Thanks again to Joycelyn for her patient work!

Chapter One: First Impressions

Sunlight entered through the curtains and shone on Connor's dark eyelashes. He kept his eyes shut for a moment, then remembered that Daniel wouldn't wait on him for breakfast. Not like it mattered, because Justine would save something for him anyway, but getting up early was very important to Daniel, so he opened his eyes and sat up on the bed.

To his disappointment, his sight didn't meet the familiar hut where he'd spent most of his life, but this large and white room called hospital wing. He deflated visibly.

'Oh, you're already up' He turned around and saw Poppy smiling at him 'Do you want breakfast?'

She pointed at the table next to Connor's bed, on which there were a bottle of milk, a plate with toasts, and some porridge. He knew most of these things from the time he'd stayed with Wesley and the others. Before that, his meals had mostly consisted of bread, berries and some unnamed creature's meat.

'Yes!' He said, cheered up at the sight of food. Then he remembered his manners 'Yes, please, milady.'

The nurse was a little disconcerted at the solemn addressing and she tried her best not to laugh.

'Then eat as much as you want, dear. Do you want honey or jelly on your toast?'

'Albus, I still don't think that keeping that boy here is a good idea.'

It wasn't the first time that Severus expressed his concerns about Connor's presence in the castle. Of the three people who knew the whole story, he was the most reluctant to accept it. It wasn't surprising. He had never been famous for his tolerance…or his fondness of children.

'This is hardly the right place for a small child, and the term starts in fifteen days. Who is going to take care of him?'

Dumbledore inhaled deeply.

'This is a school, Severus' He conveniently forgot to mention the fact that the youngest students were eleven 'And arrangements can be made. Poppy can take care of him during lessons, and Hagrid can help her' He ignored the younger man's snort. It was a known fact that Severus didn't trust the key-keeper that much. 'After lessons, we can watch him in turns…It will only be temporary, Severus. Mr. Wyndam-Pryce wants to pick Connor up as soon as possible. The child may leave Hogwarts before the term starts. And certainly, he's more than capable of taking care of himself.'

Severus scowled.

'That's exactly what worries me the most, Headmaster. He has an incredible power – and isn't able to control it. Besides, he's been taught to hate magic altogether…'

'That's why he is here: he needs our help to overcome his fears and learn to control himself. And Hogwarts's doors will always be open to all those who need aid.'

Before Severus could reply, they heard screaming coming from the hospital wing. Exchanging worried looks, both wizards hurried to find out what was happening.

When they reached the hospital wing, they found several bottles smashed on the floor and a very upset Madam Pomfrey.

'I'm so sorry, Headmaster. I know you told me not to do magic in front of him, but I forgot…'

'It's all right, Poppy' Dumbledore said, but he sounded tense 'Where has he gone?'

Madam Pomfrey shook her head, sighing.

'That's the problem, I've no idea. He screamed something about me being an evil witch, as the bottles smashed, and he ran away so fast that I couldn't even see him. That kid is not normal, or natural.'

Dumbledore didn't bother to reply. Turning to Snape, he said shortly:

'Severus, we have to find him as soon as possible. He doesn't know the castle, so he's probably lost. Fetch Filch and tell him to join the search.'

Snape nodded and left. Dumbledore wanted to pull his beard out. He hasn't been here for a day and he's already escaped our watch…

Professor McGonagall was more than a little shocked when a small child ran – crashed, actually – into her.

'Connor! What's the matter,' she inquired because the kid's eyes were wide with horror and he looked terrified. He gasped for air, and calmed down when he recognized her.

'Professor McGonagall, is that…that woman in the hospital wing. She is a…'

'She is a what, Connor?' she asked patiently, but he seemed too frightened to speak. His lips moved, no sound coming out from them. The woman leaned closer and put a hand on his shoulder, not noticing the child's faint wince at the touch.

'She is a witch,' he finally managed to hiss, and immediately covered his mouth, as if he had said something awful. Professor McGonagall's eyes widened slightly.

'Oh, I see' She remembered quite well what Dumbledore had told them about Connor's fear of magic. She realised how delicate the situation was. 'Do you want to come to my office, Connor? I've got some biscuits there.'

The little boy nodded and followed her. There was something about her that reassured him – maybe it was the way she talked, calm and sensible.

Once in her office, instead of sitting on the opposite side of the desk, Professor McGonagall chose to sit next to him. After Connor's eyes had surveyed the room curiously (he noticed there were loads of books there) and he had had a couple of biscuits, she asked what he knew about witches.

'Well…they are evil,' he stated, surprised by the question. Everyone knew that. Seeing the frown on her face, though, he decided to explain himself better. 'They're against God. They believe they can overpower Him with their…powers. I think they worship the Devil, too.'

'I see' McGonagall's face was unreadable. 'Have you ever met a real witch?'

Connor's eyes widened.

'No way!'

'So you've never seen one of those…witches with your own eyes?'

'Well,' he said, frowning in concentration 'in my village there was an old woman…She took herbs and cooked them. People said she had powers… I guess she was a little witch-y.'

'And was she mean to you, or to someone you knew?'

Now Connor was shocked. Had old Lamara been mean to anyone in her life? She lived isolated in her hut, and people visited her to ask favors, and she gave them those mixtures she prepared. She was odd and most villagers avoided her, but she wasn't mean. Actually, she was always very polite to everybody and once she helped Connor to carry his basket at the market.

'Hmm, no,' he admitted. 'But she didn't believe in God,' he quickly added.

A silence followed these words, while McGonagall wondered what kind of people would teach that stuff to a five-year-old child. And she thought that Muggles had progressed a lot since Middle Age.

'I'm afraid you are a little confused, Connor' He opened his mouth to protest, but she went on nevertheless. 'You've been taught that magic is evil, and even though it's true that many times magic has been misused, that's not accurate.'

The child raised an eyebrow. Daniel had taught him that, and there was no way Daniel could be wrong about anything. He was the wisest person he'd ever seen. Sure, he hadn't met many people as he'd spent his whole life in a hell dimension where humans still had to hide...but that was beside the point. However, Professor McGonagall looked wise too. It wouldn't do any harm to listen to what she had to say.

'What do you mean?'

'I'll try to make it more simple. Let's imagine that magic is like a knife. Let's suppose you used the knife in order to eat. There's nothing wrong in that, is there?'

Connor frowned in concentration. Professor McGonagall had the distinct inmpression that he was the kind of kid who never answered without thinking it carefully first.

'Hmm…I guess no.'

'In that case, the knife is just a tool that helps you. Now, let's imagine that someone uses that knife to hurt another person. In that case, the knife is used to do evil, and it's not an innocuous object anymore. Are you following me?'

Connor nodded, even though he wasn't sure what the link between a simple knife and the tricky magic was.

'The same thing happens with witchcraft. It can be used as a tool to do good – or evil. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that all magic is evil.'

She glanced at him to see whether he had understood. He was frowning, but it seemed like he was considering what she'd said.

'So, magic is not always bad?'he asked shyly. She shook her head.

'No, Connor, it isn't.'

'And the people who uses it?'

She repressed a smile. This kid never gave up, did he?

'Witches and wizards are just like any other people you've met in your life. You'll find that some of them are good-hearted and some of them aren't. The only difference is that they possess a great power, which carries a great responsibility.'

Connor considered it. Professor McGonagall sounded very reasonable and sensible (something that Daniel would have admired) but it was hard to forget all his old beliefs. He decided he'd wait to see whether she was right or not before jumping to conclusions about the matter. In the meanwhile, he was afraid he might owe Poppy an apology.

In that moment, Professor Snape ran into the office. Both Connor and McGonagall stared at him, perplexed.

'Minerva, we must find the…' Then, his eyes laid on Connor and he winced, looking startled. The woman's lips curved a little.

'Connor and I were having a little chat. I think we are going to get along just fine, don't you think?'

Darkened alleys and stinky sewers. That was all she'd seen since that night. When he'd been born. Her little miracle. Where was he now? She felt him, he had to be somewhere. He couldn't be gone.

The Englishman and his friends hadn't wanted to tell her where he was. They were afraid she might try to hurt him. Fools. How could she hurt a part of herself?

She didn't deny that at first she'd also thought like that. That had been why she'd gone away after the birth. She didn't want to be close to him. Such a little, fragile thing. And she was so strong and dangerous.

Angel had understood. He knew what it was like. He'd promised he'd take care of their little boy, and she knew he would. So she didn't worry about it.

Until that night. She'd sensed, somehow, what was going on. She knew her child was in danger. So she came back, but it was too late: Angel was gone, as well as his brunette girlfriend (what had been her name?), and her baby, too. She was desperate. She couldn't feel him anymore. That link between them – which hadn't been broken after the birth – was gone. And she was terrified, imagining what could have happened.

She stalked Angel's friends until she got some answers. The Texan girl babbled something about an incorporeal demon and a SWAT team sent by Wolfram and Hart killing Angel, and Daniel Holtz kidnapping her son. It didn't make sense at all. But she realised they didn't know where her child was more than she did, and she left them alone.

However, things were different now. A few weeks ago she'd felt him again. He was back.

She'd looked for Angel's friends again, but they had moved. Probably trying to get away from her. She'd have to try something different.

That was why she'd left her safe hideout and was in this hellish inn. She wanted some information, and this was the right place to get it.

What she hadn't expected was to find a couple of demons talking about someone she knew very well. Or she'd thought she did.

'That vampire Spike? I've seen him. Hell, he's a mess. He's working for the Slayer now.'

'What! Why?'

Darla wondered the same thing. Last time she'd bothered to check, Spike killed Slayers, not worked for them.

'Because,' the demon lowered his voice, but not low enough so she couldn't hear it, 'now he has a soul.'

'Oh, damn it! He's been cursed, too.'

The demon grimaced.

'Not quite so' Then, he added in a theatrical whisper 'He got it by himself…'

Almost two weeks had passed by, and it seemed that Connor had gotten over his first shock and he'd accepted that Hogwarts was a sorcery school. He still winced every time he saw something magical (not to mention when he saw a ghost), and the adults were very careful not to perform magic in front of him, but he was doing much better. He still wasn't convinced that magic was a good thing, but he showed some tolerance towards it. Dumbledore had had many conversations with the child about the subject, and Connor admitted to himself that there was something in the old man that made him to trust him in spite of himself.

However, the Headmaster's wise words wouldn't have had an effect on Connor if it hadn't been for an incident on the grounds, which weakened his prejudice against magic.

Professor Flitwick was the one watching him, and he was having quite a hard time. Even though Daniel had instructed him to always be quiet unless he was talked to, Connor was lively by nature, and he seemed incapable of being immobile for too long. Finally, Flitwick decided to take him to the school grounds to distract him. It proved to be an awful idea, because Connor walked much faster than the little professor, who had to run in order not to lose him from sight.

It was fortunate they ran into Hagrid, because Flitwick was already out of breath and his heart was pounding in his chest. For Merlin's beard, did this kid ever get tired?

Connor wasn't sure yet whether he trusted Hagrid (in fact, Daniel had raised him to trust no one completely). His incredible size intimidated him a little, and he spoke funny. However, Connor was mesmerized with his dog, Fang and besides, Hagrid had admitted that he was no wizard, which was okay for Connor.

So when he saw the huge man, closely followed by his dog, the child was thrilled. He ran to him and, without so much as a preliminary hello, he asked if he could play with Fang. Hagrid smiled.

'Sure yeh can' Finally little Professor Flitwick had managed to reach Connor, but he was gasping for air and Hagrid, feeling sympathy for him, invited the wizard to a cup of tea. Flitwick accepted at once: he needed a break.

While the adults chatted politely inside the hut, Connor played with the dog. He had never seen a dog before (they didn't exist in Pylea) and he thought that Fang was the cleverest and funniest animal in the world. He secretly wished he could have a dog like that.

Fang ran in circles around the hut and the kid chased him, always careful not to go too far. Especially towards the Forbidden Forest. He had been strongly warned about that place, and even though he was rather curious to see what was in there, he was wise enough not to disobey. Last time he did something like that, he almost ended up under the wheels of a trailer, back in LA.

Suddenly, Fang barked as though there was something wrong. Connor froze. Should he go and get Hagrid? The hut was in the opposite direction, and it'd be quicker if he went to check by himself. He inhaled and ran to where Fang was.

At first sight, the dog looked all right. He didn't seem hurt or anything. However, it was sitting unnaturally still, looking at something on the ground. Connor approached it, and realised what was it looking at.

There was a small owl lying there, quivering and hooting painfully. Its dark feathers were covered in blood and it seemed to be suffering an unbearable ache. Connor kneeled next to it and caressed its little head. The bird blinked, glass-eyed.

'Did you do this, Fang?' The child asked reproachfully. The dog looked indignant. Of course not, his eyes said, what do you take me for?

The kid took gently the tiny owl with his hands, careful not to increase its pain. He stood up slowly, and then walked as fast as he could to Hagrid's hut.

'Sorry, lad. I'm a'raid it's dyin'' Hagrid said when he saw the injured owl. Connor felt his eyes watering.

'Can't you do something,' he asked in a small voice. He didn't want the pretty bird to die. And it was suffering so much…Hagrid shook his head sadly.

In that moment, they heard Flitwick clearing his throat.

'If you let me,' he said in his high-pitched voice. 'I think that I can help.'

He took his wand out – Connor flinched and hid behind Hagrid – and he pointed at the owl. He mumbled some words in a language that Connor didn't know, and a white light came from the end of his wand. The light engulfed the owl, and to Connor's shock, he saw how the blood disappeared and the large wound in its chest closed. When it ended, the owl wasn't hooting anymore, and it looked healthy – although a little confused – again.

On their way back to the castle (after Hagrid had promised twice to take care of the owl), Flitwick was surprised to hear Connor's shy voice:

'Professor, may I ask you a question?'

'Yes, of course.'

In spite of the teacher's usual polite tone of voice, the boy hesitated.

'If you hadn't used that…magic,' he managed to say at last, 'that little owl would have died, wouldn't it?'

'Yes, Connor. It would have.'

They were both silent until they reached the entrance doors, when Connor muttered, more to himself than to Flitwick:

'Then maybe magic is not that bad after all.'

And from that moment on, life at Hogwarts felt a little more bearable to Connor.

'Don't you dare run away from this, boy!'

One could realise when Vernon Dursley was mad not only by his shouting, but also by the interesting shade of purple of his face. And this time, his face was almost violet.

Harry froze. He was terrified. Uncle Vernon was so mad…Until now, he'd never laid a hand on him (although his son, Dudley, loved to use him as a punching bag) but he could be dreadful all the same.

And it hadn't been his fault, really. Dudley was the one who had started it, teasing Harry about being an orphan. He told him no one liked orphans and that no one liked him. Harry had told him to shut up his fat mouth, but deep down he was afraid that his cousin might be right. No one seemed to like him or care for him. He was alone.

Finally he was so fed up that he said that a whale was slimmer than Dudley. Of course, his cousin hadn't liked that. He'd taken his mini-baseball bat (though large enough to scare Harry) and began chasing him. Harry ran as fast as he could, but he tripped and soon Dudley caught him. In that moment, something odd happened. The bat escaped from Dudley's hand, rose in the air, and began hitting him on the head, as if an invisible hand was manipulating it.

His cousin had cried out in pain and terror, and Aunt Petunia arrived at once. The bat fell to the ground, motionless, but not before she'd seen what had happened.

She didn't look at Harry as she hugged her son. In fact, she didn't acknowledge his presence until Dudley had calmed down.

'Wait until your Uncle is here' she hissed, her voice full of hatred. 'Then you'll get what you deserve, freak.'

And so here he was now, waiting for his punishment. It didn't come. Instead, they heard the doorbell.

'What the…?'

It was Mrs. Figg, an odd neighbour who looked after Harry when the Dursleys went out. She looked neither shocked nor scared by Uncle Vernon's face.

'Excuse me, Mr. Dursley, but your wife told me she'd bring Harry to my house at five o'clock, so I'd look after him. Now it's half past five, and as she is always so punctual, I came to see if there was something wrong.'

'Something wrong,' he snapped. 'No, there's nothing wrong, Mrs. Figg. Just take the boy out of my sight.'

As they walked to her home, Mrs.Figg looked sympathetic.

'It won't always be like this, Harry' she said, placing a hand on his little shoulder. The kid, however, looked skeptical.

She repressed a sigh. She knew that Albus Dumbledore had some important reason to leave Harry with these people, but she couldn't help wishing the boy could live with other kind of people sometimes. Times like these.

The poor child didn't deserve to live with those Muggles. He deserved something much better. And he could have had it, if only He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named hadn't killed his parents.

If only Sirius Black hadn't turned to the dark side…

Conangse: Well, here's the update at last. Thank you so much for reviewing, I hope you keep liking this fic. I've started your Atvs/HP xover fic and it sounded quite interesting.