Harry hung his head low as he followed Professor Snape into the castle. Snape had been uncharacteristically calm during the whole ordeal. He had said nothing to Harry other than "Come, with, me." in a low commanding voice. Harry was expecting shouting or berating, but nothing. He continued to follow Snape expecting to be brought before Dumbledore for expulsion. Harry was confused when they ended up in front of a Charms classroom.

"Wait, here Potter." Snape ordered before opening the door. Inside was a Sixth year Charms class. "Professor Flitwick, I need Flint for a moment." Harry knew this wasn't a question. Without even waiting for Flitwick to finish his sentence, a tall boy with black hair and misshapen teeth stood up and walked out into the hallway.

"What can I do for you Professor Snape?" Flint asked. "And what's with Potter here?"

Snape sighed before looking at Harry. "I have found Higgs' replacement. I trust you are in agreement that his performance last season was subpar." Snape said in a dismissive tone. "I have seen first hand Potter's unrefined skills and with enough practise he will soon outclass Higgs. I'll leave him in your hands, and I expect him ready for our first match."

Without another word or a glance Snape turned and left Harry alone with Flint.

Flint waited until he could no longer hear Snape's steps. He whistled in amazement. "What in Merlin's name did you do to get Snape attention like that?" Flint asked putting an arm around Harry and leading them away. "You must be something pretty good for Snape to oust one of my players. Not that he's wrong, I'm just not sure how good you are. You are good right?"

Harry shrugged. "I guess." was his only reply.

Flint shook his head. "You guess? Well what did you do that caught his attention?" Flint asked as they entered the Great Hall. They took the nearest available seats at Slytherin Table.

Harry explained how Draco was teasing Neville about his Remembrall. "Yeah, I saw that. What about it?" Flint asked as he eyed a bowl of fruit. Harry continued with his tale and how he had his first flying lesson. Then he explained how Draco acquired the Remembrall and how he threw it towards the Greenhouses.

"And that's when I notice Snape staring at me from inside one of the Greenhouses." Harry said sounding sheepish. He was actually quite happy that Flint had lead them to the Great Hall, the whole ordeal had left him famished. He reached for a dinner roll when Flint reached out and grabbed his wrist.

"You mean to tell me that you flew all the way from the southern courtyard to the Greenhouses, did a nosedive, caught the orb, stopped a just a foot or two from the ground, on your first time riding a broom?" Flint asked sounding angry. His grip tightened a bit.

Harry wasn't sure what the correct answer was so he just nodded dumbly. "Yeah." he said sounded unsure. He felt Flint let go of his wrist. He quickly grabbed a roll and slightly shifted away from Flint.

Flint's face had a lack of expression as if he was lost in thought. "Wow!" He nearly shouted surprising other students in the Great Hall. "On your first time? Yeah, you're gonna be great." He laughed and gave Harry a playful shove, though it was a bit harder than Harry would have liked. "I can't wait to see what you can do on the pitch." Flint chuckled to himself.

Harry frowned in confusion. "I'm sorry, what I can do where?" he asked before taking a bite of his roll.

Flint slowly looked at Harry as if he had multiple heads. "On the pitch. Where else would you play?" Flint asked shaking his head. "You daft or something?"

Harry sneered at the insult. "Play what?" He asked getting annoyed with the lack of information.

Flint pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed his forehead. "You have no idea do you? Quidditch you dunder. You're my new Seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch Team." Flint said laughing at Harry with a competitive snarl.

Slytherin table was uproarious over dinner. Most of the first years and Quidditch players were laughing and joking about Harry's new placement on the team. Harry would occasionally glance over to the Gryffindor table and see Ron Weasley fuming and glaring at him.

Harry had been introduced to all the other players. Marcus Flint was in his sixth year and was Slytherin Captain and a Chaser. Adrian Pucey and Cassius Warrington were also Chasers. Miles Bletchley was Keeper while Lucian Bole and Peregrine Derrick were the Slytherin Beaters.

Harry had felt bad for replacing Terence Higgs before he introduced himself. He explained that he knew the last season wasn't good for him and he was considering dropping Quidditch in favor of his studies. He congratulated Harry on being the youngest Seeker in more than a century.

Over the course of dinner Harry had been more curious than normal and noticed occasionally Ron would say something with a sneer and Hermione Granger would stop to glare at him. The longer this went on the closer she placed her face in her book. Eventually Ron said something and Hermione snapped. She stood and scowled at him before leaving the Great Hall. It was something of an oddity to Harry.

He got along great with all the Slytherins in his year even if he didn't share all their views and opinions. But to see Ron purposely go out of his way to insult Granger baffled him. He asked around with some of the older students to see if Housemates acted in such a way. John had told him that it might happen in the other houses, but in Slytherin it couldn't happen.

"With the way the other houses look at us most of the time, we don't have the luxury of being at each other's' throats." he explained. "Most of Hufflepuff,all of Gryffindors and a few Ravenclaws think we're all just a group of slimy snakes waiting to stab them in the back when it becomes convenient. So we've got to look out for each other. That being said. If you didn't have to worry about alienating yourself from your entire house, I guess you'd have the opportunity of messing with one of your own."

Harry had never thought of it that way. He had noticed that not a single Gryffindor was over friendly towards him and most of the Hufflepuffs he had had to deal with were just barely polite. The Ravenclaws were as John had said. The most likely to not instantly despise Slytherin.

With all the excitement of the day Harry decided to pack it in early. He made his way out of the Great Hall, unaware he had a follower. He was about to enter the dungeons when he heard the scuff of a sneaker on stone. He turned around and saw Ron Weasley. "What do you want Weasley?" Harry asked, not in the mood to deal with Ron's antagonizing.

Ron had a frown and an upturned lip of an expression. "How does it feel being a traitor?" Ron asked quickly forming a smile. Harry didn't like his tone, but decided to play it cool.

"Traitor? I don't know what you mean Weasley. Care to elaborate?" Harry replied coolly.

Weasley's ears turned red as his hair as he scoffed "Don't come along all innocent, why are you in Slytherin? You should be in Gryffindor!" Ron nearly shouted. "Siding with those slimy snakes and wanna be Death Eaters, they're responsible for your parents death. Did you know? And look at you, acting all friendly with them."

Harry took a deep breath before he responded which allowed him to get rid of the slight anger that surfaced at the mention of his parents and at the insult to his friends. "For you information, Weasley," Harry replied coldly, "the sorting hat chose to place me in Slytherin and it's where I wanted to go and I'm happy there, not that I have to explain myself to you."

"Well, that doesn't matter Potter. It's a disgrace! What with both of your parents being in Gryffindor and you go and insult their memories by wanting to be sorted into Slytherin!" Weasley huffed, clearly agitated.

"Oh right. To be in Gryffindor, house of the Brave." Harry jeered. "I've seen how brave you can be. Insulting and harassing your own housemates. I'd rather have my friends than anyone like you." Harry crossed his arms feeling he had won that argument."

"How can you call those junior death eaters your friends?" Ron asked rhetorically. "One of them cursed Neville the other day and he couldn't stop spitting bubbles out of his mouth for four hours!"

Harry had heard of this happening. It was funny when he heard it happening, but less so when he heard that Neville was in the Hospital Wing.

"Well, I'm sure Draco won't apologize but I will. Neville Longbottom is a decent chap, and he doesn't deserve that. So if you would pass on the message, he has my sincere apologies." Harry said feeling less and less comfortable with the decreasing space between him and Ron. "Anyway if you don't have anything better to do, I do, you'll excuse me." Harry tried to walk away but was stopped by Weasley who grabbed his arm and spun him back towards them.

"I wasn't finished talking to you yet Potter, it's rude to walk away from someone when the conversation isn't finished. Didn't your parents teach you any manners?" Weasley smirked.

'Over the line'

"Let go of me!" Harry nearly shouted. He yanked his arm away from Ron and glared at him. "I don't think you want to do this. I'm Harry Potter. Not mention it's not proper to speak ill of the dead and especially about those who were as brave as my mother and father. Not to mention that it's disrespectful. Didn't your parents teach you about manners and respect at all? Not to mention loyalty?" Harry sneered nodding towards the other two. Draco would love to be here to insult these little Gryffindors. His lessons about blood superiority are indeed coming in handy.

"I imagine that your parents didn't have time to teach you loyalty, respect or manners. Come to think of it, is it any wonder with the number of you all? What are you? Number 9?" Harry mocked.

Harry didn't even see it coming, before he knew it he was on the ground nursing his jaw. Harry was sure he tasted blood. Harry just smiled a wicked grin, sucking up the blood in his mouth and spitting out.

To the Gryffindors shock, Harry started laughing. "That's right Weasley, let it out, lose control, you don't know any better." Harry said getting up slowly brushing off his pants.

"Slytherin or not, lets see how the world reacts to the headline 'Weasley beats "Boy who lived'. Won't mummy and daddy be proud of you? But then again with all of you will they have time to care?"

Again Harry didn't see the hit. It didn't matter, the more punishment he took from Weasley the more he could discredit him and the more Harry look like a victim.

"Got to admit Weasley, you got quite the right hook" Harry said chiding. "I'm just glad you haven't knocked out any teeth yet. Can't have the Wizarding Saviour with a crooked smile now can we". Harry was now just trying to getting Weasley to attack him, and it wasn't that hard.

"I bet you grew up with the story of the great Harry Potter, who defeated Lord Voldemort" Harry said with great emphases on the end, loving how they cringe at his name. "And now you have no idea what happened to your hero, who you thought would be just like you. A Gryffindor, a kind, caring, and FOOLISH person." Harry yelled at the end. "Did you know that I grew up with muggle relatives? No you didn't. Did you know I was beaten for being a wizard, when I didn't even know who I was? They hoped they could beat the freakishness out of me, my family, my flesh and blood." Harry snarled.

"I hate everything about them, Muggles are disgusting creatures. The man I defeated had the right idea. I still hate him though for taking away my real family. Don't you dare think of me as traitor. If I could kill the Dark Lord again I would. But I would never take myself out of Slytherin house. It is my home." Harry said walking towards Weasley fiercely. "Now the only reason I haven't defended myself or struck back is that you come from a pure blood family, albeit blood traitor."

"So if you want to hit me, hit me you pathetic, filthy muggle loving, BLOOD TRAITOR" Harry yelled now. The next couple hit blurred together as Harry let him beat him. After decided that it was enough Harry grabbed his wrist and shoved him away. "I have no more time to play with you. You should just go back to your dorm. And think about what you've done." Harry said in a very condescending and bored voice.

Harry turned around and started walking toward the great hall to gain the most attention as possibly. Weasley was visibly shaking with anger, he began to reach for his wand, but before anything could continue a bark of "WEASLEY!" shocked them all.

Harry's head whipped around so fast he swore he heard his neck crack.

Professor Severus Snape was swooping down the corridor, his black robes sweeping behind him giving Harry the impression that Snape was gliding rather than walking. The expression on the potion masters face was hard to read, except that his onyx eyes glittered with malice as he came towards them.

"What are you doing Weasley?" Snape barked at the red headed boy.

"Uh...I...erm...I was, um...Potter...and...err..." Weasley continued to stutter.

"SILENCE" Snape once again barked and leaned in closer towards the still shaking boy except he wasn't shaking in anger, but in fear.

The potion master continued, but his voice was only a mere silky whisper, the very one that silenced their first potion class into attention.

"Enough of your infernal stuttering boy, I asked you what you were doing, not for a ramble of nonsense. Care to answer?" Snape asked while raising one of his dark eyebrows.

"No? Well let me tell you what I think. I think that you were going to perform magic on another student, not just any student but one you had just finished assaulting. As you know, no magic of any type is permitted on the corridors. So for that it will be a detention with Mr Filtch every weekend this month and the next at 7:00pm. Is that clear?" Snape sneered, and that is a sneer Harry thought.

"Y-yes sir" Weasley replied while trying to unsuccessfully glare at Harry.

"Oh and one more thing Mr Weasley" Snape drawled, "That will be 50 points from Gryffindor for your assault of Mr. Potter." Snape said as he eyed Harry up and down. For the first time, Harry got the feeling that Snape wasn't looking for something to criticize, he was actually looking at him as a person.

"But professor, he-"Snape's head turned so fast Harry was sure his sudden change of facial expression would have killed anyone else with that glare.

"Do NOT argue with me Mr Weasley! Would you rather me take the four of you to the Headmaster, to have him deal with the assault and attempted cursing of another student. I did not think so". Snape finished in triumph.

With one last glare to Harry by Weasley he hurriedly walked away but with a shout of "A further 5 points from Gryffindor, no running is permitted in the corridors." But it didn't seem to matter as Ron continued to retreat as quickly as possible.

Harry turned to follow them but the professor had other ideas.

"Potter," Snape sighed as he surveyed Harry from seemingly emotionless eyes, it looked to Harry that he was having a conflict inside himself and so decided to remain silent. Harry had started to wonder how much of the conversation had Snape heard. After many seconds or was it minutes?

Harry heard Snape sigh once more and Harry looked up to see him pinch the bridge of his hooked nose. "Here Potter, this will help with the soreness and anything else you let Weasley inflict on you" Snape said while smoothly pulling out a small vial from his cloak. He seemed to drop in Harry's hand; almost trying to avoid contact with him.

Harry looked at the small vile, which read 'minor healing serum, level 2'.

"Should that not be enough, take yourself to the hospital wing. I'd imagine you can handle that."

Snape said with a small pause before continuing. "Return to the Common room, I'm sure you have something from your other classes to work on, seeing as you and Mr. Malfoy handed in your Potions assignment in first." Snape said in what seemed like a compliment. His eyed betrayed the concern for this young boy in front of him. Without a word more, he turned and again seemingly gliding away. Harry still wasn't exactly sure what to make of Professor Snape.

CHAPTER END