Title: AU: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Author: Artemis Luna Diana

E-Mail: artemislunadiana@yahoo.com

Rating: PG-13 (cursing)

Pairing: none

Time: begins the night of James and Lily's deaths and continues through Harry's first year of school

Summary: Harry grows up under the watchful eyes of Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Arabella Figg.  When Harry was still little, he had a nightmare and woke up screaming.  When his guardians arrived in his bedroom, he told them that he would be coming back.  Knowing instinctively who Harry was referring too, the three resolved to train Harry to defend himself before he left for Hogwarts.  They figured that everyone would dismiss Harry's vision as a simple nightmare.  So they kept the whole matter a secret.  Now it's time for Harry's first year of Hogwarts.  He's been trained in secret to be cunning, strong, and quick-thinking.  So where does he end up: Slytherin.

Disclaimer: I own not a thing.  Due to the fact that this story covers one of the years already written, the majority of the events and some of the dialogue comes straight from the book. 

Thanks to: snapeysnapesnape for the excellent beta

Chapter Three: I think, therefore I am.

Harry was six and a half.  For three months he had been learning about various herbs and whatnot from Arabella.  He would sit in her workroom and listen to her lecture as she brewed various potions.  He had quill and ink so he could take notes (it had taken three months before Arabella was satisfied with his writing abilities).  At first, Harry hadn't been very interested.  He thought the whole thing was rather dull, even if she had turned Sirius completely lime green with one of her potions.  It just wasn't as fun as flying or playing exploding snap or something else similar.  Or, that's what he thought until she got distracted and blew up her cauldron.  Harry thought that the exploding cauldron was so fascinating that he practically ate up whatever she said.

During this time, Harry happened to walk in while Remus was playing his violin.  When Harry expressed an interest, Remus offered to teach him.  So Harry was soon learning to play the violin.  He struggled with it a bit.  Got frustrated, put it down for a few weeks, before coming back and picking it up again.  After a few rocky months, Harry settled into learning the instrument.

When Harry turned seven, Remus began teaching him some basic wizard history.  He also began teaching Harry about magical creatures.  When Harry was about seven and a half, Remus began including dark creatures.  He covered werewolves in one of his lectures and told Harry that he was one.  Harry thought that it was extremely interesting and was disappointed that he couldn't go with Remus when he transformed.

While Remus and Arabella were feeding Harry's brain, Sirius began teaching Harry Muggle fighting techniques up to and including fencing.  They wanted Harry to be able to defend himself in any situation.  If someone had known what they were doing, they would have labeled the whole family as ultra-paranoid.

When Harry turned eight, Sirius began teaching him the simpler charms, for example: lumos.  When Harry was about eight and a half, they moved on to the simple hexes like the leg-locker curse.  While that was funny and even interesting to him, Harry preferred Arabella's potions lessons.  Once he turned eight, just as she promised, the potions lessons became practical as well as theoretical. 

While Harry was rapidly become well-versed in magic and defense, his guardians were not forgetting to make sure that he had fun.  The record of the household for least number of pranks played in one day was twenty-six.  Harry enjoyed flying as well.  He played chess with Arabella, exploding snap with Remus, and Muggle card-games with Sirius.  He read for pleasure as well as studying.  His guardians were determined that Harry would be very well-rounded even if he wasn't able to hang around other children.

By the time Harry turned eleven, he more or less had formed his personality.  He was intelligent, but quiet.  He was more likely to think and then act rather than the opposite.  He was very patient and meticulous.  He was athletic but studious.  His passion lay in potions, his music, and flying.  Around those he was comfortable with, he was teasing and joking.  Around those he didn't know so well, he was silent and played the observer, as his one meeting with Albus Dumbledore proved. 

Harry was nine when he met the Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  While Remus, Sirius and Arabella were content to chat with the older wizard, Harry sat watching the proceedings and never volunteered any information.  When asked a question, he kept his answers simple and to the point.  It wasn't until after Dumbledore had been there for nearly four hours that Harry began to truly speak to him. 

Dumbledore found himself very impressed with Harry.  He wasn't arrogant or shy; he was cautious, which for the Boy-Who-Lived was a very good thing.  Dumbledore also figured that Harry was getting a little bit of tutoring from Arabella.  After all, the woman was a Slytherin.  He, however, had no idea that Harry's guardians were training him with the thought in mind that Voldemort would be coming back.

A tawny owl brought Harry his letter from Hogwarts.

***

Harry lay on his bed reading.  His tower was on the west-side of the house and the sunlight was just beginning to stream in from the small balcony where he had set up his telescope.  It was a fairly large room and reflected his nature.  There was a large bookcase full of his favorite books that he'd swiped from the library as well as ones he had been given for his birthday and for Christmas.  A Nimbus 2000 was hung on the wall above his desk.  The trunk at the foot of his bed was full to the brim with tricks and jokes.  A photo of his parents waved to him from his dresser, along with a photo of Remus, Sirius and Arabella.  Spread out on his desk were his Chocolate Frog Cards.  The house-elves made sure that his clothes didn't litter the floor.  The walls of his room were dark grey and his bedspread was black.  His furniture was made of wood that was a soft, almost white color.  On the walls were pictures of magical beasts: a dragon (Hebridean Black), a griffin, a gargoyle, an imp, a chimaera and a serpent.  All of his potions materials were downstairs in Arabella's workroom.

Harry looked up when something flew in from the balcony.  He grinned when he spotted the owl.  He knew exactly what this was about.  He dropped the book onto the bed and jumped up.  He collected the letter from the owl and it took off back out the window.  Harry plopped back down on the bed and almost reverently opened the letter.

Downstairs, Arabella, Sirius and Remus were attempting to construct a house of cards without using magic.  The house was the first to fall when they heard a scream coming from Harry's tower.  Remus was the next to fall as he tripped over the table trying to leave the room.  Sirius tripped over Remus and smashed into Arabella.  While they were still trying to untangle themselves, Harry came bounding into the room.

"I got my letter!  I got my letter!"  He sang.  It seemed to take him a minute before he realized his guardians were in a pile on the floor.  He looked down at them smirking.  "Is there something you need to tell me?"

"Off!  Get off!" Arabella yelled.

Sirius scrambled to obey, stepping on Remus' hand in the process.  "OW! My hand!  My hand!"  Sirius managed to collapse into one of the chairs and lifted his feet off the ground.  He glanced over at his friends.  Remus was still sitting on the floor, nursing his injured hand and glaring at him.  Arabella was sitting on the couch, arms folded across her chest, glaring at him. 

Sirius scowled.  "You know I wasn't the first one to fall so stop glaring at me.  It wasn't my fault."

The three turned and looked at the source of laughter.  Harry couldn't take it anymore, he was rolling on the floor laughing.  "You think it's funny do you?" Sirius said evilly.  "I'll give you something to laugh about!" he cried and pounced on his Godson.  "Let the tickle fest begin!"  More laughter was intermixed with screams and pleas for mercy.

"Wait! Wait!  I got my letter!" Harry gasped out between laughing fits.

Sirius sat up.  "So that's what the scream was about."  Sirius snatched the slightly rumpled letter from Harry's hand.  "Let's see."  Sirius skimmed over it before glancing over at Remus.  "It seems like only yesterday I received my letter.  I remember fondly those days.  Playing pranks, chasing girls, playing pranks, getting detention, playing pranks –"  Remus cut him off before he could continue.

"I'll take you to Diagon Alley tomorrow to get your things."

Harry's grin spread wider.  "Okay!"

"Now remember, Harry," Arabella said.  "When you get to Hogwarts, you want to be in Slytherin."

"You most certainly do not!" Sirius yelled.  "You want Gryffindor!"

"Convince the Sorting Hat to put you in Ravenclaw and piss them both off," Remus said with a smirk.

Harry started laughing again.

***

"Nervous?"

"Nah, maybe a little apprehensive.  I've never been around so many people at once, not to mention that they will all be strangers."

"I wouldn't worry, Harry," Remus said comfortingly. 

"Leaky Cauldron?"

"Leaky Cauldron."

Harry took a pinch of floo powder and threw it into the fire.  He stepped in and shouted his destination.  He stumbled a bit as he landed in the pub by Diagon Alley.  Harry turned and saw Remus appear.  Remus reached out and began dusting off Harry.  When Harry was relatively soot free, Remus began dusting himself off and walking towards the entrance to Diagon Alley.  He gave an absent hello to the man behind the bar as he passed.

Harry remained silent, watching those in the pub, as he walked.  When they reached the brick wall and Remus began tapping bricks, Harry spoke.  "They were staring at me.  Do they do that to everyone?  Or did they recognize me?"

Remus shrugged.  "I never notice those things, Harry," he said with a slight smile.  "It could be either."

"Hmm."

They entered Diagon Alley.

"Whoa."

Remus smiled.  "This is Diagon Alley.  Pretty cool, huh?"

"I'll say!  I'm glad we came this way!"  Harry flashed him a grin.  "Where can we go first?"

"First, we go to Gringotts."

Harry nodded, still grinning.  "Okay."

Remus, Sirius and Arabella had legally combined their respective fortunes and all of their money was pooled into one large account.  The money that James and Lily had left for Harry would be Harry's alone, and they would give him the key to that vault when he graduated from Hogwarts.  Until then, they would pay for his every need. 

Twenty minutes later, Remus and Harry reappeared from the bank.  Both had somewhat maniacal grins on their faces.  The carts were like roller-coasters and, to the Marauders, were always a blast.  "Let's see," Remus said and glanced down at Harry's list.  "Robes first?"

"Okay."

So off they went to 'Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions'.  Madam Malkin greeted them cheerfully and led Harry to the back to be measured.  Remus followed along chatting with the seamstress.  Harry rolled his eyes, Remus was a well-known flirt.  After the measurements were done and the robes completed, Remus and Harry left the shop.

"Where to?" Harry asked.

"How about we pick up your parchment and quills, then the bookstore?"

"Okay."

After collecting parchment, quill and ink, the duo entered 'Flourish and Blotts'.  Harry's eyes rounded and his mouth dropped open.  Remus glanced at him and smiled.  "You're drooling."

"Can I…" his voice trailed off.

"You can get the books on your list and three others."  Remus smiled at the look of utter joy on Harry's face.  "Why don't I get your school books and you pick out your three extras, okay?"

"Thanks, Remus!" Harry said and bounded off giggling.  

They were in the bookstore for over a half an hour before Harry returned to Remus with three books in hand: 'Curses and Counter-curses' by Professor Vindictus Viridian, 'Potions and their Masters' by Alara Keys, 'The Twenty Most Mind-Boggling Potions of All Time' by Professor Eileen Porter.  Remus looked at the titles and smiled. 

Harry grinned happily as Remus paid for the books.  "Where are we going next?"

"Well as you already have a pewter cauldron, scales, a telescope, and plenty of potions ingredients, we can skip all that," Remus said looking at the list.  "That just leaves your owl and your wand."

Harry grinned.  "I get an owl?"

Remus laughed.  "Come on, Harry.  You didn't think we'd let you out of our sight without some means of communication did you?"

Harry giggled.  "No, I suppose not.  Where do we go to get an owl?"

"Eeylops Owl Emporium," Remus said and gestured to the store.

Ten minutes later, they emerged with a snowy owl, snoozing with her head under her wing.  Harry was wearing a happy grin.  The last stop was his wand.  He'd been waiting for this day since he was eight and began learning wand magic.  It was on to Ollivanders.

When they entered, Harry was treated to the details of his parents' wands, Voldemort's wand, and Remus' before being measured for his own.  Then began the testing of wands.  Ten minutes later, Harry was still wandless, and Mr. Ollivander was cheerfully searching for different wands.

"Try this – holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches, nice and supple."

Mr. Ollivander was tickled pink when the wand proved itself to be Harry's.  Then his smile faded slightly as he realized something.  "Well, well, well… how curious… how very curious…"

Harry asked what was so curious, and Mr. Ollivander explained the relationship between Harry's wand and the wand of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.  Harry and Remus exchanged identical 'this-can't-be-good' looks.  They paid for the wand and left the shop.

With his wand resting in his pocket, Harry and Remus left Diagon Alley and traveled by floo to the Aurors' Ministry building.  This was the first time that Harry had ever been there.  Remus had shrunk all of their purchases and cast a feather-weight charm on them, so the only thing they were carrying was Harry's owl. 

Harry glanced around the main hall.  It was rather bare, other than the portraits of the Ministry's greatest aurors.  The reality had not lived up to his expectations.  Remus handed him some floo powder and Harry tossed into the fire.  He stepped in and shouted, "Black Manor!"  As much fun as the day had been, he was relieved to be home.

***

Harry poured the Pepper-Up Potion from his cauldron into a flask.  He set the cauldron back down, capped the flask, and sealed it, placing his mark in the drying wax.  Arabella had taught him to always mark his potions, even if they weren't perfect.  She had given him a ring, which he wore on the first finger of his left hand, which had his chosen symbol embossed on it.  It was that ring that he used to mark his completed potions.

The ring was made of platinum and charmed to be wearable by only him.  It also changed its size as he grew so that it always fit.  The symbol was composed of his initials inscribed over a phoenix with a coiled serpent below.  Harry was rather proud of his choice.

"Can I take a few of my potions with me?" he asked as he placed the flask in his cabinet.  He looked over all the potions he had made and kept.  Some of them were rather complex and others fairly simple.

Arabella glanced over at him.  "Which ones did you want to take?"

"Well, the Pepper-Up Potion I just made, umm… Dreamless Sleep isn't a bad one to have…" Harry said, shifting some of the flasks over to see the potions behind them.

Arabella walked over and placed her hands on his shoulders.  "The school will give you those potions if you need them, Harry.  What's wrong?"

His shoulders slumped, but he didn't turn around.  "I don't know.  I guess I'm nervous… maybe a little scared.  I want to be prepared for anything."

She pulled him back towards her in a hug.  "Harry, you've got nothing to be worried about.  We all were a little nervous and a little scared when we first went to Hogwarts.  It's nothing to be embarrassed about.  You'll do fine.  You are very prepared for anything that could happen.  You know everything you can to defend yourself.  I can honestly say that you will know more than any of your fellow first-years, including the Slytherins."

"You know I'm probably going to end up in Slytherin, don't you?" Harry asked seriously, turning in her embrace to look at her face.

"Of course," she smirked.  "How could you not?"

"Sirius is going to be mad at me.  Anytime he brings up Hogwarts he praises the Gryffindors and insults the Slytherins."

Arabella sighed.  "No, he won't.  He's come a long way since we were in school.  He's living with a Slytherin for Merlin's sake!"  She laughed and released him so she could shut the cabinet.  She placed her arm around his shoulders and led him out of the room towards the main part of the house.  "He doesn't think that all Slytherins are bad, though he does have high opinions of the Gryffindors that I think are a little naive.  He won't be mad; he loves you, Harry.  As long as you're happy wherever you end up, he'll be happy."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

"Thanks, Arabella."

"You're welcome, Harry."

***

TBC…