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Harry gasped as his Father let out a stream of foul language. He paid for Harry's wand and Harry and his Mother were dropped home. His Father left again in a rush.

James flooed directly to the Ministry. The wand was kept by the Unspeakables. It was supposed to be absolutely impossible to steal. The entire Auror Department was huddled around the entrance to the Department of Mysteries squabbling like children. Head Auror Longbottom was struggling to make himself heard but once he saw James he dragged him over.

"How could this happen?"

"How should I know?" James could not keep the derision out of his voice. He could not remember if he had even defeated Voldemort and now he was supposed to miraculously know who had taken the wand.

"Did you check the wards were there any disturbances?"

The Head Auror flushed and James resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It would seem that everyone had simply decided to wait for his arrival. He strode into the D.O.M. and asked to be shown the last known location of the wand. The room was heavily warded, the very walls were made out of golden warding stones. James was not sure why the wand of a dead wizard was being so heavily guarded. A wizard could not properly use a wand that he was not suited for though maybe his son could use the wand with some effectiveness. James banished the thought like an unwelcome spook. Now was not the time to dwell on Ollivander. He would get answers from him later.

"There was no disturbance. No one exited or entered this chamber. It's like the wand simply disappeared."

The Aurors and Unspeakables spent a few more hours going over every inch of the room, but nothing new was revealed. The wand had simply vanished. There were no leads or suspects except a man known to be dead and his many elusive followers.

"James, a word?"

James nodded and followed behind Longbottom. The Head Auror's office was quirky almost like a poor imitation of Dumbledore's. That was no surprise though, Longbottom worshiped Dumbledore. It was not hard to see why. The man was a great wizard, certainly more powerful than James was and the Ministry had taken his position as Chief Mugwump and handed it to James. He felt very uneasy about the disappearance of that wand and James wondered idly if his son's new wand was merely a coincidence before he quickly squashed that train of thought.

"What do you think this means?"

"Frank, I really don't know. It could mean anything. We need to alert the Order and prepare for a possible attack."

Frank looked panicked and forlorn but James did not want to shield him from the truth. He didn't want to shield himself from the truth.

"But he's dead James, you killed him."

James sighed and dropped his head into his hands. "What wizard explodes into ashes when they die Frank? We have no idea if he's dead or not and I have no idea what happened that night."

Frank looked at James for a long moment and then conjured them both a stiff drink. It was good to have someone finally believe what he was saying. Only Dumbledore seemed to be on the constant alert for Voldemort's return. It was an apprehension he had been holding all on his own. Lily always changed the subject when he brought Voldemort up and she shielded Harry fiercely from anything Dark Lord related.

"May Merlin have mercy on our souls."

Frank looked stricken and James could not bring himself to offer comfort or to try to sooth the other man's worry. If they could convince even a handful of people that the Dark Lord could return they would have just a slip of a chance to survive it. No one wanted to believe the Dark Lord could return though, anyone who insisted that he would was labeled a lunatic. Lily was waiting up for him when James returned home. He was just a little tipsy and he stumbled out of the floo.

"Well, it can't have been all bad if you've gotten drunk."

James grinned and reached for Lily. He spun them around the floo room humming some drunken lullaby. Right now he simply wanted to dance with his wife. There were so many questions that went unanswered about that night, and James held on to his suspicions for years, but right now it was time to dance and to drink some wine and to make love. He did not want to think about the evasive answers he received from Lily every time he had asked for details about that night. He did not want to think about his beloved son happily clutching the brother of the Dark Lords wand. For tonight and for as long as he could, James wanted to think only of the happy family he had reached for since he was fifteen. Lily was the girl of his dreams his son was smart and handsome and clever and kind.

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"I got my wand today! But…"

Harry's excitement vanished again when he remembered the look on his Father's face. If he didn't know any better he would say that the look was one of fear. That stupid old man had said something about his wand and it made his parents scared. His Mother seemed reluctant to show him any of the simple spells he was supposed to learn, and his Father had stayed out all day even though Harry had tried to wait up for him. He ducked his head and tried to hide his angry tears from Tom but it was no use. Tom pulled him into a warm embrace and placed his fingers under Harry's chin and forced him to look up and into his blue eyes.

"What happened? You should be happy about getting your wand."

Harry sniffled and wiped his nose on his sleeve. "That creepy wand guy told my Dad that my wands feather was like a yew wand and my parents got all scared and then my Dad had to go because my Uncle told him someone took Voldemort's wand. Now my parents hate me and think I'm evil."

Harry broke down into sobs again. He didn't know much about Voldemort, only that he was evil and that his Dad defeated him in a duel. Tom whispered soft soothing hissing words and rubbed Harry's back until he calmed down.

"Your parents do not think you are evil Harry. They are simply surprised that you would be suited to such a wand. It is rare for wands to have the same core from the very same creature, but you are a gem Harry. You are destined for great things and you must let no one hold you back from your potential." Tom smiled and kissed Harry softly on the forehead and Harry smiled back. Tom was right, he liked his wand. It felt a lot like Tom's and he felt safe and warm when he held it.

"Can you teach me a spell?"

Tom nodded and placed Harry to stand in front of him. Harry stared at Tom expectantly and the older boy smirked. "You'll need your wand Harry."

Harry felt his cheeks flame he reached into his pocket and to his surprise pulled out his wand. He pointed it at Tom and the older boy raised an eyebrow before he placed his index finger on the tip of the wand and slowly pushed it downward so it was facing the floor.

"Lesson number one don't point your wand at people unless you mean to curse them."

Harry nodded and Tom smiled again and Harry's insides went all funny.

"Let us begin with something simple."

Harry gasped as the beautiful world he was used to simply turned black. The orange and pink sky faded away and he could barely make out Tom's face.

"Now, the incantation is Lumos, but that's not very important, what's important is that you visualize what you want to happen. You want to create light. You want to be able to see. No amount of wand waving will make the spell any stronger. It is all connected to your will. Now feel it inside and will the light to appear."

Harry closed his eyes and tried to do what Tom said. He really wanted the light to come back because he didn't like not being able to see Tom's face. He focused and waved his wand downward and whispered, "Lumos."

"Wonderful Harry! Open your eyes."

Harry blinked in wonder at the small pool of light he had created. He jumped into Tom's lap and began bouncing up and down excitedly.

"I did it! I did it. Tom Look!"

The light danced around with Harry's excited bouncing and Tom chuckled. He took Harry's hand into his own and whispered, "Nox." The light faded away and the world came back into full colour. Harry didn't notice though as the counter spell Tom had cast sent tingles all over Harry's body making him shiver and he blinked up at Tom who smiled gently at him.

"That was wonderful Harry, and on your very first try. I'm so proud of you. It's time to wake up, I'll see you tomorrow and we'll try a new spell."

Tom ruffled Harry's hair and lifted him up and placed him on the floor. "I love you Harry."

"I love you too."

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The following weeks felt very odd to Harry. There was a weird something going on in his house that he couldn't quite put his finger on. All the adults were kind of tense, and Uncle Frank came over a lot more and brought along Neville. The two boys tried playing detective but they were always caught and sent away. After a few months they forgot about it and became engrossed in practicing spells. Harry's Godfather Sirius seemed really interested in teaching Harry jinxes until Harry caught him with a Jelly Legs jinx. After that he stuck to boring spells like 'point me'.

His Father spent a lot of time teaching him how to fly and telling him about the Marauders, and on Harry's ninth birthday which was a small family and friends affair Harry received an invisibility cloak and an incredible map of Hogwarts. His Mother did not seem too happy when Sirius launched into detailed explanations on how to successfully prank the entire population of the Great Hall. Harry nodded off that night feeling happy and excited. In two more years he would finally get to go to Hogwarts!

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Harry smiled at Tom and flew into his arms, Harry wished that Tom was real, but he only saw him when he went to sleep. Every night Tom would be there waiting for him and they would play and go to wonderful places.

"How's my favourite boy today?"

"I'm the only boy you know Tom." Harry laughed and Tom ruffled his hair with obvious affection.

"That's what makes you my favourite. Tell me what you did today?"

Harry scrunched up his face into an adorable little frown and shook his head. "Nu uh you tell me what you did today. I always tell you what I did."

Tom smiled and knelt down so he was eye level with Harry. Harry smiled back and reached out to touch Tom's hair. Harry couldn't say how old the older boy was he just looked like the older kids Harry sometimes saw when he went out with his Mother. He had a really nice smile and piercing blue eyes. He always played with Harry and listened to all of his stories and he even sometimes offered solutions which always helped. Harry really wished Tom was real.

"I spend my days waiting for you Harry."

Tom smiled that smile at Harry that made him feel a little funny and shy. He smiled and blushed and ducked his head. Harry received all the love and attention a little boy could want but when Tom smiled at him like that he felt like the most important person in the world.

"Come on I want to show you something."

Tom stood up and held out his hand for Harry to take. Harry took it without hesitation and walked along side Tom, getting distracted by the beautiful scenery every now and then. No matter where they went everything was always so pretty and sometimes Tom would show him really cool magic. His parents wouldn't let him cast anything dangerous. Tom wouldn't either for that matter, but he wasn't scared to show him. The older wizard led him to a beautiful clearing filled with wild flowers. He let go of Harry's hand and knelt down and began to hiss softly, Harry heard some words under the hissing but it took him a while to make them out.

"Come out, I have a friend for you."

Harry watched in fascination as a tiny snake made its way into Tom's palm. The little creature was pure black and no longer than two or three inches by Harry's guess. Tom held out his palm to Harry and the small boy inched shyly closer. When he got as close as he wanted he hesitantly stuck out a finger to the little snake. It rose up and flicked out a tiny tongue to lick Harry's finger, Harry giggled and pulled back.

"That tickles!"

"Do you have mice?"

Harry shook his head no and the little snake swayed from to side before moving forwards on Tom's hand obviously trying to reach Harry. Harry held out his hand again and the little snake slithered onto it, Harry giggled again at the weird silky sensation of the snake moving around his arm.

"What's your name?"

Tom smiled when the snake simply let out a non-sensible hiss of confusion.

"This is my gift to you Harry, you can decide his name. I won't be able to see you for some time, but this snake will stay with you and protect you until I can return."

Harry shook his head in immediate denial. Tom had always been with him for as long as he could remember. He rushed into his Tom's arms nearly forgetting the little snake which hissed in alarm.

"You can't go. You're mine!"

Tom ran soothing hands over his back and rocked him gently. "Of course I am yours Harry, always and forever, but I have to go for a little while. I will come back to you, always, I promise."

Harry sniffled and looked up into Tom's blue eyes, he nodded bravely but a sob gave him away a second later. They spent the rest of the night playing and getting to know the little snake which Harry named Viper.

"I will always come back to you Harry, I love you."

"I love you too."

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Harry woke up that morning with tears on his cheeks and a little snake named Viper on his pillow. The green eyed boy often spoke with Viper who stayed well out of sight of his family and asked him about Tom. The little snake didn't know anything about him though, and Harry began to forget slowly that Tom was even real.

The dreams that they shared became less and less substantial, the only reminder that there been a boy named Tom whose smile made Harry shy was a slightly rude and now quite large snake. A little over one year had gone by and still no one knew that Harry kept and talked with a snake. He had been warned not to tell his parents by someone he trusted but could not quite remember, a young man who was always surrounded by the most beautiful flowers.

"Happy Hatch Day."

"It's birthday Viper."

"Silly human, we are hatched."

"Humans aren't hatched."

Viper swayed around a bit before slinking his way under Harry's bed. Harry got the distinct impression the snake was flipping him off somehow. He put it out of his mind. Viper was odd and had a very unique view of the world. Though Harry supposed that could just be because he was a snake. Harry grinned to no one in particular. It was his eleventh birthday and next month he would finally be attending Hogwarts. He could not contain his excitement, today his parents were taking him to get his school things.

Harry could not quite help bouncing in front of the fireplace, he had learned how to use the floo without getting sick, close your eyes, his Mother laughed and hugged him and he just grinned even more. His Dad and uncles had been winding him up with all sorts of awesome tales about Hogwarts and he simply could not wait, a whole month seemed like forever. His Mother went first and Harry went second with his Father bringing up the rear. The alley was packed and for the first time ever Harry went straight to the book store. Lily smiled knowingly at her son, he was just too curious about magic, he didn't even realize it was making him read.

The trip was straight forward and uneventful until they reached the Owlery. Harry had never asked for a new pet but Lily and James had decided that Harry should pick out his own owl. Owls tended to live longer than dogs and were quite loyal. Harry looked around the store and couldn't really tell the owls apart. He found them a little menacing; the way they stared was kind of creepy. He looked at each owl in turn and his eyes landed on a snowy white owl because it was staring at him so steadily.

"That one's wild she'll bite your finger clean off."

Harry looked at the dishevelled looking clerk and realized that he was indeed missing several fingers on his right hand which was heavily bandaged. The owl didn't look wild to Harry just sort of determined like it knew a secret. Harry held out his arm like his Mum told him to do and the snowy owl fluttered down and hooted softly at Harry. Carefully and possibly foolishly Harry reached out a finger to stroke the feathers on the owl's head. The bird hooted softly again and nipped lightly at Harry's fingers.

"Well it's your hand, that'll be five galleons."

Harry smiled at the owl which hoped onto his shoulder.

"This girl's fond of mice, but she prefers to hunt 'em, let her out every night or she'll hunt you instead."

The owl came with a cage and a starter supply of owl treats. Harry named her Hedwig. In the following month Harry was not often seen outside of the company of Hedwig. He wasn't doing something ridiculous like cuddling a bird, but she just tended to stay in the same room as Harry at all times. She even seemed to be housed trained because stray droppings were never found. There had been a bit of a scuffle when Hedwig had tried to hunt Viper, but Harry told his two pets very sternly that they were not allowed to eat each other.

He knew his parents were planning a big party for him this year since he would be turning eleven. All of the family's with heirs the same age or younger were invited as was customary. He had tried to sneak a peek at his parents' plans but even with his invisibility cloak, which his Mother always tried to hide, he couldn't find anything out. Viper always laughed at him when he flopped down on his bed in frustration after a fruitless spying mission.

"I could always spy for you Harry."

Harry looked at Viper and nearly smacked himself on the head. The snake was especially good at remaining unseen. He excitedly told Viper to go find out what was going on. Harry held high hopes until Viper came back hissing madly.

"We must leave they are planning to attack you! Master will skin me if something bad happens to you."

Harry blinked he had never heard Viper speak of a Master before, could it be that strange dream boy? "Who's your master Viper?"

"Master is Master. They want to ambush you Harry."

Harry sighed and rolled his eyes, he knew Viper was wonky. He shouldn't have asked.

"The word you're looking for is surprise. They want to surprise me not attack me, come here."

Viper slithered over and Harry carefully picked up the two foot long snake and let him curl up on his chest. He lay for a while staring at his ceiling when a memory suddenly came back to him clear as day. He had hidden a wand in his closet and then he had moved it to the loose floor board under his bed and forgotten about it. It was a pale wand and quite stiff but it felt very similar to his, strange thing about the wand was he remembered getting it in a dream. He shifted Viper who had already dozed off and crawled under his bed. He pried the loose floor board and sure enough there was the wand and a few other things he had obviously thought were important to hide but he couldn't remember them, most of them were broken.

He picked up the wand and a vaguely familiar tingle spread through his whole body. No one should know that he had this. Harry went to his school trunk which was mostly already packed, a month in advance, and placed the wand at the very bottom. His wand was strapped to his arm in the holster his Godfather Remus had gotten him for his tenth birthday. Harry tried to remember how old he had been when he got that wand, did he find it somewhere? How come it felt so much like his wand? He could only remember being very small, and a boy with nice blue eyes and a melodic voice telling him about fishy flowers.

Harry gave up trying to remember and went down to be surprised for his Birthday Party. He knew this birthday would be very flashy, maybe something like Draco's birthday when they had a fair and rides and tons of cotton candy. Then again he often heard his Father mumbling about what a stuck up ponce Malfoy was. Harry had to admit that Draco seemed a little conceited and was a brat but his Mother always told him to put himself in other people's shoes and not to judge. Draco was privileged and should be grateful, as was Harry. With that in mind Harry began to doubt it would be something as flashy as a Malfoy party. His family had at least the same amount of money as the Malfoy's if not more, but they remained as far as Harry could tell relatively humble.

On the morning of his birthday party nothing happened and Harry thought his parents were just trying to surprise him, as the day dragged on though no sign of a party appeared. Just as Harry was giving up hope and beginning to think that his parents had actually forgotten his birthday he was hoisted into the air by his ankle. He shrieked as the world turned upside down.

"Yes! I finally got you pup!"

Harry eyes widened as the couch in the living room turned into his uncle. His slightly mad Godfather had his wand trained on Harry and a warm trickling sensation started at Harry's feet and worked its way down to the top of his head. This could not be good.

"Happy Birthday Pup, would you like me to let you down?"

Harry could tell by the grin on his Godfather's face that he did not want to be let down by him.

"Mum! Help me."

His Mother smiled at him and spelled him down from the ceiling but she didn't remove the pink frilly dress his robes had been turned into. He spun around, twisting every which way in horror to try and get a good look at the dress. He tried to rip it off over his head but the thing would not come off.

"Padfoot change it back!"

As his Godfather laughed and ran out the room, Harry chased him stumbling over the dress' frilly train.

"PADFOOT!"

He could hear his Father laughing in front of him and could now see that a huge party had been set up in the backyard, his parents must have spelled the windows. He turned a corner following his mad Godfather as fast he could but the man was a lot taller and way faster than Harry. He came to an abrupt stop and looked down the inexplicably empty hall. He had just seen his Godfather turn the corner. He drew his wand feeling apprehension and excitement. It wasn't often that Harry got caught by one of his Godfathers pranks, he knew the slightly mad man was simply salivating right now and had probably planned the most awesome prank, but what Harry enjoyed more was being able to one up his Godfather.

He looked around the empty and quiet hall carefully, this section of the manor went mostly unused. The guest wing was on the opposite side. Harry remembered playing here a lot when he was younger with Neville and a few nameless however many times removed cousins. He used to think this wing was haunted. A door scraped open on his right with a creaking sound that was too deliberate to be real. He edged his way carefully towards the door and tried to peer inside but he could only make out blackness.

He squinted hoping it wasn't his eyes. His Mother had taken him to a potions master and he was just finishing up a six month regiment of potions to correct his slightly poor vision. He was supposed to report it 'at once' if his vision went blurry. He cast a Lumos but it didn't even pierce the gloom of the room that was just half-way visible through the slightly ajar door. Harry backed up and surveyed the hall once again. His Godfather was up to his finest tricks. Harry walked slowly down the hall stopping every few seconds to check for the faint disturbances in the air that indicated one of his Godfathers jinx lines.

He stepped carefully over one of them and then heard a low chuckle from behind him he spun around but no one was there, unfortunately for Harry he stumbled and tripped the jinx line. Cold water poured out of the ceiling and onto Harry's head. The dress disappeared but so did the rest of Harry's clothes, everything but his underwear. Harry shivered and shook his head like a dog to get some of the water out but he couldn't stop a few stray giggles from escaping. He loved to play with his Godfather, he would get him good for this. A sound of something moving very fast through the air made Harry duck very quickly, to his astonishment a broom, a Nimbus 2000 to be exact, went zooming by Harry and hovered in the air about ten feet down the long hall.

Harry nearly ran over to broom before his brain caught up with him. The broom was real to be certain but it was probably jinxed. Harry looked carefully around the hall trying to see the slight disturbances that indicated jinx lines or tricks. He didn't see any and inched his way closer and closer to the new broom. This was the fastest broom on the market to date. His Father had been teasing him for months that he might possibly be getting a very nice cleaning instrument on his eleventh birthday. After an agonizing ten minutes of waiting for something to happen Harry threw caution to the wind and walked briskly to the broom. He stopped just in front of it and examined its highly polished handle, the words 'Nimbus 2000' were etched on the wood in gold. He gulped and reached for the broom. Harry gasped, the broom was counter jinxed and as soon as he grasped it he was warm and dry and dressed in his finest dress robes.

"Finally! I thought you were going to stand there and stare at it forever. Happy Birthday Pup."

Harry spun around and looked at his beaming Godfather. He grabbed his broom and ran over to the man for a bear hug.

"Thank you Padfoot!"

He heard his Mother's laugh and his Father's chuckle. They were now both dressed formally, his Father in dress robes and his Mother in a nice gown, Padfoot's clothes had changed too, not dress robes but nicer than his everyday robes.

"Happy Birthday sweetie, your Godfather could not wait to give you your present and set up this little prank for you."

Harry just grinned happily and examined his broom. He wanted to take it out for a test ride now, but he had seen the backyard and the guests were most likely beginning to arrive, he gave his Godfather another hug and then hugged his Mother and Father too.

"Happy Birthday Son."

Harry looked away from his Father and fought a blush. His Dad's eyes looked a little bright, like he was about to cry or something.

"Oh hush up James, let's get this young man to his party!"

Harry followed his parents outside and his jaw hit the floor. It was a circus, an actual circus!

"Wicked!"

In the distance he saw a Pegasus. Harry ran off in the direction of the circus performers. There were so many people there, Harry was sure he didn't properly greet them all. The Malfoy's made sure to formally wish him a happy birthday while his face was covered in cotton candy, and his Dad actually did break down in tears when he presented Harry with the Potter Heir ring.

"I'm so proud of you son. I love you."

Harry blushed but all the other adults seemed to be tearing up too. It was a big thing when the heir turned eleven and finally went off to school. His Mother was practically sobbing like someone had died. Harry went over to hug her to try and make her feel better and she picked him up and started sobbing in earnest.

"Oh my little Harry, you're growing up so fast."

Harry felt his face flame. All the other children were gathered around to receive their party favours and could see this. He hugged his Mother harder hoping that would make her stop, it didn't. Thankfully his Godfather Remus rescued him. He placed Harry down and the young boy was horror stricken to see tears on his face too.

"Hogwarts is going to be wonderful. We're all just really going to miss you."

Harry thought about going to Hogwarts. He had just been so excited it hadn't really hit him that he would be away from home. He'd never been away from home before and to his great embarrassment his eyes started tearing up too. He quickly wiped his face on his sleeve. He was happy but sad too and had never felt like this before. Harry hugged his Godfather and went back to his Mother and climbed into her lap. She held him tightly and he held her too. He was growing up, something he had always been looking forward to, but he only now understood what he was losing. It was an exchange. He remembered a beautiful boy and a lake with flowers, something about giving something to get something. It was a jumble though and Harry was determined to forget childish things, like boys in dreams and beautiful flowers and multi-coloured skies.

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Harry pounded down the stairs and jumped over the jinx line his Godfather had so lovingly placed on the middle step.

"Aww James! I told you not to warn him. Imagine how lovely he would have looked with bright pink hair!"

"Dad didn't warn me Padfoot, you're just predictable."

The grown man pouted and Harry ducked his hug causing his Godfather to collide into his Father who immediately sprouted feathers and started squawking.

"Sirius knock it off honestly will you ever grow up?"

"No!"

Harry's Mother shook her head and started patting down Harry's hair and smoothing his robes.

"Mum, it's fine, it's fine, let's go."

Lily smiled at her only son who was growing up into quite the handsome young man just like she had always suspected. Her husband was molted the last of his feathers and stopped issuing the loud squawks when they reached King Cross Station. The sight however was far from unusual. Much to Lily's dismay the two men had never quite outgrown there pranking ways and were always trying to one up each other. Thankfully her son had her sensibility and sixth sense to avoid most, if not all, of their attempts to prank him.

Harry shooed her fussing hands away impatiently when he caught sight of the other children. Lily smiled fondly wondering where the time had gone and when her little baby had turned into this young man. The four of them Sirius, Lily, James and Harry made their way to the platform and Harry ran through without hesitation. Lily leaned down and looked into bright green eyes which were a duplicate of her own and smiled at her son's brave little smile.

"Now I want letters from school once a week, and if you forgot anything let me know right away and I'll send it along."

"Don't smother the boy, you make sure to check your trunk very thoroughly when you get to school."

James winked at his son and Lily frowned. She had checked a thousand times to make sure James had not slipped their son that map and blasted cloak. James simply smiled at her and the train whistled the first warning toll. Harry looked to the train and the red reflected in his clear green eyes giving him a slightly eerie look. He hugged Lily very tightly and then his Dad and Godfather and then hugged Lily again before running off to the train. She waved at him one last time and the train began its slow exit. She stood holding James hand tightly and watched as her baby was taken away from her. Two years ago she had seen a tiny snake around his wrist and since then a larger one more than a few times. She had made mistakes but she hoped that no matter what happened Harry would always be safe.

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Harry caught up with Neville who was clutching the same struggling toad he had gotten for his birthday this summer. Harry had a gotten a Nimbus 2000 but his Mum had forced him to leave it at home since first years were not allowed to have brooms. His Father had assured him that he would send it along.

"Hiya Harry."

"Hey, how was your trip to Romania?"

"It was great Dad took us to see real Dragons!"

Harry smiled, familiar with Neville's Dad's obsession with Dragons, Neville's Father and Mother both worked with his Dad as Aurors. He saw Neville very often and the two were close friends. They found a compartment near the front of the train and settled in for the ride. Harry fiddled with his robes and the plain Hogwarts crest with some nervousness. Viper had assured him repeatedly that he would be sorted into Slytherin with the assurance that he smelt like a snake, whatever that meant. Harry hoped for his sake the little snake was wrong.

His Father, hell his whole family expected him to be in Gryffindor and he did not want to disappoint them. He had been looking forward to going to Hogwarts since he was three years old, the first time he had set foot in the castle he had been enchanted and could not wait until the day he turned eleven and would be allowed to attend. He remembered dimly that one person had really wanted him to be in Slytherin, but he had no idea who. No one in his family had blue eyes like those, and he couldn't figure why a boy would always be surrounded by flowers. Harry assumed it was some sort of fantasy he had entertained as a small child, like an imaginary friend.

Ronald Weasley joined them a little after the train had departed and offered Harry and Neville a cheery wave. Harry had seen Ron a few times but his family lived quite far from Harry's out in St. Catchpole. Potter Manor was near the outskirts of London in what the muggles considered an upscale part of the city. He often heard his Mother complaining that Molly, Ron's Mother, was jealous of their wealth. Harry himself did not understand much of anything about politics or status but his Mother had often told him that their family was very fortunate and that he should be grateful for all he had.

Getting a close look at Ron's slightly faded and slightly too large robes, Harry understood his good fortune. Harry smiled at Ron and the three boys started discussing what the sorting ceremony might entail. None of them knew for sure and after consulting each other they realized none of their parents had told them the truth. The only other source of information, Ron's twin older brothers, Fred and George, Ron insisted on not believing anything he was told by them, and Harry hoped he was right because they had told Ron they would be fighting dragons. They spent the entire train trip talking loudly as if trying to drown out the thought of fighting dragons with pure noise.

After they got off the train, Harry was quite startled to see the largest man he had ever seen calling all the First Years over to little boats. Harry gulped and he Ron and Neville made their way carefully to the large man. He beamed down at the boys, or at least Harry hoped he was smiling, it was hard to tell since the man had a huge beard. Harry had seen him once before at their house for some sort of party but he had quickly hidden in fright. He had no idea what the man's name was, and he also had no desire to get in the tiny rickety looking boat. It was night and the lake which Harry had loved in the daylight at the age of three looked positively terrifying now.

He climbed into the boat, glaring slightly at Neville and Ron who caused the little thing to dip dangerously to the right when they both scrambled in. Neville smiled and Ron looked about at the lake seeming no more pleased than Harry to be in this boat. The boats started to sail across the lake and Harry got the distinct impression that this was meant to impress. It was not working. Harry was terrified the little boat would flip over. It didn't, and all the First Years made it safely to the school, not all together dry but alive.

Harry walked into the Great Hall and gazed up at the ceiling which showed the great starry sky outside. The lights of thousands of candles filled the hall and the First Years were told to line up. Harry stayed close to Neville and Ron though all of them were too nervous to speak. This sentiment seemed to spread to all the First Years who were entirely silent.

An old, stern looking witch gestured to the First Years to gather round her, Harry remembered seeing her a few times in the company of Professor Dumbledore but he couldn't quite remember her name. Kitten had not liked her very much and Harry always took him outside to play the few times this witch had come over.

Harry was not sure if she had been back to their home since Kitten died, but he was often playing outside and spent a lot of time talking to Viper. The snake had insisted he be brought along and was currently enjoying a nap wrapped around Harry's shoulders and torso.

"First Years, you will line up in an orderly fashion for the Sorting Ceremony. Follow me."

Her voice left no room for disobeying and held a slightly shrill Scottish accent. Harry got into line with Neville behind him and Ron in front of him. They were led to the very front of the Great Hall and from his position Harry could just make out a small stool and an old frayed hat sitting on top. Harry was relived but confused, what was the purpose of an old hat? Just as he was beginning to think this whole sorting business was some kind of joke the hat sprang to life and a wide gaping hole appeared like a big yawning mouth. It began to sing:

Oh you may not think me pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

if you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folks use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!

Harry was so nervous that his stomach was twisting and when his name was called he strode straight to the stool and sat down without looking up. The hat was placed on his head like he had seen it done to every other student and his view of the hall was blocked. Harry jumped a little when he heard a voice in his mind.

"Mmmm, what do we have here? Curious thing if ever I did see it."

Harry remained silent not knowing what to say or think. He tried to think that he wanted to be in Gryffindor like his dad but a handsome young man appeared before him with breath taking blue eyes and a dazzling smile. Harry blinked as the hall came into focus again. Professor McGongall pointed him in the direction of the table at the end of the hall. Harry looked down at the Hogwarts crest to see that it was now the crest of Slytherin. His tie was green and silver. He looked at Neville who was already seated at the Gryffindor table and the slightly plump boy just stared back at him mutely. Harry made his way to the Slytherin table and sat down beside Malfoy who forced the large boy beside him to shift down a spot.

"I always knew that I liked you Potter. Father told me you would be in Slytherin."

Authors Note: The song is stolen from Book One (thanks jade). Thanks everyone for the huge amount of support. I'm honestly surprised so many people have already subscribed to this story. I'm really trying to keep the pace normal and avoid spelling errors, and confusing dialogue. Let me know what you think! Read and review!