A chill seemed to flow through the air, rustling the trees and the leaves there in. The night was dark, the moon was covered, removing most light from the world. Even the campfire that the Dursley's had made seemed to be dimmer than it should have been. Harry's eyes, young and innocent, looked deep into the flames for a moment. The dancing of the flames was quite a fascinating thing, the movement, the heat. It was all so amazing to the young four year old. It is sad to say that the young boy could not see the looks the Dursley's were giving him. If he had, perhaps none of the events to come would have ever occured. He continued to stare intently into the fire, part of him curious as to why it was so dark. " Why? " squeaked out the young Harry, his voice so quiet. " Why is the fire so low, it seems sad." The Dursley's seemed perplexed by this question, as if they thought him stupid for not understanding.

         " Well Harry, why don't you go get some wood, maybe that will cheer the fire up," said the tall man, the father; Mr. Dursley. Harry did not react at first, still entranced by the fire. To him it was one of the most amazing things in existence at the moment, not even considering the danger of it. " Harry. . .Harry!"

         " Oh! Sorry, yes sir," Harry said quickly, a little alarmed by the tone Mr. Dursley had. He jumped up and looked out at the trees that surrounded their campfire. The family was in a small clearing, very small, one of the farthest out campsites for the general public. The path to their campsite was almost overgrown with plants. " O-Out there?" he asked, a gulp going down his throat.

         "Well, you aren't going to find any in the tents if that's what your figurin' ," responded Mr. Dursley. " Just go out until you find some limbs on the ground, they don't have to be large ones. " Harry nodded slowly, he was quite scared of the darkness, but his kind heart would not allow the fire to be 'sad'. With a few steps forward, he walked through the trees into a few bushes and soon beyond earshot of the Dursley family.

         "Alright honey, he's gone, grab the tents and let's go," said Mrs. Dursley to her husband. " You too Dudley, grab your stuff and get into the backseat. " The young Dudley did not respond to his mother's command at first. Rather, Dudley was staring at the spot where Harry had vanished into the trees. His eyes held something in them for a moment, just staring intently at the spot.

         " Yes mam," Dudley responded emptily, having not really heard what she had said. After another few seconds of staring, a smirk crossed his face. Ignoring his parents for a moment, he went into the trees. He was bound and determined to give the young Harry a wedgie one last time before they left him alone in the woods.

         Harry continued to walk through the trees, pushing past bushes and branches as he did so. It was still dark, so it was hard for the young boy to see any branches on the ground. He occasionaly tripped over some roots, faltering in his steps for a moment. However, he kept going, determined to find some branches for the fire. His eyes trailed the trees, almsot purely black in the dark, save for some small streams of light from stars escaping in. The light was just enough for him to see just right in front of himself. He continued on for a few minutes, not sure whether he was going in circles or going even farther and farther. A loud yelp escaped him when he tripped over a larger root and fell onto the ground, face first. He laid there for a moment, his eyes closed due to the pain. He whimpered, more out of fear than pain. Then a light caught his attention. He slowly opened his eyes, seeing a light ahead of him in the trees. He slowly climbed back up and walked towards the light, a small bit of blood dripping from his forehead. Pushing past one last branch he stepped into a large opening in the trees.

         Dudely huffed as he continued to slam branches out of his way. He muttered something about stupid trees as he continued to push on. He stepped on roots, trying to crush them into the ground and tried to break branches that were in his way. He was angry now, he was really gong to wail on Harry once he caught up to him. He looked up for a moment, seeing very little light coming in from the roof of the trees. He turned around, expecting to see some kind of light source. A growl escaped him as he stamped onward, not sure which way Harry had gone. Then he heard a yelp and smirked, he had found him. He followed the direction he had heard the sound coming from. Before he got close enough though, he was a bright light. He placed a hand over his face before a shadow moved infront of it. He moved his hand away, spying the shadow of Harry infront of him. He smirked, " There you are," he said as he stomped forward after Harry. He watched as Harry passed through a branch and into a clearing. He smirked, moving the branch away and charged into the area. He then stopped dead in his tracks. A large lake was before him, deep and beautiful. He stepped forward for a moment before he remembered Harry. He looked at Harry seeing him walk closer to the water. He smirked and ran past him for a moment, turing to face him. "Hey twerp, pay attention to me, " Dudely said with a huff of anger.

        " Dudley, look," was all Harry responded with, pointing past Dudley at something.

        " At what?" Dudley asked, confidence pouring out of him. However, it all washed away when he turned around. He looked at the water in the lake once more, now seeing where the light was coming from. In the center of the lake a large light was shining brightly and it was moving towards them. Dudley took a step back, bumping into Harry for a moment. A loud scream escaped him as the light rose to the surface.

         " eeeeek! " cried Mrs. Dursley happily as they drove down the rode headed home. " We've finally gotten rid of that little nusience."
         " Yes, free of that burden at last," responded Mr. Dursley.
         " And now we can focus all of out time on our little Dudley, " said Mrs. Dursley as she turned back, pinching at something in the back seat. " Poor dear, he must be asleep, he hasn't said a word since we left," she said. " Well our little man does need his rest." As she turned her attention back to the road, a light passed over the car. For just a few seconds, the sleeping bag in the seatbelt was lit up, and then, the light was gone.



*** Chapter 1 ***

         The candles of the great hall hung in the air, as per usual. The roof that night was a starry sky, quite nice to look at actually. It was no wonder that the great hall was filled with joy and merry making. All the students were having a good time as they sat at their tables, waiting for the new arrivals. The students were laughing, telling jokes, making up stories about the new arrivals before they even walked in the doors. Some of the students were even betting to see which house would get more students that year. It was certainly a time of celebration for the students. However, for the teachers it was very different. Many of the teachers were on the edge of their seat, most of them had read the list and they knew who was coming.

        The only teacher who did not seem on edge was the local potions master. His eyes were scanning the room, buisness as usual for him. He could feel the unease of his fellow teachers. He did not understand why they were all on edge, but he knew better than to ask. Rather than asking, he simply waited patiently, making sure the students were all behaving. The only other teacher who was not on edge was professor Quirrel, well no more than usual anyway. Snape forced himself not to glare at Quirrel, not wanting to draw too much attention to them. For now though, Snape simply waited for the new arrivals to enter the great hall. He was almost certain that they would be arriving before too long, as long as nothing bad happened.

        The other students were starring at the two young men. They were dressed the same as all of the other students, but they could not help but stick out. Harry made sure to avoid making eye contact with the other students, he knew that he and Dudley were not the most normal looking, but they could have always looked worse. Harry's hair had grown out significantly, but it was clean at the moment. Dudeley's hair was very short, and he had thinned out over the years. The two honestly looked like normal students that attended Hogwarts. However, there was just an air about them, they were both very quiet and acted strangley. It was just the aura they had around them, they seemed off, unusual, like they weren't normal people. The two had only spoken to one another while on the train, no matter who tried to talk tot hem. Still, Harry kept his chin up, ignoring the glances as the doors to the great hall were opened before them. They began to pour in, many of the other students seemed to stare at the great hall and its many decorations. Harry and Dudley did as well, but not as much, for they quickly focused back in on what was about to happen.

         Soon the list of names was slowly being read out aloud through the hall, one by one the students went when their names was called. When Dudely's name was called, he smiled at Harry for a moment before going up to sit beneath the sorting hat. He felt the hat touch his head as he waited to hear what the hat had to say. The hat actually looked perplexed for a moment, not confused on what to choose, so much as just lost in what he saw. " S-Slytherin," he announced to the great hall, the slytherin table errupting with joy at gaining another student. The hat had an odd look on its face, even after Dudley went off to sit at the table. Harry flashed a slight smile at Dudley, happy for him. A few more names were called, a few random students. Professor McGonagall seemed to be growing more intense the farther she went down the list. Now with a loud gulp, she paused, slowly reading out the next name.

        " Harry Potter," she announced to the great hall. The entire hall grew silent for a long moment, noone bothered to move. As Harry slowly stepped out of the crowd, the silence only seemed to deepen more. No one could believe what they were seeing. Everyone in the wizard world had heard that Harry had gone missing and inevitably labeled as dead, some even assumed he had just been a myth. Now, standing in front of everyone in the great hall, here was Harry Potter, alive and well.

         Snape choked on the drink he had been tasting when he heard Harry's name being called. He and Quirrel both turned to stare at McGonagall, assuming that the name on the list had simply been a prank by some rouge students. However, this did not seem to be so as the long haired boy slowly stepped out of the crowd. Spane's eyes locked straight on to Harry, unable to tear his eyes away. Even from the table, he could see Lilly's eyes, he knew this was no prank. Now, he understood why the other teacher's seemed on edge, they all knew that he was arriving. Snape had not bothered to look at the list that year, so he was left in the dark. Now, he could not help but be on the edge of his seat as well, watching as the young man sat beneath the sorting hat. He watched from his seat, almost sure he would be put into the Gryffindor house, just like his father. The hat however, was taking a long time to decide. The hat, just as when it had been on the other strange young man, was taking quite a long time to decide.

        Snape swore he heard the word Hufflepuff mentioned, but, the sorting hat eventually yelled aloud " Slytherin," throwing everyone in the great hall for a whirl. Some of the teachers seemed only more scared by the idea, others only seemed happy that the sorting hat had managed to sort him at all. Snape turned to speak to Dumbledore, but the Great Hall was soon filled with too much noise as all the students seemed to be clapping now. They all seemed genuinly happy for the young man. Snape however, could not bring himself to be happy, he could not calm himself.

         Harry smiled brightly at Dudley as he walked over and sat down next to him. " I'm glad to see you made it into the same house as me," Dudley said with a nod. Harry returned the nod as he looked about the Great Hall, relaxing a litte now that he knew that Dudley and he would be in the same house. After the clapping and cheering calmed down, the list resumed as per usual speed, the teachers all seeming to relax a little.

        " So, the great Harry Potter lives does he?" asked a snide little voice that walked up to sit across from Harry and Dudley. Dudley's eyes narrowed at the pale haired boy that walked up to them. Harry touched Dudley's arm, not wanting Dudley to start a fight.

        " Yes, its nice to meet you, I am Harry Potter," Harry said with a smile as he held one hand out. The boy smirked, a smirk that sent chills down Dudley's spine.

        "I'm Draco, Draco Malfoy," he said as he shook Harry's hand.

        Harry nodded slowly, " Oh yeah, I heard them call your name, first years just like us," he said.

        Draco nodded, " Yep, these are my friends, Crabbe and Goyle, and this is . . ?" Draco asked as he motioned to Dudley.

        " I'm Dudley, Dudley Dursely," Dudley said, doing his best to keep his dislike out of his tone. Harry turned to look at Dudley, Harry could tell Dudley did not trust the boy in the least. Beneath the table, he squeezed Dudley's hand, trying to calm him down. Dudley blinked, feeling Harry's hand, turning to look down at him and nodded slowly. " Forgive me for my rudness," Dudley said slowly, " its nice to meet you." Draco nodded slowly, obviously not noticing what had just occured between the two.

        " So many stories circulate around the mysterious Harry Potter, . . tell me . .. what did happen to you?" Draco asked Harry, his curiosity getting the best of him as he did so. The headmaster cleared his throat loudly as he stood slowly to give his welcoming speech to the new students.

         Snape could not bring himself to be calm as he rubbed his forehead. He was indeed happy to see that Lilly's child was indeed alive and in Slytherin no less. However, he could not stop thinking about what could have happened and if Harry was safe. He shook his head slowly trying to clear his mind, he would have to speak to Dumbledore after the meal to figure out what had happened and what he knew. He had no doubt that Dumbledore knew what was going on and simply chose not to mention it to him. He turned to looked at Harry, seeing him talking with one of the other new students, Draco Malfoy, if he remembered correctly. He watched them closely for a moment, noticing the other three young men who were a part of the conversation. He forced himself not to stare, rather, he slowly turned to look at Quirrel. Quirrel was freaking out, almost obviously, he was sweating and his eyes were darting around the room as he sat there. Snape almost felt sorry for Quirrel for a moment, but it passed just as quickly as it came. He had to focus on figuring out how much Dumbledore knew.

      Snape could not hide the agitation that was on his face. Although he had very little intentions of hiding it either way. He was extremely displeased with their headmaster and intended to speak to him as soon as possible. He walked over to his prefects, making sure that they knew what they were doing, and not allowing any new year students to get separated from the group. “ Keep moving now, step lively,” one of the prefects shouted at the students as they ushered them along. Snape could not help but find his eyes locking onto Harry Potter. He watched as Harry spoke with the strange round boy, whose name he could not recall. He saw the white haired boy that was staring at Harry almost as much as Snape was. However, he forced himself to look away from them, now moving to go find the headmaster. With swift but measured steps he proceeded down the hallways, heading for his office.

      “ Can you believe it Dudley, we're both here at Hogwarts and even in the same house,” Harry said with a bright smile as he walked out of the Great Hall with Dudley. Dudley nodded his head slowly to what Harry had said, he was much more focused on examining the building structure. Dudley also found himself peeking over his shoulder from time to time, feeling the eyes of the Draco boy on their backs. “ Dudley, “ Harry said to him, seeing the troubled look on Dudley's face. “ What is the matter?” Harry asked him. Dudley blinked, realizing that Harry had asked him a question.

      “Oh, nothing, I'm just still getting used to all of this,” Dudley admitted to Harry as they walked up one of the moving stair cases. “ Once we are in our room I'll be fine,” he said with a smile. Harry could not help but find himself smiling as well. He was overjoyed to finally be at Hogwarts. He could not help but enjoy himself. It was only made all the better now that his best, be it only, friend was in the same house as him. How could he not be the happiest student there? With a small chuckle, he soon found they had arrived at the entrance to their house. Before he knew it all of the students were being poured into the main room.

      Snape stormed into the headmaster's office, his robe a little messy as he did so. “ Why was I not told?” he asked, his voice raised. He approached the desk, forcing himself not to slam on it, trying to control himself. Dumbledore said nothing at first, simply looking at Snape, his face almost unreadable. Snape growled a little under his breath, he hated it when Dumbledore said things that were meant to tick him off, but nothing was worse than when Dumbledore said nothing. “ Tell me!” Snape said, no longer able to resist slamming his hands onto Dumbledore's desk. Dumbledore actually chuckled a little, knowing that Snape would only display such anger because no one else was around.

      “ Told what? I'm just as surprised as you are,” Dumbledore said to Snape. “ I mean, I was so sure he would be in Gryffindor.”

      “ You know exactly what I mean, “ Snape said between ground teeth.

     “ Oh, you mean his arrival,” Dumbledore said, nodding his head slowly. “ Well, technically I did not know he would actually get on the train.” Snape slammed his hands down onto Dumbledore's desk once more, glaring at him now,

     “ Stop playing games! How long?!”

     “ Well, Mr. Potter was discovered a few months ago, roughly four,” Dumbledore said, standing from his chair slowly. “ He and the Dursley boy were found together, alone in the woods, some kind of magic field had been hiding them,” he said. “ They were unharmed, in fact quite the opposite.” Dumbledore moved over to Snape, a stern look on his face. “ I chose not to tell you because I did not want you to interfere in anyway, and I don't want to hear that you are giving him any special attention.”
Snape gulped a little, the look Dumbledore had made Snape obey.

     “ I will not sir, but there must be more, tell me what happened,” he said.

     “ I do not think that story is for me to tell, I believe it is his, and that is if he decides to tell you,” Dumbledore said, “ Besides, even I don't truly know what happened.”

      Harry smiled as he looked about their room with content. “ It feels like home, I love it,” he said to Dudley with a smile. Dudley could not help but smile just as much as Harry did, glad to have their room as much as Harry was. Harry trailed one of his hands along the side of one of the trees that was inside the room, it was a nice tree, one he would most likely nap in quite often. Dudley was a little more busy focusing on unpacking the clothes that had been bought for he and Harry. The room was quite complicated actually. There were two beds, each with their own dresser-side-table. The floor of the room was polished wood from the door to the beds, but everywhere else was pure dirt floor, filled with grasses roots and vines. It was almost like someone had set up half the room and planted flowers in the other and let nature take its course. The most important feature for Harry though, was the small pool of water that was next to the tree. It was not very large or very deep, but it was enough that he could sit in it if he so desired. Harry found himself starring at the water, it was not the same as the lake at home, but it reminded him so much of home.
     “ Come on Harry, let's get to bed, tomorrow is going to be another big day for us,” Dudley said, pulling Harry away from the pond, forcing himself not to stare at it either.

     Snape found himself storming around Hogwarts, not wanting to go to bed yet. He could not bring himself to calm down. Lilly's only son was still alive, he felt responsible. He did not know why, but he could not help but feel like Harry was his responsibility. He had already beaten himself up once for allowing Harry to disappear, now Harry was back. Snape growled a little, cursing Dumbledore for not letting him know sooner. He could have been there for Harry, could have been able to help him. Now, he was left without Harry even knowing he existed beyond seeing him in the Great Hall. Snape shook his head, he was going to find out what happened to Harry and keep him safe from it. He did not want to see Harry go missing, not again.

      Harry tossed and turned in his slumber, dreams plaguing him. There was a great fire, everything was burning around him. Dudley was unconscious on the ground and a man stood before him. The man was dark, his back to most of the fire, only a few flickers of the flame illuminated him and still not enough for Harry to recognize any facial features. However, there was one thing that Harry could not help but see. The man had ivy green eyes, they pierced him, right through his heart. The eyes terrified him, but what was worse, was the smile. The smile on the face was sickening, the smile seemed to curl beyond human possibility. The man only laughed at Harry was he turned in a circle, motioning to all of the fires, as if they were art; his art. It was then that Harry noticed what was burning around him. It was the forest, but not just any forest, it was his forest, his home, and it was burning to the ground. “ No-!” Harry shouted, jolting upright in his bed. He looked around slowly, the room a mystery to him. Then it all returned to him, he was at Hogwarts still, with Dudley, in Slytherin. He let out a soft sigh of relief before laying back down. Before he could even try to remember the dream, sleep overtook him again; this time, he rested.

     Dudley gave Harry a slight smile as they walked into the Great Hall for breakfast. He was not adjusting well to Hogwarts, but he would manage. “ It's alright, it was just a nightmare, there is nothing to be afraid of,” he said to Harry. “ Besides, if you can't even remember it, how could it be important?” Dudley asked Harry as they sat down at their table.

     “ I don't know, the dream just felt like it was . . important, “ Harry said, shaking his head in disappointment. He could not figure out why the dream he had was so important, he couldn't remember the first thing about it.

     “ Well, you know what's important, taking care of yourself. Now start eating or I'll eat it all without you,” Dudley said teasingly. Harry shoved at Dudley's shoulder with a smile and a laugh.

     “ Yeah right, you don't have the stomach for it anymore. You're in shape now,” Harry reminded Dudley as he picked up a fork.

     “ Nah, just means I need more protein in my diet.” Harry rolled his eyes, ignoring Dudley as he began to eat breakfast himself.

     “ Just don't forget we have class right after we get done eating,” Harry said to Dudley. “ We've got potions first.”

      Snape turned his head when he heard his office door open. “ Yes? What is it you need?” he asked standing from his desk slowly. He had been resting his head on his desk, trying to clear his mind of Harry and his memories of Lilly.

      “ Oh don't get up on my account Mr. Snape, sar,” a man said as he entered the room.

      “ Whether I stand or not is of no relevance, now what is it you need?” Snape asked, not feeling in the mood for playing games right now. The man simply chuckled, a smile moving across his face. A smile that Snape did not favor in the least.

     “ Oh! The headmaster was right, so feisty,” the man said to himself. “ to the point though, I need some potions brewed and when I asked around, I was told that you were one of the best, sar.”

     “ Don't bother me with such trivial matters, get someone else to do it,” Snape said. The man only seemed to smile more at this, a chill entering the room.

     “ Oh no Mr. Snape, I don't think you understand, sar,” the man said, closing the door behind him. A loud click echoing out as the lock was turned.

      “ Did I hear right, you two have potions next?” Draco asked Harry and Dudley with a smile. Dudley still did not like Draco's smile.

     Harry nodded his head, “ Yes, with, er . . Snape,” he said as he read from the paper.

     Draco nodded, “ Yes, how about I show you two where it is, free of charge,” he said, his smile still there.

     “ That would be very nice, thanks,” Harry said with a bright smile. He had to admit, he did not trust Draco, there was something about him that Harry did not like. However, Harry had learned a long time ago to always look for the good in people, and he saw plenty in Draco. Dudley, however, was not eased in the most, even if Harry trusted Draco.

     “ I sure hope you don't charge much then, “ Dudley said, somewhat teasing, “ we've got no clue where we're going.” Dudley wondered if many students had been allowed to visit Hogwarts before the sorting ceremony, how else would any of them find their way around on their first day.
      Draco nodded his head with a smile, “ most students won't and nah, I'll just have Crabbe and Goyle keep a tab,” he said. Dudley did not like that he could not tell whether Draco was joking or not. However, he let is slide for now.
“ Well, c'mon, its this way,” Draco said as he stood and turned to walk, Crabbe and Goyle right behind him. Dudley looked at Harry, not sure whether to trust Draco or not. However, Harry was already standing, making Dudley roll his eyes, Harry was too trusting for his liking. However, they began to walk forward, catching up with Draco quickly.

      Harry and Dudley walked towards the door to their classroom, Draco had forgotten something back in their house. Now they walked silently to the class not having much to discuss at the moment. As Harry reached to touch the door handle, Dudley pulled him back. Harry yelp a little with surprise as the door swung open, now glad Dudley had pulled him back. “ Oh Sorry, did I frighten you , young sar?” the man asked as he exited the door. The man was tall, roughly early to mid thirties. He wore a dark green lab coat, a black vest with a white long-sleeve-button-up shirt, and a pair of black pants. His hair was slicked to his right side, a slight red color, but not dark.

     “ No, no, I'm alright . . “ Harry said slowly as he continued to examine the strange man. His eyes soon looked up to the man's face, locking eyes with the man. The man had ivy colored eyes, seemingly piercing. Harry could not bring himself to look away for a moment, as if entranced by the man.

     “ Glad to hear it, anyway, off to class with you, young sars. “ the man said as he walked past them. Dudley could only stare at the man as he left, quite an odd man, another he didn't seem to like. However, his attention was drawn to Harry, who looked white as a sheet.

     “ Are you alright Harry?” Dudley asked, gently nudging Harry. Harry snapped out of his entranced state, his smile returning to his face.

     “ Yeah, I'm fine, what an odd man, wonder if he's a teacher here?” Harry said thoughtfully as he and Dudley entered the classroom, finding themselves a seat.

      As Snape exited his office into his classroom, his face, white as a sheet. He looked around, seeing only Harry and the Dursley boy in the room. A part of him feared that the man could have tried to hurt them, but knew that there was nothing he could say. So for now Snape gathered him composure and walked into the room, preparing for the class to come into the room. Not that he had not already prepared, but the man's visit had shaken him. He was mostly doing stuff to keep himself calm as he waited for more students to enter the room. He was still going to teach his class, no matter what some strange man wanted of him.