Abandoned But Happy

Chapter 7

Harry stared at the letter with wide, happy eyes. "It came!" he yelled joyfully. "Auntie, Uncle, it came!"

He opened the letter and read through its contents, happy to find that he had most of the books he would need already. There was an extra note in there that Harry pulled out.

Dear Mr. Potter,

My name is Minerva McGonagall and I am the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am a friend of your family and it is disturbing to me that I have never heard of you before today. Perhaps, when you arrive, we can sit down for tea and biscuits and discuss this.

Sincerely, Minerva McGonagall

Harry felt himself frown. How had she not known of him? Did James never speak of him? He knew Sirius and Remus had cut themselves off from everyone on their search, but James surely didn't. Right?

Well, either way, Harry pulled out parchment and summoned quill and ink before penning a response. He made sure to use all of his lessons to sound like a proper wizard as he did so.

When he had written it and magically sealed it with the Prince family crest, he sent it off with Hedwig, who had surprisingly been the one to deliver it.

He then pulled out his mirror and called Draco. "Did you get it too?" he asked excitedly.

"Yes!" Draco cheered. "Oh, this is the second best day of my life!"

Harry beamed and the two made plans to meet in Diagon for supplies. They both had almost everything already, but they needed the school uniform and Draco needed his own wand.

So, they met up at Diagon later that day with Severus and Lucius, who dropped them off at Madam Malkin's robe shop while they went off to talk politics.

While in the shop, a round-faced boy their age walked in, holding a toad. He looked nervous and self-conscious as he confirmed he was there for Hogwarts robes.

Sharing a glance, Harry and Draco smiled at him. "Heir Longbottom," Draco greeted politely. "It is a pleasure to meet you officially."

Longbottom smiled nervously. "You as well, Heir Malfoy." He turned to Harry and bowed properly. "May I ask your name?"

"Harrison Potter," Harry said warmly. "It's truly a pleasure."

Longbottom frowned. "Potter? As in the Boy-Who-Lived's family? I didn't know they had another son."

Harry's smile turned frigid. "They don't," he said stiffly. "Not legally, in any case, and I plan on changing my last name before Hogwarts."

"Oh, I'm sorry for prying,"

"It's alright, Neville," Draco said. "You didn't know any better."

The three got to talking and had a very pleasant conversation before it was time for Harry and Draco to leave for Draco to get this wand. They bid Neville farewell and promised to see him in the train before leaving with their fathers.

They got Draco's wand without a hitch and all was well until Harry saw James Potter with his brother, walking towards the bookstore. James was smiling fondly down at the boy, though Harry thought he saw a hint of sadness lingering in his eyes.

"Come on, Harry," Severus said gently. "It's time to go home."

Once he was safely alone in his room, Harry let himself analyze the emotions he had felt staring at the two. It wasn't jealousy, but... it was something similar. It was longing. He longed to be able to have a connection with his brother.

"It is normal to be feeling like this," Reyna assured him. "You are looking at them and seeing what you might've had. No matter how happy you are with your family, there will always been that little voice asking the what ifs."

Still, Harry felt like he was betraying his family. He felt like he was implying they weren't good enough for him. He wanted the feeling to go away, so he made up his mind to spend as much time as he could with them before he had to leave for school.

He packed all of his things in his expanded, seven compartment trunk that had cost a small fortune. Then, he let Reyna coil around his shoulders and went off to find Dudley.

∆_______________∆

The time passes quickly and soon it was time to leave for the train. After tearful goodbyes from his family, Severus apparated them onto the platform and told him he'd see him at school and to try and make some new friends.

"I will," Harry promised. "You'll see."

Severus smiled softly and left for Hogwarts.

Harry went to board the train and saw Neville struggling with his trunk. He casually walked over and willed the trunk to do what he wanted, levitating it behind him as he walked over to the train, a wide-eyed Neville rushing after him.

After placing both their things down in the compartment they chose, Neville and Harry sat to wait for Draco, who would be joining them later.

"How'd you do that?" Neville asked Harry in awe.

Harry shrugged. "I've always been able to," he answered nonchalantly.

Looking out the window, he caught sight of a large group of redheads. Looking slightly annoyed, though good at hiding it, were two identical twins. Beside them was a boy Harry's age with red hair and plenty of freckles. Then there was a younger girl, clearly the younger sister. The mother seemed to be scolding the twins for something, but Harry couldn't hear what.

Finally, the redheads boarded the train just as it started moving, so Harry turned his attention back to Neville and Draco, who had entered and quietly sat beside Harry with a book on occlumency. Neville had out a book on rare medicinal plants, so Harry decided to read as well, pulling out his book on the laws.

There was a knock on the door and the three looked up to see the redheaded boy from the platform looking at them with a sheepish smile. "Mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full."

"Actually, I do," Draco said with narrowed eyes. "I know for a fact there is an empty compartment next door and I don't wish to spend the ride with liars."

The redhead flushed angrily but stomped off to the other compartment, muttering about failed plans.

"Sorry about him," a new voice said. It was one of the twins from the platform.

"He's got a temper," the other twin said.

"I'm Gred and this is Forge."

"Lovely to meet you," Harry said politely. "I'm Harrison Prince. This is Draco Malfoy and Neville Longbottom."

"Charmed," Draco said, staring at the twins with fascination. "Are you two Slytherins? You've got the gleam in your eyes."

"The hat heavily considered it—"

"—but we didn't quite want to be disowned."

"We're Lions."

"I see. Well, you are welcome to sit with us," Draco said.

The twins exchanged glances before shrugging and taking seats beside Neville. "So, what houses are you wanting?"

"Slytherin," Draco said immediately.

"Ravenclaw, but Siri says I'll be in Slytherin," Harry said with a frown.

"Gryffindor," Neville admitted with a small shrug. "To honor my parents."

Harry nodded seriously, knowing all about how Bellatrix Lestrange had tortured them to insanity. "You'll get in, Neville. I'm sure of it."

The rest of the ride was filled with fun laughter and talking. Fred and George (as they reintroduced themselves) were delighted to learn that Draco and Harry could tell them a part with ease, while Neville was fairly good at guessing. They told them about their dreams of starting a joke shop and how their mum discouraged their ideas.

Harry was intrigued and asked if, when they were ready to start up, they would contact him so he could invest in their endeavors. The readily agreed with stars in their eyes.