A boy with unruly jet-black hair and emerald green eyes stood on the balcony looking out into the horizon, watching the tree branches sway in the light breeze. He held an open sketchbook in his left hand and he was rubbing circles on a page that had a drawing of a Spring Squill, a flower only found in Ireland.

It was July 31st, 1991 and it was a very important day. Not only was it his birthday, but he would be able to finally get his wand. You see, Harry Potter was no ordinary boy. He made weird things happen when his emotions got the best of him. Things like turning the hair of a boy you hate will all your might turn an ugly shade of green. Or levitating The Tales of Beedle the Bard and making it follow your every step.

That was called accidental magic, and it was something every magical wixen did when they were at a young age. It was a sign that you had magic, and that you weren't a squib or a muggle. Accidental magic also helped Wizarding Schools reach out to magical and non-magical families (No-Majs in the US, and Muggles in the UK) so future students would be able to harness their magic.

Harry Potter was a young wizard who was destined to do wonderful things. Or at least, that was what his Uncle Severus and Uncle Reg had told him. But then again, they said the same thing to Ariana, Emrys, and Soren, so perhaps not.

"Harry? Are you on the balcony?" A soft female voice whispered.

"Yeah." He responded as he closed the book shut and turned around to see a young girl with long dark auburn hair, which was braided into two braids.

"I thought Uncle Reg told you to get ready? We've been waiting for you for a while, up to the point where I was told to get you myself." She paused and narrowed her eyes at Harry. "Don't tell me you've already forgotten that we're going to Diagon Alley to get our school things."

Harry shook his head and smiled at the girl in front of him. "Course not, Ari. Just needed some fresh air, that's all."

Ariana shrugged as Harry left his sketchbook on the mahogany desk that was littered with ripped muggle notebook pages with doodles, maths equations, a collection of muggle books, wizarding books, and a black and blue box of Arthurian Legend limited edition figurines. There was also a poster of the Puddlemore United Quidditch team on the desk that had yet to be hung on the soft blue wall. He grabbed his Hogwarts letter that was on top of the Arthurian figurines and followed Ariana out of his room, and down the spiral stairs that lead to the second floor of the Manor.

Soon enough, the two of them arrived in the living room, where two boys and two adults were waiting for them. The boys were complete opposites in appearance. One had golden-blonde hair, fair skin, baby blue eyes, and a certain air of mischief, while the other had dark brown, almost black wavy hair, pale skin, and red ruby eyes.

"I see you finally decided to grace us with your presence, Mr. Potter," A soft, silky voice said and Harry looked down at the ground and blushed.

"Sorry, Uncle Severus. I got, er, distracted."

Severus merely raised an eyebrow at the boy in front of him and winced when Regulus elbowed him, glaring at him. Severus sighed and turned his attention to the two boys who were standing near the fireplace.

"Now, tell me, do the both of you know how the Floo works?"

There were two nods and Severus smiled slightly. "Good. Uncle Reg and the both of you will go first, and I'll be right behind you three with Harry and Ariana." There was a pause and he glanced towards the blonde-haired boy. "I trust you won't cause any chaos when you arrive at the Leaky Cauldron, Emrys?"

Emrys grinned at Severus. "Course not. I'll be on my best behavior. Promise."

Severus rolled his eyes. He knew for a fact that as soon as Emrys arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, he would break his promise and scare a poor patron. Though, considering that this would be the first time the family would be going to Diagon Alley without the use of glamour, their appearances were going to bring some unwanted attention. Especially for Harry.

"Alright, go ahead you brat." He said fondly.

Emrys stuck his tongue out as Regulus grabbed a pinch of Floo Powder and threw it in the fireplace. "The Leakey Cauldron, Diagon Alley," he said as he entered the green flames. He was gone in a few seconds. Soren repeated what Regulus had done, and then finally it was Emrys' turn. He grinned at his mother and then threw the Floo Powder on the ground, leaving Severus alone with Ariana and Harry.

The children went first, and after a couple of seconds, a corporeal Patronus in the shape of a falcon appeared in front of him and he smiled.

"Ariana and Harry have arrived safely. We're just waiting for you now."

He stepped into the fireplace, throwing the powder onto the ground and he too disappeared in the green flames when he arrived at the pub, Severus was aware of the quick stare coming from the bartender. The low buzz of chatter stopped when Severus got out of the Floo, dusting the ashes off his dark blue sweater. Tom, the bartender, stopped what he was doing and stared at Regulus and then at Severus, and then his eyes finally landed on Harry.

"Good Lord," said the bartender, peering at Harry, "is this — can this be?"

He took another glance at Severus and Regulus, and for the first time, he noticed that there were three other children with the pair. Two boys and one girl.

The Leaky Cauldron had suddenly gone completely still and quiet.

"Professor Snape... we all thought that you..." He trailed off and glanced at Harry. "Bless my soul, Harry Potter...what an honor."

He hurried out from behind the bar, rushed towards Severus and Harry, and seized Harry's hand, tears in his eyes. "Welcome back, Mr. Potter. Welcome back."

Harry didn't know what to say. Everyone was looking at him. He knew that he was famous for defeating the Dark Lord, but he thought that it was quite stupid that everyone hailed him as a hero when he was sure he did nothing. He was a baby for merlin's sake! A baby couldn't destroy a dark wizard!

There was a great scraping of chairs and the next moment, he found himself shaking hands with everyone in the Leaky Cauldron.

"Doris Crockford, Mr. Potter, can't believe I'm meeting you at last."

"So proud, Mr. Potter, I'm just so proud."

"Always wanted to shake your hand — I'm all of a flutter."

"Delighted, Mr. Potter, just can't tell you, Diggle's the name, Dedalus Diggle."

Harry narrowed his eyes at the man in front of him. He was sure he had seen him. He turned towards Severus and whispered, "Hey, Uncle Sev. Doesn't he seem familiar?"

Severus hummed and shrugged. "A bit. Think he was the man in that muggle shop in Surrey who you helped. You know, the one with the broken bags?"

"T-that...that was y-you?" Diggle stuttered as his eyes widened. "Short boy with light brown hair and dark grey eyes?"

"Yeah! My Uncles always make sure I'm unrecognizable when we go out. Between you and me, they can be a bit overprotective." Harry responded with a grin.

"Harry!"

"Well, it's true!"

Regulus smiled at the boy and ruffled his hair. "Well, a healthy dose of paranoia is never bad." He looked up and frowned at the people who were trying to get their way to Harry. "Sorry folks, but I'm afraid we have to go. On a tight schedule, you know?"

The group (well, except Severus, of course) smiled as they started to make their way out into the small, walled courtyard, where there was nothing but a trash can and weeds.

"S-Severus!" A voice called out. "C-c-can I t-talk t-to y-you for a moment?"

A pale young man with short semi-curly brown hair made his way towards the group. He was wearing, surprisingly enough (or maybe not), muggle clothing.

"Ah," Severus said at the sight of the new DADA professor. "Quirinus. Er..." He glanced behind him where Regulus was standing with the children by the entrance to Diagon Alley.

"Go ahead and talk with him. I'll take the kids to Gringotts."

Severus nodded at Regulus and watched as the younger man took out his wand and tapped the bricks on the wall with his wand, making an archway appear, and then looked at Quirrell.

"P-Perhaps w-we should t-talk inside, Severus?"

~~~

Harry looked around as they stepped through the archway, and when he looked behind his shoulder, he was amazed to see that the archway shrank instantly back into a solid wall. The last thing he saw was the young man leading his Uncle Severus back into the pub.

"So, this is Diagon Alley," Soren said as his eyes took everything in, from the Apothecary to the Owl Emporium. He had heard a lot about Diagon Alley from his Uncles, but this was the first time he had ever seen it for himself.

Emrys whistled as they made their way to Gringotts, a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold was —

"Yeah, that's a goblin," said Regulus quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry. He had a swarthy, clever face, and a pointed beard and Harry noticed very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:

Enter stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn.

So if you seek beneath the floors

A treasure that was never yours,

Theif, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there.

A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out there. Regulus, Harry, Ariana, and Emrys made their way to the counters.

"Good morning, we would like to visit Harry Potter's safe vault, as well as the Snape's safe vaults."

"Do you have their keys, sir?"

Regulus nodded as he took out three golden keys from his coat pocket and placed them on the counter. The goblin looked at them closely and nodded. "That seems to be in order. I will have someone take you down to the three vaults. Griphook!"

Another goblin appeared out of seemingly nowhere, and the group followed Griphook towards one of the doors leading off the hall. He held the door open for them, and Harry who had expected more marble was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in, and then they were off.

Soon enough, they reached Harry's trust vault. They all got out of the cart and Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry gasped. Inside were mounds of gold Galleons, columns of silver Sickles, and heaps of little bronze Knuts.

"This is all mine?" Harry asked as he took out a small leather pouch and gently scooped some money in.

"Of course," Regulus responded with a soft smile. "And when you're of age, you'll be able to access the Potter vault and everything that ever belonged to your parents and your ancestors."

Harry smiled as he stepped out of the vault and handed his pouch filled with money to his Uncle Reg. He knew that his uncle would take care of it. The goblin closed the door and handed Harry's vault key back. They all got on the cart again, making their way up to the Snape's trust vaults.

It wasn't long before the four kids had pouches filled with money and were making their way out of Gringotts. Ariana had remembered that, while Soren had a trust vault of his own, he didn't want to take any money out of it. Something about not wanting to use money that probably used to belong to someone else. So, Ariana being the generous child that she was, decided to fill a pouch filled with money and handed it to him.

When they left the bank, they found Severus leaning against the white stone bricks of the building, staring off into the distance, talking to the Goblin by his side. By the looks of it, it didn't seem concerned about the close contact it had with the human. They talked for a few moments more before Severus nodded his head and the Goblin went back to his post.

"What was that about, Sev?" Regulus asked as Severus walked over to them.

Severus merely shrugged in response and looked at the children instead. Regulus sighed and ushered them to Madam Malkin's Robes for all Occasion. "As you all know, Severus and I will be buying all of your school stuff. But we made you go to Gringotts so you can have some money to buy snacks from the trolley witch on the Hogwarts Express and to buy whatever fancies your liking while we're here at Diagon Alley." He paused and then added. "It's not uncommon for students to be selling unauthorized things to the student body. So you can use your money for that."

The children nodded and Regulus almost laughed at the serious expressions they were making over such a trivial matter. "Good. Now, let's get you your school robes, shall we?"

Regulus opened the door to Madam Malkins and the children entered the store in a line, in a way that resembled little ducklings following their mother.

Madam Malkin turned around at the sound of the bell ringing and smiled at the children who had just entered the shop and were about to say something when she stopped at the sight of the two men behind them.

Severus Snape and Regulus Black were standing in her shop. And wasn't that a surprise? And here she and everyone else thought that the Slytherins had been dead for a while. She shook her head and smiled at the men and turned her attention to the kids.

"Hogwarts, dear?" she said, when Harry started to speak, "Got the lot here — another young man being fitted up just now, in fact."

In the back of the shop, a boy with a pale, pointed face was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin stood Harry on a stool next to him, slipped a long robe over his head, and began to pin it to the right length.

"Hullo," said the boy. "Hogwarts, too?"

"Yes," said Harry.

"My father's next door buying my books and mother's up the street looking at wands," said the boy. He had a bored, drawling voice that reminded Harry of Uncle Sev. "Then I'm going to drag them off to look at racing brooms. I don't see why first years can't have their own. I think I'll bully father into getting one and I'll smuggle it in somehow."

"I don't think you'll be too successful with that. I've heard that the Hogwarts elves report to the Headmaster about any suspicious items laying around the dormitory. I bet the elves have been informed to keep an eye on things that shouldn't be at Hogwarts."

The boy looked at Harry with wide eyes and a dumbfounded expression. A suspicious expression and a sneer took over as he looked over at Harry. "And how would you know?"

Harry shrugged. "It's common knowledge among Hogwarts alumni. Just ask your father if you don't believe me." There was a short silence and then Harry asked, "So, what house are you hoping to be in?"

The pale boy straightened, puffed out his chest, and in a haughty voice said, "Slytherin, of course. All of our family has been sorted into Slytherin. Imagine being in Hufflepuff, I'd think I'd leave, wouldn't you?"

"Mmm," Harry said. He didn't agree with what the boy had just said but he wasn't about to say so.

"How about you?" the pale boy asked.

"Ravenclaw, or perhaps Slytherin. Ravenclaw is a rather neutral house from what I've heard, and of course, Slytherin is a rather ambitious lot."

The pale boy said nothing at this and there was a comfortable silence between them. The boy opened his mouth to speak, but the witch at his side chose that moment to talk. "There we go, dear. All done."

The boy hopped off from the footstool and looked at the emerald-green-eyed boy. "Well, I'll see you at Hogwarts, I suppose."

The boy walked away before Harry was able to respond and the young witch who had been pinning the robe to the right length on the pale boy, ushered Emrys onto the footstool.

~~~
The group was sitting outside of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, enjoying a nice ice cream cone. Harry took a bite of the strawberry and peanut butter ice cream he had ordered and grinned. They had bought almost everything on the list and all they needed now were the wands.

The kids were excited about receiving their first wands, and rightfully so. It was such a special occasion, and there was nothing that could compare to buying your first wand. While Ollivanders was without a doubt, the shop that was visited the most, there were other less known wand shops in Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley. Severus and Regulus had scheduled an appointment with a German wandmaker who had set up a shop at the point where Diagon Alley almost became Knockturn Alley.

Once they had finished their treats, they all stood up and followed Severus. They walked through the crowd and Regulus was sure he had spotted the half-giant Hagrid making his way to Gringotts. Severus stopped in front of a grey-colored shop with no name, a closed sign hanging on the door, and on the window display, was a velvet pillow with a blue wand.

"So, this is Jürgen Schmidt's wand shop?"

"Yes," Severus said as he knocked on the dirty white door once, then paused, knocked two times, paused, and then knocked four times.

"Remind me again why we're not going to Ollivanders to buy the kid's wands?"

"Aside from the fact that Ollivander is restricted from selling wands that are not made of dragon heartstring, phoenix tail feathers, and unicorn hair tails?" There was a pause and Severus shrugged. "He could be keeping tabs on people for Dumbledore, for all we know. I'd rather not risk it."

The door opened before Regulus had the chance to speak, and a middle-aged man with black hair that was pulled into a ponytail and blue-green eyes was standing on the threshold, wearing a dark-blue robe and black dragonhide boots.

"Master Prince, Young Master Black, please come in."

The group of six entered the shop quickly, and the wandmaker looked aside and then closed the door. He walked behind the counter and looked at them with a contemplative gaze.

"Master Prince, it is a pleasure seeing you again. If I may ask, why have you decided to come here today, instead of Ollivanders?"

"As you and I both know, Master Ollivander is restricted by the Ministry from using cores that aren't dragon heartstring, phoenix tail feathers, or unicorn tail hair. And while he does create wands with unapproved cores, selling them would be taking a big risk for him. I also know, for some mysterious reason, any wand shops in Knockturn Alley or near Knockturn Alley aren't subjected to the same thing."

Regulus blinked and an expression of understanding crossed his face. "Wands bought in Knockturn Alley don't have the trace, do they?"

"They do not. Not if you pay extra money for it," Severus confirmed.

"I see," Schmidt said with a shake of his head. "Well, it's not the first time where I've had someone else buy their wand from my shop than from Ollivanders. Now, who will be first?"

"Er, I can go first," Soren said.

"Very well. Wand hand?"

"I'm right-handed," he said as he watched the measuring tape taking his measurements while Schmidt was taking out wand boxes from the shelves.

Schmidt placed the wand boxes on the counter and called back the measuring tape. He opened one of the boxes and pulled out a black-colored wand.

"Try this one. Blackthorn, Thunderbird tail feather, 10 inches long, and slightly springy."

Soren gave it a wave and shook his head. "It's not this one." It felt wrong. He wasn't sure how he knew that. But it just felt wrong.

Schmidt hummed and handed Soren another wand. "Rosewood, Fairy Wing, 9 and a half inches long, and quite rigid."

The wand was taken back as quickly as the other one, and Schmidt murmured to himself. "Perhaps...try this one. Eucalyptus, Augurey tail feather, 13 inches, and quite pliant."

Soren waved it around, causing a glass figurine to explode. Schmidt cast a Reparo and the figurine fixed itself. He was given another wand, a holly wand, and that one was too put in the pile of already growing wands. A fir wand, an ebony wand, and a cherry wand were also placed into the pile. And when Soren was starting to think that perhaps there had been some sort of mistake and that he wasn't a wizard at all, Schmidt grabbed a box from the highest shelve and placed it on the counter.

"Hm, perhaps this one? This wand was created by a Japanese-American wandmaker in the early nineteen hundreds. It's made of Bloodwood, which is a white tree that has a rosy pink tint to it. It can only be found in Japan and some parts of China and South Korea. It has three cores, which is highly unusual, as most cores don't blend well with others. Dark Veela Hair, Thestral Hair, and a Horned Serpent Horn. Quite interesting, if I do say so myself. It's 15 inches long and has rigid flexibility."

Soren reached for the wand, and when he did, he felt a warmth coming from it. The wand let out a multitude of different colored sparks and Soren grinned.

"Very good. Now, am I correct with the assumption that you would like the trace to be removed from this wand and the following wands, Master Prince?"

"You are correct. Soren, if you would be so kind to hand Master Schmidt the wand?" Severus asked with a small smile.

Soren nodded and handed over the wand. After a couple of minutes of muttering in a language neither Severus, Regulus, or the kids understood, the wand was placed back in the box and was given to Soren.

"And who might be next?"

Ariana gave a small timid smile and the whole ordeal began again. They tried the wands that had rejected Soren and after a couple of minutes, Ariana was holding a black-colored wand with a rather strange red glimmer, with runes engraved around the handle.

"Now, this was a wand gifted to my father by Garrick Ollivander's father. He said that this once belonged to Nimriel, who was rumored to be one of the only elven shadow mages in history. This wand is made from African Blackwood with the heartstring of a Nundu and is exactly 12 inches long and it's reasonably supple. It was made in Ethiopia, which is a part now known as Eritrea, by an Egyptian wandmaker who was there when Nimriel killed the Nundu."

"Why did Mr. Ollivander gift the wand to your father?" Ariana asked as she handed the wand over to Schmidt so he could take the trace off the wand.

"I suspect he wanted to get rid of any dark-leaning wands after Crickerly became Minister of Magic. Spavin's last act as Minister of Magic was to restrict the wandmakers in Britain to only create wands with supposedly light materials. Many wandmakers ignored the order and were then arrested."

The young girl's eyes widened and she let out a small "oh." The wandmaker handed over the wand box to Ariana and then Harry was being measured for a wand. Harry went through the wands that had rejected both Soren and Ariana, and Schmidt hummed as he took a box out from the lower part of the shelf. "One of my creations," was all he said, as he took out a silver wand with black spots from the light grey box and handed it to Harry.

Harry immediately felt warmth creeping into his skin and watched as green, silver, red, and gold sparks shot out of the end of the wand and he grinned. He handed the wand over, and Schmidt looked at it.

"This particular wand is made of dried Manchineel wood, which is sometimes called the Tree of Death. The wood can be highly poisonous if one does not dry the sap out in the sun for a week. It has two cores, blood freely given from a unicorn and a tail feather of a Shadow Phoenix. It's 13 and three-fourth inches long and it has unbending flexibility."

The trace was taken off, the wand was placed in the box, and then given to Harry. And then, to what seemed like hours, it was finally Emyrs turn. He stood still as the measuring tape went around the length of his arm and even around his head.

Compared to the others, Emrys found his wand quite quickly. It was one of the first few wands Soren had tried out and Emrys had found it near the bottom of the wand pile. Master Schmidt looked at the silver wand that Emrys was holding and nodded. "A very good wand. One of the first wands I created when I apprenticed under my father. Silver lime, a chimera scale fragment, and a rainbow serpent scale, 13 inches long and surprisingly swishy."

Emrys nodded as he looked at the wandmaker who was currently placing the wand back in its box, having taken the trace off. While the wandmaker was talking to his Uncle Regulus and his dad about the payment, he went over to Ariana and the others, where they were admiring one of the wands on display.

Severus and Regulus ushered the children out of the store, and the last thing they heard from the German wandmaker before the door closed was, "The world is in for a real shock."

"Come on, Harry. We're going to be late."

Harry looked up from his book to see Ariana standing in front of him. She was dressed in a dark green sweater, dark blue jeans, and grey high tops. Her dark auburn hair was currently down, which surprised Harry because Ariana was normally seen with braids. He sighed and closed the book, stood up from his chair, and placed it on the bedside table. There was no need to bring Tales of Beedle the Bard with him to Hogwarts.

They exited the bedroom and made their way to the living room where three adults and the rest of the kids were waiting for them. Anastasia Prince, a woman with shoulder-length dark blonde hair, fair skin, and blue-grey eyes, and Corvus Prince, a man with dark brown curly hair, brown eyes, and pale skin were standing beside Severus and talking to Emrys and Soren.

"Where's Uncle Regulus?" Harry asked as he jumped over the last two steps.

"He already left for Hogwarts."

Harry nodded as Severus picked up a blue and white teapot from a nearby table. "We'll be taking a portkey to Platform Nine and Three Quarters instead of going through the barrier. It'll activate in a minute."

They all touched the teapot and Severus looked at the watch in his other hand. He was counting down the seconds until it activated and then it happened immediately. Harry felt as though a hook just behind his navel had been suddenly jerked forward His feet left the ground and he could feel Ariana and Soren on either side of him, their shoulders banging into his. They were all speeding forward in a howl of wind and swirling color and his forefinger was stuck to the teapot as though it was pulling him magnetically onward and then his feet slammed onto the ground. He lost his balance when Emrys slammed into him and he fell to the ground.

"Sorry, Harry," Emrys said as he stood up and helped the green-eyed boy from the ground.

"It's alright, Em."

Portkey travel was not his favorite method of travel.

When he turned to look at the others, he noticed that they were perfectly fine, if only a bit disheveled. He then noticed the house-elf with a blue uniform and the Prince house crest standing next to Severus with their school trunks, owl cages, and cat carriers.

"Mitzy!" Harry exclaimed. "When did you arrive?"

Mitzy turned to Harry and smiled. "Mitzy arrives before Young Master Harry and his family did. Master Corvus asks Mitzy to bring the school things to the station and Mitzy has done so."

Harry blinked and then smiled at Mitzy. "Huh, I did wonder where our school trunks went. It's nice to know that Grandpa Corvus sent our stuff with you."

"I think you should go find a compartment for the four of you before it's too late," Corvus said. "I doubt you lot would want to be separated on your journey to Hogwarts."

The children nodded, and they watched as the luggage started to float behind their guardians and Mitzy. As they all walked through the platform, they could hear parents saying tearful goodbyes to their children, and other parents were lecturing their children on what to do and what not to do. They passed a short round-faced boy who was saying, "Gran, I lost my toad again."

"Oh, Neville," they heard the old woman sigh.

There was a boy with dreadlocks who was surrounded by a small crowd. They all looked at him and one of the older kids said, "Give us a look, Lee."

The boy lifted the lid of a box in his arms, and the people around him shrieked and yelled as something inside poked out a long and hairy arm.

"You're going to smuggle in a spider? Wicked," one boy said.

They pressed on through the crowd until Ariana found an empty compartment near the end of the train. The adults helped them put their trunks onto the luggage racks above the seats of an empty compartment that Ariana had helped find, and the owl cages and cat carriers were put on the ground.

"So, this is it, then. The start of a new adventure," Anastasia said as she looked at them fondly. "Meine Enkelkinder werden zu schnell groß. Ich bin nicht bereit, die nächsten paar Monate ohne die vier, nein, die sechs von Ihnen zu verbringen."*

The children tried to reassure their great-grandmother that everything was going to be alright, despite having little idea what she was talking about. German was not a language they had learned while being homeschooled, despite picking up the basics of it. They just didn't like to see their Granny looking so sad. It took the efforts of both the children, Severus and Corvus to calm her down, but by the end of it all, they had a slightly tearful Anastasia hugging her grandchildren to death.

"We'll send you letters," Harry said as Anastasia brought him into a hug. "Do bi-weekly letters seem okay?"

"As long as the four of you write, I don't mind the frequency of the letters." And then she turned to Severus, "And you, mister. You and Reggie are going to have to visit every Sunday morning for breakfast. I'd love for the kids to join us, but I'm afraid that would put them in quite the spot."

Severus merely nodded. He knew that when his grandmother said something, things were going to be done her way, either if he liked it or not. He turned to look at his children, and there were tears in his eyes. He, of course, would later deny this. Severus Snape-Prince doesn't cry and to believe otherwise would be ridiculous.

He cleared his throat and merely said, "I'll see you at Hogwarts, Meine Kinder."*

The family said their final goodbyes and the adults and one house-elf left the train, and minutes later, the train whistled and it started to move.

Harry leaned back in his seat, looking out the window and wondering if he could take out a book from his trunk. But that would mean having to bring the trunk down from its rack, and in all honesty, Harry didn't want a heavy trunk to fall on top of him. He sighed. He should have asked Mitzy, or Uncle Severus if they could put a featherlight charm on his trunk. Well, it was too late for that. He closed his eyes and listened to Ariana softly speak about Unicorns.

The door to the compartment slid open, and a young boy with fiery red hair and what looked to be hand-me-down robes stood at the threshold. He glanced nervously at them and bit his lip. "I'm sorry to interrupt...but may I sit here? The others are...full."

The kids become quiet and they glanced at each other. The red-head breaks the silence and says, "Or...not. That's okay. Um, I'll go see if there's another compartment."

The boy turned to leave, but Ariana chose that moment to speak. "What's your name?"

"Um, Ronald," the boy replied. "Ronald Weasley, but I go by Ron."

"Well, Ron," Emrys piped in. "Take a seat, will you?"

"Oh, um, thank you," Ron said as he sat down in one of the empty seats. "So, what's your name?"

"I'm Emrys Prince, and this is my sister Ariana." He pointed towards Harry and Soren. "And those are our cousins Harry Potter and Soren Riddle."

Ron's eyes turned wide, and he made weird little noises that worried the other children. "Harry Potter!" he finally said. "Are you really Harry Potter? You and your friends aren't pulling some prank, are you?"

"We're not pulling any type of prank," Harry said.

Ron leaned forward and said, "And have you really got — you know..."

He pointed at Harry's forehead. Harry pulled back his bangs to show the lightning scar. Ron stared.

"So that's where You-Know-Who—?"

"NOPE!" Soren said as he closed the book he had been reading shut. "We are not talking about the Dark Lord, Harry's scar, or anything related to that today, or ever."

Ron blinked and then flushed red. "Yeah, of course. Sorry."

"So...um, Ron, do you have any siblings?"

"Yeah. I have six. Five brothers and one sister," said Ron. For some reason, he was looking gloomy. "I'm the sixth in the family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left — Bill was Headboy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand, and Percy's old rat."

Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat gray rat, which was asleep.

"His name's Scabbers. and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff — I mean, I got Scabbers instead."

Ron's ears went pink and he seemed to think that he had said too much because he started to stare out of the window.

Harry didn't think there was anything wrong with not being able to afford an owl. He remembered that when he lived with the Dursleys, he would get all of Dudleys' old clothes while Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia would buy all the nicest types of clothes for their little Diddykins. In their eyes, he was always the freak, the unwanted boy from Number Four Privet Drive. He was glad he was no longer living with them.

"There's nothing wrong with not being able to afford something like an owl," Ariana said softly. "I know a lot of kids whose parents can't buy such things because they're on a tight budget." She paused and she glanced out the window. "That's nothing to be embarrassed about. And if anyone makes fun of you because of that, we'll... we'll fight them!"

"Ariana, no!" Emrys exclaimed. Ron stared at them. "We don't fight people!"

"If they're going to be mean about it, then yes, we do fight people," she responded with a huff.

"Do you guys mean that?" Ron asked.

Harry looked at Emrys who was mumbling under his breath and shrugged. "Yeah, of course."

Ron mumbled thanks as he ducked his head, trying to hide his blush. While they had been talking, the train carried them out of London and they were now speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past. Around half-past twelve there was a great clattering outside the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the carts, dears?"

Harry leaped to his feet, and Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd bought sandwiches. Harry glanced at Emrys, Soren, and Ariana and asked, "The usual?"

There were three nods and he went into the corridor and bought some Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Shreiking Sherbets, and a couple of bags of Roasted Chimera Potato Crisps. He also bought a copy of the Daily Prophet because he didn't have the chance to read his Grandpa Corvus' copy during breakfast.

Ron stared as Harry brought into the compartment and tipped it onto an empty seat.

"Hungry, are you?"

"Starving," the four children replied and they laughed. Soren stood up and grabbed a bag of crisps for himself and a couple of chocolate frogs and pumpkin pastries for Ariana and Emrys. Harry took a bite of the licorice and then looked over at Ron. "Feel free to help yourself to some sweets."

"Thanks," he mumbled as he grabbed a chocolate frog. He unwrapped the frog and took a bite out of it, and looked at the card he had gotten. "Morgana. I've got six of her already. Do any of you want it?"

"Oh, I do!" Ariana said. "I haven't gotten her yet."

Ron passed Ariana the card and Emrys picked up a chocolate frog and unwrapped it. He took a bite of his frog before it could hop away and looked at the card he got. It was a card of a man. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long, crooked nose, and flowing silver hair, beard, and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.

"So, this is the famous Albus Dumbledore," Soren said as he looked at Emrys' card. "I wasn't expecting him to be....so old." He paused and then looked at Emrys. "What does the back of the card say?"

Emrys shrugged and flipped the card over and read, "Albus Dumbledore. Currently Headmaster of Hogwarts. Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel. Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling."

"Isn't...Grindelwald the one that had a whole front-page article about him in last week's Daily Prophet?" Ariana asked.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, apparently it's been...fourteen years since his escape from Nurmengard. The Ministries worldwide are still trying to find him."

"Fourteen years?" Ron repeated. "How come no one has been able to find him? I mean, I reckon he has to be quite old, no?"

"Old? Perhaps. But he's a Dark Wizard, and they're tricky little things. Or so Uncle Severus says," Soren responded with a shrug. "I bet he's hiding in plain sight and some of his followers are hiding him on their estates. Hell, I'd bet that he's gone out in public wearing some sort of disguise, perhaps."

"That's...scary actually," Ron said as he unwrapped another chocolate frog. "He could be anyone. He could even be..." he paused and then shrugged. "Our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"I doubt Headmaster Dumbledore would be fooled by someone wearing a disguise, or someone pretending to be someone else. Besides, doesn't Hogwarts already have a Defense professor?"

"Yeah, but they don't last long. My brother says that every year, a new Defense professor gets the job because the last one either quits or mysteriously disappears. I've heard that there is supposed to be some sort of curse on the job."

"Woah."

The five turned silent after that and for a while, they watched as the countryside became wilder. The neat fields were gone and woods, twisting rivers, and dark green hills took their place. Harry was reading the Daily Prophet when there was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy Harry and the rest of his family had passed on platform nine and three-quarters came in. He looked tearful.

"Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"

When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!"

"He'll turn up," said Harry.

"Yes," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him..."

"Have you tried asking a prefect for help?" Ariana asked.

The round-faced boy shook his head.

"Well, if you go to the prefect compartment," Ron said. "I'm sure my brother Percy will be glad to help. He has red hair, just like mine, and square glasses."

"Oh!" the boy exclaimed. "I'll go bother a prefect then. Thank you."

The boy left the compartment and Ron sighed. "Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk."

The grey rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap and he poked it on the side with his finger. "He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in disgust. "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look..."

Ron rummaged around in his trunk and pulled out a very battered-looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end.

"Unicorn hair's nearly poking out. Anyway —"

Ron had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.

"Hermione, no. I told you we should go find a prefect," the boy was saying. "Besides, I already asked them and they said no."

But the girl paid him no mind.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said.

Harry stared at her and frowned. "We told Neville that he should go to the prefect compartment...I'm assuming you've been dragging him around the train?"

The girl looked at Harry surprised. "No! Of course not." She crossed her arms and frowned and then noticed the wand Ron was holding. She sat down and said, "Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then."

Neville let out a groan and said something about going to find a perfect, and then disappeared. Ron looked confused at the girl's request but shrugged.

"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow. Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow." The boy waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed gray and fast asleep.

"Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter. but I ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard — I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough — I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?"

Soren blinked and stared at Hermione. "I'm Soren Riddle." He paused and tilted his head to the side. "Also, what self-respecting kid says ever so pleased? I...I doubt even the rich kids say that."

Hermione stared at Soren blankly and Emrys started sniggering. Ariana merely sighed. "Please ignore my brother and my cousin. They aren't the best when it comes to talking with girls."

"Oi!"

"I'm Ariana Prince, and the one next to Soren is my brother Emrys Prince."

"Ron Weasley."

"Harry Potter."

"Are you really?" Hermione said. "I've read all about you. Did you know that you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century?"

Harry blinked and shook his head. "No. I did not know I was in those books. Though I doubt anything written about me in those books is a hundred percent accurate."

Hermione looked shocked that a book might have the wrong information. "But...why would they lie?"

"To make me seem cooler than I am?" He paused and frowned. "I mean, I've heard in one book I was portrayed as an eight-year-old fighting a Ukrainian Ironbelly. I mean, what eight-year-old fights a dragon?"

"I suppose you have a point," Hermione said. "You should probably get changed. I expect we'll be at Hogwarts soon."

Neville poked his head inside the cabin and smiled at Hermione. "Found my toad! Percy helped me find him."

"Percy? Who's Percy?"

"Ron's brother and a Slytherin Prefect. Come on, Hermione. Let's go back to our compartment."

Neville dragged Hermione out of the compartment and Harry could hear her mumbling under her breath about toads and prefects. Ariana grabbed her robes from her trunk and then left the compartment to change. The boys quickly changed and when Ariana returned, Ron and Soren were arguing about what Quidditch team was better.

"The Holyhead Harpies are better," Ariana said as she sat down.

Ron looked like he was about to say something insulting about the Holyhead Harpies when the compartment door slid open once more.

"Oh for Salazar's sake," Emrys exclaimed when he saw three boys enter the compartment. "Have you lot heard of knocking? This has to be the third time that someone barges into our compartment without knocking."

"Does Neville count?" Ariana asked, ignoring the pale boy. "I mean, he did apologize for interrupting us and he was looking for his runaway familiar."

"Hm, well, no, Neville does not count. Okay, then. Two times, but the point still stands!"

The pale boy sneered at Emrys and Ariana and then looked at Harry. "Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?"

"Yeah," Harry said. He was looking at the two boys who were acting like the pale boy's bodyguards and frowned. If he was being completely honest, they were making him a little uneasy.

"Oh, this is Crabbe, and this Goyle," said the pale boy after noticing where Harry was looking. "And my name's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."

Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him.

"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all about the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." He turned to Harry and said, "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

Draco held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it. Instead, he frowned at him and tilted his head to the side. "I suppose that's your way of saying that you want to be friends with me? And while I don't appreciate you making fun of my friend, I understand that you've been poisoned by the prejudiced way of your parents and the people you surround yourself with."

Draco blinked and for a minute, he didn't know what to say. This was the boy he had encountered at Madam Malkin's and even without knowing the boy's name, he knew he wanted to be friends with him. But now? Draco had no idea if befriending him might get him into trouble with his parents.

"Don't look so surprised," Ariana piped in. "We know who you are. Anyone who does their research on Britain's most influential families know who you are."

"Uncle Severus would be so disappointed in the young boy you've become," Soren said as he unlocked the door of a black cat carrier and placed a couple of ice mice inside. In seconds, the ice mice were gone and there was a satisfied purr.

"He was appointed as your godfather," Ariana added after seeing Draco's blank look. There was a sort of recognition on Draco's face and Ariana smiled.

"Look, I think you would benefit from us becoming your friends. And you seem like an interesting person, you know. But if you're going to insult one of my friends based on their looks, or because they're tight on money, then I don't think we could become friends."

"But...he's a Weasley!"

"I'm aware of this," Harry said as he rolled his eyes. "But being from a poor or rich family means absolutely nothing to me."

Draco narrowed his eyes at Harry and then huffed. "I suppose I could accept your offer. Even if it means being...cordial to Weasley." He paused and then looked behind him, realizing that his so-called friends, were still there. "But of course, I'm not going to accept such a preposterous offer. Come on, Crabbe, Goyle. Let's get out of here."

He pushed Crabbe and Goyle out of the compartment and when he was sure they weren't anywhere near, he opened the door once again, and said, "I'll consider your offer, Potter."

And with that, Draco Malfoy closed the door and walked away.

"Well, that was interesting," Ron said.

The rest of the ride passed fairly quickly and no more people barged into the compartment. Emrys was quite glad about that. He had enough people barging into a place without knocking for the day, thank you very much. The train slowed down and the group waited until the train was a little less empty before leaving their compartment.

Once they got off the train, they pushed through the crowd of people and toward a huge, tall, man holding a lamp, who was yelling, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"

They followed the man down a steep, narrow path until they reached the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, was a vast castle with sparkling windows, and many turrets and towers.

"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing at a fleet of little wooden boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron were followed into their boat by Ariana and Soren, and in another boat, Emrys was sitting with Hermione and Neville.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then, FORWARD!"

The boats started to move, gliding across the lake, and everyone had their eyes on the castle. Harry doubted that anything would be able to take his attention away from the majestic castle.

"AH!" someone yelled out and then there was the sound of someone falling into the lake.

Okay, perhaps Harry was wrong. Something could most definitely take his attention away from the castle.

Everybody turned around to see who had fallen into the lake. It was Draco Malfoy. A very concerned-looking Draco Malfoy was yelling at someone to help him. Hagrid was making his way to the boy when a tentacle came out of the water, grabbed the boy from the hoodie of his robe, and dropped him onto the boat.

"Was that the Giant Squid?" someone said.

"I think it was!" another one said.

The tentacle waved at the children and then it disappeared from view. Before they could wonder where it went, they were forced to duck their heads as they reached a low cliff, and then they were carried through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They soon reached the castle and they all got out of their boats and they went up a passageway, before coming out at last, onto smooth, damp grass right in front of the castle. They climbed up the stone stairs and crowded around the huge oak door.

They had finally reached Hogwarts.