A/N: Thanks to HarryBellaHermione, E, thepotionsmaster369, NewProphecy, slytherintriumvirate, thunderstormtwilightnight and CharmeMilliE, for reviewing. Thanks to my Beta NewProphecy for…well, everything. This chapter is a bit long...

italics are familiar speech Easy to remember. Most of the time, it's thoughts, but Sinetis likes to hiss out loud, so Harry could hear too.

Chapter 8

Schedules

Harry woke up the next morning in a very comfortable canopy bed, the dark red sheets reminded Harry what he was, and he frowned at the thought. Last night, he had been too tired to think about other things and had stumbled into bed without thinking, but now, with the sun shining in from the window, Harry decided to explore his new rooms.

He was in a fairly simple rectangular room, there was a wardrobe, a bookcase full of books, and a desk with all the quills sharpened and pieces of parchment in the drawer. There was also a cupboard with odd stuff neatly placed, there was a brand new broomstick, with the words Firebolt on it, and his name engraved in gold. Harry had never seen such a beautiful broomstick and was quite anxious to learn how to fly on it. To fly, it was everyone's dream.

"Not mine." Aris commented, she was pure white today, and looked simply adorable with her green eyes blinking at Harry lazily.

Harry put the broom back and resolved to check out every one of the things in that cupboard later, he studied the bookcase filled with books. All of the books had his name printed on it, declaring that all the books were his. Harry smiled, touching their spines gently. Harry never had so many books in his life. The wardrobe was astonishing – Harry thought the wardrobe was a bit too large for him, and made him feel like Aunt Petunia, who loved shopping for clothes. Most of the clothes had the Gryffindor lion on them, and were red. Harry quickly picked out the clothes that had the tag 'Wear me' on them and folded his pajamas on the bed.

Harry gaped at his bathroom. It was lit by a beautiful candle-filled chandelier, and everything was a soft white like the color of Aris' coat. Instead of a bathtub, there was something that looked like a round empty swimming pool sunk into the middle of the floor. There were about a dozen golden taps with little lions on them at the pool's edge. Deep red curtains hung at the windows, and a small pile of fluffy white towels sat next to the swimming pool. There was also a simple shower and an elaborate sink, with candles lighting the mirror.

Harry felt like a girl with all those things, there was even makeup, for heaven's sake, and a book beside it on dressing up! Harry settled on leaving his complicated room and on finding Alventine.

The common room, was just as marvelous as Harry's own room, but had more colors. Before Harry could carefully examine the doors though, Alventine came out of her room, dressed exactly like Harry, with a t-shirt and jeans, but in green.

Her wand was strapped to her arm, and Sinetis was asleep in her pocket.

"Where's your wand?" She asked, Harry pointed at his pocket. Alventine stared at Harry's wand then said, "I suggest you go back to your room, and find this." She pointed at the leather thing strapped to her arm. "You can have your wand in your hand much faster, and you won't have the danger of accidentally putting your jeans on fire. It's called a wand holster." She added as Harry's eyes widened at 'putting your jeans on fire' part.

~A~

Harry found out he could easily walk around Hogwarts without getting lost, and Julius had been serious when he said there was a passageway right in the ceiling of the Great Hall.

Instead, they stepped out of the tapestry and walked into the hall, the tapestry vanishing behind them. Harry stared at the empty hall.

"Why is the hall empty?" He asked.

"Because it's only seven o' clock," Alventine replied in surprise, as though it was quite simple. "Hogwarts wakes us up at six thirty – if she bothers to wake us up at all," Alventine added with a smirk, sitting at the empty Slytherin table. Harry sat beside her.

"You too?"

Harry looked up to see Julius walking in. He strode over to where they were sitting. "I was awake at five thirty, couldn't sleep. The castle wouldn't let me sleep." He sat beside Harry, and breakfast appeared on the table automatically.

"Aren't professors suppose to be at the staff table?" Alventine asked.

Julius looked around the completely empty hall. "Do you see anyone complaining?" he asked dryly.
"I don't. There are some traditions like that, but since no one's here, Harry is sitting with you, isn't he?" He said casually, searching for a strawberry in his plate of fresh fruit salad.

"Shouldn't I?" Harry asked, taking a bite out of an apple that was dipped in honey.

"No, you should be socializing with your fellow Gryffindors. Do you two want my help on writing your timetables?" Julius asked looking at his watch as students start filing in.

~A~

Harry and Alventine decided to go to the First Year Potion class since both Draco and Hermione were there. It was extremely easy to take the shortcuts in their minds right to the classroom.

"Draco," Alventine greeted curtly. Draco nodded at Alventine, while Harry went over to Hermione's side of the table where she looked simply miserable.

"What's wrong?" he asked her quietly. Hermione shook her head and took her book out without a word.

Snape took a long look at Harry and then focused his attention on Longbottom, who was talking with Weasley.

"Longbottom, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Snape said suddenly, Longbottom looked up.

Harry glanced at Alventine and Draco, who both smiled at each other. Thankfully, Alventine and Harry had been testing their new potions lab and Harry had took a long look at that particular page with the sleeping potion. Hermione was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to prove that she knew the answer.

"I don't know, sir." Longbottom said, his face completely relaxed.

Snape ignored Hermione's hand, and sneered, "Clearly fame isn't everything."

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

Hermione stretched her hand so high into the air as it would go, Harry was thankful that it was not him, because Harry had no idea where could he find a bezoar. He knew it looked like a shriveled kidney.

"Sir, Granger seems to know the answer, why don't you ask her if you don't know the answer." Longbottom said, smirking at Hermione. Who looked eager to answer the question.

"Five points from Gryffindor, now, let's see if the Heirs are any better." Snape said, turning his cold eyes onto Harry.

"What is the difference Potter, between monkshood and Wolfsbane?" Harry racked his mind for the information, and found it blank, well it was worth a try.

"They are the same thing, sir," he said weakly.

Snape nodded, and Harry let out a breath he didn't knew he had been holding.

"Helting, recite the ingredients of the Boil-Cure potion." Snape said, Hermione's hand went down very reluctantly.

"Flobberworm Mucus, Dried Nettles, Crushed Snake Fangs, Stewed Horned Slugs and Porcupine Quills." Alventine recited at once. She knew the answer only because she had attended this class before and it was always in Snape's first class.

Things did not improve for Hermione as the Potion lesson continued. As Harry had brewed the potion yesterday, he merely gave it to Snape for inspection. The two heirs were set to walk around the class, and write down all the mistakes the whole class had made and give it to Snape after class. They weren't suppose to assist though, so Harry watched Hermione tried to stop Longbottom from adding porcupine quills but both Longbottom and Weasley ignored her, and her own potion nearly burnt out.

"Idiot boy!" Snape snarled when Longbottom not only melted his own cauldron, but Hermione's as well, he had pushed her onto the floor by accident in his hurry to stand on his stool. Hermione's arms were covered with red boils. He waved his wand and the potion vanished. Harry looked around, only he and Alventine were still standing on the floor, unharmed.

"Sir, Hermione's hurt!" Alventine said, holding Hermione up.

"Give her the potion on my desk." Snape said, "I trust you know how to deal with this."

~A~

"She's a nightmare – honestly, we wouldn't have botched up the potion if it wasn't for her. Did you see her jumping up and down on her seat? Know-it-all," Longbottom said to Weasley. Harry couldn't help it. He whirled around to face them and Draco pulled out his wand (not that he knew what to do with it, but it looked menacing).

"I saw you – she told you not to add the porcupine quills! It's your own fault you ruined the potion!" Harry said, pulling out his own wand.

"What, going to jinx me?" Weasley said, "We don't know any jinxes yet."

"It's not as if you could win me, Potter."Longbottom added, holding out his own wand.

"Locomotor Mortis!" Longbottom shouted and Draco fell to the floor. Hermione went over to help him up and perform the counter charm. Harry felt his anger boiling up.

"Rictusem-" Harry started, but Alventine wrenched his wand out of his hand. Harry glared at her.

"We aren't allowed to raise our wands against the students," she hissed in Parseltongue. She quickly gave him back his wand. Harry glared at Longbottom. Alventine held him back as she walked to Longbottom, who smirked at her.

"I'll take you on myself, wizard's duel. Midnight, in the trophy room," she said calmly.

"Alright, so you'll lose again." Longbottom replied, smirking at her.

Alventine accepted it coolly and smiled. "We'll see."

She waited until the Gryffindors had gone away.

"I've got a plan," she said, helping Draco up. "Let's go find Professor Snape."

Draco caught on immediately. "So you're not going to – brilliant! Brilliant, Al!" Draco grinned vindictively.

"What?" Harry asked, confused. They still couldn't duel, how were they going to win?

"You'll see." Alventine said, knocking on the door of Snape's office.

"Enter."

They went into the room. It was a shadowy room lined with shelves, with hundreds of glass jars in which floated all sorts of specimens, suspended in various potions. In a corner stood ready made potions in vials, Harry could see his own vial on it.

"Sir, I don't mean to bother you, but I was in the corridors, and I overheard Longbottom and Weasley are going to do…something tonight." Alventine said. Her innocent, uncertain tone made everything sound perfectly believable.

"Did they say where?" Snape asked, putting down his quill.

"I think they said the trophy room, at midnight. Yes, at midnight," she said, as if confirming it herself.

"I'll see to it, Miss Helting. A point to Slytheirn for accompanying a friend, Draco." Snape said, waving them out of the door.

~A~

"That'll get them into trouble!" Hermione said. Alventine gave her an odd look.

"That's the whole point, Hermione!" Alventine said. "Don't you want to get back at them?"

"But Gryffindor would lose all the points I gained in Transfiguration," Hermione protested indignantly.

"Oh." Alventine bit her lip. She didn't know that Hermione cared that much.

"They deserved it," Harry said. "Anyway, they would have lost the same points if a teacher was there when they hexed Draco."

Hermione pursed her lips, but did not argue.

~A~

Harry made his way to breakfast, only to find a very angry bunch of Gryffindors. Alventine was with Draco, and a bunch of other Slytherins, who were all looking at Alventine admirably.

Gryffindor had lost two hundred points, because they had destroyed the trophy room beyond repair.

"If I were you, I would face them here," Julius whispered as he leaned against the oak doors, levitating a grape into his mouth when Harry walked pass him.

"Why?" Harry asked, telling Aris to sit with Alventine. He didn't want her to get hurt.

"Because they can't curse you here," Julius pointed out.

Longbottom and Weasley were glaring at Harry as he sat down. The v shaped scar on Longbottom's cheek was very obvious as Longbottom touched it out of habit.

Weasley drew out his wand, and Harry inwardly thought maybe Julius was wrong. He tried to back away without looking like he was uncomfortable.

"Longbottom, are you trying to lose Gryffindor another hundred points?" Snape said coldly, sweeping down like an overgrown bat.

"No, sir," Longbottom said, shoving his wand back into his robes. Julius, at that moment, took Harry by the shoulders and began pushing him away.

"That's nice – now that you are in perfect condition, you can go out to swim!" Julius said casually, steering Harry out of the group of angry Gryffindors.

"I don't know how to swim." Harry admitted in a mumble, "The Dursleys didn't care if I drowned."

"Alventine can teach you. I'll be down in a few minutes, just to make sure she didn't drown you," Julius replied simply with a smirk. "Go on."

A/N:REVIEW! PLEASE!