Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"God, does he ever shut it?" Marcus grunted as he leaned back on his chair. Severus watched him closely, debating whether the boy would lose his balance and fall. He unfortunately never did and Severus lost interest.

"Do you?" Thomas chipped in, his eyes fixed upon the History of Magic text beside him as Professor Binns floated by the group of boys. It had been a week since the sorting and the boys still had difficulties adjusting to Hogwarts, and more importantly Slytherin. The addition of Severus to the house had caused a ruckus among the pit of snakes, it was one thing to have mudbloods like Marcus and filthy half-bloods like Thomas, but the addition of a filthy half-blood born out of wedlock seemed to throw the house off.

"But it's not my fault, i just expected more," Marcus argued, pale eyes narrowing at the boy sitting to his left before looking to his right to face Severus. "Back me up here Sev,"

Severus frowned at the boy beside him, he had hated that stupid nickname and attempted to correct Marcus every time he used it, not that the boy listened to Severus. While the class had been instructed to take notes off the blackboard, Severus could not deny that Professor Binn's could make an interesting subject sound boring. Professor Binn's lessons were not helped by the fact that he often spun into odd tangents, that sometimes did not relate to the topic of the goblin wars.

"Keep me out of your arguments Adams," Severus muttered. Marcus's face fell at Severus's words.

"How did I end up with you two?" Marcus muttered to himself before turning back to the front of the class, where the Professor seemed to float in circles. The fact that Severus had found himself two companions had been something he questioned, he was far from approachable and had neither mannerism or attitude of someone friendly. But it seemed that Adams and Reed had glued themselves to him, despite how much Severus disliked it. Though the fact the trio was formed out of need rather than want was evident to Severus, in their first night in the castle Severus had been hassled by Mulciber and his group, which lead to a small scuffle and round of house point reduction. But Severus was sure that had that fight not accrued then Adams and Reed would not be willing to side with him.

"You lads looking forward to the Quidditch trials?" Marcus asked as he doodled on his parchment.

"First years can't get into trials," Thomas replied as his eyes rolled. "How many times have we discussed this?"

" If we made a good show we'll make it," Marcus argued. "We can be the first of our kind,"

"An optimistic Slytherin," Severus smirked. "Are you sure you're not some secret Hufflepuff Adams?

"I wouldn't doubt it," Thomas added without looking up from his textbook.

"Sod off," Marcus said as he frowned.

Severus gave another snicker before taking his quill and copying the words written on the blackboard. Severus was sure he did not need any of these notes, he had flown by all his classes with ease due to his intelligence. Though taking notes often aided in the event of forgetting, or if Marcus required extra assistance in assignments or essays. Professor Binns finished his lecture and finally allowed the tortured first years to leave, but not without a new assignment that caused the majority of the class to let out a collective groan. Gathering his belongings, Severus made his way to join Marcus and Thomas in the hallway, the trio making their way to their next class.

Potions had been Severus specialty since the age of four, his earliest memory had been Mr. Hudson gifting a mini potion master kit for his birthday. Severus's skills in the art of potions were further developed through the exposure of running apothecary, something that Severus hoped to open later in his life. Potions within Hogwarts, however, were different, Severus had already mastered everything up to the sixth year, not that he told anyone. Entering the potion classroom the boys found it filled with a mix of Slytherins and Gryffindors.

"Ah, gentlemen," Professor Slughorn bellowed. "Do join the rest of us,"

"Great, Gryffindorks," Marcus muttered as the trio wondered to the collective students that stood at the front of the class. It seemed that Slughorn had compiled the students at the front in order to dictate seating arrangement, something that caused dread skittish at the idea of being placed with someone. Slughorn explained the reasoning behind the set seating, before beginning the calling of student names to form partners.

Severus allowed his eyes to drift around him, he was not impressed by those that surrounded him, but soon dark eyes met green. Severus peered at the small red-haired Gryffindor girl and she peered back, several seconds of awkward staring ended when Severus broke when Severus whipped his head back towards Slughorn and the parring.

"Adams and MacDonald," Slughorn called out.

Marcus let out a groan beside Severus before dragging himself to the desk where a short blond Gryffindor girl waited for him. Severus found some amusement in Marcus's frustration as it meant that he could not rely on either of his two companions to do his work, a real predicament for the boy.

"Black and Blackwood,"

Severus watched as a Gryffindor boy swaggered to his seat beside a small Slytherin girl, the girl seemed to have the sourest face and chose to stay as far as possible. Severus' eyes scanned the sea of the students, he was sure he would end up with one of the Gryffindor students, an idea that unnerved the young Slytherin. The rivalry between both houses had often been bad, to the point where it became a key aspect of Hogwarts. If you were a Slytherin, you didn't like a Gryffindor. Simple fact.

"Reed and McKinnon"

The numbers were dwindling quickly, more students made their way to the workstations, some happier with their partners than others but soon only a handful of students were left. Severus took one last scan the group of students before turning back to Slughorn.

"Cartwright and Evans,"

Severus watched the short redhead make her way to the workstation with a larger Slytherin boy. Turning back, Severus noticed the sudden lack of students left. Only four left.

"Lupin and Pettigrew," Slughorn called out. "And Potter, please join Mr. Prince.

The color drained from the other boys face as he looked at the professor before slowly shuffling towards the last of the workstation. Severus had not left too happy at the thought of working with the likes of Potter, a part of him was expecting to be placed with the redhead, but it seemed fate took delight in Severus Pince's misery. Taking his seat beside the boy, Severus focused on Professor Slughorn and his explanation of potions, he would much rather listen to something not interesting than engaging the boy besides. Finally declaring the task for the day, Professor Slughorn took his seat at the front desk and stating that they would be graded upon the quality of their potions.

The task was simple, something Severus could do within his sleep. Unfortunately, that was a smaller handicap compared to the one that sat beside him, Potter had opted to collect the equipment while Severus took the moment to cut the herbs into pieces. By the time Potter had returned Severus had prepared the key aspects of the potions in order of importance.

"What are you doing?" Potter asked as he watched Severus place in the herbs.

"Listen, Potter, I don't care for you," Severus hissed. "But you best not ruin the potion"

"Says a Slytherin," Potter barked back and Severus narrowed his eyes.

"Just follow my lead,"

Severus ignored him for the rest of the process and continued to work on the potion. It went on like this for several minutes and Severus almost found himself enjoying himself, almost. As Severus set down one of the equipment he felt a hard nudge upon his right shoulder, turning he was not surprised Mulciber. The large boy had taken pushing Severus around as a sport, not that anyone tried to stop him.

"Watch it bastard," The larger boy grunted before walking back to his station.

Severus narrowed his eyes at the boy before peering back at Potter, the other boy had been staring off into space when Severus snapped him back to reality. Severus told him to keep an eye on their potion before pulling out his wand, focusing on Mulciber and Avery before shooting a small spell that tossed some of the herbs into the cauldron. The explosion caused by the excess ingredients was amusing, it covered the two boys in the potions they had been brewing, causing most of the class to laugh at them.

"Nice," Potter muttered as he smirked.

"Shut up Potter,"

The incident within the potion class had spread around the school quickly and while Severus had got away with it, he doubted that it would last. He was after all suspect number one in all Slytherin incidents, the common tactic of placing blame upon those lower than yourself and within the Slytherin hierarchy, he was defiantly at the bottom. Thus when lunch rolled around Severus decided to be in the open, avoiding any potential attacks by being somewhere open and having his companions with him. As they made their way through the grounds of Hogwarts, Marcus took the moment to complain about Mary MacDonald. He complained that she was bossy, with an annoying voice and sour temper.

"At least she kept you in line," Thomas said smiling. He had a mild experience with his partner, describing Mckinnon as competent and an asset that Gryffindor do not appreciate.

"Potter's a twat," Severus muttered. "To be fair all Purebloods are twats,"

"Broad statement there mate," Marcus replied as the trio made their way down towards the great lake. The lake was calm and the talk about a monster living within it almost seemed stupid now. Severus picked up a small white pebble that lay at his feet before tossing it at the lake, the pebble skipped across the surface of the lake before sinking into the darkness below.

"Trust me, I've been around many where I'm from," Severus muttered. "I've seen the greed in their eyes, all of them have it. As if everything is owed to them,"

"And that's why you don't like Potter?" Thomas questioned as he tossed a pebble of his own at the lake.

"I don't like him cause he's a prick," Severus replied. "But he too shows that same look, no matter how much he acts better,"

"He's not worse than Mulciber," Marcus argued. "I would pay good money to be locked in a room with him for five minutes, no wands,"

"Big words Mudblood," A voice called out.

Spinning around the trio were met with Mulciber, Avery, and Rosier. All three boys making their ways towards the trio, sour-faced and wands on display. Tension rose and the trio pulled out their own wands in response.

"If it isn't the half-blood, the mudblood and the bastard," Rosier called out as the boys came to a halt. Rosier was just as large as Mulciber, but unlike the other boy, he had a quick mind that assisted his imposing figure. Severus had noticed that Rosier always seemed to lead the group of pure-blooded Slytherin boys, he displayed everything perfect about blood purity and had many aspects that his thug friends lacked.

"Get lost Rosier, you big cunt," Marcus bit back.

"Or what mudblood?" Avery grunted.

Severus frowned, while he did not want to admit it they could not take this fight.

"I challenge you," Severus declared, causing all eyes to fall upon him. "Rosier, I challenge you to a duel,"

There were several minutes of pure silence as the boys processed what had been said, Severus knew that appealing to Rosier's pride would be the best way to leave the situation unharmed. Slytherin Pride was both an asset and a huge flaw, no Slytherin would pass up the opportunity to defeat and humiliate an enemy. Finally, when the situation seemed to sink in, Rosier let out a howl of laughter and was soon joined by Mulciber and Avery.

"You?" Rosier chuckled, as he pointed at Severus. "Against me?"

"What's wrong?" Marcus added. "Scared?"

That seemed to stop Rosier's amusement of the situation as the large boy glared at Marcus before turning back to Severus, he swiftly closed the gap between the two of them and peered down at the thinner boy. The looming presence of Rosier would have made any other first-year piss themselves, but Severus had been in his fair share of fights growing up. He would bet that Rosier had never really been in a fight in his life, rather using his size to defeat his enemy.

"When and where?"

"Midnight, the seventh floor," Severus said. "We'll walk up there together if you're scared,"

Rosier didn't take kindly to the mocking of his bravery as he grabbed Severus by the collar, causing the white shirt to rip slightly due to the sudden force by the bigger boy. Rosier held Severus close, his hot breath rushing over Severus's face as his blue eyes peered down. Finally, after several seconds of intimation, Rosier pushed Severus and grunted.

"I'll enjoy breaking you,"

Rosier didn't wait for a reply as he swiveled on his heels and swiftly made his way back towards the castle. Severus watched as the boys left, his mind reeling with the plan that was coming together, he peered over at his companions. Thomas gave a concerned look, while Marcus seemed all too willing to take part in whatever would accrue.

"You sure about this?" Thomas finally asked and Severus gave him a small smile.

"If everything works out, then this could very beneficial for the three of us," Severus replied before picking up a pebble and tossing it towards the lake.

Flying classes was not something Severus looked for. He was as skilled on a broom as a Hippogriff, while he struggled it seemed that Marcus too flying as easy as walking and Thomas was not far behind him. Severus attempted to listen to the professor but each attempt provided nothing but failure, while most of the class had experienced moderate success. This is what irritated Severus most, he hated the idea of being left behind by those he could easily surpass, if only he had some more practice and time.

"Maybe there something holding you back," Marcus muttered as he floated beside Severus.

"Like what?"

"You might be afraid," Marcus stated and Severus glared in response.

"I am not," Severus retorted, though this was not helped by the fact he was grasping his broom way too tight, as well as stood uneasily upon it. Marcus seemed to notice these and smiled, it was a partly smug, partly playful. Severus went back to focusing, he was sure that he simply put enough time into concentrating he could at the very least float. But alas the class went on and soon came to an end, all without Severus lifting off the ground, though he planned to give it a try when he could. The lack of a broom would not stop him.

Darkness had surrounded him that night, the light noises of his room-mates had kept Severus awake. After five minutes of listening, he felt comfortable in assuming that he was safe to leave. He was excited and on edge about what he was about to do, if he was caught he would be in serious trouble but more importantly, Rosier would win. During dinner, Severus had told Marcus and Thomas that they should leave the common room at different times, but meet up on the second floor before making their way up to the seventh. He planned on leading but Thomas stated it would be better for either him or Marcus to go first, as that would ensure the area is clear for him.

Leaving the dorms and sneaking through the common room was the fairly easy part of the mission, but once Severus entered the hallway tension grew. Severus shuffled his way through the floors before hitting the second floor where he was met with Marcus and Thomas beside a suit of armor.

"You ready?" Marcus whispered.

"As ever," Severus replied and the trio made their way up the floors.

The seventh floor had been the perfect stage, it was most isolated and would allow the boys the advantage of Filtch being unable to run upstairs as fast as them. Severus and the crew sneaked around the corner of one of the corridors of the seventh floor when they heard the muttered whispers of familiar voices. Turning the corner slowly they noticed Rosier and his gang. Severus was slightly surprised that they turned up and took the minute to eavesdrop.

"He's five minutes late," Rosier muttered.

"Maybe he backed out like the coward he is," Avery added but Rosier responded with an annoyed grunt.

"The bastard will get what's coming to him," Mulciber said. "His kind are no better than Mudbloods, even if he had the Prince name,"

"Prince by name, dirt by blood," Avery snickered and Mulciber chuckled.

Severus took this moment to run through the plan in his head before taking a step out. Rosier was first to notice him and his group, he smirked as they moved closer and whipped his wand out when they were close enough. There was no word, no taunts, no insults. Simply a moment of silence before both wands flew up and jets of light shot out, Rosier's missing Severus, while Severus's spell hit his target and cause him to fly through the air before being slammed into the ground. The shock caused Mulciber and Avery to freeze, allowing two more spells to be shot, each hitting their target. Severus knew he had limited time.

"Now," Severus said and the trio shot to stick. Rosier and his gang were pinned and out with leaving a scratch on Severus.

Severus made his way over towards the group and knelt down to face Rosier, a small smile upon his lips as he pointed his wand at the other boy.

"Not so high and mighty now oh pure-blooded one?" Severus mocked. "Have a nice night here Rosier, I'll see you in the morning when that spell wears off, though it'll take longer for your pride to recover,"

Everything had gone as planned, the match was quick and easy. Severus had almost expected the breaking of Rosier's pride to be harder, but it seemed the boy thought too highly of himself and was not prepared. Severus took the moment to enjoy the victory, a small but well-deserved victory. Though this did not last as it seemed Severus underestimated Filtch's abilities, the old man had spotted them on their dash back towards the dungeons, to shake him off they ran in separated directions.

The second mistake, Severus didn't get far till he outran Filtch. A sense of relaxation washed over him before he noticed the faint noise of footsteps in front of him, acting quick Severus rushed into a classroom. Several minutes of waiting felt like hours, Severus felt his heartbeat in his ears and finally the footsteps stopped and soon came a calm but all too familiar voice.

"You may as well come out," Headmaster Albus Dumbledore said in a stern voice.