Changing Ideals

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter in any way shape or form. That is left to J.K. Rowling and her amazing talent as an honest to god, talented writer. I of course am not. I make no money from this story and am getting nothing for writing it. Suing me is useless, that is, unless you want a car that breaks down all at once and costs you an arm and a leg to get fixed just to break down after you get it back.

Chapter 1: The Awakening of New Ideals

When thinking of the summer holidays, most would think of fun times spent sleeping in, being lazy, and doing things with your friends. Well, if you were Harry Potter then these were the furthest things from your mind. He wasn\'t allowed to enjoy his holiday. It was just a week after the end of his fourth year of education at a boarding school. Now, you may not think this is special, but this wasn\'t just any boarding school. It was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You see, Harry Potter was a wizard and a downright good one at that. He came in second only to Hermione Granger, another student who happened to be one of his two best friends. Friends he wouldn\'t get to see this summer.

Before school let out, Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster, invited Harry up for a talk. He then proceeded to tell Harry that he would not be able to go to the Weasley\'s house or Miss Grangers house at all this summer. It simply was too dangerous. Now that Voldemort had risen, he would be out to kill Harry with more vengeance. It was too much of a risk, the wizarding world could not loose it\'s savior. That\'s right, every single light witch and wizard put all their hopes on a boy who was not even fifteen years old yet. They believed if anyone could kill the monster, it would be Harry. They didn\'t understand that it was actually his mother\'s loving sacrifice that kept him alive at the tender age of one. He wasn\'t all that great, but no one would listen to this. They\'d turn their heads and pretend he hadn\'t said anything along those lines. The only one who seemed to understand that he couldn\'t do it wae moe most hated teacher in all of Hogwarts history, Severus Snape, Potions Master, and head of Slytherin house.

Here is were things get interesting in Harry\'s opinion. Snape hated Harry with a fiery passion because of James Potter, Harry\'s father, and Sirius Black, Harry\'s godfather. Now, trying to explain to this man that just because they did something he could not condone did not give him the right to hate Harry did nothing. He would give him the patented \"are you shitting me glare\" and go on with his Harry bashing ways. Often, the boy would wonder how Snape would react if Harry were to tell him he was to be in Slytherin or if he ded ted to ask to be resorted.

See, Harry had noticed a slight problem with the way things ended. After watching an innocent boy die at the end of his fourth year, Harry\'s way of thinking had darkened. He\'s moods no longer complied to that of a Gryffindor. He would no longer be rash and jump into things without thinking or things that did not benefit him first. He thought things through and knew that his new way of acting would cause a rift between him and the Gryffindors. They would not get along. He knew what he had to do.

Owling Dumbledore, Harry was firm in his belief that he needed to be resorted. He had left no room for argument and had simply stated that if the Headmaster did not see fit to comply to his wishes, he would simply go to a school that would fit his needs better. After all, what magical school wouldn\'t jump to have the famous boy-who-lived attended their school of magic. He knew that it would get the old man to do what he wanted. After all, he was a true Slytherin at heart. He could be just as manipulating, conniving, and cunning as Snape if helly lly wanted to be. That was another thing he needed to change. He could not have his soon to be head of house hate him. He would just have to make him see the light. That the life of Harry Potter was not great, he did not live on a pedestal, and he was not the annoying pest that he made him out to be.

Sitting back down at his desk, Harry pulled a quill, some ink, and a few pieces of parchment to him. He knew that a letter would be the best way to explain to Snape what was going on and just who Harry was.

Dear Professor Snape,
Many things have come to my attention at the end of my fourth year and I have decided it is time that I changed your opinion of me. I am not the self-righteous, noble Gryffindor you make me out to be. I think you would find it very intriguing that the sorting hat wanted to place me into the Slytherin house, but I denied it the right. I did this due to the unjust beliefs that were thrust upon me upon just learning of the magical world.

My first contact with the wizarding world was in the former of Hagrid. He went on and on about how my parents were noble Gryffindors and how an evil Slytherin had killed them. He then went on to tell me that there wasn\'t a witch or wizard that came out of Slytherin that wasn\'t dark. I have now learned that to be untrue.

I venture to say that I myself lean more to a dark wizard than a light and I know that may startle you , but hear me out before sending me off to the ministry for a trial on conspiracy of being a Deatheater. Under the table, I have been taking Dark Arts classes and Auror courses since I first started attending Hogwarts. At the age of eleven I was being prepared to give my all, my life, for a world I knew nothing of. But I would do it, it\'s what my parents would want. Or at least that is what I thoughI haI have discovered though, that I am not quite ready to give up my life that I have just started to enjoy.

I love Hogwarts. It is my home. The teachers and students are my family and I would be lost without them. I would sink into depression and probably kill myself due to the life I lived before Hogwarts if I didn\'t know I had there to look forward to coming to every year.

This is my main purpose of writing to you. I have requested to be resorted and I already know of which house I will be in, Slytherin. I want to show you that the life you believed me to live is a lie, that I was far from pampered my entire life.

By the age of four I knew how to cook about any food you could ask for. For this is what I did. I could all the m for for the Dursley\'s, cleaned up afterwards, did the laundry, cleaned the house, and did any other mundane work they deemed below them. Which was everything. I lived in a cupboard and believed that my name was \"boy\" until I started attending a muggle primary school at six. Upon arriving there I discovered that I had a name just like Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley. My name was Harry. Harry Potter. You can\'t imagine the amount of times I didn\'t respond to the teachers because they called me Harry or Mr. Potter. I was used to being referred to as boy.

Besides manual labor, I was forced to endure severe beatings and reprimands for being a \"freak\". Of course, I didn\'t know they meant a wizard because they deemed it unnecessary to tell me. I was beat with anything they could get their hands onto. Belts, whips, bats, golf clubs. My aunt liked to hit me upside the head with a frying pan when I would enter the kitchen or force my hands onto the hot stove. I have reasons for wearing long sleeves and pants all year round you know.

Other things also occurred, but I\'m sure you can figure them out without me actually having to state them. Let\'s just say I\'m not as innocent and pure as everyone believes. And no, that doesn\'t make me a slut either.

Now that you know that I am not spoiled at home, I hope we can set our differences aside.

Your Newest Slytherin,

Harry Potter

When Harry finished writing his letter he folded it up and gave it to Hedwig to take to Professor Snape. He could only hope that the man understood and realized that he had some massive misconceptions when it came to Harry\'s home life. He knew he would need all the support he was able to get if he were to make it that school year in a new house. The old Harry Potter was hated by the year mates he would have in the Slytherin house, but if he was approved by the head of the house then they would inevitably accept him as a true Slytherin.

Now he just needed to get a new look to go with the new attitude and he\'d be set.

TBC

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