CHAPTER SIX

Harry spent the first week of his summer with Theodore. The boy lived in a large house with his father, a tall imposing man, who rarely smiled. Upon meeting Harry, he merely grunted in acknowledgement before returning to his study. This behaviour was apparently normal, as Theodore didn't batt an eye at the man's cold greeting. He showed Harry to his bedroom, a guest room next to his own and the two boys spent the majority of their two weeks outside. The Nott household had large grounds which spanned several miles, and they would amble through the muddy fields each day under a blisteringly hot sun. Theodore would talk excitedly about the wildlife that lived hidden among the different patches of land, the fairies that hid among the tall grass, and the serpents that curled like vines around the branches of trees. It was during one of their explorations, that Theodore discovered that Harry was a Parselmouth. The boy was beyond surprised to notice Harry with a bright green snake curled around his wrist, and almost passed out when Harry, who was unalarmed by the snake's attention, engaged it in a conversation made up entirely of hissing.

"Blimey Harry, you kept that hushed up!" he exclaimed, as Harry paused in his conversation with the snake, the boy looked up at him, green eyes curious,

"Kept what hushed up?" he asked,

"That you could speak Parseltongue!" Theodore exclaimed, wondering if his friend was being intentionally dense,

"What's that?" the boy asked, eyebrows drawing together in confusion, Theodore almost slapped his forehead, but restrained himself at the last minute, Harry noticed the boy's hand twitch and peered at him warily, "What is it?" he repeated,

"the ability to talk to snakes." Theodore said finally, Harry shrugged,

"I'm sure loads of people can do it." his offhand comment made Theodore splutter,

"Uh, no they can't. Supposedly, only people related to Slytherin have that ability, it's really rare. If I were you, I'd keep it a secret." Harry frowned,

"Why?"

"It's generally considered only a dark wizard can be a parselmouth. Obviously, it's more anti-Slytherin prejudice, but nonetheless, you should keep it quiet if you don't want to be heralded the new dark lord or something stupid like that." Harry nodded in acceptance, and the two boys continued on their journey. As night fell, the two boys began to head back, when Theodore realised with a jolt, that the snake was still curled around Harry's arm.

"Put the snake back, Harry!" he exclaimed, Harry clutched his arm to him, wounded,

"But she likes me!" he cried, he ran a finger along the snake's scales, and the serpent let out a hiss, forked tongue flicking across Harry's skin. Theodore suppressed a shudder, "Don't you Greta?" he crooned, the snake wound it's way further up the boy's arm, "I'm going to take care of you and give you lots of food and drink and adventures!"

"Harry, what happened to keeping your ability secret?" Theodore cried, the boy shrugged,

"I just won't talk to her in front of people I don't trust." he said simply. Harry's previous words suddenly registered in his head,

"You named it Greta?" he asked incredulously, Harry nodded with a smile,

"She, not it," he corrected, "Greta is a sensitive woman."

"Sorry…" Theodore mumbled, "What does Greta eat?" he imagined Harry, wheeling in human sacrifices to the snake, but the boy grinned,

"She likes lots of things, but Frog eggs are her favourite." he said, listening to the snake hiss for several seconds, "I'll owl order some from the apothecary."

"You're actually keeping her, then?" Theo asked faintly, Harry nodded with an eye roll. Later that night, Theodore's dreams were plagued with hissing and silky scales. He woke up in a cold sweat. As the days went on, however, Greta became increasingly less intimidating, the snake was almost cute, in a scary, evil way. The serpent, which was thin and bright green, rarely leaving Harry's person, when asked about why, Harry responded with a grin and a shrug,

"To snakes, speakers are very rare and desirable, it is, to a snake, an honour to be the familiar of a speaker. Greta wants a familiar bond with me, which can only be developed by excessive contact. Later, if I want, we will be able to know each other's locations at all times. I don't really get how it works, but Greta is lovely." at this, Theodore nodded, faking understanding. When the two weeks were over, the two boys parted way with fond thoughts towards each other, and Theodore wished Harry luck on his adventure with Blaise, before handing him a port key. The boy hated the means of travel, his first being on the trip to Nott mansion, which was located somewhere in Australia, a long journey, even for port-keys. When Harry reappeared in Italy, for his next two weeks of holidays, he crumpled to the floor in an undignified pile of limbs and a trunk, much to Blaise's amusement.

Mrs Zabini was an incredibly beautiful woman, with long dark hair and even darker eyes that appraised Harry as he, per pureblood tradition, kissed the back of her hand and formally made her acquaintance. She spoke with a calculated cool that made Harry slightly uncomfortable, finding her to be a touch more guileful then her son. Everything about the woman seemed carefully put together, and Harry had never understood more why Blaise wore the moniker 'Ever-Composed' like a crown crafted specifically for him. Whilst more present then Theodore's father, who only emerged from his study on Harry's first day with the Notts, Mrs Zabini was around every morning, and made a point of getting breakfast with the boys. They tried a variety of cafes, and Harry decided, having sat through too many Italian conversations with the waiters that he didn't understand, that he should try and learn the language. The woman was not around for the rest of the day barring breakfast except for rare occasions, and Blaise had merely shrugged when asked about where she went. Without the woman's presence, the two youths explored the winding streets of Venice accompanied by one of the many serving staff from the Zabini household. Harry, who had previously lived a closeted home-life with the Dursleys, and had now been to both Australia and Italy, found the whole trip to be delightful.

"Why is there a snake on your arm?" Blaise asked, one evening towards the end of their time together, Harry, who was lounging beside him with sunglasses on, as he had seen muggles in magazines do it and thought it looked cool, grinned lazily in his direction,

"Did you only just notice?" he asked, as the green snake trailed a path up Harry's arm, higher until it surpassed the shoulder and curled around the boy's neck.

"No, I noticed on the first day, I just assumed you would explain." Blaise said, rolling his eyes, Harry laughed at that,

"Yeah, when I was staying with Theo I found Greta here," he said, stroking the snake lovingly, "And it turns out that I'm a parselmouth." Blaise nodded, the slight widening of his eyes the only sign that he was surprised,

"I thought that Potters were direct descendants of Gryffindor?" he asked, voice casual, Harry shrugged,

"I don't know, maybe there's some very distant Slytherin blood in me, I guess we'll never know." he said,

"Well you can probably find out from an ancestry test." he said, "they are available in Gringotts, it helps people discover fortunes they've inherited, it's dead useful." Harry glanced up, seeming to think over the offer before he nodded thoughtfully,

"I might try that when I get back." he decided. When their two weeks ended, Mrs Zabini surprised Harry with a tight hug, and told him to 'come again soon.' the woman's warmth was surprising, but Blaise would later inform him that Mrs Zabini had done so to show her approval of the two boys friendship. When Harry arrived at the Malfoy mansion, it felt like the smile would never leave his face. His fast four weeks had been amazing, and he was looking forwards to seeing Draco for his last bit of holiday.

The Malfoy mansion was pretentious, at best. The building was large and crafted from white stone, with statues of peacocks lining the path to the front doors, The hallways had thick carpets over marble floors, and tapestries, portraits and sets of armour lined the walls. When Draco greeted Harry, the boy hid his overwhelmed senses with a cheerful grin, and greeted the boy, who was slightly nervous. Draco then went on to introduce Harry to his parents. Mr Malfoy had slicked back blonde hair, a slight sneer, and a staff with an eagle head carved into the end, Harry shook the man's hand and worked his way through the necessary formalities, all the while feeling that he was under observation. Mrs Malfoy, a slender woman with long blonde hair and an arrogant beauty that matched that of her husband's, greeted him cordially, but allowed Lucius to do most of the talking. Neither were hostile, but their attitudes were cold, and Harry eagerly followed Draco when he offered to show Harry to his room.

The Malfoy adults warmed to the dark-haired youth as time went on, they watched his interactions with their son curiously. Draco had been raised with Crabbe and Goyle as his only playmates, and neither boy had much in the brains department. It was clear to Lucius a Narcissa Malfoy, that the two boys were very loyal to each other, in an almost Hufflepuff manner. Whilst Lucius was content to watch the boys interaction from afar, Narcissa, who had heard tales from Draco about his friend's upbringing and the injustice he faced at the hands of muggles, ended up spending quite a lot of time with the boys. It had been a long time since she had been around lively children like them, and the experience reminded her of visits to her cousins Sirius and Regulus Black, when they were all young and rowdy. The family and their guest ate meals together, and Harry was determined to be an intelligent boy, who had odd moments of synchronicity with their son, the two boys shared an understanding that was likely very useful in mischief-making, an activity which Narcissa and Lucius were sure both partook in. The young boy intrigued them,

"It is interesting that the Potter heir is a parselmouth, given his heritage." said Narcissa, "It took me quite by surprise when he hissed down his sleeve the first time." Lucius nodded from his seat across from her,

"Yes, apparently he wants to get ancestry testing. That alone is surprising, I assumed he would have done so before now." he said, an orb sitting upon his desk vibrated suddenly, and Narcissa sneered,

"Is that meddling old man still trying to get in touch?" she asked, blue eyes cold.

"Indeed, apparently Dumbledore contacted both Nott and Zabini too," Lucius said, "The man tried to bypass the security on all of our homes, and the boys had to be accompanied by an escort around Italy. He keeps insisting that it is vital that Mr Potter returns to his relatives."

"What authority does he have?" said Narcissa, nose crinkling is distaste, "Trying to send the poor boy back to those awful muggles, it's inhumane!"

"One would almost think that you've come to care for the boy…" said Lucius, smiling slightly, the woman rolled her eyes,

"He has been good to our son, his blood is pure and his guardians are both muggle filth and despicable excuses for human beings. This is a matter of morals as well as emotions." Lucius nodded, amused eyes turning sombre,

"I agree with you, but the man has political sway. Unless we can find a legal alternative, it is almost certain that the boy will be forced back home next summer." he said, his voice took a hard edge, "No one would trust us with the child, given our history." Narcissa clenched a pale fist,

"What would the alternatives be?" she asked, Lucius pulled a file from under his desk,

"There aren't many, to be honest, the boy's godmother, Alice Longbottom, is insane in St Mungos, and his Godfather, well… It's safe to say he's out of the picture." he said, Narcissa nodded,

"Sirius Black… His fate still surprises me today, he never seemed to be the type to betray the Potters."

"I never saw him in any Death Eater meetings," Lucius commented, "he's likely mad by now, Dementors…"

"How long was he assigned, did they find out the extent of his crimes in his trial?" Narcissa asked, mind flitting to the young boy she had grown up with. Lucius frowned,

"I am unaware but I can find out, what would you plan?" he asked, Narcissa shrugged,

"If he was willing to discuss a deal, perhaps we could use our influence to get him out, allowing him to pose as Harry's guardian while we find a more fitting situation." she offered, "But if he is beyond rationality, then there is no use." Lucius nodded, already planning which pockets he ought to line to get his way.

Harry and Draco spent the majority of their time flying. It was quickly discovered that Harry was exceptionally talented in the air, and Draco, who had been planning to apply for seeker, felt slightly disheartened by the news. Harry, however, had no interest in the game, enjoying to fly like a madman and scare people much more. It was because of the two boys obsession, that Lucius bought each of them a broom. The Nimbus 2001s were sleek models and Harry didn't need to know anything about brooms to know that they were expensive.

"Honestly, Mr Malfoy, I can't accept this!" he said, eyes wide, Mr Malfoy ignored his protests however,

"I expect to see both of you on the Quidditch team next year." he said sternly, "Bring pride to your house." behind him, Narcissa laughed lightly,

"Only if you want to, of course." she said, "Leave them be, Lucius." despite the light hearted comment, both boys decided to apply for the house Quidditch team. Harry had spent the past year listening to Draco talk about when he was seeker, and having no desire to steal his friend's thunder, decided to apply to be a chaser.

Harry ended up enjoying his time with the Malfoys the most, whilst Blaise and Theodore were his friends and he loved exploring new places with them, he could't help but revel in the quiet family atmosphere of the Malfoy home. Having never had a healthy family image to look up to, spending his days engrossed in the quiet banter between Lucius and Narcissa, as well as the way they doted upon their son, was amazing for him. When they travelled down to get their school supplies, Harry allowed himself to daydream about being born into such a family unit (and having them survive).

Their first stop was to Gringotts, where Harry got his much awaited Ancestry Test. A large goblin handed him a knife, and told him to slit his palm over a piece of paper. As Harry anxiously complied, wincing as the cold blade cut into his skin, and gasping slight as the wound closed behind the knife's trail. Several drops of red hit the parchment with an almost inaudible plop, and from the blood, lines began to span out across the page, until a large family tree was cast in crimson. The Goblin lifted the page with a clawed fist, bringing it close to his face as his glasses slid down his nose,

"Mr Potter," the goblin drawled, "You ought to have come here several years ago."

"I was raised by muggles, I didn't know where 'here' was several years ago," Harry responded, the goblin shrugged,

"Nonetheless, there was a scheduled appointment for you to sort out your affairs, one which you didn't attend. A letter was sent out."

"I never got any mail." Harry snapped, the Goblin ignored this comment before continuing,

"It seems, Mr Potter, that you have inherited a large fortune, not just from your parents, though the Potter fortune is not something to laugh at. The Potters have, up until recently been second in line for the Gryffindor fortune, the first being a one, Nicholas Flamel, however, this man recently passed on, along with his wife, leaving you as the heir to Gryffindor. This alone is, priceless. Your mother, birth named Lily Evans, also earned a large amount working as an unspeakable, which she placed into a private vault with you as the sole heir to." The goblin flipped the parchment over, dark eyes scanning a list which had printed on the back,

"You are aware, Mr Potter, that you are a parselmouth?" he asked, Harry pulled up his sleeve slightly, to reveal Greta toasting herself on his forearm and the Goblin muttered something about parselmouths and their dramatics, before continuing, "Where this ability comes from is unclear, as I see no trace of Slytherin in your heritage, however, it is a rare gift, you are very lucky." Harry nodded, and the goblin continued, "If you attempted to try, you would be able to become an animagus." at Harry's blank look, the Goblin explained, "it is the ability to be able to change into an animal." Harry's mouth fell open slightly, but he merely nodded. "In a normal situation, you wouldn't be able to inherit your fortune until you reached wizarding adulthood at seventeen, but due to your lack magical guardians, you are able to come into your fortunes much sooner then usual. Would you like to see your vaults today?" he asked, Harry glanced at his watch, he had agreed to meet the Malfoys outside Flourish and Blotts at half twelve, which meant he had a half hour before he needed to get there,

"Yes please." he decided, and the Goblin stood, leading him to a rickety cart, much like the on that Harry had travelled with Hagrid back before his first year. They seemed to travel much deeper underground then they had Harry's first time, and the darkness from all sides was almost oppressive. At one point, it felt like a heavy curtain had been placed upon his shoulders, and Harry felt slightly light headed, before suddenly the feeling was gone,

"What was that?" he asked, over the loud roar of wind in his ears, the Goblin merely stared at him blankly, and Harry decided not to ask again. Finally, they ground to a halt outside a large vault,

"This is Gryffindor's vault." said the Goblin, he caught Harry's hand, and in a sudden movement which had Harry crying out in shock, slit his palm once more over the entrance. "It requires a blood sacrifice." he explained, but all thoughts of the pain in Harry's hand went away as the doors creaked open.

The room had little in terms of gold, though their were the occasional stacks of coins, and even, in some cases, gold bars. The room was dominated mostly by books, large, thickly bound textbooks and vials of potions lined the walls, several swords hung down from hooks on the walls, and Harry stepped in with weak knees.

"Each text alone is worth millions of galleons," said the goblin, and Harry shut his eyes for a second, taking in a deep breath, he stepped further in to the room, and felt a sudden tug on his wrist, he glanced to the goblin, to see if he had felt it, but the creature showed no reaction, the tug didn't feel hostile at all. Allowing his legs to carry him, Harry stepped over a pile of shields, past several bars of gold, and finally came to a halt before a wooden box. The wood was a deep red in colour and a black buckle held it closed. the pull was almost uncomfortable now, and Harry unlatched the box quickly. Just as soon as the discomfort had come, the feeling was gone, as Harry looked down upon a box of wands. The goblin, who had followed him, was watching the boy curiously as Harry reached into the box and pulled out a wand. Harry recalled the day he got his Holly and Phoenix feather wand with startling clarity, he remembered the rush of warmth on his skin, this wand had the same feeling, only intensified. It was made from some odd type of wood, with imperfect dark lines and swirls over a lighter background.

"Zebra-wood." said the goblin, he reached out and plucked the wand from Harry's fingers, twirling it lazily, "With a phoenix feather core," Harry absentmindedly noted that his other wand had a phoenix feather too, before he reached out and reclaimed the wand.

"I can take anything, right?" he asked, the Goblin nodded warily, and Harry's grip tightened on the wand, "Is there a way I can get copies of these books, so I don't risk damaging the originals by removing them from here?"

"A duplication charm will work." said the goblin, "If you tap your wand against a book twice, with the spell, 'Geminus' then it will give you another copy." Harry frowned,

"But the trace-"

"Will not affect your new wand." he said. Harry's eyes widened in delight, before he paused, green eyes scanning the vicinity before they finally came to rest on a large trunk, which was sitting against a wall, he undid the bolt holding it closed, expecting to see more books inside, but instead, the trunk opened to reveal several compartments, two of which were large and room sized. The trunk was empty, and Harry quickly began to fill several compartments with duplicated books. The goblin watched with amusement as they boy tried to decide which books he wanted to read the most, almost too soon, Harry realised it was twenty past twelve, and made two brief stops, in both the Potter and Evans vault. The Potter vault was large, and Harry didn't have enough time to do anything more then gape in awe, and grab some gold for his school books, before he had to leave. The Evans vault was not insubstantial either, and Harry left the bank feeling very overwhelmed. His trunk, which he lugged behind him, was oddly light, and Harry wondered if that was part of the magic of it. He finally met the Malfoys, who glanced at Harry's new trunk with raised eyebrows, Harry shrugged with a smile,

"Turns out one of my vaults was filled with books, I couldn't resist!" this was met without further comment, and the four quietly stepped into the overcrowded book shop. Harry read through his book list again, "Our teacher must be a really big Lockhart fan." he said to Draco, the boy nodded and opened his mouth to speak before letting out a yelp as a small man with a camera rudely shoved past him,

"Out of my way, this is for the Daily Prophet." he barked as he did so. Harry caught Draco's arm as the boy risked falling over and the two glared at the retreating form of the camera man. Draco glanced around for his father but the man was nowhere to be seen. Draco shrugged,

"The Lockhart books are around there," he said, gesturing past a sign which had a picture of said man, preening. The two stepped round the corner, only to see a large queue of people, all holding their own copies of the Lockhart books. A sign in the top corner of the shop read, "Free signing!" Up at the front of the shop stood a large stage, upon which stood Lockhart himself. The man had his chest puffed out as he spoke, golden hair a perfect halo about his face. Harry leaned against a shelf, watching the man. Beside him, Draco snickered slightly as the man continued to sing his own praises, suddenly, his speech came to a stuttering halt, as the man's eyes fell upon Harry,

"Sweet Merlin…" he breathed, "It's Harry Potter." suddenly, the shop fell quiet, and people turned to look in the uncomfortable boy's way. Draco glared angrily at the man, who ignored this and cried, "A picture of us, please!"

"Run." hissed Draco, and Harry turned, fully prepared to sprint from the danger. He made it half way to the exit of the shop, before the camera man tackled him, dragging him painfully to the front of the store. Lockhart wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders,

"Smile, we're going to make the front page." he hissed into Harry's ear, Harry tried to pull free of the man's grip as the bright light of the photographer's camera went off. The next day, the picture would show a smiling Lockhart, and a scowling Harry Potter, this would be the best of several pictures, the rest would depict some form of struggle.

"Mr Potter came into this store today, in order to purchase my biography. Little did he know, that he would walk out, with not just my biography, but my entire works, free of charge!" the man cried, Harry's glare intensified as a pile of books were thrust into his arms, Lockhart's fans let out a cheer at the man's generosity, "I have decided," the man continued, "after much deliberation, to take up the post of the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry." the bookshop let out another cheer. When Harry was finally allowed off the stage, face burning, Draco pulled him from the crowd with a sympathetic expression,

"Once my father hears about this, that photographer will be out of a job, for sure." he said, blue eyes malicious. Harry nodded gratefully, but as he opened his mouth to speak, he was interrupted,

"Bet you loved that, didn't you, Potter?" came the voice of Weasley. The boy had grown over the summer, and now towered over Harry and Draco, both of whom were smaller then average, "You're such an attention seeker, you can't even go into a bookstore without making the front page." he said. Draco sneered,

"Is that why you've come over then, Weasel, in the hopes of getting a side note in the prophet?" the boy flushed,

"As if," he sniffed, "You may feel the need to hang out with Potter because of his celebrity status, but I feel no such urges." he said. Draco laughed derisively, opening his mouth to say something likely highly inappropriate for a bookstore, but Harry spoke first,

"Is that why you were so eager to be friends with me in first year then, Weasley, warning me off Draco because Slytherins are the 'wrong sort'? I think that if anyone was after a political friendship, it was you, seeing as you were only interested in me upon hearing my surname." the red headed boy flushed deeper,

"I wasn't- I never- Ugh." the boy glared, "What does it matter anyway? You exchanged your parents for fame in the way only a Slytherin would. You were one of them from day one." Harry and Draco gaped at the boy with open mouthed astonishment. The boy had hinted, with snide comments about Harry's parents, but never before had he been so direct in his attack. From beside him, a girl with long red hair tied into a braid, looked up at the boy with astonishment,

"Leave him alone!" she snapped, angrily, "He clearly didn't enjoy that." the Weasel gaped down at her,

"Ginny, have some family loyalty!' he snapped, Harry and Draco stared at the girl, then back at Ron,

"You have a sister?" Draco said, eyes wide,

"How many of you are there?" breathed Harry. Ron ignored, them focusing on Ginny, who snapped,

"What if I told mum what you just said?" her eyes flashed at the boy, who gulped, Draco laughed,

"Look Harry, you have a girlfriend." The girl flushed scarlet, and Harry laughed uncomfortably. He wouldn't argue with Draco about his comment in front of Weasley, as rude as it was. The rule of Slytherin, to never argue in front of enemies, was something he took to heart.

"Whatever, Weasley." he said, directing his attention to the older of the two, "We have better things to do then listen to you rant for hours, best be off." he turned, Draco following him, when a thought occurred to him. Harry spun around quickly, the books he had got from Lockhart heavy in his arms as he dropped them into the Weasley girl's cauldron. "Take them." he said firmly, "You need them more then I do, it's not like your family can pay for them." he cast a filthy look in her brother's direction, who was flushing a deep red, before turning to leave.

Ginevra watched Harry Potter's retreating form, unsure whether she should feel offended or grateful. Her mother had been panicking about how she would afford all of the necessary books, and having Ginny ticked off the list would ease the burden, but the comment about her family irked her. Ron sneered,

"What the hell was that Ginny, I know you fancied him when you were little, but you saw him, he's a Slytherin, they're a bad sort, you saw how he behaved!" He growled at her, Ginny glared at him angrily,

"It had nothing to do with me fancying him!" she snapped, "And he wasn't the one making jokes about your dead parents, was he?" the gangly boy flushed dark red at the reprimand, but merely shook his head angrily, grumbling as he stomped away.

Later that same day, they would bump into Draco again, this time he would be accompanied by Mr Malfoy, whilst Ron and Ginny were with their father. Harry was paying for books during the altercation, though he would hear of it later through an awed Draco. Their encounter would be brief and violent, Mr Weasley would leave with a black eye, Mr Malfoy a split lip, and Ginny with a cursed diary, a former possession of one Tom Marvel Riddle.

Her first year would be memorable, to say the least.


I couldn't help writing this super fast. Finally, Ginny is with us. I hope you liked this. I tried to avoid the cliche of Harry being the descendant of loads of houses, but he's really rich anyways... There will be more Ginny next chapter as the year starts, please review...

Thanks for reading, leave your thoughts and comments, I love hearing them!