Chapter 1: Renewed Hope

A/N: Hello everyone, this is my first story posted up here, so, please read this! I hope you like it, reviews are appreciated!

-Also, I'd like to add that this isn't new. I just simply reposted it- but I wrote this a long time ago, so I can't say if this is well-written. Lastly, I left everything the way it was- even the A/N's. So, read on if you wish.

Originally Posted: Sometime last summer..

"Come now Harry dear, have a bite to eat before we head off," Mrs. Weasley said, while fussing with the state of his shirt. "And while you're at it, try to put a comb through that hair of yours!"

"Er..well..." was all Harry could reply. He wasn't so sure he could stomach his toast.

He had spent a summer at the Burrow, with his friends Ron and Hermione. Of course, he had been at the Dursley's for about a week into the summer, nothing new there. They hadn't gone to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place- but had gotten updates from them, and all updates were the same: no attacks, nothing suspicious.

Voldemort. Where was he and what was he planning to do next? But since the Ministry of Magic incident, Voldemort had apparently been keeping to himself. It is good that people are aware of his return, but meant that he would probably start attacking much more often.

"But well," Harry thought grimly, "You can't have everything."

But Voldemort wasn't Harry's main problem at the moment: more so the fact that today was when they went to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, only to return back to Hogwarts.

Now usually Harry would be happy about this, but this time he wasn't so sure. He didn't know if he could once again handle all the whispering and muttering about him, all the staring. He was emotionally drained from the past events in the last few months. And Sirius, his legal guardian, had not died so long ago...

Not one moment had Harry not felt that it had been his fault for Sirius's death...if only he hadn't been blinded by his own fury to believe what Kreacher had said...

It took Harry a moment to notice that Hermione was shouting into his ear.

"Harry? HARRY! C'mon, we're leaving for King's Cross now!"

Harry slowly got up to follow her outside to where a ministry car was waiting.

Mr. Weasley walked over to us, and said, "Harry, Hermione, get into the car. It'll be a bit crowded, but we have less people to send over this year, what with Fred and George out of school now."

"Hmph." Mrs. Weasley said under her breath in a small tut of annoyance.

Last school term Fred and George had flown out on their brooms to start up their own joke shop- and had been very successful ever since. But even so, Mrs. Weasley hadn't liked the fact that her two sons were running a joke shop, she would rather want them to do something more respectable.

Everyone got settled into the car, which magically had more space inside of it than an ordinary Muggle car.

"Crowded, yeah right." Harry thought, thinking of the Dursley's car, parked in the driveway far away on Privet Drive.

When they were about to drive off, Harry realized he had left his wand on the kitchen table. Not advisable.

"Oi!" Harry exclaimed. "I forgot my wand!"

"Then go get it quickly, Harry," Mr. Weasley said, rather distractedley. "We're running out of time."

With a nod, Harry got out and ran back inside, grabbed his wand, and started to head back outside- when he stopped to clamp a hand on his scar as it started to twinge. This had not happened for a long time, but he was used to it. So, shaking his head, he continued and ran out back to the car.

After going through the barrier between Platform Nine and Ten, and saying goodbyes to the Weasley's, Harry gloomily boarded onto the train. As soon as he did, there were many heads poking out of compartments and turning toward him. Harry sighed. "Just what I need. I'll be lucky to find a compartment without somebody continually staring at me. Why did Hermione and Ron have to become prefects!"

"Harry, we're sorry, but we'll try to come sit with you later," Hermione said, looking anxiously at him.

"Yeah, but hey! We could always put people in detention for talking about you!"

"Ron! We're not supposed to! That isn't part of being a prefect! We can't bully people around like that!"

"So? They shouldn't talk about him anyway. Or about us, for that matter. We did after all tell them that V-Voldemort has returned! They should be thanking us! And look at Malfoy, he did it all the time last year!"

Much of this bickering continued on between the two while Harry started looking around for a compartment.

"Well, I think I'm going to start trying to find a compartment, you both had better go to the prefect carriage. But before you go, I have to tell you something. My scar, it started to twinge as I had went in to get my wand. But, nothing different, just that he was feeling anxious about something, almost...concerned."

Both Ron and Hermion exchanged looks. Hermione finally said, "That doesn't sound good, but when we get to Hogwarts, this time tell Dumbledore about this, you can't afford to be quiet about anything concerning Voldemort anymore, Harry. Every tidbit counts."

"Yeah, I know Hermione, I just thought I should tell you both. Now I think you two should go now, I'll see you around later."

"Alright, bye Harry," Both said, and then departed and headed towards the prefect carriage.

After a few minutes of hopeless searching, Harry noticed that someone had slid a compartment door open and beckoned him to come over. It was Luna Lovegood. Harry quickly looked around and found a compartment with an unfamiliar girl reading some book or another.

"Well, perhaps I should try to sit here, anywhere is better than sitting with Loony Lovegood again."

Sliding the door open, Harry said to the girl, "Er, hi, do you think I could come in...? All the others look full."

The girl looked up. She had fairly long, bronze-colored hair and soft, golden-brown eyes. She looked to be about Harry's age, and not to mention very pretty. Harry very suddenly started feel very awkward.

The girl smiled and said, "Hello, and sure, go ahead. I don't mind."

Harry muttered a thanks and sat down across from her, trying to look anywhere else but at her. He started to fervently wish that he hadn't asked to sit here at all.

Nothing else was said for a while, until Harry managed to say, "Er, I don't think I have ever seen you around before. Are you new or something?"

"Yes, I'm transferring from Durmstrang to Hogwarts this year. By the way, I'm Jacoba Lawrence. And you must be Harry Potter, I presume?"

"Um yes, I am. S-So, what year and house are you in? Or do you not know what house you're in yet?"

"I'm a 6th year, and I've already been sorted. I'll be in Ravenclaw. What house and year are you in?"

"I'm a 6th year too, but am in Gryffindor. But anyway, I hope you like it better here at Hogwarts, it isn't so bad."

Jacoba smiled again (which made Harry's face grow hot) and said, "Well, thanks for the welcome, I thought people might be weird or different around here, but you're not at all."

This made Harry's stomach float away as she said this. She wasn't in Gryffindor, but...maybe, maybe he could always try...she already seemed much better than Cho, and she was in his year! Yep, things definitely started to look brighter around here.