Disclaimer: Most of these things don't belong to me, unless I'm J.K. Rowling and no one told me. In which case, some one owes me a lot of money.

Chapter 1: Harry's First Day of Hogwarts

Harry Potter awoke to the high pitched shrieks of a house elf. Groggily, he tried to raise his head. It was the same way Harry had woke for as long as he could remember. He would wake up and help the house elves with cooking breakfast while talking to them. It was amazing the amount of stuff the elves knew. After cooking, he would help them with other chores around the mansion and grounds. Alter, when he had free time, he would go into the library and read. It was the only lifestyle he had known himself, though he sometimes watched with longing as his family laughed and played together. It felt odd calling them his family. They barely spoke to him. The elves felt much more like his family, as he spent a great deal more time with them. The only occasions Harry could remember being with his family was when they took him to get his school things from Diagon Alley and the occasional holiday. Even then they had barely acknowledged him and when they did, it was often in short, angry voices. He had no idea what he had done to deserve him spite. So he dedicated his life to helping the elves and reading. He'd read a lot of the Potter library, not an easy feat considering its size. He couldn't wait to practice spells now that he had a wand, but he couldn't until he was at… Hog-warts. Hogwarts!!! He was leaving today. It was then that his sleepy brain realized that Wonky, one of the elves, was speaking to him.

"Harry must get up or he will miss the train to school. Harry must go to school or he will never get a job and will be stuck here forever. Harry must wake up."

It was never Master Harry as the elves would address anyone other human, but it made Harry feel more accepted, so he didn't mind, even if it meant the elves didn't have to obey him.

Harry woke up with that and while he pulled on clothes, all clothes his brother had grown tired of, he replied.

"Wonky, don't you think you're overreacting? Just because I wake up late doesn't mean I'll never get a job."

"Harry must get ready. Wonky's Masters are leaving by portkey in ten minutes. Wonky doesn't want Harry to leave any of his things behind."

Harry looked around at his meager belongings: a trunk full of secondhand things, a wand the Potters had grudgingly bought, and a cage with an owl in it that Jason had claimed tried to attack him. Harry knew that the truth, Jason had forgotten to feed the owl one too many times and the owl had nipped him. Harry had playfully named the owl Killer, despite the fact she was quite sweet.

"Trust me Wonky, I don't have enough stuff to forget."

"Is Harry all packed?"

"Since a week ago."

"Is Harry ready to go to wizard school?"

"Have been for a while now."

"Will Harry miss us house elves?"

Harry grinned. "You know it."

All the house elves walked over to the corner of the kitchen where his bed lay. A chorus of, "Goodbye Harry" and "Learn how to cook with magic" followed his as he walked from the kitchen, carrying all his worldly possessions. He walked into the dining room where his "family" was sitting. James (Harry couldn't think of him as father) was reading the newspaper.

"Look son, you're in here." He read the article aloud. "Today the students return to Hogwarts for another year of learning while others start their first year. Among the new first years is the boy-who-lived, Jason Potter. The staff of The Daily Prophet hopes Jason Potter a good year and wishes him many happy times at Britain's most prestigious wizarding school." He checked his watch. "Well, if we want to make it, we'll have to leave in a few minutes. Do you have all your stuff Jason?"

A lump of lard answered, "I thought the house elves were supposed to pack for me."

Lily (Harry didn't refer to her as Mother for similar reasons) shrieked, "You mean you haven't packed at all?! Oh good lord!!" She ran up the stairs, right past Harry with out any acknowledgements of his presence, though he hadn't expected any.

James continued read the newspaper and sip his tea while Jason wolfed down his second breakfast. Harry sat on his trunk, feeling insignificant. A few minutes later, Lily came down the stairs, a trunk and an owl cage levitated in front of her. "I packed everything I think you'll need. Thank goodness for magic. If I forgot anything, we'll send it you by owl."

"Did you pack my broomstick?"

"You know brooms are forbidden for first years."

"But I really want to bring it and you promised and Dumbledore won't mind and I really want it. Please?" A small theatrical sniff from the lard was all it took for Lily to cave.

"Oh, alright. But just remember to follow the rules."

James butted in at this point. "Just remember that rules can be bent." He gave a little wink, and then looked at his watch. "We should go now if we want to catch the Hogwarts Express." He produced a length of rope from his pocket. "Everyone grab hold. Moony and Padfoot will meet us at the station."

James looked a bit surprised when Harry lugged his trunk and Killer's cage over to them. When he grabbed the rope, James said "Are you going to Hogwarts then?"

Harry kept his face expressionless. "Yes."

James still seemed surprised. "Oh, er ok. On the count of three then. One, two, three!!!"

The portkey deposited the Potters onto Platform 9¾. Harry, as it was his first time travelling this way, fell back onto his trunk. Jason pointed and laughed as Harry struggled to get back up. He ignored the laughter and pointing and focused on getting as far away as possible from those people. They weren't his family. They were just people who lived in the same house as him and shared a surname.

With difficulty, Harry managed to haul his trunk and Killer's cage into a compartment on the scarlet steam engine. He sighed, opened a book, and read. The train picked up speed and began to move.

At least three times people had come into his compartment and asked if he was Jason Potter. With patients, he told them he was Harry Potter. They looked at him with blank faces and asked if he knew where Jason Potter was. Harry responded he had no idea so they left the compartment. This pattern repeated itself until a blond haired boy walked in flanked by two gorilla impersonators.

"So this is the famous Jason Potter," The boy had a sneer on his face. "Dumbledore's golden boy."

"No," said Harry warily. "I'm Harry Potter, his brother."

The boy's sneer increased. "I wasn't aware Potter had a brother."

"You and the rest of the world."

The boy's eyes widened in disbelief. Harry assumed he was another pampered clone those pureblood families kept pumping out. "Well tell your brother to watch out 'cause the name Malfoy still commands respect around here."

Harry's patience had worn thin. He closed his book with a snap. "Tell him yourself. Now leave." Harry's eyes narrowed. Malfoy must have been taken aback, because he did leave after issuing a final threat. Hopefully, not everyone in Hogwarts was like that. With a groan, Harry laid back and went to sleep.

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The stern witch continued to call out names and the students who possessed those names would put on the hat to be sorted. Eventually the women called "Potter, Harry" and whispering filled the hall. "Wait, isn't his name Jason Potter?" "I thought the boy-who-live would be taller." "Does the boy-who-lived have a brother?"

The whispers stopped when the hat was dropped over most of Harry's face. A voice started talking not so much in his ear, more in his head.

"Well well, a very interesting mind. It's not everyday you see a mind like this. Plenty of knowledge, so Ravenclaw is an option. A good deal of bravery, so Gryffindor is also an option. Not too much loyalty, but that's to be expected due to your life. And an almost overwhelming need to prove yourself. This ambition is why I'm going to place you in… SLYTHERIN!!" The last word was shouted. Harry sat in numb shock for a second. If he was in Slytherin, there was no way his parents would love him.

Harry took off the hat and placed it on the stool. The retched thing looked so innocent just sitting there. It was then that he noticed how quiet the great hall was. He walked, as quickly as he dared to the table coated in green and silver. The other occupants just looked at him until Malfoy leaned over to Crabbe and said in a carrying whisper, "I guess he's the evil twin."

Crabbe's brutish laughter was interrupted by the deputy headmistress calling out "Potter, Jason." The hall once again filled with whispers. Jason half waddled half strutted up to the sorting hat. It was placed on his head and the hall waited with baited breath. Harry even looked up to the teachers table to see Dumbledore leaning foreword in his seat. After a minute or two, the hat called out, "Griffindor" and the hall exploded with applause. Cheering and whooping were also heard from the red and gold table.

After the sorting had ended, Dumbledore stood up, his twinkling eyes sweeping the hall. He gazed at Jason like a proud grandfather, and then the feast started. Harry's first year had started.