Harry was alone when he awoke rather late the following morning. The last thing he remembered was Sirius telling him a funny story about his dad trying to get his mum's attention. I must have dozed off, he thought, unable to remember how the story ended. Harry dressed himself and began to wander downstairs. He didn't run into anyone, but heard voices coming from the study the others had spent the past few days cleaning out. Harry hesitantly knocked on the door and walked in. He saw Hermione and the Weasley's on one side of the room, standing in front of a series of shelves and cabinets he assumed they were cleaning.

"Oh Harry good you're awake," Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, coming over to him. She surveyed his appearance. "Still looking a bit peaky I see. I'll go grab some sandwiches and we can all have an early lunch."

Before Harry could say a word, Mrs. Weasley had instructed everyone to keep working and swept out of the room. Harry was left awkwardly standing at the door staring at everyone. Not ones known to be shy, Fred and George took it upon themselves to break the silence.

"Wotcher Harry, come check out this stuff," said George, gesturing at the shelves.

"Yeah mate, Sirius' family was into some weird stuff," Fred added.

Harry thought it over for a moment, and then realizing that his issues weren't really with the twins, he walked over to where they were standing, resolutely ignoring Ron and Hermione. When he looked at the shelf, he didn't think the items looked that bad, but the twins assured him it was otherwise.

"Ron got hit with some Wartcap power first thing this morning, mom had to heal him up before we could continue," George said with a laugh while Fred mimed what Harry assumed was Ron's reaction. "Half the things here don't want to leave the shelves."

"Of course we've been snagging anything with possibilities," Fred said with a wink.

"Possibilities for what?" Harry asked. While they waited for Mrs. Weasley's return, Fred and George told Harry all about the products they had been inventing for their joke shop. By the time Mrs. Weasley came back, Harry had all but forgotten the tension in the room thanks to the twins. After lunch, they went back to tackling the cabinets.

There was an unpleasant, silver instrument that tried to climb up Harry's arm. There was a musical box that made a tinkling tune that made them all sleepy until Ginny thought to slam the lid shut. There were some ancient seals, a dusty box, and a snuffbox. There was also this heavy gold locket that none of them could open. Harry wasn't sure what it was about it, but he didn't like the feel of the thing. It was tossed into the trash pile, but Kreacher snuck in several times trying to steal objects to hide, and Harry could have sworn he saw the twinkling of gold as he scurried away once.

Harry passed the day away being amused by Fred and George and catching up with Ginny while they cleaned, first the drawing room and then a dining room. Any time Ron or Hermione tried to speak with him, or even so much as looked his way, he shot them with the nastiest glare he could muster. Eventually they got the message. That night, after trying on the formal robe Remus had picked up for him and giving it to Mrs. Weasley to take in just a smidge, Sirius gave him a dose of dreamless sleep so he would be well rested for his hearing the next day.

Harry was calmly woken by Mr. Weasley the following morning at half past five. He put on his new robes and met Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, Lupin, and Tonks downstairs in the kitchen.

"Wotcher Harry," said Tonks with a yawn.

"How did you sleep?" asked Remus as Mrs. Weasley fixed him some breakfast.

"Great," Harry said. "I wish I could take that every night."

"Just practice your lessons with Professor Snape, and it will get better Harry," Remus said. Sirius pulled out a seat as Mrs. Weasley placed a plate of food in front of him.

"Eat up Harry," Mrs. Weasley. "You want your wits about you today." She patted him on the shoulder as she walked off.

"Remember what we talked about Harry?" asked Sirius.

"Let Dumbledore do the talking," Harry said. "No matter how angry I am with him."

"That's right Harry," Sirius said, with Remus and Arthur nodding alongside him. "We may be angry with him, but he knows the Ministry and the Wizengamot better than we do. In this situation, he really will know best."

After breakfast, Harry reluctantly followed Mr. Weasley to work. He did enjoy watching Mr. Weasley navigate the underground and entering through the telephone booth that served as the visitors' entrance. Having never been to the Ministry before, he tried to take everything in from the ceiling, to the fireplaces, to the fountain in the atrium. He listened quietly as Mr. Weasley spoke with his various coworkers, and before he knew it, it was time for his hearing.

Everything went pretty much exactly as Sirius and Remus had told him it would. The Wizengamot angered him and he tried to control his temper while explaining to them exactly what happened. Seeing Dumbledore angered him as well, especially considering the Headmaster wouldn't even look at Harry. Although, Harry had to begrudgingly admit Sirius was right. Even with Dumbledore's shaky standing at the moment, he had the Wizengamot in the palm of his hand, with the exception of one rather nasty toad-looking woman who Harry sensed had a deep hatred for him.

In the end, Harry was cleared of all charges, and Dumbledore swept from the room without as much as a glance in Harry's direction. Harry quietly seethed as Mr. Weasley brought him back home. However, he didn't have much time to dwell on it because once everyone discovered the good news Fred and George refused to stop singing, "He got off, he got off, he got off!" Harry had to run away to escape them, and, laughing, he stumbled into the study Sirius had retreated to.

"Hey there you are," he said. Sirius looked up from his lap. Harry didn't see anything here that would have caught Sirius' attention. "You okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Sirius asked, attempting a smile. Harry could tell it was forced.

Harry raised his eyebrows. "I don't know, but you certainly don't look it." Harry closed the door and sat in a chair near his godfather. "Look, Sirius, I know you're supposed to be the parent and everything, but you can talk to me you know? I want to help."

Sirius gave Harry a small, but genuine, smile. "You remind me so much of your father you know?" Harry smiled back at him. "It's nothing really. Nothing to worry about. Just me being selfish."

"About what?"

"Well," Sirius sighed, "As much as I wanted you to be cleared, I secretly thought that if you were expelled you could stay here with me." Harry looked down at his shoes. "Hey," Sirius said lifting his head back up. "Don't you go feeling bad. This is exactly what should have happened. Hogwarts is exactly where you belong."

"I know," sighed Harry. "And I want to go back, but if there was a way I could do both, you know?" Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Wait a minute," he said suddenly. "Maybe there is. Wait here." Before Harry could respond, Sirius was up and out of the room. He waited several minutes wondering what exactly his godfather had in mind before he returned holding a small object in his hand.

"Here," he said thrusting it at Harry. Harry looked at the small square mirror Sirius had placed in his hands. "Your father and I used to use these all the times. Especially when we were in separate detentions."

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"It's a two-way mirror," Sirius answered. "You have one, and I have the other. We can communicate with each other through them. Once you go back to Hogwarts, I'll keep mine on me at all times. If you need me, just go ahead and say my name into the mirror. I won't call you, in case you're not alone, but you can call me anytime."

Harry looked at the mirror speechless. Sirius had truly found a way for him to have both. He jumped up and gave his godfather a hug. Perhaps this year wouldn't be so bad after all, he thought.

That night, Snape came back for his second lesson. He didn't treat Harry any differently than he would have at school, which Harry actually appreciated. He was rather tired of everyone treating him like glass. However, Harry thought that just maybe Snape wasn't as awful as normal. Harry tried as hard as he could to clear his mind before falling asleep. He dreamt of his cupboard that night. Still a nightmare for sure, but much better than the cemetery. Harry thought that perhaps he was improving.

The last week of the summer holidays passed in much the same manner. Fred, George, and Ginny kept Harry occupied when he was forced to be with the others. Remus and Sirius continued to help Harry with his school work, slowly getting out of him more and more of what had transpired at the Durselys'. Snape continued to give him Occlumency lessons every other night. Some nights Harry was moderately successful, others he still woke up screaming to Sirius shaking him. The days flew by quickly.

The booklists came in. Ron and Hermione were made prefects, to everyone's surprise, and Mrs. Weasley took care of all the shopping for them. Harry was rather surprised to see some extra bags for him.

"Remus and Sirius requested I pick you up some clothes dear," Mrs. Weasley explained. "Shirts and trousers and the like. I got you some nice neutral colors."

Harry was both touched that they had thought to get these for him and relieved he hadn't had to do it himself. He couldn't imagine anything worse than picking out clothes. Finally, August 30th arrived, and Harry found himself carefully packing his trunk with his new clothes, completed homework, and his half of the mirror. He heard a knock on his door and looked up to see Sirius standing there.

"All packed?" Sirius asked,

"Yeah," Harry answered quietly. He had noticed Sirius looking more and more glum as September 1st approached, even though Harry suspected he was trying to hide it. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

Sirius gave Harry a small smile and a pat on the back. "I'll be fine Harry," he assured. "Don't worry about me." Sirius sat on Harry's bed, picking up the photo of his parents Harry had forgotten to pack.

"I just don't like the idea of you in this house mostly alone," Harry said, sitting down next to his godfather. "I wish I could help."

"Knowing your safe, really truly safe, will help," Sirius said quietly. He looked around the room at the walls of his family home. "My family Harry, I don't think I can put into words how awful it was. Being back here in this house just reminds me of it. Of being the odd man out. Of being the only one who realized what total bullshit this entire pureblood entitlement is. It left scars Harry. They may not be physical, visible ones, but they're there."

Harry looked down at his covered arm. He hadn't cut himself since that night in Privet Drive. He wasn't sure how to respond to Sirius. Before he could decide, Sirius continued.

"Your dad," he began, "The Potters, they tried to undo those scars. They probably would have succeeded if…"

"If they hadn't died? If you hadn't gone to Azkaban?"

"Yeah. If that." They were silent for a moment, contemplating the photograph.

"I'm sorry," Harry eventually said.

"For what?" Sirius looked at him. "You didn't do anything. If anyone owes anyone an apology Harry, I owe you one. By the sound of it, your relatives aren't much of an improvement. I should never have left you there."

Harry sighed. "I know, but you have so much on your plate Sirius. It was probably a relief to think Dumbledore had everything figured out. That I was safe and sound somewhere else."

"It was," Sirius said. "But that's not an excuse. As your godfather, I should have never been satisfied with a situation where I hadn't personally verified your safety."

Harry laid his head on his godfather's shoulders and wrapped his arms around him, he said, "What's done is done Sirius. It sucked and it shouldn't have happened, but it's done. I forgive you."

As Harry stared at the train, he came to the conclusion that he really should have thought of this sooner. Not speaking with his friends, he now faced the dilemma that he didn't know who to sit with. As they were running rather late, there were really no empty carriages at this point. Ron and Hermione had left for the prefects' carriage. Fred, George, and Ginny had all gone off in search of their friends, which left Harry all alone.

He walked until he found a compartment with only one lone occupant. It was a girl with straggly, waist length, dirty-blond hair, very pale eyebrows, and protuberant eyes that gave her a permanently surprised look. Her wand was stuck behind her left ear, she was wearing a necklace of butterbeer caps, and she was currently reading a magazine upside down. Well, Harry thought, at least he knew his ride would be interesting. He knocked on the glass and walked in.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked. "Everywhere else is full."

"Not at all," the girl said dreamily. "You're Harry Potter."

"I'm well aware thank you," Harry retorted as he stowed his trunk. "And you are?"

"Luna Lovegood, fourth year, Ravenclaw," she responded before adding, "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure," in a singsong voice.

"Nice to meet you Luna," Harry said as politely as he could manage. "What's that you've got there?" He gestured to her magazine.

"Oh this is a Quibbler," Luna answered. "My dad is the editor." What followed was the strangest conversation Harry had ever had. He wasn't sure about half the things coming out this girl's mouth, or even if they were actual words. What even was a Wrackspurt, Harry thought. But she was so enthusiastic that Harry couldn't help being cheered up and he continued to ask her questions. After a few minutes, he decided he quite liked this Luna girl. There was a knock on the carriage door and Harry looked up to see Neville.

"Hey Neville!" said Harry a bit more enthusiastically than he normally would have. Neville was in his year, and Harry thought he would be a more than suitable replacement for Ron and Hermione.

"Hey Harry!" Neville said, as enthusiastic, if not more, than Harry had greeted him. "Can I join you guys?"

"Of course!" Harry answered. He helped Neville get his luggage into the overhead carriage and then noticed for the first time the plant he was carrying. "What's that?"

"Oh it was a gift," Neville said. "It's called Mimbulus mimbletonia. It's really cool."

Harry knew that Neville was rather good and incredibly interested in herbology. Harry figured if he was going to be spending more time with Neville, he ought to make an effort to engage in his interests. But for the life of him he couldn't see what was so interesting in this cactus-like plant. "Uhh, does it do anything?"

"Oh yeah loads of stuff," Neville said. "Let's see…" Neville proceeded to poke one of the sprouts with his wand and before Harry knew what was happening, the three of them were covered head to toe in stinksap. "Oh wow guys. I'm so sorry. I've never done that before."

"It's fine," Harry said, wiping stinksap off of his face and thinking that it really wasn't that fine at all. He looked up and noticed Cho starting at him from the hallway outside the carriages. She looked as though she was trying to stifle a laugh. She must have seen the whole thing, Harry thought. Cho smiled at him and gave him a small wave before walking off. Harry wasn't sure how to feel. On the one hand, he rather liked her last year and would have liked for her to seem him in a much cooler light. But then, she did choose Cedric over him. Not that he could blame her. He would probably do the same, he thought.

Wait what? Before Harry had time to process what his own thoughts meant, none other than Draco Malfoy decided to pop by.

"Well, well," drawled Malfoy. "Look who is just as icky as the papers claim." Malfoy's ever present henchmen guffawed behind him. "Didn't see you in the prefect's carriage. Tell me Potter, how does it feel being second-best to Weasley?"

"Bugger off Malfoy," Harry spat as Luna cast a quick scourgify and cleaned the stinksap off everyone.

"Oooh, touched a nerve have I?" Malfoy sneered. "By the way, where are your doting fans anyway?"

Harry quickly tried to come up with a comeback, and remembered his previous train of thought. "Well, considering you're the one standing at the door going on about my fame, I guess that makes you the doting fan doesn't it Malfoy? What'll it be then? An autograph? A photo? Or perhaps you want a kiss? You and the rest of the Slytherins were mightily concerned with Rita Skeeter's reports on my love life last year."

By the time Harry finished, Malfoy was a nice shade of red. Harry couldn't tell if it was from anger or embarrassment, but it felt good knowing he had gotten to the blond.

"You…you better be careful Potter," Draco stuttered out at last. "I have the power to hand out punishments this year. I'll be watching you."

"Oh yeah?" Harry said looking at Neville and Luna with a smirk. "That certainly sounds like an obsessed fan to me."

"It does seem a bit much," Luna said cheerfully.

If possible, the Slytherin turned an even darker shade of red. He gave Harry one last look of loathing before stalking off with his goonies. The minute he was out of earshot, the threesome burst out laughing.

"Bloody hell Harry that was brilliant!" Neville exclaimed through his laughter. "I don't think I've ever seen Malfoy so flustered."

"It does seem like he has a bit of a preoccupation with you doesn't it?" Luna added.

The trio continued to laugh about the situation, and if Harry was a bit self-satisfied, he felt he had earned it. By the time the train arrived at Hogwarts, Harry felt he had made a new friend in Luna, and he was quite glad at the opportunity to get to know Neville better. He was starting to realize he had neglected a good friend all these years. Neville's home life wasn't the greatest. If anyone can relate to me, Neville can, thought Harry.

As they came upon the carriages, Harry looked up and stopped short. He did a double take, but the creatures were still there. Rather than pulling themselves as normal, he saw horse-like creatures that appeared completely fleshless harnessed to them. Their black coats clung to their skeletons. They had white pupil-less eyes and giant bat-like wings. Harry looked around in surprise, but no one else seemed to see anything out of the ordinary.

"It's all right," said a dreamy voice behind him he recognized as Luna. "I can see them too. You're not going mad."

"Really?"

"Oh yes," she insisted. "I've seen them since first year. They've always pulled the carriages. You're just as sane as I am."

Harry had just enough time to think to himself that that wasn't a very comforting idea, when Neville spoke up quietly.

"I can see them too Harry."

"Really?"

"Really," said Neville.

And that did make Harry feel better. Now somewhat reassured, Harry followed them into a carriage, and together, they headed off to the castle.