As Promised, the side collection of one-shots and drabbles and side stories that would divert attention too much from the main story. Enjoy
Through the Looking Glass Chapter 1: the Slytherin Table.
(Characters featured prominently: Harry Potter, Severus Snape, Regulus Black, Cyrus Greengrass, Roxanne Sterling, Stephen Davis, Sirius Black, James Potter, Horace Slughorn)
(1 day after Gryffindor/Slytherin Quidditch match)
"... and that's not at all odd," Sirius argued with James, as the two, Harry, and Luna walked down the steps for lunch. The others were already downstairs in the Great Hall, waiting for them.
"Of course it's odd, you dolt," James chastised Sirius. "But that doesn't mean that it can't be done."
"Can't what be done?" Harry asked. He'd zoned out for most of the conversation, having been forced to witness another memory of Riddle last night and needing to process it for his Occlumency. They came daily at various times, ever since the Horcrux had been removed. But since the Chamber and Horcrux memories, most of them had been useless to Harry. A brief show of Riddle eating and being polite to his fellow housemates. Him studying in the library alongside a young Madam Pince. Him writing something in Charms class. One of Riddle doing things with an Imperiused girl in a broom cupboard that had made him turn red in disgust. Daily things that Harry might as well forget. They only served as painful reminders of how similar they still were, despite their huge differences.
"Can't a Gryffindor sit at the Slytherin house table for once," James answered, drawing Harry's thoughts back to the present. "It would be the perfect cover for placing a prank, so we wouldn't have to hurry at midnight and hide from the ghosts or patrolling teachers."
"And I keep telling you, it cannot be done," Sirius argued back. "It's impossible to do something like that then. We'd be under too much scrutiny from the other students. Besides, with the current climate its suicide for a Gryffindor to sit at the Slytherin table."
Harry wasn't so sure. He was on polite, if not outright friendly, terms with Severus Snape, and he'd gained the respect of most of their Quidditch Team as well with the surfing stunt at yesterday's match. He supposed that ought to buy him at least some minimal protection from their housemates.
"I'll take that bet," Harry said before he could stop the words from leaving his mouth. James and Sirius both turned to him in surprise.
"What?" Sirius asked in shock.
Harry mentally hit himself on the head. He wanted a quiet year at Hogwarts, one without trouble or extra attention. He shouldn't draw it to himself by undertaking a suicide mission and sitting at the Slytherin table. But still, the chance to cross the gap between houses and close it a little...
"Twenty galleons say I can survive lunch at the Slytherin table," Harry said, daring both of them to say otherwise. Both of the Marauders in front of him looked shocked at his daring, with James adding a touch of worry about his son/brother sitting at the one table he might find himself getting hurt.
Sirius smirked before he could voice that concern, though. "Deal. Ten minutes at that table, twenty galleons."
Harry nodded and held out his hand. Over James' worried look, they both shook it. "Deal," Harry agreed. Then, without preamble, he entered the Great Hall. He stopped briefly, looking the table over. It didn't take long for him to find Severus: the boy, like him, had very characteristic hair, and Harry soon found him sitting with nearly half the Quidditch team, most of whom were in his year. Before Sirius could try to get him to forfeit, Harry strode over and spotted a free spot between Severus and Stephen Davis, the Slytherin Beater. The two looked up in shock as Harry sat down, as did the three Slytherins sitting across from him.
"You got a death wish, Potter?" Cyrus Greengrass, sitting diagonally across from him opposite of Davis, asked him.
"What?" Harry asked as he filled the plate with food, careful to be as cautious and neat as possible as to not appear like the average Gryffindor. "Is it forbidden for a Gryffindor Student to sit at the Slytherin table?"
"No," Regulus Black answered, sitting across from Severus. "But it hasn't happened in how long? Twenty-three years? Twenty four?"
"Twenty-eight and change," Roxanne Sterling answered, sitting directly across from Harry. "I looked it up once. The last ones to do so were some of the younger siblings of the original Rascals. Headmaster Dippet almost fainted at the sight of the mixed group." She narrowed her eyes. "Sirius Black set you up to this didn't he?"
Harry shook his head. "More like I set him up."
"Explain," Regulus ordered, though he was clearly fighting a grin.
"I made a business proposal," Harry said. True, he could just simply say he made a bet. But he didn't want to make an unintentional faux pas here, and being as formal as possible seemed like the safest route. "He has promised to pay me twenty galleons if I managed to sit at least ten minutes at the Slytherin table without making a faux pas."
Regulus grinned. "Well, since I dislike my dear brother so much, I'll help you win this bet. For twenty percent of the winnings, of course."
"Me too," Cyrus said with a grin. "We've been itching to knock him down a few pegs, and this seems the most inconspicuous way to do it. Once again, I ask for twenty percent of the winnings though."
"Same here," Stephen said, and Roxanne nodded, while also holding her hands and fingers up two times to indicate she also wanted twenty percent.
"Twenty percent, and we'll ensure that Mulciber, Wilkes, and Avery behave themselves," Severus said, nodding towards a trio of fifth year Slytherins who were glaring at Harry.
Harry frowned. "If the five of you each want twenty percent, that leaves me with... Nothing," he deadpanned.
"What do you know?!" Stephen said in mock-shock. "A Gryffindor who isn't a dunderhead."
Harry mock-scowled. "Ten percent each," he bargained, a bit unsettled by the glares he received from the older students of the table.
Regulus smirked. "Eighteen."
Harry sighed. "Eleven."
"Seventeen and a half."
"Thirteen. Final offer."
Regulus scowled. "Fifteen. And you teach me that trick of standing on your broom you did yesterday."
Harry faked contemplating it for a moment. For all intents and purposes that seemed fair, even if it only left him with five galleons in the end. But it was better than nothing, and if nothing else he had some entertaining conversational partners for the day.
And he couldn't agree immediately, or he might still be seen as a rash and reckless Gryffindor who didn't think things through. "Agreed. Fifteen percent each, and I'll hand you my winnings the next lunch."
The Slytherins looked amongst themselves for a moment, and Cyrus and Roxanne whispered conspiratorially, before they all nodded, and each of them shook his hand in turn. "Deal," Regulus agreed.
Harry nodded, and let out a sigh of relief. The three might come up and bother them, but he thought he could now count on the five around him to defend him verbally, or at least ensure it didn't become a fight while still in the Great Hall.
"Good. Now, since it would become uncomfortable if we are in silence, anyone have something to talk about?" Stephen asked.
"What about introductions?" Regulus proposed. "Aside from the DA, classes, and Quidditch, Harry knows as little about us as we know about him."
Harry nodded. "Very well. Since I'm the guest around here, it feels polite to introduce myself to the hosts first. My name's Harrison Fleamont Potter, though I myself prefer Harry. I'm the twin of the school's resident prankster James Charlus Potter." Severus scowled when this fact was repeated. "And I trained mostly with various tutors across Europe, rarely staying in one place for more than a month. Neville Longbottom travelled with me, because both of us had reportedly very high power levels. On our way, we met Ronald and Ginevra Beckett, Hermione Bay, and Luna Swann, whom we befriended and who decided to travel with us to learn magic. About five months ago, my father Owled us to get us back in England, citing the unrest with You-Know-Who made travelling as... unprotected as we did unsafe. Our four friends decided to come with us as they wanted to learn at Hogwarts as well, and... Well, here we are."
Cyrus nodded. "Most of that we'd been able to piece together ourselves, but thank you for confirming it, Potter."
"How powerful were you magically?" Regulus asked, his eyes narrowed in intrigue.
Harry shrugged and was about to answer, when he saw Severus shake his head subtly from the corner of his eye. And Harry realised the beginner's mistake he'd almost made: never reveal too much in your first conversation.
Harry smirked. "Now now, Mister Black, one shouldn't waste their best weapon at the introduction. Save some of that for later."
He let out an internal sigh of relief when all five Slytherins around him smiled. "Well spotted, Potter," Cyrus complimented. "I'll go next, as the eldest of the group. Name's Cyrus Greengrass. Mother's called Agatha Greengrass, nee Sloane. Father, as you undoubtedly found out this summer, Hyperion Greengrass, a prominent member of the Great Alliance. Got a twin brother, Thomas, who was so smart he did his OWLs in second year at the Ministry, and NEWTs in his third, before leaving Hogwarts and starting at Gringotts as the youngest recorded Curse-Breaker apprentice in Europe. He's in Peru now, investigating the Nazca lines with the local Gringotts branch to see if the Runes Magicals can see there might lead to more tombs. Roxanne here's my girlfriend, soulmate, and beloved."
"Soulmate?" Harry asked, remembering something about soul bonds from his Gringotts test.
"Figuratively," Stephen dismissed. "They're the classic example of childhood sweethearts. Growing up in manors with properties bordering to the other, the Sterlings happened to move in shortly after Roxie and Cyrus were born, the two were inseparable since. Professed their undying love for one another-" there was a loud thud under the table, and Harry had the impression from Cyrus' glare that the latter had just tried to kick Stephen. But the former continued on anyway, smiling unabashedly. "-in fourth year, and I've caught them in broom cupboards once or twice since." Thud. "They might actually make such a bond once they graduate-" thud, "-but as far as I know they haven't gone through with it yet."
"Thank you, Stephen, for spoiling our life for us," Roxanne said sarcastically.
"You're welcome," Davis smirked anyway. "Now, my turn. Stephen Davis, one of the few in this house proud enough to admit they're halfblood. Mum's a pureblood witch, father son of a muggle woman. Ghastly woman, my grandmother. Not the muggle, part though. The radio's fantastic, and they've got much better fashion. No, it's her cooking. She thinks her meat loaf is delicious, but it's always burned half the time we-"
Cyrus cleared his throat, and Davis blushed a bit at being caught rambling. "Anyway, compared to the others my life's pretty boring, actually. Like Roxie said, my father's one of the eight founders of the Great Alliance, but he dislikes the attention so he does more of the background stuff like funding and supplying for the others back when they still fought in the war. Because of the close friendship between our fathers, Cyrus and I grew up together as well, and we're practically best buddies. Well, as close as you can get in Slytherin, anyway."
Harry listened on intently as Davis talked, as did the others. He never knew the Slytherins could be this social as well. Due to what Hagrid and later Ron had said, he'd always assumed the Slytherins were evil gits out to get him (though admittedly the Slytherins of his time had done little to dissuade him from that image, especially Malfoy and his goons), but here they seemed outright nice. Even if he was still mostly ignored or treated as an outsider.
"But there was a big fight between Cyrus and his father, back in fourth year," Davis continued talking, and Harry belatedly realised he'd zoned out for a moment. "Old 'Perion never really recovered from the war with Grindelwald. Was always startled or wary when seeing his children, and I saw him smile two, maybe three times when I was there, And I've been coming there since I was four. The screaming at night as he woke up from another nightmare, screaming about the older brother of Cyrus he lost during the war, wee baby lad named Castor or something. Cyrus couldn't take it, of course, little Prince Charming needing a bit more special attention that he couldn't get. But there was a fight about it, a big one which escalated into a physical brawl Baron Black had to Floo over for to stop it, and next thing I know he's spending summer at Roxie's and Thom's hitting the Portkey to Peru."
Harry looked over at Cyrus, and saw he was on the edge of tears. Clearly, whatever had caused them to fight was still a sensitive subject. Harry respectfully diverted attention to Roxanne Sterling instead. "And what about you?"
Roxanne nodded gratefully, before clearing her throat. "Heiress Roxanne Sterling. Scottish-born first-generation witch that can trace her blood back to the old muggle nobles from the founders' times. My muggle parents got enough monetary clout in both muggle and magical worlds to keep most Purebloods from interfering with our family, and our Manor is warded by Gringotts Cursebreakers, and Seraphina Bones and Cassiopeia Black herself to keep out the remainder. As Stephen so rudely pointed out," said Slytherin merely looked away and whistled innocently, "I grew up with the Davis and Greengrass families as neighbours, with Agatha, Cyrus' mother, teaching my family about the magical world so they can blend in well. Like Stephen, my life's not that remarkable otherwise. Mostly I stuck with Cyrus and Stephen, as their influence as children of the Great Alliance stopped most retaliation for being one of few Muggleborn Slytherins."
Harry nodded. "I see. Any other Muggleborns in your house, or have they all since graduated?"
"One other," Roxanne confirmed, after both took a glance at Cyrus, who had since calmed down enough that he managed a mask of practiced indifference. "Aurora Sinistra. A second year," Roxanne pointed, and Harry indeed saw his future Astronomy teacher sitting a bit further down the table.
"As fascinating as Muggleborns are," Severus said, his word carefully phrased after receiving a glare from Cyrus and Roxanne. "I believe we should get on with the introductions."
Regulus nodded in agreement. "Quite so. Severus, you're the older one, so you go first."
Severus grumbled but relented. "Fine. Name's Severus Snape. Son of Eileen Prince and Tobias Snape." Harry raised an eyebrow in interest when Severus practically spat out that name. He recognised it because it was the same vehemence with which Harry would say Vernon's name. "I live in Cokeworth, at Spinner's End, to be precise. I'm a prodigy at Potions, as was my mother, and I have a vendetta with your brother, James Potter."
"Prince," Harry said in interest. As much as he wanted to find out why Severus seemed to hate his father so much, he knew this wasn't a subject to be discussed in the Great Hall, where all could overhear. "Happen to be a relation to Alice Prince, the seventh year in my house?"
"A distant cousin," Severus admitted. "Don't know how closely were really related. Never cared enough to find out."
"They share a great grandmother, or great great grandmother with the same surname," Regulus added for clarification.
"You're a halfblood, aren't you?" Stephen whispered softly in realisation. "Can't recall a pureblood house going by the name Snape."
Severus gritted his teeth visibly, letting out a soft growl as he did that strongly reminded Harry of Moony, and Stephen visibly paled and backed down, recognising he was close to crossing a line. Severus let out a few breaths to calm down, and then resumed.
"I'm planning on getting a Potions Mastery once I graduate. I enjoy the subject immensely, and wouldn't mind spending the rest of my life creating new potions, or rediscovering ancient ones."
"That'll be the sight," Regulus smirked, before waving his arms as if to announce a great headline for the Daily Prophet. "Severus Snape, Greatest Potioneer of our age. Died behind the cauldron singing to the Beatles."
Harry turned to Snape in surprise as the Slytherin rubbed his brow in frustration. Regulus, Stephen, and Roxanne were snickering their asses off, while Cyrus looked a bit confused.
"One time," Severus mumbled. "I listen to Lily's music enthusiastically one time, and it haunts me for the rest of my life."
"Yep," Regulus laughed, popping the P. "Face it: you're doomed."
"Oh, like you're so good," Cyrus defended his year mate with a smirk of his own. "Regulus Arcturus Black, Scourge of house Slytherin and the Quidditch pitch, his family a member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight, one of eight leading families of the Great Alliance... Has to ask for help to open a bloody Chocolate Frog card."
"OI!" Regulus yelled, drawing the attention of other nearby Slytherins. "You swore never to reveal that!"
Harry and the others laughed, the banter releasing a lot of the tension from the earlier subjects of the conversation. Harry realised that if this was how the Slytherins really were like, instead of the bad image Ron and the Marauders gave Harry, he wouldn't have minded being in Slytherin at all. True, there were the constant death threats for being a Potter to consider here, and the eternal nuisance of Malfoy in his own time. But those were obstacles that could be overcome.
"What about you, Regulus?" Harry asked. "What's your story?"
Regulus stopped smiling and swallowed. "Name's Regulus Arcturus Black, as you no doubt already know. The only fourth year of this bunch. Have an older brother who's been an absolute git since he joined Gryffindor, a mother who even the Dark Lord wouldn't consider turning into an Inferius she's so horrible, and a father one can trample over like mud. Grandfather's a menace, though. Don't get on the wrong end of his wand, or it's the last thing you'll ever do. If his friends in the Great Alliance don't find you first, that is." Regulus paused, looking down before letting out a final, world-weary sigh. "My mother wants me to join the Death Eaters in Seventh year," he finished in a whisper.
Harry briefly leaned back in shock. Sirius had told him that Regulus seemed to regret joining the Death Eaters before he'd died, but this bit implies he never wants to in the first place, especially with how soft his voice came across to them.
"Really?" Severus asks, sounding quite surprised.
"Yeah," he confirmed. "Either that, or get kicked out of the family like Sirius was. Mum's a really big supporter of his cause. Would donate all our property and gold to him if Grandfather didn't hold her at wand point for already trying that with Grimmauld Place without his permission. Made her vow not to do that again as long as he lived."
Harry nodded along, seeing the obvious loophole Walburga Black had to hope for. And judging by the looks of the others, so did they. Still, Regulus seemed particularly happy about the last announcement, so Harry decided to ask.
"And what about you? Do you want to join him?"
The other five Slytherins all looked at him, and each other, nervously. Harry mentally rolled his eyes at their paranoia (though he had to admit with the fact they were going to be hexed if anyone overheard they were right to be cautious) and cast another privacy charm. "It's all right," Harry said. "No one can hear us now."
Regulus nodded in thanks. "No. I don't want to. I used to, would've considered it one of my best achievements to get his mark, but..." He sighed, and rubbed a bit at his eyes. "My cousins, Cissy and Bella, they used to be part of his following. And they've been writing me, telling me all about how living under his rule was like." He looked at Roxanne, then at Stephen. "You guys would be hunted and slaughtered. The Dark Lord really doesn't tolerate people with muggle ancestors much. To be frank, you'd have to be a gruesome killer or the most loyal of followers if you ever hoped to survive in his ranks."
Roxanne nodded gravely, and Harry figured she'd found out as much already. Stephen, though, frowned.
"Really? From what Patroclus Bulstrode told me, halfbloods were welcome, too."
"From what Blake Avery and Gregory Mulciber told me, halfbloods have to be really good to be accepted," Severus said, matching Stephen's frown with one of his own. "Like experts in a certain field, or be really good at fighting."
Cyrus snarled. "That bastard won't see a Greengrass on his doorstep any time soon. I won't sacrifice my friendship with you two for that murdering asshole."
Harry rose his eyebrows in surprise. Didn't Charlus say once that Cyrus was about to join up with Voldemort, going his way because he was pushed away by his father's PTSD issues? Then where the hell was this coming from?
Fortunately Regulus shared his confusion, so Harry didn't have to ask. "My grandfather said he heard Hyperion say you were about to join up with him. Is that wrong then?"
Cyrus looked down in contemplation, frowning at his own situation. "I'm not sure," he admitted, clearly surprising a startled Roxanne and Stephen. "In the beginning, shortly after my fight with father, I wanted it for a while. Even volunteered some information when Avery and his ilk wanted to know something about Slughorn. But if I have to sacrifice my friendship and relationship with you two," he gestured at Stephen and Roxanne with this. "I don't know anymore."
Harry let out a sigh of relief. He felt glad he hadn't made a mistake when he asked Cyrus to join the DA. Sure, Ron and Sirius would still be biased against him for being Slytherins and for the fact his own father assumed he would join the Death Eaters, but the guy himself seemed to be alright.
Then Harry got an idea. And the more he considered it, the more he liked it. It would help break down the image around Voldemort, and possibly dissuade the more Pureblood-oriented in Slytherin from joining him. "Well, just to make sure, I'd like to tell you all something I found out on my journey." At the frown of most of the others, Harry gestured for them to get closer, and got out his quill, ink, and a small bit of parchment he usually had for passing notes to Sirius. He wrote down 'Tom Marvolo Riddle', and showed it to them all. Once they all nodded they'd seen it, Harry flicked his wand and moved the letters, until it spelled 'I am Lord Voldemort'.
Cyrus frowned. "So you found out the Dark Lord's real name. Impressive, but how does that help us? As far as I know, the Riddles aren't a well-known family."
Harry smirked. "They wouldn't be amongst Slytherins, since they're Muggles."
All of the five around Harry widened their eyes in shock. "He's muggleborn?" Roxanne asked, astonished.
"Technically a halfblood from the Gaunt family," Harry answered, remembering from one of the Horcrux-acquired memories that he still had a couple of relatives from that side of his family, Marvolo and Morfin Gaunt. "But yes, his father's a pureblood muggle."
The reactions of the five Slytherins were varied. Cyrus looked contemplative, likely wondering what the consequences of that revelation could be, while Roxanne's face was still stuck in shock as she looked down at her food. Severus looked mildly surprised now, and his eyes flicked from one side to the other as if switching between lines of thought. Regulus, meanwhile, was like a gaping fish, opening and closing his mouth without anything coming out. In the end, he only succeeded in mumbling, "My mum worships a halfblood?"
But Stephen's reaction was by far the most extreme. His face was frozen for exactly two seconds, before he broke down in hysteric laughter. It drew the attention of them and most of their table (and even the Ravenclaws directly behind them) when he slammed his hand down on the table he was guffawing so hard.
"Dark Lord... Muggle father..." he gasped between laughs, his other hand now clutching his gut. "Oooohohohoh... Priceless..."
"Just think," Roxanne said, recovered from her shock and eyeing Stephen with a wide grin when he seemed to finally calm down. "If he has muggle heritage... Do you think he used a pacifier when he was a baby?"
This set Stephen of freshly anew, so much he even rolled off the bench in laughter, and the humour of the notion of a baby Voldemort with a pacifier in his mouth set Severus and Regulus off as well. Harry grinned along with them. Most of the memories he had of Tom were all beyond the age of twelve so far, but the notion of a baby Tom Riddle... Even though he was disgusted by the man himself and what he'd done, he couldn't help but be amused.
"Stop it," Stephen gasped, trying to help himself back on the bench while still laughing his ass off. "I can't breathe."
"Or a diaper," Cyrus finally joined, and Stephen lost the climb onto the bench with the refreshing round of laughter they all shared this time. Even Severus and Roxanne, the ones he usually saw with the emotional cold masks in class and the DA, were grinning like madmen (or madwoman) at their shared joke.
"Harry," Stephen managed when he finally stopped, finally succeeding in climbing back onto the bench and sitting down at his lunch, though he and the others still had huge smiles on their faces. "Forget my share. That tidbit of information you just shared is worth far more. Thank you."
Harry was about to thank him, but felt a tug of magic over his shoulder. He looked over and saw a concerned Professor Slughorn standing there, a lowered wand in hand. Harry cancelled the privacy charms.
"Mister Davis, are you alright?" The professor asked. "You had me quite concerned there for a moment."
"Nothing's wrong, Sir," Stephen said. "Just heard a really really funny joke, that's all."
Slughorn looked quite skeptical at that, but he still nodded and let them be. "Very well, my boy. If you insist." He turned to leave and head for the staff table again, only to freeze mid-step, and turned back to look at Harry. "Oh, and Mister Potter? Twenty points to Gryffindor for bridging the gap between two antagonistic houses," he added jovially. "Very well done, Harry."
Harry nodded. "Thank you, Professor," he said, taking a quick peek at the Gryffindor table, looking for his friends. The sight nearly set him off as badly as Stephen had just moments ago. Ron, Sirius, Peter, James, and Neville were staring at Harry like gaping fish, Ron even forgetting he had food on his fork hanging in mid-air, while Remus had just raised an eyebrow at him. The rest of their dorm mates simple talked on, not either not knowing or not caring that much about Harry sitting at the Slytherin table.
Most of the girls stared at him with wide eyes, not believing the sight (Ginny actually rubbed her eyes a bit in disbelief), Luna gave him the same smile she always did with most people, while Lily gave him an appreciative smile, likely for sitting with Severus. Amelia, on the other side of the hall at the Hufflepuff table, wore a smirk as a small pouch, likely filled with Galleons, was handed to her by her scowling brother.
Harry cast a quick Tempus, and upon seeing that Lunch was nearly over, he rose. "As fun as it was, lady and gentlemen, lunch is nearly over. I better go before my brother and your brother," he vaguely pointed at Regulus, "suffer heart attacks from what has just transpired today."
As Regulus smirked at the thought, Severus actually grabbed his cloak, and softly tried to pull him back down. "In that case, stay. You might make our day if that happens."
Harry chuckled, but still softly pulled his cloak free. It didn't need much force, as Severus hadn't put much strength in his grip at all. "Yeah, and it might ruin mine. Who do you think the Barons will look at if their heirs suddenly drop dead just when I'm sitting at this table?"
Severus sighed. "A fair point. Ah well, same time next week?"
Harry nodded. "Sure. I need to give you your shares anyway." He shook the hands of all of them. "Have a good day."
"Oh, we will," Stephen laughed. "Yes, we will."
Harry smirked, and nodded in farewell before walking back to the Gryffindor table. He managed to weasel a spot between Ron and Neville, and across from Sirius, all of whom were still staring at him with wide eyes and open mouths. Harry smirked, holding up his hand.
"Suicide for sitting at that table, huh?" Harry asked smugly. Ron and the others finally closed their mouths, and a scowling Sirius and a relieved-looking James handed him his winnings. Harry nodded, and pocketed it.
If things go this well all the time, I might do this more often.