Chapter 5: Sam's New Goal
Hey everyone I'm back with a new chapter. I saw many of you were surprised by my choice of house for Sam, but trust me this chapter will reveal the main reason behind it. I hope you like what I have planned. Please Review and Enjoy.
It was Sam's first week as a student of Hogwarts and man was he excited. Since he was sorted in Slytherin he had to wear a silver and green tie and a crest with a snake on it.
However, he quickly found out there was more to being a wizard than just wand-waving and saying funny words, a lot more. He was facing challenges not only in class but outside of class as well. Since he was a Slytherin, not many people from the other houses were that interested in getting to know him and the ones in Slytherin weren't really the most ideal company either.
First there was Charms class taught by Prof. Flitwick, a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a stack of books to see his class. Sam had a pretty good handle on it learning the first two beginner spells: Lumos and Flipendo.
In Herbology Class, Sam was in the greenhouses learning from Prof. Sprout which was basically gardening. The next time he went back to the orphanage he would have to ask Martha to teach him some tips about plants and soil.
In History of Magic class, Sam had nearly died of boredom as the teacher Prof. Binns who was a ghost kept getting the names of the famous witch and wizards mixed up.
Then there was Transfiguration with Prof. McGonagall which was the magic of turning things into other things. For their first lesson she had them start by turning matches into needles. Now she was very strict and tough. Seeing how she treated members of her own house Sam knew instantly not to cross her.
Defense Against the Dark Arts however, was a huge letdown. Prof. Quirrel was a mess. He said he took a year off to see the world and had a bad run-in with a Vampire, but when someone asked him about it he would turn into a stuttering mess.
'Something tells I'm gonna have to do a lot of independent studying for this subject.' Sam sighs.
However Friday came and it was Double Potions with Gryffindors which meant Sam would be able to see Harry and Ron, but even more than that he would finally get to prove himself to Prof. Snape and he was not gonna mess this chance up.
In the dungeons not too far from the Slytherin common room Sam entered the Potions classroom to see Malfoy, Crabbe, Golye and Merula had already arrived looking over to the Gryffindor side he saw Neville and Hermione seeing Ron and Harry he waved to them hoping they would wave back but just as they were about to Prof. Snape entered the room.
"There will be no wand-waving or silly incantations in this class. Take your seats." He said as Sam quickly sat down. "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. I don't expect many of you understand the beauty of this, but for the select few who possess the talent I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses, I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory and even stopper death." Snape said scanning the class and while Sam and Hermione were eager to prove themselves his eyes moved to Harry. "Potter. What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
As Hermione raised her hand instantly Sam paused to think while Harry however had no idea.
"I don't know, sir." Harry said.
"Let's try again. Where would you go if I asked you to find me a bezoar?" Snape asks and Hermione raised her hand again.
'Wait a minute…these questions are from our book.' Sam realized.
"I don't know, sir." Harry admits again causing the Slytherins to chuckle.
"What is the difference between monkswood and wolfsbane?" Snape asks and like before Hermione raised her hand, but Sam also raised his as well causing Snape to glance over for a second.
"I don't know, sir." Harry said.
"Pity, it seems fame isn't everything." Snape said before making his way to Sam. "Let's see if you can do better. Answer the questions I just asked Potter."
"Uh well asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion called Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from a goat's stomach and monkswood and wolfsbane are basically the same plant called aconite." Sam said.
"Well it appears at least one of my students bothered to read his book. Why aren't you all copying what he said down?" Snape asks turning to the class as they all took out their quills and parchment.
Sam smiled at this. 'Alright as long as I make sure to read the books and get these Potions right, I might have a chance.'
As class went on it became clear that Prof. Snape did not like Harry and called him out every time he messed up. Sam and Hermione did pretty good but Neville on the other hand was a disaster and for some reason he called Harry out on it and ended up taking House Points away from Gryffindor for it.
When class was over Sam was about to leave when a foot tripped him causing him to fall to the ground.
Groaning Sam looks up to see Merula. "Newsflash Sam, no one likes a teacher's pet so don't even think about trying to get on Prof. Snape's good side because that's never gonna happen." She said laughing as she walks away.
"Are you alright?" Harry asks offering a hand.
"I thought all Slytherins picked on people other than themselves." Ron said as Sam stood up.
"Well I must be a special case because Merula won't leave me alone." Sam said.
"Well we made it through the first week." Harry said trying to lighten the mood.
"Yep. Hey you guys want to hang out?" Sam asks.
"Sorry Sam we made plans with Hagrid. Maybe next time." Ron said as he and Harry walked away.
Sam looked to Hermione who was leaving. "Hey uh you want to study Potions? I saw you looked like you knew what you were doing."
"Sorry Sam, but I'm meeting up with friends." Hermione said as she left.
Grabbing his bag Sam left the room in frustration unaware that Prof. Snape was watching him.
In the hallway Sam was trying to navigate through the changing staircases to make it to the Great Hall.
"This place is like a maze." Sam mumbles as he walked past the library.
"Ha! Ha! Got your book!" A loud annoying voice said.
Looking down the hall Sam saw Peeves flying down the hall with two books in his hands. Peeves is a ghost at Hogwarts who loves to prank the students and especially Filch.
"Come back here!" Chasing after Peeves was Penny who had an annoyed expression on her face.
"Ooh look at the pretty pictures." Peeves said flipping through the pages.
"I need those!" Penny said trying to jump and grab them. "Wait til I find the Bloody Baron!"
Looking around Sam saw other students weren't even acknowledging her.
Not being able to take it anymore Sam took out his wand and casted the only spell he had in his arsenal that could work. "Flipendo!" Sam yells as the spell knocks Peeves backwards causing him to drop the books.
"What the?" Penny said surprised.
"Who did that?!" Peeves growls as Sam makes his way towards them.
"Back off Peeves." Sam said pointing his wand at him.
"A Slytherin coming to the aid of a Hufflepuff? That's a new one." Peeves said.
"Sam?" Penny said.
"Stop picking on her, Peeves." Sam said.
"And who's going to stop me?" Peeves asks flying up to his face. "You?"
"Might as well." Sam glares back.
Peeves looks into his eyes and for second sees a familiar face of an old student who stood up to him.
'Hmm I've seen that face before, but last time it was on an annoying Gryffindor.' Peeves thought before flying back and picking up a knight's helmet off the armor. "Eat metal!"
"Whoa!" Sam said pulling Penny out of the way to safety down another hallway.
"Wait why are you helping me?" Penny asks.
"Do I really need a reason?" Sam asks.
"B-But you're a Slytherin." Penny said confused.
"People can be very surprising Penny. Wait here." Sam moves back towards Peeves who was flying everywhere.
"Here Snakey, Snakey, Snakey." Peeves called out.
"Flipendo!" Sam casts the spell knocking Peeves sending him through the wall.
"Oh you are so dead!" Peeves said popping his head out.
"Is he now?" Flying in next to Sam was the Bloody Baron who had his arms crossed.
"Oh uh Baron s-so good to see you." Peeves said nervously.
"Attacking students is one thing but you will not go near any member of my house." Snape said walking over.
"Prof. Snape? What are you doing here?" Penny asks.
"I heard a loud annoying noise coming in this direction and speaking from experience I knew to get the Baron who is the only one who can control him." Snape said.
"Come along you." Bloody Baron said leading Peeves away from them.
Walking over Sam picks up Penny's books and hands them to her. "Here you go Penny."
"Thanks Sam, you didn't have to do that." Penny smiles.
"True, but you looked like you needed help." Sam smiles.
"Well maybe we can hang out later." Penny said.
"I'd like that." Sam said as she walked away.
"I have to say even though you only had one spell in your arsenal you did a decent job." Snape said.
"Prof. Snape, why does everyone not like the Slytherin house so much?" Sam asks.
"Our house is famous for holding many bad witches and wizards throughout history. Not many want to take the risk of socializing with possibly future criminals." Snape explains.
"Wait so just because of a few bad people we're automatically labeled as bad? That's not fair." Sam said.
"The first Slytherin famous for doing anything good hasn't happened since Merlin. What do you plan to do?" Snape asks.
"Well if it's been that long…I think it's time that someone did something about that." Sam said getting his attention. "I'm gonna prove to everyone that even though you're a Slytherin you don't have to be evil." Sam said determined.
"That's quite a goal, almost impossible." Snape said.
"That's not gonna stop me. Even if it takes my entire time here at Hogwarts, I'll change the Slytherin house for the better." Sam said walking away.
"This could be interesting to see." Snape said softly.
Sitting in the Great Hall, Sam was working on his homework when Noctis flew in from the windows near the ceiling with a newspaper for him.
"Hey Noctis what you got there?" Sam asks tying it off his leg to see the paper was called "The Daily Prophet."
Opening it Sam saw the front article. Gringotts Break in.
"What the? On July 31st someone tried to break into Gringotts Vault number 713. However, Goblins state that nothing was stolen because the vault had been emptied the very same day." Sam read aloud when Noctis hoots at him trying to remind him of something. "Wait that's the day I met Harry and Hagrid. We stopped at that vault just before we went shopping. I wonder if they've seen this article or not?" Sam said curious thinking that something big might be going on.