Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of J.K. Rowling's ideas. All I own is this storyline and anything new in it.
A/N: Hello all! Just to let you know.... I have already written this story all the way to halfway through the 26th chapter! The chapters do indeed get longer...the first few were experimental....they will get longer! And do you want to know how to get them faster??? Well, y'all are smart....you can guess. The next few chapters are purely fluff! Then it should get meatier. By the way, I absolutely refuse to nickname her 'Mione.... it irks me to no end! Anyways please enjoy!
Chapter 3: Trip on the Knight Bus
Almost immediately after Harry raised his wand, the purple, triple-decker Knight Bus appeared. The doors opened and Harry was face to face with dorky, pimply-faced Stan Shunpike.
"'Arry Potter! What are you doin' 'ere?"Stan shouted, simultaneously slapping Harry jovially on the back and spraying him with spit, "Oi, Ern! Look 'oo's on the bus!'Arry Potter!"
Ern's face appeared at the top of the steps, grinning down at Harry.
"Hello Stan. Hi Ern," Harry responded, "Her's 14 Sickles, Stan. I'm very tired. Could you show me to my bed?"
"Well sure, 'Arry! I'd be delighted to!" declared Stan.
Stan began to amble up the aisle of the bus, managing to trip when Ern began to drive again. Harry caught his arm and they continued their trek. When Harry and Stan reached the second floor, Harry saw a bushel of black hair and a beard that looked awfully familiar...
"HAGRID?" Harry said, dumbfounded. The enormous man turned around, and to Harry's great delight it was indeed his very first friend, Hagrid.
"Harry! It's good to see yeh my boy!" bellowed Hagrid, enveloping Harry in a bone-crushing bear hug.
"Well," Stan piped up after a few seconds, "I'll be leaving now. There's your bed 'Arry. Have a good night."
Harry placed his belongings at the foot of his bed with the help of Hagrid.
"Well, Harry, where're yeh headed?"asked Hagrid.
"I'm going to Hermione's for the rest of the summer. The Weasleys were going to have me but then Ron got invited to Romania to spend his holiday with Charlie. And seeing as my birthday's tomorrow, and Hermione invited me, I decided to go to her house," Harry answered, "Where are you off to, Hagrid?"
"Well Harry, tha's official business. I canna tell ev'ryone. But I will tell yeh that I'm off to seek the help of Olympe... well, Madame Maxime, to you," Hagrid countered .
"Oh, sending envoys to the giants?"Harry inquired. After Voldemort's return, Dumbledore had asked Hagrid, and Madame Maxime, headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy to ask the giants for help to get the powerful creatures for help.
"Yes,"said Hagrid, hastily changing the subject. He wanted to get off the subject of school before he blurted out anything that he shouldn't. "Well, seeing as it's yer birthday and all, I had been going to send you an owl with your present, but here it is for you now." Out of Hagrid's overcoat, came a tiny box. He handed it to Harry. He quickly untied the bow, and opened the box. A pretty, glass cube tumbled out.
"Open it with your wand," Hagrid spoke up, "It won't be counted as underage magic."
Harry took out his wand and tapped the box. It sprang open, revealing a three small mirrors. Harry looked questioningly at Hagrid.
"They're called Compact Callers. They're kinda like those Muggle things... what d'you call 'em? Cell phones? You can pull them out of your pocket and call your friends with them wherever they or you are. There's one for you, Ron and Hermione. They have an Unbreakable Charm on them. Now you all can communicate over the holidays with the mirrors and those darn Dursley's'll never know. Whenever someone is calling yeh, they'll flash and you tap them with your wand ter answer,"Hagrid explained.
"Cool," Harry said, breathless with excitement, " How do I call them?"
"Simple. Jus' take yer wand, tap the back o' the mirror, and say the person's name."
"Wow! Thanks, Hagrid," said Harry.
"No problem. It's yer birthday after all. Now, you better get some sleep. You've got a big day ahead of yeh tomorrow... with Hermione." Hagrid grinned.
Harry missed the sly smile that crept over Hagrid's face. He crawled into bed, surprised at how tired he was. Hagrid bent over to pat Harry on the head as he removed his glasses, and pulled the covers over himself.
"Goodnight Hagrid."
"Goodnight Harry." Almost as soon as Harry's head touched the pillow he was asleep.
As Hagrid climbed into his own bunk, managing to crack his head on the bed frame, he wondered how Harry, Hermione and Ron would take the news when they got back to school.
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A/N: Sorry this chapter was short... as I said...they will get longer. I'm kinda sick and it's summer so I was updating in my long, lonely days. I get tired easily, but I don't want to lose my train of thought... so please, no flames about the length of the chapter.