Note (After writing Chapter 2): This chapter was painful to write and I'm am almost completely convinced that it did not turn out nearl anwhere that I thought it would be. When I began this, I did not think it would be so difficult to envision Harry in Slytherin.
Chapter Two
In the House of Slytherin
After the feast had ended, Harry followed the others of his house down twisting corridors and stairs heading toward what Harry felt like were the dungeons. After a great deal of walking the group he was with reached a dead end. Ahead of them lay only a stone wall like the one in the Diagon Alley. He wandered if someone was going to tap it in specific places to get it open, when the prefect in the group said, "Wizardgold," and a door revealed itself as it opened.
Inside the Slytherin Common Room saw round, green-glowing lamps that were hanging from the ceiling. From what he was hearing from the students around him, he gathered that he was under the lake in which they had crossed to get to the school. It did not take long for them to be shown to their rooms. Harry was situated in a five-bed room with Draco Malfoy, his two friends, and another boy, Theodore Nott.
That night Harry lay awake thinking over the Sorting Ceremony, had the Sorting Hat been right to put him in Slytherin? After meeting Draco, Harry was anxious to prove himself better than him, but he wasn't sure getting put in the same house was going to accomplish that. Harry had remembered what Hagrid and Draco said about the houses, but the fright of being sorted seemed to drive all those thoughts away. It was only now that he remembered that Hagrid had told him about Slytherin. And as he began to fall asleep he realized that from what he saw of his fellow roommates, Hagrid wasn't far off.
The next day, Harry began his first real day at Hogwarts and as he entered the Great Hall for breakfast a rash of whispers broke out among the students. The experience of fame was quite overwhelming for young Harry, for whom any attention from the Dursleys was never a good thing. He had little time to dwell on such matter as his lessons in magical learning soon occupied his mind.
Through Charms, Transfiguration, History of Magic, Astronomy, and various other classes Harry was taking the first steps of discovering a world that he had only caught a glance of when he was in Diagon Alley. It was a good thing that Harry was not able to pay attention Draco's worsening attitude towards him. Not being as dimwitted as Draco's two friends, Crabbe and Goyle, Harry felt no reason to listen to Malfoy brag.
It was on Friday morning during breakfast that he received a letter from Hagrid:
Dear Harry,
You've got Friday afternoons off, so I thought you might like to have a cup of tea with me. Just send your answer back with Hedwig.
Hagrid
Harry hadn't seen Hagrid since the start-of-term banquet and was very happy to hear word from someone he knew, even if he hadn't known Hagrid that long. That afternoon before he could go to Hagrid's for tea, he had his first Potions lesson.
Potions was taught by none other than Professor Snape, the teacher Draco had heard was the best at Hogwarts. From the look Snape had given him at the feast, Harry might have though that Snape did not like the looks of him or that he was having extremely bad day during the feast. He soon found out that Professor Snape had more than a simple dislike for him. Potions lessons took place in the dungeons of the castle and it was the first class Harry had with the Ravenclaw House. Snape started class by taking roll call and upon arriving at his name, stopped.
"Ah, Harry Potter," said Professor Snape softly as if he was commenting that was an irritation, "Hogwart's new – celebrity."
Harry could tell that there was little love lost in those gray eyes that stared down at him. After a second of consideration, Snape asked Harry what he would get if he added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood.
"I don't know," Harry was forced to confessed as a Ravenclaw girl who had introduced herself as Hermione on the train raised her hand enthusiastically into the air.
"My, my," sneered Snape, "Let us try again, where, Mr. Potter, would you look if I told you to find a bezoar?" Seeing Harry's expression on his face (ignoring Hermione's hand) he could tell that Harry didn't know that answer. Some of the students around him began to smirk, most notably Draco. Snape seemed to have a pleased smile on his face as he remarked, "Didn't think to open your book, Mr. Potter. Thought you wouldn't need it, eh? Tell me, Potter, what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"
At this Harry thought Hermione was going to jump on the table to try and get Snape to notice her raised hand.
"I don't know," said Harry, "But, I think Hermione does, so why don't you ask her.?"
"Sit down, silly girl," Snape barked at Hermione and turning to Harry, "You should be more careful with your tongue, Potter. I would not wish to see my House disgraced by an arrogant boy."
Everyone knew that as the head of Slytherin House, Professor Snape was very biased concerning punishment. This treatment it seemed did not extend to Harry, as Snape was quick to be the one to give Harry his first detention and load on the extra work in his class. After class, Draco stopped Harry in the halls and said, "How do you know that filthy Muggle-born? One might think that you were turning your back on Slytherin."
Having had enough of Draco's taunts and boasts, Harry turned around and retorted, "I think I know where my loyalties lie, Draco."
"You'll regret saying that," said Draco, but Harry was no longer paying any attention to him.
He went to Hagrid's hut when he got the first chance, glad to be out of Snape's class. Hagrid was glad to see Harry had come to visit him, and let him in as he held back a huge, black dog back. "Hi, Harry. This is Fang, well, why don't you just make yourself at home?" said Hagrid.
As Harry sat in Hagrid's cabin alone with him, he told him all about the classes he had taken that week and specifically his Potions class. He told him that Snape seemed to have some sort of hatred towards him. "Rubbish, why would Professor Snape have something agains' ya'?" responded Hagrid.
"I don't know, but he didn't seem to pleased that I was sorted into his house," answered Harry and remembering something that he had forgotten asked, "Hagrid, why did the Sorting Hat put me into Slytherin?"
"Well I suppose it put you in there because that's where it thought you would belong, never thought meself that you would be put in Slytherin, but it don' matter none."
"But, Hagrid, I don't feel like I belong there."
"Never mind that, so have you met any friends yet?"
"Not really, all the Slytherins just want to be my friends because they think that it will help them."
"Well, some people are like that, Harry. But, you've got to learn to tell the difference between them and the decent folk. Slytherins will make blood-ties seem really important, but what's really important Harry is what you do."
Speaking to Hagrid did not really improve Harry's mood and he still had time to think about the coming classes. Harry had not thought that upon arriving at Hogwarts he would soon meet a skinnier, nastier version of his cousin, Dudley. However, that had been before he had met Malfoy. Draco seemed to take pleasure in the idea of pushing around smaller students with his two friends whenever a teacher was not looking. Of course, in Potions, Harry thought Draco would be able to commit murder and Snape wouldn't blink an eye.
Draco's attitude toward Harry seemed to worsen as he learned various facts about him that he had not known before. In fact, Harry found it very irritating that Draco was able to scrape up these little known facts and bringing them to Harry in ways such as saying, "Well, I wouldn't expect you to be able to make that potion anyway, after all, it's not like you're pureblood or anything." Draco, like almost every other Slytherin was what he called "pureblood," but this really didn't mean anything to Harry.
