And the journey begins...

A/N: Polite, therefore an OOC Ron and his twin Ginny are introduced. There is something called an AU. This is part of it. Post this, Ron returns to what he is known to be. You shall pass the judgement. He is not bashed, of course, anywhere during the course of the story. In memory of Harmonious Cannons.

The morning of the 1st September, 1991 was could be best described as pandemonium at the Tonkses and Longbottoms. Urging four Hogwarts bound students to get ready; checking for wands, books and clothes; last minute instructions regarding staying away from mad poltergeists, reminders to write home (at both places for Harry), good-natured ribbing regarding the sorting; securing the pets; and most importantly co-ordination between the two houses regarding the time to reach the station was the order of the day.

When finally the two parties arrived at the station, the small problem of crossing over to the oddly numbered platform loomed large. "How exactly are they sure that the platform number is 9 ¾? Why not 9.729?" Such questions from one of the three boys meant that the elders were heartily wishing that they would be shot of the kids till Christmas and 11 o'clock couldn't be the time soon enough. This also meant that it wasn't the mortifying kisses on the cheeks, or hugs, or tears that accompanied their waves to the four as the train chugged out of the station. Rather, it was relief.

No sooner than they had snagged a compartment to themselves, the three boys dutifully held out their hands to Dora. Making an exceptional imitation of twin-speak, they decided to hold her to her end of the bargain.

"Dearest cousin Dora-" started Draco.

"- Your orders, disguised as requests-" continued Harry.

"-have been followed, as part of the deal." Neville completed.

"A Galleon each was the deal." (D)

"We hope that we needn't-" (H)

"– Use any special methods –" (N)

"– for collecting our dues," they exclaimed in unison. This final chorus left Dora rubbing her forehead exasperatedly.

"Here, you idiots. Take the infernal galleons. I hope you three don't get into Gryffindor. You may end up apprenticing with the Weasley twins and that will surely be the end of Hogwarts."

Draco dramatically clutched his heart and turning to his two friends, sighed, "She wounds us dear brothers-in arms! She wishes upon us the ignominy of not getting into the house of the brave!"

"We who loyally followed her words like good Hufflepuffs-" moaned Harry.

"- And took time to analyse them like proper Ravenclaws-" sniffled Neville.

"- before we made cunning plans like Slytherins and followed them up bravely like Gryffindors." They chorused again, each sporting an identically evil grin.

Dora wanted to be a fearless Auror. But this stream of conversation had her blanching and grimacing in fear as she hurried out of the compartment with a threat to "write to Aunt Cissy" if they tried pranks on the Sorting Hat, as the three roared with laughter.

They spent some time joking around as they lugged and heaved their trunks up on to the shelves. About ten minutes after the train had started, two redheads made their way to the compartment. Evidently they were twins, for they looked eerily similar, and had they not been brother and sister, they would have been indistinguishable.

"Anyone sitting there?" the brother asked, pointing at the seat opposite Harry. "Everywhere else is full."

The three boys raised their eyebrows as one. "Really?" asked Draco, unable to keep the scepticism out of his voice.

The two newcomers grimaced. "Well, our three elder brothers find it insulting to sit with us, and we don't know anyone else much. The ones we know are all older than we are, and almost all the other first-years have got full compartments. The ones that don't have are the thugs Crabbe and Goy-"

"Ah! Crabbe and Goyle – the thugs; it's such an apt description. Welcome." Draco said affably.

The twins sat; relief clear on their faces. "Thank you. I am Ron, by the way, Ron Weasley."

"And I am Ginevra Weasley, though I would prefer being called Ginny", the girl supplied.

"Weasley?" cried Draco, Harry and Neville in unison.

"Yes?" asked Ron tentatively.

"Well," said Harry, "These are my friends, but really brothers, Draco Malfoy and Neville Longbottom. And Ron, before you ask Draco about his father, I beg you to please understand that he would rather be called his mother's son. So any Death Eater innuendo and it will be considered an insult. Insult him and you insult us all."

Ron looked aghast. "I never-"

"Ron, the first thing, if you are making our acquaintance is that nobody, including Professor Dumbledore can hide anything from me. So don't try lying."

Looking suitably abashed, Ron showed his contriteness through his response too. "Sorry, it's just that the name reminds me of my mother's rants. I am the Prewett twins' nephew."

Draco realized that he would have to make an effort here himself, and communicated that to Harry. "I know that my condolences, late as they are, Mr. Weasley, will mean nothing to you. I can only hope to ask for your understanding in this matter. I am not my father. My family is with these two, and Tonks. She was your brother Charlie's girlfriend wasn't she? She was distraught when he decided to go off after the Dragons. She is my first cousin. Her mother is my Aunt. But so was Bellatrix Lestrange. So I have the wrong sort of history with Neville too; but we are friends now, and in the short time we have come to know each other, as close as brothers. I can only hope that you can show the same consideration. I issue a formal apology from House Malfoy to the Houses of Weasley and Prewett."

They shook hands and then Draco raised his wand and muttered, "Lux est promissio." A small beam of light shone through his wand.

Ginny was looking at the proceedings rather intently. She then turned to Harry, and said, "You did introduce your friends. What about you?"

"I am sorry, Ms. Weasley. I am Harry Potter – pleased to make your acquaintance."

Ginny squealed and bolted from the compartment, just as Ron swore, "Bloody Hell!"

Harry sat bewildered and looked around the compartment mouthing, "What?" while Draco and Neville sniggered. He looked at Ron asking the same question silently.

Ron looked a bit ashamed at his sister's behaviour. "Well, Potter-"

"Harry, please", Harry interjected.

"Harry, then. You see, many girls were told your story and harbour a bit of a – well, massive –crush on you, if you get what I mean. Let's just call it a soft spot. My sister is one of those girls."

Harry looked positively green and suitably mortified. "Could you, er, please call your sister here? I need to clarify a few things."

Ron hastened to comply. As soon as the compartment door shut behind him, Draco and Neville burst out into gales of laughter. Harry looked at them angrily, unable to pluck them out of their mirth. Just as they regained control, the Weasley twins returned. The girl sat opposite Harry, wringing her hands with uneasiness, while the boy just shook his head.

"Ms. Weasley, I realise, that you have some unresolved issues with my presence here. Please first make yourself at home, first." Seeing no visible change, Harry sighed deeply.

"Ginny, did you know that we are related? We are cousins. Your grandmother Cedrella and my grandmother Dorea were second cousins. That makes us cousins. I-" he nodded to Draco and Neville who promptly got out of the cabin. "I must say, then, that your, er, soft spot, as your brother so eloquently puts it, is very much inappropriate." (Ginny's interjection that her own parents were fourth cousins themselves was conveniently ignored.)

The effect was instantaneous. Ron, who was at unease, unable to find a way to converse with the Harry Potter, smiled at him broadly. It wasn't the intention to claim any sort of relation, but it was something to put him at ease all the same. Ginny on the other hand seemed forlorn, looking as if somebody had slapped her with a freshly caught fish.

"I am sorry", she said thickly, "it is just you are the Boy-who-lived-"

Ron immediately realised that it was the wrong thing to say. The curt grimace that flashed across Harry's face was evidence enough of that. What he didn't understand was why it was so. He'd give his wand-arm to be the boy-who-lived. "You don't like it? You hate being the boy-who-lived thingy?"

"No, I HATE IT!" His vehemence caused the two Weasleys to flinch. Softening a bit, he continued, "What people don't realise is that I lost my parents that night. Everyone just gapes at that stupid scar, which just reminds me of my loss. It wasn't me that defeated Voldemort. It was my mother. Truthfully, I would rather be with them than be famous for losing my parents."

Ginny seemed to be on the verge of tears. Ron just sat there ashen faced, while Neville and Draco stood in the compartment door, having returned upon hearing Harry's dulcet tones. Realising that he had just poisoned the compartment with his anger, he quickly cooled down. "I am sorry. It is just that I can't bear it when people think of me that way." He sat with his shoulders hunched and hung his head.

Deciding that the mood was bad enough to warrant drastic measures to salvage it, Draco asked brightly, "Anyone up for a game of exploding snap?"

Everyone nodded a little too enthusiastically, but the game that started, went on for almost two more hours, as the memory of Harry's outburst was forgotten.

When they reached Hogsmeade station that evening, the fabled giant form of Rubeus Hagrid met them. Though everyone had heard about him, only Harry had actually met him when he went to Hogwarts for the lessons by Professor Dumbledore, and they had bonded with each other over their love for animals. He waved out to him enthusiastically, just as he called out for the first years' attention. The giant of a man smiled happily, greeting him with an equally exuberant, "Alrigh' there, 'arry?" The group was soon enthralled

The five shared a boat that was to take them across the Black lake, adjusting themselves a bit (Neville got a swat across the back of his head for calling Harry a wraith which allowed all five to share a boat). Draco, acting on the whim of a sudden inspiration, whispered to Harry. "There's supposed to be a giant squid in there! Try to call it, why don't you?"

"Not now, mate. We have got unfamiliar company", he whispered back.

Draco shrugged. "I know. I only brought that up so we would look like we were planning something in secret." Both of them burst out laughing instantly.

"Well, it isn't a bad idea really, but we should delegate the execution to a later date. I have something planned for today", Harry said as he smiled enigmatically.

Soon, everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood. "Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbour, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door. Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

The door was opened by Professor McGonagall, resplendent in emerald green robes, her caring, maternal nature as Harry knew it, hidden behind her stern visage. She took them to a small chamber off the Great Hall, to give them a small lecture about the houses, house points, the house cup and just about everything related to discipline that had something to do with the houses. It finally got to Neville who muttered, "I never knew we were coming to Hogwarts to play House."

A bushy-brown haired girl was scandalised by that. She asked them in a shocked manner, "How can you be so nonchalant and blasé about such an important part of school life here? The House is an important part of the social structure-"

"Why", drawled Draco, "would I want to be pining for some House? My whole family on my paternal side, and nearly most of it on my mother's side, and Harry's and Neville's grandmothers respectively, were in Slytherin, where they go about with half-witted blood purity ideals. So essentially, we are split based on the wrong ideas in the first place. My cousin Nymphadora and her father, both were Hufflepuffs. Her mother was a Slytherin. Harry and Neville's parents were Gryffindors. What does it matter which House you are sorted into? It is just for the administrative purposes. They just want ways to split forty to fifty eleven year olds into manageable groups so that they can manage the timetable. Just for discipline and competition's sake there is that infernal House Cup. Who really cares? The only good thing about it all is the Quidditch Cup. For that one reason, I would like to be in the same House with these two gits."

Everyone but Neville and Harry looked at Draco as though he had just said that he was a going to snap his wand. Seeing that nobody could shake out of that stupor, the three simply shook their heads as the ghosts made an over-dramatic entry. Professor McGonagall soon led them in a line into the Hall. Seated at the table, behind the magnificent podium was Professor Dumbledore. Most people seemed to be in awe of him for his power. Harry respected the man for his achievements despite his mistakes, which the man at least had the candour to admit, if a tad bit late due to his vanity. What really took their breath away was the enchanted ceiling and the grandeur of the castle. Their musings were cut short however, by the garish song that the tattered old sorting Hat felt compelled to sing.

Professor McGonagall then stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. Soon, Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones made their way to the Hufflepuff table. Terry boot and Mandy Brocklehurst joined the Ravenclaws. Lavender Brown joined Gryffindor, followed by the cheer for Millicent Bulstrode, (who was leering at Draco in anger) joining Slytherin. On and on it went as the girl who had managed to get on Draco's wrong side, Hermione Granger was also sorted to Gryffindor. At last it was Neville's turn.

"Hmm... quite a change there has been in your demeanour and outlook in a very short time. It's nice to see that it hasn't changed you as a person. You wish to excel, but also wish to be loyal to the friends you have garnered. Brave soul that you are, you would better be a "GRYFFINDOR!""

Neville happily walked to the Gryffindor table as Draco and Harry muttered to each other in unison, "So that's where we will be."

Soon enough, after Morag McDougal was sorted to Ravenclaw, "Malfoy, Draco," was called out. McGonagall was watching this sorting in morbid fascination. If her fears were to hold true, the boy would be on his way to Gryffindor.

"A Gryffindor through and through, I can see; tempered by a little Slytherin cunningness and Ravenclaw wisdom. You're loyal to your friends and rather protective about them. Gryffindor, it is then. Go join you brother in, "GRYFFINDOR!""

It was obvious that only the two Head Professors and the five compartment mates were not surprised by the pronouncement. As he walked off to where Neville had saved him a seat pre-emptively, the Hall sat in a stunned silence. It took Dumbledore himself to start clapping for the Hall to follow. There were more stares and whispers, however, at the sorting of a known Death Eater's son into Gryffindor. That soon died down as the very last few names started to come up.

"Moon" . . . , "Nott" . . . , "Parkinson" (all in Slytherin) . . . , then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" (Ravenclaw) and "Patil" . . . , then "Perks, Sally-Anne" (both Gryffindors) . . . , and then, at last —

"Potter, Harry!"

As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.

"Potter, did she say?"

"The Harry Potter?" asked someone else.

The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. "Potter, Potter, Potter. What do I do with you? I have seen your decision to uphold justice, your lack of discrimination against magic, your will to do the right thing, ambition, and certain amount of cunning and devious wisdom, should you allow it to surface. You really are good enough for all the houses."

"Put me in Gryffindor then, with Neville and Draco. But now that you said it, about my being good enough for all the houses, will you humour me a bit? A little entertainment for everybody..."

"Son of the father... what shall I do?"

"Instead of announcing Gryffindor directly, just say Slyvenffledor or Gryffleclarin. I am going to be a little drama king and ask very innocently for Gryffindor."

"I should put you in Slytherin for that" the Hat retorted with a mental smirk. "Very well, be a "SLYVENFFLEDOR!""

"What?" The transfiguration teacher cried.

"GRYFFLECLARIN!" corrected the Sorting Hat.

Harry, by now, was having an extremely hard time trying to control the grin that threatened to split his face. The deputy headmistress however was irritated. She had foreseen a return of the troublemaking quartet, but had still hoped that the boy would be more like Lily. Her hopes had risen when she had met him as her god-grandson and he had shown a peculiar inclination to the consumption of knowledge and a generally people pleasing disposition that his mother had. It was obvious that at that moment however, he was channelling his inner James. She now had to stop this charade.

"Alistair, please choose the correct house. You are unnecessarily prolonging the proceedings."

"Madame, this student shows eligibility for each House equally. I need to confer with him to choose."

"Then do so without further delay!"

The Hat was silent for a few moments. Then, "He asks to be put into the House of his parents. So, it will be, GRYFFINDOR!"

This got a really loud cheer from the Hall, and Harry, smirking inwardly, but keeping a happy and wistful expression just nodded and walked off to Neville's other side, where his two friends mouthed, "show off!" while the elder Weasley twins (Fred and George; Ron had introduced them on the train), were celebrating the sorting with particular gusto. They were actually celebrating the idea of a person who would follow in their footsteps. Not everybody had the balls to prank the Sorting Ceremony, and use the Sorting Hat as an accomplice. Soon enough Ron and Ginny joined them at the Gryffindor table.

A scrawny, perpetually angry looking boy was called up for the sorting, "Yaxley, Thomas!"

For the first time since they had become really close friends, Neville and Harry saw Draco show more than visible anger, distaste, disgust and just about every bad feeling possible about the boy who was sorted into Slytherin. The two were puzzled a bit. Draco normally showed next to no emotion when something or somebody disappointed or even angered him. Yaxley, Nott and Parkinson however, had drawn more emotion from their friend in a matter of half an hour than they themselves had in over two months. Nodding to each other with an unspoken "later", they turned back to watch Blaise Zabini join the Slytherins too.

Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there. "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!"

"It's obvious", Harry commented dryly, "that all year long, with really no class to teach and only the portraits of dead ex-head teachers and the Sorting Hat to talk to, the man has gone barmy. But he is a good kind of barmy, so who are we to say!" This terribly miffed Percy, who was scandalised that anyone could say such a thing about an authority figure.

After a really hearty dinner, Dumbledore rose again for the announcements. He was about to do so when Harry looked up at the table and froze. He waved his hand at the Headmaster frantically, fear showing quite cleanly on his face. Dumbledore beckoned him forward, an order which he obeyed immediately. He, very quietly, requested the Headmaster to increase the volume of his voice, and then in one swift action that nobody had expected, stunned the DADA teacher, Quirunus Quirrel. Without allowing time for anyone to show the shock that was still percolating in their collective consciousnesses, he spoke, "You may find me attention-seeking for my actions, but we were currently in very grave danger from this Professor. You may realise what or rather, who he is when I remove the turban."

And he proceeded to do just that. He turned the unconscious man around by grasping his shoulders, and dropped the turban. The screams from staff and students alike and the horrified stare from Dumbledore was proof enough that his theory was right; a theory that had formed as soon as his scar had hurt when he looked at the now prone man. He had momentarily gotten past the pain of the scar, as he slurred more than shouted. "You know what this is. LEAVE. LEAVE NOW."

Nobody needed a second warning. Tonks, Draco and Neville however, surreptitiously hung back. So did, most of Gryffindor. Harry's housemates were literally dragging their feet. They watched as Harry turned to the man and tried to hoist him into his chair with Dumbledore's help. Harry caught his head as it was flopping of its own volition in the stunned state and everyone saw the two screaming with pain. Quirrel though seemed to be beyond pain as his features began to distort and burn at Harry's touch, and soon, there was nothing but a mist rising above them all which shouted, "You have foiled me again, Harry Potter, but I shall return, stronger than ever before!" The mist rose with the snake-like visage of Lord Voldemort and seemed to float away as Harry, laughing maniacally, waved him off, "Goodbye Mouldy shorts!" and then slumped to the ground in a dead faint.

It was almost three days later, that Alice and Frank, dozing in the chair beside the infirmary bed, woke to another bout of laughter from Harry. He went on and on for about five minutes or so, during which the two had time to call Dumbledore and a frightened Minerva McGonagall. They watched as the boy laughed and laughed, finally the laughter dying down to a few whimpers and then to outright sobs. Almost ten minutes after he had first woken, Harry reached a state nearing coherence.

Finally, looking around them all, he smiled weakly, and meekly said, "Hello!"

Alice who had to be given Calming Draughts was feeling just so, unnaturally calm. Her words though, when they could have gotten out in full force would have trembled with rage. Her volume was still louder than anyone had heard from her before, "HARRY JAMES POTTER! What possessed you to go after You-Know-Who by yourself on the first day of school? Couldn't you have told the Professors? Couldn't you have asked for help? I am your Godmother for Heaven's sake! What was I to tell Li-?"

"Aunt Alice! Please listen! I knew as soon as I looked at the man that he was Voldemort! Don't flinch! Don't you dare flinch at that name! If I had told the Professors, wouldn't he have managed to somehow know that his game was up? Wouldn't he have tried to escape? Worse still, and this is typically what Professor Dumbledore do, would there not have been a wait and watch policy on what exactly he was here for?"

Dumbledore cringed at this accusation. The boy knew exactly the way he would have behaved.

"What if he wasn't taken by surprise? What if he had tried some sort of hostage situation when found out? What if he had released some sort of Dark Magic in the castle? Now that I think of it however, it is inconceivable that he would return here nearly ten years after losing his body, just to teach or even meet me or something. It is obvious that there is something in this castle that drew him here apart from-" here he looked significantly at Dumbledore and then at McGonagall to convey that this was sensitive information. The old man cottoned on quickly.

"Minerva, I think you should inform the teachers about Mr. Potter's revival and that he will soon be able to return to his classes."

She however was having none of it. "Albus!" she scolded the Headmaster in a strident tone, "I am not here as his teacher! He is James's son. I am here in that role!"

It was now a quandary. Albus looked at Harry intently, and with the thought of whether or not they could include her in Voldemort's secret. Harry looked over at the Transfiguration teacher and stared for a full minute, then returned his gaze to Dumbledore and nodded with a slight smile. Without delay, she was brought in on the all facts, truths and secrets (barring Harry's scar), and the Vow was administered. They then turned to Harry again.

"You were saying?"

"What have you hidden at Hogwarts that Voldemort needs? How did he know that whatever he needs is now at Hogwarts? Why was it here in the first place? This is a school! And don't you dare tell me a lie, Professor! As for the other thing, I need somebody who knows the castle much better than you do. I don't mean this as a slight to you, but Voldemort was reasonably sure that the thing was hidden in a place that even you didn't know about. First though answer my questions!"

Dumbledore sighed deeply, immediately drawing an irritated headshake from Harry. Realising that he was treading on thin ice against a boy from whom he couldn't defend any thought or fact, he delivered the truth in a quiet monotone, "Nicholas Flamel's Philosopher's Stone. He must have wanted it for the Elixir of Life. We had agreed to keep it safe at Hogwarts because-"

"Yes, right because Hogwarts is the safest place in the wizarding world other than Gringotts. Close to four hundred students and staff reside here, Professor. What gave you the idea that nobody would stumble across it? You must have used some highly improbable defences, in that it would be highly improbable for people to think of them, not improbable to break them. Was that supposed to be a perfect diversion? Wherever you put it, did you cast a Fidelius charm? Any notice me not charms? Was there anything pertaining to privacy? It is in that blasted third floor corridor, I know that. You were going to announce it. What then? How many kneazles would have been killed by their curiosity? Blimey, the Aurors throw a new student out for that sort of incompetence!"

As Harry's words flew thick and fast, the two Professors had the decency to look abashed. Every word was true. In keeping the stone, they had forsaken their duty to the school. They had severely endangered the students, not to mention allowing a realistic chance for Voldemort to return.

"Be that as it may, the more important thing is he has converted Ravenclaw's crown into a Horcrux. It is in the castle. He has given a golden cup with a badger on it to Bellatrix Lestrange which she has placed in her vault Gringotts. I found out about the cup from the homework you assigned me. The other one I found out today. You will also need me for both. They have Parseltongue passwords over the protective curses."

Here Frank perked up a bit. "We can claim Bellatrix's vault through the Wizengamot as payment for her crimes."

Harry beamed at him. "Excellent. That will help us set the order in which the things were created... on that note Uncle Frank, ask the Goblins to destroy it for you. They will want an audit of all things in it anyway; all you have to do is ask them to segregate the Dark artefacts and remove the magic in your presence for the cup only. That way when it comes to the rest (here he discretely brushed his hair from his scar; an action that Alice caught), we can keep the inherent magic in the objects. Goblins are proud people. They won't allow their handiwork to be destroyed." While everyone else agreed, Dumbledore fought to keep the livid grimace off his face.

"I was a fool today. I shouldn't have touched him." Harry soon relapsed into the trauma of the death that occurred, supposedly at his hands.

Then he went into distress again and in a hysterically high voice, nearly shouted, "I killed a man!" over and over again.

They realised that not a day into Hogwarts, Harry had already had his first brush with evil, and it had taken away his innocence.

Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room the following Saturday, hale and hearty but worried about the fact that he had killed a teacher on the first day of School. He needn't have bothered, however. He got a raucous welcome and he came in amid cheers and blowing horns. Fred and George Weasley had gone so far as to raise a board.

Harry Potter: Gryffindor

Defeating Lord Voldemort since 1981

Harry grimaced as he was soon pulled into a seat of the main party by Neville, Draco and the younger Weasley twins. He explained exactly what happened after he realised that it was Voldemort. He purposely kept out the part regarding the Philosopher's Stone. They in return told him that nothing had yet been taught by the teachers as the castle had undergone a thorough check by the Aurors. Some students had written home about the whole fiasco, and the Minister had compelled Dumbledore into allowing the checks. They had taken away a Cerberus and a whole plantation of Devil's Snare. He responded by relaying the verbal bashing that he had handed the Headmaster.

The only bad part in the matter was the fact that people were now sending him letters and gifts. Several of them were mortifyingly inappropriate.

"So there really is a Philosopher's Stone?"

"That's what he said Nev!" drawled Draco. "What irks me is the fact that the old man was senile enough to store such a thing in a bloody school! Way to go!" he finished clapping sarcastically.

"I am going to write to Sirius about this. He must know. That reminds me. I have to go over the Auror Laws." Harry had started poring over the laws, rules and regulations required to be followed by an Auror while arresting a suspect. He was comparing the matter with Sirius's case file and jotting down the discrepancies, to create a strong case against the ministry for illegal incarceration.

They sat poring over the books, and started with a list which was to be sent over to Uncle Ted who would be representing the ex-Auror. It was a heavy book, and seeing them engrossed, no one tried to bother them. In fact, the Weasley brother and sister duo went so far as to gawk at them for studying without anything being taught. It was around 11 that evening that the crowd started to thin out. They had made a rather commendable list.

· Arrest without proof

· Incarceration of suspect without trial for more than three months.

· Protocol for trial not followed.

· Wand not checked; snapped without following protocol, causing severe loss to defendant's magical ability.

· Preventing Auror from performing duty.

· Non-compliance of protocol regarding health of defendant.

· Right to interrogation under Veritaserum denied.

· Right to present pensieve memories denied.

· Discrimination against defendant based on family ties and name (minor charge).

· Perjury to court by Aurors on duty.

· Deprivation of custody of minor as charged by the legal decision of the head of a Most Ancient and Most Noble House.

· Wrongful confinement of Heir and then Head of a Most Ancient and Noble House.

· Wrongful confinement leading to loss of the line of a Most Ancient and Noble House, unless said Head of House was released.

They kept on with their work when they became aware of another presence in their midst. Hermione Granger was looking at them inquisitively and froze as she looked the list over. The four stared at each other uncertainly, as this was a secret that was not to be divulged.

"I – I don't mean to pry, but may I know what you are doing?" she asked.

Automatically, Draco and Neville turned to Harry, asking him the same question silently. Harry in turn looked her straight in the eye and searched her deeply. Finally, apparently satisfied, Harry decided to break the ice.

"Hermione Jean Granger, born to two dentists, living in Crawley? Derided and shunned by primary schoolmates for obsession with knowledge and books. You played as a winger for the school junior girls' football team. Excessive worship of authority figures towards whom you turned to protection before you came to Hogwarts. You are a bit unsure as to how to put that behind and make new friends here. You are also a bit scared, so, to mask that, you have learnt all your books by heart. Am I right in my assessment?"

Hermione looked at him aghast and slumped into a seat. "How did you know?"

"It is my business to know other people's business Ms. Granger."

Draco cut in here. "Don't pay attention to my idiotic and uglier brother. He likes to spout Sherlock Holmes one-liners for some unknown reason."

Hermione gave a reluctant smile. "It is true. Perhaps, now that you know, you might not want to be friends with a bookworm like me." Her sadness percolated into every word.

"You know, you really shouldn't assume things. We are your friends, but we have a condition."

She looked at them with questioning eyes,

"We call Draco Dragon or silly dragon if we feel like it; Neville is Nev; and we can't shorten my name; it's short enough as it is and not poncy like Draco's is. Similarly, we will call you something else. Your choice as to what you'd like."

For the first time in the week since she had come to Hogwarts, Hermione Granger felt a true smile break across her face. Here were people who shared her passion for books to a certain extent, knew her background somehow, and wanted to be her friends on the silliest condition she had ever heard. "Let it be anything but Hermi, then – perhaps Minnie? It's the most obvious."

They all beamed at each other.

"So now that I am Minnie, may I know what you are up to?"

It was an unspoken agreement between the three that if Harry trusted someone enough, the person was trustworthy. So they launched into a full-fledged explanation regarding Sirius, his incarceration, and why they all wanted him free. Soon she found herself being told about how they had come to know each other, including the details about Draco's father and Neville's parents. She was astounded when Harry delved into her own childhood and assured her that she was cast out by her peers for being superior, which was something they wouldn't do.

"So that is it about us Minnie. We don't keep secrets between us. We have kept two of Harry's secrets from everyone. But he divulged one to you. He is, to put it in the most simplistic terms a soul or aura reader. But he is prat enough to act on things. The other secret too has to be seen. When you will see it, he will explain. Till that time, please don't delve into it", said Neville, making sure that she knew the ground rules.

They sat in companionable silence for some time, Minnie really happy to be trusted with some of their deepest secrets. Most of all, she marvelled at Harry, and his seemingly effortless transition into the magical world. It was then that Neville mused, "We never trusted anyone that quickly, you know. How did we make an exception with her?"

"I don't know Nev. I just went with my gut feeling. We didn't tell the Weasleys everything, did we?"

"Of course you wouldn't. Hell, I wouldn't tell that bloody giggly girl anything..." Draco muttered.

And in her first contribution to the proceedings, Minnie chastised him for his language.

The four soon fell into an easy camaraderie, attending classes together, wandering around the castle, reading books from the library, completing their assignments. For all intents and purposes, they were having as normal a time as was magically possible. They first of all went and met Tonks who had avoided Harry like a plague since the first day of school. It was particularly irritating for them as it finally necessitated a proper confrontation. It was only after chasing her around for half an hour on the following Saturday that she finally was cornered by the trio.

"Why are you three sticking like burrs to me?"

"That would be because you are completely avoiding us. Why aren't you talking to us?" complained Harry.

"You are one to talk", she snorted. "I was supposed to be looking out for you three. First you make a big show at the sorting. Then you go on and take down You-Know-Who in the next hour. What am I to do then? It was supposed to be my duty to ensure that you lot don't get into trouble. You didn't even let me start." Her voice had risen to such a volume that the three boys were cowering by the end. The onslaught didn't end however. "I AM SUPPOSED TO BE YOUR ELDER BLOODY SISTER. YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO LISTEN TO ME, AND COME TO ME WHEN YOU FIND A PROBLEM, NOT HANDLE IT ON YOUR OWN, HARRY JAMES POTTER!"

"Yes ma'am", they said in unison, with a very pitiful expression, that Tonks finally calmed down and gathered them all in a hug.

"Mum sent me a howler, you know, for not taking care of you."

"Sorry Dora. Won't happen again" they chimed together.

Dora only snorted disbelievingly in response.

Soon after they left the room, Minnie accosted them. "How did it go?"

Their silent nods and grimaces were answer enough.

The lessons themselves were intriguing to say the least. Harry found himself drawn towards the wand-based magic and tended to excel in Charms and Transfiguration. The defence classes were covered by other professors intermittently, so more often than not, they were just components of an introductory course on hexes, jinxes and curses which often seemed good enough only as a joke. Highly irritated by the whole sham, but knowing that any complaint against it would only fall on deaf ears, for Dumbledore had admitted that Quirrel was the only applicant, letters soon found their way to Alice, Frank, Kingsley, Alastor and even Sirius (he would intermittently slip in rather creative uses for various charms and hexes and spells).

The potions class was for Harry and Neville an unmitigated disaster. Having read books on muggle science, he had developed an inexplicable distaste towards chemistry, and this subject went too close to potions. It wasn't helped by the fact that the first lecture itself was the start of doom. Professor Severus Snape (Snivellus, as Sirius called him), started off with a rapid fire questionnaire related to ingredients, which Harry had answered as honestly as he could, if he knew the answers. Snape, however, was trying his level-best to get on Harry's bad side. Hermione and Draco, on the other hand were extremely excited as they both knew all the answers. This lost them all House points. In most cases, neither of the four would have really bothered, but then Snape started spouting insults to Hermione. That was when Harry bored into the man deeper and deeper. His inroads into the soul of Severus Snape were causing severe changes to the normally calm and decent face of the boy; it now looked purely demonic.

"Five points from Gryffindor for being an insufferable know-it-all, Mi-", started the man, blustering into the worst disaster that he could have imagined.

All of a sudden, he was hanging upside down from the ceiling, with Harry making him turn cartwheels in the air. It drew sharp gasps from the class, as Harry stood with air of a man facing a mortal fight.

"UNHAND ME POTTER!" yelled the potions master.

He didn't realise that he was facing an adversary who wasn't going to budge an inch, and worse still, had gotten him to bare his entire life without knowing about it.

"Why would I do that, Snivellus? Don't you look fetching as a bat, in the dungeons, hanging from the ceiling? What have you got against Minnie?" The questions may have been asked in a calm light manner, but there was no doubting the anger that made every syllable tremble beneath that surface. Severus Snape, for the first time in his life, found himself facing James and Lily Potter's son, not just some Potter. At that moment however, he was a Professor, and he was going to prove it to the brat. It didn't fail to strike him, even in his incandescent rage, that Harry had taken the same action as his father.

"This could get you expelled Potter, as I had told Dumbledore. You are just the arrogant, bullying son of –", his rant was cut-off by Harry's cold hatred permeating through his voice.

"– James and Lily Potter, and am also the godson of Alice Longbottom. You filthy Death Eater, you should be rotting in Azkaban. You sold them all to Voldemort personally. Then you came grovelling to the old man, asking for forgiveness and asked him to protect my mother because you thought she was your friend. What about the Longbottoms then? If the Headmaster saved you, as it seems he has, then it is another addition to the litany of mistakes that he has committed. You were willing to let my father and me be dead, something that my mother would never allow. You were willing to sell my godmother, her husband and son. Need I say more? You want me to unhand you, Snivellus? I will allow that only when you share Bellatrix's cell, and tell her that we all live in spite of her tender ministrations." Harry then proceeded to drop him unceremoniously to the floor, a crunch emanating from the place where the Potions Master was heaped telling the sorry tale of broken bones.

"I will let you know, you bastard, it wasn't any of your past criminal activities, which the Headmaster so graciously forgave, it was you calling Minnie a jumped up mudblood, even if it was in your head. Remember another jumped up, red-headed, mudblood know-it-all in the summer of 1976? She was protected by a group whom you, Death Eater, called a bunch of bullies. Anyone who you bully now will have the same protection from me. Your master is not dead as you saw last week. Let him try, I will make sure he takes you and every other slave of his on with him when he finally leaves us. Remember that you owed a Life Debt to one of them, and then conspired to cause that person's death. I will call it on you when the time comes, as is my right. Even Dumbledore won't be able to save you then."

He then cast a quick Diffindo on the man's robes' left sleeve to expose the Dark Mark in its partly faded glory for all to see and collected his things and stalked out of the classroom, leaving behind a rather stunned and mostly angry group of students.

Snape reported the incident with several embellishments, including gloating, attacking a teacher and use of unknown curses to an extremely incensed McGonagall and Dumbledore, only for Draco, Neville and Hermione to foil him by suggesting the whole class as a witness and offering their own memories as evidence (they had studied the evidence gathering material in the book they had been studying for Sirius). They had had the pleasure of watching a very oddly satisfying spectacle: that of Harry's accusations causing Dumbledore to go red with anger and green as if he were about to be sick. The icing on the cake was an irate McGonagall blowing her head off at the old man.

"So", she said pinning the two gentlemen professors with a deathly cold gaze. "You have each a hand in killing James and Lily, at least indirectly?"

Dumbledore started blustering about it. "Now look here, Minerva, you have no proof." His normally twinkling eyes held none of the twinkle now.

"No proof, Albus? I will have you know, that I will take every word that exits the boy's mouth in almost every matter as proof. You tried to do away with me when I asked to meet him when he woke again after the fiasco on the 1st of September. He was giving information that you wanted and didn't want to share. You keep your secrets while keeping a facade that you trust the rest of us. It is demeaning. He made it clear that he did not know whether or not I could be trusted, which, frankly is the right way; forthright but not insulting. You asked him to look at me and I know that he judged me. You take his word as proof, so will I. I asked him after that day about what he had been looking for. That boy told me everything. He trusted me enough to tell me some of his secrets and also that he had some secrets he wasn't comfortable to divulge, yet. So, yes, his word is proof enough for me. What's more, my colleagues will now know exactly why you have kept your pet Death Eater here"

She then proceeded to storm out of the Headmaster's office leaving three very confused but pleased students and two colleagues dreading her ire.

Albus Dumbledore looked morosely at the group seated in front of him. Alice had received a letter from both her son and her godson separately, and had wasted no time before turning up at the gates of Hogwarts, giving Hagrid only a perfunctory nod in greeting as she strode towards the castle faster than the thestral-drawn carriages could have taken her. Frank had followed her dutifully. It was only a fool who tried to pacify Alice Longbottom when she was in one of her rages. It was something common to most witches – magic seemed to amplify both their anger and maternal protectiveness.

Harry was glaring defiantly and angrily at his Headmaster, and Dumbledore, for the life of him, couldn't truly meet the boy's eyes. At that moment he was torn between wanting to pacify the people seated around him, and truly appreciating the fact that he was Lily and James' son. In one fell stroke, Severus had been rendered useless by the boy, and he hadn't wasted the opportunity of replicating his father's treatment of the dour Potions Master. For better or for worse, it was a blow to the standing of the man for both sides. By his side, Alice was glaring equally viciously, as was Frank. Severus was sitting to the side, his face a picture of distaste and detestation.

"So, Dumbledore, you not only save the man who destroyed our families, but inflict this abomination on my children?" Alice's tone was acidic.

"Just one of those is your child, Longbottom," Snape spat.

"Well, she is my godmother. You did help kill my mum after all, Death Eater!"

"As I told you, Albus!" complained Severus. "The brat is just like his father!"

"Quite true," answered Frank calmly. "James really hated Death Eaters."

"Severus has my complete trust," Albus declared.

"And yet you flicker within when you say that," piped Harry.

Albus shut up. He had quite forgotten how the problem had come up in the first place.

Harry pressed his advantage. "It seems you too are dithering after all. How can you trust a man who was a Death Eater, among those whose discriminatory behaviour and bigotry was stretched to such an extent that they turned to murder? Now here you have a man who called his supposed 'best friend' a mudblood, and then a few years later, when the object of his obsession was endangered, came begging for help and clemency, offering inside information. Now you find your weakness, your desire to see the best of people being preyed upon by a man who goes back to thinking of an eleven-year-old a mudblood..."

"SHUT UP!" roared Snape. "JUST SHUT UP! HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW? YOU TOLD HIM DIDN'T YOU ALBUS? YOU TOLD HIM! YOU BETRAYED ME!"

Albus looked truly stricken as he denied it. "I swear I didn't, Severus. I don't ever need to tell anyone anything, particularly Harry. I told you to control yourself, and you couldn't!"

"You don't trust me anymore, do you? You will take Potter's word. I am no use to anyone, after all, now that the brat has exposed me..."

"Now you are giving a sob story," Alice interrupted with a malicious glare at Snape. "Now that you are exposed as the one who the Death Eaters perceived as one of the two who led Voldemort to his temporary downfall, and are exposed to Dumbledore as a liar, you will have to finally display who you are really loyal to – yourself!"

"I don't have to listen to this. If I have to make my way onwards, I will, and I shall not bother with any of you. You included, Albus," the man spat.

"Oh, do accept a parting gift from me!" Harry pled in fake joy.

"Just because you can kill one man doesn't mean I am as easy to kill, boy!"

"Please stop this!" Albus finally made himself heard over the warring parties. "Severus, you are both right and you are both wrong. I trust him, but yes I find my trust wavering. I gave you a second chance, and you spat on it."

"What proof do you have but the brat's and the mudblood's word?"

"There's the problem, Severus. You so strive to implicate yourself that I have no option but to believe them." Albus really expected better from him.

"What are you going to do? Hand me over to the DMLE?"

"I do want to. I so very want to do so, believe me. But that would make his position untenable," Alice admitted. "Now that Voldemort is confirmed to not be dead, he is still needed – if only as a figurehead. We would have no problem if you left Britain and never came back, really. The next time I see your face, I really will ensure that you get the Dementor's Kiss for your role in the murders of James and Lily."

"Oh then you better do that now," Snape retorted hatefully. "When the Dark Lord returns, he will call me back to his side!"

"Are you threatening an Auror?" Frank asked, just as Severus' sleeve was torn again.

"What are you doing, brat?"

"Finite!" hissed Harry in Parseltongue, pointing his wand at the Dark Mark. The others all watched in horror as Snape screamed in unbearable agony as the black snake protruding out of the skull tore itself from his skin. It slithered out at an ever so slow pace, unravelling the skull as it lengthened. It seemed as if the pain would be enough to kill Severus Snape, but the man was made of sterner stuff, apparently. Snape's voice had gone hoarse as he could no longer scream, even though the agony wouldn't subside, till finally the snake slithered onto the floor. Alice, Frank and Dumbledore were quick o cast cutting curses on the beast, which was gearing up to attack Harry.

Miraculously, Snape was still alive at the end of the ordeal. He had, however, lost any semblance of dignity, as he laid whimpering and sobbing on the floor.

"Now you have no excuse," Harry dispassionately declared.

Albus crouched down to his soon-to-be former Potions Master and checked his vitals and the hand that bore the Mark. While the pulse was erratic, it was certainly slowing down as the pain impulses were slowly receding. The hand though, it was already healing! Turning to the boy and his new family, the old man gaped. All Albus could do was stare at Harry Potter in wonder, really.

It was a long half hour before Severus could even summon enough energy to move, let alone sit up. And it was only on the hour's mark when he had accumulated enough energy to croak, "What made you do that?"

"The black colour, which you willingly bore, was tightening around you, making your own dull blue blacker and blacker. It was just an experiment. If you were cured, it would help in the future. If not, I didn't owe you any pity or sympathy."

Severus flexed his hand twice as the feeling returned. He also felt miraculously light, and as much as he wanted to shout and get angry, he just couldn't. He was free. He was finally free!

"I will remember this Potter," he promised. Yet, as he would have in the time before he was truly freed, the promise wasn't one of retribution – it was one of gratitude.

Harry only shrugged. "You can start by not being an unmarked Death Eater."

In the end, Snape gave an Unbreakable Vow to totally renounce bigotry in all forms and to forever stay away from any Potter or Longbottom. He was thankful that he had not been given the mandate to leave Britain. He owed Potter a debt of gratitude, whether the brat recognised it or not. Now that he was truly free and his own man, for the first time in his life, he decided he would repay the debts accrued to the father and son - if only to honour the memory of Lily Potter. For whether they called her an obsession, or whether he thought her to be his true love, the fact remained that she was his first, truest, and only friend.