Chapter 1

Harry entered the room, after leaving Hermione behind at the potion trial. He sat down on the floor and watched Quirrell having an internal debate with whomever. "You know if might just try asking the mirror for it." Harry stated as he rose. He didn't want to be down here at all, but if it worked out, it would be worth it.

"Potter." Quirrell lost his stutter. He should have known the brat would appear to try and stop him. Gryffindors, what idiots.

"Yes, and I am guessing you have a guest." Harry answered as he walked out into the opening. He wasn't sure if this part of the castle was ever used normally, but it certainly had some big rooms. "You know, you could have done this anytime. Why wait until the end of the year? I mean if three first-years could get through all those traps, you should be had no problem. It's not like you didn't know the location after Halloween. By the way, next time try and be a bit more creative than a troll and fainting."

"Dumbledore." Quirrell answered. He couldn't be to upset about the truth about the troll. Voldemort had warned him about doing the fainting bit. He wanted Quirrell to issue the warning but pretend to go and look for the troll. He mentally heard the words "I told you so."

"He is annoying, isn't he?" Harry asked. "I mean all year he has been thinking he was leading me around with those clues. It actually started even before I got here. He sent Hagrid to pick me up, and Hagrid was getting the stone that day, and that man can't keep a secret. I think he used that to "let it out" shall we say. Honestly, I was even surprised how long it took the "brightest witch of our generation" to figure out the answers. I had to actually give hints a few times in which direction to go in. I even left the stupid Chocolate Frog card where Weasley could see it. Waste of brain cells."

"You aren't what you appear." Quirrell stated. He could feel Voldemort processing this information and wonder what was going on with the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Neither are you, so I guess were even. The key to getting the stone is simple. Just have no desire to use it." Harry stood in front of the mirror and felt the stone appear in his pocket. "So how about we strike a deal?"

"Give me the stone." Quirrell demanded. He lunged at Harry, who carefully side-stepped.

"Not dealing with you, now your buddy that is a different story." Harry answered. He moved back to the center of the room. "Honestly, I do expect a certain level of professionalism."

"Let me speak to the boy." A voice stated, the voice coming from behind Quirrell.

"Ah, the mysterious stranger is willing to speak to me." Harry grinned. He watched Quirrell unwrap his turban. "Just a hint next time, don't go with a turban, unless you have always worn one, gives it away." He had wondered why no one questioned the stuttering man, why he was allowed to a class when he couldn't even hold a lecture.

Quirrell turned, Harry hid a smirk as he looked at the face on the back of Quirrell's head. He never wanted to see that look on anyone again. It was a bit sickening. Weird what someone was willing to do in regards to magic. Harry, however, figured that since the man was wearing a turban he had to be hiding something on the back of his head.

"What deal?" Voldemort stated. He wasn't sure what the boy wanted, but if he got a powerful follower out of it, he would make a deal.

"Simple, I will allow you to use the stone to get a body or whatever back. One use, you return the stone to me. You find a way to get me away from my muggle relatives, with no damage done to me. Personally, I could care less about what happens to them. We agree not to fight with each other, it will end whatever plan Dumbledore has set. You let me return to Hogwarts."

Voldemort knew the boy's life couldn't have been what he heard. His attitude was to much like his own when he arrived at Hogwarts. Also, the fact that he didn't care about what happened to his relatives let him know the boy was abused in some way. Voldemort wasn't willing to give in on the first offer and replied, "two uses of the stone, I won't destroy it. I will remove you from the muggle relatives. It might take some time. Are you aware of the prophecy?"

"Please, it was delivered by that hack, in a pub. You do realize the odds of a prophecy being true is almost nil, the only ones that fulfilled are the ones the idiots start on the course of filling it and don't stop. It was a bit of a surprise to read my life story in those books, to bad most of them are very, very, wrong." Harry answered. "One use or no stone."

Voldemort thought for a few moments. "Dumbledore won't let the prophecy go that easily. He will want us to fight. To him, it's either you or me."

"Takes two to fight. I also don't believe he is going to allow both of us to live. Something tells me he wants to make sure I am a biddable lamb, that is he going to lead to slaughter. However, I am not endangering my life for anyone else. I didn't even do anything to come here except fly. Granger dealt with the Devil's Snare and the potion aspect. Really have no idea why she thinks wizards don't use logic, but it worked. Weasley dealt with the chessboard, got hurt on it too. He blocked himself in, leaving no other move but for his piece to be taken out."

Voldemort smirked. "You aren't a Gryffindor."

"Nope, had to fight the hat for it. After hearing how evil Slytherins were, and how only dark wizards came from Slytherin, I knew I had to go somewhere else." Harry looked around the room. There really wasn't much to work with. "We best get this over with, you know Dumbledore won't be fooled for long with your distraction."

"True. Fine, one use to get my body back, I remove you from your relatives. I want your support in the war."

"This summer if possible. I really don't even want to return to them." Harry answered.

"Severus or Lucius Malfoy?" Voldemort asked.

"Severus, Dumbledore won't put up such a stink that way, he will still think he has some control over the situation. Not only that but Malfoy Jr. is the biggest whiner I have ever met. How do you stomach the prat?"

"I took a lot of points from him. I can arrange that. Especially since he believes Severus is his spy."

"Interesting." Harry asked. "I can't show any support until I am away from Hogwarts. I can do it behind the scenes. Oh, no hurting me that mean you won't be casting any of your creative punishments on me. I want some training, but you aren't allowed to treat me like one of your followers."

"So you will support me, I will train you. You will learn Dark Arts and anything else I instruct."

"That is fine. I don't mind that."

"Deal?"

"Deal." Harry held out his hand and they felt the magic sealing the deal. Harry handed him the stone. "Now, let's set the stage for Dumbledore. Can you create a copy of that stone?"

"I was going to create some dust, with a blast circle around it. Ashes for a corpse, you will act surprised and ask timidly if it was your mother's protection that saved you. He is always going on about love and he will believe loved saved you."

"Oh, good idea." Harry grinned and they got to work. He listened to Voldemort tell him what to say and how to say it. He practiced with Voldemort before Dumbledore arrived for their stage scene.

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Severus was furious. He couldn't believe Dumbledore did it again. It was at the Leaving Feast. He had been watching Potter and noticed the boy wasn't as happy as he appeared to be when Dumbledore changed the points to allow Gryffindor to win. He was willing to bet not many noticed the fake happiness. He had been wondering about the boy all year. There was something off about him.

He had spent many hours watching the boy, and yet, at times, he caught a look of disgust on his face when looking at his two friends. He had also seen him in the library, reading a lot, but his work never reflected that. He wondered what the boy was playing at. He wondered why the boy was so small and thin.

When all the students were leaving the hall, he felt his mark burn. He had received a message a few days ago, while Potter was in the infirmary recovering with his friends from their adventure, warning him that he would be called. He never told Dumbledore and he wasn't about to now. He headed out to the apparition spot, placed his hand on his mark and apparated to where the Dark Lord was.

"Ah, Severus, good of you to join me." The Dark Lord said from his desk chair. "Take a seat, we have much to discuss."

Severus wasn't sure what exactly happened, but he realized Potter had to have something to do with the Dark Lord's return. The man appeared to be a bit more saner than when he disappeared. "Tell me what you know of Potter."

Chapter 2: Potter, Dursley and the Dark Lord

"My Lord, I am not sure what you want to know." Severus was trying to figure out how the Dark Lord was back. What Potter had to do with it, and why? He knew Dumbledore didn't know. He wondered if it had to do with whatever happened down in that room.

"I spent the past year watching him, and he wasn't what he appeared. I was a bit surprised by him. What do you know of him?" The Dark Lord had spent the last week reviewing his memories and was a bit surprised by what he had missed during the year. Quirrell wasn't the best way to spend this year, but it was better than staying in Albania.

"I feel I am in agreement, my Lord. I have caught him unawares at times and seen him glaring at the Gryffindors and Dumbledore." He remembered the numerous times he had seen Potter in the library and wondered why the boy's work didn't reflect that time He also knew Potter was very unhappy with Dumbledore giving the house cup to Gryffindor. Severus explained what he had noticed during the year.

"Interesting. I am in agreement with you. What I saw down in the room wasn't the same Potter I had seen during the year. How do you think Dumbledore will react if you have custody of Potter?" Severus didn't respond for several minutes as he thought about what it would mean to have custody of Harry Potter. "Before you answer, I should inform you that he has been abused, and asked me to get him away from his Muggle relatives." He had heard Severus' numerous complaints during the year about Potter and most of it was based on of Severus' past with James Potter. He didn't want Severus to paint the boy in the same light. He had a feeling if Severus did, Potter would show him how wrong he was, and he had a feeling it would be a painful lesson for Severus.

Severus was a bit surprised. "My Lord, I am not sure as I haven't seen anything medically to indicate that, I did wonder. He is small, thin, and I won't mention his muggle attire. I had wondered but Dumbledore has been telling us that the muggles care about him, but given my past, I am not surprised. I do remember Minerva mentioning her concerns about the boy and his relatives. She, however, didn't say anything when she returned from taking the boy shopping. I did wonder at the time why she didn't take him clothes shopping, so I thought the clothes were what was popular for muggles. They have had some weird fashion statements over the years."

"Interesting, because it was Hagrid that took him. Potter mentioned it, and I saw in Potter's mind, Hagrid told him how evil Slytherins are, how dark they are. Ron Weasley informed him that everyone from Slytherin house was dark and evil. Potter didn't even know how his parents died, or that he was famous. He had to read those books that were written about him. He actually reminds me of me when I arrived at Hogwarts." The Dark Lord paused for a few seconds. "Please don't keep adding my Lord into all of your sentences. I know I wasn't exactly sane those last few years."

Severus didn't comment but he also didn't like the idea of an insane "savior" of the Wizarding World. They didn't need two insane Muggle haters, who were incredibly powerful. It wasn't an appealing idea, but he also knew how Dumbledore would react to him having custody. "I don't believe Dumbledore would welcome the change. He would expect me to treat him as I have been. He needs the boy to be his weapon and rely on him. He has kept him limited on his friends, and I believe that is why he put the boy with the muggles, to keep him limited with his interaction with the wizarding world. Dumbledore would also expect me to agree with him about returning the boy to his relatives or with some light family that followed him, like the Weasley family."

The Dark Lord agreed with Severus. They might be able to prevent him from returning to the muggles, but Dumbledore would work on getting the boy to the Weasley Family. Dumbledore would work the situation around to benefit himself, he would cite how Potter would need a loving family, protection from the dark faction and the fear of his return. Lucius had mentioned that Dumbledore didn't state outright that the Dark Lord would return, he just subtly hinted at it.

"If Lucius or I took custody, he would make the boy's life miserable. I can see him using the Ministry against us, the press too. Forcing the Ministry to be seen as doing something. Fudge is enough of an idiot, he would cave into public demand and place Potter with someone Dumbledore recommended."

Severus knew the Dark Lord was correct. He also knew there wasn't going to be an easy solution. "I have heard Weasley speaking about Death Eaters and Slytherins, and I know Weasley has been pushing that tripe that Dumbledore spouts. So if Dumbledore discovered Lucius or even you had custody, I believe he would kidnap the boy and use potions or spells if the boy didn't fall into line. I know he would also keep the boy isolated, away from anyone that doesn't have the same view as him. It's why he pushed Granger and Weasley."

The Dark Lord and Lucius had spent a few hours working out different things depending on what Severus told him. "I agree. He can't know I am back. We don't need him trying to gather his Order and giving us problems. I have already spoken to Lucius. The only ones to know I am back are Lucius, you, and Potter. I believe it is time to go about our policies behind the scenes."

Severus let the tension in his body go. If the Dark Lord was back to being himself, he would have no problem with assisting the dark faction. "Muggles and Muggle-born?"

"I believe research is needed in regards to the truth of them." The Dark Lord pointed to the stack of Muggle history, science, and technology books on his desk. "I have spoken to the goblins. I am going to claim my seats, except for the Slytherin one. I know now why I failed to kill Potter."

"Dumbledore believes it was love." Severus tried to keep the contempt out of his voice. He knew Lily loved her son, but every mother loves their child. He knew there had to be another reason.

"Love?" The Dark Lord failed to keep the contempt out of his voice. "That is interesting theory he is spouting, but it falls into line with his beliefs. Now, let me cover that in a second. Lucius and I had another idea based on what you would have said about the situation regarding Potter. We do have a unique situation, it seems Potter will be the Lord of numerous lines when he comes of age. One of the lines is the Peverell, it connects the Slytherin and Gryffindor lines together. Potter became my heir when he was born, that is why the curse failed and he survived. Slytherin line prevents the death of an heir, especially if they are a speaker. I don't know if he is a speaker but I wouldn't be surprised if he was. I can't claim the Peverell line because Harry is from the direct line, where I am from one of the secondary lines, in the Slytherin connection. It appears we had the same great, great, great, great, grandmother. So I can claim custody of Potter, but I if use the Slytherin line, Dumbledore would know."

"He would, and he would use it in the Wizengamot. He would allow the fear to spread and use it."

"Yes, he would. Lucius had the idea of using me as a Proxy, taking control over the Peverell line, and using a blood adoption to get custody over Potter."

"I believe if you do the blood adoption, we could hide Potter for the summer using the Peverell name, get you presented, file the official custody with the Ministry after that, and Dumbledore won't be able to do a thing. Your looks will have to be altered. There is an older potion, it's not well known, and is considered dark because of the blood used in it, but it would change your looks to what you wish."

"We need to figure out how to get Potter away from his relatives without Dumbledore knowing."

"He claims blood wards, I believe once two weeks are up, the wards will remain at least for the rest of the summer holiday. If Potter walked out of the house, we can grab him when he is away from the house." Severus began to think of how they could do it without the Order knowing. "I know he doesn't have anyone watching the house. He would have alarms if the wards dropped."

"I agree." The Dark Lord stated. "What about the Muggles? I don't want them dead as of yet, we don't need nor want Dumbledore to wonder what is going on."

"We can always grab them later." Severus answered. "I can make sure they don't forget Potter before we decide to punish them."

"Be ready for Friday night, we will get Potter, do the blood adoption, it will give us the weekend to file the paperwork and have it hidden with the weekend reports the goblins will file."

"The blood adoption potion will take a few hours, the potion to change your looks, I need a few days. I have to gather some of the ingredients. I will need your blood and what you wish to have changed. As I place the blood in, I will recite the glamour charm. Friday, I can have it ready if I get no interruptions, but Saturday night would be better."

The Dark Lord agreed and quickly wrote out his desired new looks. His hair was going to be black, like Potter, eyes would be green, his face would reflect some of the Potter looks, but not exactly like James, he had looked up the Peverell line and saw that the dark hair, green eyes, a slightly turned up nose, with a wide mouth, were dominated traits in the lines. While he knew James had brown eyes, he had gotten it from the Black line. "I don't want to lose any of my height or body type. It will affect my dueling if we changed it."

"I believe the changes you asked for won't give you away. Do you believe Potter will object to the blood adoption?"

"No, he left the how to up to me, he didn't say anything about protecting Muggles." The Dark Lord looked at him. "I have another way to communicate for us to use." He picked up a roll of parchment. "I have tied it to the four of us. All you have to do it list the person you wish to write to, and it will appear on their parchment. It will erase after it is seen and only the person who it is for will see it. Writing all will allow whatever is written to be seen by all of us."

Severus took the roll. He actually liked this idea, Dumbledore wouldn't expect that, and he didn't have to worry about his mark alerting Dumbledore. "I will keep you alerted to my status on the potions. Dumbledore hasn't mentioned anything in regards to your return."

"He won't." The Dark Lord explained what happened down in the room.

Severus was going to enjoy learning the truth about Potter.

Chapter 3: Truth

Severus arrived at Slytherin Castle with the requested potions. He found Lucius in the informal sitting room. "Lucius."

"Severus." Lucius looked at his friend. "Are you ready?"

"Yes. I have the potions ready, and I double checked how the blood wards worked. I confirmed that Potter only needs to stay there for two weeks."

"Good, so the wards won't fall." The Dark Lord stated as he entered the room. "I don't want you to be seen in the area, Severus. The ritual room is set up and we shouldn't be too long."

"I have arranged a business meeting at the Muggle's house. Marvolo bought the business this week so that we can keep an eye on the Muggle."

"Yes, and we are meeting the uncle under the guise of offering him a promotion." The Dark Lord stated.

"I should warn you, there are heavy monitors against magic at Potter's house. Minerva mentioned how it was being monitored to Filius when Filius asked about accidental magic. There is also a squib who lives a street over by the name of Mrs. Figg. She is an Order member." Severus stated. "I have some potions I can start while I wait for you to return. I brought some healing potions I believe Potter might need."

"I already arranged for the squib to have a free exam of her cats. Harry mentioned she has a lot of them, so I arranged for a veterinarian to look at all of hers." The Dark Lord answered.

"We will check for wards when we arrive. If they are what I think they are, we might need a goblin warder to check them." Lucius made a mental note as he checked the time.

Severus nodded his acceptance and headed towards the potion lab as Lucius and the Dark Lord left. Severus thought it was going to be an interesting summer, he couldn't wait to see Dumbledore's face when he learned that Potter was adopted.

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"Boy, get the door." Lucius and the Dark Lord exchanged a look. They had already examined the wards and if they hadn't been invited by Harry and the uncle, they would never have been able to enter the wards.

Harry opened the door, smirked at them. "This is going to be an interesting night." He stepped aside to let them in.

"Go and pack." Lucius quietly told him.

"Never unpacked." Harry answered.

The Dark Lord smirked as Harry showed them where the Muggles were sitting. Harry left the room, as Vernon made the introductions. The wizards couldn't believe the size of the Muggle boy, they were surprised at how big the boy was. "Please excuse the boy, he is on holiday from his reform school and we have taken him in." Vernon Dursley stated.

"I heard you just returned to our country, Mr. Peverell." Petunia steered the conversation away from her nephew.

"Yes, I was away for over a decade. It's amazing how much change has occurred, yet a lot of things remain the same." The Dark Lord hated small talk and knew he was in for a long night of it, but if it got him Harry Potter and rid of Dumbledore, he could deal with it.

After they finished eating, a meal which Harry served, they noticed that Harry was the one who cleaned up. The Muggles treated Harry like a house elf. The Dark Lord and Lucius filed away the information and made plans on how to make them pay after they got Harry out of here. They were going to show Severus the memory of tonight and knew the man would be able to provide some interesting potions.

Once the door was closed behind them, Lucius and Marvolo stepped outside of the wards, they cast an invisibility spell on themselves and moved to the back of the house, did a quick rap on the window. Harry opened the back door, without a word headed out of the backyard and down to the local park. Once there, the Dark Lord and Lucius removed the spells. "I want to check you for any tracking spells or charms." The Dark Lord started casting as Lucius explained what spells they were using, how they worked, and what they were canceling out as the Dark Lord cast the variety of spells. "He charmed almost everything."

"Paranoid?" Lucius asked.

"No, I think he wants to make sure that Harry couldn't run away." The Dark Lord replied. Harry looked a bit tired and he knew the boy most likely hadn't eaten enough food or gotten enough rest.

"I will check with the Ministry, to see if there are any charms or things surrounding the property too." Lucius made another mental note.

"Harry, we need to do a residue cleanup, and walk a few more streets over from there we will apparate to a few different spots, so no one can follow us."

"I have never apparated before."

"We will do all the work, you just need to hold onto the Dark Lord and hold your breath when we cast the spell." Lucius explained.

The Dark Lord started cleaning up their magical residue, they started walking down the road, no one spoke as they walked. "Harry, hold onto me." The Dark Lord stated, and as soon as Harry did he felt something he wasn't expecting. He felt a touch of his magic in the boy.

Lucius saw the look. "Marvolo?"

"I need to check something when we get back to Slytherin Castle."

"You can feel Tom?" Harry asked.

"Tom?" The Dark Lord asked.

"Yes, he speaks to me at times. He kept me from killing the Muggles. He explained about Dumbledore." Harry answered.

"We will speak when we get back home." The Dark Lord knew why Harry felt familiar now. He had a piece of his soul in him.

They landed in Londonderry, Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Cardiff before they landed outside of the gates to Slytherin Castle. "Harry, I need to key you into the wards." The Dark Lord explained as he held out a small silver knife. "I need you to place a few drops of blood onto the snake head."

Harry looked and could see the wrought iron crafted snake that was curled up with its head resting on the handle of the gate. He held out his hand and the Dark Lord cut his finger. He dropped some blood and he could feel the wards welcome him into the Castle.

Once everyone was settled in the sitting room, the Dark Lord explained what they planned on doing. "Do I get a name change?"

"Yes, we will have to see what magic gives you, but you will be a Peverell. It's higher on the Ascension Order, and I can use the new power from the combination of our lines to get Dumbledore out of power. Severus wants to do a full exam of you since he has his Medi-wizard license, we can save it for later to use against Dumbledore."

"He doesn't like me." Harry muttered. "I think he actually hates me."

"No, I had a role to play, and I did hate your father. Dumbledore lied to everyone about your background and expected me to fulfill a role." Severus said as he entered the room.

"Why doesn't the surprise me?" Harry asked quietly.

Severus didn't comment but sat down. "How did it go?"

"How do you feel about using some of your potions on abusive Muggles?" The Dark Lord asked.

Severus smirked. "I have a few I already brewed, ones that will be hard to detect and won't leave behind any physical evidence but will cause them a very unpleasant summer."

"Good." The Dark Lord and Harry stated at the same time.

"Painful?" Lucius asked.

"Yes, they will feel everything they did to Harry, but they won't see the physical aspect of it." Severus answered.

Harry grinned as he said: "couldn't happen to better people."

The Dark Lord smirked. "Let's get started."

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Severus was wondering why he was being summoned back to Hogwarts. He still had another week and a half before he was required to return to Hogwarts for the start of the new school year. He made his way to the Headmaster's office. He gave the password and to his surprise, he found the office filled with the Weasley family and some members of the Order. He realized as soon as he saw the Weasley family that they now knew that Harry was gone.

"Ah, Severus, thank you for coming. We have a slight concern."

"Slight? Harry is gone. We need to find him. He could be in grave danger." Molly almost made him want to cover his ears. The woman could hit new levels of screeching.

"I see." Severus answered. "What do you expect me to do? Chase the spoiled rotten brat for running away because he is having a temper tantrum?"

"Harry isn't like that." Ron Weasley jumped to his friend's defense.

"Please allow me to speak to Severus alone." Dumbledore kindly asked, in reality, it was a command. As soon as the Weasley family and the others were gone, Dumbledore continued. "Severus, this is vital. We need to find him. None of my tracking spells have revealed where he could be." Dumbledore stated.

Severus wondered why the man wasn't mentioning all the tracking charms he had placed on Harry. "If you tried them, I am not sure what you expect me to do?"

"I need you to go to Surrey and see if you can find out any information."

Severus knew what Dumbledore really expected him to do. He expected Severus to check with any Death Eaters to see if they had Harry Potter. He arched a brow. "I can not guarantee anything."

"I understand, but do try your best." Dumbledore stated.

"He most likely ran away, tossed a fit because he couldn't get the latest toy or his favorite food."

"He is Lily's son, and must be protected, you know why."

"Fine." Severus gave in. He knew the man used Lily for a reason. Severus turned around and headed for the door. He had to warn Lucius and the Dark Lord.

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Harry and Draco were getting ready to head to the train station. No one would recognize Harry now. He was taller, filled out a bit, gained a stone, his hair was tamed and framed his face. He didn't require glasses any longer, and his green eyes were now a clear bright Kelly Green, instead of the Emerald Green they were before. His face was a bit rounder. He was dressed in black silk robes, with black trouser, and a Kelly Green silk shirt, with a black vest.

"Ready?" The Dark Lord asked as Lucius and Narcissa entered the foyer with him.

"Yes, a bit nervous." Harry answered.

"You will do fine." The Dark Lord stated. "Write to me tonight."

"I will." Harry grinned. He knew Dumbledore and the Weasley family would be looking for Harry Potter. He wasn't Harry Potter any longer and certainly didn't look like Harry Potter. He was actually looking forward to returning to Hogwarts. He took his placement tests, and while he could go into his third year, thanks to Severus and his new father's instructions, he decided to start his second year with Draco and his new friends.

"Any problems, you know what to do." The Dark Lord stated. He had given Harry one of Nagini's new babies, and the little snake was wrapped around Harry's wrist. He also had given an emergency portkey in the form of a ring.

"I know." Harry replied.

"Let's go, we don't want to be late for the train." Narcissa instructed.

Chapter 4: 2nd Year

Harry and Draco were sitting with their friends in the Slytherin area of the Hogwarts' Express when Theo looked at the door. "Cowardly Lions are incoming."

Weasley slammed opened the door. "Where is he?"

"Who?" Everyone in the compartment wondered what Weasley was attempting to do.

Granger put her hand on Weasley's wand arm. "We are just looking for Harry. Have you seen him?"

"No, why would he be here?" Pansy looked past Granger to the red-hair girl behind the duo. "Another one?"

"Leave my sister out of this. We know you have Harry!"

"Unless he is hiding someplace, your lack of intelligence is showing as he is clearly not sitting with us." Draco's voice held his usual haughty tone when he dealt with those he felt were inferior.

"Who are you?" Granger pointed to Harry.

"Manners, I am taking it, aren't taught at Hogwarts?" Harry looked at Draco.

"Sadly, no as Dumbledore believes it would make the Muggle-born feel inferior." Draco couldn't resist the taunt, and he noticed the three Lions bristle at his words.

"Interesting, remind me again why I agreed to attend Hogwarts?"

"Your father." Pansy smirked.

"Yes, he did desire it. Well, I guess I can handle the total lack of proper etiquette. Your mother might make us take a refresher course over the Yule holiday if we arrive at Malfoy Manor acting like barbarians."

"Pay attention Granger and Weasley, here is a proper introduction. First, however, is that you should have knocked before entering our compartment. Second, you should have stated your name, since none of you have titles, it would be easy. I am going to pretend to be introducing you. Heir Romanus Hadrian Peverell, I would like to introduce you to Mr. Ronald Weasley, Miss Hermione Granger, and Miss Ginevra Weasley. See, that is how it is done. Third, you are unwelcomed after your rude behavior, please see yourselves out."

"Excellent Draco, you actually kept your loathing out of your voice." Theo couldn't help but comment.

"Your mother must be so proud of you." Blaise grinned.

"Do you need an escort out?" Draco asked the three staring at them.

"He is a Peverell?" Granger finally stated. "Your father is Lord Peverell?"

"Yes, he is." Harry realized Dumbledore must have mentioned his new father, and he wondered if the old man had plans to see him sorted into Gryffindor.

"You really don't want to be seen with Malfoy and company. They're snakes, Death Eaters, and followers of You-Know-Who." Weasley warned.

"Who?" Harry felt like an owl.

"You-Know-Who." Weasley looked around at the Slytherins.

"I am unsure of who you are referencing." Harry saw his new friends hiding their smirks.

"He sounds like Snape." Weasley, in a not so quiet voice, told his sister and Granger.

"Severus Snape? The youngest potion master in Britain."

"Yes, the greasy bat of the dungeons, the git." Weasley muttered as Granger answered, "our potion professor."

"Why don't you come and sit with us." Ginny moved out from behind Granger. "We can tell you about Hogwarts, and since we will both be first years, we can discuss which subjects might be our favorites. I can tell you about the professors."

"No, thank you. I am fine here. My cousin and I have had enough conversations about Hogwarts."

"Very true, my Father was even providing us with information on courses not taken at Hogwarts, like Government, Law, even some language courses that he wants to get returned to Hogwarts." Draco could see Granger's face light up at the idea of more classes. "However, Dumbledore has kept them from returning. I think he mentioned tutors for us."

"He did. Our fathers were in agreement. Theo, Blaise, he might be speaking to your parents too."

"Yes, Mother mentioned it. I told her I would love to take them." Blaise held up the book he was reading. "I even got one of the new books on basic government theory."

The group ignored the three Lions as they talked about the books. Granger kept trying to find out more information and soon was lost in a theory debate with Pansy and Blaise. While both Weasleys looked furious and finally grabbed Granger and removed her from the compartment. Harry watched them storm away. "Well, we found a way to divide those three up."

"Indeed." Draco smirked. "I believe providing more books for the Gryffindor Know-It-All will keep her busy."

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Harry stood and waited for his turn to be sorted. He knew Dumbledore was trying to get him into Gryffindor, as he already felt two compulsion spells on him. He was thankful the Dark Lord was paranoid. "Peverell, Romanus."

Harry walked up to the stool and the hat was placed on his head. "So, back again."

"Yes, put me in Slytherin."

"The old fool wants you in Gryffindor again."

"He already hit me with two compulsion spells. How many times has he done that?"

"Too many to count. I try to change their minds, but after he realized he couldn't cast them on me, he switched to the first-years. He also is very interested in your new father. Have to say I was impressed at how well that plan worked out."

"Really?"

"Fine, I knew you would do it. Do keep me informed." The Sorting Hat knew Dumbledore wasn't going to be happy.

"I am hoping to avoid his office. Fawkes might be able to take you to visit me."

"That Feather Duster will do it. Especially since you promised to give him some grapes."

Harry laughed. "I will keep the promise. So?"

"Yes, yes, I know, but you know this is driving the old fart nuts."

"True, very true. Anything else happening?"

"No, he got that idiot hired for DADA, despite others applying."

"Lucius and Severus informed us. How about a bet?"

"Stakes?"

"If I get him out of here by Yule, you have to turn the next sorting session into something he will hate. If I lose, I promise to find a way to update your look."

"You find a way to update my look no matter what. If you don't get the blond idiot out by Yule, you will have to owe me a favor, nothing dangerous or mean. If you win, I will owe you one, same rules."

Harry thought about it for a few minutes. "Deal."

"Good luck." The Sorting Hat yelled out: "better be Slytherin."

Harry got up, smiled at McGonagall, headed to his new table and sat down next to Draco. "What took so long?"

"Tell you later."

They listened to Dumbledore usually nonsense. The Welcoming Feast on the Slytherin table was healthier and seemed to be based on providing the students with a lot of fruit and vegetables. At Harry's confusion, Draco explained. "Severus believes a healthier body is better for our magic. He has the house elves give us a balanced diet. You won't see the junk normally found at Gryffindor."

Harry understood that, after all, he was now following Severus, Lucius, and the Dark Lord's policy on getting exercise and eating right. He started to feel his magic improving. He also knew it was because he was now getting regular meals during the summer, and his magic wasn't working overtime trying to fix his body. Severus had provided potions to help his past malnutrition, bad breaks, and any other damage the Dursley's family had done to him.

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Dumbledore was trying not to glare at Romanus Peverell. He had wanted the boy in Gryffindor so his pawns could befriend him. He knew he couldn't count on Severus to control the boy in the way he needed. Severus kept his snakes to well protected.

He was also going to be having a very long conversation with Hat. He wanted to know why the boy wasn't sorted into Gryffindor. He had placed two compulsion charms on the boy and ordered Hat to place him in Gryffindor.

He had to find a way to meet the boy in his office, so he could give him some potions, or even find out if the boy had any ideas of which side of the way the man stood on. Right now all the seats were neutral, but Lucius Malfoy was now the Chief Warlock.

That brought him back to his problem. He needed to find out what happened to Harry Potter. He knew the Dursleys had to do something to the boy. The boy wasn't able to leave the house without the tracking charms leaving a trail for him to follow. Instead, there was nothing, which made him think that Vernon had finally killed the boy, or left him naked in a ditch to die. He wouldn't put either past the man.

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Severus watched Dumbledore and seen him staring at Harry. He knew Dumbledore had tried to force Harry into Gryffindor, as his face when the Sorting Hat shouted Slytherin alerted him to that. He had also seen the man watching the annoying trio. He saw the Know-It-All shake her head no. So whatever they did on the train failed.

He would have to warn Harry to stay away from Dumbledore, and not to go anywhere with the man. He had a feeling Dumbledore would try to slip the boy some potions, or even truth serum. Thankfully, anything concerning Harry Potter had been placed under a Fidelius like charm, so nothing would be leaked.

He watched Draco and Harry. They were chatting with their friends but upholding Slytherins customs. He felt proud of how much the boy known as Potter had changed. The boy was clearly a snake, and clearly was going to be someone Dumbledore was going to regret returning to an abusive family.

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"How does he manage to pull himself away from the mirror long enough to give us a lecture? Not that was a lecture. The man is so full of hot air, I am surprised he doesn't float away." Harry couldn't believe the DADA class they just had.

"Weasley played a wonderful dead werewolf." Blaise laughed. Weasley had stood still and raised his arms in defense a few times when Lockhart got too wild in his movements.

"We need to get a way to learn to DADA because it won't be from that idiot." Draco stated as they entered the Slytherin common room.

"Agreed. Maybe a club? Dumbledore might go for it if we mention it around his pets, and they go running to the man. Even have a few of us drop not so subtle hints to Lockhart how much we need him to teach us the proper way to duel." Theo sat down on the couch next to Pansy.

"It's going to take more than subtle hints to pull that man away from a mirror. We can use his vanity. Something like how much it would promote his image to be seen doing that extra special lessons." Harry grinned. "You know Dumbledore will drag Snape into the club."

"True, very true." Draco exchanged a quick look with his friends as they began to plan.

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All of the students were huddled around the dueling platform in the middle of the Great Hall. The Slytherins weren't exactly happy as it was Saturday and as much as they hated Lockhart, they were looking forward to seeing the man learn a few hard lessons. They just wished it was a lesson during the week.

"Gather round! Gather round! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent. Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little Dueling Club, to train you all up in case you ever need to defend yourselves as I myself have done on countless occasions - for full details, see my published works."

Harry tried not to snort, and the boy next to him, said: "That Lockhart's something, isn't he? Awfully brave chap."

`Something is right.` Harry thought and noticed the rest of the Slytherin around him were trying not to smirk as if knowing what he was thinking.

The boy offered his hand. "Justin Finch-Fletchley. Hufflepuff."

Harry, being polite, took the hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Romanus Peverell, Slytherin."

Before Justin could say anything else further, Severus joined Lockhart on the stage. "Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape. He has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration. Now I don't want any of you, youngsters, to worry. You'll still have your Potions Master when I'm through with him, never fear!"

Harry heard Weasley comment to his sister and Granger, "What's the fun in that?" Several Lions giggled.

Lockhart and Snape faced each other and bowed. They turned, walked ten paces, spun around, wands poised, like swords, like the deadly weapons they could be used as. Lockhart started speaking again. "As you can see, we are holding our wands in the accepted combative position. On the count of three, we will cast our first spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill, of course."

Harry, eyeing Severus, commented to Draco. "I wouldn't bet on that."

"One-two-three -"

"Expelliarmus!"

Before Lockhart could even utter a syllable, flash of scarlet light bust out of Severus wand, blasting Lockhart ass over teakettle through the air and into the wall behind him.

"Do you think he's all right?" Granger gasped out loud to the crowd of students.

"Who cares?" Draco and Harry muttered together. They were hoping the idiot would leave in embarrassment after this.

Everyone was watching as Lockhart finally, somewhat unsteadily, got to his feet. He brushed himself off, fixing his robes. "Well, there you have it. That was a Disarming Charm. As you see, I've lost my wand."

"Your pride too." Theo uttered, as Granger returned Lockhart's wand. "Shame, he is a disgrace to wizards."

"Ah, thank you, Miss Granger. Yes, an excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind my saying so, it was very obvious what you were about to do. If I had wanted to stop you it would have been only too easy-"

Severus was clearly annoyed and interrupted the man. "Perhaps it would be prudent to first teach the students to block unfriendly spells, Professor." He glanced at Harry and Draco, he was still trying to figure out how they got Granger to request a dueling club. He thought for sure they wouldn't have been able to convince the girl.

"An excellent suggestion, Professor Snape. Let's have a volunteer pair. Peverell, Weasley, how about you?"

Weasley let out a low snarl. His wand had been broken during a fight he had with Crabbe and Goyle after he had tried to punch Draco, last week. He was still serving detention for it. "Weasley's wand causes devastation with the simplest spells. We'll be sending Mr. Peverell to the hospital wing in a matchbox. Might I suggest Ms. Granger in his steed."

Harry grinned, he had been looking forward to this. Harry took his place on the dueling platform. Granger took Lockhart's position. They followed the rules of the duel, and before Granger could even raise her wand after the count, Harry's "Expelliarmus" sent Granger crashing to the floor just beyond the edge of the platform.

Weasley screamed, "Rictusemprasortia!" A purple flying snake came flying out of the Weasley's wand.

"I said disarm only!" Lockhart shouted as he almost ran to hide behind Severus.

Harry wasn't about to speak to the snake. The snake, however, was clearly confused and started to chase Weasley. Severus quickly stunned the snake. "Weasley, detention for a month, 100 points from Gryffindor for endangering your fellow students, 50 points for casting a dangerous spell at a fellow student, for winning a duel." Severus picked up the snake. "Everyone dismissed."

Harry waited until everyone left except for Draco. "May I keep it?"

"You can discuss it with the snake when we get to my quarters. I also have a feeling I will be called to the Headmaster's office to explain what happened."

"I am not going to bet against that." Draco looked at the snake. "What kind of snake is that?"

"No idea. I have never seen a purple flying snake before, but he managed to mangle to spells together with a broken wand." Severus looked at the stunned snake. "Let's get him comfortable."

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"Lockhart isn't going to leave anytime soon unless we do something." Theo slammed his book down. "I am not reading another one of his books."

"How about a prank war on him." Blaise pulled out a potion book.

"I believe that will work if we go after his vanity." Harry opened the potion book.

"Weight gain, zits, greasy hair, bad teeth." Pansy started to write out a list.

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Severus entered the common room. It was mid-November. "DADA classes have been combined. The new schedule is on the board."

"What happened to Professor Idiot?" A fifth year asked.

"He left in the middle of the night." Severus answered. "I do believe the second and third-year students might have tied in your prank war."

Chapter 5

The purple flying snake now officially had a name. The Slytherin students all adopted the snake, calling him Salazar. The snake was usually seen flying around Romanus, and all knew the boy could speak to it. Two things kept the news from getting out, the fear of Severus Snape and the Dark Lord and the second being that snakes protected each other.

Salazar was curled up on one of the blankets in front of the fire, as the portrait of Salazar Slytherin was giving students a lesson in potions. Severus and Romanus had spoken to the portrait and got the man to give lessons. Every single Slytherin spoke to Salazar on a daily basis and the man loved it.

"What books should we make sure Granger finds next?" Draco was looking at the list of books they had already given Granger.

"I was thinking more about magic and customs. She spent the whole week asking me a ton of questions. I know she has more too. It certainly is driving Weasley nuts, as she doesn't understand why he can't answer them." Romanus looked at the list.

"He just says they aren't important any longer, even when she showed him those facts from the ICW about the influence of magic and old rituals." Theo had been a bit surprised that Weasley was going to ignore their heritage. "I really believed the boy just doesn't know nor care."

"Truly sad. He is missing out on a lot. Dumbledore really has messed up our history and culture." Pansy shifted the book on her lap. It was a bit heavy and a very slow read but it was worth it. "Maybe we should get her into one of the history groups we have, along with the customs group?"

"She would find both interesting, and I believe she is already seeing that Dumbledore is ruining our culture, she isn't ready to admit it yet, but I believe she will." Romanus had worked hard to show that the muggle-born students were actually worth converting. He knew his new father wasn't as interested but Lucius had been assigned to research Muggle-born wizards.

"They are from squibs." Salazar informed them. "The reason why Muggles almost found out about us. Their children can be magical if two squibs married each other. It's why the Puritans were afraid of witches. The leader as in fact a squib, he hated his parents for abandoning him."

"Where do we find this information?" Romanus wondered how Dumbledore would react to this information.

*In my secret chamber, only you or Tom can get the information. You will have to wait until summer and go in through the secret entrance.*

*I will tell him. Could he enter before or will Dumbledore know?*

*Because students are here, the entrance is covered by the wards, so he would know.*

*Thank you, Sal.* Romanus knew no one would ask what they spoke about. They were curious but they wouldn't ask because they knew if Salazar Slytherin wanted them to know, he wouldn't have spoken the snake language.

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Draco, Romanus, and friends were sitting in the back of the library, doing their charms assignment when they heard "I'm sorry Ronald, but I think they are important rituals. Look at what we are missing out by not observing the holidays."

"They are dark." Weasley snapped. "That is why we don't do them."

"How are they dark? No blood is being used, no one is being hurt, no one offers anything but fruits and herbs. This one all you do is light a candle, pray, and put three apples into a circle. It's like going to church, only without God."

Romanus rose from his seat. "She is correct. The holidays aren't evil or even dark. They aren't even banned, they are just ignored. The only ones who say they are dark are those who don't understand them and just take the word of someone else. I, personally, believe if someone tells you something, you should make sure they are correct before deciding for yourself."

"Murder is wrong, you don't need to research that, people tell you it all the time."

"Yes, murder is wrong, but you also get informed it's against the law and can look it up. If you ask why these holidays are ignored, you get told what?"

"They are dark!"

"How? Why?" Romanus could see Granger was enraptured with this conversation. "Tell us what is dark about them. Tell us why? Tell us how?" Weasley's face turned red, his fist clenched, he rose from his seat and stormed off. "You might not want to continue these types of conversations with a Weasley. They obey Dumbledore and don't want to change. There is a reason they are called blood-traitors and it has nothing to do with Muggle-borns or Half-Bloods."

"Why?" Granger closed the book she was reading. She didn't even bother to correct the title of the Headmaster.

"What do you call someone who turns on their religion, their culture, the very essence of their being? Lady Magic frowns on those who reject her. Magic is weakening because of the changes brought about by Dumbledore. Research the magical countries, and you will see those who still practice the old ways are stronger, their schools even reflect that. Look at Hogwarts decline since those classes and customs have been removed." Romanus didn't wait for a response, he headed back to his friends.

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"Miss Granger is doing a lot of research." Severus was waiting for the next part of his potion to begin, as it was simmering right now.

"I am aware, I set the tasks to her. Who would people believe? A Muggle-born who presented the facts versus a pure-blood? Her conversations have gotten a few Ravenclaws into researching the rituals, the holidays, even the classes Dumbledore has banned."

Severus didn't want to admit it, but Harry Potter was a true snake. He knew the boy didn't care about the prophecy if this year and last year were anything to go by. Dumbledore had been looking for Harry Potter and was falling behind in handling Hogwarts business. He knew Weasley had tried to speak to the man a few times, but Dumbledore brushed him off. Weasley and his sister were finding it very hard to make friends. Granger had been one at the beginning of the year, but she was clearly staying away from the duo. "Anything interesting?"

"A lot. The girl is good. Dumbledore will not like what she submits to the ICW and the Board."

Severus knew Granger would do exactly what Romanus planned. The best part was it was all the truth. Granger wasn't making facts and Dumbledore going to be taking another hit. "Harry Potter?"

"Dumbledore's blind spot. He still wants that prophecy to be fulfilled. Do you think he might try Longbottom?"

"He might but it would be a very hard sell. Longbottom is barely above a squib level in his magic, even if he got the right wand. The boy is amazing with plants, not defensive magic."

"Weasley isn't budding up to him. He sticks with Thomas and Finnigan. Has Dumbledore been having meetings?" Harry hoped Dumbledore didn't try to involve Longbottom, the boy didn't need Dumbledore getting involved in his life.

"Yes, but nothing is ever accomplished. The meetings are just a way to mask the disorder the Order currently is in. Lucius has been adding to the pressure."

"He will be able to do more soon."

Severus wasn't sure what to make of the true Harry Potter. He liked this version, the true one. The new classes in Slytherin were certainly going to give the Slytherins the advantage over any Hogwarts students when the banned classes were returned. Also, when the Dark Lord took over. He had no illusions that the light was going to lose. Dumbledore had placed all their hopes on a boy and wasn't doing anything else to strengthen their position.

"It will be Dumbledore's downfall." Romanus gave Severus a smirk. "He believes all his pawns are in place, even if he is missing a big one. He counts on those who are loyal to him to remain so. He will be receiving a rather large surprise when they don't."

"True. The truth does have a tendency to do that."

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Hermione Granger was shocked. All the stuff she had heard from purebloods was true. Everything about the rituals, about the holidays, even the banned classes they wanted to be returned. Nothing was dark about them. Even her research into the Dark Arts wasn't what she was told. Yes, she knew there were aspects of magic that should be classified as evil, but parselmagic was actually a very powerful branch of healing magic. In India, to be a Parseltongue was considered a great gift. In Asia, it was viewed as a sign of a great healer.

All warned about the emotional aspect of dark magic, but also explained that it only affects those with no infinity for that branch of magic. If you didn't have the infinity, you could still learn it but under someone who had already mastered it. So that you wouldn't lose yourself in it.

She felt like a fool for believing that Hogwarts was the best school for magic. They were almost at the bottom of the ranking. She couldn't believe it. Most didn't hire those from Hogwarts, which was why a lot of wizards went to work in the muggle world because they didn't have enough experience in the real world.

She should have realized this herself. Where was the math courses? Where was English composition courses? How about Science? How about even a basic everyday type of class for things like cleaning spells, estate management, even a health class. In a muggle school, they had these types of courses. Compositions would help students improve their assignments. Math would help them in everyday life.

She sighed, she had to do something. She looked at her research. She had a lot of names of people she had been in contact with and it was time to do something about it. It was time to speak to Romanus Peverell. He would help her, she knew. The boy didn't hide anything from her when she would ask him questions.

Chapter 6

Lucius wanted to laugh. He honestly did. It had taken a few months of Miss Granger submitting various requests, backed with a lot of research, to get them here, but it was worth it. He was aware of what Romanus was doing. The boy told them he would get Granger to do all the work for them. Now he was sitting here at a Board meeting because of that research.

The girl had tried to go to Dumbledore and he did nothing but tell her that what she was saying was dangerous and how dark so many of the rituals were. Granger actually was a bit of a Slytherin, she listened, debated, but instead of taking his advice, she submitted everything to the ICW, including the memory of their conversation.

The ICW gathered their own research based off of her report. That resulted in all of the magical school submitted their own research. While the ICW was normally used in guiding and keeping countries from war, this was a first. The ICW was now banded together to get all the education of all magical school up to standard.

Miss Granger had submitted the results of muggle school. Their advanced technology, and even their history. The girl showed how muggle would react to the magical world using the history of their wars, their fear of being different. She showed them how most of the muggle world was finally accepting people being gay, but also showed how a lot of muggle religions were against it.

The girl strengthened their views by pure facts that Dumbledore was trying to show didn't matter. The man was standing in front of the Board, after his ideas were rejected by the ICW, trying to show that the muggle would welcome wizards and witches if magical beings were taught more about muggles, given understanding.

"Mr. Dumbledore, we are not removing any muggle classes, we are adding to them. We are also returning, starting September, the classes you have banned." Lady Longbottom had spent a few weeks working with the Board on the new classes, the staff, and books.

"We can't have these classes returned. The muggle-born won't understand them, and we need to show them they are welcomed in our world."

"That is correct it is our world, one they're entering. They are at Hogwarts to learn to be wizards and witches, yet you want to cut off our mutual history, our mutual culture, and our mutual rites? You want them to return to the muggle world because they can't get a job in our world?" Ted Tonks asked. "As a muggle-born, I would have loved to be able to take these classes. They need to be taught. We are killing magic here in our country. The stats gathered have shown that."

"Mr. Dumbledore, the classes will be returned. The staff has been hired by the ICW, with the aid of the other magical school who will arrive to improve the quality of the current classes. We have also agreed to allow those who are interested, to return and take the new classes, as well as returning the apprenticeship program. The only professors are up to standard are the four heads of houses, Professor Sinistra, and Mrs. Pince. The rest are being replaced." Lord Greengrass took great pleasure in doing this. He had been complaining for years about the quality of Hogwarts' education.

"We must think of the aspect of when Voldemort returns, we will be enabling him to take control over our world. He will exploit our using the dark arts." Dumbledore had been trying to get everyone to believe those classes didn't need to be returned. They would ruin all his hard work.

"Poppycock. It's been over a decade. I don't even know why we are here. This is a waste of our time, nothing is going to change. I say we end the session." Lady Longbottom knew Dumbledore was going to start down the Potter path and bring her grandson into it. There was no way he was sinking his hands into her grandson.

"I second the motion." Lucius spoke for the first time. He saw Dumbledore glance at him and knew the man blamed him and Lord Peverell for this.

"Motion seconded and carried. This meeting is adjourned." Ted Tonks slammed the gavel down.

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"This is your fault!" Weasley screamed at Granger after everyone was leaving the Great Hall, where Minerva had informed everyone regarding the upcoming changes for the new year.

"It could be. However, you should be proud that our history and culture is being returned."

"It's all dark. There is a reason why Dumbledore didn't want it returned. You are ruining our world."

"No, it's idiots like you that are. Blindly following, never questioning what you are being told." Romanus walked closer, followed by a group mixed of all houses. "You just don't want to improve yourself. You rather just keep everything the same in your black and white world."

"Always going on about Harry Potter, You-Know-Who, and how they are going to return." A voice yelled out.

"His sister is a cracked. She wants to be Lady Potter." Another one laughed.

"This isn't about You-Know-Who or if you believe he is returning or not. It's about improving our world, improving magic." Romanus looked at Granger, who was smiling at being defended.

"Yeah." Was heard around the hall.

"You're evil, but what else should we expect from a snake. Going around in your fancy clothes thinking because you're a Peverell that you are something special. Granger acting all superior, spreading all lies about the dark arts, you aren't a lion, you're a snake in hiding."

"Is your world really that limited?" Longbottom spoke from the crowd. "Do you have any idea the damage that has been done to our world by the Headmaster stopping all of our rituals? Did you know there was a 72% increase in squibs during this time? Did you know that Hogwarts dropped 112% in their education standards? Did you know that our country dropped over 342% in the use of magic and the ability to wield that magic?" The Ravenclaws started throwing out history and other stats they had looked up.

"Excellent point, Mr. Longbottom. Ten points to Gryffindor." Severus stepped out of the crowd, followed by Minerva and Filius.

"Excellent defense Mr. Peverell. Ten points to Slytherin. Mr. Weasley, however, for trying to start a fight, 5 points from Gryffindor and a detention with Mr. Filch." Minera added. Honestly, the staff was a bit surprised the Headmaster had been allowed to stay, but he hadn't technically, broken any laws.

"What? That isn't fair. I was voicing my own opinion." Weasley defended himself.

"No, Mr. Weasley, you were trying to bully others into believing what you want them to believe while insulting two other students." Filius could see the students were finally uniting, and he wasn't going to allow Dumbledore to stop it. "Now, I believe it's almost time for curfew."

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The Dark Lord was reading Lucius' report. He had been skeptical about Romanus' plan, but Severus backed him about the Granger girl. It was one of the best plans and it got his goals completed. There were now tighter laws on Statue of Secrecy and muggle-born children were identified as soon as possible with a new department dedicated to monitoring their home lives. The classes and rituals were returned, he accepted that some magic should be monitored and controlled.

Dumbledore was still in charge of Hogwarts, but he knew it wouldn't be for much longer. Many were beginning to believe the man was senile, and the Dark Lord knew the ICW was still investigating Dumbledore, it was why they wanted to hire the new professors.

The Dark Lord also knew the old man would keep trying to convert everyone to the idea of his return. However, he liked his new life. His new son and thought it might be time to get a spouse. He had thought of courting Severus, but he gave up that plan when Lucius and Narcissa mentioned what a cute couple Severus and Romanus would make when Romanus got older.

Lucius knocked on the open door. "I got a letter from Draco. The school supports your son and Granger. Dumbledore wasn't even at the announcement." Lucius entered the office. "However, there is great news. I heard from Fudge, the ICW is moving forward with the removal of Dumbledore from the ICW and Hogwarts. He won't be given an option and they won't allow McGonagall to take his place because of her past dealings with allowing her lions to run wild and supporting Dumbledore despite knowing the man was handling Hogwarts wrong."

"Do you have any idea who they want to replace him with?" The Dark Lord wanted to dance. He was going to throw the biggest party as soon as Hogwarts was out for the summer holiday. He would have to have Narcissa help.

"Either Filius Flitwick or Severus. I doubt Filius will accept, he has turned it down before because of his goblin clan ties." Lucius produced a bottle of champagne from behind his back. "Celebration?"

"You read my mind."

Chapter 7

Romanus walked into his father's Manor. "Dad?" He walked into his Father's office.

"Rom? What are you doing here? I thought you were going to be away for a few more days."

"Hi, Irma, just looking for Dad. We got back last night." Romanus gave his step-mother a kiss. "Where is everyone?"

"Your father is out in the sunroom. Nagini had some babies and wanted to show him to them." Irma had been married to the Dark Lord for almost ten years. They meet during Romanus' third-year shortly after Dumbledore was removed. Severus became the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Minerva remained as Head of Gryffindor. They hired a new Deputy Headmaster from Spain, Juan Moya, he had a Doctorate in Education. "Now, where is my son-in-law?"

"Severus will be here in time for dinner. He wanted to put away the potion ingredients we collected before Draco discovered we were back and tried to raid our luggage like he did last time we went away." The ICW hired new heads for each department, each year now had their own potion professors. Draco received his Masters and had been teaching for three years now.

"I thought you weren't coming back until a week before Hogwarts opened for the term." The Dark Lord was holding one of Nagini's babies in his hands while Nagini was slithering next to him.

~Hatchling, you back.~

"Let's go and sit in the family sitting room. No need to remain in the foyer." Irma led the way.

"You know Severus. We have never gone on any holiday for the full duration which is why I make them longer so that he will at least stay a week." Romanus was walking next to his father. "So?"

"I'm still not sure."

Romanus arched his eyebrow at him, gave him a questioning look. "Why?" When he saw his father give him another closed off look, Romanus grabbed the man and apparated them into the Dark Lord's office. "What are you afraid of?"

"Romanus, I'm not sure if it's a good idea. I'm almost 90. I know this body is only 40ish, but a little kid, you were twelve when I adopted you."

"Dad, is it your age or are you afraid you won't be a good father? Because I can tell you, you are. You did the two things that everyone wants for anyone who loves them. Something I never had until you. You were there when I needed you, wanted you or even didn't at times. However, the important thing you did was you loved me, let me be me, you never tried to change me. Yes, you tried to stop me from making my mistakes, but you were also there when I did make them. Look at how much you adopting me changed your Death Eaters. Lucius and Narcissa have three more kids, and they laugh. Bella and Rod have three kids and she certainly is a lot saner. No one is expecting you or me, or anyone to be perfect."

"Irma has three she wants to adopt. They are three siblings, two girls, and a boy. The girls are twins, they are five, and the boy is three." The Dark Lord pulled out a folder. He opened it, he hadn't signed the papers yet.

"Sounds like you get to miss the nappy stage."

"We will." They turned and saw Irma in the doorway. "I figured you would be here. The kids were here last week. They had a great time, so did your father."

The Dark Lord signed the papers. "Congrats, it's two girls and a boy."

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Severus was reading in bed when Romanus joined him. "So you're a big brother now?"

"Yeah, it's official. He signed the papers earlier today. He won't be driving everyone nuts now with wanting to see their kids."

"Draco mentioned his sisters thought Marvolo lived there, he spent so much time there."

"Irma wrote me and told me." Romanus closed Severus' book and pulled Severus into his arms.

"So you used me as a reason to come home early and fix it?" Severus rest his head against his husband's shoulder. He still was a bit surprised that Romanus wanted him, but he knew it was true. They had been together since Romanus left Hogwarts, neither wanted to start anything while Romanus was a student. They had been married for two years, now.

"Yes, I hope you don't mind, but if he knew we cut short our trip for this, he would try to make it up to us."

Severus shuddered. "No, we don't want that. I'm still trying to figure out how to get a student to break that vase he got us. He does realize that we don't care for modern art? I just finally got one of the Weasley brats to destroy that weird piece of art he got us last time he felt he had to apologize for something."

"Yeah, Dad isn't good on the apologizing." The Weasley family was doing good, with the exception of Molly, Ron, and Ginny. The three left the magical world when Dumbledore was removed as Headmaster. Dumbledore and his few devote followers had tried to get others to rebel against the ICW, but it cost them the loss of their wands and a binding on their magic.

"Oh, Hermione and Draco almost got our new potion ingredients. I found them in the school storage closet inspecting everything we brought and they tried to get me to tell them what I was hiding."

Romanus smirked. His plan all those years ago worked better than he expected. Granger married Draco as soon as they were finished with school. Granger, now Malfoy, worked at the Ministry in the Ritual, Celebrations, and Holiday Department. Her department made arrangements for those who were muggle-born or half-blood to get the information about all the magical rituals, celebrations or holidays. However, Hermione and Draco were addicted to brewing potions. "I ordered some for them. It will arrive tomorrow."

"Good, I don't want them touching my ingredients." Severus only allowed Romanus into his private potion lab. "Not what you expected when you were eleven?"

"No, it isn't. I honestly just wanted to get away from the Dursleys." Romanus had enjoyed hearing about how Lucius had destroyed Vernon and Petunia.

Since Lucius owned the company, Vernon was fired almost a year later. No one would hire Vernon, and it wasn't because of anything Lucius did. Vernon had earned a bad reputation and no one wanted to hire the man who was a bully. The only reason he never was fired before was that Vernon had started there as a teen, joined the union, and never broke any rule that could get him fired. Until Severus' potions. Vernon wasn't used to being in pain, hungry, or even denied anything. He didn't react well to it.

They had tried to help Dudley but he was to far gone. Dudley was killed by the police during a drug raid when he was over in America for his summer holiday. After Dudley's death, Vernon had a heart attack, and Petunia was stuck taking care of him. She had to sell their house, their car, everything to care for Vernon, before he died of a second heart attack, while trying to get to the kitchen for the bacon he had put in the frying pan. Since Petunia wasn't home, the bacon grease started a fire in the small cottage, which she hadn't insured. Romanus wasn't sure where Petunia was but he honestly didn't care.

Severus tilted his head up. "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"You didn't. So how about I make it up to you for cutting short our holiday?"

"I think it's going to take a few make-up sessions."

"I am up for that."