Disclaimer: Evile JK Rowling owns all of my little babies! Except for Luke, that sexy bastard is mine.

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It hadn't taken Luke too long to find another compartment. Inside of it were three girls, all third-years, they had informed him. The first one, obviously the leader of the three, was blonde and skinny, but flat-chested, just like most of the girls her age. Her face was covered in make-up and she wore a mini-skirt and flip-flops. The other two girls weren't quite as dressed up as her, but they looked better for it. Both of them were just as skinny, one red-headed and the other a brunette, and wore similar outfits. He spent the rest of the trip listening to them giggle about the "hot" boys that they had met over the summer. The brunette kept on giving Luke glances, and every time that he met her gaze she would blush. Damn, he hated this. After a while the talk had moved towards him, and the red-head gave him advice on the houses.

Her name was Sarah Young and she was a Hufflepuff. She mentioned that no one would recommend becoming one, but she found that she belonged there. Sarah mentioned the other three houses, and the rival between Slytherin and Gryffindor. She did mention not to worry about which house Luke ended up in, the Sorting Hat would choose for him. So Luke took her advice and didn't become worried. It's not like he was in the first place.

When it came time for them to change into their Hogwarts robes, Luke left and went into the bathroom to change. When he was finished changing he stood outside the compartment door waiting for the girls to allow him back inside. They took an awful long time, considering that the outfit wasn't really that complicated.

Once he was let back inside the compartment he noticed that Kanika looked irritated. The girls were petting her and messing with her collar, and her fur, usually neatly groomed, was in all directions. When her patience died, she snapped at the blonde, and all three girls backed off. Luke sat down next to Kanika and then she contently closed her eyes and purred once more as his hand stroked her fur.

After ten more minutes of riding in the train, they had arrived at Hogwarts. Luke got onto the horseless carriages with the same three girls, the brunette still blushing extremely. It was a short trip to the castle and he stared at it blankly. Of course he was excited, but he hoped that his last two years of schooling weren't as bad as they could be.

Along with all of the students he filed into the Great Hall. Kanika wasn't interested in the ceremony of the Sorting Hat, and once she had seen something scurry under a table, she was off. Luke glanced around, deciding which table looked more promising to sit at. Neither of them at the moment did... Slytherins were too sneaky, Gryffindors were full of imbeciles, Hufflepuffs were too loyal... and well, Ravenclaws, too booky. He was glad when a stern woman lead him out of the Great Hall and into a corridor.

"Luke Thynne?" She asked, her spectacles gleaming from the light coming from the candelabra nearby. Luke nodded. "Good, you'll just have to wait with these students and when I come back in, you'll just follow these students out with me and be sorted." Luke nodded again. "Good, I heard you were a smart boy, just stay here for now." Luke watched her retreat back into the Great Hall, her shoes click on the stone floor. He turned around to face the group of small children, their eyes wide.

One stepped forward, defiance in his eyes. "What the hell are you doing here? You're not eleven!"

Luke grinned. "Oh, what makes you say that?"

"You're much too bloody tall to be eleven."

Luke looked him up for size. He had to be under five feet, with scrawny legs, and buggy eyes. "And? I've seen plenty of tall eleven year olds. You just happen to be short."

A few in the group giggled. "I'm not short, fool! Hell, you just happen to be tall on the outside, I'm tall on the inside!"

Luke lifted his eyebrows. "Is that so? From what I can tell your britches are just a bit too big."

The boy scowled, crossing his skinny arms over his chest. "You stop being so prudent! I swear I'll--"

The boy was interrupted by the reappearance of the woman. She held a finger to her lips, "Shh, now enter quietly, all of you." She gave a meaningful look at the skinny boy, who just glared back.

Inside the Great Hall was silent, and Luke got a good plenty of looks. He literally towered over the small First Years. He looked over the room again, sizing up who would give him trouble this year. He found Malfoy sitting at the Slytherin table, noticing the seething hatred coming from his eyes. He also noticed Ron and his two friends sitting at the Gryffindor table and at the Hufflepuff table he noticed the red-head, Sarah. He sighed and ignored the Sorting Hat as he sung about the four houses of Hogwarts and a whole load of other bullshit. Then the sorting ceremony began. Basically children, one-by-one, came up and tried on the enormous hat. After... three seconds to maybe five minutes the hat would scream out a house name. After thirty minutes, Luke was the only one standing out there, and most every eye was on him. That's when an elderly man with a long beard stood up. Dumbledore.

"Today we're lucky enough to have an exchange student from the Academy of Magic come to stay here for his remaining two years of schooling." Luke scowled, Thanks for reminding me that I have two more years, Dumbledork. "All of the staff has heard great things about this student, his grades and his behavior included," Bullshit, Luke thought. "and we hope that you all get to know him well and show your best behavior." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled, "At least for the first month, everyone."

Dumbledore then sat down and the stern woman stood up once more, her eyes on Luke also. "Thynne, Luke." Luke had nothing to lose. He took one more glance at the group of kids spread around the four long tables and then walked up to the stool.

Hello Luke... got a lot of thinking in your mind, don't you?

Luke held his breath. A hat was talking to him... inside of his head.

Surprised? I just sung about thirty minutes ago and now you're surprised that I'm talking to you? I'd think you'd be smarter, Luke. I know your mother was in Slytherin, poor soul, things could have turned out differently, couldn't they have? Ah, of course then you wouldn't be here right now, would you? Now I know you don't want to hang around a bunch of loyal people all day... besides, you're not even loyal. The question is, which of the other three houses do you fit in most? Bravery is in your heart, but deception in your mind. And wit, you definitely have that, but I'm not quite sure about brains... but we all know that Dumbledore just said you have that, and I know it's in your head somewhere.

And I hear this secret wish... "Put me in Slytherin... put me in Slytherin." but then I hear this shouting, "Not with the bloody Malfoy... Not with the bloody Malfoy." Well... that's going to be difficult, now isn't it? Sorry, mate, but you belong in Slytherin.

Luke's mind screamed desperately, No, please, hat, not Slytherin!

Making a choice, now are we? A Thynne not letting fate happen? That's odd, I oddly remember your mother's mind saying "Just put me where I belong." Are you going to choose or let me choose? Which way could be better for your future? You will succeed in Slytherin, unlike your mother. Your mother, well, either house would have been a terrible fate. She was doomed to begin with. You, though, have a choice. Choose wisely.

Why Slytherin?

Ah, well, first off, you fit it. You have more wit that intelligence, along with cunning desires to win at everything. Does that sound like a Gryffindor or a Ravenclaw? Not to me. Your kind is in Slytherin, sure they won't be your friends, but they're your kind.

So you're saying that I best stay where I belong and be who I'm not so I can be who I am?

Perhaps Ravenclaw does fit you, boy, since you seem to have figured that out. But alas, like I said before, you belong in Slytherin. Unless you want to choose...?

No. Luke gulped, You're a professional.

That I am, Luke, that I am.

"So, Thynne, finally made the choice to go where the best of the best are?" Malfoy gave Luke a humorous smirk, no emotion from the last encounter on his face.

"I just let what was destined to happen, happen." Luke answered, moving mashed potatoes around his plate. Oddly he wasn't hungry, it had been a few days since his last good meal. His Grandmother couldn't cook.

"I hear you're living with your Grandmother, kind of like Longbottom, eh?" Pansy remarked, shoving a whole fork-full of lamb in her mouth.

Malfoy laughed. "I suppose so, but Longbottom's Grandmother isn't as skilled in the Dark Arts as Thynne's, is she?"

Luke smirked. "Longbottom? Sounds like a crazy last name. And no, my Grandmother isn't skilled in the Dark Arts... she's a bit off."

"Is anyone's Grandmother on anything anymore?" Zabini laughed.

Luke enjoyed his dinner. Much more than he expected. No one mentioned the earlier conversation or anything. It seemed weird, but it kind of felt right. As if even if something did happen, it really didn't. And the Sorting Hat was right, he did belong here. He didn't like having his emotions fall in front of his relationships with people and the way the Slytherins handled things like that, well, they suited him. Most of dinner he spent talking, since his stomach was acting up, and once it was over with, he followed the group of Slytherins down to the dungeons. Luke saw Kanika catching up with the group, a look of happiness. She had definitely caught herself dinner.

"I'd prefer not to call them dungeons," Pansy said as Luke walked beside her. "I mean, they're so much nicer than anything else. It's easier to sneak out, no one patrols down in the dungeons, and being Slytherin, and all, we know our way around down here better. I'll show you around sometime..." She gave him a meaningful glance, a soft smile, and a wink.

Pansy was certainly right. Luke liked the coolness of the dungeons, even though it was nearing 30° C during mid-day that day, it felt like it was only 10° C down there. He hung around in the common room for about an hour, lounging in a leather armchair and talking with some other Slytherins. He looked up at the clock on the deep mahogany mantle, noticing that it was nearing 9:00 PM, and he had none of his stuff unpacked or anything. As he headed down the stairs, Kanika rose from her spot on the couch, and followed him.

The dormitory was roomy, gleaming with the glow of new candles in the candelabras on the stone walls. On one wall all of the trunks were stacked, and Luke picked out his and dragged it over to a mahogany four-poster on the other side of the room. He noticed that all of the sheets were Slytherin colors, silver and green. For the first time, he noticed that the collar he had gotten Kanika also was silver and green. Odd coincidence, he thought.

He unpacked everything except for his clothes. He set his cauldron beside his bed, dumping his books into it along with some scales he had to buy. On top of that he dropped his new bag, which had his ink and quills in. Satisfied that he had at least unpacked some stuff, he kicked off his shoes and collapsed on his bed, his hands behind his head. Damn, he bloody hated school and now he was back again. This time he could start out new... except for the fact that the Slytherins would spread rumors. He shrugged to no one in particular. It's not like he cared.

He was drifting off to sleep when he felt a furry form settle by his side. Kanika. She obviously seemed satisfied, he could hear her licking her chops and he also felt her purring against his thigh. He wasn't sure if they both had the same kind of day.

In the morning Luke woke up to Kanika attacking his leg. He rolled over and kicked her off. She growled and hissed and then trotted off to find breakfast. Luke, still not convinced that he had had enough sleep, rolled over and hugged his pillow. But then he noticed that no one else was in the room. He had been left!

Rolling out of bed he smoothed down his robes (which he had fallen asleep in) and tried to straighten his tousled hair. He did manage to look slightly un-bum-like before he ran out of the room, his bag on his shoulder.

That's when he noticed the clock on the mantel. It was only 8:10 and classes didn't start until 9:00. Sighing he ran back upstairs and got ready. The shower and the clean clothes made a huge difference for his appearance, and he was glad, he didn't want to look like the buffoon that was late the first day of classes. Luke's hair was still wet when he up the stairs to the Great Hall. Good thing the Slytherin dorms were so close to the Great Hall, otherwise he wasn't sure he'd make it to breakfast each day.

Setting his bag down, he noticed that only about half of the students from yesterday were still eating. Luke saw Ron sitting over with a few other Gryffindors, still pigging out on bacon and eggs, but otherwise he saw no one he knew, but a few odd Slytherins he had met last night but had forgotten their names. Sighing, he sat on the bench and began to load up a golden plate with biscuits and gravy.

On the other side of the hall, Ron looked at Luke. Ron had known from the start that Luke would be a Slytherin. The attitude, the hair, the... look. Everything about Luke screamed Slytherin. Ron smiled smugly. He usually got people's characters correct. He knew Harry would be a good person... although Hermione had turned out to be a lot more fun than he had thought she would be. But he never thought of her as a Slytherin. Luke's name brought Ron out of his trance.

"That new kid's name is Thynne right?" Hermione asked Ron, who had too much food in his mouth to do anything but nod. "Well, I was thinking, since most Slytherins are full-bloods, and his obviously has that look of smugness of a pure-blood, I'd look up his last name and see where his family originated from."

Harry swallowed what was in his mouth, "And have you?"

"No, not yet... but lately there have been rumors going around about his past. Apparently he moved here to start over. Both of his parents were killed by Voldemort."

"You're kidding me?" Ron said, almost spitting out the pancake he had just shoveled into his mouth.

"Well... I'm not kidding you about the rumors. You know rumors aren't always true. Of course there's other rumors I've heard lately."

"You should stop hanging around Parvati and all of them." Harry said, glancing at Luke, who at the moment, seemed awfully boring and normal.

"Harry, they're not the only ones hearing the rumors. Besides, they told me they didn't make this up. Parvati's sister Padma heard the rumors straight from a Slytherin herself."

Ron swallowed the rest of his pancake, "So, what other rumor did you hear?"

"His parents worked for Voldemort... which confuses me."

Ron grinned inwardly. He was always right about a person's character.

"Wait, that makes no sense," Harry interjected. "I thought you said his parents were killed by Voldemort."

"They were."

"Then why? I mean, the two of them worked for Voldemort."

"How am I supposed to know? No one told me anything yet," Hermione said, rolling her eyes. "If I had known anything more about that little issue I would have told you."

Ron ignored her eye-rolling. "So, anything else?"

"Well... I heard some strange rumor that he lit his uncle on fire."

"Wicked!"

It was official. Luke had been living and studying at Hogwarts for two months now and Halloween was nearing. Only a few odd things had happened so far... considering the fact that his grandmother would send some strange owls, things about how the underground lab exploded or that she had a new neighbor who spoke Japanese and ate squirrels. Usually Luke read the messages to get a bit of amusement, but then he started to think that perhaps his Grandmother was going... crazy.

Then, of course, there was when Moaning Myrtle (Luke had gotten to know her when he had hidden in her bathroom to escape the clingy brunette Third Year) clogged all of the toilets with toilet paper to get attention and the corridors flooded. Unluckily the Slytherins had to be out of their dormitory for a full-day so Filch could clean up the mess. The whole Sunday turned out to be very interesting for Luke, he spent his days around the castle discovering different secret passages. Kanika thought he was foolish and she spent her day chasing after the mice running out of the abandoned girls' bathroom.

Surprisingly, Luke began to enjoy being a Slytherin. He noticed that Malfoy and Zabini hung around him more often, wanting his opinions on whatnot or would ask him questions about certain occurances. Then November came, time for Quidditch tryouts.

"Thynne, you trying out?"

Luke looked up from his Potions essay. "I'm not sure, what positions are open?"

Zabini read off the positions from the paper he was holding. "You can either be a chaser or a beater."

Luke laughed. "I think I'd rather be the one inflicting injury, rather than the target." He looked at his parchment, still seven inches to fill with writing.

Malfoy walked in, smiling coyly when he noticed that Luke was writing an essay. "Fill the last few inches with pure gibberish, I bet you'll still make a good grade."

Ferret 3136: Whatcha think of this chappie? I'm not quite sure I like it...