Harry had been sleeping, the most peaceful sleep he had had in a long time. He supposed it made sense, here he didn't have Voldemort constantly attacking him with sickening visions of torture and destruction. He had been dreaming of Sirius. That wasn't strange, he often dreamt of him, but this time it was calm. He dreamed that they were playing quidditch, flying on dragons instead of brooms. It was an amazing dream, and Harry was terribly upset when Tom Riddle yanked apart the curtains of his bed and the bright light of the morning pulled him into consciousness.

"Get up, Evans," the boy had demanded, and Harry pushed himself up, glaring.

"What time is it?"

"Half eight," Orion said from across the room. He was already dressed for the day, like Tom. The tall boy was wearing a smart white button-down shirt underneath a dark grey-blue sport jacket. Tom was wearing a button down too, though his were sleeves were rolled up. He also wore rolled cuff denim jeans and saddle shoes. Tobias Nott, who was also a sixth year, was nowhere to be seen, but his bed was neatly made up and his pyjamas folded atop the pillow.

Harry groaned, "But it's a Saturday. Couldn't you have just let me sleep?"

"We did," scoffed Riddle. "Sundays you can sleep in, but Saturdays are for studying. Normally, we would expect you up at seven."

"I don't have anything to study," Harry grumbled and got out of bed. "I haven't had any lessons yet, remember?"

Orion rolled his eyes, "That is no excuse for unpreparedness. Besides, we will catch you up on where you should be up to. We have the same lessons."

"Now get dressed. Breakfast ends at half nine," Tom insisted, and he and Orion left the room.

Harry sighed. As he got dressed, he thought back to the events of last night.

The dorm room was a green and silver version of his dorm in Gryffindor. There were four large comfortable looking beds, each with a trunk at the end of them and a bedside table and dresser either side. Thick curtains hung down around each bed for privacy, which Harry greatly appreciated, and there was a door against one wall that led to a bathroom. The only difference aside from colour was the fact that the ceiling was made of water. He had thought there was glass at a first look, but the water seemed to just be defying gravity. It was a strange view and rather unnerving, but he enjoyed the sight of fish swimming above him in the great, deep lake. He just hoped that whatever magic was keeping the water out also kept creatures out. He shivered as he remembered the grindylows and merfolk he had encountered when he was fourteen.

"That is your bed there," Riddle had indicated to the one furthest from the bathroom. Harry recognised the plain trunk he had bought at Diagon alley earlier that day, and shrugged, walking over and sitting down.

Tom, Tobias, and Orion all went about what could be assumed was their regular evening schedule. Tom left for the bathroom, Orion fished around in his dresser, and Tobias sat on his bed, back resting against his headboard, eyes closed and chest rising and falling with gentle breaths. Harry doubted he was sleeping, much like how he had in the common room.

He had been mildly surprised when it was revealed that Nott was in sixth year alongside him, Orion, and Tom. He really didn't look sixteen. He was small of frame and his face was boyish and round. Compared to Orion, who looked the oldest out of the four thanks to his height and the beginnings of a beard, Tobias looked like a child. It reminded Harry of Neville, in some way. Though Neville was certainly taller than Nott by quite a bit. For however cherubic Nott appeared though, as Harry was quick to find out, he was twice as shrewd. His mind was incredibly sharp, and his tongue sharper. It threw Harry for a loop; the contradiction was confounding and maybe just a little scary.

Riddle and Black were easier to figure out, the two lining up with Harry's expectations fairly well. He was pleasantly surprised when Black turned out to be rather amicable once in private, though he was almost certain it also had something to do with him not being a mudblood.

Harry sat cross-legged on his bed and watched the others go about their business. He had been tempted to draw the forest green curtains around his bed and be alone, but he thought it would arouse suspicion. Suspicion of what, he didn't have an answer for, but he felt uneasy and didn't think it the best idea. Besides, he would rather be able to see his new roommates than not. His sitting still and unmoving was probably not the best course of action either, as Orion looked over at him with indignation, a pair of dark blue silk pyjama bottoms clutched in his hand.

"You can move, you know. We aren't going to kill you." The pureblood scoffed, unceremoniously dropping his pyjama bottoms on his bed. He turned back to the dresser and fished around in it again. This time supposedly for his shirt.

Tobias sniggered from where he sat but his eyes didn't open. His previously sombre, exhausted frown was now quirked up in a mild smile though.

Harry's dark skin flushed, "I don't like new places." He defended.

Orion rolled his eyes, "You're going to have to get used to it."

"Excused me, I have every reason to be unnerved right now," Harry glared.

There was an amused huff from the bathroom door and Tom appeared with a toothbrush in hand. "So you are smart," he smirked nastily.

Harry pursed his lips. His appearance was an insult. If it were any other time period this probably wouldn't be so bad, but no. It was just his luck that he had to land here. He said nothing, but stood and walked to his trunk, opening it, and set about shifting his clothes to his dresser; trying to ignore the snakes around him. He frowned at the green embellishments of his school uniform and shoved them in a drawer haphazardly without bothering to fold them neatly.

"No, no." Tom tutted. "I will not allow you to sully the name of Slytherin House by wearing creased clothing. Tobias, sort it." He commanded before disappearing into the bathroom once again.

Huffing, Nott opened his azure eyes. He lazily waved his wand, muttering. At once, the robes Harry had shoved into his dresser were flung out and landed in a heap on the floor.

"Hey!" Harry protested, scooping up the dark robes. "Who cares if they're not all neat." He growled.

"Tom does. And so do we." Tobias said matter-of-factly.

"Yes," Orion pitched in. "Now fold your clothes you uncultured ruffian," his tone was mocking and grated on Harry's nerves.

The boy in question glared but pushed back his stubbornness and folded his clothes carefully, placing them neatly in his dresser. It didn't take long for him to complete his task, he didn't have much to put away in the first place, the shopping trip earlier that day only left him with a few sets of school wear and a couple sets of casual clothing. Dumbledore had actually insisted on buying more, paying from his own pocket, but Harry persuaded him down. The professor was taking his new role as guardian very seriously and had even mentioned buying furniture and trinkets for his new room away from Hogwarts. Harry managed to make him drop the subject, if only for the fact that it would be months until he would actually live with Albus. It was already too much that the man had paid for a haircut and new glasses to replace his old, taped up pair.

Orion gave a satisfied nod and began to change into his pyjamas.

The night dragged on remarkably slowly, and Harry decided to pass the time reading. Riddle had left the bathroom already, dressed in neat, but old looking black pyjamas. Orion was now in the bathroom and Nott was still just resting with his eyes shut. Harry was starting to wonder what was up with that.

"So, Jamie," Riddle drawled, standing at the foot of Harry's bed. Harry looked up from his potions book and scowled.

"Yes, Tom?" he replied, stressing the boy's name.

"Do you have any relation to any other families, considering you are of house Dumbledore? I wouldn't be surprised if you were," Riddle's eyes trailed over Harry's features and especially his hair. "I can see some Black in you. You are also bear an overwhelmingly striking likeness to Charlus Potter. He graduated a couple years ago…" He mused. "The way you carry yourself though, and your manners, it is hardly fitting of a pureblood. And your eyes… they are most intriguing."

Harry's scowl deepened, not happy with the way Riddle was examining him and commenting like he was some exhibit in a museum. Part of him wondered if he had been around Viktor Lestrange too much or if Lestrange had been around Tom too much. They certainly shared a passion for tangents and unnerving people.

"Thoughts, Nott?" Riddle asked and Tobias looked up and glanced at Harry. He hummed an affirmative. "Definitely Potter and Black blood." He said, before returning to whatever it was he was doing.

Harry thought on the spot and shrugged, avoiding Riddle's gaze. "I think I had a Potter relative at some point. I don't know. I was never really interested when my parents explained our family tree."

Nott hummed, "The Dumbledores are historically a mixed bunch. While they have no problems marrying mudbloods, they also know they importance of purity. The Dumbledores have married into almost every one of the Sacred 28 at least once in the past," he recited lazily, and Harry couldn't help but find himself intrigued by the titbit. He hadn't known that. He was never much of a fan of genealogical research. That was more something Hermione was interested in. Harry fought back a frown. Damn, he missed Hermione already. It had only been a few hours, but he really missed her. Ron too. True, he hadn't exactly been seeing much of the duo over the past few weeks, but they were his family. The realisation of being so far from them was just now settling in.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts before they could make him any more upset, Harry noticed Riddle smirk as he walked to his own bed, which horrified him to find out was the one next to his. He buried himself back in his book and tried to ignore the young dark lord.

He had neared the halfway point in his textbook before Orion returned from the bathroom. His hair was damp, and a pleasant scent travelled through the open bathroom door that reminded Harry of the Forbidden Forest somehow. Harry glanced at Nott, and when it seemed like he wasn't going to move, Harry took the opportunity to slip into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. Once out of the other boys' sights he sighed heavily, staring at himself in the partially fogged up mirror hanging above the sink. Same old him, he thought as his eyes trailed over his form. They stopped momentarily on his scar. The lightening reached cross his forehead in jagged branches, the longest cutting through his left eyebrow and stopping just before it met his eye. He reached up a hand and gently traced the old wound. When he was younger it had been smaller, more like those cartoon scribbles people drew, but as he grew it had gotten larger too, like his head was cracking open. Sometimes, when he had his visions, it felt as if though his head really was cracking open.

Letting out another sigh, Harry decided to have a shower. He had basically been in a coma for two days and had then endured a shopping trip and an inquisition. He needed a good soak. After his shower, he had re-entered the dorm room dressed in his pyjamas and his uniform draped over his arm. Nott was now in his pyjamas as well, they were a dusty blue colour, but it otherwise seemed as if he hadn't moved at all in the half an hour Harry had occupied the bathroom. Black was sitting on his bed, casually flicking through a book of quidditch strategies. Harry remembered the title from when he himself had read it, though the book looked aesthetically different to the version he had read. Lastly, Tom was reclining gracefully on his bed, absentmindedly drawing in the air with his wand while he held a book in the other hand. Silver snakes danced through the air attached to the boy's wand and were almost hypnotising in their movements.

Harry headed to his own bed and, after folding his uniform over the footboard neatly -he didn't need that argument again- he settled into bed and drew the curtains. He found it quite easy to slip into peaceful slumber not too long afterwards, until he was awakened by Riddle at half past eight in the morning on a Saturday, of course.

The boy had groggily dressed himself in his new clothes. He found it strange to actually have casual wear that fit him properly. Covering his torso was a cream 'polo shirt' with thin green bands wrapping around it. It was made of yarn and resembled more of a t-shirt in shape than the polo shirts of his time. It fit him well and tucked into a pair of rolled cuff denim jeans similar to those Tom was wearing, though instead of pairing them with saddle shoes Harry was wearing a pair of canvas high-tops. They were a dark red colour and Harry was happy about the link to his old house.

He made his way out of the dorm room and through the common room, bumping into Alphard Black on his way.

"Oh," Alphard blinked when he saw Harry. "Good morning," he greeted.

Harry smiled, though it was a little forced, "Good morning," he returned.

"Are you heading to breakfast?" Alphard asked and Harry nodded. "Great, would you mind if I joined you? You'll probably get lost in the dungeons otherwise," he laughed, grinning with a smile that reminded Harry painfully of Sirius.

"Sure," he replied and the two started walking together out of the common room and through the corridors.

"Did you sleep well?" Asked Alphard pleasantly.

Harry nodded, "Yeah, thanks. I don't think I've slept that well in ages."

"Oh?" Alphard cocked his head, glancing at Harry's face as they walked but he didn't push the topic. "I hope my cousin wasn't too much of a jerk. I apologise for him in advance."

Shrugging, Harry let out a laugh. "Orion? Nah, he wasn't too bad. Your sister, though, she's rather scary," he admitted, and Alphard laughed.

"Wallie is definitely a piece of work, but you should meet Cygnus if you want to know true terror."

"Cygnus?"

"My little brother," Alphard explained. "He's only twelve, but he spouts out that extremist rot like a fountain. Thinks Grindewald is some sort of saint."

Harry scoffed, he sounded like Draco. "What about you? You don't believe in that stuff?"

Alphard shrugged, "If my family were to ask, yes, but between you and me I think it's a load of bull. It's ridiculous. Purebloods have started marrying their own cousins for the sake of 'purity'. Just look at Orion and Wallie! Second cousins! It's mad."

"Yeah, that is kinda gross," Harry agreed.

"Thankfully," Alphard continued, "My parents haven't decided who to pair me off with yet. Can't say the same for Cygnus, he's betrothed to Druella Rosier already, but at least she isn't our cousin."

Alphard continued for a little longer and Harry just listened, chiming in occasionally. He found himself liking Alphard. He recalled Sirius telling him that Alphard had left him money, and that he had been burned off the family tree because of it. He figured that getting close to Alphard might be fun. He already reminded him a little of Ron.

"Er, sorry," Alphard laughed as they neared the great hall. "You didn't need me ranting to you like that. It's just, I can't really tell anyone how I feel about it all, and for some reason I feel like I can open up to you. You won't tell anyone about this, will you? If you do, I'll have to curse you into next century," he joked, though there was a hint of worry in his eyes.

If only you could curse me into the next century, Harry thought before shaking his head, "Don't worry about it, mate. Fee free to talk about it, I won't tell," he assured, and Alphard smiled appreciatively.

"Thanks," he said as they entered the great hall for breakfast.