A/N: I would once again like to give a huge "Thank You" to everyone who has supported this story so far. You guys are amazing! I hope you all enjoy Chapter 7!
"I can't believe it!" Ron exclaimed for about the tenth time as he, Harry, and Hermione made their way down to breakfast the following morning. "I just can't believe it!"
"Yes, we're all absolutely astounded, Ronald," Hermione said sarcastically, as she repositioned the strap of her bag so that it rested more comfortably on her shoulder.
"Um, Hermione. Snape gave Malfoy a detention!" Ron said excitedly. "Malfoy's a Slytherin!"
"I am well aware of which house Malfoy belongs to," Hermione answered. "And he deserved that detention. Professor Snape was just doing his job."
"Oh, come on. You know he favors his precious little snakes! He would do anything to keep them out of trouble."
Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Oh, really? You're the one who keeps going on about Malfoy getting a detention."
Ron sighed. "I give up."
Harry, lost in his own thoughts, remained silent while his friends went back and forth with their bickering. He hadn't told Ron and Hermione the whole story about last night. He had left out the part about how he had lied to Snape and how Malfoy had called his mother a mudblood, which was ultimately what led to the blond boy earning his detention.
What was a mudblood anyway?
It must be pretty bad if Snape was offended by it, Harry thought to himself. He unconsciously put a hand in the pocket of his robes where he kept his photograph. He wondered if Snape would have had the same reaction to Malfoy's outburst if it had been aimed at anyone other than Harry's mother. His fingers closed around the edge of the picture.
Somehow, he doubted it.
"Do you suppose anyone else knows?" Ron was saying as the trio reached the Great Hall.
Hermione just rolled her eyes and headed over to the Gryffindor table, where she proceeded to pull one of her Defense books out of her bag, and bury her nose in it.
Harry and Ron followed their friend, plopping down on either side of her, and immediately began pulling dishes of food towards them. Ron seemed intent on piling his plate high with just about everything that his hands could reach. But Harry only served himself a small portion of scrambled eggs. It would take a while to get used to eating regularly again.
Harry had barely swallowed his first bite of food when the Weasley twins suddenly seemed to appear out of nowhere and dropped down onto the bench beside him.
"Please tell us the rumors are true," Fred said without preamble, reaching across the table for an apple.
"Wha' 'umors?" Ron said through a huge mouthful of sausage, earning him a disgusted look from Hermione.
George just rolled his eyes at his younger brother. "About Snape, of course! Giving one of his little snakes a detention while a certain young Gryffindor walked away unscathed," he gave Harry a meaningful look.
Ron swallowed quickly and glared around Hermione at the twins.
"How do you two know about that? Harry only just told us a few minutes ago!"
"Is that so?" Fred asked, passing his apple back and forth between his hands. "Well then, little brother, it would seem that you are among the last to know."
Harry raised his eyebrows at the twins. "How did you find out?" he asked.
"How does anyone find out anything around here?" George replied. "We heard it from someone... who heard it from someone else..."
Harry took a moment then to look around the Great Hall. It wasn't unusual for people to whisper and to stare and to point at him. But it still made him extremely uncomfortable.
And it seemed like nearly everyone was staring today. Well, most of them were staring. The Slytherins could better be described as "glaring murderously" in his direction.
A quick sweep of the Slytherin table told Harry that Malfoy was not at breakfast this morning. It seemed that he, at least, had been smart enough to steer clear of the crowd.
"Hey, Potter," an unidentified voice hissed at him from somewhere down the long Gryffindor table. "Did you really get away with fighting a Slytherin?"
"How'd you do it?" someone else wanted to know.
"Did you hex Snape, or something?"
"That's amazing!"
"Oh, honestly!" Hermione said exasperatedly. "Just ignore them, Harry."
Harry groaned and sank further down into his seat. He was not in the mood for this right now.
And then a whole new set of whispers began to ripple throughout the hall as one of the side doors near the staff table suddenly opened.
And Professor Snape strode in.
Harry took one look at the angry scowl firmly set on the man's face, and immediately ducked his head. His stomach was suddenly twisted in knots, and his heart rate was speeding up.
"I think I'm going to go," he said quietly to his friends.
"But McGonagall's just starting to hand out class schedules," Hermione protested.
"And you haven't eaten anything," Ron pointed out, gesturing with his fork.
But Harry wasn't listening. He stood up and grabbed his bag. Compared to everyone else's, it was nearly empty. He needed to remember to order his new textbooks soon.
"I'll see you in the entrance hall," he murmured then, as he began walking towards the exit.
Thankfully, no one attempted to stop him.
Harry had only been standing against the wall outside of the Great Hall for a few minutes, arms crossed, with his gaze on the floor to avoid having to make eye contact with anyone, when a stern voice startled him out of his thoughts.
"Mr. Potter."
Harry immediately snapped his head up, recognizing that it was his head of house.
"Yes, Professor?" Harry said quietly, not sure how to interpret the expression on the older woman's face.
McGonagall held out a sheet of parchment, which Harry took in his hands. It was his new class schedule.
"Thank you," the boy said, giving the parchment a cursory glance. It would seem that he didn't have to worry about Potions until tomorrow. He felt the smallest bit of relief at that.
"Mr. Potter," McGonagall said again. "I was made aware of the incident that took place last night on the train with Mr. Malfoy."
Harry looked away as he replied. "I'm sorry, Professor. I—"
"I trust you are aware that such conduct is never appropriate or acceptable, and reflects poorly not only on yourself, but on Gryffindor house as well."
Harry bowed his head in shame, his stomach twisting itself into knots once again. "Yes, ma'am," he whispered, the guilt suddenly washing over him. McGonagall sounded so disappointed. And that somehow bothered Harry more than he could say.
"We will discuss this more thoroughly during your detention tomorrow evening at seven," the Professor finished in that same, reproachful tone.
"Yes, ma'am," Harry repeated, keeping his head down until the Professor had walked away, heading back into the Great Hall.
It was only another minute or so before Ron and Hermione joined him in the entrance hall, and the three of them headed off to Herbology.
"I don't know why you're so bothered by all the attention," Ron whispered quietly as the trio huddled around their tray in the greenhouse. "It's not like Snape gave you the detention."
"Ronald!" Hermione hissed.
Harry sighed. "No, but McGonagall did. And Malfoy's not just going to let this go."
"But he deserved it!" Ron protested.
Harry just gave a quick shrug and was relieved a moment later when Professor Sprout made the announcement for everyone to put on their earmuffs. He snapped his own into place over his ears as his thoughts continued to whirl around in his head.
He definitely agreed that Malfoy deserved a detention just as much as he, himself, did. But Snape had only given the Slytherin a detention based on the lie that Harry had told. And that was not likely to sit well with the haughty boy. Especially since it was all over the school now.
Harry grasped the top of his mandrake firmly, and yanked it up out of the earth. He watched it screaming silently for a few seconds before plunging it down into a new pot. Perhaps it would be best if he just took his earmuffs off and allowed the ugly thing's cries to knock him out.
At least then he would have a few hours of peace.
Harry was relieved when his morning classes were over. After Herbology, Transfiguration had been less than successful. Despite his many efforts, he hadn't managed to transform the beetle he had been working with into anything even remotely resembling a button, as Professor McGonagall had instructed them to do. His only comfort was that no one else, besides Hermione, of course, had managed to do it either.
"Oh, I almost forgot!"Hermione was saying, as they sat out in the courtyard during break. She dug around in her bag for a minute before pulling out several pieces of parchment. "I have the owl-order forms for Flourish and Blotts, Harry."
"You just happen to carry around spare Flourish and Blotts owl-order forms?"Ron asked incredulously.
"Well, I don't just carry them around, usually. But I do like to keep a couple on hand in my dormitory. You never know when you're going to need to buy a new book or two."
Ron snorted, but Harry smiled at her. "You're a lifesaver, Hermione. Really."
Hermione beamed and began filling out the paperwork. "I've memorized the book list, so I'll just fill that part out for you. Then you can put in your Gringotts information."
It only took a few minutes to fill everything out, and then Harry stared down at the final total in disbelief. "Our books didn't cost this much last year, did they?" he asked with a frown.
"It's all those stupid Lockhart books," Ron said viciously, before Hermione could even open her mouth. "I still don't know how Mum and Dad managed to pay for all of them. And they had to buy five sets."
Both Harry and Hermione gave Ron a sympathetic look, and then Hermione began double-checking the order form.
"They are expensive," she conceded. "But we're going to learn so much this year from Professor Lockhart."
Ron huffed in annoyance.
"You'll like him, Harry," Hermione insisted. "You'll see."
Hermione was crazy. Absolutely, out-of-her-mind, delusional, Harry decided after just the first minute of Defense class that afternoon.
Because Gilderoy Lockhart was not in any way, shape, or form likable.
He was entirely too full of himself, going on about some silly smile award, and bragging about all of the books he had written. Harry found himself wishing that he already had his complete set of Gilderoy Lockhart books, so that he could stack them up on his desk and hide behind them, blocking the man from view.
Harry made the mistake of turning his head then, to look at the other side of the room. His eyes immediately locked onto Malfoy's, and Harry could barely suppress a shiver. It was the first that he'd seen of the Slytherin since last night, and the blond boy looked positively livid. The angry scowl on his face was not unlike the one that Uncle Vernon often wore just before he gave his nephew a good thrashing. Harry had to turn away. The instinct to flinch back was almost overwhelming.
"Are you paying attention?" Hermione hissed, elbowing him gently.
Harry just nodded absently and forced himself to look at Lockhart, who was still blabbering on about some adventure or other he'd been on years ago which resulted in him defeating several dark creatures.
"And so now," the man finally reached the end of his long speech, "if you will all please take out your copies of Voyages with Vampires, we will discuss the introduction before taking our pop quiz."
There was a lot of shuffling around and nervous murmuring about the quiz as everyone moved to get out the required textbook. Harry just sat there awkwardly, feeling relieved when Hermione pushed her own book closer to him, indicating that they could share.
"Does everyone have their books?" Lockhart inquired. "Yes? No? Do you not have your own textbook, Mr. uh—"
Harry looked up, meeting the eyes of Gilderoy Lockhart, whose expression turned to brief surprise before morphing back into one of complete jubilance.
"Mr. Potter, is it?" the man said excitedly. "Oh, Harry. Oh, Harry, Harry, Harry. What a pleasure it is to finally make your acquaintance. I heard all about your little exploits on the train yesterday, of course," his voice turned mildly scolding.
There were many snickers from the Gryffindor side of the classroom, and Harry just wanted to sink down below the desk as he felt the burning glares of the Slytherins boring into the back of his head.
"Ah, yes, perhaps not the best way to deal with the situation, Harry. Now, it's just too bad I wasn't there to help. I'm sure we could have found a far more suitable solution to your disagreement."
Harry was sure that his face was beet red as the whispers continued throughout the room. He wondered what Malfoy must look like at that moment, but was unable to summon the courage to look.
"But back to the matter at hand!" Lockhart finally said. "Did you forget to bring your books with you, Harry?"
"I, uh – don't have them yet," Harry stammered out quietly.
"Ah, too busy this summer to make a trip out to Diagon Alley?" Lockhart asked in a genial tone.
"Something like that," Harry mumbled reluctantly. Why couldn't the man just leave him alone?
"Well, no matter, Mr. Potter. I will simply owl Flourish and Blotts and have them send you a complimentary set of my completed works. No payment necessary."
The room fell silent as several mouths dropped open. Harry no longer knew what to think or to feel. With every second that passed in this class, things only seemed to get worse. Why, oh why, did they have to have this class with the Slytherins?
"I already ordered my books, sir," Harry eventually found his voice. "But thank you, anyway."
"Nonsense, Harry! Don't give it another thought. I'll take care of everything."
There was some more whispering, and Harry could have sworn that he heard Malfoy's voice, letting out a steady stream of insults that Gilderoy Lockhart didn't seem to hear.
He was really beginning to regret not allowing that mandrake to knock him out.
The trio made their way towards the Great Hall for dinner after having trapped all the stray Cornish Pixies from Defense class back in their cage.
"I can't believe you like that guy!" Ron was ranting to Hermione. "He clearly has no idea what he's doing, and you saw how uncomfortable he made Harry!"
"But he gave him a free set of books!" Hermione argued. "And we got all kinds of practical experience, today."
"I'm with Ron, Hermione," Harry spoke up. "What was he playing at, bringing up the train incident in front of Malfoy and all those Slytherins? As if they didn't all hate me enough!"
"Oh, it wasn't that bad," Hermione said dismissively.
Harry just shook his head. "I'm not really that hungry. I think I'm just going to go up to the common room."
"Are you sure, Harry?" Hermione asked uncertainly. "You haven't eaten much today."
"Yeah, I'll be fine. I need to finish up that summer essay for Potions, anyway."
Ron let out a groan. "You just had to bring that up, didn't you?"
"Sorry," Harry said with a shrug. "I'll see you two later, okay?"
The three parted ways at the end of the next corridor. Ron and Hermione turned right towards the Great Hall, and Harry headed off to the left.
Once alone, Harry hurried through the corridors and up several flights of stairs, wanting to reach the privacy of the Gryffindor common room and his dormitory as soon as possible.
But of course, Harry's bad luck prevented him from having a smooth, uneventful journey. Within just a few minutes of reaching the portrait of the Fat Lady, he hurtled down a secret passageway and rounded the next corner at such a fast speed, that he was unable to keep himself from running right into the person traveling in the opposite direction.
And, because the universe seemed to have decided for some unknown reason that it really hated Harry Potter that day, the man that Harry accidentally crashed into was none other than Severus Snape, the very last person Harry wanted to see just then.
"Potter!" the man snarled, straightening his robes with one hand, while the other closed around one of Harry's arms, giving the boy a slight shake.
Harry tried not to wince. Although the bruise balm had done wonders for his injuries last night, he was still a little sore.
"I'm sorry, Professor," Harry immediately apologized. "I was just—"
"Twenty points from Gryffindor for running in the corridors," Snape interrupted in his customary cold tone, releasing Harry and taking a step back. "We're not off to a very good start this year, are we Mr. Potter?"
"Sorry, sir," Harry said again, suddenly getting a strange feeling in his chest. His thoughts involuntarily turned to the picture in his pocket, and he couldn't help but wonder what Snape's reaction would be if he discovered that Harry had it.
"Do not let me catch you running in the castle again," Snape sneered, fixing Harry with one of his most infamous glares. "You will not like the consequences."
All Harry could do was nod as Snape stalked away. He watched the man disappear around the corner, and then let out a sigh. He doubted that he would ever get the chance to solve the mystery that was Severus Snape, his most hated Hogwarts professor.
With a frown now set on his face, Harry turned and continued on his way up to Gryffindor tower. Only this time, at a much slower pace.
A/N: So next chapter will be featuring Harry's first Potions class of the year. Now that should be fun to write.
As always, feedback is greatly appreciated.
-Ailee17