Ok so a lot of people agree that the major problem with his fic so far is that I need a Beta, so I am officially asking if anyone would be willing to help me out. I would however like to point out that this will make updates slower.

They would be slowing down in a few chapters anyway when I catch up to where the original fic had gotten to anyway but whatever. If you are interested and willing to put the time in PM me and we will see what happens.

Enjoy :)

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Disclaimer: I own nothing :(

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Beta: alexis. metoyer. 1

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Chapter 4- Settling In

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The Headmaster's office was…odd.

There was no other way to describe it as far as Harry was concerned. There was a collection of moving paintings hanging on the back wall, shelves of unnamed and unusual items, as well as a desk full of moving…things that gave off different coloured smoke. There was also an empty perch with a tray filled with ashes standing to the left of a large ornate desk. The desk was made from a soft brown wood, inlaid with a gold, curling vine pattern.

And sitting behind it was perhaps the oddest thing of all.

Albus Dumbledore, a legend among Wizards of the current age, was dressed in pink and yellow striped robes with a green pointed hat sitting atop his head. He sat with a china cup in his hand full of tea and a grandfatherly smile upon his lips, and his eyes seemed to twinkle as they stared into his own. The brighter blue eyes locked onto Harry's usually named 'Avada Kedavra' green eyes- which sometimes were met with a flinch at the thought of the Killing Curse.

After the feast, Harry had been brought to the office along with McGonagall, the short Professor he know knew as Flitwick, a plump, but kind woman named Sprout, and the bat-like man, Snape. They were apparently the heads of the four houses, each one representing their own for this supposed meeting on what to do with him.

The Sorting Hat was sitting on a high shelf to his right, seemingly unmoving again as the five adults talked as if he was not in the room with them. It turned out that Harry had been placed in a house that didn't exist; it was named after an old family that a lot of people were not happy to be reminded of. Harry also found it funny that despite the fact all four Professors were throwing questions at the Headmaster, none of them actually waited for him to answer before asking another.

This continued for several minutes before Harry finally had enough.

"Are you old coots done talking about me as if I'm deaf and dumb, or would you like to keep going for another few minutes and continue to ignore me?" asked Harry blandly.

That got the attention of all five of the adults.

McGonagall looked resigned, having already dealt with him and his attitude before. Both Flitwick and Sprout seemed to be shocked speechless, their mouths wide open and eyes slightly widened. Dumbledore was merely smiling at him as if he had been waiting for Harry to speak those exact words from the start. The biggest reaction came from Snape, who turned his glare from the wall straight to Harry with a sneer on his lips.

"How dare you speak to us in such a manor, you spoiled, rude little-"

Harry irrupted him before he could get anymore steam going, "While I will admit to being rude, I can assure you that I have never been spoiled in my known memory. My relatives made sure of that with great pleasure, as they so often liked to tell me before locking me in a cupboard," Harry said this without any real emotion behind it.

His words seemed to have the desired effect of shutting the bat-like man up. His face suddenly took on a slightly confused expression before it was hidden behind a mask of indifference. He glanced out of the corner of his eyes to see the now even more shocked expressions of Sprout and Flitwick, and the saddened ones of McGonagall and Dumbledore.

After waiting a moment to make sure he would not be interrupted, Harry continued in the bored tone he was well known for.

"Anyway, why would I show respect to any of you when you have spent the last fifteen minutes arguing over me like I was a hunk of meat? You call me rude, which is true, yet do not see it in your own actions towards me. None of you have even explained what the big deal is about me being sorted into this…Peverell House," Harry pointed out as he crossed his arms.

The rattling of his chain seemed to also draw the attention to his book before Dumbledore cleared his throat and spoke,

"You are very right, my boy. I am sorry for not explaining things to you sooner. I think this is a conversation that is best given in private, though, Minerva, if you wouldn't mind waiting downstairs? I would like for you to take Mr. Potter to the empty classroom at the top of the third tower in the North-West section of the school. I am sure it will do well as a room until something more suitable can be found."

Though none of them looked happy about it, the four Professors each gave a small nod and left the room. The moment the door closed Dumbledore stood and moved to a bookcase on his right. Without pause, he pulled a large dusty book from the shelf and dropped it on the desk between them.

The title 'Magical Families of Old' was on the front in silver.

"I am sure you will have more than a few questions, Harry, and I ask for your patience while I attempt to give them to you. Please refrain yourself from interrupting." Dumbledore looked over his glasses at Harry with a smile and knowing look.

He waited for Harry to give a small nod before continuing.

"Good. Now, I believe the most pressing matter is who the Peverell family is and why their name unnerves people so much," the old Wizard continued as he opened to book and started flipping through the pages.

"The Peverell family is, or rather was, one of the oldest Magical families, and they can be dated back to the time of Merlin himself. Unfortunately, they died out long ago. There have been many theories over the years about how this happened; however, I myself am of the opinion that they simply changed their name at some point and went into hiding," Dumbledore explained, flipping pages one at a time.

Harry frowned at this, eyes narrowing at the preoccupied headmaster.

"If they were one of the old families, why would they change their name?" asked Harry.

"The Peverell Family was well known for many things- not all of them good. They were widely recognised as some of the brightest and best wizards that magic had to offer, and are directly responsible for the creation of many spells and magical objects that we still use today. In fact, Hogwarts itself would fall into that category. Which brings us to your sorting."

Looking up for a moment and seeing Harry's raised eyebrow, Dumbledore quickly explained, "While it is well known that Hogwarts School was the idea of Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, what is not widely known is the part that the Peverell Family played. A very large part might I add. They are the ones that built Hogwarts Castle; they are the ones that charmed its protections, and they are the ones that wrote the Laws of Hogwarts. While the Four Founders created the school, the Peverell's were the architects that made it possible."

"What are the 'Laws of Hogwarts'?" Harry asked.

"The Laws of Hogwarts are just that- the laws of the school. While there are ways to work around some, most must be upheld. The Laws are tied into the wards themselves- tied to Hogwarts Castle itself, even- and to disobey them would have unknown consequences and pose the risk of the wards falling. As Headmaster, it is part of my responsibility to learn and uphold the laws at all costs."

"Why is this not in 'Hogwarts: A History', or any other books then? I have read that, as well as many other books, and have found no reference to the Peverell Family," Harry stated.

Dumbledore seemed to finally find the page he was looking for and turned the book to face Harry. Harry found himself looking at the Peverell name; however, what really caught his attention was the family crest under the name…the same one that was on his Grimoire.

But before could ask about it Dumbledore continued talking, "It is because many feared the Peverell Family- and still do to this day. Almost every member that carried Peverell blood in their veins was brilliant, powerful, and- in many cases- dangerous. They were well known for having little morality when it came to their research, caring only for results and their own interests. This created paranoia, the fear pushing people to be wary of them."

Harry frowned at what he was being told, finding many similarities between the long lost family and himself. It was then that his eyes once again fell to the page in front of him, or- more accurately- the images drawn beneath the family name.

"What do these images mean?" Harry asked.

Leaning over to see what he was referring to, Harry saw Dumbledore give a shrug that didn't look right at all coming from someone his age.

"It is the Peverell Family Crest; many of the old magical families have them. That winged horse is called a Thestral which is the Peverell family's…sacred animal. Again, many of the old magical families were known to have similar connections to animals both magical and not. The other image, however… I would ask you not to look into for now, not until you are older. It is a symbol connected to something very dangerous, and a truth I fear you are not ready to hear. Please do not go looking for it. I ask you this not as your headmaster, but as someone who knows what it means…and has suffered greatly because of it," said Dumbledore, his voice taking on a sad note at the end.

Harry was ready to lay into the man for telling him what to do, but something in his voice gave him pause and his eyes narrowed at the man. Clearly, whatever the symbol meant had something to do with his now discovered heritage, but also seemed to be dangerous. It was a mystery- a very tempting one at that- but maybe it was also one to solve when he was older and better equipped to defend himself.

After thinking it over for a moment, Harry gave a small nod before leaning back into his seat again. The Headmaster gave a grateful smile. However, Harry received a slightly confused look as the headmaster turned his attention back to the Crest for a moment. His eyes moved back to Harry,

"If I you do not mind my asking, Mr. Potter, what is your interest in the Crest?"

Not caring much either way, Harry lifted his Grimoire up so the Headmaster could see the front where the Peverell Family Crest lay in silver. He ignored the widening of the old wizard's eyes and stood to leave the room.

"I was just curious about it because it appeared on my Grimoire after I bonded with it. A connection to look into another time, I guess. I will see you in the morning Headmaster," Harry said on the way out without turning back.

When the door closed, there was a moment of silence. Dumbledore let out a small tired chuckle as he seemed to sink into his chair and a chain suddenly appeared on his right arm. The chain led to one of the books on his bookcase, and with a small tug from Dumbledore it came floating over into his hand.

"Things are going to be very interesting from now on, I am sure. I look forward to seeing your progress…Mr. Peverell," Dumbledore murmured as he opened his own Grimoire.

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After his meeting with Dumbledore, Harry was led by McGonagall to the room that would be his temporary accommodations. It was at the top of a tower that required them to walk up a long staircase with several doors lining the wall on the left. His was the last at the very top.

Considering that it was supposed to be an unused room, Harry was surprised when the elder Witch opened the door. While not a lot in it, the room was spotless. There was four poster bed across from the door, a desk and chair set against the wall on his right, and four windows on different areas of the wall. The room itself was circular, though that wasn't surprising considering it was a tower.

It also already had his trunk at the foot of his bed.

Raising an eyebrow at the room, Harry turned a questioning look to McGonagall.

The older Witch just gave a sigh as she turned to leave, "The house elves prepared your room while you were talking with Professor Dumbledore, Mr. Potter. Now, I suggest you get some sleep. Breakfast is from 6-8am tomorrow morning, and you will be given two days to explore the castle before classes start. I suggest you use this time wisely," McGonagall stated as she closed the door behind her.

While he wasn't sure what a house elf was, Harry had an idea based on the name. Wizards seemed very unimaginative when it came to naming things.

Shaking his head at the thought, Harry walked over to his trunk and pulled out the key for one of the locks. With a loud click he lifted the lid open. Inside was a short, thin staircase that started from the left and went down to the right.

This compartment was where he stored all his miscellaneous items. It was basically a room three times the size of the room outside the trunk, with tall shelves lined next to each other. There was even a ladder for Harry to use to reach the higher shelves. Luckily, he already knew what he was looking for and had the forethought to leave it at the bottom of the stairs before leaving for Hogwarts.

Grabbing the wooden six foot tall perch with both hands, Harry struggled slightly to get it back up the stairs before closing the lid again. The sound of the lock clicking back into place quickly followed; that was something Harry had paid extra for. His trunk could be unlocked from the inside even if he didn't have the key; however, if someone was inside one of the rooms, none of the others could be opened even with a key.

Harry left the perch to the left of his bed before moving over to one of the windows. He took a moment to enjoy the night view of the castle and grounds before stepping back when a black blur came towards him. It was almost impossible to see in the dark sky, but Harry knew it was coming even without seeing it.

And true enough, a moment later Poe swooped in and gracefully landed on her perch.

After taking another minute to look outside, Harry closed the window and stretched his arms above his head while moving towards his bed.

"Night, Poe," he murmured and closed his eyes.

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The next morning, Harry woke up at 6am and decided after taking a quick shower in the bathroom in his trunk to familiarize himself with the castle for a few hours. Then he would take the afternoon to finally practice his magic. He was out of the room by 6:30 with Poe happily perched on his shoulder, locking the door behind him with the key he found on his desk when he woke up.

He had forgone the school robes, having found a loophole that said he only needed to wear them at the welcoming feast, holiday feasts, and the end of year feast. Instead of the uniform, he wore a dark blue long-sleeved shirt and black jeans. He didn't bother with his red cap, seeing as everyone knew who he was now after the Sorting Ceremony. He was sure to get a few odd looks, and there was a chance a Professor might try and call him out on his clothing, but Harry didn't care.

Thankfully, he had already memorised the route he was led by last night, though it did take him the long way since it passed the Headmaster's office first. He passed no one on his way, most opting to sleep in on the first day.

Even when he arrived at the Great Hall, there were only a few students from each house; most of them being from Ravenclaw.

There were several Professors sitting at the head table, but the only ones he recognised were McGonagall and Flitwick. He did see Hagrid waving to him, and Harry wasn't surprised to see him up early since the large man was the grounds keeper.

Oddly enough, Harry also noticed that the Great Hall was slightly larger than it had been last night. This was probably to make room for the new fifth House Table that had been added in the middle of the other four. It was even the same size as the others, despite the fact that Harry would be the only one using it.

Harry made his way straight to the far end of the table near the Head Table. He didn't spare a glance for the people he passed before taking a seat and placing his Grimoire on the bench next to him. The same could not be said for them, unfortunately, since every head turned to follow him as he went by. It was really annoying, and he couldn't stop the small frown creeping onto his otherwise bored expression.

He did, however, notice several people's eyes moving between him and Poe instead of his forehead, but he chose to ignore it.

The moment he sat down at his table a golden plate appeared in front of him. It was then filled with several pieces of bacon, sausages, and a hardboiled egg with a piece of buttered toast. He was about to dig in when he felt a slight nudge in his head, making him pause.

It wasn't someone trying to read his mind- that much he was sure about- because it felt different from when Genus had gotten in and he also wasn't pulled in to confront anyone. This was more like something already there inside his mind that was just giving him a little poke to remind him it was.

He looked to Poe on his shoulder, the large Raven already staring at him. Harry wasn't sure how, but he somehow knew it was her that had sent him the nudge. Then after thinking about it for a moment, he realised that he understood what it meant.

Not taking his eyes off of Poe, he took a strip of bacon from his plate and held it out for her to take. She did, swallowing it in one go before letting out a small caw. Then he got another nudge in his mind, this one clearly giving off a sense of happiness and gratitude.

Interesting. So he and Poe were somehow linked mentally. He wondered if there was more to it or even a way to increase the connection somehow…this would require more thought and research.

Deciding to put those thoughts aside for the moment until he looked up what having a familiar meant, Harry turned back to his breakfast and started eating at a sedate pace.

Unsurprisingly, he was interrupted a moment later when three first years wearing the Slytherin colours walked over and stood in front of him. Two of them looked like they were half troll, and the smaller blond kid with his hair slicked back had an arrogant smirk on his face.

Harry chose to ignore them and continued eating while Poe kept an eye on the three of them from her perch on his shoulder. This went on for several minutes as the blonde boy seemed to get more and more agitated by the second.

Eventually, the blonde broke first and quickly returned to his arrogant expression, "So you're Harry Potter, aren't you? My father told me you would be coming this year. My name is Draco Malfoy," the now named Draco said this in a lofty manner, clearly trying to boast, though Harry wasn't sure what about.

The only answer Draco received was the sound of Harry's cutlery on his plate as he continued to eat. This only seemed to get further under the boy's skin.

"Did you hear me? I said I was a Malf-"

Harry smoothly interrupted him, "Heard you the first time, and didn't care then either. Now fuck off, I'm trying to eat, and your voice is getting on my nerves." Harry cut a piece of sausage before putting it in his mouth.

This seemed to leave Draco in shock for a moment before it turned into outright anger, his fists clenched and shaking at his side.

"You can't talk to me like that! I am a Pureblood, an elite of the Wizarding world. I deserve respect!" His voice became higher and louder as he continued, drawing more and more attention to themselves.

More people steadily trickled into the hall, but Harry still didn't look up from his meal. He waited until he swallowed the bite in his mouth before turning in his seat. He then did something that no one expected and which left many mouths gaping open in shock.

Picking up his Grimoire in one hand Harry actually threw it at the Malfoy Heir. He nailed him right in the face, knocking the blond boy off his feet and leaving a large book shaped red mark. There was even blood coming out of Draco's nose, but before any of it could get on the book Harry pulled it back with the chain connected to his arm. He used his hand to brush off imaginary dust before putting it back on the bench next to him.

He turned back to his meal before speaking, "I don't give a crap. I was raised by muggles and only learned about Magic about a month ago. I have no true concept of 'Pureblood', and neither do I care for one now. As for respect, why would I respect you? I don't know you, I've never met nor heard of you or your family before today, and you are not doing a good job of representing it. You have done nothing to earn my respect and therefore will not get it. If anything, at this point I find you pathetic. You come here and interrupt my meal and for what? to boast about your supposed superiority? You're nothing but an arrogant brat. A brat that will probably only ever use his family's name to get what he wants because he knows he is worthless as shit without it."

Harry said this all with a cool and bored tone, though he did keep an eye on Draco from the corner of his eye. Even from his new position on the floor with his nose bleeding, every point Harry made caused Draco to flinch slightly and his eyes to widen like a deer in the headlights. It turns out that reading all those books on Psychology was useful after all.

"Now, if you would be so kind as to fuck off, I am still eating."

The boy obviously wasn't as stupid as Harry had first thought, because he had enough sense to retreat. Harry didn't miss Thing 1 and Thing 2 taking a step towards him with their fists ready and scowls on their faces, but they were both stopped by Draco and left without another word. He doubted it would be the last he saw of the boy, though. Draco seemed too arrogant to let Harry's words get to him for long.

When he finished his food, Harry didn't stick around for the Hall to fill completely. Without looking at anyone, he quickly left, deciding that his first task of the day was to find a faster route from his room to the Great Hall.

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By the afternoon Harry decided that Hogwarts was an interesting place, which was something he didn't say about many things…at least, before all this magic stuff, anyway.

Between the living portraits, moving staircases, ever changing corridors, trick doors, and secret passages, it was impossible to work out regular routes. He had been led in circles, ended up at three dead ends, and at one point he had been bitten by a doorknob that didn't want to be opened.

It was all very interesting, although it was odd and pointless from a school perspective.

Then again, he supposed it would work as a kind of defence if anything or anyone wanted to cause harm to the students. When the school was originally built, it was a time when Magic was not hidden so well and those without it had persecuted those with it. It was entirely possible that the Peverell Family had added all these little tricks and turns to defend against an invading force by sowing confusion.

It was subtle, but effective. Harry approved.

He was already making plans to draw up a map as a side project, though it would probably take a while to fully map out the castle. It would definitely be a challenge; Harry was looking forward to it.

He had already found two hidden passageways.

One was hidden behind an old tapestry on the second floor and conveniently led to the bottom of his tower. The other he found while exploring the dungeons. When he had tripped and grabbed a torch bracket to steady himself, a door appeared in front of him that led to the Entrance Hall.

It was actually all a little confusing to him, so he wondered how normal students were supposed to find their way around the maze that was Hogwarts. Eventually, he decided that there was no point in trying to familiarise himself with the castle layout for the moment, so instead made his way back to his room.

Without pausing in his stride, Harry knelt down in front of his chest and took out one of the keys. He heard the usual click of the lock and opened the lid before climbing down and pulling it shut behind him.

This compartment was his training room. It was rather bare compared to the others, and it was mostly just a large empty space with nothing overly breakable. There were targets set up against the back wall, along with several dummies in dark robes that vaguely resembled humans that Harry assumed were supposed to be 'Dark Wizards'. They had been included in the package, so Harry didn't really care either way.

There were also several different sized cubes piled up in the corner. Some were made from wood while others looked to be metal and very heavy. Harry grabbed a wooden cube about the size of an apple and placed it on the floor in the middle of the room before stepping back.

Like all the compartments, with the exception of the Storage and Stasis room, there was a wooden perch set just inside the room for Poe to sit on, which she did the moment he moved to stand in the middle of the room.

Taking his Grimoire from under his arm, Harry held the book in his right hand and opened it, flipping through pages until he found the one he was looking for. Eventually he would be able to cast spells without even opening the Grimoire, but it was the equivalent of casting a spell nonverbally; therefore, it would take time and practice.

The page itself held a slight glow, not strong to light a room, but enough that Harry would be able to read it in the dark without straining his eyes. Holding out his left hand towards the cube, Harry took a moment to brace himself- after all, this was going to be the first actual spell he cast. He didn't want it to blow up in his face.

"Wingardium Leviosa," Harry said in a strong and clear tone, making sure he pronounced the spell correctly.

The chain gave off a very faint glow as the weak spell was cast, and the cube slowly lifted into the air before coming to a stop eye level with Harry.

Where most kids his age would be delighted at casting their first spell, Harry showed no outward sign of accomplishment. After all, it was a very simple spell and was very limited. All it could do was lift things up or down, not move them around. That was more advanced, yet was still considered a basic spell.

After holding the spell for a full minute to be sure he had it right, Harry stopped supplying the power and the cube dropped to the floor with a dull thud.

Without looking at the cube, Harry started flipping through pages again before stopping a moment later and once again holding out his arm.

"Flopendo," he said.

Again, the chain glowed faintly, but only for second before a small ball of pale blue light shot from Harry's hand and hit the cube. However, instead of sending it flying back like he wanted it to, it only pushed it an inch before stopping.

Frowning at his lack of success, Harry turned back to the page he was using for the spell before realising what he did wrong.

"Flipendo," Harry said again.

This time, when the chain started to glow, Harry held onto the spell and let it build up instead of just sending it straight off. He could actually feel the pressure building up as the chain's glow got stronger and stronger. Sweat was starting to build on his brow and he began to struggle with holding the spell.

When he finally couldn't hold the spell back anymore, Harry let it go.

When the spell hit the cube, it definitely moved more than an inch. As if shot from a cannon, the cube flew across the room where it exploded into splinters once it hit the magically reinforced wall. Blinking slowly, he walked over to look at the pile of splinters. Harry once again frowned as he looked back at the page.

It seemed some spells were more tricky then others to control. He needed to teach himself how to judge the right amount of power to put into a spell, it seemed. Too little, and practically nothing happened; too much, and he risked damaging either himself or the things around him.

This was going to take some time.

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Hope you liked it :)

There was a scene in there where the idea was given to me in a Review by 'Zangoules', he/she knows what it was ;)