Worlds Apart
by Tsarakitty
Last time:
Harry withdrew the crackling power into his skin, slamming the door shut, before turning to the other two and taking stock of their attitudes and feelings. He didn't care so much about Ron, who seemed fine, just a little shaken. Turning to Draco, his real concern, he bit his lip. "I didn't... hurt you, did I? With the magic, I mean."
Draco shook his head. "No, I'm fine. Are you okay?" Harry nodded.
Ron nervously averted his eyes. "Hey, look! That must be the platform." He pointed out the window. "We must be almost there..."
Chapter 4: Choosing Sides
I
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Just as the boys pulled their robes on, the bossy-sounding girl with bushy hair that Harry had seen in the corridor earlier came in. "I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way."
"Ron Weasley," Ron replied slowly.
"Harry Potter."
"Oh, are you really, I've read all about you." And she began rambling on about books he was in, and how she'd already read all of the textbooks, and how excited she was when she got her letter, and how she wanted to see the school's library, which, according to Hogwarts: A History, was legendary. Allthree boys rolled their eyes, ignoring her.
When Hermione noticed this, she sniffed rather loudly, and turned to the last of the three. "And you are?"
Draco started. He looked worriedly at Harry for a second, who nodded as if to say that they could trust her with his name, then turned and, smiling slightly, said, "Draco. Draco Malfoy." Hermione nodded.
"Malfoy. Interesting. I've read a little about your family." She didn't notice his slight cringe. "Yours is one of the oldest and most prestigious families in all of wizarding England. Your father, Lucius Malfoy, has created a rather large business empire for himself. Your mother is part of the once-equally-influential Black family. Narcissa Black, now Malfoy."
Draco turned away. "My mother is dead." Harry hugged him close, and Draco placed his forehead on Harry's shoulder.
Harry started running a hand through the soft pale hair of the head resting on his shoulder, speaking soothingly. "It's all right, Dray. Don't cry." This must be part of the reason he was at school early, Harry thought to himself. But there was more. He had been beaten, Harry knew, and probably more than once. Harry recognized the signs. But, fortunately, there were none of the signs of rape. He hoped it remained like that.
Harry was relieved that Draco stopped crying before they reached the platform. He held Draco's hand lightly in his own as they were called by a large figure Harry remembered as Rubeus Hagrid, though they had never personally met. Hagrid was the game- and grounds-keeper at Hogwarts, as well as Keeper of the Keys. He seemed friendly enough. Of course, things are not always as they seem, as he himself well knew.
Harry followed Hagrid along with the rest of the first years down a path that led to the lake. The children were all loaded onto boats, Harry and Draco sharing one with Ron. The boats followed the enormous figure of the groundskeeper, in his own boat, as they crossed the lake. Harry watched the sky disappear as they went into a cavern under the school. He anxiously thought about the sorting, wondering which house he belonged in. Hopefully Slytherin. He wanted to be with Sev and Dray.
II
The Great Hall
As the other children of his year stared in growing amazement at the sight that fell before them, Harry worried at his lip. Suppose he ended up in a house other than Slytherin? How would he be able to survive without Dray's support? Or Sev's? Sev was the only reason he was still alive.
Noticing the crease between his friend's eyes, Draco squeezed the slightly sweaty palm clutching his own, and ran a thumb over the line, smoothing it out.
As Harry turned grateful eyes upon his only friend, Dumbledore stood, commanding respect silently. The hall quieted. Briefly catching Harry's eye, he nodded, as though offering his own brand of reassurance. And, once again, Harry felt shivers running along his spine, and gooseflesh gathering on his arms. Draco squeezed his hand again, as though to ask what was wrong, and Harry realized he had been bristling. He squeezed back quickly, and looked over, letting the other boy know he was fine.
"Now, form a line," McGonagall said imperiously. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." Glancing down at her list, she read the first name: "Abbott, Hannah!" This continued for sometime. Malfoy landed in Slytherin, naturally.
Harry got more and more nervous as the sorting progressed, until the last person before him went up and was sorted. "Perks, Sally-Anne!" Suddenly, a wave of calm washed over him, and he walked briskly up to the front of the dais. He had picked up the hat, and was about to place it upon his head, when a voice he knew so well rang out.
"Stop!" Severus stood, and as all heads turned to him, he spoke three small words. "I claim him." Instantly, the hall was in an uproar, with the Slytherins whooping, the wizard-raised protesting, and the muggle-borne wondering loudly what he meant by "claim."
"Silence!" All was quiet once again. Dumbledore asked, somberly, "So, Severus, you wish to take this boy as your apprentice, do you?" Severus only nodded. "Do any of the staff contest Professor Snape's claim on this child?" No one spoke up. "Very well. I approve. He will join you in your chambers after dinner." Abruptly, he turned, beaming at the students. "In the meantime, the sorting will continue, and we will eat. After dinner, I have a few beginning-of-term notices to give." And, that apparently being that, he sat down.
Without missing a beat, McGonagall continued, with, "Thomas, Dean!" Harry stumbled over to Severus' side, where a chair appeared, the table lengthening to accommodate him. The rest of the sorting passed in a blur, and Dumbledore's speech, consisting of 4 nonsensical words, failed to penetrate as well. But when the food arrived, Harry felt his appetite return, and he dug in like a starving man.
After the desert, Dumbledore made another speech, this one considerably longer. 'Not that that's a difficult task to accomplish, considering,' Harry thought. Severus excused them both, and led Harry to a small door off the teacher's dais, and not a moment too soon apparently, for the instant before the door closed strains of the most horrid cacophony of sounds began, and Harry winced at it. Turning, Severus beckoned, indicating he should follow closely.
III
Severus' Chambers
"It's not much right now, but we'll work on making it home." He showed Harry into a lavishly decorated room, done tastefully in sensible blues and grays. "I can change anything if you don't like it."
"It's perfect! Thanks... sugar daddy." Harry pecked Severus on the cheek. Severus blushed, watching Harry spin around and flop onto the bed. "I love it!" Harry sat up all of a sudden. "Where's Dray staying?"
"Draco is to receive his own password-ed room off of the Slytherin boys' dorms. You can go see him any time. He'll tell you the password."
Harry relaxed. "Okay..." He stifled a yawn. "Tell him- I-"Yawn. "I- Good night." He curled up, clutching a pillow to his breast, and was instantly asleep. Severus just smiled, spelled the blankets over the boy, who curled into their warmth, and turned out the lights. Quietly closing the door, he muttered, "Sleep tight." Inside the room, the sleeping boy smiled gently.
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