Disclaimer:

(Serene) I don't own Hetalia or Harry Potter, as heavenly as that would be.

(Enraged) My Mochi parts do not own Harry Potter or Hetalia! Unfortunately, this includes Severus Snape. 0.0


Severus entered the common room, his face fixed in a sneer.

He hated telling his first year snakes about the rules they would have to follow. Most of the dunderheads would break them anyway. However, he remembered the one time he'd forgotten to tell his snakes the rules because Albus had said, "Leave the critters be."

He scowled. Following that first day was the worst two days of his life. The first years, determined to be the best, fought with underhanded tactics that could collapse the Ministry in a month. The seventh years, annoyed that the first years were allowed to use underhanded tactics, whereas they'd had to fight fair and square, proceeded to hex the first years left and right. This left the second and sixth years cowering behind doors, not wanting to be punished by their head or hit by the flying hexes. More than half of his snakes had ended up in the hospital wing because of it. He'd almost throttled Albus after the common room ceiling fell down from a blasting jinx. He'd gotten his Snakes under control, of course, but the damage made was unbelievable.

This year it was vital to tell the first years, especially because Potter was here. Why did the boggart spawn feel the need to be in Slytherin? When he'd seen Potter, he was sure that the boy would've ended up in Gryffindor. His Potter looks and brash personality indicated he was.

In front of the first years, Severus glared at the top of their heads. This was because most didn't have the gall to look him in the eye - except Potter and Malfoy.

The muscles in Severus's jaw twitched. He understood why Draco stared at him with a smirk. Draco was his godson and was used to his demeanor. The boy was also under the delusion that he would treat him better because he was his godfather. However, it did not explain Potter's fearless look of curiosity towards him. He'd have to fix it.

The first years shuffled.

"Silence." He said softly. Instantly, the room became quiet. Nobody wanted to anger the scary professor.

Glaring at all the first years Severus said, "All of you are here because you are ambitious and cunning. You know what you have to do to achieve what you want, unlike the other houses who have no such drive. This does not mean that you can use underhanded tactics to achieve that goal. Especially here." He looked at each one of them. "If you dare use intimidation, incurable curses, or any form that will harm or kill others, you will answer to me immediately. And I assure you, even if you are my Snakes, I will not hold back."

Children from dark families gulped and Draco looked less confidant. Potter looked at him in awe.

AWE?

"For your dorms, you are divided into groups of two. You can choose whom you want to share your dorms with. However, if you dare cause havoc because of whom you are pared with, I will put you into Gryffindor dorms for a month."

Some first years gasped. A boy who resembled a rat screeched, "Gryffindors?"

"Silence!" He snarled.

The room fell quiet.

"Most of you understand how our house rules are implicated from your families or friends. But some of you do not. I will go over them today but do not expect me to tell you if you forget. The rules are up in the common room."

When nothing happened, he snarled, "Nod if you understand."

The first years nodded quickly.

"The first rule is not to show any feuds between Slytherins. Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and Gryffindors hate Slytherins and will rip you to pieces if your unity fails. They have done so before and I do not doubt that they will try so again if given a chance. However miniscule their brains may be, their numbers will always overrule our brains. So do not give them that chance."

"Second, every Slytherin first year must be in bed before eleven and up by eight."

One brat shouted, "B-but my parents let me wake up at nine!"

"Then perhaps you need to make a greater effort to fix your laziness. You are not a three year old child, you are eleven. Or do you need naps and a nighttime story to go along with your late mornings?" Severus hissed.

A deathly silence followed.

"Third, you must have at least one outstanding in your grade. If you do not have at least one in your first term, a seventh year will be assigned to you every day after classes until your grades have a turn for the better."

Some of the first years shifted uncomfortably.

"You have one hour to sort yourselves into dorms. If you are not finished by the time the clock reaches eleven, you will be the first first-year to have detention."

The first years nervously looked at each other, trying their best to absorb all the information.

"Move!" Severus roared.

The first years scattered.

In the midst of all this, Harry quickly turned to Arthur, the only Slytherin he knew. The boy was nice and answered all his questions without being angry like the mean girl who glared at him all through dinner. He took a deep breath. He could do this. Calming his nerves, he said quickly, "Willyoubemydormmate?"

Arthur blinked, trying to decipher the slew of words that escaped Harry's mouth the moment the Professor left them to scramble for dorm mates. Oh! Of course; Harry asked about that most likely.

"Certainly." Arthur replied; not opposed to this idea. Harry was the only other Slytherin he knew aside from Malfoy. No doubt Malfoy would be staying with one of those two boys from the Sorting Ceremony. Besides; Harry seemed like nice company compared to some people he had seen.

Harry smiled.

Arthur's mouth turned up at the edges; "Then, shall we find a good room before the other Slytherins take them? There's supposed to be a very nice room to the right with some small windows that look into the lake. The morning sun looks lovely there."

"Brilliant" he said softly, just enough for Arthur to hear.

Arthur nodded and lead the way with Harry following. He may not have Matthew or Alfred in the dorm with him, but at least there was Arthur.


The dungeon was cold, damp, and slightly dusty. There were a few candles hanging in the ceiling to give off a bit of light, making shadows that danced as students went to organize themselves into their seats.

Arthur and Harry sat together at a table beside the middle aisle, both drowsy from their early morning. Neither was used to waking to loud, excited shouts of students rushing past their room in an attempt to make it in time for breakfast - of which they had joined a moment after upon realizing how late it was. Thank goodness the Professor was busy with some still-slumbering second-years. He was too busy to notice Arthur and Harry slipping out with the other nearly-late first years. Rules were rules after all.

As soon as the last student was seated, the professor slammed open the doors and walked in gracefully. The chatter that had been slowly increasing in volume vanished.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," Professor Snape began, walking to the front of the room.

"I don't expect you to 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. But you will try to or suffer the consequences."

He glared throughout the room, making sure to snuff out any spark of rebellion. "I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death." He paused. "If you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Turning to his new first year students, Severus wondered for the billionth time why Albus had placed Slytherins and Gryffindors together. The match was horrible for any class, especially where these brainless brats learned how to brew dangerous concoctions that could turn deadly at the slightest touch. Did Albus want children in the infirmary? He could already see Draco narrowing his eyes at the red headed boy, trying to figure out the best way to make the boy miserable.

Severus scanned the rows of eyes that looked at him fearfully, except one. And he could recognize that black messy hair anywhere. It was Potter. And the boy was doodling on a piece of paper... IN HIS CLASS.

Fury bubbling in the pit of his stomach, he snarled, "Potter!"

The brat's head snapped up, startled. That made him even madder. The brat didn't even have the decency to pay attention while he talked. Well, if the brat was so smart as to not concentrate in his class, he'd have to test him.

"Our new celebrity is too smart to pay attention to the professor." He drawled, with each word walking close and closer to Potter's desk.

Potter paled. "N-no professor, I wasn't, I was just-"

"So Potter, tell me, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Snape hissed, stopping in front of Potter, their faces centimeters apart.

Potter shifted uncomfortably. The boy obviously didn't know the answer. His lip curled into a sneer.

"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Potter paled even more and said, "I-I don't know sir."

"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Harry was at a loss; he didn't know the answer to any of these questions. What was worse, the professor has stepped up the speed of his questions, not even giving him time to reply with an "I don't know."

Arthur, whom was sitting next to the befuddled boy, watched silently. His large brow was furrowing with every question that came from the professor, watching as Harry's expression grew to the point of horrified. Was the professor doing this on purpose?

Now, Arthur wasn't one to break the rules, nor cross paths with any teacher or adult for that matter. However, watching his new roommate and potential friend slowly slide down the bench they shared; looking as though he wished to melt into the floor, Arthur decided it was time to assist Harry.

"Sir, I don't think Harry can answer that question." Arthur stated, speaking before Professor Snape had time to open his mouth for a second stream of questions.

Snape felt his eye twitch. He disliked being interrupted and had little tolerance for such an act, even if it was from his own house.

"Any why not, Kirkland? Are you insinuating that Potter cannot answer these basic questions?"

"No sir, not at all." Arthur replied quickly. He ignored the look Harry gave him, asking if what the professor suggested was true. "It's just, my older brother in sixth-year talked about those questions a few weeks ago. He said that only sixth-years could answer them because you taught them yourself."

A silence filled the dungeons, quickly broken by the professor, "Well thank you for your input Kirkland, but I would assume that if Potter had time to doodle in my class, he must already know well above and beyond his year level." The professor quickly spun on his heel, walking back up the aisles to the chalkboard. "Now then, I would like to start the class so long as I have no more insinuations." he said, prompting other students to get out their quills and parchment.

Arthur whispered to Harry, "Don't worry. Most students should know that the bookstores don't sell younger students higher-grade books. It's a safety precaution." he said, trying to lighten the boy's spirits.

Harry offered a grateful look to Arthur, taking out a new piece of parchment and doing his best to ignore the few snickers that came from the back of the room.

At least someone was on his side.


"Well, that was an interesting first class." Arthur said. He wasn't all too pleased with how things started, but he had to admit potions looked to be interesting (And somewhat complicated) class. He hoped he could keep up. "Say, do you have your schedule Harry? What's our next class?"

Harry brought out a timetable from his bag and squinted at the text. "We have Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall."

Arthur looked down the hall; left then right. "Hmm... I think that must be this way. That door at the end of the hall." He replied, reaching into his own bag for the map. The first-years had to go in partners for the next few days to get better acquainted with the school. Professor Snape had given half the students maps and the other half timetables, making them pair up with each other.

Harry squinted at the map that Arthur was holding. His eyesight was really bad and his glasses weren't helping things. "Yeah…" He muttered.

Arthur glanced at Harry as they hurried down the hall to the classroom; "Harry, are you okay? You keep squinting. Is it your glasses?" he asked.

"Err… no." Harry said quickly. Although he could only see blurs for words, if he leaned in enough, he was able to see the words for what they were. He knew he could fix it, of course, by going to the optometrist, but he feared that his Aunt and Uncle may question where he got the money and try to steal the money from him. It was better to suffer.

Arthur shrugged it off; must have mistaken then. "Well, if you say so." It wasn't his business anyways.

The boys stopped just outside of the classroom door, Arthur placing a hand on the handle. "I hope we made it in time. The classroom is rather far from the first class; there might not be many seats left. The second class is always a mixed class." he said, pushing open the wooden doors.

The tables seated three people each and as the last ones in the class, there were one empty seat in the two tables that were on opposite sides. One in the "Slytherin" side and the other in the "Gryffindor" side.

Almost immediately after the two boys stepped into the classroom, Harry heard a familiar voice from the Gryffindor side.

"Harry! Over here!" Alfred called, the wheat blonde sitting near the front with his brother. There was an empty seat between them and Alfred was making quick motions to it. Matthew was turned slightly, looking over at Harry and giving a welcome smile towards the late-comer.

Harry smiled and headed over to the twin's table, glancing at Arthur to make sure he was okay with the arrangements.

Arthur was a little surprised to see the Gryffindor from the other day, the one who argued with the Sorting Hat, waving to Harry as though he knew him. But, the Professor had just come into the room and he was holding up the class. A shame Harry had to end his morning with annoying Gryffindors like that boy. With a short wave of his hand to Harry; a silent go ahead between them, he walked over to the Slytherins and sat.

Harry sat next to Alfred and Matthew, grinning slightly. Things were looking up. Hopefully he'd be able to talk to them at lunch.


Harry headed out of the transfiguration class bewildered by the amount of information he collected in his head. The transfiguration professor, unlike the charms professor, went really fast.

He was startled out of his thoughts when a shout of, "Harry! Harry! Wait up dude!"

He whirled around. Alfred and Matthew were heading his way.

"Wait for us, huh." Alfred said with a fake-pout. Matthew was right behind his brother, trying to catch his breath after the sprint down the hall. They'd had to quickly rush out of the classroom, Alfred with Matthew in tow because Harry zombie walked out of the transfiguration classroom.

Oops. "Sorry." Harry grinned sheepishly, "My mind feels like mush."

Matthew chuckled, nodding his head in agreement. "Well, it is a lot to wrap your head around, eh? But it's rather fascinating."

Alfred rolled his eyes, "You and your big words Mattie." He said before turning to Harry, missing his brothers frown. "Let's hurry to get lunch! I'm starving~" He said cheerfully. "We can talk about our first night. I wanna know how it was for you!"

"Well," Harry said grinning, "I had charms with this really small teacher. Apparently he's part dwarf and a dueling champion! He doesn't look like it though. He resembles more a... hyperactive rabbit."

Arthur meanwhile, had been ready to catch Harry at the door, hoping to walk to lunch with the boy before the two Gryffindors Harry had been sitting with rushed past him, nearly knocking him over. To his confusion, he saw Harry walking with the Gryffindors on their way to the Great Hall. Were they so distracted that they couldn't hear the confused whispers of the other students?

Having previously assumed it was because there was no other space to sit, Arthur began to wonder if maybe Harry did know the Gryffindors. Whatever the case may be, this was definitely not a good impression for Slytherins and he had to put this to a stop immediately.


"-And the view from the tower is amazing! It's so high up, I feel like I'm flying~" Alfred continued, walking backwards as he spoke with enthusiasm. "Oh and We have a nice roommate. His name is Neville, right Mattie?"

Matthew nodded, "Yes, he was nice enough to give Alfred the bed by the window. That is, Alfred wouldn't stop whining about it, but Neville seemed like a good sport about it, eh?"

Alfred nodded, "Also w-"

"Sorry to interrupt, but I really need to speak with Harry." Arthur said from behind the trio of boys. He had rushed to catch up to the them before they could enter the Great Hall, catching them just in front of the large doors. "It's rather urgent."

Guiltily, Harry looked at his friends. He'd finally met them after so long, but he'd just made friends with Arthur. He hoped they'd understand. "I'll see you guys later." He said.

Alfred looked ready to protest and tell the Slytherin to come back some other time, but Matthew quickly stepped in. "No problem Harry. Maybe we can talk at dinner later." He said, casting Arthur a wary look before ushering his brother inside the Great Hall.

"What's wrong?" Harry questioned Arthur, following the boy to the Slytherin table.

"What's wrong is the way you're acting with the Gryffindors, Harry." Arthur said, shaking his head. "I suppose I should have mentioned before but I guess it slipped my mind."

Taking a seat at the Slytherin table, Arthur looked to the Gryffindor table across the Great Hall. "Slytherins and Gryffindors have never really gotten along. The proper term I suppose would be rivals, but in general the Gryffindors and Slytherins just don't see eye-to-eye. There's a mutual hatred between the houses. In fact, it's better not to interact with them at all, if you can help it."

Harry clenched his fists. "Not at all?" He questioned.

Arthur looked at Harry with a serious expression; "No, not at all." He replied, "It's rather unnatural to see members of the houses interacting, but as friends it might be even worse. If you value our house ranking, I would stay far away. The other students would be on your case in a heart beat."

"Really, it's in both parties interests; I doubt they would have a much better time in Gryffindor if they were seen with a Slytherin. Likewise, the Slytherins would definitely be on your case about it." Arthur added, noting Harry's tense expression. It was better to advise him early before things got out of hand.

Harry nodded stiffly. His head ringing with, 'Slytherins and Gryffindors have never really gotten along.' He managed to say, "Thanks for telling me all this."

Arthur nodded; "Well, it's better you know now rather than later, hm?" He said with finality. "Anyways, it looks like lunch is starting, if we eat fast enough we can hurry to the next class together. We're bound to get better seats if we arrive early, wouldn't you say?"

"Yeah." Harry said unenthusiasically.

Following Arthur, Harry felt rage surging through him. Why did these things need to happen to him? He'd finally met them after a separation of 5 years. He wasn't going to lose them!

He wasn't!

His nails dug into his palms, making small bruises. Well, he wasn't going to stand for it, he was going to try any way possible to remain friends. Glancing at Alfred and Matthew one last time, he caught up with Arthur.

Across the way, Alfred and Matthew sat at the Gryffindor table watching as Harry and the other Slytherin, Arthur as Matthew recalled, conversed.

"I wonder what they're sayin'?" Alfred asked, nibbling at his sandwich.

"I'm not sure." Matthew replied, looking to his brother. "Do you think we can ask him during dinner? What if it's private though?"

Alfred huffed, "I don't see why all the houses have to sit separate from each other. It makes more sense to mix it up. You know, like a fruit salad. Then we could sit with Harry and that Slytherin boy."

Ron, who'd overheard what Arthur said to Harry interrupted, "That's cause Gryffindor and Slytherin doesn't mix. Didn't you know? Slytherins are evil."

Alfred looked taken aback, not even bothered that someone else had been eavesdropping on their conversation. "What? Don't mix? What do you mean by that?"

Matthew was also rather shocked, "W-What do you mean by evil?" He asked; though it wasn't heard compared to Alfred's mini outburst.

Ron rolled his eyes, "Bloody hell, you two don't know anything do you? Of course we don't mix, it's in the history book. Salazar Slytherin got into this huge fight with Godric Gryffindor over letting muggleborns come into Hogwarts and Salazar stormed out because Rowena and Helga supported Gryffindor. Besides, who'd want to hang out with Slytherins? We are the house of the brave and they are the house of underhanded tactics. And You-Know-Who came from that house. If you hang out with them, you'll become dark too."

Matthew frowned, "It doesn't seem fair to base a few peoples actions on the whole house. Rather, I'd think it's all the more reason to- " He began.

Of course, Alfred's protests beat Matthew's soft voice to the punch and the poor boy went unheard. "That's crazy! I don't even know who those people are but Harry wouldn't be dark or whatever. He's a nice guy and he's our friend." Alfred said. He didn't really like this system… "Can't we vote on it or something?"

Ron snorted. "You can't vote if Harry can come to our table or not. Since the houses were created, all the students sat with their houses."

"Awh…" Alfred looked dejected. "You sure they can't make an exception?"

Matthew sighed, placing a hand on his brother shoulder. "Don't worry Al, we'll catch him at some point, eh?" He spoke softly, hoping Alfred would drop the subject. He could see that Ron didn't share the same idea.

Ron thought, 'I can't let them bring Harry to our table! Then they'll get all the credit. So instead, I'll bring Harry first and then Harry will be happy getting away from the Slytherins and make me his best friend. I gotta act on it quickly before those prats from the Slytherin table do.'


Harry was pacing in his Slytherin dormitories. He glanced at Arthur who was "speculatively" looking at his charms text. Ever since he'd promised Arthur that he wouldn't make any contact with the Gryffindors, they'd been associating more with each other. After all, there wasn't really anyone else Harry could be with in Hogwarts at the moment.

However, due to this circumstance, it meant that Arthur continually kept an eye on Harry. He was becoming a good friend though, despite the watchful eye. Still, it made Harry lose focus of what he was trying to plan: sending a message to Alfred and Matthew.

He'd realized that it would be almost impossible for now to meet with the twins in secret. Neither party knew the layout of Hogwarts, nor the people to confide in to help them meet up. They also couldn't talk or send messages in the open because their housemates would, no doubt, be on the lookout of their interaction with each other. Especially - Harry glanced at Arthur - the people closest to them.

Therefore, they needed to send messages in secret. Except they couldn't use owls! Alfred and Matthew didn't have a owl and Harry's was too distinctive. Hedwig was the only white owl in the Owlery. Harry had considered borrowing one of the school owls but he didn't know if he could trust the owl network.

It was giving Harry a headache to try and think of a way to send messages. Then again, maybe it was the rowdy Slytherins in the next room over. He needed another place to go think; somewhere quieter.

Harry stopped his furious pacing, letting out an exasperated sigh.

"I'm going to go out for some fresh air." He said to Arthur.

Arthur glanced up from his book, "Already? Dinner isn't for another two hours." He closed his book with a slight hesitance; it must be a good read.

Harry's mind whirred; "Wait! What if I go alone? It's just a short time. You could finish your book Arthur."

Arthur looked a bit uneasy about this suggestion, a nervous pit forming in Harry's stomach. However, the blonde haired male glanced to his book before nodding. "Okay, but try to come back before dinner. The Professor won't be happy to find out that we 'lost' our partner, right?" he gave Harry a slight smile.

Harry smiled. "Thanks."

Harry walked out of the Slytherin dormitories quickly. Most of the Slytherins were in the dormitories right now and he really didn't want to go through THAT again. For some reason all the Slytherin boys liked to stare at him. When they entered the room after classes were over, he'd felt at least thirty heads turn towards him. He hated it.

He slowly walked through the corridors.

Too loud. He thought. Many Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were playing games or- Harry blushed- snogging each other. He walked away quickly. It would be slightly awkward to stay here.

Nearing a quieter corridor, he looked around. Not bad. He thought, but before he could finish that thought, he screamed.

A ghost covered in blood hovered had suddenly appeared through the wall. The sight of blood didn't bother Harry however. Rather, it was that the ghost had traveled out of nowhere. A gruesome bloody splatter on his chest caught Harry's eye.

The ghost looked at him and groaned.

Harry fell backwards.

The ghost left, glaring at him.

Okay, not the hallways either. Harry thought, his heart beating furiously. I need somewhere quieter. If only there was a place where silence was a rule. He sighed, feeling frustrated.

Then he blinked. Why didn't he think of this before?

He ran from the corridor, dodging his year mates and other students. He made sure to stop and walk when prefects and teachers were around, but it was clear he was in a hurry.

Finally, huffing and puffing, he arrived at the Hogwarts Library.

Taking some calming breaths, he weaved through the place. It was amazing. His elementary library was nothing compared with this place. There were at least ten huge bookshelves each row and the books looked almost new. There were six large tables in the middle, meant for those who wished to study on their own time.

The library was almost void of students. Nobody except the brown, curly haired witch Harry recognized from his classes with Gryffindor. His first, lasting impression of her was that she is one of those people who liked to show off; thinking she was smart because she knew all the answers.

Harry avoided her. Those types tended to talk too much. Instead he looked around the library, trying to find a secluded corner. He finally found one with an engraving of: We welcome you to the Marauder's nest by Padfoot, Moony, Prongs, and Wormtail.

It held a few small potato couches that held quite a bit of dust which he quickly wiped off with the corner of his robes. A small knee high table and a row of books. Harry squinted at the titles. They were related to pranking.

Interesting. I wonder who recently sat here?

He sat down on the couches and began to think.

But before he could start, somebody yelled, "This is like the most boring textbook I've ever seen! Why do we have to read this stupid thing anyway?" Then a thunk of a large book was heard and feet shuffling.

Harry peeked from his secluded corner.

It was a book titled "Hogwarts a History."

He cocked his head. This was somewhat familiar…

-o-o-o-o-o-

"What do you mean you can't talk to us anymore Harry?" Alfred whined. It had only been a week since they first met but the three boys had already become fast friends.

"Aren't we friends?" Matthew asked, his voice wavering. He looked about ready to cry at the news.

Harry looked to the floor, shoulders slumping. "I'm sorry… My uncle and aunt think you're being bad in-floo-en-ses." He stumbled on the word, but the twins just looked more confused.

Alfred pouted, "I don't even know what that means… How can we be something we don't know the meaning of!"

"I don't know…" Harry replied, looking to the side. Dudley was approaching. No doubt he was ready to break them up. Probably say something like "Mum said you can't talk to the weirdos, I'll tell dad!"

"I have to go now; Dudley is coming. I'm sorry… I was having a lot of fun with you two." Harry said, biting his lip to prevent a pitiful whine from escaping. He quickly turned on his heel, running to the far corner of the room. He sniffled, allowing a tear to fall, now that he was out of sight.

It wasn't fair! Alfred and Matthew were one of his few sources of joy. Dudley lied to Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon about them, saying they were telling other kids to bully him. They were "putting mean ideas in Harry's head." and "taking Harry's lunch too." amongst other such lies… It just wasn't fair.

On the other side of the room, Matthew watched as Alfred angrily yelled at Dudley, accusing him of making Harry leave. The quieter blonde kept his mouth closed. He knew Alfred was most likely on the mark with his accusations, but all it was doing was causing a fist fight. That wasn't the kind of action that they needed to take in this situation.

As such, while Alfred and Dudley were sitting in the time out room, Matthew decided to think of a plan. That's what his mother always told him; almost any problem can be solved if you take a moment to think about it. He wouldn't allow Dudley to win; he would keep contact with Harry until things could be fixed.

But how?

Matthew glanced around, eyes resting on the books around him. He had moved to the reading area of the room. No one liked to come here, preferring to play with the toys in the center or draw pictures with crayons at the tables. It was a nice place to go when you needed a quiet moment.

If only Harry and Alfred could come here. Then we could talk… Matthew thought, placing Kumajiro beside him.

But… Dudley can see us from here too. He reasoned a moment later after glancing behind him, catching sight of said boy's bulky figure lumbering out of the time-out room.

Matthew grumbled, was there no hope?

"My big brother likes to write letters to this girl in his class! Her name's Jenny~"

"Really? But how's he get the letters to her? Don't you have to read and stuff in class?"

"He likes to put them in her books. He told me it's romantic!"

Matthew watched the older girls walk towards the table in the center. It wasn't them he was interested in though; rather, it was what they said.

"In… a book?" He mumbled, glancing to the books on the ground and picking one up. "Peter Rabbit." One of the least read books in the class, but the one book all three boys enjoyed…

Matthew smiled.

"Um… S'cuse me."

Harry looked up from his drawing, his eyes resting on a young boy about his age. He was holding a piece of paper.

"I gots' a message for ya." The boy said, plopping the piece of paper on Harry's picture before leaving. Harry raised a brow in confusion, taking the paper regardless. He glanced around. Who was it from?

To Harri,

You like to read boks like me.

My favorit bok is Peter Rabbit.

It's yourz too right?

The skool has it in the readin' korner.

My favorit piktur is on page sevun.

You mite like it too!

From Matty.

Harry struggled to properly read the letter, but upon reading who the letter was from, he looked up to search for the boy. Matthew was sitting with Alfred at another table and nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary. He glanced back to the paper before trudging towards the reading area.

Maybe Matthew thought if he saw some nice pictures, he'd feel better?

Grabbing the copy of Peter Rabbit from the shelf, Harry slowly counted out the pages. 4...5...6…

Eyes widening, Harry bent down to reach for the piece of paper that slipped out of the book. He looked around; did someone leave it? When no one pointed to him and called him out, he turned his attention back to the paper, putting the book gently on the ground and unfolding the paper. It was another letter!

To Harri,

I hope you are Harri.

If you are not Harri, can you plez put this back in the bok?

If you are Harri, then… Hi!

The othurs just do nut undarstahnd.

But I gues if adults say we can't talk, then we can't.

But this isn't talkin' right?

It's writin'

Just leav stuff in this bok,

on the same page.

And I will tel Alfred about it too.

This way, we can still be friendz.

From Matthew

Harry smiled, glancing over to Matthew who had noticed him walking to the reading corner. The boy was looking at Harry nervously.

Harry gave Matthew a thumbs-up, like Alfred had been doing lately. Both of them smiled.

Yes, they could still be friends.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Thank goodness their mother and father had a talk with Uncle Vernon, Harry thought absently, a smile slowly appearing on his face. The expressions his aunt and uncle had when the twins parents had produced some photos of their last parent-supervised field trip a week later. It was perfect proof that it was indeed Dudley who had been scarfing down Harry's lunches, coupled with another of Dudley picking on Alfred and Matthew. A shame that they never got one of Dudley bullying Harry, though he knew his Aunt and Uncle wouldn't have done a thing about that.

Nonetheless, it had worked out smoothly back then. In the end, they stopped using the note-passing system after his family had lifted the communication ban.

"If I used that method… I wonder how long it would take to lift this kind of ban." Harry said bitterly. A house grudge that spanned from before he was born would definitely last longer than a week.

"Well, it's all I got." Harry said with some finality. Besides, it was probably better than any other method he could think up.

He took a parchment out of his bag and placed it on the knee length table. Then, taking out an ink bottle and quill, he uncorked the ink bottle and dipped the quill inside, wetting it carefully.

He scribbled:

To Matthew and Alfred,

I found an interesting book called Hogwarts a History in shelf 309.

Page 237 about the Goblin war in the 18th century was really interesting because it talked about how a goblin spy, Peter Rabbit, got captured by wizards because he wasn't careful enough. I hope you'll give it a chance.

From your long time button friend.


After writing the letter, Harry realized that he didn't have a way to send the letter. If he'd handed the letter himself, other students would know that a Slytherin tried to send a message to a Gryffindor. The best way would be by owl because nobody would know where it came from. Even if the owl made a mistake, the person who saw it wouldn't understand what he was talking about.

The next morning, two hours before breakfast started, Harry casually sneaked out from his dormitories, running all the way to the Owlery. He attached the message onto a brown barn owl with unnoticeable features and whispered Alfred and Matthew's name several times to the owl. Even going as far as scribbling big letters onto the letter with their name. When he was sure that the owl understood, he ran back to his dormitories before anyone knew better.

He only hoped that the letter would make it into the right hands... It's been years since they used such a method; would the twins understand?


Author Note:

Hello readers! This is Enraged and I would like to thank Serene for fixing my grammar. A friend called Serene a wannabe Grammar Nazi, but I think she is a Grammar Nazi. :P I would also like to thank Serene for creating that wonderful story about how Matthew thought of a way to send letters to Harry. It was soooo cute! Finally I would like to thank our followers, favoriteers, and reviewers for reading our fic!

Please Favorite, Follow, and review our fic. I'll give you cookies! Well, virtual ones.

Hi readers! This is Serene~ Heehee, I think Enraged just gave away our secret~ Now, to answer the questions from the reviews~

spiritualnekohime4 - Any shipping? Currently we're just sitting back and seeing where things take us. While we have some ideas, nothing has been set in stone. So for now, no, there is no shipping. Though, this is subject to change~ 0:)

ZestyPeriwinkle - Enraged has told me that she has created some special hellfire barriers around our mochi box home, of which is supported on some clouds. You'll first have to locate our home to rampage it, but kudos to you for trying. 0:) (That said, we'll do our best to keep the chapters going! The story hasn't died yet!)

With that, I thank you reviewers and faves!~ Welcome to new readers and welcome back to the old! Reviews are appreciated, and you get free cookies from Enraged! (But, careful, they may or may not be as bad as England's scones. They're a devilish product. 0;) )