“Ah, that’s my goat, Ginevra,” Aberforth explained. “Normally, she lives at my home down the hill there. She just came here to play with Harry today.”

“Sineba?” the youngest Weasley child asked incredulously. “I Sineba.”

“Yes, Ginevra, your name is very beautiful, and that’s probably the reason why Mr. Dumbledore has named his goat like this.” Minerva who had just come out of the castle joined the conversation. “Where is Harry?” she then asked, surprised not to see her little grandson.

“An de over goat? Hewe name?” Ginny wanted to know.

“The other goat?!” The three Hogwarts teachers and Aberforth averted their eyes to the two goats trotting playfully around the ground, one of them stumbling every now and then as if it was drunk. The professors glanced at each other, shocked.

“Excuse me, is something wrong with little Harry?” Mrs. Weasley finally interrupted the silence.

“You don’t mean to tell me that Harry has transformed into a goat and none of you noticed?” Minerva suddenly exploded.

“What?!” Bill exclaimed and ran after the goats. “Harry! Wait. Come over to me, please,” he shouted, and one of the goats indeed slowed down and waited for the first-year. “May I pet you?” Bill asked, when the goat stopped in front of him. Seeing the goat incline its head, he carefully started to stroke the animal’s head. “Harry is that really you?” the boy asked fascinated, and the goat gave him a short nod.

Harry slowly relaxed. He had been so upset seeing so many children coming over to them, making so much noise. And when two of them started to attack Ginevra, his wish to escape from the children and to help Ginevra had become so overwhelming that he somehow ended up as a goat. It was a strange feeling, and it was difficult to walk on four legs but he had easily adapted to the goat form.

“Harry, is everything all right?” Minerva asked, and Harry nodded again. “Can you transform back, or do you need me to help you?”

Harry closed his eyes and concentrated on his human form. Suddenly he was a little boy again, shivering because he was instantly missing the goat’s warm coat. “Hawwy cowld. Go into de cassule awwight?”

“Of course, Harry, go on into the castle, quickly. We’ll have tea in the Great Hall,” his grandmother answered and ushered the little boy through the Entrance doors.

-----

When everyone had entered the Great Hall, Bill introduced Harry to his parents and his siblings.

The smallest boy, Ron, laughed at Harry. “You’re funny. You talk like my little sister. But she is only one, still a baby.”

“Sinny no baby, Won!” his sister complained immediately.

“You’re both babies…”

“… as you’re still wearing nappies,” the twins laughed at their younger siblings.

“Gwanny, Hawwy need go potty,” was Harry’s comment to the unpleasant conversation. “Hawwy can go Aunt Poppy’s bafwoom?”

“Of course, let me take you, Harry,” Minerva said calmingly and excused them both for a short while.

After Harry had seen to his needs, he told his Granny, “Hawwy don wike mean boy Won. Hawwy no baby. Hawwy can go potty!”

“Yes, Harry. You are a big boy, and I’m very proud of you,” Minerva assured him, and Harry’s eyes started to twinkle happily.

Beside the normal dining table, a children’s table with small chairs had appeared, where the children could have their tea on their own. Harry sat down next to Bill, who gave him a huge smile. On his other side, one of the twins had sat down and Harry threw him an anxious glance. It had been the twins, who had pulled Ginevra’s tail before – probably. Harry wasn’t one hundred percent sure because there were so many children all looking alike. When Harry had finished his tea, he whispered to Bill, “Want to show you somefing. Hawwy got twain set fow chwismis. Come wif Hawwy to Hawwy’s woom, pwease.”

Bill laughed at the little boy and – amazingly unnoticed by the adults – the two boys left the Great Hall, hurrying up to Harry’s room. They didn’t realize that two small shadows followed them through the halls. Harry proudly showed Bill his train set, and the two boys started to play immediately, oblivious to their surroundings. Suddenly two voices made Harry jump.

“Oh, is this…”

“…what we think it is…”

“…the Hogwarts Express?”

It was the twins. Harry took a step back, trying to hide behind Bill.

“Oh, Harry, it’s all right. Fred and George won’t do anything to you.” Bill coaxed him out of his hiding place.

“Hello Harry, we’re Fred…”

“… and George…”

“…and we are…”

“…the double trouble pranksters from the burrow,” the twins chorused.

Harry immediately liked their smiles. He carefully extended a hand and said, “Hewwo, I’m Hawwy. Gwad to meet you. You pway wif us wif Hawwy’s twain?”

The four boys played for a while. Bill had discovered a box with Lego blocks, and the twins frantically built houses and bridges along the rails, while Harry was moving the train. Suddenly, something drew the twins’ attention.

“Harry, what’s that over there?”

“Is that a Potions kit?”

“Yes, a poshunkit,” Harry replied, guiding the train into King’s Cross.

“May we have a look?” the twins asked, already opening the box.

“Um, yes,” Harry said hesitantly. “But Hawwy not loud brew poshuns wifout Uncy Sewewus.”

“Oh, that’s all right, but maybe we could,” the twins suggested ignoring Bill’s scowl.

Before Bill could tell them off, Poppy and Molly burst into the room, followed by Charlie, Percy, Ron, and Ginny.

“Here you are!” Molly immediately started to scold Bill. “You should have told us or at least your younger siblings where you went.”

“Sorry, Mum. Harry just wanted to show me his new train set, and the twins followed us,” Bill apologized, and Molly and Poppy took a seat at the table, leaving the children to play together.

As soon as Ron had spotted the Hogwarts Express, he jumped over to Harry and took the train from his hands. Harry immediately got onto his feet and took a step backwards, frightened. While he followed Ron’s every move, his eyes started to fill with tears.

“Ron! Give the train back to Harry and apologize immediately,” Bill told his youngest brother.

The small boy gave his brother an angry glare and tossed the train back at Harry. When Harry crawled forward to push the train again, Ginny glanced at him and asked softly, “Sinny haww twain?”

Harry gave her a short nod and returned, “Yes, Sinny may haww twain. Hawwy show you.”

He showed the little girl how to change the signals and shunting points, before he toddled around his room and came back with a box of small animals. Now Ginny, Harry, Fred, and George occupied themselves letting the animals mount the train, before they took turns pushing the train around. Ron sat next to them, sulking.

“Ron, I’m still waiting for you to apologize to Harry,” Bill suddenly told him.

“Sorry,” Ron said shortly and handed Harry a candy.

“No goo, Hawwy,” Ginny told him, while the twins were pushing the Hogwarts Express.

However, Harry thought the colourful candy looked very good and put it into his mouth immediately. It tasted like bananas, which he liked very much. Pushing the candy to the side, he happily thanked Ron around the candy. “Fanku Bon.”

However, a minute later, Ginny pointed to Harry’s hands and said, “Canny no goo. Hawwy gween!”

Harry’s skin had completely turned green. Harry took a horrified glance at his hands, noticing from a corner of his eyes that Ron was smirking. He jumped up and ran over to Poppy, throwing himself at her robes and starting to silently sob into her robes.

“Fred! George!” Molly screamed. “What have you done now?”

The children immediately filled her in on what happened, but this time, Ron refused outright to apologize to Harry. While Molly threw a temper tantrum at her youngest son, the twins went over to Poppy and Harry and apologized.

“We’re sorry, Harry…”

“…We didn’t realize…”

“…that Ron had this candy…”

“…which was obviously ours…”

“…it will wear off in two hours…”

“…and we’re sorry!”

Harry hesitantly lifted his green face. “Fwed and Dowf not bad, onwy Won bad. Hawwy wike Fwed and Dowf, and Sinny and Bill.”

“Sorry, my dear,” Molly jumped into the conversation. “For now, we will return home, but if your Aunt Poppy doesn’t mind, Bill, Ginny, and the twins may come to visit you another day.”

“Of course I don’t mind,” Poppy replied immediately. I know that Harry would like to play with them again, wouldn’t you, sweetie?”

Harry gave her a short nod. “Yes. Hawwy want pway wif Sinny, Bill, and tins.” He tiredly leaned into Poppy’s robes and closed his eyes, while the Weasleys took the Floo back to the Burrow.

After a short nap, Harry remained in his bed for a while, reflecting on what had happened before. ‘Why was Ron so mean to me?’ he wondered. Bill had told him several times that Ron was two years old just like Harry, and Harry had hoped to become good friends with as he had with Draco. But in fact, Ron had been nothing but a big prat. Harry sighed, but his face lit when he remembered how nice the twins had been and how cute the little girl was, whose name was the same as Uncle Aberforth’s goat’s. Determined to ask Poppy when he could play with the twins and Ginny again, he climbed out of his bed and went to look for his aunt.

-----

A few days later, Harry’s four friends were allowed to visit him again. Bill and his two first year classmates, who had remained at the castle during the holidays, promised to keep an eye on Harry, Ginny, and the twins, so that Molly returned to the Burrow to look after her other three children. They had much fun together, playing with Harry’s train set for hours.

As Sirius had offered to take the kids outside and watch over them, Poppy allowed them to go for a walk around the grounds, when it stopped snowing later in the afternoon. Sirius and the children met in the Entrance Hall, and Sirius immediately started a snow ball fight, which the kids enjoyed immensely. Suddenly, Harry started to whine, and when Sirius asked what was wrong he told him, “Uncy Siwiwus, Misses Nowwis made Hawwy faww down and now Hawwy’s knee hawts. Misses Nowwis bad kittie.”

The first year students confirmed, that on their way down the cat had rushed just in front of Harry, so that he stumbled and fell on the hard stone floor.

Sirius rolled up Harry’s trousers, and with a wave of his wand he healed Harry’s bloody knee. “I see, little one. Mrs. Norris really was a prat today. So, what do you think? Shall we all play a prank on Mrs. Norris together?”

“Yes, let’s prank her!” the twins screamed immediately, while the three first year students threw their Defence against the Dark Arts professor an astonished glance.

Only an hour later, Sirius and the children managed to place a bucket at one of the ceilings, containing a mixture of ice and snow, which they made tumble down only onto the unfriendly cat. When Filch later complained to Poppy about what he assumed the boys had done to his precious cat, so that she had caught a cold, Poppy sent him to Sirius, who denied everything and told everyone that the children had behaved themselves very well. Later in the evening, when Poppy put Harry to bed and told him ‘good night,’ he finally admitted the truth to his Aunt Poppy and told her how much fun he had together with the Weasley children, Bill’s friends and his Uncle Siwiwus. Poppy threw him a loving smile. She didn’t like the cat either, who had already made her little boy cry several times.

-----

A few weeks later, after school had started again, Poppy and Aberforth had to leave the castle for a day. They had to attend a friend’s wedding. Poppy and Aberforth had considered taking Harry with them, but finally, for safety reasons, they decided to leave the child at Hogwarts. While teachers and students were in classes, Harry had to stay in the Headmaster’s office with his grandfather and Fawkes.

During the morning, Albus helped Harry do his Alphabet puzzle and played Legos with him until Harry tiredly climbed into his grandfather’s lap, yawning. Then Albus proceeded to read wizarding children’s stories to the boy until he noticed that the child’s breathing had evened; he was fast asleep. Realising that the boy was shivering, he put his grandson onto the sofa, which he enlarged a bit, so that Harry couldn’t fall off. Then he conjured a warm blanket, and tucked the child in, glad that Harry hadn’t woken up.

When Albus woke him up at lunchtime, Harry was very whiny. He somehow didn’t feel well, he wasn’t hungry, and he didn’t want to go to the Great Hall at all. “Pwease, Gwanddad, can Hawwy stay hewe? Hawwy not do anyfing, Hawwy just stay hewe and sweep,” he pleaded.

“But, Harry, you have to eat something, and I cannot leave you alone. However, as I am the Headmaster I have to attend lunch in the Great Hall.”

“Hawwy no want go. And Hawwy not awone, Fowks is hewe too.”

Albus sighed. “All right, my boy. I’ll send Aunt Minerva or Uncle Severus up to stay with you and eat together with you.”

Ten minutes later, Severus entered the office, seeing that Harry was lying on the sofa talking to Fawkes, who sat on the arm rest. He unobtrusively waved his wand over the boy to assess if something was wrong with him and held a phial of Pepper-up potion to Harry’s lips. The child obediently swallowed the liquid and threw him a grateful smile. Severus called a house elf and ordered lunch for the two of them. They ate their lunch and talked quietly, until Albus returned from the Great Hall. Before Severus had to go back for his afternoon classes, he promised Harry that he’d come and take him with him directly after his lessons.

Two hours later, Albus received an emergency call from the ministry and had to leave immediately. He asked Harry if he wanted to join Minerva or Severus in class, but the child insisted that he just wanted to stay where he was. Harry promised not to leave the office and obey Fawkes, whom Albus deemed fit to take care of the child for a while. He knew it would only be half an hour until Minerva had finished her last lesson and would come to entertain Harry until Severus arrived to collect the boy.

Harry proceeded to sit on the sofa, looking at his favourite books, while he cuddled his stuffed dragon. Suddenly he caught sight of the Sorting Hat, sitting on a shelf. He threw Fawkes a pleading glance. “Fowks, Hawwy want tawk to de Hat. Can you bwing down Hat hewe fow Hawwy, pwease?”

#You want to talk to the Sorting Hat?# Seeing Harry’s eager nod, Fawkes told him, #I don’t think that Albi wants me to bring the Hat down to you. Normally the Hat doesn’t talk to people except for Albi, his Minnie and me and for the first year students at the Welcoming Feast.#

“Oh, pwease, Fowks. I pwomise I won tell Gwanfava. Gwanny pwomised I can tawk to de Hat latew.”

Fawkes sighed inwardly. He knew that Albus wouldn’t appreciate it, but he just couldn’t resist the pleading of the cute child, and he knew very well that it wouldn’t be a problem for Harry to Accio the Hat by himself. Therefore, he flew up to the shelf, picked up the Hat and placed it on Harry’s head.

“Fank you, Fowks,” Harry shouted happily. “Hello Hat!” Suddenly a small voice penetrated his ear.

‘What do you want, little one? You’re much too small to be sorted. Moreover, I won’t be able to sort you anyway.’

‘What do you mean?’ Harry thought frantically. He knew that all students had been sorted by the Hat and belonged to their specific houses like Bill to Gryffindor or Amelia to Hufflepuff. ‘Can’t you sort me because I’m too small? Soon, I will be a student here, and then you’ll have to sort me. I know that!’ Harry ensured the Hat more self-confidently than he actually was.

‘I’m sorry, Harry, but it has nothing to do with your age. I just cannot sort you at all. Why are you so eager to be sorted? You already have access to all houses and have friends in all houses. So what’s your problem?’

Harry frowned. ‘I don’t have a problem,’ he thought. ‘However, I’d just like to know where you’d sort me. Why can’t I have what all the others have? Even my aunts and uncles here belonged to their houses when they were students.’

‘You’re Hogwarts’ child and belong to the castle herself and not to one specific house. I shall never sort you in one of the houses.’

With that, the Hat went quiet, and Harry silently started to cry. Fawkes quickly returned the Hat to the shelf, before he sat down next to Harry on the arm rest of the sofa and asked, #What happened, little one? What did he tell you?#

“He,” ‘sob’, “towd me dat he cannot sowt Hawwy,” ‘sob’, “and not cause Hawwy too smaww but cause Hawwy not bewong to a house.”

#Oh, that’s all right, little one. I understand. I know the reason, and he’s probably right. Once, I met a chick that was able to see many egg turns ahead and he told me about you. Stop crying. Remember, the old grumpy one mustn’t know that you talked to the Hat, and he will know if you continue to snivel.#

“Tupid Hat,” Harry wept before he went quiet.