Snape left without another word after delivering that last cryptic statement, leaving Harry absolutely flat-footed: Snape hated his father? Why?
Part of Harry wanted to go after Snape and demand an explanation… but Harry suspected that Snape wasn't in a very sharing mood, especially after their rather hostile confrontation. Harry wondered if he should actually made good on his threat to pack his bags and leave Hogwarts… but truthfully, Harry wasn't sure that was a good idea; he barely knew anything about the world he had found himself in, and finding some other place to teach him magic sounded like it would be a rather daunting task.
No, for now he would stay here, even if that meant staying in Slytherin.
Resolute, Harry turned and make his way back to the other first years; it seemed that Malfoy and some of the others had indeed left and gone back to bed, with just Zabini and Moon still sitting there.
"What was all that about?" Zabini asked when Harry returned.
"I don't want to talk about it," Harry replied mulishly.
"Alright," Zabini nodded. "Well, we've got double Herbology with the Ravenclaws this morning, a free period after lunch, then Astronomy with the Hufflepuffs tonight. Perhaps we should get ready and then go to breakfast?"
"Sound's good to me," Harry nodded.
"I think I'll join you," Moon interjected.
"I thought you said you didn't get a wink of sleep last night?" Zabini asked curiously.
"Well, yeah, but Daphne is back there," Moon pointed out. "If she's not in bed she'll be putting on more makeup, and she's not exactly the quietest person around."
"Alright, we'll be back soon," Zabini nodded, before getting up.
It was close to Seven Thirty by the time the three of them arrived in the Great Hall. The Slytherin Table was completely empty, for most of the Slytherins were still down in the Common Room receiving their schedules from Snape, or in their dorms. However, the other three tables already had people siting at them, with Hufflepuff having the most.
The three of them sat down at the end of the table closest to the door, and Harry found his eye drawn towards the Gryffindor table, where he spotted Ron. Ron wasn't looking at him, however, and seem to be focused on his plate. Harry did notice the sandy haired boy from last night, a Seamus Finnigan, chatting animatedly at Ron, but Ron didn't seem that interested in the discussion.
Harry longed to be over there, sitting at the Gryffindor table next to Ron; despite the Hat's claims, Harry wasn't feeling particularly 'great' at the moment.
Plus, Slytherin was worse than he had feared: apparently the House was famous for the political violence that broke out there on occasion, the person he shared a dorm and was allied with had a mother famous for inheriting riches from dead husbands whom she supposedly had a hand in… arranging their deaths… his head of house hated his father for some unknown reason, and had clearly transferred that hatred to Harry himself, and finally, he was going to have to deal with sharing a house with Malfoy of all people, for the next seven years.
Harry wondered why he had let the hat take him in with delusions of grandeur… but part of him knew the reason why: he was scared, plain and simple.
This new world he had found himself in was amazing, yes, better than his wildest dreams, but also very scary. Apparently if someone like Voldemort could get away with murder for as long as he had… what did that say about this strange new world he had found himself in?
During the month leading up to his arrival at Hogwarts, Harry had found himself turning the story of how his parents died over and over in his head:
Frankly, the idea of Voldemort; of someone who could so casually get away with murder that he thought nothing of killing a child… scared Harry out of his wits… and not just Harry. If everyone else in the Wizarding world were so scared of the man that they couldn't even say his name… what did that mean for how powerful the man himself was?
Sure, somehow Harry had vanquished the man when he was a child… but he didn't even remember how.
So when the Hat had offered him greatness, the kind of greatness that Voldemort seemed to have, Harry had jumped at it like it was a life line.
Apparently, however, being in Slytherin did not automatically mean he was 'great', all of a sudden. Like Farley had said, Harry would somehow have to earn his 'greatness'… whatever that meant.
"You alright, Potter?" Moon asked, interruption Harry from his thoughts. "You've hardly touched your food."
"I'm fine," Harry replied testily, before picking up his fork, stabbing it into a bit of egg, and jamming it into his mouth.
"It's Weasley, isn't it?" Zabini suggested astutely. "You made friends with him on the train… but now that you're in Slytherin, he won't even look twice at you…"
Well, that was part of it, Harry mused.
"Come to think of it, you never told anyone why you ended up in Slytherin," Moon pointed out. "I could have sworn you were under that hat for at least two minutes."
"I told Farley," Harry pointed out mulishly, before eating another bit of egg.
Zabini blinked with confusion. "When was that?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "Last night. I went out to ask her some questions, and she asked me."
"You could have asked me those questions," Zabini pointed out.
"Yeah, I could have," Harry sighed. "Probably wouldn't have cost me as much…"
Zabini looked at him with confusion. "What? What did Farley want?"
"Money," Harry replied simply.
Moon smirked. "Wow. I didn't know Farley was such a gold digger. I guess you get all types in our house."
"Lily, kindly shut up," Zabini grouched, before turning to Harry. "So why did you go ask Farley instead of me?"
Harry frowned with annoyance. "Honestly? I didn't really trust you that much last night, and Farley seemed like a reasonable person… before I asked her."
Zabini paused. "I guess that's… fair. Well, don't be afraid to ask me if you have questions in the future. We're allies now, after all."
Harry nodded. "Alright."
"Well, getting back on topic, you didn't answer my question, Potter," Moon pointed out.
"I don't feel like talking about it," Harry muttered.
Moon gave a very put upon frown. "Well, I guess I can always ask Farley…"
Harry sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Alright, fine. I'll tell you… just don't tell anyone else, please?"
"Of course," Moon nodded quickly. Harry had a feeling that she wasn't being entirely truthful, however.
"Lily…" Zabini growled. "Harry means it, don't tell anyone else, or I'll hex you, and believe me, my mother has taught me a few good ones."
Moon groaned and rolled her eyes. "Oh fine… go and spoil my fun, why don't you."
Harry felt a touch of warmth grow within him at Zabini's protectiveness; apparently Zabini was taking this alliance thing very seriously. Perhaps Harry would actually have to find a way to pay him back some day.
"Well, go on, Potter," Moon said impatiently. "Don't keep us waiting."
"Ok, um…" Harry paused. Now that he thought about it, the real reason why seemed rather egocentric and foolish, honestly. "Basically, the hat said that I could be… er, 'great', and that Slytherin could help me on the path to… 'greatness'."
"The hat said that?" Zabini asked with surprise.
Harry just nodded, his cheeks going red with embarrassment. "Yeah, it seems rather foolish now, doesn't it?"
"Foolish?" Moon eyed him with interest. "Not at all. There are much worse reasons for joining Slytherin."
"Most people join because their families have been in Slytherin for generations," Zabini pointed out. "Other's join just because their friends did. But to join because you seek greatness? I believe I was right to seek an alliance with you."
"Why did you seek an alliance with me in the first place, though?" Harry asked curiously.
"You were not what I expected," Zabini replied simply. "Last night when I pointed out what Weasley was doing, you were smart enough to figure out the difference between what was going on at the Gryffindor table, and what was going on at the Slytherin Table; then you immediately started trying to mimic the other Slytherins, to fit in better.
"Then, when we got to the dorms and Malfoy tried to bully you into sharing a dorm with him, you stood up to him and refused. A weaker man would have cow towed to Malfoy's demands.
"Finally, this morning you did everything you could to look like you belonged in Slytherin, when you adopted our style of dress and appearance. All of that alone was enough to make me consider seeking an alliance with you.
"If you had seemed like a stupid, blundering, oblivious Gryffindor, I wouldn't have bothered, but you did your best to adapt to the situation you found yourself with, and you seemed observant and cunning enough to rise to the occasion. Am I wrong?"
Bemused, Harry shook his head. Harry didn't know how he was raised, but it seemed that Zabini really did know what he was doing. In Harry's own estimation, the other boy seemed to be rather smart and well spoken, and didn't seem to have any trouble expressing himself. Honestly, he seemed rather… mature, for his age. Perhaps being raised by a mother who did what she did had something to do with it. Maybe Zabini had had to grow up altogether too quickly, like Harry himself.
"I want in on this alliance thing," Moon said quickly, interrupting Harry from his thoughts.
"No," Zabini bit out sharply.
"Oh, come on, Blaise," Moon sulked. "Don't be like that! It seems like you've got a great thing going, and I want in on it!"
"And what exactly do you bring to the table, Moon?" Zabini asked dourly. "Because it seems to me that whenever I get together with you, you're constantly reminding me of what my mother gets up to."
"It would be different, if we were in an alliance," Moon promised. "I swear I wouldn't bring it up ever again."
"You can do better than that," Zabini bit out.
"Well, what else do you want?" Moon asked with frustration.
"You know what I want," Zabini pointed out. "But Potter's in this alliance as well. You may as well ask him what he wants."
Moon turned to Harry and looked at him critically. "Well, I suppose I could help you achieve greatness, Potter, but greatness could mean many different things. Exactly what kind of greatness is it that you want to achieve?"
That was a good question: what kind of greatness did Harry actually aspire to? Harry found himself mulling over it for a long moment. Truthfully, what he really wanted was a way to stay safe from people like Voldemort, but he had a feeling that saying it like that wouldn't go over well.
Frowning, Harry found his eyes wandering, seeking some kind of inspiration. Then his eyes landed on the High Table, where Dumbledore was eating breakfast and talking to Professor McGonagall.
Everyone said that Dumbledore was the greatest wizard alive, and that he had been the only one that Voldemort feared.
"I suppose I want to be great like Dumbledore," Harry said eventually.
"Well, you certainly don't aim low, do you?" Moon commented wryly. "I suppose I can help you with that… but it's going to be a long time before you're as good as Dumbledore."
"How exactly do you intend to help me, Moon?" Harry asked curiously.
"I'm sure I'll be able to think of something," Moon shrugged. "So, are you interested?"
Harry looked towards Zabini.
"Well, as long as Lily holds up her end, I'm fine with it," Zabini nodded.
Harry nodded back, before looking at Moon and holding up his hand across the table. Moon smiled and shook it.
It seemed that this Duo alliance he had with Zabini had now turn into…
… a Trio.
Review Replies:
nighthawk-95: Poor Lucius :D. Rough start with Snape indeed. It's nice that he told harry about his issues with his father.
Author: Lucius? Don't you mean Draco? and yes, it was a rough start with Snape indeed.
