Previously: Ah, I see the traits you've come to expect from the houses. Tell me, can you identify in which house you will find Determination, Leadership Qualities, Intelligence, and most importantly Fraternity? What is fraternity you say? It means the members of your house will be much more to you than house mates. They will become brothers and sisters. You will form bonds that life will never break. This does sound appealing to you, does it not? Lets try a few more on for size. Self-Preservation, Resourcefulness, Ambition, and a thirst for Power. Yes, you see where I'm heading don't you. I see what you've lived through in this short life of yours Harry Potter. I can tell you now that the abilities you have honed to deal with your circumstances are nothing to be ashamed of. Your choices make you good or bad. Mind your heart and all will be well. You're still nervous about being sorted into this house? Let me tell that in this house that you will find understanding and friendship rather than hero worship and idolization. Let's get you to your new family. Better be...
"SLYTHERIN!"
Chapter 5
There was absolute silence. Harry slid off the stool and glanced around on his way to the Slytherin table. The entire hall was filled with goggling eyes and open jaws. Even at the head table there were many surprised looks and a headmaster who looked somewhat disconcerted. At the time Harry had no way of knowing that Albus Dumbledore was a believer that Slytherin house was more predisposed to go dark than any other house. He was wrong of course, but that didn't stop the headmaster's current worries about Harry's future.
The silence was broken by slow, strong clapping that reverberated off the walls. This sound seemed to break the spell the student body was under and they jumped in to join the applause. Harry's green eyes followed the sound to its point of origin and found a severe looking man, slightly on the thin side with pallid skin and fine black hair brushing his collarbone. This man had well arched eyebrows, high prominent cheekbones, thin lips and a roman nose. The man's eyes were dark as night and shocking in their depth, but unlike his Uncle Vernon's beady orbs, they held no malice. If Uncle Vernon had looked at him with that intensity he knew there would be a thrashing and a couple of days locked in his cupboard following swiftly behind it. He tore his eyes away from those penetrating black orbs and searched his new house table for the bright blonde hair belonging to the boy who must have had the fastest sorting in Hogwarts history. The hat hadn't even settled onto Draco's head before shouting the boys destination among the house of the snakes.
As he approached, Draco indicated an open spot on the bench beside him which Harry gratefully took. "Don't know how you did it Potter, but you're already working miracles."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked, barely above a whisper. He was still attempting to recover from the shock of being the center of attention.
"Oh, your reception just now by our head of house is not a common one. Professor Snape is not known for social niceties. In private he's nice enough. I should know, he's my Godfather. But for him to make a display like that in public, he may as well have run up and given you a hug in front of the entire student body."
Harry was dumbfounded. What could he have possibly done to win the man's approval? He'd never been shown acceptance from an adult before. Even at primary school the teachers opinions of him were tainted with the false information fed to them by the Dursleys. Why would this man accept him while knowing nothing about him? He peeked back up at the head table through his curtain of hair. The man was no longer looking in Harry's direction. His attention was now back on the sorting. Knowing he wouldn't find the answers to his questions at this moment in time Harry also turned to watch the rest of the sorting.
He saw a boy named Zacharias Smith sorted to Huffepuff, Dean Thomas to Griffindor, Lisa Turpin to Ravenclaw, Ronald Weasley (or train stalker in Harry's mind) to Griffindor, and one more Slytherin, Blaise Zabini. After the Headmaster's odd speech including warnings against the Forbidden Forest and the Third Floor Corridor Harry gasped as the table was suddenly full of food. He had never seen such sumptuous foods in his entire life! There were so many foods Harry couldn't begin to identify them all. There were three different kinds of chicken, a beautiful roast with gravy, piles upon piles of vegetables and fruits, and hot fresh breads. He didn't realize all his other housemates were already digging in, but a nudge from Draco pulled him from his stupor.
"Eat up Potter, the food's supposed to be unlimited, but with Crabbe and Goyle around", Draco motioned to two stout boys currently stuffing their gobs, "there might be no food to be had anywhere in just a few minutes." Instead of being offended at the comment like Harry feared, the boys seemed to find it funny and kept right on stuffing themselves.
Inside Harry was panicking. At the Dursley's he had to wait until everyone was finished to see if there would be anything left for him. He knew he would draw attention to himself if he didn't start to eat, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Uncle Vernon would jump out of the shadows and drag him away for punishment if he didn't stick to the rules. Slowly, and with slightly shaking hands Harry served himself a generous helping of a nearby steak pie. As he closed his mouth around the first bite of pie his eyes fluttered shut against his will. Most people take for granted how much temperature can affect the taste of food, and this was the first time Harry had tasted a piping hot steak pie. The juices and warm crust flooded his senses. Even his jaw muscles temporarily clenched in appreciation. As he continued on with no Vernon popping out screaming obscenities, Harry began to relax and concentrate on the best meal he had ever had. When he was reasonably sure no one was looking he slid a few rolls into a pocket in his robe. The food was readily available right now, but if he were to make any mistakes here, it could easily be taken away. With that thought Harry added a couple of apples as well. He was oblivious to the ice blue and black eyes that had been covertly tracking his progress throughout the meal.
When it seemed everyone had reached their limit the food disappeared to wherever it had come from and no more than a few seconds passed before the previous meal was replaced by desserts! Harry spotted trifle, bread and butter pudding, treacle, ice cream, apple crumble, and so many others. He was very much out of his depth at this point. He really had no experience with treats. He wanted to try one of everything but decided on ice cream and strawberries. It was more delicious than he could have imagined, but so rich and sweet, he had to stop halfway through when his stomach began to feel decidedly uncomfortable.
Draco turned away from his conversation with Blaise to see Harry looking decidedly green. "Harry, are you alright?" He got a small nod in reply. "Are you sure, you don't look well."
"Don't worry Draco, I'll be fine," Harry choked out "its just all the excitement and I'm a little tired."
Draco nodded indicating that he accepted Harry's explanation, but felt he should keep an eye on the him just the same.
When the meal was over their prefects gathered all the first years so they could be escorted to the Slytherin dorms. They were just leaving the hall when the rich food became too much for Harry to handle. He broke off from the group desperately looking for a restroom. He had just made it past a suit of armor when his stomach revolted. Once the spasms were over he closed his eyes and tried to regain his breath. 'I can't even make it one day without causing trouble' Harry thought grimly. He finched violently as a large hand settled on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'll clean it up I promise" Harry panted as started curling away from the body that was far too close to his own. He saw another hand coming toward him and lurched back from it only to smash into the wall. "I'm sorry. It won't happen again. I promise."
When he finally looked up he saw the black eyes of the severe looking teacher from the great hall, Professor Severus Snape. Contrary to Harry's expectations, the professor did not look angry, if Harry was reading the subtle expression on the man's face he would say he looked almost...concerned? That couldn't be right. After the mess Harry had made the man should be furious and shouting about what Harry's punishment that night would be. Once Harry's labored breathing began to slow, the man finally spoke.
"Mr. Potter, do you need to go to the hospital wing?" the deep, smooth voice asked him.
"N..n..no sir, I'm fine. I just ate too much at dinner. Could you please tell me where to find something to clean this up with? He asked gesturing to the foul smelling puddle on the floor.
"You are in the magical world now. This," the man said gesturing to where Harry had lost the battle with his stomach, "is not a problem. Evanesco." As he said the word he waved his wand in a pattern over the mess and it instantly disappeared.
"Thank you sir", Harry breathed reverently. "What will I do for my punishment, sir?"
The man's brows drew together, "punishment, Mr. Potter?"
"Yes sir, for making such a mess in the castle, sir." Harry fidgeted a bit. He hoped whatever the professor came up with would not be too extreme.
"There is no punishment for being ill, Mr. Potter. In fact, if you feel this way in the future, I would ask that you immediately seek adult assistance whether it be from a professor or Madam Pomfrey in the hospital wing. Come Mr. Potter, I will escort you to your dorm."
They walked quickly down the dark corridors of the dungeon and soon came upon the other Slytherins. Harry once again felt a hand on his shoulder, but only slightly twitched this time. "Rejoin your group, I will see you again momentarily Mr. Potter" the professor's voice spoke in his ear before immediately sweeping down a side corridor.
"There you are" Draco said when he noticed Harry had returned. "Where have you been?"
Harry's cheeks burned slightly. "I was sick, but Professor Snape helped me."
Draco nodded and reached over to lightly bump his fist on Harry's shoulder. "I'm glad you're back now" he said loud enough for only Harry to hear. Harry smiled slightly and they turned to continue following the group.
They descended deeper and deeper into the dungeon and finally reached a large expanse of wall with only two small snakes carved in the stone to mark the location. Graham Pucey, one of the Slytherin prefects turned to the group. "The password for the week is serpimus. It means 'we slither' and will hopefully introduce you to the spirit of Slytherin House. We work as a team, and we always look out for our own.
As the password was spoken the wall melted away to reveal a heavy black wooden door with a shining silver serpent handle. The group continued on and Harry got his first glimpse of the common room. It was simply fantastic. The dark grey stone walls and ebony mouldings, including a massive black marble mantle in the center of the far wall, actually made him feel at home. There was no way Harry could have been at ease in a room this size without its dark color scheme. He noticed comfortable looking chairs and sofas in varying patterns and shades of grey, green and black, arranged into groups throughout the space as well as some long tables which would be good for studying. On closer inspection, the room had some sort of movement about it. It almost seemed to 'slither'. As Harry looked up he noticed the cause of this phenomenon. Along the entire length of the left hand wall was a row of clerestory windows, allowing small amounts of light that had been bent and refracted by the Black Lake, to sweep gently across the stone, casting a slightly greenish tinge on the room. Below these windows were large bookcases piled high with well used books.
"This way to your dorms." Graham called to their group, who Harry noticed were all stuck in similar states of awe. They followed across the room to the fireplace where they were told that the hallway to the right housed the girl's dorms and the left hallway the boy's. Harry decided to follow Draco. The blonde was already striding down the hallway as if he owned the place. When they entered their room Harry noticed there were two beds along one wall and two more across from them on the other wall. They each had a nightstand and a wardrobe. On the far wall there was another door that appeared to lead into a bathroom.
"I'll take this one" Draco pronounced as he threw himself down on one of the beds closest to the exit. "Why don't you take this one Harry." He motioned to the bed between his and the bathroom door. Harry shrugged and approached the bed. He slowly ran his hands along the green velvet bedspread marvelling in the softness. The bed also had thick drapes that could be drawn for privacy. Harry shuddered slightly. He didn't know if he would be employing that particular feature or not. He noticed the smooth silver sheets on the bed and was sure he'd never felt anything finer in his life. Gingerly he sat down on the bed. It was so soft! 'I'll be sleeping on a cloud' he thought to himself. Blaise and a boy introduced as Theodore Nott entered to see if there were available beds. Getting an affirmative answer, Blaise chose the bed across from Draco and Theodore the bed across from Harry. They had just gotten that settled when Professor Snape swept into the room.
"I see you're getting settled in." His black eyes swept over the group stopping momentarily on Harry. "I expect you all to be in bed at a reasonable hour and to be prompt for all your classes. You will do your best in all classes and come to me or one of your prefects if you are having any difficulties, understood?" They all responded with a quick "Yes, Sir."
"Mr. Potter, if you will come with me for just a moment." A nervous tremor passed quickly through him as he followed behind his professor. He was told he wouldn't be punished for being sick earlier, but he also knew how often adults changed the rules. Hopefully he wouldn't have to to anything too horrible. Just outside the boys' room they stopped and Harry watched as the tall man produced two glass vials. One held a medium blue transparent liquid, the other a thick dark red, sludgy looking substance.
"I would like for you to take a sip of each of these before meal times for the next two weeks. This, indicating the blue filled vial, is a stomach soothing potion. Occasionally we get a student who is unaccustomed to ingesting such rich food as Hogwarts has to offer." Realizing Harry had no response for the moment, he continued on to the red filled vial. "Nutrient potions are often used in conjunction with stomach soothers because they help your body absorb the maximum amount of vitamins and minerals in each meal consumed, in addition to boosting your natural energy and immunity levels. Any questions?"
Harry immediately started shaking his head. He couldn't accept these potions. It was too much. He didn't deserve this kind of help. It would be wasted on a freak like him. But, how could he refuse without angering his professor? So far he had gotten away without incurring his wrath, but he surely didn't want to put an end to the peace sooner than necessary. "Thank you sir, but really, I don't need the potions, I'll be fine without them. I can just go back to eating only brea...bland foods like I'm used to. You don't need to waste good potions on me sir."
"I'm afraid I didn't ask if you wanted to take the potions, Mr. Potter. But, I will give you a choice. You can either defer to my previous instructions, or I can send you to the care of Madam Pomfrey for the same advice including a full medical workup. I can guarantee you'll have to endure much more fussing over in her care than my own."
Harry's mouth dropped open slightly and he noticed a small smirk on the man's face. He swallowed thickly. "I think I'll take the potions from you then, sir."
"Excellent. At the end of two weeks we will revisit this discussion to see if we need to further your potion's regimen. Now, off to bed with you" he said as he handed over the potions.
Dumbfounded, Harry walked back into the dorm room and flopped out across his fantastically comfortable bed. Why was his head of house so insistent about him taking potions to make him feel better?
"What did he want?" Draco's voice snapped him out of his musings.
"Oh, he gave me some potions. You know, for my stomach problem earlier."
"Hmm, makes sense. He would have them on hand being the potions master and all. Well, I hope you have a good night Harry."
"Thanks, you too. Goodnight Draco."
Too tired for further contemplation, Harry quickly changed into an old T-shirt he used as a nightshirt and climbed under the covers of his bed. Seeing the other beds all had the curtains drawn Harry decided to try sleeping with his closed as well. Surely it wouldn't be too much like sleeping in his cupboard.