A/N: Hey guys! I welocme constructive criticism but this is my first fanfic so please be nice. Enjoy! xx
What If?
Harry felt a great leap of excitement. He didn't know what he was going to - but it had to be better than what he was leaving behind.
The door of the compartment slid open and Harry looked up to find the pale boy from the robe shop, already dressed in his Hogwarts uniform and scrutinising him through narrowed eyes.
"So, it's true, what the Weasley's were saying. You must be Harry Potter." He dropped gracefully into the seat opposite Harry, eyes raking his hairline until they fell upon that famous scar.
"We were never formally introduced the other week. My name is Draco Malfoy."
There was a clatter in the corridor outside, the youngest redheaded boy, Ron, poked his head into their compartment. His ears went red as he caught sight of Draco and he backed out again, muttering an apology. Draco rolled his eyes, lounging back in his chair.
"As I was saying. I hear you were raised by Muggles." Harry made a face and nodded. "That bad, huh?"
"Well, not all of them. My Aunt, Uncle and Cousin were though." Harry explained about his only living relatives. How he slept in a cupboard and had to help with the housework whilst Dudley sat on his arse playing computer games. By the end of his story Draco was scowling.
"Those sick creatures." he muttered, "We all expected it of course, ever since Dumbledore sent you off to live with them. But really!" Now it was Harrys turn to frown.
"What do you mean?"
"Muggles hate magic, Harry. They take any spark, any hint of anything special and they snuff it out. They should be controlled by those of us with power but the ministry's too soft on them." Before Harry had a chance to digest this, there was a great clattering outside in the corridor. A smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the trolley dears?" Harry jumped to his feet, realising that he had not eaten any breakfast that morning and, as consequence, was starving. The trolley was adorned with all manner of strange and wonderful confectionary. Not wanting to miss out on anything, Harry got some of everything and re-entered the compartment with considerably lighter pockets.
Draco raised an eyebrow as Harry deposited his armful of sweets onto an empty chair. Harry just shrugged.
"I didn't eat breakfast."
Draco shrugged in return and leaned forward to snag a chocolate frog, neatly decapitating it before turning over a card that fell out of the packet. A small smile spread over his lips as he tossed it into Harrys lap. Harry looked down into an ancient, ape-like face with a long thin beard. The wizard looked shrewdly up at him with yellowed eyes and Harry read the caption: 'One of the four celebrated Founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Salazar Slytherin was one of the first recorded Parselmouths, an accomplished Legilimens, and a notorious champion of pure-blood supremacy' Harry glanced up to see Draco watching him carefully.
"So which house do you want to be in?"
Harry glanced back at the card he held.
"I don't know. I mean, I've heard Gryffindor is okay but Hufflepuff sounds silly and I don't think I'm smart enough to be a Ravenclaw." Draco regarded him carefully.
"and Slytherin?" Harry bit his lip, "Did someone spin you a tale about dark wizards?" Harry sighed
"Well, yeah."
Draco smiled.
"Not all Slytherins are evil, Harry. They just look after their own and people don't like that."
"Even Voldemort?" asked Harry quietly.
Draco flinched at the name.
"The Dark Lord was a great wizard. He wanted to restore wizards to their rightful place in charge of the Muggles. Maybe killing people was not the best way to do it, it certainly didn't make them like him, but at least he was willing to lay down his life and make sacrifices for his cause. He saw a flaw in the world, the Muggles, and he set out to change it. How many Gryffindors can say that?"
The subject changed and Harry found himself enjoying this. He had never had a friend before; Dudley had made sure of that. Half way through the journey a girl with very bushy hair stopped by their compartment, asking if they had seen a toad. They hadn't. Harry could tell by her tone of voice that she was going to be annoying. She had that bossy, know-it-all air about her he thought as he flicked a Bertie Botts Every Flavour Bean at Draco.
"So," said Draco as the train slowed into a darkened Hogsmede station, "it has been a pleasure to meet you, Harry Potter. Hope to see you in Slytherin." he extended his hand which Harry took and shook firmly. He had just made his first friend.
...
Out on the platform Harry stuck close to Draco, he seemed to know where he was going as he wound his way through the crowd towards a lamp that appeared to be floating.
"Firs' years! Firs' years over 'ere!"
"Hagrid!"
"Alright there Harry? An' whose yer friend?" Hagrids eyes narrowed slightly as Draco turned around.
"This is Draco." Draco nodded stiffly to Hagrid who returned the greeting. The last few first years came to join their little group and Hagrid led them down a path in the rocky cliff. As they rounded a corner Hogwarts castle loomed before them, like a dark shadow. Even Draco was gaping in awe.
Their path opened up onto a small beach where about a hundred little boats bobbed in the dark water.
"No more'n four to a boat!" called Hagrid from his own vessel. "Right then - FORWARD!"
The boat Harry and Draco were sharing with a two rather large, mean looking boys who Draco seemed to know, set off with a wobble that made one of the larger boys grip the sides violently.
"Don't be such a wimp, Greg." snorted Draco. "Ah, Harry, you don't know these two yet do you?" Harry shook his head, "This is Vincent Crabbe and the wimp at the back is Gregory Goyle." Harry twisted awkwardly to shake hands with the boys as a gasp rose from the other first years. He spun to face forwards Just as Hagrid yelled.
"Heads down!"
They passed through a curtain of ivy and into a rocky tunnel cut into the very cliff that Hogwarts stood on. They must be under the school by now. The boats bumped to a halt in what seemed to be a rocky, underground harbour. Harry and Draco unfolded themselves nimbly from the boat and, with the help of a less graceful Vince managed to haul the slightly green and clammy Greg to his feet.
Hagrid checked all the boats and returned the missing toad to its very relieved owner. Draco snorted as the boy, Neville, tripped over his own feet in his haste to retrieve his pet. The first years huddled a little closer together than was entirely necessary as they were led up to an enormous front door upon which Hagrid bestowed a loud, ringing knock that echoed ominously around the empty countryside.
It creaked open at once. A tall, black haired witch in emerald green robed stood, surveying the students with a stern expression that clearly told Harry that this was not someone to cross. Hagrid left them in the charge of this woman and she led them through the biggest room Harry had ever seen. This was only the Entrance Hall. The sound of voices and laughter could be heard behind another large doorway to their right but the witch led them into a small chamber to the side. She welcomed them in and briefly explained the concept of sorting and went over a few rules before leaving the first years alone.
"Pah," said Draco to Harry in a carrying whisper, "Since when has Hufflepuff produced outstanding witches and wizards?"
"Shut up, Malfoy." muttered a plump boy beside the ginger kid, Ron. At that moment about twenty ghosts burst out of the far wall, causing everyone to jump and providing a timely distraction as Vince and Greg were cracking their knuckles threateningly. By the time the ghosts had arrived Harry was starting to feel nervous. Why house would he be in? Would he even get a house? What if he didn't? Such thoughts chased each other around his head in a dizzying whirlwind until he felt quite sick.
"Draco?" he muttered to the boy stood beside him, hoping he didn't sound as terrified as he felt, "How do we get sorted?" Draco opened his mouth to reply but before he got the chance the door opened and the stern witch entered and shooed the ghosts into the hall.
"Now form a line," she told them, "and follow me."
They entered the Great Hall in single file, Harry stood between Draco and the boy called Ron, gazing in awe at everything. The golden tableware, sparking in the light cast by thousands of floating candles. The high ceiling that seemed to open up to the heavens. All of it. Right down to what appeared to be a tatty old wizards hat sat on a stool. The first years stood before the hat. Harry glanced around to see the rest of the school watching the hat in silence. A moment later he saw why as a rip near the brim of the hat opened like a mouth and it began to sing...
Harry clapped along with the rest of the school as the hat bowed to the four tables and became motionless once more. He let out a shaky breath; all he had to do was try on a hat! Nevertheless, as more and more kids were sorted he became more and more nervous. Draco, on the other hand, seemed perfectly calm. He stood silently, watching Vince and later Greg get sorted into Slytherin. When his name was called he sauntered up to the stool and sat. No sooner had the hat touched his head than it screamed, 'SLYTHERIN'. Draco smirked and strolled over to take the seat opposite Vince and Greg.
Finally it was Harrys turn. He approached the stool with a leadened feeling in his legs, hardly noticing the whispers that swept the hall, nor the fact everyone was craning to get a good look at him as the hat covered his eyes.
'Hmmm,' 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 waited. 'My problem, Harry Potter,' muttered the voice after a while. 'Is that you would do well in either Gryffindor or Slytherin.' It seemed to consider for a moment. Then, 'Where do you want to be?'
Harry thought about it. He knew that everyone expected him to be a Gryffindor, up until his conversation with Draco on the train, so did he. But then there was Draco, and Vince and Greg too really. They were the first people to ever accept him. His only friends. Was it worth choosing Slytherin just for that? Harry sighed. He knew in his heart where he should go...
'SLYTHERIN!'
...
There was a stunned silence, then the table second from the right burst into applause. As the Hat was lifted from his head Harry suddenly became aware of the teachers on the table behind him. In the very centre of the table sat a man who could only be Albus Dumbledore. He had a long white beard that disappeared below the table and he surveyed Harry with piercing blue eyes that made him feel like he was being x-rayed. Despite his frail appearance, the old man radiated energy and power in waves. Harry tore his gaze away and walked as fast as he could to the Slytherin table. The rest of the school was peering curiously at him and it was starting to freak him out a bit. He dropped into the space next to Draco as someone was sorted into Hufflepuff.
"Nice job." Muttered Draco, clapping politely for the new Hufflepuff, "glad to see you took my advice."
Harry smiled at his friends, half watching as 'Weasley, Ron' was called forward and quickly declared a Gryffindor. He saw the boy join his brothers, all of them easily noticeable because of their flaming red hair. By this time the group of first years had shrunk considerably, soon the last boy, 'Zabini, Blaise' was called forth. He, like Harry, was dubbed a Slytherin and dropped into the seat on the other side of Draco, shaking the pale boys hand as the headmaster stood to address the school. Dumbledore beamed at them, looking for all the world as if he wanted nothing more than to bestow a hug upon each and every student.
"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 as the school burst into applause.
Harrys laugh turned into a gasp as the plates up and down the table were suddenly full of food. The table groaned under the sheer weight of so many dishes. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat! The Dursleys had never exactly starved him, but he was never allowed to eat as much as he liked, and Dudley had always taken anything Harry really wanted, even if it made him sick.
He turned his head to see Draco watching him stuff his face with a mixture of amusement and… could that be sadness? Harry gave him a look and he half smiled before returning to his carefully arranged plateful, scooping a small piece of each food onto his fork before transferring it to his mouth with the overall appearance of someone who was dining with the Queen of England. Harry returned to his own food, trying to slow down before he gave himself indigestion. No sooner had he cleaned his plate then the desserts arrived. Mountains of trifle, boatloads of ice cream in every flavour imaginable (and a few unimaginable flavours, just in case). Harry ate and talked with his fellow Slytherins. As he loaded more gateau onto his plate all eyes seemed to fall on him. Slightly intimidated by all the attention Harry swallowed his mouthful of ice cream too quick and gave himself brain-freeze. At least, he assumed it was brain-freeze as pain shot across his forehead. His hand flew to his head until the ache subsided, his fringe remained stuck on end and all eyes shot to his forehead. He hastily flattened his hair back into place as Blaise cleared his throat.
"So – uhm – Harry." He began, "What are Muggles like?"
Harry thought for a second as all the Slytherins within earshot lent in to catch his answer. Glancing around he realised that none of these kids had ever met a Muggle before. They must be from wizarding families, like Draco. Maybe that was why he seemed to know so many of them.
"Well..." he considered, "They're not all bad. My Aunt, Uncle and Cousin are though." This prompted a barrage of questions and Harry found himself explaining his relatives yet again. The rest of the Slytherins reacted similarly to Draco. A large fifth year sat down the bench a bit swore under his breath as he recounted Uncle Vernon's response to his Hogwarts letter. They did enjoy the story of Dudleys pigs tail though, a few of them glancing up at Hagrid, obviously impressed.
...
Talk turned, as Harry knew it would, to Lord Voldemort. His dessert lay abandoned as Harry entered a lively discussion about the pros and cons of killing people in the quest for dominance over the Muggles.
"I'm not saying that he was right to try and kill your parents, Harry." Said Blaise carefully, "All I'm saying is, it was a war, wasn't it? People were bound to get hurt. In the end it was gonna be for the Greater Good, wasn't it?" He looked around the group, appealing for support from his peers. A few people nodded and he sat back with a triumphant expression.
"Yeah, but that plan was trumped when he met Harry. How did you do it, anyway?"
The silence that fell was almost painful as everyone whipped around to catch Harrys response.
"I don't know. Really!" he stressed as Draco raised his eyebrows, "I wish I knew! I was way too young to even remember most of it."
"What do you remember?" Harry didn't see who asked but he answered to the group at large.
"A lot of green light. And pain, lots of pain. Here." He indicated his scar, staring very hard at the surface of the table, pretending to read hundreds of years worth of magical graffiti. Why was he even telling them these things? He barely knew them. If he was honest it was because he knew that they liked him when he told them this stuff.
The silence that fell at his words gave him the opportunity to look up at the teachers table again. A teacher with long black curtains of hair and a hooked nose sat talking to Professor Quirrell, the nervous young man he had met in the Leaky Cauldron. The hook nosed teacher looked past Quirrells ridiculous turban and straight into Harrys eyes. All at once pain shot across his forehead again. He winced and the teacher looked away. Harry turned to find the other Slytherins looking at him.
"Brain-freeze." He muttered and turned to Draco as general conversation broke out again.
"Hey, Draco. Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?"
Draco looked over his shoulder at the staff table.
"Oh, that's Sev – uh – Professor Snape."
Harry smiled, "Exactly how many people here do you already know?"
"Oh, most of Slytherin and Severus. Snape." He added as Harry looked confused. "Old friend of my Fathers." Harry nodded as the plates emptied and Dumbledore got to his feet. His eyes swept the hall again, lingering perhaps a little longer on Harry before he went over a few notices and sent them off to bed.
The walk down to the dungeons was fairly quiet. The excitement of the day coupled with lots of good food had made Harry and the rest of the first year Slytherins rather sleepy. He did his best to pay attention as the prefect lead them down a complex series of corridors lit by torches set into the wall. Left. Right. Left again. Try as he might, Harry could not keep up. Without his Prefect guide he knew he would be hopelessly lost. He ran into the back of Draco as they came to a halt in front of a blank stretch of wall. To Harry it seemed just like every other stretch of wall they had passed but the Prefect seemed to think they had reached their destination. He stood facing the wall and spoke what turned out to be a password. 'Parseltongue'.
The wall split open with a slight rumble and the first years were ushered inside. The Slytherin common room was a long, low underground room with rough stone walls and ceiling, from which round, greenish lamps hung on chains. A fire was crackling under an elaborately carved mantelpiece ahead of them and several Slytherins were already silhouetted around it in carved chairs. The whole place felt a little bit like an underwater cave, which, Harry reminded himself, it probably was, he remembered the lake they had sailed across earlier and wondered if they were underneath it here.
The prefect showed them around the common room, ending with showing them the doors to the boys and girls dormitories.
Harry followed Draco down the indicated staircase, travelling even further down into the depths of the earth. The dorm itself was very grand. Four poster beds, draped in silk hangings in the green and silver of Slytherin house stood against the walls, their trunks were already sat at the end of the beds. Harry sat on his own and looked around just in time to receive a face full of the pillow Vince had thrown at him. He retaliated with a vengeance, laughter filling the dorm.
For the first time in as long as he could remember, Harry was home.