Chapter Three: Welcome!
Dumbledore stood up, spreading his hands widely, and gave the welcoming speech after the Sorting finished.
"Welcome!" he said.
"Welcome to a new year at the Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"
The various kinds of food appeared on the table. All inhabitants of the great hall started to fill up their plates with food. When Harry witnessed the edible mountain on Ron's plate he wondered where it all goes.
"By the look on your face, Harry, I'm sure you were wondering where this all enormous pile of food on Ronald's plate goes. I think, you don't need to worry – just look how huge our "growing" child is, obviously it goes down." Draco said.
"Uh-uh.", Harry agreed dumbly.
After everyone sated his or her hunger, the headmaster got on his feet again, asking for the student body's attention.
"I wanted to make a few announcements. The Forbidden Forest is, as its name suggests – forbidden, no student is allowed to go there. Our kind caretaker Mr Filch also wanted me to warn you about the consequences of rule breaking and remind you of the Prohibited Items List that you can find in his office. Also for the whole academic year the third floor corridor is closed, it is imperative that you don't step in it if you wish not to die a horrible death."
With that said, he wished everyone good night and ordered prefects to show to the first years their common rooms and dorms.
"Slytherin firsties, follow us!" a large fifth year guy with an elegant brown haired girl called out.
The little snakes complied and went after the pair towards the dungeons.
The Hogwarts catacombs spread horizontally as much as vertically – they formed a huge network of subterranean tunnels and chambers. Nobody entirely knew this place, even Dumbledore or Snape.
They stopped near the stone wall dead end.
"Pure stand supreme!"the girl prefect said and the wall's halves opened outwardly.
"Couldn't they make up something less obvious?" Harry asked his friends quietly to which they just shook their heads.
They all went inside then.
The room by itself was quite big, with low ceiling, great fireplace and sitting places by it and at the corners. The silver and green tones apparently were dominating there.
Incomers were met by a black haired wizard with piercing eyes, eyes that reminded Harry of an abyss – dark and endless. He had quite large nose and expressionless face, similar to the crude stone walls around them. He was quite tall and an aura of intimidation was radiating from him.
"Welcome. My name is Severus Snape. I'm here to congratulate all of you and tell you the three and only rules of the greatest House in Hogwarts. First one – never fight or argue with your housemates outside of the common room. I will repeat this to drill it inside of your thick skulls. Never. Fight. With. Your. Own. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir." all the first years in room chorused. Indeed, the man surely would not accept any nonsense from anyone.
"Good. The second one – don't rush in conflict with outsiders, if you are not sure about your triumph."
He looked at Ron and Harry after saying it.
"And the last but not the least – stand up for each other, even if you know that your housemate is wrong.. You can ask me for your timetables in my office on Monday, which is tomorrow. Obviously you must do it before your lessons will start. Have a good night."
Snape left and the prefects took over the speech.
"You heard the head of our House. Never forget what he tells you or I'll personally throw you out of the Astronomy tower and stomp on what's left of you! My name is Marcus Flint, the girl standing next to me is Selene Blackwood. We are the prefects of Slytherin House. If.. I mean when, you have some problems with outsiders, you come to one of us and we will help you solve them out. Now. Boys to the right, girls to the left!"
Everyone went to their respective dorms.
The first year slytherin dorms were spacious with low coarse stone ceiling and walls. The beds had green and silver lining with curtains surrounding them, and were very comfortable. By each one stood small bedside table and their trunks. There were a few wide sham windows that showed some magical landscapes. The door to the bathroom was placed on the wall to the right from the entrance.
The trio met their fellow dorm-mates there.
"Hello there. Theodore Nott. Pureblood." the brown haired boy with dim green eyes said.
"Hi. Blaise Zabini. Pureblood." a dark skinned guy repeated the ritual.
"Hello, Draco of the Noble House of Malfoy" the blond proudly said.
"Ronald Weasley. Pureblood."
"Emm... Hi. Harry Potter. The-Boy-Who-Lived to not know if he is pureblood or not?"
Everyone looked at Harry incredulously.
"Your mother was muggleborn so she was the witch in the first generation. You aren't pureblood, but you are the only heir of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter for sure. There are only a few of those still not extinct in the whole wizarding Great Britain – Blacks, Dumbledores, Bones and", here Draco snorted, "Longbottoms are the others."
"I will translate the blond ponce's words for you, Harry. Ouch! Don't poke me with your tiny little fingers, blondie! Ok, ok, stop! Foooh! .. He means that you are not only an annoying scar-head bastard, but also a ridiculously rich one from very old and powerful family." Ron said in an almost singsong way.
"Uh-uh. Powerful. Every single member of my family is dead, Ron, so not as powerful as it used to be." Harry answered sadly.
"But when you become an adult, you'll have enough money and political power to start the World War III, finance all the sides, watch them all burn and then help them to recover. After that you still will be insanely rich. Although it's not such a good idea." All the boys laughed after Draco stated it matter-of-factly.
Ok, all but Crabbe and Goyle, who looked dumbly at everyone. After having a shower, they wished good night to each other and went to their respective beds. Harry, experiencing such an eventful day, started to add his own snoring to a cacophony in the dorm.
Monday morning. Probably at that right moment someone in the vast lands of Russia was going to work with Godzilla-like hangover, muttering some bad words that were quite relied to the human anatomy and cursing the whole world for its unfairness and the person who created Mondays.
But back to the Hogwarts and our dear trio of extraordinary boys.
The friends woke up, made their morning routines, took their timetables from Snape and went to the breakfast.
"Oh great. Double history with 'hard-working' huffs!" they laughed at Ron's comment "And I almost thought that Monday's my favourite - then double Minnie time with her kitty-cats."
They sat behind their house table, consuming the food and chatting.
"Look, Draco, she's such a lovely girl." Harry said, staring at Daphne Greengrass.
"Potter, she's a little copy of Bellatrix Lestrange and my auntie used to be dangerous like hell before she was thrown in Azkaban. So if you don't like to torture little furry kittens and puppies, you are the person of no interest for this 'lovely' girl", Malfoy replied.
Ron continued Draco's train of thought.
"Such a shame... Your children would be so cute, being short-sighted rude little dunderheads..."
"You. Four-eyed brat. Stop staring at me like this or I'll break your showcase, take the largest shard of it and cut your little balls off with it!" the aforementioned girl threatened.
"Tsk-tsk! Why so violent, Daph-daph? If you wanted to see me without pants, you could just ask." Harry joked.
Daphne was silent for a second, and then she retorted, pulling out her wand
"Just who do you think you are, Potter? I'm..."
Snape appeared behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders
"While I'm so proud to see that you haven't forgotten my speech about inter-house fighting yesterday, Miss Greengrass, I must interrupt you and give you a warning. If I see such a comedy again, you will be scrubbing all the cauldrons in my classrooms for the whole semester. After that I'll send you to the Brighton's Academy of Magical Comedians and Tragedians. Did I explain your very possible future in an understandable enough way?"
"...yes, professor", she answered, looking down on her empty plate.
"Good... Potter!" "Yes, sir?" Harry almost saluted him, but stopped, knowing that Severus doesn't have a good sense of humour.
"Headmaster Dumbledore wants to see you after breakfast in his office."
"I'll be there right away, sir."
Harry approached a stone gargoyle which was blocking the path to the Dumbledore office. Suddenly, it jumped out of his way. He watched it for a second then moved further towards the door and just before he knocked he heard his uncle's voice
"Come in, Harry"
He entered the large circular room with a big table at the centre, which had headmaster sitting behind it. Lots of weird silvery tools were on it, clicking, shaking, scratching and belling. A majestic phoenix sat on a golden perch.
When Harry sat on the chair on the opposite of headmaster's one, the bird flew and positioned itself on his shoulder, trilling happily a short cheering melody.
"Hi, uncle Albus. Professor Snape told me you wished to see me.", Harry greeted the old wizard.
"Yes, my boy. I see my familiar is quite fond of you - you must have a pure heart.. But we have a lot to discuss. How are your housemates?"
"They're fine, I guess. Ron and Draco are becoming quite close friends of mine with a lightning speed." Harry answered.
"It's making me happy knowing that you found friends so fast, Harry. Do you wish to continue our lessons, my boy?"
"Yes, uncle, of course I do!"
Dumbledore chuckled at his answer
"Just as I imagined. From now on, every weekday at 8 pm straight we will have ahh... the extracurricular lessons"
"That's awesome, uncle."
"Also I wanted to tell you that I asked Severus to teach you Occlumency – the magical art of mind defence."
"But why, uncle?"
"I will tell you only after you are adept in it, my boy. The information I'm going to unveil to you is not for everyone's ears, but let us not discuss such serious things so much. I see that you are quite attracted to young Miss Greengrass, Harry."
The-Boy-Who-Blushed turned his face down
"Emmm... Although she has the sharpest tongue in all the Hogwarts she is just so... sheen... and... I'm sure behind all this harsh behaviour there is something... utterly beautiful."
"Yes, Harry, I agree with you, but be aware that she comes from a very dark family and surely knows more offensive spells than any other student of first through fourth years, especially, not so light ones."
"I understand, uncle. I'll be extremely careful with her from now on." Harry answered.
"Good. My favourite candy for the current month just happens to be a muggle one. 'Kinder Surprise', to be precise. So, off you go! Shoo!" Dumbledore dismissed Harry playfully.
"See you, uncle Albus."
Harry left the headmaster's office and went to his first lesson, knowing that his two friends would wait for him in the common room.
"Harry, I thought you would never come back. What took you so long?" the first Weasley slytherin in the Wizarding world asked.
"Don't you get it, Weasley? Our Mr Four Eyes is Dumbledore's protégé. I'm sure they were discussing Harry's education and actions." Draco said, annoyed by his sometimes too slow-witted redhead buddy.
"Is that true, Harry? You really are Dumbledore's pupil!"
"Dumbledore is the uncle I never had. He looks after me my whole life and teaches me magic since I turned seven."
"You are very lucky bastard then, Potter", Ron said with a smile, "Would you mind teaching us, mere earth-crawlers, what you've learnt?"
"Ok, but we need to find some place that fits our needs." Harry agreed.
Ron became excited
"I'll ask my brothers, they know that kind of places in the Hogwarts for sure."
"It's 8 am already. Lessons will start in fifteen minutes." Draco reminded them "Let's go"
There is another axiom: 'No one can endure a history lesson taught by professor Binns', who happened to be a ghost. He droned some kind of goblin-related nonsense, while everyone in the classroom was fighting off the urge to sleep.
Harry looked at Ron, then Draco, both were sleeping like babies, snoring.
"Oh well..." he thought
"Good dreams, everyone!" he said out loud, and fell asleep.
Transfiguration was absolutely opposite. After showing everyone how good it is to be an expert transfiguration user by turning into a cat and back and, then, turning her own table into a pig and reverting it, professor McGonagall made them learn the basics of this kind of magic
"Transfiguration is the science of changing matter's natural characteristics magically. Intent, imagination, channelling. Remember these three words." she lectured "Today we are going to change a simple match to a needle."
Little piles of matches appeared in front of every student on their tables
"Begin."
Albus Dumbledore wasn't a transfiguration teacher for half of the 20th century for nothing – he taught Harry this trick when the boy was seven years old. When Minerva saw the son of her two favourite students turning the match after match into needles, she felt a bang of pride in her chest.
"Twenty points to Slytherin, Mr Potter, for this extraordinary feat. Now, please help your fellow students."
"Yes, professor. Thank you."
Harry helped Draco and Ron then. The former did it only in the middle of the second lesson. The latter did it after trying for about twenty times, which was a very impressive achievement.
Stern witch rewarded them with 5 and 10 points respectively. But they were taken back, because of Daphne's outrage: after trying to transform the match like a hundred times and failing, she burnt all her pile with a single "Incendio".
By the end of the lesson, only Hermione was the one who accomplished it too.
Harry, feeling his stomach being pleasurably full after dinner, went to the headmaster's office.
He chuckled and said the password, "Kinder Surprise".
The stone creature let him pass after that.
"Enter, my boy" he heard Albus saying.
"Good evening, uncle."
"Indeed, Harry, this evening is very delightful. How are things going on your personal front?" Dumbledore asked with twinkle in his eyes and kind smile.
"No progress there at all - she's as annoyed with me as ever."
"Oh, Harry, I think that young Miss Greengrass just shows her affection for you this way. But let us proceed with our lesson. Today, my boy I want to teach you the spell contingency. It lets you cast a few spells at once, and that's extremely useful. It doesn't have incantation, just the wand movement, which is a little bit tricky, because it's not constant."
Albus moved his wand in a very complex pattern – he made a wand movement of "Tarrantallegra", moved his wand a little bit to the right from the starting point, made pattern of flaming charm, moved the white bony wand down and to the left, did blasting hex movement, then finished by moving it (wand) to the start.
The triangular symbol glowed blue with red at corner points in the air.
"Ariana", Dumbledore said seriously
"This word, spoken by me again, will release all three spells at once on anyone or anything at my wand's point. Look."
He conjured an animated wooden training dummy which started approaching him.
Albus pointed his wand at it and stated "Ariana!"
The construct was blasted out of the window, while being set on fire with its legs dancing on their own. Harry was awed by the spectacular show of magic.
"Reparo."
The window became as it was before being hit with the dummy.
"The number of spells you can use in your spell contingency depends on you magical power, imagination and the spells you try to put in it. Don't try to put one hundred spells at once, because A – it's takes eternity to make a hundred spell contingency, B – you cast it and die of magical exhaustion. After you prepared it, you can release it only once, then you must create it again. Also it's not time dependant – you may create one and keep it for week or month or however long you like before releasing it. So choose wisely, Harry. And always have one prepared in advance."
Dumbledore finished his small lecture and conjured another dummy that stood still.
Harry created a simple Blasting-Cutting-Paralyzing contingency with "Cutie" tied to it.
When he released it, the dummy was thrown back, hitting the stone wall, which Albus conjured expertly before the window, totally immobilized and headless.
"Perfect, my boy. That's all for today. Have a good night."
"Good night for you too, uncle, and thanks. What you taught me today is very helpful."
It was Tuesday morning, when Severus Snape entered the classroom and started his lesson deep in the Hogwarts dungeons.
"As the better quarter of our great school already knows, my name is Severus Snape. I will teach you the precise science of Alchemy. I won't tolerate any stupid wand poking and swishing in my classroom, so put your sticks back in your bags."
He checked the class' attendance quickly.
"Today you will attempt to brew a cure boils potion. I'll break you in pairs."
He made just that, putting Draco with Ron, Hermione with Neville and Harry with Daphne.
"Instructions are on the desk. Begin." He sat behind his table, while indeed instructions appeared on the board.
"Hi, dear", Harry greeted his object of passion jovially.
"Don't you "hidear" me, scar-head.", Daphne retorted.
"Why are you so rude with me?" the boy asked in a fake miserable tone.
"Because you are an insufferable dunderhead, Potter." she replied, looking annoyed towards him.
"I'll take it as a compliment, honey-dear!"
"Do whatever you want, I don't care"
"See! You actually can make sentences without a single insult in it!"
If Daphne's gaze could petrify, Harry would be a nice statue already.
"Look. We have this stupid potion to make. And, while we do it, I don't want to hear any word from you."
He nodded in agreement.
They started brewing. Not a single word left their mouths, then a casus happened.
About half an hour after they began, their cauldron exploded in the most fiery range of colours Harry ever saw.
BAAAH!
The grey-brown-magenta liquid covered them both and every bystander. Eww..
"Potter! Why didn't you warn me it was the wrong ingredient, idiot?"
"Youtold me to remain silent and I just did as you asked!" Harry answered grinning madly.
Snape's voice boomed in the classroom.
"Potter! Greengrass! I will see both of you in my office in the evening today, now GET OUT!"
The potion master looked like he wanted nothing more than strangle them both – as slowly and painfully as possible. They left the classroom fast.
Daphne took Harry by hand roughly and dragged the protesting boy to the nearest abandoned classroom.
When they entered, she cast silencing and locking charms on the door and punched him in the gut.
"Ooof."
"Idiot" She kicked his left leg on the inner side, unbalancing him, and he fell
"Stop it!"
"Yes, scar-head, beg me to stop it now, like your mudblood mother begged the Dark Lord before he killed her." She kicked his gut a few times.
Suddenly, he caught her leg by hand and pushed it back, making her fall.
"Poor choice of words, sweetheart." Harry said, pointing his wand at her, releasing Incarcero-Expelliarmus contingency.
He stood up, catching her wand simultaneously, and cleaned himself with a swish of wand.
"I won't let anybody speak about my parents in such way."
Daphne, disarmed and incarcerated, didn't look regretful at all. She rolled her eyes in annoyance, secretly wondering what the heck Potter just did.
"What will you do to me? Is the Golden Boy going to torture me with a tickling charm?"
Harry smiled at her and replied
"Nah. There is much better way, you know. I'm going to speak with your daddy, Daph-daph, tell him what a bad girl you are."
Cruel face of her father, who thought only about his social standing, appeared in her mind. If Harry did it, she was so dead.
"Just imagine me, The-Boy-Who-Lived, and", here he pointed up his finger, "the protégé of the great Albus Dumbledore, telling your father how you were insulting me in public, and hit me, acting like some muggle filth not the future Lady Greengrass. Then I will do an interview with The Prophet and, ta-da, you are so screwed."
Her face lost its entire colour in an instance.
"N-no, Harry, please don't do it. Don't tell my father! He will dispose of me!" she begged "I'm so sorry, Harry. I won't be rude with you or your friends anymore, I promise!"
"See! You can apologize! Good girl." Harry stroked her hair.
"Finite" She was released. He threw her wand back and went out the room without a word, leaving silent Greengrass behind.
Charms went without any incident. Little jovial charms professor was excited when Harry levitated feather with "Wingardium Leviosa" on first attempt and gave him 20 points.
Young black haired witch who he confronted just a while ago gave him a few odd looks during the lesson here and there.
"What happened with her, Harry? After you were thrown out together from class by Snape, she is not quite herself." Draco asked.
"We had a... conversation" Potter answered. Blond boy smiled, completely understanding what that meant.
Harry went to Snape's office, after telling his uncle that he couldn't attend their meeting. The girl to whom he was attracted just a few hours before was there already. She didn't look at him, staring down on the floor instead.
When they entered the office, Snape was standing near the window, looking outside at the school grounds.
"You showered our House with shame. What did I tell you on the day of your arrival? Are you not smart enough to understand that everyone outside the Slytherin hates us already? We can't afford fighting with each other. Now, Mr Potter, I know that it almost entirely Ms Greengrass' fault. But you are still my snakes and I won't punish you. This time. Now, go away and think about what I told you."
They left.
Daphne Greengrass sat on her dorm bed with closed curtains and privacy charm around it. She was cruel, merciless bitch, especially for an eleven year old,but still a girl. Her thoughts were on some different than usual plane that day. She thought about the encounter in the abandoned classroom. When Potter made her feel weak, made her beg him so... easily, something clicked in her. She wanted to be dominated completely by him again badly.
"Harry..." she said softly.
She slept, dreaming about the young green eyed wizard that fascinated her so much.
Saturday at 9 pm found Harry being taught Occlumency by Snape.
"As Albus told you already, it is imperative that you know how to protect your mind from attacks. Now clear your mind."
"Legilimens" the man cast at Harry's forehead.
"Harry saw all his life – Dursleys, uncle Albus, his lessons, Ron, Draco, Daphne, the Hogwarts..
"Potter, clear your mind and try to push me back.
"Legilimens"
Hogwarts... his encounter with Daphne started to show up when Harry shut Snape's attack down.
"Good. You surprised me. Maybe you do have some potential to become our new hope. We will meet next week at the same time and day. Until then I want you to organize your mind. Good night, Mr Potter."
"Good night, Professor Severus."
AN(01.10.2011): Hmm.. only three chapters updated.. and still so much boring work..