Ever since that first incident at the dueling club, Harry had been shunned out of fear at the Gryffindor table, and avoided like the plague by all the other houses. Not to say that all of the Gryffindors were so disloyal; Ron and Hermione stuck by his side. Now, when he walked through corridors, a hushed silence reigned and few looked him in the eye or even at him at all, for fear of getting the same fate as Justin Flinch-Fletchy. (AN: that was the first victim, right? He had never liked his fame before, and now, the fear he unintentionally inspired in those young, impressionable, innocent hearts, was more unwelcome than before.
Thinking it over, he should have known. Parseltongue, the language of the snakes, was feared just because of its connection with said animals. Snakes, for reasons unknown to Harry, were considered "dark" creatures, thus, the language and anything that could possibly be connected to it were considered dark.
Slytherin house. Here, Harry thought a lot. Slytherin, whose house mascot was a snake, was disrespected and feared throughout Hogwarts and the wizarding world. The reasons being its connection with snakes, and the other, was that the founder, Salazar Slytherin, was said to be one of the most feared dark wizards of the millennium.
Slytherin was also one of the most well known, and feared, speakers of Parseltongue, aside from Voldemort. This didn't help Harry one bit.
But, back to Harry's thoughts on Slytherin. He compared his experiences with being shunned for being connected to something dark, and not totally good. It was like they expected him to be evil for being a Parselmouth. Well, he thought, you can't just pick one out of a population and judge the whole population that way! This was how he came to the conclusion that not all of the Slytherin students were bad, just extremely misjudged.
I should have known they would shun me for being connected to what they call dark. Dark doesn't mean evil, it just means that often it is used to cause pain, or needs a sacrifice. While you may think that it means evil, it doesn't. You could cause just as much pain with the light spells as you could with the dark, you just have to be creative enough to figure it out. So, Harry summarized, it's all about the intent.
Maybe I should find out if my theory about the Slytherins was right… In fact, I myself was almost a Slytherin. I should try, even if it is only to see what I am missing here in Gryffindor. The hat did say something about making true friends in Slytherin.
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This was how Harry found himself following a sixth year Slytherin student in the dungeons one rainy afternoon. Now, Harry was under his invisibility cloak, which he had got from his father for Christmas the year before. It had served as an aid to walking around school after hours undetected. In fact, last year, it had helped Harry and his friends save the Sorcerer's Stone. Shaking his head to clear it of the memories and returning to his previous task of reaching to Slytherin commons, he tried as hard as he could to remember the rout to the rooms.
Left. Right. Down stairs. Right…
After almost 15 minutes of this, the student Harry was following stopped in front of a blank stretch of stone wall, and said quietly, as if being followed into his domain was normal and it was an ingrained paranoia, "basilisk fang." The wall slid open, and Harry quickly stepped in, afraid of the wall closing before him and having to be opened again, causing suspicion. (It wasn't everyday a door would open and no one would come in!)
(AN: This part took me so long to cross reference! Which, I might add, was kind of worthless, because there was only about three sentences about it. Might as well make my own, eh?
The Slytherin common room was lit with dark candles in silver brackets, which were shaped intricately like snakes, and a large, gothic style chandelier in the middle of the room hanging low. There were several long, black leather couches spread around the large room, and several dark wooden tables surrounded by old miscellaneous chairs that all looked well worn. A book shelf lined the back wall, and was filled with hundreds of old tomes, with heavy snake bookends. To the right of the entrance, there was a warm fire below a mantelpiece that had a long, slightly tarnished, mirror atop of it.
Harry heard laughing to his left, and saw Malfoy and the other Slytherin first years sitting in a circle. Trying to solve his incurable curiosity about the Slytherins, he carefully snuck up to what seemed the head of the circle, thankful for the thick, soft, forest green carpet that was muffling his footsteps.
"Do you think Potter could be the Heir?"
"No," another answered, "he's too much of a goody-two-shoes to be biased against muggleborns. Look at his best friend!" Harry vaguely recognized this voice as that of one Blaise Zabini, a quiet, dark-haired boy, who was in some of his classes.
The first voice spoke again. "Well then, who is it? We know it's not one of us, because of the potion we all take in first year to determine our bloodlines, and Snape always puts up all of the older students' as examples! Whoever this 'heir' is, they are dangerous! They must be stopped!" Harry shifted around the circle to see the face of this speaker, and was greatly surprised to see the face of Gregory Goyle speaking. Well, the hat said that Slytherin was for the cunning, and making yourself look stupid is definitely a good way to ensure an advantage.
"We don't know! We think it might be Potter, but, surely, all of them think it's us! Keep up your observations, and we'll discuss this again tomorrow." Malfoy made it clear that this wasn't open to negotiation. "Now! Did anyone finish that potions essay yet?"
After the sudden change of topic, the first year Slytherins worked on their homework for the week, as it was a weekend, occasionally getting sidetracked, leading to giggles and loud talking.
Harry watched, amazed, at how well all of the Slytherins seemed to get along and help each other. It seemed that the Slytherins were immensely loyal and protective of their own, and nothing that was said in the common room ever left. Harry watched, again, longingly, at the kind of loyalty displayed by the group. If only his housemates would stick by him…
He didn't even notice that his eyelids were drooping shut until he felt the impact of the floor. The noise alerted the other students who whipped around. He stood up and decided to make himself known, lest someone step on the cloak, trip on it, and reveal himself.
A minute later, one of the group was finally brought back to reality.
"Potter! What the hell are you doing here? How… Why… Explain." Malfoy took up his natural leader stance and stood at the head of the group. Just like those horrible encounters in the hallways. Except, right nw, his eyes were slightly wide.
"I wanted to make a truce. I figured that: a) you would feel more secure in your territory, b) neither of us want a public scene, and c)… well, there is no c! I also wanted to see where I could have been if I hadn't've argued with the hat… I mean, I wanted to see if the Slytherins are really as bad ass as they seem out in the big wide school?" Harry had let loose one of his most guarded secrets. No one, not even Ron or Hermione, knew! Damn it! There goes all that hidden Slytherin cunning that would be an advantage...
"Let me get this straight," a worried and confused Draco Malfoy reaffirmed, "you came down here so as to be a convenience to us, because of your own damned curiosity, and… because… wait. You said the hat… The had wanted to put you in Slytherin!" The look on his face would have made Harry laugh if he hadn't felt the need to keep up his defense.
"Yeeeees. So, about that truce."
"Wait. Slytherin?" A disbelieving eyebrow was raised.
"Yes, you nitwit! Does it really take that long to process that? Wait, don't answer that. I don't think I want to know."
"Um. What are your terms to the truce?" Draco seemed to have resigned much sooner than Harry had thought. Interesting.
"Well, I know that there is nothing that we can do differently in public. Gotta keep up appearances, ya know. Plus, I think that the old coot has a closer eye on me than the rest of us." Here, he inserted a fierce scowl. "The Weasleys are downright suspicious. Seriously, who asks for the number of the platform aftertwo children had gone through, and completedHogwarts, the numerous years of her younger four, and then the seven years of her own! Come on, tell me that doesn't sound the least bit off! Anyone?"
All he received were odd looks.
"Okay, back to the truce. Nothing different in public. Um, I'd like to at least be able to hold civil conversations with you. That would be nice, now that I think about it. Allies all over the school." Evil Smile number three: for use when possible world domination plans were being planned or talked about. "And then the world will be mine!" Evil, mad, maniacal laugh.
Harry received a handful of confused and slightly scared looks. It appears their possible friend/ally was slightly insane.
"Yes, sorry about that! Jeez, can't take a joke, can you." A cough interrupted Harry's slightly crazed world domination plans.
"Right. My conditions. No sabotaging my work, the rest of Gryffindor house, well… screw them. And my friends, namely Ron and Hermione. Exempt from especially mean pranks (because I can take a joke!) and sabotage. No Gryffindor baiting for me and my friends. The rest are free game. Got it?"
The other second years went into a group huddle. Which was, actually, quite a comical sight, but Harry didn't have to gall to laugh about it behind their backs. In his mind though, he was snickering evilly. Blackmail material.
Several minutes later, Draco spoke up again. "We agree to those terms. However, your terms towards us?"
"Yes, yes, of course. And, in return, I will not bait any of you, or prank, or sabotage! Well, no immunity to pranks. You just won't be targeted with such frequent regularity. Anything you can think of?"
Choruses and mutters of "No" "We're good" and "Just peachy" were heard.
"I think that some new introductions are needed. I am Draco Malfoy. Call me Draco." Surprisingly, it was our favorite blond pureblood that spoke up first. Mind you, he was still smirking, but it was an improvement.
"Harry Potter. Often times called boy, freak, delinquent, andtroublemaker by my evil muggle aunt and uncle, Boy-Who-Lived, seriously evil dark wizard (Fred and George's words, by the way)… Well, just call me Harry."
"Gregory Goyle. I'm really not as dumb as I act out there. Call me Greg."
"Vincent Crabbe."
"Millicent Bullstrode. Call me Milli. Or something. Millicent is just dreadfully long."
She got several nods from her classmates.
"Pansy Parkinson. I am the gossip queen of Slytherin. Bow down before me! Muahahahah! May I assist you in your quest for world domination?" Her eyes were big and her face looked about as innocent as could be.
"Theodore Nott. I am… well… one of the lesser known Slytherins to the outside world, as are Bini (AN: got it from Batsutousai. Just too cute to give up., sorry, Blaise." He added the last part after Zabini shot him a glare. Appaerntly he wasn't overly fondof the nickname.The tall boy didn't sound overly confident like Draco did, but he wasn't a stuttering mass like Quirrel was.
"I am the great Blaise Zabini." Sarcastic mutterings could be heard from behind him, where the other Slytherins were looking over his shoulder at him with mock awestruck looks on their faces, and some of the girls even fanning their faces. Of course, it was completely fake. "You may bow down at my feet and call me, King. For that is my title. The King, of Drama!" Here, he flashed his cape around him and stuck his chin up as if looking into the sky. Harry couldn't help but laugh at this boy's enthusiasm, and held his hand out to shake before kneeling before him and looking up with big eyes.
"I feel so honored to have met such a respected nobleman like yourself! You will, of course, join me in my dominace of the world" He collapsed in a fit of evil cackles. Harry got back up after several moments of rolling around the floor amidst his evil laughs, and surveyed the group.
"It is nice to meet you all. I hope we can put the past behind us, and make the best of the truce. And maybe achieve some world domination while we're at it? Just kidding! Gosh!" Harry bowed slightly in respect towards them. "Does this make me an honorary Slytherin? Never mind. I was contemplating, if the shunning about the whole Parselmouth thing doesn't stop, getting the Sorting Hat to sort me again. Don't think he would object too much. Little bugger was way too eager the first time." He lowered his head and shook it mournfully. "It never had a chance."
Harry and the Slytherins sat down and got reacquainted. Odd, Harry had never felt so at home…
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Okay, this was my first fic, so be honest in the reviews. If I even get any. chews fingernails
This was originally published on the account cher0816. I think it's still up, really...
I think some of the stuff in the first part may have seemed a little... off for this, but it was stuff I thought made sense. BTW, this was like 5 pages on word, I think.
I think it's good. I might continue it, but I don't think I will. It will probably be left as a oneshot.
One month later:
I'm using this asa kinda prelude to the post HBP story I'm writing right now. Not necessary to read one or the other, but I thought I'd take facts from somewhere at least. :)
That's all I can think of except: REVIEW!
Cher-nesssnesssnessss