AN: First time that i have ever been thankful for a complaint about my story. Someone complained about there not being a scene about Harry's train ride to Hogwarts and at first it confused the hell out of me as that scene was actually kind of important to a later plot in the story...I went back and noticed that it was indeed not there. Turns out it somehow was deleted when i was doing the editing process, but it has now since been added back into the story and anyone interested in reading it should check it out in Chapter 2. I have also changed the Dumbledore POV in the second chapter to third person. I am sorry but all Harry scenes will remain first person as I am using this story as a learning experience for me at writing first person. I will, however, keep it to just first person when it is from Harry's POV, all other POV's will be in third person.

My first few weeks at Hogwarts had been slightly hectic. The first night we had made it back to the Hufflepuff common room, we were all greeted by our head of house, Pomona Sprout. She seems like a nice enough woman, slightly overweight but she has a friendly enough personality.

The boys have to share a dorm, as well as the girls. For the most part my roommates are alright. There are five of us, counting myself. I did manage to get the bed farthest from the door and had a wall on one side of me with Wayne Hopkins on the other. Zacharias Smith was on his other side, followed by Justin Finch-Fletchley and Ernie Macmillan.

Zacharias Smith had a twin sister, Sally, who was sorted in Hufflepuff as well. There were four others, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Megan Jones, and Lily Moon, that joined her in the first year female dorms. Zacharias was a bit full of himself in my opinion, but not to the level that it was going to let it irritate me.

I quickly learned of a small flaw in my plan...Hufflepuff tended to make sure they included their entire house and it makes finding alone time difficult. I have to do my class studying and homework with them if I expected any sense of privacy. Thankfully, while they asked questions, they were a bit too trusting and lying about my whereabouts actually quelled their curiosity.

It only took me a few trips to the library to find out that any books I would need, well the ones that would be available here at Hogwarts, would be in the Restricted Section of the library. I have no chance of getting a permission slip into there as a mere first year, so I would have to find a way to Knockturn Alley quicker than I originally thought. The majority of the books would probably be too dark to be found in Hogwarts anyhow.

Hogwarts was impossibly large and finding out who knew the most about its infinite layers was surprisingly easy. A fifth year prefect had told me about the Weasley twins, who were supposedly notorious pranksters and seemed to know more about the castle than anyone not named Filch.

'It actually makes a lot of sense that these two would be so knowledgeable about the castles secret passageways. They would have to be to get away with most of their pranks.' I told Violet as we sat in Potions. I was currently working on a boil-curing potion, while trying to avoid Snape's eyes. My first class in Potions had left me with a desperate need to get books on Occlumency as quick as I could, and had all but halted my search of illegal study material. I still needed to get a base footing in Potions, Charms, and Ancient Runes to begin with so I did have time.

Thankfully, Voilet had spent so much time in my head that she spotted someone else trying to enter my mind. While she could sense it, she wasn't trained on Occlumency either and did not know how to stop it. Thankfully, once I broke contract with Snape, he seemed to be unable to enter my mind.

'True, thankfully the Weasley's are a poor family so wave a bit of gold in their face and we should be able to get our answers.' Violet told me as she reminded me to add a counter-clockwise stir to my potion, turning it pale orange.

'That will help. It will cost us a pretty penny getting them to agree to an Unbreakable Vow to keep quiet that they have talked to me.' I had spent quite a few hours in the library trying to find out the magical ways to keep people from telling your secrets to the world. I had only found a few different ways.

The first were magical contracts, but they weren't easy to obtain and usually left a paper trail. There were special enchantments that had to be put onto the paper or item your contract was written on and those involved in the contract had to sign it, some contracts even required blood for it to be binding...it was far harder than option two.

The other way was much quicker, but the punishment was severely limited and much harsher. The Unbreakable Vow made sure that you kept to whatever your vow was or it would kill you if you broke it. The vow could be done with just two people, but people could have a third party to act as the binder, if they did not mind having a witness, as it left your complete concentration on what you were taking a vow on. It wouldn't do to get distracted performing the spell and agreeing to something you didn't want to agree on. Of course, people who didn't want any witnesses to their vow could do it themselves.

Finally class was over and I bottled up a sample of my potion and quickly packed my belongings, making my way out of the classroom. As I had for the last couple weeks, I set to searching the castle for the Weasley twins. I could probably approach them during one of the meals, but I did not want to attract any attention to myself. The twins weren't known pranking legends for nothing and I didn't want to be associated with them when questions started being asked about one of their pranks.

'Let's try the seventh floor.' Violet suggested to me. 'We know that they come from that direction for breakfast so we may catch them on their way to their common room.'

'It's as good a plan as any.' I told her as I quickly made my way out of the dungeons, hoping to catch them before they disappeared.'

Thankfully, I happened to spot them walking by themselves down the seventh floor corridor. "Weasley's!" I raised my voice, loud enough to get their attention but not attract others.

The pair stopped and turned around to face me. "Well what do we have here Gred?" asked one of them. "An ickle firsty seems to want to talk to us." I figured Gred wasn't his real name, but I didn't care anyhow. I needed their information, not their friendship.

"It does seem that way Forge!" the other twin said excitedly. "I wonder what it wants?"

Not listening to them ramble on and on, that was for sure. I decided to try and get this over as quick as possible. "I have a business proposition for the two of you if you have somewhere private to talk?" I asked the pair.

The twins shared a quick look with each other before turning a more serious face. "We have a few minutes...in here." the twin called Gred said opening the door to an unused classroom ushering me inside.

Once the door closed the other twin spoke up. "Now just what kind of business does a first year have that would be of interest to us?" he asked.

"I am in need of some information and I hear you two are the best people to provide me with what I need. I am willing to pay for this of course." I told them.

"You have our interest, how much are we talking about little Puff?" smiled the one called Forge.

"First I am offering twenty galleons for an unbreakable vow from the pair of you that you will never tell anyone about this meeting or our conversation." I didn't want them to turn down my offer and then go squealing that I was searching for a way out of the castle.

The twins dropped all pretenses of playfulness. "Do we have to accept what you ask?" one of the asked.

"Not at all."

"Offer taken then." the two clasped their hands and performed the unbreakable vow, I could have done it myself but there was no need to show that I knew how when it was unnecessary. Once the ribbons had disappeared into their forearms I relaxed...just slightly.

I placed twenty galleons from my money pouch and into their hands. "I need a secret passage out of the castle and a way into Diagon Alley that nobody knows about...I'll pay fifty galleons."

They looked at each other.

"Hmm...fifty galleons...it is quite a lot."

"Indeed it is Gred, but this piece of information isn't exactly cheap is it?"

"Oh, since there is only one secret passage like this, it would absolutely not be cheap." Gred acquiesced, smiling even more widely while nodding his head. "A hundred galleons and the info is yours."

"We will even promise to not tell anyone about the passage after you."

I already knew they would likely not accept my first offer...after all only a fool would.

'A hundred galleons isn't exactly a small amount of gold Harry.'

'I know Vi, but your worth a hundred billion galleons, not that I have it of course, and this information is crucial.' while a hundred galleons was quite a bit of money, it wasn't even a drop in the bucket to me and I would have gladly gave it all way to give Violet a body.

"Okay, a hundred it is but how do you know that no one else knows of it?" It wasn't vital to me, but still very important. I wouldn't want to run into someone while going out of the castle.

Gred whispered something in his twin's ear and he nodded. "We own a map. A map that shows some secret passages. Nobody else has that map since it is a unique artifact. Also, we have been using this particular passage for a while now and we have never encountered anyone."

"Furthermore, the map is some sort of...monitoring system. If someone knew this passage, we would know it, trust us."

'Monitoring system and secret passages? Sounds like it could be useful, what do you think?' I asked Violet.

'It would certainly make moving around the castle much easier.'

"How much for the map? I can pay really big." I asked, sensing the incredible opportunity.

"Ahh, tut tut tut little Puff. The map isn't for sale, but we will keep you in mind if that changes." Mocked Forge patronizingly, throwing his arm around my shoulders. "Now for the passage...do we have a deal?"

"We do. A hundred galleons and a promise to never tell anyone about it." They were already under the Vow so I let my face and tone darken. "I am not playing guys, if I meet anybody in there I will know you sold the information and I will not be happy about it."

"Business is business young Puff, never fear."

"Quite the Hufflepuff personality you have there firsty." Gred said sarcastically, looking suspiciously at me. "We're under the Vow anyway so...why do you need to get to Diagon Alley so bad?" he asked curiously.

"Thank you, and none of your business." There was no way in hell I was going to tell him that information. "Now lads, if you will excuse me, I don't have all day." I retorted cheerfully before dumping a large portion of the gold that was remaining in my pouch. I would need to refill it later but I had several more pouches full in my trunk so as to not need the bank so often.

Gred took the gold and started counting it while Forge took out a piece of parchment and started writing all of the details on how to get to and use the secret passage.

"You've got to understand, Diagon Alley is way too far to get there on foot. So the passage we're giving to you leads to a shop's basement in Hogsmeade. You will have to floo from there. The shop's wards won't be tripped since you come from within, but the owners sleep there, so you will have to be cautious to not wake them up. You will have to fly or take another floo back to Hogsmeade from Diagon Alley. Just remember people will ask questions if they see a firsty hanging around Hogsmeade. You will also need your own floo powder, as only places with a public floo keep theirs on the mantle." explained Gred.

"The walk is around forty five minutes to an hour, your choice to use a broom or not, but we don't recommend it. We had a little...misadventure. The path is quite sinuous." finished Forge, handing me the piece of parchment.

I folded it and slipped it on my pocket.

"Pleasure doing business with you, gentlemen. Goodbye." I had it. Now to plan my first visit to Knockturn Alley. You don't just walk into a place like that.

"Our pleasure ickle firsty, our pleasure. Come back any time!" the twins called out to me as I left them and made my way back to the dungeons.

Knockturn Alley was dangerous, I couldn't go in there with my eleven year old face and weak body. Only the purebloods could do that, those that everybody knew better than to hurt. I wasn't one of those children. I would need some way to defend myself and an aging potion. I didn't quite know how the ministry was able to track underage magic so I would have to find a means of protection that wasn't my wand until I did.

Aging potions weren't illegal, but were dangerous if not brewed properly. There were also warnings about using them too young, as it was said to mess with the body's growth. I didn't know if they meant physical or emotional, but I didn't really care at this point.

'If it fucks my growth up a bit then so be it. I'm not about to hesitate for something so trivial.'

'Just please be careful Harry!' Violet told me worriedly. 'I don't want you hurting yourself over me.'

'Don't worry Vi...I'm sure if anything it will just stunt my growth or something and I will grow up a few inches shorter...or hit puberty early. If it was life threatening it would be restricted against use.'

I made it back to my room and took a seat at my desk, taking out a piece of parchment to make a list of things I would need. I would need aging potion to disguise myself while out, floo powder to get to Diagon Alley, a broom to fly back from London to Hogsmeade in case I couldn't find a floo back, and a way to find Hogsmeade from London on said broom.

'Anything else you can think of Vi?'

'Not anything off of the top of your head.' Violet told me with a laugh. It was a joke that I had heard from her a dozen times before, but I still chuckled anyhow. 'Well…I may have an idea on how to defend yourself down there.

'Oho? Do tell, dear Watson!' I told her with fake pompousness.

'Well…if you can't use magic without running the risk of getting caught, you need to just make it so that you don't need to use magic.' Seeing that I wasn't yet catching on she continued. 'You have to pretend to be someone that nobody will want to mess with. I say we find a snake and some dark clothing and let people think you are a dark wizard. Voldemort was the last known Parselmouth in England and people always equate the ability to dark wizards only. If people just happen to think you could be related someway to Voldemort then all the better.'

'Beauty and brains! I am too lucky.' I told her with a fake sigh, while wiping away a non-existent tear.

Violet gave me a mental slap on the back of my head. 'I don't even look like anything so how can I be beautiful prat.'

'Well in my dreams you are always beautiful.' I told her cheekily. 'You have these big Amethyst colored doe eyes that stares dreamily at me.'

'I do not stare dreamily! Besides, the only eyes I get to stare out of are yours…maybe you have just been dreaming about your eyes and not mine. I hope you aren't turning into a copy of Malfoy?' she laughed even though I knew she was touched by my words.

'Me turn into Malfoy? I believe I might be offended.' I scoffed. 'I swear, as much as he and Longbottom go back and forth I have no idea how he got into Slytherin. Not an ounce of cunning in him. Honestly, who attacks someone to their face and thinks they are being cunning.'

'Yes, I agree with you on that one. And don't worry, I would never think you are anything close to Malfoy…he is much better looking.'

'Haha…' I deadpanned as I could feel her almost gag at the thought of her finding Malfoy attractive. 'Perhaps I will put you inside of his head instead then.'

'You wouldn't do that to me would you Harry?' she said trying to sound worried, knowing that I wouldn't really ever get rid of her like that. 'I will be good, promise…you are the most handsome and manly guy ever!'

'Of course I won't. But you should be careful…you almost sounded like Granger sucking up to the professors. Don't want to be known as a teacher's pet now do you?' I teased her.

'If you are the teacher, I would be your pet.' She fluttered her non-existent eyebrows. 'You gonna give me a detention Professor Manly?'

'Pervert…I knew I shouldn't have let you talk me into reading those romance novels.' I said exasperatedly.

She burst out laughing. 'I know you secretly enjoyed them! You can't hide it from me!'

'Yeah, yeah…time for me to get back to work. Not like I am going to win this argument anyhow.'

'Exactly! I'm glad to see you finally learning...but you are right, we do have plenty to do.' She said being serious again. 'There are several spells we need to find in the library and then learn them before we can go.'

'Perhaps I can find an older student to help tutor me if I'm lucky.'

It was the first weekend of November when I finally had everything ready for my first trip to Knockturn Alley. I had been spending every available moment of my free time preparing for this.

My aging potion was brewed, and if my dosage was calculated correctly, it would last me just long enough for me to get back into the tunnel back to Hogwarts. I had sent off and received an order of floo powder from mail order, using a school owl. I didn't have a broom of my own yet, but I managed to pilfer one of the crap ones we had to use for our flying lessons.

It had taken me almost a week to learn how to cast and operate a tracking charm. I quickly learned that after casting the spell it was smart to not anchor it to yourself. Unless your mind was trained enough to ignore the constant flow of information regarding the location of your target, it was best anchored to an item.

I eventually decided to anchor the spell to a compass and I would just use it to direct my way back to my target, which would be a random item in Hogsmeade. I could have used anything, but I was more familiar with a compass and roughly knew how to use one already. It made 'listening' to the location of the tracking charm much easier when you only had to follow the direction of a needle.

I had made it through three books on snakes and reptiles before I finally found a way to get a snake. True I could have bought one at the pet store in Diagon Alley, but that would raise questions. I could have tried to find one roaming randomly around the grounds or the forbidden forest, but I had already learned how big of a waste just aimlessly searching for something was from my search of the Weasley twins all those weeks ago.

It was in the third book, the one that was admittedly the most interesting…after all, who knew that such things as a Basilisk even existed, too bad the book didn't say how to find one of those, that I found the spell I was looking for. It was a summoning spell specifically designed to summon snakes. Serpensortia didn't have the power to summon a magical snake, as it wasn't a very complex spell, but it was enough to summon a snake large enough to do what I needed done.

I had even gone a step farther and learned a simple glamor charm that would make my eyes give off a faint red glow from behind the hood of my cloak. I wasn't actively trying to impersonate Voldemort…but if a few extra people thought I was then I wasn't going to complain.

I had wanted to make this trip sooner, but that damn troll getting into the castle on Halloween made that impossible…especially with that Granger girl almost earning herself an early grave. Somehow she, Weasley, and Longbottom managed to survive…shame really, but even so the teachers had been keeping close watch on everything going on and I've had to wait it out. I wasn't sure if Longbottom even cared for the girl, I had seen Weasley teasing her mercilessly, or if he was just seeking extra fame. The three had been almost insuperable since then, so perhaps Longbottom wasn't too far gone as I had first believed.

It was Violet who pointed out that I didn't actually know anything about Knockturn Alley, or its layout, so I had to find someone to ask about it. I knew it was risky as it would likely only be a Slytherin who knew much about it. I decided to ask one of the seventh years, as they would at least only be around this year to hold the information over my head.

I had decided to wait in the dungeons for seventh year potions to end in hopes of catching one of them on their own. Thankfully, my year had the last period of the day off, which was when their potions class was being held. It was just my luck that Ernie and Justin happened to spot me about five minutes before their class was due to let out.

"Hey Harry. What are you hanging around out here for?" Justin asked me as the two walked over to me.

"I am waiting for Potions to end. I need to ask Professor Snape about a potions text I am looking for." I lied smoothly. I could see them both wince at the prospect of me speaking to Snape on my own. It was obvious the man held a grudge against me, and speaking to him in classes was bad enough.

"You sure that's wise Harry." Ernie replied with a grin. "Sometimes I think he wants to kill you with those looks of his in class...imagine if he got you alone." I laughed at his joke, hoping that they would move along before then so I could do what I really needed to do.

"Well, you two are more than welcome to join me in there with him." I grinned at the two boys, knowing the idea of seeing Snape would hopefully make them move along. "I'm sure he would be much happier with a triple murder than having to settle for just one."

Just then the door to the Potions class opened and the seventh year students began to file out. There weren't very many in the class and over half of them for from Slytherin's house.

"Well Harry...Uhm good luck!" Justin said taking off the opposite direction.

"Yeah, wouldn't want Snape to see me down here either. Later Harry!" Ernie too took off in the same direction of Justin, towards the Hufflepuff common room. Who would have thought that Snape would have been useful for something after all.

'We could use him for troll food.' Violet said with a straight face. 'I'm sure Granger would find some use in that.'

'Probably end up killing the poor beast.' Violet snorted at me. 'Then again...he has enough grease in his hair that he should slide down the troll's throat with no problems.'

Violet couldn't hold back her snort at that comment. Snape had taken to small insults towards me during classes, and would even mark my grades slightly lower than they should be. Let's just say Violet was not his biggest fan. 'Harry, there goes one by himself. We should follow him.' she said pointing out one of the Slytherin's who had branched off from the class, headed in his own direction.

I decided to follow him until I spotted a location where I could talk to him in private. Violet was growing slightly worried that he might just decide to attack me on principal. I wasn't too worried...he probably wouldn't expect a first year to know much this early on into his first year. Granted I hadn't learned more than a few useful combat spells, but I did know the Petrificus Totalis spell, and I was sure I could catch him off guard with it.

It was common sense to me, of course Violet and I had noticed a sever lack of it in the wizarding world, that speed was just as important as the spells you knew in a fight. Your opponent can know any spell he wants, but if you are faster than he is and can hit him with just a simple body bind, you can render him useless until the spell is broken.

It was one of the very few times I was thankful for Dudley and his gang. I had probably done more running than anyone in my school by the time I had left for Hogwarts. This had given me incredible stamina to go along with lightning quick reflexes. I would of course learn all the spells and different magic I could, but I would definitely be on the lookout to increase my speed, stamina, and accuracy in the future.

I cursed myself for getting lost in my thoughts, as it seemed the seventh year I had been following must have noticed he was being followed. I assume he noticed, seeing as he had stopped and turned to look right at me.

"You following me firsty?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at me. "That's not the smartest of things to do you know...sneaking around...following people."

I knew he was just trying to intimidate me. Even if he was going to attack me, I had taken worse beatings from Dudley's gang. I wasn't going to show any weakness to him and I pulled myself up straighter before responding.

"I have a small request. Would you be interested in hearing it?" I started carefully, I didn't even know if he would listen to me.

"I'm listening, Mr..."

"Potter." I finished his question.

"Avery, Daryl Avery. So what request could you possibly have for me Mr. Potter?"

"I need some information on Knockturn Alley. I need good addresses on where to find books and rare items, tips on how not to get robbed and all that jazz. I am willing to part with a few galleons for this information...and your silence. Will you help me?" I knew it was pointless to even ask for any type of vow or contract to keep silent. For one he was Slytherin and wouldn't have done it. Two, as a Slytherin he was more likely to use the information to get favors out of me than to tell a professor.

He looked at me, but I refused to make direct eye contact...just in case reading minds was common in Slytherin house. He just chuckled before responding. "Knockturn Alley isn't that dangerous, Potter. As long as you don't venture too deep into its bowels." he watched me a bit more before asking. "What is it that you're looking for exactly, Potter?"

"Books...knowledge." I said intentionally being vague. While I had to put more knowledge out there than I was truthfully comfortable with, there was no way in hell I was actually going to tell him what I was up too. "Do we have a deal?"

"Very well, I will even do this one for free, Potter. Why? Because you intrigue me and my family has plenty of gold and I don't need anything you could give me. So go on and ask your questions, I have somewhere to be in twenty minutes."

'Figures he would do it for free.' I told Violet. 'I guess now he will feel as if I owe him a future favor.'

'Very true.' she responded. 'At least we are getting the information we need I guess. I just hope he never has need to call in his favor.'

'Yeah, no kidding.' I chuckled as I set to asking all of the pertinent questions I would need to know for my future shopping trip. It took about fifteen minutes, but I felt like I had enough information to at least get by. The rest I was sure I would learn on the fly once I got there and explored a bit.

I decided to make my move as soon as curfew started on the first Friday night of November. Hardly anybody would be outside of their dorms past ten, so I knew I would likely not meet anybody on my way to the secret passage other than potentially a prefect. The third floor however was usually left abandoned for the most part since part of it became restricted.

I dressed in my dark robes, hood down for now; I would change into my entire disguise once in the secret passage. I quickly made my way to the third floor where the instructions I received said that the statue of Gunhilda of Gorsemoor, more commonly known as the one-eyed witch statue, was located. Looking down the hall I could see the door that lead to the forbidden corridor that we had been warned against entering during the welcoming feast.

I stepped in front of the statue and whispered the password, Dissendium, and watched as the hump opened up to reveal a chute that led below. I quickly slid my feet in first and pushed off, sliding down a few feet before I slid out into a small dark cavern.

'Best to finish your disguise here.' Violet told me as I stood up and brushed myself off. 'Once we leave the school the ministry will likely be able to detect your magic, and we don't exactly know how the Trace works yet.'

I pulled out my wand and pulled up my hood. I quickly concentrated while casting the glamor charm that would give my eyes that slight red glow. The charm wasn't terribly hard, but the more you wanted to change the harder it became. It wasn't particularly easy to change facial features and make the changes look real. It took a certain degree of artistry.

"Serpensortia!" I intoned quietly as a six-foot boa constrictor shot from my wand and landed on the rough floor with a soft thud.

Daryl Avery may have not needed the money, but he did point me to someone who did. Alyssa Urquhart was the sixth year female prefect in Ravenclaw. While she was from a pureblood family and wasn't poor, they were still far from rich as her house wasn't near as old as some of her peers. She had been willing to tutor me in the spells I had needed in the last couple weeks. I had to triple the costs she wanted to charge for each spell she taught me, but surprisingly I was able to get her to agree to make a vow to keep it quiet that I was learning from her.

{Who dares summon me?} The snake hissed.

{I did mighty serpent.} I told the snake drawing his attention to me.

{A human speaker? Tell me speaker, what is it you have called me for?}

{I am headed to a dangerous place and I need you to keep people from approaching me. Speaking to snakes is considered dark and evil to humans and if people hear me talking to you they will leave me alone. Will you join me on my journey?} I asked the snake, staring it in the eyes.

{Very well speaker.} The snake said after a moment. {But you shall carry me.}

{Thank you, and of course.} I laughed as I picked him up off of the floor, draping him across my shoulders. He was actually fairly heavy, and I decided I would be looking into books about the Trace, to see if I can find ways around it. I did not want to have to carry a heavy arse snake around all the time. I was a bit letdown when I had first heard that underage magic outside of Hogwarts was against the law. However, the smirk on Avery's face, when I asked him about it, made it seem as if he knew ways around it. He just wasn't going to give me any answers about it.

I pulled out the aging potion and downed it after popping the cork. It was a weird feeling, feeling your body aging almost five years. I was thankful I had gotten Alyssa to magically adjust the size of the clothes I was using for tonight, I hadn't quite yet gotten the hang of it myself. They would turn back to normal size once the spell on it had been canceled. My disguise now complete, I started the trek towards Hogsmeade.

It only took me forty-five minutes of walking to realize I would be trying to fly the treacherous tunnel next time. It was already after eleven by the time the tunnel started to rise and I reached the stone slab that separated me from Honeydukes basement. I carefully slid the slab up and off to the side, peeking out to make sure the cellar was empty. Noticing that it indeed was, I quickly jumped out of the hole and slid the slab back into place, leaving it ajar just slightly so I would be able to open it again when the shop opened back up.

I really wished I could use magic when one of the steps gave off a slight squeak, but kept moving up towards the main room where the fireplace would be located. It was well after eleven so the owners would probably already be asleep. I quickly made my way over to the fireplace, withdrawing my small bag of floo powder as I went.

'Might be a good time to stock up on some free chocolate.' I joked.

Violet laughed. 'True, but our luck they have some sort of ward or spell placed on them that would give us away.'

'Fine. Ruin all my fun.' I pouted, causing her to stick her tongue out at me.

{You may want to get comfortable and hold on tightly.} I whispered to the large snake around my shoulders. {I am not sure how pleasant floo traveling will be for a snake.}

{Very well, young speaker. However, if it hurts too much I may have to bite you.} It teased causing me to grin.

Quietly I through a pinch of floo powder into the low burning fire, watching as the flames flared emerald green. Quickly I stepped into the fire and whispered out "The Leaky Cauldron." With a quiet whoosh and semi-bright flash I was gone from Honeydukes.

I could just barely make out that there were hundreds of different rooms passing before my eyes, several per second, but I couldn't make out any details from behind their exits. After a few seconds I landed in the fireplace at my destination. Not being used to floo'ing, mixed with also not being used to being taller, I lost my balance and promptly fell on my face, causing the snake around my shoulders to hiss at me…clearly he wasn't impressed with my landing.

{Sorry. I am not used to using the floo or being taller.} I said trying to calm him down.

Thankfully Tom, the bartender, was the only one actually in the bar at the moment. He eyed me wearily once he noticed the eyes slightly glowing behind my hood and the large snake I had just been talking to. He kept his eyes on me my entire way towards the portal to Diagon Alley, watching me as I left through it and the portal closed behind me.

The differences in Diagon Alley in the day versus the night were like water and fire. Diagon Alley had been alive and full of people when I had first came here. Almost all of the shops had been opened and customers were flowing in and out of them, giving the place an almost city-like feeling. Now the shops were all closed up, with the exception of a few, and the place was almost barren of people. I wasn't going to complain. I had hoped to make my way Knockturn Alley with only the bare minimum of people noticing me.

I made my way towards where I knew the entrance to Knockturn Alley to be. It had caught my eye's immediately my first trip here with Professor McGonagall, and I wasn't going to forget it anytime soon. I steeled myself as I turned into Knockturn Alley.

"Here goes nothing." I whispered out loud.

'Please be careful Harry.' Violet said, worry evident in her voice. 'I'm not worth you getting killed over.'

I chose to ignore the second part of her comment. She already knew I thought she was worth it and her saying otherwise was too ridiculous of a comment to even answer.

{If anyone comes toward us in a threatening manner, I want you to attack.} I hissed to the snake on my shoulder as the few shady patrons that were out this time of night came into view. I kept my posture strong, and walked as if I belonged here. The people that could see the red glow from under my hood, and hear me talking to the snake, quickly backed away into the shadows.

From what Avery had told me of the alley, which was basically just about what type of shops were here and their general locations, it was basically one long alley that circled around Diagon Alley. Every so often there were other alleys that branched off from the main alley in Knockturn, extending the opposite direction from Diagon Alley.

I had three destinations for tonight. The first shop I was going to visit was Borgin and Burkes. It was a seedy pawn shop that sold all manner of legal and illegal items that were, or bordered, on the darker side. The shop sold all manner of items, from books, artifacts, enchanted or cursed items, potions, and all sorts of items that you could think of. Thankfully, it was one of the more prominent shops and was located on the main street, only a few blocks down.

The second place I wanted to stop at was a place called The Coffin House. It was a book store for the darker arts. Avery hinted that it may have even sold paraphernalia related to the Dark Art of Necromancy, which was why I would be checking it out. While I wouldn't be able to actually take any of these books back to Hogwarts with me, I could still buy them and have them stored elsewhere until I learn Occlumency.

The last place I wanted to stop at was called The Spiny Serpent. It was, according to Avery, a book store that catered to strictly illegal texts. However, he did not believe that I would be able to enter as, even though the shop was usually open, the door would remain locked at all times, only allowing advanced customers inside. Even Avery had never been in and did not know how to get inside, even though he knew people who were allowed in…he just wouldn't say who.

Every time I would come close to someone on the street, I would whisper something to the snake, hoping the hissing would keep unwanted trouble away from me. It didn't take me long before I spotted the sign that read Borgin and Burkes. I quickly made my way to the door before opening it and stepping inside.

The inside was a dimly lit wizard's shop, but nothing in here was ever likely to be on a Hogwarts school list. A glass case nearby held a withered hand on a cushion, a blood-stained pack of cards, and a staring glass eye. Evil-looking masks stared down from walls, an assortment of human bones lay upon the counter, and rusty, spiked instruments hung from the ceiling.

The shop owner must have heard me enter because a stooping man had appeared almost silently behind the counter, smoothing his greasy dark brown hair back from his face. The man stared from the snake on my shoulders to the red he could see slightly glowing from behind my hood.

"Welcome to Borgin and Burkes." He said, his voice just as oily as his hair. "I am Mr. Borgin. Anything in particular you are looking for?"

I turned to look at him momentarily, while keeping on my circular tour of the shop. I was hoping to silently convey to him that my time was of more importance than his, and that I would speak when I was ready and not when he was. I took a look at the withered hand that sat on the cushion as I passed, reading the name, The Hand of Glory, as I passed it. Closer towards the counter and next to the fireplace I passed by a large ornate cabinet, which I gently ran my hand across before making my turn towards the shopkeeper.

{Keep close watch on the shopkeeper.} I told my serpentine companion, hissing just loud enough to draw the shopkeeper's attention back to the snake. {If he makes any sudden movements, I want you to strike.}

{Yes speaker.} The snake hissed before turning his full attention on the man behind the counter.

"I noticed you were eying the Hand of Glory." The oily-haired man spoke up as I got closer to him. "Just insert a candle and it gives light only to the holder! Best friend of thieves and plunderers! Anything I can help you with Mr…?"

"You may call me V" I hissed to him silkily, as Violet laughed at me for my use of her initial.

'That is so cheesy, Harry!' she continued laughing, thankfully not breaking my concentration.

"I am merely looking for anything you have on Mind Magic, Occlumency especially, the Trace, and Ancient Runes tomes…only the ones that have yet to be deemed illegal for now however." I told him while softly stroking the head of my companion.

"Very well, Mr. V" the man named Borgin replied. Doing a fairly decent job at hiding his fear at the fact I had a six foot snake wrapped around my shoulders, and could speak to it. "I keep our books in the back, and are available only upon request. I shall be back momentarily, feel free to look around while I gather the requested books."

I nodded my head to him as he disappeared once more through the door behind the counter. His description of the Hand of Glory had indeed caught my attention. Having light that only I would be able to see would make sneaking around Hogwarts so much easier. I didn't know if it would be considered illegal to own or not, but I decided to walk back over to it and see if it had a price tag on it.

I was careful not to touch the actual hand, or the cushion it sat upon, in case it held any curses or other charms on it to prevent people from touching it. I carefully lifted up the price tag, turning it over, to show the cost of one hundred galleons. It was a lot to the average person, but for the purebloods that surely visited this store frequently, along with myself, its uses would far outweighed its cost.

I turned around when I heard Borgin come back into the main room. I turned to see him carrying a small stack of only five books, and made my way back over to the counter to see what he had.

"I am afraid that I only have one book each dealing with Mind Magic and the Trace. Both are subjects that are hard to find information on. I have more books dealing with Ancient Runes of course, but these are the only three that won't land you in Azkaban if you are caught with them. Most of the others deal with Rituals of a darker nature." Borgin said as I started browsing the titles of the five books he had brought out.

The three Runes books he had were apparently from a three set series. There was The Art of Egyptian Runes, The Art of Norse Runes, and The Art of Sumerian Runes. The book, which I assumed was about the Trace, was simply titled, How the Ministry 'Sees' Us. The last book, and the most important at the moment, was titled Mind Over Magic.

"I will take them…the Hand of Glory as well." I told him as a large greedy smile broke out across his face. "I assume there will be no adverse effects from taking the Hand from its shelf?"

"None sir. I will bag these up while you grab it, and I can shrink your purchase for you if you would like?"

Not knowing if he was just trying to be polite or test my skills, I decided to try and play it off. "I am quite capable of shrinking them myself!" I hissed at him. "However...since you insist, I will allow you the honor."

I added the Hand of Glory to the bag he had placed the books in and watched as he cast a shrinking charm on them. I didn't actually know how to shrink items yet, but vowed I would have Alyssa teach me the next time I saw her.

"That will be 419 galleons." He smiled, exposing his less than hygienic teeth as he did so.

I took out four small pouches, each contained a hundred galleons. "Here is four-hundred." I hissed. "I am being more than generous."

Borgin looked like he wanted to disagree with that statement, but one last glace at the snake staring him in the eyes was enough to make him hold his tongue. "Yes, quite generous indeed. Will there be anything else then?"

I picked my purchase up from the counter and pocketed. "I am certain your discretion will be most exemplary, am I correct?"

"Quite correct indeed." He said looking almost as if insulted I even had to ask.

"Then our business is complete for now." I told him turning for the door. "I am sure we will meet again in the future."

I quickly set off towards my next destination, The Coffin House. I already had an idea where I was going to store any illegal books I purchased here until I could learn to defend my mind. However, this would have to be my last stop for the night if I did buy anything as I would be cutting it close getting back to Honeydukes when they opened. They didn't open until six in the morning as it was, and getting back to my dorm before my roommates woke for the day would be lucky. Hopefully they would sleep in as it was a Saturday morning.

The Coffin House was located much farther down Knockturn Alley, and was in a side alley at that. It took me close to half an hour just to find the damn place. The building was dusty and in the window was a coffin full of dirt, with an animated skeletal arm protruding from it, trying to dig its body out.

I walked in the door, which chimed, waking the ancient woman who had been asleep behind the counter. I took a quick look around before heading towards her. There were skeletons and paintings of ghosts hanging from the walls and ceiling. There was a shelf of books dealing with strictly Samhain and the nature of death and the veil that separates the two. It however didn't appear to be anything with actual knowledge inside of it. Tombstones lined the walls and the place had the distinct feel of a graveyard.

"Welcome to The Coffin House." The ancient woman welcomed me as I approached her. "My name is Morraine, wha' chu lookin fer laddie?" The lady was positively ancient. She looked even older than Dumbledore, with wispy, flyaway hair that was long, dirty, and graying. She didn't have any teeth left in her head, and it wouldn't be a hard stretch to imaging her as just another one of the decorations.

"I will keep this quick...I am looking for information and I am told you are the one to see." I was really running short on time and needed to finish this stop quick.

"Aye, 'at wha' chu hear is it?" she asked staring me down. "Wha' makes ya tink I'ma sell it ter ya if I did?"

"Because if I am wrong, then you are of no use to me...Useless people have no need to still be alive." I wasn't really going to kill her. While I wouldn't hesitate to kill if it would progress me with my goal, killing her wouldn't really change anything if she didn't want to sell to me. I am sure that any books she had wouldn't just be laying about and without being able to use magic I wouldn't likely find anything...she didn't need to know that though so I would at least try to scare her into selling.

{If she tells me she won't sell, I want you to scare her.} The snake hissed at her in reply...I wasn't expecting her to start chuckling if I was being honest.

"I ain't survived livin' fer 130 years fer nothin' laddie, and I ain't 'fraid o' no dyin either." she laughed. "But...no worries. If you be havin' the gold, I be havin' wha' chu lookin fer."

She disappeared into the back room and didn't come back out for almost ten minutes. When she did, she was carrying a large, and definitely old, tome in her hands. The leather cover seemed likely to be made of some sort of skin, and a large skeletal spine was in use as the spine of the book. On the from cover I could just make out the title, Veil of the Damned.

"I trus' you don' need remindin' 'at chu ain't get 'is 'ere?"

"How much?" I asked when she finally looked back up to me.

"Mos' valuable dis 'ere book be lad. Ain't be more n' a hundred books 'bout Necromancy n'tha world. I ain't be partin wit it fer no less n' a thousan' galleons." the look in her eyes almost dared me to argue her price. I didn't have time to haggle anyhow.

'There is no point in me even reminding you that a thousand galleons is a lot is there?" Violet asked. I just gave her a pointed look that said she already knew the answer. 'Fine...just hurry up with it. If we don't get back to Hogwarts before your roommates wake up were screwed.'

'I know, I know, I know. I'm trying to hurry Vi'

"I will take it." I told Morraine, throwing almost the rest of my gold onto the counter.

'I will have to get to the bank soon if you expect me to be able to buy you a Christmas present.' I joked, grabbing the book and quickly pocketing it and making my way to the door.

"Tread safe ou' there. Ain't safe fer one so young..." she trailed off, with a knowing glint in her eyes as the door shut behind me.

'Creepy arse old lady.' A small shiver went down my spine as I left her shop.

'I get the feeling she knows more than she lets on.' Violet did have a point. You would have to be skilled to survive to her age when dealing with stuff so dark.

'At least we won't have to go back there anytime soon.'

It didn't take long before I had made it back to Diagon Alley. By now it was already well past midnight. I quickly made my way through the archway to The Leaky Cauldron and hurried my way into muggle London.

I was thankful that I had actually paid attention to the directions, during the car ride to and from Surrey to the London Zoo, as I hopped onto the creaky old broom I had pilfered from Hogwarts. I figured it would take me less than an hour easy as the crow flies.

As the streetlamps of Privet Drive came into view, I finally flew down out of the cloud cover I had been flying through for the last forty minutes. I used to keep the window in my bedroom unlocked just in case I had ever needed to make a quick run for it. I just hoped that the Dursley's continued to ignore my room like the plague.

My first week in my new room I had discovered a loose floorboard just on the underside of my bed. I used to hide all of my important stuff, such as my wand, in case Vernon decided to try and burn my stuff. There should be enough space to keep the book I had just bought. I would hopefully be safe there until I could learn to defend my mind from intrusion.

Silently I flew down next to my window on the first floor, cringing slightly as it let off a slight squeal as it slid open. As quietly as I could, I flew into the room and silently landed. Almost catlike, I was on all fours at the edge of my bed and pried loose the floorboard, slipping the book inside, before replacing it.

I pulled out the old compass from my robes as I mounted my broom once more. I shut the window once outside and quickly located the direction I needed to travel before setting off as fast as the old broom would take me. I knew that the journey from London to Hogsmeade took about seven hours by train, and I was forth minutes south of that. Thankfully the train was much slower than a broom, and I was hoping to make the flight in under four hours...seeing as it was just after two in the morning, I sure hoped like hell I could make it in under four.

It was already fifteen minutes after six when I spotted the turrets of Hogwarts and the town of Hogsmeade approaching in the distance. I was soaked and freezing from flying through the clouds when passing over civilization. Add being behind schedule and it made for a pretty pissed off me.

The sun had already started to rise a half hour ago, and the shops in Hogsmeade would all be opened for the most part already. I landed in an alley next to Honeydukes and quickly took off my hood. It would only raise suspicions inside of a candy store and I still had roughly twenty more minutes before I returned to looking like my eleven year old self so I had to hurry.

{This is where we must part ways my friend.} I quietly hissed to the snake as I set it down on the ground. {I thank you for your help last night, and I wish you well in the future.}

{You are welcome, young speaker. If you are ever in need of me for another adventure...well I daresay you know how to summon me.} The snake set off with those parting words in the direction of the Forbidden Forest.

'You have to hurry Harry.' Violet spoke up starting to get nervous. 'That age potion isn't going to last much longer and you still have to get into the secret passage before it does.'

'I know, I know, I'm hurrying.' I told her hurriedly as I quickly made my way into Honeydukes shop, keeping my eyes towards the ground as I still had the glamor up on my eyes.

The storekeeper was moving in and out of the back storeroom, still preparing for the day ahead even though the store had opened already. I made to aimlessly walking around the store, still keeping close to the cellar door, until the clerk turned and went back through the door behind the counter. As quick and quiet as I could I sneaked back into the cellar, quickly spotting the corner of the slab under the stairs sticking up from its hole.

Not being as quiet as I should have been I slide the stone slab to the side and jumped down the hole into the secret passage back to Hogwarts, closing the trapdoor completely as once I had.

The walk out last night had taken me over forty-five minutes, but I ran it back in under thirty. I ran as fast as I could back to the dungeons, glad that teachers and prefects rarely patrolled this early in the morning, they needed sleep too after all. I breathed a sigh of relief as I had safely made it back to my common room without being caught. With a smile on my face at my success the last few hours, I opened the door to my dorm room and quietly made my way inside, closing the door behind me.

"Harry?" I froze. "You weren't in your bed, I was getting worried about you."

AN: Well there you have it. This is my longest chapter ever and i hope you all enjoyed it. Any questions, comments, or concerns? Please feel free to PM them to me or leave them in a review. (I do actually read them all). I would like to ask, however, that if you are going to criticize my story, or find something about it you do not like, when i counter your rebuttal with my reasons why I have done things the way i have, please don't be a coward and block me from responding to your reply's after you realize that you were in fact wrong. I will not state any names as that would be a very "Douche" thing to do, but you know who you are. Anyhow, i hope to have the next chapter up as quick as i can manage it. Not sure if it will be 10k like this one was but we shall see. Thank you for reading!