Curse of Fate

Title: Curse of Fate
Author: Mistress Nika
Rating: PG-15 (Yes, 15. That's somewhere between PG-13 and R)
Summary: Thousands of years into the future, vampire Harry only wants to join his loved ones in death. However, his curse of immortality is absolute. Therefore he sends himself back into the body of his infant self, vowing to this time refuse eternity. When do things ever go according to plan? Unexpected changes to the timeline, people who aren't as they once were and more send his life spiraling out of his control.
Pairings: Harry/Lucius(main), possible Harry/Severus, possible Lucius/Severus, possible Harry/Lucius/Severus, Sirius/Remus, Theo/Hermione, possible Theo/Blaise, possible Hermione/Ginny, Draco/Luna, possible one-sided Harry/Luna on Luna's part, possible Hermione/Pansy, Cedric/Eleanor(OC), past Harry/Ginny
Warnings: AU, het, slash, angst, language, violence, time travel, VampireHarry, DarkLordHarry
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

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Chapter Eighteen:
The poor clerk at the apothecary was worried. All day he'd had the usual customers with a few early Hogwarts shoppers trickling in and out. However, his shop was now playing host to seven children with inadequate supervision, the two heads of the Malfoy family who seemed to be giving each other the cold shoulder, one pardoned Death Eater who was encouraging the children to get into trouble and one harried werewolf who was trying desperately to keep them all in line.

He let out a pitiful whimper as the Nott boy threw a hog's eye at his friend, young Zabini almost toppling over as he flailed at the slimy object and knocking off a jar of preserved newts. Lupin caught the jar before it hit the floor, set it back in place and proceeded to scold both boys furiously. He then had to dash across the store to catch the oldest girl as she almost fell off a ladder trying to get at the crushed bat's wings. As soon as his back was turned, Zabini stuck his tongue out at his friend, picked up a goat's spleen and lobbed it at Nott. Instead, it hit young Draco Malfoy, who had been the only one not getting into trouble.

Oh, if he only survived the day!

"Excuse me?"

Looking down, he found the young Lord Potter looking up at him expectantly. At least this boy had manners.

"Yes? Can I help you?"

The boy smiled at him disarmingly. "I can't seem to find any Nightshade."

The clerk started at the boy dubiously. What could he possibly need Nightshade for? It was only useful in a handful of potions, most of which were deadly poisons. "Nightshade is very dangerous, young man . You'll need parental consent to buy it."

"Of course," Harry said simply, glancing over to where Sirius was chasing Pansy with a pickled toad, the girl shrieking her head off. "Sirius Black!" he shouted in a commanding tone, a frown crossing his face. "Drop that toad this instant!"

Perhaps it was time spent in Azkaban or maybe just the years he'd spent hearing such commands from teachers, usually followed by weeks of detention with Filch, but the man instantly dropped the toad like it had the plague. He straightened up and immediately looked around with wide eyes for the origin of the shout. Spotting Harry, he had the dignity to look sheepish as he picked up the toad and put it back on the shelf before crossing the shop to him. Pansy took that moment to hide behind a sympathetic Narcissa.

Sirius stopped before Harry, snapped an exaggerated salute and chirped, "Yes sir, Professor Lord Potter, sir! What can this humble godfather be doing for you, sir?"

Harry shook his head at his godfather's antics. Oh, if only he survived the day.

-SCENE BREAK-

Hermione Granger was proud to say that she was an intelligent witch.

It hadn't always been that way, of course.

When she was younger and had just started school, she'd learned that being intelligent in a public school often led to bullying. If you were proud of the fact that you were smart, it painted a huge target on your forehead that led to ostracism, ridicule and exclusion from social interaction. They thought she was stuck-up, that she thought she was better than them just because she was smarter.

She didn't. She was just different. She'd always been different.

So, she'd hid away in libraries and classrooms, putting a mountain of books and information between her and those who scorned her. Sometimes, she found herself wishing she weren't so smart. Wishing she could be like them and have friends. Of course, it never happened and she clung to her only friends, her books.

A few days ago she'd stopped calling herself an intelligent girl. She was, in fact, an intelligent witch.

She always known that she was different. Maybe that was why she was able to accept magic so easily, despite it's very existence going against every rational thought she'd ever had. Maybe this was why she had never truly belonged. Maybe this was where she was meant to be. Maybe she'd be among others like her who prized knowledge over this month's latest fashions.

Staring around her at the mountains of books filling the shop, she decided that she had finally found her place in the world, a place where she could really belong.

A rough shove from behind knocked her to her knees, the books she held in her arms spilling over the floor haphazardly.

"Oh!" a boy's voice exclaimed. "I'm so sorry!"

A pale, delicate hand was lowered into her field of vision, offering her assistance in rising. Instead, she scrabbled at her fallen books, pulling them frantically back into her arms and not looking up at the boy. Her instincts told her he was only being polite because his parents were likely right behind him and that she didn't need his charity, while her mind screamed at her that this boy didn't know her as the bookworm. She should accept his help, but years of torment from her peers made it impossible.

She was surprised when the boy began picking up her books, handing them back to her with care. She couldn't help but look up at him.

A rich silver-trimmed light blue robe draped the form of what was most likely the prettiest boy she'd ever seen. Long black hair was pulled into a loose ponytail over his left shoulder. A curious lightning bolt shaped scar graced his brow, almost hidden behind loose strands of that soft raven hair. Sparkling green eyes smiled at her from within porcelain skin and dark red lips turned upwards as she stared. She doubted such a beautiful creature could ever exist in the mundane world from which she hailed. It simply wasn't possible. The only word she could find to describe the boy, other than beautiful, was magical.

"I'm sorry," he apologized again in a soft voice. "Those two," he pointed over his shoulder to a couple of boys who were roughly poking and shoving at each other, "accidentally pushed me and I couldn't stop myself from bumping into you. I apologize for knocking you down. Are you alright?"

"Ye-yes," she stuttered before getting herself under control. "Um, thank you. I'm Hermione Granger. Are you going to Hogwarts too?"

The boy took her proffered hand with a kind smile and brought it to his lips. She blushed as he pressed a chaste kiss to her knuckles before releasing her hand. Such manners!

"Harry Potter," he replied. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Granger. Yes, I will be attending Hogwarts this year."

The way the boy spoke was reassuring. Not only gentle and refined, but also with intelligence. She found herself immediately wishing she could become friends with him.

"Just Hermione is fine," she said, smiling back at him for the first time. Hoping to start a real conversation, she asked, "Do you know anything about Hogwarts?"

If possible, he smiled even wider. "Oh yes," he replied. "Quite a bit. My parents attended Hogwarts, as did my godfather and my patriarch."

Hermione's brow crinkled perplexedly. "Patriarch? The male head of a family or tribe?"

Harry chuckled amusedly at her textbook definition. "Yes, though among wizards it also means one to whom I am unrelated by blood, but will inherit from. Usually used in the case of werewolves."

Hermione's eyes widened. "There's such a thing as werewolves?" she asked with great interest. "Are you a werewolf?"

That could explain the otherworldly feel he gave off. Imagine. Real live werewolves!

With another chuckle, he took her stack of books, carefully balanced them in one hand and looped her arm through his.

"Hermione," he said fondly as he led her deeper into the shop, "I have so much to teach you."

-SCENE BREAK-

From behind a stack, two muggles watched their daughter make her first friend with teary eyes. They'd hoped and prayed for this day to come for years now. With that nice young man, she had a chance for acceptance and friendship.

The Doctors Granger were every bit as intelligent as their offspring. They'd seen how the boy had purposely bumped into Hermione after watching her intently from his circle of friends.

At first, they'd been all set to rush to their daughter's aid, to save her from more bullying. However, when the boy had very sweetly helped her up and kissed her hand, they'd seen it for what it was. He had wanted to meet her, to befriend her.

"Quite the charmer, isn't he?"

Turning, they looked at the man who had spoken. Brown hair, brown robes and the most luminous eyes they'd ever seen. He smiled at them kindly, golden eyes glinting with mirth.

"Harry," he clarified, nodding to where the boy and their Hermione were picking up books from a shelf, debating over its merits and then placing it in an ever growing stack in Harry's arms.

They returned his smile.

"Yes," Ann responded. "He certainly is."

"I wish I had half the charm that kid does," John responded good-naturedly. Offering his hand to the other man, he said, "John Granger. My wife, Ann."

"Remus Lupin," the other said, shaking hands with both. "It's nice to meet you."

"He yours?" John questioned, motioning to Harry.

Lupin smiled mischievously. "In a manner of speaking," he replied.

"Actually," a new voice put in, "he's mine."

A new man appeared, wrapping an affectionate arm around Lupin. This man was a bit taller and very handsome, with extremely long black hair unbound and flowing freely about his upper body. His roguish grin was infectious, but also made them slightly wary at its intensity. It was almost as if he were constantly planning something unsavory.

"Sirius Black," he said with a wink. "I'm Harry's godfather."

Whatever might have been said next was cut off by a loud scream from a young girl just behind them. Her eyes were wide, her body trembling and she looked on the verge of fainting. Her father immediately stepped forward, brandishing his wand threateningly at Black.

"S-step away from the muggles," he demanded in a shaky voice.

Ann and John, though unfamiliar with the magical world, knew trouble when they saw it. John took his wife by the hand and pulled her close to him as Black removed his arm from Lupin and faced down the unknown man with a frown.

"I wasn't going to hurt them," Black said, glaring at the other man.

"I know what you Death Eaters do to muggles!" the man shouted passionately. "I'm an Auror!"

Black scoffed, obviously dismissing him as being an insufficient threat. "Then you should know that pointing your wand at me like that in public with the intention of cursing me is illegal. I was pardoned, and there was never any proof I tortured anyone, except Wormtail. If you'll remember, I was innocentwhen I was sent to Azkaban and there have been no attacks on muggles since I escaped."

"That we know of," the auror growled menacingly.

"Gentlemen," Lupin said calmly, stepping in front of Black in order to defuse the situation. "I suggest you put your wand away, auror, and Sirius, stop posturing."

Instead of pacifying them, one pouted and the other shifted to train his wand on Lupin instead.

"Don't think you can tell me what to do, werewolf!" the auror shouted angrily. "We all know you're nothing but Death Eater scum! Not even human!"

A heavy hand fell on the auror's shoulder as a gentleman's cane snapped down onto his wrist, effectively immobilizing his wand arm. A scowling and rather imposing blonde man glared disdainfully down his nose at the angry auror.

"You have no sense of self preservation, do you?" he asked coldly. Before the auror could respond, he continued. "As much as I may dislike Black, he is the Lord of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. By insulting him, you have insulted every member of the Black family."

"Of which I am a member," a pretty blonde woman on the man's other side said with a haughty sneer. "By insulting my cousin, you have insulted me. By insulting me, you have insulted my husband."

"And by insulting my godfather," Harry said as he stepped forward from the crowd that had gathered, a confused and frightened Hermione at his side, "you have insulted me."

"By our laws," the blonde man continued, "each of these infractions allow for an honor duel to the death. Do you really think that you, a mere junior auror barely out of training, are prepared to duel each of us or an alternate of our choosing in succession to the death? Keep in mind, Black was trained by the Dark Lord himself and I have been trained by the greatest masters in the world."

A tense moment passed before the auror slumped in defeat and muttered, "Lord Black, Lord Malfoy, Lady Malfoy and Lord Potter. I apologize for my terrible behavior. Please forgive me."

"Remus too!" Black demanded, which got a similar apology for Lupin.

After being released by Lord Malfoy, the auror grabbed his family and hightailed it out of the store.

The blonde lord looked over the two Grangers before dismissing them as inconsequential and turning to the slowly dispersing crowd.

"I believe we should conclude our business here and move on," he said, moving to take a blonde boy by the shoulder and maneuver him toward the counter to purchase his books.

Black turned back to the Grangers as Lupin took Harry to the counter as well.

"I'm sorry for this," he began. "Don't let what that idiot said scare you. I'm not really dangerous. I was falsely imprisoned and some people have yet to realize that I really was innocent."

"Of course," John replied stiffly, not sure what to make of the man. He seemed friendly enough, but John know prison could change a person, even if they were innocent. And what was that about torture? He decided that he simply didn't know enough about the magical world to make a fair and accurate assessment of the man. He would have to change that if his daughter was going to be a part of this world.

"So," Ann said, hoping to change the subject. "Your friend is a werewolf? They really exist? And you're...some sort of lord?"

A grin split the man's handsome face. "Yep. Remus is the Alpha of one of the largest packs in Britain! As for me, well, like lord blondie said, I'm the Lord of House Black. It's one of twenty or so noble houses and there's really not much left of it. Just me, some cousins, maybe an aunt or two."

Ann snickered. "Lord blondie?"

"Ah, well, technically there's an alliance between House Black and House Malfoy. That was Lucius Malfoy, by the way. Lord of House Malfoy. My first cousin Narcissa, the blonde woman, married him to cement our two house's alliance, but he and I don't get along very well. A sort of mutual animosity that we pretend doesn't exist in public for appearances sake. Basically, we annoy the hell out of each other. Oh! Sorry, kid!" he quickly added, glancing at Hermione by her parents side.

The girl just stuck her nose up in the air and declared, "Adults should not curse in front small children. Think of the precedent it sets!"

-SCENE BREAK-

Harry was all aglow. He'd found Hermione!

Imagine his shock when he'd walked into Flourish & Blott's only to see her glancing around in awe. He couldn't help but approach her. Now, he was leaving Diagon Alley with her address and a promise to owl her before school began. She'd wanted an owl to write to him, but her parents had strictly forbidden it. She was far too young for the responsibility of a pet, they'd said. Especially one they had no idea how to care for.

She and her parents had joined them for the rest of their shopping, making their group even stranger with two muggles and a muggleborn. Lucius and Narcissa had studiously pretended the adult Grangers didn't exist. Muggleborns they could handle. After all, despite their unfortunate birth, they were still magical. Narcissa had even insisted on taking Hermione back to Madam Malkin's for a proper set of casual robes.

However, muggles were still beneath them. Lucius had grudgingly introduced himself and Narcissa after receiving a nudge from Harry, even going so far as to shake their hands, even though he had twitched acutely for several minutes afterward as if he desired nothing more than to disinfect his hand. After that brief moment of civility, the two had continued to pretend the muggles didn't exist and the Grangers quickly caught on that they were being ignored.

It was Remus, in the middle of a conversation about werewolves, his pack and himself, that had explained the dislike most purebloods held for muggles and muggleborns. Suffice to say, they were not happy about it, but were willing to give them the benefit of the doubt due to the very little real knowledge they had of the magical world. Perhaps there was a perfectly good reason for their attitude. Muggles used to burn witches, after all.

-SCENE BREAK-

After arriving back at Leonis House, Lucius immediately made a beeline for the bedroom he'd unofficially claimed as his and a nice, hot, cleansing shower after his extended encounter with muggles. Narcissa, not having the luxury of calling Leonis a second home, flooed back to Malfoy Mansion with the same goal in mind.

Pansy left directly after, taking her new green-eyed black cat, aptly named Harry, with her. Harry was not amused at her choice in familiars nor her naming preferences.

Dudley had left the second they returned, eager to show off his new possessions to his mother, including the huge grey rat he'd bought named Smoky. Upon first seeing the rat, Nellie had mused upon whether she could unhinge her jaw far enough to swallow it. The maniacal glint in her eye made Harry wonder if she was actually thinking of trying it.

Eleanor was quickly ushered to the fireplace, wedged between Blaise and Theo while both boys tried to talk the flustered girl into telling them what was on the Hogwarts first year syllabus and maybe she should give them her old essays while she was at it.

Draco debated staying with Harry for a while, considering his father was still there, or returning home since it was getting pretty late and it had been an eventful day. Eventually, he decided he'd better go home and comfort his mother who was likely bordering on hysterical. Muggles made her twitchy and he doubted his father was going to be doing the comforting anytime soon considering the row they'd had earlier at the Leaky Cauldron. In fact, he'd send over a house elf with a change of clothes for Lucius.

Before Harry could even turn around, Remus and Sirius had disappeared. It didn't take a genius to figure out where to. Harry had seen the copy of "The Wild World of Wizard Sex" Sirius had picked up in Flourish & Blott's, as well as the copy of "Little Known Werewolf Mating Habits". Not to mention Remus had slipped off to Knockturn Alley at one point, only to return carrying a small parcel and looking rather smug. He only hoped they remembered to seal off their room. There were some things he did not want to know. The sexual habits of his godfathers was one of them. He didn't want to hear, smell or otherwise sense anything.

Finding himself alone, Harry decided to give Lucius a little surprise. With a grin, he slipped upstairs and into Lucius room.

Twenty minutes later, a loud scream of pure terror echoed throughout the house.

'What is that human screeching about?' Nellie asked after coming awake with a start.

'Oh, he's probably just discovered the paper mache head of Voldemort I left in his bed,' Harry responded with a maniacal laugh, leaning back in his chair, lacing his fingers behind his head and training his eyes on the open door to his study.

Moments later, a very wet Lucius Malfoy ran by with naught but a towel around his waist to preserve his dignity, the amazingly lifelike paper mache head clutched in one hand, the other holding up his towel and all the while cursing Sirius violently.

"Lucius," Harry called in a honeyed tone, causing the man to skid to a halt and return to Harry's door.

Eleven or not, Harry had to admit that Lucius Malfoy was incredibly attractive. Long blonde hair was plastered to his neck and shoulders as drops of water rolled off his mostly nude body. Harry would definitely not mind spending his life with this captivating creature at his side.

Lucius, ignoring his state of undress or the appreciative looks he was receiving from Harry, thrust the head out in front of him and declared angrily, "I'm going to murder that man! I found this in my bed!" With a thump, he set it on Harry's desk.

Harry just smirked.

"Actually, I did it."

Lucius looked aghast.

"You deserved it, Lucius," Harry continued, smirk fading into a look of reproval. "You are one of three people in the world who know what the name Granger means to me. You insulted my sister's parents. I understand that you were raised to hate muggles and I approve of your efforts to change so far, but you're not quite there yet. Consider this aversion therapy. I intend to have the Grangers over as often as possible. Each time you are rude to them," Harry's smirk returned, "you will be punished. Never with pain. No, I could never hurt you, my Lucius. I will instead show you what six thousand years of experience and a little creativity can do when combined with a Marauder's penchant for dirty tricks and practical jokes."

Picking up a quill and dipping it in ink, Harry began a letter to Hermione. For several minutes, he disregarded Lucius' presence and the slightly fearful look in his eyes. Pausing, he glanced up once more.

"You're dripping on my carpet," he stated simply.

With a hurt expression, Lucius turned and left the room.

Harry sighed as he watched him go. He loved Lucius. He really did, but the man had to learn.

He couldn't help but snicker as Nellie, also watching Lucius' retreat, made a rather obscene lick with her forked tongue and murmured, 'Yummy.'

Harry laughed. "Indeed."

'When do you humans, or vampires or whatever, become sexually mature?' she asked almost innocently.

Harry looked at the snake curled up on his favorite divan warily. 'Why do you want to know that?'

'Well,' she replied with a distasteful hiss, 'Nellie doesn't want to be in the same room when her puppy finally jumps him.'

Mad laughter was her answer.

-SCENE BREAK-

Less than half an hour later, Harry's guilt at hurting his Consort's feelings overcame him. He put away the letter he was writing and took Nellie to her room for the night.

Yes, she had a room of her very own. She was an incredibly spoiled snake.

After changing into his pajamas, he crept down the hallway, into Lucius' room and got into bed beside him. Despite mutual naps on the sofa, they'd never shared a bed before. Harry was afraid it would make Lucius uncomfortable. Ignoring the irritating fact that he was half the size of his Consort, he slid an arm around Lucius' waist and nuzzled into his neck, pressing his mouth gently to the soft, warm flesh there. For a moment, Lucius went completely still and his pulse sped up beneath Harry's lips. However, a moment later his body relaxed and he returned Harry's embrace.

With a sigh of contentment that echoed across their bond, Lucius fell asleep with a smile on his lips.

Harry lay awake most of the night watching his future lover sleep peacefully.

Over the next month, Lucius and Harry grew even closer. Lucius spent most of his free time at Leonis House and each night that he stayed over Harry would crawl into his bed sometime around midnight. There was nothing overtly sexual about it, of which Harry had assured Sirius after he had caught them in bed together. It was simply a desire to be as physically close as possible.

Harry had never had a Consort, nor had his predecessors. For once, in a very long time, Harry felt completely ignorant. He was learning as he went along. He had the knowledge, but no experience and instead of trying to understand, he allowed himself to be washed away and become lost in the unknown, in his Lucius.

Harry had invited Hermione and her parents over several times. They were all learning things about the magical world and having a wonderful time doing it. Ann and John got along very well with Remus, but Ann often found herself annoyed at Sirius. He was all power and personality, very outgoing and energetic, and it grated on her nerves at times.

Harry began teaching Hermione some of the basics of magic which wouldn't be taught at Hogwarts. She learned that there was magic within and magic without. Wizards typically used the magic within themselves and ignored the potential of external magic. However, very few took the time to really learn about their own personal magic either. They just took for granted that it worked. Before he would allow her to cast a single spell, Harry insisted Hermione learn to feel her own magic. This would make casting structured spells much easier, as she would be able to feel what her magic was doing and replicate it easily, and was the beginnings of wandless magic. Though she was too young yet and her magic too undeveloped to begin wandless training, she had already expressed interest in learning it after seeing Remus performing it regularly.

Harry and Hermione became fast friends. Hermione was ecstatic to find someone who considered the pursuit of knowledge a worthwhile endeavor and Harry was happy to find that Hermione was able to hold a conversation on his level. She had the wit and intelligence of an adult with the emotions of a child. She was always learning and had even stumped Harry a few times by asking questions of a little known spell.

Her relations with Harry's other friends were still a bit distant.

Draco treated her fairly most of the time, but found her a bit boring and he continued to address her by her last name despite her protests to the contrary. They were able to hold a conversation for a while, but usually it turned too analytical for Draco or the noble boy began talking about things Hermione had no idea about. Thus, theirs was a very casual friendship.

Pansy absolutely adored Hermione. Unfortunately, the feelings weren't mutual. Being the only girl in their group, other than Eleanor who hadn't been around during the school year, she was happy just to have another female around. Hermione found her to be a flighty and superficial little girl and, despite Harry's assurances that Pansy was smarter than she seemed, found little in common with her.

Theo quickly discovered that he'd met his match in Hermione. He'd always been the quietly bossy one of their group who got his way with others by using his taller and heavier body through unspoken threats. The first time he'd even suggested that Hermione do his homework for him when they got to Hogwarts, she'd yelled and lectured at him for twenty minutes before he slunk away in defeat. Blaise thought it was hilarious that the domineering witch had earned Theo's respect while Hermione held nothing but disdain for him.

Speaking of Blaise, he and Hermione had hit it off right away. They were both inordinately smart for their age and could be seen having heated debates on magical theory. Blaise often joined Hermione and Harry in their study sessions for Hermione's benefit. Blaise, as well as the other children, had been studying how to access their own magic for years and he made it his mission to "get her up to pureblood standards" by the time school started.

As for Eleanor, they generally got along pretty well, but Hermione often snapped at her. In her eyes, Eleanor was wasting her gift. The girl was just as smart as Hermione, but didn't have the confidence to back it up. Where years of torment for her intelligence had made Hermione willful, bossy and even arrogant, it had made Eleanor beyond shy with no confidence in her abilities. After hearing from Harry how the girl had been before he'd befriended her, Hermione began trying to build up her confidence in a decidedly different manner from Harry. While he did it by being her friend, she endeavored to get a rise out of the girl by being snippy with her. So far, she'd only gotten her to shout back once. Hermione had hugged her afterward.

Hermione and Dudley were amicable, but didn't take to each other like Harry had expected them to, both having been raised muggle. To Harry's surprise, she sat in on Dudley's lessons on pureblood etiquette, asking questions on why something was done a certain way and interjecting her own ideas. When questioned, she replied that she wanted to learn everything possible, even if she would never use it.

-SCENE BREAK-

Harry smiled as he provided the mediwitch with a drop of his blood before returning to his seat with Sirius and Remus. There was absolutely no chance of this particular test revealing anything he didn't want it to, such as his vampirism.

Each of the children waited anxiously with their guardians in the waiting room, along with a few dozen other nervous families. One by one, they were alternately called up and, after another agonizing half hour of waiting, handed their results.

Harry had never had the opportunity to have this test done before. It was only possible until a child's magical core stabilized around their fifteenth to nineteenth birthday. Any later and any abilities they might possess, though still present, wouldn't show up.

There was an almost infinite list of Blood Traits, more properly called Hereditary Magical Abilities, and more were popping up every year. Though some ran in families, others were dependent solely upon the individual. Families rarely made their Blood Traits general knowledge, as doing so would be giving up an edge and could also lead to persecution depending on the abilities. The only ones who knew exactly who could do what was the St. Mungo's healer who performed the test, the Unspeakables who kept an ongoing private record, the families themselves and those they trusted. Although, as certain abilities were more common, those were rarely kept secret. Saying a family commonly generates telekinetics was a good way to avoid saying they also tend to produce cryomages as well.

The Malfoy family was known to generate telekinetics, but also secretly empaths of varying degree. Lucius himself had a variation of empathy known as emotional manipulation. While unable to read the emotions of others, he was able to manipulate them, forcing people to feel things they wouldn't normally. Extremely useful in his position. He was also telekinetic, well trained and of moderate power, and he wasn't afraid to use it.

The Black family was known to produce telepaths, but elementals were secretly common as well. There were a few Seers in the family, but the trait was incredibly recessive. Shape changers, such as metamorphmagi and animagi, were somewhat uncommon, but they occurred as well.

Narcissa was a telepath, but incredibly weak. The most she could do was pick up a few disjointed, stray thoughts of others. Her real ability came in the form of pyrokinesis. The woman could lob a fireball from the ground and incinerate a single person on a broomstick three hundred feet in the air, leaving their companions and even the broom itself completely unharmed.

Sirius was obviously an animagus, but also an aeromage of extremely limited power. What should have been an impressive ability to control wind, and limited abilities with weather, manifested itself only as unintentional rain whenever he was depressed. Harry knew his godfather was capable of wielding it more effectively, but Sirius was convinced he was useless in that area and had no desire to delve any further into it.

The Lupin family always had a mild ability for wandless magic, but Remus had not discovered his ability with it until Harry had brought it out. As a werewolf and a halfblood, his parents had never taken him to be tested.

The Weasley Family was known to frequently generate weak telekinetics and although Arthur had no ability in it, Percy and the twins did. The Prewitts commonly produced photomages and Molly had passed that ability onto one of her children already, Bill. Harry knew from experience that Ron would show talent in neither ability and instead have extremely weak pyrokinesis that he all but ignored. Ginny had been incredibly secretive about her abilities, but had finally admitted that she had the power to "blow stuff up", also known as particulaekinesis, as well as a neglected talent for telekinesis. Particulaekinesis was an extremely rare and dangerous ability and the Ministry often put many restrictions on those who had it, so her father had forbidden her from using it or telling anyone.

Across the room, Ron sat with his nervously fidgeting mother. Harry thought about approaching him, but considering he was sitting on the "noble" side of the room where all the titled families had congregated, he thought better of it. He could always befriend him later at Hogwarts. Not to mention the fact that very few people were socializing. This was, after all, one of the biggest days in their children's lives. Everyone was understandably nervous.

Harry watched as Pansy's name was called and she received a scroll with her results. After unfurling and reading it, she let out an ecstatic whoop of pure joy. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at her.

"Uh," she stammered, "I mean...yay?"

Blushing a light pink, she ran across the room, leaned over and whispered into Harry's ear, "I'm like father."

Harry's eyes widened in remembrance at the chaos Lionel had caused in Hogsmeade. The second he got back, he was placing anti-animation wards all over his home. A grinning Pansy was then ushered out by her parents, Lionel muttering all the while how happy he was that she had not received her mother's gift.

Harry remembered well the time Emogene had plastered her husband to the ceiling with her gravikinesis. Yes, this was perhaps the lesser of two evils where Pansy was concerned.

More time passed before another name he recognized was called.

Neville Longbottom, escorted by his sternly glaring grandmother, received his scroll. Both of his parents had been powerful telekinetics and his grandmother was one of the most esteemed terramages in the world. Harry had never discovered what Neville's Blood Trait was, if he had one at all, so he easily delved into the boy's mind to see what he had received. He had two. Florakinesis, also know as plant manipulation, and toxikinesis, the ability to manipulate spores and pheromones. As a flabbergasted Neville was led out, Harry wondered why he had never made use of them, other than in Herbology. He had the potential to be incredibly powerful. Toxikinesis alone would give him the ability to generate toxic spores to infect, poison, sicken and even kill. Of course, he could also use them to heal.

Draco was called directly after Neville, giving Harry little time to ponder the other boy. Draco's empathy was no surprise and neither was the telekinesis, considering how powerful his father was with it. He was slightly upset at not receiving his mother's gift, but was satisfied with what he'd gotten.

One after another, each of his friends were called up. Blaise was a toximage like his mother. Theo had only a slightly enhanced physical strength. Dudley had accelerated healing brought on as a side effect of the potions he'd taken to save his life. Hermione had the surprising dual abilities of advanced telekinesis and biokinesis. When trained, she would not only be able to move things with her mind, but also alter her physical body however she saw fit, mimicking the abilities of both an animagus and a metamorphmagus.

Harry was growing increasingly worried as the room slowly emptied and he was still not called. The Potter family was famous for their high number of shape changers, Animagi being the most common, and he'd hoped to be able to acquire his father's ability. He had no idea what was common in his mother's family though.

When only a handful of people remained, his name was finally called.

"Sorry for the wait," the mediwitch at the desk said. "The healer who was running your test fainted. We only found her a few moments ago."

"Oh my," Remus exclaimed. "Is she alright?"

"Yes," the woman responded, handing Harry his scroll. "She said something about seeing God and how she needed a long vacation. We sent her home to rest."

Harry nodded sympathetically and opened his scroll. He blinked, then murmured, "Poor woman."

The test, although not showing his vampirism, had listed each of his vampiric abilities as their closest wizard equivalent. His scroll listed accelerated healing, advanced talent in Umbrakinesis, an Animagus form, natural claws, the power of illusions, Mind Control, weak Healing, Precognition, Electrokinesis, Hypnokinesis, Parseltongue, Photographic Reflexes, wandless magic and enhanced senses, strength, reflexes and speed.

He didn't blame the woman for fainting. Most wizards had one or two Blood Traits, sometimes three when several bloodlines carrying different traits converged. It was rumored that Dumbledore had an amazing four. Anymore was unheard of. Harry's test listed over a dozen.

Out of those listed, only the Animagus form, Parseltongue, Healing, Precognition and Electrokinesis were actually Blood Traits. The Hypnokinesis and Mind Control were simply a vampire's gift with inducing a trancelike state in their victims. The Umbrakinesis was his much beloved skill inherited from Malak, the only person remaining in the world with the Blood Trait for it.

With a chuckle, he led his godfathers home.

-SCENE BREAK-

The rest of the summer was a full one.

Pansy, Hermione, Draco and Blaise began training in their Blood Traits alongside their usual magical studies. Pansy was able to learn from her father, as was Blaise able to learn from his mother. Draco already had his empathy under control by sheer necessity and was learning to control his telekinesis from his father. Hermione and Harry were the only ones who had to search for someone to teach them. There was currently no electromage or biomage available to teach either of them. They settle on learning from books and Sirius, who was able and excited to teach Harry how to become an animagus. Frankly, he was just excited to be able to teach Harry anything. To think, there was something the ancient vampire didn't know! Hermione was able to use the animagus study to begin to learn how to assume animal form. The process was very similar, but unlike an animagus, she wasn't restricted to only one form. She would need to find a biomage or a metamorphmagus in order to learn how to change her human form.

At the same time, Sirius and Remus began to work on their wedding preparations. Sirius had finally decided that wearing a dress would only serve to horrify his relatives even more and had accepted Remus' deal. The date was tentatively set for sometime next summer. Remus had considered the coming winter, the soonest date that Harry would be home from school, but Sirius adamantly refused. Black weddings were traditionally held outdoors and Sirius refused to freeze his balls off in the snow in a dress just to make some prissy purebloods uncomfortable. His exact words.

A few weeks before they were to leave for Hogwarts, Sirius had finally worked up his nerve and gone to Grimmauld Place. It was, to put it mildly, a wreck. Sirius had absolutely no plans to ever set foot in it again. He had grabbed the Black Family Tapestry and a few items of sentimental value and returned to Leonis, leaving Harry to do whatever he saw fit with the house and all the items therein, including one aging and completely vile house elf. Much to Kreacher's dismay, he was sold to a wizard from Germany for a pittance.

The house, oddly enough, seemed to have almost been looted. There were little items of any real value left and, though the house had been empty for six years now, Harry was able to catch a faint whiff of a Black in certain areas. Not enough to show someone lived there, but still strong enough that it had to have been left sometime in the past year. The scent was extremely similar to Sirius, indicating a close familial relation. Parent, sibling or child; except that he had none of those. Therefore, it had to have been a first cousin. It couldn't have been Bellatrix, as she was dead. Narcissa would have told him had she visited the Black family home. The only other option was Andromeda, but what she would be doing there, and apparently stealing, Harry didn't know.

Putting the mystery person out of his mind for the time being, Harry and a team of house elves stripped Grimmauld Place bare. Only the least tattered and molded of the furniture was left behind for future residents. They destroyed or sold most things, while a few went into the Black's storage vault. All the portraits were moved to Leonis House into a room set up just for them. After all, some of them reported to others, including a certain headmaster. Locked away in their room, they would be unable to obtain any information that could be used against him. The screaming portrait of Sirius' mad mother had a semi-permanant silencing charm on her and Sirius found it to be great fun to make faces and rude gestures at her and watch her silently rage.

After they were finished with it, Sirius, upon Harry's advise, sent Dumbledore a letter explaining that he had no desire for the house and Dumbledore could use it as he saw fit. The monitoring devices Harry had planted clearly showed the Order moving in only hours later, after a thorough check by their leader for any and all tricks of course. He found none. Harry thought it was ridiculous how he didn't even ask that the house be signed over to him legally. With that one move, Sirius was welcomed back into the Order by Dumbledore with open arms.

As for the Black Family Tapestry, it was painstakingly reproduced onto new clean white fabric. Each member who had been disowned, as far back as Sirius could recall, was included, including Andromeda Black Tonks and her daughter, Nymphadora. Sirius' name was placed in the exact middle of the tapestry, showing he was the Lord Black to have it made. The only name to be marked out was Bellatrix. She had a single line crossing out her name with the status of disinherited. Beside Sirius' name, in the place for his spouse, was Remus' name and below Sirius, Harry was listed as their child. James and Lily's names were in silver just above Harry's, indicating that they were his birth parents.

In all the pre-Hogwarts chaos, Harry had almost forgotten about his custom wand. When testing it with a simple summoning charm, he imploded a bookshelf. Upon proper testing in a controlled environment with higher level spells, he found himself unconscious for a day and a half. It seemed everything Ollivander told him about the wand was true. It drew on the power reserves still locked within him from his other life, specifically those governed by the First Curse. Though he could now access them with his new wand, his body was still unable to withstand the force. Putting it away, he decided he would have to make do with his Holly wand. As he would not be embracing the First Curse again, he would never be able to channel those powers and he really had no need for them.

The last day of August, Harry was presented with a book entitled "The Marauder's List" with the author being one Minerva McGonagall.

"This," Sirius announced as he handed it to him, "is a list of things the Marauders were forbidden to do at Hogwarts."

Opening the book, Harry saw the words "The Ever Evolving List of Things That You Are Not Allowed To Do At Hogwarts" emblazoned on the top of the first page in shiny gold letters.

"Originally, it said 'You Are Not Allowed To Do These Things At Hogwarts'," Remus explained with a mischievous smile, "but she had to change it when Sirius asked her if this was the complete list and if it wasn't on there did that mean he could do it. Each time we pulled something, or got caughtattempting to pull something, she would add to it. At first, a comprehensive list was posted in her classroom, but eventually she just gave us hardback, self-updating books. Whenever she added something in her copy, it would appear in ours as well. This one was mine, since we've been unable to locate Sirius' or James' copies."

"We thought you might like to add to it," Sirius said with a grin. "You know, carry on the tradition."

When Harry opened his mouth to protest, Remus interjected, "We know you may think it's beneath you, but consider this. You can't openly attack Dumbledore, no matter what he may do. However, we all feel the need for a little petty revenge now and then. Who would be suspicious of the son of a Marauder, raised by two other Marauders, turning Dumbledore's beard into worms?"

Harry blinked. "Did you actually do that?" Sirius and Remus shared a knowing look. "Don't answer that. I already know the answer. Let's see what we've got here then?" Reading the first item, Harry chuckled, "I am not to tell unsuspecting muggleborn first years that Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans taste better when one eats a whole handful simultaneously."

"Sirius got Pride of Place," Remus explained with a fond grin. "Fourth year, on the train ride to school. Six students in the hospital wing before the sorting ever began."

Sirius beamed with pride.

"I will not attempt to repel Dementors by coating myself in chocolate body paint," Harry read. "Followed directly by, I will not lick my boyfriend in public, even if he is covered in chocolate." Harry looked at them expectantly.

Remus blushed.

"That's obviously Remus and I," Sirius said. "In sixth year Defense, the teacher set as homework to research how to repel Dementors and demonstrate if possible in the next class. We were all treated to the sight of a half-naked Remus Lupin covered in chocolate. I've never seen anyone pull so outlandish a stunt with such a totally straight face. He argued with the teacher for forty-five minutes about how his chocolate protection was still in the experimental stages, but that his Unspeakable aunt swore it had potential. I spent half the class obscenely licking him on various body parts. Best class ever!"

Harry laughed. As sweet and innocent as Remus appeared, he knew there was a whole other side to the werewolf that only rarely came out to play.

"I will not wear a corset and fishnets under my robes." Harry burst out laughing halfway through it, but managed to continue. "I will not speculate as to whether Severus Snape wears them under his robes, either!" Sirius guffawed as Remus snorted. "Nor will I check to see for myself!?"

In response, Sirius merely said, "I suggested it, we all wore it, Remus speculated and James attempted to check."

-SCENE BREAK-

The next day, Harry headed off to Hogwarts.

He and his friends arrived early and immediately claimed a compartment for themselves. Harry was having a heated debate with Nellie, who had refused to be left behind, over whether or not she could stay with him during the days. He was adamant that she would only be in the way, risk exposure and be bored out of her mind. She begged to differ.

Theo, Pansy, Eleanor and Draco sat in a huddle on the floor, all of them being trounced soundly by Hermione at Exploding Snap. Dudley was staring out the window in wonder at all the kids and their families arriving. Blaise dozed lightly beside Harry, having been awakened long before he was ready by Theo.

As more kids began boarding and the time for departure drew nearer, Eleanor shyly excused herself with a blush. She was going to sit with a friend from Hufflepuff. Harry silently applauded her as she left. She was slowly coming out of her shell and Cedric would be good for her.

It was well after the train had left the station when a familiar face stuck his head in the door and stammered about a lost toad. Before Harry could say a word, Hermione jumped up.

"There's a spell for that," she said with a smile at the nervous boy. "It's really quite simple. Allow me." Raising her wand, she incanted, "Conperio apsentis toad!"

A moment later, the missing toad came floating lazily down the corridor surrounded in a light pink glow. Neville grabbed his pet with a happy shout and began thanking Hermione profusely.

"Nonsense," she said, waving off his thanks. "I found it in '1001 Useful Spells for Students'. It's really quite simple. If I can do it, anyone can. After all, I'm muggleborn. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way. What's your name?"

"Neville Longbottom," he replied softly, glancing about the compartment warily.

"It's nice to meet you, Neville," Hermione smiled, ushering him in. "This is Harry Potter."

Harry stood to greet Neville and was gratified not to receive awed stutters at his name.

"Do you want to sit with us?" Harry asked. "I'm sure we could fit one more in, if we wake up Blaise."

At this, Theo grinned. "Allow me." Reaching into his robe, he pulled out a small spray bottle. Pointing it at the sleeping boy, he sprayed him repeatedly in the face with ice cold water.

Blaise came awake with an angry shout, lashing out with his foot in Theo's general direction. "Stop that! I'm not a dog!" he shouted, snatching the bottle away from the other boy and throwing it under the seat as the others laughed.

"That's Blaise Zabini," Harry said with a smile to Neville. "He's not an early riser."

Shoving his dripping hair out of his face, Blaise gave a half-hearted nod to Neville, then continued to glare at Theo. Undaunted by Blaise's animosity, Theo grabbed him by the hand, yanked him out of his seat and down onto the bench next to him. Motioning Neville to the now empty spot beside Harry, he said, "Theodore Nott. I'm your third cousin...I think. Might be fourth."

Draco shrugged indifferently as Neville hesitantly took the offered seat. "We're all related in some way. Well, except for Granger." With a barely perceptible nod, he said to Neville, "Draco Malfoy. It's nice to meet a pureblood of such fine breeding, Longbottom." Looking the boy over, he continued, "You seem shy. Lose it quickly."

"Draco!" Blaise reprimanded, but went unheard as he continued his assessment of Neville.

"I would be willing to call you friend, Longbottom, but you must gain confidence. The Longbottoms are a noble family and you outrank all those here except for Pansy, Harry and I. You must act the part."

"Draco," Harry interrupted sternly, noting Neville shrinking in on himself in embarrassment. "That's enough."

Turning to look at Harry, he paled slightly. In being Harry's friend, he had almost forgotten exactly who the boy was and the power he held over him.

"I apologize, my lord."

Harry nodded in response.

"Why does he call you that?" Hermione asked in confusion, finally sitting down beside Dudley. "I've been wondering. They all call you that sometimes and no one's told me why."

'Think fast,' Nellie hissed amusedly from within his robe collar. 'I kept telling you she's too smart.'

Ignoring the snake for the moment, Harry explained calmly. "The pureblood nobility has a rather strict caste system. There are three main groups; the untitled middle class, which are usually a branch of another noble family, the titled nobility and the royalty, which are descended from the old sovereign families. Each family is ranked, one higher than the other. The Malfoys take precedence over the Parkinsons, the Parkinsons just over Longbottom and so on and so forth. They sometimes call me lord because, while they are the children of noble lords and ladies, I am a lord. Also, both of my parents' families are royal. The Potters are the direct descendants of Godric Gryffindor, the second son of a wizard king. My mother's family are the descendants of Rowena Ravenclaw, the niece of Queen Aeronwen Ravenclaw. Though I'm their friend, I'm also a royal lord, not to mention the various other titles I've inherited."

Hermione kneaded her temples dramatically. "I don't think I'll ever understand the intricacies of your society and that vexes me something terrible."

Harry laughed in response. "Give it time. You've got a lifetime to learn."

"Anyway," Pansy said loudly, earning her instant attention. "It's very nice to meet you, Neville. As unthinkable as it sounds, they seem to have forgotten about me. I'm Pansy Parkinson, and before we all get sidetracked again, that's Dudley Dursley," she said, pointing to the boy in question, "Harry's first cousin on his mum's side."

"Nice to meet you all," Neville replied meekly.

Draco sighed and stood up. "Come on, Longbottom. It's getting a bit cramped in here. Let's go find a prefect to expand our compartment."

Not giving Neville time to protest, he grabbed him by the robes, hauled him up and headed for the door.

A few minutes later, they returned with a Gryffindor prefect in tow. Harry almost choked on his blood lolly. Short bubblegum pink hair, burnt orange eyes and robes slightly askew, Nymphadora Tonks entered brandishing her wand and started casting the requested spell.

'I didn't think she was a prefect. Why hasn't she left school yet?' Harry thought in wonder.

"Nymphadora Tonks?" he questioned cautiously.

He immediately got, "Don't call me Nymphadora," in reply. Then she paused and looked him up and down. "Can't say I know you," she said offhandedly. "You some distant relative or something? You've got the Black look about you."

Harry chuckled. "Very distant. My great grandfather's sister, my great-great aunt, married into the Black family. I think she would be a second cousin once removed to you."

Tonks blinked in confusion.

"No," Harry explained. "I don't think we're related by blood. I'm Harry Potter."

Tonks' expression brightened and a huge grin lit her face. "Ah, you're my cousin's ward!" she exclaimed. "How is Sirius? I haven't seen him since I was really little."

"He's great," Harry replied. "You should send him an owl. He always says that your mother is his favorite cousin, so he'd probably be happy to hear from you."

"I might just do that." Pushing her way past Draco, she plopped herself down at Harry's side and draped an arm around him like they were old friends or siblings. "So, Harry. Excited to be at Hogwarts?"

"Oh yes," Harry remarked with an impish smirk. "More than you can possibly know."

Tonks leaned against him and nudged him playfully in the side. "Sirius has already put you up to something, hasn't he?"

Harry just continued to smirk at her before questioning, "If you don't mind me asking, why are you still at Hogwarts? I thought you were eighteen now. Wasn't last year was your seventh year?"

Tonks grimaced. "Nah. I'm a year behind since I spent most of third year in a coma." When Harry and several of the others looked marginally horrified, she quickly explained, "Minor metamorphical accident. Nothing serious, but it took eight months to coax me back to consciousness. By then, school was over and I had no choice but to repeat."

"Ah yes," Harry muttered, as if just realizing something. "I'd forgotten Sirius said you're a metamorphmagus." With a bright grin, Harry beamed at her. "Tonks, my dear unrelated cousin, meet Hermione Granger."

-SCENE BREAK-

As they disembarked, Harry and his group blended in with the rest of the first years beckoned to by Hagrid. Harry smiled fondly at the half-giant as he boarded one of the small boats with Hermione, Dudley and Neville, getting a curious look in return. Hagrid didn't recognize him. With no glasses and longer hair, Harry supposed he really did look more like a Black than his father. Sirius and James were so physically alike that they had often passed for brothers and it was only the wild Potter hair and characteristic glasses that really set them apart. Without either, Harry could be from any number of families, including the Blacks.

A boat ride later, Harry was finally home. The castle reached out to him in greeting, silently asking if this time was for real. He replied in the affirmative and the magic immediately shifted. Wards and spells once linked the headmaster switched to him, welcoming him home.

In the Great Hall, Albus Dumbledore twitched inconspicuously.

McGonagall appeared and gave her customary speech, interrupted only once when Fawkes appeared in a burst of flame. He circled over the clustered group of first years, calling out joyfully in phoenix song. Harry smiled at an exasperated, "Finally!" that only he could hear from the majestic bird. After a few moments, he flew off again and she resumed her speech as if this was nothing out of the ordinary.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," McGonagall said with a stern glare. "Please wait quietly."

'Good luck on that,' Harry thought as he watched her go.

Immediately from behind him, he heard Ron ask nervously, "So, we don't really have to fight a troll, do we?"

Tense whispers broke out.

Harry couldn't restrain himself. "Of course not," he said, turning to look at the redhead with a friendly smile. "You don't fight the troll until late October. That's to prove you actually belong in your house. Tonight you have to wrestle a Graphorn."

"What!?" Ron squeaked in fear, his freckles standing out even more as his face went pale. "You're not serious, are you!?"

Harry waved a hand dismissively. "We're first years," he replied. "Do you really think they'd have us do something like that?"

Ron let out a huge sigh of relief, a few of the others looking far less terrified as well. "How do you know?" Ron asked.

"Common sense," Harry said.

Ron opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by the arrival of the ghosts bickering over Peeves. Students jumped and screamed as they floated through the wall.

"Please," he heard Draco drawl from his right. "Haven't any of you ever seen a ghost before?"

"New students!" the Fat Friar exclaimed happily, smiling at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose? Hope to see you in Hufflepuff! My old house, you know."

"Move along," McGonagall snapped as she returned. "The Sorting Ceremony is about to start."

The ghosts obediently floated off, chatting amongst themselves.

"Form a line and follow me," she ordered and the students hurried to do so.

As they entered the Great Hall, Harry couldn't help but grin. Everything was just as magnificent as he remembered. The enchanted ceiling showed a clear night sky filled with stars, the plates and goblets gleamed golden, thousands of glowing candles floated over the tables and at the other end of the hall was the Head Table, behind which sat many familiar but nearly forgotten faces.

Albus Dumbledore sat in the very center of the table in his gilded, throne-like chair. His blue eyes were staring directly at him and Harry made an effort to look properly awed and a bit nervous. To his right, McGonagall's seat was empty. To his left, sat a scowling Severus Snape who was scanning over the new first years, but had yet to discover Harry.

What surprised him was that next to Snape sat an attractive blonde woman instead of Quirrell. She appeared very young, likely not much older than some of the seventh years, and her blue eyes were cold and indifferent. Her hair was pulled up in a tight bun similar to McGonagall's and she gazed dispassionately over the sea of students, ignoring Snape to her right and Sprout to her left who kept trying to engage her in conversation only to trail off as those cold blue eyes turned to stare at her apathetically.

As the Sorting Hat finished its song, Harry wondered where Quirrell was and if his absence meant even more changes to the timeline.

"When I call your name," McGonagall began, breaking Harry out of his contemplation of this new enigma, "you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted. Abbott, Hannah!"

Hannah quickly became a Hufflepuff. Susan Bones followed after her into the same house. Terry Boot and Mandy Brocklehurst went to Ravenclaw, Lavender Brown went to Gryffindor and both Millicent Bulstrode and Crabbe went to Slytherin. Then, it was Dudley's turn.

The now only slightly pudgy boy took a seat on the stool and let the hat fall over his eyes. An eon seemed to pass before the hat called out, "Gryffindor!"

No real surprise there. Dudley lacked the notorious loyalty of Hufflepuff, he had lost the vindictiveness that would have made him a Slytherin and there was never really any possibility of him becoming a Ravenclaw.

With a visible sigh of relief, he took off the hat and handed it to the next person before heading for the cheering Gryffindor table.

Justin Finch-Fletchley joined Hufflepuff, Seamus Finnigan went to Gryffindor, Anthony Goldstein to Ravenclaw and Goyle to Slytherin before Hermione's name was called.

With a confidant smile that she hadn't worn in the previous timeline, she strode up to the hat and placed it on her head. Harry held his breath. Wherever Hermione went, Harry would follow. The rest would have no trouble making friends, but Hermione would likely isolate herself if she didn't have Harry at her side. He only hoped she went to Ravenclaw, or even Hufflepuff. Harry did not want to be seen as taking sides by going to the "Light" house of Gryffindor or the "Dark" house of Slytherin.

After a long moment, the hat finally shouted, "Probationary Ravenclaw!"

Most everyone made a "Wha..?" sound and looked up at the teachers. Hermione took off the hat and turned to look at them questioningly as well.

Dumbledore silenced their speculations by standing and announcing, "Though we haven't had one in a few years, a probationary student is one who may belong equally to two houses. For this year, Miss Granger will be a Ravenclaw. At the beginning of next year, she will be resorted. If she is placed back into Ravenclaw, she will loose her probationary status and remain there for the rest of her schooling. If she is placed into another house, she will remain a probationary student and will be resorted each year until her proper house is found. Thank you." Sitting down, he nodded to McGonagall. "You may continue."

Hermione handed the hat to Neville and hesitantly made her way to the Ravenclaw table. Despite her probationary status, she was welcomed warmly by the others of her house.

A bead of sweat dripped down Neville's cheek and his hands clenched the stool until, "Gryffindor!" was announced. He almost fell over in surprise before dashing to the Gryffindor table. Then he dashed back to remove the hat from his head and hand it to the next in line. Students laughed and Neville looked beyond embarrassed as he sunk into his seat. Catching his eye, Harry gave him a reassuring smile.

Morag MacDougal went to Slytherin and Ernie Macmillan to Hufflepuff.

Then it was Draco's turn. Just as before, the hat barely touched his head before crying, "Slytherin!" With a smirk and a proud glance at Harry, he took his place amongst the snakes.

Daphne Moon became a Ravenclaw, Theo and Pansy predictably became Slytherins, Parvati went to Gryffindor and her twin Padma went to Ravenclaw. Finally, as Sally-Anne Perks handed the hat to McGonagall and headed for the Hufflepuff table with a bounce in her step, his name was called.

"Potter, Harry!"

This inevitably drew stares and whispers as he made his way up front. Snape's calculating eyes snapped away from the Gryffindor table to glare at him instead. First laying eyes upon the much hated son of his childhood enemy, he was shocked. Harry could hear the man's thoughts clearly, augmented by the mental connection that all vampires shared. A link which Snape had not thought to close as he was not expecting another vampire to be in the room.

There had to be some mistake. Lily must have had an affair. The handsome boy with the long raven hair and the sparkling emerald eyes, who waved cheerily with a friendly smile to Draco Malfoy of all people, who did in fact wave back as if they were close friends, could not be the son of James Potter. No Potter could be that affable with a Slytherin and a Malfoy, no less! This boy bore watching.

Harry almost chuckled as the hat fell over his head.

"Well, well. What have we here?" the hat queried in his ear. "I thought I felt Hogwarts' magic shift just a while ago! Here's our new little lord. Ah! Harry Potter! I remember your parents. Yes, quite a handful they were. James Potter absolutely refused to go to Slytherin where I wanted him! And Lily Evans. That girl was beyond stubborn. I told her she'd do well in Ravenclaw, but she threatened to get right back on the train and go home if I put her there. Seems she'd already made an enemy in that house. I had no choice but to put her in Gryffindor. I can't go against the Heirs' wishes, as you well know. So! Where shall I send you? Hmm? Tell me."

"Ravenclaw, if you don't mind," Harry replied amusedly. "Probationary too, I suppose."

"Ahh, sticking with Miss Granger, I see. Yes, well then, I hope to talk with you again soon, little lord." With a dramatic pause, it then yelled out, "Probationary Ravenclaw!"

Dual voices raised in a loud, despondent, "Nooo!!" from the Gryffindor table. "We don't got Potter!" Fred and George Weasley cried. As they sobbed dramatically on each other's shoulders, McGonagall glared at them and shooed Harry to the Ravenclaw table.

As the twins continued their false waterworks, Harry sat down beside Hermione.

"So," he quipped, "read any good books lately?"

-SCENE BREAK-

He'd delved into the boy's mind the moment he'd walked through those great double doors and found nothing but shadow and mist. Either the boy was an extremely accomplished Occlumens or he was, quite literally, thinking of nothing at all. Considering how unlikely the former was, Dumbledore assumed that Harry Potter didn't have a thought in his head. Not to say, he wasn't intelligent. The boy just wasn't actively thinking of anything in particular and he hadn't extended his mental probe beyond surface thoughts. There would be time enough for that later and he couldn't risk being caught off guard with all his focus on raping young Harry Potter's mind for all its secrets.

Despite Severus' rather obvious failed effort to locate the boy before his name was called, Dumbledore had no such problems. He remembered very well the all too brief glimpse he'd gotten of him that day in Aurum Village. He was an interesting combination of his mother, father, Black and Lupin. His hair was his father's, but it looked like Black had tamed it for him, as James wouldn't allow him to when they were boys. His eyes were his mother's, but the knowledge and wisdom that shown out through them was eerily reminiscent of Remus Lupin.

That was another thing. The way the boy moved, with inhuman grace and precision, had Dumbledore worried. It was looking more and more likely that Lupin had bitten and turned Harry. He would have to keep a keen eye on him around the full moon. If he became ill, disappeared or Lupin came to "spend time with him", he would confront them on Harry's lycanthropy. It wasn't really a problem though. He could always turn the boy's condition to his advantage.

When Harry was sorted into Ravenclaw, he was surprised. He'd expected Gryffindor, like his parents. However, it wasn't a big setback. After all, it wasn't as if he'd been put into Slytherin. Although, he'd have to keep an eye on who the boy befriended. He didn't like the way he waved to the Malfoy heir.

What really infuriated Dumbledore was that the moment the first years were brought into the castle, all the wards and magic that tied him to Hogwarts as headmaster left him. They were now attached to the oblivious Harry Potter. Apparently, the title of Lord of Hogwarts was more than just ceremonial or proprietary and it now belonged to an eleven year old boy. Dumbledore couldn't so much as alter the anti-apparation wards anymore!

As the sorting concluded, he managed to rise from his seat with calm dignity, giving away none of the turbulent emotions he felt. Inside, as he quickly gained the attention of the entire Great Hall, he felt like a much loved king looking out over his most loyal subjects. He turned the twinkle on full power and beamed at his students as a kindly grandfather would.

"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" Half the students stared at him as if he were mad while the others simply rolled their eyes. "Thank you!"

He sat back down to cheers and felt immensely pleased with himself. That is, until he noticed Harry Potter was not cheering. In fact, he seemed to be ignoring him altogether. The second he had stopped speaking, Harry had turned back to his conversation with the Granger girl. Dumbledore sighed surreptitiously. It seemed he had his work cut out for him.

-SCENE BREAK-

Harry glanced over at a pouting Blaise. He'd been hoping desperately for Ravenclaw, but he was now being subjected to repeated pokings by a smug Theo who'd accurately predicted that they'd both be Slytherins. Pansy kept slapping Theo's hands each time he poked Blaise, complaining loudly about maintaining appearances.

Over at the Gryffindor table, Dudley had struck up a lively conversation with Ron and Seamus. Ever since he had lost the petty greed and maliciousness that made him such a bully, he'd become far more personable. It hadn't happened overnight, but Petunia's positive reinforcement and his own interaction with those different from him in Aurum had changed the boy for the better.

At the Hufflepuff table, Harry was happy to see Eleanor sitting next to Cedric and surrounded by his other friends. She wasn't saying anything, but at least she wasn't alone.

At the Ravenclaw table, the students conversed as they ate.

"I can't wait for our first Charms class!" declared Daphne Moon, a pretty girl with dirty blonde hair. "My mother is a Charms Mistress and I hope to follow in her footsteps one day."

"I hope I don't fail miserably," said Lisa Turpin. "I'm muggleborn and even though I've read through our course books a couple times, I'm so afraid I won't be any good."

"Oh, don't worry," replied Hermione. "I'm muggleborn too and Harry's been helping me with spells and such for the last month. We can study together if you want."

"Oh, could we?" Lisa asked with pleading eyes.

Harry chuckled. "An entire house full of bookworms. I'm doomed. At least tell me some of you are Quidditch fans?"

A roll hit him in the side of the head.

"Of course we are!" exclaimed Roger Davies from across the table and a few seats down. "We're not all brains, you know! We're gonna cream Slytherin this year!"

A second year boy leaned closer to Harry and stage whispered, "Davies is a chaser for our house team. He's got his eye on captain." Another roll flew through the air, this time striking the boy on the nose. "Oi!" he shouted. "Quit wasting food!"

Davies just smirked, picked up another roll and crammed it in his mouth.

Conversation continued in this vein for some time. Most of the Ravenclaws couldn't care less that Harry was famous. Although, a handful of them kept asking him questions about what he remembered and if he knew exactly how he'd done it. A couple had a disturbing gleam in their eyes when they asked if he'd be willing to submit to experiments. Harry made a mental note to stay far away from them.

Within the first twenty minutes, Hermione had formed a study group of first years consisting of herself, Lisa, Daphne, Padma, Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein. All of which centered around Harry, of course. Not that Harry had actually agreed to anything. Hermione did all that for him.

Finally, the food disappeared and Dumbledore stood up again.

"Now that we are all fed and watered, I have a few start-of-term announcements to make. First years please note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. A few of our older students would do well to remember that."

Across the hall, Fred and George preened at the attention.

"Our caretaker, Mr. Filch, would like me to remind you that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held during the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.

"Finally, I would like to introduce a new addition to our staff. Professor Quirrell suffered an unfortunate encounter on his travels in Romania this summer and is currently under the care of St. Mungo's finest healers. Now, don't worry. He should be fine in a couple of months. However, as he is unable to teach at the current time, a suitable replacement had to be found. I am proud to introduce Professor Francis Roselli, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

The woman stood stifly at her introduction and the students clapped politely.

"And now," Dumbledore continued as she retook her seat, "before we go to bed, let us sing the school song! Everyone pick their favorite tune, and off we go!"

'Oh God,' Harry moaned in his head. 'I'd forgotten about that.'

At the discordant cacophony that was raised by several hundred student voices age eleven to eighteen, Harry felt a headache coming on.

'Jesus, Mary and Joseph!' Nellie hissed, writhing in exaggerated pain beneath his collar. 'What in the name of all that is holy is THAT!?'

'The voice of madness,' Harry quietly replied, dropping his head into his hands.

Hermione patted him sympathetically on the shoulder. With a grimace, she said, "Mum made me bring a bag of common muggle medicines. I'll share an aspirin with you when we get to the dorms." Then she winced as a particularly loud third year's voice cracked on a high note to the tune of O Danny Boy.

As the majority of the voices died out, Harry had to chuckle at the Weasley twins' funeral march.

"Ah, music!" Dumbledore said after they finished, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! Now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

-SCENE BREAK-

Prefects began leading the new first years to the common rooms, most of whom were dragging their feet and yawning widely. Even Hermione looked to be nearly asleep on her feet despite her curiosity at her surroundings. Harry himself was wide awake. Night was his time, after all. He also wasn't weighted down by the heavy, rich foods Hogwarts offered, having only taken a bite here and there for appearances sake. He didn't usually eat anything but fruit or maybe toast and only at breakfast. He simply didn't have the need for as much food as a human.

As a Ravenclaw prefect gave the password to the portrait which guarded their common room and showed them to their dormitories, Harry bid Hermione goodnight and they parted ways.

Ravenclaw had the most new first years and Harry found himself sharing a dorm with five other boys; Terry Boot, Michael Corner, Stephen Cornfoot, Kevin Entwhistle and Anthony Goldstein.

The other five fell into bed the moment they arrived and were instantly asleep. Cornfoot didn't even change into his pajamas and was hanging half off the bed with his sheets in disarray.

Harry envied their full nights sleep. He only needed a few hours and his body refused to shut down before midnight.

After he was certain the whole of Ravenclaw Tower was asleep, including the older years, he slid out of bed and threw his cloak on over his pajamas. Soundlessly, he crept out the door, down the stairs, into the common room and out through the portrait hole. He would have simply slipped through the shadows to reach his destination, but he needed to be seen by a certain person, or rather, ghost.

-SCENE BREAK-

Familiar sniffles came from the far toilet as he entered the girl's bathroom and he called out.

"Hello?"

The silvery form of Moaning Myrtle flew out of the toilet and circled him. "What are you doing in here?" she questioned. "You're a boy. You shouldn't be here! Go away!"

Undaunted, Harry gave her a brilliant smile. "Hello. My name is Harry. Are you Myrtle?"

The ghost cocked her head in confusion. "Yes. How do you know miserable little me?"

"Oh, I don't," Harry replied. "Not really. Though I'd like to change that. A friend told me about you."

"I never had friends," Myrtle sniffled again, preparing for a full fledged wail.

"I know how you feel," Harry said, interrupting her before she could break out into hysterics. "I never had any friends when I was young either. Not before I first came to Hogwarts."

Myrtle sniffed, but didn't cry. "I never had any friends at Hogwarts either."

Harry nodded sympathetically. "I probably wouldn't have either, if I weren't for my fame. I probably would have been the shy, uncomfortable boy in the back of the class who never had any friends and just blended in with the crowd. You see, I didn't have very much confidence at first. I was picked on and bullied and always reminded of how worthless a freak like me was, and that was just by my family."

"That sounds awful," Myrtle said, floating an inch from his face and looking very delighted by his tale of woe. "Do go on."

Harry chuckled and told her all about the abuse he'd suffered at the hands of the Dursleys in the previous timeline, twisting it around enough to make it sound like it had all happened before he'd killed his uncle this time. Speaking of killing his uncle, Myrtle looked disturbingly ecstatic as he relayed that part of his story, in great detail.

"Oh, that's dreadful," she commented with an evil glint in her eye. "And you say he was conscious for most of it? What happened next?"

"Well, I'd love to tell you, Myrtle," Harry said with a smirk, "but it's getting rather late and I have one other thing I need to do tonight." She pouted and looked upset, but perked up when he asked, "Would you tell me how you died?"

With a bright smile, one that looked very out of place on her, she told how she had been crying and heard a boy's voice. How she had seen a pair of great glowing eyes by the sink and then suddenly died.

"This sink?" Harry asked as he pretended to search for the right one. "Hmm. There's a snake here. Myrtle, do you think they could have been a snake's eyes?"

"Possibly," she replied, hovering near the ceiling. "But what snake is that big and can kill with just a look?"

"A basilisk," he answered simply. He hissed 'Open' at the faucet and stood back. Myrtle did not seem shocked at the use of Parseltongue.

A yawn came from within his shirt as the entrance revealed itself. 'Open what..?' Nellie asked sleepily, poking her head out to look around. 'Oh,' she said, seeing the tunnel. 'Nevermind.' With that, she wrapped her tail tightly around his throat and laid her head on it, attempting to fall back asleep.

Harry glared at her suspiciously. 'You're about to meet a basilisk and all you want to do is sleep? You've been doing a lot of that lately.'

Nellie cracked one eye open and replied, 'Nellie has her reasons.' Then she unhinged her jaw and let out an almost painful looking yawn.

'And those would be?'

'Nellie doesn't want to tell you,' she said as haughtily as she could while still half asleep.

'You're not sick, are you?' he questioned, worriedly. That was the last thing he needed. His illegally smuggled in snake to get sick. He was a Dark Lord, not a vet.

'No,' she replied succinctly, flicking the tip of her tail in annoyance.

'Fine.' Turning back to the entrance, he hissed 'Stairs' and the tunnel morphed into a long, slightly foul looking set of stairs. A couple of powerful cleaning spells later, he smiled up at Myrtle.

"Thank you, Myrtle. You've been very helpful. I'll make sure to visit again and we can talk more."

Myrtle giggled shyly, a silvery blush covering her cheeks. "I'd like that." Floating down to his level, she peered down the tunnel into the darkness. "But Harry," she whined, "what if you get killed down there? You're welcome to share my toilet, but I should think we'd eventually run out of stories to share."

"Don't worry," Harry replied with a wink. "I have a way with snakes."

-SCENE BREAK-

Harry spent the next two hours talking with Ophion, Salazar Slytherin's basilisk, and attempting to return the Chamber of Secrets to its former glory. The task was arduous, to say the least. A thousand years worth of dirt, sludge, slime and debris had turned the once grand chamber into a nightmare.

As for he and Ophion, they had mutual respect for one another and a tentative friendship. The Great King of Serpents was not one to be taken lightly. He was extremely intelligent and a bit aloof. He had great disdain for humans and most other creatures and it took quite a bit of effort to earn his trust.

He respected Harry as Salazar's descendant, a very powerful vampire and one of greater years, and therefore greater wisdom, than he. Harry respected him as the Serpent King and treated him accordingly. Ophion was far from the friendly, if somewhat mad, pet that Nellie was. He was an equal.

Harry was just repairing a bust of Caelina, Salazar's second wife, when Fawkes appeared in a burst of flame.

"Dumbledore's doing a bed check!" the firebird exclaimed frantically. "Get back in bed! Hurry!"

Harry immediately set off for the stairs at a quick run. To the two magical creatures in the chamber with him, he suddenly blurred and a wind swept through the stone corridors. He paused only briefly at the top to close the entrance and say a quick goodnight to Myrtle. As soon as he was outside the bathroom, the shadows engulfed him and dropped him off in his dorm room. In a flash, his cloak was folded neatly atop his trunk and he was snuggled deep in his covers, seeming to be sound asleep.

He felt Fawkes appear and perch on his headboard just as the door opened.

What was unmistakably Dumbledore crossed the room silently, so silently that he must have cast silencing charms upon himself. He paused at Harry's bedside and studied him intensely. He felt the old man's confusion and a soft chirp from Fawkes only caused it to deepen and a bit of wary distrust joined it.

After a few moments, he turned and left the room. Harry breathed a sigh of relief and sat up.

"What was that about?" he asked Fawkes quietly.

Fawkes ruffled his feathers and eyed the door where Dumbledore had left.

"He's worried," the phoenix replied. "In one night, you seem to have stolen both Hogwarts and me from him. He's worried that he's losing control over everything he's worked so hard to obtain, but also hopes that my coming to you means you're still purely "Light" and he can use you to his ends. He doesn't realize that it doesn't matter if you're Light or Dark. You're the descendant of my first bonded and the Lord of Hogwarts. It's my duty, sworn to Godric on his deathbed, to bond myself to you as your familiar, just as Ophion, Linara and Caelestis will."

Harry's brow wrinkled slightly in confusion. "That's the second time you've mentioned Caelestis. He was obviously Ravenclaw's guardian, but I've never heard of him. Who and what is he?"

Fawkes got a gleam in his eye as he replied, "That's for me to know and you to find out. Just as you found Linara and Ophion, you must find Caelestis and prove yourself to him. Just keep your eyes open. He's closer than you know."

---

A/N: I cannot reply to your reviews if you don't login or leave an email address. A few have had very good questions that I would have answered, but I had no way to. On that note: No, Elfwyn. I will not be going by the books. Some of this chapter, mostly dialogue for Dumbledore and McGonagall, was taken verbatim from the first book, but that doesn't mean I'll be using the same plot.

A very important note. I have NOT read the books. That doesn't mean I'm completely ignorant of them or have only seen the movies. I've read most of the first, half of the second and a few chapters of the third and fifth. I don't think that constitutes actually reading them though. My copy of the fourth vanished before I could even think about reading it and I never bought the sixth. I DO have a Ravenclaw's love of research though and make use of the various reputable HP sites online.

About the Blood Traits. No one has mentioned it yet, but I'm afraid it may seem like I'm superpowering everyone. I'm not and I hope you realize that. If you've managed to read this far in what, at first, appears to be a stereotypical vampire/time travel fic, I trust you'll give me the benefit of the doubt. Everything I do, no matter how odd it may seem at the time, no matter that it may not seem to have a direct and immediate effect on the story, is for a very good reason. The Blood Traits are going to play a very important role in everyone's survival in the future, including Harry's.

One last note. I did not write the list of things you're not allowed to do at Hogwarts. A friend emailed it to me and from the different ways things are phrased, I'm sure it's a compilation made by several people, probably on a live journal or forum. I don't mean to steal and I'm not claiming to have written it. However, when I read it, several of them just screamed at me to include them and I found myself hard pressed to resist.