Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I claim ownership of anything that I write about which is previously claimed by J.K. Rowling. I am writing this piece of fiction solely for the purpose of writing and am gaining nothing from this in the way of compensation.

This is a day late, as most of my new chapters will be posted a week after the last, so sorry about that. I will follow that update schedule unless there are circumstances that cause me to be late.

Thank you all for your support, enjoy.

-Parseltongue-

Harry sat in a compartment on the Howarts Express, quietly reading a book. He'd made sure to arrive early so that he could watch the other students for a chance to guage their mannerisms and interactions with others. This decision was two part, one of a serious nature, the other the whim of an, admitedly mature, eleven-year-old boy.

He had heard the description of many of the pureblood nobles from Nagini, but he wanted to see their children and how they differed from the descriptions of their parents. The Malfoy situation earlier that week had left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He was by no means a political savant, but he had learned enough to read old Prophet articles and understand the issues that had come up since Voldemort had been destroyed. The Wizengamot was constantly at an impasse, the Dark followers using their clout and coin to expertly gain public and in-session support, while Dumbledore as Chief Warlock and a pulpit powerhouse of his own, used his base and supporters to counter all motions and bills that were more-or-less malignant to society, allowing the benign.

This had caused no short amount of arguing and blustering within the house, leading to a stagnant situation that was causing society to come to a hault. No new buisnesses were being opened, more and more muggleborns were leaving to return to their birthplace to find employment and acceptance, and legislation that aided the economy was grinding through at a snail's pace.

The whole matter could be placed at the feet of the two opposing factions of the last war.

Thinking on the war brought forth more memories and information about the Blood War and what was fought for by whom.

The Dark, so named due to its connection to the practice of Dark Magic, preached the superiority of those who had no muggle blood in their families for generation upon generation, and felt disgusted by those who did, who pandered to the whims of the muggleborns. All who fought them were labeled blood traitors, a heinous term describing those who turned their back on magic.

They praised those who had stayed pure, yet they slaughtered many of their own like hypocrits: the Bones, Longbottom, and McKinnon families to name a few.

He snorted at that thought. They most likely joined the pureblood cause at first, but their master cared little for those who opposed him. Even if his followers disliked their orders, they had come far too under his sway to think about voicing their doubts, much less contimplate treachery.

Their main opponents was actually a vigilante group. Nagini had spoken of the Order of the Phoenix and how they called themselves the Light. He scoffed, did they truly believe that their world was safe and that some heavier restriction would drive away the new wizards and witches? True, they couldn't get vows from the parents of muggleborns or muggles in-the-know, them not having internal magic to make them binding, but he had heard of others of their kind galivanting around the muggles in clothing so out of date or wrong, that there was bound to be notice. They crowed muggle rights, but did they have a problem sending an obliviator to tamper with their minds, that had no magic to help itself cope with the forceful semi-amnesia? No.

No, they each had their own solid points, but they also had areas in which they were either stupid or willfully ignorant, something he couldn't stand.

He was broken from his thoughts by voices and other noises showing up outside the train, signaling that the rest of the new and returning students and their families entering the platform.

He turned to observe them from his window, already seeing the class differences between the wealth and the rest, and spying his first child of a Death Eater. He bore the Nott crest, leading to the assumption that he was Theodore Nott.

The Nott family has always been at the healm of society, known as great scholars and researchers. One of the more notorious members of the family was Cantankerus-that name was telling-Nott, the one supposedly to have coined the term 'the sacred twenty-eight', as he was believed to have written a symposium on the pride of the twenty-eight families who had supposedly remained 'truly' pure.

The current Lord Nott was Thadeus Nott, Cantankerus' grandson and one of the Death Eaters released on basis of the Imperius Curse, a fallacy at best.

Nagini had told him that many of those who had been released in this manner had been some of the most faithful, taking pleasure and pride in their deeds.

The Nott heir, for he could see a ring on his right hand, was stone faced next to his mother, a stately woman who looked to be of noble birth. They both gave a polite farewell before he strode up and into the train with purpose, no doubt having been instructed by the missing Thadeus to search for the children of allies and to converse with them, making his own allies within the school.

He saw a number of others in Nott's situation: Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle in his year.

He could also see that the Parkinson girl, Pansy he assumed, was rather odd with her face, reminisent of a certain dog, twisted between a haughty sneer and pure nervousness. He thought she looked rather constipated.

He didn't quite remember the young Crabbe and Goyle boys' names off the top of his head, Nagini would scold him for that later, but they were ones to watch out for.

Many assumed that the general displeasant looks of the two families was sign of their lesser being, but that was far from the truth. Their fathers were Voldemort's two battering rams when neccessary. They didn't quite have the great knowledge of the others, but they were part of Slytherin house for a reason. They were both vicious, and they were said to have taken down a dozen aurors on their own during the raid on Edgar Bones and his family.

That was another part of why he was observing these children, seeing if they had any inclination to be as dangerous as their parents, even if it was early on.

He saw a few others of interest as he gazed, the Dowager Longbottom and the heir, Neville, the Weasly family in all of its Prewett-red glory, Draco Malfoy and the Lady Malfoy looking as one would expect of their station, and a girl he didn't recognize whose eyes were darting around in amazement. Her hair was a point of interest itself.

Finally, as the train began to fill more and more, he looked back to his compartment and began to look through his book again, waiting for anyone to try to sit with him. He was sure it would be funny.

After a few minutes, the train began moving, and he was honestly surprised that no one had tried him yet.

As though he had tempted the fates, there was a knock on the door before it opened to reveal the youngest Weasley boy he had seen on the platform.

"Hey, there isn't much room in the other compartments, so it's kinda crowded. Can I sit here?" he looked too hopeful to turn away.

"Of course, you can join me if you wish" he did so, stowing his slightly ratty trunk above us "My name is Harrison, of the houses Gaunt and Peverell"

He didn't offer his hand, as was custom when meeting someone of a lesser peerage. The Weasley looked at him wierdly, then scrunched his nose a bit while eyeing his clothing.

Weasley tentatlively replied "I'm Ron Weasley."

Odd, but it was understandable. He had obviously expensive things, and he introduced himself as a high noble. The Weasly family was noticeably poor, but recovering after the current patriarch's father Septimus was fined heavilly by the Black family for marrying Cedrella Black when she was contractually betrothed to Abraxas Malfoy, costing the Black family to have to give the Malfoys her predescribed dowry.

That was actually the cause of the tensions and cool hostility between the Weasley and Malfoy families as well.

It was around this time that Nagini decided to show herself, probably sensing the new addition to the area. She was inside a box sitting next to him, as the inside was expanded by an elfin space-expansion charm by Clink before they had left home that morning.

The reaction was immediate

"What the Hell is that?!" Ron had jumped from his seat and was standing with his back to the door.

Nagini hissed a laugh, which made him give her a quick sideways glare.

"Don't worry, that is just my familiar Nagini. She really won't harm you"

"Won't harm me?! It's a bloody great snake! Are you daf-" he cut him off there.

"Stop" firm, it caused Ron's mouth to snap shut, he was pale, slightly shaking, and his eyes were jerking between he and Nagini as though they were Slytherin and his monster themselves.

"I said before that she is my familiar, Nagini. She won't attack you or harm you unless you harm me first, it's that simple."

He raised an eyebrow at the boy, challenging him. The Weasley's wouldn't be the best allies, but this could be a potential friend.

Ron's eyes gained a glassy, distant look as though he was stuck in his own turmulous thoughts and emotions. Finally, he seemed to snap back to himself, looking more weary than panicked, but there was a hint of disgust in his eyes, just a hint. That answered Harry's question for him.

"Just go if you have a problem, you obviously do" Ron gave him one more look before fleeing, completely forgetting his trunk in his haste to get away.

Harry sighed tiredly through his nose, then turned to look at his now unammused companion.

-I think that may be the norm for thisss trip, my friend-

She slithered over to him and flicked her tongue on his nose -Hatchling, not all people are asss cowardly asss that one-

He just nodded distractedly, running a hand down her spine to her pleasure.

There were no other guests to his compartment for another two hours or so, so Ron must have taken it as his personal mission to inform others of the 'bloody great snake'. If that were true though, he expected at least one of the on board prefects or professors to come and question him, but that seemed to not be the case.

He honestly felt like he should check into being a seer as the door to his compartment opened to reveal Neville Longbottom and the excited girl he noticed earler standing there, expressions changing immediately to shock then fear.

He sighed when they just stood there without moving "Is there something you needed?"

That appeared to snap the girl from her moment, as she seemed to draw herself up and put on a slightly bossy yet open countenance.

"I'm terribly sorry if we came off as being rude, but we were searching for Neville's" she gestured at the still frozen boy "toad. This was the last compartment we needed to check."

"Oh, then I'm sorry to say no. I haven't noticed a toad at all."

Longbottom obviously didn't hear what was being said, but she looked a tad dissapointed, giving a soft "Oh."

"Well, thank you anyway. Come along Neville, we'll have to ask a professor for help."

Just like that, she all but dragged the other away with her before closing the door. She was an interesting one, already deciding to help someone who was more than likely a perfect stranger to her. Though that brought to mind the fact that she was either a muggleborn or a muggle raised witch. She had seen the rings on his fingers from the way she had paused on them in her inspection of him, but she had brushed by that without participating in the typical greeting that a magical human would give upon noticing them, whether noble or not. She was helpful, unless she was only helping the boy because she had lost the toad in the first place, she wasn't, to be blunt, ugly, and she was a fresh face to the new world she had found herself in. He didn't even know her name, but he was sure he would find out more about her later. One thing was decided for sure though.

Harry Potter had just found his first target.

Hermione Granger was very much excited, in her honest opinion. Since she had been visited by professor Flitwick, a curious and intelligent man to be the head of Ravenclaw, and told that she was a witch, she seemed to gain a whole new appreciation for herself.

She was a witch! She was special, something that she had believed to be impossible beofre the fact, and it explained so many of the odd occurences that had taken place. So with her greater intellect, again of her own opinion, she had decided that she would stand above and beyond in this place, she would learn any and everything she could about the world she foundd herself thrust into.

There was so much she needed to know before she arrived at Hogwarts! What were the people like, what was the civilization like, what were the differences in culture?

It was a daunting task she had set herself to, but it was the only thing that she would accept, as she would never let herself be willfully ignorant of any situation she brought herself into, soemthing she could not stand of others.

Diagon Alley had amazed her, for lack of a better word. The shops and people semmingly sowed discord by their very existance, yet they all functioned together rather well. The goblins of Gringotts were comletely unlike what was regailed by Tolkein, more closely relating to his dwarves, and the simplistic banking and currency styles fascinated her all the more.

Though, through all of her enjoyment of her surroundings, she found her favorite places to have been Flourish and Blotts and Olivanders.

Her wand felt like nothing else she had ever handled, seemingly melding with her entire being in a rush of pure warmth and affection that should be unable to be produced from a section of wood and a clipping of an animal. Though, the proprieter of the shop was extremely odd, looking at her as though she was the Princess of Wales herself...

Her haven was the book shop, and she would have purchased every last thing they had in stock if money were no object. There were books and tomes and scrolls detailing subjects that came from the oldest of the folklore of Avalon, conjuring and dragons and Merlin himself!

She ended up having enough money saved from allowance over the years to buy quite the extra number of books though, ranging from history, expecially of Hogwarts, the core subjects she would be taking, arithmancy, runes, divination, so many many books.

As soon as she had gotten home, she tore through her purchases with a fervor unseen in the eleven-year-old previously, her keen mind retaining all the information she filled it with, her retention having always been hightened.

She learned everything she could, hoping to prove to herself that she was worthy of the gift she was given by being apart of a secret society that, if she read right, could whipe the minds of anything they wished.

One of the most interesting things she learned was from a book about the climax of the last two Dark Lords, Grindelwald and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

A boy younger than her had defeated the most powerful dark wizard of the century, then dissapeared from his relatives home without a trace. He had survived a curse that was known to be impossible to block, the spell passing through any type of shield physical or magical.

How had the boy done it? She honestly didn't believe that he had. If there were other wizards and witches who had monumental skills and power and intelligence who had been unable to stop it before, what made the boy so special? She read about his dissapearance a few nights after the attack, and that he had never been found with no evidence of what could have happened.

That had thrown some cold water on her happiness as she descovered the wretched side of the world she was entering into.

She was thought of as many in the Wizarding World as nothing but a third-class citizen worth less than the dirt on their boots. There were terrible people there just like there were terrible people in the rest of thr world, and it was somehting she would have to be aware of. She had seen first hand on her second trip to find more books that some of the purebloods treated others as though they should be exterminated, calling them wretched names like mudblood and filth.

The splendor of the place was also dampened by the fact that many Death Eaters were still at large, and other dark wizard and witch sympathizers would and could go after her for no reason whatsoever. She vowed to herself that she would prepare for any eventuality, while silently doing the same to herself to prove to those who looked down on people like her that they could be better than them.

On the day she was supposed to board the Hogwarts Express, she had double-checked to make sure that everything she needed was in her trunk, and hugged her parents tightly before entering through the magical barrier at Kings Cross Station. Just like in the Alley, there was pandemonium as trolleys and families and animals all converged on the platform before a gorgeous red steam engine.

Her eyes darted around to take in all the sensations of the place, storing them away in her mind to think over for years to come.

Sitting in her compartment, she pulled out a book on potions ingrediant preperation that Mr. Flourish had told her was a must have for the class. It was only a few minutes later that there was a knock on the door and she grew excited. What if this was someone she could talk to and make friends with? Friends were a commodity she wasn't afforded back in her home town, so she was ever so excited to find someone to speak with about this new place she found herself in.

The door opened to reveal a slightly pudgy, blond boy with a red face.

"He-Hello, d-do you mind if I sit here?" He looked defeated, as though her answer would automatically be no.

She frowned, which made the boy lower his eyes, before she smiled brightly back.

"Of course you can sit with me. I'm Hermione Granger by the way."

The boy looked up at her, startled - something she would find more about later - before hesitantly stepping into the compartment and stowing his trunk next to hers.

There was silence for a few moments, Hermione shifted akwardly while the boy fixed his eyes determinidley on a spot on the floor. Finally she broke the quiet.

"So, what's your name?" the boy jumped slightly and looked at her wide eyed.

"Um, I'm Longbottom, Neville Longbottom, heir Longbottom." his voice was soft, slightly hard to hear.

"Oh, heir Longbottom? Does that mean you're the heir to the Longbottom lordship?" she was curious about this as it was only briefly mentioned in the books on magical society.

He looked down and mumbled his answer, making her sigh before she just decided to drop it. She was slightly dissapointed that the first person she met was barely able to speak for himself, much less become her friend.

There was another akward silence for the next hour or so as the two delved into their thougths, but this ended when Neville gave a slightly startled cry, shocking her out of hers. She saw he was frantically searching for something on his person, then around the compartment. He sat back in his seat, looking as though he wanted to have a cry.

"Where's Trevor? I can't lose him, Gran would kill me!"

She was shocked for a moment at the forcefullness in his voice, before her mind sang to her that this could be her oppurtunity to get an in with the quiet boy.

"Excuse me Neville, but who's Trevor?" he snapped his head to face her, looking rather shy once again.

"Oh, um, he's my toad. My Uncle Algie gave him to me, but I've lost him! I don't know what to do."

"Well, why don't I help you look for him? Since you checked, he's obviously not in here, so why don't we check the rest of the train?" he looked hopeful, which was a point to her plan in her mind.

"Th-Thanks, Hermione." she beamed back at him, before they both stood and left the compartment.

She was slightly frustrated that they hadn't found it yet, and was guiltily feeling like she wished she hadn't offered to help. No! She was going to see this through if it was the last she did! She would not go to a professor unless she needed to, wanting to show them and herself that she could do something without an authority figure holding her hand.

She and Neville had started at the front of the train and gone through checking on either side until they were at the last compartment to be checked, so straightening up, she knocked on the door before opening it.

She wasn't prepared.

Her body froze, but her mind worked furiously to take in everything about the room she just stepped into. The most obvious thing would be some type of reticulated python, looking straight into her eyes. It was coiled next to a boy around her age, with long and wavy black hair, pale-green eyes, and olive skin. He was looking at them in what appeared to be exhasperation. She numbly noticed in her scared state that Neville had gone totally still next to her.

He sighed before speaking up in a slightly accented voice, sounding somewhat Spanish if she remembered correctly.

"Is there something you needed?" there was the barest hint of impatience.

She shook herself of her stupor, noting that the snake hadn't made a move, probably meaning it wasn't going to attack unprovoked, and put on a, hopefully, strong and warm expression.

"I'm terribly sorry if we came off as being rude, but we were searching for Neville's" she gestured vaguely beside her "toad. This was the last compartment we needed to check."

He looked at them for a moment "Oh, then I'm sorry to say no. I haven't noticed a toad at all."

She deflated a bit, dissapointment filling her for the second time that day as she realized she would have to get help from either an older student or one of the onboard professors.

"Oh." then she added "Well, thank you anyway. Come along Neville, we'll have to ask a professor for help."

She took ahold of the still terrified boy's sleeve and forcibely pulled him from the compartment while closing the door behind her.

As she led her companion towards the professors' area, she thought of the boy and the serpent, for that was no mere snake. If his expressions were anything to go by, then they weren't the first people to have issues with his pet. He was also an heir of a lordship if the rings on his fingers were anything to go by, but other than that he was a complete mystery to her. She did adore a good mystery. He also seemed quite lonely, sitting there without anyone to speak to who could speak back.

In the depths of her mind, she also realized he was rather striking, his appearance the difinition of a dark prince like she read about as a child.

She didn't even have his name, nor did she give him hers. She would just have to find out more about him during and after the sorting ceremony, whatever that was going to be.

A while later as the train began to slow down, sitting in her compartment again with Neville cuddling his previously summoned pet to himself happily, she felt that Hogwarts was going to be extremelly interesting.

The ambient magic in the air around Hogwarts stirred as magic similar to her creators came closer. The grand castle seemed to shift and groan, startling the teachers inside except for three. Albus and Minerva shared a significant look, each thinking of the boy that would enter these halls in a matter of minutes, but there was a third that felt the school's unrest, silently contemplating what this would mean for the future.