"I don't want to go," Harry said. His voice was quiet, barely audible. Maybe not intended to be audible at all.

Susan harrumphed at him.

"A bit late for that, Harry. Come on already, it's going to be great!" She tugged on her brother's arm, pulling him inside the gate where he'd paused.

That gate represented an invisible threshold. Once inside, Harry seemed at least a little more determined.

"Right," He said to Susan, sighing, "You're right. I guess... what if they don't like us? Because, you know, we're weird. I don't know how to act around muggles."

"That's why we're learning!" Susan said, laughing a little to settle his tension.

Harry shook at his head at his sister, running off ahead of him, and took off after her. He didn't want to be left behind.

Muggle school was sure to be a strange experience, but his Aunt Amelia told him a necessary one. Too many witches and wizards didn't have the slightest clue of how to act in muggle society. With how quickly that society was developing nowadays, blending in was becoming more important than ever.

That didn't mean Harry wasn't nervous about it. His sister Susan was a little more brash and bold than he was. Harry could be brave where it counted, like that incident last year where a snake in the garden had threatened Susan. Interacting with so many other people, that was a little bit different. They were muggles, too. Well, Harry had known muggles before – been around them all the time, dressed in muggle clothing, the whole thing. Talk to them? Make friends with them? That was different.

What if he messed up? This was an entirely different culture. It'd be the same as going to France or Bulgaria or anywhere else – except worse! Because if he messed up there, he'd only offend someone. If he messed up here, he risked destroying the entire Statute of Secrecy.

"Stop being so pale, Harry," Susan said, "You're fine! So what if they don't like us – we still have Neville and Hannah to be our friends."

Harry nodded. Of course, that was everything he was worried about. Well, he shouldn't worry his sister, she was precious to him. Harry made himself smile.

They still had almost twenty minutes before school was set to begin. Clearly, they weren't the only ones who were early, either. Looking at the assembly of muggle children around, Harry guessed almost the entire little school was out playing on the metal and plastic equipment or running around on the pavement and grass. Everyone was playing games, laughing, squealing, and having a good time.

Susan, too, seemed to hesitate a moment. Everyone else... seemed to know each other already. It was always awkward being the new kid. This group had lived in the same neighbourhood and gone to school together for the past three years. This was 'fourth year' of primary school. Susan and Harry had this year and the next before Hogwarts. This year and next with this group, then they'd leave them forever.

Did that make it worse or better? He wouldn't get to be friends forever with whoever he made friends with – but he wouldn't have to either.

"Let's go... play that... um... Oh, look, Harry! They have chalk over there, let's go draw!" Susan, finished surveying the playground-scape, had found something to do. Harry nodded enthusiastically. Anything was better than standing around awkwardly, staring at everyone.

A few of the quieter-looking students were drawing images in chalk on the black pavement nearest the building. There was a girl reading, too, near the door. Harry would have liked to read, but he hadn't thought to bring a book with him. Drawing with chalk was fun too, and not so intimidating as playing noisily with the other kids.

Raymond and Parker didn't mind sharing the chalk with them. Susan immediately set about drawing butterflies in various interesting colour combinations. After a moment of thought, Harry began to draw a big, long caterpillar – a much safer choice, he felt, than drawing a griffon or a dragon.

"What'cha readin', Granger?" Someone asked loudly. It wasn't a tone of voice that was entirely polite, but Harry ignored it because it wasn't directed at him.

Granger, who must the girl reading by the door, also ignored the voice.

Harry heard a slap sound, then a sound like the fluttering of pages.

"Hey!" A girl's voice exclaimed, sounding distressed.

Harry looked up to see the book land on the ground in front of him, pages splayed and touching the dirty pavement. No one else paid it any mind, even the girl who lost it – she was staring up at the boy who had apparently kicked it out of her hands. She looked not just annoyed, but afraid and Harry didn't like that. He looked at Susan, who shared his expression, then back to the book on the ground.

He took it – 'Pride and Prejudice' – dusted it off and stood up. Some of the pages were bent. That was irritating.

"Don't ignore me when I'm talking to you, Granger." The boy said. "Or what, need to get your ears checked like your eyes?"

Some of the other children in his posse sniggered. Eyes? She wasn't wearing glasses like Harry.

"Leave me alone, Bradley," The girl, Granger, said in a surprisingly confident tone of voice, given the way her bottom lip was quivering.

"Oh yeah?" Bradley started another remark, but Harry, now standing amongst the group, interrupted.

"Why don't you leave her alone?" Harry said, more accusing than actually asking.

Susan touched her back to his, leaning on him. He could feel that her arms were crossed and just knew that her expression was sour.

Bradley wrinkled his nose and squinted at them.

"Who're you?" He asked.

"New kids," One of his posse answered for him, "Mrs. White said we'd be getting two new kids this year."

"New kids, huh?" Bradley said, releasing the wrinkle in his eyes to wrinkle his nose further up, "Who do you think you are? We were just talking with her. Get lost."

"You get lost," Susan said.

Harry almost groaned.

"It's – it's okay," Granger, still on the ground said before Bradley could say something to further escalate.

"Shut up, four-eyes!" Bradley spat. His posse giggled like hyenas.

"No one likes you anyway -" He continued.

He didn't quite finish the word 'anyway'. An invisible force grabbed his nostrils and yanked up, throwing his balance off completely and causing him to crash over backwards, knocking down one of his friends and landing hard on his bottom.

"Wha-" He began, but found blood pouring out of his nose. Startled and in pain, he leapt up to step backwards, only to find his trousers didn't leap back up with him. He quickly pulled them and began to flee in embarrassment, only to fall over on his face. His shoelaces had somehow tied themselves together. Not taking the time to fix them or remove his shoes, Bradley waddled away around a corner, posse in tow.

"Ugh, Susan!" Harry exclaimed, annoyed at her, while she extracted her hand from inside her coat, where no-doubt she'd been working with her wand.

"What?" She asked, defensive.

"Aunt Amelia is going to be so mad at us! Couldn't you have punched him in the nose or something?"

Susan bristled, "I think Aunt Amelia would still be pretty mad if I'd punched him in the nose! What else was I supposed to do?"

"Thank you," Granger said, reminding the two of her presence.

"Oh," Harry said, blushing, "Y-yeah. Sorry. Um, here's your book."

The girl stood, brushed a little dirt off of herself and took the book, nodding a second thank-you.

She lowered her chin and spoke in a quiet voice.

"Was that... magic?" She asked.

"No, no, of course not." Susan said, "Um, not, ha-ha, real magic, I mean. I like... uh, fake magic. I mean, stage magic. Trick of the hand. Ahem."

The girl looked downcast. "I see," She said.

"What's your name?" Harry asked.

"Hermione," She said, smiling again, "Hermione Granger."

"That's an unusual name," Susan said, "I like it!"

Unusual for muggles, Harry thought she likely wanted to say.

"I'm Harry," He said, "And this is my sister, Susan."

"Oh, really?" Hermione said, looking surprised, "You two look nothing alike. Oh!" She exclaimed at the end, probably realizing what Susan was about to say and feeling embarrassed already.

"Harry's adopted." Susan said simply.

"What were you reading?" Harry asked to change the subject.

Hermione looked a strange mix of enthusiastic and shy.

"Pride and Prejudice! One of my favourites, I'm re-reading it – but, um, you probably wouldn't like it." She certainly seemed conflicted.

"No, I bet Harry would," Susan said, "He loves reading."

Harry nodded affirmation to that idea. He certainly did.

The three spent the rest of their time before school began talking amongst themselves, mostly about what books they had and hadn't read. Harry, quite fortunately, had read plenty enough muggle literature to get by.

School itself was interesting. Reading and maths Harry and Susan knew very well. Aunt Amelia was usually a bit too busy to home-school them herself, but had hired tutors, so her two charges were certainly prepared. Muggle history and social studies, on the other hand, were a struggle. Harry had thought he was rather knowledgable in these matters. Apparently not, if he had trouble keeping up with a fourth-grade class – on the first day of school, no less!

Hermione, Harry found, was a bit of a know-it-all. She was frenzied about answering every single question as thoroughly as possible and seemed to swell under the teacher's praise. It might get a little grating after a while, but Harry liked her well-enough. She was smart and knowledgable. Friendly, too, and well-behaved.

When the teacher (plus Hermione!) wasn't looking, Harry casually slipped Susan a note.

"Hermione seems nice, don't you think?"

Susan grinned widely at him and wrote back.

"Yes! Let's be friends. I want to be friends with everyone."

Perfect. Harry had no interest in being friends with everyone, but could certainly stand getting to know Hermione. At lunchtime, Harry asked if he and Susan could sit with her and her friends.

"Oh," She'd replied, "Well – I don't have any friends. You can sit with me if you want to, though – if you want to."

Harry nodded.

They ate together. Hermione and Harry both had a brought-from-home lunch. Susan had insisted on using muggle money to buy muggle food. Well, someday Harry might try that.

"Why don't you have any friends, Hermione?" Susan suddenly asked, out of the blue.

"Susan!" Harry hissed.

"It's fine," Hermione said, though she did look unhappy.

"No one else really likes me," She said, "I don't fully know why, but I think I do. I think I annoy them. My voice is annoying and how I'm smarter than they are."

"I don't think your voice is annoying." Harry said.

Hermione gave him a smile and a shrug.

"Well, I want to be friends with you," Susan said.

"Susan, you're always so straightforward," Harry said.

Susan grinned, "Yeah!"

"So?" She asked, looking at Hermione.

When they both looked back to the muggle girl, both baulked. Hermione was red-faced and sniffling. She wasn't crying yet, but her eyes were wet.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Hermione asked, "You saved me this morning and now you've been nice to me all day. You're so pretty, Susan, don't you want to hang out with the pretty girls?"

Susan looked offended, "No! That's, like, segregation, Hermione. They look like a bunch of blow-hards anyway. So, come on, answer me – friends?"

Hermione, sniffling, nodded quickly, "Yes, I'd like to be."

"Me too?" Harry asked.

"Yes!" Hermione cried out.

The three laughed for the rest of lunch break.

Susan and Harry were fast friends with Hermione Granger. Susan, at several points, attempted to reach out to the other students in their class and grade, but Harry mostly stayed by Hermione's side. She was flattered when he asked her to help with history. A little too enthusiastic, but it was all good.

Susan quickly made friends with a girl named Abigail and a girl named Summer. She tended to rotate between her two groups of friends, sometimes eating and hanging out with Abigail and Summer, sometimes with her brother and Hermione.

On Friday, Harry asked if Hermione might want to come play at his house that weekend.

Aunt Bones would surely be pleased for his quick 'fraternization' and Harry would be pleased too – he liked Hermione quite a bit.