-1Harry Potter and the Forgotten Folk

Chapter 1

"Who do you think they are?"

A rasp voice cut across the train compartment, rousing the raven haired teen from his nap. He sighed inwardly, ruing the loss of peace and quiet he had hoped to enjoy for the entirety of the journey. But even more, he hoped that the voice didn't interrupt his brother's sleep. His brother could be extremely grumpy at times.

"I don't know. Exchange students?" a female voice replied distractedly. "Their clothes look outlandish enough."

The boy grinned in his mind. His green eyes were closed and his face was hidden underneath his hood. His mirth was at the prospect of knowing just exactly how odd his weather-beaten appearance would seem to the newcomers. His legs were stretched out in front showing high boots of lithe leather that fitted well but were clearly worn with use. Heavy cloaks in dark green were drawn close around him and the hoods were drawn, creating an aura of mystery and secrecy.

Sensing several pairs of eyes on him, the boy pulled his hood back and stared at the person directly in front of him – a pretty red haired girl. For an instant, he found himself staring into her hazel brown eyes and being drawn into her gaze. Breaking eye contact, he shook himself up and looked around the compartment. Sitting to the girl's left was another red haired boy. 'Her brother perhaps,' he thought to himself. To her right was a bushy brown haired girl, staring at him curiously. Her eyes seemed to study him with great interest, much to his amusement. The final addition to the compartment was a slightly chubby boy sitting on the same side as him and his brother.

His sudden movement had drawn everyone's attention away from the sleeping form of his brother next to him, and they all stared at him inquisitively and with a little unease.

"I come in peace?" he said eventually, when no greeting was forthcoming from the others with a chuckle. Moved slightly to his side, he rubbed his elbow to remove the soreness from being kept in the same position for too long. The boy's face was laced with a mischievous smile that went all the way up to his bright green eyes. He grinned and the ice was broken instantly.

The brown haired girl was the first to react, shaking her head with an embarrassed smile.

"Sorry about that. I'm Hermione Granger," she said affably. Then beckoning towards the two redheads, "These are Ron and Ginny Weasley," and nodding at the chubby brown haired boy, "And Neville Longbottom. We are all sixth years."

The raven haired boy looked at each of the occupants for a few moments before nodding his head. Some of the family names were old pureblood names that were familiar to him from the books and manuscripts he had read earlier that summer. Taking a sip of water from a bottle, he blinked a few times to remove the sleep from his eyes.

"Pleased to meet you," he said after a few seconds. "Galenel Elerin Greenstar." Smiling pleasantly at their bemused looks, he added, "Most people just call me Galen or Elerin."

Galen nudged his brother, who had stirred slightly during Hermione's introduction. A frown was discernible as the hood fell backwards, revealing his face. Both brothers were mesmerizingly fair, and had silky black hair that fell in gentle waves around their face and till their shoulders. But while Galen had dazzling green eyes, his brother's were pale grey. Also, both boys had a slight hint of an upward curve on the tip of their ears. Galen grinned at his annoyed brother and continued, "And this is my brother, Eldarion Lindel Greenstar."

"You don't look like you're from around here," Ron observed.

Before Galen could respond, his brother raised an eyebrow. "I told you to work on your accent, Galen," he commented sarcastically while leaning back. He raised his hood back up to cover his face, indicating his desire to stay away from the conversation.

The green eyed boy smirked. "Never mind my brother; he gets a bit edgy at times." Turning to Ron, he nodded his answer, "You are right, we aren't from here. But we will be attending Hogwarts for the final two years of studies."

"Oh good, you'll be in our year then," Hermione said excitedly. "We can tell you what to expect in Hogwarts. By the way, where are you from? Which school did you learn magic in? And oh, did you take OWLs or did you do EAGLEs? Because if you took EAGLEs like some do in America and Australia, then you could be in seventh year instead."

With a wry smile, Eldarion lifted his hood barely enough to see his brother staring flabbergasted at the onslaught of questions. Galen shook his head and sensing another pair of eyes on him, met Ginny's amused gaze.

"Resident genius and know-it-all?" he asked jokingly with a gesture towards Hermione, who spluttered in indignation. Ginny and Neville grinned.

"To answer your questions, we took neither. We have, you could say, been home-schooled for the most part, and might have picked some things up in our travels," he replied casually.

"So what kind of name is Galenel… and Eldarion?" Hermione shot back. "European?"

"Elvish," Eldarion responded in a low voice, barely moving from his place. The four teens' eyes widened at his proclamation while Galen chuckled merrily at their bemusement.

"You mean, like house-elves?" Ron asked in confusion.

Eldarion stared at him for a few seconds and shook his head with a flash of annoyance. He leant back, muttering something about ignorant wizards. Meanwhile, Hermione reached behind Ginny and smacked Ron on the head making him protest in outrage.

"Honestly, Ron! Not house-elves, real elves! The First Born! But," she looked pointedly at Eldarion, "Elves were supposed to have disappeared from earth a millennium ago."

Eldarion raised his eyebrows and shrugged. Ignoring Hermione's curious look, he lowered his hood again. With a smile at his brother's antics, Galen remarked cryptically, "Ancestors."

"So, how come you two will be joining the same year? You don't look like twins to me." Neville finally asked Galen after a minute's silence.

"No, we are not twins. Eldarion's a year older but we are quite evenly matched in our skills. Is that not how you determine your year?"

"No, we go by age."

"Then how come two Weasleys are in the same year?" he looked inquisitively at the red haired girl, who had been observing him in silence for the last few minutes. "No offense, but you two don't really look much like each other."

"Good thing too," Ginny remarked. Ignoring Ron's affronted glare, she continued, "Eleven months age gap. We barely managed to squeeze in together in the same year. Works fine with me, didn't have to spend a year at home all by myself."

"So, how do we get sorted?"

"There's a hat which looks into your head and decides which house you would do best in. Gryffindor for the brave; Ravenclaw for the wise; Hufflepuff for the loyal; and Slytherin for the cunning."

"That's it? But… but what if I'm more suited to be a Ravenpuff or a Slythindor or even a Raffledor…" Galen seemed a bit put out by the information. "You can't judge a person merely on a handful of qualities. That's just wrong." The rest gaped at him in confusion though Hermione had a glint of triumph in her eyes.

But before the bushy haired girl could throw another question at him, the door flew open and a well-dressed blonde boy ambled in with two large lackeys behind him. With a sneer, the boy regarded the people inside the compartment.

"What's this? Two new additions to the Mudblood-Weasels-and-Squib party! And from your clothes, you fit right in there with the two Weasels."

Disregarding the rejoinders from the others, Galen stared at the rude boy with narrowed eyes, making the blonde squirm in his place. Seeing his discomfort, the rest lapsed into silence, observing the interaction between the two.

"All that is gold does not glitter; and you will do well to remember that. It will be hard for you to make allies if you go around insulting people you don't know anything about," he said in a low voice. "My name is Galenel Elerin Greenstar." He stood up with his hands outstretched, ignoring the shocked, and in Ron's case betrayed, looks around the compartment. As if in a daze, the blonde boy slowly reached out and the two shook hands.

"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," he said in a considerably more polite tone. "You could do with better company than what you currently have. Would you like to join my compartment for the rest of the journey?"

"Thanks, but I'll pass," Galen replied. "As you can see, I'm already quite comfortable here and my brother Eldarion is perhaps a bit too comfortable," he chuckled at the soft snores coming from the still figure. "But perhaps we can talk more sometime in the future."

The blonde nodded, still in a daze, and turned to leave. His lackeys followed close behind.

"What are you doing?" came sharply from his left which Galen identified to be the voice of Ron Weasley. The green eyed boy merely raised his eyebrows at the redhead.

"That was Malfoy," he hissed angrily. "Slytherin, wannabe Death Eater Malfoy. Dark wizards, whole bloody lot of them." He glared at Galen, who returned the gaze coolly.

"Being polite doesn't hurt anyone and in fact can avoid much unpleasantness. And I was under the impression that all houses were taught the same subjects."

"What are you talking about?" Ron retorted, looking at Hermione for support. "Of course all houses are taught the same subjects."

Galen's face had an expression of mock confusion. "In that case, if Slytherin house does not receive any extra lessons in the dark arts, what would make them all turn into dark wizards? Unless of course, prejudice from the rest of the school leaves them no other alternative."

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Ron snapped, "It's always been like that. The light wizards go to Gryffindor and the dark wizards to Slytherin."

Galen sighed and turned towards Hermione. "So, Miss Genius, do you believe in this drivel as well?"

The girl frowned, twiddling her thumbs. "At first I didn't, but the Slytherins have tended to prove me wrong over the years."

A cough that sounded a lot like "Brainwashed" came from the seemingly sleeping figure of Eldarion. Galen smiled indulgently at his brother. Then turning to Ginny and Neville, he asked the same question.

The red haired girl took a few moments to ponder before she stated, "It's hard to believe otherwise when you're brought up thinking Gryffindors to be the guardians of the light and Slytherins as their natural enemies. But I would like to believe it to not be true." Leaning closer, she said in a near whisper, "The sorting hat considered putting me in Slytherin."

Galen nodded, ignoring the look Ron was giving his sister and turned to Neville, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "My great-uncle Algie was a Slytherin and he's not evil. Well, there was this one time he threw me from the window when I was a baby, but that was to make me do accidental magic," he stopped uncomfortably.

That incited a snort from Eldarion. He spoke without lowering his hood or lifting his head. "Throwing a baby out the window, hmm," he paused, as if considering, "No, definitely not evil."

"Leave him be, Eldarion," Galen said good-naturedly, "I'm sure his uncle had the best of intentions. But returning to the topic, if I were to be sorted into Slytherin, would you all suddenly think I'm evil."

"No!" "Yes!"

The two Weasleys spoke at the same time, the male in affirmative and the female in negative. Galen smiled warmly into the hazel eyes of the female Weasley, an act which caused a slight red twinge appear in the girl's cheeks.

"So you would rather an old hat decide whom you should befriend, rather than take the initiative to find out for yourself?" he asked curiously to Ron, who was beginning to get more than a little annoyed.

"Now come on," he said exasperatedly. "Everyone knows that You Know Who and his Death Eaters were from Slytherin and Danny Potter, the Boy Who Lived, from Gryffindor."

As he spoke, he barely registered the effect of his words on Galen. Galen's cheerful face suddenly become unreadable and he sat back with his eyes having lost all their earlier spark. For his part, Ron also leaned back with a smug smile on his face, deciding he had settled the issue.

Eldarion observed vacantly as his brother pulled his hood back on but uttered not a single word. The reactions of the two brothers didn't go unnoticed by the other passengers in the compartment with the exception of the male redhead, and Ginny shared a questioning glance with a frowning Hermione.

The journey went in relative silence except for a conversation on flying and Quidditch. Ginny and Ron were having a debate on the Gryffindor team.

"I know you are the captain, Ron," Ginny was saying, "But that does not mean you can make me play as seeker when I'd rather be a chaser."

"But, Ginny," Ron complained, "We don't have any other good seekers and Danny, Demelza and Katie are very good as chasers. And you saw the tryouts last year; the midgets don't know how to fly."

"Fine," she grumbled, "Do what you want for your precious Danny. He's not even that good." Suddenly, she whirled towards the two brothers, "Do you guys like flying?"

Galen's eyes perked up a bit, but it was Eldarion who first responded without a single twitch to lift his head. "If he could, Galen would trade his feet for wings."

Galen gave his brother a dirty look. "I like flying but I've never been on a broom before."

"What?" the two Weasleys shouted at the same time, throwing matching looks of incredulity on the chuckling boy in front of them.

"But how do you fly, if not on a broom? Carpet?" Ginny asked while Ron was gaping at him in disbelief.

"Eagles," the curt voice of Eldarion responded as Galen fidgeted uneasily on his seat.

Ginny looked at the green eyed boy with a raised eyebrow and smirked. "Pray tell. Seems like an interesting story to me."

"It's nothing really," Galen hastily cut in before his brother could speak. "Not interesting at all." Everybody ignored him and stared at Eldarion.

"Eight years of age," Eldarion began thoughtfully. "Our father took us to the north. My brother got lost for an entire day, and night. Got everyone in a frenzy. Turns out, he had been adopted by one of the Great Eagles and spent the night at their eyerie. Next morning, the mother eagle brought him back and fussed over him like he were a baby fledgling."

"You're just jealous that they keep returning and let me fly on their backs," Galen shot an irritated look at his brother.

"Let me assure you again, my dear brother," Eldarion returned dryly. "I have no interest in any activity which involves me losing a steady foothold on the ground."

"Wait a minute," Hermione interrupted in bemused agitation. "There is no species of eagles known as Great Eagles which could carry an eight year old child, much less a fifteen year old."

"Yeah, and magic doesn't exist," Eldarion stated in mock agreement, nodding his head agreeably.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked as her brows furrowed in deep puzzlement.

Galen grinned mischievously. "You're the smart one. Figure it out."

Further rejoinders were avoided as the train slowed down and everyone started getting ready to leave. The brothers joined the first years as a giant of a man rowed them through the lake and to the castle for the sorting. The sight of the castle was breathtaking, majesty in the backdrop of nature. With towers protruding massively into the darkening skies, the stonework spoke of excellent craftsmanship and both brothers nodded appreciatively as they walked in.

They waited patiently for the first-years to finish before the old Headmaster clapped his hands to get the attention of the hall.

"This year we have two special guests joining us. They will be entering the sixth year curriculum in preparation for their NEWTs. I am sure they will be heartily welcomed by all of Hogwarts, staff and students alike. And so, without further ado, GREENSTAR, ELDARION!"

The grim faced boy gracefully walked to the seat and put on the Sorting Hat. After a few minutes, the Hat screamed for the whole hall to hear.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Eldarion shrugged, and walked to an empty seat near a frosty looking dark haired girl. Galen winked at him, observing the frown on Ron Weasley's face.

"And our final student for the year… GREENSTAR, GALENEL!"

Galen walked in his brother's footsteps to the stool and with a moment of hesitation put the Hat on his head.

'Hmm… Now what surprise will I find… Oh my… Well, well, well… I must say I was expecting you quite a few years ago, Mr. Potter.'

'That is no longer my name. I gave it up a decade ago.'

'Hmm… a blood adoption ritual… that is old magic. But, you are correct… But, you are no more a Greenstar than you are a Potter. Just as your brother.'

'I trust you to keep this knowledge to yourself.'

'Of course, Prince Elerin Telcontar. I am not permitted to reveal what I see in a student's head. You come here with noble intentions. But we digress. Returning to your sorting,' the Hat chuckled in his head. 'Raffledor? That's a new one.'

'Why? Why must you stick to such base categorizing?'

After a few seconds of silence, the Hat sighed, 'I have often asked myself the same question and I'm not sure if I have a correct answer.'

'May I ask a question?'

'You already did, but you can ask me another, if you please.'

'Yes, thank you. Why do you sort students based on a single quality? I mean, wouldn't it be better to create houses where students with all four qualities intermix and learn from each other? Synergize.'

'You pose many interesting questions, My Prince…'

'Galen, please.'

'Galen, then. At the time I was created, the need was of a different nature. Now, people delight in sticking to tradition without any concern for progress whatsoever… but never mind, we are getting delayed. Perhaps, you will join me for a conversation sometime in the future.'

'Definitely, umm… Mr. Hat?'

'Mr. Hat?' the hat chuckled. 'Aelric will do … hmm… courage without recklessness, desire for knowledge but not merely for the sake of the knowledge itself, loyal to the core but only to those who you feel are deserving, ambitious and a fair sly mind like your brother but little desire to achieve at the cost of others, again like your brother. Very well, young Galen, I shall do the same as I did with your brother. It is your choice: Gryffindor or Slytherin."

'I suppose Slythindor or Gryfferin is out of the question… pity…in that case, Gryffindor.'

'Good, I hoped you would say that. Perhaps you and your brother can draw both houses closer and put an end to some of the ridiculous beliefs in both houses. Remember my invitation to the Headmaster's Office and have a pleasant stay in… GRYFFINDOR.'

Grinning, he removed the Hat and walked down to the tables, stopping by his brother to congratulate him. Before leaving, he nodded at Malfoy, who much to the amazement of everyone watching, staff and student alike, returned the nod without any animosity, instantly drawing suspicious looks towards Galen from several of his own house members.

Then he walked to the Gryffindor table and was pleased to see an empty seat on the edge next to Ginny and opposite Neville and Hermione. He grinned at the three and sat down.

The Headmaster stood up and clapped his hands to get the attention of the hungry students. Clearing his throat, he raised his voice, "Very good, now that we are all sorted. Let us tarry no longer and begin with the feasting. Cheerio."

Galen marveled at the sheer quality and quantity of food that suddenly appeared in front of him and started placing some roast chicken and potatoes on his plate.

"Looks delicious," he said good naturedly to Ginny, who nodded brightly, her mouth full of bread.

"Hmph."

Galen lifted his head to see Hermione glaring at them over her plate of sandwich and milk.

"Honestly, you people," she complained. "How can you bear to eat food made from slave labor?" Then realizing something, she directed her attention towards Galen, who groaned at becoming Hermione's target, much to the amusement of those around him.

"Galen, you should know that the food you're eating has been prepared by house elves… unpaid and bonded into servitude."

"Oh, stop with spew talk, Hermione. You should try the roast chicken. It's bloody amazing," Ron shouted irritably, spitting bits of chicken from his mouth.

"For heaven's sake, Ron, that's disgusting," Hermione scolded. "And it's not spew, it's S-P-E-W - Society for Promotion of Elvish Welfare. Honestly, as founding members, you should know better. Galen," she rounded on the boy. "You must join."

Before Galen could respond, Ron cut in, "Hermione, you have to stop keeping clothes in the common room. Dobby has to do all the work in Gryffindor tower alone since none of the other elves will come near it."

"That's because Dobby understands the meaning and value of freedom!"

Ignoring the argument between the two, Galen turned to Ginny and asked, "How about giving me a short intro on the teachers?" He pointed towards the head table.

Ginny took a big sip of her pumpkin juice and leaned back in content. "Albus Dumbledore, headmaster and one of the greatest wizards of our time. He doesn't teach anymore, well, except some private lessons to Danny Potter. What courses are you taking? I'll stick to those teachers."

"I haven't decided yet. My brother and I are to meet the headmaster after breakfast tomorrow to discuss. But I'm thinking - Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Defense, Runes and Magical Creatures. Is that too many?"

Ginny shook her head. "No, that's fine. Most people take five or six subjects for NEWTs. Hermione's the exception with seven. I'm in the same subjects as you, so that's good. Hermione as well, but she has an extra Arithmancy class. Neville doesn't have Potions and Runes and instead is in Herbology and Astronomy. Ron's taking Charms, Transfiguration, Defense, Astronomy and Magical Creatures." She paused to take a breath and continued, "Well, Minerva McGonagall, that strict looking woman next to Dumbledore, is the Transfiguration Professor and the Gryffindor head of house. She's fair but scary if you break rules. That short man is Flitwick, nice fellow but somewhat excitable. Snape is the greasy haired man next to Flitwick. He's unfair to all Gryffindors and…"

"I know Severus Snape," Galen cut in.

"Really?" Ginny looked surprised.

"Yeah, my father met him in his travels and they exchanged several notes on potion making. He's been teaching me and my brother every summer since we were ten. He puts a façade when in Hogwarts and is not really as bad."

Ginny didn't look convinced. Shrugging, she continued, "That big man on Dumbledore's other side is Hagrid. He's the gatekeeper and the Professor of Magical Creatures. Next to him are Professors Potter and Evans, they are married and Danny's parents. James Potter teaches Defense and Lily Potter teaches Runes. We call her Evans to separate between the two. Both of them are really fun." She frowned when Galen didn't comment.

Instead, he turned to Hermione, who had just concluded her argument with Ron and gave her a piercing look and calmly said, "Hermione, if you're interested, one of these days I'll give you a brief history on how house elves came into being."

Hermione eyed the boy in delight. "Oh will you really, Galen? That will help so much in my campaign. It's so hard to find any material in the library on house elves."

Her enthusiasm made several Gryffindors chuckle in amusement. Next to Ron, another red haired boy was smirking at the bushy haired girl. Galen instantly recognized the boy, who chose that moment to leave his seat and approach him, with an extended hand.

"So you're the new chap. I'm Danny Potter, the Boy Who Lived and Gryffindor Prefect. We will be dorm mates. I'm sure we'll get along well and show those stinking Slytherins that we rule."

Galen took the hand guardedly, but spoke icily, "My brother happens to be a Slytherin, if you have forgotten."

The redhead shrugged as if it were of no consequence and said, "Pity. I'll see you around." He walked to Hermione, and together the two prefects resumed their duties for the night.

"That was Danny Potter, Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One, Champion of the Weak and Downtrodden, Most Venerated Savior of Society, Protector of Civilization…"

"Wielder of the Most Ludicrous Titles," Galen observed dryly, interrupting Ginny mid way.

Ginny giggled and accidentally knocked down a goblet of pumpkin juice which would have spilled all over both her and Galen but was caught at the last moment by the raven haired youth.

"Nice reflexes," the pretty redhead remarked with a smile.

The green eyed boy gave a mock bow of acknowledgement. Refilling her goblet from the pitcher, he asked quietly, "So I gather you don't particularly like our friendly neighborhood superhero."

Ginny shrugged before looking at him gratefully for her goblet. "Nah, he's an okay sort. Mind you, I did have a humongous crush on him all my childhood. Seeing him in person… well, he's just an ordinary kid with an inflated head. Spoilt terribly."

Galen nodded, lost in his thoughts when he suddenly realized that Ginny and Neville were waiting for him to get up. Sighing, he got up and followed them to the Gryffindor common room and retired to his dorm room to sleep early. It had been an interesting day.