Disclaimer: I do not, never did, and never will own Harry Potter, so there!

Author's Note: Thank you guys for all the reviews! I honestly did not expect to receive so much, and it really did cheer me up when I was stressed out from my finals, so thanks a bunch!

Reply to Him-mione: Hey, don't worry about it. You are entitled to express your thoughts about my story, and your first review was not really that harsh. I've seen worse. I will definitely take your advice to heart, and if you ever find anything lacking in future chapters, don't hesitate to tell me! After all, a good writer should always welcome criticism, and I want to be a novelist when I'm older, so any help is much appreciated. And I'm also really happy you're enjoying my story. I hope I'll be able to maintain your interest.

Results for Poll#4:What is your favorite Harry Potter pairing? Harry and Ginny (3 votes), Harry and Hermione (3 votes), Lily and James (3 votes), Harry and Luna (2 votes), Ron and Hermione (1 vote), Draco and Astoria (1 vote), and Lily and Severus (1 vote)

Poll#5:Who is your favorite Ghost at Hogwarts? Please remember to vote!

Chapter 10: Professor Snivellus among many other things

One week passed by in a flurry of activities, and Harry, Dudley, and their little gang of friends could not believe that it was already Saturday. Harry became quick friends with Ron Weasley, who reminded him of his 'Uncle Padfoot', and that Dean Thomas fellow was nice too, but he seemed to have become closer to Seamus Finnigan, who shared his passion of the muggle sport Football, while all Harry and Ron talked about was Quidditch. Harry also tried his best to include Neville into his and Ron's conversations, because his mother had written him a letter hinting at him to make friends with poor Neville, whose mother had been one of her very close friends, but the boy was just too shy and nervous around even his own classmates. And Draco Malfoy just terrified him, so the poor boy could not even sleep at night, nervously knowing that two beds away, the Malfoy boy slept.

From his very first class, Severus Snape, or Professor Snivellus, as Harry and Ron (who had picked up the name from Harry), called him behind his back, showed a great dislike for Harry, though it was no surprise. Harry figured out that Snape hated him so much due to his father James, from whom he had heard some pretty interesting stories regarding interesting pranks. The minute the first year students had entered his classroom and seated themselves, he had begun his long lecture.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. 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 softly simmering cauldron with its 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 stopper death – if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

He then barked questions at Harry, intent on not wasting a minute before humiliating him.

"Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

While Ron, Dean, Seamus, and Neville looked stumped, Draco just rolled his eyes and Hermione's hand shot up in the air. The only other Gryffindor girls, Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, glanced at each other with raised eyebrows. But Harry was not his mother's son for nothing. Looking calm and collected, he promptly answered, "Sir, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death." When Snape (and Hermione for not getting to answer the question) looked disappointed, Harry sighed in relief and made a note to thank his mother in his next letter home for making him read and re-read his potions book. Ron gave him a grin and a thumbs-up.

"A simple question every one of you should have known," Snape finally said, "Alright then Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

"I would look in the stomach of a goat sir," replied Harry swiftly, and as an afterthought, "And a bezoar would save you from most potions."

"Thought you'd add to your little fame, did you Potter?" Snape snapped, "I never asked you what a bezoar does. That's one point off for your cheek there."

Harry found this so unfair that he opened his mouth to argue but Ron stepped on his foot, "Don't; Snape would love to take more points off," he whispered, "Fred and George told me he could get pretty nasty."

Seeing Harry's scowl, Snape smirked and said, "Weasley! What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Hermione Granger now jumped out of her seat, her hand nearing the ceiling.

Ron gaped and looked to Harry for help, but Snape said, "Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming here, Weasley? You should have known that monkshood and wolfsbane are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. That's another point off Gryffindor."

"And Potter," Snape said, rounding on Harry, who was glaring furiously at him now, "Thought it'd make you look good, did you? Why didn't you warn Weasley to open his book before class? That'll be another point off Gryffindor. My my, Gryffindor does seem to be losing a lot of points today. Tut tut…." With a satisfied smile, Snape walked to the front of the classroom and with a wave of his wand, made instructions for a simple potion which would cure boils appear on the blackboard.

Snape favored the Slytherin students to an extent that he overlooked big mistakes on their part while taking away points for the small mistakes any other house made, especially Gryffindor. Sneering down on Harry and Ron's boil cure potion, he took two points off each for a missed ingredient, and simply ignored Hermione Granger's perfect potion while praising Crabbe and Goyle's rubbish looking one, which happened to be worse than Harry and Ron's.

With Draco Malfoy, Snape did not know what to feel. Had Draco been in Slytherin, no doubt Snape would have given him points freely, as the Malfoys were great friends of his, but Draco was unfortunately in Gryffindor, and Snape did not know what Lucius was doing or feeling about this, so he simply chose to ignore Draco for the time being. Of course, this did not go down well with poor Draco, who had been looking for some sympathy from the friend of his father.

But one strange thing was the way in which Snape stared at Harry when Harry was working on the potion with Ron. It almost seemed as if Snape looked heartbroken for a moment, but unsurprisingly, his expression turned stony and sneering once again when Harry caught his gaze and looked up. Needless to say, Harry felt pretty disturbed and worn out by the time the class ended.

"Between us, we lost Gryffindor seven points today," Harry moaned as they trooped out of the classroom after two hours.

"Not to worry," said Ron, "Fred and George always lose a lot, but they gain them back in other classes. According to Percy, it's supposed to be impossible for Gryffindor House to go a day without losing at least 5 points in Potions."

"Poor Neville though," Harry said, and Ron nodded his head. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus' cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion had seeped across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class had been 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. Snape had hollered at Neville for a full 10 minutes, calling him an 'idiot boy' and 'worthless', before making Seamus take him to the Hospital Wing. Thankfully, Harry and Ron had been too far away from Neville and Seamus, so Snape did not blame them for anything, like he might have done. However, poor Neville did have five points taken from Gryffindor, so adding it to Harry and Ron's, Gryffindor House lost 12 points that class period alone.

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History of Magic was, the first years (even the Slytherins) all agreed, the most boring and pointless class in this history of Hogwarts. It was taught by a droning ghost called Cuthbert Binns, who had once long ago fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire, died in his sleep, and left his body behind the next morning to teach. It was doubted whether even he knew that he was dead, but Professor Binns did enter the classroom everyday through the wall facing the students, so it was assumed that he did. It was said that Professor Dumbledore had once 'hinted' retirement, and the old ghost teacher had burst into sobs, so the old Headmaster had never brought up the issue again, which was a pity, as the subject itself was not a monotonous one if taught the right way and by the right teacher.

"Mum would be an awesome History of Magic professor," Harry thought one day, before dropping into a nap in the said class.

Filius Flitwick, the Head of Ravenclaw House and Professor of Charms, was a tiny elf-like man who had to stand on a long pile of books to see the class over his desk. A cheerful wizard who had knowledge beyond what he exhibited, he nevertheless toppled out of sight when he first read Harry's name during roll call on the first day of class, receiving snickers and giggles from the students. But Professor Flitwick became a great favorite with the students, as he was a fair and fun teacher while also keeping relative control over his class.

Hermione Granger became a great favorite of his, being the first in their class to master the tersus velox, which was a very simple cleaning charm that generally tidied up very small messes. Earning 5 points for her achievement, Hermione almost earned back the points the Gryffindors had lost from Snape that very day.

Herbology, the Gryffindors found out, quickly became Neville's favorite subject. He always looked so nervous and stuttered in other classes, but in Herbology, he was a brand new person, working on the various plants with diligence and a passion Harry often saw in his mother when she was cooking or gardening. Defense Against the Dark Arts, which Harry had been looking forward to greatly since he wanted to be an Auror like his dad, was clearly a joke he soon found out with disappointment, at least when it was taught by the coward-like Professor Quirrel, who read straight out of the book and shivered whenever he reached a "scary part".

Astronomy was perhaps the only really tiresome class, as it was taught at Midnight in the Astronomy Tower by Professor Sinistra. One hour long, they had to study the night skies through telescopes and write long essays on the various planets and stars. It became Dean Thomas's favorite subject, as he had always wanted to be an Astronaut.

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That Saturday morning, about one week after school started, Harry had received a small note from Hagrid, inviting him to tea at half past two. Ron tagged along, but before they left the Gryffindor Common Room at 2:20, Harry turned to Neville, who was staring at the fire place with a bored and lonely expression.

"Want to come along, Nev?" asked Harry. Neville jumped.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Hagrid's hut for tea," replied Harry, "And I know he's going to be delighted if you accompany us. Hagrid always loves visitors. The more, the merrier."

Neville brightened, and replied, "Alright then, if you're sure Hagrid won't mind."

"He won't," said Harry, then turning to Malfoy, who was stooped over one of the long tables with a book, he said, "Want to come with us Malfoy?" Ron gawked and Neville gasped. Harry himself was surprised. What had prompted him to ask Malfoy to tea with Hagrid? The thought itself seemed absurd, but perhaps it had been the expression on Malfoy's face: haughty as usual, but with a twinge of loneliness…..and could it be, traces of tears?

Malfoy merely looked up with a cold look on his face. "What made you think I'd want to come along with you?" he sneered, "and to a Half-Breed's hut at that!"

"Watch it," Harry replied with equal coldness, "I was only trying to be nice, but since you're incapable of any humane feelings, I'll just leave you alone. Come on guys."

After the three left the Common Room, Malfoy turned back to his book with a scowl, but was it a twinge of regret that plagued his heart? Probably not….or so Malfoy convinced himself before sighing and heading up to his dormitory to write a letter to Pansy. She hadn't replied to any of his letters, and he had written one every day so far. Was he losing his only friend? And then there was the letter from his father…..Malfoy shuddered whenever he thought of it, lying in his trunk. He wished that the Winter Holidays would not come too fast…there would be hell to pay at home.

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"What prompted you to ask Malfoy to tea?" asked Ron as he, Harry, and Neville left the Main Castle.

"Dunno; I felt sorry for him I guess," replied Harry.

"I…I saw him crying an hour ago," Neville murmured, staring at his feet as he remembered the uncomfortable incident. Of course, Malfoy did not know that someone, and Neville at that, had seen him crying, but still…

"Crying?" Ron said, looking shocked, "Malfoy…crying? You've got to be out of your mind, Neville!"

"It's true," Neville replied.

"Wonder what's wrong," Harry muttered, feeling bad that he had called Malfoy inhumane, though at the time he had felt he deserved it.

The three made their way across the green lush grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the border of the forbidden forest. His yard was covered with oversized pumpkins and lots of unused household items. Though messy, the overall atmosphere of the place was one of warmth and home. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door.

When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. Then Hagrid's voice rang out, saying, "Back, Fang – back."

Hagrid's big, hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open.

"Hang on," he said. "Back, Fang." He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound. There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.

"Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Ron and started licking his ears. Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked.

"This is Ron," Harry told Hagrid, "and Neville, my new friends." Ron was staring with awe at his surroundings, and did not hear Harry, but Neville beamed when Harry proclaimed him his friend. No one had ever introduced him, Neville Longbottom, as their friend before! It sure felt good.

"Another Weasley, eh?" said Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles. I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest." Then glancing at the nervous Neville, he said, "And yer Alice Prewett's son."

When Neville nodded, Hagrid continued. "You look jus' like yer mother, blond hair and blue eyes, but I can see yer father's resemblance too. Great people, yer mother and father, great people." Hagrid then wiped away a tear and set about making tea and rock cakes.

Neville beamed, and immediately warmed up to Hagrid. Here was someone who could tell him about his mother and father without comparing him to them. His grandmother, Augusta Longbottom, did love him and supplied him with everything he needed, but she had a habit of comparing Neville to his parents, especially his father Frank, and telling him he was a hopeless case.

The rock cakes were shapeless lumps with raisins that almost broke their teeth, but Harry, Neville, and Ron pretended to be enjoying them as they told Hagrid all about their first lessons. Fang rested his head on Harry's knee and drooled all over his robes.

"How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron. "I liked him a lot – great with animals." While Ron told Hagrid all about Charlie's work with dragons, Harry picked up a piece of paper that was lying on the table under the tea cozy. It was a cutting from the Daily Prophet:

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 remembered Ron telling him on the train that someone had tried to rob Gringotts, but Ron hadn't mentioned the date.

"Hagrid!" said Harry, "that Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! It might've been happening while we were in Diagon Alley!" Harry read the story again. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied earlier that same day. Hagrid had emptied vault seven hundred and thirteen, if you could call it emptying, taking out that grubby little package. Had that been what the thieves were looking for? And come to think about it, his Mum, Dad, and Sirius had looked tensed the day after they went to Diagon Alley. How much did they know of this robbery and what did they know of the item itself? And most importantly, how could he find out?

"Ah, yer thinking too much," dismissed Hagrid, with a wave of his hand, but he did not quire meet Harry's eyes. "Here, help yerself to another rock cake."

As Harry, Neville, and Ron walked back to the castle for dinner, their pockets weighed down with rock cakes they'd been too polite to refuse, Ron and Neville talked animatedly about their visit to Hagrid's, but Harry's mind was too preoccupied.

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That night after dinner was completed, Professor Dumbledore stood up and held up one hand to bring silence. After the Great Hall quieted down, he said, "As everyone knows, our replacement Muggle Studies Professor, Mr. Hornbeck, has kindly filled in the post for the first week this year due to the departure of Professor Johnson last year, but Professor Hornbeck is eager to get back to his retirement, so I am pleased to announce that he is free to do so. Now, I would like to introduce Professor Jane Birmingham, the new Muggle Studies Professor. Please welcome her by giving a round of applause."

Harry, Dudley, and their friends now noticed a woman sitting on the staff table standing up. She had straight shoulder length black hair, deep midnight blue eyes, and a pale complexion. Oddly, she looked quite familiar to Harry, who had never seen her before in his life.

"Harry, you didn't tell us your Aunt was coming to teach at Hogwarts," Ron said, staring at Harry with reproachful eyes.

"Huh?" Harry said, confused, "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, don't play dumb with me," said Ron, looking disbelievingly at Harry, "Everyone knows that the Birminghams are related to your Dad's family through his mother's side. She must be his cousin or something. Don't tell me you never met her!"

"Of course I did," said Harry, grinning but feeling utterly confused, "I was just fooling with you." Who the heck is Jane Birmingham, he thought.

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"Mum, I'm so glad you're okay," whispered Dudley, giving his mother a big hug. It was an hour after dinner, and Professor Dumbledore had secretly called him to his office. When Dudley had gotten there, he saw the new Professor Birmingham waiting there for him with Professor Dumbledore. After his confused glance, Dumbledore had revealed to him that "Professor Birmingham" was none other than his mother, Petunia Dursley! Throughout his shocked silence, his mother had revealed to him how his Aunt and Uncle had found her and secured her a job as the Muggle Studies Professor at Hogwarts, and seeing that she was a muggle herself, it would be quite an easy job.

Dudley still could not believe it. His mother was actually back, and there was going to be a custody trial the day after New Years! "We'll get your younger brother and sister back no matter what," his mother whispered into his hair, "Your Aunt and Uncle said they'll use magic to confound the jury if need be."

Dudley's head hurt. Everything was happening so fast, and he didn't have time to take it all in slowly. His mother told him she had found a good cottage in Godric's Hollow itself, two blocks from the Potter Manor, which had three bedrooms and was cozy enough, though it might be a bit cramped with four children and one adult.

"We'll move in after your first year is over," she said, "You'll have to share a room with Duncan and Diana with Delilah, but since you and next year Diana are going to be at Hogwarts for most of the year, it won't be so bad."

Dudley nodded and said, "Does Harry know about all this?"

"He'll be finding out right now," said Petunia, "through a letter Lily sent him."

Dudley spent the next hour telling his mother all about his first week, and the new friends he had made in Hufflepuff. But then he had to go back to his Common Room, as his mother needed to prepare for her first class on Monday.

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The next evening…

"Ugh," Ron groaned as he glanced at the notice board in the Gryffindor Common Room. "We have Flying classes tomorrow morning with the Slytherins! Why are we always paired with them?"

"I suppose they want to encourage 'inter-house unity'," replied Harry, yawning.

"Not gonna happen," said Ron. Off to the corner, they saw Hermione Granger with her head buried in Quidditch Through the Ages, muttering flying tips to an eager looking Neville, and looking quite wild and frightened.

"Something she doesn't know, huh?" commented Ron, smirking. He had found Hermione quite proud, with the way she held her head high and answered every single question in class without giving others a turn, and was enjoying the fact that she would have to do something one couldn't learn from a book.

Hermione got up and paced back and forth restlessly, wringing her hands.

"It's no wonder no one can stand her; she's a nightmare, honestly," said Ron rather loudly before Harry could quiet him. Hermione heard, along with a lot of others. The Common Room became rather quiet, and turning red from embarrassment and hurt, Hermione ran up the stairs to the Girls' dormitories. Before she reached the top step, Harry and Ron glimpsed tears streaming down her face. Harry turned to Ron with an exasperated look.

"You can't be a bit quieter, can you?" he asked with a sigh.

"She had it coming for her," replied Ron, though he looked uncomfortable and a bit repentant. Off towards the end of the room, Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, the other two first year girls, giggled. They did not like Hermione either. It was doubted whether anyone actually did.

The next morning, Harry, Ron, and Neville met Dean and Seamus at the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Looking forward to flying lessons?" asked Harry eagerly. He couldn't wait to start. Maybe he would even make the Gryffindor Quidditch Team next year if Madam Hooch, the flying instructor, recommended him. Suddenly, Mail interrupted his thoughts as owl after owl swooped in, dropping packages onto their owners' laps.

A barn owl brought Neville a small package from his grandmother. He opened it excitedly and showed them a glass ball the size of a large marble, which seemed to be full of white smoke.

"It's a Remembrall!" he explained. "Gran knows I forget things – this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red – oh…" His face fell, because the Remembrall had suddenly glowed scarlet, "…you've forgotten something…"

Neville was trying to remember what he'd forgotten when Draco Malfoy, who had just entered the Great Hall, snatched the Remembrall out of his hand.

Harry and Ron jumped to their feet, but Professor McGonagall, who could spot trouble quicker than any teacher in the school, was there in a flash.

"What's going on?" she asked sharply

"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor," replied Neville. Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the Remembrall back on the table. "I was just looking," he muttered before he walked to his usual place at the Gryffindor table: in the middle where it was generally empty and no one bothered him. Not that anyone ever wanted to anyway.

Harry stared at him for a few seconds. Malfoy seemed pretty cheerful that day considering the way he had moped around the past week, complaining about being in Gryffindor.

Malfoy did feel pretty cheerful. Pansy had finally sent him a reply telling him to meet her in front of the Slytherin Common Room after dinner. Of course, it was a very short reply, but it was something.

After breakfast, Harry, Ron, and the other Gryffindors 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. The Slytherins were already there, and so were twenty broomsticks lying in neat lines on the ground. Harry had heard Fred and George Weasley complain about the school brooms, saying that some of them started to vibrate if you flew too high, or always flew slightly to the left.

Their instructor, Madam Hooch, arrived. She had short, gray hair, and yellow eyes like a hawk.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked, "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."

Harry glanced down at his broom. It was old and some of the twigs stuck out at odd angles.

"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!'"

"UP!" everyone shouted. Harry's broom jumped into his hand at once, but it was one of the few that did. Hermione Granger's, obviously, had simply rolled over on the ground, and Neville's hadn't moved at all. There was a quaver in Neville's voice that said only too clearly that he wanted to keep his feet on the ground. Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end, and walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. Harry and Ron were delighted when she told Malfoy he'd been doing it wrong for years. Malfoy scowled and ignored them, along with the hostile looks the Slytherin First Years, his "would have been" classmates gave him.

"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 –"

"STOP!"

All heads whirled around to see Professor McGonagall's form running towards them.

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A.N. (Yes, I know that I did not include all of the sneak previews from the previous chapter, and I apologize for that, but towards the end of this chapter, another idea popped into my head, so the sneak previews of the previous chapter will be shown in the next, and there will not be any sneak previews for this chapter. Sorry!

Anyone who read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone more than once will recognize the excerpts from the book I used. Sorry for not underlining them, but someone told me it disturbed the flow of the story, so I did not mark them. If anyone knows a way to quote from the book, please tell me.

I personally feel that this story is moving like a soap opera: annoyingly slow with nothing really happening. If any of you feel this way, do not hesitate to tell me. I will quicken things up. Or if you feel this pace if alright, also tell me that.

And don't forget to review. All of your reviews are so helpful, and I really value feedback, so please leave at least a small review telling me how you feel. Thanks in advance!

By the way, the next chapter will feature more Dudley.

All of you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! I hope your holidays are relaxing and enjoyable. I'll try my best to post another chapter before 2009 as a New Year's Treat, but if I am not able to, you'll definitely get one in early January. See ya!)