Ok, I am very sorry for not updating this sooner. I know that when I started my other story, I said that I would update this one too but the thing is, when I first started writing this,I thought that I would only take it up till this chapter but then I realized that the whole story owuldn't be very interesting if I cut it here so I had to revise a lot of things. Anyways, thanks as always to those lovely people who reviewed!

Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. They are all owned by J. K. Rowling but I do own those characters, which you don't recognize.

Harry Potter woke up at 7:00 in morning on September 1st. He quickly took a shower and went downstairs to eat some toast.He came back up a few minutes later and laid back on his bed staring at the ceiling. He was excited for one. He was going to a new place. A place that defied everything that he'd been led to believe his entire life. A place where his parents had once lived...there would probably even be people who knew his parents.

He was also very nervous. He knew nothing about magic. He probably wouldn't even be able to do magic. All the teachers would probably laugh at him. Some of the students would laugh at him. They might send him back to the Dursleys. Harry couldn't bear that thought. He wanted more than anything to get away from this place.

When he had told Sam, Anna, and Eric that he was leaving, the three of them were speechless. Eric took it the best out of all of them. He was the only one he had trusted with the real reason of why he had left. Surprisingly enough, he didn't really care. As long as Harry came and visited them over the summer and wrote letters or something, he would be fine. Sam and Anna didn't take it too well. Neither of them understood why Harry would ever want to leave Little Whinging.

He sat up on his bed and took a deep breath. He had talked to Hermione the night before and she had assured him that he would be fine. She said that she would even give him extra tutoring if he needed it. Harry smiled at the thought of the girl.

Looking at his clock, he noticed that it was only 7:45. The train would leave at eleven and Hermione would be here to pick him up at around 9:30. She told Harry that she didn't like searching for a compartment. So, being the normal teenage boy that Harry was, he promptly fell asleep.

He was woken up an hour and a half later by Aunt Petunia's shrill scream followed by a persistent knock on his door.

"Wake up! It's 9:15." Aunt Petunia rapped on his door until he reluctantly got up and opened it. "Finally! Your girlfriend is coming in fifteen minutes to pick you up."

Harry scowled at her and replied, "Firstly, she's not my girlfriend and secondly, I woke up at seven this morning and all my things are already packed." Harry pushed opened his door slightly to show her his trunk along with his cat, which was sleeping on top of it.

Petunia frowned slightly as she saw the cat. "You're taking that thing with you, aren't you?"

"Naturally," replied Harry sourly. "I wouldn't dream of leaving her here with you." Harry did nothing to hide his disdain for his aunt and she did nothing to show she cared.

"Hmph, well, bring your things down soon. I don't want to keep them waiting for long." Petunia turned sharply on her heel and sauntered down the stairs. Harry rolled his eyes and walked back into his room to get his trunk. Picking up his cat, he placed her on his shoulders. He still hadn't thought of a name yet, which displeased him greatly. As he stooped down to lift the handle of his trunk, the cat woke up and unconsciously dug its tiny claws into Harry's neck. Harry winced slightly but relaxed as it retracted them.

The cat perched sat up on Harry's shoulder and watched intently as Harry began to lift his trunk. Suddenly there was a noise and the cat's eyes narrowed. It let out a hiss followed by a snarl. A few seconds later, Harry's cousin, Dudley walked into the room with a smirk on his face. The cat hissed once again and dug its claws into Harry's shoulder. Harry winced and looked at the cat with a glare. The cat dropped his head but continued to glare at Dudley.

"What do you? You're irritating my cat."

Dudley walked up to Harry's trunk with a smirk on his face and picked up the other end of Harry's trunk and said, "Lift."

Harry scowled at his cousin but lifted the trunk anyways. Dudley was not exactly what you would call fat. He was just rather large and had an extraordinary amount of muscle for someone his age. The two of them carried the trunk down the stairs and placed it in front of the door.

Harry stared at his cousin with his green eyes narrowed and asked, "What do you want, Dudley?"

Dudley leaned against the wall and said, "What? Can't I help my weak little cousin carry his heavy trunk down the stairs?" Harry scowled and petted his cat who was staring uncannily at Dudley. Dudley shivered as he saw how eerily similar his cousin and his cat looked with their black hair and green eyes. "Fine, I just wanted to say that I'm glad you're going."

"You're…what?"

"I'm glad you're going to that school," replied Dudley calmly, keeping his eyes on Harry's cat. "You'll be with freaks exactly like you."

Harry's lips curled into a small smirk as he lifted his cat off his shoulders. "It's an improvement from here at least."

Dudley frowned at Harry before saying, "Do you really think that we're that bad?"

Harry raised an eyebrow at his cousin before asking slowly, "What else am I supposed to think?" The two cousins regarded each other silently before Dudley turned and walked out of the room. Harry watched his cousin's retreating back before shaking his head. Dudley was an idiot. It was too late for them to be friends. If they had wanted to be friends then Dudley should have started a few years ago.

Harry's cat jumped out of his hands much to Harry's surprise and began pawing at the door. Harry frowned and picked up the cat. He opened the door and saw Hermione in front of it about to knock on it.

"Oh, hello Harry!" Hermione frowned at him and looking at his untidy hair said, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, my trunk's right here." Harry put his cat on the floor and dragged his trunk outside. Hermione stepped to the side and picked the cat up.

"Harry, your cat is adorable. What's her name?"

"I haven't thought of one yet," replied Harry as Mr. Granger came to get Harry's trunk.

"Ginny might know of a name," replied Hermione handing the cat back to Harry.

"Hello Harry, ready to go?" Harry nodded and Mr. Granger smiled. "That's wonderful." After lifting Harry's trunk into the car, he smiled at the two and said, "We can leave at any time."

Harry nodded and said, "Give me a minute." He walked back up to the house and stood in the doorway. He sighed and looked around at the perfect house that he had grown up in for fifteen years. Nothing was out of place. Even the little cupboard that he had lived in for the longest time looked neat, from the outside that it. You would never have been able to tell that a little boy once lived in there. He shook his head and with a small smile, closed the door.

Hermione and Harry arrived at King's Cross about 45 minutes later. Harry had gone to sleep in the car much to Hermione's annoyance. She had hoped to tell him more wonderful things about Hogwarts. Once they reached the station, she poked Harry and said, "Harry, wake up."

Her cat Crookshanks got up from its place next to Hermione and walked onto Harry causing him to open his eyes. He yawned and widened his eyes as he saw the cat's bushy face right in his. His cat, which was on his shoulder woke up as well and meowed at Crookshanks. Crookshanks turned up its nose and walked back to Hermione. "Your cat is huge."

"It's part kneazle," replied Hermione getting out of the car.

Harry yawned and got out of the car. He looked around and said, "Do you see anyone from Hogwarts?"

"No, but you'll see them on the platform. Help me with the trunks, will you?"

Fifteen minutes later, Harry found himself in front of a barrier that divided platforms nine and ten. "Erm…are we in the right place, Hermione?"

"Of course we are, why?"

"I just…well, where's the platform?" Harry looked around confused.

Hermione laughed and said, "Do you honestly think that there would be a platform nine and three quarters in a muggle station?"

"No but-

"This wall is the entrance to platform nine and three quarters." Hermione pushed her trolley up to this and said, "All you do is run straight into it." She lined up right in front of the wall and said, "Watch me and come after." She turned to her parents who were waiting quite a distance behind them and waved. They waved back and yelled for her not to forget to write. With a bright smile in Harry's direction, she ran towards the wall and promptly vanished into it.

Harry blinked and rubbed his eyes, amazed at what he saw. Taking a deep breath, he lined himself up with the barrier like Hermione had done and ran forward. The wall was approaching fast. Harry wasn't so sure about this. What if he crashed into the wall? He felt his cat dig her claws into his shoulders. There was no time to think now. Harry shut his eyes waiting for the inevitable but opened them as he felt nothing. Looking around, he saw a scarlet engine in front of him and a sign above him that said in bold writing, platform nine and three quarters. Hermione was a few feet away talking to an Indian girl wearing black robes.

Harry took a deep breath and walked towards the two. It was still very overwhelming and he couldn't grasp how magic could exist. He knew that it wasn't any scientific sort of thing but it was still very confusing.

He pushed his trolley next to Hermione where it was immediately taken by a man in a hat the same exact color of the train. He lifted his cat off his shoulder and began petting it as he looked around. There were so many people. Harry couldn't believe that everyone here was a witch or a wizard. A whole thriving community had been living right under his very nose yet he had no idea about it at all.

People were staring at him. It was as though they had never seen another human being in their lives. A few were even openly pointing at him while he was looking at them. Hermione had warned him that something like this would happen. She had shown him the newspaper that the wizards got. Harry had been surprised to say the least. The majority of the articles had been about him.

He felt a slight tapping on his shoulder and turned to see Hermione scowling at him. The Indian girl with her was looking at him intently.

"Yes?" asked Harry.

"As I was saying Padma, this is Harry Potter. He'll be in our year." Harry looked at the Indian girl. She was a little taller than Hermione and rather slim. She had sharp brown eyes framed by thick black eyelashes and jet black hair that went down to the middle of her black. She looked like a very smart person in an un-bookish way.

She regarded Harry for a moment with wide eyes before grinning at him. She stuck her hand out and said, "Padma Patil, I'm in Ravenclaw."

Harry shifted his cat to one of his hands and took hers. "Harry Potter, err…no house."

Padma smiled at Harry and said, "Do you have any idea of what house you want to be in?"

"Uh…I haven't actually thought about that. Any house would be fine, as long as I get into one."

Padma looked at Hermione who seemed to be looking for someone else. She looked back at Harry and said, "Well, if you get into Gryffindor, watch out for my sister. She is the most infuriating person I've ever met in my life. By the way, it was a pleasure to meet you." Padma turned to Hermione before saying, "I'll see you around, Hermione."

Hermione turned back to the girl and nodded. Immediately, she turned away from Harry and began searching that platform for something. Harry noticed this and said, "Hermione, are you looking for someone?"

"What? Oh, I'm looking for…Ginny!" Hermione ran towards the red-headed girl who quickly separated herself from her three older brothers. She had a look of disgust written all over her face.

"Thank god you're here, Hermione. I swear they were getting more annoying by the second." She saw Harry behind Hermione and her cheeks went pink for a second. She waved and said, "Potter."

Harry walked up to Ginny with his cat still in his hands and said, "Hello Ginny."

Ginny felt the heat rising in her cheeks but it evaporated as soon as she saw the cat in Harry's hands. "Is that a cat?"

Harry held the cat out to Ginny who took it with shining eyes. "I bought her at Diagon Alley. I don't have a name for her yet."

"Names are easy to think of," replied Ginny, stroking the black cat's soft fur. She gave the cat back to Harry and frowned. "It's funny though. She looks a lot like you."

"I know," replied Harry smiling at the red head. "Hermione said you were good with names. Got any ideas?"

Ginny smiled and said, "I am. Let's see…Blackie?" Harry shook his head. "Guinevere?"

"Too common."

"I suppose so…Ebony?"

"No."

"Green eyes?"

"As nice as that sounds, it reminds me of a dwarf or something." Harry stroked the cat causing it to dig its claws into his palm. He yelped and Ginny snickered.

"How about claws?" Harry shook her head and scowled at his hand. "Jaws?"

"That is a shark's name."

Ginny raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing. "How about Tala?"

Harry looked at his cat and murmured, "Tala…that's good." His eyes lit up causing Ginny to feel funny. "Thanks Ginny."

She barely managed to smile before saying, "Anytime Potter."

Harry petted Tala before saying, "Have you seen where Hermione's gone off to?"

Ginny scratched Tala's ears before laughing. "She's probably gone to find her dearest boyfriend."

Harry snorted and said, "You're probably right."

Ginny nodded and said, "Yeah but there's still the fact that she's a Gryffindor. As much as the Slytherins do respect her, they would never be happy with her dating Draco. There's too much rivalry going on between the two houses. It's become even more now that Ron's a prefect."

Harry looked at Ginny's brown eyes which seemed to hold some kind of glint in them. He blinked and it was gone. "What house do you think I'll be in?"

Ginny looked up and said, "Honestly, I don't know. Mum was saying something about both your parents being Gryffindors so…"

Harry smiled at her before looking around. He smiled as the people passing by him stared. It felt very uncomfortable but he knew the he had better get used to it soon. People would be doing it a lot. Harry also noticed that people were beginning to get onto the train so he said, "Ginny, should we get on the train now?"

Ginny looked around and yawned. "I suppose so." She looked back at Tala who was purring contently and said, "You have a lovely cat." Ginny turned on her heel and began walking towards the train.

Harry was about to follow when suddenly, two pairs of arms grabbed him and began steering him in the other direction. Harry looked at the boys who had grabbed his arm and said, "Do you give this kind of special treatment to everyone?"

The boy on his right laughed and said, "No we don't, Potter. This is just for you." He had a heavy Irish accent. The Irish boy and the other boy dragged Harry onto the train and stopped right in front of none other than Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom. The two boys dropped his arms and went to stand behind Ron.

"Ah Harry, it's so nice to see you again," said Ron with fake cheerfulness. He turned to the other three boys and said, "You guys go ahead and find a compartment. I need to have a quick chat with Harry."

As soon as the other three left, Ron turned to Harry with a grim expression. "I saw you with my sister."

"And?" asked Harry putting Tala on his shoulder.

"What were you doing with her?" Ron's blue eyes bore into Harry's intensely.

"She was helping me think of a name for my cat," replied Harry simply.

"That's all?" asked Ron in disbelief.

"Yes, that's all."

"You swear, Potter?"

Harry raised an eyebrow and replied, "Yes."

Ron nodded and said, "Ok, I guess I'll have to take your word for it." He looked at the floor for a while then back at Harry. It was a few minutes before he said, "About the other day, I think we got off on the wrong foot."

"Apparently so," replied Harry in a polite tone.

"Ginny is the only girl in our family. Me and my brothers, there's six of us, we try to look out for her."

Harry nodded and said, "That's nice of you." There was a loud whistle and the train began to move. Tala hissed causing Ron to look at her apprehensively.

Ron looked around and said, "Anyways, I'm-I'm sorry about the other day."

Harry shrugged and said, "It's fine." Harry didn't really mean to be so unresponsive to the boy but he couldn't help it.

"So," began Ron, "are we ok?" He stuck his hand out and waited for Harry to take it.

Harry looked warily at Ron's hand before breaking out into a grin and saying, "Yeah, I suppose we are."

Ron grinned at Harry and said, "Well, I have to go to a prefect meeting." He pulled a small badge out of his pocket and looked at it. "This would be something to look forward to if it wasn't for the fact that Hermione is also a prefect."

"Is that a bad thing?" asked Harry with some amusement.

Ron snorted and said, "You have no idea. Honestly, you should see her in class. She jumps up and down like a rabbit. She never stops." Ron got a thoughtful look on his face and said, "Sometimes, I wonder though. She would have been a good Slytherin."

"How so?"

"She has all their qualities. Besides, she's practically one of them. She spends all her time them."

"Why isn't she one then?"

Ron looked around before saying, "She's not a pureblood." He shrugged and said, "Slytherins pride themselves on being pure. I'm a pureblood but I could care less. The muggle-borns are just as good as any one of us. I mean look at Hermione. She's brilliant. Don't tell her I said that though." Ron smirked at Harry before saying, "Well, Harry, I've got to go. I'll see you around." Just as Ron was about to walk off he turned back to Harry and said, "By the way, watch out for Lavender and Parvati."

"I got the same warning from err…Padma," replied Harry with a confused look.

Ron laughed and said, "They must have gotten a lot worse then." With a quick wave, Ron walked off whistling to himself.

Harry watched Ron as he disappeared through the door. Ron was an interesting person. He seemed to be very confident of himself and obviously had no problem with talking to other people. Harry also noticed that it seemed particular hard for him to apologize. He didn't seem as bad as Ginny made him seem. As Harry walked off, he noted to himself that it might be useful to have Ron as a friend.

As he walked by a compartment, he saw Ginny sitting in it with a dark skinned boy. Harry put Tala onto the floor as he opened the door. "Mind if I sit here?"

Ginny looked up at him and said, "Go ahead."

The dark skinned boy's gaze lingered on Harry for a few seconds before saying, "So the rumors are true. The great Harry Potter has finally come to Hogwarts." The boy almost seemed to be mocking Harry.

Harry shrugged and said, "I'm no where near great, for your information."

The boy regarded Harry for a while before saying, "Blaise Zabini."

Harry took the boy's hand and immediately felt a strange feeling go through him. He hastily pulled his hand away and picked up Tala, who was rolling around on the floor.

"Nice cat," commented Blaise as Tala fixed her green gaze on him. Blaise stared right back at the cat.

"Thanks," replied Harry. "I got her a week ago." Blaise nodded and went back to his book. Harry looked at the boy and frowned. There was something definitely odd about him. It didn't matter that Harry had just met the boy. Even Tala hissed at him. That was a sign if any.

Harry looked to the window only to see Ginny looking at him with a strange look on her face. When she saw him look at her, her cheeks turned a little pink and she immediately turned away.

"Are you both the only ones in this compartment?" asked Harry.

"For now," replied Blaise not looking up from his book.

"Draco and Pansy have gone to the prefects compartment," said Ginny looking through the window.

Harry thought to himself before asking, "Are there only two prefects in each house?"

Ginny nodded and continued to gaze out the window. Harry looked at Blaise who was showing no signs of wanting to make conversation and placed Tala back on his shoulders. Without a word, he left the compartment and began walking down the train.

As he left the compartment, Ginny looked away from the window. Her eyes lingered on him as he disappeared from her view. Looking away, she noticed Blaise staring at her.

"What?"

Blaise cocked his head at her and replied, "You might want to be careful, red."

"About what?" asked Ginny. His eyes moved in the direction that Harry had gone. "Potter? I hardly think I have anything to worry about."

Blaise fixed his gaze on her and said, "I'm just saying. I wouldn't get too close if I were you."

"And I would be quiet if I were you," snapped Ginny, her face turning pink.

Blaise smirked coldly at her and said, "Don't say I didn't warn you." He immediately went back to reading his book as though nothing had happened.

Harry, after leaving the compartment stopped in front of one of the windows and looked out at the lush green landscape. It was disappearing quickly only to be replaced by new landscape that was unfamiliar to Harry. Was this how his life was going to be? His old memories replaced by new ones? Would he forget everything that he had been through before magic?

It scared him though he would never admit it. He was still different from everyone here. He was the "Boy Who Lived" as everyone called him. Harry didn't want to be different. It just happened and he never asked for it. There was no point in thinking about it now though. What was done was done. He was opening up a new chapter in his life one that would be a part of him forever.