The witch who opened the door had a stern face, and was wearing dark green robes, almost the same color as Margaret's eyes. She had a very stern face, and both Harry and Lily knew she was not someone to cross. Audrey thought that it would be funny to cross her slightly, and decided that she would never again respond to the name Petunia, for anyone, ever.

"This is Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Dursleys' house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out in the half-light of the flickering torches, a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors, and the wall on the other side of them, about twenty feet up, was stained glass as far as they could see, which was maybe another three feet.

They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagstone floor. Harry could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway ahead, but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber a couple hundred feet behind the first step of the Grand Staircase. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they normally would, and listened to her nervously.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be like your family within Hogwarts" (Audrey muttered, "sure hope she means family, like you guys are family, and not like the Vernon and Petunia are family." to which the other three nodded.) "You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, and any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting. Margaret, and both Ms. Petunia Audrey and Lily Evans, may I see you three in the hall for a moment? Oh, and of course, Mr. Potter."

All four followed her out into the hallway. Wasting no time whatsoever, she turned to the four children and told them, "I heard about what happened on the train today, and I would like to warn you that over the holidays, you are not allowed to use magic without the approval of the Ministry of Magic. Wonderful Transfiguration work, Margaret, however, please do not Transfigure anyone else without their permission, as it is illegal."

All four were looking at her like she was crazy for taking them all out into the hall to tell Margaret this.

"Professor, why did you bring us all out here, if only you really needed to talk to Margaret?"

"I was under the impression that Ms. Petunia Evans self-identifies herself as Audrey Evans, and I wanted to make sure I was correct in believing that none of you three self-identify as anything other than your given names."

"No, Professor."

"Well then, go smarten yourselves up with the rest of the first years. And take that ridiculous bow out of your hair, Ms. Audrey Evans." Scowling, Audrey did so. They walked back into the classroom, and watched everyone else running around. Hermione was muttering the contents of their textbooks under her breath, and Ron was trying to figure out how to take out a mountain troll without using magic. Arthur was rubbing Ron's nose, trying to get rid of the dirt on it. He finally succeeded when he licked his finger and wiped it off, to which Ron groaned at.

Professor McGonagall came back in, telling them to line up alphabetically by last name. They did so, and then all went into the Great Hall.

The tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led all the students up by the table, which was on a raised platform, so that they came to halt facing the other students, with the teachers behind them.

The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid the staring eyes, Harry looked up to see if what Lily had told him was true- that the ceiling was enchanted to look like the sky. It was, and it was a velvety black sky, dotted with hundreds, if not thousands, of glittering stars. It was hard to believe that there was a ceiling at all, and that the Great Hall did not simply open onto the heavens.

Harry quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool, she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched, frayed, and extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house, making Audrey want to steal it and sneak it under Petunia's pillow one night in the middle of summer.

Maybe they had to try and get a rabbit out of it, Harry thought wildly, that seemed the sort of thing- noticing that everyone else was staring at the hat, he stared at it too.

For a few seconds, there was silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide, like a mouth, and the hat began to sing.

"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat,

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And Unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

If you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folk use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

Just don't get in the flap!

You're in safe hands (though none I have)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.

"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Harry. "I'll kill Fred; he was going on about wrestling a troll."

"Ron, you really need to stop believing the twins. It's not good for you."

Harry smiled weakly as the two brothers began to bicker silently. Yes, trying on the hat was easy enough, but he didn't know which category he would fit into. He couldn't decide where any of his cousins would end up, either, but he thought that Lily would probably be either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, as she was really smart, and really brave. Audrey sort of fit into all the groups, as did Margaret, while he, Harry, was sure that he fit in nowhere.

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl with blond pigtails stumbled up, put on the hat, which fell right over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. One of the ghosts waved merrily at her.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them. "Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, as did "Brocklehurst, Mindy", but "Brown, Lavender" and "Brown, Violet" became the first two Gryffindors, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see the older Weasley twins catcalling.

"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. Perhaps it was Harry's imagination, but they looked like an unpleasant lot. Harry zoned out, then realized that it was Margaret's turn upon hearing the name, "Connery, Kevin", who was a Ravenclaw, and turned to watch her get Sorted.

However, Professor McGonagall next called out the name "Evans, Audrey!"

Feeling sick and nervous, Audrey sat down on the stool. Everyone stood up, saying "Did she say Evans?" She put the hat on, and it slipped down over her eyes.

"Hmm," said a small voice in her ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. You are definitely courageous, but you are also very sly... Hmm... Where to place you... You are fiercely loyal to your sister and cousins, but are obviously a prankster. You are definitely smart... I shall have to assess your sister... I am going to do something that I have never done before, if that is alright with you."

"What?"

"I am going to shout can I Sort her sister first?. I think your sister's Sorting is going to give me a larger insight into how you think than your own already has."

"And you've never done this before?"

"Nope."

"Then no, you have to decide right now."

"No, I can't. That is the problem. If I hurry with this choice, then I could accidentally mis-Sort you, and I am not supposed to be wrong about a student's House, ever."

"No."

"Then we will sit until you agree to this."

"No. Choose!"

"We are sitting until you agree to this. You don't want to have the longest Hatstall in Hogwarts history, do you?"

"What?"

"A Hatstall is when I can't make the choice within five minutes. The older students are going to be very angry that you made their dinner wait."

"I'm not hungry- why should they be?"

"Because they were smart enough to not stuff themselves with food from the trolley on the train."

"Still not agreeing."

"Fine." There was silence for about ten minutes before Audrey began thinking about records, and if the Hat would do that until midnight if it had to.

"Fine, you can shout it out. As long as you do that again someday soon, so that I don't seem so special."

"Ok, then. CAN I SORT HER SISTER FIRST?" Everyone gasped. Audrey took off the hat, and walked back to the line, where the name, "Evans, Lily!" was called. Again, everyone gasped (Dunderheads thought Audrey. If the Sorting Hat asked for my sister, then why wouldn't she be the next person to be called?) and stood up to get a good look at Lily.

Lily felt uneasy, although she wasn't really scared or anything, just curious about why Audrey wasn't able to be sorted, and why Margaret's name hadn't been called. She sat down on the stool and put the hat on. It slid all the way down past her nose.

"Hmm," said the Hat. "Brave, very brave indeed... But smart as well... Books appear to be your very close friends... You could go far in either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw... (the hat went on like this for several minutes) However- in Gryffindor, you could go even further. Are you all right with that choice?"

"Yes."

"Then it will be GRYFFINDOR!"

Feeling relieved, Lily went to take off the hat. "Wait! Wait! No, I need to know where your sister ought to go... Ah, yes... That clarifies everything. You may go."

Lily took off the hat, then went over to the Gryffindor table. She did not notice that everyone was cheering for her.

"Evans, Petunia Audrey!" Audrey looked disgruntled at the fact that her given name was called this time, but went up to the stool anyways, as her middle name had also been called. She forgot how scared she was when she put on the hat.

"Would you rather be with your sister or go your own way?"

"I would rather be with Lily- I am one of the few people that she is willing to pull pranks with, and I need her for comfort- what if I have a bad dream, or I need someone to go around the castle with me at midnight?"

"A natural Occlumens, you are. Do you know how hard it is to sort you? Ah, yes, but what your sister has shown me- more of a Leligimens, that girl is... Better be GRYFFINDOR!" yelled the hat. Audrey took it off, and then ran over to the Gryffindor table to sit next to Lily. It apparently happened so fast that everyone was looking along the Gryffindor table to find Audrey.


The sorting went on normally afterwards. Finch-Fletchley, Justin became a Hufflepuff, and his twin brother, Finch-Fletchley, Taylor, became a Ravenclaw, and Finnigan, Seamus, and Hermione both became Gryffindors. Harry became more and more worried that he, like Margaret, would not be called, and lost track of the Sorting again. Neville also became a Gryffindor, and Harry felt slightly better. Malfoy became a Slytherin the moment that the Sorting Hat touched his head, and, although frowning for a half second, covered his frown with a smirk. There weren't many people left before Harry. "Macbeth", "Macbeth", "McDonald", "McKinley", "McKinney", "McMillen", "Moon", "Moon", "Nott", "Parkinson", then a set of triplet girls, "Patil", "Patil", and "Patil", then "Perks, Sally-Anne" and then, at last- "Potter, Harold!" Everyone jumped up to look at him. Guessing that the Dursleys had never actually told him his given name, Harry walked forward, and put the hat on, trembling with fear.

"Hmm..." said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult, very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, my goodness, yes, and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting... So where shall I put you?"

Harry gripped the edges of the stool and though, Not Slytherin, not Slytherin. Maybe Gryffindor- I want to be with the twins. Or Ravenclaw seems like a good House, or Hufflepuff... Not Slytherin, though.

"No Slytherin, eh? Gryffindor is your first choice?" said the small voice. "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on your way to greatness, no doubt about that. Ravenclaw would as well, as would Hufflepuff... No? I guess you would do well there... Well, if you're sure, better be GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry took off the hat, relieved, walking shakily to the Gryffindor table. He hardly noticed that he was getting one of the loudest cheers yet. He sat down between Lily and Audrey, who intercepted Percy's handshake, shaking his hand. The older Weasley twins shouted "We got all three! We got all three!"

A ghost wearing a ruff patted him on the back, giving Harry the horrible feeling like he had just had someone dump a tub of ice cubes on his back.

He could see the High Table properly now. At the end nearest him sat Hagrid, who caught his eye and gave him the thumbs up. Harry grinned back. And there, in the center of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. His silver hair was the only thing in the hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts.

Harry spotted Professor Quirrell, too, the nervous young man from the Leaky Cauldron. He was looking very peculiar in a large purple turban.

Harry allowed his mind to wander for a short time, although Lily was paying rapt attention to the Sorting, and Audrey was trying to tell her plate to give her some spaghetti.


Then Harry realized that there was a disturbance with the Sorting. He began paying attention when Audrey muttered, "that's the second time that Snape-Evans girl was called... She must not be paying much attention...The older students will begin to get upset, I'd bet..."

"Snape-Evans, Margaret-Charlotte Eileen."

All four cousins looked at each other in surprise.

"That's almost Margaret's name!" exclaimed Audrey. Both Harry and Lily shushed her.

Margaret came up and put the hat on hesitantly, as though unsure that was her name that was called. She was really scared, and the fright she had felt at not having her name called had not yet given way to the shock that she was not a Dursley.

"Great mind, I see. Not as obvious as any of your cousins, that is true... Very accepting of others... So much so, that you stood up to your brother for your cousins... And for him to them... Very foolish, but also very brave... Best be GRYFFINDOR!"

Margaret took off the hat and walked back to the Gryffindor table as Thomas, Dean also became a Gryffindor. "Turpin, Lisa" and "Turpin, Remus" became Ravenclaws, Harry lost track for a while, and then it was Arthur's turn.

"Well! A Weasley with a good solid mind. Now, where to put you, Ravenclaw or Gryffindor…hmm…yes, you have a good mind, and you are truly brave of heart, and you are able to think beyond books and class, so better be GRYFFINDOR!" said the hat, shouting the last part for the Great Hall to hear.

By now, Ron was a pale shade of green. He walked up slowly, and everyone at the table crossed their fingers, wanting this Weasley to be able to join his four brothers, and then the hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" as soon as it touched his hair.

Everyone clapped loudly, knowing that he was the last Gryffindor of the year, as Zabini, Blaise became a Slytherin.

Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could please him more than to see them all there.

"Welcome", he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Harry didn't know whether to laugh or not.

"Is he- a bit mad?" he asked Percy uncertainly.

"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?"

Harry's mouth fell open. The dishes in front of him were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.

Lily's mouth was just as widely opened. Also on the table were strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, spaghetti, raviolis, chicken parmesan, grilled cheese sandwiches, and some sort of grape soda.

The Dursleys had never exactly starved any of the children, but they'd only let Margaret eat as much as she wanted on her birthday, and the other three not at all. Dudley had always taken what they had really wanted, even if it made him sick.

They all piled their plates high with the foods they most wanted to try and began to eat.

"That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Lily cut up her chicken.

"I am sorry that you have to stay and watch us all eat." said Lily quietly.

"I haven't eaten for nearly four hundred years," said the ghost. "That is four hundred Hogwarts feasts. I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."

"I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you- you're Nearly Headless Nick!"

"I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-" the ghost began stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnigan interrupted.

"Nearly Headless? How can you be nearly headless?"

"Ron! Seamus! He prefers to be called Sir-Nicholas-de-MimsyPorpington!" Lily scolded. "And, by the way, Merlin Seamus, you can't just ask ghosts how they can be nearly headless! I don't wonder that you aren't in Ravenclaw. He obviously was killed by a blunt axe that did not remove his head properly, leaving a lousy inch of skin and sinew holding his head onto his neck, making him unable to join the famed group the Headless Hunt! That is so insensitive!"

Seamus ignored her.

Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat was not going the way he had planned, or, maybe, because Lily had hit the exact story behind him being nearly headless. Actually, it was because Lily stole his thunder. Sir Nicholas loved grossing out the first years by showing them just why he was nearly headless. His favorite year was in 1893 when he, without intending to, made a first year muggleborn who had never seen a ghost faint when he'd pulled his head off to show them. Oddly enough, for some reason, Peeves took the child under his protection and would viciously prank and attack any student who picked on him; the picking stopped the next day because no one wanted to suffer Peeves' wrath. Every year, Nick made sure to convince someone who had a younger sibling to tell them about Nearly Headless Nick, so that someone would ask at each feast. He wanted them to ask so he could show them. It pleased him that they were so stunned and grossed out by this.

"She's right. Like this," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge.

Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Sir Nicholas flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed and said, "So- new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherin have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable- he's the Slytherin ghost."

Harry looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank, staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He was right next to Malfoy who, Harry was pleased to see, didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements, or even, if what he had seen of him was true, the way the Sorting had gone for him. He felt kind of bad that the poor boy never had a chance to say, Not Slytherin, not Slytherin, like he, Harry, had gotten a chance at. Harry thought that the boy- Draco, he said his first name was- seemed too much of a good sort to join the Slytherins, easily the worst bunch in the school, although the façade he had matched to the rest of his House perfectly. Thinking of him, Harry took out the note and read it; itwas actually a very well-folded piece of parchment with another smaller piece inside. The smaller piece was a note; the larger piece was a map. It had a square that said Great Hall and arrow pointing to the Entrance hall and another arrow pointing to a classroom that was past the Great Hall near the Restrooms. He read the note and it said, "Please meet me in the classroom on the map. It is on the opposite side from the restrooms a little ways past them. Meet me before breakfast, 7AM." Harry refolded the note and whispered to his cousins about it. Margaret seemed to want to go with him and so did Lily but Audrey just didn't know. She wasn't much of a morning person.

When everyone had eaten as much as they wanted, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs, and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding-

As Harry helped himself to a treacle tart, and the girls all sampled various desserts, the talk turned to their families.

"I'm half-and-half," said Seamus. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mum didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."

The others laughed.

"What about you, Neville?" said Ron.

"Well, my gran brought me up, and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me- he pushed me off the end of the Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned- But nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced- all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here- they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad." Lily looked horrified at that and so did Margaret. Margaret tried to imagine Vernon holding her by her legs out of the upstairs window or throwing her down the stairs to get her to show magic. She shuddered. She knew Vernon hated magic but she (rightly) figured that if he was magical, he would hate muggles as much as he now hated magic. (She didn't know this but if Vernon had been magical, there would've been a four-way contest between him, Bellatrix, Barty Jr. and Lucius, to see who could hate muggles more.)

"We're all three half-bloods, and Margaret is technically Muggleborn, as none of her grandparents had magic. We all live with the Dursleys, and they treat us horribly." said Audrey. Just as she was saying that, one of the teachers at the staff table stood up, and came over to the Gryffindor table.

"Hello. I am Professor Severus Snape," he said when he reached the table. Some of the other teachers were also wandering around the Great Hall, so he had not caused any large amounts of attention to be drawn to the Gryffindor table. "And I would like to know who decided that it would be funny to make the Deputy Headmistress believe that I have a daughter."

"What're you, Professor?" asked Margaret. "We're talking about what all our families are, and I want to be able to say something other than a barnyard, seeing as my mother is most like a horse, and my step-father and brother are most like pigs."

"I am a half-blood, although it would be prudent to not trumpet that about." Professor McGonagall then came up to the table.

"Severus, would you care to explain what you are doing by the Gryffindor table?"

"I am trying to figure out which of the older Weasley twins made you think that I had a daughter."

"I assure you, the scroll for Sorting does not lie, Severus. You really are Margaret's father."

"Yes! That as-"

"And you had better watch what comes out of your mouth, Ms. Snape-Evans. Otherwise, it could do both you and your father a discredit."

"Sorry Professor. What I meant was that obese, idiotic, brainless pig is not my father?"

"Margaret, I am your father. For now. We shall see tomorrow morning, in Potions."

"Severus, do be nice to Margaret, alright?"

"Fine. I should probably go check on Lucius' son anyways. I will see you tomorrow, Margaret. 8 am, my classroom. Mr. Weasley, would you mind escorting her there?"

"Not at all, Professor," said Percy, puffing his chest out importantly. All four first-year twins rolled their eyes at his antics and the older twins put their fingers in their mouths to mime gagging. This caused Audrey to giggle, which caused Percy to scowl at her, causing her to blush.

By now, everyone felt warm and sleepy. Professor McGonagall went back up to the staff table, and Professor Snape swept over to the Slytherin table, his black robes billowing behind him.

"See if I help you, for laughing at me!" exclaimed Percy in his most pompous (read: extremely, irritatingly pompous) manner. Margaret rolled her eyes.

"Man, Margaret. Your dad sure is a looker! I mean, such long, black, greasy hair he has? Such an awesome nose? Sallow skin, just like your mum. I wonder how you didn't inherit any of it? I mean, seriously, look at you! You look nothing like him," said Audrey.

"Oh, I don't know... I do have the black hair, and remember how greasy it got when I forgot to shower for a couple of days when swimming was cancelled due to a leak in the pool?"

"But he's tall, and kind of scary looking, whereas you're tiny, and you don't look capable of harming a fly." At those words, Margaret's glare came. The look she gave Audrey was scary enough to make Sir Nicholas begin sweating, and Audrey to shut up, which Audrey wisely chose to do.

"Auds, I really think you need to rethink that. Only Margaret can get you to shut up, and that is with her glare."

Audrey stayed silent.


Professor Snape watched this from the staff table, smirking when Margaret glared at her cousin. That glare looked so much like his that, if she did not have green eyes, he would have sworn that it was a younger, smaller, female version of him glaring at a female Harold; without the nose of course, although that was due to his father's abuse, and not genetics. He actually thought that her nose looked slightly like his used to, but, as it was a long time ago, he could not be sure.


Harry asked Percy, "Can you tell us more about this Snape person?"

"He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to- everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape does..."

Harry watched Snape for a while, but he didn't look Harry's way ever. Watching him, however, Harry noticed several mannerisms about him that Margaret sometimes displayed- for example, both of them had the same sets of scowls, although Snape used his so often, Harry thought his face may have been stuck like that, as not once did he smile. Harry was glad that, if Margaret had to be a Snape, at least she did not have to act like her father, although she would, on occasion. Also, they both would sweep their hair out of their eyes and behind their ears using only their left hand. They both seemed to like darker colors, as well as both saving a weakness for the vanilla ice cream, with cherries on top, and the teacher seemed to stay well away from peanut butter. (AN: thanks to Guest for pointing this out. I was half-asleep when I added this part, and forgot that I had misspelled some things...)

At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.

"Ahem- just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term announcements to make.

"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the older Weasley twins. The younger Weasley twins rolled their eyes at Fred and George's failed attempt to look innocent. Arthur actually snorted at the thought that anyone would think Fred and George were innocent. Dumbledore looked amused at this, while McGonagall looked at them sternly.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors." There were coughs which were probably hiding snorts and snickers at this because this was one rule no one ever followed. All the older students knew that Filch hated magic for some reason. He was so mean that not even the Hufflepuffs liked him. None of the other staff really bothered to enforce this rule, except for preventing the students from fighting each other. That was a serious rule. However, using harmless magic, none of the staff bothered to punish, not even McGonagall and she was the strictest teacher in the school.

"Quidditch tryouts will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested should contact Madam Hooch or their House Team's Captain.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Harry laughed, but he was one of the few who did.

"He's not serious?" he muttered to Percy.

"Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere- the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least."

"Well, all the more reason to go into the forest, if it's only dangerous beasts, and not deadly monsters. As for the corridor, I intend to see what is there first chance I can," Audrey muttered into Harry's ear. Lily, overhearing, began to tell her off, but at that moment, they all heard the last part of Dumbledore's speech: "And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!"

Harry noticed that all the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed and slightly fake looking.

Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.

"Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"

And the school bellowed:

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,

Teach us something please,

Whether we be old and bald

Or young with scabby knees

Our heads could do a filling

With some interesting stuff

For now they're bare and full of air

Dead flies and bits of fluff

Sooo-

Teach us things worth knowing

Bring back what we forgot

Just do your best,

We'll do the rest

And learn until our brains all rot."

Everyone finished the song at different times. The first to finish singing was Audrey, who happened to like Peruvian Throat Singing, and therefore had sung it in Harry's ear in that way, causing an annoying buzz to the older child. The four Weasley twins were the last to be singing, the older two singing to a slow funeral march, and the younger two to a very slow funeral dirge matching the sound of Mozart's Requiem's Processional. Dumbledore conducted the last few lines using his wand as the conductor's baton and when they had finished, he was the one to clap the loudest and most enthusiastically. Audrey made a mental note to meet up with the older twins to plan some pranks as soon as possible, maybe dragging Lily along for the ride. Oh, this year could be fun!

"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond what we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Harry's legs were like lead again, but only because he was so tired and full of food. He was too sleepy to even be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice, Percy led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Harry was just wondering how much farther they had to go when they came to a sudden halt.

Lily, however, was avidly watching everything, trying to store all the new information into her brain for later, and almost did not notice that the group had stopped, causing her to bump into Percy, whom she was closely following. Following his gaze, she saw a bundle of walking sticks floating in midair ahead of them, and then Percy took a step toward them as they started throwing themselves at him.

"Peeves," Percy whispered to the first years. "A poltergeist." He raised his voice, "Peeves- show yourself."

A loud, rude sound, like the air being let out of a balloon, answered.

"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?"

There was a pop, and a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross-legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks.

"Ooooooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What-" Suddenly, he saw something that made him stop. Looking around, none of the students could figure out what it was. "To the Original Marauders in this group! Welcome! Would you care to join me in a small prank war?" When no one answered him, instead of identifying further to whom he was speaking, he swooped down at them, causing all of them to duck. "Tried to warn you! Don't you worry about anything, Old Peevsie here will just take over the pranking for you!"

"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy.

Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks above Neville's head. Audrey, realizing what would happen in a half a second, moved Neville out of the way by pulling him closer to her. One of the walking sticks hit him on the shoulder, but none hit his head.

Peeves rattled the coats of armor as he left.

"You need to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as they set off again. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him; he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are."

At the end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.

"Password?" she said.

"Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it- Neville needed a leg up- and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs.

Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory, and the boys through another. Before going up, the four cousins hugged and said goodnight, although Audrey seemed to be lost in thought. Lily was always lost in thought, but this time she was thinking about what Peeves had said.

At the top of the spiral staircase-they were obviously in one of the towers- they found their beds at last- five doors, leading to three dorms and a bathroom between every two dorms. Each dorm had 4 four-poster beds. Ron, Arthur, Neville, and Harry were in one room and Dean and Seamus were in another room. The bathroom connected the dorms together and each dorm had a sitting area off to one side where it looked like a 5th bed could go. Right now a small couch and sitting chair sat there. There was also a globe that looked like reddish-green liquid fire was swirling around inside.

"That's a warming globe; it's like a fireplace except it uses a special warming charm to project warmth through the room. I heard all the dorms have them; it's a new upgrade that the school installed during the summer," Neville told them. Neville didn't tell them it was his Gran who insisted on the upgrade. It was his family's vast fortune that paid for the globes, that were made by the Goyle Furniture Store. Actually Hogwarts was sold the globes at a 1 galleon per globe markup, which at 11 galleons each, barely made a dent in the Longbottom fortune. They just needed to be powered down and recharged by the House elves each day while the students were in classes. Neville had one in his room at Longbottom Manor; well, every room except the main sitting room and the kitchen had one. From what his Great Uncle told him, they were based on a muggle space heater. After he'd bounced, his Great Uncle Algie had taken a liking to him. It turned out that his Uncle Algie was even more fascinated with muggle things than Mr. Weasley; Mr. Weasley was the one who bought Uncle Algie's muggle car after Aunt Enid had forbidden him from driving due to being 108.

The boys wandered in to look at the other two rooms, one of which had three beds, and the other four. The boys in the rooms all introduced themselves, but it was too fast for Harry to remember their names.

"Great food, isn't it?" Ron muttered to Harry through the hangings.

"Get off, Scabbers! He's chewing my sheets."

Harry was going to ask the twins if they had any of the treacle tart, but he fell asleep almost at once.


Perhaps Harry had eaten a bit too much, because he had a very strange dream. He was wearing Professor Quirrell's turban, which kept talking to him, telling him he must transfer to Slytherin at once, because it was his destiny. Harry told the turban he didn't want to be in Slytherin; it got heavier and heavier; he tried to pull it off but it tightened painfully- and there was Malfoy, laughing at him as he struggled with it- then Malfoy turned into Snape, whose laugh became high and cold- there was a burst of green light, and Harry woke, sweating and shaking.

He got up, and went down to the common room, staring out the large window at the night sky and some of the grounds, before turning to go back up to bed. He did not notice his three cousins sitting in the window next to his, hugging each other. He climbed into bed and fell asleep again, and when he woke up the next day, he remembered nothing at all.

While he was having his dream, however, Lily, Audrey, and Margaret had been planning how to figure out if the Professor was Margaret's father. Deciding that they wanted to keep it secret from Harry what they were doing, they agreed that when they talked about it, ever, they would refer to him as Lottie's dad. There was no way that he could be, in Audrey's mind. Both Margaret and Lily were unconvinced in either direction, however. It was with a plan in place that the three girls finally went up to their dormitory, where they did not have any dreams either.


The next morning, after Arthur showed him how to set a magical alarm, Harry got up at 6:30AM. This was sleeping late for him, as he had to get up at 5:00 AM at the Dursley's house to help make breakfast each morning. He got dressed in his new uniform and robes and went down to the Common Room to find Lily waiting for him. She explained that Margaret and Audrey were still asleep. So Harry and Lily went to the Great Hall. They found the classroom near the bathrooms and went inside to find Draco, and Greg Goyle. Okay, the note was a trap. Now they were going to be beaten up and possibly cursed or something. They started to walk out when Draco called after him. "Wait."

"What?" asked Harry coldly, "You set a trap for us and expect…"

"No, it's not a trap. Greg, well, he feels like me. He knows about the old ways like I do. His mum believes like my mum. We are both under the not-so-gentle thumbs of my father. I wanted to explain that Crabbe, Vincent Crabbe, is being paid by my father to make sure I stay in line. Greg here is also being paid but will simply repeat anything that Crabbe reports or will try to downplay Crabbe's report."

"And where is Crabbe?" queried Harry, wondering if the other large boy felt the way Draco and Greg felt.

"He's still asleep. He'll wake up around 8, I made sure to give him some sleeping potion. Now, I wanted to explain that I didn't mean the stuff on the train but when Crabbe is around, and some of the others too, I have to act a certain way. My father will not be pleased if I don't act like the pureblood scion of the House of Malfoy and will make his displeasure known," Draco said, rubbing his bottom. Harry understood this because making Vernon and Aunt Petunia unhappy was not conducive to a pain-free existence. He resisted the urge to rub his own bum and arms. While Vernon was fat and lazy, he did have a limit and Harry learned very quickly what to do and not to do to keep Vernon from overcoming his laziness and making his displeasure known to Harry; although, he did quite often forcefully grab Harry by the arms and yell and spit all over him, he never hit Harry much. Aunt Petunia was more likely to spank though; she often would smack him on the bum; not a hard smack, but enough to make him aware of her displeasure. Actually, she stopped doing that after the roof incident. After that, she just glared at him.

"So, what is it you want or need," asked Lily. She also understood that not upsetting Vernon was important. Aunt Petunia never spanked her, Audrey, or Margaret although she did scold them; she used to spank Harry; but she never even tried to pretend to correct Dudley. She also had this talent for being able to tell when someone was lying. It was probably to do with her natural Legimilency.

"I want an alliance, possibly friendship but we have to keep things a secret. I was right when I told you that you don't want to turn down valuable allies. In that book, about the Old Ways, if you read chapter…eight" said Draco looking at Greg. Greg nodded. Draco continued, "If you read Chapter eight, it will explain why muggleborns and muggle-raised need to cultivate alliances and friendships. See, in the 15th, 16th, 17th, and early 18th centuries, Old Noble Pureblood houses had to sponsor a muggleborn or muggle-raised witch or wizard into the Wizard world. A family like my family would meet with a muggle family that had a magical child; they would guide the family and help them keep the accidental magic a secret. They would sponsor the child through Hogwarts. Then, when the child graduated, they would change their last name to Malfoy, and when they married, their child became a Malfoy. This was a way of keeping the House name from extinction and keeping the magic strong while not losing one's name or house to a muggleborn. An old family named Black stopped this practice about a century or two ago and they started dying out and now they are nearly extinct. The last Black male is in Azkaban, the wizard prison, and when he dies, without children, the line will be extinct. My aunt is a Black and is also in Azkaban, and she is insane, and her husband, my mother's brother-in law, was insane before Azkaban. Another old family that stopped the practice was named Gaunt; the last one born was a squib who died about 60 years ago. By contrast the Potters kept the practice going, and all male Potters were encouraged to marry muggleborn females, and their magic was kept strong. I don't oppose muggleborns at all, I just think we should bring back the old ways."

For the first time Greg spoke up; he had a surprisingly child-like voice, "Yeah, the old ways kept us from going nuts or marrying our cousins which is just gross; I don't like my cousin Pansy. Ugh. And that's how the house of Goyle got started. My dad may agree with Draco's dad in public, but he also thinks the Old Ways were better. He taught me that 500 years ago a man named Gregory Jonathan Goyle was a muggleborn and attended Hogwarts under the sponsorship of House Malfoy. He was strong and allowed to start his own house, which became the House of Goyle. We may not be an Most Noble and Ancient House or a Noble House, but we are a Pureblood House, going back 5 generations. He also taught me about the Evans family, and how they are a long line of squibs. If your family were not squibs, then you'd be the Most Ancient and Noble House of Evans. Dad also taught me that most muggleborns are actually born of squibs. My dad makes magical furniture. Actually, it's my mum that does most of the magical work and my dad who does the rune work."

Harry looked at Lily who looked like she was thinking this over.

Draco spoke up then and said, "If you want to know more, look in the Library for a book called, 'Ancient Houses, Squib lines' and another book called, 'The New Pureblood houses' and one called 'House of Potter, Longbottom and Weasley.' By the way, you should try to make friends with that Longbottom bloke. The Longbottoms and the Potters, which are both Noble and Ancient houses, have been allies for as long as anyone can remember. The House of Weasley" here Draco got a slightly disgusted look, "is actually a cadet branch of both Longbottom and Potter, started about 500 years ago. The first Weasley, a muggleborn, was named Fredrick, and attended Hogwarts under the sponsorship of the House of Potter; that year the Head of House died and the House of Longbottom took over the Sponsorship and the House of Weasley became a cadet branch of both. My family has a feud with them because Fredrick refused sponsorship of House Malfoy and that is considered a great insult, one that is not easily forgotten or forgiven. It is supposed to last until both our Houses are annihilated, although if I can fix that, I will."

Harry looked thoughtful, while Lily made a mental note to look up the three books that Draco told her about and to re-read chapter 8 of her copy of 'Purebloods and the Old Ways'. She had read all 12 chapters of that book. It was very interesting.

Most of the Old Ways involved a Noble and Ancient House sponsoring a muggleborn child, guiding them into the wizard world. For females, it meant that the female would sometimes marry into that house, and for males, it meant that they took the surname of that house. Only the strongest and most powerful witches and wizards became a cadet branch. The house also gained someone who could help them blend into the muggle world better; this explained why Wizards were so inept at blending in. This was also how and why so many Ancient and Noble houses still existed.

Incidentally, the word mudblood was in the book in chapter 3 titled "Blood Traitors and Mudbloods" which explained the meaning of the two words. A blood traitor was a sponsored witch or wizard who refused to hold up their end of the bargain and refused to take on the name of the house that sponsored them and instead took on the name of a rival house hence betraying 'the blood of their house.' Mudblood was a word used to describe a muggleborn wizard who was brought into a house and made the heir with full blood adoption. The wizard then betrayed the house by using their own blood to undo the blood adoption by blood adopting themselves. This had the effect of basically making a person into their own parents and really screwed with or 'muddied' their genetics, hence a mudblood was one who used this method to 'mud up' their blood. People who did this had 3 general results; they went insane, lost their magic, or were unable to ever produce children.

Therefore, Draco and Greg only used either of those words where the world could hear them misusing them, and think that they were as narrow-minded as their fathers before them. Neither boy really wanted to take the Mark, if He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named came back, but they both knew that they may have to, to keep appearances up. Draco's mother, Narcissa, was willing to join the Order of the Phoenix, the group that fought him off the last time, if it would help Draco and Greg.


Thank you for reading this far! If you have any questions, I am happy to answer them!

Here are the past questions:

Guest: what about underage magic? they cant preform magic, especially on muggles, if they are underage.

In this story, Dudley is a Squib, like his mother, so he technically not a Muggle. In addition, although Hagrid does sort of tell them not to do magic, he never tells them outright, and, as I doubt Dumbledore would want them expelled, he could have told the Ministry that it was accidental magic. In addition, since there are four people living in that house at this time, the Ministry cannot pinpoint which one of them it is, especially since Petunia is almost a witch, and therefore she could have done accidental magic as well.

Thanks to the amazing beta, RUGoing2writethat, for helping me with the story to this point, and giving me ideas, such as how to make Draco be as he is in this story!