"Excuse me," a deep voice drawled. Harry turned upwards, his eyes landing on a dark haired man that glared at him with such anger that he quivered. He stood up, dusting his hair in an attempt to fix it, and narrowed his eyes at the man, biting his lip to stop his desire to laugh at Ryuk's fail impression of the man in front of him.

"What do you think you're doing, Potter?"


The man's eyes eyed Harry like a hawk as he scanned his features, lips curling into a smirk.

"You look exactly like your father, same hair, same arrogance. Think you're too good to answer me?" He grabbed Harry's arm and pulled him up forcefully but not enough for bystander's heads to go turning. The man then grabbed Harry's face and forced him to look up into his penetrating eyes. Sighing mentally, Harry knew this man was one of 'those people'. The kind that got angry over everything. The kind that was so much of a pessimist that he would wake up everyday thinking that everyone was out to get him.

"Answer me boy!"

But this kind of forceful behavior took him by surprise. Was he one of Voldemort's lackeys and held a grudge over him for 'killing' his master? Then why wouldn't he just torture him right now, better yet, torture the muggles as well? Why not invite all Voldemort's other lackeys and have a torturefest? Hagrid certainly made Voldemort's followers seem that way- all trigger-happy, and no smart whatsoever. Voldemort's reign lasted for a long time though, nine and a half years which be read from 'Greatest Dark Lords of All Time', and he knew that it took great strength and power to build such a reign, hold it and have such a devastating effect on the world. It wasn't just that- Voldemort's followers, well most of them, were amazing duelists and loyal as well, out of fear maybe, but still loyal. Nobody knows Voldemort's identity, he just appeared out of nowhere for most. How did such a powerful wizard do so much, even strategically showing himself 25 yrs after Grindelwald's defeat, when The Wizarding World was least expecting it. After all, after 25 yrs the next generation and the generation after that would have already come out, and not experiencing Grindelwald's war, have their guard down. It was all about strategy, and Voldemort was the best at it.

This man was definitely not.

He stunk of rotten eggs and brussel sprouts, ugh, and his stinky breath fanned on Harry as he half yelled half whispered in anger. This man was also a wizard, and just like the others from the Leaky Cauldron, he severely disappointed Harry.

"Hello," Harry replied, stepping back and fixing his glasses, "My name is Harry Potter, which of course you already know. I was just wondering how to get to Hogwarts, if you don't mind telling me." He shyly twisted his shirt, attempting to look completely innocent, and looked down at the man's glare.

"Follow me." The man walked away as Harry quickly grabbed his trolley and followed. The passed a red haired family, who shrieked when the man shoved passed them, the woman yelling 'Snape come back this instant'. The man, which now is apparently named Snape, disappeared through the wall, Harry clicking his fingers in realization, before running after.

"Thank you sir," the scruffy boy said with a charming smile before noticing that Snape already left. In his head, he was already figuring out the possibilities of what Snape could be, turning the man's identity into a mind puzzle. He shoved his luggage on and boarded, noting the children still hugging their families and refusing to let go. With a shrug, he boarded the train and found an empty carriage.

The man called Snape was an interesting enigma. After being so rude and even hostile he suddenly helps him and then leaves without a word of goodbye. It could be a case of shyness, or even bipolar, but none of that fit with what Snape showed him. Snape could still be Voldemort's follower, but on watch, so he reluctantly let Harry go without harming him. But why would they let a Voldemort follower, especially one that they know is a Voldemort follower, around kids? The two ideas contradicted each other. Snape also didn't look smart enough to care what the people around him would think of his actions. Snape itself was an interesting name, maybe it stood for something...

"Hello!"

Snape, as in snap, as in snap the cards. A children game, simple, but could be seen as violent.

"Hey!"

The action of literally banging your hand on a card and completing with someone else was interesting. But then it could also be an onomatopoeia, like a crocodile snapping.

"Are you in there? Hello?" Harry turned his head in exasperation while rolling his eyes.

"Yes, I heard you the first time. What?"

"Can I, er, sit here? There isn't anywhere else to sit and-"

"Yes" The red haired boy which Harry had seen before when passing the family that was in front of the wall awkwardly sat down and tapped his fingers nervously on the space next to him. He sat opposite the Harry, and they stared at each other for quite a while, before Harry pulled out a book called 'Quidditch All-Stars'. Ron gasped in surprise.

"Quidditch All-Stars! I love that book! It's the only book I read really, but it's awesome. I always argue with Fred and George about which team is better..." The red head continued as Harry softly tapped his finger on the book.

"Well, test over. The kid is an idiot." Ryuk laughed at Ron's blabbing. Harry's eyebrow twitched- the kid who entered this carriage didn't even notice him snatching the book as he passed by to sit opposite to Harry. When the red head was nervously tapping his finger and staring at Harry, because be was so focused on Harry's face, something that nervous people tend to do is focus on one thing, Harry moved the book to his bag. To test if the boy actually noticed, and what the boy's interests are, he moved the book out and pretended to read.

Of course the boy just had to say that this was the only book he read. Quidditch, a popular magical sport, was quite simple. The game starts with four balls in the middle. The Bludgers and Snitch are bewitched to fly off of their own accord, but the Quaffle is thrown into the air by the referee to signal the start of play. A Chaser scores by throwing a quaffle through the hoop, earning them 10 points. The Beaters use the two bludgers to hit other Chasers out and the Seeker catches the snitch to earn 150 points and end the game.

This was what interested him though.

When the snitch is released into the game, it's impossible to stop the game until the snitch is catched. Yes, the players could pack up and leave, but the four balls would follow them until they catch the snitch. The snitch originated from Bowman Wright, a dark wizard inventor. The snitch was probably meant to be some kind of torture device, but Shrew Wright, Bowman's brother, was a light wizard and took the invention from Bowman after he died, getting all the money for it.

The door slid open, and in came a lady that had a trolley full of sweets. Ryuk pointed at the sweet apples in excitement, while the other boy pulled a grimly sandwich out.

"Want anything to eat sweeties?"

In all the excitement, Harry handed a bag of cash and got two of everything. The red haired boy stared in astonishment.

"So much..." Harry raised his eyebrow as the lady left the carriage.

"Want some?" The freckled boy looked surprised, as Harry shucked half his sweets to him. "I can't finish them all."

"Oh," the other boy said lamely, "Of course, I'll help you with that." He started eating a chocolate frog as Harry ate the jellybeans.

"By the way, my name's Ron Weasley. Yours?"

"Harry Potter."

"Nice na-," he paused before exclaiming, "Wait, Harry Potter? As in Harry Potter? As in the-boy-who-lived? As in-"

The door opened with a clang, and a brown, bushy haired girl with rabbit teeth stood there with a books in her hands. She was already dressed in her Hogwart uniform and had a nervous looking boy standing behind her.

"Hey, have you seen a frog named Trevor?" Harry's lips twitched in amusement. So apparently now they had the ability to see frog's names? Ryuk shared his amusement as he cackled in laughter.

"No. We haven't." The girl's eyes watched the book as Harry subtly let it fall out of his arm, revealing the title.

"Quidditch All-Stars? What's that? I love books, you see, and I have read all the books the school has required but I haven't come across that. It doesn't seem important. I'm the first witch in my family, you see, so I don't want to be behind. By the way, my name's Hermione Granger." She spoke so fast that even she herself was puffing in the end. Ron and Harry exchanged looks as the boy behind her grabbed in arm.

"Come on Hermione, let's just go. Please."

"My name's Ron Weasley, and you're Neville Longbottom right? I saw you a few years ago at my birthday party." After everyone introducing their names, Haryy just felt like it was necessary.

"My name's Harry Potter." Hermione huffed in surprise.

"Are you really? I know all about you, of course. You're in Modern Magical History, The Rise and Fall of Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century," she said arrogantly.

"Of course," he replied sarcastically, "I never realized."

"Wait, you didn't know? I would have found out everything if it was about me." After seeing Harry's blank face, she continued. "Anyway, do you know what house you'll be in? Gryffindor seems the best- do you know the Headmaster himself was in it? Ravenclaw doesn't seem too bad, but I'm not too sure about Slytherin. So many dark wizards came from there, and You-Know-Who himself came from there too."

"There wasn't a wizard or witch that hasn't gone bad that came from Slytherin. They're evil."

Harry clenched his fists. It was sad that the Wizarding World was so behind on human interaction and nature. They were gifted in so many more ways than mere muggles but couldn't bet them in simple philosophy. Racism and stereotypes, even though haven't been completely chased out, was being addressed majorly and viewed as an issue. The process was slow, but growing. Kids were already being taught at school to be against racism and bullying. Sadly, Harry's particular neighborhood and school didn't quite get to that point yet, even though they clearly needed it.

"You two better change by the way," Hermione added, "We're nearly there." She then left, dragging Neville along with her. After Ron made sure the door was fully closed, he turned to Harry with annoyance written on his face.

"Blimey, she's so annoying," he said, "I hope that she doesn't get in Gryffindor. That would be a disaster." Harry silently nodded in agreement. "You see, my whole family is in Gryffindor, and so obviously I'm going to be too right? Ravenclaw, well, maybe, but definitely not Hufflepuff and I will die if I'm put in Slytherin."

"Why not Hufflepuff?"

"They're just 'loyal' people, that's why. Hufflepuff is more like the leftovers, nobody really memorable comes from that house."

The door slid open again, as Harry sighed at another distraction. Three boys entered, the middle a pale skinned one, shorter than the other two. His blonde hair made him stand out from the others, as his grey eyes observed Harry. The two others stood behind him like bodyguards, their rough bodies contrasting greatly compared to the pale boy.

"Is it true?," he said, doubt clear in his voice, "Everyone is saying that Harry Potter is in this compartment. So it's you isn't it." He held his chin up, completely disregarding Ron.

"Yes." Harry decidedly kept his face voided of emotion. The pale boy smirked a little.

"This is Crabbe and Goyle," he said pointing to the boys behind him, "and I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

Ron slightly coughed, but everyone else knew it was a laugh.

"So you think it's funny Weasley? I know you, my Father has told me all about you. Red haired and freckled faced, more children than they can afford. Blood traitors." Ron puffed his cheeks out in indignancy, red faced.

Draco turned back to Harry and stuck his hand out in greeting. "I'll help you with what kind of friends you should have. Some Wizarding families are just better than others."

Harry stared at Draco, brought his legs up hugged them to his chest, and stared some more.

"Okay. See you later, Draco." The blonde stared at him in confusion before nodding his head and heading out.

"Okay. See you soon, Harry." When the trio left, Ron burst out of his seat and shook Harry's shoulders.

"What were you thinking? That's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. His father is a Death Eater and-"

"Then why isn't he in jail?"

"Because he said that he was cursed into following. Which is obviously not true."

"Okay. Got it."

"Okay. Wait, what?"

Hermione stood in the carriage, her arms crossed.

"You better get changed, we're almost there!"


Ron was actually quite useful. Harry now knew a lot- the racism against Slytherins, whatever blood traitors was, Voldemort's followers being called Death Eaters, Malfoy's dad being one yet let out into public because apparently he was 'cursed' and a bigger story behind all of this. Hogwarts already had some competition and rivalry before they even arrived at the school, which could lead to some physical fights. The Headmaster, Dumbledore Harry remembers from the frog card, was widely respected and that was clearly seen by how the muggleborn Hermione Granger spoke about him.

Gryffindor, house of the brave. All houses seemed so one layers. It was not possible for one to be classified as only brave, only loyal, only smart and only ambitious. The houses overlayed a lot, and because they were so young and not yet developed, judging their personality now and being placed with people who are assumed to have the same personality as you could harm development. There was a reason why children came to school- one for education, the second for interacting. Forced to be so competitive at this age could be restraining to some. No wonder the racism was so visible. Children was just brought up that way.

"Hermione Granger." The girl walked up, whispering equations. Draco and his two minions sneered at her, one calling her a 'filthy mudblood'. She placed the hat on her head and whispered, as if arguing with it.

"GRYFFINDOR!" Ron groaned in frustration. "Maybe it isn't too late to consider Ravenclaw," he joked.

"Neville Longbottom." The boy clumsily walked to the stage, tripping up the stairs. Everyone laughed, as Neville got up again, red faced, and continued to the hat. He placed it on his head in anticipation and crossed his fingers.

"GRYFFINDOR!" Neville jumped up with surprise and ran down towards the table, hat still on his head. With realization, he ran back up and gave the hat back to McGonagall, everyone laughing.

When Malfoy was called he strutted up proudly and flicked his hair behind. The hat barely touched his head before bellowing out.

"SLYTHERIN!" He stepped down and joined the Slytherin table next to Goyle and Crabbe, smirking happily. He spotted Harry and tilted his head in recognition. Harry merely raised an eyebrow.

"Ron Weasley." Ron smiled shakily at Harry. Harry wasn't even paying attention, too distracted by Snape's glare. He sent a questioning gaze and waved. Snape clutched his goblet of water as McGonagall bit her lip to stop her laughter.

"GRYFFINDOR!" Ron ran down and hugged the twins, his other brother waving at him to sit down and shut up.

There weren't many people left now. "Moon" "Nott" "Parkinson" then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil" then "Perks, Sally-Anne" and then, at last - "Harry Potter!"

As Harry stepped forward, the whispering spread around like fire. Despite this, he walked towards the hat, everyone's eyes following him. Dissecting him. It felt-
Ryuk manically chuckled, floating around.

"It's your big moment," he said, knowing these lines were ironically said by a child's parents, "Break a leg." Harry sarcastically chuckled, loud enough for the whispering to get even louder. Snape just muttered 'arrogant just like his father' under his breath, cursing the Potter's existence.

The hat dropped on his head, covering the sight of people chattering amongst their housemates. He then saw black.

"...Hello."

"Hello Harry Potter. What potential, a strive to, well, what a secret. God, huh?"

"God is a very controversial topic. If one would pick God amongst humanity though I would be the closest. However God was created by humans. I am not."

The hat hummed in interest. "How about dark and light? Good and evil?"

"Again," Harry replied, "such controversial topics. There is no clear distinction between the two, and everyone has a bit of both. There are those, though, that can get away with being what we call 'evil'. That is because of this world. I am the last line. If civilization fails, I'll build it back up."

"What intelligence for someone so young," the hat replied, "It's sad that I have such limited options to put you in. I would love to talk to you more, but Hogwarts is waiting. Wherever you go, you will be capable of greatness. Remember that power can corrupt, and that you are still human." Harry smiled, knowing that the rest of the hall would see it.

"Goodbye Harry Potter and good luck. RAVENCLAW!" Harry hopped down to the table and smiled, not noticing everyone staring at him, the whispering completely stopping.


Finally done! Not much really happened, just hinting at Harry's personality. If you're wondering why Snape was in the beginning is because I had this idea where the teachers also took the train. Only Remus in the canon is shown doing this but I'm going to change the story a bit to all the teachers taking it. Hopefully that'll help with the plot along the way.

Thanks for reading!