Given the surprises of the day, Harry was quite glad that the seamstress was the final stop on the shopping excursion.  However, this was not to say that he didn't enjoy the rest of his time in Madame Malkin's shop. The woman was, for lack of a better description, a treat. About twenty minutes into the sampling process, Hagrid turned up outside the door. Madame Malkin spotted him when Harry waved back to him and upon discovering the man was Harry's escort, through judicious use of reasoning and a flurry of nods from Harry, she gave her wand a flick, causing the entrance to her shop to expand. "Do come in Rubeus. I would have done that the first time you came by if I had known why you were there."

The enormous man shrugged. "It's alright Madame. I knowed he was in good hands here."

The seamstress laughed. "Such high regard you have for me!" She shook her head. "Never mind that. You should either help or get comfortable, this could be a while."

Hagrid blinked. "Problems is there?"

Madame Malkin smirked. "Not exactly. I received a letter this morning giving orders to outfit Mister Potter, here, with a proper wardrobe. It had a withdrawal voucher with a Gringotts stamp, so it's already been approved at the bank, as one of the Goblins was kind enough to inform me no less than ten minutes after I received the letter."

Hagrid's eyebrows rose. "Now, who did that?"

She shrugged. "The letter was just signed Pamela. There wasn't a last name."

Harry seized his chance. Grabbing his pencil and clipboard he scribbled out, "When I was little I had a friend named Pamela. I think she must have been a witch. She dressed sorta like some of the people out in the alley. Do you know anyone called that?"

He was more than a little disappointed when Hagrid shook his head. "Sorry, but no." He denied. He looked a little unsure of himself though. "I remember hearing a name a lot like that, but I can't think where I heard it."

When Harry didn't respond, Hagrid gently pat him on the back. "Cheer up a bit there. If you're looking for someone, you should really be asking Professor Ambervale. If there's anyone who could find out, it's him." Harry nodded glumly.

Madame Malkin didn't let him stew for long. "Well, as Rubeus says, cheer up my dear! This is to be your wardrobe after all!" She dragged a pile of criminally bright, golden fabrics from somewhere out behind her. "What do you think of these?" She and Hagrid both roared with laughter at the expression that crept onto Harry's face. "I rather thought not." Still giggling slightly she shoved them away, pulling out pile of much more subdued colors. "Let's go through these instead, shall we?"

As this pile looked more promising, Harry nodded and started riffling through them. Hagrid removed a silver and white swatch before he could reach it however, saying that he would look like he was, "Half melted or summat."

It was much later that they were finally finished with all the details. Harry, who had been growing rather bored with standing as he was sized, snapped back to attention when the seamstress spoke to him. "It'll take me a while to finish everything. I may be a stitch witch, but I'm not that quick. They should be ready a few weeks after the start of term." She smiled sympathetically. "At least your robes are ready, though, dear."

Hagrid nodded vigorously. "Aye, and you look right smart in ‘em too!" He pulled out what looked to be an oversized pocket watch and jumped when he looked at it. "Blimey it's late!" Since the face of the watch only seemed to have swirling patterns of moons and suns, Harry simply took his word for it. "We need to be getting you back home Harry!"

After that, it was a flurry of activity. Things were stacked and packed into his trunk- a swift spell from Madame Malkin organized it all so that he could in her words, "Actually find some of it at some point"- and his owl was coaxed back into her cage. (Hagrid had let her out so she could stretch out.) Hagrid bid the seamstress a rather hasty goodbye, while Harry just settled for waving. Madam Malkin smiled and said, "Have fun at school dearie, and don't let anyone get you down!"

From there, it was a series of rides on the underground. Most of it passed in a blur for Harry. It seemed like one moment they were climbing out onto the station street, and the next, they were strolling up the path of number four, Privet Drive. As Hagrid gave a short, rather heavy knock, it occurred to Harry that this might be exactly what had happened. He came back to attention as he heard footsteps approaching the door.

To Harry's surprise, it was Petunia who opened the door. Lips pursed, she motioned them in. Hagrid hung back as Harry hefted the trunk and owl cage through the door. Harry thought that it was fortunate that the proprietor at the shop had enchanted it to be almost weightless. Petunia surveyed the items with apparent distaste. "Take that lot upstairs, then come straight back. And mind you don't wake your uncle or cousin." As he started up the stairs, Harry heard her mutter, "Well at least it's not a cat you came home with like my dratted sister." Harry was so startled that he nearly missed the next step. This was the first time he had ever heard Petunia say anything voluntarily about his mother; Usually she was very closed mouthed about the subject. Petunia made shooing motion. "Well? Get a move on!"

As he hurried up the stairs, Harry heard Hagrid rumble, "Now an owl's a fine creature for a young lad like him." He sounded disapproving at her tone. Harry didn't hear his most of his aunt's response, but he did hear something about permits for birds and neighborhood associations. He put his trunk by his bed and hung the cage from a convenient plant hook in one ceiling corner. The owl thankfully stayed quiet.

When Harry came back, he found his aunt sitting in a chair in the living room. Hagrid had apparently left. Petunia was massaging her forehead when she caught sight of him. "Well?! Get in here boy!" his aunt snapped. She sighed when Harry scurried into the room and pointed at the couch across from her seat "Sit."

Petunia sighed again when Harry perched himself on the edge of the cushions. "Vernon's in a right foul mood I'll have you know" she said, making it sound like it was Harry's fault. Petunia sat up straight and brandished a largish sheet of parchment "As soon as we got in the door, this showed up!" She waved it around rather wildly, making Harry think she looked a little manic. "Exploding out of the hall light no less! Glass everywhere!" Petunia took a deep breath "It's from that rail thin freak in red. Amberwhatsis."

Harry leaned back a little at the venom in her tone. "She sound's like she's gone round the twist." he thought.

Petunia didn't allow him to dwell on it. "Says we're to take you to King's Cross Station on September the first. He'll meet you there." She drew in another deep breath, muttering something about freaks who couldn't keep their noses out of normal people's lives. "Vernon and I will take you, but only because we need to go to London anyway. We need to get that blasted pig tail removed before Dudley starts Smeltings."

She stared when her nephew grabbed a pen and pad of paper from the table and scribbled something out before handing the pad to her. "Why don't you just ask Professor Ambervale to get rid of it?"

Petunia turned a rather blotchy white as she read it. "I think YOUR kind has caused enough trouble already!" she sniffed. "Professor is he? Doesn't make him any better in my eyes." She shook her head and threw the pad of paper back at him. "Funny way to get to school, the train. Magic carpets all have holes?"

Harry shrugged. "All I know is that my ticket says to board it on platform nine and three quarters."

His aunt's eyebrows rose into her hairline. "Platform nine and three quarters? What kind of nonsense is that?" She narrowed her eyes when Harry shrugged. "Suit yourself boy. We'll take you there, but after that you're on your own." She pointed upstairs. "Now get upstairs and get to bed." Harry shot off the cushion and hurried towards the staircase. A sharp "Boy!" made freeze with one foot on the steps. "If you absolutely have to keep that bloody owl, I don't want to hear a sound from it."

The owl, which Harry named Hedwig after seeing it in his History of Magic textbook, was, by and large, a rather quiet creature. The first time Harry heard any sort of sound out of her at all was when he showed Hedwig her name. She had hooted as though she understood. Perhaps she had, he remembered Hagrid saying that owls from the wizarding world were very smart animals. Hedwig had only made any sort of racket once, and that happened to coincide with his uncle's discovery of her. Vernon Dursley's shouts could have easily woken the entire neighborhood. It certainly woke the house. Harry supposed the only reason Hedwig was even still alive was because his aunt was still under the impression they were being watched. After that little event, Harry was locked in his room, though he was let out three times a day for the bathroom and a shower.

Harry wasn't really bothered by this, he was perfectly content to sit on his bed and read from his textbooks while Hedwig swooped in and out, bringing him a variety of dead animals. He was careful to dispose of these quickly, not wanting to risk his aunt or uncle's temper any worse than he already had (Petunia still came in to vacuum after all), Harry knew he'd had enough of that over this summer as it was. He idly turned another page in potions textbook, wondering what the class would be like. Maybe Professor Snape had simply been having a bad day.

Severus Snape swept into the staff room for the start of term teachers' meeting, looking for all the world like some kind of overwrought bat. The closer it came to the start of term, the worse his mood became. By this point, speaking to him was rather like dealing with an unstable potion; You never knew when it would explode in your face. Not that he was the only one who hated losing the peace and quite the castle afforded in the summer months.

Lately, Minerva's drinks had been laced with something that was most definitely not cream or sugar. Filius had been practicing numerous spells over increasing amounts of time. In fact, aside from Albus, himself, there were most likely only two professors who weren't bothered by the start of term. Three if one counted Binns, not that anyone did; The ghost hardly ever even paid attention to his classes, much less the start of term. It was a wonder no one had ever died of boredom.

 One of those unaffected was Charity Burbage, the Muggle Studies Professor. She actively welcomed it, since she actually enjoyed teaching students. (She was also undeniably a morning person. Severus made certain never to sit near the woman during breakfast. She was far too chipper for that early in the morning.) With a sigh and a glower, Severus sank into a chair, looking more bat-like than ever. Most of the staff took this as a cue to stay as far as possible from him.

Mahalestro Ambervale was not one of them. He sat down into the empty seat next to Severus and eyed him for a moment. "Oh, who spit in your potion?" he snapped out. When he only received a grunt in reply, the counselor rolled his eyes. "Fine, be that way." Very little fazed the man, no doubt something gained from his years of teaching. Ambervale, of course, was the one professor that liked the start of term even more than Charity. "Are you in the betting pool or not?"

This brought the Potions Master out of his foul mood "Possibly." The Counselor was of course referring to the running bet the staff made each year as to which candy the headmaster would offer at the start of term meeting. The tradition had apparently been going ever since Albus had become headmaster.

Ambervale snorted. "Possibly, my arse. You've made bet every year. Pick a sweet and get on with it."

Severus gave him a rather sour look. "You have no appreciation for mystery. Very well. Five galleons on sherbet lemon. What have the others bet?"

The other man smirked. "Rubeus put five on ‘Drooble's', Pomona has six on ‘Fizzing Whizbees', Poppy has four on ‘Honeyduke's chocolate', and Minerva has ten on ‘Sugar Quills'."

"And you?"

Ambervale smirked again. "Five on ‘Bertie Botts'."

Severus quirked an eyebrow at him. "He doesn't like those. Something about a vomit flavored one looking like a caramel."

The Counselor shrugged. "It hasn't stopped him before. He's like that and you know it."

The arrival of the Headmaster prevented a response to this entirely correct statement. Dumbledore seated himself at the front of the table and pulled a large bowl out of one of his sleeves. "Before we begin, would anyone like-" He paused for apparent dramatic effect. "A sugar quill?" Albus lifted the lid off with a flourish. Minerva smirked as Severus passed her five galleons under the table. Severus tried to scowl but found he couldn't quite pull it off.

"Should have known she had an in when she bet ten." Ambervale looked a mix of amused and faintly annoyed. Severus nodded in agreement and the two of them sat back as the Headmaster began the meeting. Some of it actually managed to catch Severus undivided attention for the first time since his trip to Diagon Alley.

Which may well have been Ambervale's intention when he made his announcement. "After some serious debate and quite a bit of work, The Ministry of Magic and I have finally managed to come to agreement on project proposal I have been spearheading. At the start of October until the end of February, our school will be hosting a small group of muggle children." Rapid murmurs flew around the room, but ceased as soon as Ambervale started speaking again. "This is an attempt to integrate and hopefully create a lasting compromise between muggle and wizarding world. There will be several students each from various private boarding schools around the country. They will all be chaperoned. If this attempt works out, we will be allowing for longer stays each successive year. The students will be sitting in on several classes to see how our world works." He paused and said dryly, "I think it goes without saying how certain members of the board of governors resisted this."

Severus didn't doubt that for second. "I assume Lucius is fuming?"

Ambervale nodded. "Oh yes, of course. Very much so actually. But he was quite heavily outvoted. It is most likely the only time the board was united against him." His lips quirked "Personally, I think they mainly did it because they knew it would infuriate him." The Counselor shook his head. "At any rate, this entire attempt is merely a trial. I myself can't wait to see how it works out."

Personally, Severus thought he could wait until the headmaster made Ambervale's announcement known to the students; His Slytherins were going to be practically unmanageable when they found out. To say nothing of Severus' godson. At the very least, it would be an interesting start of term. "As if Potter coming wasn't bad enough."  

The night before Harry was due to leave for school was the first time in a long while that he actually dreamed. Shouting filling the air, a strange sense of sheer panic intertwining with it. Malevolent green and orange flames roaring down a stone corridor, someone or something running, the sounds replaced by an explosion of sound and heat. Powerful winds and sleeting rain, creatures prowling through it, eyes red, a flash of gold, silhouetted by flashes of lightning, a white-gloved hand shooting out from nowhere.

Harry awoke with a start, sweating profusely and gasping for breath and, for the first time, fervently glad that he couldn't speak. If he could, he was sure he would have woken up screaming, which would of course, have set the Dursleys off. Harry strongly suspected that the only reason they had been leaving him alone was because they were afraid he was going to turn them into minnows or something similar. Fortunately, it had yet to occur to them that he had no idea how to do something like that.

Noticing the clock sitting by his bed, (broken by Dudley, and fixed by Harry,) he found it was only a few hours until dawn. Deciding he might as well make the most of it, Harry started packing his things away in preparation for leaving. He had a feeling that his uncle would want him out of there as soon as possible.

For the most part, packing his belongings was rather straightforward. Harry didn't exactly have many to his name after all. When it came to Hedwig and her cage though, he ran into a problem. She was certainly there, looking alert though a little ruffled about something. That something was fairly obvious. Her cage had an extra occupant.

Harry supposed it must have flown in at some point during the night, since he had never closed the window; leaving it open so that Hedwig could come and go freely. It was tiny, looking ridiculously small next to the owl; its body was round as a tennis ball with a rather small head and a long thin beak. Looking closely, Harry could barely make out the frail looking wings. Every last one of the bird's feathers was a warm gold. In all, it reminded him of rather of a hummingbird. Apparently sensing his scrutiny, the bird cracked open one jewel bright black eye and gave him an obvious once over.

What it was looking for, Harry couldn't tell. The bird however, was apparently satisfied. It gave an almost inaudible chirp and sidled closer to Hedwig on the perch, fluffed out its feathers and settled into a rather deep sleep. Hedwig let out a quiet hoot and settled down herself, though not before giving Harry a look that said she rather thought he should do the same.

Harry shook his head and shut the door to the cage. Neither bird reacted. Sighing, he pulled the cover over their cage and resolved to ask Professor Ambervale about the new avian. Assuming he had another way to communicate with the man. His clipboard and pencil had long since disappeared.

Less than two hours later, Harry was awoken from a sound sleep by a loud banging on his door accompanied by a shout of "Boy!" Judging by the sudden shuffling from the cage, both the birds had been startled awake as well. It was fortunate they didn't make any sound as the next second Vernon Dursley burst into the room, looking like some sort of enraged walrus. "Get up and get dressed! We're leaving in ten minutes" Saying this, he snatched Harry's trunk and dragged it out. Harry was rather glad he had kept his wand on him. He wouldn't put it past his uncle to try and snap it.

The ride to King's Cross was unremarkable. Unless one counted Dudley; He had refused to even get in the car with Harry until his father had forced him to. Dudley had spent the rest of the ride sitting as far as possible from Harry, sniffling a little and staying more or less smashed up against the window. Harry could only imagine what it must look like from the outside, but judging from the number of motorists giving them double takes, it wasn't pretty. Harry found he rather enjoyed the car ride for once.

All too soon it was over and they were pulling into the station. Harry started looking around for Professor Ambervale, but it was actually his aunt who spotted him first. "There's the freak who's to meet to the boy. I'd recognize that ridiculous eye color anywhere." Harry looked to where she was pointing and immediately understood why he hadn't seen the man sooner.

Mahalestro Ambervale may have stood out somewhat in wizarding clothing, but he was evidently quite skilled at dressing like a muggle. He was wearing some sort of pinstriped suit, along with a rather expensive looking pair of loafers, making him look like a well-off businessman. The only thing detracting from the image was the fact that his hair was up in a rather short ponytail. Harry could see his uncle revising his opinion of the man on the spot.

If the scrutiny bothered him, Ambervale didn't show it. "Ah Mr. And Mrs. Dursley. Pleasure to see you again." Vernon gave a low growl. Petunia just sniffed. Now that the pleasantries were out of the way however, Ambervale seemed to decide to ignore them entirely. He turned to Harry. "You have your things?" Harry held up the cage. "Excellent. And your trunk?"

Vernon let out a grunt. "In the back of the car." He threw open the rear of the vehicle. Ambervale eyed him strangely before reaching out and touching the trunk. It promptly shrank to the size of a matchbox. He slipped it into a pocket.

He strode back over to Harry. "It appears that everything is in order then. Come along Mister Potter, we have a train to catch." He steered Harry into the station, throwing a cheery, "Good day!" over his shoulder to the Dursleys.

As soon as they were out of their hearing range however, his cheerful expression dropped off his face faster than Harry could blink. "They're certainly unlikable. Let's get you onto the train. We can converse freely there."  Saying this Ambervale brought Harry to a halt at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. "Now to get to train, you must go straight through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop once you start, and don't be afraid you'll crash, that part's very important." He made a shooing motion with his hands. "Go on then, while it's still clear. Might be easier if you close your eyes."

Harry eyed the very solid looking barrier before taking a deep breath. "Well, it sounds nuts, but so has everything else so far." With this in mind, he let out his breath in a great rush and closed his eyes, then ran straight at the wall. He didn't hit anything solid, but he felt a strange sensation, rather like he was running through water. Then there was an audible pop, and the feeling vanished. Harry opened his eyes to find a humongous red steam-engine puffing away at one end of the platform, the words ‘Hogwarts Express' emblazoned across the side. Turning around, he found a brick wall with a large metal arch that had the words, ‘Platform Nine and Three Quarters' in wrought iron at the top. As Harry watched, the bricks shimmered and Mahalestro Ambervale strode through.

The minute he was free of the bricks, he pulled his wand out of thin air and gave it flick. There was loud bang that made a nearby family of three flinch, accompanied by a flash of light. When it cleared, Ambervale was back in wizarding robes. He slid the wand up one sleeve, smiling slightly "Much better. I much prefer my robes to muggle style clothing, but sometimes subterfuge is necessity." He frowned. "Not that I did it for your muggle relations. When it comes to them, I find myself strangely unaccommodating."

Harry grinned. "I think I really do like this guy."

Ambervale smiled too. "Let's board the train while the good compartments are still free.  We can let your owl out for the trip once we do." He whipped around as someone stepped up behind him.

It was the man from the family that Ambervale had startled. He had an aristocratic face and rather fancy robes. One hand held a cane topped with a silver snakehead. He also had oddly familiar pale blond hair. It was pin straight and stopped at his shoulders. The man eyed first Harry, then Ambervale himself. Finally, he spoke. "Counselor Ambervale. I wasn't aware you had a ward."

It was his rather snobbish tone that allowed Harry to suddenly place him. "That has to be Draco Malfoy's father. Their hair looks almost exactly alike."  He blinked when Ambervale slid in front of him.

The Counselor had a reproving expression on his face. "To quote one of Alastor's favorites, I suspect what you're unaware of would fill several volumes." He paused for a moment. "And having graded some of your school essays Lucius Malfoy, I can't say I completely disagree." The other man bristled slightly. Ambervale just laughed. "In this instance however you are not misinformed. Watch your grammar Lucius. Once a teacher always a teacher, after all." This brought a thin, but genuine, smile from the blonde. Ambervale looked briefly down at Harry. "Run along and find a compartment. I shall be there shortly."  Harry nodded and hefted his owl cage.

He clambered onto the train and hurried to the first empty compartment he could find that looked out onto the platform. Harry didn't want to miss what looked like quite a show. He looked out the window just in time to see Draco's mother sending him off towards the train.

Out on the platform, Lucius and Mahalestro were staring at each other. Finally though, Ambervale broke the silence. "If you are attempting to frighten me, it is most certainly not working Lucius. I've seen more frightening essays, some of them yours."

The blonde man bristled again, gripping the snakehead on his cane tightly. "Gloat while you can Counselor. Your little project will only end in disaster."

Ambervale snorted softly. "Who's gloating? And who says it'll be disaster? Or do you have plan to ensure it?"

Lucius smiled as his wife swept up to stand next to him. "Oh, it's not as if I need to do anything. Muggle and wizardkind simply can't mix. It will fail all of its own accord."

Ambervale rolled his eyes. "Believe what you will, Lucius. You were raised that way and there's naught that can change it. I'm afraid you and I will simply have to agree to disagree." Lucius blinked, looking startled before schooling his expression. Mahalestro laughed outright. "I have no particular desire to get into a debate, Lucius. I have my concerns over this venture, as does everyone involved." He glanced back towards the train. "If you don't mind, I have a student to care for. Good day Lucius, Narcissa." He strode off towards the train when they gave curt nods in reply.

Harry jumped when the compartment door flew open. He whirled away from the window to find Draco Malfoy standing in the doorway. The other boy looked a mix of surprised and apologetic.

"Er, sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." He peered at Harry closely. "You must be someone important. Mother says that the Counselor doesn't usually bring anyone to the train, much less ride with them."  Seeing Harry's confused expression, he said, "Professor Ambervale. He's the councilor at Hogwarts." He frowned "Didn't he tell you?"

"Topic has hardly been given the chance to come up." This time, Harry and Draco jumped. Ambervale swept over to Harry's seat and sat down with a sigh. He drew his wand from seemingly out of nowhere and flicked it at Harry's trunk, causing it to fly up and settle into the luggage rack over their heads.

Draco colored slightly. "I...I'll just be going then."

Ambervale burst out laughing. "Scared?"

Draco grimaced. "Of you? A little."

Ambervale snorted. "A healthy sense of caution never hurt anybody. In fact, helped many." Still grinning, he waved a hand airily "You can stay. I'm not about to attack." Ambervale turned to Harry as Draco sat down, looking relieved and slightly embarrassed.  "Now then, I am still at a loss for enabling physical speech, but I have at least managed to devise a method for communication."

This got Draco's full attention. "Enabling physical speech?"

Ambervale ignored him. He reached into a sleeve and rummaged around. After a moment, he withdrew a silver colored quill that was reminiscent of an ostrich feather. The tip was dripping with what appeared to be some kind of metallic shaded, gold ink. "This is dictaquill. As name implies, they usually write down the dictation they hear from the user." He smiled slightly. "Obviously, the usual method won't apply here. Therefore, this one has had several modifications."

Harry blinked and nodded. "That doesn't sound too bad. It looks awfully bright though."

Apparently, the counselor was also capable of reading minds. Or he was a very good guesser. "Looks flashy yes, but that's a side effects of the spells used to modify it. Hold it for just a moment." He had Harry grasp it by the shaft with one hand. Then once he was assured Harry was holding it properly, he drew his wand out of one sleeve. He tapped the plume of the quill with it, then the back of both of Harry's hands, leaving behind tiny droplets of silver. Then he touched the center of Harry's forehead and said sharply, "Verax, finxi, cogitatio, enthymema, haudquaquam, mens mentis!" There was a noise like a whip crack, followed by an odd thrumming sensation that made Harry's teeth hurt.

Ambervale lowered the wand. "You can release it now." Harry let go of the quill. It promptly zoomed into the air and floated above his head, quivering slightly. Ambervale smiled. "Let's give it a test run." When both boys looked at him, Ambervale sighed roughly. "Introduce yourselves to each other." He rubbed his forehead, looking slightly exasperated.

Draco recovered first. After casting a wary eye at the councilor, he stuck out a hand. "I'm Draco Malfoy." Harry shook it gingerly. "And you are?"

Harry frowned and looked at Ambervale. The man waved a hand dismissively. "Think your response at him, the quill should pick it up." When he saw the expression on Harry's face he coughed slightly. "Sorry. Say it in your head would probably be a better description."

This helped. Harry looked back at Draco. He drew in a breath, then thought, "My name is Harry Potter." There was a sudden whooshing noise over his head. Harry looked up to find the quill had written out his thought in a uniform, if slightly fuzzy, print that looked like it had come from a typewriter.

Ambervale eyed the floating script critically. "Hmph. Seems to work well enough." He waved a hand. "That fuzz around the print should fade soon. The quill needs time to get used to connection. Just remember that you need to want something thought to be written. The quill will ignore personal thoughts."

Draco on the other hand, was staring at the floating letters in shock. His mouth worked soundlessly for a moment before he looked down to stare at Harry. "You...You're, Harry Potter?"

Ambervale raised an eyebrow. "His full name is Harrison James Potter, if that's what you're asking."

Harry blinked. "It is?"

Draco arched an eyebrow. "How can you not know your own name?"

"He probably hasn't been called by it since he was around a year old!" Ambervale snapped. His tone was downright icy. He drew in a deep breath and said much more calmly, "That name is on his birth certificate. To my knowledge though, only the Potters ever called him by his full first name." 

Harry jumped on this. "You knew my parents?"

Ambervale laughed. "I knew and know a lot of people. I have taught here for quite some time." He frowned slightly. "I am perhaps not the best person to ask about your parent's school careers, though. I rarely crossed paths with either of them outside of occasional substitute class. Other teachers would know more." Seeing the crestfallen look on Harry's face, he said quickly, "Perhaps I can help with something else though?"

Harry frowned. He brightened when he heard a shuffling sound from Hedwig's cage. "How much do you know about birds, Professor?"

Ambervale blinked, obviously caught off guard. "Depends entirely on what you want you want to know."

Harry grinned and grabbed Hedwig's cage, hauling it over in front of the professor. "I usually left the cage open so Hedwig could come and go. When I woke up this morning, there was another bird in the cage with her. I don't think she appreciated it, but I couldn't really get it to leave. It just sort of looked at me and went to sleep. It's still there, but I don't even know what kind of bird it is."

"And it let you lock it up?" Draco sounded disbelieving.

"Well it was asleep."  Interesting to see that the quill emphasized words by putting them in bold print. Draco reddened.

Obviously scenting the possibility of an impending argument, Ambervale intervened. He gently took the cage from Harry and slowly opened the cover. Hedwig blinked up at him, then shuffled slowly sideways on her perch, revealing the veritable ball of golden feathers that had been hidden by her wings. Woken by Hedwig's movements, the much smaller creature let out a soft chirp and rose into the air, wings whirring like a hummingbird's.

Ambervale let out a quiet breath. "Merlin's beard!" He cautiously opened the cage and gently lifted the tiny bird out. It let out an indignant sounding chirp, gave his hand a cursory peck, and flew over to Harry's shoulder. It landed and gave a rather defiant flick of its wings and settled down, looking content.

Draco stared at it. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Certainly is." Professor Ambervale sounded more than a little surprised.

"There aren't any sanctuaries around here are there?"

Ambervale shook his head. "None I'm aware of."

"WHAT IS IT?!" Both of them blinked as the quill shot between them with the question.

Finally Ambervale smiled. "That, Mister Potter, is called a Golden Snidget. An extremely rare bird. They hold an important connection to wizarding history, and have been on the wizarding world's endangered species list for many centuries now." The man had obviously switched into teaching mode. "Because of their importance and rarity, the Golden Snidget is one of the most heavily protected magical creatures in all wizardom." He frowned slightly. "There are a number of special sanctuaries around the country that exist for the breeding and raising of them."

Harry blinked. "And here I thought he was a man of few words. And I think that's the most I've heard him speak in complete sentences. He must make an effort not to chop out words when he's teaching."  There had been an exchange student back in Harry's primary school that had done the same thing if she wasn't paying attention. It always seemed to give her trouble when she needed to make the extra effort for a report. Thankful the quill didn't print thoughts, he shook himself. He looked over at the professor. "So there's a sanctuary near here then?"

Ambervale shook his head, looking troubled. "No. They are only in large areas such as open plains and dense woods and forests. It would be impossible to find a place large enough for one in the city regions, much less effectively spell it against muggles and mortals." He crossed his arms. "Which leads us to question of the hour. Where did this one come from?"

Draco eyed the snidget from his seat across from Harry. "Maybe it escaped from a sanctuary?"

Ambervale shook his head. "Not possible. The closest sanctuary is well over sixty miles away. A snidget is far too small for that kind of journey. Besides, all sanctuaries mark their birds with unbreakable image pattern spell on the wings, and this one has none." He drew in a deep breath. "Which means, impossible as it seems, this one is wild."

"But there aren't any wild snidgets!" Draco burst out.

Ambervale pursed his lips. "There are rumors however." He drew his wand and gave it a flick. "Tempus!" A spectral clock of sorts shimmered into existence. After giving it a brief glance, he waved a hand through it, causing it to dissipate like so much smoke. The train should be leaving soon. I promised Headmaster I would help ensure everyone boarded." He flicked his wand at Harry's trunk, causing one of his new sets of robes to slide out. Then he pointed it at Harry. "Arms up straight please." He made a shooing motion towards the snidget. "Off that shoulder unless you want to be caught up in the spell." The snidget cocked its head at him before giving out a rather loud chirp and flying up to perch on Harry's trunk.

The Counselor muttered something about it, but gave his wand a sort of fluid wave at Harry. Instantly there was disorienting swirl of fabric, color, and sound. It eventually cleared away to reveal Harry's old clothes floating in front of him, the robes now firmly in their place. A single flick of Ambervale's wand had the clothing packing itself away in Harry's trunk.

The Professor slid the wand back into his sleeve. "Well now, those look good on you." He glanced out the window at the crowd that was covering the platform. "I shall be back once the train sets off. We'll discuss the snidget more then." He paused as the little bird flew down from its perch back to Harry's shoulder. Then he smiled slightly. "I don't know how much there still is to discuss though. It seems quite determined to remain with you." With this, he swept out of the compartment, a light, "Play nice now" floating behind him. 

Draco stared after him. Then he blinked. "He's...different."

Harry shrugged and started rummaging through his trunk, eventually pulling out his sketchpad and quills. "Well I like him."

Draco shook his head. "That's not what I mean. He just...isn't like anyone I've ever seen." Harry couldn't dispute this, nor did he attempt to. Draco went on. "Besides, even my father genuinely likes him, and that has to count for something since the only other person on the school staff he likes is my godfather. Mother says he supposedly was teaching when the Headmaster was a student." Harry just nodded his head absently, keeping one ear on the other boy's chatter. "He must be fairly powerful too. Mother says that when it comes to magic, you've got to put your galleons where you're mouth is." Harry thought wryly that Draco could definitely be a chatterbox when it suited him. "Say, what house do you think we'll be in?"

Harry glanced up. "House?"

Draco nodded. "Yeah. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. They're the four houses at Hogwarts. I'm hoping for Slytherin, but Mother and Father said they don't mind which house I go to, as long as it isn't Hufflepuff." He gave a theatrical shudder. "Merlin I'd rather die than go in Hufflepuff!"

"What's wrong with Hufflepuff?"

Draco shuddered again. "They're wimps! All emotional and whiny!" He frowned at the look Harry was giving him. "What? They are! At least the other houses have something going for them! Gryffindor has courage, Ravenclaw has brains, and Slytherin has ambition! Hufflepuff doesn't have anything!"

Harry privately thought that Hufflepuff was starting to sound like the house he'd be in. He didn't think he really had any noticeable skills, except maybe hiding. And he could hardly pull that off at the Dursleys. How he would manage it at a school filled with magic users was beyond him.

Draco obviously wasn't going to let him sit in silence though. "What's that you're drawing anyway?"

"It's..." He looked down at the sketchpad and blinked when he saw what was on it. He hadn't really been paying attention to what he was drawing while listening to Draco, and the result surprised him. "It's something from a dream I had."

Draco leaned over to look and snorted. "You had a dream about a woman's elbow glove?" He sounded like he wanted to laugh.

"It's not the only thing in the dream!"  Harry frowned. "It's just the part I remember best. Usually I can't remember my dreams at all."  He only remembered flashes of it, but that was more than he usually did.

Draco let out a chuckle. "You have some weird dreams."

Harry grinned in spite of himself. "Yeah, I guess I do." He traced the outline of the image idly. "Makes me wonder what's next sometimes, though. I didn't know magic was even real until about a month ago."

Draco looked scandalized at this. "A month ago!" Harry nodded.

"My relatives aren't exactly fond of magic." That had to be the closest he'd ever come to telling anyone about the mad flight to escape the letters.

Draco shook his head. "Only a month! We need to get you caught up! Let's start with Quidditch." And with that, he launched into an explanation of some kind of sport played on brooms. The ensuing conversation lasted them all the way until the final boarding whistle of the train.