The door to his room was ajar, the light from inside spilling out into the corridor. Cautiously, Harry pushed the door all the way open to reveal his father standing in the middle of the room. Snape spun to face the door, his hand already in his pocket for his wand. His eyes narrowed when he recognized Harry.
"Why aren't you in your room?" he demanded. Some part of Harry had been hoping for a smile, or congratulations. Something to show that his father was happy that he was in Slytherin.
"I was just getting my things," said Harry, trying to match his father's tone.
"The house elves have already moved everything. Five points from Slytherin for being out of bounds." Harry gaped at him. How was he supposed to have known that the house elves would have his things? "Close the door!" Snape commanded. Harry slammed it shut behind him.
He had been good for the past month, ever since Snape had come for him. He hadn't argued. He did everything Snape asked of him, and it would have been worth it if his father had shown that he cared more about him than he did about his potions, or the reputation of Slytherin house. Yes, there had been the photo, but that one thing didn't outweigh the days of being ignored, the verbal abuse and the horrible potions tasks that Snape had taken to assigning him as some sort of punishment.
"Aren't you happy I'm in Slytherin, Father?" he asked bitterly.
"Did you ask to be put in Slytherin?"
"No," he answered. Snape stared at him in shock, and Harry had this inexplicable urge to hurt him. "I asked to be put in Gryffindor if you must know." Snape couldn't have been hurt more if he had cursed him. Harry's anger quickly faded to be replaced with a growing guilt.
"I'm sorry," he began. "I-"
"Did you, or did you not ask to be put in Gryffindor?" demanded Snape.
"I did." Harry couldn't meet his eyes.
"Than don't apologize," spat out Snape. "A Slytherin never apologizes, even when they know they're wrong." Harry thought it was impossible to go through life without apologizing at some point. His father seemed to see the doubt on his face, and gave him a bitter smile. "That's what my father told me when I got into Slytherin. I never believed him either."
"What was your father like?" asked Harry. It was strange to think he might have a whole group of relatives he never knew about.
"He was a proud man." Snape grimaced at something only he could see.
"I doubt he ever apologized in his life." Harry didn't mean to, but he yawned. He was acutely aware of just how sleepy he suddenly was. Snape noticed. "What have I told you about getting enough sleep? Get to bed." Harry nodded. "You have detention with me tomorrow at eight for this little escapade. Bring your schedule so we can work out when I can give you your lessons."
"You're going to keep teaching me?" asked Harry. Snape gave him a sardonic look.
"You're going to need every one of those curses now that you're in Slytherin. Everything is about status. If you can't get it by blood, or fame than you take it by force." It all sounded very callous to Harry.
"Everything can't be about blood and status," he protested.
"No. It's not, but until you learn what it is about, that's as good a place to start as any. You'll figure it out. The hat wouldn't have put you there if you couldn't." The hat put me there because of you Harry wanted to protest. Everything sounded a lot more complicated than it should be. It was only a house after all.
"What will I be doing in detention?" he asked, wanting to change the subject.
"I'll think of something," said Snape distantly. A thought seemed to occur to him. "Young Malfoy's in your year isn't he?" Harry nodded.
"He doesn't like muggle-borns," he said.
"He wouldn't. Try to keep your distance from him if you can."
"I will, but why?" he asked. Despite his annoying attitude towards anyone he didn't consider to be pureblooded enough, Draco didn't seem particularly dangerous.
"Malfoy's have a tendency to lead others astray. Let's leave it at that." Harry waited for him to say something else, but Snape looked lost in thought again. He finally noticed that Harry was still there. "What are you still doing here?" he snapped. "Get out of here before I take off more points." Harry walked to the door, but hesitated before opening it.
"Good night, Father," he said, than ducked quickly out the door.
*****
He had to ask Josiah where the Slytherin Common Room entrance was and was a bit surprised to find it was a stone wall in the corridor he and his father always came down to go to the abandoned classroom they practiced in. He pushed at the wall, wondering if this was really the entrance.
"Are you sure this is it?" he asked Josiah. The ghost popped his head out of the watch to glance at the wall, than ducked down again. He had been unusually cautious since their encounter with the Bloody Baron and now he spoke without even showing his face.
"That's it, but it won't open without the password."
"Password?" questioned Harry. "Where do I get the password?"
"Usually from the prefect who leads the first-years down here," said Josiah casually, though Harry could tell he was amused. He always found the situations Harry got himself into, amusing. Harry sighed and slumped against the wall opposite the entrance. He had two options. He could wait here for someone to come use the entrance, which might or might not happen, especially since it was getting late. Or he could go find his father, suffer a tongue lashing and probably loose even more points. Neither option was very appealing. With a sigh, he straightened up. Maybe he should try alohomora on it before he went to find Snape.
He froze when he looked back at the wall again. When standing in front of it, the wall looked like the thousands of stone-lined corridors that graced Hogwarts, but from his position with his back against the opposite wall, a picture began to emerge. The stones formed an overall shape, one he couldn't quite make out. He consciously relaxed and unfocused his eyes, willing the shape to become clearer. It seemed to jump out at him. The stones outlined a coiled serpent, its tongue out so that it looked like it was hissing at him. Harry was impressed by the illusion.
"It looks real," he said, intending the comment for Josiah, but at his words, the head of the snake jerked up, then disappeared completely as the wall swung inward to reveal the entrance to the Common Room. Harry stared at the door in shock. He was sure that wasn't supposed to happen.
After a moment, he shook himself and entered the Common Room. It was filled with various couches and chairs, all clustered around a huge fireplace with the Slytherin crest embedded in the stone above it. The chairs, the carpet and all the tapestries were green, or at least green-themed. It felt like he had never left the Green Room. A couple of students were sitting around the fire, but they only glanced up in disinterest at the first-year before going back to their conversation. Harry wanted to ask Josiah about opening the door, but he needed privacy for that.
There were various doors leading out of the room, and after a few wrong tries, he found the one with 'First-years' chiselled over it. His dorm mates were all asleep in rooms that were predictably green-themed. He wondered if there was a way to get Snape to teach him some colour charms so that he could vary things a bit. Maybe if he told him he wanted to change everything to black?
The unoccupied bed had all his stuff gathered around it, though his broom was now missing. He was going to miss his days spent flying. He sat down on the bed, intent on taking a moment to organize his thoughts. He would talk to Josiah in the toilets, since he couldn't guarantee that everyone was asleep. But first he would just lie down and close his eyes. The duvet may have been green, but it was soft, and he didn't notice when he fell asleep.
*****
A/N: See? Snape and Harry had an almost civil conversation *rereads the conversation* Okay, so it wasn't very civil. I did try though. It's not my fault they don't get along…We will eventually find out when and how Josiah died, but it's going to take awhile for Harry to remember to ask the question. Harry will pick up a few more friends, but I'm not telling who…I can tell everyone that I hate being predictable in my writing though, so whatever you're expecting to happen, prepare to be surprised;)
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