Disclaimer: Though I hope to have characters of my own to write about someday, this is NOT that day. So if you don't want to read of my writing about other people's characters, there's a back button somewhere on the screen. Use it.

This is AU in that Harry meets the twins in London, rather than his first Weasley meeting being Ron on the train. Since I've only plotted out through the first book's worth of story line, I'm not sure HOW AU it will get yet.

What if?

In the weeks following their first prank, Harry, Fred and George became not-so-affectionately known as the 'Terrible Trio,' a nickname that Professor Snape coined, and much of the rest of the school adopted. Though, only Snape was even remotely certain that about half of the pranks pulled were at their hands.

That's not to say that no one suspected. In fact, Ron, according to the twins, was starting to pick up on a pattern. When he spouted off nonsense about dark things being evil and bad, or Slytherins being evil smarmy gits, he got pranked. As dense as he could be, even the youngest Weasley male could see that. Sadly, his assumption was that Harry was merely the messenger, and had no clue that Harry dreamt up some of the pranks pulled on him. After all, who else would think Harry capable of helping the twins to make a candy that left Ron unable to say anything at all if he couldn't say anything nice? Harry's personal favorite was the prank that left Ron and Malfoy chained to each other during double Potions. They'd been assigned to work together, and the chain got shorter with each insult they flung, longer with each time they were polite, and finally was removable when they apologized to the class for their rudeness. Harry suspected that he'd only stayed out of trouble with that one because Snape didn't seem to believe Harry could have known enough to set the spell in the first place that bound the two.

As one of the brighter students of Hogwarts, Granger didn't take long to catch on to Fred and George being behind some of the pranks. After discussing it with Harry, who thought that if she could provide her brainpower, they could do almost anything, the twins gave her a test. Instead of pulling the prank, she turned it in to a professor as evidence, and nearly got all three boys detention with Filch for a week. They resolved to keep away from her in future, but as the girl was merely a stickler for rules, they weren't making her a target. Besides, Harry had a suspicion that the girl kept back enough information from the prank they tried to get her to participate in that she could use it later to really nail their coffins together.

Upon joining the Junior Marauders, the first thing Harry did was to talk the twins through each prank, saying that they should leave documentation behind so that he could continue after they graduated, possibly picking up others to help him. He wrote down the details they listed, and the twins were pleasantly amazed at how much easier it made other pranks. They had more than half of their research done already, and could spend more time on actually planning out how to not get caught. So they let Harry document the pranks, keeping the paperwork in the room next to the kitchens.

Trying to be subtle, Harry also talked the twins into actually studying, telling them that they never knew what might spark other prank ideas. After all, if they used the exact same method every time, they'd become predictable, and that would kill the fun of the pranks. Agreeing, the twins started becoming suspicious that Harry was really just trying to bring their grades up. To which, Harry countered, "Don't consider it studying. Consider it research and development recorded for posterity. Proof that you actually know what you're doing. Who knows, we might be able to turn some of this in to Zonko's and get patenting money off of it."

That little detail sparked an interest in the minds of the twins that Harry wondered if he should regret. They decided to change their pranks from one-off creations to things they could repeatedly manufacture. The first such thing was a set of quills they'd make to write on their own. The twins said they had the idea from the quills reporters used, called Quick Quotes Quills. The trio's quills, rather than having settings for truthfulness and brevity, were set to attitudes. They could be set to Saccharine Sweet, Grumpy Guss, Funny Fanny, and Boringly Normal. The quill supply was bought during a Hogsmeade outing of the twins, with money Harry lent them. He said it was an investment, and they'd see if the quills actually sold to anyone. They wound up giving one to Professor Flitwick, who had agreed to help them work out the bugs in attitudes for the quills. They also lost one to Professor Snape, as one of the twins had dropped a quill into Ron's bag, and the Gryffindor first year had let it write his notes during class. Obviously, that was a Quill they weren't getting back. They weren't sure if they could even admit to having made them later, with him having possession of it, but they figured they could wait to patent them until after they'd made a few other things.

With the work entailed in creation of the Quills, and various pranks, it was a given that the grades of the twins would steadily climb. Well, it was a given with Harry telling the twins to go ahead and put the answers down if they knew them, it would mean fewer people challenging the patents they'd put in later. The professors as a whole were glad to see the twins actually putting in effort to their classes, but no one was exactly happy about the prank increase. After all, with the increase of quantity, was a matching increase in quality. The boys got caught out less and less often, and no one was happier than they were with this fact.

With help from the twins, Harry learned enough of the school's geography to get around. Thus, his maps were finished a few days after the first Defense class and he gave copies away to the Slytherin first years after the others carried their ends of the deal out. By the time the exchanges were complete, Harry had a better understanding of why the Potions book was so specific on color, which pureblood rules he would need to follow and understand while living in Slytherin, and was much more comfortable with his pronunciation and wand movements for Charms and Transfiguration. The mini study group of first years worked on the assignments for History and Defense together. Both professors proved either too boring or too difficult to understand, and over time, the other first years seemed to notice Harry knew more than he had originally seemed to about the class work. He never thought about it, or he would have realized that working with the twins, two years his senior was having a positive effect on his class work.

He did notice, though, that he had a measure more time to himself. The time spent with the twins made his assignments easier to accomplish. Though he hadn't found ten-inch essays much of a challenge to start with, now his only challenge was not doubling or tripling those amounts and losing points for writing too much, as Granger had found herself doing time and again. Especially in Potions. Having more time to himself left Harry working more and more on projects with the twins, which led to his assignments becoming even quicker to finish still. So Harry started to wonder what he could do with his spare time, and made the mistake, he thought, of mentioning this in front of Fred and George.

So they dragged him to a Quidditch game. Since they wanted to keep an eye on him and discuss tactics, and prank options, it had to be a non-Gryffindor game. The game somehow managed to be Slytherin versus Ravenclaw. Harry watched, and found himself enthralled by the flying. He wasn't impressed with the Slytherin team's tactics, as it seemed to rely rather heavily on beating the snot out of their opponents, rather than actual skill in playing. Even though, he was mystified by the tricks each player could perform in the air. He'd enjoyed what little airtime he had gotten with the lessons with Madam Hooch, but she generally only allowed each student to touch off the ground for five minutes at a time. The next time they could take flight would come up again after everyone else had had a chance as well. This was so she could actually monitor them for trouble. She'd learned her lesson with Longbottom's flying blunder at the first lesson.

After the third time of trying to get Harry's attention and failing, the twins chuckled and sat back to watch the game as well. After the game was over, Harry snapped back into the world of the land-bound, and looked at Fred. He'd finally learned to identify the twins by the placement of freckles on their nose. At first, he'd made them nervous by staring intently at their noses, but after a couple days, Harry had been able to memorize the patterns so that he only needed to look for a second at the nose of the twin he was facing to know which one he was talking to, "Fred, is there a way to get a decent amount of time in the air on a broom? I don't know if I'd want to play Quidditch, for certain, but I do want to fly more than five minutes at a time."

"So now you can talk?" Fred teased.

"We thought we came out here to find something to do with your spare time," George added, and Harry rolled his eyes at the two of them.

"I can't help it if I enjoyed the game, heavy handed as my Housemates were," Harry drawled, "I've never seen flying outside of television stunts, and Flying lessons with Madam Hooch."

"Television?" Fred blinked, "Oh that must be one of those muggle things."

"Don't mention that around our father," George waved a hand around dramatically, "He'd want you to discuss with him every piece of the device, and how it came to work the way it does. He's painfully fascinated with Muggles."

Laughing the three stood up in the bleachers and headed back to the school proper. Harry began to think he'd found something to do with his spare time, but he wondered how to arrange time on a broom outside of class. He was still thinking about this when they happened to pass the Headmaster.

"I couldn't help but notice, Harry," the long-bearded man interjected into the conversation the twins were holding, "that you were utterly lost in the game."

Nodding Harry peered at the elderly man, "Professor?"

"Your father played quite well in his days as a student," Dumbledore nodded and waved the boys to continue down the bleachers, "I suspect that it may be a trait carried true in you, as I seem to remember several Potters on the team through the years. Though it would be a shock to them, I'm sure, for you to join the Slytherin team, they would be proud of your supporting your House."

"I don't really like the way they play," Harry shook his head, "I mean, their tactics were… Well, I don't know if I would actually call those tactics."

Chuckling, the Headmaster tugged lightly on his beard, "Perhaps, then Mister Potter, you should join them, if only to change them for the better, as you've done with Misters Fred and George Weasley?"

Harry paled and blinked, noticing the twins were as flustered as he was as the Headmaster chuckled some more and wandered off. As Dumbledore turned down a hallway, the three looked at each other and finally expelled their breath in one gush.

"I don't know that anyone knows how that man keeps informed," Fred nearly whispered.

"Yet, somehow," George wasn't speaking any louder, "He seems to know almost everything that goes on in the school."

The three went their separate ways, and Harry turned towards the Dungeons. On his way, he encountered Malfoy. The paler boy looked like he couldn't make up his mind whether he wanted to sneer at Harry or not, but settled for a half-sneer that Harry rolled his eyes at, "Why did you sit with the Weasel twins, instead of your own Housemates?"

"So sorry I have friends outside of Slytherin," Harry grumbled, "Makes me regret deciding to ask you a question. Think I'll go find someone else to ask."

"No, wait," Malfoy grabbed Harry's sleeve, "What were you going to ask?"

"You seemed like the one who knew the most about Quidditch in our year," Harry prefaced, "So I figured you could help me. Is there a way to fly on school grounds outside of playing Quidditch?"

"For first years?" Malfoy smirked, "There's practically no way to get off the ground for us 'ickle Firsties' until next year. Not even with Quidditch. We aren't allowed a broom, and that makes it difficult to play. Especially since Madam Hooch keeps the school-owned brooms locked up when they aren't in use."

Harry sighed, "Oh yay, that means I'll have to wait until next year."

"Next year might be the best time," Malfoy agreed, "Our team is losing its Seeker. That's the most important position on the team, you know."

"No I didn't," Harry responded sarcastically, "I'd only had it explained to me within the first week of classes."

"Oh yes," Malfoy smirked, "When they thought they should scout the Boy-Who-Lived, and learned you were Muggle-raised instead. Perhaps I'll try out next year for Seeker."

"Do you actually want to play?" Harry hadn't noticed a special interest in the game from the blonde before this.

"I don't care either way, but if they have no one else, I'll try out. Who knows, having such a pivotal role on the team could win points with my father."

"Shouldn't you play for you?" Harry was puzzled, "Instead of someone else? Isn't your own enjoyment worth something?"

"You're still on your 'making everyone else get all fluffy' kick, aren't you?" Malfoy rolled his eyes.

"I don't know about making everyone else all fluffy," Harry huffed, "but I really think you need to learn to live for yourself, rather than the expectations of others. Ultimately, it's a life better lived. That's the main reason I want to know if it's possible to fly outside of Hooch's lessons."

"Talk to our Head of House," Malfoy sneered, "He might be able to come up with something. He might actually bother to help you, since you seem to have so much fun pestering him in the first place."

Snorting, Harry countered, "Well, I wouldn't have to seek him out so much if you lot would just answer questions, instead of trying to make every one of them a trade of some kind. Oh, and just to pay for this question, I'd advise you to avoid Ron Weasley the next few days, his brothers have a prank planned for him." Harry stalked off, having paid for the question he'd asked. Of course, he didn't bother to tell the blonde that there was a prank in the works for him as well. Harry figured that the blonde could use the warning to avoid getting double-dosed, and Harry could claim it as a favor in return.

When Harry reached the Slytherin Head of House's office, he paused. He hadn't realized he'd gotten a reputation for seeking out Professor Snape so much. It was pretty much as he'd said. He asked the dour man for assistance more often as the rest of his house would expect payment, while the Potions Master had made it clear early on that maintaining his Potions grade was the payment expected in his case. Which Harry was all too glad to do. He had come to enjoy the class. He'd never really liked cooking at the Dursleys, as he couldn't get Aunt Petunia to explain where he'd messed up recipes, but in Potions, Professor Snape was quite happy to tell a person when they had mixed up ingredients, timed improperly, or just plain chopped things too largely. Harry did think that those pointers could be given in gentler tones, but after the third explosion caused by Longbottom, Harry was quite aware of how dangerous the potions could be.

"Were you intending to come in and ask your question, Potter," the door swung open, and the professor in question stood with a raised eyebrow at the boy in front of it, "Or were you going to join the portrait as a guard for my office?"

Harry tried to keep the professor from noticing, but he rolled his eyes at the sarcastic remark. He also bit his tongue, so he didn't return a comment. He was still learning what kinds of remarks he could get away with with this professor, and which ones would get him in the cauldron-scrubbing kind of trouble. Mustering up the words, Harry asked, "Sir, is there a way to fly on brooms outside of Flying lessons?"

"I wondered when you'd ask," Snape shrugged, "it seems it truly is in the blood. From the Headmaster, I gathered that each generation of Potters was involved in Quidditch."

"I'm not so sure I want to play Quidditch sir," Harry paused, "But I am definitely interested in flying itself. It... I… Well, it sounds odd to say, sir, but the flying itself, it, well, it makes me think of freedom, and," here Harry trailed off, losing the words he wanted to speak entirely.

"Ah," Snape nodded, "In that case, I'll see what can be worked out. I won't promise anything, as there are rules against first years owning brooms, but there aren't any against borrowing a broom from the school. Else, the Weasley twins would not be Beaters for Gryffindor. I suggest you check with Madam Hooch. Likely as not, she'll let you use a school broom, unless one of the teams is using it for practice. She might demand you have supervision. In which case, you'll have to locate someone responsible to make sure you don't plough into the ground and snap your fool neck in two."

Nodding, Harry thanked the man for his assistance and dashed out to find Hooch's office. After a while, Harry realized that that was one room the twins had never pointed out to him. Wandering around, he became lost in thought, until as he stood on a set of stairs, he realized they were moving. Groaning, Harry tried to mentally plot a way back to ground level. He paled and groaned again when he realized that the stairs had moved to the third floor corridor that the Headmaster had expressly warned about at the Welcoming Feast. Harry turned to go back down the stairs, only to have them move the other end as well. With a third groan, Harry resolved to chance the hall, hoping that he could safely find a door that would lead to a quick passage back to ground level. He figured that maybe Hooch's office was near the Quidditch field, instead of actually in the castle.

Quietly as possible, Harry wandered the hall, wincing at each sharp footfall, and at all the dust. It seemed that even the house-elves avoided this hall. After quickly trying three doors and finding them leading to utterly dusty abandoned classrooms, Harry was about to give up and turn around back to the stairs. He heard what sounded like a cat meowing and tried not to make a lot of noise as he reached for the next, nearest door. It was locked, but Harry muttered a quick "Alohamora," and whisked himself to the other side, leaning against the heavy wood for a few breaths. A sour smell led Harry to look up, and he squealed in his own mind as it churned for a way back out. A huge, three-headed dog was looking at him. All six eyes screamed 'Food,' and all three mouths growled and slobbered messily. As it snapped one head at him, Harry whipped the door back open and dashed to the other side. Pulling it back closed amidst muffled barking and snarling, Harry ran back down the hall the way he came and just caught the stairs as they took another meandering to another location.

When his heart finally began beating at a normal rate again, Harry pondered the placement of the dog. He vaguely remembered hearing about a three-headed dog in Greek and Roman mythology from the older kids at his old school, but couldn't remember what it was called. He thought about asking Hagrid, whom he'd occasionally encountered on school grounds. Then he had to ask himself, "Why would a three-headed dog even be in the school? That's obviously what would cause a gruesome death to anyone wandering up there, but why is it there?" A little pondering and Harry remembered Hagrid again, but this time, it was the incident of Hagrid removing a small bag from vault seven hundred thirteen, "Could the dog be protecting what Hagrid pulled from that vault? I mean, I remember seeing a newspaper article about Gringotts being broken into, and I think it was the same vault, so I guess whatever was in the bag was pretty important. So I suppose the dog would be guarding it. Perhaps I should just write all this down to keep it straight. I mean, it's an interesting puzzle, but to investigate it would probably get me into trouble, and Slytherin doesn't need to lose points just because I'm nosey."

Eventually, the dark-haired boy found Hooch, and spoke with her about borrowing a broom to fly on. She eventually agreed to allow him to fly more during lessons, and if he had a responsible observer, he could fly during his free time. With some persuasive wheedling and a couple of liberal applications of puppy-dog eyes, which Harry wasn't sure he was very good at, she caved and let Harry use Fred and George as his 'responsible observer.' He never noticed that he'd had an audience during his muttering through the halls after his encounter on the third floor.

I just need to know if there is more description needed, or if I'm gasp too descriptive. Comma check would be nice, but is not mandatory. My computer has a rudimentary grammar check, so any other fine-tuning in that department would be nice. As well as typos. Hate those.

Eh, really text driven, this chapter was. Sorry. But at least I'm not telling the story a chapter to each day of schooling. I'm working out a way to explain exactly why Harry tries so hard to get the Slytherins to play nice. It has a lot to do with the way he's viewed back in Surrey, if that helps anyone any.