A/N: Hey guys, this is my second book (I know another werewolf, what can I say? I love them!) and this time it's a little different. This is quite literally Harry's entire school life in the POV of someone else, what I mean is that the events are the same but my OC doesn't follow Harry into them, he sees the aftermath. I think it's best to just write what I mean. Please enjoy and would love for you to follow/comment and let me know what you think ^^

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Harry Potter that credit goes to JK Rowling.

Chapter 1: The Beginning

For as long as Nathan Shaw could remember, he had a normal life and everything seemed to be like sunshine and daisys. However, that all changed in a heartbeat when during the family's camping trip, Nathan was bitten by a rather large dog. At the time no one knew what it was and Nathan was taken to St Mungo's. It was only there that he was told the devestating and life-changing news; he was a werewolf. The large dog they had seen was in fact a werewolf. However, the identity of the werewolf was unknown and would remain so for many years. Nathan was nine when this happened and from that day on, things were never quite the same. The luckiest part of all this was the fact that Nathan's family were so supportive and made sure that his life was as barable as it could. His father would make sure he had his Wolfsbane and his siblings would be protective of him and tried to make sure he didn't get into a trouble.

For the next couple of years, a rhythm was created and a routine started. It didn't look like anything was going to tear that up - or at least until the arrival of Nathan's Hogwarts letter. The young boy was excited, nervous, anxious and scared all rolled into one. How could someone like him go to Hogwarts? He was a monster. How could he be able to survive Hogwarts? His parents assured him that while he was Hogwarts, he would be looked after by Professor Dumbledore. They knew a boy once when they were at school who had lycanthropy just like he did and he managed to have a successful school life. If he could do it, then Nathan could. It was even pointed out that Nathan's closest friend Devon who was also aware of his condition was going to be in the same year and because of their loyalty to each other and their close bond, Devon promised to never let anything bad happen to Nate and he also promised to make sure Nathan took his Wolfsbane.

Seemed simple enough right? Well that was what they thought at the time.

Shortly before Nathan's departure to Hogwarts, the Shaw family and Devon went into Diagon Alley to buy everything that the boys would need for their first year at Hogwarts. Nathan was excited to be finally getting his own wand. His wand was a Walnut wood with a Phoenix Feather core, 12 1/2" and supple flexibility. Nathan twirled his wand over in his fingers and his eyes glistened with tears that threatened to fall because he overwhelmed with emotion. He couldn't believe he was finally going to Hogwarts. They bought their robes and got their hats. Nathan got an owl as a pet and Devon got a cat. The boys were finally done and their books were bought while they were buying their pets. With only days left to go until they were due to go to Howarts, Nathan and Devon made sure they had everything ready to go in their trunks.

When the day came for the boys to head off to Hogwarts, their trunks were packed and ready to go. Nathan was beginning to feel nervous again and Devon noticed his friend's look,

"It'll be alright you know." Devon said with a small smile,

"I know, it's still scary."

Devon nodded, he understood where his friend was coming from and actually agreed with him. The two boys grabbed their trunks, dragged them down the stairs and into the boot of the car. Nathan's friend had stayed over for the night because they wanted to go to the station together and while Devon was staying with Nathan, his own family were going to be at the station so they too could say goodbye to their son. As the boys walked down the platform, heading towards platform 9 and 10, Devon's parents appeared at the entrance and hugged their son.

"This is it," Nathan said, his eyes looking at the barrier in front of them.

Devon put a hand on his shoulder and gave his friend a reassuring smile,

"I'll first then yeah?" he offered with a wink and a little nod.

Nathan nodded back and watched as his best friend ran at the wall and then disappeared. His parents followed Devon's heels and they too were gone. Nathan's parents stood on either side of him and with a nod from his father, Nathan took off and ran towards the barrier. Darkness swallowed them but it didn't last long as they came out onto the other side and Nathan saw the beautiful steam train he had heard so much about. Nathan's older brother Elijah had already been in Hogwarts for a year and was waiting for his younger brother at the side of the train. Eli had followed Devon's idea and stayed over at his friend's house for the last night of the summer holidays and then waited for his family to arrive so that he could say goodbye to them before jumping onto the train. Nathan hugged his older brother who ruffled his hair as he returned the hug.

"You ready for your first year at Hogwarts?" Elijah asked and Nathan shrugged,

"I think so. Just a little nervous."

"If you weren't nervous, I would be surprised and shocked. I was just as nervous as you were last year and there's nothing to be worried about. All you do is try on a hat and it decides your house."

Fear flooded through Nathan's body as his brother explained how the hat worked. A hat decided his house? What sort of thing was that? Nathan couldn't stop worrying about what house he would be put into.

"What if I'm put into Slytherin?" Nathan suddenly asked and Elijah looked at his brother and shook his head,

"If I know anything about you, it's that you're not going to be put into Slytherin." Elijah assured Nathan.

There was some relief as Nathan started to think about what house he would like to be put into. If his brother was right then he had nothing to fear and as the whistle blew, Nathan turned and hugged his parents tight.

"I'll write to you as often as I can!" Nathan promised as he pulled himself away,

"You better!" his father replied with a wink, "Though we understand if it's only once a month. Just something to let us know how you are getting on."

Nathan nodded before jumping onto the train. He gave one last look over his shoulder and waved goodbye to his parents. They waved back and Nate turned to follow Elijah and Devon to a compartment. As Nathan ducked into the first empty compartment he saw, Elijah looked over his shoulder,

"I'm going to join my friends, I'll see you at the Feast."

Nathan nodded and smiled as he watched his brother's retreating back. Devon pushed his friend into the compartment and closed the sliding door. Nate sat down by the window and looked out, this was going to be an interesting year and he couldn't wait for it to get started. As the train rocked and rumbled, Nathan looked at Devon and grinned,

"I can't believe this is happening!"

"Me neither Nate, me neither."

The two boys sat opposite each other as the train left the station, tooting its horn and steam covering their view out of the window. Nathan was unsure of how this year would go but with the strong feeling of positivity, he felt like he didn't need to worry. Devon had his cat on the seat next to him and Nate was drawn to the countryside as the train rattled on towards Hogwarts. This was it. The time that they had been waiting for. Hogwarts was waiting for them.

As the train slowly pulled into Hogsmeade Station, Nathan and Devon were both dressed in their uniforms and beaming smiles on their faces. This was the moment that they would hop off the train and enter this whole new world. A world where friendships would be tested and loyalties known but no matter what happened, the two boys would always have each other's backs. They jumped off the train and joined the line of first years shuffling towards the end of the platform. Nathan turned back at the train that had carried them here from London and noticed his brother disembark from the carriage. He was dressed in his Ravenclaw robes and a proud smile crossed Nate's face. Elijah winked at Nate who returned the wink and then he disappeared in the crowd of older students.

From where they were standing, Nate could see a giant approach them and his eyebrow raised. If he wasn't a werewolf, he would have been surprised to see a giant up close like this but from the man's height and his knowledge of giants from his reading, the man couldn't be more than a half-giant. Still, it was pretty cool and Nathan was eager to see where the man would take them. He held a lantern in one hand and a smile on his face,

"Firs'-years over here! Firs'-years over here!"

His voice was loud enough that he didn't need to shout and those that happened to get off the back of the train could hear him too. He seemed like he would be nice to talk to, compared to the giants Nathan had read about.

"C'mon, follow me - any more firs'-years? Mind yer step now! Firs'-years follow me!"

"Dude, he's a giant!" Devon whispered with excitement,

"Half-giant," Nathan corrected with a smirk.

Devon rolled his eyes but only as a tease, he was aware of Nathan's intellect and how he had studied before their arrival at Hogwarts, in fact it was actually rather admiring and Devon wished he had the self-motivation to do it himself. Sometimes, it was good to have a friend who knew something, it would be useful for whenever Devon was struggling himself. The half-giant lead the group of first years to some boats and Nathan glanced at Devon. Devon wasn't a strong swimmer so hopefully, the boat didn't capsize or anything because that wouldn't be a good start to the year.

"Let's hope the boat doesn't capsize." Nathan whispered and Devon nodded, "I'd hate to see you fall in."

They joined another two people and stepped into the boat. Nathan frowned slightly as he looked around for some oars before realising that it would move by itself. Of course it does, Nathan thought to himself with a little chuckle. The other two people in the boat soon caught on and they found themselves in awe of how amazing it was. It wasn't every day that boats moved themselves.

"What are you looking forward to the most?" Devon asked and Nathan shrugged,

"Quidditch and just learning in general."

Nathan had a massive obsession of Quidditch. As a family, they were regular attendees of Quidditch games and loyal supporters of the Falmouth Falcons, which is their local team. Nate had always dreamed of playing Quidditch and now, he had a chance to play for his house and then one day, maybe play for the Falcons himself. Yes, he was only eleven but that didn't mean that he didn't have a dream of playing Quidditch professionally. Devon merely smiled, he should have known that his friend was interested in Quidditch, it was all he talked about when they were growing up.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at the other side and were soon walking up the marble staircase towards the top, where there was a stern-looking woman waiting for them. As they approached and huddled at the top of the stairs, Nathan looked at the woman and then glanced at Devon who shrugged and shook his head. Nate made a mental note not to mess with her, she looked like she would eat him for breakfast. The half-giant man spoke to her, saying that he had everyone and the woman replied that she would take them from there. She even called him Hagrid. Nathan watched as the man disappeared and repeated the man's name. Hagrid. For some reason, Nate felt like he'd be seeing the half-giant again some time.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. My name is Professor McGonagall" the stern-looking woman said and Nate listened to what she had to say intently, he didn't want to miss anything, "The start-of-term feast will begin shortly but before you can take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The sorting ceremony is very important because while you are here, your house will be like your family. You will have classes together, you will sleep together and spend your free time together."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Devon whispered and Nathan nodded, it really didn't.

"The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. While you are here, any triumphs and you will earn points for your house, while any rule breaking and you will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most amount of points will win the House Cup. The ceremony will begin shortly."

With that, the woman left them to themselves and disappeared behind the massive doors in front of them. Nathan had a feeling of sudden nervousness. What if he got put into the wrong house? Was there a wrong house? Would he be a Ravenclaw like his brother? Nate sighed, he really didn't know what to think and just hoped that he would be put into the right house.

"You okay mate?" Devon asked and Nathan nodded,

"I think so, you?"

"Nervous but yeah, good."

Nathan was glad that he had his best friend beside him, he would have hated to have gone through this on his own but there was still the chance that they would be put into different houses.

"What if we're put into different houses?" Nathan asked looking at his best friend,

"We will still be friends doofus and we'll find a way to spend time with each other and we'll have classes together."

Nate grinned at his friend's upbeat response. It was one of the things he liked about his friend, Devon always had an answer for something and always had a solution to any problem. It was brilliant. As Nathan looked around at the other first years, a blonde-haired boy walked to the front and started speaking to one of the boys at the very front. Nathan raised an eyebrow and shook his head, he didn't look like the type of person he would want to be friends with. It wasn't long though before the woman's return and this time, a scroll in her hand.

She stated that they were ready for them now and Nathan puffed out his chest with as much confidence as he could and followed his fellow first years into the Great Hall. The cieling had been transformed to look like the night sky and there were some candles floating in the air. It looked amazing and as they walked, Nathan could hear one of the girls explain how the sky had been transformed. He listened with interest but couldn't help think that she had somehow swallowed the book she had read from. She seemed like a know-it-all but to Nathan, that wasn't a bad thing. At least she had come prepared.

As they approached the end of the Hall, Nathan noticed a wooden stool and a tatty looking hat on the top. He figured that the hat was the Sorting Hat, something he had heard so much about. The woman ushered them closer and told them all to stay where they were. She then went onto explain that this was the Sorting Hat and that she would call out the names. This was really it and Nathan was close to being a student of Hogwarts than he had ever been before. The woman - who was named Professor McGonagall - called out the first name. Nate couldn't believe he had forgotten the Professor's name but was glad he remembered it. That serves him right for not paying attention. Professor McGonagall started calling out the names and Nate realised that he'd be near the bottom with his last name. Devon would be before him becuase his last name was Jones. There was definitely going to be a nervous wait between the two friends and Nathan wasn't sure he was prepared for that.

"Jones, Devon."

Nathan glanced at his friend and gave a reassuring smile before pushing him slightly towards the stool. He watched as Devon stepped up to the stool and sat down. The hat was placed on his head and Nate waited for the hat's decision. It didn't seem like a long time before the house was decided and the whole Hall heard it,

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

With a massive grin on his face, Nate had to avoid jumping up and down with excitement as he gave a nod towards Devon who looked just as excited to be joining the Hufflepuff table. Once his friend had take his seat, Nathan's attention was drawn back to the Sorting. He knew both Elijah and Devon would be watching and if he was sorted into Slytherin, he felt like he was going to melt into darkness. There was nothing good about Slytherins and while Nate was trying not to judge people based on their houses, it was a little hard when one looked at the Slytherin table and saw the faces that were there.

"Malfoy, Draco."

The blonde-haired boy from before walked up to the stool and plopped himself down. Nathan could see the air of confidence around the boy and he knew - as did probably everyone in the Hall - where he was going and it was no surprise when the hat finally spoke the house.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Nathan almost scoffed at the decision, it was almost inevitiable. Okay so maybe it was, either way the boy's confidence, the way he carried himself and his attitude from earlier was exactly the reason why Nathan didn't want go to into Slytherin. It just didn't seem like the right house for him. He wanted to be quiet, fly under the radar and just be a nobody. Professor McGonagall continued reading the names and Nathan was beginning to get more and more anxious the longer he had to wait for his name to be called out,

"Potter, Harry."

A raven-haired boy nervously walked up to the stool and quickly, the Hall quietened. You could literally have heard a pin drop it was that quiet. Nathan watched as he took his position up on the stool and looked out at everyone. Nathan - like the rest of the world - had known about Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived but had never actually seen him - or at least until now. He watched as Harry was sorted and was not surprised by the hat's decision.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Nathan watched as Harry joined the brown-haired girl from earlier - the one who had been explaining about the sky and how it was bewitched to look like the night sky - and he remembered her name; Hermione Granger. If he was being honest, Nathan felt like she should have been in Ravenclaw. She was smart enough to be but then again it just showed that not everyone matched the sterotypes of the houses. There was probably something brave and courageous about the girl that Nathan hadn't seen yet. It made him wonder about himself and what house he would be put into.

"Shaw, Nathan."

He had almost not heard his name and found himself in shock that the names had been read out so quickly. Nathan made a move before the Professor ended up repeating herself and walked up the steps to the stool. He turned and sat down, Professor McGonagall placing the hat onto his head. From where he was sat, Nathan could see Devon at the Hufflepuff table crossing his fingers and muttering under his breath and his brother Elijah sat at the Ravenclaw table with a smile on his face and pride in his eyes. Nathan took a deep breath and waited for the hat's decision.

"Your friendships will be tested over the years and your loyalty will be known to everyone. You may be a boy of mystery but the world will soon know how powerful you can be and no one will ever test your loyalty."

"What's that supposed to mean? I'm a nobody."

"You are far more than a nobody. You are a powerful wizard, you just don't know it yet."

"How will that determine my house?" Nathan asked, not believing in the hat's words. He was just a nobody who had a normal future like everyone else,

"You are destined for great things but it is your loyalty and desire to be somebody that will determine your house."

"Just as long as its not Slytherin, I'm happy."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Nathan almost jumped with joy and relief flooded him. For a moment he thought the hat was going to place him in Slytherin - it seemed like all the powerful wizards hailed from that house - but he was destined to be a Badger for the next seven years. He couldn't believe his luck and soon found himself sat opposite Devon and behind his brother. Devon grinned and winked while Elijah patted his brother's back.

"Never doubted it for a moment mate," Devon chuckled.

"You'll do well in Hufflepuff." Elijah said with a smile and a little nod.

Yes I will, Nathan proudly thought to himself but as he watched the rest of the sorting, his face dropped. For some reason, he couldn't quite get the hat's words out of his head. What did it mean that he would become a powerful wizard? He was just a nobody who has a desire to play Quidditch after leaving Hogwarts. Nathan just couldn't get the words out of his head and while he was so preoccupied with his thoughts and the conversation with the hat, he hadn't noticed his friend's concerned look or Albus Dumbledore's stare.

All Nathan wanted to know was how was this year going to turn out? Already, he was plagued with thoughts of this whole different world that he could be living in. Was the hat telling the truth? Was there more to him than he could see? He was nothing like Harry Potter so what made him so special?