His mind wracked with doubts, Harry found it difficult to sleep that night, and when he did sleep, his mind was plagued with nightmares: images of Ron staring at him with a look of betrayal, Gemma Farley's haughty smirk leering down at him, and of Professor Snape staring at him with a look of intense dislike, his scar hurting, a great green flash of light, and a high, cold, cruel laugh.
It was the sound of soft chimes that awoke him at six in the morning the following day. Sitting up, the first thing he noticed was the smell of a pot of tea. The second thing he noticed was Zabini sitting up from his own bed.
"Curfew isn't over for another hour," Zabini said slowly after he had looked at a clock that stood on the mantelpiece.
"I guess it's time to get ready for the day," Harry shrugged, before pulling off the covers.
On the far side of the wall from the entrance, there were a pair of doors on each side of the fireplace. Opening the one on his side of the room, it revealed a luxurious bathroom, the kind of bathroom that Harry thought may had been worth becoming a Slytherin to use:
The place was lit by a splendid candle-filled chandelier, the candles of which burned with a soft green flame. Everything was made of a silvery marble, including what looked like a circular bathtub that had five taps on it's far end. It was large enough for Harry to lie down in end to end and still have plenty of room left over.
Right behind the door was a countertop inset into the wall, the top made of a lime green marble that went well with the silvery walls. Under the countertop were cabinets made of silvery wood, and on top of the countertop was a dark green bowl with three different taps that went into it, but no drain that Harry could see. Besides the bowl were some dark green towels for hand drying.
On the wall behind the counter was a large mirror that went all the way to the roof, and on the wall across from the counter top was another mirror that sat at an odd angle, which Harry noticed let him see the back of his head with ease when looking in the countertop mirror.
Just beyond the countertop, there was an alcove inset into the wall that had lime green drapes hanging in front of it. When Harry pulled the drapes back, there he found a golden chamber pot with a thick rim. There was no drain in it to be seen, and Harry also didn't see any toilet paper at all.
Harry wondered how he was supposed to clean himself, and where was the waste supposed to go. When he turned to go ask Zabini what he was supposed to do, he found Zabini standing in the doorway of the bathroom, looking at him.
"There's no toilet paper," Harry pointed out.
"Don't worry about it," Zabini shrugged. "When you're done, the chamber pot will take care of the rest."
Harry blinked at him, before eyeing the chamber pot again. "How?"
"Magic, of course," Zabini replied casually. "I guess since you grew up in the Muggle world, you have a lot to get used to."
That turned out to be an understatement: after Harry had shooed Zabini out and closed the door, Harry did his business and what happened amazed him; the waste disappeared, both from his back end and from the pot itself.
And his amazement didn't end there: after Harry had gotten out of his nightclothes and into a bathrobe, he turned to the large bathtub again: turning on one faucet, it shot out a strange purple water that smelled heavenly and created thick clouds of purple vapor that quickly filled the room.
Turning off that one faucet, he turned on the next: this time it was a blush water that didn't have any scent as far as Harry could tell, but it did thicken the water somehow and made it very buoyant.
The third tap created an ice-white foam that was so thick Harry suspected could support his weight if he cared to test it.
The fourth tap shot out come kind of bubble bath that made bubbles the size of soccer balls, which didn't pop when Harry touched them, instead feeling a bit rubbery. Harry played with one in his hands for a long moment, before it finally popped.
The fifth tap, however, caused everything already in the pool to vanish, before it shot out normal warm water, which Harry assumed was meant for rinsing.
Amused, Harry turned off the fifth tap and refilled the tub with a little bit of everything from the other taps, then he had a very lovely bath.
In truth, Harry thought, it was actually the best bath that he had ever had; The Dursleys never let him linger in the tub like this, or play with bubble bath. In fact, most of the time, the most Harry got was cold baths, due to the fact that he wasn't allowed to use the hot water, so most of the time he was eager to get the bath over with so he could get out of the cold water.
Harry tried to imagine the look on the Dursleys faces if they could see him now, living in the lap of luxury without a care in the world. It was a very funny image.
After he was done with his bath, he dried off and turned his attention to the counter top. Over the cabinets there was a drawer, which Harry pulled out.
There he found an array of personal grooming devices: combs and brushes, toothbrushes and vials of what Harry thought might be the Wizarding equivalent of toothpaste, a wide array of scissors, clippers, tweezers, scrubbers, and other such items related to grooming that Harry was familiar with.
What interested Harry the most, however, were the items that he wasn't familiar with.
There was a strange silvery wand like object that, when Harry picked it up, it began to blow a stream of warm, comfortable air out of its end. Harry used it to try and dry his hair; it caused his hair to instantly dry up where ever the air brushed.
There was another wand like object that was black instead of silvery, that vibrated on it's end when Harry picked it up. Harry wasn't sure what it was meant for, but as he looked around the drawer, he spotted what looked like a small booklet.
Picking it up and opening it, Harry realized that it explained the purpose of every object in the drawer, which Harry thought was fairly useful: It turned out that the silvery wand was for hair drying as he suspected, and the black wand was for shaving. There was a red wand meant for removing calluses, and a yellow wand that was apparently meant to remove persistent body odors.
Aside from the wands, there were a large number of vials that served an unusual purpose: as Harry had suspected, the vial next to the toothbrushes was for teeth cleaning. According to the booklet it was called Markel Park's Tartar and Plaque Remover, for an everyday brilliant white smile!.
The only other vial that drew Harry's attention was a vial marked: Sleekeazy's Hair Potion and Scalp Treatment, two drops tames even the most bothersome barnet!.
Harry was very eager to test out the Sleekeazy's vial, as his jet black head of hair had always had an untamable aspect to it.
With that in mind, he wetted his hair again with water from the countertop pot, and then applied a liberal amount of the Sleekeazy's potion. As he carefully lathered his hair with the potion, the effects were immediately noticeable: his hair began to straighten out with his ministrations, and as he combed it out, it stayed straight without further effort.
Harry decided to mimic the current style that seemed to be popular with the Slytherins: he combed his hair back, and it stayed that way. After brushing his teeth with the vial of Tartar and Plaque remover, he smiled and his smile was a brilliant white.
After putting on his school robes and tying on his silver and green tie, Harry rather fancied that he looked like he was going to some ball or something:
His hair laid straight back, his smile was a brilliant white, and his school robes looked fairly formal.
The only blemish on the whole affair were his glasses, which were still broken on the bridge.
Harry frowned, taking them off. The world blurred around him as he did. Harry didn't know of any magic that could repair them, so he was stuck with them for now… or was he?
Picking up the booklet again, he read through the names of the vials until he came across one that gave him hope: a Vial named: Octar Addinsen's Eye Drops for general eye repair and maintenance.
Quickly, Harry found the vial of eye drops. Unscrewing the cap, he found that it was part of a dipper that had some of the potion inside. After dipping a drop of potion in each eye, Harry found that it burned and he spent the next few minutes blinking and cursing.
However, when the burning sensation subsided and he could finally keep his eye lids open, he found that he could see clearly without his glasses for the first time in his life. Smiling with happiness, Harry left the glasses on the counter top when he turned to leave.
He found Zabini sitting in his armchair, already ready for the day, and reading a book.
"Looking sharp, Potter," Zabini commented when Harry came out. "I see you found the Sleekeazy's."
Harry just nodded, before looking at the clock: they still had half an hour to go before curfew was over.
Smiling, Harry sat down himself and poured a cup of tea from the end table that sat between them. After preparing his tea just the way he liked it, Harry spent the next minute just sipping it and gazing at the fire.
"Potter, I was wondering if I could ask you a few… personal questions," Zabini commented eventually.
Harry briefly considered whether to demand money in exchange for the information, before deciding against it. Just because Farley did things that way, didn't mean he had to.
"Sure, what's on your mind?" Harry asked.
"What do you intend to do while you're here at Hogwarts?" Zabini asked rather directly.
Harry blinked, perplexed at the question. "I thought I was here to learn magic?"
Zabini sighed. "Potter, we're all here to learn magic, that why we come here. The question was, what do you intend to do while you're here, learning magic?"
"I don't know…" Harry replied after pondering the question. "I guess I'm here to… make friends and have a good time?"
Zabini gave him a flat look. "If that was what you planned to do, Potter, you should have picked Gryffindor."
"Well, what do you plan to do, Zabini?" Harry asked defensively.
"I plan to forge connections and alliances while I'm here," Zabini replied at once. "Which will forge the foundation of my future… or so my mother says. At any rate, my mother is usually right, so that's what I plan to do."
Harry frowned… what exactly did Zabini mean when he said he wanted to forge connections and alliances? Harry had never even heard the words 'connections' and 'alliances' used to describe one's time at school. Usually when one had an alliance at school, it was called friendship, or so Harry believed.
Harry thought of Dudley's friends… were they actually his friends? Or did they just choose to be close with Dudley due to the things he provided? Harry wasn't sure, but he did feel certain that the people Dudley called his 'friends' weren't actually that forward thinking.
If Harry was being truthful to himself, he found it disturbing that his peers would view their fellow students as potential connections or allies, rather than as friends. Part of him longed for the easy friendship he had found with Ron… but that was over now.
Harry had to remind himself that he was a Slytherin now, and as it stood, he had no friends in Slytherin, as of yet, and if he wanted to get some friends… perhaps he would have to play by their rules. Besides, an ally could eventually become a friend… hopefully… maybe.
Harry turned and nodded at Zabini. "Alright… say I was interested in acquiring connections and alliances… where would I start?"
"Why, with your year-mates, of course," Zabini nodded. "but truthfully I was thinking of the two of us. Neither of us know much about our fellow year-mates, as you were raised by muggles and I was raised in Italy, so it makes sense for us to forge an alliance, especially since you've made an enemy of Malfoy."
"You were raised in Italy?" Harry asked with surprise. "I could hardly tell!"
Zabini rolled his eyes. "Right, anyway, what do you say?"
Harry frowned. "What exactly would having an alliance entail?"
"Well, as allies we'd help each other when the other needs help," Zabini pointed out. "I can already tell that you'll need a lot of help fitting in with Slytherin… and I'm sure you'll find a way to help me when I need it."
"That sounds fair," Harry nodded thoughtfully. "Anything else?"
"Well, usually my Mother insists on a magically binding contract that we'd keep each other's secrets…" Zabini trailed off. "But I think you and I are a bit young for that. I only just met you yesterday… so there aren't many secrets that I'd entrust you with, yes."
Harry nodded shakily. "What… what are magically binding contracts?"
Zabini sighed and rubbed his forehead. "That's… complicated. Basically, it's a written document that you sign. When you sign it, you agree to abide by certain rules. If you break those rules… usually there's consequences."
Harry frowned, but didn't question Zabini farther on the subject. "Ok… What else?"
Zabini looked up. "I think that about covers it, Potter. So, are you interested?"
Harry mulled it over; as far as he could tell, Zabini was an intelligent, well spoken boy, who seemed to know a lot about Slytherin society. There was a good chance that Zabini could help him fit in here in Slytherin. Plus, he was going to be spending the next seven years sharing a room with the other boy, so it made sense to keep him on good terms. However, there was one important unanswered question left.
"What exactly do you stand to gain from this, Zabini?" Harry asked. "It seems like I would stand to gain a great deal, but you would gain little, since I don't know much about anything."
"You're kidding right?" Zabini asked with surprise. "You're the Boy who Lived. Everyone in Wizarding Britain knows your name. Your reputation alone could open many doors for me, and I feel I could stand to gain a great deal by having that reputation right by my side. Honestly, you'd be getting the short end of this arrangement, if you ask me."
Harry frowned. "I see."
In truth, Harry didn't see at all. To Harry, his reputation as the Boy who Lived still felt ephemeral and unreal, despite the fact that he had had over a month to get used to the idea. Whatever Zabini expected to gain from Harry's reputation, Harry hoped he wouldn't be disappointed when he realized that Harry's reputation didn't actually account for much.
Still, in the meantime, Harry stood to gain a great deal from this arrangement, so perhaps it would be best to go through with it and hope for the best while preparing for the worst… whatever the worst might be.
Harry looked up and nodded. "Alright. How do we do this?"
"I think a handshake should be enough to seal the deal for now," Zabini replied simply. "We'll see how it feels when it comes to second year."
Harry nodded and stood up, holding out his hand. Zabini stood up as well, straightened his robe, and shook it.
"Alright, we're allies now," Zabini nodded. "We don't have enough time to go over things now, but tonight I'll bring you up to speed on how things work in Slytherin. Sound good?"
Harry nodded.
It seemed like this was going to be the start of a beautiful… alliance.
