Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related characters and ideas are the whole intellectual property of Ms. J.K. Rowling and are hers alone to sell. I do not receive, nor would I accept any compensation for any of the owned intellectual property of Ms. Rowling (nor that which she has licensed to WB etc.). What follows is just a wacky little ditty I wanted to get out of my brain. It only got there because I so love that which Ms. Rowling created. No copyright infringement is intended.

The Trouble with Slytherins…

'Alright team,' Oliver shouted, glaring at Harry and the twins until they stopped goofing around. 'I have some news.' Intrigued by his excited air, the team all turned their attention to their Quidditch captain. 'Flint will not be playing with the Slytherin team for the match.'

'What?! Why not?' the twins demanded excitedly.

Oliver looked meaningfully at Harry for a moment before explaining when Harry avoided his gaze. 'I was told that it was a disciplinary matter within Slytherin, that Sna- er, Professor Snape, enacted,' he corrected quickly, mindful of Harry's presence. 'Flint is banned from this match. I believe there are detentions as well, for him and Malfoy. You know anything about that Harry?'

'I do,' Harry replied uncomfortably. 'But…' he sighed. He did know all about the punishments Flint had got for forging his head of house's signature on the letter that had started the disagreement at their first Quidditch practice of the year, as well as the detention Malfoy had been assigned for the Mudblood comment. But, he'd found out because his Dad was the teacher involved, not because it was meant to be common knowledge. It wouldn't be right to pass on things he found out because of his unique relationship with the head of Slytherin – and not just because his father (not to mention the headmaster and Auntie Minnie) would kill him for it.

But his discomfort was alleviated quickly when Fred spoke up. 'Don't worry Harry,' he smiled knowingly. 'It doesn't take a genius to guess that Malfoy got a detention for what he called Hermione. And I'm guessing Flint's caught it for either lying to Professor Snape about booking the pitch that day, or for forging the note completely.' Harry looked over to him, surprised that he'd guessed so accurately.

'If I had to guess,' added George quickly. 'I'd lean toward forgery. That note didn't really look like the good professor's handwriting – and I ought to know, I get enough comments from him on my potions essays…'

Harry smiled gratefully at the twins, glad both that he wouldn't be pressured to tell about 'inside' Slytherin goings on, and because of the fact that Fred and George, at least didn't believe that his Dad would have tried to sabotage their practice like that.

'Yeah,' Oliver agreed. 'That makes sense. Snape may seriously favour the Slytherins – as I'm sure you'd agree Harry.' he added quickly, holding up his hands placatingly. 'But he's always stopped at outright cheating like that was…'

'My Dad doesn't cheat.' Harry affirmed with a glare, daring anyone to disagree. 'Cheating is for weak-minded fools.'

*****************

'Cheating, Mr. Flint,' Severus growled at the young man standing on the other side of his office desk. 'Is for weak-minded fools. I will not tolerate such behaviour from any student, much less a Slytherin. You should count yourself lucky that you are not facing much harsher penalties.'

'But Sir,' Flint braved trying one more time to get out of this particular punishment. 'It weren't really cheating. They could've kept practicing as well. I just wanted to try and psych Wood out a bit with our new brooms…' He faltered, mid-justification at the look on his professor's face. In front of the other students, Snape may blatantly favour Slytherin students, but within the privacy  of their dungeons, he was at least as strict and harsh with them as he usually was with the others. Infractions ignored in class, were frequently dealt with severely later down here.

'Couldn't it be something else Sir?' he sighed finally. 'A week of detentions? With Filch? Or,' he gulped, 'maybe with Professor McGonagall? Anything but this Sir!' He was practically pleading now as Snape shook his head at his alternative suggestions – ready for any other punishment his head of house might deem suitable, desperate not to have to miss the match. 'Couldn't you just cane me? Or give me parchments to write? You can't make me miss this match! Just because Harry in on-'

'I'd advise you not to finish that thought, Mr. Flint,' Severus cut him off, his voice cold and dangerous. Flint wisely shut his mouth, lowering his head to look at the desk top, properly cowed.

'You forged my name on a note designed to disrupt the training of another house's team,' Severus began, barely containing his temper – thoroughly sick of students and teachers alike questioning his motives whenever Harry was involved. 'Whatever house it was doesn't matter. The penalty I assigned was appropriate if actually a little lenient to the nature of your misdemeanour. If you'd done this to the Ravenclaw team, I would have banned you from that match instead. If you'd been in another house and pulled that stunt, you would most likely have been permanently removed from your team.' He stood up, his hands on the desk top as he leaned forward. 'You might've faced expulsion for the forgery as well. Now,' he growled in his most menacing voice. 'Get out of my sight before and errant comment from you regarding my motivations really annoys me and I decide to take you up on your penultimate alternate punishment suggestion. GO!' he barked when Flint didn't move immediately.

'You can come out now Harry,' Severus said, turning to the hidden back door to his office a moment after the student fled.

'Sorry Dad,' Harry shuffled slowly into the office. 'I just wanted to wait until you were alone and then…'

'How much did you hear?' Severus asked, taking a deep breath and sitting back against his desk.

'He was suggesting doing detention with Auntie Minnie instead…' Harry replied, moving to the side of Severus' desk, his fingers lightly tracing the design carved in the wood. 'You – er… you're not really going to cane him are you?'

'No.' Severus smiled reassuringly. In spite of Dumbledore's efforts to completely ban the cane from Hogwarts, the Governors had so far only agreed to leaving it's use to the discretion of the Headmaster and Heads of houses instead of the mandatory punishments for prescribed infractions as had been the case in the past. Unfortunately, Dumbledore pointing out when Muggles had taken steps to ban it in their schools had not been a convincing argument for the governors.

When, as a young child, he'd first understood what the reedy 'canes' hanging in his Auntie Minnie, Uncle Filius, Auntie Vi, Uncle Albus, and his father's offices was for, Harry'd cried every time he'd seen one of them for weeks. Fortunately, Dumbledore did seriously disapprove of the cane, meaning that in the time since Harry'd first come to live at Hogwarts, that particular punishment had only been implemented on two occasions against students (for very serious and wanton misbehaviour).

'No,' Severus repeated. 'I'm not. But don't go telling him that – the threat alone still works nicely. Now,' he said, smiling and trying to throw off the foul mood the confrontation with Flint had put him in. 'What were you needing down here?'

'Oh, nothing really,' Harry answered with a shrug. 'Just finished practice and I brought my assignment for you. There's still an hour before the feast…'

'Just let it be Halowe'en, Harry.' Severus knew how Harry hated the spectacle that the holiday had achieved in recent years. He felt the same way. 

Prior to Halowe'en 1981, the holiday had been celebrated by the Wizarding World much the same as it was celebrated by Muggles. However, since that fateful night, the day had taken on much greater meaning, with celebrations taking on an almost carnival furor. Harry though, didn't feel like celebrating what had happened that night. He didn't remember them, and he was happy with the Dad he did have, but he still understood too well that he'd lost something wonderful that night.  And this holiday, perhaps more than any others made him confront some difficult feelings and thoughts. He knew that they weren't celebrating his parents deaths, but rather the fact that he had survived, sending Voldemort into exile in the process, but to him it still felt wrong to celebrate the day his parents had been murdered.

'Yeah,' Harry managed with a shrug after a moment. 'So, do you want my assignment or not?' 

'It's early,' Severus smirked with mock surprise as he took the parchment, accepting the change in subject and attempting to cheer Harry up. 'Should I mark this day on my calendars? The Day Harry Finished an Assignment Early? It'll go right up there with the first time you finished one on time…'

'Har, har, har,' Harry rolled his eyes, throwing himself into Severus' desk chair before he could sit back down and pushing it careening away from the desk on it's castors. 'Have I mentioned lately, Dad, how funny you're not?' He stuck out his tongue at his father and then started laughing when Severus copied him.

'Give me back my chair, brat,' Severus gave him a mock glare.

'Make me, oh great bat of the dungeon,' Harry answered, putting on his very best defiant look. They hadn't played this game in ages, since Harry'd become a regular student and decided he was too old for what always happened next.

'With pleasure…' Severus smirked, drawing his wand and levelling it at Harry who gripped the arms of the chair, looking determined, though the slight smile betrayed the fun he was having.

The tickling charm hit him first making him release the arms of the chair reflexively. The second his grip released, the floating charm followed and Harry found himself floating upside-down toward the ceiling of the vaulted office, his laughter echoing around the stone room.

****************

'Happy Harry Potter Day, Potter.' The sneering voice broke through the cheerful dinner chatter at the Gryffindor table. Harry felt every muscle in his body stiffen in anger, but before he managed to find his voice to retort, his friends were on their feet.

'Get bent, Malfoy!' yelled Ron.

'Bugger off! Shut your face! Get lost!' were all heard from various others at the table.

Hermione seemed to keep her head the most though, and was the one to come up with the most cutting reply. 'Goodness, Draco,' she said calmly, frowning in apparent concern. 'If you can't tell October from July, it's no wonder you're having trouble with your grades…'

'You shut your mouth you dirty Mu—'

'Watch it, Malfoy,' Harry cut him off harshly, moving forward so only he could hear. 'I will tell him if I hear that word from your face again.' He let his eyes look once over to the head table, before turning a calculating gaze back onto the blond Slytherin. 'What did he say would be the punishment if you said it again?' He jerked his head once toward the head table where Draco's presence at the Gryiffindor table had been noticed.

Draco paled slightly then flushed pink. 'One of these days, Potter…' he growled.

'Yeah, sure, Malfoy,' Harry replied dismissively, turning his back to the other boy to resume his seat. 'Whatever you say…' A table full of Gryffindors (and not a few nearby Hufflepuffs) snickered gleefully as Draco finally stormed away.

'Where's Nick?' Carrie, a sixth-year prefect asked to change the subject when Harry's mood seemed to darken. 'He usually does a rather spirited re-enactment of his attempted beheading for Hallowe'en. Now I think of it,' she added, looking around the hall. 'None of the ghosts are here…'

'Nick's having a party downstairs,' Harry said quietly, pushing his plate away – no longer interested in the sweets. 'It's his 500th deathday. They're coming from all around…'

'A ghost party?!' Fred and George demanded at once, identical mischievous grins spilling onto their faces.

Looking up, Harry saw similar looks of fascination on several other faces. Hermione looked like she might burst with curiosity.

'Do you want to go and see it?' Harry offered, feeling his mood lighten at their reactions. 'It's not in a restricted area or anything, so I don't see why I can't take you…' Seeing several excited nodding faces, Harry smiled and leaned in conspiratorially. 'We can't all go out at once or everyone will know that something is up. Neville, you come with me and then you all follow just a few at a time.  We'll meet around the corner…'

TBC…

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