The Malfoy kid looked disgusted when he read the note Harry had passed him in Potions class. He gave Harry a confused look but picked up his quill and wrote a response anyway, passing it covertly to Harry as soon as Professor Snape's back was turned. Harry read the note:

You know what competition I was talking about, POTTER. Stop being so dense.

Harry picked up his own quill and dabbed it into his ink well, replying:

I honestly have no clue what you're talking about! What competition? When was this competition held? What do I have to do with it?

Harry passed the note to Malfoy, earning himself a disapproving glance from Hermione. Harry knew that Hermione would chastise him for this later; he had learned that she was a stickler for rules and studying only within this first week of school. She was always the one to answer the teacher's questions, except in Potions—Snape seemed to mysteriously go blind whenever a Gryffindor hand was raised—and she constantly got on Harry's and Ron's backs when they put off their homework.

When Malfoy returned the note, Harry read:

That Harry Potter look-alike competition that took place a few months ago, idiot! Are you the winner, trying to prove that you can pull off actually BEING Harry Potter?

Harry scribbled back:

Of course not! I didn't even know there was a competition about me! Am I really that famous?

When Malfoy read this note, he gave Harry another disgusted look. He hurriedly scribbled his reply onto the small piece of parchment and passed it back to Harry.

You are not famous. You are not the real Harry Potter. You are an imposter. If the real Harry Potter was here, he would be ashamed to know that some kid is parading in his place. If I were you, I would sincerely hope that the real Harry Potter doesn't come to Hogwarts.

Harry stared disbelievingly at the parchment. Noticing that there was no more room on the original parchment (Harry had not expected this conversation to last much longer than "What competition were you talking about when I was sent out of Charms?"), Harry tore another bit from his Potions notes.

But I am the real Harry Potter. I used to have a scar but I used this Muggle ointment on it and now it's gone. Why don't you believe me?

Harry tried to pass it to Malfoy but as soon as his hand passed the front of his desk, Professor Snape grabbed the parchment out of Harry's hand.

"What do we have here?" Snape asked, looking down at the parchment. "A note? From a Gryffindor to a Slytherin? This seems interesting…" And with that, Snape opened the folded parchment and read its contents to the attentive class in a mocking voice. When he was done, Snape crumpled the parchment in his hand and looked menacingly down at Harry, who had sunk down into his seat under the I-told-you-so gaze of Hermione Granger. "While there is no doubt that you look somewhat like how Harry Potter would," Snape began, his gaze turning somewhat analytical, "there is no way you could be the true Harry Potter." Snape turned back to the class, which was laughing softly.

"And why not, sir?" Harry asked tentatively. "Why couldn't I be Harry Potter?"

Snape turned back to Harry and gave the boy another critical look. "For one thing, there is the lack of a scar," Snape began his review of Harry's appearance. "Harry Potter has a scar on his forehead, a souvenir from his infant brush with the Dark Lord. For another thing, you don't quite look like how I would imagine the son of James and Lily Potter would. You're hair is too deep a black color to be James's, and your eyes are more of a forest green than the emerald green that was Lily's. Your physique resembles neither of them; James's shoulders were broader and he had more muscle, and Lily had a small yet sturdy build. You, on the other hand, are small and scrawny. The prescriptions of the lenses in your glasses are too small to be real, you can tell by how they don't quite magnify the size of your eyes.' Snape scoffed at the student he was scrutinizing. 'You are no more Harry Potter than I am the Dark Lord.'

Harry immediately stood and raised his wand at the greasy-haired teacher, yelling, 'PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" as loud as he could, using the only curse he knew to put his teacher into the Full-Body Bind.

But the Bind was never put into effect, since immediately after the words had left Harry's mouth Snape had raised his own wand to return with, "Protego!" The curse was deflected harmlessly off of the Shield Charm, but the Potions teacher looked murderous. "TWO HUNDRED POINTS FROM GRYFFINDOR AND A MONTH OF DETENTIONS!" Snape yelled, his face a deep purple shade. "FOR ATTACKING A TEACHER!" Snape took several deep breaths before saying in an overly-soft voice, "It seems I was mistaken; only the child of James Potter would have attacked someone in that way. You may take a seat, Mr. Potter."

Harry remained standing, his face pale. "Sir," Harry tried to explain. "You said that I was no more Harry Potter than you are Vol—I mean, You-Know-Who—so I panicked. V—You-Know-Who killed my parents and I—."

"Take a seat Mr. Potter!" Snape hissed. "Or I will add another month's worth of detentions to your punishment!"

Harry immediately sat down, aware of the many eyes that were now focused on him. The eyes that Harry took the most notice of, however, were Malfoy's. His gaze seemed slightly more… accepting?... than it had when Harry had been trying to convince Malfoy of his identity when they were passing notes.

The rest of the class progressed without incident; they finished taking notes on the properties of the Shrinking Solution and left when the bell tolled the end of class. Outside the door, Harry found Malfoy waiting for him.

"You really are Harry Potter?" Malfoy asked uncertainly. "The Boy Who Lived?" Harry nodded and Malfoy looked uncertain for a moment. "Sorry for doubting you," was all he said before turning to retreat, two very large boys falling in behind him.

"What did he want?" Ron asked curiously, watching the disappearing backs with some disdain. "To mock you for your 'fake identity' again?"

Harry shook his head before turning to his friend, a small smile beginning. "You know, you first mocked me when I told you who I was," Harry reminded the red-head, who immediately opened his mouth defensively. Before he could get the words out, though, Harry interrupted him: "Come on! We've got to get to Herbology!"