Due to Harry being friends with Neville and friendly with Ron, Dean and Seamus, the Slytherins ended up walking to Potions more or less together, the Slytherins leading, Harry and Neville walking in the middle, and the other Gryffindors bringing up the rear. Harry was very specific on where friendly acquaintance ended and friendship began and so far, the only magical child he considered to be his friend was Neville. His roommates had great potential, but they were still only roommates, and Ron was still cool towards Harry due to the perceived deception.
The first years failed to notice the astonishment of everyone else when they saw Gryffs and Snakes walking calmly in a group - usually those two houses avoided each other and were often responsible for most of the hallway duels. The second and third years of said Houses were the most put out and resolved to teach the firsties better, but the older years had a more mixed reaction. The older Gryffs recognized the prejudice in hating someone because of the color of their robes, while the older Snakes recognized the need to get along with the rest of the school for the sake of their life after Hogwarts - having a reputation as the meanest house did little to help them achieve their ambitions. Later that day, the second and third years would be 'encouraged' to keep their opinions to themselves.
The first-years were blissfully ignorant of all this and Harry was whining to Neville about Snape's potential dislike of him. "It's not fair, I like potions! Why does he have to ruin it for me?"
"Harry, I'm sure he'll be professional and you're a Slytherin, he'll probably go easy on you. You know, we were warned that he was biased towards his own House."
"You think?" Harry said hopefully.
"That's not a good thing! Teachers should be unbiased!" Granger inserted herself between the boys and continued lecturing. "I'm sure that he'll only care about whether or not you've adequately prepared for his class." Somehow, she seemed to imply that neither of them had.
"Alright there, Ms. Superiority Complex, give other people the room to express their opinions in private conversations!" Harry snarked at her - she really needed to learn some social skills.
"Excuse me!?"
Neville sighed and tried to soothe things over - he didn't want to have problems with a housemate. "He only meant that people have the right to complain to their friends even if you think their complaints are unfounded."
This, however, did not soothe Hermione. "So I'm not allowed talk sense into him?"
"Not when I wasn't complaining to you; you overheard our conversation and decided to butt in!" Harry snapped.
"Fine then!" The girl sniffed and walked faster, quickly overtaking the rest of the Slytherins.
"Is she always like that?" Harry wondered.
"YES!" All the Gryffindors answered immediately in an annoyed chorus.
When Snape opened the door to the Potions classroom and ordered them in, he gave his Snakes stern looks, except for Harry who he glared at, and sneered at the Gryffs. They all scuttled in and Harry and Neville were the only first-years to sit with someone not of the same House. This worked out mostly well since both houses had an uneven number of students (fifteen each), though Ron ended up sharing a desk with Granger much to his horror.
"Wands away," Snape drawled as he glided to the front of the room. "There will be no foolish wand waving in this classroom." And thus began his speech on the wonders of the noble art of Potion making. By the end of it he had most of them on the edge of their seats, half entranced half terrified. Stalking to his podium, Snape began to take attendance. Each student was scrutinized by the Professor as they answered, though again, Harry received special attention as his name was hissed out and Snape looked as if he would have loved to dissect Harry and then burn the pieces to ashes. Harry endeavored to look as polite as possible but this didn't seem to help.
"We will begin by reviewing the safety procedures you WILL follow in this class." Looking around, Snape began snapping out names and questions. "Potter, why are crystal phials preferable to glass?"
"Because-because they're more durable and won't break as often." Harry answered before quickly adding, "Sir."
"Thomas, why is it important to thoroughly clean all equipment before and after use?"
"Umm, to prevent contamination, sir?"
"I expect an answer, not a question. Minus two points. Boleyn…" And so it continued with Snape going through the whole class. Some answered well, some did not, though Harry noticed that the Gryffs got the more obscure questions that were not directly addressed in the textbooks and Snape was more critical of their answers. Poor Granger had lost points due to her answer being too thorough, which Harry thought was a bit unfair even if it did seem like she was trying to show off. Obviously, her housemates thought it was unfair too as they kept shooting her sympathetic looks and glaring at Snape's back.
Eventually the quizzing came to an end with Snape tutting after Ron couldn't answer a question. "It is truly disheartening to see how the quality of new students decreases with every year." That was an obvious dig at how Ron's brothers had done exceptionally well at Hogwarts. Snape flicked his wand at the blackboard to make notes appear. "We will begin studying the basic steps for brewing as well as the most commonly used equipment and ingredients you will come across, and this will continue for the rest of the year. The last half hour of class will be used to go over the Cure for Boils which you will brew in class next week. This will be your schedule for the rest of the year - a lecture period followed by a brewing period. I will not accept late arrivals to brewing periods, no excuses."
Harry was happy to escape to Herbology once the double period ended, and he wasn't the only one.
"That was a nightmare! Who let that bat teach?" Ron exclaimed (once he was outside and well out of Snape's hearing range).
"Lay off! Potions is a dangerous subject!" Tracy snapped at Ron.
"Exactly, and who wouldn't know why you should only store potions in a cool, dry place?" Claudia sniffed to show her disgust. The Slytherins had been warned ahead of time to prepare, as had any student with older siblings or cousins. Ron, who had been warned, had assumed his brothers were trying to trick him again.
Just as Ron's face was getting red enough to blow, Sprout shepherded them into Greenhouse 1 and began her lesson. Harry ended up partnering with Neville, Sophie, and Millicent for the class and the two girls, who weren't that fond of gardening, were happy to listen to Neville's wisdom on the subject. Harry took the opportunity to think while going through the motions of basic plant care.
Hogwarts was going very well so far and even after being sorted into Slytherin Harry had still managed to establish peace with his yearmates. Some of the Gryffs had initially given him the cold shoulder, but being Gryffindors, they'd quickly gotten over it, especially once they realized that he wasn't fitting the Slytherin stereotype. His Slytherin housemates had followed his lead and, while they (Draco especially) remained aloof, they hadn't deliberately insulted anyone unless it was in retaliation - Ron had insulted Malfoy Sr. and had gotten into a full on row with Draco that lost them ten points each, but the rest of the first years had stayed out of it and pretended it never happened. The two boys have since gotten into the habit of ignoring and avoiding each other as much as possible. The Snakes also did their best to pretend Dean and Granger, both muggleborns, did not exist - Dean found it funny (he had several siblings and was used to the silent treatment from immature brats) but Granger took it as the insult it was. Other than that, there were no issues between the first year Gryffs and Snakes.
Harry had also successfully began the process of making friends in the other two houses - Justin was a very friendly boy who had given him a good introduction to the others in his house. Zacharias Smith was apparently alright once you got past the self-righteous exterior, but Harry was very happy to be able to limit his exposure. Harry had been introduced to some Ravenclaws but he hadn't yet gotten to know any of them better. Hopefully, that will change soon - it was only his first week, after all.
Speaking of first weeks, it had been a very light one for Harry - none of his Thursday afternoon courses had started yet. Flying and Music were still being organized (he'd indicated his preferred instrument along with his choice for Arts Elective) while the professor for Theory of Magic was busy testing the new sixth years to determine who would be welcome in her advanced seminars. Theory was taught as an introductory course in first year; third and fourth years received optional seminars on the topic, and then those who showed a strong interest were tested to see if they qualify for the sixth and seventh-year seminar series. There was no OWL or NEWT in Theory of Magic as the Ministry liked to pretend that Hogwarts did not teach it. Harry didn't know it but the sixth and seventh-year seminars were a requirement for working in the Department of Mysteries.
He'd received his first letter from Jackie the day before - she'd congratulated him on his sorting, reminded him to study smart but not neglect his social needs, and said she had already posted Dudley's letter. She had also sent him a package of chocolate frogs and a reminder that his football and cleats will likely deteriorate in a few months. She can buy and send him new ones when he needed them, though. She had also asked him about his muggle allowance - did he still want it or should she invest it? Harry was still not sure about that one.
Herbology eventually came to an end, and after washing up, they all made their way to the great hall for lunch. DADA was his last class of the day, and even though he had heard some disappointing things from Neville, he hoped that the teacher had only been nervous and would get better with time. The Defence course covered many of the same topics of the other classes - magical creatures, defensive spellwork, dangerous plants - but only in terms of how to defend against them, obviously. Dueling was usually offered as an optional seminar at NEWT level and most students did their own research to learn the more powerful offensive spells, sometimes helped by their families.
Harry had only started to serve himself when he noticed how agitated the older years were. They seemed to be focused on an article in the Daily Prophet and were arguing with each other, going as far as to move between house tables to hold discussions with people from other houses. The Weasley's seemed particularly popular. "What's going on?" Harry asked a sixth year sitting nearby.
"Gringott's was broken into!" He exclaimed before shoving a newspaper at Harry and turning back to his previous conversation.
"That can't be true!" Blaise said in disbelief but he joined the other first-year Snakes in listening to Harry as he read the article out loud. A vault was broken into, but it had been emptied (the goblins refused to say by who or of what) a few hours before so nothing was actually stolen.
"Ooh, the goblins must be very angry about this. They'll be out for blood!" Lancel worried. "My grandfather used to be a cursebreaker, he told me what the goblins do to thieves."
"Why is everyone gathering around the Weasley's?" Harry asked as Percy Weasley finally had enough and dragged Ron out of the great hall, the twins quickly following.
Theo looked over before giving an unconcerned shrug. "Their oldest brother works for Gringotts, everyone probably thinks they have more information."
"How do you know what their brother does?" Draco's accusing tone said a lot of his opinion regarding Theo's knowledge.
"They're distant cousins, of course. Draco, they're purebloods, which means most likely, you're related to them, too." Theo smirked at the disgusted look on Draco's face.
Harry, who had little patience for family vendetta's, ignored what had just been said and went back to the earlier discussion. "What could the goblins do?"
Daphne looked very worried as she explained. "Well, for one, they could tighten security, make it harder for us to access our accounts."
Harry immediately winced at this - he had no issues with goblins, but they were not exactly welcoming to wizards.
"For another, they will definitely make a big fuss and expect the auror department to put all their resources to catching the thief, and our parents will probably back up the goblins - we want our gold kept safe, after all." Claudia pointed out.
"Either way, we should get back to eating. It's not our problem to solve." Gregory pointed out to reluctant agreement from the others and they all went back to serving themselves.
DADA, unfortunately, was all that Neville had warned of. The classroom smelled strongly of garlic, the professor had a constant fear induced stutter, and he seemed terrified to even mention any dark creature, let alone think of facing one. Harry took notes as best he could and followed along in the textbook (which was new and so didn't have any helpful notes) but promised himself to find a solution to this travesty.
The rest of Friday afternoon was spent doing homework with his Slytherin yearmates. They had done well in keeping up with homework assignments throughout the week and had used their many free periods to finish most of it, but they had some DADA work and their Potions assignment (six inches on the Cure for Boils) not to mention the new reading assignment from that morning's Herbology period. The Potter notes proved themselves again and Theo again recommended that Harry share them with the fifth years.
That night Harry thought about the decisions he needed to make soon. Invest his allowance, or spend it all at once every summer? Allow the Potter notes to be copied or continue holding them over his yearmates' heads? And how to get close to the Ravenclaws in his year - none of them had signed up for the Football club. Charms club was said to be very hectic, so he was unlikely to have the opportunity to have long conversations with anyone during club meetings. DADA was too big an issue for him to handle so he put it off to the side.
Invest or spend… share or hoard… socialize with bookworms…
He, of course, knew what the mature, kind choices would be - invest for future earnings, share, and wait for an organic socializing opportunity to develop.
Invest… share notes… wait and see…
Invest… notes… wait… WAIT!
Harry started laughing to himself - invest, Potter Notes, and wait!
"Which one of you crazies is laughing in the middle of the night!?" Blaise's complaint was met with snores, grunts, and Harry's now muffled laughter.
Early on Saturday morning Harry jumped out of bed and went to his desk to write a letter to Jackie, a very important letter.
Dear Jackie,
I've had a brilliant idea! My yearmates love mum's notes and dad's textbook scribbles, and they keep hinting for me to share them with the fifth years to help them study, and I've come up with the perfect way to do it - publish them!
Crazy, I know, but hear me out. The tenth anniversary of mum and dad's death is coming up and I want them to be remembered for the brilliant witch and wizard they were. So, I want to publish the Potter Notes, a Hogwarts study guide written by James and Lily Potter! Every OWL and NEWT student will want one (because the notes are really brilliant) and people will focus on mum and dad and not me! This will celebrate them and what they could have been if they hadn't been MURDERED by that MANIAC ten years ago.
I want it ready for purchase on Halloween, is that possible?
I'm well, school's great, etc. etc.
Harry
Harry quickly stuffed the note into an envelope and then got ready for breakfast. It being a weekend, school robes were not mandatory so Harry put on one of the casual robes he'd brought with him over his football outfit - he had the first club meeting that afternoon.
Harry's dorm mates didn't see Harry until they'd made it to breakfast where Harry was cheerfully eating his scrambled eggs.
"Why were you up so early? And so cheerful?" Lancel groaned.
"I sent a letter," Harry said as if this was a groundbreaking achievement.
The others stared blankly at him. "Alright… And what cookiness have the rest of you been up to?" Blaise asked everyone but Harry.
Harry just grinned and went back to contemplating his own genius. Finally October 31st will represent a triumph for the Potter Family and not just a tragedy. Dozens of purebloods will use Lily Evan Potter's study guide thus making her relevant and famous for more than just her death.
Harry spent the rest of the morning with a group of first-year boys (Neville, Ron, Dean, Seamus, Theo, Blaise, Justin, Ernest, and Stephen) running around Hogwarts exploring - with the Puff's help they'd found the kitchens where the house-elves had been happy to give them snacks, they'd also found the trophy room where Harry had been able to see his father's Quidditch trophies, and several secret passageways, though not all of them were shortcuts.
Lunch was spent regaling the other Snakes with their adventures before Harry and the rest of the Football club went on an expedition to find their courtyard - it took a while, even with the older years being familiar with Hogwarts ever-changing floor plan.
Christopher Warren, the newly nominated president of Hogwarts' Football League (FBL) began by asking if someone would like to nominate themselves as the vice-president and second referee. Once someone was chosen for that role, Chris randomly dividing the remaining thirty-two club members into four equal teams (though he tried to make sure there was a good mix of ages and houses in each) and handed out a schedule - the club would officially meet on Saturday afternoons and they would play three games each lasting an hour long; team 1 will play team 2, team 3 playing team 4, and then the winners of the two games playing each other. Team 1 will not always play team 2 first, etc., but basically, everyone will have a chance to play for at least one hour, which is what they all wanted. The field will be available for pick up games throughout the week, but the weekly games were mandatory since the FBL was an official club and needed to track attendance.
Hopefully, this will grow into a more standardized league with many teams competing for a championship and training regiments, but for now, this was enough. Harry was not the only one who had brought a football and he, along with two others who had brought their own, donated his to the FBL until they could figure out how to make a version that could better withstand the heavy magic surrounding Hogwarts. These were stored in a trunk that was placed beside the entrance to the courtyard. They transfigured goal posts out of sticks that were lying around and then started to actually play. It was rough but fun, though Harry's team did not win their first game and so sat on the sidelines and watched the finals.
When Harry entered the common room he noticed a distinct coolness in the looks thrown his way by his housemates. Shrugging them off, Harry went to his dorm to shower off and then changed before heading out to look for his dorm mates or Neville - someone to talk to until it was time for supper.
He came across Vincent and Gregory playing exploding snap in a corner of the common room and they let him join them in the next round. They played until the others returned - they had all joined the chess club which overlapped with the FBL.
"Did you enjoy your muggle game, then?" Draco sneered at Harry as he made room for himself between Vincent and Gregory.
"Yes, actually, I did." Harry raised his eyes and threw a challenging look at Draco. "I was muggle-raised for all that I am familiar with the magical world - excuse me if it was illegal for me to fly my broom in the backyard of my muggle home. You don't like my interests, blame the ones who orphaned me and forced me to grow up surrounded by muggles!"
Draco paled and two spots of red appeared on his cheeks. "Why yo-"
"Draco, shut up," Lancel said tiredly.
"Did you hear what he said!?" Draco exclaimed.
"Yes, and I agree." Lancel took a deep breath and continued. "He grew up surrounded by muggles, it's a miracle that he knows as much about magical culture as he does. As his housemates, we should be more supportive and sympathetic to his circumstances. And he is right, he was orphaned like many of us were," Lancel's own father was in Azkaban but his mother was alive and he had been surrounded by other magical relatives. "He just had the bad luck to be without magical family to take him in."
"We're his family! I'm his distant cousin, my parents could have taken him in!" Draco argued vehemently.
"Your aunt by blood tortured the Longbottoms, a pureblood family also related to you, not a week after Harry was orphaned, do you really think anyone would have trusted your family with his care? Any of our families?" Theo asked quietly. His parents had managed to avoid Azkaban mostly because as Unspeakables they had known how to hide their allegiance very well, but he knew the reality of who they were and how they would have treated Harry.
Draco paled further and averted his eyes. "My parents did not approve of that, and father refused to help the Lestranges in their trial." He argued faintly though he knew the last part was mostly because his father was dealing with his own legal issues.
"Basically, as long as Harry agrees that the magical world is vastly superior to the muggle one, he can play his little muggle game," Blaise said with a look at Harry, who nodded.
"Of course it is, haven't I said that before? I just don't like being told what to do or what to think." Harry agreed.
Draco sighed and relaxed his posture. "I suppose that is a very Slytherin attitude to have, and it's only a game."
The discussion was closed and a new topic (the Quidditch tryouts tomorrow) was quickly introduced.
AN: I keep getting comments about the Slytherins being so accepting, but they're not. Harry Potter, the name, carries enough weight that they don't want to rock the boat - most understand the benefits of having a hero be one of them and they don't want Harry complaining to the other houses about how they treat him. Beyond that, they also agree with Harry's point about football either integrating magic (enchanted goal posts and ball, etc) or being abandoned in favor of more exciting sports like broom racing and dueling.
