Harry Potter the Snake in Lions Skin by Jeremiah2006
Summary: Harry is smarter then he lets on. The Dursley's punished Harry for having better grades than Dudley in primary school. The engrained effect still causes Harry to have low grade at Hogwarts. The questions are: is there another reason for Harry's continued low grades and when will he show his true intelligence?
Pairings: Harry/Blaise Zabini. This will not be Harry/Ginny or Hermione/Ron other than that I have not decided yet.
This will have bashing of Dumbledore, Ginny, Ron, Molly Weasley, Hermione and maybe others. There are just some actions in cannon that scream manipulation that I think Harry should recognize that would prevent the above parings. I like Hermione so she will be a good person in this story Harry just needs to show her how to open her eyes to see the world beyond her books and above the manipulations around her.
Author Note: I know my story will not be totally original as I love reading stories along these lines but I hope to put my favorite things together into one story. I have my own twists to make the story believable and not totally dependent on magic and time delayed rooms for Harry to show his true intelligence. Please don't flame me. If you don't like the story then don't read it. There are some stories I won't read because I don't like them please have the same curtice. However, if you have constructive advice on what would make you like the story without completely changing my plot I will take it into consideration.
Disclaimer: The creation of Harry Potter belongs to JKR. I have been reading HP fanfiction for years and the world of AU HP stories has become so vast but there are themes used in the majority that I have read. I do NOT intend to still these themes from anyone. I have just read too many to give proper credit to, plus I have absolutely no idea who came up with them first. So if you did or know who did then I give you credit now.
Prolog: A brief history
AN2: I live in the USA and have never been to England. I do not know how the school system works there. I do know based on reading HP stories that what I know as elementary school here is called primary school there. From the first HP movie Harry was going to start Stone Wall High at age 11 and his cousin was starting Smeltings. In my part of the USA children start school at age 5 in kindergarten and are 11 or 12 in 6th grade which is the last grade in elementary school. Then there is middle school for two years and then high school for four years. This is just to let you know that if I make a mistake with England's system it is because I do not know and don't want to look it up. I will draw from my experience in my schools. I will use the primary and secondary school terminology from the movies.
I don't know the British pound to U.S. dollar conversion so for this story I am making them equal in value just to make it easier for me as I write.
(This part of the story will mostly be a summary of Harry's life with no dialog, that will come later when the story is back in present time)
Let the story begin……
Harry has always been above average in intelligence for a child his age. He knew in kindergarten what most children in second grade were just learning. His Aunt had inadvertently taught Harry how to read when she made him help with the grocery shopping, putting the groceries away where she wanted them and when he helped cook. Math was also taught in the same way. However, after an incident of bringing home better grades that Dudley taught Harry that he could not let others know how much he knew, not even his teachers. He quickly learned how much to get correct and how much to get wrong. His uncle helped him get lower grades by beating Harry too much that he would miss school and not do the make up work. Harry was naturally left handed but had to learn how to use both hands equally because one always seemed to be hurt in some way. Harry spent his primary school days learning what ever he could in private and devising new ways to keep his true intelligence secret. He found out how to use simple algebra to find out what grades to get on each assignment to always remain just below his cousin. No one ever caught on to Harry's scheme.
When Harry finished primary school he was looking forward to Stone Wall High because Dudley would not be there and he was hoping to be able to get better grades with out being beaten for them. When his Hogwarts letter came he had great plans to have the highest grades in his class but that thought was soon dashed.
~~~Flash back to Hagrid's rescue, Diagon Alley and 1st – 5th Year~~~
After a long day of shopping in Diagon Alley Harry was back at Privet Drive in Dudley's second bedroom much to both of their chagrin; Dudley's for the loss for his room and Harry's for being back at the Dursley's at all. Harry had wanted to either go to Hogwarts early or stay at the Leaky Cauldron, both were summarily dismissed as possibilities as soon as they left his mouth.
Harry had liked Hagrid for saving him from the hell he was in but did not think he was the best person for the job. Thinking back on the day Harry was told that the Headmaster was basically thought of as an all knowing god in the Wizarding world and could do no wrong. He got out of Hagrid that Dumbledore was the one who had placed Harry at the Dursley's along with McGonagall and Hagrid himself. Based on Hagrid's hero worship of Dumbledore and his display of low intelligence Harry did not blame Hagrid for his involvement with placing Harry in 10 years of hell on earth. He however did blame both Dumbledore and McGonagall. He would give McGonagall a chance to defend her involvement to redeem herself but he didn't give it much hope due to Dumbledore's god like persona. Then there was all the Slytherin bashing. It was like Dumbledore via Hagrid was making sure that he didn't end up in Slytherin. He had so much thrown at him that it was over whelming. He had so many questions that he would think should have been answered by the person to introduce him to the magical world. That was why he didn't think Hagrid was the right person to introduce him to this new world of magic. He could not imagine other kids in the muggle world being told by Hagrid, he would stand out too much, not only that but no parent in their right mind would send their child to a school who graduated students at Hagrid's standards. Not to be mean about Hagrid but he couldn't talk correctly and did not sound as though he had a full education. At that moment Harry realized that Hagrid was sent to keep Harry in the dark about what all muggleborn students would be expected to know. So he made a plan.
Harry had a bus pass that he used to go into town to get groceries and run other errands. He also had some muggle money that he had saved from finding it in pockets while he did the laundry and around the house while doing chores. He kept it because he figured that the Dursleys owed him something for being their slave and they would never realize it was missing to begin with, he would just be accused of stilling it if he gave it to them but if he kept it they would just assume they spent it and didn't remember that they did. After five years of savings he had a little over 100 pounds. Plenty for a taxi to London from the town he did his errands in. He decided to go in the morning while the Dursley's were still in fear of retribution from the magical world if they didn't let Harry do what he wanted.
The next morning Harry put on part of his school uniform, the muggle looking part, put a robe in his old backpack, and told the Dursley's he would be gone for the day. In town Harry found a shop that sold makeup and asked the lady working there if she could help him find some thing that would cover up his scar. With that handled he used a payphone to call a taxi. While in London Harry went back to Gringots for several reasons. The first was to find out if there was a way to get his key back. When he asked Griphook to help him with that he was taken to a privet room where all his business was handled. A new key was made for him, the old one would no longer work; he got a money bag that was keyed to him only that was tied to his vault so he didn't have to go to it every time he needed more money; a muggle kit that included photo ID and a muggle ATM card tied to his vault; a Gringots drop box that would allow him to get his mail and bank statements from it with out interference from Dumbledore or the ministry; and lastly his parents will. Dumbledore who was receiving Harry's bank statements would get doctored ones showing no activity to the account. An audit would be done to see if Dumbledore or anyone else had removed money or property from any of Harry's vaults. Harry found in the will that he should never have been place with his so called family, it specifically stated that he was not to be placed there under any circumstance and that Dumbledore was a witness to the will. Harry was beyond pissed at this point but knew that if Dumbledore found out how much he knew that he would be in great danger, so he decided that he needed more information and a plan before he took action. With the goblins doing all that they could for Harry he left the bank for the book store.
In the book store Harry asked if there were books recommended for muggleborn students. He was shown a list and the section in the store. He bought most of the books on the list and a few that weren't. He also raided the law section for books to help him with his situation, books that taught wizard edacit and customs, Hogwarts: A History, and any other book that he found interesting or that he thought would help him. He also found a backpack that appeared on the outside to be normal but on the inside could hold all the books he just got and more without weighing more that if one book was in there, it also had compartments for parchment, ink, quills, and a filing system for assignment completed and still in the works. It came with instructions to customize the compartments, design, and colors to his liking. There were security measures so that only he could open the bag and be the only one to even touch the bag. The best part was that it did not require active magic on his part so he could play around with the features later at the Dursley's.
He also went to the stationary store to have a batter look around than what Hagrid had allowed him. He found many interesting notebooks which he bought quite a few of. Some were charmed so that only he could open them and only he could see what was written in them even if some one could open it or look over his shoulder while he was writing. He found sets that were tied together that what was written in one was written in the other and vise versa. These would come in handy a few years later but for now he just thought they were cool. In his selection he had a few for class and a few for personal reasons. He also found art supplies that made him drool, here he really splurged. He was always good at art and had wanted his own supplies but was never aloud any.
With so much more stuff and plans to get more essentials such as clothes and other basic necessities he needed a different trunk than the one that Hagrid had made him get so he went back to the trunk shop and got the five compartment trunk that he had wanted to get the first time. This one came with many more charms on it. He could shrink and enlarge it with a touch and password, make it feather light, and invisible to those be deemed unworthy, namely everyone but himself.
After another hour exploring the other shops getting a few things here and there Harry went back to the muggle world to finally get some clothes that fit him. He spent four hours getting everything he needed and some that he just wanted. He now had enough clothes to last him a few years in various styles and sizes so as he grew he would have clothes that fit him.
Harry spent the rest of the summer reading about his new world and making a plan about how he was going to act. He knew he was not suppose to know how to get onto the platform so he would have to wait for someone to help him. He also figured that there were some things that he would have to wait until he spent enough hours in the library to have 'looked up' what he knew and some that would have to be kept secret until many years later. So Harry allowed the Weasleys to show him how to get onto the platform and become Ron's friend and diss Malfoy and not get sorted into Slytherin even thought he knew that was where he belonged and wanted to be. He spent September and October in the library ignoring Ron's blatant attempts to do everything he could to keep him from the library. Harry had figured out that the Weasleys were a plant from Dumbledore and that Ron was not a real friend. This was further confirmed when the audit on his vaults was complete. The Weasleys were getting paid from his trust vault and their tuition was being paid from the Potter Family Vault. Ron even had a personal vault for his befriending Harry Potter. Harry had the goblins keep track of all the money taken from him but not to stop it for now. He had enough that he would not be financially hurt from what was being taken. Harry still didn't have enough information to make a plan of action yet and wouldn't for a few more years. He did ask if there were any laws that would prevent Dumbledore from access to his vaults now that he was 11 or be able to restrict what the money was spent on. Unfortunately there weren't.
After Hermione became a friend Harry's grades slipped. He was reminded of never being allowed to do better that his cousin, Hermione took his place. She got mad if she was not the first one to complete a spell correctly, if she was not the one to answer every question a teacher asked or if some one got a better grade on an assignment or an exam. He soon slipped below Ron also. Ron got Hermione to practically do his work for him. Harry didn't want to do Ron's work so he pretended that Ron was better while privately he did better than either Ron or Hermione. He kept all of his secret assignments in folders, one for each class, in his five compartment trunk along with all the books he was not suppose to have. He had turned one compartment into a library with a desk and comfortable seating area. He would put the trunk on his bed when he had closed his bed hanging placing locking, privacy, and alert wards on them. He would then spend a few hours a night in his trunk when everyone thought he was sleeping.
And so went his first year. He did find out that Fred and Gorge were real friends not being paid and didn't know that some of their family was. The year ended with him seeing through the manipulations of the sorcerer's stone fiasco and a trip back to a summer of hell. While at the Weasley's he paid attention to who was manipulating him and who wasn't. He didn't see enough of Arthur to figure him out and Percy was to self absorbed to be involved, and Fred and Gorge stayed genuine. Ron he knew was being paid along with Molly. Ginny seamed off some how but he couldn't figure it out yet. When they went shopping Molly wanted control of his key but Harry told her that he didn't need to go to his vault and that Hagrid had kept it. Harry told Molly that he had enough left over from last year since all he needed to get were new books and replace his supply of parchment, quills, and ink. She was not happy about that to say the least, she hid her anger well, but growing up with the Dursleys he could spot it quite easily.
Second, third, and fourth year went on the same with Harry spotting all the manipulations around and coming up with a plan to blow the lid off of the can of bull he so desperately wanted out of. Harry added Arithamency and Ancient Runes to his private study. In his fifth year he avoided Umbitch's detentions only incurring one but was still kicked off the quidditch team with the life ban. At the end of fifth year Harry sat all OWLS offered all 12 of them. He still taught the DA showing a little of his true intelligence.
Here is where the major changes occur to the well known cannon of JKR. Harry remembered the mirror that Sirius gave him after the fiasco in Unbridge's office, so there was no DOM adventure. Harry with the help of Sirius and Remus was able to get the prophecy from Dumbledore and was sent back to hell for the summer.
After Harry's one kiss with Cho he had to admit to himself what he had been denying for a few years now, he was gay. Girls just did not do it for him. He had a few crushes on a few guys that he put off as admiration but now he admitted that they were truly crushes. During Christmas break that year Harry had literally run into Blaise Zabini both apologized and helped each other up. When their hands met a shock went through them making them stand still for a few minutes looking into each others eyes. When they let go they decided to go to the ROR to talk. They had been together ever since that day. Harry gave one of his messaging journals to Blaise as a Christmas gift with an explanation of all the security features and exactly what the journal was, these were green, Slytherin green. They wrote in them so much Harry was glade that they had a charm to never run out of blank pages. They kept their relationship a secret as it would be to dangerous for the both of them if anyone knew that they were together.
Harry also gave a black messaging journal to Sirius and Remus when they helped him get the prophecy so that they could write to each other with out interference from manipulative old men and with out the delay of owl mail.