Starting Out

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and works, if you recognise it from somewhere else, surprise it isn't mine.

Betad by morde24, Atrius, Hermes, Priapus, Marethyu, Old man of the mountain and TheDonFluffles

Chapter 02: Starting Out

— Severus Snape —

Staring at Potter with disbelief, he hid his confusion with a well-practised sneer as he glanced over at the other staff members.

McGonagall had a look of shock on her face, baffled that Potter hadn't ended up in the house of his parents, even seeming disappointed.

Dumbledore was harder to read of course, a thoughtful look on his face as he stroked his beard with that annoying twinkle in his eyes.

James Potter's spawn in his house, what had he done to deserve this hell?

But as he watched Draco joke with Potter, he paused as seeing the object of his irritation glance his way, a pair of emerald eyes staring back at him thoughtfully for a moment before he turned back to Draco.

It wasn't just James Potter's unholy spawn, despite the near-identical appearance. Harry Potter was also Lily's son, as much as he hated to see it that way, as it meant acknowledging the fact that Lily had a child with James Potter.

It was Lily's son who was sitting there joking about something with his godson, Lily's son who was going to have to survive in a house full of enemies.

Even now he could spot a few mostly hidden sneers amongst his older snakes, many of them had fathers or relatives who were still in Azkaban to this day thanks to the defeat of the Dark Lord.

He knew his house was a breeding ground for Death Eaters and those who shared the Dark Lord's beliefs, but there was little he could do about it.

As a half-blood, he was eternally stepping on thin ice when it came to punishing the children of the often well-connected pure-blood families, though his friendship with Lucius Malfoy, a member of the Board of Governors, gave him some leeway.

If he punished them for their 'bigotry', word would reach their parents who were either Death Eaters or secret supporters of the Dark Lord, which would make his life difficult, to say the least, especially if Dumbledore was proven correct and the Dark Lord returned.

He had to keep up appearances.

Lily's son was sitting at his table, unaware of the malicious looks of those around him. Most of them were too subtle to act openly, he'd taught them better than that, but there were always a few fools.

Marcus Flint was barely trying to hide his glare, glowering at Potter with hate. Flint's father had been a rather low level Death Eater, and one who got the kiss for his crimes after the Dark Lord fell.

It was easy to see that Marcus was already blaming Potter for his fathers execution, which would become a problem sooner rather than later.

Flint wasn't a long-term thinker, indeed, he was barely a thinker at all, and he wouldn't wait long until he acted.

That just left him with one question, was Potter more like his arrogant bastard of a father or was he more like Lily?

As he considered what to do, a thought struck him. Wouldn't Potter be horrified to see his precious son wearing green and silver?

The thought made his lips twitch upward ever so briefly, a plot forming in his mind to get some revenge on his long dead nemesis.

Lily would have made a fantastic Slytherin, in a better world where that useless piece of enchanted leather didn't send her to Gryffindor, perhaps her son shared that potential?

He'd keep an eye on Harry Potter, testing the boy until he decided whether he was a copy of his arrogant father or more like his mother.

If he turned out to be as arrogant as Potter, then he'd treat him as Potter should have been treated in his youth, and if he was closer to Lily, then he'd ensure Lily's son became a true Slytherin.

Either way, James Potter would be turning in his grave and that was enough for him.

— Harry Potter —

I can't help but feel that some people might not be thrilled to have me as their housemate.

Even as I talk to Draco about what classes we're looking forward to (charms for me and potions for him), I can feel the glare of some of the people at the table.

Apparently my placement in Slytherin was shocking, I even heard someone ask 'we didn't get Potter?' from the Gryffindor table, but I don't know what they expected.

If they had some idealised image of me from storybooks then that's on them, I'm no story book hero and I have no desire to play the part.

Though it could be useful to cultivate the image, something to think about later.

I've gotten good at sensing malice, it comes from avoiding becoming a player in Dudley's favourite game, Harry Hunting (at least until he and Piers fell out over the "stolen" wallet, which distracted him).

I can see the malevolence in some of the people around me, mostly the upper years, though one of the newly sorted Slytherins keeps giving me dirty looks, I think his name was Theodore Nott.

Somehow, I don't think my time here is going to be easy, but I'm here to learn fucking magic and I'm not going to let anyone get in the way of that.

Before long, the great feast is over (and great is absolutely the right word for it), and we're being led to the dungeons where the Slytherin common room is, which didn't fill me with confidence but my doubts were swiftly squashed as we arrived, being told the password 'Belladonna' (apparently Professor Snape likes to use potion ingredients).

When I was told we would be sleeping in the dungeons, I pictured a dark, grimy and altogether uncomfortable room.

I was right about exactly one of those, as the room is rather dark, but it's also very well decorated with expensive looking chairs, couches and tables.

It's cosy, though the dark nature and shadows do make it slightly foreboding, and speaking of dark and foreboding…

Stalking into the room, our head of house walks in front of us, his cloak billowing despite the lack of wind, giving every one of us a sneer.

I'm sure I don't imagine it when his gaze lingers on me for just a moment longer than everyone else, nor did I imagine the way he was watching me during the feast.

"For those who are unaware, I am Severus Snape, the head of Slytherin and the Professor of Potions," he starts, drawling as he looms over us. "I expect each of you to perform well in all classes, especially mine, and to do nothing to embarrass our house. My office is… open to you, though I would advise you not to waste my time on trifling matters," Snape continues, giving us a warning glare to make sure we get the message.

After a moment of silence, he smirks slightly and continues.

"The Slytherin house must put up an image of unity in front of the rest of the school, I expect that any… in-house conflicts will be solved outside the gaze of the other Houses," Snape continues, making me pause.

Well, that's something at least, but if my housemates have a problem with me, this just means they'll be more subtle about it. It's a different game than Dudley, but I'm not entirely uncomfortable with that.

I'll just have to beat them at their own games.

"In addition, I do not want to hear complaints from any of the other Professors about your misconduct. You are all to act in accordance with the traits our founder exemplified, cunning, self-preservation and resourcefulness," Snape says, which I immediately translate into 'if you cause trouble, don't get caught'. "Live up to the expectations both I, and Salazar Slytherin, have in you and do not disappoint me. Now, I suggest you decide which room you will be sleeping in for the next seven years, as unlike the other houses Slytherin believed that his students deserved private rooms. Good night… and I would also suggest you read page 47 of Magical Drafts and Potions, before you have my class."

With that said, he turns and stalks away in a rather overdramatic way, making me smirk slightly.

Giving his students a headstart over the other houses? I can respect that. I wonder if the other teachers have done the same.

"Come on, I want to grab a good room," Draco says, tugging at my sleeve to get my attention as I chuckle.

"You know they're probably all the same," I say, making Draco give me a superior look.

"Maybe, but I'm not taking that chance, besides it's all about where the door is. I want the one furthest away from the stairs," Draco says before he pauses. "Oi, Crabbe, Goyle, stop gawking and come on."

Rolling his eyes as his lumbering minions follow behind, he heads up the stairs to the hallway meant for first years, immediately moving to the end of the hallway which has two rooms, one on either side.

Draco, apparently being quite picky, spends a little time looking between the two before he picks the left and I take the right, our doors opposite each other.

"You two, take the next two doors," Draco orders, essentially claiming the end of the hallway as his domain as I chuckle.

"What's with those two anyway?" I ask, making him pause as we watch them move their stuff into their new rooms, spotting some of the girls in our year also picking rooms.

A girl with short, dark hair and a rather pug-like nose gives me a glare, but I think that's more about me claiming the room opposite Draco given the way she's been looking at him than anything about me personally.

"Long story short? My father saved their fathers from… well, an unpleasant experience and now their families basically work for my family, I've known them for years and I'm pretty sure their fathers told them to listen to me, honestly most of the time it feels more like I'm babysitting them," Draco snorts, making me smirk.

I can see that, I don't think they've done anything except eat without Draco specifically telling them to do so.

"Still, I guess it's nice to have minions,"I joke, making him laugh.

"You're not wrong, especially with what I've got planned," Draco says, before looking down the hallway, giving a pair of girls a suspicious look as they linger a little too close. "Come with me," Draco says, pulling me into my room and closing the door with a frown.

"Okay, what's this about?" I ask, making him smirk again as he pulls out his wand, casting something. "I thought we weren't supposed to be taught magic before first year?"

"Obviously we aren't supposed to, but barely any of the pureblood families listen to that, pretty much every pureblood kid got their wands at the beginning of summer and had been practising ever since," Draco scoffs, making me snort.

Sounds about right, I'd have done the same if I could.

"It was just an anti-eavesdropping my godfather taught me, I'll show it to you later," Draco says, making my eyebrow raise.

"And what's so secretive that you need to make sure nobody is listening to us?" I ask, making him straight up with a smug look.

"My plan to become the new prince of Slytherin," Draco says with a superior tone, making my eyebrows rise. "You've noticed that you're not exactly popular with our classmates, right?"

"It would be rather hard not to notice the way some of them were looking at me, yes," I deadpan.

"You probably already have a dozen enemies in our house alone, being both a halfblood and the vanquisher of the Dark Lord, but if you help me become the new leader of our house, I can keep them in line and you get a nice position at my side," Draco says, sounding very sure of himself.

"Is this normal for Slytherin?" I ask, making him shrug.

"Pretty much, a lot of the people in our house are the heirs and heiresses of powerful families, it's like practice for when we become Lords and Ladies," Draco says, making me nod.

I can see the logic in it, playing political games while we're young to get ready for life as an aristocrat. The Wizarding World is definitely rather old fashioned in a great many ways.

"So, what's this big plan then?" I ask, making him smirk.

"Firstly, I need to solidify myself as the top of our year and that means we need to take down the opposition," Draco says, making my eyebrows rise.

"Not afraid I'll try and take your throne for myself?" I ask playfully, making him snort.

"You're a halfblood, that's an uphill battle already," he says, making me narrow my eyes. "No offence, but you'd probably have been safer in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff."

There definitely seems to be some discrimination towards muggles, and by extension muggleborns and 'halfbloods' like me.

"Maybe, but then I wouldn't get a private room," I say, making him snort.

"Very true, but no… My rivals for this are Nott and Greengrass. I've met them both at balls before, they're both from well-connected families and they know the game. I want your help to make sure I come out on top, then when we've taken control of our year, we can work on the rest of the house," Draco says with a sly smirk. "Between me and you, and I guess Crabbe and Goyle, we should be able to handle them."

Hm, this could actually work out for me. I want to learn magic, because it's fucking magic, but I'm going to have to play the political game sooner or later thanks to my two noble houses.

Playing the part of a follower, perhaps even right hand man, could help me pursue my studies and real interests while Draco plays the part of the 'prince' he seems so interested in.

I don't mind being underestimated, it's actually served me rather well over the years.

"Not worried my halfblood status will drag you down?" I ask, somewhat darkly as he shakes his head.

"You're a Black and a Potter, two very old names. You're basically a Pureblood and half of the house wishes they had your bloodline, plus you're still Harry Potter, we can use that," Draco says, waving off my words.

Draco is an ambitious little shit, isn't he? I don't particularly mind it, as long as he doesn't turn on me. Honestly this sounds kinda fun and if I can use this to stop my other housemates from messing with me, we both win.

"So, Nott and Greengrass then?" I ask, making him smirk. "Any plans on how to take them down?"

"Nott shouldn't be hard, he's never been as smart as he thinks he is, Greengrass… she's going to be an issue. For now, watch what you say around them, don't let them get anything to use against us, and listen out for anything we can use," Draco says, making me nod.

"And if we can't find anything, we can always just make something we can use," I say, making him smirk.

"And now you're thinking like a Slytherin, of course they'll probably try the same thing. I'm gonna read the page Professor Snape mentioned and head to bed, we can talk more in the morning, but I take it you're in?" Draco asks, making me nod.

"I am," I say simply, making him grin.

"Excellent, you and I are going to run this place, you better read the page as well. I've heard Unc- Professor Snape is ruthless when it comes to people messing up in his class, especially Slytherins," Draco warns, making me nod.

"Don't worry, I will. I don't plan to give him any reason to have an issue with me," I say, watching him leave with a wave.

I noticed he was wearing a ring with what I can presume is the Malfoy family crest on it, and he wasn't the only one with a ring like that.

I definitely need to talk to Dumbledore about my rings, they seem to give people some level of status and more importantly they might provide a layer of protection against my detractors.

But for now, as much as I want to go back to my mystery tome, I have a potions book to read up on.

I've always been a good student, because I took pride in showing Dudley up (not that that is some great feat), and now that it's magic I'm studying?

Well, consider me extremely motivated.

— Next Day —

"Tell me, Mr Potter, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Professor Snape asks, staring right at me as my mind races.

"The Draught of Living Death, sir," I answer after a pause, making his eyes narrow. That wasn't on the page he specified for us to read, but I'm a bit of an overachiever and read a lot of the book last night.

Potions is a fascinating subject, I can see why Draco was looking forward to it.

After a moment, he breaks eye contact with me and turns to another student, which admittedly makes me breath a small sigh of relief, even as Draco nudges my shoulder.

"Mr Weasley, where would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?" Professor Snape continues, I don't actually know the answer to that one.

Neither does Weasley, apparently. Frozen in the spotlight, he mumbles something as Snape's eyes narrow in disdain, ignoring the hand of the bushy-haired girl sitting behind Weasley.

Obviously Snape is choosing who he wants to ask, he didn't ask for volunteers and she's just making a fool out of herself.

"I see, Mr Thomas, what is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?" He continues, turning to the dark skinned boy behind the girl, ignoring her completely.

Another boy perks up at the question, his hand almost rising before he quickly lowers it. I think his name was Neville Longbottom.

Yes I remembered his name because of his last name, and yes I laughed when he was called to the stool.

He clearly knows the answer, interesting.

"Umm, I don't know?" Dean Thomas admits, making Snape sneer slightly.

"Pity. I do hope the rest of you have prepared more than these two, potions is not a class for the ill-prepared or the unmotivated," Snape drawls, making Weasley and Thomas flush in embarrassment as the Slytherins snicker. "Ten points to Slytherin to Mr Potter for being prepared. Ten points from Gryffindor for Mr Thomas and Mr Weasley's disappointing answers. Each."

"Nice going," Draco whispers, making me smile slightly.

"For your information, a bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat, and will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?" Snape barks, making everyone jump as we quickly start taking notes.

What doesn't catch those of us lucky enough to have him as a head of house by surprise is when he starts the lesson proper and we get introduced to our first potion, a Forgetfulness potion, found on page 47 of Magical Drafts and Potions.

He puts notes on the board, but they're far less detailed than the instructions we all presumably read last night.

It comes as little surprise then when most of the Gryffindors struggle to make the potion, except for the bushy-haired girl, while the Slytherins thrive.

I'm partnered with Crabbe for this, and Draco is partnered with Goyle. Originally we planned to work together but I realised that Crabbe and Goyle would definitely fuck things up so I suggested we each team up with one of them.

Crabbe is good at following orders, so I keep him on ingredient preparation (which isn't too different to cooking though I'd never say that near Professor Snape), and keep an eye on him so he doesn't make any mistakes, having to correct him a couple of times.

Draco is very good at potions, even with Goyle dragging him down, and he even catches a fuck-up I made and whispers a warning before it affects the potion.

If Snape notices our collaboration, he doesn't seem to care as he focuses on making the Gryffindors uncomfortable, looming over Longbottom and insulting a boy whose name I don't know after he somehow blows up his cauldron.

By the end, we both hand in a potion which gets a passing grade from Snape, more than many can say.

Defence against the Dark Arts proves less eventful, with a purely theoretical lesson on the danger of Hags which is slowed by Professor Quirrel's stuttering, and the less said about History of Magic the better.

At one point a Hufflepuff threw a ball of paper through our ghostly teacher, who didn't even notice or stop droning on.

I'm actually disappointed by that, I like history and magical history is far more interesting, but while I want to know about famous wizards and witches of the past, like Merlin and the Founders, instead we get a hour long droning lecture on one of the goblin rebellions, at one point he lost his place and just started the entire thing again.

He didn't even notice when the lesson ended, nor did he seem to care as we all left, continuing his lecture to an empty classroom.

That's just a sad existence, that benefits nobody. Well, aside from whoever pays the teachers as I suppose they don't have to pay Binns.

The day takes a further decline as I reach my room, frowning to myself as I find it trashed.

Whoever did this didn't do anything permanent, but it looks like they were looking for something.

For instance, my stuff. Unfortunately for them, I figured that if I had a chest that could allow me to carry my things around, then why would I ever leave it behind?

Looking around the room, I pause for a moment before I snort as I read the words 'Blood Traitor' and 'Half-Blood' that have been painted on my walls.

This is it? Did they think this would have even the slightest effect on me? How… pathetic.

The most they did was inconvenience me, since they seem to have stolen my bed sheets but I slept in a fucking cupboard my whole life, what do they think this is going to do?

As I neaten things up, which isn't how I planned to spend the break before my final class of the day, I do come across something interesting.

Sitting on my bedside table is a book that definitely wasn't there when I left, and likely wasn't there when my room was trashed.

It's a fairly small book, on security focused spells ranging from locking spells, alarm spells and the like from my quick skim.

So, either someone came into my room, trashed the place then left me a book to help me prevent this from happening again or someone came across my room in such a state and left me the book.

But even the second one implies they came into my room, the door was closed (though they could have found it open and closed it after they left), and even if it was open then they'd have had to come to the end of the corridor to even notice.

The whole reason me and Draco grabbed these rooms was so nobody had a reason to come this far down but us, so what it means two people (or a group and one person) have been in my room.

I can guess who the first group was, I've noticed the dirty looks and they have the motive to match the crimes.

But who left the book?

"What the fuck?" Draco asks, standing at the door.

"It appears our housemates have taken actions to make it clear how welcome I am here," I deadpan, making Draco sneer slightly.

"Don't clean it up, you're a wizard not a House-elf," Draco says, frowning. "Dobby!"

The sudden pop and appearance of a diminutive figure with large bat-like ears and a potato sack for clothing.

"You called, Master Draco?" Dobby says, wringing his hands together as he shuffled in place.

"Clean this room up," Draco orders, ignoring the creature's response as he gestures for me to follow him. "This won't be the end of it," he warns, making me snort.

"I know, but it doesn't change anything," I say with a smile, which he returns. "Well it does, because now I just need to work out who did it and get even."

"Even if it's an upper-year?" Draco asks, smirking himself.

"Then I'll need to be more cautious, but I'm not going to lie down and take this," I reply, making him nod.

While we are speaking, Dobby is rapidly undoing my harassers work, making me appreciate 'house elves', whatever they are. Something else to look into, because I kinda want one.

"Good, you have a plan?" Draco asks, watching as I lift up the book.

"Someone does, this was on my bedside table," I admit, making his eyebrows raise.

"A book on security spells? That's… convenient," he says, making me snort.

"Or a trap," I reply, making him take the book and flick through it.

"I know some of these spells, and the rest seem real enough. This was just left here?" Draco asks, pausing as I nod. "Hm, you have a lot of fans in Hogwarts, maybe you even have some in this house?"

"That could be true, especially if they had kept their heads down and overheard the people who wrecked my room planning this," I admit, admitting he might be right.

A silent supporter slipping me a book on security spells for the future, but not being willing to try and stop the attack from happening to save their own skin? I definitely see the logic.

"So, what are you planning to do now?" Draco asks, making me chuckle.

"Act like it never happened and watch to see who gets angry," I say with a lazy smirk, which he returns.

Heading back to the common room (after thanking Dobby which seemed to send him into shock), it doesn't take long to spot who isn't happy seeing me and Draco joking around.

The same troll-looking bastard who glowered at me the entire feast.

He has a small group of people around him, and none of them are looking happy but he's the only one who looks straight-up angry.

At least until another one nudges him and he turns, deliberately looking away from me.

And we have our suspect, he's not exactly subtle.

Leaving the room, Draco immediately snorts.

"Marcus Flint, what an imbecile," Draco says with a sneer.

"You know him?" I ask, making him nod.

"I know of him, he's the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team and the heir of a very minor family," Draco says, a look of superiority on his face. "His little band of ass-kissers are the rest of the team."

"And now I have my target," I say, making him nod hesitantly.

"You sure? He's an idiot but he's older and I'm sure he knows some nasty spells," Draco warns, making me nod.

"Don't worry, I know he'd destroy me in a fair fight," I say, making him nod. "Which is why I'm not going to fight fairly, I'm a Slytherin after all. They might not want me here, but I'll be happy to show them that I belong in this house."

Draco smirks at my words, he does that a lot, and we end the subject, talking about our upcoming Charms lesson instead, even as I scheme.

Marcus Flint, huh?

He had quite the little gang around him, and I've seen this before.

So, I just need to work out how to tear his support base apart and turn them against him, but not just yet.

It'd be too obvious and draw his ire, plus I don't have many options just yet. No, I need to keep my head down, gather information on my new enemy and learn magic I can use against him and then when he lowers his guard, I'll strike.

Like a snake in the long grass, because I am a Slytherin.

I'd even say I belong here more than he does.

— Later —

Charms was interesting, and Professor Flitwick is definitely a better teacher than Binns, Quirrel or Snape.

Not that I'd ever say that to Snape, I'm not suicidal.

We just learnt how to animate an object and make it 'dance', a useless spell but I understand the purpose.

He put a lot of emphasis on picturing the effect and the importance of proper wand movement, so this was clearly just to help drill the basics in before we move into the more interesting spells.

Also, the boy who blew up his cauldron also blew up his table. I think it's for the best that I don't sit anywhere near Mr Finnigan in classes.

Nobody has gotten injured in his highly combustible learning process so far (except Professor Flitwick who fell off his stack of books), but it's better safe than sorry.

On the bright side, my owl arrived during dinner, I have all her things in my chest, and I'll definitely need to watch out that Flint doesn't get any ideas about hurting her, but for now I have my own owl.

I have no idea what to call the snowy owl, none of the names I've come up with feel right so far, and she can stay in the school owlery since the dungeons are no place for an owl. She needs to be able to fly freely, not be cooped up in my room.

For now, she's satisfied to steal bacon from my plate and peck at anyone who tries to stroke her (aside from me, she's definitely smarter than I'd expect from an animal).

We're supposed to be free after dinner to do as we please (except Wednesday where we have Astronomy), but a small letter changes my plans as my eyes narrow.

I pocket it, shaking my head slightly at Draco as he gives me a questioning look, my eyes flickering towards a particular staff member which makes his eyes widen.

It's not exactly subtle, but we can work on that later.

— Daphne Greengrass —

Her plans for the year had been disrupted quite significantly, because of something she could have never predicted.

How and why did Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, end up in Slytherin?

And better yet, how did Draco Malfoy, the pompous little prat himself, get Potter on his side?

Her plans were simple, but not easily achieved, she needed to place herself as the de facto leader of the Slytherins in her year before next year, and she needed to spread that to the rest of the house by the end of third year at the latest.

Her reasoning was simple, she needed that power to keep the sexist bigots in line, not particularly for herself, she was the heiress of a very powerful family after all, but for Tracey (a half-blood from a much smaller family) and her sister when she arrived at Hogwarts.

She knew she was attractive, that she was desired by both her peers and those much older than her, but her position as Heiress both made her more enticing, a more valuable 'catch', and yet a more forbidden fruit.

An… attack on her would be an attack on her family line, it would damage her value as an heiress if her purity was snatched away, but Tracey? Astoria?

Astoria was a Greengrass, but the law was more lax when it came to those who weren't heirs and heiresses (and was laughably lax when it came to half-bloods and pure-bloods), so she needed make sure she had the power and reputation to keep people in line when Astoria arrived.

Tracey had already experienced some of the lesser bigotry they had expected, jeers and taunts aimed at her half-blood heritage, and unfortunately puberty had hit Tracey like a bludger.

She'd seen the appreciative looks from those same people, like sharks smelling blood in the water, circling around her wanting a bite.

It was why they'd decided to share a room, Tracey's room being mostly used as additional storage for now.

Nobody in her year was supposed to be a real threat to her plans, she knew pretty much every important pureblood who was starting at Hogwarts this year, the wizarding world was a small one indeed, and she'd marked Nott and Malfoy as her potential opponents.

Nott wouldn't be an issue, and she was supposed to be able to handle Malfoy (even if it ended with her marrying the smarmy bastard).

Their families had been in talks about a potential arranged marriage, but her father was thankfully resistant to the idea. The Malfoys were rich and powerful, that was undeniable, but even she'd heard the dark rumours surrounding Lucius Malfoy.

He wanted to bring her family into his little faction, which already held considerable power in the Wizengamot, he wanted to use their expansive businesses to grow his own, and he might not take no for an answer.

She'd accepted that there was an chance she'd have to suck it up and marry Draco, and it wasn't particularly unusual for two purebloods to end up in a loveless marriage- her parents had only met each other two weeks before they were to marry, so she could grit her teeth and bear it.

The bigger threat was Lucretia Malfoy, Draco's sixth-year sister and the current Queen of Slytherin, but she'd be graduating in two years and that opened up her position for someone else to take.

Pansy might have deluded herself into thinking she'd be the top bitch in their year, bragging about her potential engagement to Draco, but she could take Pansy in her sleep.

Draco was supposed to be equally manageable, he relied on his daddy's name and wasn't particularly impressive…

And then he pocketed Harry Fucking Potter into his little faction on day one. Sure, Potter wasn't exactly welcome in Slytherin but depending on how Harry managed things, that could change rapidly.

If Harry beat those who challenged him, he'd rise in popularity massively, he'd be able to basically become the top dog in their year easily, and yet he seemed to be satisfied being Draco's follower.

Or maybe Draco's advisor was more appropriate? She'd heard Harry's suggestion that they split up and prevent Crabbe and Goyle from embarrassing themselves (and by extension Draco) in Potions.

She'd be lying if she didn't have faith that Harry would beat the likes of Flint and his ilk. Maybe she was biased since she grew up hearing stories about him but something about Harry told her he'd come out on top.

So, if she wanted to go through with her plans she had two viable options.

She could either ally with Draco, probably having to take the subservient role and join him, or she could try and challenge him… and steal Harry for herself.

Her family never supported the Dark Lord, though they also never helped fight him, he'd be more… acceptable with her than he would with a Malfoy. There wasn't a single person with a working brain that truly believed Lucius Malfoy was under the imperius curse.

She had Tracey and maybe Blaise Zabini on her side, Draco had Harry, Crabbe and Goyle. Theodore was still floundering and searching for allies.

In fact, her father would definitely be eager to see a betrothal with Potter and it could get him out of being pressured into marrying her to Draco.

He was definitely more attractive than Malfoy, who looked like he spent more time on his hair than her and Tracey combined.

But for now, she'd bide her time. If Harry couldn't overcome his detractors then Draco's little gambit would backfire on him.

That said, she couldn't wait too long because Draco and Harry seemed to be becoming fast friends and that was equally troublesome.

Tracey was her best friend, her right hand who she trusted to watch her back no matter what, she didn't need Draco getting his own.

He was supposed to have Crabbe, Goyle and maybe Pansy, all morons who would hurt his efforts more than they aided him.

Hiding her frown behind a practised scowl, she glanced at where Harry and Draco were playing with what was presumably Harry's owl, tossing pieces of bacon up for the beautiful snowy owl to catch.

She needed to think about this carefully.

— Albus Dumbledore —

"Come in," Albus said calmly as he heard a knock on his door, watching Harry enter the office with a slight frown.

He had already suspected that Harry had developed something of a distrust of authority figures, which was only reinforced when Arabella told him that Vernon was taken away by the police for child abuse and the potential murder of Harry Potter.

Arabella had done her best over the years, but she never got to see inside of the Dursley's home, and Harry had seemed fine from her reports, though often alone, and while he had hoped the Dursleys would accept Harry it seemed his hopes were misplaced.

He'd visited Vernon in prison, a quick skim of the muggles mind had proven that they had never accepted Harry as anything more than free labour, as such he felt no need to help Vernon escape the fate the obese muggle had brought upon himself.

It was unlikely Harry would ever willingly return to Privet Drive, given his rather sneaky escape (and the way he'd cut off the payments to the Dursleys). He hadn't even been aware that Lily and James had set up payments to whoever took Harry in, as finances were simply not his strong point.

He'd have to make sure that wherever Harry ended up was protected enough, as the attempts on Harry's life had only lessened over the years, not stopped entirely, and Harry had unwittingly voided the protections from his mother's magic.

"You asked to see me, Professor?" Harry asked, taking a seat when he gestured at the comfy chair opposite his desk.

"I did, my boy. Would you care for a lemon drop?" Albus asked, grabbing one of his favourite candies himself.

"Oh, yes please," Harry said, making him blink in shock. Nobody ever said yes.

Though Lemon Drops were a muggle candy, perhaps Harry already knew the glory of them. Yes, that made sense.

"But yes, I wished to speak with you so I could give you these," Albus said, opening a drawer and pulling out two rings, placing them on the desk as Harry's eyes widened.

He'd held onto the Potter ring since James Potter's death, and the Black ring since Arcturus Black's passing.

He didn't plan to hand them over at first, wanting Harry to be able to be just another student without the responsibility of two ancient and noble houses looming in the distance, but with Harry being placed in Slytherin the rings would prove a source of protection and, admittedly, renown.

He had been surprised at Harry's placement of course, but a simple examination of the facts assured him that Harry was not misplaced.

It was undeniably a Slytherin move to simply bide his time and slip out of the Dursley's life, leaving them in the trouble they had brought upon themselves.

And Harry's desire to meet his magical family was both understandable and heartwarming as it meant that the Dursleys did not succeed in disheartening Harry.

It was slightly worrying that Harry's family happened to be the Malfoys, and he'd have to watch and make sure that Harry did not start to develop the anti-muggle mindset so common in his new house.

He did briefly fear that he was looking at the next Tom Riddle, but Tom hadn't been driven by a wish to find family or friends, and he certainly wouldn't have allowed Draco to take the spotlight.

It was subtle, but Draco was clearly the leader of their little group of friends, with Harry directly behind him. Tom's ego wouldn't permit that.

Of course it was possible Harry was another Tom, in which case he had a chance to correct his mistakes all those years ago.

"These are my house rings, right?" Harry asked, making him nod as he watched the young chosen one pick up the rings, examining them.

"They are, both go on your ring finger. They will combine into one," Albus advised. "I decided it would be better to wait until you returned to the magical world before giving them to you, as a young child with such expensive jewellery was bound to attract unwanted attention and while no one, muggle or magical, could steal them, it simply wasn't worth the trouble," he explained, seeing some of Harry's suspicion fade at his reasoning.

People who distrusted authority figures would always look for insidious reasons behind their actions, so it was important to be transparent and to help dissuade those suspicions.

"I see, thank you sir," Harry finally said, slipping both rings onto his finger and watching them with slight awe as they melded into one.

It was always nice to see people appreciate the wonders of magic, the subtle awe as they saw something new for the first time.

Harry's eyes wandered around the room, flickering to the many portraits and gadgets, some of which were tied to him though he didn't know it.

"I am simply returning what is rightfully yours," Albus said calmly, giving him a smile. "Other than that, I simply wished to discuss your plans for housing, given your rather sudden departure from Privet Drive."

He immediately knew he was treading on thin ice, seeing Harry tense up as his eyes narrowed.

"I own a lot of property from my two houses, including half a dozen manors," Harry said, not answering the question.

"Of course, I would simply request that you allow me to examine the wards at whichever location you choose. Unfortunately, there are those who would still see you dead for your part in Voldemort's downfall," Albus explained, seeing him start to relax again. "I take it you do not intend to return to Privet Drive?"

"Never, both me and the Dursleys will be better off if we never see each other again," Harry replied immediately, one of his devices suddenly sparking as smoke started to come from it.

Waving his wand, he vanished the device that monitored the wards at Privet Drive. Well, that settled it then. He could have potentially repaired the wards around Privet Drive, but the blood ward was now broken beyond repair, and any other wards could be raised anywhere else.

"I see, are you aware that Vernon is currently under investigation for your murder? Your disappearance didn't go unnoticed and the current theory seems to be that he killed you," Albus started, seeing Harry's eyes widen before he snorted in amusement.

"Seriously? I knew cancelling the payments would annoy him but I didn't expect- oh that's perfect," Harry chuckled, before he calmed down. "Can you find a way to make it known that I'm not dead? I don't like Vernon but he doesn't deserve to go down for a murder he didn't do," Harry asked, making him smile.

Yes, this wasn't another Tom. He found Vernon's misfortune highly amusing but wanted to help him anyway.

"Of course, my boy. He is also under investigation for child abuse and neglect, those I do not believe I will be assisting him with," Albus said, making Harry nod.

"You reap what you sow," Harry said simply, making Albus nod.

"Indeed, I had hoped Petunia would treat her sister's son with more love, as they had been very close once, but it seems she let bitterness and jealousy overcome her. It's a shame, but they brought this on themselves," Albus agreed.

Lily would be extremely disappointed at Petunia's treatment of Harry, as would their parents.

"Now, that is all I wished to discuss with you, unless you had any questions for me," Albus said, making Harry pause for a moment.

"Actually Sir, there is one thing. According to my account manager, I should be getting regular account summaries through the mail…" Harry trailed off, making him nod.

"Yes, it was decided that for the Dursley's sanity and the secrecy of the magical world, all your mail would be diverted until you were old enough," Albus explained. "Please, follow me."

Rising, he took a walk into the back area of his office where his bedroom and some other essential rooms were, Harry following behind as he opened a particular door.

As Harry walked in, he froze mid-step seeing thousands of letters piled up on almost every surface.

"Aside from the cursed and charmed letters, of which there were a truly unfortunate amount, this is all the mail you have received over the last twelve years," Albus explained, hearing Harry gulp. "You're welcome to take them all of course, I did attempt to sort them into some semblance of order, though while I will happily send the mail to you once again, I would still like to have it all screened for curses or potions."

"Yes, I should at least read them all… please do that," Harry said looking around in shock. "What's all that?" he asked, pointing to a small mountain of packages.

"Ah, many of your letters came with packages, gifts and the like. I decided to have the many, many sweets and childrens toys donated to various places that could use them, in your name, but there was much that could still be useful to you so it was kept around for you to decide what to do with," Albus explained, making Harry gulp again as he looked up at the mountain of gifts. "Would you like assistance transporting all of these?" he asked with a hint of amusement as Harry realised the size of the task before him, getting a nod.

With a wave of his wand, the many letters and gifts neatly flew into a chest that levitated into the room, a smile on his lips as he watched Harry stare at the endless stream of letters he'd soon be dealing with.

Such were the perils of fame. It would do Harry good to know how appreciated he was, though there were also many letters from his detractors. He was sure Harry could handle it, his time at the Dursleys had left him with a thick skin that would serve him well.

"Don't worry, my boy. I'm sure you'll be able to read through them all by the end of the year," Albus said cheerfully, getting a dirty look from the young hero.

As someone who once dealt with a very similar situation, he took some pleasure from seeing another person faced with the perils of defeating a dark lord.

…so, so many letters.

— Harry Potter —

With a second chest in my pocket, I enter the Slytherin common room and admit I might have been too suspicious of the Headmaster.

Because while I wasn't physically abused by the Dursleys, that might have changed if Vernon had to deal with what seemed like a hundred letters delivered by owls every week.

As Draco sees me enter, I nod towards our rooms and head upstairs, Draco following behind almost five minutes later.

"So, what did Dumbledore…" Draco starts as he enters the room, trailing off as he spots the ring sitting on my finger, the Potter and Black crests in clear sight. "Oh."

"Yeah, he's been holding onto my rings while I was with my muggle relatives," I explain, seeing the slight sneer on his lips at the mention of the Dursleys.

"So you're the next Lord Black?" Draco asks rhetorically, knowing I couldn't wear that ring if I wasn't.

"I am," I agree, making a multitude of emotions cross his face.

I noticed the jealousy and disappointment but they pass quickly, before he hides it all with a smirk.

"Sucks to be Flint," he finally says, making me scoff.

"Fuck Flint, I have a much bigger problem," I say, making his eyes widen as I pull out the letter chest, placing it down and unshrinking it. "So, beloved cousin… wanna help me sort twelve years worth of gifts, fan and hate mail?"

As he looks into the chest, his eyes widen in shock, awe and amusement, his smirk becoming less fake and more amused.

"Well, if nothing else we can throw Flint in there and let the papercuts kill him," Draco finally says, before sighing. "This is going to take ages, isn't it?"

"I'd say to grab Crabbe and Goyle but…" I trial off, making him snort.

"Hey, don't write it off just yet. Some of these were written by children, so it should be at their literacy level. Do you think some of our classmates are in here?" Draco asks, making us both pause.

"Wanna find out?" I ask, sharing a grin as we start to pull the letters out.

— Bonus Scene — Lucius Malfoy

Reading the letter from Draco, he leaned back and narrowed his eyes in thought.

Harry Potter, Dumbledore's golden boy, the slayer of the Dark Lord, a Slytherin?

What's more, a Slytherin who Draco had befriended and who seemed eager to meet his magical family.

He'd expected Potter to arrive at Hogwarts, his head filled with Dumbledore's rhetoric, but it seemed like Dumbledore might have truly just dumped the boy saviour in the muggle world and left him there for over a decade.

Draco might have spotted an extremely lucrative opportunity when he approached Harry, and surprisingly he hadn't messed it up. He truly loved his son but he had no delusions about Draco's talents.

He also held no real grudge over the Dark Lord's death, his time with the Death Eaters had been extremely lucrative but the Dark Lord had grown increasingly unstable as the war had gone by, growing more powerful but losing much of the charisma and guile that had served him so well at the start.

The Dark Lord dying at that moment had truly been a best case scenario, he got what he wanted while in the Dark Lord's service, the Dark Lord fell before he had to pay a cost he couldn't afford, and then he walked away without so much as a slap on the wrist, richer and more powerful than ever before.

He'd even been able to secure many allies (or underlings as he preferred) by keeping some of his fellow death eaters out of Azkaban, such as Crabbe and Goyle. They were brutish thugs but they served their purpose well.

Plus, countless families were wiped out and their businesses left without an owner, just waiting for someone to pick up the pieces and take over. His wealth had only increased since the end of the war, while others were celebrating or brooding, he was working on securing as much as he could for his family.

He had wealth, he had power, but the thing about power is that you could never really have enough.

Potter was the heir of the Potter family, that was obvious, but he was also the heir of the Black family which came as something of a surprise.

He knew Draco wasn't the heir, despite his best efforts to make it so, but working out exactly who was the true heir had proven rather troublesome.

Sirius Black had made Harry his heir, which would have needed the old Lord Black's permission. What did Arcturus Black know that he didn't? Why let a half-blood become the heir of a family that prided itself on purity?

He had to be the rightful heir, the ring would have punished him severely for wearing it if he wasn't, so what was he missing?

Either way, this represented an opportunity.

An opportunity to steal the boy saviour from right under Dumbledore's nose, gaining the support of the two ancient and noble houses by bringing young Harry around to a better way of thinking.

He had wanted the Black Lordship in his family, and while he could try and kill Potter it wouldn't be that simple.

Firstly, Dumbledore was definitely watching out for such moves from the Dark Lord's old followers and as much as he wanted it, he wasn't risking everything he already had for it.

And more importantly, he had no idea who would end up the heir next even if he succeeded, he could risk it all for no reward whatsoever.

But that didn't mean it was impossible, he simply needed to adjust his approach and while some people thought his one and only talent was throwing money at his problems, they didn't realise that he wouldn't have that wealth if he hadn't worked hard for it.

Draco was his heir, the future Lord Malfoy, it would have been ideal to have him be Lord Malfoy-Black but Draco wasn't his only child.

Draco's older sister was a better tool for this particular scheme, Lucretia was far more independent than Draco but she understood that sacrifices had to be made for the good of the family.

If he cancelled the current negotiations for her betrothal, she would play along with a plan to make her the next Lady Black.

Harry might object due to their familial relationship but it was distant enough that it shouldn't be a problem with some convincing.

This would require a soft touch, and it was incredibly obvious how to start it.

Harry wanted to get to know his magical family, it was natural he'd want to meet Lucretia when she was in the same house as him, though a few years above which could cause some hesitation, but a letter to Lucretia would have her approach him.

Besides that, perhaps it was time he met his Aunt Narcissa, and through her his Uncle Lucius.

From there he could gently probe Harry and work out his opinions on a great many things.