Snape could not hide the agitation that was on his face. Although he had very little intentions of hiding it either way. He was extremely displeased with their headmaster and intended to speak to him as soon as possible. He walked over to his prefects, making sure that they knew what they were doing, and not allowing any new year students to get separated from the group. “ Keep moving now, step lively,” one of the prefects shouted at the students as they ushered them along. Snape could not help but find his eyes locking onto Harry Potter. He watched as Harry spoke with the strange round boy, whose name he could not recall. He saw the white haired boy that was staring at Harry almost as much as Snape was. However, he forced himself to look away from them, now moving to go find the headmaster. With swift but measured steps he proceeded down the hallways, heading for his office.

      “ Can you believe it Dudley, we're both here at Hogwarts and even in the same house,” Harry said with a bright smile as he walked out of the Great Hall with Dudley. Dudley nodded his head slowly to what Harry had said, he was much more focused on examining the building structure. Dudley also found himself peeking over his shoulder from time to time, feeling the eyes of the Draco boy on their backs. “ Dudley, “ Harry said to him, seeing the troubled look on Dudley's face. “ What is the matter?” Harry asked him. Dudley blinked, realizing that Harry had asked him a question.

      “Oh, nothing, I'm just still getting used to all of this,” Dudley admitted to Harry as they walked up one of the moving stair cases. “ Once we are in our room I'll be fine,” he said with a smile. Harry could not help but find himself smiling as well. He was overjoyed to finally be at Hogwarts. He could not help but enjoy himself. It was only made all the better now that his best, be it only, friend was in the same house as him. How could he not be the happiest student there? With a small chuckle, he soon found they had arrived at the entrance to their house. Before he knew it all of the students were being poured into the main room.

      Snape stormed into the headmaster's office, his robe a little messy as he did so. “ Why was I not told?” he asked, his voice raised. He approached the desk, forcing himself not to slam on it, trying to control himself. Dumbledore said nothing at first, simply looking at Snape, his face almost unreadable. Snape growled a little under his breath, he hated it when Dumbledore said things that were meant to tick him off, but nothing was worse than when Dumbledore said nothing. “ Tell me!” Snape said, no longer able to resist slamming his hands onto Dumbledore's desk. Dumbledore actually chuckled a little, knowing that Snape would only display such anger because no one else was around.

      “ Told what? I'm just as surprised as you are,” Dumbledore said to Snape. “ I mean, I was so sure he would be in Gryffindor.”

      “ You know exactly what I mean, “ Snape said between ground teeth.

     “ Oh, you mean his arrival,” Dumbledore said, nodding his head slowly. “ Well, technically I did not know he would actually get on the train.” Snape slammed his hands down onto Dumbledore's desk once more, glaring at him now,

     “ Stop playing games! How long?!”

     “ Well, Mr. Potter was discovered a few months ago, roughly four,” Dumbledore said, standing from his chair slowly. “ He and the Dursley boy were found together, alone in the woods, some kind of magic field had been hiding them,” he said. “ They were unharmed, in fact quite the opposite.” Dumbledore moved over to Snape, a stern look on his face. “ I chose not to tell you because I did not want you to interfere in anyway, and I don't want to hear that you are giving him any special attention.”
Snape gulped a little, the look Dumbledore had made Snape obey.

     “ I will not sir, but there must be more, tell me what happened,” he said.

     “ I do not think that story is for me to tell, I believe it is his, and that is if he decides to tell you,” Dumbledore said, “ Besides, even I don't truly know what happened.”

      Harry smiled as he looked about their room with content. “ It feels like home, I love it,” he said to Dudley with a smile. Dudley could not help but smile just as much as Harry did, glad to have their room as much as Harry was. Harry trailed one of his hands along the side of one of the trees that was inside the room, it was a nice tree, one he would most likely nap in quite often. Dudley was a little more busy focusing on unpacking the clothes that had been bought for he and Harry. The room was quite complicated actually. There were two beds, each with their own dresser-side-table. The floor of the room was polished wood from the door to the beds, but everywhere else was pure dirt floor, filled with grasses roots and vines. It was almost like someone had set up half the room and planted flowers in the other and let nature take its course. The most important feature for Harry though, was the small pool of water that was next to the tree. It was not very large or very deep, but it was enough that he could sit in it if he so desired. Harry found himself starring at the water, it was not the same as the lake at home, but it reminded him so much of home.
     “ Come on Harry, let's get to bed, tomorrow is going to be another big day for us,” Dudley said, pulling Harry away from the pond, forcing himself not to stare at it either.

     Snape found himself storming around Hogwarts, not wanting to go to bed yet. He could not bring himself to calm down. Lilly's only son was still alive, he felt responsible. He did not know why, but he could not help but feel like Harry was his responsibility. He had already beaten himself up once for allowing Harry to disappear, now Harry was back. Snape growled a little, cursing Dumbledore for not letting him know sooner. He could have been there for Harry, could have been able to help him. Now, he was left without Harry even knowing he existed beyond seeing him in the Great Hall. Snape shook his head, he was going to find out what happened to Harry and keep him safe from it. He did not want to see Harry go missing, not again.

      Harry tossed and turned in his slumber, dreams plaguing him. There was a great fire, everything was burning around him. Dudley was unconscious on the ground and a man stood before him. The man was dark, his back to most of the fire, only a few flickers of the flame illuminated him and still not enough for Harry to recognize any facial features. However, there was one thing that Harry could not help but see. The man had ivy green eyes, they pierced him, right through his heart. The eyes terrified him, but what was worse, was the smile. The smile on the face was sickening, the smile seemed to curl beyond human possibility. The man only laughed at Harry was he turned in a circle, motioning to all of the fires, as if they were art; his art. It was then that Harry noticed what was burning around him. It was the forest, but not just any forest, it was his forest, his home, and it was burning to the ground. “ No-!” Harry shouted, jolting upright in his bed. He looked around slowly, the room a mystery to him. Then it all returned to him, he was at Hogwarts still, with Dudley, in Slytherin. He let out a soft sigh of relief before laying back down. Before he could even try to remember the dream, sleep overtook him again; this time, he rested.

     Dudley gave Harry a slight smile as they walked into the Great Hall for breakfast. He was not adjusting well to Hogwarts, but he would manage. “ It's alright, it was just a nightmare, there is nothing to be afraid of,” he said to Harry. “ Besides, if you can't even remember it, how could it be important?” Dudley asked Harry as they sat down at their table.

     “ I don't know, the dream just felt like it was . . important, “ Harry said, shaking his head in disappointment. He could not figure out why the dream he had was so important, he couldn't remember the first thing about it.

     “ Well, you know what's important, taking care of yourself. Now start eating or I'll eat it all without you,” Dudley said teasingly. Harry shoved at Dudley's shoulder with a smile and a laugh.

     “ Yeah right, you don't have the stomach for it anymore. You're in shape now,” Harry reminded Dudley as he picked up a fork.

     “ Nah, just means I need more protein in my diet.” Harry rolled his eyes, ignoring Dudley as he began to eat breakfast himself.

     “ Just don't forget we have class right after we get done eating,” Harry said to Dudley. “ We've got potions first.”

      Snape turned his head when he heard his office door open. “ Yes? What is it you need?” he asked standing from his desk slowly. He had been resting his head on his desk, trying to clear his mind of Harry and his memories of Lilly.

      “ Oh don't get up on my account Mr. Snape, sar,” a man said as he entered the room.

      “ Whether I stand or not is of no relevance, now what is it you need?” Snape asked, not feeling in the mood for playing games right now. The man simply chuckled, a smile moving across his face. A smile that Snape did not favor in the least.

     “ Oh! The headmaster was right, so feisty,” the man said to himself. “ to the point though, I need some potions brewed and when I asked around, I was told that you were one of the best, sar.”

     “ Don't bother me with such trivial matters, get someone else to do it,” Snape said. The man only seemed to smile more at this, a chill entering the room.

     “ Oh no Mr. Snape, I don't think you understand, sar,” the man said, closing the door behind him. A loud click echoing out as the lock was turned.

      “ Did I hear right, you two have potions next?” Draco asked Harry and Dudley with a smile. Dudley still did not like Draco's smile.

     Harry nodded his head, “ Yes, with, er . . Snape,” he said as he read from the paper.

     Draco nodded, “ Yes, how about I show you two where it is, free of charge,” he said, his smile still there.

     “ That would be very nice, thanks,” Harry said with a bright smile. He had to admit, he did not trust Draco, there was something about him that Harry did not like. However, Harry had learned a long time ago to always look for the good in people, and he saw plenty in Draco. Dudley, however, was not eased in the most, even if Harry trusted Draco.

     “ I sure hope you don't charge much then, “ Dudley said, somewhat teasing, “ we've got no clue where we're going.” Dudley wondered if many students had been allowed to visit Hogwarts before the sorting ceremony, how else would any of them find their way around on their first day.
      Draco nodded his head with a smile, “ most students won't and nah, I'll just have Crabbe and Goyle keep a tab,” he said. Dudley did not like that he could not tell whether Draco was joking or not. However, he let is slide for now.
“ Well, c'mon, its this way,” Draco said as he stood and turned to walk, Crabbe and Goyle right behind him. Dudley looked at Harry, not sure whether to trust Draco or not. However, Harry was already standing, making Dudley roll his eyes, Harry was too trusting for his liking. However, they began to walk forward, catching up with Draco quickly.

      Harry and Dudley walked towards the door to their classroom, Draco had forgotten something back in their house. Now they walked silently to the class not having much to discuss at the moment. As Harry reached to touch the door handle, Dudley pulled him back. Harry yelp a little with surprise as the door swung open, now glad Dudley had pulled him back. “ Oh Sorry, did I frighten you , young sar?” the man asked as he exited the door. The man was tall, roughly early to mid thirties. He wore a dark green lab coat, a black vest with a white long-sleeve-button-up shirt, and a pair of black pants. His hair was slicked to his right side, a slight red color, but not dark.

     “ No, no, I'm alright . . “ Harry said slowly as he continued to examine the strange man. His eyes soon looked up to the man's face, locking eyes with the man. The man had ivy colored eyes, seemingly piercing. Harry could not bring himself to look away for a moment, as if entranced by the man.

     “ Glad to hear it, anyway, off to class with you, young sars. “ the man said as he walked past them. Dudley could only stare at the man as he left, quite an odd man, another he didn't seem to like. However, his attention was drawn to Harry, who looked white as a sheet.

     “ Are you alright Harry?” Dudley asked, gently nudging Harry. Harry snapped out of his entranced state, his smile returning to his face.

     “ Yeah, I'm fine, what an odd man, wonder if he's a teacher here?” Harry said thoughtfully as he and Dudley entered the classroom, finding themselves a seat.

      As Snape exited his office into his classroom, his face, white as a sheet. He looked around, seeing only Harry and the Dursley boy in the room. A part of him feared that the man could have tried to hurt them, but knew that there was nothing he could say. So for now Snape gathered him composure and walked into the room, preparing for the class to come into the room. Not that he had not already prepared, but the man's visit had shaken him. He was mostly doing stuff to keep himself calm as he waited for more students to enter the room. He was still going to teach his class, no matter what some strange man wanted of him.