I don't own HP

Chapter 1- New Beginnings

"Hurry up, Harry! You're gonna be late for the Floo!"

Harry groaned gently, burrowing her head further under her bedcovers, icy air biting at her nose like a crup at a chew toy.

Wait… ice? In September?

She cracked open an eye unwillingly, shivering as more cool air washed over her. Not again…

"Harr- whoa, pup! What've you been experimenting with, huh?'

Harry opened the other eye and sat, long hair sticking up as she attempted to run a hand through it. No luck today, by the feel of it- instead of the usual knots, the cold, brittle feel underneath her fingers indicated she was covered in frost again.

Her eyes met her uncle's, who was looking around the room with a small frown. A layer of glitter seemed to cover every surface she owned, icy leaf patterns blossoming across the window. It was a good thing Hedwig was out hunting really- she would not have been impressed.

'Just… nightmares again, Siri,' Harry mumbled.

She winced internally as a small frown flittered across Sirius' face, only to be replaced with a smile that was just a bit too big to be real. He was worried about her again. Great.

'Awww, nervous about finally being allowed to go to the Christmas ball, little lion?' he teased, drawing out his wand to help defrost the room. 'Can't say I blame you; the bright pink dresses would really clash with that hair of yours!'

'There's nothing wrong with being ginger,' she grumbled, shivering as her feet touched the carpet a moment before Sirius' defrosting spell twinkled over it. 'Where's mum and dad?'

"James is cooking breakfast, Lily's out with the chickens,' Sirius said, putting his wand away with a flourish. He hesitated a moment, then sat on the end of her bed, patting the space beside him awkwardly.

"Want to tell me about the dream?'

She closed her eyes and shook her head, mind wandering back. What had it been again? She had vague flashes of icy blue eyes under a full moon; some sort of voice calling out from behind a tattered curtain, but nothing more solid…

"Just… school nerves. I think someone was asking me for homework."

Her uncle laughed, a short barking sound, and grinned, though the crinkles around the edges of his eyes betrayed that he didn't quite believe her. "And who can blame you? Homework's a daunting task, especially when the pressures of teen puberty mean bouts of accidental magic are oh-so common!"

He bounced away from her with a grin as she spluttered, cheeks turning red. "Uncle Sirius!"

"Yes, yes, you don't need to tell me, you're doubtlessly head over heels for some dashing young Weasley and hoping he'll ask you to the ball. Your secret is safe with me, Gingerella- now go get ready so you look proper for seeing them again!"

He dashed off laughing as Harry thew threats at him, laughing to herself as she heard crashes from the kitchen, her uncle doubtless getting in her father's way while he attempted to cook his favourite meal of the day.

She rummaged through her dresser, pulling out a dress and jeans as she got dressed, immediately giving her hair up as a bad job today. She wished she could bring herself to cut it sometimes- the curly curtains of auburn hair cascaded to her waist now- but doing so would inevitably cause it to become triangular. Even she knew that wouldn't be good- just think of what Malfoy could do with ammo like that! No, a plait it would have to be.

The kitchen smelt strongly of sausages and bacon when she arrived, her mum giving a grunt of greeting over the pot of coffee in front of her whilst both men in the room squabbled at the oven.

"I'm telling you James, it's pepper and paprika and salt for scrambled eggs, then just salt for boiled!"

"And I'm telling you, you're a heathen who deserves to eat dog food!"

"Maybe that's why you have no sense of taste- eating tree bark!"

"How long have they been at it, Mum?" Harry quietly asked, helping herself to toast as the post owl deposited 'The Prophet' on the table.

Harry's mother shook her head, a smile on her face. "The last twenty years, and the next twenty more, I suspect. It's lucky they're entertaining to be around. How did you sleep, Sweetheart?"

"Alright, thanks. Worried a bit about exams… didn't you say they were changing them again?"

The auburn-haired witch hummed softly, stifling a yawn as she squeezed her daughter's hand. "Only a little; they want to emphasise more theory. I know it's boring, but it will help in the long run if you understand the underlying theory."

"Yeah, but you design charms, I think you're biased," Harry grumbled gently, squeezing her mum's hand back. "Of course you're amazing at theory."

"You're clever too- it's like McGonagall said at your parents evening, you just need to work a bit harder at it," her mum reassured her, giving her husband a kiss on the cheek as he dished out sausages, bacon and suspiciously red looking eggs to the two women. "Isn't that right, Jamie?"

James smiled at his daughter, ruffling her hair with an oven-mitted hand. "Could do, kiddo. Then again, me and Sirius never worked half as hard at theory as Lils and look at us- aurors as good as any other!"

"Well, I'm distinctly better than your father, but it can't be easy to admit your best friend is clever, handsomer and has much better taste than you, can it?" Sirius declared airily, ducking a wooden spoon as it attempted to rap him on the back of the head. "Besides, you're already ahead in defence since you spent the summer training with us."

"What, water ballooning you with dad, you mean?" Harry shot back cheekily, exchanging a high-five with her dad as he went past again.

Sirius made a wounded noise, Harry smiling into her tea as the adults around her bickered lovingly. This was one of the things she missed whilst at Hogwarts, she had to admit. Yeah, going to school in a castle looked cool, but it was still just school, and sometimes she missed the excitement of being around adults more interesting than teachers. Still, it would be nice to see Ron and Hermione again.

The clock on the wall dinged over the conversation, the miniature doors opening as the painted blue dragon snorted out eleven smoke rings for the hour.

"Oh! Eleven! You better start packing, the floo will be open in four hours!" Lily exclaimed, the morning coffee finally kicking in to propel her upright. "Do you have the list of things you need for school? Remember, this is the year you can't come home during the holidays! Thank the Lord for owl post!"

Harry nodded, a feeling of gloom settling in her stomach. That would be something she missed. According to the Ministry, breaks at Christmas and Easter negatively impacted students learning- and whilst she couldn't deny that she rarely got anything done in those two weeks, snowball fights with her family sounded a lot more fun than the 'enrichment' activities like balls that were planned.

She pushed her chair away from the table, grabbing a mug of tea along with the requirement list from her mother's pinboard. Maybe leaving packing until the morning of was leaving it a bit late, but it wasn't like the old days, where they needed to supply all their own equipment. No lugging massive caldrons around or trying to pack fragile potions supplies safely. Just the thought of how it must have smelled if the contents had gone everywhere…

No, now it was mostly just textbooks and clothes, along with whatever hobby supplies or sweets she could fit. Quite how Hermione managed to fit several balls of wool in her trunk every year, Harry would never know- she herself struggled to fit even a few chocolate frogs, even when she accidentally 'forgot' the dresses 'required' for attending the damn school balls.

She pulled a face, stuffing a few childhood books into the trunk, wincing when one of the covers of Sirius' ripped a little. She wasn't sure what it was, but the thought of having to go to school dances this year made her uneasy. Maybe it was the fact that all her classmates had suddenly started having crushes on each other before the summer, and this Halloween it would be a competition to wear the most revealing outfit rather than apple bobbing.

Still, at least Hermione agreed with her- it shouldn't be too hard to convince her best female friend to bunk off the party for a game of exploding snap. Ron neither, so long as they nabbed enough caldron cakes to bet with.

Shaking her head, Harry pulled herself together. Regardless of what the future held, she still had to pack. Worrying about future awkward parties would just have to wait until after the uncomfortable floo across half of Britain.

The crisp Scottish air filled Harry's lungs as she stepped out of the arrivals gate in Hogsmeade, the feel of her parents' and uncle's arms around her still lingering as warmth in her long wool coat. It wasn't quite as cold as it had been in the past (during her second year, there'd even been snow dusting the hills around the small town!), but a chill definitely filled the air which hadn't been present in the early September sunshine of the Shropshire countryside. She pulled russet wool slightly closer around her and savoured the feeling- as much as she might complain living in the countryside was boring, she couldn't deny that she preferred the taste of the fresh air to the city townhouses she'd grown up in.

"Harry!"

Harry jumped, only having a second before a brunette blur tackled her on one side. "Ah, Hermione!"

Hermione grinned at her, lessening her grip to let her best friend breathe. "How was summer?"

"Alright, thanks," Harry said, letting herself to be steered to 'The Catpurrchino', the little coffeeshop serving as both a meeting place for students and the town's cat rescue. "Helped Mum with the garden a lot, went flying with Dad, helped Sirius tinker with his motorbike. You?"

Hermione smiled, reaching down to pet a very fat tabby before giving one of the floating order pads her coffee order. "Went out to Germany for a bit- the black forest has a fascinating magical history- then caught up on a lot of reading. I think my parents want me to be a healer though, they keep shoving books on bones and teeth at me."

"Do you want to be a healer?" Harry asked, eyeing the order pad dubiously. It fluttered in mid-air, seeming mildly distressed by being made to wait. Well, let it, the reports she'd had on the quality of hot chocolate here were not good. "And do you know when Ron's due?"

Hermione shrugged slightly, laying a few knuts on the table as a hot chocolate piled high with cream 'popped' into existence in front of her. "He said four-ish? Which should give us time to walk up to school before dinner starts. And I don't know about healing- it does seem like a fascinating science and magic, but really, it's politics I'm interested on above all else, and there's never been a minister who started out as a healer."

Harry smiled and nodded along, letting the words wash over her comfortingly. Hearing that even Hermione didn't know precisely her plans for the future meant her weird dream concerns were just nightmares, not anything else. Maybe the next year wouldn't be as hard as she expected…

Night had fallen, and stuffed with food as she was, it was definitely time to go to bed. She stretched out, stifling a yawn and Ron did one, not bothering to hide it despite Hermione's scolding.

"Relax, 'Mione, no one's going to mind a bit of rudeness before bed on the first day."

Hermione chewed her bottom lip, eyes flicking towards the long head table. Along with the usual array of teachers say a short, stout woman, clad in bright pink everything. She was smiling down on them all indulgently, having given some sort of speech about her plans for the defence class just after dessert had finished.

"I'm just saying, it sounds like she's going to be very strict. What do you think, Harry?"

Harry shrugged slightly, getting out of her chair. "Maybe? It was after the end of dinner; I wasn't really listening. Besides, she's the new Defence teacher, she can't be worse than Quirrell. That man was afraid of his own shadow."

"Well, that's what I'm worried about!" Hermione said, steering them along the long corridors to their sleeping quarters. "Why make a speech when everyone is already half asleep?"

"Stage fright?" Ron suggested, earning him a glare. "Hey! It happens to everyone. Besides, unless you want to be an auror, it's not like defence class is too useful anyway. It could be cool, but who really wants to hear about all the wizarding world laws anyway?"

"I suppose…" Hermione said unwillingly, stopping at the staircase. "Are you still rooming on level one?"

The boy deflated slightly, the tips of his ears turning slightly pink. "Yeah. Never have been a morning person. I'll see you both at breakfast?"

"Course!" Harry said, grabbing him in a tight hug. "Grab a few seats for us if you're there before us, yeah?"

Ron nodded, and the three made their good evenings before the girls started to climb the stairs. Harry supposed it made sense to house the early risers on higher floors since they'd have more time to get places, but that didn't exactly bring any comfort to her burning calves by the time she'd got to the fifth floor. Damnit, she really did hate that main staircase, why weren't the smaller ones accessible until lessons started?

She pushed open the door to their shared area, expecting to maybe find Neville at the little kitchen, making a mug of coco before going to bed.

Purple caught her eye first, and her eyes widened as she saw the headmaster in their common area. He was old now, a wispy white beard reaching to his knees, though bright blue eyes still sparkled as brightly as a man's half his age. "Professor Dumbledore?"

"Ah, Miss Potter. Is that Miss Granger behind you too? Excellent, Mr Longbottom is already here, come, sit."

Harry came in warily, sitting on the slightly uncomfortable couch along with Hermione. She exchanged a glance with Neville too, but the boy just shrugged, avoiding eye contact. Why the headmaster was there was a mystery to him too then.

The headmaster twinkled at them, clasping his hands behind the back of his robes. "Welcome back to Hogwarts! I trust you all had good summers? I myself made excellent progress in researching some fiendishly difficult transfiguration!"

"Um, yes Sir…?"

"Good! I won't keep you too long- I promise, you'll need a good long rest before school starts tomorrow. We had a new student turn up over the summer, and I wanted to introduce you all- his sleeping habits should fit around yours perfectly, as should his study. I know its rather irregular to introduce a new border this late in your education, but I trust you'll be friendly and welcome him?"

"Of course, Professor," Hermione said quickly, eyes flicking towards the doors which led to their individual bedrooms. "Where-"

One of the doors opened slowly. In stepped a boy roughly their own age if Harry had to guess. Dark curls of brown hair lay atop his head, and his eyes were a piercing blue. Harry frowned slightly- they seemed familiar, though where from, she couldn't guess.

"Ah, Tom," the headmaster said cheerfully, ignoring the boy's wince. "Come, introduce yourself."

The boy smiled politely, flashing teeth in a way which made shivers run down Harry's spine. Whilst it looked like it was friendly, she couldn't help but be reminded of a rather large shark.

"Thomas Marvolo Riddle. A pleasure, I'm sure."

Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think! :)