Well, hello again.

Thank you for your favourites/alerts/reviews. I really like reading long reviews, so a HUGE thank you to TheMozzyOne, who took the time to really give me constructive critisism :)

I don't think there's much else I can say, except:

YES, VOLDEMORT IS ALIVE!

Godspeed.


Second chapter – Fight Fire with Fire

Harry woke up in the morning when his precious alarm-clock was crying like an augurey and poking his arm. Harry took it and threw it to a wall, when Seamus woke as well.

"Blimey, Harry. What did the clock ever do to you?" Seamus asked while yawning.

Harry sighed. "Woke me", Harry muttered and rested his head on the pillow. His excitement over school woke him soon up completely. Harry proceeded to wake his schoolmates up as well.

As soon as they were done with the morning chores, Harry and Draco went to breakfast.

To nobody's surprise, Hermione was already in the Hall eating and reading at the same time. Before Draco and Harry could even sit, the girl had bounced up and walked to McGonagall. Harry and Draco noticed her goal and walked in her footsteps.

"Morning, Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy", McGonagall greeted. "Your schedules", she said as she gave them. "I must say I'm rather surprised by your aspiring friendship, but then again, so was I about your father and Sirius Black's. I hope the two of you won't be the same as the two of them. Heaven knows this school has been through enough", she finished with a stern look.

"Sorry, professor", Harry said simply.

McGonagall frowned. "Good luck for your first school day", she said tightly and continued giving the schedules.

"So what's the deal with your father and Sirius Black that McGonagall was so worried about?" Draco asked with his nose in the timetables.

"They were pranksters and gave hell to McGonagall. Sirius says he still sees nightmares about the detentions", Harry snorted and took a look at the timetables himself. "History of Magic... transfiguration! That'll be exciting!"

"No, not my thing. At least we have Potions on Friday." Draco was relieved.

"Yeah, it'll be fun for you. Snape hates James", Harry said miserably.

"James?"

"My father", Harry said. "And my mum is Lily. Get used to it."

Draco nodded, not inquiring anything else. "So, DADA on Thursday", Draco smirked. "Who's the professor?"

"Quirrel. He's sitting next to Hagrid", Harry recognized. Moony had talked about Quirrel, and how he'd changed from the last time he had seen him.

"He looks nervous", Draco judged. "Don't you think that's a bad choice for someone who's supposed to train us to defend ourselves?"

"Yeah", Harry frowned. "Flying on Thursday next week!"

"Excellent", Draco smirked and ripped a piece his toast with his teeth.


The first week at Hogwarts was spent with studying and learning to walk around Hogwarts.

Harry learned that Moony and Sirius hadn't been lying about the History of Magic teacher, Binns. The ghost was more boring than the stories could portray, but at least Harry got an hour of extra sleep. At the end of the class Harry and Draco were both awakened by a very McGonagall-like Hermione, who had proceeded to lecture them about the importance of schooling. At the end (when they had asked nicely) Hermione had promised to borrow them her notes.

After History of Magic became Transfiguration, and Harry had no problems staying awake. At the beginning of the class professor McGonagall had transformed to a cat without using a wand. That had inspired Harry very much.

Their goal of the lesson was to change a match to a needle. Harry smiled and changed it easily on his first try. He had done things much harder back home, when he didn't even have a wand, and wondered why they would start from things as easy as that.

"How did you do that?" Draco whispered in class.

"What?"

"Change your match to a needle. You didn't even try!"

Harry frowned. "You just point and think about what you want. Everybody can do that", he said marveling.

"No, everybody can't. Take a look around."

Harry watched, and saw that no one else had succeeded in the transformation. Hermione was the most succesful, and her match had just turned gray and pointy.

"Oh", Harry mumbled.

Maybe it wasn't normal? If Harry was a freak?

"Potter, Malfoy, get to work! Have you done anything but talked?" McGonagall asked sternly and walked to them. "You're ready, Potter? Already?"

"Uh... yes, professor", Harry said quietly, suddenly insecure about his deeds.

McGonagall watched him thoughtfully for a while and turned around. As she walked to her desk, she said; "Ten points to Gryffindor."

Harry turned the needle back into a match and sat quietly. He hadn't meant to attract attention.

Thursday with Defence Against the Dark Arts was better, they didn't even have to do much. Harry felt sorry for professor Quirrel, who was possibly the most nervous person he had ever seen. What annoyed Harry was the garlic smell in the classroom.

On Friday in Potions they were welcomed by the delightful Severus Snape and his cauldron. The man was glaring at Harry the moment he stepped into the room. Harry and Draco happily sat in the back.

All the Slytherins they shared the class with were cheeky, mindless nincompoops and didn't care about the consequenses of their actions – not that they would have any in Snape's class.

During Snape's speech about the art of Potion-making, Harry looked at the glass cabinets. He could've sworn that half of the things presented were just there to scare the students.

"Potter! Are you listening?" Snape asked angrily.

"Yes, professor."

"Potter, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Snape asked harshly. He leaned to his desk with his hands.

'I know the answer... I made it at Sirius, gave it to a rat...' "Draught of the Living Dead, professor."

Snape did a weird choking noise and gritted his teeth. "Where would you find a bezoar?"

That Harry could've told even if he was asleep. "From the stomach of a goat, professor."

Snape reddened with anger – and growled? "What is the difference between wolfsbane and monkshood?"

Harry thanked Remus in his head. "The name."

"Ten points from Gryffindor for the cheek, Potter. Stay after class."

An hour later Harry stood in front of Snape's desk and listened to the man's ranting. His temper was rising steadily, and he knew it wouldn't be long until he blew up and hexed the man.

"... Arrogant, you think you know everything, own everything. You strut around, nose held high, just like your father", Snape hissed between his teeth.

That was the final straw.

"I'm nothing like my father!" Harry spat. "And I won't be."

"What?" Snape frowned.

"You can throw me in Azkaban before I start following James' footsteps", Harry said poisonously.

Snape looked at Harry weirdly. "Your father is a terrible person", he said as his last resort.

"I agree."

Snape didn't understand. "But – you're a Potter. You hate potions, and me."

"I'd like to be known as my own person, thank you very much. I don't hate potions, and I just met you, professor. I don't see any reason why I should hate you yet."

Snape sat in silence. "Go to your next class, Potter."

Draco waited outside and after Harry came out, he asked what Snape had wanted. Harry truthfully answered that he had no idea.


Harry was mesmerized by Hogwarts' library. The thought of all the books he was able to loan made him giddy. He had never seen a library as huge as Hogwarts' was, and guessed that he would spend most of his free time reading those books.

Draco claimed allergy as his excuse not to come to the library. Honestly, who was allergic to 'book dust'? So, Harry had to come alone.

"Harry! Hey, Harry!" someone called and Harry turned away from the shelf that had transfiguration spellbooks on it.

"Gabe!" Harry grinned and walked to his big brother, who was smiling and showing off his adorable dimples.

Gabe ruffled Harry's already messed up hair. Harry swatted his hand off. "Don't mess with my hair. You know I have enough trouble with it as it is."

"Good to see you, kid. Guys, this is my little brother, Harry", Gabe said to a group of three ravenclaws and two hufflepuffs. "Harry, these people are Malcolm, Sookie, Felicity, Graham and Cedric", he introduced.

Cedric and Graham, the 'puffs, shook Harry's hand, while the ravenclaws settled to waving, not wanting to put their books away.

"Nice to meet you", Harry said politely.

Felicity recognized Harry suddenly. "You're the guy who's always with Draco Malfoy, aren't you?"

Harry nodded gingerly.

"Don't start with the 'pureblood'-deal again, Felicity. Draco's in Gryffindor", Gabe saved Harry from a tough spot.

"His father tried to kill my sister!" Felicity said harshly.

Then Harry had to defend his friend. "Draco's not too fond of his family. Besides, he's eleven. Are you going to hold him responsible for a grown man's actions?" he said cynically.

Cedric started laughing. "You can't argue with that, Fel."

Everyone except Felicity loosened up after that and welcomed Harry without words. They invited him to study with them.

"So, are you all third years?" Harry asked when he finished a chapter of a book about wordless spells.

This time it was Graham who spoke. "No, Cedric and I are fourth years. And technically, Sookie belongs to the second year, but she was too smart and they kicked her out", he smirked.

"Shut up", Sookie said and blushed. "They just gave me a chance to skip a year."

"Wow", Harry grinned. "Do you have to work harder now?"

"Yes, it is a bit more challenging", Sookie said shyly.

"But you love every moment of it", Graham stated.

Sookie nodded happily.


Next morning during breakfast Draco got a letter. He opened it nervously and started reading it. While he read, Harry noticed that he became paler and paler. Harry put down his spoonful of porridge and watched Draco intensely.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"My father sent a letter", Draco whispered. "He's going to talk to Dumbledore about making me a Slytherin, or if that doesn't work, he's transferring me to Durmstrang."

"Oh."

"Oh? That's all?" Draco asked hurt.

"No, I didn't mean it like that", Harry defended. Damn him and his converstation flaws.

"Well, what did you mean? Or do you not suddenly care that I'm - " Draco stopped suddenly. "Potter, are you even listening?"

Harry nodded in thought. "I'm just trying to remember our rights."

"What?"

"If students our age have the right to decide where we go to school", Harry muttered. "I had to look this up this one time when – well, never mind. The point is, I can't remember. C'mon", he said, stood up and started walking to the teachers' table.

"Harry!" Draco groaned and walked after him. "People should explain before they walk off like that!" he muttered.

Harry didn't stop until he had walked to the teacher's table in the Great Hall. "Morning, professor Lupin. I need to talk to you about something, if it's no bother?" Harry asked Remus, who stood up.

Remus frowned. "Of course not, I was just about to leave anyway. Why don't we go to my office", he said to Harry and Draco, who just arrived.

Remus and Harry walked off, and Draco huffed in dismay. He caught up to Harry and grabbed his sleeve. "What's going on?" Draco asked quietly. Harry shushed him.

They walked up some stairs, and went to the fourth floor, where Remus' rarely used classroom and office was.

"You must be Draco Malfoy", Remus smiled politely and offered his hand. "I'm Remus Lupin, the Care of Magical Creatures teacher here, and I'm Harry's second godfather."

"Pleased to meet you", Draco said and shook the hand, still wondering what was happening.

"So, what is the problem here?" Remus asked knowingly and smiled.

Harry looked at Draco, who cleared his throat. "We would like to find out how much can an eleven-year-old student affect his schooling."

"That depends on what matter is he trying to affect", Remus said.

"If a students family would want to, say, change the student's house, or even the school, could the student have a say in that matter?" Draco asked innocently, but didn't fool Remus.

"Just to say an example, I'm going to tell a story about my friend. He was from a 'dark' family, but got sorted into Gryffindor. After that, his parents tried everything to change him into Slytherin, or get him to an American school. But, he went to the headmaster and told that he didn't want to change anything. In extreme cases such as that, the headmaster could withold the parents' rights to the student's education."

Draco looked raised and eyebrow sceptically.

"Really, I'm not making this up. My friend's name is Sirius Black, if you ever fancy a talk with him", Remus smirked.

"Sirius Black? I've heard of him. My father told me he was a traitor and died from the Dark Lord's wand", Draco frowned.

"Maybe he was a 'traitor' to the Black family, but he's still alive and breathing. I saw him just week ago", Remus said. "Voldemort has yet to catch him."

"He's my other godfather", Harry said and grinned. "A big child."

"That he is", Remus laughed. "I can arrange a time for you to talk to headmaster Dumbledore, if you'd like?"

Draco mulled it over for a moment.

"I'd like that very much, thank you."


On Sunday Harry and Draco were trying to play exploding snap on Draco's bed. They were tied at the moment, but Harry's face more smudged with ash, a fact that Draco kept teasing him about. It was just the two of them in the room, everybody else were outside enjoying the last warm days of the fall.

"Hey, Drake?"

"Hey, Harry?" Draco asked with the same tone, but didn't lift his eyes from the cards he was inspecting.

Harry bit his lip. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Go ahead", Draco said and pointed his wand at a card. He frowned. "Oh no", he moaned and the card exploded with a loud bang. Now Draco's face was more smudged than Harry's, but Harry chose not to tease him now.

"Why don't you want to be dark?"

Now he had Draco's full attention.

And the blonde lifted his eyebrow. "You're kidding, right?"

"What I meant is that, your family is dark... so you woud've been raised in it. You shouldn't know any different. So what changed your mind?" Harry asked curiously. It was easier to speak now that he had asked the question in the first place.

Draco frowned and put his cards away. He toyed with his wand and was quiet for a while.

Harry was thinking it might've not been such a great idea to open that can of worms. He opened his mouth to apologize, but then Draco spoke.

"Lucius had Death Eater meetings back home, and still has. I was a really small kid, and curious. So I peeked through a key hole and watched for a while. It was probably the most terrifying thing I've ever seen.

"I saw You-Know-Who make them grovel and kiss the hem of his robes. They told him in turns what they had achieved... and they would laugh about torturing muggles and their children. They had even raped some of the kids! And if He wasn't happy, he would use the Cruciatus curse on them until they were a sobbing mess on the floor. Like Lucius", Draco spat the name out. "It's sick. And I don't want to worship sick bastards like Him."

Harry felt nauseous himself, and he hadn't even been there.

"They would do bad things to children, younger than I was then! Who the hell would do something like that?" Draco yelled in rage.

"Death Eaters", Harry whispered. "The headlines never mention about kids being attacked."

"They want to keep it quiet. For some reason, You-Know-Who has been staying more or less under the radar for years. The ministry think it's a peacetime now. The idiots are probably planning for something big."

"I guess it would be too much to hope that Voldemort had gotten bored", Harry said darkly.

"Don't say the name!" Draco hissed in fear.

"Why not?"

"He'll find out and kill you in your sleep!"

He couldn't help it; he laughed. "That's rubbish. Besides, if he could get into Hogwarts, you don't think he would've done it already?"

Draco seemed to ponder that for a while. "Fine. But I won't say it."

"Sirius always says that fear of the name only increases fear of the thing itself."

Draco glared at him. "Fine. V - Voldemort. You happy?"

Harry grinned thriumphantly. "Yes, very."

Draco got caught up in Harry's glee. "Voldemort", he repeated, feeling free of his suppression and power. "Why did I fear it? Voldemort!"

"Voldie-schmort", Harry laughed.

"Scold-a-mort."

"Voldything."

"Lord of the Evil Death Munchers!"

"That was the best one!" Harry laughed so hard he had to hold his sides. "Death munchers..."

Eventually they stopped laughing and Harry gathered the discarded exploding snap -cards and presented them to Draco. "Want to play?"

Draco gazed at the cards. "I'll bet two galleons that I can win the next game."

"Ha! You couldn't win even if I forfeited!"

"Two galleons say that I can. What, are you scared?"

Harry glared at his blonde friend. "You're on."