I am so sorry for not updating in a really long time. COVID happened, I got sick and then immediately fell into my other stories. I look forward to working with this story again and thank all of you for your patience as I catch up in writing this wonderful story.

SO, I'm going to let you decide: Harry's last name... should I change it and what to?

Chapter: Express To Hogwarts

Chapter Rating: K+

The Hogwarts Express left the station on time, and Harry endured his first train departure with the entirety of his new family. Most of them anyway.

Remus was forced to distance himself from the group as his cold had turned out to be a rather nasty bout of wizarding flu; he was constantly sniffing and snorting and only certain alcohol-based scents got through to him… occasionally and choked him up. He could also smell cinnamon and tomato but that was as far as his nose took him.

Molly was ushering them all onto the train, kissing and handing out sandwiches while Sirius whispered to Fred and George, no doubt giving them tips and advice for Weasley Wizarding Wheezes while Molly was too preoccupied to hear him.

They were grinning widely at his as they listened to him.

Ginny was standing with a girl with platinum blonde hair and they seemed to be flipping through a magazine and joking with each other.

Harry looked around as parents surrounded squirming eleven-year-olds who were desperately trying to run towards the train so they could get to Hogwarts as soon as possible or simply get away from their embarrassing parents. Crying loudly as the small child looked yearningly towards the trains as though they were going to miss the train if they were hugged for a second longer.

Older kids were trying to convince their parents they had everything they needed and some parents were rushing the give things to their kids through train windows.

He saw a few parental attempting to deliver hugs and kisses only to be meaty with expressions of mortification and desperation to hide the interaction.

Kreature, Dobby and his new girlfriend Winky were helping put their things onto the train. Dobby was excited and happy to show off his girlfriend who had been freed during the quidditch World Cup was all too happy to help Kreature when he found out he was helping "Harry Potter and his new Wheezy family".

He'd been so proud to introduce Winky to Harry however Winky didn't seem as thrilled to be a free elf as Dobby was.

"I am a disgrace! Dobby be making me feel better but the other elves. The looks they give me. Oh my master … How he must be without me!" Winky had murmured when Hermione had brought up how happy she must be to be free.

"Oh, Dobby thinks Master Harry Potter will bond with us… won't you?"

Dobby and Winky looked up at him the way small children do when they are promised ice cream… full of hope… so innocent and pure that Harry nodded before he even took into account what he was promising them.

"You needs to be taking their hand, master Harry Potter," Kreature said. It will share your magic and balance theirs out."

Once again, Sirius couldn't help but stare as Kreature spoke civilly to Harry but he was becoming more open to everyone else as well.

Harry took the elves hand and warmth rushed through his body like nothing he had ever felt before. Dobby let out a small happy squeal and Winky let out a sob of relief.

"Do you want me to pay you?" Harry asked.

Winky looked offended but Dobby simply said, "For anyone else, yes but for you, never. You made Dobby free. The Malfoys bond to me was tainted by evil magic and as much as they tried to fight it, they couldn't. It always be getting worse after Lord Lucius went to Wizengamot. He sended me food and blankets when I was gone. But you is being protected by goblins, our bond can't be corrupted!"

"Bonds can be tainted?"

"Yes!" Winky cried. "And once it gets tainted, it can never be fixed. Master will hate elf and elf will fear master. It be wrong. But when elf is free, master will no hate elf but it be too late then. My bond with my family it be tainted by the evil man. That be why I was freed."

"That be evil magic, Master Harry Potter."

The departure from the train station left Harry happy and slightly confused because Charlie had winked before they left and promised them that he would see them sooner than he knew.

Mr Weasley had smacked him lightly and informed him that the kids would figure it out on their own later.

Harry followed his brothers and Hermione into a compartment. Fred and George saw that they were settled and left to meet their friend. When the train started moving, Harry showed Hermione his essays, knowing just how pleased she would be to see the quality of his work.

And she was very pleased and made sounds of encouragement as she read. She was pleased to see that his essays were researched, grounded and thorough. When Neville joined them a few moments later and told her that he and Harry had worked on a couple of assignments together, she looked like she had died and gone to heaven.

A few moments later, there was a knock on the door and Harry saw a hesitant looking Draco Malfoy, standing at the compartment door without Crabbe and Goyle behind him.

"Harry, do you mind if I sit here?"

"Sure," Harry said, sitting closer to Hermione to save room. Hermione had managed to conceal her shock over this but Rom openly gaped at Harry as though he had lost his mind.

"Harry!"

"Give him a chance, Ron. Severus turned out to be okay. I'm giving people second chances," Harry explained to Ron who was looking to Hermione for help but she had recovered from her shock and giving Harry a look of hesitant approval.

"That's quite mature, Harry."

She spoke neither for or against it but Ron let out a huff that made his opinion clear.

"So… Your hair is red again," Draco said, pausing when he realised what he had said. While Ron mouthed the word 'again', Harry smiled.

Mr and Mrs Weasley and adopted me along with Sirius," Harry said happily.

"Oh, so you're a Weasley now?"

There was no malice in his tone but Ron stood up and stared Draco down as thought expecting Draco to attack him or say something cruel and mean. Draco, looked around nervously, as though he was wondering if coming into the compartment was a good idea in the first place.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Draco put his hands up in a way that showed he was trying to make peace as he stared at Ron.

"Nothing I just…"

"Thought you were going to poke fun of my family? Or my brother? Or both?" Ron put a lot of emphasis on the word 'brother' to make it clear that was exactly what Harry was and nothing could change that and he wasn't going to let Draco make fun of that.

"Really Ron," Hermione lectured, still warily watching Draco in a way that made it clear that she didn't fully trust him but she wasn't going to got and outright accuse him of anything, especially since Harry seemed willing to give him a chance.

"Someone mentioned starting over," Draco looked directly at Harry when he said that, making a point to show him that he was listening and was open to the idea. Harry had said it at his house to Severus and clearly, to Harry's surprise, it must have meant something to him. "I figured I would follow their example. My name is Draco Malfoy."

"Hermione Granger," Hermione said, her tone sounded unusual, as though however Draco responded to her outstretched hand would determine the entire course of their relationship, which it probably would. Harry realised Hermione was waiting to see if Draco would actually shake her hand.

Draco smirked with a respectful nod as he took Hermione's hand with a tight shake and held her hand as he told her it was a pleasure to make her acquaintance.

"I look forward to getting to know you better," he said pointedly to show that his words in the past did not reflect how he would behave from this moment on. Though, Harry was curious to understand the cause of the sudden change.

"Hermione!" Ron cried out, pausing the moment, eyeing Hermione with a look of indignation which was ignored.

"Ron," Hermione said back, looking him in the eye with a raised brow, daring him to start again. Her position was obvious and it was going with it or get out.

"Oh fine," Ron hissed out, taking Draco's hand. "I'm Ron but I don't trust you."

Draco shrugged either expecting this or worse. Considering their past, Harry reckoned Draco was lucky Ron didn't hex him… It wouldn't be the first time the redhead had massed an attempt.

"I'm Harry… I think my last name is still Potter," Harry wondered aloud. A couple of brows were raised as Harry expressed his uncertainty towards his own name.

"The ministry acknowledges blood adoptions but they can't legally change your name without your written consent over the age of twelve and you are still a Potter. You just have additional parental DNA," Draco explained. "I did a project on Blood Adoptions when I was ten. You'll just have to go to Gringotts once the changes settle and have an ancestry test done."

"What does that test show?"

"Nothing more than the people immediately related to you and how. It's used to legalize blood adoptions and prevent people from… getting too close to close blood relatives," Draco smirked.

"Yeah, mate. Its a simple test, only a drop of blood and it brings up your family tree," Ron explained with a smile as he bit into the sandwich his mum had packed.

"Yeah, it…"

Hermione didn't get the chance to say what she was about to say because the door to the compartment had burst open, revealing Pansy Parkinson who was staring at Draco with a mixture on confusion while she glared at Ron, Hermione and Harry, clearly unaware of who he was.

She was wearing a bright outfit and her hair had been cut short in a way that was probably supposed to classy but instead made her face look much too big for her body.

"Draco, darling, what are you doing here?"

It was clear by her tone that she thought he couldn't be surrounded by the worse company if he tried. She looked around at everyone with a look that made it clear she thought she was better than everyone in the room.

"Sitting," Draco stated as though this was the most obvious thing in the world, "talking… like civilised people do when they are in the company of others."

"With Weasley, Granger and this kid? Who in Merlin's name is that? Another Weasley? Teaching them to rub a knuts together to make a gallon? The advice would cost more than their houses combined… Come sit with me. You look tense, I'll rub your shoulders."

Draco looked ill at the concept but Pansy seemed unaware that Draco looked like he'd rather lick Ron Weasly's barefoot that go and sit with her.

"No thank you," Draco bit out, barely resisting the urge to add on a not-so-nice word but instead, turned to Harry who was watching the exchange and shot him a look that said 'I told you so'.

Pansy had turned to open the door for Draco as the words he had said registered and she let the door close with a thunk as she turned to stare at him with a baffled and scandalized expression.

"But why?"

"Because I don't want to sit with you. I don't want you to rub my shoulders and I don't owe you any answers, Parkinson."

For a second, Pansy looked affronted and hurt before her smug, arrogant expression returned as she glared at Ron and Hermione as though they had drugged him into saying that.

"Now, Dray, I have been telling you for years to call me Pansy," Pansy said, with an expression that was supposed to be flirty but Harry thought she looked like she needed to visit the loo.

"No thank you, Miss Parkinson," Draco replied, barely restraining his annoyance. He clearly just wanted her out of his sight and as quickly as possible.

She looked angrily towards Hermione and Harry before she opened her mouth the try to persuade him.

"Good day, Miss Parkinson,"

Pansy. Stood there for several seconds, he jaw dropped as she clearly tried to wrap her mind around this very obvious rejection.

"Your father…"

"Has more important things to worry about than you… like watching his hair grow in a mirror or counting the tiles in our roof. Now, good day," Draco repeated, losing patience.

"F-fine."

When the door slammed shut, Draco turned to face the people remaining.

A smile filled his face as he remembered something. The smile looked smug but not it's usual 'I'm better than you' kind of smug. It was a kind of smugness someone wore when they knew something amazing that they couldn't wait to tell.

"Anyway, I have news that father told me. I think you'll be interested."

"I doubt it," Ron huffed.

"Wanna bet?"

"Fine."

"The tri-wizard tournament us being hosted at Hogwarts this year," Draco drawled out. The response was immediate.

"The what?" Hermione asked, echoed by Ron's excited, disbelieving exclamation of the exact same words who had forgotten he hated Draco just for a moment to express his excitement in this turn of events.

"Triwizard Tournament hosted at Hogwarts," Draco repeated, giving Ron a look that made it clear he knew Ron was beyond interested in this. But Harry had no clue what it meant.

He knew Tri meant three so it had something to do with the wizards but that was all he could figure out, so he asked what it was.

"I've never heard of it either," Hermione said, looking almost remorseful in her admission, as though it was a clear sign she hadn't been studying hard enough in the e past years.

Ron, in a very good impersonation of Percy, puffed out his chest; his excitement to know that Harry and Hermione did not was practically bleeding from his pores.

"It's a competition between the three top schools in the UK. It's a huge deal and wizards come from all over the world to watch. It hasn't been held in ages because it was too fatal," Ron explained, quite proud to know something that Hermione didn't. For once, he was the one with answers and it felt good.

Harry watched the way his brother beamed proudly and listened carefully. Draco, seemed content to let the red-head boy have the moment as well because it was clear he knew the answers just as well as Ron, if not, more. But in his attempt to be more friendly to more people, he was holding back until Ron finished speaking.

"He's been busy over the summer. Most ministry officials have, working hard to put protections in place. He did warn me to not enter unless I was 100 percent sure I could handle it."

Draco smiled proudly that his father was involved with something so cool and not just his usual confirming the lunch menu and going over appropriate lengths of time for students to sit in class… Draco argued that an hour and twenty minutes was much too long and his father simply told him that it was an acceptable amount of time for the teachers to lecture and students to do assignments.

His father had been taking fire calls over the summer and he had been busy with meetings and had even missed several family meals.

In the Malfoy house, they were required to sit together as a family for one meal a day, usually, supper, to discuss their days and what they had done. It was the best time to talk about family matters and spend time together.

Lucius had filled them in last night on the cup but he was extremely tight-lipped in the details. Draco assumed it was a warning to keep Draco from trying to enter without knowing the potential risks.

"What does that mean?"

"Harry, the other schools are sending the very best of the best that they have to offer. They'll know spells and tricks that are not only stronger and more violent but they'll have spells that Dumbledore refuses to teach anymore, despite being present in the Newt exams. They won't be fourth years, they'll be the senior students and stronger, smarter and faster than most of the Hogwarts students who will try to enter," Draco explained. "The other schools are only allowed to send twenty students each and you can bet they are only sending those they think can win."

Ron's expression sobered greatly as he took in Draco's words, realising there was more to it than simply entering and becoming famous. He'd have to work for it against more experienced wizards who wanted fame and glory just as bad and were willing to do anything to get it.

"I hadn't thought about it like that," Ron whispered, hating to admit Draco was right but it was true. He was right. "I just want to be famous."

"Glory comes at a price, Ron," Hermione whispered. "Look at Harry. He lost his parents."

Harry looked down at his feet, knowing Hermione wasn't trying to be hurtful but it still hurt to remember his parents he had lost.

"Hermione's right," Draco said, causing Hermione to stiffen with unconcealed shock. "Besides, I'd rather sit back and enjoy the fun that comes with the tournament. Foreign food, culture, customs, parties. The tournament lasts the entire school year, I'd rather not spend it trying not to die."

Harry nodded.

"What schools?"

Draco smiled at Hermione's question.

"Dumstrang and Beauxbattons," Draco explained. "France and Bulgaria."

"Ooh, I'll be able to brush up on my French," Hermione muttered, thinking happily about the chance to learn and study.

"Do you reckon they'll like Quidditch?" Harry asked, thinking about being able to play Quidditch with these new students who could probably teach him cool new tricks.

"I wonder what the food tastes like," Ron muttered out loud.

And like that, the four teens broke off into their first-ever peaceful conversation about the tournament, so far already uniting the most unlikely group of friends to enter onto Hogwarts grounds.

* * * * * GREAT HALL * * * * *

The sorting ceremony was nice. It was Harry's first time actually seeing the ceremony and this year, a kid who looked quite similar to Collin, called over to Collin and informed him that he 'fell in'.

This was quite clear in the way his clothes dripped and Hagrid's coat draped over him, far too big and dragging on the floor, keeping him warm no the less.

When they reached the front of the room, Professor McGonagall had used a spell to dry him off, causing him to practically scream out in excitement.

"Yes, well, off you go to be sorted," the stern witch said with a small smile tugging her lips as she watched the kid run towards the other first years, excitement causing his legs to jiggle and his steps to become a bit clumsy.

The ceremony was good and the kid who fell in was soon revealed to be Denis Creevy and was sorted into Gryffindor. Collin wasted no time in introducing Denis to Harry, as soon as he recognised Harry with his red hair and his face when Harry called him a friend was priceless.

"I'm so excited Dennis is in Gryffindor!" Collin announced, beaming.

"He is your brother," Harry stated back, causing Ron and Hermione to shake their heads.

"No, Harry, it's based on personality. Plenty of siblings are in separate houses," Hermione explained.

When the cup was announced, everyone was thrilled. Until it was announced only students seventeen and older could enter and Harry found that it made sense to him, considering what Draco told him. They would know spells he didn't. And he just wanted a quiet year.

Besides, he wanted a quiet year and being pressured to enter this competition seemed to go against that entirely.

The only thing else that happened was another DADA teacher was introduced and this one seemed to be a really interesting character. Alaster Moody seemed to be really paranoid and he had a fake eyeball that seemed to move on its own in impossible directions. More than once, Harry would be doing something and he would catch the false eye pointing towards him while his good eye was turned to a teacher as he spoke.

Several times students would make a noise and he would glance over sharply in their direction as though looking for threats.

Returning to the Gryffindor common room didn't offer the usual feeling it did last year. Because this year, he wasn't escaping the Dursleys and there was no dread of returning to them. This year, he was coming to school from a loving family. His only sinking feeling was his affliction.

He was a werewolf. No one could find out about it and yet… Draco Malfoy knew.

It was a frustrating experience to know this and to have to figure out how to keep this secret.

His eyes snapped open as a thought crossed his mind… Secrets! That was it! The Chamber of Secrets!

It was perfect!