Disclaimer: Harry Potter, and all that belongs to his world, is not mine. It is JK Rowling's.

The Wrong Grate

A/N - I was searching through the documents on my computer, looking for a certain story, when I happened upon a file called 'Idea', so I opened it to see what it was. It turned out to be a small paragraph explaining an idea for this fanfic. I have no idea how long it has been there, but I took a bit of time to actually write the fic, and here it is. I hope you like it.

Trying hard to bear all this in mind, Harry took a pinch of Floo powder and walked to the edge of the fire. He took a deep breath, scattered the powder into the flames, and stepped forward; the fire felt like a warm breeze; he opened his mouth and immediately swallowed a lot of hot ash.

"D-Dia-gon Alley," he coughed.

It felt as though he was being sucked down a giant drain. He seemed to be spinning very fast — the roaring in his ears was deafening — he tried to keep his eyes open but the whirl of green flames made him feel sick —something hard knocked his elbow and he tucked it in tightly, still spinning and spinning — now it felt as though cold hands were slapping his face — squinting through his glasses he saw a blurred stream of fireplaces and snatched glimpses of the rooms beyond — his bacon sandwiches were churning inside him — he closed his eyes again wishing it would stop, and then…

Harry fell, landing on the ground roughly. His glasses snapped and Harry couldn't see anything. He sat up as he heard footsteps coming closer.

A low gasp was heard, and then Harry could see the blurry shape of someone crouching near him. "Are you alright?" a man's voice came.

"Yeah, but I can't see," Harry explained, holding up his broken glasses.

The man fixed the glasses with the same spell that Harry recalled Hermione using the year before.

"Thanks," Harry murmured as he slipped them on. He looked around to see that he was not in The Leaky Cauldron. In fact, he looked like he was in someone's house, presumably the man who was sitting near him, waiting for him to finish looking around.

"I'm sorry, I was trying to go to Diagon Alley. It was my first time flooing," Harry apologized, looking at the man.

"It's fine," the man assured him, then reached out a hand to help Harry to his feet.

Harry accepted.

Harry felt the man's eyes on him and looked shyly at the ground. The man chuckled softly.

"I'm Remus Lupin," he introduced.

"Harry Potter," Harry murmured in reply.

"I know," Lupin stated.

Harry glanced at him curiously, but he found that the man had turned his attention to the stove where tea was in the process of being made.

"Who were you traveling to Diagon Alley with?" Lupin asked, offering Harry a seat. Harry took it and Lupin placed a cup of tea in front of him.

"The Weasleys,"

"Molly and Arthur?" Remus questioned.

Harry nodded and Remus smiled. "That's good. They're a nice family," he stated.

Harry felt himself like the man, despite only knowing him for a few moments. He took a sip of the tea, watching the man.

"They'll probably be worried about you," Lupin commented.

Harry frowned.

"I'm afraid I'm out of floo powder, but I can apparate you to the Leaky Cauldron," Lupin suggested.

"Apparation?" Harry questioned, not knowing what it was.

"Another form of traveling," Lupin explained.

"Okay," Harry agreed warily.

Lupin stood and led Harry out of the house. He held out his arm and Harry took it cautiously. Lupin gave him a reassuring look, and then turned on the spot.

Harry felt as if he were being squeezed through a too small tube, but it only lasted a few moments, and then he was standing in an alley with Lupin.

Harry could hear voices chattering as they passed by, and he walked to the end of the alley. He could see The Leaky Cauldron across from the entrance to the alley.

The pair crossed the street in silence and Lupin held the door open for Harry. Together, they walked across the room and into the back, where Lupin opened the wall.

"Look, there's the Weasleys," Harry pointed out.

"I'll just leave you here, then," Lupin said, but he sounded mildly disappointed.

Harry gave Lupin a curious look, but then started walking toward the red haired family.

"I'll see you around, Harry," Lupin called out in farewell.

Harry nodded and waved in thanks.

Lupin stared after the boy, wistfully. With a sigh, he turned and left the Leaky Cauldron, heading back home.

A/N - Please review.