A/N Right then. Just to get it out of the way, all the usual I don't own anything disclaimers etc, etc. You know the drill. Now, a few things about this story. Initially I wanted to start the story at the 4th year, during the Tri-Wiz. As I developed the idea further I figured that the plot I wanted to use would have considerable impact on earlier events in the timeline. This is the result of that. If this first chapter (and maybe the second) feel a bit rushed it is because I simply wanted to get trough the pre-Hogwarts stuff quickly. I am curious if some of you readers can figure out the species Harry (and Lily) is.

Enjoy the read and do review. After all, reviews is the lifeblood of fanfic writers.

And no, this story has absolutely nothing to do with vampires.

Godric's Hollow. October 31st, 1981.

Lily Potter had just walked into the nursery where her son slept, intending to make sure everything was fine before going to sleep herself, when the sound of an explosion filled the air. Within moments she heard the sounds of spellfire from downstairs. There was only one explanation. Before she could turn around to run back it stopped, and she just knew... she knew that he was dead.

Turning to her son she lost a bit of self control, her tear-filled eyes reverting to their slitted appearance. "Oh Harry." she sobbed, "I'm so sorry... so very sorry..." she paused, trying to hear if anyone was coming, "I wanted to be there for you, but I can't do this... I only held together because of James, and now..." her tears fell on Harry, waking him, "I love you very, very much and I can only pray you will forgive me one day..." Lily put her hand on Harry's forehead and channelled every bit of magic she had into him, "I give you all I have, all that I am, my child. May this power keep you safe. May it aid in finding your one. May together you find happiness." as the glow subsided Lily heard footsteps approaching the door. Mowing to stand between the door and Harry she whispered, "I love you James Potter."

The door exploded inward. Lily didn't flinch when several pieces of wood shattered against her face, leaving no mark. And there He stood. Voldemort. Lily had always found his snake-like appearance amusing, for how silly it was if nothing else. "Step aside." his voice was still as silky and smooth as ever. Lily knew she could easily escape with Harry still. Unfortunately for all involved, she had no intention of surviving this.

"Never." Her voice was calm, no sign of the fear Voldemort was expecting. He was almost impressed.

"Such bravery. Almost a pity to waste it." the Dark Lord paused. "Almost." Avada Kedavra.

As the green cloud rapidly closed the distance to her unmoving form, Voldemort caught a glimpse of her eyes, bright green... slitted... eyes. He just knew something bad was about to happen.

Lily didn't flinch when the spell was fired, moved or hit her. And unlike expectation she didn't instantly collapse. A soul as powerful as hers would not go quietly. With a scream that grew into a bestial roar a wave of raw magic left her body along with her soul, shattering every window in the town, breaking every spell and enchantment it touched and catapulting the disembodied wraith of Lord Voldemort to somewhere in mid-Atlantic.

He would not return to Britain for several months, and by then it would be far too late for him to regain a body. For over nine years he would hide in the place where Tom Riddle had died and Voldemort born, an abandoned castle deep in the darkest corner of Albania. The legendary Scholomance. But this is not his story...

When Albus Dumbledore left the infant Harry Potter at the doorstep of Privet Drive 4, he had no idea what he had just left in the middle of a muggle neighbourhood.

Albus had left spells to protect Harry from the elements and random passer-bys but he had failed to account for animals. Fortunately for Harry, for the several hours he spent outside Privet Drive 4, he did have 'bodyguards'. When an old cat noticed the strange basket and came to investigate over a dozen grass snakes rose around it, hissing and snapping at the cat. The poor animal fled in terror and would never return to Privet Drive. When the snakes heard footsteps inside the house they quickly left, their duty fulfilled.

The first time Harry showed how different he was happened when he was four. Dudley pushed him when he was at the top of the stairs and Harry tumbled down them. A 'normal' human might have broken several bones or worse. Even a wizard would have numerous bruises and minor fractures. Harry didn't have even a single bruise. That fact alone terrified the Dursleys and Harry spent a whole month locked in the cupboard without being given any food. It was the first time he had felt hungry.

When Harry was six he was weeding the flowerbeds for the first time when several snakes emerged from the grass. Harry quickly discovered that he could not only talk to them, but that the snakes would do whatever he asked them to. Their help would enable Harry to finish any outdoors chores much faster that the Dursleys though possible. Still, Harry had no idea why the snakes understood him, much less obeyed him.

One of the most... unusual event happened shortly after Harry started to go to school. The Dursleys didn't want to 'waste the money' but they knew questions would be asked if Harry didn't go. During the first weeks of school Harry showed his prodigious intellect. While not quite a child prodigy, Harry easily was at the top of his class. When the first school report card was brought home, it was at a bad time. Vernon had been turned down for a promotion and had gotten drunk. When Harry presented his report card to be signed, Vernon was enraged Harry had far outperformed Dudley in school. In a drunken rage he grabbed a cricket bat and swung it at Harry. When Harry tried to block the swing with his arm, the bat broke against his forearm, leaving no mark. That was the last time any of the Dursleys attempted physical violence against Harry.

Shortly before his 11th birthday Harry ended up on a most unexpected visit to the zoo. The Dursleys had been quite subdued when it came to Harry for the last several years. Instead of hate or fear they tried to treat him with indifference, like he was just some random person staying in their house. Of course, while Dudley's gang did leave Harry alone, at least after their first and only attempt to bully him, they did endlessly harass anyone who tried to be friendly with him. And the fact he made schoolwork look easy meant there weren't that many kids who wanted to try in the first place. At any rate, the zoo visit was the first time Harry found any hint about the origin of his abilities. When visiting the reptile enclosure Harry made sure to stay behind as the crowd the Dursleys were part of left. Harry wanted to try something. Walking up to the largest snake there he looked right at it and whispered.

"Can you understand me?"

"Of course, great one." While the snake, a large Boa Constrictor answering didn't surprise Harry, the address it used did.

"Great one?"

"You do not know? You are but a hatchling, have your parents abandoned you?" the snake, a female Harry judged from the voice, sounded equally surprised and concerned.

"My parents are dead." Harry answered in a sad voice.

"Oh... I am truly sorry to hear that." the snake lowered her head. "There is little I can tell you about your people, great one. But there is one thing you must know."

Suddenly every serpent in the enclosure rose to attention and spoke as one, "No serpent shall harm them. No serpent shall disobey them."

When Harry returned home he was still in mild shock over what had happened at the enclosure. The way the snakes acted almost made it seem like they though he was a god or something... Harry wasn't sure if he should be exited or terrified about the idea.

Several days later a strange letter arrived with the rest of morning mail. For one it was addressed to Harry. For another it was from somewhere called Hogwarts. And for third, the Dursleys actually seemed exited to see it. The next day a professor McGonagall arrived to take Harry to Diagon Alley.

When Harry entered Gringotts he instinctively knew that he was in goblin territory. Still, when the goblin the professor was talking to bared his teeth in an obvious sign of hostility, Harry responded in kind. Evidently it took the goblin by surprise and Harry later heard the professor remark that she had never received such a prompt service from the goblins. While visiting the tailor for school robes, 'Quills, parchment, robes... just how old-fashioned these wizards are?',Harry met his first 'Pureblood'. The meeting left a bad taste in his mouth and Harry made a private promise to stay the hell away from him and anyone like him. Fortunately, it seemed that despite being famous hardly anyone recognized him. The two largest shocks were when he was taken to buy an owl, 'What do I need a post owl for?' and his wand. At the owl emporium the cacophony of hoots and screeches stopped the moment Harry entered. As he looked around the suddenly silent shop he noticed that none of the owls would look at him, averting their gaze the moment he looked at them., However one, a brilliant-white owl at the rear did meet his gaze. As Harry approached it a most unusual event happened. It bowed to him. Both the shopkeeper and professor were shocked at the sight. They had never seen anything like it.

The 'adventure' of obtaining a wand however... When Harry entered the shop he was surprised by how eager Olliwander looked. The finding of a wand however quickly turned absurd. The first two wands did nothing and the third actually hurt to be touched. When several more wands had the same effect on Harry, Olliwander quickly noticed that every wand that had had that effect shared a core type. He quickly disqualified any more wands with that particular core. After almost half an hour he finally presented Harry with a small dusty box stored in the back room. Despite the elegant craftsmanship the wand inside it did nothing for Harry. For some reason that seemed to surprise both adults. After several more tests Olliwander finally admitted defeat.

"But... What do I do now?" Harry was half-terrified that he would be thrown out from the school before he even got there.

"Well that is obvious. You need a custom wand." Olliwander smiled. "I can make one for you. It is not as cheap or quick as these," he gestured to the shelves filled with wands, "but in the case of a difficult customer I do have a small stock of the harder to obtain wand cores and woods. For obvious reasons they are only used in special circumstances, like now." he turned to the professor, "Minnie, this will take a while. If you want to you can come back after, oh about an hour."

"I think I will." the stern professor gave one last look at Harry and left.

"Well then. Follow me." Olliwander lead Harry into the back room.

Almost hour and a half later Harry had finally found the materials for his wand. Redwood with a Basilisk fang core. If Olliwander was surprised by that he didn't show it. Deep down he was. Redwood was very unwieldy, only the most powerful wizards could bend it to their will. But if they could, the wand would be able to channel much more magic than it was considered safe for most wands. The basilisk fang however was a borderline Dark core. Olliwander didn't know why it would choose Harry, but for some reason, when he explained that a Basilisk is a large magical snake Harry laughed and murmured something that he couldn't hear.

When professor McGonagall returned Harry was sitting in the shop, waiting on what Olliwander had called 'finishing touches'. When the wand was finally presented to him it was exquisite. The dark red colouring reminded Minerva of Lily's hair. The reaction when Harry picket it up was more powerful than any Olliwander had seen. He wasn't that surprised, given that it was a redwood wand.

Another month of being ignored by the Dursleys saw Harry devour the books he had bought and then some. He did go on another trip to Diagon to obtain more books, among them many on magical creatures and legends. Still, despite his searching he found nothing about a 'serpent god'. Well, other than the one from central America, that he quickly discarded as it didn't match his observations.

Finally September 1st was here. The Dursleys delivered Harry to the train station early, eager to be rid of him. Looking around he calmly made his way to the portal professor McGonagall had told him about. Hedwig, his owl, was already making her way north by her own power. Harry didn't know why but when he watched the snowy owl fly off he felt a slight pang of jealousy. As he approached the entrance to platform 9¾ deep in thought he collided with someone.

"Oh. Sorry, wasn't paying attention." Harry immediately turned to help the girl he had collided with get up. He noticed the two adults behind her, given their visual similarity he marked them as her parents. Then he noticed the design of the trunk the girl had with her. "Oh starting a new school as well?" when the three seemed to become uncomfortable he smiled, "Isn't that a magical experience?" he smirked when the girls eyes went wide as saucers.

"Hogwarts?" she whispered.

"Hogwarts." he whispered back.

The two children were interrupted when the man, the girls father Harry presumed, cleared his throat. "Well, that is good and all, but maybe we should get a move on? The train leaves in half an hour."

"Yeah. Right this way." Harry calmly put the rather heavy trunk the girl was pulling behind her on the trolley he had and begun to walk towards the portal. The girl followed him.

When her father grumbled, his wife smiled, "It was your hope that she might find some friends."

"Friends, sure. Not a boy-friend."

"Daniel Granger! Hermione is eleven! Besides, he does seem like a nice boy." she smiled, looking at the two kids walking a bit ahead from them, at a distance she though they didn't hear her. She was wrong.

Smiling at the conversation behind him, Harry turned to the girl, Hermione. "So what do you like?"

"What?" his question had definitely caught her off-guard.

"What do you like? How do you spend you free time?" he tried to be as polite as possible.

She cast her gaze downwards, "Books. I read books."

Harry smiled. "Really? What kind?"

"Well, I did just finish the Lord of the Rings." she still didn't look up.

"I like those. The Hobbit, not so much." Harry continued, pleased to find another book-fan.

At that Hermione did look up, "Really?"

"Yeah. Being the top of my class really didn't make me any friends." Harry sighed.

"I know what you mean." she sighed as well.

"Really?"

"Yes."

Harry smirked. "Well then. I hope you won't be jealous when I beat you in class."

Hermione smiled at that. "Only if you won't be when I beat you."

Harry stopped and turned to face her, "Is that a challenge?" his voice was filled with mirth,

Hermione had stopped and was facing him, "And what if it is?" he voice just as mirthful.

The two elder Grangers exchanged a shocked look. Their daughter had never been this open with anyone her age. After a quick laugh Hermione said her farewells to her parents when Harry remembered he needed to properly introduce himself to them. Clearing his throat he stepped up to the man he knew to be Daniel Granger, "Sir, I apologize for not introducing myself earlier, but I did kinda bump into you." he extended his hand, "Harry Potter, a pleasure to meet you." he ignored the gasp behind him.

Dan took in the child before him. He was certainly acting more like a polite young man than a child. And that name, Harry Potter. Hadn't Hermione mentioned it? Some sort of Wizard hero or something? He returned the handshake, "Well, Harry, a pleasure to meet you as well. I'm Daniel Granger, that is my wife Emily and our daughter Hermione." he then pulled Harry closer and whispered is his ear, "If you hurt her I will hurt you twice as bad, got it?"

Harry smirked and whispered back, "Yes sir. Thank you for permission to date your daughter."

Before Dan could recover from the shock the two kids had gone trough the portal. Taking in the shocked look on his face Emily smiled, "What did you do now?"

"I just gave him the 'boyfriend' threat." Dan could barely whisper.

Emma grinned, "Oh dear. Shall I start planning the wedding?"

The look she received had her burst into laughter.

Moments after entering 9¾ Harry burst out laughing.

"What did I miss?" Hermione looked at him in confusion.

Getting a hold on his laughter Harry managed to answer, "Oh, just a prank on your dad. Well, at least right now it was a prank."

"What was that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing..." Harry responded with the most innocent voice he could muster. "So, are you ok with us sharing a compartment?" he turned toward the half-empty platform, "I mean if you don't..." He never got to finish that thought.

"Of course. I'm ok with us sharing that is. Let's go." Hermione grabbed hold of the trolley their trunks were on and begun to walk toward the train. She had finally found a person she just... clicked with. She never believed those soppy romance novels about 'love at first sight', but now she wasn't so sure.

"Alright..." Harry smiled and followed her. He didn't know what, but there was certainly... something about this girl, Hermione, that drew his attention. He had never been an open person, preferring to keep his own counsel, keeping everyone at a distance, but now he wasn't so sure.