Once again, thank you for all those who either reviewed, put this story on story alert or made it a favourite. Just to let everyone know, I will be keeping the chapters from 7,000 to 10,000 words.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. J.k. Rowling does. Also, if you see something that you did in one of your stories, it was not intentionally copied.
Thank you to my new Beta, HP Slash Luv.
Twin Trios
Chapter 2
"Let's go!" yelled Lily up the stairs. Harry watched in amusement as his mother yelled at the brother that the rest of the world believed to be perfect. Well, the world and his new friend Ginny. She had been on his mind since the party had ended. His mother had noticed that he had been happy, much to his dismay. He always hated parties to celebrate his brother, but his mother knew this one had been different. Soon she would start to try and figure out why.
A sleep, yet excited Percy came down the stairs, trunk floating behind him. Harry could see that his father was levitating his trunk for him. Internally, Harry laughed. He had been able to wandlessly do the levitation charm since he was 7.
The ride to King's Cross station was quiet. Percy was still half-asleep, so he didn't have to listen about how the great Boy-Who-Lived was going to be sorted into the greatest house of them all. This left Harry time to think about what Ollivander had said. Suddenly, he felt his wrist tighten and a small, but growing snake head popped out, it's clear eyelids shut.
$ Harry, $ Callidus hissed quietly. $ What house do you think you'll be in? $
$ I don't know, Callidus. I just hope that it's not Gryffindor. I'm sure that's the house that Percy's going to be put into. He's stupid and rash enough to go head first into danger. I would hate having to be in the same house as him. You know, Gryffindor is so knonw for bravery without thinking, I sometimes wonder how mother got into it… $
$ Oh no, not this again, $ Callidus complained. $ I know all about your theories about your mother. How she's too amazing to be in Gryffindor. How she's too smart to be in Gryffindor. How she's too cunning to be in Gryffindor. Your mother was a Gryffindor Harry! There's nothing you can do to change that! $
Harry rolled his eyes as Callidus retreated back into his sleeve. That snake was his companion, for life. Callidus had explained that once a basilisk bonds to someone, it cannot be undone, not even by death. But still, he could be one annoying snake!
They had finally reached King's Cross. Unfortunately for Harry, Percy was now up and about, talking like there's no tomorrow.
"Dad, what do you think will be my first heroic act as a Gryffindor? I really hope it's something spectacular. Maybe knocking out a mountain troll would do. Or maybe I'll save a unicorn in the forbidden forest?"
"I don't know Percy," responded James Potter. "I'm not sure any of those things are good enough for you. Leave the easy work to lowly people." He said as he shot a dirty look at Harry, who pretended not to notice. "I think that you should slay a basilisk, or drive off hundreds of dementors."
"James," Lily chided, "Don't give him any ideas. I don't want him to get hurt in his first year at Hogwarts."
She had The Mask on. Harry hated when she put on The Mask, but knew that it was necessary to keep the world thinking she was a golden Gryffindor. In pairs, the family of four went through the barrier. James and Percy went first. Once they were through, Lily dropped The Mask for a moment. Her happy Gryffindor face immediately changed to a much more serious and hardened face. A Slytherin face.
"Here, Harry." Was all that she said, dropping an emerald green ring into his hands. It felt so right. Without another word, she put The Mask back on, and led him through the gate. It was the first time that Harry had been on the platform. As usual it was very busy, the smoke from the Hogwarts Express floating above everybody's head. Lily let go of his hand, pushing him away, knowing that he hated the press. She started heading into the crowd, towards Percy. Harry turned away as he saw her disappear.
Harry started to look for his one and only friend Ginny. He also was partially searching for the brother that she had mentioned, Ron. It sounded like he was the odd-ball of the Weasley family. Or, the known odd-ball. Harry had a feeling that Ginny had disguised her un-Weasley-ish qualities better than her brother had.
"Harry! Harry! Over here!" A female's voice called from the left. Harry turned and saw Ginny, along with a bunch of red-heads. As Harry scanned the group, he noticed that Mrs. Weasley and Ray were missing. Seeing no reason not to go visit them, as he got along with the rest, he started to head over.
"Hello Mr. Weasley." greeted Harry politely.
"Hello Mr. Potter. How are you today?" Mr Weasley said after a slight hesitation. Harry couldn't decide whether being called Mr. Potter was a good thing or a bad thing. It showed Harry that he really didn't know his name. Did he want to be known, or did he want to keep in the background?
Harry mingled with the Weasleys for the next half-hour. They talked about Quidditch, what house they thought the different people were going to be at Hogwarts, and much to Harry's dismay, Percy. Also, Harry looked for a Weasley that he didn't recognize, the one that he had seen at Diagon alley, but couldn't find one. Figuring he was already on the train, Harry excused himself, saying bye to Ginny, and got on the train.
Harry quickly found an empty compartment, and took out a book on Potions to read. According to his mother, he was at a very advanced level for his age. That's why he had bought Advanced Potions Making. His was planning to start his animagus training as soon as possible. Just as he was going to sink into his book, he was rudely interrupted by someone. He looked up and saw his brother.
"Hello," Percy said. "I'm the Boy-Who-Lived, so get out of my compartment."
He had two people with him. His 'friend', Ray Weasley, but it seemed to Harry that he had picked up another devoted follower-already.
"Why hello, little bro," Harry said casually, knowing that his brother hated being reminded that Harry was the older one, therefore the heir to the fortune. Harry was pretty sure that his father had tried to disown him once, but his mother had stopped him. "I see you've picked up another friend." It was the girl that Harry had seen at the book store. The one that had looked bored.
"Her name's Gabriel. Gabriel Granger. She, like me, is unfortunate enough to have a twin." Harry mentally laughed, as Ray looked happy. It appeared that Ray had never told Percy about his black-sheep twin, Ron. Harry would be looking forward to see the explosion that followed the discovery this evening. "Now get out of this compartment. I'm the Boy-Who-Lived, and you'll do as I say."
Harry didn't feel like arguing, so he just picked up his stuff and left. He kept his head down, and regretted it.
CRASH
Harry was involved in a three way collision. He looked up and saw the boy that had been in Diagon alley, the one he had been looking for the whole time. Ron Weasley. Tearing his eyes away from Ron, he observed the girl. She had very bushy hair. He recognized her as the girl that he had seen with Gabriel in the book store. She must be her sister. Poor girl.
"I'm sorry," she said coolly, not at all like he had expected a muggleborn girl to act. "We all should've watched where we were going." Harry was impressed. The girl had not only kept her cool, but she had also successfully blamed the three of them. However, she had done it so they couldn't accuse her of blaming them.
"It's okay," said Ron. Harry took the chance to study him more. Harry quickly realized that Ron had been ignored by his family from a very early age. Harry felt a pang of sympathy. The kid must not know why he got treated that way. "We all make mistakes. Look at me. I can't do anything right." Harry was surprised at how depressed he sounded. His family's rejection, although it has been going on for years, must still be hard for him.
In unspoken agreement, the trio walked down the train looking for a compartment. It never occurred to them that their twins had formed the same friendship. Nobody would ever realize that the two trios would become great, in very different ways. One trio would be remembered with reverence, and the other would be used to scare children to eat food they don't like. The only question was which of the twin trios would be which?
!#$%^&*
As the train ride passed, Harry, Ron and Hermione fell into an easy conversation pattern, despite the fact that they had met awkwardly. Ron was surprisingly not only good at chess, and loved to talk Quidditch, but he also was really into History, and not just of magic. When Harry had told him what he had heard about Professor Binns, his enthusiasm only grew. 'Helps us figure out how to do better battle strategies,' was his reasoning. Hermione, on the other hand, was all about Transfiguration and books. Harry noted with amusement that she was like a walking textbook. He told her so, and that she should ease up a bit, because a lot of people don't like know-it-alls. She seemed to still burst with knowledge, and still burst out into lecture mode sometimes, but she had already notably improved. Harry explained to his new companions that he loved and excelled in Charms, Potions, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. The conversation started to lull at that point, so Ron and Hermione got out books, while Harry reflected on the talk that his mother and him had had the other day.
Flashback
"Harry," said Lily as she started to approach him. "I'd like to talk to you about a certain branch of magic that I believe you're a natural in." Harry raised an eyebrow, clearly not impressed. "Harry, I'm talking about Occlumency and Legilimency." That impressed Harry, if the way his head shot up was any indication.
"Why would you think that, mother," he asked sweetly.
"I believe that because of what you did earlier, about how you saw the memory of what Dumbledore did to me. Harry, I have perfect Occlumency shields. Not even Dumbledore can get by them, and believe me, he has tried. It is rumored that natural Legilimens cannot be stopped by any shield, and that their shields are impermeable, not even another natural's." It took Harry a moment to process it.
Harry knew he was powerful, and he said that without any arrogance. He knew who the last natural had been: Salazar Slytherin. He dropped down on the floor, dead to the world.
Flashback
Harry was still trying to figure out what Ollivander had meant about the girls bathroom. Was the man wacky? But nevertheless, Harry still respected the man, as wandlore was not an easy subject to learn, never mind be successful in it. He would see what was so special about that bathroom when he got to school.
Harry looked out of the window. It was starting to get dark as the train approached Hogwarts.
"Let's get our robes on." Harry suggested casually. The trio looked at each other and playfully said 'Not going in the Bathroom.' In the end, Hermione got to go, since she was the only girl. Then Harry cast a spell (with his wand) that created a barrier in between himself and Ron, allowing them to get changed. When they were all done, they talked about the topic that Harry hated: What house were they going to be sorted into?
"I just hope I'm not in the same house as my brother. I don't want to have to stand in his shadow during my seven years at Hogwarts," Harry said. "Personally, though there's nothing wrong with Hufflepuff, I'd like to go into Slytherin or Ravenclaw."
"Slytherin Harry?" Hermione sounded horrified at the thought of her nice new friend going into Slytherin, the dark house. "That's where all dark wizards come from!" Ron just watched. Harry already knew that he didn't think anything bad about Slytherins, because he had no reason to.
"Hermione, Slytherin's the house of ambition and cunning. A lot of people that are high up light ministry wizards came from Slytherin. All that Slytherins want is respect and power. Not all power is bad. Voldemort" They both flinched. "wants to take over the wizarding world. That's bad. Dumbledore wants to keep everything the way it is, and uses his power to do that. I, on the other hand, want to make the world a better place with my power, just like the founders did. They completely changed the world."
Hermione considered that, but couldn't find anything wrong with it, so didn't say anything. Just then the train started to slow down. They had arrived.
!#$%^&*
For I'm the Thinking cap!
The hall burst into applause, much to Harry's confusion. What was so good about a singing hat? He felt sort of sorry for it. It must have a really sad life, if it just made up songs all year.
"Abott, Hannah," called Professor McGonagall. A girl with red hair (and wasn't a Weasley, amazingly enough) walked up to the teacher. She was obviously nervous.
The hat thought for a second or two. "HUFFLEPUFF."
The sorting continued on at this pace. Terry Boot was a Ravenclaw while Lavender Brown became a new Gryffindor.
After a while, it was the Granger twins' turns. Gabriel went first. Harry thought that she looked bored, but he caught the gleam of excitement in her eyes. "GRYFFINDOR"
It was now the one that Harry had been looking for. Hermione Granger's sorting. He was pretty sure that he and Ron would get into Slytherin, despite telling everyone he didn't know what house he would be in. "SLYTHERIN."
Silent chaos. That's the only way to describe the great hall. You could've heard a pin drop. Because a muggleborn had just been sorted into Slytherin. Harry could see that it hurt her that no one had clapped for her, but she quickly put it off her facial features. Then she started to head towards the Slytherin table, which avoided her like she was a piece of mud. After a long silence, the sorting continued. Finally, it got to 'P'.
"Potter, Harry," Called McGonagall in confusion. She didn't know that there was a brother to the Boy-Who-Lived. Neither did a lot of other people, because. All over the great hall, whispers could be heard.
"Another Potter?"
"The great Boy-Who-Lived has a brother? I bet he's really jealous of his brother's fame."
"Is he as cute as his brother?"
Tired of all the speculation, Harry stepped up and put the hat on his head.
He heard the hat gasp, than say quietly "Mr. Potter, would you please lower your shields. It appears you're a natural at the mind arts." Harry, not really knowing what to do, just willed his mind to be unprotected. "Thank you," the hat said.
"And thank you," responded Harry. "For not yelling out to the whole school that I have occlumency shields. Some people would find that very interesting, and I don't want a lot of attention."
"Now for your sorting," the hat muttered quietly. "You have a clever mind, very sharp. Rowena would love to make you hers. But you don't shy away from a challenge, but won't go into a conflict without thinking about it first. You're also fiercely loyal to your mother. Now where to put you."
"There's more in here? My, my Mr. Potter, aren't you full of surprises. A basilisk has bonded to you. The last person that that ever happened to was Salazar Slytherin. The basilisk is still here, in this very school. Your basilisk was serious when it said the bond went beyond death. His loyalty will be given to your children, and their children, and on and on. How do you think the heir of Slytherin controls the one in the Chamber?"
"What Chamber," asked Harry franticly. Then it clicked. The girls' bathroom. But how will that answer his questions? Harry shook his head clear. He was in the middle of his sorting.
"Sorting? You still want to be sorted? After that discovery?" Harry realized that the sorting hat actually had a sense of humour. "Well, you've been here long enough. You'll do great. SLYTHERIN!"
The hall was shocked dead. The Potter was a hardcore light family. How could one of them go into Slytherin? Harry, like Hermione, didn't get any applause from the Slytherin table. Instead, he just calmly walked over to it, showing no reaction, and sat down next to Hermione. "You were up there for twenty minutes," she hissed as the sorting resumed.
Harry stopped paying attention until he heard the name "Weasley, Ray." The moment it touched his head, it cried out "GRYFFINDOR." The Gryffindor table was banging with cheers. They always seemed to be the most enthusiastic when someone got sorted into their house. As he watched Ray go to the table, he also noticed that Percy had been sorted there. It did not remotely surprise him.
"Weasley, Ron." Called out Professor McGonagall. The hat took a bit more time deciding what house Ron should go in, but not to Harry's surprise, it eventually called out "SLYTHERIN."
The hall was in shock. A muggleborn, a Potter, and a Weasley had all gone into Slytherin. Noticing that everyone was uneasy, McGonagall quickly said the next name. Then the sorting was over.
!#$%^&*
Harry was confused. Dumbledore had given some speech about how all the students should stay away from the third floor. That's dumb. If Dumbledore really wanted the students to stay away, then the old man could've warded it. It almost seemed like he wanted Percy to go to the corridor and find whatever it was.
"Harry. Harry?" called out Hermione from behind him. He slowed down so Ron and Hermione could catch up. "What did you think about Dumbeldore's announcement?" she asked.
Ron answered first. "If Dumbledore was half as brilliant as they say he is, then why would he have announced that to the entire school? It's almost like goading them one."
Harry gave them his perspective. "I think that Dumbeldore wants Percy to go and do something in there. I don't know what, and I really don't care either. I just want to do school work."
With that, the three of them went off about school work. They quickly devised a schedule that would allow the others to be helped in their pourer subjects, like Harry was bad at History, so Ron could help him. Harry wasn't sure that he could trust Ron and Hermione. Not so much Ron as Hermione. Ron had grown up shunned by his family, while Hermione had grown up in a loving home. It would be much easier for Ron to be an emotionless Slytherin then Hermione. Deciding to display some trust, which was new for him, he told them about the Chamber of Secrets.
"Have you ever heard of the Chamber of Secrets?" Harry casually asked his two friends. At least, he thought they were his friends. They both looked surprised at the question.
"Yes I have," Hermione said, slipping back into her bossy I'm superior to you tone. Then she realized what she had said. "It's rumored that Salazar Slytherin had built a secret chamber below the school before he left it. A lot of people have tried to look for it, but no one has ever found it."
"I heard that inside of it lies a huge monster, waiting to purge the school of all muggleborns, since that's what Slytherin hated." added Ron.
They had arrived at the common room. As the prefect said the password, Harry whispered one long thing to his new two friends. "Well, I know where it is." They looked at him in shock, but didn't get a chance to answer as they were ushered into the common room.
Behind them, a portrait of a man was smiling. He had overheard their entire conversation. His interest had been peaked when he felt someone that had his blood enter the school. He was now very pleased that his true heir (not that fake excuse for a wizard) knew where his chamber was.
!#$%^&*
Harry walked up the stairs. Professor Snape had lectured all of the new Slytherins about how since we're the 'bad' house; everybody will be out to get us. Harry didn't pay attention, because he had already figured out that Slytherin isn't going to be like that this year. The Slytherin is going to be split, into two groups; Harry's group, and then the Draco Malfoy posy.
Draco Malfoy didn't seem to like that, Harry thought. Malfoy was already trying to prove his dominance of the house, not that Harry and Ron cared.
"This is my bed, Potter, Weasel," As he chose the bed near the window. Harry and Ron were prepared for it, so they just nodded their heads. "I don't want you to touch it at all." Once again, Harry and Ron nodded their heads, not an expression on their faces. Finally, Malfoy got fed up. "ANSWER ME."
Without another word, Harry and Ron climbed into bed, not looking at Malfoy once. Harry made sure to cast some protective charms around both of their beds. If someone approached their beds, they would be hung by their ankles-until the morning, when Harry was awake and able to get them down. With that, Harry was lost to the world of sleep.
!#$%^&*
"Hurry up Ron, we might be late."
Harry had always been an early raiser, but he quickly found out that Ron Weasley was not. So by the time he had showered and brushed his teeth, Ron still wasn't even stirring. Then he looked at his watch: it was six in the morning.
He felt a movement on his arm. $ Harry $ Callidus murmured sleepily. $ Go back to bed. A king needs his beauty sleep. $ Harry rolled his eyes at his snake's complaint.
$ Shut up Callidus. I need to plan on what I'm going to do. $
$ Do when? You're in classes all day! $ Callidus exclaimed with indignation.
Harry looked at his snake. $ I need to plan my excursion to the chamber of secrets of course. I don't want to go there without a plan, do I? $
$ Humph, $ Callidus complained like a grumpy old snake, which is bad, considering how young he was. $ Well, I think that I would just go exploring, instead of planning as much as possible. $ This caused Harry to laugh.
$ If you were sorted, you would've been in Gryffindor! $ He exclaimed. $ They're known for just going into situations without thinking about it first. You sure that you should be a-$ Harry was cut off as he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. Callidus quickly went back into his sleeve.
"Harry," called Hermione. "Why were you hissing?" She gave him a look that said 'I'm not stupid.'
Harry sighed in resignation. "I can speak parseltongue."
For the first time that he knew her, Hermione was speechless. He had half expected her to go off spouting a lot of facts about parseltongues, or scream and run away. Stand there and stare at him was not on that list. It sort of made him uncomfortable. Realizing that she was staring at him, she dropped her gaze.
"Sorry," she murmured quietly. "I just know that it's an extremely rare gift. The last one to have it was Lord Voldemort." Harry was surprised that she said his name without fear. He understood that she was muggleborn, so she didn't have as much things to fear from Voldemort as some other people did, but it was still a little shocking to hear her say the name so casually.
"It's nothing. Now that you know though, I can tell you about what I have to do later." Harry explained that he had reason to believe that the Chamber of Secrets was in the girls' bathroom, and he was going to go investigate it.
Hermione paused for a moment. "You know Harry, there might be a reason someone never found the Chamber of Secrets. Salazar Slytherin was a parselmouth. A very well known one too. So how come it's never occurred to someone that to get into this chamber-"
"You have talk to it in parseltongue! That's true, why hasn't anyone thought of that before." The two friends sat down, pondering what they had just deduced. They stayed that way until they were rudely interrupted by everybody's favorite boy.
"POTTER, MUDBLOOD, GET OFF MY COUCH." Yelled no other then Draco Malfoy. Harry thought he looked like a tomato, his face was so red. Perhaps it was the thought of a muggleborn on his couch. With a glance at Hermione, they both got up without a word and went to wake Ron.
!#$%^&*
"Great," said a Ron that was still waking up. "We have Transfiguration with the Gryffindors first. My brother's just the one that I wanted to see."
Hermione spoke up. "I don't know what's wrong with Gabriel. She used to be so nice, but when she got her Hogwarts letter, she became all cold. It's almost like… someone told her something that we don't know." They looked at Harry expecting a comment, which surprised him. He was used to just being ignored with nobody caring about what he thought. Was this what it was like to have friends? If it was, he sort of liked it.
"My brother sucks at Transfiguration, much to James' displeasure, since it was his best subject." The other two looked at Harry when he referred to his father by his first name, instead of calling him dad or father. "But then again," he said as an after though. "Percy's not really good at anything. The only thing he's half-decent at is defense against the dark arts." Still, Harry was better.
The trio started to walk to the class, or where they thought the class was. Of course, it was too much to ask to be able to walk to class in peace, just talking quietly.
"You're embarrassments to our families, Weasley, Hamper."
The three of them turned and saw that they were being approached by their counter parts-Percy, Ray and Gabriel. Harry tried to stop himself from laughing, but didn't have any success. A snort left his mouth, surprising Percy and Ray. They had never seen any emotion coming from Harry, especially one that made him laugh.
"Hamper? Is that the best you could do, Brat-Who-Lived?" Harry watched in amusement as the three of them tried their best not to look upset, which resulted with their faces turning red. To Harry's surprise, it was Gabriel that made the next move. He had gotten the impression that she didn't talk much.
"Shut up, you stupid slimy snakes!" her voice rang out. Hermione caught the plural form on her words, and her face turned into a face of hurt. It was just for a few seconds before she got it under control again, but it was enough for even the most idiotic Gryffindor to see. The Gryffindor trio laughed. Right at the Slytherin trio. Harry tried to calm down, but he couldn't. He never had had a friend before, so he didn't really know what to do. So he did the only thing that he knew how to do.
"Bagos Batis"
A jet of yellow light shot out of Harry's wand, and struck Hermione's twin. He figured he would probably get in trouble for casting in the corridors, but didn't really care. He was defending a friend. The only thing that he cared about was he was showing the world some of his magical power, which he liked to keep a secret.
Gabriel started to sprout bat wings around her ear area. Harry knew that this would make her extremely sensitive to every single noise around her, making it extremely painful. To add to that pain, she started to sprout boils all around her face.
By this time, the fight between the twin trios had attracted attention. Harry sighed mentally. It was only the first day and he, Ron, and Hermione had already gotten into a fight, and that was before classes had started.
"Let's go to Transfiguration," he murmured to Ron and Hermione. They nodded, a little stunned by his display of magic. They were a little surprised that Harry already knew that spell. It was around third year level.
The tree friends walked off, heading towards the second floor. Once they got there, they quickly located the Transfiguration classroom. Then looking at their watches, they saw that they still had ten minutes to kill before the start of class.
"Where do you guys want to sit?" Hermione asked them.
"How about in the second row," Ron suggested. Harry thought it was a good idea, so they all say down.
Neither of them noticed a tabby cat that walked in a few minutes before class. The cat was a bit surprised to see students already in the class.
A minute before the bell rang was rush hour. The entire class came in. Almost the entire class, Harry noticed, as Percy, Ray and Gabriel were still missing. Serves them right for making fun of my friend. Ron and Hermione had not mentioned the incident, but Harry was pretty sure that they would say something to him about it later.
As the bell rung, there was still no Professor McGonagall. Nor was there Percy, Ray and Gabriel. He saw that Hermione was frowning slightly. He realized that before she came to Hogwarts, Gabriel must've been an academic nut like her.
About five minutes had passed and the class was getting restless. The professor still hadn't showed up, and neither had the Gryffindor trio. The class was about to leave when they heard footsteps running in their direction. Everybody quickly sat down, not wanting to get in trouble during the first class.
The door burst open and a panting Percy appeared, alongside Ray and Gabriel.
"Great, the professor isn't here!" exclaimed Percy. "Not that she could do anything to me, since I'm the Boy-Who-Lived." The class was wondering where in the world Professor McGonagall was. Harry was hoping that she would come in at this moment and give Percy some detentions.
Just as Harry was turning back to the front, he noticed a cat. A cat that seemed to glare at Percy, if it was possible for any cat other then Mrs. Norris to glare. Then, to his partial surprise, it turned into a human. In fact, it was their teacher.
"Mr. Potter," she barked. "Sit down and ten points from Gryffindor." The Gryffindors groaned. They had already started to lose points, before the first class even began.
"But Professor, I'm the Boy-Who-Lived! You can't…" Percy trailed off at the look that McGonagall gave him. It clearly stated that she could and would do that and worse if he didn't shut up.
"Come on Percy, let's go sit down," said Gabriel quietly. Percy and Ray followed her as she took them to the three remaining seats-The ones in the front.
Then the class started. Professor McGonagall started out with a teaser of what it would look like if they worked hard in her class. She turned her desk into a pig, and then back. Then without taking a breath she went off into a lecture that Harry could tell she was well practiced at-She probably said the same thing every year. After that, they copied notes on theory for twenty minutes. Finally she gave them something entertaining.
"I want you to try and turn this match into a needle." She barked at the class and with a swish of her wand, the matches went flying to one desk each. "You have half an hour. Begin."
Harry observed his classmates as they all tried to turn their matches into needles. Malfoy waved his wand over his match, than glared at it when it didn't do anything. A random Gryffindor that Harry didn't know was making a poking motion at his match, then pausing hopefully, as if he expected the match transform by itself. The one that amused Harry the most was Percy and Ray's attempts. To call them fails would be to put it nicely. Percy was slowly waving his wand over his match, saying the incantation "Changio Match." Ray, not knowing what else to do, just copied what Percy was doing. Harry sighed. Nobody realized that transfiguration didn't have any incantations. It was about intent, focus, and power. Harry would bet that McGonagall was either the second or third most powerful person in this castle, since she was so good at her subject. Or maybe she was just focused.
Then a voice pulled him out of his musing. "Mr. Potter, may you please attempt the transfiguration?" Professor McGonagall asked him. Unfortunately, Percy heard.
"Hear that?" he stage-whispered to Ray. "The snake is so bad he doesn't even try." While Ray and Gabriel snickered at his words, Harry got angry. He was planning to pretend to struggle for a while, than do it. But that comment had almost changed his mind.
$ Just do it Harry. I know you want to. Think of it as revenge for all the times he got you punished. If you're in a better mood, exploring the chamber will be more fun. $ Callidus egged him on. His snake was sneaky like a snake. But Harry had also lived with him for years and wouldn't fall for those tricks that others would. However, he did want to upstage Percy.
With a lazy wave of his wand, without even looking at the match he changed it into a needle, with an especially sharp point. The whole class stopped what they were doing and shamelessly stared at his accomplishment.
"What!" he snapped. "Can't I just do my work in peace?" Without another word, they all looked somewhere else. Except for the Gryffindor Threesome. Percy and Ray had seen Harry try to do magic, and fail-as he had planned them to. Now that they saw him transfigure on his first try with great ease, maybe they wouldn't be as cocky. Harry highly doubted it though. Gabriel, on the other hand, was looking at him like he had done the magic with all luck and no skill. Either way, Harry really didn't care.
The rest of the class went by quickly. Harry was absent mindedly transfiguring his needle into a match, and then back into a needle. He just ignored the stares that he was being given. By the end of the lesson, only Harry, Hermione and Gabriel had transfigured their matches. Hermione had also managed to transfigure her needle back into a match, with some coaching from Harry. As the bell rang, McGonagall assigned homework to all but Harry, Hermione and Gabriel. Ron got some, though Harry reassured him that he was really close in transfiguring his match-the only thing he had missed was that the tip wasn't pointed.
As soon as they were out of the class room, Ron and Hermione turned on Harry and started their interrogation.
"How are you so good at Transfiguration?" Hermione asked right away. "It was the first class, but you didn't even blink, and did it on your first try!"
"I've had lots of practice," Harry said quietly, looking around to make sure that no one was listening. "There is a major flaw in the under-age magic restriction, Hermione. If you live in a wizarding house hold, the ministry 'trusts' the parents to keep their children from doing magic. The rule only really applies to the muggleborns and half bloods that live with muggle relatives." Hermione's jaw dropped open at this news.
"But that's… that's… that's so unfair! The purebloods and people that live with magical relatives get to practice magic year round!"
"That's right, mudblood." said a drawling voice behind them. Without even turning, Harry knew that it was Draco Malfoy. He was working hard on controlling his temper, but couldn't. He knew that. If Malfoy pushed him with the insults, then he wouldn't be able to hold back and not hurt him.
"The minister understands that blood does matter, no matter what that fool Dumbledore says." Harry's eyes flashed dangerously. Without another word, he grabbed Malfoy by the hem of his robes as tight as he could, and then dragged him into the nearest empty classroom. The door slammed shut behind. He didn't ask himself until later why that happened.
"Listen here, Malfoy." He said, his eyes flashing dangerously. "I don't want to hear any more comments about muggleborns from you, just because they have a loving home and you don't. My mother is a muggleborn, and she's four times the witch that your mother or father will ever be." He saw Malfoy's eyes widen at his comments. Without another word, Harry turned around to leave, but froze when he felt danger.
"Expelliarmus." Harry cried before Malfoy could say anything, though his wand was drawn. He had obviously not expected Harry to counter attack, as his eyes widened in surprise.
"I warned you once, Malfoy." Harry said, threat lancing his voice. "I could kill you on command, just like that sad excuse for a Dark Lord, Voldemort."
Malfoy looked like he didn't know if he should be fearful or skeptic. So he did what Malfoy's did best in private. "The Dark Lord has no equal. Nobody was able to match his skill and power, nor will ever be able to." Harry noted that he spoke in past tense. "Especially not the weakest first year." As he spoke, Harry gestured for Callidus to slip out of his sleeve. As Harry was leaving, he said one last thing.
$ Come along Callidus. $ He whispered. The last thing that he saw was Draco Malfoy's pale face get paler, if that was possible.
!#$%^&*
For the rest of the day, Draco Malfoy kept giving Harry fearful looks, much to Harry's amusement. Both Ron and Hermione had asked what he did, but he said that he would tell them later, at lunch. So that brought them to charms class.
Much like in Transfiguration, Flitwick was a very good instructor that believed in the theory of magic before the practical aspect. After a good hour of notes, the class was given instructions to practice the wand movements of the easiest of charm: Wingardium Leviosa.
"That's right!" called Professor Flitwick's squeaky voice. "Swish and Flick."
Overall, Harry thought it was a boring class. He was very gifted at charms. Just another thing that connected his mother and himself.
Then the lunch time entertainment came.
Harry, Ron and Hermione were peacefully eating lunch. Ron was grabbing everything in sight, while Hermione was nice and neat.
"Hey Hamper! Weasel! Snakey! How did you cheat in transfiguration?" Came a voice from right behind them. They turned around as one, not surprised one bit to see the 'Golden Trio' standing right behind them. Ray and Gabriel were snickering at what their friend had said.
Harry glanced at the head table. All the professors were looking somewhere else, or preoccupied. Except for the headmaster, who was staring right at the twin trios, his annoying twinkle in his eye.
This time it was Hermione who answered.
"Snakey? You guys suck at making insults." She said.
The only word that Percy registered in his mind was suck. That meant he was bad at something! Percy Potter was the Boy-Who-Lived, the most powerful wizard ever.
"Now listen here!" Percy shouted, gaining the attention of the entire great hall. "I'm the Boy-Who-Lived, so I'm way more powerful then you!" This was met by applause from almost the whole Gryffindor table along with shouts of agreement.
"Come on, Ron, Hermione. He's not worth it. Let's leave." The three of them walked out of the great hall to many jeers and insults going their way for insulting the Boy-Who-Lived.
"In here." Harry ushered them into an empty classroom. "We got… interrupted in our last conversation after Transfiguration. Hermione, I know that you still had some questions."
Hermione didn't need any encouragement. "Why is there that loophole? It's like a set up for if you're not a pureblood, then you can't practice magic! It's so… so… so unfair!"
"Hermione," Ron said quietly. "I know that you're still new to the wizarding world, but I know that you know more about the importance of blood then the other muggleborns. You do not, however, realize how deep it runs in the dark families. My family is okay with any type of blood. The dark families, though, believe that if you don't have pureblood, then you're not a good wizard."
"I know that-"
"Yes, you do know that. What you don't know is that since the pureblood wizards have been around for so long, especially the dark ones, they hold high up positions in the government. Or have a great influence, because of their money. Lucius Malfoy is an example of that."
Hermione seemed to be considering his words. She could see the truth and logic in it.
"Ron," Harry spoke up. "I need to tell you something about me."
"Yes Harry? I know that we haven't been friends very long, but I know that I can trust you with…a lot of things."
$ Come out and play, Callidus. Eyelids closed! $ He hissed. Ron stared for a second or two, than fainted.
!#$%^&*
"So that's why Malfoy was so scared of you!" Ron exclaimed as they were walking to Herbology. "Did you threaten him? Next time can I come?" He sounded very excited.
"There's more though." Harry said to him, lowering his voice (Hermione was walking and reading a book at the same time-how, Harry didn't know) "I think I know where the Chamber of Secrets is." Ron's eyes widened in astonishment, but he didn't say anything, since they were walking into Herbology.
Harry's first week at Hogwarts had passed quickly. He had made two new friends, which surprised him. They were both his friends because of him, not because it was a way to get to Percy. Ron, like him, had been slandered by his family and ignored most of his life. Hermione, on the other hand, was loved by her parents, although it was plain that they favored Gabriel. Harry had learned that her sister was very good at sports. Harry briefly wondered if she would make the Quidditch team.
Harry excelled in all of his classes, except for History of Magic and Transfiguration. Ron was extremely good at History and Hermione with Transfiguration. Despite Harry's strong showing at the first class, he had reassured Hermione that she was better, as he had done it lots of times, due to the loop hole, while she had only done it once. In History of Magic, well… Ron was the only one that didn't fall asleep. Even Hermione fell asleep, but only after Ron reassured her that she could look at his notes. Harry's personal bread and butter were Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Potions.
Despite his initial disappointment in Charms, he realized that it quickly picked up. Flitwick had noticed that Harry didn't have any trouble what so ever with his Charm casting, and was delighted, claiming that he must have inherited his mother's talent. Harry loved to see the look on Percy's face darken.
Sadly, though, DADA was a joke to Harry. The man, named Professor Quirell, couldn't even face his stutter, let alone face a vampire that everyone claimed he had. Apparently that's why his class smelled like garlic, but Harry didn't buy it. Garlic was very strong scented, and could be used to cover a lot of scents.
The first Potions class was on Friday. It was the only other class that they had with the Gryffindors.
The class was divided into two, with two people sharing a table. Ron and Hermione opted to sit together, and Harry almost laughed out loud when he realized that the only one that didn't have a partner was Draco Malfoy. Just as he sat down with Malfoy, the dungeon door slammed open dramatically. The bell rang the next moment. Then Professor Snape entered the room, his eyes sweeping. Without a word, he walked to the front of the class and turned.
"There will be no silly wand waving in my class." He stated so quietly that Harry had to strain to hear him. "I hope that some of you have the rare and brilliant gift when it comes to the art of potion making, instead of all the dunderheads that I normally have to teach." As his eyes completed the sweep, Harry saw his eyes flicker as they saw him. He obviously remembered him as the kid who had sold the basilisk venom.
"Percy Potter," he sneered, "Our new celebrity."
"That's right." Percy shot back. "I'm five times as famous as you'll ever be." Harry was shocked. Was his brother honestly stupid enough to talk back and provoke a teacher, no matter how bias?
"Then, Mr. Potter, would you find a bezoar?" Snape asked, not really expecting the right answer.
Percy looked like he had no idea, but still opened up his mouth and said "That's below me, the Boy-Who-Lived. That's what the lowly healers are for."
Snape's eyebrows curled upwards in surprise. Even he had not expected the Potter spawn (the famous one, anyway) to be that stupid. Harry snorted at his brother's comment, which made Snape turn on him.
"Another Potter. Could you tell me what the difference of monkshood and wolfsbane is?" Trick question, Harry immediately thought.
"Sir, they are the same thing. In fact they also go by the name aconite." The class was dead silent. If the great Boy-Who-Lived couldn't answer, then why could his inferior twin?
"Very good, Mr. Potter. I'm glad to know that one of the Potter children inherited their mother's talent." If possible, the class got even quieter. Professor Severus Snape had just given a compliment. "Fifteen points to Slytherin."
The rest of class passed by quickly. Snape continued to pick on the Gryffindors, particularly Percy, Ray and Nevielle Longbottom. At the end, Harry had a perfect potion. He handed it in for grading after marking his name on it, then headed out of the room to where Ron and Hermione were waiting.
Together they left for the great hall.
!#$%^&*
The staff meeting was just coming to a close on Friday after the classes, and the reports that Albus Dumbledore had received were disturbing. There had been too many surprises this week for his liking.
First was the sorting. Harry Potter had been sorted into Slytherin, the dark house. Dumbledore was worried about what this would mean for the Potter family. He thought that was a bit strange too. He had not heard a letter from James Potter as he had expected. Since Harry had been sorted into Slytherin, he must be turning dark. That made him worried for Percy's safety. If the boy joined the Death Eaters ranks, then he would have an inside edge to attack the Boy-Who-Lived.
The second surprise was the reports that he had received from the different teachers. He had set it up so Percy had found the right friend in Ray and Gabriel, whom he had scouted to make sure they were appropriate for the task to guide Percy in the right direction. He had also expected Percy and Gabriel to be the top of their class. They weren't.
The three of them, or as he liked to fondly call them, the golden trio, was nowhere near the top of the class. Instead, that spot belonged to the Dark Threesome. Harry, Ron and Hermione Granger were all one, two, three in every single class. Harry took Charms, Potions, and DADA, Ron was great at History while Hermione was the specialist at transfiguration. Sure, Dumbledore reasoned with himself, it was only the first week. However, they showed great promise. All the teachers were practically ranting about those three, while they had only negative comments about the golden trio.
Overall, Albus Dumbledore was very afraid. The only way they could be that good was if they had done some dark ritual. Even he hadn't been that good. In the mind of Albus Dumbledore, it was certain that the trio had gone dark. They must be contained.
!#$%^&*
Ginny Weasley was tired. She had had to listen to her mother rant about how Ron had been sorted into Slytherin house. For the last five days. She quickly found herself dreaming about a certain green eyed boy, who had said he would write, but when? Ginny heard a hoot of an owl, just before a piece of parchment floated down on her lap. She looked down.
Dear Ginny,
Do you trust me? If you do, then cut yourself and spill a drop of your blood onto the paper.
Ginny hesitated a little bit. She was aware that anything that had to do with blood was powerful, sometimes dangerous magic. But in the end, she thought that Harry could be trusted.
Hello Ginny. If you are reading this, then you have obviously decided that you trust me. Don't worry about the spell; all it does is make sure that you're the only one that can read it.
I don't know if you've heard, but I got sorted into the Slytherin house, along with your brother Ron. Can you imagine the uproar of a Weasley being sorted into Slytherin? That was bad enough for the pureblood fanatics, but then Hermione, a muggleborn, had to get sorted. We shook the house to the core.
The classes are nice. Professor Snape isn't that bad to you if you can actually do potions, despite what you hear. Also, Flitwick and McGonagall are great teachers. Professor Binns, though, is a bore. The only one that can stay awake during his class is your brother Ron.
We already have enemies, though. Draco Malfoy is terrified of me. Why, you may find out next year. The other ones is the so called 'Golden Trio,' which consists of Percy Potter, Ray Weasley, and Gabriel Granger. Gabriel is Hermione's twin sister. She's not as smart as our Hermione, but she's way more athletic. They insult us every chance that they have, and the teachers don't do anything about it. It really doesn't bother us.
Hope you're having fun without all your brothers at your house.
Your Friend,
Harry James Potter
P.S. Ron says hi. Ray doesn't.
There you have it. The Chapter 2. Like it, hate it, whatever you want to do. Review if you have something nice to say, but don't even bother if you're just going to tell me how bad I am at writing, and how I should quit Fanfiction.