One week in
*Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry*Scotland*September 2nd*
Harry's first week at Hogwarts was as disappointing as it was illuminating.
The second day of term, first of proper classes, the rave-haired kid woke bright and early at six O'clock, walking around the seventh floor for two hours, as that was the time he spent to walk normally during weekdays, when he walked to school from the Dursley's.
Breakfast was served at eight, so he took his time to shower with scalding water and enjoyed the chaos that was the first year's dorm when they realized that breakfast was already starting.
Unlike the other firs years, Harry trailed behind an older group of students in the correct idea that they would guide him, with no trouble, to the Great Hall.
On the fourth floor he was intercepted by the Weasly twins, who had decided on what broom they wanted.
"You see here" said George.
"We have decided that what we need is a comet 300" continued Fred
"Maneuverable and fast, but with a rather slow acceleration"
"Good at great heights"
"But stalls at a hundred meters off the ground"
"The newest Nimbus gets to a hundred and fifty"
"Rumor says that there's a new broom in development from an obscure maker"
"Fastest on the market if the rumors are true, best acceleration too"
"But this is the pair we need, and we'll be relieving you of a couple dozen galleons"
"No more than thirty though"
"Even though they came out last year"
"Comet is cheap"
"Nimbus asks for more"
"Those are the only two broom makers in Britain"
"The French have three"
"But they care more for looks and comfort"
"And Comet sells everywhere"
"They even have a children's line"
"Stop" Harry held out his hand, "I don't really care about makers, only about flying, you'll have your money tonight, it's in my trunk"
"Very well then" Started George
"We'll drop you off at the Great Hall" finished Fred.
Without any warning they lifted him by the shoulders and carried him off to who knows where, passing through several tapestries and paintings, eventually coming out of another passageway just by the stairs to the main entrance.
Dropping him, quite literally, at the doors, making him fall on his bum, the twins entered the Great Hall and sat at the Gryffindoor table.
Harry stood at the door, trying to find Lisa at the Ravenclaw table and eventually finding her near the edge, talking with a red-headed girl and a boy with brown hair.
Walking towards them, Harry ignored all the stares and whispers of him as he plopped down next to Lisa, grabbing a plate and filling it with eggs and bacon.
"How was your first night, Lisa?" he asked, blatantly ignoring the awestruck looks on the other two kid's faces, "pass me the hash browns, would you?" he said to the person next to him.
"It was good, but I wish I could have stayed up until later" she said, a wistful look on her face, "there is a library in the common room, and they have everything"
Harry nodded, before glaring at the one that hadn't handed him the hash brown plate, "forget it, I'll do it myself" his eyes on the plate, he reached out with his magic to levitate the plate towards him, serving himself some.
"Show off," Lisa muttered, "must you do that with everyone watching you?" she snapped at Harry.
Said boy just looked around, glared some people into looking away, nodded in greeting to two of the professors at the head table (professor McGonagall and professor Flitwick) and continued eating, "so, who are your housemates?" Harry asked after a bite of egg.
Lisa looked the boy and girl that were still looking at Harry with awestruck face, even more awestruck because of his display, "right, well these are Terry Boot and Morag McDougal" she introduced him, glaring at their gaping.
"Not very talkative are they?" Harry said disdainfully, scoffing a little.
"You broke them"
"If they can't get a hold of their brains, then they aren't worth staying with" Harry said, quoting what Mr Turpin had once said.
"Don't talk like dad," Lisa glared at him, "and we were having a proper talk until you arrived"
"I can't help being a celebrity," Harry looked at one of the windows of the hall, apparently waiting for something to happen, "you know I hated it whenever some git would try to rip my hand off"
"Well you could try being less," she struggled to find a word, "less you about it"
"You know I am a bloody git when I can," he smiled at Lisa, "It is part of my charm"
"It is no charm" Lisa shot back, "it is a curse for everyone around that you can't give anybody respect"
"I give my respect to important people," Harry said, "like the barmy old man that heads the school or your parents"
"Well, you have a nice way of showing it" a little voice next to Lisa said, Terry, "I don't think anybody has the gall to call the headmaster that"
Harry shrugged, "Eh, you heard the speech he gave yesterday," Terry nodded, "If that is not enough to be considered barmy, then I don't know what is"
"But he's a genius, though" pointed out Terry, "otherwise he wouldn't be the headmaster"
"And that is why I respect him," Harry nodded, "the old coot is smart as hell, an alchemist, and who knows how much other stuff"
"I am glad you have such opinion of me Mr Potter" a voice said over his shoulder, and he had to snicker at the faces of those around him before turning to Dumbledore, "It has been a long while since someone has given such an accurate description of me."
"So you admit to being barmy, headmaster?" Harry asked, ignoring the angry shouts coming from his mother.
"When you get to my age, my dear boy," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling, "one tends to develop certain quirks, though I wouldn't really call myself a 'coot' yet, there is still much energy in these old bones"
"You say that now, wait until my seventh year" Harry muttered.
"Oh, so am I to assume that you will follow your father's footsteps then" Dumbledore said.
"Sometimes, when I'm utterly bored, or picked on"
"But that interesting article in your backpack should be enough to keep you entertained, should it not?" Dumbledore inquired.
"I've a Ravenclaw for a friend, do you really think so?" Harry shot back.
Dumbledore ran his hand through his beard, "I do suppose you're right, but surely she doesn't have it all the time?"
"We take turns, tomorrow is her day to have it"
"A good deal between friends, then" Dumbledore nodded, "very well, then I shall leave you to breakfast"
The four students watched the headmaster walk from the Ravenclaw table to the Head table, where he engaged in a conversation with professor McGonagall.
"I like the man" Harry said, "Wonder if he keeps up with the times."
"Well he doesn't keep up with fashion" Lisa commented.
"He's awesome, that is good enough" Harry shrugged.
The schedules were handed out, Harrys being delivered by the minuscule charms professor along with that of the Ravens.
His first class of the week was charms, where he started to like professor Flitwick, as the man had a rather nice way of lightening up the tense mood whenever it started to fall because of a student that couldn't get a hold of charms theory.
Harry was apparently was of his favourites from the get-go, because he was really enthusiastic in the discussion the two had in the middle of the class over the advantage and disadvantages of charms with wands.
The next class was Defence Against the Dark Arts, where Harry became delusion of his ideas of learning interesting stuff to use against the bullies that roamed the school, because of the teacher, professor Quirrel, who couldn't get out one word without stuttering or forcing it out of his throat.
Herbology was a painful class, as they were forced into practical work of how to plant seeds properly, but the works was somehow dulled because of the kind personality of professor Sprout.
On Wednesday, astronomy took place and Harry asked the question that was probably on many people's minds, "Why do we have to wake up at midnight to stargaze?"
The answer that had come from professor Sinestra was as cutting as his question had been, "because unless you would like to butch up a potion or ritual, then you need to know the astronomical calendar" and as she had said it in a voice that promised a detention Harry had just shrugged.
Thursday brought transfiguration, and after a severe speech that only made Harry even more eager to use transfiguration in, erhm, clever, ways, they started to go over the laws of transfiguration (this can't be changed into that, no food is to be transfigured, don't use transfiguration to cause mass destruction) a subject that is only better when messing with the wording of the ruled (don't make a mountain out a molehill, don't serve yourself, don't make a nuke to bomb the Russians)
Friday was a day Harry was both looking forward to and dreading, as it was the day they would have their first potion class.
Sitting himself at the very back of the classroom and taking out his many-book to read on the subject beforehand, Harry waited for professor Bat, as he had started to call him, to arrive, once again ignoring the whispers and looks, only reacting when Blaize Zabini sat next to him, "'Sup, haven't seen you during the week" the Italian boy said.
"I've been roaming the class" he looked at the other boy in the eye and continued, "I'm afraid I might start to hate people"
"Don't blame you, I wonder how you ended up in Gryffindoor" Blaize said, "so far I've seen gossips, chronic eaters, a know-it-all beaver that should be in Ravenclaw, and then there's you" the Italian boy shrugged and looked at Harry, pointedly letting his eyes in the many-book for more than a few seconds, "a raven trying to be a lion"
"I prefer to think of myself as a chimera" Harry shot back, "A lion's body, raven's head, badger's legs and snake's tail"
"Well, I've never seen you being cunning" said Blaize.
"You've haven't seen me in my quest" Harry looked back to his book, "I'm planning on how to take over the world, I don't know if I should use rats or cats"
Blaize looked at Harry oddly, his mouth already forming words, but he was cut off from speaking by the door to the potion dungeons slamming open and closed, with professor Snape walking in.
"You are here to…" Harry didn't really pay attention to the speech that professor Bat gave, as his book was more interesting, as well as less far-fetched.
A hand slapped down hard on his table, making him look up to meet Snape, "hello there, professor, I hope you are doing well" Harry said, his face a blank mask.
"Ah, yes, Harry Potter, our new…celebrity" Snape drawled.
"The one and only, though I also answer to just Harry, though I prefer Harrison from professors" Harry said, his face still blank and his eyes blatantly looking at the crooked nose of the professor, "Did you break that on a bike?" he asked.
"Ten points from Gryffindoor, Potter, but if you are willing to play the smartass, then tell me, what would I get if I added powdered asphodel root to an infusion of wormwood?" the professor's black eyes burned into his skull, but Harry just looked down at his book, went to the index and looked for the answer.
Finding it near the end of the book, Harry once again looked up, secretly enjoying the anger in Snape's face, as he was the cause, "a sleeping potion, depending on other ingredients"
"Tut tut, Potter, it was not supposed to be an open books question, five points from Gryffindoor, so close that and answer the next question, where would you look if I told you to find a bezoar?"
"A goat, an apothecary, the ingredients cabinet, my potion ingredient kit, my pocket, your pocket, your desk, the hospital wing, the kitchens, the headmaster's office, the gamekeeper's hut, must I go on?" he asked, in a blank, yet obviously disrespectful tone.
"Five points less, Potter, you would do well to keep that mouth in check, last question, what is the difference between wolfsbane and aconite?
"Where they come from, and their properties, but they are basically the same plant"
"Be sure to memorize that book of yours, Potter, or you will not go far," professor Bat turned away and went to the blackboard, were instructions wrote themselves, "there is what you have to do, you have until the end of the class"
Later on that night, Lily would tell Harry that he should stay as far away from Snape as possible, her mind made up in the fact that the man she had seen that day was not the man she had befriended.
I really have no idea what to do next, should I follow cannon? Should I do pure original? Should I mix it? The last one is by far the most appealing to me, and I will try to do it, but I the problem I`ve with Potter is that he is difficult to write, much more so when I try to stick with Hogwarts, so suggestions are very welcome.
in other news, I am done with finals tomorrow, so updates are back to normal schedule .