It was a bright summer day as Harry walked down the cobblestone streets of Diagon Alley. His hands in his pockets and his eyes to the sky, his gait slow as he observed his surroundings. The weather was warm, for it was July, and the sky was apparently clear with naught a cloud in site. A deep sigh escaped him just as he ran into somebody. Stumbling backward, he tripped on the edge of his robes, only to land on his back, rapping the back of his head onto the street. He then felt the body in which had run into him, fall on top of him leaving him breathless.

"Oooooh, ow!" he moaned, trying to see who was on top of him, but could only see blurry stars of light everywhere. "gerrofme!" he moaned again as he tried to push the gangling bustling thing on top of him off.

"Oh, I'm so very sorry! But you know if you were only watching where- OH! Harry!" said a familiar voice as the weight was lifted off of him and he was suddenly being pulled up by two very different hands. Harry stumbled a bit before being placed in a hard iron chair just outside the ice cream shop. He folded his arms on the table before him and rested his head for a minute to let his mind clear and the stars go away. Finally, he lifted his head to take in the people surrounding him.

"Hermione, Ron! Whoa, how long have you guys been here?" Harry asked a grimacing smile on his face as he rubbed the back of his head. He looked at his two best friends from Hogwarts, both beaming at him, Hermione noticeably rosy in the cheeks. He stopped rubbing his head just as Ron started to speak. Looking over at him, Harry saw he looked almost the same as their last year at hogwarts. tall and thin, but with a bit more muscle than he expected, his nose not seeming as long as it used to, freckles still all over his face, and a mop of shaggy bright red hair falling into his eyes.

"Ah, mate, we've been here a week. Didn't expect you to be here though. Hermione and I were, uh, shopping for a few things. She's moving in you see. My apartment actually has furniture in it! It looks a lot better. Except for all the frilly things. And all the -"

"Ron! There are no frilly things! Ugh, you know I don't like that." Hermione interrupted Ron, who grinned even bigger at teasing her. She raised an eyebrow at him and looked back at Harry. "What brings the famous Auror and Voldemort destroyer Harry Potter here at this time of year?" she asked.

Harry grinned. No doubt Hermione wouldn't be jealous of this; "Well, McGonagall

Sent me a letter over the summer. Seems they still can't keep a Defense against the Dark Arts Teacher around longer than a year. She offered me the job. Seems to think I'm the best for it." Harry replied, leaning back in his chair and waving over Fortescue for an ice cream. "Who wants one?" he asked casually, looking at the two in front of him.

"Oh no, thank you Harry." Hermione replied. Fortescue walked away and Hermione and Ron looked back at Harry. Hermione was obviously gleaming with happiness at him being a professor. Ron looked happy as well, but in a more subdued way. He was looking at Hermione again.

"Thanks Hermy." He laughed at the look he got at that name. He would never let her live down the nickname grawp had given her in their fifth year. "I was just here to get the appropriate supplies…" he trailed off, bringing the roll of parchment out of the pocket of his robes and gave to Hermione's eagerly stretched out hands. She read the page quickly, and then whistled.

"I never knew there was so much... well, stuff involved with being a professor. You have to choose a book and everything? Wow. Which one have you decided on, because I know a few that would be very good? There's "Getting through the Dark" By Frea K. Night, that would be a good first year book, teaches all the basics. Then there's -" Hermione began. Harry Could tell this was going to last quite a bit of time, so he sat and pretended to listen, while glancing at Ron who was grinning in that we-arent-listening-and-she-doesnt-know kind of way."- I think we should have had that our seventh year. It describes everything quite clearly. Well? What do you think Harry?" she finished, a few minutes later.

"Uh, well Hermione, thanks for all the great book listings, but I had a chat with a few of the book keepers, and they've set me up with all the books I need. Ms. Finch, the librarian helped me too." He added, just to cheer up the crestfallen look that had come over Hermione's face. Ron guffawed, but started to cough to cover himself. When he finished his fit, the ice cream had arrived, and Ron looked as if he had been crying.

"You Alright then Boy? I know just the thing to cure ya laddy! How's about a good ol' Butter beer Float, eh? I'll bring it right out then! Free of charge. There'll be no cryin' outside my ice cream shop, no sirree..." Fortescue continued to mumble as he bounced away."

"Haha! Free butter beer, nice. I should try that more often here. Maybe you should have a fit Hermione, see if they give you a tub of your favorite. We could do with a few sweets at home now and then." Ron stated a triumphant look on his face. Hermione looked at him sourly for a minute before looking back at Harry, who pretended he hadn't noticed them holding hands on the table. Ron kept losing at the thumb war.

"When are you guys going to come and visit huh? I don't want to be locked up with the midgets and McGonagall all by my lonesome you know. Not to mention Filch and Mrs. Norris." a collective shiver went around the table.

For the next hour, Harry, Ron, and Hermione caught up and joked. Harry was going through his second ice cream sundae and Ron through his fourth butter beer float when two large, regal looking barn owls landed in front of both Ron and Hermione. Both looked incredibly surprised. A minute later, a beautiful white snowy owl landed in front of Harry. He noticed it was from Lupin and opened the letter, while Ron and Hermione opened theirs. After he had read his, he looked up at Ron and Hermione.

"Seems lupin has found out about my appointment at Hogwarts. The Order is going to celebrate at my house tonight, seeing as it's convenient. Would you guys like to come? Ron, your whole families coming, from what I can tell," Harry said to them. Hermione was beaming, and Ron seemed extremely excited.

"Of course mate! But I think we'll be celebrating more than your appointment! Seems I've been asked to be the new Muggle studies professor! All that hanging around dad seems to have rubbed off on me. And of course your too Hermione! Oh wow, look at all of this! "Ron replied to Harry, while looking back down at a second piece of parchment. Harry knew it would be holding his supply list. Hermione looked shocked for a minute before gleaming again. She whipped her head back to Harry.

"Not just you two! I've been appointed the new Transfiguration professor! Oh isn't this amazing! Oh, Harry wont you help us shop! I'm sure if you send a note-here's a parchment and quill, it self ink's- to lupin and tell him we might be late. I'm sure he won't have any trouble finding the place. It's still headquarters after all! Oh come on Harry, please?" Hermione was bouncing off her chair. She had practically thrown a piece of short parchment to Harry, and the quill had barely missed his eye. He laughed

"Of course Hermy." She squealed before pulling her own supply list out of the back of the letter. Harry wrote a quick letter to Lupin;

'Lupin, Seems I'm not the only professor this year. Ron and Hermione have been appointed as well. We'll meet you back at my place. Everything's the same, but you'll find a new house elf. Tell him you're a friend of mine and he'll do anything you ask. See you in a few hours time. Harry.'

He sealed the letter shut with his wand and tied to Hedwig's outstretched leg. "Be safe girl." he said to her as she took off. "Well, shall we go shopping?" he said to two eager faces. He laughed again. "It's just like were going back to school. Wonder if that git Malfoy will be there? Just kidding!" Harry said defensively at the looks he got from the two. They got up and Harry went to pay Fortescue for his ice creams before going back outside and retrieving his shopping bags.

A few hours later, the trio was done shopping. Hermione, as usual, had the most things. Ron was bouncing in his step and had proceeded to trip a few times before calming down a bit. Harry was happily walking with his friends down the street toward the Leaky Cauldron. The stepped inside and went immediately to an open fireplace. Ron stepped up first, grabbed a handful of powder with his free hand and threw it into the fireplace. Emerald flames burst from the empty fireplace and Ron stepped in.

"Number Twelve Grimwald Place" He said clearly. The next minute he had spun out of site. Hermione looked at Harry and then gasped.

"Oh Harry! We forgot about pidgwigon and Crookshanks!" she squealed, her face overcome with anxiety.

"It's no problem Hermione. When we get back to my place, you can apparate to your apartment and get them and do whatever you need. I'd like you and Ron to stay with me until we go to the school. I get so lonely in that house." Harry said. He glanced around trying to avoid her eyes, as his were filling.

"Oh Harry. Okay, I'm sure Ron wont mind. After the party, we'll go and get the stuff we'll need. We'd be glad to stay." Hermione replied to him. She patted his shoulder before grabbing her own handful of powder. She flung it daintily into the fireplace, were identical emerald flames to Ron's had appeared. Hermione placed the bags in the fire first before getting in herself. She grabbed a hold of all of them and said the same thing as Ron, spinning out of site when she had finished. Harry sighed and gathered his own things to him. He smiled at the owner of the tavern, and then grabbed his own floo powder. He stepped in and threw the powder to the ground. He was engulfed in the flames and said his intended location surely and clearly. He felt the pull behind his navel and began spinning. He saw flashes of hundreds of other fireplace mantles before landing in his own.

The kitchen erupted in cheers. A small hurtling creature had flung himself onto Harry, throwing him, for the second time, backward to rap the back of his head on the fireplace behind him.

"Oh master! I didn't know that the great white owl this morning brought such wonderful news! Oh Dobby is so pleased master Harry! He will wash and organize all master's and master's friends things before they leave for hogwarts. Oh master!" the creature squealed. Harry struggled to push the house-elf off of him before feeling the creature being pulled off.

"Sorry bout that Harry" said a kind, deep voice. Harry looked up and saw, between all the stars and dancing hippogriffs, a ragged face looking at him with kind eyes. "Seems Dobby here was quite adamant about helping, as you can see" Lupin said, sweeping his free arm wide, while holding the grinning house elf in the other, "soon as I mentioned the words 'Harry, Ron, and Hermione' with 'party' he was off like a engorgement charm." Lupin laughed at this, and put down the house elf that scuttled off to work on a huge ham roasting over another fireplace. Harry rubbed the back if his head again, before being helped up by lupin.

"Hello everyone" Harry said to the group. He could make out Tonks and the Weasleys (it was hard not to as all the Weasleys had bright red hair, and Tonks was an electric blue today). He could feel the magical eye of moody on him, and soon saw him in the corner of the room, a bottle of butter beer in his hand in which he raised in Harry's direction. On the other side he saw Mrs. Figg and Mundungus, as well as professor McGonagall and Flitwick. Harry grinned at them all. "Well, let's get this party started, eh Dobby!" he got cheers all around and received numerous hugs and handshakes, most fervently by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Ginny walked up to him and flung her arms around him, giving him a huge hug.

"Oh Harry! I just got it this morning! I've also been appointed a teaching job at school. I'm the new Potion's Master. I'm not sure how I got the job. I've been running tests over at the Ministry, and this new potion I came up with landed me with 10,000 galleons as a reward. Next thing I know, Professor McGonagall is sending me an owl to ask to be a teacher! Oh won't this be grand? All four of us back at Hogwarts? I'm so excited!" Ginny spewed all this information out at him at a mile a minute, holding his hands. She bounced a bit at the last part then ran off toward Hermione, no doubt to spread more of the good news, for good news it was. Harry had to admit, that hug gave him quite a peculiar sensation in his midriff.

Grinning even more broadly, Harry went to the table and grabbed a butter beer, un-capped it and took a big swig. He then went over to his three new colleagues, eager to ask them a question.

"So, er, you guys want to spend the rest of our vacation here? This place could use a few new faces to yell at besides mine, and I need a bit of help, er, sprucing it up a bit?" Harry asked to whole group, his eyes lingering on Ginny a fraction of a second longer. His cheeks burned slightly. Ron and Hermione's faces seemed to glow more, and Ginny was absolutely rocketing up and down. Harry placed his right hand on her shoulder and gently pushed down, smiling a little bit at her exuberance.

"Harry, Ron and I would be absolutely delighted!" Hermione replied to him. "I know an awesome wizarding cleaning group that could manage to get this place spotless, with Dobby's help of course, in about three days. They could probably manage to take down that horrid picture in the main hall! And then we could go shopping and-" Hermione began to ramble again and Ron rolled his eyes. He looked apologetically at Harry, then steered her toward his family. Harry looked back at Ginny, whose shoulder he was still holding. His cheeks burned a little bit more. Harry raised a questioning eyebrow at Ginny's glowing face.

"Of course I'd love to stay Harry! I missed this old place. Just as long as I can refurnish a few rooms, I'll be happy!" She managed to say amid her struggling bouncing motions." I'm sure Sirius wouldn't mind if we got rid of a few beds and sofas to replace them with new ones."

"All the rooms except Sirius's will be refurnished. I'm going to see if I can get that tapestry hung in there. We'll have to get Buckbeak's room cleaned, too" He added subconsciously. He took a swig of his butter beer and then looked back at Ginny." Glad you'll be staying. I've told Hermione that she can apparate back to her place to get that bloody annoying owl and crookshanks as well as all their thing's they will be needing. I have no problem with you doing the same, just don't take too long or I'll fear you aren't coming back." Harry, realizing what he just said, finally felt his cheeks being scalded off his face, and managed to empty his butter beer bottle onto himself as he hurriedly walked away toward Dobby. He asked the house elf how dinner was coming, while keeping an eye on an extremely red in the face Ginny. He smirked a bit, then quietly left the kitchen to change into some clean robes, and possibly wash his face.