Chapter 15

Hogwarts & Houses

After the boats had taken them through ivy and into a shadowy cave, they finally arrived at some sort of underground harbour. After everyone had gotten out of their boats Hagrid led them up a long staircase of cut stone and to a gigantic set of oak doors.

The doors swung open with a loud creak. Harry heard Hagrid look down and say, "Got a new batch of first years, Professor McGonagall."

He then stepped out of the way to reveal a stern-faced elder witch in flowing green robes. Her dark hair and grim expression told Harry he should avoid angering her.

"Thank you Hagrid, I shall take it from here."

Hagrid offered a sort of polite salute and strolled past the professor and down the hall.

"Welcome to your first year at Hogwarts. Once we arrive in the great hall you shall all have to wait your turn and be sorted into a house. Only once all of you are sorted can the banquet begin. Follow closely and no wandering off," Professor McGonagall said sternly.

With that said, Professor McGonagall pivoted and started walking down the hallway, her robes flowing like water. There were flaming torches all along the walls that brought comfortable light even to the incredibly high roof, despite their small size.

They were led to a small cramped room with a door on one side. Harry could make out hundreds of voices through the thick wood and reasoned that that was where the feast was taking place.

"The sorting ceremony is very important. While you are here your house will be like a family to you. You will eat at the same tables, share the same classes, sleep in the shared dormitories and spend spare time in your house common room," said Professor McGonagall. "The houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and has produced its own exceptional wizards and witches."

She paused for a moment. When she spoke again, her tone grew sterner. "While you attend Hogwarts, your achievements will earn you house points, while rule breaking will lose your house points. At the end of the year, the house that has been awarded the most points will be awarded with a golden cup and have the great hall decorated in their house colours at the end of year feast. I hope you are a credit to whichever house you become a member of." The professor looked over the gathered student one last time and said, "The ceremony will take place in front of the whole school. I suggest you smarten yourselves up before we begin. I will return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." With that, she turned and disappeared through a crack in the door.

There was an instant where a pin drop would have sounded like shattering glass and then the group broke out into whispered conversation.

"Do you think it will be a hard test?" he heard one girl ask.

"I heard you have to fight a troll!" one boy yelled.

"How can you not know? You said your parents were wizards?" someone asked, indignantly, somewhere near the door.

"That doesn't mean they told me, does it?" a girl hissed back.

Harry could make out Hermione, muttering incantations over and over again at rapid fire pace. Susan was cradling her wand in her hand, her eyes darting from side to side.

'Wouldn't her aunt have told her?' Harry wondered. But then, lots of students didn't seem to know what was going to happen during the Sorting Ceremony. Maybe Tonks wasn't meant to have told him.

Neville nudged him. "You don't look nervous at all. What do you know? My grandmother wouldn't say anything and dad just said he didn't want to ruin the surprise."

"Well I-" Anything Harry might have said was cut off when a ghost floated through the roof. Its spectral pearly-white form seemed to flicker and glow. Other students let out startled shouts and cries as ghosts suddenly appeared all over the room. The ghosts seemed engrossed in their own conversation.

One of the ghosts said, "We've given Peeves enough chances. He embarrasses himself and our kind every year, Friar. You are too kind to him. It's not as if he's even a proper ghost..." Suddenly, he seemed to notice the queue of new students. He turned to them and said, "I say, what are you all waiting for?"

The ghost was wearing tights and a thick ruff. Nobody answered his question.

"Aha!" another ghost cried. His voice sounded dry and empty despite his efforts. "New students? Oh, how wonderful! I assume you are to be sorted?"

There were a few nods scattered through the crowd.

"Well then, I hope to see many of you in Hufflepuff!"

The door re-opened and McGonagall stepped through once again.

"The ceremony is about to begin. Form a line and follow me." The professor turned and slowly walked out of the room.

Feeling nervous, Harry moved into line behind Susan and followed the rest of the other students into the brightly lit hall.

Harry gasped at the sight of the great hall. He had been told about it, but words had failed to describe it properly. Hundreds of students were sitting around four long tables laden with glittering golden platters and shining silverware. Above them, floating in the air, were almost as many brightly glowing candles. He looked up at the roof and saw a storm raging outside. The rain disappeared before it landed and lightning faded out of existence just as fast.

Professor McGonagall led the first years to a stop near the centre of the room. The faces of the elder students seemed next to the candle lights. Ghosts flittered about the room like fireflies, disappearing through tables and walls only to pop out again a second later.

Harry looked over at the Hufflepuff table. The distinctive gold robes gave it away. He could just barely make out a giant blue hairdo that could only belong to Tonks. He resisted the urge to wave to her.

Harry watched as Professor McGonagall conjured a wooden stool with the Sorting Hat upon it. Just as Tonks had said, it was patched and dusty. He could imagine Aunt Petunia cringing at the sight of it.

Everyone in the hall went silent, All eyes focused on the hat. Harry stared too, wondering what was going to happen next. Then hat twitched and then twitched again as if some small animal was trying to crawl out. Then a tear at the bottom of the hat spread wider and wider, taking on a shape that vaguely resembled a mouth. And then the hat began to sing.

"For I'm a thinking cap!" the hat finished. When the song was over, the student body and most of the teachers jumped out of their seats and offered a standing ovation.

"I think someone just threw a rose..." Harry heard someone utter confusedly. And indeed, someone had. In fact, there were quite a few that seemed to materialise around the stool as Professor McGonagall gestured for quiet.

"So all we have to do is put a hat on?!" one boy asked incredulously. "I'm gonna bloody murder Fred for that troll bit."

Many of the students around him looked similarly relieved. He assumed those that didn't had already known about the Sorting Hat. Hermione looked almost annoyed.

"This should have been in one of my books, shouldn't it?" she muttered, sounding betrayed.

Harry mostly tried to tune out the other students to instead focus on his stomach. He felt rather queasy. He was not looking forward to the sorting. Why did so many people have to watch? The feeling of being ogled at like an animal in a zoo only made him more uncomfortable.

Princess McGonagall began reading from a long roll of parchment. "When I read out your name, come forward, sit down on the stool and put on the hat. First… Abbott, Hannah!"

A blonde, pink-faced girl stepped forward. She was stumbling a little and looking far more ill than Harry felt. She sat down on the stool and placed the hat on her head. It slid down over her eyes. There was a pause. And then...

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat cried.

Professor McGonagall took the hat from Hannah as the Hufflepuff table began cheering boisterously to welcome its newest member. All nervousness seemed to vanish from Hannah as she smiled and jogged down to meet the other students. The fat fryer was floating above the table and he waved down at her proudly.

"Bones, Susan!"

Susan seemed to jolt into the air when Professor McGonagall called her name. Harry patted her on the shoulder supportively. She turned and smirked at him. Then she ran over to the hat, pulling it onto her head.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted again. Susan flung herself out of the chair, grinning madly. She ran to the Hufflepuff table, flashing Harry a small thumbs-up as she left.

"Boot, Terry!" Considering how many students there were, maybe it was not a surprise that Professor McGonagall had such a weary voice, especially if she had to do this every year.

"RAVENCLAW!"

And on it went. Students were steadily called forth and sorted into their houses. Then they all were welcomed with the applause of their new house mates.

Harry had noticed that sometimes the hat took its time deciding. There had been a full minute of anticipation before it announced that a boy named Seamus was to be in Gryffindor.

Harry could feel his feet falling asleep as he waited, the queue of first year students growing ever smaller. Neville was the next student to be called upon. After almost five minutes of tension, the hat said, "GRYFFINDOR!"

In his excitement, Neville let the hat fall to the floor as he ran to join his fellows, only to turn around halfway to go back and pick it up. He handed it back to Professor McGonagall, rubbing his neck nervously as she glared at him.

"Potter, Harry!"

Harry stepped forward. He heard hundreds of students whispering excitedly to each other.

"Harry Potter? The Harry Potter?"

"I thought he'd be taller."

"Where's the lightning scar?"

Harry could see the entire student body craning their necks trying to see him better, but that image was quickly lost as the hat slid over his eyes, burying him in darkness.

"Well, hello there," a small, scratchy voice said. Despite Tonks's warning, Harry was still a little unnerved at the new voice echoing in his mind. "Hmm, where to put you? Not a bad mind. Curious, certainly. But Ravenclaw doesn't fit you. Plenty of courage ooh. And you definitely want to prove yourself. I see loyalty, yes. You could do well there. But where does your loyalty come from? Hmm, I can see you as a Gryffindor as well. Your family has been going there for some time now. But blood isn't everything, you know." The hat continued to ramble.

"I... I'd like to be in Hufflepuff, if I could sir." Harry said nervously.

"Well, you're not the first to make a request, but I do have to ponder all sorts of interesting little things when making this decision. There are lots of students who might be suited for one house but could never succeed there. Or some that should never go into a house because it would make them grow in the wrong direction. I have to weigh all of this and more when making my decisions lad," the hat whispered back, sounding faintly amused.

Then it seemed to lurch uncomfortably, as if it had been struck by something.

"Oh, my! Now that is interesting; who would have thought I'd see that again. Very clever, you'll want to look into that sometime," the hat said mysteriously.

"What sir?" Harry asked, his stomach clenching nervously.

"Oh, nothing. Well, it is something, but I don't see it being a problem, not yet anyway... but you may want to get it looked at when you're older. Anyway, it seems you've made your mind up on where you want to be. So..."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The room seemed to freeze for a few seconds before someone let out a wild whoop of joy and was quickly joined by everyone at the Hufflepuff table.

Harry let out an inaudible sigh of relief as Professor McGonagall removed the hat. Not noticing the Professor's disappointment and confusion, Harry ran to join his new house.

It seemed half the students were pushing their way down the table in the hopes of shaking his hand and it was a good few minutes of frantic greetings and handshakes before order was restored and the Sorting Ceremony was continued. Harry had chosen to sit next to Susan who seemed stunned by the onslaught, which was rather similar to how Harry himself felt. He hoped it wouldn't be like that for the rest of the year.

As there weren't many students left to be sorted, Harry let his mind wander. He started looking over at the high table where his soon-to-be teachers were seated. Hagrid sat at the far end and to Harry's surprise gave him a happy thumbs-up. Harry responded in kind, pleased his sorting had not cost him a friend. Harry glanced around at the other teachers while a boy with red hair was being sorted. He tried to match names to faces. Headmaster Dumbledore was easy to spot, sitting at the centre of the high table. His silvery beard seemed to glow brighter than anything in the room and he wore a pleasant smile on his aged features. And there was Professor Quirrell again, his bulging turban and nervous disposition noticeable even from a distance.

"Uh," Harry muttered under his breath, rubbing his irritated forehead. The final round of applause was given as Blaise Zabini was sorted into Slytherin.

"Something wrong?" Susan asked in voice that seemed far louder than it had any right to be.

"Just a headache, I think. I'll be fine." He smiled.

"I understand. I thought I was going to go deaf when they started cheering for you, right in my ear." She rolled her eyes.

The hall quieted and all conversation ceased as Albus Dumbledore rose from his seat. He opened his arms very wide and he was beaming as if nothing could have brought him greater pleasure than seeing all of them gathered together.

"Welcome!" he said. His voice was firm but welcoming and almost paternal. "Welcome, welcome to another fine year at Hogwarts. But before we tuck in to our welcoming feast, I have a few words I'd like to say to you. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

Harry wondered if the Headmaster was casting a spell. But when nothing happened and all the students other than Harry and a few students he assumed were Muggleborns started cheering and clapping, he realised what it all meant.

"Tonks was right. He is a bit mad, isn't he?" Harry asked no one in particular as he briefly joined the other students in their applause.

Then, without warning, sparkling lights like a thousand fireflies shimmered over the great hall and piles of food materialised on the tables. It all smelled delicious!

Harry began piling up his plate as high as he could. It was probably too much, but even when living with Tonks he'd always been worried about stretching her already tight budget. The chance to eat as much as he liked was incredibly tempting.

Before Harry could properly start his meal, the Fat Friar floated down from on high, merrily waving at all the new first years. "We're so glad to have you here. I'll be your House ghost. I'm sorry, I would shake your hands but I'd slip right through you!" he cried, diving into the table and then sticking his head out, with his mouth in a gigantic 'O' shape. "Could someone throw me a drumstick?" he said, swivelling his head in circles like some sort of carnival clown. Harry joined the other students in laughing at the friendly ghost's antics.

The Fat Friar floated out of the table and offered what Harry thought was a warm smile, though it was admittedly hard to tell with the Friar seemingly fading in and out of existence.

"I wish you all the best of luck with the House Cup this year. Slytherin's been on a winning streak the last few years so they're the ones to beat," he said encouragingly.

Partway through the meal, everyone seemed to slow down their eating and work up the courage to speak to their fellow students. A dark-haired boy sitting across from Harry spoke first.

"I'm Justin Finch-Fletchley. I was all set for Eton, but then magic." He shrugged uncomfortably.

"I'm Harry and I know the feeling" Harry replied, ignoring some of the odd looks he got from the other students.

"Susan Bones. Seems we'll be sharing all our classes together, then?" Susan said, though her smile faltered a little at the end of her sentence. "Well, I guess that's obvious isn't it?"

"Good point, Susan. Best we get to know each other then, isn't it?" chimed in a well-dressed blond boy who was sitting next to Justin. He made Harry think of a friendly version of Malfoy.

"I'm Ernest or – as I much prefer – "Ernie" Macmillan. My parents came to school here as well, so if you have any questions feel free to ask me," he said in a friendly but somewhat pompous way.

"I'm Hannah Abbot. It's nice to meet you all," a girl with a long blonde ponytail said shyly.

"Hello, I'm Leanne. I'm glad to meet you all." said a small dark haired girl. She looked uncomfortable, Harry thought, but before he could pursue that thought another voice burst into the conversation.

"Zacharias Smith. My family is descended from Helga Hufflepuff. One of the founders, you know?" he said proudly, as if expecting applause.

Harry had to go back and revise his opinion of Ernie Macmillan. Next to Zacharias Smith, he didn't seem at all pompous.

"Megan Jones. A pleasure to meet you all!" a short brown-haired girl chimed in excitedly.

The talk turned to family, although Zacharias was miffed at being ignored and refused to talk, instead trying to start a conversation with some second years.

Then, while they ate pudding and Ernie was telling them about his family's business, Harry took the opportunity to look down the table and spy Tonks. Her hair was electric blue and stuck up rigidly in the air in clear defiance of gravity. She seemed to notice his eyes on her and looked over to him, but instead of waving she took out a small paper plane, placed it in the palm of her hand and blew on it. The paper plane glided down the table, looping around students and other obstacles until it reached Harry, landing in his lap.

He unfolded the paper plane. Tonks's penmanship was barely legible, but it read: 'Welcome to the house, Harry. I'm so happy to have you here at Hogwarts. I'll look out for you. Make some friends and have a good night. You have a busy day tomorrow. Love from Tonks. At the end of the letter was a crude drawing of a smiley face winking at him.

Just then, the pudding vanished. Harry hadn't finished all of his. He might have been bothered, but he was already feeling full and very sleepy. He glanced over at the teachers table and stifled a yawn.

Professor Dumbledore rose to his feet and the great hall fell silent. "I hope we all enjoyed our meals. I know I certainly did. But I'm afraid I must be serious now and give out a few start-of-term notices," the elderly headmaster said, his voice sounding more grim and weighty than it had earlier. "Firstly, all first years and a few of our older students should be reminded that there is a good reason why the Forbidden Forest is known by that name. If it was sweet, fluffy and welcoming we would have named it appropriately, but it isn't. It is a very dangerous place and you are not allowed to trespass inside it. Ignore this warning at your own peril," the headmaster said sternly.

"Also, I have been asked by Mr Filch, our caretaker, to remind you all that magic in the hallways between classes is strictly forbidden." The twinkling in the Headmasters eye's and the almost-smirk on his face seemed to say that this rule didn't matter so much. "Madame Hooch has scheduled Quidditch team tryouts for the second week of term. If you wish to try out for a position you'd best attend. I am sure we will see some phenomenal games this year."

Enthusiastic cheers could be heard echoing from various spots around the great hall.

"Finally, and most importantly," Professor Dumbledore said, "The third floor corridor on the right hand side is strictly out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death." Warmth and humour was absent from his voice. The room itself seemed to dim in response to the Headmasters sudden dip in mood.

Harry almost laughed, but the room was deathly silent as the students collectively absorbed the headmaster's grim statement. Harry heard a few worried whispers while he looked around at the other students to see if anyone knew exactly what Dumbledore was talking about.

"And now, before we all go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. Harry noticed some of the other teachers smiling at one another as they rose from their seats.

Professor Dumbledore waved his wand through the air and out of it shot a stream of golden sparks which formed into words. Waving his arms like a conductor might, Dumbledore said. "Everyone pick your favourite tune and off we go!'

Everyone sang:

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,

Teach us something please,

Whether we be old and bald,

Or young with scabby knees,

Our heads could do with filling,

With some interesting stuff,

For now they're bare and full of air,

Dead flies and bits of fluff,

So teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we've forgot,

Just do your best, we'll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot."

Justin looked embarrassed to be involved in the whole affair and Harry couldn't blame him. But when Susan threw her arm around his neck, he quickly got into the spirit of things.

As the song died down, there were only two boys at the Gryffindor table left singing a slow funeral dirge. The song finally came to an end and the Headmaster seemed to wipe a tear from his eye as he looked over them all.

"Ah, music! Truly a magic beyond all we do here. All right, off you trot. It's bed time!" he cheered.

The Hufflepuff first years rose from their seats and followed closely behind the older students as the prefects guided them out of the hall and down the ancient stone hallways.

Harry was practically bouncing along with his fellow first years as they talked excitedly about their first impressions of Hogwarts. Most of the portraits welcomed them as they travelled deeper into the school.

Harry had already been told by Tonks about how the different Houses hid their common rooms from each other, though the location of each common room was more of an open secret.

'A little bit of fun for you kids,' Tonks had jokingly claimed.

Finally, the students all came to a stop. They waited a moment and slowly the students began moving again, the hum of their chatter growing fainter as they travelled down the hallway.

One of the older students called out to them. "First years, wait where you are. This will only take a moment!"

Nearly a full minute passed before Harry and his fellow first years were called to round the corner. He was surprised by what he saw: a tiny hallway that led straight to a dead end. At the end of the corridor the seventh years stood waiting, enigmatic smiles on their faces.

"Sorry for the mystery, little badgers, but these instructions are integral to not having to sleep in the hallway every night," Chell said cheerily as their small group approached the seventh years. Tonks lounged on a crate and winked at Harry as he approached.

"Now, pay attention you'll need to remember this. Every common room has its own section of the castle. We aren't meant to tell the other students where it is and for added security against inter-house pranking each common room has a secret method of opening the door," The boy prefect said, gesturing towards a row of barrels in the corner.

"Now, watch closely," Chell said. She walked over and tapped the central barrel twice and then the left barrel once, before returning to the central barrel and tapping it once more. Without warning, the barrels jumped up into the air and stacked up on top of one another. The wall creaked and shuddered, opening up to a brightly lit room where some of the older students were still milling about.

"If there's ever an emergency the doors are designed to open immediately, so don't worry about that," the prefect boy said as he and Chell motioned for the first years to follow them inside.

As they entered, Harry took in the Hufflepuff common room. It was a round, earthy and low-ceilinged room. Despite the cold, wet night, it somehow felt warm and cosy. The small, circular windows gave a view of rippling grass and dandelions wafting in a non-existent breeze. Plants were scattered all over the common room, of many different sizes and exotic shapes the likes of which Harry had never imagined before. There was a roaring fire in the hearth. Black and yellow upholstered chairs were scattered throughout, looking so soft and squishy that it almost seemed that a person sitting on one of them would be swallowed up.

"Nice and homey, isn't it?" Tonks said, patting him on the shoulder affectionately.

"It's lovely," he said breathlessly.

As the students spread out around the room, admiring their new home, the two prefects moved to two separate cubby holes on opposite sides of the room, Chell on the right and the boy prefect on the left.

"First years, please come this way, boys over here." the boy said.

"And girls over here," Chell added.

Before Harry moved on, Tonks dropped to one knee and wrapped him in a quick over-the-shoulder hug.

"Night, Harry. I'll see you in the morning, all right. Tell me how your first day goes," She said.

"I will, good night, Tonks," he said, returning the hug. Tonks stood up and patted him on the head.

Harry went off to join the other boys in his year outside a small wooden door. He waved to Susan as they passed each other. The door was circular and very organic-looking, as though if it had been grown rather than placed there.

'Given everything I've seen, I might not be far off,' he thought.

The boy prefect called for their attention. "This is the first year boys' dormitory. Your possessions have already been brought up and placed on the beds that have been assigned to you. You've already been told about curfews and the like, so I'll just say that we prefects and our head of house are here to help you. Make sure you get a good night's sleep. You've got a full day tomorrow!" he said enthusiastically pumping his fist in the air.

His dormitory mates quickly piled through the door. Harry stopped for a moment to share a wave with Tonks before he passed over the threshold.

Upon entering the curved roof "den", Harry's attention was immediately drawn to Hedwig. Her feathers were ruffled and she was looking about the room peevishly.

'She's gotten used to flying when she wants to. Maybe I should move her to the owlery?' he wondered silently as he approached his bed. Exhaustion from the day's events was quickly catching up on him. Harry would have been happy to simply drop down on the bed and go to sleep in his robes.

"She a lovely owl," Ernie said, landing on his own bed with a bounce.

"Thank you, she's called Hedwig," Harry replied, passing her a small treat as compensation for her patience. "Did you bring a pet of your own?" he asked curiously.

Harry heard Zacharias Smith grumble something under his breath as he disappeared into his bed and closed the curtains.

Ernie nodded enthusiastically and motioned to a seemingly empty glass container next to his bed with pride. "I certainly did, though you won't be able to see him now. My uncle brought me back an Eternal Air-Eating Chameleon from his trip abroad. They're very rare and it was difficult to get the permission forms, but I managed it. I'll show you in the morning, if you like," he said happily.

Both Harry and Justin nodded happily.

"I couldn't get a pet myself. My parents were worried it might be a bit too much to handle during my first year, but I'm thinking of an owl or maybe something a bit different if all goes well this year." Justin said as he began pulling up his quilt.

"Quiet, you lot, some of us need sleep," Zachariah growled from behind his curtains. The other boys muttered some quick apologies while sending each other sympathetic smiles as they retreated to their beds.

The lamps cast a warm light over Harry's bed, which was covered in patchwork quilts that looked as if they had been carefully hand stitched. Copper bed warmers hung on the walls, although Harry couldn't imagine using one now.

The light dimmed in response to the fact that the room's occupants were tired and wanted to go to sleep. Harry found himself sinking deeper into his bed as sleep overcame him.

'I start Hogwarts tomorrow,' he thought joyfully, moments later, consciousness left him.

Author Notes:

Well I hope everyone enjoyed chapter fifteen, this was a hard one to write, I also had to rewrite the hat scene when I realised I made it to mean; but in the end I hope you all enjoyed it. Sadly the posting of this chapter is accompanied by some sad news.

I am sorry to say that I will not be continuing "Harry Potter and the Girl With a Hundred Faces" as time has gone by I have been struggling more and more with writing chapters and other engagements are cutting into my time. The trouble I am having in writing increases the amount of time I spend on each chapter but the quality, I feel, goes down and if I cannot do a good job of this story then I shouldn't subject others to reading forced low quality efforts. So chapter 15 shall be the last chapter.

I would like to thank everyone who has read, faved, followed and reviewed this story, I am sorry for doing this, but I hope you enjoyed what was posted and that it was worth your time, you guys have been amazing, when I started I never expected this story to take off in such a way, so thank you for making this such an amazing experience. I would also like to thank Chandagnac for all his efforts in helping get my writing off the ground and giving me the courage to go further with a story than I ever have before and I'm sorry for not being able to continue.

If I ever do post a story on again, I intend to have finished it, or come close to finishing it before posting so that this does not happen again. As it is, I will now reveal both some of the hidden background information that caused the "split" in the time lines and what I had planned for the future of this story. If there is anyone who would like to adopt this story, or just take the basic premise and use it feel free, I'd love to see more fics like this and if anyone wanted I'd be happy to offer my advice, though I'm not a particularly skilled editor, sorry.

Background:
In canon Sirius ran away from Grimmauld Place while he was still attending Hogwarts; this still happened here, but instead of running to the Potters he went to Andromeda, turning up at her homes soaked and looking lost in the middle of the night. (Tonks makes reference to this memory in an earlier chapter) After he left home his family showed little interesting in bringing him back so Sirius ended up living with Andromeda. This left Sirius and Tonks being closer than in the normal canon which made his "betrayal" all the worse.

While this was happening Bellatrix and Regulus became more and more enthusiastic for Voldemort and while the Black family had originally been willing to let the war fly by (so they didn't have to risk themselves, fighting is grunt work after all) they eventually opened up their home to Death Eaters who were on the run.

Thanks to this Regulus was allowed deeper into Voldemorts ranks, but much like in canon he was horrified by what was happening and tried to betray him by destroying a Horcrux. As this was happening the Black family had also decided to "prune the family tree" which forced Andromeda to get more involved and increased Regulus's doubts about his position.

These changes led Andromeda and Sirius using their blood relation to Grimmauls place to help the order (including Ted) bypass the wards in the hopes of capturing the numerous wanted Death Eaters who were hiding there. Sadly this coincided with Regulus trying to destroy the Horcrux with Fiendfire, just as the attack started Fiendfire spread throughout the house and chaos erupted. Andromeda died in the battle; this battle came to be known as The Battle for Black Manor, with only Sirius, Bellatrix Ted, and a few other Order members surviving (narcissa did not participate having been with child and with Lucius.)

Blaming himself for his cousins death and extremely depressed Sirius took a mission outside the country; hoping to lead some of the Death Eaters away. But much like in canon everyone thought he was the secret Keeper and upon the Potters deaths concluded that he was a Death Eater and theorised he organised the battle to steal both sides of the black family's wealth for himself. Upon finding out about the Potters deaths Sirius returned and hunted down wormtail (Possibly killing him or failing to do so is framed as in canon) Sirius is blamed and is the subject of an intense man hunt, he knows he won't be getting a fair trial and flees escaping punishment in Azkaban.

A few years later Sirius tracked down harry, but was spotted and chased off by Dumbledore who had been called by one of the people he had watching Harry. The Dursleys pretended to be looking after Harry when investigators, looking into the large black dog arrived. Sirius is still on the run, currently being hunted by Remus (who receives funds form Dumbledore) and he's looking for Horcruxes, though he doesn't realise exactly what they are.

I intended for Sirius to attack Durmstrang later in the story and causing a great deal of destruction while duelling Karcaraof; this makes it into the papers which leads to Harry finding out about Sirius in first year, though the story is slightly edited when Tonks tells it to him.

Remus was commissioned by Dumbledore to find Sirius; this actually worked out better for Remus as he was given a steady income so he's not as sickly or ragged as in canon. Sirius and Remus getting involved in third year, by this point they have managed to sort out that Sirius is innocent and are working together to find Peter.

Tonks's father was struck by dozens of different curses in the battle and also watched his wife consumed by Fiednfire, this led him to being depressed and damaged mentally and physically. It started out small and for a few years he was "fine" in the sense he was just depressed and suffering night terrors, but as the years went by he became more psychologically and magically unstable, steadily losing control of his mind and occasionally his magic. He insisted that he did not need to go to ST mungos and was in his sane moments convinced he was fine and scared of what would happen to Tonks if he was not there (his own family was killed by Bellatrix so there were no relatives to take her in). He eventually lost his job and they got by well enough, thanks to his retirement fund.

Tonks was about ten/eleven when things started to truly deteriorate. Shortly before Hogwarts was to begin Ted had a burst on uncontrolled magic while in a fit, thinking Tonks had been kidnapped despite her having just left to go shopping; he destroyed one side of their home and made a large scene in public and has since been confined to a mental hospital as tonk's was old enough for Hogwarts and no one desired to take her in (Wizarding social Services are a mess) she more or less lived either at Hogwarts on in a small apartment Alastor Moody helped her find after convincing arranging for her old home to be. Andromeda saved Moody's life in the war, so he felt he owed it to look out for her daughter so he handled her case and is her "magical guardian" which mostly involved handling her legal affairs and ensuring she goes to school when it's needed.

Tonks has a number of research books on hexes from her mother and some artefacts she stole from Grimmauld place before running away, they are sealed in that enchanted box Harry saw, along with a few other precious items. Tonks is on Christmas card terms with Narcissa malfoy who despite disagreeing with her sister does at the very least feel sadness over her death and orphaned daughter.

During the war the Potters lived with the Tonks's for quite some time and Tonks was also acquainted with Neville when safe houses were shared; this is why she's closer to Harry than in canon. She is intimidated by Narcissa and does not trust the older women motives for anything but she's somewhat desperate for a connection to family members who is not insane or on the run. Before buckling down in fifth year Tonks was a trouble makers on par with the Weasley twin and the Marauder though her methods were less pranks and more plain disruptive. After realising how her chances of getting a good job where suffering she cleaned up her act and began volunteering her time at Hogwarts in hopes of getting recommendations from teachers and extra marks.

She has An O in D.A.D.A and O in Charms and O in Runes as well as a pass in flying and potions and transfiguration and high marks in apparition. Tonks is on good terms with professor flitwick who has assisted her with some of her parents spells from the black family and has helped her with her duelling. (I like Flitwick and honestly think a lot could be done with him) for this she helps him with his charm class's paper and generally acting like an assistant when he needs one.

Tonks gets along well with the Weasley twins, though she doesn't know the other Weasleys all that well; Molly thinks she's something of a bad influence but really does like her. She is also close to Proffesor Sprout whom she confides her concerns about Harry's living situation.

First year:

Harry and Tonks are the main characters of first year with Susan, Hermione and Neville in secondary roles. After arriving at school things progress in a manner fairly similar to canon, Snape is slightly less abrasive by virtue of Harry being in Hufflepuff and having not glared at him at the feast, but not much. Harry discovers the mirror when playing with his cloak and takes Tonks to it, they both get lost but bump into each other bringing them out of it, Tonks basically says to never go near the mirror again and that they do at least still have each other even if their families are gone. They leave and she melts the door handle shut. They go to the kitchens for a hot chocolate where Dumbledore approaches them and they have a talk, he realises things are a bit out of his plans but it happy that Harry is happy and learning.

At some point in the story, just as a random joke, Tonks runs by the kids and stops to give them life advice "Harry, funny thing is, actions have consequences, who knew?" and jumps out a window, using her powers to lower herself down to the ground to avoid Filch.

Tonks books Harry into see the nurse who notes he has been malnourished in the past and a few other such concerns and recommends some health potions to counteract the problem. Tonks is sufficed to say, livid. This information if given to the head of the House which does start drawing attention to Harry's home troubles.

The troll still happens, but it's Neville who Harry, Susan and Hermione go after as he lost track of Trevor. They hold the troll off with some spells, including Neville, and lots of running and Tonks, having not seen Harry in the common room leaves and arrives in time to kill it by summoning oil setting everything on fire and throwing swords from the wall at it. But not before Harry got injured trying to protect one of his friends, which leaves her angry but proud. (I considered changing this to Harry and Susan just wandering the halls, perhaps thanks to detention?)

Harry sort of befriends Hermione seeing that she's being bullied and she and Neville are also fairly close; they aren't huge parts of the story though. Fluff is discovered, more or less the same as in canon and frankly they all want to know why a giant dog is guarding something in a school and start researching with Tonks being nominally involved. Eventually they find out about the stone and realise someone is going to steal it. But Tonks says the kids are to tell the professors while she goes to make sure the stone is ok. Harry follows her down the hatch; it takes a while to convince the professors. Harry and Tonks make their way down past all the traps and find themselves to be the first ones there.

They get the stone and then Quirrel shows up and claims to have manipulated them into doing his work for him. There is a duel, but Quirrel, while good, is not as good as Voldemort, he and Tonks duke it out and he eventually gets the advantage when she has to block a spell for Harry. He's going to try and kill her but Harry jumps on his back, burning him to death.

Harry wakes up and Tonks has been by his bedside the entire time and Amelia has been waiting for him as well wanting to know exactly what happened. There is a lot of talk and she finds out about Voldemort and decides that something must be done; she also now knows about Harry's living situation and says she will help resolve it. Dumbledore fights it at first but after a dramatic alteration with Tonks, involving Fawkes using some magic to make him relive his worst memory, he remember he cannot let doing what's best get in the way of doing what's right and opts to help resolve the issue. "For the greater good" comes up.

The adults start planning on ways to find the Horcruxes (without telling the kids) though Dumbledore still wants Harry to be the one to defeat Voldemort as it's his destiny, he sees no reason not to stack the deck in Harry's favour. At years end, three things could happen, Harry goes back to the Dursley's but his room is magically converted into an awesome place to say due to the special changing spells (Tonks also visits a fair bit). He and Tonks move into an apartment/house paid for by Dumbledore or as one reviewer suggested, the Shrieking Shack is repaired and they live there. Tonks after this dislikes and distrusts Dumbledore for years and Harry is unsure of him, but he is genuinely trying to make up for his mistake in leaving Harry with the Dursleys.
(Tonks is also very proud that she duelled "Voldemort" to an effective standstill, maybe doing a little gloating dance.) It's worth noting she did not actually while Quirrel had Voldemorts advice and some of his knowledge he'd only be above average, still an accomplishment though.

Year 2:

(Tonks sees Harry off at the station and gets approached by Narcissa who, partially seriously, partially jokingly asked when Tonks had a child and why she was not informed, Narcissa find out a bit about Harry).

Later Tonks is training with Mad Eye thanks to the apprenticeship program, it's hell, as he wants her ready should Voldemort come back & is essentially trying to make her an Auror faster, so she is only nominally involved in year 2 beyond letters.

After some discussion and an inspired idea from my sister, the idea of not using the diary in second came about and a different Horcrux being the thing causing trouble came up. In this case the Crown would be found by a student, likely Neville or Hermione, either seeking a refuge/knowledge or aid in school (Neville) they come across the Room of Requirments and accidentally summon the crown.

I feel the Horcruxes, are magically enchanted in a manner similar to the "One Ring" in making those who find them want to use them and keep them secret. They end up sleeping with it under their pillow and steady changes in behaviour serves as foreshadowing as the crown steadily affect the users mind and personality. If it's Neville he suddenly becomes the best student in the year. If Hermione she starts studying magic way beyond her level and is hinted to be looking into dark magic and the forbidden section. Foreshadowing would be easier with Neville I'll admit.

The year would likely culminate in the student putting the crown on and going crazy, exactly how it all ends is still undecided. (Doing this with a Hufflepuff wouldn't really work as Harry & company would notice the changes too easily and be able to resolve the plot too easily. This also leaves the diary about and the Basilisk for later use either as a threat or in regards to the Basalisk even an ally if given the proper motivation. But one fact that remains true across both ideas was that Voldemorts real name is revealed at the end of the year due to Bones, Albus ETC collectively thinking it a good idea.

(For what it's worth here are the old notes on year 2, I much rather the crown plot line though)

I never got around to planning who got the diary, there were a few different students I imagine, Draco ending up with it by accident, Neville or even Hermione being given it. I kind of wanted it to be less tied to Lucius and more accidental as he is debating if he actually wants the Dark Lord back. (Narcissa is not fond of Voldemort) In the end Harry and Susan and maybe a few others resolve the issue. Sorry I didn't have as much of a plan for second year beyond Harry trying out for the Quidditch team and Tonks training, it was very fluid.

Much of the Basalisk event is revealed actually along with it being a left over artefact of Voldemorts and possibly his nature as a half blood. (One weird thing I noticed was the date that Basilisks were meant to be created was after Salazar died, plus how did it last so many centuries?) I actually intended Salazar to be a bit more sympathetic, with the idea that he lost some people/family to with/wizard hunting and was more interested in keeping Muggleborn out for security as opposed to malice, not a justification but something a bit better than rabid psychotic hatred.)

Year 3:

Year three is where some big differences start happening, Barty Crouch junior breaks out of imprius early because of the article about Tom Riddle, the line went a bit like this:
(His name is Tom Maverllo Riddle, His name is Tom Riddle! HIS NAME IS TOM RIDDLE! HIS NAME IS TOM RIDDLE HIS NAME IS –

And then…

Something just broke.

HIS NAME IS VOLDEMORT HIS NAME IS TOM MARVALO RIDDLE HIS NAME IS –

"NO!"

And then everything went white-hot.)

Bartimus was in the same "cell" of Death Eaters as Bellatrix, who I assume was in charge and after Grimmauld place they were the only ones left. Deat Eater were broken up into groups of three to eight and rarely knew everyone else involved names, Only Voldemort knew giving him more power, This is why one of Neville's parents is not as damaged, there were less people torturing them.

Freed from Imperius he takes control of his father and arranges for Bella to be freed, thus "The prisoner of Azkaban." This leads Remus to putting a stop to his and Sirius's search for Wormtail and he takes a job at Hogwarts to look out for Harry, Sirius hangs around as well hiding as a dog. Tonks and Moody are stationed at the school along with the Dementors.

Bella and Crouch attack the school and use the Imperiod Crouch to aid them, while Tonks and Moody hunt Sirius, Sirius hunts Peter, Remus tries to connect with Harry and Harry tries to figure out exactly what's going on. It culminates with Sirius being proven innocent and being freed and him essentially adopting Harry at the end of the year.

Later years:

Here is where things get vaguer; I essentially planned for the finale, sometime in fifth/sixth year, to be broken up into three battle fronts amongst a few different factions.

Voldemort's spirit is captured and eaten by a Dementor at some point so he is no longer technically a threat himself. But Bella and Barty find some of the Horcruxes and try to resurrect him, what they get is essentially a Voldemort like puppet, that they build up a cult of followers and criminals around. They start attacking Wizard/Muggle Britain to the point of destroying at least one small city and filling it with monsters and inferi. Eventually they kidnap Harry and Tonks and Aurors must save him, though he escapes and has plenty of fighting to do as well, including killing the Voldemort puppet. But not all the cultists are caught. (Many cultists were poor/disenfranchised Purebloods)

With the state of chaos and practically a terrorism based civil war going on, Fenrir Greyback starts bringing many of the sentient monsters (centaurs, goblins, trolls, spiders, ETC) under his control to try and take control of Wizarding Britain. He eventually attacks Hogwarts intent on destroying the future of Wizarding Britain and claiming the school as his own. He is an extremely powerful wizard in his own right and the school has to rally to fend him off. This involved Susan, Hermione and Neville, plus others heavily.

Lucius and two other wealthy Purebloods form a conspiracy after Second Year to try and gain more power should Voldemort return and use the intervening chaos of the next two year to essentially take control of the Ministry. Dumbledor ends up fighting all three of them in a sort of pocket realm while reflecting on how he knew them as students.

I also thought up something that I got rather attached to and that would become a plot point later, basically magical WMDs. Fiendfire and other such spells would be part of the "Arts of Destruction" these spells are highly unstable, tend to cause huge amounts of death and are quite difficult to cast. They were made illegal but lots of groups and families did not want to lose them and kept them hidden, but fearing their power even the craziest wizard tries to avoid even learning them, keeping them more for security than anything else. They are a lot like fiendfire where if you lose control you die. These are taboo spells and they start being used later in the series, Lucius using a water/tidal wave based one (and partially turning into water while doing so, maybe) and someone else makes a sort of giant earth golem. There are also mass poisoning spells and the like. They are also rarely used because of the Wizarding worlds small population, meaning too many uses could lead to the end of magical Britain.

And that was more or less the outline for what I had planned at the star of seventh year Tonks sees Harry off from the train station and it's left on an uplifting note, that despite all the trouble and problems that have happened and are likely still to come things can and will get better. I considered Harry thinking about child services as a career in the future, it's not as exciting as Auror I know, just an idea.

So one final time, thank you, thank you everyone who has read, favourite, reviewed talked with and me and helped me so much; this has been a wonderful experience and one I intend to always remember, thank you.