THC/The Houses Competition.

House: Gryffindor

Class: Charms

Prompt: [Trope] Different House Sorting

Category: Round 4 Standard

Word count: 2331

Harry is sorted into Slytherin and Severus must make a choice that will change the fates of everyone's lives.

SLYTHERIN

Severus Snape was an unpleasant man; anyone who was unfortunate enough to meet the man knew he had a short temper, but on this peculiar day, it was worse. Today was the day that James Potter's spawn would be making his way into the Great Hall. Any second now Potter would be sorted, and for the next seven years, Severus would be tortured with his antics. He knew that the boy would be just like his father, if not worse.

Severus could picture it now. The boy sneaking out after dark, breaking the rules and putting others in danger because the boy would only think of himself. Severus swore, even if it be the death of him, he was going to teach that boy how to respect others along with the rules.

Severus watched as Minerva brought in the first years. After she did her yearly speech, his eyes inevitably landed on Potter, but something was wrong. The young child didn't stand proud, as if he knew he was the famous child who defeated the Dark Lord; neither did he look around in amazement with the other students. Instead, Potter stood in the back, his eyes drawn to the floor with tense shoulders as if the child was trying to make himself smaller, unseen. Severus kept his eyes on the child, watching as the boy played with the ends of his sleeve in an attempt to calm himself.

Minerva started to call up the names of the students. The Sorting had begun.

Severus knew the signs he saw in Potter all too well; half of his Slytherins came from abused homes, but he couldn't believe that a Potter would be abused, too. How could the son of Lily and James Potter be abused? How could Albus have allowed this to happen? It just couldn't be true, but the more he watched the child, the more he couldn't deny the fact that Potter was a child that had suffered from abuse.

Severus immediately felt regret. On that Halloween night as he'd held Lily's body in his arms, he had promised her he would look after Harry, that he would keep her son safe. It was clear he had failed Lily. He shouldn't have naively put his faith in Albus. Severus should have checked on the boy himself to make sure Petunia was looking after the child properly.

He would never understand how someone could be cruel to a child, especially someone who was supposed to love and care for you. Severus blamed himself; he knew how Petunia felt about magic, how she felt about Lily having magic. He should have realized she wouldn't be able to put her past behind her and be able to love the child.

Severus looked over at Albus to see if he had seen what he had, but the old man was too busy beaming at the children. Severus couldn't help but to roll his eyes. The old man probably thought that Potter was nervous, like every other first-year.

'The child isn't nervous, you idiot, he's frightened,' Severus thought. What child kept looking behind them as if planning an escape? He half-expected the child to make a run for it before his name was even called.

Severus couldn't help but be angry at the man. Albus lived in a world that was made out of rainbows and butterflies, where the streets were paved with lemon drops and where everything could be solved with a simple riddle. A world where nothing bad ever happened. This is why he and Poppy dealt with the abuse victims every year (without Albus' input).

Every year, Severus would try to convince the man that the world wasn't a happy place; but every single time, Albus would smile, pat his shoulder and say "The darker the night, the brighter the stars." It took everything Severus had not to hex the man where he stood. He didn't even know why he kept trying; he should have realized by now that if Albus wasn't listening to him, he wouldn't listen to these children.

"Harry Potter."

Severus was pulled away from his thoughts when he heard the boy's name being called. He watched as Potter hesitantly made his way up to the stool, his eyes glued to the floor as he sat down. His eyes caught the small flinch the boy made as Minerva placed the hat on top of his head.

Severus was alarmed at how long it was taking the hat to decide what house the boy should be placed in. There was no doubt the boy would be placed in Gryffindor, just like his parents. He didn't know what was taking the dusty old hat so long. He was beginning to think that the boy just might be a squib when the hat yelled out.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Severus' eyes widened along with everyone else as the hat called out the house; his house would be the last house he would expect the son of Lily Potter to be placed in.

The Slytherin house table did not cheer for their new house-mate, only gasps could be heard throughout the Hall as the boy slowly made his way off the stool and to the table, sitting down at the first empty seat he saw.

Seconds passed in silence as everyone comprehended what had just happened, some believing the hat had made a mistake in the placement. Severus watched as Minerva looked at Albus, who simply waved her on. Giving a small nod, the woman called up the next name on her list.

…

Throughout the feast, Severus kept his eyes on Harry. The boy didn't join in on his peers' conversation; he just pushed his food around on his plate, taking small bites here and there but not enough for a growing boy.

He could tell that the boy was uncomfortable, his body was stiff as if he was afraid to move. When another student initiated any sort of movement towards him; the boy would flinch away, uttering a small apology before turning back to his plate of uneaten food.

Severus frowned. He knew that he needed to talk to the boy. It was his duty as a head of house, but he wasn't sure if he was the right person for the job. He had talked to many abused students in his time, but he didn't have the kind of history with those students as he did with Potter. He loved the boy's mother and, because of that, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to do his job properly. Perhaps it would be better if he passed the boy off to Poppy.

Severus continued to fight with his thoughts until the meal ended, finding out then that he hadn't eaten much himself. He sat back and watched the head boy and girl take the first years to the dungeons. He gave them time to do their little speeches before he headed to the dungeons himself. He entered the common room, his eyes scanning the room until he saw Potter sitting in the far corner, alone, as he picked the skin around his nails.

"Mr. Potter," Severus called out. "If you'd please follow me to my chambers. I would like to have a word with you," he said, waiting for the boy to stand up and walk towards him before he headed up the stairs that lead to his chambers.

He could hear the boy's unsteady steps follow him up the stairs. He reminded himself once he was done talking to the boy that he would take him to the hospital wing. He needed Poppy to run a scan to see if there was any physical damage, which if the way Harry held himself was any indication, there was. He was able to see that the child was in pain even if the boy hid it well.

He opened the doors to his chambers, allowed Harry to step inside before following after and cast a silencing charm on the room, before turning to face the child.

"I..I'm sorry," Harry spoke softly, his voice almost inaudible.

"And what are you sorry for, ?" Severus questioned, patiently waiting for the child to answer him.

"I...I just am."

Severus frowned at the answer. It was even more upsetting when the boy didn't dare to look at him as he spoke.

"Mr. Po… Harry, child, look at me," Severus spoke kindly, much unlike his usual self.

Severus could tell how hard the simple request was for the boy as Harry struggled to meet his eyes. To make it easier on the boy, Severus knelt, so he wouldn't be as threatening. "Harry, there is nothing for you to be sorry about. I didn't call you in here because you are in trouble, but because I would like to talk to you,'' Severus explained. "Now, is there something you would like to tell me?"

Harry quickly shook his head before focusing his eyes back on the ground.

"Listen, Harry, I am your head of house which means it is my job to make sure that you are okay. I have a feeling your home life isn't as perfect as everyone else would think. Am I right about that?" Severus asked.

Severus watched as Harry's lip trembled slightly, but the boy did his best not to show his emotions.

"Not allowed to talk about what happens behind closed doors," Harry whispered.

Severus frowned as Harry repeated what must have been spoken to him hundreds of times. "Those rules don't apply in my chambers. I want to help you, but for me to be able to do that, I need you to tell me the truth. Does your aunt and uncle hurt you?"

Severus watched as the child's face scrunched up, unable to control his emotions anymore as he started to cry.

"...Y..es," Harry cried before throwing himself into his professor's arms. No one had ever cared about him before.

Severus wasted no time in wrapping his arms around the child. "It's alright. Thank you for telling me, that was very brave of you."

"I'm not in trouble?" He heard Harry mumble into his shoulder.

Severus pulled the child off so he was able to look into his eyes — those amazing green eyes that were filled with pain that no child should know of. "No, Harry, you are not in trouble, not at all. If you let me, I would like to take you to the hospital wing and have Poppy, our school nurse, run some scans. I'm sure we will be able to make you feel better."

"...Will I be...there...alone?"

"Not if you don't want to be. I can stay with you if you like. Would you like me to stay with you?" Severus asked, receiving a small nod from the child. "Alright, Harry, I will stay with you, and Poppy and I will make sure that you won't be going back to your aunt and uncle's."

"Where will I go?"

Severus gave the child a soft smile. "I don't know yet, but let's focus on one thing at a time. Let's focus on getting you healed and rested for the night. Then we will worry about tomorrow, alright?" Once again, Severus received a small nod from the child.

"Alright, my child, let's go and I promise I wont leave your side."

…

"You're an imbecile!" Severus yelled harshly. For the past three hours, he had sat next to Harry as Poppy did her exam, finding out that the abuse was much worse than he thought. Ever since Albus had left a young child on the doorstep of his relatives, his life had been a nightmare. Severus found that he needed to control his anger when Harry uttered that he had been sleeping in a cupboard under the stairs for as long as he could remember.

"Severus, please," Albus spoke calmly as he held up his hand.

"No!" Severus yelled. "You told me Harry would be safe. You told me not to worry, and look what happened! You should be ashamed of yourself — to allow a child to be hurt under your care. He is not going back there," Severus harshly spoke.

"Severus, the blood wards..."

"Are you trying to tell me that you would knowingly send an innocent child back to a home where you know he is being beaten? If so, you are no better then the Dark Lord himself." Severus cut Albus off, hearing a gasp from Poppy.

"The blood wards protect the boy," Albus argued.

"The blood wards protect the boy? They didn't do much protection against the people who are supposed to love him."

"You know the Dark Lord isn't gone. His followers are still out there and they would do anything to get the boy. Don't think my intentions are misguided, I am simply trying to keep the child alive, and if that means sending him back to his aunt's, then I must do it," Albus explained.

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose as he started to pace around Poppy's office, looking out to see the small child sleeping on one of the hospital beds. "If I must, I will take the boy in. You know I will be able to protect him, and I will. I will protect him with my life."

Silence filled the office for what seemed like an eternity before Albus spoke. "I will draw up the papers. Good night, Severus," Albus said before leaving the Hospital wing.

"Severus, are you sure you know what you are doing?" Poppy asked

"No, but I have too, for Lily," Severus replied before making his way towards Harry and sitting next to the bed, not wanting Harry to wake up alone. In that moment, he vowed that he would always be there for Harry. He would look out for the boy until the end of his days; after all, Harry was one of his Slytherins.