The next morning, Harry woke to Fidelius wrapping him sharply on the nose with one velvety paw. He rolled out of bed and put on his glasses, glancing out the dormitory window as he did. The castle grounds seemed to go on forever. Beyond the dark lake which they had traveled over yesterday, Harry could see a fringe of trees.
"That must be the Forbidden Forrest." Harry said to his cat, pulling on his school robes, "Wonder what's so forbidden about it."
'There's a load of dark creatures in there."
Harry turned and saw that Ron was just waking up.
"Dark creatures? What do you mean?"
"Like werewolves and banshees and stuff." Ron said, rolling out of bed, "Fred and George try to get in there all the time."
'Why?" Harry asked, wondering why anyone in their right mind would willingly go to a place that was filled with werewolves and banshees (which even Harry knew were not pleasant creatures).
Ron scoffed as he pulled on his school robes, "Because their Fred and George, they don't need a reason. They just do things."
At breakfast, Ron, Harry, Dean and Seamus compared schedules.
"Looks like we're all together." Dean said cheerily, clapping Seamus and Harry on the back.
"Good." Ron sighed, tucking into his breakfast. "At least the schedule is straight forward enough."
Unfortunately, their schedules turned out to be the only straight-forward thing about their first week at Hogwarts.
First and foremost was the problem of the mass amount of attention that seemed to follow Harry everywhere he went that day. People would whisper loudly whenever he passed by, just loud enough for him to know that they were talking about him, but not loud enough so he could hear what they were talking about. People would double back to pass him in the corridors again, asked him for his autograph, or just stared. Harry found himself wishing that he were invisible. At least then he wouldn't hold his friends up and they could find their way to classes, which was turning out to be harder than any of them expected.
There seemed to be hundreds of staircases in Hogwarts, and none of them ever stayed in the same place. The doors were another matter entirely- there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, but solid walls just pretending.
The ghosts and portraits were very willing to help lost students. Dean, Seamus, Ron and Harry had all been directed to their classes by at least one friendly spirit that first week. The same could not be said for the caretaker, Argus Filch. Filch was a small, withered, mean looking man who seemed to wander the halls of Hogwarts with the sole purpose of catching students in wrongdoing when they least expected him to appear. He had help in his mission. Mrs. Norris was his cat. She was a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamp like eyes. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear moments later, ready to punish the troublemakers.
By Friday, they were exhausted. They had tried Charms, attempted Transfiguration, and gotten bitten in Herbology. Their first flying lesson wasn't scheduled until Saturday morning, and History of Magic was a bore. Defense Against the Dark Arts was interesting, but Harry got the impression that Professor Quirrell was not being terribly honest about where he got his large purple turban. He told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but when Seamus asked to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather. The Weasley twins insisted that it was stuffed full of garlic as well, so that he was protected from vampires wherever he went. Harry actually thought that was rather smart-vampires did not sound very pleasant.
Friday morning dawned bright and early. Dean beat everyone down to breakfast and Seamus had to be dragged from his bed.
"What class do we have today?" Harry asked Dean. Ron looked up from his toast and Seamus even made a movement that seemed to indicate some interest in the topic, though he didn't lift his head from the table.
"Um, looks like we have double Potions with the Slytherins," said Dean, frowning down at his schedule.
"Isn't Professor Snape the Head of Slytherin House?" Harry asked, trying to suppress a nervous squirm. Professor Snape was the man who had glared at him during the Opening Feast.
"Yeah," said Ron. "Fred and George say that he favors the Slytherins over everyone, here's hoping it isn't true."
But they soon discovered that it was. Professor Snape was a tall, imposing man with dark eyes that seemed to suck all the warmth from a room. Harry had gotten the idea that Professor Snape disliked him. By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he'd been wrong. Snape didn't dislike Harry – Snape hated him.
Harry knew the moment he walked into class and sat down between Dean and Ron. Snape began his class like many of the teachers had. Unlike most though, he paused at Harry's name.
"Ah, Yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new - celebrity."
Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind their hands. Ron shot them a dirty look. Harry kept his eyes on Snape until the older man looked away.
"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking," Snape began, turning away from Harry's table and striding to the front of the class. He didn't raise his voice, but everyone seemed to be paying attention. They, like Harry, seemed to know that Professor Snape was not one to cross. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."
More silence followed this little speech. Harry and Ron exchanged looks with raised eyebrows and Harry heard Seamus audibly gulp.
"Potter!" said Snape suddenly and Harry jumped. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
Harry glanced around at his classmates and noticed that most of his classmates seemed as befuddled as he was.
"I don't know, sir," said Harry.
Snape's lips curled into a sneer.
"Tut, tut - fame clearly isn't everything."
"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"
Harry didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. Dean was now staring at Snape, his eyes narrowed, and Seamus was flipping frantically through their textbook, as though afraid that Snape would call on him next.
"I don't know, sir."
"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" Harry forced himself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes.
"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"
"I don't know," said Harry quietly.
No one looked nervous now. It was very clear that Snape was picking on Harry, for reasons no one understood. Harry caught Seamus's eye, and Seamus winked. Dean looked furious.
Snape opened his mouth once more, but before he could speak, someone else spoke up.
"He said he didn't know." Said Dean. "None of us do."
Snape glared at Dean before glancing back at Harry.
"That is perfectly obvious. A point will be taken from Gryffindor for your cheek. "
Dean became very red faced and Snape turned back to the class. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"
There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment.
Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. They were paired off. Ron and Harry were together. Seamus was partnered with Neville Longbottom, the rather clumsy boy that Harry, Dean, Ron and Seamus shared a dorm room with. Dean was paired with the pretty blonde girl named Lavender Brown. The entire lesson Snape seemed to hover at their end of the classroom, glaring at each of their potions in turn, criticizing the potions heavily.
Things only got worse when managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.
"Idiot boy!" snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"
Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose.
"Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. Seamus nodded and hurried to comply, nimbly avoiding the spilled potion as he yanked Neville out of the classroom.
He rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville and Seamus.
"You - Potter - why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."
This was so unfair that Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Dean's partner, Lavender, kicked him behind her cauldron.
As they climbed the steps out of the dungeon an hour later, Harry's mind was racing and his spirits were low. He'd lost two points for Gryffindor in his very first week - why did Snape hate him so much? "Cheer up," said Ron, "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George."
"I wouldn't let it worry you Harry." Said Dean, who had caught up to them, 'I just hope Neville's alright."
Dean's pretty potions partner, Lavender Brown, caught up with their little group halfway up the stairs.
'Hey, you forgot your quill." She said, handing a worn quill to Ron, "I loose mine all the time, I hate when I forget them." She smiled at Ron and Ron's ears were suddenly very red.
"Thanks." He stammered, tucking the quill into his bag.
Lavender giggled. "See you around." She waved to the group, said bye to Dean and hurried up the stairs to catch up with one of her friends.
"She's nice." Dean said, as they followed her up the stairs towards the Great Hall, "but she talks a lot."
The boys made their way to the Gryffindor table and helped themselves to lunch. Neither Seamus nor Neville seemed to be making an appearance.
"Maybe we should take them some food." Harry suggested, biting into his ham sandwich.
"Nah," Ron shook his head, "They have food up there. We'd probably only be in the way."
"Probably." Harry agreed.
At that moment, Fidelius decided to make an appearance.
Since arriving at Hogwarts, Harry had allowed his cat to roam freely, which seemed to be the general rule when it came to pet cats at Hogwarts.
Fidelius had taken to wandering about the school grounds, making appearances at bed time and at least one meal a day. Today, he had chosen lunch. Fidelius hopped up on the table, ignoring Harry's admonishing cry, and attempting to snag a bite of Harry's sandwich. In the attempt, his tail dislodged Dean's book bag, which fell to the ground and promptly exploded.
"I'm sorry Dean!" Harry sighed.
"It's not a problem." Dean said, waving him off. But Harry bent down and started to pick up the contents of the bag anyway.
Harry picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under one of Dean's books. It was a copy of the Daily Prophet. The headline jumped out at him:
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.
"That was my birthday." Harry said quietly.
"What?" Ron asked, still very absorbed with his lunch.
"The Gringotts break-in, it happened on my birthday." Harry repeated, "That was the day my aunt went to buy my school things-I wonder if she saw anything."
"I doubt it." Ron said.
"Yeah, I'm sure she'd have mentioned if something odd had happened." Harry said.
"She might not have noticed anything unusual, even if she did see something." Ron frowned, "Didn't you say she was a muggle?"
"Yeah," Harry said, "But she's smart. She would know."
"Why are you reading about that anyway?" Ron asked, popping the last bite of his sandwich into his mouth.
"It just caught my eye." Harry said. He stuffed the last bit of parchment back into Dean's bag and handed it over to his friend.
"Do you guys want to go up to the hospital wing?" Dean asked.
Both boys readily agreed. Harry scooped up his cat and followed Ron and Dean, the Prophet lay abandoned on the table.