Chapter - 3 : New Alliances and Old Identities

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"The station is here somewhere," I murmured.

Admittedly, it had been a very long time since I'd gone to school. I knew I had to walk into one of the barriers, but which one? Trying for nonchalance, I leaned against a barrier. Solid. I scuttled to the left. Still solid.

Six attempts later, people were looking at me oddly. I groaned, slumping against the wall only to go toppling backwards. Luckily, there are charms that keep Muggles from noticing things like that.

I somersaulted a dozen times, causing bystanders to jump away in fright. Finally, I landed on my knees, arms outstretched.

"I meant to do that!" I shouted.

"Are you the guy who back flipped into the station?" a redheaded boy asked, staring at me with the appropriate level of worship.

"Yes," I said, "Yes I am."

"I'm Ron Weasley," he said.

I shuddered. I remembered the Weasleys. They were a threat through sheer force of numbers. No matter how many you killed, there was always another to take its place. At one point I had considered them a possible target for the prophecy but had found that – for once – they were not spawning.

"I'm Harry Potter. You may have heard of me; I defeated the Dark Lord Voldemort. If you haven't heard of me, I'm Harry and I defeated Voldemort."

I had no particular interest in chatting, but the Weasley was quite capable of carrying on a conversation without my input.

Shortly afterward, a round-faced boy poked his head into the compartment. "Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?"

"Nope," I chirped, "Who're you?"

"Neville Longbottom," he said. So this was the other child of prophecy. He didn't look like much, but I was never one to be fooled by appearances.

"I have an idea," I said. "Accio toad."

Four toads sped towards me, bouncing against the walls. One of them had dragged its cage along with it.

"Is one of these yours?"

Longbottom nodded. "Trevor's the one on the left."

"Good. I'll give him back to you on one condition. You have to swear a magical oath that you will never, ever harm me no matter what I do."

"Wh-what?"

I burst into laughter. "Just kidding!"

I wasn't kidding. Longbottom was a serious threat, but I also wasn't going to push this. Not yet.

After Longbottom fled the room, toad in hand, the Weasley turned to me. "Hey, Harry, how come you know that spell?"

"I defeated Voldemort as a baby. I've only gotten better since then."

The train continued to chug along as I ignored him. A couple of hours later, a pale, blond boy with a pointed nose strode into the room, two lackeys at his heels. Oh Merlin, Lucius had finally managed to clone himself.

"Is it true?" Malfoy said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment."

"Really?" I gasped. "Harry Potter. No way! Have you checked the whole train?"

Malfoy looked surprised, but quickly regained his composure. "No, I haven't," he said.

"Good luck, then."

The blond left.

"Did you just send him all 'round the train to look for you?" the Weasley asked.

"Oh, he seems like a pretty smart guy. I'm sure he'll be back soon enough."

An hour later, a very unhappy Malfoy, his face reddened from exertion, barged into our compartment. "You're Harry Potter!"

I put on a look of innocence. "I never said I wasn't."

"Well, I'm Draco Malfoy and I was hoping to speak to you" – he glanced disdainfully at the Weasley – "Privately."

The Weasley bristled. I held out an arm. "Quiet, I know exactly how to handle this."

I smirked. "So, you wish to join me. Your foresight is commendable, and I assure you that – should you choose to be my minion – I shall allow you a sliver of my eventual glory."

Malfoy sputtered in indignation. "I'm a Malfoy. Malfoys are not minions."

He stormed from the room. Lucius always was a drama queen. I suppose this might have been easier had the boy not been under the impression that I'd killed me.

"That was brilliant, Harry. You really showed him," the Weasley said.

"Yes, I suppose I did. Although it would have been nice to have a minion..."

"I'll be your minion," he offered.

I sighed. "No. That would be too easy."

Hushed whispers filled the Hall as I approached the Sorting Hat. I ignored them, tracing the footsteps of my younger self and sitting upon the rickety stool. Hundreds of curious faces stared up from the Great Hall, but they were quickly blocked from view as the Sorting Hat fell across my eyes.

Its voice echoed between my ears. "I know this mind," it said. "Tom Riddle?"

"Don't call me that!" I mentally snapped, "I'm Harry Potter."

"Yes, I suppose you are. Aren't you?"

A chuckled shook the hat. It continued, "But, whether or not we've met before is of little consequence. The question is where to put you. You haven't changed much. You're obviously rather cunning, ambitious, a parselmouth…"

"Gryffindor."

"Really? But you would do so well in Slytherin," the Hat said.

"I've already done well in Slytherin. Now I want to do well, in Gryffindor."

The Hat hummed thoughtfully. "Sure, are we? How strange. Gryffindor doesn't suit you very well at all. The only worse house would be Hufflepuff."

"Of course. Your own song all but admits that it is the house of stupid, ambitionless cowards."

"Not what I was going for, but I'll admit that wasn't the most flattering of my songs. Ravenclaw, perhaps, if you're so averse to your true house. You certainly possess the Eagles' madness, and you're clever enough."

"No," I hissed. "I detest riddles. Send me to Gryffindor with all the other little paragons of light."

"Hm…"

"I've already cursed three of the Founders' artifacts. Would you like to make it four?"

I could hear the other students murmuring as my Sorting dragged on and on. This was growing suspicious, and I began to fear I might lose what little advantage my fame had given me.

"Then again, it was brave of you to argue, challenging me without a proper plan in place. Why, that was downright GRYFFINDOR."

The final word echoed across the Hall and my new house burst into cheers. I suppressed a very Slytherin smirk. It wouldn't do to make a poor first impression, after all.

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the story? Want more? By joining my Patreon, you'll get exclusive early access to over 70+ chapters before anyone else!

Your support not only helps create more thrilling content but also connects you with a lively community of fellow fans.

Become a Patron today and dive deeper into the adventure!

(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)

http//patreon.com/Fireshadow5

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