Disclaimer: Nothing in the Harry Potter universe is mine. I simply love to play with it.
AN: Thanks to everyone who followed, favoured and reviewed. I was overwhelmed by the positive reviews for the first two chapters, so I was really in the mood for this fic. But before I wrote new chapters I finished planning the mainplot.
Now that this is done, here is the next chapter for you.
Parts of Snape's welcoming speeches are from pottermore.
This chapter is beta'ed by the wonderful vichan and Cameron Lindsey. Thanks to you two, you are the best!
Have fun reading.
On with the story.
Chapter 3: Slytherin House
Harry tried to remember the way to the Slytherin common room from when he had followed Malfoy during their second year, but the dungeon corridors all looked the same to him. He sighed. He would have to ensure that he had the Marauders' map with him at all times or he was sure to get lost.
They stopped in front of a stone wall.
"Bezoar." Zabini spoke, and the stone wall parted to reveal a long underground room.
As they stepped inside, Harry saw that the whole Slytherin house was present in the common room. Heads moved and whispers broke out when they realized who had followed Zabini into the room.
To distract himself from some of the stares, he looked around. When he had infiltrated it with Ron, he had not dared to study it with open curiosity.
Previously, he'd gotten the impression of a dark room with a grand but cold atmosphere. It seemed he would certainly have to reconsider his previous opinion.
It was a long, dungeon-like room, and parts of it extended underneath the Black Lake. The windows looked out into the underwater world of the lake, and during the day it would give the light in the room a green tinge. As it was nighttime, the waters were currently dark and black.
Fire crackled in the two big fireplaces dominating the left and right walls of the room, providing warmth and light. Green lamps hung from the ceiling and several black and green leather settees and dark green armchairs were arranged in groups around the room. Tables of various sizes with carved chairs were set up in a few different places, and several dark wood cupboards, filled with books, games, and other objects, were scattered in most of the corners.
Located in the dungeons, it could have been a cold, dark room with a creepy atmosphere, but instead, due to the darker, warmer colours, it emanated calm and coziness, something Harry never would have associated with the dungeons.
He moved around most of his new housemates and stood in front of one of the large windows, observing the dark waters. In the light of the day he was sure he would be able to see fish and creatures, perhaps even the giant squid swooshing by.
The whispering finally settled down behind him.
His housemates seemed to be waiting for something and his suspicion was confirmed when the entrance opened and Professor Snape stepped into the common room, piercing gaze sweeping over them. His eyes briefly stopped on Harry standing at the back of the crowd, and then he addressed the whole room.
"Welcome back, my snakes. To our new first years: welcome to Slytherin. I am Professor Severus Snape, your Head of House."
He looked at the small eleven-year-olds standing in front of him and Harry was surprised to see something akin to a small, comforting smile on Professor Snape's face.
"First, let me clarify a few things for you and dispel some of the more… unfortunate myths. Slytherin house is not the house of evil, nor is it the house for Dark Wizards. Yes, we have produced our fair share of Dark Wizards, but so did the other Houses; they just don't care to admit it. And if you didn't know, the greatest wizard of all time - Merlin, himself - was a Slytherin."
Professor Snape paused, and Harry thought back to his first potions class. He had to admit that Snape knew how to deliver a speech. As always, he didn't raise his voice but was nonetheless heard at the back of the room, and everyone's attention was on him.
"Slytherin is the house of the ambitious, determined, cunning, and clever. We strive to better ourselves. We play to win and care about the pride, honour, and traditions of Slytherin. What Salazar sought in his students was the seed of greatness. Every single one of you has been chosen for this house because you have the potential to be great, in whatever way you choose to be."
Professor Snape paused again to give the children time to comprehend what was implied.
"The most important point you should remember is that we Slytherins look after our own. The other houses and parts of the magical world look upon us with fear and distrust. Therefore, we must stand together." Snape's voice was firm. "Every dispute between you and a fellow snake stays inside our house. Outside, you must present a united front, especially in regards of the recent events in wizarding Great Britain. No snake is to walk alone in the halls. I don't know if you read the Daily Prophet and if you believe it but let me make something clear so that there are no misunderstandings." He raked his gazed across the room to make sure that everyone was paying attention.
He did not need to; everyone in the room was hanging onto his every word.
"The one widely known as 'You-Know-Who' is back. No matter what the newspapers are saying this is the undeniable truth."
Shocked gasps rippled through the common room. Harry wasn't sure if this was because they believed the Daily Prophet or were simply stunned that Professor Snape would confirm it so openly.
"This will make things for you in Hogwarts harder, especially when the public finally accepts the truth. You will be associated with the Death Eaters, solely based on the fact that you are Slytherins. It may be that your parents, uncles, aunts, cousins, or siblings are following the beliefs of the Dark Lord…"
A surprised wave of murmurs wandered through the younger students standing at the front, especially from the first years. Professor Snape narrowed his eyes.
"Yes, I do call him the 'Dark Lord.' Calling him 'You-Know-Who' is a foolishness I don't wish to take part in. Calling him by his chosen name is another foolishness altogether, as he placed a taboo curse on his name in the last war. Whatever your thoughts of him might be, he is an immensely powerful wizard and is due a certain level of respect." He paused, allowing that to sink in, before continuing. "This is a lesson you should always remember: give your friends, allies, and especially your enemies the respect they deserve based on their abilities, even if you don't respect them from a… moral standpoint."
Harry had to give Professor Snape credits. He was sure the professor knew there were children of Death Eaters in his house; perhaps some of them would even become Death Eaters shortly before or after graduation. Impressively, he managed to appease them all without showing his own affiliation.
But why? Everything Harry had learned about Slytherins over the years and all of his own experiences with them had led him to the impression that they were all prejudiced purebloods who would love nothing more than to follow Voldemort.
But then, Harry had to admit that he didn't really know all that much about these students and their families. The only ones he really interacted with were Malfoy and his goons, as well as the Quidditch team. He actually didn't know anything about these people.
How they were raised. What they really thought about half-bloods and Muggle-borns. Why their families followed Voldemort. Were all of the Slytherin families in league with Voldemort?
Harry realized he had been judging them all based on the actions of a few, an incredibly easy trap to fall into. Just as he had accused them of prejudice against half-bloods, Muggle-borns, and muggles, he himself held a prejudice against these students simply because of being in Slytherin house.
The house he was now a part of.
Perhaps he needed to be more open-minded. He should probably observe and get to know his housemates before he judged them.
After all, they couldn't all be like Malfoy. If he found at least one decent person, someone he could talk to, perhaps his time in Slytherin wouldn't be complete torture.
And even if they all were like him, Harry knew he could survive it. He would survive just like he had survived the Dursleys. He only needed to know how to behave in order to not draw attention, and which mask he needed to live in Slytherin house.
Harry clenched his fist in determination and shifted his attention back to Snape.
"Here in this house we have children from families of all walks: light, neutral and dark. These political associations mean nothing while you are here. At Hogwarts, you are all Slytherin," Snape said, his voice stern.
"You are family to one another. Even if you will stand on separate sides later, in Slytherin, you always will have a family. All other affiliations are void during your stay here. If we don't look after each other, no one else will. We are loyal to each other. I am not saying that you should denounce your family, but I do not allow disputes in my house based on your family's associations."
Harry sneered lightly at that. It all sounded well and good; if it was true, he didn't need to be concerned about the children of Death Eaters. But he also knew that being family didn't necessarily mean that someone cared or treated you right - not even if you were related by blood.
"Your family status and family affiliation are secondary here; your blood status is of no significance at all. Show us what you can do." Professor Snape was intense in his speech and his gaze, eyes wandering over them, as he ensured every word sank in. Then he assumed a lighter tone.
"Our house colours are green and silver, and our house emblem is the serpent. Serpents are some of nature's most resourceful creatures, and as they grow older, they shed their skin and start anew. Keep this firmly in mind and you will be able to handle everything life throws at you."
Professor Snape flicked his wand and a parchment appeared on the announcement board left of the entrance door.
"Now, I have some rules for you to follow. Firstly, for our new students, I will have an individual interview with every one of you. These are to evaluate your education so far, what you need to settle in, and individual tutoring if needed. We will also go through your medical record to address any problems which may occur. The schedule for the annual health check for everyone is posted on the notice board."
Harry felt sick to his stomach; he never had an actual health check. They technically had them at the beginning of the year in Gryffindor, as well, but nobody made sure that they actually went. Harry always managed to find a way to skip it.
And as he was usually in the hospital wing more than once in a typical school year, nobody had ever questioned it. Even Hermione simply assumed Madam Pomfrey checked him over when he was in her care.
"Aside from this, you can always come to me - not only in emergencies, but simply to talk or if you need help," Snape said. Harry had never heard Snape's voice sound so caring. "I am your Head of House, and this means while at school I am responsible for you and act in loco parentis. I take this responsibility seriously. But I encourage you to go to the prefects with smaller problems."
Harry felt shocked. Professor McGonagall had never given a welcome talk to her Gryffindors, nor had she emphasized that she was responsible for them beside being their teacher and disciplinarian. While it was true that they knew they could go to her if they had problems, she never had encouraged them openly like Professor Snape.
And the Gryffindors normally handled everything themselves, with the younger years seeking help from the older ones.
"You will see that I will not deduct House points from my own house if you are breaking the rules." Harry quirked his lips at that, wondering if Snape would miss using every opportunity to take points away from him. "This does not mean that you will not be punished. I will personally decide and oversee your punishment. If you are the reason one of the other teachers has taken points, I will evaluate the offense and give additional punishment if necessary." Here Professor Snape smirked at them, and Harry saw some of the older students shudder.
He decided he didn't really want to know what intra-house punishment Professor Snape tended to come up with.
"Remember that you are Slytherins; behave as such and always present an impeccable image." He paused again, driving his point home. "The house rules are as followed. I highly recommend remembering and abiding to them, as I will be... displeased if you not behave accordingly."
His eyes bored into Harry, and then he addressed the house as a whole again.
"First your house is your family. Family stands together.
"Second, once you've become a snake, you're one of ours.
"Third, Slytherins look after our own.
"Fourth, all disputes stay within the house.
"Fifth, you determine your own value. It is not important who your parents are or what blood you have. Treat your housemates accordingly.
"Sixth, the time between dinner and curfew is to spend inside your house.
"Seventh, no one is allowed to skip house meetings.
"Eighth, the annual health checks at the beginning of the year are mandatory."
Snape paused after each rule. He ensured he caught the eyes of his Slytherins, especially from the newest students.
Harry looked back at his teacher and Head of House with wide eyes. Slytherin was more different then he had imagined.
"All rules, bedtimes, my office hours, and other announcement can be found on the notice board. I will regularly and personally check your adherence to the assigned bedtime. Dormitories for the boys are through the left door, and the ones for the girls through the right."
Harry gaped. They had bedtimes? Professor McGonagall had never given them a bedtime. Yes, they had the general curfew, but not bedtimes.
Then Snape smiled at the students in the room. It was only a short uplift of his lips, but it was nonetheless warm, and Harry was sure the world was coming to an end. Snape could actually smile at students!
"Welcome to the family. I hope you have an enjoyable evening, and I will see you all tomorrow."
Professor Snape nodded at them and left the common room. The students split into smaller groups, settling into the seating areas around the room.
Harry shook his head as he tried to comprehend everything he had heard, but it was too much and too different from what he had expected. His mind was overwhelmed with all that had happened since the day before.
He slowly made his way over to the announcement board. On the list for individual interviews, he saw his name at the top, the next day at 9 AM. The bedtime for the fifth years was 11 PM. He sighed. Slytherin was so different.
Harry hadn't even gone a full day as a snake and he was already bone deep tired. One glance around the room showed him that nobody paid him any direct attention, so he decided to head to bed early. Just in case, he wanted to set up protection around his bed and his trunk. Who knew if the Slytherins would really abide by the rules set by their Head of House?
In Gryffindor, McGonagall certainly had not known everything that had occurred.
Walking through the door which led to the boys' dormitories, he discovered a spiral staircase going down to his left and a hallway to his right. Several doors on the left side of the corridor seemed to lead into dormitories.
Harry stepped into the hallway and saw that the doors had plates with two names each on them. Harry recognized some of the names from the Quidditch team such as Cassius Warrington. It seemed these were the seventh years' rooms.
He walked down the staircase and found a hallway with one door on each side. The door on the right was the sixth years' dorm, and the one on the left for the fifth years. It seemed only the seventh years got separate rooms with two students each.
Harry opened the door to the fifth years room with hesitation, and he let out a relieved sigh when he saw it was empty. It was a long room stretching out right from the entrance door.
The wall directly left from the entrance door held a large fireplace that provided warmth, and the wall was also decorated with a medieval tapestry. To the right of the fireplace was another door. He assumed it led to the bathroom, as he had not seen another door in the hallway aside from the one to the sixth years' dorm.
At the other end of the room, opposite the fireplace, a huge window looked out into the dark waters of the Black Lake. On the left and right walls were three beds each. The four-poster beds were the same ones as in the Gryffindor dorms, but with green silk hangings and bedspreads in green, embroidered with silver. To one side of each bed a wardrobe stood and to the other a desk with a chair and a shelf above it. All of the furniture was made of a dark wood.
Soft carpets in patterns of different kinds of green protected against the cold, stony dungeon floor. Silver lanterns hung from the ceiling and provided additional light to the fireplace.
Harry had to admit that the whole room was soothing with the warm and dark colours, and he was curious how the light would filter through the water of the Great Lake and transform the room in the mornings.
He found his trunk at the bottom of the bed nearest the window on the right wall. He touched one of the hidden runes with his wand and the trunk sprung open, answering his magical signature. He grinned, pleased with his handiwork, and decided to leave everything valuable in his trunk. He pulled one of the warding books and his notebook out. He found the combination of runes and spells he had researched the previous day in the Black Library.
A few minutes later, Harry lay on his back under his bed, carving runes into the dark wood and combining them with spells. Nobody would be able to open his curtains without his allowance. Harmful spells and curses would rebound from the shield he put around his bed, which stretched from one post to the other.
His wards could not block all curses, and if someone would cast a spell with more power than Harry had put into his rune shields, they would pass through, but the moment a curse encountered his wards he would know.
By the time he finished and crawled out from under his bed he wasn't simply tired anymore; he was completely drained, physically and emotionally. The ever-present anger and confusion that had been overwhelming throughout the evening were subdued. He felt numb and exhausted, and so he decided to unpack the next day.
After a short trip to the bathroom, he slipped out of his robes and threw them over the chair beside his bed, along with his hoodie and jeans, leaving the sweatpants and two tees to sleep in.
He sighed, content, as he nestled under the blankets. The dungeons were cold, even with the constant fire in the fireplace, but the duvet was thick and fluffy and equipped with a warming charm. He decided to try and process everything tomorrow.
Putting his wand under his pillow he closed his eyes and quickly fell asleep, never hearing his dorm mates entering the room.
Harry woke with a scream still on his lips, panting heavily. For a short moment he didn't know where he was and the fear and dread, which still lingered from his nightmare, turned into panic.
He blindly searched for his glasses and wand and he felt the panic increase when he didn't find both immediately.
Then his fingers touched something cool and metallic and he grabbed his glasses, slipping them on to survey his surroundings.
He was in the Slytherin dorm. His new dorm.
He could make out the other four-poster beds in the room, barely illuminated by the light of the fire, and heard the soft breath of sleep from the other boys.
Breathing deep to calm his racing heart, Harry turned around and pulled the blankets back on top of him. It seemed he had kicked them off during his nightmare.
He was safe. He was not back in the graveyard.
Again, he looked around in the dark and silent room. Thank Merlin he had put silencing charms around his bed. It would have been mortifying to wake up his new dorm mates with his screams.
What had his nightmare been about? He frowned as he tried to remember. He had been back in the graveyard. Voldemort had been there, looking snake-like and horrific, but there had been more than just that.
He was sure his Uncle Vernon had been there too, as well as Sirius and several other people he couldn't remember.
There had been so much yelling and screaming.
Accusations had been thrown at him.
Someone had transformed into a snake… had it been Harry himself?
The more effort he put into remembering, the more the details vanished. Sighing, he flopped onto his back, staring up at the ceiling.
What time was it? Reaching for his wand under his pillow, he cast a quick Tempus. It was still early in the morning; theoretically too early to get up, but early enough that Harry knew he wouldn't fall back to sleep.
He quietly slipped out of bed, retrieved fresh clothes from his trunk as silently as he could, and went to take a shower. At least he could be sure that nobody would walk in on him considering the time of day.
The lanterns in the bathroom lit up the moment he stepped inside. The previous evening, he had been too tired to look around.
The bathroom wasn't terribly different from the Gryffindor one. Across from the door were the sinks, and the rest of the room stretched out left from the door. It was divided into two sections by a wall; to one side were the showers, on the other the toilets.
He removed his clothing, put them into the hamper, and stepped into one of the shower stalls. He closed his eyes and let the hot water soothe his body, easing the tension from the nightmare and the events of the previous day.
He needed a clear head for whatever Snape wanted to talk with him about. He also wanted to try and speak with Ron. Hopefully the redhead would understand that Harry didn't have a choice.
Harry sighed as he grabbed the shampoo to wash his hair.
The day before he had managed to avoid any prolonged interaction with his new house, and he was sure today he wouldn't be as lucky. Perhaps it hadn't been a good idea to leave the common room so early. Due to his early exit, he had no idea how the atmosphere had been.
Would they be hostile? Neutral? Curious?
He needed to ascertain the situation within Slytherin house, to know who to watch, who to stay away from, and who was safe.
The anger and bitterness he felt after his sorting licked at his insides again.
Why always him?
Hogwarts should have been his refuge.
Why were strange things always happening to him? Why couldn't his life be easy and normal for once?
He stifled a bitter laugh. He knew why… because he was Harry Potter.
Why couldn't he be someone other than the Boy-Who-Lived? Why couldn't he be normal?
He closed his eyes and clenched his fists as the rage turned his blood to fire. His breath was heavy, and he listened to the water pour down on him; it was the only noise beside his breathing in the quiet bathroom.
He tried to control his anger, but standing alone in the bathroom where no one could see and judge him, it was all suddenly too much.
"FUCK!" Sharp pain radiated from his fist as he thrust it into the wall, and it cut through the haze of red-hot fury.
Shocked at what he'd just done, Harry opened his eyes and looked down at his right hand. It throbbed in pain; the skin on the knuckles had been broken and was bleeding. When he moved his fingers the pain increased.
He carefully palpated the injured hand with his left and when he realized nothing was broken a relieved breath escaped him. He had his fair share of experience with bruises and contusions, and he knew how to handle and hide them. A broken hand would certainly raise questions and result in an extra trip to the hospital wing.
Harry switched the shower off and dried himself carefully, avoiding the use of his right hand. When he was done, he stepped over to the sinks and filled one with cold water. Clumsily handling his wand with his left hand, he conjured a few ice cubes and added them to the water. He settled his hand into the ice bath with a hiss.
The throbbing decreased to a level he could handle. Harry carefully dried his hand, then finished washing up and got dressed, still favouring his left hand.
He stepped back into the still dark and silent dorm room and he retrieved a first-aid kit from his trunk. He carefully disinfected his knuckles, spread some healing ointment on them, but decided against a bandage. It would be far too noticeable, and Harry didn't want to draw attention to his injury
He then took his satchel filled with his school books, parchment, ink and quill and went to the common room.
He found a comfortable armchair near one of the fireplaces and decided to write a letter to Sirius; he needed to tell him what had happened, after all.
He had no idea what his godfather would think about him being in Slytherin. Sirius tried to repel everything having to do with his family, and Slytherin house was a part of that.
Would he still want Harry? Would he still want to be his godfather? Or would he hate him now? Would he leave him, like nearly every adult who mattered to Harry did?
Harry set his jaw and started to write, trying to find the right words to make Sirius understand that hadn't had a choice, and that he still was the same Harry as before. He would send the letter after breakfast.
Breakfast with his new house.
As that thought struck him, he set the quill aside and stared into the fire, dreading his first real day as a snake.
AN: Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think.
Many thanks to vichan and Cameron Lindsey for helping to improve my grammar and spelling.
First published: 30th of September 2018
Last edited: 2nd of February 2019