James woke up early the next morning and began writing the letter to his mother.

"Dear Mum,

Everything is fine. After the train had left the platform, Darryl Anton came in and asked to sit with us. But when he found out that Hermione was Muggleborn, he called her the offensive term for Muggleborns. Jade and I were mad and told him to leave. Darryl said he didn't want to sit with a couple of, well, the 'm' word and left.

Two boys named Neville Longbottom and Ron Weasley sat with us and we're becoming friends with them. Ron joined us a couple of minutes after Darryl had left. He said that he'd ran into Darryl and that he had called Ron a blood traitor just because he was a Weasley. Neville lost his toad halfway through the train ride and we all helped him look for it. While asking around if anyone had seen the toad, we came across Darryl sitting with three other boys and two girls that all ended up being sorted into Slytherin. It came as no surprise to me or Jade when Darryl was sorted into Slytherin too.

Anyway, Jade, Hermione, and I got into Gryffindor, and so did Neville and Ron. The Sorting Hat discovered who I really was, but said he wouldn't reveal my secret due to student/hat confidentiality. I'm pretty sure it also knows that Darryl isn't who he says he is, but it's not going to say anything because of the confidentiality thing.

Oh, during dessert, Professors Snape and Quirrell, the Potions and Defense teachers, happened to glance at me. When they did, my scar hurt, but only for an instant. The pain disappeared a second later. This really puzzled me. I told Jade and Hermione about it, but they don't know why my scar hurt, either. Do you have any ideas about it, Mum?

I miss you, but I'm also very excited about the classes starting today and learning magic. Well, except for History of Magic. From what you told us about Professor Binns, I'd be better off just reading the book and taking notes than struggling to pay attention to his lectures. I hope everything is fine for you. I love you, Mum.

Your loving son,

James

James folded up the letter and went to the bathroom to shower and brush his teeth. After he had gotten dressed, he went down to the common room. Jade was finishing her letter to their mother, and Mulan was in her lap, being stroked and petted with the other hand.

"Good morning, James," said Jade, looking up. "I'm almost done with this. We can send it off with Hedwig in a couple of minutes."

James took a seat next to Jade. "You don't have to tell Mum about –" he looked around to make sure nobody could hear them, and then in a whisper, "my scar hurting."

Jade laid down her quill and looked up, startled. "Why? Mum should know about it."

"You don't have to tell Mum, because I already wrote about it in my letter."

"Oh! Okay then. I'll just end this letter now." Jade finished the letter and folded it up. A second-year girl named Katie Bell gave them directions to the Owlery.

Hedwig flew down from a perch the minute the 'twins' entered. "Hello, girl," said James, stroking Hedwig's feathers. Jade offered an owl treat.

After a minute, the two letters were tied to Hedwig's leg. "Deliver this to our mum, OK?" asked Jade. Hedwig nipped James and Jade's index fingers gently and then flew away.

They then went down to the Great Hall for breakfast. When they reached the entrance hall, they saw Darryl coming up from the Slytherin common room, which presumably was somewhere in the dungeons. Malfoy was talking to him and right behind them walked Crabbe and Goyle, looking like their bodyguards.

Several students began whispering and the whispers were along the lines of pointing out the fake Harry Potter and asking others if they'd seen the scar. James gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to shout that Darryl was a fake. While it would be satisfying to unmask the boy and have everyone stop fussing over the fake, it wasn't worth it. All the attention would then be on James, and he most certainly did not want that.

"I hate this!" whispered Jade fiercely. "Honestly, I just want to hex Darryl, then tell the rest that he's a fake. You're the one that's Harry Potter, not him!"

"Shut up!" hissed James, but it was too late. Fred and George Weasley had come up behind them and heard what Jade had said.

They exchanged looks, then said quietly, "We would like a word with you two."

Once in an empty classroom, Fred said, "You sound very certain that James is really Harry Potter and that the other boy is a fake and is really Darryl, Jade."

"And you told her to shut up, James," continued George. "Please explain that."

James sighed and said, "Do you swear to never reveal what we are about to tell you?"

Fred and George exchanged looks, then said, "We solemnly swear to keep your secret."

"OK, I'm really Harry Potter," said James. "My aunt and uncle apparently didn't want to keep me, so left me on a random doorstep. Jade's mother, a Muggleborn witch, found me and adopted me. For safety reasons, my name was changed to James North and my birthday was made the same as Jade's, July 25th. So, for most of my life I've gone by my middle name and believed that I was Jade's twin brother."

"Mum told us the truth on our birthdays, just before we got our Hogwarts letters," said Jade. "We know for a fact that Darryl Anton is not really Harry Potter, but we're not planning to unmask him. And we ask that you guys don't, either. Just keep this quiet."

"You can count on us," said George. "We won't tell anyone the truth."

Fred looked slightly skeptical. "How do we know you're not making this up?"

James dispelled the glamour, revealing his hair to be really black. He the lifted his bangs, showing the lightning-shaped scar. "Does this prove that I'm the real Harry Potter?"

Fred nodded. "It does. And don't worry about our telling anyone."

James resumed the glamour and looked at Jade, who said, "You'd better not. From what Ron said about you two, you're tricksters and like to pull pranks and stuff."

"Just because we're pranksters doesn't mean we can't be trusted," said George.

"Besides, what you're doing could be seen as a prank," pointed out Fred. "The real Harry Potter is right under everyone's noses and they don't even know it!"

James could see how it could be considered a prank. "Okay, then. Let's go to breakfast."

After breakfast and on the way to Transfiguration, James said to Hermione, "Fred and George Weasley know my secret. They overheard Jade saying that she wanted to hex Darryl and tell everyone that he was fake, and that I was Harry, not him."

Hermione's eyes widened. "Oh no! What did Fred and George do?"

"We spoke with them in an empty classroom and they promised to keep it a secret," said Jade. "And James removed the glamour to prove he was who he said he was."

"I hope they keep their promise," said Hermione, and then the subject was closed.

Transfiguration class began a few minutes later, James had been quite right to think that Professor McGonagall wasn't a teacher to cross. Strict and clever, she gave them a talking to the moment they had all sat down in her first class. "Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time. After making a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle.

James was able to turn his match a silver color with pointy tip, but it was still made of wood and had no eye. Ron turned his match into the metal of a needle, but it still had the thickness and shape of a match, complete with a red tip. Neville turned the match into the thickness of a needle with a pointy tip, but otherwise looked like a match. Hermione and Jade were the only ones to successfully turn their matches into needles. McGonagall showed the class how well they had done and gave them a rare smile and five points.

Charms was better for James. Professor Flitwick, the teacher and Head of Ravenclaw, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. Jade said that he probably had a dash of goblin ancestry. The first class they learned a charm to lighten objects. James mastered the charm and was awarded five points.

Every Wednesday at midnight was Astronomy class, taught by Professor Sinistra. Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, who was also the Head of Hufflepuff. They learnt how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi and found out what they were used for. Neville shone in that class, proving Herbology to be his forte.

Easily the most boring lesson was History of Magic, which was the only class taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. James had a hard time paying attention and spent the time reading the textbook and taking notes or playing naughts and crosses with Ron. Jade and Hermione were the only ones that were able to pay any attention to Professor Binns and take notes on his boring lectures.

The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke. His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. His turban, he told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but they weren't sure they believed this story. For one thing, when Seamus Finnigan asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather; for another, they noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban, and the Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed full of garlic as well, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went.

Unfortunately, James, Jade, and Hermione managed to get on the wrong side of Filch the caretaker on the second day of term. Filch found them trying to force their way through a door which unluckily turned out to be the entrance to the out-of-bounds corridor on the third floor. He wouldn't believe that they were lost, was sure they were trying to break into it on purpose and was threatening to lock them in the dungeons when they were rescued by Professor Quirrell, who was passing.

Friday was an important day for James, Jade, and their friends. They finally managed to find their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast without getting lost once.

"What have we got today?" James asked as he poured sugar on his porridge.

"Double Potions with the Slytherins," answered Ron. "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them – we'll be able to see if it's true."

"Wish McGonagall favored is," said James. Being head of Gryffindor hadn't stopped Professor McGonagall from giving them a huge pile of homework the day before.

Just then, the post arrived. Hedwig arrived with a package and note from Mrs. North. Jade relieved Hedwig of her burden, who then had bit of James's toast before flying off again. Jade opened the package, which turned out to contain two journals. The note said that the two could communicate to each other via the journals.

The two put the journals away and finished their breakfast. After Herbology, they went to their first Potions lesson, which took place in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than up in the main castle and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls.

Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the register, and he paused at Harry's name. "Ah, yes," he said softly. "Harry Potter. Our new – celebrity." Apparently Snape had a hatred for 'Harry Potter' that warred with his tendency to favor Slytherins.

Ron stifled a snigger. Other than the Slytherins, most of the other students didn't like the false Harry at all when they saw how rude and arrogant he was much of the time.

Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were black like Hagrid's, but they had none of Hagrid's warmth. They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word – like McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses ... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

More silence followed this little speech. James and Ron exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Hermione was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead.

"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Darryl calmly replied, "A sleeping potion known as the Draught of Living Death, sir."

Snape looked slightly taken aback. "Correct, Mr. Potter. Can you tell me where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

"I believe you would find the stone in a stomach of a goat, sir," responded Darryl. "Oh, and it can save you from most poisons, Professor."

"Correct," said Snape. "What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"There is no difference, Professor," answered Darryl. "Monkshood and wolfsbane are the same plant, which is also known by the name of aconite, sir."

"Five points to Slytherin," said Snape grudgingly. He then turned his attention to the rest of the class. "Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"

There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Once everyone had copied that down, Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like.

No mishaps occurred, though Jade stopped Neville from adding the porcupine quills too early just in time. James and Hermione had been paired together and Snape didn't criticize their work, mainly because there was nothing for him to complain about. However, he didn't compliment them on their work like he did with Malfoy.

When class ended, James, Jade, and their friends decided to visit Hagrid. Mrs. North had said that she had been friends with the gamekeeper while at school, and the 'twins' were eager to get to know Hagrid and be on friendly terms with him.

At three o'clock they went to see Hagrid, but when they got there, they saw Darryl and Malfoy. Darryl was saying coldly, "Thank you for inviting me to tea, but I have no desire to hang out with a big oaf like you. And I don't want to hear you tell stories about my parents. They got themselves killed for joining the wrong side. Larry is my father now."

Malfoy smirked, while Hagrid looked shocked. "But I was th' one that took you from your parents' house, Harry! An' I took yeh to yer relatives' house on Dumbledore's orders. I didn' want ter leave yeh with Muggles, but Dumbledore insisted. Lucky fer yeh, they decided not ter keep yeh and left yeh with a wizard."

"I don't care what you did on Dumbledore's orders," snapped Darryl. "You're a big oaf and idiot and I have no intention of associating with you. I only came down here to tell you so and that I don't want to have tea with you. Come, Draco."

Darryl and Draco turned and left, leaving Hagrid to stare at them in shock. A minute later, Jade, James, and their friends stepped forward. They introduced themselves and Hagrid happily invited them inside for some tea.

Hagrid remembered Stuart and Sylvia Elliot North, and was quite pleased to meet their twin children. He was able to tell a couple of stories about Jade's father. As he talked, he poured tea and set out a plate of rock cakes.

Hagrid's cooking wasn't that great, for the rock cakes ended up being as hard as rocks. However, the five of them pretended to enjoy them as they listened to Hagrid talk and then told him about their first lessons. Fang the boarhound rested his head on James's knee and drooled all over his robes.

They were quite delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch the caretaker 'that old git.'

"An' as her that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang some time. D'yeh know, every time I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her – Filch puts her up to it." He then asked Ron about his brother Charlie.

While Ron told all about Charlie's work with dragons, James picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under the tea cozy. It was a cutting from the Daily Prophet. It was about investigations continuing into the break-in at Gringotts, which had occurred on James's real birthday and the day his family and the Grangers had bought school things.

James nudged Hermione and Jade and showed them the article. Their eyes widened. He remembered that Hagrid had been at Gringotts, with a letter from Dumbledore, regarding something in vault 713. What if the letter had orders for Hagrid to remove the something? If he had removed it, then did that mean Hagrid had collected the package just in time?

When they returned to the castle for dinner, James told Ron and Neville about the article and his thoughts on it. While they were curious as to what the 'you-know-what' was and where it could be now, they didn't dwell on the subject for very long. James and Jade decided not to focus too much on it either, and they entered the Great Hall.

A/N: Elspeth25 and Lady Alianne wanted someone to find out the truth, and debated between the Weasley twins and Neville. Finally we decided on the twins. Having Harry Potter right under everyone's noses without their knowing would appeal to the twins' sense of humor and pranking, and they are trustworthy people. Neville and Ron will know the truth, but not at this point in time.