I certainly have no rights to Harry Potter, but this won't stop me writing this story. However, you probably already know this. As it is my specialty, and as in my other big stories, this shows how things go if something went different right at the beginning. Please note that I'm not a fan of bashing and also don't expect the pairings to differ from canon. However, the path to them sertainly will be quite different. I also want to try and subvert certain plots and things that became common in the fandom over the years.
For now, the story will update every second Saturday, until I say otherwise.
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Chapter 13: Prelude to Hogwarts
Either my parents are really oblivious, or they for some reason love to torture me, Dudley thought while watching the streets of London through the car window.
After the small disaster with Marge and Ripper the previous year, he had thought that his parents would be more careful at his 11th birthday. However, that hope had went up in smoke really fast. While he thankfully was spared a visit from Aunt Marge - indeed he hadn't seen her since that day - his parents proved that they had not at all put attention to his changed circumstances and relationships.
He had not been friends with Piers Polkiss for almost two years, but his parents had somehow missed the memo, and what could have been a relaxing visit to the London zoo was turning into a chore due to Polkiss having wormed his way in, sensing he could get something for free. Dudley had tried to speak up, but it had been futile. Thus he made it clear to Polkiss that he saw him as an intruder by not giving him any attention at all.
His father also was in good form today, complaining to Petunia about his co-workers, the council, the bank, the neighbors - his favorite subject to complain about - and right now motorcycles, when seeing one on the road ahead. Dudley did it like his mother and just pretended to agree to his rantings, since they were used to them. Instead, he thought of the pile of birthday presents he'd gotten.
I never thought I would think so, but I really feel embarrassed how much they are spending on me. Always coming with it was the feeling that they were trying to buy his love in some way.
He honestly had way more stuff now that he could ever use or had any use for, the second room almost being full, despite now only containing items in pristine condition he simply had no use for. In the past he had thought nothing of it, but now he felt really bad about it. He had already thrown all the broken things into the trash - why had he kept those anyway? - and now had to decide what to do with the rest.
Maybe I should ask Mr. Lupin? Yes, he should know what to do, he thought.
It was a bit funny, but over the past two years, Remus Lupin had managed to become one of the few adults that Dudley did trust to actually help with his problems. Mr. Lupin had always been patient with him and not held back with praise that, taking his past into account, he had become a better person. Mr. Lupin had been his neighbor for years before moving away, thus he knew what he was talking about and despite having every reason to dislike him, had instead reached out to him.
He trusted the man to have his best interests at heart. Funny enough, Harry had looked baffled when seeing him asking Mr. Lupin for advice on something.
He was pulled out of his thoughts when they arrived at the parking lot.
The visit to the zoo then went exactly as he had feared it would.
Normally, this would have been a great day. The animals were interesting, the lunch they got in the zoo restaurant was tasty and right at the moment he was sucking on a refreshing lemon ice pop. Yet, all of it was marred by the fact that Polkiss was sticking to him like a parasite as if to mock him with his presence.
"What are you playing at?! You know we went separate ways years ago," Dudley finally said while they were watching the gorillas and his parents were out of earshot.
Polkiss give him a nasty grin, causing the boy to look even more like a rat than he already did. "And I haven't forgotten how you dropped us like a hot potato. Think of it as compensation: I enjoy a good day on your parents' cost, and as a bonus, you don't."
Dudley had to control himself. "You damn..."
"There's nothing you can do about it. Your parents think we are still friends and good luck convincing them of the opposite," Polkiss laughed while they walked to the monkey cage.
Dudley knew he could have taken on the boy physically. While Polkiss was as tall as him, he was rather skinny. Dudley on the other hand had reaped the results of his boxing training and now was stocky, no longer fat, with more muscles than you would expect from an 11-year old boy. Yet, as much as he wanted to hit the jerk, he couldn't. He by now had wised up enough, that he knew attacking Polkiss would get him into big trouble.
The anger was festering in Dudley while Polkiss took a look at the monkeys in the cage. "Quite the resemblance... you only miss the tail." He then proceeded to mock the monkeys and called one of them 'Duds'.
Dudley saw his parents approach, but honestly, by this point he didn't exactly care. "Oh, you think you're a big man, eh?! You know where you belong?!"
-duff!-
It then happened in an instant. Everyone felt a bit dizzy for a moment, and when that went away, Polkiss all of a sudden was standing in the monkey cage behind the bars, looking in confusion at the people in front of the cage, before realizing where he was. "Hey...! What's this? WHAT'S THIS?!"
At first there was stunned silence, then people didn't care how it happened, but the sight of that impossible kid suddenly being behind the bars of the cage was just too funny. People started laughing - which included Dudley - and pointed at Polkiss, calling him a monkey boy and a dressed monkey. Even the monkeys themselves seemed to find it funny and laughed at Polkiss as well.
"That's not funny! GET ME OUT OF HERE!"
"Boy, what are you doing in there!? You little hooligan think this is funny?!" one of the zoo keepers cursed when seeing this, blowing his whistle to call for his colleagues before walking to the back of the cage, where the door was located, to get the boy out.
Needless to say, this pretty much ended their stay in the zoo.
Polkiss of course now was in serious trouble and his parents were notified, as everyone could only explain this by thinking the boy had sneaked into the cage by the door, which hadn't been locked properly. Vernon and Petunia had not said one word, especially after spotting a man and a woman in dark suits, who looked more amused than anything and didn't interfere with what was happening. Clearly, there would be no modified memories this time.
It was only until they were in the car and on the way home, that Petunia broke her silence. "Dudders, why did you do that? I thought Piers is your friend?"
"Mum, I tried to tell you, but you didn't listen. He hasn't been my friend for almost two years. Didn't you notice?" When getting no answer, Dudley again got confirmation on how little his parents actually knew about him. It was a bit depressing.
"B-but then why did he...?" Petunia tried to ask.
Dudley snorted. "Why he came along? He just wanted to get something for free while giving me a bad day."
Vernon tried even harder to watch the road, while Petunia seemed at a loss what to say, clearly being caught on the wrong foot by this. Both of them clearly were embarrassed that they hadn't noticed something that obvious, making them partially wonder what else they had missed in their son's life.
Dudley didn't miss how his father was gripping the steering wheel. By now he had realized that while his mother didn't like his displays of accidental magic, she was more tolerant of them. His father on the other hand always seemed to need all his willpower to control himself. If this went on, there sooner or later would be an ugly scene. Dudley also knew his father was deeply disappointed that he wouldn't attend his old school, Smeltings. That had not helped Vernon's mood when it came to that.
Dudley was now actually looking forward to boarding school, which would be a fresh start.
...June 26th, the Burrow...
"This is what a magical house looks like? Oh, this is really exciting!" Hermione gushed during her first glimpse of the Burrow, Remus just having dropped her off, before leaving again to get Neville. For one reason or another, she had never visited the Weasley home before today.
"Oh, it's exciting for you?" Ginny wondered. "To me it was always just home. I don't think it's that special compared to other houses."
"Maybe it's to you, but I can already see that magic is involved, since without it the way things are stacked onto the house normally would have caused it to collapse," Hermione added, not having missed how the house was not structurally sound under normal circumstances.
"Oh." Perhaps Ginny should ask her father what he exactly did when expanding the Burrow. "Well, let's wait for Neville."
Today was a great day, since school was over, and that meant they all had finished primary school (or in Neville's case, satisfied his tutor). It meant four of them would go to Hogwarts at the end of summer, though it was a bit weird for them that Ginny and Luna would have to stay at home for one more year, before they would attend as well. But there was nothing they could do about it, since they didn't make the rules.
This of course did stop the two girls to be happy for their friends, though even Luna felt a bit sad that they would be separated from their friends for a whole year. Friends. The two years attending the magical preschool at weekends had changed the dynamics between the six of them significantly, causing their little group to grow together organically and even meet up on weekdays after school (though the logistics at times were quite difficult).
That was most pronounced with Hermione, who had become more secure and open around them, understanding how she had driven off others before that. Granted, she still was incredibly driven academically, but had learned to be more humble about it. Luna being brutally honest about Hermione's tendency to lecture others unasked also helped to curb the worst of it.
Neville also had changed quite a bit. He probably would be rather timid for the foreseeable future, but had become less awkward around others and they had even glimpsed a different side of his when he'd chased away a dog which had been about to bite Luna's leg. They all still remembered how red he'd become when Luna had thanked him for saving her from injury
Ron clearly was enjoying having actual friends and he had eased up on things involving money, but some things about him didn't change, such as only doing assignments when he had to - but at least he then really finished them properly. They had lost count how often Hermione had reminded him to better plan with his available time. Honestly, sometimes it almost felt like Ron was gunning for Hermione to lecture him.
Ginny for her part no longer was shedding any tears for the Harry Potter from the books. While the real Harry certainly wasn't going on big adventures, he was far superior to the one in the book in one aspect: he was a friend. Honestly, Ginny by now felt a bit stupid how she had pined for the Harry in the books. Harry the friend was much better than Harry the crush.
Harry himself had not gone through any great revelations about himself, but the simple fact that unlike in primary school he did have friends was enough for him. Harry however was really uncomfortable with how much he appeared to be the center of their little group, having somehow become their unofficial leader, but there was little he could do about it.
As for Luna... Well, Luna was Luna, though even she had went through some changes of course. She had learned a bit better to emotionally connect to them and became wiser on when to better say nothing. Still, she had such a unique character, it was difficult to compare her to others.
-crac- That was the sign that Remus had arrived with Neville, and now they all were present.
Neville looked a little green, however. "That's side-along apparation? I think I prefer the floo," he groaned, his stomach not agreeing with this way of travel.
"Sorry, I forgot that not everyone reacts well to it." Remus did remember that he himself didn't like long-distance apparation.
"How does it exactly feel? Mum and Dad never say," Ginny asked Neville, who was trying to shake off the strange feeling.
"Imagine being squeezed through a tight hose while feeling like you could hurl at any moment," Neville described it as best as he could. "Too bad Gran said no this time to using the floo."
Ginny was not exactly reassured by the description. "Urgh..." Doesn't sound like fun. I wish there were a better way of travel.
Finally, Neville was recovered and they together walked walked to the garden of the house.
The garden of the Burrow was in a festive mood when they reached it. After all, not only had the children finished primary school and four of them would go to Hogwarts in a few months, but there also was the fact that Charlie had finished school - not with honors like Bill, but still with good grades - and would in a mere two weeks start his job at a dragon preserve in Romania. The fact that he had already signed the contract almost a year ago spoke volumes about how badly they wanted him, since obviously not many people wanted to do that dangerous job.
That also led to some surprise guests. "Too bad that Sirius couldn't be here. Now of all days he can't get away from work," Dora said, being a bit disappointed.
"He said he tried, but his superiors said no," Harry repeated, explaining his godfather's absence. "He hasn't forgotten you, just be patient until work is over. It's just over an hour."
"Yes, and then we will visit his family. Haven't seen the little tykes for a while," Dora added, looking to where her parents were busy with having a conversation with the Weasley parents.
Dora being part of the Black clan and a friend of Charlie, she and her parents were present as well, as she had finished school as well and would soon start her job training as an Auror, having worked hard to get the needed NEWTs. Her mother might not exactly like her career choice, and in a way blamed Sirius for having inspired her, but it was her choice as an adult.
"Uh, Ms. Tonks?" Ron asked her.
"Just Dora, Ron. It feels weird to me to be called that by a kid." Just for fun Dora shifted her face to that of an old woman for a few moments, glad she could now use her morphing ability freely. "Once I look like that, I'll allow it."
"This is so weird to watch..." Ron then remembered what he wanted to ask. "You really want to learn how to catch bad guys?"
Dora laughed at the description of her future job. "There's more it it than just that, Ron. A good part of it is simply boring paperwork; that's the sacrifice you have to make to also get the exciting stuff. They would never accept someone who can't write a proper report."
"Oh." Ron had not thought about how even Aurors would have to do so much writing on their job.
Neville and Luna meanwhile were asking Charlie questions about his new job.
"Are these dragons really as dangerous as I have read? The dragons must be quite irritated and dangerous all the time" Neville asked.
"Oh, I don't know how they feel about it, but I know it is dangerous if you don't know what you are doing." It sounded more like Charlie was talking about something trivial like the weather. "You should see the burns some of the handlers I spoke with sported."
"And you want that job?" Neville asked, looking downright baffled and a bit frightened. "Well, I'll be smart and try to stay as far away from dragons as possible. No way I'll go near one of those!"
"This certainly is great common sense." Luna noticed the look Neville gave her. "Oh, I thought staying away from dragons is common sense. Is it not?"
Charlie laughed at Neville's baffled face. "Oh, he thought he would be seen as a coward. Let me tell you, despite my career choice, there's no need to feel ashamed. It IS smart to stay away from dragons. That I won't is because I'm about to become a professional."
"It is strange why that would be seen as cowardice. Doesn't everyone run away at the sight of a dragon?" Luna asked, looking honestly confused.
"Ah, you have seen the hypocrisy," Charlie told her, then looked to Neville. "Keep her close; she gives good advice."
"Uh, eh..." Neville wondered what Charlie meant with that.
"Oh, that would be really nice. Neville is great company to have around." Luna then saw Neville blush. "I do not see how that would be embarrassing."
At the same time, Ron and Harry were now enjoying needling Percy over his ambition to become a Perfect, though they were not mean about it.
"Don't try to deny it. Charlie told us how you did everything possible to be considered for it," Ron teased his older brother. "You really think it's worth all the sweat?"
"Of course this position is worth it. Guiding the younger students - and that means you as well - is a great honor. I most certainly do remember your reaction when Bill was made Headboy," Percy insisted, sounding a bit stiff in his speech.
"Ah, yes..." After sulking about it at first, Ron had been genuinely happy for Bill and asked him many questions. "Still, if you get the badge, don't think you can order me around."
"You'll see, Ron, that authority can be quite convincing," Percy reminded his brother, before leaving.
"Yeez, he talks noticeably stiffer than a year ago. What is he doing at school?" Ron wondered.
"Ah, we see you two have met the new Percy - the not-improved model," George said while he and his brother Fred approached the two.
Fred shook his head. "Truly a shame, but school clearly has made him worse instead of better."
Harry arched an eyebrow, while Ron didn't wait to ask the important question. "So, what's his problem? He was not like that when he left last summer and none of us did notice something over the year."
Fred and George looked at each other, then decided that George as the one with more tact would answer. Ron could always tell them apart, after all. "Oh, our dear brother Percy over the school year fell in love with the idea of authority - wants to become a role-model. That includes becoming a big overachiever."
"As for why you didn't notice when he was at home: Percy is a better actor than you give him credit for," Fred added with a snort, clearly in disbelief over his own observation.
The twins clearly were not impressed with Percy's attitude. They had nothing against one wanting to be good at school or get a position such as Perfect - they after all had a healthy respect for Bill and Charlie - but they clearly disliked someone only waving these things around to make themselves look more important than they actually were.
"Man, I hope he won't make Perfect, or he'll be impossible to deal with," Ron groaned, then saw that Harry was distracted. "Harry? Something wrong?"
"Oh, nothing. I just could have sworn Uncle Remus had been distracted by something," Harry excused his absent-mindedness, before he and Ron walked to the tables when Molly Weasley said it's time to dig in.
Remus for his part was shaking his head. Don't kid yourself, Remus! She's barely an adult! Also, I can see men standing in a line for her. No way she would be interested in someone like me.
At the same time, the object of his attention was in thoughts as well. Stop dreaming, Dora. He might have the handsome, dangerous look down, but you only recently became an adult. Wishing for the moon would be easier.
Their thoughts were somewhat ironic.
...Diagon Alley, July 19th...
"This is not how I expected my first time seeing all this..." Dudley said in slight disappointment while entering Diagon Alley through the pub entrance.
"I know, you are disappointed. Remember that I had been your neighbor for years, and even I don't understand what your parents are thinking. This normally is a day of great pride for the parents of the future Hogwarts students.," Remus tried to console Dudley.
"It's not your fault. My parents are not at all interested in that part of my life, we never speak about it. It's like they think ignoring it will make it go away," Dudley returned, remembering the past two years all too well.
That actually was an understatement. His parents had done everything possible to censor that part of their son's life out of their mind. Not one word about anything magic-related was allowed in the house and if they really had to talk about it, they talked in a way that disguised the true background. Vernon and Petunia seemed to have gone in denial.
Dudley couldn't have known that his parents were very aware of everything, and only were trying desperately to keep the outer appearance intact for the sake of their minds. Petunia was still pinning her hopes on Dudley outperforming Harry at Hogwarts to get revenge by proxy and Vernon of course went along with what his wife wanted, even though he didn't like it at all, already planning to put Dudley into adult education as soon as he was done with Hogwarts.
As said however, Dudley was oblivious of what went on in their heads.
Right now he was disappointed that they didn't want to set one foot into Diagon Alley and instead had pawned off that job to Remus with a written permission. They also took advantage of the fonds to not spend a single penny on school supplies. While they still spoiled Dudley with material gifts, they in a schizophrenic thought process at the same time were highly reluctant to spend money on his magical schooling if they could get away with it.
After all, irrational thought processes didn't have to follow logic.
Dudley looked around Diagon Alley, having no need to go to the bank due to Remus already having organized funds. "It looks strange, but I'm also a bit underwhelmed. I didn't expect it to look so..."
Remus had to laugh a bit. "Yes, that's some sort of strange habit that our culture has developed. Our buildings almost never look pristine on the outside - and quite a number of times inside as well - apart from the really rich people, and even they have their exceptions." Remus had to think of how shabby Grimmauld Place 12 had looked.
"Wizards are strange people..." Dudley said while shaking his head, wondering why someone would want to have their house look less than pristine.
"I never questioned it and only noticed after living outside of it for some time," Remus mused, while guiding Dudley to make his needed purchases.
Buying his school supplies mostly went over without problem, as Remus had chosen a day when no other children going to Hogwarts would be present - no need to overwhelm Dudley. They did get the trunk first, in order to store everything in it, after strapping some wheels under it - an idea Remus got when seeing luggage carts at an airport. When asking why it looked so different from the more archaic-looking trunks, Remus told him that was to make sure his parents wouldn't freak.
Everything got purchased without trouble, although Dudley had to get uniforms normally meant for second-year students, since he simply was so big for his age. The biggest hiccup came when Remus asked if Dudley wanted to follow the pet suggestion in the letter.
"No chance. My Mum hates having animals in the house. Could you imagine her, who likes a clean house, have a toad in the house? Or a cat?" Dudley looked a bit disappointed. "I would have loved to get an owl, but that won't fly, either. Also, they would never accept mail from an owl."
"Harsh..." Remus led them to the ice cream parlor.
Over some ice cream, Remus then started a conversation. "You know, two years ago I thought of you as nothing more than a little terror."
"And that was my own fault." Dudley had no illusions about his own past behavior. "I literally got scared straight."
"I wish it hadn't taken that." Remus didn't wish a dementor on anyone. These monsters simply were too horrible. "Yet I can't deny you certainly got better after it. You even improved in school, proving you aren't dumb, just having problems getting the needed motivation."
"I'm a bit scared how different it will be... away from home," Dudley admitted.
"See it this way: no one there apart from Harry knows of your past. No one will hold your past against you. It will be a true fresh start," Remus explained.
Dudley hoped Remus was correct. He'd pretty much burned all bridges at his old school - thank all goodness he at least had made peace with Harry, even if they probably wouldn't become friends. He knew Harry would not rat him out at Hogwarts, so hopefully in that new environment, he could make true friends, not cronies like he did with Piers, Malcolm, Dennis and Gordon.
Once the ice cream was done, the left to get the most important object: a wand. That at least was something Dudley was looking forward to.
...July 31st, in front of the Leaky Cauldron...
Today was the day when the Evans and Granger families would do all their purchases of school supplies in Diagon Alley for Harry and Hermione, escorted by Sirius himself, who had taken the time for this special occasion. Mark, who still was too young for that secret, was in the care of Diane, who was enjoying the little boy being eager to entertain her children.
It was only Harry and Hermione, since traditionally the Weasleys did all of their school shopping together, while Ginny was not yet old enough for Hogwarts and would spend the next year at home, apart from extra lessons from Remus himself. Neville's parents had already done his school shopping, due to the security they insisted on in this crowded place and Luna, like Ginny, would only go to Hogwarts next year.
To Harry, this was kind of a special birthday present, so he had insisted to the adults that he didn't need anything else this year, but he doubted they would heed his wishes in that regard. He bet once they were home... But he was thinking too far ahead. Right now he only wanted to finally see what the magical world actually looked like.
Right now however, standing in front of the Leaky Cauldron after having parked the cars a bit away, the first reaction was some disbelief.
"Is there any particular reason why the entrance to Diagon Alley is through a pub? I wondered about that the first time as well," Ian Granger asked Sirius while eying the Leaky Cauldron from the outside, made possible by some small charms they were wearing to neutralize the repelling enchantment.
Sirius shrugged. "No idea, it always has been that way. Though... not exactly smart considering the amount of traffic and that children have to be ferried through."
Harry snorted when looking at the pub in question. "It looks a bit run -down. That is the first thing children and parents see? Not a good first impression."
Hermione could only agree. "I wonder why no one tried to find a better solution?"
Jean Granger sighed. "Well, standing here, looking at something other people can't see might look a bit strange. Let's go inside."
Walking inside, it was clear the inside of the pub also looked like it had seen better days, being badly lit and quite shabby, but perhaps it was intentional, since nothing looked actually worn out. It was a truly strange taste in interior decoration. Sirius only wanted to ferry them through, but that fell flat, when a voice spoke up from the counter.
"Sirius Black, is that possible?!" came from the bartender, who looked like a toothless walnut.
That of course caused the attention of all the patrons to shift to them and Sirius cursed when seeing the circus this was starting. "Oh, thanks so much, Tom!" he growled.
"Oh crud..." Tom the barkeeper only not realized what he had done. "Sorry, man!"
"Damn it..." Sirius was just glad that no one had yet recognized Harry, thanks to his scar having become much fainter, nor had they made the connection. "You guys go ahead, I'll clear this and meet you in front of the bank." He then gave Tom a meaningful look.
The barkeeper understood. While Sirius was busy with fending off questions, Tom quickly escorted the rest of the group to the entrance and let them through into the alley.
None of them had noticed a man watching them from the back of the pub.
The adult Grangers didn't react at the sight of the alley, after all they had been here before, while the others looked around, in equal parts wonder and slight disappointment. "It looks a lot like the pictures of a medieval city in my books... but it doesn't look well-maintained." Hermione finally said, realizing that the Leaky Cauldron had been representative of magical architecture. "Why do they want it to be this way?"
"No idea. It reminds me of Liverpool in the 70s however." Thomas then shrugged. "Just look ahead and you can see not everyone believes in building like that."
Indeed, all of them saw the big marble building of Gringotts at the far end of the alley, easily towering over the other buildings. Its clean walls were a stark contrast to the surroundings. "Well, these goblins really seem to like to show where the actual money is. They certainly are not shy about doing so," Thomas added.
"Just wait until you see the inside," Ian told them.
Together they did walk to Gringotts and the first thing they noticed were the uniformed and armed guards at the outer door and past that the bank's motto on the inner door. Veronica raised an eyebrow when reading it. "They seem to take their business very seriously. That's just a fancy way of saying: 'keep your hands where we can see them, or else...'."
The main hall of the bank looked like a bank straight out of the height of Victorian Britain in its sheer opulence. The hall was quite tall, the floor, walls and columns were made of marble, the ceiling was ornamental, huge crustal chandeliers helped the massive windows to light up everything while golden ornaments decorated the walls. It very much was a statement who the boss was in this place.
The elder Grangers were not surprised, because they had been here before. Since they insisted on paying for Hermione's schooling, Sirius had suggested renting a vault for that, as that and a one-time exchange of a bigger sum in the end would be much cheaper than exchanging money over the years, as Gringotts made a good part of their profits from the exchange fees. Said fees had an upper limit, thus why it was better to just make one big exchange.
Sirius had given Thomas and Veronica Harry's vault key, so that they could tend to his financial matters, while the Grangers held to their vault key, since it was in their name and only meant for Hermione's school expenses - a smaller part would be provided to her in later years for leisure spending. The following cart rides were insane - why in all names did a bank insist on having an underground rollercoaster?
When Harry took a look inside his vault, he was astounded. "That's all mine? Before it was just a number..." Harry honestly had been unable to understand his true wealth before, but the huge piles of coins finally made him realize it.
"Makes you understand how much you have, doesn't it? But don't get the wrong idea, as until you are an adult, we'll keep the key safely away from you," Veronica told Harry, then took another look at the coins. "Oh, and don't try to imitate Scrooge McDuck. You can't swim through coins in real life."
"I've known that ever since the story where the Beagle Boys crack their heads on the money when trying to swim in it..." Harry grumbled while shoveling Galleons into a money bag.
It was only when they were leaving the bank together, that something happened when someone huge collided with them.
"Oh, I'm sorry... I'm still dizzy from that damned cart..."
They had to look up to see the man's face, as he was easily 2.5 meters tall, perhaps more. Apart from his sheer height he stuck out from the other people on the street due to a bit dressing like a hillbilly, wearing boots, farmer jeans, a chequered shirt and a moleskin coat of all things. His full beard was trimmed and his long hair bound back in a man's ponytail.
The giant of a man then noticed Harry, and unlike other people, he clearly recognized him right away. "Little Harry? You are shopping for school supplies on your birthday?"
"Excuse me, Sir, but how do you know that?" Thomas became protective, since this giant man seemed to know too much.
The man finally realized what this looked like. "Oh no, I'm a friend of your godfather!" He then pulled a photograph of Harry out of one coat pocket. All of them could see Sirius' untidy handwriting on it, proudly proclaiming this being Harry at age ten. "He gave this to me - Rubeus Hagrid is my name."
"Hagrid?" That thankfully was the moment Sirius returned. "You're hard to miss. Haven't seen you in a while!" Sirius then saw the others. "Oh, all of you, meet Hagrid, gamekeeper at Hogwarts and future Magical Creatures professor."
Now that the ice was broken, Hermione was giddy when hearing that. "Oh, really? You will be one of our teachers?"
"Oh, not right away. Still got one year to go and the earliest you'll have me is your third year." Hagrid really liked the enthusiasm of that girl. He then looked to Sirius. "Kettleburn wants to retire soon, after he lost two fingers last year."
"Ouch..." Sirius winced, hoping Kettleburn wouldn't be a mess of prostheses at retirement. Moody was a frightening example of that.
Finally it was time for introductions, with Hagrid thanking Thomas and Veronica for taking such good care of Harry, while commenting to Ian and Jean that their daughter seemed to like asking questions, causing Hermione to blush a bit. Harry almost teared up when hearing how Hagrid had been there when Sirius had dug him out of the demolished house.
"Hagrid, can I ask why you are here now of all days?" Sirius asked.
"Oh, had to get something from the bank for Dumbledore. He trusts me, and no one would dare to rob me," Hagrid said. The truth of that statement was obvious, since Hagrid could easily ram someone into the ground. "Oh, but enough of that, I insist on helping all of you along with the shopping!"
None of them had the heart to deny him, the big man simply was too nice to tell him no.
The logistics however were a bit tricky, so in the end, Sirius and Hagrid would go ahead and buy trunks for the children, while the others would go to the clothing shop to get the needed uniforms. That way, they could store them in the trunks right away and make shopping much easier. Thus, the Evans and Granger families walked into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions as their next stop.
Madam Malkin was a squat, smiling witch dressed all in mauve. "Hogwarts, dears?" she asked when seeing the families enter. "We got all of it here, but we right now are busy with taking measurements from this young man for custom-made uniforms."
In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was trying to stand still while a second witch was busy with a measuring tape. Madam Malkin had them wait close to the boy, who didn't seem too happy with their presence after taking in their clothes.
Harry didn't like the looks he was giving them. "Is there a problem?"
"I really don't think they should let your sort in. You're not the same, you've never been brought up to know our ways. You have never even heard of Hogwarts until you got the letter, I imagine. I think they should keep it in the old wizarding families," the boy said in a bored, drawling voice.
They were shocked at such casual racism from an eleven-year old boy, while Madame Malkin looked uneasy, clearly not liking where this was going. However, her not tossing the rude boy out of her shop hinted that his family had to be important.
"Excuse me?!" Hermione was deeply offended by these words. "Don't you have any manners at all?!"
The boy rose his nose to show that he didn't think too highly of them. "I do, but I see no reason to waste them on you. Hogwarts must really have sunk low. My father told me of that tall savage they are employing - said if he were headmaster, he would throw him out as his first act."
"Mr. Hagrid is a really nice man!" Harry defended the man, knowing exactly who that boy was talking about.
"That's what you think." The boy then walked to the counter to wait after the measuring was done. "My consolation is, that I'm in Slytherin for sure, and your kind was not seen in that house for decades."
It was then when the door opened and a blond woman walked in, who only could be the boy's mother. "Draco, is everything done?"
"Yes, mother. Please let us go, there is undesirable company present," the boy, Draco, said.
"Oh, I see." The woman acted like smelling something especially nasty.
That finally was enough for Jean. "There is no wonder your son is so rude. In just a few seconds I could see where he gets it from."
Mother and son only gave all of them a very condescending look, before leaving.
"Honestly, who is the bigger brat?! The son or the mother?" Jean was still steaming with anger.
"Remember, we were told about people like them. They simply can't accept that things are changing. Try to not let them get to you," Veronica said, hoping it would be enough.
Thankfully, they only needed a few minutes to get their business done, since they could buy the uniforms from the rack - Madame Malkin still was a bit miffed how she was 'reduced' to mostly sell mass-produced goods when it came to Hogwarts students, but accepted that she had to go with the times. They were just done when Sirius and Hagrid returned with two trunks on detachable wheels, the names of the children already on the trunks.
Harry's eyes widened when seeing what was sitting on his trunk in a bird cage. "Oh, you really didn't need to..."
"No, Harry, it is your birthday after all," Sirius jokingly lectured his godson.
"So me and Sirius put our heads together and gave you a special gift. Isn't she a beauty?" Hagrid added, looking fondly at Harry's gift.
Harry couldn't help but to agree. There in the case sat a very beautiful female white snowy owl, clearly sleeping at the moment with her head under her wing. Harry had known that, for some reason, wizards liked to use owls for mail transportation, but had not really thought about how to keep in contact with home. Now Sirius and Hagrid had solved that problem for him.
"What is her name?" Harry wondered.
"Well, that's for you to decide, but she needs to agree to it, of course," Hagrid told Harry.
Hermione also looked at the owl in awe. "Oh, she is really beautiful." She then looked to her parents. "Can I have a pet as well? After all, it's allowed."
The Granger parents were a bit surprised by this wish of their daughter, but perhaps seeing Harry gain a pet for his stay at Hogwarts had made her realize what she was missing out on. "You know this will be quite a responsibility," Ian reminded his daughter.
"I know, but I really want a pet. Oh, please!" It was at times like these where Hermione very much sounded like the eleven years she was.
Her parents finally gave in.
On the way to the pet shop, Hagrid decided to give some advice. "Better don't bother with toads. They've gone out of fashion years ago and you would be laughed at. Besides, it's a nightmare to take care of them." Clearly, Hagrid was taking from experience on the last point.
"Oh, I know." Hermione had heard the story of the gift Neville's Uncle Algie had sent him a few weeks ago.
The man still was person non grata, and thus had sent Neville a pet for Hogwarts with a courier. The man however clearly had no idea what Neville really would think about having a toad as a pet at Hogwarts. So it was decided to let the toad, who got named Trevor, stay at home in a comfortable terrarium. According to Neville, his parents and grandmother actually looked more eager to take care of said toad than he himself did.
In the pet shop, Harry felt a bit uncomfortable. He could have sworn someone was talking to him in a somewhat hissy voice, but the only thing in that direction was a glass tank in which a snake sat curled up, watching him intently. Harry chalked it up to nerves and decided to ignore it.
Hermione meanwhile tried to decide on a pet. "Owl or cat?" she wondered. However, her choice was made easier, when suddenly...
"Crookshanks, stop!"
The shout from the clerk came a bit too late when suddenly something ginger entered Hermion's field of view and the girl caught it on instinct. It turned out to be a rather big cat. The cat's ginger fur was thick and fluffy, but it was definitely a bit bowlegged and its face looked grumpy and oddly squashed, as though it had run headlong into a brick wall.
"Oh, sorry, he normally never does something like this," the clerk apologized.
Hermione however was surprised at how fast the cat had made itself comfortable in her arms and looked up. "What about this one?"
The clerk shook her head. "Poor Crookshanks. He's a half-krenzle breed, but something went wrong during his birth, he became a bit deformed and now no one wants him. You are the first person he reacts so strongly to."
Hermione first took look at said cat, who seemed to find being held by her very comfortable, then looked to her parents, the question obvious. Ten minutes later they left the shop, Crookshanks now walking beside Hermione.
Sirius noticed the cat giving him a look. "Your new cat does seem to mistrust me for a reason," Sirius complained.
"Oh, I wonder why," Thomas remarked, remembering Sirius scaring them at their first meeting by turning into a dog.
"You know, it's only the two of us with pets," Harry reminded Hermione.
It was true that Ron had played with the idea of getting an owl, since he really didn't want to rely on the aging family owl Errol - whom his parents were discussing sending into well-deserved retirement - but in the end Ron had decided to wait a year. After all, Percy got his owl Hermes for making Perfect, and Ron felt getting his own owl this year would dilute the uniqueness. He would do so next year.
Thankfully, the rest of the purchases went by without much trouble, although they skipped the telescopes, since after one look they decided they could get better ones to the same price in an ordinary department store. Everything was stored safely in their trunks. The only hiccup had been at the bookstore, where Hermione's parents had told her outright that besides the school books she could have no more than five extra books. The girl had sulked a bit at that limitation.
Now came the final part, the one Harry and Hermione had looked forward to: their very own real magical wands. Though, Ollivanders looked quite a bit shabbier than the surrounding buildings.
"Good afternoon," a man greeted them as soon as they were in. "Ah, Harry Potter. Yes, yes. I thought I'd be seeing you soon."
"Uh, hello?" Harry was a little unsure of the man, who he guessed was Mr. Ollivander.
Mr. Ollivander seemed oblivious to his greeting. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems only yesterday she was in here herself, buying her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice wand for charm work. Your father, on the other hand, favored a mahogany wand. Eleven inches. Pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favored it - it's really the wand that chooses the wizard, of course."
Finally, Veronica had enough. "Sir, could you please stop this?!"
Mr. Ollivander shook his head. "Oh, sorry! Sometimes, when I get 'into the zone', I forget my manners. Well, I guess Mr. Potter and this young lady here both are in need of their wands?"
Hermione was first and it took Mr. Ollivander a mere four tries until he found a wand that reacted very well with Hermione, allowing her to produce a rain of sparkling glitter from it. "Very good!" Mr. Ollivander said in satisfaction while vanishing the glitter. "Vine wood, ten three-fourth inches and dragon heartstring - a wonderful combination for an aspiring young witch as you are."
Hermione held her wand protectively, until her parents took it from her, put it into a case - Ollivanders supplied those as well - and stored it in her trunk.
Now it was Harry's turn, but there seemed to be a problem, when one wand after the other didn't turn out to be a good match. Sirius became a bit nervous when seeing this. "Is something wrong, Mr. Ollivander?"
"Oh no, I love a tricky customer! It's the challenge which makes this job truly interesting!" the man said in enthusiasm.
That was not an exaggeration, as the pile of boxes of wands that didn't react well with Harry grew considerably over the minutes. If anything, however, it only seemed to make the man happier. "It's been a while since I got such a tricky customer. Let's try something unusual: holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."
This time it proved to be the right wand, reacting right away with Harry. It took just a wave to release a glorious display of sparkles in all colors. Mr. Ollivander, while pleased, also looked thoughtful. "It's a great match, but also a bit strange..."
"Is something wrong with his wand?" Veronica asked.
"Oh no, it's in pristine condition." Mr. Ollivander looked uncomfortable. "The phoenix whose feather is in the core gave me two feathers. I'm saddened to say that the owner of the wand with the other feather is the one who caused this."
Seeing Mr. Ollivander point at Harry's scar, everyone understood what he meant. "He did great things... sadly all of them dark and horrible. Maybe you'll prove to be his opposite, and shed light where he cast darkness."
It was a subdued group who left the wand shop after paying for their purchases, wondering about what these cryptic words could mean.
They were oblivious of the fact that Mr. Ollivander quickly closed his shop for the day and then wrote a message for Dumbledore. This kind of development he had to report as fast as possible. He knew his wands, and that this choice was no coincidence. Harry Potter was destined for great things, and holding the brother wand could mean being the opposite of the Dark Lord.
Mr. Ollivander couldn't help but wonder that if that was the case, what could be in store for magical Britain in the future?
o
And they say burglars typically arrive in the night, Quirrell mused while being on the way into Gringotts.
He had stayed at the Leaky Cauldron until he was sure that Potter had again left - no need to risk it while that whole circus was going on and Black was near - before he was risking it. He had of course recognized the brat and felt his Master's displeasure, but he felt safety was more important, or the whole thing could fail. It had been hard enough to stand back and not call any attention to himself while Potter got all the attention in the pub. His Master had scoffed at Potter's companions; a blood-traitor, a mudblood witch and no less than four magicless animals.
Now however the time for his coup had come and the plan was well-thought out, though in a way only a sociopath, who had no regard for the well-being of others, could. Stereotypical burglars were sneaking around and used force to get access to their potential loot, while he had a much more elegant plan.
Of course right now no one would know it was him, since he was not wearing his own face.
The magical mask he was wearing was a true piece of art, being absolutely seamless with the skin of his head to hide his identity. Another of his Master's inventions. Of course, creating this mask had meant to first find a 'donor' who would no longer would have need for a face. He was literally wearing someone else's face and the London police would in some hours find the corpse of a man whose face had been cut off his head cleanly.
By now it was noontime and business in Gringotts had calmed down with most people being at lunch, thus many of the goblins at the teller desks now no longer were being busy with attending to customers and instead were writing down sums into big accounting books. Quirrell selected the most remote desk with no customers and approached the goblin manning it.
The goblin clearly was displeased that he had to interupt his work for a customer while putting aside his quill. "Yes, can I help you?"
"Yes, indeed, you can." Quirrell then whispered the next thing. "Imperio."
The goblin's face went blank, the Imperius Curse ripping away his free will. It was a short battle, but the goblin quickly lost it. Quirrell felt it was genius. He was not drawing his wand at all; it was strapped to his arm and still hidden by the sleeve of his robe, just two fingers touching it. It had taken lots of training to do as his Master had instructed, but had worked like a charm.
"Don't appear like that; act normal," he quickly commanded.
The goblin's expression returned to normal. "How can Gringott's help you today, Sir?" he then asked, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
"I need to visit a high-security vault, the number 713 to be exact. You already know that I have the correct papers," Quirrell stated.
"Of course, Sir! Would you please follow me?" the goblin said, leading him to one of the carts that were needed to visit the vaults.
This really is too easy, Quirrell thought while they started their journey through the tunnels.
Gringotts had a reputation for fierce security, and Quirrell knew they were even using dragons for some special vaults of the older families, but they mainly lived off their reputation to scare off criminals. Once you knew their system and where the gaps were, it was frighteningly easy for someone without scruples to get away with theft. Once word of this did get out, the press would have a field day with it.
Finally, they arrived at the vault and the goblin removed the security seal. However, looking in after the door was open, Quirrell got a nasty surprise.
Empty?! Quirrell then winced when feeling his Master's sheer anger over their connection. He turned to the goblin. "Why is the vault empty?!"
"I'm very sorry, Sir. The vault was emptied a few hours ago and the contract terminated. We are planning to clean it and put it back onto the list of available vaults," the goblin told him calmly under the influence of the curse, belying the fact that he'd just signed his own death sentence.
Now not only Voldemort, but Quirrell himself was angry, especially at himself for waiting for too long. "Get us back into the bank... and leave the vault door open."
Right after they were back, Quirrell quickly manoeuvred the goblin into a small storage room in a side corridor and stunned him as soon as the door had closed behind him. Now it was time to erase the most obvious tracks so that them finding any real proof would be impossible.
Transfiguring a rag into a box cutter, he quickly slashed the goblin's throat - no need to leave traces of lethal magic - then vanished the box cutter before disillusioning himself and walking out, locking the door to the room to make sure the body would only be discovered in due time. It was trivial to walk the short distance to the main hall and drop the disillusionment while standing behind some customers, before leaving the bank altogether without arousing attention.
Retreating to a recently vacated house in Knockturn Alley, Quirrell took off and vanished the mask when finally standing before the wraith that was Lord Voldemort. Voldemort's eyes flashed in anger. "Very disappointing, Quirrell. Your decision to wait cost us this opportunity to get the stone." He sounded angry as well.
"Please forgive me, Master!"Quirrell pleaded. Despite his new outlook on the world, he was in no rush to get punished.
"Lord Voldemort does not forgive." It was clear that this was his final word on the matter.
Quirrell had no time to react, when suddenly he was enveloped by Voldemort's misty body. He, like many other wizards, had thought the Cruciatus Curse was the worst torture imaginable, but this was getting as close to it as was possible. Thanks to willingly having made a pact with Lord Voldemort, said Dark Lord now also had gained significant power over him - power he was now using to inflict untold pain.
It felt like hours, even though it only had been minutes, until finally the torture stopped. "It looks like in order to prevent further failures, I will have to keep a closer eye on you."
Quirrell was filled with dread when hearing this declaration.
...magical preschool, August 12th...
"All right, since this will be your last summer before Hogwarts, we will do some fun things that also help you prepare. Thus why you are all here now after the normal lessons for this year are already over. Today will be something very fun: you'll all learn, safely I add, how to ride on a broom. There will be several more lessons like this over the entire week," Remus announced to those students - and Ginny and Luna - who would leave for Hogwarts in September.
That announcement caused excited chatter. They had heard of the broom lessons from those students that went to Hogwarts the previous year. Learning how to fly was exciting to many and they couldn't wait to start the lesson.
Remus was not done. "Now, be honest, who here has before flown on a broom?"
Surprisingly, Neville did not raise his hand, which in hindsight was understandable once you knew that the boy had a fear of heights. Ron naturally raised his hand, all of his friends knowing how he played Quidditch with his brothers during the summer. The surprise however came when Ginny, after some hesitation, also raised her hand.
Ginny then noticed that Ron didn't look surprised. "You don't look surprised, Ron."
Ron knew his answer did surprise his sister. "Ginny, I've known for years and kept my trap shut about it."
"You've known for years?!" Ginny had expected Ron to rat her out to their mother straight away, but considering he didn't, she felt a bit bad she had thought he would. "Ron, I..."
"Later, Ginny." Ron hushed her when seeing that Remus was waiting for silence.
"Now, for the sake of security, yours and from unwanted eyes, the brooms we use can raise no higher than five meters, which I think should be enough to prepare for the real thing," Remus explained, then noticed Neville wanting his attention. "Yes, Neville?"
"Eh, Mr. Lupin... Can I perhaps skip out on this?" Neville asked, blushing a little that he was saying so in front of everyone.
"Sorry, but since flying lessons are mandatory at Hogwarts in the first year, it really is best you learn now in a controlled environment." Remus looked to Hermione, who also had paled significantly. "The same goes for you, Hermione. Be reassured we took measures that there will be no risk of injury."
Hermoine sighed, clearly having surrendered to the inevitable.
"Good, then follow me."
While they walked, Ron whispered to Harry "Are you excited? Flying is really something else."
Harry could only agree. "That's one of the things I was looking forward to ever since I learned about magic. I only hope I won't make myself look like an idiot."
Harry had been in a constant state of anticipation ever since his journey to Diagon Alley, now with it being so close. Everyone had said his new owl looked incredible. He'd named her Hedwig, after a woman whose name he'd found in his history book, a name the owl had accepted easily... after several other names she had clearly rejected. It was interesting how she could get the message across purely with body language.
Harry shoved that thought aside when they reached the doors.
Ron for his part felt the week was great. Sure, he had been unable to defend his title last week in the chess tournament, but that wasn't the end of the world. While he again had made it to the final game, his opponent this time had been very strong and in the end a small distraction at the worst moment had cost him victory. However, Ron took well enough - the prize money for second place actually helping to ease his disappointment.
They all walked out onto the school grounds, where the brooms were waiting for them, attended by the other two teachers, Ms. Feversham and Mr. Tau. The brick wall surrounding the grounds didn't look high enough to hide what was going on, so it was a good guess some sort of enchantment was in place so that flying lessons could be done without the danger of discovery.
"Ah, there you are!" Mr. Tau called. "Now, each of you stand in front of one of those."
They did as told, and Ms. Feversham took over. "Now, they first thing you need to know is, that flying on a broom basically is telling the broom who is boss. Once you got that one down, everything else is just a matter of training. For a first test, stick out your hand above the broom and call 'up!'."
Only few brooms did comply on the first try. Ron and Ginny were no wonder, considering their experience on a broom. Harry, to his own surprise, had his broom right away jump into his hand, causing Remus to raise an eyebrow. The others had less luck. Hermione's broom just rolled over on the ground, Neville's didn't move at all and Luna's actually overshot and smacked her onto the nose.
"Ow!" Luna gasped while falling onto her butt.
"Oh dear, this is the first time something like this happened," Ms. Feversham said, making sure that Luna's nose wasn't broken while treating the bleeding.
"There always is a first time for things," Mr. Tau added while giving Luna her glasses, which had been knocked off but were undamaged. "At least we now know what kind of injury we forgot about."
"Are you OK?" Neville asked after Luna was back up.
"My nose is still hurting a bit..." She could have lived without getting smacked in the face by a broomstick.
"Well, it looks like we have quite some work ahead of us, before we can do the next step," Remus commented, knowing this would take a while.
While the other students were busy with getting their broomsticks to jump into their hands, Ron approached Harry. "Mate, that was amazing! You're really sure this is your first time doing this?"
"Yes, Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus told me flying would only get me into trouble, considering I live in a non-magical neighborhood. It just clicked right away and the broom did as I ordered it," Harry explained, being surprised himself how easy this had been for him.
"I wish it had been that easy for me," Ginny grumbled. "I faceplanted into the grass a dozen times before I managed to hover on a broom."
"I know, I saw it. It looked like you were grazing." Ron then saw Ginny giving him an evil eye. "Look, I didn't tell Mum because I knew you hated how she forbade you to be anywhere near a broom."
"And I'm thankful for that," Ginny admitted, not even wanting to imagine her mother's reaction.
It took some time for the others to finally be able to summon their brooms to their hand, but finally, the lessons continued on how to mount a broom properly and keep a firm grip on the broomstick. Ginny blushed a little when being told that she clearly was self-taught and had developed some bad habits that needed to be corrected.
Finally, the students were divided between the three teachers. In each group it was one student at a time.
While waiting, Harry looked over to another group and then blinked. Dudley actually had managed to hover about two meters above ground right on his first try, though he seemed to be a bit unsteady on his broom and held onto it in a death grip. Harry found that a bit bizarre, considering Dudley's upbringing, but then shrugged and just accepted it as Dudley having hidden depths.
Ron and Ginny were done in record-time, being set aside for refining their technique. Luna, while managing to hover at two meters as well, for some reason did so upside-down, using her legs to hold herself on the broom. The teacher rolled her eyes at this display, commenting that Luna clearly still has a lot to learn.
Then it was Harry's turn. So he did as the teacher said, and... Oh man... I can't believe it! Right on his first try, Harry actually managed to fly off. Not exactly at high speed, but it still was impressive for a first try, causing Ginny to look a bit jealous. He did fly a big circle several times, before landing again.
"Awesome! You really are a natural," Ron said in awe.
If anything, this display had made Neville only more nervous, with predictable results. Neville's broom suddenly shot up at his turn, and he fell off... only to land very softly thanks to the safety measures. Mr. Tau shook his head while recalling the broom. "It looks like we have to give you more individual help."
Hermione looked petrified watching this, and Remus noticed. "Want me to make sure you won't fall off?" he asked her.
"Yes... please..." Moments later she felt her bum being firmly attached to the broomstick and then tried, only... "AAAaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!"
For some reasons, the broom, after ascending several meters, went off like a rocket, zipping all over the place and causing Hermione to shriek in terror. The whole ordeal took almost a minute before the broom finally could be made to land. Hermione had barely been unstuck when she paled even further than she already was. She made a run for some bushes, but didn't make it before she had to vomit.
"Eeeewwwwwww!" many of the children said in disgust at the sight.
Hermione looked utterly humiliated while Remus vanished the vomit and her friends came to her rescue, carefully helping her back up. "This... this..." Hermione was clearly upset over her failure. "I learn better from books, not like this!"
Harry didn't like how defeated Hermione looked, then had an idea. "Uncle Remus, you remember when I learned how to ride a bicycle?"
"Of course, you had these training wheels..." Remus stopped when getting what Harry was talking about.
Several minutes later, Hermione again was in the air, but this time she was being held steady by Ron, his arm hooked into hers. While Hermione was not exactly proud of it, this method did prove to be successful in stabilizing her until she could do so on her own.
"You didn't have to do this," Hermione said, wondering why Ron had volunteered to help her.
"I know, but I do it anyway." Ron didn't want to say it was just sad watching her fail so badly. "How are you doing?"
"Better... Though this probably will never be my favorite way of travel." She tried hard not to show that she still was scared after the first failure.
Some distance away, Ginny was being busy with giving the same aid to Neville, telling him that not everyone could be a prodigy like Harry, and that she herself had went through many failures until she got it right.
"It's hard to believe that. You fly so well," Neville admitted, having difficulties to imagine Ginny being bad at flying.
"Really, it's all through trial and error, since I had no one to teach me," Ginny admitted.
The teachers watched it, scratching their heads. "Why isn't it done like that at Hogwarts? For me flight class always felt like survival of the fittest," Ms. Feversham asked the big question.
"I guess it was due to a wrongly understood sense of competition," Remus answered, remembering the disastrous first flight class of the Marauders, which had ended with Sirius having a concussion, Pettigrew breaking both of his legs and he himself sporting no less than three broken ribs.
Maybe I should suggest our new method to Dumbledore? he wondered.
...August 31st...
This finally was the day.
For two years, the preschool had prepared its students for when they would go to Hogwarts. In these two years they were given everything needed so that they would stumble into something they were not prepared for and got the same preparation those of old magical families thought was their sole privilege. Now, tomorrow the children would start their journey to Hogwarts to begin their formal education in magic.
Like last year, the students and their parents were gathered to celebrate this milestone, the grounds of the preschool being converted to hold the event. Even the otherwise reclusive Longbottoms were present, feeling this, and getting their son to the train the next day, were way to important to stay away from - though the two bodyguards at their side were quite obvious.
"We honestly have to thank your children. Our Neville was such a withdrawn boy, and look at him now," Alice Longbottom said with pride, looking to where her son was busy enjoying himself with his friends.
"Oh, your son is very polite, though he still strikes me as a bit shy," Molly Wesley admitted, having been in contact with the boy over the years.
"Well, we can hardly blame him. He had been a reserved boy even before the incident..." Frank Longbottom looked angry at the memory of Algie's stupidity. "Still, we feared for him entering Hogwarts, but now it looks like he is well prepared for interacting with other children... Hopefully also those which are not nice."
Thomas remembered the rude boy from Diagon Alley. "I know the type you're talking about. We met one of those in Diagon Alley and he was especially rude."
"It will feel weird for us that our daughter is no longer at home for most of the year." Ian Granger then quickly looked to his wife and she gave him the OK to talk about it. "Since it'll feel so empty, we are honestly thinking about having a second child."
"Oh, you are not the only ones," Xenophilius Lovegood admitted, even though Luna wouldn't go to Hogwarts for another year. "Pandora and me are also thinking about it."
"I find a bit funny that most of us only met due to our children," Veronica remarked.
There certainly was some truth to it. While the Wesleys and Lovegoods had already known each other for years due to living in the same town, the other parents only got into contact due to the friendship of their children. The Evans actually were first, due to Harry quickly becoming friends with the Weasley children. The Longbottoms took considerably more time, and even then they were not in regular contact with the others.
Last, ironically, were the Grangers. This not only was due to Hermione having difficulties to actually forge a friendship correctly, but also due to Hermione waiting until she was really sure before telling her parents. Ironically, Ian and Jean proved much faster in befriending their fellow parents.
"By the way, where is the patron who made all this possible?" Pandora Lovegood asked.
Veronica knew why Sirius was not present. "His wife wanted him to spend time with the family. We'll meet him tomorrow at the train station."
It was a bit later, that six friends retreated to a place beneath a tree.
"Hard to believe it's been two years and starting tomorrow most of us will go to Hogwarts," Harry said, feeling a bit strange at this.
"Yes, not all of us." Ginny looked unhappy, hating that due to her and Luna being too young, they wouldn't be able to be in the same year as the other four. Luna tried to look indifferent to it, but Ginny could see the girl was unhappy as well.
"Sadly, I don't think you can pull the same trick you did in primary school," Ron reminded his sister.
Hermione shook her head. "There is little chance. The age of admission was set at eleven years centuries ago and it would take nothing short of a divine intervention to change that in a day."
Now Luna's unhappiness was bleeding through. "It is quite questionable why Hogwarts has a fixed age, while non-magical schools are more flexible in that regard. Perhaps those making the laws have been hit by a particularly nasty brain bug that makes them overlook the obvious."
They had long gotten used to Luna saying such things and weren't fazed by it anymore.
"You know, now that things are changing..." Neville said, looking thoughtful. "It feels weird. These two years had been the best I've had. That's thanks to you, guys. I'm now sad that I'll lose part of that, especially once we are put into different houses."
"You... you really think so?" Now Luna looked a bit upset.
"Face it, how big is the chance we all are in the same house?" Neville continued. "As timid as I am, I'm pretty much a perfect fit for Hufflepuff. Luna, you and Hermione are both so smart, in your own ways, that it's Ravenclaw almost for sure. Ron and Ginny are pretty much predestined for Gryffindor. Only Harry I have no idea where he'll go..."
"It still depends on where that hat puts us," Ron remarked.
Fred and George had tried to make him believe students were sorted by wrestling a troll, but Ron had been smart enough by now to simply ask Remus, who had told him how it really is done. He of course had told the others and even shared some stories Charlie had told him about how witty the hat could be at times with its language while sorting students.
"Perhaps we should hold it like the Three Musketeers? You know, that motto they have?" Hermione asked. Everyone knew what she meant. She had shown them the book after all.
Harry agreed. "Yes, that sounds right. Regardless which house we join and that we will be in different years." Harry then held out his right hand. "One for all..."
They understood, as they all sat in a circle. Each of them reached out with their right hand, so that their fingertips all touched in one central point. "...and all for one!" they finished the motto.
-crac- "Ow!" "Yikes!"
"What was that?" Ginny wondered. For a moment it had felt like a spark had went through her hand. Clearly, the others had felt it as well.
"Must have been static electricity," Hermione rationalized it away.
They all accepted that explanation - though Hermione had to add first what static electricity actually was - and went on to talk about what to expect at Hogwarts. They did not know that it had been more than just a random spark, though its effect would only show itself the next day.
to be continued...
End of Book I
Next Episode:
"Journey to Hogwarts, Part I - The Big Day"
Notes:
Here the notes.
First off, I have to again say that I am writing chapters in advance so that I can keep up my publishing rythm. As of the publishing of this chapter, I am already over a fourth done with Chapter 19, which is the final chapter of Harry's first year. Don't be fooled by the seemingly low number of chapters, since my chapters are, as you've seen, quite long.
Again we are shown the zoo visit, only this time due to Harry not being there, Dudley himself causes the disruption. I did my best to not just replicate the canon scene. I hope this makes the scene fresh. It also shows the things bubbling under the surface with the Dursleys.
Lots of things going on at the Burrow. You think I would have forgotten that Charlie and Dora have finished school now? This scene is really packed with interesting and important information, if you look for it. Like that Percy had went through a change over the previous year.
Well, two visits two Diagon Alley, one that wasn't much fun, and one much better. I didn't want to keep Hedwig out of it, but I bet you were surprised about Crookshanks. Well, in canon the clerk said he'd been in the shop for a while. Of course Draco is his charming self, and this time Narcissa adds to it, resulting in an even worse first impression.
Well, we this time see the break-in. Isn't Quirrell really a cold-blooded monster now? Also, we now see Voldemort wanting to keep a closer eye on Quirrell.
I felt flight training would be kept for last and I had lots of fun writing that one. Hermione and brooms certainly won't be a love ever, and Luna of course does some antics.
Also... ?.