The following afternoon, Harry dropped by the Dursley's house just long enough to get the last of his things and to tell Petunia he would be spending very little time there for the remainder of August, and then he'd be gone entirely for the school year. He would drop by twice over the next four weeks, and only long enough to ensure the wards that tested for his presence were reset.
Afterwards he went down the street and apparated back to Godric's Hollow. He donned his standard set of glamours, although since he'd grown considerably over the last few years, he was beginning to debate on creating himself a new look. He wasn't nearly as short as he had been, and a middle-aged half-goblin really shouldn't be getting taller. He decided that once he went off to Hogwarts to retire his temporary alter-ego and create himself a new one for later use.
But for now, he'd stick with it. Once all his glamours were in place, he apparated to the apparition lot in Diagon Alley and set off towards the Owl Post Office. He checked his box and found it rather full. He hadn't been in to check his post in about a week thanks to his extended stay on Privet Drive.
He took his collection of letters and papers with him and returned to the apparition lot and then back to Godric's Hollow. He sat down at his dining room table to sort through it all. He set all of the Daily Prophets aside in a pile to scan through later. He had a few statements from Gringott's, a few letters from correspondences he kept up, with rare item dealers and book sellers.
Finally he found the letter he'd been hoping for. Lucius Malfoy had written to him.
Mr. Harry Potter,
I was most pleased to hear from my son, Draco, that you and he seemed to get along quite well during your brief encounter Wednesday afternoon in Diagon Alley. I was quite disappointed to hear that I had only just missed you when I returned for him. Draco said that you expressed an interest in meeting me and I would be most pleased to make your acquaintance as well.
Draco said that you even expressed an interest in coming to visit our home, so I would like to extend an invitation to you to do just that. I understand you desire to keep our encounter outside the public eye and approve of such discretion and use of caution.
I would like to invite you to join us, at Malfoy Manor, for afternoon tea on this Saturday. If that time will not work for you and your guardians, please let me know and I will be most amicable to make other arrangements. If your guardians will be joining you, please let me know how many guests to expect.
I will open the floo for visitors Saturday at 2:30pm. Simply call out 'Malfoy Manor' and it will bring you here. If floo travel is not an option, inform me and we can work out an alternate plan.
I look forward to receiving your response.
Lucius Abraxas Malfoy
Head of House Malfoy
Member of Hogwarts Board of Governors
Holder of Malfoy Wizengamot Seat
Harry snorted at the list of titles and the extremely proper tone of the letter as he summoned some parchment and his favorite self-inking quill.
Dear Mr. Malfoy,
I graciously accept your offer and will be in attendance for afternoon tea this coming Saturday. Floo travel will be acceptable, so you can expect my arrival from that method. I will be coming alone. Unfortunately my legal guardians are muggles and they are not comfortable with the wizarding world. I also suspect that you would be less than comfortable with them. I think we can both agree that it's better this way.
I am glad that you understand and appreciate my desire for discretion. I am looking forward to seeing Draco again, but I think that you and I will have some interesting things to discuss as well.
Looking forward to finally meeting you.
Harry James Potter
Heir to House Potter
Harry finished the letter and sealed it into an envelope with a bit of wax and a rubber stamp he'd discovered years ago in his father's study with the Potter family crest on leaned out the kitchen window and whistled to call his new owl in. She came soaring in through the window almost instantly and he smiled at her fondly. He really did like the beautiful creature. He didn't have the highest opinion of Hagrid, but he knew the poor dumb oaf really only had the best of intentions. And it was rather kind of him to buy Harry the owl.
Harry realized that the owl was the first birthday present he had received since his first birthday with his parents. Well... there was that cake-thing from Hagrid too, but that hardly counted. Harry hadn't even eaten it, and honestly had no intention to.
Harry rose his forearm up and the owl came and perched on it instantly.
"You are such a pretty thing. I really do need to give you a name..." Harry hummed thoughtfully as he looked around the room, trying to come up with an idea. The books he'd purchased in Diagon Alley the previous day were strewn across the dining room table along with most of his other purchases. His trunk sat empty on the floor in preparation for the expansion and security charms he planned to set on the thing.
Harry let his eyes scan the pile of books, aimlessly as he continued to try and think of a name. Hogwarts: A History was sitting on the top and he flicked his wrist sending the book flying open to a random page. He leaned over and scanned it for the first name he might find.
His eyes fell upon the name 'Hedwig' and he made a little 'hmm' sound. He turned his attention back to the bird, perched on his arm. "What do you think of Hedwig? Seems a nice proper name for such a beauty as you."
The owl made a high pitched nose in response and seemed to approve of the name. Harry grinned. "Hedwig it is. Alright Hedwig, I have your first bit of post to deliver. Are you up for it?"
Hedwig hooted and snapped her beak at him as if to say 'of course, I am!'
Harry lowered his arm and the owl hopped down onto the table below. He then set to securing the letter to her leg.
"I want you to take this to Lucius Malfoy for me. He works at the Ministry in London, but he also has a large formal manor estate near Tiverton. You'll be able to find him, where ever he is, yes?"
Again the owl looked almost insulted that he might doubt her prowess and and ended up pecking at his finger.
He chuckled, finding that he really was rather fond of the bird and let her back out the window.
– –
Harry woke up Saturday morning feeling the slightest bit anxious for the coming day, but mostly just impatient. He had finally come to the decision that he needed to confide certain details in at least someone, and was hoping that Lucius Malfoy might be that person.
He needed to find Tom. He was truly becoming desperate and the fact that he was about to go to Hogwarts would only leave him in an even worse position to search for the man than he was in now. He would have Dumbledore's watchful gaze on him, in addition to the whole bloody populace of the damn school.
The Malfoys had always been loyal to Tom. They were smart, cunning, well connected, and knew how to be discreet while working the angles to their best advantage. Tom had been quite fond of Abraxas, and Harry remembered hearing about when the man finally had his son. Abraxas was a strict man, but also a proper father. No doubt Lucius' mother wanted to smother him – she had been that sort of woman – but Abraxas would have raised him to be a proper Malfoy.
At least, Harry hoped so.
From the bits and pieces he'd dug up over the years, and from the information that he had garnered out of the minds of the Death Eater's he'd interrogated, he knew that Lucius had been very close to Tom. He had been one of the most trusted of the Death Eaters serving the Dark Lord during the last war.
Harry had, of course, also looked up Lucius' political record. The man had discreetly worked towards the goals of the old ways for years, and had no doubt sent a lot of money out to continue to propagate the Dark Lord's agendas as subtly as possible. From what he could tell, Lucius was a master Slytherin and Harry could see why Tom would come to favor the man. It looked as if he had not simply inherited his father's political savvy, but perhaps even surpassed it.
Harry had actually been considering approaching Lucius Malfoy for several months now, but had been on the fence about it. Running into the man's son while in Diagon Alley had simply presented far too tempting an opportunity to pass up, so Harry had finally decided to move forward.
He spent some time before the full-length standing mirror in the master bedroom, debating his appearance, before leaving for the afternoon tea. He'd purchased a fine set of designer robes. Not formal dress robes, but an obvious notch above casual wear, and clearly expensive. Malfoy's appreciated wealth, nobility, knowledge and power, and Harry would play to that.
Harry had been allowing his hair to grow out for the last year, and it was currently about half-way down his neck. He frowned at the mirror as he debated what to do with it. He could go ahead and get it cut short, but he wasn't really feeling the short look. His Potter hair tended to be rather wild and untamable when it was short, and his appearance reminded him far too much of Charlus Potter. Sure, he also looked like his father, James Potter, but he'd only known James for a year and a half, while he had hated Charlus for more than a decade. One left a far deeper impression than the other.
He was relieved that performing the ritual to acquire the Black Sight had also corrected his normal vision. He would look even more like Charlus if he had been cursed with wearing glasses.
He shuddered at the thought.
Returning his focus to the mirror, he decided to aim for something completely different. He was still a Valerius – even if only in spirit. He would aim for a more traditional Valerius look then the scruffy mop associated with Potters. He pulled out his wand and tapped it on his head and performed the incantation silently in his mind. A moment later his hair began to lengthen. He watched it in the mirror until it reached the top of his shoulder blades and tapped his wand on his head again, ending the growth.
He pulled out a hairbrush and combed it all back until it was as smooth as was possible and neatly collected and then used a small tie to secure a low ponytail at the base of his neck.
With all of his hair tied back, he looked rather proper, in an old world sort of way, but it also left his forehead completely exposed. His lightening-bolt shaped scar was there, just off center, plain as day for any and everyone to see. Part of Harry, deep down inside, felt the strong desire to cover it up and hide it away from the world, but he squashed the feeling down.
He wouldn't hide it. Most of the wizarding world saw it as a sign of his 'heroic actions' and 'miraculous survival'; for many years he had seen it as a painful reminder of the worst night of his life. But now he saw it for something else. It was Tom's mark upon him. Not only that, it was also where the bit of Tom's soul resided within him.
He didn't have Tom here with him, but he did have a small piece of him to keep and to protect. It wasn't much, but for now, it would have to do.
Finally satisfied enough with his appearance he made his way down stairs, bid farewell to Hedwig and apparated to an empty alley behind a muggle shop just off Charring Cross road in London. He got out onto the sidewalk and walked a half block down to the entrance of the Leaky Cauldron. He got a few odd looks from the muggles for his dress, but he ignored them. When he entered the pub a few looked up out of mild curiosity.
The barman made to greet him but froze as his gaze landed on Harry's forehead. His eyes widened comically but he also looked confused. Harry looked quite a bit different than he had several days earlier when he'd arrived with Hagrid with his messy hair loose and free, and wearing muggle jeans and a t-shirt.
Harry took advantage of the man's momentary shock and made his way straight to the floo. He dropped a knut into a can that sat on the mantle and then grabbed a pinch of floo powder. He wasn't waiting around long enough for a crowd to gather. He stepped into the fireplace threw the powder down and said as quietly as he could manage while still making it work, "Malfoy Manor".
–
Harry exited the floo into a familiar, grand looking, welcoming room. It was almost shocking how very little this room had changed since he had last entered it. There were a few different items of furniture, and they were in a different layout, but the paintings on the walls were the same as 30 years ago, and hung in the same places – although there were a few new additions. The fine, plush carpet was the same. The same off-white wainscot panels lined the lower portion of all the walls, and a pale green, vertically lined wallpaper took up the upper half. He only had a moment to take the room in before a house elf popped into the room and bowed low.
"Master's guest is expected. Master's guest should be waiting here and Dobby will be fetching young master," the elf squeaked, still having it's head bowed so low that it's floppy bat ears were actually dragging on the floor.
"I'll wait," Harry said easily.
The elf rose it's head and looked as if it were about to pop away when it's tennis-ball sized eyeballs took Harry in and seemed to widen even further – which Harry honestly thought shouldn't be possible. The little elf gasped and Harry could tell that it was staring straight at his forehead.
"Master's guest is Mister Harry Potter!" the house elf, Dobby, squeaked.
"Err... yes, I am," Harry replied hesitantly.
"Mister Harry Potter, sir, shouldn't be here! It is not safe for Mister Harry Potter to be in Master's home! Master is a very bad wizard!" the elf said in a terrified, pleading voice. Suddenly it looked horror stricken and scurried over to a table and began to beat its head against the side. "Bad Dobby! Bad! Dobby shouldn't speak badly about Master! Dobby will have to iron Dobby's hands!"
"Merlin's beard, are you mad?" Harry exclaimed as he watched the elf continue to work at giving itself a concussion.
"Oh, what nonsense is that stupid elf on about now?" a voice said from behind Harry and he turned to find Draco standing in the doorway that led off the welcoming room to the entry hall.
"I think your elf is a bit barmy," Harry said with a slightly amused look on his face as he looked back at the elf, who was now hitting itself over the head with a brass candle stick.
"Stop that, you stupid elf! If you damage those candle sticks mother will be furious!" Draco bellowed as he walked forward and grabbed the candle stick right out of it's hand, mid swing. The elf cowered down, shaking and looking utterly terrified. It's gaze traveled to Harry and it's eyes grew enormous and filled with tears as worry overtook his features.
"Harry Potter... shouldn't... dangerous!" Dobby whispered while shaking his head back and forth.
Harry frowned at him but Draco was muttering angrily about stupid house elves and having to tell father to punish this one again.
Draco then seemed to realize that Harry Potter was standing next to him and brought himself up, all proper. "I deeply apologize. Welcome to Malfoy Manor. My father is in his study right now, but he'll be down for tea in about twenty minutes."
"Thanks to you and to your father for inviting me. I've been looking forward to this since I got the invitation." Harry replied easily.
"Can I offer you a tour?"
Harry grinned and nodded. "Sure, that would be lovely."
Draco quickly swept into showing Harry around. Harry found himself mildly amused at the young boy's obvious attempts to act like his father. Trying so hard to act mature and grown up. Playing the perfect little gentleman and making a few amateur attempts at some social-political maneuvers. It was kind of cute... in a snooty, stuck-up, poncy-kid sort of way. But Draco was more entertaining than any of the moronic children that Harry had had to endure at his muggle primary school for the last decade, so he was more than happy to keep the kid company for his little tour and Malfoy family history lesson.
When Draco got to a stone patio off a large sitting room on the first floor, he pointed to a broom he had leaning against the doorway and grinned smugly. Harry chuckled.
"Ah, a Nimbus 2000? That's the best on the market, isn't it?" Harry observed as he walked over and got a closer look.
"Of course! Malfoy's always get the best," Draco replied with a proud smirk.
Harry chuckled. "Of course. So you managed to bully your father, then?"
Draco's cheeks tinged pink slightly but he quickly seemed to push aside his embarrassment. "I was able to convince him."
"Were you also able to convince him to shrink it down for you and let you smuggle it in your trunk?"
Draco's lips turned up in a smirk. "Of course."
Harry grinned and was about to say something else when that same barmy house elf from earlier appeared with a pop and informed the two that Mistress was calling them to tea.
Draco led Harry to a cozy breakfast room that had a mid-sized round table with four chairs, and four place settings. As they entered the room, they came upon Draco's mother, who Harry was stunned to note looked almost exactly like Druella Rosier, or rather, Druella Black. It was almost eerie, actually. Duella had been in he and Tom's year at Hogwarts back when he was Heri and not Harry. She had married Cygnus at some point during the years that he and Tom had been abroad, but Harry had visited Cygnus a quite often in the years after they returned to Britain, while Tom was gathering his followers, so Harry had seen Duella as she aged. Harry supposed it shouldn't be at all surprising that Narcissa looked so much like her mother.
Blacks, as a general rule, almost all had very dark hair. Cygnus, of course, followed this pattern, but Druella had been a blond, and it seemed that Narcissa had inherited the hair color. She was tall, slim, quite pale as all Blacks tended to be, and had piercing blue eyes.
She came over and greeted Harry with surprising warmth and led he and Draco over to the table, saying that her husband would be joining them in a moment.
The moment she sat down, Lucius swept into the room, looking as proud and proper as any Malfoy should.. Harry was less surprised to see that Lucius Malfoy closely resembled his father. He'd already seen photos of Lucius from the Daily Prophet, so he'd known what to expect. Where Abraxas had preferred facial hair – always having a very neatly trimmed goatee, and large side-burns, Lucius was clean-shaven, but the similar facial structure was undeniable.
"I apologize for my tardiness," Lucius said as he walked over and stood beside the seat next to his wife. He extended his hand towards Harry and Harry stood from his seat and shook the offered hand. "Lucius Malfoy."
"Harry Potter. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mister Malfoy."
Lucius gave a nod of approval and the two released their hands and took their seats.
Narcissa called out to one of their house elves – a female one this time – and the little creature served them all tea and brought out little sandwiches and scones.
"Mr. Potter," Narcissa began, being the first one to speak once tea had begun, "I was quite surprised to hear that you would be visiting without an escort. My husband said that in your letter you mentioned that your guardians were muggles?"
Harry grimaced slightly and both elder Malfoy's noticed. Not that he felt at all inclined to hide such a reaction. "Unfortunately, yes. Although I will be staying with them as little as possible from now that I'm starting Hogwarts. I'm actually hoping to establish some alternate living arrangements from here on out."
"How exactly did you come to live with muggles?" she asked, and her nose scrunched up a bit in distaste as she said the word 'muggles'.
"That would be the doing of Albus Dumbledore. I hate to admit it – because they're absolutely abhorrent people – but they are my blood relatives, from my mother's side, of course. She was muggleborn, and it's her sister and family that I ended up with."
"Dumbledore's doing, you say?" Lucius asked, his lip curling slightly in obvious distaste.
"Yes. I can't prove this, since my parent's will has been sealed by the man, but I'm positive that my parents actually specifically noted that I was to never end up with these relatives of mine. They hate magic, and they hated my parents. My parents also rather disliked them. I believe there was a long list of potential guardians listed out by my parents in their wills, but Dumbledore got their will sealed with the argument that it was necessary to keep me protected, and then he took his power as my defacto magical guardian and placed me with my muggle relatives."
Draco looked horrified. "Why would he do that?"
Harry sighed and shook his head. "I honestly don't know. I've got a few weak theories, but nothing quite adds together."
"The way you speak, Mr. Potter, would lead people to believe you aren't particularly fond of Albus Dumbledore," Lucius said, obviously fishing for information.
Harry gave Lucius a flat look and rose a single eyebrow, as if to say 'No, duh?'
"That would be an accurate assumption," Harry responded airily instead.
A glimmer of something flashed through Lucius' eyes and Harry smirked slightly. The elder Malfoy was no doubt making plans in his mind for ways to get on Harry's 'good side' in order to use the Boy-Who-Lived to derail some of the venerable Headmaster's power and influence. That was just the sort of person Lucius no doubt was.
Conversation flowed easily enough. The Malfoy's seemed appalled to learn that Harry had been forced to grow up almost entirely in the muggle world, even having to attend muggle primary school.
Harry told them about his skipping grades, and eventually being put into a special class for the gifted. Narcissa seemed quite pleased and Draco looked mildly impressed. Narcissa also pointed out how impressed she was with his manors and apparent knowledge of the magical world's customs, considering his unfortunate upbringing.
"Oh, Mr. Potter –" Narcissa began at one point later on, "When Draco came home on Wednesday, he questioned me about something you had told him while in the robes shop. Apparently you said that we were related through my family?"
"Yes, that's correct. Although I'll admit it's probably a fairly distant relation," Harry responded. "My grandmother was Dorea Black, Pollux Black's youngest sister. I believe that Polux Black was your grandfather, correct?"
"Why, yes! Dorea Black, you say? Now that I think about it, I do vaguely remember something about one of my grandfather's sister's marrying a Potter."
Harry nodded his head. "Yes, honestly I found it rather surprising when I first discovered it. I did some research at the London branch of the Magical Historical Society a few years ago and came across the Potter Family tree. When I saw that my grandmother was a Black I looked up the Black Family tree, too."
"Quite ambitious for such a young boy." Narcissa remarked with an approving nod.
"Well, I wanted to know more about my magical lineage. The only real exposure I had to any blood relatives were muggles – so I'm sure you can understand my desire to get a better picture of the other side of my family tree."
"Of course!" Narcissa said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I must say that it's really very surprising, but not at all unpleasant, to discover another distant relation."
"Yes, Mr. Potter," Lucius cut in then, "and I would invite you to consider us an extension of your own family. A young wizard such as yourself needs to have ties to his heritage. It's important that you have a tangible connection to our world. Far more important than trying to maintain any regretful connections with the muggles."
"That's most generous of you, Mr. Malfoy. I truly appreciate such a kind and welcoming gesture. And please, feel free to call me Harry. That goes for all of you, of course."
Narcissa beamed pleasantly. Lucius gave a polite nod with an approving grin, but Harry could see an accomplished gleam in the man's eye. Harry had to fight the urge to chuckle. Oh, was he in for a surprise later...
As tea was drawing to a close, Narcissa called a house elf to come and clear the table. Dobby appeared again and snapped his fingers to vanish all of the biscuits and the tea. While he worked in the background, Harry focused again on Lucius.
"Mr. Malfoy, I was hoping that perhaps you and I could have a conversation in private. Would that be alright?"
The elf, Dobby's, head popped up and he shot Harry a terrified look. His tennis-ball sized eyes darted from Lucius to Harry and back again and he began to furiously shake his head. He seemed to be trying to warn Harry off, silently – then pausing to take a fork off the table and stab his own hand.
Harry cringed at the elf for a moment before turning back to Lucius. Lucius, however, saw the movement and before he responded to Harry he turned his attention back to the elf.
"Mad elf. I do apologize, Harry, he's a bit difficult to control at times. What were you saying?"
"I was hoping we could speak in private."
"Ah yes. That would be fine. Shall we retire to my study?"
"Sounds fantastic," Harry said with a cheshire-grin. Dobby continued to shake his head and tears welled up in his eyes. Harry ignored him and quickly followed Lucius out of the room after telling Draco that he would meet up with him again after speaking with his father.
Moments later the two were entering Lucius Malfoy's private study. Lucius sat down in a finely crafted, leather upholstered office chair behind a desk and Harry was offered one of the semi-plush seats opposite it.
Lucius threaded his fingers together, resting his elbows on each of his arm rests and pierced Harry with a curious look. "So, Harry, what was it that you were wanting to discuss with me?"
Harry leaned back in the chair, getting comfortable for a moment before he gave Lucius a calculating look. He nodded to himself, having decided that he needed to do this, and Lucius seemed his best candidate.
"I want to confide something in you, Mr. Malfoy. Something I haven't confided in a single other person since I was born to this life. You see, I need someone that I can rely upon. Someone I can trust with this secret, and I think that you are the best option I have."
Lucius leaned forward in his chair, his face remaining mostly blank, but his eyes glowing with hunger for knowledge.
Harry continued. "You see, I'm not exactly who, or what people think I am. I know you were one of the Dark Lord's most loyal followers. That your father and aunt were loyal to him. That he trusted you. I wish to do the same thing now. Can I trust you, Luciusss?" Harry asked, lowering his voice a bit and drawing out the S's in a bit of a hiss, like he knew Tom would.
Lucius' eyes widened and his face actually paled a bit. "You can trust me," Lucius whispered.
"Good," Harry said smoothly. "Did your father or any of the Death Eaters that you knew of the older generation, ever mention a man named Herakles Jude?"
Lucius' eyes widened with recognition and Harry's grin widened. "Ah, I see that someone did mention him. Do you mind telling me what you were told about him?"
"I don't know what things you think you know, Mr. Potter, or what you think you know about me, but –"
"No, don't try to deny things. It will just waste both of our times. Please, just answer the question. I'm not here to try and trap you into admitting something incriminating. If anything, what I intend to inform you is incriminating to me. Please, Lucius."
Lucius hesitated for a moment, as calculating cogs turned behind his eyes. Finally he seemed to come to a decision and sat up straighter. "Herakles Jude was said to be a Necromancer. One of the most powerful wizards in Britain – second only to the Dark Lord and debatably, Dumbledore. He was also the Dark Lord's lover. However he was killed during a battle when I was quite young – I believe I was only a first year in Hogwarts when it happened."
Harry nodded his head. "Correct. He died in January of 1966. He took a killing curse for the Dark Lord. Jumped in the way of the spell. Do you know who shot off that spell?"
"No..." Lucius whispered.
"Albus Dumbledore. He shot off the killing curse, with practiced ease – something that, no doubt, most people would never believe. But before he did it, he used some other spell to trap the Dark Lord in place. Had Herakles Jude not jumped in the way, the Dark Lord would have been the one to take it."
Lucius' eyes widened slightly. "I had never heard that."
"I doubt many have. You want to know why I know?"
Lucius gave a curt nod, but said nothing.
"Because it was me. I was Herakles Jude. And you were right about the Necromancer bit. I still am one, in fact," Harry said, as his lips spread into a rather vicious grin. "I crossed barriers and wielded control over the magics of death, lost for hundreds of years before me. I also managed to work my own special flavor of immortality. Not the same sort that the Dark Lord has, but my own personal brand. You see, I rigged it so that I would never forget anything. Souls almost never die, Lucius. They are recycled again and again. I managed to arrange it so that every time my soul is reborn, I retain everything that makes me, me. I will always remember all of my knowledge, skills, and experiences from every life I have ever lived. While my body can still die, my soul will go on and be reborn, again and again. And I will always remember."
Lucius looked shocked. Harry made special note of the image because it was a rare thing indeed for a Malfoy to display such an expression.
"The Dark Lord did not realize that it was me when he came after the Potter's child. Had he realized who I was, I'm sure things would have played out very differently. And I was still too young to do anything to stop him. I couldn't even properly speak yet, so there really was no hope. I knew he was coming. I had heard the Potters talking about it and of course, we went into hiding. For a while I only knew that the Dark Lord was after us for some reason because my parents tried to keep their discussions about it away from me, but I did finally manage to over hear enough to piece things together. Apparently there was some sort of prophecy made, and they all figured it was about me. No doubt it was misinterpreted due to lack of information or understanding the bigger picture... or it was just fake. Do you know of it? The prophecy?"
"Yes..." Lucius rasped with a small nod.
"Do you know what it says?" Harry asked eagerly, suddenly more curious and excited.
"Only the first three lines. Even the Dark Lord was never able to discover the rest... Only Dumbledore knew all of it."
Harry blinked at the man. "Are you serious? He never even heard the whole bloody thing and he... oh never mind." Harry sighed, shaking his head. "I'm guessing that something in the first three lines was enough for him to consider the Potter's child a threat, yes?"
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches," Lucius recited.
Harry rolled his eyes. "That would do it," he huffed. "I suppose it's not so untrue either... I probably am the only one with the power and the knowledge to actually kill him..." he trailed off, thoughtfully. "Not that that means anything because I never would," he ended with a disgruntled growl. "But it's besides the point... he didn't know that the Potter's child was me. Whatever the hell happened that night was some sort of insane fluke. I honestly didn't do anything to cause it. I did nothing to defend myself – not that I even could, considering my body was only fifteen months old at the time.
"The best theory I can put together to explain what happened that night is that it was some sort of cosmic karma. I took a killing curse for him, and when I finally manage to come back, less than a year and a half passes before he comes to kill me with the same curse. Honestly the whole thing has frustrated me beyond reason for the last decade. I was ready and willing to take his stupid curse because I knew I could just be reborn again. I also knew I could make it happen a lot faster this time. But noooo... karma decided to intervene and bite me in the arse..." Harry huffed again in frustrated annoyance.
"I'm sorry," he said with a sigh. "I'm unloading on you. I honestly haven't had a single soul to tell any of this to in years, so it's sort of a relief to finally say it. Anyway, getting back on track... A bit over two years ago I started feeding magic directly to the Dark Lord's disembodied spirit, using some old necromantic techniques. There were rituals that I had originally planned to use that would have called his soul directly to me so I could directly assist him in restoring his body, but there were complications and I was unable to get any of them to work. Being in the body of a child certainly didn't help matters... So feeding magic to him, long-distance, was the best alternative I came up with. It apparently worked because on Halloween 1989, he was able to get himself a body back."
Lucius' jaw dropped minutely and his eyes flashed with recognition of the noteworthy date.
"I'm sure you noticed the change in your mark?" Harry asked, rhetorically. Lucius nodded his head. "Yes, well, he's got a body back. I'm sure of that now. However, for some reason, he has not contacted any of his old Death Eaters. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out what the hell he might be doing, or where he might be. I've been trying to track him down for more than a year and a half, but I've had no luck. I've been limited in my resources, and my options, by this body, my age, and the fact that Dumbledore has my muggle prison warded to hell and back with tracking charms and magical logging spells. I've managed to question quite a few Death Eaters over the last year, but none of them had any useful information..."
"Valerius!" Lucius gasped.
Harry smirked. "Correct."
"That's you?"
"Yes. I assume you've spoken with Caradog Jugson, then?"
"That's right. Jugson came to me in secret immediately after the first time he was... abducted."
Harry snickered.
"He had quite a fantastic tale to tell... a rather frightening figure made of black and red mist who spoke with echoes of whispers..." Lucius remarked with obvious curiosity in his voice.
"Would you like me to demonstrate? A bit of visual proof, if you will?"
Lucius' eyebrows rose into his head and he seemed to be at war with himself. His caution battling with his curiosity and his hunger for power. "I... would appreciate a demonstration," he finally conceded.
Harry gave a curt nod before standing up. He dug deep into his necromantic magic and quickly began to perform the complex hand motions while quietly speaking the words to activate his Black Shadow Form.
With a flash of black and red his entire form was engulfed in darkness. His body shifted to a pure black silhouette, but semi-translucent, with deep red mist swirling up around him.
Lucius stared in shock for a moment. "Incredible," he whispered hoarsely and Harry could see a shiver run through the man at the powerful amount of Dark magic that Harry was emanating.
"Yess... quite. I've always been rather fond of this form. More than any other reason, it's because it's just so intimating." Harry said with a chuckle. Lucius shuddered again, clearly a bit creeped out by the strange whispers that followed along with Harry's youthful voice.
With another flash, Harry returned to normal. "Satisfied?"
Lucius nodded his head.
"Now, I assume that you haven't heard from the Dark Lord, either?"
"No. I have received no word from him."
Harry sighed and sunk back down into the chair with a slight air of disappointment, even though he had expected this. "I figured. Well, basically all I'm asking is that you keep your eyes and ears open, and let me know the moment you find something. I know he's back. I know what I did worked. I just don't know where the hell he is or what the devil he's up to. I have to go to Hogwarts because if I don't, Dumbledore will hunt me down. I'm his precious prophecy child, after all, and I suspect he knows that the Dark Lord is anything but dead. He probably has all sorts of ridiculous hopes about me vanquishing the Dark Lord for him.
"The barmy old bastard already killed me once, and I have no intention of letting him do it again, so I have to avoid any excess suspicion from him. While I'm at Hogwarts I'll be completely unable to continue my search for the Dark Lord, as well as be completely cut off from my information sources. I see little point in randomly kidnapping Death Eaters and questioning them when it would be far easier if you could just keep me up to date, should anything turn up. Are you willing to do that?"
Lucius' jaw floundered for a moment before he managed to collect himself. He paused with a calculating gaze before piercing Harry with narrowed eyes.
"How do I know that I can trust that you really have no ill intentions to the Dark Lord?"
"I'll give you my magical oath, if that would satisfy you?" Harry offered with determined conviction.
Lucius' brows rose into his forehead. A magical oath was a serious thing. Not quite as serious as an Unbreakable Vow, but to some wizards, it was just as bad, if not worse. If you break an Unbreakable Vow you die. If you break a magical oath, you lose your magic. And to live without magic, was considered worse than death by many.
"I will take your oath," Lucius said.
Harry nodded his head, reached up into his robe sleeve and pulled out wand. He held it in front of him and closed his eyes, focusing on his magic.
"I, Harry James Potter, also known as Herakles Lucan Valerius, do swear on my magic, that I have no desire or intention to harm or kill the Dark Lord Voldemort, also known as Tom Riddle. I am searching for him with the intention to stand by his side, not hurt him."
A light flashed from his wand and then encompassed him before dissipating.
Harry sighed as he felt the magic take hold and then leave him. Finally he opened his eyes and rose his eyebrows in question at Lucius.
"Satisfied?"
"Yes.." Lucius said.
"Good. So – will you help me? I guarantee that the Dark Lord will not be angry with you having chosen to assist me, upon his return. If anything, he will reward you for helping me."
Lucius nodded his head slowly before collecting himself and sitting up straighter in his seat.
"I will help."
Harry grinned. "Good."
–
Harry and Lucius spoke for some time longer, discussing specifics and making a few loose plans. At one point Lucius called in a house elf inform Draco that it would be a bit longer before Harry would be joining him. It ended up being the same barmy elf from before, and he continued with his attempted subtle warnings to Harry. Harry sighed and rolled his eyes as the elf reluctantly popped away.
"I worry about that elf..." Harry said hesitantly.
"Hmm?"
"Your elf. Dobby, I believe?"
"What about him?"
"He is clearly not very loyal to you. When you have a house elf in your service that only follows you by fear and no respect, they will go to great lengths to find loopholes in your commands. It's a dangerous gamble."
"In what way?" Lucius asked, pinning Harry with a hesitant look.
"Well, earlier when I first arrived and that elf showed up, he recognized who I was and promptly warned me away, saying that 'master is a bad wizard'. Of course he then proceeded to beat himself over the head with a candle stick. He's bound to you, but that won't stop him from going against you in any ways that he can."
"You're suggestion I put him down?"
Harry shrugged. "Well, you could do that. Or you could just sell him. At least then you turn a profit off it."
"I cannot risk that. He has been exposed to too many family secrets."
Harry hummed and nodded. "True. Although, I could buy him off you... although, now that I think about it, that might not be the wisest idea since the little thing seemed entirely off his rocker... but it would be useful to have an elf that could run errands for me while I'm stuck at Hogwarts, and we could keep the transaction out of any records so Dumbledore would never suspect that I have a house elf in my services."
"Would you like to buy him?" Lucius asked, apparently a bit shocked by all this.
Harry pondered it for a moment while his eyes focused on a tree just outside one of the windows. Finally he hummed and nodded his head. "Yes... yes I think I would. What would you want for him?"
They made the appropriate arrangements and signed the necessary documents to transfer ownership of the elf Dobby to Harry. It was approaching dinner time when they were finally finished talking and Harry was invited to come back to Malfoy Manor the next day to spend some time with Draco. It was decided that Draco would not be informed of the details of Harry's true identity. He was only a child, after all, and children are rarely the best people to hold dangerous secrets, even if he was a Malfoy.
Harry informed Lucius that he would be returning via apparition, so that he could avoid having to deal with visiting the Leaky Cauldron to use their floo. Lucius said that he would arrange for one of their elves to meet Harry at the manor's gate the following day at 2pm, to let him in.
–
To say that Dobby was ecstatic to learn that he had been bought by the Harry Potter, would be an understatement. It quickly became obvious to Harry that the elf had some sort of bizarre hero complex about him. The fact that Harry had 'rescued' him from the Malfoy's really only added to it. Harry found he had to make some of his orders very specific, but at least the little elf seemed eager, and extraordinarily pleased to be in Harry's employment.
He set the little elf up with his own room in the Godric's Hollow house, ordered him to take charge of buying groceries and preparring meals, and to never ever mention to anyone under any circumstances that he was owned by, or even knew Harry Potter.
Their working relationship was smoothly enough. Harry ordered the little elf to stay out of his hair as often as possible, but also ordered him to stop punishing himself. He said that if he ever saw a reason for punishment that he would deal it out himself and that he would be very angry if the elf did it to himself.
The reality was that he had never seen any value in physically beating one's house elves. They were a lot more loyal if they liked you, then they were if they feared you.
–
During the rest of August, Harry visited the Malfoys a total of three additional times. He spent about half of his time there with Draco forming something resembling a friendship with the boy. He had his uses, and Harry knew that those uses would only expand once he was at the school. Being a Malfoy, he would have power over the other members of Slytherin House – and really, there was no doubt that the boy would end up in Slytherin.
If Harry did end up sorted into his old house, things would likely be a bit unsteady at first. He was The-Boy-Who-Lived. Vanquisher of the Dark Lord. No doubt, there would be some considerable animosity from the other students, especially any older ones. Having Malfoy on his side would help smooth things over.
And of course, if he managed to get into Ravenclaw, Draco would provide a connection back to Slytherin for contacts and information.
It was win-win no matter what.
Harry rarely even considered the possibility of trying to get into Gryffindor anymore. It would be too frustrating, and Hufflepuff wasn't even up for consideration.
The month passed quickly enough with some of his spare time spent skimming through his text books, refreshing his mind on the elementary spells he would be forced to pretend he was learning for the first time. He also finished up all of the expansion and security charms for his trunk and his belongings.
The morning of September first arrived and Harry left instructions with Dobby to stay at the house unless called, keep the house relatively clean, stay out of his stuff, and make sure none of the people who regularly came to drop off little notes, letters, and nick-knacks by the front of the house, ever tried anything stupid, like breaching the wards.. The only regular task that Harry had for Dobby was to collect the mail from Harry's rented post box one a week and bring it to Harry at Hogwarts.
He was ordered to only ever appear in front of Harry if there was no one else around. That went for delivering his post, as well for any emergency situations where he needed to alert Harry of things.
Finally satisfied that he was ready, Harry let Hedwig out with instructions to fly to the Hogwarts Owlery, before shrinking her cage down and stowing it into one of the compartments of his trunk. Then he shrunk the entire trunk down to the size of a matchbox and stowed it into his pocket.
He bid Dobby farewell, went into the back garden, just beyond the anti-apparition ward and disapperated. He reappeared down the street from King's Cross station and took off towards the railway hub at a brisk pace. He was early still, and he'd had breakfast – Dobby was very insistent – but he wanted to stop by a stand or two and pick up a sandwich and some crisps to take with him for lunch on train.
He entered the bustling terminal and made his way through the crowds. There were shops and little stands selling papers, vendors with souvenirs, and electronic signs everywhere. Kings Cross had changed a lot since the last time he'd set foot in the place, but he was still able to make his way around easily enough. He came across a little cafe that sold coffee and had some wrapped deli sandwiches in a small refrigerated display case by the counter. He bent over, looking at the various options, trying to decide what would keep best during the trip when he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up on end, and heard a sudden gasp.
He turned around and nearly gasped himself.
"Moony!" Harry exclaimed in surprise. He caught himself a moment too late, realizing his slip and cursing himself for it.
The man standing next to him was staring down at him with stunned eyes and a gaping mouth.
"H-harry?" the man asked in an unsure voice. Then he frowned. "How did..." and then his eyes got huge and something akin to fear flashed over them. "How do you know that name?" he whispered.
For a moment Harry was bewildered by the man's reaction almost as much as his presence. Surprise would be expected if someone you hadn't seen since they were a baby was able to recognize you, but fear? But then the gears finally clicked into place and Harry knew precisely where the fear had come from.
He had called him 'Moony', not Remus, or Lupin. Moony – the nickname that only Harry's father and and Remus' other trusted childhood friends knew him by. People who knew what Remus was and what the significance of the name meant. People who knew he was a werewolf.
"How?" Harry echoed back with mild confusion in his voice. "Well, that's what dad always called you, right? I... he and Padfoot. They always called you Moony. But... well, Mum called you Remus. Right?" Harry said, trying to play up the innocent act.
Remus looked down at Harry with less fear, but bewilderment and curiosity had taken over his features. "You remember?" he asked.
Harry ducked his head sheepishly and shrugged. "I remember lots of stuff. The special teacher at my school told me I have an eidetic memory. That, that was why I could remember so much."
"You remember..." Remus said again, in a disbelieving whisper.
Harry shrugged and toed the ground as if he were nervous. After a moment of silence he looked up again. "So what are you doing here? I... I never thought I'd see you again. I wondered what had happened to you. I figured, after I got dumped with the Dursley's that you all must have died too. There was no other way I would have ended up with them. Mum never wanted me to be with them..."
"You were with Lily's sister?" Remus gasped and his face suddenly hardened and his eyes flashed golden with a deep fury.
Harry blinked up at the man and the tiniest hint of a smirk curled his lips before he repressed it. Maybe he could work this. It was obvious why he hadn't ended up with Remus to begin with – the man was a werewolf and any attempt on his behalf to claim Harry would have failed outright. But Harry was older now, so maybe he could make it work. But why was Remus here?
"Er, yeah, I did end up with them. They're awful too..." Harry said, "they hate me... they hate magic and anything to do with it."
"He said you were somewhere safe!" Remus growled, mostly to himself. "He insisted that..." he trailed off and huffed slightly before sighing and rubbing his hand over his face. "I'm sorry, Harry. This is just a bit of a shock. Even more so, seeing as how you actually remember me. I hadn't expected that..."
Harry shrugged. "Like I said... I remember just about everything."
Remus gave him a piercing, yet hesitant look, suddenly. "Do you... do you remember that night?"
"The night they were killed?" Harry said, looking down at his feet and stuffing his hands into his jean pockets to appear nervous. He shrugged his shoulders while not making eye contact. "Yeah... I remember," he whispered.
"Oh, Harry... I'm sorry. That was a very callous thing for me to ask. I had no right."
Harry shrugged again. "S'okay. I'm likely to get a lot of it now. I'd may as well get used to it." Harry sighed and looked back up. "Well, you're apparently alright. What happened to Padfoot? Why didn't he take me?"
Remus' eyes hardened suddenly and he clenched his jaw. "No one ever told you?" he asked coldly.
"Told me what?"
"Padfoot... Sirius, he was the one..." he choked slightly, and took in a slow breath to center himself. "He betrayed you. James and Lily... they trusted him. He was what's called a 'Secret Keeper'. The secret of your home was hidden in his soul and it could only have been taken from him willingly. The fact that You-Know-Who found you..."
"But he wasn't!" Harry said, suddenly. "Padfoot wasn't the secret keeper! It was Peter! I remember the argument mum and dad had over switching. They decided that Sirius would be a decoy. Dumbledore should know all this! Why didn't he do something?"
"Dumbledore?" Remus asked, looking horribly confused and shocked.
"Yes! He performed the Fidelius! I remember it clearly. He performed it and Peter was there, and mum held me the whole time, propping me up on her hip while they cast the spell. I got to watch the whole thing. Sirius wasn't even there! Doesn't the Secret Keeper need to be there when the spell is cast?"
He was showing a bit more knowledge than could be reasonably explained, but Remus seemed to be a bit too shocked by all of it to call him on it.
After a stunned moment of gaping like a fish and shaking his head slowly Remus finally found his voice. "I don't know what to think. I mean... Harry, can you really be sure you even understood what was happening? You were barely a year old when your parents went into hiding. Surely you've made a mistake. If Dumbledore knew, he would have done something. And Sirius..."
He trailed off, shaking his head slowly. He ran a hand through his lightly graying hair and huffed a bit. "I'm sorry. Why don't we talk about this another time. I'll need to look some things up, alright?"
Harry nodded. "Sure."
Remus paused and took a moment to take a good look at the young boy standing before him. The son of his best friend... His eyes shone with emotion and he blinked rapidly for a moment, after collecting himself. "This is really quite a surprise Harry... I... I wasn't expecting you to remember me."
"You said that," Harry said with an impish grin.
Remus chuckled weakly. "Yes, I guess I did. Do you... how much do you actually remember.. about... me?"
Harry looked at him innocently. "You mean, do I remember that you have a furry little problem?"
Remus blinked at Harry in shock and sputtered lightly before it shifted into weak chuckles. "Merlin, it's been so long since anyone called it that..." he sighed sadly. "Yes, Harry... I guess I was asking if you knew... about that."
"Yeah, I remember. I won't tell anyone, if that's what you're worried about."
Remus looked surprised but smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Harry."
"So what are you doing here?" Harry asked.
"Ah, actually... well, I'll be joining you and your fellow students on the Hogwarts Express for the journey to Hogsmeade. I could have flooed, but I was already in London, and I thought it might be fun – for old times sake, I suppose – to take the train."
"You're going to Hogwarts?" Harry asked, somewhat bewildered.
"Yes. I've been offered the post of Defense teacher for the year. It was somewhat of a last minute deal. Professor Dumbledore had apparently been expecting the old muggle studies teacher, Professor Quirrell, to be returning this fall to take the Defense post, but he's gone missing. So he owl'd me a couple weeks ago and asked if I would please fill the post. I agreed, and so, here I am."
"You're going to be one of my professors?" Harry exclaimed.
Remus chuckled and shrugged. "It would appear so."
Harry smiled at the man, and it wasn't even faked. "That's brilliant."
–
Harry proceeded to purchase both he and Remus some wrapped sandwiches and some crisps. Remus's clothes were rather ragged, and there was little doubt the man did not have a lot of money on him. He had protested Harry's charity, but Harry wouldn't hear it and did it anyway.
They sat at one of the tables and chatted lightly for a bit, dancing around any of the heavy subjects and sticking to mostly safer topics. Harry did tell Remus about his advancement in his muggle school, and eventual placement in the gifted courses. Remus was properly shocked and impressed, and remarked that Lily had always been such a brilliant witch, and he clearly took after her in a lot of ways.
At ten o'clock the pair made their way to the platforms. Harry played ignorant and allowed Remus to lead him through the barrier and onto Platform 9 ¾. The pair boarded the train and settled into a compartment towards the back. Remus told Harry that he didn't have to sit with him, but Harry insisted that he wanted to. Truth was that the company of an adult was always preferable to the company of a child, in Harry's book. Plus Remus had a treasure trove of information about James and Lily, and Harry had to admit to himself that he honestly did want to know more about them.
The pair spent the next couple hours in the compartment as Remus told Harry stories of James and Lily from their school days, and some of the antics that he, James, Sirius, and Peter got up to. Those stories were fewer though, since they clearly bought up tender memories for him. It also appeared that Harry's earlier comments had got Remus' mind all befuddled on the 'Sirius issue'.
They were deeply embroiled in their conversation when a knock came on the compartment door and a bushy mane of hair popped in. The bushy hair seemed to belong to a young girl with overly large front teeth, who was most likely a first-year, given her size.
"Have either of you.. oh, hello," she paused, looking at Remus with an air of surprise. Harry suspected he was the only adult she'd encountered so far, aside from the trolly witch who sold sweets.
"Hello, young lady. Can we help you with something?" Remus replied kindly.
"Yes, I hope so. I was wondering if either of you had seen a toad? Neville's lost one."
"Neville? Longbottom?" Harry asked, remembering his first birthday party and the discussion that his mum and her friend Alice had had about a prophecy.
"Yes, I believe so," the bushy-haired girl replied.
"Just wondering. No, I haven't seen a toad. We've had the compartment door closed this whole time, so I doubt it made its way in here," Harry said.
"Oh, well thanks then." she said, and turned with a determined air to continue her search.
"Has he tried summoning it?" Remus asked before she had a chance to disappear.
The girl turned back and looked at him blankly. "I don't think so, no. We don't know how."
"Well, if you bring him here, I can help."
She gave a bright smile and nodded before saying that she'd go get him, and then taking off down the hall.
It took a minute before the girl returned, now with a chubby, round-faced bow in tow.
"This is Neville, he's the one who lost a toad," the girl said, pushing the boy through the compartment door and then following him in.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Neville, and you too miss..." Remus said, trailing off expectantly.
"Oh! I'm Hermione Granger," the girl supplied quickly.
"Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Granger. I'm Professor Lupin."
She let out a small gasp and her eyes practically glowed with excitement. Harry found her behavior almost amusing, if it were for the fact that it was also slightly annoying.
"I'm Harry," Harry said, sticking his hand out in offer to Neville first, since he was the closest.
The girl turned her attention to Harry and her eyes slid up to his exposed forehead, apparently taking note of the scar for the first time. She gasped.
"You're Harry Potter!" she exclaimed.
Neville, who had just finished shaking Harry's hand, suddenly looked stunned and his eyes flew up to Harry's forehead.
"Er, yes I am," Harry replied flatly.
"I've read all about you!" she exclaimed before going off on a rant about all the different books she had read about him in, which was quite a lot. Harry had only actually read one of those books, but he knew that the supposed history of him included in it was far from accurate. He told her so, and she appeared scandalized at the mere suggestion that a book contained incorrect information.
During the coarse of her little impromptu speech, she let slip that she was the first witch in her family, and how they were all so shocked when she got her letter.
Ah. A muggleborn who think she knows everything about the wizarding world just because she read a few books. Lovely... Harry remarked sarcastically in his mind, but kept a genial enough expression on his face.
Finally the girl stopped talking – a miracle! – and Remus then proceeded to summon Neville's toad. Neville was practically in tears, he was so thankful.
The two children stuck around a bit longer, during which time Hermione rattled off a slew of questions to 'Professor Lupin'. After a bit, she turned her attention back to Harry and Neville, who had remained silent ever since getting his toad back.
"So what house do you suppose you'll be in?" she asked, looking mostly at Harry. Before he got a chance to respond, however, she continued right on. "I think I'd like to be in Gryffindor. It sounds the best to me. I read that Professor Dumbledore was in Gryffindor, but I suppose Ravenclaw would be nice too."
Harry waited a moment to make sure she was actually done talking before he responded.
"I suspect I'll end up in Ravenclaw, personally," he said with a nonchalant shrug.
Remus looked a bit surprised but didn't remark.
"Do you?" Hermione said. "Weren't your parents both in Gryffindor? I'm sure I read in Modern Magical History and Great Wizarding Events of the 20th Century that they were both from Gryffindor House."
Harry shrugged. "They were, but it's not like personality traits are totally hereditary. I've always been of the mind that one's personality is formed more by the treatment one receives over the course of their life at the hands of others, and one's environment, more than who their parents were. While I do recall a bit of the time I had with my parents, most of my life was spent with my muggle relatives. I suppose in that regard, I'm more of a 'nurture' supporter, than 'nature'. Although I will concede that there are some traits that are likely passed down biologically. I just don't think that personality is necessarily one of them."
Remus looked a bit impressed. Harry knew he wasn't talking like an eleven-year-old should, but he found it difficult to tone himself down. It would make sense for him to have grown up fast in his living conditions, right? Plus his supposed 'gifted' status could explain away some of it.
"I suppose that makes sense," Hermione conceded. "So you think you'll end up in Ravenclaw?"
Harry shrugged again, "Either that, or Slytherin."
Remus' eyes widened now, and Neville coughed, as if he had just choked on his own spit.
Harry ignored them.
"Slytherin?" Neville squeaked, looking a bit slack in the face.
"Sure. I don't see anything wrong with that. From what I've gathered there seems to be some ridiculous stigma that Slytherins are evil, but they're just children, so that's stupid. It's a list of personality traits, that's all. Besides, when you grow up in the environment that I had to, your options are to break and submit to the oppression, or become cunning enough to survive despite it." Harry said in a flat, somewhat annoyed voice.
Remus frowned, deeply.
"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, also frowning, but mostly in confusion.
Harry gave a dismissive shrug. "My relatives were muggles, but they knew I was a wizard, and they hated me because of it. Magic scared them. My uncle hoped that if he beat me enough, he might 'beat the magic right out of me'. By the time I was five years old, I'd dislocated my shoulder numerous times by him pulling my arm too hard, had several concussions by being thrown into the wall, cracked ribs from being punched in the chest where the bruises wouldn't be visable, and fractured bones in my forearms from him grabbing me and twisting. My uncle was a very large man. A violent, angry, large man. I did not have a very pleasant youth."
The other inhabitants of the compartment were all deathly silent.
"I suppose, in a way, one could argue that it takes a lot of courage to survive in that sort of situation, but I would say that it was cunning and subtlety that helped me the most. If I had tried to stand up to my uncle, as a small, defenseless child, I likely would have ended up dead. I had to use trickery, and to be blatantly honest, blackmail, in order to gain the upper hand, and put a stop to his violence. While reading the descriptions of the traits generally associated with each house, I think that for me, out of all of them, Ravenclaw and Slytherin are the closest match. Ravenclaw because of my thirst for knowledge, and Slytherin because of my strong sense of self-preservation, and cunning. If I were sorted into any other house, I would only end up surrounded by kids I had nothing in common with.
"I'm too smart and booky, and too inclined to step back and plan my steps with caution for the Gryffindors. A Gryffindor would be more likely to brashly jump into action and deal with problems head on. I'd likely end up an outcast in my own house if I ended up there." Harry ended with a shrug, as if what he'd just said wasn't stunning to everyone in the compartment.
Hermione took on a contemplative look then as she mulled over his words thoughtfully.
One glance at Remus and Harry knew the man was angry. Terribly angry. However, he was also clearly trying to reign in his temper and keep his expression passive.
"What happened to your uncle, Harry?" Remus asked in a harsh, quiet, voice.
"He hasn't hit me in more than five years. You don't have to worry Remus. I think I managed the situation quite masterfully for a six-year-old. Quite a feat, really." Harry grinned smugly and Remus rose a curious eyebrow.
"Do you two know each other?" Neville asked then.
Harry looked at him. "Yes. Professor Lupin was a close friend of my father's. Actually, Neville, technically, you've met him too. You were both at my first birthday party. I remember your mum leaving you with me on the floor while she and my mum went off to talk in the kitchen."
Neville's eyes went wide and his face slacked in surprise.
"That's not possible! How could you possibly remember your first birthday?" Hermione exclaimed.
Harry shrugged. "I have a really strange memory. I remember most everything. The teachers at my school said I had an eidetic memory, but I think it probably goes further than that, since I remember things from when I was so young, and even that's not really common with eidetic memories. No doubt it's some crazy magic thing. There's probably an explanation for it somewhere. I have every intention of raiding the school library at my earliest convenience." Harry grinned.
Hermione's eyes lit up. "Oh, me too! Although, obviously not for the same reason as you. But I'm ever so excited to see the school's library. I've been looking forward to it all month!"
Harry gave her an amused look and chuckled. "Are you really sure you're fit for Gryffindor? The more I hear you talk, the more and more you sound like a Ravenclaw."
The girl blushed and ducked her head slightly, mumbling something about liking books under her breath.
Conversation went on for a bit longer before Hermione and Neville left the compartment to return to where their own trunks were stored. Hermione gave Harry a reminder that he should change into his robes soon since they'd be arriving in Hogsmeade in about a half hour, before disappearing out into the hall.
Harry hesitated in pulling his trunk out of his pocket since Remus was still there, but he needed to get changed. He mentally shrugged and pulled his matchbook-sized trunk from his pocket and set it on the bench opposite Remus. He tapped it with his wand and silently finite'd the spell, causing the trunk to instantly expand to it's normal size. To Remus it would look as if Harry had simply had an automatic shrinking and enlarging charm cast on it. It was an expensive feature offered by most luggage dealers, but Remus probably knew that Harry was anything but hurting for cash.
Remus didn't remark on it, although his eyebrows did raise a bit into his forehead when he saw the trunk return to it's normal size. Harry changed into his school robes with gray inner lining, and plain black tie. All Hogwarts school robes and ties were charmed by the dress maker to instantly change to match your house the moment you were sorted. It was a convenient little feature, actually, and sort of added to the 'magic' of the whole experience.
Harry and Remus slipped back into conversation that lasted until they arrived in Hogsmeade station. After disembarking, Harry heard Hagrid's familiar bellowing voice calling out for 'Firs' years!' and he said goodbye to Remus who would be heading up to the castle in the carriages drawn by Thestrals.
As Harry joined the group of gathering first years he heard someone call out for him and turned around.
"There you are! I was looking for you on the train!" Draco exclaimed, as he ran up to him.
Harry grinned at him. "Hey Draco! Sorry I didn't find you, I ended up running into an old friend and sat with him during the trip."
"Well, you could have brought him with you," Draco said with a pout that made Harry want to snicker.
Hagrid led all of the children over to the edge of the lake where dozens of small boats lined the shore. Hagrid called out 'No more than four to a boat!' and everyone began to pile in.
Harry ended up in a boat with Draco and two rather large boys that were introduced as 'Crabbe' and 'Goyle', and nothing more. Once the boat had pushed off from the shore line Harry actually asked the two boys what their first names were. Amusingly enough, both looked surprised and confused by the question. Finally Draco responded by saying their names were Vincent and Gregory, respectively.
Everyone oo'd and awe'd as the castle first came into view. Harry looked upon it with mixed feelings. He felt nostalgia, and a sense of homecoming, but he also looked upon it with a strong sense of trepidation.
The boats reached the other end of the Black Lake and everyone got out and proceeded to trek across the grounds towards the front entrance. Draco whined about being made to walk, unnecessarily, to which Harry poked him and told him to suck it up. Draco stuck his nose into the air and muttered something about Malfoys being above unnecessary walking and wishing he could pull out his broom.
At the door, Hagrid handed them all off to a witch that Harry instantly recognized as Minerva McGonagall. She led them inside through the entrance hall, towards the large double doors that led into the Great Hall, but instead went to a small anti-chamber to the side.
She gave them all a lecture that included summaries of the four houses, what house points were, and how the punishment system worked for those that misbehaved. It was clear to Harry that she had grown into a very strict woman. He could easily see how the head girl that had driven Tom barmy in their school days had grown into this woman. It was almost humorous to see her, so many years later, but then again, he was going to have to endure her as a teacher now. He wondered what she was like as a teacher...
McGonagall left the anti-chamber for the Great Hall and told them all to clean themselves up and wait. Harry looked around and snickered as a significant portion of the kids gathered shrieked or squealed like pigs as the room was invaded by a bunch of ghosts. He listened as a red-head and a kid with an Irish accent began to theorize as to what was involved with the sorting. It seemed the ginger was convinced he would have to battle a troll to prove he was brave enough for Gryffindor.
Harry snorted and turned away. Draco had apparently been listening too and he and Harry shared a look and snickered quietly.
Finally McGonagall returned and they were all led into the Great Hall and lined up down the center while she set a small stool at the head of the room and placed a dirty old hat upon it. The children looked at it with confusion and anxiety, and quite a few jumped as a rip appeared in the hat and it began to sing! Harry tuned it out – there were really only so many variations the thing could come up with on the same subject, and the song rarely changed much.
The sorting quickly got underway and Harry listened to every name that was called out, watching for anyone noteworthy. Crabbe went to Slytherin, as did Goyle. An Anthony Goldstein went to Ravenclaw – Harry had known some Goldstein's in the past and wondered if he was related. Hermione apparently didn't get her wish, because when she went up there and placed the hat on her head, it sent her to Ravenclaw. Immediately after Hermione was sorted, came Daphne Greengrass and she was sent to Slytherin. The Greegrass' had been silent supporters of Tom, mostly lending financial support to his war efforts.
Neville ended up in Gryffindor, which Harry found mildly surprising. Neville obviously found it profoundly surprising because he looked about ready to wet himself when the Hat called out its verdict.
Draco sat down and the hat had barely even touched his head when it called out 'Slytherin!' loud and clear. Draco gave a smug grin and swaggered over to the Slytherin table as if he already owned the thing. Harry snickered but gave the boy an approving nod.
A Theodore Nott went to Slytherin – Harry knew his father was an inner circle death eater – and after him a Pansy Parkinson followed him there. The Parkinson's were also loyal to Tom. Another one to get close to, although the girl looked rather annoying as she saddled up close to Draco and started to hang onto him. He sneered at her and shook her off.
A pair of twins named Patil got split – one going to Ravenclaw while the other went to Gryffindor. Then a Sally-Anne Perks went to Hufflepuff.
"Potter, Harry!" McGonagall called out and a hush fell over the hall for a moment before whispers erupted from every table. Harry pointedly ignored them and walked easily up to the stool and sat down. McGonagall placed the hat upon his head until it sunk down over his eyes.
"Hmmm... difficult..." the voice of the hat spoke directly into his mind.
"Ravenclaw! Ravenclaw! Ravenclaw! Please, Ravenclaw!" Harry quickly began to chant, hoping to catch it before it made up it's mind.
"Ravenclaw? Well, you certainly would fit well there. You have a powerful thirst for knowledge. A tremendous curiosity, and a desire to master as much magic as you can. But what ambition! You desire great things for yourself, Mr. Potter, and you have the cunning and drive to attain your goals at any cost. You would do well in Slytherin."
"Not Slytherin! Not Slytherin! Put me in Ravenclaw!"
"Well, if you're sure..."
"I'm sure! Please! Ravenclaw!"
"If you're sure, then I guess it'd better be...RAVENCLAW!" the hat called out aloud for the hall to hear.
A loud disappointed grown could be instantly heard from the Gryffindor table, that had, no doubt, gotten it's hopes up. The Ravenclaws began to cheer and clap loudly for him.
Harry removed the hat and handed it to McGonagall with a polite nod that she returned curtly, and quickly strode towards the Ravenclaw table. As he did, his eyes went to Draco, sitting with the other Slytherins, who gave him a conceding shrug. Harry had told Draco of his intentions to try and get into Ravenclaw in order to stay under Dumbledore's radar, and the boy understood, but Harry knew he had still been hoping that Harry would get sorted into Slytherin.
As soon as Harry sat down at the Ravenclaw table, his robe's inner lining turned blue and the Ravenclaw house crest appeared on the chest. His tie also changed from solid black to blue and bronze striped.
Those sitting around him whispered welcomes to him, but the table quickly quieted down for the rest of the sorting. When it was finished, Dumbledore stood from his place at the center of the Head Table and gave a very brief welcome before saying a few random, nonsensical words, and summoning the food to the tables from the kitchens directly below.
As his fellow housemates loaded up their plates, Harry took a moment to look up to the Head Table. Dumbledore was speaking with McGonagall and smiling genially. Remus was sitting a few seats further down and their eyes met. Remus smiled at him warmly and tipped his goblet up in a toasting gesture, most likely as a sign of congratulations and Harry smiled and nodded his head back.
Sitting beside him with a look of utter distaste on his face was a wizard with greasy-looking black hair that hung in a curtain around his head, a strong hooked-nose, and..." Harry nearly gasped, but held it in. The man had the Dark Mark! One of his teachers was a Death Eater? Harry would have to write Lucius and ask him about this man. He needed to know if he was to be trusted or not.
Harry turned to one of the older students that was sporting a prefect badge on her robes and asked her who the teacher was. She said he was Professor Snape, the Potions Master, and head of Slytherin house. She also called him a biased git who only favored Slytherins. Harry smirked.
The feast came and went with little that was noteworthy. Once the puddings had disappeared from the tables, Dumbledore stood again and the hall fell silent.
The man welcomed everyone to another year at Hogwarts, and welcomed the first years to their first. He rambled a bit about some nonsense Harry didn't care about, introduced Professor Lupin as the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and Professor Charity Babbage as the Muggle Studies teacher taking over for the post that Professor Quirrell had apparently vacated the previous year before going on his trek across Europe to study magic abroad.
He covered some rudimentary rules like not casting magic in the halls and staying away from the Forbidden Forest. What he said next, however, caught Harry off guard. He told everyone that this year the third floor corridor on the right-hand side was off limits to anyone who did not wish to die a most horrible death.
Harry blinked up at the head table, wondering if the man truly had gone senile.
Whatever the hell was up there that would guarantee instant death, really ought not to be announced to the whole bloody school. He was just asking for some stupid children – most likely Gryffindors – to go on some ludicrous 'adventure' to discover what was so special and deadly on the third floor.
Harry sighed with slight annoyance, knowing that he would need to investigate it, himself, in order to discover what the hell it was, and whether or not it would be useful.
Maybe it was that thing that Hagrid grabbed from the Gringott's vault for Dumbledore?
Oh, now that was tempting. Harry had been intrigued by the powerful magical signature the object had had for the brief moment he had been able to see it.
Harry shoved his curiosity down as he sat through the remainder of Dumbledore's welcome speech. Then he was subjected to a true horror. A school song. Headmaster Dippet had never done anything as utterly ridiculous as this. The worst part was that the students were encouraged to chose their favorite random tune and sing the lyrics to it. The cacophony of noise that filled the hall was ear piercing.
Harry cringed through the whole thing and rolled his eyes as a pair of identical twin gingers from the Gryffindor table drug the damn song long by singing it to a funeral march.
Finally they were dismissed and Harry followed along with a group of first year Ravenclaws as the prefects led them up through the grand staircase to the fifth floor, down the western wing, and up to Ravenclaw Tower. The entrance to Ravenclaw was at the top of a spiral staircase. It was a door without a doorknob or keyhole, but instead featured only a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle. In order to enter the room, a person would knock it, and then be presented with a riddle, or a logic puzzle of some sort. If it was answered correctly, they were allowed entrance. If not, they would have to sit around and wait for someone else to come and get it right. Harry had actually been in the Ravenclaw common room a few times during his first life, so he had already known all of this, and tuned it out as the prefect explained it to the group.
Upon entering, they were presented with a wide, circular room with midnight blue carpet, arched windows hung with blue silks, and a domed ceiling painted with stars. The room was furnished with an assortment of tables, chairs, and bookcases lining most of the walls. They were led over to a door and told it led up to the dormitories. Beside the door was a tall statue of Rowena Ravenclaw made entirely of white marble.
Through the door was a short hall that came to a T-junction. To the left was the girls dorms an to the right was the boys. They were led up a flight of stairs that curved around and up the tower with doors every ten feet, the lowest being for the first years. Harry and his new room mates entered the room to find that all of their trunks had been brought up by the house elves – all except Harry, who had actually re-shrunk his and kept it on him during the feast. He unshrunk it and placed it beside the only bed without a trunk already set beside it.
Harry's new room mates were Terry Boot, Micheal Corner, Anthony Goldstien, Kevin Entwhistle, and Garrick Tait. That made six of them total, three beds, each with a desk and a wardrobe, to each side of the large circular room, with a grand, freestanding fireplace in the center for heat.
Harry dug into his trunk and pulled out some sleep clothes and his bathroom supplies. After some quick ablutions in the bathroom he returned, changed his clothes and crawled into bed. He was exhausted and would deal with things in the morning. For now, he wanted nothing more than to sleep.