Disclaimer: Nope, still not owning it. Gee, thanks for reminding me!

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Author's Notes: You know what's really dumb? Having Semester Exams after Winter Break so that you come back and forget everything.

This week of exams and swimming is very stressful. Our OCC Champs are coming up along with Sectionals, Districts, and States. Even so, I'm still going to update somehow. Every Tuesday: )

Last Time: Harry went to his first day of school. After realizing that Dudley couldn't harm him on the school property without getting in trouble, he knows he's gonna like school.

Onto the Story…!

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Chapter Four: New Friend?

The humid, sticky days of summer drifted away, only to be replaced with the cool, brisk air of fall. The leaves were just starting to develop a slight orangish hue to them. The slightly heavy winds caused them to fall prematurely on the still perfectly kept square lawns of Privet Drive. Even though the weather outside decided to change, the houses in Little Whinging still kept to their constant daily routine.

Except for Number Four Privet Drive.

Change lingered in the house like a dull smell. Sure the walls were still color coordinated and the furniture as neatly arranged and as spotless as ever, the living inhabitants of the house were adjusting. Not so well if I might add….

The once abominable Dudley was now sulky and mute. His door slamming was now a repetitious act to show his parents just how much he hated school. And he must loath school very much, seeing how there was hardly a peaceful time with no doors banging.

Uncle Vernon was unnerved by his son's behavior. He shared his concerns with his wife, saying how maybe they started school too early for Dudley. Aunt Petunia reassured Uncle Vernon that their son will adapt soon, even though she didn't look as lighthearted as she intended. Uncle Vernon tried to act untroubled over Dudley and his loud door banging, but Harry was once woken up in the middle of the night to hear him tightening the hinges of the kitchen door with a drill….

Aunt Petunia repetitively tried to sooth Dudley's tantrums through candy and toys. Surprisingly, not even an even more brand new T.V. for the kitchen and a mountain of Mars Bars would calm the pseudo-baby whale down. But Harry saw through his cousin's trick. Somehow, that miniature brain under Dudley's fat head realized that the more he kept up with his whining and complaining, the more goods he would get from Mummy. Once at the breakfast table, he was unwrapping his fourth candy bar when Harry entered the kitchen. Instead of devouring his chocolate in three swallows like he usually does, Dudley would slowly let it melt in his mouth, keeping his smirking piggish eyes on his scrawny cousin.

Only this time, Harry didn't care too much. The much larger brain in his head knew better than to fall for Dudley's tricks, especially now that he couldn't even get away with tripping Harry by the drinking fountain at school.

'I won this time, Dudley,' Harry thought smugly as he purposely didn't even glance at his cousin who was now licking his fat fingers clean of chocolate. 'I won this time and will win again…'

Harry had gone through quite a noticeable change, even though he couldn't see it for himself. Don't get me wrong, the shy, timid little boy was still there, but was now hiding under the new and more confident Harry. It was now his turn to intimidate his cousin, and he was enjoying every second of it.

School was probably one of the best things that could have happened to Harry's life. Never had he been free to do what everyone else was doing without being flattened from Dudley's rather large bottom.

St. Mary's Primary School and Nursery was now like a second home to Harry. The once foreign halls were now effortless to navigate. There were still hallways and classrooms he hasn't ventured to yet, but Harry was familiar with the places he has class in.

The lunch room was a big open space full of small rectangular tables. Harry didn't have to worry about finding a group to sit with since the whole class was to stay at their designated table. As long as he was as far away to Dudley as possible, he was content.

And the food wasn't as bad as the older kids' make it out to be. It was actually much better than the scraps of food he got at home. The cheese sticks were obviously Harry's favorite dish but the school mac and cheese wasn't too far behind on his favorites list.

When Aunt Petunia gives him lunch money every morning, she would actually give him a little more than the standardized price. Harry planned on taking a trip to the bakery once he had saved up on money and confidence.

Not only that, Harry was sure the lunch ladies liked him a lot. It wasn't just once when one of them noticed Harry's small figure before filling his tray of an uncertainly large serving of reconstituted mashed potatoes.

Recess was the only time of the day Harry disliked. Even with a teacher supervising them as the children ran around free on the playground, Dudley would still get away with tormenting his classmates, especially his cousin. Sometimes, Harry would hide in the tube slide when Dudley walked by. He would often stay hidden there until another kid pushes him down the slide.

Music class on Tuesdays and Thursdays were a lot of fun for Harry. It was a whole half-an-hour of playing with instruments; almost like an indoor recess, but better. His music teacher, Mrs. Moss, played all of the instruments impressively in front of the class while they watched, just anxious to try one. When she said so, Mrs. Moss allowed the small toddlers to run amongst and experiment. As the rest of his class raced towards the eagerly looking drum set, Harry stayed slightly behind. He had never played an instrument before and the old upright piano in the corner had caught his eye more than once during the teachers' demonstration….

His classmates were all too busy taking turns over the drums to notice it. Dudley of course forced his way up to the front of the line. He banged on the sides of the drum so hard that he blew a hole in one of the sides.

Harry would spend the whole thirty minutes of his music class perched on the piano bench, his legs too short to reach the petals. He would punch out random notes, wishing he had the gift to play as beautifully as Mrs. Moss….

Story time in the library was one of Harry's favorites. Some of classmates were rather bouncy as they couldn't even sit still two minutes into the story. Those like Harry who were intrigued and drawn in by the fairy tale would often hush their classmates before returning their eyes to the ancient looking librarian, Mrs. Orr.

Harry was very fond of the school library. It didn't have as many books as the library down the street, but here, he could check out as many books as he wanted for free, as long as he turned them in on time. Now, he didn't have to take the long stroll downtown to look at the picture books.

Art was another class Harry enjoyed immensely. Their first art project was painting a self portrait of themselves. So far, Harry has drawn out the shape of his face and glasses. It bugged him slightly that the picture of himself he had in his head didn't even look remotely close to his portrait….

Nap time was heavenly to Harry. The pillow and blanket he received were softer and warmer then the ratty old ones he has stashed in his cupboard. Dudley would always claim his throne about the bean bag chair. No one fought with him over it. Harry would curl up in the rickety rocking chair since it was the farthest chair from Dudley. Often times, he would dream of himself sitting on his mother's lap as she read him a story in the rocking chair.

Even though he had started enjoying his classes from day one, it took a little longer to fit in with his classmates. They didn't have dirty hand-me-downs from their cousin or taped up glasses. Harry wasn't even worried about them asking about his scar since they would never see it with his untidy bangs in the way.

Harry never really had the chance to interact with others his age, apart from Dudley. After a couple days of tentative mingling, he seemed to fit in with his classmates well enough. Naturally, he was rather quite and stayed in the back to watch. What was fortunate enough for him is that he had classmates who would notice his absence and pull him back in. There were several occasions where Harry had a fellow classmate take his hand and lead him back to the center of discussion.

All of Harry's classmates were very nice. Well, Dudley doesn't really count here since he was never nice to anybody. The once spoiled brat who always got his way was all just a memory while in school. The new Dudley would come out the moment he steps in the door at 8:40 a.m.. He was watchful of the teacher's attention and censored every word that exits his mouth.

As a matter of fact, the class all hated or feared Dudley, sometimes both. The sandy-haired boy FT was terrified of Dudley. Every time they made eye contact, Frank turns about five shades paler. He was often times the kid who clung to Ms. McKenna's leg when the class traveled down the hallway.

Mark the 'garbage man' was a big daydreamer like Harry. The two often played with the love birds on the teacher's desk while wondering where they would go if they were ever to be set free….

Both Carol and Che were inseperatable of each other. You would have thought they were twin sisters, the way they hung out. They often swung on the swing set in unison while belting out incoherent song lyrics on the top of their lungs. On Monday, Carol would braid Che's hair in pigtails so that they matched hers. Both had a complete wardrobe of pink and purple as well. Harry didn't have much to say about them; they were the stereotypical girls, nothing more, nothing less.

Nina was just as timid and shy to the world as Harry was. When raising her hand to answer a question, she would usually start stuttering out her answer first before her voice had a diminuendo down to a practically mute whisper.

Boo-Boo was more like a big baby then a future football player. He rarely talked and would stare at passing by kids with his rather abnormally large brown eyes. He had a relatively gross habit on sticking things in his mouth. Carol practically shrieked once when Boo-Boo put her hand in his mouth and started drooling on it.

School soon made Harry the happiest he's ever been. With no Dudley to bother him, no Aunt or Uncle to load him with chores, and a class full of kids who liked him, not even having to wear his worn down shirt and shorts made him upset.

Unfortunately, Harry's good misfortune would soon too bad. It was as fast a transition from summer to fall. The beginning of downhill started when Ms. McKenna made an important announcement to the class.

"Everybody gather 'round," she called to the kids. They had just finished their cutting and pasting activity. Sticky glue was smeared on Harry's fingers. He rubbed it off harshly on his worn down corduroys.

All the children tore off towards their teacher, all wanting to sit close at her feet. FT had to push some five-year-olds out of the way so that he could return to his normal spot on the teacher's leg.

"I have two big surprises for you today!" She told excitingly. The classroom filled with the kids' delighted exclaims. Dudley huffed loudly, his arms crossed so tight they looked like they were cutting off the circulation to his fingers. He didn't like his school teacher, not one bit.

"First off, I want to tell everyone that next Friday, we're going to attend the annual nursery Halloween party!" The class all took a big gasp of air in before going off in their own little tangents. All of their thoughts matched as they summed up that a party meant candy and candy meant happiness. The realization of this brought wide grins to their faces. Even Dudley stopped his pouting act to listen in.

"Everyone is to wear their Halloween costume and show it to the class. Also, we will be spending the whole day outside so bring sunscreen and bug repellant. For lunch, I want you all to pack. We're gonna have a picnic out in the grass." Ms. McKenna then handed out fliers to all of the children. Their hands were extended, trying to get the first paper.

"Now class," the teacher started, raising the stack of papers up higher. "Everyone will get one so just be patient." But patience and five year olds never mixed. They want it, and they want it now. "Give these to your parents and make sure they understand everything about our picnic." Harry folded his paper and tucked in his pocket. Boo-Boo was chewing on the side of his flier.

Ms. McKenna stashed the extra papers away before continuing her list of daily announcements. "Today is also a very special day, class," she began. The circle of children around her leaned in to pickup every word that comes out of her mouth. "Today, we have a new classmate! She and her parents just moved here and they are considering home school. If she likes school here, then she will spend the rest of the year with us." All the kids were eager to meet their new classmate, whoever she was.

"Where is she?" Mark asked, trying to glance around the teachers legs to get a good look at the door. Maybe she was just on the other side.

"She won't come and visit us until tomorrow," Ms. McKenna explained. "I just wanted to tell you all now so that we can give her the biggest, most bestest welcome we can!" All the children shouted 'yeah' in agreement. Some even got up on their feet to help get rid of some of the anxiety.

"What's her name?" Carol asked loudly. She and Che looked happy to know that another girl was joining their boy invested class.

"Her name is Danielle and she is very excited to meet you all!" Ms. McKenna assured. "She also has an older brother named Ron who is four years older. Anyways, it's almost your lunch time. Line up everyone! We have to be quiet as we go through the hall. The other classes are trying to learn."

'I wonder what she's like,' Harry wondered as he pulled his loose change out of his pocket. 'Whoever she is, I hope Dudley doesn't do anything to her….'

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The next day, Harry hiked to school in a half happy, half sad mood. His feelings were just as split as the fifty-fifty cream Uncle Vernon put in his coffee that morning. Sure he was thrilled to meet the new girl, but he had this remarkable dream that was currently slipping out of his mind. Whenever he tried to reach out of it, corner it in the edges of his mind, it would disappear without a trace.

All he could remember was sitting on the carpet of an unfamiliar sitting room. As strange as it may seem, he saw a large number of red heads come out of the fire. The red headed children were all different ages and all liked playing with Harry. They were in the middle of building their block castle-masterpiece when Harry woke to Aunt Petunia's shrilly voice.

At school, everyone was sitting on the edges of their desk anxiously. While some were twiddling their thumbs mindlessly (Boo-Boo was sucking on his with loud, disgusting slurps), the door opened suddenly.

Ever head popped up instantly. Only for them to sigh loudly as it was only Mark returning from using the bathroom. He walked back to his desk, keeping an eye on Dudley. He looked rather malicious today. Harry figured that he was excited to meet his new victim….

Another painful five minutes drug by as the class sat at end. The new girl was said to come by around noon. The clock above the door read 3:09 (the class just learned how to tell time, just to realize that all the clocks in the school are off). The second hand made its way around at a sluggish pace. After what felt like an additional five minutes, Harry glanced back up at the clock, noticing that only two minutes have gone by. He was sure that the silent wait was longer than that; he was surprised that the clock hadn't stopped yet altogether.

Another supposed minute went by; Carol let out a remarkably large sneeze….

Two more minutes past; Dudley was tapping his fingers loudly on the surface of his desk….

Three minutes afterwards; FT gulped loudly. Dudley had just sent him a tormenting glare….

One minute later; Carol got up to blow her nose….

Thirty seconds; Harry was about ready to die of boredom….

….when all the sudden, the door opened. Dudley wiped his face with innocence while everyone's head in the class snapped up in a perfect synchronized movement.

In the doorway was Ms. McKenna. Standing next to her, not quite reaching her waist was the new girl, Danielle. Her hair was short, thick, and blonde. It was cut in a way that it was hovering over her shoulders a good two inches. Her aqua colored eyes were round and light. She wore a simple polka-dotted red dress that went to her knees. In her hair was a simple red ribbon.

"Can everyone say 'hi' to Danielle?" said Ms. McKenna. Danielle didn't even hide behind the teacher's leg as class let out a round of 'hi, Danielle!' Instead, she walked over and took a seat in the empty in the only unoccupied desk. Harry felt hesitant with himself; the new girl was sitting in the desk right next to him.

"And what do you want to be when you grow up, Danielle?" Ms. McKenna asked as she took her normal spot up front of the classroom. Danielle seemed to be thinking for minute, her eyes wandering the classroom as her brain churned.

"I want to work at the zoo," she replied, clearly, no trace of stuttering or nervousness was in her voice. Just her presence and voice made the first impression of a very calm and confident girl. Harry felt beneficial to just sit next to her.

It took him a good minute to realize that that's what he wants to be when he grew up as well. Harry wanted to talk to her, to tell her that maybe they will work together with the animals at the zoo. Instead, he bit his tongue. What if she didn't like his oversized hand-me-down clothes?

Ms. McKenna had the class all go around and tell Danielle their name and what they wanted to be when they grow up. Harry wasn't paying too much attention though; he was staring at the new girl, his head full on images of the two of them cleaning out the monkey cages together….

"Harry, it's your turn…. Harry?" Harry's head snapped up quickly, looking around. The girls all giggled at him as he sat up in his chair sheepishly.

"Okay," he started. He turned to Danielle, his throat closing at the sight of her. "I… um… I'm… Harry." His voice's volume decreased to one of a whisper.

"Speak up a bit, deary," Ms. McKenna suggested. He could hear Dudley snicker from the other side of the room.

Harry felt a slight blush paint his face. He shook his head before almost yelling out, "and I want to be a pilot and a zoo keeper when I grow up!"

As everyone finished introducing themselves, Harry returned back to his shell. What was he thinking, yelling out like that?!

"You want to work at the zoo when you grow up?" Someone asked him. Harry peered out of his shell cautiously. Danielle was looking at him, and talking to him…!

Crawling out of his shell confidently, Harry turned back to the girl sitting next to him. "Y-yeah, I want to work at the z-zoo…."

"Me too," Danielle replied, a small smile tugging at her lips. "What did you say your name was again?"

"Oh," Harry replied softly, his eyes wandering to look at anything than her pretty green eyes. "M-my names Harry."

"Harry," she said subtly. She gave him a small smile before returning her attention to the front of the room. Harry's heart was beating loudly in his chest. No one has ever said his name as beautifully as she just did….

It was a very good thing everyone's eyes were on Ms. McKenna as continued reviewing the first ten numbers on the chalk board. If anyone spared a glimpse of him, they would have noticed the truly immeasurable grin on his face….

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"And then she got to sit on the bean bag chair during story time," Dudley was complaining loudly at dinner. He had told his parents everything about Danielle, including how she got to do everything first because she was the new girl.

"Well that's not too fair, don't you think, deary?" Uncle Vernon asked Aunt Petunia. Aunt Petunia obviously didn't think it was unfair, but she nodded her head quickly, not wanting to cross her son. "This is nursery, people! Everyone's a new kid. What makes her so special by coming a few weeks later?"

Dudley looked happy that his father was on his son's side here. Now, they could both complain to Ms. McKenna together! Harry on the other hand was swirling his spaghetti in circles with his fork. The pasta went around once, twice, three times before Aunt Petunia barked at him to stop; only Harry wasn't listening. Only one thing was on his mind at the moment. One person, more like it….

There wasn't one person in Harry's class (not including Dudley) that didn't like Danielle. And what was there not to like about her? She was smart and could already count to one hundred forwards and backwards. She knew how to French braid hair so everyday, she would braid girl's hair during recess. At lunch, her mum would pack her a magnificent lunch that she would share with those around her. She even gave Harry some gummy bears one day.

Not only that, she seemed one hundred percent Dudley-proof. No matter how much he glared at her, cracked his knuckles at her, or tried to trip her in the hall, she always seemed not to even notice. And if there were anything Dudley hated more than his sad excuse of a cousin, it was when people ignored him.

Harry seemed dazed as Aunt Petunia grabbed the fork out of his hand and pulled his plate of food away. He was still out of it when he saw his Uncle's great purple face yell at him, pointing his finger at his cupboard. As if sleepwalking, Harry trudged off to his cupboard, to caught up over the new girl to even notice his relative's daily resentment toward him.

Harry dreamed endlessly that night. One dream contained him and Danielle together riding an Elephant on the playground while Dudley ran away with fear. Danielle would turn around and give him that sweet smile, her eyes illuminating.

And Harry was so comfortable in his dream, he wouldn't have even minded if he never woke up again…..

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Author's Note: I'm sorry it's a little short. I'll make the next one longer, promise. My midterms start tomorrow and I need to go over a couple things for Pre-Calc (gags).

Harry's life is starting to look up. Sadly, it isn't going to stay that way for long (dodges tomatoes). This whole story does have an overall plot. It deals with how Harry transforms overtime from that shy, little boy to a more confident, brave Harry who one day saves a world he doesn't even know about yet. Sadly, there are some hard bumps in the road.

In case you were wondering, all the children in the story are the names of my cousins. That's why there are two Franks right now (I actually have three cousins named Frank, though). My cousin Mark actually said he wanted to be a garbage man when he grows up (I don't understand him much). I have a rather big Greek family so some of the names were altered so that Harry and Dudley aren't in a huge class full of about 50 Franks, Georges, Christinas, Katherines, and Nicks. : )

Some of the stories here are actual events that happened in my life. Some things were made up (Harry's head getting stuffed in the sandbox or being forced to walk to school). My little brother actually threw a plastic container at my head. I had to get butterfly stitches when I was four. I still have a very faint scar right by my eye.

I know that this story hasn't gotten a lot of reviews yet but I'm not too upset. I least they are all nice comments (no negative ones (yet : ( …))! I just want to say thanks for everyone who has reviewed already. I will never finish this story without them.

Take care everyone!

Next Chapter: Harry's class has their annual picnic. Will everything go as planned? Of course not! Not only will everything go wrong, Harry shows off his earliest bursts of accidental magic… (oooh fun…)!

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