August 3, 2011 Author's Notes: Hello everyone! It has been about 2 years since I have last updated, well, anything, and I don't think this would count as an update at all. In fact, this is more of an announcement than anything.

I have received many marvelous reviews and several death threats to continue this story. I have also received several PMs requesting a PM for when MSaS is continued. Right now, I want to thank each and every one of you for every review, threat, and PM, but I have some good and bad news for you.

First the bad. To those requesting PMs, I'm afraid I cannot comply as there are far too many of you to keep track of.

Now, the good. Someone has finally decided to continue 'Magical Secrets at Sea'! Older than Time has as of now 2 chapters up in his continuation titled 'Magical Secrets as Sea II Piracy in Scotland'. For links to Older than Time's profile as well as a link to the story, please see my profile.

Well, that's it people. The end to an era has come, and with it a start of a new. Thank you all so very much!

oOoOo

Author's Notes: This is it ladies and gentlemen. The last chapter. I can't believe that I'm actually going to be able to say that this story is complete. It took me over six hours to think and type up. It resulted in over 6000 words and almost 12 pages, my largest chapter yet. As it is, it's 1:30 in the morning and I'm ready to go to bed.

To all of my reviewers and those that have stuck with me through this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart! I'd give out individual thank you's, but there are too many to go through coherently.

oOoOo

From Start to Finish and Back Again

oOoOo

Wind could be heard through the crack of an open window as tree after green tree seemed to fly by. A deep whistle could be heard, seeming to play in the air. Boats and cars were one thing, but a train was something different. The clacking of the wheels for one was distracting enough. It was nothing like the creaking of wood on water and it was constant, quick, and sharp. It seemed as though he could feel each rail on the track as the car he sat in went over them. The sway of the car was also jerky. Harry decided he didn't like it. The only good part was the scenery. It wasn't water, but the rolling hills, if he imagined enough, seemed to take on the movements of the ocean he currently longed for. The small, cramped compartment he was currently sitting alone in had nothing on some of the living quarters he had seen in some boats, but even they had the open deck for people to move about and stretch. With the train, all you could do is sit and if you did venture out, passing by someone was always a close encounter. Yes, Harry really didn't like trains.

A soft hoot sounded from a rounded cage next to the young wizard-to-be, pulling him from his current bout of homesickness. Turning around, Harry smiled at the snowy owl, perched on top of her cage, Dad had given him. He smiled as he remembered the trip in Diagon Alley. It had taken some fast and smooth talking by Will and James to allow Jack to even leave the steps of the bank. Anamaria was of no help considering that after her anger and exasperation had worn off, she had gone into a laughing fit. Jack had pouted when she wouldn't stop. His pout became even worse when the goblins stuck their spears closer to his person each time he tried to speak. Harry in the meantime hung close to Will, trying not to laugh and not succeeding very well.

Eventually, the head goblin released the trouble-loving pirate into his party's care so long as they never allowed him to set foot on their property again. This had left the party in a dilemma. Harry needed money for school shopping, but Jack couldn't go anywhere near the bank. Deciding to keep the peace, James volunteered to take the young lad with him to exchange their gold into galleons. This would allow Will to look after Jack seeing as Anamaria would allow her captain to do as he wished for her own amusement.

With that settled, it only took a few minutes for the entire process, yet when it was learned that Harry Potter had a trust fund, things become complicated. To say that Harry was surprised was an understatement. He had his own wealth in this bank? Surely someone, more than likely the person who currently held his key, would have taken it by now. The young pirate decided it a wise decision on Uncle James' part to just exchange their gold and wait on deciding about the trust fund. When they reported back to the two captains, neither were exceptionally happy. It was yet one more thing to add to the list of 'Things Needing to be Investigated and Shot in the Head About.' That didn't make their trip to the Alley any less pleasant, however. Jack and Harry quickly started a game of running back and forth across the street, staring into the window of different shops, meeting in the middle with the rest of the group and reporting back what they saw. If there was something that sounded even close to what was needed on Harry's school list, they made a stop and purchase.

It was when they had stopped at a clothing store for uniforms that Will backed out quietly as the boy was being poked by Madam Malkin. It was also while Harry was being fitted that he met a potential classmate. Another boy about his age was standing in the fitting room next to him. His slicked, white hair reminded Harry of the few sketches and descriptions of Uncle James when he still wore his powdered wig as a commodore, only simpler. Were wizards so far back in time that they still powered their hair? The boy had introduced himself as Draco Malfoy, but the young pirate quickly tuned him out when he caught his tone of voice. He sounded like a snobbish prince. Harry only paid enough attention to what the boy looked like and the key focuses of a partially one-sided conversation. Afterwards, Harry couldn't for the life of him remember what had been said and thanked whatever god was watching him that day that the boy's father had come to pick him up. Ironically, the boy could have passed as a miniature double of his father. Had wizards discovered cloning?

All thought of powered wigs and clones vanished form his mind, however, when he caught sight of his dad outside of the window. In his hands, a snowy owl contently rested in a cage.

Harry was brought back from his musings with another hoot. The owl was a sight to behold. Her plumage was a vibrant white and layered with stripes of gray on the tips. Her eyes were of the brightest blue, a color he had only seen in the Caribbean shores, and held so much intelligence that it was almost unnerving. Her talons were sharpened to a fine point that the boy-wizard knew would be deadly to those that angered her. Her beak was perfectly round and smooth, no imperfection to be seen. It too ended in a sharp point that Harry swore could rival one of his dad's blades. In all, the avian was a work of art; elegant and poised. It baffled him, however, as to why his dad decided that he should have an owl. She didn't look as though she would thrive in tropical weather very well let alone at sea. Will had said that it would be difficult to communicate through their regular channels and thought an owl, a commonly used form of communication, was the answer. What the Dutchman couldn't answer was why this particular owl. All he said was that he felt drawn. "An' I can see why," Harry murmured as he reached out to run his fingers through the avian's head feathers, careful not to stroke the wrong way. "I still have ta come up wi' a name for you. Shame Papa was righ' about pirates; never very clever wi' names. Per'aps I should wait 'til I can think like a wizard, aye?" The owl bobbed her head as though nodding in agreement before taking flight to land on the head rest above and next to her owner. The young pirate smiled and continued to look out the window and the rolling ocean of grass.

oOoOo

Nothing of much importance happened through the early part of the trip. Harry eventually tired of watching the land fly by and decided to read one of his texts. Potions was something he was quite interested in. he had skimmed the required book, looking for anything that caught his eye, and several potions came to mind. The Pepperup Potion looked like something any sailor would love. The cold salty water and air was prone to making even the hardiest of sailors sick on occasion. Other potions also seemed to be something of worth, each ranging from anti-toxins to nutritional supplements. The potential of the nutritional supplements alone were mind boggling. No need to worry about scurvy.

Armed with his book, the young pirate settled into his seat, comforted by the soft sounds from his owl as she slept above him and the whistling of the wind as the train continued on. It wasn't until roughly midday that the lad was aroused from his reading by a knock at his compartment door. Curious, he dog-eared his place and set his text down as he went to answer. What greeted him was a cart full of brightly colored objects and packages. "Anything off the trolley, dear," a voice asked. With his gaze hovering over the strange merchandise, Harry had not seen the lady the cart obviously belonged to.

"Sorry, ma'am," the lad replied as he smiled, being sure to not slur as Uncle James had instructed. "You startled me," Harry confessed as he abashedly rubbed the back of his head. "Might I ask what all of this is?" The lady smiled kindly back.

"Treats, my dear. Pastries, cookies, and candies. There is a feast awaiting you at your school, but you're sure to be hungry on the way up. This is you first time in the magical world, yes?" Harry nodded. "Not to worry. I know just what you might like. These," the lady explained as she held up a round packaged object colored the brightest orange, "is a Pumpkin Pastie, much like a sweet bun. A Cauldron Cake is really a chocolate cupcake. Nothing magical with these. Now, if you would like to try something different than pastries, I would suggest Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Each bean has a different flavor, ranging from cherry and coconut to grass and sardine. I would also suggest some Chocolate Frogs. They are not actual frogs, but are spelled to jump once. I would suggest closing your windows when you first open them. Chocolate Frogs are actually popular among the young folk for the trading cards stashed inside the packages," the trolley lady explained as she held up each item as she explained them.

"Hmmm. Choices, choices," Harry pondered. Sweets were not something he usually had a lot of. If wet, it spoiled easily, and it always killed his taste buds. Not to mention that the sugar did nothing for his system let alone his teeth. Now, if the trolley lady had something like a ham sandwich with cheese, he would take that. "I suppose I'll have a Pumpkin Pastie and two Chocolate Frogs please," he asked as he dug into his pant pocket for the spending money he had on him.

"Alright dear. That will be two Sickles and a Knut please." Grabbing the required coins, he placed them in the lady's outstretched hand before retrieving his treats from the other. "Thank you very much dear. I hope your school year is a pleasant one." Harry smiled and bowed his head as he returned his remaining money to his pocket. It was a challenge in itself remembering the currency system, but he had practice. Going from one country to another with his fathers and family made him familiar with exchanging currency. Though he had to give the wizarding world credit; theirs was the most bizarre he had seen yet. The system didn't make sense, though it was still doable. Auntie 'Maria figured that the wizards had probably lived with this system from the beginning. Uncle James called it stagnant progress.

"Thank you very much, ma'am." The trolley lady smiled in return and continued on down the train. Closing the door, the pirate settled back into his seat with a sigh. It would have been so easy to nick a few more of her items. He was sure his owl hadn't eaten anything since last night, but was quite sure the sugar would kill her. He even had a few of those frogs hidden in his hand and ready to put in his pocket. That is until the lady had smiled at him and had actually explained things to him, going so far as to offer help. The extra frogs had suddenly found their place back on her trolley with no one the wiser. "Thieving is a good sign of a pirate, yet I just couldn't…." Harry trailed off through clenched teeth and a grimace on his face, his fingers clenching and unclenching claw-like, and an annoyed tick forming above an eyebrow. The owl hooted. Giving a long suffering sigh, the boy allowed his body to relax before turning towards his purchased loot.

Unfortunately, the boy wizard never got to even open the packaging before another knock sounded from the door before it slid open. Slightly annoyed at the rudeness of the intruder to not even wait for an answer, he frowned slightly at the culprit. Said culprit happened to be a tall freckled redhead. Deciding to not give the kid time to do or say anything, Harry allowed his annoyance to sound and said, "Can I help ya?"

The red had stilled, shocked at the hint of hostility in the other's voice. Giving the tanned boy a glance over, the redhead frowned as though wondering why a kid would sound like that. That frown then deepened with anger. "What's your problem? I knocked. I was wondering if I could sit in here. My brothers are being annoying," the redhead stated in his defense. Harry, still rather peeved, gave a shrug.

"I don't care what you do," he claimed as he stuffed his food items into his coat pockets and returned to reading his potions text. He suddenly wasn't all hungry. His annoyance grew when the red head snorted and flopped into the seat furthest from the tanned weirdo. The newcomer couldn't understand why the guy seemed angry at him. All of the sun that the guy had to have gotten to get that kind of tan must have damaged him or something. And indeed, the boy was a rich tan, something close to milky almond that didn't look unhealthy. The guy wore a white buttoned up shirt with an open black pea coat that seemed to reach a little below the waist. The blue jeans seemed to be a little wrinkled, but it seemed to fit with the whole look of the guy. The outfit was topped off with polished black side-zip boots. And was that a pony tail in at his neck? He suddenly felt self conscious as he compared the guy to himself with his slightly tattered and patched sweater shirt, knee-patched pants, and an old pair of shoes that were starting to wear at the toes. He suddenly looked anywhere except at the other guy.

Harry could feel a tick starting at his temple. One minute, the kid was looking him over, an act that nearly sent the daggers hidden in his boots flying, when suddenly the kid draws into his self, a slight flush to his cheeks that certainty had nothing to do with any kind of affection. The women from the Dutchman and Pearl had taught him to tell the difference between affection and embarrassment, and this was certainly embarrassment. Well, at least he felt embarrassed about something, though if it was for the right thing was another matter. Sighing, the boy pirate asked, "What's yo'r name? I might as well know who my cabin mate is." The kid's flush seemed to darken. Seemed he hadn't realized he hadn't introduced himself.

"Sorry," the redhead said before clearing his throat. "I'm Ron, Ron Weasley. Sorry about before. My brothers are a real pain in the ass. Twins, they are, and they love their pranks. You would probably know them; Fred and George Weasley, Gryffindor third years." Harry frowned in confusion before shaking his head.

"Sorry, I wouldn't know them. This is my first year." Ron's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Really? You look like a second year to me. 'Course I didn't see you on the plat form and Fred and George would have probably mentioned you by now. They notice everyone." The boy pirate gave a short chuckle. "What's so funny," the redhead asked defensively.

Harry waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "No worries. Nothing important." Other than the fact that he had almost missed the Hogwarts Express because no one in his group could find the stupid platform at King's Cross. Papa had almost been arrested with insanity and disturbing the peace charges when he had asked for directions to Platform 9 3/4. They had only found it in the nick of time when Dad had decided to lean against the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. In his surprise, he somehow managed to bring Auntie 'Maria with him. It had been rather strange to see two pairs of legs sticking out of a seemingly solid brick wall, yet no one else except their group seemed to notice. "Harry Sparrow, at yer service, mate."

"Sparrow? Never heard that sire name before. Are you a muggleborn?"

"What's a muggleborn?" Ron smiled knowingly.

"It's when a kid is born to two non-magical parents. Non-magical people are called muggles." One of Harry's eyebrows rose in confusion as he cocked his head to the side.

"Muggle? It sounds li'e such a derogatory term. An insult. I prefer the term mundane or just plain non-magical. We're all people aft'a all." The redhead's eyes had gotten wide, never having met someone who questioned a common part of wizarding culture. "Anywho, no I'm not muggleborn. From what I've heard, my mother was a muggleborn, but me father was a full wizard. I suppose that would make me a half'n'half," Harry concluded as he stretched and crossed his arms behind his head and closing his eyes, determined to end the conversation there. Luck was not with him.

"Oh," Ron breathed out, not quite sure on what to say to that. "What do you mean by from what you heard about your parents?"

"Hm?" the lad hummed as he half opened an eye. "Oh. I'm adopted. My parents are dead," he answered nonchalantly as he closed his eye again.

"Oh. Sorry," the freckled boy commented though not really sounding it. "It's strange. There's this boy, Harry Potter, that's supposed to be on the train this year. He's really famous because he defeated You-Know-Who. His parents are also dead, killed by You-Know-Who. I've looked up and down the train, but I can't find him."

"Hmmm," Harry grunted. Strange. Hadn't he said something about annoying brothers?

"If it weren't for your sire name, you'd probably be a good choice for being Harry Potter. 'Course, you don't have his scar."

"Scar?" Oh the wonders of makeup.

"You know, the scar that You-Know-Who gave him." Harry frowned.

"Sorry, I don't know who and I know nothing about any Harry Potter." My but this kid was rude. He also seemed to have, what did Grandpa Gibbs call it? Foot-in-mouth disease.

"Oh," Ron flushed. "Sorry. Well Harry Potter is…" There was a knock at the door before it slid open to reveal a bushy-haired young girl. Harry didn't know whether to be offended or thankful for the distraction.

Before either boy could say anything, the girl asked, "Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one."

Both boys looked at each other before Harry answered, "Sorry. No one's seen any toad here.

"Shoot," the girl muttered before sliding the compartment door closed with a slight bang and click.

"Mental that one," Ron murmured. Harry stared blandly at him, slightly unsettling the boy. "Right, anyway…"

Yet another knock at the door.

Nearly growling now, Harry jumped from his seat to answer the door before someone else decided to barge in. Quickly sliding it open, Harry came face to face with the boy from the clothing store. "Oh. It's you. Draco, right?" Draco blinked at the tan boy.

"You're the one from Madame Malkin's. Glad to know you remember my name, though I don't think I caught yours. Of course, I don't think you ever threw it," he added off handedly. Harry smirked. It was the first sign of wit he had seen since the trolley lady.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy," a sneer sounded from within the compartment. Turning, Harry saw the redhead glaring at the albino. A condescending look crossed over the dragon's face as though seeing something particularly disgusting.

"My condolences. You have found your self attached to a Weasley."

"What's that supposed to mean, Malfoy?"

Harry couldn't help but cock his head in confusion. "You two know each other?"

"Unfortunately," both muttered, though when they realized they had said it together, they both flushed and turned away, determined to not look at the other.

Harry, however, was amused. They were acting like Papa and Uncle James. Complete opposites yet so much a like in most ways. Oh the fun he was going to have, he thought as he sat back down.

"What are you doing here anyway, Malfoy," Ron finally grounded out. Draco gave a dainty snort.

"In case you hadn't heard, there's a rumor that Harry Potter is on this train. I'm planning on finding him first before people like you are able to corrupt him."

"You're one to talk about corruption, Malfoy. It's people like you Harry Potter shouldn't be around." Harry wished he had a bowl of popcorn.

"Whatever do you mean, Weasley? The Malfoys are a longstanding and noble family. Why wouldn't Potter want to associate with us?"

"Last thing he needs is to associate himself with families of Death Eaters." If Draco had been pale before, he was linen white now.

"How dare you. You know my family was cleared of all charges. My father was under the Imperio."

"Claimed he was under Imperio, which is not detectable unless the victim is already under the influence." Harry stood and turned. Unlatching his trunk, he dug around for a school robe. Would either of them realize he was changing? Probably not.

"Why would my father lie about being under one of the Unforgivables?" These two were a goldmine of information, Harry decided as he pulled his robe over his head.

"Probably because he didn't want to be sent to Azkaban along with his fellow Death Eaters," Ron practically snarled. Draco's ears went pink and his eyes narrowed. With a flick of his wrist, Draco suddenly had a wand at the redhead's throat.

"How dare you…" the dragon was suddenly interrupted by a cough.

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Harry with a smile, "but shouldn't you be getting changed? By the looks of things," he explained as he indicated to outside the window where in the distance lights could be seen, "we're nearly there."

Fight forgotten, the Weasley ducked under the wand and dashed for his original compartment and his clothes. The Malfoy scion, on the other hand, calmly tucked his want back to where he had taken it from. Just as he was turning to go back to his own compartment, he paused to look at the tan boy from the clothing store. "What is your name?"

"Harry Sparrow. I'm sure we'll be seeing more o' each other soon, aye?" the boy pirate asked with a large smile as he plopped back into his seat. The albino gave a breathy snort of amusement before nodding and walking away. Once he was sure the two boys were gone, Harry stood back up and strode to the far corner and squatted down to scoop up a toad he had noticed hop in during the verbal squabble. "That's interesting," he commented with a lopsided smile as he stared through the open door.

oOoOo

It was cold and drizzly with a light enough wind to be bothersome when the train finally came to a rest. Before venturing out into the virtual stampede of students, Harry opened the window for his owl so that she could find the owlery on her own, and perhaps find herself some dinner.

If the boy pirate had been interested in the fight that had happened inside his compartment doorway, what he found outside the train enthralled him. Horse skeletons with gray skin-like cloth draping over it. What the seas, what was that? Of course, his attention was quickly diverted when a voice boomed out over the throngs of students.

"Fi'st yea's! Fi'st yea's o'er this way!" Harry looked to see a giant of a man carrying an overlarge lantern. Was he a giant? He was several heads taller than Uncle James who always stood at his full height! Deciding it best to follow, Harry spotted the bushy-haired girl from before comforting a plump looking boy who was rubbing at his eyes.

"Don't worry Neville. I'm sure we'll find Trevor somewhere." Trevor, huh? Harry decided to follow behind the two as they followed along the path the giant led them.

It didn't take long until Harry heard something he didn't think he would be hearing for another nine months: water. There was a body of water near by and by the sounds of it, it was quite large. And were there were large bodies of water, there are bound to be…

"No more'n four to a boat! Everyon', watch yer step now!"

Ecstatic, Harry quickly climbed in behind the girl and boy, noticing, but not minding, when a darker skinned boy joined them. He was in a boat! How long that would last, the young pirate didn't care. All that mattered was savoring it at the moment. So into the moment he was that the lad never noticed when the boat started to move, nor did he hear the warning to duck until the boy missing his toad suddenly pulled him down by the collar of his shirt. Looking up, Harry could suddenly see a low mass of vine he would have been hit with if the boy hadn't pulled him down. There was a sudden chorus of 'ooo's and 'ahhh's as the full of Hogwarts castle came into view, yet Harry couldn't care. He'd seen palaces in India with more flare and grandeur.

The ride across the large body of water, which happened to be a lake, was over faster than the young pirate would have liked. The only interesting thing to happen was when a boy in another boat fell overboard and a giant tentacle lifted him out of the water and back into the boat. According to whispers, the tentacle belonged to the Giant Squid that lived in the lake. A Kraken? Here? Wouldn't the family back home be interested to hear this?

It wasn't until his feet were back on solid ground that Harry started looking at his fellow year-mates as they followed the giant up stone steps. It seemed as though he was leading them through a side door. Why not just go through the front?

Seeing as it was too dark, he instead zeroed in on the boy missing his toad which, if the feel of things was right, hadn't left his robe pocket. Quickly striding up behind him, a blond if the torch light was any indication, Harry quickly tapped him on a shoulder. Startled, the boy turned to face him, a look of apprehension thick on his face. Smiling, Harry offered his hand. "Hi. Harry Sparrow's the name." A tentative smile greeted his own.

"Neville Longbottom. Pleased to meet you."

"Neville, huh? You wouldn't be the one who lost his toad, now, would you?" Letting go of Harry's hand, Neville's smile faded as he nodded. "Really? Well, what a coincidence. As I was dressing, I found this li'le fellow," he explained as he dug into his robes for the toad, "croaking in a corner of my compartment. He yers by any chance?" The last time he had seen someone's face light up the way Neville's did at that moment was Sara when he had shown her his magic for the first time.

"Trevor! Oh thank you, Harry! He was a gift from my gran. I thought I'd lost him."

Conversation was stopped when they reached the top of the stairs where the giant knocked on the door, each knock sounding like a cannon. The door was opened as an elderly witch with thin lips and a stern face suddenly came into view. "Tha fi'st yea's, Pr'fessor McGonagall." The witch gave a curt nod.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take them from here." The giant nodded as he stepped through the door and out of sight. The witch then set her sights on the eleven-year-olds in front of her. "Welcome to Hogwarts. In a moment you'll be walking through this door and will be joining your classmates." Harry tuned her out. He had listened to the excited chatter as the students made a mass exodus from the train. Something about a singing hat, sorting, and different houses and teams. He got the gist of it. Hogwarts, A History, if anyone cared to read it, mentioned four houses in the Hogwarts system. He and his year-mates were going to be sorted.

Suddenly, the line was moving. Through the open doorway, up a small flight of stairs, and down several hallways the witch was followed like a mother duck and her future students stared at what could be seen. Harry had been prepared for it. The paintings moved just as he remembered and the suits of armor squeaked as the fidgeted in place. The young pirate wondered where the giraffe was.

All too soon, the strange group arrived at a large set of double doors, the witch turning sharply on her heels to face them. "Children, for a line now, if you please. Two to a row." Harry quickly latched on to Neville before the bushy-hair girl could grab his new friend.

A few minutes later, the doors opened and the pairs of first years followed their professor into what appeared to be the dining room. There were five tables: four set vertically in front of the doors while the fifth sat horizontally on a raised dais. Each table seemed to have its own color scheme except for the fifth table were it seemed as though it was where the professors ate. Simple enough. Of course, the floating candles and the strange ceiling was definitely something out of the ordinary.

Once they passed through the middle of the four tables, splashes of blue and yellow on either side, the witch suddenly stopped. At once, the first years stopped and started to crowd the front when the witch turned back around and strode towards a stool with a had and scroll on it. Picking up the scroll, she said in a clear voice, "When I call your name, please come and sit on the stool so that the Sorting Hat may place you into your houses." With that said, she unrolled the scroll and the sorting began.

Harry had to wonder as each student was slowly extracted from the crowd, placed the hat on, and was directed by the cheering of their new house to join them. He was a Sparrow now; not a Potter. P came before S and he wondered what he should do if Potter was called. It would say a lot about what kind of game to expect from this place if it was. If Sparrow was called, the next seven years should go smoothly. If Potter was called, well, let the games begin.

Slowly, the A's and B's were eliminated, as were the C's and D's. In the G's, the bushy-haired girl, Granger, was placed into Gryffindor. A few Slytherins, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs later, as the L's, Harry gave his new friend a squeeze on the arm in encouragement when he was called up. It took a few minutes, but eventually, the hat decided to have Neville in Gryffindor. After L came M with Draco at the front. The had was barely on his head before the hat cried, "Slytherin!" Draco stood and made his way to the cheering table, but not before searching out Harry's eyes and smirking. A challenge.

And, of course, after M came P. Potter was at the bottom of the P's, but it still seemed like forever. A pair of twins and a few others went first. Harry started relaxing near the end, almost believing that there was going to be no hiccup. That is until, "Potter, Harry." Bloody wench. A pandemonium of whispers broke out.

"Did she say Harry Potter?"

"Not the Harry Potter?"

"Is he really going to be in the first years?"

"You think I'd be able to get his autograph?" Hell no.

"Which one is it?"

"Did anyone check the firsties' forehead as they passed?" Mind ya own business.

The professor cleared her throat. "Potter, Harry." Choices, choices. Either make a statement or play along. They had already discussed this back home, but it was still a hard thing to do. Steeling himself, the young pirate stepped forward. The whispers broke out fresh.

"Excuse me, Professor. But I think there's been a mistake," he commented at he approached. The witch blinked rapidly.

"Mistake, Mr. Potter?"

"Yes ma'am. See, Potter was my birth name. Under Haiti and British law, my name is Harry Sparrow. I was adopted a while back, you see. A common mistake, I assure you, when not all parties are notified and updated. Of course, we didn't know about Hogwarts or the magical world until the letter came, otherwise we would have notified you when it happened. So, if you would be so kind, in the future I would prefer Sparrow, alright?" he requested with a pleasant smile. The professor blinked.

"I see," the muttered as she looked back towards the head table and an elderly man with a long, white beard. That must be Dumbledoor. Turning back, the witch said, "We shall discuss this later, young man. In the mean time, if you would please put on the sorting hat." Nodding genially, Harry took the hat and went to sit on the stool. Placing the hat on, the young wizard-to-be was surprised to find that it fit over his head enough to block his sight.

"Well, well," a gravely voice sounded out in his head. "Never thought I'd see a pirate of your sort here, Mr. Sparrow. But yes, I see what is going on. Clever. Quite clever. Your goddess is a smart woman, preparing you as she has. Hogwarts hasn't had such a well prepared student in a long time. It will be refreshing to see what you do. And I see you have made a friend already. Yes, Longbottom could use a good friend and vise versa. And what of young Malfoy? Ah yes, yes I see. But now, where to place you. Hufflepuff is an option. You would do well making loyal friends, yet you might scare a few of them off. Ravenclaw would be good for you with your eagerness for knowledge, yet you would probable drive the others crazy with your pranks. That's a Gryffindor trait, but your cunning would make the other lions wary of you. Slytherin would be a good environment for you to practice, but your adventurous and spontaneous nature would set them all on edge. Any way and I'll have quite a bit of fun watching you, young one. But where to put you. Yes, I see. Then you'd better be…"

oOoOo

End-

oOoOo

Post AN: I know. I'm evil. I ended it this way to leave it open for other people to pick up where I left off. I'm still planning on continuing this in a series of one-shots with Harry in the house of my choosing. If anyone does decide to continue in this vein, please let me know.

A note about Hedwig. I love the girl. I hate reading about how she gets hurt and dies and all of that. And while I want her in my story, I don't know how to fit her into this particular story. Can you picture a snowy white owl in Tortuga? I was thinking about switching her for a hawk or something, but I wasn't too sure.

If anyone is curious about updates and what not, please don't hesitate to visit my homepage linked in my ff.n profile.

Again, a huge thanks to all of my readers. I hope I didn't disappoint too badly. ^_^ Please don't kill me.