Safe Haven

Head Master's Office
August 26, 1991

[One Week before what was supposed to be Harry's First Year at Hogwarts]

Dumbledore POV:

Albus was pacing back and forth in his office. It had been almost a month since he discovered the brat had disappeared. Gone from the house he was supposed to stay at until the time was right. He had thought it would be simple to find the boy again even without the help of his trusty artifacts, but who knew that not even a trace had been found.

There was only a week till all the students would arrive and he needed a new plan. With his primary pawn gone he needed someone to replace him, but who could he get to fill his place.

There weren't very many magically gifted children with a strained relationship with their guardians running around… or was there.

Dumbledore thought of another child that was in a very similar position as Harry Potter. His parents basically died at the age of 1. The boy's guardian did not care too much about if he was dead or alive.

He remembered one occasion where he had gone to the family's home. The boy's grandmother complained about him often about him being a squib. Telling him on and on about all the "tricks" she and his uncle tried to get the boy to manifest magic. She hoped he might have a solution to the problem and asked for help from him. He generously agreed not only to keep up his reputation. She was also a member of the order and did provide some much needed funds over the years. So he humored the old witch and went to pay them a visit.

The boy didn't leave a very big impression on him. The boy was a shivering nervous wreck barely able to get a sentence out due to his stuttering. He seemed to be terrified of the old woman. He couldn't blame him if the stories she told were true. She had been basically torturing the boy, but that didn't matter much to him. He examined the boy finding no issues with his magic must be a mental issue then he thought.

He explained his findings to the witch. "He magic his fine, he is indeed not a squib. I would recommend simply continuing with your current efforts should he manifest eventually" He said with a gentle smile on his face.

"Oh that is splendid, at least the boy isn't worthless. We will work on it when the time comes he will be ready for Hogwarts. Isn't that right boy" She glares at the boy. The boy released a squeak at the sudden hostility.

"Ye-s Gr-andmoth-er" The boy stammered.

Thinking back on that day the boy seemed to be quite easily influenced. Maybe his plans weren't ruined after all, just in need of some slight tweaking. The leading role switched from one Harry Potter to a Neville Longbottom. Yes, that should do quite nicely. Finally with a goal in mind he got to work on the finer details of the plan.

King's Cross Station Platform 9¾
September 1, 1991 - 10:45am

[15mins till the Howarts Express leaves the station]

Neville POV:

The boy hurried across the platform to make sure he got to the train on time. His uncle just pushed him on the platform before leaving back through the floo. Not even bothering to help make sure he got on board alright.

Making his way through the crowd of people on the train platform was a bit of a struggle. He was surrounded by people older and bigger than him, but he did his best to push through. In his rush however he managed to trip over his own feet falling flat on his face. Dazed from the fall it took a while for him to get back up to his knees. That was when he heard a voice next to him.

"Well Forge I do think this little guy here had a little tumble. Think we should help him?" The stranger's voice said.

"But of course Gred what kind of gentleman would we be if we didn't help a fellow man in need" Another one said. With that the boy felt himself being lifted up and set back on his feet.

"There you go-" The first one said. "All up straight now" The other one finished.

Looking at the people who helped him he found two boys not much older than himself. They both had brightly colored hair and wore matching mischievous grins on their faces. That was not the only thing marching however the boy's appeared to be twins.

Finally over his shock the boy quickly thanked the two boys "Um th-anks for helping m-e. I am s-uch a clutz" Neville said. "It's alright little firsty let's count this as our good deed for the day" Gred replied. "Quite right brother of mine can't be causing mischief all the time. Breaks are good for the soul" Forge stated. The boys then looked at each other and laughed. "Not" They both said together.

A scream was then heard from nearby "Fred! George! Where are you? It's time to get on the train!" A woman yelled. The two boys flinched at the sound. They two looked at each other with frowns on their faces before the smiles quickly came back.

"Well we must be off. You yourself might be wanting to hop on the train now. Old Hoggywarts is a waiting" They said before disappearing into the crowd. Taking their advice he continued making his way onto the train. Finding an empty compartment took a bit but he found one to settle himself down in.

Making sure he had all his stuff in order he reached into his pocket to grab his truck. He had managed to convince his grandmother to put a shrinking charm on it for him barely though. With a tap of his wand the truck enlarged back to its original size. He had already triple checked to make sure he had everything he needed not wanting to disturb his grandmother in the case he forgot something important.

That was when something jumped out of the chest out into the cabin. "Trevor, how did you get lose?!" Neville yelled and scrambled to catch the toad before it run off. It was just his luck that at that time someone opened the compartment door. "Excuse me, do you mind? Everywhere else was full" A boy asked standing at the door.

"Quick shut the door!" Neville cried, making another grab for the toad. The boy wasn't fast enough, being shocked at the outburst. Trevor the Toad nimbly dodged Neville's attempt effortlessly, hopping his way out the cabin and down the hall. The two boys were frozen in the now quiet cabin. "Um sorry about that…" The boy said sheepishly.

Today was sure shaping but to be such a great day. First he got dropped at the station alone, then his little stumble on the platform, and now his toad was lose on the train. He let out a sigh "It wasn't your fault. Well you can stay here there is plenty of room. I have to go get him back" Neville said before stowing away his trunk again and heading off down the length of the train.

He popped in and out of compartments asking if anyone had seen Trevor. Most just brushed him off and said get lost. There was however a bossy girl with really bushy hair that basically demanded him to let her help. Not finding a good enough reason to not help, he let her go. She seemed like the type that would have probably gone anyway even if he said no.

It was in one compartment however that he found something he did not expect. Sitting all by himself staring out the window of the small cabin was a blond boy. Not just any boy mind you. The prettiest boy Neville had ever seen he couldn't turn his eyes away from him. "You know it is rude to stare and also to enter someone else's compartment without permission" The boy said with an authoritative tone.

"Oh I'm sorry I knocked but no one answered. I thought this room was empty" Neville said sheepishly, his face growing hot in embarrassment. The boy hummed in acknowledgement "So what brought you to enter my room so carelessly I'm quite curious" He said his eyes shining in amusement.

"Oh right, um … my toad Trevor escaped from his cage. He managed to get out of my compartment so I'm out looking for it. My name's Neville Longbottom by the way" He held out his hand only for the boy to stare at it. He nervously brought his hand back down. This conversation wasn't exactly going very smoothly.

"Are you not familiar with the accio spell? An heir of a noble house such as yourself must have learned all about it already. I guess you can have the privilege of knowing my name Draco Malfoy. I'm sure it's a pleasure to meet me" Draco said arrogantly.

"Oh I do, it's just my wand always fights me when I try to do magic. It never turns out right" Neville gave a self-deprecating smile. A look of confusion crossed the other boy's face. "It fights you? That is not possible wands are meant to help you do magic not impair it. Is your wand faulty? Let me see it." Draco commanded. Neville, not seeing the harm in letting him see it, handed it over.

"Though it is not actually mine. It belonged to my father" He admitted and Draco just stared at him as if he was an idiot.

"This isn't even your wand?! Well no wonder it's not working for you. You know everyone has different qualities about them and they need a wand that suits them personally. You can't just pick up someone else's wand and think it will work for you. Even if it was your father's. You should get your own wand immediately" Draco stated matter of factly.

"You do know we are on the train to Hogwarts right? I can't exactly go to the wand shop" Neville said helplessly. "Ah yes, that is a bit of a problem. Perhaps if you ask a professor you can get them to take you? You certainly won't be able to learn magic correctly with that wand" Draco advised.

"Well I hadn't much choice. My grandmother basically forced it on me saying that this is the wand I should use. She would get angry if I don't" Neville sighed.

"Well that is simply ridiculous any witch or wizard knows that you can't go around using a wand that doesn't fit" Draco stated before a mischievous grins crossed his face. "You could simply not tell her. You could go get a new wand but still carry around the old one. You could even get a sheath to hide the new one" Draco explained.

"Wow you are a genius Draco! That would be perfect, I'll ask someone as soon as I can if I can go get a new wand" Neville said excitedly. "Hmpf I'm glad someone noticed my great intellect. Now seeing as your wand isn't practical I suppose I may simply do the spell for you" Draco said before pulling out his own wand. Giving a few skillful waves of his wand he then recited "Accio Trevor the Toad". A few moments later followed by a few screams of surprise. The lost toad flew into their compartment, the door slamming shut behind it and stopped right in front of Draco.

"Well don't just stand there grab your toad my arms are getting tired here" Draco commanded and gave a small yawn. That broke Neville out of his trace from watching Draco perform magic. With his cheeks a little more pink then they were before he snatched up Trevor and placed him back into his cage. "That was wonderful Draco. Thank you for your help by the way. I don't think I would have found him by the time we got to Hogwarts" Nevile said sincerely. "I really didn't do all that much. It is a fairly simple spell after all. I'm sure you could have easily done it as well if it weren't for that wand" Draco stated his own cheeks growing red at the compliment.

It was then the door flew open and a boy entered the cabin uninvited. "Ah there ya are I was looking for ya" The same red haired boy from earlier spoke. "Is there a sign on my door that says "please enter as you like"? At least you had the decency to knock unlike this fellow" Draco asked perplexed. Neville gave a chuckle. "Who knows?" He said, shrugging his shoulders. "Is that anyway to treat your benefactor? I found your toad and this is the thanks I get" Draco haughtily said. "Sorry Draco" Neville apologized, but was unable to keep the grin off his face. He only got a huff in response.

"Oi l'm still here you know!" The boy shouted. The other two boys turned to look at the intruder. Draco gave the boy a look up and down before speaking "Hmm… red hair and no manners you must be a Weasley and as you can see we were having a discussion. So if you could kindly wait until we are done that would be splendid. Now where were we… Ah yes, an apology not accepted. I think you can do better, maybe beg a little" The boy said arrogantly with a smirk on his face. "Oh your highness please forgive this lowly one for causing you distress. Please accept my deepest apologies" Neville said playfully, giving a deep bow. "Oh your highness… I like it. Consider your apologies accepted" Draco benevolently received his sincerity.

"Well that blond hair and arrogance, ya must be a Malfoy. Ya might want to watch out mate, the Malfoys are a bunch of slimy snakes" The Weasley boy said in disdain.

Then the door opened for the second time. This time it was a girl "Has anyone seen a toad a boy named Neville lost… one" The bossy girl with bushy hair burst into the compartment. And looking at everyone gathered inside she was surprised.

"Oh look at that, another one, we really should lock the door before anymore get in" Draco stated and Neville gave a nod in response.

"Oh it's you Neville have you found it yet?" The girl all but demanded. "Yes actually so you can stop now. Thanks for the help but please leave. That goes for you as well 'mate' " Neville said to the two intruders.

"The name is Ron and I'm just trying to warn ya. The Malfoys are a bunch of death eaters! Ya can't trust them. Come on, let's leave this guy" Ron said. "That's right you can't believe death eaters, they are the worst. I have read lots of books about them. They are evil, you shouldn't hang around him, I'm Hermione by the way" Hermione agreed butting in their conversation.

The two tried to pull Neville out the compartment but he brushed them off. "I can tell the wrong sort for myself thanks and I think you that should be leaving" Neville said quickly shoving while they were distracted the two out the door. Then latching the door lock into place before they had the chance to enter again. There was pounding on the door for a while, but they eventually left. "Whew they are finally gone I thought they would never leave" Neville chuckled turning to Draco, but quickly stopped after seeing the look on Draco's face.

Tears were streaming down his face from his beautiful silvery gray eyes. Neville rushed over and knelt in front of Draco "What's wrong Draco?" He said anxiously, his voice full of worry. "Why did you stay with me? You must have known who my family was. What they have done, so why?" Draco asked, his voice trembling.

"You are not your family, simply as that. You are your own person and just because they have done terrible things doesn't mean you have to follow their example" Neville stated gently wiping the tears away. "Is it okay if I give you a hug?" Neville questioned and received a nod in consent.

Neville got up and sat next to Draco pulling the other boy into a side hug. The blond boy's head rested against his shoulder and his arms wrapped around his middle. The two sat like that for the rest of the train ride. Sometimes striking up a conversation but mostly enjoying each company.

When they finally arrived at Hogwarts station they were half-asleep lulled by the rocking of the train. They uncurled themselves from each other and got all their stuff in order to leave. "Well this will probably be the last time we will be seeing each other since we will shortly be sorted into different houses. It was a pleasure meeting you, Heir Longbottom. I know I will be sorted into Slytherin. Sadly I don't think you would fit in there." Draco said with a bot of melancholy.

"Wow, hang on, why can't we see each other later. So what if we go into different houses can't we still be friends?" Neville pleaded. He had greatly enjoyed his time with Draco and wanted to continue to do so. "It simply isn't done. Once sorted we must be separated and only be with your housemates. It is an unwritten rule in Hogwarts" Draco stated.

"Well then why don't we just meet up in secret then Mr. Slytherin. You can use some of that cunning to find us a way to meet together" Neville teased. "Hmpf see if I meet you again if this is how you treat your acquaintances… Alright fine, we shall meet up again at a later time. For now however I believe we have a sorting ceremony to get to" Draco declared before exiting the compartment and making his way off the train, Neville followed closely behind.

Upon exiting the train a massive man guided the first years to boats in which they used to cross the large lake. Standing there in all her glory was Hogwarts. Lit up against the dark night sky with the moon hanging high overhead. The sight was mesmerizing and to think he would soon be calling this place home for the next 10 months.

They made it to the other shore without a hitch. The man then led them through the grounds of Hogwarts to what appeared to be the main entrance. Once inside the first years were then guided up a flight of stairs to the main hall. Waiting at the top of the stairs for them was an aged older woman with long robes and a pointy hat atop her head.

"My name is Professor McGonagall and I Welcome you to Hogwarts. Now in a few moments you will pass through these doors and join your classmates " gesturing to the large doors located behind her "but before you can take your seats you must be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. The sorting ceremony will begin momentarily" The woman finished walking up to the doors, opening as she approached. With McGonagall at the front all the little first years walked up the aisle to the front of the hall. Waiting there for them was an old and wrinkled hat placed upon a wooden stool.

The professor walked up alongside the stool before stopping right beside it and unfurled the scroll that the students now took notice of in her hands. "When I call your names you will come forth. I shall place the sorting hat upon your heads and you will be sorted into your houses. Hannah Abbott!" The woman called. A little blond girl walked up to the stool and sat down. McGonagall then placed the hat upon her head. In which the hat seemed to come to life. "Ah yes, I know, Hufflepuff!" The hat shouted and everyone in the hall clapped respectfully. The girl quickly got off the stool and ran over to the table under the badger banner.

"Susan Bones!" McGonagall called another name, this girl also going into Hufflepuff. "Terry Boot!" A boy this time went into the house of Ravenclaw. It continued in this fashion the first years being called up to the stool and getting sorted.

Eventually it was Neville's turn. "Neville Longbottom!" The professor called. Just like his year mates before him. He walked nervously up to the stool and sat upon it. Then Professor McGonagall set the hat upon his head. "Hmm where to put you? Where to put you?" He heard a voice talking in his head. "A little cunning and some bravery for sure. A great knowledge of plant life but not enough passion for learning. A tricky one aren't you… but I see a great deal of loyalty, trustworthiness, and a heart filled with kindness. Yes of course you should be placed in Huf-" The hat abruptly went silent.

"Um, are you alright?" Neville softly questioned, confused as to why the hat suddenly went quiet. It remained silent for a few minutes, constantly shaking and jerking around before it finally cried out "Gryffindor!" It screamed in almost a painful tone. The boy was confused "Didn't the hat say he was going to go into Hufflepuff? Why did it suddenly change it's mind?" He pondered to himself as he walked to the table of the lions. Unknown to the boy, a certain headmaster's eyes twinkled with a devious glint.

The sorting continued on as normal a few sorting having the same odd reaction as Neville's did. He paid it no mind for now as Draco was up next.

"Draco Malfoy!" The woman called. The boy is question walked gracefully up to the stool and sat upon the wooden stool as if it was a throne. Before the hat could even reach the top of his head it shouted out "Slytherin!". Neville couldn't help chuckling at its response, but of course still clapped for Draco even if he was the only one in Gryffindor to do so.

There was again a hiccup in the ceremony when the list got to the P's.

"Harry Potter!" The woman yelled but no matter how long she waited no one would come forward. At this name however the whole hall was in an uproar. "Is he really here?" "Did he finally come to Hogwarts?" "Oh I wonder what he looks like?" Looking around Professor McGonagall couldn't see the child of her beloved students "Harry Potter?" She called again but to no answer.

It was then Headmaster Dumbledore stood up and called for everyone to settle down. "Apologies but Mr. Harry Potter will not be attending Hogwarts this year as he is currently indisposed. Please continue with the sorting Professor McGMcGonagall" It took a while to settle the crowd again after that revelation, but nonetheless the sorting went on.

When it finally finished everyone finally began eating with their new housemates. After the meal and a few announcements from the headmaster the students were then allowed to turn in after a long day.

Neville exited the hall following a perfect to lead them to their common room. Not before sneaking a wave to Draco of course. Once arriving at his room Neville quickly got ready for bed and fell asleep as soon as his head hot the pillow. It had been a long day.