Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A week passed, and today was the day Harry would get on the train to Hogwarts. However, he and Remus had done more than a few things in that week.
Remus had disguised all of Harry's magical items, adding a sizing charm that would match his body even as he continued to grow in the coming years.
Personally, Harry thought the spectacles were the most helpful. He didn't realize how mismatched his previous pair had been, though he really should've expected that... considering Petunia only bought them so he would stop breaking things. Now, it was like he had a completely new set of eyes! And of course, Remus had charmed them so that they wouldn't come off unless Harry wanted them to.
Remus had taken a few days to visit Hogwarts and speak with Dumbledore about the Defense position. He had already hired someone named Quirell, but Remus argued that Quirell had no experience. He would be better off teaching Care of Magical Creatures and Hagrid could focus just on being Groundskeeper, making sure students stayed away from the Dark Forest. Hagrid was called in to discuss, and he was more than willing to follow Remus' suggestion. With a bit of tweaking, Remus managed to get the position just before term started.
Harry, meanwhile, had sent a letter via his new owl- Hedwig- to Amelia Bones, politely asking if he would be able to meet with her and discuss the imprisonment of his godfather, Sirius Black. She replied later that evening, saying she would be able to meet with Harry the next day around 1:00 o'clock so long as his guardian was with him. Luckily, Remus returned that morning and they both went to meet Amelia Bones.
Harry was currently shifting nervously in his chair, while Remus paced back and forth slowly, both waiting to be called into her office. They didn't have to wait long. Upon entering her office, they both took a seat at her desk. The woman appeared to be not much older than Remus, blonde hair pulled back and a monocle over one eye. Harry noticed that eye was blue, while the other was brown. She set down the papers she had been studying, looking them over for moment.
"Mister Lupin, Mister Potter. A pleasure to see you both today." She started politely, before turning her attention on Harry. "You sent a letter saying you'd like to discuss Sirius Black's imprisonment?"
Harry nodded, swallowing nervously.
"Yes ma'am." He replied.
She nodded, once again grabbing the papers and tapping them against her desk to straighten them.
"I have the report here, as well as a transcript of the trial." She paused, frowning. "I have to admit, it is... odd."
Harry tilted his head.
"Odd? How is it odd?" He realized that might sound rude, quickly following with a quiet "Ma'am."
She removed her monocle, setting it down on the desk.
"Please, Amelia will do fine." She gave him a reassuring smile.
That seemed to put Harry at ease. She continued.
"It is odd because the transcript is less than a page long. And considering the charges, I would have expected anywhere between 5 and 10 pages." She answered.
"What could this mean?" Remus spoke up.
"When Mister Potter sent me that letter, I didn't think much of it." She admitted. "But it was a well-known case, so I decided to give it a look. And when I started looking closer, I began to notice something troubling."
Both remained silent, waiting for her to fully explain.
"It seems to me Sirius Black wasn't given a fair trial. He was accused and almost immediately sentenced. Where was the Veritaserum to question him? Where was the testimony of the witnesses? It simply didn't add up. Then, I had a terrible revelation. The Minister himself needed Sirius to be guilty. He needed a scapegoat so the masses wouldn't come burning down his office, demanding blood for the traitor who killed the Potters." She stated grimly.
Harry grew pale, while Remus held his head in his hands.
"It can't be true..." He whispered.
"Sirius Black has already been in Azkaban for eleven years. It may be too late to reverse his sentence, but rest assured I will gather all the evidence at my disposal and call for a re-trial." She stated, determined.
She glanced at Harry, expression softening slightly.
"Your support would be greatly appreciated in this ongoing case. But if you feel the emotional burden would be too great-"
"I'll do it." Harry cut her off, clenching his fists.
When he looked up at her, his eyes were filled with resolve.
"I'll help you. Just save my godfather, Amelia... please."
She clenched her jaw and nodded. Shortly after that, Remus and Harry left the department. They didn't talk at all on the way back to Remus' apartment. In fact, the apartment was mostly empty. As Remus had already taken most of his belonging to Hogwarts.
The meeting was only yesterday, still fresh in Harry's mind. He knew the process would be slow, he just wanted to help as much as he could. He was suddenly snapped out of his reverie by a familiar shout among the otherwise unfamiliar crowd on the platform. He felt his spirits lift and a smile cross his face at the sight of his bushy-haired friend and her parents, greeting her with a hug.
"It's good to see you, Hermione." He said.
"Good to see you too, Harry." She replied, blushing slightly, though Harry assumed it was from excitement.
"Nice to see you too, Mr. and Mrs. Granger." Harry looked up at them.
"Oh Harry, please, Emma and Dan is quite alright." Hermione's mother smiled kindly at him.
Harry blushed, embarrassed.
"Where's Remus?" Dan asked, looking around the platform.
"Oh, he's already at Hogwarts. Getting ready for his new position." Harry answered.
"A shame we missed him. Do tell him we said hello." Dan replied.
Harry nodded, watching as Hermione hugged each of them, waving them goodbye as he walked with Hermione. Both had read how to get onto the platform, but since they were both raised in the Muggle world, they were a bit nervous about running towards a brick wall. Silently, Harry held Hermione's hand and gave a small smile. She smiled in return, feeling a renewed determination as they both strode quickly towards the wall...
And emerged on the other side, a beautiful train in sight. They quickly got on board, finding an empty compartment to share and setting their trunks on the overhead railings.
"Isn't this exciting?" Hermione could hardly sit still, almost bouncing in her seat.
Harry chuckled softly, fidgeting nervously as he sat next to her.
"It sure is. It almost feels like this is all a dream." He replied.
"Ow!" Hermione yelped, having quickly pinched herself. She beamed at Harry. "Not a dream, I'm sure of it."
Harry chuckled again, just staring at her for a moment. Whenever he was around her, his problems didn't seem so bad. Despite both of them being nervous and hardly having any friends, it almost seemed natural for them to be together. Harry was shocked out of his thoughts as the door suddenly slid open. It was a blonde boy, followed by two, slightly larger boys that appeared to be the same age.
"I heard Harry Potter's on this train. Are you him?" The boy asked curtly.
"Um- er- what-" Harry could only stutter, caught completely off-guard.
"Go on then! Spit it out, four-eyes." The boy sneered.
"Hey! Don't talk to my friend like that!" Hermione piped up, clearly affronted by his comment.
The boy turned up his nose, as if he smelled something foul as he looked at her.
"And who are you, bucktooth? Not a pureblood, I can tell just by looking at you."
Now it was Harry's turn to be mad. He quickly stood from his seat.
"Leave her alone!" He demanded.
The boy and his two lackeys laughed. "Crabbe, Goyle, looks like we got ourselves a little hero."
He sneered and crossed his arms. "Better watch your tongue, hero. I'm Draco Malfoy."
Harry had no idea who that was. "Am I supposed to be impressed?" He asked snidely.
Draco immediately scowled. "With that attitude, you won't get far. Better choose your friends wisely!"
"Funny, I was just going to say the same thing to you." Harry remarked.
Draco was tempted to take a swing, but he wouldn't lower himself to that level. However...
"Crabbe, Goyle, teach this little brat to watch what he says."
Before the other two could even move, Harry's wand was in his hand, pointed at Malfoy's nose.
"If any of you so much as move, all three of you will get a Stinging Hex right to the eyes." He said through gritted teeth.
Hermione was now watching with wide eyes, quickly standing and putting her arm on Harry's.
"Harry, no! It's not worth it... you could be expelled."
Harry glanced at Hermione and Draco looked insulted.
"You? You're Harry Potter?"
Harry looked back at Draco, lowering his wand.
"Yeah, what about it?"
Draco didn't say anything. He simply sneered, turning on his heel and walking away, sharply commanding Crabbe and Goyle to follow him. When they were out of sight, Harry suddenly felt weak and collapsed on the seat. Hermione sat next to him, looking worried.
"Sorry..." Harry apologized. "I don't know what came over me, I just... I was so angry."
Hermione placed her hand over his.
"It's alright, Harry, thank you for defending me... But don't scare me like that!" She smacked his arm.
Harry rubbed it, though it hardly hurt. "But what if they tried to hurt you?" Harry asked.
Hermione was honestly at a loss, gaping like a fish for a moment, turning away slightly as her face became beet red. After a moment, she cleared her throat, though she still couldn't look him in the eye.
"W-well, I suppose self-defense would be fine..." She muttered quietly.
Harry seemed to accept that answer, getting up to shut the door. He really didn't want any more interruptions. He was stopped, though, when a redhead boy called out to him.
"Hey! Excuse me, is there room in that compartment? All the rest is full."
Harry mentally sighed, looking at the boy and then looking back at Hermione. All he really wanted was to spend the ride to Hogwarts with her... alone. He turned back to the boy.
"No, sorry... all full." He lied, closing it suddenly and sitting back next to Hermione.
She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "All full?"
He blushed, embarrassed.
"Oh, er... I just wanted... you know... to spend some time with you... alone." He replied.
"Oh." Was the only articulation Hermione could manage, hiding her blush and brilliant grin by looking out the window.
There was silence in the compartment for a moment before Harry spoke up. "Want to read Hogwarts: A History together?" He offered.
This time, her full brilliant grin was directed at Harry. She quickly grabbed the tome and sat back down, scooting close to Harry... just so they could both read it. Of course, that was the only reason. They stayed like that for most of the trip, reading, engaging in small talk, just enjoying each other's company. And for Harry, it was probably the happiest moment of his young life.