And here is the sixth chapter!

* Review Response:
Tommy14, The Richmaster, ALiveTodaytoWrite, davycrockett100, Penny is wise, Rcjmat, Ranmaleopard, Shalifi, thank you for your reviews, folks!
Jostanos, Wyrtha, well, Filch is indeed the character who has no place around children. Actually, anyone here knows why he's even there in the first place? I mean, why would Hogwarts even need a squib caretaker when there is an army of house elves to clean, cook and do other jobs?
Gracealma, he didn't.

* AN: Great thanks to Remilia - The Scarlet Moon for his help in polishing this chapter.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own "Harry Potter" franchise. No profit is being made. Same goes for any books, video games, anime or manga I may or may not use for ideas.

"speaking"
'thinking'
written text

A Year Too Soon
Chapter VI: The Twins in Green

As the amazement the young Potter felt towards Hogwarts and its magic began waning, he finally started noticing that not everything was sunshine and rainbows. His earlier encounter with Argus Filch had been just the tip of the proverbial iceberg: the unfriendly caretaker was far from the only person in the castle who didn't like him. In fact, now that he wasn't as distracted by the wonders of Magic, Harry was pretty sure that at least a half of Slytherin students was less than happy with him being sorted into the house. Especially the older ones. And the green-eyed wizard wasn't sure why: somehow, the fact that many of his housemates were the children of Death Eater and other, unmarked, followers of dark lord Voldemort escaped him.

Anyhow, things took a turn for the worst on Friday when the young Snakes had their first Herbology lesson, together with the Hufflepuff first years. The class started alright, and Harry thought that he might actually enjoy it... Then, professor Sprout asked everyone to pair up. And because there was an odd number of students in both houses, the young Potter found himself forced into taking some 'Puff as his partner – something that didn't earn him any favors with either of the houses. And then, because he didn't mind potting the plants, a few of the more snobbish Slytherins started looking at him with contempt since they thought that someone willing to dirty his hands like that wasn't worthy of being a part of the noble house Slytherin.

Thankfully for him it didn't go beyond the glares, so Harry had little trouble weathering the double Herbology. What came afterwards, however...

As he had no classes in afternoon that day, once he finished his lunch, the young Potter headed back to the Slytherin common room. And as he navigated the dungeons, he was trying to decided what to do in this free time of his. Perhaps, he should start doing his homework so that he can enjoy the weekend properly?.. That thought was thrown out of his mind as someone suddenly grabbed him from behind and threw him roughly against the bare stone wall of the corridor.

"Potter!" A male voice barked while its owner lifted the green-eyed boy off the floor, by his neck. And he was still seeing stars, Harry had some big trouble identifying his attacker. Still, even in his current state he could see that it was someone big, and wearing the Slytherin colors. "What the fuck were you doing today?" The currently-unidentified older boy asked angrily. "Fraternizing with Hufflepuffs? Hufflepuffs?! Do you think that you're too good for Slytherin?" With that the older wizard finally let Harry go, causing him to collapse onto the stone floor, coughing from the abuse his throat had just been subjected to. "Answer me!" The other boy demanded, while firing a bludgeoning spell at his knee.

"Argh!.." The young Potter hissed, gritting his teeth in pain.

"I'm waiting." His attacker said threateningly. And Harry had no illusions that he wouldn't be cursed again if he didn't give answer the questions he had been asked. So, doing his best to ignore the searing pain in his knee and the discomfort in his throat, he spoke:

"Someone w-would have t-to pair up w-with a Hufflepuff." The green-eyed wizard replied in a shaky voice. "It just s-so happened that I ended up w-without a housemate to p-partner with today." The older Slytherin let out an annoyed sound, but seemed to accept the explanation Harry gave him.

"And what about being so chummy with the 'Puffs?" He demanded.

"And would you rather I be an ass towards them?" The young Potter asked back with defiant boldness. "Why should I make an enemy out of the 'Puffs when being amiable with them would be much more beneficial to me?" This question seemed to catch the other boy flatfooted as he couldn't come up with a response for quite a bit.

"Grr... Fine." He said finally. "Do it your way, Potter." Harry let out a small and barely audible sigh of relief: he certainly didn't enjoy being a punchbag. "But, remember, I'll be watching you. And if I see you do something that I don't like – or something that shames Slytherin – I'll destroy you." He threatened. And, given what had just happened, it didn't look like a completely empty threat. "Oh, and don't tell professor Snape anything about this, or you'll regret it."

The green-eyed wizard replied nothing as he watched his attacker walk away, not paying him much attention anymore... Once the older boy disappeared behind a corner, Harry did his best to pick himself off the floor and, once successful, he began limping towards the Slytherin common room: it was closer than the hospital wing, and he didn't fancy explaining why his knee was hurt to the matron...

A couple of hours later Harry was sitting in the far corner of the common room, doing his damn best to concentrate on his homework. Which, between his still-hurting knee and a swarm of questions in his head, was far from easy. And this miserableness of his didn't go unnoticed by his housemates, even if he was doing his best to stay out of everyone's way right now...

"You don't look too well, Potter." One of the Carrow twins said as she and her sister approached him in his 'retreat'. "Something happened?" She asked then with some curiosity concealed in her voice. For the moment the green-eyed wizard remained silent as he studied the girls with his eyes, wondering why they've decided to approach him. However, it didn't look like they came to mock him or anything like that, so he relaxed a little.

"Yeah." He finally replied after a long period of silence. He contemplated about telling them about his earlier ...encounter with some older and violent Slytherin student, but ultimately decided against doing it: while he had been warned only against telling professor Snape about that altercation, Harry didn't want to try his luck by telling anyone else about it. "I... I don't think I'm really welcome here." He said instead. "Perhaps, the Sorting Hat made a mistake when it sorted me here?"

"Now, Potter, being stupid doesn't suit you; if the Hat decided to place you into Slytherin, then it is the best house for you." The second twin admonished him. "Still, you're right, Slytherin isn't the friendliest of the houses. This is especially true for you." She made a small pause, before continuing: "I'm sure, you're aware that the Dark Lord was a Slytherin during his days at Hogwarts." Harry nodded. "Well, so were many of his supporters. And it is their children who are your housemates." Well, the young Potter though, that certainly explained why he wasn't liked much here.

"And you are?.." He asked, trying his best not to sound fearful. The twins nodded.

"House Carrow did support the Dark Lord during the Blood War. Our father even died for the cause." They confessed. "But we certainly don't blame you for this – it happened before even we were born. And we ourselves don't subscribe to the Dark Lord's teachings." Harry let out a sigh of relief; he wasn't sure how he'd be able to go on if his classmates turned out to be dark wizards who were out for his blood because of something that had happened when he was but a toddler.

"Well, we do agree that the traditions of old need to be preserved." The other twin continued. "But killing everyone left, right and center like the Dark Lord did isn't the right way to go about it. And we aren't the only ones who think like this; many others share this sentiment."

"What Hestia is trying to say, Potter,.." So now it was Flora speaking, Harry noted; he really needed to find a way to tell the twins apart. "Is that while the people here might be cold towards you now, no one actually hates you to the point of wishing you real harm. And, provided you become a productive member of the house, they'll warm up to you eventually. Or, at least, they'll keep whatever problems they might have with you to themselves. Conforming to the preferred behavior standards would also help earn the people's approval, but you're an important enough figure in the magical world that you get some leeway here." She explained.

"I hope you're right..." The green-eyed boy breathed out. Indeed, being picked on and hexed was not how he wished to spend his years at Hogwarts. "Thank you." He added after a moment or two.

"And one more lesson about the Slytherin ways, Potter." Hestia said. "Information here has its price, always. It can be a favor, or some information of your own, or anything really." Harry suddenly got a bit nervous: he didn't have much he could give the twins and he wasn't sure that being indebted to them would be good for him. "Today, though, we're sharing the knowledge with you for free, Potter." The young wizard couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. "Just don't expect such generosity in the future."

"Ah... Thank you." Harry said. Flora and Hestia nodded in response, before turning around and walking away, leaving him alone once again. After sitting idly for a few moments, the green-eyed wizard tried going back to doing his homework, but he quickly found that he couldn't concentrate on it. Again. Though, this time it wasn't because of his aching knee; instead it was his mind working on the information the twins have given him that kept him from focusing on his homework.

And, well, he really hoped that the Carrow twins were right and being a model student would let him conduct himself according to his own set of morals and beliefs. For one, he simply didn't believe in looking down on someone simply because they weren't the same as him. He also had no desire to behave like a rude ass – that never ended well...

For now, though, he will have to be a little more conformable, the green-eyed Potter decided. At the moment he only had his ridiculous moniker to his name, and as the events earlier today had shown, it didn't offer him much protection against the displeasure of those who disagreed with his ethics. Of course, he wasn't going to turn himself into a stuck-up and crass bigot, even temporarily, but he would try his best to limit his interactions with the students from other houses, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor especially, for the time being.

~/ *** \~

The Monday morning greeted Harry with a loud and boastful chatter of his classmates. The reason for this was quite simple: the flying lessons were announced. And now pretty much every boy who grew up in a magical household – and several who didn't – were bragging about their prowess on a broom to anyone who would listen. Several of the more tomboyish girl did that as well. And pretty much everyone was talking about Quidditch, even if the first match of the year wouldn't take place until late October or even early November.

The young Potter, however, had no idea what was exciting about that game. Then again, having had no positive experiences in playing together with other kids, he had developed no love towards team games. Or sports. Flying, on the other hand, did appeal to his somewhat-solitary nature. Yet, Harry had his doubts that something like a broomstick can be a comfortable ride. Well, he supposed, everything can be possible with magic, but...

Regardless of that, the young wizard was looking forward to the flying lessons. He was quite eager to try himself on a broom and experience the freedom of flying. That, and he hoped that once the lessons started, his classmates would finally stop with their bragging – that got old and annoying really fast.

At half past three on the Wednesday afternoon, the first years assembled on a large flat field next to the Quidditch arena for their first flying lesson. Lying on the grass in front of every student there was a broomstick. And none of those appeared to be less than a couple of decades old. Seriously, did Hogwarts not have funds to buy some newer and safer brooms? – Harry wondered as he examined a particularly-old broom some Ravenclaw girl got with a critical eye: that broomstick looked like it was held together by Magic alone!

His thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of madam Hooch, the Hogwarts' flying instructor. She was a rather old but still full of life witch with short gray hair and yellow hawk-like eyes. In fact, her entire appearance made her look like some bird of prey.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" She barked as she approached her students. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up." Harry glanced at the broom lying on the ground in front of him. It was one of the better ones – Slytherin students got them thanks to arriving first – but it still looked way older then him, and there was a number of twigs that stuck out at odd angles. "Stick out your right hand over your broom and say 'Up!'." Madam Hooch instructed. Addressing an inanimate object that couldn't even talk back like magical portraits or some (very annoying) mirrors was odd for the young Potter, but he still did as instructed.

"Up!" He called along with his classmates. Surprisingly enough, his broom jumped into his hand at once. Only a few others seemed to be as lucky; many of the broomsticks refused to obey and rolled on the ground or didn't move at all instead... Eventually, though, everyone succeeded in making the brooms follow to their command and jump into into their hands. And when that happened, madam Hooch moved onto the next part of her lesson: she showed the right way to mount a broom as well as the how to grip the handle correctly.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard." The witch instructed. "Keep your

brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle. Three... Two... One..." And a whistle. Not paying attention to what was going around him anymore, Harry kicked off the ground and... flew? It was an interesting feeling, and the green-eyed boy indeed found it enjoyable. Flying was awesome! Still, as great as it felt to be off the ground, Harry remembered the instructions he had been given, and reluctantly landed back onto the grassy field...

The class continued without any notable incidents as madam Hooch showed a number of tricks for flying a broomstick properly. And, when maybe twenty minutes remained till the end of the lesson, the witch decided to give her students a little treat and allowed them to fly freely.

For a few minutes everything was going fine – well, as fine as it can be with nearly four dozen children supervised by a single adult. Then a problem reared its ugly head... One of the older brooms, the one currently used by some Ravenclaw girls, suddenly started jolting randomly as whatever magics that were holding it together decided that right now was a good time to act up.

Harry, who was flying close by, noticed that and steered even closer to the girl so that he would be able to help her, should her broom give out or something. And it was a good thing he did that: a few moment later the broom jerked especially violently, and girl lost her grip and slid off her 'ride'...

Acting without actually thinking, the young Potter darted towards her, catching her by the nape of her robes just as she started falling towards the ground. A moment later, though, Harry found his broom to be not quite up to the task of supporting an additional rider as it started losing height rather speedily. Still, it wasn't quite a fall, and he even managed to pull a relatively gentle landing off.

"T-Thank you." The girl said weakly, quite shocked by what had just happened.

"Mr. Potter." Madam Hooch said, having apparently noticed his deed. "That was... an impressive flying. Take ten points for Slytherin for helping your classmates in dire situation."

"Thank you, professor." Was all that Harry could say in response at the moment. Nodding, the hawk-like witch went back to keeping an eye on their classmates still in the air. Meanwhile, both the young Potter and the girl whom he had just saved, decided that they've had enough excitement for the day and opted to stay on the firm ground for the rest of the lesson.

"Potter." Harry was called the moment he stepped inside the Hogwarts castle. And the young wizard recognized the voice as the one belonging to Marcus Flint, the older Slytherin who had roughed him up a few days ago for being 'too friendly' with some Hufflepuff. "We have to talk." The younger wizard gulped. But no matter how much afraid he might be right now, running away would only make the things worse for him. So... "You're pretty good on a broom, Potter? How long have you been flying?"

"Eh?.." Harry responded eloquently, completely caught off guard by the question he didn't expect. "Since today." He offered finally.

"That's ...most impressive." Flint said after a moment or two. "You certainly have a talent for flying then, Potter. Too bad, first years aren't allowed onto the Quidditch teams." Here he let out a theatrical sigh, before continuing: "But it'd be a crime to ignore a talent like yours; I want you to try out for the team next year, Potter. Understood?"

"O-Okay..." Harry replied, if only to get the scary teen off him.

"Good." Flint said, before turning around and walking away. As he disappeared in the crowd, Harry let out a deep sigh. As much as he liked flying today, he had no desire to play Quidditch. Yet, here he got more or less roped into trying for the team regardless... Damn it! Now, he could only hope that Flint would forget about this before the next school year rolled around...

That's all, folks!
Read and review.