A/N: Alexander's sorting was supposed to happen in 1995, not 1993. He's currently twelve years old. The two boys mentioned later are not mine, I just gave them personalities and appearances, they were mentioned in book 4.

Harry and Alexander approached the hut with the robes, Hermione's still soaking wet. Harry hung his and Hermione's robes on the fence and headed up to the door. Alexander flung Ron's robes on top of the other two and slowly followed Harry.

"It's warm in here." Harry said, opening the door.

The boy looked around and shivered. The smoke coming out of the chimney did look very inviting. He saw Harry smiling at him.

The smaller boy finally made up his mind and entered the hut. Hermione and Ron had taken their socks and shoes off and sat by the fire. Harry grinned and joined his friends.

Alexander stared at the fire as if in a trance. He walked towards it, not caring if he got a splinter from walking across a wooden cabin with bare feet.

The trance was broken when a loud voice echoed.

"Harry! Ron! Hermione!"

"Hagrid!" Hermione said, jumping to her feet. "Wait, Hagrid, you don't under-" She ran to the door, but scurried out of the giant's way before she was stepped on.

"Why did you do that?" Hagrid asked furiously. "What if you'd been caught or fallen down? I see you three are wet."

"I fell into the river and the boys were trying to get me." Hermione said.

"Yeh-"

"Alexander saved her." Ron said. "He's right-er-where'd he go?"

Harry looked around, "He can't have left!"

They spotted Fang, sniffing under Hagrid's bed. The boarhound barked and thump was heard followed by the bed shaking slightly.

"Fang!" Hagrid pulled the dog away.

"Hey, he's not going to hurt you." Harry said. He kneeled down and peeked under the bed. "Hi. My name's Harry. Want to be friends?"

Hagrid now sat at a large table. Hermione smiled near the fireplace. Fang had grown bored and started licking Ron's ears.

The shaking boy slowly emerged from under the bed and took in the sight. Giant Man didn't look angry; he actually had a very kind smile covered in curly beard. The dog wasn't mean, just curious. He seemed to like Orange haired boy and was calm. Black haired boy was next to him, but didn't seem threatening. Brown haired girl was giving him a smile. He returned the smile.

"I'm Harry."

He turned to the older boy with dark hair and opened his mouth, trying to copy the sound.

"Har-ry" Harry repeated.

"Ha-e." Alexander's voice was extremely hoarse as if he hadn't used it for ages.

"That's right, Harry."

"Ha-e."

"My name's Ron." The redhead said. "Ron."

"Rn?"

"Ron."

"Run?"

"Raw-n"

"Raw-n"

"Close enough."

He looked to Hermione.

"Hermione."

The younger boy stared at her with wide eyes.

"Her-my-oh-knee"

"Hermaohnonny"

"Her-my-oh-knee"

"Hermanie."

"Can you say Hermy?"

"Hermy?"

"That works. Hermy."

"Hermy." Alexander smiled, satisfied he got it right.

"This is Fang, he's a dog." Ron said, petting Fang.

"Fangdog?"

"Fang."

"Fang."

"This is Hagrid." Hermione said, gesturing to the man.

"Haggis?"

"Ha-grid."

"Ha-grd…Ha-gree…Hagger…Hagareed..."

"We'll work on that later." Ron said. "What's your name?"

"Nay?"

"Yes, who are you?" Hermione asked.

The boy looked confused.

"Are you Alexander Everett?"

"Do you think he forgot everything in four years?" Harry asked.

"I don't know, I mean eight years of knowledge…can it really be erased in half that time?" Hermione sighed.

"Alex."

They looked around, startled. The boy repeated it in a whisper-like tone. "Alex."

"Would you like some food?" Hermione asked.

Alex nodded eagerly.

"Alright, follow us."

He hesitated, watching as everyone stood up. Harry offered his hand. The younger boy took it and looked around. He followed them outside, it was then that the teens remembered that they weren't dry and it was cold out.

"Bloody-"

"Ron, language!"

Alex seemed put off by the arguing, but a quick glance at Harry told him that it was nothing to be concerned about. The young boy looked in awe at the castle before him. He never imagined entering the building for fear of what he might find. The great oak doors opened and a waft of smell came over them.

"It must be lunch time by now." Ron said. His stomach gave a rumble of agreement.

"Gee, who needs a clock when you have Ron's stomach?" Harry said.

"Go jump in a lake!"

"I did." Harry said proudly.

Professor McGonagall met them at the entrance hall. She waved her wand and the four children were dried off immediately.

Alex hid behind the teens immediately, not being used to the noises. The chattering of students came from the Great Hall as well as the wonderful smell.

"He needs to be wearing something." Professor McGonagall said.

They looked at Alex, realizing that all the small boy had was a pair of very old, very torn shorts.

Harry gave the boy his robes, helping him into them.

"Should we take him in there?" Hermione asked. "He might get shocked or-"

"Let's go to Professor Dumbledore's office."

The teens waved to Hagrid as they followed their Transfiguration Professor. Alex held onto Hermione's robes. Harry and Ron were behind Hermione, making sure Alex wouldn't suddenly run off on them.

They managed to make it to the entrance of Dumbledore's office without incident. A couple of students on their way to lunch had slowed down curiously, but Ron waved them off.

"You didn't have to threaten to take points." Hermione hissed.

"She was practically breathing on us!"

"Oh brother."

"No, I'm Ginny's brother."

"Ron."

"Sorry, Hermy."

Hermione was about to respond, but a hand on her arm made her stop. Alexander was gripping her arm and staring at the magical staircase as it rose to admit them.

"It's okay, it won't hurt you at all." Hermione said, trying to assure the young boy. It didn't help as the twelve year old looked around anxiously. The trio guided him up the stairs and into the office where Professor Dumbledore was waiting with a knowing smile on his face.

"Please do sit." He said. There were four chairs in front of his desk as well as a chair next to his own.

Professor McGonagall took the seat next to the headmaster while the teens sat. Alex refused to sit and kept holding onto Hermione's arm. He stared into the twinkling eyes of the headmaster, trying to see if the man was safe.

"I see you've found our young guest here."

"Yes, Professor." Harry said. "Alex, this is Professor Dumbledore."

The young boy tilted his head in confusion, but didn't respond.

Before they could go on, the door opened.

"Headmaster, I-"

"Severus, this is not the time."

Professor Snape looked at the people in the room and scowled. "Figures, Potter and his friends are in trouble."

Alex paled.

"What are you staring at?"

Alex jumped and fled the room, darting past Professor Snape before anyone could respond.

"Wait!" Hermione yelled.

Ron and Harry hurried after him.

"Professor that was Alexander!" Hermione said as she ran off.

"What are you-? Granger, get back here and explain to me exactly what you're doing! Granger!"

"Severus, we shall have our discussion later." Professor Dumbledore said. "I need you and Minerva to keep the students in the Great Hall."

…

He was running as fast as he could. Not remembering which way he came from, his feet pounded on the hard floor as he tried to find a way out. He shucked off the robes and ran up some stairs. He heard footsteps behind him and became frightened.

Panting, he tried to find his destination. He ran up and up until he ran out of stairs to find. Turning around the corridor, he crashed into someone.

"Watch it!"

He shook his head and jumped up. A pale, blond boy was brushing himself off as he got up.

"Why don't you watch where- Why aren't you wearing clothes? I'm a prefect and I can take points away for not wearing proper clothing…or any clothing…what are those rags?"

Alex bared his teeth and let out a growl.

"You're not an animal. Which House are you in?"

Alex stiffened with his fists up.

"You know, you're just asking for a good hexing." The older boy scowled.

The younger one let out a harsh bird cry which caused the older boy to cringe and shut his eyes.

Alex took the opportunity to dart past the blond boy and disappear around a corridor.

"FIFTY POINTS FROM WHICHEVER HOUSE YOU'RE IN!"

The boy ignored that, not knowing what it meant. He rushed by when a noise stopped him. He looked around and saw a fancy looking door. He opened it and found himself in the forest. His jaw dropped. He had only been thinking of trees and he got his wish.

He sighed happily as he climbed a tree.

…

"It's not funny, Malfoy! Where is he?" Harry scowled.

"You're not getting it out of me." Draco smirked. "Which house is he in anyway? It's against the rules to wander without clothes on."

"He had a robe on."

"Well, he wasn't wearing it when he rudely knocked me down." Draco huffed and went downstairs.

"Harry!"

Ron turned around, holding a robe. "Hermione found it on the third floor."

"Where could he possibly have gone?"

…

His peaceful rest was disturbed when the door opened. He shrunk in the shadows as a person came in, closing the door. A few minutes later, someone else came in.

He realized that the two people were not looking for him as they weren't shouting his name. He peeked around the tree and saw a boy sitting at the base of a slightly larger tree. He had his head in his arms and was joined by the second person. The second boy sat next to the first and began to pat the latter on the back consolingly.

The first boy sniffled and said something that didn't quite reach Alex's ears.

"No, don't think about that." The second boy said firmly, unaware that someone was listening in on them. "Malcolm, you are the best friend I've had in this place. If we made it two years being friends, we can take more. You're just more ambitious and sly than I am. Didn't you hear the hat? It didn't say you were evil, just that your personality traits matched your house."

"But everyone keeps telling me to stop being friends with you…"

"So? It's been two years and we still didn't listen to those jerks."

"B-but th-they hissed at me…"

"Who hissed at you?"

"W-when I was sitting down, I heard murmurs and the Weasley twins hissed at me…"

"You've said that. We've had this conversation before, Mal. Honestly, I don't care if you're a Slytherin, you were the first person to be nice to me on the train and offer conversation. Didn't you see me at the sorting? I was a wreck. I probably would have broken down or something if you hadn't been smiling at me and giving me courage."

"I wanted to join them so badly last year. I hated Umbridge!"

"I know."

Alex climbed down from the tree quietly and slowly edged his way over to them. He managed to hide behind the tree they were leaning on before they started looking around.

"Stewart, did you hear that?"

"Yeah." Both boys got up.

"Who's there?"

"Come out."

Alex gathered up courage and poked his head out.

The other two were startled but put their drawn wands away. One of them had dark brown hair and brown eyes. The other one had light blue-green eyes and dark blond hair. The brunette had a green patch on his robes with a snake on it while the other boy had a blue patch with a bird on it.

"It's not like we could have done anything." One of the boys commented.

"Hi." The blonde said. "My name's Stewart Ackerley." He said.

"I'm Malcolm Baddock." The other boy said, trying to look like he hadn't been crying.

Alex didn't answer.

"So, you like forests too?" Stewart said.

Alex nodded.

"I grew up near the woods." Malcolm said. "Where did you come from?"

"Maybe he's mute?" Stewart said. "Are you mute?"

"Alex." The wild boy said.

"Well, that answers that. Hi Alex!"

"Nay?"

"Nay? What does that mean?"

"Nay Alex, you nay?"

"Name?" Malcolm suggested. "Malcolm."

"My name is Stewart."

"Water." Alex said, pointing to Malcolm's face.

"Er…yeah, I was sad." Malcolm said, blushing. "But don't go around telling everyone that a stinkin' third year was crying."

"He looks like he could be the same age as us. How old are you?"

Alex tried to think. He had tried to remember exactly what age he was, but after a while it became hard to track without a calendar and he simply forgot. He shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, want to be friends?" Stewart asked.

"Huh?"

Stewart offered a hand and a kind smile.

Alex looked at his own dirt covered hands and then back at the two boys.

"We don't bite." Malcolm said.

Alex held out his hand.

"This is how we shake hands." Stewart took Alex's hand and shook it. "Nice to meet you."

"Should we get out of here?" Malcolm asked. "Maybe help him get cleaned up? I wish we had a bathroom and some fresh clothes."

"I can get clothes." Stewart said. "Give me twenty minutes tops."

"I'm timing you."

Stewart grinned.

"Go!"

The blond boy took off like a bullet, startling Alex.

Malcolm laughed and turned to where a bathroom had just popped up. Alexander followed the boy curiously and found a large basin with a bar of soap. Alex grinned and jumped into the basin, splashing the contents everywhere.

"Very funny." Malcolm said. "Found something to scrub you with." He handed the dirt clad boy a sponge and the soap.

Alex sniffed it, then proceeded to put the soap in his mouth. Malcolm tugged it out and showed him how to scrub. Alex began movng the soap covered sponge back and forth until he gasped and smiled.

"Bath!" He said.

Malcolm looked at the boy inquisitively, but decided, not to bring anything up. He turned so that Alex could have privacy to wash himself. The sound of wet shorts hitting the ground was heard as the wild boy chanted the word over and over, scrubbing the years of dirt and grime off his body. He dunked his head inside and smothered his head in shampoo. He scrubbed and scratched, feeling the dirt lifting off and disappearing. When he was done, he found a towel and wrapped it around himself. He then gave Malcolm a very wet hug.

"Hey! Get dry first!"

Since he had been washed, his hair was no longer as dark as it had been. It receded past his chin and nearly to his shoulders and had a nice light brown color.

The door opened.

"How many minutes?" Malcolm asked.

Stewart was pale and panting when he entered the room with a change of clothes.

"What happened, mate?"

"Three Gryffindors are on their way up here."

"Really?"

"They noticed me running with the clothes and tried to ask me questions, but I ignored them…two of them are sixth year Prefects."

"Shoot." Malcolm said.

The two boys helped Alex get dressed and stepped back to admire their handiwork. Instead of the ratty old shorts, he was wearing a pair of jeans and plain black t-shirt.

"I don't know what size shoe he is so I grabbed mine." Stewart said.

Alex winced as he moved his feet.

"My feet are small." The blond admitted.

"Let's just get out of here."

"What?! But we can't just leave him alone!"

"We don't know what they want with him!"

"Our secret?"

"Our secret. Don't you trust us sly Slytherins?"

Stewart smiled.

"Alex, we'll be back in a little while okay?" Malcolm said. "I'll bring you bigger shoes." He said as Alex took off the shoes. The socks were a little short, but fit him reasonably well.

"Just stay here and hide, okay?"

Alex nodded.

…

The two boys looked around, making sure the coast was clear. They reassured their new friend that they'd return with food.

They rounded the corner when they ran into three sixteen year olds.

"Uh-oh." Stewart said.

"Don't say uh-oh!" Malcolm whispered. "Hey guys, how's it going?"

"Alright, what did you do to him?" Ron asked harshly.

"Him?" Malcolm pointed his thumb at his friend. "Nothing."

"Why are you carrying around a pair of shoes?" Harry asked.

"I was showing him my new shoes." Stewart said.

"We're looking for someone, have you seen a boy around here?" Hermione asked.

"Hermione, don't ask a Slytherin anything." Ron scowled. "They can't be trusted. Every witch or wizard who's been in Slytherin has ended up downright nasty or evil."

"Ron!" Hermione scolded. "Leave them alone, we just wanted to look for Alexander."

"I don't know, but if I did then why would I ask a bunch of Gryffindors who can't let their pride down for a few seconds to listen to anyone?"

Malcolm stomped off before anyone could respond.

"Bye!" Stewart squeaked, running after his friend.

…

His stomach rumbled as he remembered the promise of food. His door opened again and a scent of food wafted into the room.

"Hello?" A dreamy voice said. "Hermione, I think I've found him."

He watched from the tree as a blond girl entered with four other people.

"Hermanie!" Alex said, he jumped from the tree and ran to hug the bushy haired girl.

"Alex, where have you been?" She held his shoulders as she tried to get a good look at him. "Are you hurt? Were you here this entire time?"

Alex nodded.

"Don't scare us like that." She brought him into a hug. "I was scared that something might have happened to you."

"Let him breathe, Hermione." Harry said.

Alex took the food that Luna offered him.

"Where did those clothes come from?" Ginny asked.

Alex looked at her and backed up slightly, hugging a chicken leg.

"I may be tough, but I don't bite."

"Weren't those Slytherins here?" Ron asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "One of them was a Ravenclaw, and you really shouldn't judge!"

…

Stewart and Malcolm were unaware that the Gryffindor Trio, plus Luna and Ginny, had actually found out where their new friend was hiding.

The two boys approached the Room of Requirement after dinner with armfuls of food that Malcolm had nicked from the kitchen. It took most of Malcolm's upper body strength to push the door open as his hands were occupied. Stewart was keeping lookout.

They heard rustling from in the room, but didn't think anything of it. Once Malcolm had edged the door wide enough, he whistled and Stewart zipped into the room. Malcolm slipped in after his friend and nudged the door closed.

"Alex? We brought food!" Stewart said.

"Hang on." Malcolm said. "We're not alone."

Both boys dropped the food and drew their wands immediately. Five shadows came out of the trees with their wands pointed at them.