I do not in any way own that which is the wonderful world of Harry Potter or the world of Charmed. Those belong to J.K. Rowling and the WB. I am just having Fun with a place they created for us.

See Author note at end….

Chapter 23

Just a Little Bit more Normal.

Harry was up at the crack of dawn ready to go back to the school that he loved so much. It was not that he was tired of being with his family at the Manor, No; he counted himself lucky that he now had people to call his family. He was just really anxious to see his friends.

After looking over his trunk and making sure that he had everything he needed he headed down to the kitchen to get himself some coffee. His Aunt Phoebe was the one responsible for getting him hooked on the stuff, much to Piper's displeasure. His all time favorite coffee was called the upside down caramel cappuccino from the local coffee house, which was something he was going to miss when he went back to Hogwarts.

As he made his way to the kitchen he could hear voices coming from behind their closed doors. Walking through them he saw that it was his Mom, and Dad having a quiet conversation so as not to disturb the silence that flowed through the Manor. "Good morning, I hope we didn't wake you up?" Piper said taking a drink from her mug.

"You didn't, I've been awake for some time checking to make sure I have all of my stuff, and you know I have to say it's a bit weird being able to leave stuff in my room" Harry started as he poured himself some coffee "Used to have to lug it all to school so the Dursley's wouldn't go through it or take any of it".

"Are you sure you that you got everything?" Leo asked.

Harry stood there for a second before answering "Pretty sure I did".

"Good, I would hate for you to leave something you may need" Piper said in a semi serious tone.

"Oh before I forget I needed to let you both know that I am going to leave Hedwig and my trunk here" Harry stated.

"But then how are you going to get your trunk, I know we can send Hedwig but…Oh" Piper started to ask but then the 'how' came to her. "The Door"

"Yea, and besides it will give me a chance to say one more goodbye until the winter Holidays" Harry said with a smile.

"Well before we leave can you remember to put these" and Piper pulled out a rectangular box and handed it to Harry "in your trunk, it is just a little something Paige thought you should have with you".

Harry opened the box and noted that it was full of several tiny vials "Vanquishing potions?" he questioned.

"Just your basic ones, plus a few that are a bit more powerful ,those ones are labeled" Piper answered.

"Is she still here?" Harry asked

"No, she left just after we got down here" Leo replied as he took a drink of his coffee.

"Well I will write to her later; so who is taking me? Harry inquired.

"We both are, but we will have to get you there about an hour before because your Mom and I have to do inventory at P3" Leo replied.

"What about Aunt Phoebe?" Harry asked.

"Gone; she got a call from Elise saying that something was a problem with her column and she needed to come in right away" Piper answered, Harry nodded at Piper and said "Oh" and went back to drinking his coffee.

The time he spent waiting to leave for Kings Cross seemed to be going at the slowest possible speed. He did spend some of the time by dragging his trunk down the stairs and checked it all again.

When the grandfather clock struck ten am, Harry jumped up from the chair he was in and yelled "It's time to go".

"Are you sure you want to leave your stuff here?" Piper asked as she came into the room where her son was.

"Yea, I moved my trunk to the first landing on the stairs so that I can get to it quickly when I activate the door."

"If you say so" Piper said putting her arm around him.

"You both ready?" Leo asked and with a nod from Piper and Harry he walked over to them and grabbed Pipers hand and in a swirl of blue lights the three of them left the manor floating away to the train station that was Kings Cross.

They arrived at the station in a secluded hallway not far from the barrier. Not knowing where to go Piper and Leo just smiled as they followed their son. It was still hard for them to see Harry off to school. Because for them they had just performed the spell to take Harry back in time so he could be safe, but for Harry it had already been sixteen years.

"…and then you're on the platform; are you guys even listening?" Harry asked.

"Sorry, your Mom and I were just thinking about how this is the first time we are getting to see you off to school" Leo said looking to Harry.

Harry smiled; he knew that his parents were going to be a little depressed, and this was also one of the things had been thinking about the past few days. He had actually found himself looking forward to going back to school, all the while longing to stay at his newly found home and family that cared for him deeply.

"What were you saying" Piper asked bringing Harry out of his thoughts.

"All you do is lean against the barrier or wall rather and then you're on the platform" Harry said once again though this time he turned on his heel and walked right through. Piper and Leo followed him after getting over their initial shock of their sons' quick departure. After they too had passed through to the platform they saw Harry waiting for them by the most magnificent scarlet steam engine they had ever seen.

Having secured a compartment on the train Leo turned to him and asked "OK, so are you going to be alright until eleven?"

Harry smiled at him and said "Yea, I will be" as he pulled out a book from his robes.

"You weren't wearing those just a second ago were you?" Piper asked looking at the robes Harry now wore.

"No, I was just trying out the Whitelighter glamour Aunt Paige taught me. I have been wearing these since I got up this morning" Harry replied as he took a seat.

"So we will see you tonight then after you are finished with the feast; which by the way how are you going to get away unseen to set up your door?" Leo inquired.

"I have been thinking about that and I am pretty sure that I have a place and way that no one will be able to figure out. Now if someone were to say follow me they may be able to get in but past a certain point they will have no idea where it is I went". Harry stated with a smile and a gleam in his eyes.

"Well just do your best to not get caught" Piper started "Because, Leo worked some of his own magic and has made it so that any owls that are sent to the Dursley's, they will be re-directed to the Manor"

Harry smiled and said "I will do my best but I can't promise anything"

It was at this moment that Piper stepped forward and embraced Harry in the biggest hug she could and said "Be safe" Harry nodded in understanding and then turned to his Dad.

"We will see you tonight, but not for to long you have class in the morning" Leo said as he too gave Harry a hug; who was rolling his eyes at his Dads statement. And as soon as he let go of Harry he took a hold of Piper and both of them smiled at their son as they orbed away leaving Harry to his thoughts.

After they had gone Harry sat back down and began to read the book he had brought to pass the time. And pass the time he did, because before he knew it he could hear the tell-tale sounds of students crossing the barrier and making their way onto the train. Harry smiled and without even looking up from his book he raised a hand and 'Snapped' his fingers and then brought his hand back down and turned the page to continue reading.

It wasn't long before he was brought out of his reading by the compartment that had just slid open and allowed three people to come through. "Oi, midget get out of our…" But the voice was cut off by another one that sounded upset.

"Ronald, you can't order him around he has as much right to be in this compartment as we do" His bushy haired friend chided.

"But Hermione, Harry will need a seat" the boy named Ron said.

"And there is more than enough room, now sit down and be quite he is not a house-elf…honestly!" Hermione exclaimed.

This last remark shut Ron up, but if one were to listen very carefully then they would be able to hear him mumbling "Harry…seating…SPEW…bossy know-it-all" Harry smirked as he continued to read 'Hogwarts: A History' and it did not go by unnoticed that Hermione kept glancing in his direction.

From the time the train left the station the compartment that they all occupied remained silent. This was mainly due to the fact that they were each engrossed in their respective books. You would occasionally hear the odd sigh and see one of the three glance at the door in hopes of their friend to arrive and tell them about his summer.

Harry guessed that they were about halfway there due to the fact that the scenery had changed from that of buildings and roadways into luscious farmland and sloping hills that slowly turned into mountains the further along they went; some even had snow adorning their tops.

Harry smiled yet again and decided that now was a good a time as any to put the first part of his plan into action. So he started to mutter under his breath so as not to alert the others as to what he was about to do. Then as if he had given some sort of queue Ron spoke out.

"Hermione, I 'm sorry I upset you and you're right I have no right to order people around, but you have no right to put a binding jinx on anyone you want".

It wasn't exactly an apology and apparently Hermione noticed this and said "Thank you Ronald, for that oh so kind words but I will have you know I did no such thing. Besides I can't move either".

"I'm stuck as well guys" Ginny called out.

"Hey you, pip-squeak can you move?" Ron asked rudely. And for the third time that day Hermione huffed and said "Ronald…" but she was unable to finish due to the fact that she had been interrupted.

"Tomin"

"What?" Ron and Hermione asked at the same time.

"My name is Tomin; and I'll have you know that I was the one that cast that most wonderful little jinx" Tomin said with a smile.

"If you take it off now I will think, and I stress think about not cursing you into a million little pieces you little insect" Ron exclaimed.

"Tsk tsk Ronald, what would your mother say about your use of such crude language" Harry hated having to do this to his friends but it had to be done. After a moment of letting Ron seethe he stood up and said "Besides I can't lift the spell just yet"

And as he stood up he withdrew his wand from his newly acquired holster and pointed it at the ceiling and as he brought it down in a fierce corkscrew motion he said

"Confuto Celo Veneficus"

And as he finished the spell he jabbed his wand up through the center of the corkscrew he made, causing a shower of Blue and Gold sparks to erupt in the compartment and fall onto the forms of Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. "Reverse that spell right now" Hermione exclaimed.

"Sorry, can't that was a one time spell and it cannot be undone because it has no counter" Harry/Tomin said looking somewhat smug.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Ginny asked

"You mean to tell me that the great Harry Potters friends have not yet deduced who I am?" Tomin said with a sneer.

"If you have done anything to Harry I will personally AK you on the spot" Ron said quietly hoping to get how serious he was across to this kid.

"Well I would hope you at least think before you do something like that because Harry would surely miss your presence" Tomin replied.

"You have no right to say what or how Harry would feel" Ron exclaimed

"Or perhaps I would know"

"And how do you figure that Skippy?" Ron asked

"Maybe, because I am Harry Potter"

"You are not, for one you know nothing about Harry because he would not resort to these sort of measures; even if it was for a prank" Hermione exclaimed sounding more than a little peeved at the moment.

"Well then I will just have to prove to you that I am who I claim to be" and with a 'Snap' of his fingers a swirl of white mist surrounded Harry shielding him from view. Once the mist dissipated he saw the three of his friends staring back at him in shock.

Ginny was the first to find her voice and she uttered the only thing she could. "Harry?"

"In the flesh" Harry said with a smile.

"But how…?" Ron sputtered.

"That is something I can't exactly tell you; not yet anyway" Harry stated.

"But that had to have been some pretty advanced magic you just did. Where did you learn it?" Hermione asked in haste.

"You two, are unbelievable, Harry shows up here and yes he was doing some pretty amazing things and all you can say is 'How…advanced magic…where did you learn it?" Ginny paused for a moment then said "Did you not think to ask how he is or, where he has been!"

There came a mumbled "Sorry" from both Ron and Hermione.

"We are sorry, we were just surprised" Hermione said.

"Yea mate, will you forgive us?" Ron chimed in.

Harry nodded and smiled at his friends and said "If I were to stay mad at you then I would not be able to tell you a little bit of what I have been up to".

"Oh you have to tell us what books you read from to learn to do that,"

"Hermione"

"Oh and I can make a list of what we can start to practice"

"Hermione"

Oh and before I forget we need to come up with a time…"

"Hermione!" Ginny exclaimed finally gaining her attention.

"WHAT!!!" Hermione yelled.

"As…fun as that sounds, I personally would love to be able to move" Ginny started and then said to Harry "If you would be so kind to lift the jinx"

Harry smiled sheepishly; he had forgotten to do that and with a flick of his wand he countered the binding jinx. "Sorry"

"That's…so much better!" Ginny said as she stretched "Now, tell us why and how you went off the map for the summer".

"Yea, Dumbledore had the entire Order out looking for you. Not to mention several owls and his own phoenix, Fawks" Hermione commented.

Harry smirked and said "Well I for one am glad that he was unable to find me because this was by far the best summer I have ever had".

"Where were you?" Ron asked.

"Three letters" Harry started "USA"

"You were in America!" Hermione exclaimed with a squeal.

Harry nodded "Yea, apparently Sirius had something already set up in the event of his death" He paused a moment as if thinking about something but then continued "It was something that my parents had initially set up but they set up a couple of fall-back plans that he just expanded on"

"What did you do while you were there?" Ginny asked.

"I trained" Harry said matter of factly.

They sat in silence for a little bit and to be honest Harry was thankful for the silence because it gave him time to gather his thoughts while the others were taking it in. And it was Hermione that decided to break the silence. "Harry, you need to tell Dumbledore…" But she did not get to finish due to the fact that she was cut off.

"I will do no such thing; he will try to make it so that I cannot go back"

"No, Harry listen" Hermione huffed "you at least need to tell him something about where you were because he was grilling us about your location, especially after your letters arrived"

"You didn't tell him anything did you?" Harry questioned.

"No, why would we, seeing as we had no idea where you were either, and not to mention that a lot has happened since you disappeared." Hermione retorted.

"What has happened" Harry asked darkly.

"Well for one Voldemort has been quite" Ron said.

"To quite" Ginny put in.

"What, no attacks?" Harry asked.

"He didn't say that, they have just been hushed; that and we met a new Order member" Ginny put in.

"What were they like?"

"He is a bit scary, like Moody you know, but not as old and he's been there too, knows his stuff he does" Ron said.

"But Harry that's not the half of it, Dumbledore…well he's not the same" Hermione said softly.

"What do you mean; my disappearance didn't affect him that much did it?" Harry asked.

"No, he just…he knows how much this war is different from the first one" Hermione paused attempting to sort her thoughts "Harry something happened that shook him deeply, down to the core…"

"Just tell him Hermione" Ginny said stoically.

"Professor Snape was…" she paused yet again but quickly followed up with "was murdered".

This statement hit Harry like a load of bricks. While he did not like the Potions Professor, he still felt kind of felt sorry for him, 'Kind of'.

They sat in silence for the rest of the train ride, each lost in their own thoughts. It was as they were pulling into the station when Ginny asked Harry a question "What was that spell you cast on us Harry?"

"Oh, well it is sort of my own invention. I call it the 'Keep Secret Spell'. Basically it is a cross between the Fidelius charm and the Memory modification spell" he paused a moment to look at the face that Hermione was now sporting, which was one of complete awe. "I made it so that no matter what I was to tell you, you would not be able to divulge that information. It also protects against that of a Legilimens"

"We would not have said anything to anyone you know" Ron said.

"I know mate, but I really could not take that chance" Harry replied with a smile because he had heard Hermione gasp and mutter something about 'looking up spell combining in the library as soon as we get back".

Before they knew it the train was pulling into the station and it was time to head up to the castle. Harry looked up at the towering castle before him. He smiled for he knew that this year was going to be different. This year he did not have to worry about returning to the Dursleys' once the school year was over. No, this year he had a proper family to go home to. A family that loved him and wanted him; a family that in a few hours he would see once again before settling into the life that which was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

As he stood there looking at his school and the first real place he could call home, a stray thought found its way to the front of his mind. 'Finally something that makes me just a little bit more normal'.

"Hey mate, come on" Ron yelled out trying to get his attention.

Harry looked at his friends, smiled and said "Coming" and he ran to catch up to them. And just as he was crossing the threshold he thought 'Yes, just a little bit more normal'.

A/N: Well I hope you liked this chapter. Oh and in case you were wondering Harry is refering to the fact he has a family now. Plus this is my longest one to date with 3,452 words. Now I know it has been some time since I last updated but I am currently in my seventh week of classes. I do have the next one pretty much done and should be ready to post it soon but I am waiting on my dear friend to get back to me about a challenge I set her. Anyway, I hope you did enjoy it and I hope you continue to Read and Review. And as always…

May your days be filled with magic!

Mudbloodpotter.