Chapter 4: New classes and odd friends.

Vitae/Harry's P.O.V.

The boys in my dorm were annoying to a point where I almost couldn't stand it. The three of them were trying to weasel out as much information from me as they possibly could, even though I really just wanted to sleep. I eventually just snapped at them to go to sleep and shut my curtains on them.

Their names were Ethan Bolsta, Jake Brown, and Malcom Turner. Ethan was probably the worst out of the three of them. Even when the other two had decided to let me sleep after I closed my curtains, Ethan just yanked them back open and continued in his myriad of questions. Eventually, I just levitated the heaviest book I could feel from my bag and let it fall on top of his head before hauling him into his bed and returning to mine. I stopped for a moment and faced the other two boys.

"If you ever decide to invade my privacy, the same or worse will happen to you," I warned them. They just nodded and went to sleep, as had I.

By morning, I had relived my recurring nightmare that I had been having for years. My childhood years being tortured as a lab rat. I had woken up well before the sun had risen and I was drenched in sweat, so I decided to have a shower to get rid of the sweat and make myself at least seem presentable. In order to make sure that the other boys did not decide to barge in on me, I locked the door from the inside by as many muggle means as possible. Once done, I could hear Ethan pounding on the door, trying to get in. I mentally rolled my non-existent eyes as I unlocked the door, opening it as he pounded on it causing him to face plant onto the floor.

"That is for attempting to invade my privacy. I told Jake and Malcom last night that invading my privacy will end in you getting hurt. You have no right to stick your honey covered nose in my business. What I do with my life is not your business, it is mine, so stay out of it," I told him while exiting the dorm and heading down to the great hall for breakfast. Padma was already there and I helped myself to some waffles.

"So, how was your first night, Vitae?" Padma asked.

"Horrible. Ethan Bolsta is always invading my privacy and I had to knock him out so that I could get some sleep. I'm thankful that I locked the bathroom otherwise he would have barged in on me. The other two weren't much better but they gave up once I shut my curtains on them. Ethan just yanked them open and continued to annoy me," I ranted.

"Ethan's sister, Jane, told me that he doesn't know the meaning of personal boundaries. She's in the year above us. She told me to just ignore him as best I can, so I guess you just have to do the same," Padma told me.

I snorted. "Doesn't know the meaning of personal boundaries? I think she may have been down playing it by a lot. I don't think he understands the meaning of boundaries full stop," I scoffed. Padma giggled in response.

"I get the feeling that he will end up in the hospital wing sooner rather than later if he keeps up with his actions," she said and I noticed that Ethan was walking in as she said that.

"Is it really that obvious that I levitated a heavy book before dropping it on his head and let him fall face first onto the ground when he went to enter the bathroom?" I asked her.

"He looks like he ran into a wall, multiple times," she replied.

"Right, that would be okay, I guess, if people just assume that he sleepwalks," I told her, making her laugh. Hermione and Draco walked over and sat down with us, making everyone hush.

"Hello, Hermione, hello Draco. How was your first night at Hogwarts?" I asked them.

"Good, the snake pit is rather comfortable. I must say, I had a very good night," Draco replied before helping himself to my waffles.

"Hey! No stealing my waffles!" I reprimanded him before stealing my waffles back.

"Stop fighting over waffles. Draco, get your own waffles, and Vitae, grow up. My first night in the Lion's den was splendid. I'm sharing a dorm with your twin, Parvati, isn't it? Anyway, I can't wait for classes," Hermione scolded Draco and I before recounting her night in the Lion's den. "Also, Vitae, why didn't you tell us that you're Harry Potter?" she asked.

Neville walked over at that moment and greeted us shyly.

"Hi, guys," he said before sitting down.

"To answer your question Hermione, I will state two things and ask you a third. One, I have been going by the name 'Vitae' since I was six, in my mind, Harry Potter is dead. Second, in a few months, my muggle guardians, Moira MacTaggert and Charles Xavier, will be adopting me as their child. When that happens, my name will be legally changed to Vitae MacTaggert and when they get married, it will be changed to Vitae Xavier. Thirdly, if you knew I was Harry Potter, would you have treated me the same way?" I told her.

"No, probably not. I guess that makes sense," she replied.

"So, Neville, how was your night in the Badger's hole?" I asked the Hufflepuff boy.

"Good. I just hope I don't forget how to find it. What about you?" he replied.

"Interesting, is probably the polite way to say it. I already have a few ideas for the side projects Ravenclaw students undertake," I told them. The rest of the hall was still watching us.

"Just because we come from different houses doesn't mean we have to hate each other. Sometimes, opposites can be the best of friends, and sometimes, those of the most similar mindsets can be the most vicious of enemies," I told them.

"Twenty points to Ravenclaw for such a wise insight," a teacher, the Gryffindor head of house and the school deputy, announced. After that, everyone went back to their food.

"So what was your idea for the projects?" Padma pressed.

"Warding," I stated simply.

"Why warding?" Draco asked.

"Because I find it fascinating how wards can stop people who can sense energy, like myself, from feeling anything other than magic until they are inside the wards," I explained. I turned to face Padma. "What are you thinking of doing?" I asked her.

"Not sure. I'm still thinking," she said.

"Do you think that the rest of us could do side projects as well?" Hermione asked.

"I'm sure you could," Padma told her.

"If we are going to do side projects, I reckon I would do mine on why some witches and wizards have less magic than others and why people with magical parents aren't always magical themselves and how muggleborns come about," Draco said.

"That sounds interesting. One of my other projects I'm thinking about may just be able to help you with that. It is to do with genetics," I told him.

"What are genetics?" Neville asked.

"Genetics determine what you look like, and other biological elements of your body such as your intelligence levels. For example, it is because of genetics that I have black hair," I explained to him.

"That makes sense," Neville said. Draco just looked at me funny.

"How would you be able to help me?" he asked.

"One of my guardians is a professor of genetics, more specifically genetic mutation which is when abnormalities occur in a person's genetic structure. A common example of this is when a person has two eyes of different colours. Some mutations are much more noticeable though, I've met a 'mutant' who can control the weather and another that has wings. When I first came into Professor Xavier's care, he did his 'normal' routine of testing my genetics for what is known as the X-gene which is an unknown gene that causes major mutations such as the ones I just mentioned. However, he found what at first seemed to be an X-gene, but after further investigation turned out to be what seemed to be a mutated version of the X-gene. Now though, I believe that it is possible that what Professor Xavier found was in fact the gene that allows us to use magic and the X-gene is a mutated version of that gene. Sort of like their genes are trying to regain the ability to use magic, but can only get so far. In theory, it is possible for someone to have both, but magical people would most likely mistake their mutation as an aptitude for a certain type of magic," I explained.

"Oh," Draco muttered.

"I barely understood that Draco, don't be discouraged that you don't understand," Hermione told him.

"Well, it isn't my fault that I grew up around two men who have pretty much devoted their lives to studying genetic mutation and how it affects people. After a few weeks, you end up studying along with them in order to just understand what they are saying. After that, I may have gone over board and they had to give me advanced university work to keep me occupied. Actually, I may have already gotten a professorship in genetic mutation like my father figure," I muttered.

"Advanced university work! I've only ever skipped a grade!" Hermione exclaimed.

"It is hard to keep an insomniac child that has an eidetic memory occupied! I had to occupy myself somehow while everyone else was sleeping. I'll bet I'll be studying fifth year spells by the end of the year," I told them while shrugging.

"Insomnia is where you can't sleep, right?" Padma questioned.

"Yes, there are many reasons why people can have it. For some, they have insomnia because they have lived through a hard life and they can't sleep without reliving it, causing them to wake multiple times throughout the night, so their bodies adapt to go with little to no sleep for long periods of time. For others, it is simply because they cannot sleep," Hermione confirmed.

"So, you can't sleep that well?" Neville asked.

"Yes, I've had insomnia for a very long time, since my birth parents died really. It doesn't have that big of an impact on me really, it just means I'm more likely to wake up randomly throughout the night and less likely to fall asleep," I told them.

"That must be annoying," Draco commented.

"Yeah, it is," I replied absentmindedly.

~Time-skip: Beginning of potions lesson~

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Mr. Potter, our new celebrity. Tell me, Potter, what I would get if I mixed an infusion of Wormwood and root of Asphodel," Professor Snape snapped at me.

"The draught of living death sir, a sleep potion so powerful that it makes the victim seem like they are dead. The only way to wake a victim of the potion is to use the antidote which can kill if administered in the wrong amount in either direction. Too little would not allow the victim to wake and would be detrimental to use a second dose, and too much would never allow the victim to sleep again thus killing them from lack of sleep. Another reason for the name of the potion is because of the mythological origin of the ingredient 'root of Asphodel'. Asphodel is a place in the Greek underworld where those whom have done equal amounts of good and bad live out their afterlives," I replied.

"Where would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?" he continued.

"The stomach of a goat, sir, or any good potions shop. A bezoar is a lump of mass that forms in the stomach of a goat, and it will save you from most poisons, but there are still a few that it cannot cure. However, the poisons it cannot cure are very difficult to make and are extremely rare," I responded.

"What is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?" he pressed.

"None but the name, sir. It also goes by another name, Aconite. It is the main ingredient in the Wolfsbane potion which allows werewolves to go through their monthly transformations while keeping their human mind," I answered.

"Three out of three. Perhaps you won't be hopeless," the professor said.

"Why should I be hopeless, sir? I take my studies very seriously. I wouldn't be in Ravenclaw otherwise," I questioned the professor.

"I knew your father; he was hopeless with potions. I expected that you would be rather like your father," he replied. I scowled.

"How is it any way correct to judge me on who my father is? I barely remember my parents, and what I do may be fabricated memories. The last time I saw them, I was fifteen months old. I am not my parents. It would be like if someone judged you for who your father is, sir. I am nothing like my birth father," I told him.

"I see that now, but before, I was blind," he stated before turning back to the board and writing up instructions. I took note of his movements and discerned what he was writing easily. I scoffed quietly under my breath.

"You have no idea what it means to be blind," I muttered too softly for anyone to hear. Somehow, the professor noticed and hesitated for a moment. I internally mused how he could have heard what I had said. The only thing that made sense, is that he has gained a good sense of hearing from years spent trying to keep a classroom full of kids in line.

Once lesson was finished, Professor Snape called me back.

"Firstly, what did you mean when you said that I had no idea what it meant to be blind?" he asked me. I sighed, bent my shoulders down to the ground, took off my glasses, and when I straightened up, I brushed my hair out of my eye sockets.

"I said it because despite what others may say, I do know what it means to be blind, to be unable to see. I haven't had sight for seven years now. I haven't had eyes for seven years now," I told him.

"If you cannot see, the how do you find your way in a place you have never been? I watched you and I could see that you did not hesitate in any of your movements," he asked me.

"I can sense energies around me, including auras and magic. It took me a year to learn how to use this ability to my advantage and be able to find my way around. At first, I couldn't tell the difference between the floor, a person, and a chair. Now, I can sense the minute details. Back home, they know to never pick me as the searcher in hide and seek because I can always find everyone within seconds. People can't hide secrets from me either. The ghosts creep me out though. It simply doesn't feel right," I explained.

"There hasn't been anyone capable of sensing magic in hundreds of years," he deadpanned.

"Like I said, it isn't magic that I can sense, it is energy in general. Magic just happens to be a type of energy," I sighed.

"Fine. Secondly, your mother was a good friend of mine when we were children, I may not have liked your father, but I feel like it is my duty to ask if you were abused as a child," he started before I interrupted.

"Good deal of use you did then. Where were you when I was sent to my maternal aunt who hated any form of 'freakishness'? Where were you when she and her husband sold me to a muggle research facility at the age of 18 months? Where were you when they tortured me as a toddler? Where were you when they gouged my eye balls out? Where were you when they raped my tortured body? Where were you when I stopped trying to live? Until I was six, I begged every night to die. Then, I was rescued. The people who saved me had no 'duty' to care for me, but did it out of the kindness of their hearts. You have no right to have any say in my life, you did not save me in my darkest years. I have lived the past five years of my life in happiness, the occasional idiot trying to muck up my life, but I'm happy. The only reason I came to Hogwarts is because I wanted to have an opportunity to learn more about my birth parents," I told the potions professor.

"I see. Is there anything I can do to make up for my past mistakes?" the professor replied.

I mulled it over. I thought about the possibility of doing extra credit work, but that would benefit me and it is part of his job as a teacher to allow students to do extra credit work. Then I thought of something else.

"Could you tell me about my parents some time?" I asked.

"That's it? I expected that I would have to do some ridiculous task," the professor laughed. I shook my head.

"Knowledge is the only reason I came here. Back home, I could do self-study of magic if I wanted to, but I'd be restricted to text books and whatever else I could buy from the stores. I wouldn't have another person to judge my spells against to see if I got them right. Here, there is a library full of books that I would never have access to otherwise, books full of knowledge I would never accumulate. I would never be able to piece together what happened to my parents, how I became who I am. All I ask is that you tell me about my parents, what they were like, and tell me no lies or twisted versions of the truth," I explained.

"I see. Well, how about this; once a month, on a Saturday, I'll tell you which one, you come to my quarters and I'll tell you some things about your parents. I'm also going to try and see if can figure out a way to heal your eyes," professor Snape told me.

"I've gotten around for seven years without eyes, I don't need them. Besides, the way I get around now is much more efficient. Nothing can hide from me. Other than that, sounds good to me," I laughed.

"I see. Is there anything else you would like to discuss before you leave?" professor Snape asked.

"Yes, would it be possible for me to do extra credit work? I've already memorised my textbooks, so I know that I'm going to be bored before the week is out when it comes to theory lessons," I asked the professor. He seemed to mull it over.

"I believe that could be acceptable. I haven't had a student ask for extra credit work since I started work here. I'll assign you extra credit work next lesson. Now get to lunch," he told me eventually. I nodded and before leaving the room, I turned back to him.

"Please don't tell anyone about my lack of eyes, I would rather everyone believe that I have eyes and can see things perfectly fine. I may not be afraid to be myself, but that doesn't mean I want people to see the true me," I told him and put my sunglasses back on.

"What did the dungeon bat want from you?" Padma asked with a giggle once I joined her and the others at the Hufflepuff table.

"He just wanted to ask a few things and set up some extra credit work, apparently due to my 'already advanced and well branched knowledge of potions' that comes from memorising the potions textbook, Professor Snape has decided that I should get my work sped up so that I'm not constantly bored in class. Basically, I'll be doing all the same work, the only difference is that I'll be doing different theory work as I already memorised all the theory work," I explained.

"That actually makes sense. There is no reason to keep you back if you have already memorised the theory work, but for practicals, you have little to no experience," Hermione stated.

"Yeah, basically what she said," I told them. They just laugh.

After lunch we, Hermione, Padma and I headed to transfiguration. I noticed a cat on the desk whose energy and aura was the same as Professor McGonagall's and that there were instructions on the board. After a few long minutes of concentrating, I figured out what the instructions said and began 'reading' my text book, the part about turning matches into needles. Ten minutes later, the door slammed open and Ronald Weasley as well as two others ran in.

"Made it. Can you imagine the look on McGonagall's face if she knew we were late?" Weasley laughed. The other two began laughing as well.

"Firstly, you do know that this is the transfiguration classroom, right? What sort of teacher of transfiguration would Professor McGonagall be if she couldn't transfigure herself? Secondly, Professor McGonagall does know that you were late, in fact she can see this entire conversation. Thirdly, professor, I believe that you should show yourself so that these three latecomers do not think that they can do whatever they wish without having to have some form of retribution. After all, they insulted a teacher, their head of house no less, and were late to class, that is two things that are quite rude to their superiors," I stated out loud, not even bothering to look up from my book. Everyone just looked at me strangely until the cat jumped off the desk and transformed into Professor McGonagall in mid-air.

"Well spotted and reasoned, Mr Potter, ten points to Ravenclaw sound logic, five points to Ravenclaw for sticking up for a teacher, and ten points to Ravenclaw for knowledge on the Animagus transformation. As for you three. Mr Weasley, Mr Finnegan, and Mr Tomas, ten points from Gryffindor each for your lateness to class and your gall to insult a teacher," the Scottish witch said.

"Professor, who's to say I knew anything about the animagus process? I just used logic to put together the idea of transfiguring oneself and the fact that the classroom doors were already open. From the little amount of time I have been in your company, I know that you would never allow students to go somewhere that they could hurt themselves without supervision. Therefore, why would you leave the doors to a classroom full of potentially dangerous materials unless you were there to keep supervision? Just because you aren't in plain sight as yourself, doesn't mean you aren't there. As a transfiguration professor, you must know many ways of transfiguring objects, animals, and people, including yourself. The only thing that looked out of place in the classroom to me was your animal form, a cat. So from that, I deduced that you had transfigured yourself into a cat," I spoke up, my head still facing my book.

"Well, then, I still say you have earnt those points. I did not think that you would have worked out what was happening in that way. In that respect, you taught me something new," the professor said.

I laughed internally.

"Actually, I probably didn't. Muggle research shows that people often forget things they don't deem necessary to survival; this becomes more obvious in older generations as they forget more things but they still remember the most vital things for their survival. Despite the fact that their brain and body system is breaking down, their memories hold on to the most important things. It is most likely that you already knew what I told you, you have just forgotten it in order for your brain to make room for 'more important and vital information'. The main reason why people gain an eidetic memory is the need to remember everything. Their need to remember everything they experience is so supposedly vital to their survival that their body systems force themselves to remember," I stated while finally bringing my head away from the book.

Everyone just stared at me.

"What? I've lived with muggle scientists since I was six, I'm bound to pick up on some things," I mumbled. Padma just laughed.

"Knowing you, you probably helped them research that one," she accused me.

"Well, maybe a little bit," I admitted, not saying that I did it against their wishes entirely. Padma rolled her eyes. "Okay, I did most of the work." Padma still wasn't satisfied and I huffed. "Fine, they only checked my work, once I had finished doing my research as they didn't realise I was researching it until I was finished."

"Well, you most certainly taught everyone here something new right then. Now, if we could get back to your work. Mr Potter, follow me please," Professor McGonagall interrupted before Padma could continue.

I followed the Scottish witch and she told me to sit down at the seat opposite the desk in her private office.

"As you seem very knowledgeable about transfiguration already, I'm going to offer you something I very rarely offer. It is the reason I always start the first lesson I ever have with my first year classes in my animagus form, to see if they can figure it out. Would you like to do extra credit work? Remember, I only offer it to a few people. If I find that you cannot keep up with the extra work load, then I will stop giving you extra credit work," Professor McGonagall offered.

"I would love to do extra credit work. I may have already memorised all my textbooks though," I replied. I felt Professor McGonagall's eyebrows raise.

"And why did you deem it necessary to memorise your textbooks?" she asked.

"Eidetic memory. I didn't purposely memorise them, I just remember everything. It is quite annoying sometimes because it means I can't really read books twice for enjoyment as I remember everything I've ever done," I told her while shrugging.

"I see," she stated before putting a match on her desk. "Turn it into a needle then," she instructed. I nodded before holding out my hand as I had left my wand back with my stuff. Slowly, I forced my reserves of magical energy to extend outwards and wrap around the match before forcing it into a needle form. I decided to take it a step further though. I made a pattern crawl along the needle. It turned out as a silver needle with a gold feathered pattern stretching along the length of the needle.

"Well done, Mr Potter to have done that silently and wand less. Have you had any practice with transfiguring?" she praised.

"Well, when I read the text book, it said that the most important part of transfiguration was seeing in your mind's eye what you want to accomplish. I just bring that to the fore front of my mind and will my magic to make it happen," I explained. The professor seemed to mull this over and then spoke up once more.

"I want you to turn your needle into a goblet of any material you would like," she said. I focused my magic on my needle and forced it into a different shape. After a few moments, it became a goblet made of polished obsidian with three polished white opal rings around the base, the base of the cup, and the rim, and a pattern of scales etched into the obsidian that were similar to Aunt Raven's.

"This is marvellous. I don't think I have seen someone do anything like this before, not even when using a wand and the incantation out loud. Have you found other magic this simple?" she told me.

"Some. Defensive magic is slightly harder due to the fact that I don't have anything to practice against," I replied, omitting the part where I had used a shield very effectively once to stop one of Scott's lasers.

"I see. I will tell the other teachers about this. Also, your extra credit work is to research the animagus transformation. Don't even attempt to undergo the transformation unless under my supervision. Is that understood?" she told me. I nodded.

"Completely crystal, professor. I understand completely," I replied.

"You're dismissed from class early as you have already completed this week's task," she told me and I went back out to pick up my stuff before leaving for the library. Once there, I started looking for books in braille about the animagus process. It took a very long time, but I found one. I read over it carefully, making sure I didn't miss any details.

Once I checked the time, I raced to Charms class so that I wasn't late. Similar to Potions and Transfiguration, Professor Flitwick caught me out on being advanced, as in memorised-the-whole-text-book advanced. Once again, I was offered extra credit work after I proved I could do a few charms from the book easily. After that, it was defence, and that was weird as it felt like Professor Quirrell had two auras, two distinctly different life energies. It felt like Apocalypse's from when he had taken the life force of others to better his own strength. I got the offer of extra credit work again and was set to start researching the patronus 'charm', a defensive shield that fends off a soul sucking creature known as a dementor. The stuttering professor told me that the patronus charm was incredibly advanced and it would most likely take the next few years to get it if I ever did.

At dinner, I pulled my friends out to a place on the seventh floor that seemed to only be there sometimes, hoping to get some time out of the ears of others.

"Professor Quirrell doesn't feel right," I told them.

"What does that mean?" Neville asked.

"Well you know how I can sense energy, right?" I asked them. All but Padma nodded. I quickly explained before moving on. "Well, each person has a different energy 'code'. The Weasley twins seem identical at first glance, but when I feel their energies, they are incredibly different. Professor Quirrell feels like he has the energies of two different people residing in one body. It feels weird and it gives me the creeps. The third floor corridor doesn't feel right either. It feels like it has an energy that is ancient, much more ancient than this school, housed in it. There are also other energies surrounding it. There is something wrong here, I just know it," I told them.

"Vitae's right. Professor Quirrell's stutter sounds too forced, like it isn't natural. Something is wrong here," Padma agreed.

"We need a name first though. The Dark Lord has his group of Death Eaters, Dumbledore has his Order of the Phoenix members, what are we going to be called?" Draco interrupted. A thought struck me and I smiled.

"Mythical Ones. We can even make up code names. You know, like how my Aunt Raven likes to be called Mystique. Or how everyone back home calls Uncle Hank 'Beast' and Uncle Erik 'Magneto'," I suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea. But what should we call ourselves?" Neville commented. I just smirked.

"Well, I was thinking that Hermione could be 'Deity', as she is named after a Greek god. Draco could be 'Dragon', because it pretty much means the same thing as his actual name. I was thinking 'Ice Phoenix' for myself because, well, my name means 'new life' and ice phoenixes will never die, just start a new life, reborn form water. The ice part works because to people I don't know that well, I'm cold, friendly, but still cold as ice. I also have an ice phoenix. Neville could be 'Warlock' which is what a wizard is sometimes called and warlocks had a tendency of protecting their town which ties in with the meaning of his name. Finally, Padma could be 'Berunda' which is a mythical creature from Hindu mythology that is said to possess magical powers," I suggested. The four of them exchanged glances before nodding.

"Let's do this," Padma said. I just giggled internally, I had such weird friends, then again, I'm not exactly normal myself.

"We aren't normal, are we?" Draco asked.

We just burst out laughing.

"You know, I was just thinking the same thing," I told him. Hermione seemed to get an idea.

"If we are going to be a team, we need to know everything about each other, no more secrets," she said. "My name is Hermione Jean Granger. I'm eleven years old and a witch. When I was younger, I was bullied by my school peers for being different and for being a know-it-all bookworm, and also for the weird things that happened around me. There was one point in my life where I started cutting myself with a knife, my mum found out within a week and I've moved past it, but there are times when I get relapses so I'm not allowed to be alone with sharp things anymore," she recounted, rolling her sleeves up and showing her scars. I gave her a hug when she started crying towards the end of her story and just told her that we would accept her no matter what.

"I'm Draco Lucius Malfoy, and I'm eleven. I'm a wizard. My father wants to make me into a spitting image of him, but I can't bring myself to hate muggles. When I was younger, I had one of the house elves sneak me out of the house so I could listen to muggle classes for kids my age. Father found out eventually and I ended up with a broken leg. Mum threatened him with divorce as well as taking me with her and my relationship with him is strained at best now. I feel like just one push in any direction will topple the precarious balance my 'family' has," Draco stated.

Neville went next, opening up about how his great uncle had practically abused him to get his magic to 'work'.

After that, Padma opened up about how her parents had always favoured her sister over her because they didn't like the idea of a 'know-it-all child' and because they only ever wanted one child, so because she was born second, she was pushed aside for her sister. Then, they all turned to face me.

"Before I start, I'm just going transfigure some buckets, I think we're going to need them," I stated before transfiguring a few of my quills into buckets. I swallowed before starting.

"My name is Harry James Potter, soon to be Vitae Alex MacTaggert. When my birth parents died, I was sent to live with my muggle maternal aunt who hated all forms of magic. She and her husband immediately began searching for a way to get rid of me. After three months, they found a way to get rid of me, permanently. They sold me to a muggle mutation research facility stating that my parents were mutants and they suspected that I was too. I was eighteen months old. From the first moment I was in the hands of those researchers, they tortured me in the worst ways you could imagine, and more, just to make my supposed 'mutation' awaken and make itself known. They succeeded when I had only just turned two," I told them. I paused before I shed my outer robes and took off my shirt. I stretched my four wings out and let my tail flick about.

"I grew four wings and a tail, gained the ability to sense energy and manipulate life energy, telekinesis, telepathy, control over fire and ice, hyper senses, and a natural metal fibre coating that bonded itself to every bone in my body, a metal that only I can control. It is known as Anacites metal and is the hardest metal known, and I'm the only person who can generate it. On top of that, because it coats my skull, no one can read my mind unless I consciously pull back the metal layer." I paused for a moment, feeling sick about the lies I was telling about most of my mutation, before picking back up again. "I thought that I could fight my way out eventually now that I had gained some power. But I was wrong. They only ramped up their torture efforts," I told them.

Hermione looked at me, aghast, and tried to ask one thing.

"Did they, did they, r-r-ra-," but she couldn't get it out, unfortunately, I knew what she meant. I nodded. Hermione vomited and Padma joined her in emptying the contents of one's stomach into a bucket soon after.

"I remember the first time they raped me. It was only two days after I had arrived. It never got any better after that, as I got older it only got worse and more painful, but I learnt quickly how to avoid as much pain as possible during the rape sessions. I continued fighting though, until I turned four, at least. One night, during one of the torture sessions I tried to fight against, I lost control of my mutation, killing at least ten guards with fire and burning down almost a quarter of the facility, they decided I was too unruly. The lead scientist figured out a way that would 'make me more obedient'," I recounted. Neville joined in with the puking and Draco looked ashen. I sighed and he gestured to my glasses.

"They did, that to you, didn't they?" he asked. I nodded and pulled off my sun glasses. Padma, Hermione, and Neville just stared at my empty eye sockets.

"They gouged out my eyes that night. I have been blind ever since. They did succeed in making me more obedient though, that night is the night I view as the night Harry Potter died. Technically speaking, I did die that night, but I absorbed some of the life energy of those around me and pulled myself back to life. Anyway, I became broken that night, they finally succeeded in breaking me. I lost hope, I lost belief that I could escape, I lost belief that someone would rescue me, I abandoned all hope of a better life, and I lost my will to live. For the next two years of my life, I wished every moment that I would die, if only so that I would no longer have to suffer. It continued like that for two years. I never ate unless they forced it down my throat, I never did anything voluntarily." I took in a shaky breath and then continued my tale.

"When I was six, I was rescued by a group of mutants that called themselves the X-men. Like us, they had code names. They're code names were Havoc, Beast, Mystique, Magneto, and Professor X. They took me back to their base which was disguised as a school, which it was but for mutants. The X-men had disbanded right after though, rescuing me was their last group mission. The other students were afraid of me, everything about me unnerved them. A few months after my arrival, a new student was brought in who also unnerved the other students. Her name was Jean Grey. She was telepathic and telekinetic. She made it her mission to help me regain my confidence. She taught me how to read braille and helped me understand which energies were what. She even helped me pick out a new name for myself, Vitae, meaning new life in Latin as I was making a new life for myself. Just under two years later, Havoc's younger brother, Scott, was brought to the school as his mutation had awakened. He developed a crush on Jean who I viewed as an older sister of sorts, so I decided to freak him out a little. Unfortunately, the three of us weren't allowed peace for long as a mutant villain called 'Apocalypse' tried to destroy the world. The X-men was reassembled with Professor X, Agent MacTaggert, Beast, Mystique, Cyclops, Night-crawler, Quicksilver, Genus, and me. Havoc was killed before we knew what was going on. Magneto was on Apocalypse's side. During the final battle, we managed to sway three of Apocalypse's four 'horsemen', Magneto, Storm, and Archangel. We wouldn't have won if it were not for my distracting Apocalypse by pulling his life energy away from him enough that he lost concentration enough for Jean, otherwise known as Genus, to deal the final blow. I got a new member of family in my life that day, a mother figure named Moira MacTaggert, as well as my uncle Magneto back and a new older sister figure in Storm, whose real name is Ororo Munroe. But I was rendered unconscious just moments after the final blow, and was in a coma for months. Scott says that black smoke curled from me and I screamed for something to get out of my head before passing out, but that is one moment of my life that I don't remember. I just don't remember it, yet everyone who saw it says the same thing, I writhed on the ground, screamed to get something out of my head while black smoke curled off of my body, before passing out.

"It turned out that the other students didn't hate me, they just didn't know how to approach me. The next three years were some of the best years of my life. I was happy. Then, on my eleventh birthday, Professor Dumbledore arrived and gave me my acceptance letter to Hogwarts. I screamed at him because I learnt that he was the one that placed me with my maternal aunt and uncle, but I eventually decided to come here to learn about magic. I met Draco the next day getting my robes, and I got two familiars as well. Glacier and Halál. Glacier is an Ice Phoenix, and Halál is a Grimm. I met you guys on the train, and you know the rest," I concluded. Hermione was the first to move.

"Vitae, you are so much stronger than any of us could have ever been, so much more courageous than any of us could possibly ever be. I'm sorry that you had to go through so much horrible stuff, but I will stand by you, no matter what, because from this point onwards, we're team mates, no doubt about it," she told me as she wrapped me in a hug. Padma joined in too.

"Team mates stick together, no, we're more than that now, we're family," she said simply. Neville joined in next.

"What's the point being someone's friend or family if you don't comfort them after learning about their horrible past? There is no point because it means that you are fake," he said before wrapping his arms around me like the other two. Draco just rolled his eyes.

"I might as well join in, after all, that is what friends and family are supposed to be for, right?" he said before joining in as well.

"Thanks guys, but I can't breathe," I choked out as they were beginning to squeeze a bit too tight. They jumped back and I laughed. They joined in laughing too after a moment.

A/N: Hey everyone! I'm sorry I didn't post this sooner, but internet problems basically rule my house so when the internet works I have to prioritise my school work and I have only just gotten enough school work out of the way so that I can update. Thank you to all the people who have given me such wonderful reviews, they really do make my day. If you have an idea of some sort of scene you think would be ridiculously awesome in this story, feel free to put it in a review or PM me with the idea, and if I like it, I will work it in somewhere. Also, I apologise, but the next chapter is going to be a filler just because I couldn't really figure out what I was doing for the rest of first year and most of second year. ideas for those years will be very much appreciated.