Just a quick author's note, I am not quite as familiar with Slughorn as I am the other Professors and I hope I don't get him too out of character. If you notice I get anything wrong, please let me know. I am also trying to figure out what year students have to be to be accepted into Slug Club; I tried looking it up but I couldn't find anything giving me a definitive year. I also looked up September 1, 1972, and it did indeed fall on a Friday
Professor Slughorn brought all of the first-years down to the common room just after breakfast the next morning and went over the Slytherin house rules and gave them their class schedules. The rules were simple enough to remember; be back in the common room by nine, bedtime was ten, homework was to be completed on time, group study sessions were to be held weekly and dorms were to be kept tidy. Aside from that, the key rule was solidarity. Helping your fellow snakes, when needed, wasn't just encouraged; it was expected.
Professor Slughorn also explained how he didn't want any public displays of arguments or pettiness. Once Slughorn was done explaining the rules, he posted a sign-up sheet for vaccination reviews and explained that he expected to see every student sign up to ensure they had all received all of their wizarding and muggle vaccinations.
"We don't need to be dealing with dragon or smallpox outbreaks, so if I see one name not present on this list, it will be placed before the sun rises and don't think I won't drag your butt down there at five o'clock in the morning," Slughorn explained as he pointed to the paper with an expression that told Harry how serious he was. Harry knew he'd have to sign up because he knew the Dursleys had never been bothered to take him for the standard muggle vaccines, let alone magical vaccinations. He wondered exactly what was involved with magical vaccinations; he would have to ask Severus about this at lunch today.
"I will be very involved with your education. Unlike the other houses, if I notice any potential troubles in classes or problems within your dietary habits, I will look into it to make sure you are healthy and doing as well as possible in all classes," Slughorn gave the students each a glance over before he began speaking again.
"You will find me tough but fair and this is because I want you to be and do the very best you can. You will also be partnered with a specific classmate the second year to help you adjust, they will be there to answer questions, to study with you and help you adjust to the school. Because today is Saturday, you will not have any classes but I advise that you take advantage of the time to glance at your textbooks; perhaps unwrap some of them to make it appear like you did."
Slughorn stood up and made his way to the door before reminding the first-years how to get in touch with them if they needed to.
As the other first-years made their way back to whatever they had been doing before they had been called to the meeting; none of them actually went to unwrap their books as they had been instructed. Harry had already finished all of his books and was actually halfway through Severus' books. He found that he actually enjoyed reading when he was actually allowed to touch the books. It was nice to not be yelled at and beaten for wanting to fill his mind with knowledge.
Over the weekend, Harry found that he'd been partnered up with Severus and he figured it was because Slughorn saw that Harry was comfortable with the older boy. Severus had shown Harry where the library was, where all the good books could be found and how to write with a quill. Harry found himself learning more in those two days than he ever did at the Dursleys.
Severus had also shown Harry hidden shortcuts throughout the school that let them travel faster through the school. Even better, it made it easier for them to avoid James Potter and his friends who made more efforts to seek them out than Dudley had ever had to patience for.
Harry assumed it had something to do with the fact that they wanted answers on who Harry was and why they had the same last name. Harry also knew it was because he was with Severus and they seemed to really enjoy taunting and teasing Severus. Harry found himself disliking the man more and more every day.
Harry actually wondered how he had wound up with Lily since she was too kind and sweet to have patience for someone like him. Especially since Lily didn't seem like she like James Potter; in fact, she barely tolerated him at all. So how had the become close enough to get married and have a baby?
By the time Monday came around, Harry was excited for his first day of classes. He woke up early and showered before breakfast and during breakfast, he ate a healthy breakfast as he prepared his supplies in his bag. He was going to be organised and ready to learn when he got to potions this morning.
Harry was still excited about some of the things Severus had shown him the day before about potions. He'd shown Harry the different cutting, mixing and storage methods and Harry couldn't wait to show his classmates that despite the fact that he came from 'nowhere' he wasn't a moron. He was going to prove to them that he did belong here.
Potions class was with the Gryffindors and Harry followed his housemates to the dungeons where they found Slughorn sitting in the potions lab, laughing over a cauldron of bubbling potion.
"It works! My giggling goo works!" Slughorn said between giggles and snorts of laughter. Slughorn picked drank the contents of another phial and the effects from his giggling goo seemed to wear off completely and he gestured for the students to come into the room. The first-years hesitantly filed into the room, staring at Professor Slughorn as though they expected him to burst into peals of laughter again.
"Everyone sit down, two to a table!" Slughorn said, watching as the students sat down and watched him carefully.
"The person you are sitting beside will be your partner for the duration of the year. Your performance will impact both of your marks; if one person messes up, you will both be graded accordingly. This will make sure you work as a team for best results. First of all, can someone tell me where you would find a bezoar and what is it used for?"
Harry was thrilled to find that he actually knew the answer. Before Harry raised his hand to answer, he looked around the classroom to make sure nobody else knew. After a few seconds, Harry finally raised his hand.
"Yes, Mr Potter," Slughorn asked, looking at Harry expectantly.
"It's found in the goat of a stomach and it's used to fight the effects of most poisons," Harry said, glad that all the time he had spent studying with Severus had paid off.
"Excellent! Ten points to Slytherin!" At Slughorns words, Harry felt pride bubbling happily in his belly. "Okay, Mr Potter, What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
"Isn't that the Draught of Living Death?"
"Brilliant! Ten more points to Slytherin! One more question! What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"
"There is no difference, they are the same thing," Harry answered, proudly.
"Excellent! Excellent! Well Done! Ten more points to Slytherin!" Slughorn cried, causing the Slytherin first-years to pat Harry back and beam proudly in their seats while the Gryffindors tried to process what had just happened. "The art of Potions is a delicate subject. It requires a combination of patience, knowledge and at the same time, creativity. You will be learning to make potions and hopefully, you will leave my class with a strong foundation of the subject. Because of the delicate nature of this class, I will be enforcing rules that I expect to be followed for your own safety."
Harry began taking notes as Slughorn was speaking and listened carefully as the Professor warned them about safety when handling dangerous ingredients and how to react should they come in contact with your skin.
"You take your robes off. Humility is fine and all but safety is a little more of a concern then someone seeing you in your underwear," Slughorn answered when a student had asked what to do if something dangerous got on your clothes. "Failure to follow rules designated for your safety will result in removal from this class. I want everyone to bring out their cauldrons and open your books to page 25 and begin preparing the cure for boils."
Harry opened his book and smiled when he recognised the potion as one of the ones he'd prepared with Severus a few days ago and was still fresh in his mind.
"I've made this one before," Harry told his partner who seemed relieved to be partnered with someone who knew what he was doing.
"Good, because I've never brewed a potion in my life. I'm Alex," the boy said, offering his hand to Harry who shook it and began preparing the ingredients.
"I'm Harry. Do you want to add the ingredients, or cut them?" Harry asked; he was fine doing whichever task and wanted to establish a good relationship with the boy who would determine fifty percent of his marks in this class.
"You know what you're doing, I'll add and you can prepare. Next class, we'll switch," Alex said. Harry nodded, knowing that was a good idea; it would give them both equal experience preparing and mixing.
"I think that's a good idea and we can compare notes at the end of each class to make sure we're on the same page," Harry suggested, remembering how Severus had explained that both roles offered different notes and how he and his partner always compared notes at the end of each potions class.
"That sounds like a plan," Alex said.
As they were brewing, Harry told Alex how he had found that the potion would brew almost fifteen minutes faster had they been allowed to have a copper cauldron. When their potion was finished, Slughorn dashed excitedly over to inspect the potion.
"Very good Mr Potter and Mr Green! Twenty points to Slytherin for completing the potion first and ten points for getting it correct on your first try! I'm going to send this over to the Hospital Wing if that's okay with you? And for your success, you will each get to keep a phial of the potion for yourself."
"I have no problem with that. Alex?" Harry asked, receiving a proud nod from his partner.
"Go ahead!" Alex said, smiling proudly as Professor Slughorn took the cauldron to the front of the room where he took the potion and prepared it to be transported.
"My parents are going to be so proud! First class and my potion will be used in the hospital wing! I'm sure your parents will be thrilled!" Alex said to Harry who frowned, not sure what to say to this boy about his parents.
"My parents... they died when I was a baby but my guardian and her son will be happy," Harry explained, technically telling the truth. Of course, the whole truth would have sounded completely crazy; my parents are in their second-year and aren't aware of the fact that I'm their son because I haven't been born yet. Harry could only imagine how well that would have gone.
"I'm sorry, Harry!" Alex exclaimed but stopped when Harry raised his hand and shook his head.
"I never really got to know them but it's almost like getting the opportunity to learn about them by going to their old school," Harry said, leaving out the fact that they were attending school with him and how he was actually getting to know them in person. The last thing Harry needed was the smug look on James' face when he found out the truth or worse, to be labelled the crazy kid.
Charms was a little bit different. The class started with Professor Flitwick introduced them to the class but unlike potions, they spent the whole class taking notes and simply practising wand gestures until the bell went for lunch. Harry was actually disappointed that they didn't get to cast any spells that class; that was what he was looking forward to doing in Charms.
"We will be casting charms next class, so please come prepared," Professor Flitwick called to the class as they made their way out of the classroom. When Alex and Harry got to the Great Hall, Severus was waiting for them with a smirk on his face.
"I heard you earned Slytherin sixty points today! Good going! You must have made a good impression of Slughorn!" Severus said as Harry and Alex sat down.
"I just remembered a lot of what I read this summer! It's no big deal," Harry said.
"No big deal! Professor Slughorn said they're going to use our potion in the Hospital Wing!" Alex said, his voice dripping with awe.
"I'm sure they do that all the time," Harry said with a shrug. He was happy with the acknowledgement but it didn't seem warranted considering how little effort it actually took. But the look on Severus' face told him maybe it was a bigger deal than he thought.
"That's actually quite amazing. It's not every day a first year makes a potion good enough for Slughorn to hand over to Madam Pomfrey; especially the first class," Severus said, causing Harry to grin proudly.
"Too bad we're taking flying lessons next," Harry said frowning, wondering just how bad he was going to be on a broom.
"I dunno, James Potter is pretty good on a broom and he is your cousin after all. You probably won't be that bad," Severus said, emphasising the word 'cousin' so Harry would catch what he meant. "He might be a prick but he's brilliant on a broom."
Harry decided to be a little bit optimistic upon hearing that. Perhaps he might leave the class without any major injuries. At the very least, Harry was hoping he'd be able to walk himself to the hospital wing. Harry wanted his dignity to be spared the humiliation for being carried off the pitch.
I have officially, after hours of brainstorming and planning, have come up with the entire plot for this story. It's not fully written out yet but I have already decided on its ending. But never fear, there are still several chapters to come.