B-R-Y-A-N

Bryan was confused. Harry's words were so sincere; he could feel the truth in them. But he just couldn't believe they would accept him, couldn't allow himself that weakness. Thoughts and feelings swirled in his mind and all the while he couldn't move; didn't know how to respond. He needed time to think, but didn't know how to get it; asking for time to be alone would have resulted in a heavy punishment just two days ago. He was saved the awkwardness by Remus, though, who quietly informed them that it was getting late and Harry should be getting to bed. It was an obvious lie, but it did leave Bryan alone.

He forcibly emptied his heads of his former thoughts, trying to focus on the here and now. Now was about six-thirty in the evening, Grennich-Mean time. Here was the infirmary of a school of magic based in a castle somewhere in northern England.

Well, if he was going to be stuck here, he was going to know his surroundings, starting with the room he was in. He started on the south end, near the exit, and began walking along the wall, methodically going over anything that looked like it might open. Dark fell and still he searched, needing only the faint light of the moon to see by.

Around ten-o-clock he reached the other side of the infirmary and was surprised to find a bookcase there, stacked with a few very interesting books. They had titles like A History of Magic, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Standard Book of Spells (Grades 1-3), and many more. He brought all of them over to his bed and began reading. By the time the sky again lightened with the approaching sun, he had finished them all and, by using the helpful glossaries at the backs of many of the books, had gained a firm hold on the terminology.

"Merlin's Beard, Bryan!" Remus exclaimed when he came in and found the boy re-reading Hogwarts: A History on a bed surrounded by other books. "Did you read all of these last night?"

"It's like I told you, normally I only sleep every two to three days," Bryan said tonelessly. "Maybe you sleep every night, but for me that's wasteful excess; useless and impermissible behavior. Besides, I needed to stop being ignorant. I do have something I would like to ask you, though. When, where, and with what money do I get my wand and all my other school supplies?"

"Diagon Alley in London is the usual place," Remus said promptly. "We could go today, if you'd like. And as for the expenses, the school will be covering those." Bryan nodded and seemed to steel himself for something.

"I would prefer it if we went to Diagon Alley today," he said in a rush. Remus just smiled at him, nodded, and beckoned him on to the Great Hall.

Harry was already there when they arrived. Bryan now knew the story of the Boy Who Lived, but he had sensed when he first met the other boy that he didn't like all the attention he got because of it, so Bryan made sure to not let that enter into his socializing with Harry. Not that there was much socializing going on, they were both intent on their food. That's why it wasn't until Remus called:

"Ready to go, Harry?" that Bryan realized Harry was coming with them.

Harry nodded and got up from the table. Bryan followed him to a fireplace with a container of something that looked almost like ash inside. Remus took a handful of this and threw it into the grill, causing green flames to shoot up.

"This is floo powder, Bryan," Remus explained. "It is a mode of transportation. All you have to do is walk into the fire and call out the name of the place you want to go, and it will take you there."

"Make sure you tuck in your elbows, though," Harry added, "and you might want to take off your glasses, I broke mine the first time through."

"Right. Now, I'll go first, then you Bryan, Harry will stay here to help you just in case, then he'll come through," Remus directed. Bryan heard Harry's annoyed thoughts as clearly as speech.

There are probably lots of Order members waiting there for me anyway, why Remus can't stay and be the teacher is beyond me. He's better at it.

Bryan had time to wonder what the Order was before Remus walked into the flames, yelled, "Diagon Alley" and was whisked away.

"Alright Bryan, your turn," Harry said. "Now remember, you have to enunciate. Trust me on that one. I mumbled once and ended up in a place I really didn't wan to be."

Please let him go through okay, don't let him end up in Knockturn Alley or run into the Malfoys or something like that.

Again Bryan wondered at Harry's thoughts, and again he found himself without the time. Harry was gently pushing him forward, so he walked firmly into the flames, relieved that they were not burning him, and said, as clearly as he could:

"Diagon Alley."

Suddenly, he was spinning. He pulled his elbows in like Harry had instructed and shut his eyes. Very soon the spinning stopped and he felt himself landing hard in another grate. He kept his balance well and opened his eyes to see Remus standing in front of him and, behind him, dozens of other people going about their business. Bryan's eyes opened wide and he felt a constriction near his chest. There were so many people! He'd never seen so many people before! Their minds buzzed in his head.

Okay, new quills, new parchment, what else do I...

Oh no! Where's Alice? Mum is going to...

Here kitty, kitty, come on...

But what do I do if she says no? I'll just die...

How many sickles to a galleon again?...

...stupid git; the Wasps' glory went out long ago. Don't know why he keeps that stupid jersey...

I can't believe He's back, oh, what are we going to...

"Bryan?" Remus asked worriedly, "are you alright?" Bryan struggled to keep from hyperventilating, but managed an answer.

"So many people," he said weakly. Remus frowned and guided him and Harry - who had appeared behind him - off to a table in front of a store called Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Here it was quieter and the crowd seemed further away. Bryan took a deep breath and tried to block them out. He managed it by concentrating solely on Harry and Remus.

...world is so full of idiotic people. How could anyone do this to another person? I wish Sirius were here, he'd probably know what to do...

...should have known he wasn't ready. Oh! He's trying Legilimency again, and without eye contact. Dumbledore will have to know about this. Bryan, if you are succeeding and can hear me, try to calm down. Maybe focus on math, that used to work for me back in my school days if people started to talk about lycanthropy.

After a minute or two of counting off the digits of pi, Bryan was able to calm down. Finally, he opened his eyes again and seemed to shake off the terror he had felt at first.

"What's Legilimency?" he asked. Remus smiled a little.

"It's a form of magical mind-reading that normally requires eye contact," he explained. Harry looked from one to the other.

I doubt they're going to explain right now. Maybe I'll ask Bryan later.

Bryan's lips pulled into a smile, surprising both himself and his companions.

"Don't worry, Harry," he said, "I'll tell you now. I can, apparently, perform wandless, uncontrolled, and comprehensive Legilimency. Very useful back where I came from, very annoying at the moment."

"Really?" Harry said. "Well maybe we can work on learning Occlumency together. That's sort of the counter-measure."

"That would be helpful," Bryan said. "For the moment, though, we still need to get our supplies. I should be able to manage so long as I'm able to focus on one thing."

"What's that?" asked Harry. Bryan looked down.

"You two, if you don't mind," he mumbled. Harry looked puzzled for a moment, then smiled kindly.

"Sure, if it'll help you, go ahead," he smirked a little, "just try to forget anything embarrassing I might think." Bryan smiled again and nodded.

They stood up together and began working through the crowd, Harry and Remus on either side of Bryan, shielding him as best they could, and him with his eyes closed concentrating solely on the minds of his companions. They were both filling their heads with useful information. Harry was going on and on about Quidditch and his own experiences at Hogwarts while Remus was getting him caught up on the history of Voldemort. Remus' thoughts, he noticed, were quite a bit more organized and he also knew how to be careful about what he let enter his conscious mind. It seemed he was quite a bit better at Occlumency than Harry, who had turned an odd shade of red after realizing that he'd just thought about some girl named Cho.

"First stop Ollivander's Wands," Remus announced. "Now, there are never any other customers in there, I don't know why, but you shouldn't have any trouble with excess thoughts here, Bryan. Harry, you can wait for us in Quality Quidditch Supplies or come inside."

"I think I'll come with you two," he winked at Bryan. "It'll be interesting to see which wand you get." Bryan didn't let it show, but he was grateful. He felt comfortable around Harry and didn't want the other boy to go away so soon. An invisible bell jingled as they made their way inside and an odd man with clear blue eyes swooped down on them.

"Ah, Mr. Potter," he said in a voice as strange as his appearance, "how good to see you again. No problems with your wand, I hope?"

"No, sir," Harry said respectfully, "none at all. We are actually here to get a wand for Bryan." He stepped to the side to show Bryan more clearly.

"Indeed, well, let's see now," Ollivander muttered to himself. "Which one is your wand hand?"

Dominant hand, Remus and Harry supplied simultaneously.

"My right," said Bryan. Ollivander muttered some more and got out a magical measuring tape that started measuring every part of Bryan it could see. After a while of this, Ollivander left and came back with a long slender box. Out of it, he took a polished stick that Bryan could now identify as a wand.

"Let's try this then, shall we?" the old man said. "Nine inches, oak, unicorn tail hair." Bryan took the wand from him and held it up, but it was snatched from his hand immediately and replaced with a different one. "Maybe this one: thirteen inches, willow, phoenix feather. Very light and springy, good for charms work." Again Bryan brought his arm up and again the wand was snatched away. "No, no," Ollivander murmured, tapping his chin, "nothing common, I think. Yes, that's the ticket." He rushed back into one of the many stacks of boxes of wands and returned a moment later with a very dusty one. "Made this one a very long time ago, back when my father was running the store and I was an adventurous young lad. Twelve inches, white birch, crown feather of an elder gryphon. Try it out, lad, try it out!" Bryan brought his hand up and swung it down in a graceful circle like he'd seen in the diagrams. There was a flash of light and a shower of white feathers shot out of the wand tip. "Oh, very good, young Bryan," Ollivander exclaimed, smiling mischievously, "I thought I'd never sell that one. Now, seven galleons, please." Remus dug the coins out of his pocket and they left.

Bryan let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. From the time it took to exhale, he probably hadn't had fresh oxygen in a couple minutes.

"That man was bizarre," he said after a moment, "he didn't think a single thing the entire time we were in there."

"He's most likely just a strong Occlumens, Bryan," said Remus. Bryan didn't reply, but he didn't really agree with Remus. Whenever he'd tried to get into Remus' head further than he was wanted, he'd encountered a wall; a mental barrier. With Ollivander, it had simply been empty. There was nothing there to block.

He stopped himself just before he ran into Harry's back. They were in front of another store: Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Inside, more measurements were taken and he was given three sets of regular black robes. After that, it was straight off to Flourish and Blotts to buy the small library he'd need for his first year at school. They also bought a cauldron, a trunk, a quill set, and several sheets of extra parchment. By the time they were finished, it was almost sundown and they were all tired, though Bryan was noticeably less so. When he noticed that Harry was wondering about it, he explained before the boy could ask.

"Back where I came from," he said, his voice as toneless as ever when talking about his past, "they put me through rigorous training schedules with little or no sleep between. A little shopping trip can't compare." Harry nodded his comprehension and they flooed back to Hogwarts.

"Now, the school year will be starting pretty soon," Remus said after dinner, "so we need to talk about how you'll be getting to Hogwarts." Bryan felt like saying 'but we're already in Hogwarts', but knew that Remus was about to explain. "We don't want anyone knowing where Harry is staying over the summer, and so if he takes the Hogwarts Express like everyone else it will throw off any suspicion that he's been staying here. Bryan, I personally think it would be a good idea for you to go with him, just to get used to being around so many other people your own age. But that's up to you." Bryan smiled wryly up at him.

"In my current situation I find it wise to trust your judgment, sir," he replied in an attempt at an amused voice. Harry snickered into his hand.

I know you can hear this, Bryan, so I'm just going to think it: I need to teach you how to speak like a kid. Bryan wondered what Harry meant, but the other boy simply yawned and walked off to bed.

Bryan followed suit and found himself actually able to fall asleep. He had a pleasant dream that left him feeling surprisingly good when he woke up, even if he didn't know why.

September 1^st came and Harry and Bryan flooed to the Leaky Cauldron together. Remus didn't accompany them, telling them that the Weasleys would meet them in front of the pub to take them to King's Cross. Sure enough, they walked out the doors to be greeted by a sea of red hair and freckles. Bryan quickly closed off his mind. It didn't always work, but he needed to try, especially around potential friends.

"Ron! Fred! George! Bill! Ginny!" Harry exclaimed, smiling brightly, though Bryan could feel a sadness coming from deep inside him. Inside his head, the feeling shaped itself into a large black dog; something that left Bryan more confused than ever. "Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley!"

"Good to see you again, Harry!"

While the greetings were going on, Bryan busied himself with finding their tagalongs. He'd found that wherever they'd gone in Diagon Alley, a few minds had always stayed with them, never too close, but never too far. He picked them out easily now. The old lady with the shopping cart across the street was the Changer, because she never had the same face twice; the empty spot on the corner was the Wall, because Bryan could never get inside that mind; the other invisible spot down a nearby alley was the Drunk, because his thoughts were always so muddled that he couldn't possibly be sober.

"...like you to meet Bryan," Harry's voice suddenly interrupted him and he stepped forward. "Bryan these are Mr. and Mrs. Weasley." The eldest pair of redheads offered him their hands, which he shook politely. "That's Bill, this here's my best mate, Ron. The youngest, Ginny. And those are the twins, Fred and George; watch out for those two."

The mischief makers stepped forward, smiling innocently. Bryan shook their hands and kept his face a mask, despite his inner amazement at what he was hearing.

Hey, Fred, isn't this weird?

You bet, our first year seeing the younger ones off on the train without going along for the ride.

No kidding. No more pranks on McGonagall or Snape or the new DADA teacher.

Not that we ever could pull one on Lupin.

Their friendly banter continued and Bryan tried not to stare. That was something special the two twins shared and he was intruding. He tried with renewed determination to shut off his mind.

They rode the Knight Bus to King's Cross, an experience that made Bryan fervently grateful for his enhanced sense of balance. He was one of the few who didn't fall, though it wasn't through lack of trying on the bus's part.

The station itself was crowded, even more so than Diagon Alley had been; and so many of them were children; no more than four or five years older than Bryan. It was overwhelming and he closed his eyes again and concentrated on Harry. He just had to follow Harry and he knew he'd be alright. They moved in and out of the crowd for a while before positioning themselves in front of the barrier between platforms nine and ten.

Bryan watched carefully as first Ron then Ginny walked straight at it and disappeared. Everything he'd ever learned said that was impossible, but so many impossibilities had happened recently, he decided to just go with the flow. He and Harry ran at it together and sure enough, he didn't hit the wall but kept running straight into another part of the station. A dusty sign above him said Platform Nine and Three Quarters: Hogwarts Express.

There, they met up with several other people, including another significant friend of Harry's, a girl with bushy brown hair named Hermione, and they all went looking for a compartment together. As they walked down the train, peering in windows, Harry stopped and stared at a boy sitting in one. He opened it and stepped in.

"Hey, I know you," he said cheerfully. "You're Mark Evans. You live near me." Mark's eyes went wide and he backed into a corner.

"And I know all about you," he said in a quavering voice. "You're that Potter boy, Dudley Dursley's cousin. Mum says you're a criminal." Harry sighed and muttered something.

"Look, I'm not a criminal; I'm a wizard, like you," Harry said firmly. "The Dursleys say that I go to St. Brutus' to keep down suspicion. As for Dudley being my cousin, where do you think 'Harry Hunting' came from?" Mark blinked, blushed, and looked down.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I wasn't thinking straight."

"That's alright, Mark," Harry laughed. "It's actually nice to have someone recognize me for something other than my scar." Mark looked up at him quizzically.

"Scar?"

An hour later, once Harry had told the story, they were chatting amiably; Mark actively asking questions about Hogwarts and the others filling him in. Bryan barely listened, choosing instead to watch as the scenery flashed by his window. A sense of contentment had fallen on him as he realized that he was truly free. He would never have to go back There, none of Them could find him at Hogwarts. He smiled peacefully and turned to join in the conversation when it stopped. The door had swung open and in it stood a thin blond boy flanked by two hulking masses.