The morning of September First found Harry once more bouncing around the house hours before Sirius got up. He was finally going to Hogwarts and the excitement had made it nearly impossible for him to sleep. Once they got to King’s Cross, a hat once more securely covering Harry’s scar, Sirius helped him stow his luggage in an empty compartment, and Harry left Hedwig’s cage on the seat to save it for him. Then he went back on to the platform to wait for the Weasleys. The snowy owl had regularly made the short flight between Harry and Ginny’s houses for the last few weeks, several times also carrying letters between Harry and Ron. And as often as possible Harry had convinced Sirius to let him visit or to take Ron and Ginny out for the day. It had been a busy month, and Harry had enjoyed every minute of it. Spending time with the Weasleys made Harry feel like he had siblings. And Mrs. Weasley had practically adopted him as one of her sons. It made a nice change having someone who was basically a mother to him. He didn’t even mind her nagging. It made Harry feel wanted and loved. Of course, Ron teased him constantly about how he never complained when Mrs. Weasley would ask him to help out with whatever chores Ron and Ginny had.

Sirius had also spent the last month teaching him some spells. He wanted Harry to have some means of protecting himself at school. Most of the things Harry learned were defensive magic. But Sirius’ prankster spirit also led him to teach many spells whose only uses were to cause embarrassment and hysterical laughter. Harry was quite looking forward to trying some of them out. And just this morning Sirius had handed Harry two wrapped packages. The first contained a small mirror.

“Your dad and I used to use these at school when we were in separate detentions. They are two-way mirrors. Whenever you need to talk to me you just have to say my name in to the mirror.”

“This is great, Uncle Sirius! Now I can tell you all about the pranks that Ron and I pull.”

“That’s the idea, kid.”

Harry opened the second package to reveal an old book with only one word on the cover. Animagus. Harry stared at it in wonder.

“Do I get to become an animagus like you and dad?”

“Yep. This is the same book we learned how to from. Now, you aren’t going to start on it for awhile, but I want you to read up as much as you can so that you’ll be ready. It will take me several months to make the potion for you.” Sirius had been planning this for years. Not only would being an animagus help Harry to follow in his father’s footsteps, but it would allow him an escape route for when he landed in the nasty situations that Sirius was sure were coming.

“Can I tell Ron and Ginny about it?”

“Sure, but be careful that no one overhears you. And Ginny will have to wait until she starts school before she can start working on it. But I think the three of you are amply qualified to be the new generation of Marauders.”

The book was now safely tucked in to the bottom of Harry’s trunk. He didn’t want anyone else to see it. The best part, for Harry at least, was that scrawled across the title page of the book was a name. James Potter. This book had belonged to his dad. And when Harry had flipped through the pages he had noticed many notes written in the margins in his dad’s handwriting.

The arrival of a long line of redheads drove the thoughts of the book firmly from Harry’s mind. He excitedly greeted both Ginny and Ron and helped Ron stow his trunk in the compartment with Hedwig. Then the two boys headed back on to the platform to say goodbye. Mrs. Weasley fussed over Ron (he had some dirt on his nose) and flattened him in a tight hug while Sirius gave Harry one final hug.

“You be safe, kiddo. Remember that Uncle Albus wants to see you tomorrow night. He said the password to his office is Cauldron Cakes. And try and stay out of too much trouble. And don’t forget, don’t Snape get away with anything. And be careful.” Harry rolled his eyes at his godfather. Sirius worried too much.

“I know, Uncle Sirius. It will be okay. And besides, I’ve got my mirror if I need anything, and I’ve got the cloak if I get in trouble.” The invisibility cloak was currently folded into a square and tucked safely into his pocket.

Sirius bustled Harry onto the train, trying to hide the fact that his eyes were dangerously wet. But Harry wasn’t fooled. Sirius would be awfully lonely without him around. At least Uncle Remus would still be there. Harry was about to close the train door behind him when he heard Ginny shout his name. He turned to see her running at him.

“You didn’t say goodbye.” Harry grabbed her hand and pulled her up with him before wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug.

“Sorry, Gin. I’ll write lots and tell you all about it.”

“Don’t forget me, Harry.” The usually vibrant girl was strangely subdued.

“I won’t. Promise.” He winked at her, causing her to let out a small giggle.

The train started to move underneath them and Ginny jumped back onto the platform. Harry stood there, waving at her until he lost sight of her, then he closed the door and made his way to the compartment with Ron. When they arrived, however, there was already someone sitting on the seat, watching Hedwig preen herself. The girl had bushy brown hair and large front teeth. She was already dressed in her Hogwarts robe.

“Oh, hello,” she said when they came in and sat down. “I’m sorry to sit here, but every other compartment was full.” She held her hand out towards Harry, and he shook it. “I’m Hermione Granger, who are you?”

“I’m Harry, and this is Ron.” Ron didn’t comment when Harry forget to mention both of their last names. He knew his friend was a little uncomfortable with the attention he got when people knew who he was. Ron, too, shook the girl’s hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you both. Are you two both in your first year?” They nodded together. “I am so excited to be going to Hogwarts. I didn’t even know I was magical until I got my letter, and it was such a surprise, but I was pleased, of course. I’ve heard that Hogwarts is the best school of magic there is. I’ve learned all the books by heart, of course, and I only hope it is enough. Do either of you know what house you’ll be in? I’d like to be in Gryffindor, I think. It sounds by far the best. Though I wouldn’t mind Ravenclaw either. What about you guys?”

Hermione said all of this very fast, and Harry and Ron just stared at her. She had a bossy tone of voice, and they didn’t exactly know how to answer her.

“My whole family is in Gryffindor,” Ron finally managed, “so I probably will be, too. What about you, Harry?”

“Uncle Sirius said he would disown me unless I was in Gryffindor. But I don’t think he was serious. Although he just might if I end up in Slytherin.”

“Yeah, no one wants to be in Slytherin,” Ron agreed. “That’s where all the dark wizards are.”

Their conversation was interrupted when the compartment door opened to reveal three boys. The middle one was small and blond, and he was flanked by two large boys who resembled small trolls more than people. The blond boy had a decidedly bored look on his face. Harry didn’t know why, but something about the boy made him instantly not like him. The boy looked at each of them, as if sizing them up. He sniffed in disdain at Hermione and sneered at Ron. But he seemed unsure what to make of Harry.

“What do you want?” Harry asked. He wished the boy would just leave. He didn’t like the looks he was shooting at Ron and Hermione.

“Just looking,” he responded. “Who are you?”

“I’m Harry. Now would you please leave?”

“Harry? Harry who?”

“Just Harry.”

“Well,” the boy drawled, “you obviously aren’t worth my notice. Hanging out with a Weasley and a Mudblood.”

Hermione’s face flushed at the word, and Ron practically shrieked in anger. But Harry remained calm, slowly drawing his wand.

“Why don’t you say that word one more time?” His voice was soft but menacing.

“What, Mudblood? Well, she…”

They never heard the end of his sentence. Harry muttered something under his breath and a beam of light shot out of his wand and flew over the boy’s head. He smirked at Harry, probably thinking Harry had missed. Harry just waited. Suddenly, the blond boy shrieked and threw up his hands to protect his face from the large tub of mud that was located above his head and starting to tip its contents all over him.

“Since you seem to like mud so much I thought you could use some.” Harry said with a laugh. Ron shoved the boy roughly out into the hall and slammed the compartment door in his face.

“I’m glad Sirius taught me that spell,” Harry said as Ron came and sat down beside him once more.

“You really shouldn’t have attacked him. You could get in trouble before we even get to school!” Hermione said in obvious agitation.

“Hermione. I don’t even know you yet, but no one should ever call another human being something so low. I will not let him get away with that.” Hermione huffed.

“Well, you still shouldn’t have cursed him.” In a much smaller voice she added, “But I am glad you did.”

Being defended by Harry, someone she barely even knew, seemed to deflate the girl. For the next several hours she agreed to play exploding snap with Ron and Harry. The look on her face when the cards blew up for the first time sent both boys into hysterical laughter. As the sky outside started to darken, there was a shy knock on the door. The three kids looked up to see a round faced boy who looked a little lost.

“Have you guys seen a toad? I’ve lost mine.” Harry shook his head.

“I’m sure he’ll turn up. Why don’t you come in and join us. I’m Harry,” he said, offering his hand to the shy boy, “and this is Ron and Hermione.”

“It’s nice to meet you guys. I’m Neville Longbottom.”

“Longbottom?” Harry asked. He had heard that name before. The boy nodded at him, an odd look in his eyes. It was then that Harry remembered one of the stories Sirius had told him about how the Death Eaters had attacked a young couple named Longbottom shortly after Voldemort disappeared. It was one of the reasons Sirius had used to justify how overprotective of Harry he was. “I’ve heard…” Harry began. But he came to a hasty stop. Neville was looking at him with abject fear in his eyes. Harry guessed that the boy didn’t like to be reminded about what happened to his parents any more than Harry did. “I’ve think I’ve heard that name before. Uncle Sirius must have mentioned that he knew you guys.”

“Probably,” Neville said, looking immensely relieved that Harry hadn’t mentioned what had happened to his parents. “Gran says that mom and dad were really popular in school. They were even friends with the Potters.”

Neville said this with obvious pride, but it caused Harry to blush red and shoot Ron a warning glance not to saying anything. Ron simply shrugged. Harry always seemed to avoid telling people who he is, even when someone mentioned him; he had been doing so for the past month.

The rest of the train ride passed in uneventful chatter and a rather loud game of wizarding chess between Ron and Hermione. Harry and Neville watched the other two play and spent much of the game laughing at how outraged Hermione seemed to be that Ron was beating her. Harry consoled her when she lost, informing her of how Ron always won at chess. When the train came to a halt the four new friends found their way onto the crowded platform and followed the loud voice calling, “Firs’ years! Firs’ years over here!” They halted at the sight of the enormous man calling them. He was at least twice as tall as a normal man and probably four times as wide, and he had a large scraggly black beard and twinkling black eyes. When they got closer to him he caught sight of Harry.

“Harry! Is tha’ you? I’m Hagrid. You won’ remember me but I was the one that go’ yer out of your house when…” Harry hastily interrupted him.

“Hi Hagrid! Uncles Sirius has told me all about you. These are my friends, Ron, Hermione, and Neville.”

Hagrid said hello to the kids, then shooed them on to one of a small fleet of boats. Harry tried to ignore the way that Hermione was looking at him curiously. It seemed she was the only one who noticed him trying to keep Hagrid quiet. Luckily, before she got around to questioning him all her attention was grabbed by the large castle they were approaching. Harry smiled up at the building before him. He just knew that he was going to thoroughly enjoy his time at Hogwarts.

Harry was shocked as he stared at the ragged old hat while it finished its song. He was going to kill Sirius. He knew he wouldn’t have to pass some kind of test to get into Gryffindor. All he had to do was try the hat on. He watched enthralled as the nervous first year students began to try the hat on. Hermione was the first of their group to go up. Harry laughed quietly at how nervous she seemed. It didn’t take long before she got her wish of being sorted into Gryffindor. It took much longer for Neville to be sorted, but finally he joined Hermione, looking immensely relieved to have been sorted at all. Harry waited nervously for his turn. He wasn’t excited about the fact that his name was about to be announced to the whole school. There was no chance of keeping who he was a secret any longer.

“Potter, Harry!” Professor McGonagall called. Harry cringed at the whispers that broke out in the room as he walked to the front. The last thing he saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was Hermione and Neville’s shocked faces as they looked at him.

“Well,” said a small voice in his ear. “Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, and a strong habit of troublemaking. Not a bad mind, either. There’s talent, oh my goodness, yes–and a determination to win. Oh, my, what do we have here? A prophecy. Well that complicates things even more.” Harry was frantic. He hadn’t even been thinking about the prophecy, and no one was supposed to know. “Don’t worry, lad,” the hat answered. “I’m not going to tell anyone. But where to put you?”

Harry tensed. “If you want my opinion,” he answered, “Sirius promised to disown me if I didn’t get put in Gryffindor.”

Harry heard a chuckle in his head. “Yes, I imagine Sirius Black would be quite disappointed if he managed to avoid Slytherin only to have his godson go there. Well, it seems I have little choice. It had better be GRYFFINDOR!”

Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall, and he tugged it off his head. As he walked towards the table where Hermione and Neville sat he noticed that he was getting the loudest cheer yet. This made him pull his hat down even further over his scar. He hated being stared at. He sat down across from Hermione, vainly struggling to ignore the way she was watching him. Instead, he tried to watch the last few kids get sorted. Soon there were only a handful of kids left and it was Ron’s turn. Harry crossed his fingers under the table.

He needn’t have worried. In no time at all Ron had joined him at the Gryffindor table. Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad his friend would be sharing a room with him. Especially as Ron seemed to be the only person at the whole table who wasn’t staring at him curiously. It was a relief when Uncle Albus got to his feet and everyone’s attention shifted to the front of the hall.

“Welcome!” he said. “Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I have few words. And they are Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! And Tweak!”

Albus sat back down and Harry burst into laughter. That was so like him. Hermione looked at him strangely.

“You shouldn’t laugh at the Headmaster, Harry,” she said sternly.

“Oh, Uncle Albus doesn’t mind if I laugh at him. In fact, I think he enjoys it.”

Hermione shot him another strange look. Harry sighed, but he supposed it was unavoidable. Trying to ignore her, he reached across the table for some potatoes and started to eat hungrily.

Harry spent the rest of the feast listening to the conversations around him and trying to avoid the people who were constantly turning around to have a look at him. Instead he examined the ceiling above him, trying to identify as many of the constellations as he could remember. Then he looked up at the staff table. He could see Uncle Albus sitting in the middle of the table. He found Hagrid, the large man who had led them across the lake, and Professor McGonagall, who he had heard stories about. Uncle Remus told him that she wasn’t nearly as stern as she looked. There was a weird looking man who was wearing some kind of turban. Harry got an uneasy feeling from him. It reminded him of how he instantly disliked that blond boy on the train. Only this time the unease was enough to make his stomach twist unpleasantly. He would have to ask Uncle Albus about the strange man. Sitting next to him was a man with sallow skin and a hooked nose. When Harry saw that he also had greasy black hair he smiled. This was Snape. Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus had told him all about the boy they went to school with. He was obsessed with the Dark Arts and made an excellent prank victim. Remus had even warned Harry how Snape would probably never treat Harry fairly in class. Harry figured if he was going to be treated badly he might as well earn it. Maybe he could convince Ron to take a midnight stroll under the cloak sometime this week. He could modify the spell he used earlier on the train so that it dumped a large amount of soapy water instead. It would be perfect.

Harry turned his attention back to Uncle Albus. He was saying something about a forbidden corridor on the third floor…