Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, no matter how much i wish I did.

Chapter Twelve: The First Day

The morning, for Harry, was about as boring as he could imagine. At breakfast, he got to eat a little, as Draco spooned him some eggs and gave him a few pieces of toast. Any time Harry tried to get food, he was locked off, but no one seemed to care if other people gave him food.

He muttered a thanks, and ate. Draco nodded.

Harry felt a little uneasy about it. Draco didn't seem like the type to go out of their way to help. "Erm," Harry started, unable to find a non-rude way of asking.

"Yes?" asked Draco, but whatever Harry had to say was drowned out by the sudden rush of owls entering the Great hall through the windows at the top edge. Harry tried to pick out snowy white from the mass of tawny and brown, but didn't seen Wendy anywhere. He returned to his food.

A large package came to Draco, who opened it immediatly. Inside were all sorts of treats and chocolates. On top of them, was a note. Draco picked it up and scanned it. He half snorted, and passed a portion of it to Harry.

"Welcome to Slytherin," he said as he gave them to a wide-eyed Harry.

"I don't mean to sound ungrateful," began Harry.

Draco waved him off. "It's my dad's doing. He wants to make a good impression." He pulled out the note and tossed it to Harry. Harry picked it up and read;

"Dear Draco, here is your package of sweets from your mother. Do try to eat them in moderation. In any event, I have heard that Harry Potter has been sorted into Slytherin along with you. Do share some of this with him and make a good impression. I'm sure he isn't feeling at home and could do for some friends.

-Your Father"

Harry blinked at the note and felt a blush touch his cheeks. "Thanks," said Harry. All of a sudden, words came tumbling out of his mouth before he could button it up. "You will be my friend, won't you, without your father telling you to be?" He said all of this very fast, and Draco watched him with concern as though he might jump onto the table and start blasting them away like a mad man.

"Came again?" Draco asked.

Harry bit his lip very hard and when he stopped, he said "You will be my friend, won't you? Without your father telling you to be?"

Draco nodded. "Sure, I don't see why not. Now eat up. Snape's coming around with the scheduals."

Harry looked up and saw that Snape was passing down the table, handing out scrolls of parchment to the Slytherins. He turned to his food again, and ate. He opened a single piece of chocolate and gave the rest back to Draco. "Could you hold onto it? I haven't got the room."

Draco nodded as he shoved the candies back into their box.

"Here you are, Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter," said Snape as he handed them their scheduals. "Do try to be on time." Harry nodded and opened up the tight roll of parchment.

"Oh, great, Herbology with the Ravenclaw's first thing. Sounds wonderful," he snorted as drank some Pumpkin Juice. Harry shrugged and tugged a silver and greeb scarff, which he had found with the ties, out of his bag.

"It shouldn't be cold enough for that," said Draco, but Harry just shrugged.

"It'll look nice," he said. It was Draco's turn to shrug.

"Well come on then, time's waisting." He stood up as most everyone else did. A few seventh and sixth years stayed behind to make the most of their free period.

Harry slung the scarff around his shoulders, but didn't let it cover his neck. On the whole, he thought, it did look rather dashing. Much to Draco and Harry's surprise, ti was a bit chilly, unseasonably so for this early in september.

"Early fall, eh?" said Nott walking a few paces behind them.

Harry looked around just in time to see a group of Ravenclaws marching up behind them. He spotted a bunch of bushy brown hair in the group and was tempted to wave to the girl from the train, but Draco elbowed him lightly. "Come on, we need to get inside."

Harry followed him into the greenhouse and they spent the hour having to tell the difference between different kinds of fertalizers and what uses they each had and what plants they were best wuited for. Alltogether uneventful.

After taht was Transfiguration with the Hufflepuffs. Harry was a little taken aback to find that McGonagall didn't seem to like him much. After an hour of beinf told just how impossibly hard Transfiguration is, he got up to leave to the class he was looking forward to the most; Potions.

They were waiting at the doors to the class when the Griffendors walked up to them. Ron Weasley was in the front of them. "Well look, if it isn't Potter the Snake," he said, like some kind of insult.

"What of it, Weasley?" said Harry in a voice that went past cool and straight into frozen terretory. Somewhere on his left, Draco snorted.

"Weasley, eh? How did you afford to come here? " Ron turned as red as his hair.

"Keep your nose out of it," said Ron. None of the Gryffendors looked quite ready to back him up, but he didn't seem to care.

Harry snorted in spite of himself. "Come on, Draco, lets not go the money route, I'm sure there are hundreds of other things wrong with him," he said, patting Draco on the back as the door to the classroom swung open. Snape motioned for them to come in, and they entered, seating completely split up, Slytherins on the left, Gryffendors on the right.

Snape walked between the rows of tables and spoke.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making."

Harry felt chills roll down his back.

"As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the oftly simmering cauldron with it's shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory even put a stopper in death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

Harry didn't realise he was sitting as ridged as a board until Snape called out his name.

"Potter, what would I get if I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to and in fusion of wormwood?"

Harry looked a little blank for a moment, then thought back. Flourish and Blotts, they had spent at least an hour going over things like that. "Draught of Living Death, sir?"

"Are you asking, or telling?" asked Snape, gazing at him intently.

"Telling, sir." Harry blushed.

"Very good, five points to Slytherin," said Snape. Harry let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Obviously, fame isn't everything. Now, where could you find a bezoar?"

Harry tried his luck."A well stocked apothacry, sir," he said. Snape scowled.

"No cheek, Mr. Potter, you know better then that, I hope."

Harry looked down, blushing. "The stomach of a goat, sir."

"Very good, another five points to Slytherin, I should think."

Harry found, to his amazment, there was an apreciative murmering coming from the tables with Slytherins sitting at them. Harry beamed, catching on suddenly. No, fame wasn't everything, but if he could prove he was intelligent, that would mean something.

"One last question," he started, but Weasley called out just then.

"Why don't you give any of us a chanse?" asked Weasley just then, and Snape rounded on him.

"Alright, Mr. Weasley, what is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?" His dark eyes glinted.

Ron blanched. "I don't know," he said.

"Five points from Gryffendor for speaking without raising your hand, and another five for missing the question," Snape said, walking to the front of the room. "For your information, Monkshood and Wolfsvane are the same plant."

The Slytherins snickered as Weasley went an even deeper shade of red.

Snape set them up doing a simple potion; the cure for boils. The class went without incedent, until a boy, who Harry remembered to be Nevile Longbottom, caused his cauldron to boil up suddenly, splashing him with potion. He wailed in terror as large welts and pustules spread over him.

Harry was the only one who didn't laugh as he was escorted out of the room to the Hospital Wing. He felt slightly bad for the boy, but didn't want to take his eyes off his potion, which he wanted to be perfect.

At the end of class, they bottled their potions, and gave them to Snape. He gave Harry's potion a long look, and nodded. Harry found a bounce in his step as he walked out with Draco to lunch.

While they ate, Draco recanted what had happened in Potions class to the snickers of the older Slytherins. One or two fo them even looked kind of impressed with Harry about answering the questions that Snape had asked.

"I didn't learn about Bezoars until sixth year," said one seventh year who Harry didn't know. Harry blushed into his lunch.

The day wore on after that, through Charms and History of Magic. Harry was glad he didn't have too much homework for the first day as he walked down to the dungoens with Draco.

Draco stopped at a blank stretch of wall that was just like every oher bit of wall aside from a small green snake that marked the entrence to the Slytherin Common Room.

"Password is Salazar," said Draco to Harry. "Give it a go."

Harry looked at the snake, and said "Salazar." The door opened wide, and he turned to Draco.

Draco was staring at Harry in shock. "What?" asked Harry.

Draco seemed to snap out of it, and shoved Harry through the door. "In," he commanded, and he dragged Harry into the Common room. He looked like he was going to pull Harry into the dorm, when Snape stopped them.

"We're having a House Meeting, and Mr. Potter and yourself need to be here," said Snape.

"But, sir, I've got to talk to Harry!" said Draco, impatiently.

"I'm sure whatever it is, it can wait," said Snape.

"But sir, Harry's a Parslemouth!"

The room, which had been full of lively chatter died at once.

AN: Ok, here's another chapter out for you all. I had the worst case of writers block about it, two. I even had nightmares about it! Either way, I hope you like it well enough, Ta-ta.