Author's note- Hello. I'm going to try this again, because all the previous attempts have failed. I think if I get it right, then this will be a good story. I guess we'll see.

This first chapter will be relatively long, but the first year at Hogwarts truly isn't very important to the story, and I'd like to get it out of the way quickly, so…yeah, this chapter is first year. We'll get to Hermione and Harry and all those people next chapter.

This story is not Half Blood Prince compliant. Snape is a pureblood and Horcruxes, what Horcruxes? I don't like Horcruxes, so they don't exist.

Disclaimer- I believe you should know by now that I don't own this. If you don't, well….J. is the owner of the Harry Potter series.

CHAPTER ONE

Italics are thoughts of David's

"Speech is in quotations"

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The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.
Robert Frost

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"Would you mind if I sat here?"

David looked up as his compartment door slid open and saw a girl who looked like she was a first year, like him. Of course, if she wasn't a first year, there would be no way she would have any desire to be near him, so the fact that she wanted to sit with Davey only proved to him that she was a first year.

"Of course not, come on in." he replied.

"Thanks. My name is Katie, by the way." She said as the girl moved to enter the compartment, dragging a trunk behind her.

"I'm David. Here, let me help you with that." The boy introduced himself before taking the girl's trunk and lifting it onto the luggage rack for her after noticing her slight struggle.

"Thank you. Are you going to be a first year? I am." Katie asked as she sat in the seat across from the one David was sitting in.

"Yes, but I've always lived at Hogwarts so the only thing different about this year for me is getting to go to classes."

"Why do you live at Hogwarts?"

"My father is a Professor." David explained.

"Really? That's awesome, I never really thought about a Professor at the school having a family. What was it like, growing up at a school?"

"Well…it had some positives and some negatives. I didn't really get to talk to too many people because I was the only child of a Professor at the school and none of the students wanted to be around a little kid," Among other reasons… "but I got to read all the library books I wanted and some of the professors were always willing to teach me little things. I spent a lot of time helping Madam Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing, so I know a lot about healing people. My favorite part of living at the school was getting to explore all the castle's secrets, though."

"I've always heard that there are lots of hidden passages through the school. Do you think you could show me some of the more useful ones?"

"Sure. There are a ton of shortcuts going from the common rooms that make it easier to get to the classrooms and all kinds of other places that get used a lot."

"Great! My brother told me I would get lost a lot during my first week or two; maybe I won't get lost so much if I use the shortcuts." Katie looked relieved that she would have a chance to not get lost, and David was just glad to help.

"If we're in the same house I can show you around and help you learn the way to our classes, if you want."

David began to wonder why he was allowing himself to be hopeful that they could be friends. He knew that she wouldn't want anything to do with him, just like all the older students, once she had her first lesson with his father.

"Do you know which house you want to be in?" She asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.

David thought for a moment about this. He'd always thought he would just let the Sorting Hat decide, but he'd had a discussion with his father the night before about all the benefits to each house, and he wasn't so sure about just letting the Hat decide anymore. Just before Katie had arrived in his compartment he'd pretty much decided on a house after weighing the pros and cons very carefully.

"I think…I think I'd like to be a Ravenclaw."

"Wow, you're the first person I've ever asked who didn't say either Gryffindor or Slytherin. My cousins on my mother's side were all Slytherins, but my family has always been Gryffindors, so I hope that's where I go. What makes you say Ravenclaw?"

"I like to learn and, according to most of the Hogwarts Professors who'll give me the time of day, I catch on fairly quickly. I think I could fit into either Gryffindor or Slytherin, but I wouldn't want to be a Gryffindor because I don't think Professor McGonagall would never let my father hear the end of it. And I don't really want to be a Slytherin because my mother was a Gryffindor and I wouldn't want to be in a house where they are always feuding with my mother's old house. I feel it would dishonor her memory." And because it would only fuel the accusations that my father favors Slytherins.

Katie was quiet for a minute, perhaps because she realized that his mother must be dead if it would dishonor her memory for him to be a Slytherin and she wasn't sure what to say.

The train ride passed with little excitement, but the two spent the whole ride talking about a little bit of everything. All through the trip, Katie noticed that David had a rather distracting habit of tapping his fingers on the window or his leg or anything really, or twirling his quill through them, but she never noticed that he kept a precise pattern with the amount of times his finger tapped or how many times his quill was twirled through his fingers. This was mostly because the pattern was invisible to anyone but himself.

The arrival at Hogsmeade was likewise uneventful, but while crossing the lake in the little boats with Hagrid something interesting happened.

He giant squid made his first appearance of the year and came right up to the boat that David and Katie were sharing with two other first years. What happened next wasn't entirely unexpected to David, because he and the squid had not been on civil terms since the incident with Peeves…but that is a story for another time. The squid floated up to the surface and while all the others were fascinated, David was filled with a sense of dread.

I wish the squid would just get on with it instead of enjoying all this attention.

And get on with it is exactly what the squid did. He (or she, no one has ever really thought it would be a good idea to check) reached one of its many legs out of the water and snatched David out of his boat before hurling him through the air about 30 meters, well away from the boats and toward the center of the Black Lake. While flying through the air, David had the brief thought that it was a good thing his father had made sure he could swim, otherwise he would've drowned years ago thanks to either the squid or Peeves. The thought was barely formed when he sunk under the surface of the lake. He allowed himself a moment to make sure he had quit moving from the squid's toss before swimming back to the surface and making his way back to the boats. David was thankful that the squid seemed to think he had stirred up enough trouble for that night and decided not to interfere with David's return to the boats.

He was also thankful when Hagrid picked him up by the back of his soaked robes and deposited him back into the boat with Katie rather than allow him to try and struggle his way back into the boat without tipping it over.

"Is he a friend of yours?" Katie asked with a muffled giggle once he was back in the boat and they were heading for the castle.

"No." David replied dryly. "The squid hasn't liked me since the time I was dropped from the fourth floor and fell into the Black Lake, nearly poking its eye out in the process."

She gasped, shocked, and before she could ask David said "It's a long story."

The first years were soon shuffled into the Entrance Hall and David found himself wishing he'd bothered learning the charm to dry himself off. It had never really been on his list of priorities. He found himself curious about how much of a fit Filch would throw when he saw the amount of water that David had dripped onto the floor.

He and Katie were close to the door where the Transfiguration Professor entered the room from and he heard a muttered "Oh, honestly, David…" when she saw him soaking wet. He soon felt himself warming up and drying off and he assumed she had sent a helpful spell or two in his direction. He gave her a sheepish grin the next time she looked in his direction and mouthed a polite "Thank you." He took her nod to mean "You're welcome."

Professor McGonagall was one of the six adults, aside from his father, who didn't hate David. The others, along with the students, all pretty much considered him to be the spawn of the devil.

She told all the students the names of the four houses and what would be expected of them before giving them a moment to smarten themselves up and then leading them into the Great Hall.

David was mildly amused at the wild theories being traded about how they were to be sorted. He distinctly heard one boy comment on how a friend of his brother had mentioned fighting off a three-headed dog.

Ridiculous. They would never have a first year fight off a Cerberus.

The Sorting Hat made quick work of its song and David barely bothered to listen, seeing as he'd heard plenty of them before.

Before long he heard Professor McGonagall announce the first name on her scroll.

"Belby, Marcus"

"Ravenclaw" was the immediate response from the Hat upon touching the head of the thin and nervous-looking boy.

"Bell, Katie"

The hat took its time before announcing that Katie was to get her wish and become a Gryffindor.

"Chang, Cho" joined Marcus Belby as a Ravenclaw.

"Corran, Daisy" became the first Hufflepuff.

And on it went…

The first Slytherin was "Frobisher, Vicky"

And still the list went on until "Sky, Richard" became a Hufflepuff.

David knew he was next and he was prepared for the sneering faces and hush that fell over the crowd as McGonagall announced "Snape, David"

He walked calmly up to the stool in the front of the Hall and put the Sorting Hat on top of his head, where it sank to cover his eyes.

"Well, well, well. You ARE an interesting one, aren't you?"

"Whatever you say."David thought back to the Hat.

"I can tell that you want to be a Ravenclaw, but are you sure you wouldn't rather be a Gryffindor? After all, I can see that you know it's where you belong. "

"I know what memories you are looking at, but I don't believe a word those portraits said. It was all a hoax. Go on and put me in Ravenclaw, please."

The Hat snorted. "You never were one to see sense, little Godric. RAVENCLAW!"

There was no applause, except for the polite applause of Professor Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw, and that died rather quickly when no one joined in, but David didn't expect any different. As the few remaining first years were sorted, David puzzled over the Hat's final remark.

Could it be that….No, the portraits were lying, and the Hat's going senile in its old age. But, deep down, David still wondered, long after he told himself that the portraits were lying, if it were possible that they spoke the truth.

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While the Prefects led the new students up to Ravenclaw Tower, David let his mind wander. He knew this castle better than he knew the back of his hand and didn't need to be led to a doorway he could find in his sleep. As always, some portion of David's brain was not focused on what he was thinking, but was focused instead on making sure his feet were following whatever pattern that presented itself to him. Usually the patttern involved only stepping on every-other stone in the hallway, but sometimes it was as odd as zig-zagging across the hallways in order to oly step on stones that were diagonally located next to the previous one.

The Prefects showed the first years the way to use the entrance to the common room by knocking and waiting to be asked a question by the eagle. The prefects had the first years answer the question, saying it would be good practice for them.

David pesonally thought that they didn't know the answer, because of the confused glance that he caught them sharing. Luckily for the prefects, Eddie Carmichael knew the answer right away. David did too, of course, but Eddie was more eager to show off than David was and answered rather quickly.

A few minutes later, once all of the Ravenclaw students were settled into the common room, Professor Flitwick arrived to give a few announcements for the beginning of the year.

"Welcome, to all our new students! And, of course, welcome back to everyone else! I'm sure all you older students will already know this, but curfew is 9 Pm for anyone third year and below and 10 PM for fourth through sixth years. Seventh years, you have until 10:45, and not a moment later." A cheer went through the seventh years, they were clearly exxcited about their later curfew. "I want everyone to remember that Mr. Filch is quite serious about his list of contraband items because they are contraband for your own good and we don't need another incident like two years ago."

David remembered the 'incident' that the diminutive Professor was referring to. It was quite impossible to forget, to tell the truth. The Head Boy, a fellow named Jordan Jones, was determined to study as much as possible for his NEWTs. He had been taking Baruffio's Brain Elixer mixed with a few other, highly potent, potions. The end effect was a mental breakdown at breakfast one morning where he began spouting out random facts at the top of his lungs while throwing porridge at the younger Hufflepuffs and acting like the pumpking juice jug was the examiner for the Care of Magical Creatures exam, but Jones wasn't taking Care of Magical Creatures and couldn't seem to get the examiner to believe him. As it turned out, Jones had been awake for nearly a week and a half and, once he was safely tied to a bed in the Hospital Wing, he slept for a good four days without waking once. Upon his revival, Jones went through withdrawal because of not being allowed the dangerous mix of potions that he was quite addicted to. The delerious and pained screams could be heard two floors away from the Hospital Wing. Once back in his right mind, Jones was stripped of his Head Boy status and put in detention for the remaining three months of term. It was possibly the biggest disgrace Ravenclaw had suffered in two decades.

"Remember to be on time for breakfast tomorrow to get your schedules, everyone. Now, that's all I really have to say to our third years and up, so you all should head upstairs to get settled down for the night. Forst and second years, please remain here for a few more moments.

"I must say I was surprised at how few new students we got this year. Ravenclaw has always been a slightly smaller house, especially compared to the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors, but it has been a while since we only had five new students. Regardless, I'd like to welcome you little ones into Ravenclaw. I know for a fact that the other houses don't do this, but here in Ravenclaw we tradition that I'm quite fond of. Rowena Ravenclaw herself started this tradition, so I hope you can all appreciate how ingrained into our house's history this is.

"Here at Hogwarts there are many things that first years sometimes have difficulty adjusting to. In Ravenclaw, we assign all first years a second year mentor to help guide them through their year. If you have a question about anything, anything at all, you should look to your mentor for answers. They are here to help. Now for your pairings. Mr. Snape, I'd like you to be partnered with Mr. Davies. Ms. Edgecombe, you shall be with…"

David quit listening. He glanced toward Roger Davies and nearly winced at the glare he was receiving.

I guess it was too much to hope that he didn't hate my dad.

From what the Potions Professor had told his son, Roger Davies was a particularly hopeless case when it came to the subtle science and exact art that was potion-making. And Davies had been on the receiving end of plenty of point losses, toungue-lashings, and detentions from Professor Snape. David wasn't really expecting much of a worm welcome from Roger Davies. Not at all.

"Alright, then. I guess you should all go to bed. Ladies, you'll find your dormitories up the staircase to the right. Gentlemen, the same to the right. Goodnight."

Once Professor Flitwick dissapeared through the common room's entrance, Davies wasted no time in letting David Snape know exactly what he thought of being his 'mentor'. "Listen, kid. I don't like you, and I don't like your dad. If you know what's good for you, you won't be hanging around and bothering me with questions. I may not be very good with potions, but I am bloody brilliant with curses, if you get my drift. " Davies swept away in what he probably thought was an impressive manner, but after living with Severus Snape for as long as he had, David was unimpressed by Davies' attempt to be intimidating.

David made his way up to the first year boys' dorm and found his trunk next to the bed by the window. He got himself ready for bed, and fell asleep nearly instantly. It had been a long day, and he was too tired to bother with staying up any longer, for any reason.

Consequently, David forgot to do his daily Occlumency practices. When David didn't clear his mind before sleep, he tended to have interesting dreams. Mostly the dreams were memories that should have been long forgotten, like the one that David had that night. The night of the First of September brought with it the memory of a night that changed David's life. The night of October thirty-first 1981.

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David was up before any others in the entire Ravenclaw Tower the next morning.

He got dressed and packed his bag full of anything he might need that day. Carefully organizing all the bags contents by size, he put all his textbooks into his bak instead of leaving them in his trunk which he promptly locked. He then checked that it was locked properly. Twice. He didn't trust anyone in the Tower not to mess with his belongings.

At breakfast, Harry received his schedule and found, to his surprise, that Potions wasn't on the schedule. Ever. He asked Professor Flitwick about it, and the half-goblin told him that it was against school policy for a Professor to teach their own children. There was some school rule put in place nearly four centuries ago that made it so children of Professors had to learn the subject on their own time, to avoid the chance that their marks would be graded with a bias , but the student still had to take final exams and OWLs in whichever subject their parent taught, because those were Ministry-scored and there was no chance that a Professor could change the outcome to favor their child.

It wasn't really like the lack of a Potions class would actually affect David, though. His father had been teaching him potionmaking since before David even knew his way around the castle. Come to think of it, David had been learning whatever he could since he learned to read.

David looked for Katie so that he could show her the way to her first class and eventually he noticed her waving at him from the Entrance Hall. David happily made his way through the crowds of students toward Katie. As it turned out, the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors had the first half of their Mondays together. They both had Charms first and then Katie had double Potions while David would have free study period while the other Ravenclaws went to Potions with the Gryffindors.

In the first Charms lesson of the year, most of the class consisted of going through what Professor Flitwick would expect from them this year and what some of the things they would be learning were. All in all, it was a rather dull lesson.

Since David was the only one who knew his way around the castle out of all the first years, while he led Katie down to the Potions classroom all the other first years tagged along behind them. If it bothered David that they were expecting him to be fine with leading them all over the place when they hadn't shown any inclination toward wanting anything else to do with him, he didn't let it show.

David was just glad that it seemed the other, older, Gryffindors hadn't managed to make Katie want to avoid him yet. He was making the most of the time he had with someone like a friend before someone or something managed to convince her that Snapes were to be avoided at all costs.

While walking to the dungeons, David explained to Katie, and consequently all the other first years who were right behind them, about why he wouldn't be taking Potions with them.

Once they reached the classroom, David left group behind to wait at the door and he made his way up to the library where he would spend the time between then and lunch studying. He spent the next few hours reading a book on Legilimency that his father had given him for his birthday. The elder Snape had been teaching his son Occlumency for years, but had told him he wouldn't be teaching him Legilimency until he was at least halfway through his first year. David was looking forward to learning Legilimency and was determined to read as much as he could about it in an effort to be prepared when his father finally let him actually attempt it.

According to the book, it was a lot simpler to learn and master Legilimency if one was familiar enough with their own mind. In other words, the better you were at Occlumency, the easier it was to get good at Legilimency.

David found himself glad his father had insisted he learn Occlumency before attempting Legilimency, not that that was the only reason he was required to learn Occlumency. But that was another story for another time.

When the bell rang for lunch, David gladly made his way to the Great Hall. A few corridors away from the marble staircase that led to the Entrance Hall, David heard an evil and distinctly Peeves-like cackling and had to take a detour through a secret passage to avoid the menace.

In the Great Hall he waved to Katie when he noticed her looking at him, but once he looked closer he noticed that she looked distinctly unhappy. When she saw his wave, it was not returned and she turned her face away to look at something else that he couldn't see.

One of the other first year Ravenclaws, Cho Chang, saw him wave and said in a derisive tone "I'd be surprised if she ever talks to you again."

"What do you mean?" He asked, already having a clue what the answer would be. He should've known his father would manage to be cruel to the one student to be something like a friend to him.

He would have to talk to his dad and find out it the act was worth being so hated.

"That greasy bat down in the dungeons that you call a father made her cry. He stopped her from adding an ingredient to the Boil Solution a little early and yelled at her for ages about how she must be incapable of reading simple instructions. He was terrible to her, and it waas only a simple mistake!"

"Sometimes in Potions a simple mistake can blow up a classroom!" As awful as David knew his father sometimes had to act to keep up his role, David still wasn't going to listen to someone bash his father.

"She didn't mean to make a mistake, and he didn't have to blow up at her like that!" The first years yelling at each other were beginning to attract a bit of attention, and if there was one thing David hated it was being the center of attention.

He lowered his voice so that the entire Hall wouldn't be able to hear his last comment as he returned his bag to his shoulder and prepared to leave. In an action far too reminiscent of his father, David gathered his full hat and loomed over the pretty asian girl. "Sometimes Potions are dangerous. I don't think Katie will make the same mistake with another Potion, so its clear that, while a bit excessive, Professor Snape's methods are effective. Be glad he cares enough not to let you all blow yourselves up into little pieces." He then swept out of the Great Hall, robes flowing out behind him in a way that would make students of all ages remember the man they had taken to calling the Bat of the Dungeons.

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Cho was right, Katie didn't speak with David again. The entire first week of class she avoided him whenever possible.

David threw himself into his studies. No one in Ravenclaw wanted anything to do with it, and neither did any other student.

That first weekend, David spent the whole weekend hidden away in his father's quarters and avoiding the world. He had the suspicious feeling that his father knew why he was suddenly intersted in spending even more time around him than usual, but Severus Snape didn't say anything about it. He made a point of continuing to teach David's lessons that they'd been working on for years. Ever since he'd told his father about how he could remember everything that had ever happened to him, at least since his first birthday, and his father had asked him about that Halloween, he'd been teaching him everything he could.

Among David's favorite things his father has taught him is a special form of Martial Arts that the Snape family has passed down for dozens of generations. This is a form of martial arts that only wizards are capable of, because it uses their magic and blends it with their bodily control and strength. It was a specialty of the Snape family, and it was what allowed them to blend in with the shadows. And it tended to help the Snapes kick butt in a physical fight too. Of course, David wasn't anywhere near his father's level, seeing as he was only eleven, but for an eleven year old he did alright.

It was remarkably calming to spar against his father and it allowed him to focus on something other than his crushed hopes that he could have just one friend for once in his lifetime.

By the time David fell asleep in his room in his father's quarters in the dungeons on Sunday night, he was ready to return to the mobs of sneering students. He had a new resolve; he would not allow another student to affect him in such a way again. Not one snide remark or tripping jinx would get beneath his skin in such a way that he would flee to the dungeons again.

It was time for David to face the facts: no one would befriend him, he couldn't trust anyone outside the quarters he currently slept in, because everybody lies and has an ulterior motive, even the portraits, and the world wouldn't wait for him to grow up, he needed to step up and start preparing for what he knew was coming.

When it came time to surface into the school again Monday morning, David squared his shoulders and set his jaw, took a deep breath, and opened his bedroom door. As he swept through the Potions Master's quarters and to the exit into the dungeons, he caught a glimpse of his father's approving expression.

At the breakfast table in the Great Hall, David realized no one had noticed he went missing for the weekend, either that or they hadn't cared. This only strengthened his resolve. Come hell or high water, he wouldn't let these dunderheaded children have any control over him any longer.

And thus began what David was sure would be a lonely tenure at Hogwarts.

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Author's Note- Voila! I think this is much better than my original attempt.

The first person who guesses what David's condition that I gave hints to him having was will get credit in the next chapter I post. I have left a few clues, but I don't know if anyone will get it yet. And no, the chapter doesn't specifically state the condition, or that he even has some sort of condition.