Author's Notes: First of all, I want to start by thanking everyone for their amazing reviews. I got 10 last chapter, and that's the most I've ever gotten! Reviews really help because they show that the readers actually like what's going on, and some even give input on what they think can be improved upon, so thank you very much.

Second I want to apologize for how long it's taken to update. I'm trying really hard to keep up, but I'm in danger of failing my student teaching and I'm terrified. I've worked hard to get this far, and I can't just let them pull me without giving it everything I've got. That includes teaching all day long, if not most of it. So please hang in there. I'm sorry to beg, but I'm really doing all I can. Plus my editor is in school so she's super busy also or I would have had this chapter up probably Wednesday.

As for the chapter, I hope you like it. I wanted to explore the bonding between Albus, Minerva, and Harry, but I wanted to put his friends in the picture because having friends that go out with you is part of a healthy childhood, in my opinion anyway. I also wanted to show Harry's sensitive and observance side. Let me know what you think, and I'll try to get the next chapter, Thursdays with Trolls, up soon.

~Lily

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Chapter 12: Hogsmeade Holiday

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It was Saturday, and Harry was peacefully sleeping in his comfortable bed in the first year Gryffindor boys' dormitory at Hogwarts. His mind was blissfully restful, and he had every intention of sleeping in until about 10 and just enjoying his Saturday.

Part of this was simply because there was no reason in the name of Merlin for Wood to wake him for practice at the crack of dawn. The first Quidditch match of Gryffindor versus Slytherin was only three weeks away, and Wood was going overboard with training. It was making Harry excited for his first ever Quidditch match, but it was also making Harry wish he was like normal first years and wasn't allowed to play. His body was absolutely exhausted, and it hurt more these days than it ever had at Privet Drive when he had been forced to work all day long doing hard chores. Today, though, he had told Wood that he had plans with Professors Dumbledore and Minerva, so Wood had grudgingly cancelled any notion of practice in the early morning but insisted that they would practice hard that evening.

However, at 7:30, Harry found himself woken up by the least likely source imaginable. One minute he was sleeping peacefully, and the next, he was being shaken with urgent whispers of "Harry! Harry, get up!" Immediately, Harry's alert system rose and his eyes flew open. He about fell off his bed in shock when he saw a freckled face with a full head of flaming red hair about an inch from his face, and he was barely able to stifle his shout. It didn't stop his heart from racing, though.

"Ron!" Harry exclaimed breathlessly as he flung his head deep into his pillow and shut his eyes to try and catch his breath. "What in the name of Dumbledore's white beard are you doing?" Normally speaking, Ron was not a morning person, farthest thing from it actually. They had to practically drag him from his bed in the morning to get to class on time—although the mention of breakfast usually did the trick.

"Harry, get up. We're wasting the day away." Ron didn't stop his assault, and suddenly Harry understood.

"Ron, go away! We aren't wasting the day; the sun is barely up!" With that, Harry grabbed his pillow and pulled it tightly over his face. It muffled the sound, but it didn't block out Ron's voice completely and Harry couldn't figure out how the other boys could sleep through this assault. Of course, it wasn't directed at them.

"Yes, but we still have to shower, dress, and eat breakfast. By the time all of that is done, the morning will be half over!" After speaking, Ron suddenly grabbed Harry's pillow and yanked it away from him.

"Hey!" Harry protested. With each passing moment, he was becoming more and more awake and was starting to realize that he was not getting back to sleep no matter how much he hated to admit it. He didn't have time to think about it anymore, however, because Ron suddenly hit him in the face with his own pillow. "Oof!"

"Get up, Harry. The longer you're in bed, the less time we have at Hogsmeade!" Yes, that was it. That was the only possible reason for Ron to be awake and ready to go at this time of day on a Saturday. In one of their Monday evening discussions, Minerva had decided that they needed to have a family outing and just get out of the castle together. She had decided that it would create good bonding time, and Merlin knew they were in need of that since they were a thrown-together family.

Albus had liked the idea and suggested that they all go to Hogsmeade for a weekend. They could even go on a weekend that wasn't a designated Hogsmeade weekend for students, and that would make it even more special. Minerva had agreed, and they had set a date that both she and Albus had available, which happened to be October thirteenth. Albus had also suggested that Harry be allowed to bring a few friends. Minerva found this a good idea, seeing as it gave the family bonding time but also allowed Harry a chance to mingle with a few close friends like a normal child would. Both Albus and Minerva wanted Harry to be comfortable bringing his friends around them, and this seemed like the perfect solution. Harry had therefore invited both Ron and Neville to join him and his "parents" in Hogsmeade for the day.

Ron had been so excited by the idea that he had been almost bouncing off the walls ever since. It didn't mean he had to beat Harry over the head with a pillow, though, especially not Harry's own pillow. When the feather-filled material hit him, Harry instantly grasped hold of it and yanked it from his friend. Sitting up in bed, Harry held it tight and wacked Ron across the head with the pillow.

"Oi!" Ron yelped as he stumbled backwards a second. He didn't let Harry deter him, though, and grabbed his pillow off his own bed before charging back at his best friend.

"You started it," Harry stated with a grin as he eyed his friend carefully. He had been good at this part in Harry-hunting with Dudley and his gang, but he hadn't been in a tangle of sheets and blankets and had always been awake for more than five minutes.

"I was only trying to wake you up." Ron swung wildly, but Harry blocked.

"I'm not the only one that has to be awake for this trip," Harry countered. "Even if Neville wasn't going with us, Albus and Minerva have to be ready, and I would love to see you attempt to rush Professor McGonagall." At this, he swung his own pillow at Ron and untangled his feet from his covers before getting out of bed to give him a better advantage.

Ron ignored the comment about hurrying the strict Head of Gryffindor, and soon there was a full-on pillow war. It had started in between Harry and Ron's beds, but the boys had no qualms about going around, or even jumping on and climbing over the bed to get to the other person. It didn't take long for Seamus, Dean, and Neville to be awakened by the pillow duel, but it did take the sleeping boys a few seconds to figure out that they were not under artillery fire. Once they figured it out, though, they grabbed their own pillows and joined in on the fun.

All five of the eleven-year-old boys were so wrapped up in their pillow war that they didn't even notice the mess they were making. It wasn't until Percy Weasley slammed the door open demanding to know what was going on that they stopped. It wasn't even eight o' clock on a Saturday morning, but Percy was fully dressed in his school uniform with his Prefect badge shining brightly on his chest. All five boys just stared at him as he stood there, face nearly as red as his hair.

"What do you think you are doing? It's barely morning, and you make it sound like a hippogriff has gotten loose in here." Although Percy's shouting wasn't anything new, it kept the five boys from continuing to attack each other. Well, that, and the fact that they were realizing that half of them had lost all of the feathers out of their pillows, and the other half were losing them steadily.

"What's a hippogriff?" Harry may not have been ready to continue destroying pillows with Percy there, but his curiosity had a habit of getting the best of him. Ron, Percy, and Neville looked shocked, but Dean looked just as confused. Seamus was the only one who looked indifferent. Of course, he was a half-blood so knew about both worlds.

"It's a magical creature that's half horse and half eagle," Seamus explained. Meanwhile, Percy seemed to have recomposed himself from the strange question.

"It doesn't matter, just quiet down. It sounds like you're attempting to destroy the castle." Percy's tone was commanding, and Harry couldn't help but think that Percy shouldn't have any power because it all seemed to go to his head. "By the looks of this place, I would assume my assumptions haven't been far off. Now clean it up." With that, he stormed out of the room, and the five first years just stared at each other and shrugged.

"How are we supposed to clean it up?" Harry asked as he thought about if he had even seen a broom that wasn't used for flying in this place. Ron just snorted.

"We don't have to; Percy is just being a git." He threw his flat pillow onto his bed and started pawing through his trunk for some clothes.

"He's kind of a drill sergeant, isn't he?" Dean commented as he started looking for clothes himself. Ron just snorted again.

"You've got no idea," he muttered as he pulled out a worn pair of trousers and an old T-shirt.

"Well, you don't have to deal with him much," Harry stated, trying to calm Ron down before anything had a chance to escalate.

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After the pillow fight that woke the whole dorm, Ron seemed to calm down. He was still excited, but he managed to tone it down to a level that matched Harry and Neville's excitement. Neither of them had been to Hogsmeade either, and Harry was having his first outing with friends along. Albus and Minerva had of course taken him out to explore town and everything during the summer, but he had never had friends that could come along. Now he had the bonus of having friends and going to a magical town.

By 10:00, all three boys were showered, dressed, and fed as they scrambled to Minerva's office, Harry with his pocket money in his robes. This was the designated meeting spot, and all three of them agreed that 10:00 was late enough and that they really were starting to waste the day away.

Fortunately, Minerva and Albus had expected the boys to be ready to go early and were waiting for them. Upon hearing a knock on her door that sounded as if it would break it in, Minerva just shook her head. "Enter, Harry," she called sternly. The dark-haired boy had enough decency to recognize her stern tone and look, at least slightly, abashed for knocking so hard.

"Sorry, Minerva," Harry mumbled, slightly red in the face. He noticed his friends' awkward stances and realized that it was probably extremely strange to them to have him call their Deputy Head by her first name. This was going to be an awkward day.

"You just need to calm down, Harry," Minerva admonished lightly, although her tone had softened greatly.

"Yes ma'am," Harry stated as he nodded emphatically. He didn't ask if she had been told about the pillow fight this morning.

"Lighten up a bit, Minerva; he's just excited." Albus's cheerful voice made Harry relax a bit.

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It was chilly outside, seeing as they were in Scotland in October, but Minerva and Albus had made sure that all three boys were properly dressed for the weather. It really amazed Minerva how careless boys could be, though, when Neville was the only one wearing a jumper. "You do realize we will be spending quite a bit of time outside today, right?" she asked through pursed lips, making both Harry and Ron blush. Normally, Harry would have stated that he didn't have a fitting jumper, but Minerva and Albus had taken him shopping for proper attire during the school year while he was with them in the summer, and he now had a number of them in different colors that fit perfectly.

"Yes ma'am," Harry mumbled, before taking off for Gryffindor tower with Ron right behind him. He dug through his trunk and found a Gryffindor red jumper that he slid over his head.

Ron, on the other hand, was looking pink-faced as he pulled out a maroon jumper with a silver R stitched on the front. "Always maroon."

Harry looked his friend over a minute before digging into his trunk once more and tossing him a grey jumper. "It might be a bit snug, but you can wear it if you want," he said with a shy smile as Ron stared open-mouthed at him. Harry made a mental note to get him a jumper that wasn't maroon for Christmas.

"Thanks mate." Ron was still pink-faced, but he looked considerably happier as he wrestled the jumper over his head.

Just then, Neville walked in, and Harry and Ron both looked up at him. "Sent me back for a hat, scarf, and gloves," the round-faced boy mumbled, and the other two couldn't help but grin as they dug through their own trunks so they wouldn't get sent back again.

When they finally appeared in front of Minerva with all three wearing jumpers, robes, cloaks, hats, scarves, and gloves, the group was finally able to head out—not a moment too soon in the boys' eyes.

It was a chilly day, but there was still no snow and the autumn leaf colors made everything so beautiful. The air was crisp, but the boys couldn't help but run and chase each other as they crossed the Hogwarts grounds. They had to keep an eye on Neville since he was so accident-prone, but it didn't dampen their spirits any, and Albus and Minerva could only watch on, wondering if Harry might be better off with a younger couple.

Harry didn't seem to mind though. Albus and Minerva couldn't run around with him, but the Dursleys had never even tried. To top it all off, he actually had friends to run with instead of bullies to run from.

Their very first shop was a shop called the Three Broomsticks. It was a friendly shop that sold all kinds of drinks. They sold alcoholic drinks, but at the same time they were children-friendly and had bottles of pumpkin juice, butterbeer, and other non-alcoholic—but magical—drinks for children. It was also probably one of the best places to eat, but Albus might have been prejudiced, since an old friend owned the shop. Minerva and Albus bought each boy a butterbeer, and the five sat at a table, chattering away.

"This is so awesome, Harry," Ron stated happily as he gulped down his foamy drink. "I always love butterbeer. My mum makes homemade butterbeer for birthdays and holidays. It's the best!"

"Wish my gran made butterbeer," Neville mumbled as he sipped his drink more slowly than his red-headed friend.

"Aren't grandmas supposed to be the baking nuts of families to spoil their children?" Harry asked. He'd never even had so much as grandparents come visit him. Of course, he figured the only ones that would be nice to him would be his mum or dad's parents, since Uncle Vernon's parents would probably hate him as much as his sister Marge did.

The round-faced boy went pink as he took another drink of his butterbeer. "My gran isn't exactly like that," he mumbled, and Harry had enough sense not to push the matter.

When everyone had finished off their drinks, the boys talked Minerva and Albus into letting them explore a little.

"Alright, but meet back here in an hour for lunch," Minerva agreed. She wasn't completely sure she should let a Marauder's son—with a Weasley and Longbottom as sidekicks—out of her sight for long. Harry didn't seem to have the same tendencies James did, however, and not all of the Weasleys were as bad as the twins. Of course, Longbottom was proving to have trouble staying upright, but that wasn't a reason to deprive the children of a chance to explore.

"Awesome!" the boys stated together before running out the door.

"Where should we head first?" Harry asked as he looked all around him. The place wasn't nearly as busy as Diagon Alley had been, but that made Harry like it even more. It just seemed so cozy.

"Fred and George say that Hogsmeade has one of the best joke shops around," Ron stated excitedly. Honestly, they had to start somewhere.

"Aren't Hogsmeade trips limited to third years and older?" Neville asked curiously. "Aren't Fred and George in third year now? There hasn't been a Hogsmeade trip this year. How would they know about Hogsmeade?" Harry honestly had to give the boy credit; he was a mess in class, but when he didn't have the pressure of sneering professors, he could be pretty bright.

Ron could just shrug. "You think those two follow any rules? Hogsmeade is supposed to be amazing, and I wouldn't put it past those two to have made it to Hogsmeade somehow their first year. Don't ask me how, though." At this, Ron frowned in frustration, but he brightened a moment later. "Are we just going to waste our hour standing out here in the cold, or are we going to actually explore a bit?" At that, the other boys grinned and started walking down the street.

When you're sitting in class or doing homework, an hour seems like it might last forever. For three young boys exploring a magical town, however, it went quickly. The only magical town either of the three had seen was Diagon Alley, and neither had spent a whole lot of time there, let alone unsupervised. Even with a full hour, they only made it to Zonko's Joke Shop. The three boys may not have been hell-bent on pranks like Fred and George Weasley, but there were plenty of things there to fascinate them. Some local kids too young for Hogwarts were also there, and one of the employees was demonstrating some magical sparklers they could use inside without setting anything on fire.

Ron held his hands behind his back as he looked around, deciding it would be easier to "window shop" if he didn't touch anything. He couldn't help his jealous look, however, when Neville pulled out some sickles to buy a few tricks.

"Pick something out, mate," Harry whispered as he nodded towards the shelves of awesome items. Harry knew how Ron felt about his family's financial situation and didn't want to embarrass him further by speaking loudly; the whispered words had Ron's ears turning pink as it was.

"I don't need to," he mumbled, barely audible.

"It's cool, mate. Minerva is going to give me hell if I buy stuff and you turn up having nothing. You don't want me in trouble with her, do you?" Harry was trying hard to break through the redhead's pride, and this seemed to work because the freckle-faced boy smiled.

"I guess I could attempt to save your hide—this time," Ron stated with a smirk and started looking around the shop a little more excitedly.

By the time they got out, they had to run back to the Three Broomsticks. They arrived panting and stood before a highly amused Albus.

"Looks like you boys are enjoying yourselves," the silver-haired man commented with the normal twinkle in his light blue eyes.

"Definitely," they chorused together as they slid into a booth to order lunch.

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The boys didn't get much more time to explore. Albus and Minerva insisted that they wanted to spend time with all of them, but they did get to look around the whole town. Albus wanted desperately to stop at Honeydukes sweet shop, but Minerva insisted that that be saved for last so that their stomachs had a chance to settle with all of the food.

All three boys had a fantastic time looking around the Quidditch shop. Harry may be the only one on the team currently, but Ron hoped to play one day, and Neville was still a big fan of at least watching the game. Harry still hadn't decided on his favorite team, but watching Ron and Neville bicker over whether the Chudley Cannons or the Holyhead Harpies was best was actually pretty funny.

"We're going to the World Cup this year," Ron announced confidently. This actually made Neville snort with laughter.

"You haven't been even close to the Cup in more years than you've been alive."

"Yeah? Well, it can happen," Ron muttered, sounding kind of defeated as his ears turned pink.

"Well, I don't know who's going to win the World Cup," Harry announced suddenly, "but I know for a fact that Gryffindor is going to win the House Cup."

"Both the House and Quidditch," Neville and Ron stated together. Harry couldn't help but grin at the fact he'd gotten his friends to quit bickering for a minute.

"Definitely," he agreed with a nod.

"Well that would be something," Minerva stated with a smile.

"It would definitely be interesting," Albus stated in approval.

They spent some more time looking around, and Albus and Minerva told each boy they could pick out a magazine on their team. She then insisted that Harry be equipped with elbow and knee pads, along with a helmet and some riding gloves that would help his grip. Knowing the temperamental weather in Scotland, she also bought him a rain cloak to keep him dry in wet weather.

With their purchases paid for and shrunk to fit in their pockets, the group headed to see more of the town, and at 4, they finally stopped at Honeydukes. As soon as the three boys walked in, they felt as though their eyes would pop out of their sockets. The shop was completely filled with all kinds of amazing sweets. Ron and Neville may have been raised in the wizarding world, but Ron's family never had a lot of money to purchase a lot of sweets for their children, and Neville's grandmother didn't allow him to eat a whole lot of sugar.

"I need to restock my supply," Albus stated with a twinkle in his eye, before turning to the boys. He picked up three bags from the counter that were about the size of a muggle lunch bag and handed one to each of the boys. "You may each fill your bag with sweets, but I do urge you to ration them. Not only do you not come here often, but eating a lot of sweets all at once doesn't do a lot of favors for your stomach."

"This coming from the man that admits addiction," Minerva mumbled, making Harry look over at her with a smile.

The boys hurried to fill their bags with all kinds of treats. Harry wasn't disappointed that they didn't have any Muggle sweets; he honestly didn't need them with everything Honeydukes did have to offer. Besides, the magical sweets were more entertaining, and they just kind of improved the Muggle items, since Chocolate Frogs were enchanted Muggle chocolate.

Harry asked permission to buy his friends one more butterbeer for the trip back, and Minerva said that she thought that it would be fine. The group therefore headed back to the Three Broomsticks before trekking back to the school. The trip back was quite different, however, since Albus and Minerva quizzed the boys on what they thought of Hogsmeade, and the three eleven-year-olds couldn't stop gushing about how amazing everything was.

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Once back at Hogwarts, Harry was pulled aside by Minerva and Albus.

"Harry, can we talk to you a moment please?" The request was simple, and Harry couldn't think of anything he could have done wrong, so he nodded before turning to his friends.

"Hey, I'll meet you in the Great Hall for dinner. Will you take these up and put them in my trunk for me?" He handed out his bags of sweets and tricks, which Neville promptly took and just nodded.

"Sure, mate," Ron stated before hurrying off, anxious to get to dinner and tell anyone that would listen about his amazing adventure.

"We just wanted to tell you how proud we are of you," Minerva stated simply, making Harry blush. "You have done so well in your classes, and now you have even taken your friends on an outing and shared your allowance with them to buy some extra treats."

"That is definitely something very kind, Harry. You have your mother's heart of gold." Albus's comment confused Harry, but the older man pressed on. "You have taken in two friends that are both in need of a build in self-confidence and to be treated like they are the most important people in the world."

"They are," Harry stated firmly.

"Indeed they are," Dumbledore agreed with a smile. "Some just have a hard time understanding that everyone is irreplaceable in the world and that everyone needs a friend.

"We think you've earned 10 behavior points." Minerva's words brought a big grin to Harry's face. That brought his total to 40 points. It might not be a whole lot for a month and a half of work, but he had to take into account that he was in a boarding school constantly and didn't have a lot of opportunities to earn behavior points. "Now, why don't you head to dinner and eat some actual food instead of binging on sweets." Minerva was back to her stern tone, but Harry could only nod with a smile.

"Yes ma'am. Thanks," he stated before running down the corridor away from them, only stopping when Minerva shouted after him to not run in the corridors.

Harry didn't head right for the dinner, however. Instead, he headed quickly to the library. He needed to check out a book for his Herbology essay, and it was easier and quicker to do it without dragging Ron and Neville with him. Ron complained any time they went to the library, and Neville was probably already done with his Herbology essay, and that wasn't something Harry wanted to listen to.

Upon reaching the library, however, he couldn't help but stop and watch for a minute. It was a sight he had seen often, but this time it actually bothered him quite a bit. He couldn't say exactly why it was suddenly bothering him now when it hadn't before, but he was suddenly flooded with memories of life at the Dursleys and life at his muggle primary school. He had never had any friends before; he had been forced to play, study, and eat by himself.

Now he had several friends that cared about him, but right now he was looking in to find Hermione Granger sitting by herself. He racked his brain as he tried to think of a time she had ever been with other students. There were several first year Gryffindors, but as far as Harry knew, Hermione was constantly by herself. He, Ron, and Neville had certainly never invited her to join them. Dean was a muggleborn like Hermione, but he had made fast friends with Seamus, and the two boys had never included the bushy-haired girl either. Even Hermione's dormmates seemed to exclude her. Parvati and Lavender were practically glued together, but Hermione was never with them. Harry couldn't help but think that that must be a very lonely life for Hermione. Now the question was, did she choose to be alone all of the time, or was she just excluded? Was this why Albus and Minerva had talked to him about everyone being of worth? Hermione certainly didn't need a boost in self-confidence, but everyone could use a friend.

Harry's mind was numb as all of this ran rampant through his thoughts. He quickly found the book he needed, and headed to check it out so that he could go to the feast without Ron and Neville forming a search party. One thing was for sure though: Harry was going to have to keep an eye on Hermione, and, at the very least, make an effort to be nicer towards her. No matter how annoying everyone thought she was.