AN: It only took me a week! WOOT!
Harry "What's wrong with you?"
I'm sick, I can't think very well at the moment! -runs off-
Joker "Our writer has lost her mind...let's celebrate!" -pulls out a cake-
Harry "Where'd you get that?"
Joker "Hammerspace."
Harry sighed in annoyance at the people around him, mainly because they were staring at him because of Jin; the animal in question let out a soft whine, causing Harry to scratch him behind the ears in a comforting gesture, "It's okay, boy, don't let them bug you." The two of them were without Remus since certain circumstances, mainly the fact that both Harley and Joker had been locked up a few days ago, forced him to stay in Gotham to take care of Bud, Lou, and Tonik as well as making sure that the Jokerz followed the rules, or 'guidelines' as some had called them, that Harry had laid down.
Searching the crowd, Harry sighed again, not spotting anyone who could be a wizard at all. He crouched down and quietly spoke to Jin, hoping that people would not notice him talking, "Think you can find anyone magical?"
Jin simply responded with a look that was the animal equivalent of person saying "I'm not useless" before sniffing the air and setting off slowly. Harry rolled his eyes a bit at his pet's attitude before following, pushing his cart ahead of himself.
Eventually Jin lead Harry to a crowd of people traveling through the station that were set apart from everyone else, for three reasons: one, it was a group a bit bigger than those already walking around, having a total of six people, and all but two were males, secondly, they all had vibrant red hair, and last, the woman who seemed to be in charge of the group had mentioned 'muggles' a few times. Jin had stopped right in front of the group, forcing them to stop as well.
"What' something like that doing here?" the smallest member of the group, a young girl asked.
"Be careful, Ginny," the woman, most likely the mother of the group, warned.
"He's mine, he's not dangerous," Harry stated, standing next to his pet and adding in a slight whisper, "I asked him to find me someone with magic because I'm kinda lost."
"First year at Hogwarts then?" the mother spoke up, before motioning to one of boys, "It's Ron's first year too."
"Yeah, my uncle dropped me off before he had to hurry and take care of some other things," Harry responded, "He was in such a rush he didn't tell me how to get onto the platform so we've been stuck here with Jin freaking out about all the people; never knew he was scared of crowds, hopefully he'll relax when he gets away from everything."
"Never heard of anyone bringing a hyena to Hogwarts before," Ron spoke, staring at the creature enviously.
"We're a special case, the two of us are bonded," Harry responded, before murmuring quietly to Jin to get him to calm down.
"Really?" the twins responded at the same time, moving closer to get a better look.
"Yeah," Harry responded, keeping a firm grip on Jin's collar when he attempted to run, "Can you guys tell me how to get to the platform?"
"It's simple really, you just have to go through the wall between platforms nine and ten," Mrs. Weasley explained, pointing out the appropriate location.
"You're telling me I have to run at a solid wall to get to the train?" Harry responded, disbelievingly, "You people are nuts!"
"What're you, scared?" Ron teased.
"Say that to me in private and I'll show you 'scared'," Harry threatened with a low growl to his voice.
"If you're nervous, it's best to do it at a bit of a run," the woman interrupted.
"I'd rather test it first," Harry responded before promptly grabbing Ron and physically throwing him at the indicated wall, shocking everyone except for the twins, who were struggling to not burst out laughing, at the disproportionate amount of strength that he displayed. Seeing that Ron actually went through the wall, Harry cocked an eyebrow, "I guess you were telling the truth.
"We like you, kiddo," the twins remarked, smiling widely at Harry, "We're Gred and Forge or Fred and George; you can call us either one."
"Are you the guys I've heard about, the pranksters of Hogwarts?" Harry asked, smiling to himself.
"That's us!" they boasted proudly while their mother frowned.
"This is going to be a fun year, I just love jokes and with you two, I won't feel so homesick," Harry laughed, "I'm Harry by the way."
"I'm Ginny!" the young girl spoke up.
"Percy," the remaining boy provided.
"Better get on that platform…can't believe I have to ran at a wall…oh well, it's not like I haven't done crazier things," Harry muttered under his breath as he turned to face the indicated wall and ran; Jin let out a soft noise of annoyance before chasing after his owner.
"He's quite odd," Percy remarked.
"We like him," Fred and George defended.
"Why'd he have purple hair and wearing a radish?" Ginny wondered.
—HJH—
Harry, Fred and George found a compartment where they could all sit together fairly quickly, leaving plenty of time for the pintsized criminal to look around the platform.
Harry ignored the slight looks he got from his hair as he wandered around a bit before he thought he saw someone familiar, 'That's impossible, I don't know any wizards here, save for Hermione, but her hair is brown …it can't be…' he ran up to the figure, just keeping out of their line of vision and was surprised when a pair of semi-familiar silver colored eyes locked with his, but the proof that it was someone he knew hung around their neck from a chain: one of his cards, placed in a cover to prevent any accidental injuries. "Luna?!"
"Oh, hello Harry, I didn't know you were a wizard," Luna smiled vacantly, "I'm starting Hogwarts this year, are you?"
"Uh…yeah; I'm glad that I'll know at few people there," Harry grinned widely, "It's great to see you again; how've you been since I last saw you, it was like two or three years ago, right?"
"I'm fine, other than my mom dying," Luna responded prior to noticing something, "You still have that earring I gave you."
"I'm a bit of a packrat, I don't toss anything away, especially if it's from a friend," Harry responding, blushing slightly before lamely adding, "And sorry about your mom."
"It's alright, you didn't do anything. I'm glad you kept my gift to you like I did," Luna smiled before casting a glance at Jin, "Is this animal yours?"
Harry patted Jin on the head, "Yep, his name is Jin…he's a hyena if you didn't know."
Luna couched down and held out a hand to Jin, "Nice to meet you."
Jin sniffed Luna's hand before giving her fingertips a slight lick and nudging for her to pet him, amazing Harry at the reaction, "Jin's never warmed up to anyone that quickly, guess there's something about you he likes."
"Animals just like me," Luna remarked, a slight smile on her face as she scratched Jin's head.
"You got anywhere to sit yet?" Harry asked, unable to stop himself from grinning at the sight.
"No, I just got here so I haven't looked yet," Luna answered.
"You can sit with us," Harry offered, "Hope you don't mind there's two others already riding with me.
"Thank you," Luna smiled, "Who's with us?"
"Fred and George Weasley," Harry replied, "They're pretty funny and maybe another friend if I can find her."
"Who is she?" Luna asked.
"Her name's Hermione, I met her when I got my school stuff," Harry answered before addressing Jin, "If she's here, do you think you can find her?" Jin responded with an apparent glare and a slight shake of his head, glancing at the people around him. Harry stared in disbelief for a moment, "…are you getting smarter or something?" Jin seemed to shrug before climbing onto the train to get back to their compartment.
"You better be careful or your minds will cross," Luna remarked, stepping onto the train.
"I think that's already started to happen," Harry muttered, following.
Harry quickly made introductions between Luna, Fred and George while the four of them, Harry counted five because he included Jin, got settled in and waited for the train to depart. As the train slowly left the station, Fred and George hung out the window temporarily to say goodbye to their mother and little sister, promising to send her a toilet seat for some odd reason, before coming back inside.
When the train picked up speed, Jin panicked and jumped onto Harry's lap.
"Jin, relax!" Harry ordered, grabbing the animal tightly and rubbing him behind the ears to get him to calm down, giving an apologetic smile to his companions, "Guess he doesn't like trains all that much."
Fred and George stared at Harry, or at least his forehead; they shared a brief look before one of them asked, "Where'd you get that scar?"
Harry realized that Jin had inadvertently revealed the scar in his panic; Harry rubbed at the mark, "I'd rather not talk about it."
They shared another look before asking, "What'd you say your last name was, Harry?"
"I didn't mention it," Harry answered, tensing up incase they tried anything; Jin was on guard from the emotions he felt coming off his owner.
"You're Harry Potter, aren't you," it was more a statement than a question.
"And if I am?" Harry retorted, secretively palming a card in his hand incase anything were to happen.
"We thought you were dead, the Wizarding World we mean," Fred and George responded.
"What do you mean by that?" Harry asked, keeping his weapon on hand but relaxing slightly.
"After you defeated You-Know-Who, you were sent somewhere that no knew about, not even the Ministry of Magic," Fred responded.
"If you're referring to the first eight years of my life, I lived in England," Harry stated.
"What about after that?"
"The States, not telling where," Harry answered, "The only reason I've told the two of you anything is because I've heard of your reputations as pranksters…and because I find the two of you interesting."
"That fits with you, Harry," Luna remarked, idly patting Jin on the head to calm him.
"Um, excuse me, but have any of you seen a toad?" a nervous voice asked.
Harry looked up to see a round-faced boy nearly in tears, "Sorry pal, haven't seen one."
"Well, if you see him…" the boy made to leave when Harry stopped him.
"We can look for him, Jin's good at tracking stuff," Harry spoke, patting the bored creature on the head.
"A…a hyena, why do you have a hyena?" the boy fearfully asked.
"We're bonded, and don't worry, he's harmless as long as you don't make me mad," Harry responded with a soothing tone as he led the boy out of the compartment.
"I've never seen one up close before," the boy remarked, "Went to a zoo once and saw them there…he's smaller than the ones I saw."
"Most likely those were adults, Jin's just a baby in comparison since he's a little over a year old," Harry answered, "By the way, the name's Harry, what's yours?"
"I'm Neville Longbottom," the other boy provided.
"…'Longbottom'? Your last name is 'Longbottom'?!" Harry lapsed into hysterical laughter.
"What's yours then?" Neville retorted.
"It's 'Potter'; pretty normal, don't you think?" Harry responded.
"You mean, you're Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived?!" Neville proclaimed, disbelievingly.
"…the what?" Harry arched an eyebrow.
"The Boy-Who-Lived! You-Know-Who set out to kill you but you survived and he disappeared!" Neville explained.
"Who the heck is You-Know…do you mean Voldemort?" Harry responded, noting that Neville flinched at the name, "What's wrong?"
"P-people don't say his name," Neville clarified.
"Why? It's not like it'll bring him back," Harry sighed, "Seriously, being afraid of just his name makes you terrified of the thing itself."
"…you're a really brave person, not surprising because both your parents were in Gryffindor," Neville spoke with a hint of awe and envy in his voice.
"Just because they were in Gryffindor doesn't mean I will," Harry responded, "I don't really care what house I'm in, as long as it fits me. What about you?"
"My gran wants me to be in Gryffindor, like my parents were," Neville answered.
"That's dumb," Harry retorted, "It's better to be in a house that's right for you than in a house that someone else wants you to be in."
"I see…" Neville muttered lamely.
Jin then broke the strained silence bet letting out a slight noise, coming up to Harry carrying something in his mouth.
"What do you got there?" Harry asked with an odd smile.
"Trevor!" Neville exclaimed, reaching his pet but quickly backing off when Jin growled threateningly.
"Jin, drop it," Harry ordered. Jin glanced up at his owner before dropping the toad and making an odd hacking noise, causing Harry to raise an eyebrow in amusement, "What's that about?"
"Most likely Trevor peed in his mouth," Neville provided, picking up his pet and making sure he was fine, "That's really the only defense he has.
Harry took a moment for the information to skin in before erupting into hysterical laughter.
Jin glared for a moment before biting Harry's leg, "Sorry, Jin, but it was too funny not to laugh at!" Jin growled angrily and shook Harry's leg a moment before letting go, "I'll give you a treat later on to make for it, okay?" Jin gave a slight grunt before walking back to the compartment.
During the short walk back, Neville was still amazed at who Harry was and also the fact he was completely unfazed when he was bit in the leg. 'What else can he do? …if he's as powerful magically as his parents are…he wouldn't want to hang around with a near Squib like I am…'
"What's wrong with you?" Harry asked, intruding on Neville's thoughts.
"Uh, nothing," Neville lied, "Just glad to have Trevor back.
Harry stared at Neville for a moment, "Nev, I know that you want to keep something to yourself but don't lie to me, I don't like it when my friends do that. If you want to keep something secret, just say so…and if you're worried I won't be your friend if you're not in a different house; don't. I like people for who they are not where they come from."
"Uh…okay," Neville responded, surprised, as Harry reentered the compartment. 'He considers me a friend?'
"There you are!" a voice exclaimed.
Harry saw that Hermione had shown up sometime while he was gone and smiled widely in greeting, "Oh, hi there 'Mione, glad to finally run into you. You've met my other friends so far?"
"Yes, they're…interesting," Hermione spoke hesitantly.
"You got that right!" Harry laughed, settling in and motioning for Neville to come in as well.
"Uh…is anyone up for some Exploding Snap?" Neville offered, pulling out a deck of cards.
A wide grin stretched across Harry's face, "I'm up for anything with the word 'explode' in it!"
"Your love of explosions, has it made you do anything in the wizarding world yet?" Fred asked as the cards were being dealt out.
"Yep, my first day in the wizarding world I blew up something," Harry nonchalantly answered.
"What'd you do?" Neville responded, shocked.
"Blew up Zonko's," Harry answered casually, putting a card down.
Silence reigned for a moment before Fred and George burst out, "You were the one that blew up Zonko's?! How'd you do it?"
"I messed around with a few things, mixed some stuff together…and might've accidentally put some of my magic into what I was making," Harry responded.
"But you shouldn't have anymore bursts of accidental magic now, so I don't think it'll happen again," Hermione reasoned, setting down a card.
"Don't count on it," Harry retorted, "My magic is kinda weird…it's really chaotic and doesn't like to be restrained a lot of the time."
"How's that possible?" Hermione wondered.
"Heck if I know, but as long as I can do stuff like this," Harry held up a finger and a small green flame appeared before going out, "I don't really care."
"How'd you do that?" Neville asked.
"Dunno, I've been able to do stuff like that for years, though," Harry responded, surprised when the pile of cards suddenly exploded, "That is so cool! I'm getting me some of these when I get the chance!"
Fred and George declined to participate in the next game and exited the compartment, mentioning that their friend had a tarantula that they wanted to see. After leaving the noise and walking a bit down the hallway did they speak, "Do you think we should…take Harry under our wing? Teach him the finer points in pranking?" "My dear brother, you read my mind." "Don't I always?"
