Remember when I said in my Ch5 AN that time has a way of slipping away. Well…
Harry, inspired by his new acquaintance's habits, visited the bookshop weekly over the rest of the summer (Apparition was so convenient). After several years of conditioning (and her own realization of how much less stressful it was with him out of the house), Petunia did not object when Harry said how he'd been accepted in a boarding school for 10 months out of the year. In actuality, she'd realized how powerful he'd become within months of his mastering apparition, and figured it was safer for everyone to look the other way. It's not like Dumbledore gave her a means to contact him anyway.
Harry Potter, the closest the Sol system had to a Jedi master (which, considering local conditions, wasn't saying much) suddenly appeared with a soft floosh of displaced air in an alley several blocks from Kings Cross station (this was before the explosion of CCTV cameras all over Britain in the late 90's, so he wasn't worried about being spotted) and strode (inasmuch as an eleven-year-old can stride) through the city and into the station. His Tom Riddle memories were once more helpful in figuring out how to get to his destination, Platform 9 3/4. Upon arrival, he was hit by a major surprise. In the late 30's and early 40's steam engines were somewhat quaint but still common enough. To the modern Harry, however, the Hogwarts express would be classified as a tourist attraction. Continued use of quills was one thing (the formerly living material retained enchantments more effectively than artificial fountain pens) but if you're going to use full-blown technology, you might as well go all the way. Even a diesel engine wasn't delicate enough for the magic in Hogsmeade Valley to muck with its workings. Something as primitive as a steam-powered locomotive, though more magically stable, was sure to stick out, which went against one of the main tenants of Wizarding society since the Church went crazy over a mistranslation in the Latin Vulgate ("Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" would more accurately be conveyed as "necromancer") and started executing magic users in general. Granted, the average person won't think "they're primitive, it must be magic!" but still, the less attention on this group the better.
Still marveling at the magical cultures negligence in keeping up with the times (if they wanted to avoid muggle influence altogether, why use a train at all?), Harry rolled his featherlight trunk down the corridor of the train in search of an empty compartment. He found Hermione in the last compartment on the last car. Naturally, she was reading, and as Harry knew how jarring it could be yanking someone out of their reading material, he just settled down and pulled out his copy of the Timothy Zahn's new Star Wars novel to pass the time. Thrawn was really a kickass villain.
Leia's body chemistry thwarting the latest kidnapping attempt was punctuated by the sudden opening of the compartment's door. Harry's Riddle Memories™ were quickly cross-referenced and indicated a mix of features from two of the most troublesome (read here: competent/morally sound) aurors to oppose the Death Eaters. Though Riddle had seen Frank and Alice Longbottom's faces with a righteously angry expression, as opposed to the frustrated/distraught expression on this newcomer.
Neville Longbottom's facial expression was brought on by his toad having gone missing. Hermione stuck the seven of diamonds she was using as a bookmark into Hogwarts: A History, and set out with Mr. Longbottom on an epic quest for the errant amphibian. Harry, as a way of declining to accompany them, pulled up his bangs and, exposing his scar, conveyed his lack of desire to cause a riot.
The train pulled out of the station accompanied by many families waving their kids goodbye (lucky bastards). Soon, London's sparkling skyscrapers were sinking under the distant southern horizon.
Harry greatly anticipated a Dursley-free ten months.
Read Timothy Zahn's "Heir to the Empire" to know what scene Neville interrupted. Sorry if you find the chapter too short, but you've been waiting long enough. The biggest challenge is making original material (If you wanted a close rehash of HP1, you'd have just read JKR's novel) while working with the very limited scope of early nineties expanded universe. Episode VII is a great film (My father and grandfather saw the original in the theater seven times, and in Grandpa's memory, dad and I have matched that record), but part of me will always prefer Thrawn to Snoke, and I'll greatly miss the Solo's THREE kids and Mara Jade Skywalker.