Harry was an awkward teen, he hated being in the spotlight, but being Harry Potter all but guaranteed it. He honestly loved learning about new things, especially a world that his uncle, aunt, and cousin couldn't access, but years of being yelled at for doing better than Dudley had made him act as though he didn't know what he was doing, and by the time he realised he didn't have to act like that in the wizarding world, it was too late.

If nothing showed this better, Hermione's reaction when a piece of homework he did on his own got a higher mark than hers was evidence enough. He would always be accused of cheating, so he didn't try.

He was only allowed to try in Defence Against the Dark Arts, and even then he would be expected to ask for her help with the written work.

He had actually finished the "textbook" Umbridge had given them in the first lesson, much as he wanted to fall asleep, but of course, Hermione had to be the one to get the credit for reading it first.

-----

Dumbledore sat in his office, the usual chain around Fawkes' leg to keep her at her perch. It was enchanted to be visible only to him as the phoenix was a useful symbol of Light, but if she were let to her own devices, she would probably leave him.

It was almost time for the Potters to return to the wizarding world, but what to do with Harry's replacement. That boy simply refused to die, didn't he?

Perhaps instead of having the rotten brat killed (as, at this point it would be unlikely to be blamed on Riddle, unfortunately) he could just have the boy's reputation ruined. People would be happy to believe, after that, that the fake had been the one to try to replace Harry, using his family to force the Potters out of the wizarding world.

"What do you think, Fawkes, will that work?" He asked, looking at the chained bird, who let out an aggravated cry.

-----

It was lunch and everyone was sitting in the Great hall, eating, when professor McGonagall came to the Gryffindor table, or, more specifically, the Golden Gryffindor Trio.

"Mr Potter, the Headmaster would like a word with you." She said, her lips pursed, looking distinctly like she had just bitten into a particularly sour lemon.

"Now?" Harry asked, surprised Dumbledore wanted to speak to him at all, considering how much effort he had put into ignoring him this year.

"Yes, Mr Potter, get moving." She said, before turning tail and striding back to the teachers' table, Dumbledore noticeably missing.

"Harry, what did you do!?" Hermione asked, her tone accusatory.

"What makes you think I did anything?" Harry snapped, annoyed that it was always his fault when things went wrong, no matter where he was. "The only time I haven't been with the two of you is when I was having my hand sliced open in Umbridge's detentions. But that doesn't matter, does it? If something goes wrong, it's always my fault. Why am I even surprised you think the same?"

"Harry, that's-" Hermione started, not having meant to offend the scrawny boy in front of her.

"Save it, Dumbledore wants me." Harry said, darkly, walking away from the shocked Ron and Hermione.

"What do you think happened to him?" Ron asked, surprised at Harry's outburst. He had never sounded that... Bitter before.

"I don't know..." Hermione replied, looking at her departing friend's back, worry in her eyes.

-----

"Sherbet lemon." Harry said, trying to control his anger as he reached the gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office. It didn't move.

Deciding that if Dumbledore wanted to talk to him, the old man could come and get him, considering he didn't have the password. He was feeling severely disillusioned this year, so saw no reason to stand around like an idiot listing different sweets until he got the right one.

Taking a seat against the wall, Harry took one of his text books, potions, and began to read, figuring he may as well use this time wisely. He glanced at his watch, before remembering that it was frozen since he dove into the lake last year.

It can't have been very long before Dumbledore came out of his office, seemingly looking for Harry, a slight look of irritation that disappeared when he saw Harry, although he wasn't the best at hiding it.

"Harry, why are you sitting there? Why didn't you come into my office?" Dumbledore reprimanded Harry, who jumped slightly, having been focused on the effects of Felix Felicis on the drinker's emotional health if had too often. 

"I didn't know the password." Harry said, looking up at Dumbledore with well feigned innocence.

"That has never prevented your entrance before." Dumbledore said, looking down on the irritating boy with ill contained scorn.

"In the past it has been me wanting to see you. You asked for me to be here, missing a lesson, so it's your duty to let me in." Harry said, putting his book back in his bag before standing up, showing he was ready to follow Dumbledore who was none too pleased the boy was learning independence from him.

"Well, as you said, you're missing a lesson," a fact Dumbledore had indeed forgotten, "it'll do no good for us to dawdle any longer. There are important matters to discuss." Dumbledore ushered Harry into his office.

Looking around at the now familiar ornate objects that sat on every surface, Harry could have sworn he could see a flash of something silver tied around Fawkes' ankle. What it was, however, he had no idea, as when he tried to focus on it, he didn't see anything there. A low, somewhat melancholy note from Fawkes was the only proof he had that he had seen anything. The note seemed to resonate around in Harry's body, driving a wedge of longing in his heart. What the longing was for, however, he had no idea.

"What did you want to talk about?" Harry asked, simply refusing to sit on the garish, and clearly uncomfortable chair Dumbledore had conjured for him.

"It came to my attention," Dumbledore said, trying to contain his irritation at the pawn in front of him, "while talking to the Sorting Hat, that you weren't placed in the right house."

"I thought you said it was our choices who determined what we are." Harry responded, his words somewhat cool in tone. "You said that in second year when I asked if I was the heir of Slytherin. You told me that I belonged in Gryffindor, were you lying? Or did you forget?"

Harry had all but cornered Dumbledore, the old man couldn't claim his memory was going, that would only make the warriors of the Light worry. Nor could he confess that he had been lying through his teeth to the boy in his second year. Damn that phoenix, if only she hadn't stepped in this issue wouldn't be happening. Almost in response to his thoughts, Fawkes let out an almost angry cry, causing Harry to start petting him, almost as though he didn't realise he was doing it

"I know what I said, Harry, but that was before I had spoken with the Sorting Hat." Dumbledore said, looking over his half moon spectacles, his eyes twinkling merrily. "I didn't know quite how well you fit in Slytherin."

Harry and Fawkes fixed him with twin glares, Fawkes let out a cry, flapping her wings angrily at his blatant lie. That bird simply didn't realise that some sacrifices had to be made to end a war and redeem a world.

"Do you still think that our choices make us who we are, or is this meeting to tell me that you're changing my house?" Harry asked coolly, not looking at Dumbledore, instead giving his attention to Fawkes, who seemed to be lapping it up, loving the attention the boy was giving her.

"My boy," Dumbledore said, ignoring the wince from Harry as he said that, "I am not going back on my word, but if you would be better suited in a different house, it is my job as headmaster o make sure that you are in the best place for you." Dumbledore said, behind his grandfatherly smile, hiding an almost evil smirk.

Harry had a bitter taste in his mouth after those words, the bristle he felt under his fingers from the magnificent bird showed that Fawkes didn't believe the old fool's words any more than he did. Unwilling to make this meeting any longer than it had to be, though, Harry bit his tongue.

"As such," Dumbledore pressed on, realising Harry wasn't going yo say anything, "I would like it if you were resorted. Wherever you end up this time is where you will stay."

"Fine." Harry said, avoiding Dumbledore's eyes, not in the mood to see the twinkling Christmas lights in there.

Taking the hat Dumbledore handed him, Harry shoved it on his head, wanting this whole thing to be over already.

"Hello again, to be sorted again? How unusual, then again, one would be hard pressed to find a word that better suited you."  The familiar voice of the Sorting Hat echoed in Harry's mind. "The question now, though, is will you let me put you where you so well fit?"

Harry thought about it for a moment. Dumbledore was a Gryffindor, wasn't he? Did Harry really want to be in the same house as that man? The simple answer was no. But what about Ron and Hermione? Sure they annoyed him, but he still cared about their opinion of him. Would they still care about him if he was a Slytherin?

"If your friends don't accept who you truly are, are they really your friends?" The hat asked, a question Harry honestly feared the answer to. 

Of course, the answer was no, but was he really willing to lose everything he had with them? Was it real? And if it wasn't, would he get something real in Slytherin? He was pretty well known as the perfect Gryffindor, so he honestly doubted they would accept him.

It was at that moment that Fawkes let out a gentle trill that helped Harry to relax. Funny, the bird always knew how to calm him down, probably because it was a phoenix, but either way he was grateful.

"I see you have made your decision." The Sorting Hat commented, pleased the young child would finally be where he belonged, hopefully he would be able to get support from his fellows. "I hereby place you in Slytherin!!!"

Harry missed the triumphant smirk that had found its way onto the usually unreadable face of Albus Dumbledore, he didn't even notice as the red and gold trim of his robes turned silver and green. Harry did, however, notice the happy trill that came from Fawkes at the announcement.

"I'll give you the rest of the day off to get settled." Dumbledore said, his smirk turning into a grandfatherly smile as Harry turned to look at him. "Go find your head of house as soon as possible. I do believe that he should be free at the moment."

Harry left the room without another word.

-----

Standing in the dungeons, Harry checked the Marauder's Map to ensure that, yes, Snape was alone, and that he was going the right way. He was feeling extremely relieved that Dumbledore had been right and the man wasn't teaching a lesson, he didn't want to disturb that, nor did he like the idea of waiting outside for the lesson to end.

Reaching the door to the room the map said the teacher he was after was in, Harry knocked, looking confident, but feeling as though he wanted nothing more than to hide in the owlery with Hedwig. He couldn't, though, as if he did he probably wouldn't have anywhere to sleep that night.

"Come in." Snape said from inside what Harry assumed was his office.

Taking a deep breath, Harry opened the door and took a step inside. As he had expected, Snape fixed him with a cold glare.

"Mr Potter, aren't you supposed to be in class?" Snape asked, before noticing the distinctly Slytherin robes he was wearing. "Why are you wearing robes from my house?"

"Professor Dumbledore had me resorted." Harry said, not meeting Snape's eyes. "I'm a Slytherin now."

"Of course you are." Snape muttered to himself through gritted teeth.

-----

Harry felt very out of place in the Slytherin common room and Slytherin 5th year boys' dorm, and this is while he was alone! What had he signed himself up for? This is it, this is how he was going to die, Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, killed by his new housemates after being resorted.

Harry stifled a humourless laugh at that thought, and steeled himself, classes were almost over, his housemates would enter soon and it would do him no good to be scared senseless when they inevitably arrived. They already thought lowly of him, and seeming afraid on his first day as one of them would not help his case.

No sooner than Harry's public awkward but confident  face was convincing, did he hear the tell tale sound of the rush of students coming back from their lessons to drop off their belongings before going to the Great Hall for dinner.

... And then silence...

"Potter." Draco hissed, his dislike for the boy in front of the Slytherins evident. "What, exactly are you doing in our common room? Get lost on the way to Gryffindor tower?"

"Actually, Malfoy, I'm not a Gryffindor anymore." Harry said, a sneer on his face, but his eyes not meeting any of the Slytherins in front of him, unsure of what he'd see there and having already been subjected to more than his fair share of hate.

"Oh?" Pansy said, scorn hiding her surprise and curiosity (and the hopes to finally have a boy whose makeup she could do.)

"Dumbledore had me resorted, so here I am." Harry said, an awkward smile on his face as he gestured, trying not to just ramble all the thoughts going through his head. Things could definitely be going much worse right now.

"Why would he want you resorted?" Blaise asked, looking baffled. "And how come you're suddenly Slytherin, you're practically the embodiment of Gryffindor."

"I was almost sorted into Slytherin in first year, but Hagrid told me that all dark wizards, including Voldemort, came from Slytherin, and that being one of the first things I heard about the wizarding world it didn't exactly sound like a place I wanted to be." Harry said. "I've had my fair share of being bullied and abused."

"Well, now you're one of us, I guess, there are some rules about being in this house." Theodore Nott said, walking further into the room, the others following suit. "In this house we look after each other. You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us."

"Basically, if you defend the rest of us, we'll defend you when you need it." Draco said, knowing from the sigh that came from Harry meant that he was willing to do that for them.

"Also, in order for us to accept you as one of us, you have to let me do your makeup." Pansy said with a sly smirk. She was good at makeup, as shown by literally every Slytherin girl coming to her for tips or simply to do it for them, but most of the boys were too prideful to ever let her do their makeup.

All the 5th year boys let out a collective groan, of course Pansy would say that. Then again, looking at the scrawny, messy boy in front of them, maybe he could do with a makeover. Merlin knows he didn't exactly blend in with them. In addition, this could keep her out of their way for a while, so they didn't say anything to stop her.

Looking at Harry, he didn't seem like he minded that much, in fact, to a well trained eye such as Draco's, he almost looked relieved. All he had to do for them to accept him was have a makeover and defend them when they needed it? Was this really this easy?

"Uh, sure." Harry said, smiling brightly in a way that Draco and Blaise agreed should be illegal.

Pansy blinked. She had honestly been expecting him to agree so readily, but she was happy he did, her experience with Draco taught her that stubborn teenage wizards were difficult to give a makeover to when they were resisting you.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Pansy grabbed Harry's hand, pulling him into the girls' dorm, due to the enchantments on the stairs allowing boys in there, provided they were being brought by a girl and the other girls in there were decent.

"Sit." She commanded, pointing to the chair by what Harry assumed was her bed. It was a dark, carved wood, an ornate pillow over the seat that was surprisingly comfortable. It was clearly bespelled to change heights for the person sitting on it, as Harry, although short, was still a head taller than Pansy.

If he was being honest, Harry really liked having Pansy fuss over him, the soft feel of the brushes as she tried a few designs on his eyelids. Having his eyes closed to give her better access to his face, and to prevent any of the products from getting in his eyes (Harry really didn't know anything about makeup), he heard the compliments from the other girls who came in to put their stuff away or fix their own hair and makeup.

-----

Harry came back from the girls' dorm, looking amazing, that's the only word for it. A thin layer of foundation to hide any blemishes he had on his face, his lips half a shade more red than they naturally were, dark green eyeshadow, some lighter green and silver acting as eyeliner and almost looking like ivy wrapping around his eyes. The faintest powdering of blush on his cheeks.

Seriously, weren't there laws about how good a person could look? If there were, Harry was most certainly breaking them, a fact he didn't seem to be aware of as he squirmed slightly in the centre of attention, Pansy standing smugly behind him, lapping up the almost annoyed attracted looks sent her most recent project's way.

"I see you all like it." She said, walking past Harry and towards the portrait hole.

"You're not taking that off." Theodore said, turning away from Harry to look at the master who had created such a wonder. "I think this is the best one yet."

"What can I say?" Pansy asked, with a slight incline of her head towards the boy standing awkwardly in the doorway to the girls' dorm. "He's well behaved while I do his makeup." She gave Draco a pointed look at that, one that he didn't seem to notice, as he was too busy drooling over Harry.

-----

Harry didn't seem to notice the lustful looks sent his way as he and the other Slytherins walked to the Great Hall, Draco and Blaise did, however, and were sure to send looks that threatened damnation to the first who tried anything with their newest housemate.

Harry, and many of the other Slytherins, were pleasantly surprised surprised by how easily they got along. They had barely started eating before there was easy banter flowing between them, and the occasional comment that made them all burst into laughter.

They were having such a good time, they noticed neither the death glares from Ron, nor the displeased look from Dumbledore. The point of moving Damien to Slytherin was to isolate the brat, not to allow him to become friends with them! This wasn't going to do much to ruin his reputation, especially if he kept walking around with makeup, his popularity would skyrocket.

Ron, on the other hand, was jealous. Harry was always the one who got everything, he always got the attention, the praise, and now he got to look like that and sit with probably the richest kids in the whole school. He knew that Harry hadn't asked to be the Boy Who Lived, but the truth is, he was, and he got all the fame, money and privileges Ron never did.

If only Ron knew the truth of Harry's life with the muggles called his family, he would never feel jealous of the boy.

Harry was having a lot of fun with the Slytherins, he almost forgot he was the Boy Who Lived, with them, he was just Harry. It was everything he had ever wanted, and Pansy's makeover helped him to feel more confident, the compliments assuring him that it looked good, probably the best he ever had.

"Now we have your face sorted, we need to fix that horrendous sense of style of yours." Draco said, his nose in the air, but his eyes showing his excitement at the idea of fixing another wardrobe disaster.

"If you can find even one decent outfit from what I get from the Dursleys, please let me know." Harry said, with a laugh. "I'll be sure to tell Dudley he didn't ruin all of it."

"... What?" Blaise asked after a pause in which Harry started to think he had done something wrong. "Don't you have clothes of your own?"

"All I get to wear is Dudley's hand-me-downs, they're always way too big, and sometimes too full of holes to wear." Harry said. It was the casual tone and shrug before turning back yo his food that really broke the hearts of those around him. "Except the yearly Weasley Christmas jumper and school robes, they wouldn't touch something made by a witch or wizard, so those weren't ever worn by Dudley."

"We're getting you a whole new wardrobe." Draco said, decisively, looking at Harry as though daring him to argue.

Harry choked slightly on his mashed potatoes at that, he hadn't expected them to care either way, so for Draco Malfoy to be so dead set on getting him a new wardrobe, it honestly meant a lot. Of course, it could just be because they couldn't stand for a member of their house wearing such awful clothes, but still.

Blaise was patting Harry on the back, trying to help him get the mashed potato dislodged from his throat. He was glaring slightly at Draco for making the newest snake choke, but it wasn't the kind of glare he would have given a Gryffindor or Ravenclaw (nobody glares at a Hufflepuff, that would be a terrible idea.)

"You sure?" Harry asked, once he was able to breathe again, sending a grateful smile to Blaise for helping him.

"What kind of Slytherin would you be walking around in such shabby clothing?" Draco asked, holding his nose in the air, his eyes betraying the excitement he felt at the idea of designing a wardrobe for the boy opposite him.

"Then sure." Harry said, a bright smile worming its way onto his face.

-----

"Hey!" Ron's voice called after Harry in the corridor as he was heading back to the Slytherin common room. "Harry, what's going on?"

It wasn't just Harry who stopped though, everyone knew that Ron was very anti Slytherin, and the 5th years weren't about to let their newest friend go through that alone, especially when you take a moment to consider the perpetrator was one of Harry's closest friends. Slytherins stick together.

"Ron," Harry started, turning to look at the much taller boy. "Dumbledore had me resorted, and I'm in Slytherin now."

"What the h-" Ron started.

"Harry!" Gred announced, jumping in before Ron had the chance to draw his wand and the situation got ugly

"How come you're in Slytherin now?" Forge asked, draping an arm over Harry's shoulders.

"Hope it wasn't because of this idiot." Gred said, gesturing to Ron.

"If so we apologise. He's a bit of an idiot." Forge said, whispering loudly, probably just for the dramatic effect.

"No, don't worry, it wasn't because of Ron, or any other Gryffindor for that matter." Harry said, laughing at the play glare the twins had been sending at Ron. "Dumbledore had me resorted, said I didn't belong in Gryffindor."

"Is he loosing it in his old age?" Gred asked, looking at Harry, the epitome of Gryffindor.

"I dunno, but apparently the Sorting Hat agreed." Harry said with a shrug, glad the twins still accepted him.

"And what's with the makeup?" Forge asked looking at Harry's eyelids.

"Looks great, but I've never seen you wear the stuff before." Gred said, also admiring the detailed work done on the boy's eyelids.

"That's my handiwork you're admiring." Pansy said, pulling herself up to her tallest height, although she barely reached the lanky twins' elbows.

"Nice job." Gred said, turning to look at her.

"You almost can't tell how much of a mess he is." Forge added, ruffling Harry's hair, making it messier than it was before, if that was possible.

"Hey." Harry said, jokingly, catching a laugh in the back of his throat.

-----

That evening, just before curfew, Fred and George waltzed into the Slytherin common room, a green trim to their robes and a proud smirk on their faces showing that they had gotten themselves a resorting. They walked straight over to the sofa Harry was sitting on, playing a game of exploding snap with Theodore and loosing spectacularly, and sat themselves on either side of the young hero.

"Fred, George?" Harry asked, finally noticing the twins as they shook the sofa he sat on. "What are you doing here?"

"Displaying an act of solidarity." Fred stated.

"If you got resorted, so will we." George added, relaxing into the sofa. Unlike the the worn fabric armchairs in Gryffindor, the Slytherin armchairs and sofas were all plush and black, either leather or dragon hide. The pillows and blankets were where the house colours came through, green and silver, some with the house crest embroidered on them.

Pansy was on them before they could properly get settled, though, makeup and brushes in hand, an excited glint in her eyes. Nobody had even seen her go into the girls' dorm to get her makeup.

-----

It took half an hour for Pansy to be pleased with the twins' makeup. George's eyes had a little chain of sunflowers at the crease, a faded reddish gold on his eyelids, Fred, on the other hand, had his eyelids looking like wild waves, white tipped and wild looking.

"Now we'll be able to tell you apart." Pansy said, feeling proud of herself. "This will work until we know you better."

"Don't be so sure you'll ever tell us apart." Fred said with a laugh.

"Even our own mother calls us by the wrong name, not that we help her." George finished.

"Seriously?" Blaise asked, looking at them with his mouth agape. How can someone not tell their own children apart?

"Siriusly." George whispered to Harry, making the three fabulous boys chuckle lightly.

-----

The next morning while everyone was on their way to breakfast, Angelina caught Harry, Fred, and George as they was passing her. She looked a mixture of angry and stressed.

"What's this about the three of you now being Slytherins?" She hissed, her Quidditch Captain badge glinting as it caught the light.

"Shoot, sorry Angelina." Fred said, cottoning onto why she was so angry with them.

"Sorry isn't going to get me perfect beaters again? Is it?" She said, her eyes flashing in frustration. "Harry, did you even want to be a part of the Quidditch team this year!?"

Harry didn't say anything, just looked at her with his mouth agape. How could she ask that? Of course he wanted to be on the Quidditch team, it was about the only thing he was good at. She was seriously asking him this because that cow gave him detention and wouldn't let him be at the tryouts and now because Dumbledore decided he 'wasn't Gryffindor enough'?

"Angelina, he didn't get a choice about being resorted." George cut in, giving her a reprimanding look.

"Then whose was it? McGonagall?" Angelina snapped  at him.

"It was Dumbledore." Harry said, starting to feel his blood boil. An odd ache started to form on his back, near his shoulder blades, but he just ignored it.

"Well you can all just go back and asked to be sorted back into Gryffindor."  Angelina huffed, folding her arms and glaring at her prey.

"No, Angelina. I'm sorry that this ruins your Quidditch plans, but we're Slytherins now." Fred said, stalking past the girl who now looked as though she had half a mind to hex the three boys, but the other half wanted to curl into a ball and cry.

-----

"Harry!" Hermione called, outside potions, before pulling him into a bear hug. "Are you okay?"

"'Mione, I'm fine." Harry said, smiling with relief as he was clearly still accepted by his most constant, if a little overbearing, friend.

"You sure?" She asked, giving him a look over, taking a double take at the much more subtle makeup he was wearing that day, Pansy had insisted she did it for him again, and he wasn't complaining.

"Lime what you see, Granger?" Pansy asked, never missing an opportunity to gloat, especially not about work she was so proud of, green was definitely Harry's colour.

"Pansy did it for me, yesterday too." Harry explained, seeing his friend's confused look, especially at the wink sent her way from the prior mentioned Slytherin.

"It does suite you Harry, I just never thought it was your thing." Hermione said, not quite sure about what she was being told, but seeing the slight frown on Harry's face she hurried to correct herself. "Not that it's wrong, just unexpected! I think you look amazing."

"Why thank you, I didn't exactly have the worst to start with though. Harry, you have amazing eyelashes." Pansy said, her nose in the air.

"Uhh, thanks?" Harry said, not totally sure what to make of the compliment.

"It's weird not having you in the room, mate." Ron's voice said from behind Harry, almost making him jump.

"It's strange for me too." Harry said, a somewhat nervous smile gracing his lips.

"Now let's take a look at that makeup, mate." Ron said with a friendly smirk. "You look strange."

"Excuse you, I look fabulous!" Harry said with mock outrage, sticking his chin in the air.

-----

That evening, Harry took a slightly less than well known path to Umbridge's office to write with his own blood again. It was only when he opened the door that he realised that this time he wouldn't have Hermione staying up, waiting for him with a bowl of essence of dittany to soothe his smarting cuts.

"Mr Potter, after you missed yesterday's detention, not to mention my lesson, you won't mind coming back for another week of detention." She said, her voice a sickening sweet tone that would attract fewer flies than honey.

Suppressing his rage at the injustice of the situation, Harry just muttered a "Yes Professor." before getting ready to write the same words now forever etched into his skin.

It seemed that this evening, Umbridge had no desire to let him go until well past curfew, perhaps in the hopes that he would get caught by Filch. Harry was starting to feel light headed, and it was impossible to see through the inky blackness by the time Umbridge finally dismissed him.

Once out of the room, Harry covered himself in the invisibility cloak and staggered his way back to the Slytherin common room, actively having to turn himself away from the shortcuts leading to Gryffindor tower. The walk took much longer than it should have, Harry clearly having lost more blood than he thought, the amount of times he had to crouch with his head between his knees to prevent himself from passing out.

He thought the Slytherin common room would be empty, after all, it was only ever Ron and Hermione in the Gryffindor common room when he came back, and surely this was much later than it usually was. He was wrong in this assumption though.

After the portrait closed behind him, Harry almost suffered a heart attack as the shadow he thought was a pile of blankets moved, and a familiar drawl met his ears.

"And where have you been? Even the prefects have finished patrolling." Draco said, flicking his wand to light the fire. "Not in the Gryffindor common room, I hope."

"Detention." Harry muttered, gesturing to the door with his injured hand, before hissing and pulling it back towards him.

That, and the unusual pallor of Harry's face, caused the stern look on Draco's face to fade away as he walked over to the small hero. He grabbed the hand Harry had been sheltering and cursed under his breath.

"Blood quill." He muttered, dropping Harry's hand, taking the other and pushing the sick looking boy down onto one of the armchairs.

"What's a blood quill?" Harry asked, unsure he really wanted to know the answer.

"It's a quill that when written with steals the writer's magic and makes them bleed. It's been illegal for years now, and for good reason. It's a torture device and can make people go insane." Draco explained, looking at Harry's face carefully. "If used too much, it can even kill."

"Seriously?" Harry asked, he was shaking slightly, and if his face had gotten any colour back, it was gone again. How much had he used that quill now? How much magic had he lost?

"You said you were at a detention." Draco pressed, needing to get a full picture before he went to his father about this injustice, and looking for a way to reverse the damage. "Was that where you were using this?"

Harry had lost the ability to form words; shock, fatigue and blood loss each taking a toll on his body that was already weak. He nodded, missing the sharp intake of breath from Draco as he tried to figure out if he was in any danger of insanity from that torture device.

"Which teacher?" Draco asked lowly, pretty sure he already knew, but needing to be sure. It was too late to take Harry to the hospital wing today, but that was going to be Harry's first stop the next morning, whether he wanted it to be or not.

"Umbridge." Harry whispered, sensing Draco's growing range, not feeling too fond of the idea of that rage being aimed at him.

"Damn that woman." Draco hissed, wanting to hex something, but knowing that he needed to look after Harry first. He looked so weak he was honestly shocked the boy had made it to the dungeons at all.

Draco put an arm under Harry's arms, knowing the stubborn hero would want to walk on his own, but ready to take most of his weight. Walking Harry to his bed and helping him change, Draco truly noticed for the first time how light and skinny Harry was. Of course, he had always known Harry was light, he was a seeker, but this was unhealthy.

It wasn't surprising that Harry was asleep almost immediately as he lay in the bed, his face so pale he almost blended into the white linen sheets, red still seeping into the dressing covering the wound. Draco, on the other hand, took much longer to get to sleep, it was in the first DADA lesson of the year that Harry had gotten his first detention from that toad, it was almost Christmas, why hadn't anyone done anything about it?

-----

The next morning, Harry had a little more colour in his cheeks, but he was still unhealthily pale, the dressing a shiny red suggesting the blood was at least fairly fresh. Not waiting for anyone to dress, Draco put on his slippers, and dragged Harry to the hospital wing, ignoring the words of protest he was getting.

Leaving Harry in Mme Pomfrey's hands, who had immediately given Harry a potion to counteract the blood loss, before even looking at the wound, Draco went back to the Slytherin dorm. No doubt the others had questions.

"What was wrong with him?" Blaise asked, before Draco was even through the portrait hole, everyone fully dressed.

"Blood quill." Draco said, sounding bitter as he walked to the 5th year boys' dorm to get changed. "That bitch of a new teacher is apparently using it for detentions."

"But he's been having detentions with her since the start of the year." Fred said, looking sick.

"No wonder Hermione was making so much essence of dittany." George breathed, they had thought it was for one of her wacky projects.

"And why Ron looked ready to kill every time she was mentioned." Fred finished. They had assumed it was because she was a terrible teacher, they hadn't realised she was torturing her students.

"She's going to pay for this." Pansy growled, having grown rather fond of Harry from their little makeup sessions.

"She'll pay so much her descendants will still be feeling it." Theodore agreed.

"She won't have descendants." Blaise growled, his eyes dangerous, undeveloped vela wings bursting through his robes.

-----

Hermione had forgotten that Harry wasn't a Gryffindor anymore, and she and Ron had camped out all night in the common room, a bowl of dittany waiting for a boy who never came. Hermione could have kicked herself when she woke up, remembering where Harry was when she saw the bowl still sitting on the table. What a waste of ingredients.

It wasn't until neither she nor Ron saw Harry at breakfast that she got worried.

"Fred, George." She called, running up to the two Slytherins she knew. "Do you know where Harry is?"

"He's in the hospital wing." Fred said, a bitter tone in his voice, as though he had the desire to destroy everything he set eyes on.

"Malfoy took him there this morning." George finished, looking just as angry as his brother. Their makeup that day pride flags, Fred the gay pride, and George the ace pride.

"What? Is he okay!?" Hermione asked, not knowing what she would do if her first true friend was seriously injured.

"He had a blood quill used on him."

"What do you think?"

"A blood quill?" Hermione asked, the colour draining from her face "I didn't know... I thought it was one of those legal versions that were made, you know, the ones that don't steal magic."

"Granger, those were made up by a corrupt ministry official who made an excuse to keep using them." Draco said from behind the group.

Hermione's hands were trembling and she had tears in her eyes from the news, she immediately ran off to the hospital wing, needing to make sure for herself that Harry was okay.

-----

That evening the Slytherins, with the help of Hermione (and Ron, although he had to go early on for Quidditch practice), looked for ways to get Harry's magic back and make Umbridge pay, if both could be done at once then that would be preferable, but even if it was only one they would be happy.

"Hey! I found something." Theodore said, holding up an old, crumpled piece of paper. "I don't know if it works, but this is an incantation that calls upon magic itself to undo the damage caused by its gifts."

Hermione took the paper and looked at it. It was in a scruffy cursive font, but it was still readable. It must be old, though, as the spell itself was in Parseltongue, and it was cast without a want. From the translation around the side, it would undo the damage to all parties the spell saw fit the description, and then cast judgement on those seen as guilty. 

"This should work." Hermione said, looking up from her position, squinting at the tiny handwriting that provided an explanation of the spell. "It'll also punish Umbridge, if the translation and explanation is correct."

-----

When Harry reentered the Slytherin common room after sneaking out of the hospital wing when Mme Pomfrey's back was turned, he found his housemates all packing away large stacks of books, old and new. What they had been looking for, he had no clue, after all, they were too similar for it to be random, but too different for it to be a piece of homework.

"Harry, aren't you supposed to still be in the hospital wing?" Blaise asked, noticing the scrawny boy just inside the portrait hole.

"I'm fine." Harry insisted, raising his hands as everyone turned to face him.

"You're our youngest brother." Fred said, walking over to Harry, a loving, but stern expression on his face, slightly ruined by the rainbow on his eyes.

"We will look after you, if you need us to or not." George said, his expression matching his brother's, the shades of grey with a purple stripe doing more to support the look.

"I said I'm fine." Harry insisted, walking over to the arm chair Draco had pushed him into the night prior.

-----

It was the following evening, before Harry went to his detention that the others told him about the spell Theodore found. Harry didn't even realise it was written in Parseltongue, as usual.

"It would probably be safer to use it now, before you go." Draco said. "Old spells tend to be deadly if you stop casting them before they were complete and she might stop you."

"Also, if anything went wrong, we would want to be here so we know it gets dealt with properly." Blaise added.

"Is it likely to go wrong?" Harry asked, not sure quite how he felt about the spell.

"No, but it's possible." Pansy reassured him, having spent her whole Sunday in the library with Hermione researching the spell.

Harry took a deep breath, before the normal hissing and spitting filled the room, a tense silence overcoming everyone else. When Harry had stopped speaking, there was silence for a moment, nothing happening. That was until a warm breeze filled the room, swirling around Harry, Draco, Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle.

The Slytherins were quickly released from the sharp, but warm breeze, Crabbe and Goyle receiving small bruises before they were released. Harry, however, was not released from the breeze, although there was no sharp edge for him.

That was, until he suddenly felt as though he had been stabbed in the stomach. 

He doubled over in pain, coughing harshly. It was a moment later, after another puff of the magical breeze, that Harry lay on the floor, unconscious. He almost looked like he was melting.

Blaise and Draco were the first to his side, closely followed by Fred and George. They shook Harry, trying to wake him up, but they didn't get any response. Checking his heart rate and breathing, everything seemed normal. Harry wasn't supposed to be punished.

Not even a second later, it became clear as Harry's skin got darker, his hair no longer a dark mess, but a warmer black and, although messed up at this moment, a clearly neat mass on his head.

When Harry's change had finished, he looked almost like a smaller version of Blaise, his skin maybe half a shade lighter. Blaise felt himself start to choke up, Harry had been Damien this whole time?

"Damien?" Blaise eventually whispered, his voice breaking. He got no response from the sleeping teen, not that he really expected one, but there was no mistaking the boy in front of him.

"Damien? As in..." Draco trailed off, but Blaise got what he meant and gave him a nod, his eyes still fixed on his long lost twin.

-----

In Dumbledore's office a certain chain broke, allowing the red and gold bird to disappear in a burst of flames, off to seek her real master, not the fool who chained her down. He should be careful, the Concepts had been made aware of the crimes he had committed against her boy. It was only a matter of Time.

-----

Damien awoke the next morning, half expecting to find himself in the hospital wing from the stabbing pain he felt yesterday and the aches and pains he became aware of before the real world had really taken hold of him. He was very pleased when he looked around and saw that he was, instead, in one of the beds in the Slytherin 5th year boys' dorm. Those beds were so soft he felt as though he was weightless and floating on a cloud.

"Damien, you're awake." Draco's relieved voice came from beside him. Damien? Did they get a new house member?

As soon as Draco had said those words, Blaise jumped into view, looking as though he hadn't slept for a week, although it had only been one night. "Damien! How are you feeling?"

"Wha? Who's Damien?" He asked, accepting the hug Blaise wrapped him in.

"Damien Zabini, Blaise's twin brother who was kidnapped 14 years ago the night of Halloween." Draco explained, seeing the confusion on his friend's face.

"You, Damien." Blaise finished, looking at his brother, tears ready to spill from his eyes.

"Me? Did you hit your head or something? I'm Harry, Harry Potter." Damien said, not harshly, but how could he be a boy he had never heard of?

"No, I don't know where Harry Potter is, or even if he's alive, but you are not Harry Potter." Draco said, giving the confused boy a mirror so he could see his new appearance.

"I'm.. But- how?" Damien asked, looking at the two boys on either side of him.

"My guess? You were used as  cover for the real Harry Potter to go into hiding." Blaise asked, unable to not hug his twin for more than a minute.

"But... Why?" Damien asked, not ready to believe that he had gone through all those hardships, watched Cedric die, all to cover for the real Harry Potter.

"I don't know. But I do know that we need to get breakfast." Draco said, trying to coax Blaise off Damien for long enough  for the latter to get up.

-----

As Damien walked into the Great Hall, he was blocked from sight on all sides. Fred and George on either side of him, Draco and Blaise in front and behind. Damien was grateful for this, he didn't need others' questions right now, he had enough of his own.

It was about halfway through the meal, Damien barely eating, pushing his food around his plate, when a 3 unknown, hooded figures stepped into the hall. They all looked young, each wearing a different colour.

"We have been called here to punish those who have wronged the boy who called on us." The one in blue said, stepping forwards, their voice echoing around the hall.

"We have decided the best way to do this is through trial, this shall be the place of the event." The one on the other side, wearing black, their cloak almost looking like dragon hide.

"Unless on trial, or to comfort the one who summoned us, none shall speak until the punishments are carried out." The final one said, stepping forward, their faded purple cloak sweeping the floor.

"Who are you?" Dumbledore demanded, standing up and looking at the newcomers. "I cannot allow those who could cause my students harm in this building."

"Oh, but Albus, you have so many times in the past." The blue clad one said, a smirk glinting through the shadow cast from the low hanging hood.

"And we are no threat to those who are just." The dragon hide one said, a little too much glee in their voice for the old man's liking.

"I must command that you reveal yourselves or leave." Dumbledore said. 

Fawkes choosing that moment to reappear in a burst of flames, at the Slytherin table. She settled on the shoulder of a child he couldn't quite see for the tall students surrounding them, but he could hazard a guess it was the blasted Damien Zabini. Hopefully still looking like the Potter boy.

"Your commands have no effect on us, old coot, but very well, we will show you who we are." The purple clad stranger said.

All three threw their hoods back, there stood three elves, their long hair flowing in a magical breeze, each one adorned with a different material wound around their heads as a crown. The one dressed in blue has a glowing golden band of intricately woven strands of pure magic. The one dressed in black dragon hide was crowned with silver numbers that slowly moved around their head. Our purple clad friend had a chain of countless flowers, each with a name on the stem or petal.

"Let the trial begin!" The blue clad elf declared, the teacher's table parting, 12 chairs with chains snaking their way up the arms and legs, not unlike the one Damien had sat on that summer to defend himself from warding off Dementors.

"I, Fate, call upon Albus Dumbledore, Cornelius Fudge, Dolores Umbridge, Petunia Dursley, Vernon Dursley, Dudley Dursley, Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Tom Riddle, Lily Potter, and James Potter to be judged." The purple clad elf declared in a booming voice, with each name they said, another seat was filled.

"I, Time, call for Harry Potter to be present to see what suffering was brought about for his sheltered upbringing." The black loving elf said, as a boy much taller and broader than the one the students of Hogwarts had considered as Harry Potter arrived. His clothes were much grander and fit him well, unlike the rags they were used to him wearing.

"Mum, dad, Padfoot, Moony, what's going on?" Harry, the real Harry, asked, looking at his parents chained to the chairs as he stood in a room of people he didn't know. He immediately reached for his wand, but no spells he tried to cast worked.

"Insolent boy. Sit down, you might learn something." The one in blue hissed sneering at the boy.

Harry gulped, he could literally feel the power coming off these elves, power he did not want directed at him for any reason. He quietly took a seat at the Gryffindor table, feeling unnerved by the hateful looks sent his way.

"I, Magic, and my fellows have brought you all here today for you to pay for your crimes against Damien Zabini." Magic announced, turning back to those on trial, their blue cloak spinning up as they turned around.

"Crimes, I am a warrior of Light!" Dumbledore argued.

"Oh? Then why has my child forsaken you to find a new master? Why was she bound by an invisible chain in your office?" Magic asked rounding on him. "All phoenixes are more than willing to bond with a warrior of the light, yet Fawkes tried so hard to get away from you, you saw fit to bind her to you by other means."

Turning away from Dumbledore, however, the three turned to Delores Umbridge, sitting there, trying to look cute and sweet, but only achieving the effect of looking like a toad. Her eyes were popping out of their sockets, and she was much too yellow to suit the pink frilly dress she wore. It was clearly too tight, as it showed the layers of fat that were moved aside before it reaches the bone, squeezing her in the most unflattering and uncomfortable ways.

"You, Delores Umbridge, have abused your position for years, but within the recent months, you have been abusing the blood quill you stole to silence a voice of truth." Fate said, their eyes flashing with rage, while their tone remained flat and emotionless.

"You have stolen blood and magic for years, forcing your will and opinions on others, believing yourself because I graced you with a gift, although a weak one." Magic said, significantly worse at keeping their voice flat and monotone, the gentle breeze that was causing their hair to flow gently, was getting stronger, their hair now whipping around them.

"In addition, you sent dementors against an innocent wizard, forcing him to use magic in front of a muggle that you then charged him for, even though the only muggles who saw him were already aware of magic." Time added, laying a hand on Magic's shoulder in the hopes of calming their friend down.

"I did nothing of the sort! That boy cast a Patronus charm in the middle of a muggle street, in the view of a muggle." Umbridge declared, too proud to admit her faults.

"Oh really?" Fate asked as the Great Hall was replaced by a freezing cold muggle street.

The students watched in horrified curiosity as Harry was almost kissed by a dementor that was holding him in the air. They had been so focused on the boy that had been their hero for so many years, they hadn't even noticed the obese muggle teen laying on the ground close by, until Harry sent the stag that was his Patronus charging at the dementors that were surrounding him.

Then the scene changed to the ministry, Delores looking smug as the alarm went up that a complex bit of magic had been cast in Little Whinging. She set fire to the piece of paper that proved that she had sent a small number of dementors to that location.

The Great Hall returned to its normal position, all the students looked at each other, trying to discuss what they had just seen, but their voices didn't come. At the Slytherin table, Blaise and Draco hugged Damien close, the boy in question looking slightly paler than he had previously. In his chair at the front of the room, Dudley looked sick, his weight drastically less than it had been before, although still overweight.

"Care to lie to us again?" Time asked, glaring at the toad like woman, who gulped, moving as far away from her prosecutors as she could, chained to the chair as she was.

"As payment for your crimes, you will live out the rest of your life as a house elf here in Hogwarts, except you will have none of my gifts to call on, nor will you be able to be freed from your position." Magic declared, a sneer on their face. "And every time you disobey, or try to give your tasks to another, you shall feel the pain you inflicted on others with the blood quill. The same will happen if you do nothing while the others are busy."

Before Umbridge could say anything, she was encased in a flash of white light, and where she once was, now sat a house elf, dressed in a clean pink pillowcase.

"Cornelius Fudge, you have disregarded dangers facing the country you are supposed to keep safe. Instead of listening and seeing the evidence right in front of you, you decided to discredit the one trying to warn the world of the threats." Fate announced, disdain in their eyes.

"Your punishment will be to live amongst the muggles, as one of their lowest." Time said, waving their hand and he was gone, although a wisp of the same golden light that crowned Magic lingered in the air, before it returned to the elf in question.

"Petunia, you have always been jealous of your sister's gifts, forever insulting her and putting her down. Your hatred for her was passed down to the boy you believed to be her son, treating him as no more than a slave." Magic said, a glint in their eyes that made the hairs on the back of the necks of those on trial stand on end.

"He's a freak! I couldn't have him infect my Diddykins!" Petunia yelled, not feeling guilty in the least for her poor treatment of the boy she thought was her nephew. Sitting on the other side of Dudley, Lily looked shocked, paling and looking as though she wanted to be sick.

"You know that isn't true. After all the time you spent trying to get magic yourself, you should know that you can't catch magic from others. And that doesn't excuse your abuse and neglect of a child." Fate said, a deadly edge to their voice.

"And you, Vernon, are no better, while the man does not run the house, you could have stopped Petunia from abusing the child so harshly, instead you encouraged her. Not only did you let her have her way with the boy, but harmed him yourself and encouraged your son to do the same." Time said, glaring at the man who seemed to age 50 years under their cold glare.

"The two of you will have to live and work in the wizarding world, although you may not have any of my gifts." Magic said, smiling evilly at the cowering muggles fighting at the restraints. "If you set foot in the muggle world again, you will loose one of your senses each time."

"No..." Petunia sobbed.

"Dudley Dursley. You are guilty of years of abuse of the boy you believed was your cousin, however that was only out of fear of receiving his treatment yourself. You were also conditioned by your parents to believe that was alright, so your punishment shall be more lenient." Fate said, turning to the pale boy who was trembling in his chair, their voice slightly friendlier, but still cold.

"You shall be returned to a baby and given to a childless family who will then raise you correctly." Time said, waving their hand and both Dudley and the chair was gone.

"Peter Pettigrew. You have abused my gift greatly, turning your back on those who trusted you with their lives, selling them out to the man trying to kill them and their baby, then hid for years as a rat. Only last year you killed another of my gifted, and stole the blood of the boy who requested our judgement." Magic said, looking down their nose at the snivelling man with disgust.

"He was going to kill me..." Peter sobbed, his face covered with tears and snot, his voice trembling, but he got no sympathy from those watching. "I did what I had to to live, you would have done the same."

"We are our present selves because we didn't." Time said, turning away from the pitiful man chained to the chair. "And that doesn't excuse your actions."

"For your crimes, any power you still hold will be stripped of you, every time you try to align yourself with someone more powerful than you for protection your life will be shortened by a week." Fate declared. "Every time you betray someone who trusts you, your live shall be shortened by a year. If, however, you help the weak or choose to stay with those who trust you, even when faced with your worst nightmare, your life will be extended, or you will get one of the powers you currently hold returned."

"Lily Potter, you allowed another child take the place of your own while he lived a pampered life with you and your husband. You chose to forget about this boy and the hardships he may face, and for that a significant amount of his suffering is on your shoulders." Time said turning to the pale, red haired woman who was now sitting next to her husband and a large gap where her nephew once was.

"I understand, I had been told he was an orphan who would be treated as a hero, and I felt it would be alright if he faced a little trouble to keep my son safe, I hadn't known my own sister could..." Lily's voice trailed off, tears she was unwilling to let fall filled her eyes, ready to spill and pour down her face.

"You are the first this morning to admit your faults, and your confession and regret will be taken into account with your punishment." Magic, inclining their head to the witch in front of her.

"I accept whatever you do to me." Lily lowered her head in shame.

"You will act as a servant to the Zabini family for 14 years, the amount of time Damien was suffering for your son." Fate explained, Lily just nodded, keeping her eyes on the floor.

"James Potter, unlike your wife, you were well aware of the identity of the child whose life was put on the line for you to pamper the boy who had originally had a great destiny." Time said, fixing the man in question with a much harsher look than they had his wife. At the Gryffindor table, the real Harry's eyes widened in shock, hearing his father's actions, but also feeling a little glad his father was so willing to protect him.

"So what? I took a child who was sure to become a Death Eater and gave him the chance to live as a her." James spat, Lily looking at him with shocked, tear filled eyes, suddenly wanting to be much further away from her husband.

"That's where you're wrong. While the boy's family were rich Slytherins, they were not Death Eaters, but neutral in the war you mortals raged." Magic commented, looking as though they couldn't care less, but the angered glint in their eyes 

At the Slytherin table, Blaise was holding onto Damien tightly, fighting hard to not let his vela wings out and charge at the man who stole his brother from him and was insulting his whole family. Damien just wanted to disappear, he didn't want to hear how everyone had wronged him, but he knew that he needed to know.

"Furthermore, that belief does not justify your murder of the woman babysitting them that evening. You have no value for the lives you took or the lives you have been ruining since you were a child as the teachers turned a blind eye." Fate looked down their nose at the proud man who refused to admit his faults in the way his wife had.

"For your multitude of crimes, you will relive your Hogwarts years at Durmstrang, hopefully they will drill some compassion into you. After those years are up, you will be put on trial in the wizarding world for your crimes and do whatever punishment they give you. In those years, you will not be allowed to see the friends and family you have now except for a single day during the summer holidays." Time declared, a half sneer on their face as they looked down at the shocked face of James.

"What? You can't do that! I was protecting my family! I did nothing wrong." James insisted, trying to reach his wand.

"We can arrange it so that you don't get to see them at all." Magic said. "Oh, and if your attitude doesn't change, you will live the rest of your life as a muggle."

James let out a low growl of anger and Harry tried to call out to defend his father. After all, as far as he was concerned, his dad had been right. He was the boy destined to kill the Dark Lord, who cared if some nobody had to suffer for a while in order to protect him as he learned how to fight and trained to fulfil said destiny?

With the toss of a head from Time, James had vanished, Lily sitting in her seat properly again, no longer pulling away from her husband.

"Remus Lupin, while you taught the boy to use a Patronus charm, you did so unwillingly and only after being directly asked to. You also noticed the poor state of the boy's health and did nothing about it, not even speak to the boy or Dumbledore." Fate said, looking down at the sickly werewolf.

"He- I-..." Remus tried to say, but the words died on his tongue, he had no excuse for his actions other than his blind trust in the old wizard.

"We are aware of the pack mentality brought about by being bitten as a child, however the child was supposed to be your cub and you weren't even concerned about him, effectively shunning him from your pack in favour of the child hidden away from the world." Time said, looking at the ashamed wolf. 

This was angering Harry, what was wrong with his father's friends caring more about him than a fake created for the world? Didn't they realise that it didn't matter what happened to him? He was just a replacement, an understudy. Of course people would care more about the real thing.

At the Slytherin table Damien was trying hard to not let this betrayal get to him, he knew that everything would get so much worse. After all, while Remus had been his teacher and role model, they hadn't been that close, but Sirius had been his father figure. Fred and George looked ready to kill, and Damien couldn't see the rest of the table as Blaise and Draco were holding him so he could only look straight ahead at the twins.

"As your punishment, you will go through your teen years again, far away from your old friends with your memories of them removed, you will be provided access to the wolfsbane potion, but if you disregard someone who is supposed to be in your pack again, that potion will have no effect for you." Magic told the werewolf who looked relieved that it wasn't anything worse.

"You can't take Moony away from us!" Sirius shouted, struggling against his restraints, it was enough that he would only get to see James once at year at most, but to never see his lover again? And for what? Not caring about a replacement as much as the real thing?

"Silence! You will have your turn before long, don't worry." Fate said, glaring at the messy man. "Remus Lupin, you will attend Ilvermorny, we hope you can improve yourself."

Magic waved their hand and Remus was gone, Sirius looking ready to kill the three Concepts in front of them. Lily looked at him, where had this rage come from, when had the men that she cared so much about become so cruel? Had she just been blind to it?

"Sirius Black, you were wrongly convicted of betraying the Potters and locked away in Azkaban for 12 years, or so the wizarding world was lead to believe. In reality, Albus Dumbledore saved you from that fate and you spent those 12 years with your godson until you discovered where Peter Pettigrew was when you 'escaped'." Time said, making Damien's eyes widen. If Sirius had never been a threat and Dumbledore knew that, why did he increase the security so much? Why had he allowed the dementors to be at Hogwarts?

"During that time, you met Damien, the boy who believed he was Harry Potter, and you offered him a home. You, a convicted serial killer on the run from the law, offered a thirteen year old boy a home, and he jumped at the chance. How could that not worry you?" Magic asked, glaring at the man looking ready to commit the crimes he was accused of.

"What was I supposed to think? He's not my godkid, Harry is. He is just a random kid with a scar cut into his forehead! Are you going to punish me for caring about my actual godchild?" Sirius asked, sneering at the Concepts.

"You offered him a place to stay. That was a lie, did you even think about him?" Fate asked, their nose upturned at the man beneath them.

"His friends were with him, what was I supposed to do? It's not like I meant it." Sirius said, rolling his eyes.

Damien was hiding his face in Blaise's chest trying to stop himself from crying, but the tears wouldn't stop coming. He knew when this whole thing began that whatever Sirius had done would hurt him, but for the man he had looked up to, admired, and always turned to when he needed help, to talk about him as if he was nothing? His heart was breaking and he honestly didn't know what he would do if it wasn't for Draco, Blaise, Fred and George, he honestly didn't think he would be able to cope. He felt at least slightly safer being hugged by his twin and friend.

"Sirius, your punishment is to go to another version of reality, this one never had the mistake of making a replacement Harry, however they lost him to their own foolishness. You shall stay there until the wounds of those close to the boy have healed, however this boy was far more like Damien than Harry." Time said, waving their hand before Sirius had the chance to complain and he was gone.

"Tom Riddle, you have greatly abused my gift, instead of helping others you destroyed yourself and killed and maimed my children. The gifts I bestow are not given poorly, and yet you saw yourself fit to question those I gifted and remove their existence? You have used so many spells that hurt others and you believe to be speaking for Slytherin, but in all my years of knowing him he has never condoned your actions." Magic said, finally turning to the dark wizard who had been rather enjoying the show.

"Now, see here, I know that I have not treated the boy with the respect he deserved, but I was lead to believe he was the boy destined to kill me. If I had known of his unfortunate circumstances I would have worked to return him to his family." Voldemort said.

"No doubt to seek some form of reward. New followers perhaps?" Fate asked, their voice as smooth as silk, but danger dripping from their honey like tone.

"Tom Riddle, as your punishment, every time you hurt, kill, or persuade others to do that for you, your life will be shortened by a week, every time you heal another, your life will increase by a day. All those nasty horcruxes have already been removed. To begin this new life of yours, you have a week." Time said, turning away from the spluttering dark wizard.

"Finally, Albus Dumbledore, you claim to be a warrior of the Light, and yet you have possibly committed the most crimes, even going so far as to chain a Phoenix." Magic said, barely suppressing their rage.

"However, as one of those crimes is tricking your way into being the headmaster of Hogwarts, we felt as though the best people to pass judgement on you would be the founders themselves." Fate said, smiling at the idea of allowing their old friends to pass judgement on the man they had so long complained about.

-----

Feeling the front of his robes begin to dry, Blaise looked down to see Damien was asleep, what they just went through was a lot, after all, who could blame him. All those people he had cared about and believed cared for him were just revealed to not care in the slightest. Damien still had the tear tracks down his cheeks, little lines of white where the tears dried leaving the salt behind.

"We should take him to the hospital wing, just to check him over." Draco whispered to Blaise, not wanting to draw attention to the so attention shy boy. It would not be good for him to wake up surrounded by people reminding him of what had just happened.

"We'll come too." George said, getting to his feet, Fred along side him, being careful to keep Damien out of view of everyone still.

"He is our little brother after all." Fred added, waiting for the two younger boys to get up, making sure Damien was supported.

Blaise glared at the ginger twins, but didn't say anything as he easily carried Damien to the hospital wing, the same 4 standing around him to make sure the now sleeping boy wasn't in anyone's line of sight. Damien would need time before he could really face the rest of the school.

"Fred, George, wait up!" Ron called, running over to his brothers after they were out of the Great Hall.

"Do you know where Harry, our Harry, is?" Hermione asked, a few steps behind Ron as they came up to the 4 Slytherins, Damien still hidden from view.

"His name is Damien." Blaise said, glaring at Hermione. "And he's my twin."

"Is Damien okay? Merlin, I hope he wasn't there for that, if Black wasn't sent away I would have killed him for doing that to him." Ron said, gripping his wand hard, a few sparks coming out of the end.

"Ron, he was there for the whole thing." Fred said, ready to restrain Ron if needed.

"I can't begin to understand how painful that must have been for him..." Hermione whispered, tears shimmering in her eyes.

"Let's just go to the Hospital Wing already." Draco drawled, wanting Damien to be checked over as soon as possible.

"Yeah, come on guys, we can talk there." George said, gesturing for them all to start walking again.

-----

"I guess we shouldn't use that spell again..." Hermione said, after hearing the events that occurred after Harry had cast the spell. "That's probably why those three elves showed up."

"Indeed it is, you have a sharp mind, Hermione Granger." Magic said, walking into the room, towards the bed that held the very vulnerable looking Damien, the same lightning bolt scar cut into his forehead.

Blaise was immediately on his feet, wand in hand as he faced the three elves came up to the bed, not looking as threatening as they had in the Great Hall during the trial.

"Worry not, young one, we aren't here to hurt anyone, but we realise you probably have questions, and we are here to answer them." Time said, taking a seat by the bed, looking almost fondly at the young boy in the bed.

"What happened to him... To make him look like Potter?" Draco asked, looking at the boy he once believed he hated, but in the short amount of time he got to know him, he realised hate was never a part of their relationship.

"An adoption spell, as Damien is a twin, he would look like a twin to the child whose blood was used to change him. However, he was missing the scar, so they cut it into him." Fate said sadly, brushing a stray hair away from Damien's mouth.

"Is he going to be alright?" Ron asked tentatively. Harry- Damien- may be a Slytherin now, not even who he thought he was, but they were both deceived and this wasn't just his friend but his younger brother.

"He will be easily fatigued for the next week to month, but he should be alright as long as he eats a decent amount. It was not easy turning him back, I used some of the magic stolen by the quill from others to complete it." Magic explained.

"Um, if you don't mind my asking, what are you?" Hermione asked, afraid to anger the powerful elves in front of them, but all three merely laughed.

"You needn't be afraid of us, we only punish the wicked. We are the Concepts that were called upon, although we were once humans like you. Keep going the way you are and you might become a Concept yourself, Hermione." Time said, smiling warmly at the young with filled with potential.

"Really?" Ron asked, looking at the amazing witch, not feeling envious as such, but worried about his close friend, maybe more.

"Yes, but only after a long time." Fate said, reassuring Ron he wasn't about to lose his best friends any time soon.

-----

Damien took a long time to adjust to his new life, all of his friends helping a great deal. The ghosts of the Founders ran Hogwarts for a long time before a new headmaster was found. The real Harry Potter was never seen again, having been taken by the Concepts to serve them for his arrogance.

Lily devoted herself o her work, using her decent pay to spoil the boy who had believed himself to be her son. In the evenings and days off, she and Molly would sit and gossip, knitting jumpers for all the Weasleys and the Zabini twins. She didn't take long to reconnect with Severus, both of them having a lot to apologise for. It took 5 years before they got together, Lily too afraid to trust her instincts again after James. She never had another child, so she treated Damien, Draco, and Blaise as her children, as well as all the Weasley kids.

Sirius Black never made it to all the scars of Harry's disappearance in that universe, being practically torn apart by that version of him and Remus after they found out why he was there. Remus was happy, with a much less abusive pack in America, happy without his memories of the Potters.

Tom Riddle never achieved his dream of immortality, he was too set in his old ways. 

The wizarding world got a new Minister of Magic, one who redeemed all the hateful laws put in place by Delores and Cornelius, allowing the Dark Creatures back into the wizarding wold as valued members of society. 

Damien got into a relationship with Draco in their 6th year, a lot of jealousy was aimed at both boys for the relationship, but they couldn't be happier. Damien went from a boy with nothing, to having three families and a very loving boyfriend and a phoenix more than willing to step in if he was hurt of in danger.

Hermione did indeed become a Concept after she died, becoming Knowledge, dressing in the red and gold of her house.

((A/N: So, this is a long one, I hope you like it. If you do, this is one I think would work better as a whole book, rather than one-shot. BTW, the drawing at the top is mine and that's what Damien looks like (he's at the Zabini house, not Shytherin common room.)))