Harry numbly made his way to the table on the far right, filled with students in green and silver. He sat at the end of the table, leaving a slightly larger space between him and the girl that was already seated than was considered proper. The silence of the hall didn't penetrate Harry's thoughts as stared blindly at the table top, nor did the mixture of horrified, confused, disgusted, and curious stares. Even with the hat off his head it still felt like tendrils were moving through his mind, like he wasn't alone with his thoughts. He hated it. Why couldn't he be safe? Just this one thing, was that so much to ask? He accepted everything he went though in his young life. All he wanted was his mind to be a safe place, to be his.

Now this new, fascinating world was able to take the one thing that his Aunt and Uncle never were able to touch. What was he supposed to do? How was he to move on from another blow to his very being?

He was jerked from his thoughts by someone sitting down across from him. Harry startled back at the surprise before gaining control of himself. To his surprise, it was the same dark skinned boy from the boat ride, Blaise Zabini. He nodded slightly to Harry with a confused look. Harry had to stop himself from shifting uncomfortable at being studied so closely by the other boy. When he glanced around to have somewhere else to look he noticed that the Professor was moving the stool and hat back against the wall before sitting in the only empty seat at the staffs' table right next to the old man in the throne like chair.

Had he lost so much time that he missed so much going on around him? Harry scolded himself for his lack of attention. He knew the consequences of not being aware of his surroundings. For the first time he looked around the table he was seated at. Across from him was Blaise, with the other boy, Theo sitting to Blaise's left. They definitely appeared to be childhood friends with the way the gravitated back to each other. Next to Theo were three girls, one with blonde hair and blue eyes, followed by one that had brown hair and eyes, and the last girl was slightly larger with black hair and brown eyes. On Harry's side of the bench, he was seated next to a dark haired girl that was staring at the blonde, aristocratic boy next to her. He was fairly sure it was the same boy that was arguing with the red head back at the boats. Beyond him were two more boys, both slightly larger than the other first years, one with curly brown hair, and the other with short cut dark hair. In total that was only 6 boys and 4 girls that made it into Slytherin. Did the other houses receive more students? If not, that would mean only roughly 40 students were in his class. That seemed rather small to him. Was the magical population simply smaller than the non-magical? None of his books really talked about the population, although there was a mention that the population had decreased after the last two wars.

His focus was once again diverted when the old man, the headmaster he supposed, stood and addressed the students. The words were utter nonsense and Harry stared blankly a moment or two longer at the old man. He certainly looked like a kind, but slightly crazy old man. Of course, to the outside world the Dursley's looked like a respectable family and valued members of the community. Harry put very little value in outer appearance. With enough skill anyone can portray whatever they liked. To be fair, it was a skill he also used on a regular basis to portray the image that he knew Uncle Vernon wanted.

Harry jerked in surprise once more when food appeared on the table, almost like… magic. He would have been amused with his own thought if he wasn't already scolding himself. He had to pay more attention! There were so much catching his attention, but Harry refused to be caught off guard like this. He would focus. All of his thoughts and speculations could be saved once he was safely in his room or dorm. With determination Harry turned his focus to the food and his new housemates. There were a lot of greasy and heavy foods on the table; fried chicken, chips, roast beef and chicken, roasted potatoes and other vegetables, mashed potatoes and gravy among other things. Once the others had grabbed what they wanted Harry reached for the neglected bowl of salad, adding a small amount, before grabbing two pieces of roasted potato and a small amount of the roast beef. His plate was minuscule compared to the other students, even the girls. Harry ignored the searching look from Blaise across from him and slowly ate. The food looked delicious, but Harry knew from experience that eating too much would cause him to be sick, especially with so many heavy items.

"Is that all you are eating, Potter?" asked Blaise curiously, drawing the other first years' attention.

The dark haired girl next to him piped up in an excited voice that turned a bit snooty towards the end. "That's barely anything! Did you fill up on sweets on the train? My parents warned me against that, but there were so many options on the trolley. I only ate a few though and kept the rest for later in the year. Of course, Daddy will send me more if I ask, although I might get a lecture on proper eating habits again."

Harry thought she was a bit spoiled, probably grew up with money and got whatever she wanted. Although, with what he had seen from Blaise and Theo, he wasn't too surprised. He read about purebloods in his books, and the families in the Sacred 28. Clearly, old money was a large part of the world he joined. A part of his own world, judging by the information he was given at the bank.

"Pansy, you know you can't be eating all those sweets. Especially considering how unhealthy most of these choices are. Ball season is only a few months away and you know what your mother will say if you go home and can't fit in the dress she is already surely planning." The brown haired girl was quick to respond, sporting a look of horror at the thought of not fitting in a dress.

The now named Pansy started to respond before being cutoff by the cool, cultured voice of the blonde girl. "Really, Tracy, that's your concern? A proper diet is the basis for a healthy body and strong magic. That should be what you worry for, not how you will look at a ball that is ten months away."

"Oh, come on Daph! I know you are just as excited for ball season as we are." Tracy responded while looking at the blonde.

Soon all four girls devolved into an argument over eating habits, clothing, the importance of balls, and whose was the most boring this last summer. The other boys stayed silent, not daring to interrupt them. Harry was amused though. Children were very easily distracted. They all seemed to forget the initial question that sparked the argument and Harry contentedly ate in peace. A glance up at Theodore, Theo, showed a knowing look on the boy's face as he observed Harry. He frowned, perhaps they didn't all get distracted, but Theo was remaining silent so Harry didn't react to the penetrating stare, just continued to slowly eat the small amount of food he gave himself. Already, he was feeling quite full. Without the food he was able to buy and store in his trunk this summer he wouldn't have managed to eat even the small amount he had. Even this amount of food was more than he would have eaten in three days back at the Dursley household.

Despite the small amount of food, Harry ate slowly enough that he finished at the same time as all the other first year's around him. Well, other than the two larger boys that were sitting farther down the table. Those two ate almost like Dudley did, with better manners he had to admit. Even the thought of consuming that much food at once made Harry nauseous. Soon enough, the meal and dirty plates disappeared from the table as suddenly as they appeared. The table wasn't bare for long as soon enough the table was overflowing with dessert items. There were pies, tarts, custards, cookies, and ice cream among other treats. The others quickly, but with obvious well bred manners, jumped on the desserts, filling up their plates with the sweet treats, including all of the girls that were earlier talking of the importance of eating well; whether for a ball or for general well-being. Harry kept his plate empty, already completely full. Though, perhaps later in the year, he might try to eat some of the fruit he saw laying in an abandoned bowl. Never before was he allowed fresh fruit. Occasionally he would be given an old, brown banana that Dudley had refused to touch because real men didn't eat fruit, or so he insisted. Even this summer he didn't buy any fruit because he wasn't able to store it long term and was too expensive for a quick treat. He refused to spend money on trivialities just because he could. He lived 11 years without fresh fruit, he certainly could wait longer.

Glancing up, he noticed Blaise and Theo were sharing more loaded looks that were making him highly uncomfortable. He did not want the attention on him. While he knew he was a celebrity in this world, he had hoped the books were exaggerating and no one would really care about an 11 year old child. His only hope was that eventually they would grow bored and move on with their lives once they realized there was nothing celebrity like about him. He wanted to fade into the background here, so he could learn and study in peace. If only their interest looked more like the hero worship of meeting a celebrity and less like the curiosity and confusion of being presented with a particularly challenging puzzle then Harry would be more confident in them loosing interest. He would avoid them as much as possible, he decided, anything to get away from those stares.

Eventually the dishes disappeared once more leaving the tables bare. The older years went quiet, looking up to the head table expectantly, just in time for the headmaster to stand once more. He waited a few moments until the younger years quieted, the Gryffindors taking the longest, before speaking.

"Now that we are fed and watered I have a few start-of-term announcements. To all new students, the Forbidden Forest is in fact forbidden to all pupils, including the older years." This was stated with a pointed look at the Gryffindor table where a pair of red headed twins smiled widely at being acknowledged. "Mr. Filch, our caretaker, reminds everyone that magic is not allowed in the halls between classes." Harry wondered if that included their bedrooms, or if it purely was hallways. If he found an empty room, for surely a castle this size has empty rooms, could he practice magic there without getting in trouble? And, was it one of those rules like 'don't shove in the hallway' where everyone ignored it as long as a teacher wasn't in eyesight? He would not assume he was safe and stay on his guard, just as he did in primary.

The headmaster continued on, "For those interested in joining your house Quidditch team, trials will be held the second week of term. Direct any further questions to Madam Hooch." There was a soft burst of excited babble when quidditch was mentioned, including the blonde boy seated just down the table. Harry knew quidditch was a wizarding sport, and from what he could find, the only wizarding sport, so it wasn't surprising that so many were excited for it. However, with only 7 positions on each team, that made it so only 28 people in the school could participate, 56 if each position had a reserve player. With his class size of potentially around 40 students, and seven years, that came to approximately 280 students in the school. That made it so that only 1/10th of students could participate! Not that he had any interest in the sport himself, but still, it's the principle of the thing!

"And finally, I have to tell you all that the third floor corridor is out of bounds to those who do not wish a very painful death." Harry's attention sharpened at this. A painful death? Inside the school? Was there something so dangerous located there that it could kill students? Or would the adults murder anyone who tried to go where they weren't wanted? Either way, he was bound and determined to stay far away from the third floor.

All the students were murmuring to each other, trying to find out the validity of that statement. The Slytherins seemed to be focused on commenting on how crazy the headmaster was.

"He's barmy, just like my mother said!"

"This is a school, supposedly the safest place in the UK, and there is something that could kill us?"

"He's lost the plot!"

"Surely he's joking… right?"

"Be careful, he appears like a barmy old grandfather, but he holds more power than any other single person in Britain."

"Don't trust Dumbledore."

"Wait until my father hears about this!"

The headmaster blithely continued on, happily ignoring all the muttering and stares he was receiving, "Now let's sing the school song!"

What followed was the worst sound that Harry had ever heard, including hearing Dudley wailing mid fit for whatever item he was temporarily denied. All of the students, minus the Slytherins who were sitting in stony silence, broke into song, all following their own melody and key. The amalgamation was truly horrendous. His hand twitched, almost wanting to cast a silencing bubble around himself, but refrained with so many people nearby. It still wasn't safe.

"My father is going to hear about this too!"

Harry shivered at the blonde's words. The number of times he heard Dudley say the same thing, only to lead to a beating later that day, left him with a distinct unease of those words. Hopefully, despite being house mates, he could stay away from the blonde as well. He was only at his new school for a few hours and already he had a list of people to avoid. If only he was surprised, or thought that the entire school population wouldn't end up on that list.

Finally, they were released to their dorms. The Gryffindors were the first ones up, all rushing out the doors with little order. Harry took his cue from the other Slytherins that remained seated, waiting patiently. Soon enough two older students with badges on their uniforms walked down to where the first years were sitting.

"Hello, I am Alexis Rosier," stated the female, "and I am Malcolm Linndon," continued the male, "and we are your 5th year prefects. Follow us to the common room. We will explain more there. Do your best to memorize that path we take. You will be expected to be able to find our common room on your own within the next two days."

Harsh, bur fair enough Harry supposed. It's not like the older years would have time to escort them every time. They all rose and followed the two from the hall. Harry carefully stayed at the back of the group while paying attention to as many 'landmarks' as he could. They left the hall and turned down towards the lower levels, the dungeons. Not the most comforting name, but perhaps it would be a sanctuary from the rest of the school. Hogwarts: A History said very little was in the dungeons. Both the Slytherin and Hufflepuff common rooms were located there, as well as the potion's classroom. The rest was basically abandoned according to the book. As soon as he could he would explore and see if he could find his own room he could escape to where no one else could find him.

The dungeons had no portraits on the walls, something the upper levels apparently were filled with. Instead he kept track by memorizing the different statues they were passing. The two prefects pointed out a door that led to the potion's classroom and another one slightly farther down that was Professor Snape's office. One more turn and they were stopped in front of a blank wall.

"This is the entrance to our common room. To reveal the door you must speak the password. Each month the password changes. Be sure you look at the announcement board on the 1st of every month for the new password. It will only be posted for that day. If you miss it, you are out of luck. Hopefully, you will be able to find someone that is willing to share it with you, for a price of course." This last was said with a smirk from Linndon.

This… this was a problem. A large one. Harry would be unable to enter the common room by himself. He would be unable to come and go by himself as he wanted. This ruined everything! Harry's clenched hands were the only sign of his inner turmoil as he watched the prefect give the password "Asphodel" and walked into the door that was revealed.

The common room was nearly perfect, Harry thought, looking around in amazement, anger and fear temporarily forgotten. The room was decorated in black, dark greens, flashes of brighter silver, and a more muted grey. The stone floors were mostly covered with thick, dark green and silver rugs. The one in the very center of the room sported a large house crest. The couches were a lighter grey with an occasional green pillow. Set throughout the room were study tables in a rich walnut. There were two massive fireplaces on opposite sides of the room, giving the room a warm glow. There were also two massive bookcases completely filled that Harry was itching to inspect. The most amazing though was the large glass wall that showed water on the other side, the lake perhaps? Could they see anything alive move past? Dudley bragged about the aquarium he was taken to and all the cool sea life he saw. Harry could see himself curled up with a book next to the window, watching for anything that might swim by. During the day did light filter down through the window? Overall, the common room was dark and cozy. It soothed something deep inside that was still panicking over being in such a large space. Despite the size, it reminded him of his cupboard.

The older years were all arranged around the room as they were lead to the front. There were two other sets of prefects, the 6th and 7th years he assumed, standing nearby. In front of the fireplace, stood the Professor that took him to get his school supplies. He looked over the first years with the same dark piercing stare that immediately had Harry dropping his eyes down to the floor, missing the flash of confusion and anger that appeared in those dark eyes.

"Welcome to Slytherin. I am Professor Snape, your head of house and the potion's professor. Congratulations for being accepted to our noble house. We are the house of the cunning and ambitious. We turn every situation to our advantage. We are careful in our planning and our execution. Most importantly, we do not get caught. Our house is the most misunderstood. Others think we are the house of the evil and try to treat us accordingly. They will act against us, accuse us of any infraction, and if you are not careful, they will attempt to attack you. For this reason, Slytherins stick together. Outside of this common room, you are one. You will support your fellow Slytherins and never show a weakness in your united front. Any problems will be sorted in the privacy of the common room, nowhere else. I also require all of my Slytherins to always travel in pairs at the minimum. You should never be found alone outside of these rooms. Due to the persecution you will find outside of these walls I will not take points or give detention to any of you in class or the halls. However, do not think this means you will escape punishment for your infractions. You will not. I handle punishments here in the privacy of our common room. Believe me, you would prefer I took points instead. If you are caught by another Professor, you will earn a secondary punishment from me as well. Slytherins do not get caught. Learn that well, little snakes."

The Professor was silent for a moment, letting his message sink in. Harry believed the man. Whatever form of punishment it was that required privacy from the rest of the school could not be a good thing. He was determined to avoid it if at all possible. Of course, with the hatred the Professor already showed him at the Dursley's, he doubted he would escape punishment, earned or not.

"I expect a high standard from all of my students. If you are having troubles in any of your classes I highly suggest you ask one of the upper years or myself for assistance. Depending on your grades, I will assign mandatory tutoring until you are performing adequately. My office hours are posted on the message board. You may come to me for assistance in any matter. If you have an emergency and the prefects cannot assist you, press your wand to this rune," the man gestured to a rune on the upper left corner of the fireplace, "and I will be notified. I will be greatly displeased if I am called for something trivial."

He glared around the common room and several of the first years shifted nervously.

"I hold meetings with all of my first year snakes to check for any academic problems and to provide health checks. Your appointment times will be posted on the message board in the morning. For the upper years, you will be notified if an appointment is needed. If you feel you need to talk with me, see me within the first week and we will set up an appointment time. Finally, here are your schedules. The other professors hand theirs out tomorrow morning before classes. However, I expect you to be ready for your classes, including reading the introductory chapters at the minimum. For potions, I would highly recommend you read over the instructions for the cure for boils potion as well as the information found on page 153."

Bundles of paper were handed to the prefects before Professor Snape handed out the schedules to the first years himself. Harry noted that he did not need to ask for their names. Did the man memorize who they were from the sorting? The students also seemed to know each other without introductions. Did they all grow up together? By their behavior and what he knew of Slytherin house, they were all probably purebloods, which means they might have grown up in the same circles. If that was the case it was probable that the Professor was also familiar with those social circles, especially if he taught many of those children. That left Harry as the only one that wasn't a part of that group. He was however, famous. It seemed everyone knew who he was. In that light it wasn't so surprising the Professor was able to hand out their schedules without asking for their names. When he looked down at the paper he was handed, his cheeks burned in embarrassment. Nowhere on the paper was his name. Of course, they were all the exact same. They didn't have individual electives until third year.

"Once again, welcome. I expect great things from all of you. I am positive each of you will uphold the honor of our great house." The last sounded like more of a threat than anything else to Harry's ears. With one last look across the students Professor Snape swept out of the room, his black robe flaring behind him, in admittedly, a very cool effect. Harry wondered if he could copy it. Something to ponder later he supposed.

One of the older prefects stepped forward next. "I know all of you must be tired and ready to find your beds. However, we have a few last announcements. My name is Jason Finch and I am the 7th year prefect along with Ismelda Murk. The 6th year prefects are Gemma Farley and Felix Baddock. If you have any problems you may come to us and we will attempt to assist you. This is especially true if these problems include other students outside of these walls. For the first three days one of us prefects or another 6th or 7th year will escort you to and from your classes to help you familiarize yourself with the castle. Tomorrow morning we will be leaving at 6:55 to the Great Hall for breakfast. Do not be late. Finally, we have more room here in the dungeons than the other houses. This gives us privileges that the others do not have and something they will never learn. First and second years share dorms with their year mates, with males having one room and females another. Third through fifth years pair up and share a room between two people. The sixth and seventh years have their own rooms. Neither gender can enter the rooms of the other. If you want to spend time with your friends, use the common room. Follow me and I will show you to your rooms. Keep them neat. You do not want to explain to Professor Snape why you have failed to pick up after yourself."

They were lead down a set of stairs and went down a corridor to the right.

"These first set of doors are for the second years, female on the left and male on the right. This second set is for all of you with the same set up for male and female. I shall leave you here. Have a good night and I will see you in the morning."

The prefect left back to the common room, leaving the first years alone. The blonde boy was the first to open the door and make his way into their new dorm. The others weren't far behind and Harry followed behind at the back of the group. The room was spacious, with three beds on each side of the rectangular room. Each boy was finding the bed with their trunk at the end while giving strange looks to the one bed that was empty. Harry quickly made his way to that one, the one at the very back left side.

To be honest, he barely paid any attention to the room or the other boys. He was done. Done with the day, done with the confusion and fear. All he wanted to do was curl up somewhere dark and safe and alone. He didn't care what the others thought of him. Didn't care if they thought he was standoffish or rude. Without changing clothes he sat on his bed and pulled the curtains tightly shut.

Before anything else, he focused on making this space as much as a safe haven as possible. He started with a notice-me-not charm around the curtains, followed by a silencing bubble. Then he very carefully started going through a few basic wards he learned over the summer from his reading. He started with a mild stinging ward. It would shock anyone that tried to touch his bed, very similar to the one on his trunk. He added another that was very similar to the notice-me-not charm. This one was meant to redirect others from his bed. Ideally, they would be distracted with something else, thoughts of homework, the need to be elsewhere, or something similar. He hoped that in combination with the notice-me-not the others would lose any desire to come near his bed. His final one was a physical magical barrier that prevented others from coming through. This was his last line of defense, and while not all that strong, it should at least slow anyone down long enough that Harry wouldn't be caught off guard. Already he could feel his energy waning from supporting so many spells. He would have to drop them each morning, but with time they should become easier. Besides, he wouldn't keep anything important here, everything would stay in his trunk which would stay on his necklace.

Finally feeling somewhat less exposed, if not safe, Harry collapsed on the bed. It was too much. Too many people, too many new places, too big, too much. Before he realized tremors were racking his thin body. Despite everything, he had hoped that this would be different, that this new magical world, his world, would be different. And it hurt. It hurt to have his hopes crushed. This world was different, but he's not sure that meant better. Harry pulled his cloak tight around his body, completely ignoring the blanket he was lying on top of, so unused to having one. Tears began gathering in those emerald eyes before finally falling down his face. He hadn't cried since he was little, too little to know better. But now, he couldn't stop them. There were no great sobs, just silent tears steadily dripping on the fabric below as he tried to hold himself together.

That night he fell asleep from pure mental exhaustion, too overwhelmed to do anything else. He dreamt of voices inside his head, of something moving inside of him, of running but never escaping. He dreamt of the pain that was his constant companion, of green lights, and high-pitched screaming.