Somewhere between his trip from the Quidditch field and the Gryffindor common room, the sky had turned a lovely shade of blue, studded with jewel-like stars and cotton clouds. The first-year boys' dormitory was dimly lit, with Neville and Ron's bed curtains pulled shut and Dean sitting on Seamus' bed, conversing quietly.

"Hey Dean, Seamus," Harry whispered, nodding to both of them as he entered, who nodded back.

"Harry," Dean said. "Glad to see you're still here, mate. We reckoned Oliver might've killed the team by now."

He smiled weakly. "Just barely managed. Don't celebrate any time soon though, I've still got practice tomorrow at seven."

Seamus hissed. "In the morning?!"

Harry nodded, garnering identical looks of pity from the other boys.

"On a Sunday too? Mate, that is too cruel! I'd have resigned by now."

"Oliver's a slave driver," Harry said, sighing in relief as he took off his Quidditch uniform and fell onto his bed, adding after a pause, "and a madman."

"He'd probably die from the burnout," Seamus agreed, "or kill someone trying."

"Merlin forbid he actually ends up killing someone," Dean snorted, "Azkaban won't be able to hold him!"

The two boys snickered softly, while Harry was left with the feeling he was being left out of some inside joke. "Azkaban?" He parroted. "What's that?"

"Oh, you don't know?" Dean asked, laughter cutting short as surprise coloured his features, "It's wizard prison!"

"All of You-Know-Who's worst followers are in there," Seamus added. "After the war, the ministry chucked them all in the high-security prison cells. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy, though, imagine all the dementors…" He shuddered.

Silence descended on between them. Dean shot him a furtive glance. The other boy blushed violently, stuttering out apologies that Harry quickly waved off, not wanting to prolong the uncomfortable moment. Were dementors something bad? He supposed they'd have to be, if they were found at a prison.

He wondered if there were other things he didn't know about. Surely, someone should've told him, right? He had been told that all the first years should be on the same level in terms of knowledge but everyone seemed to be way ahead of him, while Harry was left scrambling in the dark.

He could hear Ron snoring at the other side of the room.

"Say, Dean," Harry said, trying to keep his voice casual, and made the boy startle. "You're a muggleborn right?"

"Er, yes…" he said warily.

"How'd you know so much about the wizards, then? You couldn't have known before you got your letter."

"I didn't! But Professor McGonagall gave me all these books about how Magical Britain works and all the things I needed to know about it. It was really useful."

"What are they about?"

Dean shrugged. "Normal stuff. Like the common household and jobs and laws… very boring. Took me ages to get even halfway through."

"Can I borrow them?" Harry asked, only to get increasingly quizzical looks.

"You probably won't need it, mate," Seamus said. "It's just the basics."

"Yeah, it's nothing special," Dean agreed. "Besides, I still haven't read all of them. 'Fraid I got too excited and started reading more than one at once."

"Could you at least give me the titles?" He pleaded, squashing down a spark of annoyance at their immediate dismissal.

"Okay," Dean said unsurely, getting up and pulling out a quill and a piece of parchment. "Dunno why you'd want it, though."

Harry only tipped his head as he accepted the parchment. "Thanks."

-0-

It took Harry three whole days to find the books.

The Hogwarts Library didn't have any of the books Dean had given him, which was quite baffling seeing that it was large enough to hold at least three fully grown elephants, making him wonder exactly what kind of books were in there.

By day two, he was ready to give up. It was only when he overheard Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown talking about 'owl ordering' matching robes that he finally made some progress.

"Did you see the robes Iris Wallflower was wearing on the cover of Witch Weekly?" Lavender could be found giggling in the Charms section. "I hear they're the same ones Celestina Warbeck wore on her tour in '87!"

"Seen?" Parvati scoffed, shaking her head with derision, eyes bright with excitement, "I've already sent Daddy an owl to buy them for me."

They squealed, causing Madam Pince to glare at them.

"I wish I could afford robes like that," Lavender pouted. "You are so lucky."

Parvati patted her shoulder. "How about we go shopping for some new robes? The owl ordering forms in the Gryffindor common room have finally been restocked, thank Merlin. The new catalogue from Madam Malkin's has this stunning pink dress that'll look…"

Harry drowned them out, staring at the list of titles in his hand. Owl Ordering forms in the Gryffindor common room. They were talking about ordering clothes from within school premises, which meant…

Harry bolted to the Gryffindor tower, leaving a stack of unshelved books and an angry Madam Pince in his wake.

-0-

An uncomfortable feeling of warmth and welcome greeted him as he stepped in through the portrait hole. Despite the three months Harry had spent there, Hogwarts had a certain energy to it that was so very different from the hostility he had grown accustomed to at Privet Drive.

The common room was packed with students — from rowdy third years to stressed fifth years and nostalgic seventh years — and he could spot only one empty seat which was facing towards a brightly-coloured crimson wall. Window and fireplace seats were a hotspot, always sought out for its comfort.

Setting his satchel down on the seat, Harry looked around the room to find some sort of sign for the owl orders, only to find none. Fidgeting, he made his way towards Angelina Johnson, his fellow teammate and chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"Hey, Angelina, d'you know where the, er, owl ordering forms are?"

"Yeah, they're by that window over there," Angelina said, jerking her thumb towards a rather crowded table in the very back of the common room.

"Thanks, mate!"

-0-

OWL ORDER FORM #983-3278

Store Name: Flourish and Blotts

Client Name: Harry James Potter

Object(s) of purchase: The Introductory Series by Katherine Crabbe

Vault Number: 687

Key Code*: o5z43ω842

*fill in the single-use code that appears on the bow of the key by tapping the parchment with the tip.

**Please wait 3-6 weeks for the order to arrive. Hogsmeade Post Office is not responsible for any damages caused.