So uhhhh I played Hogwarts Legacy and was reminded that a very long time had passed. If you still have alerts on then I'm very grateful and also incredibly sorry for abandoning something you thought was worth reading, I'll do my best to get a few updates out rather quickly.

Onwards we march, into what I hope will be an enjoyable return.

Harry's eyes followed the lights that danced in front of the young girl standing before him, dazzled by their colour.

"Violet?" the question leaving his mouth was barely audible and his brows furrowed in thought, not that he had any issue with the colour or the girl it had been produced by. His mind raced through memories, trying to recall if he'd ever seen the colour before. His musing was interrupted as his Aunt cleared her throat and gestured vaguely in the direction of the wand shop they needed to visit before the essentials had all been acquired.

Feeling the taller girl gently grasp his hand, Harry offered her a small smile that was returned rather shakily. He wasn't sure what to make of the girl his Aunt had urged him to reach out to but Aunt Petunia had seemed very certain that helping her was the right thing to do and Harry trusted her judgement. He heard his Aunt hum, a very satisfied noise, before she began making her way through the throng of wizards and witches about their business. Not wanting to be left behind Harry gently tugged the young witch with him forward, careful to make sure he didn't cause her to drop anything from the cauldron she was using as a basket for the school supplies she'd already purchased. He frowned at that as they began walking to catch up, it was bad enough that she'd obviously been left alone but clearly nobody had seen fit to point the girl in the direction of a trunk shop and so she was left to lug all of her purchases around. He made a mental note to speak to his Aunt about it before they left for the day.

-TIOF-

Hermione Granger was shocked by just how many wands it took to find the right one. She'd been told to go first by both Harry and his Aunt Petunia, the latter giving her an odd look that the young girl couldn't decipher.

"Try this one Miss Granger, 10 inches of vine wood with the heartstring of a dragon for the core." A box was pushed into her hands by the old man who ran the shop, his pale eyes pinning her with a piercing gaze that made her decidedly uncomfortable. From the moment they'd entered the wandmakers there had been a rather heavy pressure in the air, Hermione didn't know whether it was due to the amount of magic that this many wands must contain or something entirely different but it had instantly put her on edge. She grabbed the box and opened it to reveal a rather pretty wand, one that seemed very unlike the others she'd been given before. When her hand made contact with it she felt a comforting warmth spread up her arm before rushing throughout her body. A smile pulled at the young girl's lips, something about this felt just right and she was sure she'd found it. A wand that was hers!

"Lovely stuff Miss Granger, I look forward to the great things you will do with this wand!" The old man, Ollivander, spoke again with a rather large smile on his face. Ignoring the questioning look on the bushy-haired girl's face he pressed onwards without giving her a chance to even ask what he'd meant by that, "Do be sure to keep it clean and I'd advise against letting anyone else try using it, wands are rather stubborn once they have chosen their witch or wizard and don't take very kindly to others attempting to use them."

Hermione heard Ms Petunia stifle a laugh at something that Harry must have whispered to her and suddenly found herself feeling very self-conscious. "Of course, I'll take good care of it." The girl assured him, still wondering how he'd known her name without it ever being mentioned but she turned her attention back to the two people who'd been kind enough to reach out to her when she was all alone. As she walked back to where they were stood Hermione hoped that she hadn't misjudged the two of them, Harry seemed very sweet from the brief conversation they'd had and his Aunt didn't at all appear to be anything like her own guardian.

The girl was broken out of her thoughts by Harry asking her a question that she didn't quite catch all of.

"-ay to you?"

The girl blinked and looked apologetically at the boy, a light blush forming on her cheeks. "I'm sorry Harry, I was caught up in my own thoughts. What did you ask?"

"I was just wondering what he said to you, everything was rather muffled from over here." Harry replied, his eyes again refusing to meet hers. "I don't mean to pry, of course, if it was something personal then I'm sorry for asking."

Hermione blinked again, the boy was incredibly polite and spoke so softly that she struggled to believe that he was really her age. Most boys were much more. She wasn't sure what exactly she meant by that thought but she knew that something about Harry was different and she didn't just mean his appearance. "Oh, he just told me to look after my wand really. He said something about doing great things but I'm sure he says that to all of the children who come in here."

Hermione watched as the boy nodded and walked over to Ollivander, noting how the old man's eyes followed Harry without blinking.

"I always thought he was blind, when I first saw him he almost seemed to stare through everyone and don't even get me started on how he just seems to know things. Definitely an odd man." Petunia said, her eyes never leaving her nephew as she spoke to the young girl who had come to stand beside her. "My sister, Harry's mother, was magical," she explained, her voice carrying a hint of something that seemed a cross between nostalgia and regret. "I was there when she got her wand and I remember feeling incredibly out of place. This place somehow feels more magical than anywhere else I've been, even that bank with the goblins." The older woman turned to look at Hermione, a pained look on her face and she seemed to be seeing something that Hermione couldn't be sure was really there. "Please be careful, dear. All the magic in the world can't stop you from passing on and nobody ever seems to tell the children from mundane homes just how dangerous this can all be."

Hermione was taken aback, today had been a rollercoaster of emotions and apparently she had yet to reach the end of it. Her voice came out in a panicked hurry as she replied to Ms Petunia, "I'll be extra careful, I promise. All of this is so new and daunting but I had never assumed it would be dangerous, I doubt most parents would let their children leave if they knew that part." Her hands played absentmindedly with her wand as she thought over the words she'd been told, the use of past tense had been very pointed and the young witch felt there was a story there that she was not at all prepared to ask about. Seeing the older woman nod and turn her attention back to Harry, Hermione decided she'd use the month until school started to learn as much as she could.

-TIOF-

Harry was barely listening as he stood in front of Ollivander, the old man was speaking of wands choosing the wizard and the suitability of certain woods for certain disciplines of magic but Harry was truthfully more focused on the lack of colour when the man spoke. He'd seen people with odd colours that were hard to describe before, even those with ones that made him feel sick, but this was something completely new to the young boy. Ollivander thrust a box at him and looked expectantly at Harry, his eyes almost seeming to glow.

"11 inches, wood of holly and the feather of a phoenix. Give it a swish."

Harry did as he was told and took the wand out of it's box, a warmth spreading through him and a flash of something lighting up his vision. He looked down at the wand and gave it a small swish, his face lighting up as red sparks flew out of it. "Amazing, this feels perfect," his joy was apparent in his voice as he glanced up at Ollivander and saw a smile gracing the old man's face. "it feels like it was made for me!"

"How fitting Mr Potter, only one other feather was ever given to me by this phoenix. It's wielder achieved many things with it, terrible as they were. I do so hope that you will be able to right those wrongs." Harry blanched at those words and shot a worry filled look towards where his Aunt and Hermione were standing, the two caught up in their own conversation. Perhaps he would keep that piece of information to himself, he doubted either of them would be keen to hear something as ominous as that so soon after Hermione's day had just gotten better.

-TIOF-

The three of them departed from the wandmakers and made their way towards the entrance to Diagon Alley, as Hermione prepared to bid them a farewell she was interrupted by Harry suddenly speaking up. "We've decided to get you a trunk Hermione. I noticed you didn't have one and carrying everything around in a cauldron when you go back to London is sure to draw the wrong kind of attention." The young boy levelled her with a look that brooked no argument, he'd made up his mind and there was no way he was going to let her decline this. "Go ahead and pick one out, our treat."

"Oh thank you so much! The two of you are much too kind, you didn't have to do all of this for me." Hermione's cheeks flushed, she was sure that the her from before would have put up a fight but after the way she'd been treated by her mother since the revelation of her magical ability things had changed. She was starved of any form of positive attention and being treated this well had made her very emotional. The girl hesitated briefly before dashing into the trunk shop, her mane of brown hair bouncing with each step.

Petunia glanced at her nephew, noting the smile on his face. Seeing Harry this happy pulled at something in her heart and she couldn't help but smile, her mind taking her back to the day when she had joined Lily on this very same trip. Maybe things would be different this time and her family wouldn't be ripped away again.

This is my first foray back into any form of creative writing in a ridiculously long time, I've been writing poetry and essays so I do apologise if this is lackluster.

I was aiming for a Hermione that isn't overly desperate for the love she has been denied.

Anyway, more coming soon.