Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

1: Unexpected Reunion

Petunia Dursley nee Evans was not considered an attractive woman. She had been described by many to be quite thin with a rather long neck and was even compared to that of a horse. But she, in the eyes of her husband and herself, was just what she needed to be.

But aside of her looks, she was also considered to have one hell of a protective streak. Especially when it concerns her family, mostly her loving husband, Vernon, and her adorable baby, Dudley. But unknown to most, her little sister, Lily, was also apart of that subcategory of protection.

She admits, as a young girl, she was both afraid and jealous of Lily's obvious power. It didn't help that the boy that lived near them encouraged her sister to continue the practice of witchcraft that she also began to fear him as well. It wasn't normal and when they both left for nearly an entire year, every year, the longing to return to the relationship she had before wizards and magic were even in their lives.

Petunia also admitted this to Lily Potter nee Evans the day she got married, only a couple hours after the ceremony and already deep into the party afterwards. She was emotionl, they both were, and she did her best to amend what she couldn't after years of not speaking to each other.

Now, months later and many letters exchanged, Petunia felt that she and her sister were on better terms than they were before. They had even agreed to meet together sometime soon, to introduce her Dudley to her Harry. Well, they had agreed to do so but then Lily and that Potter boy had to go into hiding. The woman was concerned, of course, about her sister's and brother-in-law's welbeing, even if the latter was the second strangest man she's ever seen (Dumbledore being the first). 

It was now November and it had been a couple of months since she last heard from Lily and James. The only thing keeping her at Number Four Privet Drive was her family and the letters she got from Dumbledore and, occasionally, their friend Remus and Sirius letting them know about their friends "The Jones" and their son "Marty". Otherwise she'd be out there looking and fighting tooth and nail for her family.

But something about what her husband had noticed throughout the day is what kept her up that night, her husband being in a similar fit thought his was more about the strange occurances he had delt with that day. She heard about the owls, shooting stars, people dressed in what looked to be robes or other mismatched clothing that didn't seem to appear just right. 

It left her worried. Vernon described these people as if they were rejoicing something. If that were true than something must of happened in the wizarding world, cause why else would owls and people dressed in robes be seen so much today? Meaning that James and Lily....

Petunia rolled over in bed, glancing at the clock at her bedside to check the time. It was only an hour past midnight and the woman still couldn't seem to fall asleep. 

Deciding that laying around wasn't going to make her sleep faster, the blonde woman got up from her side of the bed and her robe, wrapping it around her as she slides her slippers onto her feet. Padding down the hall she checked into her son's room, smiling softly as her little son snored almost as loud as his father. Then she left as quietly as she came and went downstairs for a glass of calming tea. 

As she was about to turn the corner to the kitchen, she heard a small scuffling sound from outside. She figured it might have been one of her neighbors, coming home late from a family outing. She knew that Number Three sometimes goes to an extended family dinner in the city, but rarely are they home this late. 

So she took a detour from her tea and Petunia headed to the door, looking out of the little peephole to see what's outside. Nothing out of the ordinary, though it seems that the lights down the lane need to be looked at as they flickered slightly, as warped from the glass as they were. 

Petunia unlocked her door and creaked it open for a better look, glancing around until she looked down. Perhaps the milkman came a little early for once, so best to get the milk now rather than later, seeing as she's awake. Instead, what she saw made her gasp.

A baby boy, wrapped tightly in a thin blanket as he frowned, uncomfortable in the basket and the cold of the early morning. A thick mop of black hair covered his forehead and as she bent down to pick him up a letter slipped from his blanket. Hugging the baby close, she bent down to grab the letter. Shockingly enough, she recognized the handwriting, but only seconds later she felt uneasiness well up in her heart. 

She looked around one last time before slipping back inside the house, easing into the couch and turning on the light besides the armrest. It agitated the little boy in her arms but he easily calmed back down into the ease of sleep as he snuggled back into her for warmth. 

Adjusting her grip on the babe, she continued to look at the parchment. Their name was written in Albus Dumbledore's handwriting on the front, in thick black ink. She opened it and read it. 

Tears rolled down her thin cheeks, landing on the parchment as she read through it, learning of her sister's death by the hands of the evil wizard lord. Her husband died only minutes earlier, though they both died for the sake of their son's life. Their son who is now sleeping peacefully in her arms. 

Setting down the tear stained paper, she weeped for her sister. She weeped for the loss of her nephew's parents, whom he'll never get to see ever again, and weeped for her Dudders, who would never get to meet his aunt and uncle on her side. She still felt grief in her heart once the tears were done, and she turned off the light and shuffled back upstairs.

Turning back towards Dudley's room, she placed her nephew right besides him, brushing back Harry Potter's hair and seeing the lightning bolt, still fresh, on his forhead for the first time. The pain this child had gone through in one night was immense and she felt that she would be the one to help him get through the rest of his life.

She tucked her own son back under his blankets, which were kicked off sometime over the last few minutes, and went back to bed, now feeling the immense weight of sleep grip her tightly. 

Getting back into bed woke up her husband who mumbled something under his breath as he turned over to snuggle into his wife.

"Just go back to sleep, dear," she whispered back, feeling numb. "I'll tell you in the morning."

And then they were both asleep. 

Chapter Text

2: Growing Up

Petunia Dursley was absolutely angry, furious even. On the floor was what seemed like hundreds of tiny pieces of colored porcelain and two guilty looking boys, aged six. The one on the left was a chubby little boy with blonde hair and blue eyes, looking almost like his father with hints of her mother hidden behind the chub. On the right a boy that was skinnier than his partner in crime, but not by too much, with forever messy black hair, green eyes, and sun-kissed skin. Together, Harry Potter and Dudley Dursley were mischievous devils that had just broken Petunia's second favourite vase.

"What were going through both of your heads that made you think that this was a good idea?" she asked them both, nearly growling it out. She held out the baseball in her right hand, her left placed firmly on her hip as she leant forwards to made sure she held eye contact with her two boys. They were both silent until she managed to catch Harry's eyes and he froze. "Harry? Care to tell me what happened?"

The little boy gulped before letting the confession loose.

"Dudley said it was too hot outside so he suggested that we play it inside so we didn't die from being too hot like that one guy nearly did on House that we watched on Monday last week an--"

"That is so not true!" Dudley interrupted. "Mummy, Harry said you wouldn't've minded because you told him we could as long as we were careful!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yuh-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yuh-huh!"

This pattern continued on for a couple of minutes while Petunia tried her best to figure out who told the truth and who didn't. Dudley, her Duddikins, was usually a good boy, though is easily misguided. She was sure if it weren't for Harry, he would have been in trouble multiple times for thinking what was wrong was right until he was told it was wrong by herself or Vernon.

As for Harry, well, he was already a smooth talker at the age of six. He could worm his way out of trouble better than a fox, though that didn't mean he didn't slip up every now and then. Like the time when he said he finished all his Halloween candy but ended up hiding it in his room for a week, eating it when he should have been asleep. If Petunia didn't help him clean his room, she was sure that it would have gone on for much longer until he truly was out of candy.

In any case, punishing both was the best way to go. They both decided to play it inside the house and they both, in turn, managed to break the vase while she was outside gardening. It would show that neither get special treatment when they were both doing the wrong.

So she rose a hand to silence her boys and waited until she had their full attention.

"You are both grounded from playing any video games for the rest of the summer --" the boys groaned but she continued" -- and you're to do the weeding in the garden for two weeks." The boys groaned even more, but Petunia kept her stern look on her face.

"If you continue to groan and make a fuss I will add more to your punishment." That shut them up, the boys locking their lips tight, almost synchronized.

"Now go to your rooms. You will not come down until Vernon is home from work." The blonde woman pointed towards the staircase with the hand that still held the baseball. Both little boys nodded and began to trudge up the stairs, but Petunia stopped them again.

"Dudley, give me the bat as well," she ordered, and held out her free hand for the wooden bat. The blonde boy frowned some more but gave it up, trailing after his cousin once it was out of his hands, head hanging low. 

Petunia didn't like punishing her children -- yes, children, Harry was as much hers as was Dudley -- but it was the only way they will learn to understand that what they did was sometimes wrong. But she knew that their time in their room, by themselves, will give them time to think through what they did wrong and hopefully, by the time Vernon comes home and dinner is ready, they will apologize for breaking her vase and playing baseball in the house.

Vernon sighed, opening his newspaper on the morning of July 31st, 1988. It had been seven years, almost exactly, since his nephew Harry had come into their home, and it certainly hasn't been boring. 

Harry and Dudley were as thick as thieves, though they've been getting in trouble less often as they were when they were younger. Year 3 of compulsory school was usually using up most of their time inside the house. Dudley was having a difficult time with Maths so Harry, who excelled well in most subjects, was helping the boy whenever he was done with his own homework. 

But once they were done, they managed to get into precarious situations that usually resulted in something getting broken or someone getting hurt. Vernon was just thankful that it was never like that on mornings like this, the boys still half asleep as they stumbled down the stairs after his wife wakes them up. 

Unlike most mornings, though, this one was just slightly different. It was his nephew's birthday and sitting on the couch were multiple presents, ready to be opened in view of his family and friends. There were only five so far, one from Dudley, one from Marge, and three from Petunia and himself. Later, when Harry's friends would start to arrive, there would be more for him. It would be just like Dudley's birthday.

Hearing the stairs creak, Vernon looked up from his paper to see a sleepy Harry, who sat next to an equally tired Dudley who was just barely eating his food. Petunia was still at the stove, cooking the last bits of bacon, but she turned around to pat a good morning to Harry before continuing the cooking. 

"Good morning, Harry," Vernon greeted, setting down the paper to start his own breakfast. "Excited for today?"

Harry mumbled his own good morning as he nodded at Vernon's question at the same time. Vernon chuckled but let the boy eat and slowly wake up before starting any real conversation. While he did so, he reflected more on Harry's influence on his family.

Before he came, their family was just barely starting. It was a little difficult raising Dudley, who he admits was a little bit spoiled at only one years old, and it was even more so with a second child under their roof. Vernon began working more to try and get enough money to be comfortable with two children while Petunia spent more time inviting their neighbors with children of their own to hold playdates while also garnering more help to raise the two boys while Vernon was out (if the neighbors knew that she was using them to be a sub-parent while he was working, he wasn't sure). 

But it was better by the time the boys were both three. Vernon had gained a promotion which allowed more income and more time to be spending with his two boys and give Petunia a little more time with herself.

During this time, Vernon was now able to see the small traces of magic around their home. He was shocked at first (who wouldn't be when they've never seen it before) and Petunia had to tell him about the magical world that worked alongside theirs. At first they both believed it was just Harry, who did these things, but when Dudley was just with one of his parents began to show similar signs, they knew that it was both. 

Petunia was both a little jealous and scared for her son, seeing as her sister was a similar case to him, but it eased off after a couple of months, when her son began noticing her strange behavior. His wife, who didn't want to lose her baby boy to the same envy and anger that lead to separating from her sister and almost losing her forever. 

For the last couple of years the Dursleys kept the secret of magic from their boys to the best of their abilities and still tried to contact someone with magic to help explain it to Harry and Dudley. They haven't gotten a response to the ones they knew and wondered if they would ever get one until they were ready to go to Hogwarts in just a few years.

Vernon stopped thinking when he noticed Harry and Dudley beginning to perk up and his wife joining them at the breakfast table. He smiled and tried to talk to his family once more, to begin their day of celebrating Harry's life.

Dudley smiled at Harry as they were at the zoo for Dudley's eleventh birthday. The boys had been given a shock earlier that morning when an owl flew into their window, nearly breaking through it, with a letter for Dudley to join a school filled with magic. His mum and dad had then explained to them that what they thought was a trick to their eyes or something else was really what the wizards called accidental magic that occured when a child with magic was growing up.

In short, Dudley had magic and he was gonna go to a magic school once September rolls around. 

Harry was a little jealous at first and Dudley felt a little scared that he would be going there by himself until his mum explained more about his aunt and uncle being from the magic world themselves. Both he and Harry were happy that they would end up going together, once Harry's letter arrived as well. 

They were told to keep the world of magic a secret from others, though, so when Piers arrived to go with them to the zoo, Harry and Dudley had tried very hard not to blurt out what they had just learned.

"Look!" Harry said, pointing at the reptile behind the glass. Dudley did, and his eyes widened as he saw the formerly still snake begin to move. "It's moving Dud! It looks like it can understand English!"

"You were talking to it?"

"Yeah, of course I was. Were you zoning out again?"

"Watching a snake not moving gets boring, Harry," Dudley said rolling his eyes. "I don't understand your facsination with reptiles. I just want to go see the African exhibit now."

"We will, we will, don't worry," said Harry. "Just let me get one last look, so I can remember what it looks like."

Dudley sighed but looked away from the snake to the other glass exhibits around them. He didn't like the reptile house, but he knew his cousin did. Piers had gone to look more around until the family went somewhere else, and Dudley could see him looking at some of the frogs that were just down the way. He knew that Piers was going to a boarding school himself, a school that Dudley would have gone to if he wasn't going to Hogwarts, so he hoped the boy would still be his friend when he comes back duing the Hols. 

Screams interrupted his thoughts and he turned around to find the snake gone and Harry looking pale as a sheet. Looking around he noticed the large Brazilian snake slithering away to the exit, through peoples legs, and out the open door.

"Harry, what did you do?!" Dudley whispered at him.

"I-I dunno, the glass sorta disappeared."

"I hope you don't get in troble with mum."

"Me too, Dudley... Me too..."

Harry smiled as he woke up on his eleventh birthday, tossing off the thin blanket he had for hot summer nights and rushed downstairs. Dudley was already down, sitting at the window where his own owl nearly crashed through, a bowl of cereal in front of him on the table. Uncle Vernon was reading the newspaper and Aunt Petunia was cleaning the stove top, but they too were waiting for the owl. 

The dark haired boy bounded up to the empty seat next to his cousin and began to dig into his own breakfast, eyes occasionally glancing up to the window to hopefully see the Hogwarts owl appearing on the sill of the window or even in the distance.

It didn't take long before a barn owl appeared, this time landing on the flower hanger that his aunt put out the day after Dudley's birthday. Dudley opened the window and tried his best to tie off the letter. Harry had to help, and when it was off they both jumped up and down.

Reading the letter, Harry smile grew:

Mr. H Potter

Second Bedroom

4. Privet Drive,

Little Winging, Surrey

Harry was going to Hogwarts.

Chapter Text

3: Hogwarts Hogwarts Hoggy Warty Hogwarts

It had been chaos the few weeks before Sepetember first. A Hogwarts professor had visited their household later on Harry's birthday, to give an explanation that wasn't entirely necessary, but was helpful for Petunia and Vernon, even though the former knew plenty about the wizarding world already. But the one thing she had forgotten was the entrance to Diagon Alley so they gladly accepted the muggle address to the Leaky Cauldron and hoped the boys could see what they couldn't when they got there.

Once inside, Vernon was a little overwhelmed at everything. Wizards wearing robes instead of normal jeans and a T-shirt or even a suit (though he did see one or two of those milling about), wands flying about and doing magical things, and exotic animals being kept as pets. Petunia held his hand throughout most of the trip through the Leaky and part of the way after visiting Gringotts. At some point Vernon felt comfortable enough to even chit chat with a redheaded man who seemed very excited about Muggle technology while they were in Flourish and Blotts.

By the end of the day long shopping trip, Dudley and Harry were even more excited then ever to start school, which was a feat as Dudley wasn't a fan of school in the first place. Maybe it was because non-wizarding school didn't allow owls or cats or toads as pets to be on grounds. His owl, Nubia, was a beauty: golden feathers that gleamed in the sun, bright orange eyes, and a unique pattern of smaller black feathers, especially around the eyes and the feathers that made his bird look like she had horns.

Harry's on the other hand, was a beatiful white snowy owl with golden eyes, who he named after a famous witch in Hogwarts: A History: Hedwig. She wasn't as eye popping gorgeous as Nubia, but she had some form of grace that Dudley's owl didn't have that made her appear to be just as magnificent as she.

The morning of September first would have been as chaotic as the others if it weren't for the fact that the two eleven year olds packed up the night before and set their alarms for two hours before 11 so they wouldn't miss the train to their new school. It was about an hour drive from Surrey to London, after all.

"Are you sure you got everything, Dudders? Harry?" Petunia questioned, kissing both boys affectionately on the forehead, her hands squishing their cheeks. "All your books, your papers, and everything else?"

"Mum, they're called parchment!" Dudley groaned, feeling entirely too embarrassed as his mother smothered his cousin and him with hugs and kisses in public. The maroon train on platform 9 and three quarters were standing behind them, with many other parents giving heartfelt farewells to their children before they boarded the train.

"And of course we have everything," Harry continued. "We packed our trunks yesterday and double checked them thid morning. And if we're running low, I'm sure we can always get some more during the holiday, Aunt Petunia."

Petunia sniffed and wiped away a tear that was falling down her cheek. "I know, Harry dear, but I've had you for so long in my life, the both of you, I'm not sure I can bear seeing you both off."

"They're going to be alright, Pet. They've been raised the Dursley way, they can survive through anything now" Vernon said. He placed a hand on the shoulder of each boy as he turned to give his goodbyes to them. "Now you two better be on your best behavior. I don't want to hear from the school that you're failing your classes or starting any fights, you hear? If that's the case, you're going to be punished once you get back home."

"Understood, dad," Dudley stated, and Harry nodded besides him. 

After one last goodbye hug from the both of them, Petunia and Vernon were waving at the train as it began to leave the station. Harry and Dudley were leaning out of the windows, just slightly, as they waved back and they did so until each pair were just a small dot to the other. Then the two Dursleys left the stations to go back to Surrey as the two boys made their way to Hogwarts, school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Harry sat silently on the opposite side of the compartment from Dudley, skimming through Hogwarts: A History for a little bit before he got bored and tossed the book back into his over-shoulder bag. He had tead the text three times already and the fourth was just too boring to bear. 

As for Dudley, he looked ready to pass out for a little nap until it was time to get off the train. Instead, a knock on the compartment door snapped them both to attention, and they noticed a red haired boy standing awkwardly at the entrance.

"Mind if I sit here?" he asked them, looking at the large open space on both sides of them. "Everywhere else is quite full."

"Sure," Dudley answered, scooting over slightly in case the new boy wanted to sit next to him. Harry did the same and Ron slid in besides him.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

It was silent for a little while before Harry decided it was best to introduce themselves.

"I'm Harry Potter and that's my cousin Dudley," he started. "We come from a Muggle family, in a way. My mother had magic, as did my father, but I've been living with my aunt, uncle and cousin for as long as I could remember, and they don't have magic until Dudley, that is."

"Nice to meet you," the boy said. He held out a hand for Harry to shake, then Dudley. "I'm Ron Weasley."

"Nice to meet you too," Dudley told him. 

"I... I don't mean to sound rude..." Ron began, looking nervous to finish his sentence. A quick second later, he squared his shoudlers and continued, "Are you really Harry Potter?"

"Yes. That's the name I was born with. Dudley can confirm, if you need it--"

"No, no!" Ron interrupted. "It's just, everyone knows how famous your name is. I wouldn't be too surprised if someone from an unknown family used your name to try and get an easy O out of their schooling."

"O?"

"Yeah, for Outstanding. It's how we grade our assignments and exams. O is the highest. That's obviously the best. T is for Troll, and no one wants to get that one," the ginger boy explained.

"What's the average grade?" Dudley questioned, looking quite interested.

"I guess that would be an A, for Acceptable."

"So the Muggle version of yours would be An easy A, which would probably be weird for you, huh?"

Ron cracked a smile. "It is."

The trio continued to converse animatedly, going back and forth between Muggle related topics to Wizarding based ones. Ron explained his family, being the last of six boys he was expected to follow in their path, which he found to be quite annoying.

"If you really want to stand out in your family," Harry began," then why don't you go the oppostite of what they expect of you. Instead of going to Gryffindor, like all your brothers, then go to Slytherin, or even Hufflepuff if you need to."

"Why not Ravenclaw?" Ron asked, looking a bit offended. "I mean, I know I'm not the smartest, but still."

"Isn't one of your brothers extremely orderly and smart?" Harry continued after Ron nodded a confirmation," Then if you go to Ravenclaw, you'd be expected to be just like him, even though that house has other characteristics aside from intelligence."

"I guess your right there, mate," Ron agreed after a few minutes of pondering. Harry let loose a small, inaudible sigh of relief when he realized he didn't insult the other boy unintentionally. "So Slytherin or Hufflepuff, rather than Gryffindor? Interesting. It'd be a bit hard to do Hufflepuff without blowing up at them for being too into doing things 110% but Slytherin would also be a bit annoying cause most are stuck up pricks...." Ron thought some more before smirking and coming to a conclusion. "I'll try for Slytherin then. I do enjoy a challenge."

Harry grinned back and Dudley rolled his eyes, before they continued to chit-chat until a Prefect opened their compartment door to alert them to change into the outer robes of their uniform. The rest of their clothes wouldn't necessarily be used until school officially begins, so the Sorting could be as comfortable as everyone would like. 

Half an hour later, all first years were piled into boats, four students to each floating piece of magicked wood. Ron went with the two cousins and a fourth joined them, a rather squished faced girl who wasn't attractive but wasn't ugly either. She introduced herself as Pansy Parkinson, a Pureblood (said Ron, at least when he leant over to Harry to whisper in his ear), and she was quite fun to tell nervous, eleven-year-old jokes to. She especially seemed to enjoy the "Yo Mama" jokes, even though Dudley was terrible at making them up.

The boats turned the corner and suddenly dozens of floating lights appeared in the distance, the fog clearing and the large castle of Hogwarts showing herself to her new students. They all gasped and the large man with them gave a hearty laugh before guiding them all to the base of the island the castle was resting on, helping the more shakey students back on land.

Harry felt Dudley slip his larger hand into his, and he squeezed his cousins hand, both anxious of what was to come. 

Chapter Text

4: Better Be.... Gryfvanclawtherpuff! Wait, That Doesn't Exist...

The giant bearded man that lead them to the boats now lead them up the small stone steps. Harry was still holding onto Dudley's hand, anxiety pooling in the pit of his stomach. It was an unnecessary anxiety, but one that Harry couldn't really control, though his outward appearance said otherwise. 

Dudley, on the other hand, was a jittery mess. His palms were sweaty, his legs felt like jelly, and he looked like he was about to puke up his sweets. He could tell, though, that his cousin felt the same, even though he looked as cool as a cucumber. 

In short, both boys wanted to run back home, even though it was a foolish thought. 

They hardly paid attention to a similarly nervous boy getting a toad back nor the giant man knocking on the huge oak door that lead inside to the castle.

They did pay attention when a stern looking woman with black hair pulled tight against her head appeared, emerald robes falling still. Most of the children felt like this was a woman that was too terrifying to piss off.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," the grounds keeper told the woman.

She nodded and gave her thanks, and pulled the door open a little more as she ushered the young eleven year olds inside. Harry couldn't help but gape at how large the entrance hall was, being big enough to fit his and Dudley's house in, still with plenty of room to stand on the roof comfortably. Torches lined the walls, high enough that no child of any size could reach and set flammable things on fire more easily. 

The group of first years followed after the witch, until they entered a smaller room, a chamber, that was off to the side of an impressively huge set of wooden doors. Harry could hear thousands of voices coming from them as they passed, and he noticed the slight twitch Dudley gave as he was momentarily distracted at the noise. As was to be expected, the larger boy had a harder time sitting still than most. Harry understood that his cousin was a doer, rather than a thinker. He wondered if he'd excell at deminstrations, then...

Before the dark haired boy could continue to ponder, his thoughts were interrupted by Professor McGonagall, who now stoof at the ready to give a rather life changing speech for all the eleven year olds. 

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she began. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. " Harry had to hold back a snort. His family was technically inside Hogwarts so he literally had family within the castle. "You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced oustanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points." Dudley frowned. He wondered how much trouble he and Harry would accidentally cause (because, no doubt, that will happen often even if they did their best to avoid it) and if they would get any special treatment, with Harry being famous and all. "At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."

Professor Mcgonagall finally took a breath.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Harry could swear her eyes seemed to stray a moment too long on some other children before she told them she'd be back shortly, and left the small chamber.

Dudley began to smooth out his robes, knowing that he didn't exactly put them neatly into his trunk and it had a ton of wrinkles all over, some more noticable than others. He tried to help Harry flatten his out of control hair, even Ron tried to help, but it popped back up seconds after. Harry had to help Ron with the smudge on his nose that not even his mother could remove before he was rushed onto the train. It was still there, seeing as spit did very little to get it off, but it was less eye catching than it was.

"How exactly so they sort us?" Dudley asked Ron and Pansy, the latter sticking with them even though her pureblooded friends flocked back to her once they were off the boat. 

"Some sort of test, I think," Ron answered, but he looked unsure of his response. "Fred says it hurts a lot, but I think (and hope) he was joking."

The muggle-raised boys didn't have time to panic at the thought of a test being held in front of the entire school watching them, one hoping it wasn't magic based while the other hoped it was mutiple choice, before Pansy gave her input.

"My father said it wasn't too hard, a waste of time for him, really. Mother said it was a life changing experience, but neither would give me a solid answer." Pansy was a little miffed, and her friends gave some input after introducing themselves, even though Ron knew somewhat who they were.

Millicent Bulstrode, a larger girl with black wavy hair and a round face, swore that they had to recite a poem from memory and that would let the professors know where to put them. If you got it right, one-hundred and ten percent, you were a Ravenclaw. If not, well, then the judges would put you where you fit in best.

Daphne Greengrass, a blond girl who looked like she'd break if she took a wrong step, laughed at that and said it was a spell only Professor Dumbledore could cast that lit you up the color of the house you were destined to be in. That's why she "wore a silver and green hair pin to match". 

As for Susan Bones, the last of the girls who had her hair tied back in pigtails, she just shook her head and muttered something about her Aunt, who told her what it was but she swore not to reveal the answer to her friends, in case it ruined the surprise.

In short, it didn't soothe Harry, Dudley and Ron any less, the latter hoping that reading poetry wasn't the right answer cause he had a hard enough time remembering what he had to do for chores back home. They didn't have to worry long, thankfully, before McGonagall came back in and ushered the first years into the Great Hall (after quite a startle from the ghosts that wandered past them). 

The Great Hall was magnificent, especially towards muggleborns and half-bloods. The ceiling was truly eye catching; hundreds of floating candles seemed to be resting among the sky, hanging over the heads of the other students sitting among the four long tables. Among them were floating banners of gold, maroon, emerald and azule. 

As they walked, Ron could hear a rather talkative first year whisper to another, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History." Ron rolled his eyes and almost muttered a small 'obviously', but decided against it. His eyes were immediately taken to the trio of redheads near the front of the table under the maroon banner, and his conversations with Dudley and Harry resurfaced to his mind. 

Ron took a deep breath to calm his nerves, swallowed, and continued to put one foot in front of the other when he noticed he was getting closer to the dias steps. Just behind said steps sat the professors of the school, with a rather kind looking elderly man sitting in the center, an empty seat on his right, which most of the new students guessed belonged to Professor McGonagall. 

It was when the small group bustled together into a small group at the base of the steps that they noticed a tatty brown hat, looking well worn and dirty. Harry grimaced at the thought of possibly having to touch the thing. He never liked dirt, his room being nearly immaculate of said substance if it weren't for the fact that he was still a child. There were times where even he got covered in dirt and didn't mind. 

The hat was resting on a four-legged stool, which was much more put together than the hat. The professor was standing next to it, holding a scroll that must have been set behind the hat. Dudley wondered if they had to pull something from it, like a raffle or something. 

A few students jumped when they saw the hat twitch. The large stitched seam in the front opened, looking like a mouth, and the hat began to sing:

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty, 

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me."

It continued with the song, mentioning the four house: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Harry guessed the song was meant to give more explanation on the houses to settle the minds of his peers, but he felt like it just repeated what Professor McGonagall told them in the smaller chamber only moments before. 

"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to the cousins, and Dudley felt so much pressure lift from his shoulders. He felt like he could breathe easier. 

The same could be said about most of the students, though Pansy and Daphne sighed, bummed more than anything. Harry was just glad that he could possibly just go up there, get sorted, and move on with the rest of his life.

The whispers that had sprouted from the eleven year olds were quieted once McGonagall got their attention with a simple clearing of her throat.

"When I call your name," she began, "you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." Then the witch unrolled the parchment and read the first name from the list.

"Abbott, Hannah!"

A girl stumbled out of the line and made her way to the stool, where she sat, waited, and after a pause, the hat opened once more and shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

The table on the right of the group of firsties, in the middle, cheered and clapped as the blonde pigtailed girl sat down at the table decorated in gold and black. The Fat Friar, one of the ghosts that they met in the chamber, was waving and being very jolly.

"Bones, Susan!"

Susan politely pushed passed Harry and Ron, who silently wished the girl luck, and she repeated what the first girl did. The pause was shorter, but she was soon joining Abbott, Hannah at the Hufflepuff table.

The list went on, it seemed, until they finally reached Dursley, Dudley. Being the second of their little merryband of newbies, Dudley surely made himself known: he tripped up the steps and nearly fell flat on his face.

Despite feeling his face flush bright red, he got up and casually dusted himself off, sitting down on the stool and wishing that it could just swallow him up and let him disappear inside. Instead, he was gifted with the sight of darkness as the hat swallowed him up past his eyes, which wasn't what he wanted but he could settle for this instead.

"A curious little mind, I see in you," a voice whispered in his head. If he didn't know the hat was magic, he would have jumped. "But definitely one to be proud of. I see a good amount of courage and kindness, a talent in standing up for what you believe... I could put you in two houses, for sure, but I beleive you'd be better off in..."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The hat was lifted off his head and the muggleborn wizard stumbled down to the far right table in maroon. He felt something tingle around him and when he sat down he noticed that his robes had changed in design, the Hogwarts crest now blazened in maroon and gold with a daring lion roaring proudly on his chest.

Dudley was now nervous as he was the only one he truly knew at this table, but he took a deep breath and continued to watch the sorting, making eye contact with his cousin multiple times as others were sorted. 

Daphne and Millicent were seated in Slytherin when Pansy walked up, the hat barely gracing a hair on her head when it shouted "SLYTHERIN". The same could be said about most of the others, though a Granger, Hermione definitely seemed to take a little longer than most before she sat next to Dudley at the Gryffindor table.

"Potter, Harry!"

A hush washed over the crowd as Harry calmly walked up the dias and sat on the stool. He felt uncomfortable with the eyes resting on him but he should have expected it, with all things considered. He was "famous" after all...

"Hmmm," a voice whispered in his mind. "Difficult, very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, my goodness, yes... and a nice thirs to prove yourself, now that's interesting... So where shall I put you? You're definitely harder than that cousin of yours."

Harry wished he could glance at Dudley through the hat, but wondered if that would affect the hat's decision. As much as he loved his cousin, he also wanted to start separating a little from his duo. He wanted to try doing things on his own a bit more than he already had, though he didn't want to completely ostricize his cousin in such an unfamiliar place. He just wanted to see different things than Dudley, maybe even create different experiences that he could share with his aunt and uncle so they can hear different stories.

"I know a good place, then, if that's what you're wanting," the hat said, as if reading his thoughts. "Slytherin, is definitely an option, though Gryffindor is also an excellent choice..."

Make it Slytherin, then, Harry thought, making the final decision for the hat. It made a noise, almost as if agreeing with the green eyed wizard, before it shouted it's answer that echoed through the hall.

"SLYTHERIN!"

It was so quiet that one sitting on one side of the hall could hear the smallest cough coming from the other side as clearly as if the person was hacking up a lung in front of them. And in seconds, there was an uproar.

Slytherings were both clapping and shouting, though rage and joy were too close to really tell. Gryffindors could be heard groaning and Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws just rolled their eyes and gave polite, though similarly shocked, claps. For some reason, those two houses just had to have a stupid rivalry.

The hat was taken off during this moment and Harry walked towards the far left table decked in beautiful emerald. He sat next to Pansy and the other girls, nodding a hello to Nott, Theodore and Goyle, Gregory before tuning back to the sorting that felt more awkward than it had.

All the students were gifted another surprise when Weasley, Ronald walked up the steps. Many, and that meant the entire hall with the exception of three students, were expecting the redhead to join his many brothers in the house of lions. 

But there was an uproar of surpried whispers when "SLYTHERIN!" came from the hat, a second after it touched the crimson hair of Ron's head. 

The flush on Ron's face illuminated the freckles on his cheeks, the boy puffing out his chest and walking to sit next to his new friend and gave a customary nod to the others. A blonde boy, Malfoy, Draco, seemed the most shocked and could hardly keep it together until after Zabini, Blaise joined their table and the elderly man stepped up to a podium.

"Welcome," he said. Harry pieced together that this had to be Headmaster Dumbledore. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words." The man paused as he waited for the students to finish quieting down before uttering," Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

He said a quick thanks and everyone cheered as food appeared on the golden platters in the middle of the table.

"Is he... a bit mad?" Harry asked to a nearby older student.

"Mad?" the older girl questioned. "Definitely."

Chapter Text

5: Snape, Snape, Severus Snape is Kinda an Asshole

The rest of the feast went without much issue, though a few times Harry glanced up at the professer's table, he swore his scare began to burn slightly. He just rubbed his skin and continued with his dinner while introducing himself properly to his yearmates. 

Millicent, Daphne, Ron and Pansy he already knew, thanks to being around them before the sorting ceremony. 

Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy seemed to be apart of the head of the group, holding the type of air of leaders rather than followers. Both sat next to each other and seemed the most comfortable out of all of them, as if they were trained for this for all their lives.

Theo Nott and Tracy Davis were like betas, if Harry had to describe their role in the animal world. They had no special aspects to them that weren't already shown, like how Theo enjoyed reading and Tracy was definitely a very girly-girl out of everyone. 

As for Gregory Goyle and Vincent Crabbe, well, they didn't appear to be the brightest bulbs in the box, the prettiest sound in the orchestra, or the sharpest tool in the shed. How they made it to Slytherin, Harry had to wonder.

All in all, they were all interesting blokes, no matter how dull or bright they were and Harry was admitedly, a tad bit excited to learn more about these strange wizards. 

As for Dudley on the other side of the hall, he tried his best to communicate with his fellow firsties. Hermione Granger was a bit overwhelming for Dudley, who wasn't used to having someone so overbearing when they talk. 

Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil and Fay Dunbar were definitely a bit too girly for Dudley to really understand what they were saying, their words too fast paced for Dudley to keep up without someone writing it down for him and he had to read it seconds later. They were nice, though, from what he managed to overhear.

Seamus Finnigan, Neville Longbottom and Dean Thomas were most likely the blokes that Dudley would be spending most of his time with when Harry and Ron weren't there. Seamus was pretty funny, though a bit loud, which was the opposite of quiet Dean and shy Neville. 

By the end of the feast, both boys were socially exhausted and ready to pass out when the prefects began to corral the first years to head to their new common rooms. Dudley and Harry gave one last look before they went separate ways to the different common rooms.

The next morning was a bit rough, waking up in a strange room with a few other strangers that they had just met the night before. 

From the older years, they learned how their mornings were going to be if they woke up early enough. The ones that didn't, well, they were rushing to breakfast and only had fifteen minutes to eat.

Luckily, Harry was kind enough to wake up those in his dorm up on time so they could go down and have them eat a healthy breakfast while also giving themselves time to wander and get lost a couple of times before finding their first class.

The prefects had given out their timetables as they sat down and they were glad to know that they all shared classes together, though there were Potions and Transfiguration where they shared it with another group. To Harry's glee, it was with the Gryffindors, where, if possible, he could partner with Dudley on some of the harder things so his cousin doesn't go into a rage quit.

Their first class was potions with the Slytherin head of house, Severus Snape. Harry had sort of met when he came in to give a short discussion on what he expected his house to act outside the common room. The Boy-Who-Lived wondered if all head of houses did that or was his house just that special?

At the time Ron and Harry just shrugged and followed the other first years down to their dorms and were glad that they were sharing the room. They were also sharing with Gregory Goyle and Blaise Zabini, but they didn't mind.

Harry managed to meet up with Dudley in potions, both boys sitting besides each other while Ron sat behind them with one of the other Gryffindors. 

As the last of the first years came into the classroom, the doors slammed shut and Professor Snape came swooping to the front of the classroom. 

He began class by doing roll call, going down the list. When he got to Harry's name he paused and said softly, "Ah yes. Harry Potter. Our new... celebrity." Someone snickered but Harry couldn't identify who.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the sense..." Professor Snape drawled out, his voice still very quiet as he paces across the front of the room. "I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Silence followed his speech. Harry and Dudley exchanged looks. Their professor realy had a flare for the dramatics. 

Suddenly, Snape spun around and looked at the green-eyed boy. "Potter!" he snapped. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry thought about it, trying to think about what he read in the first year potion textbook. 

"The Draught of Living Death, sir," Harry answered. Snape's face twisted into something Harry couldn't identify.

"Let's do another. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" Snape demanded from him. 

Harry was confused why his head of house was demanding so many things from him, but thought about the question anyways. When Harry didn't answer fast enough, Snape sneered and said, "Thought you wouldn't open a book and actually read it, eh Potter?"

Harry almost recoiled in shock at how rude Snape was being.

"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

"They are the same plant," Harry said. He didn't need to think on that one, it was quite easy, that one, but he felt like he still managed to get on the bad side of the professor.

Snape's face twisted again but didn't comment on it, and decided then to continue the lesson.

All Harry could think of was how much of a dick his head of house was and wondered what about him pissed the hook nosed man off so much. 

Chapter Text

6: Hermione! Hermione! Hermione, Hermione, Hermione!

The first month of the school year wasn't as exciting as most of the first years thought it would be but by the first flying lesson, they figured that it just had to have been slowed down a bit so that they wouldn't get too overloaded with magic. Or, at least, that's what Dudley, Ron and Harry thought when they saw the tragic fall of their classmate, Neville, during their first flying lesson. Draco, a new friend of Harry's, was tempted to be a dick and play with Neville's new toy that he had recieved only hours earlier, but Harry kicked him in the shins before he even tossed it in the air once. Millicent and Pansy snickered at the light pink hue that garnered Draco's cheeks at the action, but he handed the Remembrall to Dudley, who pocketed it so he could give it back to the blonde boy when he saw him next.

Nothing other than that happened, though there were rumors that some of the older year students got caught by Peeves, a poltergeist that liked to prank unsuspecting students in the corridors, sneaking around the third floor near the corridor that was marked forbidden as the forbidden forest. Though, according to Ron's older brothers, it just meant you need to try hard not to get caught.

By Halloween, the most exciting thing that morning was hearing about the Hallow's Eve feast. Harry was particularly excited as he's heard from some of the second and third years that something always goes wrong every year on this feast. The year before, the ghosts in the Headless Hunt accidentally came through the Great Hall and scared some of the more light hearted of students. The year before that one, there were a couple of black cats perusing the hallways and common rooms (though, it was later revealed that a tom had managed to weasel his way through Hogsmeade and into the Hogwarts grounds and got some of the other cats pregnant. Some of the students had managed to hide the kittens until that day).

But this Halloween, some said, felt much more special compared to the others. Harry guessed they were insinuating him being present, but a strange tickle at the back of his neck suggested otherwise. He felt like this was going to be at least a strange Halloween compared to the others that Dudley and he had done.

"Now don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been praciticing!" Flitwick squeaked, jarring Harry from his thoughts. He noticed everyone's wands were out and beginning to move, so he took his from his robes and began to follow. They had just learned the levitation charm, finishing the theory of it all and now beginning the actual practice.

"Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick!" Professor Flitwick called out, showing the wand movement each time with his own hands. "And saying the magic words properly is very important, too! Never forget Qizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buggalo on his chest!" 

Harry rolled his eyes and turned to his partner, Seamus, and looked at their pristine, though slightly bent, white feather.

"You want to go first, Harry?" Seamus asked, moving the feather his way with his wand.

Harry nodded and began to try, though the charm was very difficult. He wasn't the only one to face the issue of not getting the feather to float higher then a centimeter or two, though he could hear arguing beginning to stir only a few desks away. 

"You do it, then, if you're so clever!" 

He recognized Ron's voice right away and he curiously looked over to see him red in the face with an exasperated Hermione Granger from Gryffindor house next to him. He watched as she rolled up her sleeves, flicked her wand at their feather, and uttered, "Windgardium Leviosa!"

At her words the feather floated up and up. Flitwick was very excited and nearly toppled off his stack of books, and called out a congratulations to the young girl, who smirked smuggly at Ron.

Harry shook his head, knowing that those two got along about as good as oil and water. Those two had been fighting since the first class they've had together and it seemed like only something big and disasterous would get those two to get along.

At the end of class, Seamus and Harry only managed to get the feather up a few more inches before Seamus somehow caused the feather to explode. Despite the fact that both he and the Irish boy besides him were covered in soot and they wouldn't be getting another feather in the last few minutes of class, both boys found it hilarious and began to laugh.

Ron, however, was in a fowl mood as they made their way to the Great Hall for lunch.

"It's no wonder no one can stand her!" he ranted. Dudley and the others were nodding along with him, the Granger girl grinding their gears only because she happened to do better at magic then them. Harry, on the other hand, frowned. Hermione wasn't a bad person, despite her having an attitude towards the Weasley and anyone else that seemed to stop and listen when it came to learning. In fact, Harry actually enjoyed working with her on the few projects that they had together. She was an intelligent girl, though sometimes her ego made her attitude worse. Harry felt like she sometimes hid something behind her actions, but he had yet to figure out what it was. 

"She's a nightmare, honestly!"

A sniffle caught Harry's attention and he was pushed aside as Hermione charged her way through the group, obvious tears rolling down her face as she rushed away from the crowd.

"I think she heard you," Harry grumbled, adjusting his bag that had nearly fallen off his shoulder.

"So?" Ron asked, though he looked a little unsettled at seeing the girl cry. "She must've noticed she's got no friends!"

Harry's eyes rolled. "She was just starting to warm up to people. Some don't become friends right off the bat, you know."

Still, Hermione wasn't seen for the rest of the day, which began to worry some of the teachers and Harry as well. He had asked some of the Gryffindor girls if they had possibly seen her (as it seemed like maybe she'd go to another girl in her house for emotional support), but they denied ever seeing her, though it looked like one was holding back information. Harry didn't press her for it, though he kept an eye on her in any classes they had until the feast.

Just as they were in the middle of eating, Ron sitting besides Harry with Draco across from them both, Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, sweating and face showing complete terror. He made it to the dias leading up to the teacher's table before he spoke.

"Troll--" he gasped for air" --in the dungeons!" Then he paused, going pale despite the still flushed cheeks. "Thought you ought to know."

Full on panic spread around the room as soon as his body fainted to the floor.

Chapter Text

7: F in Chat

Dumbledore had managed to calm down most of the Great Hall in a matter of seconds, controlling the situation smoother than most would've expected among hundreds of teenagers. After he gave instructions to the prefects and his staff, everyone was corralled into their separate groups; Gryffindors and Ravenclaws going to their towers, Hufflepuff to their den, and Slytherins to their dungeons.

"Wait a minute," Harry slowed down, a few of his fellow first years doing the same. "He said the troll was in the dungeons, right?"

"Yeah?" Pansy asked, raising a brow. "What of it?"

"We live in the dungeons. We're practically walking into the danger zone. How are we going to avoid a lumbering, smelly troll and get into our common room safely?" he asked. "Surely there's a safer place for us to stay until the troll is dealt with?"

"Let's ask a prefect," was Pansy's reply. They rushed forwards, Ron and Draco following behind them, until they recognized a prefect. As quick as they could, they relayed their question, bringing light into the eyes of the fifth year student who, in turn, made all Slytherins stop in the corridor, Hufflepuffs parting around them to get to their common room.

"I'll go get a professor to see what we should do," Prefect Gemma told the others. "You guys surround everyone else, wands out. We don't want to accidentally realize that the troll moved up and we're in it's new path." The other students quickly formed a tight group, the 5 other prefects taking points of protection while Gemma rushed back into the Great Hall to find a capable professor.

Harry, for the first time in a while, truly felt some inkling of fear creep into his soul. Not entirely for him, persay, but also for his cousin. He hoped Dudley got to the Gryffindor common rooms safely without falling off the stairs or getting stuck in a trick stair or, heaven's forbid, he ends up finding the troll himself. A small part of him also wanted to follow his cousin and stay by his side until this whole thing blows over. But he couldn't, because he was growing up and was in an entirely different house all together. Though, he was hopeful that if he did have to find physical comfort, his housemates wouldn't mind some platonic intimacy.

Gemma came back with Professor Sprout following behind her, both out of breath though Sprout moreso than the young prefect. The professor gave a tired smile to the large group of Slytherins before she spoke.

"Since it's allegedly too dangerous for you to be going to your own, why don't you spend some time in the Hufflepuff common rooms just this once until we make sure that it's safe for all of you to return to your dorms." Then she helped usher both the Hufflepuff stragglers and the Slytherins towards the Hufflepuff den.

Hufflepuff hadn't had a stray student enter their dorms in nearly an entire century, though their streak would be willingly broken due to an emergency. The entrance was nestled next to the portrait that lead to the kitchens, a load of barrels stood clumped together. To most first, second, and some third years, it was just random barrels that probably held juice or bananas. But it was actually the hidden entrance to the Hufflepuff dorms.

The doors had been left open as students rushed in. Unlike some myths, the students didn't have to crawl into the common rooms. Instead, the barrels moved aside, revealing a staircase that lead down to the common rooms. The group of Slytherins quickly followed after the last of the Hufflepuffs, some holding onto the wall for balance as they rushed glided down the stairs to the cozy common room.

Harry had been one of the firsts to enter, as had all first years seeing as they were the youngest. Following them were the second years, then the thirds, and so on and so forth. Professor Sprout was the last to come through, only to check on her students quickly before leaving soon after to join the rest of the Hogwarts staff looking for the troll to try and subdue it. 

That left the Slytherins and the Hufflepuffs to mingle until who knows when. Most of them had already left to go to their rooms, though there were still plenty in the common room, trying to calm down the hysterical younger years as best as they could as prefects did head counts. Slytherin decided to take residence on the couches and desks and against the wall, somewhere out of the way while their own prefects made sure everyone was where they should be.

Harry and his friends were ushered to sit on one of the empty chairs. Harry and Ron took up one of the plush seats while across from them Draco, Blaise and Pansy squished together on the other.

"How long d'you suppose we'll be down here?" Ron asked, his voice low. Having spent two months in the house of snakes had shown him that being as loud as he usually was probably wasn't the smartest of choices. Not like he'd admit that outloud, of course. He knew if he did, Malfoy would use that to his advantage. It was bad enough they had to share a house and he was the only challenging opponent in wizarding chess he's had in a while, he didn't need anything else for the Malfoy heir to hold over him.

"Dunno, depends on how big the troll is, I guess," Pansy answered. She was looking intently at her nails. "If it's real big and real nasty, aurors might need to be called in. That'll definitely make the papers. No doubt some families will be threatening to pull out their children. I know my father will if it comes to that."

"I doubt we'd be here for long," Blaise spoke up. He gazed intently at the other two sitting across from him. "I heard that Professor Flitwick is a dueling champion, and Professor Snape isn't too bad with a wand when it comes to defense. So the troll should be handled quickly, no doubt."

"I just hope it gets done soon enough that I can dress down into my pajamas," Draco glared down at his toes, arms tensely crossed in front of him. To outsiders he looked quite relaxed and undisturbed if you stood far enough away. He was clearly annoyed the closer you were. "I do not find spending the night with Hufflepuffs to be an ideal sleepover."

"Soon, is what I'm looking forwards to," Harry replied. "I hope, though, that no one ends up getting caught in this troll mess and that everyone is safe."

Draco wrinkled his nose. "That sounds very cheesy."

"Well it's true!" Harry said. "Imagine being out there and having to end up battling a troll with just a wand and first year knowledge. You'd have to be insane or just dumb out of luck for that to happen. No doubt, there'd be a lot of injuries and points taken once the teachers find out."

Chapter Text

8: What do the French call a bad Thursday? A TRAJEUDI!

It wasn’t until midnight that a professor came into the Hufflepuff common room to gather the Slytherin students and lead them safely back into the dungeons. Harry had watched multiple rounds of exploding snap, tic-tac-troll, gobstones, and even a few rather explosive rounds of Wizard’s Chess. Ron had been beating the older Hufflepuffs quite easily until Draco got bored of losing at exploding snap that he took the place of a grumbling fifth year and decided to prove that he was the better strategist. Therefore they spent a good hour and a half trying to outdo the other until the pieces themselves called a truce and refused to move due to how tired they were rather than the strategists themselves. The Hufflepuff that let them borrow the set was thankful that they were at a stalemate and absconded back to their room with their chess set, muttering under their breath as they did so. 

A few Slytherins, mostly the younger ones, were roused from a light slumber when Professor Sprout came in with another woman, dressed in long black robes lined with maroon and a intricately carved necklace around her neck, to bring them news of what was happening for the rest of the night. Harry, along with Theo and Milicent, helped wake the others of their year. The older students made work to gather the others and corral them closer to the professors.

“The troll has been dealt with safely,” Professor Sprout began, “and we have been cleared by Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall to lead the Slytherin students back to their common rooms. Professor Babbling and I, as well as the Slytherin Prefects, will make sure everyone is accounted for before we leave. Any questions shall wait until tomorrow.”

The normally soft tone that was left with Professor Sprout was stern and matter-of-fact, leaving no arguments to be left as she counted heads of each year. She had first years gather in the front, with the second years behind them, and so-on-and-so-forth following them. She had Gemma up front with Professor Babbling, while another Prefect Harry hadn’t learned the name yet followed up behind with Professor Sprout. 

The large group traversed through a silent castle with shuffling feet. The sound echoed loudly against the darkened cobblestone, beating against Harry’s ears like drums of a threatening horror that lay just beyond in a dream that he had yet to experience. Ron walked beside him, grasping onto Harry’s sleeve of his robe. Pansy, who was still rubbing the last of her sleep from her eyes, didn’t utter a word as she settled her other hand into Harry’s. If Theo and Draco noticed that they walked suspiciously closer to their little group, they didn’t bother to correct themselves and Harry didn’t feel like speaking up about it either. 

Blaise, Gregory and Vincent, the tallest of their year, along with Milicent and Daphne and Tracy Davis, were clumped together as well, Tracy and Daphne holding each other’s hands in front of them as they glanced at each dark corner warrily; as if another troll or desperately sweating Professor, drenched in their own blood or someone else's, was going to jump out and tell them to go back to the safety of the Hufflepuff common room at once. 

Despite how loud their footsteps felt in the quiet of the night, Harry could hear the whispers of the portraits. A few watched the group of Slytherins walk passed, fear and worry dancing across their painted eyes like a candle flame, before they darted out of their frames and into another to whisper something to the rest of their watching peers. 

Harry took note of how the professor leading them had kept her wand out. Gemma, walking next to the professor, didn’t have hers in her hand, but Harry caught the twitch of her wand arm as it grazed the pocket he knew she kept it in, as if she was reminding herself that it was indeed still there. 

“D’you think the troll is still in the castle?” Pansy whispered. Her dark eyes were now wide awake and were watching the shadows they passed as warrily as the rest of their classmates. “They say it’s been taken care of… but how true do you think that is?”

Ron frowned. “Of course it’s been taken care of, why would they lie about that to us?”

Despite how pale she had gotten as they walked through the castle to their dormitory, Pansy couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the Weasley. “You know how obvious a majority of this school despises our house. I wouldn’t put it past them to lead us on in an attempt to take as many of us out of this school, injured or not.”

“Like they could get away with that,” Ron whispered back. This time it was his turn to roll his eyes. It hadn’t taken long to see that Pansy overdramatized many scenarios, whether they happened or not. An overactive imagination, her friends said. A true headache, her parents muttered. “If that were the case, or if it ever even happened, my mum would raise hell in getting every galleon, sickle and knut out of Hogwarts and their School Board as payment for any injury that I’d get, troll or no troll.”

“Besides,” Theo spoke up, his voice airy as it passed through his lips. His eyes glittered in the torchlight. “We have Harry Potter in our ranks. They’d be foolish to take out their Golden Boy.”

This time Harry rolled his eyes. It was a stupid nickname that had somehow been thrusted upon him out of nowhere. He had no clue who had come up with it, where they heard it, or who thought of it first, but that was what he had started to be called by the second week of school. He wondered if Professor Snape had whispered it out of the blue, cursing his name as he graded one of Harry’s essays, and it jumped through the grapevine until it became a not-so-secret joke among the student populace.

“As much as your worrying is endearing,” he spoke up this time. “All of you needn’t worry so.” He made sure he gave a specific look at Pansy who looked ready to begin an argument, serious situation be damned. 

“Let’s think about this rationally,” he started. “How many of the students in Slytherin have very wealthy, very popular, or very well-known and very high in society parents?” He paused, letting them think it over. He noticed that the rest of the first years had moved closer to them and he wouldn’t be surprised if they were listening in quietly. Even Draco, who usually wasn’t one to keep his mouth shut, looked more keen in listening than doing anything else.

As they rounded a corner to the staircases, Harry continued, “Too many of us come from high ranking members of wizarding society. If they pull, who will help fund the teachers and our education? Certainly not the parents of the children who were led to fight a troll left rampaging in the dungeons of a school they thought they would be safe in. Secondly, how many of us are the last of our line? Do you think the Ministry of Magic will enjoy angry letters from parents who had their only heirs hospitalized due to the negligence of a school they highly recommend to them?

“And thirdly, the professors are supposed to keep us safe. Why would they have us sequestered safely into another house’s common room only to feed us to the dogs hours later? Seems kind of pointless to do all that hard work only to let it out to dry in the rain, if you ask me,” Harry finished. 

Pansy still looked ready to jump on another conspiracy tirade, but Tracy reached over and gave a sharp tug on the back of her school robes and a rather stern. The others looked more at ease with Harry’s words, and a warmth spread through him when he saw the reactions his words caused his housemates. It was similar to the feeling he got when he helped Dudley after he got hurt when they were both five, and the praise he got from Aunt Petunia when she caught them in the bathroom, Harry putting on too many plasters on a small scrape on Dudley’s knee.

Luckily they didn’t take much longer to reach the entrance to the Slytherin common room. Gemma quickly gave the password and the bricks spread apart to create a sturdy curved archway. It was almost as if the floodgates had been opened, as the stifling calm of the Slytherin students broke into a tidal wave of emotions. They rushed in faster than you could say “Quirrell playing Quidditch with a  Quail Quill!”, the quiet whispers that were swapped in small groups crescendoing to a cacophony of noise. 

Harry felt as if a huge weight of stress suddenly lifted from his shoulders. He felt like someone had cast a Wingardium Leviosa on him and he could easily float to the ceiling without a single thing weighing him down. The only thing he wanted to do, now that the thought of a man-killing troll wandering around the dungeons, was crawl under the thick green comforter of his four poster bed and sleep until the rest of the weekend was over.

Before anyone could escape to their dorm rooms and their awaiting beds, Professor Babbling called for everyone’s attention, alerting them that classes the next day were canceled for an extended weekend. This further relieved the older students who, of course, had more classes and classwork needed to do so late in the semester. The younger students, however, were happy to have a longer weekend.

Harry gave a polite (or as polite as he could now that he felt more exhausted than he had ever felt in his short life) goodnight to the girls and other boys before he absconded to his bed. Ron was trailing closely behind him, ready to pass out and hopefully sleep in and wake before lunch.

However, as Harry drifted off to sleep, he couldn’t help but feel that something else had happened. The way Professor Babbling held her wand, the short no-nonsense tone Professor Sprout had given them even with the seriousness of the situation, and the fear that was held in the portraits they passed back to the Slytherin dorms….

Something even more terrible than a troll had happened.

And Harry worried that it would cause a huge shift in the rest of the year.