Author's Note: No, I'm not secretly J.K Rowling writing on this fan-based website. I'm just your average fan wishing they could be as awesome as J.K Rowling.

Chapter 3 Not Alone

Alex sat back on the bed, her eyes itching with tiredness. She reached down and grabbed her bag, putting it at her feet.

"Where you headed?" Stan asked.

"The Leaky Cauldron, in London," Alex said.

The conductor went to the back of the bus and came back with a receipt in his hands. Alex paid him with the money from her bag and Stan went to the front of the bus. Alex looked out the window at the buildings streaming by and began to feel sick. She instead turned to the front and saw Stan reading the Daily Prophet. On the cover was the man from the television, Sirius Black.

"Wizards are looking for him too?" Alex asked.

Stan looked up and turned to the cover. He shivered slightly and said, "Oh yeah, don't you get the Prophet?" When Alex shook her head, Stan gave her the front for her to read. Alex leaned back and looked the cover over. It had a picture of a man with black, lank hair and piercing grey eyes. His skin was pulled over his face, as though it was too tight for his bony features. The headline read: "Black Escapes!" Alex read the rest to herself:

The Ministry is still looking for the escaped madman, Sirius Black. Black, who escaped from Azkaban earlier this summer, was one of You-Know-Who's greatest supporters and is still remembered today for his killing of thirteen people with a single curse. Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge had only this to say on the matter:

"The dementors are searching for Black and we ask everyone to remain calm, but cautious. Black is an unstable man and will not listen to reason."

Fudge has been criticized for his telling of the Muggle Prime Minister about Black. In response, the Minister said, "It is important everyone knows what they're up against. Black will kill anyone who stands in his way, even a Muggle."

So far, there has been no sign of Black. If you have any information, please send a fast owl to the address below.

Alex looked up at Stan and shook her head. Handing the paper back, she fiddled with the locket around her neck. She hoped he was caught, she hated the thought of a madman who could do magic wandering around the country.

"The Leaky Cauldron!" Stan yelled.

Alex grabbed her bag and empty owl cage and went to the front of the bus. After setting her stuff on the ground, she helped Stan lift her trunk out of the bus. Stan waved good-bye and the bus disappeared. Suddenly realizing how alone she was, Alex shivered and went into the inn.

There was no one at the tables or the bar. Alex rolled her trunk away from the door and looked around. The hair on the back of her neck went up and she swung around, seeing nothing.

"Hello?" she called, "Is anybody here?"

A head appeared from behind the bar. The head belonged to the body of an old man. He smiled, showing many missing teeth, and came over to her.

"What can I do for you, missy?" he asked, wheezing slightly.

"My uncle said he sent an owl telling you I was coming," Alex said nervously.

"Ah, you must be Alex," he wheezed, smiling, "Yes, follow me."

Alex dragged her trunk up the stairs and down a hallway. The old man stopped and waved his hand in front of the door, unlocking it. He held the door as Alex pulled her trunk in and put it at the end of the bed.

"If you be needing anything, just ask for me, Tom the innkeeper," he said.

"Thanks, I will."

She watched as he closed the door and sat down, rubbing her eyes tiredly. Alex didn't even change and went straight to sleep.

…...

Alex was up and ready by the time the witch who came to turn up the beds knocked on the door. She walked to the eating area and ordered some breakfast. As she sat and watched her legs dangle from the bar stool, she heard a familiar, gruff voice.

"Hullo there Alex."

She spun around and saw Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper, towering over her. Alex smiled and jumped off her stool, only coming up to his waist.

"Hagrid, what are you doing here?" she asked while giving him a hug.

"I'm just…gettin' some things together fer the new year," he said awkwardly, "So, how's yer uncle doin'? Come ta think of it, where's he?"

Alex sat down, Hagrid following, and told him what happened with her great-aunts. It felt good to tell somebody and Hagrid sat quietly, listening. Only when she had finished did he speak.

"I'm sorry Alex, really am. But I know yer uncle and he'll come through fine, trust me," he said, patting her arm so that Alex could feel her bones shaking, "Have you gotten yer school things yet?"

"No, my list hasn't come yet," she said.

"That's because I have it right here," Hagrid said as he pulled a thick parchment envelope from the inside of his overcoat, "Dumbledore heard wha' happened an' wanted me ter deliver this meself. O' course, he never told me wha' happened, only tha' you was here and probably upset."

"Thanks Hagrid, I'm glad you came," Alex said, taking the envelope and smiled up at him.

"Well, come on then. We got lots ter buy and I have some things ter do too."

Alex ran upstairs, grabbed her jacket, and came back down all before Hagrid had finished a drink. She waited for him to pay and then followed him to the back of the inn where the entrance to Diagon Alley was. Hagrid tapped the brick and the entrance appeared. Alex stepped out into the alley and smiled to herself. Diagon Alley was full of bustling shops and witches and wizards trying to beat the afternoon crowds. Alex followed Hagrid away from the entrance and she pulled out her booklist. She noticed Hagrid watching her eagerly and looked down the list. She frowned at the last book title.

"The Monster Book of Monsters?" she asked, raising a dark eyebrow at the paper, "Is that the Care of Magical Creature book?"

"Yep, come on, let's get goin'," Hagrid said happily.

Alex sighed and followed her giant friend to Flourish and Blotts, wondering why he was so happy. As she walked in, she heard shouting on her left. Turning, she saw a large cage with at least ten books wrestling each other. Every word they said was either a curse or a taunt. Alex shook her head and went up to the counter.

"Excuse me?" she asked, seeing no one there.

A man came from the back and smiled at her. Alex guessed he was the manager by his uniform. It was different from all the other workers.

"I'm from Hogwarts," Alex said. The man's face dropped and he sighed.

"Very well, let me get your other books before I have to go to the cage," he said, sounding depressed.

Alex looked at the cage of wrestling books and blinked.

"You mean…those are our books?" Alex said, eyeing the cursing books with displeasure.

"Good luck with them," the manager muttered and led Alex to the back of the store.

Soon, Alex had her books, including the one for Arithmancy. Alex was taking Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures for her new classes this year. The last book they needed to get was her Care of Magical Creatures book, The Monster Book of Monsters. The manager put the books on the table and Alex noticed he was pale.

"Let me just grab my gloves, those things are vicious," the manager said and he opened a door to a room behind the counter. Alex went over to the shouting books and frowned.

"Can't you all be quiet for just one minute?" she asked angrily.

The books stopped and looked at her, confusion in their large brown eyes.

"You talk like us?" one asked.

"Yeah, I can talk with all animals and since you are like animals, I can talk to you too. Now listen," she said sternly, "There's a nice man who's going to take one of you out of here to go with me. I don't want any biting or snapping at him, all right?"

They nodded and began to move around, trying to get out of each other's way.

"It's very small in here," said one book with a large rip in the cover, "Can we get a bigger cage?"

"I'll see what I can do," Alex whispered as the manager came over. He looked at the silent books and then at Alex.

"This is the quietest I've ever seen them," he remarked happily.

"Do you think they could have bigger cages?" she asked as the manager pulled out the least beat-up book and handed it to her, "They looked very cramped. Maybe that's why they fight so much."

"You know, I think you're on to something!" he said, smiling.

Alex petted the purring book in her hands and paid for the rest of her books. She found Hagrid in the dragon section and had to practically drag him out of the shop. After Alex refilled her potions ingredients, bought longer robes, and followed Hagrid into the animal shop, she was tired and hungry.

She and Hagrid were walking back to the Leaky Cauldron when Alex came to a sudden halt outside the Quality Quidditch Store. Up on a pedestal was the most beautiful broom Alex had ever seen. A plaque read "The Firebolt" in fancy lettering. Under that was a sign talking about the wonderful aerodynamics and handpicked tail twigs.

"Isn' tha' a beauty?" Hagrid asked, seeing what Alex was gapping at.

"Yeah," was all Alex could say, but she knew it wasn't just beautiful. It was the work of a genius. She felt Hagrid drag her away from the gleaming broom and sighed longingly. Alex loved everything about Quidditch, from flying to hitting Bludgers, flying balls that tried to knock the players off their brooms. Unfortunately, there were no empty positions for Alex to play, so she was stuck with watching from the audience and cheering on her team. She knew that it would be useless to pay for a broom when she wasn't even on a team and a broom like that would most likely cost a fortune, maybe two.

The rest of the evening, Alex talked to Hagrid about the Firebolt. She was so into what she was saying that she didn't realize that Hagrid was drifting off. Finally when he gave a loud snore, Alex stopped, blushing. He stood up, almost hitting his head on the lights above, and pushed in his chair.

"Well, I'm off ter school, there's a few things I need ter get in order before the start o' term," he said, looking down at her.

"You've been very vague lately, Hagrid," Alex said as she stood up too, "Is there something you're not telling me?"

"Yeh'll see at school. Now, Dumbledore got a letter from yer uncle tellin' him to tell you tha' yeh're to behave yerself and don't go gettin' into any trouble, all righ'? Yeh better behave or yer uncle will have me hide before I can say "Norbert's fire"," said Hagrid seriously. Then he gave her a back breaking hug and waved good-bye.

Alex went upstairs and pulled out her new school things. She put The Monster Book of Monsters on the floor and knelt down next to it.

"Now listen, you've got to be on your best behavior with me. I won't tolerate any swearing or biting at all, especially when we're at Hogwarts, got it?" The book nodded and Alex smiled. "Now that we've got the rules squared away, what shall I call you?" she asked politely.

"Everyone calls me Little Monster because I'm the smallest of the group," it said.

"Then Little Monster it is," Alex said.

She got up and ready for bed, watching the sun set from her window. Alex sat on her bed and picked one of her school books and began to read it. Luckily it was her Potions book and she read it with a smile on her face. Potions was always her favorite subject, even if her teacher wasn't. Alex hated Professor Snape just about as much as he hated her. Ever since she arrived at Hogwarts, he tried to make her life miserable.

Finally, after reading about a particularly interesting potion, Alex picked up her Hogwarts envelope and used it as a book mark. As she grabbed it, a piece of paper fell onto the floor. Alex leaned over and picked it up, reading it. It was a letter asking Alex to have her parent or guardian give permission to go to Hogsmede, the all-wizarding village right outside Hogwarts. Alex sighed and put the paper on her nightstand. She wasn't going to send a letter to uncle, unless it was important, because she knew he was busy and he had asked her to. He said that some of his enemies might intercept the letter and tip off her great-aunts as to her whereabouts. Pushing all thoughts about Hogsmede aside, Alex rolled over and fell asleep.

…...

For the next two weeks, Alex had a routine she did each day. In the morning, she would get dressed and eat breakfast in the main room. Then she would go the Diagon Alley and look at the Firebolt until the store got too crowded. After a quick lunch at any open restaurant, Alex would go to the animal store and listen to the lady at the counter tell stories about her ten cats, five dogs, and three owls. Sometimes, when the store was very busy, the lady would ask Alex to help her get the animals from their cages. Afterwards, Alex would go to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor where she would get the new flavor of the day. After strolling down the streets until it got dark, Alex would head back to the Leaky Cauldron, eat dinner, and read until she fell asleep.

Alex woke up one morning and stretched. She smiled at her still sleeping bird and got dressed quietly. Monty had arrived the day before, after Alex sent a note to Hermione asking to let Monty find her. Once checking herself in the mirror, Alex grabbed her money bag and headed out the door. As she waked down the hallway, she tripped over a bump in the carpet and her money bag dropped, sending Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts everywhere. Alex muttered a series of dirty curses as she got on her knees to pick the money up. She heard footsteps from behind her and saw another pair of knees at her side.

"Thanks," Alex said standing up, "I'm such a-HARRY!"

Harry was standing in front of her, holding the money he had collected. He had really shot up over the summer, now almost Alex's height. She hugged him, talking the entire time.

"What are you doing here? How did you get here? When did you get here?" she said.

"It's a long story and I'm starving. Come on, I'll tell you while we eat," he said, leading the way to the main room.

Once they had ordered their food, Harry started talking. What he said surprised Alex and made her snort into her milk.

"You're telling me that you made your aunt blow up so you ran away, got on the Knight Bus, came here, talked to the Minister of Magic, and didn't get in trouble at all? Wow Harry," she said sitting back in her seat, smiling, "That's a little thing I like to call luck."

"Tell me about it, the entire time I thought I was going to get arrested, let alone expelled," Harry said shaking his head, "So, what's up with you? Why are you here?"

Alex's smile faded and she told Harry everything that happened, from her aunt's surprise visit to having to leave home. When she finished, she looked away so Harry wouldn't see her shining eyes. He leaned over and patted her arm.

"I'm really sorry Alex, but if worse comes to worse, maybe you could stay with me. No, I take that back, that would be a death sentence and I'd hate to be the cause of your early death," Harry said, smiling.

Alex laughed. She was happy Harry had made a joke out of it; she was tired of feeling depressed about the entire incident. After eating, Alex helped Harry get all his school supplies and later coached him through his Potions essay. When Alex went to bed that night, she was very happy to have one of her best friends to talk to.

Author's Note: Anyone like the title of this chapter? Anyone care to hazard a guess where it came from? Give you a hint, it's a song title from a totally awesome musical. If that doesn't give it away, I don't know what will! :)

So besides the title, what did you think of this? I know it's kinda a filler chapter but the next one is more exciting, I promise. The rest of the gang arrives and the mystery starts. Plus, Alex makes a deal with someone…hehe! Anyway, let me know what you thought of this and I will forever be grateful. Plus, I always thank the people who review at the end of my story so you'll get recognition! Yay! :D