Hello there! Here's the second chapter :) I know I promised it to be online much, much earlier, but... well, apart from the parts you already know from the first version of this fic, I had to rewrite the potion lesson at least three times to make it flow as I wanted it to. Snape can be very stubborn a character to write, I tell you...
Now, to answer a question that popped up in some of the reviews: no, this will NOT be a Will/Jack slash story. For me, they're more like brothers and best friends, so of course they'll behave like an old couple, but it's because they know each other for so long and so well. Not to say that I'm against slash, anyone who takes time to check my Favorite list will see that I'm in fact quite an avid fan of male/male fanfics ;)
Another issue: I went through my plot outline and decided to edit it quite heavily, so this made chapters 3 and 4 that I had written earlier, obsolete. So I scrapped them and outlined them anew. Now I have to find time to write them, but I believe the next chapter will be up a bit quicker than this one. I don't want to promise anything, though. You're already wonderful to bear with me! *gives homemade chocolate chip cookies to everyone who reviewed/favorited/alerted the fanfic*
Anyhow, to stave off my dear Reviewers who made some absolutely charming suggestions as to what they would do to me if I don't update soon, here's the revamped Chapter Two! I hope you all enjoy it as much as you did Chapter One :)
BETA-ED BY THE AMAZING LittleMoonlightLover!
Chapter 2 – Pirate meets Potioneer
The next morning, the First Year lads awoke to find the young pirate long gone.
"Where'd Harry go?" Ernie Macmillan asked Justin Finch-Fletchley. Said boy just shrugged and headed to the loo. Harry was probably already at breakfast. Ernie sniffed and started to gather his things. He already didn't like the strange boy. He was... nothing the stories made him out to be. Nothing at all! He was supposed to be a hero, a brave, daring, loyal, charming leader, full of pride and dignity, and not at all an uncivilized rascal who can't even speak proper English! Well, he could always show him the errors of his ways, become his best friend, and then lead him towards the envisioned glory and power. Oh yes, Ernie Macmillan would be the best friend of the Boy-Who-Lived, and he would get his share of fame, as well as gratitude of Potter, after he understands just how much Ernie helped him. With those thoughts in mind, the Hufflepuff began his morning preparations for the day, not realizing what slippery slope he was toeing.
Harry was actually out by the lake. He missed the smell of the sea breeze and the cries of the seagulls. He also missed the wonderfully warm weather of Tortuga; the Scottish climate was too chilly for any sailor of the Caribbean.
He had initially left to see the Gamekeeper, Hagrid, to question him about the Kraken that lived in the lake. The family back home would want to know more about the supposedly extinct species of beast. Dad would want to come here and see it, that was a given, so Papa would have to stop him... Naah, maybe it was not really worth the trouble of informing them. But, upon seeing the morning sun's light reflecting upon the lake water, he decided that a morning nap would be a very pleasant plan.
"Alrigh' there Harry?" Hagrid asked, appearing almost out of nowhere. The man startled Harry, who just tilted his head to stare up at the giant man.
"A lil' homesick, mate." He replied. "I be missin' the salty air and the warm sands. This Sco'ish weather be sumthin' I'll never like." Hagrid wondered what he meant by that. Didn't Harry grow up in Little Whinging?
"Well, I don' kno' much abou' that, Harry," the Gameskeeper said. "Bu' I do kno' you'll be late fer breakfast. Prof. Sprout'll be handin' out yer timetables in the Great Hall." Harry nodded and thanked Hagrid as he got up and made his way to the castle.
"Where have you been Harry?" Susan called out to him as he entered the Hall. "Professor Sprout already gave out the timetables." She handed him a piece of parchment. "Here's yours. We have Defense Against the Dark Arts in 10 minutes."
"I'll be there. Need some nibbles to stave off da hung'r, savvy?" he winked at her as he munched on some toast. Susan rolled her eyes at him.
"Yes, yes. I'm 'savvy'," she said, playfully mocking him. Said boy shrugged and grabbed some muffins that were to his right. He got up to follow Susan to class; she was reading a map of some sort. Apparently, the Hufflepuff upper years make a new map for every set of First Years. It's a project for every 7thyear assigned by Prof. Sprout.
"I can't make head or tails of this thing." Susan was clearly frustrated. They had been going in circles for a good half hour. She had tried to find an older student for directions, but they had found no one.
"Here, let me have a go, love." Harry said as she passed him the map. "Ah, our class be due west of our curren' location." Susan stared dumbfounded as he quickly found them their class. Why hadn't he done this before? Harry chuckled at her expression and answered her silent question.
"Dinnae want ta both'r you," he said with a shrug. "You been on a roll, love. Sides, you been holdin' da map nor' side down…" She blushed at him. Was he gonna call her 'love' all the time? It was a little embarrassing, yet rather appealing for future years.
They entered the DADA class; their year mates were already seated with the Ravenclaws. Prof. Quirrel gestured for them to take the vacant seats next to an Asian girl near the middle rows. Harry smiled at the quiet girl and asked,
"Níhǎo! Zhège wèizi?*" the girl's eyes widened at his words and immediately scooted over to make room for them. "Wǒ de míngzì Harry Potter. Gāoxìng de ràng nǐ de shúrén." Her mouth widened with glee as she began to rapid fire words in a language that Susan couldn't understand at Harry. Susan was once again dumbfounded at his newfound skill.
"Whoa der, love," he interrupted her. "I only understood a lil' o'yer fast-speak." She quieted down, but clearly wanted to say more. "Now, from wha' I gath'r'd from yer babblin, yer name be Li Su, wi' Li bein' yer family name, savvy?" The now named Su nodded happily as Quirrel droned, or rather, stuttered on about what he'd be teaching them.
"What was that, Harry?" Susan asked, not liking being left out of the conversation. Harry turned to her, asking Su to wait a moment.
"It be Mandarin, love." He said. "Su 'ere," he gestured to Su. "be from Fúzhōu, a ci'y in E'stern China. I be askin' if we cou' sit an' introduced meself. She den rapi'-fired a cannon barrage of gibberish 'fore I cou' ge' a word in edge-wise." Su blushed slightly and muttered a quiet hello to Susan. The redhead responded in kind when Quirrel started calling the roll. When he arrived at Harry's name, calling 'Potter, Harry' repeatedly, young Mr. Sparrow pointedly ignored the stuttering professor.
"E-ex-cus-se m-me, M-mr. P-potter," Quirrell stuttered at the young pirate. "I-I've c-called-d y-your n-nam-me s-sev-v-ver-ral t-times; p-please r-resp-pond w-with 'H-here' or 'P-pres-sent'." Harry continued to ignore the man while Su and Susan nudged him repeatedly in an attempt to make him acknowledge the professor.
"What, what?" Harry said, finally turning his attention to the stuttering man. "Oh, 'ello Prof'. 'ow are you?" he asked cheekily. Quirrel sputtered indignantly at young Sparrow.
"W-well P-potter," he stuttered (again…). "I-I've b-b-been c-calling your n-name rep-peatedly and y-you've neg-g-glected to respond."
Harry nodded with exaggerated thoughtfulness and he had a brilliant burst of inspiration. He slowly raised his hand and said, "Here!" Su and Susan giggled along with the rest of the class while Quirrel huffed and resumed his lecture. The rest of the day went about in a similar manner to DADA, with a single exception; Potions.
Potions were held in the upper dungeons of Hogwarts. Harry found himself missing the dungeons back home; the ones back home were proper dungeons, with iron bars and dingy lighting. These were not proper dungeons… Why, the very thought of actually voluntarily entering dungeons of any kind were ludicrous to the young pirate. But he went to appease the two wenches that held his arms captive. When he entered the class ready for a dank, dimly lit cell chock full of students and a grimy professor, the young pirate was a bit surprised with what he saw.
The classroom itself was surprisingly well lit, despite the troublingly small windows near the ceiling. The dungeons themselves were tidy, organized, and almost entirely un-dungeon-like…except for the atmosphere that screamed 'you-shall-never-leave-here-alive'… That was a welcome similarity to the dungeons back home. The young Sparrow was dragged into a three seat desk up front by the two lovely wen…I mean ladies, Susan and Su.
"I've heard from the older years that the professor is scary!" Su whispered to her friends, glancing to the sides to check whether or not said professor was somewhere near.
"Yeah... he's really nasty and hates all students that are not in his house. He is the Head of Slytherin," Susan explained, seeing Harry's blank look.
"Oh... so, he be li'e, 'ye no mah mates, ye not worthy o' mah attenshun', eh?" The young pirate mused slowly. Su and Susan nodded.
"Well, you're right on that, Potter," Macmillan, who was sitting behind them, butted in quite rudely. Harry sniffed at the name the boy used, he thought he made that clear what name he bore now. "Snape is a right bastard and is able to dock points for breathing too loud, but that's reserved for Gryffindors. From what I've heard, we have the highest chance of surviving his classes with house points level relatively unharmed..."
"But he's also the youngest Potion Master to gain his title and a truly brilliant researcher, so he deserves some respect..." Susan added after a moment. Harry just shrugged.
"Y'see, luv, I give respect ta dem who d'serve'n'got tha' right fer their... virtues, lessay. So, if he wan's mah respect fer only 'is titles, an' not fer 'is behavior t'wards us, well then, he ain't gunna get it, savvy?"
Susan nodded thoughtfully, followed by Su and some other students that were listening to their conversation. It seemed that the Hufflepuffs were slowly getting used to his accent, although Harry noticed that some of them were explaining his words to their friends. Well, nevermind, as long as he only had to deal with that stuck-up Macmillan...
The sound of door opening was the cue to fall silent and wait for the show. And indeed, in strode the famed 'Dungeon Bat', or the potioneer, Severus Snape. Harry already got a good visual of him during the feast and breakfast, but the closeness gave him some more insight. The man was clearly sour, probably always in a nasty mood, and seemed to hate being here. Harry blinked, why would someone, who hates to be in a classroom, still become a teacher? It called for more investigation, yes... maybe he could ask Auntie Tia for some tips as to how to deal with the whole potions issue? He knew his brews and poisons, yes, but he had a feeling that his preparation for the life in the wizarding world would be not enough to deal with this man.
He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he missed the introductory drawl and sneer show, Su had to nudge him quite hard in the ribs to make him realize that the dour man was glaring at him. The young pirate smiled politely, waiting for the man to repeat his question.
"It would seem that our new celebrity is above answering a roll call, what a pity... I'll have to mark that you're not here, then. Mr Potter..."
"P'fessor, wi' all respect, ye cannae ma'k tha' 'e's not 'ere, 'cause 'e's not ev'n on da list," Harry gently rebuffed professor's statement. Snape sneered and looked at the list, frowning. Indeed, somehow there was no 'Harry Potter' there... but how? He then blinked, shook his head slightly and noticed the name, right where it should be. Cheeky brat... and by the way, what was the boy thinking, coming into his classroom dressed like that? Long hair, completely unbecoming of a child, no matter the name they could bear, and those trinkets on his neck and wrists, was he raised by someone from Trelawney's family?
"Mr Potter-"
"Sparrow, p'fessor-"
"Potter, such a headdress is unacceptable in a potions classroom, not to mention in a high-level schooling establishment. Shows just how much respect you have for rules, no doubt the blood of your father-"
"Which one, p'fessor? Papa c'n be a right stickl'r fer rules, y'kno', so I kno' my rules, bu' mah Da' always tol' me tha' rules be more like... guidelines, ya'kno'. Anyhoo, if MAH... 'headdress'... or whuteva's tha' wha' you said... is 'unacceptable', then wha' aboot your hair, eh? No' worried tha' somethin' dang'rous sticks to all tha' grease?"
Harry was looking at the potioneer with a calm, yet innocent expression, a child who just was asking a viable question. Snape's frown grew, until it resembled a storm cloud, and the man sneered disdainfully. Harry had to admit that even some of Papa Will's crewmates couldn't make a sneer like that...
"Just like your father, insolent, rude rulebreaker with all brawn and no brains. Why the Hat put you, a clearly pig-headed Gryffindor, in Hufflepuff, will remain a mystery."
"P'fessor, ye didnae ask me no questions, so I cannae ans'er dem, 'ere'ore ye cannae expect me ta ans'er dem, savvy?"
"Do pay attention to use proper English in my class, Potter, not this... barbaric denomination, belonging in the dredges of society," Snape sneered. "Five points from Hufflepuff for your apparel, plus another five for your cheek, and five points from Gryffindor for letting one of their own be mis-sorted."
Harry didn't even get the chance to argue, because the dour professor slammed the parchment onto his desk and waved his hand, revealing the recipe of a potion they were supposed to make.
"Since Mr Potter decided to waste our time with his rudeness, you may blame him for less time you get to brew. This is a simple Boil Cure potion, something that even the most inane of you should be able to brew," he threw with a sneer. "The list and instructions are on the board, you may start."
Harry read the instructions, frowning slightly. Well, this would work, yes, but Auntie Tia showed him a different recipe, simpler and very effective, though he doubted the classroom would have live tree frogs or ground horns of a horned viper...
"Hey, Harry, how about I get the ingredients, Su will prepare them, and you'll take care of the mixing and so on?" Susan whispered to him, standing up. The boy nodded and smiled to his other crewmate. The Chinese girl also smiled with a giggle. Seeing that both agreed, Susan quickly gathered what they needed and they set to brew. With Su's steady hand in slicing, dicing, shredding and so on, and Harry's impeccable timing when it came to adding the ingredients and stirring the potion, their work was completed just in time. The girls took care of a sample and Harry quickly cleaned their station. As he was returning from the cabinet, where he stashed the ingredients jars, he caught a flicker of falling glass from the corner of his eye and instinctively dived to catch it.
It was... their potion, which was apparently pushed off the teacher's desk by someone. Harry knew the vial couldn't have fallen on its own, since Susan put it safely in the vial rack, so... foul play. And the young pirate had a hunch who was guilty... but he only replaced the vial where it should be with a bright smile, as if he didn't notice the dark glare he got from the professor. Snape sneered at him and then declared the lesson to be over, telling them to scram. Harry and his two lovely crew mates were among the last ones to leave, they wanted to make sure their sample was safe... at least for now. Outside the classroom, they all sighed deeply and hurried to their next class, which was History of Magic.
The rest of the day was rather boring, at least for the young pirate. The history was taught by a ghost, which at first made Harry excited – oh the tales of adventures this teacher had to see! - but the droning of Binns made even him sleepy. He vowed to learn the textbook and some other books by heart and just gave up on trying to keep focused on the lectures. Lunch was a pleasant affair. Again he was happy with his year mates' attitude towards his manners and especially way of speaking – Cedric even ended one of his stories about the teachers with 'savvy', which made Harry chuckle, as the older boy copied his intonation to a 't'. Next they had a free period, which he spent with his new friends, getting to know them a bit better. And then suddenly it was time for dinner, and Harry had no idea where the time went. Curious... the boy kept to his group of friends for now, he'd branch out after he established his base in the Hufflepuff. On that evening, when he was finally in his bed, he thought about his adopted family: how they coped with him not being there. Were they bored? Did they miss him? Who was Auntie Ana torturing now when he wasn't around?... With all those questions whirling around in his head, and a pang of homesickness in his heart, the young Sparrow fell asleep.