The Devil in Me

I Am Who I'm Meant to Be

The chapter title is from the song:

This is Me by Keala Settle from "The Greatest Showman"

2 Days after Harry's Basilisk Isolation Time Began...

The table in the dining room of Malfoy Manor was almost full. The air was still with anticipation; Hogwarts students would be going back to school the following day. Their regime now had the Ministry, and they would soon have a hold on the school. It felt like the beginning of an era.

One seat at the table was empty, and it was not Voldemort's. This was unusual because Voldemort did not usually tolerate tardiness.

"Where is your favourite pet, my lord?" Bellatrix sneered, her eyes on the empty seat.

"He is carrying out an important task," Voldemort said, his scarlet eyes on Bellatrix, "I assure you, Bellatrix, he will be here in due time. Until then, I suggest that we begin."

Nobody objected, so Voldemort leant back in his chair and reached down, gently stroking Nagini's head, "As you all know, tomorrow the students of Hogwarts will return to new leadership. Severus and I have made some changes to the staffing of the school, beginning with the removal of the muggle lover Burbage."

Some of the Death Eaters jeered at that, but Voldemort silenced them by raising a hand.

"Replacing her will be Alecto Carrow," Voldemort said, bowing his head at the hag-like woman, "Muggle Studies will become a mandatory class, and we will teach wizarding children about the horrors that Muggles have committed against our kind. I want to clarify to you, Alecto, that I do not wish you to brainwash these children. I want you to teach the facts, to teach them about the persecution we faced under the Muggles, rather than learning about how the likes of Grindelwald enslaved them."

Alecto nodded, "I understand, my lord."

Voldemort nodded and looked out at his followers, "I have replaced Defence Against the Dark Arts with two mandatory subjects – Offensive Magic and Defensive Magic. Amycus Carrow will teach Offensive Magic."

Amycus nodded eagerly.

"You will teach the children all kinds of offensive magic, Amycus, but only at the appropriate level," Voldemort instructed, "There is no use attempting to teach first years how to cast unforgivable curses after all."

"Yes, my lord," Amycus promised.

"One of our more recent recruits will teach Defensive Magic," Voldemort said, his eyes falling on one of the three Weasley's at the table, "William Weasley."

Bill looked up in surprise, "Me, my lord?"

Voldemort kept his gaze on the Weasley, "It has come to my attention that the students who will gravitate towards that class are those from light or neutral families. It would do no good to have a notably dark wizard teach that class, but they will trust someone such as yourself, and if they trust you or respect you, then they shall see that our ways are not so different from their own."

Bill bowed his head, "I am honoured, my lord, and I will not fail you in this task."

Voldemort narrowed his eyes, "I should hope not, for if you do, you will suffer the consequences of your failure."

Finally, he looked over at the Malfoys, "Narcissa, you shall be my eyes and ears in the school. You will be in the perfect position to gain the students' trust as the school's new matron."

Narcissa and Lucius both looked surprised by this offer of employment.

"You would trust me with such an important role, my lord?" Narcissa asked quietly.

"Frankly, Narcissa, I would trust you more than I would trust your husband," Voldemort said, his eyes on Lucius, "We all know that he is on his final chance, having failed me time and time again."

Lucius swallowed and looked down, but he said nothing.

"Your loyalty is unwavering, Narcissa," Voldemort said, his voice relatively soft, "As is your sisters."

At this, Bellatrix shone with pride and sat up a little straighter.

You have a soft spot for those Black women.

Voldemort ignored Harry's voice as it irritatingly prodded into his mind. During his isolation in a dark cell, Harry had become rather adept at worming his way into Voldemort's mind.

"I believe it is time to reward you for that," Voldemort finished.

"Thank you, my lord," Narcissa said, "It is truly an honour."

Voldemort bowed his head and looked to the door just as it opened. Everyone at the table turned around at the intrusion, and some shrieked in horror at the sight before them.

Harry had just stepped into the room looking a little more haggard than usual, but that had a lot to do with the 24 hours in a dark cell with only a newly hatched snake for company. As it turned out, snakes were not born with the ability to talk in coherent parseltongue. The snake in question was draped around his neck and had grown exponentially in size over the past 24 hours.

"Oh, don't get your knickers in a twist," Harry said with a roll of his eyes, "She can't kill you by looking at you, she's only a baby."

Voldemort suppressed an amused smirk and instead raised an eyebrow at Harry, "You are late."

"Forgive me, my lord, I have had a snake feeding off of my life force, literally, for the past 24 hours," Harry said, taking his seat at Voldemort's side, I slept through my alarm call.

Voldemort gave Harry a look – he couldn't tell if he was amused or if it was more of a long-suffering look, "Yes, as you can see – Harry is in charge of this young Basilisk. While he is at Hogwarts, he will care for it and return it to the Chamber of Secrets; this is what my ancestor – Salazar Slytherin – would have wanted."

The Death Eaters nodded and made noises of approval, but Voldemort did not let them go on for long, "On that note, I dismiss all bar those of you who will be returning to Hogwarts as students this year."

The adults left, leaving only Harry, Draco, Theo and Blaise at the table with Voldemort. Draco and Theo looked a little scared about this, Harry was quite relaxed and Blaise, well not much phased him.

"I want to make it clear that there will be a hierarchy at Hogwarts, as there is here," Voldemort said, his voice was cold and high, "You answer to Harry. If he gives you an order, you will treat it as if it were my own. Is that clear?"

"Yes, my lord," The three Slytherins echoed.

Voldemort gave them a pleased nod, "You are aware that Harry is returning to Hogwarts with the sole aim of recruiting new followers, and I expect you to aid him in that task. Before this year is through, there will be no neutral families. People will either stand with me or against me."

Harry nodded, "And that begins and ends with one family. They are the first domino, when they fall, others will follow."

Voldemort bowed his head in agreement.

"The Greengrass's," Draco said quietly.

"Indeed," Voldemort said, he leant back, and Nagini slithered up onto the table, glancing warily at Artemis as she did so.

"The Blacks have always controlled the courts, and the Malfoys have never stopped dabbling in politics," Voldemort continued.

"As you all know, getting those two families to work with me was rather easy, but there has always been one crucial piece of the puzzle missing."

"The economy," Harry said.

"The Greengrass's have always controlled the economy, regardless of what the goblins think," Voldemort agreed, "With them on our side, we will be unstoppable."

There was a short silence as the youngsters wondered what to say to that.

"Naturally, you can understand how angry I would be should any of you fail me this year," Voldemort said, his eyes falling on Draco, "Isn't that so?"

"Yes, my lord," Draco said, his tongue darting out nervously to lick his dry lips.

"We will not fail you, my lord," Harry said, meeting Voldemort's eye, that's a promise.

Voldemort bowed his head, "Dismissed."

Stay, Harry.

The other three got up, and Draco paused at the door for Harry. He looked back into the room, and Harry shook his head at the blonde boy. With a brisk nod, Draco left with Theo and Blaise.

Nagini hissed angrily at Artemis and Voldemort rolled his eyes. He switched to parseltongue and hissed, "Nagini, do not be so petty. She is both a baby and biologically, a snake. You, my darling, are so much more."

Harry frowned, "What do you mean?" he asked in parseltongue.

Nagini turned her eyes on Harry – he had always found those eyes to be very human, and very knowing. It reminded him of when Sirius had looked at him in his dog form.

"I was not always a snake. There was a time, long ago, when I was human."

Harry's eyes widened, "Human?"

Voldemort nodded, "Nagini is a Maledictus, the victim of a blood curse."

Harry did remember reading about them in a book about dark magic that he had found in the library of Malfoy Manor, "That's terrible, Nagini, I'm sorry."

Nagini turned to Voldemort, "The young one is sorrowful?"

"Sometimes," Voldemort replied, "We are trying our best to amend that."

Harry chuckled and apologised in English, "Sorry, my lord."

"You are young; you will learn," Voldemort said, his eyes on the wary Basilisk on Harry's shoulders, "Does she speak?"

Harry shook his head, "Not any sense – it's like baby talk. I get the odd word like 'rat' or 'dark'. I was talking to her in parseltongue when I was in the basement. I was telling her stories; I thought it might help."

"It has certainly helped with your pronunciation," Voldemort mused, "You ought to keep a journal. It would be interesting to see how a Basilisk develops in its early years, so much about the process is unknown. I will give you an old leatherbound one of mine before you depart tomorrow."

Harry nodded, "This is going to sound strange, but do you mind if I use the soul-link to talk to you while I'm at Hogwarts? I've kind of…well, I've kind of gotten used to it and I might…" he shrugged, "You know?"

Voldemort raised an eyebrow, "Miss me?"

Harry rolled his eyes, "Need your advice; that's what I was going to say."

Voldemort snorted softly, a rather ungracious sound of amusement, "Yes, you may use it, but if I do not reply, do not get offended. I am a busy man, Harry."

"Yes, I know that," Harry said, he felt very awkward all of a sudden and wished he hadn't brought it up at all. He was dreading going back to Hogwarts - having to spend time with his old Gryffindor 'friends' and being ripped so far away from the solid companion he had found in Draco.

Voldemort sighed, "I doubt you will be as far away from him as you expect. I have requested a re-sorting on your behalf."

Harry looked up, "A re-sorting?"

"One of the first books I had you read was "Hogwarts: A History", I can see that you read it intently," Voldemort said sarcastically.

"My head was all over the place in the early days," Harry reminded Voldemort.

He seemed to take this excuse because he bowed his head in a slight nod, "One can request a re-sorting, or their parent or guardian can on their behalf. The circumstances require the individual to have gone through a significant change."

Harry laughed and automatically touched his left arm, "Well, I've certainly done that."

Voldemort chuckled, "I think we both know where you will end up."

"Where I should have been all along," Harry agreed with a nod.

Voldemort smiled slightly, "Indeed."

Harry rose and paused, "Since I doubt you will be seeing me off at the platform tomorrow, I want to take this chance to thank you," he turned to look at Voldemort, "For taking me in when you could have killed me where I stood and…for everything since then."

Voldemort seemed unsure how to take this real show of emotion from Harry. He gave him a brisk nod, "You are welcome."

That seemed to be all that needed to be and was going to be said. With a nod, Harry left the Dark Lord alone in the dining room.

On the 1st of September, Harry got up and packed his belongings into a trunk that Lucius and Narcissa had gifted him. It was the same as Draco's, only with Harry's initials on it. He headed downstairs and ate breakfast with the Malfoy's – as he suspected, Voldemort was not present. It was a pleasant, ordinary morning, as he assumed most wizarding families had on the first day of term, the experience was a bit surreal.

"Lucius, are you coming with us this year, darling?" Narcissa asked as the 'family' were preparing to leave.

"Of course," Lucius replied, pulling on a heavy cloak, "This is the last time I will be able to see Draco off, after all."

Draco smiled, and Harry felt a pang of envy that he quickly pushed down. Together they apparated to Kings Cross and made their way onto Platform 9 ¾. It looked much like it did every other year, no Death Eaters patrolling the platform, no Dementors flying around sucking the joy out of the kids. Harry stuck by Draco and scanned the platform nervously, hoping he wouldn't see Mrs Weasley or Neville.

"Onto the train, quickly, my love," Narcissa murmured. She pulled Draco into a hug and kissed him on the cheek, "I will keep my distance this year. I do not want to intrude."

Draco smiled, "Thank you, Mother."

Lucius clapped his son on the shoulder and looked him in the eye, "Make us proud this year."

"I will, Father," Draco promised.

Harry felt awkward amongst the family and their goodbyes. He was just about to slip away when Narcissa gently gripped his wrist and pulled him into a hug. Harry was shocked because it had come as a complete surprise to him. He froze in her warm embrace and took a moment to marvel at how different this hug was from the ones Molly gave him every year. For a woman who Harry had once thought so cold, she exuded warmth, and it didn't feel like she was trying to suffocate him.

Narcissa kissed his cheek softly and looked him in the eye, "Keep your head above water and if it gets too much, in here," she tapped a long fingernail against his head, "Talk to Severus."

"I will, thank you," Harry said with a grateful smile.

"Good luck," Lucius said, giving Harry a small nod.

Harry nodded back, then Draco said, "Come on, before any of your old friends show up."

Harry followed him onto the train, but they did not stick together for long. Draco wanted to find Theo, and Harry needed to go to the Head Boy and Girl carriage to meet his leading lady for the year.

Thankfully, the carriage was close to the engine, so he didn't pass anyone he knew on his way there. When he stepped inside, the Head Girl was already there. She looked up at him with curious dark blue eyes and smiled knowingly. She cocked her head at him, snapped her book shut and said.

"Harry Potter, back from the dark side. So, did they have cookies?"

Harry looked at the little Ravenclaw girl, his lips quirking up in amusement. She wasn't little in terms of being young, but she was short and remarkably ballsy for her size. She was quite the embodiment of Rowena Ravenclaw herself with her jet black hair, pale skin and deep blue eyes. The way she looked at him as if she knew him and could see into his soul, it suggested wisdom beyond her years.

"Lillian Moon," Harry said, throwing himself onto the bench seat opposite her, "I think I'm going to like you."

She said nothing. She just surveyed him with knowing eyes.

"They have something much better than cookies, by the way," Harry said offhandedly, "They have knowledge and teachers, or mentors if you will. I have learned about branches of magic that I had never even heard of before this summer."

Lily raised an eyebrow at him, "And what else have you been doing this summer?"

"I'm sure you're itching to find out, but unfortunately I can't tell you just yet," Harry said, leaning back in the bench seat.

Lily smirked, "Who would have thought one summer could have made you so boring? All the same, I think I have a pretty good idea."

"Is that so?" Harry asked, his eyes locking onto hers.

Lily leant forward, "I'm going to hazard a guess and say that you got a new tattoo this year?" her eyes flitted towards his left arm which was currently hidden by the sleeve of his shirt, "And a new fashion sense, have you been sleeping with Draco Malfoy?"

Harry chuckled, "As much as he may want me to, no. That's Theodore Notts job."

Lily snorted, her eyes still on his, "New tattoo or not; I'm still not sure if you went all the way. Is Anakin Skywalker dead, am I talking to Darth Vader now?"

Harry chuckled at the Star Wars pun, "Harry Potter as you knew him is dead. The parts of my personality that make me vulnerable are gone. It was the Dark Lords insurance plan. He couldn't have me betraying him after all, could he?"

"No, I suppose not," Lily mused, "Harry Potter referring to the man who murdered his family as the Dark Lord…well, haven't the tables turned?"

"Entirely," Harry said with an easy smile, "For the better at that. I can finally see clearly now that Dumbledore isn't here to confound me or have silly little girls slip me love potions."

Lily hummed, "Ginny Weasley, I suppose? Or was it Granger? Both seemed infatuated with you at various points."

Harry regarded that comment with interest, "It was Ginny, but Hermione helped her brew the potion. I'm surprised that you referred to her as 'Granger' you know? I thought you were friends."

"I don't have friends," Lily said with a shrug, "I have people I like and people I don't. I have people who are useful to me, people who might be useful to me one day and people who are dispensable."

"Where do I fall into that category?" Harry asked curiously.

"Up until five minutes ago, you were dispensable," Lily admitted, "But as it stands, I'm re-evaluating, chiefly because I think you had something to do with the fact I became Head Girl this year."

"Me?" Harry asked, kicking his legs out and getting comfortable on the bench seat, "I'm not the Headmaster, what input could I possibly have had?"

Lily watched him as he wandlessly levitated a case with several holes poked into it, towards him, "Something tells me that you didn't get Head Boy because of your boyish looks and charm."

Harry grinned, "You noticed my growth spurt?"

"A few months ago, you were barely an inch taller than me, and now you tower over me," Lily said, eying him carefully, "Your eyesight has been fixed, you're…different."

"Stronger," Harry agreed with a nod, "Mentally and physically."

"So whoever has been training you, has also been taking care of you," Lily concluded, "Implying that they care for you. Therefore, you pull strings with someone high up."

Harry grinned, "You are smart. Honestly, the quiet girls like you get no credit while everyone is spouting off shit about Hermione Granger being the smartest witch of her age."

Lily raised an eyebrow at him.

Harry cocked his head and asked, "Since you are so smart and perceptive, what do you see when you look at me?"

Lily was silent for a moment. The final whistle sounded, and the train began to pull away, but neither of them moved to the window to wave goodbye to anyone. After all, neither of them had any family to wave goodbye to.

"I see someone who is smarter than he wants anyone to know," Lily answered, "And with the more irrational side of your personality locked away, you're logical and methodical. I think we might get on rather well too."

Harry smiled warmly; he did like Lily. She reminded him of Reyna, but unlike Reyna, she wasn't off-limits, and he would be spending a great deal of time with her over the next year.

"You are right, about me knowing someone up high," Harry said, "That person is the Dark Lord himself, somehow, I have managed to get in his favour this summer, and I fully intend to do everything in my power to stay there."

Lily kept her composure wonderfully, and Harry admired her for it.

"And what does that have to do with me?" Lily asked, "How can a filthy mudblood be part of your grand plan?"

Harry shook his head, "No, you don't see the big picture yet, but you will. You are so much more than a filthy mudblood. You, Lillian Moon, are the key. You are everything; you set an example. You show everyone in this school that the Dark Lord is merciful, that he values all witches and wizards for their intelligence and magical power, not because of their blood."

Lily frowned, "So he doesn't hate Muggle-borns, and I'm the chess piece you're going to use to show the world that?"

Harry shrugged, "It's more complicated than that, but in essence, yes. You are going to open his eyes; you are a Muggle-born, a smart, capable, powerful Muggle-born who I suspect hates Muggles as much as I do."

Lily's frown deepened, "Okay, I'm confused. Are you working for him or not?"

Harry smirked, "I'm working with him, and in time, you will understand why."

Lily didn't question him any further, "What did you mean, about Muggles?"

"I know your tragic backstory," Harry said, surveying her, "Your dad got your mum pregnant, out of wedlock," he tutted, "Then he ran off because he didn't want to deal with the consequences. So your mum became an alcoholic, and then a nasty boyfriend got her into drugs. She neglected you, and I suspect her boyfriends abused you-"

Lily crossed the carriage and held her wand to his throat.

"I don't care if you're a Death Eater, I don't care if you're Voldemort's right-hand man, I will not let you speak to me like that," she hissed as she pressed the tip against the soft flesh of his throat, "Those bastards tried, they all tried, and every single one of them regretted it!"

Harry smiled slightly, not at all phased by the wand at his throat.

"So, I was right. We do have a lot in common. We do hate Muggles as much as each other."

Harry grabbed her wand and pushed it and her hand to the side, pressing himself into her to stop her from pulling away, "Do you want to hear the story of how I murdered my abusive Muggle family? It might give you some ideas."

Lily's eyes flashed, but she loosened her grip on her wand, "You're too late for that. I killed one of them when I was ten and the other when I was thirteen."

Harry sat up straight and looked her in the eye, "How?"

"You can control accidental magic, if you're smart enough," Lily whispered, her eyes still on his, "If you understand what's happening to you, if you're calm enough, you can channel it."

Her hand burned hot against the skin on Harry's shoulder, but he didn't flinch.

"You can channel it all into your hands and with one touch," Lily whispered, trailing her hand down until it was over his heart, "You can burn the life out of the deadbeat piece of shit who wants you to call him Daddy."

Harry placed his hand over Lily's and whispered a spell that she had never heard, in a language that she did not even understand. Her hand stopped burning, but she didn't move it, just like she didn't take her eyes away from Harry's.

Harry's eyes moved down her face, settling on her lips for one brief second before they both moved at the same time – lips crashing together in a harsh kiss that was all teeth on lips, tongues fighting tongues, and hands grabbing at clothes. She had been leaning over him, virtually on his lap anyway, so getting her there hadn't been difficult. Harry moved his lips from hers to her neck, and a feeble hiss came from the box behind her.

Harry rolled his eyes at the intrusion and hissed in parseltongue, "Open."

Lily pulled back and looked at him in surprise. Harry's eyes were focused on a spot over her shoulder, "You can come out now."

Lily watched his lips as they formed the hisses, her lips open slightly in surprise.

Harry smirked when Lily's calm composure broke for the first time - the moment Artemis slithered over her lap onto his shoulder's. She let out a yelp and jumped off of him.

Harry stroked the snakes head and murmured, "Way to kill the mood, Artemis."

Lily stared in disbelief, "That's a Basilisk."

"Yes, she's called Artemis," Harry said with an amused smile, "Use her name, she has feelings, you know?"

Lily sat down on the opposite bench and looked from the snake to Harry, "And what do you mean 'killed the mood'? Did you think I would sleep with you on the Hogwarts Express?"

Harry smirked, "You seemed eager enough."

Lily scoffed, "I don't know who you've been spending your summer with, but I have more self-respect than that."

How long for, I wonder, Harry thought to himself.

A thought that was not his own invaded his mind.

Remember the task at hand. Do not get distracted by the pretty little Ravenclaw you had me instate for you.

Harry resisted the urge to roll his eyes as Artemis settled down on his shoulders and Lily opened up her book once more, shooting curious looks over the top of it at Harry when she thought he wasn't looking. Regardless of what she said, Harry gave it a week until she caved to the 'boyish charm' she had mentioned earlier in their initial meeting. He smirked to himself at the very thought.

Harry and Lily talked on and off throughout the train journey, and by the end of it, she was far less wary of Artemis than she had been, to begin with. When they got to Hogsmeade, they shared a carriage up to the castle, and Lily spoke up.

"I presume you're going to spend all of your time in the Head Boy and Girl quarters?"

Harry looked over at her, "Well, that depends."

"On?"

"The house I'm in this year," Harry said, leaving that hanging in the air, "And the company."

Lily didn't frown or ask Harry what he meant. She raised an eyebrow at him instead, "You requested a re-sorting."

"Technically, my guardian requested one on my behalf," Harry said with a shrug, "But I think we can agree that I have been through a significant change lately."

"That's one way of putting it," Lily said, shooting him an amused look, "I presume you will end up in Ravenclaw or Slytherin."

Harry hadn't even considered Ravenclaw, he voiced that opinion to Lily, and she asked, "Why would you assume that because you're 'bad' now that you would go into Slytherin? Our houses are as linked as our founders were – Ravenclaws, Slytherins, we share many of the same traits, and those traits complement each other."

It was a fair point; Harry wasn't sure why he hadn't thought of it. As Lily said, even the Founders were linked. While Godric Gryffindor and Helga Hufflepuff had married 'outsiders', Salazar Slytherin and Rowena Ravenclaw had found solace in each other for several years before Salazar left the castle.

"Do you think they loved each other?" Harry asked her curiously.

Lily looked up in surprise, whatever she had been expecting him to say, it wasn't that, "Who? Salazar and Rowena?"

Harry nodded.

Lily thought about it for a moment as Hogwarts loomed in the distance, "I'm not sure if it was love, but I think it was companionship. She shared many of his views, but his more radical ones set them apart, I guess."

Harry didn't say anything as he thought about that. Lily had a point, about how maybe Ravenclaw would suit him as well as Slytherin these days, but his gut feeling told him that he would end up in Slytherin regardless.

The carriage came to a stop, and Lily opened the door. She turned around and asked, "Are you coming?"

Harry nodded, "Yes, it's just…"

"You're going to see a lot of people who don't care for you much these days," Lily finished.

"Exactly that," Harry said, getting out of the carriage and looking at the school up ahead.

"Well," Lily said, "It's a good thing you don't have to walk in there alone then, isn't it?"

Harry gave a thoughtful nod.

Lily added, "And the Basilisk on your shoulders is imposing enough that only an idiot would say anything to your face."

Harry would have smiled in thanks, but he was preoccupied with the person who had just stepped out of a carriage. He met Neville's eye, and all he saw was disdain there.

"Be careful who you associate with this year, Lily," Neville said as Ginny stepped out of the carriage behind him, "Some people don't deserve your kindness."

"I'm an excellent judge of character, thanks Neville," Lily said. She turned back to Harry, "What did I just say about idiots?"

Harry couldn't find it in himself to laugh, and Lily sensed that. She took a step and said, "Come on, Harry, you had better get to the great hall early. You can't miss your re-sorting."

Harry tried to ignore the cold, hard look he had seen in Ginny's eyes. What right did she have to look at him like that anyway? After all that she had done after she had drugged him and strung him along. She was as much to blame for what he had become as Dumbledore, Ron and her mother were.

He had known it would be hard, coming back here, facing the people he would rather not have to. It wouldn't have surprised Harry if this was a test from Voldemort – it would have been easy to stay at Malfoy Manor, to learn more, to grow colder, to embody Voldemort even more but coming back here? Coming back to his old life as a completely different person, nothing about that was easy.

They entered the hall, and Lily murmured, "Good luck," before branching off towards the Ravenclaw table.

Harry looked straight ahead at Snape, hoping for some guidance. Was he to go to the Gryffindor table? A Gryffindor badge was still embroidered on his robes after all.

Snape gave him a nod and beckoned him over. Harry breathed out a sigh of relief - an ally, thank Merlin for that. He had gotten so used to Draco over the summer; he felt a little lost without him. Harry supposed that was what Voldemort meant about friendship being dangerous, it could make you get a bit too comfortable, and when you were comfortable, you let your guard down.

Harry enjoyed the gasps of shock and the odd scream that his presence (and Artemis's) elicited from the students, but he tried to avoid looking at the rest of the staff. It wasn't easy when he could feel their eyes on him as he walked towards Snape. Most of the teachers were careful not to show any emotion, one way or the other. Slughorn watched Harry with curious eyes, and Flitwick gave him a small nod as if to say he understood why he had done what he did. Harry felt like he had more allies at the Head table than he did in the great hall. Bill gave him a small smile, and Harry supposed that Ginny was silently seething about that.

The one person who Harry didn't want to look at was McGonagall, but he knew he couldn't avoid the inevitable forever. When she looked at him, there was no warmth in her eyes, no forgiveness, but then again, Harry hadn't expected any. She had been Dumbledore's right hand, she worshipped the ground that he walked on, she would never turn to their cause, and although he wished he could convince her, deep down, he knew that nothing he did would be enough.

"Potter," Snape said when Harry reached him.

"Headmaster," Harry returned.

"You will be re-sorted at once," Snape commanded.

Harry nodded, better to get it over and done with he supposed. He looked up at Artemis and hissed softly, "Sit on the floor until I tell you otherwise."

Artemis slithered down his shoulders and curled up on the floor, by Harry's feet.

McGonagall got to her feet and pulled the sorting hat out from beneath the table. She looked out at the students in the hall and said tersely, "As per the rules of Hogwarts, lain out in our school charter, Mr Potter has requested a re-sorting which is to be actioned immediately."

She didn't give him much notice; she just put the hat on his head to whispers and jeers from the great hall's occupants.

Inside his head, the sorting hat spoke, Mr Potter, back again?

Yes, Harry thought back, Because I told you not to put me in Slytherin the last time, and I was wrong.

Interesting indeed. Well-

Wait! Harry thought, Whatever your logic, can you do me a favour? Can you say it out loud?

Harry could almost hear the hat smirking as it said, Very well.

The hats rip of a mouth opened, and it began to think aloud, to the students' interest, and perhaps some of the teachers.

"As I told you back in your first year – plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent and a thirst to prove yourself."

The hall was silent as the hat deliberated, "You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that."

An intake of breath came from the Slytherin table.

The hat continued, "When we spoke in your second year, I re-iterated that, if you remember, Harry Potter? I told you that you would have done well in Slytherin and now, well there is no doubt about it, Slytherin is where you belong."

The hat's mouth opened wider, and it cried, "SLYTHERIN!"

Harry smirked as McGonagall took the hat from his head. The Slytherin table erupted in cheers. Harry looked down and hissed, "Come, Artemis."

The snake slithered along behind him as Harry strolled over to the Slytherin table and pushed Theodore Nott aside to sit down next to Draco.

Theo snorted, "King Potter has arrived."

Harry shot the boy a grin, "King? Come on, Theodore; I've got to be less than 'lord' or our master will think I'm usurping him."

"Viscount Potter doesn't quite have the same ring to it, pal," Theo joked.

Harry chuckled as Artemis crawled back onto his shoulders. Draco gave the snake a wary look and smiled at Harry, "Housemates, at last."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the blonde boy, "6 years and a few false starts later, yeah."

Blaise patted him on the back, "Good to have you with us, Harry."

A dark-skinned, dark-haired girl narrowed her eyes and looked at Harry, "How are you lot so friendly, exactly?"

Harry smiled slightly, "It's been an interesting summer. Who are you?"

The girl held out her hand, "Tracey Davis, the token Slytherin half-blood in our year."

Harry smirked, "Sorry Tracey, but I've just knocked you off that pedestal," he said, glancing at the badge on his robes which was now a Slytherin badge.

Another girl chuckled softly, drawing Harry's attention to her. She had light brown hair, full lips and big, dark green eyes, "I'm Sophie Roper," she said in an accent that took Harry a moment to place.

"American?"

Sophie smiled broadly and opened her mouth - as she spoke Daphne and Tracey mimicked her accent and words.

"Charlotte, North Carolina."

Sophie glared at them, "Would y'all be quiet?"

Harry grinned, "I love that; it's great."

Daphne rolled her eyes, "He's been in the door five minutes, and he's already trying to get into your pants, Sophie. Typical."

Harry tore his eyes away from the pretty American girl to look upon Daphne. She was as quintessentially, beautifully English as they came. She had that same frosty demeanour that Narcissa had before Harry had gotten to know her, that same ice-blonde hair, those same piercing blue eyes. If Harry hadn't known better, he would have had her and Draco down as siblings.

"Do you have a problem with me, Daphne?"

Daphne smiled sweetly, "No, of course not. I was simply protecting my friend's honour."

From Draco's other side, Pansy snorted. She leant forward, sweeping her dark brown hair away from her eyes, "Daphne, darling, you just don't like being outnumbered. Do you?"

"I have no idea what you mean," Daphne said airily.

"Before the summer, those of us with links to the Dark Lord were the minority," Pansy smirked, "But look around you, are we the minority now?"

Harry rolled his eyes, "Oh, do be quiet, Pansy," he said as Artemis lifted her head and hissed in Pansy's general direction.

Pansy shrieked and covered her ears, making some of the Slytherins laugh.

Daphne looked incredibly amused by her housemate's reaction, "Relax, Pansy. Can't you tell that she's a baby? At best, she'll give you a sore head."

This caught Harry's attention, he looked over at Daphne, "You know an awful lot about Basilisks."

Daphne met his eye, "My uncle is a curse breaker, he works in the Middle East where a lot of people try, and usually fail, to hatch Basilisks."

"How could you tell that Artemis was a she?" Harry asked curiously.

"The females have longer fangs than males. Is this a pop quiz, Potter?" Daphne asked, the edges of her mouth almost threatening to quirk up into a smile.

Harry grinned, "Not at all, Greengrass. Just a friendly conversation."

"About the deadly snake on your shoulders," Pansy muttered irritably.

Draco clamped his hand over her mouth.

"You were not there when the Dark Lord decreed that we are to treat every order that comes from Harry's mouth as if it were his own. I think Harry, being as reasonable as he is, will put this first error of yours down to ignorance but if there is another, I doubt he will treat it so kindly."

Harry raised an eyebrow at Draco, "You make a better soldier than I gave you credit for and he's right, Pansy. Once is an accident, twice is disrespectful and if there is to be a third time? Well, let's put it this way, you don't want there to be a third time."

Pansy looked furious, but she clamped her mouth shut anyway. The first years came into the hall, led by Sprout rather than Hagrid this year. Harry presumed he was on the run, being half-giant and all, he would have expected persecution at Hogwarts.

In his place at the table sat Wilhelmina Grubblyplank who Snape had convinced to come out of retirement. Beyond that, most of the teachers remained the same except for Bill and the Carrow twins who were, of course, new additions.

They were silent as the sorting took place and afterwards, when everyone tucked into the food, Harry chanced a glance at the Gryffindor table – as he suspected, Ron and Hermine were not there.

Neville, Ginny and Seamus were back, and Harry suspected they would try and revive Dumbledore's Army in some form so he would need to be wary of that. He looked to the Hufflepuff table where he saw Susan Bones, a potential ally of Neville's and Hannah Abbott, who would keep her head down and her mouth shut if she had any sense. Voldemort suspected her father, Howard, of funding the light and the moment he got proof, he would punish Howard. Ernie Macmillan was another loose cannon, the heir to a neutral family who Harry may or may not convince to join their cause.

"Daydreaming, Potter?" Theo asked.

Harry shook his head, his eyes falling on the Ravenclaw table, "No, Theo. I'm just assessing the situation, seeing who will allow us to live and keep their head down and who will rise against us."

Lily must have sensed his gaze; she was sitting next to Luna at the Ravenclaw table. She looked up and caught his eye, but rather than tearing her gaze away; she maintained eye contact.

Harry smirked in response, and Blaise asked, "Got a girlfriend already, have you? You moved on from Reyna fast."

Harry laughed, still looking at Lily, "Reyna is off limits – the Dark Lord and her father made that clear but Lillian Moon… She's interesting. I think she may well be our first female Muggle-born Death Eater."

Pansy laughed but said nothing, probably due to the harsh glare that Draco sent his way.

"I thought the Dark Lord did not initiate Muggle-borns or women for that matter," Daphne said pointedly.

"I know of at least one Muggle-born Death Eater," Harry said, tearing his eyes away from Lily to look at Daphne, "And yes, he is wary of initiating women, but I think that girl will show him why he ought to initiate some more. Yes, women can be emotional, but that isn't a bad thing. A woman who kills in an emotional fit of rage is an asset, not a liability."

Tracey laughed, "One would think you were trying to recruit us all, Potter."

Harry smiled at her, "Maybe I am."

Draco touched his leg under the table and leant in a little closer to murmur, "Slow down, we have the whole year."

Theo shot Harry an amused look and muttered, "Real show of 'brotherly' love there."

Harry snorted under his breath in response and flicked Draco's hand off of his leg. He looked across the table at Daphne, who was watching the exchange warily, and Harry knew from her cautious approach that she was going to be a tough nut to crack.

When Harry walked into his new common room that evening, he felt like the temperature dropped by five degrees and it had nothing to do with the fact he was at the bottom of the school. Nobody would dare challenge him, he was Head Boy, and everyone with any common sense knew that he was with the Dark Lord, but that didn't stop the glares or the younger students' wary glances.

It didn't bother him too much. He was used to being looked at like he had a second head. At least this time their accusations were true.

"What are you all looking at?" Draco asked, glancing around the common room, "Never seen a re-sorting before, have you?"

"I doubt any of them have seen one that dramatic," Daphne drawled, pushing past Draco into the common room.

Harry stepped forward and said, "I don't need you to fight my battles for me, Draco. I can fight them by myself, so if anyone wants to say what they are thinking out loud, come on over here."

Nobody moved, and Harry laughed humourlessly, "Yeah, I didn't think so. I'll say this once and hope that will be it, yes I joined the Dark Lord," he pulled up his sleeve to show them the Dark Mark.

"And I killed that manipulative old fool Dumbledore because he ruined my life. I'm not your enemy, I'm not the fox in the henhouse – I'm someone the Dark Lord trusts, and I am someone whose bad side you do not want to be on."

He didn't see the point in waiting around for people to argue, and it didn't look like they were going to anyway. Stepping down from the doorway, Harry headed for the dormitories, and Draco walked with him.

"Have you got a bed in our dormitory?" Draco asked curiously.

Harry shook his head and walked into the dormitory corridor, "There's a door that leads into the Head Boys dorm and from there, I can access the Slytherin common room or the shared Head common room."

Draco leant against the wall, "Cool – so is this like the Dark Lords private quarters? We come in without permission, and it's bang – crucio against the wall?"

Harry shot him an amused look, "If you interrupted me shagging someone, I'd probably crucio you up against a wall, otherwise just knock and come in."

Draco surveyed him for a moment.

"I know what you're thinking," Harry said, meeting his friend's eye, "But I'm not him. I'm like him in a lot of ways, yes. But I'm not him. I know he said that you should treat my orders as if they had come from him, but I don't want you to follow me because you're scared, Draco. I want you to follow me because you respect me."

Draco smiled slightly, "I get it now, you know?"

Harry raised an eyebrow, "Get what?"

"Something my father said about you when he got out of prison," Draco admitted, "He said maybe I would finally find the friend I had been looking for – someone that I could learn to respect in exchange for respect in return – not someone to boss around or do my bidding."

Harry chuckled at that.

"Fancy a game of Chess?" Draco asked.

Harry shot him an apologetic look, "Not tonight. I have news that I need to relay to the Dark Lord, but rain check?"

"Sure," Draco replied, pushing himself off of the wall, "Night, Harry."

Harry smiled and opened the door to his dorm, "Night, Draco," he said before stepping inside.

* TBC *