After Severus escorted the two McKinneys home, he Apparated back to Hogwarts. The potions master hoped that the Headmaster had returned from his latest errand at the Ministry of Magic. The incompetent Minister, Cornelius Fudge, had requested aid from the Dumbledore who, as usual, rushed to the man’s side. The Headmaster had been gone since and had yet to learn about Harry Potter.

Severus was sure the older man wouldn’t be pleased when he learned his precious golden boy wasn’t living with Petunia. He sneered when he thought of those dreadful people. Even the potions master himself wouldn’t have sent the boy to her if he’d known. After growing up around both Petunia and Lily, he could easily see that Petunia was jealous of her sister.

“Acid Pops,” Severus muttered crossly. He hated these ridiculous passwords that the Headmaster insisted on using. He walked up the staircase and knocked politely on the door.

“Come in Severus,” the Headmaster said wearily.

The potions master entered and noted immediately that the older man was fatigued and exhausted.

“Good afternoon Headmaster.”

“Tea, Severus?” the man nodded and accepted the offered cup.

“I have some news concerning Harry Potter,” the dark-haired man said after setting his cup back on the table.

Albus leaned forward and peered at the man across from him. Severus managed to say the name Harry Potter without any of his usual malice, which immediately put the Headmaster on alert. Since Severus was so gifted at hiding his emotions, Albus couldn’t tell if something was seriously wrong or not.

“What is it? Has something happened to the boy?” Dumbledore glanced at some odd gadgets on his shelves briefly. Nothing appeared out of place.

“Yes,” Severus replied slowly. “The boy is no longer in the care of the muggles you left him with. Why you left the boy with Petunia Evans, of all people, is inconceivable to me.”

“I left him there so he could be protected by the blood war-”

“What protection?” Severus exclaimed angrily and jumped to his feet. He immediately began pacing the office.

“What has happened, my boy?” Albus inquired worriedly. “Where is the boy now, if he is not with them?”

Severus sat back down wearily. He started explaining how he first met the boy near Diagon Alley and ended with how the boy brought him the letter, which exposed the child’s real name. He also included the bit where Catherine explained how she received custody of the boy.

By the end of the explanation, the Headmaster was sad for the child’s suffering but his blue eyes were twinkling. Severus groaned mentally, knowing that the man was probably scheming. As it was, the Headmaster had previously told him to give Harry Potter a chance rather than assuming what the boy was like. Unknowingly, Severus gave the boy a chance and now he’s seen the real boy, rather than the Potter Junior that he’d been expecting.

“What are you going to do about the Dursleys?” Severus demanded after he finished explaining. “Why didn’t you notice the boy was gone?”

The Headmasters took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes tiredly. “I had someone who watched over the house for me and she never informed me that anything was amiss.”

“Who?”

“Arabella Figg,” Albus replied.

“Isn’t she a squib?”

Dumbledore nodded. “She lived not too far from Mr. Potter’s relatives. If anything happened to Harry, she should have flooed me immediately.”

“When was the last time you heard from her?”

“It’s been several years, I’m afraid. She only contacted me if something was wrong and I assumed that everything was fine since I had not heard from her. These,” the man motioned towards the devices he’d glanced at earlier, “tell me if the wards around Privet Drive are still functioning. They all appear to be working fine.”

“Hm,” Severus grunted. The man sitting in front of him placed their saviour under the watch of a squib and some ridiculous devices. A lot of good that did.

“I would like to visit Arabella to see why she has not contacted me and I’d like to visit the Dursleys. Care to join me?”

Severus nodded immediately. He would love to meet Vernon Dursley in particular.

The Headmaster got to his feet and grabbed a pinch of floo powder. “Arabella Figg’s residence!” He stepped in the green flames and was immediately whisked away. Severus copied his actions and stepped from the fireplace into a surprising scene.

Albus was currently standing in front of two very spooked muggles. He was trying to calm them down, but had no success. Severus cast a few calming spells on the two and watched as they both relaxed perceptibly.

“Is this not Figg’s residence?” Severus asked.

Dumbledore sighed, “This is her house but neither person is her.”

“Who are you?” Severus asked. “Do you know what happened to the woman that used to live here?”

“She passed,” the woman began. “I think there was an accident that happened several years ago. Apparently she tripped over one of her cats and fell down the stairs. At least that’s what the realtor mentioned.”

“How did you get in here?” the man wondered.

“That is not your concern,” Severus replied. He turned back to Albus, “Are we done here?”

Dumbledore nodded. He waved his wand an obliviated the two muggles before they left the house. Once outside, he cast a notice-me-not spell over the two to prevent unwanted attention from nearby muggles. They both walked quickly until they reached the Dursley’s residence. There was a car parked in the driveway, which meant they were likely to catch them while they were home.

Albus rang the doorbell and waited for it to be answered. A plump blond boy, about Harry’s age, answered the door.

“What d’you want?” he asked rudely.

“We would like to speak to your parents,” Dumbledore stated.

“Why?”

“Because,” Severus growled. He had no tolerance for rude boys such as the one standing before them. “Go get them. Now.”

Dudley scowled and turned his face towards the kitchen to yell out, “Mum! There are some weird people asking for you!”

Dumbledore frowned as he studied the wards around the house. He could tell that the security wards, such as the anti-Apparation and portkey wards, were still intact. However, he could not feel any signs of the blood wards. They must have collapsed once Harry was gone.

“What do-” Petunia began. She took one look at them and started to close the door. Severus stuck his foot in the doorway to prevent it from closing all the way.

“I have nothing to say to you freaks. Now get off my property!” Petunia commanded.

“No. I suggest you let us inside now to discuss this matter,” Severus snarled.

It was then the woman looked at Severus closer. “You! You’re that freaky boy that corrupted Lily.”

“I did not corrupt your sister. She was born a witch and I had nothing to do with that,” Severus stated firmly. “I advise you to let us enter. Now.” Must he repeat himself constantly?

Petunia scowled but opened the door. The two men entered and immediately met her large, purple-faced husband.

“Who are you?” he demanded. “And what are you doing in my house?”

“My name is Albus Dumbledore and this is my associate Severus Snape. We are here to discuss Harry Potter-”

“That freak? He’s long gone. Now leave!” Vernon insisted.

“We will not leave until you have answered our questions,” Dumbledore stated.

“What do you want to know?” Petunia asked quietly.

“Why? How could you abandon him in London?” the older wizard asked.

“Because he was a worthless freak!” Vernon shouted.

Petunia made to hush her husband but it was too late. Severus had already whipped out his wand and silenced the large man. Vernon started screaming explicates but nothing was heard. Once he realized his voice no longer worked, he turned a dark purple shade before launching himself at Severus. Snape was prepared of course and mumbled a spell which had Vernon hanging in the air upside down.

“Severus,” Albus warned. Snape sighed and regretfully returned Vernon right side up. He bound the man to a chair to prevent him from attacking them again.

Petunia scowled at the whole scene, but made no move to help her husband. She was smart enough to tolerate their presence without causing more trouble as her husband had already done. She was thankful that Dudley was up in his room and had not witnessed any of this freakish magic.

“I ask you again, Petunia. Why could you not treat Harry as your own child? Why did you abandon him in London?”

“That boy was a freak. I couldn’t treat him as part of this family with his abnormalities. It isn’t normal and I couldn’t stand Dudley being around him. What if my precious Dudders was contaminated?”

Severus sneered. “You imprudent muggle. Being around a wizard is not like some disease that your son could catch.”

“Hmph. Either way, the boy was gone once he started doing freakish stuff.”

“I am ashamed of your Petunia,” Albus remarked. “I thought you would be able to care for a young innocent child but I was wrong.”

Petunia began to look a little worried. “W-what are you going to do to us?”

Severus smirked at her and pulled out his wand.

Harry put the last book in his trunk before closing the lid. These last few weeks had been wonderful. Ever since he found out he was a wizard, he’d been reading as much as he could. He especially loved his potions books since he was finally able to learn more on his favourite subject.

He also loved practicing the spells, without actually casting them though. Professor Snape mentioned how he was forbidden from casting spells outside of Hogwarts until he was of age. The best part about that rule was that only he knew it. Connor didn’t, which meant the man would steer clear of him.

Harry had even taken to practicing wand movements while Connor was near. The man would always get nervous and usually leave the room. Harry couldn’t help but enjoy those moments since he felt as if he had some power over the bigger man.

Harry pulled on his pajamas and crawled into bed. It would be the last time he slept in this bed until Christmas time since it was the last day of August. Tomorrow, he would leave and finally start learning magic.

A soft knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. He softly called for the person to enter and smiled when his mum peeked in. She came and sat on the edge of his bed.

“Excited about tomorrow?”

Harry nodded. “Yeah. I’m excited and a little nervous. I’m going to miss you since I won’t get to see you until Christmas time,” he admitted softly.

Catherine hugged the boy. “It’ll be okay. As long as you write me often, then everything will be okay. If you forget though, I’ll have Professor Snape help me make one of those screaming letter things… howlers?”

Harry giggled. “You wouldn’t do that to me, would you?” He gave her a pathetic puppy-dog look that caused her to melt.

“Of course not,” she replied with a smile. “If you forget to write me though, then Hedwig won’t come here to pick up your goodie packages.”

“Mmm, what kinds of goodies are you going to send me?” Harry asked.

Cathy shook her head. “Nope, my lips are sealed.” She looked around conspiratorially. “But I will say that between me and your Grandmum, you’ll always get something good.”

Harry yawned. “That sounds good.”

Cathy gently pushed the boy on his back and pulled the covers up. “You should get some rest. You have a big day tomorrow.”

“G’night mum,” Harry said as he closed his eyes. Cathy leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead.

“Good night,” she replied softly.

After a tearful departure, Harry finally separated from his mum. Connor had to work so he and Harry said their goodbyes earlier that morning. Since Cathy was nearby, Connor made sure to give the kid a pat on 

the head and mumbled something about staying out of trouble before he left. Harry hadn’t realized how hard it would be to leave his mum. It was the first he’d be away from his mum for an extended amount of time. But finally Harry managed to separate from her in order to board the magnificent red train.

They had arrived early so it wasn’t too crowded when he searched for a compartment. He pulled his trunk into one that was currently empty and sat down. A short buzz in his pocket startled him. He pulled out a little prank toy that he’d found earlier in the car. It was one of those hand buzzers that someone would wear before shaking hands. Harry didn’t know why he grabbed it from the car, but he felt like it might be useful in case he wanted to joke around with anyone.

Harry nervously ran a hand through his hair. He was very nervous about the whole Boy-Who-Lived thing. He didn’t care for the idea of being famous but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. He pressed a hand on his forehead where the scar was and willed it to show. People knew he had it so there was no point in hiding it any further anyway.

A short while later, a young blond-haired girl entered. She looked around and smiled at Harry.

“Hi. Do you mind if I join you in here? It’s getting pretty full out there.”

“Sure,” he replied. “I’m Harry.”

“I’m Susan.” She reached out and shook his hand and gasped when she saw the lightning bolt scar. “Oh! You’re Harry Potter?”

Harry bit his lip. “Yeah.”

“So what house do you want to be in?” Susan asked curiously.

Harry stared at her for a minute. That was it? No questions on what it’s like to be the Boy-Who-Lived? He had been expecting questions from everyone and stares but she didn’t make a bid deal about it.

Harry blushed when he realized he had missed her question. “Sorry. What’d you ask?”

“I just wanted to know if you had any ideas on what house you wanted to be in,” she replied.

“I dunno. I wouldn’t mind going in any of the houses.”

“Really? Even Slytherin?”

“Yeah. I’ve known Professor Snape for a while and he’s really nice to me. He’s head of Slytherin so I think I’d like to be in his house.”

“I’ve heard stories that Professor Snape is really mean to the students,” Susan said.

Harry shrugged. “He can be cranky sometimes but as long as you follow his directions in class, then you should be alright.”

“Well, I don’t think I’ll end up in his house. My family has mostly gone in Hufflepuff so I’ll probably end up there.”

“Do you have a lot of family?” Harry asked.

“Not really. My parents and grandparents died in the last war so I’ve been living with my Aunt Amelia. She’s Head of the DMLE.”

Harry frowned. “What’s DMLE?”

“Department of Magical Law Enforcement,” Susan replied. “How come you didn’t know that? Weren’t your parents both magical?”

“Yeah but I didn’t find out I was a wizard until a month ago,” Harry replied.

“Really? How did that happen?”

Harry bit his lip. “It’s a long story that I’d rather not go into,” he replied softly.

Susan nodded. “Okay, that’s fine.”

The two continued chatting for a bit and finally the train left the station. They had been chatting for a while when two twin red-headed boys entered.

“Look Gred. Its two innocent firsties,” one said.

“I see Forge. Think of all the pranks we could play on them,” the other suggested.

They both bowed simultaneously.

“He’s Fred,”

“And he’s George,” They introduced, alternating between who’s speaking.

Harry slipped his hand in his pocket. They mentioned pranks earlier and he knew they would appreciate a good joke. He felt the cold metal buzzer slip onto his hand before he pulled it from his pocket.

“Hi, that’s Susan and I’m Harry.” The boy held his hand out and shook George’s—or was it Fred’s?—hand. The other boy jumped as he shook the hand and was zapped by the buzzer.

“Whoa. What was that?” the red-head asked.

“Nothing,” Harry answered innocently.

“Go on,” the first boy prompted his twin. “Shake his hand.”

The second red-head cautiously shook Harry’s hand and was zapped as well.

“Wicked,” he commented. “How’d you do that?”

Harry pulled of the buzzer toy and handed it to them. They examined it and played around with it for a minute before handing it back to Harry.

“Where’d you get this?” Fred asked.

Harry shrugged. “Dunno. I found it in my car on the way over and thought I’d bring it. Seems like you two are having a lot of fun with it.”

“Is this a muggle prank?”

Harry nodded slowly. Professor Snape had mentioned that many wizards were prejudice against muggleborns. Technically he wasn’t one, but he was raised as a muggle. Neither boy cared though and Susan didn’t look concerned either.

George whispered to his twin, “I think we may have found a new potential prankster.”

“Yes, he is young and corruptible too,” Fred whispered back.

“You know I can hear you, right?” Harry commented with a smirk.

They shrugged and went back to whispering. Harry looked over at Susan and shook his head in amusement. She was smiling too at the twins antics.

The compartment door opened and a blond-haired boy entered. He held himself regally and looked snobbish with his expensively tailored robes.

“Are you Harry Potter?” the boy asked, looking at the dark-haired boy. “Rumour on the train is that you’re coming to Hogwarts this year,”

Harry nodded slowly. “Yeah, I’m, Harry Potter.” He saw the shocked expression on the twin’s face.

Draco glanced over at the Weasley’s and looked disdainfully at them. “You must be Weasleys with those shabby robes and that appalling red hair. Potter, you should hang out with better people like myself. I’m Draco, by the way. Draco Malfoy.”

Harry made sure the buzzer was in his hand before reaching out to grasp Draco’s hand. He really didn’t care for the attitude of the boy and would rather not hang around him. Draco jumped and yanked his hand away after he felt the buzz.

“What was that?” he demanded. A pink tinge crept up his face as he tried to cover up his shock.

Harry shrugged. “Why don’t you leave before these two decide to hex you for your rude comments?”

Draco stomped off with a sullen scowl on his face.

“Nice one,” Fred commented.

“If you ever have any problems with that one-”

“Or any other person-”

“Let us know and we’ll prank ‘em.”

Harry smiled. “Thanks guys. Here,” he handed them the muggle prank toy. “Why don’t you guys keep that? Have some fun with it.”

“Thanks,” they replied together. “We should go check on-”

“Ickle Ronnikins. He’s a firstie too. We hope-”

“To see you in Gryffindor,” They finished together.

Harry shrugged. “I don’t think I’ll be in Gryffindor. Probably Slytherin.”

The twins exchanged glances. “That’s fine with us but-”

“You’d better be careful around the other snakes-”

“Along with the Head of Slytherin, Professor-”

“Snape. He’s a strict one, but he-”

“Knows the potions subject well.”

Harry nodded. “I know. I’ve met him before.”

“Well, it won’t matter to us-”

“Whichever house you go into. Don’t forget-”

“That if you have any problems, you-”

“Can come to us anytime,” they finished simultaneously. They bowed again before leaving the compartment.

Harry looked over at Susan. “You won’t mind if I end up in Slytherin, will you? I’ve heard a lot of people are prejudice against that house. Saying they’re dark and evil people.”

“I don’t care. I know you aren’t a bad person and if you end up in Slytherin, then you end up there. It won’t matter to me,” Susan reassured.

Harry smiled. “Thanks. It’s good to hear that not everyone will mind.”

“I’m not sure how the rest of the school will react though, with you being the Boy-Who-Lived,” Susan pointed out.

“I know,” the boy replied. “But honestly, I don’t care that much. I’m sure people would be shocked, but I’d like having Professor Snape as my Head of House.”

The compartment door opened and a tall black boy with dark hair entered. “Mind if I join you? Sure? Thanks,” he said before waiting for an answer. He plopped down on the seat next to Harry.

“Um… Who are you?” Susan asked.

“I’m Blaise Zabini. Who’re you?”

“Susan Bones,” she replied.

Harry looked at the boy next to him. “Harry Potter.”

“That’s nice,” he replied. “I was kicked from my compartment so I’m going to take a snooze here. Keep the voices low, will you? Thanks.” The boy propped his legs on the seat across from him, next to Susan, and closed his eyes.

Susan looked at Harry and giggled quietly. Harry smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

Harry stood with the other first years in the Great Hall. It was magnificent in there with the beautiful ceiling that was bewitched to look like the nights sky. All the older students were currently sitting at their tables wearing their robes. Harry and the other first years had to ride the boats across the lake. That was when they caught their first glimpse of Hogwarts. It was a sight to remember, that was for sure. Once they reached the castle, Professor McGonagall had led them to the corridor outside the Great Hall. Hogwarts had several ghosts, as the first years came to find out. The ghosts chatted with several first years for a minute before floating away. Just as they left, McGonagall had returned and let them into the Great Hall. The first years were currently staring at a Hat on a footstool.

Suddenly, the hat moved and began singing:

Oh you may not think me pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!

Harry stood nervously as he waited for the Hat to call his name. Susan was already sorted and she had gone into Hufflepuff like she’d predicted. He scowled as Draco Malfoy was sorted into Slytherin. If he ended up there, he could just avoid the annoying blond-haired boy.

“Potter, Harry,” Professor McGonagall called out.

Harry swallowed nervously as he approached the stool. The hat was dropped over his head as the whispers started spreading.

“Hmm… Difficult. You have courage... plenty for Gryffindor. What’s this? You don’t really want to go there? Ahh… You’d like to be in Slytherin with Professor Snape. Hm, yes. You would do well there. If that is where you want to be then it had better be… SLYTHERIN!”