I know some folks don't like reviews and replies to reviews posted with a new chapter, but I wanted to share some thoughts and show that I value what ya'll have to say.

ginger sass – Hey thanks! I'm glad you like the story. Keep reading, good stuff is coming.

OmnipotentOminousmagicion - Hey, thanks for the review! You're right about the Constitution. My bad. What stinks is I researched that and still screwed it up. We'll blame it on the fact I'm American and our pride can sometimes smother facts... 'Murica.

So, on MACUSA. I definitely don't want to paint it out as a perfect government, because it couldn't be. And there will be little glimpses of that in the future, mostly through newspaper articles and the like. I think that this civil war will have either exposed or created some serious faults in the government, and I'll try to sneak them into the story in places. (It might even create some interesting arguments between Jon and Hermione.)

Now, about Jonathan. I'm not going to say he's stronger than Harry, but he is more clever. At least right now, which makes sense having fought in a war. Sure, he's a bit stronger physically, but magically Harry's got him beat. If it helps, you can think of Jonathan as a younger, faster, fitter Mad-Eye. He pays attention, is always on guard, and won't be afraid to jump into a fight at any time. If Jon and Harry were to duel (which they might, as friends of course) it could be close, but if Jon wins it will be Jon's experience winning over Harry's strength. And a day will come when Harry will be able to walk all over Jonathan if he really wanted to. In this story, too, not in some far-off future that will only be hinted at.

Will Jon teach Harry? Maybe, a bit. Definitely later on down the line. Remember, he needs to keep his skills secret. For now, he's mostly going to try and be something Harry didn't have in the books; a friend that understands the pressure, loss, and strain of war. While Harry had Hermione and Ron in the books, he didn't have anyone that had a concept of loss in war. Jon lost his parents to a civil war, Harry lost his to Voldemort. Harry watched Cedric die in the Triwizard and is haunted by it, but it didn't really seem like Ron or Hermione could grasp the pain Harry felt. Jon can understand that pain, and be the friend that stands at his back in constant support, no matter what comes, or how emotional Harry gets. That's just who Jon is; loyal to the end. This is why Dumbledore and Snape have brought him to Hogwarts, and the two boys will probably end up close, like brothers.

Jon's presence will also change some aspects of the story as it goes along, but I don't want to spoil anything, so that's where I'll stop.

Alright. So now, we get to the really good stuff. Jon meets Harry and the gang. This could wind up being a short chapter, but I hope not.

Oh, and some CYA. I do not own Harry Potter, or any characters associated with it. I'm simply playing puppeteer here.

o – o – o – o – o – o – o – o – o - o

Jon knelt in a corner way off to the side of Platform nine and three-quarters, pretending to be looking through his trunk. It was ten fifty in the morning, and Jon had yet to see anyone who looked like Harry Potter al morning. He was getting a bit nervous that he may have blown his best first shot to meet Harry.

That was when he noticed something a bit unusual. A large bearlike black dog was walking on the platform with two women; one, a short, plump and kind looking woman with fiery red hair, the other older with grey hair and a strange looking purple hat. In between them was a boy that looked nothing like either of them. Raven hair in all directions, round glasses, and scar on his forehead. "Gotcha."

With so many more people than he was expecting around Harry right now, Jon stayed tucked into his corner, using the crowds for extra cover. He needed to be careful; if he couldn't catch Harry on the platform, then he'd need to know which train car to get into. And what made things tougher was he was going to have to do it under the watchful eyes of people protecting Harry. He wasn't stupid; Rangers used similar tactics to protect VIP's. And there were other problems; where were Ron and Hermione, and what was the story with the black dog that stuck so close to Harry it almost seemed like a worried parent? Jon looked at Lance. "Ten bucks says that's an animagus, buddy."

Another person started walking towards Harry and the women, making Jon suck a breath. A porters cap sat on top a large grizzled man with a badly mangled face and a serious limp. There were two things caught Jon's attention, the brown trench coat and the man's eyes. One eye was normal looking, small and dark. The other was much larger and a shade of blue Jon couldn't describe. It moved completely independently from the other eye, constantly scanning the platform as if it were looking for threats.

Jon had met some Rangers that had travelled around the world before the war, and he'd heard stories of a Ministry Auror that was so aggressive and fearless that he gave the Ranger's more respect for British Aurors, despite their "retrieve alive" orders. Jon didn't dare whisper the man's name, but he definitely knew it: Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody. Jon swallowed, knowing that his job just became a lot harder if the legendary Mad-Eye was working to protect Harry Potter.

Another group of people appeared on the platform. Jon recognized two of them: Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. The other person, a tall, slightly heavyset man, Jon didn't recognize, but thought he looked a bit like Ron Weasley. Jon assumed the first woman he saw and this man were Ron Weasley's parents. Shortly thereafter, another group of people walked up around Harry. Jon didn't recognize any of them, but two of them looked a bit like Ron Weasley, except they were twins.

Jon watched as the group got onto their train car. Jon stood and made for the front entrance so he could try to cut them off, but he froze. Mad-Eye was staring right at him. Jon tensed up. 'Well, it's all over now.'

But Moody only grunted, offering a small smirk while looking away. Jon dashed across the platform just as a warning whistle sounded across the platform. Laden with his backpack, re-shrunken trunk and Lance's cage, navigating the tight hall way on the right side of the train car wasn't easy. The train lurched forwards and several other students nearly lost their footing. He came to a corner and briefly saw Harry and several of the other teens talking about how someone named Sirius didn't shouldn't have come. 'Sirius… Sirius Black! Harry's godfather! But I didn't see… Ahh, the black dog. It was an animagus!' He looked down at Lance. "Not sure how you'll pay me, but you owe me ten bucks, pal." Jon whispered.

Jon leaned back against the cabin wall, watching the group talk through the window reflection, hoping no one was smart enough to see him in the window. Jon was wracking his brain trying to figure out how he was going to get with Harry. He looked around the tight train hallway, an idea suddenly coming to his mind. It was a bit cliché, but it was all Jon could think of. He looked at Lance. "Hang on tight. This could hurt." Lance glared at him, seeming to understanding what Jon had planned.

Harry and a girl started walking towards the hall corridor Jon was standing in. He waited till the last moment and then walked around the blind corner, crashing into Harry and knocking him into the red haired girl. All three found themselves in a heap on the floor. Jon recovered quickly and offered his hands to the other two teens. "Oh shi… I'm sorry, you two! I wasn't paying any attention. Are you alright?"

The girl glared at him, clambering up on her own power, but Harry took his hand and pulled himself up. "It's alright, I think." He looked at his owl, who was glaring at Jon with enormous eyes but seemed unhurt.

"Well, still," Jon said. "I'm sorry. I shoulda' been paying more attention. I just can't figure out where to sit."

"Oh. Well, you just sit with friends, or find a space, really." Harry looked at Jon with a puzzled look on his face. "Umm, if you don't mind, you… Are you American?"

Jon nodded sheepishly. "That obvious? My name's Jonathan. Jonathan Lionheart. Friends just call me Jon."

Harry nodded. "Harry Potter. Pleasure to meet you." They shook hands. Harry looked at the girl. "This is Ginny Weasley. She's a friend of mine."

Jon smiled and nodded. "Pleased to meetcha."

Ginny glared, but nodded back. "Good to meet you."

Harry looked at Jon. "Well, if you're from America, what are you doing here?"

"Oh. Uhh. Well, the only family I have left is here in England. My headmaster at Ilvermorny thought I should be with them, so he had me sent here."

"Only family left?" Ginny asked.

Jon looked down. "We… Uh, meaning America. We've been in a civil war for the last few years." Jon swallowed. "I lost my family. An aunt and uncle in Manchester are all I have left, so…"

Harry looked at Jon sympathetically. "I'm sorry."

Jon waved him away, picking his stuff off the floor. "It's alright. It's long past, I guess. And my family here seems pretty great, so, future looks hopeful."

"Well, that's good." Harry looked at Lance. "You have an eagle, instead of an owl?"

Jon chuckled. "Oh, yeah. I saved his life when he was little, and he's refused to leave my side. His name is Lance." Jon looked at Harry's owl. "That's a beautiful snowy owl. Though I think she's still a little angry with me."

Harry looked down at his owl who had stopped glaring at Jon after he said she was beautiful. "Thanks. Her name's Hedwig."

Jon smiled. "Well, I'm sorry for knocking you over, Hedwig."

Hedwig hooted softly, seeming to accept the apology.

"Well, we should probably find a compartment somewhere." Ginny said.

Harry nodded. "Right." He looked at Jon. "Why don't you come with us?"

Jon nodded, smiling. "Alright, thanks!" 'Well, this is going well.'

The three teens walked the corridor but found no room on that car, so they moved to the next one. About halfway down they ran into another teen. He was a bit shorter than Harry, round faced with blonde hair. He was sweaty from carrying all of his luggage. Harry nodded to him. "Hello, Neville."

The boy, Neville, seemed startled to see him. "Oh. Um. Hi Harry. Still looking for a compartment?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah."

Neville looked sheepish. "Well, there are no more in this train. All full."

Ginny squeezed past Harry and Neville to look for herself. Harry looked at Jon. "Jon, this is Neville Longbottom. Neville, this is Jonathan Lionheart. He's new here. From America."

Jon nodded at Neville. "Howdy."

Neville seemed to squirm even more under Jon's gaze, as if he were intimidated. "Well… Nice to meet you…" He mumbled.

Ginny walked back to the boys. "Neville, there's a compartment back here with plenty of space."

"Well… Loony…"

Ginny laughed. "Luna's fine. Come on, let's see if she minds."

Ginny turned toward the cabin, but between Jon's unintentional intimidation and the thought of sitting with this "Loony" person, he looked at Harry apologetically. "I think there's… other spaces…" He looked at Jon, seemed to shrink some more, then trundled between Jon and Harry heading for the end of the train.

Jon looked at Harry. "Is… Howdy an insult over here?"

Harry shook his head. "No. Neville's very shy, though. Especially around new people. And you are a little…"

Jon looked at Harry. "Smelly?"

Harry chuckled. "No. But you are a little… Intimidating, I guess." Harry's face fell suddenly. "Or at least, you remind me of someone who used intimidated me."

Jon caught the use of "used to," and didn't pry. "Sorry. I'll try to be less… Well, less."

"Are you two coming or not?" Ginny called from the compartment with this "Loony" person.

Harry went for the compartment first and Jon followed. As Harry was putting his suitcases and owl on the cargo rack, Jon caught his first glance at "Loony."

It was a small girl with dirty blonde hair. Most of her face was covered with a magazine that was oddly upside down, but Jon could see that she had fair eyebrows with very large, bright blue eyes that seemed to stick out a bit. Her wand was tucked into her left ear as if it were a pencil, and she had a necklace made of metal bottle caps. Jon couldn't help but smirk. 'I have a feeling she'd get along fairly will with Celeste.'

Harry sat down on the middle of the bench across from "Loony," so Jon squeezed in and took the window seat, angling a bit so he could always see out the door. Ginny was sitting across from him. "Harry, Jon, this is Luna Lovegood."

The magazine lowered a bit and Jon could see the rest of the girls face. She had very pale skin, a fair nose and small mouth. She had a look on her face that was almost as if she was constantly daydreaming. Her eyes rested on Harry and he started to squirm a bit. "You're Harry Potter." It was a statement, not a question, and she said it in a voice that was nearly ethereal.

Harry swallowed. "Yeah. I know."

Jon looked at Harry with a smirk when Luna turned her eyes onto him. "I don't know you, though."

Jon looked her in the eyes to answer, but his brain seemed to lose track of what his name actually was. Her gaze was kind, but it felt like it went right to your core, and Jon half expected her to start speaking in his head. He coughed quickly. "Um, yeah. I'm a new Jon. Oh, uhh, no, I'm…" He paused, closing his eyes with an embarrassed look on his face while Ginny giggled and Harry grinned. "Aha. I'm Jonathan. Jonathan Lionheart. I'm new."

Luna kept staring. "You're from America. Your voice is very flat."

"Umm. Yeah, I guess so."

Ginny giggled again. "Luna is a fourth year like me, but she's in Ravenclaw house."

Luna smiled softly. "Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure."

Jon looked at Harry with a puzzled look on his face. "It's the Ravenclaw motto." Harry explained.

"Ah. Got it." Luna pulled the magazine back over her face. Jon pointed between Harry and Ginny. "So, if Luna's in Ravenclaw, what houses are you in?"

"We're both in Gryffindor." Harry said. "Do you have houses in Ilvermorny?"

Jon nodded. "Yeah. Um, Thunderbird, Wampus, Horned Serpent and Pukwudgie."

Ginny giggled. "Pukwudgie?"

"Yeah. They're umm, native to America. About maybe, three feet tall. Grey skinned. Pointy ears. Stout builds. Don't much care for humans, normally. Vicious in a fight."

"My father's mentioned them." The ethereal voice spoke from behind the magazine. "He says they transform into boulders and roll onto people for fun."

Jon blinked. "Well, I never saw one do that. But they can transform into porcupines or cougars, depending on where they're from."

Harry looked at Jon. "Which house did you belong to?"

"Wampus. Umm, I guess you could say it's the bravest of the houses."

"Why's that?"

Jon inhaled before explaining. "Wampus is about bravery. Loyalty. Honor. The Wampus totem favors warriors, those who are brave in spirit. Those who'll see things through. Academically, we're usually the best in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but we're pretty good at potions and healing, too. Before the war, Wampus had the best Quidditch team, and the House Cup usually went between Wampus and Thunderbird."

Ginny leaned forward. "Are they going to sort you, or just match you with the house closest to your old one?"

"They're going to sort me tonight at the feast."

Harry was grinning. "You'll be in Gryffindor, I know it."

Jon looked at Harry. "You think so?"

Harry nodded. "I do."

Jon grinned back. "Well, I've already got friends there. Sounds good to me."

The door to the compartment opened and a pretty girl with shiny black hair opened the door. She looked a little sheepish. "Uhm. Hi, Harry."

Harry went beat red. "Oh! Umm, hi Cho."

Cho looked around the compartment at Ginny, Luna and Jon. Luna had put her magazine down and was giving Cho that same soul-piercing stare she'd given Jon. Cho squirmed. "Well, I just wanted to say hi." Pause. "Bye." She closed the door and vanished. Harry stared at the door blinking with a dumb look on his face.

Jon looked at Harry. "My bad?" Harry grinned, shaking his head.

"I think she likes you, Harry Potter." Luna said before ducking back under her magazine.

Harry went pink, wiping his face with his hands, sighing. Apparently, Harry liked Cho too. "I wanted to say… Something…" He wiped his face again.

Jon nudged him. "I wouldn't worry too much, Harry. Besides, it could have been worse." Harry looked at him. "You could have been covered in some smelly goo."

Harry chuckled again and looked at Jon appreciatively. "Thanks."

Jon smiled, reaching up to his backpack and freed his Stetson from the straps. "No problem. Now, I think I'm gonna catch some shuteye." He pulled his stetson down over his eyes and smiled to himself. 'Looking good so far.'

o – o – o – o – o – o – o - o

Some time later, the door to the compartment opened and a kind lady was asking if anyone wanted any snacks. Jon kept his eyes closed; he wasn't really hungry.

"Should we wake him?" Ginny whispered.

"No. I'll just get some extra. Ron'll want some too whenever he finally shows up."

"That's very kind of you, Harry Potter." The ethereal voice said, a bit muffled. Jon assumed Luna was still behind her magazine.

A few minutes later the door opened again, but this time people came in.

"Oi, I'm starved." The bench Jon was on shifted as a body fell into it. "Thans f'r gein esr fgs." It was a male voice. Jon guessed Ron Weasley.

"Ron!" Another new voice, female and filled with admonition. Jon guessed this was Hermione Granger. "Don't speak with your mouth full! Honestly."

An audible swallow. "Sorry."

The girl humphed. "Well, there are more prefects than normal this year."

Another wrapper opened up. "Yeah And you're gonna love this, mate." A paused. "Guessh who th' thlytherin prfcts ar?"

"Ron!" Now it was Ginny, and she sounded exasperated.

Jon frowned. 'So, Ron Weasley was born and currently lives in a barn.'

"Sorry." Again. "Guess who one of the Slytherin prefects is?"

Harry sighed. "Malfoy."

Jon was familiar with the responsibilities of a prefect, and from the way Harry said the name Malfoy, this sounded like bad news. Jon pulled the stetson off his head, looking at Harry. "Who's this Malfoy? Sounds like you don't like him much."

There was a choking sound from Ron as he just realized there was someone in the compartment he didn't know. "Oi! Forget who's Malfoy, mate. Who are you!?"

Hermione looked at Ron aghast. "Ron! That's not… Ugggh. Nevermind."

Jon sat up in his seat. "Jon. Jon Lionheart." He extended his hand to Ron. "You're Ron…"

"Weasley. Ronald Weasley."

Hermione held out her hand. "Hermione Granger." Jon shook it.

"Pleased to meetcha."

Ron looked at him puzzled. "You're a yank?"

Hermione and Ginny this time. "RON!"

Jon chuckled. "Uhh, yeah. Guilty as charged."

Hermione leaned forward, glaring at Ron. "What are you doing here? We've never had an American student before."

"Well, I'm an orphan. There's been a civil war back in the States for the last four years, and the only family I have left is here in England. So here I am."

Hermione looked at him sympathetically. "I'm sorry."

Ron looked embarrassed. "Yeah. Sorry mate."

Jon nodded. "It's alright, really." Jon looked at Harry. "So who is this Malfoy guy? I assume he's a guy."

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Draco Malfoy. He's, umm…"

"A giant git is what he is. He's in Slytherin, and think's he's above everyone because he's a pureblood and his dad's got pull in the Ministry."

Jon's right hand clenched. "Pureblood?"

Ron looked at him. "Yeah. Thinks they're better than muggle born wizards."

Jon shook his head. "Um, muggle?"

Hermione giggled. "Means non magical human."

"Ah. Gotcha." Jon looked at Harry. "I'm guessing you and Draco don't get along very well."

Harry shook his head. "Not at all."

"He's a bully," Ginny said. "He rides Harry like crazy because Harry's better than him. Not to mention Harry's famous."

Jon looked at Ginny, raising his eyebrows. "Famous?" He looked at Harry. "What makes you famous?"

Ron looked at Jon stupidly. "You're daft, right?"

Hermione hit Ron over the shoulder and Ron winced. Jon shrugged. "Sorry, but I'd never heard of Harry Potter before I crashed into him a few hours ago."

Hermione glared at Ron who sank away from her. "Harry is famous for surviving the Avada Kedavra curse when he was a baby. He's known as the Boy Who Lived."

"It's a real pain most of the time." Harry mumbled.

"Who'd try to kill a baby?" Jon asked.

Harry looked at him. "His name was Vol…"

"Don't say it, Harry!" Ron yelled.

Jon was puzzled. "Why can't he say his name?"

"Because people are afraid of it," Harry continued. He leaned in so only Jon could hear him. "Voldemort. His name is Voldemort."

Jon leaned back. "So this… Bad guy. He wanted you dead?" Harry nodded. "Why?"

Harry shrugged. "Erm, not really sure." He looked at Ron and Hermione. "Who are the other prefects?"

"Pansy Parkinson is the female Slytherin prefect," Hermione grumbled. "Not sure how she pulled that off…"

"Macmillan and Abbot for Hufflepuff and Goldstein and Patil for Revenclaw." Ron said.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jon saw Luna lower her magazine. She was looking at Ron. "I remember you going to the Yule Ball with Padma Patil."

Ron squirmed, making Jon and Harry grin. "Yeah. So?"

Luna looked thoughtful. "She didn't have a very good time. She thought you treated her badly, since you wouldn't dance with her." She paused. "I wouldn't have minded though. I don't really like to dance." She sank back beneath the magazine like a submarine sliding under waves.

Jon grinned looking at the magazine. 'I would love to get her and Celeste in a room together.' Ron looked stunned, looking around the room for an explanation while Ginny giggled at his facial expression.

"Anyway," Hermione broke the sudden silence. "We may need to leave every now and then. We're supposed to monitor the corridors."

Ron sat up excitedly. "The best part, though, is that now we can hand out punishments if someone is misbehaving!" He rubbed his hands together. "Crabbe and Goyle aren't gonna know what's hit them…"

Hermione looked appalled. "Ron! You can't just hand out punishments on a whim; that's abusing your position!"

Ron glared. "Oh, and Malfoy's just gonna be a saint about it, isn't he?"

Jon coughed gently. "I wouldn't sink to his level, if I were you."

Ron shot Jonathan a look. "I hadn't planned to. Just gonna catch Crabbe and Goyle before Malfoy can get Harry for anything."

Hermione rubbed her forehead, shaking her head.

Ron sat back, still thinking about how he'd punish these two students. "I'd have Goyle do lines. He hates writing." He mimed someone writing. "I, must, not, look, like, a, baboon's, backside!"

Jon frowned at the crack, thinking Ron still didn't get what his position meant. Everyone else thought it was funny, but no one laughed harder than Luna. She laughed so loud and hard that the animals in the compartment got upset. She kept laughing so hard that she eventually fell out of her seat, her magazine falling to the floor in front of her. "That was funny!"

Ron looked at her like she had seven heads. "You taking the mickey?"

Jon leaned into Harry while still watching Luna. "Taking the what now?"

Harry choked out a laugh and then told Jon what the phrase meant. Jon frowned immediately, glaring at Ron. 'That was uncalled for.'

Harry had taken to looking at Luna's magazine with keen interest. "Hey Luna, can I borrow your magazine for a moment?"

Luna shook her head in agreement, still laughing but trying to get herself back in her seat. Jon reached over and lifted her by her arm, helping her still shaking form slide into the seat. "Thank you," laugh, "Jonathan."

Jon grinned at her before trying to figure out what caught Harry's attention. He saw a headline for Sirius Black, but Harry flipped the page too quickly for Jon to see more. Jon thought about Harry's godfather for a second. ''Tobias and General Greylock mentioned that Black was an escaped prisoner from Azkaban. But if that really was him on the platform as that dog, then he doesn't seem dangerous to Harry. Not if Mad-Eye knew he was there and did nothing. That's a puzzle I'll have to keep working on.'

Harry closed the magazine, frowning. "Nothing good, huh?" Jon asked.

Hermione humphed. "Not unexpected. I don't know what kind of news you have in America, but over here, The Quibbler is a joke."

Luna's face changed in an instant; from looking like she was always dreaming to anger, as if someone had insulted her family. "Excuse me. My father is The Quibller's editor."

Jon winced, seeing Hermione shrink back completely ashamed. Luna leaned over and yanked the magazine out of Harry's hands, turned it upside down and disappeared behind it again.

The tension in the room was palpable when the door to the compartment opened, revealing a smirking pale blonde boy with his hair slicked back over his head, with two large boys not far behind. He made Jon instantly uneasy, to the point Jon rested his hand on his wand.

Harry glared at him. "What do you want, Malfoy?"

Malfoy chuckled. "Easy, Potter. Mouth off to me and I'll give you a detention." He spoke with an air of snobbery, and Jon could tell what Ron meant; he thought he was better than everyone else. "See, I made prefect this year. Which means I have the power to discipline you when you step out of line." He looked at Jon. "You must be the Yank, what with that stupid cowboy hat."

Jon nodded, his stetson exaggerating the movement. "That'd be me. Name's Jon Lionheart. You must be Draco Malfoy."

"Already familiar with the worthwhile people of Hogwarts?"

Jon smiled a fake smile. "You could say that."

"Well, if I were you, I'd make some new friends. The company you're keeping is lacking. No one would want to think you prefer to be seen with the inferior people in school."

Harry ground his teeth. "Draco…"

Draco kept going. "Potter is a lousy excuse for a wizard. The Weasels are as poor as they come. Loony is exactly that. And while Granger is a prefect, she's only a muggleborn, so she's not worth much in wizarding society. You'd be better off with people like me; people with power."

Jon stood up and walked up to Malfoy. Jon was a few inches taller than Draco, and his hat made him seem even taller. Jon rested his hand on Draco's shoulder in what looked like a friendly gesture, but the pressure Jon put on the smaller boys' shoulder drained the color from Draco's face.

Draco started to squirm and look to his wingmen, who looked clueless about what to do. Jon smirked. "I appreciate your concern, Draco. But the company I keep is my business. And I wouldn't have anything to do with you for a million galleons." Jon gave Draco's shoulder one final, painful squeeze before letting go. Draco whimpered and started rushing down the hall of the coach, his useless bodyguards in tow. Jon watched as they vanished around a corner, then turned around to see everyone in the cabin staring at him.

Ron, suddenly seeming intimidated, spoke first. "Bloody hell, mate."

Jon closed the door and sat back down, looking apologetically at everyone. "Sorry. Not a fan of bullies."

"You'll want to keep your distance for a while," Hermione spoke, also looking at Jon warily. "Draco might scare easily if you confront him, but he has a long memory."

"I'll do what I can, but I won't put up with him talking down to people like that. Especially you." Jon pointed at Hermione. "A persons blood status doesn't factor into their value. People like that caused the war back home." Jon sighed as he looked out at the passing scenery. "I just won't tolerate it."

Ron was still eyeing him warily, grabbing a chocolate frog from Harry and cramming it into his mouth. Jon looked at Harry who looked worried about something.

Everyone in the cabin was quiet after that, settling into their own thoughts. Jon watched the scenery for a few more minutes, then pulled his Stetson back down and grabbed a bit more sleep.

o – o – o – o – o – o – o – o

A bump to his shoulder jolted Jon awake. It was Harry. "You need to change. We're getting close."

Jon looked outside and saw it was dark. "Oh. Thanks, Harry."

After a quick change, Jon grabbed all his stuff, gently lifting Lance under his left arm. Everyone else was ready to go and they started shuffling down the corridor of the train. Jon smiled as the smell of pine wafted over them in the cool air coming into the train.

A woman was outside calling for first year student to line up, and Harry started looking around as if something was wrong. "Forget somethin', Harry?"

"What? Oh, no I'm just looking for…" He turned to Ginny. "Where's Hagrid?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, but we need to keep moving Harry."

As they got onto the platform, the mass of people forced them to be separated, but Jon kept his eyes on the back of Harry's head and tracked him outside of the small station. He stood next to Harry looking as they looked at a long line of carriages being pulled by some horse-like creatures. "Huh. That's a sight. So, umm. Who's Hagrid?"

"Oh, he's our Care of Magical Creatures professor. Well, he should be, anyway, but he's not here." Harry looked back to staring at the coaches bewilderedly.

"Oi, where's Pig!?" Ron called from behind them.

Harry shook his head. "Luna's got him somewhere. Hey, where do you…"

"Where's Hagrid?" Ron cut him off. "No idea, but I hope he's alright."

Jon caught sight of Draco Malfoy shoving his way through some much younger students to get to a carriage, his posse following behind him. Jon couldn't help but growl.

Harry saw what he was looking at. "Yeah. It's always Malfoy first." Harry looked back at Jon. "You're really gonna have a tough time with him, aren't you?"

Jon grit his teeth. "Probably."

Hermione came up next. "I can't believe Malfoy! Bullying on a first year, scared her completely to death! One day with that badge and he's already three times worse than he ever was." She looked around. "What'd you do with Crookshanks?"

Ginny and Luna popped out of the crowd, Ginny holding an orange puffball of a cat, and Luna with an owl in a cage. "He's here, Hermione."

Luna handed Ron his cage. "Here's your owl, Ron. He's very sweet."

"Yeah. Thanks."

The group started walking towards the carriages when Harry stopped and asked. "What do you suppose those are, anyhow?"

Ron looked at him. "They're carriages, Harry."

"No, I know that. I mean the horse things pulling the carriages."

Jon tilted his head over. "It's a thestral, Harry."

Harry spun. "You can see them!?"

Jon nodded. "Yeah, it's a thestral. We had a herd at Ilvermorny. Even learned to ride them."

Ron looked at Harry and Jon like they were both crazy, but realization dawned on Hermione. "That's right. I read about them in Hogwarts, a History. But thestrals can only be seen…" More realization dawned on Hermione's face. "Oh, Harry."

Hermione wrapped Harry in a hug, making Ron look even more confused. "What's goin' on!?"

An ethereal voice spoke next. "Thestrals can only be seen by those that have seen death. Harry saw Cedric Diggory die. Jon must have seen someone die, too." Luna stated.

Ron swallowed. "Well… Guess it's best I can't see 'em."

Hermione looked at Ron over her shoulder, glaring. "Ron!" She was still holding onto Harry.

"No, Ron's right." Jon stated. "He should be happy he can't see them."

On that somber note, everyone piled into the carriage.

o – o – o – o – o – o – o – o – o – o – o – o

I'm gonna post this as maybe a beta chapter. It took me a few revisions to get this to where I liked it and there's still a couple places that… Just seem… Soft. I guess.

So this chapter might be updated and changed at random later down the road.

I tried to make it feel less like a carbon copy and more like an AU version of what Jon's impact might be.

Well, let me know what you think.

*update 02.20.21*

Made some changes to this chapter. Mostly in Jon's interaction with Draco and what happens at the carriages.

In case you're wondering, for those not familiar. Stetson is a brand name of western hats in America, but it's also a term used to refer to a western hat, regardless of who actually made it. Calling a western hat a stetson is a lot better than saying "western hat" or "cowboy hat."