Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Potter universe or anything of JK Rowling's works.
A/N: I'm going to need help with class names as my memory is faulty and I don't have Sorcerer's Stone. If I miss anything, let me know! Also, this is where I really apply artistic license, so please no flames!
By the end of his first month at Hogwarts, Harry was enjoying himself. He had made friends among the Slytherins and was branching out into the other houses subtly. He was currently one of the top students in all his classes, particularly because he enjoyed most of them. But there were two exceptions.
History of Magic wasn't at all like what he'd been taught; all that the ghostly teacher ever talked about was the goblin rebellions and those stories weren't even right! He'd been taught by Uncle Magnus that most of the rebellions were due to wizards trying to enforce silly laws on the goblins. The goblins had defended their land and families as was their right; the wizards made each instance into a war. Harry longed to set the record straight but it was hard when your teacher was a ghost who barely paid attention to his students and always seemed to be in a daze. It was no small wonder that many of the students fell asleep in that class; Harry took the time to do his other assignments so that it would appear that he was paying attention.
The other class was DADA. He had anticipated this class nearly as much as Potions but it had been quite a letdown. The room was always dark and the constant smell of incense and garlic made Harry feel sick. Professor Quirrell had a lot of theories and homework but there was never any practical work. At any rate, the professor's constant stutter made it difficult to understand his lessons and Harry would constantly feel him Quirrell staring at him during class. To put it bluntly, the man made his skin crawl and his inner Veela hiss in displeasure. But he could deal with it.
On a happier note, Professor Snape seemed to warm toward him slightly after Harry had shown that he could brew under practically any circumstances as long as he had ingredients and a cauldron. This was proved one afternoon when Neville Longbottom made his cauldron explode while attempting to brew a Calming Potion. When everyone else ducked, Harry and his Gryffindor partner Parvati Patil kept on with their project without even looking up, being well out of the line of fire anyway. Snape and the others stared in disbelief as the two worked on and finished their potion on time.
When Snape questioned the pair later on, Harry had blushed and admitted to using a Silencing spell around their area once the ingredients had been gathered. "I work best in total silence and Parvati seemed comfortable with it. I didn't even notice that I'd done it, sir. It's habit now."
Snape had raised an eyebrow. "And what if the explosion had been closer to you or we had suddenly needed to get out of the classroom? How would you have known?" Harry had innocently said, "Oh, I also set up a ward to let us know if trouble happened. Uncle William always said to do so, just in case."
Snape was floored by such a casual yet innocent explanation when wards and such spells weren't covered until later years. The Wildwinds had certainly made sure that their newest fledgling was prepared and comfortable with his magic. The professor had asked Harry to report to his office after dinner and they'd had a long conversation over what he'd learned the past year. Such conversations carried on throughout the following weeks and it was those times that Harry really looked forward to. They reminded him of the conversations he'd have with Magnus and Marcus; they helped keep the homesickness at bay.
On his part, Severus couldn't believe that he was actually coming to like the boy. He'd been fully prepared to make the child's life hell until Harry had ended up with the Wildwinds and Sabrina had set everyone straight. Now every time he looked at the boy, Lily's eyes pierced him and made him thankful that he was actually doing right by her son.
Despite Albus' voiced worries that Harry would turn Dark under such influences, Severus couldn't see how. Sabrina's family had taken an abused muggle-raised wizard and in little over a year made him into the kind of wizard child he was expected to be, without the fuss of his being the Boy-Who-Lived. Never mind that he had Veela blood in him now, Harry would still be a very powerful wizard when he hit his majority and had a loyal family that loved him. Besides, anyone who could outsmart 'all-knowing' Albus Dumbledore was fine in Severus' book. He was definitely going to enjoy having Harry in his house.