It was early Friday morning. The Gryffindor first years were all down and eating. Hermione had her potions book open and was carefully reviewing the chapters that Professor Snape had suggested.

The rest of them had done the reading the night before and refrained form repeating it. Hermione's bookish tendencies HAD helped them, however, when she pointed out that Professor Snape had failed to mention the animal-based ingredients.

She had pulled out her copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and, holding it up, suggested that it was the place where those ingredients could be reviewed.

After a few times referring to that book, Harry had thanked Hermione with some enthusiasm. The potions book listed some of the theory behind the potions but the Fantastic Beast book and the 1001 Herbs book both had significant details which couldn't be found in the potions book.

The other Gryffindors were suddenly much more interested in listening to her advice.

Suddenly, there was a distraction at the door. Professor Quirrell was directing some older Slytherin with some annoyance. Almost unnoticed behind them, the Weasley twins also entered.

When it became obvious that Professor Snape wasn't present, Quirrell turned to the Slytherin and said, "Mr. Flint! As Professor Snape isn't currently present at breakfast, I am personally assigning two detentions and taking twenty points for your actions in the hallway. I will be speaking to your Head of House, to be certain. If I catch you hexing your fellow students again, I will ask Professor Snape to ban you from quiddich … or assign a detention during each of the Slytherin games. Do I make myself understood?"

The older boy, whom Harry thought looked somewhat trollish, sullenly nodded. "Yes, Professor Quirrell."

"Sit down, eat breakfast, and then go to class." Quirrell turned and made his way up to the head table.

The twins sat near the first years. Harry asked, "What's that about?"

One of the twins said, "Flint made a mistake and cast a tripping hex at another student where Quirrell could see."

The other twin continued, "I don't think Flint expected Quirrell to get so upset."

"Quirrell is much different …"

"than he was in first year."

"Back then, …"

"he didn't say much of anything …"

"when he saw something. …"

"Something must have …"

"ticked him off this year."

Percy, who was also nearby, said, "Boys!" Both twins looked at their elder brother. "It's much too early for the routine." For once, Percy's expression wasn't one of a "prefect" but one of a regular student. He turned toward Harry. "But they are right: Quirrell is much different this year."

Harry said, "Well, he seemed to be a pretty good teacher."

Percy nodded. "He used to teach Muggle Studies. I kind of wish he had stayed on instead of taking a year off. Even if he was a bit more timid before … he's Muggle-raised, so he could explain much better. The current professor wasn't Muggle-raised, so it's a bit harder. But Defense seemed to be much better this year, so I guess it's a good trade-off."

Harry wondered why he had changed subjects.

When the Gryffindors entered the Potions classroom, Harry noticed that several Slytherins were already there. He nodded at one of them, "Good Morning, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco Malfoy, who wasn't expecting that, only could come back with, "Good Morning, Potter."

Because Harry had paused, he missed the rest of the students sitting down. A small commotion had come up. The two boys looked over and saw Ron sullenly stepping back and allowing Neville to sit next to Hermione.

Malfoy was curious. "Why are they fighting over sitting next to her?" he quietly asked.

Even if the tone was rude, the question wasn't. So Harry answered just as quietly. "Because every one of us knows she's the smartest student here and is the most prepared. According to his reputation, Professor Snape hates unprepared students. And partnering with her will likely mean less chance of making mistakes." He nodded at Malfoy and moved to sit next to Ron.

Malfoy watched the interaction with some interest. The idea of consorting with Mudbloods was distasteful … but doing well in his godfather's class was a personal goal. He would keep an eye out.

Severus Snape walked into the classroom. He had mentally had to prepare himself to confront this class. He hoped that the spawn hadn't actually listened to his advice … but reports from other teachers didn't make him too hopeful.

When he finally turned, he looked out toward all of the students and saw an interesting sight. Every Gryffindor student was sitting with perfect attention. Each had a quill, inkpot, parchment, and the three books which had to do with his subject readily available.

Damn. The spawn somehow gathered that I failed to mention the other book.

Something else he noticed, which led to an interesting thought: His godson had picked up on the preparedness of the Gryffindors and had followed suit. Most of the snakes had. Two were still rooting around in bags to get the books and both were glancing at Draco and himself a bit nervously.

At least Draco is keeping those two under control. Thank Merlin!

The shards of an idea came to him. He would use this to his advantage.

He calmly called the roll, noting the name of each person as he called their name. He didn't even comment as the spawn's name was called. He was still plotting a bit.

He started with his traditional beginning speech.

""You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking," he began. Speaking in barely more than a whisper made the idiots concentrate even harder. "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..." time to entice them "I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death" and now to put them in their place "- if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

He looked around. Every student was taking notes on what he was saying. The Slytherins seemed to be following the Gryffindors. Hmmm.

Let' shake them up.

"Potter!" The spawn looked determined. "What use are crushed snake fangs in the boil cure potion?"

The Spawn looked not at all concerned.

"To speed up the absorption of the nettles. The substance within the fangs helps them break down."

Damn. He refused to acknowledge the spawn if he didn't have to.

He looked over the Slytherins.

This is a gamble, but her family raises goats.

"Bulstrode! Where do bezoars come from and why do they need to be on hand?"

She wasn't as calm as the spawn, but she came through.

"Stomach of a magically-raised goat: They counteract most poisonings, both deliberate and accidental."

Thank Merlin. He nodded at the girl, pleased she had not faltered.

He looked toward all the students.

"What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?" He calmly looked toward the students. Most of the Gryffindors and a few of the Slytherins raised their hands. The swot was much calmer than most swots were wont to be.

That one looks nervous – and he didn't raise his hand.

"Longbottom!"

The boy jumped, and then visibly concentrated.

"They are both names for the Aconite plant, normally Aconitum napellus, used for better circulation and to counteract numbness if used carefully. Done wrong and it will kill you."

Sigh. He was so certain…

He lectured briefly on the potion that they would be brewing. Even as he did so, he visually and mentally gauged each student.

I mustn't make a mistake here. Important families are involved.

He finally told them that they would be brewing the potion in pairs … which he would be assigning. And as an experiment, they would be paired cross-house. He gave some drivel as an excuse which sounded like something the Headmaster would encourage.

Curious. Draco is deliberately eyeing the swot.

Bemusedly, he allowed his godson's seeming suggestion. He was rewarded with a victorious (small) smirk on Draco's face when he was placed with Granger.

Must keep evil satisfied look off of face ….

The spawn paired with Tweedledum; Muggle-sports-nut (he had overheard a conversation which still annoyed him to think about) with Tweedledee; Accident-waiting-to-happen with Davis; Vapid Blonde Gryffindor and Moon; Indian-party-twin (not the Swot-twin, he would have to remember) and Nott; Red-headed-menace with Greengrass.

At least she won't put up with idiocy.

Future alcoholic Gryffindor (he was Irish – of course he'd be an alcoholic) with Bulstrode. Zabini and mostly-unimportant-Gryffindor-girl. Parkinson and completely-unimportant-Gryffindor-girl.

Surprisingly, the pairings seemed to work.

The Swot really was a swot – which meant that his godson wasn't in danger of being blown up by an idiot.

The Red-headed-menace was cowed by the icy visage of his partner – which meant that he mostly shut up.

Tweedledum (the dumber of the two hooligans) was prevented from his catastrophic mistake by the spawn. He was now much happier that the spawn had prepared.

Tweedledee was a bit brighter than Tweedledum, luckily, and the dark-skinned muggle-sport-nut was methodical.

Vapid Gryffindor blonde and Sensible Slytherin brunette counterbalanced each other nicely.

Davis was less … harsh … than the other future leaders could be and so the Accident-waiting-to-happen wasn't as nervous as was expected.

He had to stop Future-alcoholic-Gryffindor and Strong-girl-Slytherin from making a horrible error – but only once. Strong-girl Slytherin had no idiotic ego which prevented her from religiously referring to the steps. She threatened Future-alcoholic after the error and the dunderhead was corralled. He had awarded the girl points to the visible annoyance of the dunderhead.

The other pairings were also remarkably error-minimal and all produced acceptable results or better.

After the pairs had submitted their potions, he assigned the essay. The spawn asked for the chapters to prepare for the next week and he was satisfied that his snakes had listened.

He asked his godson to stay behind.

Once the rest had left and the two goons were waiting in the hall Snape had to ask, "I'm surprised you seemed to want to work with Granger. Was there a reason?"

Draco smirked. "She may be beneath me, but I noticed that the other Gryffindorks were all trying to sit with her. I asked Potter and he said she was the most prepared."

"Ten points for demonstrating Slytherin cunning." He paused. "I am concerned as to your father's reaction."

Draco shrugged. "What he doesn't know …."

Severus shook his head. "You know your father – hiding it won't work. My suggestion is that your next letter contain some mild complaint about it, dripping in barely concealed outrage. My letter will mention that I am being directed by the Headmaster to make the houses work together. I put you with the person least likely to make a mistake which might harm you. I will also mention that I explained that to you before I sent the letter to him – but after you sent your own letter."

Draco smirked at that. "I can do that. I'll mention that at least she was remarkably competent for a Mudblood. Should it be today or tomorrow that I send the letter?"

He so loved when his godson actually acted properly Slytherin.

"Directly after your last class. After he has a chance to get annoyed, my letter two hours later should calm him down."

The two Slytherins completed their conversation in a cheerful manner and went to lunch.

Slytherins were never so happy as when they successfully manipulated other people – especially other Slytherins.

The five Gryffindor boys and their female friend all made their way out to Hagrid's hut. Harry had received a letter via Hedwig and had pointed to the others in a questioning manner while having the man's attention. Hagrid had nodded his agreement.

Hagrid did love hosting Gryffindors, being a former one himself.

Ron and Seamus had complained about being forced to work with Slytherins, but Hermione and Harry had pointed out that Snape had been much better than his reputation and they should be happy.

Both conceded that.

When Hagrid asked, curious, about what happened, Harry told them about the lesson. He repeated Snape's comment that the Headmaster encouraged inter-house cooperation.

Hagrid was torn: His dislike for Slytherin on principle was fighting with his devotion to Dumbledore – so he finally just ignored the topic.

Harry heard a few stories about his parents. Ron heard a couple about his brothers. Hermione was curious about anything. The others just listened along.

Augusta Longbottom walked into the ward which housed her son and daughter-in-law. She had received a letter from Healer Stansbury had messaged her, asking her to come in when it was convenient.

As she rushed in, she noticed that there was someone else in the room.

Sirius stood and greeted the Dowager Lady Longbottom. "Madam Longbottom. It is good to see you again."

"Hello, Sirius." She looked over to where the young healer was performing a few diagnostics. "She asked me to come in."

Sirius smiled. "I know. She was going to wait, but I suggested she not."

Chelsea Stansbury turned and saw her patients' mother with her newly-minted boyfriend. "Hello, Lady Longbottom. Thank you for coming."

"You have news?" It was obvious she was holding back any emotion.

Chelsea nodded. "The treatments seem to be making a difference. They are a bit more alert when they wake up. They're still out of it and confused, but things look much better."

Augusta took a deep breath, trying to maintain her image. "Thank you for telling me." She breathed again. "Sirius said you were thinking of waiting to tell me." This came out slightly accusatory.

Chelsea solemnly nodded. "I was. I know you've been waiting a long time. They're getting better but they are not really lucid yet. While their prognosis is much more hopeful now, I was thinking that you might want to wait until things were further along. It's kind of painful watching this and hurting you with hope seemed possibly cruel. Sirius, however," she nodded at the man, "said that any hope is better than no hope for you. It's been too long since you had any and he didn't think that was a good thing."

Augusta Longbottom nodded. "While I appreciate that you are being considerate of my feelings, I do want to hear of any progress. I will refrain from telling Neville for now because he would be more hurt hearing of this and then waiting, I think, but he doesn't remember them fully cognizant. I think it's better for me that I know."

"Okay, Madam Longbottom. If you come weekly, I will give you accurate reports. And if there is a significant change, I will ensure you are alerted quickly."

"Thank you, Healer Stansbury."

"We'll let you visit with them now."

Chelsea and Sirius began to walk out, but suddenly Augusta grabbed Sirius – against all propriety. She embraced him tightly, finally whispering, "Thank you," before letting go and moving to sit with her children.

Sirius looked at Chelsea with a solemn look and she nodded. They moved out of the ward.

Dear Father and Mother;

The first week of classes have come to an end. I am, as expected, doing quite well. I earned a number of points for Slytherin.

I did have a small problem in Potions. Uncle Severus paired me with a Mudblood to brew our potions. Some drivel about the muggle-loving Headmaster and inter-house cooperation.

At least he paired me with the one who was best prepared. She was remarkably competent. I later overheard that she spends hours preparing for everything. If I had to work with someone so beneath me, at least it wasn't a complete idiot.

Crabbe and Goyle are providing excellent service to keep the riff-raff away from me outside of classes.

Potter worked with Goyle in Potions – Potter did have to stop Goyle from blowing the lab up by missing a step. I chastised him verbally for the error.

All in all, the first week has been satisfactory. As I mentioned in my first letter, Potter has been polite in his dealings with me. When we both arrived for class this morning, he did greet me with respect. He still, however, seems unlikely to follow my suggestions on social connections.

I think that will be a long time project.

Anyway, should I find out anything that you should know about, I will be certain to pass it along.

I am proudly:

Your son,

Draco Malfoy

Scion of Malfoy

Dear Mum and Dad and Ginny,

I had to work with a Slytherin in Potions today. I wanted to complain, but she would have made a scene and Snape is tough on Gryffindors.

I beat Harry, Neville, and my two other roommates in Chess.

Mum, you'll be happy to know I am finishing homework right after class. Hermione is a bit of a nag.

I heard there are flying lessons coming – I miss the Burrow. I could always fly when I wanted to.

Food is okay here, but nothing compares to your cooking, mum.

Oh – Harry likes treacle tart. Neville likes pretty much any desert but seems to only eat one at a time. Weird, isn't it? Seamus likes rumcake but they don't have that at Hogwarts. I never had rumcake. Dean likes something called éklares.

Hermione doesn't eat much desert – something about her parents and fixing teeth. I forget.

We visited Hagrid. He's a pretty good guy. His rock cakes are too hard but has good tea.

Mum, can you send some of your fudge? All this talk about food makes me hungry.

I'll write again soon.

Ron

Dear Luna Lovegood,

You don't know me. But I was advised that you would make an excellent friend in the future.

The person who told me this is the Lone Traveler. According to his message, you'd believe me if I said that and so I decided to tell you.

I've only told a small number of people about his message. He did give me some great advice about starting Hogwarts.

Do you want me to pass on his suggestions?

Also, do you have a pet?

The owl that delivered this letter is Hedwig. She took to me right away. Ron got a barn owl he named Chudley. Ginny got a kneazle kitten named Blackie. I bought a half-kneazle named Crookshanks for my friend Hermione.

Since I seem to be getting pets for all of my friends: If you don't have one already, what kind of pet do you want for Christmas?

I kind of tricked the Weasleys into accepting pets for Ron and Ginny, but the Traveler said you were too smart to be tricked easily.

What does your family do for a living?

Anyway, I hope to hear from you soon and to find out that you accept me as a friend.

Best Regards,

Harry Potter