September 1st 1992
There was a bit of rejoicing on the Slytherin part of the Great Hall, but everywhere else looked on, in a rather stunned silence. Even the professors were in a bit of a shock themselves. Harry quickly removed the hat and slipped to the Slytherin Table besides Ginny.
With him slipping out of sight, the Great Hall broke its stupor and resumed the Sorting, Harry turned to Ginny and she looked at him with a slightly confused expression, but behind that Harry could see a certain tenseness, as if she was upset or worried about something.
"Are you ok? Is something the matter?" He asked quickly.
"Erm, not quite—" she began before cutting herself off. "I wasn't expecting to be Sorted to Slytherin is all."
Harry raised an eyebrow, he'd noted the animosity and glares that were thrown the way of the snake table, but he had also noticed they weren't quite setting the best example for themselves as the glares were returned two-fold. "Is there a particular reason as to why the other houses dislike ours so?"
Ginny frowned and shook her head. "It's well known that a good portion of dark wizards have come from Slytherin, more so than any other house."
Harry opened his mouth to speak but was quickly cut off by the Headmaster standing up. "It is now my pleasure to announce that today marks yet another year at this wonderous castle. We welcome all our new friends and housemates, to all those amongst the student body, I must insist that the Forbidden Forest stay unexplored, as it is just that, Forbidden. This warning extends to the south corridor on the third floor, for it is the home of a very gruesome and painful death should you not heed my warning. With that being said, let us dine!" He punctuated his little expression with a clap and suddenly food appeared along the entirety of the table, as well as cutlery and plates.
Harry hesitated before beginning to fill his plate as the upper years began to fill theirs as well.
Ginny was keeping to herself and Harry couldn't help but feel like she was trying not to be noticed by the others.
Unfortunately this reality would not come to pass as the snobby boy that Harry had met on the train plopped himself in front of the two.
He was flanked by two larger kids who looked like they shared a peanut sized brain and a set of weights. "So if it isn't famous Potter and the bitch of the Weasels." the boy drawled.
Ginny scowled and stabbed her fork into the table. Raising her eyes she stared directly into the blonde greasy kid's and Harry could feel the tension in the air like a ticking bomb.
"Draco Malfoy, I would say it's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance but I'm certain that's not true."
Harry plucked the fork from the table and leveled it with the blonde, "Draco is it? Look let us eat in peace and maybe then we can come to terms that might favour the both of us." A sideways glance confirmed his suspicion that Minerva was watching the quintet with the corner of her eye. "Look, we've already garnished the attention of the hardass Professor. I don't think now would be the best time to push our luck."
Malfoy himself glanced at the head table and then proceeded to start dishing himself with food. His two unnamed and unspeaking cronies followed suit, as they took most of the meat and sweets from the options.
"Sorry about the train by the way." Harry said as he finished chewing a bit of pork. "No offence but you kind did come off as a git and I had the perfect opportunity to bring you down a peg.
Malfoy looked at Harry and a slight pink tinge took his face but his expression remained neutral. "That was a bit of good thinking with the compartment door, I didn't think it would reflect."
Ginny's complexion was starting to get extremely pallid. Harry took note and nudged her. "Ginny here helped hide ya,"
She opened her mouth in protest, fear dancing in her eyes but one of the older students off to the side that had been eavesdropping started chuckling. Draco noted the chuckle himself and seemingly decided not to press anything. "Quick thinking once again, it would have been a shame if you had gotten caught and expelled before you had a chance to be sorted." The sarcasm and threat behind it was obvious and Harry didn't miss a beat with his rebuttal.
"Please, I'm Harry Potter, you think they'd expell me and a companion over something as dumb as some schoolyard roughhousing?"
Malfoy didn't respond and instead let himself a faint smirk. "You've got guts, I'll give you that, Weaslette here isn't going to be as accepted in the pit as you are, and even you're going to have a bit of trouble. I'll vouch for you, despite you embarrassing me in front of my house, so long as you vouch for her.
Harry didn't miss a beat. "Deal." Ginny looked at him with a mixture of thanks and also anger, her previous timidness now gone.
"Harry if you get me in trouble I'm gonna kick your bollocks in." She tapped her pocketed wand and Harry got the message.
"Should be no problem with that miss." He chirped, looking back at his food he resumed his eating, the group growing silent.
It didn't take much longer after that before the food was gone and Dumbledore stood and clapped, the dirty dishes and cutlery vanishing. "Now that we are all feasted, full, and satiated, it is a wonderous time for bed, for the term begins on the morrow. First years, you'll be able to find your house prefects eagerly awaiting you. They will show you to your common rooms, and your dorms where you will find your belongings waiting for you. Good Night!"
Harry looked up to the head of the Slytherin table and saw an older student with a self satisfied smirk on his face, flanked on the right by a similarly aged black haired gal.
The boy, with dark brown hair, spoke aloud. "I am Drake Greencrest, and this is Bellona Varys, we are your house prefects, you will listen to us as will you to your Head of House, Professor Snape."
Bellona picked up where Drake left off, "If the first years will follow us, we will be guiding you to the Common Room, where Snape will be awaiting us for further direction."
Silently the First Year Slytherins shuffled up from their seats and began to follow the two prefects. They traversed into the dungeons of the Castle and eventually to a dead end hallway where the two prefects halted before a hanging green torch on the wall.
Bellona spoke aloud. "This is the entrance to the Slytherin Common room. Pull the torch and state the password, it is changed every Wednesday, and every Sunday. It is usually always a potions ingredient. None of this information is to be disclosed with any student outside of your house, the punishment being so severe you'll wish for expulsion from this school."
Drake pulled the torch and spoke "Wyrmwood." Letting go of the torch the wall it rested upon moved out and up, revealing a long stone corridor lit by green torches. The two Prefects turned down the corridor and began to walk, the First years following. Eventually the stone slid shut behind them and Harry felt Ginny brush up against him, her presence seemingly deciding to stay there. She wasn't seeking comfort, moreover grasping for some sort of balance as the torches dimmed. Finally the prefects reached the dead end of the Corridor and it fell downwards revealing what Harry assumed to be the common room.
The students filed in and found the mouth of the hallway was flush with what Harry assumed to be the south side of the Common room. Along it, aside from the exit, was green tapestries emblazened with a silver snake, the crest of House Slytherin. Alongside the tapestries, swords and shields were hung ornamentum. Along the East wall was a row of benches, with bookcases between each one, a total of three bookcases and 4 wooden benches. The benches were metal framed, and the arm rests were designed to look like snakes coiled oddly with the fangs bared at the end of each armrest. The wood was a delicate Ponderosa, with a splash of bird's eye spotting, and finished with a light black.
The bookcases were of the same wood, with the crest of Slytherin carved into the sides, and tightly packed leather bound books rested on the shelves. Above the benches, about where your head would be if you sat down was a window that spanned the length of the wall, and was about 4 feet tall. The water of the lake dimmed the light and discoloured it a faint green. Along the roof of the same wall was a window of the same size, save for the fact it had three segments removed and replaced for the stone wall. Above the bookcases were similar tapestries and banners, to the south wall.
Looking at the West Wall one might realise the ceiling was a smidge slanted, resulting in a significantly shorter wall. Along it were two doors, They were unlabelled and unmarked, save for two Slytherin emblems facing each other. Between the door was a large fireplace, with the chimney reaching up into the close roof. It should be noted the doors were on far sides of the room from each other. Mayhaps around 60 feet between the inside edges. The Fireplace exactly in the centre. Several pictures of the previous Head Boy's led to the Northerly door from the fireplace, and Head Girl's led to the Southern door. Around the firepit in a half circle, lie an assemblage of Sofas and chairs, perfectly symmetrical and all with dark green upholstery and that ponderosa wood the bookshelves had.
The North side was similarly decorated to the South, with its own door sitting there and a picture of Severus Snape left of it, and a bulletin board to the right. The main floor had a pair off pool table lying diagonally toward the North-East corner, and a few circular Ponderosa tables, all with similar chairs surrounding, around six chairs per table. The absolute centre of the roof had a silver chandelier, dangling, with the tip of it around 10 feet from the floor, and below it was the Slytherin House Crest, designed into the green and grey carpet. It was right here that the large, sneering man stood.
Harry felt slightly intimidated, but at the same time was utterly amazed at how massive, and breathtaking the Slytherin Common Room was.
Snape cleared his throat as the last of the students entered and the door to the exit hallway slammed shut of its own accord. "Welcome to the Ancient and Noble House of Slytherin, it is here you will be staying the entire duration of your time here at Hogwarts. To the left—" the direction Harry had assumed to be West, "—lies the doors to the dorms, there, you will find the farthest permits only boys to *open* it, and the closest will only allow girls to *open* it." There was an obvious loophole that he had left unannounced but had stressed the words. "If I, or any prefects, catch a student in the incorrect dorm, there will be significant punishment, perhaps up to expulsion depending on the actions. That being said, inside each door you will find a spiral staircase leading both up, and down. Two floors up, and three down, Seventh Years have the very top floor, and the First years have the very bottom. There, in your dorms, you will find your stuff, off to bed, and don't be late for breakfast tomorrow, you are dismissed."
The first years quickly shuffled towards their prospective dorm doors, excitement in their steps, despite the harsh and rude welcome by their Head of House.
Harry gave Ginny a parting glance and noted she did not return it, a tinge of disappointment came to him but he failed to notice it and pushed on. Entering the staircase, Harry noted their marble build and darted his way down them, insistent on getting the bed farthest from the door.
Luckily, he was the first there, and noted that his stuff was already at the farthest bed and he smiled, running over, he flung himself onto the bed and breathed a sigh of relief, safety was almost guaranteed here. He didn't even want to fathom dealing with much else at the moment, he was content here.
The other four boys of whom had been sorted into Slytherin this year shuffled in and each noted that Harry had taken the farthest bed. It was after they had all claimed beds that Harry lifted his head and examined the room before him.
The roof was shorter, and despite having a Queen size Four Poster bed, it was oddly uniform and tight. Wooden slide outs were able to separate the distinctive areas of which each occupied. There was a nightstand off the left side of the bed, and a desk about a foot out. On the other side was a wardrobe with a tall basket to the left of it, of which Harry assumed was for laundry. At the foot of the bed was a footlocker, containing all of Harry's belongings, he was certain.
Finally sitting up, Harry noticed all the other boys had the same layout and design of amenities. Getting out of bed he gave a curt nod to a brown haired boy of whom was bunked next to him, and went back out the Dorm and into the stairwell. It was here he noticed that right next to the Dorm door was another door and opening it revealed it to be the washroom. It was a single person bathroom with a deadbolt lock and another lock Harry couldn't quite make out, but definitely looked magical.
Smiling Harry reentered the dorm and garnished the attention of the other four boys. "Hey so in case you're looking, the bathroom is next door on the stairwell, it's got a few locks too."
The brown haired boy gave him a curt nod. "Thanks mate." he then turned to the others, "I'm Stathan Freeborn, who're you folks?"
A darker skinned boy with pitch black buzzed hair spoke next. "Anthony Livelle."
Harry decided to introduce himself next, "Harry Potter."
A blonde haired, blue eyed boy spoke next. "Kurt Blayne."
Finally, the last one to speak was a black haired, pale skinned boy, closest to the door. "James Gresham, of whom here are pure of blood?"
No one responded, all of them shaking their heads. Harry spoke up next, knowing the blood status was a very important thing, especially if it was the first question asked by this boy. "And Half Bloods?" Harry asked, this was the category that he himself belonged to. It was readily answered by the boys this time, all but Anthony nodding.
Anthony obviously noticed this because he spoke up next. "Non magical family on my end." He looked slightly ashamed and Harry gave the boy a curious glance.
"It's nothing to be upset about, I didn't know I was magical until recently, It was actually Professor McGonagall that told me.."
They all looked at Harry in shock, "McGonagall is that hard looking gal that led us to the Hat right?" Stathan asked finally, after a brief moment of awed silence.
Harry gave a slight nod and Stathan spoke again. "Jeez that's mental. Nerve Wracking huh?"
Harry nodded once more and gestured to his bed. "Truly, it's a little late now though so I better sleep, else I won't wake up in the morning."
"Well it was nice to meet you folks, and I'm kinda glad we're off to a good start, it'd suck with half of us hating each other when we'll be spending the next seven years bunked with one another." James said as he sat on his bed.
The rest of them silently agreed as they crawled into their own.
~~~
Harry didn't even remember sleeping as he flung himself upwards from his bed. Anxiety struck as he thought of how he was probably late to make the Dursley's breakfast. Suddenly his surroundings crashed in on him and he realised where he was. A heavy yet brief feeling of relief took him as he gazed around to determine the source of his waking. Stathan was rummaging through his trunk, and looked up to see Harry watching him. With a wince he whispered sorry and his rummaging quieted some.
Harry decided he'd better get up and prepare himself as well. He made sure to keep quiet so as not to wake any of the others.
It didn't take him long to ready up, especially due to the fact that he was used to silently and quickly attending himself with the Dursleys. He made sure to leave a towel on his trunk to remind himself to shower after the day's events.
He quickly climbed the spiral staircase, it was an awful ordeal and Harry realised this was probably intentional, as as he increased in his time and experience at Hogwarts, he'd move up the stairwell, until his last 2 years, where he'd just head down them in the morning. As he entered the common room, Harry spotted Ginny and another girl their age having a discussion. She had a cream complexion and spoke with a light lisp. Reddish blonde hair crept down to her lower back. The girl spotted Harry first and gave him a raised eyebrow. This drew Ginny's attention and she looked at Harry and beckoned him over.
Harry slowly approached, eyes on the now occupied bulletin board. It had a few notices and a list of words on it. As soon as he reached the girls he heard them speaking.
"Totally, why are these folks so snobby." The girl said quietly. Noticing Harry was within earshot she quickly changed subject. "Hello, who're you?"
Harry opened his mouth to speak but was promptly cut off by Ginny. "He's Harry, he's pretty chill, don't worry about him."
The girl looked at him a little longer before finally nodding. "Alright, I'm Denise Tuttle. You're Harry Potter?" Harry nodded and Denise gave him a speculative look before smiling. "Well it's nice to meet you." She stuck a hand out.
Harry took the hand, a smile of his own forming. As he took it, Denise, with surprising strength pulled him towards her and grabbed the front of his hair and pulled his head back. Both he and Ginny yelped in surprise as Denise revealed a scar on his head. She squinted at the white mark reminiscent of a lightning bolt before releasing him.
"I believe you, sorry about that. My Mom told me to be speculative of anyone claiming to be you."
Harry looked confused as he rubbed his head where she'd pulled his hair. "Who is your mom? And why'd you pull my hair?"
"Oh, you would probably not know her. Her name is Bridgette Tuttle, she works in the Ministry, but where I do not know. I'm thinking it's the department of Misuse of Muggle Artefacts.
Ginny perked up and gave the girl a smile. "No kidding, that's where my dad works."
Harry raised an eyebrow and smiled. "First meeting Emy, and now some folks have the same job essentially. What a small world."
Ginny whirled on Harry and gave him a stare, "You met Emy?" she asked, shock lacing her voice."
Harry put his hands up defensively and chuckled, "Yeah, she got sorted into Gryffindor though, that might be a little bit of a problem."
Ginny paused and looked thoughtful, "It's almost time for breakfast, why don't we all run down and see if we can catch her, aye?"
~~
Ginny was taking point as the three shuffled through the dimly lit hallway that led out of the Slytherin Common Room. As they reached the end, Ginny spotted the silhouette of a student around their age, the over combed hair gave away who it was. She stuck a hand behind her, gesturing for the other two to stop, and began to approach slowly so as not to provoke the ferret looking boy. A quick side glance to her peripheral enlightened her to the fact that Denise was *strutting* towards the two of them.
Malfoy made eye contact with Denise, her dark green eyes boring holes into his own blue ones. A bead of sweat formed on the back of his neck and he couldn't help but feel like he was staring into the eyes of the Deputy Headmistress herself, except instead of brown, these eyes were an intense green, rivaling Harry's in how vivid they were.. Subconsciously he took a step back, and his eyes flickered with fear.
Sensing a winning battle Denise proceeded to assert her dominance over the poor boy. "Listen here you stunted inbred, roach eating piece of pureblood supremacist trash, get out the way before I shove your wand so far up your backside you'll be sniffing the grease of your palms on the handle in the back of your sinuses."
Harry put a hand on Denise's shoulder to calm her. "He hasn't provoked us, relax."
Malfoy had let a steely mask slip over his expression, and nodded curtly to Harry. "He's right Blondie, don't know what I did to tip your bucket."
Denise snorted and strengthened the glare she had on the boy. "We met last year in Diagon Alley, when you decided to trample me over in Flourish and Blotts."
Ginny remained quiet during the whole ordeal and finally decided she needed to break this up before it escalated, Harry looked conflicted and about ready to defend Denise. "Look guys, we all want to eat and it's not only too early, but we're in a confined space and everyone is going to get very injured if we decide to start a fight here."
Draco frowned and obviously didn't like the idea of being told what to do by a Weasley. Unfortunately they all needed to heed her words lest her prediction, nay, observation, comes true. Gritting his teeth, Draco ceded. "Whatever, I've places to be, and more important things to do than mingle with firsties."
With a certain pizzazz, the white haired boy spun on his heel and made his way down the hidden hallway and out the door. His footfalls echoing down the stone corridor.
Denise shrugged and began leading the trio out into the halls of the Castle, the Great Hall the destination in mind.
It was as they were staring at the door into the Great Hall that they realised they were face to face with a very Stern, Red haired woman.
A/N Here you go, I got the next chapter written and am starting on 5, I'll post 4 once it's been proofed, I'm going back to my Act formatting and am liking the degrees of freedom it gives me to develop other plot lines.
