Watcher

Author:
Mira Ceti
Summary:
Harry Potter who enters Hogwarts is not the boy everybody expected. Dursleys tre
atment made him learn his lessons too early. does not follow the storyline
of PS after the sorting.
Updated: 03-02-07
Total Chapters: 15
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2209550/1/Watcher
Chapter 1
For as long as I can remember I ve been keener on watching other people live their
lives than living my own. This was brought on by the way I was raised, but I ha
ve to say that it has its advantages. It s who I am, the Watcher.
I grew up at the Dursleys. That should explain why I became who I am now. At an
early age I learned that keeping your mouth shut was the best way to avoid punis
hments. Later I learned all the little expressions on my relatives faces and what
they meant. It wasn t that hard to determine their moods and act on them. I suppo
se it was the only thing that kept me alive in those first years of my life.
The Dursleys taught me the first and most important lesson of my life.
And then came my 11th birthday
Harry Potter stood in the middle of the kitchen listening to his uncle rant on a
bout a letter that had been sent to Harry that morning.
Those damn freaks! How dare they contact us NOW! He is not going to go anywhere n
ear them or any of that freakishness! MY family has nothing to do with them, and
they have nothing to do with my family!
Harry stood quietly and examined his uncle s reactions. Something in that letter h
ad pushed Vernon Dursley over the edge, but Harry wasn t one bit curious. Later on
he could use the information and avoid the subject, but at the moment showing a
ny interest toward the letter or its sender was suicidal.
And YOU boy! Go to your cupboard and stay there! And don t you dare make any noise!
Harry obeyed his uncle immediately. He was relieved to get away from his uncle t
o the safety of his cupboard.
About 5 hours, and many strange and unsettling noises later the door of his cupb
oard was opened and his even more furious uncle stepped in.
Put something on and come to the living room, we are leaving NOW! Harry shrugged q
uietly and obeyed as fast as he could. His only wish was that both the day and h
is uncle s bad mood would come to an end quickly before he would have to bear the
consequences.
Ah, my dear Severus! It s good that you could come so quickly. Want a lemon drop? Se
verus Snape glared at Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraf
t and Wizardry.
I suppose you want to know why I needed you so urgently. Well, the problem is tha
t Hagrid was injured this morning while taking care some of his... er pets. Dumble
dore explained and leaned back in his chair. Then he turned his piercing eyes to
look directly at Snape and waited.
Snape stayed silent for a while thinking about what that piece of information ha

d to do with him. He was currently the only professor at the school; all the oth
ers were on vacation and wouldn t be returning until next week. It seemed he was t
he only one available to take over the mission Hagrid had been going to do.
It s the Stone, isn t it? I will get it tomorrow when I m going to be picking up some i
ngredients from Diagon Alley. Snape finally answered and turned to leave the offi
ce. He was stopped by Dumbledore s voice.
It s not the stone, I already had it picked up and transferred to a safer location,
somewhere even safer than Hogwarts. I need you to go and pick a student up; it
seems he s unable to get a hold on his letter. Dumbledore stated calmly but the obv
ious humour in his voice betrayed him.
That damned old fool! How dare the headmaster do this to me! A student unable to g
et a hold on his letter had to be a muggle-born and thus definitely not Slytheri
n. Any child outside his house didn t deserve his attention.
Slowly Snape regained control of himself and forced his muscles to relax. Withou
t turning around he asked in a strained voice: Who is he and where can I find him
?
His relatives took him away from their home and I m not sure of his current locatio
n. You will have to use The Quill. Recognizing him shouldn t be a problem his name
is Harry Potter.
Chapter 2: Snape
Severus Snape.
He s one person I ve never been able to figure out. Just by watching him you can t lea
rn much, his mask is too strong. And for that I ve always admired him. But at the
time we met, I was also afraid of him. He was too much like me, he observed ever
ything, he observed me... The difference between us was that he had a hold on hi
s own life. He didn t let the world bend him, he bended it.
Snape taught me my second lesson.
What I ve always wondered, is whether he had as much trouble figuring me out as I
did him

Snape walked through the dusky streets of London. His expression was even darker
than the shadows cast to the streets by dim street lamps. He was still trying t
o get around the fact that he, an ex-Death Eater, sworn enemy of James Potter, a
nd a Slytherin, was going to fetch the bloody Boy-Who-Lived.
Moreover, if The Dark Lord found out about this
t to think about that.

Snape shuddered. He didn t even wan

Cursing Snape looked down to the piece of paper he hold on his hand. How stupid
were these muggles? Trying to hide from him! It wasn t a problem, it only made thi
ng slightly more complicated... And him slightly more irritated.
Finally he found the hotel and the right room. Not knowing what to expect he rea
died himself for a conflict and knocked at the door.
At last the food is here! It s impossible how they hire those slimy delivery boys w
ho can t even do their work properly. And we, the proper customers are the ones to
suffer Snape heard from the other side of the door as heavy steps approached the

door. With one strong pull the door was opened and Snape stood face to face with
a huge, red faced man.
I m professor Snape from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and I m here to
door slammed closed. Snape stared for a moment at the closed door in from of hi
m and blinked. Nobody, and at least not a filthy muggle, could treat him with su
ch impoliteness and bear the consequences.
With a cold smile placed on his lips and a quietly whispered alohomora Snape stepp
ed into the hotel room. What greeted him were three plate sized eyes filled with
fear and anger.
As I said, I am professor Snape and I m here to take your nephew, Harry Potter, wit
h me. Now, where is he? He said his voice even but full of hidden anger. Ten long
seconds were filled with death silence.
First one to react was the horse faced woman who stood in front of the kitchen d
oor. She screamed. And woke his husband and son from the doze.
The huge
who came
ninvited
id under

man that had opened the door started yelling about freaks and lunatics
to his house (for Snape the house seemed awfully lot like a hotel room) u
and scared his family. The fat boy ran to the kitchen with a yelp and h
the dinner table. And the skinny woman continued screaming.

Snape looked at the circus that was played before him. He might have laughed if
that wasn t so unnatural to him and if the woman s screaming wasn t splitting his eard
rums. With two quick spells he silenced the woman and knocked out the yelling, f
ist swinging man.
With a snort Snape tore his eyes off the muggle family and looked around. Unnoti
ced to him a small boy with messy black hair and bright green eyes had entered t
he room. And at the moment those piercing eyes were gazing at him with unreadabl
e expression.
Harry had been sitting quietly in the only bedroom the hotel room had when the n
oises started. It was quite hard try to avoid his relatives in a three roomed su
ite but he had managed this far. At the moment all his family was in the living ro
om and, despite the voices, Harry was enjoying his moment of peace.
Suddenly Harry couldn t hear her aunt s screams anymore. A second later his uncle s ye
lls subsided with a thump. Something was definitely wrong. With a sight Harry st
ood up. He didn t want to get involved, but it was better to go and face the dange
r than try to hide from the unavoidable.
Fast but quietly Harry entered the living room s door and quicky scanned the situa
tion. The dark man in black robes was watching his uncle with a loathing face. H
arry fixed his eyes on the attacker when he raised his gaze to meet Harry s.
Potter Here is your letter. If you have anything worth of taking with you, fetch i
t now. If not, follow me. The man said and, after throwing the green envelope to
him, he turned to the door. Harry caught the letter and without a word stepped o
ver his uncle and past his mute aunt to follow the man out of the room.
Snape strode along the London streets towards the Leaky Cauldron. At the corner
of his eye he watched the famous Boy-Who-Lived. He had to admit that what he saw
wasn t what he had expected. Those eyes weren t ones of 11 years old boy For a secon
d time that night Snape wanted to shudder.
He noticed the boy observing him. He had been doing that the whole time, watchin
g Snape with a blank face, like trying to understand him. The gaze was unnerving
and Snape started to understand how his own victims felt when they shifted nerv
ously under his stare.
Snape nearly sighted in relief when he spotted the Leaky Cauldron. I should keep

The

better look on my emotions; I m becoming as open as the damned Gryffindors if I m no

t careful Snape made a mental note to be cautious in the present of the young Pot
ter. He had to find out more about him before he could act and start harassing h
im. Or maybe I should reconsider my plans
he thought as he took a final glance at t
he young boy s eyes.
This is the Leaky Cauldron, you ll spent the night here. As we enter try to be as s
ubtle as possible. If you attract their attention, they ll be on you like bees. Af
ter all, you are the Boy-Who-Lived Snape snorted and looked disgusted. Harry adde
d the name Boy-Who-Lived to his find out list, but said nothing.
He only followed the man, quietly inside. There wasn t anything he could have done
. If that man was able to knock down Vernon Dursley, a small boy like Harry had
no chance against him. Only thing he could do was to make sure that the man didn t
address his anger towards him.
Harry sighted deep in his mind. The man was unreadable. Only things he had notic
ed were his discomfort toward him and that calculating look when they had arrive
d to the Leaky Cauldron. That was one more thing to add to his find out list.
They stepped into some a kind of a pub. About 10 people were sitting in the tabl
es but none of them took notice of them after a brief look to the dark man besid
e Harry.
Ah, professor Snape! What can I do for you? the barkeeper asked with something you
could consider as a smile. Harry noted that the barkeeper didn t seem too enthusi
astic to talk to the professor, but granted his wish for a room fast and effecti
vely.
At eight tomorrow morning I m going to come here and get you. You will be ready; I
am not going to wait for you. Do not leave this room before I come, understood? S
nape asked when they arrived to the room.
Yes, sir Was the steady answer Harry gave him, but not for a second did his eyes l
eave Snape s. The tall man turned away first and exited the building without anoth
er word. Harry s eyes followed him, but his face held no emotion.
Chapter 3: Diagon Alley
One thing I ve never understood in human nature is prejudice. How can anybody know
what kind of a person one is if they ve never met? People see each other differen
tly, so you can t believe what your peers tell you. Neither can you tell who the oth
er is by their house or heritage. We are what we are raised to be.
I don t judge anything before I know it. That s one reason why I accepted the existe
nce of magic so easily. I simply had no reason NOT to believe in it.
Same way I don t judge people. I consider myself as a victim of prejudice, and thu
s I m willing to give others a change to tell, with their expressions and actions,
what they truly are. Unfortunately, nearly anybody is happy to be figured out . Th
ey prefer to keep their secrets and stay as mysteries.
Too bad I can t give them that privilege
Harry woke up at five o clock like he had done for the past 6 years. The first hou
rs of the day were always filled with silence and peace. It was the perfect time
to reanalyse the information and thoughts that the previous day had risen.
He seldom regretted his actions, but at the moment he couldn t help the feeling th
at he had been too challenging towards Snape. The dark man had paid too much int
erest on him, and that was definitely something he did not want. But the loathin
g way Snape had addressed him had forced Harry to leave his passive way of deali

ng with things and do something.

With a sight Harry dressed quietly and took out the letter he
day before. In the envelope were his name and the address of
in green ink. It seemed that somebody had been keeping an eye
. The letter was heavy and when Harry opened it two pieces of
took the first one and started reading.

had been given the

the hotel written
on him for a while
paper fell off. He

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorv., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, Inter
national Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Mr. Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcr
aft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipme
nt.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress
Harry stared at the letter for a few minutes. He reread it and slowly a smirk ro
se to his lips. Many unanswered questions were now answered and things he had co
nsidered as dilemmas were solved. Just like the one time, when a snake had told
him to be careful with the lawn mover and watch his steps. He had blamed the sun
, but now he knew better. The reason was so simple that he felt stupid not to ha
ve thought it before. He was a wizard.
Yesterday
or Snape
Harry and
first he
step in.

s happenings were also shown in a total new light. Problem called profess
didn t seem as hard to solve anymore. A total new point of view opened to
he could only consider all the new possibilities he now possessed. But
had to find out all the useful information about world he was going to

Slowly Harry pulled out the second piece of paper. It was a list of all the thin
gs he was going to need in his new school: clothing, books, and other equipment.
He scanned the list couple of times memorizing all the articles carefully. Then
he only concealed his expressions, sat on his bed, and waited for Snape.
Exactly at eight o clock Snape arrived to the Leaky Cauldron and found the boy sti
ffly sitting on his bed. This time his eyes were cast downwards, but no other ch
anges were visible. As Snape stepped in Harry rose up and turned his emotionless
face towards Snape as if waiting for orders.
We are going to the Diagon Alley and get your supplies, I truly hope you haven t lo
st your list. Snape snorted and lead Harry out of the little room. They arrived t
o a small courtyard behind the Leaky Cauldron and stopped in front of an old dus
tbin. Snape took out his wand and, while keeping an eye on Harry, tapped to one
of the bricks.
Slowly a hole started to appear to the wall bringing a busy cobbled street in vi
ew. To Snape s surprise the expression on Harry s face stayed exactly the same as it
had been before. It seemed like he wan t even a bit amazed of the view to the Dia
gon Alley, although it was said to be one of the most breathtaking sights in the
wizard world.
The two wizards walked steadily their way along the Diagon Alley towards Gringot
ts, but none of the busy shoppers seemed to notice that their very own Boy-Who-L

ived was walking among them. It was partly because Harry s head was tilted slightl
y downwards and his messy hair was covering the famous scar and his striking eye
s.
At least the boy is not after gold and glory Snape thought sarcastically as they a
rrived in front of the outstanding white bank.
True, Harry s eyes had been cast downwards, but he hadn t been admiring the cobblest
one street (although it was beautiful). Instead he had been busy trying to look
from the corners of his eyes to the left and right, memorizing the names of the
shops. He was hoping a change to visit them later on all by himself.
The street was interesting, but he wasn t just scanning the buildings. Also the pe
ople seemed out of the ordinary. But they were all strange in the same way, and
Harry knew he was the one standing out there. First thing he was going to do was
to find clothes matching to the style of this new world. That way he could wand
er around unnoticed.
This is Gringotts, the wizard bank. It is run by goblins, so I genuinely recommen
d you not to mess with them. Snape said as they stopped in front of the largest b
uilding. Then he pulled out a glittering key from his pocket and gave it to Harr
y. This is the key to the vault your parents left for you when they passed away. T
ake it and give it to one of the goblins sitting behind the counter. After you ve
gotten enough money come back and wait here. Do not move a sent from the spot yo
u are standing right now. I have some things to do... With that he was gone.
Harry took a quick glance to the direction he had vanished and after a few minut
es walked through the bronze doors inside the Gringrotts. He faced another pair
of doors, this time silver, with a short rhyme written on them.
Enter stranger, but take heed
Of what
Suddenly a rush of power passed through his body. Harry took a step back and clo
sed his eyes as the sensation grew stronger. It had felt like thousand miniature
lightning bolts entering him through his eyes and spreading to his whole body.
The electrical feeling circulated through his toes and fingers until returning t
o somewhere around his navel. Then, as soon as it had come, it was gone.
For some time Harry stood still and did not move until he felt his breathing eas
e and body relax. Harry kept his eyes closed as he passed the silver doors, but
opened them as he entered the huge hall, full of people and goblins. Harry follo
wed Snape s instructions and was soon sitting on a cart with a sulky goblin.
They took speedily off
Harry s mind was still
he didn t even notice
ed the incident out of

and were soon driving downwards through maze of tunnels.

on the strange feeling he had felt at the silver doors, and
when the cart stopped. Mentally hitting his head Harry push
his mind and stood up.

The first thought that passed his brain when he saw the insides of his vault was
enormous . It was full of strange looking coins made of gold, silver, and bronze.
Harry didn t have a clue what they were worth of, so he filled his back with the m
ore valuable looking gold and silver pieces.
They drove pack to surface and Harry stepped out of the building back to his and
Snape s meeting point. The professor was already waiting for him with an irritate
d face.
You took too long, I will not tolerate laziness. Snape snapped as Harry arrived to
his visual field. Harry kept his eyes on the street but didn t miss Snape s surpris
e. I suppose I did a miscalculating yesterday, they boy doesn t seem to be any dang

er Snape thought as they stepped towards the shops. What he didn t see was the quic
kly disposed grin on Harry s lips.
After the fifth shop (Ollivanders: Makers of fine wands since 382 BC), Harry sto
od in his room at the Leaky Cauldron, all his school equipments ready and packed
in his new trunk. He felt tired and exhausted. Nearly every shopkeeper had reco
gnized him, Mr Ollivander being the worst. All of them had treated him like some
rare showpiece and never noticing his unwillingness to talk with them.
Snape was stranding opposite Harry nearly smiling in relieve. Only couple of min
utes and he wouldn t have to see the strange boy for another month.
The last 10 hours had been spent in total silence. Only thing the boy had asked
had been about the valuation of the Knuts, Sickles, and Galleons. Even Snape was
n t that quiet.
I talked to professor Dumbledore and he agreed that it s unnecessary to bring you b
ack to you relatives. You can stay the last month at Leaky Cauldron, but you are
not allowed to go to the muggle London. All information is on this ticket. Do n
ot miss the train. Snape grunted, and after throwing the ticket to Harry, hurried
away.
Harry let himself smirk a little. Everything was perfect. Now he had time to vis
it the bookshop, Flourish and Blotts, again. It gave him a change to get ready f
or the new school and prepare himself for the unwelcome surprises.
Harry had hated the last two days. He had been totally unable to control the hap
penings and even himself. Time for the change whispered Harry to the empty room an
d threw himself on the fluffy bed with a pleased smirk planted on his lips.
Chapter 4: The Journey to Hogwarts
They say that it s lonely at the top.
I say great men are never alone. It s impossible for a single human being to becom
e something great all alone. They all need people around them; supporters, serva
nts, even friends A person ruling the world alone will never rule it for long. Bu
t if that person has others around, he will surely last longer.
I always thought my mission was to look from a distance and stay alone. Even bef
ore I arrived to Hogwarts, I learned it to be impossible. First I learned to cha
nge the world.
And then I learned the power in alliance.
Harry was exploring the shelves of Flourish and Blott s, stopping now and then to
choose a book to buy. He had been buying and reading books for the last week and
now possessed basic knowledge about wizards lives and traditions. It had been an
interesting experience, a bit like reading a good fantasy novel with an enlarge
d background.
Some books, like Hogwarts: A History, he had read twice. Not because he couldn t m
emorize them, but because they were full of hidden hints about things happened i
n the past. He had also found a mention about himself in a couple of books and t
he reason for the nickname Boy-Who-Lived . Only problem was that the explanations s
eemed incomplete and some major facts were missing.
At the moment Harry was keener on keeping an eye on the grey haired man than cho
osing the books. The man had been keeping a close eye on Harry since the morning
, but hadn t even tired to approach him. His black robes were hanging loosely arou
nd his frame, failing to hide his haggard body. His face was pointed and skin dr
y, but the glinting eyes were full of life.
Finally Harry got tired of the old man, and paid for the books he was carrying.

Just when he was stepping out of the store a bony hand reached out and took a st
rong hold on his hand.
It seems like you ve got a thing for knowledge, my dear boy. But can this bookstore
really content your thirst? Somehow I guess the answer is no If you truly want t
o know about things, go here , a dried out voice whispered to his ear. Something w
as pressed to his hand and with a wicked laugh, the hand and the man was gone.
What is it with these people? Disappearing all the time Harry thought as he search
ed for the man with his eyes. Noticing the purposelessness of that action Harry
lowered his gaze to the piece of paper he was holding in his hand. Screaming Scis
sors and Bleeding Books
Knockturn Alley, was written on it with a small and even
handwriting. Suddenly the paper bust out on fire.
Well, that was interesting thought Harry as the ashes fell through his fingers to
the floor. With a glance to the shopkeeper Harry walked out of the store. He hea
ded back to the Leaky Cauldron books firmly on his hands and eyes fixed straight
in front of him.
Later on that night Harry made his way to the Knockturn Alley. His intention was
to take a look at the shop Screaming Scissors and Bleeding Books . He wasn t going t
o go inside yet, just take a look at what kind of place it was and decide whethe
r it was worth him visiting.
The street was a total opposite to the busy and bright Diagon Alley. Everything
seemed to be jammed together as if to save space. No people were standing around
; everybody was walking with determination, and nobody paid attention to others.
Well, this seems just a place I would like stern faced Harry thought as he too to
ok a self-assured expression on his face and lifted his chin up.
The bookstore he had been looking for was a small, dingy shop between two larger
ones. It was hard to notice and not a single customer was visible. Harry had ju
st stopped to reconsider his options when a short shabby creature stepped out of
the store.
Took you long enough! I ve been waiting for you with these bloody books for the who
le day Don t just stand there, get inside! He snapped and vanished back to the shado
wy store. Harry followed after reasoning it impossible to back away.
The store was exactly what it looked like on the outside; a narrow room filled w
ith dusty book piles ready to fall down. The tomes seemed ancient and were writt
en in different languages and various styles. Harry was trying to make his way t
hrough the books, when the tiny man reappeared from the backroom carrying a half
a dozen books in his hands.
Here. The Old Man gave me instructions to pass these to you. Do not worry, he alr
eady paid for all of them. He said and handed the books to Harry.
Harry examined the tomes with suspicion and was relieved to notice that all of t
hem were at least English.
What are you still standing here? Get lost! This ain t a hotel! The shopkeeper cried
and poked Harry out of the shop. Seriously regretting coming, Harry walked out
of the shop and made his way back to his room in Leaky Cauldron.
Harry passed the books to the darkest corner of room. With a blaming look he sat
on his bed and inspected the books, but didn t dare to touch them again. Somethin
g he had learned by reading all those things during last week, was not to trust
anything, no matter how innocent it looked. Well, he hadn t been that trusting typ
e in the first place
With a sigh Harry left the books there for future analyzing and went on to look

for information about deactivating curses from his more trustable books.
The rest of the month went quickly for Harry. He spent his days visiting the dif
ferent kind of stores and in the evenings he curled up in his bed with a book an
d read himself to sleep. He had decided to take the 6 strange books with him to
Hogwarts and only then make sure they were harmless.
He had just gotten used to his new life rhythm when September first dawned. The
old barman, Tom, had arranged him a ride to the King s Cross and now he was standi
ng at the entrance to the station.
Harry took out his ticket to make sure he had read the platform number correctly
the first time. Platform Nine and Three-Quarters read clearly in the middle of th
e ticket. With a shrug Harry made his way to the space between the ninth and ten
th platform.
Harry withdrew to stand next to the wall and scanned the people passing by. Ther
e had to be some kind of opening system similar to the Diagon Alley entrance, an
d sooner or later someone would come and pass through it. All Harry had to do wa
s to find a potential wizard group and sneak inside after them.
He didn t have to wait for long when he spotted a pink-faced blonde girl and her m
other.
But mom! I want to take my Whizzing Worms with me to Hogwarts!
I said no, they are not something to take with you to school. But I promise I wil
l not get rid of them while you are gone, the woman said as they approached the b
arrier between the platforms. Then she whispered something to the girl, pulled h
er close, and after a quick glance around leant against the barrier. And so, the
y were gone.
Harry blinked twice, but the woman and girl were gone for good. The barrier seem
ed normal and nothing hinted that something was behind it. Casually Harry walked
to the barrier and pushed his trolley against it. He felt a little resistance a
nd then he passed through the barrier to another platform.
Harry hadn t felt anything strange, but he definitely wasn t in the muggle King s Cros
s station anymore. The scarlet steam engine was standing there, and loads of peo
ple were entering it or talking to each other around the platform. Cats and owls
were making the chaos and noise volume even more unbearable. Harry took a deep
breath, masked his face, and went on looking for a free place to sit down.
Harry finally found an empty compartment at the end of the train. After fighting
his trunk inside he settled himself next to the window and took out his transfi
guration book A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration .
Just when the train was leaving the station, the compartment door opened and a b
rown haired girl stepped in. She took a quick glance at him and sat down opposit
e him.
I know who you are, she said after a moment. Harry raised his gaze from the book t
o take a look at the girl.
And I don t know who you are,

he answered slowly.

In that case I think that I have the advantaged, She said with a smirk and also to
ok out a book of her own. Harry rose one eyebrow and was about to answer when th
e door opened once more. A blond boy was standing at the doorway with a pleased
grin on his face.
I heard that The-Boy-Who-Lived was on the train. It seems that I finally spotted

him. Are you The Harry Potter? he asked. Harry looked at him with a blank face fo
r a few minutes but did not answer.
I suppose he s not willing to answer you, perhaps you should try using your brain,
Malfoy, the girl sitting opposite Harry said after a while with a mellifluous voi
ce.
I did not ask you, Zabini. the boy snapped and readied himself for a verbal fight.
Harry noticed it and although the anger wasn t directed toward him, he wasn t looki
ng forward having a fight in his compartment.
I m not the Harry Potter, I m a Harry Potter. Now, was there something you needed me
for? For a second the boy froze, but then an arrogant smirk fell back to his face
.
My name is Draco Malfoy and I thought you could use some proper company. Harry loo
ked at him for another long moment. Not really wanting any more people to stick
around him, but too tired to argue he finally answered.
Feel free to sit down if you want to, but at the moment I have all the company I
need. he said tapping his book. Then he settled back to the corner and continued
reading. The Zabini girl also reopened her book and hid her smile behind it. For
a moment the boy at the door looked confused, but finally sat down next to Harr
y. As neither of the other two seemed willing to talk, he slid lower on the seat
and closed his eyes.
They stayed like that for another two hours,
lling trolley lady. None of them bought any;
ome, and Harry couldn t quite see any reason
A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration and
when the door, once again, spread open.
Our dear friend Lee
Accidentally

only distraction being the sweet se

Malfoy and Zabini got enough from h
to. Harry had just finished rereading
was bending down to take out another book

a red haired boy grinned as he stepped in.

an exact copy of the first boy also entered the carriage.

ate something that didn t fit to his

stomach.

they finished at the same time and for some reason burst out laughing.

So, we decided to find some first years, so, that we can entertain
And torment Them with our irresistible presence.
And of course we had to show to ickle Ronniekins
Don t call me that!

a slightly smaller redhead yelled behind them.

The Harry Potter, who defeated the Dark Lord

While crying and wearing diapersAnd became the famous Boy-Who-Happened-To-Stay-Alive, the identical twins declared
and pulled the third redhead in front of them. Harry watched them with amusement
. He preferred the laughing to gawping anytime. The smallest redhead, presumably
twins little brother, didn t seem to be happy about his brothers antics.
And without greater ado we give you

The oneThe onlyRonniekins!

Laughing the twin turned around ready to leave.

Oh, and if you see blue candies in a red and green cover, we wouldn t encourage you
to eat them.
But feel free to offer them to your friends! With a mischief grin the twin exited
the carriage and left their startled and blushing brother to stand alone in fron
t of the three first years. Harry looked after the twins and smiled inwardly. It
seemed that his new school had at least some interesting people.
Eh Well I m Ron Weasl The boy standing in the middle of the carriage never managed to f
inish his sentence. The blond boy had opened his eyes and was now looking at him
with loath.
Weasel. We know. Only your family has more red-haired brats than they can afford.
He said with a scornful look. Ron, the new boy, turned even redder than before.
It s Weasley, and we can manage just well, thankyouverymuch. At least our family ha
s no bloody Death-Eaters for lunch every weekend, he answered and Harry noticed h
is hands closing into fists. The girl opposite her had put down her book and was
now openly enjoying the show.
Sure, because no wizard, at least not a Death-Eater, would put a leg inside that
shack you call a house, isn t that so Ronniekins? Ron let out a yelp and looked rea
dy to attack the blond. Harry sighed in his mind. Keeping peace near Malfoy was
surely a lot of work.
Have you two ever met? Harry inquired the two quarrelling boys. What he got in ret
urn were two irritated and wondering looks.
What do you mean? Malfoy s don t associate with scum,
t Ron, who was ready to go and grab his neck.

the blond said and shot a look a

If you have never met and don t know a thing about each other why are you fighting?
Harry questioned them like little children.
But he s a Malfoy!

The red head shouted his freckles glowing from the red face.

Then live with it. Now, sit down and stop arguing or get lost,
the conversation and turned back to his book.

Harry put an end to

Without letting the others notice, he kept a close look on their expressions. Bo
th boys seemed stunned at first, angry a second after, but slowly sat down in th
e opposite sides. Their faces stayed annoyed, but Harry noticed little wheels tu
rning in their heads. They had started to think.
The girl, Zabini, was openly staring at him with a thoughtful glint in her eyes.
Then she shrugged and continued reading. This might just get interesting Harry th
ought as he also concentrated on his book.
Chapter 5: Sorting
I know the basic way a hero must grow up. He s an abused, skinny orphan, who throu
gh adventures learns and becomes the mighty unbeatable person, who knows everyth
ing. Here s the trick, kiddies, heroes do not know everything. Heroes do make mist

akes. Heroes can hurt other people.

We invented heroes when we became scared of ourselves. We wanted to know that so
mebody out there was still innocent and un-touched with the evilness that lurks
among the humankind. We wanted somebody to take the responsibility, we wanted so
mebody to be our savior, and we wanted somebody to blame. Mortal humans became i
nnocent, as all the bad things that occurred were heroes fault; they had failed t
o prevent them happening.
Heroes are the models of our race. That s why it s so hard to understand, and even h
arder to forgive, when one of them does something wrong or unthinkable. The firs
t reaction is denial. Then comes the ultimate feel of betrayal.
It s even worse, than when a family member betrays, because the members of a famil
y are only humans. Heroes are one step higher. They are nearly half-gods. They a
re powerful, and when they fail they become dangerous.
Therefore, the third step

is fear.

Firs -years! Firs -years over here! A huge beast like man was yelling over the noise t
hat all the students made when departing the train. Harry headed for the voice a
nd after a while noticed the brown haired girl, Zabini, and Ron were following h
er. The Malfoy-boy had parted them immediately after the train ride, and was now
together with two stone-like fellows.
Harry didn t really mind the girl, she seemed clever and knew how to behave, but R
on was totally another matter at hand. Harry suspected his ability to control hi
mself and the way he had acted towards Malfoy had showed that he had strong beli
eves of rightness dinned in his head. He saw only black and white. Only thing Ha
rry could hope for was him not to throw a tantrum and affix other s attention to h
im.
Harry followed the giant like man among the other first years. While walking thr
ough the narrow path Harry secretly observed his peers. It seemed they were divi
ded to two groups; those who looked frighten to death, and to those who were ner
vously watching around trying to see everything. Some of the latter group tried
to hide their enthusiasm but failed miserably. Harry nearly smile when he watche
d their inner battles between staying put with calm mask or jumping around and a
sking thousand and one questions.
Harry didn t quite understand either behavior pattern, but decided to act along ju
st to fit the masses. He took slightly frightened look on his face and bended sl
ightly forward. His frightened glances around also provided him with a change to
take a good look at the surroundings.
Finally the path led them to a glassy little lake. It was already nearly dark an
d across the lake he could only make out the silhouette of the huge castle and t
he thousand little lights glowing out of the windows. The strand was covered wit
h small boats, but they didn t posses any sculls. After hearing the instructions ( n
o more n 4 to a boat! ) Harry stumbled to the nearest boat soon be followed with his
train of company and the pink faced pigtail girl he had followed to the Platfor
m .
As the boats started to move with the power of magic, Harry felt his whole body
starting to itch. It felt the same as at the silver doors of Gringotts, but this
time the feeling entered his whole body at once. As they reached the middle of
the lake Harry could only close his eyes and squeeze the bench tighter. Just lik
e the last time, the lighting bolts circled his body and settled somewhere aroun
d his navel. This time though the electrical feeling didn t leave his body. It shr
unk into a nearly unnoticeable ball but Harry could still sense it.

Potter! Are you ok? You can relax; we are not going to fall to the lake. And my b
rothers promised that the Squid (A/N how do you spell it?) won t eat anyone on the
ir first pass across the lake. Potter! Someone was yelling in his ear. Harry open
ed his eyes slowly but felt no pain. Then he looked apologetically at the redhea
d who was looking at him with concern.
I m sorry if I startled you. I m just really not used to water and being in this boat
makes me feel uncomfortable. Harry said with a sigh. Well, the first part was tr
ue. He had never even seen water masses bigger than the puddles on the Private D
rive.
Deciding to find the reason behind the strange lightning bursts later Harry conc
entrated on the approaching castle. They soon left the boats behind and walked t
o the gigantic front doors where another teacher was waiting for them. The enorm
ous building rose like a wall in front of them. It looked as cheerless as the pr
ofessor waiting for them, but felt at the same time warm and welcoming.
The stern faced witch, Professor McGonagall, led them through the Entrance Hall
to a smaller chamber. The professor explained to them about the houses they were
going to be sorted to, but Harry was listening to her only with a half ear. He
had already read all about the houses and done his choice. None of the books tho
ugh mentioned how the sorting was done, but Harry wasn t concerned. He was keener
on trying to find out who was watching him.
Since he had placed his foot inside the stone walls, he had had a feeling that s
omebody was lurking in the shadows and looking at him. He hadn t been able to catc
h or see the stalker and it was unnerving him. He hated nothing more than being
in the wrong end of an observing gaze.
Harry nearly showed his frustration on his face when professor McGonagall re-ent
ered and told them to follow. Harry had already too many unanswered questions in
his mind; he certainly didn t need a stalker above all of it.
The first years were lead to a huge, candle lighted hall full of older students.
In addition, every single eye was fixed on them as they were marched in front o
f the staff and students. While the first years nervously took glances at the ot
her students, a four-legged stool was brought to the room with a hat on top of i
t. Harry stared at it with a slight interest. It had to be important (otherwise
it wouldn t be there), but definitely didn t look like it. Ancient yes, but valuable
It was too frayed for that.
Suddenly a rip on the hat opened and it started to sing:
(A/N If you want to read the song you can find it from nearly every fic, or Harry
Potter and the Philosopher s Stone page 129 )
The hall burst out clapping when the song was finished. McGonagall stepped forwa
rd and started yelling names of the first years in alphabetical order.
Abbott, Hannah the pigtail girl stepped out and to Harry s not-so-great-surprise the
hat yelled HUFFLEPUFF nearly immediately. All the Hufflepuffs cheered and clapped
.
Bones, Susan
The sorting went on Harry memorizing not only their faces, but names and houses
also. He was so keen on being the observer, that it totally missed his mind that
he also was to be sorted.

Potter, Harry the whole hall started to noise. It took Harry a second to recognize
his name. Of course he knew it and used it, but the only persons he had heard t
o say his name had been Snape and Malfoy. Harry stepped slowly towards the stool
and the hall quieted. They all followed him with their eyes when he placed the
hat on his head.
Hmm Interesting, very interesting indeed. You have a thirst for knowledge, don t yo
u? A very strong one I must say. Oh, but wait, you have plans for your knowledge
, don t you? Everything for a reason, I see Now, where shall you belong to?
Put me in Hufflepuff.

Harry answered firmly in his mind.

Hufflepuff, interesting And why shall I do that?

I could have some use for their loyalty, nobody would pay attention to me, and it
would make me trusty. I know you know my reasons, no need to waste time there.
Yes I see you would profit staying there, but I m afraid I can t obey your wish. Hel
ga would come and hunt me down behind her grave, as I don t see a single trait of
her house in you. However, your reasoning and thoughts are much more SLYTHERIN!
You will see the rightness of my choice when the time comes
Harry sat still for a moment before removing the hat. His face didn t show a singl
e trace of his disappointment or anger as he stood up. A total silence and a hal
l full of confused eyes greeted him. Harry stole a quick look at the teachers. M
ost of them looked betrayed, like McGonagall, others surprised and some even fri
ghten. Snape seemed to be the only one unaffected; his only reaction was a small
sight of resign.
Harry made his way to the Slytherin table in total silence. He shuddered mentall
y to the unwanted attention he was receiving, but kept his eyes firmly cast down
wards. Finally some genius idiot started clapping inviting the others to join, a
nd by the time Harry hat sat down, the sorting was continuing. Many eyes were st
ill fixed on Harry, but at least the once he received from his housemates were p
ure calculating. Even that was better than the brainless curiosity.
Harry woke from his thoughts when the brown haired girl sat
ked at him. The sorting had ended and everybody was filling
e food that had appeared to the table, but the girl kept on
ally she held her hand out at him and took a face of a fake
Blaise Zabini.

next to him and smir

their plates with th
smirking at him. Fin
solemnity.

was her simple greeting.

Harry Potter. He answered after a inquiring look and took her hand. Blaise burst o
ut smiling widely.
It seems we are even now, Harry. She finally said and after dropping his hand turn
ed to her food. Harry stared at her for a minute. Change of plans he thought as an
unnoticeable amount of warmth entered his eyes and he also turned towards the t
able. It seems we are even, Blaise, it seems we are
Chapter 6: conversations
Right and wrong. Good and evil. Black and white.
Who invented those words? I imagine him (or her) to be one crazy person. The thi
ngs those words try to describe are indescribable. They do not exist. There are
only in-betweens.

In fairytales good and bad are clear; the hero is the good guy, the evil witch t
he bad one. But as I ve already said, heroes are only images. In real life those o
pposite words do not tell the truth. They, as everything else on earth, tell us
only one point of view, which can be totally different from the other ones.
Truth is different for each person, and it s always clouded by our beliefs and nor
ms. Therefore it cannot be classified. But as we don t have truth, we neither have
right or wrong. We only have possibilities.
Let s assume for a second we knew the truth. When would we need it the most? We wo
uld need it in the moments of confusion and chaos: in the moments of war. And fo
r what would we need it then? We would need it to tell us who started the war, w
ho to blame, who to call the evil -one, and as an opposite, who to trust and follow
. However, no-one can start a war. War is an entirety, done true by thousands of
individuals. Aren t all the people involved in it then guilty and evil ?
There are only losers in war. Ones, who lose their loved ones, their health, the
ir hope and trust. Thus, in war, true answers to questions such as who s right and
who s wrong and who started it are inconsequential.
The question we should look for an answer is who is going to stop it?
Harry was half asleep in his transfiguration lesson. He had gotten used to the s
chool pretty quickly, but the people were still irritating him. The Slytherins a
nd Snape were ok; they never approached him and preferred to study him from a di
stance. Harry had never been one for company and Blaise s never ending babbling wa
s enough noise to his life.
Blaise Harry stole a look at the girl sitting next to him. She was busy taking no
tes and didn t notice the quick glance. Harry couldn t understand why she was acting
differently from the rest of the Slytherins and hanging around with him. She di
dn t gain anything out of it and surely she couldn t be enjoying his, oh so talkativ
e, presence. Well, as strange as it was Harry didn t really mind her, she was actu
ally quite fun to have around and always had witty comments about everything.
The rest of the school was in total
he Gryffindors seemed betrayed, but
s grateful for). Most people simply
are about it. Teachers on the other

confusion of how to deal with him. Most of t

didn t make a move towards him (which Harry wa
let the whole thing rest in peace and didn t c
hand

Mr Potter! Daydreaming in my class, are you not? As it seems you can afford not t
o pay attention, would you care to share us your information about Switching Spe
lls? McGonagall s dry voice woke him from his thoughts.
Switching Spells are more complex forms of transfiguration, they are
Harry noticed
an unsatisfied face appearing on the Professors face. For him it seemed she want
ed a wrong answer from him. used when wanting to change a human body part to anoth
er. Harry answered against his better knowledge. The slight frown disappeared fro
m the professor s face, only to get replaced by a satisfied impression. She took a
deep breath and started explaining.
Not quite right, Mr. Potter. Switching Spells are used to
pen and a winded second year appeared to the doorway.

the classroom door blew o

Professor Dumbledore told me to come here and lead Harry Potter to his office. Ma
y he come with me? she asked politely from McGonagall. The frown came back with f
ull force and she nodded slightly and continued the lesson. Harry gathered his t
hings quickly and followed the girl out of the classroom.
They walked in total silence to the second floor and stopped in front of a stone
gargoyle standing halfway along the corridor. It looked dead, but as soon as th
e girl leading Harry said the password, it moved. Actually, it had moved millise

conds before the girl said anything.

Go inside, Professor Dumbledore should be waiting for you already. The un-named se
cond year said and left. Harry had been happy to leave from McGonagall s lesson, b
ut he wasn t too thrilled seeing the headmaster. What he had seen and read about t
he old wizard, he seemed too clever for his own good. Carefully Harry walked to
the office door, but before he could knock a warm voice came from the other side
of the door and told him to step in.
Ah, my dear boy, good you could
rry entered the room. Dumbledore
as placed on his lips, but Harry
re witty brains, witty enough to
to act a normal 11 years old and

make it The waiting white haired wizard said as Ha

s eyes were sparkling with joy and a warm smile w
stayed guarded. Behind those light blue eyes we
see any faking. Harry dismissed his first plan
dropped his half smile to a blank stare.

It s always so good to see Hogwarts filled with new students Lemondrop? He continued
and nodded Harry to sit down. Harry shook his head slightly and obeyed the gestu
re. I think one can never have enough of these. Dumbledore took one himself and at
e it with pleasure written on his face. Harry noticed though that his eyes never
left the boy sitting in front of him.
You truly have your mother eyes, never seen a picture of her? Dubledore raised an
eyebrow and waited for negative answer before continuing. I never met her relativ
es but according to what Snape told me I assumed that they forgot to tell you som
e facts. If you have questions I m free to answer any of them. He said and gave Har
ry a hoping look. Only answer he got was a slight nod of head.
For few moments the two wizards gazed each other. Harry didn t believe for a secon
d that he had been called to the headmaster only to chat about his relatives. Th
is was an evaluating meeting for both of them. It was also Dumbledore s way of tel
ling Harry where to turn whether he needed help. Moreover, if Harry was to do so
, the headmaster would have more power over him...
Just remember my office is always open, thing happening at the school and in the
wizard world may be little shocking for you at the moment, with or without Vold
emort
To Dumbledore s disappointment not a single muscle on Harry s face moved.
Thank you, Headmaster, I ll keep that in my mind. Harry opened his mouth for the fir
st time during the conversation. After one more nod the old wizard Harry stood u
p and exited office.
All essential had been said, or more likely not-said. One thing was sure; Harry
had to be careful around the old wizard. His assumptions had been right, the man
knew too much for his own good.
To Harry it seemed there were a lot of things the headmaster was hiding from him
, a lot of things he should know before doing anything A slight headache was maki
ng its way to Harry and he wasn t looking forward to skipping any classes. With a
groan he shook his head the final time and made his way to the Slytherin common
rooms.
Conversations part 2
It just doesn t work! Impossible! Wingardium Leviosa! Blaise was standing next to th
e common room table a white feather in front of her. Harry was trying to shut he
r whining out and concentrate on his book, but it seemed nearly impossible. Fina
lly Blaise gave up and turned to Harry.
I don t get it! You can do it perfectly, can t you just help me a bit! I can be yelli
ng Wingardium Leviosa for the rest of my life and it still won t do any good! Harry
raised his gaze from the book to look at the wand waving witch. To his horror h

e saw, not the light feather, but the entire table levitating behind Blaise, slo
wly rising above her head.
What ever you do, don t stop the spell.
r him, ready to jump from the danger.

Harry said calmly and gathered his legs unde

What spell? Blas asked and turned around. At that exact moment the levitation spell
broke off and the table started to fall.
That SPELL! Move! was all Harry had time to yell before he jumped and pushed them
both to safety; only a second before the heavy table came crashing down.
I did it! I actually levitated something! And something heavy, I must be very str
ong. Now I only have to practice some more and I ll manage it totally! Harry watche
d the girl laying on the floor with an unusual glint of horror in his eyes.
Not while I m around!

He declared and fled from the room.

Harry walked along the corridor trying to find a peaceful, and isolated, place t
o read. He truly did enjoy Blaise s company, as much as he could enjoy any human p
resence, but that girl was dangerous. And not only to herself.
Harry was just leaving the dungeons when the annoying feeling of somebody watchi
ng him came back once again. It had bugged him since the start of the term, but
he had been unable to place it. This time though it was different.
I m sorry for provoking you, but I had
eart. Now would you mind joining me for
the voice and saw the silvery figure of
away from him. No wonder he hadn t been

to make sure you truly were a Slytherin by h

a quick chat? Harry turned around toward
the Slytherin ghost floating few meters
able to spot the intruder.

I d be delighted to join your company, Mr. Baron. Harry answered with a slight bow.
The ghost had to have a reason to spy on him and Harry had the feeling that it c
ould be useful for him.
The ghost led Harry to the most seldom used parts of the dungeons and finally st
opped in front of an ancient portrait.
Gifilus, dare to let my living human companion in? The Bloody Baron asked the man
in the portrait and then turned towards Harry. No-one is allowed to enter this ro
om unless accompanied by me or my heir. It s been quite a while since a living per
son has used them, but at least we ll have all the privacy we need. Nothing we say
here will leave this room.
The portrait opened slowly, but unexpectedly quietly when you thought that nobod
y had used it for decades. Harry stepped cautiously into the room and noticed it
to be a comfy little room with a fireplace and 3 doors but no windows. He sat t
o the sofa next to the fire place and the ghost settled down to an armchair oppo
site him. A heavy silence filled the room, but Harry didn t seem to mind it.
You talked to the current headmaster, what do you think of him and his ideas?
y was a bit surprised but didn t show it. The Baron surely didn t waste time.

Harr

I can t say yet. He seems to be an intelligent man. Harry answered trivially. As it

didn t seem to satisfy the ghost he warily continued. I do agree with him in some p
oints, but I feel that changes must be made
I see. I suppose he hinted you about the possibility of You-Know-Who s return, did
he not? I also know he s keen on making sure you don t become a supporter of the cur
rent Dark Lord

He can ease his mind. As much as I do agree with Voldemort about the fact that ch
anges are necessary, I do not agree with his methods. If he was to return and wi
n the upcoming war, his changes would not last, as they would be forced on the p
eople.
Good. I called you here tonight to give you some advice. There are other ways to
influence the future than to wave swords and wands. If you choose the third road
you will have to start working now. There are many men in both camps willing to
leave their masters
With that the ghost stood up and floated to the door. If I wer
e you, I d speak to Severus Snape, but with caution. I hope to see you again young
one.
Harry understood the message and with another slight bow left the room. His deci
sion had just become one step more urgent.
Chapter 7: Preparations
Show me who you are.
An order no-one can obey.
What means to behave normally ? Is it really only acting? I believe I m not able to b
ehave normally anymore. After acting for years, hasn t it become my true nature? I
sn t behaving normally then acting?
I ve never paid attention to myself before. I wasn t a player in the game, I was the
narrator. They changed that. I became aware of myself. I started to look in the
mirror and see myself; I started to question who I really was.
And the ironical part? It didn t do any good to me. It only made me confused, beca
use I couldn t answer that question. Moreover, I couldn t find a way to solve it. I
was totally stuck.
Then they taught me a second thing, a thing they should have taught me before th
e first one. In the end, it doesn t matter who you are, only thing that matter is w
hat you do.
Blaise, I need your help. Harry and Blaise were sitting in the empty boys dormitory
. Harry s roommates never wasted their time there and Harry normally had the whole
room just for himself.
Wow, I must be hearing wrong Did you just say you need my help? I mean you? Blaise
shot a surprised look at her black-haired friend. Well, what can I do for you?
I need you to help me befriend people.
WHAT?
I need you to help me befriend people.
Wha I mean, why? I don t see this as anything bad, but you don t seem to be a so
person, if you know what I mean
Blaise, you know who I am? And you know what they expect me to do?
tinged with small amount of tiredness.

Harry s voice was

Sure, everybody does. You are the Boy-Who-Lived and who will save us all Oh, now I
see it. Realisation brightened her eyes and smile returned to her lips.
I will do it, but with my own rules, now will you help me?

social

Harry watched as his fr

iend s smile turned mischievous and a scary glint filled her eyes. He was suddenly
wondering whether he had done the right decision.
Sure, anything for you Harry, when do we start?
Next evening found the two friends sitting nearly in exactly same places than th
e day before. Only difference was that Harry was now examining a long piece of p
archment in his hands.
Are you sure you haven t done a mistake?
My dearest Harry, I do not DO mistakes. Okay, actually I do, that just sounded co
ol thing to say. But really, the list should be in order. Blaise moved closer to
Harry and checked the list once more. Harry was still looking at it with despair
.
Er

This list contains at least 100 names!

Yes, you told me to choose only the most urgent ones, so that s only a really small
part of it. We can do the rest later, I promise. Harry sighed deeply as he once
more read the list through.
Okay, I know now who, tell me next how.
Yes! Ok, I decided to start from school. Professors of course, you have to act li
ke a little, nice, hurt boy, who they ll want to protect. I know you can pull out
any face if you choose to do so. Hufflepuffs, you have to act normally and be yo
urself. Blaise took a look at Harry s blank face. Well Do not act like yourself, try
to be fair?
I ve never been unfair
Smile more? Open up a bit? You ll figure it out. Ravenclaws you ll find in the library
, you are smart, they shouldn t be problem, talk about school, homework and that k
ind of stuff with them. You know, Smalltalk?
I do not know. Show me that one later.
ing.

Blaise let loose a deep sigh before continu

For Slytherins you have to show strength

a glance towards Harry s petite form. I would
concentrate on mental strength. They will not be your friends, but they will fo
llow you if they see enough reason to do so. And now I ll show you what Smalltalk
is
Step in. Snape ordered behind his desk. The door opened quietly and a little figur
e stepped in carrying a pile of books.
Professor, I came across some books while staying at Diagon Alley, but I m not sure
to trust them, could you make sure they are safe? Snape s one eyebrow shot up as h
e saw just who had entered his office.
Bring them on. Harry laid the books on Snape s desk and backed away. Snape took the
first book out carefully keeping his wand ready. The book was a smooth and green
coloured but had no title. Slowly he opened it and took a look on the first pag
e. The shock must have been great, because Snape totally failed to hide it.
Where did you get these? Snape said in a strict voice, that made Harry wonder if t
his was such a good idea.
Somebody gave them to me
Do you know what this is? Snape asked and touched gently the cover of the book. Thi
s is one of the rarest potion books in existence, it was written by a student of
Salzar Slytherin himself! Snape nearly shouted. Harry had never imagined the dar

k potion s professor to show such strong emotions. He knew that the books were too
advanced to him, but they would be valuable as bribes.
I ll give you permission to read and study all of them, if you do me two favors. Fi
rstly, I have matters to discuss with you, privately, but not now. Secondly, I w
ant you to get me one of the most poisonous and dangerous snakes that can be fou
nd. Harry had heard from Blaise that snake-speaking was a rare gift after he had
told her about the garden snakes. It would help him with the Slytherins.
Snape consider the options for a moment before letting his eyes rest on the book
pile again. Then he slowly nodded.
I ll make sure the other books are also what they seem to be and that they are safe
. Come visit me again next week, I ll try to arrange your other wish as soon as po
ssible. I really don t want to know why you are going to use that snake
Snape shot a
look at Harry, but saw only an innocent half smiling look shot back to him.
Thank you, sir; I ll see you in potions, then. He said and left the office. Snape st
ayed still for few long moments only admiring the books. That boy truly knows how
to manipulate things to his own good
Chapter 8: Preparations 2 and a Cello?
Hi, how are you?
always the same.

How many times have you heard that? Thousands? And the answer is

Let s assume for a second that I m talking to a stranger, and instead of the normal
answer; I m fine, thanks, how are you? started to tell the truth; Oh, my owl died yes
terday and I failed my transfiguration test and My conversation partner would stop
listening half way in. They would just not be interested in me or my life.
When did the things happening inside our brains get more important than the ones
happening before our eyes? When did the evolution lead us to a point where othe
rs no-longer matter? We tell ourselves that it s ok, the stronger must survive and
the weaker can perish; the rule of nature.
A sudden accident and 20 wizards and witches die. We cry and feel horrible, but
not because they passed away. We cry, because it happened so close to us. It cou
ld have been us dying there. Outside our little social system thousands of peopl
e die every day because of starvation, illnesses, and war. But why should we car
e? It doesn t concern or affect us and they must have done something wrong to dese
rve the misery.
And then we have a little problem. For us, it s huge; it could start a war among u
s! And we ask for help. But they DARE to decline! We are people in need, they ar
e lower rank, and they should help us! This all could affect them as well!
Not once does
uries. We cut
ople. After a
two separated

it cross our minds that we have been ignoring their needs for cent
the strings to the world outside and made them the strange, bad pe
few generations the difference grew, and what happened? We became
races, hating each other, never understanding.

The development could go backwards; we could start building our connection again
. After all, we still are human beings, who should take care of each other. Howe
ver, our arrogance gets in the way. No one is willing to start working for it
And what do we learn out of this? You may not learn anything and I already knew
it since I was a toddler. Never believe or follow blindly in the public opinion.
Trust only your own eyes and brains, because sometimes, it s necessary to look be
yond the big picture.

For the first time since arriving to Hogwarts Harry stayed in the boy s common roo
m until his room mates woke up. Normally he was gone hours before any of them ev
en considered waking, but that morning was different. Mainly he stayed because B
laise had forced him to do so, but he was also a bit curious.
He had been watching them with half an eye now for nearly three weeks, but the c
onversation in the train had been his only connection to them this far.
Finally the blond boy started to show signs of waking. His eyes twitched and the
y opened completely. For few moments he just stared at Harry before realizing wh
o he was. Confusion written all over his face he lifted himself to a sitting pos
ition.
Morning Malfoy, good thing you decided to wake up. Harry greeted him as Malfoy onl
y continued his staring. The other boys in the room started to wake up as well,
but were not cause of concern yet.
Potter
It looked like the blond boy was fighting an internal battle against the fee
ling that something was off. What are you doing here? He finally managed to ask.
You may
tarted.
d Malfoy
least a
d it.

not have noticed, but I sleep here, have been doing so since the school s
Harry answered and hid the mirth that was crawling to his voice. It seeme
wasn t a morning person at all, but Harry s answer seemed to wake him up at
bit. The sleepy confusion faded and the normal Malfoy arrogance replace

I should reshape my question. Why are you still here? You never stay behind and w
ait for us to wake up. Malfoy finally managed to kick himself totally awake and f
orm understandable sentences. Better have it done now than later Harry thought bef
ore answering.
I just realised that we haven t been around each other that much and it seemed like
a good time to learn to know my roommates. After all we are going to be stuck w
ith each other for the upcoming seven years if I haven t understood wrong.
Of course! You have finally understood the power me and my family hold. Too bad I m
a bit busy at the moment. My father always said that appearance is the most imp
ortant things when associating with others. Now, if you excuse me, I have to get
ready for the day, but perhaps I can find time to have a chat with you later. I
can t describe how delighted I am to notice that you have finally found the judic
iousness in sticking with the Malfoy s. While talking, the blonde collected all his
clothes and disappeared to the direction of the bathroom.
Harry could only stare after him. He felt like hanging this jaw open and popping
his eyes out, but settled to look a bit (or a lot) confused. That was definitel
y something he had not expected and Harry shivered at the thought of having anot
her chat with the boy.
It will take about an hour before he ll be back. What did you want to talk to him a
bout? A smooth voice asked behind him. Harry turned around and nearly had a heart
attack. Crabbe and Goyle were standing behind him and asking him a reasonable q
uestion.
Oh, nothing, I was just having a nice little chat with him. Getting to know boys
of my age, you know? Harry answered trivially and faced the bigger boys. To his m
ajor surprise they started laughing. He had never seen those two show any impres
sions expect total confusion and ignorance. He had assumed like the whole other
school them to be just Malfoy s brainless guard dogs. It seemed he had done mistak
e by not paying attention to them
Oh, don t mind. It s the point behind the whole act; so that others will not notice.

t seemed the two boys had noticed Harry s confusion. We ve been trained our whole liv
es, we are the masters of being unnoticed, even more than you. And I truly belie
ve you were not just having a nice chat with Malfoy. Goyle said and shot a pointe
d look at Harry.
As no one can have a nice chat with him. I suppose we could make deal of some kin
d. You see, we are already hanging all the time around him, which is quite borin
g, but informative. His father trusts him too much and the little junior can t kee
p his mouth shut. We can save you from spending time with him, if you inform us
about your plans and doings in future. We saw you having a chat with the Baron ? Cr
abbe half stated, half asked.
Harry evaluated the situation for a moment. Those two were trusting him with the
ir secret and were definitely great allies. They had managed to make the whole s
chool think them as idiots and nobody was paying attention to them. Moreover, th
ey were going to follow Harry s movements no matter what
He was telling me about a possible third force
boys in the sign of agreement.

Harry said and nodded to the other

Good. Malfoy is going to be back in few minutes, if you don t want to spend the bre
akfast with him, I d suggest you to leave now. Goyle said with a smile and nod of
his own. Harry quickly dressed and followed his advice.
You had a conversation with Crabbe and Goyle? They actually manage to form senten
ces? Blaise was staring at Harry in disbelief. They were making their way to the
breakfast and Harry had just informed his unofficial secretary and friend about
the chat with his roommates.
You heard me; I m not going to repeat myself. Harry said sharply as they entered the
Great Hall. Where are you going? He suddenly asked when Blaise grabbed his arm an
d turned sharply right, towards the Ravenclaw table.
Oh, I had to discuss with Anthony about the Herbology project and our plan. I dec
ided it wouldn t hurt you either to sit with the Ravenclaw s just for this one break
fast. Blaise said cheerily and dragged the now blank faced Harry towards the Rave
nclaw s. Every one of them stopped eating for a few seconds when they saw the two
Slytherins approaching, but soon returned to their books and conversations. Blai
se boldly sat down opposite to a light brown haired boy and pulled Harry to sit
next to her.
Hi Thony! Have you finished finding out the information about the Alihotsy? I went
to the library yesterday, but couldn t find a single piece of information! Blaise
let loose a dramatic sigh making the brown haired boy laugh a bit nervously. I to
tally forgot! Thony, this is Harry Potter, Harry, meet my Herbology partner Antho
ny Goldstein.
It wasn t like Harry didn t know the boy s name; they did share a few same lessons. He
just wasn t too keen on learning to know the other boy. His first intent was only
to stare at the Ravenclaw student, but as he saw Blaise looking at him expected
ly and mouthing the plan , he knew he had no way out. Forcing an oddly true looking
smile on his lips he shook Anthony s hand and repeated his name. It was 100 sure
now, with Blaise on his side, the week was going to be torturous.
It was already near the curfew when Harry slide out of the common room to visit
his head of the house. It had been exactly one week since they had their little
chat and, hopefully, Snape had managed to find him the kind of snake he was look
ing for.
When Harry got closer to Snape s office he started to hear quiet music. Fist he th
ought he was hearing things, Hogwarts didn t seem like a place to cultivate normal
music, but as he reached Snape s door it became clear that the music was coming f
rom there.

Silently Harry stepped inside the office, but noticed it to be empty. The door t
o the left instead was slightly open. Harry walked to it and peeped inside. He f
roze to the doorway as he saw the most unimaginable view he could think of.
The greasy, unemotional, and stony potions professor was sitting in the middle of
the room playing a cello. And the tune was not still and creepy, as one might h
ave thought, but lively and full of passion. The professor s head was bowed to lis
ten to the music and his hair was hanging loose on his cheeks covering his half
closed eyes. Snape s long fingers danced on the fingerboard with unbelievable spee
d and accuracy.
The tempo slowly increased and the music got louder until it suddenly stopped. T
he bow cracked to the floor as the Professor noticed his audience.
Potter!
Hi Professor, I assume you forgot to put on the silencing spell? Harry answered in
nocently. He was still a bit shocked inside. Severus Snape, that gloomy person w
as actually able to create something beautiful. And voluntarily on top of all.
You speak of this to no-one, or your will be sitting with me in the detentions fo
r the rest of the year! Snape yelled still a bit shocked. He was becoming too car
eless.
If my dear professor doesn t want me to talk about this, of course I keep this as a
secret! But, you see, I might accidentally slip something at the Great Hall
A moc
k of sorrow entered Harry s face. Before coming to Hogwarts he wouldn t have even th
ought about talking this straight to someone above him. He would have stayed sil
ent, but kept the situation in his mind. Blaise had taught him to take advantage
of every single chance, even if it was slightly risky. But well, I think I ll mana
ge to keep my mouth shut, for now. We will see what happens in the future And the
reason I came here tonight; the snake?
Snape only frowned before gently putting the cello away and standing up. Without
a word he exited his private chambers and returned to his office. As Harry foll
owed Snape he saw him pull a square box from one of the shelves. Carefully Snape
removed the red velvet cloth covering the box and signed Harry to step closer.
This is Sistrurus ragutius, Crevice Snake. It actually belongs to the same house
with the rattlesnakes, but is magical and more poisonous. It was nearly impossib
le to find, and I m not going to risk loosing it here. Take a look. Snape lifted th
e top just enough Harry to see a glint of the snake. It was black with silvery b
lue markings and was only about one foot long.
Do not let it escape when or if you open the box and remember that it s highly pois
onous. I will personally hunt you down and make sure you get expelled if that th
ing of yours bites anyone. Understood? Snape quickly handed the box to Harry. It
seemed he was eager to get rid of it and Harry was only delighted to help him in
that.
The speech astonished him a bit, though. If the professor thought him planning m
urdering someone or to be stupid enough to let dangerous snakes roam around the
school, why had he agreed to give it to him? Well, it didn t matter anymore; he ha
d what he wanted as well as some blackmail material for future use.
By the way professor, why on earth are you playing cello?
was leaving the office.

he further asked when he

Some potions need acoustic waves to be brewed right and I don t quite trust my abil
ity to sing the right notes the mumbled answer raised a smirk on Harry s lips, but l

uckily he got away from the office before Snape could see it.
Chapter 9: Snake Trouble
We always wish for things we do not have. We think we would be luckier if we had
what others have. Envy is the worst companion one can choose.
If we wish things we have never had, do we really know what we want? Some people
want to be popular, others rich, other simply want to be forgotten. But we do n
ot know what comes among our deepest wishes.
Anthony, one of Blaise's new friends,told me yesterday something that made me th
ink. He said he yearned for problems. Because only through problems one can becom
e strong. His life is well balanced; he has a loving parents, siblings, and not t
oo much or little money. And he wants troubles to become strong I suppose he does
n t think the other consequences his wish has. Would he really be happy if his lit
tle sister or father died? At the moment he says it would make him stronger. I s
ay it would break him.
I learned years ago not to want things I can not have. I let the world give me w
hat it has planned for me. I do not wish to change the future, nor the past. I d
o not wish my parents were alive.
Now you watch me and think: You want them to be dead? Are you crazy! But if my par
ents were alive, would I be the person I am now? Thousand other things could hav
e gone wrong.
I don t mean to tell you to sit down and let stuff happen only because you can t do
anything about it. I only point out that rather than wishing for things that are
impossible, do something to those things you can change. Worrying and wishing a
re definitely a waste of time.
Harry looked around the dormitory and made sure all his roommates were deeply sl
eeping. After whispering a silencing spell and closing the bed curtains Harry fi
nally turned his attention to the little box innocently lying on his pillow. It
was time to have a chat with his little friend.
Harry carefully removed the top of the box keeping a close eye to the creature i
nside. To his amazement it didn t try to get out, nor was it saying anything. The
garden snakes Harry had encountered earlier in his life had never stopped rantin
g to themselves. This snake was so quiet that Harry first though it was asleep,
until he saw that its eyes were open and following his every move. The snake s ski
n was so dark that it looked nearly black. When it moved a bit Harry saw some ki
nd of blue markings on it s back, but couldn t be sure.
Hello
Harry quietly hissed to the snake. He wasn t sure how he was supposed to act; h
e wasn t familiar with the Snake etiquette.
You are not the idiot who captured me. You talk, yet you do not slide the markings
on the Snake s back turned light blue and started to glow. They looked a bit like
the runes Harry had seen on some magical artifacts in Diagon Alley. The Snake i
tself didn t look aggressive, but was ready to act if it found Harry threatening.
Harry made sure to act slowly and keep his hands on the snake s visual field.
I m not him, but you were captured on my request. May I ask your name? for a moment
the snake looked surprised then it withdrew a bit and readied itself for an atta
ck.
What do you want me to do for you, Walker? For what do you wish to use the power
of my name? I do not belong to anyone nor am I willing to. I suggest you let me
loose now
the snake hissed angrily. Harry pulled back a bit. He couldn t keep the sn
ake locked to a box for the rest of its life, but he didn t feel good to let it ro

am around the school either

I cannot let you totally loose, but if you promise me 3 things I will let you tak
e a look at your new surroundings for today. Firstly you are not to be seen by a
nyone, nor are you allowed to harm or poison anyone. And lastly you have to see
me within 24 hours. And I want your oath for it.
I m not a filthy mammal; the word of a snake counts. I agree to your request and pr
omise to obey them, although I suppose you have no idea what I truly am. If you
did, you wouldn t ask me to be unseen. The snake finally replied after a few moment
s consideration. Harry narrowed his eyes with suspicion but took the snake out o
f the box. It was better to let it loose during night when not so many students
or teachers were flocking in the corridors.
If you get hungry, come to me. He said before letting it go. With a slight of worr
y he watched as it disappeared to the shadows.
Harry! Wait a second! Harry was on his way to the first class of the day when the
shout behind him stopped him. He recognized the voice but didn t turn around. Inst
ead he let Anthony catch up with him.
Have you seen Blaise? We were supposed to go through some stuff before the class
but I can t find her. Anthony asked when he got close enough.
Actually no, I haven t seen her the whole morning. She said she had something she h
ad to research this morning. Harry answered and continued his way to the Green Ho
uses. He wasn t too thrilled, Herbology wasn t his favorite subject and without Blai
se it was going to be boring as hell.
Harry had the same problem in every class; they progressed too slowly. Harry nea
rly always got the practical things right on the first time, because he had read
all of the schoolbooks till the grade 3 already. Herbology it wasn t any different
from gardening: if you knew what the plant needed and how to handle it, everyth
ing went smoothly.
Harry entered the greenhouse number one and saw most of the Ravenclaw s already si
tting on their places. Few Slytherins were also early, but Professor Sprout was
nowhere to be seen.
Blaise is not here, so you have to come and sit with us! Anthony declared and pull
ed Harry toward the table in the front. The two other Ravenclaw s sitting there ra
ised their heads from their books and greeted Anthony with a smile. For Harry th
ey saved only a reserved half-smile.
Terry, Mandy, this is Harry. His normal table companion is not here, so I asked h
im to come and sit with us, is that ok? Without waiting for an answer Anthony sat
down and forced Harry to take a place next to him. Harry could only watch in am
azement. He had thought Ravenclaw s to be reserved, but Anthony was totally from a
different planet. He reminded Harry a bit too much of Blaise Harry suffocated a
sigh when Professor Sprout stepped in.
Good morning children! We are in for an interesting class today! I brought in a D
evil s Snare! I will not give each of you one to examine, because they are too dan
gerous. So, I expect everybody to pay close attention! Now, where to find a
Harry
turned on his half listening mode, as the professor went on. He had read everyt
hing about Devil s Snare during summer and all new information would catch his ear
s immediately. It gave him good two hours time to think about his problem called
the snake .
Suddenly Harry felt something slide up his leg. He forced his muscles to stay re
laxed, so that his tablemates wouldn t notice his sudden uneasiness. The unwanted
sensation reached his hips and slid through his back until the thing causing it

settled on his shoulder just under his ear.

You ve seen me, you ve even felt me. I am within your reach. Our terms have been fulf
illed. The low hissing reached his ears. Harry felt something he had not felt for
a while: frustration. He couldn t do anything but stay quiet and look as he was s
till listening Professor Sprout.
I ll be going then. It was a pleasure to associate with you, Walker. If a snake coul
d laugh, the one laying on Harry s shoulder was doing so. The snake slid down from
his shoulder and vanished once more; this time for good. All he could do was to
add a mental point: never make deals with snakes
Harry! Wait a second! Harry sighed and stopped. That sentence structure felt a bit
too familiar for him form that morning.
Good I caught you! Sorry about leaving you alone in Herbology, but I had things t
o research. And I came to a decision; libraries are not for me. How on earth a m
ere human is supposed to find any information about anything in those places? I
have a migraine already and I m sure Professor McGonagall is only going to make it
worse! We have transfiguration next, right? Blaise stopped to take a breath and
Harry had just enough time for a short nod. Goodie! What again did you Wait! What s
that noise?
Blaise placed her hand on Harry s and stopped him. When the never ending babbling
of Blaise ended, Harry was also able to hear the row coming from the first floor
corridor. It sounded like Peeves
Harry wasn t that eager to get in the harms way, meaning Peeves, but being late on
McGonagall s lesson was the less appealing option. So, removing Blaise s hand Harry
continued walking towards the noises.
Itchy pitchy serpent,
Fell down to the stairs.
Got frozen by a balloon,
cause had no vellus hairs
Peeves was singing off tune with all the power of his un-mortal lungs when Harry
and Blaise reached the scene. Peeves had some kind of water balloons on his han
d, and was throwing them to what seemed like an empty floor. The first year Gryf
findor, Ganger, was yelling at the poltergeist with no less volume, but with no
success.
Stop it! I have to bring it to the Headmaster! It can be dangerous! Did you hear
me! Peeves! Peeves only laughed at the girl s attempts to stop him. Harry wasn t going
to take part to their quarrel until he saw just what they were arguing about.
Peeves, cut it off or I ll inform the Bloody Baron. Ganger, it s only a snake. I hope
you are not going to start bothering the Headmaster with every single animal yo
u find within the castle? It s already frozen; I ll just take it and bring it to the
edge of the Forbidden forest or to the Gamekeeper. Well, or get rid of it if it s
already dead Harry s statement had the wanted results. Peeves only shot a look at H
arry before leaving to find another victim and the bushy haired girl hung her he
ad in shame.
Blaise, tell McGonagall I have an errand to take care of. With that he casually ga
thered the snake on his arms and took off towards the exit. When Harry was sure
they were not able to see him anymore, he turned around and ran to the dungeons.
He entered the empty Slytherin common room and, after casting a quick warming s
pell on the snake, placed it in front of the fireplace. To his relief the snake
soon melted and seemed to be ok. At least it was not dying in his hands.
The morning would show what his unwilling snake friend would think about its sav

iour
Chapter 10: Tention
Now that I think about it, I can nearly understand why Death Eaters follow Volde
mort. Muggles do have some annoying habits.
Dudley once rented some sci-fi movie, I can
sentence in it stroke me hard: Humans are
ith nature, humans destroy it. At least it
frightens me is that it s actually quite a

t remember what it was called, but one

not mammals. Mammals live in balance w
was something like that. However, what
good argument.

I m not saying muggles are worse than wizards. The problems is, that without magic
they have invented stuff that can be thousand times more deadly to all of us th
an them knowing about us. Sure if muggles knew wizards exist they would be envio
us and scared of us and try to harm us. But unless we do something, their pollut
ion and greenhouse effects and such will perish all life from earth.
Just imagine things we could do combining magic and muggle inventions! The possi
bilities are enormous! The golden word is cooperation.
But again the question is, who is going to start it
I should really stop thinking about these things; it seems the more I think, the
more problems I invent to be solved
Severus Snape was sitting behind his desk and watching his first year Gryffindor
and Slytherin students. It had been a surprisingly quiet lesson. Not a single p
otions accident, no verbal fights between the houses and no Snape tormenting Gry
ffindors. He had been up the whole night and lacked the energy to comment on the
ir mistakes.
His eyes wandered to the black haired boy and to his constant companion. Potions
was actually the only time he had seen that girl to be silent. Normally she was
filling the air with endless prattling. At first he had thought her to be just
one of those brainless children who were never taught to shut up, but now he was
n t so sure. He couldn t get rid of the feeling that he was missing something.
Lesson is over, you know what to do. He finally said as half of the class seemed t
o be finished. Potter, stay behind. The foolish boy had run out of his office earl
ier that week without giving him the opportunity to return the books. Well, it w
as actually understandable; Potter had seen him playing. He again seemed to be o
ne of those brats who put their nose to places they shouldn t. A dangerous and sli
my one, but brat never the less.
Finally the students managed to clean up their places and drag themselves throug
h the door. Only Potter stayed still where he was seated. Snape let the silence
fill the classroom as he fixed his eyes to the green orbs of his student.
Was there something you needed? I don t fancy letting Blaise wait for me too long
younger wizard finally interrupted. Snape couldn t help noticing how much more ta
lkative the boy had become. Before arriving to Hogwarts getting a word out of th
at mouth had been hard, a whole sentence nearly impossible.

the

The books you lent to me. I ve scanned them through and although nearly all of them
were far above you current understanding, there were few that you might find us
eful. Take your time with them and don t get frustrated if you don t understand anyt
hing. Even wizards with more experience, would struggle with the one about magic
theory... He answered and handed away the three books from his desk. And don t forg
et to be critical about the information you find, these are ancient.

Snape nearly chocked as he saw the boy to smile. It wasn t totally open or genuine
, but he was still smiling at him. And that made Snape s insides twist with horror
. When a Potter smiles at Snape, something bad is going on.
But all the boy did was nod and vanish through the door.
What did he want?
oom.

Blaise asked immediately when Harry stepped out of the Potions r

Ah, nothing, he just returned me some of my possessions. Harry said and nodded tow
ards the books he was carrying. Are you heading to the Great Hall?
Nope. I promised to meet with Hermione Ganger. You know, the girl you dumped me w
ith yesterday before failing to come to the Transfiguration class. She s actually
quite nice and clever and I don t think she cares that I m a Slytherin. Her best qua
lity, however, is that she knows how to use the library! Blaise was nearly skippi
ng on air. Harry only shrugged. All he could remember about the girl was her bus
hy brown hair and eagerness to please the teachers. She somehow didn t seem to fit
with the other Gryffindors
Ah, if you are not eating, there s no reason for me to go the Great Hall either. At
least one day free from the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs you are trying to fuse m
e with. I ll see you in the afternoon classes and tonight we re going find some time
for a little private chat. Harry declared before taking off toward the Slytherin
Common Room.
Harry quietly entered the empty boys dormitories and approached his own bed. It w
as where he had left the snake in the morning. Harry had also placed a locking s
pell on the curtains to keep it from disappearing while he was on his morning le
ssons. Now Harry slowly removed the spell and pulled the curtain open. The snake
was still dozing off but stiffened as it felt Harry s eyes on its skin.
It seems you didn t get that far after all
Harry stated when the snake seemed to tota
lly wake up.
It seems I didn t You forgot to mention that there was a poltergeist wandering aroun
d the castle. The snake hissed and locked its eyes to those of Harry sFor a moment
it seemed to be considering something before sighing.
As it seems that I owe you a debt, I offer my life for you. I agree to bind mysel
f to you as your familiar. It finally said looking slightly disgusted. Harry only
looked at it before slowly shaking his head. The small gesture had a huge effec
t on the snake. Its body tensed up in shock, its eyes sharpened with anger, and
the blue markings on its back started slowly turning brighter and brighter.
You refuse me? Have you no idea what an honour you have been given? You are nowhe
re worth of me and still I submitted myself to become yours, but you decline? Th
ere is no other way for me to pay my depth! The hissing grew slowly louder, but d
idn t seem to have any effect on Harry.
I m quite aware of all the aspects of this, and thus I refuse to bond myself with a
n unwilling familiar. For now I want you to hold those three conditions I gave y
ou and meet me every night here in the dormitories. You will tell me everything
you ve discovered during you expeditions. Do not interrupt my lessons unless the s
ituation is vital. And stay away from Peeves. Harry ordered with a stern voice be
fore leaving the room. Only a startled snake was left behind to stare at the doo
r with thoughtful eyes.
Evening, after all lessons
You filthy mudblood-lover! You dare to call yourself a Slytherin! We ve been watch
ing you; Ravenclaws were okay, but Hufflepuffs were three times worse. We didn t s
ay anything then, because we thought you would come to your senses, but now you ve

befriended a Gryffindor?! the voices filled Harry s ears when he stepped through t
he Slytherin Common Room portrait. Blaise was sitting in the middle of the room,
calm looking face tinted with a bit of red. For Harry that meant an oncoming ex
plosion.
The one responsible for the yelling was a Slytherin third grader, Adrian Puckey.
Rest of the house seemed to be watching with interest, but not yet taking part
to the argument.
What is going on in here? Harry interrupted the situation before either of the par
ticipants would totally lose their self control.
And you! You are just as bad as your little girlfriend here, associating with Gry
ffindor mudbloods! Puckey burst as he saw who had stopped him. He turned totally
around and took a threatening step towards Harry.
Ah, by that you mean the first year girl who already has managed to gather more k
nowledge than you have during those three years you ve been here? Jealous much, hu
h? Even when the words were still coming out of his mouth, Harry knew he had gone
too far. It was like he had totally forgotten to stay guard and quiet.
A quick memory of Vernon Dursley flashed through his eyes as Puckey raised his f
ist and connected it with his jaw. Only sound in the room was a thud as Harry co
llided with the wall and slid to lie in a ball on the floor.
A Slytherin wizard hitting a younger housemate in the Common Room and all you peo
ple do is watch? Since when have we been Gryffindors and forgotten that we are s
upposed to stick together? Adrian, if I were Professor Snape you d be lucky to onl
y have detention for the next 4 years! Where have you lost your brains? A stormy
looking 6th grader was standing on the doorway and staring at his housemates wit
h contempt. Adrian Puckey took only one look at his face before fleeing to the s
taircase.
And still you are staring? Mind your own business or do something to help! The voi
ce of the boy had immediately effect. Most of the people in the Common Room left
or concentrated back on reading. Blaise jumped up from his chair and rushed to
Harry s side along with the 6th grader. He turned the totally stiff Harry around a
nd slowly raised the smaller boy s head.
Hello there, are you okay? He asked quietly but didn t get an answer. Harry s gaze was
fogged and it seemed as he hadn t even noticed somebody was kneeling in front of
him.
Oh Harry! You shouldn t have done that! I was totally okay and now you ve angered him
over nothing! Thought he could use some teaching on manners, threatening a girl
and hitting other people. I suppose he must be a muggle-raised, as wizards neve
r use their fists if wands are available, quite ironic actually when thinking ac
tually what he was yelling me about
As Blaise went on ranting the fog on Harry s eye
s vanished and he seemed to start slowly relaxing.
I think it would be best
Madam Pomfrey? The older
to give a short shake of
s bed? I suppose it would

if you went early to bed. I suppose you don t want to see

wizard asked as he noticed Harry relaxing. He waited him
head before turning to Blaise. Could you take him to hi
best if you stayed with him for a while

Blaise gave the strange boy a curious glance before helping the confused Harry u
p and leaded him to the boys dormitories. When they reached the relative safe of
Harry s bed she pushed Harry inside and crawled in after him. She took a comfortab
le sitting position at the end of the bed before turning to Harry.

Could you please put on the silencing spell? She waited until he had obeyed before
relaxing and continuing. I admit, my mistake, we should have started the plan fr
om Slytherins However, I suppose we should forget that incident for a while now,
something more important came up. I told you I went to library with Hermione, th
e Gryffindor girl, right? I made sure she didn t know what we were searching, but
the information I managed to gather was quite surprising It seems that The Dark Lo
rd is back.
Chapter 11: Disentanglings
As a little girl I wanted to be normal. I wished nothing more than having normal
parents, a normal little house and normal friends. I didn t want to be the puny g
irl that everybody could boss around, tease, and avoid only because I was just a
teeny weeny bit different. And normal is exactly what I became.
About a year before I attended Hogwarts I took a look in the mirror. I saw a tot
al normal face and body. Suddenly I became envious of the other little girls wit
h midnight blue eyes and three feet long hair that fell along the back like a wild
waterfall . I had none of those qualities. And I wanted to become special, differe
nt.
The moment I stepped inside the Hogwarts train I was confused about what I truly
wanted. To be special or to be normal? But luckily I met him.
Just being with him taught me things I never even knew I didn t know. One of them
solved my problem. Normal does not exist. We are all special, but at the same ti
me connected by our similarities.
Blaise Zabini
The floor of the Astronomy tower felt cold under Harry s folded legs. He sat still
and quietly observed the view below. The light of the moon made everything seem
so calm, but at the same time darkened the shadows around the trees and towers.
Everything was in balance: the threatening darkness and the calming moonlight.
Harry took a deep breath of the chilly air and pressed his head down. It surely
wasn t the first night he had spent on the tower thinking. Everything was so messe
d up. He had always been careful not to anger the wrong people. Keeping a low pr
ofile and staying quiet were the best ways to avoid unneeded arguments.
Hogwarts had been too secure for him. There was nothing or nobody to be afraid o
f. He had been living in his dream world for the past few months. A world withou
t people paying attention to him, a world where he could act like a normal 11 ye
ar old and plan his little games without counting in the obstacles or surprises.
He should have known better.
On the surface of his mind was everything Blaise had told him during that nigh a
fter his little accident with Puckley. He hadn t been convinced despite all the evid
ence Blaise had showed him (the information about the Philosophers Stone, the ne
ws of it s rubbery, all things happening in the pure blood family and the quite ob
vious letter her parents had sent her), until Malfoy s shadows had confirmed it al
l with their suspicions. Now the only question was would it affect him at all.
Blaise had told him quite a lot about Death Eaters. It seemed her parents had to
ld her a lot of times they had followed the Dark Lord. They didn t seem to see eye
to eye with their Lord about everything, but had followed him faithfully nevert
heless, either from the habit, or from the lack of better option.
The world Voldemort had been trying to great wasn t something Harry would ever wan
t to see to come to existence. However, he wasn t either too keen on the opposite.
It was either kill all the mudbloods or live in a world of suspicion, where the t
ension between the pure- and non-pureblooded was touchable by hand and ready to

explode at any minute. Not to mention prisons filled with people who had followe
d the wrong leader
If he was to opposite these two groups it would take time. And nobody would list
en to a 11-year old. He was back to step one, gain allies now among his age grou
p and wait. And wait. And wait
Why did he even have to do anything? He could just enjoy life and forget everyth
ing, just be happy.
A sudden flash of Vernon ruling the world flashed through his eyes and he shudde
red. Maybe not after all It was so much easier to change things prepared.
At the moment he could only lay down. Or talk to Voldemort and Dumbledore. Or The
Bloody Baron.
Harry stretched his numbed joints and stood up. Ghosts didn t sleep so nothing kep
t him from finding the Bloody Baron immediately and getting some peace in his mi
nd. A smile crept its way to Harry s face; he loved nothing more than the quiet ca
stle during the nights. It was the only time of the day when he could truly be h
imself and not beware of his every step and expression.
Slowly he made his way through the castle. The ghosts seemed to know when somebo
dy was looking for them, so all he could do was wander around and wish for the b
est. Not long had gone before the silvery form of the Slytherin Ghost appeared i
n front of him.
Ah, the little Slytherin, it seems you followed my advice. The ghost was looking H
arry with mild interest. Now you seek for more, knowing that I can t help you. Let
me tell you this: I gave you a push, you took the first step. But it s up to you w
hich direction you continue your path. I only ask you to think before acting. Do
not rush anything, you still have time. Learn and grow first, but keep your goa
l in mind. With that he vanished.
I m getting the feeling that nothing is up to me. Harry muttered to the empty wall.
Maybe he should forget everything and enjoy his youth. As if he knew how
Where do you disappear every night? I ve been keeping and eye on you, and you just
sneak out every night without me. Oh well, doesn t really matter that much, I was
just curious. But if it has anything to do with stuff that concerns me you bette
r tell me now or
Hn
was the only answer Blaise got out of Harry. His face had fallen back to a blank
stare, but his eyes kept trailing through the Great Hall, stopping now and then
to take a closer look at something.
Not this again! Does this have something to do with Puckley? You ve been acting lik
e all cold since that
Blaise pouted and turned back to her food. The pout stayed o
n her face for 10 seconds before her usual cheery smile returned. Guess what, I k
now what we ll do today! We haven t been with the Ravenclaws for ages! We could visi
t their common room of something!
Things have changed a bit. You ll go and meet them, be my contact to the others. I
don t have time for them anymore. Harry verified and left the table. He noted the q
uick look of hurt on Blaise s face, but didn t stop. She d understand
Blaise followed his egress, face serious for once. Sometimes, my dear Harry, I tr
uly wonder why I stick with you
She turned back to her food, but it didn t look as t
empting anymore. With a sigh she pushed it away and with only a bit forced-looki
ng smile on her face walked to the Ravenclaw table. She was in a need of a littl
e mindless chatter.

Unknown to her, glinting, dark grey eyes followed her every move from the shadow
s. Ghost weren t the only things that could slide through Hogwarts unnoticed. They
grey eyes had evaluated every word and expression (or lack of expression) betwe
en Blaise and Harry. A slight lift of the lips was the only sign of mirth the fi
gure showed. After all, as long as there was life, there was also hope.
Chapter 12: The Forebidden Forest
Every life is a story about growing up. It s a story where through trouble and mis
takes the lessons of life are learned. I always considered myself as someone who
doesn t need to do those mistakes; I thought that learning from other people s fail
ures was enough. And it was true to a some extent.
Emotions are a strange thing. By surpassing them, I was able to look at the worl
d as an outsider, as an objective narrator. However, as I watched others do thei
r failures, it was like observing something behind a dirty glass. Understanding
their actions was nearly impossible, since I couldn t figure out their motives. Al
l because there were emotions involved.
Don t think I didn t know what emotions were. Since childhood I d been able to read em
otions from peoples faces. But knowing something is totally different from feelin
g it. If I wanted to understand people, I had to lose myself to emotions, but I
didn t want to do that. Firstly, I would lose my status as a watcher. Secondly Emoti
ons are a dangerous thing. I was afraid, that if I let them rule, I couldn t contr
ol them anymore. You know how unfamiliar things frighten us the most
Voldemort s biggest weakness is his incapability to understand feelings. Dumbledor
e s is his willingness to let his emotions rule him.
Mine will be neither.
Evening... Harry raised his head from the books as he heard the greeting from the
doorway. He hated when people interrupted his studying, but didn t show his annoya
nce to the 6th year standing at the door of the first year boys dormitory. He not
ed him to be the same boy who had helped him during the Puckley situation a few we
eks back, but returned back to his book nonetheless.
Isn t it a bit early to be studying so feverishly? Of course it s always good when yo
unger Slytherins honor the name of the house The boy said stepping inside. He made
his way to one of the free beds and threw himself on it. When he had found a co
mfortable position he turned towards the still reading Harry.
I ve been given some quite interesting orders considering you One can only wonder wh
at you ve done to attract such attention The boy lazily said while raising one quest
ioning eyebrow towards Harry. Harry kept his eyes on the book, pretending to rea
d.
It s not like it s my business or anything
The boy said as he stretched and relaxed bac
k on the bed. Anyhow, I hope you know the corridor next to the potions rooms. As
you have nothing else to do on Tuesday evenings, come there tomorrow night, and
we will see The door racked open suddenly and Vincent Crabbe stepped in with a stu
pid startled look clued to his face. The boy lying on the bed shot one look at h
im and rose lazily from the bed.
Don t be late. He said as he exited the room. Vincent made sure the door behind him
was closed before sitting opposite to Harry.
I saw Flint come in and came as quickly as I could. What did he want?
Don t know yet. Harry answered, but continued reading. He did want to admit it, but
the visit from Flint had unsettled him. It was always bad when people paid extra
attention to him

What are you reading by the way? That tome looks too boring even for you Oh well,
that s not why I m here for. Something strange is going to happen during Christmas.
I don t know what the senior Malfoy has done, but his son is not bragging about it
in his normal manner, he just smiles smugly. I can t help but find it creepy
Harry
watched as Vincent fake shrugged and couldn t help but find that creepy. He quickl
y lowered his gaze back to the book and gave some kind of agreeing sound from th
e back of his throat.
I better be going, can t leave Greg alone with Malfoy for too long or he ll go crazy.
And we have to start getting ready for the Astronomy class. Vincent said with a p
ointed look. With a sigh Harry closed his book. It seemed that the idea of study
ing in the dormitory was doomed to fail.
Astronomy was a subject Harry liked the least. It fought against his common sens
e. Any information one could gather from there was too ancient to be used, or to
o advanced to help people during their life time.
This particular lesson was even more boring, since Blaise had been strangely qui
et for the whole day. With a sigh Harry pulled his eyes away from the sky and to
ok a look around. Something near the horizon suddenly caught his attention. A di
m light was pulsing from the core of the Forbidden Forest. It was nearly unnotic
eable, but too clear to be anything usual. Harry made sure that none of his clas
smates had noticed the weird light. Luckily they were all fixated on staring at
the sky and taking notes.
Nothing had changed as class ended. The pulsing was still just as vigorous as be
fore, and none of the students had noticed a thing. There was nothing Harry coul
d do about the Forest, except to wait and see. He took his equipment and was mak
ing his way down the astronomy tower stairs as he felt the familiar feeling of s
omething sliding up his leg.
I have obeyed you for the last months, never asking you for anything. Now I lower
myself to beg from you; do me a favor tonight, and I shall never forget it. The
quiet hissing reached Harry s ears as he continued his ways down the stairs. For t
he snake to do something as unusual as to ask help from a human Something truly s
trange was going on.
You already owe me a dept, why should I danger myself for something I already hav
e? Tell me what you want and I ll consider weather it s worth my trouble. Harry answe
red keeping his hissing too low for anybody to accidentally hear it. He wasn t too
keen on letting his schoolmates to figure out that he was a parselmouth.
Come with me to the forest. You will be in no danger since no-one or nothing will
have time to pay attention to you tonight. If there s any favor I ll ever ask you,
it is this. Please. It was strange to see the ever calm snake to want something s
o feverishly. Even more shocking it was to hear him beg for it.
Harry had already made his decision, but continued walking down the stairs witho
ut a word. He had been thinking for a way to win the snake to his side for a lon
g time and this was probably the only chance he d get. He needed the snake to trus
t him. Now he only had to make his way out of the castle unnoticed.
He slowed down and made sure that all his classmates had already gone their way
down to the dungeon. Blending with the shadowy corners he slid out of the castle
. He knew how to be unnoticed in crowded places, but the empty and quiet castle
and yard were a totally different thing. Harry made a mental note to find out a
way to move through the ancient building inconspicuously.
Thank you; you will not regret your decision. Now, move straight towards the cent
er of the forest. The snake hissed as they reached the edge of the woods. Harry s
tepped into the shelter of the threes but stopped immediately. A wave of somethi

ng disturbing and sickening hit him and all he wanted was to turn away and run.
You can feel it too? I didn t count on that Now you understand why we will be left a
lone tonight. Move forward as fast as you can, this is only the beginning. The sn
ake said, urged Harry to move forward. Harry took a few shaky steps before forci
ng himself to run.
Harry ran for what seemed like an eternity. It was like a nightmare; no matter h
ow fast he was the same trees seemed to face him over and over again. The only s
ign that he made progress was the growing sense of disorder. He knew that if he
were to stop now, nothing could make him continue running. He would flee as fast
as he could. Just as the sickening feeling was getting overwhelming it stopped.
You can walk now. Not even the forces that meddle in the forest tonight can affec
t this place. We are in the Core. The snake stayed quiet for a moment. Then it sl
ide down to Harry s hand and gazed straight to his eyes.
There are things that no human should know, but since you are going to help me, i
t s your right to know. Reason why nobody knows anything about us, Sistrurus ragut
ius , is that we are The Protectors. We know when something like this is going to
happen, and we have to act on it. We do not know the reasons for our actions, bu
t we know for sure that when we have finished our final mission, we are free. Fr
eedom is what we crave for since the moment we hatch. The snake lowered its gaze
from Harry s face and stared the ground. This is my final mission We ve wasted enough
of time, we should get going. Follow me.
The snake slid to the ground and made its way through the underbrush surprisingl
y fast. Harry tried his best not to lose sight of the snake, but couldn t catch it
until it stopped in front of a strange looking stone. It slid its body around s
tone and looked at Harry expectantly.
Harry walked around the stone and examined it. It was completely gray and smooth
, except for the rune carved in its side. The stone looked heavy; a way too heav
y for Harry to carry, but he had no trouble as he bent down and lifted it.
Walk straight forward, I will tell you when to stop the snake hissed and relaxed o
n the stone. It seemed to enjoy the contact, although its position seemed uncomf
ortable. Harry obeyed, since he couldn t find a reason not to. He had already run
across half the forest; what was a little stone lifting compared to that?
Harry felt the sickening feeling again as he exited the core, but was not even n
ear as strong as it was when he had last been there. Walking straight was hard i
n the thick forest where hidden paths forced Harry to meander, but the snake see
med satisfied for the direction. It wasn t long until it gave Harry a sign to stop
.
Put it down and stand back. I d prefer you to close your eyes, but do as you wish
st be quiet. Harry obeyed and watched as the snake started to slowly move on the
surface of the stone. A strange blue light began to shine from the stone and onl
y now could Harry see the similar glowing marks on the snake s back.
It was like watching a slow-motioned dance. The blue lights blurring together, d
rawing lines and shapes in the air and
Only darkness.
Harry blinked few times to adjust his eyes back to the darkness of the forest. T
he stone was still lying in the same spot and the snake was still on top of it.
Only difference was the visible tiredness the snake showed and the still glowing
marks on its back.

Ju

Look up. It said as it saw Harry watching. A half smirk formed on the snake s lips a
s it saw Harry s doubtful glance. Just do it, trust me, you ll like it.
Harry raised his glance and stopped. If he had been standing even a meter to any
other direction he wouldn t have seen anything. But now he saw the most beautiful
city he could imagine right above his head. The trees were full of little nestlike-houses and strange, but amazing, structures. He could only imagine how it w
as possible for them to stay unbroken. The whole little city was in complete har
mony.
Where is everyone? Harry whispered to the snake. He had instinctively lowered his
voice, as if afraid to startle the inhabitants.
Id lucky they are in their houses, in their beds, suffering from this illness If u
nlucky, they are dying around the forest You see, pigmy fairies are totally depen
dant on the magic of the forest. Now that it s unstable, it s slowly killing them. T
he only way to save them was bring them to the core of bring part of the core to
them. You should be proud; you just saved hundreds of lives
The snake slid down from the stone and made its way to curl up on Harry s neck. Ha
rry took this as a sign to leave back to the school. He had walked only for a mi
nute when the sickening feeling his him straight to the chest. Not till now had
he felt the enormous difference between the core and the sick forest.
The feeling was so over whelming that he couldn t fight it. So he ran. He ran as i
f devil was on his heels. The terror froze his brain and dried his mouth. He was
shivering through out his whole body but his hands were still sweating. But he
noticed none of that, as his focus was only on getting out of the forest.
As he finally did he collapsed on the ground and curled up on a tight knot. The
snake didn t leave his neck, but turned around a bit to hiss soothingly in his ear
.
It took minutes before Harry clamed down enough to see where he was; lying at th
e edge of the forest, clearly visible to anyone who d watch from the castle toward
s the forest. Harry shook himself angrily and got up. He smelted into the shadow
s as he made his way back to the Slytherin common room. Only in minor shady safe
of his bed curtains did he breathe in relief and turn back to his snake. It had
an unreadable look on its face as it examined Harry.
Today I have been freed from the bindings I ve had since my hatching. It said slowly
as if not sure whether to continue. Then it straightened up and looked straight
to Harry s eyes. Today, I have been freed; today you have helped me to get free. A
nd today I shall lose my freedom again, but this time, it happens from my free w
ill. And it shall not be burden or an obligation, but a gift, both given and rec
eived It tightened its grip on his neck and started to hiss slowly.
A blinding pain shot through Harry s brain. He felt as if he was pulled to two dir
ections, but couldn t fight is. He collapsed on the bed and slowly allowed the dar
kness to overtake him. The last thing he heard was a quiet hiss next to his ear.
My name is Sassnah
Chapter 13: Memories Lost and Found
Strength, power, victory,
Is nothing but a history.
Hunger, need, and loneliness
All that s left from rulers mess.

a mere child, but understands,

how men can kill with spotless hands,
anger grows, and revenge forms,
new age, but seed of same old storms
There are many types of warriors and fighters.
Some fight purely, since they bring their soul to the fight. They use raw power
to make a difference and want to see the seeds of their actions immediately. The
y aim for what they think is the best for the humankind.
Some others fight with what ever tools they are given. They fight, because fight
ing is what they do, they have their orders and they obey them since there s nothi
ng else they can do. Being a fighter is a profession for them, a way to earn the
ir living. Just like being an engineer or salesman is for us.
There are thousands of motives and ways to fight. However, one class stands out
from them all. They are those who fight with words and promises. Their strongest
weapons are other peoples dreams, which they alter to fit for their own needs. T
hese fighters are the most dangerous ones, since they have a goal. They are blin
d to everything else that happens around them, unless it comes in the way of the
ir aim. They are unable to listen to advice, since they think they are above eve
rything, only second to the gods.
Their blindness is their weakness. Their arrogance will lead to their fall, but
who will heal the land before the next monarch rises to power?
Yes Father I ve tried, but he doesn t but no Father, I m sorry, Father I ll try
do it tomorrow, I promise I won t! I will see you during holidays, good bye Father.
The annoying one-sided conversation invaded his subconscious and woke him up. He
aring somebody get up he slightly opened his eyes and peaked through the bed cur
tains, only to see a blond boy get out of bed and exit the room.
Only then did the feeling of strange emptiness hit him.
Closing his eyes again he thought of everything he might have lost and tried to
pinpoint the gaps in his mind. While doing this, he noticed that not only was he
missing something, but he had also gained something new. A link was pulling a p
art of his brain toward the soft bump on his stomach.
Slowly he reopened his eyes and took a better look around. The bed was familiar
and so was the creature lying on top of his abdomen.
Sassnah

It felt like the name was burned into his brain.

So, you re finally awake. We have things to discuss and for a moment I was afraid y
ou d sleep through the whole morning. He shot up on his bed and looked around surpr
ised. Only after he had done that, he understood that nobody had spoken those wo
rds.
Do not worry, you will get used to it. For now I want to know if you re feeling str
ange. Bonding between a human and Sistrurus ragutius has not happened in my life
time, and I m unsure of what to expect. This time Sassnah had hissed those words al
oud. She was examining him from head to tow trying to find a change of some sort
.
I m feeling fine...

He finally hissed feeling a bit insecure.

Are you sure? You sound different. Giving him the final doubtful look she finally s
lid to the floor. You better get ready; Blaise is already waiting for you.

I mean

Blaise
The name sounded distantly familiar, but he couldn t place a face to the name.
Who is he? His question made the snake froze at her place and turn around.
Blaise is a she and your classmate. You can t remember her? He heard a tint of worry
in the snake s voice, but didn t comment on it. Instead he concentrated on the name
and tried to remember at least something about it. Nothing came.
What can you remember? Do you know where we are? That you are a wizard?
We are at school, I know what I have learned; potions, mind magic, transfiguratio
n and so on But I can t remember my teachers
Your friends, your family? At the word family his head shot up. He was feeling str
anger minute-by-minute. The more he remembered, the more confused he got. All hi
s memories were concealed with a cover, and even though one of them sometimes es
caped, the information he got felt unfamiliar, as if it had happened to someone
else.
I can faintly remember my mother Minoan, but that s it. He answered uncertainly. I ca
n t picture her face, but I have memories of what we ve done together and how I felt
toward her After saying those words he knew they were not true. Still, he remembe
red everything and knew it had happened. Desperately he shook his head and lay b
ack down.
The snake climbed back on top of him and stared.
Those are not your memories, they are mine. The bonding didn t change a thing in me
, but it seems your mind was not prepared for it. You should be able to get your
memories back, but for now all we can do is deal with it I ll stay the day with yo
u and make sure you don t do anything... inappropriate. The last part was said in h
is head again. This time, thought, it felt natural. Now, get up and get going, yo
u have to act normally
True to Sassnah s words, a girl was waiting for him in the common room. It felt st
range to greet warmly a person, whose name he could barely remember.
Hi Blaise! How are you? Can we go to the breakfast a bit early, I m starving! He fin
ally said and he tried to act normally. Apparently he failed, as all he got for
an answer was a strange look from the girl.
Not quite the way you normally act Just stay quite for the rest of the day and we ll
be fine. The words were accompanied with a slight squeeze around his arm, as the
snake made her presence known. He let his shoulders slump and earned another su
rprised look from the girl.
Harry, are you okay? You are acting a little sick today Perhaps you should sleep i
n, you don t want to be sick just before the winter holidays, and you absolutely h
ave to come to stay at our house! She declared as she tried to examine him worrie
dly, but was shaken off.
I m fine, only a bit hungry. Let s go. He curtly answered and fled from the room feeli
ng strangely stupid and embarrassed.
The whole day went by without him even realizing it. The classes were familiar a
nd none of the teachers asked him any questions. All he had to do was follow Bla
ise and stay quiet. If something strange came up, his snake was ready to help hi
m out.
Sometimes during the day he found himself making note of things that felt non-si
gnificant. Like the fact that two of the professors were missing from the breakf
ast and that three of McGonagall s desk s legs were slightly shorter than the day be
fore. He also couldn t shake off the feeling that he had forgotten something impor

tant, and he couldn t relax although his snake ensured him that there was nothing
for him to do that night.
Not until the curfew was the reason for his uneasiness solved. He had gone to be
d a bit after his roommates and was just about to fall asleep, when the curtains
of his bed were pulled apart. A 6th grader gracefully climbed to his bed and sa
t down across him.
I have no idea what this is about. Stay silent and let him do the talking. Sassnah
sent as the silence had stretched to last several moments. She entangled hersel
f tightly around his waist; as if trying to offer him some sense of security.
It seems you think that you are something special My master was not happy to find
out that you had looked down upon him by not coming to meet me, as I told you to
. We are not somebody you wish to joke with. the boy finally broke the silence. Bu
t for some reason he s not willing to give up on you. We ll forget about this... inc
ident if you come right now to meet him.
He looked at the older boy sceptically. He couldn t remember what he had agreed on
, nor could he identify the 6th year or his master. Nevertheless, this mysteriou
s master sounded like a person he should meet. Making a quick decision and confi
rming it with his familiar he finally faced the other boy.
I apologize for not coming tonight, I had other priorities. I m willing to meet him
, if you allow me to choose the time and place. The 6th grader looked thoughtful
for a moment, before curtly nodding. Good, come to the warehouse next to the thir
d Greenhouse at 3am sharp and I ll be there. Now, if you don t mind, I would like to
get some sleep
Acceptable, but do not think you can jump us around with you wishes. Good night,
I shall see you in the morning. With a wave the 6th grader was gone. The younger
boy and snake were left to sit in the darkness and listen to the fading footstep
s.
That was definitely interesting. I suppose we re heading to the greenhouses now No s
leep for the wicked. Sassnah hissed with a slight amusement as she slid off the b
ed.
The warehouse was a perfect location for a meeting for various reasons. The most
obvious was the number of exits. Soon after arriving to the warehouse, he and S
assnah had made sure to clear out the flight roads by unlocking both of the door
s and opening the two bigger windows.
The second best thing about the place was that is was filled with junk. He didn t
have a clue as to whom he was about to face, but it was likely that they d be more
powerful and bigger than he was. Thus his best option was dodging, fleeing and
hiding. Luckily enough the surroundings of the greenhouse were full of bushes an
d no clear view to any direction were available, especially since the moon was c
overed by dark clouds.
We re nearly done, do you want me try set up anti-magic barrier? It won t last long,
but might help some Sassnah hissed as the meeting time crawled closer. He looked u
p in surprise; he hadn t been aware that the snake was capable of such. After givi
ng a short nod of agreement, he looked amazed as the snake curled in a tight kno
t and started to glow.
The first thing he noticed was the angry, bluish light replacing the glow from S
assnah. Then he felt the familiar lightning bolts spread from his navel all arou
nd the room and black dots started to dance around his visual field.

He must have blacked out for a moment, since the next time he opened his eyes, h
e was lying on the floor next to the confused looking snake.
Sassnah, what happened?

He finally cracked out as he stood up.

I m not sure, something in here prevented the magic and it backfired. I think it mi
ght She suddenly quieted down and faced the main door. With a smooth motion he als
o turned towards the door and reached for his wand.
An old man was standing at the door in an absolute shock. His eerie grey eyes sw
itched between the boy and the snake for few seconds, before he unexpectedly cra
cked up laughing aloud.

I can t believe you ve gone and gotten yourself a familiar! He managed to spatter out be
ween his laughter. Sassnah lost her interest on the man and climbed up to rest o
n the boy s shoulder, while her bonded continued his staring, never releasing the
hold on his wand.
Finally the man got a hold of himself and straightened up to meet him.
I m sorry, I haven t laughed that much in centuries. I knew you were special the day
we met at the Alley, but I never thought you d get yourself bonded! And because of
that, I suppose you can t remember me, right? Well, I m the one to blame; I apologi
ze to both of you. He bowed a bit in sign of regret, but the amusement never left
his eyes. I suppose introduction is in place, my name is Ollivander, and I was..
. or I still am a wand maker. However, I suppose this conversation would be easi
er, if you had your memories back, right? So let me help
He stretched to raise his
wand, but was stopped by an angry hiss.
My snake doesn t quite trust you Care to explain why I would be unable to remember,
if that was the case, and what you could do about it. Ollivander lowered his wand
after hearing the words and took a comfortable pose, as if preparing for a long
explanation.
That will be no problem at all. See, the reason why your bonding with your famili
ar went wrong, was that you already had one bond on you. No, no, no, that s not th
e one I m talking about. He hastily added as the Slytherin raised his hand to his f
orehead. What you share with the Dark Lord is not a bond, only a connection of so
me sort. The bond you do have is a temporary one, set by me on you, through your
wand, the day you bought it. I wanted be able to locate you, but also to make s
ure you wouldn t be affected by certain... means of influencing. I ve set it, I can
remove it. After all, it s meaningless after that. He nodded towards Sassnah.
He speaks no lies, but neither does he tell you everything. Time like these I m fee
ling lucky that my poison has no antidote, except for the one that only I can ma
ke. The snake whispered with a tint of laugh in his mind as she slid back down on
the floor. He lifted the corner of his lips a bit and nodded to the snake befor
e continuing his stare with the old man.
I allow you to remove it, but my familiar will be standing right next to you. If
she sees harm to come upon me, she ll act on it, immediately.
Ollivander nodded in turn and waited for the snake to take its place before rais
ing his wand again. A light green light surrounded the boy as his thoughts start
ed to float around his conscious. He prepared himself for some kind of overload
of information, but instead it felt as if a cover was gently raised from his min
d.
Harry blinked few at the old man and frowned as his old memories mixed with the
information he had gained that day.

Thank you Mr. Ollivander. Now, if may I inquire, why are you here to meet me, and
how did you enter Hogwarts? He asked as he allowed a polite smile to rise to his
face.
Chapter 14: Winter Hollidays, Snape and Cello
There is no victory, there is only strength.
There is no failure, there is only learning.
There is no power, there are only opportunities.
There is no weakness, there is only death.Harry didn t want to follow anyone. It w
as a dangerous thing to do. If you followed someone, all their mistakes would be
directly reflected to you. But sometimes the only way to gain power was to loos
e it.
Ollivander had looked down on the boy and seen something nobody else could see.
He didn t see the power based on fame, nor the raw strength that dwelled inside th
e boy. He saw power of nothingness. And he knew how to use that power.
Flashback
You are an interesting child, my boy. Your life was bound by a prophecy, and free
d by another, and still you have the luxury to choose. I will not help your in y
ou decision, but I will give you the means to see around the window that shows y
ou only half truths. As the summer comes, I shall train you and give you contact
s to the right places. No-one will notice your absence; I can make sure of that.
And you will be doing this for the goodness of your heart?
owned him a raspy laugh from the older man.

Harry s sarcastic answer

To pay me back, you will give me my revenge. I will not bind you, never hold this
against you. But for one night, you shall use the memory of your parents agains
t someone, who took everything from me. The glint in Ollivander s eyes was replaced
by fire that could burn its way to man s soul and leave nothing behind.
I trust him.
I agree.
End of flashback
There was danger in following, but the price of strength was never cheap. And as
long as he didn t loose himself, he could always vanish.
It was as if nothing had changed. Harry had made an agreement, which would affec
t his life with an unknown way, but his life at school had continued uneventful.
At the moment he was sitting in the Great Hall at his last breakfast before the
winter holidays.
You do know what you have to do, right? Prophecies are nasty things, only their e
xistence changes the flow of future. Not knowing them dangers everything
It was un
usual for the snake to dine with him, but since the talk with Ollivander she had
rarely left his side. Hiding in the folds of Harry s cloak she had been offering
her opinions to nearly everything.
I do know that. Every prophecy made is known by at least two persons. The one who
has seen it, knows it, but to protect oneself, normally forgets. We have to fin
d out who witnessed them. Harry sent back while listening Blaise s chitchat about t
he holidays.
It s so sad that you re not allowed to come to our place, we would have so much fun!
But I promise to write you and tell you everything. Hope you won t get bored here
in castle and even if you do, try not to cause too much trouble. Hey, is that for

you? A dark brown owl landed before Harry and soon after, another came to Blaise
. Harry was cautious; he didn t know anyone who d send any mail to him while the sch
ool was still on. He stole a look around the hall and noticed similar owls landi
ng in front of other students. They were mostly Slytherins and Ravenclaws, but f
ew owls found their way to Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables.
The owl waited impatiently as he removed the letter and after ruffling its feath
ers took off without waiting for a replay.
I m so glad you were invited too! At least we are now able to see each other at lea
st once during the vacation! Don t look at me like that, it s the official invitatio
n to the Malfoy Christmas Ball! Blaise babbled on giving the smug looking Malfoy
a curt nod. Harry opened his letter carefully to confirm Blase s statement.
She s talking as if I should go there. No matter what has happened, I m still the one
who once destroyed the dreams of every Death Eater. Harry stated to Sassnah as h
e stared at the invitation.
I m not so sure; it might be useful to go there. After all, nearly everyone who s any
thing will be there. If we make the proper preparations, we shouldn t have to worr
y. There are people besides Death Eaters in these kinds of gatherings.' Harry on
ly nodded a little and turned back to Blaise.
Shouldn t you be off backing? The train will leave soon and you don t want to miss it
. Harry said to her and stood up.
Earlier that day he had checked the list to see who were staying in castle durin
g the winter holidays. Only four other Slytherins had stayed: two 7th, one 6th a
nd one 3rd grader. It meant that the first grade boys room would be solely his to
use. The thought of freedom lit a small grin on his face as he rushed out of th
e Great Hall.
Darkness, silence, fear Someone was hissing Something was going to happen pain somet
hing sliding around his neck Pain!
Harry woke suddenly and sat up. His heart was beating rapidly and eyes were wand
ering around the empty common room. He could still feel the phantom of pain in h
is head, but the dream was already fading, and he couldn t remember anything of it
.
Sorry I bit you, but I had to get you awake. Sassnah hissed around his neck and li
cked a sore point near his throat. Harry raised his hand to touch the cut, but i
t was nearly unnoticeable. It was, it is, an emergency and I had already tried ev
erything else to get you awake from the nightmare
It s ok, can t even notice it. What has happened?
I was hunting near the forest, by the way I need a way to warm myself better, whe
n I found Eagle lying in the ground. He was in pretty bad shape for what I could
see
It was understatement to say Harry was shocked. Eagle was a nickname Sassnah
had given to Professor Snape, she had never explained where it came from. The fa
ct that Snape had somehow managed to injure himself felt unbelievable.
Why is this emergency? The headmaster knows what happens in his grounds; sooner o
r later he ll be there to collect the pieces of his staff. I don t see the reason to
run around the Forbidden Forest in the middle of the night
I have a feeling something great could come out of this and the King Cobra is not
in his office. It won t hurt you too much to come. The snake hissed and urged Harry
to move. Harry looked at her sceptically one more time before hastily clothing
himself and running out of the castle.

The night was clear and cold. A soft layer of snow had covered the grounds and t
he earth was glowing in the moonlight. It was nearly as light as during the day,
and it didn t take long before Harry noticed the dark bump lying near the forest.
Harry rushed to it and turned it slowly around. The professor didn t have any vis
ible injuries, but his pain filled semiconscious eyes were enough to tell Harry
something was very wrong.
Move a bit, I think I have something that could help him. Sassnah said as she left
Harry s shoulder. She curled around Snape s hand and carefully sank her fangs to hi
s arm.
What is it you re intoxicating him with?
I don t actually know, but this sometimes helps the victims of
e no doubt he s been under it.

Cruciatus

spell. I hav

So, you are a snake who doesn t know what her poison is!
Snap out of it, I have too many poisons to keep a count on, and I know this works
... occasionally. Harry only stared as she stopped pitting him and returned to hi
s shoulder. Snape s eyes had been shut since Sassnah s treatment but now they were slo
wly opening.
Where

What

Potter! Snape growled and tried to stand up, but failed.

Welcome back, professor. So, what is it? Headmaster, Infirmary or your chambers?
It s Slytherin common room for you and my chambers for me. Now, get lost!
ed out looking vivid about his own weakness.

Snape rasp

Oh, dear Professor, You don t actually think I would leave my injured Head of House
on his own, without making sure he safely made it to bed, are you? For a moment
Harry looked positively wicked, before allowing his mask of nothingness to cover
all emotion. Snape grimaced once more before accepting the hand Harry was offer
ing him. He felt strangely better than he should after what he d been through, but
the weakness in his legs forced him to lean on the small figure besides him.
Agonizingly slow they made their way to the dungeons. At Professor Snape s door Sn
ape made his final try to get rid of the child, but failed miserably.
You touch nothing, you see nothing. I m too tired to fight with idiotic children so
try to act if you weren t here
Snape said and removed his robes. The short-sleeved
shirt he had under couldn t hide the black skull in his left arm and the red skin
around it.
You follow the Dark Lord and work for Albus Dumbledore. It s a fine line you re walki
ng here
Harry pointed out and watched Snape for reaction. All he saw was tiredness
.
Only idiot points out the obvious, wiser men do not waste their words on that. I d
obliviate you if I didn t think you had the right to know the truth and knew how t
o keep your mouth shut. Now get lost, I m tired. With that he moved to one of the r
ooms in the left and locked the door behind.
I m not sure your poison did any good to him, I ve never seen him act that careless.
It might have some side effects I m not aware of, but all of them will
morning. And if I remember right, his memories of tonight might also be
... inaccurate. Harry could have sworn he heard the snake laugh in his
we are in his rooms, he most likely will not even remember we re here

wear off by
a little
head. Well,
I say we sco

ut around
e door at
room. The
helf, and

a bit. This door here is not even warded. She continued and moved to th
the left. Harry made a face to his snake, but followed her inside the
room was nearly bare, the only objects were a few chairs, table, books
a cello case standing in the middle of the room.

I remember that cello I once saw Snape playing it here. I only wonder
Harry opened t
he case and admired the instrument inside for a moment. It was made of some dark
wood and was full of carvings. Carefully he reached for it and tried to take it
out, but with no use. The cello was as if it was glued to its case.
Please unhand me now! The voice suddenly pierced Harry s brain. It didn t sound like h
is snake, but he still had to be sure.
Sassnah? Did you hear that?
Of course she didn t, I m talking to you. Now, take your filthy hands off me! Harry qu
ickly released the cello and stepped back. Sassnah was watching him strangely, b
ut then continued her own investigations.
I suppose I m sorry? I didn t know I d offend you
Harry was nearly sure that it was the I
nstrument talking back to him. The voice was nearly identical to that of the Sor
ting Hat s.
At least you have some manners, unlike the other man sneaking around in Master s ch
ambers
What do you mean? Someone has been spying on Professor Snape? What does he look l
ike?
And how, may I ask, am I supposed to know what somebody looks like? I m an instrume
nt! I m merely aware of that there are other minds in the room, that s all. His mind
feels tainted unlike yours. I do not trust you, but you are the lesser evil of th
e two. Could you warn my master about him?
Why don t you do it yourself?
My master s mind is closed. His presence is nearly invisible, and talking to him is
impossible. He has walls around his mind; I can t get even a small message though
him.
Who are you talking to? Sassnah voice interrupted the conversation. Harry was gett
ing confused with the different voices in his head, so he relayed on parseltongu
e.
I m talking to the cello here. Do you know anything about intelligent instruments?
It also said that somebody has been spying on Snape, I wonder why
All magical objects are somewhat intelligent. When a magical object is created, s
ome of the casters magic flows to the object, giving it mind of its own. But it s r
are for them to develop their minds to the point where they can start communicat
ing. If the time goes on, these objects can even develop their own magic, like t
his castle for example. Now who is it that s bee spying on Snape?
I don t know, but I will ask him. I also want to know about those walls he has
hissed quietly and turned back to the cello.

Harry

I ll warn your master, but you have to continue keeping eye on that sneaker. Tell m
e if you sense something else strange about him. The cello sent a feeling of agre
ement to Harry and closed the connection.

That was interesting But I suppose we have to get back before Snape wakes, it s near
ly morning. Harry hissed and, with a final glance at the cello, exited the camber
s.
CHAPTER 15: Shopping
I know Pain.
If I knew it any better, we d be best buddies. I ve learned to appreciate all the di
fferent ways of pain inflicting our lives. It s funny how people are amazed of my
high tolerance of pain, because things that people expect to cause a great pain
to me are normally the least painful things in my life.
Have you noticed that it actually hurts less to have a knife pierced into your a
rm, than having a severe head- or stomach-ache? Sure the knife hurts a lot at fi
rst but slowly it fades to a steady hum and you can nearly forget about it. A pa
in, that rises from somewhere inside you hurts more, since you can t be sure of it
s cause.
Pain is more than half mental. Let s say you have a paper cut; something that will
definitely not cause you permanent damage. If you concentrate on other things,
like your work or studies or on having fun, you barely notice it. But when you r
eturn to home, lie down on the bed and allow the silence to surround you, the ti
ny pain in your finger can get unbearable.
I know Pain.
We have a very healthy relationship. It warns me if something is wrong, and I li
sten to it. I don t let it rule my thoughts, but neither do I try to surpass it. I
t can stay in me for as long as there s something wrong with my body. When the pai
n leaves, I know I m healthy, and not having some inside infections suppressed by
the pain potions.
I don t tolerate pain; I embrace it.
Severus Snape hated headaches. But when they were accompanied with a memory loss
, they scared the living daylights out of him. Last night had been the first sum
moning since the first defeat of the Dark Lord. It had been surprisingly easy to f
all back to the old behaviour patterns and claim his place in the Inner Circle.
Of course there had been the normal amount of blaming and Cruciatus Curse, but t
he Dark Lord had been on a surprisingly good mood.
The thought of Cruciatus Curse lead to the second unnerving realisation he had,
had that morning. Except for the headache, he had none of the normal after effec
ts of the curse. The potion he had reserved to help with the effects of the curs
e lay untouched on his table.
He was just about to stand up to pour himself a drink when his alarm for incomin
g owl post went off. He opened the gateway that was built to allow owls to enter
the dungeon, and let the grey school owl in. It was nearly humorous how the owl
ruffled its feathers to show its displeasure on having to fly to the dungeons.
As soon as the Potions Master had untied the letter the owl rushed out to the fr
esh air, not even waiting for the custom treat from its services.
Dear Professor,
I have to congratulate you on the position you have managed to obtain. Very rema
rkable deed to carry it out the way you have been doing. I m sure there are those
who are envious of your status as the potions master of Hogwarts and willing to
replace you. It has come to my attention that one of those has even visited your
chambers regularly.

As you are my Head of the House, I would like to come forward with my little pro
blem. It seems the Headmaster is unwilling to allow me to visit my friend at his
little Christmas Ball. I would simply love to attend, and I m sure you could show
the Headmaster why I should be allowed this privilege. And since I do not have
proper Dress Robes, it would be beneficial for both of us, if I joined you on yo
ur next trip to Hogsmeade. You wouldn t want me to embarrass our House by going to
a high class party in rags?
It seems I have come along a lot of information about you lately. And I will hav
e a very accurate ear on you in the future. I think you would like me to come to
you with my questions, and not search knowledge from another source, let s say fo
r an example my very good friend Draco Malfoy.
Yours sincerely,
Harry Potter
Post scriptum, I would also be very grateful if you explained me what the
e around your mind.

walls

ar

Snape read the letter with his eyes widening in disbelief. He stared at his tabl
e for a moment, before rereading it. Suddenly he crumpled it into a small paper
ball and threw it across the room in anger. How dare that little brat try to thi
nk that he had something over him? He hadn t been the Head of Slytherin this long
without learning how to deal with blackmailing. But he couldn t help being curious
of what was the brat s source of information. And if it had been Potter who broug
ht him to his chambers last night, he wanted to know what else he had done to hi
m.
With a scowl, Snape stalked to the little piece of paper and picked it up. Caref
ully he straightened it and read it through once more. As he read the last line
his lips curved in a cruel smile. If the brat wanted to learn Occlumency, he s giv
e him the means to do it. He picked up the book meant for the masters of occlume
ncy from his bookshelf and placed it on his table. He d send it when the time was
right. But now he had to have a meeting with Albus about more than a few things.
It was one of those cool winter days when the sun was shining brightly without o
ffering any warmth. As Harry was walking towards Hogsmeade he could nearly feel
the sun mocking him. The cold had never bothered him that much, but it had force
d him to leave Sassnah behind. He couldn t keep the snake around him while buying
new robes, and allowing her to wander around in such a cold day was too dangerou
s.
It was funny how fast he had gotten use to the presence of the snake. Now, witho
ut her, he was feeling somewhat naked, like a part of him was missing. Maybe tha
t was the reason why the feeling of someone following him was making him nervous
.
Harry had separated from professor Snape at the entrance of Hogwarts. He had bee
n given the lecture of what not to do, and strict orders to meet him in front of
the Post Office in two hours. If he had been shopping for Christmas presents, l
ike the Headmaster had been told, the time would have been nowhere near enough.
But all he needed was the dress robes for the Malfoy Christmas ball. Thus, he he
aded straight towards Gladrags Wizardwear.
The shop was filled with clothes so colourful that it made his eyes hurt. He fel
t a sudden gratefulness in whatever it was that had made him draw a sketch of th
e robes he wanted beforehand. He had a feeling that if the shopkeeper could choo
se, he would be clothed in pink or yellow or some other clashing colour.
A customer! What a surprise, I wasn t expecting anyone. What would you like? I have

some grand new clothes transported straight from London, they are the finest yo
u can get at the moment, an old lady advertised as she appeared from the back roo
m and started fussing around Harry. She was definitely responsible for the layou
t of the shop. Even her long hair, that must have been already gray when Harry w
as born, had been coloured violet.
Harry let her take the measurements in peace, but as soon as she was starting to
show him different materials he took out the sketch he had drawn and gave it to
the lady.
I want you to make these for me.
with a frown on her face.
Are you sure? These look so

She took the sketch and looked at it for a moment

dull. I could add some colour to them!

No.
How about some extra buttons or something to cheer these up?
No.
At least let me add your family crest to them. With you and your great uncle bein
g the only Potters alive, I m sure he wouldn t mind you using them. How is he by the
way? I haven t seen him since my graduation! But I still try to keep an ear open
on news about him. My big sister used to have such a crush on him! I m sure he wou
ldn t remember her, and even less me, the scrawny first year But could you pass my
regards to him? The lady had gotten a dreamy look on her face, but Harry was too
shocked inside to even hear what she was saying.
He had a great uncle. Why hadn t Dumbledore sent him to his magical relative inste
ad of Dursleys? He had to find out who this great uncle of his was. If he was st
ill active in the war, he d have a clear reason to pay attention to Harry. And if
he and Dumbledore didn t agree for some reason, he would be the perfect source of
support for Harry. That is, if he wasn t in league with the Dark Lord
So I can add the crest? I think it would look fine on the left, on top of your he
art. Harry only nodded in agreement and watched as the woman rushed to her desk a
nd started to scribble something down.
They ll be ready tomorrow, would you like me to send them to you by owl? I will hav
e to add the posting fee if that s the case. Harry looked at the price she had writ
ten for him and handed the right sum of money without a second thought. With a l
ittle bow to the old lady, he stepped out of the shop and rested his eyes on the
calm and pure white scene in front of him.
He was just fastening the scarf around his neck, when his eyes caught a familiar
shade of blond hair. The man was obviously not Draco, being almost twice the he
ight of the young Malfoy, but they had to be relatives. Harry was nearly certain
that this was the infamous host of the coming Christmas Ball.
What caught Harry s eyes more than the impressive blond form walking down the stre
et was a shady figure following the man. It was obvious that the figure tried to
stay unnoticed and unrecognizable. As the elder Malfoy entered the front door o
f the Hog s Head, the stalker sneaked behind the building and entered a small serv
ice door.
Harry stood
lowing, but
nsure about
Sure he had

still for a few silent moments. He knew he shouldn t even consider fol
the situation was just too tempting. He was still feeling a little u
going to the Malfoy s, since he didn t have any idea of what to expect.
heard rumours about the elder Malfoy, but he had never been one to p

ut trust on gossip. A strange feeling overcame him and he knew he just had to fi
nd out what the stalker wanted out of the Malfoy. For once in his life he was go
ing to act like a Gryffindor.
Harry didn t waste time after making up his mind. He walked casually to the Hog s He
ad, and after making sure there were no other curious eyes watching his actions,
he sneaked inside through the service door.
He had known the stalker was nowhere near professional, but after seeing the mel
ting snow on the floor, he nearly laughed out loud. The tiny room he had entered
consisted only of two doors and one stairs. It wasn t hard to tell that the earli
er visitor had gone right, up the stairs. Harry hesitated again before slowly pr
oceeding up with a wand ready in his hand.
As he reached the top of the stairs he saw one of the three doors up there sligh
tly open. Seeing the door Harry knew he had been stupid. Someone had intentional
ly lured him in, since nobody was that obvious. He started to back away from the
door towards the exit when a hand landed on his mouth and another took a hold o
f his wand from behind. Harry tried to struggle away, but the hands pulled him i
nto the room.
Can you be quiet, or do I have to curse you? If you yell, the attention you get w
ill not help you, a surprisingly young voice whispered to his ear. Harry nodded h
astily and his captor released him, but took away his wand.
Harry turned around to see the face of the other person in the room. To his surp
rise the boy was only about few years older than him, and looked vaguely familia
r. He was about to open his mouth and ask the boy about all of this, but the boy
urgently stepped closer to him and quieted him again.
Be quiet! I found out about a meeting that s going to be held in the room below. I
talked to Flint the other night about this and he said that you might be interes
ted in hearing this too He also told me you wouldn t believe if you didn t hear it wi
th your own ears, so I tricked you. Sorry about the spell on you, I ll remove it n
ow. He whispered to Harry s ear and waved his wand. Harry felt as if a blocking clo
ud had been removed from his mind. He hadn t even noticed the difference before.
I don t dare to use any listening magic, but if we kneel right there, we should be
able to hear everything.
Harry kneeled down next to the other boy and pressed his head down just in time
to hear the door below open and close with a click.
and you know it.
Yes, of course, the Ministry will not be a problem! I can handle everything just
fine, and dear Barnabas is more than qualified to keep the Prophet in line! All
I m worried about is Dumbledore
Severus will be keeping eye on Hogwarts.
Are you sure it s enough? What about our other spy, she could
ted the man.

A sudden smack interrup

You imbecile!
What?!
Nothing, Snape will handle everything there. All you have to worry about is the p
ublic and press. We don t want them to know anything yet.

Well, when will our Lord want the people learn about his glorious return? Harry co
uld hear the other man beginning to answer when he was rudely interrupted pulled
up by the other boy. One look in his face showed Harry that the situation was u
rgent, so he didn t fight back as he was rushed down the stairs and out of the bui
lding.
They ran together to the relative dark shadows behind the Scrivenshaft s before st
opping to even their breaths. The other boy held out Harry s wand for him to take
it. Harry took it with relief, but at the same time he was slightly concerned on
how dependent he had become to little the piece of wood.
Sorry about that, I was too concentrated on listening that I almost missed the al
arm I had set going off. Waitress, you know. Harry only nodded in understanding.
Although he had his suspicions, he didn t think the other boy was against him, if
Flint had ordered him to talk to Harry. And he couldn t imagine him lying about so
mething that could be proven wrong by one question.
I hope you don t have hard feelings It felt like a good idea when I first thought it
. But I guess it was quit pointless in the end. Anyhow, if you ever need anythin
g to be brought to you in Hogwarts, I m your man. My brother runs a little organis
ation and Flint told us you re trustworthy. Just give either of us a call, my name
is
Mr Davies! Mr Potter! May I ask what are you still doing here? Potter, you were s
upposed to meet me 20 minutes ago at the Post Office, do I look like a man that
likes to stand around and wait for you to show up? Report to my office on the fi
rst week of classes for your detention! Both of you! Now Potter, follow!
Snape barked out before turning around and hurrying towards Hogwarts. Harry foll
owed him without a word and only gave Davies a quick glance to see how he had tu
rned nearly as white as the snow at the sudden appearance of the Professor.
Did it work?
Yes, my Lord, he followed him like a little puppy.
Did he hear only what he was supposed to hear?
Did he?
Yes, my Lord.
Good, and now we have a little spy among them as well I m starting to look forward t
o your little party even though I m not attending.
I have invited all the families with any power left. I hope everything is as you
wished, my Lord.
Good! You ve done well, but do you know what you have forgotten, Lucius? I hate mis
takes, but even more I hate those who try to hide something from me.
My Lord?
Crucio