The Sorting:

Severus watched as Minerva led the new group of first years towards the Sorting Hat. It was that time of year again but this time would different. It would be the year that Harry Evans, the son of Lily, started at Hogwarts. Severus had been waiting for this moment for so many years. The moment seemed surreal, like he didn't think it would actually happen. However, he acted the usual apathy that he displayed for the sorting ceremony every previous year, such as only clapping for students sorted into Slytherin and taking a mental note of which children were sorted into Gryffindor.

When all the eleven year olds had gathered around, Severus tried to look for the boy. He tried to see if he could spot any boys that looked like they could be a miniature Potter with scruffy hair and a set of glasses but after minutes of looking, he couldn't find one.

It was then that Minerva started to call names, "Abbott, Hannah."

There was silence in the hall, the sorting of the first child was always an excitement.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

It wouldn't be long before she would go on to the 'E' section and call over young Harry. The boy was forced to have his mother's last name as a sign that he was illegitimate. Severus quickly found himself feeling melancholic; looking at the boy would be a reminder that she had a son with his worst enemy. A woman like Lily had the power to change him from being the lonely, self-centred Death Eater that he was. The love of his life was dead and the spawn of Potter would be the only reminder of her existence.

"Evans, Harry."

Severus' heart had skipped a few beats as he watched a pale scrawny boy with sleek, dark hair walk over to the stand and sit on it. The boy's facial expression was a mixture of sheer excitement and shyness. If he really was the son of Potter; he looked absolutely nothing like him. Nothing at all. He didn't take after Lily either.

The whole Great Hall had become silent as the hat was placed on his head. Usually a boy like him would have been laughed at because of his status as the son of a muggle born prostitute and his awkward appearance but he wasn't. Harry Evans had to advantage of being special – being someone famous for something he couldn't even remember. Everybody wanted to know what house would have the pleasure of having 'the boy who lived' as one of their own.

Harry gulped as the Sorting Hat was placed on his head. He hoped that he would be placed in the right house.

'Well, well, well, what do we have here?'

Harry almost jumped off the stool; he could hear the hat in his mind. It was an uncomfortable experience. He hated anything that could possibly probe through his mind and reveal his secrets. Not that he had any real secrets anyway. Not yet.

'Plenty of talent, I see and not a bad mind either. I see that you are generally loyal, fair and kind to others, especially to those you love and care about - maybe you would belong in Hufflepuff. You also have a great love of learning, a trait of a true Ravenclaw. You are unafraid to stand up for what is right against neighbourhood bullies. I see courage, oh yes, and a strong need to prove yourself - '

Harry closed his eyes and began to wish hard, 'Not Slytherin, not Slytherin.'

'Not Slytherin, eh? But Slytherin will lead you on the path to greatness, there's no doubt about that. No? Well, if you're sure, then…'

"GRYFFINDOR!"

In the mist of shouting and applause that had erupted from the Gryffindor table, Severus watched in disappointment as the son of Lily walked over to sit at the Gryffindor table.

First Potions Lesson:

Harry found his first couple of days at Hogwarts wonderful. The place was beautiful, spacious and enigmatic. Words could not really describe how happy he was to be there. Harry had taken time to explore the castle and look at the surroundings; he was even tempted to go near the Forbidden Forest just for a look. He was surprised by this newly found adventurous aspect of his personality; it was as if being away from the Dursleys was like being let out of cage. The Sorting Hat obviously had some sense in placing him in Gryffindor, the house of bravery and courage. He seemed to be more impressed by the castle then other students, especially students who were raised with the knowledge that they had magic in them. He guessed that unlike the other students who missed their families, Harry didn't have anywhere he would rather be or anybody to miss.

Finding out he was a wizard was probably the best thing that had ever happened to him. He didn't like to think about where he would currently be if he had no magic. He didn't like to think about the Dursleys either. The people at Hogwarts generally treated him better than his only relatives did. It proved to Harry that blood wasn't necessarily thicker than water, at least in his case.

He did manage to make new friends. He had already made good friends with Ron Weasley, the boy he had met on the Hogwarts Express. The red-haired boy came from a large family of magic folk and had been very kind in helping Harry by explaining many aspects of the magical world. There was also Hermione Granger, a studious girl who had buffy mousy brown hair and abnormally large front teeth. Her parents were dentists and like him, grew up ignorant of the magical world. Harry found her a nice girl, even if she was a bit of a bossy know-it-all.

There were also negative aspects to coming to Hogwarts. One was his unwanted fame, as a shy person, Harry dislike having people talk about him behind his back or trying to get a good look at his scar. There were also the people who made fun of him, at his old school there were also people who teased him but that was for his nerdish ways and odd appearance. The people who teased him at Hogwarts mainly did so because of his birth status. It turns out that being born illegitimate was a particularly negative stigma in the wizarding world. It also didn't help that his mother was 'muggle born'. It was never fair to be teased, but being discriminated against for something he was born and couldn't control seemed more unfair than being labelled a nerd or a weirdo.

Mainly it the Slytherins who held this prejudice against him but at least he wasn't the only person targeted, Hermione and other muggle borns also experienced prejudice against them. He especially didn't like Draco Malfoy. The blond boy seemed to excrete obnoxiousness from every pore of his body by claiming that he was better than everyone else simply because he was deemed 'pureblood'. His drawling voice made him even more unpleasant to listen to.

Harry just stuck around his friends and ignored all negative comments that came his way. When he wasn't reading books or doing homework, he and Ron would be playing chess with each other and versing Ravenclaw students. Although Harry liked being a Gryffindor, he found many of the others in the house rowdy and too outgoing for his liking. Many Ravenclaws were studious, clever and held interesting conversations.

Despite the slight negative aspects of Hogwarts, Harry found himself very much at home.

"Double Potions with the Slytherins," Ron frowned as he looked over their timetable, "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. My brothers say he always favours them and always puts down the Gryffindors. Fred and George hate him."

"I hope not," Harry said through bites of pancake, "Hopefully, he's not an overgrown version of a lot of the nasty Slytherins."

Hermione nodded in agreement, "We better get going otherwise we'll be late."

They left the Great Hall after they had finished breakfast and reluctantly made their way to the dungeons.

Severus Snape was busy pedantically preparing the classroom for the new first years' introduction to Potions. Using non-verbal magic, Severus made cauldrons appear on the tables along with the other equipment the students would need. He made sure that the equipment was positioned identically on each desk. He didn't know why he took such care in setting up his classroom; it wasn't as if the snotty nosed brats ever appreciated it.

It wasn't long before the first eleven year olds arrived and took their seats. In the short time before the lesson was expected to begin, Severus took careful note on the new students. Like which ones didn't look like they were very bright. He also took note of the new Gryffindors, a new year of brazen and loathsome fools.

When he was satisfied that enough students were in the room to begin, he only had to wave his hand and the children would become quiet. That was the only thing he genuinely enjoyed about teaching, the authority and power he had over the students through fear. If it wasn't for his bargain with Dumbledore, he would not have ever become a teacher. Nor should he have, Snape was impatient, intolerant and frequently antagonistic towards his students. But if it wasn't for Dumbledore, he also wouldn't have been anything more than his former selfish Death Eater self.

"Welcome to potions. I am Professor Snape. I don't expect all of you to be able to respect the subtle art of potion making but for those of you who display aptitude, it should prove interesting. I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can teach you how to cure boils, brew glory and stopper death…"

He looked around the classroom. Most of the Gryffindor students looked a bit intimidated – they must have heard the rumours about him. Good. He also noticed Harry Evans looking curiously around the room, admiring bottles in the cabinets filled with potions ingredients - obviously not paying attention.

"Harry Evans," He called out and the boy sprung in fright to look at him, "Our new celebrity."

Some of the Slytherin class members began snickering.

"Tell me Mr Evans, where exactly would you find a bezoar?"

He glared into the boy's eyes and penetrated his thoughts, 'I think it's the undigested matter that forms in the stomach of a goat.'

The buffy haired, bucktoothed girl sitting beside him enthusiastically raised her hand up high and waved, eager to answer for him.

The boy started to shake his head, "I don't know, Professor."

Severus found it interesting that the boy didn't seem to gloat on his newly found fame as his eleven-year-old father would have, but instead acted timidly and seemed a little confused at the treatment.

"Let's try again, what would you use Gillyweed for?"

'It can give you temporary gills and webbed digits. Obviously helpful if you wanted to go underwater for various lengths of time.'

The words that came out of his mouth were completely different, "I don't know, Professor."

For a moment Severus made eye contact with the boy. His heart almost skipped a beat when he saw Lily's bright green eyes glare back at him again. Using deeper Legilimency, he briefly delved into the boy's mind. The boy was deliberately not answering the questions mainly because he had a defiant nature and hated being singled out because of his fame. Severus also sensed a desire to fit in as much with his peers as possible.

"Clearly fame isn't everything, is it Mr Evans?"

More snickering from the other students and it wasn't only Slytherins this time.

Severus went back to teaching the class as per usual and left Harry alone. He found it hard to summon up the same feelings of hatred that he had felt for James Potter. The boy had no Potter in him, physically or in personality. It made him kind of happy to know that there was no progeny of Potter walking on the Earth. Severus also became suspicious, if Lily's son was not Potter's, who was the boy's real father? He sincerely hoped that the boy's father was not a pureblood supremacist Death Eater – it would be extremely traumatically for the boy. Severus had other suspicions….

A/N: Reviews, favourites and follows are always appreciated and welcome.