A/N: Don't forget about the poll! :D

Fun Fact: I have alternate fates for all my OCs from this story, and how their lives would be in Canon, except Rose as its her existence that changes everything.


(Henry POV)

I could see the High Table properly now and as I looked, I made sure to look at each teacher properly. At the end, farthest from us sat Hagrid, who caught my eye and gave me a thumbs up when I smiled widely at him.

And there, in the center of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. I recognized him at once, his silver hair being the only thing in the whole hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts. It felt weird to have heard so many good things about him and yet, have to hide so many secrets from him. Of course we couldn't get close to him and had to keep our minds closed at all times, but I smiled up at him regardless, knowing that kindness was the best option.

Then looking over, I spotted Dad again and we grinned at one another and shot finger guns. I loved my dad and considered him also one of my best friends, so it would be nice to have him here.

Then I spotted Professor Quirrell, too, the nervous young man from the Leaky Cauldron. He was looking very peculiar in a large purple turban now, but who was I to judge what he'd gotten up to these last few weeks.

I shook my head as I looked now at the kids around me. There was Harry of course, who sat to my immediate left, then there was a girl that sat on my right, who was probably a year or two older, as she hadn't been sorted with us. Next, there was Malfoy, who sat in front of her but a bit to the right and two thuggish looking boys that sat at either side of him, and then there was a girl with a face that honestly reminded me of a pug that sat beside the boy to Malfoy's right.

"So, you got into Slytherin." Malfoy said and I shrugged.

"We're just grateful to be here, not everything is about where you do or don't fit in. Life's about learning and I guess I'm meant to be here to learn."

"Uh-huh." He didn't really seem to be listening, let alone care about what I'd said so I sighed dramatically. What a prat.

"I like that."

I turned to the girl sitting beside me and smiled. "Thanks, I'm Henry by the way." I held out a hand and with a firm grasp, she took it and shook it.

"Uriella, but I like to go by Urie." She was a pretty girl, with sharp features, a bigger nose, olive skin tone, dark hair and gray eyes that seemed to change colors each time I looked at her. If I had to guess, I'd say she was Jewish of some kind, but I wouldn't be surprised either if she wasn't.

Looking suddenly down at my empty gold plate. I had only just realized how hungry I was. The treats on the train seemed ages ago.

Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at all the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see us all here. "Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

"Thank you!"

He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. I looked at Harry, unsure

whether I should laugh or not.

"Is he — a bit mad?" Harry asked.

"Mad?" Draco said. "My father thinks he is absolutely nuts. I don't wanna talk about him though and you guys should eat."

My mouth fell open as I looked down. The dishes in front of us were now piled with food. Despite the big family I come from, I've never seen so many things I liked to eat all on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.

Mum and dad had never starved us by any stretch of the imagination, but I'd never seen this much food before. Lucky for me, I knew portion control, unlike our cousin, Dudley, though since Aunt Petunia had divorced her husband, he seems to be doing better. Looking at Harry, I saw he'd piled his plate with a bit of everything except the peppermints and had begun to eat, so digging in, I did the same, though I decided to try the peppermints.

It was all so delicious.

When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate eclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding...

"I'm in Heaven." I said and Harry laughed as he helped himself to a Treacle tart while I just grabbed an entire block of ice cream. Yes, if I could manage it, I would eat this whole thing.

As we ate dessert now, the topic of the table turned to families. We learned that Draco came from an ancient pureblood line of magical wizards and though his dad was pretty hard on him and he often found it annoying, he still wanted to make his parents proud and would stop at nothing to do so.

Then we found out that Urie had been mostly raised by nannies and a house elf, because her conception was a whole scandal of sorts and her father wanted nothing to do with her, though he was forced to take her by her teen mother, who hadn't been ready for a child. So being forced with the decision to take his daughter or be outed for cheating on his wife by the woman he cheated with, he took the baby and essentially left her with a nursemaid all the time, though she does have her own house elf and places she goes to during summer.

"Well, I'm sure you've found a good home in Slytherin." Malfoy said. "Here is where Successes are made. In Slytherin, the weak aren't forgotten like in other houses, but trained to be strong, powerful witches and wizards. If your father is an arse and your mother a cow, then you don't need them."

I smiled, actually surprised at the kind words that came out of the blond boy's mouth, even if they were still kind of mean, it was what they represented that counted, right?

"Yeah, last year was really great." Urie said as she ate a piece of pie. "I didn't have many friends though, but this year, I plan to work more on socializing, since that's also a big part of being successful, sadly."

We laughed at the antisocial humor, "So you're a second year?"

"I'm supposed to be, I failed 60% of my classes last year, so I have to retake the whole year."

"That sucks." With a shrug, Urie smiled gently, then looked at Harry and I.

"What about you guys?"

"Well." I said, glad Mum had raised us with this fake story always told to us. "We're halfblooded, though our father comes from a long line of pure blooded wizards, he married a muggle."

Malfoy scrunched his nose. "Ew, muggleblooded."

"I mean, we're good enough to be in Slytherin, plus there have been plenty of great halfbloods that came through Hogwarts before us." I shrugged and after a moment, Malfoy shrugged as well.

"Honestly, I don't trust muggles at all. Especially after learning about all the horrible things they've done to those in the magical community." Malfoy said and after a moment of thought, I replied.

"I get that, but they hurt us because they're scared of us. It's really for the same reason we fear werewolves and vampires. We don't know much about them and it's human nature to be scared of the unknown and also to try and eliminate those who post a threat, meaning to eliminate anything they fear, because fear can make someone perceive actually harmless things as a threat."

Malfoy thought for a moment, as if really considering my words, then slowly, he nodded. "I can see that, but it doesn't mean I like them." I nodded, maybe he wouldn't be the worst person ever.

I sighed as I sunk low into my seat. I was beginning to feel all warm and sleepy and looking at my brother, I could tell he was feeling the same way, so pushing my plate a little away from me, I looked up at the High Table again. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet. Professor McGonagall was talking to Professor Dumbledore. Dad was having a cheerful conversation with two other teachers and Professor Quirrell, in his absurd turban, was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin.

It happened very suddenly. The hook-nosed teacher looked past Quirrell's turban straight into my eyes and as our eyes met, I felt as if someone was trying to pierce the barriers that Harry and I had worked so hard to build over the last three years. Then just as suddenly, Harry let out a cry of pain as he clapped his hands on his forehead, where his scar normally was.

"What is it?" asked Draco.

"N-nothing." He looked away from the teachers table for a moment, then as he glanced back at it he added, "Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?"

"Oh, you know Professor Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He's the head of Slytherin and teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to, though he's brilliant at it. Everyone knows he'd much prefer teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. He probably knows a lot more than Quirrell about the subject." It was an older Slytherin I didn't know that explained this and I nodded politely in return.

I looked at Harry, who watched Snape for a while, but Snape didn't look at either of them again.

At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.

"Ahem - just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.

"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins and looking over, I grinned at them, though they didn't appear to see it.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Harry and I laughed, but we were one of the few who did.

"He's not serious?" I looked at Urie, who'd scrunched up her face and was looking up at Dumbledore in confusion.

"Must be," she finally said, still frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere - the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he has his reasons though."

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Looking around, I noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed.

Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.

"Everyone, pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"

And the school bellowed:

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,

Teach us something please,

Whether we be old and bald

Or young with scabby knees,

Our heads could do with filling

With some interesting stuff,

For now they're bare and full of air,

Dead flies and bits of fluff,

So teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we've forgot, just do your best, we'll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot."

Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.

"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

I followed now as the Slytherin first years followed a prefect by the name of Dan through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and down some stone steps that lead down to our house, which was in the dungeons. Honestly, I thought that sounded scary at first, but the more I thought about it, the cooler it seemed.

As we walked, I found that once more, my legs were as heavy as lead, but only because I was so full of food and exhausted. I was too sleepy even to be worried whether or not our bags would be in the right house. If not, I'd find my stuff tomorrow. We walked now through a labyrinth of hallways, yawning and dragging our feet, and I was just wondering how much farther we had to go when we came to a sudden halt.

"This is where you'll give the password." said Dan, then with his head held high, he said, "in omnibus quæ pura." Immediately, the wall began to slide sideways and not waiting, everyone began to push in after Dan.

As we came through, Dan directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the bottom of a spiral staircase - we were obviously under the lake now - we found our beds at last: five four-posters hung with velvety, jade green curtains. Our trunks had already been brought up and I was glad to find that I was right next to Harry and by the window, which had a beautiful view of the lake, where I could imagine that if the curtains were open, they would cast a blueish green ambient light into the room. Too tired to talk much, we all pulled on our pajamas and fell into bed.

"Great food, isn't it?" Harry muttered through the hangings.

I mumbled something and was then going to clarify and ask him if he'd had any of the ice cream, but I ended up falling asleep before I'd even finished the thought.