Disclaimer: Only the premise of this story belongs to me – the whole HP universe most obviously belongs to JK Rowling. I just like taking it all out to play with for a little while :-) - ES
Chapter 28
The next day arrived with Harry's Tempus charm waking him up at 6:00 am. Harry took his shower, all the while thinking about the connections he'd made the previous day. 'Neville will be a great wizard once he gains some confidence – I'll have to find ways to assist in this as he will be watching my back in the future', Harry thought as he remembered Neville's strength and courage in his previous life, 'I'll have to get him his own wand sooner than 5th year though, maybe I'll talk about wand-lore and pass him a book, that might help'. ' Susan probably wrote a letter to her aunt last night. I'll have to put one together by Friday. Wonder what I should include... I'd really like to get Sirius out before he breaks out. Can't have Dumbles using him against me though, so I'll have to meet him without the old goat there. Hmmm, yeah, think I know what to write for now anyway.' thought Harry as he turned the shower off and dried himself.
Returning to his dorm room, Harry took care to dress himself neatly. He saw that Draco was ready, and asked him to watch as he used a hair-drying charm, to make sure it was right.
"Well, Harry, you seem to be a natural at Charms. You had no problems doing that one, that I could see." Draco stated, with a slight smile.
"Thanks Draco! I read that my mother was a great Charms student, so I studied extra-hard. Even though I don't know her, I still want to make her proud." Said Harry, while Draco nodded at this.
"Well, you seem to be doing a pretty good job.", Draco said.
Harry nodded, with a smile on his face, and turned back to his belongings. Taking his schedule out, he put the books he'd need for today in his bag and stacked the others neatly on his desk. Making sure he had extra quills and parchment, he slung his bag onto his shoulder and followed Draco down to the common room.
Harry saw that all the first-years were waiting for them and sent a questioning look at Draco.
"We Slytherins kind of travel in packs,"he said, "Makes it easier to ensure that none of us are cornered by other students and we all get to class on time together." He smiled, "Plus, it makes it appear to the rest of the school that we stick together, per our Esteemed Head of House's instructions, presenting a united front." He said this last in a mock-pompous voice, not realizing that Professor Snape was behind him.
"Yes, Mr. Malfoy, it does." Snape said in a silky voice over his shoulder.
"Professor Snape, sir, I was..." Draco squeaked out, blushing to be caught out while the others attempted to stifle their giggles.
"Five points to Slytherin for following my instructions and ensuring that your new dorm-mates understand why they are necessary."
"Thank you, sir" Draco said, relieved that he was not punished for poking fun at his head of house.
"Well, then, let us all get to breakfast." said Snape, as he headed out the door at a slower pace, waiting for the first-years to catch him up and escorting them to the Great Hall.
"Mr. Potter, please see me during your first free period." Snape said, as Harry passed him on the way to sit at the Slytherin table.
Harry nodded and headed to sit next to Draco for breakfast.
Meanwhile, at the Staff Table...
"I don't see what the problem is, Albus. Harry seems to be perfectly happy to be in Slytherin House." squeaked Filius Flitwick.
"What is this, Albus?" asked Snape as he took his seat, "Are you upset that Potter is in my house? He seems to get along with everyone and is respectful, so far. Not trying to do what you have accused me of doing are you? Judging the boy on his parents and not himself, hmm?"
"I just thought he would be in Gryffindor. You know that James and Lily would be upset that he isn't following in their footsteps." stated Dumbledore.
"So, you are judging him based on parents he doesn't even remember and didn't even know much about until he got here? Tut, tut, Albus, bad form!" said Snape as he glared at Dumbledore.
"I agree, Albus," McGonagall said, "You can't expect him to be the same as them when he hasn't even known them. And you know Petunia wouldn't have told him anything until his letter arrived, and even then, she might not have."
"I see your point, Minerva, I just thought..." said Albus wearily
"Just thought what, Albus? The boy has a right to be himself, and you, of all people, should not be holding it against him!" stated McGonagall, vehemently.
"No, you're quite right. We'll just have to keep an eye on him, make sure he adjusts well to this new world he's found himself in." said, Dumbledore, holding up his hands in defeat.
"Indeed we will, headmaster." murmured Snape, as he wondered about the root of this interest in Harry Potter. 'And I'll be keeping an eye on you, old man.' he thought, as he looked over at the subject of this discussion. He was a little shocked to see Harry looking right at him, he seemed to have understood what had just happened at the Staff Table. Harry nodded to him, and turned back to his breakfast before his classmates realized that he wasn't paying attention to them.
Once breakfast ended, the first-years made their way back to the common room with a little conversation.
"So, Harry, are you gonna tell me what you and Bones were talking about last night? I saw you shake her hand as well, does that mean she's your friend?" Draco said this all in a low voice as they entered the common room.
"I'll tell you about that in a few minutes. It seems Professor Snape wants to talk to me first." Harry replied, nodding to the office door where Snape stood looking over at him.
Harry made his way over and followed his head of house into the office. He saw the wards around the door and office become active as Snape closed the door behind him and sat behind his desk, gesturing for Harry to take the seat opposite him.
"I know you're probably wondering why I asked you to see me on only the second day of school." Snape started, "And let me assure you, you are in no trouble."
Hearing this, Harry let out a breath in relief.
"No, I just wanted to commend you on making some friends in other houses on your first day." said Snape. "Although I am curious about your choices..."
"Thank you sir, and I figured I would at least get to know people who were part of my parent's lives, or at least their children." stated Harry. Although he only raised an eyebrow in question, Harry knew he had surprised his head of house so he continued his explanation.
"Neville Longbottom is the son of Frank Longbottom, and the Longbottoms have always been allied with the Potters. Susan Bones' aunt was in the auror corps with my father, so I figured I should make an effort to know her, especially as her aunt is head of the DMLE now." Harry explained.
"Both good choices, based on your reasoning. So, are there any other students you intend to attempt friendship with?" questioned Snape.
"Well, sir, I have already made friends with Draco Malfoy, and am making headway with the other Slytherins. There was a Ravenclaw that I talked to on the train, a muggle-born named Hermione Granger, that seems pretty intelligent, although I don't know if she will be a close friend." said Harry consideringly.
"And are there any students that you have clashed with yet?" Snape asked, as he thought about Harry's choices. 'Definitely a Slytherin, with this line of thinking.' thought Snape.
"There was one sir – Ronald Weasley." said Harry. At Snape's questioning look, he continued. "He accosted me on the train while I was sitting with Draco and the others. Accused me of sitting with the "Slimy Snakes" and has been acting very immaturely towards me when we share classes."
"Ah, yes. Mr. Weasley. I heard his comments in my class, although I did not know about your earlier interactions on the train. I had wondered why and now I know. Undoubtedly you refused his friendship after he insulted those you already consider friends, namely Mr. Malfoy." seeing Harry's nod, he continued, "Yes, unfortunately Mr. Weasley's family is close with the Headmaster and I'm sure that he had assumed you would be friendly with him, as well as a Gryffindor, like your parents were." At this, Harry looked like he wanted to say something, but Snape held him off with a raised hand. "Now, I personally think that your parents, especially Lily, would be proud of you no matter what House you ended up in. And I don't think that you should be exactly like parents that you did not really know, so it is unfair of him to assume such a thing." stated Snape.
"Thank you sir. That's what I was thinking, and why would Dumbledore look so surprised that I ended up in Slytherin? Why would he be so interested in me anyway?" questioned Harry.
Snape thought about this, while noting that the boy in front of him was a definite Slytherin if he was paying that much attention to what others' reactions to his sorting were.
"I cannot answer that, Harry, but I promise you that I will be here for you should anything untoward occur, and will try to find the answers to your questions. In the meantime, I agree with your plan to befriend students in other houses. As you may or may not know, the original purpose of Hogwarts is to unite students from all over the country. I am proud of you for crossing the lines that sorting into different houses can create and support this wholeheartedly." said Snape. "Now, if you have nothing else you wish to discuss, I release you to the common room for the rest of your free period."
"Not right now, sir, although I may call on you in the future." said Harry before vacating his seat and leaving his head of house to ponder his last words.'Well, at least the boy seems to trust me.' he thought.'And I will be keeping an extra eye out for that Weasley boy, there is no excuse for that sort of behavior so soon into their first year. I wonder if Albus is behind that too.'
Once Harry left the office, he headed over to Draco's table, sliding into a seat that he had obviously saved for him. "So, you had some questions, Draco?" he asked.
"Yes I did. Are you friends with Bones now? I saw her offer you her hand." stated Draco.
"Yep. Her aunt was in the auror corps with my father, so I figured I'd get to know her. And maybe I can ask her aunt to tell me a little about him, as I don't know that much." answered Harry.
"Plus, she's the head of the DMLE and that might be a useful connection."stated Draco, thoughtfully, "Yes, good reasoning on that one Harry. So, have any other students in mind for friendship?" he questioned.
"It would be nice to have the rest of Slytherin house on my side." he said, smiling, "Other than that, I'll just have to see who I'm paired up with in classes, and Susan said she'd introduce me to some of her friends as well. I guess I'll just go from there." said Harry.
"I think you have most of the Slytherins already, at least respect-wise, but you should know that not all of them will be friendly unless they think there's something to gain from it." Draco said, truthfully.
"Well, that should be no problem then." Seeing Draco's incredulous look, he continued, "After all, not only are they in the noble house of Slytherin, but also, I'll bring more to it as the famous 'boy-who lived'", said Harry, using quotes around his already hated title and chuckling as Draco caught on and laughed with him.
"Well, come on then, famous 'boy-who-lived', let's get to Transfiguration before we're late." Draco said, still chuckling as he grabbed his bag and started to walk over to where the other first-years waited with another Prefect, ready to escort them.