A/N: Hello my faithful readers, you might want to know what am I doing at the beginning of the story. The thing is, after receiving some complaints (persistant one) I decided to revise the earlier chapters a bit so that I don't have to tell everyone in P.M. Also, I took this chance to completely rewrite the first chapter. The story is still the same though the content has been completely altered. If you want to read then go ahead.

And for those new readers, I hope you come to enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it.

Chapter 01 (Revised)

'Why am I doing this, when I have a whole country to protect?'

Those were the thoughts of One Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, as he took an interview for the position of Divination Professor in Hogwarts. Then he remembered, Minerva had scoffed in quite a un-Minervaish way when the matter of filling the vacancy had come up in their annual meeting. She had mumbled something under her breath, which he was sure, was something disparaging regarding the presence of divination as a subject in Hogwarts. The meeting was tense enough. Not wanting to antagonize his deputy headmistress, he had volunteered to take the interviews himself.

Which led him to his current position, sitting in Hogshead, taking the interview of the fifteenth applicant, Sybil Trelawney, Granddaughter of some famous seer, who warned against the Second World War years ago. Well, there were many who have claimed to do that. At least half of the previous applicant had claimed to be the descendant of some famous seer who had given a big prophecy some hundreds of years ago. Well, Dumbledore was not taking the interview of their descendant, and as expected, none of them had come up to the mark on the evaluation for a Hogwarts Professor.

Dumbledore pinched his nose as he looked at the current applicant. Her big round glasses did give of the aura of those seers that come up in those muggle movies every so often. She would look perfect in an incensed filled room with a big crystal ball in front of her, as she would look owlishly at everyone who came in.

Controlling his mirth, as he imagined the scene, Dumbledore looked down at the papers in his hand and decided that he had interviewed her enough.

"Ms. Trelawney?" the phrase which was meant to be a statement turned into a question as he looked at the state of Sybil Trelawney. She had went rigid with her eyes as big as saucers. There was a frozen look in them, as if they were staring at something far beyond.

Dumbledore leaned in close, the shock that he was experiencing, evident in his eyes. If he was not wrong then these were the signs of an incoming Prophecy. The Prophecy could be anything, some incoherent babble to something crucial for the fates of million. He had to listen and listen attentively, for every word in it was important.

And the Prophecy was important too, as it foretold the coming of a vanquisher. Someone who will vanquish the Dark Lord. The Dark Lord was not specified. But there was no doubt in his mind. Fate always played a complex game, but rarely was it so, that a Prophecy given in a certain era and certain place wouldn't pertain to that same place and era, unless it was specified in the Prophecy.

And no action of Fate was excessive. If the Prophecy was given to him, there must be a role he has to play. Yes, he must be the guide of this new hero, this new light of hope amidst this darkness. He must be chosen to train the next vanquisher. Those were the thoughts of Dumbledore on this matter.

"Professor, what just happened?" it looked like Sybil Trelawney had come out of the trance as she looked around the room confusedly.

"Ah, don't you remember?" Dumbledore began pleasantly, his blue eyes twinkling as always in a delightful manner, as he peered over his half-moon glasses, "I was just congratulating you on being selected as the new divination Professor, when you passed out, with sheer happiness no doubt. Sometimes, happiness can be a tad bit overwhelming too."

…..

In a place far away from Hogwarts, inside a dimly lit room, sat Lord Voldemort. It was a huge room. On par with a hall, one would say. At one end, was a slightly elevated stage with an enormous chair in between. It was on this chair Lord Voldemort sat, with his pet snake, Nagini, by his side. As he slowly stroked the head of his snake, he pondered over his current achievements. Ministry of Magic was growing weaker by the day. His followers had infiltrated it to the very roots and were slowly rotting it from the inside. Despite Dumbledore's best effort, he and his secret order were a mere hindrance in his way. An obstacle that he can overcome any day he wished to. Yes, his victory was all but assured.

A slow knock reverberated through the whole room. Voldemort turned his eyes towards the door unpleasantly. His follower knew well not to disturb him, unless he called them. The matter must be important.

"Enter," the voice couldn't be called that of a human. The hiss of a snake would induce less fear than this voice.

The door slowly opened to reveal a rather young recruit, Severus Snape, if he recalled the name correctly. The young man was ambitious, he would grant him that. Not afraid to sell his own mother, if the situation calls for it. A true Slytherin, in his opinion, even though he was a half blood. No, it was because he was a half blood. He knew better than to underestimate the half-bloods. After all, he was a half-blood himself.

"For what reason did you disturb me Severus?" The voice was charming. One wouldn't say that the voice before and this voice could belong to the same person. The first voice would make chill run down your spine, would make you afraid of even moving from your spot, lest you die. But this voice, it was like a warm blanket that would surround you and soothe you. While he relished in the fear that he induced in other, these were people that he needed, at least for now, he would make them believe that they were safe with him.

Emboldened by this, Snape spoke courageously, "My Lord, I have brought grave news for you?"

"What news could it be that you consider grave for me?" Voldemort barely held back his laugh, he was on the verge of winning. None was strong enough to oppose him, and this young lad said he brought grave news for him? Could it be that either Crabbe or Goyle accidently died from overuse of magic while torturing some muggles? Honestly, he couldn't imagine any other grave news in such a scenario.

"I overheard a prophecy entailing you and a vanquisher My Lord."

Those words got Voldemort's attention. He knew better than to discard a Prophecy. They were powerful words that entangled one like a fly caught in a spider's web. One simply cannot escape the power of a true Prophecy.

"Tell me the exact Words," Ordered Voldemort.

"My lord, I don't know the complete wording, I was kicked out before I could hear it completely," As compared to the beginning, Snape's voice was shaking now.

Voldemort seethed inside. This incompetent fool couldn't do one job completely. But he had to remain calm.

"I see, Tell me what you know," the voice betrayed nothing of the emotions that he felt.

Snape proceeded to tell him the part of the Prophecy that he knew. The Prophecy was vague, too vague, in Voldemort's opinion. He couldn't discern the identity of his vanquisher from just this. There were two candidates in his mind. The Longbottom and the Potters.

"Who else heard this Prophecy?" was the question that Lord Voldemort asked.

"I believe Albus Dumbledore was present there too,"

"Dumbledore you say," Voldemort said as a plan began to form inside his head. If he played it right, then not only there would be no vanquisher but Dumbledore would also be removed as an obstacle completely.

"Severus, it is rumoured among my circles that you were once smitten with that mudblood whore of potter?"

"Yes My Lord,"

"I see then I have a job for you."

"Whatever you command My Lord, I shall do my utmost to fulfil it,"

"And you should, but first call Bella in. I have a job for her too."

…

Potter mansion, usually it would be ringing with the merriment of a newlywed couple with the laughter of a child mixed in. More than frequently, a friend of family, rather a close friend of family would drop by and the noise level would double, as if there were two children instead of one. But now it was silent, eerily so. As if no occupant was present. In reality, there was only one present. The other one being away to Diagon Alley with their child.

Lily Potter, the only current resident of Potter mansion was fuming. Her anger was evident in the way she was reading the ancient spell tomes present in their library. The library was an expansive one. Easily thousands of books were present in it. It could be counted as one of the biggest personal libraries in the whole Britain. Though, what set this library apart from others was not its hugeness, rather the ancient knowledge that was gathered. Some of the book s present could only be found here, with no other known copies in the world. Most of these rare books dealt with some powerful enchantments. If there was a rival to this ancient knowledge, it could only be the Black Family Library. As it happens, this ancient knowledge was the target of Lily Potter today.

The reason Lily was going through these huge Spell tomes like they were some thin books could be considered simple. Her family was in danger. As it stands, a maniacal Dark Lord, seeking power over the magical Britain and possibly the whole world could be coming after their family for a stupid Prophecy. Lily couldn't believe it. The reason her family was in danger, was a stupid bloody Prophecy. She never put much stock in Divination. To think Dumbledore had gal to suggest that he take their child in for "training" against the dark lord over some prophecy? She was furious. But it was nothing to the anger shown by James. She was sure he would have hexed the old man at the spot for even suggesting such a thing, though she was able to control him. Good thing Sirius wasn't there. The man was possessive enough of Harry, as if he was his own. She wasn't sure she would be able to control both of them. She didn't know where Dumbledore even got such a stupid idea. Harry was just a baby of one year old! No child deserves to be their childhood taken away over some prophecy. Especially not her own. That was the reason she was in the library, going over each of the old spell tomes, desperately looking for a way which would protect Harry from the Dark Lord. She wasn't stupid. Just because she doesn't put much stock in Divination, doesn't mean that Voldemort would tolerate any threat to his power, even if it's a one year old boy. Yes, she needed to protect their child.

Finally, it looked like hours of toiling had borne fruit as Lily found a powerful charm in one of the oldest books. At last her plans could be brought to fruition.

…

10 Years Later,

'Why do I have to be stuck with pigs? Fat pigs at that?'

Those were the thoughts of one Harry James Potter as he angrily mowed the lawn. The subject of those thoughts were his family, or rather supposed family since they never treated him like one anyway. Indeed, Harry Potter was an outsider inside his own family. The reason? Only one that Harry could think of was that he was not the son of Dursleys, his family, rather they were his aunt and uncle, him being the son of Petunia Dursley's sister. He was taken in by them when he was young, quite graciously, as he was reminded not so rarely. What was gracious about them taking him in? He didn't know. He actually was borderline abused by them. More often than not, he would go to sleep without a full stomach, his room being a small cupboard under the stair, which could barely hold him. His clothes were too large and too ragged to be worn by a child of his stature. The Dursleys didn't beat him, no, they were smart not enough not to do that. Instead, they had given their precious Dudley free reign over his cousin. He could do whatever he pleases with him.

Like a Devil being called Dudley appeared walking alongside with his gang of neighbourhood boys, all of them as fat and pudgy as Dudley.

"Harry, you want to play?" was the statement posed in form of a question as Dudley cracked his knuckles trying to look intimidating. To Harry, he only looked more pathetic.

Internally, Harry was groaning, Dudley had chosen the wrong time to appear. He had a lot of chores to do and no patience to spare on someone like Dudley.

"Bugger off Dudders, I am working," Harry mumbled as he tried to concentrate on mowing the lawn, internally, he wanted to mow Dudley and his gang.

"What did you just say?" Dudley went full red in the face, he hated the name Dudders. He motioned for his gang to surround Harry.

Harry looked as the gang tried to surround him. Seriously, he wanted to send them all flying, but that would get him into a lot of trouble with his uncle, and he wanted to take mercy on his eardrums for now. Seeing no other option, Harry pushed the lawn mower onto one of the fat boys and sprinted. In no time, he had crossed the lawn and was on his way to the nearby park.

"Look he is running, after him," came a distant voice, Harry thought it might belong to Dudley, but he was too far ahead to be able to discern his voice. All those fat boys sounded the same to him anyway.

It didn't take him long to cross the short distance between the park and the Privet Drive, and he was hidden behind his safe place. Even though Dudley knew that he would come to the park, he would never be able to find him in this place. Harry was confident in that.

Still, Harry was upset, not at Dudley and his gang, but at the precious time lost in trying to hide from Dudley and his gang. He would have liked to have some free time before Uncle Vernon came home, but that looked like a distinct possibility now. He really should have just sent the gang flying. It would have been well worth it. Even though his uncle would have screamed at him for not being able to control his freakishness.

'Freakishness', that's what his aunt and uncle called his power. If he was freak, then at least he was not alone, that much he knew from the way his Aunt talked whenever his freakishness would occur. The slight mumbling under her breath, which she thought he wouldn't be able to hear, after she had done rebuking him, was proof enough for him that he was not an only freak.

At the beginning, he couldn't control this power of his. Something impossible would always happen when he was angry or scared. At first he didn't think that he was the cause of these occurrences, his young childish mind just couldn't process the thought of him being able to do something so outstanding. His Aunt and Uncle just needed a subject for them to vent out their frustration, that's why they would scream at him. But, as the time passed, as Harry grew up, he couldn't help but be suspicious of these unnatural occurrences around him. In the end, even Harry had to admit that he must be somehow causing this. What would be the next thought of a young child when he had made such a startling discovery?

'Wouldn't it be cool if I could somehow control this power?' and that's exactly what Harry had thought, and thus started his daily toil for controlling this power.

The progress was slow for him. At first, he had tried to mimic what he had unconsciously done in the past years, the latest incident being able to grow his hair overnight. He had sat on his bed at night, after he was sure that the Dursleys had fallen asleep, closing his eyes and willing himself to grow his hair. In the beginning, progress was non-existent. Even after three nights, he wasn't able to make any changes to his hair. He was almost ready to give up, when an idea occurred to him. The incidents always occurred when he was feeling emotional. Maybe, his powers were somehow tied to his emotions. On the fourth night, he sat down and imagined the abuse that he had gone through at the Dursleys, he willed himself to feel the anger at their pathetic behaviour towards him. As his anger came, he didn't stop it. He let it grow. And that's when he noticed a slight tingling sensation within him. He couldn't pinpoint the location just that it came from inside him. Not even realizing what he was doing he focused the tingling sensation towards his hair and behold, his hair had gotten an inch taller. The consequence was that he felt completely exhausted and fell asleep not a moment after. That was the first day in many years Harry had been late in preparing the breakfast.

Since then, Harry had progressed far in his control over his powers. No longer did he have to rely on feeling strong emotions for them to activate. All he need to do was focus and imagine the thing he wanted to do and it would be done. Though, he had to practice a lot before he was able to do new things comfortably.

The shouting of the fat boys had drawn really close as Harry was snapped out of his reverie. The gang was right in front of his hiding place and completely unaware of his presence. His hiding place was a particularly thick bush with a hole in the back. The hole was completely covered by nearby overgrown soft branches. Without close inspection, no one could find this place. Harry, too, had stumbled across this place by complete accident. His foot had caught on a rock once while running from the gang and he fell head first into the bush. That's when he realized that it was hollow. Hollow enough for a person of his size to comfortably sit inside. Since then, Harry had taken special care of this place by trimming and rearranging the branches in such a way that the bush would look complete.

The hiding place had served him well over the years. Even now Dudley and his gang were unable to find him. They had moved a bit further now, standing on the edge of some mud.

As Harry looked at them standing there trying to find him, a wicked idea formed in his mind. He closed his eyes and concentrated, imagining a force pushing Dudley into the mud. He was not disappointed as he heard the splash and a grin formed on his face. Though the boy behind Dudley was not able to appreciate the joke much. Dudley rounded on him as soon as he could get up.

The thought of causing a riot in Dudley's gang amused him to no end but, he still had chores to do. With a heavy heart and silent footsteps, he came out of his hiding place and began walking back towards the Privet Drive.

…

Weasleys were a happy family. Anyone who met them would say so. On the outside, Weasleys lived a blissful life even without money under the patriarchy of Arthur Weasley, the current head of Weasley family. Parents of two successful children, who were working abroad, and five more who looked to be as successful as the other two. But, like every other family, this was not the true face of Weasley family. The one who truly ruled over the family was Molly Weasley, wife of Arthur Weasley. While, Arthur was a reasonable man who could see reason if shown, his wife was the opposite. A controlling woman who couldn't bear to see anything go against her wishes. In the Weasley household, her order was absolute. She was the reason the eldest two Weasley children had flown the nest as soon as they could and rarely show their faces around the Burrow. Out of the remaining four, none could be said to be exceptionally fond of their mother, except for maybe the youngest boy. Then again, the only thing on his mind was food.

Of the seven children that the Weasleys had raised, only one was a girl. Twin to the youngest, she was approaching eleven years of age. A girl with bright red hair, a shade darker than her brothers, and a face full of freckles, just like every other Weasley. She possessed a heart shaped face which was beginning to lose the baby fat and bright brown eyes which seemed to be full of life. Arthur completely adored his little daughter but, Molly was not very caring towards her. Though, the feelings of hostility were mutual. The little girl's dream was to get out of the clutches of her mother as soon as she can. It was this girl that the fate had chosen to be one of three to bear the mark of greatness.

On this particular day, when the sun was kissing the horizon, a breeze with a touch of heat was blowing promising the advent of summer, the same young girl was busy furiously scrubbing the dishes.

"Ginevra! What are you doing?" Ginny rolled her eyes at that question. Anyone could see she was washing dishes.

Her mother bore down on her as she kept quiet, choosing to ignore her mother in favour of keeping her temper.

"What is this?" her mother said, her temper clearly visible in her voice, "Is this what you call cleaning?"

Ginny looked up to find her mother holding the plate that she just washed. On it was a little spot she missed. She couldn't believe it! Her mother was scolding her for missing just a tiny spot of oil on a plate? What of dozens of plates that she washed before so perfectly?

"You cannot even wash dishes properly Ginevra! Do I have to do everything myself? By the time I was your age, I could do the whole house work better than my own mother."

And so Molly Weasley went on and on. Ginny waited, not so patiently, for her to finish. It would only make her lecture longer if she interrupted her mother.

"I am sorry, I'll do better next time," said Ginny, not feeling sorry at all. And why would she? She had washed all the dishes perfectly bar one. Her mother had no right for being angry just like that.

Having washed all the dishes while Molly was rambling, Ginny left the kitchen, intent on going to her room and sleep. It was still early, but Ginny had no wish to spend any more time with her mother or anyone else for that matter. The only one at home were her parents and Ron anyway. There was still a month left before her brothers returned from Hogwarts.

While going to her room she encountered her brother, Ron, in the parlour, who was still stuffing his face with biscuits even after he had five large helpings of dinner. He smirked at her, bits of food flying out of her mouth everywhere.

"Oh, can it Ronald," She snapped at him, her annoyance increased by the food bits flying at her.

"Ginevra! Stop picking on your brother!" came the voice of Molly Weasley from the kitchen.

"Oh!" Ginny groaned in frustration and stomped upwards towards her room. Only when she was safely behind the closed door of her room and in her bed, did she let the tears fly.

'Why? Why is this happening to me?" were the thoughts of Ginny Weasley as she cried herself to sleep.

…

The next day dawned bright and sunny. And with it, started Ginny's toil once again. She was put to work from the morning, washing dishes, cleaning house, taking care of laundry. All along while berated by her mother. Her trial finally came to end around noon, when her mother left to do some grocery shopping. Seeing no reason to stick around and do chores when her mother was not around, Ginny left everything and went out for a walk.

It was a pleasant day. Neither too hot nor too cold. The heat of the summer was just beginning to creep into the sunlight. A few rogue clouds could be seen wandering in the sky. Feeling herself cheer up on seeing such a beautiful weather, Ginny began to hum to herself as she started walking towards the woods around her home. Her goal was the stream which flow near the Burrow. In all her life, she had never seen the stream before and she wanted to rectify it as soon as possible.

A short trudge through the forest later, the stream was visible to Ginny. Feeling excited at the prospect of finally seeing it, she took large steps in order to cover the distance swiftly only to be stopped in her track.

What made Ginny stop was a girl, around her age with light blonde hair. The hair colour was so light that one could mistake them for white. Her skin was pale, milky without a hint of blemish. Her face was slightly on the longer side. All in all she could be considered pretty for her age.

Ginny watched the girl, fascinated, as she hummed to herself while kicking her feet lightly in water. Her face was slightly turned upwards with eyes closed. She looked so calm and serene in that state that Ginny couldn't believe her to be human.

"You shouldn't stand there like that, you know, you might become infested."

Ginny blushed brightly at having been caught staring. She hesitated a little bit before coming out of the woods. It was her first time interacting with anyone outside of her family. Finding the stream to be shallow, she crossed it to where the girl was sitting.

Luna opened her eyes as Ginny approached her. She turned toward her. Her eyes were big and bright blue, Ginny noticed.

"Oh my!" Luna said softly as she laid her eyes on Ginny for the first time.

"What is it?" Ginny asked confused.

"You seem to be infested by humdingers," Luna said, blinking owlishly at her.

"Uh, Humdingers?" Ginny was completely confused now.

"Yes, they get attached to people who are really sad," Luna said nodding her head.

"Wha…," Ginny couldn't comprehend how Luna even knew that.

"Why don't you sit down? Playing in water can really help getting rid of humdinger." Luna turned her back and closed her eyes, her feet never stopped kicking the water.

"Okay," Ginny said while sitting beside the seemingly odd girl. She took off her shoes and let her feet touch the cool water of the stream. She sighed at the good feeling.

"My name's Luna, Luna Lovegood," the girl said, her bright blue eyes staring at Ginny.

"Oh, Sorry!" her cheeks were tinged pink at having forgotten to introduce herself, "I am Ginny, Ginny Weasley."

"Oh, I see Virginia," Luna nodded her head.

Ginny gritted her teeth, "It's not Virginia! It's Ginevra, though I really hate it."

"I see, Ginny it is then," Luna answered, "Have you received your Hogwarts' letter?"

"What? You are a witch Luna?" Ginny exclaimed.

"Of course Ginny! Isn't it obvious?" Luna asked, her head tilted slightly to one side as her eyes stared at her.

"Huh? How can it be obvious if someone's a witch?" Ginny asked once again completely confused. She wasn't sure if she could follow many of Luna's statement. The girl was odd, Ginny decided. No, she was completely off her knockers. She liked her.

"Never mind," Luna answered shaking her head with a slight smile on her face.

"So, what are you doing here, Luna?" Ginny decided to keep the conversation going.

"Just washing away the humdingers, though most of them are gone now," Luna answered.

"I see. So you were sad then?" Ginny asked. She thought that she could finally make some head and tails of the girl's statement.

Luna didn't answer, just nodded her head, her feet still kicking at the water.

A comfortable silence elapsed between the two afterwards. In that silence which followed this odd conversation, Ginny felt completely at ease with Luna. There was none of the tension that she usually felt with her family. She sensed, that with this quirky girl of her own age, she could be herself and she wouldn't judge her. Just like her two eldest brothers.

On this day, when the weather was gradually transitioning from winter to summer. When new leaves were just beginning to sprout on the trees, a new friendship was born.

When more than a few silent moments had passed between the two girls, Luna turned her head towards Ginny, "Do you want to play in water?"

Ginny looked at Luna, a smile covering her face as she took in her new friends. She knew she was late and her mother would scold her for not completing the chores, but right now, spending time with Luna seemed to be much more fun. Any scolding her mother would give her, playing with her will be more than worth it.

"Why not! Let's play," was the answer that Ginny gave to Luna with a smile on her face.

…

Summer was not really Harry's favourite part of the year. It only meant more of the chores and more of Dudley's abuses. Not to mention the heat was killing. But, this summer was turning out to be especially gruelling. His Aunt would just not leave him alone for a moment. No matter where he went, what he did, she was always watching him like a hawk. And the oddest thing was, he was not allowed to pick the mail anymore!

This looked very suspicious to Harry. Especially, when he knew that his Aunt wouldn't do anything herself if he could do it. And, picking mail was something that he could definitely do. It was almost as if she didn't want him to see something that would come in the mail. That only meant one thing, he had to see what was in the mail.

This task was an arduous one. His aunt was very vigilant in both keeping track of his moment and collecting the mail herself. Harry had no idea how to complete this humungous task. His only consolation was that, whatever was going to come in the mail hadn't come yet or his Aunt would have stopped her monitoring.

A week passed in Harry's attempt to gain access to the mail. He had tried standing near the door but his Aunt stopped him before he could pick it up, looking suspiciously at him while she picked up the mail. He had tried his best to look innocent. Afterwards, he had tried looking at the mail after his Aunt had gone through it to no avail. If there was anything there, his Aunt would have picked it up already.

Finally his chance came. He was working in the kitchen, scrubbing the dishes after breakfast. It was a Sunday so his Uncle was at home too, reading the newspaper while sitting in front of television. His Aunt was up doing God knows what. That's when the mail came.

"Boy! Get the damn mail," his Uncle shouted at him from the living room.

"Yes, Uncle Vernon!" Harry tried his best to mask the excitement in his voice as he carefully put the plate back. Trying not to look conspicuous, Harry made his way towards the front door and picked up the mail. He quickly went through the mail before his Uncle noticed what he was doing. There were the usual bills, some business letters for his uncle and an old looking envelope which was addressed to him. Harry quickly stuffed the letter in his shirt where it wouldn't be visible and took the mail to his uncle. He noticed his approach as he took down the newspaper from in front of his face.

"About time boy, what were you doing?" his Uncle asked, his moustache twitching.

"Nothing, Uncle Vernon," Harry answered quickly and returned to the kitchen to do the dishes. The day dragged on as he tried to do the chores and stay away from Dudley as much as he could. It looked like the time had stopped since the day wouldn't end. Finally, it was time for dinner, and Harry was never gladder for the day to come to an end, and that was saying something.

All through the dinner, Harry tolerated the keen stare from his Aunt. He knew she would be suspicious of him, since he picked the mail today but, he tried his best to look normal as he ate his measly portion of the food. It was hard, controlling his excitement and appearing normal under his Aunt's glare but, he somehow managed it. It was a distinct possibility that, the letter could be his portal away from the Dursleys and, he wasn't about to botch what appeared to be one chance in centuries. So he sat there, barely keeping it together as his Aunt sent him more than frequent stares. As soon as the dinner was over, Harry got up and took the dishes to the kitchen. That's when he finally took a sigh of relief.

"Try not to mess up those dishes, they are new."

Harry almost jumped out of his skin at hearing the voice of his aunt but he managed to keep his sanity as he answered his Aunt.

"Yes, Aunt Petunia."

His aunt gave him another keen stare before she finally retired for the night.

Harry wiped tiny beads of sweats from his forehead after his Aunt had gone. He couldn't believe how nervous he was! Anymore of this, and he might even go into hyperventilation. Finishing his chores as fast as he could, Harry too retired for the night. He decided to wait for the Dursleys to sleep before he opened the letter. It was too risky and he couldn't afford being caught before he had read the letter.

He tossed and turned in his crumpled mattress as he listened to the voices in the house. It was taking Dursleys forever to go to sleep. Even after they had gone to sleep, he lay there in his bed, still too afraid to open the letter.

Before long, the clock in the living room chimed midnight. Deeming it safe enough now, Harry got up and took out his letter. Not risking a light, not that he had any, he decided to rely on his powers. Focusing his power in his hand, he concentrated and, within a few moment there was a dimly lit ball of light in it. Lifting it in front of the letter, Harry let it dangle there as he studied the envelope. It looked kind of old. It was made of some yellow paper which was quite thick and there was a sealing made out of wax in front. It was a throwback to the Eighteenth century. Feeling a bit apprehensive, Harry opened the letter and started to read it.

The letter was, in simple terms, shocking. At first, he thought it was some kind of prank but then his Aunt behaviour came to mind and he disregarded the idea at once. It had to be a real deal. Besides it was way too elaborate to be a hoax. Not to mention, it explained a lot about him and his powers, or magic as it was called in the letter.

Now if he only what did it meant by they were waiting for his owl, it would be perfect?

The problem was resolved the next day when he went out. There was an owl that sat there as he did the customary mowing of the lawn, staring at him the whole day. Thinking that's what they meant in the letter, Harry wrote his reply in the night and discreetly gave the letter to the owl. The owl gave a soft hoot, took his letter in his beak and flew away.

Finally, finally, he could be free of the Dursleys.

….

For Ginny, having a quiet lunch was a rare affair. Rare in the sense that her brother hadn't done anything to her and her mother hadn't scolded her yet. As it happened, today was one of those days when she could have a quiet lunch. She very much relished these moment and intended to do so today too, when they were interrupted by two owls.

One of the owls landed in front of Ron while, the other landed in front of Ginny. Considering the timing and that both her and Ron had received an owl together, she could reach only a single conclusion. Her Hogwarts letter had arrived.

"Oh my! Ron open it," Molly seemed to be positively gushing as a silence descended on the dining table.

"But Mum, I am eating," Ron's word were almost incomprehensible with bits of food flying out of his overstuffed mouth. The landing place of most of those scraps was Ginny, since she had the misfortune of sitting in front of him. Though, today it didn't matter much since she was too busy opening her letter.

As expected she had been accepted into Hogwarts. Looking up at her mother, she found her to be busy opening her brother's letter. Deciding that this was the perfect opportunity to slip out, she got up and was about to head out when she was interrupted by her mother.

"Ginevra, where are you going?" Her mother asked while eyeing her.

"I have eaten mother," Ginny answered feeling chagrined.

"Then wash the dishes, also I see you have been accepted into Hogwarts too, better not waste your father's hard earned money."

"Yes mother," was the answer as she returned to take the dishes and started washing them in a foul mood. Her mother truly knew how to ruin her mood.

It took better part of an hour for her to get the dishes, and when it was done, she was out of the door before her mother could assign her another task. She wanted to find Luna and relay the news to her.

The sky was overcast with clouds with a powerful breeze blowing. This seemed to put Ginny in a better mood as she continued her slink towards the stream. That's where she usually met Luna after their first encounters nearly two months ago.

As she approached the stream, she spied Luna sitting on the bank in her usual manner, her feet dangling in the water as she hummed an unfamiliar tone to herself.

"Luna!" Ginny exclaimed as she rushed towards her friends.

Luna opened her eyes and smiled at her friend, "Hello Ginny, how are you today?"

"I am fine Luna," Ginny answered as she plopped herself down beside Luna.

"I must say Ginny, I was not expecting you today. What brings you here today?" Luna asked facing Ginny.

"Do I really need a reason to visit my friend?" Ginny asked with a coy smile.

"Ah, I see, Congratulation on being accepted in Hogwarts," was the answer from Luna.

"What? How did you know?" even after two months, Luna still managed to surprise her on every turn.

"Well, Ginny it is summer and your birthday will be soon and, as the letters are sent before your birthday, so it does make a nice possibility that you received your letter today." Luna explained.

"Well that does sound logical," Ginny conceded.

"No matter, I am Happy for you, you seem to be really interested in going to Hogwarts."

"Yes," Ginny nodded her head, "I cannot wait to go there."

"I see," Luna answered as she stared into the stream.

A few moment of silence followed that but, it was soon shattered by Luna's voice.

"Ginny, Can I ask a personal question?"

"Of course," Ginny answered, "you can ask me anything."

"Why don't you like your family?" Luna asked in a soft voice.

Once again Luna had shown her amazing insight and the ability to read her. She always had shown an uncanny ability of wrangling out truths from her. It was quite marvellous actually. She would ask a question and then just sit there, humming to herself, like she never asked anything, like she was giving her a way out if she didn't want to. In those two short months that Ginny had known her, she had grown to be her closest confidant.

Ginny shook her head wistfully as she began her tale of hate and despair. A tale of a hating mother and a despaired daughter. She told her everything, leaving not even a single aspect of her life. She told her of her condition in her own house. How she was treated as nothing but dirt by her own mother as her whole family watched. They did nothing to stop her and sometimes even joined in on the fun.

By the time the story was finished, Ginny was reduced to tears with her head on Luna's shoulder, all the while repeating again and again.

"Why? Why is this happening to me?"

Luna cradled her head in her hands as she continued to cry. Her own eyes were brimming with tears, nonetheless, she continued to offer soothing words to her only friend in the world.

Finally, the crying subsided and Ginny lifted her head from Luna's shoulder. Her eyes were puffy and completely red from crying for so long.

"Sorry," Ginny mumbled as she rubbed her eyes with her sleeves.

"No need to apologize Ginny, I am here to help," Luna answered while shaking her head.

"Thanks Luna, I really appreciate it," Ginny managed a watery smile.

You know Ginny, I was nine when my mother died," Luna began but was interrupted by Ginny.

"Luna, you don't have to!" she exclaimed.

"But that's the thing Ginny," Luna answered taking her hands into her own, "I want to tell you, I want you to know everything about me. I don't want there to be any secrets between us. You are my best and only friend Ginny, and if there is anyone whom I trust with everything it's you. Besides, it's not as sad as yours."

"That depends on perspectives," Ginny answered, signalling her to continue.

"After her death, my father immersed himself in his paper quibbler and I was left alone. We do spend time together but only then we talk about different creatures. It becomes really lonely having no one to talk to, just chatting like anyone else…,"so Luna continued her tale of sadness, how even with her father with her she always felt so alone and how after meeting Ginny that feeling of loneliness was no longer there.

Ginny listened patiently to the blonde haired girl just like how she had done to her tale and vowed in her heart how she would never leave her alone.

And so the bond between the two girls grew stronger and stronger to the point where they didn't hide their deepest darkest secret from each other and with each secret spilled, their trust in each other grew, till they could safely say that there was no one else in the world that they would trust more than each other.

And thus, a friendship was born, a friendship which would alter the course of destiny and guide the world for thousands of years to come!

And none of the three were any wiser to the part that they had to play in the grand scheme of things.

Really, how could they know?

…..