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Harry rose at eight thirty the next morning, took a shower and got dressed. He went out into the kitchen where Severus was preparing breakfast. His dad was busy with the eggs and didn't hear him come in. Harry picked up the Daily Prophet that was lying next to Severus' plate. He was shocked to see his picture on the front page under a headline that blared, 'Boy-Who-Lived Starting at Hogwarts Today!' "What the heck?" Harry muttered.
Severus saw Harry looking at the paper. He hadn't seen it yet as Blinky generally left the paper folded beside his plate in the morning. He looked over Harry's shoulder, saw the headline and gently took the paper out of his hands, "Please sit down, Harry and start eating and I will explain this," he indicated the headline. He set a plate in front of Harry with an omelet and bacon.
"What do they mean, Dad? What's this 'boy-who-lived' stuff?"
"Severus sighed. "I should have told you sooner rather than having you see this." He took a bite of his omelet. "You know your parents were killed when you were a baby?"
Harry nodded. "Aunt Petunia said they were killed in a car accident because they were driving drunk and that's how I got this." He pointed at his scar.
While Severus could easily imagine James Potter killing himself and Lily in a car wreck, but it would not have been because he was drunk; it would have been because he was so arrogant that he thought he could drive the vehicle without bothering with lessons. "Your aunt lied. Your parents died while protecting you from a very dark wizard who called himself Lord Voldemort and was trying to kill you."
"Kill…me?" Harry whispered. "But why, Dad?"
"Because there was a prophecy made before you were born that said a boy born at the end of July would be able to defeat him and I guess he figured he would head it off by killing that baby. Nobody knows how or why it happened, Harry, but when Voldemort cast the killing curse at you, it rebounded and killed him or at least his body. That is why you are famous because you are the only one to ever survive the killing curse and the fact that because of you, Voldemort's reign of terror is over."
"But you don't think he's gone for good?" Harry said.
"No. A man that afraid of dying makes sure he will not. There are ways, hideously evil ways, to become immortal and it would not surprise me to find out he used one of them."
"So if he does come back does that mean I'll have to fight him?"
"No!" Severus said firmly. "The job of defeating Voldemort belongs to adult wizards and Aurors, not a child."
After they washed up the breakfast dishes and cleaned up the kitchen, Harry and Severus got ready to leave for King's Cross. Severus shrank Harry's trunk and placed it in his pocket and then they flooed to the Leaky Cauldron, Harry once again sliding out of the fireplace on his bum. Severus was dressed in black jeans, a green T-shirt, a black leather jacket and dragon hide boots, and had his hair tied back. He doubted any of his students would recognize him as they would be expecting to see him in his usual black teaching robes. Severus summoned a Black Cab and they quickly arrived at Kings Cross. Harry and Severus walked into the station and Severus discreetly cast a Notice-Me-Not spell around them and quickly resized Harry's trunk, grabbed a trolley and lifted his trunk onto it.
Harry wheeled his trolley looking around in amazement. The place was huge and he'd never seen so many people in one place in his life! Severus stopped in between Platforms nine and ten. "Dad, my ticket says we need to go to Platform 9¾, but I don't see it anywhere," Harry said looking up and around him.
"It's because it is hidden from the Muggles the same way Diagon Alley is," Severus explained. "To get to it you need to go through this brick wall. If you take it at a run, it is less nerve wracking."
Harry gulped, but he trusted his dad implicitly and if he said Platform 9¾ was behind that brick wall then that's where it was. He lined his trolley up and took off at a run easily disappearing into the wall. Severus walked ever so casually towards the wall and disappeared too.
The Hogwarts Express was just pulling into the station as Harry appeared on the other side of the wall. "Whoa!" He looked up at the sign hanging above him which read Platform 9¾ and looked up and down the platform. The Express had a black and red engine with a large, black smokestack out of which steam poured making it difficult to see. Severus came through the wall behind him. "Quite impressive," he remarked nodding at the train.
"I'll say!" Harry said enthusiastically. He was happy now that his dad had decided to have him take the train.
"Come along so I can get you situated," Severus said. Harry followed Severus wheeling his trolley over to a compartment door which Severus opened for him. Severus cast a Feather Light spell on his trunk and lifted it onto the train. They found a compartment towards the middle of the train, near the bathrooms. Severus slid Harry's trunk under his seat. "Now remember, do not wait until the last minute before changing into your school robe and do not worry about your trunk once you get to Hogsmeade. The elves will retrieve it and make sure it gets to the right house."
"Okay, Dad."
Severus took a small leather bag out of his pocket and handed it to Harry. "Here is some money for treats on the train."
"Thanks, Dad!" Harry said grinning.
"I will see you at the welcoming feast then," Severus said as he gave Harry a hug.
"Okay, Dad," Harry replied. He got a bit teary eyed as Severus left since it had been only him and his dad the past month. He'd almost managed to forget the eleven years he'd spent with the Dursley's.
Severus waited out of sight on the platform watching the crowd of students and parents moving back and forth like a wave. He spotted Molly Weasley, her four sons, and her only daughter. He recalled she had a son Harry's age and the girl was a year younger. Percy, the eldest of the children attending Hogwarts was a fifth year and the twins, Fred and George, were third years. They seem to be looking for someone because he heard Molly tell her sons, "If you see him, let me know."
Harry was reading when he was interrupted by a knock on the door and looking up he saw two rather large boys hovering in the doorway. "Do you mind if we share your compartment? Everywhere else is mostly full," one of the boys asked.
"Not at all," Harry replied. "Come on in."
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