Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.
Web of Lies: Revelations.
It turned out that Alec and Lan were some of the first ones in the hall. The older students were still looking in their books when the duo left. Once in the Great Hall, they saw that it was nearly empty except for a few professors that were already there. Harry nodded slightly to Severus and Minerva who both smiled slightly at him. Lan was watching everything with curious eyes.
"Who are they? They were with you in Diagon Alley, weren't they?"
Alec smiled softly. "Yes. The man is Professor Snape, Potions Master, and Slytherin Head of House; the woman is Professor McGonagall, she teaches transfiguration, and is the Gryffindor Head of House on top of being the deputy headmistress."
Lan nodded, still staring at them curiously. "Are they nice?"
Harry had to bite his tongue to not laugh at the notion of Severus being nice. Sure, he had been much nicer to him during the summer, but now that he was back at Hogwarts, he wasn't sure how the man was going to act, considering he was the headmaster's grandson...Alec shook his head lightly and tried to answer Lan's question without giving much away. "I don't really know how they're going to be in class, I've never seen them teach."
Lan seemed to accept his answer and was already looking at the food that had appeared in front of them. Half an hour later, they had all eaten and were on their way to their first class, which happened to be Herbology. Jason was the prefect that led them to the greenhouses since he had Care of Magical Creatures and would be able to get to class in time. Professor Sprout acted the same way Harry had remembered. She spoke of her plants as if they were her only friends. The lesson went smoothly for Harry, even if a bit boring. He managed to win ten points for his house for the answers he gave, but that wasn't such a special fact in the Ravenclaw house, most students were able to answer the questions unlike Gryffindors tended to do.
Next, they had Transfigurations with the Slytherins. The relation with them wasn't as tense as he remembered. While a few of them looked at him curiously, none of them moved to insult them or annoy them. They just kept to themselves and treated them as if they were unimportant which suited Harry just fine. During that class, Alec saw a new side of the Slytherin house. While he had been Harry Potter, his classes had been tense and filled with mutual tries to embarrass the other house. Instead of that, here the Slytherins showed their real cunning at trying to beat them in their own game. Harry couldn't help but enjoy the heated debates that came up during the class when Professor McGonagall asked a question, or the thrill of trying to finish the assignment first. When the class was finally over, they all left with a small smile on their faces and brilliant eyes that promised that next time they would win the silent competition.
The last class of the day was Potions. Harry wasn't really looking forward to it, even if he had the advantage of having previous knowledge of the subject; he dreaded the manner in which Severus would act. Looking around at his classmates, he frowned lightly. They all seemed to be very tired, trudging around him on their way to the dungeons. Alec shook his head lightly, rolling his eyes at himself. Of course they were tired, they weren't used to do magic, and today had been strenuous at best. He was brought out of his musings when they finally reached the Potion's classroom.
To his surprise, Snape was much more relaxed around them than he had ever been when he was in Gryffindor. While the man still held the same speech he had done in his own first year and then preceded to ask questions to random students, Harry couldn't help but notice that the deep dislike in the man's eyes was very toned down. Harry watched him carefully as he asked another question to a Hufflepuff; the poor boy didn't have any idea of what the man was talking about, but Snape only glared at him and turned to another student. Finally, twenty minutes later, the man instructed them on a simple potion, and they made it in pairs.
To Alec's surprise, Lan was quite good at Potions, and between the two, they managed to be the first to produce a correct potion. Snape walked over to them when he noticed they were cleaning their things up and looked into the cauldron. Harry looked at the man carefully, steeling himself to his scathing words. To his surprise, the man nodded slightly to them. "The potion's colour is a bit too light, but otherwise, you seem to have done fine."
For a split second, Alec felt anger rise in him. He knew from previous experience that the potion was done perfectly, and he felt annoyed that the man wouldn't recognize it. But then he remembered all the times Snape had put him down in the potions lessons and willingly accepted the change. After all, Snape telling a non-Slytherin that they'd done fine was more than anyone could expect.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Lan press her lips together, and knowing she was about to complain, he clamped a hand around her arm. The girl immediately turned to glare at him, but thankfully kept her mouth shut. Snape watched them with interest, but didn't say anything. Alec could have even sworn he saw a glint of amusement going through the man's eyes.
Soon after, it was finally time to leave the dungeons and head up to the Great Hall to have dinner. The second they left the classroom, Lan turned to him.
"Why on earth did you do that? Our potion was perfect! There was nothing wrong with the colouring!"
Alec looked at her calmly. "I know that, Lan."
The girl glared at him. "Then why?"
Alec was aware of all the other students listening behind him. "Lan, you'll learn very soon that it's not a good idea to cross Severus Snape. Consider his words as the highest compliment you're ever going to get out of him."
Lan huffed and walked into the Great Hall with Harry shaking his head after her. They sat next to Anthony and Jason, who were both looking at them in amusement. The Head Boy raised an eyebrow to Alec and nodded to Lan. "What's wrong with her?"
Before Harry could answer, his young friend started to talk indignantly. "Professor Snape had the gal to tell us that the potion was fine but that it was slightly off colour. The potion was perfect!"
Alec rolled his eyes, while the two older students looked at her with slightly stunned expressions. Jason finally managed to snap out of his daze when Lan started to mutter about unfairness under her breath. "Lan."
The girl looked up at the now serious boy. "What?"
"You should be really happy with what he said." The girl was about to interrupt when he raised his hand. "No, listen to me. In the seven years that I've known Professor Snape, I've never heard him say that a potion of one of his students was fine. He favours his house above all and had never admitted to any other student outside Slytherin, that they can be anything but idiots."
Anthony nodded slightly. "Jason's right, you should really consider it as a really big compliment."
The girl nodded lightly, a pensive look on her face while she returned to her food. Alec suppressed a relieved sigh and returned to his own food; he had been starting to get a headache after all those complaints. Lan reminded him slightly of Hermione, the girl simply didn't know when to give something up.
Once they were finished with their meals, all the Ravenclaws moved to their common room to do they homework. Alec did it quickly, without hesitation; after all, he knew these things by heart. Soon, he found himself with all his work finished and nothing to do. Looking around, he saw that everyone else was still deep immersed into their work, and with a small sigh, he decided to leave the common room.
Once outside, he found himself clueless as to what he should do. He could go see Dumbledore, but the man was probably incredibly busy. He could go to see Severus, but he doubted it would be a good idea to be seen near Slytherins territory; besides, only Merlin knew what mood the man would be in after his first day of classes.
He was startled out of his thoughts when someone called out his name. Turning around, he saw Professor McGonagall approaching him.
"Aunt... I mean, hello Professor."
The woman smiled down at him. "Hello, Alec, shouldn't you be doing your homework?"
Harry shrugged lightly. "I already finished, Professor, and I was trying to decide what to do; I don't want to bother my classmates."
The woman chuckled lightly and motioned to the boy to join her. "I was just going to see Severus, you can come along."
The teen nodded lightly and followed her, wondering why she didn't mind being seen with him; after all other students might think she was favouring him. Shaking his head lightly, he put that thought out of his mind and decided he would think later about it. Right now he had to get ready to visit a probably cranky, Potions Master.
To be continued...
A/N: Thanks for all reviews and thanks to my beta reader Vinnie and to Leena for her support.
Web of Lies: Revelations.
It turned out that Alec and Lan were some of the first ones in the hall. The older students were still looking in their books when the duo left. Once in the Great Hall, they saw that it was nearly empty except for a few professors that were already there. Harry nodded slightly to Severus and Minerva who both smiled slightly at him. Lan was watching everything with curious eyes.
"Who are they? They were with you in Diagon Alley, weren't they?"
Alec smiled softly. "Yes. The man is Professor Snape, Potions Master, and Slytherin Head of House; the woman is Professor McGonagall, she teaches transfiguration, and is the Gryffindor Head of House on top of being the deputy headmistress."
Lan nodded, still staring at them curiously. "Are they nice?"
Harry had to bite his tongue to not laugh at the notion of Severus being nice. Sure, he had been much nicer to him during the summer, but now that he was back at Hogwarts, he wasn't sure how the man was going to act, considering he was the headmaster's grandson...Alec shook his head lightly and tried to answer Lan's question without giving much away. "I don't really know how they're going to be in class, I've never seen them teach."
Lan seemed to accept his answer and was already looking at the food that had appeared in front of them. Half an hour later, they had all eaten and were on their way to their first class, which happened to be Herbology. Jason was the prefect that led them to the greenhouses since he had Care of Magical Creatures and would be able to get to class in time. Professor Sprout acted the same way Harry had remembered. She spoke of her plants as if they were her only friends. The lesson went smoothly for Harry, even if a bit boring. He managed to win ten points for his house for the answers he gave, but that wasn't such a special fact in the Ravenclaw house, most students were able to answer the questions unlike Gryffindors tended to do.
Next, they had Transfigurations with the Slytherins. The relation with them wasn't as tense as he remembered. While a few of them looked at him curiously, none of them moved to insult them or annoy them. They just kept to themselves and treated them as if they were unimportant which suited Harry just fine. During that class, Alec saw a new side of the Slytherin house. While he had been Harry Potter, his classes had been tense and filled with mutual tries to embarrass the other house. Instead of that, here the Slytherins showed their real cunning at trying to beat them in their own game. Harry couldn't help but enjoy the heated debates that came up during the class when Professor McGonagall asked a question, or the thrill of trying to finish the assignment first. When the class was finally over, they all left with a small smile on their faces and brilliant eyes that promised that next time they would win the silent competition.
The last class of the day was Potions. Harry wasn't really looking forward to it, even if he had the advantage of having previous knowledge of the subject; he dreaded the manner in which Severus would act. Looking around at his classmates, he frowned lightly. They all seemed to be very tired, trudging around him on their way to the dungeons. Alec shook his head lightly, rolling his eyes at himself. Of course they were tired, they weren't used to do magic, and today had been strenuous at best. He was brought out of his musings when they finally reached the Potion's classroom.
To his surprise, Snape was much more relaxed around them than he had ever been when he was in Gryffindor. While the man still held the same speech he had done in his own first year and then preceded to ask questions to random students, Harry couldn't help but notice that the deep dislike in the man's eyes was very toned down. Harry watched him carefully as he asked another question to a Hufflepuff; the poor boy didn't have any idea of what the man was talking about, but Snape only glared at him and turned to another student. Finally, twenty minutes later, the man instructed them on a simple potion, and they made it in pairs.
To Alec's surprise, Lan was quite good at Potions, and between the two, they managed to be the first to produce a correct potion. Snape walked over to them when he noticed they were cleaning their things up and looked into the cauldron. Harry looked at the man carefully, steeling himself to his scathing words. To his surprise, the man nodded slightly to them. "The potion's colour is a bit too light, but otherwise, you seem to have done fine."
For a split second, Alec felt anger rise in him. He knew from previous experience that the potion was done perfectly, and he felt annoyed that the man wouldn't recognize it. But then he remembered all the times Snape had put him down in the potions lessons and willingly accepted the change. After all, Snape telling a non-Slytherin that they'd done fine was more than anyone could expect.
From the corner of his eye, he saw Lan press her lips together, and knowing she was about to complain, he clamped a hand around her arm. The girl immediately turned to glare at him, but thankfully kept her mouth shut. Snape watched them with interest, but didn't say anything. Alec could have even sworn he saw a glint of amusement going through the man's eyes.
Soon after, it was finally time to leave the dungeons and head up to the Great Hall to have dinner. The second they left the classroom, Lan turned to him.
"Why on earth did you do that? Our potion was perfect! There was nothing wrong with the colouring!"
Alec looked at her calmly. "I know that, Lan."
The girl glared at him. "Then why?"
Alec was aware of all the other students listening behind him. "Lan, you'll learn very soon that it's not a good idea to cross Severus Snape. Consider his words as the highest compliment you're ever going to get out of him."
Lan huffed and walked into the Great Hall with Harry shaking his head after her. They sat next to Anthony and Jason, who were both looking at them in amusement. The Head Boy raised an eyebrow to Alec and nodded to Lan. "What's wrong with her?"
Before Harry could answer, his young friend started to talk indignantly. "Professor Snape had the gal to tell us that the potion was fine but that it was slightly off colour. The potion was perfect!"
Alec rolled his eyes, while the two older students looked at her with slightly stunned expressions. Jason finally managed to snap out of his daze when Lan started to mutter about unfairness under her breath. "Lan."
The girl looked up at the now serious boy. "What?"
"You should be really happy with what he said." The girl was about to interrupt when he raised his hand. "No, listen to me. In the seven years that I've known Professor Snape, I've never heard him say that a potion of one of his students was fine. He favours his house above all and had never admitted to any other student outside Slytherin, that they can be anything but idiots."
Anthony nodded slightly. "Jason's right, you should really consider it as a really big compliment."
The girl nodded lightly, a pensive look on her face while she returned to her food. Alec suppressed a relieved sigh and returned to his own food; he had been starting to get a headache after all those complaints. Lan reminded him slightly of Hermione, the girl simply didn't know when to give something up.
Once they were finished with their meals, all the Ravenclaws moved to their common room to do they homework. Alec did it quickly, without hesitation; after all, he knew these things by heart. Soon, he found himself with all his work finished and nothing to do. Looking around, he saw that everyone else was still deep immersed into their work, and with a small sigh, he decided to leave the common room.
Once outside, he found himself clueless as to what he should do. He could go see Dumbledore, but the man was probably incredibly busy. He could go to see Severus, but he doubted it would be a good idea to be seen near Slytherins territory; besides, only Merlin knew what mood the man would be in after his first day of classes.
He was startled out of his thoughts when someone called out his name. Turning around, he saw Professor McGonagall approaching him.
"Aunt... I mean, hello Professor."
The woman smiled down at him. "Hello, Alec, shouldn't you be doing your homework?"
Harry shrugged lightly. "I already finished, Professor, and I was trying to decide what to do; I don't want to bother my classmates."
The woman chuckled lightly and motioned to the boy to join her. "I was just going to see Severus, you can come along."
The teen nodded lightly and followed her, wondering why she didn't mind being seen with him; after all other students might think she was favouring him. Shaking his head lightly, he put that thought out of his mind and decided he would think later about it. Right now he had to get ready to visit a probably cranky, Potions Master.
To be continued...
A/N: Thanks for all reviews and thanks to my beta reader Vinnie and to Leena for her support.