As a warning, there's some depiction of violence and death in this chapter, in case you don't want to read that.

The next Monday it was time for Harry to return to school. After much deliberating, her parents and Dumbledore had decided that the best course of action would be for her and her friends to pose as "exchange students" who were part of an innovative program. Ron and Ginny would still be siblings and claim a distant relation to the Weasley family in order to explain their unmistakable coloring. Likewise, Harry was pretending to be James and Lily's niece on Lily's side, as the Potter family's genealogy was too well known.

Neville had not wanted to claim any relation to the boy-who-lived, knowing it would only get him unwanted attention. He was posing as Remus Lupin's nephew instead. The guise was believable enough, and Lupin wasn't involved enough in the order for anyone to look twice.

Luna had no need for deception, as no one at Hogwarts had ever heard of her or her death. She would simply keep her name, and the Order had already made her record of death disappear.

Hermione needed to only change her name and pose as a muggle born. Sirius had suggested that she could pretend to be a half-blood, as she would probably have an easier time of it, but Hermione would not hear of it. She was proud to muggleborn, and "backing down would only be giving into prejudice".

Their explanations were airtight. With Hermione and Harry's help, the order had forged all of the appropriate documents, and even published fraudulent news articles to make seem as if the teens had existed in this world their whole lives.

Now Harry, Brian and Marius were gathered around the floo, their bags all packed and ready to go. They were only waiting for James, who couldn't seem to find his left shoe.

"Honestly James, isn't it supposed to be the children who make us late? If they miss breakfast, I'm making you explain it to Minny."

Fear now appropriately struck into his heart, James summoned his shoe, and made his way towards the floo.

Harry waited for Marius and Brian to enter the floo before turning to her parents. She thought it would be better to just get it over with, like ripping off a band aid.

"I need to tell you that there is a very strong possibility I'll be sorted into Slytherin. I'm not evil, or a death eater, I just tend to have a more indirect manner of achieving my goals, and I always do end up getting-"

Lily cut off her daughters rambling before Harry could embarrass herself too badly, "Minerva told us how close you were to Severus, so we had an idea that this might be coming." Lily gave a pointed look at her husband, as if they had rehearsed this and that was his cue.

"I still hold that most Slytherin's are slimy bastards," James took in a deep breath. This was very hard for the old Gryffindor, "however there are exceptions in every house. I still would prefer you to be in Gryffindor, where you could be safe and with your brothers, but if Slytherin is where you'll fit in best, then I just want you to be happy."

It was a huge weight had lifted off Harry's chest, and now she could breathe properly again. She had been most worried about her Father, who she knew had a strong rivalry with Snape. But the relief wasn't as sweet as she had expected. Her father had accepted her, but on the condition that she was an exception. What would her parents say when they found out their daughter was the model Slytherin in every way?

McGonagall met all of the 'transfer' students at the doors to the great hall. Breakfast had already started, and currently the entire student body sat behind those doors.

Harry could feel her shoulder get hot, telling her he was nearby.

Any moment now Dumbledore would make a speech to the great hall, telling the other students that Hogwarts was accepting students who had non-traditional education into some of the higher level class. Ostensibly, it was to 'level the playing field'. It was just the sort of progressive and equitable act everyone would expect from Dumbledore.

Because Harry was taking on the last name 'Dursley' she would be the first transfer student to get sorted. She had become close to her brothers in a short amount of time, and didn't realize just how heartbroken she would be if they shunned her until the possibility was starring her in the face.

Her father had accepted her, but he was an adult who had many years to mature out of old house rivalries. Her brothers were living those rivalries right now, and if Draco was anything like he was before they met then they probably hated him.

Even more terrifying, would be seeing him. The last time she saw him, he had been so pale, and his eyes which were normally filled with so much life had starred back at her, unseeing and glossy. That image had been the subject of her nightmares for months, and she didn't know what her reaction would be if she was forced to sit across from him and pretend she didn't know him.

She hadn't even decided if she would pursue a relationship with him yet. She had gotten him killed in her own world, and she would not allow him to be dragged into her problems in this world either.

McGonagall opened the doors to the great hall, signaling Harry through. She had been so nervous she hadn't noticed the sound of Dumbledore's voice through the doorway.

Drawing on her years of experience, Harry schooled her face into the most imperious face she could manage. She had plans, ones that involved getting close to the children of deatheaters and in her experience the best way to get someone rich and spoiled to like you, was to act even richer and more spoiled.

As she strode between the tables towards the sorting hat, Harry was pleased to see she had not lost her touch. She knew exactly what effect she had on people. Her chin and facial shape were undeniably from old pureblood lineage, yet no one in the room would be able to place them to a specific house due to her mother's genes. Harry looked beautiful and powerful all at the same time, and she had forgotten how empowering it felt to know that she commanded the attention of an entire room.

When Dumbledore had announced that they would be accepting transfer students who 'had not been afforded the same opportunities they had been' most of the Slytherin house had curled their lips in disdain. The only reason they hadn't gone into an uproar is because they assumed that any student the headmaster would handpick to come to Hogwarts would not end up in Slytherin. Most of them returned to their meals, prepared to tune out the sorting.

But Draco, Pansy and Blaise shared a knowing look.

After he had gathered his wits, Draco told his two best friends about his mark turning white again. At first the three had researched it, but after not being able to find any information about another such occurrence, the trio decided to let the matter drop rather than look a gift horse in the mouth.

Until this morning, when Draco woke up with his mark feeling strangely warm. The sensation had only intensified since and now Draco knew why. His soulmate had to be one of the transfer students and by their meaningful looks, Blaise and Pansy must have reached the same conclusion.

Draco waited with bated breath, almost afraid to get his hopes up. It seemed impossible that after years of accepting his lack of a soulmate, that they were about to walk through the doors of the Great Hall.

He wondered how he would know which one was his soulmate, or at least he did, until he saw her.

The girl who traveled down the aisle now must be his soulmate. She carried power as if it weighed nothing, her head held high, seemingly uncaring that hundreds of students were staring at her. She would be in Slytherin with him.

He had admired girls aesthetically before, and had seen women and veela more physically beautiful than the girl before him, but none had taken his breath away like she did. He had always thought others were overly clichéd when they described the feeling of absolute perfection they got when they met their soulmate, but he understood now.

It was as if he had a headache his entire life but had gotten used to the pain, and now all of the sudden he had been fed a pepper up potion. And then given a vial of liquid luck.

He almost missed the opportunity to offer her a space beside him after her sorting, he was so caught up in his own high. Luckily, he gathered his wits in time to push Pansy over and offer her a seat.

Only when she had sat gracefully down next to him did Draco realize he hadn't caught her name.

Although it was rather rude, he was grateful when Pansy reached over him to shake his soulmates hand. "Pansy Parkinson, it's nice to meet you."

"Harriet Dursley, although everyone calls me Harry. The pleasure is all mine."

Harry. It seemed such a plain name for a girl who was obviously anything but.

"Blaise Zabini. And my friend who won't stop staring like a buffoon is Draco Malfoy. He is normally quite civilized, I assure you."

Harry turned towards Draco, who was in fact still staring. "Hello. If I'm not mistaken, you are my soulmate."

It would be a mistake for Harry to pretend to not be Draco's soulmate. For one thing, it would be obvious when their marks turned black after they touched. For another, Harry was posing as a muggleborn in Slytherin house. Although her power and charisma would earn her respect, the Malfoy name would give her the pedigree.

It is wizarding custom that when two soulmates find each other that they both take on the blood status of whoever has the 'better' lineage. The idea is that since they were born to be perfect partners, then they must both have the same blood status. Really, it was just an excuse for purebloods to marry their soulmate without worrying about 'tainting' their blood line.

Her plans were to replicate her effect on the Slytherin house she had in her own world. She had offered Slytherins another camp to choose besides Voldemort's where they could feel safe. She discovered that many did not even believe the bigotry they spewed, but felt too alienated by the light and too scared of Voldemort to do anything else.

Harry had been a powerful leader, someone who Slytherins could see winning the war and protecting them. It hadn't been overly complicated to get the majority of Slytherin house to follow her.

It would be harder here. She did not have the opportunity to start from first year, and her mysterious circumstances would make it hard to earn her classmates' trust. Despite this, she was determined that she would be able to count all of her friends on the side of the light by the end of the year.

She knew what challenges she faced, and she knew that she couldn't appear too friendly without seeming weak, but there they all were. There was Blaise across from her, and Pansy and Draco next to her. There was Daphne and Vincent and Greg and Theodore. There was Fred across the hall, and Cedric and Colin. They were all here, and it took all of her will power not to burst into tears, or to hug them, or both. Too much depended on her composure.

She heard herself speaking with her long dead friends, casual and friendly, but that couldn't really be her, because right now Harry was emotionally overwrought. It was like she had split herself into two separate personas that were able to operate separately. That was the only explanation for the calm she maintained. She supposed people didn't earn the title 'Queen of Slytherin' by bending to their emotions.

"I suppose we are."

She and Draco stared at each other. She wasn't sure who should be more happy, the girl who regained her soulmate, or the boy who met his for the first time.

"So Harry- is it alright if I call you that?- if I don't mean to pry, but where were you before coming to Hogwarts?" Pansy interrupted them, jarring them both back into reality.

Of course Pansy meant to pry, Harry was all too aware of her friend's favorite tactic. Pansy could be extremely rude and nosy in her actual actions, but her phrasing and tone would leave people thinking she had been perfectly polite. It was one of the things Harry remembered most fondly of her friend.

Pansy wanted to know why she hadn't had the chance to attend school before now. It would be excellent gossip. If Harry wasn't Draco's soulmate, she was sure Pansy would have already told half of Slytherin whatever story pleased her.

But now she was remembering the last time she saw Pansy- she couldn't stop the images playing across her eyes any more than she could stop her heart from beating. She saw Pansy dueling at her side, Pansy baring her perfect teeth at her own aunt, Pansy screaming in shock and pain, Pansy hitting the ground-

But this Pansy need an answer now, and Harry couldn't ruin this second chance.

"I traveled a lot. My aunt would teach me the standard Hogwarts curriculum when she could, and for the rest I self-studied."

"That's so fascinating,"- it wasn't, it was vague and boring- Pansy said, laying her hand on Harry's shoulder as if they were old friends, "I love the idea of traveling. I have cousins in France, did you spend a lot of time there?"

"J'y ai vécu pendant un an." Harry said cheekily. It wasn't even a lie, she had been forced out of England for a year during the war.

"Enfin, quelqu'un qui je peux parler avec. Pouvez-vous croire Draco et Blaise refusent d'apprendre?" Pansy asked. By now Blaise and Draco were annoyed with being left out of the conversation. Especially when they heard their names mentioned, somehow understanding that they were being made fun of.

"Je ne suis pas surpris." Harry said, laughing at them. "I think we should stop torturing them now. It wouldn't do to make a bad impression on my soulmate already."

"I assure you, I don't think that is possible." Draco told her quite honestly. He was not used to flirting, but he found it fun, especially knowing that the object of his flirtations would reciprocate.

"I wouldn't be so sure, I have it on good authority that I can be quite cruel."

Draco didn't doubt it. Not with a smile like that.

By the end of the breakfast, Harry had been 'introduced' to all of the seventh year Slytherins, and was fast friends with all of them, with the exception of Theodore Nott, who had also been hard to win over in her own world.

If Harry could just keep her heritage a secret until it became common knowledge that she was Draco's soulmate, then she would be able to maintain a strong position within the Slytherin hierarchy.

At nine o'clock sharp, Harry and Draco had still yet to touch each other, and she found herself sitting at a table in the defense classroom next to Pansy (who had worked by herself for the beginning of the year) with Blaise and Draco seated in front of her. They were chatting amicably when her father entered the room.

Harry wondered from the way his jaw clenched if he had really meant it when he said he'd accept her being in Slytherin. Or was it simply the Slytherins she was seated with? Perhaps he had expected her to be an outcast, not to become quick friends with the popular crowd.

Whatever the reason, it was going to be an awkward class.

"Alright, we're going to begin where we left off last class with Vampires"

The lesson was well taught, James Potter certainly knew what he was talking about.

As the lesson progressed, Harry became increasingly alarmed by the amount of information she didn't know. She could breeze by the practical, but that wouldn't be enough to earn her a good grade in the class. As much as she didn't want to, she and all of her friends were going to need to do a lot of work.

This was where Harry's thoughts were as the class ended. Standing to follow Pansy out of the classroom, Harry was surprised to hear her father asking her to stay behind. She shot the other Slytherins a confused look, as if she had no idea why Professor Potter would want to talk with her.

Shutting the door behind her, Harry cast a subtle notice-me-not charm to ensure they wouldn't be interrupted.

"Draco Malfoy, huh? Is this some scheme to make up for all those years of teenage rebellion you missed out on? What are you doing hanging out with his lot, Rose?" James ran his hand through his hair. For all that his tone had been gentle and joking, he was incredibly frustrated. They'd never had this sort of problem with Brian or Marius; the only trouble those two got into was over pranks.

"I know about their parents, but I don't think they're like that. They fought for the light in my world, and I think there's still hope for them." Harry really hoped that her father wouldn't be too harsh over her friendships. She'd never had parents before, but she was quickly discovering that their approval meant a lot to her.

A silence hung over the room while James debated between his protective instincts and his fear of alienating his daughter.

"Just promise to be careful. It's amendable to see the best in people, but not at the cost of your own safety. These kids can get up to some bad stuff, Rose."

Harry smiled, liking that her father cared so much, but that he also respected her opinions. It was a struggle she'd fought with many order members at the beginning of the war.

"I will be."

Harry caught up with the other Slytherins in the common room, gathered around a game of wizard's chess. It looked like Draco was beating Millicent when she sat down in the empty space next to Pansy.

"What'd Professor Perfect want you stay behind for?" Theodore asked, trying to imply that Harry somehow had favor with Slytherin's least favorite professor. Which she did, but he had no way of knowing that.

"Just wanted to discuss my education. I need to get caught up in some areas, but I'm ahead in others so some of the professors are making personalized plans." Harry said casually. It was true, some of her professors were doing that, just not in DADA.

"How are you expecting to get caught up? I'd bet you only know as much as a fourth year." The black haired boy continued with a sneer.

Before Harry could hex the Nott heir, Draco chimed in. "Shut up Nott. It would do you well to respect your betters." The blonde turned to Harry for the first time before saying in a gentle voice, "If you would accompany me to my dorm room, I think we have much to discuss."