Thanks for reading and sending such positive reviews; I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I wanted to take a few seconds to mention that I have not pairings set for Harry or his classmates because they are eleven years old. This means I won't be pairing Harry up in this story; it's just not something I would have worried about at eleven and I don't plan to make it something Harry will be worrying about.
I also want to point out that I plan to make Harry smart but I have no intention of him being one of those kids who is too smart for his age; I don't like the stories where 'Smart Harry' is basically an adult in a child's body but he will also be a little more mature for his age because of his upbringing from his relatives.
Once again, thanks for reading and if you have any suggestions on who I should pair Narcissa up with, let me know.
The sun had barely risen when Draco woke Harry up on the first of September and when he woke up, he was just as excited as Draco. They were finally going to Hogwarts and they would be learning magic. Harry had already read through his books with Draco and they'd been practising spells when nobody was looking but they'd actually be able to show off the things they'd learnt and meet their new classmates and teachers.
Harry looked forward to seeing the library and the castle while Draco was mainly looking forward to playing Quidditch and teaching Harry how to play. They both knew they were going to do well in Severus's class because he had just finished going over the whole first-year curriculum with them and Harry had taken to potions with a greater amount of experience than Draco because of the time he had spent cooking for the Dursleys. He'd also taught them occlumency for if they found themselves along with Dumbledore for any reason.
"Are you ready to go? Come on, let's go, we're going to be late!" Draco insisted while everyone was at the table eating breakfast. Harry was eager as well but he wasn't in a rush to leave at that moment because...
"Dragon, it's only half past nine. We won't be flooing to the station until ten," Lucius said as he kissed the top of Severus's head and smiled proudly at Draco who was now pacing the length of the kitchen. Harry had never seen Draco so impatient before and if he wasn't already so excited and nervous, he would have laughed and joked about his brother's uncharacteristic display of impatience. It was amusing to see such typical behaviours on a boy who was usually so schooled with his expressions and behaviours.
Harry went back to focusing on his breakfast; so far that morning, he'd checked his trunk for the third time, showered, dressed and spent thirty minutes trying to convince Draco not to flood to the train station before their parents had wakened actually had to wrestle floo powder from his hands.
When Harry finished eating, he went upstairs to make sure he had packed everything he was going to need. By the time it was time to floo to the train station, he was anxious to leave and nervous to go. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do, hurry to the train station or stay home. In the end, his curiosity won and he decided he would go but he was nervous. He didn't know what to expect. He was going to make sure he stayed close to his brother and keep an eye on Dumbledore.
He knew Severus would keep an eye out but he was still nervous.
"Come on, it's time to go Harry! Let's go!" Draco said as he grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him into the fireplace before he could object or check once again that he had everything he'd need.
Platform 9 3/4 was everything Harry through it would be; witches and wizards, scarlet steam from the engine and people hugging their children goodbye; some were crying and others were giving their children stern warnings to be on their best behaviour. Only Lucius and Narcissa were there because Severus was already at the castle. They'd see Lucius occasionally at the castle when he spent time with Severus.
"Slow down, Draco; we have plenty of time," Lucius told Draco, who was trying to pull Harry to the train as fast as he could. Because Harry was so busy trying to see everything around him, he was basically tripping over the ground while Draco attempted to pull him onto the train before the doors to the train could actually be opened. Thankfully, Draco took a breath and collected himself together again; he almost looked like the normal Draco unless you looked into his eyes. His eyes were full of excitement and impatience.
"Now, boy! I want you to look out for each other, whether or not you wind up in the same house. Study hard and don't hold back. You're smart boys, and I want you to do your best at all times," Narcissa said, hugging both boys, with tears running down her cheeks. It was hard to believe they were going off to Hogwarts finally and the fact that they'd only had Harry for a few months and were already sending him off was hitting her hard.
"But remember to have some fun while you're there too. Stop studying long enough to eat, sleep and take care of yourself. Remember, Severus is there if you need him," Lucius said, his voice was the same as usual but there was a bit of an emotion waver in his voice. He was going to miss them just as much as Narcissa would.
"And Harry, remember that you are allowed to demand another professor's presence when Dumbledore calls you into his office and Severus will go with you every time. He will know when you're there and he will go, even if you don't tell him; that goes for you too, Draco," Narcissa said softly. "And remember, the older Weasleys are good kids and they'll be keeping an eye on both of you as well; especially Percy."
"Yes, mother. Yes, Father," both boys repeated, both anxious to get on the train so they could see which house they were going to be sorted into. Harry was still nervous but Draco's positive energy was contagious and he was finding himself more and more excited to attend the school he'd heard so much about. He looked forward to not pretending to be dumb and having people see that he was smart and not some insane delinquent like his relatives liked to tell others.
He mainly looked forward to proving that he was a good student and that he was as smart as everyone else; he was going to fit in and make it look like he'd grown up in this world with his 'brother'. It would look strange if Draco was fully informed on the magic world while his twin brother seemed new and foreign to everything.
"Severus will be tutoring both of you this year and making sure that you're getting any extra help you need; he'll set up times later," Lucius said, now hugging the boys tightly.
When they boarded the train, they immediately went to a compartment where they could wave to their parents. When the train started moving, Harry felt an excited lurch in his stomach; this was actually happening, he was finally on his way to learn magic.
"Finally, we're on our way. I can't wait to see Uncle Sev again," Draco said, once the platform disappeared from sight and he was seated.
Harry had to agree, he had missed the stern-faced, intimidating man; he'd become accustomed to seeing him every day and these past couple days had been strange. It was always humorous to watch him first thing in the morning when he was barely awake. He scowled at everything; his coffee, Lucius, the ground, the sun.
"I can't wait for potions class. Brewing is very relaxing and I've missed it over the past couple days," Harry said, staring out the window; thinking, once again, about everything they were going to learn to do and the people they were going to meet.
"Excuse me, can I sit here? Everywhere else is full," a voice said timidly from the door. Harry recognised Ron Weasley immediately and happily invited the boy in.
"I met you at Diagon Alley but this is my twin brother, Draco," Harry said, pointing to Draco who held out his hand for the red-haired boy to shake.
"Nice to meet you; this is my rat Scabbers, he's stupid," Ron said pointing to the rat that was poking out of his pocket.
"You're sure he's alive?" Draco asked nervously as he observed the unmoving creature with its eyes wide open.
"Yeah, he's too stupid to close his eyes when he sleeps most times; it's unnerving sometimes," Ron said with a shudder.
When the trolley came by, Harry bought a few treats for them and they sat and got to know one another. They discovered that Draco and Ron liked the same Quidditch team and that both Ron and Harry enjoyed wizards chess and games of strategy. Ron had agreed to help teach Harry everything they could about Quidditch and Draco and Harry agreed to help Ron with potions.
"Has anyone seen a toad in here? A boy named Neville has lost one." A bushy haired girl asked as she barged into the compartment. "Sorry, no but he'll probably appear in the castle with the rest of our stuff. Everything in the train is charmed to appear in the castle upon arrival."
"Sorry, no but he'll probably appear in the castle with the rest of our stuff. Everything in the train is charmed to appear in the castle upon arrival," Draco told her, causing her cheeks to turn pink; she looked upset by the fact that she didn't know that.
"Oh, I hadn't read that anywhere," the girl said, looking down at her feet with an embarrassed expression.
"It's actually new," Harry informed her. "We only know about it because our Godfather works at Hogwarts; he's the Potions Master and he was there when they placed the charm a few days ago. It's a lost and found charm designed so if anything gets lost on the train, it will make its way to the castle."
The girl let out a small grin and her blush faded a bit.
"I'm Draco Malfoy, this is my brother Harrison and our friend Ron Weasley," Draco said, standing up as he'd been taught.
"I'm Hermione Granger," Hermione said, smiling. "I should go find Neville so he can stop looking. It was nice meeting you."
The rest of the trip was uneventful, Ron and Harry played wizard's chess and found that they were closely matched in the game. Ron seemed to appreciate having some actual competition in the game and Draco seemed content just to watch them play. It wasn't until they were almost to Hogwarts that another interruption came in the form of Ron's twin brothers.
They were both dressed in their robes and as expected, they were trimmed with green and silver like any other Slytherin robe. They wore mischievous grins on their faces; they were up to something.
"We thought we'd come and tell you,"
"That it's time to change into your robes,"
But upon seeing Draco and Harry, they grinned before turning and leaving so they could get dressed.
"Oh, Ronnikins; thought we'd let you know that we may or may NOT have charmed one of the Gryffindor's spiders to sleep with you tonight," one of the twins said before closing the door. Ron's face immediately paled at the idea but the fear quickly vanished.
"If they did, I'll charm Scabbers to poop in their beds at night," Ron said, with a growl as he started putting on his robes for Hogwarts.
Once the boys were dressed, they began staring out the window because the train was starting to slow down and soon enough the train had come to a complete stop.
The doors swung open and Harry hesitantly made his way off the train, making sure Draco and Ron were within sight at all times; he did not want to lose them, especially with al the nervous butterflies flapping around inside his belly.
"Firs' Years! Firs' Years this way!" a loud voice called out over the crowd. Harry turned in time to see a giant man signalling for the first years to follow him somewhere.
They didn't go very far because soon enough, they were at the edge of a large body of water with several little boats.
"No more than four to a boat," the giant man said as he sat in a boat that should have had trouble holding his weight but seemed to have no difficulty at all.
Once the boats were all boarded and moving, Harry looked forward and was completely amazed by how beautiful the massive castle in front of him was. He didn't have to look in order to know that both Ron and Draco were looking at the massive castle as well.
It was larger than he could have ever dreamed it would be and suddenly, he was nervous that he was going to spend more time lost than actually attending his classes. The next day would be Monday and they would be starting classes; he wished they could have one more day to wonder the castle and figure out where they were going so they could figure out where everything was and where their classes were. He didn't like the idea of not being able to find his classes but hopefully, they would have something in place to keep them from getting too lost.
"Alright, follow me, let's go!"
Harry had been so distracted looking at the castle that he hadn't even realised they'd come to a stop.
Making their way to the castle was a quiet affair because everyone was staring at the castle more and more as they got closer because if it hadn't looked big enough from the lake, than standing right by it was enough to realise how huge it really was.
They were lead to a large door where the man lifted a giant fist and banged on the door three times. Eventually, a woman with a stern face opened the door.
"Hagrid," she greeted in a stern voice, her lips were tight as she spoke and she looked like someone who was not to be messed with.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid replied in an obedient tone.
"Very well, everyone, follow me, the sorting ceremony will begin shortly," she said as she led everyone up a flight of stairs and to a set of double doors. This was clearly the door that leads to the sorting ceremony. There was no going back now.
***LINEBREAK***
The Potter brat had not been found. He had spent the better part of August looking for the little runt and now it was the first of September and nothing. The last sighting reported had been at a Muggle playground back in July and since then, there had been nothing. It was reported that the boy and been in rough physical condition and he was starting to fear that the little runt had died from his injuries.
He was going to have to speak to Vernon Dursley and see how hard he had beaten the boy; he'd been clear when instructing the man to never beat the runt hard enough to create lasting damage and certainly not hard enough to mortally injure him. This was the only explanation he could come up with for the runt having disappeared so completely.
"It's time, the older students are arriving," Minerva said as she straightened her robes and began preparing herself to greet the first years. Of course, Dumbledore could only concentrate on the fact that the Potter brat was missing, he knew he had to appear interested in the other students but sooner or later, he was going to have to come up with a plan B for when people began demanding answers about why the "Boy Who Lived" was not sorted.
Dumbledore put on his usual twinkle-eyed, innocent expression and made his way to the staff table in time to see the older students making their way into the Great Hall. They were noisily regarding each other and speaking as though they hadn't just spent the past few hours talking on the train; oh, how hard it was not to sneer at the idiots as they sat down and gossiped excitedly amongst themselves but he had an image to keep up and sneering was not part of that image. Besides, Snape appeared to be sneering enough for the two of them.
Snape, his biggest success! He'd been able to trick Severus Snape into spying for him and now the man was putty in his hand. Turning Snape against Tom had been one of his greatest accomplishments, next to faking the prophecy that got the Potter Runt labelled the Boy Who Lived.
But, he had to stop thinking about the runt for now; for now, he had to focus on brainwashing the next generation of magic to fit perfectly into his agenda and he was going to have to figure out a way to do it without the Potter Brat's influence.
As the door opened and the first-years were let into the room, he put on his biggest and brightest smile and secretly watched for the very remote chance that the Potter Brat would be among the group of eleven-year-olds but he knew he wasn't; of course, it didn't stop him from looking and hoping. He was going to face hell in the morning when word got out that Harry Potter didn't come to Hogwarts today.
He watched as Minerva brought in the first years; they all looked so young and impressionable. He couldn't wait to have them under his influence. He was going to have those brats under his control. Kids this age were so easily controlled, especially those with less than ideal parents. All it took was the right amount of affection and attention and they were like putty.
It was going to be a long year without Potter but he was going to have to make due with what he had. It was going to take some plotting and planning but he was going to make his plan work; one way or another, the wizarding world was going to be his.
Next chapter will be the much-anticipated sorting ceremony; which I will hopefully have up by tomorrow or Sunday.