Hey, I'm back again. And I'm sorry if there is something wrong with the formatting. The laptop is in the shop, so I'm stuck using the prehistoric desktop that we never bothered to trash. Again, I apologize for any weirdness that might result.

Flamelm: How did you guess? I can't have been that obvious…

This chapter is dedicated to oceanlover14, who has somehow managed to review every chapter without insulting me once.

Disclaimer: I have never, do not, and won't ever own Harry Potter.

Come, o Speaker, come into the world;

Walk into the spider's web.

This is the first of your choices:

Will its spinning entangle you

Or will you rip through its plans?

-Battles, Godric Gryffindor

Harry Potter had learned long ago how to move without being noticed. In his mind, his trick of walking unseen served several purposes. It kept the Dursleys from seeing him, it allowed him to sneak out for a walk, and it helped him visit Sisith and Lisse and their family.

It was for the latter purpose that Harry was leaving the house.

His friends were waiting for him, their black bodies gleaming in the moonlight. Harry quietly shut the door behind himself and padded out to meet them.

"Well?" demanded Lisse. "Tell us about Diagon Alley." She blinked, noticing for the first time what Harry was carrying on his arm. She opened her mouth to ask, but Sisith beat her to it.

"Why is there an owl riding on you?" the serpent asked.

Harry grinned. "This is Hedwig," he answered. "Hagrid- he's the huge man who came earlier today to pick us up- he gave Mark and me two owls as birthday presents! He let us choose which one we wanted. I picked Hedwig, and he picked this huge eagle owl that he named Jimmy." He set Hedwig down and beamed at her. "Isn't she beautiful?"

Hedwig preened. Sisith and his family dutifully agreed that yes, she was beautiful.

Then they got down to the important business of interrogating Harry.

Laughing, the young wizard responded to their questions. Yes, Diagon Alley was incredible. He had gotten Potions ingredients and a cauldron and robes and dragonhide gloves and all sorts of cool things. Then, more subdued, he told them the story about Voldemort ("Oh, that was the other Parselmouth's name," muttered Sisith's father, Zill) and how Mark had defeated him. It was at this point that he froze, not knowing how to continue.

"Go on, Harry," urged the entire family of snakes. Hedwig hooted in agreement.

Harry sighed, staring down at his feet. "My wand and his- they both got their cores from the same phoenix," he confessed quietly.

For a moment, everyone was silent. Harry, still not looking up, reflected on what a strange picture they made: a small boy in pajamas with an owl on his shoulders, letting a dozen black snakes crawl over his legs.

"Well," Zill said finally, "I guess that makes sense."

"Makes sense!" For a second Harry forgot to be silent; he had shouted the words. He froze, listening for any sign that someone had awakened, but the world remained bereft of human sounds.

"Of course it makes sense," Lisse said sternly. "You're both Parselmouths, remember? It's perfectly logical that your wand and his would match." She rubbed her head against his side, comforting him. "It doesn't mean that you have anything else in common with him. Harry, we all know that you're not evil."

"Thanks," Harry whispered, deeply relieved. "I was so afraid…" He shuddered, did not continue.

His snakes were quick to assure him that no, he had nothing in common with Voldemort; how could he even think that? It was the most ridiculous thing they'd ever heard! They were so enthusiastic that Harry burst out laughing (softly, of course). "Thanks," he repeated.

"Anything else you wanted to tell us?" asked Sisith.

Harry blinked at him innocently. "Should there be?"

Sisith gave the snake's equivalent of a smirk. "You always save the best part for last, and I doubt that your Dark Lord delusions qualify as 'the best part.'"

"Weeeelll…" Harry drawled, "there might be a few other things…"

"Keep drawing this out and I'll bite you."

"I found a book on Parseltongue," the wizard said in a rush. "I mean, you all have taught me a lot, but there are some things I just have to learn from wizards." He grinned, a bit embarrassed. "It's probably horribly biased- they think that Parsetongue is 'the mark of a Dark Wizard'- but I'd like to learn more about other Parselmouths."

Fortunately, no one seemed offended. In fact, now that Harry's report was finished, they seemed smug, almost secretive.

Harry was instantly on the alert. "All right, what are you all grinning about?"

Their grins got wider. "Grinning?" Sisith asked innocently. "Who's grinning?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. The snakes knew enough about human body language to realize he wasn't buying it.

Sisith sighed. "You're no fun."

"Sorry."

The snake snorted. "No you're not. You're insufferable."

"What was it you said earlier about biting people who don't get on with it?" Harry teased.

"No fun at all."

"Sisith," barked Lisse, "just tell him."

Sisith drew back, raised his upper body in a position of alertness- or smugness. "Well, you didn't take me to Diagon Alley with you."

Harry frowned at him. "I couldn't possibly have gotten you without Mark or Hagrid noticing, and you know how my brother feels about snakes."

"You're going to make it up to me," Sisith announced.

"Oh? And how am I going to do that?"

All of the snakes were beaming at him. Anyone else would have found it quite creepy.

"Simple," Sisith replied. "You're going to take me with you to Hogwarts."

"Nine and three-quarters, nine and three-quarters," muttered Mark, lugging his trunk behind him. He glared in frustration at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. "There is no platform nine and three-quarters!"

"Shut up," Harry hissed. "People are staring!" But he, too, was frustrated. Mark was right. The blasted platform didn't exist!

"Maybe," suggested Sisith, "you have to tap it?" The snake, wound around Harry's neck and shoulders like a demented boa, sounded doubtful.

"Excuse me, dears?" asked a kind voice. The twins turned around to face a red-haired woman and- whoa, how many children did she have! One, two, three, four, five. Five kids!

Mark forced a sickly grin onto his face. "Sorry, ma'am. It's kind of an inside joke." He was trying not to think about how the train would leave in less than fifteen minutes.

"Mark," Harry said, interrupting his brother's babbling, "they have an owl."

Mark's eyes bulged. The family of redheads did, indeed, have an owl.

Harry turned to the woman with a sheepish grin on his face. "Can you help us? It's our first time at Hogwarts, you see, and we don't know how to get onto the platform."

She smiled at them. "Don't worry. All you need to do is walk straight through the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Percy, show the boys how it's done." The tallest redhead obediently walked straight into the barrier- and vanished.

The Potter twins gasped.

"Thanks," Harry said nervously, looking at the very solid-seeming barrier. From his perch on Harry's shoulders, Sisith hissed, "We have to go through something?" Harry didn't answer. He felt the exact same way.

"Together, then?" Mark asked, eyeing the barrier apprehensively. Harry nodded.

The woman eyed them sympathetically. "Best go at a bit of a run, dears," she advised.

The twins glanced at each other. Mark shrugged as if to say, Well, what can you do? Harry grinned back.

Side by side, the twins started to walk- then jog- then run, almost losing control of their bags- the barrier loomed ahead of them like a monstrous mountain, impassible- they were going to hit it- they couldn't stop-

And they were through. Sisith's swearing rang in Harry's ears, making him laugh with relief. "It wasn't that scary," Mark commented, but he was clearly relieved too. "Wimp."

Harry looked at the time and gasped out loud. "We've just got five minutes!"

Yanking their luggage from off the ground, the twins ran towards the train.

"Need help?" Harry and Mark turned around to see the red-haired woman's twin sons. Mark nodded gratefully. Their bags were very heavy.

"Fred Weasley," said the first redhead.

"George," the other proclaimed. Grimacing, he forced Harry's trunk onto the train. "What've you got in there, rocks?"

Mark laughed while Harry blushed. "Harry's just a bookworm," the younger twin explained fondly. "You should've seen him at Flourish and Blotts." Harry snorted.

"Phew," gasped Fred as he shoved Mark's trunk onto the baggage corner.

Mark nodded, moved away so Harry and George could deposit his trunk. "Oh yeah," he agreed, wiping his sweaty hair out of his eyes.

Fred froze, his eyes locked on Mark's forehead.

On his scar, to be exact. A small but noticeable V, the remnants of Voldemort's failed Killing Curse.

"No way!"

"Are you-" George began.

"He is!"

Mark hid his smile. "Mark Potter," he said amiably.

"Whoa."

"Wicked."

They gaped unashamedly at his scar. Mark basked in their attention.

"This won't end well," Sisith muttered into Harry's ear.

"I know," Harry whispered back. It seemed to him that Mark was enjoying this a little too much. Well, he reminded himself, it's probably just the novelty of being treated like a hero instead of like dirt.

If only he believed himself…

If Harry had thought that the Weasley twins were bad, their brother Ron was even worse. He came in a few minutes later with the ridiculous story that no other compartment was available. "Fool boy," Sisith muttered irritably. "I've seen how big this train is. It could fit hundreds more than it holds!"

Mark didn't seem to think so. He seemed completely enchanted with his new follower, evidently mistaking a fan for a friend. Soon, both boys were deep in conversation about their respective families- completely ignoring Harry.

The elder Potter was beginning to feel a bit lonely. Was this the way it would be, then, forever in Mark's shadow, ignored by everyone except as the Boy-Who-Lived's brother? Would his identity be completely subsumed by Mark's?

No way, he promised himself. I'll be my own person. I'll make the name of Harry Potter just as famous as Mark's. I will be great.

"I think I'll go for a walk," he announced. Mark and Ron looked up, apparently startled that he was still in the compartment.

Harry wandered the train for a while, noting idly that there were, indeed, several unfilled compartments. Soon, he came across a bushy-haired girl and a round-faced boy who were looking for a toad. Harry decided to help.

"When's the last time you saw your toad?" he asked Neville, the round-faced boy.

"On the platform," Neville answered miserably.

Harry blinked. "Are you sure-" he began.

"We're sure that it got onto the train," sighed Hermione, the bushy-haired girl. She had apparently heard this question several times before.

"All right," muttered Harry, "why don't we check the bathrooms? If I were a toad, I'd like to be somewhere nice and damp."

Neville and Hermione glanced dubiously at each other. "It's worth a shot," Neville muttered hopefully. Hermione nodded.

It turned out that Harry was right. Hermione found Trevor the toad in the fourth bathroom she searched. Neville was ecstatic. Then he realized something. He blinked at Harry and said, "You've just saved my toad, but I don't even know your name." He looked embarrassed. Behind him, Hermione turned beet red.

"Harry Potter."

"As in Mark Potter?" gasped Neville.

"I'm his twin."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "I've read all about your brother!" she exclaimed. "He's in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century, but I've never heard that he had a twin!" She frowned. "Why didn't you tell us you were Mark Potter's brother?"

"Because I'm more than just my brother's twin," Harry snapped waspishly. "Even people associated with celebrities are still individuals." He glared at her, daring her to challenge him.

Both of Harry's companions were mortified. "Oh," mumbled Hermione. "I'm sorry… I sometimes talk before I think." Neville nodded in agreement.

Harry sighed, his anger spent. "I'm sorry, too," he confessed. "It's just that all day I've been hearing that, and it would be nice if people thought I was more than just the Boy-Who-Lived's brother. I am my own person, you know."

"Well," said Neville awkwardly, "did you want to sit with us?"

Harry was amazed. "Yeah," he answered softly, "that would be great." Did this mean they were friends? He'd never had any human friends (besides Mark, but Mark was his brother. It was different.).

They spent the rest of the train ride in a blissful discussion of Herbology.

Sorry, Ron lovers, but it's just not possible that there was only one empty compartment, even in canon. The Hogwarts Express is a big train. It has to be so that it can take in hundreds, maybe even a thousand students. There's no way that Harry and Ron sat down in the only empty compartment in the entire train.

Also, I don't trust the Harry-meets-Weasleys scene in the first canon book. Mrs. Weasley was a pureblooded witch with two older brothers and seven children, all of whom went to Hogwarts. There's no way she could have forgotten that you go to platform nine and three-quarters. My theory is that Dumbledore asked her to play dumb, supposedly so that she could attract the attention of any nervous Muggleborns and help them get onto the train, but really so that she could get canon Harry in contact with Ron.

Yes, Dumbledore. This is a manipulative Dumbledore story. Snape's not going to be very nice either. Sorry, all ye fans, but that's the way it is.

That being said, please read and review.

-Antares