Jedidiah and his Slytherin friends left their first Defense class of the year laughing hysterically. The main reason was for how the idiot Richard had acted, but they were also laughing at their new Professor Potter. How he'd become a professor, none of them could figure. And why the world had to fawn over him was also a mystery. The Dark Lord sould be the savior of the wizarding world, not saint Potter.
As he was laughing with his friends, he thought back to how they had become friends in the first place. He supposed he really had the sniveling Gryffindors to thank for that. If they hadn't got into a fight his second year, he never would have become friends with the Slytherins. By now, Jedidiah completely forgotten what the fight had been about, but that wasn't the important thing. Only the outcome was important.
Thinking back on it, the Slytherins literally found him studying in the library the next day, but he never went looking for them. He'd poured out the story, and the Slytherins took him under their wing. As he got to know them better, he found he had more in common with them than he did Gryffindors in terms of personality. How the Sorting Hat had put him in Gryffindor, he would never know.
But the best part of being friends with Slytherins was learning Dark Magic. It was something not taught at school. Nor were there books that could be found in the main section of the library, and only a couple could be found in the restricted section. Most books they used were either sent by owl post or books Slytherins brought from home. It was something dangerous. Something…powerful. When ever he used Dark Magic, he felt whole, complete. But above all, he loved the power he felt, not only by using Dark Magic, but just by being with his Slytherin friends. They made him feel like he belonged, like he was someone powerful. Especially now that they were in their seventh year; they ruled the Slytherin common room, of which he was a frequent visitor. The only reason he ever went to Gryffindor tower any more was to sleep, but most of the time, he would just crash in the Slytherin common room.
If he'd been old enough, he would have taken the Dark Mark his fourth year, but fourth years weren't allowed. Most of his Slytherin friends would have.
They arrived in the dungeons, and soon, the Potions classroom. They were early, but Slytherins were always early for Potions, and late for Defense. Even when they'd found out fourth year that Professor Snape was a spy and traitor, they still arrived early. He was, after all, still their Head of House, and in Jedidiah's eyes, his head of house.
Soon after, the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, and two Slytherin girls came in. Avery Black was one Slytherin girl, and another traitor. But Nicci Lestrange was a mystery to Slytherins in general. She wielded a lot of power simply because of who her parents were, but around the beginning of fourth year, she started to drift away from her group of friends, who were also Jedidiah's friends. She'd even gone so far as to break up with him, but she thankfully did it in private. Everyone thought she would be ecstatic that the Dark Lord had risen, but she instead grew distant. His friends and he had spent many late nights discussing why she was not longer friends with them, or anyone it seemed. No one dared ask her though. The rumor was that she knew more about the Dark Arts before her first year than most Slytherins knew their seventh was enough to make them hold their tongues.
Right on the time class was to start, the door slammed open, rebounded on the stone and slammed back close. The dark shadow that was Professor Snape had descended on the classroom. Even though his position as a spy had been made known to the Slytherins, to the rest of the school, he was still their mean bat of a potion master. It was a reputation that had nearly crumbled after his outlandish display of emotion before winter break Jedidiah's fourth year. He'd recovered some of his reputation, but new first years weren't nearly as afraid of him as they had been in the past.
"This year, you will be taking your N.E.W.T.s. Only the best of the best of you have made it this far. This year, you will be working harder than ever, and making the most complex potions you've ever made. If you're afraid of hard work, leave my class now, for I have no use for you. I will not be holding your hand while you make your potions, and I will be grading your essays with extreme harshness. Now, pass up your summer essays, and the potion you will be making is on page 722. You may begin."
Jedidiah and his friends eyed and smirked at each other. Professor Snape certainly was in full form.
A/N: Thanks to my beta HarryEstel and my roomie Justine.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed:
HecateDeMortReplies to reviewers:
Aqua Mage: I know. Especially when the most powerful wizard is Dumbledore. lol.