(A/N): Hey Guys! So, this AU's been in my head for a while, and I finally decided to write it. A lot of thing's are different, a lot is the same, but that's because it's an early chapter, okay? Those who can name a few differences and a few parallels between this and Into the Fire gets a cookie.
Disclaimer: I can't use my old disclaimer because you will recognise some of this stuff, which I do own, so... I don't own Harry Potter, okay?
It will have blood; they say, blood will have blood.
Stones have been known to move and trees to speak;
Augurs and understood relations have
maggot-pies and choughs and rooks brought forth
The secret'st man of blood. What is the night?
~ Macbeth, Shakespeare
Leo
When I was seven years old, I got lost.
This is the story of how I found myself again.
September 1st, 1971
My first year at Hogwarts was about to begin, and I couldn't hide the fact that I was nervous.
"It'll be fine Leo." My mother attempted to reassure me as she straightened my tie.
"Of course it will." I agreed, mostly just to calm her down.
"Don't worry Le-lo," My little sister, Miasenna, said as my mother left the room. "You'll be in Slytherin, just like mum and dad." I bit my lip, nodding.
"Merlin I hope so."
A half hour later, with a tight grip on my hand, my mother and I apparated into King's Cross station, making our way through the crowd towards platform's nine and ten.
"Are you going to be okay on your own? We can always home school-" I shook my head, sparing her a weak smile as I cut her off.
"I need to do this." I told her, meeting her ice blue eyes which were currently swimming with tears.
"Okay." She breathed. "Alright." She pulled me into a brief, tight hug, and when I pulled away, she pressed kiss to my temple.
"Bye." I mumbled, and she gave me a small, sad smile.
I turned, took a deep breath, and jogged through the barrier with my trolley.
The breath whooshed out of me just as fast as someone on the other side smacked into me, even though I remained standing and they wound up on their arse.
"Oww..." The boy grumbled from beneath his long-ish black hair, and I had to chuckle.
"You should pay more attention to where you're going." I told him, smirking slightly as I helped him to his feet.
"Sorry." He mumbled, attempting to rectify his upturned trolley.
"You're the one who fell." I pointed out, and he blinked at me for a second, as if confused as to what to make of it.
"I'm Sirius Black." He said, extending a hand.
"Leonides." I replied, shaking the hand. Black, eh? Pureblood, like me.
"Do you want to sit with me?" I had no other options set out, so I agreed.
We found a carriage with only a bespectacled boy with unruly black hair inhabiting it, and settled down inside.
"Sirius Black." Sirius announced, holding a hand out to the other boy.
"James Potter." Another pureblood, I thought as he took Sirius's hand, before they both looked to me.
"Leonides." It wasn't that I was ashamed by my last name, it was more the fact that I didn't want my newfound friends to base their opinion of me on my family's reputation.
They were about to inquire further, I could tell, but at that moment, the door to our carriage rolled open.
In the doorway stood a boy with a crooked nose a long-ish hair the colour of pitch, and a petite girl with fiery red hair and bright green eyes, a smile on her heart shaped lips.
"Can we sit here?" She asked, and since I was the only one on my seat, I scooted right over to the wall, not saying a word.
"You'd better be in Slytherin." The hook nosed boy told the girl, who looked somewhat confused.
"Slytherin?" She inquired, and I knew instantly. Mudblood.
"Slytherin?" James asked, looking somewhat disgusted. "Who'd want to be in Slytherin? I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" He asked the room, and I crossed my arms over my chest.
"My whole family has been in Slytherin." Sirius informed him, and James looked stunned, attempting to laugh it off.
"Blimey, and I thought you seemed alright!" Sirius smiled, almost sadly.
"Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you going, if you've got the choice?" Sirius asked him, and he stood, fingers curving around the hilt of an imaginary sword.
"Gryffindor, where the brave dwell at heart. Like my dad!" The hook nosed boy scoffed, and James narrowed his eyes at him. "Got a problem with that?" He shook his head.
"No. Unless you'd rather be brawny than brainy." He said with a smirk, only to have it wiped off his face by Sirius seconds later.
"Where are you going then, seeing as you're neither?" The girl scowled, grabbing the boys sleeve and dragging him out of the compartment, and I drew the two boys eyes as I stood.
"Leonides?" James questioned, and I stared him down as I grabbed my bag.
"My whole family's been in Slytherin." My tone was different than Sirius's, defensive rather than disparaging.
A few hours later, after spending time in of the clearly 'Ravenclaw' compartments, I changed into the rest of my uniform in the toilets.
I pulled on my robes over my black dress pants, crisp white button down shirt, silver vest and plain tie, studying myself in the mirror.
My golden blonde hair was neatly combed like always, bright blue eyes staring back at me out of a blanket of overly pale skin, and, as the train jolted to a final stop, I managed to maintain balance standing freely in the middle of the floor.
With a deep sigh, I exited the small bathroom.
There was a small crowd in my part of the hallway that I had to wind my way through in order to make it to the platform, and by the time I reached it, I saw James, Sirius, the redhead, the hook nosed boy and two others far ahead.
James tripped the hook nosed boy, sending him sprawling to the ground, and the redhead rounded on him after helping her friend to his feet.
"Stop it!" I heard her exclaim as I passed them near the end of the crowd, not really paying attention.
"It's his own fault for being a git-" And that's when she hit him.
Hard.
Blood spattered as his nose broke, I heard the crack clear as day, and the coppery liquid pervaded my senses.
Immediately, I held my breath, speeding my steps until black spots started to appear in front of my eyes.
Why was this blood affecting me so much?
Why did I almost tear his head from his body?
I climbed into one of the boats with a group of other first years, pretending not to notice as a professor delivered James, Sirius and the other two boys to the bulky man near the shore of the black lake, the redhead and the hook nosed boy already having claimed their boat.
With a jolt, as soon as we were all seated, the boats began their journey across the lake.
Upon glancing around, I saw Sirius lean over the side of the boat, cupping some water in his hands before spinning and hitting James in the face with it.
Quickly moving on, I saw the redhead watching them also, our eyes locking for a moment as she turned around.
With a shake of my head, I looked away, hands grasping the edge of the boat as we neared the castle, having to duck as strands of hanging plants dangled dangerously close to our heads.
We arrived in the boathouse of Hogwarts and we all carefully climbed out of our boats, making our way safely to the Great hall where, surprisingly, the female professor from before was waiting. We all climbed the stairs until we were directly in front of her, and she stared us down.
"When you walk through those doors, you will be sorted into one of the four houses. Those houses will be like a home for you. Any good behaviour gets you points, any misbehaving," She glared at Sirius and James. "And you will lose points. The four houses are Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor and Slytherin, and each has different traits that will lead you to be put in them. Good luck." She told us before turning on her heel and pushing the tall doors open to admit us into the magnificent hall in front of us, in which there were five tables, one for each of the houses, and the high table.
We advanced down the aisle behind her, and when she had almost reached the High table she turned on her heel to come to a stop next to a wooden stall upon which a scroll and an old hat, the Sorting hat, sat.
"When I call your name, come up to the front and sit on the stool to be sorted." She said before lifting the hat from the stool and unfurling the scroll before reading out the first name on there.
"Anders, Blake?" A tiny looking boy with golden-brown eyes approached the stool.
"Ravenclaw!" The hat cried, and Blake grinned as the professor removed the hat from his head.
"Black, Sirius?" Sirius skipped up the steps in attempt to look confident, but I think everyone could tell he was actually a big faker.
"Gryffindor!" For a few seconds, the crowd was deadly silent before James and the other two boys started to clap, and the rest of the crowd soon joined in, except for the Slytherin's.
"Evans, Lily?" The redhead swallowed before heading up to sit daintily on the stool, the professor resting the hat on her head, but I think we all knew what house she would be in, with her impressive right hook and her not being averse to using it, and it wasn't Slytherin.
"Gryffindor!" Many more names were called out, none I recognised, before mine.
"Joannis, Leonides?" The crowd went silent, they knew the Joannis' were a powerful and merciless pureblood family, even more so than the Blacks were, so they were curious and a little bit worried, I'm sure. I stepped through the crowd easily and climbed the two small steps to sit on the stool, but not before meeting the professor's eyes. She set the hat on my head, and I was immediately greeted by a voice inside my head.
Let's take a look at you, Mr Joannis. Hmm, you're smart, very smart, and curious for knowledge...you're extremely loyal, you're not afraid to do what you must and you're really very brave, you're cautious, but if something annoys you enough it's not hard to get you angry... You're very ambitious, aren't you? A clever one?
Please put me in Slytherin.
I hated having to beg, but I knew I needed to be in Slytherin, both for my mother's sake, and mine.
Yes... it's a bit of a dilemma you're in, isn't it? Very well then...
"Slytherin!" I saw the appreciative expressions on the faces of the Slytherin's, as well as the relieved looks from everyone else, knowing they didn't want to have to be stuck with a bloodthirsty Joannis for seven years.
After joining the Slytherin table, elbows in, avoiding eyes contact, I learned, via the Sorting ceremony that the two boys that had been with Sirius and James were named Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew respectably.
Both Gryffindor's, though at first glance, one would almost definitely pick Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff for the two boys, I guess it's what's on the inside that counts.
James was sorted into Gryffindor, as was pretty much to be expected, and only a few moments later, Severus Snape, the hook nosed boy from earlier, took his seat across from me at the Slytherin table, a gap of four or five feet between I and my nearest housemate on either side.
Not that I minded all that much.
After a brief speech from Headmaster Dumbledore, piles and piles of food appeared on the golden platters in front of us, everything I had ever seen, and even more.
With a steady hand, I loaded up my plate, trying to ignore the heated gazes I could feel on me from my fellow housemates.
With a slight sigh, I glanced up, and their eyes darted away, and I had to crack a small smile.
"The chicken's a little dry." I remarked, and I could practically feel the surprise rolling off of them.
"Well then put gravy on it." Severus murmured, and I stared him down for a second before my hand darted out- and I relished in the fact he flinched as I did so- to grab the gravy jug.
"Good advice."
(A/N): So, what did you think?
This first chapter has over two thousand words (yay!), and throughout the years lots of things will be very, very different.
Very different.
Please review and/or check out my other stories!