Author's Note: I am sooooooooooooooooo sorry for the long wait. I've just been busy, plus I had somewhat lost interest in this story. But i'm interested again, so i'll try to update it again soon. Again, I am so sorry!

Chapter 8: Hagrid's and Flying Lessons

As soon as Harry, Draco, Tracey, and Blaise stepped inside of Hagrid's house, and enormous black boarhound came bounding at them, immediately beginning to lick Blaise's ears.

"Oh, how cute!" Blaise exclaimed, gazing adoringly at the boarhound. "What's this little cutie's name?"

Harry stared incredulously at his new friend as Hagrid replied that his name was Fang. He then glanced over at Tracey, who was staring at Blaise with amusement on her face, obviously used to her best friends' tactics. Seeing his inquiring gaze, Tracey whispered, "Blaise is obsessed with animals, no matter what kind. Of course, Fang doesn't seem to be harmful- in fact, he actually seems quite friendly, when you look past his great size- but she often falls in love with gigantic creatures that are most likely plotting her death. She calls treacherous creatures unique and challenging…"

Harry chuckled lightly as Blaise exclaimed adamently, "Well, they are! Seriously, what exactly is so interesting about a cat or an owl? Nothing! I mean, sure, they're cute, but after a while they're just so boring…"

Harry rolled his eyes at the Slytherin 1st year, already knowing that she was going to end up being hard to handle. She was loud, opinionated, free-spirited, and incredibly stubborn; never a good mix. He figured someday he might get used to her, but until then, he was in for quite an adventure…

Hagrid, who appeared to be quite excited by Blaise and her love for animals, then said, "I've loved all types of animals ever since I was young; I once even had a pet acromantula! That's a rare type of spider, did you know? Care of Magical Creatures was always my favorite class, I always dreamed about being that professor someday here at Hogwarts. I'm sure you'll love that class as well, you'll have the option of taking it in your third year. Hey, you don't happen to be related to Nicholas Zambini, do you? He's the only person I met who's ever been as captivated by creatures as myself."

"Oh yeah, he's my older brother! He's the one who got me into animals, actually. He works with dragons for a living, over in Romania! I once got to see some of the dragons, they were so cool!"

"He works with dragons? I always wanted to own a dragon myself!"

Harry stopped listening, annoyed by the conversation, and instead glanced at Draco and Tracey to see what they were doing. Draco was gazing around the cabin with some contempt expressed clearly on his face; he obviously could not imaging living in a home so small, and being satisfied with it. Tracey, on the other hand, was reading a newspaper that was lying on the table. Noticing his gaze, she handed him the article, and he instantly began reading.

GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST
Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown. Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day. "But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon.

Harry stared in shock at the article after reading it, surprised at the contents. He wasn't one to believe in coincidences. The fact that the vault had been emptied the exact day of the break-in made Harry think that the owner had realized someone was going to try to steal from it, and had therefore decided to move it to someplace safer.

"Gringotts is the safest place in the world, except perhaps Hogwarts."

Harry recalled his father saying that on many occasions, whenever Violet got worried that someone would try to steal her stuff, knowing her special it was since it belonged to the girl-who-lived. If someone wanted something in a place safer than Gringotts, the only place it could be put would be Hogwarts. "Hagrid, what are you doing down here?" "Hogwarts business." Hagrid had gone to Gringotts that day to get something for Hogwarts.

Perhaps something that needed to be taken somewhere safer than even Gringotts.

Harry had never believed that he could even come close to hating someone as much as he despised his sister, but that was before he met Ron Weasley. Still, first-year Slytherins only had potions with the Gryffindors, so he didn't have to put up with Violet, Ron, Seamus, or Hermione that much. Or at least, he didn't until Blaise spotted a notice that made Harry groan. Flying lessons would be starting on Thursday- and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together.

"Typical," Tracey complained, "Just what I always wanted. To make a fool of myself in front of the bloody-girl-who-lived."

"Why would you make a fool of yourself? Haven't you ever flown before?" Draco asked incredulously.

"No, I'm terrified of heights, so I've never bothered trying to fly. I figured there was much better ways in which I could spend my time."

"Better than flying?" Draco asked, looking like he could not understand that there might be something in the world more interesting than flying. Harry and Blaise both cracked up laughing at that.

Tracey, on the other hand, appeared slightly annoyed. "Yes, Malfoy, there are things in life that are fun yet do not consist of flying."

"Like what? Reading? Are you bloody insane?" Draco asked.

"Yes, and you know, I'm sure your father would be quite pleased if you opened a book once in a while, it might help raise your scores. It's the beginning of the year, and that mudblood Granger already knows more than you do!" Tracey responded icily.

Blaise finally stopped laughing and intervened before Draco lost his temper. "Guys, shut up! And honestly, Trace, you're too pessimistic; think about having flying lessons with the Gryffindors from another angle. How much you want to be half of them have never held a broom before? I mean, c'mon, Granger's a mudblood, and I highly doubt the Weasley's could afford half-way decent brooms considering they have, like, 15 children and not enough money to feed them all! I, for one, can't wait to see them all fall off their brooms and break all their bones!"

All four laughed, the tension broken, and left the common room, looking considerably happier.

At three thirty that afternoon, Harry, Draco, and the other Slytherins hurried down the front steps onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day, and the grass rippled under their feet as they marched down the sloping lawns toward a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest, whose trees were swaying darkly in the distance. They were, not surprisingly, the first ones there.

Harry carefully chose a broom that did not have much damage on it as Draco complained about the quality of each broom. Hearing him, Blaise rolled her eyes causing Harry to laugh. He was really starting to like that girl.

The Gryffindors arrived a minute before the bell rang, and were each stuck with crummy brooms that looked like they would not be able to handle any weight without falling apart.

Madam Hooch came in just as the bell rang. "Well, what are you waiting for? Hold you hand over your brooms and say, Up!"

"Up!" Everyone shouted.

Harry was delighted to see his broom jump into his hands at once; his was one of the few that did. Violet's simply rolled over, Harry was pleased to notice, while Hermione's didn't move at all.

Madam Hooch showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off of the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their groups. Harry and Draco were pleased when she told Ron he had been doing it wrong for years.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle-three-two"

But the Gryffindor Neville Longbottom, nervous and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had even touched her lips.

"Come back, boy!" She shouted, but Neville was rising straight up like a cork shot out of a bottle- ten feet- twenty-five feet- fifty feet. Harry saw his terrified white face look down at the ground, saw him gasp, and then as if in slow motion saw him start to slip off his broom. Quickly, Harry clutched his broom and tore off after him, grabbing him before he hit the ground and lowering him to safety.

Madam Hooch grinned happily and said, "75 points to Slytherin for saving a student!" The other Slytherins, who had before been angry for trying to save a Gryffindor, instantly cheered up and congratulated Harry for earning their house so many points.

"Class dismissed," Madam Hooch added, "But Harry, please come with me."

Harry exchanged confused looks with Draco before following Madam Hooch as she started walking down to the dungeons. Terror seized him as she walked into his Head of House's office and asked him if she could speak with him for a minute.

Why would she want to talk to his head of house, unless of course he was in trouble. But why would he be in trouble- all he did was save a student's life. Hesitantly, Harry followed Madam Hooch into his office, gulping at the menacing look on the Potion Master's face.

"Alright, I'll get straight to it. While at his flying lesson today, Neville Longbottom flew too high in the air and fell off; luckily, Harry was able to save him, demonstrating remarkable speed and control over his broom while he did so. I haven't seen any first year so remarkable in their skill on a broom for years; I was wondering if you might consider letting him try out. I'm sure you could convince the Headmaster to bend the rules in this case."

Snape stared at Harry for a moment, seizing him up, before stating, "Alright, thanks for telling me. If you don't mind, I'd like to speak with Potter alone?"

Harry winced, nervous; he knew of the rivalry that existed between Snape and his father, and was not looking forward to being in the same room alone with him. He could not blame the professor if he hated Harry soley based on who his father was, after all the pranks James had played on Snape in school.

Once Madam Hooch had left, Snape turned to Harry. "How many times have you been on a broom before?" He questioned.

"Er… none, we only own two brooms and so I never got to go with Violet and James." Harry answered nervously.

Snape studied him closely before stating, "Alright, well do you at least know how Quidditch is played?" At Harry's nod, he continued, "Ok, tonight I want you to meet our Quidditch Captain, Marcus Flint, and he'll assess your ability. If you are good enough, we'll have you play seeker; our current seeker isn't very dedicated to the sport, he won't mind if we replace him. Meet him on the Quidditch field at six, alright?"

Harry, nodded, confused by his head of house's civil manner. Noticing this, Snape asked, "That's all, unless there's something you would like to ask me?"

Harry hesitated, not wanting to make Snape angry, but curiosity got the better of him. "Er… I know all about the pranks James played on you in school… I was just wondering why you're treating me so well."

Snape studied him, once again, before stating, "I won't lie; I already hate your sister. She seems to have taken off completely after your father. However, so far, you seem to be like your mother. While I hated James, I respected your mother, although we were by no means friends. But I still admired her; she was intelligent and she had morals. She did not judge me because I am a Slytherin. I will therefore not judge you because you're the son of James, I'll judge you by the way you act. It's only fair, or otherwise I will be guilty of the same thing that I hate James for; his arrogance and close-mindedness."

"Thank-you Professor," Harry said softly, before turning around and leaving, thinking over what his head-of-house had just said while he did so. He couldn't help but think… why was it that Professor Snape, who had every reason to hate him and treat him horribly, was treating him better than his own father ever had?

Well, Harry thought, smiling slightly, if things keep going this well, then it seems that there may just be one place where I can honestly feel like I'm at home!

Thanks to everybody who reviewed! Please review again if you want me to update quicker than i did this time, lol!