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Chapter Text

After his trip to Diagon Alley with Hagrid, Harry could not be more excited to begin his schooling at Hogwarts. At night and when he wasn’t preoccupied with the Dursley’s ridiculous amount of chores piled on him by Aunt Petunia, Harry poured over his new schoolbooks. He tried to decide which ones he thought he would prefer. Herbology seemed to be too much like the weeding he often had to do in the garden, and Potions reminded him of cooking, but the outcome looked far more interesting. Transfiguration too had its’ interest, as did charms. Defense against the Dark Arts had a particular draw to it for Harry, having been bullied his whole life. It was with this eagerness that Harry awaited the first of September. He wasn’t sure what this new school would bring or what would happen to him, but whatever it was, it had to be better than where he was.

On the morning of September 1, they reached King’s Cross at half past ten. Uncle Vernon dumped Harry’s trunk onto a cart and wheeled it into the station for him, a gesture that surprised Harry considering the only nice thing his Uncle had ever done to him was finally moving him from the cupboard to Dudley’s second bedroom. However, Harry’s surprise didn’t last long when Uncle Vernon stopped dead, facing the platforms with a nasty grin on his face.

“Well, there you are, boy. Platform nine — platform ten. Your platform should be somewhere in the middle, but they don’t seem to have built it yet, do they?”

Harry looked around in dismay. It would appear that his Uncle was correct in that observation. There was a big plastic number nine over one platform and a big plastic number ten over the one next to it, and in the middle, nothing at all.

“Have a good term,” said Uncle Vernon with an even nastier smile. He left without another word. Harry turned and saw the Dursleys drive away. All three of them were laughing. Harry’s mouth went rather dry. What was he supposed to do now? He was just 11 years old, alone in London with a trunk full of magic books and an owl that quite frankly, was catching quite a bit of attention from passersby. Harry saw no other option but to ask someone for help. Luckily, he spotted a guard and wheeled his trolley over to him.

“Excuse me sir, but I was wondering if you could direct me to the platform with the train departing at 11:00?” Harry asked, quite pleased with himself for coming up with a way to ask that wouldn’t draw suspicion in the case that the guard was a muggle. The guard had to drag his eyes away from Hedwig to look at Harry.

“Sorry, there is no train leaving today at 11:00. Where are your guardians young man?” He asked, back to eyeing the owl.

“I’m on my way to meet them, but I have to take the train.” Harry said, nervously glancing at the clock. It was now quarter to 11:00 and the train would be leaving for Hogwarts in a mere 15 minutes.

“Well, I’m afraid you have the wrong departure date. Where are you heading, perhaps I can find some information on when your train actually departs.”

Harry shook his head backing away. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have bothered you. I think I can figure it out for myself.” With that he quickly moved away from the guards’ last shouts to keep his owl in its’ cage.  Harry felt the edges of panic begin to cloud his mind. Taking some deep breathes; he maneuvered his trolley back to the space between the platforms, and saw something incredible.

A family of redheads with trolleys similarly packed to his own was standing near the wall between platform 9 and 10, with the mother handing out instructions.

“Alright, Percy you go first.” She said, and the tallest boy grabbed his trolley and walked towards the wall. Harry winced, waiting for the crash that never came. The boy had simply disappeared. Blinking quickly, Harry watched as two more boys, twins by the looks of it walked through the wall as well, and he still had no idea how they did it! Did they simply walk through the wall? Or was there some sort of spell that had to be preformed?  With no other option, Harry approached the woman before she too could walk through the mysterious wall.

“Excuse me,” Harry said, as he got closer, slightly nervous. This was the first time he was meeting actual wizards without the safe presence of Hagrid.

“Hello, dear,” she said. “First time at Hogwarts? Ron’s new, too.” She pointed at the last and youngest of her sons.

“Yes,” said Harry. “The thing is — the thing is, I don’t know how to —”

“How to get onto the platform?” she asked kindly, and Harry nodded.

“Not to worry,” she said. “All you have to do is walk straight at the barrier between platforms nine and ten. Don’t stop and don’t be scared you’ll crash into it, that’s very important. Best do it at a bit of a run if you’re nervous. Go on, go now before Ron.”

Harry took a deep breath and began walking towards the platform, picking up speed as he got closer. It struck him as a bit foolish to be doing something like this because a strange lady on the platform told him to, but she did know about Hogwarts and her other sons had disappeared through the wall somehow. Besides, she didn’t seem the type to want to purposefully mess with him. Before he had time to reconsider his choices in trusting someone he had just met, especially when he didn’t have many positive experiences with adults, Harry was through the wall.

Looking around, Harry saw a large sign for Platform 9 ¾ and a red steam engine train. Much like Diagon Alley, there were people dressed in Wizard robes bidding goodbye to each other for the year. Harry went to the closest carriage he could, where some older students wearing prefect badges helped him load his stuff into the train. With no one on the platform to say goodbye to, Harry walked down the train until he found an empty compartment.

It didn’t stay empty for long; a girl soon joined Harry, another first year by the looks of it. She had bushy brown hair and slightly oversized front teeth.

“Hello, I’m Hermione Granger. Is it alright if I join you?” She asked, already moving to take a seat. Harry nodded as she sat down.  “I’m heading into first year, I assumed you were too. Are you from a wizard family? I’m a muggleborn and I’m so terribly excited to go learn about magic.” Harry could have sworn she said all of this without pausing for a breathe, and he stared at her for a minute before remembering to introduce himself.

“I’m Harry Potter.” He didn’t get a chance to continue due to her loud gasp.

“Jiminy Cricket are you really?” She asked, eyes searching his forehead. Harry sighed. He had hoped this star struck attitude wouldn’t follow him everywhere.

“Yes, I am. No, I don’t remember anything. I was raised by my muggle relatives and just learned the truth about my parents.” Harry sighed, hoping he had covered the basics. Hermione blushed at his response.

“I’m sorry to pry. I may have gotten a bit too excited about earning about the wizarding world. I guess it didn’t occur to me that since you were a baby you wouldn’t remember what you were famous for.” She said all this while looking at the floor. Harry recognized this tactic of quickly apologizing from when he had tried to keep friends before Dudley scared them off for good. The weird outbursts of magic had certainly left him avoiding eye contact with both peers and adults before.

“It’s okay.” Harry said, meeting Hermione’s eyes. She smiled back at him.

There was a knock at the compartment door before it slid open, revealing a plump old woman with a trolley full of sweets.

“Anything from the trolley dears?” she asked.

Hermione shook her head. “My parents are dentists,” she explained to Harry. Harry, who had never been allowed to buy his own sweets couldn’t pass up the opportunity and bought some of everything, much to Hermione’s shock. However, he was able to convince Hermione, quite easily too, to abandon her vow of no sweets and soon the two of them were digging in. They were particularly fascinated with the chocolate frogs; Hermione was especially appreciative of the card with the famous witch or wizard on it.

“Do you know what house you want to be in?” She asked, as she helped herself to a cauldron cake.

Harry shook his head as he bit into a licorice wand. “I don’t really know anything about them. I only bought my books needed for school and they don’t really mention the houses.”

Hermione brightened and pulled a book from her bag. “You can borrow this if you like. It’s my copy of Hogwarts: A History, I must have read it a dozen times by now.” Harry took the book from her, nodding his thanks, and set it on the seat beside him. “Basically, Hufflepuff stands for loyalty, Gryffindor for bravery, Ravenclaw for intelligence, and Slytherin for ambition. Personally, I think any of them would be fine, but Gryffindor has a good reputation and Slytherin doesn’t. But I don’t see what is wrong with being ambitious.” She frowned.

Harry chuckled and flipped through the book she had given him, seeing highlighted passages and bookmarked pages. “Hermione, if I had to guess, I’d say Ravenclaw is more your style.” She followed his eyes to her heavily noted book and laughed as well.

“There may be something to that Harry.”

Just then, the door to their compartment slid open and the youngest redheaded boy, Ron Harry remembered, stood there breathing heavily.

“I just heard, is it true? You’re Harry Potter?” His eyes were wide as saucers and he had a smudge of dirt on his nose. Harry sighed.

“Yeah, I am. But I prefer just Harry, thanks. I don’t want to be famous for something I have no recollection of.” This was getting tiring to Harry and hoped the rest of the school wouldn’t be like this.

“Oh, alright.” Ron said somewhat dejectedly. The compartment settled into silence.

“Are you from a wizarding family?” Hermione asked, breaking the silence.

“Yeah,” Ron nodded. “I’ve got five older brothers and a younger sister.”

“That’s fascinating!” Hermione exclaimed. “You must know loads of magic already.”

“Not really. Well, my brother George taught me one. It’s supposed to change my rat Scabbers yellow.” At Hermione’s eager stare he pulled his rat out of his pocket and grabbed his wand before clearing his throat.

“Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,

Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow.”

Nothing happened. Hermione sighed dejectedly. “Well, that’s not a very good spell. I’ve been trying some on my own from the Standard Book of Spells, I’ve had a bit of success. For example,” here she pointed her wand at Harry, “occulus reparo.” With a small flash, Harry blinked and removed his glasses, surprised to see they were in one piece.

“Blimey Hermione.” He said. Ron just crossed his arms and settled in his seat, clearly not very impressed he had been over shadowed by Hermione. For the third time, the compartment door slid open.

“Is it true? There are rumors that Harry Potter is in this compartment, so naturally I had to come see. So is it you?” This time it was another first year, this time with blonde hair. Harry recognized him as the boy from Madam Malkins shop.

“Yes, that would be me.” Harry said, eyeing the boys on either side of the other boy, whose size made Harry question if they were first years as well. The boy followed his gaze.

“This is Crabbe and Goyle.” He said, nodding to each of them in turn. “And my name’s Malfoy, Draco Malfoy.” Hermione gave a small snort in reaction to his James Bond-like introduction.

“Think my name’s funny do you? No doubt you’re just a muggleborn if you don’t recognize it. My family is quite influential in the wizarding world.” He sneered, before turning his gaze to Ron. “And with your red hair and hand me down robes, you must be a Weasley. Not much better if you ask me.”

“No one asked you Malfoy.” Ron said, jumping up and clenching his hands into fists.

Draco turned back to Harry. “You’ll soon find out some wizarding families are much better than others, Potter. You don’t want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there.” He held out his hand to shake Harry’s, but Harry didn’t take it.

“I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks,” he said coolly. “I don’t base my friends on their family. There are more important things.”

Draco Malfoy didn’t go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks. “Fine then Potter, but you’ll see soon enough.” With that, the boys left the compartment, the door sliding back into place with a slight rattle.

“Glad they’re gone. A lot of Slytherins for sure.” Ron spat. Harry turned to face him too.

“Would everyone just stop judging each other? What’s so bad about Slytherins?” Harry argued.

“There’s not a witch or wizard who went bad who wasn’t from Slytherin.” Ron said.

“Now that’s a load of bollocks. A quarter of the school doesn’t go bad and they all happen to be from the same house. That’s just rubbish. I bet people just don’t make such a big note when it’s from the other houses because they must have just been confused, right?” Harry said.

“Watch how you talk or people will think you’ll leave your parents Gryffindor legacy for slimy Slytherin. Anyway, we’re almost to the school. I’m going back to my brothers. See you at the Sorting Ceremony.” Ron said coolly.

“Harry, what was that all about?” Hermione asked once Ron too had left. Harry sighed.

“I don’t know. I’ve just always been the outsider. My muggle relatives thought having magic made me a freak. They don’t know anything; they just jump to conclusions and are prejudiced. I guess it just hit a sore spot.” He sighed. “Sorry about that.”

“No need to apologize Harry, it’s understandable. Why try to make enemies before we even get there right?” She smiled. “Now I’m going to go change, we’re almost there!”

With that, she left Harry to change into his robes alone.

The train slowed down and then stopped. People began pushing to get off the train. Harry looked around for his trunk when a prefect, who must have realized what was going on told him it would be taken to the castle for him. Stepping off the train onto the dark platform, Harry shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a familiar voice.

“Firs’ years! Firs’ years over here! All right there, Harry?” Hagrid’s big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads. “C’mon, follow me — any more firs’ years? Mind yer step, now! Firs’ years follow me!”

Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much.

“Yeh’ll get yer firs’ sight o’ Hogwarts in a sec,” Hagrid called over his shoulder, “jus’ round this bend here.” There was a loud “Oooooh!”

The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.

“No more’n four to a boat!” Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore.

Harry found Hermione and they squeezed into a boat. Unfortunately the boat already had two occupants. One was a blonde haired girl with pigtails and the other was Draco Malfoy, who scowled when he saw them. It was too late to switch boats though, and with a cry of forward by Hagrid, they began moving across the lake to the castle.

“Heads down!” yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right

underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.

“Alrighty then, is everyone here?” Hagrid asked, scanning the crowd. At no objections he grinned. “Good.” And with that he raised his hand and knocked three times on the large door.

Chapter Text

The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Harry’s first thought was that this was not someone to cross. 

“The firs’ years, Professor McGonagall,” said Hagrid.

 “Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here.” She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Dursleys’ house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors. Along the walls were hundreds of portraits and to Harry’s surprise, they seemed to be moving, much like his Chocolate Frog card had during the train ride. However, these portraits also seemed to be talking to each other and pointing at the first years. They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Harry could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right — the rest of the school must already be here — but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall.

 “Welcome to Hogwarts,” said Professor McGonagall. “The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts.

You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your House common room. The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each House has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting. I shall return when we are ready for you, please wait quietly.”

 As soon as she left the room, everyone began trying to smooth out their robes and tidy their hair. Harry tried to flatten his hair knowing it was futile. Instead, he considered what Professor McGonagall had said, each of the houses had produced good wizards, and the idea of a family warmed him up inside. Maybe Hogwarts would become his true home. Looking around, he saw people chatting. Some wondered what the ceremony would consist of, while others discussed where they would like to go, often based on their parents. Harry thought about his parents, something he’d been doing more frequently since learning the truth about their deaths. They were both Gryffindor, surely they would want him to follow in their footsteps. He glanced up at the ceiling, trying to see it, feeling hopelessly overwhelmed. It was then that Professor McGonagall returned.

 “We’re ready for you.” She said, leading them into the Great Hall.

Thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting, lighted the Great Hall. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets which reflected the candlelight, making everything seem impossibly bright. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, was what Harry guessed were ghosts, as they shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Harry looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. It was one of the most magnificent things he had ever seen.

 Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard’s hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn’t have let it in the house. Harry noticed that everyone in the hall was now staring at the hat, he stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth — and the hat began to sing:

“Oh, you may not think I’m pretty,

But don’t judge on what you see,

I’ll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I’m the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There’s nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can’t see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

If you’ve a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You’ll make your real friends,

Those cunning folk use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don’t be afraid !

And don’t get in a flap!

You’re in safe hands (though I have none)

For I’m a Thinking Cap!”

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again. Harry thought over what the hat had just revealed. He liked the sound of Gryffindor, but right now he certainly didn’t feel brave. Actually, he felt like he was going to be sick to be perfectly honest. He’d never had friends so he wasn’t sure he would fit in with the Hufflepuffs and their apparently die-hard loyalty. He was never that great at school, and though he enjoyed reading and learning, it wasn’t always his top priority. And though he wanted to prove himself to the wizarding world, he wasn’t sure if he’d be dying to do so. What Harry really needed was a house for the queasy; surely he would fit in perfectly there.

 Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment, interrupting Harry’s thoughts.

 “When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted,” she said. “Abbott, Hannah!”

The pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails who had shared Harry’s boat stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment’s pause —

“HUFFLEPUFF!” shouted the hat.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of a Fat Friar waving merrily at her.

“Bones, Susan!”

“HUFFLEPUFF!” shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.

“Boot, Terry!”

“RAVENCLAW!”

The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.

“Brocklehurst, Mandy” went to Ravenclaw too, but “Brown, Lavender” became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see Ron’s twin brothers catcalling.

“Bulstrode, Millicent” then became a Slytherin. The table at the far right this time applauded for their first new member. Looking at them, Harry could see that they appeared normal enough, though unlike the other houses they only clapped for their own students.

“Finch-Fletchley, Justin!” “HUFFLEPUFF!”

 Sometimes, Harry noticed, the hat shouted out the House at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. “Finnigan, Seamus,” the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.

 “Granger, Hermione!” Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head. Harry crossed his fingers, not entirely sure why.

“RAVENCLAW!” shouted the hat. Hermione grinned and stepped off the little platform to head to the table of cheering Ravenclaws. Harry smiled, remembering her eagerness to learn on the train; sure she’d fit in there.

 A horrible thought then struck Harry, as horrible thoughts always do when you’re very nervous. What if he wasn’t chosen at all? What if he just sat there with the hat over his eyes for ages, until Professor McGonagall jerked it off his head and said there had obviously been a mistake and he’d better get back on the train?

Seeing Hermione sorted had cheered him up for a bit before remembering that she clearly fit in somewhere.

When Neville Longbottom, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted,

“GRYFFINDOR,” Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to “MacDougal, Morag.”

 Malfoy swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once, the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, “SLYTHERIN!”

Malfoy went to join his friends, if they could be called friends from what Harry had seen, Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself.

 There weren’t many people left now. “Moon” . . . , “Nott” . . . , “Parkinson” . . . , then a pair of twin girls, “Patil” and “Patil” who went to Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. . . , then “Perks, Sally-Anne” . . . , and then, at last —

“Potter, Harry!”

As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall. Of course.

“Potter, did she say?”

“The Harry Potter?”

The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the black inside of the hat. This only served to make him extra nervous about being sorted. He waited.

 “Hmm,” said a small voice in his ear. “Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There’s talent, oh my goodness, yes — and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that’s interesting. . . . So where shall I put you?”

Harry gripped the edges of the stool and thought, “Please, wherever I belong”

“Hmmm, not too picky then? No requests? Hmmm. Well let’s rule out Hufflepuff, and perhaps Ravenclaw as well, your thirst for proving yourself doesn’t follow an academic route now does it?” there was a small chuckle from the hat at that. And though Harry was disappointed he wouldn’t be with Hermione he had to agree that that was not the house for him.

 “So Gryffindor or Slytherin then.” The hat mused. “Very difficult. Either house would serve you well. Any preference?” Harry thought about this hard. Gryffindor was the one tie to his parents, but he wasn’t sure that was a valid reason to choose his house. He remembered that this was going to be his new start, his new family. He remembered the times he had fooled the Dursley’s and snuck treats, and he was determined to prove himself to the world that saw him as famous for something he didn’t believe he did. Mind made up, “Slytherin would be fine.” He thought. The hat chuckled once more. “Very interesting. We’ll be seeing interesting things from you Mr. Potter, Slytherin will help you with that.”

 “SLYTHERIN” the hat called out to the hall. The hat was lifted off Harry’s head, and he was met by silence and stares from all the tables. As Harry stood up, suddenly unsure of what to do, he saw the Slytherin table rise and begin clapping for him, which turned into cheering. Sighing a sigh of relief, Harry joined his new housemates. As the ones closest to him shook his hand or patted his back, and all smiled at him, Harry felt comforted by his decision. The rest of the sorting went by quickly, with Ron going to Gryffindor where he was congratulated by his brothers, and the last student, “Zabini, Blaise” joining the Slytherins.

 Professor Dumbledore stood up, Harry recognizing him from a chocolate frog card he had shared with Hermione on the train. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.

 “Welcome!” he said. “Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!” He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Harry didn’t know whether to laugh or not.

 “Is he — a bit mad?” he asked those around him uncertainly.

 “Of course he is. Would you just pass the potatoes over,” Draco scoffed, he was sitting across the table and one seat over from Harry and was gesturing to the plate in front of Harry. Harry looked around completely gobsmacked at the sudden appearance of the food. “Oh hurry up would you.” Draco demanded. Harry quickly passed the potatoes and began loading up his own plate.

 While the Dursley’s had always fed him, Harry had never been allowed to have as much as he wanted. Or indeed choose what he wanted. On the table in front of him was the widest variety of food he had ever seen. There were dishes of food he recognized, often having made it himself; while there were other dishes that Harry couldn’t even begin to guess what they were. He guessed these must be wizard dishes. As everyone ate, talk turned to where everyone was from, which included their parents. Harry was surprised to discover that everyone in his year, aside from himself and one of the girls named Tracey Davis, who were halfbloods, were what was called purebloods, meaning they had no muggle or muggleborn blood.

 “Good, glad we don’t have any of those filthy muggleborns in our house.” Draco said relieved, Crabbe and Goyle, who’d introduced themselves as Vince and Greg, nodded along.

 “Oh lay off Malfoy.” Harry said, sick of the prat already.

 “What, are you a muggle lover now? How was it living with muggles Potter?” Draco asked, clearly not caring for the answer.

 “I don’t see the difference Malfoy,” Harry said, ignoring the questions, “I mean, we’re all here now so clearly we’re all witches and wizards.”

 Draco opened his mouth to respond but was cut off by Daphne Greengrass, one of the girls in their year. “Oh drop it Draco. Harry has a point and it doesn’t matter much anyway, who gives a flying flip as long as we top them in all the classes and win the house cup right?” Draco grudgingly nodded and agreed to drop the subject. Talk moved on to winning the house and Quidditch cups, as Slytherin had for the past 6 years. This drew the attention of the house ghost, the Bloody Baron.

 Harry was glad to see he was not the only one alarmed at the ghosts bloody clothes and grim way of speaking as the other first years recoiled from his appearance.

 “Ah talking about the house cup I see.” He drawled. “Good to hear, you new youngsters are expected to hold up the tradition of this magnificent house. Anyone tainting the glory of our house will have to answer to me.” He stared each of them down with his cold eyes, clearly expecting an answer.

 Blaise Zabini was the one to give it to him, “y-yes sir, we-we’ll do our best.” He stammered as the ghost focused on him.

 “Very well then. Enjoy your feast.” And then he was gliding off down the table.

 “Cheery guy.” Theodore Nott said at last. “Wonder how he got those blood stains though.”

 “Doubt he’ll tell you, I’ve tried before.” This time, the response came from an older student just down the table. She had curly red hair and freckles. “Welcome to Slytherin House everyone, my name is Gemma Farley and I’m a Prefect. If you have any questions at all, you can feel free to come to me, or any of the other prefects. After the feast, we’ll show you how to get to the dormitories and have a quick meeting before bed.”

 Harry nodded and looked towards the high table, wanting to see the faces of his new teachers. He saw Hagrid, who waved to him energetically, almost knocking a small man with big glasses out of his seat. Next to Dumbledore was the scary looking Professor McGonagall. On his other side, closer to where they were sitting was a man with longer black hair, dark eyes and a crooked nose. He was talking to Professor Quirrell, whom Harry had met in the Leaky Cauldron, but all he could see of him was the back of his turban. The dark haired professor looked up and locked eyes with Harry, looking slightly puzzled and displeased. Harry got the distinct impression the man didn’t like him. Suddenly a shooting pain hit Harry’s scar and he broke eye contact in favour of rubbing his scar with his hand.

 “Something wrong?” Theo asked.

 “No, nothing. Who is that professor talking to Professor Quirrell?” Harry asked.

 “Oh that’s Professor Snape,” Gemma answered, “he’s our head of house and the potions master here at Hogwarts. Feel free to discuss any concerns you have with him, but try not to bother him with little petty things.”

 “Great.” Harry said. He had no idea what he had done to upset the teacher but was determined to find out.

 “Does anyone want anymore treacle tart?” Daphne asked, holding up the platter. No one had a chance to answer her as Dumbledore stood once more.

 “Ahem — just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well. I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their House teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death.”

 Harry laughed, but he was one of the few who did. “He can’t be serious right?” He asked, looking around the table.

 “Oh but he is, you’d better stay away from that corridor.” Gemma said seriously.

 “What kind of school is this?” Harry muttered, not really expecting an answer.

“And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!” cried Dumbledore. Harry noticed that the other teachers’ smiles had become rather fixed, and wondered what could possibly be wrong with the school song. Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.

“Everyone pick their favorite tune,” said Dumbledore, “and off we go!” This confused Harry greatly, surely there must be a set tune or this would just sound chaotic and awful. He was beginning to understand the teacher’s forced smiles.

Yet the school still bellowed:

“Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,

Teach us something please,

Whether we be old and bald

Or young with scabby knees,

Our heads could do with filling

With some interesting stuff,

For now they’re bare and full of air,

Dead flies and bits of fluff,

So teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we’ve forgot,

Just do your best, we’ll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot.”

Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest. “Ah, music,” he said, wiping his eyes. “A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!” Harry seriously hoped that that was not the best magic done here, and rose with the rest of the house.

Chapter Text

“First years, follow us.” Gemma said, organizing them into a line. Along with another male prefect, she led them out of the Great Hall and down several corridors, making their way down to the dungeons. Harry was sure he would get lost and began to wonder why on earth they didn’t hand out maps to the first years. Finally, they came to a stop in front of a blank stone wall at the end of a dead end corridor.

 “Alright, this is the entrance to our common room. You require a password to enter, and it changes every fortnight. Do not share the password with anybody from a different house. No outsider has been in the Slytherin dorms in centuries and we’re going to keep it that way. The current password is anguis, which is latin for serpent.” Gemma announced. As she said the password, the wall behind her slid open to reveal a short staircase into a green-lit room. The prefects led the first years into the common room and told them to make themselves comfortable for the meeting.

 Harry was amazed, never had he seen such a sight. The stone in the Slytherin dorm was dark, and there were round green lanterns hanging from the ceiling. In the middle was a magnificent fireplace with a fire burning brightly. In front of the fireplace and around the room were couches and chairs of black leather, some with cozy looking green blankets tossed over the backs or arms. The room had several tall windows that let in a greenish light. It wasn’t until something passed the window that Harry realized they looked out into the lake, which made sense considering how many stairs they had descended. There was a small balcony over where they had entered that had staircases leading up to it on either side, which housed study tables as well as a couple bookshelves.

 “Hello, and welcome to the Slytherin common room.” The male prefect said, speaking up for the first time. “My name is Seth Holloway and I’m the other fifth year prefect. Gemma and I are excited to meet you all and we’re sure we’ll have a great year. Any concerns you have you can come to either of us. Our Head of House is Professor Snape who will be your potions master. He may seem scary, but he’s surprisingly cool and you can feel free to talk to him as well. Now then, for some quick rules. As Gemma said outside, do not bring anyone in who is not a member of this house. Our passwords do change, they will be posted on the bulletin board by the exit, as will any notices. Also important is making sure you’re back before curfew. If you are out past curfew as I’m sure some of you will be before you graduate here, then don’t get caught. We’re Slytherins for a reason.”

 “That being said,” Gemma continued, “we wanted to let you know that Slytherin is a great house and you should be very proud. The other houses look down on us for being supposedly dark wizards. They don’t like to admit their own dark students. But that doesn’t matter. We are more than a house; we are a family who look out for each other. It is important that we stand up for each other even if you don’t know the other student or happen to be in a disagreement with each other. Snakes stick together. Oh, and the dorms are under special spells that will keep them warm year round. Now I believe that covers everything important for a first meeting. A student from last year who went on to join Gringotts in their mapping department and will surely do great things; has drawn a rough map with directions on how to get to the main classrooms and Great Hall from the common room. It will be posted on the bulletin board as well.” At this Harry breathed a sigh of relief, as did some of the others.  “All that’s left is to take you guys to the dormitories. Girls with me, boys with Seth.”

 The six boys followed Seth down another hallway to the left of the common room while Gemma led the four girls to the right. The main hallway had seven short hallways, more like nooks in the wall, each with two doors down it. Seth led them to the end of the hall to one of the short hallways with a silver 1 over it.

 “Here we are, first year dorms.” Seth announced. “The door on the right leads to your room, the door across from it is your bathroom. Unique to our house is each year having their own bathroom, none of this communal house bathroom nonsense other houses have. You will find all your things have been delivered with the exception of any pet owls. Those have been brought to the owlery and will be well taken care of. I suggest you get settled quickly and get some sleep, you’re in for a busy day tomorrow.” With that, he departed to a hallway-nook marked with a silver 5. The boys all rushed into their room to claim their bed.

 The room itself was square, with two beds, two night tables, and two dressers on each wall. The beds had green bed coverings and silver pillows, with silver bed posts and black curtains hanging from them. Vince and Greg ran to the opposite wall and jumped on the two beds, claiming those as their own. In doing so, their trunks appeared at the foot of their beds. Blaise and Theo grabbed the two beds to the right of the door, which left Draco and Harry the two beds to the left. A fact they both realized at the same time.

 “No, no, no! Not going to happen.”

“There is not a chance in hell!” They both exclaimed at the same time before glowering at each other.

 “Zabini switch with me.” Draco demanded, turning to glare at the snickering dark skinned Slytherin.

 “Sorry Malfoy, but Nott here’s my best friend. Besides, no way, this will be funnier to watch than a Gryffindor trying to win the Quidditch cup.” He snickered. Draco moved his glare to Crabbe and Goyle, before deciding one of them might be the worse option. He and Harry glanced at each other and sighed, deciding they’d figure it out later, after they slept off the massive feast they had just indulged in. They climbed into bed and both forcefully closed their curtains, much to the amusement of their new dorm mates.

 That night had Harry tossing and turning. In his dream, he was wearing professor Quirrell’s turban, which was telling him he must switch to Gryffindor to live up to his parent’s legacy. He tried ripping it off and telling it no, that he wanted to make his own name for himself, but it got tighter and heavier with each desperate tug. Malfoy was there laughing at him as he struggled, but he soon turned into Professor Snape before everything dissolved in green light, and Harry woke up. Shifting in his bed, Harry let the soothing sounds of water outside the window lull him back to sleep. In the morning Harry couldn’t even remember his dream.

 The next day began with the clamor of six boys struggling to leave their beds and get ready. Upon opening his trunk, Harry was surprised to see that his robes had changed magically from the universal Hogwarts robes to Slytherin robes. Where there was once the school crest was now the emblem of Slytherin, and his black tie had changed to be green and silver striped. Shrugging and vowing to get used to the odd magical occurrences, Harry got dressed quickly before following the rest of his dorm mates to the Great Hall for breakfast.

 It was at breakfast that they received their class schedules. All first year Slytherin schedules were the same. Harry was pleased to see that he had a number of classes with Ravenclaw, which meant he would get to see Hermione. His first class of the day was potions, followed by Defense against the Dark Arts. Something he was excited about until he remembered the look Snape had given him at the feast. Then he saw that it was with Gryffindor, which after hearing about their house rivalry, he was not entirely looking forward to.

 The stares and whispers followed Harry around as he struggled to find his way to the classroom. Some student had held him up looking for an autograph, and Harry had gotten separated from the group. When Harry finally arrived, it appeared fate was not on his side today, as the only seat left was next to Malfoy in the front row. Absolutely perfect, Harry thought as he set his bag down and tried to ignore the blonde sitting next to him.

Snape came bursting through the doors, at the back of the room. “Welcome to first year potions, there will be no foolish wand-waving in this class.” He spoke barely above a whisper but was able to hold the classes attention. As he did attendance, he paused when he reached Harry’s name.

“Ah, yes,” he said softly, “Harry Potter. Our new — celebrity.”

Draco, Vince, and Greg sniggered behind their hands, as did a number of the Gryffindors, including Ron Weasley. Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were dark and cold, seemingly empty as he studied the students.

“You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making,” he began,

“many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don’t expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses. . . . I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even put a stopper in death — if you aren’t as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.”

 Harry and Malfoy exchanged a look of alarm, before remembering that they hated each other and looked away.

 “Potter!” said Snape suddenly. “What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?”

Harry wracked his brain; surely there was something he read about that in his books over the summer. “I believe it’s a strong potion called Draught of the Dead?” Harry answered, unsure. The nights spent poring over his new books in excitement seemed ages ago to Harry now.

 Snape’s lips curled into a sneer. “Close. It’s Draught of the Living Dead. Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?”

This one, Harry remembered, but he was confused as to why he alone was being quizzed. “In the stomach of a goat sir. Though I suppose you have one in your supply cupboard.” Harry couldn’t help the small amount of sarcasm leaking into his voice, causing Draco to smirk. What had he done to deserve being quizzed in this fashion? Especially on information found in the last chapters of the book.

Snape pursed his lips at that. “Alright Potter, what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane.”

“They’re the same thing professor.” Harry said, staring down those cold eyes. The two stared at each other before Snape smirked.

 “Surprisingly well done Potter, 3 points to Slytherin for coming to school prepared. Though watch your tone with me in the future.” Snape swept around to the board, declaring they would be making a simple potion to cure boils in pairs, leaving Harry in complete confusion as to what had just transpired.

 “Don’t mess me up Potter. I happen to enjoy potions.” Malfoy said.

 “I’m not the one who will mess up Malfoy.” Harry spat back. The two glared at each other.

 “Fine. Potions partners who are going to trounce everyone in our year, including the know-it-all Ravenclaws?” Draco asked, sticking out his hand. Harry smirked, and this time he shook the offered hand.

 "Good to hear you finally talking some sense Malfoy.”

 “Shut it Potter before I change my mind.”

 The two settled down to work together as the instructions appeared on the board. Harry tried to focus on his potion instead of the confusion over his new professor and his new partnership with Malfoy. Once Harry got past the strange ingredients, such as porcupine quills and horned slugs, he found that it was rather like cooking, a sensation that calmed Harry down. He was working diligently on his parts for the potion, and it was coming along quite nicely, when there was suddenly loud hissing and acid green smoke erupting from one of the Gryffindor boys’ cauldron. Their cauldron became a twisted metal blob and began oozing onto the floor. Neville, Harry remembered him as the boy who had forgotten to take off the sorting hat, had been drenched in the potion and was now covered in angry looking boils.

 “Idiot boy!” snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. “I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?”

Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose.

“Take him up to the hospital wing,” Snape spat at Seamus, the boy who had been working with Neville.

“The rest of you, back to work.”

Snape returned to prowling around the classroom inspecting potions. When he got to Draco and Harry’s, he stopped and smiled. “Well done, 10 points to Slytherin for a perfect potion.” Harry and Draco smiled at each other before remembering they weren’t friends and began packing up.

“I suppose you won’t be a terrible potions partner then.” Malfoy said. As far as anything he had said to Harry, this was a compliment. 

“Back at you Malfoy.” Harry answered. He was packing up to leave when Snape swooped past his desk.

“A moment after class Potter? Or are you too busy signing autographs.”

Draco smirked at him, “Don’t worry Potter, I’m sure they’ll be waiting for you,” and headed off to lunch with the rest of the class.

Harry sighed, any hope that Snape had gotten over his seemingly fierce dislike for him in the course of the class where he helped brew a near perfect potion disappeared.

“May I ask what this is about Professor? I answered the questions correct and brewed a good potion.”

“I’m merely curious Mr. Potter. How did you of all people wind up in my house?” Snape asked, fixing his gaze on Harry.

“If you must know, the sorting hat let me choose between Gryffindor and Slytherin. I wanted people to know me based on my own merit. Not because of something my parents did or I don’t even remember.” Harry said, confused as to his professor’s inquiries.

 “Interesting.” Snape said softly, his harsh features softening for just a split second. “Very well then Potter. Off to lunch it is.”

 Even more confused now than at the beginning of his interactions with the Professor, Harry grabbed his bag and left to rejoin the rest of his house.

 “What was that all about?” Nott asked when Harry met up with them outside the Defense classroom.

 “I don’t even know. He asked me how I wound up in Slytherin. Has he asked any of you?” Harry asked, frowning when everyone shook their heads no. “Well why on earth did he take such a dislike to me and then ask me why I’m in his house?”

“Probably cause everyone assumed you’d be in Gryffindor.” Pansy Parkinson piped up. “Well it’s true,” she said as they all stared at her. “Look, you’re famous for supposedly stopping the Dark Lord, and both your parents were Gryffindors. To be sorted into the house the Dark Lord was from and the rival house of Gryffindor? That’s been the topic of gossip since the sorting.” Harry had to admit, that did make perfect sense to him, even he’d be curious if he was some random student. Content with this explanation, Harry followed the rest of the students into the classroom.

Defense Against the Dark Arts turned out to be a bit of a joke. Professor Quirrell seemed to be afraid of his own shadow and his lectures were filled with stammering. Harry, who was sitting next to Blaise Zabini wound up spending the class passing notes with the other Slytherin, often doodles of Professor Quirrell ducking away from various creatures from their textbook. It was another class shared with the Gryffindors, who still seemed uneasy about Harry being placed in Slytherin, and whispered during the class. Professor Quirrell, of course, didn’t pay attention to what was happening in his classroom and continued stuttering at the front of the room. 

After dinner, the first years gathered in the common room to discuss their first day at Hogwarts and the classes they had just had. Upon learning that Harry had never played exploding snap, Theo ran back to his room for his cards and they spent the rest of the night playing round after round with the others. That night, Harry fell asleep feeling for the first time in his short life, that he belonged.

Chapter Text

The next morning was Charms, a class Harry had with Hermione. Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. Harry remembered him as the professor Hagrid had nearly knocked over at the welcome feast while waving to him. At the start of their first class he took the roll call, and when he reached Harry’s name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight. Harry rolled his eyes at a couple snickers. He hadn’t thought the teachers would be like this too on top of basically everyone in the student body.

Flitwick’s first class proved to be a little boring for what Harry had expected his first class with wands to be like. The tiny professor had simply gone over the correct way to hold their wand and the importance of enunciating. Finally came the time that they could do some actual magic. Professor Flitwick taught them two simple charms. The first being lumos, which would create a light at the end of their wands, the second was nox, which was the counter spell to lumos in order to turn the light off. Using his wand, Flitwick dimmed the lights in the classroom. Next to him Hermione, who had been practicing the movements shown by professor Flitwick without her wand while he had demonstrated the spell, was the first one to light her wand.

“Very well done Miss Granger. 5 points for Ravenclaw.” He said delightedly. Hermione beamed. Most of her fellow Ravenclaws gave her thumbs up or otherwise congratulated her, while others, along with a couple Slytherins grumbled about having been beaten by a muggleborn.

The rest of Harry’s first week sped by. What he was really looking forward to was Friday afternoon, which would be his first flying lesson. The morning of their first Friday at Hogwarts began with Harry receiving his first mail. Others along his table had received packages of things they had forgotten at home or letters from their parents congratulating them on making Slytherin. Draco on the other hand got letters almost daily, often with a small package of treats. This time however, Hedwig too brought a note. Harry quickly opened it. It said, in a very untidy scrawl:

Dear Harry,

I know you get Friday afternoons off after 2:30, so would you like

to come and have a cup of tea with me around three?

I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an

answer back with Hedwig.

Hagrid

Harry searched in his bag for a quill and scrawled a messy answer on the back: Yes, please, see you later. After sending Hedwig off with his reply, Harry followed the rest of his year down to the dungeons for his second potions lesson. This time, seemingly wary about setting them loose on their cauldrons, Snape lectured them on theory for most of the lesson before having them practice different techniques for slicing potion ingredients and adding them to a potion. The result was a simple potion used for making spicy food more bland. Once again, Harry and Draco produced a near perfect potion, earning praise from Snape, who was beginning to glare at Harry a little less, but still had a look of confusion in his dark eyes when he looked at him. The way he sometimes stared at Harry was as though he was trying to find some piece to a puzzle that had been given up long ago. Harry, though finding this highly abnormal as his other teachers didn’t look at him like this, would just brush it off. After all, if what Pansy had said was true, everyone was expecting him to be in Gryffindor, then Harry too would have been pretty curious.

“Thank Merlin that’s over.” Theo said, dropping his book bag on the floor as he sat down at the Slytherin table for lunch. “I despise theory. I just want to learn all the new things.”

“Despise? Fancy word choice.” Blaise chuckled sitting across from his friend.

“Oh sod off Zabini.” Theo said, resting his head on his crossed arms. “You know exactly what I mean,” he continued, his voice slightly muffled.

“Well I for one can’t wait for this afternoons flying lesson.” Harry said, helping himself to a bread roll.

“Oh relax Potter, it’s not that exciting. I’ve been flying most of my life.” Draco said.

“Still, the last thing I want to do is make a fool of myself in front of the Gryffindors.” Harry said, glancing over at Ron who was telling a story about flying using wild hand gestures to mime out swooping.

“Please,” Draco scoffed following Harry’s gaze. “Even if this is your first time on a broom, I can guarantee that you’ll fly better than any of those Gryffindors. I don’t think they could even figure out which end they sit on.”

“Humor me. We’ve begun establishing our skill at potions and I don’t want to make a fool of myself. Run me through some tips.” Harry answered.

Draco smiled. “I can do so much better than that. Come on, lunch is over for us.” He got up, and not checking to see if Harry followed him, rushed out of the Great Hall. Harry caught up with him as they exited the Entry Hall.

“Care explaining where exactly we’re going?” Harry asked, slightly out of breath.

“The Gryffindors won’t see you the first time you get on a broom cause we’re going to do a bit of pre-class practice.”

“How the blazes are we going to do that without getting caught?” Harry demanded.

Draco looked affronted. “You underestimate me clearly.” He said. “Look they’ve already set the brooms out for the lesson. That’s just asking for it.” Running over, they each grabbed a broom.

“Well, now what Malfoy?” Harry asked, straddling the broom nervously, looking around for any teachers.

“Push off from the ground, duh.” Malfoy said, as he lifted off.

Harry rolled his eyes and pushed off the ground. As soon as he was in the air he grinned. This was what he was born to do, he was sure of it now. This was easy, this was magnificent! He leaned forward and the broom picked up speed. Practically cackling at the sensation Harry pulled his broom through a loop. Unluckily for Harry, as he was upside down, his wand slipped from his pocket. Racing gravity, Harry dove for the ground, narrowly rescuing it before it hit the ground. He tumbled off his broom as a result of the low dive and turned around to grin at Draco. And came face to face with a woman with spikey grey hair and angry eyes.

“Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy. May I ask what on earth you two were doing? Breaking nearly a dozen school rules, flying on school brooms without lessons, permission or supervision! Explanations as to why I shouldn’t kick you both out of Hogwarts this instant?” She demanded, her eyes flashing.

“Well you see,” Draco started. However, he didn’t get a chance to continue as Snape came storming out onto the green.

“What is going on out here? Did I just see two of my students flying around unsupervised Madam Hooch?” Snape asked the woman who was glowering at the two boys.

“You certainly did Professor. I was just about to hear their explanation as to why I shouldn’t expel them when you walked over.”

“Thank you Rolanda, but I believe these are my students. I shall decide on the punishment.” Snape said icily. Giving Professor Snape a piercing look and glaring down at the two boys once more, she snatched the brooms out of their hands and stormed back to the other brooms.

“My office, now.” Snape said darkly. Arriving at his office, he conjured two chairs. “Sit. I’ll be back.”

“Now what?” Harry asked, turning to Draco.

“Relax Potter, it’s not like he’ll expel us.” Draco said, leaning back a bit in his chair.

“How do you know? I was just getting to the less hateful glares.” Harry said, crossing his arms across his chest. There was no way he could return to the Dursley’s. He’d sooner run away.

“Because he’s the head of our house. He always goes easy on Slytherins. Plus he’s my godfather.”

“Well that’s all good and cheery for you.” Harry spat at him, turning away. Before Draco could reply, the door banged open again as Snape came back.

“Twenty points from each of you and a weeks worth of detentions. My office, following dinner.” Snape said. “Potter, meet Flint. He’s the Slytherin Quidditch captain. Though it pains me to say this, you’re an excellent flier. Gryffindor held practices over the summer, training a new seeker. I’m willing to bend some rules if it means we can continue our winning streak.”

“What do you mean Professor?” Harry asked nervously.

“It means we’ve got a new seeker Potter, you. Flint will fill you in on team practices and such.”

“Tomorrow afternoon, we’ll go to the pitch and do a short practice to see where you’re at in terms of flying.” Flint said, before leaving to return to class.

“Now then, classes are almost up so you two will remain here silently until then.” Snape said, moving to his desk.

The next 15min seemed to drag endlessly. Harry just wanted to ask what this all meant, but was beginning to get a sinking feeling in his stomach every time he looked at Draco and the other boy refused to glance his way. As the bell sounded and they got up to leave, Draco stormed past Harry into the corridor.

“Wow, that sure was lucky eh?” Harry asked, running a bit to catch up with Draco. “Malfoy?” Draco just kept walking. “Hey, what’s up?”

“What? You want me to be excited for perfect Potter. It was my idea to go flying and all I get is detention while you make the house team?” Draco sneered, turning to face Harry.

“First years never make the house team! In fact you must be the youngest seeker in a century. But what else would anyone expect from Golden Boy himself?” Malfoy sneered, before walking away, leaving Harry standing alone in the entry hall wondering what on Earth had just happened.

“Harry!” Harry turned at the sound of his name, only to see Hermione running down the last set of stairs to reach the entry hall. “I feel like I’ve hardly seen you! How are you?”

“Hey Hermione,” Harry smiled. “I’m doing alright. I was actually about to go down to Hagrid’s for tea. Would you like to join me?” Hermione beamed and nodded, before following him out the entry doors and down the path to Hargrid’s wooden hut.

Chapter Text

“I don’t understand what I did wrong? I mean we didn’t get expelled and it could have been worse. And we were kinda starting to be friendlier.” Harry complained, banging his head on Hagrid’s table while Hermione and Hagrid exchanged sympathetic looks.

“Oh Harry.” Hermione sighed. “Isn’t it obvious? Draco is just jealous of you. Ambition is as much a Slytherin trait as it is a flaw. He probably wants to prove himself to his peers and family, after all he introduced himself by his last name so clearly that means something in the wizarding world. And now he’s been shown up since clearly his flying ability was not enough to get him on the team.”

 “Well I didn’t ask to be placed on the team, I just didn’t want to be sent home!” Harry protested. “Thank you.” He murmured to Hagrid who had placed a mug of tea in front of him.

 “That’s irrelevant Harry. Didn’t you feel any pleasure at having been recognized and accepted? Especially on your own merit.” Hermione countered, taking a sip from her own mug, grimacing slightly at the taste.

 “I suppose part of me was happy to be praised for something I did myself and not something my parents did.” Harry admitted. “So I guess Malfoy felt kinda stupid to be given just detention, that’s kind of the opposite of trying to make a name for yourself and advance your position.”

 “Exactly.” Hermione said smugly.

 “Well I’ll clear this up with him during dinner or something. The last thing I need is my potions partner sabotaging our work because he’s jealous.” With that Harry took a large gulp of his tea before spitting it out, “ugh Hagrid what the blazes is that?!”

 The rest of the afternoon was happily wasted away with stories of their first week, their experiences in different classes; the consensus was that Professor McGonagall was tough and one should not get on her bad side. Hagrid added in stories from his first year, as well as a couple stories about Harry’s parents, that Harry committed immediately to memory. Hagrid also described the basics of Quidditch and what the positions meant.

With a shiver of nerves, Harry and Hermione parted at the doors to the Great Hall to go to their separate tables with plans to make tea at Hagrid’s a weekly thing. When Harry reached the table, a number of his housemates congratulated him immediately, making Harry feel proud and well-liked. However, he noticed that with each person saying how great it was, Malfoy’s posture got stiffer and stiffer. Harry plopped himself down across from Malfoy who refused to look at him.

 “So what happened?” Blaise asked, leaning across the table, “Draco here has hardly said a word. How did you manage to snag a Quidditch position?”

 “I dunno, I got on the broom and it was the first time everything in my life seemed so right. And my wand fell out of my pocket and I caught it before it hit the ground. Honestly I’m just surprised Snape didn’t expel me since he only just seems to tolerate me.”

 “Mate if you’re that good a flier you could be his worst enemy and he’d put you on the team. He has an almost insane desire to trounce Gryffindor at Quidditch, and well everything else too, but particularly Quidditch.” Theo added in.

 “Malfoy’s a great flier too, but I guess Snape didn’t see him flying.” Harry said, glancing at Malfoy’s dark expression.

 “Oh sure, that’s why I didn’t get a spot. All I wanted was to play Quidditch, but what’s the point now that I’ll never be seeker? Come on Saint Potter, we’re going to be late for detention.” Malfoy sneered, standing up abruptly from the table and storming out of the Great Hall.

 Harry sighed, “I’ll deal with it,” he said to the other’s concerned looks.

“Draco!” Harry called, running down the corridor after him. “Oi Malfoy!”

 Draco stopped long enough for Harry to catch up and then continued walking to the dungeons without otherwise acknowledging Harry’s presence. They reached the doors to Snape’s potion classroom, and with a brief moment of nervous hesitation they entered.

 Snape set them the task of scrubbing out old cauldrons, a predictable but nonetheless effective. Telling them he would be back later he left the two boys with a mountain of cauldrons and a couple of scrub brushes. 

“Should I start on this side then?” Harry asked, gesturing to half the stack.

 “Do whatever you want Potter.” Malfoy spat before turning away from Harry and grabbing the first cauldron within reach.

 The two scrubbed in silence for a couple minutes.

 “I’m sorry about today.” Harry said finally.

 “I don’t want an apology Potter.” Malfoy answered.

 “I just- ugh why can’t things go back to the way they were this morning?” Harry sighed, thinking of the moments of friendship to two shared over breakfast.

 “Because we’re Slytherins Harry.” Draco said softly after another minute of scrubbing in silence. “We’re always going to look out for ourselves and our futures before anybody else.”

 “But you can’t just cut people out like that, what kind of life would that be? Sure you’ll be at the top but that’s such a lonely life. Success comes in many forms. We’re Slytherins Draco, we still look out for each other.” Harry countered, resulting in a small smile from Draco.

 “What there are things more important than ambition? Like what? Friendship and loyalty and all that?” but this time, Draco’s voice took on a teasing tone.

 “Exactly.” Harry grinned. During their conversation they had moved so that they were sitting next to each other. “So are we okay?”

 “Yeah Potter, we’re okay.” Draco said. “It was just, I’ve always loved flying and playing Quidditch would be a dream come true, and my father always said that Seeker was the only position worth playing so it felt like it was taken away,” he said quickly, as though he had to get the words out before he thought better of it.

 “Well that’s stupid. It’s a team game, everyone plays an important role.” Harry said incredulously.

 “Are you sure you’re not a Hufflepuff in disguise?” Draco asked, a pale eyebrow raised, to which Harry simply chuckled.

 “Well without a Keeper, the other team could score so many goals that catching the Snitch wouldn’t even matter. Without Chasers, no one could score those goals, and Beaters are the defense of the team and they protect their own while throwing off the other teams’ game.” At the end of his little speech, Harry glanced at Malfoy who was looking at him with a thoughtful look on his face.

“You may be correct,” a slow smile appeared on his face, “and with all us Slytherins determined to win and prove our house is the best nothing can beat us.”

Harry laughed, “I suppose you’re right. Besides we can’t let anyone show us up. So are you all done with your hissy fit?”

Draco tossed his scrub brush at Harry in response. “Moves like that Malfoy and you’d make a fair chaser.”

The laughter of the two boys echoed off the walls of the dark potions classroom as they finished their detention.

Chapter Text

The next couple of days passed harmoniously between Harry and Draco. They sat together in classes and even talked before bed. One night, upon hearing Harry had never played Wizard’s Chess, Draco brought his board out to the common room and began the process of teaching Harry. Predictably, it could have gone better.

At breakfast one day, Draco casually tossed aside a copy of the Daily Prophet, which Harry picked up to look over as he reached for another piece of toast. Which he then promptly choked on as he read the headline.

“Merlin Potter! What the-“ Malfoy exclaimed, jumping back from the crumbs while the others looked on in alarm.

Harry gestured at the paper reading Gringott’s Break-in Latest “This happened the day I was there!”

“So?” Theo asked, “most Hogwarts students and their families were there then too. Back to school shopping tends to always get left to most of the way through the summer. Hell you ran into Draco at the robes shop.”

“But I saw Hagrid empty that vault.” Harry hissed, so that only his friends could hear him. They looked at him in surprise.

“He did what?” Pansy asked for clarification.

“It was just a small little package and he said it was for Hogwarts business.” Harry said frowning. “I wonder where it is.”

“Maybe it’s in the Headmaster’s office?” Theo pondered.

"Maybe it's in the forbidden third floor corridor." Draco joked. "Harry no." he said, seeing the look on Harry's face.

"Well it is quite the coincidence..." Harry trailed off.

“Either way, that little package just became a heck of a lot more interesting.” Tracy grinned.

Suddenly the Owl Mail arrived, and for the second time, Hedwig was among them. She carried with her a long parcel. The note on the parcel read:

DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE.

It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don’t

want to go through the trouble of denying every student who bangs on my door wanting one as well. You were sorted into Slytherin for a reason Mr. Potter. Marcus Flint will meet you tonight on the Quidditch field at seven o’clock for your first training session.

-S. Snape

“Woah.” Draco said enviously as he read the note. “Nimbus 2000 is the fasted model yet. C’mon let’s go open it!” Before Harry could blink Draco had grabbed the parcel and run off towards the common room, the other boys racing after him. Rolling his eyes Harry took off after them. Reaching their dorm room, Harry had the honour of ripping the paper off to reveal the shining new broomstick. The rest of the day passed incredibly slowly as Harry longed for his first training session that evening. Draco tagged along for support, as well as an effort to show that he was no longer bothered, and seemed to hang on every word Marcus Flint said. Flint was a large sixth year that Harry was willing to bet had some troll blood in him. After his introduction to the rules of Quidditch, Draco headed to the stands and it was time to fly. Harry was nearly vibrating in excitement as he and Flint mounted their brooms and rose to the centre of the pitch.

“Alright Potter, Snape’s placed you on my team. For your sake I hope you’re good. Warm up by flying 15 laps around the pitch and then we’ll test out your abilities.” Flint barked at Harry.

Testing his abilities consisted of tossing small balls through the air for Harry to catch. With each catch Harry made, Flint appeared less grouchy. Finally, Flint reached into his pocket and pulled out a little bronze ball and a pocket watch.

“This here is a bronze Snitch, a practice Snitch that will give you an idea about how a real golden snitch works. I’m going to time you and see how long it takes you to catch.” With that being said, Flint released the snitch and Harry flew after it. Five minutes later Flint was beaming.

“I admit I had my questions about Snape’s decision, but you play like that this year and we have an excellent chance at the Quidditch Cup. That’s all for tonight, I’ll send you the team’s practice schedule so you can join us and practice when it’s not just you on the field.”

After practice, Harry Flint left the boys on the Quidditch pitch and went back inside, warning them about not missing curfew.

“Wanna give it a go? It flies so much better than those school brooms.” Harry offered, holding the broom out to Draco.

Draco grinned and got on the broom, whipping around the pitch like he owned it. The boys spent some time discussing the different aspects of Quidditch. Before they knew it, the sky was dark. Looking at each other in alarm, they raced back to the castle in an effort to make curfew.

“Oh bloody hell.” Draco moaned, catching site of the time. Then the two heard the sounds of prefects just beginning their rounds coming from the corridor leading to the Slytherin dormitories. “Quickly, I know of another way that goes up and around where they’re patrolling. We can’t get caught! My father will freak if he hears about this!” Draco exclaimed as he grabbed Harry’s arm and dragged him to the stairs.

“Are you sure you know where we’re going?” Harry asked as they seemed to climb too many stairs and take too many turns.

“Yes yes, just through this door. Strange, it’s locked.” Draco frowned, yanking on the door.

“Let me try, Alohomora.” Harry said, trying out one of the spells he had read about over the summer. The door unlocked with an audible click.

“How did you know to do that?” Draco asked.

“I may have gone a little crazy with studying my books this summer. Now go on.” Harry said, opening the door before following Draco in, and then promptly running into him. “ooof Draco what the-?” And then Harry looked up. Straight into the eyes of a giant three-headed dog. With much screaming the two raced out of the room and slammed the door, locking it once more.

“Let’s go the normal way!” Draco shouted over his shoulder, already racing down the hall. When they were finally a safe enough distance from the third floor, they stopped to catch their breath.

“What was that thing. And what’s it doing in a school?” Harry demanded between pants for breath.

“No bloody idea. And obviously it’s guarding something. And you call yourself a Slytherin, use your eyes. It was standing on a trapdoor.”

“I was a little distracted by it’s three heads you prat.”

Draco smirked, “Well I think I just won the bet for where the mysterious package is.”