Okay, so I FINALLY got some feedback on this story, and right after the review, I went through and reread the first chapter and I don't think I've ever written anything worse to be honest. So I went through and edited it. However, I'm also open to suggestions to further improve the story and hopefully pull more people into it. :) So here is the newly improved version!

"Highness! Highness! Hurry, the baby's being born!" James Potter turned around from the window, a sad smile on his face. Today brought about a slough of mixed emotions. Albus, his oldest friend, had foreseen tragedy in his only heir's future about two months ago. James had been dreading this day and had done his best to prepare for it, though he could never be ready for Lily's death or his own. He walked along to where she was giving birth to their only son. The halls felt longer than normal, almost as if they had no end. Time was slowing down, and James could feel his heart pounding. Finally, after what felt like eternity, they entered the room where Lily was giving birth. She was struggling, and he could tell that it was almost time. Albus frowned as he looked on at the two.

"I'm so sorry James. But… Lily has accepted her fate. She said that she was willing to give her life to bring her son into this world." He looked at the King, who shook his head. Albus could tell that he was struggling with the idea of losing his wife. And they all knew that James wouldn't be long after. Lily looked at him, her green eyes sad, but she smiled all the same.

"Don't be sad James. This is out of our hands. And we'll be together in the next life."

"I truly wish that that ability of yours to see the future could sometimes be wrong," he said, shaking his head. Albus nodded, watching as Lily gave her last bit of life to birth the prince. He held her hand as she took her dying breath, and then, with that same small smile, her soul left this world.

Awhile later, James found himself arguing with Dumbledore over the known fate of his son. They did not argue very often, but when they did, it was usually about something like this. They had done the same when James learned that his beloved would die giving birth to their son. The Land of the Griffin, of course, would mourn her loss, because although she was of Muggle birth, Lily had been a great witch, sweet and kind.

"I don't get it! What's the point of even having a child if his parents are not there to raise him and to protect him! Why not just have him die with us? It seems cruel!"

"It may seem so, but your child is going to bring light to the darkened Land of the Serpent. He will eventually soften the Snake Prince's heart. You must give him a chance in order to live out his destiny. If you do not, then what was the point of bringing a child into this world in the first place? If you do not, then Lily's death will have been in vain."

"Albus… it's just unfair… To have your parents ripped away from you like this," James whispered.

"I understand James, but remember, this is out of our control. I cannot interfere, or things could become even worse. We must let this boy's role play out and hope that he succeeds in what he was brought here to do." With that, Dumbledore disappeared. James peeked over the side of the cradle in which he had laid Harry while he waited for the Dark Lord to make his appearance.

"Harry, I wish you luck. I love you," James whispered as he was hit with the killing curse.

-11 Years Later-

Harry groaned as his master hit him again. This was what he got for mouthing off even in the slightest, but he had a bit of a fiery temper, and sometimes he found that he just couldn't help himself. He looked up at the man, whose name he had never known. His master was of lower noble standing among The Land of the Serpent. That standing meant, of course, every now and again he had an audience with the royal family, and that was when Harry was the happiest because he had no one to answer to, and he could do what he wanted. Today, his master would go to the castle, and Harry would be left alone. He had been looking forward to it all week. It meant that he would only get beaten once that day, and then he would be free to enjoy a gorgeous day.

After beating Harry to his satisfaction, the drunkard headed off for the palace, his presence having been requested in passing new tax laws. Harry was relieved. Because his master's house was the only one around for miles, the young slave didn't have to worry about someone spotting him "slacking off" or "being lazy" and reporting him to his owner. He spent his day outside enjoying the beauty that the land had to offer, only breaking to get meals or go to the bathroom. The day, however, passed all too quickly. When night came, Harry entered back into his master's house and he curled up in his master's bed, falling asleep there. He didn't care if he was caught in it. If not that, then the noble would surely find something else to beat him for anyways. The bed was large and the blankets were warm. He found it easy to sprawl out comfortably. It wasn't until morning that Harry awoke, feeling himself being pulled to his feet by his hair. Harry opened his eyes tiredly, expecting to see his master, but instead, there were several cloaked men in the room.

"This must be the slave that he spoke of to the King… Well, seeing as he's dead now, all his property will be sold at auction, including this scrawny thing. He should be useful for something." Harry was stripped of his clothes and then he felt himself being hit with high pressure water, taking the dirt and grime off of his body.

They put a simple loincloth on him once he had been cleaned. After that, he was dragged out of his master's house and thrown into a wagon with the rest of his master's valuable possessions. Harry watched as the wagon headed for the castle, where all possessions were to be sold. It wasn't exactly comfortable, and the bumps in the road made things worse. Still, Harry curled up, shivering slightly as he closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep.

Draco Malfoy stretched and sighed as he woke up from a nice, long sleep. It had been an eventful day yesterday, and the death of a noble had simply added onto his agenda of things to do. At 11, his father was starting to train him in his royal duties, wanting him to be well conditioned when it came time for him to ascend the throne. Because of this training, the young Malfoy was making plans for the funeral of the noble. He knew that not many would be there, as the man had been cruel and unforgiving in all his dealings, including, from what Draco had heard, that of the young slave he had owned.

Now he was waiting for the wagon with the noble's possessions to arrive. It was still early in the day, and the auction was not until noon. One of the benefits of having the auction at the castle was that Draco could get a preview of the goods and decide if there was anything he wanted. Only a few times did he actually bid on items, and being the Prince, no one wanted to bid against him. He smirked as he finally saw it come over a hill about a mile from the castle. The balcony off of his room made for a gorgeous view of The Land of the Serpent. He sighed contently as the sun hit his pale skin, and he took in the warmth. Something about today was special, different, but he didn't know what yet.

The blond stood up from the seat by the edge of the balcony. His eleventh birthday meant his very first wand, and he could finally begin to learn magic. He had been looking forward to this day for many years. Perhaps that was what was going to be special. He thought on it for a moment. No, that certainly wasn't it. This year marked the 11th anniversary of the treaty made with Lord Voldemort, the current ruler of The Land of the Griffin. He remembered having heard the legends of the infant prince that Voldemort had been unable to destroy. Because this boy had lived, Voldemort had lost some of his grip on The Land of the Raven and the Land of the Badger. However, The Land of the Serpent had ties that remained strong with the Dark Lord due to him having been one of the King's mentors. Draco knew that his father saw anything less than a pureblood witch or wizard as a disgrace, an ideal that the Dark Lord had instilled in him. However, he did not necessarily share in this ideal, though being only 11, he was heavily influenced by it.

He and other children had often heard stories of the boy who had survived Voldemort's curse. His name went unknown, as well as his appearance. The only known fact of the boy was that he would someday rise up to face The Dark Lord once more, and that one or the other would end up living. Draco had no idea that on this very day he would meet the boy who had been named The Savior.

Harry opened his eyes when the wagon came to a stop. He had been unsuccessful in trying to sleep, much to his disappointment. He sighed and stretched a bit before the men in cloaks came to get him. They put him in chains and then grabbed him by his arms and led him out and up to the castle. Harry looked at the amazing structure. The castle seemed to touch the sky, the grey bricks gleaming majestically in the sunlight. He saw a flag at the top blowing in the wind. The design on the flag was a silver serpent against a beautiful emerald green that matched the young slaves eyes. He had never been near such a place in his life. Of course, being a slave, he had been seen as not being good enough to set foot in such a place. That was how most nobles and royals saw slaves. However, he would not be auctioned off inside the castle, but outside on a rickety old wooden platform. Harry looked around himself, and soon through blury eyes saw the silhouette of a platinum haired boy. He was curious as to who it was, but no matter how hard he squinted, he simply couldn't make the person out.

'Today's auction will consist of several slaves, some valuable possessions, and a small amount of land that belonged to Lord Phineas before his untimely death."

Harry looked around at the other people that were sitting in the audience. He knew that most of the people here were born of great riches. He wondered what it was like to have such a life. Harry didn't even know who his parents had been, but one memory had stayed with him always, even though he was just an infant when his father whispered the words to him. "Harry, I wish you luck. I love you." He wondered often what his mother and father had been like, and envied those children who still had their parents. No one cared about what happened to an orphan. That was why he had been sold as a slave in the first place.

The brunet felt his chains being pulled as he was led onto the platform. He continued to try and make out the face of the platinum haired boy, but he simply could not. Even though he couldn't see clearly, he could feel a gaze on him as bidders shouted off the amounts of galleons that they were willing to pay for the boy. He understood why the bidding was so high. Scrawny as he was, he was young, and children were in high demand as they were easier to train, had a longer lifespan, and had more energy than most adults. However, he was confused when everyone went silent.

"Your Majesty?"

"I said, my son wishes to make a bid for the boy," he heard, of all people, the King snap in a somewhat condescending tone.

"I bid 5 million galleons," he heard a boy, apparently the prince, say. The auctioneer nodded and looked around.

"Does anyone else wish to make a bid?" Harry wasn't surprised by the silence. No one would want to cross the royal family after all.

"Sold for 5 million!" Harry felt himself tense up. He had heard stories of the family's cruelty. He was led down to where the royal family sat and knelt on the ground, as was custom, while he waited with them for the auction to end. They did not bid on anything else, nor did any of them say a single word for the rest of the auction.

After the auction, Harry was led into the castle by Draco, and soon he was brought to another silhouette that he couldn't see as clearly as he would have liked. The one thing he could tell though was that the man had very greasy black hair. The blond gave the larger man a small bow.

"Master Snape, please see that the boy is properly cleaned and made aware of the rules of the palace." The silhouette nodded.

"As you wish Highness." Harry felt the chains being taken off of him. Snape brought him to an area that he knew by the smell was a bathroom. He heard the door close loudly behind them, and it made Harry shiver involuntarily.

"It would seem that you have particularly bad eyesight..."

"How did you know?"

"Because several times on the way here, you nearly ran into the walls," Snape replied matter-of-factly. Harry blushed slightly.

"O-oh..."

"Your master never provided you with glasses?"

"N-no Sir." He heard a small 'hn' from Snape.

"We'll have to see to it that you get some. But for now, let's get your bath out of the way." Harry gave a small nod.