A/N: Thank you all for your patience! Last Monday just didn't work for me because of the holidays so I'm sorry for the delay. But here's the next chapter for you all!
To straighten me in my Distress
And not to leave me succourless.
Chapter 4: To straighten me in my distress
Fred and George were great. What they weren't, was third years. It was unfortunate that Snape was Harry's new head of house and that there was no way that the man would allow any breaking of rules to slide. He had made that much clear already. Otherwise, Harry would have been fine sleeping on the comfortable sofa in the Slytherin common room.
Alas, come their mandatory bedtime, Harry was forced to go up the dorm rooms and join his school nemesis in what had to be his most fragile state. Asleep.
Harry doubted that Malfoy was going to kill him. They were all still kids, after all. But that didn't help him alleviate his worries.
"Your bed is over there, Scarhead," Malfoy sneered, pointing at a bed positioned at the far end of the room. It didn't seem to be coordinated around the ones that were already there but rather shoved in the most inconspicuous place possible. There was not even a desk, for as far as Harry could see.
"Oh, isn't this set-up good enough for the chosen one?" Malfoy asked, his voice dripping with venom. "Well, so-rry that we can't accommodate you the way you are used to. With you bumbling idiots burning your tower down, you're lucky to have anywhere to stay at all."
"Give it a rest, Draco," Zabini said. "If Professor Snape finds out you're still talking, we'll all be in serious trouble."
"Besides, I didn't ask to come here," Harry defended himself. "So sorry if I'm ruining your life just by being here."
"That goes for you too, Potter," Nott stopped him. "You might not take our head of house seriously, but we do."
Harry didn't think it would be smart to keep arguing with Malfoy. Especially since Snape had said that they weren't allowed to talk after their bedtime anymore. And who knows what the overgrown bat would do to them if they broke the rules. So he just nodded and swept aside his bedspread to get in when he found a dozen or so thumbtacks strewn across the mattress. Exasperated, Harry glanced at Malfoy who was looking at him intently, a smirk on his face.
Harry shook his head at the juvenile behaviour and removed the offending objects, placing them on the nearest windowsill. The window - Harry noticed – was looking out at the innards of the great lake, though its murky waters weren't much to enjoy.
Finally, Harry carefully crawled into his bed, making sure that there was nothing else there to hurt him and slept. Not deeply and definitely not soundly but come morning he could at least make sure that he was still alive and in one piece.
Harry's replacement items came the following morning, though not through owl post. It would have been too much to carry with him, anyway. It all simply appeared on his bed, right before he was supposed to go down for breakfast.
He picked up one of the shirts. It was blue, was entirely new and – most importantly – was just his size. Not something he was accustomed to at all.
"There's no time for fingering your new things, Potter," Malfoy drawled. "If you're late for breakfast, you'll get in trouble."
"But it's Saturday!" Harry exclaimed. "Snape can't possibly expect us all to be down this early in the weekend."
Malfoy just shrugged. "Do whatever the hell you want," he said. "Just don't say I didn't warn you." And then he walked out, leaving Harry to be the last person in the room.
Angrily, he tossed his new shirt down. This was complete nonsense. What kind of prison was Snape even running here? It was no wonder the Slytherins were always foul-tempered and angry at everyone else. Harry would be too if he was subjected to this kind of juvenile treatment every day.
Realising that he didn't want to get in trouble on his first day as a Slytherin, he dutifully threw on some of his new clothes and reluctantly shrugged on his robes with the new Slytherin symbol.
He sighed and went down into the common room to find everyone gone already. Well, as if that wasn't just fantastic. The least they could've done was wait for him. Harry tried his best to sense if he could hear any sounds coming from the other dorm rooms but the eery quiet told him that everyone had already gone. He imagined that the other Gryffindors already knew what was what.
Frustrated, Harry wondered what would irk Snape the most. His absence at breakfast or him walking the dungeons by himself.
Ridiculous thought, really. He had been walking the corridors by himself since he first got to Hogwarts and was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. He was – on the other hand – quite hungry. Maybe if he hurried, he could still catch up to the other Slytherins and at least make it seem as if he hadn't been going alone.
Deciding that that was to be his plan, Harry swung open the portrait and rushed out only to walk straight into the misty vapour that was the Bloody Baron.
"Harry Potter," he drawled. "You are running late."
"Yes," Harry said, shivering because of the unexpected contact. "So I'm kind of in a hurry –"
"How are you liking Slytherin so far?"
Harry looked at the ghost as if he had just grown an extra head. "I've only been here for one night," he replied.
"A night that was not too pleasurable, if I read your face correctly," the Baron said. His voice sounded like fingernails scratching a school board and Harry had to restrain himself from covering his ears.
"No one did anything," Harry said. "It was alright. Listen, if I don't go now –"
"You would do well to give your peers a chance, young Mr Potter," the Baron drawled on. "You might come out of this for the better."
This froze Harry's eager movements and he scowled at the serious-looking ghost. "The hat told me the same thing," he said. "Is the castle conspiring against me or something? Because I can tell you right now that I won't have it!"
The Bloody Baron laughed, his chains rattling as his belly shook. "Such passion," he said. "Such anger. But no, young one, no one here is out to hurt you. That is… no one that belongs to the castle."
Harry blinked. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"It is - as of yet – unclear," the Baron replied. "Though I can sense that tough times lay ahead of you this year. Someone here does not have your best interest at heart."
"And how would you know that?" Harry asked, feeling defensive all of a sudden. "If you heard something, just come out and say it!"
"If only it were that simple," the Baron replied solemnly. "Did you know, perchance, that necromancy was first used as a means of divination?"
"Er… no," Harry admitted.
"No, a mind as young as yours wouldn't know nor remember," the Baron said. "Its origins are of no matter, in any case. It should, however, explain to you how I and my brothers and sisters possess some sort of notion about the future. No matter how vague that notion may be."
Harry sighed angrily. "Look, I already know I'm in danger," he said. "I sleep with the Slytherins and it's only a matter of time before Snape poisons me."
"You are a Slytherin," the Baron replied smoothly. "And Severus will do no such thing. He protects his charges. Of that, I am certain."
Harry scoffed. "Look, I really have to go now," he said. "And I don't mean to be rude but I don't have the time to listen to some vague prophecy now. I already have classes for that."
"The living never have time for the dead," the Baron wailed. "A sentiment you might one day regret. For now, don't let the day get away from you and go. I have kept you long enough."
Before Harry could reply, the Bloody Baron vanished into thin air, the sounds of his chains echoing for a few seconds more before they left the corridors entirely silent.
Fantastic. First Trelawney found the need to prophesise his death only in the first-ever class he had from her and now the ghost of Slytherin thought it necessary to do the same. At least, that's what Harry assumed the Bloody Baron was doing.
Shaking the strange encounter off, and certain that he would now be entirely too late for Snape's liking, Harry broke into a full-out sprint in an effort to reach the great hall as fast as he could.
He hated the bland, stone dungeon corridors that flew by as he swept past them. He hated the boring paintings of aged old men with sour expressions on their faces that might as well have been painted by a muggle for the little movement they made. And he absolutely despised the giant amount of decorative snakes he found hidden in every nook and cranny of the dungeons. He had never noticed before just how much Salazar Slytherin had put a stamp on his territory but, quite frankly, it started to remind him of the Chamber of Secrets.
He skidded to a halt in front of the wide-open doors of the hall and took a deep breath. Peeking behind the door, he could see the full table of Slytherins already buttering toast and peeling soft-boiled eggs. Much of the other three tables were still nearly empty with only a few brave early birds already filling their stomachs. Harry didn't see Ron nor Hermione and imagined that the both of them were still asleep. At least with Ron, he could be certain of that.
He glanced at the high table only to be met with Snape's pointed glare. The only other adults at the table were Hagrid who always got up early to tend to his duties and Dumbledore. Snape nodded sharply towards the Slytherin table and Harry hurried to find a seat. It was easy enough to do, what with Fred and George pushing and shoving a bit to allow him to sit in between them. As soon as he sat down, he glared at them angrily.
"You could have waited for me, you know," he said.
"Waited?" Fred exclaimed. "Harry, we were up hours before the rest of these pansies even made it out of bed."
"What?" Harry said. "Why?"
George stole a piece of toast before Harry could grab it and playfully bumped into his shoulder. "We were practising," he said and then lowered his voice. "You did still want us to do you that favour, right?"
Harry sighed and stared at his empty plate. "Yes," he said softly. "I do. I just wish I hadn't gotten into trouble on the first day."
"Oh, come on," Fred said. "Snape's not going to punish you for being late on the first day."
Harry scoffed. "Why wouldn't he? He hates me. And besides, I also came up here by myself."
"But you count as three people, easily!" George said. "Ask anyone on the Quidditch team."
"Heck, ask old You-Know-Who," Fred said a bit too loudly for Harry's taste. "Or that decayed basilisk corpse you got somewhere."
"Somehow I doubt Snape will see it that way," Harry said. "But I know it's not your fault. I should just be quicker next time."
He attempted to change the subject. "So, what is your plan, anyway?"
Fred and George looked at each other before smirking like hyenas. "Well, Harry," Fred said secretively. "How much do you know about glamour charms?"
Severus watched the Potter brat conspire with the twins as he stroked his chin. Clearly, those three were up to no good. Ridiculous. It had taken one night and already the disobedience had begun. Not only was the brat late but he had come alone as well. What made the great Harry Potter feel so invincible? It was clear that he took after his swine of a rule-breaking father and now he was obviously scheming for more.
But going about it in such an obvious way was certainly not a very Slytherin move. Severus noticed that his original Slytherins were seemingly making an effort not to get involved with the trio of Gryffindors. Had Potter already bullied them into submission? Everything had seemed to be going reasonably fine before the boy had joined the table.
"I say, that table might catch on fire what with the way you're staring at it, Severus," Dumbledore said before taking a sip of pumpkin juice.
"I am merely observing my students, Albus," Severus said coolly. "If that is still allowed."
"But, of course," Dumbledore said jovially. "But perhaps a less scary expression would do on a nice day such as this one."
Severus briefly looked at the ceiling to catch sight of the darkening clouds and the pouring rain that was going on outside. "Yes," he said. "Truly glorious."
Dumbledore chuckled. "You needn't be so sarcastic, my boy," he said kindly. "I wasn't talking about the weather. I was merely pointing out that it was Saturday."
"Ah, yes," Severus sneered. "The weekend. A perfect opportunity for the carefree among us to laze about all day and do nothing productive. A waste of time, if you ask me."
Hagrid snorted next to him but Severus chose to ignore him.
"Will you truly never allow the Slytherins to sleep in?" Dumbledore asked. "Not even on their birthdays?"
Severus groaned. "They can sleep during the holidays, when I'm either too far away or too occupied to care. It won't kill them, Albus. It will only introduce some discipline into their lives."
"Quite so," Dumbledore replied pleasantly. "And what are your plans for the day, Hagrid?"
Severus quickly tuned out the following conversation about fantastic beasts that really only served a purpose as potion ingredients and resumed his watch of the three boys that were worrying him the most. Potter seemed nervous about something. He had hardly eaten and was quite a bit paler than normal. A lack of sleep, perhaps. He might have broken another rule and simply refused to go to sleep at a reasonable hour. At least the Weasley twins didn't seem to have a problem with that particular rule. Speaking of which, they seemed absolutely giddy. Perhaps even a bit proud about something. But Severus didn't have much longer to observe the brats because soon, the three of them got up together and left. Potter looked over his shoulder one last time to meet Snape's gaze who glared back to make the boy avert his gaze.
They were clearly up to no good.
A glamour charm. Harry could not believe that would work. He had hoped that the twins might have gotten a hold of some Polyjuice or something. But, then again, would Polyjuice really hide what he was trying to keep hidden? Harry supposed not. But a glamour? Those were notoriously difficult to cast. Harry didn't think even Hermione had tried one yet. Not only that but Harry wasn't sure that Pomfrey wouldn't see right through that.
"Stop worrying!" Fred exclaimed as they turned another corner. "You're clearly underestimating our abilities."
"I'm not sure who gave you the wrong idea, but we are the most gifted Weasleys of the family," George joined in. "And considering the size of our family, that's saying something."
Harry chuckled nervously.
"He doesn't believe us, George," Fred said.
George clicked his tongue. "I am absolutely outraged," he said dramatically. "But you'll see. Soon enough."
"If you say so," Harry said. He had been following the twins for a while now and they finally stopped in front of a mirror on the fourth floor.
"Here we are," George said.
Harry looked at the mirror in confusion. It seemed entirely ordinary to him. The twins looked around before pushing the mirror aside, revealing a long stretch of dark corridor.
"In you go, Harry," Fred said.
Harry just stared at the gaping hole. "In there?" he asked. "Where does it go?"
"Nowhere," George told him. "It's caved in. Supposedly it went to Hogsmeade at some point. But for now, it will do as a hiding spot."
"Why do I need a hiding spot?" Harry protested.
"Think, Harrykins!" George said. "If Fred goes in looking like you, you can't very well be caught strolling around the castle, can you?"
"Snape's too clever for us to take that risk, really," Fred said. "Though I don't like to admit it."
"I guess that makes sense," Harry agreed. "How long do you expect this to take?"
Fred shrugged. "Ours took no more than ten minutes," he said. "I don't expect it'll take longer this time."
"Alright," Harry agreed. "Just… don't do anything I wouldn't do, alright?"
"Subtlety is my middle name!" Fred exclaimed. "For the last time, stop worrying and enjoy some nice alone-time."
Harry snorted. "Get going already," he said. "Before I'm too late for my appointment as well, today. Snape will have my head."
"Alright, see you in a bit," George said. And with that, they closed the mirror again, leaving Harry to wait in complete darkness. He sighed and closed his eyes. If the twins could pull this off, he would be forever grateful to them.
No, something was most definitely not right.
Severus watched one of the Weasley twins converse with some of the former Gryffindor first years in the courtyard. Those blasted twins were never apart from one another, yet now – though Snape didn't know which one – one of them was missing. And the other one didn't seem to be worried in the slightest.
He knew they had been scheming something earlier.
Then, the blasted redheaded brat made sudden eye-contact with Severus and smiled ridiculously wide at him whilst waving before turning back to his captive audience.
Who did the brat think he was? Granted, those two had never shown any kind of fear for him before – perhaps even something that was to be admired – but blast it, they were Slytherins now. And if Severus found out that they had been breaking the rules behind his back, they would be punished so severely that they would from then on cower before him whenever he entered a room.
Severus sighed. No. Even he could not cow those twins. He knew that.
The Potter brat was busy getting his check-up. Despite his previous protests and arguments, Severus had seen him walk into the infirmary himself, confident as a peacock. So the boy couldn't be part of whatever was going on here.
Severus decided that he was done guessing and would start asking questions. He strode up to the single twin and embraced the silence that dropped around him after approaching the students. The Weasley still smiled, though. Infuriating brat.
"Mr Weasley," Severus sneered.
"Yes, Professor Snape?" Weasley replied, feigning innocence.
"Where is your brother?" Severus asked, watching for any change in facial expressions. He picked up none.
"He urgently needed to use the loo, Professor," Weasley replied. "You see, he ate just a bit too much of the spiced pumpkin soup this morning and has had the runs since if you'll believe it."
Severus didn't.
"Curious," he replied. "I don't recall any pumpkin soup being served this morning."
"You don't?" Weasley replied, seemingly astounded. "Then what do you suppose it was he ate? Has he been pranked? Has someone finally gotten to us?"
Severus narrowed his eyes at the insufferable menace. "You listen to me and you listen close, Weasley," he said. "If there is one thing that I cannot stand, it is having people lie to me. And I know very well that that is exactly what you're doing right now."
Weasley didn't reply but his smile did falter a bit.
"I may not yet know what it is that you are hiding from me but let me assure you that when I find out, you will wish you had attended Durmstrang instead of Hogwarts."
"I'll er… keep that in mind, sir," Weasley said.
Severus scoffed and turned on his heel, his robes billowing behind him as always. After taking a few steps away, he could already hear the muffled whispers behind him, asking the Weasley brat if he was alright and what he had done. But there came no reply from the redhead. For now, Severus was happy enough to have him mull over his threat. The truth would come out at a later point. Of that, he was certain.
For now, it was time for him to head back to his office. Potter's check-up should have been completed right about now. He only needed to check it over and file it away so he could put away the tiresome administration of it all.
Severus sighed. And perhaps drink a nice glass of red wine for his efforts, afterwards.
