Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all associated characters are the property of J. Rowling, Warner Bros and their associates. I make no claim and receive no profits through this work of fiction. Harry Potter and I grew up together, and it is with utmost respect to miss Rowling, Harry and their world that I write this.

Notes: Greetings! This here is not a normal fic. It's not even a fic, really. It's a series on challenges that I wrote over on the DLP forum that I thought some people may enjoy reading.

The challenge was called 'Roll your Harry Potter Adventure', and the thread was started by Xandrel. Basically, there are a series of questions about specific plot events, and six possible answers. Using an online random dice-roll site (or an actual dice) you construct your Harry Potter adventure and then have to do your best to connect your rolls so that they form a coherent plot. There were 9 rolls for Year 1, and each had progressively more outlandish possibilities.

Each chapter will cover a single year and there will be little to no detail. The goal of this challenge is to merely form a coherent timeline. It's not the pinnacle of my writing, but it was a fun exercise for the half-hour it took me to write. To write this story completely would take hundreds of thousands of words, and I currently have enough projects to not need that.

For the sake of not making this A/N huge, I won't post the questions here. Try and see if you can spot all 9 Roll Points. If you are curious about them, ask me in a review or a PM, or alternatively visit the DLP threat about it.

Without further procrastination, I present to you:

~H~

I Needn't See the Light to Chase It

Year 1

~A Harry Potter Adventure~

~H~

The peace of Privet Drive is disturbed when Harry receives that weird letter. He is not allowed to open it, of course, since his aunt and uncle don't think anyone would send him a letter. Whoever it is from, both of them pale when reading it, and it gives Harry some satisfaction. If it were something bad for him, surely they would have said so, right?

A few days pass, and Harry has almost put the strange letter completely out of his mind, seeing as it is his birthday today. He received no acknowledgement from his relatives, but he gave himself a small birthday party in his room under the stairs, and he didn't really have any chores today, so it was a good day.

The peace of the good day is disturbed with the sharp rapping at the door. His aunt goes to open, and makes way for a woman of slightly advanced age, wearing a proper green dress and a stern pair of glasses. 'Stern' seemed to describe her rather well, Harry though, as he peaked from behind the door.

When his aunt asked the woman who she was and what she wanted, she replied that she was Professor Minerva Mcgonagall, deputy headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry blinked, surely he must have misheard?

Looking directly at him now, the scary woman went on to say that she came to investigate on account of his letter having not been opened or replied to. She gave him another one, exactly the same save for the recipient adress, which read 'Hall' after the road and number.

Harry read the contents of the letter while the woman had a chat with his relatives. Uncle Vernon's angry protests were swiftly cut by a single of the woman's silent glares. She summarily informed them that she would be taking Harry to Diagon Alley, and would return in a few hours with his supplies.

Harry followed the scary woman in a daze. Hailing a taxy, she took him a corner of London, then through a bar called 'Leaky Cauldron'. She passed through the seedy establishment quickly, exchanging only a single greeting with the bartender.

Diagon Alley was, in a word, amazing. Harry was sure his neck would hurt with how fast it was swiveling, just to take everything in. The professor took pity on him and walked slower, but insisted on taking him through his shopping first and foremost, after a brief stop to the wizarding bank, Gringots. Goblins were weird, Harry thought, and somewhat funny.

On the way, there was a single store which drew Harry's attention and wouldn't let go. A store that sold supplies for a sport apparently called 'Quidditch'. Flying brooms were real! And they looked simply fascinating!

The professor sighed when she saw how vidly he was staring at the display, and muttered something about how he was 'just like the rest of them'. As Harry was looking, she greeted one kid nearby, already clad in Hogwarts robes.

"Greetings, mister Diggory."

"Hello, Professor McGonagall." The boy said.

"Would you mind keeping an eye on young Harry, here, while I go fetch his potions kit?"

"Certainly, professor. Mum and dad left me here for a while, so it's fine."

"I'll leave it to you, then." She nodded at him, and left.

Harry introduced himself to the boy, who in turn introduced himself as Cedric Diggory, soon to be third year in Hogwarts. He seemed a little starstruck for a few seconds, but quickly shook it off, saying how happy he was to meet him, before proceeding to explain, in detail, how Quidditch was played. He paid extra attention to the Seeker position, saying how proud he was to play Seeker for Hufflepuff, his House at Hogwarts.

At Harry's question, Cedric explained briefly the House system and the Quidditch cup. Fascinating. Harry resolved to play Quidditch. If possible, he wanted to be a Seeker, just like Cedric.

They spent a while in the store, browsing the various items while Cedric lamented the Nimbus 2000's absurd price tag.

When professor McGonagall returned, Harry bade Cedric a grudging goodbye, and the older boy promised to see him on the train and in the castle.

The last item they had to purchase, according to the professor, was a pet. Three kinds of animals were allowed, she told him, and took him to a pet store so he could choose.

All sorts of exotic and magical animals were in there. Harry was rather intimidated by them all, if he were honest. He couldn't even tell what half of them were. He stopped in front of the cage of a small, normal housecat. It was completely black, except for a small sport of white around its left eye. The cat opened a lazy eye, looked at him, and then closed it again.

"I'll have that one." He said, grinning. The professor gave him a beaming smile and bought him the cat as a birthday present. Harry was a little confused at her sudden cheer, but chalked it off to good luck.

Rufus and his supplies acquired, Harry and McGonagall left th Alley. She gave him his ticket and explained to him how to find Platform 9 & 3/4 on September the 1st, and several bits of trivia that he should know on taking care of a cat.

Harry thanked her profusely for all she had done. Before leaving, the professor had a talk with his relatives which he didn't get to witness, but after that she left. Strangely, after she left, his uncle insisted on him moving his things to Dudley's spare bedroom, ostensibly to give the cat some room because he didn't want to see it around the house.

September 1st arrived before he could realize when the days went by, spent familiarizing himself with his textbooks and Rufus. The cat quickly accepted him, and Harry felt all warm and fuzzy regarding his new friend.

His uncle drove him to the station and dumped him and his things there, not even saying goodbye. Rufus was perched on his shoulder, seeing as he was tiny enough that Harry barely felt the weight of the napping kitten.

Finding the platform was as simple as trying out each column to find the passage. After a couple of minutes of gaping at the train, Harry made his way inside. He was happy to see Cedric again, who introduced him to a couple of his friends and helped him get his trunk and other things inside a compartment. Cedric told him at which compartment he was staying and told him to visit whenever he wanted.

Left alone, Harry and Rufus became comfortable in the seats, having the compartment all to themselves.

A minute after the train's departure, the door opened, allowing entrance to a dark-skinned boy. They exchanged greetings and names. Blaise Zabini was a first year, like himself, and born in a magical family. He was what they apparently called 'a pureblood'. Harry himself was apparently a halfblood, even though both his parents were magical. Blaise explained the theory behind the terms, but Harry didn't really understand. When asked about his House of preference, Harry merely shrugged. Blaise prompted him to join him in Slytherin, where he had no doubt that he would go. Harry had no problem with that, as Blaise was the only first year he knew and he seemed friendly enough.

They chatted the ride away, only briefly interrupted by a weird girl looking for a frog. Apparently, Blaise was friends with several other people, but the compartment there was full and he had no desire to sit on a trunk or to be squeezed between others.

Hogwarts looked amazing, and the boat ride was perfect to showcase that. The great hall was intimidating, with the rows upon rows of older students staring at them.

When Harry's name was called, he walked up to the stool and nervously sat, the hat covering over half his head.

'But where to put you ...' The Hat finished his monologue inside his head.

'Maybe... Slytherin?' Harry whispered, hopeful.

'Slytherin? I see ... yes, you have the drive, the ambition. And Slytherin will set you down the path for greatness. Yes, it better be ... '"SLYTHERIN!" The last word was yelled, and a bewildered Harry jumped off the stool and went to the Slytherin table, where the students were cheering for him just like they had for everyone else.

True to his prediction, Blaise joined him at the Slytherin table and introduced him to his friends, Theodore and Daphne. Both seemed rather friendly, and the rest of the feast went famously as the first years got to talking and eating. Harry's conversation was interrupted by one Draco Malfoy, who proposed friendship in a rather formal manner, handshake and everything. Harry shook the hand, shrugging inwardly. Hey, one more friend, right?

Classes soon started, as Harry and his three friends explored the castle and struggled with classes. Malfoy, for all his offer of friendship, didn't really hung out with them much, preferring to stick to his two buddies and the Parkinson girl.

Harry, Blaise, Theodore and Daphne preferred to study together and head to classes as a group. Having already examined his textbooks, Harry was comfortable enough in his casting that he seemed to pick up spells faster than everybody else, though he simply attributed it to interest in classes, something that everyone else seemed to lack.

He almost had a deserter in his ranks, when Daphne discovered that she was in love with his cat, Rufus. The evil thing almost ditched him for her, too, but in the end he didn't. Rufus took to following him around the castle, though Harry had no idea where he went when he was in classes. Surprisingly, they never got in trouble with the caretaker, even when they were caught after curfew, that one time. The squib simply looked at Rufus, intently, and grunted for them to get back to their dormitory.

Things came to a head on Halloween, however, when professor Quirell burst into the Great Hall, mumbling something about a troll, before fainting. Harry and his friends followed the Prefects back to the Common Room, where they avidly exchanged progressively more outlandish theories on what was going on.

Everyone sobered up next morning, when professor Dumbledore announced that though the troll had been found by a gaggle of teachers and summarily dealt with, it had just enough time to corner a student in a bathroom. Said student was now in St Mungos hospital undergoing intensive treatment, and would not return for a while.

That sent chills down Harry's spine, who was feeling truly afraid for the first time since he arrived. He resolved to intensify his studying as well as his independent study. he never wanted to be in a situation that he could not deal with.

Christmas arrived and went, with all of Harry's friends deciding to stay at Hogwarts, solely to keep him company. It so moved Harry that he would have cried if he hadn't put on a brave face. It was the first big, nice act anyone had done for him since professor McGonagall bought him Rufus, and it gave the four of them the sort of unofficial confirmation that they were now close friends. Exactly what Harry had lacked all his life, so far. He resolved to always be there for them, no matter what they needed.

Even if Daphne plotted to steal Rufus away from him.

He received a pile of presents, from his friends in Slytherin, and several acquaintances in other houses, most notably Cedric and his 'Beginner's Guide to Quidditch'.

Curiously, he also received, quite anonymously, a box of Collector's Edition, 1789 batch, Lemon Drops. He tried a few, and they were delicious. He kept the box safely in storage, still full, and decided to order his own stash of lemon drops, silently thanking his mysterious benefactor for the discovery of their sweet deliciousness.

When exploring the castle one night, Harry makes an unexpected discovery. In an empty room, sits a mirror. A mirror like no other. It showed Blaise his mother and late father, both alive and happy, hugging him and each other, the picture of a perfect family. He did not elaborate further. It showed Daphne herself, only much older, and she instinctively knew that all the world admired her for her accomplishments.

Harry himself saw what could only be himself. But he almost did not recognize that person. He looked like an adult, and basically nothing like he was now. He was dressed in impeccable muggle clothing, the kind that he knew was impossibly expensive, and his wand was lazily floating in circles around his hand. He exuded an air of confidence and, for lack of a better word, power. He represented everything Harry wished he could be. Confident, rich, powerful. In control. The kind of man who could deal with everything that fate could possibly throw at him and come out on top.

On his fourth night in front of the mirror, he was found by the Headmaster, who informed him that the mirror would be moved, soon.

But that was okay. Harry had all he needed from it. He now knew what he wanted to be, what he wanted to do with his life. All that was left was to work for it.

All went to shit near the end of the year. Through a dizzying investigative effort on their part, the four of them found themselves attempting to save the Philosopher's Stone from professor Quirrell. As professor Dumbledore was away, and professor Snape was nowhere to be found, the four resolved to attempt to stop and/or stall Quirrell, themselves. Theodore would rush to the owlery to send a message to the headmaster while the rest of them headed to the third floor.

The fire crabs, Harry could deal with, through a combination of third year Charms work and fourth year Transfiguration. The Venomous Tentaculas nearly got them, but Daphne's quick wandwork saved them. Most of them, at least, as Blaise lost all feeling on his left arm from the poison. The maze gave them more trouble than it should, but planned, coordinated moves on their parts saw them through it. Daphne was the best at chess, but even still, she and Blaise had to be sacrificed in order for Harry to go through, which he reluctantly did after making sure they were okay.

Thanking whatever gods were looking down on him favorably, he gingerly stepped past the three unconscious trolls of the next room.

That was the first time he confronted Voldemort. There, on the back of Quirrell's head, was the reason for all his years of loneliness. He spouted some drivel about power and urged Harry to join him, if he would only help him retrieve the stone.

Harry ignored him. He didn't need a dead man to tell him how to go through life. He already had ambitions of his own.

Unfortunately, even his advanced spellwork was no match for Quirrell, a fully-trained wizard. Thankfully, Quirrell brought him close enough and made the mistake of touching him. Upon realizing that his touch burned the possessed man, Harry grabbed onto him with all he had, not letting go until he was not holding anything anymore and had ash escaping his fingers.

He woke up days later, in the hospital wing. Rufus was sleeping on his bed, unsurprisingly, but the headmaster was sitting next to him, surprisingly. The headmaster explained what had happened to him, and the reason for the pile of sweets next to his bed.

Harry sighed, lamenting the fact that no one had thought to send him lemon drops.

"As it happens, Harry," the headmaster said with a smile, "I do seem to carry some with me."

Harry happily accepted the sweet, wondering how the headmaster could possibly have known about his love for Lemon Drops.

FIN YEAR 1

~H~