By BEWD Sorcerer
Statement of un-ownership: Own not. Claim not. Lie not. I must not tell lies. Right? XP
AN: If someone didn't catch that in the last chapter, twice I mentioned that Harry used or could use wandless magic and I also mentioned that Tom has been teaching him several times. If you wondered how Harry learned wandless magic, put two and two together and you'll figure out that Tom taught Harry outside the wards on the Dursley's house. Also, they might not catch a little notice-me-not charm, but the Ministry would notice an eleven year old Apparating.
Yes, Harry can be rather grown-up; what else could he be with Lord Voldemort as his teacher? He will show some immature characteristics like a reluctance to get out of bed, but he has learned that Tom knows what is best for him. XP Tom's affected him deeply, obviously since he's living in Harry's head and talking to him constantly.
"Speech"
"Link Speech"
'Parseltongue'
#Thoughts#
To Be Possessed... is to have someone who really cares for your well-being.
The morning of September 1st dawns rather chilly as my little host sneaks out of the house. I feel the cold, but it's as if I'm feeling it through a fairly thick blanket. He shivers as he continues down the street, making for the small park just a few blocks over.
With a little persuading, we'll never have to return here again. I will not allow him to return here, even if I have to reveal myself to one of my Death Eaters to do it, though that will be just a back-up plan. If the old coot knows what's best, then he will allow us to live somewhere else and hopefully not an orphanage.
We arrive and Harry summons the Knight Bus reluctantly.
I was lucky enough to not have had to ride this abomination much, but currently he has no choice. Possibly I could have assisted him in Apparating, but the Ministry would notice and be after him. It would be best to hold off on illegal magic unless in really dangerous situations and since Apparating gives off such an obvious signal... best not to chance it. With no Floo powder and no desire to waste warnings on just avoiding something that isn't that horrid, he's stuck riding this thing until he passes his Apparition test.
At least there aren't many people in here so early and the conductors are too sleepy to recognize the boy that just boarded is a celebrity because it's right before the end of their shift.
In fact, Harry is quite sleepy. I might as well just take over since he's about to fall out of the chair.
"Would you prefer that I get us there?" He nods slowly, yawning. As we switch places, he sends me the mental equivalent of a hug, slipping off as soon as I am in control. It feels awkward being in control of a body again after all that time as nothing but a voice in his head. Shifting around I get a better feel of what I'll be working with for the next couple hours and then just as the bus comes to a screeching halt I hear the conductor mumbling something about the King's Cross Station.
I stand, swaying a tiny bit, and saunter off the bus, patting the pockets of Harry's pants to make sure we still have all of his luggage as I make my way into the train station. Remaining confident I make my way to platform 9, standing casually in front of the barrier and lean back, taking the necessary steps to remain upright as I slip through the gateway onto platform 9 3/4. Later I'll show Harry how to get onto the platform, but for now I slither through the sparse crowd of train staff with the occasional early students and parents and board the train, finding a carriage near the back to hide away in.
Pulling out Harry's trunk, I re-size it and change into his Hogwarts robes, placing the muggle clothes at the bottom of the trunk and shrink it, slipping it into the robe pockets with his wand and the cage holding our pet cobra, who hisses at being disturbed from her nap. I plop down onto one of the seats, wriggling around to get comfortable, and settle in for a little nap. Harry's not the only one who stayed up half the night, unable to sleep.
#Shift#
When I wake up, Harry is still sleeping and it's almost time for the train to leave. Out on the platform there is a very familiar family of redheads rushing to get on the train. Sneering, I turn away just in time to see a boy that must be a Malfoy, a Slytherin. My sneer shifts into a grin.
Perfect.
Quickly I try to wake up Harry, who just turns over and mumbles something about five more minutes. The Malfoy boy is hesitating, looking over his shoulder to see something down the aisle. Trying again, I have a bit more success. He opens his eyes for a few moments, rubbing them and yawning before turning over again and attempting to sink back into sleep. He leaves me no choice.
"LITTLE ONE, YOU HAVE A VISITOR! So GET! UP!" He jerks up, notices the blond about to enter, and stretches, yawning again.
"To-om! Why couldn't you have taken care of him?"
"You can choose your own friends, Harry. Either way, that blond boy is a Malfoy and already on the Dark side. It doesn't matter whether you get along with him or not, though it would be best if you did." Harry nods, looking up as said Malfoy enters the compartment.
"Would you mind if I sat with you? Everyone else seems to be a little slow in the head." My host grins wickedly, causing the Malfoy child to mirror him.
"Sure. Have a seat." The blond almost does, then remembers something.
"Oh, sorry. I'm Draco Malfoy." He holds out his hand, looking a little sheepish for being so rude.
"It's alright. I'm Harry Potter." Draco cocks his head, surprised.
"Wow. My mom was right. I do have good luck today." They both pause a moment and then burst out laughing, but are interrupted by the door opening. In the doorway stands a lanky redhead with a bit of dirt on his nose, who glances at my host nervously when he notices the Malfoy child in good spirits. Just as he opens his mouth to address my host, Draco speaks up.
"Weasley, I doubt that you need to be in here. Only soon-to-be Slytherins in here and besides, I saw you sitting with some others who are more your type not five minutes ago, so you can march your pitiful self back down the train to the other Gryffindors and gripe about how much you hate Slytherins. Don't worry; it won't hurt our feelings." The Weasley brat scowls (more of a pout, really) at Draco, who just sneers back. The blood traitor tries to speak again, but my host cuts him off this time.
"I agree, Draco. We don't need stupid Gryffindors charging around and embarrassing themselves around us." He turns and looks pointedly at the Weasley. "So sod off. We have things that need to be discussed away from a pawn like you." Weasley's face turns bright red, clashing with his hair, before slamming the compartment door and stomping down the aisle. My host smiles calmly at the smirking Malfoy.
"Where were we?" The pure-blood asks cordially, evoking a snicker from my host.
"I do believe we were about to discuss the houses, but since we both know we're going to be in Slytherin I think that conversation would be a little pointless." I sigh, shifting around and sending congratulatory feelings to him. He's grown up so well that I think I actually feel the welling of pride within my bit of soul. Harry easily senses my pride and my congratulations, smirking.
They're about to start talking again when the door opens again and a bushy-haired brunette sticks her head in.
"Have either of you seen a toad?" Both my host and the Malfoy child shake their heads, but while my host is polite about it, Draco openly shows his distaste at seeing a muggleborn. Rolling his eyes and sighing, my host smacks the Malfoy not too hard upside the head, eliciting a surprised gurgle from the blond. Harry smiles politely.
"No, we have not. If we do find the toad, then we'll get it to you. I'm assuming that it is someone else's?" The girl blushes and nods before replying.
"Y-yes, the toad is Neville's. I haven't got a pet yet. Have either of you? When I do, it will probably be an owl; they're dead useful." My host smiles, glancing at Draco only to become confused at the blush staining the blond's cheeks.
"Draco, what's wrong?" He shakes his head and we both know that he's hiding something. Turning back to the girl, my host's smile widens just a bit.
"I don't yet, but I have been promised one in the near future," my host smoothly replies, noting that the girl has also noticed Draco's blush but is resolutely ignoring it. There is a shifting from within his pocket and we know he'll have to apologize later.
"Well, I have to find Trevor, so I'll see you two later." Shutting the door, she gives a little wave as she head off in search for the toad.
"I can't believe you," Draco hisses indignantly, but my host just watches him calmly, no longer smiling.
"She may not be a pureblood, but that doesn't stop her from being useful in the future. Don't cut off your possible allies before you realize their use. Blood doesn't make a person. Or have you forgotten? Dumbledore is a pureblood and I've known about him long before I heard about the Malfoys. If I judged you by that standard, I wouldn't have been so welcoming. In fact, I probably would have hexed you out the door." My host watches the Malfoy shift uncomfortably with his head down.
"I'm sorry. I - " Harry's smile returns full force.
"That's enough." The blond jerks his head up in shock at the soft words. "A sincere apology was all I needed. It shows that you're not completely hopeless and I won't have to work near as hard to make you trustworthy at least to me. I'll need some more information and a few more tests, but otherwise..." His smile brightens even more. "I have found my first friend." Draco beams, bouncing a little in his seat before launching into stories of his childhood.
Hours pass as do the students outside the compartment. When the witch pushing the lunch trolley comes by and both of them have a tasty (if a tad bit unhealthy) lunch of candy, pasties, and cakes. Day fades to night long before they arrive in Hogsmeade.
Once they've gotten off the train, they see a huge man and hear him in a booming voice calling for the first years to follow him. Going down to the lake is a simple matter as is boarding one of the small boats with two troll-like boys introduced as Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. The boats take off and reveal Hogwarts in all her glory, evoking a deep sigh from my host.
"I feel like I've come home." He murmurs mentally, gazing up at the castle warmly.
"We have come home. Hogwarts is home to her students, especially if the students have no family like us." We both feel so warm despite the nippy wind.
"Tom, you are my family." I send warm and possessive feelings down our link.
"Of course I am and you are mine." He sends some in return, acknowledging that we both feel the same about each other. He is mine; I am his. No one else can do anything about it.
The boats dock and the eleven year-olds clamber out onto the shore, climbing the stairs as instructed. Minerva McGonagall lets them into a little hall and gives her little warning speech, watching each child carefully as she not-so-subtly threatens them.
She leaves and the children immediately start talking, particularly the young brunette that my host had talked to on the train. The Weasley tells the sandy-haired boy beside him all the lies his older twin brothers had told him about the Sorting Ceremony. My host just stands where he is calmly, sharing amused glances with Draco especially when the ghost pop in.
By the time Professor McGonagall returns, both my host and Draco are biting their lips to repress their laughter. They are lead into the Great Hall with the rest of their class, ignoring the stares of the older years and staff members. The thing that really amuses me is that Dumbledore does not look happy when he sees my host next to Malfoy and Weasley standing at the other end of the line. The look on his face will amuse me for years in the future, I just know it.
Once the Hat is finished singing, applause bursts out over the hall and when it finally quiets down McGonagall starts calling out for the first years to be Sorted.
After too many currently unimportant people are Sorted, Draco Malfoy is Sorted into Slytherin, not that I ever doubted the fact. Even the speed at which he is Sorted is typical of his family.
More insignificant people are Sorted. Then -
"Potter, Harry!" Gasps and murmurs erupt at the call that increase in fervor when my host approaches the Hat as if he doesn't have a care in the world. Plopping down on the stool, Harry waits patiently as the Hat is slowly lowered and, not unlike a Malfoy Sorting, the Hat doesn't even touch my host's head before it gives a loud cry of, "SLYTHERIN!"
The Hall is deathly quiet as my host stands, giving the thunderstruck Head of Gryffindor house back the Hat and ignoring the dumbfounded student body and staff as he casually makes his way to the empty seat reserved for him next to the Malfoy heir, who is smirking like there is no tomorrow. If it weren't above him, he'd probably be shouting in a singsong voice something along the lines of "WE GOT POTTER! WE GOT POTTER!"
After a few minutes of the gaping and staring, my host gives a little cough and glares challengingly out at the sea of faces. McGonagall clears her throat and continues with the Sorting, snapping most of the people out of their stunned staring. Once the Sorting is done and Dumbledore gives the go ahead, food appears and everyone digs in, still glancing every now and then at my host.
"Salazar! What did they do? Grow up being told bedtime stories about how great a Gryffindor martyr I'd be?" My host snarls mentally.
"Knowing Dumbledore, that's exactly it." He snarls again, resisting the urge to flip them all the birdie or, even better, start hexing everyone who dare stare at him.
"If I marched up to Dumblefuck and plucked out his eyes and made him eat them, do you think they'd leave me alone?" I snort.
"No, but I'm sure it'd make you feel better. Sadly, between feeling better versus appearing to be mostly harmless, the second option is the one we must choose." Scowling, he stabs a green bean, chewing it up viciously. Draco nudges him in the ribs with his elbow to make him look up.
"What did that poor green bean ever do to you?" Despite my host's anger at Dumbledore, he laughs out loud, drawing everyone's attention back to him. The youngest Weasley male and the sandy-haired boy he was talking to earlier whisper furtively to each other; Gryffindors distrusting Slytherins. Harry scowls down at his empty plate. Dinner is finished, so Dumblefuck stands and leads everyone in singing the school song.
"Those twins are Weasleys, but they seem... a bit more than the average Gryffindor, don't they?" Harry asks, amused at their antics.
"They do, but be careful. They are still Weasleys, after all." He nods, then since Dumbldork has dismissed everyone he follows Draco with the rest of his house down to the dungeons, where a scowling Severus Snape awaits.
"Now that you are in Slytherin house - " Snape starts lecturing, but Draco nudges my host playfully, a wicked gleam in his eye. My host tilts his head curiously and is rewarded with Draco whispering in his ear.
"What do you say we make Weasel's time with the Slytherins hell?" Harry smirks and gives a decisive nod. They hear someone clear their throat and so they look up only to see Snape looming over them, scowling.
"What did I just say?" He sneers down at my host, but it is Draco who answers.
"That we must act like Slytherins if we are to remain in this noble house." Unimpressed, Severus scowls down at his best friend's son.
"The question was for Mr. Potter though you are correct. You will not disgrace me or you will face the consequences, am I clear?" Both Harry and Draco nod solemnly, murmuring a respectful, "yes, sir." This seems to appease the great bat for he sweeps off, signaling that it is time for bed.
Harry is situated in a room with Draco, Gregory, Vincent, Blaise, and Theodore. This fact irks my host, who would rather share a room solely with Draco, but that won't be happening for another two years. The first years sleep in two rooms divided by gender just like the other houses, but third years and up share a room with only one other student.
They all get ready for bed quickly; Harry, not giving any of them time to start asking questions, gives Draco a brief good-night and then he is in bed with the hangings drawn.
"I can't wait for third year." Harry huffs as the other boys start hammering Draco with questions, which are easily deflected by the blond. My host erects a strong barrier around his bed to keep out everyone but Draco before snuggling down into the bed.
"I know, Harry, I know." I purr as he drifts off to sleep. This year promises to be interesting, very much unlike my own time at Hogwarts, barring the search for the Chamber of Secrets and the activities pursued after finding and opening it.