Harry Potter may have seemed normal, if not a little shy, as he walked towards the Great Hall at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. On the inside, he was shaking like a leaf but he knew better than to show it on the outside.

Harry had never been more terrified in his life. He didn't know much about anything having to do with Hogwarts, but it had made his uncle treat him worse tenfold.

Before he received his Hogwarts letter, Harry would cook and clean for them all the time, only getting a very small portion of the meal, if he was lucky. He would only ever get a beating if he made a mistake or if he didn't finish his chores.

After he received his Hogwarts letter, beatings had occurred almost daily but they made sure to not touch his face, as he would be off to Hogwarts soon and they couldn't have anyone seeing his bruises. His uncle had told him that he better enjoy having magic while he had it because he wouldn't have it for long and he would be returning to the Dursleys again permanently soon.

He wasn't sure what his uncle was planning on doing, but Harry suspected it wasn't anything good. He hoped his uncle was wrong because magic seemed so amazing and Harry didn't ever want to leave it.

Harry had sat on the train with a ginger boy named Ron Weasley. He wasn't sure what he thought of Ron quite yet, as he seemed a bit energetic for Harry's likings but he hoped they remained friends.

Hogwarts was absolutely breathtaking and Harry loved it the moment he saw it. His desire to never leave this place was only increased as they walked through the corridors towards the Great Hall. The paintings were moving all around them and everything was so filled with color and life, it was very different from the Dursleys and Harry loved it.

The group stopped before a flight of stairs and was told to wait until a professor arrived. Immediately, people began speaking amongst each other, and Harry couldn't help but notice that many of the whispers were about himself.

A stern-looking woman with a Scottish accent walked towards the group and looked over all of them before giving them a small speech on the houses. It really bothered Harry that she didn't mention what each house represents but when Ron leaned over and whispered to Harry about how everybody in Slytherin was evil, the rebellious side of Harry acted up and a small voice in the back of his head told him to try and get into Slytherin.

Ron was really annoying him at this point so he wasn't answering most of what he said, other than to ask questions about things. Ron couldn't stop rambling about how great Gryffindor was, so Harry decided he was going to let the hat decide everything and let fate take its course, no matter what the rebellious side of him wanted.

All of a sudden, a voice cut through whatever Ron was trying to say. "So it's true then, what they're saying on the train. Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts."

Harry looked over to see a blonde boy with pale white skin looking at him curiously. He was a bit irritated that the boy had announced his presence, but he wasn't going to make any enemies before he got sorted unless this guy was a total prat.

"This is Crabbe," the boy said, gesturing to a rather aggressive looking boy on his left before continuing, "And this is Goyle." He nodded to a taller, but equally scary looking, boy on his right. "And I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

Ron, who was still standing next to Harry, snickered at his name before whispering, "This one's a death eater in training. You shouldn't even be talking to scum like him."

Harry was stunned by Ron's words but his surprise quickly turned to disgust as he took a step away from Ron before turning towards the blonde boy, who was now sneering. He must not have heard what Ron said.

"Think something's funny? Well, you can't exactly talk. Red hair and a hand me down robe? You must be a Weasley." The boy snarled, looking surprisingly venomous for an eleven-year-old boy. Harry was a bit wary of this boy, but he had yet to speak with him while not around Ron so he decided to give him a chance.

Weasley glared back. Before Ron had a chance to retort, Draco turned to Harry. "You'll soon realize that some pureblood families are better than others. Don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

Draco stuck out his hand. Harry looked at him curiously and decided that he would make his answer vague so he wouldn't make it seem like he was fully supporting Draco in front of his whole year.

He reached out and shook his hand, "We'll just have to see about that, won't we?"

Draco smirked, knowing exactly what game Harry was playing. "I guess we will."

During his mini staring contest with Draco, Harry couldn't help but notice that Ron was sputtering right next to him while many others had their jaws hanging open or their eyes wide. They were shocked that Harry Potter, so-called savior of the wizarding world, had just ambiguously agreed to ally with a Death Eater's son.

Ron stepped forward, but before he could do anything, Professor McGonagall stated, "We're ready for you now."

Draco and Harry walked in beside each other, looking around in amazement. Draco was hiding it much better than Harry was, but Harry didn't mind. He wanted to seem as innocent as possible for the time being.

The pair watched as a grubby looking hat began to sing a song about the four houses at Hogwarts and Dumbledore gave a small speech welcoming the first years before McGonagall began the sorting. The first name called was Hermione Granger, a muggle-born that Harry had met on the train ride to Hogwarts. She seemed nice enough but Ron thought she was mental. Not that Harry cared what he thought.

Hermione was sorted into Gryffindor after a few seconds and Harry was quite surprised. He had figured she would be in Ravenclaw for sure, knowing how much she had studied before coming to the school and how she had already learned many spells.

Draco was called up right after Hermione and Harry wished him luck as he went up and was immediately sorted into Slytherin. Harry clapped and smiled for every student who was sorted, even as Ron was sorted into the house that he couldn't stop praising. He didn't even realize he was nervous until his heart skipped a beat when the words, "Harry Potter," came out of Minerva McGonagall's mouth.

He walked up hesitantly and couldn't help but notice that the Great Hall had gone completely silent save for a few whispers of, "Harry Potter? The Harry Potter?"

He sat down on the stool and sighed as Professor McGonagall put the hat on his head. "Ooh, you're a tough one."

Harry gasped and spoke in his mind, you can read my mind?

"Of course," the hat spoke aloud, "How else am I supposed to decide what house to put you in?" Harry sat in stunned silence as the hat muttered.

"Definitely not Hufflepuff, it would be a waste of talent. Not that Hufflepuff isn't great and wouldn't fit you, but you have the potential for so much more than a leader that leads with words. You have an amazing magical core, probably one of the strongest I've ever seen! If you train hard enough, I'm sure you could be more powerful than Dumbledore one day, maybe even Voldemort. Just a tip, you should probably begin to practice wandless and nonverbal magic as soon as possible before you become too reliant on your wand." The hat gave out advice, speaking very low so only McGonagall could hear it.

Minerva was stunned as she heard the hat dole out advice to learn wandless magic. Minerva herself was only able to do a spell or two with wandless magic, and it was very difficult and draining. And hearing that the boy could be as powerful as Voldemort gave her hope that this boy, this small underfed but strangely confident boy, would be the one to save them all.

The rest of the hall was watching on in confusion. The hat hadn't taken so long to sort anyone in a while and they were very nervously anticipating where the Boy-Who-Lived would be placed.

"And not Ravenclaw, though you could certainly fit in. You definitely have the competence to be in Ravenclaw but with your prowess, you need to be in Gryffindor or Slytherin. Though, I have a feeling that Slytherin would lead you on the path to greatness. There's no doubt about that! Which would you prefer, after all? Both of your parents were in Gryffindor." The Sorting Hat spoke the last part softly.

Harry sighed before speaking again; "It's your decision. Put me on the path that I'm destined to be on."

The Sorting Hat breathed out, despite having no abdomen or lungs. "Well, goodbye Harry Potter. It was nice meeting you and please heed my advice to learn wandless magic as soon as possible. Also, do not trust Dumbledore or Voldemort, you are safe from no one except for those you deem trustworthy. Live up to my expectations, Harry. Surpass them, even. SLYTHERIN!"

Harry walked back towards the Slytherin common room for the first time, among people he hoped would be his friends for the year. This group included Draco Malfoy, obviously, Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini.

Pansy Parkinson was a pureblood, as expected, who was, as expected, quite prejudiced towards Muggle-borns and was, as expected, wary of becoming friends with Harry. She soon excepted him however because Draco seemed to have an interest in him.

Blaise Zabini was a pureblood as well and Harry was not surprised to find that Blaise seemed to be the vainest of all of them and very against muggleborns. Harry wasn't surprised because he appeared to have the most aristocratic features of all the other Slytherins and had this air about him that screamed, I AM BETTER THAN YOU!

Draco, of course, Harry already knew. Harry was completely sure that he would be trusting Draco very soon. He wasn't exactly sure of why, but something about Draco intrigued him and brought feelings up from inside of Harry that were unfamiliar.

In Harry's first charms class, where they had practiced an unlocking and locking spell, Harry had mastered it immediately on his first try. He was the only one to master it, being able to do it every time perfectly, but Hermione Granger had managed the locking charm once but wasn't able to unlock it.

Flitwick had beamed, knowing that Harry had picked up his mother's affinity for charms. He was delighted and knew this child held a lot of potential for the future. He silently promised that he would nurture this talent and make it as good as it could be.

Draco had been congratulatory on the outside, but he was secretly jealous that Harry had completed it while he, a pureblood, wasn't. He swore to himself that he would prove to Harry that he was worthy of his friendship by the end of the year.

Hermione Granger had felt nothing but jealousy and she didn't hide it well. She had wanted to impress everyone when she came to Hogwarts but it appeared that Harry Potter would outshine her. She made an unspoken pact with herself to outshine Harry Potter by the end of the year.

In Harry's first transfiguration class, he had mastered turning a matchstick into a needle. It went as well as Harry's first charms class had gone, maybe even better. He had mastered in immediately, much to the surprise of Professor McGonagall.

Minerva had heard almost everything the Sorting Hat had said to Harry while being sorted, and she still was having trouble comprehending the words of the hat. She thought, 'It surely must be exaggerating, this small child had the potential to be more powerful than Dumbledore?Blasphemy!'

The transfiguration professor had so much trouble believing it, that when the child mastered his first assignment faster than any first year she had ever seen, she felt the need to test him.

"Mr. Potter, very nice job. Ten points to Slytherin." She said as she gave him a nod of approval. He smiled shyly and nodded his thanks for the compliment. "How about," She started, "You turn this mouse into a snuff box."

She summoned a mouse and put it in front of the student. The child furrowed his eyebrows, being put on the spot was not something he was used to. "The incantation is Musad Archa."

Harry nodded, straightening his back and pointing his wand at the small animal. He concentrated on turning the mouse to a snuff box as he said, "Musad Archa!"

Much to the shock of the professor who had been teaching for nearly 30 years, the mouse promptly turned into a very detailed and ornate snuff box. She was surprised, mainly because this was a spell used for the first year exams, and he would have received an O and it was his very first class.

Her eyes narrowed, wanting to know the extent of this child's potential. She conjured a button and promptly said, "Turn this button into a beetle, the incantation is Egosum Magnus."

Harry was extremely nervous, not quite knowing what his teacher was doing as he did as he had done before, imagining the button turning into a beetle. "Egosum Magnus!"

McGonagall was stunned when yet again, the spell worked properly and did its job and turned into a perfect six-legged beetle.

This continued for quite some time, with Harry successfully turning a bird into a goblet, a teapot to a tortoise, a Guinea Fowl into a Guinea Pig and finally, an owl to an opera glass.

Harry seemed quite tired by the end of this and McGonagall only felt a twinge of sympathy for putting her student through this because she was too overwhelmed with the other emotions she was feeling. Her first-year student had just completed an OWL level spell, and he had done it perfectly! He exceeded most of her fifth-year students and it was his very first transfiguration lesson.

Even McGonagall knew she wasn't that good of a teacher.

The whole entire was stunned as they watched this silent war in between Harry Potter and their transfiguration professor. Harry had done every single thing that their teacher had asked them to do, and they weren't even able to turn a matchstick into a needle. They all felt their egos go down several notches as they were in total awe of Harry Potter.

"Excellent job, Mr. Potter. Twenty points to Slytherin. You needn't do anything for the rest of class, but I would like to have a word with you afterward if you don't mind." McGonagall said, before continuing to the rest of the class. "The rest of you, stop gawking and work on your match."

Harry sighed and slumped back in his chair as the rest of the class snapped out of their stunned silence and began working on their own.

Draco tried as hard as he could, but could only manage to make the edges of the match just a little bit sharper. He was in the middle of his sixth attempt when Harry's voice came from his side; "Try imagining the transformation in your head while you say the incantation."

Draco turned to see Harry, looking quite exhausted, glancing in between Draco and his match. The Malfoy heir nodded and took a deep breath, focusing on the transformation before continuing with, "Paracus Lignum!"

Half of the class was stunned and the other half scowled as they heard Draco exclaiming, "I did it!"

Minerva eyed Harry curiously as she walked up to the boy's table and looking down at what was supposed to be a needle in curiosity, before picking it up. "Five points, Mr. Malfoy. But take notice that the points are not quite sharp enough. I recommend you continue practicing."

At this, Draco's excitement turned into focus as he took another match out of the box. The rest of the class had heard that Harry was the one to help Draco to success, so several of them asked Harry to help them as well.

Harry gracefully accepted and everyone who asked for help had made major improvement by the end of the class. The only students who hadn't ended up being helped were Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley.

Hermione and Ron were scowling in frustration. Ron hadn't managed to do anything to his match but was stubborn and jealous of how much attention Harry was getting over his supposed skill in Transfiguration. Something deep inside of him was begging him to ask for advice, but he couldn't bring himself to sink that low as to ask from a Slytherin who had rejected him. Needless to say, Ron was regretting being so rude about Malfoy. He wished he had kept his thoughts to himself and then he would be the second person in the class to succeed and Malfoy would be the sulking one in the corner.

Hermione was fuming because she had failed once again to be better than Harry Potter. While she had managed to put the match into the right shape, she had failed to change the material and color so it just looked like a toothpick with a red tip. She had gotten points at the beginning of the class, but that didn't matter. She wanted to prove that even muggleborns could surpass half-bloods and purebloods.

After the class, Harry stayed behind as Professor McGonagall had wished. He walked up to her in her desk as she was filling out what each student had done in the class. "Professor? You asked for me to stay?"

McGonagall looked up, startled and having completely forgotten. She was very distracted by the fact that a first-year class had accomplished so much in their first class, much less that one of them had been able to complete transfigurations that even fifth years couldn't complete. She also had not failed to notice that the class' collective success had only been because of Harry's advice and teaching.

"Oh yes, Mr. Potter, my apologies. I seemed to have gotten a bit distracted by my paperwork." McGonagall amended, nodding as she looked up at the especially small first-year boy from her seat. Harry nodded his understanding and McGonagall continued with, "Now, I'm sure you practiced over the summer, didn't you Mr. Potter?"

Harry took notice that the Professor's Scottish accent was slowly leaking through into her speech patterns as she was increasingly distressed. He furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head; "No, not really. I mostly just did my best to read through some of my textbooks, I wasn't allowed to do much more than that."

Minerva cocked her head to the right. "Surely you must have practiced a wee bit, Mr. Potter. It's practically unheard of for a first year to be able to do many of the transfigurations that you completed today. And what do you mean 'allowed'?"

"My Aunt and Uncle didn't want me doing magic until school came, Professor. I wasn't allowed to have my wand so I snuck a few of my textbooks with me to my cup- sorry, I mean my bedroom and read them while they were asleep." Harry explained, hoping the teacher would leave the topic alone.

McGonagall nodded, however hesitantly, at that. She wasn't very surprised that Petunia wouldn't allow him to do magic, but to not even allow him his wand or textbooks? It seemed quite odd to her, but she let the topic rest. "Anywho," She narrowed her eyes as Harry visibly relaxed at the change of topic, "I would like to discuss the topic with Albus before making any official decisions, but I was wondering if you would take an interest in attending upper year classes."

Harry gasped and he knew what his answer was instantly. "I'm sorry, Professor, but I don't want to appear as if-"

"I know exactly what you mean, you needn't explain. But I must offer that you study beyond your year, perhaps you can meet with me for lessons on an arranged time, would that be better?" McGonagall interrupted

Harry nodded immediately, he wanted to b as good as he could get in magic after all. But one thing was itching on his mind so he voiced his concern; "But, Professor, what should I do in our normal classes then?"

McGonagall gave a small smile before answering, "Mr. Potter, if I do recall correctly, the Sorting Hat recommended you should begin practicing wandless magic as soon as possible, correct?" She waited for Harry's hesitant nod before continuing with, "Have you started with that yet?"

Harry sighed, "I don't really know where to begin, so no, I haven't. Professor, I was wondering if you were planning on telling anyone about my conversation with the Sorting Hat."

She nodded her understanding. "I believe I can get you some textbooks to help with the basics. I will only tell someone if you are fine with it, although I was planning on telling Dumbledore. I believe he could help to train you and all of the professors could help you on your way to greatness, which the hat said you were destined for."

"I'm fine with you telling Professor Dumbledore, I just don't want the whole school to know about it. Thank you, Professor." Harry said, hoping the conversation wouldn't lead him to be late for his next class.

"Thank you, Mr. Potter, for bringing me one of the most interesting classes of my career. You may go to your next class now and if you're late give them this and tell them you were talking with me." McGonagall dismissed him, handing him a small piece of paper.

Harry smiled, said his goodbyes, and walked towards his next class; Potions.

Harry managed to make it into the potions classroom, breathing heavily, right before Professor Snape swept in, robes billowing after him. "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," The pale man began dramatically.

Professor Snape had long, oily hair that jumped around his face as he moved and black eyes that held a coldness that Harry definitely did not want to test. His voice was barely above a whisper and yet the class was hanging on to every word. This man intrigued Harry and he definitely wanted to learn more about him. He seemed to be the type who wouldn't cut anybody any slack, under any circumstances.

"As there is little foolish wand-waving here, 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..." His voice was slow, yet encapsulating and it made Harry want to learn more. This man had definitely given this speech several times.

"I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death—if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach," He finished with finesse but didn't wait to give anyone time to breath before snapping out, "Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry's eyes widened and he flinched slightly, not expecting the sudden attention of the class to be directed at him. He suddenly felt his studies from the summer coming to fruition as he answered, "The Draught of Living Death, Sir."

Snape's right eyebrow shot up. He could have sworn that he saw a look of surprise go across his normally emotionless face but he wasn't sure. "It seems you've done your studies, Mr. Potter. Now tell me, where would you look if you were to find a bezoar?"

Harry answered confidently yet again, but he knew for a fact that this was above first-year and Snape probably shouldn't be asking this to a first-year, let alone his first class. "The stomach of a goat, sir."

The professor gave what could have been taken as a smirk, but Harry seemed to think was a half-smile. "Good, five points to Slytherin for actually opening a book during your summer holidays. Now, let's see if anyone else has as well."

Snape turned to the side of the room that was mostly populated with Gryffindors and completely ignored Hermione Granger's hand. "Ah, how about you, Weasley. What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Weasley's face went as red as his hair the moment Snape said his name and he stuttered out, "I'm - I'm not sure, Professor."

"One point from Gryffindor, Weasley. Do you think you are above the rest of the class who actually decided to prepare for the school year?" He snapped at the ginger, who instantly began stammering out his, 'no sir'.

A venomous sneer appeared on his face as he turned to his godson, Draco, once he had finished snickering at the embarrassed redhead. "Mr. Malfoy, is there any chance you know the answer to my question?"

Draco smirked, "It's a trick question, is it not, Professor? Monkshood and wolfsbane are the same things."

The smirk reappeared and Draco's smirk became a prideful smile; he knew he had gotten the answer right. "Correct, Mr. Malfoy. Take a point for Slytherin, and another insight you could have added is that another name for wolfsbane and monkshood is aconite."

The rest of the class passed quickly without a hitch. Most of the time had been spent by the Slytherins, save Harry, snickering at the Gryffindors as they proved time and time again that they were incompetent. Harry and Draco had been one of the few pairs in the class to do the potion perfectly and Draco had no problem boasting about it on his way back to the Common Room.

"Hey, Blaise," Draco said, greeting the pureblood as they exited the classroom. Blaise pursed his lips into a thin line and looked over at Draco indulgently, "Hey, Draco. What did you think of potions?"

Draco smiled smugly, "I loved it, seeing Weasley's face turn as red as his hair brings happiness to my soul. It also helped that Harry and I completed the potion perfectly."

Blaise smirked, "Yeah, so did Theo and I. I think it was just us who did it perfectly, right?"

"Us and that filthy little mudblood Granger. People like her shouldn't be allowed to go to this school, no matter how smart they are." Draco drawled in disgust.

Harry was totally taken aback as Draco's words of hatred towards the girl who had done nothing to him. "What do you mean?"

"She's a muggleborn." Draco looked at Harry weirdly as if that made his answer completely obvious.

"Why does that mean she shouldn't go here?"

Draco looked confused for a moment, as if he didn't even know the answer himself, before regaining his poised stance and answering confidently. "They're just not the same. They've never been brought up to know our ways. Some of them have never even heard of Hogwarts before they get their letter. I think they should just keep it in the pureblood families."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. Did Draco not realize who he was talking to? Harry had never heard of Hogwarts before getting his letter and he wasn't pureblood either. He was offended but confused as to why he holds those beliefs. "But, Draco, I'd never heard of Hogwarts before getting my letter and I'm not pureblood. Do you think I shouldn't be here?"

His mouth opened and closed slowly, totally at a loss for words. He hadn't even thought of that and now Harry was twisting his words against him and he had no idea how Harry had been raised. "No, no. I should have worded that better. Halfbloods are fine too, just not muggleborns."

"You know my mother was a muggleborn, right?" Harry was becoming more and more offended as this conversation passed.

Blaise was just watching the dispute happen silently. While he belonged to a pureblood family, he had nothing against muggleborns and believed they had every right to go to Hogwarts.

Draco was having trouble keeping up with the conversation as Harry gave valid point after valid point. He had just unknowingly insulted Harry's mother, Harry himself and his upbringing. "No, I guess I didn't know that. I'm sorry."

Harry pursed his lips and looked down at the ground ahead of them as they continued walking in silence. Blaise couldn't take having so many unanswered questions anymore and decided to speak up. "What do you mean you didn't know about Hogwarts before you got your letter?"

This was a topic that Harry did not want to speak about at all. He was very sensitive about his relatives and under no circumstances did he want any of them to know anything about the abuse he got. He didn't want his friends to know how much of a freak he was and how he was beaten more often than a professional boxer who lost every match. He was extremely conflicted about whether or not he deserved the abuse. It had been drilled into his mind that he was worthless yet some fighting voice in the back of his mind told him he was worth more than he got. He had no idea anymore about what to think.

"I was raised by my mum's muggle sister and her husband. My Aunt knew about magic but she never told me so it was a huge surprise when I got my letter." He explained quietly. He had an urge to chuckle bitterly at the end but decided against it. 'It was a huge surprise' entailed that his Uncle punching his lights out immediately after receiving it.

"Why were you raised by them and not your godparents or someone else?" Draco asked shyly. He felt very bad about insulting Harry's heritage, especially when he had been such a good friend to him so far.

"I'm not sure if I even have godparents, and I've no idea why I was raised by them and not someone else," Harry answered. The question rose many questions in his mind; Did he have godparents? Why was he sent to the Dursleys? Surely someone must have known that Petunia hates magic?

The boys arrived in the common room and all immediately headed off to the dorm that they shared.

Their room was very long, but not very wide. The walls were covered in a deep green color and silver trimming along with Slytherin crests in between the patterns of silver. They had four beds, lined up against the wall side-by-side, with green silk hangings for privacy around the beds. They all had desks across from their beds as well as wardrobes for their belongings. There was a bathroom door right before the door that led to the common room. that The three boys shared their room with another boy named Theodore Nott.

Theodore (who preferred to go by Theo) Nott was a tall and very lanky boy with shaggy brown hair that went a little past his eyes along with hazel eyes. He tended to be a bit of a loner and kept to himself, but he seemed nice enough whenever Harry spoke to him.

Harry instantly jumped on his bed and let out a deep breath. His bed was the farthest from the door to the common room and he also had the least amount of belongings by a long shot, not that the other boys noticed. Draco had looked at Harry's wardrobe while the boys were unpacking and gave a curious look but no questions were asked.

Harry was worn out from such a trivial day and wondered how he was ever going to finish this year without breaking out into a panic attack. He was extremely nervous all day and resisted (and failed some of the times) the urge to flinch every time someone raised their hand. He also found trouble in the hallways with large masses of people.

Draco and Blaise had both helped him whenever they noticed him getting nervous, but they didn't want to ask the reason why Harry was so anxious around everyone.

After a minute of considering the day, Harry walked over to his desk and decided to look through textbooks and make a list of spells he wanted to master by the end of the year.

The other two boys had started a conversation about Quidditch and how excited they were to have their flying lessons in two days. After a few minutes, they asked Harry if he wanted to go down to the Great Hall with them. Harry accepted immediately, though he wasn't very hungry. He had gotten used to not eating for days at a time and his appetite was very small most of the time.

Draco didn't know what to think about Harry. He was very nice and clearly very talented when it came to magic, but he seemed to have two, very different sides to his personality. Harry had acted completely different the night before at the Sorting than he had today. He acted with the poise of a pureblood when talking to Draco yesterday and had clearly shown disdain towards Weasley, which Draco could relate to. But today, while Harry had shown an amazing proficiency in all of their classes, he seemed quieter and shyer. Draco wondered if Harry was just having an off day today or if this was his personality. Either way, he definitely liked the small boy and hoped they would remain friends.

Blaise had taken more of an immediate liking to Harry than Draco had. Blaise was open and friendly with him instantly while Draco held up his pureblood persona until after they had gotten to the dorms that night. He knew, especially after today, that Harry would be a very important friend to have in the future. Plus, he was pretty cute...

They walked down to the Great Hall together and Harry seemed to notice that almost everyone they passed had looked at him. He wished he could think that it was just people being people, but he couldn't help but think that they knew what was wrong with him; how much of a freak he was.

The trio entered the Great Hall and walked up to the Slytherin table. Draco and Harry sat next to each other while Blaise slid into a seat next to a girl who vaguely reminded Harry of a pug. This somehow didn't make the girl unattractive though, as she had a pretty face. She had curly black hair that went down to her shoulders and a slim figure along with a wide face and nose. She had slightly tan skin and dark eyes that could almost appear black.

"Hey Pans," Draco greeted her. Harry noticed that Draco knew almost everyone in the Slytherin house before even coming to Hogwarts and if he didn't already know them, they definitely knew him.

"Hey, Draco, how was your summer?" She asked politely as if they were old friends. Suddenly her eyes turned towards Harry and they widened drastically. Before Draco could respond to her question, the girl was grinning at Harry. "How impolite of me, I'm Pansy Parkinson! And you must be Harry Potter, it's a pleasure to meet you. You did absolutely amazing in Transfiguration today, you must have practiced loads over the summer!"

Harry gave her a small smile and blushed shyly at the compliment. "Nice to meet you too. And thanks, but it really was nothing. I'm sure you guys could do that stuff way more easily then I did."

Pansy raised an eyebrow as she listened to Harry brush off her compliment. She noticed how Draco sighed and Blaise smirked at his words. "I don't believe that for a second," she started her tirade to prove to Harry that the feats he had accomplished were amazing for a first-year. "I remember at a family dinner, my cousin was talking about how he had so much trouble on his OWL exam when he had to transform an owl into an opera glass. That means you did a fifth-year spell on your first try!"

Harry's eyes widened as he noticed that several people had turned to look over at the subject of Pansy's rant. He blushed for the second time and looked away. When he looked up he saw only one person looking at him; a tall and muscular looking boy with large front teeth and shifty looking eyes. He had black hair that came to a gelled point in the front. He was glaring at Harry angrily, but once their eyes met, he looked away.

Draco noticed the glare and leaned over to whisper something in Harry's ear. "That's Marcus Flint, captain of the Quidditch team. He's a sixth year and rumor has it he got a D (dreadful) on his OWL for Transfiguration. He probably couldn't do that one as well."

Draco's words did very little to reassure Harry as he realized that Marcus Flint probably hated him now because of Pansy's rant.

Pansy couldn't help but notice how cute Harry was. He had fairly short, raven black hair that always seemed to be messy, not that she minded, in fact, one might say it only added to his attractiveness. He was small and had a very petite figure. His looked as if he was a porcelain doll, very easy to break. He had pale skin, plump lips that always seemed to form an attractive pout, a sharp nose, high cheekbones (which was very rare for an eleven-year-old) and the most enchanting eyes Pansy had ever seen. They were a bright green color that Pansy had never seen before on a person and it made her want to swoon. Though she didn't really think he was her type, maybe in a few years when he was taller, she would see. She wasn't a fan of having a boy who was smaller than her, but she couldn't deny that he was one of the cutest of their year.

Pansy quickly apologized and was forgiven, as their casual conversation ensued.

Everyone flooded into the Great Hall over the course of the next few minutes, not wanting to arrive late to dinner. When the majority of the school had entered and sat down, Dumbledore stood up and began to make an announcement before the feast began. "I would like to remind everybody of the fact that tomorrow is our medical assessment for all of our students. All students will be informed of when their examination will be by their head of house or a prefect either tonight or tomorrow morning. To clarify, all examinations will be extremely confidential and nobody will have access to your files except for Madam Pomfrey, Deputy Headmistress McGonagall and I. If your parents would like to see the files, they can send a letter to the school with a request for the files. If one of your peers is not present at the moment, please inform them of the information I have given to you today. Thank you and I hope that you will all enjoy the feast."

The headmaster sat back down in his seat as conversations immediately resumed. Nobody seemed to give much thought to the announcement except for one small first-year from Slytherin.

Harry's eyes widened as he realized, I can't hide my secret anymore. His breathing began to quicken and right before he lost control of everything he said to his friends, "I'll be right back," and walked (more like sprinted but ok) out of the Great Hall.

The majority of the Slytherins noticed the first-year running away but declined to comment. They figured that he had just gotten sick and needed the loo.

His friends, on the other hand, had noticed his heavy breathing. Draco and Pansy were totally oblivious to what was happening but Blaise looked worried as if he knew something the others didn't. Draco questioned, "What just happened? Should we go check on him?"

Blaise sighed and said, "I'll go check on him, I have experience with this kind of thing."

Meanwhile, Harry had run out of the Great Hall, desperate to get away. He didn't know quite where he was going but he knew he wouldn't be able to run much longer. Finally, he collapsed in a hallway, his breathing was shallow and his heart pounding, as he slid his back against a wall.

As Harry tried to reign in his thoughts, he found himself unable to control anything around him as tears began to flow from his eyes. He held his face in his hands as he swayed back and forth, his thoughts chanting in his mind, they're going to find out, they're going to find out.

He was the most terrified he had ever been, and that was saying something. If anybody found out about the Dursleys, they would hurt him worse than he ever had. They might even kill him. Harry couldn't resist though, he couldn't keep the secret so he did deserve whatever punishment he got. I'm worthless, an abnormal freak who can't do anything without the Dursleys. Their words ran through his head repeatedly, he was unable to contain them.

He began shaking uncontrollably as if he were freezing. He was succumbing to his thoughts.

Blaise ran out into the hallway in front of the Great Hall, trying to listen to anything. He knew exactly what was happening, as he had seen it happen many times before with his mother. He remembered the first time he came across her in the bathroom, he had no idea what to do, but now he was basically a professional at pulling people out of their panicked state.

He ran to the left, knowing that Harry didn't know his way around very well but he would probably head in the direction of the common room and listened again. He heard heavy breathing and ran in the direction of the noise.

He turned another corner and saw Harry, slumped against the wall with his knees up close to him and his head in his hands. He was shaking and clearly struggling.

Blaise walked up to the raven-haired boy and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, sitting down next to him. He was shocked as Harry flinched away and looked at Blaise with a look of fear on his face as if he thought he was going to strike him. Blaise attempted to soothe him, "Harry, it's ok, you're safe here. Nothing's going to happen."

Harry instantly put his head back in his hands and swayed back and forth. "This isn't happening," Harry murmured, "This isn't happening, this isn't happening."

Blaise was very sad to see Harry so vulnerable like this and knew it would take a lot to calm the young Slytherin. "Deep breathes, Harry. In and out," He sighed in relief as Harry struggled to breath as Blaise was telling him. "Yeah, just like that. Now keep on doing that, in and out."

Harry was desperately trying to focus on Blaise's voice and only his voice. He tried to drown out the rest of his thoughts. All that mattered to him was breathing and... and...

Suddenly, all of the progress they had made disappeared as Harry's breathing began to go way more out of control than it had before. He choked out, "No! I- I can't!"

Harry's mind was convinced that he was back at the Dursley's house, his uncle looming over him venomously with his wife and son snickering at him from the corner. Vernon sneered at Harry as the boy shook like a leaf, "You told those people our secret, didn't you? Well, you know what the punishment for telling the secret is, you abnormal freak! You're lucky we even took you in!"

Vernon smirked at Harry as he slowly removed his belt, looking at his nephew with an incredible amount of disdain and hatred. He was about to swing his belt at Harry when a loud, yet soothing voice, entered his thoughts. "Harry! Keep on breathing!"

The image around him disappeared as he looked at Blaise, who was sitting beside him. He was still breathing quickly, but he knew he was not about to get another thrashing from his Uncle. He was fine. For now, a little voice in the back of his head said. Soon enough, you'll be back there and in more pain than ever. They'll hate you even more now that you've revealed their secrets. They'll kill you.

Harry quelled the voice in his head as he put forth his best efforts to focus on Blaise. Though he couldn't control himself and his state devolved from panic into desperate sobs.

Blaise began to rub soothing circles on his friends back as he sobbed relentlessly. He had done this many times before with his mother and he could only pray that he would never be mocked for this. Something in the back of his head scolded him for not taking the situation completely seriously but he ignored it and focused on the matter at hand. His new friend had just had a very severe panic attack, for Merlin knows what reason, in the middle of a completely normal dinner. He wanted to know what had set his friend off so bad.

Soon enough, Harry stopped crying and let out a deep breath. "Thank you, Blaise."

Blaise was happy to be done with this but was happy to help his friend. "It's fine. Don't mention it. If you ever need to talk about anything, Harry, I'm here. And so is Draco and Pansy, and Professor Snape is always an option too. We all care for you."

The boy's sat in silence for a few moments, only broken by Harry's occasional sniffing. "I think I'm ready to go back in. Do I look normal?"

Blaise looked over at his friend, who had previously had a completely tear-streaked face. Now, other than some minor redness, he looked normal. Blaise nodded.

Harry took a deep breath and stood up, offering a hand to help Blaise up as well. Blaise grinned up at him and accepted the hand. They walked together into the Great Hall as if nothing had happened as Harry silently made a plan for the next day in his mind.

And there's the first chapter! Thanks so much for reading, and please leave feedback so I know! Also suggestions for a different title would be useful because I really don't like the one it has now.

Word count: 7854

Published on: February 10th, 2018