Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. The content within this story does not reflect upon J.K. Rowling or anyone officially with Harry Potter. This story is mine, along with anything you don't recognize. (Basically.) Do not borrow from or archive this story without my permission.

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Author Notes (January 31, 2005): I'm reposting all my stories from all my accounts here, as soon as I re-read and correct anything I find. I still probably won't catch all of it, and the formatting is giving me hell, so if you catch mistakes or see something you think I should work on please tell me, and I'll turn some attention on it.

Harry Potter and the New Beginning: Year One

Jess Scefing

"Hey, Harry! Wake up over there!"

Ten year old Harry Potter blinked twice and turned to his best friend. "I'm awake. Just ignoring you. This spot on the wall is a lot more interesting than anything your going to say I bet." He was doing his best to keep a straight face, but the green eyes were laughing so hard it gave him away.

"Oh, fine, be that way." Kyle muttered as he bounced onto Harry's bed. "I was just going to mention that you got a letter, but I'm pretty sure now it's not yours. They put your name as 'Harry Potter' instead of 'Hairy Arse'." Harry scrambled out from underneath his covers to grab the letter, punching the brown haired boy in the arm as he did so.

"A letter? Who would send me a letter? And why did you have it?" He asked as he took the thick-papered letter, turning it over as he examined it. Kyle rolled his eyes and peered over his friends shoulder to try and catch what it was about.

"To answer those questions, One, yes it is a letter you nit, two, someone who doesn't know you obviously, and three, is because it sailed in through the window and pegged me in the back of the head! I got one too. I want to open them at the same time!" He looked over at the letter being waved under his nose and saw they were the same, except for the addresses. One was to "Mr. K. McKinnon, the bed on the left," while his stated "Mr. H. Potter, the bed on the right" followed by the name of their dormitory, the name and address of the orphanage, and the other usual requirements for a letters address.

"Why did they put our beds?" He asked as he reached over and put his glasses on so he could possibly see past the length of his arm.

"God, do you ever stop? I don't know! I'm opening mine now." They both tore into the letters with little grace. A few seconds elapsed. They looked at each other. They fell onto Harry's bed laughing hysterically.

"'Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'"? What kind of a name is that? Watch out Harry, I might just go there to learn a few spells mate! Abra kadabra!"

"God, this is the dumbest joke I have ever seen! Look at this!" He rolled onto his stomach so he was facing the other boy and pointed out a part. "Look at the supply list! Robes, a pointed hat, dragon hide gloves and a cloak?" Kyle snorted with laughter and went to keep examining his.

"Oh, perfect Harry! Now I know just what to get you for your birthday, dragon hide gloves! Or maybe some unicorn mittens! Oh, look at the books!" They finished the letters together, laughing as they pointed out each new impossible thing until it was time for breakfast. The rest of the day went by quite normal for the two, besides them whispering to each other things like "Oi, Kyle, you got some egg on your robe!" and during chores when Kyle reminded him first years weren't allowed brooms.

-x-

Harry and Kyle sat next to the open window of their room several days later, the warm wind blowing slightly as they strained their ears.

"Any second now Harry, and you'll be eleven." Kyle's brown eyes reflected the streetlight slightly as he grinned over at him.

"Shh! I want to hear the clock as soon as it chimes!" They waited in silence until they heard the first stroke of midnight before Kyle pulled something out from beneath his bed. Harry was still listening to the clock chimes when he felt it pushed into his hand. He waited until the last chime stopped echoing and was about to pull the paper off of the present when:

"Oh, I plumb forgot! It's yer birthday, isn't it Harry?" Both boys leapt into the air as a loud voice came from behind them, Harry knocking his head on the window sill and Kyle not quite managing to get up as his socks caused his feet to slip on the old wood floor as he came down with a thud. "Calm down now, yeh don't need ta wake the whole place, now do ye?"

They both stared wide eyed and open mouthed as a giant of a man stepped forward from the shadows, huge feet clomping across the floor as he came to rest beside Kyle's bed. He sat down on it, paying no mind the protesting creaks as he looked down at them. Which was just another observation to his size; He was even looking down at Harry, who was standing up and not necessarily short. Kyle found his voice first, or most of it as he croaked out "Who are you?"

The giant chuckled a bit and sat back some on the groaning bed. "Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts.. An' you'd be Kyle McKinnon wouldn't yeh? An' your Harry. Ain't seen yeh since you were a baby." Kyle stood up and moved to stand by Harry as they both traded a look. Harry turned back to 'Rubeus.'

"Hogwarts? You say that's where you are from?"

"Yep!" he grinned proudly. "Bes' wizardin' school there is! An' it's got the best Headmaster that's prolly ever been there, Albus Dumbledore."

"The Supreme Mugwump?" Kyle interjected, looking innocent. That title in particular had sent him almost rolling on the floor in laughter.

"The very one! So ye two did git your letters then, eh? That's why I was here o' course, we were awaiting yore reply. Speakin' o' which…" They watched as he dug around in his pockets and then openly gaped again as he brought out an owl, along with a quill pen and some paper, the same type they recognized had been on their letter. Flattening it on his knee he started writing in a messy scrawl. Harry and Kyle looked at each other. Harry nodded and Kyle took a half step forward.

"Right, uh, Mr. Hagrid?"

"Jus call me Hagrid, e'ery one does."

"Uh, sure, Hagrid, the joke was funny with the letters, but keeping an owl in your pocket is just a bit much doncha think?"

He looked up from his writing, and expressing an astonishing amount of eloquence said: "Huh?"

Kyle rolled his eyes and Harry spoke up. "This whole 'Hogwarts' thing. The joke was funny, but there isn't any reason to keep it up. I mean, it's not like we believed it or anything…" he broke off as Hagrid started chuckling.

"Heh heh, well I'm sorry ta disappoint you boys (Kyle smirked slightly over to

Harry), but I'm not jokin'."

"Of course you are! Magic isn't real!" Kyle said indignantly as Hagrid raised a bushy eyebrow.

"What? I knew Harry 'ere didn't know 'bout it, thanks to those Dursleys, but you should 'ave been told. A proper letter was sent here with yeh when your parents were killed, 'xplaining everything. Yeh mean yeh didn't get it?" Kyle narrowed his eyes.

"What do you know about my parents?"

"And the Dursley's?" Harry said with a sneer. Mr. Wilkes had told him about how he was dropped off, and what he knew about his parents, which amounted to nothing more than their names.

"Ah know yore parents were murdered, and those sad excuses for muggles jest left yeh here when they were supposed teh raise yeh." They both shut up. He looked quite peeved. "Guess I hafta 'xpalin the whole thing to yehs, huh? Siddown, yeh two." They sat without complaint on Harry's bed.

"Now, fir's, magic is definitely real. Don't you doubt it either, 'cause yeh're both wizards, and if there's anythin' from your parents, yeh're both thumpin' good ones two I'll wager. Now, yeh know your parents were murdered, right yeh two?" Kyle nodded, and Harry blinked.

"What? My parents are dead? Bu- who?" Harry tried to process this information, but there seemed to be problems getting a concise message between his ears, mouth, and brain.

"What? Yeh didn't know that? Damned Dursleys… We knew they didn't give tha' Wilx feller yeh're letter, but we thought they woulda said somethin'…" Hagrid shook his massive head in disgust. "Well, the thing is the same person killed both o' yehr parents. 'E was a wizard, and evil one. Very powerful 'e was, the only one 'e feared was Dumbledore, and the only safe place was Hogwarts. Yeh see, he gained lots o' followers, ones jus' as evil as 'im teh do 'is dirty work for 'im. Though 'e kept up with it pretty well 'imself. Both o' yore parents worked against 'im. He killed any who tried to stand 'gainst 'im too. Jus' like yore parents. They both fought 'im. 'E killed many families. The Bones, the Pruitt's, anyway. He killed yore parents Kyle. Then not too long after he went teh kill yores. He killed both yore parents Harry, but for some reason, when he went ta kill yeh, his spell backfired. It hit him, and 'e disappeared. No one knows why. Yeh were the only one ta ever live after You Know 'Oo decided ta kill 'em."

"You Know Who? Well, I don't know who, and if he killed Kyle's parents too but I was the only one too live, why is he here? Tell me that!" Harry wasn't liking this conversation. There was no way it could be true, and it just wasn't right to talk about their parents!

"Kyle wasn't there when th' attack came." Kyle looked up from his knees.

"You didn't answer his other question. Who killed them." Kyle leveled a glare at him as Hagrid shifted in his seat as though to keep from answering.

"Well, yeh see, people don really like ta say his name, so we jus say 'You Know Who', 'cause, well, everyone knows who…"

"We don't. Tell us."

"Uh, it's… well…" Kyle glared more.

"Spit it out, stutter. Who killed my mum and dad?"

"'Is name is… Voldemort. An' don't make me say it again. Well, after 'e disappeared, everyone went back ta normal. Ye didn't hafta worry 'bout comin' home ta see yer family dead… But it all ended that night. That's how ye got that scar Harry."

Harry impulsively raised a hand to his head. And then remembered a flash of green light, and a laugh. But, still, even if magic was real, why didn't they know about it? And why hadn't they ever been able to use it before?

"It… can't be true. And even if it is, why can't we do magic? It would have been really nice to have when ever it was our turn to scrub the floors or something!" Hagrid chuckled again.

"Well, yeh'll jus hafta look some cleanin' spells up when yeh git ta Hogwarts then. An' yeh can do magic. Think back now, like when yeh were scared, or angry. Anythin' strange happen to yeh then?" They both thought. Like that time when Kyle hit a baseball, and instead of it breaking the window, it just seemed to stop in mid-air and then fall. And the time they went to the zoo, and Harry could talk to the snake? Kyle had said he hadn't been speaking English.

"…It's true…" Harry was pale. "So, my parents are really dead too." Hagrid cleared his throat.

"Yeah, they are. But that's not somthin' ta dwell on. Well boys. I don't fancy spendin' the night 'ere an' then leavin' with e'ery kid in this whole place gawkin' at us when we do, so we'll just be spendin' the night at the Leaky Cauldron. So fetch yer stuff together an' soon as we tell that Wilkey I'm takin' yeh, we'll be off." Kyle just stared at him.

"Why are we leaving? That letter said we still have a month until it is time to go, didn't it?" Hagrid nodded.

"Yep, September 1st is when yeh two leave. But I'm jus gonna take yeh two ta get yore supplies. Yeh'll 'ave a bit o' a time without someone teh show yeh how the fir's time. Now, yeh'll only be gone a night, so yeh don' need a bunch o' things. Uh, mind pointin' me in the direction o' that Milkes feller?" Harry got off the bead to start packing his things.

"When you go out the door, you turn to your left and go down the stairs. His office is at the bottom. Oh, and his name is Mr. Wilkes too." Hagrid nodded and left.

"Hey, Harry? Are you okay? I mean, with finding out your parents are dead?" Harry turned around.

"Uh, yeah, pretty much… I had thought when I was older, I would go find them or something, but… Well, them being dead is kinda better than them not wanting me isn't it?" Kyle put his hand on his shoulder and nodded.

"I guess. But hey, think about it! We get to leave the orphanage, and learn magic! Magic! It is going to be the best, and we get to go together." Kyle's grin was infectious, and Harry was soon smiling too.

"Yeah, and think what Mr. Wilkes will do when he sees Hagrid!"

-x-

They all sat on the bus as it went through London, to wherever the Leaky Cauldron was. Both boys had decided not to ask, preferring to be surprised. But, a problem was remembered when Hagrid had asked them to count out the money for the tickets that Harry pointed out.

"Uh, Hagrid? We, uh, don't have any money…" They were both preparing themselves for being told they wouldn't be able to go, and would have to continue going to the school at the orphanage.

"Nah, I got it righ' 'ere. Oh, wait! Yeh meant teh git yore supplies an' things, didn't yeh? No problems, I've got the keys to yeh're vaults righ' 'ere." He said, patting one of his pockets on his coat. "Or is it 'ere? Ah, well, the thing is I've got 'em, and which pocket they're in won't matter 'til tomorrow when we git ta Gringotts."

They both sighed but Kyle got the question in first.

"What's Gringotts?" Hagrid waited until they were seated and he had pulled out some huge canary yellow knitting before answering.

"Wizards bank, only one. Run by goblins too, so yeh never hafta worry 'bout security. Clever things, goblins, but not real friendly. Only place safer is Hogwarts, have some business for there also. Gotta pick somethin' up for Dumbledore. Top secret too, so don't even ask." And with that Hagrid went back to his knitting.

"An' 'ere's the Leakey Cauldron. Famous place, known all through the wizarding

world." Harry and Kyle traded skeptical looks. They wouldn't have even noticed it if Hagrid hadn't pointed it out. It appeared to just be a small whole in the wall type pub, a record store on one side, and a bookstore on the other. "Well, c'mon now. Need ta get us a room. 'Tis after midnight after all." And with that they followed Hagrid inside.

The place was a good deal bigger on the inside that it appeared, especially with being sandwiched between to other shops. There was a few people scattered around, and all looked rather, well, creepy, in Harry's opinion. Heck, the whole place was. It was dim and smoky, giving the place the sepia tone atmosphere of an old photograph. Hagrid was leading them up to the bar, where a grizzled old man stood drying a glass out with an old arm towel.

"Ah, Hagrid! What can I get yeh so late? The usual?"

"No thanks Tom, jus a room, two beds. You two don't mind kippin' together do ya?" They shook their heads no as Hagrid paid for the room with some odd looking coins before the headed up to room 8, too tired to even notice the mirror tsking at two young boys being out so late.

Author's Notes: Well, whadya think? Here's the first real chapter. Kyle is my own character, McKinnon his surname because Hagrid mentioned in the book that it was one of the families killed by Voldemort. I had said also that Harry wasn't necessarily short, and that was because he wasn't living in a cupboard. It had said in the book that was one of the reasons why he might have been so short, and so pale. So my Harry isn't a midget, or an albino. Remember, his dad was tall. But Harry won't be real tall, like say, Ron. Just not short.