Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin

Chapter 1: In Which Plans Are Made

"Potter" Manor
26 June 1994

Just before dawn, Harry Black awoke to the gentle ringing of a soft bell to find himself in a very large room. Though this was to be expected, Harry still found it mildly surprising. The master bedroom of Potter Manor was the biggest bedroom Harry had ever seen, and now it was his and his alone. For a boy who'd spent his formative years sleeping on a ratty mattress in a boot cupboard, it was somewhat intimidating. He wondered what the first Lord Potter to stay here had gotten up to with his Lady that they needed a bedroom this large. Then, he sneered at the thought of "Lord and Lady Potter," even if the thought was about Potters long since dead. And then, he became annoyed at himself for sneering, yet another side effect of the Oath of Enmity which his godfather, Sirius Black, had impulsively sworn against Harry's birth family.

About three months prior, Harry's cleverness, Peter Pettigrew's duplicity, and James Potter's ineptitude had conspired to land Harry an eighteen-year lease on Potter Manor. He'd been sleeping in the cavernous master bedroom for several nights now. And while he expected to enjoy his time here on this palatial estate, he was already tired of fighting a vague sense of constant supernatural annoyance every time he was reminded of who had originally owned the place.

"Okay," he thought irritably. "I definitely need to change the name of the place if I'm going to stay here. But to what? Wilkes Manor? The Black House? Harry's Hideaway?"

Harry's thoughts were interrupted by a salutation from the one who'd been ringing the bell to wake him.

"Good morning, Master Harry, sir," said Dobby cheerfully. "The time is 5:45 a.m. You are scheduled to meet with Master Theo out on the veranda in fifteen minutes for your morning constitutional, followed by breakfast in the solarium at 8:30 a.m. Miss Amaryllis, Master Sirius, and Master Regulus will be joining you both."

Dobby snapped his fingers, and a pair of running shorts and a t-shirt materialized on Harry's bed, along with trainers and socks. Harry sighed. His "morning constitutional" consisted of a brisk two-mile jog around the grounds followed by calisthenics and rudimentary Wu Xi Do training with his dear friend (and unofficial little brother, now that Jim Potter no longer played that role), Theo No-Name. Theo had been encouraging him to take up physical exercise with him, which Harry had thought a good idea at the time. In fact, in an ill-considered move, Harry had ordered Dobby to make sure he was up every morning in time for his run with Theo and to ignore any orders to let him sleep in unless Theo had okayed it. Alas, Theo had taken to being Harry's "personal trainer" with gusto, as Harry's still-sore muscles could attest.

"Master Harry's luncheon will be at noon," Dobby continued, "though Master Harry's solicitor will be arriving at 11:30 to discuss some House business before the arrival of the other guests."

"Thank you, Dobby," Harry said before heading into the en suite to use the facilities before changing. While washing his hands, Harry studied his own reflection for a few seconds. Then, he leaned in closer and stared deep into the reflection of his own green eyes. His forehead creased in concentration, but after about ten seconds, the boy exhaled loudly and shook his head before exiting. Out in the hall, Theo was already waiting for him with a smirk on his face.

"You are way too cheerful to be a Slytherin," Harry snapped.

"Come on!" the other boy said with a laugh. "This will be good for you."

"Why is it people only say 'this will be good for you' when they're talking about something unpleasant?" Harry asked sourly as he followed Theo down the hall.

Outside on the front lawn, Harry was surprised to see that someone had decided to join them for their early morning run around the grounds. It was Archie Goodwin, the American wizard who Sirius had recently hired both as his own personal bodyguard and as Harry's dueling coach. Originally from New York, as his accent could attest, Archie had been trained at Ilvermorny and specialized in Defense. A young man in his mid-20's, he was a Muggle-raised Halfblood, as was shown by how comfortable he looked in a Muggle track suit.