Harry sat on his bed reading over the letter sent to him by his school’s headmaster one more time.  Working through his thoughts, he absent-mindedly tapped on the second envelope placed beside him on his bed.

            (He really hadn’t noticed until overhearing Petunia’s frantic ramblings a couple of hours before.  Harry’s mind always was kind of fogged while he was stuck on summer break.)

            Harry’s brow furrowed as he contemplated the letter.  The request was simple enough.  Maybe a little too simple?  Letting out a sigh, Harry ran a hand through his dark tresses, a nervous habit he has had since he was younger. He tossed his letter aside and picked up the second envelope.

            On the one hand, he’d be doing Dumbledore a favor and he might even find someone he could talk to (that didn’t hate his guts) while condemned to the Dursley’s.  Then again, if his uncle found out that his manager’s daughter was a part of his kind and that Harry was the one who’d given her the letter, then he would be in a load of trouble for ‘spreading his abnormality.’

            Flopping down on his back, Harry put his hands underneath his head as a lazy grin formed on his face.  When it came down to it, Harry would do just about anything for Dumbledore.  And picturing the flabbergasted expression of Vernon Dursley after hearing of the new residential witch was just a sweet bonus to the young wizard.

            He rolled onto his stomach and observed his letter a third time.  “’Be cautious, for Miss Higurashi is a special case…’”  What does he mean by ‘special case?’  Sitting up, the boy ran a hand through his unruly hair.  Harry shrugged it off.  Whatever, she could just be like I was, not knowing about magic and all that.

            Snatching up the letter, Harry left his room and sprinted down the stairs.  In the living room were his aunt (viciously vacuuming) and uncle (his piggy eyes glued to the television set while struggling to keep his pudgy feet up as Petunia vacuumed under him).  Harry flew past them and darted out of the house.  Ignoring the angered shouts calling to him, he began walking down towards the Higurashi home.

            Strolling leisurely down the street, he spotted something.  Harry looked up when something caught his eye, but the sun blinded his view and he flinched away.  He glanced back, but not seeing anything, Harry just continued on trekking up his new neighbor’s driveway.

            Harry stood on Number Seven’s front porch and rang the doorbell.  After a moment, he could hear someone yelling from inside the house.

            “Okaa-san!  Kagome found Kaoru outside!”

            Harry stood mouthing the foreign word ‘okaa-san’ just as that someone answered the door.  A young boy, probably no older than ten or eleven, opened the front door.  He came up to about Harry’s chest and had black hair and dark eyes.

            “Hello.”  The boy looked up at Harry before narrowing his eyes on the letter in his hands.

            “Um… hey.  I live three houses down from you and…”  The boy’s gaze stayed on his form unwaveringly, causing Harry to shift nervously under his scrutiny.

            Nodding, the boy opened the door wide and walked back inside.  Not really sure if he should follow, Harry stepped into the doorway.  Only when the boy beckoned him in did Harry move.

            Closing the door behind them, the boy led him into the kitchen.  “Wait here a minute.”

            Harry raised an eyebrow at the boy but nodded all the same.  As the kid left, Harry took a seat at the kitchen table.  Glancing around the room, he anxiously fingered the letter that was now stuffed in his pocket.  He sat, wondering where the young foreigner had gone and where this Kagome person was.

            He was about to get up and leave, thinking he could try later, when he heard someone walked in through the sliding glass door that let to the backyard.

            “Hey, Souta, do we have any raw…”  Standing there was the strange girl from Harry’s dream.  Walking into the kitchen through the living room, she immediately noticed him.  Pausing for a millisecond before flashing a welcoming smile, she introduced herself.  “Oh, hello.  I’m Kagome.”  Receiving no response, she politely asked, “And you are…?”

            He sat there a moment just looking at her.  Different clothes, but it’s definitely her…  “Ah!”  Harry realized he was gapping at the girl.  “I’m Harry, um, Harry Potter.  I live, uh… in Number Four Private Drive.  Just a few doors down…?”

            Kagome nodded to him, still smiling.  “Did Souta let you in?”

            Harry was silent for a second as he continued observing her.  “Oh, err, I guess…”

            Cocking her head to the side in confusion before flashing him another (albeit a bit more reluctant) smile in his direction, Kagome took a seat across from him.  “So, you live around here, huh?  What’s the local high school like?”

            The mention of school suddenly reminded Harry of his purpose there.  Shifting in his chair, Harry placed the letter on the table.  “I wouldn’t know about the local school, but you see, I have this le-“

            “Hey.”  The boy from earlier, presumably Souta, came in with a shoebox tucked underneath his arm.  “Kagome, ‘kaa-san wants you upstairs.”

            Kagome frowned slightly and stood up.  “For what?”

            Souta shrugged and with that the girl scampered off sending Harry a quick farewell.  Stiff in his chair, the wizard was silently fuming.  He was going to have to come back again just to give her the letter.  Unless he figured out some way to pull her aside during dinner without alerting the Dursleys…

            “Oi.”  Souta came up, latched onto the older boy by his sleeve and proceeded to pull Harry out the kitchen and to the front door.

            “I-Hey…”  Harry tried to protest without having to yank the boy back.

            “Here.”  Souta opened up the door while pushing him out of the house.  Shoving the shoebox into Harry’s arms, he glared at the older boy.  “Kagome’s been through enough and I just got her back.  Leave my sister alone.”

            Harry just blinked incredulously as Souta Higurashi furiously scowled at him.  Then the boy suddenly turned and ran back into his house.

            Completely confused, Harry stood on the lawn of Number Seven Private Drive.  What the heck is that kid’s problem?  Looking down at the box in his hands, he lifted its lid.

            Letters.  It was filled to the brim with acceptance letters from Hogwarts addressed to Kagome.  Harry silently cursed as he walked back toward his aunt and uncle’s.  He was just going to have to find a way to get Kagome by herself without the overprotective little brother there to push him away.

            Deciding to worry about that later, Harry’s thoughts turned to the Kagome he had seen in his dream.  He stood outside his own front door, mulling over the dream and why she had been there in the first place.  Shaking his head, he walked inside and quickly strode up the stairs and entered his bedroom.

            All of a sudden this little favor Dumbledore had asked of him became a bit more complicated.

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