Kingdom Of Magic [AU - Crossover with Hime-chan's Ribbon]

[Pokota]

(Yes, I'm perfectly aware that this is already on Fanfiction.net; does it count as stealing if it's already my own work?)

INDEX:

Spoiler: show

#1 - Ribbon and Stone
Prologue - Little Whinging Nights
Chapter 1 - The Incident At The Zoo
Chapter 2 - Giant, Cat, and Bumblebee
Chapter 3 - Diagonally
Chapter 4 - Friends
Chapter 5 - The Hat That Thinks
Chapter 6 - The Week In Review
Chapter 7 - None at Bag-End, but Plenty at Hogwarts
Chapter 8 - The More Things Change
Chapter 9 - Filler for Filler
Chapter 10 - Christmas Reflections
This will be updated with links as the chapters get posted

SUMMARY: Who would have thought that just being born on British soil was all that was needed for admittance to Hogwarts?

[Pokota]

Ribbon And Stone
Prologue - Little Whinging Nights

It was the end of December, and "Some Weird Japanese Romance Movie" had just hit it big in Surrey. How it got to Surrey in the first place is anyone's guess, but the end result was that the director of the movie wound up spending the winter there. The Director, one Tarou Nonohara, along with his wife Hanako and daughter Aiko, were staying in a hotel not too far from Little Whinging. True, there had been some problems getting there (what with Hanako expecting and all), and there were rumors that crime was rampant, but they had made the trip safely. Hanako wasn't due for another two weeks anyway, and they'd be safely back in Japan long before then.

That's what they said when they left. Now, they were frantically trying to get to a hospital. It was five-thirty in the afternoon on December 31st, and while traffic was lighter than it could have been, it was still frustrating. Especially since the car in front hadn't noticed that they were clear to turn.

HONK, HONK!

Instead of pulling away, the driver's side door opened, and out stepped a large, beefy man with very little neck.

"IS there a problem?" asked the beefy man. It was clear that he had no intention of helping.

"[My wife is going into labor, and you're clear to turn. Please move your car so that we can get to a hospital.]"

The beefy man looked at Tarou as though he had two heads. "Damn Japs, always trying to do three times as much as the rest of the world. What's your problem, eh? Golf ball in the wrong hole?" He chuckled at his own joke.

Hanako sighed, and said forcefully (and in only slightly accented English) "Move your car so I can have my baby in a hospital! Or would you like to deliver?"

Faced with both the force of a woman in labor and the prospect of having to deal with another non-hospital childbirth, Vernon Dursley quickly went back to his car and, in his panic, drove in the completely opposite direction that he intended to.

Something in his mind told him that he had not seen the last of those foreigners.
----------
Six months later, Vernon Dursley and his wife had a small run-in with another family of foreigners.

Literally.

It was a drab and rainy afternoon, and the Dursleys were just on their way back from Petunia's parents' house. Neither of them wanted to speak about the Potters. The roads were slick, but Vernon, arrogant as he was, did not drive any slower than usual.

Which is why he hit the car in front of him at the next stop light. Thankfully, nobody was injured, and the damage was minimal, but the person inside the car was what made it a problem.

"Brilliant." Muttered Vernon Dursley under his breath, when both men had finished surveying the damage. "I don't suppose we can just forget about this?"

"[Wet roads, hit from behind...] Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Inspector Kobayashi with Interpol."

"In... Interpol?" paled Vernon.

"No need to be alarmed; this is nothing major, and I see no reason to pursue anything."

"Er, if you say so Sir."

"Just promise me you'll be more careful tonight." said the Inspector with a hint of threatening in his voice.

"Of-of Course!"
----------
Unknown to either the Dursleys or any of the foreigners they had run across, a woman in London was standing outside of a run-down office building, waiting for someone. Out of the glass, as though it was not there, came a man dressed in white robes. He was carrying a small girl in his arms. The man and woman kissed, then disappeared into the night. Only their families knew that the little girl was soon to be known as Hikaru Smethwyck, and only Healer Smethwyck knew what future lay in store for his daughter.

He silently prayed that his daughter would grow up without the war that darkened the Wizarding World for so many years. Little did he know that his wish would be granted, thanks to a combination of betrayals and sacrifices. Perhaps, had he known what the cost would have been, he would have never wished it. Still, it happened. A year and some months later, on October 31st... well, I'm sure you know the rest.

Vernon Dursley had never had a normal life, no matter what he said to the contrary.

[Pokota]

Ribbon and Stone
Chapter 1 - The Incident At The Zoo

Harry Potter could not remember having a better day than he was having today. Dudley's birthday usually meant being cooped up in Mrs. Figg's house, looking at pictures of cats, eating stale chocolate, getting paid to clean house (five pounds for cleaning the litter box, ten for the dishes). Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he shouldn't be happy that the old woman had broken her leg, but had she not, he wouldn't be sitting here eating a lemon-flavored Shaved Ice Pop at Aunt Petunia's expense.

That was when he first heard it.

"But Sei, I don't want to do that."

"I get that, but I'm going to be leaving for Hogwarts soon, and I won't get to see you anymore."

Harry looked around, and thought he saw a yellow-haired boy talking to a snake. Carrying his Shaved Ice with him, Harry cautiously approached the boy and the snake. He'd never told his aunt and uncle, but he'd been talking with the snakes in the garden whenever Petunia made him do the weeding.

"I asked the zookeeper, and he's happy to have a python like you." The yellow-haired boy noticed the snake lean back, then turned around. "Er, hello, this isn't what-"

"I can do it too." Harry said, before the yellow-haired boy could lie. "Talk to snakes, I mean."

The yellow-haired boy sighed in relief, looked around, then dropped his voice low. "You're a wizard, too?"

"Wizards don't exist, at least that's what Uncle Vernon says."

"Only wizards can talk to snakes, and even then it's rare. I'm Sei Arei."

"Harry Potter."

The boy's eyes widened. "HARRY POTTER!" Sei yelled loudly. "I can't believe I get to meet Harry Potter! This is... wow, I never thought... and here you are... Wait until I tell Fred and George!"

At this, Petunia noticed a not-quite-blond boy hissing at Harry. "Oh, damn. Harry, leave that poor boy alone, he's not right in the head."

Harry looked at his aunt. "Why can't he believe that he got to meet me?"

Petunia glared at Harry. "Don't make things up, he was hissing at you like a madman."

Sei looked from Harry to Petunia. "I'm not hissing like a madman, I'm speaking in Parsel."

"He's speaking in parsley."

"Speaking in parsley." repeated Petunia. "Right, Vernon was right, bringing you was not a good idea. You're staying right next to me until we get you back to your Closet, boy."

"What does she mean, 'your closet'?"

"I sleep in the cupboard under the stairs."

"Stop hissing at him, boy, people are staring..." Nervously, Petunia led Harry back to the car.
----------
Later in the day, Sei was standing next to the snake tank when Problem and Danger... erm, Piers and Dudley came blundering by, accompanied by Vernon Dursley, Petunia, and Harry. Sei winked at Harry, then turned back to the snake tank.

"He's not doing much of anything, is he?" Dudley asked after a minute of watching the sleeping snake.

"Tap on the glass!" Piers whined. Tap, tap. Still nothing.

Sei's hand dropped into his pocket. "Harry, over here!" With that hiss, Harry started towards Sei.

"Hiya Sei! This is my uncle and aunt and cousin and... and my cousin's friend Piers." Harry finished lamely. Dudley's mouth dropped. Harry had a friend?

Petunia, Vernon, and Piers were staring in shock. The two boys, Harry and the yellow-haired boy, were hissing at each other, but smiling all the same. It was almost as though they could understand each other.

Dudley, tired of being ignored, pushed his way into the boys. "Hello, I'm Dudley Dursley, Harry's cousin."

Before any of the boys could react, Vernon had grabbed Dudley, and Petunia had grabbed Harry. "Enough of that. We're going home, that boy's insanity is catching. I'll not have my son hissing like a maniac!"

Sei stood sadly by the snake tank. "Hey, was that other boy talking in Parsel?"

"I believe so. Is it entirely impossible for a muggle to speak Parsel?"

"I guess that'll be something worth looking in to when I get to Hogwarts."

"Can't you take me with you?"

"The letter said I-"

"I read the letter, but can't you get special permission?"
----------
"Dudley, why were you and Harry hissing at that boy?" Piers asked quietly on the way home.

"Hissing? We were just talking regularly. Like we are now." Dudley looked even more confused than usual, which Harry thought was an accomplishment.

"Dudley, you were hissing and spitting at the boy. If he hadn't started it, I'd say you were trying to pick a fight."

Dudley turned to Harry. "Harry, wasn't I talking normal?"

"We all were, I think."

Petunia had to bite her tongue to keep herself from saying it. Unfortunately, Vernon had no such restraint. "Dudley, are you sure asking Harry if you were being normal is a good idea? He's as abnormal as they get, remember?"

Unknown to the car, they were being followed by an eagle owl. It had taken Sei less than a minute to find Bill Weasley, who passed the message along to the other Weasleys that Harry Potter slept in a cupboard under the stairs. Conveniently, Dumbledore was there, and he very quickly penned a howler to the Dursleys, which had almost beaten them home.

The red envelope sat on the welcome mat. Piers picked it up and, seeing that it was addressed to "The Dursleys, 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey", handed it to Dudley, who opened it.

The voice that filled the house was at once angry and sad. "YOU CANNOT STAMP MAGIC IN OR OUT THROUGH ABUSE!"

Everyone looked at the envelope in Dudley's hand. Vernon and Petunia were terrified. Not only had the sender of the note known that they were abusing Harry in order to stop him from being a wizard, but now Harry, Dudley, and Piers knew that Harry had magic.

While the Dursleys were no kinder to him in words and voice, and while Dudley threw a fit about it at first, Harry now at least had a bedroom and a proper bed to sleep on, as opposed to a cupboard and a folded up blanket.

[Pokota]

Ribbon and Stone
Chapter 2 - Giant, Cat, and Bumblebee

It was not very often that the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts contained muggle medicines such as Aspirin. But today, Professor Dumbledore needed it. Two Muggleborns and a Muggle-raised were going to be starting in the coming term. All three of them would be difficult to contact.

Harry Potter would, by far, be the easiest to get. After the incident at the zoo, there had been at least one visit from a staff member of Hogwarts each month, checking up on the boy, making sure that the Dursleys were at least not abusing Harry directly. However, none of them had told Harry anything more than he had learned from the Howler, as they all assumed the Dursleys had told him after that. He had a feeling the Dursleys would try and make one last effort at keeping Harry from becoming a trained Wizard. He hadn't sent Hagrid to do anything Harry related since the pickup from Godric's Hollow, he might want to see Harry again.

The two Muggleborns, though, would present a greater challenge, as neither of them actually lived in England. Far away, almost on the other side of the world, there were two families that would suddenly find themselves visiting England from Japan. One of them was the Nonohara Family, whose second daughter Himeko had been born on British soil due to her impatience. The other was the Kobayashi Family, who due to their work with Interpol, had been stationed in Surrey at the time of Daichi's birth.

He read through the list of names again, and one name caught his eye. Hikaru Smethwyck. Well, at least she would have had exposure to the Magical world beforehand due to who her father was.

He sighed, took some aspirin, and drank deeply from a goblet of water. It was too bad he was unable to stop Quirrel from visiting Albania; those books that that strange muggle woman had given to him had told him much about the coming three years, and it was a shame to lose a perfectly good Muggle Studies teacher to Voldemort. And why had the woman forbidden him from acquiring Scabbers the Rat from the Weasley family? Wouldn't it be more important to ensure the freedom of an innocent man wrongly convicted? More importantly, why only those first three books? It was quite clear that there would be seven books, one for each of Harry's years at Hogwarts...

Harry... Albus' thoughts turned to the second of the three books. There was something very troubling about how that had ended, but without the physical evidence of Riddle's Diary, he could not quite put his finger on what was the source of it.

His headache passed, and he pulled a worn green quill from the Headmaster's Desk. With a tap of his wand, it started to quiver. He placed it on the list of names, and tapped a stack of parchment with his wand. He then waited a moment, then put the quill on the stack of parchment.

"Hagrid, Myself, and Minerva will be very busy this summer, I suppose."
----------
Harry wondered why Aunt Petunia had suggested vacationing in Majorca for the entire summer, but he was glad that he had been dragged along. He and Dudley had hissed at each other all the way there (much to the annoyance of Vernon, but Harry thought Dudley was actually enjoying being unusual). Vernon had also wondered why Petunia had suddenly gotten the urge to stay in Spain for three months.

The reason for the urge turned out to be a very large man wielding a pink umbrella. "Hello there, Dursleys. Where's Harry?"
----------
Professor McGonagal had always enjoyed visiting Japan. Professor Dumbledore... did not.

"They both live in Kazetachi, Albus?"

Albus nodded.

"I shall find the Kobayashi family, they'll be more familiar with British customs."

Again, Albus nodded.

"Cheer up, Albus. I'm sure nobody here even remembers that incident with the lizard!"

Albus shook his head, pointing at an advert for the newest iteration of Godzilla.

"Coincidence. Besides, everyone that could have connected that to you had their memories erased."

Albus simply shrugged, and set off in search of the Nonohara family.
----------
"You thought hidin' in Spain would keep me from findin' Harry bleedin' Potter?" asked a very drunk Hagrid. "He's only the most famous person in all of Wizarding Britain, and he's prob'ly never even set foot inside o' Diagon Alley."

Petunia had pulled Hagrid and Harry into a small pub, and ordered drinks for Hagrid in the hopes that Harry would assume it was just the ranting of a drunken man. She didn't really count on Hagrid handing Harry a copy of the Hogwarts letter.

"I 'spect the house is flooded with letters now; the owls didn't see you leave, and they wouldn't listen to me when I tried to tell them you'd left."

"So, I'm a wizard?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, an' I'd expect you to be a thumpin' good 'un, like yer parents and their... and their... well, like yer parents, anyway. Yeh got yer dad's hair an' yer Mother's eyes. Never did like your dad, Sev'rus, but was great pals with Lily." Hagrid took another drink; Petunia wondered briefly if Hagrid would have talked about this if he was sober. "Now, Harry, yer dad was a good man, but he an' Sev'rus never really saw eye to eye..."
----------
"[Hello? Is Kobayashi home?]"

Minerva had spent the last few minutes brushing up on her Japanese. She didn't have a knack for languages like Albus or Filius did, but she never forgot the ones that she learned. A small boy answered the apartment door.

"Hai?"

"[Is Kobayashi Daichi here, little one?]"

"H-hai." The boy turned inside and yelled. "[Big Brother! There's a weird old woman at the door for you!]"

Instantly, the entire family was at the door. This never gets any easier, thought Minerva. "[I am a representative of a school in England. Your son, Daichi, has been specifically selected to attend...]"
----------
There was a soft knock at the door. A little girl looked up from her seat on the stairs, and then looked away. She was too short to answer the door.

There was a slightly louder knock at the door. The little girl looked up from her seat on the stairs, and then looked away. She was still too short to answer the door.

There was a very loud knock at the door. The little girl looked up from her seat on the stairs, and then looked away. She again was too short to answer the door.

There was a pounding at the door. The little girl clambered upstairs, knowing the explosion that was sure to follow.

"[QUIT POUNDING AT THE DOOR, I'M TRYING TO CONCENTRATE!]"
----------
I really hope Harry hears the real story someday, thought Petunia. This isn't anything near what happened according to Lily.

Harry looked at his aunt strangely. It looked like she was trying not to laugh. The drinks that she had had weren't helping any.

"...an' tha's how yer parents met. I think. I'm not sure. Another drink oughta help me remember. Anyway, yer comin' with me to Diagon alley, first week in August, t' get yer stuff. I'll find you, even if you try hidin' in Alaska, cause now you've read your letter." The very large man took another swig of whiskey, and smiled at the two of them. "Y'know, Dunderbore said there'd be trouble gettin' you yer letter, but..."

Petunia nodded. "Lily had gotten her letter around this time, too. I remembered, and I knew Vernon would drive himself nuts if we didn't at least try to avoid you. Oh, look, there he is now. VERNON~!"

True enough, Vernon and Dudley had entered the bar looking for Petunia, who was waving wildly with invitation.

"Vernon, this is the giant Lily was telling us about before... before..." Petunia choked back a sob, then "before the car crash."

Everyone looked at Petunia. "Er, Car Crash?" asked Dudley tentatively.

"Vernon, wasn't that the story we were telling Harry? That his parents died in a car crash? Tell me it really was a car crash."

Vernon shook his head. Petunia had come up with the car crash story, and he knew why. It was too painful for her to remember that the last time the two sisters had spoken, they had gotten into an argument that ended when Petunia threw a television at Lily. Softly, he spoke to his wife. "Petunia, dear, we were in the car crash, with the Interpol guy. Lily was murdered."

Everyone present knew that the tears to follow would never have come from a sober Petunia.
----------
"[I'm magic?]" asked Daichi. "[You're not pulling my leg? I'm really magical?]"

Minerva nodded. "[Hasn't anything weird happened to you before? Anything you couldn't explain?]"

"[Well, there was the one time that I found myself on top of the building when I was trying to hide from Mom...]"
----------
"[Prove it. Prove to me that my daughter is magical, and that you're not some perverted old man that wants to kidnap her.]"

Hanako had sat patiently through the old man's explanations, with Himeko sitting on the floor nearby. Dumbledore sighed, and gave his wand to Himeko. Immediately, red sparks flew from the tip of the wand, something Albus had not expected.

"[Wands only do that for wizards or witches, and this wand in particular only for those who have a good heart.]"

"[Okay, so you've proved that Himeko is magical. You still haven't proved that you're not a dirty old man that wants to kidnap her.]"

With that, Albus held out his arm and gave a shrill whistle. Immediately, there was a burst of flame. When Hanako and Himeko's sight had returned, there was a bright red bird sitting on Albus's head. Albus chuckled. "You missed again, Fawkes." He reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. "[This letter contains all the information you need in order for Himeko to attend Hogwarts this coming year. If you do have any doubts, Minerva McGonagal is currently with Inspector Kobayashi, whose son Daichi is also magical and eligible for attending Hogwarts. Fawkes will stay behind, if that is okay with you.]"

"[Pretty red birdy!]" came a cry from outside the room. In ran the little girl that was too short to answer the door.

"[Yumeko! Leave the bird alone! He's not ours!]" scolded Hanako.

"[But he's pretty! Pretty birdy!]" Yumeko hugged Fawkes, who returned the hug happily.

"[But... oh, alright. We'll watch the bird for you, Mister...?"]

"Dumbledore."

"Dunberdore. [I suppose this means we won't need to pay for Himeko to go to a school around here?]"

"[As long as she is magical and was born in the British Isles, she will be taken care of at no expense to you.]"

[Pokota]

Ribbon and Stone
Chapter 3 - Diagonally

July came and went, and with it went the last vestiges of normality for Himeko. She and Daichi had been told to wait at the rail station with their parents on August First, so that Professor McGonagall could collect them. At Himeko's request, two of her friends - Manami and Ichiko - were there to see them off as well.

"[I will be taking them by Portkey to Diagon Alley, where we will be meeting with Professor Dumbledore. If you want to stay in contact with them, we'll work something out. It isn't unusual for owls to fly internationally, but we do try to limit it.]"

"[Can we just send a letter through the mail?]" Aiko asked.

Minerva shook her head. "[By the time it got to her, it would be a month old. I tried it when I was in Hogwarts; unless you've got a means of instant communication that doesn't rely on electricity, it'll be faster to do it the wizarding way.]"

The clock struck eleven. Minerva held a hat out. "[Daichi, Himeko, grab the hat. It's time to go.]"

As the two children grabbed hold of the hat, a blue glow encompassed the three of them. A second later, they were gone.
----------
There was a knock at the door of the Dursley House. "Dudley, get the door!" called Petunia from the kitchen.

"I'm in the bathroom! Make Harry get it!"

"Harry, get the door!"

"Yes, Aunt Petunia."

Albus Dumbledore's smiling face greeted Harry at the door of Number Four, Privet Drive. "Hello, Harry. Are you ready to go to Diagon Alley?"

Harry stood aside as Dumbledore made his way in. "I'm ready to go, but wasn't Hagrid supposed to be taking me?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Hagrid had an accident with one of our Thestrals yesterday, he's still recovering. I'll be taking you instead."

Harry didn't know what a Thestral was, but he didn't like how it sounded. He also didn't like the fact that Hagrid, a giant that Harry thought nobody could have ever gotten the better of, was recovering because of one. Still, he was excited to go to Diagon Alley and get his school things.

"So, how's Professor Quirrel?" Harry asked once they arrived via Pre-made Portkey outside of the Leaky Cauldron. Dumbledore sighed, of course Harry would ask about Voldemort at the first opportunity. Not that the child knew he was doing it.

"Professor Quirrel says that Charity Burbage is ready to start teaching Muggle Studies without him, so he's taking the summer to brush up on his Defense. Hello, Tom, we're just passing through today."

"But isn't that the job that You-Know-Who-"

"Call him Voldemort, Harry."

"-Voldemort cursed?"

"It's not time for me to let Severus teach Defense yet, so Quirinius is my only option left." That, and I would like for you to try and stop Voldemort on your own like you did in the book, Dumbledore thought to himself. He drew out his wand, and tapped the brick in the wall that would open up into Diagon Alley.

Just as Harry and Albus passed the threshold into the Alley, a blue glow appeared right behind them. "Ah, it must be Eleven." As Harry turned around to see what caused the glow, he noticed Professor McGonagall and two children about his own age standing behind him. One was a blonde girl, the other a brown-haired boy. Both were very clearly foreign.

"How's your English, Daichi? Himeko?" McGonagal asked the two children.

With a heavy accent, the girl responded first. "Mine is okay, I think."

With a less heavy accent, the boy followed after. "I haven't forgotten much."

Harry looked at Dumbledore, who looked at Minerva. "Albus, I got a message from Severus while I was in Japan. He is bringing Miss Granger today, too."

Dumbledore chuckled; Severus was the only other one that he had shown the three books to. "And as for the Weasley Family?"

"They will be meeting us at Gringotts."

The three children were talking amongst themselves, separate from the conversation of the Professors.

"Hello, I'm Harry."

"My name is Daichi Kobayashi."

"[I am Nonohara Himeko]" Harry blinked at the girl, who facepalmed and tried again. "I am Nonohara Himeko." Daichi poked her, and she tried a third time. "Himeko Nonohara, I am."

"[Can you two talk to snakes?]" Harry asked, not realizing he was speaking Japanese. Instantly, Himeko and Daichi switched back to their native tongue.

"[I can't.]"

"[Me neither, but the old man with the beard said we might run into people who could. Can you?]"

"[Yes. I've been doing it since I can remember.]"

Himeko and Daichi were both looking excited about it. "[That's cool!]" Himeko said.

Professor McGonagall hadn't noticed that Harry had been speaking in Japanese. "[Himeko, he can't understand you.]" She said as a reminder.

"[I can understand her just fine, Professor.]"

"[I'm sure you can, Harry, but she...] wait, what?"

"I said, I can understand her just fine, Professor."

Dumbledore was beaming. "Minerva, I think we should just go with it. If Harry says he can understand them, then he can understand them."

"But if he doesn't realize that he's speaking a different language..."

"He didn't notice that was speaking in Japanese? Interesante. ¿Harry, qué color es sus ojos?"

"Verde."

"Welche farbe sind meine augen?"

"Blau."

"A dove siamo che ci dirigiamo?"

"In qualche luogo diagonalmente in quello ancora non avete chiamato."

"Vous êtes-vous rendu compte que vous aviez parlé en anglais, japonais, espagnol, allemand, italien, et maintenant Français?"

"Pas, j'avais parlé en anglais le temps plein."

"And yet, none of the others here could understand a word we were saying just now."

Harry looked at his new friends, who nodded. "Wow, I can do that? Cool."

"Try saying something else in Japanese." Daichi asked excitedly.

"[Something else.]"

"..."
----------
The small party grew progressively larger as they progressed towards Gringotts. As they passed by Ollivanders, Sei dragged the Weasley Family over next to the party, and effectively added six people to the five.

"I'm Ron Weasley."

"Himeko Nonohara."

"Sei Arei."

"Kobayashi Daichi."

"Fred Weasley."

"You're not Fred, I am. You're George."

"Oh, right. I'm George Weasley."

"And I'm Percy Weasley."

"Harry Potter."

The Weasleys all gasped and dropped what they were carrying. "HARRY POTTER!"

Harry sighed. "What, am I famous or something?"

Everyone, including the adults, looked at Harry. "Overpowering a Supreme Dark Wizard tends to make one a celebrity, Harry." Dumbledore said cheerily. "Lord knows I had my share of fame when Grindelwald fell." There was a note of sadness in Dumbledore's voice as he said this, but nobody other than Minerva noticed it.

As the group continued to meander over to Gringotts, a chill ran down Harry's spine. He looked around, and a blond boy was whining about how he couldn't bring a racing broom to school. His mother, Harry was certain, was trying to think of a way to smuggle the broom on his behalf. Before he could think more on the subject, however, they had arrived at the ancient Goblin bank.

Sure enough, Severus Snape was waiting outside, with a brown-haired girl and what appeared to be her parents. Snape really looked like he was regretting volunteering to accompany the family to Gringotts, as the Girl kept taking in such rapid English that Harry almost didn't understand what she was saying.

"...and I've already read the history book that you bought for me, Mister Snape. It's so full of interesting facts..."

"{Ugh, not even Lily was this excited about her school things...}"

"Hello, Severus." Albus said, fairly cheerfully. "Hello, Miss Granger, Mister Granger, Missus Granger. Shall we settle your daughter's Schooling Fund while we're all here?"

"YES!" The parents exclaimed in unison. They too had had to endure their daughter's incessant rambling about the history of European magic, and hoped that getting the rest of her schoolbooks would give them some quiet for the return trip.

As the Adults went over to the counter to settle the account, Hermione introduced herself to the group of kids.

"I'm Hermione Granger. I can't believe that I get to go to Hogwarts! My parents thought it was a joke until Mister Flitwick made that pineapple dance around on our kitchen table. Are all of you going to Hogwarts too? I wonder if I'll be able to read all the books before the first day of class? Anyway, I'm Hermione Granger. Who are you?"

Everyone reintroduced themselves for Hermione's benefit. Harry thought it slightly interesting that Hermione hadn't heard of him, then remembered that she hadn't been around Wizards as much as he had, and then reminded himself that he hadn't had near as much time around wizards as the Weasleys obviously had, with them being wizards themselves.

The large crowd squeezed into Gringotts as a tall blond man pushed his way out. He did not have a good look to his face, he looked furious about something.

Dumbledore was speaking again. "There are too many of us to all go at once. Minerva, if you will take Harry to his vault, I shall accompany Hermione, Himeko, and Daichi to the School Vault, and the Weasleys will all go to their vault. I suggest that we all meet at Ollivanders as soon as we're done, it's always fun to watch an Attuning session."
----------
"All this is mine?"

"Your father came from a wealthy family, Mister Potter. I'm sure that this is not all that's left, but this vault will have to last you for the next seven years."
----------
"So, you're paying for our supplies, Mister Dunbadoru-san?"

"Call me Albus, Himeko, and yes; the school usually supplies Muggleborn students such as yourself at no charge."
----------
"Well, there's enough here for Percy to get an owl for making Prefect, at least."

"So I have to use Charlie's wand after all?"

"Look on the bright side, Ron. You get Scabbers."

"That's a bright side, Percy?"
----------
Eventually, they all returned to Diagon Alley proper, and met outside of Ollivanders as agreed.

"So, who will go first?" Albus asked. Immediately, Hermione's hand shot up into the air. "Very well then, Miss Granger, let's go in."

One by one, each of the soon-to-be First Years (except Ron, who had to go last due to his using Charlie's wand) entered into the store, where old man Ollivander gave them several wands. Hermione got to keep the first wand she got, Himeko and Daichi needed to try several wands before Ollivander was satisfied. Harry felt like he had tried every wand in the store.

Dumbledore was sitting in a wrought-iron chair, smiling. "Enan, why not try a Phoenix Core Holly wand?"

Ollivander paused for a moment, then a smile crept upon his face. "Curious that you would suggest that wand, Albus."

"I'm sorry, but what's curious?" Harry asked as Ollivander thrust just such a wand into his hand. There was a warmth, and the wand shot out crimson and green sparks. "I like this wand." Harry said without thinking.

"And your wand likes you, Harry. Though, you being destined for this wand means you are capable of great things."

Harry was starting to be creeped out by Ollivander, and was relieved when Dumbledore said "Very well then, Harry. Mister Weasley still needs to see Ollivander."

Sure enough, Ron Weasley was standing in the door, with a "let's get this over with" look on his face. Dumbledore ushered Harry out, but Harry made sure to listen as hard as he could.

"...use this wand. However, this wand is already attuned to another, and it has not given its allegiance to Ron yet. I will not force this wand to re-attune, I've been blown up by an irate wand before."

"I understand."

"Has this wand been Weighed?"

"Yes; it was found to have an affinity for Charms and Defense, and weaknesses in Alchemy and Transfiguration."

"Hmm... yes, I can see why Ron would have little trouble with this wand once it decides to work for him. Very well; this wand will be problematic for Ron at first, but if he perseveres, he will use it as masterfully as Charlie did."

"Thank you, Ollivander." With that, Molly shepherded Ron out of the wandmaker's shop. Together, the gaggle of people finished their shopping in Diagon Alley. Eventually, they all had to depart.

"Where will Himeko and me be staying until school starts?" asked Daichi. Dumbledore frowned; he had forgotten about this.

Molly spoke up. "They can stay with me, on one condition."

"What would that be, Molly?" Dumbledore asked, guessing what it would be.

"That Harry also gets to spend the rest of the summer with us. I don't trust the Dursleys to see him off properly."

Harry's face brightened at the prospect of being rid of the Dursleys. Dumbledore thought for a moment, then smiled. "I will take him to the Dursleys, but I'll send his things with you. I have two more things to do with Harry before I will leave him in your excellent care."

Smiling, Molly took a watch out of her pocket and tapped it with her wand. It glowed blue. "Okay, everybody going with me should touch the watch. Everybody ready? We're all going to the Burrow in three... two... one..."

And like that, they were gone. Harry looked at Dumbledore, who held out the object from before. "Harry, if you would..."
----------
Somewhere, someone smiled. It was a humorless smile, one full of malice and rage. He had never been great at Divination, but he knew when there were Omens.

Omens that would some day lead to his rebirth. Oh, the boy would pay dearly for ending Voldemort, and this bumbling wizard that he now possessed would be the first step in the road to rebirth.

[Pokota]

Ribbon and Stone
Chapter 4 - Friends

Eventually, Harry got to spend the rest of the summer with the Weasleys at the Burrow. Dumbledore had taken Harry back to the Dursleys via Portkey long enough for them to say a grudging good-bye to each other (Dumbledore offering to remove the Pig's Tail that a drunken Hagrid had afflicted Dudley with was a factor in this). Harry and Dudley hissed their goodbyes at each other, and then the two wizards left for the Burrow.

The fact that Dudley was hissing was not lost on Dumbledore. "Well, now something makes more sense." He chuckled, and pulled a bright yellow box out from inside of his robes. "Would you like a lemon drop, Harry? I always find it easier to focus on apparating when I have something to suck on."

Harry accepted the lemon drop, not being one to refuse kindness. "Er, sir, what's apparating?"

Dumbledore popped a lemon drop in his mouth, and looked at Harry. "Ah, sorry. I keep forgetting that you don't know these things. Apparating is when a wizard moves magically from one place to another. I would use another Portkey, but for the fact that the ministry would assume the worst. If you would grab my arm, just a little above the elbow."

Harry grabbed the proffered arm, and away they apparated. He felt as though someone was trying to juice him from the inside out. When he was next aware of where he was, there was a very tall... house, he supposed, surrounded by fields. On closer inspection, he saw that there were numerous chicken coops as well as a shed that looked just a little too small.

"Very good, Harry! Most wizards tend to react badly to their first Apparition, usually with the expulsion of the contents of their stomach through their mouth..."

Harry felt suddenly like doing just that, and looked for a bucket or a ditch to vomit in.

"...and my first time Apparating, I left half of my nose behind." Dumbledore finished, noticing that Harry was about to get sick. "Would you like a moment, or shall we go onward?"

Suddenly, there was a booming sound, and black smoke started pouring out of one of the third floor windows. "I suppose that would be the twins. Brilliant students, on par with your father and his friends; I just wish they didn't put so much of their efforts into pranking. Be on your toes while dealing with Fred and George, Harry."

Harry nodded in agreement, his stomach settling down quickly enough, and the two of them approached the door of the Burrow.
Before Dumbledore could knock, however, the door flew open and a gaggle of people came running out. Harry dived to the side and landed inside a bush. Two of them, with flaming red hair and built not entirely unlike Vernon Dursley, looked practically identical. Harry assumed that these were Fred and George. Behind them was a slightly taller red-haired boy, built more like Dumbledore. Harry remembered that his name was Ron. Behind Ron were the other two he had met at Diagon Alley - Himeko and Daichi. All five of them looked like they were running for their lives. Harry laughed when the twins tried to hide behind Ron, who was trying to hide behind Dumbledore.

Harry wondered briefly who could instill such terror into the five of them, when she stepped out into the door frame. A mane of red hair. Chocolate-brown eyes that burned with life. A humorous, if slightly predatory smile, revealing mostly straight, but slightly yellowed teeth. Her ears had been turned into lemons, and her face was covered with soot. Harry couldn't help but laugh at the sight of her. Professor Dumbledore looked as though he was chuckling. "Hello, Professor. Would you be so kind as to bring the five of them in with you? I'm sure mum would love to hear their explanations." Harry laughed. She stopped, then looked around for where the laughing was coming from. Her eyes caught Harry's, and her face turned bright red. "Er... I'll be... inside, yeah."

And with that, Ginny Weasley first met Harry Potter. Ron ceased cowering from behind the venerable warlock, and sighed in relief. Then, turning to face the twins, he started to go off on them. Harry wasn't really listening to what Ron had to say to the twins here, his attention was drawn back to the front door, where Molly Weasley was now standing. She waited for Ron to finish having his turn, then tore into the five miscreants with such ferocity that Harry almost mistook her for a lion. Dumbledore nodded, and Harry extracted himself from the bush he was in.

"Well, Harry, I think you should go ahead and make yourself comfortable; I'm sure Molly will give you a more thorough run-down of things when she's done telling off her sons and other guests. I must be off."

"Where are you going? Sir?"

"I, ah... have an appointment with Lucius Malfoy; something about repealing a law involving werewolves. I hope that law doesn't get repealed..."

"Er, Werewolves?"

Dumbledore merely chuckled and said "All in good time, Harry. All in good time."

And on that enigmatic note, Dumbledore apparated out of the Burrow. Harry took a moment to look around. There was a bookshelf with a peculiar clock on it; there were nine hands, and instead of numbers it had phrases like "Work" or "Home" or "Mortal Peril." Harry frowned when he saw that two of the hands - marked Bill and Charlie - were pointing to Mortal Peril. There was one - marked Dad - that was pointing at Work, and the rest were pointing at home. The bookshelf was filled with colorful books with equally colorful names - everything ranging from "Break with a Banshee" to "Wandering with Werewolves." Beside the bookshelf was a fireplace, burning merrily. Harry had never seen a real fireplace being used; the Dursleys had an electric one, and Mrs. Figg's was never lit when Harry was around.

He heard a small 'eep', and turned around, only to see the girl from earlier on the stairs, watching him. He started to feel a little uncomfortable. "Er, can I help you?"

The girl looked as though she were a deer caught in headlights. Harry slowly walked over to her. She was blushing slightly; Harry thought she had a fever. "Are you feeling alright? You look kind of-"

Before he could say any more, the front door burst open again. In marched the five troublemakers, followed by a stern Molly Weasley. "Upstairs, to your rooms, I'll call you down for dinner. Hello Harry, I see you've met my daughter Ginny. Ginevra, say Hello before he starts to think you're shy."

"H-hello." With that, she dashed off to her room. The five followed after. Molly sighed in exasperation, then turned to Harry.

"Dinner will be ready soon; I can't see why Ron would get in to mischief like that; usually it's the twins. Daichi and Himeko have been sniping at each other ever since they got here, and... well, it sort of snowballed." Molly and Harry both looked at the 'clock'; the hands marked Fred and George had moved from Home to Mortal Peril, and Harry wondered why they would be in mortal peril inside their own home.

There was a small explosion, followed by an eruption of fresh yelling. Molly looked at the ceiling angrily, and said to Harry "They've gone and bothered Percy again; if it wasn't for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Wizardry, I'd have let Percy give them what's coming to them a long time ago. It doesn't help that Percy's been sharing his room with Sei..." Harry nodded in agreement, not wanting to say anything for fear of incurring the wrath of somebody.

Something stirred in his memory. "Er, who's Sei?" Harry asked, as politely as he could.

"Ah, yes... Sei Arei started staying with us last summer; apparently we've got some sort of agreement with Japan's foremost wizarding school."

"Almost-blonde hair, talks to snakes?"

"You've got the hair right, but he talks to pretty much all animals. He's a really big help when the chickens get loose."

The hands moved from "Mortal Peril" back to Home, and the stairs came alive with the sounds of four people moving. Some were going up, and others were coming down. "Why does the clock say Bill and Charlie-"

Before he could ask the question, Molly answered it. "Bill is a curse breaker for Gringotts, works in Egypt. Charlie's a Dragon Breeder for the Ministry; he's 'on loan' to Romania for a few years. They're both very perilous jobs, but I know my boys can face the peril." Molly chuckled at the reference that went over Harry's head. "Ah, Percy, what's the matter?"

The thumping subsided, and two figures emerged from the stairs. One was a tallish red-headed boy, looking at about age fifteen. On his chest was pinned a scarlet badge with a giant P on it. Harry assumed this was Percy, and he looked upset. The other was Sei Arei, and his face looked to be covered in soot. He looked like he was trying not to smile.

"Mum, will you please tell the twins to stop making a great thunder of a march when they walk past my room? I have enough problems with Potions without them shaking the house." Percy whined. Molly sighed, and the two of them went upstairs. Sei turned to Harry.

"Hello, Harry Potter. Do you remember me?"

"Sei Arei, right? From the zoo?"

"Oh, good, you do remember!"

Harry smiled; it looked like it was going to be a good summer after all.
----------
Staying with the Weasleys was more fun than Harry thought possible. He was never attacked with a frying pan for simply existing, he was never asked to help with the indoor cleaning or cooking (but volunteered whenever he had the chance), and the outdoor cleaning, which was mostly just degnoming, felt more like a game than work. He was allowed to read any of the books in the bookcase in the den (which was a major change from how things were at the Dursleys), and he often watched the Twins as they worked on their homework. Harry noticed right away that they were really good with brewing potions and changing things into other things, and they were usually the first ones asked to handle any plants or creatures that Molly thought would be too much for Harry, Ron, or the other young ones. Percy was more bookish than the twins were, and often was heard quoting what Harry would have sworn to be Shakespeare. Ron was deliberate in his actions; while he was never exceptional at housework or the practice magic they were allowed to do, he was almost never taken by surprise. Ginny was similar to the twins according to everyone there, but whenever Harry was around she seemed to be kind of clumsy and very shy. When she thought Harry wasn't looking, however, she was very forceful and could almost boss Percy around. Molly was kind, but strict; Harry also thought she was a bit too mothering to him at times, but he didn't mind. The dad, Arthur Weasley, was a very curious person; he would often ask Harry what the Dursleys were like, and Harry would answer truthfully. The questions got a little uncomfortable after a while, but Harry answered them anyway. He never noticed the dark looks that went between Arthur and Molly during these sessions.

Harry realized, on the morning of August 30th, that he was going to miss this place. Still, it wasn't every day that you got to go to Hogwarts for the first time. As they all packed into Arthur's old, beat-up Ford Anglia, Harry realized that the car was a lot roomier on the inside than it should have been.

"We're not flying the car today, everyone; the Invisibility Booster needs to be looked at, and Fudge wants me to do another round of raids. I can get away with the Extension charm, but flight is a no-go until I can get that law about the carpets overturned." Arthur explained as he backed out the driveway. Harry wondered briefly what Uncle Vernon would have said about taking a train to a magic school; probably some smart remark about flying carpets full of holes. "I'm going to drop you lot off at King's Cross, then I'm going to head on over to the Ministry. Molly, you're still taking Ginny to Diagon Alley today, right?"

Molly nodded. "After we send the children off, yes. You have the letters for Fudge and Dumbledore, dear?"

"I have them," Arthur said, "and I will deliver Fudge's letter personally. We may have to owl Dumbledore his."

The rest of the trip was in silence (largely because nobody wanted to open their mouth due to the risk of Carsickness), and they arrived at King's Cross station with thirty minutes to go.

They all extracted themselves from the car and took a brief stretch. Arthur kissed his wife, smiled at his sons, and disapparated with a crack. Everyone looked at the Ford Anglia; Molly had timed the slamming of her door with her husband's disapparation, and the muggles all looked away. Everyone then started towards the barrier between Platforms 9 and 10.

"Harry, Himeko, Daichi - you three watch Percy and Sei do it first. Then Fred and George will go, then Harry and Ron, then Himeko and Daichi. Me and Ginny will follow after."

Harry found it amusing. Percy and Sei merely leaned against the barrier and melted through, but Fred and George ran through it. Harry had almost expected them to crash, but the lack of noise told him that they made it safely. He and Ron walked briskly, pushing their carts ahead of them. Harry really did think he was going to crash this time, and just as he was about to hit the 'wall', he closed his eyes. When he felt he was clear of the barrier, he opened his eyes to a marvelous sight.

A beautiful, scarlet train was sitting on the tracks ahead of them. Steam poured out of the spout near the engine. The crowd of people made Harry think briefly of Diagon Alley and its flock of wizards and witches. Many young children would be getting on the train for the first time today, and Harry was kind of excited to meet new people. He hoped that they would all be as nice as the Weasleys, but then he thought that there might be people as mean as the Dursleys on board. The twins had run off and joined a black boy with dreadlocks, and they were all ogling a box with what looked like a very large leg of a spider poking out from it. Through the mingling of voices, he heard snatches of conversations. "I can't find Trevor!" "Don't get in over your heads, girls." "I'll send you an owl as soon as we get there, Mama." "There's got to be a way to get you on the team, Son."

Giddy with excitement, Harry and Ron said their goodbyes to Molly and Ginny, and then got onto the train. They passed car after car, and when they got to the very last car of the train, they decided to just plop their stuff there.

"What do you think so far?" Ron asked.

"It's... very different from how the muggles do it, I'll say that much." Harry nodded. The door opened, and Sei came in to join them.

"The twins were driving me mad, and we haven't even left yet. I can't sit with Percy since he's got Prefect duties and all." Sei made a face, and continued. "We've got a lot of muggleborns this year, from the look of it. I hope Slytherin actually gets some for a change."

Harry was confused. "Slytherin?"

Ron looked at Harry like he had two heads; Sei sighed and started to explain. "There are four 'houses' at Hogwarts, and the students are supposed to be divided equally amongst them. There's Gryffindor, for those who are mostly brave; Ravenclaw, for those who are mostly smart; Slytherin, for those who are mostly cunning; and Hufflepuff, for those who are mostly loyal. I'm a Slytherin, all the Weasleys have been Gryffindors."

Ron scowled. "Yeah, and you're the only decent Slytherin there is."

Before the argument could go any further, the door opened. In came Himeko, Daichi, the bushy-haired girl from Diagon Alley, and a round-faced boy. "Have any of you seen a toad? Neville's lost his." Harry shook his head.

Sei motioned for the other four to have a seat. "If your familiar's gone missing, Hagrid'll find him for you before too long. I'm sure your toad is fine; you're more likely to step on him if you're looking for him anyway."

Since everyone had already met everyone else except for the round-faced boy, the introductions didn't take as long as they had in Diagon Alley. There was the usual gasp of excitement from the boy (whose name turned out to be Neville Longbottom) when Harry introduced himself.

"You know," Hermione began, "you could have told me you were The Famous Harry Potter when we met in Diagon Alley."

"I'm famous for something that I can't possibly remember, and I've been living with the Dursleys for the past ten years." Harry said flatly.

"But there are all these books out there about you!"

Sei looked at Hermione and said "He doesn't really look like the Voldemort-Slaying Hero in half of those books, though, now does he?"

Ron flinched horribly at the use of the name. "You said You-Know-Who's name!"

Sei was about to respond, when the compartment door opened again. There was a blonde boy flanked with two goons. Harry recognized him from Diagon Alley as the boy who was complaining about the brooms as soon as he started talking. "Well well well... Sei, thank you for finding Harry Potter for me." The boy pushed his way to Harry, and started to look him over. "I'm Draco Malfoy. It already looks like you might be a hopeless case, Potter, but I'll give you one chance. Be my friend, and you'll be set for life. Be their friend... well, if you're their friend, I can't guarantee that people will like you."

Harry thought for a moment, then asked "Those two Dudleys in the door. They your friends too?"

Draco sneered; Harry didn't like how it looked. "Nah, they're just Crabbe and Goyle. They do whatever I tell them to."

Harry thought for a moment longer, and then said "Why can't I be friends with everyone in this room?" Draco opened his mouth to answer, and then shut it. "Look, I've been living with Ron and his family for the past couple of months. I've got no problem being friends with you, but don't ask me not to be friends with him. Is that alright?"

Draco sat down, defeated. "If you can't beat them... Crabbe, Goyle, go find another compartment; this one's full."

The two Dudleys grunted in agreement, and looked strangely happy to be rid of Draco. With a slam the door was closed, and Sei finally got a chance to respond to Ron. "Ron, just because someone's in Slytherin doesn't make them automatically evil. Saying that I'm the only decent Slytherin is like saying Sirius Black is the only evil Gryffindor, or that Gilderoy Lockhart's the only Ravenclaw that was a people person. You're sorted at eleven years old; you can't possibly be evil at that young unless your parents teach you nothing else but evil."

Draco shifted uneasily in his seat; he'd never heard anyone defend Slytherin House like that before. More to the point, Sei seemed to be friends with Ron Weasley, who was entirely Gryffindor Red. He turned to Harry, and started to ask him some questions. "So, how did you do it, Potter?"

"How did I do what?" He asked, confused.

"Defeated You-Know-Who, that's what!"

Harry decided on a whim to play dumb. "No, actually, I don't know who. Mind telling me who I was supposed to defeat?"

"The Dark Lord!"

"Which Dark Lord? I've heard that there were loads of them running around at some point."

"The one that tried to kill you as a baby, Potter."

"...you do realize that he can't possibly remember something like that, right?" Hermione pointed out sensibly.

"Er, yes, well..." Draco started, then mumbled his way into a new question. "Is it true that you had to live like a muggle for ten years?"

Harry sighed. He still found it hard to talk about the Dursleys, but after all the questions Arthur Weasley had asked him, he now realized that there was something seriously wrong with his uncle (and maybe his aunt, too). "My uncle's a director at a firm called Grunnings, they make drills." At the look of confusion from the wizardborns, he elaborated. "A drill's a muggle tool used for making holes in stuff. Aunt Petunia's my mum's sister; she knew I was going to be a wizard, but tried to keep me from coming. She didn't try very hard, though; Hagrid found us in Majorca." Harry frowned at the memory. "Until I met Sei at the zoo, I was forced to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs. Aunt Petunia would make me cook and clean and all sorts of stuff, and would try and hit me with stuff if I didn't work 'hard enough.' Uncle Vernon would also hit me if anything happened that I couldn't explain."

Draco gasped, and said in a very angry voice "But you're no House Elf! In fact, you're a wizard, you should be ruling over them!"

Hermione turned to Draco. "Why should any person rule over any other person? We're all humans."

"But wizards are better!"

"How are wizards better?"

"We can fly!"

"Muggles have been to the Moon. Have any wizards been to the Moon?"

"Well, no, but... we can heal all sorts of illnesses!"

"So can muggles, and we've found ways to make you immune to some illnesses."

"Yeah, but... we can... we... we've got magic! Muggles don't have magic."

"My parents are muggles, and they get along in life without magic just fine."

"You're a mudblood? I thought you were at least half-blood."

This last question made Ron and Sei very upset. Sei grabbed Ron by the back of his shirt and said, very clearly, "Draco, you'd better hope Professor Snape doesn't ever hear you call anyone that. He will murder you and then give you a month's detention and take a thousand points off of your house. Two thousand if it's Slytherin."

Everyone looked at Sei, wondering how he knew that. Draco, sensing that Ron still wanted to inflict physical harm on him, very quickly apologized to Hermione.

The rest of the train ride was somewhat friendly, if also kind of stiff and formal. Harry still didn't know if he liked Draco or not. On the one hand, he seemed like a decent person, if a little stuck up and snobbish. On the other hand, some of what he thought about muggles made Harry worry. It sounded a lot like what Uncle Vernon had said about freaks, and Harry had been on the receiving end of a lot of what Uncle Vernon had said about freaks.

[Pokota]

Ribbon and Stone
Chapter 5 - The Hat That Thinks

"Firs' years over 'ere, firs' years!"

As the students got off of the Hogwarts Express, Harry recognized Hagrid's unique voice calling for the new students. He looked excitedly in the voice's direction. As did all the other First Years. As they got closer, Draco began being Draco again.

"Ugh, please tell me that's not what I think it is."

Hermione looked at Draco. "And just what do you think that is?"

"No more'n four to a boat, come on in now. Four to a boat an' no more!"

The conversation was cut short as they loaded into separate boats. Harry found himself in the same boat as Neville, Hermione, and Ron, while Himeko, Daichi, and Draco were all in another boat, with a girl Harry didn't recognize.

The boats floated slowly to Hogwarts, where Dumbledore was reading a letter addressed to him. He did not like the contents of the letter, but knew that they were going to be coming anyway. He sighed heavily, then set quill to parchment. The previous summer had been one of much information, but he had sworn not to act on most of it. Especially the parts about Peter Pettigrew. Dumbledore hated not doing something, but he had been warned that acting too soon would make other things worse. Still, the letter did give him food for thought. Why not change what he can now?

Severus Snape, meanwhile, was inside of the dungeons. They had been painted a cheery yellow color by the Weasley Twins, who were currently resting in the Hufflepuff common room. Snape smiled at the effect, and figured that he would announce at the Sorting Feast that it's really all thanks to Harry Potter that he's gotten a new outlook on life. He smiled almost wolfishly - he would make the boy pay for stealing his Order of Merlin, even if Pettigrew was the one that needed to die. Why let a perfectly good childhood grudge go to waste?

All the while, many plans were still in motion. If everything went according to plan, not only would Pettigrew be captured relatively quickly, but Sirius proven innocent as well. If everything went according to plan, Voldemort would have the Philosopher's Stone within his grasp by Halloween. If everything went according to plan, Draco would fall into the lake alone. Sadly, plans always go awry - Himeko was dragged into the lake after him. A little later, both blondes found themselves shoved back into the boat by a couple of rather large Tentacles.

Hagrid chuckled. "Tha'd be Iris, our Gian' Squid. Funny story I've got; one time, an' Harry, this involves yer parents, so listen up! One time, here at Hogwarts, there were a couple o' kids named Lily Evans an' James Potter. They didn't get along very well..."

Hagrid didn't get very far into the story, as his boat had just bumped into the landing. As he stood back up, he said "Oops! Well, all of yer've got to get inside now. Don' say anythin' when the Ghosts come outta the wall; they love scarin' firs' years."

The first years all climbed out of the boats and entered the castle. Himeko and Daichi rejoined Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville, while Draco and the unknown girl were soon joined by the two Dudleys, Crabbe and Goyle. Under the watchful eye of Professor McGonagall, they were all led to a side hallway, where they waited to be sorted. Sure enough, most of the ghosts of Hogwarts came gliding out of one of the walls. Draco and Neville were scared out of their wits (having heard nothing about Hagrid to make them believe him), the Muggleborns plus Harry didn't know what to say, and the other wizard-raised just laughed.

After everyone settled down, the speculation began. It was Himeko that asked the question. "How do you think we get sorted?"

Draco smirked. "Father told me all about it. Apparently it's an ancient and most formidable test, where all your secrets are made bare to the judge."

Harry frowned. He didn't want any of his secrets being made known to anyone. Ron shook his head. "I was told that we had to wrestle a troll."

"Who told you that?" Daichi asked.

"Fred and George. Why?"

"The same Fred and George that told you it was a good idea to hide all of your mum's quills?"

Ron frowned. "Yeah, the same ones."

Harry looked at Hermione. "What do you think the sorting will be like?"

Hermione shrugged. "There wasn't anything in Hogwarts: A History about it. Probably just pulling a rabbit out of a hat."

McGonagall re-entered the room, silencing all further speculation. "Yes, well, you shall see soon enough how the sorting is done. Follow me, it's time to sort."

Exiting in silence, they all went into the Great Hall. The ceiling, according to Hermione, was enchanted to look like the sky outside. There were four tables, all crowded with students, plus a fifth table on a raised platform. There were teachers sitting there. Harry thought about all the ones that had seen him over the past year. On the far left was Professors Sinistra and Vector. Next to them were Professors Trelawney and Kettleburn, followed by Quirrel and Snape. Harry felt a sharp pain in his scar, and involuntarily reached up to rub his scar. Continuing on, there was an empty seat, then Dumbledore, then... a hat that appeared to be floating just slightly off of the ground. Next to the hat was Professor Sprout, and after here were Professors Vector and Babbage. Harry didn't recognize the rest of the staff members at the table, so he turned towards McGonagall again. She had conjured up a stool and placed a hat on it. How strange, Harry thought, but then the hat started to sing.

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffis are true And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

The hat did its version of bowing, and the people at the tables clapped. Then, there was silence. "As I call your name, please come up and put on the Sorting Hat. The hat will announce to which house you will belong. Your House will be your family while you are here at Hogwarts. The prefects will explain the House Points, House Cup, and Detention systems in your common rooms."

All of the first years nodded, and the Sorting began. The first student to be called up was Hannah Abbott. She pulled the hat on her head, and after a moment the hat yelled "HUFFLEPUFF!". Susan Bones joined her at the Hufflepuff table, and Terry Boot got to go to the Ravenclaw table. Mandy Brocklehurst followed him soon after, and Lavender Brown was sent to Gryffindor. Harry was feeling queasy. He didn't think he was brave or smart or cunning or loyal. What if the Hat, who had just told Millicent Bullstrode that she was a Slytherin, simply didn't sort him?

Justin Finch-Fletchley took a full minute to be sorted, but eventually he was placed in Hufflepuff. Seamus Finnigan was called to be a Gryffindor, and he took less than a second. Next to be called was Hermione Granger. She jammed the hat on her head eagerly, but then frowned. There was a look of concentration on her face, and eventually the hat called out Gryffindor. Harry wondered about that, shouldn't she have been a Ravenclaw? The next name called was Kobayashi Daichi, who turned out to be a Slytherin. Ron groaned; Harry guessed that Ron didn't like Slytherins very much. Neville Longbottom took even longer to sort than Justin did, but eventually he too was found to be a Gryffindor. He was so relieved to be a Gryffindor that he forgot to take the hat off. After he sheepishly returned it to McGonagal, the sorting continued.

Draco Malfoy was Slytherin, the hat had barely touched his head before the name was screamed. Ernie McMillan was a Hufflepuff, Tymora Moon was a Ravenclaw, Nonohara Himeko was a Gryffindor, and Theodore Nott became a Slytherin. Padma Patil and Parvati Patil became a Ravenclaw and a Gryffindor, respectively, while Sally-Anne Perks became a Hufflepuff. Then it was Harry's turn. He placed the hat on his head (it came down below his eyes, which he was thankful for,) and was in for a surprise.

'Well well, Mister Harry James Potter. I was wondering if I'd see you this year or not.'

'Why were you wondering that?'

'You're just barely the right age to start this year. Another week or two and you'd be starting next year.'

Harry, for some inexplicable reason, thought of Molly and Ginny and himself at the burrow, waiting for another year. 'I don't think I would have minded waiting another year...'

'Really? Because I can tell the Headmaster that you'd like to wait...'

Harry panicked. 'No, that's quite alright. So which House do I belong to?'

'You, Mister Potter, are very special. You're a hard-working individual when you put your mind to the task at hand, your mind is sharp and willing to learn, you've got a surprising penchant for being sneaky and underhanded, and you'd be willing to do anything to protect the people you care about. In short, you belong in all the houses.'

'Really? I was afraid that I wouldn't belong in any of them!'

'Well, you won't really fit in anywhere, but where you will go will be entirely up to you.'

'That's just it, though. I want to stay with my friends, but Daichi was sent to Slytherin, yet the others became Gryffindors. How will I be able to stay friends with them if the Houses are different?'

'Why should that matter? I'm supposed to sort you all into houses so that the classes are easier to manage. The whole House Pride thing is more damaging to the school than anything else is.'

Harry thought about that for a moment. 'You said that my house will be up to me?'

'That's correct. Where would you like to go?'

Harry pondered this for a moment. If he was in Slytherin, he would be away from most of his friends, so that was out. If he was in Gryffindor, though, then he would only see Daichi in class and over holiday. Ravenclaw didn't sound too bad, but neither did Hufflepuff. Harry decided to ask another question.

'What house were my parents in?'

'They were both Gryffindors.'

Well, that didn't help much. Harry just shrugged and said 'Hufflepuff, I guess. This way I can be loyal to all my friends, not just some of them.'

'If you're sure, then I will place you in-'

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

There was applause from all the tables, with Hufflepuff being the loudest, but for some reason Dumbledore and Snape were looking very upset. Had he made the right decision? After he took his seat at the Hufflepuff table, he was greeted by one of the upperclassmen there. Hikaru Smethwyck became a Slytherin, and Zacharias Smith became a Slytherin.

"Wotcher, Harry Potter. I'm Nymphadora Tonks, but if you call me that, I will make you suffer."

Harry didn't know what else to say to that, so he asked "What can I call you?" as Dean Thomas became a Gryffindor.

"Just Tonks is fine. I'm a seventh year. Heard from Charlie you were staying with his family."

"Charlie Weasley?"

"He was a year ahead of me and in Gryffindor, but we were good friends." She said, wistfully. "Anyway, our prefects are Mike and Rachel, over there at the end of the table." Lisa Turpin became a Ravenclaw. "Our head of house is Pomona Sprout - oh, hey, isn't that Charlie's littlest brother?"

Harry looked at the sorting hat. Sure enough, Ron was sitting there. Harry was sure that Ron would be a Gryffindor, and he was right. Applause. "Anyhow, I'm looking forward to seeing you in the common room later. Apparently your family was legendary during their time."

Harry just gaped at her as Blaise Zabini was sorted into Slytherin. One of the older students at the end of the table did a quick head count, and whispered to the girl across from him. Eventually the talk got around to families. The people at the table shifted around so that all six first-years were grouped together.

Ernie was the first to speak. "My family's been all wizard for three generations. Not even a squib!"

Harry didn't know what to think about it, but he was strongly reminded of Draco. Dumbledore stood up, but none of the first years noticed. "I didn't even know I was a wizard until about a year ago; I vanished some glass and set a snake on my cousin."

Justin's eyes widened. "You set a snake on your cousin? Why did you do that?"

There was applause and laughter from the entire Great Hall, which startled Harry. He sighed and explained. "My aunt and uncle don't really like me, and they taught him the same way. So I grew up as being his punching bag. The magic was accidental, I found out later."

Susan Bones groaned. "I can't believe that there are people that would do that to family."

"My uncle hates magic, and my aunt was always jealous of my mum."

"Yeah, well, if any wizards ever tried that to their family, they'd have to face me auntie."

Ernie sneered. "And who is your auntie?"

"Me auntie is Madam Bones of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."

Ernie cringed. "Oh."

Justin was the next to speak. "My parents are muggles. I was down for Eton before I got my letter. What about you, Hannah?"

Hannah had been watching the Gryffindor table for some time. Apparently a ghost had just taken his head off of his shoulders over there. "My dad's magic, my mom's muggle. Do we have a ghost?"

As if on cue, a rather thick-set man floated up through the table. "The Fat Friar, at your service. I heard we got Harry Potter?" The boy in question raised his hand nervously. "Wonderful! Maybe this time around the castle will stay intact."

Harry blinked in surprise. "What do you mean?"

The Fat Friar sighed. "Every time Hogwarts gets a Potter, they cause trouble. James Potter was the worst, terrorized the school. Sad what happened to him, though." He sniffled.

Harry just shrugged and turned to Tonks. "You're friends with Charlie Weasley? What's he like?"

"He was Gryffindor Seeker until last year; nice bloke. I liked him, too." She stabbed at her plate with her fork. "We could have been in the same year if I hadn't told the Hat I wanted to wait a year."

"The hat asked me if I wanted to wait a year," Harry said, "but I wanted to be here more."

Tonks laughed. "I like you, kid."

And with that, the Sorting Feast really began at the Hufflepuff table. One of the students that looked too young to be an upperclassman sidled over to Harry. "Harry Potter, I'm Cedric Diggory, Third Year Hufflepuff. Nice to meet you."

Harry, whose mouth was full of food, merely mumbled. "Nife foo meef you foo, Fefrif."

Cedric laughed. "Sorry, my timing is horrible. Oh, Nym, you've got something on your chin."

Harry looked around to see who Nym could be, when he saw Tonks with a large wart on her chin. "I know, Cedric." She screwed up her face in concentration, and the wart disappeared. "Damn hexes."

Harry smiled. He figured that he'd like it in Hufflepuff.

Original 1991-1992 Sorting Hat Song © JK Rowling

[Pokota]

Ribbon and Stone
Chapter 6 - The Week In Review

It was Tuesday Morning, the first day of classes. Dumbledore had asked the Professors to hold off on doing any instruction until September 3rd, so that he could have the Prefects give the First Years the "grand tour" of Hogwarts.

Harry was just sitting down to breakfast when the morning post came. He was mildly surprised when he received a letter by large Tawney owl.

Dear Mr. Potter

As you have no classes on Thursday Afternoons, I would like to invite you to my office during that time of the week. As your current legal guardians have little interest in how your education is going short of 'has he died yet,' I feel it to be my responsibility to act as your parent this year. The meetings will be fairly brief, mostly just 'how were your classes' and similar. Please send your reply with Hedwig; simply address it to me and she'll be able to deliver.

Albus Dumbledore

Harry looked at the parchment, fairly confused. He passed the note to Cedric, who shrugged.

"What can I say?" Cedric said around a piece of toast. "He's eccentric. I'd say you just go along with it for now. The prefects can show you where to find his office."

Harry just nodded. He looked to the delivery owl. "Er, are you Hedwig?" he asked, somewhat uncertainly. The owl puffed out his chest angrily, and hooted in an indignant manner. "Sorry, didn't mean to offend you."

Harry quickly scribbled his reply, "Yes, please" onto a spare bit of parchment. "Would you take this back to the headmaster, then?"

The owl did what Harry swore was an owlish sigh, but accepted the letter and flew off. It was only then that he took a close look at his schedule. He had Charms with the Gryffindors after breakfast, followed by Defense Against the Dark Arts before lunch. That afternoon he had double potions with the Ravenclaws. The next day he had Herbology, Transfiguration, History, and Astronomy in the evening.

He shrugged. While he'd heard from Hagrid that Snape hated his father, he didn't know what to expect.

----------

The diminutive head of Ravenclaw House, Filius Flitwick, led the first year Gryffindors up to the charms corridor after breakfast. As they passed a certain door, Harry thought he heard the growling of a large dog. Himeko and Hermione were arguing with each other.

"...but why would Dunbadoru-sensei have brought attention to it if he didn't want us going in?"

"So that we knew that we weren't to go in it!"

"But that just guarantees someone will go in it and find out why it's forbidden the hard way!"

"And why do you say that?"

"My mom's a book writer, and my dad directs movies. I know the... what's that word again, the stuff that every writer seems to use? Anyway, dad and Aiko'neechan would sit and watch some really bad American horror films and make fun of them at the same time. If you want someone to investigate something, you hide it then call attention to the fact that you're hiding something."

"This isn't a movie or a book, Himeko." Hermione said, annoyed. Professor Flitwick smiled mysteriously.

"Well, come in to the classroom, then, children."

As they all took their seats, Harry tried to sit next to Ron, who was trying to sit next to Himeko, who was trying not to sit next to Hermione, who wanted to sit next to Harry. They kept swapping seats for a full minute before Harry noticed that Flitwick had started a phonograph, and stopped it whenever all four were seated. He looked at the miniscule man, who smiled and said "Well, if you're playing musical chairs, you need to have music!"

At this, the rest of the class laughed. The four sheepishly took their seats, with Hermione and Himeko on opposite sides of Ron and Harry. Flitwick went through the class roll, and did a very dramatic squeak and falling off of his stack of books when he got to Harry's name. While amusing, Himeko said later that she thought he was acting. On this, Hermione agreed; surely he had looked at the roll when they assigned the classes.

The first charms class was spent on holding your wand properly. Most of the Muggleborns-plus-Harry were glad for this; it turned out that you grip the handle differently depending on what discipline you were casting from. Delicate charm-work, large-scale transfigurations, and alchemical shapings all had different 'fingerings,' and you'd get weird side-effects if you used the wrong fingering. After he showed the fingerings that they'd be using most that year, Flitwick then divided the class into groups, where he had them practice a simple alchemical shaping that would make a small puff of wind.

Funny, Harry thought. Didn't spells need an incantation along with the wandwork to do anything? After class was over, Flitwick was smiling broadly. None of the first years knew that he was trying a psychological experiment involving nonverbal magic.

----------

The first Defense Against The Dark Arts class turned out to be a joke. Harry remembered what Dumbledore told him at Diagon Alley, but there's a difference between 'Brushing Up' on something and getting his first practical exposure to it. Ignoring the headache that had suddenly manifested, he tried to read through his textbook instead of the man who kept tripping over his tongue. Half-listening to the lecture on how the garlic-stuffed hat was supposed to ward away Vampires, Harry read the section on Vampires in his book. Raising his hand, he asked innocently...

"But Professor Quirrel, sir, the book says that Garlic doesn't help against Vampires at all."

The timid man froze for a second, but recovered. "Yes, yes, quite right, Mister Potter. I was just about to point that out, in fact. Garlic doesn't actually ward Vampires away, but it can be helpful in hiding from them. As I found out in Albania this past summer, Vampires rely heavily on their noses, so if you can mask your scent all the better. Garlic in particular is very overpowering, so as long as you're smart about it you can completely avoid Vampires altogether."

The rest of the class was spent memorizing wand movements for the Stinging Hex, which according to Quirrel was useful for warding off troublesome (if otherwise innocent) troublemakers.

----------

That afternoon, the first-year Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs gathered outside of the Potions classroom apprehensively. On the one hand, they had all heard that Snape was 'unfair' and 'biased' and 'so incredibly depressing'. On the other hand, what kind of incredibly depressing person paints all his rooms sunflower yellow?

Snape smiled mirthlessly, when he saw Harry standing with the rest of the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws. "Potter! Why aren't you in class?" Everyone just stared at him like he had two heads. Realizing his mistake in assuming those books that Albus had read to him over the summer would be perfectly accurate, he simply opened the door and said "Get inside, all of you."

The yellow in the room was somewhat less bright than the rest of the dungeons; there were spots that looked like they had beem just splashed on to the wall. Snape sighed; with a flick of his wand, he evened out the paint.

"Sit down, all of you. You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

The words had a note of fatalism to them, almost as though Snape expected them to be dunderheads. Harry chanced a quick glance around the room. On either side of him were two Ravenclaws that Harry thought were named Teddy Boot and Tamara Moon. Apparently, however, Snape thought Harry wasn't paying attention to the lecture, so he shot a question at him.

"Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry blinked in surprise. "A potion?" The class laughed, and Snape groaned. He remembered a red-haired girl giving Horace Slughorn that same answer in his first Potions class.

"One point from Gryffindor for your cheek."

Teddy Boot elbowed Harry before he could correct Snape. From the corner of his mouth, he whispered "Don't bother, it would just make it worse." Harry looked around; all the other Ravenclaws had given the other Hufflepuffs the same advice.

Snape glared at Teddy Boot, and shot another question at Harry. "Where would you look if I told you to fetch me a bezoar?"

Harry scratched his head. "Wherever you keep the bezoars at, I guess." Snape facepalmed, and the class laughed again. "Five points from Gryffindor for your cheek, Potter. Do it again and I will give you detention. Now, what's the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?"

Now that one Harry had heard Molly Weasley joke about once or twice. Besides, it wasn't like Hufflepuff was losing the points. "One's a hermit and the other howls at the moon."

Snape scowled at the memory. Those were exactly the same answers that Lily had given all those years ago. "Ten points from Gryffindor for your cheek, and detention with me Friday Evening."

Hannah Abbott, sitting in the back next to Susan Bones, raised her hand. "Yes, Miss Abbott?"

"Professor Snape, sir, Harry's a Hufflepuff."

Snape frowned. "Very well then, sixteen points from Hufflepuff for your cheek, Potter."

Susan just glared at Hannah. Teddy Boot took out a parchment and quill, and motioned for Tamara Moon and Harry to do the same. Snape started to speak, and the two Ravenclaws started to note down what Snape said. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it 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?"

Teddy Boot smirked; how did he know that was coming? Harry looked at the list on his own parchment. "1. Sleeping Potion 'Draught of Living Death' 2. Goat Stomach (something about poison) 3. Same Plant"

There was a scratching of Parchment, and Snape sat behind his desk. With a flick of his wand, instructions appeared on a blackboard. "Today, you will be working on a simple potion to dye hair blue. I would have you work on a potion to cure boils, but Professor Flitwick has told me you have not yet had a shaping for starting flames. Potions for dying hair blue do not require any heat, so you will make one of those instead, and we will cure boils next week."

Harry was the last to get his ingredients. One of them was a vial of blue food coloring. Figuring it couldn't hurt to have it handy, he took it along with everything else.

Snape looked at Harry. How very Muggle of him to take the blue food coloring. He had to keep himself from smiling; somehow today had been almost exactly the same as the first Potions class he had ever attended, right down to Lily... Lily's son taking the food coloring 'just in case'. He motioned for Harry to come over to his desk. He whispered at the boy, and Harry almost missed it entirely.

"Five points to Hufflepuff for ingenuity, now go make your hair dyeing potion."

----------

"...he actually gave you points?" Dumbledore asked, genuinely concerned for the mental health of his Potions Master.

"He didn't want the others to hear it, and we were still down by eleven anyway." Harry answered. Dumbledore sighed; that was somewhat better than what could have been. "What's in the forbidden room?" Harry asked, curious.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Something that was almost stolen out of Gringotts the very day we were getting your wand. It's a good thing I took it out when I did, Nicolas would have severely injured me if I had let it into the wrong hands."

"But what's in the forbidden room?"

"Something that I must forbid you from looking for. Now, do tell me about the classes you had Yesterday."

Harry knew the dismissal when he heard it, and continued with the story.

----------

Wednesday morning was a fairly drab day, and the first year Hufflepuffs marched through the rain to the Greenhouses, where their Head of House waited for them. They were joined by the Gryffindors for this class again. Harry wondered if he'd ever get to see Daichi and Draco at this rate.

When they were all inside of Greenhouse One, Harry noticed that they were still getting rained on. Hermione must have noticed the confused look on his face, since she simply whispered "Charmed to mimic the weather outside, except for heat and humidity." Harry nodded as though in agreement. Professor Sprout went through the roll, and said "Harry Potter" quite proudly. In fact, once Harry noticed it, she had named all of the Hufflepuff students just as proudly.

"Welcome to Herbology, everyone. As you have guessed, we'll be working with plants in this class, so you won't need your wand very often. More usually, you'll need whatever supplies I leave out on this front desk. Professor Dumbledore wants me to start a batch of Mandrakes this year, and I have the second-year Ravenclaws and Slytherins same time as you all over in Greenhouse Two, so if you see earmuffs in a box, that's why. Today we'll be discussing what plants you'll be working with during first year. I've told my second-years to stay in the castle today, since I'll be spending too much time with you all today to work with them at all."

Harry just nodded, further dazed. He resolved to ask Hermione for the short version of the lecture later.

----------

Transfiguration was with the Slytherins. Immediately on arriving, Harry stood next to Daichi and resolved to sit next to him, too. Unfortunately, Draco Malfoy seemed to have the same idea.

Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor House, gave off that same no-nonsense aura that Professor Snape had given during his leading lecture. She saw the three boys standing together, and was suddenly reminded of James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black. She had the entire class sit down (with Harry, Draco, and Daichi sitting in separate corners of the room at her insistance), and began her lecture.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned." Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time.

After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, nobody had managed to change their match into a needle, although both Draco and Harry had at least managed to turn theirs silver, and Daichi's had gone all pointy. Everyone with a partial transfiguration was awared two points, but the entire class was instructed to read the textbook and practice the transfiguration for Friday's class.

----------

That afternoon, the Slytherins joined the Hufflepuffs for History of Magic, which was by far the most boring class. Professor Binns, it turned out, had been dead for a hundred years and never noticed it. Draco loudly wondered if the class would have been any livelier if the teacher were a bit less transparent, but other than that the class was wasted. He didn't even bother taking roll (which both Daichi and Harry noticed).

The most useful thing Harry learned in his first History of Magic class, aside from the fact that Cuthbert Binns didn't take attendance, was that the castle had once been the home of a monster so dangerous, it had to be contained within a legendary chamber said to be hidden away under the school. Harry wondered briefly if the monster that had been sealed away was helping guard whatever Dumbledore had taken out of Gringotts back in July.

----------

"No, Harry, I'm afraid that the Chamber of Secrets has nothing to do with Nicolas Flamel's stone." Dumbledore said, chuckling. Harry looked at Dumbledore.

"Er, who's Nicolas Flamel?"

"He's an old family friend; I promised him I'd help safeguard his stone."

"What's so special about his stone?"

"I'm sure you and your friends will discover that throughout the year. How was Astronomy?"

"I got rained on, Himeko came down with a cold, it turns out that Teddy Boot and Tamara Moon are actually Terry Boot and Tymora Moon, and Draco and Ron decided that they don't like each other at all. Oh, and Professor Babbage is a bit of an airhead, if you ask me. May I have a lemon drop?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Of course you may, Harry. Of course you may."

----------

In a kingdom long since hidden from prying eyes, great things were afoot. The princess of the Kingdom of Magic, Erika of the house of Vulcan, was beginning her Trials for ascending to being the crown princess. Her father called her forward before the Court.

"Erika, you are now old enough to begin the Trials. Have you decided on what your Item will be?"

"Yes, father. I will make a ribbon that can transform the wearer into any living human."

"Very well then. You have three months to make your item and to deliver it to your Other."

"I understand, Father."

[Pokota]

Ribbon and Stone
Chapter 7: None At Bag-End, but Plenty At Hogwarts

Harry knocked on the door to Snape's office. He had been instructed to come here for his detention. To his surprise, Himeko and Daichi also had detentions with Snape tonight in his office. There were footsteps behind him. Thinking it was Snape, the three of them turned around. It wasn't Snape, it was a Ravenclaw girl that Harry didn't recognize. She looked like she was a second-year.

The door opened, and out walked a burly fifth-year Slytherin. He looked at the four and grunted. "Snape'll see you now. Hope you brought your gloves!"

With those ominous words, he walked off. Snape called out of the door. "Don't just stand there like a bunch of idiots, come inside of my office. Yes, Chang, you too."

As Harry entered the office, he noticed that there were three extremely dirty cauldrons, each filled with soaply, slightly steaming water, and each sitting next to an empty chair. "You will each scrub cauldrons until they are clean for one hour. No magic will be used. You may talk amongst yourselves if you so desire. When the cauldron you are scrubbing is clean, I will assign you another one. If I find that you are not trying, I will call you back for this detention again on Monday evening. Chang, come over to my desk; we shall carry on your lessons away from those three dunderheads."

Slightly irked at being called a dunderhead, Harry started scrubbing furiously. He wondered why they were allowed to talk... and it was then that he noticed that Snape and the Ravenclaw girl were talking rapidly in another language.

{Chang, I assume you still wish to practice Occlumency in order to keep your Father out of your head during the summer holidays?}

{Yes, sir.}

Harry wondered what language they were talking in, and continued scrubbing.

{Very well then, Chang. Have you had training in meditation?}

{Yes, sir.}

{Have you ever created an Occlumency Shield before?}

{Yes, sir; I was wondering if you could test mine.}

{Chang, you are here tonight so that I can actively try to break into your feelings and memories. A Shield created without active resistance cannot adapt. I will not test your defenses so much as I will make you learn which memories are the ones your Father would find most powerful.}

Chang's eyes widened. Himeko nudged Harry. "What are they saying, Harry?"

"Something about Occlumency." Harry whispered back as he scrubbed his cauldron. It was starting to become cleaner, though not by much. The hot water was bearable, but only just. Listening intently to Snape and Chang, he missed what Himeko and Daichi were arguing about.

{As you know, Chang, Occlumency and Legilimency are related arts. Where one is defensive, the other is offensive. Both rely on control of emotions. Basic Occlumency is simply masking the emotions attatched to certain memories, while the more advanced form is misdirection of emotions onto other memories. The most powerful of Occlumens, myself and Dumbledore included, can actually bar entry into the mind altoghter.}

Snape briefly looked at the three Cauldron Scrubbers. When Harry met his eyes, the young boy flushed with anger, suddenly remembering the time his Aunt Marge had let her bulldog chase him up a tree. Snape gasped, and said "Excuse me, I must see the headmaster. Continue with your scrubbings. Not you, Potter, you come with me. Chang, you are excused; we will continue your lesson tomorrow."

Harry wondered why he was being taken to the headmaster's office; had Snape noticed that he had been listening in on the conversation?

For five brief minutes, Snape led in silence, with Harry remembering more and more bad things about the Dursleys every time Snape locked eyes with the boy. When they got to the stone gargoyle, Snape nearly shouted "Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans!" The anger was evident in his voice, and the gargoyle sprang out of the way much faster than it had for Harry the previous evening. Harry was really panicking now. Why was Snape so upset?

They entered Dumbledore's office together, where the venerable headmaster was reading over a letter from Molly and Arthur Weasley. "Albus, I don't care how important it is that Harry return to his Aunt's house over the summer. Every one of his relations appears to have only his death in the front of their minds."

Harry was surprised at this; why was Snape, Mister "I Hate James Potter And Everything About Him" Snape from what Hagrid had said in Majorca, trying to get him away from the Dursleys?

Snape ranted at Dumbledore for a good minute or so, and when the greasy-haired man quieted down, Dumbledore handed Snape two pieces of parchment. Snape read the one, then the other, and glared at the older man. "Exactly when was this going to be made public?"

"Severus, given your unreasonable request that your reasons be kept secret from Harry, was it wise to bring him here?" dodged Dumbledore deftly.

"I brought him here so that you could see the memories yourself. You never believe without evidence."

"I see. And the fact that you ignored Sybil's warning to use Muffliato should you continue instructing Miss Chang in Occlumency has nothing to do with it?"

"Ixnay on the Vinationdray, and yes; we need to nip Potter's penchant for eavesdropping in the bud."

Dumbledore sighed, and looked Harry in the eyes.
----------
Himeko and Daichi were still scrubbing cauldrons in Snape's office. There was no clock, so they had lost track of time.

"What do you think Dunbadoru's going to do to Harry?" Himeko asked nervously.

Daichi shrugged. "Dumbledore's eccentric, according to Sei and Draco. I'm guessing he'll just be disappointed and guilt Harry into... not doing whatever Snape's upset about him doing."

Himeko frowned. "I wonder if it's something he can be kicked out of school over?"

"Well, what could he have done?" Daichi asked reasonably.

Himeko scratched her head with her dry hand. "I dunno. Maybe he tried to sneak into the third-floor corridor. You know, the one that's forbidden?"

"Yes, but Dumbledore said that anyone foolish enough to go in there would meet with a gruesome fate."

"I'll give you that, but Dunbadoru never said how they would meet with a gruesome fate. What if he's the one to make it gruesome?"

The two children shuddered, and both thought of the same thing. Without saying a word, they darted from the now lifeless office, the cauldrons forgotten. They made their way into the Great Hall, where the gargoyles guarding Dumbledore's office stood watching. "Oi there, you two! Shouldn't you be in your common rooms at this time o' night?"

"We would like to see Headmaster Dunbadoru." Himeko said forcefully.

"No password, no admittance." The gargoyle replied. Himeko and the gargoyle got into a bit of a staring contest. Daichi walked over to the other gargoyle. "Would you tell me what the password is?"

Automatically, the gargoyle replied "Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans."

Himeko smiled as the gargoyles sprung apart, with the one glaring at the other. Riding the ascending staircase, Daichi made a mental note to try that one with the Fat Lady of Gryffindor. Maybe there was a way to sneak into Gryffindor Tower after all.

When the two detention-ditchers finally arrived in the Headmaster's office, they saw Dumbledore and Harry having a staring contest, with Snape just watching.

"Er, professor, why was it urgent that Harry have a staring contest with the headmaster?" Himeko asked.

Snape flinched at the voice and turned around. "How did you two get in here without the password? And why are you here anyway? You should have gone back to your common rooms if you finished with your cauldrons."

"Well, sir, you never actually told us to go back to our houses once we were finished, and we were worried about Harry." Daichi said, slightly smugly.

"Ten points from Slytherin for your cheek, Kobayashi. How did you two get in here, anyway?"

Himeko grinned as Daichi explained. "Nonohara was trying to stare down one of the gargoyles, so I tried asking the other one politely for the password. It worked."

Snape frowned as he processed the information, his eye twitching oddly. "You asked... for the password... and got it?"

"Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans!" Himeko said cheerfully.

"I was unfortunate to come across a vomit-flavored one in my youth," Dumbledore said offhandedly, "and I haven't been terribly fond of them since." He broke eye contact with Harry, and sighed. "Harry, Miss Nonohara, Mister Kobayashi, you three are excused. Severus, I would like to have a number of words with you."

Relieved that he didn't have to scrub cauldrons any more, Harry happily hopped out of the headmaster's office, and Himeko and Daichi followed after. Once the three were clear of the gargoyles, Snape rounded on Dumbledore.

"Well? When were you going to make that public?"

"That depends, Severus, on how quickly we can confiscate Ron Weasley's rat."

"Why would we confiscate his rat? He's allowed to have one!"

Dumbledore sighed. "Have you forgotten already? You yourself were more than willing to go to where the Weasleys lived and expose Peter Pettigrew there, before we were ready to introduce Harry to the bulk of the Wizarding World." Snape flinched at Peter Pettigrew's name. "And need I remind you that we said first-year students could have a cat, or a toad, or an owl? We never said they could have a rat."

Snape just stared at the headmaster, then smiled evilly. "Shall I engineer for next week's potions to be tested on pets should the potions be of dubious quality?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "Too evil, and you'll want to save that for something relatively harmless like a Shrinking Solution anyway. Besides, Himeko told me that things would be much worse if Pettigrew didn't survive."

Snape's face fell into a scowl. "So we're just going to let him run free in the end?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "She only said 'alive'. She never specified that he had to be 'whole.'"

Snape looked at Dumbledore in shock, then his face regained the same evil smile from before. "How very Slytherin of you, Albus."

Dumbledore smiled at the compliment. "So tell me, how is Quirrel doing these days?"

"Well, for starters, our Quirrel doesn't stutter anymore..."

[Pokota]

Ribbon and Stone
Chapter 8 - The More Things Change

The following Thursday was the start of Flying lessons. The Gryffindors and Slytherins were to have their first lesson in the morning, and the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were to have theirs in the afternoon. Harry didn't know why, but he was really looking forward to flying.

Not that his life would ever be straightforward like that or anything. Thursday at Breakfast, Draco was picking on Neville again. There was some bickering, and eventually Daichi pulled Ron away from Draco just in time for Professor Snape to arrive.

"Potter, Weasley, Kobayashi, what is going on here?" he asked, almost as though he was dreading the answer.

Daichi spoke up at once. "Longbottom was showing off his new toy and Draco got jealous."

Snape turned to Neville and looked him in the eyes. "'New toy', Longbottom?"

"I-it's just a r-remembrall, sir." Neville stammered as he fumbled the glass sphere.

Snape frowned. "Five points from Gryffindor for fighting, Weasley. Draco, I want you in my office after your next class."

"But Professor," whined Draco, "I've got Flying lessons right after-"

"I'll not have you flying at the same time as Weasley; between the house rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin, and the fact that you can't seem to keep your hands off of other people's stuff, you'd probably end up giving Gryffindor an ace seeker. Or would you rather I took ten points from Slytherin instead as your punishment?"

Draco looked like he was ready to explode. "Punishment! For WHAT?"

Snape smiled mirthlessly. "Theft, Draco, is something that has never been tolerated at Hogwarts. Now, off to class, all of you."

And so, after charms, defense, and lunch, Harry found himself with the rest of the first year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws (plus one very disgruntled Slytherin) out on the Quidditch Pitch for his first flying lesson.

After Madam Hooch gave them all a broom and some instructions, they were allowed to try on their own. Several of the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, Harry included, were able to fly fairly well already without having to have further instructions. Not one of them could keep up with Harry, however.

Except for Draco. Every turn Harry made, Draco made almost as well. Eventually, Harry turned around and shouted at Draco.

"You're not too bad, Draco!"

Draco's mouth twitched. "I'm a pureblood, Potter. I've been flying since I was old enough to ride a broom."

Harry laughed as he did a loop-the-loop. "Then what do you call this?"

"I'd call that 'almost good enough to keep up with me.'" Draco shot back.

"Oh really? Then lead on, MacDuff!" Harry yelled in return. "We'll see just how 'almost good enough' I am!"

And so, despite Draco's bewilderment at being called MacDuff, the two boys played a game of aerial tag while Madam Hooch instructed the rest of the students. Little did anyone know that Professor McGonagall was watching the proceedings with much interest. At the end of the lesson, she came out to the pitch and started to speak with Madam Hooch.

Everyone was excused to go back to whatever they were supposed to be doing next, except for Harry and Draco. McGonagall took those two aside separately and started to speak to them.

"Well boys, I hope you've had a lot of fun today. I haven't seen flying like that since the seventies; Regulus Black of Slytherin in a seeker's competition with Galvin Gudgeon of Ravenclaw back before his mishap." She sniffled fondly, and continued. "While first-years are typically not allowed their own brooms, nor do they typically play for the house Quidditch teams during their first year, the Headmaster has planned to add two more teams - an all-house team that's open to first-years, and a teachers-only team. And he's talking about separating the Quidditch cup from the House cup, which can only help inter-house relations. In any case, if the extra teams and games do fly, I expect to see you two trying out for the inter-house team. You are both excellent flyers. It's a shame I can't have either of you on the Gryffindor team."

Draco looked at Professor McGonagall. "Do you mean to say that I might be able to have my own personal broomstick during my first year?"

Minerva nodded. "Yes, Mister Malfoy, but only if you make the inter-house team. I believe Madam Hooch will be calling tryouts in the coming week. Now, off to whatever you two have next. Don't want the two of you being late."

Draco and Harry both nodded excitedly, relieved that the stern Deputy Headmistress hadn't scolded them. When McGonagall was out of eye- and earshot, Draco did a sort of victory dance.

"I can't believe it! I don't even have to smuggle in my own broom!"

Harry sighed. "Er, wouldn't you have to out-fly older students from all the houses to get on the inter-house team?"

Draco stopped in mid-leap, and scowled at Harry. "You just had to remember that, didn't you, Potter?"

"What, you don't think that one of the boys that impressed Professor McGonagall won't be able to out-fly enough people to get onto a Quidditch team?"

"I'm not worried about out-flying other people, Potter. There's only one position I'm interested in playing, and you fly almost better than I do. You're a shoe-in for Seeker." Draco said dejectedly. "If you don't think you can out-fly older students, I won't stand a chance at all."

Harry pondered this. On the one hand, the Seeker position did sound like something he would be interested in playing. On the other hand, Draco really wanted to play as Seeker. This would take someone with more wisdom to resolve.

----------

"Professor, I would like to ask you about some rumors I heard today."

In the isolation of the Headmaster's Office, Harry felt it easier to speak what was on his mind. Dumbledore looked at Harry, with a slight twinkling in the eyes.

After a moment's silence, Harry continued. "Will there be an inter-house Quidditch team open to first-years?"

Dumbledore nodded. "It's still a secret at the moment; it's supposed to be a surprise on next Thursday."

"Will there also be a Quidditch Team composed entirely of staff members?"

Dumbledore chuckled. "Your sources are very well informed, Harry. The professors and I gave it a lot of thought over the summer. By adding two teams without any house loyalties whatsoever, and by not adding the points from the Quidditch games in to the House cup points, it should reduce the discipline problems that occur when Slytherins and Gryffindors share classes."

Harry sat there, trying to wrap his head around the information that he was just given. "So, there are four House teams. In the past, the points scored in the Quidditch games have counted towards the House cup." He rubbed his forehead. "The Snitch is worth 150 points to the catching team, the game cannot end until the snitch is caught, and all points scored in a Quidditch game have gone towards the teams' house cup points. How many points do the brightest students in each house earn between Quidditch games?"

Dumbledore smiled. "And now you begin to understand why we have agreed that this is the best course of action. Until this year, the Quidditch games have had more influence on the House cup than good behavior and performance in classes. Seven people could potentially score more points in one Saturday than the brightest students could earn for their house in a month."

"What of first-year students?"

"What about them?"

Harry sighed, unsure of how to word what he wanted to say. "Well, sir, a friend of mine - another first year - really really wants to play seeker on the inter-house team so that he can have his own broomstick and not get in trouble about it, but he's afraid that he won't be able to out-fly the older students at the tryouts."

Dumbledore smiled again. "You are, I assume, speaking of Mister Malfoy?" Harry nodded, and Dumbledore chuckled. "When the tryouts for the inter-house team start, I think you'll be able to solve his problem."

Harry just nodded, not sure if he agreed with that or not. "Sir, I do have one last question to ask you."

"Ask away, Harry. I can't guarantee that I'll give you an answer, but if I do answer I will give you a complete one." Dumbledore closed his eyes, and there was a note of the inevitable in his voice.

"Sir, what exactly is a Remembrall?"

There was silence, except for the tinkling of a small instrument off to the side of the office. Then, Dumbledore started to laugh - actual laughter, not just chuckling or a twinkle in the eye.

"And here I was preparing for the worst! If you have forgotten something, grasping a Remembrall tightly will cause it to turn red. It's not very useful, since knowing that you have forgotten something does not mean that you know what it is that you have forgotten. Much like tying a string around your little finger in order to remember something and later forgetting why you did that." Harry nodded; this was a comparison he could understand. "Now, enough of this. Tell me about how things have gone since last we spoke..."

----------

On his way back to the Hufflepuff Common Room, Harry ran into the Weasley Twins, Fred and George. They were heavily laden with food, and Harry offered to help carry it all.

"Say, Harry." One of the twins started.

"We were thinking of asking you to help us with something." The other continued.

"You see, we want to know what's in the forbidden door in the third floor."

"But every time we try to get in, we get caught by Snape or Quirrel."

"So, we were wondering if you could be a lookout for us."

Harry started to laugh at how the twins took turns speaking. "I've been Dudley's lookout when he wanted to steal cookies. Just make sure you tell me what's in that doorway."

Snacking on the filched foods, the Twins led Harry through secret passages. Occasionally, they'd stop and consult a piece of parchment, and decide to go in a completely different direction. After a few minutes, they arrived at the Charms Corridor.

One of the twins (Harry figured it was Fred) handed Harry the Parchment, and showed Harry where they were on the Marauder's Map (for it was indeed the map).

"Harry, this is the secret to our success. Please keep it that way. Here's you, " he pointed to the Harry-dot, "and here we are, " he pointed to the George-dot, "and if anyone comes close to this corridor, tap the parchment with your wand and say 'Mischief Managed' as loud as you can."

Harry looked from George to who he thought was George. "What will that do?"

"It'll wipe the map clean and tell us that someone's coming."

And with that, the twins ducked into the forbidden door. Harry heard the sound of three dogs barking and growling, and the Dumbledore, Snape, and Quirrel dots left the Great Hall and started to move towards the Charms corridor.

"MISCHIEF MANAGED!" Harry shouted as Fred and George escaped from the forbidden doorway. Fred grabbed Harry and the map, and the three of them disappeared into a secret passage.

Panting with adrenaline, Fred and George started to laugh. "I can't believe it."

"For once, Dumbledore has a good reason for keeping something off-limits!"

"He wasn't kidding when he said that people entering the forbidden area do so at the risk of their own lives."

Harry took a custard and asked "What was in there?"

The twins shuddered. "Big dog."

"Three heads."

"Was sleeping until we woke it up."

"I wouldn't want to get on that thing's bad side."

"We should get this lot up to the Common Room before it gets eaten, Gred."

"Right you are, Forge."

"Harry, are you done for the day or would you like to help us further?"

Harry blinked. "More being a lookout?"

Forge shook his head. "No, just carrying sweets up to Gryffindor Tower."

"Tonight's a good night for a party."

Harry laughed. "Teach me about that map?"

The twins looked at each other, nodded, and said at the same time "Of course we won't."

"Ah well, it was worth a shot."

And so the three of them trundled off to Gryffindor Tower, through secret paths almost forgotten.

----------

Dumbledore and Snape were standing outside of the Forbidden Room in the Charms Corridor.

"Someone tried to get past the Cerberus just now." Dumbledore said. "I felt the wards being breached."

Snape spat. "I'll bet it was Potter; somehow the Books insist on becoming true despite what we've tried to prevent."

Dumbledore stood there, chin in hand. He looked to be deep in thought. "Severus, I wonder if trying to force changes won't make the universe fight back."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, let's say we took a picture of the first year Gryffindors and their pets, and submitted that to the Daily Prophet under a new column 'Life At Hogwarts'. We would hear about a breakout from Azkaban shortly after, would we not?"

Snape nodded. "But in the books, the only person that could have connected Ron Weasley to Sirius Black was Sirius Black, and that was because he recognized Wormtail."

Dumbledore nodded. "And because of the timing, everyone thought he was after Harry."

Snape snorted. "What are you suggesting?"

Dumbledore smiled. "I want to try an experiment. Let this year resolve itself, since Harry and the rest of the students are only really in trouble if Riddle gets hold of the Stone, and Harry will do whatever he can to prevent that. Next year, we interfere like there's no tomorrow since the Students would be in direct danger."

"And if the universe collapses as a result?"

"I'm sure we'll have another visit from one of the Plutos before we break things too badly, Severus."

[Pokota]

Ribbon and Stone
Chapter 9 - Filler for Filler

The end of October brought with it chilly air and windy days. Students were more often than not found inside the castle trying to pass the time.

The Inter-House Quidditch Team, however, was not among this lucky group. The last Saturday of October was the first round of matches for the year - Inter-House Chimaeras versus Hogwarts Dragons in the morning, Ravenclaw Eagles versus Slytherin Serpents in the afternoon, and Hufflepuff Badgers versus Gryffindor Lions that evening. Harry looked at Draco, who was shivering. And fuming over how he wasn't allowed to snipe at Ron during team time, but mostly shivering.

It had turned out that Madam Hooch was composing this year's team entirely out of first-year students, as a favor to Dumbledore. Not that anyone above first-year had bothered to show any interest in the team. Everyone was convinced that it was going to be Ravenclaw versus Hufflepuff for the final match.

Harry had been surprised at how the tryouts had ended up, even over a month later. Draco had been over the moon when Harry made Chaser, and none of the other hopeful Seekers could hold a candle to Draco. Ron had tried out for Keeper, which Harry found surprising. Even more surprising was when Hermione Granger tried out for the position of Beater. She was hit by Bludgers more often than she hit them, but she at least had the guts to try out for the position she wanted... unlike Neville, who got sick from nerves before the Chasers could try out and ended up just watching the rest of the tryouts. Himeko and Daichi got into an argument before the beater tryouts, and started hitting the Bludgers at each other when they came up (together, for some bizarre reason), but they could always get the Bludger to go where they wanted it to.

Harry smiled at the memory, but then his imagination took over. He was hovering over near the goal posts, and some sandy-haired boy he didn't recognize was arguing with someone who looked like Cedric, only meaner. The Cedric-lookalike took the beater's bat from the sandy-haired boy, and hit a Bludger at Harry... who ducked and rolled on the ground. He felt the stares of the others on him, and blushed.

Draco snickered. "Practicing for when our beaters start arguing?"

Eventually, everyone settled into their positions in the air. Harry found himself as the center Chaser, playing opposite Professor Flitwick. Terry Boot and Morag MacDougal were facing Professors Sinistra and Babbage as the left and right Chasers. Himeko Nonohara and Kobayashi Daichi were Beaters, opposed by Professors Trelawney and Professor Vector. Ron Weasley and Professor McGonagall were the Keepers, while Seeker Draco found himself looking Professor Snape in the eyes.

A minute later, the balls were in the air. Ten minutes after that, the final score was 30-190, in favor of the Hogwarts Dragons. Professor McGonagall was seen congratulating Ron Weasley for his "surprisingly good skills at Keeping," while Severus Snape was giving Draco a bad-tempered glare for not realizing that the Snitch was floating three inches above his (Draco's) own head. Harry had been too busy trying to get the Quaffle past Professor McGonagall to listen to the commentary for the match (or to really pay attention to the rest of the game), and resolved to actually pay attention to the rest of the games for the day.

Shortly after the lunch break, the second game of the day began - Ravenclaw versus Slytherin. He sat next to Cedric Diggory for the match, and was joined shortly after by the Weasley Twins and Professor Dumbledore. The match had been going for a good five minutes when Harry noticed it.

There were supposed to be fifteen brooms in the air - two teams of seven plus a referee. So what was that blonde girl doing flying well above the game? Harry tried to get Dumbledore's attention and succeeded, but when he directed the older man's attention to where he'd seen the mysterious girl, Cho Chang flew right in between them and the girl in order to catch the snitch. The Twins and Cedric were convinced that Harry had seen the Snitch just before Cho caught it, and when Harry tried to get another look at the mysterious girl, she was nowhere to be found.

The final score of the Ravenclaw-Slytherin game was 280-350, with Ravenclaw winning after about an hour of play. The wind picked up, and Harry hurried inside of the castle to wait for the evening game, where Hufflepuff would almost certainly trounce Gryffindor. As he reached the great hall, however, he noticed something else.

Professor Quirrel was sitting at the staff table, scowling at Argus Filch. Harry couldn't see it from where he was standing, but Filch was currently busy trying to bind Quirrel's leg with gauze - as it had very recently been ripped apart by an angry cerberus.

"So why didn't you give the little runt a detention, Quirrel?" Argus grumbled.

"I t-told you, Filch, I couldn't r-recognize which student it w-was, and the magic b-binding the detentions requires that the name of the st-student be said quite clearly!" Quirrel winced in pain. "B-besides, it was much more important that I g-get the student out of h-harm's way!"

Filch gave Professor Quirrel a look that said quite clearly that he didn't believe a word of it. "Yeah, well if I had my way I'd have let the student have a round with the beast before rescuing him. Teach him a lesson he won't forget anytime this century."

Quirrel laughed. "Y-yes, but if you had your w-way there wouldn't be any s-students left to teach!"

Filch shrugged. "The smart ones would still be alive."

Quirrel laughed some more before he noticed Harry. "P-Potter! Is the g-game over already?"

Harry nodded. "Ravenclaw won."

"That's a s-shame; I'd bet S-Severus ten gallons that Slytherin would w-win."

Harry blinked. "Don't you mean ten galleons?"

"N-no, ten Gallons. T-ten gallons of apple j-juice." Quirrel sighed. "I do so l-love apple juice."

Harry filed this information away for later use. "Did a student really try to break into the third-floor corridor?"

Quirrel nodded. "Y-you've got good e-ears, Potter. Don't l-let them go to w-waste."

Filch slapped the injured leg, and Quirrel winced. "Dumbledore'd want to hear about this sort of thing, Quirrel. If a student knows about the Stone, there'll be all kinds of trouble."

Quirrel nodded darkly. "I agree, I should t-tell Dumbledore immediately."

Harry watched as the turbaned man limped towards the Quidditch pitch, but when the turban faced Harry properly, his scar began hurting. He winced in pain, and decided to go lie down and see if it would go away in time for the Gryffindor/Hufflepuff match.

----------

It was dark when Harry woke up. Someone was shaking him and calling out his name.

He opened his eyes, and thought he saw Cedric Diggory sighing in relief. "Don't scare us like that, Harry. We'd thought Quirrel had caught you trying to get into the Third Floor Corridor."

Harry yawned. "I fell asleep? What time is it? Did Hufflepuff win the match?"

"Yes, eight in the evening, and yes. Two-hundred ten to seventy." Cedric blinked. "Dumbledore's been worried sick about you, but wouldn't say why."

"I had a headache and came to lay down for a bit. You said it's eight?"

Cedric nodded. "Yeah, and there's no food left in the Great Hall. I told Susan Bones to tell Professor Babbage that you weren't going to be in class tonight, so don't worry about missing Astronomy; we can fill you in later on whatever you may have missed."

Harry yawned again. "That's fine; I'll just blackmail the Weasley Twins into showing me how to get into the kitchens later."

Cedric laughed. "Just what would you blackmail the Weasley Twins, of all people, with?"

Harry blinked. He hadn't thought about that yet. "Well, the only think I know they were doing that they weren't supposed to be doing was being up and about after curfew..."

Cedric laughed again. "They're always up after curfew. Dumbledore's told the teachers that until Filch catches them out of bounds, they seriously injure another student, or they cause mayhem in any common room other than Gryffindor, they're permitted to keep being up after curfew. Thank you for that, Professor Icklibõgg."

Harry managed to stifle a yawn as he stood up from his bed. "Must be nice to be a Gryffindor."

Cedric frowned. "I wouldn't say that just yet. Legend has it that every year some Gryffindor gets roped into solving some sort of conspiracy that's wandered into the school. Last year the Weasley Twins caught Professor Icklibõgg selling his toenails as rare restorative items. Olliver Wood's third year here, he got convinced that there was something called the 'Pillar of Storgé' that he needed to destroy in order to... damn, I can't remember what the justification for that one was. Anyhow, there's always some sort of conspiracy that's going on at Hogwarts, and it's almost always a Gryffindor that ends up solving it."

Harry's stomach growled. "Do you know where the kitchens are, by any chance?"

Cedric shrugged. "Technically, students aren't supposed to know how to enter the kitchens, but there's no rule saying that they're not allowed in. Outside of our common room..."

----------

Harry stared at the painting. Was Cedric pulling his leg? No, it would have been too much of a coincidence, since he'd found the Weasley Twins out here back after his detention with Snape. Tentatively, he reached up and tickled the pear.

To his surprise, the pear giggled and moved out of the way, revealing a smallish hole that Harry could enter easily. He could smell food, and his stomach was urging him forward. There was a bright light, and he thought he heard squeaky voices. When his eyes adjusted, Harry gasped.

He'd seen the old Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie (it being one of Dudley's favorites), and his first thought was that he'd walked into a room full of bald albino oompah-loompahs with batlike ears and towels for clothes. They were busy cleaning the dishes from dinner. Harry quietly poked one that didn't look like it was doing much of anything in the shoulder.

"Yes, yes, Master Wheezy, we has your... you're not Master Wheezy!" It squeaked. "Who is you?"

"Er, I'm Hungry Potter." Harry said, not thinking about what he was saying.

"Hungry Potter?" the thing asked, apparently not sure if it had heard right.

"Yeah, that's right." Harry said. "I am hungry."

The things started to gather around. "We house-elves has heard that Harry Potter would be coming to Hogwarts like James Potter, but we didn't knows that he has a brother!"

Harry blinked. "I have a brother?"

"Yes! Hungry Potter has a brother named Harry Potter!"

Harry blinked again. "Er, I'm not sure you heard me right. I'm Harry Potter. I'm also hungry."

"Master Hungry?"

"Yes. May I have something to eat?"

"Of course! Master Hungry is hungry! We house-elves must gets him something delicious to eat!"

Harry blinked a third time. "I'm not Hungry, I'm Harry! And I am hungry, too!"

----------

"So THAT's why the House Elves keep asking about Master Hungry?" Dumbledore asked, laughing to the point of tears.

Harry was laughing fit to burst. "When I tried to tell them that I was hungry but not Hungry, they took the food away. I eventually just gave in and told them to call me Hungry Potter."

Holding back laughter, Dumbledore sighed. "It sounds like a bad Abbot and Costello routine. Just be glad they didn't turn seven thirteens into twenty-eight."

Harry laughed, despite having no conception of what Abbot and Costello was.

[Pokota]

Ribbon and Stone
Chapter 10 - Christmas Reflections

Aside from a small troll-attack on Halloween, in which Harry, Ron, Hermione, Himeko, Daichi, and Draco all worked together to down a troll that was trying to break in to the second floor Girls' Bathroom, there really wasn't anything out of the ordinary going on at Hogwarts. Neville melted another cauldron in Potions class, Ron and Hermione began to suspect that Professor Snape was out to steal whatever it was that the Three-Headed Dog was guarding (Harry briefly wondered how they found out about the dog; maybe the Twins had let something slip), and the second set of Quidditch games were held during the fourth weekend of November. The Chimaeras beat the Lions, one-hundred sixty to ninety, the Eagles beat the Dragons by one hundred points due to a lucky capture of the Snitch by Cho Chang, and the Serpents beat the Badgers two-hundred thirty to two-hundred ten.

Lessons continued as normal, as well. Flitwick had taught the students how to do a basic shaping for each of the four classical elements of Alchemy, and was now teaching them variations of those shapings - all without actually teaching them the words for those shapings. Transfiguration had progressed to turning saucers into sunflowers, which pretty much every first year (apart from Hermione Granger, if rumors were to be believed) had interpreted as fake plastic sunflowers. While Harry Potter wasn't exactly top-of-the-class, he was usually among the best ten students. Usually. His potions grades were generally only average, and he constantly had headaches while in Defense against the Dark Arts, which kept him from properly concentrating on the work.

December came and went, and before Harry knew it, the Holidays were almost upon him. The day before Term ended was an interesting one; there was some reporter from the Daily Prophet doing a special article on "Students And Their Pets," interviewing Ron Weasley about his amazingly long-lived rat, Scabbers. Ron was enjoying the attention, though from how Himeko and Hermione were looking, he may have been enjoying it a little too much. The article was supposed to run the following Monday, and Ron (for one) was really excited to see it. Harry had the strangest feeling of there being some sort of cosmic joke going on at the expense of his friend, but waved it off as general paranoia.

Dumbledore watched from his seat as the End-Of-Term breakfast came to a close. The students who were to return to London all waved goodbye to the students who were remaining at Hogwarts, and vice-versa. He found it interesting that none of the students questioned the sudden appearance of reporters doing a piece for an allegedly long-running series of articles that none of them had ever heard of before. Most of the students attributed it to never actually reading the Daily Prophet from cover to cover or every Sunday. Maybe once this whole debacle with Voldemort was sorted out, he could actually sit down and run such an obscure column...

The scarlet train steamed off into the distance. Of the 'Potterpuffs', as they had collectively been called recently, only four of them were staying at the Castle over the holidays. Harry didn't want to go back to Privet Drive (not that Dumbledore would have allowed it at this point anyway), Draco's parents were abroad on Ministry Business, Ron's parents, plus Ginny, were in Romania visiting Charlie, and Sei wasn't going to be left at the Burrow all by his lonesome. Then again, Percy wasn't allowed to go back, and neither were the twins, so it wasn't like there was any reverse favoritism there or anything (as though that fact changed how Ron saw things). By contrast, Himeko and Daichi had to wait until that evening for their Special Two-Directional International Portkey to be cleared by both the British and Japanese Ministries of Magic, Hermione was going to France with her parents for their apparently traditional Winter Ski Trip, Neville was going to visit his relations in Scotland, and many of Harry's other friends and associates were off in the who-knows-where doing who-knows-what with who-knows-who.

Which meant it was the perfect time for many people's plans to be put into action.

--------

It was the day before Christmas, and Professor Quirrel had had enough. The Weasley Twins (who else?) must have enchanted his turban to attract snowballs... unmelting snowballs... unrelenting unmelting snowballs... what was worse was that the Headmaster and the Potions Master found this to be so amusing that they always broke out into fits of laughing-thats-poorly-disguised-as-coughing whenever he tried to confront them. What Professors Dumbledore and Snape found amusing about it was that they were the ones doing it.

Harry found himself spending time in the Library, as all of the other First Year Hufflepuffs (and most of the Hufflepuffs in general) had gone home, with only the prefects and Tonks remaining behind to study for their exams. Something had lodged in the back of his mind, something that was almost forgotten.

No, Harry, I'm afraid that the Chamber of Secrets has nothing to do with Nicolas Flamel's stone.

Nicolas Flamel... Harry had the feeling that he should have already known that name, but he couldn't figure out why. Book after book after book, famous alchemists and transfigurators and charms-experts and defenders and dark lords... no matter where he searched, he could find nothing about Nicolas Flamel.

He checked out An Appraisal of Magical Education in Europe on the vague hope that Nicolas Flamel was a Mainlander as opposed to an Englishman, and wandered to the Hufflepuff common room. Outside the painting to the Kitchens, however, he was abducted by the Weasley Twins and dragged to the Gryffindor common room.

"We're celebrating Christmas as a family, Harry; we got special permission from Dumbledore to let you stay in Gryffindor Tower for the Holidays."

"Your Prefects have already been notified, Harry, and they agreed with our plan."

"And Professor Sprout did tell us that you at least should experience a Gryffindor Party at least once in your life."

"So, you're rooming with Ron during the Holidays."

"That includes Easter Holidays, too, if we end up staying for those as well."

"We figured you would like that."

Harry looked at them suspiciously. "Did you get permission for Sei to stay in Gryffindor Tower as well?"

"...Oh yeah, we forgot about that completely, didn't we George?"

"...Harry is a Hufflepuff, so we need to be Equal-Opportunity Pranksters now, Fred."

Harry shrugged. "I'm sure we can rescue him and Draco Malfoy from the Slytherin Common Room without much trouble." The twins shifted uneasily. "What?"

--------

It was the middle of the night. Dumbledore wasn't sure why he was up and about, but something told him he needed to be roaming the halls tonight.

It was then that he tripped over a sleeping bag. In the middle of the Great Hall. Upon closer inspection, it looked like there was a sleeping bag for every student that had decided to stay at Hogwarts. He chuckled and filed the idea away for later use; the students had started overcoming house prejudices a lot sooner than he had expected they had, and the Great Hall-iday Slumber Party didn't even need Sirius' breakout from Azkaban this time to happen.

Some of the bags were more empty than others, while some other bags were more full than others. He frowned; students really shouldn't share sleeping bags, but he would have known in an instant if anything untoward had happened in the Great Hall. Part of the reason there were no secrets at Hogwarts was because of an Anti-Privacy Ward that was only on the Great Hall - anything that happened in the Great Hall quickly became common knowledge to everyone in the staff offices or common... rooms...

Yeah, that would be possible to sneak around and do in the Great Hall if nobody was actually in any of the common rooms or staff offices at the time. With a grimace, he resolved to take the buddied-up students aside and remind them of the dangers of certain choices. He may be pro-choice, he thought wryly, but he was not anti-consequence.

He heard movement. Tensing, he focused his attention on the source of the sound. It was moving up to the... Library? He chuckled when he realized who was doing the sneaking, and resolved to give Harry his father's Invisibility Cloak in person as opposed to by present. Maybe he should also... no, he knew - somehow, he just knew - that the time was not yet ripe for Harry to embark on that particular Quest. Still, his father's cloak would prove useful during the year. Although why the Library, Dumbledore was not yet sure.

Disillusioning himself, he caused the Door to the Mirror Chamber to open suddenly in front of Harry, and waited for the boy to enter the Mirror Chamber.

--------

Family. The one thing everybody should have with their Christmas. That was what Harry saw in the Mirror of Erised. Yet, it was not just his parents that he saw. He saw his friends as well, all together celebrating Christmas. He smiled; Sei's idea of a Houseless Slumber Party in the Great Hall was a step in the right direction.

He started when he heard a sound, and twisted around to see if anybody had come in behind him. Nobody was there, but he still had that eerie feeling of being watched. That meant he was properly surprised when he heard the Headmaster's voice from somewhere behind him.

"Merry Christmas, Harry." Dumbledore said, dispelling his enchantment. Smiling, he held out a silvery bundle. "I believe this rightly belongs to you."

Harry didn't know how to react. His mind was racing with scenarios of being expelled for being Out-Of-Bounds, yet his... soul, he guessed, knew that he wasn't in trouble just yet. "What is it? Sir?"

Dumbledore smiled sadly. "Your Father... let me borrow this shortly before Voldemort attacked them. Had I known at the time that they were about to be killed, I would have left it with him. Then again, who is to say that in having borrowed it, I prevented it from falling into the wrong hands?"

Harry blinked as he took the mysterious cloth. "But what is it, exactly?"

"It's... you could say it's a sort of Invisibility Cloak." Dumbledore conjured up an almost normal mirror, this one being roughly as tall and wide as Hagrid. "Put it on over your head; you'll understand what I mean."

Harry did so, and to his astonishment his reflection vanished! "And this was my father's?" Harry asked. Dumbledore nodded.

"He and his friends used it a lot during their time here at Hogwarts. They were great pranksters, legendary in their time. It was only recently that I discovered why I was unable to detect most of their wrongdoings at Hogwarts - that Cloak is only part of it."

Harry nodded, not realizing that Dumbledore couldn't actually see him nod. "What was the other part of it?"

Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "Not all questions can be answered now, Harry, and that one is not for me to answer at all. In time, you will find those who can answer that question for you... though I daresay Fred and George Weasley could put you on the right track when the time comes."

Harry took off the cloak. "Does that have anything to do with that Map they've got?" He watched Dumbledore closely, but the old man merely said one word.

"Perhaps. Now, why don't you get some sleep; tomorrow is sure to be a very interesting day."

Harry yawned. "Of course, sir. I do have one more question, though."

"I cannot guarantee that I will answer, but if I do, it will be a complete one."

Harry pointed at the Mirror of Erised. "'I show not your face but your heart's desire.' Is that why I see all my friends and family being together happily?"

Dumbledore nodded; he was too choked up with the realization that Harry wanted everybody to be happy, not just himself.

--------

The Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Magic was getting desperate.

She flew. She flew until her legs were frozen. On her head was an overlarge red ribbon, and on her wrist was a matching watch. Unlike all other brooms in the country, hers had quite a mouth on it. Then again, her grandfather had made it on his own, and he (and by extension, she) was a direct descendant of Vulcan, Artisan of the Four-Who-Once-Were-Five... but that's a story for another time.

Her Father had managed to get her a special extension on her Trials, of one month. If she did not find the one who shared her face before the new year, she would not be able to take the Throne once her father passed away, leaving the Kingdom of Magic vulnerable...

It was then that she found her, staring idly at the sky and bemoaning the fact that even now, she still didn't have the confidence in herself to confess to her crush...