The Dark Lord cursed at his pathetic excuse of a servant. Wormtail had, in his fear of the giant snake, accidentally messed up the potion he was ordered to make. Voldemort considered torturing his servant but decided against it only because tremoring hands would impair his already poor brewing even further.

"You meager excuse of a servant," Voldemort told him, "start the potion again and brew it perfectly this time or I will have Nagini kill you slowly."

Pettigrew quickly vanished the remains of his failed potion and began brewing it again immediately. With Barty Crouch Jr. out of the picture, Voldemort had no real followers to help him advance his plans. It was time, he decided, to take a calculated risk.

"Wormtail!"

"Yes master?" the rat-like man replied immediately, fear evident in his eyes.

"There has been a change of plans. I need you to visit Malfoy Manor, but you need to be very discreet. Let no one except Lucius see you. You are to tell him that his master requires his presence along with strength potions. Also tell him to bring his family books on the dark arts. Show him your arm as proof that I am back."

After saying that, Voldemort pressed his wand with the little strength he had left and created a dark mark tattoo on his servant's arm. "You are lucky Wormtail. You have received this mark without needing to go through initiation. Do not disappoint me now or it will be the last thing that you do. Now go!"

Wormtail quickly left the shed in the Romanian woods where they were staying. He sighed and wondered how he had gotten into such a huge mess. The Dark lord had not given him the Dark Mark as a reward. The tattoo assured he could not run away and live a pardoned life. He apparated away to the nearest port and sought a ferry to England where he would stow away as a rat.

SPACER

It had been 4 days since she had spilled her heart to Harry Potter. She had told him things she had never even told her sister and distinctly remembered the conversation.

"You alright? You seem lost in your thoughts. Need someone to talk to?" he had asked her.

Normally, she would have told him to shove it and go away. However, Daphne was so close to her breaking point that she spilled every detail to him. "I'm actually thinking about my parents. They're so infuriating but at the same time I know that being mad at them is unreasonable. Can you believe they are having a third child without ever consulting me, their eldest daughter?"

Harry looked at her but said nothing, thinking it wiser to let her continue her rant.

"And after all that my mom decides to practically adopt some American prodigy apparently without discussing it either. In fact, he will probably be joining us at Hogwarts soon! Can you believe it, an American at Hogwarts? That has never happened before, and of course I will be forced to take him under my wing since my parents will probably force me to. I never wanted any of this!"

After judging that she was done with her rant, Harry asked her quite simply, "Why does having them in your house bother you so much?"

As much as she had tried to answer that same question to herself, she was caught off guard by his question. She took a minute to think about it while Harry waited patiently. Finally, when she was growing desperate after not having an answer, she blurted out, "If I have a younger brother then I won't be head of the Greengrass family."

Had she put more conviction behind her words, he might have believed her. Had he believed her, he would have left her sitting there as she would give up the gift of family for money and power. Instead, he replied, "I have never had a family and I wish I could have siblings. You do not seem to be the type of person that would be ungrateful of that gift. I know just how important having a family can be and I know the yearning of wanting a sibling. There has to be a deeper reason and I suspect that you know it already."

He slowly moved over to her and placed his hand on top of hers. "You'll feel much better after you say it… Daphne."

Instead of berating him for saying her first name or pulling her hand back she simply confessed, "I do not want to lose my place in the family. My parents are going to be so focused on the new kids that they might forget about me."

When she realized that she had confessed her deepest secret to him. She pulled her hand away and ran off leaving a stunned Harry Potter to sit on the bleachers and think about what she had told him and how honest the 'Ice Queen' had been with him.

Daphne found herself revisiting the memory often. During lunch on that sunny Friday afternoon, her memory was interrupted by her regal owl Apollo who seemed to be feeling especially impatient. As soon as Daphne untied the letter from his leg and fed him an owl treat, he sped off towards the Owlery. Before Daphne could even open the letter her blonde little sister rushed to her side.

"What does it say?" asked an excited Astoria.

Daphne said nothing and merely opened the letter and began to read, though she left room for Astoria to read as well. Both sisters finished reading at the same time.

"Bloody hell," murmured Daphne as she nearly slammed her head on the table but was stopped by her primitive Occlumency training.

Astoria's reaction was much different. "He's coming today! I'm so curious!" she practically shouted before returning to the Ravenclaw table.

SPACER

William sat by the Floo in the Greengrass' living room idly conversing with his new "parents" while waiting for Professor Dumbledore to pick him up. He had arrived from the airport (as he did not enjoy portkey travel) minutes earlier and had been picked up by Mr. Greengrass who promptly apparated him to the manor minutes before Dumbledore was scheduled to

"How was your trip William? I do hope you arrived well on the muggle airplane," asked Mr. Greengrass.

William was still nervous around the man who would be his temporary guardian while he resided in England. Thus, he responded, "It was alright sir. We did get delayed on the runway but that is common for such a large airport. We hit some turbulence upon entering Britain but I actually enjoyed it. It felt like a roller coaster."

Seeing that her husband was not following all of his Muggle references, Mrs. Greengrass entered the conversation to save both males from embarrassment. "William you can call us Scarlette and Gareth. You are now part of our family and I do hope that someday you might be comfortable enough to call us mom and dad."

"I don't think I'm ready for that… especially with what happened to my family. But I do agree that it would be easier to be familiar with each other. You can both call me Will."

The two elder Greengrasses shared a look and a small smile. He had been thrust into a new environment and thus Will was still slightly afraid. They would get through to him eventually and encourage him to lower his formal behavior. Someday, he might even tell them more about his past.

Before they could say anything else to him Dumbledore appeared from the shimmering green flames. "Good evening Lord and Lady Greengrass. I do hate to intrude on new family time but we must get going before Mr. Solo's sorting."

William was still shocked after hearing Dumbledore refer to his new parent as "Lord." His life could either be a lot better or worse now. Finally, he snapped out of it and replied formally, "Good evening. You must be professor Dumbledore. I was fascinated to see your name on a reference to the many uses of dragon's blood. Truth be told I tried to research your sorting process but I am at a loss as to what it could be."

Dumbledore's eyes shimmered at his new pupil's love for knowledge. Perhaps he would make a wonderful Ravenclaw. "That is something that you will find out for yourself. When you are done saying your goodbyes, simply say 'Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts' and you will be transported there."

After saying that, Dumbledore exited through the Floo to give his new pupil time to say goodbye. Scarlette raised an eyebrow at her new son. "Mr. Solo huh? Is that what you registered as?"

Will gave a small smile and shrugged. "My mentor recommended I change my last name. It seemed less obvious than Skywalker."

While his wife smiled, Gareth seemed at a loss. He was not caught up in Muggle culture as well as his wife. "Well then Will, or shall I say Mr. Solo, we will eagerly await your letters and hope that you enjoy Hogwarts. You will meet our two daughters soon enough. I have asked my eldest to give you a tour. I will see you in the summer."

Tentatively, Scarlette approached Will and gave him a reassuring hug and was happy when he returned it. Gareth handed him his three shrunk trunks and shook his hand, allowing Will to become more accustomed to him instead of diving right in like his wife.

William thanked them and stood in the fireplace. "Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts," was the last thing he said before disappearing in a green fiery swirl.

SPACER

Daphne Greengrass sat in the Great Hall looking more anxious than she ever had. Tracey had picked up on her mood and had asked her why she looked like her owl had been kicked. Daphne did not even grin at her friend's attempt at humor and simply stated, "You will find out after dessert."

Sure enough, after all of the students had finished dessert and were standing up to leave, Professor Dumbledore stood up and moved to stand in front of the student body. "I would kindly ask you to seat yourselves," he stated in a voice that boomed across the Great Hall. Murmurs arose as this was not a usual request. "We have a new student arriving today all the way from the United States of America, a feat that has not occured in Hogwarts history."

At this announcement, murmurs began spreading across the Great Hall. Few noticed that Professor McGonagall was absent from her chair. Hermione, however, did notice and said, "They're going to sort him alone in front of the school! Poor guy. I really hope he blends in. This has got to be nerve wrecking."

Dumbledore finally boomed, "Silence! I would like to introduce to you all our new student: William Solo!"

At this announcement, McGonagall opened the doors of the Great Hall and walked next to the visibly nervous boy while carrying the Sorting Hat. She was irritated at Dumbledore for having him take the walk alone from the Great Hall entrance instead of entering through the staff door from behind the table. The boy was surely going to be scared.

When Will reached the headmaster, Mcgonagall said, "Please sit down for your sorting Mr. Solo, we will place the Sorting Hat on your head to determine your house."

The whole Hall was silent and no one had mentioned that there was no stool for Will to sit in. Panicking under the awkward silence, he resorted to humor and stated boldly, "Am I to assume the gold throne is for me to sit in?"

The entire school was shocked at his words but Dumbledore chuckled and said, "Well, since you mentioned it you may sit in my throne for the sorting. You are, after all, the first student to ask. I daresay that your courage might have you placed in Gryffindor."

The entire Hall was shocked to hear this and the Gryffindors seemed hopeful to have a new face in the mix. McGonagall smiled at the thought of having a new cub. Flitwick, who had been told by Dumbledore about the boy's love of research, was hoping to secure a new raven into his nest.

The Great Hall received a shock when, after two minutes on the boy's head, the hat proclaimed "Slytherin!"

Polite clapping emanated from the Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin tables. Gryffindor was silent. William sat down in an open seat near the end of the table and simply waited for dinner to end as most of his Housemates were eyeing him up and down.

When everyone began to leave the Hall, Will was approached by Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle who dragged him aside to a side corridor. Unbeknownst to them, three witches were following closely.

After they assumed they were not followed Malfoy said, "Welcome to Slytherin. You may not know this, but I am in charge in Slytherin. You would do best to listen to me."

William almost laughed at this. The posh accent Malfoy attempted to use made him sound like an idiot. "My guess is that here in England you're considered posh. In America you'd just be called a prick. I won't let you bully me around."

"My father will hear about this Solo. I bet you're a filthy mudblood too."

"If you refer to me having Muggle parents, then yes I am. That does not mean I can't defend myself from the likes of you. Go on now and cry to daddy."

At this, Malfoy became enraged and pulled out his wand. Before he could even cast a spell Will had pulled out his wand and stunned him. He turned to face Crabbe and Goyle. "Do you two want the same or will you take him back to your dormitory?"

Without their leader, Crabbe and Goyle fled and left Malfoy behind on the floor. "That's a strange wand you have there," called a voice from the shadows. Will pointed it at the voice.

"Show yourself, I'm a bit on edge because of this blonde prick."

Hermione came out of the shadows and raised her hands to show she was unarmed. As Will began putting his wand away she told him, "Please don't put it away William, I've never seen a wand made out of metal before."

That seemed to break the ice as William went into a scientific explanation. "It's crafted out of Palladium and has a phoenix feather core. It is truly one of a kind. Palladium is extremely conductive of magic due to its atomic density and size very similar to silver and it purifies magic as it goes through the wand to focus raw power to ensure pure magic is the only energy to pass through."

Hermione seemed fascinated by the idea and made a connection. "So that's why I didn't see any light come out of your wand! I had noticed your spell was invisible. Does that mean light energy is transformed by the wand?"

"I see you have a knowledge of chemistry. Yes, it functions like that. The excess light energy is converted into magical energy which makes spells more powerful. The invisibility of the spells is particularly useful as opponents do not see a projectile. Unfortunately it is quite difficult to practice aiming when you do not see your target so I am still working on it."

"My name is Hermione by the way! You should show me that wand of yours sometime! I need to study it."

William raised his eyebrows at her and she blushed when she realized what she had said. "I didn't mean it like that!"

He gave her a playful smile. "I know you didn't. Do you perhaps know how to get to the Slytherin common room? I was supposed to meet with a girl named Greengrass according to my foster parents but I have not been able to find her."

"I don't know where the Slytherin dorms are as they don't like us Gryffindors very much, but I can help you search for Greengrass. I assume you're looking for Daphne? She's in Slytherin too."

"I don't know. I do think she would have found me in the Hall. I guess I could always find my way to Dumbledore's office."

"Speaking of Dumbledore that was brave of you to ask up there. I fully expected you to become a Gryffindor after that," she said with a slight undertone of disappointment.

Her response was cut off by a third year in blue robes. "Hi Will! I was totally not listening to your conversation with my sister behind that wall. I insisted we come find you earlier but she insisted on waiting. Can you believe she didn't let me help you when Malfoy pulled his wand? I guess you didn't need the help but we're supposed to be helping you. I'm Astoria Greengrass by the way!"

William was shocked at first but quickly recovered and responded, "Nice to meet you Astoria. I guess you're my sister now?" he asked slightly disappointed.

Astoria moved her hand through her blonde hair and looked at his hazel eyes with her own blue ones. "Wellll… you could consider me a friend instead of a sister. We aren't related after all."

As Daphne finally approached Astoria winked before saying, "Good night Will! Enjoy the snake's den! Granger you should go too, I'm sure Daphne and Will have a lot to discuss."

Both girls said their goodbyes and returned to their respective dorms. Daphne on the other hand, approached Will and said, "So you're the new addition to our household." He noticed that she did not say family like the others.

"Yes, I am. My name is William. You can call me Will like your sister if you'd prefer."

Resentment at how even her sister seemed to like him bubbled inside Daphne. Her parents had raised her to be polite but in this instance she was too angry to care. Though it was not visible on the outside, Daphne was directing all her resentment at him. "Let's go Solo, your common room is this way." She turned on her heel and walked towards the common room without looking to see if Will was following.

I guess their eldest is not too happy to have me here, he thought. He brushed his hand through his blonde and brown hair and followed the angry blonde. If only she weren't so pretty I'd be angry for her rudeness. On the bright side, she does not even consider me family… I am, after all, merely 'another pathetic life form to her'. Little did he know that Daphne had said those exact same words about him.

SPACER

Lucius was annoyed that Peter Pettigrew had arrived at his house. He was going to curse him before he rolled up his sleeve. Pettigrew proclaimed, "The Dark Lord requires your presence in Romania. We are to leave at once with your family tomes on dark magic and strengthening potions. If you fail to come the Dark Lord will remember your hesitation when he returns to full power."

Lucius hid his fear and pretended to be glad about the news. "Wonderful! I have been waiting for his return. I will be joining him shortly with whatever he requires."

As he walked to his library Lucius Malfoy inwardly cursed. His wealth, power, and family redemption were about to be gutted by the Dark Lord who he secretly hoped was dead. Now, in order to protect his family, Lucius was forced to obey. Before leaving, he sent a Patronus to his wife. "He is back. I must go to him or risk our family's safety. Prepare an explanation for my absence."