A Slytherin Mind

Short summary: Harry reincarnates as Salazar Slytherin (or the other way 'round), Draco is Godric Gryffindor. Dark!Harry, light!Draco. At least slight Dumbledore!bashing. No pairings yet, though I'm thinking Dramione. Oh, and Harry's gay. Just let you know.

Disclaimer: Not mine! In fact, I have adopted it from kookookarli who had in turn adopted it from Lucy Saxon. So, this first chapter is hers, with just a few changes, as I wanted it less Mary Sue and darker. And checked her grammar, twisted a few things and generally made it easier to read.

Enough of my babbling. Enjoy, review and PM me if you think something else should be in the story!

Harry Potter sat on his bed on the 15th of July, one week into the summer holidays and bored out of his mind. He was depressed after the death of his godfather, Sirius Black, in the department of Mysteries at the end of last school year. The order had warned his relatives about treating him properly this summer but that just gave them the incentive to do their worst. His uncle Vernon beat him regularly, as did his whale of a cousin, and his aunt Petunia made him do everything around the house. When Harry thought about it, he didn't really care. He wanted to die, to stop the pain of losing the closest thing to a father he had. He was angry at Dumbledore for manipulating and hiding things from him and decided he would be a pawn no more. Harry looked at the clock he had fixed last year. '11:59PM', he read.

He lay down, trying to sleep even if it meant the nightmares plaguing him. The clock turned midnight and suddenly he was barraged with a mass of memories and knowledge that he was sure weren't his own. '9 years old, his parents murdered by muggles for their magic, 10 years old, being found by a boy with scruffy blond hair and pale blue eyes and taken in, 15 years old, doing a ritual with the boy who he had come to love as a brother, 17 years old, building a school of magic with their two friends, 20 years old, teaching a class of teens about snake venom and its uses in Potions, 24 years old, his friends getting suspicious and accusing him of murder, 25 years old, being shunned by his family and friends for having a giant snake protect their school, deep crimson blood shining on a dagger and oozing from the newly formed cut on his own pale wrist, 26 years old, fighting with his blood brother and being kicked out of the school, a month later, lying in a pool of dark red blood, sharp dagger slipping from his hand, staring in morbid fascination as his life essence seeped away and his vision went black. Nothing.' These were just a few of the memories that flooded into his head.

When he had assessed it all with his suddenly formed occlumency abilities he knew two things. One, he, Harry Potter, was the reincarnation of Salazar Slytherin. Two, he needed to find Godric and get away from the Dursleys. He then remembered the mind bond he shared with Godric since they bonded as blood brothers. He found it and tapped into it.

'Godric, you there?' he asked tentatively. He grinned as he heard a reply.

'Salazar, that you?' it came uneasily. Obviously Godric had just come back too.

'No, the other sarcastic insane genius who shares a mind bond with you. Of course it's me you moron!' he said dryly. 'Look, Ric, I'm really sorry about the fights but Circe was just to protect the school in case of attack. I wasn't an evil wizard and I was upset that you accused me of it.' he said.

'I know, after you left we realized our mistake, Row and Helga were so worried about you and I was trying so hard to find you. You blocked me out of our bond. I know now that you would never be evil. Dark, yes, but not evil. You have nothing to apologize for, I only hope you can forgive us.' The somber reply echoed throughout his head.

' Of course I forgive you, you're my brother. Now, enough with this mushy stuff, tell me. Is who you are in this time as ironic as who I am?' He joked. Godric's laugh echoed through his head.

'Depends, me being me is about as ironic as you being Potter. Wait, you're Potter, aren't you?' He groaned. Harry chuckled.

'Right in one, Ric. The irony would only be as sweet if you were Malfoy.'

'Bingo. Holy crap I'm having a civilized conversation with Potter without Weasel getting involved.' He said sarcastically. Harry chuckled.

'God this is rich. Gryffindor Golden boy is Salazar Slytherin whilst the Slytherin Ice Prince is Godric Gryffindor. And I'm sorry about the way I acted all these years. It was just pointless arguing to let off steam. You're not that bad you know.' Harry said honestly. Malfoy seemed surprised.

'I'm as much to blame. I resented you because you rejected me when we were eleven. I was used to 'what a Malfoy wants, a Malfoy gets' and you denied me something. I think we can be mature enough to get over arguments. Especially since we're going to be sharing headspace and need each other to help with our new knowledge and memories. I don't want to be a Death Eater, I told Lucius as much and let's just say it wasn't pretty.' He explained. Harry was sympathetic but didn't show pity. He hated pity in these situations.

'Well Draco, can I call you Draco? Anyway, we have a lot more in common than you realize. Ever since the mighty chicken club warned my relatives about treating me right I haven't been able to stand up straight since. I think I'm still a shifter.' Harry concentrated on his magic and smiled as he felt his hair grow.

'Yep, still a shifter. I think I'm gonna split to the Leaky Cauldron, let Dumbles worry a bit, get some new stuff. How about you? What are you gonna do?' Harry asked whilst casting a wandless spell to pack his things. Wandless magic couldn't be traced by the ministry so he wouldn't get expelled for it, although getting his old wand wouldn't hurt. Once his things were all in his trunk he shrunk it and put a feather light charm on it.

'Right, eagle time.' He joked to Draco, turning into a dark brown and white eagle. Hedwig was out hunting and her cage was in his trunk so he hoped she would find him. He picked up the shrunken trunk in his talons and flew out the open window. He soared above the town, loving the feeling of freedom and imagining the Dursleys faces when they saw he was gone. He saw the rickety old pub out of the corner of his eye and swooped into the alley next to it. He became human again and changed his hair to a shoulder length straw blonde, his eyes to a dark midnight blue. He kept most of his features and body structure the same so that when he got new clothes they would fit him. He put his trunk in his pocket and walked into the pub, fixing his eyesight and removing his glasses as he went. He walked up to the bar and called Tom over.

"Hi, I'm James Harrison. Can I have a room till September 1st please?" he asked. Tom nodded and exchanged a key for galleons with Harry.

"Room 15. Up the stairs and on the left." Tom said gruffly. Harry nodded and jogged wearily up to his new room for the summer. He enlarged his trunk and shrugged his clothes off, crawling into bed in his boxers. He sent out a quick goodnight to Draco before going to sleep. It had been a long night.

The next morning, Harry woke early and for once, had no nightmares or visions. He healed his beating wounds wandlessly and dressed in some oversized jeans and a white t-shirt and put on his ragged trainers. He went down and bought some breakfast. He ate his eggs and bacon, all the while making a mental list of things to do. He needed to check his Gringotts account; he had a suspicion that Dumbledore was hiding something of it from him. He needed to get a whole new wardrobe of muggle and Wizarding clothes. He needed to get some books to help him re-establish control over his newfound abilities. He needed to get the Ministry tracking charms off his wand. He wanted to get a few tattoos and piercing to go with his new look. He needed a new trunk with room compartments for his things and he wanted to get some Potions ingredients. Harry Potter was awful at Potions but Salazar Slytherin was one of the best Potions masters in history. He finished his eggs and bacon and walked out to Diagon Alley. He strode purposefully towards the white marble building and walked up to a till. The goblin eyed him distastefully.

"Hi. Am I right in assuming that whatever I say here stays within these walls and is told to no one." he asked. The goblin nodded. "Good. Could we take this elsewhere, please? What I'm about to say cannot be heard by eavesdroppers." he said.

The goblin nodded again and led him towards a back room. Harry let his features revert back to those of Harry and smiled at the shocked goblin.

"Hello, as you can see, I'm Harry Potter. I would like to see someone about my vaults. I would also like any tracking spells placed on my person or my wand to be removed. As you know, money is no issue." He said in a business-like tone. The goblin nodded and waved a hand over him.

"I have just taken off a tracking charm placed on you by Albus Dumbledore, a tracking charm by Albus Dumbledore placed on your wand, and, as the will of your late godfather Sirius Orion Black states you are to be emancipated, I took the underage magic detection charm off your wand. You are legally allowed to do magic and receive any inheritances if you sign this paper." he said, holding out the emancipation forms to sign. Harry signed eagerly, ranting about 'manipulative old coots' and 'stupid Headmasters' under his breath. The goblin grinned vindictively.

"Excellent. You are now eligible to claim both the title of Lord Black and Lord Potter, along with the Potter family vault and the vaults left to you by Mr. Black. Please wait a moment whilst I get the Lordship rings and list of assets." he said swiftly. Harry grinned.

"Thanks. Eee, I never got your name." Harry said sheepishly. The goblin hid his shock and replied to Harry.

"My name is Clawaxe. Most wizards and witches do not bother to learn our names." Harry frowned.

"Why not, you're intelligent enough to name yourselves, therefore names should be used. From all I've read about goblins they're extremely smart and cunning." He said earnestly. The goblin raised an eyebrow as he was passed a box and some parchments by another goblin. He opened the box to show two rings. Each one gold with a crest on it. He passed the rings to Harry.

"When you put them on they will merge into one, whichever you choose to show. They will also give you an ability that passes down from generations of Lords." Harry nodded, internally rolling his eyes at yet more abilities, but put the rings on all the same. First he put the Potter ring on, the crest surrounded by small ruby studs encrusted into the ring. He felt a rush of wind and a burst of knowledge on charms in his head. He then put on the Black ring on. This crest was surrounded by small chips of black onyx crystals. With that ring came the ability to become an Animagus. Quite pointless since he was a shifter and could change into any animal he wanted, but an excuse for that all the same. He had already decided that his main form would be a black panther. Clawaxe then passed Harry a list of his properties, items and money.

"Lord Potter Black, we found that Albus Dumbledore has been drawing money from the Potter vault, claiming to be using it for school items for you. What do you wish to do?" Harry was furious.

"What? That old coot has been stealing my money! Could you please block him and anyone else from taking money from my vaults without written consent? But not tell him I'm the one behind it. I would also like to stop Bellatrix Black Lestrange and Narcissa Black Malfoy, along with their families apart from Draco Malfoy, from being able to access any Black vaults or money." He said. The goblin nodded with an evil smile.

"Anything else, Lord?" he asked. Harry thought for a moment before nodding.

"I would like to go see my vaults. Also, could everything be transferred to one or two vaults so I don't have to go all over the place?" he asked politely.

"It has already been done. This way, you may want to replace your disguise." Clawaxe said, Harry slipped back into his 'James' look and followed the short goblin towards the carts. They got in and Harry suddenly had an idea.

"Hey, Clawaxe, does this cart go any faster?" he asked, a maniacal glint in his eye. Clawaxe mirrored the glint and pulled a lever. The cart jolted and shot forward. Throughout the caves you could hear Harry's excited whooping echoing. They came to a halt outside a large door with the Potter and Black crests on. Clawaxe stroked it with a finger and it melted away. Harry saw a small room with two doors. One had the Potter crest and the other had the Black crest. Harry walked into the Potter vault and gasped. It was filled with piles of coins, jewelry, weapons, furniture, clothes and other random items. Harry found a cherry wood trunk with six large compartments, four of them rooms, and began piling things in. He took four dagger sets, five swords, several different cauldrons, a wand holster, a pensive and a set of battle robes with dragon skin underneath.

He walked into a corner and gasped. He saw his parent's journals, along with Sirius' and Remus'. There was also a set of books written by the marauders about pranking and Animagi, his parents' engagement rings and a set of leather necklaces. One had a small metal lily, one had a black shaggy dog, one had a brown wolf and the last had a pale beige stag. Harry put them in his pocket and put the books in the trunk lovingly. He made a mental note to make a panther necklace for himself and give Remus his wolf necklace back. Harry shifted through the rest of the things in the vault before gathering a very large pile of galleons for his upcoming shopping trip. He walked back to the waiting Clawaxe.

"Clawaxe, would it be possible to put any cursed or hexed objects in a separate vault for safety?" he asked, imagining the possible contents of the Black family vault. The goblin nodded.

"Would you like to look through the Black vault now?" he asked. Harry shook his head.

"No thanks, I have shopping to do. Can we go back up?" Harry shrunk the trunk and put it in his pocket. The duo rode the cart back up to the bank and Harry left with a trunk full of stuff in one pocket, a large bag of wizard and muggle money on the other, the ability to do magic and a grin on his face at the prospect of freedom in Diagon alley. His first stop was Madam Malkins robes for all occasions. He walked in and a small bell went off over the door. A thin, brown haired witch walked up, smiling kindly.

"May I help you?" she asked.

"Hey, I'm in need of some Hogwarts robes, Gryffindor, some evening robes in emerald green and silver, a few cloaks in black and dark green, some everyday robes in black, purple and green with silver edges, five pairs of dress trousers, black, some black dragon skin boots and some black dress shoes. Can it be done?" he asked. The witch wrote down everything he listed and pulled out a measuring tape.

"Of course, let me take your measurements and I will be done by midday." She said. Harry smiled at her and let the tape flit around his body. The quidditch training and manual labor had given him a very athletic body and he knew he would turn one room in the trunk into a training room for dueling, sword fighting and muggle fighting. His Salazar knowledge was efficient in all three but he needed to brush up his skills.

He left the shop and went into Flourish and Botts. He bought books on advanced Potions, Charms and Hexes, Transfiguration, Runes, Arithmancy and Healing. He had a feeling that it would be needed and he hated the infirmary. He guessed that he would have to cover the Dark Arts at the Restricted Section at Hogwarts. He also bought a few random books on various subjects that caught his interest. The cashier nearly had a heart attack when 'James' pulled out his money bag to pay.

His next stop was the Apothecary where he got a wide range of Potions ingredients, including the ones for the Wolfsbane Potion. With his new knowledge of Potions he felt confident enough to make it for Remus. Maybe even experiment with something that could heal him. That thought then briefly made him think about how the chicken club must be going crazy looking for him.

He smirked as he entered quality quidditch supplies. He bought some new leather guards and a practice snitch, along with an Ireland team shirt. He wandered down Diagon alley and spotted what he was looking for. He slipped into a small tattoo parlor with some shrunken parchments from the trunk. He enlarged them and looked at his drawings. A pretty witch in a tight top and miniskirt with about five tattoos and seven piercings visible walked up to him.

"Hello there luv. I'm Sarah, what can I do for ya?" she asked, winking flirtatiously.

Harry handed her the drawings.

"I want some tattoos. Do you do original designs?" he asked as she looked over his sketches. She let out a low whistle.

"Whoa, these are amazing! How would you like a job designing for us? If you accept I can get these done for free, so long as I can use them for other customers. How about it?" she asked.

Harry nodded eagerly. 'Someone likes my drawings!' he thought happily. He hadn't told anyone about his secret artistic talents, not even Ron and Hermione. He had the panther drawn because he had been studying to be an Animagus and that was what his form would be.

"Great, so where do you want these?" she asked.

"The panther on my right shoulder, the lion and snake on my left bicep, the wolf, stag, dog and lily on my lower back and I'd like that barbed wire one over there on my right wrist." He said. She nodded.

"Okay, take off your shirt." she said and Harry was glad he had healed himself earlier. "Okay, this is going to hurt a bit." she said after transferring the drawing outline of a prowling black panther with emerald green eyes onto his shoulder blade. Harry remembered Sirius telling him about the marauder tradition to have your Animagus form tattooed on your right shoulder and he decided to do the same. She held her wand over the marks and muttered a spell. Harry gritted his teeth slightly to the pain as the feeling of needles poking his skin flared up. It was a slight tickle compared to the cruciatus but painful all the same. After that was done she did the same with the lion with a snake around its waist, the stag, dog and wolf playing under a white lily and the grey barbed wire around his wrist that looked almost real. When she was done and had given him a potion for the pain she smiled.

"Great, now you're all set. When you have some drawings, owl me and I'll send you the money for it. We sometimes get requests from people so I may send you some of them. What name do you want to go by?" she asked. Harry thought about it for a moment.

"Phoenix." He said, deciding to use it to mock Dumbles in his mind. She grinned.

"Awesome. Well, see ya Phoenix!" She said before walking through to a back room. Harry put his shirt on and left. He came across jewelers and decided to go and have his necklace made. He walked in. A middle aged man with light brown hair walked over to him.

"Hi, welcome to Enchanted Jewels, how can I help you?" he asked. Harry showed him his father's necklace.

"Hi, I wanted a necklace like this but with this panther." He said, slipping his shirt so the clerk could see his tattoo. The man nodded.

"Okay, wait there, it will take about five minutes. Feel free to look around." He said, taking the stag necklace with him.

Harry was browsing the shop when he saw a gold watch with a brown leather strap. It had emeralds around the edges. He picked it up and walked to the till where the man had his new necklace.

"I'm done. Would you like to buy that watch as well, sir?" Harry nodded and paid for the two, putting the leather necklace on his neck and the watch on his left wrist. He then realized it was around midday. He jogged back to Madam Malkin's and the witch walked over to him.

"Hello there, I have your order ready. Would you like me to shrink the packages?" she asked. Harry nodded and pulled out his moneybag. The witch shrunk a pile of packages and put them in a small bag to fit in his pocket. He thanked her and walked out with his purchases. He slipped through the alley and out to Muggle London. Harry walked into an alley and tapped his moneybag with his wand. It became a black leather wallet filled with muggle credit cards. He then closed his eyes and became Harry Potter again but with emerald green streaks in his hair and no scar or glasses. Even if the order were searching London, no-one would recognize him. He walked into the busy streets and found a clothing shop. He searched for a clerk, found one and walked up to her. She turned and smiled.

"Hi there, can I help you?" She said in a perky voice.

"Err, yeah, I need a whole new wardrobe, money is not an option. I'm not really sure what I want so… go nuts!" he said. The woman squealed and dragged him over to a rack of clothes.

2 hours later, Harry was wearing a black muscle 'I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it' t-shirt and some dark blue boot cut jeans over black combat boots. He had a leather jacket slung over his shoulder and a mass of bags by his feet. He payed the excited girl at the till and she was still perky.

"Thank you so much for letting me do this! It's not every day I get to do a whole new wardrobe for someone as good-looking as you!" She said excitedly. Harry blushed.

"You did a really good job of it too, thanks." He said before waving goodbye and leaving. He found an alley and shrunk his bags and put an expanding charm on his pockets, changing back to James Harrison as he did so. He jogged back to the Leaky Cauldron just in time for lunch. He ordered a sandwich and sat down to eat it, deciding to check up on Draco.

'Yo, Ric, you there?' he asked mentally.

'Yeah, I'm packing. Mother and father are angry because the new Lord Black just cut off their funds. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, now Sal?' he asked. Harry sent him a sheepish grin.

'My bad. If they hurt you, I'm sorry. I just didn't want them giving Voldie my money. I can't believe my Heir turned out this evil! It's disgusting!' He complained mentally. 'Where are you gonna stay?'

'Sev has a safe house he uses for kids who don't want to be Death Eaters. He takes your little rule through at the summers too, it's a very good thing he does.'

Salazar had made a rule when he first started Slytherin house that the Head of the Slytherin House would be responsible of helping any and all abused children, without letting their side in any war get in the way. This was mostly because sometimes the Slytherin children were abused because their parents wanted them to take their side in whatever war there was.

'I'm glad he's looking after my house. I couldn't think of anyone better.' He said. Draco scoffed.

'The Harry Potter paid a compliment to Severus Snape? Has the world gone mad?' He joked.

'I may not like him but I still respect him as a Potions Master and Head of Slytherin.' Harry retorted.

He then saw something out of the corner of his eye.

'Wait, I gotta go. Tell me when you reach Snape's .' Harry snuck up to the bar on the pretence of giving his plate back and overheard Remus Lupin talking to Tom.

"Tom, Harry's missing! Have you seen him? Please, anything! I need my cub back!" He pleaded desperately. Harry sent out a short empathy probe and saw that Remus wasn't getting him for Dumbledore and that he was genuinely concerned about Harry. Tom shook his head.

"Sorry Remus, haven't seen a thing. Hey, James, you've been out all day, did you see Harry Potter?" He said, turning to Harry. Remus' eyes flicked at the name James. Harry shook his head.

"No, I haven't. I can help you look for him though. You're Remus Lupin, right?" Remus nodded warily.

"James Harrison, pleased to meet you." He said. Remus' eyes went wide at the name and his eyes held a questioning glance. Harry gave the barest of nods and Remus smiled.

"Thank you. Why don't we check the alley?"

The two walked out of the pub and snuck down a side alley.

"Harry, is that you?" Remus asked. Harry changed back to his natural self, which, granted, now looked different.

"Yeah. Please promise me you won't tell anyone I'm here. Especially not Dumbledore. Werewolves have a solid Occlumency wall, right?" he asked. Remus nodded. Harry threw up a load of wandless privacy charms. He told Remus everything that had happened from midnight the night before. Remus was gaping by the end of it.

"Oh my God. You're Salazar Slytherin and Draco Malfoy is Godric Gryffindor? Merlin, that's irony at its best. And I promise I won't tell Dumbledore you're here. I will stay in the Order so I can relay to you what they're doing but I'll look out for the old coot's manipulations. I can't believe he did this!" Remus ranted. Harry stuck his hand in his pocket and found Remus' necklace.

"Remus, I found this in my parent's vault along with theirs. I thought you might want it back." He said, handing Remus his necklace. Remus' eyes shone with unshed tears.

"Thank you Harry. I assume you're keeping your parents' and Sirius." Harry nodded before his face lit up.

"Hold this." He said, passing Remus his jacket. Remus looked on confused as Harry took off his shirt but grinned when he turned round. Remus studied the panther tattoo and the Marauders and Lily tattoo. Harry then showed him the necklace.

"I had this made earlier, thought I would carry on the Marauder tradition. What do you think?" he asked, hoping Remus liked it.

"Harry, this is amazing. Your father would be so proud of you. Sirius would be so proud of you. Hell, I'm so proud of you." He said, hugging the boy he looked on as a son.

"Thank you Remus. This means a lot to me. Now, go carry on with your order business. Come see me as James Harrison some time. Ignore everything Dumbledore says about me being in danger; he knows I'm safe; he has a life-stone connected to me in his office. Just know that I'm safe. Also, look for anyone who's being manipulated by Dumbledore or anything like that. I'm learning to brew your Wolfsbane too, imagine Snape's face when I come back as a Potions ace!" He joked, putting his shirt and jacket back on. Remus grinned and ruffled his hair.

"Now, I expect you to put those pranking journals to good use, Mister!" He said happily, a weight lifted off his chest now the wolf knew its cub was safe. Harry became James Harrison, glamoured the piercings and tattoos and together they walked back to the Leaky Cauldron with somber expressions on their faces. Tom looked up when they entered and they shook their heads.

"I'm sorry, Remus. I'll look out for him and tell someone if he comes through." Tom said.

"Me too, I'll keep an eye open when I'm in the Alley." Harry said. Remus nodded and left. Harry went up to his room and put all his bags down, along with his trunk. He enlarged them and began to sort through his things. He piled up all his old, ragged clothes from the Dursleys and vanished them.

He made the first compartment in his trunk the one for all his school things like his broom, school robes, invisibility cloak, map, quills, parchment, his set of school books, basic Potions ingredients and a cauldron. He put all his clothes in the second compartment. The third compartment was a library where he placed his new purchases. He also had a desk where he put the pensive along with Marauders' books and journals.

The fourth compartment was a training room with connected Potions lab and shower. He put his battle robes, weapons and a couple of dark detectors he found in the vault in there. The fifth compartment was a room where he put all the other items he got from the vault. The final compartment was a bedroom with a fireplace, bed, sofa, table and desk. The bed had a charm on it that when you lay in it, it would heal any minor to intermediate injuries.

The trunk was supposedly passed down the years with a Potter adding his or her part to make it extra every now and then. Harry added a mechanism that made anything from the other compartments show up in the first compartment when he needed it, so as to make it faster at school.

Once Harry had sorted out everything he vanished his old trunk and decided to start his summer homework. He grabbed his half finished Potions essay, some parchment for a transfiguration essay and some books before going down to Florean Fortescue's ice cream Parlor. He ordered a 'cookies 'n' cream sundae' and set down to work with occasional help from passersby. He didn't need anything in Potions but the Transfiguration essay was on a more modern spell so he needed some help with the theory.

When he was done, his watch said it was 4PM and he decided to go for another stroll. He looked through the windows of shops and stopped suddenly when he reached the Magical Menagerie. He felt a pull on his magic and knew a familiar was calling to him. He walked inside and followed the pull to a small black leopard cub in a cage. He held out his hand and it licked it happily.

"Hey little girl, you want me to buy you?" he asked. He wasn't expecting a reply in his head.

'Hello young one. You are to be my master if you accept. I am a Nudnu, although the shop-owner doesn't know about it. I can become an ordinary cat if it makes it easier. My name is Nyx.' Harry shrugged and directed his thoughts towards the cub.

'Great. I would love to be your master. I'm Harry. I'm in disguise at the moment but I'll show you what I look like normally when we get back to my room. Come on.' He lifted the cub out of its cage and took it over to the counter. "Hi, I'd like to buy this leopard cub, a collar, some toys and some food. A litter tray would probably be a good idea too." He said. The clerk piled up his items on the counter and scanned it with his wand.

"That's twenty galleons please." He said. Harry handed over the money and left the shop. Once he was back in his room he became Harry again.

'this is what I really look like. If you could please become a normal cat? Not black because when I go back to school I would like you to be black and I don't want people to make the connection between me and my disguise. How about light brown?' he asked through their newly formed mind bond. No sooner after he said that when there was a light chocolate brown cat with dark brown eyes sitting on the floor. Harry grinned.

"There we go." Harry sat down on his bed and decided to check up on Draco.

'Draco, you get to Sev's ok?' he asked.

'Yeah. He's pissed 'cause Dumbledore's making the Order look for you. I know he's a spy, don't worry. He teaches all the safe house kids Occlumency, basics on Healing and Defense.' Harry gaped.

'Ok, I take back everything bad I've said about him. That man is a godsend for my house. He's even more overprotective than Circ- Oh Merlin! I killed Circe with your damn sword in 2nd year! My baby! Man, that is one thing I didn't need on my conscience.' He grieved. Draco rolled his eyes.

'Get a grip, Sal. But I agree with you, Sev is the best thing that's happened to Slytherin house in a long time.' The two spent the evening swapping stories about their home lives as Harry and Draco and their school years. By the time the two 15 year olds were asleep, they both knew just about everything about each other.

Harry spent his time over the next couple of weeks sorting out his vaults and taking anything from them that would be useful, doing his homework, making Potions, practicing his fighting, reading his books or just wandering the alley. He liked to sit in the ice cream parlor and sketch scenes from the alley or his imagination. He laughed at the order members going spare over his disappearance. Remus came and visited a few times, telling him stories about his parents' school days and giving him updates on the order. The two also became very close during this time. Harry was glad that he could have freedom through the holidays without being watched and followed and he even cooked for the Leaky Cauldron customers every now and then, being paid a few galleons. Harry's birthday came and he got a present from Remus. The others hadn't sent present because no one knew where he was, but Harry found that he didn't really mind. According to Remus, Dumbledore had tried sending owls with tracking charms but they just went to Privet Drive before coming back. Harry guessed that this had something to do with him not looking like he normally did. He had also changed his scent in case Dumbledore tried to sniff him out. Surprisingly there was nothing in the paper about his 'disappearance', obviously Dumbledore wanted to keep it quiet in case Death Eaters tried anything. Remus had managed to tell Harry the list of school books and he got that ok. There were also dress robes on the list so Harry suspected another ball. Luckily, Salazar knew how to formally dance so he wouldn't embarrass himself. Harry had expanded his artistic talent and found he was naturally talented at guitar. He had one acoustic and one electric guitar and he wrote and sung his own songs. Sarah had gotten him a CD player that ran on magic, playing muggle and magical music, along with a pile of CD's.

On August 26th, Harry was just doing his morning exercises when Draco called in his head. 'Hey, Harry. Sev's taking me to get my school stuff today. He'll be under a disguise but I won't. Will you join us?' he asked. Harry grinned.

'Sure. Just to let you know I'm going by the name James Harrison and I'm sandy blonde with dark blue eyes. What time will you be here?' Harry stripped off and walked into the shower. 'we'll be there in an hour. I told Sev I'm meeting a friend and he said that's fine. We have about ¾ of Slytherins from 5th year up in here, along with some other younger kids. He has to take us all at some point. I'm coming with Blaise and Pansy. Is that ok?' Harry thought for a moment.

'If you trust them it's fine by me. I trust your judgment. Besides, if they're there, they aren't D.E.s.' He joked. Harry stepped out of the shower and dried himself with a wave of his hand. He picked up some tight black jeans and a blue t-shirt with a dark blue dragon on it. He then pulled on some socks and his dragon hide boots before climbing out of his trunk. He had taken to sleeping in his trunk room to heal anything he had wrong with his body. He felt much better now he was eating properly and had filled out nicely. His flat abs and toned limbs turned many heads in Diagon alley but he ignored them. He grabbed his leather jacket which had quickly become a favorite of his, checked his watch and saw he had 45 minutes for breakfast. He jogged down the stairs and ordered his breakfast. Since he started cooking he got meals at a discount so he only paid 7 sickles. He sat there eating sausage, eggs and beans and was just putting his plate on the counter when the door opened and Draco, Blaise, Pansy and a tall man with dark brown hair who Harry guessed to be Snape in disguise, walked in. Harry called out and waved him over. "Hey Dray, how are you?" He said, giving the boy a light, one-armed hug.

"Great thanks, James. You're looking a lot better than last time I saw you." Draco complimented, returning the embrace. Harry grinned.

"Freedom has done a lot for me. So, are you going to introduce me?" He joked.

"Oh, yeah. James, this is Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson and Steve Jones. Guys, this is James Harrison. He's a friend of mine from France who's over here for the summer." 'You do speak French, right Sal?' he asked mentally. Harry nearly laughed.

'Yes I do, you lucky bugger.' He replied as he shook hands with Blaise and 'Steve' and bowed slightly to Pansy. "Right, where to first?" he asked. Draco led the way out and the five entered the alley.

The trip was going pretty well. The 3 Slytherins managed to get their robes, Potions ingredients and new parchment. They were waiting to get books until the crowd died down. Harry managed to drag them into the tattoo parlor. "Come on Dray! I can get it free, I work there. In fact, if anyone wants a tattoo you can get a free one." Draco and Blaise nodded whilst Pansy and Severus decided against it. "Oi! Sarah! I got some friends here who want inks!" He called. Sarah came out from the back room, today in denim short shorts and a purple tank top, purple streaks in her blonde hair.

"Hey Luv. What type of thing do they want?" she asked, crossing the room to give Harry a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Harry spent a lot of time there and developed a good friendship with the high spirited girl. The two boys thought for a moment before deciding.

"I want some kind of dragon on my back." Draco said.

"Umm, I was thinking a snake on my right bicep." He said. Sarah nodded.

"Okay. Phoenix, why don't you show them some of your designs." Harry nodded and went into the back room and pulled out a few sheaves of parchment. He brought them back out and laid them in front of the teens.

"Whoa, you drew these?" Blaise asked. Harry nodded. Draco looked before picking out a blood red dragon with silver eyes and tail spikes, breathing a burst of silver flame.

'You drew Thor!' He squealed happily. Harry laughed in his head. Thor was Godric's pet dragon until he grew too big, got tickled by one of the students to wake him up and proceeded to tear Gryffindor Tower to pieces, thus the birth of the school motto: never tickle a sleeping dragon. Blaise picked out a green and black snake that wrapped around his bicep.

"Good choices guys. Okay, Ser, you do Blaise, I'll do Dray. Yes, Dray, I know what I'm doing." He said at Draco's protests. Blaise took his jacket off and rolled up his sleeve whilst Draco took his shirt off.

"Okay, this'll hurt a bit." Harry and Sarah said simultaneously. They pulled out their wands and performed the spell, delicately drawing the tattoos onto the skin. Harry drew Draco's dragon as if he was flying with the flame curling upwards. Sarah drew Blaise's snake to look like it was sleeping around his arm. When they were done, they called Pansy over to look. She wolf whistled.

"Very hot boys." She said.

"Good one Ser, I'll see you later, kay?" Harry said, hugging the 19 year old. She grinned.

"See ya J." She said happily. They left the shop and walked towards the bookstore.

"So is Sarah your girlfriend?" Blaise asked. Harry snorted.

"What? No! She's more an older sister type of girl. Except she would be the older sister that kicks the ass of anyone trying to date her little brother." He joked. Blaise laughed. They walked into the bookshop and Severus turned to them.

"Right, hurry up and then you can go have a look at whatever you want." He told them. They nodded and were just about to go when a shout brought scowls to their faces.

"Hey Malfoy, how's life being a Death Eater in training?" Ron Weasley sneered from across the shop. He had his arm round Hermione, who looked worried.

"Ooh, I'm so scared. The big bad Weasel thinks I'm a Death Muncher." He said sarcastically. He pulled up his left sleeve and showed bare skin. "No mark. I don't bow to anyone." He said. Ron blinked and you could almost see his brain working to find a retort. Draco sent a quick mental apology to Harry before turning to Ron. "Not so smart without Potter, are you? Do you need him to tie your shoes for you too?" He mocked. Harry sniggered but covered it up with a cough. Ron went red with anger.

"We don't need Potter, he's gone." He said. Harry's jaw clenched when he sent an empathy probe out and realized that Ron really didn't care what happened to him. He sent his discovery to Draco who kept up a blank mask but was seething inside.

"Oh, so you just kept him for his fame then? The let you get away with breaking the rules?" Draco said. Harry was glad he left Hermione out because she did seem to genuinely care. She looked as if she would burst into tears. Ron growled and went to punch Draco but Harry stepped in and grabbed the fist, snapping it back.

"Anyone who has a problem with Draco has a problem with me. So get lost or I'll hex you." He growled, twirling his wand. Ron gaped like a fish but then found his voice.

"You can't be any older than us, you'll get in trouble with the ministry for hexing me." He sneered. Harry smirked.

"Oh, the joys of being an emancipated minor." He said, turning Ron's hair green. "Now scram or the next one will actually hurt." He said threateningly. Ron stepped back.

"I'll get you when you don't have and bodyguards to protect you Malfoy." He said before stalking off. Hermione timidly walked forward.

"I apologize for that, Malfoy. He's being childish and stupid. He shouldn't have taunted you." She said quietly. Draco blinked in surprise before composing himself.

"Thank you, Granger. I'm glad one of you has grown up. I admit I wasn't exactly mature there but he was really annoying me, calling me a D.E." He admitted. Harry just stood on in shock before Hermione turned to him.

"Thanks for stopping him but I don't think we've met. I'm Hermione Granger." She said, holding out her hand. Harry shook it.

"James Harrison, I'm visiting for the summer, I live in France." He said. Hermione looked like she was physically holding herself back from asking about the French wizarding community. Suddenly, Ron called her name from across the shop.

"Sorry, I'd better go. It was nice meeting you James!" She called, running to Ron. Harry sent a mental message to Draco.

'Looks like those two got together. Who wants to bet it's because she can help him with his homework and fills out her shirt well?' he said. Draco smirked.

'Thanks for that by the way. It must have been hard threatening your friend.' he said.

'Nah, he hates me, I can feel it. It was actually pretty fun. His hair doesn't suit green.' he said. Draco grinned mentally and went back to choosing his school books. Once they were all done, Severus let them have a free rein so long as they stayed together. Harry and Pansy wanted to get the two boys some new clothes so they walked into muggle London. Harry took them over to the shop where he got his clothes and they spent a couple of hours picking out clothes for them to try on with the help of Jessie the shop assistant. Finally, they walked back to find Severus having a drink in the Leaky cauldron. Harry said goodbye to them and they left him in the pub. Harry walked upstairs to go find Nyx and was shocked to find Hedwig on his dresser. She hooted happily and swooped onto his shoulder. "Hey girl, I missed you!" he said, stroking her feathers. He entered her mind to figure out where she had been and was angered when he saw the Order had been keeping her hostage to try and get him to come to them. He made a mental note to thank Remus for letting her out. He gave her an owl treat and let her sit in her cage. He found Nyx under the bed and pulled her out. "Let's go for a walk Nyx, I need to get some prank items ready for school, too." She shook her head.

'I'm tired, I'll stay here.' She said. Harry shrugged and left. He walked out to the alley and saw the bright display of WWW. He grinned and walked in. Harry browsed the aisles, occasionally putting something in his basket. He had a multitude of various prank items when he dumped them on the counter. Fred went wide eyed. "I'm incredibly low on supplies and this stuff is loads better than Zonko's. I feel like starting a few prank wars." He said, grinning. Fred mirrored his grin and ran up the prices. Harry paid and shrank his purchases before leaving to dump his things at his room.

The day before Harry had to go back to Hogwarts, he was packed (things only rarely left the trunk anyway,) and he was getting last minute sweets along with saying goodbye to people. He walked into the Tattoo Parlor to say goodbye to Sarah and saw her sitting in the back room, listening to music. He waved and she took off the headphones. "Hey Hun, you look sad, what's up?" she asked. Harry sighed.

"I'm leaving tomorrow. There's also something I have to tell you." He said. Sarah grinned.

"Is it the fact that you're Harry Potter under a few glamours and charms? I guessed that already. And it's ok, I haven't told anyone that you've been here and I wasn't planning on it." She said. Harry was floored.

"What? How did you guess?" He said, confused. She laughed at his expression.

"You stabbed your thumb with a pin and started swearing in parseltongue. Also, your birthday is the same and your face is still kinda similar. Don't worry, no one else would have noticed. It's just those three together plus me spending a lot of time with you. I knew you would tell me when you were ready. I don't care. To me you'll always be James Harrison, my little brother." She joked, hugging him. Harry hugged back.

"Thanks Ser. I have to go to Hogwarts tomorrow and shock old Dumbles with my reappearance. I'll write to you and send you more drawings." He said, kissing the top of her head. Eating properly along with a growth spurt had made him a good 6'1. Harry spent the day with Sarah just having fun before he had to leave. At the end of the day, Sarah stopped him before he left.

"I have something for you." She said, handing him a small polished wooden box. He opened it and gasped. It was a leather bracelet with a gold phoenix and a silver star on it. Sarah's tattoo penname was Star and Harry's was Phoenix. "It has a few protection spells on it in case Voldiepoo takes you unawares." She joked. Harry hugged her again and put it on.

"It's awesome. I love it Ser." He said sincerely. Harry walked back to his room and sunk onto his bed. He got up with a slight groan and stripped down to his boxers. He nudged Nyx off the pillow so he could go to sleep. He fell asleep dreaming of a time he went hunting with Godric.

Harry woke up at 9:30 with a smile on his face. 'Godric! Up! Time to go back to Hogwarts!' He yelled through their mind bond as he jumped up and into his trunk. He didn't like the shower in his room at the Leaky Cauldron so in the mornings he used his own after training. Harry did a few quick sets and went through his moves with the sword before heading to the shower. He washed his hair with his favorite apple shampoo and dried off. Then, with a fluffy white towel slung low around his hips, he walked into his wardrobe. He picked out a pair of tight leather trousers and a sapphire blue t-shirt with a yin and yang symbol on the front that showed off his lean muscles. He put on his leather jacket and slipped on his pink and black vans. He hoisted himself out of the trunk and packed up all his remaining things, holding Nyx's carrier with the now sleek black cat inside. Hedwig had flown ahead so her cage was in his trunk. He shrunk his trunk and put it in his pocket, made sure his wand was in its holster.

Harry went down the stairs and grabbed a quick breakfast before saying goodbye to Tom and flooing to a room by platform 9 ¾. He stepped into the shadows and changed back to Harry but added green streaks in his hair. It was slightly longer and instead of looking like a birds nest, now had a 'just-shagged' look about it. He removed the glamours on his tattoos and piercings before taking Nyx in her carrier and walking out. The time was 10:50 so the platform was crowded, meaning he could get onto the train unnoticed. Unfortunately, the hordes of teenage girls were eyeing him up as he got on the red steam engine and found an empty compartment near the end of the train. He pulled out his CD player and slipped in Metallica's 'Ride the Lightening' album. He was just listening to Enter Sandman when the door slid open and Hermione and Ron stood in the doorway. "Excuse me, can we sit here?" Hermione asked. Harry paused his CD player and looked up. Hermione took one look at his lively emerald eyes and gasped.

"Harry? Oh Harry where on earth have you been! We were so worried about you and the Order couldn't find you anywhere! Dumbledore thought you had been taken by Death Eaters." She gushed, hugging him. Harry hugged back.

"Hermione, I was perfectly safe and I know for a fact that Dumbledore knew that. He has a life stone in his office connected to me. He would know if I was dead or in pain. He must have ignored it in the first week of summer though, when the Dursleys were beating the crap out of me every night. That was why I had to get away." He explained. Hermione was pale and Ron looked like he was trying to hide a smirk. "Ron, go ahead, smirk all you want. I was there that day when you fought with Malfoy in Diagon Alley. You don't care about me, when I was gone you were happy and when I was with you, you were jealous because I'm famous for something I can't remember doing and would rather never happened." Harry said in a detached voice, his eyes cold and dark. Ron scowled.

"Yeah, I was jealous. You were the famous Harry Potter and I was just the red headed sidekick. Then you go and flaunt your fame in that damn tournament! I'm sick of it!" He fumed. Harry didn't move and kept that cold, detached look.

"Ron, that tournament was not my fault, I had no way of getting out of it, and I regret it every day that I suggested Cedric and I take the cup together." He said. Hermione stared at Ron in shock.

"Ron, how could you say that about Harry? He's always been there for you and you know he's had a hard life!" She shrieked. They were attracting attention now and people were looking through the windows of the now moving train. Ron glared at her.

"Oh, so how many times have you fucked him Hermione? Standing up for him against your boyfriend! You slut!" He shouted, pushing her. Hermione recoiled as if slapped and everyone looked at Harry. He stared at the floor and burst into maniacal laughter.

"Find something funny, Potter?" Ron sneered. Harry stopped laughing.

"Yes, actually. One, you're calling Hermione a slut when I bet you only went out with her for her brains or her looks. Two, I would never fuck Herms in a million years." He said. Hermione grinned.

"Oh, is she too ugly for Saint Potter?" Ron leered.

"No, she's too female. Plus, she's like my sister." The crowd gasped. 'Harry Potter was gay?' Harry suddenly jumped up and punched Ron in the face, his jaw cracked. "That was for calling my sister a slut." He said. He punched him in the eye. "And that was for being a stupid selfish bastard." He growled. "Now get. Out." He said, baring his teeth slightly. Ron glared once more before stalking off the train. Harry looked around at the staring people. "What are you staring at?" he growled and people slowly went back to what they were doing. Harry walked back towards his compartment. 'Yo, Ric, how's things your end?' he called.

'Bad. Nott, Crabbe and Goyle are calling us traitors to the dark Lord. You?'

Harry mentally smirked. 'Let's just say Weasley won't be able to talk or see very well for a while. Come up with us, me and Mi need some company. Bring Blaise and Pansy.' He said. He got a mental nod and a 'give us 5 minutes' just as he turned back into his compartment. "You okay Mi?" he said, scanning her over with his wand. She nodded.

"Yeah, just shocked. I can't believe he did that." She said. Harry grimaced.

"I can. As I said, I was at the bookshop that day, I have slight empathic abilities. I've known he was faking ever since." Harry said. He pulled his trunk out of his pocket and enlarged it, rifling through it for some chocolate. He pulled out a slab and split it with Hermione.

"Thanks. How did you shrink your trunk before you left? The underage magic rules." she asked. Harry chuckled.

"The joys of being an emancipated minor." He repeated. Hermione gasped.

"You were James Harrison!" She breathed. Harry nodded.

"A few charms can do wonders for someone hiding." He said, grinning. He then threw up a privacy ward and gave a brief explanation of his summer, excluding the things to do with Salazar Slytherin. By the time he was finished he took down the ward and there was a knock on the door. It opened and Harry looked up. "Hey Ric, how's it going?" he asked, hugging Draco. The other 3 were shocked but got over it. Harry turned to Blaise and Pansy. "I don't believe I've introduced myself properly. Harry Potter, pleased to meet you." He said, holding out a hand each for them to shake.

"Blaise Zabini, the pleasure's mine."

"Pansy Parkinson, call me Pansy."

"Only if you call me Harry. You already know Hermione, so sit down, and make yourselves at home." He said politely. Harry sat back down next to Hermione and Blaise and Pansy sat opposite. Draco shrugged and sat on Harry's lap. Harry groaned. "Ouch, Ric! Off!" He said sternly, shifting the boy on his lap. Draco smirked.

"No, Sal, you're comfy." He protested childishly. Harry pouted.

"Fine. But just this once Bro." Harry said, putting his head over Draco's shoulder and his arms round his waist. The other three stared.

"Err, Harry, what's going on?" Hermione asked.

"Well, let's just say I and Draco had a heart to heart last year, turns out we're a lot alike." Harry half lied. "Now he's my ickle bitty brother." He said in a babyish voice, pinching Draco's cheeks. Draco growled.

"Do that again Sal and you won't have any hands." He glared. The five laughed and joked on the way to Hogwarts, Harry told the others about some of the things Dumbledore had done to him and they all agreed to get even. By the time they reached the school, they had made a plan. They got off the train in their school robes and ignored all the looks while they looked for an empty carriage. Harry walked up to the pair of thestrals and pats them on the neck before swinging round the door into the carriage. Harry, Draco, Hermione, Blaise and Pansy entered the great hall to stares. Dumbledore was looking at Harry with a mixture of relief, curiosity and annoyance as he and the others walked and sat on the end of the Slytherin table. Harry was pleased to see that everyone was whispering about his new look and friends. Ron was sitting on his own at the end of the Gryffindor table and looked to be exiled by the glares from the rest of the table. Harry sat opposite Blaise and Pansy with Hermione on his left and Draco on his right. Dumbledore gave his usual speech and the first years were sorted.

A/N: You see that button there? Just under this? The one that calls, 'Review this Chapter'? Please, press it and tell me what you think!