(A/N: So this is going to be AU, I don't know that I will ever follow the Cannon. Anyway. I don't own Harry Potter, nor will I ever. This is a one-shot, but there may be a sequel fic at some point in the future if this is received well enough. So warnings: Ron is not nice, Draco is not evil, Snape is kind, and Dumbledore shouldn't be trusted. And yeah, that's just the start. So don't yell at me because you don't have to read it. I haven't summed it up well enough, but I hope you will read it anyway.)

Trains and Introductions Changed Perspectives

Harry Potter was a small boy, smaller than he should have been, with jet black hair that never laid properly and big green eyes magnified by large wire-frame glasses that had been taped up too many times. But he had an uncanny knack for knowing who he should trust and who he shouldn't. It protected him from people who would otherwise take advantage of his small size and weak appearance. He trusted his instincts, but right now they were buzzing with confusion.

The boy Ron, that had offered to share his compartment, was giving off a façade of trustworthiness. He was playing the kindly pureblood helping the half-blood to find his way in the world. But he hadn't done so until he had been sure that he was sharing with Harry Potter. And on top of that, his mannerisms spoke of someone who was used to getting what they wanted, who was superior because of their experience. And there was an underlying sense that he was not genuine, that the poor boy with nasty sandwiches and a hand-me-down wand and set of robes was a character.

It all felt wrong, and he had his answer when for a fraction of a second, Ron's freckled face bore a horrible sneer when Hermione Granger said that she was Muggle Born. He was mean to the girl, and tried to convince Harry to be mean to her as well. But Harry admired her knowledge, and that she had picked up a few spells already. He knew nothing of the Magical world; Hermione spoke to him as if she wished him to learn next to her, Ron spoke as though he was an idiot for not already knowing.

So when Hermione asked if he wanted to help her to look for a toad, Harry loaded some sweets into his pockets, made sure he had his money and bid Ron a temporary good-bye. He was glad to have changed into his robes even though Ron had insisted they wait until the last moment to do so.

"Oh, good, you found him," Harry recognized the voice from the Robe Shop and yet there was no sneer to it today, no venom whatsoever. Hermione was ushering him into a compartment and Draco offered him a seat. The toad had been a ruse; the boy called Neville was holding his toad and watching out the window with a small smile on his lips. Draco sat beside him and a pair of twins that reminded Harry of Ron sat on the seat across the way. Hermione took a spot next to them while Harry sat beside Draco. These people all felt more real and trustworthy than Ron.

"Sorry Harry, but we had to get you away from him," Draco said gently and Harry knew that he was telling the truth.

"It's okay. I'm just glad you guys gave me an excuse. But why was it necessary?" Harry asked, his eyes meeting the gaze of each person in turn. None of them gave off the confused feelings that Ron did, although Hermione seemed to be a bit embarrassed by something.

"Because you were alone with our brother," the twins said together, or almost together, the one on the left was a heartbeat slower than the one on the right.

"Fred Weasley," the one on the left said and offered his hand.

"George Weasley," said the one on the right, Harry shook their hands in turn and knew that he would always be able to tell them apart. Hermione he already knew but she introduced herself again. Neville came next and then Draco. They all shook hands and it seemed like no one was going to speak for a long moment, but then George pulled a folded and refolded piece of parchment from his robes.

"We thought that you should read this before you trusted him enough to be friends with him. Of course, it can't hurt to get to know you now, before certain people start preaching House rivalries to you," Fred said softly and Harry accepted the letter from George.

"No one says that you have to believe us. But we found this in our brother's room and we thought that you should know about it," George said and Harry unfolded the slip of parchment, it was a fairly short missive, but it was rather damning.

Mr. Ronald Weasley

Your task is to befriend one Harry James Potter; you know the character that you must play to win him over. Speak highly of me to begin building a positive view of myself and when he shows signs of being under our control, I will make special permissions for you regarding his vault. You must not fail me Mr. Weasley, if he comes into contact with your brothers they will surely undo any work that you do not cement with absolute trust. He must regard Draco Malfoy coldly or better yet as an enemy. Hermione Granger is their agent, she will try to protect him from our grasp; do not let her do this. You may be disgusted by her status as a mudblood, but do not let it show, even when you dismiss her. Fear Neville Longbottom, he is more powerful than you are, even if he is currently contained by a Limiter Wand. Succeed Mr. Weasley and you will be rich beyond your imaginings, fail me and you will gain nothing.

Do try not to fail,

AD

"I understand. He spoke of almost nothing but Albus Dumbledore's contributions to the Wizarding world. He also couldn't speak harshly enough about a Professor called Snape. He told me that Gryffindor was the greatest house, that Ravenclaw was for know-it-alls, Hufflepuff was for the people that no one else wanted and that Slytherin was for outright traitors. I knew that he wasn't telling the truth, I've been reading Hogwarts: A History so I know that those were lies. But why?" Harry said softly, he had slipped the parchment into his pocket. He wanted to show it to a Professor, preferably this Professor Snape that Ron seemed to hate so much.

"Because Dumbledore has certain views that he wants to protect. You killed Voldemort when you were an infant. The greatest Dark Lord of all time and you survived. Dumbledore intends to bring Voldemort back, he won't be very strong, and he would never be able to kill you if you weren't beaten humble and coerced into being Dumbledore's pet. The old man wants to be a hero again, so he will see the Dark Lord kill you and then he will turn his wand on the Dark Lord. Tell me Harry, do your relatives abuse you?" Draco said, his voice was soft, but Harry could tell that he was upset.

"No. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon would never do that. Dudley and I used to roughhouse but that was before we found out that I had some sort of condition. It makes me small and weak, and my eyesight is horrible. I tripped the day before yesterday that was why we didn't have time to get me new glasses. But Aunt Petunia was going to send them with my owl Hedwig when they came in," Harry said, adding the last part for Hermione's benefit as she had repaired his glasses for him.

"So they didn't keep with his plans either then," Neville said with something of a smirk, his voice was small, but Harry sensed that it was due to an old injury rather than fearfulness or nerves.

"Could you expect them to? Lilly was Petunia's sister. They loved each other as much as any sisters could. How could Petunia hate Lilly's son?" Draco said calmly and Harry wondered just how much these kids knew about his family.

"You mean they were supposed to abuse me?" Harry shook his head and frowned hard. "So, the payments supposedly from my trust fund, the ones they have been putting into a savings account for me since I was a baby…those probably came from my parents vault and was supposed to be a payoff for them to beat me?" he said as the pieces began to click together. It wasn't a lovely puzzle.

"Probably, but would you really want your Aunt and Uncle to admit to you that someone was trying to pay them-with your own money-to hurt you? I think that they knew you'd be ready to hear it someday, but not when you were so young," Hermione said and patted his hand softly.

"And your 'condition' probably isn't real. You reek of magic that isn't your own," Neville said in a very matter-of-fact tone. They all fell silent at that, and it was the moment that Ron Weasley chose to come bursting in to the room. When he saw the peculiar collection of people in the car his eyes turned cold and focused sharply on his brothers.

"You've ruined it all. You Slytherin loving bastards," Ron said and made to swing for George. Neville and Hermione reacted with simultaneous full body bind hexes and Ron toppled backward. A passing prefect took 20 points from Ron's future house and placed him in detention for a week. She then bid them all get ready to go and levitated Ron away.

"Good thing he doesn't have a shot at Ravenclaw, I don't want him in my House," Fred said firmly and George agreed. By then the train was in fact slowing down and they all stood, fixing their robes and wondering where they would be placed come the Sorting Ceremony.

After a promise to remain friends no matter what, they got off the train. Harry, Neville, Hermione and Draco all took the same boat across the Black Lake and stood close together in the Entrance Hall. The Sorting was nerve wracking, but none of them complained about where they were placed. Hermione went to Ravenclaw and was happily seated beside George and across from Fred. Neville went to Hufflepuff with something of a bemused smile on his face. Draco was sorted into Slytherin and took a seat next to the Prefect from the train. Harry followed him and took a seat next to his friend a few moments later after begging the hat to leave him out of Gryffindor.

Ron Weasley was sorted into Gryffindor and was promptly lead out of the Great Hall to begin his detentions. Harry and Draco were too busy piling each other's plates with food to notice. From the Head Table a man with long dark hair gave Harry a little wave and a smile, Harry returned the gesture as he wondered what it might be like if he had trusted Ron. He shuddered and thanked his instincts.

(A/N: Well let me know what you thought. Does it deserve a sequel? Anyway I hope you liked it and I will see you next time.)