Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling.

Professor McGonagall gave a small smile as the nervous looking first years waited for her instructions. Her eyes widened when she caught a glimpse of the bruise on Kaiden's forehead. She was about to step forward to check on him when she noticed him shaking his head and looking at her pleadingly as he covered the injury with his hair. She hesitated, understanding he didn't want to be singled out. Since he appeared all right except for the bruise she began her speech.

"I would like to welcome all of you to Hogwarts. Momentarily you will pass through these doors and sit with your classmates but before you can take your seats, you must each be sorted into your house. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Your house will be like your family for the seven years you are here. Your achievements will earn you points for your house and any misbehavior will result in loss of points. The house with the most points at the end of the year is awarded the house cup." Professor McGonagall said briskly. "Now, please wait here while I check that they are ready to start the sorting ceremony."

After she left, Ron spoke up. "Which one of you is Harry Potter?" He eagerly looked around. He and his friends hadn't been able to find him on the train, of course for a lot of that train ride he had been made to sit next to Percy and listen to lectures on proper behavior.

Some murmuring broke out as the first years looked around, most of them also eager to meet the boy-who-lived. Ron frowned. "Where is he?" He whined.

"Maybe he gets a special entrance," Seamus suggested.

Ron perked up. "I bet you're right!"

Kaiden bit his lip nervously as Draco snorted. "Rubbish. He would arrive with us." Draco said, though he curiously looked around. "Maybe he just doesn't want to talk to you." He suggested to Ron.

"Shut up blondie!" Ron glared.

They quieted down when Professor McGonagall returned. "We're ready. Follow me."

She led them through two large doors and into the Great Hall. There were four long tables already filled with students and floating candles hovered above them. The roof looked like the sky which fascinated many of the first years.

"The ceiling isn't real; it's simply bewitched to look like the evening sky. I read all about it in Hogwarts: A History." Hermione whispered loudly as they walked.

Kaiden barely heard her as he was looking for his parents, wondering if they knew what had happened on the train yet. They were sitting at the head table with the other professors but he could tell they knew. They were staring at him with concern and worry in their eyes. Grateful that they weren't pulling him aside yet, he gave them a bright smile which appeared to slightly relax them. "I'm okay," He mouthed at them.

Professor Dumbledore rose from the head table. "A few start of term announcements. First years, please take note that the forbidden forest is strictly off limits to all students. Our caretaker Mr. Filch has requested me to remind you that the third floor corridor is out of bounds unless you wish to die a most painful death. Thank you." He sat back down.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat to get their attention. "When I call your name, you will step forward, sit on the stool and I shall place the sorting hat on your head. After the hat announces your house, you may join your table. Hermione Granger."

Kaiden watched as Hermione walked by nervously, muttering to herself to relax. She sat on the stool and Professor McGonagall dropped the hat on her head. Several moments later the hat called out, "Gryffindor!"

Hermione grinned and quickly joined the Gryffindor table where her housemates were clapping loudly. Kaiden had to admit, based on his brief meeting with her; he thought she would be in Ravenclaw. Interesting. He wondered how the hat decided.

"I'm going to kill Fred and George! They kept telling me you had to duel scary creatures before you were sorted!" Ron whispered angrily.

Kaiden and Draco snickered at that and then Draco was called up next. He sauntered up and sat on the stool, a confident look on his face.

"Slytherin!"

Draco grinned at Kaiden and made his way to the Slytherin table.

"Slimy snake," Ron hissed.

Kaiden turned and glared at the red-head, who glared back. The glaring contest would have continued but Kaiden was then called up to be sorted.

"Kaiden Snape!"

Kaiden tried to ignore the whispering he could hear throughout the hall as he approached the stool. He caught the encouraging looks from his parents, which helped him to relax a little. He sat down and the hat was placed on his head.

"Well, well…very interesting. You once went by another name," The hat said, its voice speaking in Kaiden's mind.

"You know about that?" Kaiden thought in surprise.

"I know since you know," The hat said. "But do not worry; your secrets are safe with me. Now, where to place you? Plenty of courage I see, you also have a bright mind. Yes, there is talent and a strong urge to prove yourself. You have been through a lot for one so young. Loyalty and compassion are also there, hmm." The hat mused.

Kaiden was starting to get nervous. "So which house?" His old fear of not belonging began to surface. What if he wasn't placed at all?

"You would be a good fit in any of the houses," The hat said absently. "But where should I put you? Ah, of course," The hat paused and then bellowed, "Slytherin!"

Kaiden breathed a sigh of relief and grinned up at his parents as he joined Draco at the Slytherin table.

"Told ya!" Draco said to Kaiden triumphantly.

"I know, I know," Kaiden said, relaxed now that his sorting was over. He watched as the rest of the first years were sorted. Pansy, Tracey and Blaise joined them at Slytherin while Ron, his friends and Neville went to Gryffindor. Kaiden watched thoughtfully, feeling bad for Neville to have to be with Ron and his friends. He would have thought Neville would be in Hufflepuff before Gryffindor.

After the last first year was sorted, there was an awkward silence.

"Where's Harry Potter?" A voice called out. Several students joined in asking.

Professor Dumbledore stood up. "It appears we are missing a student," He said calmly. "I assure you we will look into this matter. He may have simply missed the train." He clapped his hands together. "Let the feast begin!"

Food magically appeared on the tables and loud chatter among the students began.

"Where do you think Harry Potter is?" Blaise asked as he filled his plate.

"Like the Headmaster said, he may have missed the train." Marcus spoke up, overhearing the question.

Kaiden took a bite of his pot roast, trying to ignore the apprehensiveness he felt about the Harry Potter situation.

"I bet Weasel is unhappy," Draco said brightly. "Whatever will he do without the celebrity to fawn all over?"

Kaiden managed a weak smile and got in a few more bites of dinner when he felt a soft tap on his shoulder. He turned, at first not seeing anyone before noticing his parents had left the head table and were standing off to the side. His dad motioned for him to join them.

Everyone in the room was busy talking, laughing and eating so no one except those he was sitting next to noticed him quietly leave the table.

Severus cast a disillusionment charm as soon as Kaiden joined him and Bella. "No one can see us," He said as he put his hand on Kaiden's shoulder. "Are you alright?" He asked in concern.

"I'm fine," Kaiden said.

Bella reached out and pushed back Kaiden's hair, gasping when she saw the angry looking bruise. "Oh Kaiden! That must hurt so much! Wait till I get my hands on that little –"

"Mum, I'm fine. Honest." Kaiden said quickly.

Severus ran a diagnostic on his son, making sure there were no other injuries other than the bruise. With relief he saw that there were not. He had already summoned the potions he knew he would need after his prefects told them what had happened and he pulled a vial containing a pain reliever out of his pocket. "Here son, drink this."

Kaiden drank the contents in the vial, surprised at how much better he felt. He hadn't realized how bad his forehead had been throbbing until it wasn't anymore. "Thank you," He said gratefully.

Bella took the bruise balm from Severus and gently began rubbing it into Kaiden's forehead. "We heard what happened to you," She said. "We've been worried."

"I know, I'm sorry," Kaiden said softly.

Bella looked her son in the eyes. "You did nothing wrong. You were physically attacked. Weasley is the one who should be sorry."

"He will be," Severus muttered.

Bella smiled when she saw the bruise begin to disappear. "There. All gone," She said.

"Thanks," Kaiden said with a smile.

"The attack aside, how was your train ride?" Severus asked.

"Brilliant! I made new friends who also got sorted into Slytherin." Kaiden suddenly grinned at his dad. "I'm in your house!" He said in excitement.

"I'm very pleased," Severus said proudly, pulling him into a hug.

"We are both very proud of you," Bella said, ruffling Kaiden's hair. "We just wanted to make sure you were all right and treat your injury," She smiled, though her eyes held anger. She wanted to go into the hall and read the Weasley brat the riot act but she restrained herself.

"Kaiden, normally you will go straight to the infirmary or come directly to us if you are injured in any way," Severus said, his tone gentle yet serious.

"I know, I just didn't want to miss the sorting," Kaiden said guiltily.

Severus gave his son a reassuring look. "We understand, this was an exception since my prefects assured me you were fine." He didn't want Kaiden to get in the habit of hiding injuries or illness from them. "Go on back and finish your dinner. I'll see you later when I greet the house."

Kaiden nodded and hugged his dad and then his mum. "I love you baby," Bella whispered as she held him.

"I love you too," Kaiden said softly.

Severus canceled the charm and watched Kaiden return to his seat. "I believe we should talk to Minerva about one of her new little lions," He said ominously.

"Insist he get detention with you," Bella said as they returned to their seats. "Then make him clean the potions classroom floor with a toothpick."

Severus couldn't stop the small grin that formed. "I like the way you think."

HPHPHPHP

"That was the best thing I have ever seen," Draco laughed as the Slytherins entered their common room.

Pansy giggled. "His face got redder than his hair."

"This has to go down in history," Blaise chuckled. "He has to be the first student at Hogwarts to receive a howler from their parents at the start-of-term feast!"

Kaiden tried to stop grinning but he couldn't. Ron Weasley had received a very angry howler from his mother towards the end of dinner, scolding him for his behavior on the train. The new Gryffindor had looked beyond humiliated. Kaiden initially had felt bad for Ron but after remembering the insults to his parents and the physical attack, he had to admit it was hard to feel that sympathetic towards him. He turned his attention to the prefects, who were calling for everyone's attention.

"My name is Marcus Flint and this is Gemma Farley. We are your prefects. We welcome back everyone and are proud to welcome our new Slytherins." Marcus began. "Our emblem is a snake and traits we value are ambition, strategic thinking, resourcefulness and determination. We are here to offer help and guidance, especially to you first years."

"We want you to feel comfortable coming to us if you have any questions or problems and we will do our best to help you," Gemma added. "This includes if you need help with homework or are feeling homesick." She smiled gently at the younger students, some who were looking overwhelmed already. "We are each other's family while we are here at Hogwarts so it is important to present a united front in front of the other houses." She added.

"We look after our own," Marcus said. "There are enough people out there who are against us just because we are Slytherin so it is important that we stick together and stand up for each other. If you have a disagreement with another housemate, keep it in here."

Suddenly a portrait of a serpent behind Marcus and Gemma moved to the side and Professor Snape walked out. He stood in front of his students and crossed his arms. "Returning students, welcome back and first years, welcome to Slytherin. I am your head of house, Professor Snape, and also the Potions Professor here at Hogwarts." Severus eyed his students and tapped his fingers on one arm. "You may have heard that Slytherin has a bad reputation and is considered a house only into the dark arts and that everyone in this house is a dark wizard or witch in the making. That is absolutely not true. All of the houses have produced dark wizards; they just do not get mentioned as much. The fact is, you should be proud to be in Slytherin as it is a great house. In fact, Merlin himself was a Slytherin."

Severus paused, letting all that sink in before continuing. "Now, because there is a bias against our house, you will find that points are usually taken unfairly which is why I never deduct points in Slytherin or assign detentions to my snakes in class."

Severus paced slightly in front of them, keeping their attention. "This does not mean you will not face consequences for bad behavior." He warned. "If you flaunt the school rules or do not keep your grades up, you will earn yourself detention with me. Examples of my detentions range from writing lines, cleaning my classroom floor, scrubbing cauldrons, as well as sorting through or cutting up the most disgusting potion ingredients I can come up with. Do not test me; I will not have my students embarrassing our house or myself. However, if you feel you have been treated unfairly by a professor you may come to my office to speak with me about it. My office is through the painting I exited from. If it does not open for you, it means I am not in there. If that is the case, inform the painting and the serpent will come find me. Mr. Flint and Miss. Farley are here for you as well. I expect you to obey your curfews and although not every house may do this, I do set a bedtime for you." Severus smirked slightly as many of the students groaned quietly. "Nine o'clock for first years, ten o'clock for second through fourth students, eleven for fifth through sixth years and midnight for you seventh years." He nodded to his prefects, indicating that he was finished speaking and that they could begin their duties.

"All right, first year boys follow me so I can show you to your dorm rooms. Everyone else should go to your dorms, unpack and begin settling in for the night." Marcus said.

"First year girls with me!" Gemma called, leading them to the stairs.

Severus caught his son's gaze. "Goodnight," He mouthed. He wouldn't embarrass the boy by hugging him or even taking him aside to wish him goodnight but it was hard not to. During the summer tucking in his son at night with Bella had become a routine. A wonderful routine. Sometimes he still had a hard time truly believing that he had his son and wife back in his life and that it wasn't a dream he would wake up from to find himself all alone.

"Goodnight," Kaiden mouthed back. He gave his dad a bright smile as he followed the rest of the first year boys.

"No more than four to a dorm," Marcus said as he stopped at a landing that had three doors. "The lavatory is the far left door."

Kaiden, Draco, and Blaise went into one room while Theo and the other two first years Crabbe and Goyle went into the other.

Their room consisted of three four-poster beds, each decorated with deep green velvet curtains and canopies. There was a bed cabinet next to each bed to keep school supplies and robes in. There were also bed stands which each held a goblet and jug of water. The bedspreads were a deep green with silver trim and green and silver pillows. The stone walls were basically bare, presumably to let the boys hang up posters, except for the large Slytherin crest that hung between Kaiden and Draco's beds.

Blaise flopped down onto his bed. "Ah, this room is brilliant."

Kaiden had started to unpack his trunk while Draco sprawled out on his bed. "I can't believe we were given a bedtime like we are little kids," Draco complained.

"I usually stay up till ten at home," Blaise murmured, his eyes closed.

"Exactly, we aren't babies," Draco said as he stifled a yawn. "There's no way I'll be able to fall asleep at nine."

Kaiden went to the lavatory for a shower and came back in his pajamas and with his teeth brushed. He let out a quiet laugh as he saw Draco and Blaise each lying on their bed sound asleep, still wearing their robes. Kaiden wondered if he should wake them.

There was soft knock on the door and Marcus poked his head in. "It's almost nine so you three need to," He paused when he noticed Draco and Blaise. He grinned at Kaiden. "Well, at least you are properly ready for bed."

"I didn't know if I should wake them so they can change," Kaiden whispered.

Marcus shook his head. "Nah let them sleep. It's been a long day for everybody; even some of the older students are calling it a night." He took his wand out and transfigured the sleeping boys' clothes into silver pajamas with little green snakes that chased each other. "What do you think?" He smirked.

Kaiden had to put his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing out loud. "I think I can't wait until morning when they wake up." He snickered quietly.

Marcus grinned. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Kaiden said as he slipped into his bed, pulling his comforter up to his chin and snuggling down. It had been a long day and he was perfectly fine with a nine o'clock bedtime. It's when he went to bed during the summer anyway. He gave a big yawn, missing Snidget being curled up by his head and his parents tucking him in. Of course, no one could ever know that. He was eleven after all.

I made it, I'm officially a student at Hogwarts, he thought happily and soon was fast asleep.

TBC: