Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling.

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4 Privet Drive, 1991

Eleven-year-old Harry Potter finished washing the breakfast dishes. He was eager to finish and return to his room to look through his new textbooks. He still couldn't believe it. He was a wizard! Magic was real and his parents had been magical too. And they weren't worthless drunks like his aunt had told him, they had been brave and died protecting him. And he had his first friend, Hagrid! The games-keeper had even bought him a birthday present, a beautiful snowy owl he had named Hedwig. He didn't remember ever getting a present before.

"Aren't you finished yet?" Petunia asked irritably, coming up behind him.

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," Harry said, wiping his hands on a towel. He looked at her hopefully. "Can I have some breakfast?" Although he had done the cooking, as usual, he hadn't been allowed to eat with his aunt, uncle, and cousin.

Petunia sniffed and handed him a plate with one piece of toast and a small apple. "Here. Eat this and then go up to the attic and clean it out."

Harry sighed as he ate his toast and apple, his stomach rumbling for more food. He drank some water and then headed upstairs. It was very cluttered and he began moving things around, organizing, and sweeping. He pulled out a box that held random items and began going through them. He rifled through several books, pausing when he came across a purple one. The cover had an inscription at the bottom, etched in green. Lily's Journal. Harry's eyes widened. His mother? Hearing footsteps approach, he quickly hid the journal in his pocket.

Petunia appeared and sneered at the now much cleaner attic. "I suppose this will do for now. Your uncle and I are taking Dudley to the toy store. Go to your room so I can lock you in."

Harry for once didn't mind being locked in his room. At least it wasn't the cupboard and now he had Hedwig for company and his new textbooks to look through. But all he could think of was the journal. He had to read it. It was all he had left of his mother. As soon as he heard Petunia lock the door and walk away, he opened the journal and began reading.

I don't understand how everything could have gone so wrong. I wish I had been strong enough to prevent this from happening. I was with the man I loved, the man whose baby I am carrying and I break up with him! I broke his heart and married a man he considers his enemy! Oh, how Severus must hate me. Severus Snape, who started out as my best childhood friend. It was my seventh year at Hogwarts when I realized I was in love with him. He made me so happy and loved me so completely. He can be so serious but he always has this snarky sense of humor that I loved. Still love. Oh Merlin, how I still love him. He should be with me, be looking forward to our child being born. Instead, I was placed under that curse and pushed him away, broke him, and now he has turned down a dark path because of me.

Harry put down the journal, shaking slightly. So James Potter wasn't his father? Severus Snape...wait. That name sounded familiar. He rifled through the papers about his new school.

Professor S. Snape – Potion's Master, Professor of Potions, and Head of Slytherin.

Was this his father? Harry wondered. He picked up the journal to continue reading.

James has been wonderful. When I was able to get out from under the Imperius curse and told him what Bellatrix had done to me, he was hurt that I'm not in love with him but he's been very supportive. He's a good friend. I wanted to find Sev and tell him the truth right away, but James said it wasn't safe with the war going on. We must wait until Voldemort is defeated and then it will be safe to tell Severus the truth. I just hope he believes me, that he believes I would never have left him. I miss him, I know he will be a wonderful father. I hope he and James can become friends after all this, instead of enemies like they were in school. It's ridiculous that Gryffindors and Slytherins act like mortal enemies, it doesn't have to be that way. Although I can understand why Sev never liked James and his friends, I didn't either. But James has changed and is being really mature about everything, willing to stay with me and help with the baby until Severus can know the truth. I just can't believe this happened. I still have hope for our dreams, to raise a family together. I know Severus wanted to own his own apothecary, I wonder if he still does. He was always a genius with potions. I would love to do something with Charms, it was my favorite subject in school. Followed by potions, of course. Perhaps I could work in the ministry in the Committee on Experimental Charms or maybe even be a professor if Professor Flitwick ever retires. I miss talking to Sev about things like this, dreaming of our future. I know he and I would playfully argue about if our child will be a Gryffindor or Slytherin, not that it would actually matter to either of us. Either way, our child will be loved.

Harry laid back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. The potions professor had to be his father! And he didn't know he had a son! The excitement began to fill Harry. Once his father read the journal, once he realized he had a son, then Harry could live with him, right? He would finally have someone who would want him! Now he was even more excited for school to start!

HP

Harry got out of the Dursley's car, pulling his trunk out and Hedwig's cage. His relatives didn't bother getting out of the car.

"Well, goodbye -" Harry started to say.

The Dursleys sped off before Harry could finish. He shrugged as he pulled his trolley. If all went well, he wouldn't ever have to see them again. He frowned. Where was nine and three-quarters?

"Always too crowded with muggles, as usual," A plump woman sighed as she passed him with four boys, and all of them had flaming red hair. They had trunks just like Harry did...and an owl! "Here we are, platform nine and three-quarters."

Harry watched in fascination as three of the boys seemed to vanish. But how?

"Excuse me, Ma'am," Harry said to the woman politely.

"Yes, dear?" The woman glanced down at him.

"How did they – uh," Harry gestured towards the platform.

"How did they get onto the platform?" The woman asked kindly. "First time attending Hogwarts?"

Harry nodded.

"It's easy. All you do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don't stop or hesitate, don't be afraid you'll crash into it. Be confident and do it at a bit of a run. My son Ron is starting school too, go on before him."

Taking a deep breath, Harry did as she had told him. He had thought he would smash into the barrier but instead, he just kept running and soon he was on a platform next to a scarlet steam engine, packed with people. He found an empty compartment near the end of the train. After putting Hedwig inside he tried to lift his trunk up the steps but it was too heavy.

"Need help?" Asked one of the red-haired twins.

"If you don't mind," Harry said gratefully.

"Fred, help us out, would you?"

With the twins' help, Harry was able to get his trunk into the compartment.

"Thank you so much," Harry said.

"No problem – hey, is that...?" One of them pointed at his forehead.

"Blimey, I think it is!" The other twin said excitedly.

"What?"

"You're Harry Potter!" They both said.

Harry flushed with embarrassment and nodded. "Yeah, that's me."

"Brilliant!" They both grinned.

"I'm Fred -"

"Hey, I thought I was Fred!"

"Are you?" The twin shrugged. "We switch places so much we forget sometimes." He told Harry.

Harry laughed.

"Wait, you were right. You're Fred. I'm George." The twin grinned.

Harry immediately liked them.

"Hey, our little brother is a first year too. Can he sit with you?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, otherwise he'll want to sit with us," George said.

Harry shrugged. "Sure."

"There you two are. Hurry up and get a compartment." One of the other red-heads, the one who looked the oldest, said as he walked by them. "I've got to get up front with the other prefects. We have our own compartments." He said smugly.

"What? You're a prefect? And you didn't say anything about it?" Fred asked as if outraged.

"Now wait, I think he did mention once," George said with mock thoughtfulness.

"You're right, twice actually." Fred nodded.

"All summer, actually." They both said.

Percy scowled. "Oh, shut up you two."

Harry was shaking from trying not to laugh. Yup, he liked the twins.

"Oh, Mum said to tell you not to blow up a toilet or anything this year."

"We've never done that," George scoffed.

"It's a good idea though, thanks, Percy!" Fred said brightly as he and George walked away.

Percy glared after them and then glanced at Harry. "Here's some advice, stay away from them. Nothing but trouble, those two." He stalked away.

Harry shook his head in amusement and sat down. A minute later, the door slid open and the youngest redhead walked in.

"Fred and George said you didn't mind if I sat with you?" Ron asked hopefully.

"I don't mind," Harry said.

"Thanks. It's full everywhere else." Ron said as he sat down.

"Hey Ron," The twins were back, standing in the doorway. "We're going to be down the middle of the train, Lee Jordan says he has a giant tarantula."

"Yeah, what to come with us?" George grinned.

"No way," Ron said quickly.

"We'll see you two later then," Fred said.

"Be a good boy, Ronniekins," George teased.

Ron scowled after them. "They think they are so funny." He muttered.

"They are." Harry chuckled.

Ron smiled ruefully. "Yeah, they are. Ron Weasley." He stuck out his hand.

Harry shook it. "Harry Potter."

Ron froze for a moment and glanced at his forehead. "Really? Uh, I mean, nice to meet you."

"You too." Harry pushed back his fringe. "And yeah, really." He said with a grin.

"Wow." Ron breathed. "Can you remember any of what happened?"

Harry shook his head. "Just a green light." He looked at Ron curiously. "So are all your family wizards?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"So you have three brothers and a sister?" Harry wondered what it would be like to have siblings.

"Five brothers." Ron corrected him. "I'm the second to youngest."

"Must be brilliant to have a big family."

"Sometimes. But I've got a lot to live up to. My oldest brothers, Bill and Charlie, have already graduated. Bill was Head Boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy is a prefect. And Fred and George, well they're pranksters but really popular. Even if I do as well as the others, it's not big deal because they did it first. Plus I get all their hand-me-downs, like Percy's old rat." He lifted a fat, gray rat that was asleep out of his pocket. "His name is Scabbers. He's pretty useless, I'd rather have an owl like Percy got for being made prefect."

"I lived with my aunt, uncle, and cousin. They're muggles and I had to wear Dudley's old clothes and the only toys I got were ones that Dudley had broken." Harry said. "I didn't even know I was a wizard until Hagrid came and took me to get my supplies. I didn't know anything about my scar or Voldemort -"

Ron gave a gasp.

"What?"

"You said You-know-who's name!" Ron said in awe.

"Oh. Well, I didn't know you're not supposed to." Harry explained. "I really know nothing of the wizarding world. I bet I'll be the worst student in school." He said glumly. He hoped his father wasn't disappointed in him.

"Nah, loads of students come from Muggle families," Ron reassured him. "They learn quick enough."

When it was lunchtime, a lady came by and asked if they wanted anything off the food cart. Seeing Ron look glum as he held up some squished sandwiches and declined, Harry decided to buy some of everything. The sweets were ones he had never heard of before. When he dumped the lot on an empty seat, Ron stared at him.

"Hungry?"

Harry grinned. "I've never had wizarding sweets. Want to share?"

"Really?" Ron's face lit up. "Thanks!" He immediately took a pumpkin pastie and began munching on it.

"What are these?" Harry held up a chocolate frog. "It's not really a frog, is it?" He wrinkled his nose at the thought. It seemed anything went in the wizarding world so it wouldn't exactly surprise him it was.

"No, it's just chocolate. But it comes with a collectible card. See which one you got, I've been collecting and I'm still missing Agrippa." Ron told him.

Harry opened it and looked at the card. It showed a man wearing half-moon glasses and a long, crooked nose, long silver hair, beard, and mustache. "Albus Dumbledore!" Harry exclaimed. "Hagrid told me about him. So this is the Headmaster of Hogwarts. And he moves!"

"Sure. Don't pictures move in the muggle world?"

"No. They just stay put."

"Huh. Well, you should start collecting cards too. It's fun." He eyed the other chocolate frogs.

"Go ahead and open them," Harry said as he opened a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and popped one into his mouth. "Blech!" It tasted like brussel sprouts!

"Oops, should have warned you. When they say every flavor, they mean every flavor. There are good ones but there are also disgusting ones."

Harry and Ron had fun trying different beans.

A timid knock on the day revealed a round-faced boy, with a tearful face. "Have either of you seen a toad?"

"No."

"I keep losing him. My gran's going to be furious." Sniffed the boy.

"I'm sure he'll turn up."

"I hope so. If you see him, can you let me know? My name is Neville Longbottom. I'm in the compartment across from yours."

"We'll let you know if we see him," Harry assured him.

"Toads are pretty useless, I'm surprised he brought one," Ron remarked. He made a face. "Of course, I've got Scabbers so who am I to talk? Although the twins told me of a spell to turn him yellow. Should I try it?"

"Yeah." Harry leaned forward eagerly.

Ron pulled out his wand when their door slid open again. It was a girl with bushy brown hair standing with Neville, already wearing her school robes.

"Have either of you seen a toad? Neville has lost one." She said in a brisk voice.

"I already -" Neville began.

"We already told him we hadn't." Ron interrupted.

The girl looked at the wand in his hand and her brown eyes lit up. "Are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." She took a seat next to him and looked at him expectantly.

Ron glanced at Harry, who shrugged in response. "Um, all right." He said. "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat yellow!" He waved his wand. Nothing happened and Scabbers just stayed asleep.

The girl frowned. "Hmm. Are you certain that is a real spell? It's not very good, is it?"

Ron narrowed his eyes.

"I've tried a few spells and they have all worked for me." The girl continued. "I was really surprised when I got my letter, no one else in my family is magical. I was very excited, of course, as I read that Hogwarts is the very best school there is. I've already read through all our textbooks and memorized everything, I just hope it is enough. By the way, I'm Hermione Granger. And you are?"

Ron stared at her. "Ron Weasley." He finally said.

"Harry Potter," Harry said.

"You are? I've read all about you!" Hermione beamed. "I got a few extra books for background reading and you're in several of them."

"Really?" Harry asked weakly. How embarrassing. Why can't he just be normal and blend in? Just wait until everyone found out his father wasn't James Potter.

"So what House do you think you'll be in?" Hermione asked. "I've been asking and it appears as Gryffindor is the best, even Headmaster Dumbledore was in it. But Ravenclaw could be very interesting too, I wouldn't mind that one either. Anyway, Neville and I should continue to look for his toad. You should get changed into your robes, I expect we'll be there soon." She got up and left, taking a bemused Neville with her.

"She's, uh, interesting," Harry said.

"Whatever house I'm in, she better not be in it. She's mental." Ron sighed. "Stupid spell. I bet the twins knew it was useless." He grumbled.

"What house are they in?"

"Gryffindor. All my family has been in that house. As long as I'm not in Slytherin, I'm good."

Slytherin...my dad's house, Harry thought. "That was the house Vold- er, you-know-who was in, right?"

"Yeah. Practically everyone who is in that house is evil." Ron shuddered.

Changing the subject, Harry asked what his oldest brothers did now that they had graduated. He listened with interest as Ron told him about Charlie, who was in Romania studying dragons, and Bill in Africa doing something for Gringotts.

"Sounds cool," Harry said.

"So what's your Quidditch team?"

"Oh, uh, I don't have one. I don't know much about the sport." Harry admitted.

"It's the best sport in the whole world!" Ron said enthusiastically and began telling him how the game worked. Harry was listening with interest when their door once again opened. Only this time it was that blond boy he had briefly met in Diagon Alley. He had two other boys with him.

"So is it true? You're Harry Potter?"

"Yes," Harry said.

"You should have said something when we met." The boy said. "I can help you, you know. It's important to make friends with the right sort of people. Some wizarding families are better than others." He gave a smirk in Ron's direction. "My name is Draco Malfoy."

Ron snickered.

Draco glared at him. "Think my name is funny? I know who you are. Red hair, freckles, and your parents have more children than they can afford. Must be a Weasley."

Ron's face flushed with anger and Harry looked coolly at Draco. Apparently, even the wizarding world had a Dudley. "I can tell the right sort for myself, thanks." He said.

Draco's face darkened. "Hang around with losers and you will become one, Potter."

"Thanks for the advice, Malfoy." Harry rolled his eyes.

Draco gave him a dirty look and walked out, his two goons following him.

"Ugh, he's horrid," Harry said.

"I've heard of the Malfoy's. They said they had been bewitched by you-know-who and that's why they followed him. My dad doesn't believe it though, says Mr. Malfoy was a willing follower." Ron shared.

A few minutes later, Hermione peeked in and frowned. "You need to get changed into your robes!"

"Yes, Ma'am," Ron said sarcastically. "Now go away."

Hermione gave a huff and disappeared.

Harry was so excited as they followed Hagrid to the boats that would take them to the castle. Not only was he finally here at Hogwarts but soon he would see his father. He couldn't wait!

TBC: Next up, Harry is less than impressed when meeting his father!