Chapter 1
"Mr Henry S. Prince
The Cupboard Under the Stairs
Number 4, Privet Drive
Little Whinging
Surrey"
Harry silently traced the green ink on the letter with his fingers, frowning. He made no sound, careful not to wake his relatives and Hagrid, who were all sleeping peacefully. He wanted to sleep too, but his mind wouldn't stop turning over the last few hours. He was excited to go to Hogwarts, truly, but the things he'd learnt over this summer were worth thinking over. His world had been turned on its head after all. He learnt that he'd been lied to all his life, on top of being treated like a servant.
He was a wizard, the kind that used a wand to do magic and needed to learn spells at a wizarding school. His parents, Lily and Severus Prince, didn't die drunk driving as aunt Petunia always said, but fighting a dark wizard. And he apparently had no magical family to take him in so someone left him at the Dursleys' doorstep in the middle of the night. In October.
He also learnt that his aunt Petunia didn't just dislike him for his freakishness -"magic, it's magic", he whispered to himself- or for being a burden on them. She hated magic, she disliked his mom and loathed his father. He knew the difference between disliking someone and loathing them. Hatred looked different on someone's face. Dudley didn't hate him. His aunt and uncle were disgusted by the idea of him while their son merely followed their example. It was somewhat surprising though, that she had such strong feelings about her sister’s husband, he mused. What did his father do for such strong feelings to be carried over to his son?
Harry closed his eyes, unwilling to contemplate the nature of his relatives' hatred any longer. He was only eager for tomorrow, to learn more about his parents and his magical heritage.
"I'm going to make you proud," he whispered, imagining a couple with blurred faces smiling at him, who would have his silky dark hair, his freckles or his bright green eyes. He closed his eyes and prepared to sleep, comforted by the idea that no matter what he dreamt of, tomorrow would already be better than anything he could have imagined.
***
"Could you tell me more about them?" he asked as they made their way out of the Leaky Cauldron.
Harry was still overwhelmed from being accosted in the pub but he was trying to shake it off by distracting himself. He observed the Alley with wonder in his eyes while listening to the groundskeeper.
"Of course! Yer mum was a lovely woman. She was very good at Charms, professor Flitwick's favourite student. Potions too, and any subject, really. She was very studious. She loved magic. Her fellow classmates loved her. She was hard to hate, really. She was very compassionate, yer mum, and brave. So brave," he sighed wistfully. "Yer dad was too, for a Slytherin," he mumbled.
"A Slytherin," Harry mouthed silently, taking in everything Hagrid said. The giant man didn't notice his confusion and kept going, stepping inside the Halls of Gringotts.
"A very good student as well, but it was in Potions he truly shined. He was a real Prodigy, that one."
The young wizard nodded politely to the goblins, who grinned at him. It was intimidating but Harry didn't feel scared. He wasn't a thief, no matter what aunt Petunia said about him, so he had nothing to fear.
Harry watched, embarrassed, as Hagrid emptied his many pockets, searching for his key.
"Who kept my key for all this time?" he asked curiously.
"T'was Professor Dumbledore," replied the groundskeeper while searching. "Ha ha, here it is."
"How did he get it, though? Are we related?"
Hagrid frowned at him. Harry winced. He didn't want to imply the headmaster had stolen it, he was just curious.
"You’re not related, that’s for sure. I dunno how he got it though."
"You'd be better off asking those kind of questions to your account manager, lad," said the goblin who was waiting for the key, a sneer on his lips. "It's not Hogwarts' groundskeeper's job to know about who has access to your money. What I can tell you though is that no withdrawals have been made on your accounts. How he got the key is anyone's guess, but if he knew your parents well so I wouldn't be surprised if they'd asked him to protect your interests."
"I don't know who my account manager is," he admitted.
"Fascinating," drawled the goblin teller. "You're Henry Prince, aren't you? The manager of the Prince House's accounts would be Goldfang. It would be good for you to meet him, lad. He's not here today but you can make an appointment and come back during the week."
"Thank you, er… what's your name?" "Griphook."
Harry held back a snort. He suspected goblins didn't give their real names to wizards. The little of their language he'd heard while in the bank didn't seem to allow for such silly nicknames.
"Thank you, Griphook," he said, lips twitching.
"Well, that's all well and good but I don't have all day. Now that we have the key, let's go. Can you come back on Friday around two? You can take the Knight Bus from…"
***
Harry put his wand in his newly bought holster and retrieved a notebook and fountain pen from his bag. He noted down the details mister Ollivander had given him about his parents' wands and his advice about wandcare before putting them back in his bag. He didn't want to forget anything.
"Now, the clothing store. School robes first, I'll get casual clothes when I come back to meet Mr Goldfang," he mumbled.
He was about to walk towards the store when someone bumped into him.
"Sorry," he apologized, stopping short when he saw a boy of his age who held a similar shopping list. “I didn’t look where I was going.”
The boy was taller than him, with brown wavy hair and dark eyes hidden behind gold-framed glasses. His eyes widened as he looked at him and he extended a hand in greeting.
"It’s fine, I wasn’t looking either. You're Henry Prince. I’d heard you’d be at Hogwarts this year. Well met."
Harry grimaced. Getting recognized by everyone was getting old really quickly. But no matter how much he tried, his hair was too fine to hide his scar efficiently. Maybe he should get bangs, he mused as he shook the boy's hand.
"I am, nice to meet you. I don't know your name, though."
The boy chuckled.
"I didn't expect you to. I'm Theodore Nott. But you can call me Theo. We're going to be classmates after all."
"Well met, then Theo. I'm just Harry," he said, communicating silently his desire to ignore all things Boy-Who-Lived related.
Theo raised his eyebrows and gave him a slight nod, indicating he understood.
"So you're doing your school shopping alone? Me too. My aunt was supposed to come but she got called for work unexpectedly."
"I came with someone from Hogwarts. Hagrid, the groundskeeper?" he said to respond to Theo's silent question. "But Gringotts made him a bit queasy so he's gone back to the Leaky. We can shop together if you want?"
The suggestion was made hesitantly, and Harry had to stop himself from wringing his hands.
"Sounds good. I already have my wand and potions supplies. I just need the books and the robes. The rest I already have at home. What about you?"
"Same, except I need potions supplies as well but I can do them later, when I meet up with Hagrid."
"Let's do the robes first then."
As they walked, Harry asked a few questions about the magical world. He learnt about Quidditch, though it was clearly not Theo's favourite subject, about the Ministry and some about the Statute of Secrecy.
"What are you looking forward to?" asked Harry as they walked toward Madam Malkin's.
"Everything, really, but mostly the library, the greenhouses -I heard they were superb- and Potions classes. I want to be a Healer, you see."
"You already know what you want to do?"
Theo rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yeah. I might change my mind later, but I doubt it. What about you?"
"I don't know enough about the magical world to choose my career now," protested Harry.
"I can imagine," he grinned. "I meant, what are you looking forward to?"
"I want to learn everything about magic. It's just so incredible. And," he continued in a softer voice, "I was hoping to learn more about my parents. My relatives don't really talk about them."
"Huh. Well, since most of our teachers probably also taught your parents it shouldn't be too hard."
"You think?"
"Yeah, most of them are old as dirt." He opened the door to the clothing store. "Hullo, Ma'am. We're looking to get our school robes tailored, if you're not too busy."
"Not at all. There's one young man inside already, but three isn't much of a crowd. You're first years, aren't you? Are you excited?"
"Very," replied Harry politely though he couldn't help but smile at the thought of learning magic.
They were both directed towards identical stools facing a blond boy with a pointy chin. He reminded Harry of a posh version of Dudley.
"Malfoy," sighed Theo.
"Nott," sneered the boy. "Who's that with you? You picked up a vagrant in Knockturn Alley?"
Harry stiffened.
"Henry Prince," he introduced himself. "I'd say it's nice to meet you but that would be lying."
Theo and Harry exchanged a smirk, though his new friend seemed surprised to see he was willing to use the fame he clearly didn't care for. Harry shrugged. He might as well get some use for that pesky scar and title. And seeing how pale the Malfoy boy had gotten after hearing his name, it was clearly worth it.
The robe fitting was done quietly after that. The Malfoy boy stayed silent and left as quickly as the seamstress' work would allow. When he left, the two boys shared a grin, though Harry's was more incredulous.
"What was that even about?"
"Malfoy doesn't like me. Both of our families were on the wrong side of the war-"
"They supported Voldemort -I mean, You-Know-Who? Sorry, you don't have to tell me," said Harry, though he was really anxious to know what Theo thought of befriending someone who supposedly ended the dark wizard his family stood with during a civil war. He himself wasn't sure what to think of the possibility of his first friend's parents having a part in his own parents' death.
"I know a lot about your life story, it's only fair you know about mine," said Theo with a sigh. "My dad was a Death Eater, that's what they called his followers. He gave the Dark Lord money mostly but he also did other things. Bad things. He got away with it and didn't go to Azkaban -a really awful prison- but it was pretty close. He should have gone, really," he added darkly. "But well, my father wasn't the Head of the Nott family, his cousin was. And she didn't think he'd been punished enough by the law so she cast him out of the family and petitioned to get my custody. It's a really big deal in the Wizarding World," he explained, a bit breathless from his explanation.
"So the aunt you mentioned is actually your cousin?"
Theo nodded with a relieved smile.
"And how do you feel about it?" Harry asked hesitantly. "He's still your dad."
"Aunt Ophelia is more family to me than he'll ever be," he said with gritted teeth.
Harry thought about the Dursleys and got it. If they had been his parents instead of simply his relatives, he wouldn't want to call them family either.
"And…" he hesitated. "... what about your mom?"
"She divorced my dad and lived with my aunt and me. She didn't have custody but they arranged it together. She died when I was six though."
"I'm sorry."
"It's fine. It was a long time ago."
Harry knew it was never fine to lose a parent, no matter how long it had been, but he said nothing. Madam Malkin announced their robes were done. The boys paid and left the shop.
"So Malfoy hates you because he took your father's side?"
"Yeah. All the Death Eaters out of Azkaban said they'd been mind-controlled. They were rich enough to bribe others into backing them so the Ministry let them go. But they're not really subtle about their beliefs. And Mister Malfoy tried to convince me to discredit my aunt and I didn't, so the family is pretty mad at me. Can we talk about something else? It's pretty depressing."
"Right. Can you tell me what Slytherin is? Hagrid mentioned my father was in it, but he never said what it was."
***
"So, it was Slytherin for the cunning and ambitious, Gryffindor for the brave and chivalrous, Hufflepuff for the fair and kind, and Ravenclaw for the curious and studious?" Harry asked as he piled up books in his cart. He wanted to take everything, but he knew he'd have access to Hogwarts' library in a month so he refrained. He was still way beyond the list of schoolbooks recommended, especially with the addition of Theo's suggestions. The boy read both fiction and theory and seemed quite happy to share his recommendations.
"Yeah that pretty much sums it up."
"Where do you think you'll go?"
"Guess," said Theo with a grin.
"I'd say Ravenclaw or Slytherin."
He pointed toward Theo's impressive book pile. And the boy didn't even have the excuse of being muggle-raised.
"You're right about that. I'm pretty sure I'll get Slytherin though. It will be a pain because of all the politics but it should be fun anyway. What about you?"
"The politics? And I'm not sure, it's kind of hard to think about myself in those terms. I could go to any of them I suppose."
"Right. Slytherin is a bit more than just a school house. Since the students are really ambitious, they're usually very concerned about politics. Or their parents are. Especially since the war. A lot of Death Eaters came from Slytherin, and You-Know-Who as well. But there are neutral families as well, and people who fought against the Dark Lord, like your dad."
"So the atmosphere is pretty tense," concluded Harry.
Theo snorted.
"That's an understatement."
"Let me guess, Malfoy is going to Slytherin?"
"Obviously."
"Harry!"
Harry turned around as his name was being called.
"Hagrid! Hi, are you feeling better?"
"I am," he said with a bright smile. "I've been looking fer yeh. Thought you'd go get yer potions things first."
"I thought I'd do that with you. I wanted more time at the bookstore," he said sheepishly. "Oh, right. Hagrid, this is Theo Nott. He'll be in my year at Hogwarts."
"Well met, sir."
"Well met, laddie. Just call me Hagrid."
Theo nodded, looking bemused at the size of the man.
"You're budding little Ravenclaws, I see," said Hagrid with a wink.
"Maybe. What's in that cage?"
"Bugger, I almost forgot. It's your birthday present!" he exclaimed, handing him the cage where a beautiful snow owl was staring at him with keen eyes. "Isn't she pretty?"
"Thank you, Hagrid," whispered Harry, a little overwhelmed. He willed himself not to cry, lightly stroking the owl's feathers through the cage.
"I'll have to send you a gift," said Theo thoughtfully. "At least we'll be able to owl each other. I share my owl with Aunt Ophelia."
Harry smiled and nodded, at a loss for words.
***
Coming back to Privet Drive after his trip to Diagon felt brutal. But the Dursleys avoided him enough that he didn't feel their presence much and he finally had a room to hide in. He spent his days making notes of what he was reading, first his school material then the introductory books that catered to muggle-born and raised students, then the recent history books mentioning the war and his parents, which he read avidly.
He made the trip to Diagon Alley again less than a week later for his bank appointment and used the chance to buy himself clothes that actually fit him -some fancy ones to dress smartly at school and make a good impression, and cheaper ones to wear at the Dursleys. The shopkeeper clucked that he was too skinny and needed a shampoo for oily hair. He couldn't do much about his weight except treat himself to lunch at the Leaky Cauldron, but he made sure to go to a cosmetics wizarding shop to deal with his hair.
At two o'clock, he stood in front of Gringotts. He hadn't even made two steps inside before a goblin directed him to a private room. He felt his skin tingling as he passed through the threshold. His scar throbbed a bit and he put a hand to his forehead.
The goblin sitting at the desk looked at him through his half-moon glasses. His fangs were made of gold and he wore rings of the same metal on his long fingers. He looked stern, but he seemed to sneer a little less than the tellers in the halls.
"Don't fret, Mr Prince, those doors are meant to keep out identity usurpers and clients with malicious intent. As you are none of those things, you have no reason to worry."
"Er. Well met, mister Goldfang?
"Well met, mister Prince. Now sit down. Time is a precious currency, you see, and we don't have much of it." Harry did as he wad told. "Now, Griphook mentioned that you had questions. I have been the Prince House's account manager for three generations now, for your great-great-grandmother, your great-grandfather, and your father. I'm about to make it a fourth with you. Now that we have met, you'll receive monthly reports of the goings-on of your account, though you should see little movement in them, considering you won't be able to withdraw from the main vault unless you are seventeen or emancipated."
"Emancipation is an option?"
Goldfang pushed his glasses up his long nose.
"It is, mister Prince. It is usually granted to young wixen considered independent enough who don't have a suitable guardian. It probably won't be approved until you are at least fifteen years old, however. Is that something you want?"
"Yes," he whispered.
"Very well, we'll go back to this conversation after your fourteenth birthday. Now, as I was saying, you will receive monthly updates about your vaults and every semester, you will be told about the state of your family properties and investments. Maintaining them until your majority is the only thing your main vaults will be used for. Any questions?"
"You talk about plural vaults but how much are there? And who has the keys for them?"
"There are seven vaults in your name. Vault 712 is the vault of the House of Prince, containing the riches your family has amassed over the years. It will be opened when you become an adult. Vault 711 is also a House vault, this one meant for valuable heirlooms. You can access this one but any item taken has to be declared to the bank before being removed. Vault 278 is the vault where your parents' belongings have been relocated following the night of Halloween 1981. You can take anything you want from there. Vault 456 is your main trust vault, meant to pay for your schooling and essentials until your majority. It has a withdrawal limit of 500 galleons per year I believe. Vault 489 is the vault your godfather, the deceased Regulus Black allocated for you, and vault 197 is a courtesy of your godmother, Alice Longbottom. The withdrawal limits are the same as the main trust. Before you ask, miss Longbottom is currently in the Permanent Care of St Mungo's Hospital, hence why she wasn't considered as a suitable guardian for you. The last one, vault 004 was open by Albus Dumbledore so the letters and gifts you received after the end of the war wouldn't end up harassing your relatives at Privet Drive."
The goblin's lips curled slightly in derision. Harry grimaced, thinking of aunt Petunia's face if he'd received what Goldfang clearly implied to be fanmail.
"As for the keys, all but the trust vault key were sealed in a blood-warded chest which I currently keep in my office. You can either take them with you or make an appointment with me every time you want to open your vaults. Your trust vault key was withdrawn by Albus Dumbledore a month ago, acting as your magical guardian as per his right of in loco parentis. It means," he added as he saw Harry's confusion, "that as headmaster of your school, he is in the position to act on your behalf, which is sometimes extended to the summer for muggle-born or raised students."
The goblin grinned.
"The headmaster of your school is irritating for many reasons, but he is not a thief. Though I commend you for asking. A healthy dose of suspicion can save a life or a fortune, and someone as renowned as you are would do well to be on guard."
"Right. Thank you."
"Any other questions?"
"Could you tell me more about my parents? And the House of Prince? And er, the properties and investments?"
"I didn't know miss Lily Evans Prince really well, I only met her three times. Once before their marriage, once after and once to open your trust vaults, along with your godparents. She had a private account, which we were discussing possibly adding it to the vaults I managed. She was a shrewd woman, very intelligent. Her private vault was closed after her death and its contents added to the Prince vaults." He paused. "I've seen your father many times after the death of you great-grandfather, though I didn’t know him as well as I would have liked. As you noticed, no grandparent of yours was added to the list of Princes I dealt with. The reason is simple. Prince was your grandmother's maiden name. She was cast out of the family after she eloped with a muggle man named Tobias Snape, who was, I have been told, a really unpleasant man. Severus was reinstated into the family per the dying wish of his grandfather Aloisius, and took up the mantle of Head of the House of Prince after that."
"Did the Prince family dislike muggles?"
Goldfang shook his head.
"No, they were a neutral family. Traditional, but not opposed to muggleborns and magical creatures. Tobias Snape was a violent and greedy man, not because he was a muggle, but because he decided to be. Eileen Prince should never have married him, though it did give the House of Prince an exemplary scion in your father. It is a shame he died too early."
Harry didn't know what to make of the fact that his father had probably had a similar childhood as his. And he was more than surprised at the fondness the goblin exhibited for his family. The books he had read so far portrayed them as hateful of wixen. But then, he reasoned, they were the same history books who speculated he was being raised to be a master duelist.
"What about the properties?"
"You own five different properties. Prince Manor in the Moors, a flat in Hogsmeade currently being rented by a family of five, a farm in Ireland with a hippogriff herd -Aloisius was very fond of that one- and another flat in Bristol. I'm sorry to inform you that the house your parents lived in was relinquished to the ministry and turned into a national monument. Your parents are buried in the same city. It's a magical town called Riasmoore, an hour away from the Manor. And of course, there is Spinner's End, your father's childhood house. As for investments, the House of Prince mostly holds stocks in the potion ingredients business thanks to your father. I do not have his expertise in the subject but I managed to keep the influx of income steady. Your great-grandfather was more interested in magical creatures, so there is some of that as well.” He looked at Harry shrewdly. “Aloisius was a good businessman. He was wise, even in his youth, and I was proud to call him my friend. I look forward to working with another of his family."
Harry’s eyes widened.
"That's... a little overwhelming. But thank you, sir, for answering my questions."
"It is my job," said Goldclaw drily. Harry was pretty sure he had done a little more than his job but since he had no way to prove it he let it go. "Would you like to see your vaults now? Perhaps a tour is in order."
***
The morning of September 1st was spent pacing in front of the train station. Harry had woken up too early and, unwilling to spend longer than was necessary at his relatives' house, he'd summoned the Knight Bus at 6am and made his way to King's Cross. Later, he'd been thankful to have come early, since it had taken him way longer than it should have to find the hidden platform. Three hours after he left Privet Drive, Theo met him with his aunt in front of the just arrived Hogwarts Express. The woman was elegantly dressed in a white robe and gold jewelry with prominent runes engraved in her sleeves and necklace. She looked a lot like Theo, though her eyes were clearer and her face more angular. Her grey hair pulled in an intricate updo that made her look stern and sophisticated, though the apparent rigidity she gave off was offset by the fond way she looked at her cousin/nephew.
"Aunt Ophelia, Henry Prince. Harry, Aunt Ophelia."
"Er, well met, Madam."
"Well met, mister Prince. Theodore told me you corresponded this summer, I'm glad he's found a good friend. I'll leave you two to board the train, there's an early session at the Ministry."
Harry vaguely remembered Theo's aunt was a member of the wizarding equivalent of the House of Lords or something of the sort. It kept her busy and seemed pretty headache-inducing. The two Notts said their goodbyes and the elder disappeared with a twirl of her robe and the distinctive crack of apparition. That, of course, was only explained to Harry by a grinning Theodore after he swore in surprise at her disappearance.
"Should we go in?"
"Yeah, might as well find a good compartment."
They explored the train a bit and settled for a cosy compartment close to the conductor's room.
"Who drives this train?"
"I think it drives itself," said Theo thoughtfully.
"For real?"
“Uh huh."
***
They shared their compartment with Ron Weasley, who seemed happy to share his knowledge of wizarding sweets with Harry, anecdotes about Hogwarts given by his many brothers and an intense game of chess with Theo that delighted the both of them. When it came to the topic of spells, however.
Theo snickered.
"Your brothers pranked you good. That is not a spell."
"Really? Drat. What about this one?"
Ron held his pet cat in front of him when the door of the compartment opened again.
"Have you seen a toad? Neville lost his," asked a bushy-haired girl.
"We know," said Harry. "We told him to find a prefect."
Neville hadn’t truly introduced himself, but they had seen a young boy with a round face who had stuttered a greeting and asked after his pet. Then he saw Harry, turned promptly red and left the compartment. It had been embarrassing.
"Uh huh, prefects usually know the summoning charm. It takes less time to ask them than to search all over the train," added Theo.
"You're right," she said thoughtfully before turning to Ron. "Were you doing a spell? Let's see it then."
Harry and Theo couldn't contain their giggles as their new friend started up his spell. Luckily for the old cat, nothing happened to his fur, despite Ron’s best efforts to turn it yellow.
"Don't laugh! My parents cast spells silently so I rarely hear them. There was no way I'd know those spells weren't right."
"You'd know if you'd opened your textbooks," said the girl with an unimpressed tone. "I come from a non-magical family you see, and I was oh so excited to go to Hogwarts so I read all the textbooks in advance, and some more. It was so hard leaving the books I'd already read at home. I knew there was a library at Hogwarts, but I still wanted to take some personal reading with me. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way."
Ron mumbled an introduction, as unimpressed by the girl's bragging as she had been by his spellwork. Theo raised an eyebrow. Harry was pretty sure it was simply because the girl had offended his posh sensibilities by barging in and being rude to Ron and not because she was muggleborn. Harry himself didn't really like her attitude, but he knew those overachiever types from primary schools and he'd learnt to tune them out when they were being obnoxious. His two new friends had been homeschooled and probably didn't know how to deal with her.
"Theo Nott," he said blandly.
"And I'm Harry."
"You're Henry Prince! I read all about you in-"
"I'm sure you have. Can you maybe not tell me how much you know about the night of my parents' murder?" he asked drily.
Hermione flushed.
"Sorry."
"It's fine. How long have you known about magic? I lived with my muggle relatives and they didn't tell me about it. I got my letter last month on my birthday, that's how I learned."
"I got it a month before my birthday, in september last year."
"You're a year ahead of me then. Have you tried any spells?"
"That's… a big disadvantage to have. And no, we're not allowed to do magic outside of school. I read it in Hogwarts, A History. But, well. I studied the theory and I'm pretty sure I can." She bites her lip. She points her wand towards one of Ron's discarded chess pieces. "Wingardium Leviosa."
The pawn floats a centimeter in the air before falling back on the table with an indignant shout.
"Impressive," said Theo. "We all see the wisdom of reading ahead now, don't we Ron?"
Harry snickers while Ron shoves Theo with his shoulder.
"Prat."
"Git."
"Boys," muttered Hermione, shaking her head. "You should put your robes on. We'll be arriving soon."
"So bossy," muttered Ron.
***
"Henry Prince," called out Professor MacGonagal.
"The Henry Prince?" murmured the students, craning their necks to see the boy.
Harry nervously made his way to the stool and waited until the Headmistress plopped the Hat on his head.
"Hello?" he whispered.
"No need to speak, young man, just think at me."
Harry shuddered at the feeling of a voice in his head. The hat laughed.
"Your father had the same reaction!" He'd started learning to shield his mind already, and hearing me talk in his head only convinced him to work harder at it."
"I'll look into that, then," thought Harry, pleased to have something else in common with his father.
"Now, now, let me see… a curious mind, eager to learn. Loyal to your new friends already. Yearning to prove yourself… I think I know where to put you…"
"You can put me anywhere. I just want to make my parents proud."
"You could do that from any House, child. But such a thirst to prove yourself… Better be… SLYTHERIN!"
The applause was enthusiastic, though a bit slow to start. Harry did notice a few of his new housemates pointedly not clapping and resolved to memorize their faces. Like with Dudley and his friends, he'd make it a habit to never turn his back on them.
A tall girl with strawberry blond hair and a gleaming badge on her chest rose up to welcome him.
"Hiya, Prince. I'm Gemma Farley, the House's Prefect. The other fifth year prefect is this knucklehead, Terence Higgs," she pointed to a lanky teenager with dark skin and darker bags under the eyes. He seemed to be ready to fall asleep on the table. "Come on, go sit next to the other firsties. We'll come get you at the end of the feast. Do come to us if you have any questions before that."
Harry nodded with a grateful smile and sat down next to Theo, who was beaming widely.
"I knew you'd make it to Slytherin."
"How? I didn't even know myself."
"Because you're sneaky and driven. Gryffindor would have worked too I think, but you'd have ended up lazy in there."
"That's… fair actually."
"Do you know any of the other firsties?" he whispered.
"I know all of them so far, except Davis and Perks. Daphne's my cousin, my mom was a Greengrass. We're not close but she's nice enough."
"You don't look alike," he observed.
"We have the same nose, if you squint?"
Harry snorted.
"I think the blue eyes and blond hair are throwing me off. I'd sooner believe she's related to Malfoy."
Malfoy had tried to make an offer of friendship to Harry in the train. Harry had almost laughed in his face.
"Don't let her hear you said that, she hates him."
Harry and Theo clapped when Ron was sorted into Gryffindor, earning them frowns from their upperclassmen. Harry shrugged with a sheepish smile. He was allowed to be happy for his friend. The redhead grinned at them from the Gryffindor table.
Zabini was sorted into Slytherin and slid down next to Harry just in time for the Headmaster's speech.
"He's mad," said Harry, both apprehensive and delighted. Aunt Petunia definitely wouldn’t approve of a school with a nutter for a Headmaster, and he made it a point to enjoy everything his aunt disliked. "Well, at least we won't be bored."
Theo, Zabini and Greengrass snickered. Harry helped himself to some rice and chicken as he got to know his new housemates. He added Bulstrode, Perks, and Parkinson to the list of Malfoy's sycophants along with Crabbe and Goyle. The others he liked well enough. Davis -who turned out to be muggle born- and Greengrass were friendly though a bit too interested in his scar for his taste, but he found a potential new friend in Zabini -who asked him and Theo to call him Blaise soon after introducing himself.
Harry observed the professors' table. Theo was right, a lot of them had to have taught his parents. There was even one who looked like he was their age. He jumped in surprise when the young professor looked back at him and winked. He smiled sheepishly and averted his gaze, only to wince as he noticed the messy-haired man wasn’t the only teacher looking at him. Professor Quirrel’s intense staring made him uncomfortable, especially as it coincided with the beginning of a new headache starting with a throbbing of his scar. He hadn’t had one of those since Gringotts.
"You ok, Prince?" asked Blaise, who noticed him clutching at his head. Theo raised his head from his plate to look at him in concern.
"Just call me Harry," he mumbled. Wixen were so old-fashioned. "Forgot to say it earlier. I'm fine, my head just hurt for a moment."
"It's never good when a cursed scar starts aching," observed Theo. "If it happens again you should go to the infirmary."
"Sure," he agreed, though he had no intention of doing that. The school nurse at his previous school had had enough of his "trouble-making ways" and told him to stop coming to see her. He didn't want to alienate this one so early in the year.
Theo looked doubtful at his answer, but let it go.
"Hey, do you know Neville Longbottom?"
"That’s the Hufflepuff we saw on the train. The one with the toad?"
"His mum's my godmother. I was wondering if I should approach him," he admitted. "She's in the Permanent Ward at St Mungo's so it's not like she can… I'd still like to know about her."
"We can try and go talk to him when we have joint classes," suggested Theo. “Though if he runs away like he did before…” he snickered.
Harry smiled.
“Well, we’ll see. There’s Leo Black I want to talk to as well. I think he’s related to my godfather.”
“He seems to have gotten friendly with Ron,” observed Theo. And indeed, the two seemed to be in a very animated discussion. Ron was waving around his fork while talking, and some sauce flew and landed on Hermione’s cheek. Theo and Harry snorted. They watched the bushy-haired girl berate their new friend and waved when the redhead noticed them staring. Ron waved back and grinned.
“That’s Weasley, right?” asked Blaise.
“Yeah, we met him on the train. He’s cool.”
“One of his older brothers is in Slytherin too. Percy Weasley? The redhead with the glasses next to Higgs.”
“Oh, Ron told us about him. He’s a fourth year and he wants to be a prefect really badly. He’s a stickler for rules.”
“Speaking of prefects, I think Farley and Higgs are coming.”
“That’s right firsties, up you get,” said Gemma. “And call me Gemma."
“And I’m Terence. None of that Higgs nonsense. Now let’s go, the common room is all the way down in the dungeons.”