#bluemoon-writer fanfiction

[bluemoon-writer]

TSI - Chapter 1

Word Count: 14.4k

Summary: Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon realize that ignoring the Harry's Hogwarts letters isn't going to work. Thus leading Harry to arrive at Hogwarts unbiased.

Chapter 1 - Author's Notes

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Author's note at the bottom

On Saturday, things began to get out of hand. Twenty-four letters to Harry found their way into the house, rolled up and hidden inside each of the two dozen eggs that their very confused milkman had handed Aunt Petunia through the living room window. (1)

Uncle Vernon had exploded when he realized that the letters were in his eggs. How they had gotten in there, Harry had no idea. Nonetheless, Uncle Vernon was furious and angrily paced around the kitchen ranting, raving, and waving his fists in the air. Petunia watched him worriedly, every few minutes she would start reaching out to try and calm him down before realizing it was a moot point. Dudley gave Harry a look of amazement.

"Who on earth wants to talk to you this badly?"(2)Of course, if Harry had known that then they likely wouldn't be in their current situation.

Eventually, Vernon calmed down, and Petunia was ready with a plan. She shooed the kids from the kitchen and quickly intercepted Vernon before he could rip the letters to shreds. Ignoring them clearly wasn't working, so it was time to try a new approach.

"Vernon, dear, I don't think ignoring them is going to work."

Vernon sighed in frustration, "Well, what else are we supposed to do?"

"I think we need to let him read it. I don't think they'll stop unless he does," Petunia suggested cautiously. Vernon rolled his eyes. How anyone would know if he read the letter was beyond him.

"That's ridiculous!"

Petunia sighed. "Wizards are ridiculous dear."

"And how do you know that'll work?" Vernon asked.

"I don't but ignoring them clearly isn't working. We have to try something else, I'm tired of my house being made into a circus sideshow!" Petunia exclaimed.

Vernon nodded slowly. He was also tired of the chaos ignoring the letters had brought, he had barely gotten any sleep the past week and it was starting to negatively affect him at work. He could also follow Petunia's logic, and if he could get the letters to stop without moving to a deserted island then it was worth a try. He sighed. "Okay, let's give it a go. Bring the boys in."

Petunia opened the door to reveal Harry and Dudley casually leaning against the wall pretending that they hadn't just had their ears pressed to the door. The two boys glanced at each other in surprise, before cautiously taking a seat at the table. Then Petunia handed Harry one of the letters.

"It looks like we can't avoid this, so go on, read it."

Dudley started to protest but was quieted by a firm look from Vernon. Harry took the letter in amazement. He didn't think he had a chance in hell of ever getting to read his letter. He had half a mind to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He restrained himself though, and opened the letter quickly, before his Aunt and Uncle could change their minds.

---

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster ALBUS DUMBLEDORE

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mr. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress

---

Harry looked up at his aunt and uncle in shock. His first thought was that this was a cruel joke. However, he quickly remembered that the Dursleys have no sense of humor (3). And, Harry knew in his gut that the letter was right, even though it didn't make any logical sense.

"Is this serious?" He had to ask, had to make sure.

Petunia sighed. She didn't even know where to begin explaining the little she knew about magic. "Unfortunately, yes. My sister, your mother, received a letter just like that when she was eleven." Petunia's faced twisted and angry thoughts she never had a chance to voice started spilling out. "Then she was brainwashed into joining that-that obscene cult and abandoned her family! And of course, all her irresponsibility got her killed! All because of that nasty magic world and that arrogant man! Then you were dumped on us and we swore we'd stomp out any magic in you!"

"I-I thought my parents died in a car crash," Harry said quietly.

Petunia shook her head vehemently. "No, Lily and that dreadful man she married got involved in some ridiculous war or whatnot and were killed," she said callously, not thinking, or caring, if this new revelation hurt Harry.

Harry processed this quietly. He knew there had to be a reason that his relatives hated him so much. Still, he had never imagined something like this. They hated him, berated him, hit him, starved him, locked him in a closet all because he could do magic? Like they thought that would reverse biology? Harry shook his head. There was a slowly building fury rising up in his chest and he did his best to suppress it. Blowing up now wouldn't do any good.

Dudley broke the silence. "So, Harry can do magic? That's not fair! Why can't I do magic?" He whined.

"You thank the Lord you can't do magic! Magic is evil!" Petunia snapped.

Dudley wailed and banged his head on the table. "It's not fair! Give me Harry's magic! I wanna do magic! I wanna do magic!"

Petunia turned red and slapped Dudley across the face (4). "You will never speak about magic again. Go to your room and don't come back until you're done whining about it." Petunia hissed furiously. She could accept that she had to allow her sister's disgusting wizard son live in her house, but she would absolutely not stand for her Dudders to be infected with that satanic energy.

Dudley stared at his mother in shock. Not once, in eleven years, had she ever gone as far as to speak firmly to him. He silently stood, his face stark-white, and walked to his room. Harry watched him uneasily. He had been hoping that getting to read his letter meant he'd get to go to this school, but now he wasn't sure. His aunt very clearly hated it. There was only one way to find out though. He flipped through the other papers and tried to look uninterested.

"So, does this mean I'm going to this weird magic school?"(5)

Vernon snorted. "Look at that school list boy! I'm not paying a cent for that. Besides, we made it clear that we don't want to be involved with any of that blasted magic."

Harry sighed. It was just as he thought. He'd have to try and find some way to convince them (6). Perhaps he could threaten to call child services, he certainly had enough bruises to make a convincing case. Luckily, for Harry, it didn't have to come to that as the perfect solution was in the pile of papers he was flipping through.

---

GRINGOTTS BANK

Mr. Potter,

We at Gringotts are pleased to hear of your acceptance into Hogwarts. Please present this letter to any goblin in the entrance hall of Gringotts to verify your identification. At that time, you will be given access to the education fund set up by your parents.

Sincerely,

Griphook

Head of the Potter Accounts

---

Harry grinned to himself, a plan forming in his head, and look back up at his Aunt and Uncle. "I understand, I'd never want to be a burden, but it seems like you don't have to pay for anything. The Hogwarts letter came with a letter from a bank called Gringotts. It says I have a vault there. My parents must have set up a school account for me before they died." (7) Harry could barely contain his excitement but forced himself to stay calm. Knowing the Dursleys they'd be even less inclined to let him go if he seemed excited about it. (8)

Vernon frowned. "Well, if they did, it must be the only sensible thing either of them had ever done in their entire lives. Even so, we told you that we are not getting any more involved in that mumbo-jumbo!"

Internally, Harry wanted to strangle the Dursleys, but he forced himself to be calm. He nodded. "That makes sense, but even you acknowledged that ignoring it hasn't seemed to help at all. If I went to Hogwarts, I'd be gone most of the year and you wouldn't have to worry about magic at all, but if I stay here who knows what these wizard folks will do. They seem pretty determined. They did all this just to give me a letter, imagine what they'll do get to me to go to the school." Harry gave a fake shudder.

Vernon and Petunia glanced at each other. In all honesty, Petunia didn't know much about the wizarding world. However, the one of the things she did know was that they became legal adults at 17, because that was when her sister had gone off and disappeared with that dreadful wizard, which meant they could get rid of Harry a whole year early and finally, truly, be done with magic.

"I suppose, if you really do have an account, we can consider it. Vernon, why don't you take Harry to that Gringotts place and see if it's true that my sister and her husband left him money? If they did, then we might as well send him. It'll make Mrs. Mills and Mrs. Clover so jealous if I tell them that both of the kids are going to elite private schools," Petunia sighed, already thinking up stories she could tell her neighbors that will make her seem even more impressive. Yes, this might be a good idea. She doesn't have to deal with her freak nephew for most of the year, and she can use this opportunity to boost her reputation.

Vernon was surprised that she gave in so easily but shrugged it off quickly. He was sure she would explain her reasoning to him when the freak wasn't right in front of them (9). So, he gruffly told Harry that he'd better be ready to go at 8 o' clock sharp Sunday morning, or he could forget about going to that absurd school at all.

Harry and Vernon left for Diagon Alley right after breakfast the next morning. Petunia pretended they were just going for a "lovely Sunday morning drive", Vernon grumbled about not having time to read the paper, and Harry pretended he didn't exist and sat quietly in the backseat, hoping Vernon wouldn't get fed up and turn the car around. He just needed to get to this "Leaky Cauldron". Then it wouldn't matter if Uncle Vernon changed his mind. Surely the Wizarding World had some form of child services, if need be, Harry hoped he could rely on them for housing should his Aunt and Uncle decide to kick him out.

As Harry continued to plan for emergency situations, Uncle Vernon drove up and down the same street, repeatedly, looking for the Leaky Cauldron. It wasn't until his fifth time down the road that Vernon suddenly spotted it and slammed on the car brakes, jolting Harry out of his thoughts. Harry jumped in surprise but was filled with relief to see that they'd arrived at the Leaky Cauldron. He'd made it.

Vernon snorted in disgust as they entered. "Why on earth would they put the entrance to their magic shopping way in such a dirty, unpleasant place?"

Harry thought it was to keep normal people away but kept that thought to himself. He had learned long ago when to keep his mouth shut. He watched as Vernon walked up to the bartender and loudly asked where "that Diagon Alley place is." The bartender glanced around Vernon to see Harry and smiled.

"Ah, you must be a muggleborn! Just got your Hogwarts letter, I see. Personally, I think they ought to provide better instructions on how to get here in that there letter. Same with Platform 9 ¾ . I tell you, the number of stories I've heard from muggleborns who almost missed the train because they didn't know they had to walk through the dividing wall is astounding (10). Anyways, come over here; I'll let you into to Diagon Alley. You've got to have a wand to get in," the bartender rattled on.

Harry watched in amazement as the wall slid away after being tapped in a couple of places. Even Uncle Vernon looked intrigued, though he tried to hide it. They stepped through the wall and took in the hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley.

There were people dressed in cloaks and robes everywhere. They were flowing in and out of elaborate shop fronts, some were selling things on the streets, and others were simply standing and talking. The air seemed to crackle, and Harry felt immediately drawn in. They were so distracted absorbing their new surroundings that Vernon and Harry both jumped when they heard the bartender speak.

"That over there is Gringotts, the bank. You'll want to stop there first to exchange your currency," he said before stepping back into the pub and closing the wall.

Harry looked where he pointed and saw a large, ornate, marble building. He and Uncle Vernon glanced at each other and started towards it. They had never liked each other, but they were both taken aback by the wizarding world and had formed a small, tiny sense of camaraderie in their mutual confusion.

Inside the bank, Vernon Dursley assumed his usual, no-nonsense work face. He approached the nearest goblin, sucking up his disgust, and showed it Harry's letter. He tried not to look at the thing as it took the letter and examined it. He couldn't help but think that these goblins were surely a violation of nature. They looked like cross between a midget, a dead bunny, and a reptile.

Harry, meanwhile, had the opposite reaction. Growing up, he had spent a decent amount of time hiding in libraries and had ended up reading a great deal of fantasy novels. He thought the goblins were absolutely fascinating and had to resist the urge to bombard them with questions, which was incredibly difficult as everything about them raised more questions for him. After all, he'd never seen anything like them in his life. Additionally, unlike the wizards outside, they were dressed normally, Harry could only assume it was because they were bankers. Which only led Harry to wonder why only goblins seemed to work at the bank. Were certain areas of commerce controlled by different races? Or are wizards just really bad at math? If so, Harry certainly couldn't blame them, math definitely was not his favorite subject. (11)

"Welcome to Gringotts, Mr. Potter. I'll go fetch your account manager," the goblin said in a low, gravelly voice before hopping off his stool and walking away.

He returned soon after with a slightly taller goblin who was dressed even finer. The teller bowed and hopped back up on his stool. Harry turned and smiled at the new goblin who had extended his hand.

Harry shook it as the goblin introduced himself as Griphook. He also shook Uncle Vernon's hand, although it barely seemed so with how quickly Vernon snatched his hand back. The large man was barely able to resist wiping his hand on his pants. The goblin led them to a private room to discuss their affairs. As Griphook gave them a brief history of Gringotts, Vernon pulled himself together, goblins were certainly the last thing he had expected to encounter at a bank. 'Yes, these creatures are funny looking, and have who-knows-what kind of lifestyles, but this is a bank. Anyone who runs such a fine-looking bank must have a semi-sensible head. Plus, they dress normally so they can't really be that strange. I'm a client here for money, I've done this a thousand times before. I just have to pretend it's a regular human,' Vernon thought to himself.

They sat down in a small room and Griphook laid out several files.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Potter. The Potters have always been great clients here at Gringotts so I'm glad you got our letter. I'd been wanting to get in contact with your guardians for quite some time, but for obvious safety reasons Dumbledore kept refusing to share your location."

Vernon cleared his throat, and made eye contact with the creature, "I'm Harry's guardian, Vernon Dursley. I'm married to his maternal aunt." He couldn't bring himself to apologized for being repulsed by its appearance, but he would treat it as normally as possible. It is the course of action that will benefit him the most (12).

Griphook nodded. "Ah, yes, I had suspected that Harry may have been placed in the Muggle world."

Uncle Vernon frowned, "Muggle?" he questioned.

Griphook inwardly sighed at having to explain the meaning of 'muggle' to yet another confused parent, 'Honestly, does the Hogwarts administration explain nothing to these people?' he wondered. His annoyance was tempered though by reminder that this was simply another chance to milk money out of them with a large 'consultation fee' (13).

"We call non-magical folks muggles. Wizards born to muggles are called muggleborns, the children of a wizard and a muggle or muggleborn are half-bloods, and the children of two wizards are purebloods," Griphook explained simply.

"The bartender earlier called me a muggleborn, but I thought both of my parents are wizards?" Harry asked in confusion.

"Ah, he likely didn't recognize you since you're with a muggle and are dressed very much like one, though you are actually a half-blood." Griphook shrugged, if the child didn't have that letter, then he likely wouldn't have recognized him either.

Harry nodded, then frowned. "Wait, why would he recognize me?"

Griphook blinked slowly. The pure absurdity of the boy-who-lived being the only person in all of magical Britain to not know who he was made Griphook want to jump off a building. He could understand him not knowing much about the wizarding world, but not knowing who Harry Potter even is? That was something he couldn't understand at all.

"Well, frankly, Mr. Potter, you're famous. Before you were born, a dark lord began rising to power, and everyone in the wizarding world was terrified of him. Your parents fought against him, along with several others. I don't know all the details, but once you were born, they hid away. Then, one day, he came after them. He showed up at your house and killed your parents with the Killing Curse. He then tried to do the same to you, but you didn't die. He vanished after that and hasn't been seen since. Most people believe the curse rebounded and killed him. Ever since, you've been hailed as the boy-who-lived," Griphook explained in simple terms.

'Yes,' he decided internally. 'I will charge them an extremely large consultation fee.'

Harry touched the scar on his forehead, suddenly understanding how he got it, and why it had never gone away. Vernon was also surprised. He never would have thought that the boy's parents were war heroes. It didn't do much to change his opinion of them though. If they didn't want to die, then they shouldn't have gotten involved at all.

"I'm sorry to be the one to tell you the bad news," Griphook said, not sounding apologetic at all. "Truthfully, I would have thought Dumbledore would've made sure to explain this all to you (14). But there's nothing to be done about that, then. Now, then, I'm assuming you also don't know anything about you accounts?"

Harry shook his head mutely.

"Alright, well, the Potters are a very old family and have gained a significant wealth over the years. Like most rich wizarding families, they have several vaults, properties, stocks, and paper businesses (15). As the only remaining Potter, you've inherited them all. However, you won't have access to most of it until you come of age, so I will save us some time and talk only about what you do have access to (16).

"First, and what you came here for, is your school account. It has already paid your Hogwarts tuition for the next seven years and covers all of your school expenses. Currently, it has approximately 500 galleons. If you would like specific numbers, I can give you that, but otherwise I'll save my breath.

"Then there's your child support vault (17). Your parents set this up in case something should happen to them. Whoever became your guardian was to have access to this vault in order to provide for you. I had assumed that you and your guardians knew about this because there had been several withdrawals by Albus Dumbledore. I thought he was withdrawing money on your behalf and then sending it to you. I now know this is not the case and deeply apologize. Inside your child support vault is approximately 5,000 galleons.

"Lastly, there's your private account, which will be merged with your trust fund when you come of age. You are the only one with access to your private account. Inside is approximately 7,000 galleons (18).

"There is also your family vault, but you legally don't have access to that until you've come of age. Now, since you are underage, there are several restrictions on your accounts. You're only allowed to withdrawal a set amount each year to ensure that you don't run out of money before you are an adult. You have six years before you're an adult, so it is only possible to withdrawal a sixth of each of your accounts each year and only a fraction of that can be withdrawn by one person. So, for example, there are three people with access to Harry's child support account. Each of them can only withdraw one third of one sixth of the account this year. Next year, it will be one third of one fifth of the account." Griphook thoroughly explained.

Vernon nodded with a deep frown on his face. He was mentally calculating just how much unnecessary money they had lost on the kid throughout the years. "Okay, so, who is this "Albus Doombelldurr," and why is he allowed to take money from Harry's accounts? And how much is a galleon worth in pounds?" Vernon had gone into full business mode. As the director of Grunnings, he was used to managing money and knew embezzlement when he saw it.

"One galleon is approximately 20 pounds (19). There are 17 Sickles in a Galleon and 29 Knuts in a Sickle. As for your other question, Albus Dumbledore is the headmaster of Hogwarts. Whoever the current headmaster of Hogwarts is always has access to school accounts and is extremely limited in how much they can withdrawal. In addition, any amount withdrawn has to be approved by us, and the headmaster must present evidence for his reason of withdrawal. Dumbledore is also registered as one of Harry's guardians, though, which has given him access to Harry's child support vault."

Vernon frowned. "Is there a way to remove him? I can guarantee you that we never received anything from him."

"He can't be removed without proof of misusing the funds. We can file an audit, but that will take several months, during which his vault key will be retracted. However, it's entirely possible that the money he withdrew was used for Harry's benefit in a way that wasn't visible." (20)

"I see. I'd still like you to do an audit," Vernon decided. "Now, how do the boy and I get keys?"

"We make them here. It will only take a few minutes. As you're a muggle, you should know that we also provide a debit card for our muggle clients. We understand that transferring currency can be rather troublesome, so we strive to make it as simple as possible. There is a regular bank in London that has a passage straight to Gringotts. If you give me a moment, I'll go start the paperwork for the audit, make your keys, and get you directions to the muggle bank." (21)

Harry sank into the cushioned chair. This was much more than he had expected. He was still reeling from the knowledge that he was famous, and that his parents were murdered. Then there was the fact that, apparently, he's filthy rich. Harry wondered what Uncle Vernon was thinking. He was probably plotting ways to steal Harry's money from him. Harry couldn't help but grin. From what Griphook said, it sounded like it'd be mighty hard for the Dursleys to do that. Harry happily took a cookie from a platter on the table and ate it while he thought about his new future.

Harry was only partially right in his thoughts about Uncle Vernon. Vernon was really thinking about he could use Harry. But it had also dawned on him, with no small amount of terror, that Harry was likely very loved in the wizarding world. Meaning, that if anyone got the impression that the Dursleys treated Harry anything less than excellently, then his whole family would be in danger. Vernon scowled. Those damn Potters leaving this huge mess for them. 'However,' he thought, 'if I do this right, then I could end up much richer than before.'

It was then that Vernon Dursley resolved to not only gain Harry's favor, but to learn more about the wizarding world. 'If I'm going to be involved in this shit, then I ought to know how this wonky world works. Perhaps, I can use learning about this place to bond with the little brat. He clearly doesn't know anything about it, and, from the looks of it, he hasn't yet realized just how much influence he has,' Vernon thought to himself. He grinned as he formed a plan, and happily treated himself to the snacks on the table.

Unfortunately for Uncle Vernon, Harry had realized the sway he had, and after seeing the calculating look on Uncle Vernon's, he got an idea of what Uncle Vernon's plan was. Harry decided to play dumb and go along with it. Having his uncle be nice to him was certainly a plan he could get behind (22).

Soon after, Griphook returned and handed them their keys, cards, and directions to the muggle bank.

"Now, we can head to the vaults."

After the mine cart ride to their vaults, which Vernon found extremely unpleasant, Griphook explained that the coin bags he gave them were enchanted so no one could steal them. Vernon, as opposed to magic as he was, thought that was brilliant and planned to keep one of the bags.

Griphook walked them to the entrance of the bank and pointed out which shops they'd need to go to before wishing them farewell. He had also advised them to buy a trunk first so that they could put their purchases in it. Then the goblin retreated to his office and gleefully wrote an invoice for an extremely large consultation fee.

Vernon and Harry followed his advice and wandered across the street to Madame Lougage's Travel Necessities, where they were greeted by the sight of multiple towering stacks of nearly identical items. Harry, completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of different types of trunks, glanced helplessly at his uncle. Vernon, however, had gone shoe shopping with Petunia multiple times and was undaunted. He waddled confidently to the sales associate and demanded their assistance in selecting the best case for a first year Hogwarts student.

"For a first-year student, I would recommend The Lougage Simplified it has a basic three compartments: one for clothes, one for books, and one for miscellaneous items. It comes with a weightless charm already applied, and a lock that cannot be undone with a simple alohomora. All that for the low price of five galleons!"

Vernon nodded as if he had great knowledge on the subject, despite not understanding half of what the man said. "Sounds good, we'll take it."

xxx

Flourish and Blotts was only a couple of shops away, so they headed there next to buy the obscenely long list of books Harry needed. Inside, Harry's jaw dropped with awe. He had never seen so many books in his life. His school library was ridiculously small and the Dursleys were not the type of people who enjoyed going book shopping. Harry wandered to the first section that caught his eye and gazed at the vast assortment of books. He found himself particularly interested in '101 Curses and Hexes for the Beginning Wizard' and idly wondered if he could use them on Dudley (23). Harry wasn't sure if Uncle Vernon would let him get it, but he tucked the book under his arm anyway.

While Harry was ogling books of curses, Uncle Vernon found something else even more amazing. Fellow muggles. He saw them from across the store; a nicely dressed mother and father with their son. They stood out from the rest of the crowd since they weren't dressed in the ridiculous cloaks the wizards wore. Vernon practically raced across the store to introduce himself. He cleared his throat to get their attention once he was next to them.

"Say, you aren't wizards, are you?" Vernon asked, just to be sure.

The man smiled at him and shook his head.

"Is it that obvious? My stepson, Dean, just got his letter a few days ago. I'm Malcolm Clarke and this is my wife Catherine," the man said.

Vernon Dursley beamed. "I'm Vernon Dursley, happy to meet you. My nephew got his letter just a couple of days ago too. Didn't want to believe it at first, I tell you. It's nice to see that I'm not the only non-wizard here," Vernon said happily.

Mr. Clarke nodded. "Oh yes, I mean, we always knew Dean was special, but we never would have guessed that he was magic." Behind him Mrs. Clarke looked guilty for moment before clearing her face and smiling welcomingly (24).

Malcolm and Vernon soon found themselves enthralled in a deep conversation about the differences they had noticed between the magic and non-magical world so far. Dean quickly zoned out and began looking for Mr. Dursley's nephew. He thought it would be nice to actually know someone before getting to school. It didn't take him too long to spot him, he was the only other boy dressed in muggle clothing. He was staring at a shelf filled with books about the boy-who-lived. Dean had only glanced at the shelves as they entered; his parents had been intent on finding his schoolbooks first, however with his parents distracted he was free to roam.

Dean tapped him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, you're Vernon Dursley's nephew?" he asked casually.

Harry jumped and stared at him. "How did you know that?"

Dean pointed across the store where his father and Vernon were still chatting.

"He just introduced himself to me and my parents. I'm Dean Thomas by the way." (25)

Harry shook his hand. "I'm Harry Potter."

Dean blinked slowly and glanced at the shelf of books about the boy-who-lived. The book in the center was titled, in larger words, 'Harry Potter: the boy-who-lived'.

"Are you trying to prank me?" he asked, suppressing a laugh. He wasn't the class clown at school, but he was certainly fond of pranks.

Harry smiled and shook his head. "To be honest, it came as quite a shock to me too."

Dean's jaw dropped. "You didn't know? How? How can you be famous and not know?"

"Well, how can you be a wizard and not know? I grew up in the muggle world, like you."

Realization dawned on Dean's face. "Oh, that makes sense, I guess. Wait, how'd you know I didn't grow up here?"

Harry laughed and gestured to Dean's clothing. "You're wearing a West Ham football jersey mate. I didn't know magic existed until yesterday, but I don't think that's something a wizard will wear."

Dean laughed in embarrassment. "You're probably right...You don't think that means wizards don't play football though, do you?"

Harry shrugged, personally he had never gotten into the sport, but he didn't dislike it either. "There's a sports section over there," he pointed out. "Let's go find out."

To Dean's despair, the sports section only had books on some weird sport called Quidditch. They flipped through them for a few minutes trying to figure out how on earth the game worked.

"Okay, this seems pretty cool," Dean acquiesced. "But I'm still going to bring some football posters!"

Harry nodded in support. He didn't see a reason why Dean shouldn't do it, quidditch seemed pretty cool but not that much cooler than football. They stayed in the sports section for a few more minutes, both of them selecting a book on quidditch and promising to swap them when they were finished. Dean picked a book titled, "Quidditch and it's Teams: a Brief History" that gave a brief history of the formation of quidditch and then an overview of the most famous teams. Harry selected a slightly thinner booked called, "Twiste, Turne, and Drop: Quidditch Maneuvers" which was filled with moving pictures depicting different flying techniques and quidditch maneuvers with a description next to them. After that, the two boys set out to find their schoolbooks.

xxx

An hour and a half later, Harry and Vernon each had a large pile of books on all topics. Harry had grabbed mostly spell books, but also picked up, "History of Wizarding Britian: For Muggles" and "A Guide for Muggleborns Entering the Wizarding World". Both of the books had been in the 'recommended for muggleborns' section that was set up near the front of the shop. Vernon had picked out several history books and bought a subscription to the Financial Times. He figured he ought to know as much about this world as he can if they're a threat to his family.

Along with the books, Harry and Dean both got a writing set, stocked with enough ink to last the whole year, several quills, parchment, and most importantly, a calligraphy guide. The writing set had been recommended by a sales associate after hearing Dean shout, "We have to write with quills? My handwriting's barely legible when I use a pencil!" (26)

xxx

The two families left the store together and headed to the potions shop next. Potion supplies and a telescope were the only things Dean hadn't gotten yet. They had arrived at Gringotts only a few minutes before Vernon and Harry, but for some reason hadn't stayed nearly as long. Finding that out caused Vernon and Malcolm to launch into a debate about the accuracy of the currency exchange outside the potion supply shop.

Dean's mom rolled her eyes at the two men. "Come on boys," she put a hand on both Dean and Harry's back, "Let's go inside and get what you need."

They spent significantly less time in the potions shop than they did in the bookstore, partly because they had no idea what any of the things in the shop were for, and partly because there was a huge display at the front of the store with kits designed specifically for Hogwarts students.

"Hey Harry," Dean asked, looking at his friend through a glass jar of what was supposedly 'liquefied fairy wings', "What do you think this is for?"

Harry glanced at it, "Obviously, you drink it before a quidditch match so you can fly."

Dean nodded solemnly. "Yeah, that makes sense." Behind them, an older man choked and quickly turned away from the boys.

When they left the shop, Vernon and Malcolm were still discussing economics, though they had shifted from the exchange rate to the international value. Dean eagerly interrupted them to show his dad the kit they got which featured: a cauldron, a set of glass phials, a set of brass scales, a few small beginners' books on potion making, and a potion ingredients case with all the ingredients a first year may need. Malcolm looked it over with interest.

"So, it's kind of like chemistry then huh?" he said, flipping through one of the books. "Well, if you try it at home do it in the kitchen, we don't need this stuff ruining the carpet."

Vernon was extremely relieved to have run into the Clarke family because the entire potions shop repulsed him. When the door had opened, he could hardly stand the smell that wafted out, and thanked the lord that Mrs. Clarke had taken Harry in for him.

Sadly, they had to part ways after they found the telescopes. Vernon and Malcom shook hands again and exchanged contact information, Mrs. Clarke gave Harry a hug and a warm smile, and Dean promised to see him on the train. The Clarkes pointed out the robe shop they had taken Dean to and then were on their way out. Then Harry and Uncle Vernon were alone again. Uncle Vernon was in a great mood though, happy to have found people like him. He even patted Harry on the head as they walked towards Madam Malkins.

xxx

Vernon left Harry to go inside Madam Malkins by himself while he went in search of a bathroom. Harry entered hesitantly and looked at the enormous range of fabrics with uncertainty. A large woman bustled over to him and smiles kindly.

"Ah, you must be a first-year Hogwarts student here to get your robes, I bet. Well, come stand over here and we'll get you measured. There's another boy your age up there too," the woman said as she pushed him to the back of the room.

Harry smiled at the other boy, but he wasn't sure what to say. The other boy smiled back, but also didn't seem to know how to introduce himself. The ice wasn't broken until one of the seamstresses screamed when a toad leapt out of the boy's pocket and on to her.

"Why is there a toad in your pocket?" Harry asked in confusion. The boy flushed in embarrassment.

"His name's Trevor. I just got him at the pet store across the street. You're allowed to bring one pet to Hogwarts you know, and I saw him and knew he was the pet for me."

"Oh, so you're a frog person then?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, anything in nature really. I really like plants and gardening, and with a toad I don't have to worry about it ruining anything. My gran was absolutely repulsed when I picked Trevor though. She thinks owls are the only practical pet for a young wizard to have."

"Owls? Why would you want an owl as a pet? How do you even take care of an owl?"

"Oh, you must be a muggleborn," the boy said, glancing at Harry's clothes. "I'm sorry, I'm probably confusing you. Owls deliver mail, so if you have your own you can use it to send letters and packages to people. They're magical so you just have to let them outside, and they take care of themselves."

Harry's eye bulged. "Whoa, that's wicked cool. I'm Harry, by the way."

"I'm Neville (27). So, I guess if you're a muggleborn you don't have any idea what house you'll be?"

"Mate, I don't even know what the house are," Harry answered with a grin. Neville flushed again and muttered an apology before explaining.

"Everyone is sorted into four houses at Hogwarts. Gryffindor, for the brave and chivalrous. Slytherin, for the cunning and ambitious. Ravenclaw, for the intelligent and curious. Hufflepuff, for the loyal and hardworking. I'm hoping for Gryffindor, both of my parents were in that house, so my Gran will be very disappointed if I don't get in. Knowing me, I'll probably get stuck in Hufflepuff though," Neville sighed.

"What's wrong with Hufflepuff? You just said it's the house for loyal and hardworking people, that seems just as important as bravery to me," Harry said.

"Hufflepuff is just looked down on, I guess. They're not anything special," Neville said dejectedly. Harry frowned. He had only just met the boy, but he felt the urge to cheer him up.

"That's stupid. From your description, I'd rather have a Hufflepuff friend than anyone else. Listen, I'll be friends with you whether you're sorted into Gryffindor or Hufflepuff," Harry said firmly.

"Really? You don't even know me though," Neville said in confusion.

Harry shrugged.

"I can't explain it, but I feel like I know you're a good guy though," Harry told him. It really was the oddest sensation. He had never met him, yet he somehow felt connected to him, like they had a shared history. Neville nodded with a strange look on his face (28).

"Yeah, I feel the same. It's weird."

Neville's robes were finished before they could chat any further though. Harry waved goodbye and promised to see him at Hogwarts.

xxx

Harry was done soon after and asked to use the bathroom before he left. When he emerged from the shop, Uncle Vernon was nowhere in sight. Harry was about to resign himself to sitting and waiting when he spotted the pet shop across the street. From the moment Neville had mentioned owls Harry had desperately wanted one. He doubted Uncle Vernon would let him have one though. However, if he went and got one on his own surely Uncle Vernon wouldn't make him return it. His uncle was trying to get on his good side after all.

Harry rushed to the pet shop, excited to get a pet of his own. The Dursleys had never gotten a pet of any sort, and Harry had always yearned for one. A companion that would love him unconditionally. It seemed too good to be true. Immediately upon entering the store, Harry was drawn to a beautiful, snowy white owl. She cooed happily at him when he approached, and he knew that she was the one for him.

Harry left the pet shop just in time to see Uncle Vernon return from the bathroom. He hurried over to his uncle with his new owl and the bundle of robes he had gotten.

"What in God's name are you doing with an owl?" Uncle Vernon exclaimed. Harry shrugged.

"It was on the school list," he said simply. Uncle Vernon blinked and slowly breathed in and out to control his temper.

"It stays in your room and you are fully responsible for taking care of it. If it ruins anything in my house, I'm getting rid of it. Okay?"

Harry nodded happily and smiled down at his owl who cooed at him.

"So, what else do we have to get?" Vernon asked gruffly. Harry glanced back at the list.

"Just a wand. I think the store we have to go to is Ollivander's."

"A wand? You'd think that would just be a stereotype," Vernon snorted. "These ridiculous wizards are driving me crazy."

xxx

Vernon's perception of wizards being crazy only got worse when they arrived at Ollivander's. It took a solid hour of complete chaos for Harry to get his wand. Vernon sat in a chair at the edge of the room shaking his head at the complete lack of organization. If this man had really been doing this for so long, you'd think he would've found a more efficient method of matching wands. Finally, though, Harry got his perfect match.

"11' Phoenix Feather core, holly wand. Nice and supple," Vernon heard the eccentric wizard say. Vernon began pulling out the coin bag as the wizard started giving Harry some cryptic message. Vernon didn't catch the whole thing, and he didn't really care. This old man clearly had some loose screws, and Vernon was ready to go. As fascinated as he had become, Vernon had had enough of the wizarding world for one day.

As they walked out of the Leaky Cauldron, Harry stopped and faced his uncle.

"Uncle Vernon, I just wanted to say thank you for letting me go to Hogwarts even though you don't like it," Harry said quietly. He figured that maybe with the change of events that their relationship could improve. Of course, Harry didn't think he would ever like his uncle or vice versa, but perhaps they could coexist peacefully. It should be easy with Harry gone for most of the year.

Vernon scratched the back of his head awkwardly. He didn't do emotional stuff. So, he simply grunted and patted Harry on the back. However, Vernon had only ever patted Dudley, who weighed significantly more than Harry, on the back. So, Vernon's pat was more like a slap and caused Harry to lurch forward. He was barely able to regain his balance and avoid falling to the ground. His glasses weren't as lucky though, and they hit the hard cement and broke (29).

Harry groaned. He could barely see with his glasses; his prescription was so out of date, but without them he was practically blind. Uncle Vernon picked the glasses up and examined them. He realized as he looked at Harry's glasses that he hadn't see a single wizard wear glasses except for the crazy wand guy. Vernon then looked Harry over, taking in his appearance. He honestly looked like a homeless street kid. Vernon winced and remembered what the goblin said about Harry being famous, the wizarding world wouldn't be happy if they got the slightest indication that Harry had been mistreated. And shitty clothes were a key sign of a mistreated child.

Uncle Vernon sighed and looked at his watch. It was only 1 o'clock. "Let's go to the eye doctor and see if they can squeeze you in today, if not you'll have to wait for a couple of days."

Harry stared at him in surprise. He had expected to have to simply deal with it. He couldn't remember the last time he got new glasses, despite them getting broken several times.

xxx

At the optometrist, they got lucky. Someone had just canceled their appointment, so they were able to fit Harry in at four o'clock (30). That left them with two and a half hours to kill.

Vernon figured this was the perfect time to get Harry some new clothes. He wasn't going risk being attacked by angry wizards because he let Harry wear dirty rags to school. Plus, he had the Gringotts debit card to use, so he wouldn't have to spend any of his own money. Vernon marched Harry around a nearby department store handing him things to try on. Harry mutely obeyed, not completely comprehending what was happening. He was sure he had to be dreaming. Being told he was a wizard was crazy enough, but his uncle actually being nice to him? That was out of the ballpark crazy. When Harry asked why they were buying new clothes Uncle Vernon snorted and gruffly explained.

"Surely you damn wizards don't lounge around in cloaks all day. You ought to have something to wear on the weekends and in the evening."

"I have clothes."

"Ah, those old rags? I'm not going to have you offending some crazy wizard and bringing his anger home. Besides, they said this Hogwarts place is a castle, if you wear those rags, you'll surely get hypothermia and die. And that'll be even more trouble for me."

They left the store with a nice variety of clothes. Vernon had insisted on forcing Harry to get a suit, because he wouldn't have that boy embarrassing him if he ever had to dress up. He got three pairs of shoes, though Harry didn't understand why he needed more than one. There were several sweaters, button down shirts, and two pairs of slacks. To Harry's relief, Vernon also let him get regular clothes; jeans, t-shirts, and new pajamas. Much to Harry's embarrassment, he also got him new underwear, socks, and two belts. When they were finished, Vernon was satisfied that no one would question Harry's appearance.

xxx

They got back to the optometrist just in time for the appointment. The eye doctor said Harry had the worst eyesight he had ever seen for someone his age. Harry flushed in embarrassment and left to go pick out new frames while Uncle Vernon discussed cost with the doctor. Harry decided on a pair of glasses with a simple silver frame and brought his choice back to the doctor.

"Very nice choice, they suit your face well," the doctor complimented. "Have you ever thought about getting contacts though?"

Harry shook his head. The thought of sticking his finger in his eye nauseated him. Uncle Vernon, however looked interested.

"I don't usually suggest them for someone so young, but with how terrible your eyesight is I think they might be more convenient (31)," the doctor continued. "We can give you a one-week trial pair to see how you like them. Your new glasses won't be ready till then anyways."

"That sounds like a great idea," Vernon agreed.

Harry hesitantly sat down in a chair as the doctor explained how to put the contacts in. Harry failed miserably at putting them in the first couple of times, but he finally figured it out and was surprised that they were so comfortable. He looked around the room in awe. He had never seen everything so clearly. There were no blurry gaps in his peripheral vision at all, and the colors on everything seemed to pop. Harry glanced in the mirror. It was weird seeing himself without glasses, but he thought he could get used to it.

When they arrived home, Dudley pitched a fit about not getting a pet and Petunia stared on in stony silence. Vernon pulled her aside and explained about the bank accounts, and she scowled deeper.

"Figures, they'd dump their son on us and not even have the decency to tell us about the child support. But, we have it now," she acquiesced. She sent Harry to his room and told him that she didn't want to see any of his school supplies outside his room or she would throw it away. Harry went happily, not minding that he was missing dinner as they had gotten food on their way home.

In his room, he opened his set his owl down next to the window and opened the cage.

"Hello, I'm Harry. I don't have a name for you yet so I'm just going to call you Snowy for now."

Snowy squawked at him indignantly.

"I'm sorry! It's just until I come up with a name." In an attempt to appease her, he opened his bedroom window. "Are you hungry? You can go hunt! Just come back before morning or my aunt and uncle might get mad."

Snowy gave him a serious look, jumped on his shoulder, rubbed her head against his, and then flew out the window.

Harry really wanted to take a closer look at the quidditch book he got but decided he should pick out a name for his owl first. He didn't want to offend her again, so he started skimming though the few history books he got.

When Snowy flew back in a few hours later, Harry waved at her and tested out her new name. "Hey Hedwig, have fun?"

Hedwig tilted her head and squawked happily. (32)

xxx

Two days after their trip to Diagon Alley, Harry turned eleven. He expected in birthday to pass by unobserved, yet again, but to his surprise Uncle Vernon actually bought him a cake. At first, Harry thought his uncle was ill, but then he remembered that Uncle Vernon was still trying to get on his good side. As for presents, Uncle Vernon told Harry he could have whatever Dudley left in his second bedroom. It wasn't a fantastic gift as most of the things that Dudley put in there were broken, but Harry was sure he could learn a spell to fix whatever was broken.

Still, even though most of the items were broken, it was the most he had ever gotten for his birthday. While Harry did appreciate getting something, he couldn't help but bitter anger than he couldn't remember ever receiving any gifts and that he was only receiving some now to placate him, not because anyone actually cared about him.

xxx

A week after their trip to Diagon Alley, Harry returned to the eye doctor to get his new glasses. They were in a nice, shiny case and Harry held them very carefully. They were incredibly thick but felt much sturdier than his old ones.

"How did the contacts feel?" The doctor asked Harry as he tried on the new glasses.

"They were alright, I liked seeing without glasses, but the contacts got a bit uncomfortable if I had them in for too long," Harry answered honestly.

"Oh yes, I would not recommend wearing them for more than ten hours straight because they do dry out, and definitely do not sleep in them. But I can give you eye drops too, which should alleviate any discomfort if you're not in a place where you can take them out immediately. Would you like that Harry? Or do you just want to stick to wearing glasses?"

Harry considered for a moment. The contacts were much better than his glasses when it came to seeing, but they were also a hassle because he couldn't wear them constantly. However, it couldn't hurt to have both glasses and contacts. Then he could choose whatever he wanted to use that day. He would hate to need contacts one day, and not have them.

"I'll try using eye drops with the contacts," Harry decided.

The eye doctor patted him on the back, happy to have helped. Uncle Vernon ordered a year supply for him and scheduled another appointment for next year. (33)

xxx

The next month felt like it passed in a blink. Harry was mostly confined to his room, on Aunt Petunia's orders, so he spent most of his time reading through his schoolbooks, wanting to be prepared for the first day. He was sure that he was going to be set back due to just learning about magic and Harry was determined to do well. His whole life depended on this, despite his aunt ignoring him and his uncle acting semi-decent, he still had no desire to stay with them any longer than he had to. They had never been family, and just because they stopped screaming at him didn't make him like them any more. So, he had to be good at magic to ensure a future in the magic world.

He also read the guidebook for muggleborns and was extremely glad he bought it. It seemed life in the wizarding world was set back hundreds of years politically. It was even more complicated than muggle politics with all the Barons and Earls and Lords and Ladies. Aristocrats seemed to rule their society. Harry briefly tried to figure out the politics, but he didn't even understand muggle politics, so this just gave him a headache. Harry figured he could learn it all when he was older and decided to focus on understanding his schoolwork. Besides, Uncle Vernon managed to make sense of the wizarding world politics and had many long conversations on the phone with Mr. Clarke about them as they tried to discern the different sides. Harry tried listening in on some of the conversations, but it doesn't really work when you can only hear one side. He ended up more confused than when he started. (34)

Aunt Petunia ignored Vernon whenever he did this. She refused to acknowledge anything associated with magic and tried to shut it all out. Which is what led to Harry being kept in his room most of the time. He was only allowed out for breakfast, dinner, and bathroom breaks. He didn't get lunch, but that was okay because Petunia was trying to ignore him to the point that she didn't stop him from eating as much as he wanted. Vernon on the other hand, encouraged Harry to eat more, not wanting the wizards to think he'd been starving the boy. Harry was rather happy with the turn of things. He wasn't a huge fan of being stuck in his room, but he had plenty of things to entertain himself with, and he didn't have to do chores anymore. It was pretty good, he got to sleep in a few extra hours and go to bed whenever he wanted. He had found a flashlight in the pile of toys that Dudley had forgotten about and used it to read at night.

Dudley, meanwhile, was not happy with the new changes at home. He was used to being the center of attention and had like ordering Harry around. He had a temper tantrum every day for a week when he realized that his father had started trying to get on Harry's good side. He couldn't understand it at all. For his entire life, his parents had called Harry a freak and suddenly now his father was sucking up to him? Dudley didn't like it. Eventually, Dudley realized that the only way to gain his father's attention was the play along and get himself involved.

He barged into Harry's room after a week and a half and demanded that he teach him about the wizarding world.

"No," Harry said flatly. He had no desire to spend any more time with his cousin then necessary.

"But you have to! I want you to!" Dudley yelled.

"Why? All my life you've tortured me, I have no reason to help you," Harry said, before turning back to his book.

"I won't beat you up ever again!" Dudley exclaimed. Harry looked up in interest. "If you teach me, I promise I'll never do anything to hurt you again!"

"What about your friends?"

"I won't let them do anything either. Harry Hunting is over, I swear!"

Harry grinned, "Deal."

Dudley dropped on the ground happily. "Okay, so what first?" (35)

xxx

Explaining to Dudley what he knew about magic worked out for Harry very well; he found that explaining it to someone else helped him remember and understand it better too. It took a few tries though for Dudley to understand any one concept, so it was slow going but his cousin was decent enough that Harry didn't mind him tagging along to meet ups with the Clarke family.

Uncle Vernon always swore the boys to secrecy the hand full of times they went to meet the Clarkes. Petunia was at risk of flying off the handle if she thought any more magic was infiltrating her home, and all three males wanted to avoid that. So, Vernon would casually say he was taking the boys to the arcade, or the movies, or out to ice cream and as soon as the car was out of sight of the house he would turn and go in the direction of wherever he had planned to meet the Clarkes. Usually, it was a random park somewhere halfway between where they lived. Luckily, as it turns out, the Clarkes lived in nearby Staines, so it was never more than a ten-minute drive to get to their meeting place. (36)

The park was their ideal meeting place because they could chat about magic without worrying about being overheard, and the boys had plenty of space to run around. Harry and Dean spent a lot of time trying to figure out quidditch. They swapped the books they got and shared what they'd learned. Surprisingly, Dudley was rather adept at understanding quidditch, though he didn't think it seemed very interesting.

Inevitably, the boys would get restless and Dean would pull out a football. Harry had never actually played football before, so Dean taught him the rules. Harry actually found it fun. He was a decent runner from always being chased by Dudley's goons and discovered that he had really good foot-eye coordination as he scored a few goals. It made him wished he had played sports as a kid, 'Maybe I'll try out for the quidditch team at Hogwarts.' He thought.

The three boys would play a few games of football, usually with a few random kids joining in, before collapsing in the grass and waiting for Vernon and Malcolm to finish talking. Eventually, the two adults would notice that the boys were at risk of falling asleep and switched their conversation to something normal as they took the boys for ice cream before heading home.

Soon, it was September 1st. Uncle Vernon drove Harry to King's Cross with Dudley tagging along. Petunia had opted to stay home and hadn't acknowledged them when they left. They awkwardly approached Platforms 9 and 10. The bartender at the Leaky Cauldron had explained how to get on Platform 9 ¾ but knowing is different than doing. They were all a little unsure of what they were supposed to do as they approached. Luckily, a huge family of gingers appeared and seemed to be going the same place as them. So, Harry approached the friendly looking matriarch with his uncle and cousin following him.

"Oh, is this your first year at Hogwarts dear?" the friendly witch asked. Harry nodded.

"Oh, wonderful. My Ron is a first year too. Perhaps you can be friends," she said absentmindedly.

Harry smiled at her and nodded at the tall boy she had gestured to.

"So, do we really just walk through that wall to get there?" Harry asked.

The red-haired lady nodded. "Unfortunately, muggles can't go through, so you'll have to say goodbye to your family here."

Harry turned to his uncle and cousin. He wasn't sure what to say to them. After spending the past month discussing magic they were on better terms, but he wouldn't say that they were anywhere near to being close. Uncle Vernon awkwardly patted him on the back once, careful not to knock him over this time.

"Don't get yourself killed," he said.

Dudley was a bit friendlier and made Harry promise to write him once a week.

"It's not fair that you get magic and I don't, so you better write me and tell me how much it sucks and how glad I should be that I don't have it."

Harry chuckled and agreed. His relationship with Dudley had become weird and he wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but he was rolling with it.

Harry closed his eyes and ran at the barrier. A part of him was sure that he'd slam into the wall and crash. Of course, that didn't happen, and Harry found himself on Platform 9 ¾. Harry glanced around in awe. Magic was amazing. Harry smiled to himself as he began looking for where to board the train. He wasn't paying much attention to the people around him, but one phrase did catch his attention.

"Gran, I lost my toad again," Neville said.

"Oh, Neville," his Gran sighed.

Harry turned and looked for the boy that he'd met at Madam Malkin's.

"Neville! It's good to see you!" Harry exclaimed, walking over. Neville looked up and grinned.

"Harry! I didn't think I'd see you till we got to Hogwarts. There are so many people here," Neville said. Harry nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, this is way more than I expected!"

"Oh, Harry this is my Gran, Augusta Longbottom," Neville introduced. Harry smiled and shook her hand.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you, but I can't stay. I think I need to hurry and find a compartment before they all fill up. I just wanted to say hi quickly." Mrs. Longbottom's mouth twitched in a smile.

"Yes, yes, if you don't grab one now then you'll be stuck sitting in the hallway."

"Oh, Neville, do you want to come with me?" Harry asked. Neville shook his head.

"I have to find Trevor. I can't leave for Hogwarts without him. I'll see you later though," Neville promised.

Harry nodded and started heading towards the back of the train where the last of the empty compartments were. He pressed on through the crowd until he found an empty compartment near the end of the train. He put Hedwig inside first and then started to shove his trunk toward the train door. Despite being weightless it was difficult to push up the stairs due to its size in comparison to Harry.

"Want a hand?" It was one of the red-haired twins he'd followed through the barrier. "Yes, please," Harry panted.

"Oy, Fred! C'mere and help!"

With the twins' help, Harry's trunk was at last tucked away in a corner of the compartment.

"Thanks," said Harry, pushing his sweaty hair out of his eyes.

"What's that?" said one of the twins suddenly, pointing at Harry's lightning scar. "Blimey," said the other twin.

"Are you?"

"He is," said the first twin. "Aren't you?" he added to Harry.

"What?" said Harry.

"Harry Potter, "chorused the twins.

"Who's that?" asked Harry, unable to resist the urge to mess with them.

The two boys gawked at him, and Harry felt himself turning red. He wondered if maybe instead of being funny he had just made himself sound like an idiot. Then, to his relief, a voice came floating in through the train's open door.

"Fred? George? Are you there?"

"Coming, Mum." With a last look at Harry, the twins hopped off the train. Harry sat down next to the window where, half hidden, he could watch the red-haired family on the platform and hear what they were saying. He watched as their mother scrubbed at Ron's nose while the boy tried to squirm away. Soon another red-haired boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his black Hogwarts robes, and Harry noticed a shiny silver badge on his chest with the letter P on it. He wondered what it stood for.

Harry zoned out as the large family outside his window joked amongst themselves. Until their conversation turned to him. Then Harry started listening curiously.

"Hey, Mom, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?"

Harry leaned back quickly so they couldn't see him looking.

"You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?"

"Who?"

"Harry Potter!"

Harry heard the little girl's voice. "Oh, Mom, can I go on the train and see him, Mom, eh please..."

Harry felt himself begin to flush with embarrassment. It was definitely going to take a while to get used to being famous. Attention was not something he was used to or comfortable with.

"You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you goggle at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?"

"Saw his scar. It's really there - like lightning."

"Though when we asked him, he didn't know who Harry Potter was."

"Then he likely isn't him. He must have gotten a scar from something else," their mother said. "And I don't want you pestering him about it. He's clearly a muggleborn and you'll just confuse him with your talk about Harry Potter!"

"All right, keep your hair on." A whistle sounded.

Harry tuned back out as they said their goodbyes. He felt awkward spying on them, but it was interesting to know that no one knew for sure what he looked like. (37)

BANG!

Harry jumped as the compartment door slammed open. He looked over to see a sheepish Neville.

"I didn't mean for it to slam like that..." he said, scratching the back of his head.

Harry threw his head back and laughed. "Come on in Neville! Did you find Trevor?"

The other boy pulled the toad out of his pocket to show Harry, "Just barely in time though. Gran had to cast Accio to find him. I thought the train was going to leave without me," Neville explained as he sat down across from Harry.

He glanced back at the door as the red-haired twins passed by and wondered where Dean was. Harry debated getting up to look for him, but he didn't want to risk losing his compartment. Also, he had barely slept the night before and was starting to feel rather tired. As he focused back on Neville, out of his peripheral, he saw the youngest red-haired boy paused at the compartment door. However, he didn't loiter for long and ran to catch up with his brothers. (38)

Neville had noticed the boy too, "Should we invite him to sit with us?"

Harry shrugged, "Sure, he seemed nice enough." (39)

However, when he peeked out into the hallway the there was no sight of any redheads. On the bright side, he did spot a familiar head poking out of a compartment a few doors up. Harry grinned and waved.

"Harry!" Dean exclaimed, "I was afraid you didn't make it. My dad was complaining about the traffic the entire drive here."

"Yeah, I learned a few new words from my uncle," Harry laughed. "Do you want to come up to my compartment?"

"Oh god yes," Dean whispered. "I was sitting with a bunch of giggly girls. Normally, I don't mind girls, but all these ones do is giggle. They look at each other, whisper something, and then start this high-pitched giggling! I don't get it."

Harry did his best impression of a teen girl giggle, and Dean punched him lightly in the arm. "I'm going to have nightmares of that, thanks a lot mate."

"Sorry, sorry," Harry laughed unapologetically. "Here, I'll help you bring your trunk to my compartment.

xxx

It took a few minutes, but the two boys managed to maneuver the trunk to their compartment where Neville helped them shove it up top.

"Neville, this is Dean. Dean, this is Neville," Harry introduced the two boys.

"Oh, is this the kid you told me you met at the robe shop?" Dean asked.

"Yup, the one and only Neville..." Harry trailed off and then stage whispered, "What's your last name?"

"Longbottom," he whispered back. "And what's yours?"

"Potter, and his is Thomas."

"Wait," Neville froze. "Harry Potter?"

"Yes, that's my name."

"As in the-boy-who-lived?"

"And is still living," Dean joked. He had bought one of the books on Harry as a joke, and the two had laughed over the ridiculous monikers used throughout the book.

Dean's joke seemed to snap Neville out of his haze of shock, "Well, good to meet you both. So, did you two know each other before?"

"Oh yes, we're twins. Can't you tell?" Harry asked.

Dean nodded. "I think we look strikingly similar."

Neville shook his head with a grin, "Sorry, it must be the hair that's throwing me off."

"Really? Our hair? Huh, usually it the skin color that most people get stuck on," Dean said curiously.

Harry couldn't stop grinning, "No, we actually met in Diagon Alley the same day I met you. My uncle and his step-father stayed in contact, so we met up a few times in August."

"I see, so you both grew up in the muggle world?" Neville asked curiously. "What was it like?"

Harry shrugged and Dean gestured vaguely. "It was normal I guess, I mean, what was growing up in the magic world like?"

Neville opened his mouth and then quickly closed it. "Oh, yeah, that's hard to explain if it's all you know."

"So, your whole family is magical?" Harry asked curiously.

"Yeah," Neville answered. "The Longbottoms are a pretty old family."

"How old?"

"I don't know exactly, more than a thousand though that's for sure."

"Do you have any siblings?" Dean asked.

Neville shook his head sadly. "No, it's just me and my gran. My parents...are gone. But, what about you?"

"I've got two half-siblings," Dean said. "They're both a bit younger than me though."

"I wish had siblings at all, whether they're older or younger. All I've got is my cousin and he's horrible," Harry said.

"Ah, Dudley's not that bad. A bit aggressive, kind of obnoxious, but I'll bet he'll come off it eventually," Dean said.

"So, you really grew up with muggles?" Neville asked Harry. "Sorry, I don't mean to be annoying, it's just shocking."

Harry nodded. "I didn't even know I was a wizard till a month ago."

Neville nearly fell out of his seat when he heard that.

"Seriously? But you're the boy-who-lived, how could they not tell you?"

Harry chuckled and shrugged. "I guess no one knew how to tell a kid that his parents had been murdered by a dark lord," he lied. He liked Neville and Dean, but they definitely didn't know each other well enough for Harry to share his extensive history with the Dursleys.

xxx

A little while later a woman knocked on the compartment door and asked if any of them would like a treat. The three boys eagerly jumped up to look at what she had. Neville gave them recommendations on what was the best, and between the three of them, they had a large pile of candy.

They spent the next hour working their way through the pile and joking about random things. Neville explained Chocolate Frogs and their collectible cards to Harry and Dean and cautioned them about Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. Approximately halfway through the pile, Neville jumped up and ran to the bathroom, exclaiming that he desperately needed to pee. Harry and Dean laughed at him for holding it for so long and continued pigging out.

Eventually, they finished the pile and Neville still wasn't back. Harry desperately had to go to the bathroom now as well and wondered idly if Neville had fallen into the toilet and needed help. 'Well, I'll find out when I get there'. He grabbed his robes too, figuring he might as well change while he's in the bathroom. However, on his way there he ran headfirst into Neville.

"Neville! There you are! I was worried that I'd have to fish you out of the toilet."

Neville turned scarlet, and Harry realized why when he glanced around the boy to see a girl with him.

"Hello!" She exclaimed. "Did you see a toad anywhere?"

Harry's jaw dropped as he turned to Neville. "You didn't, did you?"

Neville nodded and buried his face in his hands. "I lost Trevor again," he mumbled. Harry couldn't help but laugh.

"At this rate you're going to make me think you don't like him after all," Harry joked. Neville rolled his eyes and grinned at the joke.

"We're going compartment to compartment to see if anyone's seen him," Hermione explained. "You haven't seen him, have you?"

Harry shook his head. "No, I was just heading to the bathroom, but if I see anything, I'll tell you. Don't worry Neville, I'm sure you'll find him." Harry promised before continuing to the bathroom. He relieved himself and changed quickly. Then hurried back to his compartment, brushing past a snobbish looking platinum haired boy who was peeking in all the compartments. (40)

"You're back! Geez, you left for 10 minutes and everything interesting happened," Dean said as Harry slipped back into the compartment.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, apparently Neville lost his toad again and that's why he's been gone for so long."

"Oh, yeah, I ran into them in the hall, poor guy, but at least he has help."

"Yeah, then after them this blonde kid came by."

"What did he want?"

"No clue, he looked in the compartment, and when he saw me, he turned away and left. It was bloody weird," Dean emphasized.

"Eh, he was probably just looking for his friends," Harry guessed.

Neville returned to the compartment a few minutes later. The girl he was with, her name was Hermione apparently, convinced an older student to do a locater spells to find Trevor. Turns out Neville left him in the loo.

The train arrived at Hogwarts soon after and everyone was rushed off the train. In the distance, Harry could see a large man calling for the first years. Unfortunately, in the large crowd, with students pushing and shoving past him, Harry lost Dean and Neville. He hoped the other boys made it to the boats okay but was too excited to really worry. (41)

In his boat there was one other boy and two girls. They introduced themselves as Theodore Nott, Padma Patil, and Susan Bones. They were slightly awestruck upon Harry introducing himself but recovered from it quickly and their conversation soon turned to what houses they'd be sorted into.

"I'm going to Slytherin for sure, it's the best house," Theodore Nott declared. Padma Patil wrinkled her nose.

"The best house if you want to become a Dark Lord maybe," she retorted. "I'm hoping for Ravenclaw, but Gryffindor would be alright. I'm betting that's where my sister will go so it'd be nice to be with her."

Susan nodded. "I want to go to Hufflepuff. My whole family is from there."

Theodore snorted and Susan glared at him.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing I'm just surprised. I would rather die than be sorted into the useless house."

Susan scowled. "Hufflepuff is not the useless house. Hufflepuffs are loyal and hardworking, they're they kind of people you like and respect. Unlike Slytherins," she shot back.

Theodore rolled his eyes. "Slytherins are hardworking too, it's the house for the cunning and ambitious after all. Going after your dreams isn't evil."

"Harry, what house are you interested in?" Padma intervened, stopping the argument before someone got pushed in the lake.

Harry scratched his head.

"I don't know, they all have their merits, I guess. We'll just have to see," he answered. In all honesty, Harry hadn't really thought about the sorting. It wasn't until just now watching the other students argue did he realize how significant it was. But, nonetheless, he still didn't know what house he'd prefer. He'd read a little about them in one of his books, but he didn't know much more than the basics about any of them.

xxx

Harry couldn't help but gape a little as McGonagall lead them into the entrance hall. It was huge! He looked around while she gave them a brief speech.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history, and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." (42)

McGonagall had them form a line in alphabetical order while they waited. Harry and Dean were next to each other in line and at the very end Harry saw the red-haired kid from before. Before he had a chance to introduce himself, McGonagall was leading them into the Great Hall which was even more grand than the entrance hall. Professor McGonagall lead them to the front of the room where an old hat sat on a stool. The entire hall was eerily silent for a moment before the hat opened its mouth and began to sing.

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

if you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folk use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on!

Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

The hall broke out in applause as the hat finished its song. Once it quieted down Professor McGonagall stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause -

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat. The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah. Harry smiled at her as she passed, glad that she got the house she wanted.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.

"Brocklehurst, Mandy." went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see the redheaded twin brothers catcalling. He thought that seemed slightly inappropriate considering she was eleven.

"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. Harry glanced at the Slytherin table as they cheered and welcomed her. He hadn't been worried at first, but now he was starting to feel sick. He remembered being picked for teams during gym at his old school. He had always been last to be chosen, not because he was no good, but because no one wanted Dudley to think they liked him. He was suddenly afraid that no one would want him here either.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Sometimes, Harry noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. He wondered how long it would take for him. Was it good or bad if the hat took a long time?

"Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.

"Granger, Hermione!" Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head. "GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Harry heard the boy behind him groan, Harry wasn't sure why though. She had seemed nice enough on the train.

When Neville Longbottom, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. Harry whispered good luck to him, and he smiled in return. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag." Neville was grinning like crazy and Harry gave him a thumbs up. He supposed that Neville had gotten over his fear of his gran's anger. Despite his nerves, he couldn't help but feel happy for his new friend. (43)

"Malfoy, Draco" swaggered forward when his name was called and the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" Malfoy went casually to the green table and, based on his blonde hair, Harry guess he was the boy who had stopped at their compartment.

There weren't many people left now. "Moon" then "Nott" who got his wish and was sorted into Slytherin as was "Parkinson". Then Padma and her sister. She had been right in her assumptions. She was put in Ravenclaw and her sister in Gryffindor. Then came "Perks, Sally-Anne" and then, at last - "Potter, Harry!"

Harry walked nervously up to the hat as whispers broke out through the hall and put the hat on.

"Hmm, where to put you. You'd make a great edition to any house, but which one is the best? You have plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, ah my goodness, yes - and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting... Usually by now the student has started butting in with their own opinion."

"I don't know which house is the best. Everyone seems to have very different opinions about them all," Harry replied, feeling quite overwhelmed.

"That's certainly true, perhaps you can help change that, but first I have to sort you. Hmm, throughout your life what have you wanted and valued the most?"

Harry thought back to the song the hat had sung, 'perhaps in Slytherin you'll make your true friends' and knew without a doubt that he wanted that. "Friends and family," Harry answered immediately. "I've never had a family of my own. And at school, no one wanted to be friends with me. I've always been alone. People who love you, care about you, will fight for you, and support you no matter what. I want people who will do that for me, and I want people that I want to do that for. I want a family more than anything," Harry thought surely.

"I see, however, you're the boy-who-lived. People will target any family you have. What will you do to protect them?"

Harry paused to think about that. He knew that his Uncle Vernon was worried about that, and they weren't even close. Harry thought about his resolve to be good at magic so he could get away from the Dursleys. As he remembered that, a plan formed in his mind. His answer to the hat was simple, as there was only one thing he could do.

"I'll become the most powerful wizard I can. I'll be the top of all my classes here at Hogwarts, so that when I leave, I'll already have a reputation of being smart. Then, I'll gain influence in the wizarding world, and I'll get the good will of the public so anyone who comes after me will not only be stupid but hated by the people and disciplined by the law," he answered.

The hat chuckles. "Ah, there we go. I know without a doubt you belong in... SLYTHERIN!

----

Hello! Thanks for reading, below I just have a few notes about this AU that I'd like to share.

Most important in terms of writing mechanics is that I'm American, so my knowledge of British slang is mediocre. I'm going to try my best to use British over American terms, but I'll likely miss some things. Also, I don't hang out with 11 year olds, so the dialog might be a bit more mature than what reality would be, if that bothers you I'm sorry.

Now, about the AU, I've always liked Slytherin! Harry and wondered what the chances were that he'd be sorted into Slytherin if he hadn't had such a bias against the house. In canon Harry demonstrated a few Slytherin traits, however, I was also tired of reading Slytherin Harry stories where Harry is a cold-hearted ass, so I created this story. My Harry is slightly more 'clever' than canon Harry because I think that's more realistic considering how he grew up. Same goes with the Dursley's, I'm not trying to redeem them all but I do think the canon versions are a litte too unrealistic so I changed them.

As of January 3rd, 2020 I went back through and revised parts of the chapter, and accidentally added another 4,000 words.

-I tried to keep the bank and shopping trip as short as I could because I know a lot of people think it's tacky and overdone, but it was important.

-originally, I had had Harry meet Hermione and her parents at the bookstore, but I decided to change it to Dean because I'm really fond of his character and he doesn't get used a lot in fanfiction so I thought it would be fun to expand his character a bit.

-Neville's birthday is July 30th, which is why I choose to have him and Harry meet in Madame Malkins. Also, it is a personal headcanon of mine that Harry and Neville do have a slight bond over both being possible candidates for the prophecy.

This is not going to have morally Dark! Harry.

As for plot, since Harry is in Slytherin things will obvious go very differently, however, things that Harry doesn't affect will be the same. For example, the stone is still hidden at Hogwarts but Harry doesn't know that Hagrid ever got something out of a Gringotts vault for Dumbledore.

Finally, my full author's notes are on Tumblr. I have a lot to say, so my authors notes tend to be very long. I don't want to make the AN too long for people who aren't interested so I decided to post them on my writing Tumblr, which is Bluemoon-writer. You'll notice numbers in parentheses throughout the story like this (1), these correspond to my author's notes that are on Tumblr. You'll be able to find my notes by going to my pinned post, clicking Harry Potter, then The Snake Inside, then Chapter Notes, then Chapter 1. (Or you can just scroll back to the top of this chapter where I linked them as well)

This is also going to be posted on AO3, Wattpad, and FF if you'd prefer to read it there.

Thank you for reading, sorry about the long AN.

Please review and let me know what you thought. Thoughts, opinions, suggestions tell me all of it.

#harry potter fanfiction #the snake inside #tsi #midnightsonder fanfiction #bluemoon-writer fanfiction

[browniefox]

Pro No Evens 3: Peasant Impossibility

A Pro No Evens story crossed-over with Peasant Impossibility.

A lot of credit goes to @royalflushstories for Against All Odds and @trulymightypotato in particular for Royal Expectations

... please don’t go into this is any expectations. It’s just purely fun :P

“Garuku Bluemoon.” 

The officer turned from where he stood near the end of the alley. His eyes seemed to almost light up, reflecting the light of the full moon above. 

“Oh. Mr. Kjellberg.” 

Felix usual smile, cordial and kind, was gone without a whisper of what it once was. His eyes were sharp, bearing into the man in front of him. 

“I must say. You’re acting skills are amazing, sublime even. Perhaps if it wasn’t for a bit of help, I never would’ve realized who you are, what you are.” Felix’s voice was cold. “And I hope you know I don’t much like such things messing with my business.” 

“What is this, a threat?” Gar’s voice had become a razor, cutting through the air, and body language somehow managed to say that he was both relaxed and in control of the conversation, yet also tensed and prepared to fight if something was said that went too far in the wrong direction.

“If you see it as such.” Felix shrugged, twisting his cane into the floor. “I just thought that, perhaps, you would want to keep your identity under wraps. And wouldn’t that be hard when there’s somebody out there that could spill the beans on you at any given moment.” Gar’s eyes narrowed.

“And what’s to stop me from just having you killed.” The words came in a growl, and Felix had to physically stop himself from showing any sign of fear at them.

“I may be high up, but I have friends in even higher places, friends who may be... upset, if something were to happen to me.” 

“Dammit.” Gar swore, glaring into some corner of the alley. “Molly.”

“And others.” Felix added, perhaps a bit too desperately for one playing not just with fire, but in a burning building. 

“Fine.” Gar huffed, face scrunched up in anger. “It would seem you’ve backed me into a corner, both literally and figuratively.” 

“I pulled a good hand this round.” Felix shrugged. Gar gave another frustrated and defeated huff.

And then his face shifted, bones making terrible noises as they bent and tore molding together and breaking apart. Fur sprouted across his skin, gray and almost misty. Felix stepped back in fear, almost revulsion, as the skin on Gar’s back stretched until it tore and a single wing manifested itself. Once the transformation was over, Gar opened his eyes again to reveal one blue and one red that cut directly into Felix’s soul and found every way he could be broken.

“Tell me, Felix Kjellberg, what would you have me, Garuku Bluemoon, The Demon Prince, do?”

“ahem,” Felix coughed into his fist in a poorly concealed effort to recompose himself. “j-just a moment.” He squeaked.

He then proceeded to make a strategic retreat back out of the alley to wear Cry was waiting.

“You said his secret was that he was a closet furry!” Felix whispered furiously. Cry shrugged.

“That’s what it looked like to me.” 

#pro no even #against all odds #peasant impossibility #royal expectations #pewdiepie #garuku bluemoon #felix kjellberg #cryoatic #super short too #au #of an au #au ception #browniefox writes #you know you're trash when you write fanfiction #of a fanfiction #that crosses over with another fanfiction #and is also essentially #crack #something i have never considered myself a writer of #but where it is #yeah #.... i'm so sorry #why did i do this #i wrote it at like midnight okay #i'm tired #and going to bed now #enjoy??????? #pro no evens

[bluemoon-writer]

Permanent Swap

Pairing: Percy x Reyna

Word Count: 3757

Summary: Hera knew she was meddling with fate, but she had no choice. However, she had no idea how permanent her actions would be.

Percy Jackson was not supposed to arrive at Camp Jupiter until June, yet somehow, he arrived six months early. He was supposed to have partial memories connecting him to Camp Half-Blood, yet he remembered nothing.

Hera supposed she should have known better than to try to make an unequal exchange. The fates simply evened the scales.

Author’s Notes

Read on: FF  ----   AO3 --- Wattpad

Or hit ‘keep reading’ to read on Tumblr.

Hera knew she was meddling with fate, but she had no choice. However, she had no idea how permanent her actions would be.

Percy Jackson was not supposed to arrive at Camp Jupiter until June, yet somehow, he arrived six months early. He was supposed to have partial memories connecting him to Camp Half-Blood, yet he remembered nothing.

Hera supposed she should have known better than to try to make an unequal exchange. The fates simply evened the scales.

-Ω-

'Percy Jackson,' Percy thought to himself. It was his name, one of two things he remembered about himself. The other is that he was the son of Poseidon, or Neptune, as Lupa would say. He supposed he was lucky to know who his godly parent was, but the lack of the rest of his memories made him reluctant to say so definitively.

Still, Frank was constantly wondering who his own godly parent was, so Percy was glad he had at least one thing he didn't have to worry about.

Frank arrived at the Wolf House only a few days after Percy did. They were the only two demigods there, so they quickly became sparring partners and then friends. Soon, they would leave for Camp Jupiter together. Technically, it's a journey that's supposed to be done alone, but there are no official rules about traveling together.

-Ω-

The journey to Camp Jupiter was more difficult than Percy anticipated. He felt like he had been on the road before, and some of the instincts remained. He was able to hotwire a car for them to use – steal – but it was quickly abandoned after a day when it was spotted by law enforcement.

Percy and Frank trespassed through a lot of property while running away which ended with them accidentally running into a camp of Anthropophagites, a race of cannibals, who they had to fight. They could bring themselves to loot the camp for supplies, so the two boys found themselves camping with no equipment.

They managed to gather some supplies, but the journey remained perilous. Percy estimated that they ran into two monsters a day. He assumed Frank had to be the child of someone powerful, because alone neither of them would draw that many monsters.

Eventually though, they did arrive.

-Ω-

Frank may not have known who his godly parent was, but he had papers. This was enough to accept him into the legion, even if he was put in the fifth cohort. Percy had nothing. His fate was dependent on someone be willing to stand for him. Luckily, fate was with him. For now.

A young, dark-skinned, girl stood for him and Percy let out a breath of relief.

Relief that he was safe for now.

Relief that he wouldn't be on his own anymore.

Relief because, as strange as it might seem, he already felt a sense of belonging.

-Ω-

The girl who stood for him was Hazel Levesque and she was the daughter of Pluto. Apparently, she hadn't been at Camp for that long either, but as the child of Pluto she knew how it felt to be an outsider. So, when she saw the other shake their heads at the thought of accepting a son of Neptune, she stood for him.

Since she stood for him, Hazel had to show Percy how things worked around camp, and since she was already showing him around the centurions had her show Frank as well.

It was rare that three people got along as well as they did.

Two friends was all Percy needed to ignore the hostile glares from the legionnaires.

Two friends was all Frank needed to have the confidence to speak his mind.

Two friends was all Hazel needed to not feel cursed.

-Ω-

Percy adjusted to the pace of Camp Jupiter. He was surprised that he enjoyed it so much. At first, he recoiled at the strict order, but he found peace in the stability and grew even more confident in his abilities the longer he was there. He couldn't be positive, but he felt as if he had a very chaotic childhood. Camp Jupiter was a nice respite.

Still, he didn't completely reform. He couldn't bring himself to just blindly listen to orders, and found himself, with Frank, often purposing strategies during war games.

Their centurions, Dakota and Gwen didn't listen to them the first time. However, after the trio single-handedly won the bi-weekly war game they started listening.

And for the first time in years, the fifth cohort had a five-game winning streak.

-Ω-

After doing so well in the games, it shouldn't have been a surprise for Mars to appear to claim Frank as his son. However, everyone was shocked anyways. However, they weren't surprised when he gave the trio a quest.

-Ω-

The quest was simply to retrieve the eagle, so they were quite surprised to arrive in Alaska to find Death chained and a giant guarding him. The surprise turned to worry when they realized there was an army marching towards Camp Jupiter.

They practically flew across the waves as Percy was pushing them so fast back towards camp. As they neared Camp Jupiter, they could see the monster army marching nosily towards it.

Percy pushed to go fast.

They arrived in time to warn Reyna.

They only beat the monster army by minutes, but those precious minutes of preparation saved lives.

-Ω-

Percy fought the hardest he had in his life.

Slash. Dodge. Stab. Duck.

This was his new home.

Slash. Dodge. Stab. Duck.

He had to protect it.

Slash. Dodge. Stab. Duck.

He had to face the giant.

Slash. Dodge. Stab. Duck.

He needed a god.

Terminus.

He lifted Terminus's stone head and slammed it into the giant.

The fighting ended.

Percy was lifted up on shields.

-Ω-

Praetor. Praetor. Praetor.

-Ω-

Being Praetor was large jump in responsibilities, yet Percy didn't feel worried. He had a strange feeling that he had been in a similar position.

It also helped that Reyna was a good teacher.

-Ω-

While Percy had adjusted to the pace of life of a Legionnaire, being Praetor was a whole other level. He had to learn about Politics.

The Praetors are in charge, but they can be overruled if the senators and augur combine their powers. There are also the honorary senate members to contend with who were former legionnaires. Many plans and power plays were disrupted by Percy's election on the battlefield. It had been expected that Octavian would become the next Praetor as he had been collecting votes for the election in June.

Due to this disruption, Reyna stressed to Percy how delicate the balance of power was currently. It was vital that they remain a united front.

Percy swore he would do anything to protect New Rome and Camp Jupiter.

So, he and Reyna spent the majority of their time together. She was the first person he saw in the morning and the last person he saw at night.

They were constantly seen together, whether it was at meals, watching the war games, or simply walking around New Rome.

In this way, they established an image of unity.

-Ω-

Slowly, they built a solid foundation of trust. Reyna had been leading Camp Jupiter alone for months. Everyone relied on her. Friend or lover, she needed someone she could lean on, and that was a position Percy could fill.

-Ω-

Percy enjoyed Reyna's company. She seemed familiar, but he couldn't place why. She had told him about how they met in the Sea of Monsters, but he was sure that wasn't the only place he remembered her from.

After spending several weeks joined at the hip, Percy learned that Reyna was similar to him. He didn't realize it at first, because she acted so serious, but eventually she let her guard down when they were alone. Like him, she's fiercely loyal which is why she's so strict. She prefers to fight, not plan, but learned to become a planner so she could be a better leader. And she's funny, her humor is a dry sarcasm, so Percy didn't realize that she was making a joke the first few times. Now he makes a point to laugh at all her jokes.

He also makes it his goal to make her laugh at least once every day. The first time he heard her laugh he almost had an aneurysm. It was late at night, both of them had had too much coffee, he made a dumb Rome pun, and Reyna lost it. She doubled over in laughter and Percy could only stare in amazement.

-Ω-

Their friendship was not the only thing they worked on building. Large parts of New Rome had been destroyed in the battle with Polybotes. The city needed rebuilding so that was their main task.

It worked in their favor as they decided to update many parts of the city while they rebuilt. This garnered favor with the veterans who put pressure on the senators to be more supportive of their Praetors.

The week they unveiled the new Senate building they received more oaths of loyalty than they did the day Percy became a Praetor.

-Ω-

The growing support was good because they were going to need all of it if the memories Percy recovered were true.

-Ω-

Percy's memories were coming back slowly, but they were still coming back. He remembered his mom and had vague memories of his best friend, Grover, and even vaguer memories of another camp. He couldn't remember the name or location, but he knew now that he was sent to Camp Jupiter on purpose.

Reyna was the first one he told.

-Ω-

They had assumed that there had been somewhere else for demigods to go, Percy being alive proved that. However, having actual confirmation changed things. There was a war coming, they would need the other camp's help to defeat Gaea.

So together, Percy, Reyna, Frank, and Hazel made a plan. It was obvious that Percy and Jason were switched, their next challenge was how to reveal the information to the Senate without starting a war. There were some preparations they could make now, such as adding a place for the Greeks to stay outside of the city limits to the city plans.

However, much of their planning had to wait until Percy remembered more information about the other camp.

-Ω-

Luckily, they didn't have to wait long because soon Percy met Nico di Angelo.

-Ω-

Percy thought the best way to describe meeting Nico was like getting punched in the face while having a lake poured into your ears. The moment they shook hands, he was flooded with memories, mostly things that related to the other boy.

He remembered getting the curse of Achilles. He remembered Mythomagic. He remembered Bianca and her death. But most importantly, he remembered that Nico had been at Camp Half-Blood.

So, Nico was recruited.

-Ω-

Nico was their eyes and ears in the Greek camp. Initially, he wanted them to contact Camp Half-Blood, but they had already agreed that that should be a last resort.

The reason was based in politics. They couldn't be in contact with the Greeks before even announcing their existence to the Senate, it would look like a conspiracy. And if Percy were to remain trusted by the Romans, he couldn't have anything to do with the Greeks until the Camp trusted them.

Nico had the unique position of being able to say he was an ambassador to both camps on behalf of his father. This was crucial for their new plans.

If the prophecy of the Seven was really coming true, then they would need a neutral party for the trip. The Senate would never agree to four Greeks and three Romans. So, Nico would have to be the neutral party.

Percy and Jason obviously had to go since they were the ones swapped.

Nico told them the other one guaranteed would be Leo Valdez because he was building the ship they would need.

Then it was likely to be Jason's girlfriend, Piper McLean because she went on the quest to free Hera with Jason and Leo. Percy couldn't help but notice that Reyna seemed to be sad to hear about Jason having a girlfriend.

The last person Nico thought would come was Annabeth Chase.

"She's your…close friend," Nico explained. Percy believed him. He had some memories of her, but she was mostly in the background. Still, her constant presence was enough to convince him that they were close.

-Ω-

"This memory loss is driving me crazy," Percy muttered.

"How so?" Reyna asked, looking up from her document.

"Ever since Nico arrived, I've remembered more about Camp, but the more I remember the more I'm aware of everything I've forgotten. Like, I have face in my head but no names for them. I remember what my cabin looked like, but I don't have any memories from being inside it," he vented.

Reyna reached over and patted his hand.

"They will come back in time, don't worry. Nico said that Jason has recovered many of his memories, you will too."

-Ω-

Memory loss and preparation for war aside, Percy enjoyed his life at Camp Jupiter. The more he got to know the legionnaires the more he liked them. They took longer to trust, but that was because they were in a more militaristic environment. Percy was proud that he managed to get their trust.

He was more relaxed than Reyna with them as well. He liked to joke that they had a good cop bad cop routine. However, he still carried out punishments on those who broke the rules. Reyna would remind him that he could be friendly but could not seem like a push-over.

Still, he felt a trill of happiness every time he was walking through New Rome and heard someone call him by his name and wave hello.

New Rome was another part of Camp Jupiter that Percy grew more found of every day. He was still missing many of his memories, but he could remember that he spent much of his time moving around. The idea of a safe place where he could settle down and go to school without worrying about monsters was intoxicating.

-Ω-

Reyna was trying to suppress her excitement, and Percy was instantly suspicious.

"What are you up to?"

"Just close your eyes and come with me." Percy sighed, but obediently closed his eyes. Reyna grabbed his hand and lead him through a doorway, down a hall, around a corner, and through another doorway.

"Okay, you can open them," Reyna whispered.

In front of Percy was a giant mist maker and a reflective light. Together they made a giant rainbow. He turned to Reyna in confusion. She held up a drachma.

"Call your mom."

-Ω-

Percy cried for a long time while he was on the call with his mom. She had to be sworn not to tell anyone but talking with her was the second happiest moment he had at Camp Jupiter.

The happiest happened directly afterwards when he kissed Reyna (And she kissed back).

-Ω-

Their relationship progressed slowly. They were the leaders of New Rome and Camp Jupiter and they had a war to plan. They couldn't let their relationship ruin that. But they couldn't hold back their feelings either.

It was common to see the two walking around New Rome in the evening, holding hands while discussing business.

-Ω-

Percy knew he was missing something important (Annabeth), but Reyna greeted him in the morning with coffee and a kiss.

She giggled as he tickled her.

She swung their arms as they walked hand-in-hand down the main road in New Rome.

She rubbed his back when he remembered new things.

She bit her pen while looking over document.

He kissed the spot on her forehead that she always rubbed when she was getting tired.

And he couldn't bring himself to push his memories and find out what was missing.

-Ω-

Then it was too late.

The memory came to him suddenly.

Him and Annabeth.

Underwater.

Kissing.

"Percy, what did you remember?"

Percy wouldn't forget the look in her eyes when he told her.

-Ω-

They stopped taking walks around New Rome.

-Ω-

Their relationship changed again, but it didn't become cold.

They're still friends.

Friends who have feelings for each other.

Friends who have feelings for each other and know the other likes them back.

But Reyna wasn't going to be the 'other woman'.

And Percy refused to be the douche who uses amnesia as an excuse to cheat.

So, they go back to being friends.

They're still united.

It's just a bit awkward.

-Ω-

The drama is forgotten as there are more important factors at play. Soon, it's time to present their information about the Greeks to the Senate.

Together they stood.

And the senate listened.

When the Greeks arrive, they will be tentatively accepted.

-Ω-

The Argo II parks at the convenient dock built for it. Guards are placed around it, much to the protests of one Leo Valdez.

Jason Grace is wearing a Praetor robe, and Percy scowls internally.

The four demigods descended to greet the Romans, not aware they were expecting them.

Percy remained at Reyna's side and greets them cordially.

They aren't together, but they are still united.

-Ω-

Annabeth rushes forward.

Percy doesn't.

Annabeth stops.

-Ω-

It was hard. Percy suppressed his instincts. This isn't how he would have greeted them, but it's how he had to greet them. For the benefit of Rome. Part of him wanted to run to Annabeth too, but the rest of him was rooted in Rome.

-Ω-

The plan worked.

There was no more doubt in the eyes of the Legion.

Percy Jackson may have been born Greek, but he is Roman now.

-Ω-

"I refuse," Percy said coolly.

"You can't refuse! I was elected Praetor first. It is only right that we return to the positions we left behind," Jason argued.

"And I was elected when you disappeared. At this point, I've been Praetor longer. I swore an oath and I am not going to break it. So, I say again, I refuse to step down."

Jason glared at him from across the table. Percy thought he understood why Jason was so fervent about getting his position back though.

"Reyna, do you mind if Jason and I talk alone for a moment?"

Reyna nodded and Percy tried to ignore the betrayal in Annabeth's eyes.

-Ω-

"You don't really want to be Praetor again, you just don't want your friends to see you as a traitor," Percy said as they stepped into his private meeting room.

Jason sighed and sank into a chair, "How did you know?"

"Because that's how I feel about Camp Half-Blood."

"What? The campers could never see you as a traitor, you're practically a legend there!"

"How do you think they'll feel when they find out that I don't want to come back? That I'd prefer to be the leader of another camp?"

"…I understand. You really like Camp Jupiter that much?"

"Yes," Percy answered confidently.

"Ah, okay, I won't fight you on Praetorship," Jason said with a grin. Percy noticed that a weight seemed to be lifted off him.

"Thank the gods, Octavian is enough trouble," Percy joked. Jason let out a small laugh.

"But, if you come back to Camp Half-Blood and try to take my position there then we'll have to fight," Jason warned. Percy nodded his agreement.

"Ok, and Jason? Don't worry about being seen as a traitor. The legionnaires aren't dumb, they'll be able to tell that you still care about New Rome."

"Right back at you, Jackson."

-Ω-

He breaks up with Annabeth.

"Is it because of her?"

"No! Yes…yes and no. I care about you, but I don't remember most of our time dating. I still can't tell what memories are real and what are just dreams. I remember fully all of my time with Reyna and…I do have feelings for her. I'm sorry Annabeth, but it wouldn't be fair…"

"Percy, I understand."

Still, he couldn't help but feel like the biggest asshole on the planet.

Every day, he remembers more about her and their relationship and those memories war with the ones he has with Reyna.

He can't be with either right now, not with a war coming.

-Ω-

They drop Annabeth off at Camp Half-Blood to prepare the camp for war.

Then they head for Greece.

-Ω-

While Annabeth and Reyna ready their camps to fight Gaea's army, the seven have two tasks.

Free the Doors of Death and stop Gaea from rising.

Easier said than done.

But they're the chosen seven.

They make do.

(Leo dies in the process, but he comes back so it's fine)

-Ω-

The war was over, but Percy couldn't rest until he knew Reyna was safe.

(She was)

-Ω-

Together they return to Rome and rebuild once more.

-Ω-

This time, Reyna kisses him first and they start taking walks through the city again.

-Ω-

Piper comes to Camp Jupiter as Camp Half-Blood's official ambassador. Her official reason is that she wants to be closer to her dad. The real reason is that she broke up with Jason.

She couldn't help but doubt the validity of her relationship due to the memory manipulation. Percy can relate more than anyone and welcomes her with open arms.

-Ω-

Reyna retires first and assumes an advisor position while going to college.

Percy misses her but he can't be upset about working with one of his best friends. And thanks to Reyna, he's able to train Frank well.

-Ω-

Eventually, Piper returns to Camp Half-Blood.

Someone needs to fill the ambassador position.

So, Percy retires.

He thinks Hazel will make a great Praetor, and he's looking forward to college.

He convinced his mom and Paul to move to New Rome so he could still be near them. His mom can work anywhere, and Percy was able to get Paul a position as a lecturer. He's looking forward to being taught by him again.

-Ω-

(Word comes that Annabeth and Jason got together)

-Ω-

Finally, they're able to settle down.

Reyna rents a storefront not far from camp and starts a martial arts school directed to help troubled kids while Percy is able to get a job as a marine biologist.

Eventually, he gets down on one knee too.

(She says yes)

AN: pls comment your thoughts!

#pjo #percy jackson #hoo #roman percy #fanfiction #reyna ramirez arellano #percy x reyna #preyna #midnightsonder fanfiction #bluemoon-writer fanfiction

[bluemoon-writer]

It Is Not Unusual

Word Count: 4k

Summary: When the safety of one's family is put at risk by a serial killing madman, it is not unusual for one to make plans to ensure the safety of one's family. This is, of course, what the Potters did when they discovered Voldemort had a vested interest in preventing their son's continuation of life.

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Author's Notes

When the safety of one's family is put at risk by a serial killing madman, it is not unusual for one to make plans to ensure the safety of one's family. This is, of course, what the Potters did when they discovered Voldemort had a vested interest in preventing their son's continuation of life.

The couple cut themselves off from society, with the exception of a few friends, and retreated behind a fidelius charm. This charm, they hoped, would be enough to save them from being found by Voldemort.

However, it is not unusual for those, when faced with the possible deaths of their loved ones, to come up with a backup plan, just in case the first should fail. In fact, it is not unusual to come up with several plans for in the event of different outcomes. It is especially not unusual when the couple in question contains an Auror and the brightest witch of their generation.

With such genius in one couple, it is not unusual for them to have extremely talented and dedicated friends as well. Friends who, in no uncertain terms, would do anything to keep the couple and their son safe. Especially when one such friend is not only the godfather to their son, but also like a brother to the couple.

So, it is not unusual that many late nights were spent in the couple's kitchen, with their son safely asleep upstairs, planning contingencies for events that may never occur. The couple had three close friends who would join them often in their planning, however, the couple remained ever conscious of two of their friend's shortcomings and so it was not unusual for most of the planning to remain between the couple and their son's godfather.

This is not to say that the couple cut out their other two friends. In fact, the one that closely resembled a rat became their secret keeper. However, these two friends did have disadvantages that would prevent them from being able to fully assist the couple and the couple loved their friends so much that they did not want to burden them with plans that they knew their friends would not able to assist in.

It is not unusual for one to be unable to help their friend despite truly wanting to. These two friends in particular, were most commonly known as Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. Although, it was not unusual for them both to be called another name as well.

The issues surrounding the two friends were quite simple; one was a werewolf and one was a coward. Now, the couple did not think less of either of their friends for either of these things, however, it did prevent them from being able to fully help to the best of their abilities. For if Lord Voldemort should come during a full moon any plan involving Remus Lupin would be useless, and if Lord Voldemort should come at all it was questionable whether Peter Pettigrew would have the courage to help.

This is one of the few things that worked in the couple's favor, for it is not unusual for a friend turned traitor to keep their change in allegiance a secret as Peter Pettigrew did. Fortunately, Peter Pettigrew did not know many of the Potters' plans and thus had little to report to Lord Voldemort.

Until the couple made one fatal miscalculation.

However, a multitude of things happened before that, as it is also not unusual for one in an extremely stressful situation, for instance having a murdering madman out to kill your infant child, to reach out to others in a similar position. James and Lily Potter may not have been close friends with Frank and Alice Longbottom in Hogwarts, but they were certainly friends upon realizing the similar positions they were in.

At first, they were both cautious to reveal their plans to each other. Not out of paranoia that the other couple would sell the information to Voldemort for their own safety, both couples thought too highly of each other to even consider the possibility, but rather out of the general paranoia that comes with having the life of your family and infant child at risk.

However, it is not unusual that this same paranoia that kept them from revealing their secrets at first eventual brought them much closer. For when one only has one other person to confide one's plans in (for similar to the Potters, the Longbottoms had only really confided in one other person, Frank's mother Augusta) it is not unusual for one to desire another person to act, if not as a confidant, then as a soundboard.

And thus, the Potters and Longbottoms shared a great deal of their plans together. Secret meetings between the six adults were disguised as play-dates between their sons and the adults took these opportunities to practice many of their plans. In this manner, the two couples were able to improve and tweak many of their plans.

It is not unusual that, having spent so much time together and assisting each other both physically and emotionally, that eventually the conversations evolved into joint plans between the couples. For both couples were kind souls and if their new friends became Voldemort's target then they would like to help in whatever manner they could, and there were oh so few people they could trust that neither couple wanted to give up the offer of additional support.

So in hindsight, it is not unusual for events to have played out the way they did, however none of the six adults could have possibly predicted the way things would unravel, for the two young couples were not the only ones making plans.

X

Lord Voldemort is many things, but indecisive is not one of them. Once presented with the option between killing a half-blood infant or a pureblood infant, he easily chose the half-blood. However, it is not unexpected or unusual that this choice presented its own problems.

The biggest problem goes by the name of Severus Snape and is a problem because it is unusual to still be desperately in love with someone who has not only ceased all contact you but married your sworn enemy and given birth to his child.

Of course there were other smaller problems, such as determining where the Potters were hiding, but the inexplicable love Severus Snape still held for Lily Potter proved to be the most grating issue for Voldemort.

Because it is not unusual for one to plead desperately for the life of the one woman you love to be spared. And so, that is what Severus Snape did, frequently.

And, considering the circumstances, (Voldemort was only interested in killing the boy, Snape was an asset that he wished to maintain, and the possibility of recruiting the Potters, however slim the possibility may be) it is not unusual that Lord Voldemort agreed to Severus Snape's demands to spare Lily Potter.

X

On the night of October 31st, after months of careful planning on behalf of both the Potters and Lord Voldemort, as any true proponent of Murphy's Law would say, it is not unusual that everything that could have gone wrong did.

Sirius Black, who had taken to spending most of his nights at the hidden Potter residence for extra security, was suddenly called away for an unexplained emergency.

Said emergency was in actuality a Death Eater ambush designed to distract attention from Lord Voldemort's attack on the Potter home.

And the unfortunate Potters, despite all their planning, were not prepared to take on a Dark Lord.

It is not unusual when faced with an emergency that one immediately forgets any plans one might have made.

So, when Lord Voldemort appeared in Godric's Hallow and magically knocked down the door of the Potter residence, James Potter, still in his pajamas, rushed from his bedroom to face the Dark Lord alone.

And, despite being an Auror and a great duelist and all around talented, it is not unusual that it took Lord Voldemort less than a minute to kill James Potter.

It is not unusual that in the couple, it was Lily Potter who remembered the plans and rushed to the nursery to save her son. Unfortunately, she was not fast enough as James Potter already lay dead at the top of the stairs and Voldemort was stepping over his body and was rapidly approaching the nursery where the sleeping Harry Potter lay.

It is not unusual for one to freeze in shock upon seeing the death of one's spouse and that is exactly what Lily Potter did as Voldemort pushed passed her. However, her grief over her husband was not so great as to blind her to the soon-to-be fate of her son. And as Voldemort raised his wand arm and opened his mouth to speak that same incantation that stole the life of James Potter only seconds before, it is not at all unusual that Lily Potter found the strength to leap in front of her son's crib.

Just as Voldemort is not indecisive, he is also not a slow reactor. As Lily Potter appeared before him, Voldemort was given the sudden choice to keep his promise to Severus Snape and spare her or simply kill her. He was not sure which option was more merciful and he was not in the business of caring even as he made the split-second decision to change his killing curse into a strong stunner.

Nonetheless, whether Voldemort cast the infamous killing curse or not, when Lily Potter jumped in front of her son's crib she did so with the intent of dying for him and a mother's sacrifice is a mother's sacrifice, regardless of whether or not she actually died; it is the intent that matters.

So when Lord Voldemort raised his arm once more to cast the killing curse and finally fulfill the prophecy it is not unusual that instead of doing as it was supposed to and killing the infant before him, it rebounded and destroyed the physical form of the Dark Lord known as Lord Voldemort.

X

It is not unusual that Sirius Black, gifted young man that he was, realized that he had been sent into an ambush and escaped just before several dozen curses could be showered down upon him.

It is also not unusual that the first place he went, upon realizing the ambush, was Godric's Hallow to check on the safety of his friends.

It is not unusual that upon seeing the destruction that was the home of his two best friends that Sirius Black nearly fell to his knees in horror.

It is not unusual that he did fall to his knees when he saw the body of his best friend laying at the top of the stairs.

It is not unusual that, as still as she lay, he assumed Lily Potter to be as equally dead as her husband.

It is not unusual that, upon hearing the faint cries of a baby, Sirius Black pushed himself out of his grief briefly to see what had become of his godson.

It is not unusual that at the sight of his godson, crying like a banshee and bleeding from his forehead but otherwise alright, Sirius Black allowed fat tears to roll down his cheeks.

It is not unusual that Sirius Black swore, then and there, that he would do everything in his power to keep his godson safe until his dying breath.

It is not unusual that baby Harry quieted when his godfather picked him up, despite the large tears still running down his face.

It is not unusual that Sirius Black, grief-stricken from the loss of his family, suddenly remembered the plan for the scenario where both James and Lily were killed.

It is not unusual that Sirius Black mentally gripped the plan as if it were a lifeline and he was drowning.

It is not unusual that he held his godson slightly too tightly as he fled the home, all of his energy focused on getting his godson somewhere safe.

It is not unusual that the sudden arrival of Rubeus Hagrid startled him.

It is not unusual that Sirius Black refused to hand his godson over to the half-giant on Dumbledore's word that the baby would be safe. That same word had promised that James and Lily would be safe under the fidelius charm.

And it is certainly not unusual that Sirius Black upon being cornered, stunned the half-giant and apparated away.

X

It is not unusual that Voldemort, massive control freak that he was, forced all Death Eaters to be marked with a special symbol that linked them to him, so it is not unusual that upon his destruction they were all made immediately aware due to this bond.

The unexpected disappearance of their master caused mass panic among the Death Eaters who suddenly had no directions on what to do.

This is with the exception of one Death Eater by the name of Severus Snape who was filled with hope that the disappearance of Voldemort meant that the life of the woman he loved had not been recklessly ended.

It is not unusual that the young potions master immediately rushed to Godric's Hallow to discover for himself whether Lily Potter had lived.

Naturally, he was horrified minutes later to see the young woman lying unnaturally still on the ground.

It is not unusual that he also assumed her to be dead, and fell to his knees in grief.

However, Lily Potter was not dead.

And so, it is not unusual or strange or even slightly surprising that upon waking in a sobbing Severus Snape's arms, with her husband's dead body only feet from her and her infant son's crib empty, that Lily Potter immediately went into hysterics.

It is also not unusual that Severus Snape dropped Lily Potter on the ground in shock the moment it registered in his mind that she was not dead.

It is not unusual that this sudden, though not large, fall shocked Lily out of her shock.

It may have been unusual, but it was certainly not surprising that, childhood friends or not, Lily Potter drew her wand on the Death Eater sitting in her nursery and demanded to know where her son was.

It was also not surprising that Severus Snape had no answers, for he did not care in the least what happened to her son and had not even realized that the crib was empty.

It is not unusual that Lily Potter immediately left the house in search of her missing son.

Luckily for her, just outside the house, a stunned half-giant was also waking up. A half-giant who was gob smacked to see Lily Potter standing before him. This half-giant quickly relayed to her that her son was alive and Sirius Black had taken him Merlin-knows-where.

It is not unusual that Lily Potter refused Hagrid's assistance in pursuing Sirius Black for she remembered the plan and knew exactly where he was, and, as much as she believed in Hagrid's good-intentions, Sirius would not have stunned the half-giant without good reason and, as he currently was protecting her son, at the moment Sirius Black was the only person Lily Potter trusted.

X

It is not unusual that the first thing Sirius did after reaching the safe house was contact the Longbottoms. He didn't know Voldemort's plans and there was a chance that the Longbottoms were going to be attacked next.

As Sirius Black went to contact Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew however, he realized there would have to be a change in plans.

Peter Pettigrew had been the Potter's secret keeper which meant that he was the only one who could have sold the Potters out to Voldemort was Peter and suddenly Sirius Black felt like he was free falling.

It is not unusual that suddenly just having a plan did not seem like good enough preparation at all. Sirius Black didn't know who he could trust, barring the Longbottoms. He wanted to believe that Remus and Hagrid and Dumbledore were all still his allies and that he could trust them, but it is not unusual that in the light of Peter's betrayal he couldn't bring himself to risk it.

Fortunately, he did not have to wallow in this mindset for long as only minutes after he arrived the door burst open and Lily Potter stepped inside the small building.

Sirius Black whirled around, clutching baby Harry in one hand and his wand in the other. It is up to the discretion of the reader to decide which he was griping tighter.

It is not unusual that Lily Potter's voice was high pitched and desperate as she urgently tried to convince Sirius Black that she was not an illusion, and was, in fact, not dead.

Sirius Black, paranoid as he was at the moment, was quick to believe. It is unknown whether that was because he knew her so well that he instantly recognized her or because he so desperately wanted it to be true.

But it is not unusual that as soon as Sirius's wand was down, the two were embracing, nearly squishing Harry to death in the process. Sirius passed Lily her son and she smothered her baby in kisses until her relief turned into tears and Sirius was gently holding her again.

They spent the remainder of the night huddled together on the couch, unable to sleep and unwilling to let each other part from sight lest they were an illusion. However, eventually exhaustion over took them and a restless sleep found them, if only for a few hours.

X

It is not unusual for plans to have to change suddenly, and Lily and Sirius awoke knowing they would have to make some adjustments, however they severely underestimated how big the adjustments would have to be as the next morning also brought the news that Voldemort was dead.

The news was delivered in person by Augusta Longbottom herself, one of three, formerly four, other people who knew the location of the safe house.

However, Augusta did not only bring good news. Along with news of Voldemort's death was an arrest warrant for one Sirius Black who was wanted in suspicion of being a Death Eater.

It is not unusual for one to become completely and utterly enraged, especially after a trying event such as the attempted murder of one's family.

And so, it surprised no one, that Sirius Black darkly swore that he would prove his innocence by bringing in the real rat that had betrayed them.

Unfortunately, it is not unusual that plans made in a fit a rage rarely work out.

X

It is not unusual for one to be so consumed in one's own issues that one fails to notice the plans made by others.

Thus is the scenario that Lily Potter finds herself in upon arriving at the Order of the Phoenix Headquarters to find that funeral preparations were already underway for not only James but Lily as well, and a manhunt was being planned to find Sirius Black.

Given the above statements about funeral plans, it is not unusual that the assembled members of the Order of the Phoenix were quite shocked to see Lily Potter walk into the middle of their meeting.

One might think that things could not get worse for Lily, and one would be wrong. If things had been going downhill before, then now they had sudden rolled off a cliff and were free falling into a pit of razor sharp rocks.

Because Dumbledore also had been making plans; plans that had not accounted for Lily Potter surviving. Dumbledore, though he liked the Potters and did not relish their deaths, had accepted that it was the best option and necessary to triumph over Voldemort (as with James and Lily dead and Sirius Black incarcerated then Dumbledore alone would have influence over the young Harry Potter) as Dumbledore was nearly positive that the Dark Lord was not truly dead.

And unfortunately for Lily Potter, Dumbledore was a faster planner.

It only took the suggestion of letting someone else hold her son for while to set Lily off, and this was reason enough for Dumbledore to sadly claim she was hysterical over the loss of her husband and have her admitted to St. Mungo's psychiatric ward, for her own safety of course. Leaving Harry in the hands of Dumbledore who had decided to continue with his plan to the best of his ability and left the baby at the doorstep of the Dursley residence.

However, while Dumbledore might have been a faster planner, Lily Potter was still the brightest witch of her generation and just as one knows not to get between a mother bear and its cub, one should also not get between Lily Potter and her son.

It is not unusual that in three days Lily Potter was able to invent a genius plan, and it is not unusual that on each of the three days that plan had to change slightly.

For on day two, Sirius Black found Peter Pettigrew and it is not unusual that one as treacherous and cowardly as Peter Pettigrew would be willing to blow up an entire street in order to fake his own death and escape leaving Sirius Black to answer for crimes he did not commit.

Worse yet, in the evening of day three, Alice Longbottom returned home to find the dark mark hanging above her home; inside her son sat screaming, her husband lay dead, and her mother-in-law lay close to death. For the remaining Death Eaters had also made plans, plans for revenge on those who had stood against their Lord.

Early in the morning on day four, Alice Longbottom found herself at St. Mungo's in a similar state to Lily Potter. Her husband was dead, her son had been separated from her, and her only other ally was physically unable to help her.

So, considering the circumstances, it is not at all unusual that Alice Longbottom decided to break Lily Potter, the only person left that she trusted, out of St. Mungo's psychiatric ward.

X

It is not unusual that two women as talented as Alice Longbottom and Lily Potter were easily able to discover the location of their children.

Neville had been taken temporarily to the Weasley home as Molly Weasley had already had seven children and briefly watching one more was a simple task for the matronly woman. However, as capable of watching children as she was, Molly Weasley was still human and it is not unusual that she had fallen asleep in the nursery rocking chair, particularly because it was so early that the sun had not yet risen.

It was a simple matter for Alice to walk over and pluck her son from the makeshift crib he was laying in while Lily acted as a lookout.

It was mere minutes before the two women were at the Dursley residence which stood silent in the darkness. Lily easily made her way upstairs to the nursery expecting to find her son in the same room as Petunia's son Dudley.

However, the Dursleys had not put Harry in Dudley's nursery. In fact, they had not Harry in any of the rooms in their house. For the Dursleys were strong believers in the motto, "Out of sight, out of mind" and had shut Harry in the cupboard under the stairs.

Because of this, it took Lily Potter several agonizing minutes to discover her son.

It is not unusual that, in her rage at her sister's cruel treatment, Lily Potter decided to steal the Dursley's car and perhaps a spare change of clothes for both her and Alice.

Of course, borrowing the car had been in Lily's plan to begin with, as neither woman trusted magical transportation at the moment, however she had originally planned on returning it.

Now, however, upon arriving at the airport, Lily handed the car keys to a homeless man and wiped his memory of both her and the airport.

It is not unusual that the morning of November 4th, 1981 that Lily Potter and Alice Longbottom took their sons and disappeared.

It is not unusual that, as they boarded a plane for the distant United States, for once neither woman had a plan.

---

AN: It is not unusual for an author, who despite having not only many other stories to work on, but assignments for school as well, to begin another series that they likely don't have the time to finish.

Just joking, this is a stand alone one-shot (for now).

I know that not all of the uses of ‘It is not unusual’ fit quite right but I had to do it for the A E S T H E T I C

#harry potter fanfiction #midnightsonder fanfiction #bluemoon-writer fanfiction

[bluemoon-writer]

LoaP - Chapter 5

Word Count: 270

Summary: Drabble series about Percy’s time as a Praetor, based off my story Permanent Swap.

Chapter 5 - Author's Notes

Read on: FF --- Ao3 --- Wattpad

Or hit 'keep reading' to read on Tumblr.

Reyna slammed the door to their shared workspace and glared at Percy. The windows made a high-pitched whining as the wind howled against them.

"How many times have I told you to be careful?" Reyna hissed.

Percy glared back; he was not in the mood to be chastised.

"It was one person! Nothing happened that can't be fixed," Percy argued.

"But it shouldn't have happened in the first place!" Reyna exclaimed. "I have told you countless times how important it is that we look like a united force. All it takes is one person for a rumor to spread, why don't you understand that?"

Percy knew she was right and that he messed up, but he was mad and couldn't bring himself to apologize. "Of course, I know that! Don't talk down to me like you know more than me."

"I do know more than you, which is why you're supposed to do what I say," Reyna shot back.

Percy recoiled. "So, you lied to me? I thought we were supposed to be partners and work together, or are we just putting on a show for the camp?"

Reyna froze, "Is that what you really think?"

Percy shrugged uncomfortably. His anger was leaving him and he was starting to feel guilty for yelling. He did feel like Reyna was making most of the plans and decisions, but he knew that was only because he had only been Praetor for two weeks. He shook his head, he couldn't have this conversation while he was still mad.

"I can't talk about this right now. I'll see you in the morning," he muttered.

#life of a praetor #midnightsonder fanfiction #bluemoon-writer fanfiction

[bluemoon-writer]

LwS - Chapter 1

Word Count: 773

Summary: Harry decides to sit with the Slytherins for lunch and slowly they become friends. Drabble series Part Crack fic, part serious.

Chapter 1 - Author's Notes

Read on: FF --- Ao3 --- Wattpad

Or hit ‘keep reading’ to read it on Tumblr.

Harry fidgeted in his seat. He loved his friends but the concerned and pitying looks on his friends’ faces was starting to drive him crazy. He knew they were worried about him after everything that happened the previous year and with Cedric, but he didn’t want any more sympathy.

His eyes fixed on the Slytherin table; they wouldn’t throw concerned looks at him. They might throw curses at him instead, but that was something he could counter. In fact, he wouldn’t mind a fight to be honest.

He jumped up from the Gryffindor table, “You guys stay here. I’ll see you after lunch,” he called to Ron and Hermione.

Then, he made a beeline to the Slytherin table, plopping down into an open spot next to Draco Malfoy. He grabbed a plate and started filling it with food.

“Uh Potter? What the fuck are you doing?” Draco asked.

“I’m eating,” Harry replied with his mouth full.

“Obviously,” drawled Blaise Zabini, “but I believe my housemate meant, why are you eating here?”

Harry paused, in hindsight, he couldn’t fight the entire table. Oh well, he’d just have to use a new strategy. “I’ve decided we should be friends.”

Pansy Parkinson raised a delicate eyebrow, “And what if we don’t want to be friends with you?”

Harry gave her a charming smile, “Then I’ll win you over with my incredible charisma! Plus, I’m the boy-who-lived why wouldn’t you want to be friends with me?”

Harry could of sworn he heard someone mutter ‘cocky prat’ but he couldn’t be sure because Theodore Nott suddenly started coughing very loudly.

“And what gave you this idea in the first place?” Draco gritted.

“Well, I’m just taking you up om your offer from first year,” Harry said casually, “You’re not going back on your word, are you Draco?”

Draco stiffened. “Of course not, but I didn’t give you permission to call me by my first name,” Draco said stiffly.

“Well, if we’re going to be friends shouldn’t we call each other by our first names?” Harry reasoned.

“He makes a good point, Draco,” Theodore Nott said from across the table. Harry flashed a grin at the other boy, he didn’t realize that the Slytherins could be fun.

Daphne Greengrass sniffed daintily, “I wouldn’t mind becoming friends with the boy-who-lived, what about you Pansy?”

Pansy clasped her hands together, “Yes, I think it would be a splendid opportunity!”

Harry wondered if it was too late to back out, as the two girls were looking at him like he was a snack they were going to eat. Hopefully, they would go for his head first so it would be a quick death.

Blaise hummed, “It will certainly be interesting to eat lunch every day with the infamous golden boy.”

Draco sighed, “You can’t be serious.”

Theodore gave Harry a sharp grin, “And what will we get out of being friends with you?”

Harry pretended to think hard, “Well…your reputation is rather important to you isn’t it? Any friend of mine will have an instant reputation boost.” Harry admittedly didn’t know much about Slytherins, but one of the only things he did know was that they are prideful and care greatly about appearances.

“More important than that,” Pansy interjected, “What will you get out of being friends with us?”

Harry imitated Dumbledore’s voice, “Ah young Harry is so kind and unbiased that he is even willing to try and befriend the Slytherins who have bullied him since his first year.”

“I don’t think you of all people need a reputation boost though,” Blaise mused. Harry grinned; he wasn’t sure if they would understand his meaning, but he supposes he underestimated them.

“Not on my side, but I’m sure there are many on yours that think I’m a stuck-up prat who thinks he’s better than them,” Harry answered seriously. He didn’t come here to make friends, but he was having a surprisingly fun time teasing Draco, and there would be benefits to being friends with them. Voldemort is back, if someone does intervene then these Slytherins are going to be the next generation of Death Eater.

“Well, I’m willing to give you a test run,” Daphne said.

“I second that!” Pansy said quickly. The two girls exchanged small smirks.

“Third,” Theodore added.

“Fourth,” Blaise said lazily.

Harry looked over at Draco who was gradually turning red and was repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fist. “And what do you say Draco?”

The blond boy sighed and rubbed his forehead.

“Fine, we can do a test run,” he muttered reluctantly.

Harry slung an arm around Draco’s shoulders and whooped, “This is going to be fun!”

#Lunch with slytherin #harry potter fanfiction #midnightsonder fanfiction #bluemoon-writer fanfiction

[bluemoon-writer]

LoaP - Chapter 6

Word Count: 336

Summary: Drabble series about Percy’s time as a Praetor, based off my story Permanent Swap.

Chapter 6 - Author's Notes

Read on: FF --- Ao3 --- Wattpad

Or hit 'keep reading' to read on Tumblr.

Percy couldn't sleep, his argument with Reyna still on his mind. He will admit, he was in a bad mood. Does that justify him being a dick? No, but it makes it a little more understandable.

He found himself getting out of bed and wandering outside, if he wasn't going to sleep he could go do something useful and check on the guards. As he opened the door, he heard a bang come from the back of the building.

He went over to investigate and found that the ladder had fallen.

"Percy, can you help me with that?" a voice came from the roof. Percy looked up to see Reyna on her knees at the edge of the roof.

"Reyna?" he asked in surprise as he went to get the ladder. He leaned in against the building and Reyna slowly climbed down.

"Why are you still up?" Percy asked.

"Probably the same reason as you, I can't stop think about our argument."

"Oh," Percy wasn't sure what to say. He wasn't angry anymore, but he still wasn't pleased with Reyna.

"Look, Percy, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that it seemed like I was just bossing you around. I guess I'm not used to being a teacher rather than a general," Reyna said.

Percy scratched the back of his head, feeling like a dick.

"No, Reyna, I'm sorry. I should have told you how I felt earlier. I got mad for no reason."

"So did I. I was thinking about it, and what happened really wasn't a big deal. I made a mountain out of a mole hill."

"I understand, everything seems worse when you're stressed. How about we just forget this ever happened?" Percy suggested.

Reyna smiled at him and nodded, "I can agree with that plan."

Percy grinned back, "Then we only needed to figure out what to do about that centurion I fucked up with."

"Ah, we'll figure it out in the morning. What's important is that we come up with a solution together."

#life of a praetor #midnightsonder fanfiction #bluemoon-writer fanfiction

[bluemoon-writer]

LoaP - Chapter 4

Word Count: 544

Summary: Drabble series about Percy’s time as a Praetor, based off my story Permanent Swap.

Chapter 4 - Author's Notes

Read on: FF --- Ao3 --- Wattpad

Or hit 'keep reading' to read on Tumblr.

Percy was on a high as they left the Senate building. Reyna and he walked down the main road in silence for several minutes. Reyna kept trying to subtly look over their shoulders.

"So, are we spies now? Are we trying to lose a tail," he finally asked.

"No, I'm trying to make sure that they're watching," Reyna said in a low voice before adding, "And when I grab your hand start smiling at me."

Before Percy could ask what was going on, Reyna whispered, "Now!", grabbed his hand, and dragged him into a small coffee shop. Percy wasn't much of an actor, so it took all his mental willpower to get the big, goody grin on his face.

Inside the coffee shop, Reyna led them to a secluded in the back corner where she sat down with a sigh of relief. Percy tapped his foot anxiously.

"So? Do you think it went well? And what was the hand holding about?"

Reyna took a long sip of her coffee. Percy wasn't sure where she got it from and could only assume, she was purposefully dragging this out to torture him, the cruel woman.

"Yes, I think it went spectacularly," Reyna said, a small smile appearing around her cup.

"How can you tell?" Percy asked curiously. He could tell the senators didn't hate him, but he had no clue if they were impressed or nor.

"I know because the senate is all fake, except for today."

Percy shook his head, "What, do you mean they usually send cardboard cutouts instead of going in person?"

Reyna set her cup down. "No, I mean, their reactions are usually fake. The politics can get rough, it's common for most senators to wear a mask to hide their true feelings. However, today the masks fell."

Percy slowly caught on to what Reyna was saying, "Ah, so I was so cool and amazing that they forgot to maintain their masks," Percy said cockily.

Reyna rolled her eyes, "Oh yes, however did you know?" she asked sarcastically.

"So why did you drag me in here like that?" Percy asked in confusion.

Reyna held up her fingers, "Two reasons. One, to maintain our image of unity. True partners will go out to celebrate with each other. Two, to see their genuine reactions to us being a team. The ones who looked happy are people we can trust-"

"And the ones who looked angry we need to be wary of," Percy filled in. "That's really clever, I honestly admire you." Percy felt a little lame. They were supposed to work together, but he didn't feel like he was contributing as much.

Reyna blushed, "Thank you Percy, I know today you had to put a lot of trust in my and my plans, but I'm confident that you would have made a great Praetor even if I wasn't here. In the future, we'll make the plans together."

Percy grinned and nodded at her. She said exactly what he needed to hear.

Percy leaned over and grabbed an empty cup left at the table nearest to them. He raised his cup and waited until Reyna reluctantly did the same, "Cheers to our first successful Senate meeting! Here's to hoping future ones will be equally successful."

#life of a praetor #midnightsonder fanfiction #bluemoon-writer fanfiction

[bluemoon-writer]

LoaP - Chapter 3

Word Count: 495

Summary: Drabble series about Percy’s time as a Praetor, based off my story Permanent Swap.

Chapter 3 - Author's Notes

Read on: FF --- Ao3 --- Wattpad

Or hit 'keep reading' to read on Tumblr.

"This senate meeting is really just a formality. You've already been elected, they can't unelect you, not yet at least. But, you do need to make a good first impression, not everyone wanted you to become Praetor, and those are the people we have to win over," Reyna rambled as they walked towards the Senate building.

"Reyna don't stress out. Everything will go fine," Percy said soothingly. If anyone should be freaking out right now it should be him, Percy thought it was a little unfair of Reyna to take the role of 'the nervous one' without even asking him.

Reyna shook her head. "No, you don't understand how important this is, if the Senate thinks you're unfit then they'll blockade anything we try to do."

'Ah, shit,' Percy thought to himself. 'I underestimated the importance of this.'

Percy nodded slowly, "I understand. Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it."

This is his first day as Praetor, he felt bad for not being able to contribute more to the decision making, but he didn't even know the rules and customs yet.

"Okay, we have to seem united, but we can't appear as if one is leading the other."

Percy nodded again. It made sense, there are several reasons to have two Praetors. The first reason is for the workload and loneliness, second reason would be in case one of them dies or gets sick, but the most important is the third reason which is to keep each other in check.

"I see, but how do we do that?"

"We'll utilize your proposal, as a new Praetor you have to propose the first project you want to work on as Praetor. The senate will either approve or disprove the plan."

"Let me guess, I'm going to propose fixing the damage from the battle?"

"Bingo," Reyna answered with a grin. "We'll split the proposal in two to show that we both support the idea and worked together on it, but by splitting it up we also show that we're doing equal work."

"That's smart. So, I should focus on discussing the aqueduct and water system while you discuss the other damages in New Rome?" Percy knew instinctively how sewers and aqueducts work, he assumed it was the same as how he automatically knew his way around a boat.

"You catch on quick. I'd also like you to mention weaponry that was lost during the battle and propose the plan to rearm the legionnaires."

That was also something easy for Percy, especially because they had brought all that gold from Alaska back. If there was one thing that Percy might know better than water, it was weapons.

Percy grinned and fist bumped Reyna, "Sounds like a plan!"

He was admittedly a little nervous, he'd only been at Camp Jupiter for about a month, but with Reyna's plan he was confident that they'd be able to win over the Senators.

Together they entered the Senate building.

#life of a praetor #midnightsonder fanfiction #bluemoon-writer fanfiction

[bluemoon-writer]

LoaP - Chapter 2

Word Count: 502

Summary: Drabble series about Percy’s time as a Praetor, based off my story Permanent Swap.

Chapter 2 - Author's Notes

Read on: FF --- Ao3 --- Wattpad

Or hit 'keep reading' to read on Tumblr.

Percy sighed as he looked over his new residence. He missed the fifth cohort, he didn't sleep there for long, but he felt a connection while he was there. Now, he felt isolated and alone. He laid down slowly but found it hard to fall asleep without the reassuring sounds of people sleeping around him.

"Ah, screw it," Percy muttered and wandered outside. He couldn't just lay there and hope for sleep, if he couldn't sleep then he would do something.

Outside felt more peaceful. There was no one in sight, but Percy at once felt less lonely due to the regular sounds of nature. It was a nice night, it was surprisingly warm, but maybe that's just because he's used to colder weather.

Percy wandered around the building, looking for a good place to sit. He climbed a ladder at the back of the building, thinking he could get an unobstructed view of New Rome. To his surprise, he wasn't the only one up there. Reyna was seated on a blanket, leaning back on her elbows, and staring at the sky. She didn't look over as Percy approached.

"Do you mind?" he asked.

Reyna looked over and waved her hand, "Be my guest."

Percy sat next to her and looked up at the stars. It was a good night for stargazing, there were no clouds obstructing the view. Unfortunately, he didn't recognize any constellations, he wondered if that was because of his memory loss or because he never learned any.

"Do you know a lot of constellations?" Percy asked.

Reyna shook her head, "Just those used for navigation."

Percy nodded, he remembered Reyna's story about her past on a pirate ship. He wasn't sure how to reply, so they sat in silence for several moments.

"It's late, tomorrow is going to be a long day," Reyna said quietly. "We should both get some sleep."

Percy nodded in agreement, but neither of them moved. He didn't want to go back to his big cold room, and he had a sneaking suspicion that Reyna didn't either.

"It's lonely," Percy said suddenly, "In the new room, I can't get used to being alone at night."

Reyna sat up and smiled sardonically, "Thus is the life of a Praetor. You're separated from your peers and must maintain a façade of an unapproachable strict leader. It's the loneliest position in the legion."

"I suppose that's why there are two, so you won't be alone," Percy mused.

Reyna hummed in agreement, "Even that isn't a guarantee though."

Percy regarded Reyna for a moment. It struck him that she had been leading the Camp all alone for months. If he felt lonely after a few hours, then he couldn't imagine how Reyna must feel. He bumped his shoulder against hers in a friendly manner.

"Well, you won't be alone anymore, not while I'm here, that's a promise."

"Careful Percy promises like that are hard to keep," Reyna warned.

"Trust me Reyna, when I tell you it won't be."

#life of a praetor #midnightsonder fanfiction #bluemoon-writer fanfiction

[bluemoon-writer]

LoaP - Chapter 1

Word Count: 212

Summary: Drabble series about Percy’s time as a Praetor, based off my story Permanent Swap.

Chapter 1 - Author's Notes

Read on: FF --- Ao3 --- Wattpad

Or hit 'keep reading' to read on Tumblr.

Praetor. Praetor. Praetor

Percy was lifted in the air like he was crowd surfing at a concert. Except they were on a battlefield and he was being elected as their leader.

Part of Percy wanted to roll out of their hands and turn down the position. He didn't deserve the honor of being made Praetor. However, the larger part of Percy was basking in the joy of finally being accepted by the legion. After weeks of suspicious looks, this was proof that they trusted him.

When he saw that it was Reyna leading the march back to Camp Jupiter, Percy leaned back and let the crowd carry him. He could see a lot of Camp Jupiter from his position. He frowned and felt something lurch in his stomach as he realized how much destruction had been done.

-Ω-

"I swear on the River Styx that I will led New Rome and Camp Jupiter with honor and integrity. I swear as Praetor that I will do whatever it takes to protect Camp and my comrades. I will stay by Rome until my last breath."

He grinned Reyna who gave a tentative smile back. They joined hands and raised them high for the crowd to see before ascending to their seats in the Pavilion.

#percy jackson fanfiction #midnightsonder fanfiction #bluemoon-writer fanfiction

[bluemoon-writer]

LwS - Chapter 7

Word Count: 1.6k

Summary: Harry decides to sit with the Slytherins for lunch and slowly they become friends. Drabble series Part Crack fic, part serious.

Chapter 7 - Author's Notes

Read on: FF --- Ao3 --- Wattpad

Or hit 'keep reading' to read on Tumblr.

Harry plodded into the Great Hall shoeless, soaking wet, and smelling strongly of rubbing alcohol. He sat down at the Slytherin table with a heavy sigh. Blaise and Theo, who he sat between, scooted away so they wouldn't be dripped on. When no one asked about his disheveled appearance, Harry sighed again, even more dramatically this time.

Draco rolled his eyes and indulged the Gryffindor, "Alright, Harry, why are you all wet?"

"And where are your shoes?" Blaise asked, curling his lip.

"And could you really have not sprayed some cologne before approaching us?" Pansy asked pinching her nose.

Harry gaped at them in shock, "Were you not in Potions class with me? How can you act like you don't know?"

The Slytherins shrugged at each other, in their eyes it was a normal potions class.

"I'm afraid our focus on our work obstructed our observation skills, please enlighten us to what occurred," Theo said dramatically.

"Yes, and we beg your forgiveness," Daphne added sarcastically.

Harry nodded cordially. "Your apology is noted."

Then, with a theatrical air, he began his story. "It all started when I was late to Potions this morning. I was paired with Draco as punishment, but we're friends now…" Harry looked away dramatically, "Little did I know, Draco would betray me!" Pansy and Theo gasped in fake surprise. Harry nodded thankfully to them for playing along.

"Draco," Harry pointed at the blond boy accusingly, "ruined our potion!"

"I DID NOT!" Draco exclaimed at the same time that Pansy gasped a, "No!", Theo shook his head in despair, and Blaise tsked. Even Daphne played along and gave Draco a critical look.

"He did!" Harry cried. "Our potion exploded! And I took the blame for Draco's grave error, it pains me greatly that my dear friend cannot even admit to his missteps." Harry wiped away a fake tear while Draco rolled his eyes.

Theo patted Harry on the back while Pansy reached across the table and grasped his hands, murmuring, "We're here for you Harry, be strong."

Blaise crossed his arms and shook his head at Draco, "I'm so disappointed in you, Malfoy."

Draco was turning red as he stuttered about his innocence. Daphne appeared to be holding back a laugh.

"Do you know what happened next?" Harry whispered in mock horror.

Pansy clasped her hands over her ears, "I don't know if I can listen to this!" Daphne finally gave in and played along by prying Pansy's hands off her ears.

"Keep it together Pansy! You have to be strong, and witness Harry's testimony," she declared dramatically.

Harry nodded at her, "Thank you Daphne, I am gratified by all of your support." His voice dropped back to a whisper as he continued his tale, "The potion…It spilled everywhere. and guess who had to clean it up? That's right, me! It was harrowing, the smell made me gag and the potion was so acidic that it melted my shoes! Then, it got worse. Since it was a dangerous liquid, Snape sprayed me down with some sort of counteractive water, soaking me to the bone."

Harry shook his head sadly, "I was so, so cold." The Slytherins commiserated and scolded Draco for causing Harry such pain. Draco sighed; it was clear Harry wouldn't stop until the blond played along.

Draco placed his hand over his heart, "Harry, my dear, kind, friend. It tears at my heart to hear of your struggles. I curse the name of Severus Snape for giving you such a trial. You have my deepest apologies, if I could, I would take your place in a heartbeat."

Harry grinned at Draco cheerfully, "Oh lovely, because Snape counteracted the dangerous properties of the potion, so someone still needs to clean it up. I'm so glad to hear you'll do it!"

Draco gaped at Harry, "Y-you, you trickster!"

The others burst into laughter. Theo cried, "Ah, I knew Harry was up to something!"

"Up to something?" Harry said in dismay, "I am only interested in justice!"

"Spoken like a true Gryffindor," Daphne said.

"Yet, enacted like a Slytherin," Blaise mused.

Harry opted to ignore the two in order to focus on Pansy pointing her wand at him.

Harry put his hands up, "Woah, Pansy, I'm innocent, I swear."

Pansy rolled her eyes, "Do you want to be dry or not?"

Harry paused to think, "Well, everything is more dramatic when you're wet…"

"Is that why you entered the hall soaking wet?" Theo asked.

"No, he did that so he could trick me!" Draco fumed.

Harry ignored Draco and turned to Theo. "I did it for the aesthetic. If I wasn't soaked then you all wouldn't have been nearly as interested in my story."

"I'll do you for the aesthetic," Draco muttered.

"Well, that came out of no where!" Blaise exclaimed at the same time that Harry sputtered, "Excuse me? You'll do what?"

Draco turned red, "I-I didn't mean it like that!"

"That explains why he's been obsessed with Harry for so long," Daphne said.

"I'm sorry Draco, but I'm afraid there's someone else I'm interested in," Harry said apologetically.

Pansy patted Draco's back, "No wonder he messed up the potion."

Harry gasped, having an epiphany, "I WAS NOT BETRAYED! Draco was simply distracted by my presence, my windswept hair, my luminous eyes, and my handsome face! "

Theo's eyes widened, "Of course! It all makes sense, that is what caused the accident!"

Harry placed his hand over his heart, "Draco, I'm so deeply sorry for the pain I must have caused you by accusing you of something as cruel as a betrayal to your love."

Draco was completely red. The blond took a deep breath, stood gracefully, and walked away. Harry was impressed that he didn't run or move quickly at all. Everyone deflated slightly as their fun was abruptly ended.

"Well, now that Draco's gone I suppose there's no point to me being wet anymore. Pansy, is that offer of a drying spell still open?" Harry asked, reverting back to acting like normal.

"As long as I can spray you with some cologne."

"Will it get me wet again?"

"What? No, it's just cologne."

"Oh…then in that case, I accept."

A much dryer Harry was ready to dig into his meal when he was interrupted by Pansy once again.

"We must do something about your shoes."

Harry looked down at his feet; he had forgotten he was barefoot.

"Never fear Pansy! I have spares in my bag."

Harry pulled out the comfortable muggle shoes he had stored in his bag. Daphne and Blaise both made faces of disgust, Theo looked vaguely interested, and Pansy was covering her face in horror.

"Crocs? Who hurt you so much?" Pansy said in disgust.

"Were you not listening? Draco did!" Harry exclaimed.

"Didn't we determine that it wasn't a betrayal?" Blaise asked.

"That does not erase the pain of thinking you have been betrayed!" Harry declared passionately.

"Then you must work on forgiving Draco, he was simply overwhelmed by his love," Blaise argued.

"Blaise Zabini! Cease your lies and slander!" Draco said, reappearing at the table and slamming his hands down. Everyone blinked in surprise at his sudden reappearance.

"Draco? How did sneak up on us like that?" Theo asked in confusion.

Draco sniffed haughtily, "A true Slytherin has mastered the art of subterfuge and…sneakiness."

Daphne raised a delicate eyebrow, "The art of sneakiness?"

"Never mind that!" Draco pointed a finger at Harry, "I'm here to clear the air."

Draco paused dramatically before declaring, in a slightly hysterical voice, "I did betray you! I was acting on feelings of dislike, not of love!"

Harry gasped, but quickly composed himself. He cocked his head to the side and a simple question.

"Well, why not?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why don't you have a crush on me? I'm a totally catch."

"Yeah, Draco, Harry's the savior of the wizarding world, " Theo added.

"How can you not have a crush on him?" Pansy asked.

"W-well, I could say the same for all of you!" Draco stuttered

"We're his friends, it would be overbearing for us to have feelings for Harry and vice-versa," Daphne explained in a dull voice.

"Harry and I are friends too."

"No, we're not. You admitted to the betrayal, so obviously we aren't friends," Harry said crossing his arms over his chest

"Well, then let's become friends."

Harry struggled to hide his grin before saying, "Friendship requires trust, and I can't trust someone who has betrayed me."

"Well…he could do something to prove his trustworthiness…" Blaise said slowly.

"I suppose, but what?"

"That's easy, Draco can trade shoes with Harry!" Pansy chirped. Harry perked up, a grin slowly forming.

"Yeah! Draco, give me your shoes!"

Draco scoffed, "You want to me to trade shoes in order to prove how trustworthy I am? How childish, but fine, I'll do it."

Pansy clapped excitedly. Daphne smirked and leaned towards Harry, "Show him your shoes first, before trading."

Harry lifted the firetruck red shoes up and had a front row seat to see Draco's soul leaving his body.

"M-muggle! Muggle shoes? You want me to wear that? I refuse!"

Harry wiped away a nonexistent tear, "Would you really throw away the opportunity of our friendship so quickly?"

Draco scowled, "How can this possibly prove my trustworthiness?"

Blaise leaned in to explain, "Harry is practically a muggleborn since he grew up in the muggle world, by wearing these shoes you're showing acceptance for the muggle world and therefore, acceptance of Harry."

Draco sighed before sitting down and pulling off his shoes, "Do they really need to be such a garish shade of red though?"

"Are you saying that you don't accept Harry's Gryffindor heritage?" Theo asked in a scolding manner.

Draco shook his head and muttered, "I shouldn't have come back."

Harry laughed out loud, and smugly put Draco's shoes on, surprised, that they fit. He decided not to tease Draco too much because the glint in the other boy's eyes promised revenge.

#lunch with Slytherin #midnightsonder fanfiction #bluemoon-writer fanfiction

[bluemoon-writer]

LwS - Chapter 6

Word Count: 777

Summary: Harry decides to sit with the Slytherins for lunch and slowly they become friends. Drabble series Part Crack fic, part serious.

Chapter 6 - Author's Notes

Read on: FF --- Ao3 --- Wattpad

Or hit 'keep reading' to read on Tumblr.

The Slytherins were up to something, that much Harry could tell from the looks they kept giving each other. Harry wasn't sure what they were going to do, but was on red alert nonetheless. While they had been getting along well, Harry knew most of it was a farce for them to save face. They weren't truly friends, not yet of course, after all he'd only been eating with them for a little over two weeks.

The conversation was slow and stilted, until Malfoy finally sighed and blurted out, "So, have you given up on hanging out with Weasley and the mudblood?"

Harry stilled, shocked that Draco would call Hermione that to his face. He clenched his fist under the table. Still, there was something strange about the way Draco said it. It was like he had to force himself to say it.

"The only reason I haven't hexed you yet Draco is because we're supposed to be friends now. But, if you say it again, I won't hold back," Harry warned. "To answer your question, no, I'm still very good friends with both Ron and Hermione."

Harry could see the Slytherins sending looks towards Draco, he wasn't positive about their meaning, but he guessed they had picked Draco as their spokesperson for whatever message they had for Harry.

Draco swallowed and continued, "Why? You've made better friends now. Just ditch them, they're dragging you down."

"Yeah," Theo added half-heartedly. "Weasley's a prat and Granger's a know-it-all, you don't need them anymore."

Harry looked around the table in confusion. They other Slytherins were nodding in agreement and muttering vague insults about Ron and Hermione but none of them seemed to really believe what they were saying.

"You know, Ron and Hermione don't approve of me sitting with you," Harry said casually.

"Exactly!" Draco jumped in again. "Who are they to pick your friends? You've found the right sort now."

"But," Harry continued, ignoring Draco. "I still don't let them insult you guys. So, if you guys insist on insulting my other friends then, well, I'll just take my lunch and leave."

Harry moved to get up and go back to the Gryffindor table, but was quickly stopped by someone calling his name.

"Stop," Pansy said quickly. "It was a test."

Harry nodded and sat back down. He knew something was going on, but there was anger still inside of him because of what they said about his friends, even if they didn't mean it.

"What were you testing?" Harry asked, unable to stop his curiosity.

"Whether you really are Harry Potter," Daphne answered.

Harry looked around at them, confused. His anger dissipated as his confusion and curiosity took over. They made fun of his friends to make sure he wasn't a fake Harry? Why would they even test that?

"Uh…why?"

"The real Harry would never ditch his friends to have lunch with Slytherins," Blaise answered, "but, the real Harry also wouldn't stand to let someone insult his friends"

"O-kay, that's still a weird test."

"It was also to see if you had changed," Draco added.

"Explain more."

"Obviously, before sitting with us, we didn't know what your personality was really like," Theo started, "deciding to sit with us was a surprise and we were wondering if it was because you're genuinely a nice guy or because you decided to become a dark wizard."

Harry choked on his juice, they thought he decided to sit with them because he wanted to become a dark lord? Maybe he overestimated how smart they are.

"Oh yes, of course, my true motivation is to be the next Voldemort," Harry said sarcastically. The Slytherins rolled their eyes at him and ignored the joke.

"Anyways, now we know that you were sincere when you said you sat with us with the intention of becoming friends," Pansy concluded happily.

"Well…actually, that's not entirely true," Harry admitted. The Slytherins looked at him in surprise. "To be honest, I first sat over here because I was tired of the Gryffindors giving me pitying looks. I figured you lot wouldn't do the same, so I decided to try sitting here."

Harry was surprised to see that the Slytherins looked disappointed, even though they were obviously trying to hide it. "But after the first day, I really did want to try and be friends," he added quickly.

"Oh, well, that's good," Theo said awkwardly.

The other Slytherins nodded and lunch continued in a strange silence. Everyone was consumed by their own thoughts. Harry wondered when he started to care so much about the Slytherins liking him, little did he know, the Slytherins were wondering the same about him.

#lunch with slytherin #midnightsonder fanfiction #bluemoon-writer fanfiction

[bluemoon-writer]

LwS - Chapter 5

Word Count: 741

Summary: Harry decides to sit with the Slytherins for lunch and slowly they become friends. Drabble series Part Crack fic, part serious.

Chapter 5 - Author's Notes

Read on: FF --- Ao3 --- Wattpad

Or hit 'keep reading' to read on Tumblr.

Harry watched as Theodore Nott got up and left the Great Hall. He glanced down at his watch and started keeping time.

"You know, Theo thinks he's going crazy," Blaise said conversationally.

"Oh really?" Harry asked with mild curiosity.

"Yeah, he says he keeps seeing you everywhere. He thinks he's hallucinating seeing you all the time since you started eating with us."

"Hmm, interesting theory," Harry hummed, eyes on his watch. The minute hand passed twelve, signaling that it had been a full minute. Harry got up casually and left the Great Hall. He left just in time to see Theo going up the stairs and turning the corner. He was obviously headed to the boy's loo.

Harry took a seat down the hall from the restroom and pulled out the same book he had at lunch, pretending to read. He predicted that Theo would head to the library next as they had a free period and Harry was in the perfect spot to be seen out of Theo's peripheral. He smothered a grin as he saw Theo walk by and do a double take after seeing Harry.

Harry waited until Theo's footsteps faded and then ran to a secret passage to the moving stairs. He positioned himself to be leaning against the railing, pretending to read the same book. Theo started up the staircase next to Harry and froze when he saw him, then began quickly walking up the stairs.

Harry sprinted to his next spot; he could squeeze one more in before Theo made it to the library. He half sat half leaned on the pedestal of a statue and pulled out the same book again. The route he had taken was much shorter than the one Theo was going so he was able to catch his breath. This time when Theo saw him, he started running. Harry couldn't stop himself from grinning anymore. He usually wasn't a big prankster, but he was enjoying himself.

The last step was the most important. He had to make it to the library before Theo. Luckily, with his knowledge of secret passages, it was easy for Harry to be sitting at one of the first tables in the library by the time Theo arrived. Theo set his eyes on a table in the back of the room and stomped there, determinatedly not looking at Harry.

Harry quietly slipped out the table he was at, careful not to be seen moving by Theo, and moved to the Potions section in the library. He settled on the floor and waited for Theo to come looking for a book to help with the potions essay Snape assigned. Sure, enough, after a few minutes Theo arrived. The Slytherin boy huffed angrily and Harry heard a muttered, "Fuck this." Before the other boy step on Harry's foot, hard.

"Ow!" Harry exclaimed.

Theo stumbled back, "Wait, you're real?"

"Obviously!" Harry said, rubbing his foot.

"Wait, so, are you following me, or do we just end up at the same places on accident?" Theo asked in confusion.

"Oh, it has to be a coincidence. I'm always reading in random spots around the castle, I am the boy-who-reads after all. That's what they call me," Harry said sarcastically.

Theo rolled his eyes and pulled out his wand. "Tell me why you were following me and I'll heal your foot."

"Honestly, I just felt like messing with you," Harry said. "You haven't spoken much at lunch, so I thought this would be a good icebreaker for us," he joked.

"Well, I guess it worked," Theo mumbled, squatting down and waving his wand over Harry's foot. "We might as well be on a first name basis now. You can call me Theo."

"Oh, that's good, because I've already been calling you that in my head!"

Theo rolled his eyes again, but this time there was a feeling of friendliness to it.

"Now, I don't suppose you've seen the book we need for the potions essay, have you?" Theo asked.

Harry shook his head sadly, "I'm disappointed in you Theo, you've seen me how may times since lunch? And you never even looked at the book I was fake reading?"

Theo looked down at the potions book on Harry's lap and sighed heavily. "I can't believe someone as devious as you was sorted into Gryffindor."

Harry laughed loudly, and handed the book to Theo.

"Don't judge a book by its cover, I suppose."

#Lunch with Slytherin #midnightsonder fanfiction #bluemoon-writer fanfiction

[bluemoon-writer]

LwS - Chapter 4

Word Count: 858

Summary: Harry decides to sit with the Slytherins for lunch and slowly they become friends. Drabble series Part Crack fic, part serious.

Chapter 4 - Author's Notes

Read on: FF --- Ao3 --- Wattpad

Or hit 'keep reading' to read on Tumblr.

The Slytherin table was oddly empty today, which disappointed Harry because it meant he was less likely to get to watch an interesting argument.

The only fifth years at the table were Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass. They looked surprised when Harry sat down across from them, as if they expected him not to sit with Slytherin since most were gone.

"Snape is giving a special potions class for the fifth years, so most of our year is there," Daphne answered before Harry could open his mouth.

"So why aren't you two there?" Harry asked.

"We don't need it," Pansy answered. "I invented all of my skin and hair care potions and-"

"I simply excel at everything I do," Daphne interjected coolly.

They ate in silence after that. Harry was, for once, at a loss for words, and couldn't figure out how to restart a conversation. How do people usually bond? Harry sat up straighter as an idea hit him.

"Pansy, Daphne, tell me a secret!"

"No," Daphne said flatly.

"Why?" Pansy asked curiously, nudging her friend to play along.

"It part of the Secrets game. You have one real secret and you make up two fake secrets, then we have to guess which one is the real secret," Harry explained.

The two girls looked interested, so Harry continued, "I'll go first. I once pulled the sword of Godric Gryffindor out of the sorting hat, I once walked past Peeves without getting pranked, and I accidentally set Hagrid's cottage on fire. Now, which one do you think is true?"

"Well, it's definitely not the second one. That's just plain impossible," Pansy said. Daphne nodded in agreement.

"Yes. I'm leaning towards the third options because it was the only one that didn't contain the phrase 'I once' which makes me think it is more likely to be true," Daphne analyzed.

"And Hagrid's cottage did catch on fire once!" Pansy exclaimed

Harry suppressed a grin, "So, what's your final choice?"

"Number three," the girls said in unison.

Harry grinned, "Wrong. It was actually number one."

"What? When-how?" Pansy stuttered.

"Second year, when I fought that basilisk. Fawkes flew in with the sorting hat, and I pulled the sword out of it and stabbed the snake through its mouth," Harry explained.

"So that's what happened," Daphne mumbled to herself. She then sat up straighter, "I will go next. I was almost betrothed to Draco Malfoy. I opened my own personal Gringotts account at age five. First year, I cursed one of the upperclassmen with acne after he ridiculed my family."

Daphne said all of this in an even tone with a straight face. Harry frowned; this would require some thought.

Pansy was apparently, of the opposite reaction as she immediately exclaimed, "Three!"

"You don't think it could be one?" Harry asked. It seemed plausible to him. Pansy made a disgusted face.

"Of course not! Everyone knows that the Greengrasses and the Malfoys are on bad terms."

That was an interesting piece of information. Harry ruled out one, but he wasn't convinced that it was three either. Daphne had a glint of victory shining in her eyes that made him think it wasn't three.

"I'm going to go with two."

Daphne raised an eyebrow in surprise, "What gave me away?"

"You looked victorious after Pansy chose the wrong number," Harry told her. Daphne frowned to herself and pulled out a mirror to examine her face.

"There's time for that later, it's my turn now," Pansy said as she pried the mirror from Daphne's hands.

Pansy didn't pause to think at all, "My cousin owns a unicorn farm, my parents opened a trust fund for me before I was even conceived, and I was voted as 'the cutest baby' in the October 1981 volume of Witch Weekly."

Harry was stumped, any one of the three could be true as far as he knew.

"Number one is out," Daphne decided quickly. "If your cousin owned a unicorn farm you would never shut up about it. My guess is number two, it is the most logical."

Pansy pouted. "It could be true," she said, hiding a growing smirk by forcing herself to frown. Harry smiled to himself, finally figuring out which one it was.

"I believe Pansy," Harry said theatrically. "I'll choose number one!"

Pansy sighed, "Damn it, how did you know?" she and Daphne spoke in unison.

Harry grinned, "Well, you said it was true."

"That was supposed to be a trick! It was supposed to make you think it wasn't true!" Pansy cried.

"What's not true?" Draco asked as he sat down next to Harry. The fifth years had apparently been released by Snape

The two girls gave Harry a devilish grin.

"Oh, it's just about this game Harry taught us," Daphne said airily.

Pansy nodded. "You probably wouldn't be interested."

Draco scowled, "Says who? Tell me how to play!"

"First, you need to give us three galleons," Harry said, grinning back at the girls.

The three of them moved up and down the table teaching the scam version of the game to the other Slytherins and making quite a bit of cash.

#lunch with slytherin #midnightsonder fanfiction #bluemoon-writer fanfiction

[bluemoon-writer]

LwS - Chapter 3

Word Count: 823

Summary: Harry decides to sit with the Slytherins for lunch and slowly they become friends. Drabble series Part Crack fic, part serious.

Chapter 3 - Author's Notes

Read on: FF --- Ao3 --- Wattpad

Or hit 'keep reading' to read on Tumblr.

Surprisingly, and to Harry's disappointment, his first two weeks of having lunch with the Slytherins was rather calm. Sure, there were two separate attempted poisoning incidents, a fire, and several curses shot his way, but the conversations were dull, so Harry was bored.

So, when he arrived at lunch to hear slight raised voices, he was ready to cause some chaos.

Pansy and Draco were arguing about Care of Magical Creatures. They had apparently made a bet about which creatures would be shown this year.

"Just give up Pansy, Hagrid is never going to show us Unicorns. The oaf only cares about animals that can eat you," Draco said smugly. Harry chose, in that moment, to side with Pansy, for now.

"Well, that's just not true," Harry said smoothly as he slid into the open space between Draco and Blaise that had become 'his spot'. "Don't you remember his reaction in first year? When we found that dead unicorn? He was really torn up about it."

"And I'm sure if it had been a three-headed-dog, we found then he would have been three times as upset," Draco retorted quickly.

"I don't know, I don't think you could measure one's love for something like that," Harry mused.

"Indeed, for example, Draco, I'm sure you would be equally upset if either your green formal robes or your silver formal robes were ruined," Pansy said.

"T-that's a terrible comparison!" Draco protested.

Blaise smirked at Harry before joining the conversation, "Truly, you cannot compare the death of a living creature to the destruction of an inanimate object," Blaise argued.

"Sure, you can," Harry replied, "Saying otherwise would mean there's a limit to how much you can love something."

"Which we know is false," Pansy added, "because there's are various levels of intensity in spells powered by love."

"Oh, of course the girl, believes in the power of love," Draco sneered. "There have been no definitive studies that prove that one's emotions influence the intensity of a spell."

"Well, of course not," Harry said at the same time as Pansy burst out, "Girl? Are you saying only girls believe in a studied phenomenon. Don't be ridiculous Draco!"

Draco and Pansy snarked back and forth with petty comments, while Blaise turned to Harry in interest.

"What were you about to say Harry?"

"Oh, just that it makes sense that there have been no definitive studies because it's hard to create a strong enough emotion in a controlled environment," Harry explained.

"Huh," Theodore muttered from across the table.

"What?"

"It's just that…I didn't realize that you were smart," Theodore said quietly.

"What!" Draco exclaimed, distracted from his argument with Pansy. "How could you not realize that? Are you that daft Nott?"

"Hey, Theodore made a valid point!" Pansy said. "Harry never raises his hand in class, often does his homework just before class, and always has Granger read over it."

"All of those things can also be the traits of a genius! Do you really think that I would pick a rival who didn't challenge my own great intelligence?"

Harry snorted quietly, but luckily Draco didn't hear.

"You both are missing a key factor," Blaise interjected. "Harry is neither a genius not stupid. He's simply lazy," Blaise declared.

"Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner," Harry called.

"And that is why you were put in Gryffindor instead of Slytherin," Draco said haughtily.

"No, I'm in Gryffindor because I asked the hat not to put me in Slytherin," Harry said nonchalantly.

The fifth year Slytherins all turned to look at him in shock.

"Harry, do you mean to say that you would have been sorted into Slytherin had you not asked to be put elsewhere," Blaise asked slowly.

"Yeah, I suppose I would have," Harry said thoughtfully.

"Why ever would you ask to be placed in a different house?" Pansy asked, she seemed almost affronted by the thought of Harry not wanting to be in Slytherin.

Harry thought for a moment. He didn't want to start a real argument so he would have to answer carefully.

"Well, a certain someone gave me a bad impression of the house," Harry answered.

"Good going Draco, you scared away the boy-who-lived!" Theodore crowed.

Draco started to turn red as he stuttered, "I-I did not!"

Harry's amusement turned to sympathy as he watched Draco. He had to admit, even though they weren't really friends, he didn't want to hurt his feelings. So, there was only one thing to do.

"Actually, I was talking about Snape," Harry interjected.

Harry wasn't sure if they believed him, but they all nodded in understanding, and Draco looked relieved. Theodore and Blaise, however, seemed disappointed.

"Oh Harry, we could have had such a fun argument if you had played along," Theodore moped.

Harry shrugged, while Daphne spoke up for the first time, "Something all Slytherins should remember, not everyone is going to play your devil's advocate. Next time, plan accordingly."

#lunch with slytherin #midnightsonder fanfiction #bluemoon-writer fanfiction