{Harry Potter no owned by me. Insert necessary mumbo jumbo here.}

Author's Note: Thanks to you all for your support. Don't forget to leave a review and let me know what you think. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

Once again, Harry found himself stunned when he entered the Great Hall. The ceiling of the castle once again looked marvelous. While there weren't quite as many students in it as there had been the night before, the vastness of the the Great Hall was still breath-taking.

Harry and Ernie parted ways with a wave, Ernie going to the Hufflepuff table and Harry making his way toward the Gryffindor one. None of his fellow first year Gryffindors were at the table yet, so Harry found a place for himself and sat down.

He'd only been seated for about a minute before Ron's twin brothers approached him.

"Hiya Harry!"

"It's your favorite twins"

"Fred!"

"and George!"

"Weasley!"

"Anyway, Harry"

"how're you doing?"

"not getting into trouble"

"are you?"

Each twin seemed to know what the other was thinking or something, for they seemed quite adept at finishing each other's sentences. Harry found this both amusing and slightly frustrating. It was entertaining, but it made it difficult to keep track of the conversation or who was talking to him.

When Harry shook his head, assuring the twins he hadn't gotten into any trouble, they looked at each other and grinned.

"That's good Harry"

"Not that there's anything wrong with trouble"

"As long as you're not caught"

"Speaking of which"

"Why were you out of bed so early this morning?"

"And what did Filch do to you when he caught you?"

Harry was quite surprised to say the least, if not a bit worried. He had thought he'd been quite stealthy this morning. The only people he'd talked to were Filch and Ernie, neither of whom would have gone blabbing to the twins. He'd seen a couple of people while wandering, but they hadn't done anything to suggest they'd seen him. If the twins could find him and spy on him so easily, could other students and staff detect him like this too? Regretfully, Harry figured that there was no point lying to twins; they seemed quite sure of themselves and were scarily well-informed of his actions.

"I was just exploring a bit. I couldn't sleep after all that racket from Peeves." The twins looked at each other knowingly. "When Filch found me, I had just rescued his cat from a suit of armor. When he found me, he sort of let me go because his cat seemed happy with me. How did you know I was out and that Filch found me?"

If Harry had been expecting some sort of clear explanation, he would have been disappointed. Fred and George only looked at each other again, smiling this time. They both leaned in close to Harry, George (at least he thought it was George) by the left ear, and Fred by the right.

"We think you're going to turn out real nicely" George whispered.

"Just be careful and don't get caught. Filch hates people like us." Fred whispered.

"Maybe someday you'll catch up with the Heirs of the Marauders."

"I'm not sure he has the right look of a Marauder though."

"Maybe we'll give you a bit of training."

"Until then, though, keep your mischief managed!"

With that the twins turned and walked away, laughing to each other as if they'd just shared some private joke. Harry was left sitting at the table much more confused than when he had sat down. Thankfully, it seemed everyone else was now up and ready for breakfast. Harry was soon joined by Hermione, Ron, Neville, Seamus, Dean, and some other first year Gryffindors he wasn't very familiar with yet.

The food, just like it had the night before, magically appeared on the plates. There was a huge variety, and Harry, to his disappointment, was soon stuffed. Never had he had such an amazing breakfast, and he had a feeling that tomorrow's would be just as good.

While they ate, the students talked and talked, getting to know each other a bit more. They discussed the castle, what the classes might be like, and their lives at home. Harry and Hermione were surprised and a bit glad to discover that quite a few other students had been raised in the Muggle world as well, including Dean. Ron and Seamus had just started attempting to explain Quidditch to Harry and Dean (Hermione was deemed a lost cost), when the Great Hall was filled with the sounds of hooting and of flapping wings.

Looking up, Harry that hundreds of owls were flying in. They began dropping things like packages and envelopes to students, including Ron. Soon the owls had left, and things returned to a relatively normal state. Harry hadn't gotten any mail, but he hadn't really expected any. He liked this method of mail delivery a lot more than the Muggle post office though. It was certainly a lot more exciting.

As the plates cleared themselves, Professor McGonagall started passing out papers to the Gryffindor students. Three other teachers were doing the same thing for the other House tables. When Harry got his, he saw that it was a schedule. Class would start at 9:00, and there would be four class periods until lunch. He would then have a break followed by two more class periods and dinner in the evening. Sadly, first years were supposed to be in the Common Rooms by 7:00. Harry had a feeling that he'd have some trouble following that, based on the fun he'd had before breakfast. He and his fellow Gryffindors soon left the table and began preparing for the start of their magical education.

Looking back, Harry's first week had been a blur of craziness, magic, new information, and other chaos. His exploration of the castle the first morning had been very helpful. Though it had been limited in area, he'd gotten a feel for the castle and where certain things were. He definitely would have been late to a couple classes otherwise. The odd disappearing wall he had discovered that morning, upon further inspection at 7:30 that evening, turned out to be the entrance to an empty room about the size of a broom closet. Harry had waited in there until he was sure no one else was around and quietly slipped back into the Common Room, his House mates none the wiser.

Classes had been extremely varied. Astronomy, which was actually every Wednesday at midnight, he simply couldn't understand the point of. The class was easy enough, but he just didn't see the use in learning about the stars and planets.

Herbology, which the Gryffindors had three times a week, had been interesting. There the students learned to identify and care for magical plants and fungi, all of which had some use in the magical world. The teacher, Professor Sprout, was a stout, kind witch who also happened to be the Head of Hufflepuff. Though she didn't show favoritism toward students of her own House, she certainly was very fond of Harry and Ernie, who were often paired together. She was always praising their hard work. No one, though, not Harry, Ernie, or even Hermione, could match Neville's aptitude. He seemed to have a way with the plants, and Herbology was easily his best subject. He gained a lot of confidence during that class, and he seemed very interested in the subject.

History of Magic should have been a fun class. In the very least, it should have been somewhat interesting. Things like goblin wars, revolutions, evil wizards, empires, and new inventions were things not out of place in an adventure novel. However, it was taught by Professor Binns, who turned out to be a ghost. The way he droned on and on, writing countless names and dates, was enough to even bore Hermione. That didn't stop her from taking enormous volumes of notes, though, which Harry sometimes needed to look at and Ron almost always did. Some students said that a very old Professor Binns had once fallen asleep in his chair. The next day he went to teach, leaving his body behind without even noticing. Harry wasn't sure if he believed the story, but it certainly didn't seem too far off.

Professor McGonagall, the Head of Gryffindor House and the person who had first introduced Harry to the magical world, taught Transfiguration. Harry could tell she wasn't one to cross. She wasn't ever mean, but she had an air of authority and a no-nonsense behavior. She had been strict before, when Harry first met her, but now she seemed even more so in her classroom. She had made it clear the very first day that foolishness would not be taken lightly. Professor McGonagall had impressed Harry and the other students when she suddenly turned her desk into a pig as a demonstration. However, they soon found out that their lessons and practice wouldn't be quite so dramatic. After a lot of practice, Hermione remained the only student to fully transform a match into a needle, although Harry's attempt hadn't been too far behind hers.

Charms had been interesting, especially with Professor Flitwick. He was the Head of Ravenclaw, and he was short. Very short. Extremely short. In fact, he had to stand on a pile of books just to see and be seen over his desk. He was energetic and eager to teach, however, and the class was enjoyable.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was, like History of Magic, a bit of a let down. Professor Quirrell hadn't changed much since Harry met him in Diagon Alley. He still stuttered with nearly every sentence, and he seemed even more paranoid than when Harry had last met him. The whole room smelled like garlic, supposed to ward off some vampire. All in all, Harry didn't think much of Quirrell. Harry wondered how long Quirrell would remain at Hogwarts if continued to act like he did, and he sort of hoped Quirrell would be replaced next year.

However, even if some of the teachers hadn't been too great, none of them were worse than Snape. Professor Severus Snape was the Head of Slytherin, and from the way he favored the Slytherins that much was obvious. Harry and the other Gryffindors had the misfortune to have double class with the Slytherins on Fridays.

From the moment Snape had entered the classroom, he seemed to have it in for Harry. He'd drilled Harry on questions that shouldn't have been asked for at least six or seven months of education. Even with the preparation Harry had done before coming to Hogwarts, he couldn't answer all the questions perfectly. Even when he got one right, or at least partially right, the Potions Master still made fun of him or said he was wrong, making him look like an idiot in from of the first year Gryffindors and Slytherins.

Neville was as bad with potions as he was good with plants. When he accidently messed up a potion, naturally causing an explosion leaving him covered in painful boils, Snape blamed Harry for the incident. He continually made fun of Harry's fame, which for the most part Harry hadn't even wanted much in the first place. He didn't like having everybody know who he was all the time, especially since his fame didn't seem to have any benefits.

All in all, Harry thought, as he looked back on his first week of classes, that despite certain disappointments and certain biased teachers, the week had gone pretty well. He had gotten to know his House mates a bit better, and had become good friends with Ernie. He'd talked to Terry Boot again briefly during Charms too. Harry found that, though he wasn't the smartest or most talented by any means, he still was doing pretty well. Focusing his magic and using enough power were a little more difficult than Harry had hoped, especially since other students weren't having much trouble with it, but he wasn't worried. His skill would come with time and practice, he figured. Regardless, he was definitely among the top academic students of his year. Harry couldn't believe how much better his life had become in such a short time.

An indignant hoot brought Harry back into the present. He bid Hedwig farewell as she carried off his letter and went to join Hermione and Ron. They were going with him to see Hagrid, who had invited Harry to see him, since the students had Fridays off. As long as they avoided the subject of magical creatures, Harry had a feeling the visit would be quite fun.

Head Goblin Ragnok smiled to himself as he read the letter he had received from Harry Potter.

To the Head Goblin of Gringotts;

First off, I would like to congratulate you on your wonderful product. The trunk you sent for me to test has worked very well, exceeding all expectations in quality, performance, and convenience.

As I have finished my initial review of the trunk, which I will of course continue to use and evaluate, I was wondering if you had anything else in need of testing. Specifically, anything useful for a bit of entertainment at Hogwarts.

There is a poltergeist, Peeves, who frequently enjoys pranking students at the castle. He's not a problem at all, though sometimes he can be a hinderance to myself and my companions. If he could be convinced to leave us alone, or perhaps to perform certain favors, it would be most beneficial. I feel that he would most value items useful for actions of a pranking nature.

Naturally, I would also test these products myself in order to give you a first-hand, accurate review of them. Hopefully you have some things in your stock that would be useful for what I have mentioned above. Thank you for your business, which I hope will be profitable to us both for a long time.

Your Product Tester,

Harry Potter

Ragnok smiled to himself as he read the letter. He could certainly think of a few items that would be useful in Harry's negotiations. The boy was certainly his father's son, following in James' footsteps without even knowing it. Ragnok sent word for Griphook to come to his office and leaned back, thinking about Harry Potter and what the boy would have been like had he been a goblin.

Author's Note: Well, there you are! I didn't think I'd have this chapter done so quickly, but here it is. Thanks to all my readers and reviewers, who hopefully will be in greater number after this (hint hint). If you haven't noticed by now, I've found that I really enjoy foreshadowing and allusions to future plot and the actual books, so see if you can find everything. Some are a lot harder to spot than others! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I think now all the exposition and set-up is done, so we can start getting into the real story. Until next time!