AN : So yet another chapter published. It's slightly lengthier than the other but you shouldn't expect it to keep growing each time. I just gained a whole new respect for those authors that write some 15k per chapter. It's tiring. I'm happy that the story seems to be well liked, though I am confused as to why people are putting alerts on it or even putting it in their favorites (I even have a favorite author and three author alerts in the list…) but don't leave a review even to just say good work. (If you are wondering I welcome all kind of reviews, even flames or anonymous ones.) I thank them anyway but in particular those who did. I simply refuse to publish new chapters after this one if I don't have at least an average of ten reviews by existing chapter for the simple reason that I usually don't bother reading other's stories if they don't unless they are on a C2 I like. Well, lets go.

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Even as used as I am to Diagon, it's somewhat painful to enter Hogwarts. I know that the forbidden forest alone would have driven me mad two years ago. Thank God for small favors. Yeah, God. Not Merlin, not Circée and definitely not Albus Dumbledore. I am agnostic, but even I can realize that none of those three ever did anything for me. Maybe for magic as a whole but never for Harry James Potter.

Stupid pureblood customs.

Not that the three of them are in the same category if you ask me. Circée came up with most of what is known to us about transfiguration and therefore animation. Merlin, he was the best enchanter Europe ever had. Albus Dumbledore dumped me with the Dursleys. Clearly he doesn't follow the pattern here. Halfblood genius, halfblood genius and pureblood delusional child-abuser. Not like the people around here seem to make any difference between them. Hell, that annoying little girl that woke me up in the train to ask me if I hadn't seen a toad, while asleep, is still rambling about how she hopes to be in Gryfindor because he was.

What the hell?

The guy is notoriously barmy or at least fakes it, he published a grand total of four books in a century and a half and of those four the only one that isn't a compendium of other people works brings a grand total of two theories. And he didn't even demonstrate them. Educated guesses he calls them. That aside he is co-finder of the twelve uses of dragon blood with Flamel and can talk to goblins in their horrible language. Can't see just how the last one can be a good thing, if anything that makes him plain suspicious. Oh, and he offed some Dark Lord in the forties.

So a goblin-tongue, or whatever, talking fame-thief and a murderer.

The sorting is starting. No time to think about him anymore. The Hat just stopped singing and they are calling names. Quite the fine piece of enchanting it is, I looked around for informations on creating sentient objects and it's not a walk in the park. Even paintings are tough stuff and those are merely replicas of existing personalities. Godric made the Hat from scratch. Literally, as he turned a stupid piece of plain cloth almost into a person.

Now that would be a valuable reason to become a lion.

It's my turn. I didn't really pay attention to the others kids being sorted. I probably won't ever remember their names now. Damn, and I was hoping to make friends with all of them with such fervor too. Well, that's life I guess. Better luck next time… or not. I'm not that interested in socializing with sub-evolved species such as wizardkind if there isn't any profit to make. So maybe I'm grumpy from standing like an idiot for forty minutes while waiting for my turn to come.

So sue me yet again, I heard that third time is the charm.

The Hat chuckles while shifting on my head. At least the sound of it's voice covers the damn whispers. Aren't we the feisty one? I already knew about the Hat before coming of course, so I don't freak out when it mindtalks to me. Let us start then. Well, definitely not a badger or a lion there… hum… ah! Some passion for academics! A fine raven you would do indeed… but you seem to enjoy confrontations and mindgames too… I think you would have a better time in… "SLYTHERIN!"

Huh. How odd.

My guess was Ravenclaw. It just shows that even geniuses, childs or otherwise, can be wrong too. Not like one could have known better from the way everybody treats old Dumbles around here. There isn't a lot of clapping for me. Better that way. I don't want to own them anything. That way my deeds will be only credited to me, to myself and to Harry James Potter. The professors, and there are quite a few of them, much more than what would be reasonable, are the most shocked of them all. The man next to Dumbledore is seething in what can only be called a spectacular fashion.

I think I saw him foam.

I'm distracted from that disturbing image by the food appearing on the table. Thank god for that. I'm stuffing myself with potatoes, without being a pig mind you, that would almost be suicide at this table, when that girly ponce that awakened me for the second time in the Express just to give me his god-damned name tries to talk to me.

"So Potter, you are in Slytherin huh?"

That's what I was talking about before. Stupid people really shouldn't exist. Nature says so. God if he is out there says so. I say so. But I repeat myself. Yet here he is, impossible to ignore after this display. The guy has pureblood written all over the face and most likely all over his incestuous ass too. What can I even reply to that? Why is he even talking to me when I animated his goons' clothes to make them hit him and take him out of my cabin back then? Don't tell me he seriously thought I wasn't involved! The less ridiculous sounding answer I have is a disbelieving face and a disdainful "Indeed."

There. That should be clear enough, even for him.

The poor thing is sputtering with half it's neck colored with an angry shade of red. Weird, I thought he was the type to pale dramatically. At least the others morons seem to get the message if I'm to take the calculative stares as a sign. The upper years aren't all that interested in me anymore though. They can't afford to lose too much time on unknowns like me when there are already so much safer backs to stab and certain profit to be made. Yeah, I have time with them.

With my year-mates, well not so much.

Still, the first message was clear and I can see that the blonde princess and the somewhat tall for his age latin-looking guy have assessed me adequately. Too bad they are purebloods. They look a lot less dumb, and a fair amount less ugly, than the average of the table. I wonder if beautiful people are naturally smarter. Maybe I'm biased because for a second I think so. Until I remember that moron Lockhart that was making his promo in Diagon just the other day. Oh, there he is at the head table, showing his neon-white teeth to the world and then some.

I just finished eating my strawberry-pie when Dumbles start talking again.

"Most wonderful! Now that our primal needs are tended to, it is my pleasure to say that I have a few announcements to make." Why can I see an applaud please sign behind him? "First, those of you that we welcome back from last term are probably wondering why we have so many new teachers this year. It is not a definitive measure. Hogwarts will this year be the host of the newly revived Tri-wizard Tournament" I don't cheer, I can see that something is bothering him. If I'm right, his next statement will either make me very happy or very afraid. "Unfortunately, on the insistence of both Durmstrang Academy and our very own Ministry, there shall be no age limit to enter the contest."

Yeah… I didn't think it was going to be happy either.

I mean, really, as if having Sirius Black after my hide wasn't bad enough. This is a dream opportunity for him to infiltrate the school to try to finish the job. I can see the headlines already pointing to the man that fooled the dementors that I'm a fair target. "As a result, our student population will triple by the end of the month and we will therefore need trice as much teachers to compensate. It is my pleasure to welcome Quirinus Quirrel, Gilderoy Lockhart and Remus Lupin, our three new defense professors. I Welcome with equal heat Nicolas Flamel and Horace Slughorn to the position of potion teachers. In the very same way, I thank Perenelle Flamel and Charity Headstone for their future assistance in charms classes. Much in a similar manner I acknowledge Alastor Moody and Henry Blackstone as our newest transfiguration masters…."

Damn but the guy is boring!

That's a pink mage if I ever saw one. I mean, he most likely has some skills, but I don't think those improved much since his NEWTS. He certainly gives me the picture of a guy that lives on his image, both cashing on past glories and affecting the world by proxies. So maybe I'm jealous. Who needs pink magic anyway? Certainly not me. I'll just be an awesome gray mage with a touch of black and red.

Looks like I missed part of his speech. Darn!

"…And finally I am glad to introduce the charming Hestia Jones who will take the post of assistant to the equally lovely Madam Pomphrey." Breathe old-timer! Breathe! "Finally, to assure… proper management of the event as well as the everlasting quality of our educational standards, the minister graciously provided the support of miss Dolores Umbrige." I know her. She gave some nasty quotes to the Prophet just last week. Some crap about the old fool. Can't blame her for that. Though I do blame her for her horrid face.

Never said I was a nice guy… just a genius.

"Now, some final warnings. With the escape of the convicted criminal Sirius Black from Azkaban's high security stronghold, the defensive settings of the school have been yet again upped and it is therefore essential for students to follow curfew at all times, to never go in the forbidden forest and more importantly, not to venture on the left aisle of the third floor. That will be all. Prefects are asked to gather the lower years and show them the way to the appropriate dormitories."

What? Already? What about the library?

There's no way in hell I'm going to sleep right now. I usually sleep 5 hours a night and even with Dumbledore's long-winded speech it's barely nine PM. Fuck that! It's not like I was going to sleep with the dumb ones anyway. Can't trust the girly one to keep either of his wands to himself. He strikes me as the sharing type. And his hired thugs probably smell an awful lot. I mean, come on! I can understand my animated dummies being smarter than wizards, but when they start to be more hygienic it's a terrible sign. You don't know half the things I've made them do.

I just need to quietly slip away from the herd.

There. Only the not-so-dumb ones even noticed anything. But those aren't moronic enough not to mind their own business while I still am an unknown. I need to make that last. Where should I look first? And why isn't there a map of the castle anywhere? Even in that Hogwarts a history book there's nothing. Guess I am going to explore then. It sounds way too random to my tastes and there is always the possibility that one of those secret passages I heard about will bring me to the third floor. Which would be bad. Well, for normal people it probably would. Me, I'm not so sure as I don't know what actually is there.

Makes me feel like a Slytherin pureblood. God I'm starting to fit in.

Huh. The next step of the staircase feels funny. Better to just jump above. One never knows what these people consider necessary around here. Or safe for that matter. It can't be a secret passage right? I mean, who would make one of these in a place where people are likely to find about it by just walking? Maybe wizards. I'm not so sure anymore. The only other somewhat plausible explanation would be a trap of some kind. But unless it's something a student came up with it doesn't make much sense either. Hogwarts was always a school, not a real castle. If this is indeed a trap it's more dangerous to random students than to the dubious possible intruder.

Now I'm curious.

I take my trunk from my pocket and command it to expand. It obeys like any good enchanted, non-sentient, item should. There. I take a dummy, an elements and kinetic force resistant model that for some random reason looks like Iron Man since I tinkered with it, I animate it and have it walk on the steep while carefully getting some distance between us. So it was a trap. The dummy just lost it's leg. I sigh. If things keep that way I am quickly going to need some more and lets face it, I still have some miles to go before I can transfigure one.

I miss apparition.

I'm not fond of autority but even I won't risk going in the forest to apparate to somewhere with more of them for me to collect. When faced with a werewolf or a Vampire, hell even a fairy, there is only so much that animated plastic can do and my other skills are not as hot. It would probably kill me to try pyrokinesis or one of such my earlier discoveries on a magical being. My core is huge for my age but still lacking for something like that. Like trying to kill someone with an evanesco. So not just yet. I wonder if I can steal one of these suits of armor. Ten should be adequate escort I think.

All bow to king Harry of Britain! May his wisdom be just low enough for him not to realize he'd do a world a favor by killing us all!

Hum… maybe I should keep going. I still need to find the damned library. Do they hide it? Frankly it wouldn't surprise me. I'm pretty sure that purebloods aren't aware of what goes through their own minds. Normal folk just can't compete with that. If I knew someone who could, I would most likely kill the guy straight away to stop it from spreading before I even got the answer. So it'll keep being a mystery.

Don't look at me that way, I did tell you that I wasn't a good guy.

I never really killed anyone though. A couple of guys in Knockturn got a rough handling by two cloaked dummies, half a dozen toys and their own shoes but that's all. I think one of them lost a piece of ear but it was pretty dark at the time so I couldn't see too well and any kind of meat laying around in that street doesn't stand a good chance of making it till morning. Now that I think about it, I wonder if the stuff that lurks there didn't finish the job, attracted by the smell of blood or just by the prospect of looting them. At least in the wizarding world they aren't too likely to have their organs for sale.

Few rituals have components from middle-aged wizards with low power levels it seems.

Ah! Here it is! It wasn't hidden after all. Small favors and all that. No matter what you may, or really what I may, think of Hogwarts as a whole, the library is just something else. There is a lot of junk of course; purebloods were involved amongst a true rainbow of other stupid people after all. I heard some upper years discuss a book that explained how to give a dragon a third horn on the tongue. But more importantly, they buy every magical book that is published out there. Which unlike shops means they actually have some of the sensible work lost somewhere.

Now I just need to go hunting.

I start with runes of course. I simply don't have the time to look for anything specific and that way I can hope to find useful stuff no matter what. I've only played with preserving runes and so along with some basic warding arrays until now. It makes for sturdier toys but not much else. It's depressing how little they have in the shops I went. Why is there such a weak demand for such powerful and profitable branch of magic I'll never know. I'm sure that somehow Dumbledore is to blame. What I really want is sentience and a good conversation but for now I'll settle for everlasting animation.

If I can make it tampering-proof I'll even be able to sell to muggles!

That and acquire servants that don't have squeaky voices and ridiculous noses. That reminds me to be wary of the castle elves. Those aren't advertised, though all purebloods know about them, for a reason. Most likely they report to the headmaster. With his unnatural fascination with all things Potter… Oh, but I didn't tell you about that yet did I? Well, aside from the forcefulness to put me with the Dursleys, he seems to be very interested in my finances and to have people watching Privet Drive. And he didn't think it would be a good idea of informing of my rights and duties as heir to the Potter line. Not that there will be a Potter line. Once I finish school I am changing it to Seldon and moving to the U.S.

The less purebloodish things people can associate with me the better.

It's not like I don't like England. God save the Queen and all that. Really, I hope he does. Because for her to live, let alone rule, in the most magically backwards country in Europe she will definitely need it before the end. I know that I won't be taking the chances. With the way people see me around here, and unfortunately stupid-what's-his-name-red-head is an accurate and representative sample, I won't be surprised if they demand that I handle Dark Lords from now on. Doesn't matter that I'm eleven. I have a wand don't I? That's a lot more than just a big forehead so it should be fine right?

Not that I couldn't if given some time to prepare, but it doesn't mean I want to.

Ah! This one shows potential! A grounding rune used as a center to an inamobility array that can be keyed! It's no good for minions of course. An animated object that can't move in most circumstances don't serve much purpose. But I can see many uses that the dim-minded author can't. He merely classifies it as warding because you can put it on a door and have it only move for you. Like I said, dim-minded. I could put it on a weapon, keyed to only respond to kinetic forces coming directly from living beings and parry strikes effortlessly or even apply it to my clothes with only myself being keyed and take canon-shots at point blank range. It could even make a decent anti-theft measure on common objects. As long as I cover whatever I use it on with gold after that to immunize to magic too that is. Come to think of it, I could do that to the suits of armor too if I find a way to permanently animate them.

What was I saying again?

Oh yeah. Leave England. Britain in fact. I don't see how you could blame me for it. It's not like I would be the first to do so. Why did you think we had such a low population to begin? And why are those few neuraly-chalenged? Well, that's a part of the mechanics of the species that actually applies to wizards. When a place is unsafe or unpleasant, the brightest members of the local species migrate to other areas. The more the situation is blatant, the less bright the subjects have to be for the rule to apply. When you know we have no giants left in Britain it's a wonder we are even that many.

Thankfully there are exceptions.

Muggleborns in the first place. Those have an even chance at stupidity. Then there is the category of purebloods whose wealth is just too tied to the land. They are not quite as smart on the average as the first ones since they still do incest, but they can compensate with knowledge and money. Those can almost be mistaken for normal people if you ignore the lingering arrogance. My father most likely was one of them. His record as well as his choice of partner certainly points that way.

I don't fool myself though.

He his my dad and I love him even without knowing what he looks like but he is still the one of my two parents that trusted our safety to that murdering psychopath Black without even asking for an oath or truth serum. I can understand the oath part. There's an actual reason why people don't go throwing those around like candies on Halloween. An oath needs to be enforced and it's one's magic that does it. That means that a small part of your magic is always on stand up waiting for you to break the deal and that's that much less magic for you to use in the day. It's fine if you just swear that you are telling the truth, and that's what he could have asked, because it's over in a second. But if you go around swearing to everybody you meet that you won't ever do this o that it's something you carry all your life and you could very well ending as a squib.

Huh. I'm sleepy now.

My musings and researching took a big chunk of the night and I know I won't do much else today. My back is kind of stiff and I don't think I can transfigure even a pillow in this state. I probably should try and find a better place to rest as even in this lost corner of the room I'm fated to be found in the morning but I can't seem to care right now. As I black out the last thing I think is that I'm glad tomorrow is Saturday.