Harry stared blankly at one of the fires from his spot on a dark green couch in the Slytherin common room. He had barely even shifted in the last half hour. His arms were wrapped around his legs and his thoughts looped constantly as he tried to grasp what had just happened and what might happen now. Pansy was still crying quietly into the shoulder of an older girl but most of the Slytherins seemed largely unaffected. They spoke softly in clusters scattered around the dozen or so fires in the communal area, but nobody sat anywhere near Harry.

Harry jolted as the common room door slid open and Professor Snape stalked into the room with an emotionless expression. He stopped a few meters beyond the door and waited as the students gathered around before addressing them. "Mr Malfoy will spend the night in the hospital wing to be sure there are no further complications. A brain specialist had to floo in from St Mungos, but Mr Malfoy is expected to make a full recovery. Madam Pomfrey decided to inform the headmaster of our two… incidents, so the headmaster is threatening to get involved in our traditions. There will be NO further incidents in the near future." He glared at the students for a few moments to be sure that his warning had sunk in before continuing. "Mr Potter, you would do well to avoid Lord Malfoy. He was notified of the incident and pushed for your immediate expulsion. Fortunately for you, the headmaster decided to back up the story that Peeves tripped Mr Malfoy on the stairs." The professor sneered at Harry who ducked his head and stared at the floor. Snape addressed the room again, "The Slytherin initiation traditions have been followed for decades and that will not change. The compulsory quidditch try outs will still occur next weekend for all first years. You will finish all of your coming assignments before Saturday morning and that is not negotiable. If I hear that any of you have embarrassed my house..." Snape glared at the first years and every one of them decided then and there that they wouldn't cross their head of house. Snape sneered one last time and stalked from the room.

(-)

Draco returned to Slytherin house the next morning under the condition that he take it easy and return to the hospital wing immediately if he experienced any headaches or dizziness. He seemed tired and contemplative, as was Harry after a sleepless night trying to come to terms with his new situation. Harry had done a lot of thinking since the duel and had decided that he wouldn't last too long in Slytherin without friends. He had delivered a sincere public apology to Draco at the first chance. He genuinely did feel terrible about almost killing the boy. He couldn't afford any additional animosity considering his predicament at present, so he had fueled Draco's ego at the expense of his own and Draco had been rather gracious in return. Draco had even gone so far as to take Harry under his wing to some extent.

The first week of classes raced by in a blur of excitement as Harry's passion for learning deepened even further in this newly discovered world. Professor Mcgonagall had been amazed by his natural talent in transfiguration. The usually stern witch became slightly emotional as she praised him and shared of his father's remarkable mastery of the subject. Harry had soaked it up, both the praise and the information about his dad. He decided Mcgonagall wasn't so bad after all and transfiguration was definitely his favourite subject.

It turned out that Harry was truly gifted in charms too and Professor Flitwick bounced with excitement as he discovered such potential in so many students in one year group. Potions was a bit of different story…Harry was a Slytherin and Professor Snape blatantly favoured Slytherins, but for some reason he was neutral towards Harry and interacted with him as little as possible. Harry wasn't naturally gifted in the art and science of potion making, but he knew he would work hard to avoid his professor's ire. He didn't expect to compete for the top spot in this class, but he would make sure he made the top ten.

Herbology was Harry's least favourite subject. While Harry was interested in learning about magical plants, he didn't really enjoy the practical side and if he was honest, plants didn't seem to enjoy him either. Harry was very intrigued by the history of this newly discovered world, but he learned very early on that he would be teaching History of Magic to himself rather than enduring the ghost. Astronomy was rather relaxing and Harry loved gazing at the unknowable expanse above. The subject required great accuracy and attention to detail which came naturally to him so he found that he rather enjoyed the nights on top of the astronomy tower. Harry found himself torn over his final subject, defence against the dark arts. He was interested in the subject for sure, but he knew the purebloods would have focussed on the subject for obvious reasons. It was too early to tell based on just a week of classes, but Harry felt a little disadvantaged in this class. He had seen the magic some of the purebloods threw around and he knew he couldn't match them just yet. He would have happily accepted the challenge if he had a competent teacher, but that certainly didn't seem to be the case. Professor Quirrell was a joke considering his stutter and his fear of the students he taught. Harry knew he would have to teach himself and it deflated him knowing that he had to catch up without any assistance. He would give it everything he had though. He would live up to the Potter name and rebuild the empire.

(-)

"Aguamenti!"

Harry was now awake. He was dripping and freezing, but he and the rest of the Slytherin first years were most definitely awake.

"Worms! Why aren't you at breakfast? Quidditch trials start at 10am!"

Malfoy certainly wasn't used to waking up like this and he wasn't impressed. "Its 5am! Are you insane?"

One of the seniors pointed his beaters' bat at Malfoy as he stormed towards him. Malfoy visibly paled but tried to stand his ground as the senior raged just inches from his face. "Malfoy! Watch yourself if you know what's good for you! You are nothing here, do you understand? You will learn your place. Drop and give me 50, now!"

Malfoy flushed and hastened to comply. Unfortunately he only made it to just over thirty before his arms shook too much and collapsed. He was immediately doused in more cold water by all five seniors. The seniors turned on the rest of the firsties and rushed them from the room. Harry fled the dormitory with his shoes, tie and wet socks in his hands but Crabbe and Goyle weren't so lucky. They took the brunt of the senior's ire as the last to leave the dormitory but Harry didn't spare them too much sympathy, he was just glad to escape.

Malfoy fumed as he shivered next to Harry and tried to tie his shoes on the move as they fled the common room. "How dare they! My father will hear of this!" Malfoy hissed.

Nott sneered at Malfoy from the entrance to the common room as Harry responded, "I think we best get down to breakfast before it gets any worse. We're up now, and it looks like we'll need all the energy we can get." Malfoy nodded stiffly and fumed in silence as they followed Zabini and Nott to breakfast, all of them shivering as they hurried along the dank dungeon corridors.

Breakfast was a welcome respite from the seniors as the boys huddled together to warm up. A house elf lit the fires in the great hall as they entered before quickly disappearing, presumably to prepare their food. A flustered Crabbe and somehow still groggy Goyle joined them after a few minutes, shortly followed by the Slytherin girls who were all somewhat disheveled and visibly trying to hold back tears. Pansy rushed to Draco the moment she saw him and buried her face in his shoulder as he tried to soothe her. The rest of the Slytherins offered each other small smiles or nods and ate in silence as breakfast appeared on their table. The group dragged out their meal for as long as they could before finally heading back to their common room as a couple of older Ravenclaws joined them in the great hall. Harry was very anxious about returning to the common room but he was very glad that he didn't have to face this alone.

(-)

The Slytherin common room was fairly crowded when they returned, but all conversation ceased the moment the first years entered. The senior who had threatened Draco with the beater's bat stepped forward to address them, "Worms! Quidditch trials will start earlier than planned. You won't be sleeping in your dormitories tonight so pack a bag. You have 15 minutes to gather in the training room with your bags and dressed for training. Do not be late."

The first years rushed off to get changed and packed as soon as the senior turned his back on them. Harry soon remembered that he didn't have a suitable bag. He had only brought his trunk, but his trunk was feather light and could fit in his pocket so packing was a rather simple affair. He smirked a little and caught Malfoy's eye. Malfoy smirked back having had the same idea about his trunk. They quickly changed out of their uniforms and left for the training room.

The Slytherin prefects along with the full Quidditch team were waiting for them as they entered. One of the seniors spoke up as they came in, "Where are your bags? You were given very simple instructions. Unbelievable."

Harry responded by patting his pocket while Draco frowned at the older boy. The senior's expression darkened as he replied, "No, you can't bring your trunks. You were told to pack a bag. You have 2 minutes to get back here with a bag or you will have to deal with the consequences. Go!"

Draco looked like he was about to mouth off again so Harry hurriedly dragged him from the room. Malfoy was fuming and Harry had to admit he was getting rather sick of this initiation story too. He really hoped this was just initiation and that it wouldn't continue right up until he was strong enough to stop them. Draco spoke up as the two rushed back to the dormitory, "I hate this! They treat us like dirt and we have to just accept it. Who brings a bag to Hogwarts? Why would anyone even need it? Magic and the pockets of our robes are much better than stupid bags."

Harry replied "I agree, this better just be a temporary thing. I don't have a bag either but I can transfigure a pillow case into a bag of sorts."

They had just reached the dormitory and Draco grabbed Harry's arm, "…Will you transfigure mine too?"

Harry gave him a small smile and hurried to Draco's bed. He pulled the pillow out of the case, took out his wand, and concentrated on thickening the pillow case material and growing the bag. The case grew into a large sack with loops for a draw string. Harry grabbed one of the ropes used to hold back the bed curtains and threaded it through the loops before handing it to Draco and getting ready to rush off to make his own bag.

Draco just stared at him in awe "How? How did you do that? That was non-verbal too! You did the same thing in your duel with Nott!"

Harry shrugged, "I've done something similar before when I didn't know the correct word to use. Transfiguration comes easily to me. Now hurry! Our two minutes are up and we haven't even started packing."

The two sprinted back to the training room and found most of their house mates hovering on brooms with their shoes just barely touching the ground. They threw their bags into the pile and rushed to the two remaining brooms, grabbing them and quickly copying the others. One of the prefects who had apparently been instructing the group in broom basics called out "You two are lucky you know how to fly. Don't keep me waiting again. Now, all of you, lift off another meter from the ground and when you are ready, slowly fly across to the far wall of the training room."

All of the boys except Zabini found this very easy, while all the girls except for Pansy and Millicent seemed a little uncomfortable. Harry found this broom extremely easy to fly but it was incredibly sluggish compared to his personal broom. It looked very old but it seemed to behave well enough at this speed. He reached the wall and turned around to wait for the next instruction. "Flint, you can take the ones who looked comfortable. The rest of you will stay with me. Hogwarts offers compulsory flying lessons and we can't have you embarrassing Slytherin in front of the other houses."

Flint ordered Harry, Draco, Nott, Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy and Millicent to fly back to the starting position at full speed. Harry grinned and burst off the moment Flint stopped talking. The broom's acceleration was awful and it started vibrating and veering ever so slightly to the left as he closed in on the wall. The vibration worried him so Harry pulled up a lot earlier than he normally would have, and it was a good thing too because the broom's deceleration was very poor. Draco joined him a moment later followed by the others a few seconds behind. Flint smiled widely at Draco and Harry, and if Harry didn't know any better he would have thought that Flint was genuinely happy with them. "Parkinson, what flying experience have you had?"

Pansy blushed slightly, quickly glanced at Draco who nodded at her, and then replied "I have flown around the grounds at Malfoy Manor with Draco."

Flint nodded, "And Bullstrode, what about you?"

Millicent replied in a voice a little too deep for a young girl, "I just fly above the manor every now and again."

Flint grunted, "Crabbe?" Vincent responded shortly, "I practice at home and at Greg's place, beater".

Flint nodded and looked at Goyle who responded "Beater too."

Flint looked thoughtful, "And you, Nott?"

Theodore straightened and replied, "I have had coaching and I play chaser."

Flint frowned and nodded, "We will see, you weren't quite quick enough for a chaser. You can have another go just now, though. What about you two? Malfoy, Potter?"

Draco puffed up, "Father buys me the latest Nimbus every year and he had a quidditch pitch installed at our manor. I have been flying since I was a toddler and I have a trainer, previous league winning seeker Rory Burn. Maybe I could ask Father to bring him to a few Slytherin training sessions."

Flint grinned and nodded before looking to Harry who responded, "I started flying soon after I got my Hogwarts letter. I love being in the air and I definitely want to play quidditch. I want to go pro."

Flint smirked, "Don't we all? Parkinson and Bullstrode, you can join the others. Help them where you can. The rest of you, come with me."

Flint lead them to the gym and told them to get acquainted with it if they wanted to play for Slytherin. He then pushed them through an hour long fitness session which had them all gasping for breath, the two prospective beaters in particular. After that he had Crabbe and Goyle do beaters' drills against a target on the wall and left them with the current beaters to see if they had any potential.

Harry, Draco and Theo did recorded speed tests, acceleration tests, aerial obstacle course runs and then another fitness session that left them all begging internally for it to end. They stopped after Theodore threw up and Flint addressed them again, "Slytherins win. We don't settle for second best. This was a light session compared to what you can expect if you make it onto the reserve team. We expect at least an hour of physical training every day, with practice three times a week on average, but sometimes every day. What are your thoughts on that?"

Nott blanched, "Surely that doesn't leave enough time to study?"

Flint responded, "If you are serious about quidditch then you find the time. You aren't up to scratch yet anyway so you can try out next year if you want. Malfoy? Potter? You two have real potential, if you try back out of this then I won't be impressed. Are you in?"

Both boys nodded enthusiastically despite their exhaustion and Flint grinned back in response. "Nott, you can join the others. Malfoy, Potter, follow me."

Flint led the two through a door at the furthest end of the training room that lead to a comfy lounge with a fire on either end. Trophies lined the walls, along with quidditch portraits and signed bludgers, beaters' bats, snitches and quaffles. One wall was left strangely blank with the couches facing it. Flint pointed his wand at what looked like binoculars on the table in front of the blank wall and the three watched the wall as a silent projection of a Slytherin quidditch match appeared. The Slytherin seeker caught the snitch and the Slytherins went wild. They continued watching until Slytherin was awarded the quidditch cup. Flint turned to address his two recruits, both of whom were wrapped up in their own dreams of such glory. He smiled and put a hand of each of their shoulders, "Winning the quidditch cup often means winning the house cup too. Whenever Slytherin wins the house cup, the Serpent Foundation donates funds for an upgrade to Slytherin house. More importantly though, winning the cup gets the attention of scouts. Every year, the team that wins the cup gets to attend a trial for the professional league. Some guys might be scouted from a losing team, but winning the cup guarantees a chance to go pro. For some of us, the cup means everything. You two have potential, but you need to earn your place on the team. You will practice and train with us this year, and if you're good enough then you might play for Slytherin next year. Are you up for it?"

He received a resounding affirmative from the two and all three grinned at each other before Flint turned serious again, "Slytherin can be a difficult place for first years, and Hogwarts can be a tough place for Slytherins. If anyone gives you hassles, you tell me. Now come, let's head back to the others."

(-)

The first years ate a big lunch and returned to the common room for a series of lectures. Flint lectured on the history of the Slytherin team and on his intense training program. A prefect then lectured on the history of the house and its famous alumni. Another prefect spoke about the plans for the next upgrade to the house and how every single house point mattered. He also discussed the dangers of wandering around the castle as lone Slytherins, specifically mentioning the Weasley twins from Gryffindor. All of the first years were falling asleep by the end of their long orientation lectures and eagerly left for dinner in the great hall.

Harry was rather curious about their overnight accommodations and said as much to Draco who just shrugged and said they would surely find out after their meals. They returned to the common room a while later and found their brooms and bags piled near the entrance. The quidditch team and the prefects appeared and instructed "Grab your bags, mount your brooms and follow me. I don't want to hear a sound from any of you."

The first years scrambled to comply and silently followed him as he casually flew down the corridor with the seniors helping the slower flyers. He reached a dead end and said "homenum revelio". Apparently satisfied, he then touched a seemingly random stone on the wall and said "serpents soar". The wall dissolved before their eyes and he immediately flew through the new opening with the rest following closely behind.

They flew for a couple minutes before Flint called back, "That was a one way opening that is a closely guarded Slytherin secret. We are going to come out in a cave with a hidden opening just above the lake. For your own sake, don't fall in!"

The Slytherins burst out above the lake and Flint turned to count them all as they came through before nodding and motioning for them to follow him. He picked up the speed and flew across the surface of the lake. Harry hoped they weren't going where he thought they were. He looked to his right and caught Draco's eye, seeing his own feelings mirrored on the other boy's face in the reflected moonlight. They increased their elevation as they reached the edge of the lake and continued on above the tree tops of the forbidden forest. The first years were visibly on edge as they kept going deeper and deeper into the forest and finally landed in a small clearing. Flint collected their brooms and bundled them up in complete silence.

Tracey Davis spoke up as Flint mounted his broom again, "You can't leave us here!" The first years had bunched together in fear and looked on in complete shock as they noticed that all the seniors were on their brooms and turning back to the castle, taking the bundled school brooms with them.

Flint replied, "This is Slytherin tradition. You need to learn to fend for yourselves." With that, all the seniors shot off back to the castle leaving the panicked first years screaming after them.

"Enough!" Harry shouted above the din.

Most of them looked at him in shock but Nott turned on him, "Shut up, Potter! Who do you think you are?"

Harry held up his hands to calm the enraged and panicked boy, "I'm just saying, they are gone, shouting does us no good. It just lets whatever is out here know that we are here too."

All the first years fingered their wands and shuffled closer together. Harry continued, "I think we might as well stay here for the night. We have some light so we can at least –"

Nott cut in, "At least what? At least see the werewolves before they attack us? Or the acromantula? Or whatever else lives in here! We have to head back to the castle, immediately."

The first years were panicked and scared and the noise slowly started escalating again as some cried, some argued, and some complained.

Malfoy's voice cut through the escalating tension, "We can't go back. It's way too far on foot. We stay here and we set up watches. Stay alert and keep your wands out." With that he started unpacking his bag, followed by Pansy and soon after, Crabbe, Goyle, Greengrass and Davis.

Nott, however, refused to budge, "I'm not staying here to die. I am going back, who is coming with me?" He looked at each of them but only Zabini agreed to follow while Bullstrode and Moon still seemed neutral. "Fine then, let's go Blaise." Blaise just nodded and the two started off on their own.

The rest of the group watched in silence as the two were swallowed by darkness beyond the clearing and soon their clumsy stumbling faded too. Harry snapped them out of it, "I think we should set up a barrier of some kind. And if we collect some branches I can transfigure them into metal spikes. If necessary, we can use them as projectiles with the levitation charm. And we can also-"

Two ear splitting screams cut through the night. Harry's blood went cold. The screams came again, this time closer and they heard the unmistakable sound of at least one of the boys scrambling back towards them. "The fool is bringing it right to us!"

Harry didn't register who said it, but he had the same thought. Harry quickly transfigured twigs and leaves into potentially dangerous projectiles and readied himself. The rest left their bags and ran in the opposite direction. Harry looked between them and where he expected something to burst into the clearing. I can't face whatever this is on my own! Cold fear gripped him as he finally grasped the gravity of the situation. He was going to die. He was about to die and he was powerless to stop it.

Nott and Zabini sprinted through the clearing followed by three acromantula right on their heels. I will not die like this! I am a Potter! He quickly transfigured a bag into a spiked ball three times the size of his head and levitated it waiting for a clear shot.

"Stop!" Snape's voice, strong and commanding. Snape appeared on a broom next to Theo and Blaise and the acromantula morphed into a black mist before disappearing completely.

"Higgs, restrain those two and give them a calming draft. Flint, fetch the others and bring them here."

Harry just gaped at Snape. I'm safe? It was all some kind of sick test. Some experiment, or tradition. How dare they!

"Mr Potter, drink this." A small bottle was tipped into his mouth and Harry swallowed instinctively. He immediately felt the calm wash over him and his anger all but disappeared. The rest of the first years landed in the clearing a few moments later, all suspiciously calm.

"They're all here professor, no injuries, we watched them carefully and stunned them soon after they fled."

Snape nodded and addressed the group. "You have just experienced one of the most important of all Slytherin traditions, and you failed, dismally! That is not how Slytherins conduct themselves. Screaming like panicked banshees into the darkness, utterly failing to think or act as a unit, and finally deserting some of your own to certain death. Where is your cunning? Your intelligence? Have you utterly failed to grasp the central philosophy of your house – that, whatever our differences, Slytherins stand as an unbroken front against the onslaught of the world? I want a two-foot essay on what went wrong and what you should have done better. You have to think! Now off with you, back to the castle and you had better not get caught outside of the common room this late. You will not like the consequences."