The last few weeks of the summer holiday flew by in a haze of rainy days, reading copious piles of books and flying his Nimbus 2000 around the garden. Severus came back another time for gossip and wine, Professor Sprout came over for dinner and on another day, Remus and Kingsley both came over for dinner and they stayed up far too late playing Scrabble (Hari lost to all three of them by a landslide) and Exploding Snap on the living room carpet.

On nicer days, Hari spent his time climbing trees in the back garden to see how high he could go or talking to the garden snake that lived in the hedge in the back. He practised various dives and loops on his broom, chasing after fairies and laughing too loudly as Minerva shouted at him for sitting on the roof of the house. Sometimes, Minerva let him walk to the nearby village where he’d spend his Muggle pocket money on food from the outdoor market or another book from the local book shop. He wandered through the nearby fields, walking through the grass that reached up past his waist, skimming his fingers over the top as the pale sun beat down on his tawny skin.

If it was raining, which was often, Hari would sit in the kitchen and finish the last of his summer homework while the radio played old hits or the news. He read through books on the living room couch or in his bedroom, going through the entire top shelf of Minerva’s book shelf in the lounge. He also spent a lot of time writing and sending letters to his friends, particularly Draco.

Draco’s letters were much more positive that summer, compared to the previous year. After Dobby was freed and told Draco the truth about his mother, he was writing about getting to speak to her again about his troubles and her dislike of his father’s increasing obsession with blood purity.

A couple days before the end of summer holiday, Hari was lying on his back in bed, rereading the latest issue of Quidditch Monthly, admiring the new Firebolt when there was a knock on his bedroom window. He sat up and grinned at the sight of Hedwig sitting on his window ledge. Hari dogeared his page and went over to the window, letting Hedwig in. Her feathers were damp from the rain outside and she shook water droplets onto the floor and Hari as she shook out her wings when she landed on the foot of his bed.

“Thanks, Hedwig,” Hari mumbled, untying the parchment from around her leg and stroking her feathers. It was from Draco again, written in his neat and slanted writing:

Dear Hari,

I agree wholeheartedly, obviously, that Cornelius Fudge and the Ministry in general are a bunch of idiots. If you ask me, Fudge doesn’t know at all what he’s doing these days. He’s just working blindly and hoping for the best.

It sounds like your weather is much worse than it is down here. Mother and I are going back to Wiltshire in a few days before the holiday breaks up. I’m going to miss it down here in Brighton. The weather in the last week has been gorgeous. I think you’d like it here, Hari. Maybe you can come join us next year! Mother says she misses you. It’s been ages since you last saw her, isn’t it? If we can somehow do it without Father knowing, I bet we could manage it.

Anyway, Mother and I are going to Diagon Alley the day before term starts and it would be wonderful to see you. I believe the Weasleys are going then as well and Hermione and I are planning to meet up as well, so we could all go to Hogwarts together, perhaps?

Write soon! (I mean it, Potter.)

Yours,

DM

Grinning to himself, Hari sat down at his desk, pulled out parchment, ink and a quill and began dictating a response. Once he got to the part about going to Diagon Alley, he paused and hurried downstairs to ask Minerva. After asking her and then insisting on Floo calling Remus to double check, Hari sprinted back up the stairs to send Draco his reply that he would be able to meet him at the Leaky Cauldron on the last day of break and to suggest meeting times.

¤¤¤

A few days later, Hari finished packing his trunk with all the things he needed to take to Hogwarts, left it behind for Minerva to take to Hogwarts with her to save him having to bring it himself and then stepped into the fireplace with one last goodbye over his shoulder to Minerva.

Remus was waiting for him in his living room, dressed in a grey sleeveless jumper, red tie and a long black overcoat. “Ah, right on time,” he said as soon as Hari stumbled out of the fire. He tapped his watch, raising his eyebrows momentarily. “We should get going, now. We can Floo right into the Leaky Cauldron and check in and leave our stuff there and then go and find the others.”

Hari nodded and grabbed a handful of powder and threw it into the fire, calling out, “The Leaky Cauldron!” He stepped inside the fire again and screwed his eyes shut and held his breath as hundreds of grates flew past him, giving him snippets of other people’s living rooms. Finally, he arrived in the fireplace of the Leaky Cauldron and stepped out into the pub.

It was strange being back here again after the last time he was there only weeks ago. Back then he had been on the run, terrified of being expelled or arrested and now he was about to see his friends again and go back to Hogwarts for the school year the next day. The difference was alarmingly stark to Hari as he stepped out of the way to let Remus step out, dragging his trunk behind him.

They quickly checked in with Tom, who took them to their room so they could drop off their stuff before heading out into Diagon Alley.

As always, the cobblestone streets of Diagon Alley were alive with magic, packed to the brim with people doing their last minute shopping for school. Hari gazed at the various colourful shop fronts showcasing cauldrons and spellbooks and potions and robes in all shapes and sizes. Remus had to physically drag Hari away by the back of his jumper from a display of the new Firebolt broomstick in Quality Quidditch Supplies and they pushed their way through the crowd to get to Gringotts bank.

Gringotts was the largest wizarding bank in the world, a towering white building at the end of Diagon Alley with elaborate arches and a glass ceiling. Inside, it was a vast hall with rows of cash desks on either side, situated with very stern and uptight looking wizards and witches and a few goblins. The tile floor was freshly polished and reflected the glittering light from the magnificent chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. A large golden clock on the farthest wall was chiming merrily.

The journey to the vaults in Gringotts was a motion sickness-inducing affair on rickety little carts that zipped lower and lower into the dark and foreboding depths of the underground lair, driving seemingly of their own accord. A wizened but generally polite older wizard led Hari and Remus to their individual vaults to collect some money and then they went right back to the outside world.

“Hari!” someone called from the other end of the bank, almost as soon as they stumbled out of the cart and into the entrance. Hari’s face split into a grin as he saw Draco and his mother, Narcissa standing at one of the desk counters.

Hari split off from Remus and ran directly over to his friend, almost tackling him to the floor as he threw his arms around him in a bone-crushing hug.

Draco had been Hari’s first ever friend his own age, back when he first started living with Minerva. Though initially wary, they quickly became fast friends, visiting each other every few months and then sharing a dorm at Hogwarts. He was easily Hari’s closest friend and as they both pulled out of the hug, beaming, Hari realised just how much he missed seeing Draco every day.

“How was your summer?” asked Harry excitedly, grabbing both of Draco’s hands and pulling him out of the way to allow Remus and Narcissa to chat politely. “Tell me everything!”

“I already told you pretty much everything, Hari. Don’t you remember I wrote to you almost daily?” Draco teased, smirking. Hari rolled his eyes and released Draco’s hand so he could punch his shoulder. Draco turned to his mother. “Can Hari and I go ahead to find the others? I could’ve sworn I saw a group of gingers when we were coming in here.”

Narcissa and Remus shared knowing looks before they both agreed to let them go on their own, as long as they stayed together and remembered to meet in the Leaky Cauldron later. Once freed from the adults, Draco pulled Hari out of the bank by his hand and down the front steps.

“Where do you want to go first?” asked Hari once they were back outside in the hot summer sun. He had to squint to see in the bright light.

“How about Zonko’s? Or we could go and—”

“HARI! DRACO!”

Draco was interrupted by the screaming of both Ron and Hermione, sitting under the shade at Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour. Hari and Draco jogged over to greet their friends, grinning. Ron seemed to have grown at least another half a foot and was covered in even more freckles than the last time Hari saw him while Hermione’s deep bronze skin seemed to glow more warmly from her time abroad.

“It’s about time!” Ron exclaimed as Draco and Hari took the seats opposite them. “We went to the Leaky Cauldron but they said you both had already come and gone. We went to a few shops already like Flourish and Blotts and Madam Malkins.”

“Is it true you blew up your aunt, Hari?” asked Hermione once Florean Fortescue came by to take Hari’s and Draco’s ice cream orders. She looked concerned, reminding him again of Minerva with her narrowed brown eyes and cocked eyebrow.

“Well, it was an accident,” Hari explained as Ron and Draco both laughed. “I just lost control. You should have heard the shit she was saying about my parents.”

Hermione kicked Ron and Draco in the shins and snapped, “It’s not funny, you idiots. I’m honestly surprised Hari wasn’t expelled!”

“I thought I was going to be arrested,” said Hari.

He was about to tell them about what Remus and Minerva told him about Sirius Black when Mr. Fortescue placed Hari’s and Draco’s ice creams in front of them, halting the conversation.

“Have you two already got all your stuff?” asked Draco, digging into his mint and chocolate ice cream happily, getting a bit of whipped cream on his nose.

Ron beamed and reached into his pocket. “Look what I got!” he said, pulling out a long thin box and opening it on the table. It was a new wand from Olivander’s. “Fourteen inches, willow and containing a single unicorn tail-hair.”

“Brilliant! That’s a really nice wand,” said Hari honestly. Draco tucked his spoon into Hari’s ice cream with a devilish grin, stealing a bit of his peanut butter fudge ice cream. “You’re a greedy bastard, Draco Malfoy,” remarked Hari, elbowing his friend in the side.

“Why thank you, Mr. Hari Potter,” Draco snarked back, winking. He gestured to Hermione’s three bulging bags at her side. “What’s all that stuff, Hermione?” he asked.

“I’m taking more subjects than all of you, remember?” replied Hermione. “They’re my new books for Divination, Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Ancient Runes and Muggle Studies—”

“Muggle Studies?” blurted Draco, raising his eyebrows. “But you’re a Muggle-born, Hermione!”

Ron shook his head. “Hermione, you already know plenty about Muggles. You grew up surrounded by them,” he agreed.

“Well, yes, but it’ll be really interesting to learn about them from a Wizarding stand point.”

“So that’s you starving and not sleeping all year, then,” said Hari. Ron snickered and Draco choked on his ice cream, eyes wide. Hermione ignored them and got to her feet.

“I still have some Galleons left,” she said, looking into her pink, purple and blue purse. “It’s my birthday in a few weeks and I was thinking of getting myself something. I was thinking maybe an owl. Hari’s got Hedwig and Ron has Errol, so—”

“Errol’s a family owl, Hermione. I just have Scabbers,” Ron replied, getting up from his own seat. He pulled Scabbers out of his robe pocket and placed him down on the table. “I think I should get him checked over, actually. I don’t think Egypt agreed with him.”

“Ronald, do not put a rat on the table. People eat there,” reprimanded Draco, yanking his ice cream off the table, giving the rat an unimpressed glare. Scabbers did look rather unwell with several bald patches and a distinct droop in his whiskers.

They made their way through the crowd towards the Magical Menagerie as Hari and Draco finished the last of their ice cream. After stealing a bit of Draco’s, Hari concluded that he definitely had the superior taste buds between them. He told Draco as such and was promptly shoved into a brick wall.

The inside of the Magical Menagerie was crammed full of animals in crates and cages. It was difficult to hear anything else over the squawking and the hissing and the meowing from every side. A pair of huge purple toads were croaking in one tank while a jewel covered turtle stood glittering in the window. There were cats of every breed and colour and a small basket of custard coloured Puffskeins buzzing loudly. Hermione wandered around the shop thoughtfully as Draco inspected a cage with a large white rabbit that kept changing into a hat. As Ron went over to the front counter to speak to the shop owner about Scabbers, Hari traipsed over to a large cage filled with various coloured ferrets.

“Hey, Dray, this one looks kinda like you,” Hari teased, pointing out a pale white ferret stretched out across a fluffy black one. Draco wandered over to see what Hari was pointing out and kicked him in the shin when he saw what he was pointing out.

“Yeah? Well, that warty old toad over there looks like you. We’d just need to give it glasses,” he retorted, gesturing in the direction of a tank full of various different toads. He moved over to a cage with a shiny black cat as Hari attempted to kick him in the shins. “Hari, look at this cat. Isn’t it gorgeous?” Draco commented, tugging Hari’s sleeve.

Hari walked over and looked inside the cage. The black cat stared up at him with an almost intense glare, its emerald green eyes unblinking. “It’s tiny, too. Must be a kitten,” he replied.

“I’m going to buy it,” announced Draco, pulling a bag of coins out of the inside of his navy blue travelling cloak.

“You are?”

“Yup. You have to admit, it’s quite—”

Hari and Draco’s conversation was cut off by Ron’s shout and a loud hissing sound. They turned to find a large, furry ginger cat leaping onto Ron’s head, spitting madly at Scabbers cowering in the shop owner’s hands.

“NO, CROOKSHANKS, NO!” yelped the shop owner, accidentally dropping Scabbers, who scuttled away and made a mad dash out of the shop. Ron swore loudly and sprinted out after his rat. Hari hurried after him, leaving Hermione and Draco back in the store with the mad cat.

They found Scabbers hidden in the shadows of a wooden barrel full of slipper grey creatures and Ron shoved him inside his pocket, looking furious. His red hair was sticking out in all directions and he had a scratch on his nose. As they walked back to the Magical Menagerie, Hari was trying to fix the mess of Ron’s hair, wondering if that’s what he usually looked like, but with red hair instead.

As they neared the store, Hermione exited carrying a large wicker basket, inside of which Hari could see something orange and fluffy. It was hissing violently, rattling the cage.

“Don’t tell me you bought that thing!” Ron exclaimed, looking horrified at the spitting cage in Hermione’s arms.

“I thought he was cute,” Hermione replied, pulling a small bottle out of her pocket and handing it to Ron. “You forgot Scabbers’ tonic.”

“Where’s Draco?” asked Hari.

Pointedly ignoring Ron’s glare, Hermione turned to Harry and said, “He’s still paying for his own cat just now. I only caught a glimpse of him, but he looked pretty.”

“Did you say Draco’s also getting a cat?” asked Ron, ears scarlet. “That thing nearly scalped me, never mind two demonic cats!” Draco came marching out of the shop a moment later, carrying a black cage and looking very pleased with himself, chin tilted up. Ron rounded on him immediately, glaring at the cage. “Did you seriously get a cat as well?”

Draco shrugged and held up the cage to show off his new pet. “Yes, I did. Is there a problem, Ronald?” he replied, tilting his head.

“Yes there is!” Ron snapped. “Scabbers needs rest and relaxation! He doesn’t need to worry about two cats!”

“You’re being ridiculous, Ron. Crookshanks will be in my dormitory and Draco’s cat isn’t expected to grow very large, so he’ll hardly be much of a threat to Scabbers,” Hermione pointed out. “Come on, we’ve got to get back to the Leaky Cauldron to meet the others soon.”

They made their way back through the winding streets of Diagon Alley, Ron and Hermione bickering the entire time while Harry and Draco tried to come up with names for Draco’s cat. They found Remus, Mrs. Malfoy and Mr. Weasley sitting at the bar when they entered the Leaky Cauldron, all having a very serious looking conversation. They paused their conversation when they saw Hari and the others entering the Leaky Cauldron with their shopping.

“Hello there, Hari, Draco,” greeted Mr. Weasley, noticing them coming in.

“What is that, Draco?” Narcissa asked, eyes falling onto the cage in Draco’s arms.

“I got a cat, Mother. Hermione’s got one as well,” Draco replied, showing her the inside of his cage. She peered inside the cage, frowning. “Hers nearly maimed Ron. I think that’s why she got him.”

“And you didn’t think to ask for permission before buying a cat?” she asked, arching a pale eyebrow and folding her arms on her chest. Draco’s cheeks flushed.

They were still arguing about Draco’s new pet when Mrs. Weasley entered, laden with bags and followed by Fred, George, Percy and Ginny. Percy was already showing off his new Head Boy badge, a pompous, proud look on his face while Ginny smiled sheepishly at Hari, her freckled round cheeks going as red as her long hair. Percy spotted Hari and walked over, holding out his hand.

“Hari. How wonderful to see you,” he said as Hari shook his hand, trying not to laugh.

“Uh, hello, Percy,” Hari said.

Percy smiled, tilting his nose to the air and pushing his chest out to show off his Head Boy badge. “I hope you’re well?” he asked. Hari felt rather ridiculous. He had a less formal meeting with the Minister of Magic.

George elbowed Percy aside and grabbed Hari’s hand, bowing low to the floor. “Hari, my dear boy! It is simply fabulous to make your acquaintance!” he exclaimed dramatically. Percy scowled, getting shoved out of the way by Fred next.

“Marvelous! Absolutely spiffing to see you, old chap!” he sang, kissing both of Harry’s cheeks in turn.

“That’s enough, boys,” said Mrs. Weasley, frowning at her sons. As they attempted to greet her warmly, kissing her cheeks and bowing dramatically, she snapped, “I said that’s enough! Stop it.”

“Hello, Mrs. Weasley,” said Hari as she put aside her shopping bags and turned to Hari.

She smiled warmly and patted his cheek. “Hello, Hari, dear. I suppose you heard the exciting news about Percy? Second Head Boy in the family!”

“I did! Minerva told me they were going to choose him,” replied Hari, smiling politely at Percy. The older boy straightened up, adjusting his horn rimmed glasses with a grin. “A good choice. Percy’s been following every rule since he started at Hogwarts,” he added honestly. He distinctly remembered when Percy started going to Hogwarts, quickly turning out to be the best behaved out of the lot, even compared to the other Head Boy, Bill.

At the twins’ snickering behind Percy’s back, Mrs. Weasley’s proud smile turned into a scowl and she hit them both with her hand bag. “I notice you two haven’t been made prefects!”

“What would be the fun in becoming prefects, Mum?” said George, gagging.

“It would suck all the joy out of our lives!” added Fred, pretending to faint into George’s arms.

As Ginny giggled, Mrs. Weasley snapped, “You ought to set a better example for Ginny!”

Percy excused himself to get ready for dinner, collecting his shopping bags and heading up the stairs, scowling. George muttered to Hari and Draco, “We tried to shut him in a pyramid, but Mum caught us.”

¤¤¤

Dinner that evening was a thoroughly enjoyable and hectic experience. Tom the innkeeper pushed several tables together so that the Weasleys, Malfoys, Remus, Hari and Hermione could all fit together for dinner. They ordered five different courses of food, stealing bites from each other's plates and arguing over who ordered what. The adults were talking at the other end of the table over glasses of Firewhiskey, heads bent and tones quiet and severe. Hari kept on catching them looking in his direction and thought he had an inkling of what they were discussing.

“What about Scorpius for a name?” said Hermione suddenly. She and Draco were bent over an Astronomy book, trying to come up with a name for Draco’s new cat. After an argument with his Mother which made them several minutes late for dinner, Mrs. Malfoy had agreed to allow Draco to keep his cat as long as he took care of it and didn’t leave anyone else to do the work.

Draco hummed thoughtfully and then shook his head. “Maybe. Does a name for the scorpion fit for a cat?” he asked, flipping the page again.

“Doesn’t your name stand for dragon?” asked Hari, earning a glare from the blond. “I mean, you’re not a dragon, are you?” Ron snickered, flinching when Draco kicked him under the table.

“Is there not a cat constellation or star?” asked Ron, swallowing the last of his slice of chocolate cake. He had a glob of chocolate icing smeared across his right cheek, which no one pointed out.

“No,” said Draco. “But there is a lion… What about Leo?”

“Perfect for the cat of a pretentious Gryffindor,” said Hari.

Draco scoffed and threw a bit of ice cream at Hari, landing right in the centre of his forehead and dripping down into his eyes. Hari gave him the finger and grabbed a napkin. “I am not pretentious, Potter. Leo sounds like a cool name!”

“Okay, Dragon,” said Hari, smirking.

Whatever snide remark Draco was going to give Hari died in his throat as Fred interrupted him to ask, “Hey, Dad? How are we getting to King’s Cross tomorrow?”

“The Ministry’s providing a couple of cars,” said Mr. Weasley.

Everyone looked up, conversations coming to complete stand stills.

“Why?” asked Percy.

“It’s for you, of course!” said George seriously, patting his older brother on the shoulder. “They’ll have little flags on the outside with HB on them—”

“—for Humongous Bighead,” added Fred.

“That’s enough!” snapped Mrs. Weasley.

Draco cleared his throat. “Why are they sending cars, Mr. Weasley?” he asked. Percy shot him a grateful smile.

“Well, our one car isn’t enough for all of us and… the Ministry is just doing us a favour,” said Mr. Weasley, forcing a casual tone that Hari didn’t buy for one second. His ears were flushed red like when Ron was embarrassed or under pressure.

“Good thing, as well,” added Mrs. Weasley. “Imagine what we’d all look like on the Muggle Underground with all that stuff of yours… Is everyone packed yet?”

After dinner, everyone started heading up the stairs to their rooms. Ron and Percy could be heard arguing in the room next to Hari’s and Remus’ room as Hari passed by. Pausing, Hari pulled back and knocked carefully on their bedroom door, wondering what the fuss was about.

Hari pushed the door open, which was slightly ajar and poked his head inside to find Percy shouting at Ron, extremely red in the face with dripping wet hair.

“It was right here! I know you took it!” Percy exclaimed, throwing his arms in the air.

“I didn’t touch your sodding badge!” Ron bellowed, just as pink in the face and ears.

Hari cleared his throat. “What’s up?” he asked.

“I can’t find my Head Boy badge,” said Percy huffily, shaking the hair out of his face and shooting a glare at Ron. “I left it here to go shower and now it’s gone.”

“And I can’t find Scabbers’ tonic,” said Ron, bent over his half empty trunk. Much of his belongings were strewn out onto his bed sheets haphazardly. “Must’ve left it downstairs.”

“You’re not going anywhere until I find my badge!” snapped Percy.

“Have you checked with one or both of the twins? Sounds like something they’d do,” suggested Hari.

Percy seemed to agree. He threw the hairbrush he had been holding into his bag and stormed past Hari and into the corridor. He could be heard hissing angrily all the way down the corridor. Hari shook his head, chuckling and offered to get the tonic for Ron since he had nothing to pack.

In the hallway, Hari ran into Draco, his pale blond hair damp and hanging loose around his face. He was holding Ron’s tonic for Scabbers. Hari blinked in surprise, frozen on the carpet. A water droplet fell from the tip of one of the strands and landed on the floor. “Hari! I was going down to ask Mother something and I found Ron’s tonic,” Draco said, glancing at the door to Ron’s room. “Is he still up?”

Hari cleared his throat and bobbed his head up and down. “Aye, yeah. He was arguing with Percy about supposedly stealing his Head Boy badge,” Hari replied.

“Ah, that explains it. I think George and Fred took it. I saw them on the landing with something, laughing,” replied Draco. His amused smirk fell and he took a step closer to Hari. He muttered seriously, “Listen, Hari. I just overheard a bit of a conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley…”

“Was it, by any chance, about Sirius Black being out to murder me specifically?” asked Hari, tilting his head.

Draco blinked in surprise, taking a step back. “Uh, yeah, it was. How did you…?”

“Minerva and Remus already told me the other day. They thought it was better that I knew than to be nosy and get myself killed.”

Draco didn’t say anything for a moment, his light grey eyes falling onto the carpet contemplatively. His pink lips were pulled into a tight frown, biting the inside of his cheek.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, barely a whisper.

Hari shrugged. “I was going to, eventually. But not exactly something you write your friend in a letter, is it?” replied Hari shortly. “‘Dear Draco, you know that murderer that’s the only person to ever escape from Azkaban? Well, he broke out to kill me! From, Hari,” he deadpanned.

Draco released a heavy breath. He looked back at Hari and then pointed his thumb at the door to Ron and Percy’s room. “I should give this to Ron…” he said, taking a step towards it, “Night, Hari.”

“Night, Draco.”

Hari stepped inside his bedroom to find Remus already in bed, sitting up with a book propped open in his lap and an old Queen t-shirt on. He glanced up from his book at the sound of the door opening and gave Hari a curious look.

“Everything alright? I heard the shouting next door,” he said.

Hari moved over to the bed and sat down, pulling off his trainers. “Yeah. Everything’s fine.”