Deux
Prologue
Summary: Lord Voldemort never existed, or at least, he has yet to exist. Harry Potter begins his first year at Hogwarts, where he forms a tentative friendship with a young orphan named Tom Riddle…
Disclaimer: I do not nor do I claim any right to any of the recognizable characters or places in this story. They are the property of J. K. Rowling et al.
Author's Notes: Hi! So this is my first Harry Potter fic. I apologize right now: Harry is going to be a bit of a prat at the beginning. This fic is AU and the setting of everything is different, so obviously people and their relationships have been changed. And Harry is spoiled and a bit full of himself. That being said, enjoy! Oh, and please excuse my terrible writing; it's been years since I've written anything (that includes papers for school) or had to communicate in text. Engineer you know. So I'm very, very rusty.
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"It's here! It's here! Mum, it's finally here!" Harry's jewel-green eyes sparkled as he bounced down the stairs and into the living room where a dusty grey-brown owl was currently perching on the arms of one of the plush white chairs, a single white envelope in its claws. Harry gleefully snatched the letter from owl before plopping himself down on the nearest seat.
The owl gave a hoot of indignation at the boy's actions. It then seemed to decide that Harry was unlikely to pay it any attention so it switched. The owl hopped closer towards Lily, eyeing her expectantly.
Lily scowled at the creature; she could clearly see the dingy grey talon prints it was tracking all over her chairs. And she'd just cleaned the chairs earlier that day! Muttering under her breath, Lily silently summoned a small owl treat and offered it to the dirty creature. The owl gave Lily what she took to be a smug look before hooting and flying off. Lily scowled again. She wished owls were cleaner; it would save her so much trouble. With a quick flick of her wrist, the chairs were clean again.
"I'm so proud of you sweetie." Lily cooed at her darling son. Harry was her only child and the person she doted upon most. She was fiercely proud that he would be attending Hogwarts.
Harry looked up from his letter and beamed at his mother. Lily beamed back.
"When Father returns, can we celebrate? Please?" Green eyes looked at Lily imploringly. How could she resist him? A celebration was certainly in order. She would even perhaps permit him sweets. Lily usually forbade Harry from indulging in too many sweets since the child had a tendency to gorge until he was sick, but this was a special occasion.
"Of course sweetie! I'll let him know you got your letter today." Lily hoped her husband would return soon. James Potter was head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and as such he often would be called in during the weekends. James didn't need to work as much as he did, Lily knew. The Potter family was well off. But James cared a lot about being an Auror.
"Thanks Mum!" Harry went back to rereading his letter, a peaceful smile on his face. He had been anticipating this moment for a long time now.
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This was not how'd he'd imagined it. When Harry had wanted to go out and celebrate, he'd meant with his parents and godfather. But somehow his parents had taken it to mean a big celebration.
"Oy Arreh, pass the salt would ya?" Harry looked over to see the grinning face of Hagrid peering at him. Harry smiled in return and reached out for the salt in front of him. His dad had somehow managed to invite everyone somehow associated with Hogwarts! Currently present there were the Longbottoms (current Aurors with a son the same year as Harry), Professor Hagrid (current Care of Magical Creatures professor), Harry's Parents, the remaining Marauders, the Weasleys (Harry had never met them before but they also had a son the same year as him), Professor McGonagall (Transfiguration professor at Hogwarts), and in addition, Severus Snape (Potions professor) who was cowering in a corner glaring at everyone while speaking only to Lily and the last invitee, Regulus Black. Harry sighed as the adults kept talking about their time at Hogwarts. This was not how he'd imagined it at all.
"I have an announcement to make!" Sirius caught Harry's attention when he stood in the middle of the table. Harry wanted to laugh; the waiters did not look very pleased with this predicament. Of course, Sirius ignored the dirty looks.
"I, Sirius Black, will be the new Defense Against Dark Arts professor!" Sirius bowed amidst polite clapping, loud cheering, and looks of horror. Harry's eyes lit up. Of everyone Harry knew Sirius had always been amongst Harry's favorite people. Hogwarts was looking better and better! He could barely wait for school to begin. Or at least for this 'celebration' to end. Harry almost rolled his eyes as the adults kept talking.
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"Blimey, I thought I was going to die from being talked at in there." Harry sighed dramatically. His companion, Neville Longbottom, simply laughed.
Harry liked Neville well enough. The two of them had known each other for a good while, Harry's father and Neville's parents being in the same line of work and all. Their mutual occupations meant Harry and Neville often ended up attending the same events. And being the only ones of their age, the two had formed a shaky friendship. To Harry, Neville was nice enough, but at the same time, he could be so boring. It wasn't that Neville never had anything interesting to say, it was more that he was always too afraid to break rules. And Harry lived to break rules. But Neville more than made up for it with his gentleness, kindness, and steadfast loyalty.
"You know how they can be," Neville smiled at Harry. Harry made a face and Neville laughed again.
"Yeah, they're completely self-centered! This isn't about them, this is about us! Merlin knows why they're hogging the spotlight." Neville just shook his head, covering his grin with his hand.
The two boys had come to an understanding early in their lives. Every time there was a gathering, one of the boys (namely Harry) would cause a distraction and the two of them would slip away. That way they were able to play and have fun without being constantly chastised about their behaviors. They would always return before their parents were any the wiser.
Harry and Neville walked peacefully through Diagon Alley. It was still early evening, but the area wasn't very crowded. Harry walked closer towards Quality Quidditch Supplies to peer into the window when he ran into someone.
"Oomph," Harry grunted. He glanced over to see who had knocked him over, only to see a scowling dark-haired boy.
"Watch where you're going," the boy spat at him.
Harry blinked a few times, eyes never leaving the boy in front of him. Then it seemed to dawn upon Harry that he'd ran into the other boy. He flushed a little and hastily picked himself up with Neville's assistance.
"I'm sorry." Harry held his hand out to the dark boy. The boy seemed to stare at it for a second before accepting it and allowing himself to be hoisted up.
"That's fine," the boy nodded.
"My name is Harry Potter, and this is my friend Neville." Harry felt a strange interest in the other boy; almost similar to a connection. There was something about the dark boy that drew Harry in.
The other boy's eyes darted between Harry and his companion before nodding. "Tom. I'm Tom Riddle."
Before Harry could say anything more, a familiar figure was in the background shouting: "Tom!"
Tom turned around, caught one glance of the man and scowled. The old man soon caught up to the group boys, eyes twinkling.
"Why hello there Harry, Neville."
"Hello Headmaster Dumbledore," the two boys said in unison, glancing at each other. The old man's eyes twinkled at them before sombering as he looked at Tom.
"Well, we best be off. I need to drop Tom back off home, and I'm sure you two best be off finding you parents!"
Tom sneered at the old man before his eyes flickered back to meet Harry's.
"It was nice meeting you two," he whispered, eyes never faltering from Harry's.
"It was nice meeting you too!" Harry distantly heard his companion respond. He himself said nothing, simply nodding in response. We will meet again, Harry thought to no one in particular.
"Bye Harry! Bye Neville!" Dumbledore called as he grabbed his charge and disapparated. Harry just kept watching the spot Tom Riddle had once stood, ignoring Neville's calls to him.
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Yay! Prologue done! I had to write this a few times because the first couple of times, Harry seemed a bit too spoiled. It's a bit shorter than intended but it's a prologue and I really just wanted to introduce Harry and have him meet with Tom for the first time! I've been busy daydreaming of these characters for a while, sort of playing with the relationships and personalities in my head. We'll see how this goes however! Feel free to let me know any thoughts.
stardusted