Chapter 9
Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me, I am only borrowing the concept
October 30th found Harry in his room, hastily throwing things into the trunk he had been given. He had not bothered packing before now, but seeing as they would be leaving in only an hour, he knew he should get going.
He carefully warded one compartment, then placed in it his luxurious robes and dragonhide boots. Harry looked down in distaste at the common school robed he was made to don. They were nowhere near the quality or style he was accustomed to.
Dumbledore had also given him a Gryffindor tie, which he had point-blank refused to put on until absolutely necessary.
Once everything was pushed into his trunk and the lid was closed, Harry exited the room. He found James and Lily in the sitting room, conversing with Dumbledore, Remus, and Sirius.
Harry stood in the doorway, watching them talk and joke about, until Sirius noticed him, and waved him in.
"Come on in, Harry!" The man said boisterously.
The green-eyed boy grimaced before walking lightly to the furthest chair and sitting on its edge.
"Are you excited to go to Hogwarts?" Remus asked kindly.
"Not particularly," Harry replied.
"Oh, you'll love it, Harry. There's lots of room to walk around and explore, and you'll be able to make so many new friends," Lily said cheerfully.
"And the friends you'll make there are ones you'll have forever," James continued with a fond look at the men across from him.
"Oh yes, because everyone is simply itching to be friends with the son of Lord Voldemort."
Ignoring the flinches of the others Dumbledore replied, "No one will know the details of your past, so that will not be an issue."
Harry did not miss the unspoken words – he was not to tell anyone of his history. The group sat in silence for a few minutes before Remus spoke again, "We should really get going now."
"Quite right, we'll take the floo," Dumbledore stood and gestured Lily, James, and Harry towards it.
James went first, calling out "Headmaster's office, Hogwarts!"
Lily then went with Harry, an obvious safeguard against him attempting to escape.
Once everyone was in the office, Dumbledore smiled warmly and gestured to the door.
"Let us head to Gryffindor tower, no one will be there at this time, so Harry can get all settled."
Harry curled his lip at the thought, but made no protest as they walked through the halls of the school. He could see why his father liked it – the castle practically radiated power, and he looked forward to the day when they could bring it to its full potential.
Before they knew it, they were standing in front of the fat lady's portrait.
"Thestral," Dumbledore spoke importantly.
The five adults walked into the common room, but Harry felt a magical pull block him from the doorway.
"Why is an unsorted student trying to enter the common room?" The fat lady looked appalled.
"Of course he's been sorted, he's a Gryffindor," Dumbledore protested.
"No he's not. The magic of the school is blocking his entry into the common room," The portrait looked accusingly at the headmaster.
"So, no student who's unsorted can go into common rooms?" Remus looked curious.
"Not except for a visit, and he is obviously not visiting," the lady looked at Harry's trunk.
"Ah, well, we shall have to go back to my office then," Dumbledore for once looked a bit lost as to what to do next, "Come, everyone."
The walk back to the gargoyle seemed longer, with a tense silence falling over the entourage. This would prove to be a difficult complication – for everyone except Harry, that is. He was thrilled at the idea of being sorted, and poking another hole in the Potters' fantasy of a perfect Gryffindor son.
Once everyone was in the office and seated comfortably in chairs, Dumbledore picked the sorting hat off the shelf.
It was placed atop Harry's head, and immediately he felt the presence within his mind.
"Ah, the long-lost Potter – or should I say Riddle. I had wondered…"
"Just get on with it," Harry was uncomfortable with the presence peering into his consciousness.
"Mmm, impatience, certainly not a Hufflepuff, then. Pity, your loyalty would have done well there.
"Let's see, fair bit of courage, along with pureblood chivalry, but… no, Gryffindor is all wrong for you."
"It cannot seriously be this difficult to figure out where I belong."
"No, I guess not, very well, Mr. Riddle, SLYTHERIN!"
The room was silent when Harry removed the hat.
"Well, shit," Sirius said finally.
"This certainly throws a wrench into things," Dumbledore said.
"Couldn't he just… pretend to be Gryffindor? Wear their colors and sleep in their dorms? The portrait will let him in now he's sorted," James offered.
But Lily shook her head, looking at Harry's robes, "The crest changed to Slytherin. Whatever he puts on will change to Slytherin too. It's meant to stop kids from switching houses with their twins and such."
"My my, the great Albus Dumbledore can't manipulate everything?" Harry cut in sarcastically.
"I do not manipulate, my boy, I only do what is best for the greater good."
"Look, bottom line is that Harry's got to stay in Slytherin. Now, how is that supposed to work?" James spoke before Harry could reply to the headmaster.
"We'll just post aurors outside the dorm, as we would have done if he stayed in Gryffindor – we'll survive without in-room surveillance," Remus said.
Dumbledore nodded, "That will have to do," he turned to Harry, "Now we must know – have you any acquaintances in Slytherin house?"
Harry masked his emotions and spoke simply, "No."
"Marvelous, off we go, then," Dumbledore walked once more out of the office, this time turning the opposite direction, down to the cool dungeons.
The Slytherin common room was the closest thing Harry had seen to Riddle Manor since he was captured. The ceilings were high, but not so much as to be drafty, and the wood paneling was nicely offset by the deep greens and charcoals of the furniture.
The four Gryffindor adults who had never seen this room were curiously eyeing the white stone fireplaces and floor to ceiling bookshelves.
By far the most noticeable feature of the room was the back wall, which was entirely made up by a curved window, arching out into the Black Lake. On either side of the window spiral staircases descended into the ground, leading towards the dorm rooms.
The room had a dignified, but familiar feel, and Harry felt immediately at home here – much more so than he had when he had seen the Gryffindor common room.
"Lovely," Sirius said sarcastically as he looked around, "Really makes me think of home."
James snorted, recalling Sirius's descriptions of the Grimmauld place from his childhood.
"The dorms seem to be down there," Lily said, already walking towards the wrought iron steps.
Harry followed, pleasantly surprised when he realized his trunk had been magically transported downstairs already.
The three marauders followed, but Dumbledore stayed back, murmuring something about them spending time with Harry, before exiting the common room.
Once Harry reached the bottom of the stairs, he looked about the wide hallway for the fifth-year dorms. They were about hallway down, on the right, and Harry suppressed a smile when he saw the plaque on the door.
Fifth Year Slytherin Boys:
Vincent Crabbe
Gregory Goyle
Draco Malfoy
Theodore Nott
Harry Potter-Riddle
Blaise Zabini
James, however, frowned and tapped the inscription with his wand. Slowly, the 'Riddle" faded away, leaving only 'Harry Potter.'
"There," He said, ignoring Harry's snarl, "Let's go in."
The dorm, much like the common room, was elegant and refined, also featuring a window into the lake. The six beds were positioned long the opposite wall, facing the window, which had heavy black drapes on either side to block out the light.
The style of the beds was much like that of the Gryffindors, with silver and green hangings and soft blankets. The bathroom was off to the side, through a door, and a fireplace was efficiently warming the room.
Harry walked to the second bed on the right, finding his trunk at the end of it. He smiled slightly at the sight of Draco's trunk next to his. This was going to be a better stay than he thought.
Leo tapped his feet anxiously as he sat through his last class of the day. He had been waiting all day for dinner, when Harry would be there and eat with him and his friends.
The Weasleys and Hermione had been less than enthused when Leo had told them about Harry staying in Gryffindor, but they had come around.
Finally the class ended and Leo all but sprinted to the Great Hall, only to draw up short when he saw his parents standing by the Slytherin table where Harry was sitting.
Lily and James finally left Harry to eat and started walking to where Leo was standing. Once they reached him Leo just stared.
"What is Harry doing with the Slytherins?"
"That's where he was sorted, honey," Lily replied.
"But I thought you weren't going to. He was gonna be with us in Gryffindor."
"I know, but the common rooms wouldn't let him in – he had to be sorted."
Leo looked at his feet.
"Hey, don't you worry, son. We'll still have plenty of time together with Harry as a family," James put a hand on Leo's shoulder.
The boy looked up hopefully, and the three Potters smiled at each other.
On the other side of the Great Hall, Harry sat, toying with the pendant that hung around his neck. He wondered if his father had seen any of the day's events – if he knew Harry had been sorted into their ancestral house.
Harry smirked slightly. Voldemort had always teased Harry about him belonging to a house other than Slytherin, now he had concrete proof of his Slytherin-ness.
Harry was pulled from his reverie by the sound of someone sitting down across from him. Looking up, he saw Draco Malfoy, staring at him with barely concealed shock.
"Harry?" The blond hissed, "What the hell are you doing here?"
"This is my new prison – no don't look at Dumbledore – act like you don't know me," Harry muttered while hardly moving his lips.
Draco's eyes flashed in understanding and he immediately adopted an air of superiority – something Harry knew would not be difficult for his friend.
The Malfoy heir gracefully pulled an empty plate towards himself, now aware of the eyes of the aurors on him, "Are you a new student?"
"Yes, I transferred from another magical school. My parents thought coming back to England, and to Hogwarts, would be beneficial to my education," Harry carefully used words he knew would get his point across to Draco.
"I see, and has it been so far?" Draco looked expectant.
Harry understood, he was asking about any gathered information on the Order, "A bit, I suppose. Nothing worthwhile has happened yet, I've only just gotten here."
Draco nodded as more Slytherins began to sit down. Harry recognized about half of them as children of Death Eaters, though they of course did not recognize him as they had never seen him without a mask. Only Draco would know who he really was until he got around to telling people.
The Slytherins eyed him curiously, no doubt recognizing his resemblance to the Potters.
Finally Blaise spoke directly to him, "Are you related to the Potters by chance? I'm Blaise Zabini, by the way."
Harry shook the outstretched hand and nodded, "Unfortunately I am their son, but I'll tell you more once we get back to our dorms."
Blaise arched an eyebrow. Harry was not familiar with the boy outside of what Draco had told him because the Zabinis were a neutral family.
Harry was all too aware of the eyes of the aurors on them, even if they were too far away to hear what was actually being said. The rest of the Slytherins near him merely looked mildly intrigued before going back to their dinners.
The Riddle heir, ever the keen observer, was fully aware of the inconspicuous looks cast his way throughout the meal, and knew he would not get away with not sharing anything for long.
Half an hour later Harry rose with the rest of his dormmates, and they made their way to the dungeons. As they walked, Harry was uncomfortably aware of the aurors following the group, and he knew that if this became a pattern he would have to do something about them.
Finally they reached the common room, and after giving the password, the six Slytherins went in, effectively leaving the aurors behind.
Harry immediately settled into an armchair, Draco taking the one to his right. All the others also found seating and looked to him expectantly.
"Ok, so who are you, and if you are a Potter, where've you been?" Blaise asked, obviously doing away with the typical Slytherin subtlety for the time being.
"And how do you two know each other, cuz you obviously do," Theo said, gesturing between Harry and Draco.
Harry nodded before sitting back further in his chair, this would not be a short conversation, "I am technically the Potters' son, but I was not raised by them and certainly do not identify as a Potter."
"So who were you raised by then? And why are you here now? And why for Merlin's sake are aurors following you?" Theo fired off questions rapidly.
"I'm here because the Potters decided they wanted me again, and before you ask, no I do not like them or anyone else on the light… I'm actually rather embroiled in the dark."
Draco smirked a little as Blaise's eyebrows arched, "Oh?"
Harry glanced around to ensure they were alone before speaking, "When the Potters first decided to give me up, I was placed with muggles," Harry ignored the sounds of disgust, "but of course that was unacceptable, so I was taken in by the Dark Lord."
Silence reigned in the room. Draco smirk widened in amusement at the astounded faces of his friends.
"But then, you're dark, and Dumbledore… in a school? And the ministry knows?" Theo spluttered, "Oh this is fantastic!"
After a moment's pause the boy seemed to come to a dawning realization, "You're the masked boy who was always in the training room and such."
Blaise looked thoughtful and cast a glance around the room, "Trained by the Dark Lord… obviously you'll have skills outside of the Hogwarts curriculum."
Harry only smirked, before reaching into his robes and freeing Arsinoe, "Hey Arsinoe, you okay?"
"Yes, master. Though I don't want to be held under your robes all day every day."
"Of course not. I'll make you a nice nest in the dorm room."
Once again four shocked faces stared at Harry.
"What? I was raised by Voldemort," he said by way of explanation.
Theo blinked and then returned to his questioning, "So, you two already knew each other?" The brunet gestured between Harry and Draco.
This time Draco nodded, "We've been friends for a decade; we've trained together for our whole lives."
"Alright, what's the deal with being here, then? You don't need any further education from these professors," Blaise looked curiously at the Riddle heir.
"No, but unfortunately quite a few individuals in positions of light power are here," Harry responded.
Understanding blossomed on Blaise's face, "You're here to spy."
Harry nodded, "The aurors are an unfortunate side effect of being here, but I imagine they won't pose too much of a problem."
"Especially not if you've got us to help further your cause," Theo added.
"Damn," Blaise said, "This is gonna be a fun year."
The others couldn't help but agree.
Harry rubbed his temples in frustration. He was only in his second class of the day but already he had a splitting headache. Professor Flitwick was droning on about some basic charm Harry had learned when he was eight.
Harry had been having a truly awful day, from being constantly followed by aurors to the blatant stares of the other students, he was excruciatingly close to cursing someone.
He felt a quick touch to his arm, and turned to Draco, who was seated next to him. The blond gave him a look that said 'you ok?' and Harry nodded. Draco shrugged and turned his attention back to the essay he was writing for potions – neither boy felt the need to pay attention.
Finally, just as Harry was about to act and hex the professor into oblivion, the class was over. He and Draco practically fled from the room, closely followed by the other Slytherins, who never seemed too keen on letting them out of their sight.
Harry walked purposefully down to the dorms, not terribly interested in going to lunch in the great hall where the Potters would be.
The boys following them eventually split off to get lunch, leaving only Harry and Draco to enter the dorm. The two went to sit on their beds, facing each other. This, they had determined, was the safest place to talk, as no one was likely to overhear them.
"So," Draco began, "What's the plan?"
Harry groaned in exasperation, "Honestly, it was to gain their trust so I could get information, but the way things are going it's looking more like I've just got to do some old-fashioned spying, then facilitate my escape."
"Why don't you think you'll be able to gain their trust?"
"I mean, I thought I could – and I definitely still could with the Potters and their friends – but with the aurors and everyone else that matters, they're just too suspicious of me."
"And rightly so," Draco smirked, "But that does cause a problem, if your guards are overly suspicious."
"Exactly. I've gotta think of a way to get access to Dumbledore's office, or an Order meeting or something."
"Hmmm, tricky. Any time frames?"
"I've really gotta be out of here by February, we've got some… plans that will be needing to be put in motion then"
Draco nodded, knowing better than to ask about any specifics, "That gives us somewhere around three months to get info and form a successful escape plan."
Harry groaned again before a slightly maniacal gleam entered his eyes, "Perhaps we shall have to put our training to use."
Draco slowly matched his friends grin at the thought of what the next couple months would bring.
An: Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter – it was rather fun to write. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think, or if you have any suggestions.
I'm going to try to get another chapter out before Christmas, but to be honest I'm not sure if I'll be successful… We shall see. Thanks to all my consistent readers and reviewers – you all inspire me to keep writing!