FicWad

Author's Note: Thanks to my beta, Rayvywood for her work on this chapter and the previous ones.

Chapter Seven - September 1st

Click. Wrrr.

"Don't they look so cute?"

Click. Wrrr.

"Must we take pictures while they're asleep?"

"Of course, James!" Lily snapped. "This is our son's big day and we'll want to record every bit of it."

"Well, I certainly hope we let our son have some privacy when he gets ready for the day," James said. "I certainly don't want to be privy to any photographs like that."

Lily put down her camera and slapped James's arm in response, eliciting a stuck-out tongue from her husband. Her attention was quickly pulled to the twin seven-year-old girls anxiously shifting from foot to foot at the side of the bed. "Alright, girls. I think your brother has had quite enough rest." The twin sisters gave broad smiles to their mum and proceeded to jump on to the bed, quite enthusiastically.

Harry had been quite contently sleeping; having spent the previous night packing his trunk with the help of his parents. He was shaken awake by the jostling of the mattress. Harry sat straight up, blinking away the sleep as he reached for his glasses. Bonnie was content to mutter under her breath and turn away from the chaos, burrowing deeper into the covers. His vision focused on the two bouncers of his bed, his sisters, Daisy and Rose.

"Good morning, Harry!" the girls shouted.

"Must you do that?" Harry responded, roughly shoving the bedcovers off him and standing up. "I was having a nice dream," he pouted.

"Well, sleepy head, we didn't pack last night just so you could sleep the morning away," said James. "The whole family is going to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters this year."

"Yes, so get ready, dear, breakfast will be ready shortly." Lily gave her son a kiss on the forehead, while James ruffled Harry's hair, adding to the boy's already disheveled appearance.

Harry sighed and turned back to the bed. Seeing Bonnie still asleep, he shared a conspiring glance with his sisters. "Oh, we'll be ready."

As Lily and James were making their way down the hallway, they could hear the surprised shout of a girl and the cavalcade of laughter that followed.

*

It was a loud and boisterous group that made their way to King's Cross Station that morning. Andromeda, Lily, and Narcissa stayed near the back of the pack, holding in their arms the youngest of the family, three-year-olds, Orion, Jack, and Artemis.

"I'm glad everyone decided to go this year," said Narcissa. "This is the first time I've been here since graduation. It's nice to have the chance to appreciate the experience this time around."

"You say that now, Cissy," answered Andromeda, "but once it's time for Artemis to go to Hogwarts, it'll become bittersweet. Dora's about to start her sixth year, and I still miss her as much as I did when it was her first year."

"At least these three will be going in together," said Lily, referring to the children in their arms. "I'm glad Harry has Nym and Daphne to go to at Hogwarts. Not everyone can be as lucky as I was and make best friends right on the Hogwarts Express." She smiled fondly at the two witches next to her.

"I was a Ravenclaw, you know," answered Andromeda smugly. "You reminded me so much of Cissy that I just had to introduce you two. I still don't understand how she didn't land in Ravenclaw."

"Not all intelligent people go to Ravenclaw, Ann. Besides, green looks so good on me that I couldn't resist," Narcissa quipped. The three witches shared a smile before bursting into laughter, drawing looks from the rest of the group.

Over in the middle of the group, Olivia was helping Remus watch over the energetic twins and a sullen Bonnie.

"Uncle Remus, Look at all these Muggles!" exclaimed Daisy.

"Sssh," hissed Remus, "not so loud, Daisy."

"Easy goes it, Remus," replied Olivia, calmly walking beside the two. "Besides I don't think she's the twin you should be worrying about." She nodded in the direction of a group of young Muggle girls standing by a ticket booth. Amongst them was Rose, enthusiastically chatting with a girl holding a puppy. Remus quickly walked in that direction, pointedly avoiding looking at Olivia, quite sure that she was amused at the situation from the giggles he could faintly hear.

At the front, Harry, Nym and Daphne were being led by James and Sirius, who were expertly guiding the trunks of the three students through the crowd. Nym chewed on a piece of bubblegum impatiently, brushing her hand through her Muggle-safe long black hair. Daphne's head was on a constant swivel, from watching in amusement at the fashions of Muggles, to glancing at her mum behind her. This was going to be the first extended period of time in her life that they'd be apart. Harry was quite content to fiddle with the object in his hands, a Golden Snitch that he got from his dad and the Marauders for his eleventh birthday. Completely taken up with his toy, Harry was caught off guard when it was snatched from his hands abruptly.

"So this is what has your attention Harry?" asked Nym, holding up the struggling Snitch to the light. "You've been obsessed with it since you got it, although I think you need more practice if I can take it from you so easily."

"Give it back, Nym!" said Harry, trying to grab the Snitch from her hands. "Seekers just catch Snitches; they don't have to wrestle it out of the other's grip. Besides there's Muggles everywhere, Mum will kill me if she sees it out in the open."

"Not my problem," taunted Nym, sticking out her tongue at Harry. She looked around and noticed that no one was paying any attention to them. 'Dad probably thinks I'll be the responsible one since I'm sixteen,' thought Nym, smirking at the opportunity thrust upon her. "Catch me if you can, Harry!" Nym tightened her grip around the Snitch and leapt over a guard rail, disappearing into the crowd.

"You're on!" shouted Harry, sparing a glance at Daphne before leaping over the same guard rail and running in the direction Nym went.

Daphne looked around nervously, and much to her relief, Sirius Black and James Potter were in deep conversation, not noticing the absence of their children. She shrugged to herself before she slid between the guard rail swiftly, taking care to keep her outfit clean. "Wait for me, Harry!" shouted Daphne, going in the direction of the other two.

Nym had gotten out to a significant lead, when she ran into a large line waiting to board a nearby train. She saw Harry's raven-haired head bobbing up and down behind her getting closer to her location. She turned a corner and slid past a sign marked 'Platform 9b', only to catch her foot on an abandoned cart and stumble through the magical barrier. Nym's fall was halted by two pairs of arms. Looking up, she noticed she had come to a stop behind a family of redheaded wizards. Two identical boys from the family had noticed Nym's arrival and were holding her up.

"Nym! Fancy meeting you here!" exclaimed the twin on the right.

"I'm going to have to pay Charlie those Sickles. I was so sure she'd show up Weasley-red," the other twin replied, lightly tugging on Nym's black hair.

"Fred, George," Nym greeted, slapping away George's hand. "If you didn't remember, little Harry is joining us at Hogwarts this year, and I thought it was appropriate to go black."

"Ah, and where is the little bugger?" asked Fred, looking behind Nym for any sign of family.

"Yeah, Nym. How'd you lose the family? Maybe you could give us some tips?" questioned Fred. "We've tried to lose ickle Ronniekins a few times over the years, but he always found his way back."

"Long story, guys. So is that Charlie's replacement?" asked Nym, looking at the back of the head of the youngest Weasley boy.

"Yes," nodded George sadly, "right there between mum and Ginny. We lose Charlie to Romania and we gain the Cannons fanatic."

"Can't stop talking about them," said Fred. "Don't even know why he likes them. He's an oddball like Percy."

"Like Ginny too," added George. "She spent all morning talking about how she'll finally get to meet /Harry/."

"That girl needs to get her priorities straight," said Fred, shaking his head.

"Oh, I think she's got her priorities in order," said Nym, a mischievous gleam in her eyes as she felt the fluttering of Harry's Snitch in her jeans pocket.

"Hello, dear," Molly Weasley greeted Nym, finally noticing the teen's arrival. "Where is your family? Is bringing Harry difficult? I so wanted to see him again." A small squeak came from Molly's side and Nym grinned at the young girl.

"Hi, Mrs. Weasley. No trouble at all, I just ran ahead from the rest of the group. In fact..." Nym turned and looked at the crowds to see Harry with Daphne a few feet behind him, running in her direction. She reached into her pocket and removed the Snitch. "Here he comes right now."

"Nym! Our dads are going to get it when they notice we're gone," Harry exclaimed as he reached Nym's location next to the Weasleys. "Now, give me that--" He lunged for the Snitch Nym had in her hand, only to have her pull it out of his reach. Out of balance he collided with Ginny Weasley and they fell to the floor in a tangle of arms and legs.

"I always...catch the...Snitch," Harry said trying to catch his breath from the fall.

"Oh, you caught something all right, Harry," answered Nym, a smirk tugging at her lips. "She may be small but she isn't a Snitch, flyboy."

Harry took the opportunity to look at who he had collided with. With his glasses askew, all he could see was a mass of red hair on top of him, but as he brushed aside the hair he saw an extremely flushed, teary-eyed, girl. As he tried to untangle himself with her, Ginny took the opportunity to punch him hard in the arm. "Ow!" Harry exclaimed, "I'm sorry I ran into you but you didn't have to hit me!"

Harry's protestation brought the incident to Molly's attention. She quickly rushed over and helped Ginny off of Harry. "Oh you dears," Molly said, brushing dirt off Ginny's dress, "this isn't the place to roughhouse. Too many Muggles about."

Seeing Harry from a few feet away, seemed to bring some recognition to Ginny. Her glare that had been fixed on him quickly turned to a wide-eyed, frightened look and she paled considerably. It didn't help that Fred and George were snickering pretty loudly at the turn of events. Ginny's flush returned in full force and she quickly hid behind her mother.

Harry didn't notice as at that moment, a harried looking James Potter and Sirius Black came through the barrier leading the rest of the family behind them. "There you three are!" James exclaimed, putting down the trunk he was holding, "Well, at least you made it here. We're already cutting it close as it is."

"Molly, boys, Ginny, pleasure to see you all," said Sirius charmingly. "Since Harry and Daphne," he nodded towards the brown-haired girl who was currently hugging her mother, "are both joining Nymmy at Hogwarts this year, the whole family decided to come."

"How wonderful! Arthur will be upset to have missed this. We haven't seen everyone since Ginny's first birthday," Molly said, delivering out hugs to the whole family.

"Well, let's get these trunks aboard, and you children say goodbye to your mums," said James, motioning for Percy, Fred and George to help the Marauders out. Harry's gaze followed their progress until it stopped at their destination, the Hogwarts Express. The breathtaking, scarlet steam engine distracted Harry, enabling him to be grabbed and put through the whole family goodbye line.

"It feels like just yesterday you were running into your dad's office and meeting me for the first time, Harry," said Olivia, smoothing out his shirt collar. "You watch out for Daphne, alright?"

"Yes, Ms. Greengrass," answered Harry jovially. "Daphne's one of my best friends. Even if we're in different houses we'll always be friends."

Harry was then embraced warmly by his Aunt Narcissa. "Don't do anything reckless, Harry," warned Narcissa. "Learn from my niece's mistakes. If you have to do anything, don't get /caught/." She gave him a sly wink and kiss on the cheek before passing him on down the line.

"Don't worry about writing letters for Potter Black, dear," Andromeda said, giving Harry a hug and a kiss on the forehead, "being at Hogwarts is your time away from all those responsibilities and you just be yourself. Keep your family informed though!"

"I will, Aunt Andromeda," confirmed Harry, just before he was met by his sisters, Daisy and Rose. "Even though I'm off to Hogwarts, I expect to hear that you two are messing with Uncle Sirius, alright?"

"Never doubt us, Harry," they chimed together. "We'll keep things busy while you're away. We'll miss you, big brother." Daisy and Rose gave him a kiss on the cheek and hugged Harry strongly. They were joined by another set of arms, belonging to Harry's mum, Lily Potter.

"Oh, Harry, you'll have so much fun," said Lily, holding Harry and the girls close to her. "Make sure to write, young man. The girls and I will miss you. We all love you." She left a kiss on his head before releasing him from the embrace. "And don't get into too much trouble, Harry. If I find out your father gave you any of his toys to cause mischief, he won't know what's coming to him."

"Don't worry, mum," said Harry, relieved to have made it to the end of the line. "We Potters are a slippery lot. Love you." He made his way over to where Nym was talking very quietly to her sister, Bonnie. Nym greeted Harry with a grim smile, while Bonnie stared straight ahead, not acknowledging him.

"Well, Bonnie, I guess this is it," started Harry, throwing his arm around the girl's shoulder. "Hopefully Hogwarts won't be completely terrible without you. You can keep my Snitch while I'm gone; I doubt I'd have much use for it at Hogwarts this year. And make sure our dads don't get too comfortable with both me and Nym away."

Bonnie finally turned to face Harry, her eyes shining with gratitude at his kind words. Harry noticed her change of mood and resigned himself to being hugged by another crying female. Bonnie hugged him before stepping back and slugging Harry in the arm.

"Ow!" yelped Harry, rubbing his sore arm. "Looks like you're feeling better already. What is with girls today and hitting my arm?"

"Speaking of abusive girls, Harry," said Nym, "what are you going to do about her?"

"Yeah, Harry," agreed Bonnie, "not exactly the way I'd want to meet my crush."

Harry turned around to look closely at the red-haired girl he had run into hiding behind Molly Weasley. "That was /Ginny/?" he asked incredulously, "I didn't realize you were standing next to the Weasleys!"

"I was, and now you're going to at least say goodbye to her. She was looking forward to seeing you, Harry." Nym grabbed Harry's arm and with the help of Bonnie, they led him over to where Ginny was hiding.

"Uh...hi," said Harry, laughing nervously at the awkward situation.

Ginny turned to the trio and blinked owlishly at Harry, a flush growing on her cheeks.

Harry continued on, looking into her soft brown eyes. "I wanted to say I'm sorry about running into you and just leaving like that. You didn't say in your last owl that you'd be here at Platform Nine and Three-Quarters."

The Hogwarts Express whistle blew at that moment, signifying five minutes until departure from the station. Nym and Bonnie nudged Harry to finish up and said polite goodbyes to Ginny, leaving the two alone for a moment.

"If I'd known, I would've brought something more, but," Harry said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small bag of Chocolate Frogs, handing them to Ginny. "Here. I was going to eat them on the train, but I think I'd rather you have them. I have to run. See you, Ginny."

Ginny held the bag of Chocolate Frogs close to her chest as Harry started to jog towards his dad at one of the train entrances. Molly, having seen the interaction between her daughter and Harry, gave Ginny a slight nudge and nodded in the young wizard's direction. "Th-Thank you!" the girl shouted, causing Harry to turn around towards her. He gave her a smile and waved before entering the Hogwarts Express.

Harry stepped onto the train, and met up with a flustered Daphne waiting in the train corridor. "Did you have fun running through Muggles and saying goodbye to your /friend/?" Daphne asked haughtily.

"Come off it, Daphne," said Harry, throwing his arm around her shoulder. Daphne leant into his embrace, a slight blush on her cheeks. "You don't even know her; she's very nice in her letters."

"I bet she is," muttered Daphne.

"Aw, you're just sore that I took off after Nym without waiting for you. I wish you'd get over aversion to Muggles. They're just like us, just without magic," said Harry, leading the two of them into an empty compartment.

"Yes, well that magic part is pretty important to us and the wizarding world," Daphne said, sitting down by the window in a huff.

Harry just rolled his eyes and sat across from her, playfully setting his feet on Daphne's lap. She stuck out her tongue at Harry and tossed his feet off her lap, causing him to be off balance and fall sideways in his seat. Harry jumped onto her and they started tickling each other, giggling and laughing loud enough to be heard in several compartments down either way.

*

A few hours into the trip towards Hogwarts, Harry and Daphne had calmed down, changed into their school robes and were currently eating some Cauldron Cakes they'd bought from the tea trolley witch. The compartment door opened and Nym stuck her head in.

"Hey you two, I wondered where you had gone," Nym said, stepping fully into the compartment leading a young girl with blonde pigtails behind her. "I'd like you to meet Hannah Abbott," Nym put her hand behind the girl and pushed her in front of her. "She was about to be victimized by Fred and George. Percy stopped them and asked me if I'd introduce Hannah to you two, and I said I would."

Nym led Hannah to the seat right next to Daphne, while she plopped herself down into the seat next to Harry. "Hannah Abbott, meet Daphne Greengrass and Harry Potter. Harry, Daphne, meet fellow first year, Hannah Abbott."

Hannah's eyes widened at the introduction of the boy across from her. "H-hello," she stammered. "It's nice to meet all of you." She smiled shyly at Harry and held her hand out to Daphne.

"It would be nice to have another girl around since Bonnie won't be here this year," Daphne admitted reluctantly, lightly shaking Hannah's hand and offering the girl a small smile.

"And I'm just Harry. I think you'll find quickly that I'm just like any other boy," Harry assured the girl. "Cauldron Cake?"

Nym left the compartment shortly after to join her friends and the three students spent the rest of the trip finishing off their snacks and exchanging stories of their home life. They were only interrupted once more, by a bushy-haired brunette first year named Hermione Granger. She had been looking for a boy's toad, and once it was found not to be in the compartment, she politely said goodbye and continued on her search.

By the time the train arrived in Hogsmeade, they were well on their way to being good friends. They joined up with the rest of the first year students in following an extremely large man towards a group of boats sitting on the shore of a gigantic lake. Harry, Daphne and Hannah were joined by another blonde girl in one of the boats. As they floated along the lake, Harry joined the others in gaping at the site of the illustrious Hogwarts Castle, their home away from home for the next seven years.

Once they were led up stone steps to a doorway, the giant man knocked on it and waited for a response. He noticed Harry standing near the front left in the group of first years and walked over to him with a smile.

"Hello, Harry," greeted the man, "I don't know if you remember me, but the name's Rubeus Hagrid. I'm the Keeper of Keys and Groundskeeper here at Hogwarts, and I was a friend of your dad."

"Oh, hello," answered Harry, "these are my friends, Daphne Greengrass and Hannah Abbott. I'm afraid I don't remember you, what with all the trips I've taken with my family, but if you were a friend of my dad, then I know we'll get along famously." Harry exchanged grins with the giant man. Daphne rolled her eyes, while Hannah smiled at Harry's charm.

Hagrid was called away from the three when the doors opened and a stern-looking witch approached the first years. She introduced herself as Professor McGonagall and led the group through the doors and into a giant hall where four long tables stood lined with students and one that spanned the width of the room held the teachers. Harry noticed Daphne and Hannah looking up, and joined them, seeing the ceiling of the hall, which had an enchantment over it to make it look like the night sky.

The bushy-haired girl from the train could be heard from further down. "This is the Great Hall. I read in Hogwarts, A History that the ceiling was bewitched to look like the sky outside."

"Harry?" Harry turned to see the youngest Weasley boy right next to him. "Um, I'm Ron; we played together a bit when we were babies."

"Oh, hi Ron," answered Harry, "I didn't see you earlier or I would've said hello."

"It's alright, I was stuck listening to my brother Percy for most of the time, although there was this fun moment on the train, where Fred and George were about to prank this girl..." Ron stopped when he noticed the reddening face of Hannah.

Harry gave Hannah's arm a little squeeze. "Well, I think the Sorting is about to start," he said, changing the subject. "So I guess, I'll see you around, Ron?"

Ron gave a weird look at Daphne and Hannah, wondering why Harry would want to hang around girls. "Yeah, maybe we'll both be Gryffindors!" Harry gave Ron a smile and turned his attention back to what was happening.

Once the group reached the front of the hall, near the teacher's table, Professor McGonagall placed a wooden stool and an old-looking wizard's hat in front of the first year students. They were all shocked when the Hat broke into song.

Once the impromptu song was finished, Professor McGonagall stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. "Once I call your name, you will sit on this stool and put on the hat to be Sorted," she indicated, "Abbott, Hannah."

Hannah gulped nervously, exchanged shaky smiles with Harry and stumbled over to the stool. She put on the Hat, which fell down over her eyes, and sat down.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat, and Harry watched as a beaming Hannah removed the hat and walked over to the cheering table on the right and sat down next to an enthusiastic Nym, waving shyly at the merry ghost of Hufflepuff, the Fat Friar.

"Granger, Hermione!" The bushy-haired girl broke free from the group and ran over to the stool, jamming the Hat over her head eagerly.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat, and Ron let out a groan. Harry nudged him in the ribs to quiet down, before returning his attention just in time to hear his friend called.

"Greengrass, Daphne." Daphne let go of the fierce grip she had on Harry's shoulder, and nodded to herself before calmly strolling up to the stool and laying the Hat gently on her head.

"SLYTHERIN!" shouted the hat, and a smirking Daphne removed the Hat, and walked over to the Slytherin table, winking at Harry as she passed him.

Harry was now at a crossroads of what house he wanted to belong to. Nym and his new friend, Hannah, were both in Hufflepuff. His best friend, Daphne, was Sorted into Slytherin, but that house seemed to have a few seedy-looking students, including that blonde boy he had met at Madam Malkin's.

"Potter, Harry." Harry shook himself from his thoughts, and walked towards the stool. The entire hall was stunned by his presence and whispers broke out throughout each table. Students were all stretching and leaning from their seats, trying to get a view of him.

He placed the Hat on his head and waited. For what, he'd soon find out. "A Potter? Hmm, I'd wondered when I'd see you here," said a small voice, "Difficult decision. Plenty of cunning and courage, I see. Interesting mix. Fiercely loyal, and a mind to go with it...Now where to put you?"

Harry shifted in his seat and thought, 'A place I can be myself.'

"Be yourself, eh?" said the small voice. "Your mother said the same thing when I Sorted her. Others expected you elsewhere, to help your way to greatness. But if you're sure...RAVENCLAW!" The last word was shouted out to the Great Hall, bringing the whole hall into silence.

Harry calmly removed his hat and walked nervously over to the Ravenclaw table. He shrugged at a stunned Ron, and loud cheers erupted from the Ravenclaws. The other tables soon joined in, led by Hannah, Nym and Daphne.

He was motioned over by an older Ravenclaw girl, and he moved to sit down next to her.

"Hi, Harry," said the older girl, smiling at him and patting his hand on the table. "My name is Penelope Clearwater, and I'm a Ravenclaw Prefect. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask me."

Harry smiled back, "Thank you," he said to Penelope. He exchanged nods with Hannah and Nym sitting behind him, and Daphne who was sitting at the table across from him. They might not have been Sorted together, but they'd stay friends, Harry would make sure of it. But for now, he just needed to get used to being in Ravenclaw. The only thing keeping the night from being perfect was that Bonnie wasn't there to enjoy it with him.