Nine-year-old Harry gets sick of his treatment at the Dursleys, and runs away with a mysterious girl by the name of "Shade". On the streets, he quickly toughens up and learns that sometimes it's kill or be killed. How will this new, far less naive version of Harry react to the wizarding world?

When Draco returns to Hogwarts for his eighth year, all he wants to do is keep his head down and avoid the glares that are constantly thrown his way. However, a flaw in his plan arrives in the form of irritatingly green eyes and messy black hair - because of course Potter is too stubborn to just let him be.