Diagon Alley

"Ah, Mr. Potter, I wondered when I'd be seeing you," Ollivander told Harry. "It doesn't seem like any time at all since your father was in here for his first wand. Mahogany, eleven inches, nice and pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favoured it, but it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course. As for your mother she preferred a wand that was ten and a quarter inches long, swishy and made of willow. Nice wand for charm work and as for your Mister Black..."

"Let's just get on with it," Sirius said interrupting Ollivander. "We don't have all day we have several other places to go."

Sirius wasn't lying, as they were going to Eeylops Owl Emporium next to get Harry an owl, Dave had never gotten around to getting his grandson one.

"Hmph," Ollivander said, obviously upset at Sirius, but got down to business.

Sirius had only said what he had, because it was clear his godson was getting upset at all Ollivander for reminding him of his parents deaths.

Ollivander started pulling boxes off the shelves and Harry knew the procedure because Sirius had told him before they had arrived,

He tried over a dozen wands with Ollivander snatching them away when he failed to produce anything. Finally, just when he was giving up hope the next one he held produced Sparks and Ollivander nodded in satisfaction. "Your wand this holly 11 inches, nice and supple with a phoenix feather as a core. "Curious," Ollivander said "Curious indeed."

"What is so curious about it?" Sirius asked.

"Mr. Potter's wand has a phoenix feather core and that same phoenix only gave one other feather. The other one was made of yew 13 1/2 inches and was sold to man we know today as Voldemort. You have a great destiny to fulfill Mr. Potter as yours and Tom Riddle's wand are brothers. Voldemort did many great things with his wand, terrible things yes, but great."

Sirius paid for the wand and escorted Harry back out to the alley.

Harry was quiet as they headed for the Owl Emporium.

"Ollivander has always been strange Harry," Sirius told him. "I believe he enjoys frightening whoever enters his shop to buy wand."

"I wasn't frightened Sirius," Harry protested.

"Then what?" Sirius asked.

"Startled at the way he just casually brought up the subject of my parents. It took me by surprise," Harry answered. "You would think that Ollivander would avoid the subject considering he knows how they were murdered when I was just a baby."

"Most magical's don't think about the fact that you might not want to hear them talk about your parents can sit in there the longer around. Sure if they tell you some memory because they knew your father or your mother then you would listen. However, that's different then what Ollivander did, as you had no warning whatsoever. If I had thought about it I would've warned you about the fact that he might bring them up when you entered his shop, as he did the same thing to me when I was 11. My ancestors weren't like yours as most of them were dark wizards and witches, but you already know that, though I'm sure their were a few light wizard in my ancestry too.

"Your childhood was over 15 years ago Sirius I'm not surprised you didn't think about warning me about Ollivander. I'm fine now, so let's head for Eeylops," Harry said.

Sirius studied his godson then nodded not saying another word as the two of them headed for the Owl Emporium.

They entered Eeylops a few minutes later, as it was way down Diagon Alley. Eeylops was dark with just enough light to see by as afternoon light came in through the windows, though the glass was so dirty Harry was surprised any light could get through.

Harry walked among the cages of owls, as Sirius waited for him by the door. Finally, Harry stopped in front of a cage with a large snowy owl. Harry seemed to be communicating with her Sirius noticed, as he was silent staring at the owl. Sirius was going have to ask his godson later what he had been doing but this was not the place. It was too public, even though there was only the shopkeeper in the shop at the moment, but that didn't mean the man who ran the shop wouldn't spread the word about his godson's unusual ability to everyone, even though the shopkeeper didn't seem to realize that he was Harry Potter.

"This one," Harry said finally, as he took the cage down from where it was hanging.

"That's a beautiful owl," said the shopkeeper appearing at Harry side startling him. "She is a snowy, female, about 10 years old and she's been here for sometime. I'm glad to see that somebody has finally bought her, as most people don't want a snowy because they are rare in England and she certainly more noticeable than say a barn owl."

"I'll take her," Harry told the shopkeeper. "I think I'll name her Hedwig."

It was a name that Harry had discovered in one of the Quidditch books that he had bought when he went shopping with his grandfather.

"That's a good name Harry. I think it was also the name of a Quidditch player. I believe he played for Puddlemere United," Sirius said.

"It was and where do you think I got the name?" Harry told his godfather smiling finally seeming to have cheered up after the incident at Ollivander.

"You'll need owl treats portable roost and several other things," Sirius said coming forward.

The shopkeeper rang up the purchase and Sirius paid for everything. The shopkeeper gave Harry a booklet about owls for free to learn about his new companion.

Harry and Sirius had a late lunch in the alley before him back to Black Manor.

~~~Dave and Harry~~~

"You have fun at Hogwarts," Sirius told Harry, placing both hands on his shoulders as they stood on platform Nine and Three-Quarters. "Watch out for Dumbledore, but don't let that prevent you enjoying yourself or making friends."

"I know Sirius," Harry said a little exasperated. "I've already been warned by granddad to watch my step."

"It doesn't hurt to be reminded," Sirius said calmly.

"I suppose," Harry agreed more calmly. "Still, I'm unlikely to forget that I might not actually hate Dumbledore, but I certainly strongly loath him. I'm not going to take anything he says at face value I promise you and if he tries to get me involved in any of his schemes he's going to regret it. He knows very well that I'll leave the school and never return if he pushes things too far. It's not like their aren't other schools in the world including in some faraway places like Australia. Dumbledore doesn't want me to move where he can't find me and Australia's on the other side of the world. They also don't believe in discriminating against someone because of their bloodline down there, they judge you on your abilities not your blood. That would've been my choice instead of coming to Hogwarts if it wasn't for that blasted prophecy.

"Of course, that's not to say that I wouldn't have wanted to free you, once I read my parents will or meet Neville since he's my godbrother, just that freeing you shouldn't have been necessary in the first place and Neville and I should've grown up together."

"You know I agree with you on both those points," Sirius said quietly.

"Yeah, I do," Harry said finally smiling. "I'll try to be more patient, but I have a feeling dealing with Dumbledore is going to make me very impatient to get away from him, so the sooner Voldemort is gone the better. I don't necessarily have to go to Hogwarts, as I could study at home and take my exams through the ministry and that's what I might just do if Dumbledore causes to much trouble."

"Well, hopefully, that won't be necessary," Sirius said. "Still, if you feel you take can't take Dumbledore's attitude I'll withdraw you and of course any of your friends are welcome to come with you with their guardians permission. I can always hire tutors, though between Remus and I we ought to teach you most of what you need to know."

"I'll keep that option in mind," Harry said. "Now, I had better get onboard before I miss the train altogether."

"You still have a few minutes, but yes, you really do need to find a compartment and put your trunk in the overheads before the train starts to move," Sirius agreed. "You don't want to be still walking down the narrow corridors once the train starts to chug along."

"I'll see you at Christmas," Harry said giving his godfather a hug. "Thank you for Hedwig, I love her."

Hedwig was a snowy owl, that Sirius had bought his godson since Dave had already taken care of all his school supplies.

"You're quite welcome," Sirius said smiling. "I owe you about nine years worth of birthday Christmas presents."

"Thanks," Harry said before dragging his trunk easily over the train thanks to the Feather-Light Charm on it and also the muscles he had gained in the the otherworld from sword practice.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," Sirius called after him and Harry stuck his tongue out at his godfather.

"There's nothing you wouldn't do, except join You-Know-Who," Harry responded before disappearing onto the Hogwarts Express.

Sirius simply laughed what his godson had disappeared knowing that Harry was mostly correct.

~~~Dave and Harry~~~

"Can I join you?" Harry asked a chubby boy and bushy haired girl.

"Of course," The boy said shyly. "I'm Neville, Neville Longbottom."

"Hermione Granger," the girl introduced yourself

"Harry, Harry Potter," Harry introduced himself.

"Oh! I have read all about you!" Hermione said enthusiastically.

"I've read some of those books to and believe me, they're just a load of dung," Harry said dismissively.

"I'm not talking about the Harry Potter fictional series, but the true stories about your life," Hermione explained.

"They're pretty much all make-believe," Harry told Hermione. "My godfather is already looking for way to get them off the shelves."

"But they can't be," Hermione protested looking disbelieving.

"The only ones that know what happened that night are Sirius, You-Know-Who and whoever was with him, and Sirius didn't arrive at Godric's Hollow until after my parents murders. I was then illegally kidnapped by Rubeus Hagrid under Albus Dumbledore's orders."

"But...But..." Hermione tried to protest.

"Look Sirius had the legal right to raise me, because my parents named him my godfather. From what I understand from Sirius, Hagrid is Dumbledore's man through and through and probably didn't think about the legality of his actions. If either of us wished he would be on trial and would likely get the Dementor's kiss, which is Britain's current answer to the death penalty. Neither Sirius or I want that, Dumbledore on the other hand is going to answer for his actions if I have any say in the matter."

"But he's the greatest wizard that ever lived," Hermione protested.

"Hermione," Harry sighed disappointed looking directly at her. "I won't deny that he's very old and wise, but that doesn't excuse him from kidnapping an orphan of a Noble and Most Ancient House. Because Hagrid didn't immediately turn me over to Sirius, who was my rightful guardian, he could be arrested and tried as I said earlier, even though it happened a decade ago. However, since Sirius knows that Hagrid was only following Dumbledore's orders, we are not going to bring charges against him. Sirius claims that Hagrid is a simple soul who would jump into Black Lake to wrestle the Giant Squid if Dumbledore ordered him to and I'll trust my godfather's judgement unless proven otherwise.

"To make matters worse Dumbledore then placed me with my aunt and uncle, who then spent the next few years systematically abusing me. I came to great harm under their care and was abused so badly I actually thought about suicide as a 5 year old. A five year old! I have the scars to prove the abuse and those are only a tiny fraction of what I went through and the scars on my body are just the ones that didn't heal completely. Believe me, I have mental and emotional scars to."

Both Neville and Hermione gasped at that looking horrified.

"Dumbledore went against the will of an Noble and Most Ancient House and had it sealed illegally, as he had already made the lateral decision as to where to place me, which was not his responsibility."

"Harry's right, Hermione," Neville finally spoke up, his voice quiet, but still clear. "Because he's the last surviving member of an Noble and Most Ancient House, the laws are much harsher than they would be for most anybody else. The Noble and Most Ancient Houses are like royalty in the wizarding world. Hagrid would be punished to the fullest extent of the law if Lord Black, as Harry's legal guardian asked it of the Wizengamot. Even if Hagrid said he was following Dumbledore's orders he likely still wouldn't receive any leniency."

"As for Dumbledore, he's too well-connected to be sent to Azkaban, even on such a serious charge, though he could certainly lose his position as Chief Warlock and possibly even his position as Supreme Mugwump on the ICW, but he would likely hang onto being headmaster of Hogwarts," Harry said. "I can see you respect authority a great deal, but know this, nobody is perfect. I'm not claiming Dumbledore is evil just obsessed with controlling me, because there was a prophecy made, which is why my parents were murdered in the first place. I'm telling you no more about it, as it could be dangerous for you and I've told you too much already. I want you to understand though what I'm saying. Sirius has already warned Dumbledore about trying to control me and he'll pull me out in a heartbeat if he goes to far."

"I don't believe in prophecies," Hermione scoffed.

"Sirius says they are real," Harry said not telling Hermione that he already knew they were, but he had revealed too much already. "He says true seers are rare, but they do exist. Whether the prophecy about me and You-Know-Who is true or not is not the point really. The point is that Dumbledore believes it and Voldemort likely does to."

Neville gasped and shuddered when Harry spoke Voldemort's name.

"Voldemort is supposedly dead though," Hermione said, saying the Dark Wizard's name without flinching, but then she was Muggle-born, so didn't fear the name like those raised in the wizarding world did.

"There are ways to bring someone back to life," Harry said mysteriously. "I won't tell you what they are because we just met minutes ago, but trust me, it is the darkest, foulest magic imaginable. Perhaps, if we become close friends I can tell you more, but really I've said too much to somebody I have just met. Somehow though, I feel like I can trust you and Neville so don't prove me wrong.

"I'd like to be friends with both of you, even if we end up in separate houses. I don't particularly care about the house rivalry that Sirius says goes on, particularly between Gryffindors and Slytherins, so long as they don't bully and they treat my friends with respect then I don't mind being friends with anybody from any house."

"That's likely going to cause problems, especially with the with the Gryffindors and probably some of the Slytherins too," Neville noted.

"I don't really care actually," Harry shrugged. "I never had friends at the Dursleys because Dudley beat up anyone that dared even speak to me. I will not let anybody dictate who I'm friends with including any of the staff or even my godfather. If anybody tries to hex or play some kind of mean spirited prank on me to try to change my mind or for any other reason well those students will soon learn that I know how to fight back. Sirius has been teaching me some things."

And so had granddad, Harry added in his thoughts, but not saying so out loud. That was not a secret he was going to give up lightly.

"You know it's illegal to use magic outside of school," Hermione said.

"For one thing I haven't actually started school yet," Harry immediately rebutted. "For another the place Sirius lives is so well warded that the Ministry of Magic is not going to detect any kind of magic being preformed. Sirius said that normally he wouldn't be teaching me magic, but he said that this is to protect myself if Voldemort or any of those that believe in his ideals happens to come after me."

"Harry's right, as that particular rule really only applies to those that live in the Muggle world like you and the half bloods who grow up outside the wizarding world," Neville commented. "Of course, most parents follow the no magic outside of school rule, but some of the darker pure blood families like the Malfoys do not and thanks to the wards around their home, they get away with it or it is assumed that it is the parents doing magic."

"But that is so unfair," Hermione protested rather upset.

"The world isn't exactly a fair place, Hermione, and you'll be safer when you realize that, as it will prevent people from taking advantage of you because of your naïveté," Harry commented. "The darker pureblood families will do anything they can to keep Muggle-borns like yourself down where they feel they belong. Britain loses talented witches and wizards every year due to the fact that they aren't considered for a lot of jobs they are qualified for because they're not purebloods.

"Purebloods don't like to be proven that people like yourself, who didn't grow up in the wizarding world, are just as intelligent as they are and sometimes even more so. You have to be prepared to face a great deal of bigotry, as I have no doubt that those in Slytherin in particular will try their best to bully you.

"If we become friends it's possible they'll bully you even more or at least some of them will, because I am the one that supposedly took out their precious Dark Lord when really it's something my mother did. I don't know how the wizarding world can believe that a 15 month old baby had anything to do with taking out the darkest wizard in centuries. If you think about it logically, which a lot of magicals here in Britain lack, you'll see how ridiculous it is."

Hermione stayed silent, as she thought about what Harry said and found out that she actually agreed with his reasoning. How could a 15 month old baby deal with the darkest wizard to ever hit Britain? She supposed there could've been some kind of accidental magic involved, but it was far more likely that his mother had done something that protected her son. She didn't have any proof of course, but it made a lot more sense then a 15 month old baby destroying You-Know-Who.

As Harry had pointed out though, a lot of magicals lacked common sense and just believed what they were told and if that was the case she could see how Harry had become the Boy Who Lived. It was clear he didn't really want to be famous, but he was handling it in the best way he knew how by explaining.

He couldn't do that for everyone though, because some things needed to remain a secret, except from those that were trustworthy, so he would likely basically ignore it as much as he could, even if people adulation made him uncomfortable. The most famous boy in her new world had trusted her with a lot of privileged information and she swore never to let him down.

The three of them chatted for quite sometime until suddenly the door was yanked open.

"So it's true, then. What they're saying on the train. Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts. This is Crabbe, and Goyle. And I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."

Neville snickered quietly and Malfoy turned to him. "No need to tell me who you are Squib. You'll soon find out some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there," Draco said is extending in his hand.

"What makes you think I need an albino prick like you to tell me whom I should make friends with?" Harry asked Malfoy in the coldest possible tone causing Malfoy to gulp nervously, as piercing green eyes stared it him unflinching. "I don't need you to be my social secretary. My Godfather Sirius Black has told me all about the Malfoys. Insult my friends again and you'll regret it."

Harry then cocked back his fist and punched Malfoy in the nose before moving as fast as lightning to deal with one of his sidekicks, with Neville having his wand in the other's face.

"It's because of pricks like your father that I lost my parents," Harry told Malfoy in a low, deadly voice. "I've been trained like you wouldn't believe, so I suggest you leave me and my friends alone or you will receive far worse."

"You'll regret this Potter!" Draco said, as he rose to his feet with a blood dripping from his nose. "Wait until my father hears about this."

"Go ahead whine to daddy," Harry suggested his voice full of contempt. "He tries anything and Sirius will be on him so fast that his head will spin. Sirius is head of the Black family and in case your daddy forgets he's married to a Black, my godfather's cousin. I'm sure you know what that means if criminal actions are proven. Now, I suggest you leave and take your two butt buddies with you."

Not to mention what my grandfather will do if the Elder Malfoy dares tries to attack me in some way, Harry added smirking in his thoughts. I doubt very much that Draco is redeemable like Dudley apparently was.

Last time his grandfather had visited just a few days ago he'd said that Dudley was doing well and learning that the way he had been acting was wrong. Besides, there was no way that they could make Draco Malfoy just disappear, not without some kind of clever plan. No, he came from to important a family for him to just supposedly die in some sort of accident. Dumbledore at least would be immediately suspicious and he was sure that Draco's parents would be to. He knew that his grandfather wouldn't risk it no matter how much he wanted to rescue Draco from his likely abusive upbringing.

Draco and his two sidekicks left the compartment and Harry made sure to close the door after them.

"Harry are you going to get in trouble," Hermione said as soon as the blonde ponce and his two sidekicks were gone.

"I don't think so," Harry said. "I doubt very much that Prince Draco is going to say anything to anyone, even his Head of House once he's sorted. He's not going to want to admit that he was overpowered by someone the same age as him, that somehow got the drop on him. I bet you anything he's never been physically hit in his entire life and because he wasn't expecting it, I managed punch him and take out one of his sidekicks while Neville stuck is wand in the other's face. Thanks for backing me up Neville, I really appreciate it.

"You're welcome," said the shy boy who blushed at the praise.

"You just wait I bet you the candy of your choice I won't be in any trouble at all, but that doesn't mean that Malfoy won't be planning his revenge," Harry said. "I have no doubt he'll end up in Slytherin just like both his parents and all his ancestors as far as I know. Well, correction Sirius was a Gryffindor and he's related to the blonde ponce that just left, but as far as I know he's the only exception."

Hermione looked disbelieving, but he wasn't lying, as his grandfather had taught him how to judge people.

"Just wait and see," was all Harry was willing say.

"You have to admit that Malfoy deserved it," Neville told Hermione. "He's the one that came in here acting all arrogant, like he was the best thing since the discovery of Floo Powder. We were just sitting here quietly talking to each other. He's the one that caused the confrontation. A lot of families are like Malfoy and look down on Muggle-borns I'm afraid. It's something that you're going to have to learn to accept or you're just going to get your cheek slapped. People like Malfoy are in the same social circles as the Longbottoms and I attended quite a few parties over the years and Malfoy's always been like you just experienced. I doubt very much he'll ever change for anyone."

Hermione was quiet, as she thought about that and wondered if Neville and Harry were right. She liked to believe the best in people, but Malfoy he uncomfortably reminded her of some of the bullies she'd had to put up with in primary school. She had absolutely no friends at all and so she had buried herself in the written word. She had been hoping that her Hogwarts experience would be different.

She had a feeling that she, Harry and Neville would be friends for the rest of their lives, as they seemed honest and were definitely forthright, as they explained certain things that she could expect from certain people in the wizarding just because she was Muggle-born. Hermione suddenly wasn't entirely sure if she had made the right decision about coming to Hogwarts, but just knew that she could endure anything so long as those two boys remained her friends.

The rest of the train ride was spent chatting get into know each other better until finally it was time to change and all three did so finishing just as the train pulled into Hogsmeade station.

~~~Dave and Harry~~~