Hello, and welcome to- Holy shit I've got followers! No, seriously, this story already has like twice as many followers as my fire emblem story, and that's on chapter ten! What the hell!
Anyway,s welcome to the first real chapter of The Founder's Circle. just a couple things I wanted to mention before letting you get on with the story. First, there will be pairings, but that will wait until the later books, probably the fifth at least. Second, yes the main four characters- Draco, Harry, Luna, and Susan-will not only be changing looks, but will also be anywhere from somewhat to quite OOC. This is due to the nature of the story, which for the sake of spoilers I won't be outlining here, but should be very easy to figure out. Just trust me in that there is a reason, and I'm not just saying so because it's easier on me. an example of one of those major changes will actually be Luna becoming lucid and understandable, albeit slowly. Also, I will try to keep the adult language to a minimum during the first few books-a few adults might say some words- but later on there will be a decent amount of that as well as violence. Just so you are all forewarned. Also, i apologize for any mishaps in timeline or similar things, but i don't actually have access to the original books at the moment, so if you see anything, just blame it on AU. That works better for everyone. And yes, I know Draco was supposed to have Crabbe and Goyle with him. That one was done on purpose.
Alright, I think that wraps everything up for now, so I'm just going to let you all enjoy. Read, relax, and Review!
Harry Potter stared out the window of the Hogwarts Express, trying to figure out what the hell was happening to him. His eyes were unseeing as he struggled with the problem in his mind, mulling over and over the last twenty four hours.
He had gone to sleep the night before after making sure everything was ready for his first trip to Hogwarts, the magical school he had been accepted into, and he literally meant magical. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had accepted him, a scrawny eleven year old boy with constantly broken glasses and messy black hair with open arms. Harry had barely believed it when the giant Hagrid had kicked in the door of the rickety cabin Harry's uncle had dragged them to, trying to avoid the storm of acceptance letters the school had been sending in the hopes of one getting through. Harry had been even more sceptical when said giant gave him the information that Harry's aunt and uncle had hidden from him for the last decade, that he was a wizard, just like his mum and dad. It had taken a trip to the magical Diagon Alley to fully convince him that magic was real, and actually holding a wand and feeling it's magic to further prove that he himself belonged in that world.
Because of this, he had been excited to go, and the night before he was set to leave for school, he had been packed long before night had fallen. Eventually, after pacing and all the many different spells he might learn at school that he would be able to learn and threaten Dudley with when he came back, he finally managed to fall asleep around nine, convincing his brain that he would need all the sleep he could get to fully appreciate the next was a good thing too, because he hadn't slept well that night.
It had been sometime around midnight when it happened. Harry had been shocked awake, breathing heavily and with a searing pain right over his heart. That was strange, though not as much as it would be for anybody else. Harry had woken up before and not known why, covered in sweat, but normally it was the small, lightning shaped scar on his forehead that hurt, not his heart. After a few seconds to get his bearings, he had reached up to rub the burning spot, but the pain had already started to subside, and he couldn't feel anything through the shirt he had fallen asleep in, so he just shook his head and rolled over in bed, struggling to go back to sleep. Eventually he managed it, but it had been fitful, coming in short bursts as his dreams were filled with strange images and scenes, people and voices he didn't recognize appearing in them.
When Harry had been woken up early by the alarm he had set before, he had expected to be groggy and sleepy, a side effect of the restless night. He had been surprised therefore, when instead of of acting like a zombie, he had instead jumped right out of bed, a strange buzzing energy permeating his body. He had dressed quickly, excitement flooding through his veins as he remembered the today, finally, he would be escaping the Dursley's, his hated aunt, uncle, and cousin. He would have quickly finished and bounded down the stairs, so great was his joy at the thought of not having to see them for at least an entire school term, when he caught sight of his bare chest in the mirror and froze. There, right over his heart where his skin had burned the night before, was a crimson red tattoo of a lion, ornate and detailed as if a master artist had carved it into his flesh. The color was so vivid that it almost seemed to glow slightly, standing out against the pale canvas of his skin.
Harry had been freaked out, obviously, but barely had a few seconds to look at it before his Aunt Petunia had started banging on his door, calling in her harpy like voice to hurry up before they were late, causing him to quickly pull the shirt in his hands on, hiding his new marking from view. The tattoo-like mark had been on his mind for the entire car trip to London, where he was supposed to go to King's Cross station to board the train to school. Even when he had gotten there, and failed to find the platform 9 ¾ it had boiled in the back of his mind. That stopped, however, when he finally learned from the family of friendly redheads he had met how to get through the magic barrier, and took his first full steps into his new world, and his mind practically exploded.
The platform was very similar to Diagon Alley, the only other part of the magic world Harry had ever been to, and at the same time it was completely different. The latter part, however, harry had started to suspect was more to do with him than the places themselves. Platform 9 ¾ was bustling with wizards in their strange robes and pointed hats, or even a few muggle clothes for the more sensible ones, just like the Alley had been. Even the noise, people calling out goodbyes to family members being left behind, or greetings to their friends from school, was similar, even if they used different words from the market advertizing and bartering of Diagon Alley. The real differences, however, came not from sight and sound, but from other sense, ones Harry hadn't even known he had.
The moment Harry stepped through the barrier onto platform 9 ¾ he was assaulted by… sensations. All around him he could feel what he could only assume was magical energy, permeating the air and shining from people's bodies. Each person was a distinct… color, almost, or at least that was how it felt. He could almost see the auras, like they were hanging just outside of the visible spectrum. As he had taken a few more steps into the haze, formed both by the smoke coming off the train and the excess energy wafting off each person and mixing in the air, he blinked, trying to make sense of what he was feeling and practically seeing. He hadn't experienced anything like this at Diagon Alley, and it had been even more packed with magic folk. He did, however, remember feeling something similar while he had been talking to the redhead family, but had put it out of his mind, attributing the sensation to distraction, excitement, and possibly the weariness he had been waiting to strike him finally catching up from the bad night. He hadn't felt any other symptoms, but that didn't stop him from assuming. Now, though, Harry didn't know what to think.
Wandering along as his brain tried to process the sudden influx of information from his new senses, Harry hadn't even paid attention to what he was doing, giving little mind to the short conversation he had with the redhead twins that helped him put his trunk in the train, instead examining their auras, marveling at how similar they were, a sort of cheerful yellow. Even now, looking out the window, he could see them talking animatedly to their family about something, but Harry ignored them. Instead, he returned his focus to his memories, this time just a few minutes before, when he had stepped on the train for the first time, having finally worked through enough of his confusion to realize he should probably find a seat before the train left without him.
Stepping onto the Hogwarts Express was yet another surprise, as all the auras and magic fell away, except for a very few of the brightest that Harry could still feel shining in the distance. Well, they hadn't so much disappeared as been blotted out by a new energy, one that shocked him the second he felt it.
The train itself was practically throbbing with magic, power flowing through it and sparking awe in Harry as he felt it. He was surprised the vehicle wasn't vibrating from the sheer magical power that had been stuffed into it, the many enchantments cast on it weaving through each other to form a tight web of power and protection, intimidating in its intricacy. He could barely feel anything through its walls, except those few shining sources of magic that still seemed bright even across the power coursing through the train. He would probably need to investigate those at some point, if only out of sheer curiosity as to who could be so powerful to outshine even those fully trained and mature adult wizard and witches outside on the platform.
And that brought him back to where he was now, sitting in one of the empty compartments he had found, trying to work out what had changed over the summer after he had last seen a magical being, namely the giant Hagrid. Harry hadn't had this weird sense back then, and he was still trying to figure out what the hell was with his chest. He certainly didn't remember getting a tattoo, and he didn't think he would have gotten a lion even if he had. Not to mention that he was way too young for that kind of thing to be legal. He had already tried looking down his shirt at it to make sure the thing was still there, and sure enough it was, in all its crimson glory, even though he couldn't really get a good look at it.
"Erm, is it alright if I join you? Everywhere else is taken." A somewhat cautious voice broke into Harry's thoughts, and he looked away from the window to see the youngest boy from that redhead family standing in the entrance to the compartment, holding the door as if he were ready to close it and walk away if he were rejected. Harry glanced back to the window to confirm that he wasn't mistaking the boy's identity and he had in fact missed the family separating, then turned back to the boy and tried to put on the most convincing smile he could, finally forcing all his troubling thoughts to the back of his mind. It wasn't like he was getting anywhere with them anyways.
"Er, sure. There's plenty of space, I guess." The boy seemed to take that as answer enough, sliding into the nearest seat and letting the door close itself. They sat like that for a few moments, staring at each other awkwardly as they each tried to figure out what to say, before the redhead seemed to work up enough courage to introduce himself.
"Ron. Ron Weasley." he stuck his hand out, and Harry took it tentatively, responding in kind.
"Harry Potter." Harry almost jumped in surprise as Ron gasped, his eyes widening in surprise.
"So Fred and George were right? 'Course, they usually are, but I can never tell when they're just pulling one over on us." Shocked by this sudden turn of events, Harry fought the urge to turn away, dropping his hand from the handshake Ron was still gripping it in.
"Er, what are you going on about, again?" Ron's eyes narrowed in suspicion at the question, as if he couldn't believe Harry didn't know what he was talking about.
"That you're Harry Potter of course! Blimey I can hardly believe I'm sitting in the same compartment as the Boy Who Lived. I mean, you even defeated Voldemort, and you were just a baby!" This time Harry did look away, fighting the slight blush that was starting to creep up his cheeks.
"Oh, right. That." Ron scoffed.
"What do you mean, that? Blimey mate, you're famous! Don't tell me you didn't know?" Harry shook his head, bringing a disappointed look to Ron's face.
"Not until a this summer, and it didn't seem all that important. I didn't even know I was a wizard until then."
"How could you not know?" Harry shrugged, not quite sure why Ron was so surprised.
"I was raised by my- muggles from my mom's side of the family. They never told me." The conversation continued on in this vein for several hours as Ron questioned Harry on his life with the muggles and explained all sorts of details about the wizarding world, especially focusing on Quidditch, the wizard sport Harry remembered Hagrid mentioning when they had been in Diagon Alley. Harry was so caught up in the conversation that it was only when they paused for lunch after buying ridiculous amounts of sweets off the food cart that he noticed he could sense Ron's aura. It was fairly weak, being a dim but solid orange glow, so alone he had barely even noticed. As he thought back, Harry realized that none of the other weasley's had very strong auras. It didn't really care about that, but it did bring to mind the question as to how he was able to sense it on the train. That question was answered, however, when he remembered the periwinkle blue of the trolley lady's magic, and he realized that while he couldn't sense most people through the walls, if there wasn't any part of the train in the way, the interference disappeared. At least, he thought that was how it worked. It made sense, anyways.
"So, who'd you get?" Harry looked up from the chocolate frog- actually living!- he had been eating to give Ron a curious look. "The card, who'd you get? I'm still missing a few." Harry looked back at the container to realize that there was indeed aa card, and he carefully pried it out. There was a picture of an old man in blue robes, with twinkling blue eyes and silver hair and a beard. Harry was about to ask who it was when the man surprised him by winking and walking out of the portrait.
"He moved!" Harry cried in surprise, and Ron threw him a confused look.
"'Course he did. Can't expect him to stick around all day, can you? Come on, turn it over, name's on the back." Harry hesitated for a moment, but then he complied. Honestly, with all the other crap he had seen and felt today, a moving picture wasn't even close to unbelievable. Turning the card over, Harry scanned the back, reading it out loud.
"Albus Dumbledore, order of Merlin first class. Famed for discovering the twelve uses of dragon's blood, as well as his work in alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel."When Harry looked up to see if any of that meant anything to Ron, he was greeted with a disappointed face.
"Oh, I've already got about five of him. You should keep him, start your own collection."After that, they continued working their way through the pile of food and sweets Harry had somehow managed to buy, continuing their conversation sporadically as they ate. They were about halfway through, already slowing down considerably, when the compartment door slid open again drawing both their gazes up in curiosity.
"I heard Harry Potter was in this compartment. That'd be you then?" The boy who had walked in instantly captured both their attentions, the almost regal air he stood with attracting their sight as if they were moths to a flame. His hair was pure blonde, almost white, and his mouth was curled into a disinterested scowl, despite the fact that he was the one initiating the contact. His eyes were a bright, venomous green, and they showed much more interest than the rest of his face as they roamed all over the compartment, taking in every detail as he nodded at Harry. What harry found more interesting than the boy's eyes or face, however, was his magic.
The boy's aura was strange, almost like there were two different magics bound up in each other. Silver and green wound together, but remained separate strands, no matter how tightly bound they were. Even in his core it was like someone had taken two different ropes and tied them together. They were inextricably tied, but also clearly separate. It was confusing but mesmerizing at the same time. The really amazing thing was, it was one of those few auras Harry had noticed through the enchantments of the train, although it wa much more obvious and brighter without the interference, leaving him almost in awe at just how bright it was. Whoever this boy was, he was very powerful.
"How do you know I'm not Harry Potter?" Harry was drawn out of his examination of the new boy and his aura to stare at Ron, who was looking almost petulant at being other kid, too, turned to give him a once over before waving dismissively at him.
"No, not likely. Red hair, too many freckles. If you're not a Weasley, I've been going in the wrong bathrooms all my life." Ron grew red at that comment, even though it wasn't actually insulting. From where Harry was standing-or sitting- it was actually pretty accurate. Still though, harry could've sworn that voice was familiar. Where… oh, right. The boy was the same one from Diagon Alley. Strange though, he seemed somewhat different for some reason. Almost like he was less… judging of everything he saw. Maybe they could be friends after all.
"It's all right Ron." The redhead gave him a surprised look, but harry ignored it as he reached out to shake the other boy's hand, giving him a small, encouraging smile. "I'm Harry. You?" The boy took it gingerly, as if he was unsure whether he should.
"Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." He seemed to be waiting for something, but Harry had no idea what, so he just kept shaking until Draco finally dropped the grip. They stood there awkwardly for a few moments, before Draco glanced around and sighed. "Well, I guess I should get back before those two gorilla's look up from stuffing their faces long enough to notice I'm gone. It was… a pleasure meeting you, Harry." he turned to go, before pausing for a moment and inclining his head towards Ron. "Weasley." Then he was gone, and they both stared at the spot he had vacated for a second, before Ron spoke up.
"I don't like him." Harry just rolled his eyes and sat back down, opening another a while they managed to restart the conversation, but it was slower, Harry still mulling over the strangeness of Draco's aura. After a while though, the talk turned towards spells, and what sort of magic they might learn, and his attention returned to the conversation. Ron had just started trying to do a spell that his brothers had shown him to turn his rat yellow, when the door opened again. Harry sighed as he turned back to see who it was this time, already growing weary of the interruptions.
This time, a young girl was standing in the doorway, with curly brown hair and a bit of an overbite, already dressed in the robes that made up their school uniform. She was squinting around the compartment as if she were looking for something, and Harry had to clear his throat to get her attention. She looked up, finally noticing him, and she smiled, showing him a full mouth of very white teeth.
"Hello. I was wondering if you've seen a toad recently? Neville's lost his."Harry shook his head.
"Nope, no toad. Sorry." The girl looked disappointed for a second, but then seemed to shake it off, gathering herself with a deep breath. She started to leave, but then glanced back at Harry, pausing.
"Why have you got broken glasses?" Harry was confused for a moment by the question, but then he remembered the glasses on his face, barely held together by scotch tape. He'd barely even thought of them that day, despite the fact that they were stubbornly clouded, and refused to change that fact no matter how hard he struggled to clean them. Still, he didn't understand why this strange girl would care whether they were broken or not.
"Er, my cousin broken them?" Her mouth curled downwards in a frown, and her eyes narrowed.
"Yes, but why haven't you fixed them?"
"Fixed them?" The girl sighed exasperatedly and reached up to knead her forehead.
"Yes, fixed them. You know, with magic?"Harry, not expecting this, tried to open his mouth to argue, but then realized he couldn't really, instead blushing and looking away.
"I… haven't tried any yet." The girl then got a superior smirk on her face as she stretched out her hand, gesturing for the glasses.
"Here, i'll show you." Harry hesitantly handed them over, unsure as to what the girl would do. He was therefore somewhat surprised when she drew her wand out of her robes and waved it over the pair of glasses, simply saying "Reparo". There was a small spark, and he watched in awe as the various breaks and cracks repaired themselves. Carefully, he reached out to take them back, the girl relinquishing them without a fight. Inspecting his newly repaired glasses, Harry couldn't find a single thing wrong with them. They were spotless, and as good as new. Putting them back on, however, he noticed something strange, and whipped them off quickly. He repeated this several times as he compared, finally coming to a startling conclusion. He could see better without his glasses! In fact, it seemed that his vision was almost as good as it had been before when he wore them. What was going on with his body? Still, he doubted either of the two people in the cart would care or believe him if he shouted out that he could see, and instead replaced them on his face, sliding them down his nose so he could see past them and revel in his new vision, nodding and thanking the girl.
"Oh, you're welcome. You do have pretty eyes. Gold is such an exotic color." The comment confused Harry, and he frowned.
"What do you mean, gold? My eyes are green, like my mother's, or so I've been told."The girl's brow wrinkled, and she shook her head.
"No they're not, they're gold. Here, look." She pulled out a hand mirror and handed it to him. Sure enough, his eyes were a tawny gold, almost like an eagle's Harry saw them he nearly dropped the mirror in shock, just barely catching it in handing the item back to the girl, he pinched his brow, trying to think through the sudden annoyance and confusion that was overwhelming him. Why were all these things happening to him? Ron and the girl watched him worriedly, probably not realizing that he really wasn't all that surprised by this point. This day had been one random shock after another, and a change in eye color wasn't even the biggest. Sitting back down, he waved away their concerns, looking out the window as he answered with the only thing that could come to mind.
"Nah, don't worry. If anything, it's probably just something to do with all of this." he gestured at the train and the robes the girl was wearing, indicating that he was talking about the wizarding world as a whole. The girl frowned as if she wanted to say something, but Ron interrupted her, speaking in a dubious tone.
"I've never heard of a wizard's eyes changing just because he started going to school." Harry just laughed, amused as he remembered another magical thing about him that was unheard of. Boy, he really was a miracle child.
"Yeah, I bet you've never heard of someone surviving a killing curse either, huh?" Ron looked shocked at his response, but the girl just looked between them, confused.
"What are you talking about?" Harry waved the question away dismissively, looking out the window to watch the landscape rolling by. He didn't really feel like going into the whole celebrity thing right now.
"Nothing. Don't you have a toad to find?" the girl jumped in surprise, and glanced at the door, as if she had forgotten all about her objective.
"Oh, right! I've got to go!" She started to rush out, but paused at the door just before exiting. "Oh, and you should probably get changed. The conductor mentioned that we would be there soon"With that parting comment, she ran off, seemingly in a hurry to find the missing two boys she left behind gave each other questioning looks, but then just shrugged and set about following her advice. As the sun set, they felt the train start to slow down, albeit slowly, and the compartment was quickly cleaned as the boys set about making sure everything was ready to go, preparing for their first foray into their new school. It was completely dark by the time the train finally slid to a screeching halt, and they joined the throng of students making their way off the train. Just as Harry was about to step off, however, he paused. Looking back he silently said goodbye to his old life, before taking that final step into his new one, and the wizarding world.