So… now that that’s all taken care of…

Thank you to the wonderful Sailor Grape for her wonderful advice! She’s
helped me loads with this story and I’m sure, that she will continue in the
later chapters! *Hugs!* You’re great girly!

Desired Delusions

Chapter 1

Tonks?!

The ride aboard the Hogwarts express had seemed brief
to him, as the sounds rushing through his ears, reached his mind without any
recognition. He had subconsciously set his body to some sort of automatic
response behaviour to whoever addressed
him; some kind of defence mechanism, he figured.

He smiled to his best-friends, laughing to their jokes
as his usual cheerful self, but if anyone had listened slightly closer, they
would have noticed that his normally carefree chuckles had disappeared, replaced
by cold, emotionless ones. He spoke when spoken to and stared off into space,
facing the compartment window any other time; he did not have the mind to find
anything to say… and truthf, wa, was there anything that could be
spoken… was there really any word fit to describe his feelings?

Harry snorted mentally. Of course there wasn’t any,
and that was the reason why he preferred to be silent about it… about what
happened… about what he had, two months ago, chosen to forget…

Once he set foot in his beloved Hogwarts, his soul had
instantly felt lighter, and he was unable to contain a deep sigh of relief from
escaping his lips as he gazed around the familiar stone walls.

Ron instantly turned towards him, glancing at his
best-friend curiously.

“Alright, there, Harry?” he asked, grinning.

This time, Harry could not hold back a genuine smile
from spreading across his lips.

“Better than ever, actually!” the raven haired
Gryffindor exclaimed enthusiastically. Hermione, who stood on his other side,
smiled in a somewhat motherly way, as she turned towards him as well.

“It does feel good to come back, doesn’t it?”
she said, taking a deep breath, gazing around the tall corridors fondly, as the
trio walked down them calmly.

“So, any guesses on who’s going to be our new DADA
teacher?” Ron wondered a loud as they followed the crowd of Hogwarts students
towards the Great H 

“Oy mates!” a boyish voice
suddenly exclaimed behind them, which was instantly recognized as Seamus Finnigan.

The next thing Harry knew, the Irish youth had swung
his arms around his and Ron’s shoulders.

“Ya heard?” he said, his
tone more excited than ever. “There’s bin a rumor flyin’ ‘round! Says the knew DADA teacha’s going to be a woman again this year!”

“Let’s just hope she isn’t going to be anything like
that frog, Umbridge…” Ron grumbled with a
somewhat fearful tone.

“We’ll find out soon enough, won’t we?” Hermioned stated as they passed through the majestic Golden
Doors.

The large room boomed in loud, cheerful laughter and
chattering for several moments until finally, all the first years walked inside
the Great Hall, each of whom wore anxious, puzzled looks as they followed the
strict looking, stern faced Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress.

Harry’s gaze fell on the crowd of eleven year olds,
smiling as he remembered how he had felt in his first year. He had found
acceptance and friendship for the first time of his life in this castle; he
could not possibly begin to imagine a life without it any longer. His gaze
suddenly stopped on a taller head in the crowd… a boy… with dark shoulder
length hair… he looked just as much nervous as the other new first years, but
surely this one was not only eleven years old?

The other students present in the room suddenly fell
silent as they all gathered down to their respective House’s table. Harry would
have time to question himself about this new student later.

“Welcome everyone, to another year at Hogwarts!” the
Headmaster exclaimed merrily, his beard just as long and white as ever. He
stood up from the Staff table, his eyes lingering longer than they usually did
as they observed each and every one of the students with fatherly affection.

The wise man then continued talking, announcing the
usually beginning of year warnings. Harry took it as his chance to search for
the new DADA teacher as he began looking around the staff table for a new face,
but he unfortunately found none… being that an empty seat was the only thing he
did find… an empty seat beside…

His heart clenched in disdain…

“Snape…” he whispered to
himself, the venom nearly rolling off his tongue as pure hatred filled his
every molecule.

As if having heard his name being spoken, the Potions
Master’s head shot in Harry’s direction, his dark, emotionless eyes narrowing
dangerously.

Their gazes barely had time to meet as Harry looked
away coldly, averting his attention back to Dumbledore.

Somehow, his feeling of hatred did not seem to
diminish by much, for the Headmaster had himself greatly offended him, as well,
the year before. The emerald eyed boy decided to glance towards Hagrid; he couldn’t stand reliving those negative
emotions. He wanted this year to start with a cheerful tone, not in sorrowful
one.

The large, dark bearded man’s affectionate gaze seemed
to have the desired effect as their eyes met. The ground’s keeper then winked
at him, as he always did, and a large, goofy grin instantly spread across
Harry’s face.

The Potter boy nearly fell off his seat when everyone
around him in the Gryffindor table stood up, shouting and clapping cheerfully.

A blond haired girl then joined their table, smiling
brightly as she sat beside Seamus.

Harry blinked, confused; the sorting ceremony had
begun and he hadn’t even noticed!

He glanced back towards the front of the room,
watching as another eleven year old sat down on the stool before the Staff
table, as Professor McGonagall laid the Sorting Hat upon his head.

“HUFFLEPUFF!” it exclaimed, causing the respective
table to erupt in loud, excited cheering.

The Sorting lasted several other minutes until
finally, one person was left; that older looking boy Harry had noticed before.
Everyone was now staring at him curiously.

Dumbledore stood up from hiair air again.

“This school has always been very open to anyone whom
wished to learn the ways of magic and that is why, I present to you, Zachary Ramsden, our special new student.” He paused, staring
seriously at the students. “Even though he has never attended any Wizarding schools in the past, he has studied magic with
his family for nearly a decade and that is why, I invite you to show him as
much respect as you would to any other of your class mates,” he said
pleasantly, before nodding to McGonagall and sitting down once more.

The Head of Gryffindor House motioned the teenager to
sit down on the stool and put the Sorting hat on his head.

Harry was finally able to gaze freely upon the boy’s
face. His skin was immensely pale, yet the youth seemed in perfect health. His
eyes were of a sparkling emerald, his dark shoulder length hair, making them
seem even more so. Even with their similarities, the teen resembled Harry in no
way, unless perhaps, the personality which emanated from him.

The hat seemed indecisive as to where he should put
the boy, for it took him several minutes to decide which house he should be
sorted in.