[A/N] Before we start this story, I understand some of you have reviewed regarding Sirius and the age ranges. My apologies for not making it clear, but yes, it is an AU - Sirius will be the same age as Harry and Bellatrix. and Regulus has been aged up similarly as well. Enjoy.

The hoots of owls weren't a rare sound for Harry to hear. Ever since he'd gotten Hedwig, he'd kept up in correspondence with Bellatrix and Arthur, at least when they hadn't met physically. He was happy to say that he'd begun to get closer to the both of them. Arthur and Cedrella Weasley were mainstays for Diagon Alley, and as such Harry got plenty of opportunities to goof around with Arthur around the street.

Inwardly, he'd always be grateful that Arthur took such a quick liking to him. He was a relatively shy boy, he wasn't the type to venture out and be sociable in much capacity. The fact that Arthur had essentially popped up and declared them friends pleased Harry. He didn't have to go through that awkward phase of feeling out the other person.

Bellatrix was similar to a point. They'd gotten closer, or at least Harry thought so. How much closer was up for debate. Occasionally, Bellatrix would sneak away from her parents and he'd find her in the playground or such. Aurors and Acolytes games were getting rather competitive these days. Harry was figuring out Bellatrix's patterns and tell-tale signs while Bellatrix had to constantly innovate her approach to stay out of Harry's grasp. When they got bored of trying to catch each other, they played Wizard's Hopscotch or engaged in mock duels - which was terminally unfair considering the fact that Bellatrix could actually throw some magic at Harry whereas all Harry had was shouting out incantations aloud. He did, however, enjoy learning about some of the things he was shouting about. She'd picked up a stick and taught him how to do his future wand movements for things like Stinging Hexes and a spell that supposedly turned his future wand into a firehose. He recalled their latest lesson;

"Flick your wrist Potter! Like this! Like this!" Bellatrix exasperatedly sighed and demonstrated how to twist and turn her wrist whilst holding onto a foot long stick she'd found on the ground.

Harry could have sworn he was doing the exact same movements as her, right down to the little wiggle of the stick at the end. But he humoured her anyway.

"Aguamenti!" Harry cried out, flicking his own thin stick as Bellatrix had shown.

She slapped a hand to her forehead and groaned, "You're rubbish at this Harry…"

Indignance rose in the boy. Harry screwed his face into a grimace, "I'm doing the exact same thing!"

"You haven't got any finesse to it!" Bellatrix snapped back, "It's so… crude!"

"Urgh, whatever!" Harry tossed his stick back over his head in frustration. He walked by the playground slide and took a seat in one of the swings.

"How'd you even learn all of this anyway, Bellatrix? I thought they taught us these things at school?" Harry questioned.

Bellatrix strode up in front of him and crossed her arms, nose high in the air proudly, "I read ahead! Father keeps books around the living room for show. Most of them were too boring to read but there was one book that taught beginner spells."

Harry scoffed jokingly, "And here I thought it was just natural talent. Turns out you're secretly a bookworm…"

Bellatrix glared down at him with fury, and every word she spoke was punctuated with jabbing Harry in the cheek with her makeshift wand, "I. Am. Not. A. Bookworm!"

Harry chuckled at her irritation, adding fuel to the fire. He raised his hands in surrender and leaned back away from the pointy object, lest Aunt Petunia's constant warnings about poking someone's eye out came true. Although he doubted Aunt Petunia would care very much if it was his eye that got poked.

"I'm just having a bit of fun Bellatrix. I'm glad you're reading ahead honestly…"

"Oh?" Bellatrix looked intrigued, "And why is that?"

Harry gave a non committed shrug, "I just think it's good to do…"

In truth, Harry couldn't admit that he was glad she could pull her own weight when it came to school work. He'd had enough of doing Dudley's homework for him. And by the look of things, Bellatrix could certainly bully him into doing her homework as much as Dudley could if she was inclined to do so.

For her part, Bellatrix gained a mischievous glint in her eye as she grinned, "Ho ho, good to do huh? Are you sure it's not because you're expecting me to come and defend you from the bullies?"

"W-Wha-" Harry sputtered. How did his point get hijacked like this?

Bellatrix's grin widened as she continued to tease Harry, grabbing him by the arm to prove a point, "Look at you, thinner than a twig…"

She plucked his glasses off his face.

"Hey!" Harry protested, she ignored it.

She faked inspecting the glasses closely, "Hmm… eyesight worse than a mole…"

She tossed the glasses back at him and Harry was relieved to gain back some clear vision.

Thwack! Bellatrix slapped Harry's wrist with her stick.

"Ouch!" Harry yelped. He rubbed the sore red outline.

"Can't handle a wand to save your life…" she tutted.

Bellatrix pointed her stick at Harry and smirked, "You'd get eaten alive in Slytherin like this! So you want to stick with me, feared Bellatrix of the famous Black family, so that they don't touch you!"

"Hey! I'm not friends with you to keep bullies away!" Harry protested, "I'm friends with you because I like you!"

Harry missed Bellatrix's eyes widening a little.

"And I can handle my own bullies, thank you very much!" he huffed in annoyance.

Bellatrix grinned widely, "What's this Harry? You can give jokes but can't take them?"

Harry rolled his eyes as he rubbed the spot on his wrist that she swiped, "That's just being mean and you know it!"

"You're a boy, Harry… Stop being so sensitive," Bellatrix poked him in the side with her stick one last time before beginning to walk off as she tossed Harry a branch she plucked from the ground, "C'mere, let's continue practicing your form for Aguamenti."

Harry grumbled under his breath as he got up to follow her. He spotted something out of the corner of his eye and his own mischievous grin started forming.

Bellatrix took her stance and called out, "Alright sho-"

"Actually," Harry interrupted, "Could we do it here next to the fountain? Maybe if I'm around water it'll help me to focus more on the wrist work."

Bellatrix raised an eyebrow but relented nonetheless. She plodded along and stood in front of him with a scrutinising gaze. "Well, go on then waterboy."

Harry gave a badly acted show of concentration and focus. He shut his eyes and pretended to trace the movements of his 'wand'. He opened them with a look of fierce determination.

"Aguamenti!" he yelled, except this time rather than following any of the prescribed wand movements; he dropped his stick entirely and cupped both hands together to splash a copious amount of fountain water onto Bellatrix.

She sputtered and spat as she stood in shock as the watery assault. She recollected herself and spotted Harry hightailing it out of the playground as quickly as he could. She heard him laughing.

"I'm going to beat you to death, Potter!" She shouted as brandished her stick dangerously and gave chase.

He giggled as he remembered that day. Specifically the drenched and shocked look on her face. She'd caught up to him surprisingly fast. She hit him a couple of times with the stick. His forearms still had the bruises but at the time he was hurting more from the pain in his gut from laughing so much than the stings of the strikes. She gave up on hitting him when he couldn't stop laughing. It was made worse when her wet hair stuck to her face, giving her the look of a disheveled banshee. She found the humour in it eventually, shaking her head with a smile.

But other than these brief playtimes, their communication was limited to owls. And even then, there was a limit to how many Bellatrix could send. Whether it was because of her parents, or because Mars just didn't like the boy, he'd never know.

He let his thoughts wander as he stared at the broom in the corner of his room, propped up against his wardrobe. His gift from old man Faust and the residents of Diagon Alley. He'd taken to riding a broom like fish to water. Nothing made him happier than feeling the cool wind rush past his face as he soared through the skies on his broom. The freedom of flying gave Harry a sense of indescribable peace. In the skies was where he found his joy. It was a shame that Arthur could rarely fly with him. Harry usually flew during his breaks from helping out in the Leaky Cauldron, during which Arthur was generally not free. He wrote to Bellatrix once about flying together. The response he received was less than enthusiastic,

'I'll blast a hole in you before riding one of those voluntarily,' was Bellatrix's succinct reply to the proposal. Harry chuckled to himself as he remembered it. She'd seemed alright taking the broom after their escapade in Muggle London but he chalked it up to the pressure of the situation at the time.

'Surely she knows we have flying lessons in Hogwarts…' Harry wondered. Arthur had given him a brief recount of the things they'd teach in Hogwarts, one of which was flying on a broom. Arthur was a treasure trove of information about Hogwarts since he could glean it from his older brothers in the school.

Deciding it wouldn't be his problem, he shrugged his shoulders. Whomever it was instructing them had better be prepared to deal with an angry Bellatrix.

He was disturbed from his daydreams of how Bellatrix would verbally assault whichever teacher gave her a broom by a pecking sound on his window. He turned his head to see a familiar regal black owl perched outside of it. He knew he was reading too much into it, but Harry could have sworn that Mars only looked at Harry with that kind of disdain in its birdy black eyes. He hurriedly undid the clasp on his window and let the monstrosity into his room.

Mars stepped over the window's threshold magnanimously, as if it was his room that Harry was in, not the other way around. He puffed his chest and gave a small nod and hoot of acknowledgement to the snowy white owl resting in the open cage on the nightstand.

Now Harry was sure he was seeing things. He saw Hedwig give what was essentially a roll of her eyes and looked away, settling back into her restful nap. Mars turned his head back towards Harry and stuck his leg out, a message attached.

He eagerly undid the little knot on the parchment and poured a little water into a saucer with small bits of fish, courtesy of Mr. Flint, as a refresher for the black owl. He ate the morsels of haddock and sipped enough water to satisfy himself. He looked at Harry expectantly, but Harry waved him off, gesturing to the napping Hedwig that he'd send a reply later through her. Mars hooted and took off, the gust from its takeoff messing up Harry's fringe a little.

He giggled to himself as he looked between the retreating form of Mars, and Hedwig in her cage. 'The term 'love-birds' was made for this moment!'

He opened up the letter, no doubt from Bellatrix, and began to read her elegant handwriting. He scanned it line to line. His brows furrowed and eyes widened.

Harry wasn't quite sure how to respond to the letter he cradled in his fingers. He read it over and over, making sure his eyes weren't deceiving him.

Dear Harry Potter,

You are hereby invited to my eleventh birthday party, on the 20th of May, at the Black Residence in Salazar Boulevard.

Please respond to this letter by the 18th on whether you will attend or be absent.

My family will obviously be present at the party. Should anybody ask you, tell them you are a Potter and leave it at that.

Dress appropriately.

Regards,

Bellatrix Black.

Harry was grateful that Bellatrix would invite him to her birthday party. It was her first since he'd met her. But he couldn't figure out what 'dress appropriately' meant. Did he have to come in a shirt and trousers? Dress robes? Playing attire?

'Not sure why she specified to introduce myself as a Potter… Isn't it obvious?' Harry wondered. He chalked it up to caution on her part. Cautious for what though? He didn't know. Yet.

He hurriedly penned a response to Bellatrix and woke a grumpy Hedwig from her nap. He petted her apologetically and handed her the envelope. She took off from his windowsill, a bright white spot in the sky that slowly disappeared as it soared away towards wherever Bellatrix was.

Harry stood in front of the shop window with a hand on his chin, looking inquisitively at the products.

By his side was Arthur, who also stood with a curious gaze at the products in the shop window.

"What do you think, Harry? Think she might like one of those?" Arthur pointed a finger at a metal tin in the window.

Harry shook his head, "I don't think so…"

The boys hummed in sync.

"That- Oh, nevermind, someone just bought it…" Arthur went back to perusing the shop's displayed items.

Harry gave a defeated sigh, "What do I even get her? She's from some rich family isn't she?"

"Pretty rich, yeah,"

"Then what can I get her? She has everything she wants already…"

"I'm sure she's bound to not have something."

"I have a budget too Arthur…" Harry jingled the drawstring bag in his hand. His accumulated Galleons, Sickles and Knuts were going to come in handy today. The irony wasn't lost on Harry. The money he'd so adamantly tried refusing at the start of his pseudo-employment was about to fund Bellatrix's birthday present.

Harry gave a heaved sigh, "This is impossible…"

Arthur laughed at Harry's distress and slung an arm around his shoulder, "Well, maybe you could give her something edible instead?"

Harry considered the idea for a moment but cast it aside, "Don't know her tastes…"

"Flowers?" Arthur suggested.

"To repay her for that quill she got me…?"

"Good point…"

Both boys racked their brains in search of an answer to the conundrum - what to buy for Bellatrix Black's birthday.

"Well… maybe you're looking at it the wrong way Harry. I don't think you have to get her something of equal price, just get her something of equal value!" Arthur chipped in.

Harry looked at him dumbly, "You just said the same thing twice Arthur…"

"No, no… You use the quill a lot and she obviously took that into account when getting it for you. Maybe get her something that she uses a lot too? It'll be more valuable to her that way than some jewel encrusted paperweight," Arthur dispensed his wisdom.

"Brilliant idea Arthur!" Harry felt that they were getting somewhere now, "So what does she use often?"

Arthur leveled a disappointed gaze at Harry, "Mate, you're the one playing catch with her on a weekly basis."

"Right…" Harry at least had the decency to look abashed.

"Don't tell me you don't have any idea on what she could want?" Arthur questioned Harry.

"Damn it Arthur, if I had an idea we wouldn't be discussing this!" Harry retorted.

"How can you not have any clue?! You hang out with her so often!"

"She already has everything money could buy! Or at least what my money can buy!"

"Then make her something!" Arthur exclaimed.

That seemed to shut Harry up into an inquisitive silence. The gears were turning in his head. It was admittedly a decent idea, handmade stuff was always nice to receive. But what could he make for Bellatrix?

Arthur waved a hand in front of Harry's face, "You still with us mate?"

Harry shook himself out of his thoughts, "Thanks for the suggestion Arthur. I'm going to try and make something…"

"Like?"

"Haven't got a clue…" Harry admitted in defeat.

Arthur let out a long sigh and picked up his brother's broom, "C'mon then, you can think about it while we fly."

Harry's body moved on its own as he picked up his broom. His mind was in its own figurative workshop with scattered blue prints and rusty machines. 'I'll plan three months ahead for this next year…'

The fireplace at the Leaky Cauldron hardly looked very inviting to step into. He'd done his best to clean the soot stains off the surroundings in the past few months but they were as stubborn as a mule. The blackened char on the masonry was there to stay for the long haul, to Harry's chagrin. Right now though, the ashy, grimy mess that was a fireplace occupied little of Harry's attention.

He fidgeted and adjusted his collar. He could never quite decide if he wanted to leave the top button open or closed. Open felt too casual. Too ruffian for the seemingly highfalutin affair. Closed, and it felt claustrophobic. He already felt constricted by his nerves, he didn't need to physically feel his shirt do its best to mimic a python. He had on a simple white buttoned shirt, trousers, suspenders, and black loafers; an attire born from Mdm. Malkin's suggestion to him. His hair was still left as an untamable mess. He'd tried to stick it down with product, but to no avail. He ended up washing all of it off.

He snuck a glance at the parcel he held in his underarm as he closed and opened the top button for the fifth time in the last two minutes. It was a rectangular box, about five inches in length. His gift to Bellatrix lay inside.

'I hope she likes it…'

Instinctively his hand went up to the top button of his shirt again before he heard Tom call out from the kitchen.

"You're going to pluck that button straight off if you keep playing with it! Stop standing there like a dandy and step through boy, you look fine!"

Harry smiled, "Thanks Mr. Tom! See you in a couple of hours!"

"Enjoy yourself!" was Tom's quick reply.

Harry took a deep breath and braced himself. The clump of green powder was starting to seep through his fingers. He stepped into the dirty fireplace and threw his powder down with force.

"Black Residence!"

Harry felt the familiar tumbling feeling as he started falling forward after he felt the gentle lick of the lukewarm flames. He was at Bellatrix's home once again. He took a couple steps forward to regain his balance as he shook his head to get his bearings again.

"And who are you?" he heard a girl ask.

Harry turned his head to the side, vision still slightly blurry from the soot getting into his eyes, and spotted a familiar face, "What are you talking about Bellatrix, you know it's me."

'Bellatrix' crossed her arms and looked rather displeased, "I don't know who you are at all. And for your information, I'm Andromeda Black. Bellatrix is elsewhere."

Harry perked his head at the revelation. He rubbed his eyes and looked at her clearly. She had much of the same features as Bellatrix. The only notable differences were that Bellatrix had black hair, whilst Andromeda had a soft brown. And Bellatrix looked meaner. Not that he'd ever say it out loud.

"I-I'm sorry, I couldn't see well earlier…" Harry gulped, nodding his apology to her.

Andromeda softened her glare but kept her arms crossed, "My sister's still upstairs. Mother and Father are in the dining room. You're a little early actually, none of the other guests have shown up yet."

Harry rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "I didn't want to be late…"

Andromeda gave a shrug, "Being early's a good habit."

"And who might this be?" the two kids heard someone ask. They turned to the hallway and saw a tall woman. She had slightly rounded features unlike Bellatrix and Andromeda, and blonde hair too. Her gaze was rather intimidating though. Harry felt like she was staring holes into his soul.

He gulped, 'Must be Bellatrix's mother.'

"Nice to meet you Ma'am. I'm Harry, Harry Potter. I'm here for Bellatrix's birthday," Harry recited weakly.

"So you're that Potter she's been owling with, at least you have the decency to dress smartly." She kept a critical eye on the boy.

"Yes Ma'am…" Harry responded.

She narrowed her eyes as she inspected Harry. Harry desperately fought the urge to cringe under such scrutiny. Finally she called out back towards the hallway, "Cygnus dear! One of Bellatrix's friends has arrived!"

He heard footsteps coming down from the hallway and into the living room entered Cygnus Black, Bellatrix's father.

Harry could tell how Bellatrix ended up with her sharp features and mean look. Cygnus had the same high and pronounced cheekbones, a strong jawline, and his black hair styled in a simple comb over with a finishing shine. Harry wouldn't describe Cygnus as old per say - he only looked to be in his late thirties at most, he just had the look of an angry old man. His gaze possessed little warmth. Grey eyes took in Harry from head to toe, and Harry desperately hoped they would reflect some form of approval.

Cygnus blinked and the hard look faded somewhat, and he finally spoke, "Welcome to my home. I'm sure my daughter will be pleased that you're here. You may accompany her upstairs until more of the guests have arrived."

Cygnus gave a nod to the staircase and Harry didn't have to be told twice to skedaddle. While he was halfway up, he heard Cygnus call out to him again.

"Boy, don't you know it's rude not to introduce yourself?" He asked.

Harry saw Andromeda about to introduce him to her father but a raised hand from Cygnus stopped her as he stared at Harry.

Harry stood his ground. He looked Cygnus in the eye and mustered as much courage as he could to maintain eye contact, "Sorry Sir. I'm Harry, Harry Potter. It's a pleasure to meet you Sir."

Cygnus seemed to evaluate the boy for a bit before giving another nod to signal that Harry was officially dismissed, "Enjoy the celebration then, Mr. Potter"

Harry walked up as fast as he could without breaking into a run or sprint. He spotted Bellatrix's door, the same one he exited back when they made their escape from the veritable mansion.

He gave a knock on the door, the gift fumbling a little awkwardly in his arm.

"Come in!" Bellatrix shouted from the inside.

Harry gave the knob a turn and walked into the room, finding Bellatrix sprawled on her bed reading a book. He couldn't quite make out the title from where he was but it was a thin book in a purple cover.

Bellatrix peeked over the book and burst into a wide smile as she saw Harry. "Harry! You made it!"

She swung her legs down the bed and sprung herself off, tossing the book onto her pillow. She paused as she took in the look of her friend though.

"What are you wearing?" she asked.

Harry paused his congratulations and looked down at his attire, he fussed over it thinking something was out of place, "What's wrong with it?"

Bellatrix raised an eyebrow, "A little formal there, Mr. Potter…"

Harry felt his face flush, "I-I thought, um, that-"

"That because my family's rich, you had to dress like that?" Bellatrix smirked.

Harry was about to retort but she'd hit the nail on its head. He gave up and simply nodded.

Bellatrix burst into laughter, "Oh Harry… You look like someone's employee! Have some dignity! Casual attire would have been fine… We're only eleven."

Harry wrinkled his nose, "But I am someone's employee…"

She wiped a tear from her eye, "You don't have to look the part when you're not on the job do you?"

Harry muttered a few select words under his breath. He stuck his hand out, holding the rectangular box, "Here, Happy Birthday Bellatrix."

She settled from her laughing fit and looked surprised at the gift. "Why thank you Harry."

She reached out to take it from him. She held it near her ear and shook it. Hearing it rattle about slightly she smiled.

"I'm opening it!" she declared before starting to pull the ribbon off.

"Wha- Hey! You're supposed to open it after your guests leave!" Harry scolded.

She pouted, "It's my gift, I'll open it whenever I want!"

Harry sorely resisted the temptation to smack his forehead with his palm. Normally he wouldn't have bothered. He knew Bellatrix cared little for things like rules or norms. But he was worried she might find his gift… cheap. Or disappointing in any other manner.

"Fine, do what you want…" Harry gave in.

Bellatrix grinned, "Such a softie…"

She pulled the ribbon off the box and lifted the cover. She gasped as she saw it. It was a wooden hairpin. Not particularly well made, it wasn't completely smooth for one, and it certainly wasn't decorated very aesthetically. The head of the hairpin was shaped into something approximating a snake, with two small round stones glued on to denote its eyes. Some texturing was present on the head area, attempts to carve in scale-like patterns no doubt. It ended in a sharp point. It lay on a simple red cushion within the box.

Harry was quick to try and explain his present, "It's a hairpin! I carved it out of some wood… I figured you already had most of what money could buy so I thought I'd make you something instead… It's nothing compared to the quill you bought me, but I wanted to make you something you could use every day too!"

Harry had indeed carved the wooden snake hairpin himself out of a chunk of wood. He hoped Mr. Tom would forgive him for sneaking into the kitchen at night and using the knives for the carving. It was crudely made by the most lenient of standards. Certainly nothing a professional woodworker would touch with a ten-foot pole, but it was his earnest attempt. The best a soon-to-be eleven year old boy like him could do.

Bellatrix was looking at Harry now, taking in his increasingly uncomfortable form, "Harry…"

Harry cringed, expecting her to berate him for getting her something that didn't bankrupt him in the process.

"It's great!" she exclaimed.

"Huh?" Harry deflated stupidly.

"You said you made it right? No one's made something for me before!" Bellatrix picked up the hair pin and smiled.

Harry let out a huge breath of relief and smiled back, "I'm glad you like it!"

"Although, you would be trying to say my hair needs some maintenance, right Harry?" Bellatrix teased.

Harry feigned some contemplation as he looked at her, "Some combing wouldn't hurt you know…"

"Harry!"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," He held his hands up in mock surrender.

"I'll have you know I take good care of my hair," Bellatrix turned her nose up at him, "You could stand to learn a thing or two."

"What's wrong with my hair?" Harry protested.

"If I'm honest: everything," Bellatrix commented flatly, "I'm tempted to shave it all off."

Harry fought the instinctual urge to cradle his lack in his hands, "If you did that, I wouldn't be the only one bald!"

She just smirked and crossed her arms, "You could have at least bothered to apply some Sleekeazy."

"I did…" Harry avoided her eyes.

"I can nick a canister of spray-on Sleekeazy from my mum's dresser and we can try that," she suggested.

"And get killed when she finds out?"

"At least you'll die with a proper hairstyle."

"I'd rather not die at all to be honest," Harry drily replied.

Bellatrix shrugged and walked over to place Harry's hairpin gift aside on her table and turned back to Harry, "I have something to show you too!"

Harry cocked his head to the side inquisitively.

"Look!" Bellatrix said before jabbing her finger at Harry's direction.

"Ow!" Harry rubbed arm. It felt like he'd accidentally touched a cactus.

Bellatrix cackled, "I learnt it while practicing on Cissy"

Harry rubbed at the site of the impact, "Whatever it is, it hurts!"

"I think it's meant to be a Stinging Hex. At least, Cissy complains that it stings…" she pondered.

"Want to confirm it?" Bellatrix asked before taking aim with her finger at Harry again.

"No! I do not!" Harry complained, grabbing a nearby pillow as a shield.

"I think you do…" Bellatrix grinned evilly, she jabbed at Harry.

He ducked, hiding most of his upper body behind the pillow. He slowly pulled it off and observed the damage. Some of the stuffing had bloomed out of a small incision. Harry frowned at Bellatrix.

He saw her making the motion for another one. He was quick to react this time.

"Oh no you don't!" Harry threw the pillow at her, smacking her in the face with it.

Bellatrix sputtered as the pillow landed in her arms. She narrowed her eyes at him, "If that's how you want it Potter."

She dived forward, taking a huge swing at Harry. He leapt backwards, pulling his body as far back as he could to avoid it. No sooner than he'd dodged the first swing, another was on its way.

He ducked and dived for her bed. He grabbed one of the other pillows and started swinging for the fences too.

A firefight of pillows ensued. A storm of beddings and linen. Soft thuds reverberated through the room as their hits found their mark.

Harry might have been a scrawny kid by all accounts, but he was up against a lean and mean Bellatrix. He put his body behind each swing of his pillow.

Eventually, he'd begun to push her back. Seeing his success, he smirked and continued the laborious swinging.

"Ah!" Bellatrix gasped as she tumbled backward onto her bed after tripping on one of its legs.

Harry found his chance to end the fight as the victor. He raised his pillow up high mightily, "Take this!"

But Bellatrix wasn't a naturally crafty witch without merit. She aimed her finger at Harry's raised pillow and put in as much oomph to her spell as she could.

True enough, after the stresses of a vigorous few minutes of pillow fighting, the casing was begging to tear open. Bellatrix's little spell was just the cherry on top. It split open from end to end, spillings its contents of stuffing and feathers everywhere. Mostly though, on poor Harry.

Harry coughed and spat as he heard Bellatrix's uncontrollable laughter. Made worse by the fact that he'd worked up a sweat bobbing and weaving pillows, the innards of his recently disemboweled pillow stuck to him like a mouse to cheese.

He threw the ruined casing away and tried wiping off as much as he could off his face. He looked at Bellatrix, "Did I miss anything?"

"Pff!" Bellatrix earnestly tried to articulate a sentence, but it was cut short by another round of raucous laughter as she pointed at his face, crooked glasses and all, and laughed herself to breathlessness.

Even Harry at this point could find the humour in it as he laughed along, feathers stuck to his forehead and all.

"P-Pe- Haha! Pesty!" Bellatrix managed to call out. With a pop, the Black Residence elf appeared in her room.

"What is young mistress needing of Pesty?" the diminutive elf asked.

"Clean Harry and this mess up," Bellatrix relayed her order with a shoo-ing motion of her hand as she calmed down and walked over to her table.

With a snap of Pesty's fingers, the mess of feathers and linen disappeared. Harry's face and clothes were no longer covered either.

"Bring some food up as well, Pesty. Two cups of tea and two sandwiches," Bellatrix commanded.

"Right away," Pesty disappeared with another pop.

"Arthur apologises by the way," Harry started as he sat on the chair by the table while Bellatrix sat cross legged on her bed, "for not being able to make it today."

Pesty had popped back in with their refreshments and Bellatrix handed off a sandwich and tea to Harry before taking the remaining for herself. She took a bite of the bacon sandwich and shrugged.

"It's fine. He let me know through owl that he couldn't come," Bellatrix said in between her chewing, "he sent me a gift as well you know?"

Harry was surprised, he didn't think Arthur would bother to send one to her, "Really? What'd he get?"

Bellatrix suddenly took on a disgusted face, "Chudley Cannon's merchandise."

Harry coughed into his tea. Of course Arthur would.

"Bellatrix!" a voice shouted from below, "your cousins are here!"

"Coming!" She shouted back out, "Come Harry, I'll introduce you to my cousins."

Harry finished the last bite of the tasty morsel and downed his tea before standing up to head down the stairs with Bellatrix. He peered over at her and noticed something rather peculiar; Bellatrix had a brief flash of a worried frown on her face before covering it up with a neutral look.

'That's strange…'

He'd been all but dragged down the stairs with Bellatrix's grip firmly on his wrist. He spotted two boys in the living room, one taller with shaggy neck length black hair and the other smaller boy had curly black locks parted in the centre. Both sported the traditional sharp features he'd seen on members of the Black family. They looked at Harry with a sort of surprise as he landed with Bellatrix.

"Happy birthday Cousin Bella, we hope it's been a nice day for you so far?" The smaller boy spoke to her in a soft-spoken voice.

"Same as what Reggie said! Happy birthday Bella!" The taller one boisterously announced.

Bellatrix rolled her eyes and huffed, "Thank you Regulus."

The taller boy coughed.

"...and you too Sirius," Bellatrix said through gritted teeth.

If Sirius had particularly minded the omission, he didn't show it. He nodded towards Harry, "Your friend?"

Bellatrix gave him a gentle shove from the back, making him step forward a few steps, "Meet my friend, Harry Potter."

She pointed at the smaller, more reserved boy, "This is Regulus Black."

Then she thumbed at the older one, "And that's Sirius."

Harry nodded to the both of them, "It's a pleasure to meet you both."

Regulus smiled slightly, "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Mr. Potter."

Regulus lurched forward after being smacked on the back by Sirius, "Ah c'mon Reggie, is that any way to talk to someone. Here's how it's done!"

Sirius strode up to stand in front of Harry and stuck out a hand, "Nice to meet ya Harry!"

Harry grasped his hand and shook it, "Likewise."

Regulus rubbed his neck awkwardly and he began walking up to mimic Sirus, "Nice to-"

"Alright, alright, enough with the greetings!" Bellatrix cut in to break up the interactions.

She rounded on Sirius, "Where's uncle and aunty?"

Sirius' mood instantly deflated at the mention of his parents, he pointed lazily over Bellatrix's shoulder, "Dining room, your parents took them there."

She breathed a sigh of relief.

"We got this for you by the way," Sirius announced as he grabbed a wrapped box from a nearby table, "Mum and Dad couldn't be bothered to shop so they passed Reggie and I some Galleons to do it for them. Hope you like it."

Bellatrix received their gift with a bored face, "Thank you. I'll take a look at it later."

Sirius smiled and shook his head. He caught Harry's eye and grinned, "So how'd you become friends with Bella anyway Harry?"

Harry looked at him with raised eyebrows, "Well, we just started playing together at the playground at Diagon Alley."

Sirius slung an arm around Harry's shoulder and pulled him into a whisper, "She's not threatening you is she?"

"I heard that!" Bellatrix exclaimed.

Sirius laughed letting go of Harry, but not before leaning back in for another whisper, "Remember, blink three times if you need help."

Sirius gave Harry a cheeky wink before he yelped in pain, clutching his thigh. Bellatrix had evidently made good use of her wandless Stinging Hex practice.

"Harry's my friend because he's the only one who knows how to play well!" Bellatrix crossed her arms angrily.

"Cousin, we didn't mean to-" Regulus got half way before being cut off by Sirius.

"Don't you mean he's the only one that lets you bully him…?" Sirius sarcastically commented as he rubbed the painful welt on his thigh.

"Shut your mouth! You're just jealous I have a friend you can't steal now!" Bellatrix stuck her tongue out at Sirius. She knew it was incredibly childish, but she could hardly care at this point.

Harry leaned in to the other spectator of this ensuing argument and whispered, "Does this happen often?"

Regulus leaned back in towards Harry and whispered back, "Often enough… You really aren't being bullied though are you? Cousin Bella has a bit of a reputation for… forcefulness…"

There were occasions that Harry really did think he was a pincushion for Bellatrix's antics and tantrums, but truth be told he'd come to feel a sense of genuine friendship with the girl. She got on his nerves plenty enough, and they bickered and bantered, but at the end of the day it was as much fun as it was flying with Arthur or helping around Diagon Alley. She'd become a mainstay of his life since he traveled back in time. And all of it was truly voluntary on his part.

He smiled and replied, "No, Bellatrix isn't bullying me, don't worry. What did she mean by "a friend he can't steal" ?"

Regulus blushed a little in embarrassment, "Sirius tends to be more popular with people. Cousin Bella's had plenty of friends before but they'd meet Sirius and start to prefer playing with him instead."

"I suppose that's because Sirius isn't as violent as Bellatrix?"

Regulus gave a tired nod, "Rightly so…"

Harry sighed and shook her head, 'Classic Bellatrix…'

Harry was broken out of his little side conversation with Regulus by the boy of the hour himself. Sirius grabbed Harry by the arm and cleared his throat, "Harry, you like quidditch don't you?"

Harry found himself confused, "Uh-"

"I'm settling a point with Bella," he thumbed back at her, "so, do you like quidditch, yes or no?"

Harry gulped, "Y-Yes, I suppose I would like quidditch… I've never played it officially though…"

"What?!" Sirius shook him slightly by the shoulders, "Never played quidditch?!"

"No, never… I've been on a broom before though," Harry added.

Sirius gave a nod with a determined gaze, "Well that settles it then, we're all going to go play quidditch."

Harry felt himself getting dragged along, "Wha- Hey!"

Regulus joined in at his brother's side, shaking his head in disapproval.

"Don't you worry Harry! You'll love quidditch!" Sirius called over his shoulders.

Bellatrix looked on with a decidedly stormy expression. Harry caught a glimpse of it while getting dragged over to the front door of the house.

On his part, Harry honestly wouldn't have wanted to do anything else but play quidditch. He loved being on his broom and he'd been hearing Arthur go on and on about the game and his favourite team. And by his explanations, Harry was fascinated with the game. But he also had to consider the timing of it all. He knew for a fact Bellatrix would rather watch grass grow than play quidditch, something she's gone great lengths to make clear to Harry and Arthur.

He managed to wrestle his arms out of the two Black brothers' grips.

"Harry?" Sirius asked as he paused.

"Sorry Sirius, but I'd rather we not play quidditch actually," Harry apologetically confessed, a quick look at Bellatrix showed an immensely improved mood.

"Well why not?" Sirius whined.

Harry rubbed the back of his neck, "I don't think Bellatrix would enjoy quidditch as much as us… Maybe we could play something else? It's her birthday after all."

Bellatrix strode forward with a triumphant smile. She sandwiched herself between Harry and the brothers with her arms crossed and a haughty smile on her face, "Guess we're not playing quidditch today boys!"

Sirius deflated in defeat and pouted, "Guess you really are her friend after all Harry…"

Harry looked at Bellatrix confusedly. If she noticed it at all, she ignored it wholly.

"What are we going to do then Cousin Bella?" Regulus asked.

Bellatrix put a thinking hand to her chin and hummed. She caught Harry's eye with her own stare. She looked down at her hand which was hiding an hourglass from the view of Sirius and Regulus.

Realisation dawned on Harry and he gave a small smile and nod in response. Bellatrix grinned toothily back. Sirius and Regulus looked at each other to see if the other had any clue what was going on, they both shrugged.

"Hmm, let's see, let's see… What to play…" Bellatrix maneuvered herself between the brothers so that she was closer to the door. Harry tried to subtly walk around the two to join Bellatrix at her side, clasping his hands behind his head and giving an innocent whistle. Bellatrix rolled her eyes while Sirius and Regulus both got into a more alert stance.

"Aha! I know!" Bellatrix exclaimed. She gave a wave of her hand and pushed the two brothers to the floor before quickly slamming the hourglass on a nearby tabletop, "Aurors and Acolytes!"

"C'mon, quickly Harry!" She grabbed Harry's wrist and dragged him as they bolted out of the door. They saw Sirius and Regulus scramble to get up and chase after them as they passed the threshold. Harry gave a hearty laugh.

'Not quite flying on a broom,' he looked at Bellatrix cackling maniacally as they ran, 'But this isn't too bad either.'

Harry looked back and saw the two brothers bolting after them, 'I hope they don't mind getting a few bruises, Bellatrix's taking this seriously!'

Harry and Bellatrix lay under the shade of a large tree. Exhausted from all the running and dirty anyway from the sweat and grime - not to mention Harry was hardly dressed to be running around avoiding the Black brothers in a game of magical tag. They lazily sprawled under the tree to enjoy the shade. Sirius and Regulus had been called back earlier by their parents and left earlier. Apparently other party guests had arrived but it didn't seem like Bellatrix was in any rush to go meet them.

He felt his eyelids begin to grow heavy. The pleasantly cool breeze and his exhaustion were pushing him into the brink of sleep.

"Harry," he heard Bellatrix call out from next to him as they both stared up at the green leaves.

"Yeah?" Harry answered back lazily.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" Bellatrix questioned.

"I don't know… Maybe I'll open a pub like Mr. Tom?" Harry gave a slurred reply. The drowsiness was overtaking him badly.

She reached over and smacked him on the forehead.

"Ow! What's that for?!" Harry angrily asked.

"You need to have more ambition than that, Harry!" Bellatrx chided, "What kind of dream is that?"

"What's wrong with owning a pub? Mr. Tom's a nice guy!" Harry complained.

"You can do that when you're retired, Harry… You need to dream bigger!"

"Well, what's your big dream then?" Harry prodded.

Bellatrix grinned, "I'm going to be Supreme Mugwump one day!"

"Supreme what now?" Harry asked.

Bellatrix sighed, "Supreme Mugwump. It's the most important person on the planet! You make the decisions for everyone!"

"What's so fun about that?"

Bellatrix scoffed, "It's not meant to be fun Harry! You'd be above everyone else! Just imagine, the Minister for Magic being your underling!"

Harry yawned deeply, smacking his lips together in tiredness, "Well, I hope you achieve it Bellatrix."

She sat up, "What do you mean 'hope'? You're going to be helping me get there!"

Harry cracked an eye open to stare at her incredulously, "I am?"

"Yes! You are!" Bellatrix crossed her arms, "You're going to be my right-hand man! My loyal lieutenant!"

Harry let out a high pitched whine, "Can't I just give you free drinks at my pub next time?"

Bellatrix was close to hitting him, "No! You're going to be my right-hand man like it or not, Mr. Potter! That's why you need to gather up some ambition! How will you get into Slytherin otherwise?!"

Harry let out a deep sigh, "Yes Ms. Black… But why does it have to be specifically Slytherin?"

"Because that's where I'm going! I can;t have my right-hand man be in a different House can I?" Bellatrix humphed.

'Pretty sure Arthur's got his mind set that me and him are going to be Gryffindor's quidditch stars…'

"Didn't you ever have some big dreams growing up Harry?" Bellatrix had calmed down enough to lie back down next to Harry as they gazed up at the shadowed leaves.

"Can't say I have, no."

"Why not?"

Harry sighed, "Didn't think I'd ever get the chance to live out big dreams."

Bellatrix stayed quiet to let Harry continue.

"Before… Before I arrived here, to Diagon Alley, I lived with my aunt and uncle. They were pretty horrible," Harry finally admitted.

Bellatrix wrinkled her nose, "Horrible like?"

Harry pondered the question. Why had they treated him as such?

"Well… They didn't like me being a wizard I suppose…"

Bellatrix narrowed her eyes dangerously, "So they were Muggles then?"

She made a sound of disgust, "I knew Muggles were good-for-nothing. Can't accept that we're better so they want to get rid of us… Well you're around good company now Harry, the right type of people, mudbloods be damned!"

"Hey! Not all muggles are bad… Remember Miriam?" Harry countered.

Bellatrix faltered slightly, but kept the heat up, "So what if one or two of them are good? They're just unique! Most of them are still dirty lesser beings!"

Harry shook his head but kept his mouth shut. He didn't want to spoil the pleasant afternoon by arguing with Bellatrix.

"Harry," Bellatrix started, "that means you're definitely a half-blood isn't it?"

Harry turned his head slightly to look at her, "Does it matter?"

She stared back at him, and looked away, "I suppose not… Not for you. You've proven yourself capable. At least you're still a Potter by name."

Harry lay in an uncomfortable silence. He couldn't quite grasp why someone's parents meant so much to Bellatrix.

"Stop poking me Harry!" Bellatrix demanded.

"Hm?" Harry turned to look at her, holding his hands up, "I didn't poke you."

Bellatrix likewise looked at Harry, "Then what's that poking me…?"

She reached a hand down to her side before grabbing hold onto something.

"Must be a bran- Ah!" She shrieked as she realised what it was she was holding on to. She threw a good distance forward.

It was a small green snake, grumpy at being tossed. It hissed.

"Ssstupid girl! You were sssleeping on me!" Harry understood its hissing.

It slithered up and bared its fangs at Bellatrix, who had sat up and tucked her legs into her chest, evidently terrified of the creature. Harry crouched between her and the snake.

"Ssstop! Sshe didn't mean it! Sshe wass jussst ssscared… We're sssorry for disssturbing you." Harry hissed back at the snake.

It paused in its advance and hid its fangs, "You can ssspeak my language?"

Harry paused then too. Mira had said the same thing to him before. "Your language? What do you mean?"

"You are a sssnake ssspeaker boy… We are ssspeaking the language of sssnakes," the little green snake spoke.

Realisation dawned on Harry then. It wasn't English he was speaking to the snake. It was a different language entirely.

"Harry?" he heard Bellatrix ask behind him.

He ignored her for now, focusing on the snake, "We're sssorry for disturbing you… Please forgive usss."

The snake considered it, and bowed his head slightly, "Very well… Sssince you are a ssspeaker, I will forgive it this once."

The snake slithered off after telling Harry that. Bellatrix wasn't about to let it go though.

"Harry!" she yelled.

He jumped slightly before turning to look at her sheepishly, "Yeah?"

She gulped, "You can talk to snakes…?"

Harry looked at her like she was dumb, "Did you see something else just now?"

She narrowed her eyes and swatted his arm, "Prat…"

But she gained a huge grin soon enough, "Harry! That means you're a Parselmouth! You can speak Parseltongue!"

"Uhh…" Harry dumbly enunciated.

"It means you speak snake, do you know what that means?!" Bellatrix excitedly grabbed him.

"Not really…" Harry was feeling nervous with how manic she was getting.

"That means you're a pureblood Harry! The Potters don't have Parselmouths! Only the descendants of Salazar Slytherin produce Parselmouths! That means your mum, whoever she is, is a descendant of Slytherin himself! Your dad's likely a pureblood, so with your mum being a descendant of Slytherin, there's a huge chance that you're a pureblood too!" Bellatrix verbally machine gunned Harry with the information.

He swallowed, "I thought it didn't matter?"

"Well now you know for sure you're a pureblood!"

'And I know for sure now too,' Bellatrix thought to herself.

"C'mon, let's get some cake! This is some fantastic news!" She grabbed his arm and tried pulling him up.

Harry brushed himself off and stood up, just then Bellatrix turned to address him.

"Oh but keep it a secret Harry," She jabbed a finger into his chest, "It's a very rare skill, so keep it a secret until you get some really good use for it. Can't show people all your trump cards after all."

"Yes Ma'am…" Harry obediently let himself get dragged along for some birthday cake. Inwardly, he felt a small sensation. One that wished he'd never revealed his Parselmouth capabilities to Bellatrix.

Harry stumbled through the fireplace. Caked in soot and dried sweat, with a belly full of food and cake, he smiled as he saw the pub full of the usual guests. Bellatrix's birthday had gone on without a hitch. She liked his gift at least, so his mission was accomplished.

He staggered up to his room, greeted Hedwig with a snack, and got himself washed up before collapsing on his bed. The activities of the day took its toll on his body. He heard some tapping on his window and spotted a brown old attempting to get in. He cracked the window open and it flew in, dropping a letter into his lap before flying back off.

Harry looked at the mysterious letter in his lap. He picked it up. It was an envelope, embossed with a wax seal with a regal "H" on it.

He opened it up quickly and read its contents. By the time he finished, he was shaking with excitement.

Dear Mr Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Armando Dippet

Headmaster

[A/N] And that's a wrap for the chapter, and the 'prologue'. Next chapter onwards, we get our protagonists' start in Hogwarts. Hope you've enjoyed the chapter. As always, constructive criticism is always appreciated, and I'm grateful for everyone that's left a nice encouraging review. You've all been fantastic readers