A/N: I am soo sorry for the wait. It's still Raven, the other two seem to have given up before even starting this story. Oh well. Again, sorry for the wait, I have several others going as well. The next few chapters will move pretty fast because it will be quite similar to the first book.
The first week of classes passed relatively calmly. Harry immersed himself in his studies, wanting to prove his worth. More often than not he was in the library, and there was almost always a book somewhere near him. He breezed through his classes easily, learning new stuff as well as the things he learned in classes. With access to the largest library he had ever seen, his knowledge of spells, charms, curses, and hexes grew exponentially.
Draco meanwhile was trying to figure out the puzzle that was Harry Potter's home life. He didn't find out much. From what he knew from the stories, when the Dark Lord had attacked the Potters, Harry's younger sister, named Angel, had died because she tried to stop the Dark Lord from harming her brother, Harry. The stories said he turned his wand on Jonathan next, but something had happened and the Dark Lord was vanquished. The only harm done to the Boy-Who-Lived was a curse scar over his chest shaped vaguely like a lightening bolt.
Apparently the Potters were quite rich, and Jonathan was spoiled even more than Draco himself. The Boy-Who-Lived was well aware of his celebrity and seemed to love it whenever he went out into public, posing for the papers, giving interviews, and even signing the occasional autograph. Draco went to the archives of the library to find old newspaper articles on the Potters. Up until Harry was six, he was always included in the pictures along with the family. After that he was in very few, and by the time he would have been nine, he disappeared all together. Harry was also rarely mentioned in the articles, the reporters favoring Jonathan and the adorable younger children.
Sighing Draco put away the newspapers and made his way over to the sofa in the corner of the common room where Harry was reading. He sat next to the green-eyed boy, watching him for a few moments.
"Anything you wanted or are you just here to stare?" Harry asked, not looking up from his book.
"Most Potente Potions?" Draco asked, reading the title of the book.
"Despite the teacher, potions is one of my favorite subjects." Harry said.
"Snape is being a bit of a jerk to you. At least you show passion for potions, that will get you on his good side." Draco said.
"Snape has a good side?" Harry asked. Draco chuckled.
"Maybe not a good side, but a better side." Draco corrected.
"Back to the question - anything you particularly wanted?"
"No, not really. Companionship, maybe?" Draco said. Harry rolled his eyes and went back to reading his book. "Isn't that from the restricted section?" Draco asked.
"Yes." Harry answered.
"Then how did you get it?"
"This is Sirius' copy."
"Why do you call him by his given name? You do the same with your parents." Draco asked.
"Will you never give up on that?" Harry asked, annoyed.
"Not until I get a satisfactory answer." Draco said.
"Fine." Harry sighed. "I don't like them, they don't like me. Simple really." Harry said.
"So that's why you live with your godfather?" Draco asked.
"Yes and no. Jonathan is so spoiled that he can't share a room, and instead of getting a new room added, quite simple with magic really, they decided I was too much of a nuisance since they had to take care of all the babies. So that's how I ended up in the Ancient and Most Noble House of Black, happy now?" Harry asked.
"Yes and no." Draco said, copying Harry's earlier words. Harry scowled and retreated to his room, shutting the curtains around his bed and charming them against intrusion.
As time continued on Harry and Draco's relationship became better. They were nearly inseparable at times, and had taken to pranking the Gryffindors. Draco's invisibility cloak just made things all the better. Draco rarely asked much about Harry's family, but the one or two questions he did have were at least partially answered.
Most classes were still a bit of a joke to Harry. Defense was a joke to everyone with Professor Quirrell as their teacher. Snape was slightly less cruel to Harry because of his immense interest in potions. He could rarely find fault with his potions anymore. Transfigurations had the potential to be a fun class, but with Professor McGonagall, the head of Gryffindor house, teaching it, Harry and Draco could barely have any fun at all. Not to mention that the professor was biased toward her Gryffindors, though not as obviously as Snape and his Slytherins.
It was in the middle of a very boring defense class when Harry's scar began to hurt. He reached a hand up to rub it, wondering what had caused it to hurt. He knew that he was the one who had been hit with the curse, not Jonathan, but he had never spoken up. At first it was because he was still scared, being only four, but when he finally did try to tell them, no one believed him. They laughed at him even, thinking he just wanted the attention Jonathan was getting. They continuously told him his scar was from the ceiling falling on him, but still he remembered the truth.
Harry looked around the classroom for anything out of the usual. Most the students were taking a few useless notes. One of the Gryffindor's was asleep, snoring on his paper. Professor Quirrell was at the board, back to the class, writing notes. When Harry looked straight at the back of his head, the pain in his scar increased. He quickly repressed the sound he was about to make and lowered his head to his paper.
"Something wrong?" Draco asked.
"No." Harry said, removing his hand from his forehead. There was a dull ache for most of the class, but it soon faded once he was in the hallway on his way to potions. In potions class they were assigned a somewhat difficult potion and Harry threw himself into the work, soon forgetting the troubling feeling he had had since defense class. When Snape swept over to check everyone's potions he was unable to find any fault with Harry's. He even went so far as to award Harry five points for a perfect potion.
Halloween dawned dark and stormy, rain pounding the sides of the castle, perfectly suiting Harry's mood. Halloween had been when it happened, when Harry's entire life was ruined. He spent most of the day tucked away in a dark and dreary corner of the library, at least until Draco found him.
"What's wrong?" Draco asked, sitting next to Harry on the small sofa that was tucked into this corner of the library.
"What makes you think something is wrong?" Harry asked.
"One, it's Saturday and we haven't pranked the Gryffindorks, two, it's Halloween and you're moping in the library." Draco said.
"Think, Blondie, what's so important about Halloween?" Harry asked.
"The Dark Lord was banished on this day - oh." Draco said, turning wide eyes to Harry.
"What do you know, some brain cells have survived the peroxide!" Harry said.
"I'll have you know I'm a natural blond, thank you very much." Draco sniffed, jutting his chin up in the air. "It's still no reason to spend the whole day moping around."
"Easy for you to say. You weren't there Draco, you don't remember all the little details I do. You don't know the scent of fear in the air, you don't know what it's like to look into those horrible red eyes. You don't know what it's like to have your little sister die in your arms." Harry said, whispering the last.
"I'm sorry." Draco said, draping an arm around Harry's shoulders in a comforting motion.
"Don't be. There's nothing to do about it." Harry said.
"Will you at least come to the feast and try to enjoy yourself?" Draco asked.
"No." Harry said.
"Why not?" Draco asked.
"Because I don't feel like celebrating Draco. Would you?" Harry asked.
"No, I guess not. You want me to stay with you?" Draco asked.
"No, you can at least enjoy yourself." Harry said.
"Okay!" Draco said, bounding off. Harry shook his head at the blond's antics. This was a side of the Slytherin very few people saw what with the cold mask his father insisted he keep up in public. Harry sighed and packed up his books, retreating to the dormitory.
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
"And why, Mr. Potter, are you in the dormitories instead of stuffing your face at the feast?" A voice like poisoned velvet asked, startling Harry though he didn't show it. When Snape had realized Harry was missing from the feast he had gone off to find him, hoping he could catch him doing something that would end in detention at the very least.
"I don't feel much like celebrating, Professor." Harry answered.
"And why is that, Potter?" Snape asked, sneering.
"I'm sure you can figure it out if you think hard, Professor." Harry said.
"Detention, Potter, for your cheek. 8 pm tomorrow night. Do not be late." Snape said, sweeping out of the room. Harry sighed again and decided maybe the feast wouldn't be so bad. He exited the dungeons only to find students running quickly to and fro, prefects shouting at students to follow them. Harry slipped into a deserted passageway, wondering what was going on.
"Harry?" a voice asked. He immediately whipped around, wand at ready.
"Don't do that Draco!" Harry shouted. "What's going on?"
"Professor Quirrel came running in shouting about a troll in the dungeons, then fainted." Draco said.
"Isn't the school warded against creatures like trolls?" Harry asked. Something didn't seem right. "How could a troll get in, they're incredibly stupid. And why would it be in the dungeons, wouldn't it be more likely to get into the ground floor? And what was Quirrel doing in the dungeons of all places, during a feast?" Harry said rapidly. Something was definitely off.
"Up to a bit of snooping?" Draco asked, pulling his invisibility cloak out of a magically enlarged pocket.
"Of course." Harry said. The two boys quickly slipped under the cloak and went back into the hallway. It was slightly less crowded, but they did catch sight of Professor Snape quickly and purposely making his way to the third floor. Sharing a look they decide to follow him. Snape looked around warily before unlocking a door, the two boys quickly followed.
"Isn't this the forbidden corridor?" Draco whispered as Snape slipped through another doorway. Growling was heard, then a shout from Snape and he ran out of the room, paler than usual, his leg torn and bleeding. The two boys chanced a look in the room before the door was slammed shut.
"Bloody hell." Harry breathed.
"It was standing on a trap door." Draco said.
"The ultimate guard dog." Harry said. Before anything else could be said, another person came into the hall.
"P-professor S-snape." the other person stuttered.
"Were you not just passed out on the floor of the Great Hall, Quirrel?" Snape asked.
"I-I thought I w-would h-h-help w-with the t-t-t-troll." Quirrel said.
"I thought you said it was in the dungeons." Snape said, raising an eyebrow.
"W-well what a-are you d-doing up here th-then?" He asked.
"Keeping you away. Don't think I don't know what you're up to, Quirrel." Snape snarled.
"I d-don't know w-what you're talking ab-bout." Quirrel said.
"Attention everyone." a voice echoed through the castle. "The troll has been apprehended, no need to panic. Food shall be sent up to the common rooms and the feast can continue there. Would the Professors please check on their students. That is all." Dumbledore's magically magnified voice said.
"Get out of here Quirrel." Snape snapped. The two professors quickly left the hallway.
"Damn, now we have to beat Snape back to the common rooms." Harry said.
"Come on, I know a short cut." Draco said, pulling Harry along behind him. Luckily they ducked into the common room seconds before Snape entered. They went to their dorm before throwing off the cloak and exiting when Snape called for all the Slytherins. Both went to sleep with many questions circling in their heads.