Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters from it.

Here's the second chapter. It's not so great but it's another chapter and it should get better. Sorry it took so long, but it's a long chapter and I just couldn't do much with it for a while. If anyone likes Trigun, you can read my Trigun fanfics. I have three fics up already. I also have a Napoleon/Kumar one. I'm done rambling. Any new readers: don't forget to review. Any and all readers: Enjoy! By the way you can email me at . If I got any information wrong in my fic, please correct me! Rambling is officially over.

I now present: Chapter 2!

Chapter 2

Diagon Alley

Andrew glanced behind him. Dud was staring at his letter in frustration. He looked as though he was willing it to make sense. In a very sudden motion, he started pinching himself all over.

"What are you doing?" Andrew asked, a bit worried for Duds sanity. Dud stopped pinching himself, but he didn't answer.

"Leave him be," Harry told Andrew. "He's a bit unstable right now."

"Why is he coming with us again?" Andrew asked for the fourth time. Harry seemed to be tired of answering.

"I will only say this once more. He's coming with us because we can help him better then his father can."

Andrew hung his head and stuck his hands in his jacket pockets. He found something small and hard in the left one. He pulled it out and realized it was a ton tongue toffee, one of the special candies. He looked at Dud and grinned.

"Hey Dud," He said innocently. "Would you like a toffee?" Dud looked up but Harry answered for him.

"No!" he shouted and grabbed the toffee. "Andrew, I can keep you from going to Hogwarts, and by all means I will if you don't behave."

"You wouldn't dare." Andrew glared at his father.

"Try me," Harry taunted him.

So the rest of the trip was quiet. Dud looked down at his letter again and Andrew sat, arms crossed, fuming.

"Where is Dud going to sleep?" Andrew asked as they got out of the car and grabbed Duds luggage.

"In your room," Harry said. In response to Andrews protests, he added "its only for tonight. Tomorrow we go to Diagon Alley."

The door creaked open and Jo walked out to meet them. "I thought I heard voices out here," she said as she hugged Harry. When she saw Dud, she added "oh, hello Dud. What are you doing here?"

Harry answered for him again. Dud didn't seem too eager to talk. "He, err, he, umm, he got a letter."

Jo's mouth dropped, but she knew her being surprised wouldn't help Dud, so she regained her composure.

"Oh, well, congratulations Dud," She put on a cheery smile. Your letter hasn't come yet Andrew.

Actually, he said with a grin as he pulled out his letter. Jo grinned back.

Congratulations, she said as she kissed him on the cheek. He rubbed it vigorously until the lipstick mark had worn away.

Were going to Diagon Alley tomorrow, Harry informed Jo. Well get their school things there.

Dud was quiet for the rest of the night. He didn't eat, he didn't look at anything but his letter, and he stared at the ceiling instead of sleeping when night fell. Andrew drifted off to sleep watching him stare into space.

Andrew walked up to the stool and put the old ratty hat on his head. It slipped down over his head and started to whisper in his ear.

"I know exactly where you belong," it said.

Andrew smiled. 'Gryffindor,' he thought.

"No," it whispered. Andrew was confused.

'Ravenclaw?' he thought.

"No," it whispered again.

'Hufflepuff?' Andrew thought desperately.

"No," it whispered, quietly laughing. Andrew's stomach fell. He felt like he was going to be sick.

"Slytherin!" the hats yell bounced off the walls of the Great Hall. Andrew slowly pulled the hat off. When he looked around, all of the tables were empty. He looked over at the Slytherin table. It was cloaked in darkness, but he knew someone was there. He knew who it was even before it spoke in its high pitched voice.

"Hello Andrew," it said. He could see a smile curling under its bright yellow eyes.

"Wake up boys." Now it was Harry's voice. The Great Hall was fading. Andrew opened his eyes. He looked over and saw Harry shaking Dud awake.

'I guess he fell asleep after all,' Andrew thought. Harry turned around and looked at him.

"Are you alright Andrew? You're all sweaty." Harry put his hand on Andrew's forehead. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just had a nightmare, that's all." He gave Harry a reassuring smile. His cat, Cleo, hopped up onto his bed. He absentmindedly scratched her ears as he pondered his dream. His last nightmare had also been about Hogwarts. He had walked up to the Sorting Hat to find himself in his underwear. None of them had ever been as bad as the one he just had.

"You're bleeding." Dud's words reminded Andrew of his surroundings. Andrew looked down at his hands. Cleo had bit him after realizing he wasn't paying attention to her.

"It's alright," Andrew said, smiling. "She's bitten me loads of times before."

He stood up and threw on some clothes. "Hungry?" he asked Dud. "Mum's probably got breakfast ready." Dud nodded and followed him downstairs.

Sure enough, breakfast was on the table. Bacon and sausage were set out on two plates. Dud's eyes lit up at the site of food. He hadn't eaten much the day before and he was very hungry.

They sat and ate in silence. Andrew thought about his dream again. He couldn't be in Slytherin, he just couldn't! His father would never look at him the same if he did. 'Don't worry.' He tried to reassure himself. 'I'll get Gryffindor and everything will be fine.' He looked up at Dud. His eyes looked so lost. Andrew wondered what he was thinking.

"Ready to go boys?" Harry asked.

"I am," Andrew said as he pushed his plate away. "How are we getting there?"

"Well, since Dud has never traveled by Floo Powder before, I thought we should take the car." Andrew didn't see the point of taking that much time.

"Why? That takes too long. Everyone has a first time with Floo powder."

"I know but Dud should understand it more first. Things can go wrong with Floo powder."

"You worry too much. Who do you know that has ever had problems with Floo powder?"

"One of these days I have to tell you all of my Hogwarts stories but drop it for now. We have to get going. You both have your lists?" The boys nodded. "Okay, let's go!"

They climbed into the car and Andrew put in his Gruesome Ghosts CD. They drove for about an hour and finally got to the Leaky Cauldron. Dud looked in all directions. He seemed more curious then scared though.

"Harry Potter?" The bartender had a very small amount of white hair and a face full of wrinkles. He looked like he could break in half if he moved too fast. "I haven't seen you in a very, very long time. It's an honor to see you again."

"Tom?" Harry shook the man's hand. "I can't believe you still work here."

"The Leaky Cauldron is and forever will be my home. Are you getting supplies for the boys?" He looked at Andrew and Dud.

"Yes. It's their first year." Andrew beamed at the boys.

"You should probably be going. You've got a lot to buy. It was wonderful seeing you again."

"You too!" Harry called as he walked towards the other door. They got to a brick wall. Harry pulled out his wand and tapped the wall. Andrew was so excited to be finally getting his school supplies for Hogwarts that he didn't pay attention to which bricks were tapped. The bricks opened and they walked through. Andrew looked up and down the streets at all of the shops.

"Where do we go first?" Andrew couldn't take his eyes off of any of them. Then something distracted him. He saw long, raven black hair glinting in the sun. It was a slender girl in a white blouse and short plaid skirt. She looked like a goddess and she was the most beautiful girl Andrew had ever seen. She was looking down at a list in her hand. 'So this girl is going to Hogwarts,' Andrew thought. He definitely wanted to get to know her.

"Umm, I think we'll go to Gringotts first. We need to get enough money to buy your stuff. "Harry's words jerked Andrew back to reality.

"Yeah, okay," Andrew said. He looked at Dud. He looked very curious, almost excited. 'Maybe he's starting to like the idea,' Andrew thought.

So they walked up the street to Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Andrew looked at all the different people walking into stores. There were people arguing over prices and items and anything else. Andrew wondered what they were all thinking.

They walked into Gringotts. Words were engraved on the second set of doors.

"Enter, Stranger, but take heed of what awaits the sin of greed, for those who take, but do not earn, must pay most dearly in their turn. So if you seek beneath our floors a treasure that was never yours, thief, you have been warned, beware of finding more then treasure there." Andrew read aloud. "What does it mean?" he asked Harry.

"It means you'd have to be mad to try and rob it. Keep walking."

Andrew was fascinated by the goblins. Harry gave one of them a key and they were directed to another one. He led them to a cart on what appeared to be a railroad track. They all got in and were soon flying down the tracks. Andrew was afraid that someone would get sick. They crashed to a stop in front of a door. The goblin opened it with Harry's key and Andrew's jaw dropped as he stared at piles and piles of gold.

"Is that all ours?" he asked. He looked at Dud and could see the reflection shining in his eyes. Harry started putting some in a bag. Andrew recognized the gold galleons, silver sickles, and bronze knuts.

"Yeah, it's ours." Harry ushered them back out and they rode back to the main room. They left the building and Andrew looked down at his list.

"I need books," he told Harry. Harry nodded.

"To Flourish and Blotts, then." Harry pointed at a bookstore three shops down. They walked in and Andrew stared at shelf upon shelf of books of all sizes and colors.

"What's on your list?" Harry asked him. Andrew looked down at it.

"Uh, The Standard Book of Spells Grade 1 by Miranda Goshawk, A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot, Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling, A Beginners' Guide to Tranfiguration by Emeric Switch, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore, Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, and The Dark Forces: A guide to Self Protection by Quentin Trimble." Andrew finished reading the list and looked at Harry.

"They're using the same books," Harry thought out loud.

"The books are still accurate," the shopkeeper replied. He watched them from behind the counter. "They won't need replacing for quite a few years. Do you need help finding anything?"

"Yes, thank you. I haven't been in here for ages." They found all the books and bought two of each, one for Andrew and one for Dud. They hadn't gotten their uniforms yet so they decided to do that next.

"Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions," Harry said and they started towards it. Andrew read off what they needed.

"Three sets of plain black work robes, one plain pointed black hat for day wear, one pair of dragon hide or similar protective gloves, and one black winter cloak with silver fastenings. It also says they should have name tags on them."

"We can put name tags on them at home," Harry said as they entered the shop. A woman came bustling in.

"Hogwarts?" she asked. Andrew and Harry nodded. Dud still seemed a bit overwhelmed. The woman hurried them into the back of the shop and stood them on footstools. Another witch was there and did the fitting for Dud. The witches slid robes over the boy's heads and began pinning them at the right length. They got their hats and gloves and went to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor for Ice Cream Sundaes as they waited for their robes and cloaks to be finished. Dud talked and joked a bit, but Andrew could tell he was still afraid.

They got their robes and proceeded to the next shop where they got pewter cauldrons, telescopes, glass phials, and brass scales. Next was the Apothecary. Harry got each of them basic potion ingredients for their potions class.

Finally it was time for wands. Andrew had wanted a wand since he was about four, and he was finally about to get one. A tinkling bell rang as they walked into Ollivanders. Andrew could only stare at the shelves full of thousands of narrow boxes that must contain wands.

A man who looked even older than Tom the innkeeper came in. He saw Harry and raised his arms in welcome.

"Harry Potter! It's so nice to see you again. Do the little ones need wands?" He smiled happily at them when Harry nodded.

"Excellent. You," he said as he gestured at Andrew. "Come Here." Andrew came closer and took the wand the man handed him. He flicked it and the old man's hair was singed.

"Not that one, then." He smiled again as he handed him another. Andrew flicked it and the old man's clothes were suddenly perfectly clean and pressed.

"There we go. I knew you wouldn't be hard to fit. I can tell, you know." Andrew didn't know what to think of this. He thought it meant he was simple and predictable. He wasn't sure he wanted to be that. He stood aside as Dud came forward.

"I know exactly the wand for you," he said. He grabbed a box near the top of the shelf and handed the wand to Dud. Dud flicked it and sparks flew out.

"Nothing happened," Dud said. "Does that mean I'm not a wizard?" He looked hopeful and his face fell when the old man shook his head.

"Sparks came out. You couldn't see them because inside you didn't want to." Andrew didn't think this made sense, but he didn't care. He had all his supplies and he was going to Hogwarts!

They left Ollivanders and Harry took them to them to the Magical Menagerie as a birthday treat. Andrew's birthday was coming up in just weeks and Dud's had, of course, just passed. Andrew didn't enjoy the smell and noise, but he loved looking at the different animals. He finally picked an orange cat with a few black stripes on her back. Dud decided on black rat. He was delighted with the fact that it was playing jump rope with the other rats.

With all of their new stuff, they drove back home. All they had to do now was wait.

Did anyone like it? It's long and boring but I felt it was needed. It should get better if you didn't like it. Review!