Setting: This initial chapter is set within the first few weeks of Harry's first year where he has been sorted into Slytherin. It follows the common AU story of Harry having an older brother who falsely wins the title of The Boy Who Lived and consequently gains all the attention and adoration of his parents. There is the suggestion of abuse at the hands of his OOC parents but nothing extreme. Both parents are teachers at Hogwarts, Sirius is alive and as usual Remus is the only one who really cares about Harry. Also, as Harry is from the well known Gryffindor family he doesn't have many fans in Slytherin – Snape included.
Enjoy!
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A Cold Green
Hidden
"Well, Harry, I don't have all day. Did you even do the assignment?"
Harry felt his face redden at his mother- at Professor Potter's tone. He didn't know what would be more embarrassing an answer; the fact that he had completed the essay but his brother and friends had decided it would be funny to rip it up, or just to lie and say that once again, he hadn't done it and had nothing to hand in.
He knew which one she would believe.
"I… didn't do it." He lied.
Mrs Potter pursed her lips in a disappointed expression. One that Harry had come to recognise very well over the years. One usually reserved for him.
"Ten points from Slytherin for your hopeless attitude towards homework. You had better have it completed for me tomorrow, or you'll have detention again." She spoke in a waspish tone, familiar green eyes burning into his before striding back to the board.
Harry sighed feeling disappointed in himself. His grades were nothing like as good as his brother's even though he knew he was smarter in almost every way. Somehow he had a feeling it was to do with Benjamin's status as the hero of the wizarding world.
"Mr Potter, are you paying attention?"
"Yes Professor."
His time at Hogwarts had become routine. Some of the Slytherins had realised it was in their best interests to keep Harry within an arms reach as he was able to help with most types of homework. He was clever, and they knew it. But most students still treated him with distain. According to Benjamin, Harry had always been weird, and their father would even have suspected him to have dabbled in the Dark Arts if they didn't all know he wasn't smart enough for it.
So mostly Harry's time was spent between detentions and hiding from those who wanted to cause him physical pain. His father had taken up the tack of pretending he didn't exist while Snape took every available opportunity to employ his revenge for whatever discomfort his father or brother had caused most recently.
Things were pretty bad. But they could have been worse. Some of the portraits spoke to him civilly now. And at least his varying detentions had allowed him to discover several areas of the castle he probably wouldn't have found otherwise. One such detention had found him weeding some of the poisonous plants on the outskirts of the forbidden forest. He'd discovered a crop of useful herbs that he quickly incorporated into his healing balms.
Another such detention, perhaps the worst, was the one Snape had given him for being out of bed, out of hours. It had resulted in the best discovery yet.
"Mr Potter. Pay attention!"
"Sorry Professor."
His hand now moved to the delicate necklace that sat around his neck. It offered him some warmth and comfort even though he could sense its unfamiliar power.
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"You're late, Mr Potter." Snape said distastefully, looking down at the tired boy in his doorway.
"Sorry sir." Harry replied quietly.
It was ten past six in the morning and Harry had awoken on his bedcovers completely clothed and very much in pain only fifteen minutes ago. He'd hurriedly washed up and covered himself in healing balm, allowing himself a satisfied smile as the bruises on his face melted into his normal pale complexion. After this it had been a limped dash to the potion master's classroom.
"Get in here then." The tall man snapped, holding the door open for him, before slamming it shut.
Harry winced, the loudness hurting his already pulsing headache.
"As I told you last night, I'm not going to tolerate any more of your family's idiocy. You're to scrub the flagstones of the dungeons all day until they are spotless."
Harry frowned.
"The whole dungeon?"
"All of it." Snape smirked, obviously pleased of the punishment he had thought up.
Harry couldn't think of anything to say. He was tired and sore and just wanted to go to bed.
An old bucket and brush were thrust into his hands with more force than necessary.
"The sooner you start, the sooner you'll finish." Snape said, directing him to the doorway.
He would never finish, Harry thought dispassionately. He would die with a scrubbing brush in his hand, bent over the cold flagstones of the dank dungeon floors in a cold corner where nobody would find him.
"Give me your wand." Snape ordered, "You can have it back when you're finished."
Harry complied without much of a fight. He didn't really have a choice in the matter.
"And if you so much as move one room too far away I will know." Snape informed him darkly before slamming the heavy oak door once more.
The whole dungeon?
That would take weeks, never mind days.
After the first three hours Harry's hands were starting to ache and his back was stiff from crouching. He had made it through four rooms and down the East wing corridor but there was just so much to do. He could hear people moving around happily upstairs and the excited chattering from outside where he knew it was a sunny day.
With a heartfelt sigh he sat back and stretched, watching the dust drift slowly through the air before him. A voice broke his thoughts.
"Oy, mop head."
His bad mood was about to get worse.
"Benjamin." He replied softly.
His third year brother appeared loudly up ahead, his strong frame dwarfing that of Harry's.
"What are you doing?" He said in disgust, his perfect face wrinkling in distaste, "Never mind, I was wondering where you were."
The older boy looked down at him impatiently. His red hair shorn short against his head, with his brown eyes that melted the hearts most girls, staring at the bucket of water next to Harry.
Harry stood carefully, barely coming up to his brother's chin.
"What did you want?" Harry asked suspiciously, green eyes narrowing.
"Do I need an excuse to visit my dear baby brother?" Came the quick reply and brilliant smile.
"Let me guess," Harry sighed, "You were bored and refused to do your homework with your friends so came to annoy me to pass the time."
"Exactly." Ben laughed, heartily.
Even his laugh was perfect. It was no wonder everyone adored him. They just never saw the unpleasant side of him.
His brother's smile changed to one of mischief and trouble.
"Dad heard you got a detention from Snape. Said you were tarnishing the good family name, as usual. I just wanted to see you for myself."
Harry shifted uncomfortably on his feet. His dad wouldn't be happy at all. He was too lost in this train of thought to notice his brother pulling out his wand.
"Escano!"
The spoken jinx was too sudden for Harry to react and before he knew it, his feet had been pulled from under him and he landed painfully on his back, the damp stones wetting his robes.
"Too slow, brat." Ben laughed, throwing his full weight down on top of his brother and wrestling with him over with a twisted arm behind his back.
Harry cried out in frustration and fought against his brother's strong, Quidditch-playing frame, but was unable to retaliate. He never could.
"You shouldn't cause any more trouble, mop boy." Ben hissed out, clearly enjoying himself as he twisted Harry's arm some more, "Cause dad doesn't like it… and you know what, neither do I."
Face pressed against the cold stone floor Harry didn't realise from the sound what his brother intended to do before it was too late and the bucket of old water was above his head.
"Ben no! Don't, please!" Harry pleaded, giving a final struggle.
His brother just flashed that smile and gave him a wink before flicking his wand and emptying the contents of the bucket all over Harry.
The shock of the cold dirty water hit Harry before the taste and he spluttered hopelessly, not realising he had been released.
"Get scrubbing, kiddo." Ben said in his charmingly smooth voice, once more standing to leave.
Harry moved his dripping hair out of his eyes and could only shout after his brother's retreating figure,
"I hate you!"
His only response was that annoyingly perfect laugh as it disappeared up the stairs.
Harry sniffed, fighting back the emotions that swirled in his sleep-deprived body. He wouldn't let himself cry. His brother wasn't worth that.
Instead he righted the bucket and looked for where the brush had been swept across the floor to. He spotted it in a dimly lit corner underneath an ugly old tapestry. It was no wonder hardly anyone came down here, it was depressing.
Crawling to the spot, Harry's shivering hand removed the brush from its resting place and slid it back across the floor to the bucket.
Happening to glance at the wall, he spotted a tiny carving in the rock, shining slightly in the bad lighting. The brick in question was situated on the bottom layer where the wall met the floor. Harry squinted carefully at the carving and realised it what it was – a snake.
Shifting into a better position and checking that nobody was coming, he got up close to the brick and attempted to lever it out of place. It wouldn't budge. Perhaps it was the picture of the snake, or maybe just because it felt more satisfying to swear in Parselmouth, Harry found himself muttering to the brick in snake language.
"…bloody thing, just move! Open up you little-"
The brick suddenly shifted slightly. Heartened, Harry tugged some more and finally removed the brick from it's home. There was nothing behind it. Green eyes frowned and Harry slid his hand into the gap to search the dark area. His fingers found the edges of the strangely small slab beneath his knees. Ignoring the slight pain it caused his fingernails, Harry proceeded to lever up the flagstone next. It was exciting – like a treasure hunt, but there was very little space within the brick-hole with which to work.
With a heavy grating noise of stone on stone the slab slid upwards and revealed to Harry what looked like a very small box.
He hesitated. He wasn't stupid. He knew that whatever was in the box had been hidden for a reason, but he was tired and cold and feeling rather reckless after his brother's attack. Harry pulled the small box out and stared at it.
What could it hurt?
He flicked open the latch and pulled the little box open with a creak. Again, he checked the corridor before pulling the box into his lap and studying the contents eagerly.
It was a chain. A delicate necklace glinted at him from the shadows. The chain was silver with a small pendant attached. Carefully taking it out, Harry felt a tingle of power run through his hand. It unnerved him, but there was something too attractive about the necklace to take his eyes off it.
He held the pendant in front of his face to see the shape more clearly. It was a tiny silver droplet that looked extremely fluid. Shrugging to himself Harry placed the necklace over his head and grinned at the feeling of comfort it gave him. It sat perfectly around his neck sending warm energy through his tensed shoulders and down his sore back.
A faint blue light glowed around the droplet and Harry stared in alarm as it changed shape. But that was all it did. It merely changed into what looked like a lightning bolt. Similar to his scar, Harry thought, unconsciously rubbing his forehead.
Strange. Would it be unwise to keep it?
Why shouldn't he? He had found it after all.
Harry's palm closed around the little pendant and he smiled for the first time that week.
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"That's it Harry, detention. If you won't do the work in my class, then you'll have to do it in your own time." Snapped a familiar voice.
Harry looked up, his hand moving quickly away from the necklace.
"Sorry Professor." He muttered.
The rest of the class bustled past him, anxious to get outside as the bell went. Harry kept his eyes downwards, not wanting to see the look on his mother's face. He drifted out of the room silently.
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Another chapter down. Hope it's still making sense. Thanks to all the reviews so far! x