Chapter One – Alone In A Crowd

Harry didn't know what it meant to be a wizard so finding out he was one sent him into a state of shock. Hagrid had told him he'd been accepted at Hogwarts and they needed to go shopping for supplies in London. Harry went along with this not knowing what else to do. He was functioning on auto-pilot, following a giant around and listening to stories about goblins and dragons now. That's not something you do every day. He'd also found out he was incredibly rich which was something he was pretty sure Dudley would have been jealous of. The trip he made to the Wizarding bank called Gringotts to collect his funds spiralled him physically into an unknown world much like the startling news had affected his view of everything he knew to be true. It was new that was half very welcome and half anxiety inducing. There he was standing in a place called Diagon Alley feeling very scared and wondering if he did the right thing in coming at all. At least the Dursleys were familiar. This wasn't. What the hell was waiting for him in this new world? In the doorway of Gringotts he looked up at Hagrid who appeared to be rather green after their roller coaster ride. "Might as well get your uniform" said Hagrid nodding toward Madam Malkins Robes For All Occasions. "Listen Harry would ye mind if I slipped off for a quick pick me up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts?" Harry felt a shiver run up his spine in anticipation of what might happen next and was just about to stroll off alone to get his robes when he suddenly thought better of it and asked Hagrid if he could come to the pub too. "Uh, yeah, I suppose so" said Hagrid rubbing his forehead. "Come on then, let's get you some pumpkin juice. It might put the colour back in yeh cheeks".

Harry didn't know what pumpkin juice was but if it helped he'd drink it. On top of everything else his head started to spin and he thought he saw another version of himself walking alone up the street to get robes as previously planned. He took a deep breath and rubbed his head. He then rubbed his eyes in an attempt to erase the image. "Um, Hagrid" he asked following him to the pub, "what's in pumpkin juice?" "What besides pumpkins?" Hagrid smiled "just sugar and herbs and stuff I think" he said, flatly, as if he didn't feel like talking at all. Whatever was in it Harry hoped it would stop any more odd visions of parallel universes. He'd once watched a documentary on TV (one of the few times he liked what the Dursleys liked) about how if you made a decision to walk this way or that another version of yourself makes a different decision and walks in another direction which splits your consciousness into two parallel universes. The theory behind it was that there was, in fact, a 'multiverse' and there are different versions of you living in different universes due to every tiny decision you make. You are a multidimensional being and live many different lives coexisting with your other selves. It made Harry's mind boggle. He thought maybe the Dursleys had liked it so much because they felt comfort in knowing that somewhere in another universe Harry didn't even exist.

Sitting in the pub Harry felt more confused than ever, surrounded by witches and wizards in strange robes and finding himself about to sign up for something he didn't know anything about. He wanted to ask Hagrid more about Hogwarts but didn't know where to start. Besides, the giant man had advised Harry not to talk to him until he'd had a fire whiskey as he thought he might otherwise throw up at any minute. That was enough to keep Harry silent. A strange looking waitress brought Harry a glass of dark brown liquid which he sipped carefully. It was actually pretty good. Maybe it was a magical drink. Maybe it would give him secret knowledge of Hogwarts and what to expect so he'd feel less like crapping himself. It seemed adults were incredibly good at keeping secrets one way or another and he wondered if they did it for kicks. All his life he'd been lied to. He'd been lied to about who he was, who his parents were and been made to feel like a freak. Now he was diving head first into a mysterious world about which he knew only the bare minimum. Why couldn't he just get answers? Finally Hagrid's colour seemed to change back from a sickly green to its usual ruddy complexion as he gulped down his final mouthful of fire whiskey. "That's better" he said. "Sorry I've been quiet Harry I just didn't feel too well after that ride is all. How are you feeling now? Ready to get the rest of yeh stuff?" "Uh, sure" said Harry finishing his pumpkin juice and hoping the rest of his 'stuff' would bring a little more clarity to his ridiculous situation.

Walking back out into the open air Harry glanced across the street at the robe shop and noticed a pale, blonde haired boy coming out on his own. He looked just as pathetic as Harry felt. There were plenty of other boys Harry's age in the street but they were all in groups laughing and joking. "Oh look, the Nimbus 2000!", they squealed, looking in the window of a shop that sold broomsticks. They seemed to know exactly what they were getting into. A 'Nimbus 2000' meant nothing to Harry. They might has well have said 'yellow matter custard dripping from a dead dog's eye.' Harry was first whisked off to get his robes followed by parchment and quills and finally a bookstore called Flourish and Blotts. At last - information. Harry was in his element with hundreds of strange looking books in all shapes and sizes - books on everything and anything. He grinned with delight as he walked about of the shop and placed them in a cauldron which hung around his arm. Dudley would be jealous if he knew. He'd be even more jealous if Hagrid had let him buy a solid gold cauldron but never mind. Hagrid soon made up for his lack of forthcoming behaviour when he presented Harry with a beautiful snowy owl in a huge cage. "Happy Birthday Harry" the giant smiled. This was the first real birthday present Harry had ever received. "Wow thanks" he grinned. His first ever pet.

"Don't forget to take her to Hogwarts with you" Hagrid reminded.

"Oh no I won't" Harry shook his head thinking he'd have to be crazy to leave this lovely looking creature with the Dursleys. Goodness knows what sort of a state it'd be in when he returned.

Harry felt his mood elevated slightly as he was taken into Ollivander's wand shop. This was he most fascinating stop so far. Fascinating but scary. He met a very creepy looking man called Ollivander who told him Harry's mum and dad had bought their wands in this very shop, that Hagrid had been expelled from Hogwarts and that the reason Harry had a scar on his head was because someone with a similar wand had given it to him. He was beginning to get the picture but he didn't like it very much. It felt amazing to have this magical wand in his possession but he didn't have a clue what he was going to do with it or what it was for. On the way back to Surrey from London Hagrid still didn't give him any answers even though he noticed how terrified Harry was looking. He was famous but didn't have a clue who he was. Knowing he was a wizard though, he supposed, was a good enough start.

The summer was boring and painful. Harry was being treated as if he was invisible. If he walked past is aunt or uncle in the hallway they'd ignore him. In order to take a break from the mind numbing atmosphere he'd occasionally give them a curse of boils. He wouldn't bother with Dudley seeing as his cousin was already now terrified of him but it often put a smile on Harry's face to see Uncle Vernon take a while to get comfortable on the sofa while wincing in pain. Aunt Petunia would also occasionally scream from the bathroom then come downstairs covered in a rash which she never mentioned to anyone. Once again the Dursleys were doing very well at pretending that what they did not want to face wasn't there. Harry's books were a life saver. He ploughed through them from cover to cover morning, noon and night learning everything he possibly could. He figured that being as no-one had really bothered to prepare him in any other way for Hogwarts he'd learn everything he possibly could from his books before he went. Sometimes he'd take a break from them to magically fix Dudley's broken TVs or radios or CD players that were left forgotten in Harry's bedroom. Soon he's fixed up the whole room and neatly stacked Dudley's unwanted toys to one side. He was never disturbed partly due to the fact that Hedwig's droppings stunk the place out. Harry didn't mind though.

The night before he was due to go to Hogwarts he managed to get his ever loving uncle Vernon to be kind enough to agree to give him a lift to Kings Cross Station. Harry was still feeling the hurt left in is heart that threatened to tear him in half by being so ostracised from his family. Here was his own flesh and blood and they wanted nothing to do with him. He wished he could take a pill, like an aspirin for a headache, to make the pain go away but no such pill existed. Instead he imagined getting away from Little Whinging and starting a new life in Hogwarts. He didn't hope too much to make new friends he just wanted to get his head down and work. He figured if he lost himself in work he wouldn't think about the hurt so much.

On his way up to the station in the morning the car ride was painfully quiet. He gazed out of the window and then suddenly remembered Dudley had a tail that needed removing and stated to giggle. "What's so funny?" Snapped Uncle Vernon. "Nothing" Harry said.

"I'll be laughing when you find out there's no platform nine and ¾". Vernon retorted. Harry just ignored him and played with Hedwig through her cage bars. She cooed softly. His family dropped him off like unwanted baggage at the station, muttered a few more spiteful things about the platform and sped off. Harry stood silently for a moment then turned in circles, looking for clues. There was no sign of platform nine and ¾ and the guards thought it was funny when he asked where it was. His ears pricked up, however, when he heard the word 'muggles' mentioned. He turned around to where the voice was coming from and saw a red haired lady with five children. He plucked up the courage to ask her how to get on to the platform and followed her directions. Walking through walls wasn't something he was used to and it took him a while to gather himself but when he did he saw the train he had seen his dreams. It was a most peculiar feeling. One of the red haired lady's sons helped him on to the train with his cases and Harry quickly found himself an empty carriage. The nerves started again. Oh goodness what was he about to do? Maybe he could change his mind, 'If I get off now I can run back to Kings Cross and get a taxi to the hospital and look for the Dursleys…oh shut up you silly boy' he stopped himself. Looking around him everybody else seemed prepared and seemed to know exactly what they were in for. He slid down in his seat as he watched the red haired family chatting on the platform outside. The twins, Fred and George, seemed ok but the youngest boy and the oldest boy seemed insufferably arrogant. Harry wondered if kids everywhere were like Dudley. He imagined wizard children being different but this just felt like muggle school all over again. There was one stark difference…not many kids at muggle school noticed Harry. Everyone seemed to notice him here even though he tried to remain inconspicuous. "There he is, it's Harry Potter, see the scar!" ' I'm not sure I feel comfortable with being famous' Harry thought, his nerves getting the better of him again. Suddenly the door of his compartment slid open and in walked the youngest red haired boy who's name was Ron. 'Oh God' thought Harry. 'Here we go'.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" Ron blurted out.
Harry nodded.
"Oh -well, I thought it might be one of Fred and George's jokes," said
Ron. "And have you really got - you know..."
He pointed at Harry's forehead.
Harry pulled back his hair to show the lightning scar. Ron stared.
"So that's where You-Know-Who…"
"Yes," said Harry, "but I can't remember it."
"Nothing?" said Ron eagerly

"No" Harry said, "nothing". Like he was going to tell him anything anyway. He didn't know him well enough and wasn't entirely sure that he liked him yet. He bit his bottom lip and the two boys sat in awkward silence for a moment. Finally the silence broke "I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?"
"Horrible -well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle and cousin are,
though". Ron smiled awkwardly and stared out of the window again as the train was moving off. 'Oh well, too late to run now' Harry thought 'and being as I'm in the same compartment with Ron I might as well make the most of it and get more information on Hogwarts if I can' but all Ron could talk about was his family and asked over and over what it was like to be famous, to have survived 'you know who'. Harry felt sicker and sicker with every question thrown at him wishing he could get some answers instead. He would have become irritated but at least Ron was making conversation and he wasn't bored out of his mind as he was at home. If only Hagrid had told him more, he might feel a little more relaxed and more like laughing off his being famous but he hadn't so Harry didn't.

As the train continued to speed through the countryside Harry and Ron continued to make small talk when suddenly things got interesting. Ron had introduced Harry to 'chocolate frog cards' and luckily they were full of information about the greatest wizards and witches of all time including the current headmaster of Hogwarts. Harry couldn't take his eyes of them. Ron even let him have some of his own cards. Then the compartment door opened again and in walked a round faced boy with a bushy haired girl. The boy (called Neville) had lost his pet toad and the girl (called Hermione), well she just seemed to like the sound of her own voice. In one minute she had made fun of Ron's attempt at a spell, boasted about how much she knew about magic and Hogwarts (in spite of growing up as a muggle) and just to make a nice change commented on how amazingly famous Harry was.

"I know all about you, of course – I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century. Harry felt physically sick and almost felt himself gag with nervousness. "Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do either of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw
wouldn't be too bad... Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's
toad. You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there
soon." Harry had never felt like hitting a girl before. Maybe he was feeling a new sense of bravery. "Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron. "I couldn't agree more" Harry echoed rubbing his forehead. "What's a 'house' anyway?" Harry asked, having never heard the term before. "Oh well, there's four of them" Ron answered. "Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. You get sorted into one of them when you arrive at Hogwarts". "What do you mean 'sorted'?" Harry asked nervously. "Well, I don't know I mean, Fred reckoned you have to take a bravery test like wrestling a troll or something" Ron explained cringing. Harry clapped his hand over his mouth. "I think I'm going to throw up" he said in muffled sounds. "Is there a toilet on this train?"

"Uh yeah" Ron said looking concerned. "It's down in the next carriage".

Harry sped off hoping he'd make it in time. He did thankfully. Up came his entire breakfast plus all the sweets he and Ron had consumed during their conversation. He gazed at his reflection in the mirror above the sink. He also noticed how pale he had turned. In fact he was almost green, the same colour Hagrid turned in Gringotts. Harry flushed the toilet and then washed his hands splashing water over his face. He wondered if all this was just a very intense dream and pinched his cheek. Ouch. OK so it wasn't a dream. The front of his hair was dripping wet so he pushed it out of the way. There was that famous scar everyone was so keen on talking about. The mirror was cracked, half way down to the middle and then veered off in two directions right and left. This gave Harry the appearance of having two scars, one on each side that extended in a lightening shape to just beneath his cheeks. He'd had enough of it, enough of being famous, enough of going from being ignored to being starred at as if he was a goldfish in a bowl, enough of not knowing what to expect, enough of just going along with things like driftwood on a river, floating along with no real purpose or direction. He leaned against the door. He figured he'd stay for a few minutes to regain his composure. Outside he heard racing footsteps and whispers. There was a knock at the door. He opened it. "Are you really Harry Potter?" A dark haired, snub-nosed little girl asked. "The boy in the next compartment to me asked me to ask you" she explained breathlessly. A group of first years behind her gasped and dived back into their own compartments. "NO!" Harry screamed. "I'm Tommy bloody Thayer!" and stormed out back down to the carriage Ron was in.

Oh no, Hermione was back, standing in the doorway of Ron's compartment. "I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you
know?" she said pointing at Ron then pushed past Harry with an important air. Harry sat back down opposite Ron. "Any better?" The red hired boy asked.

"Yeah thanks" Harry lied.

"Ignore her she's just stuck up" Ron said referring to Hermione.

"It's not her, it's everybody" Harry replied noticing another gang of first years gathering outside the compartment. Ron looked awkward, as if he didn't know what to say. "Well we're nearly there" he said breaking the silence. "We'd better get changed".

Eventually the train pulled into a station. 'OK' thought Harry, 'this is it'. Stepping down to the platform he saw a familiar face. It was Hagrid. Harry's stomach jumped with nerves again. Once Hagrid had instructed the first years to follow him he took the opportunity to be the first to do so. Everyone was climbing into little boats. This whole scene looked familiar again. They were floating on to a lake, just like the one Harry saw in his dream. Unfortunately Hermione chose to sit in the same boat as he and Ron did. She was followed by Neville. Harry smiled politely and sat in awe of his surroundings. They were drawing near to a huge castle. 'That can't be it' Harry thought. 'That's the school?' "Oh it's just as wonderful as they say in the books" Hermione squealed annoyingly.

After a short journey they climbed on to the harbour and Harry looked around him in the darkness. The pale, blonde boy he briefly saw in Diagon Alley was standing behind him, wide eyed. He was in the middle of two largely built boys who looked like bodyguards. They were even bigger than Dudley and Harry couldn't help but wonder if they could punch his cousin out. He turned to face Hagrid who knocked on two enormous doors. They were made of dark wood and elaborately decorated. A tall witch opened one of the doors, introduced herself as Professor McGonagall and led them into a chamber where they were told to wait to be called to get sorted into houses in front of the whole school. This was just what Harry needed, wrestling with a troll in front of the entire school. He felt his legs buckle and held on to Ron.