Anthony dropped his backpack on the ground as he sat down at the Three Broomsticks with some butterbeer. He pushed down the pang of guilt he felt as he remembered drinking his first one with his family when he got accepted to Hogwarts. It'll be all right, he thought. It's only a couple of weeks and I'll send them an owl to let them know I'm safe. Still, he felt an unease as he waited for his friends.

He didn't have to wait long. Bertram walked out of the Three Broomsticks and sat down beside him with a pasty and pumpkin juice. "You made it!" he said to Anthony with a smile. "So your parents were ok with it?"

"Not exactly," said Anthony. "But they know where I'll be and I promised to let them know when I'm at your place."

"Excellent!" said Bertram.

Soon, Mac came running over. "Sorry I'm a little late," he said. "I had to walk from the bus stop to Diagon Alley and then take the floo over here. Don't let me forget to send home a letter every now and then to tell them how great banking camp is. They didn't believe there was one at first, can you believe it?"

Bertram and Anthony laughed.

"It's ok," said Anthony, "we only just got here ourselves. His mood lightened a little, but the nagging feeling wouldn't go away. He looked around anxiously. "We should probably get going. Lots to do."

"We have plenty of time," said Bertram. "We can look around here before we go to my house. Let's go to Zonko's and find something for the Slytherins who bully us next year! James won't be around to protect us anymore."

"That would serve him right," said Mac. "Or we could find sommat to use on the Slytherins who bully us next year. Let's go!"

"All right," said Anthony, unable to think of a reason to say no.

But as they walked down the street, they heard a commotion. Distant yells and some screams.

"What was that?" asked Bertram. But they didn't have to wait long.

A group of people in black robes and black hoods covering their faces were marching down the street. Some held people up in the air like a puppet, shouting, "Serves you right, mudblood! You don't belong here!" Some were pointing their wands at objects with a shouted "Reducto!" and blasting them apart. A giant black skull with a snake coming out of its mouth appeared in the sky.

"Please!" came a shout, "I have a wand! I'm a wizard!"

But behind the dark procession was a pale, foreboding figure with black hair. Anthony was struck first by how drawn and sickly he looked, but then noticed his eyes. They were thin slits, almost snakelike. He was grinning and pointing his wand lazily at people on the street. "Avada Kedavra," he said as a flash of green light dropped one person to the ground. "Imperio!" he said to another, who followed along and started casting curses at unlucky people who hadn't managed to flee.

Anthony, Bertram, and Mac picked up their packs and turned to run towards The Three Broomsticks and the passageway to London.

"There!" came a shout from behind them in a high, cold voice. His laughter seemed to fill the streets. One of the black-robed wizards broke from the group and ran after them into the alleyway. The boys huddled against the wall, not daring to reveal their secret. Bertram raised his wand as the figure raised a hand and removed his hood. Goyle stared at them for a moment, nodded, then turned and ran.

"I'm sorry Lord Voldemort," he shouted as he ran, "they must have disapparated."

The boys distantly heard his shout turn into a screech of pain as they went through the passageway and ran down the street as fast as they could go.

Suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed their shoulders roughly and pulled them inside a building, then locked the door behind them.

"What do you think you're doing, running down the street in your robes like that?" a voice demanded. "You'll attract attention!"

The boys turned to look at their assailant in shock. He was young, not much older than they were, with blonde shaggy hair over his ears. His face had several piercings and he wore a Queen T shirt and ripped jeans.

"What?" Anthony sputtered. "What do you mean?"

"I knew you were wizards the moment I saw you," he said. "I'm Reggie, I'm a squib. You got to be careful around here. People will put up with a lot of strangeness, but there are some things they can't ignore."

"Where are we?" asked Bertram.

"In my music shop," Reggie said. "It's ok, kids, you're safe."

"We're not kids," retorted Anthony. "I'll be 16 in a few months, that's almost of age."

The boys collected themselves enough to look around. Sure enough, the walls were lined with album covers and records organized by year. The floor held racks of newer records, which were organized by genre and alphabetized by band name. A record player stood in the corner.

"Wow," breathed Mac. "It would take years ta listen ta all this if ya listened every minute of every day!"

While Anthony and Mac gawked and looked through the collection, Reggie noticed Bertram staring at him.

"See something you like?" he teased, smirking.

Bertram blushed and coughed. "Um, I was just admiring your…Queen shirt. Freddie Mercury's really something, isn't he?"

"He is," agreed Reggie, giving Bertram a steady stare. "No one can hit the high notes like he can. And the lyrics are so great, I love how they turned "The Faerie Feller" into a song. You know, he walked by this shop once?"

"Wow, really?" asked Bertram, edging a little closer to Reggie. "That's amazing! Did you meet him? What was he like? I'm blabbering, sorry. I'm not normally like this. How long have you had the shop?"

"It's not really mine, it's owned by some old fart who stops in about once a month. He gave me a job here when I first left home last year and I put some of my touches on it. The owner trusts me a little more now that I'm 17. I'm here most days and I curate the record collection. The big guy pays for them and I sell them. Speaking of, what's your story?" Reggie addressed all 3 boys.

"3 boys in barely passable Muggle clothes, wands sticking out of your pockets, flying down the street out of nowhere. You're not in trouble, are you? I don't need the Ministry on my ass."

"We're not in trouble, but there's some back home," said Anthony. "You know Hogsmeade?"

Reggie nodded.

"Well, we were there and this group in black robes came down the street, torturing everyone they thought wasn't pureblood. We barely got away."

Reggie frowned. "We've seen some things here, too. Graffiti about purebloods decorating the walls, attacks that the newspaper is calling terrorist attacks. More and more people on milk cartons every day. But you must be anxious to be on your way. What are your plans now that you're here?"

The boys looked at each other.

"We hadn't really planned much," Bertram admitted. "They were supposed to go to my house. We should actually check on my parents and make sure they're ok."

"I understand," said Reggie. "If you need anything, you know where to find me. And just in case…do you know how to use a phone?"

"Of course!" said Bertram and Mac at the same time Anthony said "A little."

Reggie gave a piece of paper to Bertram. "Here's my number if I'm not at the shop. Let me know if you want a tour guide, I know all the ins and outs of this place."

"Thanks!" said Bertram.

When they left the shop, Bertram stopped and stared at the paper for a minute until Mac shoved him.

"Are you ok?" he asked. "You look like Anthony sometimes after he came back from a date with Diana, kinda dazed and all..wooo." He pulled a face in imitation of Anthony and Bertram. "Except for it's a guy."

"I did not!" laughed Anthony.

"I'm fine," Bertram said, shaking himself. "Let's go to my place."

They caught the next bus out and arrived at Bertram's house by nightfall. The streetlights were still on, but the house was dark.

"That's odd," said Bertram. "They usually leave the light on."

As they looked, they noticed other houses with their lights off, too. Several driveways were empty, including Bertram's. They all took their wands out, even Anthony, and crept up the stairs. Bertram put his hand on the knob and the door swung slightly inward, the squeak creating a faint echo in the darkened house.

"Hello?" Bertram called into the darkness. He turned on the light and they all gasped. Drawers were flung out onto the floor, a few clothes were strewn about, and the fridge door was wide open, allowing what food was left inside to spoil.

"I don't get it," Bertram said. "Where are they? Why didn't they send me a letter?"

Anthony pulled a note from the fridge. "I don't think they had time," Anthony said. He read,

Dear Bertram,

If you read this, know that we're safe. Protestors marched down the street, chanting something about keeping bloodlines pure and throwing rocks through our windows, although we never found the rocks. We've gone to your Grandma Aubrey's in Sussex for a little while until things blow over. We know you'll be fine, you have those powers of yours to keep you safe. And of course your friends. You can reach us at the following address. … Love, Mum and Dad

"Blimey," breathed Mac.

Bertram stared at the note, stunned and blinking back tears. Suddenly he threw it up in the air and pulled out his wand. "Reducto!" he cried, reducing the note to ash. "I didn't ask for this!" he yelled, cursing a vase. "I just wanted to be a normal kid!" A lamp crumbled into dust. "With a normal family!" He raised his wand to a family photo on the wall, then stopped. He put his arm down, defeated. "I just wanted to be normal," he said quietly, tears flowing freely.

Anthony and Mac watched in stunned silence, then gently put their hands on his shoulders.

"It's all right, mate," said Anthony. "I had a terrible fight with my family. They don't even know I got here yet, I just left."

"I think I should write my parents and let them know where I really am," said Mac, "make sure they're ok. But anyway, ye have us," he added. "If it wasn't for your magic, ye never woulda went to Hogwarts and ye never woulda met us. I don' know bout you, but I wouldna trade tha' for the world."

"Thanks," said Bertram. "I'm sorry, it's..been a long day."

"I heard somewhere that family are the people we choose," said Anthony. "If that's true, then I couldn't have asked for a better family than you two." He looked around and grinned.

We should get to bed," said Anthony. "Things will look different in the morning, I promise. By the way, Reggie was really nice, wasn't he? Offering to show us around like that. Maybe we can meet up with him tomorrow."

"Yeah," said Bertram, sniffing and smiling a little, "maybe."