Why?"

Phoenix reached over to the other side of his bed, grabbed his assault rifle, and pointed it straight at his companion.

"Alright! Alright! I'll shut up!"

"Much better. Good thing you didn't know that I don't keep this thing loaded."

"Whatever. Well, now that you're up, we may as well go."

"Fine, but I'm picking our mode of transportation this time! I will NOT fly all the way to London!"

"Oh yeah? Then how are we going to get there?"

"Simple."

"How?"

"I'm not telling you."

"Why not?"

"You'll find out soon enough Peck. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to get ready now. You can wait outside and entertain yourself with my computer."

"Sweet! Halo, here I come!"

As Peck bounced out of the room, Phoenix heaved a sigh and started to change into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt that had Flameboy (You know, the little fireball dude from World Industries?) on it. After putting on some socks and shoes, he started to pack is bags. Into one bag he stuffed all of his "equipment", from his telescope set to his cauldron. He put his broom, a Cleansweep, into another bag. As for his last bag (which was quite large), he put all of his "firearms" as Peck called them. From his Assault Rifle (which he fondly calls "Louie") to his pair of Colt .45 handguns, he threw them all in. Once the weapons and their ammo were in, he paused for a moment.

"Hmm, maybe I should bring along some blanks. Heck why not?"

With that, he tossed some of those in too. He also tossed in the "experiments" he and Peck worked on over the summer. What do I mean by experiments you ask? Well, Phoenix and Peck like to make magical weapons, like stupefy grenades or "JLC4s" (A timed or remote explosive that when detonated, sends a Jelly Legs Curse shockwave). They had started this over the summer and planned to continue doing it during the school year. After securing all his bags together, he performed a charm that decreased the weight of his bags (A/N: He lives in America, and the wizarding government there allows underage magic so long as it is in the home) and slung them over his shoulder. With that, he walked out of his room and over to where Peck was playing Halo.

"All ready Peck?"

"Yup, I've got my stuff right here. Including my experiments. You have yours I assume?"

"Of course. Need you even ask?"

"No, no, of course not. Well then, shall we get going?"

"Why yes, I think so."

With that, Peck and Phoenix walked out of the house, stopping to pick up some money and say bye to Phoenix's mom on the way (Now be good Josh! I don't want you causing any trouble at that school!). Once they were outside and they made sure no one was around, Peck turned to Phoenix.

"Okay wise guy, how are we going to get to London?"

"Easy. Flag down a Knight Bus."

"THAT'S your idea? That's it? That isn't exciting. That's boring!"

"Actually, they're quite entertaining."

"Oh? And how would you know?"

"I've been on one."

"When?"

"I had to get to White Magic's Academy somehow for my first year you know."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"So, how do you flag one down?"

"Easy, like this."

Phoenix stuck out his wand hand (with his wand in it) in front of him for several seconds before a large BANG was heard and a blinding light erupted. Once the light died down, Peck saw a triple-decker bus that was a bright purple and had the words "The Knight Bus" on the windshield. A man hopped out and began to speak to the two.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out-"

"Cut the speech, we want to get to London. How much does it cost?"

"Well excuse me for trying to do my job. Anyway, It'll cost you thirteen Galleons and two Sickles each. If you want a mug of hot chocolate as well, it'll cost you thirteen Galleons and four Sickles each. And if you want a bed, it'll cost you fifteen Galleons each."

"We'll take the beds."

Peck and Phoenix stepped aboard, paying the man, who was about 22 years old, the 30 Galleons.

"Your beds are on the third floor at the front of the bus."

"Okay, thank you sir. And sorry for cutting your introduction short, it's just that I'm not one for introductions. They kind annoy me."

The man smiled.

"Ah. Understandable, I guess. My name is Steven Stendleton (A/N: lame I know) and I'll help you if you need something. The driver here is Aaron Aardvarkis."

"Okay, I think we'll check out our beds now. Thanks again."

"No problem. We'll be our way then. I suggest you hold onto something."

"Wh-"

BANG! The Knight Bus shot off again and Peck was flat on his back, seeing how he didn't heed Steven's warning to hold onto something. Phoenix, who held onto a bedpost, let go and started laughing at Peck's mistake. His companion got up off of the floor and glared at Phoenix.

"Shut up."

"Let's go upstairs shall we?"

"Yeah, whatever."

"Knight to F6."

A lone black knight moved as he was told and removed a pawn from the board and trapped the white king at the same time.

"Checkmate, I win Peck."

"You always win Phoenix."

"Aw, cheer up buddy! You're better than me at Exploding Snap."

"True, true, very true."

"I think I'll go downstairs and see where we're at."

"You go do that Phoenix. I'm gonna catch some shuteye."

The red-haired boy walked downstairs and left his blond-haired friend to get some sleep. He proceeded to the front of the bus where Steven and Aaron were.

"Hey, where are we?"

"We are in Michigan, making our way eastward. We should be in London in about thirteen hours."

"Cool. I have a question."

"Shoot."

"How are you going to cross the Atlantic?"

"Fly of course."

Phoenix paused for a moment.

"Fly?"

"That's what I said."

"How high?"

"I'd say about thirty feet above the water."

The redhead looked thoroughly relieved.

"Okay. How long is it until we reach the ocean?"

"Oh, I'd say about five to six hours."

"Fair enough. Can I get a couple of chocolate frogs?"

"Yup. It's seven Knuts each."

"I'll take four."

After paying the man 28 Knuts, Phoenix took his food upstairs and walked towards his bed.

"Peck, you still awake?"

"Yeah."

"Got two chocolate frogs for you."

"Toss 'em over."

Phoenix chucked two of the packs at his friend and started to open one of his own. After eating the frog, he looked at the card.

"Hmm. It seems the Brits have different cards than we do."

"Good. I'm sick and tired of getting Billy Bojangles all the time. Who'd you get?"

"Some guy named Albus Dumbledore."

"I've heard of him. I think he's the headmaster at Hogwarts."

"Here's what it says: Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling."

"Interesting."

"Yeah, I'll say. Who'd you get?"

"This dude named James Potter. It just talks about his life and how he was a powerful wizard who died bravely at the hands of- who the heck is 'You-Know-Who'?"

"Got me Peck."

"Well anyway, this guys seems to be pretty famous."

The two boys opened their second chocolate frogs, getting two more unfamiliar wizards.

"Well Phoenix, I'm gonna go to sleep now."

"I think I'll do the same. Wake me up in about 3 hours 'kay?"

"Gotcha."

So Phoenix and Peck dozed off while the Knight Bus continued on its course to London.

"Phoenix? Hey, buddy. You told me to wake you up in three hours. So here I am, waking you up."

"Go away."

"Hey, you told me to wake you up! So, WAKE UP!"

"Go away."

"Alright Phoenix, you leave me no choice. I shall return."

"Go away and never come back."

After a few minutes, Phoenix didn't hear anything from Peck. Thinking that the annoyance was gone, the redhead smiled to himself and tried to go back to sleep. That is until-

SPLASH!

-ice water was poured all over his head.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR PECK! I WAS TRYING TO SLEEP DAMMIT!"

"Hey, when you fell asleep, you told me to wake you up in three hours. I did as you told me."

Phoenix grumbled a bit, half-heartedly smacked Peck on the head, and got up off the bed.

"Well, now that we are both awake, we may as well work on another experiment. What do you think Peck?"

"Fair enough. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, so far we've only made weapons. I was thinking some sort of basic shield would be in order."

Peck rubbed his hands together.

"Well then, let's get started, shall we?"

"Yes we shall."

The two boys proceeded to make their shields, starting off by performing a duplicating charm on several of Phoenix's guns and melting them for the shield. Once they had the physical structure of their experiments, they began to mutter spells and wave their wands about, placing protective wards and mechanisms on the shields. They only stopped to go to the restroom or grab a hot chocolate. They were about halfway done when they heard a thumping noise, which stopped after about the third thump.

"What was that?"

"I think we might have lifted off. Lemme check."

Phoenix got up and walked over to the front of the bus. Sure enough, the Knight Bus was clear off the ground and over the Atlantic.

"Well, we're making our trans-Atlantic journey Peck. Let's continue our crafting."

They resumed placing absorbing charms and spells on their shields so they would be able to block curses sent their way. After three more hours of this, their newest experiment was done.

"Muahahahaha! My masterpiece is complete."

"I have one too Phoenix."

"Must you rain on my parade Peck?'

"Yes."

"Curse you."

"Go ahead, I'll just block it with this nifty shield I made."

"You first."

"My pleasure."

Phoenix readied his shield and Peck picked up his wand.

"RICTUSEMPRA!"

The curse flew at Phoenix's shield, hit it, and disappeared.

"Hey, it works. My turn. Fire a spell at me Phoenix."

"TARANTALLEGRA!"

A beam shot out of Phoenix's wand at Peck's shield. His shield glowed for a moment, then reverted back to it's original color.

"That was weird."

"Yup."

"I wonder wh-"

Phoenix never found out what Peck was wondering because at that moment, the curse erupted from Peck's shield and shot back at Phoenix, hitting him squarely in the chest. His legs immediately started to dance around like crazy.

"WHAT KIND OF CHARM DID YOU PUT ON YOUR SHIELD PECK!?!"

"I don't know. It must have been some sort of reflective charm. Pretty cool."

"Please perform the counter-curse for this Peck."

"Fine."

Once Phoenix stopped dancing, he walked over to his shield and started muttering again while waving his wand. Peck sighed.

"You aren't going to try and copy me, are you?"

"No, I'm putting a different effect on it."

"What sort of effect did you have in mind?"

"It's quite clever actually. You see, I'm making it so that the shield absorbs the spell and puts it into a holding cell, which I will soon make. This spell in a cell ("Hey! That rhymes!") can then be fired at something else. I was thinking that a later experiment of ours could use it. Sort of like an ammo magazine for one of my guns, but it holds spells and curses instead. Now if you don't mind..."

Phoenix returned to his work, muttering and waving his wand at the shield. After several minutes, Phoenix seemed satisfied with his work and started making his "cell". It took him a good hour more to perfect it. After clicking the cell into place on a port on the shield, he picked it up and showed it to Peck.

"Behold! I present thee with 'Thor's Shield'!"

"What kind of name is that?"

"A name that I made. Got a problem with it?"

"No, no. I'll call mine 'Peck's Shield'."

"How original. Thor's Shield is a better name that Peck's Shield."

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"...

It went on like that for quite some time.

Four hours later, Peck and Phoenix found themselves in the country bordering London.

"Mr. Peck and Mr. Phoenix, we have arrived at London."

"Thanks Steven. Here's a three Sickle tip for your hospitality."

"Oh, you don't have to..."

"But I want to. Bye Steven. Bye Aaron!"

"You two be careful now, ya hear?"

"Loud and clear."

"Hey, that rhymes!"

The two boys walked off of their transport, and with another BANG, the Knight Bus had disappeared. Peck turned to Phoenix.

"Well let's get going."

"What else are we going to do? Stand here and talk for five hours? The city is over there (he pointed south), let's go."

So, with bags in hand and shields slung over their shoulders, Peck and Phoenix started their trip to London. After a 10-minute hike, the two made it to the city.

"Okay Peck, now we have to look for a pub called 'The Leaky Cauldron'."

"I know Phoenix, I got a letter too."

After another solid 30 minutes, the two found the pub. They walked in and saw several witches and wizards inside, having a Butterbeer or Firewhiskey.

"Okay Peck, it's August 20th, so we have a good 11 days to explore Diagon Alley. I also heard that this place has rooms for us to stay at."

"Well let's get a room then, shall we?"

The two boys walked up to the counter and a man who seemed to be pretty old walked out.

"My name is Tom. Can I get you two anything?"

"Do you have any rooms open?"

"Yes I do, as a matter of fact."

"What's your best rate for two people?"

"Well, I have a room that has two beds, a bathroom, and a living room with a fireplace that's going for eleven Sickles a night."

"We'll take that one."

"Right this way."

They followed Tom down a hallway that had several doors, probably leading to other parlors. Tom walked into a room that was on the left and held the door open for the two boys. Once they were inside, Tom snapped his fingers and the fireplace came to life with a roaring fire.

"Anything else I can get you?"

"No, thanks anyway."

"Anytime. Bye now."

"See you later."

Once Tom had left, the two boys threw down their bags.

"Well Peck. We have two options that I'm willing to take. Option A is to hit the sack. Option B is to start another experiment."

"I think I'll take A."

"A wise choice my dear friend, a very wise choice."

"PHOENIX! WAKE UP! WE SLEPT IN! WE HAVE TO GET UP!"

"What? Are we going to miss the tr- wait, It's not September yet Peck, what are you talking about?"

"I wanna explore, Phoenix!"

"Fine, I'm up. But let's have breakfast first."

After they got dressed and had breakfast, which consisted of eggs, beacon, and orange juice, Phoenix and Peck walked to the back of the pub to the wall.

"Let's see, what did the letter say. Was it two up from the trashcan and three across, or three up from the trashcan and two across?"

"It was three up and two across Phoenix. Now, do you want to do the honors, or should I?"

"After you Peck."

Counting three up and two across, Peck tapped the correct brick with his wand.

Nothing happened.

He tried again. Still nothing. However, after his third attempt, the brick started to wiggle and a small hole grew in it, growing steadily larger until there was an archway onto a cobbled street.

"Well, I guess the old sayings right: Three's a charm."

"Are you sure that's an old saying?"

"That's not the point."

They walked onto the street and started to look around, first checking out "Quality Quidditch Supplies". By the time they had checked out nearly every store in Diagon Alley, it was almost two.

"What do you say we have a couple of Sundaes at Florean Fortescues's Ice Cream Parlor?"

"Sure."

They walked over to the ice cream parlor and up to the counter. A man came out from behind the counter and walked up to them.

"What can I get you two on this fine day?"

"Two Ice Cream Sundaes please."

"That'll be twenty-two Sickles."

Phoenix handed over the asked amount and the man walked into the back of the store, coming back with the two desired Sundaes.

"Thank you."

"Anytime. Hope to see you again soon."

"Same here. Bye!"

As they walked outside, a thought occurred to Phoenix.

"Hey Peck, you did bring money with you, right?"

"Yup, about fifty Galleons. Why?"

"Just curious."

Once they had finished their treat, the two boys looked around some more, going back to the Quality Quidditch Supplies store again for a while. After about an hour of re-visiting stores, the boys were getting bored.

"Well Peck, if this is what we are doomed to for ten more days, I don't think I'm gonna make it."

"Me either. The boredom would kill me! There has got to be something to do."

"I think I have an idea Peck."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"Okay, here's the plan..."

"Well! When I said I hoped to see you again soon, I didn't mean in an hour! What brings you here again?"

"We'd like a part-time job here. We don't want full wages, just a little extra pocket money."

"You'll have to talk to the manager about that. Would you like me to get him?"

"Sure."

The man behind the counter at Florean Fortescue's walked away, returning shortly with another man, who was eyeing the two boys with interest.

"Hello, I am Florean Fortescue. I hear you want a job?"

"Yes sir. Is that okay?"

"Why sure! I could use a little extra help. Here, come with me so we can work this out."

Peck and Phoenix followed the man to a little office in the back. It had a desk and several pictures hanging about. Florean sat down behind the desk and waved his wand, causing two chairs to appear before him. The boys took their seats.

"So, what makes you want to have a job?"

"Well, we are going to Hogwarts in ten days, and we didn't want to get bored out of our skulls just walking into the same stores over and over again. So we figured we could get a job to pass the time. What's more, we thought it would be nice to get a little extra money to spend. We were thinking something along the lines of a Sickle an hour or something like that."

"A Sickle an hour? That would be ripping you off! How does five Sickles and hour sound?"

"Better than we expected."

"Great. Now, another question: What would you boys like to do here? We have several jobs, making the ice cream, keeping the parlor in good condition, customer service, etc. What would you boys like?"

"Is there anything particularly hard about making the ice cream?"

"If you are good at your charms, I'd have to say no."

"I think we'll pick that."

"Okay then, let me show you the back where the ice cream is made."

He got up and the boys followed him. He walked into what looked like a kitchen, which had several small vats and faucets at the bottom of each one.

"Now, here is where all of the ice cream is prepared. I like to do most of it by hand and only add a few charms to make the food taste better. So, when someone orders something, say a strawberry ice cream, you'll get a cone, make a base of vanilla ice cream, add the strawberries and glaze, and voila! You have a strawberry ice cream. However, you aren't done yet. There's a nifty little charm I like to use to strengthen the flavor of the ice cream. I'll show you how to perform it tomorrow. If you don't know how to make a certain ice cream, the wall over there has all of the steps in order for each item. All of the topping containers are labeled, so you shouldn't have a problem with that either. Think you've got it?"

"Yup."

"Great. Also, in addition to your hourly pay, I think I'll throw in a free daily ice cream for each of you. You get to select whatever toppings you want, but keep it reasonable."

"Cool! Thanks Florean! By the way, would you mind if I called you Flo?"

Florean laughed.

"No problem. My parents used to call me that, it might be nice to have an old nickname back..."

"Okay, so when do we start work?"

"Probably tomorrow. You don't need a uniform, just make sure you wear appropriate clothing."

"No problem Flo."

"Be here tomorrow at six o'clock a.m. to help set up shop."

"Gotcha. See you tomorrow at six!"

"Bye now."

The two boys walked back to the Leaky Cauldron, talking animatedly about their new job.

"Can you believe it? We have a job!"

"Yeah, and a job making ice cream at that!"

"Five Sickles an hour! Flo is one cool guy!"

"You're tellin' me!"

They went on like that all they way to the pub. They walked up to the counter and were greeted by Tom.

"Hello boys, can I get you anything?"

"Two butterbeers please."

"Certainly. That'll be five Sickles each."

After paying the asked amount, the two boys took their tankards of butterbeer over to a table and continued to chat about their new job. After a solid 15 minutes of talking, they returned the empty tankards and headed towards their room.

"Well, we should go to bed early Peck. You know, so we can get to Flo's before six..."

"I read you loud and clear."

They didn't bother to change their clothes, but just kicked off their shoes and crawled into bed.

"Night Phoenix."

"Night Peck."

"Yo! We have a big order coming in! Three Sundaes, four Banana Splits, and two Caramel-covered Vanilla cones!"

"Alright soldiers, let's MOVE!"

The four employees in the kitchen began to run around, preparing the specified ice creams, bringing them out as they finished them. The Caramel cones were done first, then the Sundaes, and finally the Banana Splits came out. After the last ice cream was given to the customers, Phoenix spoke.

"Is there anything else we can get you?"

"No, this is it. Thank you."

"Any time. We hope to see you again soon!"

Five days had passed since Peck and Phoenix started their job. They had two co-workers in the kitchen. Erica was a tall, blond-haired girl who was very friendly and fun to hang with. Griffin was a medium-sized boy with black hair and was also quite amiable. Peck and Phoenix were glad to have them as friends.

In addition to their new friendships, the two boys seemed to be doing well with the boss. Flo was so pleased with their performance, that on their second day of work, he bumped up their wages to eight Sickles an hour. He was just so impressed with their customer skills that he felt it would be unfair to keep their pay at a mere five Sickles.

"Good work people! I must say we have really outdone ourselves this time."

"Aw, you're too kind Erica. I think I'm going to have my daily ice cream now, seeing as there aren't any new costumers coming at the moment."

"You go do that Phoenix. It's a hard-earned treat."

Peck started to talk to Griffin.

"So, how long has it been since you graduated from Hogwarts?"

"This is my first summer actually. I plan on staying here for a while before I can shoot for something bigger. Flo is a really great employer."

"Getting back to the subject Hogwarts, what's it like?"

Griffin sighed.

"We've been over this like what? Ten times?"

"Twelve to be exact."

"You get my point Peck. Fine, I'll be brief this time: It's a big castle. It has big parameters. It has four houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Slytherin is bad. The other three are good. End of story."

"Wow, that took you all of 20 seconds! That's a new record Grif. Good job!"

"So, let me ask YOU a question: What house do you want to be in?"

"Well, from what you've told me about each house, I'd say either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. Slytherin is for evil people, and Hufflepuff seems to be a bunch of hardworking dunderheads. I like Ravenclaw house because of the implied wits, and I like Gryffindor because of the implied bravery and courage."

"Courage eh? Would you have enough courage to say, kiss me even though you know I'll slap you for it?"

"Damn straight."

Without further ado, Peck walked over to Erica and pulled her into a kiss. Erica, horrified, immediately withdrew and smacked Peck clear across the face.

"I WAS ONLY KIDDING YOU IDIOT!"

Peck had a goofy grin on and Griffin was on the floor laughing.

"Well Peck. It appears you DO have the courage to be in Gryffindor."

"I'll prove my guts even more by kissing Erica again!"

"Don't you dare!"

"Why ever not, Erica my love?"

"Don't call me that!"

"You don't mean it?"

"I do too mean it!"

"Oh, my heart feels like it's been ripped out, stomped on by a hippogriff, and stuffed back into my chest!"

"Ah, put a cork in it lover boy."

"Hey! In the back! We've got costumers!"

All four of them sighed. Phoenix was still eating his ice cream. Peck yelled back.

"How many?"

"Two people."

Griffin and Erica looked at each other.

"We'll handle it."

"Thanks."

The next five days passed by rather quickly. On their sixth day, Flo had raised their wages again, this time to 10 Sickles an hour. On the last day, July 31st, Peck and Phoenix said goodbye to their friends, which was quite interesting:

"Well Grif, it was fun knowing you. Hey, maybe I'll see you again next summer!"

"Yeah, you too Peck, and you Phoenix. These last ten days were really fun guys."

The two boys then turned to Erica. Phoenix went first.

"Bye Erica. See you round, I guess."

"Come here Phoenix."

She gave him a hug and quickly kissed him on the cheek.

"Wow. Did you see that Peck? Erica gave me a kiss!"

"Hey, don't make me regret it!"

"Okay! My turn! And I'm not gonna use any words!"

Peck rushed over and pulled Erica, for about the 5th time in the ten days he worked at Flo's, into a kiss, hands on her waist. This time however, she didn't resist. Rather, she snaked her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. Peck, realizing his plan was failing horribly, moved his hands from Erica's waist to her butt. That got her mad. She let go and slapped him hard across the face.

"Don't do that again! Totally uncalled for!"

"Ah, but my plan worked, did it not?"

Erica sighed.

"I've been defeated yet again. Bye you two! Take care!"

After the two boys said good-bye to their friends, Florean brought them into his office.

"Well, I must admit I'm quite sad that you must take your leave so soon. You did a great job! I'm really proud to have had you as employees of mine. So, as a parting gift, I'm giving you fifteen Galleons each."

"Your too kind Flo! We had fun working here, especially since we had such a great and enthusiastic employer!" Peck winked.

"Well, so long! I hope to see you again in the future!"

"Bye Flo!"

After Florean Fortescue gave them their fifteen Galleons, Peck and Phoenix walked back to their rooms. They grabbed their lists of books that they would need and headed off to Flourish and Blotts. It was crowded with lots of parents who were getting their children's books for the new school year. Prominent to Phoenix was a group of people with flaming red hair. With the redhead group there appeared to be a boy with jet-black hair and a girl with bushy brown hair. Once they picked out all of their needed books, they were able to put Flo's bonus to good use.

With their arms loaded with the books they got, the two boys headed over to Madam Malkin's Robes For All Occasions to get their robes. Once they left the store, laden with their robes and books, Peck and Phoenix headed back to their room to get ready to leave. After packing all of their belongings in their bags, they proceeded just to lounge on their beds. Phoenix was polishing his assault rifle and Peck was watching him.

"Why do you feel a need to polish that thing?"

"For one thing Peck, 'that thing' is called Louie. Second, what else is there to do? I don't feel like working on another experiment now. We'll have plenty of time to work on them at the school anyway, so why do a poor job on one now?"

"Point taken. But seriously, polishing a gun? Isn't there anything better to do?"

"No."

"Whatever Phoenix."

The next morning, the two boys woke up at around nine, had a small breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron, and checked out of their room, lugging their bags (and in Phoenix's case, Flame too). As they left the pub, they walked to the curb of the sidewalk and hailed a taxi. As they got in, the driver turned to them.

"So, where to?"

"King's Cross Station."

"No problem."

They pulled into the street and headed towards the train station. After a 30-minute drive, the taxi driver dropped them off at their destination. They got out of the taxi and walked over to the station, looking at the platform numbers.

"Platform 7, platform 8, platform 9, platform 10- hey! Where's nine and three quarters?"

They looked again to make sure they didn't miss anything. Nothing. They checked the clock and found that it was 10:45.

"Well Peck, this is just peachy. We have about 15 minutes to find our ride to school, and we don't know where the heck it is!"

"Hey, calm down. Maybe we can recognize someone from Diagon Alley and ask them where it is."

"Hmm. Good point there my friend. Good point."

Phoenix looked around for signs of anyone he saw at Diagon Alley. No one.

"Well, that didn't work. We now have..." he checked the clock again "...seven minutes to find the train station. Hey, wait a minute. See that group of redheads over there?"

"Yup."

"I think I recognize them from the bookstore."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

The two boys walked over to the group. There was a man and a woman with six kids near the barrier between platform 9 and platform 10. Four of the kids had bags with them. Two were boys and two were girls. Peck walked up to the woman, who was talking to one of the girls.

"Excuse me miss, but do you know where I could find a platform nine and three quarters?"

"Ah, going to Hogwarts too? Well, Ron, Ginny, Harry, and Hermione are students as well. However, I'm quite surprised. You seem a bit old for a pair of first years..."

"Transfer students." Said Phoenix shortly.

"Ah. It's making much more sense now. So, what you do is you simply walk through that barrier right there, the one between platforms nine and ten."

Peck nodded, "Fair enough. Let's go Phoenix! Thank you!"

"No problem at all!"

As Phoenix was walking away, he heard the redhead girl talk to the redhead boy (he assumed they were siblings).

"Did you hear his name? Phoenix is an awfully strange name..."

Peck was walking in front of Phoenix and walked straight through the wall, his companion following suit. They immediately found themselves face-to-face with a huge scarlet engine that had the words "Hogwarts Express" written clearly on it. Peck turned to Phoenix.

"Well, here goes nothing."

They walked towards the train...

A/N: That chapter was 5,514 words long! Whew! I hope you don't mind long chapters. The other ones probably won't be as long (I hope). Well, I hope you found Phoenix and Peck's pre-Hogwarts experience interesting! Next chappie should be up soon...

And now for the obligatory thank yous:

Sophianwin: Once again, thanks for the awesome review. I made the corrections that you suggested, and I'll keep your over-cursing tip in mind. Rest assured that this isn't your typicical Mary Sue/Gary Stu transfer student crap story: It's loaded with humor (at least I find it funny...), and there's only a smidgen of humorous fluff at the end. By the way, since this is my first story I have EVER written, please excuse the lack of plot devices: I'll try to do better on my next story.

Kathryn Black: . glad you think my story is cool.