Chapter 4

Harry's classes had all gone very well. His last class of the day was Potions with his head of house. He had already gotten loads of assignments, but most weren't due until next week. He thought about checking out the library that afternoon and getting a start on them.

Harry took a seat towards the back of the classroom, not wanting to draw attention to himself. All day people kept coming up to him and trying to talk to him. He was overwhelmed and overstimulated by it all. He had never been talked to so much in his life. He was used to being ignored, to not talking to anyone for days at a time. It was a lot to get used to. He didn't understand why people liked him so much here. He was nothing special after all.

Draco Malfoy came into the dungeon classroom a minute later and took a seat next to Harry. Draco began talking Harry's ear off about his day, but Harry just sat and nodded, listening politely but not contributing much to the conversation.

It was an odd friendship, Severus noted, his godson and the famous Harry Potter. He wouldn't have pegged the boys as two who would get along. Both were hot-headed and egotistical, unlikely to back down from an argument. But curiously and out of character from James Potter, Harry just sat listening intently as young Draco rambled on. Severus was also surprised that Potter chose a seat in the back of the classroom. He would've thought he'd want to be upfront where everyone's attention could stay on him. Perhaps he wanted to sit towards the back to avoid being called on. Well, that certainly wouldn't happen.

"Quiet down now, everyone. Open your textbooks to page 53, we will review the summer reading I know you all did." Severus began, looking around at the guilty first-year faces avoiding eye contact. "How about a pop quiz?"

"What happens when you add Dandelion root and dead salt extract? Anyone?" Severus looked around the room.

A bushy-haired Ravenclaw girl's hand shot up eagerly. He despised the Ravenclaw know-it-alls.

"How about our famous Harry Potter?" Snape looked towards the back.

Harry began sweating when his name was called. He hadn't raised his hand. Why did Professor Snape call on him? His uncle had locked up his school things after he bought them, not allowing him to complete any of the summer readings.

"I-I don't know sir." Harry stuttered.

"You don't know?" The professor inquired, "The famous Harry Potter…doesn't know?"

Harry flushed under his teacher's gaze, he didn't like people calling him famous. It made too many people look at him. "No sir."

Professor Snape walked towards him until he was standing in front of his desk. Despite being right in front of him, the professor still seemed to feel the need to project his voice loud enough for the entire class to hear, "Did you even do the summer reading Potter?"

Harry was utterly humiliated. He looked away, "No sir. I-"

The professor cut him off, "I don't want to hear any excuses. Detention for a week. That should be ample time to complete the work you didn't bother to look at over the summer."

Harry wanted to protest. To tell his professor it wasn't his fault. To tell him his uncle locked his things away and wouldn't let him work on his schoolwork. But he knew better than to talk back to adults. He had the scars to show it.

He looked away and nodded, "Yes sir."

Of course the Potter brat hadn't done his summer homework. He probably thought he was above homework. Any other professor would've let him get away with it too if he knew better, but not Severus. He'd instill discipline into the boy still.

After dinner that night, Harry went to the enormous school library. It was grander than anything he'd ever seen in his entire life. Harry wandered around the library, looking for a good place to sit when he ran into a bushy-haired girl, effectively knocking the books out of her hands.

He immediately kneeled down to pick them up, "I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going."

The girl looked young, "That's alright. You're Harry Potter, aren't you? I read about you in a book."

Harry nodded. Great. Another person who thought he was famous.

She stuck out her hand and when he made no move to shake it, she picked up his arm and did it for him, "I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger. I'm a Ravenclaw. I saw you on the train. I wanted to say hi and all but you seemed preoccupied with that Ron Weasley. Everyone was really surprised when you were sorted into Slytherin and not Gryffindor like your parents. Besides, You-Know-Who was a Slytherin and ever since, they have had a bad reputation for being evil. People expected you to be in Gryffindor, the good house, you know?"

She talked at a million words per minute and Harry had a hard time following her but nodded.

She continued, "I think it's really great that you're in Slytherin actually. It could be good to help Slytherin break those stereotypes of being evil and all. Since you're the savior, and the savior can't be in an evil house. It's great really what you're doing when you think about it. Do you want to sit with me?"

He wanted to tell her that he didn't choose to be in Slytherin, that's just where the hat put him. But he kept his mouth shut and followed her to a table where they began doing homework.

Hermione was brilliant, even if she talked a lot. And if Harry was honest, he didn't mind listening all too much. It made it so he didn't have to talk, which he liked. She helped him with a few assignments until it was time for him to go to Snape's detention. He was starting to really dislike Professor Snape. Why was he picking on Harry? He didn't understand what he had done.

He knocked on the door five minutes before 7. Snape let him in and commanded for him to sit at the desk at the front of the classroom, "Start working on your summer assignments Potter. I expect for them all to be done by the end of the week or you'll have another week of detentions. Am I understood?"

Harry nodded vigorously.

"A verbal answer please." Snape sneered.

"Yes sir." Harry replied softly. It was going to be a long year indeed.