A/N: Most characters and the main plot belongs to J.K Rowling.
Harry woke up on the last day of school quite early, he was glad that his house had won the house cup, closely followed by Slytherin, then Gryffindor and finally Hufflepuff. It was the first time that Ravenclaw had won the House cup in a while, But they hadn't won the Quidditch Cup, Slytherin had come first in that, Ravenclaw following behind quite closely, next was Hufflepuff, and then Gryffindor who had finished last by a long way, in no way thanks to their appalling seeker, Cormac Mclaggen.
Harry was both happy to be leaving, but also a bit sad at the same time. He considered Hogwarts like his first home, the Dursleys' had never really been a home to him, but what made it worthwhile, was the fact that he would be spending this summer with Sirius, Remus, and occasionally Dumbledore, although with Dumbledore there would only be training he imagined, whereas with Sirius and Remus, there would be time for training, but also time to have fun. Sirius was also going to teach Harry a few odds and ends about the Wizengamot. He knew how it worked, well the basics anyways, he knew Sirius would be teaching him the technical parts. Nobody had bothered him with his titles since he had confronted Malfoy on the stairs about a month ago, but he knew he would be back in the newspaper on his first visit to a session.
Harry reckoned he had done well in all of his tests, except History of Magic perhaps, in that class, they had to talk about the invention of the self-stirring cauldron by Gaspard Shingleton. Harry didn't even know they had studied him, so basically guessed his way through most of it, except the few questions he could answer.
In the rest of the subjects, he also thought he did well, in Potions, they had to brew a Forgetfullness potion fully by memory, they weren't allowed their books. Harry had studied quite a bit for potions, he knew it would be one of the things he didn't know how to do, thankfully, the forgetfullness potion was the potion he had studied the most, he had just had this feeling that it would be that potion. The Transfiguration exam consisted of transforming a mouse into a Snuffbox, and extra points were given for how pretty the snuffbox was. Harry had managed his on the first try, and his box was exactly as he had imagined it. He still didn't know how he could manage to do a spell without much effort, or in some cases without even trying it, but he was going to try and get to the bottom of it this summer.
He hadn't even studied for the Transfiguration, Charms or DADA exams, as he knew he could do the spells, he had counted on that. In charms, they had to make a pineapple dance across Professor Flitwick's desk, Harry found out quite simple, and decided to make his tap dance across, just to make it a bit more interesting. This seemed to please Professor Flitwick, so Harry counted that as a bonus. In DADA, he had to perform a knockback jinx. Of course, he had proven that he was capable with the spell back when he had first had his first lesson with Dumbledore. But this time, he had control over the power he used, and used this to his advantage. Dumbledore was pleasantly surprised at Harry's control over his magic, or at least it seemed he was. In Herbology, they had kept the same groups they'd had since the start of the year, or near the start at least, she didn't see why she would make them work together for so long and not make them do the test together, that would be putting them at a disadvantage, especially if they were with someone they didn't get on well with. They had to do the same as they did when they first became a group, when Harry had disappeared the pus on Daphne's hand non-verbally. It still shocked him that he was capable of such magic at his age.
He hadn't spent much time with Daphne and Tracey since they had revised in the library, and he promised himself to fix that, he quite liked their company. Sure there were also downsides to it, like people looking at them weirdly throughout the day, but aside from that, it was good all around.
Harry decided that it was time to get up, so that's exactly what he did, then he went on with his normal routine, a quick stop in front of the mirror to check how much he had grown since the last time he'd checked that properly. Turned out he'd grown a lot since the start of the year, the malnutrition really can't have been good for him, of course he had known that, but he hadn't realised to what scale.
He went down to the common room, where he found Hermione. She was sat down on the sofa in front of the fire reading a book. He had noticed that she had changed a bit since the start of the year, granted it wasn't much, but she changed a bit. She was less bossy than before, more friendly, and easier to talk to without getting corrected on the things he said. It wasn't that he didn't like the old Hermione, but he thought it was good that she was becoming more sociable, and understanding of the others.
He walked up to her, making enough house to make his presence known to her. It seemed to work as she turned around when he got close, and smiled up at him. "Good morning Harry, did you sleep well ?" she asked, closing the book she was reading, but not before marking the page she was on.
"Morning Hermione, I slept okay I guess, I'm just happy that I'll be looking at Potter Manor later on, I mean sure I love it here and all, it's just that I really want to see my new home." Harry answered, he had told her what his plans were for the summer a little while ago, and the only thing she said at the time was not to forget to do his homework, which was typical Hermione.
"I'm not surprised, from the little you've told me about your life at your relatives, it can't have been pleasant, if you didn't have anywhere to go, I would have offered you a place at my house, I'm sure mum and dad wouldn't have minded, especially not if you explained your situation to them." Hermione responded, and Harry knew she meant what she said, she was really serious in everything she said, well she was becoming less serious in everything, but he knew she wouldn't joke about something like that, and he appreciated it.
"Thanks Hermione, means a lot to me, maybe you could come over with Neville near the middle of August, before we leave for Neville's." Harry suggested.
"Sorry Harry, I'd love to, but my parents are still really protective over me, they already didn't want me to go to Neville's for more than a week, so I won't be able to. At least well see each other at Neville's, besides I know you'll be training, I still don't know why you're training so hard by the way." That was a subject that had come up quite often, and Harry knew he couldn't tell her, he wanted to, but he knew it was best not to anyway.
"I know Hermione, but I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I can't tell you, it's for your own good. But don't worry, it's nothing bad." He said this hoping that it would at least it would calm her down, he knew he shouldn't lie to her, but it was the best way. She looked at him, and instantly, he knew she didn't believe the last part. "Come on let's go to the Great Hall, I'm hungry." Hermione huffed at Harry's way of ignoring her look that said 'I don't believe you, tell me more', and together they left. There were more people than they expected to be there today, they had thought that people would be rather late because they had a few last things to pack, but turned out they were wrong.
The two of them made their way over to their table, and joined Michael and Padma at the table, they were the only other first years that had arrived. "Morning guys" Harry and Hermione said together, the other two responded in a similar fashion, and they began talking about how their holidays would go.
Michael was planning on travelling some of the European countries, not for any particular reason, he just wanted to travel, and Padma was going to India, to visit her family. Harry had made up a story about what he was doing, he didn't want to be questioned about it, but what he said wasn't false to be honest, he had said that he was going to be catching up with his Godfather and his honorary uncle. It was true, but that was only a minor part of them, but they seemed to buy it. Hermione did look at him quizzically for a short moment, but she didn't say anything about it.
Hermione said that she had planned on going travelling with her family to France, she had heard that there was a magical school over there too, she knew she wouldn't be able to find it, because it would undoubtedly be under heavy runes, like Hogwarts. She also wanted to visit the French version of Diagon Alley, Harry found that one day he'd like to visit other countries' magical alleys, but that would have to wait a while.
While they were talking about that, the other first year Ravenclaws had arrived, and they explained their plans for the holidays too. By the time they'd all shared their stories, it was time to head up to the tower, grab their trunks, and head over to the Hogwarts Express. Harry took one last look at the Great Hall as he passed the threshold, marvelling in its magnificence, which still didn't fail to amaze him, even after eating in there for a whole year, and walked towards the carriages that took them to Hogsmeade station.
Harry was with Hermione, Neville, the Weasley twins and their friend Lee Jordan in the carriage. They shared small talk all the way to Hogsmeade. Harry got the distinct impression that Hermione didn't understand something about the twins, and they seemed to notice it too, as they kept smiling at her, which in turn flustered her because they caught her staring. Harry was asked if he had pranked anyone with the use of the Marauders' Map, and he of course said that he didn't, he wasn't going to lie to them, but he said that he planned on using it quite a bit next year.
He knew that he had a goal in his life, but Sirius had told him not to forget to live, and not just survive when they had heard the prophecy, so that's what Harry was going to do. Plus it would make his secret seem less dangerous if he was seen messing around by Hermione. Neville hadn't really bothered asking him what his secret was. He knew that Harry couldn't say, so he didn't persist.
The train pulled onto the station, and the two groups wished each other good holidays, and left their separate ways. Harry, Neville and Hermione claimed one of the empty compartments, they had managed to get one of the first carriages, so there were a lot of empty compartments. Harry sat on one side, whereas Hermione and Neville claimed the other. "Chess Harry ? I'm not much good, but I know how to play." Neville proposed.
"Sure, why not. I'm not very good either don't worry" Harry replied with a chuckle. As those two started their game of chess, Hermione dug a book out of her trunk, and began reading, although from time to time she would look over her book to see how their game was doing. They had plenty of time, given the fact that they were in the first to arrive, plus it was quite a long train ride.
About half an hour before the train was set to leave, the door to their compartment opened, and a honey blonde haired girl with piercing blue eyes, and her brunette friend with amber brown eyes walked in. Daphne was the first to walk in, with Tracey just behind. Daphne was the first to speak. "Hey," she began in a half cold tone, "mind if we join you ?" she turned around to Tracey, looking at her as if asking 'was that was good enough', like if she had forced her to ask. Harry put that to the side for now.
"Sure, the more, the merrier" he said after getting a nod from his two other friends. The two girls said their thanks, and Tracey almost pushed Daphne on top of Harry, but he moved rather quickly, and the girl missed him by mere centimetres.
"Trace !" Daphne said with rather pink cheeks as she landed. Tracey it seemed was holding on her laughter, she apologised, but it didn't seem like she meant it in the slightest, Hermione held a calculating look on her face whereas Neville and harry just looked full on confused.
"Well, how- how have you been ?" Daphne asked after a bit of silence which was caused by Daphne's glare aimed at Tracey, Tracey's smile at something about Daphne, Hermione's understanding of Tracey's actions, and the two boys' confusion.
They all snapped out of it when she said that, apparently she had recovered quicker than the rest. "Good, although I must say, I reckon I'll miss Hogwarts while the holidays, especially the library" Hermione said. Everyone laughed at this, Hermione didn't seem to understand why they laugh at that, it was the best reason to miss Hogwarts, well in her case anyway.
"Of course you will Granger" Daphne said. She still hadn't stopped using Hermione's family name when they spoke, it was the same with Neville, but Harry was either called Harry, Thunderbird or occasionally Potter, but that was rare nowadays. "Personally, I'll miss Hogwarts too, although I must say it's not because of the library," they chuckled at this "but because I've grown used to the castle." Harry shrugged. The people in the compartment seemed to agree with this.
"Well I'm going back to living with my grandmother, so that's not going to be fun, she'll probably make fun of me in some way, probably the fact that I have made my dad proud with his wand." When Neville said this, everyone stopped everything they were doing, and looked up at Neville, shock written on their faces, but there was also understanding on Harry's.
"That's your dad's wand ?" Harry asked the question they all wanted to know the answer to.
"Yeah, my gran wanted me to make him proud using his wand." Neville replied with a shrug.
"Well that's the problem solved for us then isn't it" Harry said, and Hermione seemed to understand the problem Harry was referring to, and she nodded.
"What problem ?" Neville asked, a bit of worry clear in his voice.
"Neville, that's why you have trouble using some spells, the wand chooses the wizard, that's what Ollivander said to me when I first visited his shop to buy my wand, that wand chose your father not you" Hermione said. Neville looked disappointed, and Harry understood what was wrong with him as soon as it happened.
"It doesn't mean you're not as good as him Neville," Harry began, "it just means that that wand was your father's, and it may mean that you aren't as good at the same things as him, or you have a different path. It doesn't mean you're weak." Harry reassured him. Understanding was written all over Neville's face.
"Oh." Was the only thing that left the boy's mouth at the beginning. "So I have to buy my own ?" he asked nobody in general.
"Yes Longbottom, you'll need a new one, and get it as soon as you can, and if your grandmother is okay with it, go into Knockturn Alley, there you'll find a shop which will remove the trace on it, like that you'll be able to do magic in your house." Tracey told him. Hermione looked up surprised, and by the look on her face, she was going to ask her parents to do the same, and Tracey could tell. "No, it wouldn't be safe for you or your parents Granger, they're all at least half-bloods over there, and they'd probably kill any muggle born that goes there, let alone any muggles. But you could always give your wand to Longbottom, so he could do it"
At this Hermione looked over to Neville as if pleading for him to do it. Neville sighed. "I'd love to do it Hermione, but gran probably won't want to go, she isn't very supportive of anything to do with would-be You-Know-Who supporters were he still here since- well since I lost my parents." Neville replied looking down.
"I can take them if you want." Harry suggested to everyone's surprise. "I'm going to Diagon Alley anyway, and I'll be there with Sirius and Remus, so nothing bad will happen" Daphne and Tracey considered this, trying to see if they could see a flaw in their plan, but none came.
"You should be fine Thunderbird, but make sure you stay close to Lord Black. They wouldn't lay a finger on him, especially not given that the Black family is regarded as Dark, much like mine is" Daphne said, her voice laced with disgust at the last bit. Harry nodded to her. He knew Sirius had plans to show that the Black family stood more in the grey than anywhere else, but for what they needed, the Black family status was perfect.
Hermione thanked Harry and gave him his wand. Neville went off to send an owl to his gran saying that she didn't need to fetch him, and that he would floo over from the Leaky Cauldron or somewhere else because he was staying with Harry. He explained in the letter that he was going to get a new wand, and explained the reasoning.
At that point the train left the station, and the five people resumed their previous activities. They spent a lot of time just talking to each other, eating, and playing exploding snap or games of chess. Tracey kept pushing Daphne closer to Harry for a reason Harry didn't understand, and they ended up making constant contact. Daphne blushed when this happened, but that went unnoticed by both boys, but Hermione and Tracey smirked in Daphne's direction when she did, whereas she only glared at the two girls.
Halfway through the journey, the compartment was quiet. Harry, Hermione and Tracey were reading books, Neville was trying to perform spells with his dad's wand to see how many times it would actually cast anything. Harry had passed him the target he had gotten off of the boy to try out his spells. Daphne was currently sleeping. Harry had just turned the page on The Advanced Art of Combat which Hermione had got him for Christmas. He had already read it before, but he wanted to see if he'd missed anything important. As he did, Daphne moved, and her head fell onto Harry shoulder, and she grabbed his arm. Harry's eyes opened wide at this, and he noticed the other three people in the compartment do the same. He tried going back to reading, but his focus was completely gone at this point. He resorted to looking out of the window, and admiring the countryside. However, that didn't last long, as a couple of minutes later, Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson walked up to their compartment, and opened the door.
"Well well well, got yourself a girlfriend Potter ?" Malfoy said, his three goons laughing behind him. The people in the compartment had guessed that this would happen, and had already decided what they were going to do, they were going to ignore them completely, and make him look stupid. It seemed to work, as he continued trying to gain their attention, but to no end. He was getting annoyed now, and went to pull out his wand, however Harry didn't want any trouble, so he pushed forward with his hands, and the four of them went flying out of the compartment, and the door closed behind them.
They quickly got up, and looked at Harry in awe, despite trying to hide it, but Harry didn't know what they were staring at, so he looked away just to enjoy them even more, but there was no denying, he suddenly felt extremely tired. They left a few seconds later, and Harry turned to his friends who were looking at him, also with awe on their faces, except Daphne of course who was still sleeping as if nothing had happened.
"What's up with you lot ?" Harry asked confused. They all looked at him in shock, it was like he was meant to know what they were staring at him for.
"Harry, you just wandlessly and non-verbally used a knockback jinx, then you closed the door and put up a silencing spell on it." Tracey told him, the other two still unable to talk. This got Garry shocked next, he was trying to recall if he had his wand, but his mind went blank when he tried to remember, as if it never happened, hut he could remember it happening, just not the details.
"I'm sure I had my wand on me don't worry" Harry said. His eyelids were starting to close of their own accord, and he couldn't even stop it, he lost control, and fell asleep as his friends were talking to him, but he didn't register a word they said.
Hermione wanted to wake him up, but Tracey and Neville held her back. "We should wake him up, he just fainted didn't he ?" She asked confused as to why the two were stopping her helping her friend.
"No Hermione, he just had his first experience of magical exhaustion." Neville said. "Non-verbal magic alone is costly, but doing it wandlessly is extremely tiring, I'm surprised he was even able to use the knockback alone at his age. He needs to sleep." Hermione nodded at the boy, understanding his logic. The three of them returned to silent activities, while Harry's head moved and rested on Daphne's which was still on his shoulder. The two other girls smiled at this, while Neville didn't even notice.
A/N: Thank you for the reviews you've left, I'll be posting tomorrow, and I'll be able to post from Thursday through Sunday seems I've got that time off school because of bank holidays. But none on Monday or Tuesday, and I'm not sure about Wednesday, I'll have to see how things go.Replies:I don't know if it's cannon Harry's relation to the Black family, but I think it is, it's like I'm not sure if Harry's grandfather on his father's side is Fleamont or Charlus in cannon either.I've always thought that Dumbledore deserved a chance to redeem himself too, he was only doing the things he thought was right, and nobody is right all the time, so I think he deserves his second chance.