Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Warnings: Slash. Torture (not right now, but eventually...). Character Bashing.

Pairings: Tom Riddle Jr./Harry Potter, Lord Voldemort/Harry Potter.

Chapter One: Yer a Wizard, Harry.

Harry James Potter never expected that his life would turn out like this.

He was sitting on a train, next to the largest man he'd ever met in his life. Rubeus Hagrid was easily over ten feet tall, with a wild mane of black hair and a straggly black beard that almost concealed his face. His eyes were black, as well, and they glittered like little beetles in the light. Currently, he was humming a small tune to himself, either unaware or uncaring, of the people who stared at him as he sat knitting a canary yellow monstrosity that vaguely resembled a tent. Rubeus Hagrid was probably the kindest human being that Harry had ever met.

Rubeus Hagrid was a wizard.

And, according to him, Harry was as well.

Last night had been the strangest night of his life. Stranger than receiving letters that somehow found themselves rolled up inside of actual eggs, or shoved under the front door, or shot down the chimney. Stranger than moving to a decrepit shack on a rock in the middle of the ocean, just to get away from those letters.

Last night, Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, had come to the shack where his uncle had hidden them. There, over a meal of sausages and tea, he'd delivered the news: everything Harry believed was a lie. His parents had not died in a car crash, the way his aunt and uncle had always told him. They had not been worthless drunks. Lily and James Potter (and it was wonderful to finally know their names) had been some of the most brilliant students at Hogwarts, the school where they'd studied magic. They'd been a witch and a wizard, and Harry was just like them.

Harry Potter was a wizard. He was going to study magic, just like his parents had, at the school that his parents had once attended. The other things he'd been told about the wizarding world, like the war and Voldemort and Harry's fame, all paled in comparison to the idea of having some connection to his parents.

Apparently, Hogwarts was a very good school, despite its odd name. "The finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world," Hagrid had said last night-right before he'd given Harry's cousin Dudley a pig's tail. The trouble he was probably going to be in once he got back was worth the sight of Dudley running in circles with his hands clamped over his bottom while his parents ran around like headless chickens. It probably wasn't the nicest thing Hagrid could've done, but the Dursleys weren't the nicest people, either.

Harry glanced down at the list in his lap. Cauldrons, robes, a magic wand... This was what he and Hagrid were going to London for. Apparently, one could buy all these things, plus textbooks and owls, where they were going. As long as you know where to look. Harry didn't, but that was okay, because Hagrid did. And it wasn't like he was ever going to lose Hagrid in a crowd. He doubted he'd ever find anyone in the world as tall as him.

Which was perfectly fine by Harry. As far as he was concerned, Hagrid was the one who'd saved him from the Dursleys. It was only fitting that he be special, even amongst wizards.

As far as Harry was concerned, Hagrid was his savior.

Somewhere in Scotland, in an office filled with strange silver instruments, an old man linked his hands and smiled.

GRRRR...DUMBLEDORE...

So, no worries, the next chapter will be a much longer thing. Like, over 2,000 words, which is a bit ridiculous for me. Seriously.

Reviews?