A/N: Here is my new chapter, I am so very excited, and I am loving this story so far. It's almost scary. Any who, here be chapter four, and we are getting somewhere! But damn, I just realized I'm going to have to come up with a whole lot more oc's and whatnot to make it believable. I will also be needed to think a bit more. Should be fin. I have a few ideas about things I will be adding, but some aren't until much later. I plan to make next chapter a little angst ridden. Harry is after all in a new place with nothing really making much sense. He is lucky that he hadn't cracked yet. I also wanted to show the future's reaction to Harry disappearing.

So, I own nothing, but I love it when you all review and fav and follow. It really does mean a lot to me and I thank you all for reading this. Hopefully you enjoy it as much if not more than I do.


4: The Welcome Home

Cedric Diggery watched with widened eyes as Harry somehow came between him and the sickly green curse that came from the man who was trying to kill him. Horror struck him as he watched the spell hit the fourth year that had been forced into this competition the moment that the cup made contact with them.

The stillness stretched for a single minute before the Hufflepuff saw the lightning bolt scar that made the small boy famous split open and start to spit out a black substance as something inside of it seemed to scream. There was nothing he could do though as the portkey activated and he could feel the hook at his navel pulling him away from this graveyard and back to the safety of the school. But as he watched the boy, he could tell that somehow he wasn't dead. The curse seemed to have rolled off of Harry or the thing that came out of his scar was hit instead. It made no sense to the older champion.

The horror in his eyes only increased as he saw that Harry was being pulled away from the path of the portkey. Cedric was not stupid; he could see the whirling magic creating a vortex behind the reluctant champion, and he knew what it meant. It meant that if Harry let go, there was little chance of him ever being found again.

"Harry, hold on! Just hold on, we will be at the school soon. Please, don't let go!" He had screamed at the little Gryffindor, but it was all in vain. A looked crossed over the green eyes of the boy that he had come to respect, and in that instance the boy looked as if he knew what was going to happen and had accepted it. It was a look that scared Cedric even more than the spell that should have killed the boy. It meant that he was going to let the unknown vortex take him.

"Please," he called out once more, but it was too late, and seconds after Harry was flung into the other vortex, the Hogwarts Champion crash landed on the pitch in front of the three schools.

Cheers erupted as the people saw just who won the cup, and in that instance the maze and creatures were all vanished, showing that there was no one else in the pitch. Seeing that, Dumbledore rushed towards the boy and gripped his shoulder. The old man had known that something was going to be after Harry, but he could do nothing to stop it, even if he had wanted to.

"Well done Cedric. But where is Mr. Potter?" The elderly headmaster asked the champion.

"Professor, the cup was a portkey, it took us to a grave yard. He tried to kill me, but Harry got in between the curse and me. It was the killing curse, and then we had the portkey, but he let go half way through. But he was sucked into a different magical portal or vortex or something! I couldn't get to him!" Cedric said frantically. He didn't feel the mental probe that Dumbledore gave as he watched the memories of what had accrued. He was too panicked to notice the looks that were passed between the teachers either.

Dumbledore knew right then and there after he had watched the memory that he had been right concerning the connection to Tom and Harry, and he also knew that he had to get the young man back as quickly as he could. It would do no one any good to have their savior in the wind. Harry was, after all, prophesied to defeat the Dark Lord. Now that he had been right it was time to find the objects that he had known Tom took too much of an interest in.

If only the old headmaster had known. It was too late for his plan to bear fruit, and it was already too late to find Harry Potter. In fact, it was unlikely that any of those there would ever see the boy with the lightning bolt scar again.

Time was already changing.

Deep in the heart of Hogwarts, a basilisk lay down and allowed a single tear to come from her eyes. Everything was going to be different. Already she could feel it. Already she could remember her first meeting of her little Prince. But there was nothing more that she could do for him in this time. Her child in all but blood was on his own.

At least Discord would keep him strait. Then there was his owl. She would probably mother him enough for the both of them. With that thought, the great snake curled up deep inside of the Chamber of Secrets, and fell into a hibernating sleep, knowing that when she woke up everything would be different, and she would remember only what was changed and not anything that had happened over this past thousand years.


I looked up at the two founders after getting dressed into something a little less bloodstained. As it turned out Discord had taken the liberty to g through and change most of my clothes to the style that I needed them as not to stick out overly much in this time. I was very thankful that he had done that seeing that I had not thought of it. I was also surprised that the little pixie could do something like that, but I had learned long ago not to get too surprised by the workings of the little blue being.

"Well, not that you are presentable, how about we get you to the castle? It's still a few week before the start of school, but we have a fair few students there already who have nowhere else to go. I'm sure that you will fit in wonderfully." Godric said with more than a little enthusiasm. It still surprised me that he was so carefree. Though I honestly didn't know how else I thought he would be.

"Won't it be strange that I'm coming in just now though I am almost fifteen?" I asked with a tilt of my head.

Salazar scoffed before answering "Don't be absurd. This is only our second year, we are still looking for as many young magicals as we can find. You will fit right in, no doubt, after we get you sorted and whatnot."

I tilted my head slightly more in curiosity, but said nothing that that. The two men thought that I was curious about the sorting, but really I was curious about how the castle would be seeing as it was only the second year being used as a school. I had so many fond memories of it that I was curious about what it would be like. What secrets I knew that were there or that even weren't there at the moment. I couldn't help but wonder if it would be the same as it was before, or if it would be unrecognizable.

We three walked outside not long after that, Salazar making a stop in his rooms to grab the lesson plans that he had been working on before that. It had surprised me that they were both going to drop everything to go to the castle just because he was there, but that was before Godric had informed him that they had been having an argument before they had been interrupted by Discord anyway and that they both would have probably been back to the castle before the week was out.

"Now, take hold of my arm and do not let go. I will be Apparating us right outside of the wards so I would hate to leave some of you behind." Godric said with a gentile smile on his face.

I think that they were both surprised when I gave a slight huff and grabbed his arm before saying "I hate this, but it beats a portkey any day."

"You know of Portkeys?" The younger of the two asked me with sharp eyes.

I flushed slightly, knowing that I had to be careful in what I said around the two of them. If I accidently showed too much knowledge that would be bad; then again, Mater had told me not to worry about that kind of thing. "I'm afraid I have only experienced them twice, and neither were very pleasant." I answered with a shrug right before the sensation of being squeezed through a straw struck me. Of course he hadn't given me any worning that he had started the process of apparating. He probably thought it was better that way or something.

My landing was less than perfect as I staggered and would had fallen if not for Gryffindor's supporting arm.

"Not very graceful either, are you?" Salazar said with a smirk as Godric gave in and laughed slightly.

I gave a mock glare before answering "I think I did just fine, thank you very much." It had surprised me that I was already acting that way around them, but I think that it was just how I was coping with the situation. After all, I would have said more, but at that moment I looked up and saw the castle. She was magnificent. Just as beautiful as I remembered, and she still looked just as old as well.

"Ah, so you have finally seen the castle. Welcome to Hogwarts Castle, the newest school of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Godric said with pride booming in his voice.

"And before you ask, the name comes from the family that left her to us. Lord Hogwarts gave us the castle upon his death for use as a school. He was one of our late mentors. He was so proud of us that we all wanted to share our knowledge with the others of the magical community. We have done our best, but she is almost alive believe it or not. Let us see how she reacts to you." Salazar said before I could think to say anything else. And right after he said that we stepped into the wards.

The reaction was almost instantaneous. I felt a tinge down my spine as I walked forward onto the grounds. And then the very magic in the air seemed to caress my cheek before a warm breeze came through in a welcoming way. My breath caught and I could feel the burn of tears in the back of my eyes before I closed them and forced my emotions down.

"She seems to welcome you as if this is your home. Hm, that has only really happened to Rowena and I." Salazar said with a curious look in his eyes.

My voice seemed to come to life on its own as I answered without thinking "I've never really had a home before." That was met with silence as Salazar thought over my words with slight understanding and Godric seemed to try and grasp the concept that was just a bit too hard for him to grasp. He had, after all, grown up in a loving family with a few manors that he could call home. He always knew where he belonged.

"Come, I'm sure that Helga and Rowena would love to meet you, and then we can sort you into one of our houses. I can't wait to see which one fits you the best." Godric all but gushed as he pulled me along, effectively breaking the somber air that Salazar and I had accidently made.

"I can already guess that you aren't making it into Ravenclaw, but I am unsure about the others. The loyalty shown by your familiars does resonate with Huffelpuff, but I could be wrong." The man with the dull green eyes and dark hair said as he gave me a scrutinizing look. "Gryffindor would not surprise me either thinking about it." He added after a second, and I had to fight to keep my face neutral.

"What are the houses?" I asked as if I didn't already know what they were. I felt as if I should be given an award with how well I had been acting.

Of course the more talkative of the two, Godric, was the one to answer. "There are for houses here. They were actually brought about by Lord Hogwarts. You see, he thought that it would help to be around like minded people while learning so he made them based on what the four of us founders felt were the most important trait in a person. We have Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. We hand-picked everyone last year, but we wondered how we would pick with more students, so we took a hat and gave it the knowledge to pick out the students. It really is a brilliant piece of work. One of the first things that we all pitched in on together looking back at it. My house is for those who value being brave and bold. Helga values those who are hardworking and loyal. Rowena favors a thirst for knowledge and intelligence. And, finally, Salazar here values those who are cunning and ambitious."

"Sounds interesting. How does the hat work?" I asked. I had always wanted to ask that question anyways. Especially with how much the hat liked to talk to me whenever I was alone in a room with it.

"It looks into your mind and decides what to do with you. It looks mostly into your memories. I still think we should name the thing, it seems to have a mind of its own now that we made it." Salazar sighed near the end.

I had thought that it did that, but it gave me another problem that I had. "Will it tell you about the things that it sees? I would rather not have my life story there for everyone to see."

"No, it is bound into secrecy. Both Sal here and Rowena are far too paranoid to allow it to tell their deepest secrets to anyone." Godric assured me with a bright laugh. Of course as it made the Gryffindor laugh, the Slytherin looked at me with a raised brow as if he hadn't expected me to ask that kind of question. I gave him a shrug and a half smile as I followed the large redhead up the last few steps and into the entrance hall.

It wasn't long before two women seemed to walk right towards them and the taller one with the raven black hair and lilac eyes paired with a stern look asked "And just who have you brought with you this time? Seems that you managed to come back to the castle even faster than I had thought you would."

"Rowena, this is Hadrian Black. He was attacked and in need of help, and as it just so happens, he was interested in coming here to learn!" Godric explained as he almost jumped up and down like an excited puppy.

"Hello Hadrian, my name is Helga, and this here is Rowena. Are you hungry at all? I know for a fact that neither Salazar nor Godric are very good cooks." A shorter woman with a warm face and eyes of rich brown of the earth asked him as she ignored the other woman who seemed to be scolding Gryffindor for his lack of decorum.

"No Ma'am. I'm fine for now." I smiled as she seemed to take my hand and drag me towards what I knew to be the Great Hall.

"Nonsense. It is the middle of the mid day meal anyway and the others are eating. We will have you sorted and eating in no time, dear." The woman kept talking.

I would have opened my mouth to say something else, but a hand on my shoulder had me looking into green eyes before the owner said "Don't bother wasting you breath Hadrian, she will win either way. Godric and I had to learn that the hard way when it comes to Rowena and Helga. What they say go's." The man said with carefully hidden mirth.

I let out a sigh as I allowed myself to get dragged into the Great Hall. The woman really did remind me of Molly Weasely for a moment. And from the looks on the faces of the students that were already there, it was probably a normal thing to see Helga dragging someone through the hall for their first time there. Though there were some curious looks that he got from the others, but it was normal curiosity, not the looks that I had gotten as the-boy-who-lived. It felt almost good to be looked at with normal curiosity for a change. I wondered how long it would last.

Before I could say Hogwarts, she had me on the stool and had already put the sorting hat on my head.

"Hmm, an interesting dilemma we have here. Magic quite literally pulled you from your time and brought you here. Yes, I see. Once a part of Godric's house. But I have always wanted to put you in Slytherin. You are the Prince of Snakes, as well as the Unicorn's Druid. Those are not light titles that you bear." The hat spoke into my mind.

I let out a sigh "Yes, I do know of that. I also know of everything else you have said, but that does not have anything to do with the sorting." I said mentally to the hat.

"Ah, but there you are wrong young druid. For it speaks to your core personality. How cunning it must have been to keep these things secret from your friends For so long. How ambitious you must be to accept that you can come back here and not be discovered." The hat disagreed.

"You make it sound as if it is a bad thing." I muttered back to the hat.

"Bad, no, simply curious," The piece of fabric argued.

I took a steep breath in at that, and if my eyes were visible I was sure that they narrowed more than slightly. "I dislike it when seemingly all knowing beings say that things are curious. That never once ended up in my favor. Now, we were speaking about sorting me into a house. I'm sure that whatever you pick will be wonderful." I all but snarled at the hat. I don't know why I got so defensive, but those words brought back memories of both Dumbledore and Olivander.

"No need to get snippy. I'm just glad that you are going to finally allow me to place you where you should have been all along." The hat grumbled.

"Well, there are no longer Severus Snape or Draco Malfoy to ruin the house for me or friends that are already sorted into a different house." I shrugged in response.

"You will do well in SLYTHERIN." The hat yelled out the last word, and I stood after taking the hat off. Helga gave me a smile before directing me to the table with the green runner going down it. It looked as if they had already color coded everything so far as well.

I took a seat near the front of the table, and looked around at the others at the table, missing the looks of surprise that Godric and Salazar shared. It appeared that neither of them had thought I would have ended up in the house of snakes. Well, I guess that I was full of surprises.

Looking around the table, I could tell that I was among the eldest there, and that there were a couple dozen of us at most at the moment. But what struck me the most were how open their faces were. They all valued cunning and ambition, but at the same time, they did not have the war over their heads to perfect the perfect emotionless mask or the bitterness that ran rampart in the house from his own time. These kids seemed to have less worries around members of their own kind.

It was a bit of a shock, but I didn't show it. I couldn't really show it after all. But my nervousness did show a bit and I could feel that some of my shy tendencies were trying to rear their heads as I sat and looked around that table. I was being watched as well. The others seemed to be trying to gauge what kind of guy I was, and from the looks of it, they really weren't succeeding.

"Hello, I'm Julian Greengrass. I'm going to be sixteen this year. Who might you be?" One of the boys closest to me asked. Greengrass, I remember that name from a Slytherin girl in my year. Daphne was her name if I remembered correctly. He seemed nice enough. He offered his hand as well, something that I recognized was just a part of the pleasantries. Though it did remind me of Malfoy.

"Hadrian Black, a pleasure to met you. I'll be fifteen in a few days." I answered with a small smile. I reached out and took him hand. They seemed to be surprised by my age, but that didn't surprise me that much, I was still very small for my age. After that it seemed as if I had passed some form of test because they all just started to speak amongst themselves or to me.

"Black? My family has a business contract with a Black family, any relation? Oh, and I'm Warren Iverson, my family is slightly new to these lands." A different boy asked from my left. He was rather tall, even for looking younger than myself. Warren also had the brightest blue eyes that I had ever seen and hair that was a golden blond color, a lot darker than the Malfoy platinum blond.

"Not that I know of, and if there is it would be very distant." I answered honestly with a shrug of my shoulders.

"Don't be daft Warren, if he was he would have a star related name. Just look at the family, there is an Orion every couple of generations, not to mention all of the other names." A different boy said.

And that was how I knew that they were the Blacks I was hoping they were referring to. Sirius had told me about the tradition, and I knew that Mrs. Malfoy had somehow gotten her husband to continue that with Draco's name.

"You never know, they could have deviated!" The boy said in his defense.

After that they finished eating and Julian lead him down to the dungeons to their dorms. The password was not anything to do with blood purity as it had been before, but was actually Belladonna. Apparently Salazar liked to have the password as some form of poisonous potion ingredient. I found it funny that the head of Slytherin was still also the potions master.

I was given a room after that and started to put my stuff away. I knew that Hedwig and Discord were still on their way, but I did wish that they were already here. It would have been nice to have someone familiar to speak to. But the boys in the dorm were all rather nice, so it was alright. The girls hadn't seemed all that talkative today, but there were only a couple of them and they weren't really talking to anyone.

I couldn't wait for classes to start up in few of weeks. After all, I was going to be taught by the founders themselves. This was something that Hermione would have killed for. And it was something that I was going to live through. This was quite literally history that I was living.

But there was still something inside of me that mourned the loss of all of my friends. I was pretty much alone here in this world. And I was never going to see any of them again. That thought almost brought me to tears. But I pushed them away once again. I was not going to cry over this. I was stronger than that. Or at least that was what I told myself.

That night, as I put my head down to get some rest, I could feel Lady Hogwarts tucking me into bed.

I could feel her welcoming me home.


A/N: And there is my chapter. I hope that you liked it! I did. So, I love reviews and constructive criticism, so please feel free to leave one. Reviews encourage me to write more faster. And I want to know what you all thought of it. Thanks for reading!