Disclaimer: See Chapter 1. Updated 4-7-11.


Familiar Feelings

Harry woke up groggily the next morning. He blinked open his eyes and reached for his glasses. He frowned at the decorum around him. Everything was red and gold, every wall embroidered with a picture of a roaring lion.

Harry yawned. He was in the boys' second year Gryffindor dormitory. That much was really obvious. He looked around. There were four other beds stacked around in a circular formation. Harry shrugged. Nothing too special.

"Hello," someone said from the bed to his right. "I was waiting for you to wake up."

Harry got up and turned around to face a blue-eyed red-head with a lot of freckles. "Um, hi?"

"My name's Ronald Weasley. I'm a pureblood, like you." He said arrogantly.

Harry grumbled. I'm not pureblood, idiot-for-a-face. "Nice to meet you. Now if you would excuse me, I have to go get ready for my day."

Ronald got up too. "I'll help you get to the bathroom. And since you're new, I'll be nice enough to help you around classes also."

"No, thanks. I know my way around Hogwarts really well, probably even better than you. But thanks for the offer." Harry started looking through his trunk for valuables. He spotted his quills and quickly pocketed them.

"You know, I think we should be best mates."

Harry muffled a snort. "Right . . . well, see you later." Harry stood up and slung his trusty guitar over his back. "And, thanks for the offer. But no thanks, Weasel."

Ron turned red and stood up, blocking the dormitory exit. Harry looked around and noticed that the other three boys had already left. "Listen, Peverell. You don't want to get on my bad side. It'd be best if you listened to me."

Harry sighed. "Get out of my way."

Ron sneered. "I'm warning you, Peverell."

Harry shook his head. "Fine, I'll be your friend. Happy?"

Ron gaped. "Really? You'll . . . we'll . . . oh that's great mate. Listen, I think –"

Harry quickly shoved Ron out of the way while he was distracted. "Sucker," he mumbled under his breath.

Ron rolled onto the floor. He frowned. Was this how Peverell treated his friends? Ron shrugged. It was worth chasing after the boy.

"Hey, where are you going, Pev- I mean Harry? Wait up!" Ron shouted.

Harry grumbled and rushed out of the Gryffindor common room as quickly as possible.

OoOoO

Katie Bell watched as Harry Peverell Black rushed out of the Gryffindor. She frowned.

Damn, she thought. She had been waiting to meet him. After all, she was supposed to marry him later on in life anyways. She wanted to get to know him. Hopefully, he'd turn out to be a nice guy. She felt a bit nervous herself.

She got up from the couch in front of the fireplace and exited the common room. She looked around deserted corridor and didn't see a single trace of Harry.

Where'd he go? She fumbled with her hair nervously. All of a sudden, a figure bumped into her and she fell to the ground.

"Move the hell out of the way, Bell." Ron growled, as he got up and dusted his clothes.

"You should watch where you're going, Weasley." Katie stood up and rubbed her bum.

"Say, have you seen Peverell? He ran out on me! He couldn't have gone far." Ron rushed past her turned the corridor.

Katie frowned. "Guess I'll have to talk to him later," she grumbled, making her way down towards the Great Hall for breakfast.

OoOoO

Harry entered the Great Hall completely refreshed. He thanked Sirius for having taught him Hogwarts inside out.

As he made his way towards the Hufflepuff table, people began to whisper intimately.

"Is that him?"

"I heard that he lost his virginity in a foursome."

"Wow . . . I wanna be just like him when I grow up."

"Hey, what was the Herbology summer assignment?"

"Doesn't he look like that guy from PlayWizard?"

"Isn't he dreamy like Lockhart?"

"Who's Lockhart?"

"Hey, pass the peanut butter and. . . ."

"I heard he's the reincarnation of You-Know-Who."

"I heard he used dark magic to fix the door the other day."

"Boiled goose. . . ."

"I heard he uses his guitar as a weapon."

Harry tried not to laugh. The rumors were so ridiculous. Harry kept his calm and affronted a jovial-looking Draco.

"Hey Drake."

"Hey Harry," Draco smiled. "Say, who did you lose your virginity to? I heard that there were three of them involved."

"I don't remember when I lost my virginity." Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm a manwhore, after all." Harry added sarcastically. Harry dug into his pancakes, making sure there was plenty of maple syrup beforehand.

"Where were you? I heard that Weasel was running around the castle looking for you."

Harry groaned. "What a creeper."

Harry reached across the Hufflepuff table and grabbed the pitcher of orange juice, pouring a glass for Draco and himself. He felt someone observing him closely.

He looked up and caught Dumbledore staring at him cautiously. For a second, he thought that he saw the old man's eyes flash a violent red. Harry gasped and rubbed his forehead as pain shot up in his scar. He quickly looked away.

"What's wrong?" Draco turned around and eyed Harry suspiciously.

"Nothing." Sirius had warned him about Dumb Le Dork. He'd have to watch out for the old coot.

After a few minutes, the heads of the houses began circulating the Great Hall, handing out the time tables.

"Mr. Peverell," Professor Sprout approached him. "Because you do not belong to any house in particular, you may choose your own schedule. Just make sure to hand in all work on time, and keep in pace with your fellow classmates. Have a good day."

"You too, Professor," Harry replied kindly.

Draco whistled as he looked through his own schedule. "Nice."

"Agreed. Hey, I just remembered. I need to order the new syllabus for you, Drake."

"You don't have to, really." Draco tried.

"Hell yes, I have to." He wiped his mouth with a napkin and dug out some parchment and a Muggle pen, much to the surprise of the students around him. He began to scribble something onto a piece of paper and finally signed his name at the bottom.

"What exactly are you doing? And why are you using a Muggle utensil?"

"You'll see."

"You don't have an owl. How do you plan on sending the order form?"

Harry smirked. "Three words, Drake." He held up three fingers. "I've. Got. Style."

Draco frowned. "Um, that's technically four..."

Harry groaned. "Shut up, Drake." Draco sniggered. "Kreacher!"

A delayed pop later, the prestigious house elf materialized in front of Harry and bowed deeply. Several students around him scooted away, having never seen a house elf up close before.

"Master Harry sir, you being calling Kreacher?"

"Yeah. Listen, can you buy the list of books from Flourish and Bott's from Diagon Alley?"

Kreacher nodded reluctantly. "Yes, Kreacher being doing this. But it mays takes a whiles."

Harry nodded. "How long?"

Kreacher blushed. "An hour at least, sir."

Harry nodded. "Okay, go."

Kreacher bowed deeply before popping away.

"What was that?" asked a very nervous first-year muggleborn.

"A house elf, my friend." Harry patted the boy on his back. The boy almost flinched away upon seeing Harry approach him. "Don't worry. I don't kill every person I hate." The first-year gulped. Harry just chuckled. "Just kidding, little one." Several elder students looked at the two with interest.

oOo

Meanwhile. . . .

Lady Destiny continued to search the ancient magical library of Mars. She shuffled through one book after another. One row after another. One shelf after the other. But she couldn't find what she was looking for. A way to go back to Harry. A way to protect her Harry.

"It's no use," Lady Fátè intervened. "You're just tiring yourself out, Dest."

"Bu-but I have to help Harry. He obviously doesn't know what to do without me. He's doomed without my guidance!"

Lady Fátè shook her head. "It's not worth it. You're using up valuable time. You need to draft destinies for other kids. Stop focusing on the Chosen. He'll be fine. He's called the Chosen for a reason."

Destiny shook her head. "I need to guide Harry! He doesn't know how to control his alter ego. He's incapable of transforming at will. He doesn't have any control over his powers! I need to guide my Harry!" Destiny instantly blushed afterwards.

Lady Fátè smirked. "There are plenty of other mortals for you to snag. He's just a kid. Give him a break."

Destiny wrinkled her nose. "No, Fátè. I don't love him like a lover. I love him like a child. I've been a mother to him for the past few years. In a way, he's my . . . son. I need to take care of him. I won't be able to forgive myself if anything happens to him! I need him." She pleaded possessively.

Lady Fátè shook her head. "You get too sentimental sometimes. I mean, honestly. What's the chance that you'll actually be able to go back to Harry?"

Destiny glared at the other goddess. "You're not helping!"

Fátè smirked. "I'm just stating the facts, missy. But hey, you might get lucky."

Destiny gaped. "Fátè, you're a genius!"

"I am? I mean . . . I am. Yes, I'm a genius." The other immortal bobbed her head, but then frowned. "Wait, why am I a genius?"

Destiny squealed and hugged Fátè. "I love you!" And with that, she rushed out of the house.

"Wait, where are you going Dest?" Lady Fátè followed her outside.

Destiny withdrew her Vortex and threw it onto the ground, where it expanded. She stepped inside and disappeared from the red planet of the Magical Aristocrats.

"Hey wait up . . . where are you going? Wait a second . . . don't tell me . . . oh no! You did not just go to them for help! Come back here right now, Destiny!" Lady Fátè panicked. "No! Come back! Destiny! Come . . . back. . . ."

OoOoO

Harry followed Draco towards his first class. Potions Class was in the dungeons.

Draco groaned. "We have potions with Gryffindors on the first morning back. This is really bad."

"Why is that?"

"Snape hates everybody that isn't in his house. He's the head of the Slytherin house."

"Wait, you said Snape? As in Severus Snape?"

Draco nodded. They paused outside the Potions classroom, where many other Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were lined up. "Why, you know him already? He does have a bad reputation."

Harry grinned. "I'm supposed to annoy the hell out of him this year."

"Why . . . wait, I don't even wanna know." Draco shook his head.

"No, no. It's alright. I'll tell you."

"Well? Why?"

"It's really simple actually. My godfather told me to."

Draco frowned. "Your godfather? Why would he tell you to specifically bother Snape?"

Harry mimicked his late godfather without feeling too depressed. "In order to teach Snivellus a lesson, I want you to annoy the hell out of him and make his teaching as wretchedly twisted and severe as possible."

"Why does your godfather sound evil . . .? And what lesson?"

Harry grinned. "My godfather was a prankster himself, a Marauder as a matter of fact. And to answer your second question, he said that Snape needs to learn to wash his hair more often."

Draco burst out laughing, as did some of the people who were listening onto their conversation, much to Harry's displeasure. But he ignored them. There was no way he was going to make new friends anytime soon. He didn't trust them. Nope. Not one bit.

Harry looked up and caught the jealous stare of a bushy-haired girl with cinnamon-brown eyes. She quickly turned away upon being spotted. She immediately began to talk to Ronald Weasley, who in turn stared at Harry.

Harry also noticed that Katie was looking at him intently, trying to figure him out. Harry gave her a seductive smile, mouthing, "Olive juice." The blonde girl gaped, frowned, and turned around as rapidly as possible.

Suddenly, the door burst open, revealing a pale, crooked-nose, greasy-haired teacher.

Snape snarled. "In." Immediately, every student rushed inside the dingy, dark classroom, knowing that lingering around would only piss Snape off more.

Harry and Draco chose to sit towards the back of the room. Ronald Weasley approached them. Harry groaned in frustration.

"Hey mate, can I sit here?" He asked.

Harry closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. After a few seconds, he opened them and put on a false cheery smile. "Why don't you go and play with your Granger girl."

"As your friend, I suggest that you stop hanging around with scum like No-Name here." Ron retaliated.

Harry's calm demeanor cracked. "Listen, Weasel. There is no person here whose name isNo-Name. If you're referring to my friend here," Harry pointed to Draco, "then I'll have you know that his name is Draco Black."

Ron huffed. "Black as in Sirius Black? Black was a traitor who betrayed the Potters. I can see the resemblance between them, though. They're all scum."

Harry's calm demeanor cracked even more. Harry growled. "Black is one of the noblest and most prestigious family lines in the Wizarding World, unlike the Weasleys." Ron narrowed his eyes. "I suggest you get out of here before someone gets hurt. And I'll make sure that that someone is you." His eyes began to ripple with commanding power.

Ron gazed into Harry's hypnotizing green eyes and glared back with full force. "You're going to regret this, P-peverell." The redhead slipped past towards a neighboring work station.

Draco gulped. "Remind me to never get on your bad side."

Harry took in a deep breath and drowned his feelings for Sirius. He opened his eyes and gave a half-chuckle.

Unfortunately for the two of them, Severus Snape just happened to hear Harry crack a smile in his classroom. Snape frowned. Smiling was intolerable in his classroom. Having happy children in classrooms was unacceptable. Snape's job was to make all students feel miserable. Except for the Slytherins, of course, but that's beside the point.

"Why are you smiling in my classroom?" Snape barked. "Well, well, well. We haven't even started class and already, Mr. Peverell Black has caused a mishap." Snape stalked up towards the two friends with a slight sneer on his face.

Draco's eyes widened with fear, while Harry stayed put. He wasn't afraid of Snape. Snape was simply a cruel tormentor, a verbal harasser. In fact, Harry would teach people like Snape their place in society: nowhere. Right . . .? Right!

Harry shook his head. "No professor." He purposely placed emphasis on the end of the sentence. "There is absolutely nothing funny. But I have to admit, your face is pretty hilarious."

Every student in the room stopped where they were and turned to see the new kid face up to the most-feared teacher in all of Hogwarts history.

"What. Did. You. Say?" Snape seethed with anger. Having happy children in a closed classroom was bad enough. Having disrespectful children in a closed classroom was an Unforgivable Curse straight to his head.

Harry shrugged casually. "Nothing much sir. I just said that your face is –"

Snape's lip curled up in resentment. "You will serve detention with me tonight at 8 o'clock this afternoon sharp. And fifty points from Gryffindor."

"But I'm not in Gryffindor, Professor."

Snape snarled. "Well, what house are you in?"

Harry smiled triumphantly. "Slytherin, sir."

Snape frowned. "Don't play games with me, Peverell."

"No, you misunderstood me, sir. Since I belong to all houses except for Hufflepuff, I get to choose which house I am in for the day. For today, I am a Slytherin. So, I believe it is in order that you took off fifty points from the Slytherin house. After all, I did disrupt your class. In fact, I insulted you."

Snape growled. "Forget the points."

"But professor, that would be unfair. I would have to report this to Headmaster Fl–"

Snape growled. "Fine! No detention or points taken away. This is your first offense so I'm letting you off with just a warning."

"Thank you, professor. I understand my mistakes. I will try not to get on your nerves again." Harry stated calmly.

Snape growled. Apparently, the Peverell kid was clever. He looked at Draco Black, the new kid's cousin. He smiled. Yes, he could find a way to humiliate the other Black. He noted that Draco hadn't taken out a potions book yet. "Where is your potions textbook, Mr. Black?"

Harry frowned. "Well. . . ."

"Not you, Peverell. I asked Mr. Black, not Mr. Peverell Black. So, Mr. Black, where is your potions textbook?"

Draco's eyes widened. His syllabus hadn't arrived yet. Kreacher had said that he would buy the course within an hour. But it had only been half-an-hour since breakfast time. He didn't have his Potions textbook.

"Um . . . well you see. . . ." Draco cowered under the professor's gaze.

"Fifty points from Hufflepuff. And I believe a detention is in service, no Mr. Black?"

Harry sighed. He hated bullies. "Umm, actually professor." Snape turned towards Harry. "I borrowed Draco's potions book to read before coming into class. You see, I didn't buy the Potions textbook and ordered a new one just this morning. So, if you are going to take points off of anyone, it should be from my house, which is Slytherin."

Draco frowned and was about to speak up when Harry stomped on his foot, hard.

Snape growled. "Fine. Since you are new here, Mr. Peverell Black, I shall give you a freebie. You may borrow one of the school textbooks for the time being. I . . . apologize and take back my detention Mr. Black."

"And the house points from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff?" Annoying Snape was actually easier that it seemed. It was officially Harry's new hobby, or at least one of his hobbies. And it was a good time-consumer as well.

"Yes, those too. I give the points back." Snape added morosely. "Today, class, we shall be brewing the. . . ."

Harry smiled and went to a bookshelf towards the left-hand corner of the classroom. He searched through the books but couldn't find a second-year course book. After a few moments, he picked up a very battered-up sixth-year potions book, Advanced Potion-Making.

He sat back down next to Draco. He looked up and noticed that much of the class was looking at him with awe. He shrugged.

"Harry mate, you didn't have to –" Draco began to apologize but Harry held out his hand.

"Look Drake, drop it. You're my best mate." Draco raised his eyebrows. "Yes, you are. I obviously care about you." Draco raised his eyebrows again. "No, seriously. I do. I don't know exactly why, but I do. And besides, this way nobody got into trouble. No detentions. No house points off. So, cool down. What are friends for?"

Draco fumbled with Harry's potions textbook. "Um, do you want this back?"

Harry grinned and shook his head. "Keep it for now. Snape might get suspicious. Return it to me when you get your new syllabus."

Draco's eyes widened. "But, you already bought me a new set and . . . this is too much and–"

Harry stopped Draco from rambling. "Forget about it. Come on. Let's start working on the damn potion."

"But Harry, how can I ever repay you? You've done so much for me already. And we barely know each other, no offense. I have to . . . repay you somehow."

Harry groaned. "Your inner Hufflepuff is kicking in, isn't it?"

Draco nodded meekly. "Yeah. But I really feel like doing something in return."

Harry scratched his head. "Fine, you make the entire potion by yourself and leave me alone. Sound fair enough?"

Draco nodded and began to prepare the cauldron. Harry pretended to help out. But really, he just sat there looking through the sixth-year potions book. It was oddly familiar.

Harry flipped through the pages and frowned as he sensed familiarity. The smell was . . . familiar. The feel to the ripped pages was . . . familiar. The very texture of the cover of the book was . . . familiar. But . . . why?

Harry flipped to a random page and scratched the back of his head. He squinted his eyes. Apparently, there was small print along the sides of the margins. There were helpful hints on how to improve the brewing quality of the potions. But one thing caught his attention fairly quickly.

One of the tips read: Use on enemies. Sectumsempra.

Harry frowned. Sectumsempra? He flipped through the pages. There were many familiar curses and useful charms. Muffliato? Langlock? Levicorpus? Liberacorpus?

Familiar. Yet, not so familiar.

Why did all of these curses sound vaguely familiar? Maybe he'd read a book from the same author before? But that couldn't be right. These comments weren't made by the author. They were annotations, obviously made by a skilled student. Who was this student?

Harry turned to the cover and flipped to the inside. He frowned.

This is property of the Half-Blood Prince.

oOo

Meanwhile. . . .

Destiny stumbled forward as the Vortex painfully ejected her onto the blue surface of her destination. Powerful winds whirled around her and tackled against her sensitive skin. Destiny slowly stood up. She shivered at the extremely low temperatures, perhaps as low as fifty Kelvin.

Destiny rubbed her arms together as she examined the gaseous surface beneath her. She looked up at the dark atmosphere above. The sun seemed millions of light years away. The sullen, cold place was known as Neptune.

Despite her being immortal, she was still vulnerable. She took out her wand and cast an indestructible bubble charm around herself. Instantly, her body temperature rose.

Destiny looked around and gave an involuntary shudder. She gulped, wondering whether she had made the right decision. Was it worth going through all this trouble to save her Harry?

A vehement gust of wind knocked against her bubble, sending her staggering several feet backwards. Torrents of wind crashed against her from all directions. Destiny groaned as she painfully got up. It was said that the winds on Neptune experienced the worst climate in the solar system, the winds going up to hundreds of miles per hour on average.

Grumbling about how unfair her life was, which was fairly ironic for an immortal, she took out her wand and began to tread along a cleverly-devised path that led to the magical deities on the planet. As she pushed against the winds, she took a moment to think about what she was going to do or say once she met up with the immortals of Neptune.

What would she say? Destiny didn't really have a plan. She just wanted to go back to Harry, one way or another. It didn't matter what she would have to do to achieve this. After a few hours of brutal walking, the storms around her began to lessen. Destiny sighed contently as she say signs of life up ahead – there were bright lights in the distance.

Gulping down a cup of ambrosia, Destiny began to sprint towards the light. After a few minutes of running, she came across an elegant blue palace. It was several stories high, several acres wide. And it was humongous!

She slowed down, panting for breath, and stepped into the vicinity of the large dark blue manor. She walked up the large stairs in a daze. The house around her was simply beautiful. Chandeliers hung where you would expect porch lights to be. The windows were as large as the entrance doors, which were at least twenty feet in length.

The door was decorated with emeralds, sapphires, and diamonds at random. The door itself was said to be made of pure indestructible diamonds and magical gold. But there was no proof behind these theories. It was all a mystery. The deities of the planet were said to be odd and peculiar. On the front door, there was a sign that read:

Ψ Home of the Abandoned and Sacred Ψ

Ψ Guardian of the Stones Ψ

sσάπφειρος. αδάμας. Σμάραγδος.

Several miniature sapphires, diamonds, and emeralds were engraved underneath the words, 'sσάπφειρος,' 'αδάμας,' and 'σμάραγδος,' respectively.

Taking a deep breath, Destiny raised her hand and brought it down against the large door. But before her knuckles reached the surface of the door, it creaked open on its own.

"Hello, Lady Destiny," whispered a feminine voice. Destiny looked up, clearly startled, and caught the sight of the three individuals she had been hoping to meet up with. "We have been expecting you for a while now. My name is Lady Faith."

The lady had blue-green hair and yellow eyes, much like Destiny. A teenager girl stood to her right, with white hair and blue eyes. Destiny suspected that the young girl was some sort of young deity in training. To her left stood an older man with blue-blonde hair and white eyes, who could only be Lord Luck.

"Please do come in," greeted the man. "We have much to discuss." Destiny nodded numbly, following the Unworthy Ones into their elegant house.

OoOoO

Much of Harry's first day passed by quickly. Herbology was fairly amusing, as neither Harry nor Draco had ever seen Mandrakes before. Lunch was fairly dull as well. However, Harry still preferred pizza over the weird cuisines that Hogwarts served every day.

During breaks and in between classes, Harry continued to look through the Half-Blood Prince's amazing potions book. It was quite useful. There were tips on how to tweak spells, how to increase the efficiency of nonverbal casting, and of course, how to increase the potency of several fairly diverse potions.

Finally, dinnertime came about. Harry wrinkled his nose at the sausage and mashed potatoes with gravy. Further down the table, there was some sort of curry. Deciding that he would eat spicy, Harry reached over to try the new dish.

"So, how do you like Hogwarts so far?"

"It's awesome," Harry grinned as he dug into his food. It was slightly spicy, but not too much. "I reckon we'll be able to start Marauding any day now."

"Uh huh. Right . . . so, what are you reading? You've been lugging that book around for the entire day."

"This, my friend, is a masterpiece and our one-way success to becoming expert pranksters. And duelers too."

"A potions book?" Draco looked hesitant. "Are you . . . feeling alright?"

Harry nodded. "I'm completely fine. And this isn't just any book. It's a sixth-year advanced potion-making book with helpful annotations. It also explains several concepts on constructing your own spells, altering wrist movements and flicks for maximum efficiency, and stuff about nonverbal casting. I'm not done reading it yet."

"Wow."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Is that all you have to say for yourself?"

Draco grinned. "Yep. Wow."

Harry continued looking through the book. Headmaster Flamel stood up and said a few measly words that Harry didn't even bother to listen to. After all, he always said the same thing anyways.

All of a sudden, Harry began to feel nauseous. He looked up at Draco and realized his vision was getting blurry. Draco waved his hand in front of Harry, blurring his vision furthermore.

"You promise, 'Mione? You'll never leave me?"

A bushy-haired brunette smiled, flashing her straight, white teeth. "I promise, Harry. I'll never leave you on your own. You were my first best friend. Why would I abandon you?"

"Thanks, 'Mione. I knew I could count on you."

"No problem, Harry. No problem at all."

Harry gritted his teeth. His eyes went cross-eyed. His head tingled with pain. It was searing pain. Then another image slammed into Harry's head, knocking him back into his subconscious state of mind.

A redhead turned towards the bushy-haired brunette. "Will you do the honors?"

"With pleasure," she smiled cruelly, greed rolling off of her cinnamon brown eyes. "Imperio! Kill yourself now!"

Harry was left in a daze. After a few seconds, his vision went back to normal. Draco waved his hand in front of Harry again.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Harry assured Draco. "Don't worry, just tired."

"You're such a spoiled brat," Draco grinned.

Harry plastered a fake smile on his face and grinned back at his friend. However, he was panicking from the inside.

Harry looked at the book in front of him suspiciously. What had that been? A dream, or perhaps a vision? Did the new book have anything to do with these newly-found images?

After a few minutes, people started to leave. Harry was about to get up as well when someone tapped his shoulder.

Harry turned around. Not in the mood for chatting he abruptly responded. "Umm, can I help you?"

Hermione Granger flashed a cheeky smile. "Hello, I'm Hermione Granger. I'm a Gryffindor. Nice to meet you, Mr. Peverell."

Harry narrowed his eyes. He recognized the girl as being the same one from the Battle of Diagon Alley. The same girl from his . . . flashback? Or had it been a daydream? Harry frowned. Was he some sort of a seer?

Harry slowly bobbed his head. "Hello."

"I've read all about you in the Politics in the Wizarding World. Are you really the youngest and richest heir inside England?"

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Where the heck did you find out about this?"

"Politics in the Wizarding World. It's a book by –"

"Well, books aren't always correct," Harry interrupted. "And . . . is there something that you needed? Or are you here to flatter me?"

By the looks of it, she was probably just trying to befriend him for his status. Just like Ronald Weasley, aka Boron.

"Of course not, Lord Peverell. I'm just reaching out to you as a fellow classmate. I was wondering if we could be friends."

Friends? Harry looked at the girl and felt a sudden sense of hate. Her cheery mood only seemed to aggravate Harry even more. Hate ebbed into Harry's chest and congested his heart with a weight of great sadness.

Loving friends is an oxymoron. Love is woe. Friends are foes. A voice echoed inside of Harry's head. Don't trust her. Give me control.

"You want to be . . . my friend?" Harry asked uncertainly. He felt himself lose control to his inner dragon.

She nodded. "I can help you get used to school. And you shouldn't hang out with Black," she pointed towards Draco. "It ruins your reputation."

Harry growled. He lost even more control. His stomach began to do cartwheels. "Get lost," Harry spat, unable to hold in his emotions.

Hermione frowned. "Well, I was just introducing myself."

The people around the two of them began to observe them.

"You weren't trying to introduce yourself to my arse! You're a disgrace! To everyone!" Harry's voice decreased by several octaves. His ears started to burn with heat and hatred.

"Look, Peverell. I was just trying to be helpful. You should choose your friends more wisely. I can help you there."

Harry lashed out completely this time, not caring about the consequences. "Who the hell are you to tell me who to make friends with and who not to? Didn't you hear me, blood traitor?" Harry's eyes flashed yellow, scaring the hell out of the students around him. His aura flashed, catching the attention of the staff in the front of the hall. The goblets and platter around him began to vibrate, cracks appearing on several of the plates. "Leave!"

The girl huffed. "I thought you weren't prejudice. But I obviously thought wrong." With that, she stalked out of the Great Hall.

Harry gripped onto the wooden table. He heard murmurs ripple throughout the Great Hall. That was expected. He clenched his fists. His rigged nails dug deep into the palms of his hands.

Draco looked at Harry with a weird look. "Um, Harry . . . ?"

Harry closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and tried to keep himself calm. He felt the dragon within wrestling with him for control. He had the extreme urge to run after Granger and rip out her guts right there. Why exactly? – He had no idea.

Harry tried as hard as possible to restrain himself from transforming into his dragon form in the midst of the Great Hall. That would definitely create problems. No doubt, the ministry and press would try to get a hold of him.

He began to shake violently. Harry bit his tongue and swallowed hard. He thought of Aurora. She would have wanted him to remain calm. A shiver ran down Harry's spine as he began to cool down.

And then, Harry opened his eyes. He caught the gaze of hundreds of students staring at him. Including the faculty. The headmaster looked genuinely worried about his health. McGonagall threw him a hateful glare, thinking he was a prejudice bigot.

"Mr. Peverell Black, how dare you use such vile language in a conversation!" McGonagall stalked up o him, seething from anger. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Katie Bell glaring at him. This made his heart clench.

Harry gulped. He'd lost control of his temper. Keeping his cool, he said, "'Blood traitor' is not vile language." And with that, he stalked out of the Great Hall in the same fashion that Granger had. Draco rushed after him.

"Harry, wait up. What's wrong?"

Harry felt his eyes tearing up. Tears of pain. Tears of sorrow. Tears of hateful vengeance. Harry rushed into the nearest classroom and sank against the wall, letting out a small wail. The classroom automatically locked itself. It was as if Hogwarts knew that he wanted some privacy.

Harry James Potter Peverell Black had finally cracked. He was human, after all.

Or was he . . . ?