Disclaimer: These characters are not mine. They belong to JK Rowling.

February 19, 1989

Harry made his way through the Manor's corridors, which he now knew like the back of his hand. He finally ended up in a small, secluded room, where he had agreed to meet Bella. Harry peered around the room, and Bella stepped out of the shadows. He rushed over to hug her.

"I hate that my parents don't want me around you. Things would be so much easier if we didn't have to meet in secret." Harry sat on the hard floor, annoyed. Bella nodded.

"I agree, but there's no use in complaining. Our meeting today has a very important purpose." She sat down beside him. Harry raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Has the Dark Lord started to teach you Occlumency?"

"No. He says the duelling is more important and we'll start next year." Harry sighed. He wanted to learn how to protect himself, both mentally and physically. Bella grinned. She had already known that.

"I happen to be a trained Legilimens and Occlumens. I got permission from the Dark Lord to begin teaching you, so you'll have the basics down by the time you start with him next year." Harry's face broke into a wide smile.

"Can we start? Please?" he pleaded. Bella took her wand out of her holster.

"First, I need you to clear your head. I know Lily taught you some basic meditation. Go through that in your head." Harry tried to follow her instructions and clear his thoughts. "Now, imagine a mundane, repetitive task that you do often." Harry scoured his thoughts to find a good one. He settled on folding his clothes, which Lily often made him do. He nodded. "I'm going to try to enter your mind. If you feel your mind drifting from that task, it most likely means I am trying to navigate toward a seperate memory. Focus."

Harry concentrated on a pile of clothes in front of him in his mind. He folded a shirt, then picked up some robes. Those robes were the ones he wore to the Christmas Ball two months ago. That night was so fun. He remembered the fake snow falling from the ceiling, and eating a delicious- Harry suddenly realized he had gotten off track, and went back to folding clothes. A shirt, a tie, robes. He tried to keep that order. He picked up another tie. Hogwarts houses were represented on a tie, he remembered. That reminded him of the conversation he had with James about which house he would be in. James had been very nonchalant- shoot, he was doing it again. Clothes, he reminded himself. Suddenly, Bella's voice broke his concentration.

"That was impressive for an 8-year-old," she complimented. Harry opened his eyes.

"It's really difficult to stay on track." He had a headache and his eyes were still adjusting to the dark. Bella chuckled.

"That was the least effort I could've put in." Bella saw Harry's face fall at that, so tried to cheer him up. "You did well. Just imagine how much progress you'll make in the next year. The Dark Lord will be so proud." Harry grinned at the compliment and stood up.

"I want to train often. I want to impress my parents and the Dark Lord." Harry was filled with a need to prove himself. He didn't know why, but he wanted to be better. He wanted to improve until he couldn't improve anymore.

-oOoOo-

August 9, 1990

Riddle fixed Harry's mask with a sense of pride. Lily looked over him in concern.

"No disrespect, Riddle, but are you sure Harry's ready? He's only 10." Harry glared at her. He finally had a chance to show his abilities, and he didn't want his mum ruining it.

"Mum, I'm ready. I've trained extensively for four years." Harry gave her a reassuring smile. She placed her mask on and ruffled his hair.

"I'm proud of you, and I know you're skilled. But battle can be difficult, and I don't want you getting hurt." Harry smoothed down his robes.

"I won't get hurt. I have my emergency Portkey in case, anyway." Lily nodded, pleased with that.

"I'm going to go find James," Lily said, leaving Harry alone with Riddle. Harry glanced up at Riddle, still getting used to the feeling of wearing a mask. Riddle smiled at him.

"I'm proud of your progress. Be safe, be smart..." Riddle started the familiar expression.

"Be sly," Harry finished. He felt nerves course through him. He was ready for the upcoming battle, but he had never duelled an Order member before. Riddle, sensing his nerves, handed him a Calming Draught. Harry gulped it down. "I'm ready." At Harry's cue, Riddle touched his wand to his Dark Mark, and, immediately, Death Eaters began popping in. Once the last one apparated in, Riddle cast a Sonorus charm on himself.

"Today, we will be ambushing the Order! Our spy has informed us they will be attempting to enter the Ministry, and we're going to stop them!" Riddle raised his wand, and Harry hooked onto his arm. Harry went through the unpleasant feeling of side-along apparation, and they appeared outside the Ministry. Various members of the Order whirled around in surprise. Harry recognized a few of them. Sirius Black, Frank Longbottom, Remus Lupin. He only had a second to process what was going on before spells were flying. A stunner flew at him and he deflected it, before casting a few Alarte Ascendare spells in rapid succession. The air was filled with screams and shouts. Harry spotted Sirius and Bella duelling. Bella seemed to be losing. He rushed over to help her, deflecting spells along the way.

"Aqua Eructo!" he cast, shooting a jet of water straight at Sirius. Sirius was momentarily startled, so Harry cast a stunner at him; however, like a coward, he apparated away. Harry took a second to check in with Bella.

"Bella, are you ok?" She was nursing a cut on her right arm, but nodded.

"I'm fine, go fight!" Harry looked back at her in worry before sprinting back into the battle. The Order was quickly dwindling in numbers, and within a few minutes, they had all disappeared. The Death Eaters started apparating away quickly, so Harry used his Portkey and was transported back to the Manor. He yanked off his mask, searching for his parents. James rushed over to him.

"Harry, are you okay?" James checked over him for any scratches. Surprisingly, he had escaped unscathed.

"I'm fine, Dad. Are you?" He noticed a faint cut on his cheek that appeared to have been healed poorly. "You should go to a Healer about that," he said, pointing at the mark. James smiled.

"You don't have to worry about me. You were great out there. I'm proud of you, your mother's proud of you, Riddle's proud of you. You're going to become a great leader one day." Harry blushed at the compliment, but silently agreed. He would be a great leader, no matter what it took.

-oOoOo-

July 17, 1991

Harry turned quickly as he heard an owl pecking at the window. He opened it up, scratching the tawny owl on its head before untying the letter tied around its ankle. The second he saw the letter, he yelled to his parents.

"Mum! Dad! It's here!" He clutched the letter, beaming, as his parents came barreling down the stairs. James snatched the letter from his hands, grinning like a little boy. Lily fixed James with a stern look.

"It's his letter," she pointed out. James handed it back to Harry, abashed. Harry gently tore open the letter and pulled out a paper with the Hogwarts insignia emblazoned upon it. His hands were shaking as he read it aloud. "Dear Mr. Potter, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July. Yours sincerely, Minerva McGonagall- Deputy Headmistress." Lily wrapped him up in a smothering hug.

"I'm so proud of you!" Harry gently wiggled his way out of her embrace.

"Mum, everyone gets in," he pointed out, not wanting to get his hopes too high for Hogwarts. James looked amused before also hugging Harry.

"It's still something to be proud of," Lily insisted. "When do you want to go to Diagon Alley?"

"Can we go today?" he asked tentatively. "I'm really excited and I want to be prepared." Lily nodded.

"Make sure to write them back." James ruffled Harry's messy hair, and Harry tried to flatten it. He nodded.

"I'll do that, then meet you down here for Diagon Alley in a little. Will one of you tell Riddle? He'll be so mad if we don't tell him soon," Harry laughed. James grinned and agreed, before letting Harry rush upstairs. He sprinted up and grabbed some parchment and a quill. He had worked meticulously on his handwriting and was excited for a chance to finally show it off. He carefully constructed his reply before calling an owl and sending it. Harry glanced at his reflection in the mirror, then headed over to his closet. He picked some casual but nice robes and quickly brushed his hair, which only made it more frizzy. He groaned before picking up a bottle of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion and working it into his hair. It wasn't perfect, but it was good enough. He sighed before making his way downstairs. Lily, James, and, surprisingly Riddle, were all waiting for him. Riddle must've seen Harry's confused look because he quickly spoke up.

"I heard you got your letter! I want to go with you to Diagon Alley." The way he phrased it, he wasn't exactly asking. Harry nodded, still high on the euphoria of getting his letter. They all stepped over to the fireplace. James went ahead of Harry, disappearing in the green flames. Lily nudged Harry.

"You next." She patted him on the back as he stepped into the fireplace.

"Diagon alley!" He made sure to enunciate each word and felt a whirling sensation before tumbling out in front of James. He felt his head spin for a second as he got his bearings. Lily and Riddle followed quickly.

"Harry, you have the materials letter, right?" Lily frowned at him. He quickly patted each pocket before finally feeling it. He grabbed the paper. "Read the uniform section. We'll head to Madam Malkin's first." He unfurled the letter and read it aloud.

"First-year students will require: three sets of plain work robes (black), one plain pointed hat (black) for day wear, one pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar), one winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings). Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags." Harry wrinkled his nose. He didn't want to have to wear a pointed hat. No one actually wore those anymore. The adults, oblivious to his annoyance, ushered him through the alley, and they headed inside the robe shop.

An hour and a lot of complaining later, Harry held a bag of new clothes. James grinned.

"We should head to Flourish and Blotts next." Harry agreed before reading the next part of the list.

"All students should have a copy of each of the following: The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1), A History of Magic, Magical Theory, A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, Magical Drafts and Potions, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection." Harry groaned. "That's a lot of books." Riddle chuckled as they stepped into the book store. The scent of old books floated through the air, and friendly chatter filled the room. Harry went to the Hogwarts section and easily found his books. Lily was browsing the muggle fantasy section while James paid for his books. Riddle smiled.

"We just need to get you a wand. The rest we can do on owl order." Harry was super excited to get a new wand. His worked great, but having two would be so amazing, especially since most wizards only had one. Riddle dragged Harry out of the shop toward Ollivander's with Lily and James following behind. He stepped inside, and a shadowy old man, presumably Ollivander, stepped out from the shadows.

"Mr. Potter. I wondered when I would be seeing you." Harry felt chills run down his back. Ollivander wasted no time with idle chit chat and immediately handed Harry a wand. Harry touched it, and a vase exploded. Ollivander ripped it away from him. "Not that one."

The cycle continued for 30 minutes, before Harry finally grabbed one and felt sparks shoot up his arm, traveling through his body. The warmth engulfed him. Ollivander had a contemplative look on his face.

"The wand chooses the wizard, you know, and that wand is powerful. I've sold the brother wand." Harry raised an eyebrow.

"To who?" This shop was giving Harry the creeps and he wanted to leave, but figured this was important.

"The only brother wand of that wand currently belongs to a powerful wizard. A great one. A terrible man, but an amazing wizard."
Harry was getting impatient. "Who?" Ollivander took a step forward, peering directly into Harry's green eyes, before finally giving Harry the answer he wanted.

"Voldemort."

-oOoOo-

A/N: The bolded parts of the story are taken from the Sorcerer's Stone. All credit belongs to JK Rowling. Harry starts the train next chapter! Sorry this is a bit short. I started high school so I might not be as active!