Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling.
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The boat ride to the castle had been nothing short of brilliant. And now the first years were walking into the Great Hall, where the ceiling looked like the night sky filled with stars.
"It's enchanted," Hermione remarked as they walked. "I read about it in Hogwarts, a History."
"Oh brother," Ron grumbled.
Harry held back a laugh. He stood and waited for his turn to be sorted. He watched as Neville and Hermione were sorted into Gryffindor and that irritating blonde boy was sorted into Slytherin. And then it was his turn. He took a deep breath and took a seat on the stool.
"Ahh...Mr. Potter. Or should I say, Mr. Snape?" A voice said in his ear after the hat was put on his head.
"How do you know?" Harry asked in surprise.
"I know what you know. Now, let me see. A good mind, plenty of courage, there's talent. Hmm, a thirst to prove yourself, especially to your father...where to put you? In your father's house or your mother's?"
"I just want to belong somewhere," Harry said wistfully. "With real friends and where I can make my dad proud of me."
"I see..." The hat was quiet for a moment. "I've been trying to get students to understand that Houses need to unite. You and your father may be the answer...better be...Gryffindor!"
Harry slid off the stool after McGonagall took off the hat and turned to and gave the hat a bemused look, wondering what it had meant.
"Go on, Mr. Potter," McGonagall said kindly.
Harry began walking toward the Gryffindor table, glancing at the Head Table wondering which one was his father. He noticed a man with long dark hair and dark eyes glaring at him. Harry quickly looked away, wondering what the man's problem was.
"We got Potter, we got Potter!" The Weasley twins were chanting.
Harry laughed and took a seat, clapping when Ron was sorted into Gryffindor.
"Well done Ron, our parents will be so proud," Percy said pompously as Ron took a seat next to Harry.
"Yes, Ron. Good show!" Fred clapped.
Percy gave him an irritated look. "Do you always have to make fun of me?"
Fred looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yes." He finally said.
When the last student was sorted, Dumbledore welcomed everyone and made a quick speech, warning them not to enter the Forbidden Forest, or the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side and telling them about Quidditch tryouts. When he finished, the tables were filled with delicious-looking food and pitchers of juice. Harry poured himself a glass and then held it up curiously. "What kind of juice is this?"
"Pumpkin juice," Ron said as he plowed his way through a mountain of mashed potatoes on his plate.
Harry took a tentative sip and a smile spread across his face. It was good! As he ate, he glanced up at the Head Table again.
"Percy, where is Professor Snape?" Harry asked eagerly, scanning the table. He remembered Quirrell so it wasn't him. The man next to him had given him such a hateful look that it couldn't be him. Obviously, it wasn't Hagrid and the smaller man looked too old...so where was his father? Maybe he was late for the feast?
"He's the one with black hair talking to Professor Quirrell," Percy answered.
Harry's heart sank slightly. The man with the dark, piercing black eyes who had glared at him was his father. Remember, he doesn't know the truth, Harry told himself. He thinks Mum didn't love him.
Harry peered up the table again and caught his father's eyes. Snape merely scowled in his direction before turning his head and talking to Quirrell. Harry frowned and went back to his dinner. This was going to be even harder than he thought. Apparently, his father wasn't going to be easy to talk to.
"You all right, Harry?" Ron asked through a mouthful of pot roast.
"Yeah. Just tired, I guess." Harry mumbled. Originally, he had thought he would approach his father after the feast. But now...well, maybe he would wait and talk to him after his first class with him. Maybe his father was just in a bad mood or something. Everything will be okay, he told himself.
HP
Okay, maybe things would not be okay, Harry thought the next day when potions class began. His father hadn't stopped glaring at him since he had sat down.
"Well, well. Harry Potter, our new celebrity." Snape said with a slight sneer, staring at him.
Harry just stared right back, ignoring the snickers from Draco Malfoy and his stupid friends. Why was his father acting like this? He understood that his father didn't know his mother had been under a curse and didn't know he was his son but why be mean at all? Even if Harry had been James Potter's son, it wasn't fair to take out his anger on him. He was just a kid!
"This class is for learning the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," Snape began his usual first-year speech. "There is not much foolish wand waving in here, and I certainly do not expect any of you to truly understand the beauty of a softly simmering cauldron, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, how to bewitch the mind, ensnare the senses...you can learn to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death. That is if you are not as big of dunderheads as I usually end up teaching." He scowled.
Harry shared an amused look with Ron when he noticed Hermione Granger, looking desperate to prove she wasn't a dunderhead.
"Potter!"
Harry jumped slightly and focused back on Snape, who was glaring at him. "Uh, yes? Sir?"
"What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
Harry's mouth dropped open. Huh? Powdered root of what to an infusion of what? He'd read through the first couple of chapters in his books but remembered nothing about those things. Ron looked just as confused as he did although Hermione had shot her hand into the air. "I don't, Sir."
Snape's expression turned into a sneer. "I see fame isn't everything, is it? How about this Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"
Bezoar? Harry had no clue. "I don't know, sir."
"Didn't bother opening a book before coming to class, did you, Potter? Above preparing for class, are you?" Snape smirked.
Harry clenched his fists and kept quiet. Snape wasn't being at all fair! He noticed Hermione waving her hand.
Snape ignored her. "Potter, what difference is there between monkshood and wolfsbane?"
"I don't know, sir. Maybe you could ask one of the other students in the class instead of just me?" Harry said, giving the man a mild glare. "Hermione obviously knows. Call on her."
Severus's face darkened and he approached the impertinent child. "I am the professor here, Potter. I will call on whomever I want. For your information, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion called the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and will heal you of most poisons. Monkshood and wolfsbane are the same plant which also goes by the name aconite." He eyed the class sternly. "Well? Write this down!" He turned back to Harry. "Five points from Gryffindor for your disrespect, Potter." He swept away to the front of the class.
Harry simmered in anger as he worked on the potion assigned. There went the idea of talking to Snape after class. He didn't want to tell the man the truth. Snape was horrible! He struggled to hold back frustrated tears. He had thought he would finally have a parent but he didn't want Snape to be his father. Why had he only picked on him? Just because of James Potter? Or because he believed his mum had left him of her own free will? It's not like any of that was my fault, he thought. Snape didn't have to be such a git to him.
"Snape is awful, everybody but the Slytherins hate him," Ron whispered. "Don't worry about it."
After class, Harry gathered his books and shoved them into his bag. He noticed Snape looking at him and gave the man a scowl.
"Problem Potter?" Snape folded his arms. "If you had come to class prepared -"
"I was prepared! I read the first chapter of the potions book. Was I supposed to have read all the textbooks up to the seventh year, too?" Harry asked rudely.
"Watch how you talk to me, boy," Severus said in a low voice.
Harry flinched before narrowing his eyes. "No! You watch how you talk!" He felt so full of anger, confusion, and hurt that he couldn't help it from bubbling out.
Severus sucked in his breath. No child had ever dared talk back to him like that! "You insolent, annoying child. How dare you speak to me like that? Thirty points from Gryffindor!" He snapped.
Harry glared at him and Severus glared right back. "Spoiled little brat," Snape muttered.
Harry felt tears fill his eyes. How could this be the same man his mother had written about? How could she have loved him? He was horrible! "Git!" He shouted and then turned, running out of the classroom.
"Potter!" Severus yelled after him. He seethed internally. The insolence. The utter cheek! The boy needed discipline, obviously. Just like his blasted father.
HP
"Snape is awful, everyone thinks so," Ron said. "Ignore him."
"I lost us thirty-five points, Ron." Harry sighed as they relaxed in their common room by the fire.
"Eh, that's nothing. The twins are always losing points and everyone still likes them." Ron said dismissively.
Harry slumped against the cushions. It was different though. Snape was his father and he was a mean, unfair man. He had looked forward to potions and now he dreaded the class. How was he going to get through Hogwarts, knowing the truth while Snape didn't? While Snape treated him with hate? It hurt. Harry had wanted a parent so bad and for a brief few weeks, he had been filled with hope that he would finally have one. And now that hope was gone. Once again, he had no parents.
HP
The weeks passed and Harry loved living at the castle. Ron had become his best friend and he was also friends with his dorm-mates. He was learning magic and his classes were really interesting. Well, except for History of Magic. That class was a total bore. And Transfiguration was hard to learn. But easily the worst class was potions. His father – no, Snape took points from him all the time and snapped at him when he was working on his potion, making him lose concentration.
"Obviously you take after your father in this class," Snape said snidely as he took the vial of the potion the boy had made. A pitiful attempt. "No talent whatsoever."
Harry glared at him before suddenly smiling. "You're right, Professor. My father wasn't good at anything. In fact, he's not a good man at all." He said before leaving, not seeing the confusion cross Snape's face.
One good thing that happened was that Harry had been made Seeker for the Gryffindor Quidditch team! All thanks to Malfoy stealing Neville's Remembrall during their first flying lesson, resulting in Harry flying after him and catching it when Malfoy threw it. He had thought he would be in major trouble but instead, he got to join the team! And best of all, he had received a Nimbus 2000! He was sure it was from McGonagall, she had given him a wink when he had opened it in the Great Hall. Boy, had Malfoy been jealous and even Snape had looked furious. That had been a great morning.
HP
"She's so annoying!" Ron complained as they walked out of the Charms classroom. "She thinks she knows everything. Remember how she followed us when we went to meet Malfoy for the duel?"
"She was trying to stop us from getting into trouble and losing points." Harry reminded him. "And we did almost get caught by Filch."
"Yeah, and instead we ran into that three-headed monster." Ron groaned.
Harry shuddered. "I still can't believe they have that thing in school. Although I definitely think Hermione was right, it's here to guard something."
Ron made a face. "Oh, of course, she is right. She is always right. You saw her in Charms." He cleared his throat. "It's LeviOsa, not LeviosA." He mimicked in a high voice.
"I really think she does know everything," Harry chuckled.
Ron scowled. He'd been embarrassed that he couldn't levitate the feather while Hermione had easily been able to. "Honestly, she's a nightmare. She doesn't even have any friends!" He said loudly.
Hermione suddenly passed them and Harry could see tears falling down her cheeks.
"She heard you," Harry said quietly.
Ron shrugged, but a look of regret crossed his face.
HP
The castle was filled with excitement as the night of Halloween came. Harry was excited too, although it was slightly tempered by the fact he now knew his mother and James had died on Halloween. He wished...well, it was pointless wishing. Just like it was pointless to wish his father had been a man he wanted to know.
The Great Hall was decorated with hundreds of floating pumpkins and live bats. And the treats that appeared on the table were amazing. Confectionery-filled pumpkins, caramel apples, cauldrons filled with lollipops of every flavor, cakes, pumpkin juice, and more. Harry couldn't help but feel a little smug, Dudley would lose his mind over all this food. Harry happily ate until he was too full to continue. The only thing that worried him was Hermione. He had heard at the start of the feast that she was crying in the bathroom. Harry decided he would talk to her once they were back in their dorm. Everyone needed friends, Harry knew that very well.
Suddenly the doors burst open and Quirrell ran in. "Troll! In the dungeons!" He gasped. "Thought you'd want to know." He fainted.
The room erupted into screams and pandemonium.
"Settle down!" Dumbledore's thunderous voice shot out. "Students, you will calmly follow your prefects to your dorms. Slytherins, Professor Snape, and Professor Flitwick will escort you to your dormitory, just in case. Then professors, please join the rest of us for the search."
"Follow me back to the Tower. Everything will be fine if you do as I tell you," Percy said to the Gryffindors. He glared at his twin brothers. "Fred, George, this better not be something you two did!"
"How do you like that?" Fred asked in an affronted voice. "Letting a troll in? Would we do that?"
"If we had thought of it. Wicked!" George said eagerly.
Percy rolled his eyes as he gestured for everyone to follow him out of the hall.
"Ron, stop!" Harry stopped following Percy and turned to his friend.
"What?"
"Hermione doesn't know about the troll! She's been in the bathroom crying!"
Ron's eyes widened. "I'll tell Percy."
"By the time you catch up with him..." Harry hesitated. "Go ahead, I'll go warn her."
Ron sighed. "I'll go with you. The troll is in the dungeons anyway, right?"
Despite not liking the man, Harry couldn't help but worry a bit about his father. What if he ran into the troll? He'll be fine, he told himself as he and Ron hurried to the bathroom and when they were close, they heard a scream.
"Hermione!" Harry said in alarm as the boys ran into the bathroom. The sinks had been broken into pieces except for one, which Hermione was hiding under.
The boys yelped as they saw a troll standing over Hermione. It was huge, twelve feet tall, and ugly. It didn't smell very good either.
"Get away from her!" Harry picked up a piece of the broken sink and threw it at him.
The troll paused and blinked before now focusing on Harry. It lifted its club and headed for him.
Oh, Merlin, Harry thought as it advanced towards him. This is it.
"Oy, ugly!" Ron shouted and threw a metal pipe at the troll. The troll paused again and slowly turned to look at Ron.
Harry took the chance to run around it and went to grab Hermione. "Come on!" He pulled her arm but she just stayed there, looking at the troll in horror.
"Hermione!" Harry gave her a shake to snap out of it and finally, he was able to pull her out from under the sink.
The troll roared and continued walking to Ron, waving its club in the air.
Harry let go of Hermione and took a deep breath before running and jumping on the troll's back. The troll tried to shake him off but Harry hung on tight. He took his wand and stuck it in the troll's ear, causing it to howl with pain. It shook itself again and this time Harry fell to the ground. His eyes widened in terror when the troll lifted its club.
Ron stuck out his wand. "Wingardium Leviosa!" He shouted.
"Swish and flick!" Hermione encouraged.
Ron did and they watched in delight as the club flew above the troll's head and then dropped, cracking down on the troll. It swayed for a moment and then fell over, unconscious.
Harry got to his feet. "Thanks, mate," He said to Ron as he retrieved his wand from the troll's ear. He wiped it off.
"Is it dead?" Hermione whispered.
"No, I think it's just knocked out," Ron said.
Suddenly the door flew open and McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell entered the room. McGonagall gasped while Snape's eyes widened in shock. Harry noticed a surprised look crossing Quirrell's face but it passed quickly and he whimpered in fright.
"Why in Merlin's name are you three not in your dormitory?" McGonagall asked furiously. "What is going on here?"
Snape crossed his arms and gave the three of them a stern look. His gaze landed on Harry, his dark eyes hardening. Harry looked away, it didn't matter what his father – er, Snape thought of him. Harry had made the decision not to tell the truth and he was sticking to it. He'd rather be an orphan than have a father who hated him so much. His eyes zeroed in on a cut on Snape's leg, which Snape quickly covered with his robe.
"Well? Professor McGonagall asked you a question!" Snape snapped.
"Please Professors, they were looking for me." Hermione stepped forward. "I, uh, went looking for the troll. I've read all about them so I thought I could deal with it on my own."
Harry and Ron stared at her. Hermione was lying? To help them?
"I'd be dead if they hadn't found me," Hermione continued. "Harry jumped on its back and stuck his wand in its ear and Ron knocked it out with its own club. If they had arrived any later, it would have been too late for me."
Harry noticed Snape giving her a skeptical look. When Snape swung his gaze back at him, he tried to look back at him innocently. He doubted he had pulled it off by the look on Snape's face.
"Well," McGonagall looked calmer. "That was quite foolish of you, Miss Granger. I expect better from you. Five points from Gryffindor for being so irresponsible. Are you hurt at all?"
Hermione shook her head.
"Very well. Go on to Gryffindor Tower. Meals have been sent to the common rooms."
"Yes Professor," Hermione said, quickly leaving.
"As for you two," McGonagall eyed the two pre-teens sternly. "Not many first years could have fought a troll and lived to tell the tale."
Snape glanced at her with a frown.
"Five points to each of you." McGonagall sniffed. "For sheer dumb luck!" She added.
Harry held back a laugh at the way Snape's mouth dropped open.
"To the Tower with you," McGonagall said.
The boys hurried off.
Snape found his voice. "You gave them points for disobeying? First Quidditch and now this!" He roared. Unbelievable. How was he supposed to help protect the brat if he was rewarded for breaking the rules? And he didn't believe that story from the Granger girl for one minute!
"Now Severus, it really is quite impressive that they took on a troll and survived it," McGonagall said. "They already had a big scare, how could I punish them?"
"Easy. Detention? Writing an essay on why the school has rules? Lines?" Severus suggested. If the brat and his friends had been in his House, he would have assigned all three things as punishment.
McGonagall sighed. "I know you hate the child, but -"
"He's just like his father!" Snape burst out.
"Actually, he's not," McGonagall said thoughtfully. "He's very much like Lily. Sticks up for others, and is kind...he does have a temper though. Lily had one, but more of a controlled one. James didn't seem to have one, he was more easygoing, didn't fly off the handle or anything. At least not that I ever saw."
Severus stared out the window. Thinking of Lily still hurt and he was continually faced with the memory of her in the form of her son. "He's disobedient." He said finally.
"Sometimes. But like with the flying incident, it was to help someone." McGonagall reminded him.
"He is rude to me." Severus continued.
"And you are rude to him." McGonagall countered. "At least that is what I hear from the students."
"Of course, your lions complain," Severus said dismissively.
McGonagall raised an eyebrow. "It's not just my lions. It's been some of the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws too. Your dislike of Mr. Potter is quite obvious to everyone."
Severus scowled. He disliked most of the students, they were all annoying. Potter was no different than any other child...all right, that wasn't true. The boy reminded him of Lily, who had left him, and James, who Lily had left him for. But the boy was cheeky and disobedient, he told himself. "The boy needs someone to be firm with him. One of these days, his impulsiveness is going to get him hurt or worse." He said finally.
McGonagall's face softened. "Perhaps." She agreed.
"Have you ever written to his relatives?"
McGonagall snorted and shook her head. "No. They aren't interested. I don't think they – well, let's just say I was not in favor of leaving Potter with them as a baby."
Severus looked at her curiously. "I knew his aunt. She wanted to be part of the magical world. I'm sure she dotes on him and enjoys his fame."
McGonagall shook her head sadly. "Albus was right about you."
"What do you mean?"
"You see what you want to see," McGonagall said simply.
TBC: Up next, Snape discovers the journal...