50All characters are the property of JK Rowling
Harry Potter wasn't what you would call an ordinary child. He was very well-spoken for a child his age and quite well-developed. While not the most outgoing of children at his school, he was unfailingly polite and always tried his best. At the age of 6 years, he was now walking back from school with his cousin Dudley and Aunt Petunia, while listening to Dudley ramble about a new word he had learned. He noticed that his Aunt looked to be in a pensive mood while listening half-heartedly to what Dudley was saying, when out of the blue she said to both boys, "When we get home, I think we need to have a discussion, boys. It probably should have happened a while ago, but I now think that you are both old enough and responsible enough to understand the seriousness of this conversation."
Both boys shared a glance before Harry, hesitantly, asked, "Is everything okay, Aunt Petunia? Are we in trouble?"
"No, boys, it's nothing about what you did," Aunt Petunia reassured them. "But this is definitely something that should only be talked about in the privacy of our own home. So why don't we keep walking, and when Vernon gets home, we can have this conversation," Petunia said while walking faster. Harry and Dudley were both curious, but no matter what they said, she would not talk about that topic anymore.
As they reached Privet Drive, the boys spotted Uncle Vernon's car in the driveway, indicating he was home. They raced each other up the driveway and burst into the house, much to Petunia's playful admonishment.
Petunia smiled as she entered the house, seeing her son and nephew hugging Vernon warmly. "Hello, pet," Vernon greeted her. "I hope these ruffians haven't been up to no good today."
"Of course not," Petunia replied. "They've been angels. But I think it's time we had a conversation about Harry's parents."
"What is this about my parents?" Harry asked eagerly, having never been told too much about them.
Petunia paused before replying. "This might be a bit hard to believe, but I will do my best to explain everything for you, but try to keep your questions till the end."
Nodding, Harry and Dudley sat down at the table, staring intently.
"When your mother was 11, she received a letter that changed our world. It was delivered by an owl and said that she was a witch and invited to a school named Hogwarts," Petunia said with a small look of longing on her face.
Harry and Dudley snickered quietly at Hogwarts, and Petunia told the boys, "Yes, yes. It's a very funny name." She paused before taking a deep breath and saying, "What this means is that you, Harry, are a wizard."
Harry stared wide-eyed before yelling out excitedly, "Wicked! Does this mean that I will get to go fly on broomsticks and fight other evil wizards before saving the world?"
"Now, now Harry, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Maybe you will save the world and maybe you will be an amazing flier, but you must always remember that you are just a person who should do their best," Vernon interjected, already worried about the circumstances that caused Harry to be left on his doorstep.
"You must also, under no circumstances, talk about this to anyone else outside of this room unless they already know about magic," Petunia stated seriously. "This is something that could ruin millions of lives if the knowledge of magic comes out to everyone."
Both boys paused to think before nodding slowly as they understood the importance of the secret they had just been entrusted with before Dudley spoke up sadly. "Does this mean that I won't get to be a wizard either?"
"To be honest Dudley, we don't know, but we will not treat either of you differently because of it, and we will love you the same," Petunia responded quickly.
"But we might change some things just to prepare either of you for the wizarding world, and although we don't know firsthand, there are some things that we learned that might help from what Lily did when at home," Vernon stated.
"The first thing we want to make sure of is that you can defend yourself because the wizarding world is dangerous, and we want you both to be safe," Petunia said seriously while making eye contact with Harry. "We will be enrolling you both in a karate class for self-defense and will start making you meditate every morning and night. According to Lily, it was to help balance yourself and make your magic flow easier, but even if it's not for magical purposes, meditation should help you at school."
"Although this might be a difficult change at the beginning, we just want what's best for both of you and to try and prepare you for the wizarding world," Vernon said. "Now I think that is enough serious talk, so why don't you boys go and play for now, and we will call you when it's time for dinner."
As both boys rushed up to Dudley's room to play, they heard Petunia fondly call out, "Boys, don't run in the house."
"So what do you think, Dud, was that a prank, or is that the truth?"
Dudley paused before responding seriously. "I don't know, but if it helps us get smarter and stronger, then I think it's worth it."
"Exactly," Harry agreed. "Let's put our all into it, even if it's just to make them proud."
Line Break
It had been nearly a year now, and Harry was about to turn 7 when he had an incident while meditating. He saw a bright light in front of him and reached out to touch it. Instantly, small items around him lifted off the ground. At this sight, Dudley, Petunia, and Vernon all reacted differently. Dudley reached out to touch the floating items, marveling, "This is wicked! I wish I could do that."
Petunia, worried about her vases, watched in relief as they dropped back down slowly. "Nothing broke, and everyone's okay. This is why we've been meditating."
Vernon was a bit different in that he was proud of Harry, knowing that he could never do something like that but still hopeful that Harry would soon be able to control it.
Harry nearly collapsed after that stunt and had to stay at home for two days to recover, but he continued to meditate and see the light. This time he paused and looked out at it, seeing just how vast it was. The more he looked, the more he could see. First, off the glowing green ball was the same color as his eyes. Then there was the vastness to it that made it hard to understand just how large it is. After a couple of days meditating, he managed to get closer without touching it, but as he did so, he noticed two things. First, there were chains wrapping around it, crisscrossing and compressing it wherever he looked. The second was that there was a black mark that seemed to be trying to dig into the glowing orb, and he felt a small amount of pain whenever he looked at it.
"Aunt Petunia," Harry called out. "I think there is something wrong with the ball? No, orb? No, Core? Yeah, I like that. My core, the one that I touched before, there is something very wrong with it. I have seen chains that are binding it and then there was this black thing that was digging into it and seemed to be taking some of the energy."
"Are you in pain?" Petunia asked with concern, and when he shook his head no. "Then I think that we might need to find a way to get you to a magical hospital just to get that looked at, but I don't think we need to do it until the weekend. I'll tell Vernon when he gets back from work."
Line Break
"Okay, you know the plan, right?" Petunia checked for the third time that morning.
"We go into Gringotts and ask them to check for us, and if not, then we ask if they know how to get to the hospital, and make sure that my scar is covered because we don't know if I'm well-known because of it," Harry stated in a bored tone.
"Don't you take that tone with me, Harry, I'm just nervous to see the magical world after all these years," Petunia responded shortly.
"I'm sorry, Aunt Petunia, but I'm sure it will be fine."
After getting Tom to open the way into Diagon Alley, Harry was staring wide-eyed at his first glimpse of the magical world. The shops that should not be able to hold themselves up, the bright colors of sparks being shot out of wands to entertain kids, the broomsticks that were on display, the big marble building at the end of the Alley that said Gringotts with the vicious-looking guards at the entrance.
While the pair walked through the Alley, they were sticking close together and trying not to bump into anyone. With a quick sideways glance at the guards to the side of the entrance, Petunia and Harry walked quickly towards the line that said non-monetary assistance.
"Excuse me, Mr. Grimclaw, could you please tell me if the goblins have healers and if they would be willing to help me with an issue with my core?" Harry stated nervously.
"Yes, we have healers, and yes, they will assess your issue and depending on how serious it is, we will heal it, but it may be painful, and you will need to pay," he replied curtly. "Please walk that way, and Bloodsword will lead you to the healers."
As they walked, they were looking around for defining features, and they soon got lost, without any hope of getting out if they weren't following Bloodsword. Soon they arrived at a door that had 'infirmary' written on it, and Bloodsword said, "Go in here."
"Thank you, Mr. Bloodsword," Harry said before walking through.
When Harry and Petunia walked through the door, they saw a slightly smaller and less aggressive-looking goblin that said, "Hello, my name is Healer Brightlight, what seems to be the issue today, Mr. Potter."
"How did you know who I was? I covered my scar and everything," Harry said in surprise.
"The wards inform us of who people are and if they are wearing any glamor or potion to disguise themselves," she replied.
"Oh well, that makes sense, I guess. But the reason that I am here today is that my core has chains across it and a black blob that is ramming into it and seems to take small amounts of my magic."
"May I do some scans on you to test what is happening?" Brightlight asked, and when she received a positive response, she waved her hand at Harry, and a piece of paper appeared. As she read it, she made numerous sounds of surprise before finally becoming angry at the end of it. "Mr. Potter, there are numerous issues with your core that we will go through one by one. First, your core was bound 7 times, which are each making it harder and harder for your core to expand and be used. The second thing is that all of your natural abilities and affinities are bound as well. I can't tell you exactly what they are, but Gringotts does have a test to tell you what the abilities are, as well as if you have an inheritance, but we can get that off for you."
"Are you saying that someone has bound Harry's core? Why?" Petunia angrily interjected.
"I would assume to make sure that he is easier to kill in revenge for killing the dark lord Voldemort," Healer Brightlight said. "But I cannot be sure, and it is not really my place to say. Anyway, the most important thing is that you have a horcrux in your head; this is, in essence, a piece of someone's soul and can be leeching off your magic to sustain itself. We can remove all the magical blocks and the horcrux over a week, with the last and biggest binding being done with the horcrux, and we will do it free of charge as these abominations deserve to be destroyed."
"So you would be removing one block a day?" Harry asked.
"Yes, you would be staying here for a week as the bindings are removed through rituals until the last binding, which could be removed on your 7th birthday, and the soul piece would be destroyed," Brightlight stated. "I can make the arrangements for your Aunt to stay with you, but no one else can come into contact with you, as your magic might be fluctuating for a few days, and it would recognize your Aunt."
After sharing a quick look, Harry said, "Let's do it."
Line Break
The week before Harry's birthday, Harry went to Gringotts and was led to Healer Brightlight, who greeted him with a small smile and said, "Hello, Mr. Potter. We are all ready for you, and we will be starting today. Please follow me."
As they went down the hallways, Harry already lost track of where he was until he was led into a door that was labeled "ritual room." There were seven goblins on the points of a star drawn on the ground with what looked like another language inscribed in specific points. The room was a large cathedral with an arched roof that wouldn't have looked out of place in a church. Petunia was told to stay outside, and Harry was led into the center.
"Mr. Potter, make sure that you take off any magical items and stay as still as possible. This one will not be very painful as it is blocking the smallest amount, but with the amount of magic being released by the seventh ritual, it will be very painful. It is crucial that you remain in the center of the circle, though, and if after a few rituals you don't think you will be able to stay, then we will have to strap you down," Healer Brightlight said seriously.
After stepping into the center of the ritual, Harry asked, "Is it ok if I meditate and look at my core as you do this?"
This made the goblins pause, and after a quick conversation in gobbledygook, they decided to let him do it as long as he didn't fight the goblins.
"Ok, I'm ready," Harry said.
As soon as he said those words, the goblins started chanting, and Harry started to meditate. As he looked into his core, he saw one of the smaller chains start to loosen a bit, and then he saw what looked like seven goblins pulling on it. He decided to help them. As he went down and pulled, he saw the progress going faster, and the pain was lessening the more that he focused on pulling. After what felt like two hours but was closer to one hour, Harry came out of his meditation feeling better than when he went in. He was then led into the same infirmary that he was in the first time he went to Gringotts.
Line Break
While this was happening inside a castle in Scotland, one machine of eight suddenly stopped working, but luckily, the headmaster was not inside his office and would not be for the rest of the week.
Day by day, Harry would get one binding removed, and by the time his birthday rolled around, he was feeling much better and could actively feel his magic moving around inside him when he was feeling for it. As it was the last and biggest binding being removed and the horcrux, he was pacing around in his room before the last ritual. It had been a big week for him, and it was about to be the most important day of said week. The biggest risk to his health was being removed, and it would also give him the power of an above-average wizard, as his first magical maturity would happen immediately after the binding was removed.
When he walked into the ritual room, he settled into a comfortable position and said, "I'm ready."
This was the ritual for which he was needed the most. By now, the goblins were used to having Harry help them, but the problem was that the horcrux was fighting back, and they were struggling. As the goblins pulled once more, the horcrux was screaming, and Harry was in more pain than he had been before, but he knew that this had to be taken out of him. As he gave one big push, it was gone from his core, and in the outside world, the Horcrux screamed until it went into a preplanned rock that would later be destroyed. After that, the goblins went for the binding, and Harry started to feel his core shake a little bit until the binding was loose and gone.
As soon as the binding was gone, the entire chamber shook, and the occupants pushed away from Harry. He had passed out but was going through his first magical maturity when his core was already the size of an average wizard. Although he wouldn't know how to use it and he wouldn't be aware of it, his core at the current size would rival that of Filius Flitwick, a world dueling champion, and Bellatrix Lestrange, one of the most feared lieutenants of Voldemort.
Eventually, the shockwave passed, and Harry was moved to the infirmary to get his final checkup before leaving for home.
When Harry was leaving the bank, he remembered the tests about abilities and inheritance and decided that he wanted to have them, so he asked Petunia, "Petunia, could I get the abilities and inheritance test now that I am 7 years old?"
"Of course, Harry. I am quite curious about what you could have as such a powerful young wizard."
"Excuse me, Grimclaw, could I please have the inheritance and abilities test?"
"Put one drop of blood on each of these pieces of paper, please."
Harry put it on the inheritance paper first, and what he saw was a very full page. It said that he was:
Heir Apparent to the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter.
Heir Apparent to the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black.
Heir Apparent to the Most Revered and Most Noble House of Gryffindor.
Heir Apparent to the Most Revered and Most Noble House of Ravenclaw.
Heir Apparent to the Most Revered and Most Noble House of Hufflepuff.
Heir Apparent to the Most Revered and Most Noble House of Slytherin (Conquest).
"Is there any information that you can give me on the vaults and what is in them, Grimclaw?" Petunia asked.
"Yes," he said curtly, and when he snapped his fingers, 18 pages of paper appeared. "On the first page is any money or land that is owned; the second page is any investments that the family owns, and the third page is any items that are in the vault that are not money."
"Thank you, Grimclaw," Harry said before pricking his finger over the other piece of paper, which now showed:
Metamorphmagus.
Animagus (potential).
Mage sight (potential).
Parseltongue.
Parselmagic.
Wandless magic (potential).
Dual Wielder (potential).
"As a brief overview of your abilities, a Metamorphmagus can change their body, and some can change more than others, like their entire face or just hair and eyes. An Animagus is changing into an animal, which you have the potential for but need to train it; mage sight is seeing magic, which again you need to train. Parseltongue and parselmagic are speaking to snakes and doing magic in the snake tongue, which would need training, I would assume. Wandless magic is doing magic without a wand, and again, you would need to practice. A Dual Wielder allows someone to wield two wands simultaneously. Now, unless you have any more business with Gringotts, goodbye," Grimclaw said.
As they were walking out the door, Harry said to Petunia, "I feel like a new person, like I am able to actually feel the world around me. It's great, and I am so glad that I was able to get it fixed here, especially the Horcrux."
"Me too, Harry, me too."
Line Break
After having the blocks removed, Harry was able to meditate even easier and found that his memory was now eidetic. He had started to work on the wandless magic that he had the potential for. Harry made sure to start out small; first, he levitated a leaf, then he started to move it around more in all different directions. After about a year of this exercise with increasingly heavy items, he managed to lift Vernon's car for about 30 seconds. Throughout the year, Harry even started to lift multiple items at once with varying weights to work on control. By the end of the year, Harry could now have 10 items orbiting him in different directions and make a small orb which was formed by the objects going around him.
Throughout his meditation, Harry managed to create a mindscape around his core. He made a mansion which had the core in a basement and with all his memories hidden throughout different rooms with the library focused on his knowledge and sorted into specific sections. Eventually, he found out that there is a time dilation in his mindscape, which has slowly been increasing, which was about 1 minute outside is 1 and a half minutes inside.
By the time Harry is 11 years old, he has now finished high school based on his knowledge, but he hasn't graduated as he doesn't want the attention, but there is also the knowledge that he has gained about his wandless magic and metamorphmagus talents. He can change the length and color of his hair, the color of his eyes, and some very small features on his face. Harry now has his brown belt in karate and has also learned more about the houses that he is the Heir to, the wizarding politics, the history, and how he is considered the Boy-Who-Lived and some of the basics of magic. His magical abilities are also coming along nicely; he now has the equivalent of telekinesis with his wandless magic and has now managed to change some small items into others after accidentally changing his teacher's hair color once.
On his eleventh birthday, he sees an owl flying towards their house and yells out, "Guys, it's here. My Hogwarts letter is here."
"Let's go then, Harry; we can go and get you some more books on the theory of magic along with your books and equipment," Petunia replied.
"YAY! More books on magic," Harry responded excitedly. "I'll see you later, Dudley."
"Man, time flies by; I remember when I first came here for Gringotts," Harry said, still looking around at all the sites.
"Yeah, it was a good thing that we came here or something else might have happened which ruined your magical potential. Anyway, enough of that depressing talk, let's go and get your stuff. You go and get your robes; I'll go and get your potions equipment and a trunk with multiple compartments, and then we can meet up at Flourish and Blotts to get your school books. After that, we can get your wand. Did you want any specific compartments?"
"Can I have a wardrobe one, a potions one, a library, a dueling chamber, a study, a place to sleep, and a regular one for convenience?"
"Of course, but we might need to pick it up later."
Line Break
After a fairly expensive shopping trip and getting way more books than needed, Harry and Petunia went to Ollivanders and were startled when they walked into the shop and heard a voice say, "Ah, I was wondering when I would see you here, Mr. Potter. My name is Garrick Ollivander, and I remember every wand I sold; your fathers was very good for transfiguration while your mothers was more aligned to charms. I am sure that you will find your wand here, as have many Potters before you. Now let's start finding you a wand." With a rub of his hands, Harry saw a measuring tape start measuring all around him while Ollivander asked, "Now, Mr. Potter, which is your wand hand?"
"I'm ambidextrous and apparently a dual wielder according to a test from Gringotts," Harry replied nervously.
"Wonderful, we will try and pair them one at a time; let's try this one, oak and dragon heartstring, 12 ¾ inches, excellent for transfigurations. Give it a wave." Ollivander said with a smile. Before even getting to wave his wand completely, Ollivander said, "Nope, try this one, birch and unicorn hair, 11 ½ inches, excellent for charms." As Harry gave it a wave, he managed to shatter every window in the shop, and Ollivander quickly said, "Nope, definitely not," while repairing the store.
This pattern went on for nearly half an hour before Ollivander said, "Here, holly and phoenix core, 11" this one is an unusual combination." As Harry swished the wand, every shelf in the store broke, which caused a huge mess around the store. "Oh dear, I really thought that would be the wand; it shares a core with the one that gave you the scar on your forehead. But it appears that we may need to try and make you two custom wands as this is the last wand in the store. Please follow me through to my workshop."
When walking through the door, Harry looked around in wonder at all the blocks of wood and jars of various parts of magical creatures. As Harry followed Ollivander to the blocks of wood, he thought he saw some wands that were in progress but couldn't be sure before Ollivander told him to place his hand over the blocks of wood until he felt one with a connection. While running his hands over the blocks of wood, four felt warmer than the others, and he picked them up with two in each hand. In his right was elder and ebony, and in his left was holly and maple.
"Hmm, elder for death and power generally unyielding, ebony for power, purity, balance, and protection; this will be an interesting wand. Maple for healing and protection, and holly for peace and goodwill," Ollivander muttered to himself. "Please come over to the cores and do the same for me."
As Harry walked over to the section with cores, he felt something pulling him to the left, then picked up one jar with his left hand, which looked to be filled with a slightly glowing powder. The jar in his right hand looked to be empty, but he could feel something in it before he placed them with the woods from their respective hands. As he went back again, he found a jar labeled dragon heartstring, which he picked up with his right hand and a phoenix feather in his left.
"Hmm, very interesting. It looks like your wand for your left hand will be better for protection and healing with the phoenix feather and powdered unicorn horn that was willingly given. Whereas your right hand will be for offense as it is a warrior's wand with the dragon heartstring and thestral tail hair. I would liken it to a sword and shield with the sword in your right hand and shield in left, but I would not limit yourself to dueling like that as both wands will be willing to fight to protect you," Ollivander said to Harry seriously. "Now these wands will probably take quite a while to make, so if you could come back in three hours, these wands should be ready then.
"Let's go and pick up your trunk, Harry; it should be done soon, and then we can go to Florean Fortescue's for an ice cream," Petunia interjected.
Line Break
After 3 hours in the Alley looking around at various shops, Harry opened the door to Ollivanders and saw Ollivander with two boxes on the countertop and greeted, "Hello, Ollivander, are they done?"
"Yes, and they are some of my finest works, if I may be as bold as to say. This one is Elder and Ebony, 13 inches with a dragon heartstring from one of the oldest Hungarian Horntails that ever existed and a thestral tail hair, a wand for a warrior if I've ever seen one," Ollivander said, before handing it over to Harry who took it with his right hand as a bright light took over the store which was emanating from Harry and left the store looking spotless. "One of the stronger connections I've witnessed," Ollivander mused. "Now this one is holly and maple, 12 and ¾ inches with a phoenix feather covered in powdered unicorn horn, one made for the protection of its user and others." When Harry picked up the wand, the faint sound of a phoenix song and a feeling of happiness came about within the store.
"Thank you, Ollivander; do you have anywhere that I can hold these and something to clean and maintain the wands?" Harry said happily.
"Of course, here is a holster for each wand and a polishing kit. This puts your total to 20 galleons and 8 sickles: 7 for each of the wands, 3 for each holster, and 8 sickles for a polishing kit," Ollivander responded.
As Harry tried to pay, Petunia had already put the money on the counter and turned to Harry to say sternly, "Just because you are one of the richest wizards in the world doesn't mean that as your Aunt I am not going to take care of you. I am glad that you stayed humble, but I am still going to spoil you when I can. Now let's go to the pet store to try and get you an owl so we can stay in touch while you're at Hogwarts."
Line Break
As Harry and Petunia walked into the pet store called the Magical Menagerie, Harry immediately walked over to the avian section. It was a very crowded store which made it hard for Harry to follow what was calling to him. "Is there something that you are looking for?" Petunia asked.
"I'll know it when I see it; the feeling is hard to describe but it is similar to when I chose the cores for the wands," Harry responded before walking off. While walking through the store, Harry saw a white snowy owl that was staring straight at him. "That's the one," he said confidently.
While walking over to her, the store owner managed to meet him in front of her cage before warning him, "Watch out; she's a feisty one, has bit the fingers of the last few people who tried to buy her."
Harry didn't stop and reached through the bars while whispering to the owl, "You wouldn't peck me; you're such a beautiful owl. Do you want to come with me?" As the owl shook their head yes, Harry opened the cage and said to the owner, "I'll take her, how much?"
"20 Galleons, but I'll throw in a perch since no one has been able to buy her for such a long time," he replied.
"Now what to name you, I read about the name Hedwig in one of my history books, is that good enough for such a regal owl like you?" Harry said while Petunia paid. After Hedwig made a positive motion, Harry said, "You're such an intelligent owl, aren't you? Hedwig will be a good name for you."
Line Break
As the family walked through King's Cross at 10:30 on September 1st, with Harry's trunk, Dudley said to Harry with a cocky grin, "When you get back, I'll finally be a higher belt than you."
"Ha, in your dreams, Dud," Harry replied fondly.
As Petunia turned to hug Harry, she said, "Make sure to write at least once a week, do your best, make friends, and have fun."
"Of course, Aunt Petunia," Harry replied while returning the hug.
"You do your best, Harry, and you will make all of us proud," Vernon said gruffly.
"I will, and thank you for driving me here, but now I need to go so I don't miss the train," Harry said to the Dursley family. When he waved one last time, he broke into a run at the barrier and closed his eyes before the impact. When he didn't feel one, he opened his eyes and saw a bright red steam train that said Hogwarts Express. Looking around the platform there was a large number of families saying goodbye and waving their children off, and with one last look at them, he walked onto the train and found a compartment that was empty.
As he sat down with a book that he grabbed, a book on the basic theories of magic which was recommended for all Muggle-raised children to help understand what they were learning, the book explained that at its most basic, magic was just willpower, intent, and visualization, and that wands helped with requiring less power. The incantation and wand movement were to help with visualization and intent. As he was getting to a part of the book that explained how silent casting and point casting were possible, the door to his compartment opened.
"Hi, all the other compartments are full, do you mind if I sit here?" a boy with red hair and freckles said.
"Of course, my name is Harry Potter, what's yours?"
"My name is Ron Weasley," he responded before sitting down opposite Harry, "Do you have the scar?" Ron asked.
Harry looked at him coolly then asked, "Are you talking about the scar that I got on the night that my parents died?"
Not realizing the danger that he was in, he replied. "Yeah, the lightning bolt on your forehead. That You-Know-Who gave you when you killed him."
"I'm going for a walk, Mr. Weasley, please be gone by the time I am back; I'm sure that you can find some other compartment that either isn't full or will let you join them," Harry said frostily.
While walking out of the compartment, Harry heard Ron say, "What's his problem? I just asked about his scar."
While walking down the train, Harry ran into a girl who introduced herself as Hermione Granger, asking if he had seen a toad. He decided to help them find it and asked one of the prefects to summon it for them. Once the toad was safely stored in a conjured container, he sat down with Hermione and Neville, the boy who lost his toad, and they quickly became fast friends and talked until there was a knock on the door.
"I've heard Harry Potter was in this compartment," the boy said before turning to Harry and continuing, "It must be you. Why are you hanging out with a squib and mudblood? I can show you the right people to hang out with." Then he stuck out his hand and said, "I'm Draco Malfoy, and you should definitely be friends with me and not these losers."
"Well, Heir Malfoy of the Noble house of Malfoy, why would I leave the company of Heir Longbottom of the Most Ancient and Most Noble house of Longbottom for you when both of us have been in an alliance for centuries and your family has just come to Britain after having been disgraced from France," Harry replied while staring him down. Having read numerous books on politics, he knew that he outranked the Malfoy Heir by a lot but it would still be disrespectful to not shake his hand, so as he shook his hand, he continued saying, "I will not be friends with someone who disrespects my friends, but if you can change your attitude then maybe in the future we could be friends."
"Enjoy your train ride then, Heir Potter," he replied stiffly before turning on his heel and walking out.
"Thanks for standing up for us, Harry, and I didn't know that you were aware of the alliance," Neville said shakily.
"Of course, I would stand up for you guys; you guys are my friends, and I have sent a letter to your grandmother to solidify the alliance over the next holidays," Harry said with a smile.
"What was that about you guys? I have so many questions, and Harry, you totally put him in his place," Hermione said quickly while practically bursting with questions.
"Woah, Hermione, slow down; let me give you a brief overview, and then you can ask your questions. First off, something that you need to understand is that in the wizarding world, certain houses have different amounts of power due to their contributions to the creation of the government or their wealth and how long they have been around. My house and Neville's house are both Most Ancient and Most Noble houses for various reasons; we are most ancient because we have been around for 1000 years or longer; personally, my line goes back even further; this meant that we were around when the government was formed, and we were given a seat on the Wizengamot which we will talk about later. Our houses are Most Noble because of the amount of wealth that we have which means that our houses are some of the richest in the world. Are you with me so far?" Harry paused while waiting for a response. When Hermione signaled positively, he continued.
"The title Noble comes when a family acquires a certain amount of wealth which, for example, the Malfoy family has that wealth but they are not ancient as they have not been around for 500 years in Britain. The Ancient title comes from being in Britain for 500 years but a family can be Ancient but not Noble like the Weasley's who are poor but have been pureblood for a long time. In the Wizengamot, each family gets a certain amount of votes based on the titles that they hold. Each person who is the head of a family and on the Wizengamot is a Lord or Lady, families that are only Ancient or Noble but not both have 1 vote, a family who is Ancient and Noble has 2 votes, a family who is Most Ancient and Noble or Ancient and Most Noble has 3 votes, and a family that is Most Ancient and Most Noble has 4 votes. But there is a fee that must be paid so some families with those titles don't get to sit on the Wizengamot.
There are a few seats that are able to vote even without being a part of those families; the ministry heads and the minister each get 2 votes, and people with an order of Merlin first class have 1 vote. Then there is the head of the Wizengamot who has 1 vote and is called the Chief Warlock which is our Headmaster Albus Dumbledore," Harry said while making sure that Hermione was listening.
"So what does all that have to do with what you said to Malfoy?" Hermione said curiously.
At this stage, Neville interjected, "What he did was insult two people who were far above his station, and Harry reminded him of that, while also subtly insulting his family. But he shook his hand at the end because it would have been a huge insult to him and his family to not shake his hand, and he gave Heir Malfoy a chance to change his behavior before becoming our friends."
"Neither of us really cares about someone's station on who we make friends with; it is much more important that they are kind and a good wizard or witch," Harry said while making eye contact with Hermione. "But it is important for people like him, and we are willing to remind him that by his beliefs we are already better than him. But we are glad that you are our friend, Hermione."
As Hermione started tearing up, she launched herself at Harry from across the compartment before knocking the wind out of him and hugging him very tightly. "Thanks, Harry, I'm glad that you're my friends too."
Line Break
As the trio got closer to Hogwarts, they changed into their robes as they heard a bell signaling the 5-minute mark. As they felt the train stop, they walked off onto the platform and looked around in wonder at the floating lights that were illuminating the station just enough that you had to strain your eyes to see, the carriages that students were getting on that looked like they were pulling themselves, and the fog that seemed to be blocking any view of more than 100 meters away from the station. While looking around, they heard a loud voice booming over the sound of hundreds of students yelling out, "First years over here, first years."
"Wow, that is one huge man," Harry said to the others. "Let's go."
"First years to me!" The large man yelled. "My name is Rubeus Hagrid, and I am the keeper of keys for Hogwarts. We will be going over the lake tonight, so get on the boats, no more than four to one boat." As he looked around, he yelled out, "Everyone onboard? Onwards."
The fourth person on their boat was a kind-looking redhead who introduced herself as Susan Bones. As the four talked a bit about themselves, Hogwarts came into view, and all conversation ceased. Perched majestically atop the hill was Hogwarts Castle, a colossal structure boasting six towering spires that seemed to stretch endlessly toward the heavens. Its ancient stone walls, adorned with countless windows, were aglow with the warm light of the setting sun, casting a magical aura around the castle. As the final rays of daylight dipped behind the castle's silhouette, creating a breathtaking backdrop, a collective gasp escaped the lips of the first years. Their wide eyes reflected awe and wonder as they beheld their new home for the next seven years.
Authors Note
This is my first try writing a story or fanfiction like this, I'm sorry if there are too many errors in it and I will try to update it around once a month but sometimes life gets busy, feel free to review if you enjoy it or hate it because I will try to listen to feedback