A/N: I haven't updated for a while. I was going to upload this chapter the other day but when I heard of our dear Alan Rickman's death, I just couldn't make myself do it. We all said goodbye to a wonderful actor that I had hoped to have had the chance of meeting one day but I guess that was never to be. Rip Alan. you will forever be in our hearts.

In my story I needed all four houses to be in the same class so either there's only about 10 people in each house or the class rooms are so big they can fit all the pupils in first year. I personally prefer the 10 people but you might not. So please review after this chapter and tell me which you think would be best or maybe you think there should just be a few more than 10 so give me how many people you think would be best as well. As always I would appreciate any criticism. I just want to get better. I have another English assessment on monday and an entire script to learn so wish me luck.

(Harry's prov)

I followed the rest of the students down to the great hall after the speech given by Professor Snape. After this morning, I didn't want to get on Professor Snape's bad side again. He scared me. He reminded me of my Mr Dursley, constantly getting angry with me for things I haven't done.

All the other students seemed to get on well with each other but they all were ignoring me. I didn't know what I had done wrong. Maybe I had woken all of them as well with my little stunt this morning. Or maybe they already recognised that I am a freak. Either way they were all pointing and mumbling to each other, some even laughed. But at least it was only them right? Wrong. When I enter the great hall that we had dinner in last night, all the heads shot our way and they too start to point and talk. Surely me being a freak couldn't amount to this amount of commotion. One by one we all sat down. 1st years stuck together at the end of the table but the other years mixed themselves. I sat in silence staring at my hands as the cold piercing stares of the rest of the pupils seemed to pierce my skin and dive in to my thoughts. What if the older ones can hear them? Maybe there joking about my punishment, I mean they were very degrading. Just like yesterday the tables filled with food. Pancakes, porridge, toast, cereal... You name it and it was here. I even noticed when I glanced up, that some of the cereals were not available in the muggle market. Not that I had even tasted those. Millicent caught my glance and looked at me with a hardening stare.

"Are you not going to eat anything Harry." she said in an almost kind voice.

"Yeah, you didn't eat much yesterday either. Are you ok? Do you need to go to Madam Pomfrey." said the last boy in my dorm.

"Oh stop it will you Thomas. Your parents only told you to get on his good graces because he was well respected in our community but are you blind. He's a Slytherin. No-one respects him anymore. No-one cares." said Malfoy with an awful sneer. His goons nodded behind him but that wasn't surprising. They agreed with everything he says.

"Unlike some people we don't need are parents telling us what to do and who to be friends with Malfoy. Unlike you, we can defend for ourselves." smiled Thomas and Millicent laughed along.

"But seriously though Harry, You need to eat more. You're already extremely thin, that can't be healthy." said Millicent.

"I-I'm a-allowed to e-eat?" I asked nervously.

"Of course you're allowed to eat. You paid for your tuition just like the rest of us, which includes food Harry." giggled Thomas.

"B-but I-I-I... I didn't pay." I sighed "But please don't tell anyone. I promise I won't get in the way and I won't eat much and I'll clean and cook and do just about anything just please don't send me back"

"You're meant to save us from the Dark lord? You're too messed up in the head. Come on Harry, I know you didn't grow up in the Wizarding world but surely you know what a scholarship is. I thought I read somewhere that they have those in the muggle world too."

"Yeah, we have scholarships but we have to take an entrance exam and things like that"

"Harry, you killed lord Voldemort. You don't need to take an entrance exam."

"Oh stop praising him Millicent. He'll get a big head if he doesn't have one already"

"Shut it Malfoy"

"But I don't remember killing him. I don't know how I did it and I don't think I could do it again."

"That's not the point Harry. You did it, that's all anyone needs to know."

"All anyone wants to know."

"Yeah so dig in before it all gone"

I didn't need to be told twice. I picked up my knife and fork and dove straight into the pancakes. I stuffed in a mouthful, basking in the glorious food in front of me. I drizzledsauce all over the pancakes making them soft and sticky before placing them in my mouth to be devoured. They were amazing. I'd never tasted anything so glorious. Even the half eaten chocolate chip cookie I'd found in the bin when I was 5 hadn't tasted as nice as this. I must have eaten about 20 before the food was cleared away and I was dragged away by Thomas and Millicent. I hadn't noticed that Prefect Flint had came and given us our schedules because I was too busy eating but Millicent had picked it up for me.

We have Transfiguration first. Millicent explained that in Transfiguration we change one object to another which sounds really difficult but Tomas said it would be worse because we have the "Lion" teaching us. I don't know what that means but I hope he really doesn't mean that we are being taught by a Lion. We walked up the revolving stairs calmly, unlike Ron and Neville who looked terrified when the stairs moved. We got to class just on time, thank god, and took our seats at the front of the class. Snape would have killed us if any of us were late to our first class. Slytherins sat on the right end, Raven claw on the middle right, Gryffindor on the middle left and Hufflepuff on the left end. As everyone sat down McGonagall walked in. Just like the night we were sorted, she wore and long flowing dress and tall pointed "witches" hat. Her sharp eyes scanned the room before she turned to the back and flicked her wand. Instantly the table behind her turned in to a metal cage. We all stared in shock, any talking had subsided and all were looking at the cage. McGonagall then turned to address the class.

"This class is called Transfiguration. I am Professor McGonagall for those who have forgotten and I will teach you in this class. Transfiguration is a branch of magic that focuses on the alteration of the form or appearance of an object, via the alteration of the object's molecular structure. You can change any kind of object but naturally some objects are harder. For example changing this desk to a cage is harder than changing the desk into that door for what reason?" She said while scanning the room. Many Ravenclaws raised their hands but no-one from any other house.

"Miss Granger?"

"Changing a desk in to a cage is harder because they are made of different materials. The desk and the door are made of wood and the cage is made of metal. So it's harder."

"Correct Miss Granger. 5 point's to Ravenclaw."

Professor McGonagall then flicked her wand at the board and words appeared one by one.

"Now, I want you all to write down what is on the board. You have 2 minutes."

Then suddenly Professor McGonagall was gone and in her place was a small grey tabby cat. I stared in shock as this cat jumped on top of the cage. I small grin appeared on my face at the prospect of learning how to do cat turned its head until it was looking at me and we both stared at each other, my grin quickly disappearing, Until a loud bang was heard from the back of the classroom. In came Ron and another short black haired boy as they ran towards the front of the class room. Their words echoed of the wall so every student could hear them and I felt like breaking down in laughter at what was said.

"Phew, we made it. Can you imagine the look on old McGonagall's face if we were late?" Ron said as they made their way down the Gryffindor isle towards their seats at the front. Their luck changed when they did though. As they were about to sit down, the grey tabby cat pounced off the cage, changing from cat to human mid-flight. Professor McGonagall stood in front of their desks with stern face and spoke with a clear loud voice "Your late Mr Weasly and Mr Goodwen. Perhaps I shall turn one of you into a watch so that you both will not be late."

"Sorry Professor McGonagall. We got a little lost."

"Perhaps then I shall turn you into a map. Do not let this happen again."

Class carried on in a monotone manner. We were not allowed to do any magic today. Today was spent learning about the different components in objects. It felt like a science lesson from back in Dorset. All through class McGonagall kept sending me glances like I was a naughty child that would do something bad at any second. She glanced over every student while she was talking but with me I felt it was different. When are eyes connected, I saw the same emotions I had seen on everyone faces at the sorting ceremony; Disappointment, confusion and fear. Fear in the eyes of a teacher with one hundred times the experience and knowledge that I had. She wasn't the only one. In Herbology, history of magic and charms all the teachers looked at me with the same expressions and I didn't know why. I hadn't done anything; I can't do anything that would make them that afraid. Maybe they were worried that I would give them my freakiness disease, But Mr Dursley had told me plenty of times that they couldn't get it, so why would the teachers be able to.

There was a lot more to magic, as I quickly found out, than waving your wand and saying a few funny words. We had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. Three times a week we have to go out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, where we learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for. Easily the most boring class was History of Magic, which was the only one taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns droned on and on while we scribbled down names and dates, and got Emetic the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up. Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. At the start of our first class he took the roll call, and when he reached my name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight.

The class everyone else had really been looking forward to was Defence Against the Dark Arts, but Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke. His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. His turban, he told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but they weren't sure they believed this story. For one thing, when Seamus Finnigan ( A Gryffindor) asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather; for another, they had noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban, and the Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed full of garlic as well, so that Quirrell was protected wherever he went. I was very relieved to find out that I wasn't miles behind everyone else. Lots of people had come from Muggle families and, like me, hadn't had any idea that they were witches and wizards. There was so much to learn that even people like Malfoy didn't have much of a head start.

The last lesson of the day, and probably my most anticipated, was potions. I wondered whether it would be like chemistry because I had been fairly good at it when my experiments weren't ruined by Dudley. Having Professor Snape as our teacher also made me more nervous. Unlike with all the other teachers, I had done something to make him mad at me. The teachers at my old school said they separated work and their personal life but I'm not sure if Snape works like that. He seems like the kind of person who lets his mood affect his work.

Once again we all sat in our respective isles. No-one dared be late to this lesson; they had all heard the rumours about Professor Snape and none of them wanted to see if they were true. The classroom was easy to find. It was at the lowest and coldest part of the school and the hall leading up to the classroom was covered by the darkest kind of pictures i had ever seen. The classroom was very spacious but the rows of seats were close together. The black painted walls loomed over our heads, creating a dominating feeling as we looked around. One entire wall was full shelves stacked high with different ingredients. One jar contained thousands of eyes that seemed to search the room. No-other class room had been like this; in fact all of them seemed to be the exact opposite. All the other class rooms had been bright and welcoming, every student had enough room. In here though, we were uncomfortably close together.

BANG! The doors slammed open and in walked Professor Snape. His cloak bellowed behind him, his long black greasy hair flowing backwards. As he walked he flicked his wand and blinds appeared above the windows and fell down to block the sun light.

Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at Harry's name.

"Ah, Yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new - celebrity."

Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands. Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were black like Hagrid's, but they had none of Hagrid's warmth. They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word - like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. "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... 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."

While Snape was reciting this speech, I began making notes carefully. I was giving it my full attention so I could keep up with the professor as he rapidly fired at the pupils in front of him. It was also very hard trying to write with the quill, it was very different from a pen from the muggle world. It was these reasons that I didn't notice that Professor Snape had stopped talking and the whole class was staring at me until Millicent nudged me in the ribs.

"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Powdered root of what to an infusion of what? I looked at Millicent hoping for a clue to the answer but she looked as blank as me. Even the Ravenclaws looked stumped except Hermione, whose hand shot up in the air.

"I don't know, sir." I mumbled.

Snape's lips curled into a sneer.

"Tut, tut - fame clearly isn't everything."

He ignored Hermione's hand.

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

This time a few more Ravenclaws put their hands up but I still didn't know the answer.

"I don't know, sir."

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" I forced myself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes. I had looked through his books at the Dursleys', but did Snape expect me to remember everything in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, did he?

Snape was still ignoring the other hands waving in the room, including that of Hermione who looked like she was about to burst.

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

At this, Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling.

"I don't know," I said quietly. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"

A few people laughed; I caught Thomas' eye, and Thomas winked. Snape, however, was not pleased.

"Sit down," he snapped at Hermione. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"

Pens began to scribble down what had been said creating a lot of noise but the Professor spoke easily and clearly over the ruckus.

"Mr Potter. Stay behind after class."

Professor Snape walked to the front of the classroom and told everyone to memorize chapter 1 on a potion to cure boils. I shivered as I began reading the first chapter. My fist clenched as I stared down at the words but they were flying past me. I needed to calm down if I was going to get anything done. So I looked around the room while taking deep breaths. I saw that everyone was shivering from the cold of the room. My face felt like it was frozen so I concentrated on that.

When I was a kid I learnt that I could make myself warmer without anyone noticing. The Dursleys liked to make my room as cold as they could so I learnt I very quickly and have been using it ever since. Class finished quickly. I managed to get through the work but I just knew Snape would find something wrong with me. The rest of the class left the classroom quickly, Ron and Malfoy shooting amused glances and Millicent and Thomas sending me apologetic glances. I even thought I saw Hermione give me a regretful glance but it was too fast to be sure.

Then there was just me and Snape. I stayed behind my desk and he stayed behind his but I was still terrified about what the man was going to say. He stayed silent for a while before he said "Mr Potter. It's only your first day of classes and you're already getting in to trouble. How very... you."

"I'm sorry professor."

"Yes you should be. You are not to talk to me or any other member of staff the way you did today is that understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Now get off to your study group. You don't want to be late."

"Of course sir." I mumbled before getting up and starting to walk to the door. When I reached Snape's desk i paused.

"Sir? Could you tell the rest of the teachers that my disease isn't infectious so they don't have to look so frightened of me every time they see me?" I looked at the floor sheepishly before making my way out the door without waiting for a response to the now shocked Professor.