Harry stared at the ground as Malfoy taunted the Gryffindors with Neville's remembrall. Ronald ordered Draco to give it back, but this only caused Draco to laugh as he mounted his broom and flew up into the air. Looking about to do the same, Ronald was stopped by Hermione Granger.
"Don't," she insisted. "You're not allowed."
Draco made a scathing sound as he tossed the remembrall up in the air and then caught it.
"Come on, Weasel," he teased. "You're not going to let the bookworm tell you what to do, are you?"
Kicking off from the ground, Ronald wobbled in the air as he tried to chase Draco around. Seeing as Draco appeared to be struggling a little to stay away from Ronald, Harry gave a sigh as he too got up into the air.
"Over here!" Harry shouted, waving his arms to catch Draco's attention.
The blond Slytherin tossed the remembrall and Harry had to dive to catch it. Ronald was now chasing him, but he easily outmaneuvered the redhead. Tossing the remembrall between them, the two Slytherins only encouraged more Gryffindors into the air, which in turn caused more Slytherins to take flight. Soon most of the class, not Hermione Granger or Theodore Nott, were zipping around trying to get the remembrall away from Harry and Draco.
It all ended abruptly when McGonagall arrived, followed shortly by Madam Hooch.
"What is the meaning of this?" McGonagall demanded as she scowled at the now grounded students. "Unsupervised and deliberately disobeying!"
"None of you were supposed to be on your brooms," Madam Hooch reprimanded. "I'll award five points to Miss Granger and Mister Nott for listening to instructions. The rest of you have each won an hour of detention!"
"Now, which one of you started this?" McGonagall ordered as she eyed them.
Harry's brows shot up when fingers began to be pointed at him, though he was glad some of those fingers also pointed at Draco.
"Malfoy took Neville's remembrall," Ronald tattled. "And then he and Harry were playing keep-away with it! I thought they were going to break it, so I tried to get it back!"
"However honorable your intentions were," McGonagall stated. "You will still be serving detention along with the rest of your classmates, Mister Weasley. Potter and Malfoy, you will come with me."
Returning their brooms to Madam Hooch who would be continuing the lesson without them, the two Slytherins followed their Transfiguration Professor off of the grounds and into the castle. It didn't take them long to realize they were heading down into the dungeons and they knew exactly what that meant.
Professor Snape was irritated to have his class interrupted and even more annoyed when Professor McGonagall requested he end the lesson early as she urgently needed to speak with him about the behavior of two of his students. When McGonagall motioned to the two lads standing beside her, Snape's brow rose ever slightly and a curl could be seen on his lips. After a prolonged moment, he dismissed his class, assigning them extra homework, before gesturing for McGonagall to bring the boys into his office.
Harry eyed the jars of potion ingredients which lined the shelves on Snape's walls and then focused on the floor.
"Proceed," Snape finally snarled when McGonagall did not immediately speak.
She spoke curtly as she described what she had seen and what Ronald had told her. Snape listened quietly and then asked to be left with the boys. She didn't argue and shut the door behind herself with a loud click.
"Mister Malfoy," Snape began, his voice level. "Why don't you tell me what happened?"
Draco took a long moment to answer before replying, "Potter would make a great Seeker, sir."
Harry looked up in surprise, first staring at Draco with an agape expression and then turning to Snape to see the man's reaction.
There was a hint of curiosity in Snape's eyes, but he didn't express this in words.
"You do understand, Mister Malfoy, that you will both be assigned an extra hour of detention atop what you've already been punished with, correct?"
"Yes, sir," Draco muttered, glaring down at his feet.
Snape leaned back in his seat, pressing his fingers together so they formed a peak.
"Potter, I would like you to remain behind. You are dismissed, Malfoy."
After Draco had left, Snape began speaking again.
"I should be taking off more points and I should be giving you more detention," Snape spoke in a low voice. "However, if what Malfoy has said is of any merit, it would be beneficial to have you on the Slytherin Quidditch team."
Harry furrowed his brows as he stared at the man.
"W-wouldn't that make the other teachers angry?" Harry finally asked.
Snape waved his hand at this.
"They would stoop just as low," he muttered, his tone more like acid now. "You will not speak of this to anyone. I will arrange for you to meet with the Quidditch Captain to learn the rules. You are dismissed."
Dinner found Harry getting curious glances from his classmates in Slytherin, but he refused to answer their unspoken questions. As he sat down to eat, Adrian leaped to his feet, but it was too late.
Something slammed into the back of Harry's head, sending him forward until his forehead smacked into the table. His glasses flew off of his face and skidded across the tabletop. Blinded and dazed, he lurched for his glasses. He stuck them on and turned around in time to see Ronald fling another spoonful of mashed potatoes at him. The glob hit him squarely in the face just as Adrian bounded over the tabletop.
"Pucey!"
The bark caused the hair on Harry's neck to stand up and he could just make out Snape stalking towards them through the smeared mashed potatoes on his glasses.
"Sit back down," the Slytherin Head of House snarled and Adrian slumped down beside Harry on the bench.
Snape spun around, his robes billowing about him, to turn his attention to Ronald.
The redhead visibly swallowed.
"Ten points from Gryffindor for throwing food," Snape hissed. "And ten points for purposefully attacking another student."
Ronald's mouth fell open in alarm, but all he could manage was a, "B-b-but-sir!"
"Would you like me to add more?" Snape questioned and Ronald shook his head quickly. "Then I suggest you be silent."
He did another turn to face Harry.
"Go to the lavatory, Potter, and clean up."
Harry nodded and immediately set out, only becoming aware Adrian had followed him once he was out of the hall altogether.
"What do you want?" Harry snapped as he continued to walk towards the nearest lavatory.
Adrian gave a small smile as he followed Harry, but gave no reply.
After washing his face and hair, Harry turned to see Adrian was waiting at the door with an almost pensive look on his face. Harry shifted on his feet and asked again why Adrian had followed him to the lavatory.
"I don't know what it's like to be Harry Potter," Adrian finally confessed and Harry's brow lifted. "But I do know what it's like to be the oddball of Slytherin."
"You're point?"
"You need to make friends," Adrian stated. "You could start by making nice with Malfoy and his little gang."
"And why would I want to..."
He was interrupted by Adrian.
"Because the Gryffindors are going to eat you alive otherwise, especially that Weasley."
Harry frowned as he glanced down at the ground.
"I've said my piece," Adrian opened the door. "I'll see you in the common room."
Without further word, the older Slytherin left and Harry leaned against the sink to stare at the grate beneath him.
He didn't want to accept what sounded like the desperation of the situation, but it was looking more and more like he didn't have much of a choice. If he couldn't make friends within Slytherin House, he was going to be walking a dangerous path alone. The Gryffindors had made it clear they had it in for Harry, but it didn't look like he was going to find much sanctuary with the Slytherins either. It did seem as if Draco was coming around, but he couldn't imagine why.
Frustrated, he set back off towards the common room.
"What were you thinking?" Snape snapped as he glared at Harry from across his desk.
The boy squirmed beneath his Professor's gaze, but struggled over an answer.
"You better start talking, Potter," Snape growled, causing Harry to flinch.
"I got lost, sir," Harry finally mumbled.
"Lost?" Snape didn't sound like he believed a word Harry was saying, but Harry couldn't think of anything better than the truth.
"Yes, sir. I got lost."
Harry looked up at the man with hopes his Head of House would accept the truth, but Snape's features were unreadable.
"I do not want to hear even a whisper of you skulking around the third floor corridor," Snape hissed, his lips tight. "Do you understand?"
"Y-yes, sir." Harry couldn't stop himself from stuttering. "B-but can I ask a question?"
Snape raised a brow and Harry hoped that meant yes.
"Why would the school keep such a dangerous animal?"
"That is none of your business."
"And what were you doing there?"
Snape's eyes turned cold and Harry stared down at his hands as if they'd become incredibly important all of a sudden.
"Return to your dormitory," Snape snarled. "Now."
Harry had never moved this quickly when running from the Dursleys, but there was always a first for everything.
Back in his dormitory, now nestled safely in his bed with the curtains drawn, he stared up at the darkness and wondered what exactly Snape had been doing in the third floor corridor and why the giant three-headed dog had been guarding a trapdoor. Though he tried to convince himself there was no point in such curiosity, he couldn't get it out of his head as he finally fell asleep.