"Crap, he's waking up," Snape said in alarm. "What should we do?"

"Who are you?!" Harry asked, getting up and rubbing his eyes with his fists. He reached over for his glasses and put them on. His vision got clearer and he saw two men dressed in robes, one really old and one middle aged with black hair that reached his neck. "What the hell-"

"Obliviate," Dumbledore calmly said, waving his wands. "Come on, lets go."

"That's it?"
"That's it," Dumbledore said. "We are done here."

Snape nodded. "Alright."

They left and Harry knew nothing but darkness because he had lost his memory.

----

A little while later...

Harry stood outside the orphanage with his trunk and a ticket to nine and three quarters. "Well, see you at Hogwarts I suppose, Mr. Hagrid."

"Call me Hagrid, my boy. I got all your stuff for you, on Dumbledore's orders."

"I see." Harry said slowly. He was a slow cautious child, but his green eyes held unsurpassable will and arrogance. He had a sneer around him that Hagrid didn't like, Hagrid felt scared of Harry Potter. The boy was something else entirely, the way he carried himself like a graceful tiger, the way he looked at you like a snake, coldly and ruthlessly, the way he focused on you, so perceptingly like he knew what you were thinking. Hagrid was scared alright and the sooner he would get out of the boy's presence, the better it would be. Already he was sure that Harry Potter would end up in Slytherin.

"I need money," Harry said. "Muggle money. Thanks for this though," he held up a wizard's pouch, filled to the brim with gold coins, gleaming in the warm sunlight of the day.

"No problem, its from your vault anyway."

"I see," Harry said. "I need muggle money for a taxi though."

"Here, you can borrow fifty pounds," Hagrid said gruffly and handed him everything he had in one of his coat pockets.

"Thanks," Harry said.

Hagrid nodded briefly and apparrated away with a pop. Harry didn't even blink. He cast one last hateful look at the orphanage, and walked downtown, a walk that took him thirty minutes. He found a cabby waiting next to the National Bank, and climbed in.

"Take me to King's Cross," He commanded in a no nonsense voice.

The cab driver was about fifty years old, and he had an oily face and a pale complexion. "Do you have the money?" He asked gruffly.

Harry nodded and pulled out a twenty pound bill.

"Won't be enough."

He pulled out another twenty.

The cab driver grunted and started the engine, and sped off toward King's Cross.

On the ride Harry thought about what this new revelation meant to him. He was a wizard, he could do magic... Now what?

He was already making plans.

He was already trying to think up ways he could profit for this. Before he discovered he could do magic he was planning to be a good student, play football, get into a good university, go into politics and become successful but now that he had magic at his finger tips...

He grinned, a vicious smirk that made his face look grotesque and power hungry which was what he was.

He wanted power like a thirsty man in a desert wants water.

He needed it.

It is funny how Tom Riddle and Harry Potter are alike in so many ways, isn't it?

King's Cross was very crowded with lots and lots of people. He looked at his ticket as he dragged his cart around, it said Nine and Three Quarters, but there wasn't a station like that and he would be stupid to ask the watchguard. How would he know?

He looked around and decided on a plan, he would have to find somebody like him, a wizard or a witch and follow them. Somebody with a trunk and perhaps a wand sticking out of their pockets. Something obvious.

Hogwarts had a thousand students, Harry had read on the way in the cab, in Hogwarts: A history. So all he needed was to find the dumbest wizard or witch and get chummy. Hopefully a pureblood who knows society.

He spotted a family of red haired people with trunks, just like him. Jackpot, he thought and started to follow them.

"Now, Fred, just go right in. Ron, you follow Fred."

"I am George, Mum," said Fred.

Harry looked curiously as two twins ran head first into a wall. He wasn't about to call out a warning to them however... a perverse side inside him wanted to see them get hurt, just like he liked to watch ants burn under a magnifying glass or how sometimes unexplainable things happened to kids around him. A broken bone was quite common an affliction to people Harry dislked.

Amazingly they went right through the wall!

Harry expected something like that. When the red haired family was gone, he followed, slowly and cautiously and just like that, he hit the wall and entered through like it was made of air. He was in a darker station now, filled with people wearing black robes.

Magical people, he thought in amazement and watched them eagerly, he wanted to see how they acted, how they talked, how they did things. His curiousity was infinate.

After ten minutes of watching he got into the train and found a compartment. It was empty. He propped up his trunk on the seat in front of him and opened it.

He pulled out a thin volume Hagrid had brought, the oaf, Harry thought. A dumb oaf who can't even pick the right books.

This was the best book in the whole collection, a sad sad thing for the book said, "All About Dueling."

He started to read it, the book was quite enlightening on various ways you start off an opening, but he skipped that and went straight to the dirty tricks where he read as if he was a starving man.

Then the comaprtment door opened and a brown haired girl with black eyes like the pits of hell and an olive complexion walked in. She was dressed in tight robes that accuanted her body and she was obviously not a first year.

In fact, Harry noticed as he looked up from his book, the girl's hair changed!

It turned purple right before his eyes.

How was that possible? He wondered.

"Hello," He said.

"Hey, mmind if I sit here?" She asked, chewing gum and twirling her hair, which had now turned blonde.

"Go ahead," Harry said and tried not to show his surprise. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Your hair..."

"Oh I am a metamorphagus," she said distractedly as she peered out the window after she put her trunk in front of Harry's feet.

"That is?"

She gave him an annoyed glance, "Someone who can change their appearances at-" She stopped suddenly, her eyes moved to his forehead.

"Oh my god..." She said in wonderment, "Harry Potter?"

Harry frowned. "How did you know my name?"

"Holy shit, you're Harry Potter!"

Then she proceeded to tell him everything she knew about him, such as Voldemort and the day he vanquished the evil dark lord. They soon became fast friends.

"What house do you think you will go into?" She asked.

"Slytherin," Harry promptly replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

She smiled, "I'm in slytherin. I'm a seventh year. After I graduate I'm going to try out for an auror. What about you?"

Harry gave her a half smile, "I'm gonna become the next dark lord," he said with a slight chuckle.

She laughed with him but she didn't like the look in his eyes.

She didn't quite know he was completely and utterly serious.

Just as Harry wanted.

"We need to change into robes now," Tonks said and left the compartment. Harry changed and soon they were dropped off.

Harry went into a boat. He lost sight of Tonks.

The lake was still, and black as Hagrid's voice boomed. He warned the first years to be careful and all that rot.

"So you're Harry Potter?" said a blonde boy in the same boat as him.

"Yes," Harry said cautiously.

"Draco Malfoy," the blonde boy said, putting out a hand.

'Nice to meet you," Harry politely replied.

"This is Crabbe, and this is Goyle," he said pointing to the two goons beside him. "What house do you think you'll go into?"

"Slytherin. You?"

Draco grinned. "Same here. If I'm not in slytherin it will be a bloody crime! It's the best house you know, my entire family's been in slytherin."

"Mine, Gryfindor," Harry said, sneering. "And looked where they ended up."

"Bitter aren't you?" Draco said.

Harry shrugged. "I suppose so, don't really care one way or another." Then he changed the subject to classes.

They got in the great hall, wet and soggy after Peeves threw balloons at them. McGonnagall led the way to the sorting hat.

"Hannah Abbot!"

She was sorted into Hufflepuff.

After some time, it was Harry's turn.

The entire hall waited in anticipation, and even Dumbledore leaned forward. Harry showed no sign of nervousness. He boldly strode up to the hat and gracefully put it on.

"My my... Harry Potter."

"Put me in slytherin." Harry commanded.

"Why should I?" the hat asked.

"Because I told you to." Harry replied.

"You're pretty brave..." The hat commented.

"What are you playing at, hat?"

"I'm just saying, you'll do better in... Gryfindor, perhaps."

"No, not my type." Harry abrubtly replied. "Slytherin, please."

"If you say so," the hat said.

"I do."

"Okay fine."

Aloud the hat didn't say slytherin however.

It said, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Harry jerked the hat away from his head, wide eyed and furious. What the hell! He thought. But he caught himself just in time and possessed hiimself of as much dignity as possible. Putting a small smile on his face he walked over to the HufflePuff table where there was much clapping.

Draco Malfoy, Harry noticed from the corner of his eye, looked shocked.

Harry thought he looked pretty shocked too, but he tried his best to hide it.

Hufflepuff, huh?

This was a problem.

All problems are challenges, he told himself.

See this as an opportunity. Hufflepuffs are known to be loyal. You can secure a power base here for your rise in power.

Harry's smile widened as he sat down next to John Gytworth and made polite conversation. Then there was a feast and it was time to go to dorms.

The Hufflepuff dorms were on second floor and Harry was in awe at the whole castle. This was way better than the orphanage!