SO, here it is. The first chapter. It will probably undergo drastic change as I develop the story. It's far too long but there isn't a good place to break it up. Normally I don't post a story unless I have at least most of it written, but posting it a chapter at a time seemed to work out for my last short story so I hope it will work as well again. Hopefully I'll get some good suggestions! Please enjoy! PS- You might read my short story I wrote about Buddy but hopefully it isn't neccessary to understand this story.

Buddy Dursley sat in stunned silence amid the chaotic cacophony of the backseat of his uncle's car. His cousins, Albus and Lily were laughing and playing car games in rather-too-loud voices while James, his third cousin and the eldest of the three sat importantly beside his father in the front seat. He was proudly reciting for the third time, the list of all the friends he'd made at school during the fall term. Uncle Harry gave his son an encouraging smile from time to time, but his mind seemed to be somewhere else.

Buddy was in the same way. He stared out the window as the city of London whizzed by, torn between terror and elation. If someone had told him two weeks earlier that he'd be traveling this day to London to buy robes, a wand, spellbooks, and a pewter cauldron so that he could attend a boarding school for wizards, he would have surely told them to lay off the drugs! But there he was, packed in a car with three cousins he'd only just met, headed for a place he'd never dreamed could exist, and full to the brim with fear that it was too good to be true.

"What's Diagon Alley like?" Buddy asked Albus for at least the tenth time.

"It's a long walkway with shops on either side," Albus said simply, "And there's a pub and a bank and all."

Harry smiled to himself. His son was a born-and-raised wizard and thought nothing of visiting Diagon Alley. Harry knew from experience that Buddy's eyes would just about fall out when he saw window after window of magical goods for the first time.

"And people can just go into these places and say, 'Hey, do you all carry a tall blue hat with stars on it in my size?"

"Pretty much," Albus confirmed, "But if you wear a hat like that to school I will NOT be sitting by you!"

"Aww," Buddy said, pretending to be hurt, "I thought it might set off the lovely dress I get to wear!"

"Hey now," James cautioned, turning around, "It's called a robe!"

"Whatever you say, choirboy," Buddy returned and he and Albus both laughed wildly.

Minutes later, Uncle Harry stopped the car outside a seedy-looking back alley pub with a sign that read, "The Leaky Cauldron."

"There's no place to park," Buddy remarked.

"Okay, everyone out!" Uncle Harry instructed.

"Aren't you coming?" Buddy asked uncertainly.

"I just need to put the car in the PCP," Harry explained. Buddy nodded and got out of the car, though he had no idea what a PCP was. The four children stood back on the curb.

"What's PCP stand for?" Buddy asked them.

"Portable car park," James informed him. Buddy watched in astonishment as his uncle got out of the driver's seat and took out what appeared to be an ordinary electronic key. However, when he aimed it at the car and tapped the button, the car quickly imploded and folded itself until it was only a tiny square about the thickness of a penny and then zipped inside the plastic key.

"Wow!" Buddy exclaimed, "Guess you never have to worry about someone stealing your car!"

"Only if you loose your keys," Lily said practically.

Inside the Leaky Cauldron, they encountered a crowded room full of witches and wizards of every age, eating, drinking, and laughing. Buddy stared curiously around the room.

"Hey, Mansel!" Albus greeted a tall boy with mangy brown hair and thick, sleepy eyelids. Buddy judged from the other occupants of the table that Mansel was the eldest and only son in a large brood of squealing little girls. He excused himself without notice from his mother (Who was gingerly trying to extract mashed parsnips from a little girl's hair) and came over to meet them.

"How's you Christmas been?" Albus asked him. Mansel rolled his eyes.

"Christmas holiday with the pigtail brigade," he stated, "Always a treat."

"So, you're looking forward to going back then?" James asked him.

"Yes," Mansel said dramatically, "Preferably before I completely lose the will to live."

"Well, we're here to get my cousin his things for school, " Albus explained, "He's going to come with us this term." Mansel studied him.

"How old are you?" he demanded.

"Uh…twelve years old," Buddy responded.

"You are one big kid," he stated.

"Well…uh…thank you?" Buddy said, not really sure how to respond to such a remark.

"Mansel!" came a shrill voice from the corner, "Izzy's licking your chips!"

"I am not!" wailed Izzy, "It was Miranda!" Miranda smacked Izzy with her plastic purse. Mancel rolled his eyes again and departed.

The group headed to the back of the establishment and through a large door that emptied into a small yard. Harry tapped a spot on the stone wall with his wand and it opened up like Ali Babbah's cave to reveal the first block of Diagon Alley in all its splendor.

"Whoa!" Buddy breathed. His eyes were full of thousands of things he'd never seen before. They made their way slowly down the alley as James and Albus pointed out dozens of magical objects, plants, and animals, and explained what they were called and what they did. Buddy stared in silence, struggling to retain it all. He had a million questions in his head but they froze on his lips as each new display window filled him wonder and excitement. He moved as if in a trance as they toddled him down the street, stopping here and there to pick up the necessary articles. The apothecary where they stopped to get his potions kit bore a sign on the door that read, "Unaccompanied children will be given a complimentary kitten." Uncle Harry laughed at that and led them inside. Behind the counter they found the reason for the sign; an exhausted sales clerk with a basket full of mewing kittens.

"Awww!" Lily exclaimed in euphoria, "Can I have one daddy? Please?"

"You have Borris at home," Harry reminded her, "Besides, it's Buddy's day." He motioned to the basket, "Would you like to pick one out, or would your rather have an owl?" Buddy looked back in surprise.

"My ma will freak!" he exclaimed.

"Well it's only one more day before you leave, and if it's a real problem you can keep it at our house during the summer." Buddy stared wide-eyed at the basket of kittens. He finally selected a fat little calico.

"That's the best one," The shop-keeper commented, "We call him Teacup."

"Oh." Buddy said a little disappointed, "I was going to call him Killer Ninja Master, but Teacup is okay too."

"Meow," Teacup agreed and licked Buddy's hand with his scratchy tongue.

As the group stepped out into the sunshine, Buddy noticed a gleaming white building that stood out against the mostly darker store fronts.

"What's that?" he asked.

"That's Gringott's bank," James said proudly, "Dad broke in there once. Didn't you, Dad?" Uncle Harry looked up innocently.

"I'm sure I have no idea what you are talking about," he declared loftily.

"It's true," Albus whispered, "Our Uncle Ron told us. They had a goblin help them, of course."

"Oh," Buddy said simply, surprised both by the existence of goblins and their unexpected usefulness in robbing a bank.

"Hey," Uncle Harry said, struck by sudden inspiration, "We should make a stop."

"Oh, not the bank!" the three Potter children whined in unison.

"It's so boring!" James added.

"Well, Buddy hasn't ever seen it before. Besides, didn't you all get ten gallions from Uncle Charlie for Christmas?" The boys rolled their eyes.

"Yeah, Dad we were planning on depositing that!" James said sarcastically.

"I already spent most of mine on candy," Albus confessed.

"Come on," Uncle Harry said, leading them to the marble doors. Inside, was a long marble hall with an impressively high vaulted ceiling. On either side of the hall were desks where wizards and witches were queuing up impatiently to take care of their business. At first glance, it seemed like a standard bank office, if a little old-fashioned. However, Buddy had to do a double take. Behind each counter, seated on a tall stool, was a small, cranky-looking creature with pointed, furry ears and mean, squinty eyes.

"Are those goblins?" Buddy asked incredulously.

"Of course!" Albus said as if having a goblin for a bank teller was the universally accepted practice. They chose a queue and waited for a rather long time. The Potter children were irritable and impatient, but Buddy was watching the goblin at the head of the line with a mixture of enchantment and apprehension.

When they got to the front of the queue, Uncle Harry said politely, "This is my nephew, Dudley Dursley Jr. He needs to open up a vault, if you please. He is twelve." The goblin examined Buddy suspiciously.

"How much does he have to deposit?" he demanded in a guttural voice. Buddy quickly extracted a plastic zipper bag from his pocket.

"Well I've got sixty pounds twenty," he counted, "And seventeen, twenty-three in Canadian pocket change. Plus, I got two bits US that got mixed in somehow and a two-Euro piece I found at the bus station." He deposited the collection on the counter. The goblin glared at him in disdain. Albus and James giggled and Buddy's ears glowed.

"I'll tell you what," Uncle Harry told him, "I'll spot you fifty gallions to start off your vault. Consider it twelve years of birthday presents." Buddy began to protest but Uncle Harry would have none of it.

"Here's to your future financial success in the wizarding world," he blessed him as he put up the gold. The goblin handed Buddy a small skeleton key and then took up the wizard's gold and gingerly, as if concerned about germs, the bag containing the sixty pounds, twenty, the seventeen-something dollars in Canadian, the two Euro, and the American quarter and carried the lot down a dark narrow hallway.

Upon the street once more, Uncle Harry suggested that they might all like an ice cream break. No one had any objections, so they made their way to the candy kitchen which quickly became Buddy's favorite magical establishment. While they waited for their order, the children were entertained by a demonstration of how the jumps were put into the chocolate frogs. James purchased a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans and offered them around. Buddy took one and his face instantly scrunched up in disgust.

"This tastes like soap!" he exclaimed. The others laughed and they all headed back to the table.

"Hey wait," Buddy cried, "Why would anyone want candy that tastes like soap?"

As they were enjoying their ice cream, the cheerful room suddenly became cool and silent. Buddy turned around to see a boy about his own age with pale blond hair and blue eyes. As he entered he met the disapproving eyes of the patrons of the candy kitchen and lowered his face as he made his way to the counter. The boy was accompanied by a tall man who Buddy could only assume was his father. The man kept his hand on the boys shoulder and guided him through the crowd which dashed away from them as if afraid of catching something.

"That's the Malfoy's," James explained, reading Buddy's puzzled expression.

"Are they lepers or what?" Buddy asked.

"Worse," James replied, "They're death eaters."

"James," Uncle Harry cautioned.

"What are death eaters?"

"They were supporters of history's most evil wizard, Voldemort," James continued eagerly, "They're all dark wizards, murders, they wanted to kill or enslave all the muggles and muggle-born wizards. There's hardly a wizard or witch around who didn't know someone who was murdered by them. They even killed our Uncle Fred! Most of them were locked up in prison, but they let Malfoy go because he-"

"James!" his father interrupted fiercely, then calmed his voice when every head in the place turned his way, "I've told you before not to start rumors. Those people have been through enough."

"But is it true, what he said?" Buddy pressed, "Are there actually wizards going around killing people?"

"Well, not anymore," Albus assured him, "Not since their leader was destroyed. They've all been locked up in prison or killed."

"All except Draco Malfoy," James added. His father shot him a look.

"Sorry, Dad."

"But what happened to their leader?" Buddy asked. The others all looked at each other. Buddy got the impression that he was the only one in the room that didn't know the answer to that question.

"Daddy killed him," Lily piped up.

"What?"

"Our dad," Albus confimed, "He fought and killed Voldemort when he was only seventeen years old. He's a famous auror."

"Auror?"

"You know, like a police officer, but they catch dark wizards." Buddy reeled in disbelief. He'd never though to ask his uncle what he did for a living but he would have placed him in a position of stockbroker or maybe primary school teacher. He now stared across the table at the man with dark, shaggy hair, thick glasses, and quiet green eyes. He couldn't picture him battling anyone.

"You're all putting me on aren't you?" Buddy finally concluded.

"It's true," James persisted, "You can ask anyone you like."

"Just because everyone says something happened, doesn't mean that's the way it really happened," Uncle Harry told them. Buddy examined him again. He was sure they were putting him on. He simply could not bring himself to believe that his uncle fought dark wizards for a living, let alone that he'd actually killed someone. His musings were disrupted by the approach of the younger Malfoy.

"Hi, Albus," he said quietly.

"Hi, Scorpius," Albus responded in a slightly uncomfortable tone, "How was your holiday?"

"Alright, I guess," Scorpius told them, shrugging, "I was glad to see my parents again." There was an awkward silence.

"My birthday is coming up," he continued, "In just a few weeks, actually."

"Oh, well…Happy Birthday," Albus said.

"Yeah, Happy Birthday!" an eavesdropper muttered snidely and the other members of his table muttered in approval.

"Well, my mother and father were going to come up and take me to Hogsmeade on a Saturday. I was wondering if you'd like to come too." Albus looked quite surprised.

"Oh, well…great! Sure, I'd love to," he stuttered, "Dad, is that okay?" Uncle Harry studied the boys.

"Certainly," he replied, "I'll send a note along with you." Scorpius managed a quick grin and said, "Thanks," before joining his father at the door. Buddy felt sorry for Scorpius Malfoy. He thought it must be impossible to function properly with everyone glaring and muttering about you all the time. As Scorpius moved forward toward the door an angry stranger shouted after him.

"Hey! My brother was murdered because of you!"

"That's enough," Uncle Harry said loudly. The stranger's jaw flapped as if he meant to continue his tirade, but the words died on his lips when he saw Harry's expression. He sat down respectfully and commenced pointing and whispering with his companion. Scorpius' ears had gone all red and he hurried to the door.

After they had selected all of the things Buddy would need for school, Uncle Harry informed them that they would have to make one more stop.

"I need to visit the local office for just a moment. You lot came stay in the lobby and visit with Beatrice for a moment." They all groaned but they were too tired from an afternoon of shopping to put up much of a protest.

Beatrice was a tall, thin black lady who gave them all a sweet from a large jar she kept on her desk. The four of them sat quietly with their snacks in the lobby as they waited for their father to return.

"I can't believe you said you would go to that kid's party!" James berated Albus as soon as his father was out of earshot.

"And just what exactly was I supposed to say?" Albus returned.

"How about, 'no'? I don't trust either him or his creepy dad."

"Well Dad though it was okay. He said 'yes' didn't he?" Albus pointed out.

"I think he's up to something," James told them, "That kid was bred to be bad news!"

"What's so bad about him anyway?" Buddy asked as he wrestled a particularly jumpy chocolate frog into submission.

"What's so bad about who, lads?" asked a skinny boy with auburn hair and a fine smattering of freckles.

"Declan!" the Potter's exclaimed cheerfully.

"How was your Christmas holiday?" James asked.

"Brutal!" Declan exclaimed, "My parents hauled me off to Ardmore to visit all my relations I ain't seen since I was two. There's got to be at least two-hundered of em! There was I'd say at least twenty other Declans. You can imagine how awkward that was. Declan, this is Declan. Hi Declan, pleased to meet you. Hello Declan. And you are? Declan. Oh, you remind me of my brother Declan. Hey Declan, this is Declan, don't he look just like that other Declan?" Declan rolled his eyes as the others split their side laughing.

"We saw our long lost cousins too," Albus told the older boy, "Look, this is Buddy." Buddy shook hands with Declan.

"Declan, you will never guess what my little brother has just done!" James exclaimed.

"Oh, come on, James. Give it a rest," Albus protested.

"And what have you been up to, little Al," Declan asked.

"I've agreed to go to a birthday party," Albus explained.

"Well, now, that is a serious offence," Declan proclaimed soberly.

"For Scorpius Malfoy," James added. Declan eyes shot open in surprise.

"Al, have you got a death wish?" he exclaimed.

"Why?" Buddy persisted, "What will Malfoy do? What's the big deal?" Declan looked around and lowered his voice.

"It's only that Lucius Malfoy was a supporter of the Dark Lord from the very beginning!" he whispered to them intensely, "And Draco Malfoy was a servant and a murderer by the time he was my age. They say the only reason he isn't in Azkaban prison this very moment is that after Lord Voldemort was defeated he went mad and had to be put in St. Mungo's ward for the insane. By the time he was out of there he was no good to anyone, so they just let him loose!" The four younger children looked at each other in amazement. Lily's eyes were wide with horror and James seemed to be pondering something.

"How do you know all this stuff anyway?" Albus questioned Declan.

"My da told me of course!" he explained, "You know that Draco Malfoy was in school with my father and yours." Albus looked at James. They had not known that. Their father had never told them anything about the Malfoy's. Most of the information they had was relayed through their uncle and cousins.

"Well, I mean to find out what they're up to," James told them.

"That's just fine, big brother," said Albus seriously, "Only I'll thank you to remember that I have to share a room with this bloke for the next six years and I'd really appreciate it if you didn't, you know, enrage him, what with him being the son of a dangerous psychopathic killer and all."

"Al has a point there, Jamio," said Declan, "We don't want to find him in a ditch somewhere." James didn't say anything, but seemed to be thinking hard.

"Hi, Mr. Finnegan!" Lily greeted Declan's dad across the office. Beatrice gave her a stern look. Mr. Finnegan approached and greeted them warmly.

"Hello Potter's, just the lot I was hoping to see! Where's your dad?"

"Right here, Seamus." Harry announced, entering through a black, carved-wood door that read, 'Authorized Personnel Only'.

"Hello, Harry!" Mr. Finnegan saluted, "I hope you had a fine Christmas!"

"We did," Harry said grinning, "Now we're taking my nephew around to get his school things." Mr. Finnegan's gaze fell on Buddy.

"Oh, so this is the nephew? I'd heard about that. Good luck on your first term, lad," said Mr. Finnegan, "Everyone is behind you."

"Thank you, sir," Buddy responded gratefully.

"Harry, I was meaning to ask you. Have you seen Neville Longbottom lately?"

"Neville? Not since the Christmas holiday began. He was with the children when they got off the train. Ron invited him to spend Christmas at the Burrow. He hasn't anyone since his grandmother passed, but he said he had to take care of some business." Mr. Finnegan stood back with a look of concern.

"Is anything wrong, Seamus?" Harry asked.

"No. No, I don't think so," he responded uncertainly, "He's just been difficult to contact, since school let out…but he is on his vacation, isn't he?"

"Probably having a siesta on some beach in the Florida keys," Harry laughed.

"I hope so," Mr. Finnegan agreed, "You will let him know I'm looking for him, if you see him."

"Of course."

"Who's Neville Longbottom," Buddy asked as they made their way through the thinning crowd, toward the Leaky Cauldron.

"One of our teachers at Hogwart's," James told him.

"I wonder where he is?" Albus asked. James shrugged.

"Probably on a warm beach like Dad said."

Buddy felt physically and emotionally drained as he made his way back to the car. His mind was filled with all the different things he'd learned that day. He leant dozily against the window pane and his thoughts raced from the twenty-five Declans in Ardmore, to a bank guarded by goblins, to a small, blond boy with a lunatic for a father, and finally to his uncle, at seventeen, defeating the world's most powerful, evil wizard. It was all impossible, but Buddy had a feeling it was all true. It made him all the more apprehensive about what would happen when he went to Hogwart's, but nothing in the world could make him turn back now.