Harry hummed softly to himself as his quill scratched across the parchment before he paused to look out the only window, he was seated at his desk that rested in the corner of his bedroom. It was the morning of the 25th of August, just a mere seven days since Hermione and himself had turned 12. Granted the 18th hadn't always been their birthday, but the adoption ritual had changed that, Harry would be forever grateful that it did, because now he didn't share his birthday with Wonder Boy Potter anymore. Grinning, Harry looked over at the letter that had arrived that morning, and was currently resting next to the response he was writing.

Harry.

Happy birthday! I'm sorry I couldn't celebrate it with you; me and George tried to steal our Father's car to come see you. He likes tampering with Muggle stuff and he managed to make it fly! But Mother caught us and because I couldn't say what we wanted it for she assumed it was to get into mischief so we got grounded. It didn't help that we had somehow set fire to the couch just days before, I still maintain it wasn't our fault. Henry 'I'm so great' Potter arrived yesterday, he wouldn't stop bitching about what happened at your party. Congrats on messing with him, he needs to be brought down a notch or two. We have pranked him and our younger brother heaps already. Although our sister seems to be following him around and worshiping the ground he walks on. Ew. We are working on changing that. Also we got our school letters today, will be going to Diagon Alley tomorrow if you want to try sneak off together. Let me know.

Forge.

Harry couldn't help but smile again as he re-read the letter. He had been rather annoyed when the old Weasley owl, Errol if he remembered correctly, woke him up that morning with vigorous pecking on his window. But the annoyance was gone abruptly when he recognized the writing to be Fred's. He had laughed heartedly when he read that they had tried to steal the car, it made a warmth glow in his stomach when he realized that they had done it to try and spend his birthday with him. He couldn't wait until they could come clean about each other, but until then, they had to hide from the Light side. Thankfully Fred was accepting of Harry's heritage, not that he knew exactly who was Harry's Father yet, just that he was Dark. Grinning at thoughts of his soul mate, Harry found his hand raising to play with the gift that had come with the letter. The silver snake piercing that now rested through his lower ear and wound upwards, couldn't of been cheap. Harry knew that Fred must of spent all his allowance and then some on it for him, and that thought brought back the warm glow of happiness. Shaking his head, he brought himself back to the present where he returned to writing his response letter.

Freddie.

I can't believe you tried to steal your Father's car?! That's amazing. Although I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that your Father made a car fly! Doesn't he work in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department? Don't worry I won't get him in trouble, it's just funny and Hermione would say ironic. Thank you so much for my gift, I love it. I had Hermione help me pierce my ear this morning when it arrived. It looks wicked! Thank you. I also find myself curious as to how you managed to set a couch on fire… although I can't say much on that, I set the curtains in the greeting lounge on fire last year, and almost blew up our training/dueling room the year before. The house seems so quiet at the moment, for once it isn't crawling with our aunts and uncles, cousins and friends. I find myself bored and I don't much care for it. Thankfully Uncle Luc, Aunt Cissa and Draco should be back tomorrow, although I wouldn't never admit to actually miss having them here. We are expected to get our school lists today I think, I shall talk to Father and see if we can go tomorrow, I am looking forward to seeing you again. Thank you so much for my gift, I truly love it. Hopefully I will see you tomorrow, if not, then on the 1st of September.

Harry.

Harry grinned as he signed off the letter, unfortunately his writing hadn't gotten any better since last year, and his structure was, as his Father would say; Atrocious. But thankfully he knew Fred wouldn't care, although he did laugh occasionally when Harry's 'pureblood training' kicked in and he wrote one or two sentences 'posh-like' before reverting back to his normal writing. Although when Fred had first called it his 'pureblood training' Harry had sent an extremely long message explaining differently. It wasn't only purebloods that used the trainings, Harry himself was proof of that as he was a half-blood like his sister and Father. 'The Old Ways' as they called it now was prejudiced to be believed as Dark and Evil. But years back, when Tom Riddle was at school, it was traditional and normal, every child learnt the ways, taught by their Heads of Houses. The banishment of such practices was because of Dumbledore, after he defeated Gellert Grindelwald, he claimed it was all 'Dark'. Many things changed because of that man, and Harry knew, it was up to their Family to restore it all, before Magic punished them for the balance being out. Nodding to himself, Harry folded the letter up and handed it to Errol.

"Deliver this straight to Freddie okay?" Harry told him before stroking the owls head one last time and opening the window for him to fly out with a loud hoot.

"Harry!" he startled when he heard Hermione calling out for him in hallway.

"What?" he cried back.

"Mother wants us to go have tea with her" Hermione said before her footsteps were heard as she walked away. Harry grinned, he loved tea in the parlor, packing away his writing equipment quickly he then hurried down to the glass parlor that came out from the Manor and stretched into the garden. The walls and ceiling were pure glass, it was like being inside a Muggle Snow Globe. The beautiful gardens rose up around them in spectacular waves of colors, and off to left the barn and stable could be seen, which he knew contained horses of both Muggle and Wizarding kind.

"The Tulips are doing exceptionally well, but I will have to attend to the Roses and Lilies soon if they don't take to the new soil" Harry smiled when he heard his Mother, she loved her flowers and gardens.

"I'm sure they will be fine love, you said that Marigold said herself this new soil worked wonders for her but some of the flowers just took longer to adjust to the change" Tom replied while reading The Prophet.

"Of course, Narcissa floo-called this morning saying the same thing, so we suspect they will sort themselves out shortly" Cassi said smiling as she sipped at her tea and reached for a small cucumber sandwich.

"See dear, it will be fine. Merlin Fudge is an idiot" he grumbled as he continued to read the new proposals going through.

"What's new Father" Harry smirked as he entered and sat down next to his Mother while Hermione was on her other side.

"Hartford Thomas Riddle" Harry froze at his Mother's hiss, he knew that tone, he was in trouble.

"What in Salazar's name is in your ear?" she asked, her pale eyebrows tilted, her fierce eyes daring him to lie or try escape.

"Oh, um, it was a present, Fred bought me an ear piercing" Harry mumbled.

"And how did you get it in?" she asked quietly.

"Hermione pierced it with a spell this morning" Harry answered quickly, it was better to get it all out in the open now.

"Traitor" Hermione muttered when their parents turned her incredulously.

"So you decided to pierce your ear without mine or your Father's permission or supervision?" she questioned.

"I'm sorry mother, I was just so excited when it arrived" Harry whispered.

"Tom?" Cassi said looking up to look at her husband who hadn't looked away from his paper.

"Do you want to say anything about this?" she asked.

"Oh right, looks good" Tom said before returning to the paper.

"TOM!" she screeched.

"Oh Cassi, dearest, it's a piercing, not an unforgivable on the Minister or anything outrageously stupid. He knows when it's something really important to come to us and ask" Tom said soothingly, whilst Harry nodded furiously in agreement.

"Fine, but I'm still upset young man" she huffed.

"Yes Mother" Harry nodded before sighing in silent relief.

"Good, now here is your school list, arrived about half an hour ago" she said smiling as she passed the twins identical envelopes of yellowish parchment addressed in green ink. For a few moments there was silence while they read their letters while sipping at their tea.

SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS WILL REQUIRE:

The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 by Miranda Goshawk.

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot.

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling.

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch.

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore.

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger.

Break with a Banshee by Gilderoy Lockhart

Gadding with Ghouls by Gilderoy Lockhart

Holidays with Hags by Gilderoy Lockhart

Travels with Trolls by Gilderoy Lockhart

Voyages with Vampires by Gilderoy Lockhart

Wanderings with Werewolves by Gilderoy Lockhart

Year with the Yeti by Gilderoy Lockhart

Harry stared in shock and horror as he read his list. The first was expected as they had read Grade 1 in their first year, then the next five on the list were just reminders to bring them back for this year after using them in their first year. But the rest of the list; the ENTIRE Gilderoy Lockhart Collected Works?! What was the new Professor thinking? Harry made eye contact with his sister who was sitting forward with the strongest look of disgust he had ever seen etched on her face.

"This has to be a sick joke" Hermione finally spoke with such conviction that even Harry almost believed she could be right.

"What is it sweetie?" Tom asked dryly.

"THIS!" Harry cried shaking the list in his Father's face furiously, Tom just raised an eyebrow at his dramatic son before taking and reading over the list himself. Harry smirked triumphantly when his Father's jaw dropped in shock and his red eyes widened much like his children's had.

"Dearest?" Cassi asked as she helped herself to more Cucumber and then tried one of the Ham sandwiches.

"They have been told to buy the entire Gilderoy Lockhart Collected Works" Tom said with a shake of his head, the declaration had Cassi choking on her sandwich while looking at her husband waiting for him and their children to cry out 'Got you!'

"That moron?!" she cried out as she snatched the list off her daughter to read for herself.

"Whoever assigned these books should not be teaching" she muttered.

"Bet you it's a witch" Harry joked before catching his Mother's eye and lowering his head with a soft spoken apology.

"Not all of his mindless flock are female Hartford" she said sternly.

"Merlin knows he had enough of both genders when we were in Hogwarts"

"You went to school with him?" Harry asked trying not to laugh.

"He was two years below me at Hogwarts, how that man made it into Ravenclaw I will never know" she shook her head.

"He was an idiot who only cared for his looks and reputation. The only thing he ever did well was Charms" Harry and Hermione hung onto every word, they had always loved hearing stories of their parents time at Hogwarts.

"I shared a dorm room with your Aunt Marigold, we were best friends even back then and used to sit up making fun of the girls who followed Lockhart blindly" Cassi chuckled before sighing in reminiscence.

"You know even back then she was madly in love with her husband, Memphis Parkinson was a powerful and handsome pureblood everyone wanted him, granted he had graduated years before with Lucius. Lucius was not happy when he found out his 16 year old baby sister was sleeping with his best friend who was 28! It was a brilliant scandal, and then she had to drop out of seventh year to marry him quickly because he knocked her up with Pansy" Cassi laughed heartedly.

"As far as people know you dropped out to have my children dear" Tom deadpanned.

"I didn't have big brother Lucius ready to kill his best friend over it" she said as she waved her hand.

"Who else was at Hogwarts with you?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Quite a few, but my circle was rather small, we were all Slytherins in my year. Me and Marigold were the only females that year, and the boys were your Uncle Rabastan, Uncle Barty and Uncle Regulus" she smiled sadly at the mention of her cousin. No one had ever really recovered from his Death in 1980, their small group of friends and Bellatrix was hit the hardest. Bellatrix still blamed herself his death, then again she didn't only lose her cousin that night.

"Of course your Uncle Sev was only a year older than us so we spent time with him as well" Cassi said smiling softly trying to dispel the morose air that had settled.

"No Slytherin ever truly liked Lockhart, he was also a victim of the Marauders quite often" she laughed.

"He is an idiot. Why someone thinks they are good learning material is insane" Harry grumbled as he allowed the topic to return to Lockhart.

"I will speak to Lucius, maybe he knows something from being on the school board" Tom muttered as he looked at the list in disgust again.

"It's like Dumbledore doesn't want us learning anything" Hermione sneered.

"We can make this new Professor suffer" Harry cackled.

"You sound like a Muggle adaption of a witch" Hermione deadpanned. Tom and Cassi smiled just lovingly at each other as their children started bickering yet again.