Summary: James Potter dosed Lily Evans with a love potion. It is well known in the magical world that those conceived under influence of Amortentia are unable to feel true emotion- and Harry is no exception. That is, until he meets his prophesized equal. HP/TR AU
-August 31st, Little Whinging, Surrey, England -
The young boy leaned forward in his bed, focused intently on the first year transfiguration book in front of him.
It was late in the night, but he was determined to finish his school books before he left for Hogwarts.
Hogwarts, the Wizarding School. He still couldn't quite believe he was a wizard; magic, he had magic.
He knew the other students at his school had probably known about magic for years, and he would not show himself to be incompetent.
If there was one thing he'd learned from his life with the Dursleys, it was the importance of power. The bigger, the more intimidating you were, the less likely you were to be prayed on by the other children.
It seemed logical that at wizarding school magic was strength rather than size, and this was his chance to finally seize power, thrive, hurt those who had hurt him.
So Harry read through the night, by the moonlight through his window.
And wasn't that strange, having a window. The Dursleys had apparently been so intimidated by Hagrid and the thought that the wizards might discover Harry's subpar living conditions that they gave him his own bedroom.
Everything was getting better, it seemed. His uncle had planned on locking Harry's schoolbooks in his cupboard, but a few well-placed threats about informing his teachers of why he was unprepared for school were enough to convince him, albeit reluctantly, to let Harry keep them.
His wand, unfortunately, was still locked away. Harry had long ago learned how far he could push his uncle, and keeping a weapon they were obviously terrified of? No way.
Once, when he was younger, he had tried to escape the Dursleys by informing his teacher of his living conditions- he always was good at faking tears.
Social services had been called and they'd even come to his house to speak to his relatives. They hadn't liked what they saw and they promised to follow up and take Harry away to a new home… but they never did.
The case was mysteriously dropped, but his uncle had been furious- his face the color of a ripe plum. Harry hadn't eaten for a week.
He wouldn't actually tell the wizards about the Dursleys; over the years, he had become self-sufficient, and he didn't need a doting family.
He could spend his time reading library books when he wasn't doing chores or escaping Harry Hunting (and wasn't that easy; Dudley wasn't exactly fit), and he wasn't implored upon to fake emotion.
He hated the Dursleys and the Dursleys hated him; he didn't need to mask his true feelings. Harry had realized at an early age that he didn't experience emotions in the same way as other kids; probably because of his oh-so-loving relatives, he had trouble feeling sympathy for the other children, and he couldn't understand their pitiful need for friends.
He'd always known he was better than them; Hagrid had only confirmed it. With this thought in mind and a twisted smile on his face, he fell asleep.
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Sitting on the train, Harry realized that his journey to Hogwarts was really a little anticlimactic.
He'd cooked breakfast for the Dursleys early that morning, and his uncle had cheerily left him at the train station, glad to be rid of him for a year.
He'd found his way to platform 9 ¾ after far too much time (and how incompetent were these adults, that they didn't bother explaining how to get to the platform?).
He'd made his way through the platform, surrounded by owls and wizards, real wizards, dressed in robes and brandishing wands.
Even Harry, unexcitable as he was, was in awe at the feeling of magic in the air. He'd boarded the train, truly optimistic for the first time in his life… and he'd been sitting in this compartment alone for several hours.
He didn't need friends, but it would have been nice to meet someone before he arrived at Hogwarts. He briefly considered finding a different compartment, but rejected the idea as quickly as he formulated it.
Reading more books could do him no harm; he'd finished his school books at this point, but those were hardly his only purchases from the book store.
After all, first year magic books couldn't possibly teach him all he needed to know about wizarding culture.
Even as he cracked open his first novel, the compartment door opened. In walked a disturbingly pretty boy with an odd resemblance to a peacock, followed by two boys? Trolls? Harry wasn't entirely sure.
"I heard Harry Potter was on this train. You wouldn't happen to have seen him, would you?"
This was the opportunity Harry had been hoping for all day. "That would be me. " He replied, voice cracking, far from the commanding introduction he had planned. He frowned momentarily but quickly hid his reaction.
The blonde looked surprised for a moment, but collected himself and extended a hand arrogantly, "Draco Malfoy. You know Potter, you could really benefit from hanging out with the right crowd at Hogwarts."
His henchmen (they had to be henchmen) nodded seriously in agreement. Well, that was straightforward.
"Would that crowd happen to include your… illustrious self?" Harry replied, giving his best charming smile.
Malfoy smirked, haughtily. "The Malfoys are a much respected pureblood family. I'm glad to see you know of our prestige."
Harry restrained a laugh; this was too easy. "I believe this may be the start of a great… partnership. Please, sit down."
The rest of the train ride passed in a blur, mostly filled with conversation about Malfoy's amazing father and occasional visits from his friends.
Harry was slightly frustrated by the blonde's choice of topic, but at least he didn't need to reveal much about his home life.
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Harry had decided on the train that Ravenclaw was the best choice for him. From Draco's descriptions of the houses, Dumbledore, and the teachers of Hogwarts (whom he all apparently knew because his father was a Hogwarts governor, and hadn't that been said with pride), Slytherin was a rather stigmatized house.
Harry was an avid student, Ravenclaw was a neutral house; really the best option for him, considering his apparent status as the boy-who-lived.
Draco had obviously been attempting to manipulate him because of his status, but Harry had been doing the same to Draco; manipulation was not unknown to him.
Draco's recommendation of Slytherin probably wouldn't go over well with the light side he was apparently the figurehead for (and wasn't that odd), which from Draco's descriptions was full of "idiotic Gryffindors".
Truly, Ravenclaw was the best option…
"Slytherin!"
The students of all four houses stared on in silence, shocked, before whispers sprung up all around the hall.
Well, shit.
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AN:
Hi guys! This is my first fanfic, so I'm not sure about the pacing. I'd really appreciate constructive criticism. If there's anything in the formatting that should be changed, please let me know.