Chapter 10

I was not planning on writing this, but I checked my email and I had so many reviews, and I just cranked this out in an hour and a half, so sorry if it's badly written, or if the grammar is shitty. I will be revising it later, but I thought I'd put the rough version up for now.

Thanks to Ruk, Marie, Geekymom, Nadasnape, Marvynthepheonix, and Henri Varga for the kind reviews! Every review is much appreciated, even if it's short, and helps me write faster. Thanks!

Also, more apologies for fucking up Hagrid's accent. I get it mixed up with Fleur and Krum, and you end up with a mix of Bulgarian, French, and West Country, lol.

True to his word, the next morning, Harry passed out order forms for his Boy-Who-Lived merchandise. "Come and get your order forms!" Harry announced, using magic to levitate the forms, making them easier to grab.

"Hello, Harry," a soft voice spoke up from behind him.

"Professor Dumbledore! Would you like an order form? I'd be happy to get you the Hogwarts professors' discount!" Harry replied cheerfully. Harry noted that even though he had not even interacted with the headmaster yet in this timeline (other than maybe a word or two when he was a 'baby'), he still got called by his first name. If that wasn't evidence of blatant favoritism, Harry didn't know what was.

"No, thank you, Harry. Though, it is very thoughtful of you to ask," Dumbledore answered, his eyes twinkling.

Harry snorted. Pretty much anything he did, even if it was something as selfish as trying to trick children into buying overpriced goods to help fund an already rich kid, was a good thing in Dumbledore's eyes. Merlin knew that somehow, no matter what happened this year, Gryffindor would win the House Cup. In the eyes of Dumbledore, Harry could do no wrong, which would undoubtedly guarantee overt bias towards Gryffindor. It was just inevitable.

Dumbledore just stood there, looking at Harry, as if trying to figure him out. He'd probably already realized that for some reason or another, Legilimency didn't work on Harry, after failing to succeed at raping his mind yesterday. "Sir, is there anything I can help you with?" Harry finally broke the awkward silence.

"Oh no, my boy. I just saw you here, and thought I might introduce myself. I do try to get to know all of my students," Dumbledore said.

Yeah, right. Then why haven't you greeted any of the other hundreds of students in the hall right now? Harry snorted again. "Well, if you don't have any business to take care of with me, I still have a ton of order forms to get out. Business is important, I'm sure you understand. Also, my friends have just arrived, and I would like to spend some time with them before classes begin." In actuality, while Harry had pretty much mastered Occlumency, he wasn't sure how long he could keep it up for, especially if Dumbledore aggressively ambushed his mind when he wasn't expecting it, so he'd rather not give the old man a chance to do so.

"Of course, Harry," Dumbledore nodded as he began backing away, still looking speculative. The man was harder to read than anyone Harry had ever met.

Harry noticed that Ron and Neville were walking in together, and Draco stood a few yards behind them, while Hermione had just sat down at the Gryffindor table by herself, nose deep in a book. Harry took a seat next to Hermione, before yelling, "Neville, Ron, Draco! Over here!"

The teachers that were currently in the Great Hall all looked up from their meals to see who had caused such a ruckus. Upon discovering it was Harry, McGonagall seemed to be smiling slightly while trying to look stern, Snape was scowling, and Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling again, no doubt happy that Harry was encouraging inter-House friendships.

"Harry! You do realize that I'm a Slytherin, right?" Draco raised an eyebrow. "I'm fairly certain that I'm not supposed to sit here with you...foolhardy Gryffindors."

"According to Hogwarts: a History, there's no rule against it," Hermione stated matter-of-factly, before burying her face right back into her book.

"Yes, why don't we listen to the Mud-," Harry glared at Draco, "the Muggleborn who has to learn the school rules from a book."

"Why is he here?" Ron interjected. "He's a slimy snake. Why do you even want to be friends with a Slytherin?" Ron complained.

Neville was the only one who stayed silent. The boy nervously sat down, looking very much like he wanted the arguing to stop. Thank goodness Neville wasn't a biased idiot at 11.

"To answer your question, Draco, yes, I know you're not a Gryffindor. However, Hermione is correct when saying there is no school rule against sitting at another House's table. Also, I'm by no means forcing you to be here, so if you'd rather sit between 'Stupid' and 'Stupider' (Crabbe and Goyle), you're free to do so. However, I was under the impression that you wanted to make powerful friends. If that's still one of your ambitions, it's in your best interest to sit here. And Ron, Draco is here because he is my friend, same as you. Now, I'd like to reiterate my rule that neither of you is allowed to throw around prejudiced insults around me, or else we can't be friends. Now, are you two staying, or are you blokes going?" Harry knew he was being bossy, but it seemed that when he carried himself this way, no one dared disagree with him. Hopefully, if he could get the five of them to actually become friends and enjoy each others' company, he wouldn't have to intervene as often.

The two in question inclined their heads sheepishly, and sat down. No one really spoke for the rest of the time while they ate breakfast, but at least there weren't any more arguments that needed to be put out. Harry just grinned to himself, after all, it was an improvement. Baby steps for the win.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Classes went on the same as they had in the previous timeline, though this time around, it seemed as though all of the professors thought Harry was some kind of a genius. This was probably due to the fact that he performed each spell before the Professors were even done demonstrating them, and many a time, did them both wordlessly and wandlessly. He'd even overheard some professors gossiping about how he was doing even better than Dumbledore had in his first year.

When Quirrell's class finally came around, Harry found himself wincing in pain. He'd forgotten how much Voldemort made his scar hurt. And that wasn't the only reason Harry found the class irritating, of course. Quirrell's fake stutter was so hard to listen to, and eventually, Harry couldn't take it anymore. Harry grabbed his stuff, and began strutting towards the door (yes, he really did strut this time around).

"Mr P-P-P-Potter? W-W-W-where d-d-d-do you t-t-t-think you are g-g-g-going?" Quirrell asked.

"I'm leaving," Harry replied candidly. "You are a terrible teacher, and I don't feel like being taught by someone who has Voldemort on the back of their head."

"H-Huh?" Quirrell inquired nervously.

Some people gasped in shock, clearly not used to hearing the name 'Voldemort' spoken out loud, while others giggled, probably thinking Harry was joking.

"I'm leaving. And don't bother giving me detention, I won't go. Besides, if you do try and punish me in any way, I will tell Dumbledore about your little friend," Harry answered, slamming the door behind him. Of course, Harry was certain that Dumbledore already knew about Quirrell's little secret, and wagered telling him wouldn't do much. Oh well. He needed to use whatever leverage he had.

Quirrell didn't end up giving Harry detention, as he was probably scared shitless of being outed as the guy being possessed by Voldemort. And it wasn't like Harry was concerned about his grades. He couldn't imagine that Dumbledore would let The-Boy-Who-Lived fail a class. As if.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Harry! You can't just skip Defense Against the Dark Arts! Your education is important!" Hermione scolded him one morning at breakfast. Ron, Neville, and Draco had yet to wake up, so Harry had the pleasure of listening to her lecture all by himself.

"Hermione, you can't possibly think that we're actually learning anything from that bumbling fool. The class is a complete boondoggle. And even if he was a good teacher, there's nothing he could teach me that I don't already know, hell, there's nothing he can teach you that you don't already know. You should skip class with me. I could teach you some useful things," Harry offered.

His nerdy friend looked scandalized at the suggestion. "Skip class? You want me to skip class? You do realize that our entire futures depend on our education, you can't possibly be suggesting that missing out on learning our fundamentals is a good idea..." Hermione rambled on as Harry tuned her out.

At that moment, Hedwig and another owl came flying in, carrying one letter each. The distraction seemed to hush Hermione up, at least for the moment. One of the envelopes was addressed to him in neat calligraphy, which Harry recognized as his mother's handwriting. He'd written to her nudiustertian morning, reassuring her that he was adjusting fine, and that he'd been sorted into Gryffindor, after realizing that he'd failed to mention it the night he snuck back home. The other letter didn't have anything written on the outside, though there was a brown food stain of some sort on it. Harry opened the more mysterious one first, though he'd already guessed the person who'd written it.

Dear Harry,

I hope this isn't weird, I know we don't know each other well. But after we talked a bit the other night, I was wondering if you'd like to chat some more? I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? I want to hear all about your first week.

From,

Hagrid

Harry giddily opened the second letter next, excited to hear from his mother.

Harry,

I'm delighted to hear you're doing well. Your father and Sirius would like me to congratulate you on making it into, in their words, "the only good House". James would also like me to add that he's ecstatic you aren't in the "slimy snake House", though I'd like to remind you that there's no "best House". You should be kind to everyone, no matter their House, and I know you will be. Your father and Sirius can be awfully immature, as I'm sure you already know. I do not really want to add their additions to this letter, however, I know that if I don't say what they want me to, they'll just send you a separate letter.

Remus is happy for you, as well. He'd like you to write to him if you have any questions on your course work, especially in Defense Against the Dark Arts. As you know, that is his specialty.

I'm glad to hear you've made friends. What are their names? What are they like? I'd love to hear all about them in your next letter.

Alaina's been holding onto your last letter since we received it. She misses you dearly, and wants me to tell you she loves you.

Anyway, honey, keep being wonderful, and try hard in all of your classes.

Love,

Mum

As soon as Harry finished writing a quick response to Hagrid (he decided that he'd use the two-way mirror to call his family sometime later), he heard the loud voices of Draco and Ron arguing. He looked up to see the blond and redhead going at it, while poor Neville walked quietly behind them, clearly not sure what to do.

"You're a bloody foul git, Malfoy! You and your father both! Dad has nothing but heinous things to say about him!" Ron shouted.

"What did I do? I've been following Harry's deal, and haven't been insulting you, or your poor excuse of a family. Here I was, minding my own business, when suddenly, you ambush me in the hall, screaming at me about my father!" Draco argued back.

"Yes, because your bloody scum of a father is trying to ruin my dad's life!" Ron sputtered out, ears red as a fire truck.

Hermione looked up then, with a confused look on her face. "Why do they hate each other so much?"

"Their fathers have very different...political views. They're pretty much arch rivals at the Ministry of Magic. I believe the reason for what has set off the current argument, is regarding Arthur Weasley's recent Muggle Protection Act proposal, which Lucius Malfoy is a vociferous opponent of. Arthur's working tirelessly to get it passed, while Lucius is doing the exact opposite. My dreams tell me that the law will eventually get passed, but not until 1992," Harry explained.

"But...those are just their fathers' views. Why did they automatically abhor one another before actually getting to know each other?" Hermione asked again. "I mean, neither of them has been particularly unpleasant thus far, the least they can do is give each other a chance," Hermione pointed out.

"The wizarding world is very divided, not unlike some in the Muggle world. People have a very black and white view of 'good wizards' versus 'bad wizards' on both sides, even though it isn't that simple. People like Ron believe that all Slytherins are bad, just because Voldemort was once in that House. Yet, they fail to realize that Gryffindors, like Peter Pettigrew, have also joined the 'dark side'. Draco, on the other hand, is bigoted towards Muggles and Muggleborns, not that it's completely his fault, he's just following what his parents have said. As an 11 year old, he doesn't really know what any of it means. I'm hoping to show the two of them that people from different backgrounds can be friends," Harry clarified.

"Well, I believe that prejudice in any form is deplorable," Hermione huffed. "They should really get over themselves."

Harry bobbed his head in agreement. "That's the plan."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After breakfast came double Potions with the Slytherins. This time around, Harry sat beside Neville, while Draco sat by Hermione, and Ron sat next to Seamus (this pairing would prove to be a safety hazard). Following Snape's speech about the "subtle art of potion-making" (Harry really didn't pay any attention to it), Harry's moment to show Snape that he wasn't a "dunderhead", came.

"Ah, yes," Snape said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new — celebrity." Snape's eyes bore into him, and he looked downright murderous.

"Are you a big fan, Professor? I'm sorry, I didn't realize, or else I would've offered you an order form for my merchandise the other morning at Breakfast. Would you like a signed picture? They're usually three Galleons each, but I'm sure I can work out a discount for my dear Potions professor. Again, I didn't realize you were such a fan, or I would've given you one ages ago. Mum never did tell me how much of a fan-boy you were," Harry answered cheerfully as he ruffled his hair, just like he'd seen his father do so many times.

If Harry thought Snape looked murderous before, at the moment, he seemed like he wanted not to just kill Harry, but had a strong desire to be the cause of his slow, painful death.

"Potter!" Snape snapped. "List at least three ingredients used to make a Polyjuice Potion!"

Well, that was different...Harry didn't remember exactly what Snape had asked him the first time around, but he was certain that it wasn't about Polyjuice. Well, seeing as he'd watched Hermione brew it second year, Snape couldn't have picked an easier question.

"Fluxweed, Knotgrass, Lacewing flies, leeches, the horn of a Bicorn, Boomslang skin, and a piece of the person you're turning into, usually hair," Harry listed off quickly. "I believe that is the entire list of ingredients. Is that sufficient enough for you, Professor? Or would you like me to recite the instructions on how to make it?"

Snape heaved indignantly, and grumbled something incoherent under his breath. Snape then gathered himself, and angrily spouted out, "What is the function of the Felix Felicis potion?"

Again, Snape couldn't have picked a better question for Harry, as he'd actually had the pleasure of using the potion to extract information from Slughorn. As to why Snape was asking questions that only sixth years and above (and Hermione), knew the answer to? The only reasonable answer was that he wanted to humiliate Harry. The man may be brave as hell, but he was also more petty than a teenage girl.

"Felix Felicis, also known as Liquid Luck, is a potion that makes the drinker lucky for a short period of time, which allows them success in basically everything that they attempt to do," Harry stated.

"And why is it not recommended to take it on a daily basis?" Snape pressed, looking more frustrated with each question Harry correctly answered.

"It is only meant to be used in moderation, because in excess, it can cause recklessness, overconfidence, and giddiness," Harry replied smoothly.

"Where would I look if I wanted to find a Bezoar?" Snape continued, clearly desperate to stump Harry.

"I carry one in my pocket at all times, you never know when you may need it to save a poisoned friend's life, after all. Would you like it?" Harry offered, pulling the Bezoar out of his robe.

"Potter! That wasn't the question! Where would I find a Bezoar?" Snape raved, the veins on his face bulging.

"Wow, touchy, touchy. I thought you needed one for one reason or another, and was trying to be nice. Like I said, you can find a Bezoar in my pocket at all times, as well as from the stomach of a goat," Harry responded.

Snape let out a slight grunt, before snapping at the rest of the class. "Why aren't you all writing this down?"

Harry knew that aggravating the man further probably wasn't the best idea, but hey, Snape was the one who started it. "So...Professor, about that signed picture. Would you still like one?"

Ignoring the question, Snape just sneered his way, looking like he was trying very hard not to pounce on him. "Perhaps you have shown some level of proficiency in potions, courtesy of your mother. Unfortunately, personality-wise, you are exactly like your father," Snape hissed, scowling.

"Thank you, Professor," Harry replied cheekily.

"Detention! Mr Potter," Snape yelped.

"I didn't realize it was against the rules to accept a compliment, Professor, but I look forward to getting to know you over detention," Harry said blithely.

Snape seemed to have given up on getting the better of Harry, and turned to the rest of the class, telling everyone to pair up, and work on a simple potion to cure boils. This time, Neville didn't get yelled at, as Harry made sure to take the wheel, gently instructing Neville on the correct way to brew the potion.

Draco looked a bit apprehensive about partnering with Hermione, but quickly learned that she was quite talented, so he quietly worked with her, appearing to be impressed by her skill. It looked like there was progress being made on that front.

Ron and Seamus somehow managed to cause an explosion, even after they'd only added the first two ingredients together. At least, in the future, Seamus had become an expert in explosive magic, so he would eventually learn to be productive with his destructiveness.

Harry thanked Snape at the end of the class as he was handed his first detention slip of the year. He offered to say 'hi' to his mum for Snape, and got an angry grunt in response.

It seemed as though being Lily Potter's son while she was still alive, well, and on friendly terms with Snape, didn't spare him from Snape's bitterness towards the Marauders, and by extension, Harry himself. Well, Harry guessed he couldn't blame it entirely on the Marauders, considering the fact that he aggravated Snape every chance he got.

If anything, his relationship with Snape was even worse than it had been in the last timeline, though Harry supposed that was his doing. After all, he'd been the one to set the tone of their relationship when he had first called him "Snivellus", back when he was "five". Plus, as the spawn of James Potter, Snape was never really going to like him. At best, if Harry had really made a valiant effort, he may have tolerated Harry. Oh well. While Lily may be upset at him for provoking Snape, James would be proud of him for not only getting detention during the first week of classes, but for receiving one for getting on Snape's nerves.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Draco! I'm heading over to Hagrid's for tea. You all are coming with me," Harry informed them as they left the Potions classroom.

"Why would I want to go have tea with the school servant?" Draco asked, curling his lip.

"Because I'm your good, famous, rich, influential friend, and I've asked you to do it?" Harry countered.

"I'll go," Ron agreed. "As long as I don't have to sit next to...him," Ron sneered at Draco.

"I want to come!" Neville piped up. Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Then it's settled. Let's go!" Harry declared, making sure to forcibly drag Draco by the arm, so the blond boy had no choice but to come along.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

With six people and one dog in Hagrid's hut, it was rather cramped. Draco couldn't seem to keep the disgust off of his face, and nearly had a fit when Fang jumped on him and licked his face.

"By the way, Hagrid. These are my best friends, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, and Neville Longbottom," Harry introduced.

"A Malfoy, eh?" Hagrid questioned dubiously, honing in on Draco. "A bit surprising teh me that yeh'd make a Slytherin friend, Harry."

"Well, Mum has always gone on about House unity, as you probably know, she and Snape are best friends. Of course, Snape hates me, but I'd expect nothing less," Harry replied.

"Rubbish! Why should he?" Hagrid answered, looking shifty as fuck, undoubtedly thinking about the Marauders' long standing feud with the Potions Master.

"I suppose you're right, he doesn't necessarily hate me, per say. He's just spiteful because he wanted to shag my mother, but my dad beat him to it. He also accidentally nearly sent them to their deaths, so he feels like he has a debt to repay, which means he believes he has to protect me. Unfortunately, he's not great at letting go of old grudges, so that sometimes comes out as hatred," Harry said matter-of-factly.

Hagrid looked shocked, so clearly, he didn't think that Harry knew all about Snape and the Marauders' animosity towards each other, and had probably learned some new information from Harry, as well.

Harry then pretended to notice the newspaper on Hagrid's table, and exclaimed, "Hagrid, the Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! I was there that day, do you know anything more about it? Were you there that day?" Harry asked.

Now, Harry wasn't sure if it was responsible to let a few 11 year olds go on a potentially dangerous adventure, looking for the Philosopher's Stone, but it sure had been a great bonding experience last time. Besides, Harry was the only one who had been seriously injured last time, and if he was careful this time, Ron wouldn't have to sacrifice himself on the chess set. Also, the timeline had to play out somewhat similarly, or else Harry's foreknowledge would be useless. Though, he guessed he'd already changed a ton of stuff, so the future wasn't guaranteed to happen anything like it had last time. All in all, the stone adventure had been relatively harmless in terms of end-of-the-year-dangerous-adventures, so he figured it couldn't hurt to get his friends involved.

"Why would I know anything 'bout it?" Hagrid said, not meeting his eyes. "I was jus' there, picking up a package 'or Dumbledore. Not the package they want'd to steal, o'course, a differn' one."

"What was the package for Dumbledore?" Draco asked this time, looking intrigued.

"Now, you jus' forget about the package that was almost stolen, an' what it's doin' at school, that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel-"

"Aha!" Ron exclaimed. "So...whatever they were trying to steal from Gringotts is now at Hogwarts, and there's someone named Nicholas Flamel involved!"

Harry nearly banged his head on the table. Ron needed to learn the art of subtlety...not that Harry had possessed any degree of subtlety at age 11 either.

"Perhaps it is being guarded on the third floor! That's why Dumbledore doesn't want anyone going there!" Hermione chimed in.

Hagrid turned red as a tomato, obviously furious with himself. "Rock cakes?" he offered, changing the subject.

Neville was the only one who took him up on the offer, while the rest of them badgered him with more questions.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Later that night, Harry sneaked out of bed with the cloak, and went into the Room of Requirement. "Accio diadem!" Harry tried. Nothing. "Well, it was worth a shot," Harry muttered to himself.

After searching for a good two hours, he finally succeeded in finding the diadem. He planned to use Fiendfyre to destroy it once he made it into the Forbidden Forest, but figured he should probably let Sirius know that he'd found it.

"Sirius Black!" Harry called into the two-way mirror.

"Prongslet!" Instead of Sirius, the voice of his father came out of the mirror.

"Where's Sirius?" Harry wondered.

His dad turned the mirror, and showed Harry a passed out Sirius Black. "He had one too many shots of Firewhiskey," James explained. "By the way, where are you? I don't recognize that room."

"This is the Room of Requirement," Harry answered. "It only shows up when you 'require' something. It is located on the seventh floor," informed Harry, flipping his mirror so his father could get a better look.

"Damn, Prongslet! You're making me so proud! First, you sneak out of school on the first night, then you discover a room the Marauders failed to in their seven years, within your first week of classes? Incredible," James said gleefully.

"I've also already gotten detention from Snape!" Harry bragged. "I guess I am a bit too much like you for his taste."

"That's my boy!" James exclaimed triumphantly.

"James! Who are you talking to? Has Sirius finally rejoined the land of the living? You woke both me and Alaina up!" Lily complained.

"Don't tell Mum I'm talking to you!" Harry begged. "I'll be in so much trouble if she finds out I've been sneaking...oh, hi, Mum," Harry said sheepishly, noticing his mother's face staring directly at him.

"Harry! It is two in the morning! What are you doing awake? Are you wandering the castle?" Lily scolded. Lily's gaze then softened, "are you okay, honey? Did you have another nightmare?"

"Umm...no, Mum," Harry replied, not wanting to lie to his mother. "I was just...exploring. I was looking for something...interesting."

Lily's frown was back. "Harry James Potter! You can't be dashing around the castle at night. You need to get sleep, for one, also, it's against the rules for a reason-"

"Harry!" Alaina called excitedly, saving him from Lily's tirade. "I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too, Lainie," Harry said sincerely.

Harry ended up talking to his sister for around half an hour, spending the whole time answering her never-ending questions about Hogwarts. Finally, Lily declared that Alaina needed to go back to sleep, and brought his sister upstairs. Unfortunately for him, she demanded that he stay on the other end of the mirror so she could finish talking with him.

After Lily lectured him some more about following the rules, Harry was finally able to tell his mother about his week (leaving out the detention with Snape).

"Neville's in Gryffindor too! He's having a tough time with some of the classes, but he's great at Herbology! I think he could take over for Professor Sprout in the future. I try and help him when I can, though."

Lily smiled. "I'm glad that you and Neville are still getting along well. Who are your other friends?"

"Well let's see...you met Ron already. He's incredible too, though a little immature at times. I'm used to that though, having grown up with Sirius and Dad," Harry chuckled.

"Hey!" James protested. "I've grown up a lot since I was in school. Sirius is the one who still acts like he's 12!"

"Sure, Dad," Harry replied, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, then there's Hermione. She and Ron argue a lot, you see, she's super studious and dedicated, which gets on Ron's nerves sometimes. Of course, those two don't argue as much as Ron and Draco. I think she's a bit over enthusiastic sometimes, which makes sense, because she didn't even know about magic until she got her letter. No that being enthusiastic is a bad thing, I think it just overwhelms some people. She reminds me a lot of you, Mum. You're going to love her once you meet her."

"I'm glad you've made a studious friend, Harry. Perhaps she can help you become better behaved," Lily suggested.

Harry and James pretended to gag in protest, with James saying, "better behaved? Why would anyone want that?"

Lily rolled her eyes at her boys' antics. "Most parents wouldn't see being well behaved as an issue, James. Anyway, Harry, who are your other friends?"

"Last but not least, I have one more best friend. I met him that day in Diagon Alley when we were getting our robes. His name is Draco Malfoy," Harry said, waiting for James' outburst.

"You're friends with a Malfoy?!" James asked incredulously. "I thought I taught you better than that!"

"I could say the same thing about you befriending a Black," Harry pointed out.

"Well...well, Sirius is different! He was in Gryffindor! I bet Malfoy's a Slytherin," James said defensively.

"My best friend was a Slytherin," Lily interjected.

"My point exactly," James said. "Sniv...Snape isn't exactly a stand-up guy-"

Lily glared at James, and Harry's dad immediately stopped talking. "I'm proud of you, honey. It's great that you aren't prejudiced against other Houses," Lily commended.

Harry then chimed back in. "Yes, Dad. Draco is a Slytherin. But it's not a bad thing to have friends and allies in different Houses. And you shouldn't judge him until you meet him. He is Sirius's cousin, after all. Give him a chance," Harry insisted.

"Fine," James relented. "I suppose I trust you to not pick horrible friends…"

"I'm sure he's wonderful, honey," Lily added. "Harry, try to get some sleep tonight, alright? I love you, honey. I'll talk to you soon."

"Love you, Prongslet! Make sure you keep me updated on any pranks you plan on pulling-"

"James!" Lily admonished.

"What, Lils! You can't expect a Potter to not pull any pranks, it's just not in our nature to be rule followers!"

"The least you could do is not encourage the behavior!" Lily retorted.

Harry laughed, finding comfort in his parents' bickering. "I love you both," Harry said, before putting the mirror away, and making his way to the Forbidden Forest.

XXXXXXXXXX

Once on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Harry did a spell to clear the immediate area of living creatures, and cast the Fiendfyre spell. Following Sirius's rather unruly attempt at the spell, Harry had taken matters into his own hands, and had practiced rather meticulously throughout the last few years. He'd often sneaked out at night from Godric's Hollow, and gone to unpopulated areas, just to burn them up.

Following throwing the diadem into the fire, Harry slowly tried to reign in the flames. He finally managed to put out the fire completely, and just when he was about to throw his cloak on and leave, he heard a man screaming.

Harry looked up, and noticed that somehow, while he'd been casting a controlled Fiendfyre, Quirrell had gotten close to the area, and had nearly been burned alive. Shit, what if Quirrelldemort had noticed something?

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Quirrell screamed, running toward the castle. "My robe is on fire, my robe is on fire!"

Nah, it looked like Quirrell was a bit too preoccupied to pay attention to what was going on. Also, since the amount of fire on his robe had been so minuscule, why hadn't he just used a Water-Conjuring Spell? Or, he could've rolled around on the ground. Clearly, Voldemort didn't prioritize brain power when looking for people to possess.