Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter. I only wish I could say the same. Please don't sue me. Thank you.

Summary: Harry's the Boy-Who-Lived. William is his older brother, James is still alive and together the two try and protect Harry from the world. Even if they hate each others guts.

Featuring: Unspoiled!Harry, OverprotectiveBrother!William, OverprotectiveFather!James, OCs Alert and slash!

Chapter Summary: Events of first year as they would be with my little twists... Part 1. I was going to do the whole year but who know when I'd finish that so instead, I give you the half of the first Harry Potter book... Anything in the plot you may recognise was most likely an excerpt from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone.

A.N. Thank you to all those wonderful people who reviewed :D you light up my world and convinced me to update though I hadn't planned on doing so! And since this fic got the most reviews for a single chapter compared to my other fics (though Gaia's Children was a close second...), you guys got first priority when I felt like writing again :3 Thank you again for all your support and love and please don't kill me for taking so long lol.

ALSO: Please inform me of any discrepancies in the plot that you can see in my fanfiction... I often forget what I've already written and then contradict myself... and I usually miss them during editing too for some reason and only realise after I've posted... (and even then, it takes me forever to realise...)


Still... Untitled.

Is this chapter 1 or 2? Hmm... Last chapter was a bit long for a prologue though...

-

Harry sweat-dropped at he watched Ron and Draco glare at each other, trying to make the other move away from the seat next to the emerald-eyed boy. Neither boy would back down however, nor move forward making Harry grimace at the thought of having to deal with a situation like this in every Potions class. Seconds ticked by and the two still hadn't budged and Harry vaguely wondered if he should maybe make the decision for them but decided against it when he considered the consequences. With a silent sigh, he turned back towards the blackboard, wishing the Professor would get here soon to sort it out.

Seriously! How old were these two?

"Malfoy..." Ron threatened angrily.

"Weasel," Draco sneered back.

"Harry, Draco, Ron," Neville said softly in greeting, as he suddenly returned from wherever he had gone, plopping himself down on the seat next to Harry. Ron and Draco gaped at him incredulously.

The brunette looked at them in confusion before a dawning and slightly apologetic expression appeared on his face as he abruptly realised why the other two were looking at him so, Harry grinning ever so slightly in the background, "Sorry guys but I'm not moving. I'm horrible at Potions and I'll need Harry to make sure I don't melt my cauldron or something. You can sit there though," he said amicably as he pointed to the seats on his right, "That's still kinda close by."

The boys made to argue however before they could do so, Professor Severus Snape strode inside, black cape billowing behind him. He made his way to the front, and looked at the last two still remaining standing boys with a raised eyebrow, "Is there a problem?" he said, velvet voice laced with ice.

Ron and Draco flushed red with the scrutiny, the red-haired boy trying to comment once more but this time was interrupted by the blonde who tugged the sputtering red-head by his wrist towards the table Neville had pointed at, practically forcing the other boy onto his seat before sitting down himself.

Severus Snape turned to face the rest of then, eyebrows raising slightly at the sight of the youngest Potter sitting in the front row. The man didn't comment on it though, choosing instead to ignore the emerald-eyed boy and his wide-eyed friend.

Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the register, and like Flitwick, he paused at Harry's name, "Ah, yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter."

The older man gave Harry a scrutinizing look, one which the young boy just barely held, before Snape seemed to be satisfied with what he saw, and to the class's bafflement, went back to the role as if nothing had happened.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began softly when he finished and, though he spoke in barely more than a whisper, they caught every word – like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort, "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the soft simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewildering the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – if you aren't as big as a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

More silence followed this little speech. Harry and Neville exchanged looks ("Oh Merlin, I'm dooooooomed!" said the look on Neville's face). Hermione Granger was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead.

Cold black eyes scanned the room for a victim, "Weasley!"

Ron jumped as his name was suddenly called out, eyes widening and face slightly pale as he wondered what the hell he had done wrong.

"What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"Erm..." the red-head flushed in embarrassment, glancing to his side briefly when he caught Hermione's hand shoot up in his periphery vision, "I don't know, sir..."

The Slytherins in the room snickered to each other, though Draco had a decidedly blank look on his face. Snape's lips curled into a sneer, "For your information Weasley, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Clearly, the small task of opening a book before coming was completely beyond you. If you can't even answer a simple question like that, perhaps you would find something else to do instead of wasting my time."

By the time Snape had finished, Ron's face had drained of colour, fists clenched as he glared up at Professor. The Slytherins behind them had all but burst out in laughter, their shoulders shaking with mirth as the Head of Slytherin tormented the Gryffindor. Harry bit his lip lightly, looking over at Ron worriedly but thankfully the red-head seem to reign in his anger and did not reply. He knew what the Professor was doing was unfair but he also knew that if Ron reacted back in anger, things would only get far, far worse.

"Potter!"

Harry jumped, his facial expressions mirroring Ron's only moments before as he stared wide-eyed at the Professor in surprise.

"Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar, Potter?" Snape asked, staring down at him as he completely ignored the muggleborn desperately trying to get his attention. His eyes were black like James Potter's but they had none of the warmth and that tinge of mischievousness in its depths. Strangely though, as Harry stared back at the man, he was reminded of his brother Will.

Professor Snape looked at him in expectation.

"Erm..." Harry thought furiously when he realised a second later he was supposed to be answering a question, "I would find it... in a the stomach of a goat, sir."

Behind him, Harry could feel the Slytherins waiting for the moment the Professor would utterly humiliate him in front of the class in unveiled anticipation. The moment never came though, the Professor merely raised an eyebrow.

"And what, Potter, would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

The class around him twittered silently around him in confusion but Harry ignored them, secretly pleased when he realised he must have answered correctly. Thankfully, he knew the answer to this question as well; his brother had offered to teach him Potions during the break as that was he only magic he could learn without a wand. Obviously, he had taken that offer eagerly, "A very powerful sleeping potion, sir. Called the Draught of Living Death."

The class watched them with bated breath and then...

"Correct," Snape suddenly said, "Five points to Gryffindor."

The whole class sat there in stunned silence.

Harry, too, looked up in surprise at the Professor. For him to give points to a Gryffindor... it was unheard of! And yet...

Snape sneered down at him at his look of surprise but, Harry realised, it held none of the derision and the sharp edge of the look he gave to Ron. To Harry, it seemed... as if he was smiling...?

"Well?" Snape suddenly barked, making the class jump as a whole, "Why aren't you all copying that down?"

The students immediately moved in action at that command, the rustling of papers and the scratching of quills soon prevalent in the cold dungeon classroom. Harry didn't move however as the Professor came to stand in front of him.

"Perhaps this class won't be a total failure," he said to Harry softly, "Though undoubtedly, you have your brother to thank for this as your father was and still is an incompetent buffoon," he paused as if waiting for a reaction from Harry but the teen said nothing as he silently remembered the far less nice things his father had said about the Professor and Remus' total exasperation at the relationship between the two, "Nonetheless, I expect to see no less than perfection from you Potter. Don't disappoint me."

Harry didn't reply; he merely stared back at the Potions Master, his eyes glinting with determination at that challenge. Snape smirked and nodded at him before sweeping away in a swirl of cloak to go sneer at some other Gryffindors.

"Harry...?" an uncertain voice piped up softly beside him.

Harry turned to see Neville look worriedly at him. He smiled back reassuringly, "Don't worry about it Nev, we can handle this. Just leave this to me."

The brunette gulped lightly but nodded back resolutely.

Harry smiled again and then turned to open his book.

Behind him, a bushy-haired muggleborn glared angrily at him.

-

What goes without saying is that Harry James Potter was born a natural flyer though no one knew that at that time.

Why you ask? Because another universal truth was that James Potter was a psychotic nut when it came to the safety of his youngest son.

Thus Harry never had a chance to fly.

On the other hand, it was also a known fact that Neville Longbottom was an absolute clutz who had an extraordinary amount of accidents even with both feet on the ground and thus, it was unsurprising to learn his decidedly wise grandmother never even let him near a broomstick.

Trying to gather tips from Draco Malfoy was like asking an elderly person for their life story and Harry and Neville just didn't have the patience to stick it out to the end, friend or not. They weren't trying to avoid muggle helicopters (though Harry was surprised Draco knew what they were at all); they merely wished to get off the ground without dying.

Ron Weasley was also of little help; his 'help' always turning into long anecdotes about the time he had borrowed his brother Charlie's broomstick and almost hit a glang-hider ("Hang-Glider," Harry corrected).

It was at the beginning of lunch when Ron started spluttering during one of these anecdotes.

Harry and Neville looked up, the two of who were talking about their upcoming Quidditch lesson (though it was more agonising over their untimely death, the former only better at hiding his nervousness than the latter), and stared at him in confusion. Ron didn't answer though; instead he raised his right hand and pointed.

Harry looked over his shoulder and beamed happily when he saw his brother come over to their table and drop himself down into the empty seat beside him. Will opened his mouth to greet his brother but was interrupted.

"Hey, you! You slimy Slytherin! Go back to your own table!" shouted some random spineless first-year Gryffindor, glancing around as he looked for acceptance in the eyes of his housemates. All he got, to his bafflement, was the slowly edging away motion of all the people around him. Will and Harry scowled at the boy, eyes flashing in anger. However, before they could tear the boy a new... hole, another anger-filled voice cut-in.

"You little slug! How dare you call my most wonderful of all wonders and my most beautiful of all beauties that?! You don't even have the right to slobber on the ground he walks you, you smelly rat! You apologise to the Adonis of this whole school... the whole universe before I show you exactly what they meant by a red-heads fury!" George Weasley shrieked indignantly at the naive first year, splattering the boy's face with stray spittle every so often, his twin only barely holding him back by the arms.

Will's eyebrow twitched imperceptibly. He was... grateful for the red-heads vigorous defence of him but at the same time... He sighed as he turned to his brother, trying desperately to tune out that exclamation and the laughing gazes turned in his direction. However it was a bit hard to reign the annoyance when the object of your gaze was also trying desperately to hold back his laughter. Will sighed, "Just laugh, Harry. It's not healthy to hold it in."

And he did. Harry so laughed uproariously, it brought a small smile to Will's face seeing his younger brother so happy, his fears about flying, those of which the small teen had fervently hidden away for the sake of his best friend, finally disappearing.

Too bad the fact the rest of the hall had also joined in.

It also goes without saying, the poor first-year walked around for the rest of his month with pig's ears and a snout...

-

Harry watched with a small smile as Draco awkwardly patted Neville on the back as he tried to comfort the nearly sobbing boy. They were standing in two rows on the grass field, Ron was on his right, Neville across him and then Draco on his right.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch, "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet and then come straight back down by leaning forwards slightly. On my whistle... three... two-"

But Neville, still nervous and very jumpy, pushed off hard before the whistle had even touched Madam Hooch's lips.

"Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle; twelve feet... twenty feet... and then without warning, shot forward like an arrow and disappeared somewhere around the castle.

Harry didn't take the time to pause and think as he grab his broomstick and kicked off hard; he only had his best friend's safety in mind. Vaguely he heard cries of "Stop!" from behind him but there was little they could do as Harry took off into the air.

Blood was pounding in his ears as he soared up higher and higher, faster and faster. Air rushed through his hair and his robes whipped out behind him and in a rush of fierce joy he realised for once he felt absolutely free.

This is easy, he thought to himself in slight wonderment, This is bloody fantastic!

A familiar scream ahead of him quickly pulled him out of his thoughts though. Nev... he thought as he leaned forward, pushing the broom to its limits as he attempted to catch up to his friend. It wobbled slightly beneath his fingers from the strain but Harry knew he couldn't slow down now. If he did, he'd never catch up in time.

Neville suddenly turned towards him. Harry could see his scared white face, eyes widened in horror as they looked down at the ground that was so very far away. He saw him gasp and, Harry's heart clenching in fear, watched him slip sideways of the broom and...

"Neville!"

And it was moments before Neville Longbottom hit the ground did Harry snatch him up from it's grasp. The momentum knocked Harry's balance askew, sending the two boys onto the grass with a loud "whump" but the short break in the fall was all that was needed to prevent any serious injuries.

They lay on the grass, still in shock, breathing heavily. Harry suddenly felt a slight change in the air and hastily flung his arm out. A small round object fell sky and landed in Harry's outstretched hand with a loud slap. Nev's Remembrall, he thought absent-mindedly as he recalled the object from this morning.

Beside him, Neville grinned widely at him, eyes shining gratefully, "Nice catch, Harry," he said softly.

Harry smiled back brightly.

"HARRY POTTER!"

Harry looked up. Professor McGonagall was running towards them.

And the rest, they say, is history.

-

"Come on Harry! Hurry!" Ron whispered fervently.

"Will's going to kill me", Harry whispered back morosely as the trio made their way down the corridor as silently as they could, "A Professor's going to catch us but more importantly, Will's going to kill me."

"I think you've got your priorities a little skewed," Neville looked at Harry in amusement as they huddled behind Ron who was acting as bait er... I mean, leading the way as he peaked around the corner cautiously for any signs of a Professor, "And I doubt your brother would ever hurt a single hair on your precious little head."

"He doesn't need to touch my hair to kill me," Harry scowled, ignoring Neville as he rolled his eyes, "Why the hell am I doing this again?"

"Because," Ron suddenly spun around, fist raised and eyes blazing with energy, "We've been here a whole week and we've yet to do any exploring. Did you know the twins discovered some hidden passageway in their first week?!"

Harry looked at him drily, "I don't see what that has anything to do with us being out of the dormitory in the middle of the night. We can explore perfectly well in the middle of the day," he dead-panned.

"I must say, I absolutely agree with him."

The three Gryffindors whirled around in surprise at the new voice, hearts thumping with fear.

"Hey, it's only Malfoy," Ron huffed, rolling his eyes.

Draco scowled, "And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean-"

"Woah! Stop!" Harry interrupted, trying not to shout, "This is not the time for the two of you to have a lover's quarrel," he nonchalantly waved him off as they opened their mouths to argue, "Let's just say we've been there, done that and head back to our dorm's where there is a nice, warm bed waiting for us?" he said, turning to look at each of them hopefully.

Neville grinned, "Geez, Harry. What happened to that famous Potter spirit of adventure?"

Harry stared at him as if he were crazy, "I'd have to say who are you, and what have you done with Neville. Why the hell are you so eager to go gallivanting in the middle of the night?" he hissed angrily as if his best friend had just betrayed.

Neville just grinned wider, "Let's just say after that near-death experience on a broomstick, I've entered that phase where little-to-nothing will scare me any more. Don't worry, I'm sure it'll wear off sooner or later but for now, I'd like to use what I have now for the greater good."

Harry glared at him darkly, "See if I ever save you ever again, Longbottom," he muttered.

Draco rolled his eyes, "Well if you ladies are done arguing, if you'd excuse me but I'm in the middle of searching for the Prefect's bathroom. Either help me or get lost. Preferably, far away from me."

Ron raised an eyebrow at him, "Prefect's bathroom? If anyone's a girl here, Malfoy, I believe it's you. Anyway, be my guest, go away now," he said, making small shooing gestures with his hands and ignoring the glare sent his way as a result, "We're going to find the kitchens. That okay guys? I'm feeling a bit hungry..."

"When are you ever not...?"

"Don't tell me we're out here to satisfy your stomach Ron... I thought we were going to find something interesting...?"

"Actually, I already know how to get into the kitchens and the Prefect's bathroom..."

Ron, Neville and Draco turned and looked at Harry in surprise. Harry shrugged, "Why are you surprised? My dad did come to Hogwarts you know... Plus my brother's here too..."

Draco practically pouted, "My father came to Hogwarts too but he never mentioned any of this to me..."

Ron and Neville nodded in agreement, the red-head doing so quite sullenly.

Harry just shrugged again, "Well, my dad and his friends were the Marauders so..." he quickly tapered off as he realised this train of thought was less likely to get them back to bed.

"The who?" the other three looked at him in confusion.

"Doesn't matter," Harry said, trying to seem as non-committal as he could. Thankfully, it seemed to work as they seemed to lose interest, "So where are we going to go?"

None of them got a chance to reply however as a very terrifying voice spoke up not to far from them.

"Did you hear something, my sweet? Students out of bed perhaps?"

The four boys stared at each other, minds racing and hearts thumping; it was Filch!

"They're in here somewhere," they heard him mutter, "I can smell them."

"This way!" Harry mouthed to the others and, petrified, they began to creep down a long gallery full of suits of armour. They could hear Filch getting nearer. Neville suddenly let out a frightened squeak – he's temporary bout of courage obviously running out of him – and broke into a run. The extraordinary Longbottom grace kicked in and he tripped, grabbing Ron on his way down and knocked the both of them right into a suit of armour.

The clanging and crashing were enough to wake the whole castle.

"RUN!" Harry yelped and the four of them sprinted down the gallery, not looking back to see whether Filch was following as they swung around the doorpost and galloped down one corridor after another, Harry blindly leading them. They ripped through a tapestry and found themselves in a hidden passageway Harry vaguely remembered Sirius had mentioned once. They hurtled along it and came out near their Charms classroom.

"I think we've lost him," Harry panted, leaning against the cold wall and wiping his forehead. Neville was bent double beside him, wheezing and spluttering.

"We've got to get back to our dorms," Ron said, "quickly as possible."

"As if we didn't come to that conclusion ourselves, Weasley," Draco sneered but it wasn't with the usual venom as he breathed loudly.

Ron ignored him. His eyes narrowed as his ears picked up something the other hadn't. Harry looked at him strangely, "What-?"

Ron waved his hand urgently for him to get quiet. And then they all heard it.

A doorknob rattled loudly and the suddenly, something came shooting out of a classroom in front them. It was Peeves. He caught sight of them and gave a squeal of delight.

"Spirit of adventure, he says. For the greater good, he says," Harry grumbled, "Bollocks."

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED IN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

Ducking under the poltergeist, they ran for their lives, right to the end of the corridor where they slammed into a door.

And it was locked.

"This is it!" Harry moaned, as they pushed helplessly at the door, "We're done for! They're going to catch us and Will's going to kill me and dad will lock me up and I'd never see the light of day again! Curse you Longbottom! Friendship over!"

Neville snorted.

They could hear footsteps, Filch running as fast as he could towards Peeves' shouts.

"Oh, move over," Draco snarled, pulling out his wand. He tapped the lock and whispered, "Alohomora!"

The lock clicked and the door swung open; they piled through it, shut it quickly and pressed their ears against it listening.

"Which way did they go, Peeves?" Filch was saying, "Quick, tell me."

"Say, 'please'."

"Don't mess me about, Peeves, now where did they go?"

"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in his annoying sing-song voice.

"All right... please."

"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaa!" And they heard the sound of Peeves whooshing away and Filch cursing in rage.

"He thinks this door is locked," Harry whispered, "I think we'll be okay... get off, Longbottom! Our friendships' over, remember?" he hissed. Neville had been tugging on the sleeve of Harry's robe for the last minute, "Oh for the love of... What!?"

Harry turned around and saw, quite clearly, what.

They were in the forbidden corridor.

And they were staring straight into the eyes of a monstrous dog...

-

The large doors leading into the Great Hall flung open, hitting the wall with a loud resounding bang. The occupants of the Great Hall, who were just settling in for lunch, all looked up as one, wondering what was going on. As the dust cleared, a solitary figure could be seen striding purposefully forward, eyes blazing brightly. Messy, dark hair ruffled in the wind.

James Potter.

"Albus!" the man called out dramatically, "I demand to have a word with you!"

Albus Dumbledore stood up to address him, a twinkle in his eye, "What can I do for you, James?"

Harry banged his head on the table knowing exactly why his dad was here. The other Gryffindors around him looked at him curiously while he brother merely patted him solemnly on his shoulder, though Harry could see very clearly the grin that was tugging at the corner of his lips.

"What is this meaning of this?!" James shouted, hand raising a piece of parchment in the air for all to see.

Albus raised an amused eyebrow in his direction, "Why, I do believe it must be that letter I sent you."

"Exactly," James grouched loudly, "Now, tell me why I'm being asked to send Harry a broom so he can join the Gryffindor Quidditch team."

The Great Hall gasped as one. Obviously, this little bit of information was meant to be secret.

"Is there a problem with that?" Dumbledore mused.

"Is there a problem...?!" James gasped, staring at the Headmaster as if he were insane (though, to be fair, he already thought Albus was insane anyway and so did most of the world and thus, that description wasn't that much of a stretch), "Is there a problem?! Of course there is a problem! Do you know how dangerous Quidditch is?! What if something happened to my little baby?! What will you do then, Albus?"

Harry groaned loudly as the Great Hall burst out in giggles. Will merely stopped his little brother rattling his brains onto the table and poured him a glass of pumpkin juice.

"Now, now, James," Dumbledore condescended his former student with a grandfatherly look, "I don't believe you are being reasonable. Weren't you once on the Quidditch team yourself?"

"That's different!" James argued.

"And how is that different?" Minerva McGonagall suddenly cut in, standing up as she did so, "Might I also remind you, Quidditch also wasn't the most dangerous thing you got into in your youth. Your son is going to play Quidditch and there is nothing you can do to stop him," she said, staring at him sternly.

"But, Minnie..." James whined.

This time the Great Hall gaped as one at the ludicrous way James Potter addressed the transfiguration Professor. One thought ran through their minds: OMG! WTF?!

Minerva McGonagall didn't explode as they would she would though; she merely pursed her lips, "James," she began bleakly, "Gryffindor hasn't won the Quidditch cup for eight years now. In our last game, we were absolutely thrashed by the Slytherin team as we had no seeker."

It was then that the elder Potter caught the look on Severus Snape's face; that slimy, smug bastard.

James' resolve was weakening.

Just as he was going to tear the grease ball a new one, dread filled him as a new voice entered the room.

"James..." the voice called out threateningly from behind him.

James Potter froze, turning around very slowly, "Ahahaha..." he laughed nervously, "Heya, Moony... When did you get here?"

A very angry Remus Lupin stepped forward. He didn't answer his friend, instead opting to grab the taller male's ear and tugging... hard.

"Ow, ow, ow! Hey! Ow! Moony, quit it!"

"I'm sorry for the interruption, Professors," Remus dead-panned, "Please ignore this buffoon. I'll deal with him personally," James reeeeeeally didn't like the sound of that... "Oh and Harry? Your new broom should arrive in about two days. Good day, everyone," and with that, he dragged the loudly protesting James Potter out the Great Hall.

"Well," Albus Dumbledore twinkled brightly at everyone, "It was nice of those boys to visit, wasn't it Minerva?"

Minerva McGonagall pinched the bridge of her nose and prayed for some sanity.

It also didn't help that the Weasley twins were staring at the door with hero-worshipping eyes.


Final A.N.: Ah... it wasn't as good as the first chapter I know but hopefully you guys will still love it :) read and review and tell me what you think! I would really like to know...

Unedited version: 26 May '08

Oh! And BTW, would anyone be interested in seeing a chapter solely dedicated to Will and his friends (and their first year at Hogwarts? Like how they became friends and all...)?