Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling.
Severus faced his first years, Gryffindors and Slytherins, and prepared to lecture. He gave a slight nod when he saw Harry and Draco, then began lecturing on how didn't expect many, if any, to understand the delicate power of potions and what they could do. "You can learn how to bottle fame, brew glory and even stopper death...if you aren't as big of bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach." He looked around the many dumbfounded expressions and sneered. "I must say, the odds don't look promising."
Harry bit back a laugh, noticing that Hermione looked desperate to prove she wasn't a dunderhead. He noticed Draco looked amused as well and they exchanged a grin.
"Who can name an ingredient in the Boil Cure Potion?"
Harry was about to raise his hand when Hermione shot hers into the air, waving it madly.
"Oh, brother," Ron muttered as he watched her.
"Yes, Mr. Weasley? Do you know an ingredient in the potion for Boil Cure's?" Severus asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh," Ron looked around and noticed most looked confused.
"Hmm. How about this, what color should the potion be once brewed?"
"Umm," Ron glared at the amused grin Harry was giving him. His glare deepened when he saw Hermione practically falling out of her seat, waving her hand. "I'm, uh, not sure sir. I bet Harry knows the answer, though! And I think Hermione does by the way she's practically standing up."
Hermione flushed and sat down, lowering her hand as the rest of the class snickered.
"Ah, mocking someone who obviously has done some reading of the text book," Severus drawled. "How much reading did you do, Mr. Weasley?" He knew the boy, after all and figured the redhead hadn't done any reading. He didn't think it right to mock a fellow housemate who was obviously eager to learn, even if she was being annoying about it. "Mr. Potter, name an ingredient."
"Snake fangs, crushed finely." Harry said.
"Correct. Mr. Malfoy?"
"Porcupine quills."
"Correct," Severus gave both boys an approving look. He sighed. "Miss Granger, what color should the potion be?"
"Blue, Professor," Hermione said, a little more subdued.
Severus called on a few more students to answer questions and scowled when only one of them knew the answer. "This is in the first chapter of your book. They are easy questions. Most of you obviously think you didn't need to open a book before coming to class, eh?" With a shake of his head, he lectured on the potion before pairing them up and setting them to brewing the boil cure potion. He walked around and observed as they weighed dried nettles and crush snake fangs. The only time he talked was when he saw a student about to make a mistake, then he snapped at them to read the instructions again.
"Geez, your dad can be a -"
"Watch it," Harry interrupted as he stirred their cauldron. "Besides, you know he asks questions the first day. I warned you about it. Did you really not read the first chapter?"
"What's the point of reading before classes even start?" Ron shrugged as he chopped.
"The point is in being prepared," A deep voice said behind them.
Ron's eyes widened and he slowly turned to face his professor.
Severus pointed to the text book. "Did you at least read the instructions? Don't put the horned slugs in like that, they aren't ready. Look at Mr. Malfoy's cauldron, he's stewed his horned slugs perfectly."
Draco preened and Harry frowned slightly.
"Why is he picking on me?" Ron whined when Snape had moved on.
"Because it's fun to see your face get redder than your hair," Harry said absently as he worked. He ignored his friend's scowl as he put down the stirrer. The first class and already Draco was impressing his father, standing out. He sighed and kept working, hoping to impress his father too.
"Uh oh!"
Clouds of acid green smoke and a very loud hissing sound filled the dungeon. Neville, who had been working with Seamus Finnegan, had somehow managed to melt their cauldron into a blob and their potion had spilled onto the floor, burning holes into student's shoes. Soon the whole class was standing on their stools and poor Neville stood drenched in the potion, red boils springing up on his arms and face.
"Dunderhead!" Severus snarled as he stomped over to clear the potion away with the wave of his wand. "What did you do, add the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"
Neville whimpered as he nodded.
"Longbottom, you need to pay to attention to what you read and what you do," Severus scolded. He was about to verbally blast the boy more but stopped at Harry's disapproving face. He sighed, knowing Harry was protective of his friends. "Take him to the hospital wing," He said to Seamus. He stalked to the front of the room and stared out at his class. "Let this be a lesson to you, this is a class that needs your undivided attention. Even a small mistake can be catastrophic. For your next class, I expect all of you to have done the assigned reading and be ready to brew carefully."
When class was dismissed, Harry approached his dad's desk. "Will Neville be okay?"
"Yes. Madam Pomfrey will fix him up." Severus said as he arranged the vials the student's had turned in.
"You were kind of hard on him," Harry remarked.
Severus looked up. "Yes, I was. Besides the harm he did to himself, another student could have been hurt. He's lucky it was just a boil potion that went wrong, the outcome could have been much worse. The class got a good lesson of what can happen when you don't pay attention to what you are doing."
"So you should thank Neville," Harry suggested, a twinkle in his eye.
"No, I shouldn't," Severus said in amusement. "Run along to your next class, I'll make sure Neville is okay."
"Okay," Harry eyes fell on Draco's potion vial. "So, Draco's potion turned out good, huh?" He asked causally.
"Yes," Snape said. "It was very well done."
Harry nodded with a fake smile and then turned to leave. Before he left the room, his father called out after him.
"Yours was done very well too."
Harry grinned and gave him a wave before heading to his next class.
HP
"Up!" Unsurprisingly the broom flew into Harry's hand. The same happened for Draco, Ron, and several others but many were having trouble getting their brooms to corporate.
"Up!" Hermione said sternly to her broom, frowning when nothing happened.
"Up," Neville pleaded with his broom.
"Can those of us who already know how to fly our brooms go flying?" Draco called out.
"No," Madam Hooch said briskly as she tried to help the student's who were having trouble. "Everyone will go at the same pace for now."
Once everyone was able to call their brooms, Madam Hooch showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end. Harry and his friends, including Draco, grinned when Theo was told he had been doing it wrong for years.
"Shut up," Theo muttered. "She doesn't know what she is talking about."
"Right, she's just the flying instructor," Draco smirked.
"I'm not good at flying, you know I've tried before," Neville said to Harry and Ron with a sigh.
"Try again," Harry encouraged.
"Like this," Draco said, showing Neville how to grip the broom handle.
"You're helping him?" Pansy asked incredulously. "He's a Gryffindor, not to mention pathetic."
"Real nice, Pansy," Blaise Zabini said, rolling his eyes.
"Hey, what's that?" Theo picked up something off the ground.
"Oh, my Remembrall! I must've dropped it," Neville said, holding his hand out for it.
"Hmm," Theo tossed it into the air and caught it. "Does it remind you to not be a disgrace to wizardry?"
"Give it back to him," Harry said in an annoyed voice.
"Why should I?" Theo asked with a smirk.
"Theo, just stop," Draco said with a sigh.
"Are you going to try and make me?" Theo challenged. "For Lardbottom? Really?"
Draco hesitated. Neville was his friend, sort of, but Theo was his friend too. Sort of.
Theo looked back at Harry smugly. "Are you going to try and make me, Potter?"
"If I have to," Harry snapped.
Theo got on his broom and flew into the air with a laugh.
"Mr. Nott, get down!" Madam Hooch yelled.
Theo shrugged. "Yes, Ma'am," He said before throwing the Remembrall as hard as he could.
Without thinking, Harry hopped onto his broom and flew after it. He was so focused he didn't hear the cheering from his peers or Madam Hooch calling for him. As the ball fell, he leaned forward and pointed his broom handle down, racing after the ball. He stretched out his hand and a foot from the ground he caught it, pulling his broom up just in time.
"Harry Potter!"
Harry gulped as he saw Professor McGonagall running towards him along with Madam Hooch.
"Never in all my time at Hogwarts -"
"I couldn't believe what I was seeing!"
"Me either!"
"Did you know he could fly like that?"
"No, I -"
Harry looked from McGonagall to Hooch in confusion. They didn't appear mad at him, they actually seemed excited. He didn't understand it.
"He's a natural," McGonagall said, rubbing her hands together gleefully.
"Charlie Weasley couldn't have pulled off a move like that," Madam Hooch agreed. "And he's only a first year! Think how good he will be in a few years!"
"He could end up being a professional Quidditch player," McGonagall said excitedly.
"And we knew him when, eh?" Hooch chuckled.
"Um, Professor McGonagall, Madam Hooch," Harry interrupted. "What's going on? Am I, um, in trouble?"
"Merlin, Harry!" Draco hissed. "You never ask if you're in trouble!"
"Well, you shouldn't have been flying of course," McGonagall said quickly. "But Harry, you're exactly what we need."
"For what?"
"Our Gryffindor Quidditch team needs a Seeker," McGonagall smiled. "You're our new Seeker. Oliver Wood will be so excited."
Harry's mouth dropped open as gasps could be heard from his peers. "Me? A Seeker? But first years never make the team!"
"Until now," Hooch grinned. "The matches will be very interesting to watch. I can't wait!"
"He's on the team?" Draco asked, jealousy filling his eyes.
"No fair!" Theo protested.
"Enough out of you," Hooch scolded.
"Harry, you're on the Quidditch team!" Ron grabbed Harry's arm in excitement.
"Yeah but, what about my dad? Will he let me?" Harry asked anxiously.
"Of course he will. I'll talk to him." McGonagall assured him.
"However, neither of you should have been flying at all," Hooch slightly scolded.
"That's right. Ten points from you, Mr. Nott and ten points from you, Mr. Potter." McGonagall said.
"Yes Ma'am," Harry said, still feeling excited. He was going to be on the Quidditch team!
"Mr. Nott, I must thank you," McGonagall said brightly.
"For what?" Theo asked suspiciously.
"Well, if it wasn't for you, Gryffindor wouldn't have a new Seeker and an excellent one at that!" McGonagall beamed before striding away.
Theo scowled.
HP
That evening, McGonagall cornered Severus in his office to discuss Harry joining the Quidditch team.
"Absolutely not," Snape said firmly. "He's only a first year and needs to concentrate on -"
"Severus, really," McGonagall interrupted in exasperation. "He's a natural and our team needs a Seeker! You must allow him, I've already told him you would. He's very excited."
"He broke the rules and gets rewarded by being on the team," Snape asked sarcastically.
"I'll have you know I took points for that," McGonagall said huffily. A sneaky grin crossed her face. "And from your house, of course."
"What? Why?"
"Mr. Nott started the whole thing, flying without permission first and stealing Longbottom's ball. Harry was just trying to get it back." Minerva put her hands on her hips. "Is it because our houses are rivals that you don't want Harry on the team? You don't want him to help us win," She accused.
"That is not true, I would be proud for Harry to be a Seeker, even for Gryffindor!" Severus snapped, insulted she would question that.
McGonagall smiled smugly. "Excellent. Then Harry has your permission."
Severus scowled. "Nicely played."
"Thank you," McGonagall said smugly.
"Fine, but if his grades fall or he gets into trouble, Quidditch will be banned until he improves," Severus warned.
"Of course," Minerva said. "Harry is a good boy."
"I know he is."
HP
"Did you hear? That prat is officially on the Gryffindor Quidditch team!" Theo raged in the Slytherin common room.
"Well, it's your fault," Tracey said with a grin. "If you hadn't been a prat during our lesson, he wouldn't be on the team."
"He did fly really well," Blaise said. "I was impressed."
"I wasn't." Theo grumbled.
"Wow, a first year on the team," Draco murmured. That never happened! Harry was already famous and now he was a Seeker! He bet Severus was really proud...even if Harry was a Gryffindor. How was Draco supposed to impress him? How was he supposed to be a son that Severus could be proud of like Harry was? His mother would probably be impressed with Harry too. But what about him?
"Potter is just a show-off," Theo complained. He glanced at Draco. "Right Draco? He thinks he's so great."
"Harry isn't like that," Tracey protested. "You're just jealous of him."
"Oh, please," Theo sneered.
Draco didn't say anything, feeling conflicted. Yeah, Harry wasn't like that but really... why did he have to show everyone how great he can fly? Draco could fly really good too but he had to admit, at least to himself, Harry was better. If only he could be a Seeker as well.
HP
"You wanted to see me, sir?" Harry asked with an easy grin as he entered his dad's office. He had received a note to see his dad, which surprised him since it was close to his curfew.
"Yes, sit down," Severus gestured to the chair in front of his desk.
Harry paused for a moment before sitting. "Am I in trouble?"
Snape leaned back and stapled his fingers together. "I don't know. Should you be?"
"Uh," Harry bit his lip. "I guess you heard I lost points. You don't care though, right? Since it's just Gryffindor?"
"Harry, I do care if you lose points because it means you did something you shouldn't have," Severus said firmly. "Do not think that just because you are in a different house than mine that it means I don't care or keep track. I'm disappointed that you disobeyed Madam Hooch in your lesson."
"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to," Harry said sincerely. "Nott stole Neville's Remembrall and I just wanted to get it back for him. I did it without thinking."
Severus sighed. "Yes, that's what I'm afraid of, you doing things without thinking. You could have been hurt."
"I know how to fly," Harry protested.
"Yes, but you also know not to try dangerous moves," Severus said. "I heard about the maneuver you did, you could have broken your neck."
"I'm sorry," Harry said softly. "Does this mean I can't be on the team?"
Severus stared at him. "You can be on the team," He finally said. His eyes softened at the huge smile that broke out on his son's face. "But mind me, Harry. If your grades suffer you will be banned until they improve. And if you get into trouble and make losing points a habit, you will be banned until I say otherwise. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Harry nodded obediently, his eyes shining with excitement. "Thanks, Dad."
Suddenly there a knock on the door.
"Come in," Severus called.
"Ah, I'm pleased to have found you two together," Dumbledore beamed as he entered the office.
"Can we help you?" Severus asked.
"Well, something has just been brought to my attention," Dumbledore said. "A very old policy that Hogwarts has. It has not been used in many years as it has been some time since a professor who was also a Head of House had a child in school."
"What is this policy?" Severus asked in concern.
"Well, if the a child is sorted into a different House, then they are also a honorary member of their parent's House," Dumbledore said cheerfully.
Harry's mouth dropped open. "So I'm an honorary Slytherin?" Understanding filled his eyes. "Oh, that's what the sorting hat meant."
"What did the sorting hat say?" Severus asked in surprise.
"That I could basically be a part of two houses, or something like that," Harry shrugged. He looked at Dumbledore curiously. "What does being an honorary member of Slytherin mean?"
"That you have access to their common rooms," Dumbledore said. "You can even sleep there occasionally, if you would like to. You can also eat at their table. Points you earn or lose will still belong to Gryffindor. It's basically like visiting rights, so you can get to know your dad's house better. Like I said, it has been a long time since this was ever an issue. From my reading, I assume it was put in place in case the professor had an issue or concern over their child being put in a different house."
"I do not have an issue with Harry being a Gryffindor," Severus said. "I also do not have an issue with him being an honorary member of my house." He smiled fondly at his son.
Harry bit his lip. "Will your house mind?"
Severus raised an eyebrow. "They better not. I will certainly have a discussion with anyone who does. Besides, this is a good opportunity for you and Draco to spend more time together."
"True," Harry wondered if he would like anyone else in Slytherin besides Draco and Tracey. He had to admit, he liked their common room. He'd been in there when he was younger and had asked to see what it looked like. He thought their view of under the Great Lake was cool.
"Well, I just wanted to let you know," Dumbledore said as he made to leave. "Oh, and Harry. Congratulations on making the Quidditch Team."
TBC: