It had been James' instincts that saved them. As soon as Padfoot transferred the Secret Keeper guardianship over to Wormtail, James had felt uneasy. He had noticed the odd moments of staring off into space with a weird, creepy smile and the times when he went of somewhere and returned days or hours later.
    

"I got a girl, Prongs! What, don't believe me?" Peter had always said.
    

No. No, James did not believe him. He knew something was wrong. He had begged Sirius to change ownership back. Back to him or Moony, either one would have been better than Peter. Sirius had always declined, saying what could go wrong? Peter is our friend. He would never give them away.
    

But James had seen the doubt begin to crawl it's way into Sirius as well, and both of them and Lily agreed that they needed to move without Peter knowing. As much as they loved the house in Godric's Hollow, they needed a new place, a place not under the watchful eye of a dirty rat.
    

They packed their belongings the next day. Peter had never showed through the entire process, which just fueled James' doubt more. Lily, being the bright witch that she was, had charmed the house to look like people still lived there. Lights would go on and off on a timer and she transfigured pots and pans to take on a human like appearance and walk in front of windows during dinner time or in front of the living room window. She even Transfigured a leaf into an exact replica of Sirius' motorbike that was always leaning against the front porch. 
    

They had moved to Hogsmead. At first, it was a bit uncomfortable living in a small, cramped space when they were used to a large house, but they soon got used to it. The neighbor's were certainly hard to get along with, but one curse from Sirius and a prank or two from James, and the neighbors left them alone.
    

James and Sirius' income from Auror Academy kept them with food on the table and a bed to sleep in. Soon though, they had enough money saved up to move again, still in Hogsmead, but a bigger place than a small, dank hotel. Sirius had naturally moved in with them, again, than trying to find his own place and possibly get found out. Lily and James didn't mind.
     

Dumbledore never knew, which suited them just fine. They could take care of themselves. Lily's Fidelius charm was just as good, if not better, than Dumbledore's. With James and Sirius' extra protection, the house was practically undetectable. Not even Remus knew where they lived, which they felt a bit bad about, but it was a precaution they had to take.
    

A year later, right after Harry had been born, James' instincts came true. They learned from an inside source that their place in Godric's Hollow had been attacked by Death Eaters. Peter had betrayed them. Voldemort had appeared as well, a thought that scared both James and Lily. What if they hadn't moved? They certainly couldn't take on the Dark Lord by themselves.
    

The Longbottom's had also been visited that night. They had been driven insane by Sirius' cousin Bellatrix and Crouch Jr. They left behind a boy only a day older than Harry. He was with his grandmother at the time, so he didn't get hurt. His grandmother volunteered to take him in, but her age prevented her from doing so. His uncles and aunts were incapable of taking care of a child, so the guardianship of Neville was given to his godparents, James and Lily.
    

 Of course, when they went to the Wizengamot to file for guardianship, Dumbledore and the wizarding world found out they were alive. Press swarmed them as they took Neville and it took every ounce of James' willpower not to hex them dead. Sirius always had a problem controlling his anger, and so a few of the unlucky press wound up with boils covering their face or a missing eyebrow. Lily had been too preoccupied holding two wiggling toddlers, so she couldn't do anything with her wand like she wanted, but she sent them a glare that sent them backtracking very quickly.
    

Remus had been ecstatic. He had shoved past the press and onlookers and enveloped them all in a tight hug, all tears and blubbering. He helped keep the press at bay as they exited the Ministry of Magic and Apparated with them back to their house in Hogsmead. There, they celebrated the new addition to their small family and spent the entire night singing songs and eating and catering to the two small children's every needs.
   

  When Harry and Neville were four, the Order of the Phoenix had found where Voldemort and his cronies had been holed up, thanks to their inside source, and a battle took place. There were many casualties on both sides, but it was finally over. Voldemort had been defeated and most of the Death Eaters had been round up and placed in Azkaban, including Peter Pettigrew. The few that managed to escape where hunted down. Lucius Malfoy had pleaded the Imperious Control, and was let off, much to James' dismay.
    

When Harry was six, he showed his first sign of magic. He made his cup of apple juice fly from his mother's hands and land very delicately in front of him. They had celebrated by eating cake, James and Sirius' idea. Lily didn't really approve, but Neville and Harry were overjoyed. The cake was gone in just two days.
    

Neville showed his first sign of magic at eight when he tripped down a flight of stairs and bounced the rest of the way. Before that, everyone, including Neville, thought he was a Squib.They had been very excited, but no more so than Harry. He had been so proud of his big brother and showed it by enveloping him in a big bear hug that had all the adults' hearts melting.
    

When Harry and Neville were eleven, they went to Diagon Alley. Harry and Neville had a grand time picking out their supplies and looking through the broom shop window. Lily absolutely forbade them getting brooms, despite Sirius and James' excited babble. In response to Lily saying no to the brooms, James got Harry a snowy owl and Sirius got Neville a black cat, named Hedwig and Isis respectively. Neville also got a toad that happened to hop into his pocket and refused to come out. He named it Trevor.
    

When Harry got his wand and Lily found out it shared the same core as Voldemort's, she made him take it back and get a new one. She would not let her child have a connection to the most vile creature on earth. Instead of the holly wand, he got a cherry wood wand with a Thestral tail hair core, almost the exact same as Neville's. Neville had a cherry wood wand as well, same inches and flexibility, but he had a Unicorn tail hair.  Harry was a bit dismayed at having to change wands, but he still loved his new wand just as much as the other because he had something else to share with his brother.
    

They ran into the Malfoys when they went for their robes. James tried to drag his sons out as soon as he saw the shock of blonde hair, but Lucius was having none of it. He called out Neville, telling of his parent's torture and saying the Potter's weren't his real parents. James went ballistic, cussing the elder Malfoy to China and back, and pulled out his wand. If it wasn't for Lily grabbing his arm forcefully and dragging him out of the shop, James would have most definitely been banned, along with Malfoy. They went to a nearby restaurant and ate lunch until they were absolutely positive the Malfoys were gone.
    

James and Lily were left with the task of telling Neville of his real parentage. Neville took it surprisingly well, which was a relief for James and Lily. But Harry found him that night crying in the bathroom. It wasn't until Harry said they would be brothers no matter what their parentage and that he always had a family did Neville calm down. Neville was very protective of his family after that.
    

Finally, it was time for their boys to leave for Hogwarts. James was beaming so wide at the platform, Muggles had to stop and stare. Remus was being their normal bodyguard, lowly growling if anyone looked at them wrong. Sirius was trying not to cry and kept grasping both Harry's and Neville's hands and gushing about how awesome Hogwarts was and the Gryffindor house. Lily was the calmest of all of them, quietly leading them towards the brick wall that lead to Platform Nine and Three Quarters.
    

With sniffles from Sirius and many hugs that made both of their ribs hurt, Harry and Neville boarded the train to Hogwarts.
                                                                               

*`*`*`*`
    

"I can't believe we're finally going to Hogwarts!" Neville said, hopping in his seat. As the platform passed from their view, Harry could see Sirius and James running beside the train in their Animagus forms. It was amusing to see the onlookers' confused faces as a giant dog and a stag ran through people on the platform. He heard one woman screech something about the Grim.
   

 "I know!" Harry replied, petting Isis. "I wonder what house we will be in. Hopefully Gryffindor. I don't know what Dad or Uncle Padfoot will do if I get into Slytherin. Not that Slytherin is bad, but Uncle Padfoot will probably disown me. I'm sure Mum wouldn't mind, since she said she almost got sorted into Slytherin herself."
    

Neville nodded. "I know. I don't think I'm brave enough for Gryffindor, though. I'm probably going to get sorted into Hufflepuff. Those are the leftovers. That's what Dad said." Neville looked dejected.
   

  "Hey!" Harry said, accidentally shoving Isis rather forcefully off his legs. "Don't listen to Dad! Hufflepuffs are not leftovers! They're just as brave as any Gryffindor, just as smart as any Ravenclaw and just as cunning as any Slytherin. They are extremely loyal, and you are the most loyal  person I know. You are super loyal to your family and friends. You'd do excellent in there. Hufflepuff would be proud to have you in their house! Plus, have you seen an angry badger? It's terrifying." Harry shuddered for effect.
    

"You sound like Uncle Moony," Neville laughed. Harry puffed out his chest proudly.
    

Harry and Neville turned when they heard a knock on their compartment door. A girl with busy brown hair opened the sliding door and stuck her head in.
    

"Have you seen a rat come this way?" she asked. "This boy lost it." She motioned behind her.
    

"My name is Ron, and my rat's name is Scabbers!" the other kid, Ron, yelled from behind the girl. A tall redhead pushed past the girl and entered Harry and Neville's compartment. He began to dig between the seat cushions and under Harry's trunk.
    

"Hey, what are you doing?" Neville said, moving his feet out of the way as Ron began looking under where Harry and Neville sat.
    

Ron looked up and Harry could see a smudge of dirt on his nose. He looked angry and slightly annoyed. "I'm looking for my rat! Duh." With that, he went back to looking. Harry and Neville looked at each other and shrugged.
    

The girl rolled her eyes and walked in. She grabbed the back of Ron's shirt collar and yanked him up. "I'm sure that they can help you look for Scabbers. You don't need to just barge in and ruin everything. That's rude, you know." She let go of his shirt and Ron fell on his backside, a shocked look on his face.
    

Harry stifled a laugh and Neville snorted. "I thought you could only bring a toad, cat or owl, anyway. What are you doing with a rat?" Harry asked. Ron got up and wiped the dust off of his pants.
    

"Dumbledore let me bring him. He gave me special permission," Ron said a bit haughtily. Just then, Isis let out a rather loud yowl and pounced right onto Harry's foot, claws digging through his shoes.
    

"Ow! Isis! Neville, control your bloody cat!" Harry shrieked, gripping his foot. Neville quickly gathered Isis in his arms, but nearly dropped her when he saw what was dangling from her mouth.
    

"Scabbers!" Ron exclaimed. He reached for the cat, but Isis swiped at his hand, not letting her meal go. Ron gripped his hand where Isis had left three bright red marks. Scabbers squealed and writhed, trying to get away.
    

"Isis! Hand Scabbers over! You can't eat him!" Neville held out his hand in front of Isis' mouth. She looked towards Ron and back to Neville and back to Ron again. Slowly, she opened his mouth and Scabbers fell ungracefully into Neville's hand. He handed Scabbers over to Ron, who let go of his injured hand and began to cradle the rat and coo to it.
    

"Did that mean old cat hurt you, Scabbers? It's okay, now. You're safe with me." Ron kissed Scabbers on top of his fuzzy head. The girl rolled her eyes.
    

"Now that that drama is over, allow me to introduce myself. I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger. And you are?" Ron looked up from petting Scabbers. "I already told you. My name is Ron."
    

Hermione rolled her eyes again. Harry thought her eyes must hurt if she had to do that a lot. "Honestly, Ron. Don't you ever think? I know your name. I was asking them." She motioned to Harry and Neville.
    

"Oh." Ron blushed.
    

Just as Harry opened his mouth to introduce himself, Ron jumped in again. "I know who you are!" He exclaimed, pointing. "You two are Harry Potter and Neville Longbottom!"
    

"It's Longbottom-Potter," Neville corrected a bit forcefully. Harry looked at his adopted brother. He knew how much family meant to Neville. He loved his Gran dearly and he still visited his real parents in St. Mungo's every Sunday. He was proud to be of the Longbottom bloodline, but his real family would always be the Potters. He couldn't stress that enough. Harry knew it irked Neville when people assumed he didn't take the Potter name.        

"Yeah, whatever." Ron waved away Neville's comment. "You two are the Boys-Who-Lived! How did I not recognize you two before?" Harry's eyes narrowed.
    

"Oh, I heard of you two!" Hermione jumped back into the conversation. "You two are in Hogwarts: A History. You survived an attack from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named! No one had ever done that before."
    

"Just because we lived doesn't make us famous," he said. Neville nodded, agreeing.
    

"It kinda does, mate," Ron put in. "Nobody had ever been lucky enough to survive when You-Know-Who came around. And then he attacks both of your families and you live! That's amazing!"
    

Harry ground his teeth. Even Neville seemed a bit on edge. "First off, I'm not your mate. Second off, Its not amazing. We could have been in grave danger. And thirdly, it had nothing to do with luck. My parents didn't trust their Secret Keeper and they moved without his knowledge. It's as simple as that."
    

"And I was with my Gran when my parents were attacked," Neville added. "That's the only reason why we survived. It had nothing to do with luck, but family instincts."
   

  Ron held his hands up. "Okay, okay. Sorry. Didn't mean to make your knickers get in a twist."
    

Harry glared and Ron shut up. All four sat in awkward silence for a while until Ron cleared his throat.
    

"Listen...I-uh....we started off on the wrong foot. I'm sorry. Can we start over?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck.
    

Harry stared at him for a moment then looked at Neville. They shared a look and looked back at Ron.
    

"Alright," they both said at the same time. Ron's eyes widened.
    

"Blimey! You two are like twins! You remind me of my older twin brothers, Fred and George." Harry and Neville grinned, the tension from earlier disappearing.
    

"My name's Harry Potter." Harry shook Ron's hand.
    

"I'm Neville Longbottom-Potter." Neville held out his hand and Hermione took it.
    

"I'm Ron Weasley." Ron shook Neville's hand.
    

"And I'm Hermione Granger." Harry took Hermione's.
    

All four beamed at each other. "I guess this means we're friends now?" Neville asked. All four nodded.
    

"Yep!"
    

"Something from the trolley, dear?" They heard an elderly women's voice ask. An older lady with a trolley full of candy and sweets poked her head in.
    

"Something from the trolley?" she asked again.
    

With their collected money, Harry and Neville bought nearly the entire cart, much to the displeasure of the old woman. Ron was ecstatic, and Hermione sniffed but took a chocolate frog.
    

"Mum and Dad wouldn't like this one bit," Hermione said, taking a chunk off the head. Ron gave her a funny look.
    

"They're dentists, you see," she explained.
    

"What's a dentist? Is it some Muggle thing?" Ron asked.
    

"They're doctors for your teeth," Harry said, popping a piece of a Licorice Wand into his mouth. "Mum takes us to them sometimes." Despite growing up in the wizarding world, Neville and Harry visited the Muggle world often with their mother and as such, were accustomed to Muggle doctors and dentists.
    

"Oh." They stuffed their mouth with the sweets until they felt sick and ready to burst. Ron laid on his back, rubbing his bulging belly. Neville and Harry were leaning against each other. Neville was snoring slightly and Harry had a hard time keeping his eyes open. Seeing one more chocolate frog, he opened it and caught the frog with ease.
    

He bit off the head and looked at the card. Another Dumbledore. He was going to toss it aside, but boredom made him keep the card in his hand. Despite him reading the card multiple times before, he turned it over and scanned the small words.
                                                              

'Albus Dumbledore
 Currently Headmaster of Hogwarts.                                                                Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times,                                        Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard, Grindewald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood,                                       and his work on Alchemy with his partner Nicholas Flamel.

Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and ten-pin bowling.'

     "Blah blah blah I already know. I've heard about you enough times from Uncle Padfoot to know you're crazy as hell," Harry mumbled, tossing aside the card.
      

Neville snorted awake. "Wot?" he slurred, blinking rapidly.
    

"It's nothing, Neville. Go back to sleep." Neville nodded and put his head back on Harry's shoulder. "What time is it anyway?" he asked to no one in particular.
    

Hermione looked at her watch. "It's around six thirty. We'll be there soon. We should probably change into our robes." She got up, and Ron groaned. He rolled over onto his stomach and slid off the seat.
    

"We'll be back, Harry, Neville. We're just going to get our stuff," Hermione said. With that, they exited the compartment, Ron still clutching his belly.
    

"I don't think I'll be able to fit into my robes anymore," he complained.
    

"Well, who's fault is that?" Hermione chastised. Neville and Harry snickered.
    

With great difficulty, they got up from their seat and located their trunks. They pulled on their robes over their clothes. Harry pinned the Hogwarts crest pin onto his chest and helped Neville pin his, who kept on poking himself in the finger.
    

As they waited on Ron and Hermione, Harry began to trace the outline of his pin. "I really wonder what house we'll be in," he whispered. Neville looked at him from tying his shoes.
    

"Yeah, I know. Me too." He looked down for a moment, watching Isis play with one of his shoe strings. "What if we end up in different houses?" he asked, a twinge of fear in his voice.
    

"I don't know," Harry replied, fear seeping into his as well. "It's going to be hard not having you with me all the time. But I do know one thing." Neville cocked an eyebrow.
    

"We'll stay brothers no matter what. Right?" Harry smiled and held out his fist.
    

Neville tapped his fist to Harry's. "Right. Brothers forever. No matter what." They hugged each other until Hermione came back, dragging Ron behind her, who still looked slightly sick. His robes were bulging around the stomach, but other than that his robes looked like they fit well despite his earlier protests.
    

"We're almost there. Look! You can see a bit of Hogwarts from the window!" All four crowded around the large window outside the compartment. Other students had the same idea, and Harry could hear excited whispers from the new first years as they got closer.
    

"Wow, is that really Hogwarts?"
    

"No, it's the candy shop. Of course it's Hogwarts!"
    

"It looks so big. How are we going to get to each class?"
     

"I think they might give us a map."
    

"Woah."
    

Harry shared the same thought, and no doubt Neville did too. His eyes were shining brightly, a smile wide on his face. Harry hadn't Neville this happy or excited since their dad and Uncle Padfoot took them to see the Australia verses America World Cup when they were nine.
    

The train slowed, and they gathered their things, stuffing candy wrappers and leftover candy into their pockets and inside their trunks. They hopped off the train, nearly getting lost in the sea of students.
    

"Firs' years over here! Firs' years!" A lantern came into view, swaying over the heads of other students.
    

"Hey, isn't that Hagrid?" Harry asked, squinting in the darkness.        

"I think it is!" Neville said excitedly. As fast as they could with trunks dragging behind them, they ran to the giant man. They dropped their trunks when they got near the him, something Hedwig did not appreciate, and hugged Hagrid around his middle.
    

"'Arry! Neville! It's good ta see ya! How yer been?" He patted both of them on the back, making their knees buckle.
    

"We're good!" they said at the same time and beamed. Hagrid chuckled. "Tha's good ta hear."
    

Other first years began crowding around Hagrid. Ron and Hermione came and stood next to them.
    

"Where did you go?" Hermione asked as Hagrid led them to the small boats.
    

"We went to go see Hagrid," Harry replied, motioning to the large man who got in a boat with three other terrifying looking kids. The four shared a boat, and they rode smoothly towards Hogwarts. Ron nearly hit his head when they passed through the tunnel, but Hermione pushed his head down just in time.
    

Bats flew overhead and a tentacle of what could only belong to the Giant Squid came into view. It toppled over one boat, sending four students into the inky black water. One girl screamed and covered her mouth with her hands, pure fear filling her eyes. "My brother was in there!"
    

Hagrid jumped in, nearly sending his boat over as well. He grabbed the soggy kids one by one and plopped them back in their boat. The girl reached for one boy over her boat, presumably her brother, and grasped his hand. Hagrid dove back in to get one last kid, a boy that was struggling to stay above water.
    

"That was awesome!" he said as Hagrid put him back in the boat. He pumped his fist in the air, a large grin on his face. Water dripped from his nose, and he sniffled and wiped it off. The occupants of his boat and some of the other students laughed. Harry and Neville laughed along as well.  
    

Harry couldn't help but notice that Neville continued to stare at the boy long after they had stopped laughing and seemed a bit flushed, but he said nothing about it. Instead he turned back to Hermione and Ron. Hermione was staring at Neville as well, her brows furrowed. He made eye contact with her and shook his head quickly, sending her a silent message of 'don't say anything.'
    

She seemed to understand his message because she nodded back and turned to start a conversation about the Squid with Ron. Soon, the boats stopped and everyone got out. Massive oak doors opened as they came closer and a older stern looking woman with a large pointy hat stood inside.
    

"I'll take them from here, Hagrid. Thank you," she said.
    

"No problem, P'rfesser McGonagall." Hagrid walked past them and into the castle. Professor McGonagall motioned for them to follow and they walked up a flight of stairs. They stopped in front of another pair of large oak wood doors. Harry could hear the chatter of the upperclassmen students inside.
    

Professor McGonagall turned to face them. "Welcome to Hogwarts," she began. Every student stopped their conversation and turned their eyes to the professor in front of them.
    

"In a few moments, you will pass through these doors and join your fellow classmates. But, before you do that, you must be sorted. You will be sorted into one of four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Slytherin. Your house will be like your family during your stay here. You must rely on each other in order to succeed and grow strong. Your triumphs will earn you points and your bad behavior and any rule breaking will lose you points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will earn the House Cup. That is a great honor to receive it. I wish you good luck." With that, she twirled back around, her robes billowing gracefully behind her, and pushed open the doors.
    

Harry and Neville looked at each other. This was it. The moment of truth. They intertwined their hands, gave each other a good luck smile, and followed the other students inside.  
    

Harry and Neville shared a gasp as they walked in. He had heard stories from his family about the Great Hall, but the stories didn't do it any justice. It was absolutely huge. Candles floated in the air, and Harry thought that was a bit dangerous. What if hot wax landed on your food or your face? But he saw the wax disintegrate a foot before it could hit any students or teachers and felt a little bit better.
    

The ceiling was charmed to look like the sky. Stars twinkled overhead, and Harry saw the full moon shine right in the middle of it all. It was a good thing his Uncle Moony wasn't there. He looked towards the teacher's table. There was Dumbledore, smiling at everyone, wearing horribly out of style unmatched clothing and looking just as barmy as his Uncle Padfoot had said. Hagrid sat on the other side of Dumbledore, and Harry waved. Hagrid waved back and gave a thumbs up. He continued down the line.
    

He saw Trelawny. His mother warned him about her. Apparently she was just as crazy as Dumbledore and gave false prophesies. After looking at her style that seemed to out-do Dumbledore and the way she stared at everyone behind her giant owl-like glasses, Harry had to agree completely with his mother. He saw a man with long black hair staring at him, and Harry felt a sense of familiarity. The man's eyes stared right into Harry's and Harry remembered someone with a soft baritone voice singing to him and strong, warm arms. Who was this man?
    

Neville was looking at the man as well, his eyes furrowed in concentration. "He looks familiar," he whispered to Harry.
    

"I know. I think we've met him somewhere before." McGonagall cleared her throat and the whole hall went silent. She took a three-legged stool from the teacher's table with a old beat up hat sitting atop of it. She placed it in front of the line of students. All the first years looked at each other confused while the upper years just smirked.
    

The newbies gasped when the brim of the hat opened and it began to talk.
    

*Oh you may not think me pretty, 
But don't judge on what you see, 
I'll eat myself if you can find 
A smarter hat than me. 
You can keep your bowlers black, 
Your top hats sleek and tall, 
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat 
And I can cap them all. 
There's nothing hidden in your head 
The Sorting Hat can't see, 
So try me on and I will tell you 
Where you ought to be. 

You might belong in Gryffindor, 
Where dwell the brave at heart, 
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry 
Sets Gryffindor apart; 
You might belong in Hufflepuff, 
Where they are just and loyal, 
Those patient Hufflepuffsare true 
And unafraid of toil; 
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, 
if you've a ready mind, 
Where those of wit and learning, 
Will always find their kind; 
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends, 
Those cunning folks use any means 
To achieve their ends. 

So put me on! Don't be afraid! 
And don't get in a flap! 
You're in safe hands (though I have none) 
For I'm a Thinking Cap!*        

The students clapped when the hat finished. Harry just stared at it in confusion. That old raggedy thing was going to sort them? Before Harry could ponder on it further, Professor McGonagall pulled out a long roll of parchment and began reading names.
    

"Abbot, Hannah."
    

A small mousy-haired girl behind Harry walked forward shakily and placed the hat on her head. The hat fell down nearly to her ears. After a moment, the brim opened up again and shouted "HUFFLEPUFF!" Hannah took the hat off and ran to the clapping Hufflepuff table.
    

It went like that for a while in alphabetical order. Several students went to Gryffindor and Ravenclaw and a few went to Slytherin. About five went to Hufflepuff.
    

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!" The drowning boy from the boat walked forward, leaving tiny puddles of water in his wake. Harry noticed Neville began paying rapt attention when he saw the boy. Justin placed the hat on his head and not even a minute later the hat yelled out "HUFFLEPUFF!".
    

"I wouldn't mind being in Hufflepuff if he's there," Neville said.

"What?" Harry asked, making sure he heard correctly. Neville blushed a bit, his ears turning red.
    

"N-nothing. I said nothing."
    

Hermione's name was called, and Ron, Harry and Neville cheered along with the students when she was placed in Ravenclaw.
    

"Longbottom-Potter, Neville."
    

Neville gulped, gave Harry a small nervous smile, and began walking forward.
                                                                          

*`*`*`*`
    

Neville personally didn't know what to expect from the hat, but it certainly wasn't this. It was old and wrinkly and smelled and it went right over his ears, blocking everyone from sight and consumed him in darkness.
    

Hey now, I don't smell that bad. Dumbledore cleans me every ten years or so.
    

Who are you? He thought.
    

I am the Sorting Hat. I am the one who places you in your house.
    

Oh. Where will I go?
    

Hold your horses, lad. I need to analyze you first.        

Neville didn't like the sound of that. Tales of the creepy men that peeked at children that his Uncle Padfoot told came into his mind.
    

Hey, hey! None of that now. That is very inappropriate. I'm not going to analyze you like that, silly child. I'm just going to look at your traits and decide which house best suits you. Now, lets see. Brave, oh yes very so. You can be a very good student in Gryffindor. You'd make them proud. Oh, you are very smart, too. Ravenclaw wouldn't be too shabby either. You have some brains kid, I can tell you that. And cunning as well! Oh ho! I'm sure living with the famous Marauders has taught you a thing or two. You are quite the pickle, Mr. Longbottom-Potter. Quite the pickle.
    

The who? Neville questioned. Who in Hades was the Marauders?
    

No, not the band. Neville blinked. Did the Sorting Hat just make a Muggle band reference?
    

You are extremely loyal to your family. Very, very so. You value your family more than anything else, don't you? You remind me a lot of your mother. She was very loyal as well.
     

My mum? You mean Lily, right?
    

While you do share some traits with her, that is not who I am talking about. I am talking about Alice, your birth mother. She valued family and friendship over anything else and would fight to the death for those she loved.
    

 And she was driven insane because of it. Because she was trying to protect me. Neville thought bitterly. 
    

Don't think like that, child. She loved you dearly, and I am sure she still does. You are very difficult to place, dear boy. Very difficult. You share traits with all the houses!
    

I just want to go to a place where I can be me and not be judged or thought of as one of the Boys-Who-Lived. I want people to accept me for who I am: Neville Longbottom-Potter. Not some famous kid.
    

Hmmm....OH! Well then I have the perfect place for you, child.
    

Where?
    

I think you belong in HUFFLEPUFF!
    

Neville took off the hat, his tie changing from the Hogwarts standard color to yellow and black, and stood up. He heard clapping from the Hufflepuff table and followed the noise in a daze. Hufflepuff. He was placed in Hufflepuff. The leftovers.
    

'No, not the leftovers.' He thought to himself as he saw Harry in line. He gave a small wave and smile, and Harry returned it, a proud smile of his own on his face.
    

'The house of badgers. Watch out, Hogwarts! You don't want to get between this badger and his family!'
                                                                          

*`*`*`*`
    

'Great', Harry thought as he waved to Neville. The entire Hufflepuff table was in a frenzy. "We got Neville! We got Neville!" they cheered.
    

'Now what am I going to do?' There was no way Harry would be sorted into Hufflepuff. He was loyal, sure, but not enough to be guaranteed a place in the house of badgers. He would just have to persuade the hat somehow to place Harry there.
    

"Malfoy, Draco!" Harry stilled. He watched the blond boy strut towards the stool. The hat barely touched his head when it shouted out "SLYTHERIN!" As Malfoy swaggered to the Slytherin table, Harry vowed that if he somehow ended up in Slytherin, he would avoid that weasel at all costs.
    

"Potter, Harry!" Harry ignored the excited whispers and walked proudly forward, careful not to step in one of the puddles left by Justin. He sat down on the stool and McGonagall placed the hat on Harry's head, plunging him into darkness.
    

Well hello there, child. The voice of the Sorting Hat greeted.
    

Hufflepuff Hufflepuff Hufflepuff. He thought rapidly. I want to be in Hufflepuff with Neville!
    

Woah, woah! Calm down, child. Let me analyze you first.  Let's see...
    

HufflepuffHufflepuffHufflepuff
    

Shh! Quiet, Harry. You are giving me a headache. And I can't even get those! I will place you where I see fit, and if you do not end up with your brother than so be it. Now, you are brave and believe in justice. That's good. Very good. You could do well in Gryffindor, but wait...
    

What? What is it?
    

You have a thirst to prove yourself. You are like Neville. You want to be seen as more than just a Boy-Who-Lived.
    

Yes.
    

You could be in Hufflepuff, but I do not think you could thrive there. You would be happy to be with your brother, but you would not truly belong. You would be left out. No, Hufflepuff is not the place for you. By Godric, both of you are near geniuses. Your mother raised you right, she has. Ravenclaw would be a fine choice as well. Harry puffed out his chest at that.
      

You have your honor and you value the strength in others. You're cunning, no doubt thanks to the Marauders, and ambition is what defines you, is it not? Very resourceful, too. Just like your uncle.
    

My uncle?
    

The Sorting Hat ignored him. I know just where to place you, dear boy. There is only one place for you to thrive. And that place is SLYTHERIN!
    

McGonagall took off the hat, and silence fell over the Great Hall. Even Ron and Hermione looked shocked. There was a moments beat, then Neville stood up and began clapping. That started it. The Slytherin table stood up and began to clap and cheer, and Harry felt a bit overwhelmed. As his tie changed to green and silver, he walked confidently towards the Slytherin house, ignoring the rude mumblings of the Gryffindors as he passed.
    

Harry sat down and almost instantly was bombarded with questions and stares by the other students. Harry felt really uncomfortable. He looked over to Neville to see if he was getting the same treatment, and saw that he was getting asked a million questions as well. They made eye contact and shrugged.
    

Ron went to Gryffindor, which Harry found funny. 'One in each house.' he thought. Hermione, the smart one, Harry, the cunning one, Neville, the loyal one and Ron...well, he was certainly brash, if their first meeting said anything about that.
    

There was only one more student left to sort after Ron, and Blaise Zabini went to Slytherin as well. As soon as the dark skinned boy sat down, Malfoy slithered towards Harry, shoving a boy out of the seat next to him. 'So much for staying away.'
    

"So, ickle Potter got sorted into the snake's lair. What would your dear Gryffindor parents think? They'd probably disown you on the spot." He laughed and his cronies Crabbe and Goyle laughed along a bit forcefully, slapping their knees.
    

"Shut up, Malfoy. My parents would be proud no matter where I was sorted," he growled, grapping his wand from his pocket.
    

"Obviously, if Longbottom got into Hufflepuff."
    

"It's Longbottom-Potter. He's just as a Potter as he is a Longbottom. And don't you forget it!" Blaise chose that moment to maneuver his way between Harry and Malfoy, blocking each other from the other's view.
    

"All right, break it up you two. You don't want to lose Slytherin any house points before the school year has even started, do you? You'll really be famous then, Potter. The-Boy-Who-Cost-Slytherin-The-House-Cup. Wouldn't that be a shame?" He made shooing motions towards Malfoy, who grumbled something inappropriate and slinked away, Crabbe and Goyle on his heels.
    

"Thanks," Harry said, glaring at the back of Malfoy's grease slicked hair. He held out his hand. "I'm Harry Potter."
    

The other boy shook his hand. "Blaise Zabini. It's a pleasure to meet you."
    

"You as well."
     

They were interrupted by Dumbledore standing up. The entire hall went quiet. The old man cleared his throat.
    

"Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts. To the first years, welcome! To the ones returning, hello again! It is so nice to see your bright and shining faces. Just a quick little memento: The Forbidden Forest is named such because it is in fact forbidden. Shocker, yes, I know. No student should be wandering the woods for any reason at all." He gave a pointed look towards the Weasley Twins, who shrugged innocently. "If you are caught exploring, you will receive a detention and loss of points. The right wing third floor corridor is forbidden as well. I would advise not going there unless you wish to experience a very painful and immediate death."
    

Harry blanched. What kind of school was this? His parents never said anything about death.
    

"A reminder to all students that spell casting and wand waving is not allowed in the halls. We do not want a repeat of last year." The older students laughed. Harry personally didn't want to know.
    

"Also, before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! That is all. I hope you enjoy your dinner."
    

Harry gaped as Dumbledore sat down and food appeared on their tables.
    

"He really is mad, isn't he?"
    

"Mad? He's a genius!" Blaise said, piling his plate full of pork chops, mashed potatoes and black eyed peas. "One of the best wizards in the world, according to Mama. But he is a bit mad, yes. Macaroni and cheese, Harry?" Blaise held up a giant spoonful of the gooey cheesy goodness. Harry licked his lips and held out his plate.
    

"Yes, please!"
                                                                       

    *`*`*`*`
    

Neville fidgeted a bit in his seat, trying his hardest not to look Justin in the eye. Why did he have to sit opposite to the other boy? Why? He knew it was going to end badly for him.
    

Justin seemed to notice his internal struggle, because he leaned closer, making Neville blush furiously. "Are you alright, Neville?" he asked in his heavy accent.
    

"Y-yeah. I'm fine. Don't need to worry about me. I'm just...nervous, is all."
    

"Ah. I know what you mean! When I first got my letter, I thought it was a hoax. I mean, a magic castle school? What? My mom didn't believe it until Professor Dumbledore came later on and explained everything." Seeing Neville's confused face, he added, "I'm a Muggleborn, you see."
    

"Oh."
    

"I was so scared coming here. I didn't know what to expect. What if it really was just a huge elaborate hoax? But deep down I knew it wasn't. I always made something happen, you see. There was this one time when I was three I made my stuffed bear fly down from the top shelf. Mum went bonkers! Da' caught it all on video too! I saw it just the other day, right before I came here."
    

Neville's unease and embarrassment slowly slipped away as he and Justin talked. Finally, dessert came. All the dinner food disappeared, being replaced by toppling sweets. One kid was in the middle of taking a bite out of a turkey leg when it disappeared and wound up biting nothing but air instead. The students giggled at his confused face.
    

He pushed an orange off his plate. "Eugh. Want an orange, Justin?" he asked, motioning towards the fruit.
    

Justin wrinkled his nose. "No thanks. I'm really allergic. Just one touch could send me to the Hospital Wing."
    

Neville quickly moved the fruit far away from Justin. "Yeah, me too. I'm not as allergic as you, though. I can touch 'em, I just can't eat 'em. If I lick even the peel, my tongue will swell three times it's size." He held his hands apart in front of his mouth and stuck his tongue out for emphasis. Justin laughed.
    

"Well, be careful what you eat then. I see about five plates that have orange peel shavings. Including that chocolate one you're about to eat." Neville stopped the spoon just before it hit his mouth. Sure enough, there were shaved orange peels on top of his chocolate pudding. He set the spoon back down on the plate and pushed it away.
    

"Shouldn't they give out warnings or something before making all this food? What if a student ate something they're allergic to without noticing?" he said.
    

"Exactly! We should start a petition." Justin banged his spoon on the table, sending vanilla yoghurt flying into the face of the girl sitting next to him. Neville snickered.
    

"As if the ministry would ever let that happen. They don't give a rat's behind what happens to the students as long as they continued getting funded from Hogwarts."
    

Justin cocked his head sideways. "Really? They really don't care?"
    

"Eh..." Neville began backtracking. "I mean, they do. To an extent. The Minister is a right moron, and there have been instances where they don't help unless it met their needs. So, yeah, I guess they care, but not much. Now, if we had a different Minister, like Kingsley Shacklebolt, then we'd be okay. He's amazing and takes everyone's problems into account. He's one of the Ministry's best Aurors. He's great friends with my Dad and uncles, too."
    

"He sounds like a nice guy," Justin said, finishing off his yoghurt. Neville nodded. Justin seemed thoughtful.
    

"When I get out of Hogwarts, I'm going to become Minister of Magic! Then the students would have nothing to worry about, and I can make everything better!" he said with such conviction that Neville began to get a bit inspired himself.
    

"You go for it, Justin!"
    

The teachers at the staff table began to rise, and the students followed suit. A kind looking plump woman with a belt full of gardening tools came and stood in front of their table.
    

"Everyone, follow me! We're going back to the common room!" They followed her in a single file line, starting from the first years up. Neville passed by Harry as they walked out the Great Hall, and he held out his fist. Harry tapped his fist to Neville's and they made an explosion noise as they drew their hands away. Harry accidentally stepped on the robes of the long-haired man from before. The man sneered, but did nothing otherwise, just kept on walking. He guessed that was the Slytherin Head of House. He felt kind of bad for Harry. At least the Hufflepuff Head of House looked nice.
    

They walked down towards the kitchens then took a right to the Hufflepuff Basements. Neville felt a bit claustrophobic as the walls got narrower and closer. He blushed a bright red when he accidentally tripped and Justin caught him.
    

"Hey, watch where you going next time, okay?" he said as he helped brush off the dust on Neville's pants.
    

"O-okay." They stopped in front of what looked like a Hobbit hole surrounded by barrels. Their Head of House turned to face them.
    

"Listen very closely! I am only going to show you this once! This," she motioned towards the Hobbit hole, "Is the Hufflepuff common room. These barrels are the password. What you need to do is tap these four barrels," she pointed towards the farthest barrels on either side, "with your wand in the pattern of "Helga Hufflepuff". Like this."
    

She tapped one. "Hel," then the farthest to the right. "Ga." Then she tapped one twice. "Huff-le" then the last one. "Puff. Now, be warned. If you do not tap those four barrels or you do not tap them in the right order, the barrels will explode and soak you completely with vinegar." Neville wrinkled his nose. He needed to memorize the pattern quickly then.
      

"Let's go in, shall we?"
    

The door opened as she got closer and closed automatically after the last student came in. Neville gasped. The room was a lot bigger than he expected. A fireplace was roaring, despite it being summer. Dark brown couches and two armchairs sat in front of it on an earthy rug. Multiple round tables with little wicker chairs with sewn on pillows were scattered around the room. A giant painting of what Neville suspected to be Helga Hufflepuff  was above the fireplace. Bookshelves lined the walls and a banner sporting the Hufflepuff crest was hung above small circular windows that showed the night sky and had potted plants on the sill of each one. Overall, it looked like a cozy little cabin that someone would vacation in. Neville loved it. It would be better if Harry were there to experience it as well, but he couldn't help that.
    

The upper year students went past the first years and began walking to their dormitories. The first years crowded around their Head od House excitedly, whispering and pointing at the little knickknacks on the bookshelves.
    

"Now, let me formally introduce you to Hufflepuff!" She spread her arms out wide, and Neville honestly expected some sort of confetti or an explosion to happen, but it didn't. He was a bit disappointed.
    

"I am your Head of House, Professor Sprout. I am also the Herbology teacher for Hogwarts. During your stay at Hogwarts, Hufflepuff will be your family. I'm sure Professor McGonagall gave you the speech already, but what she said is true. You must rely on and help each other in order to succeed. Hufflepuff are notorious for being loyal, and that is because we value who we have. We work hard to succeed. You may also have heard some people say that Hufflepuffs are the "rejects" or "leftover" students at Hogwarts," Neville nodded, as did some others, "but let me tell you one thing. We are not rejects, and we are not leftovers. We are human beings who will fight for those we love. We are just as important to Hogwarts as the other houses, and do not let anyone tell you otherwise. You must stick together, or they will continue to look down on us. We are a unit, and we will continue to live up to the expectations of our founder."
    

The students cheered and clapped, and Professor Sprout beamed at them like a proud mother.
    

"Now, to be a bit of a downer. It is time for the rules." The kids "aww'ed". "I know I know. But every house has them. There are not many, however. If you follow these simple rules, your stay here will be enjoyable. First through third years' bedtime is at nine o'clock. Yes I know it's a bit early but quit wining. Every day after you come back from class, you will work on homework or study for an hour. If you wish, but I highly doubt any one will, you may work on it longer to finish faster. I may just bend the rules for bedtime for this, but only if you get work done! I do not want you to say you will be studying or doing homework and come to find out you have been dilly-dallying around! You may bring someone from another house in to visit, but you must be approved by a prefect or myself first and they must leave before your bedtime. I don't want any late night shenanigans." Some of the first years snickered. Professor Sprout rolled her eyes.
    

"We will all go to breakfast and dinner together, and we will all return together. You may sit with another house during meals if it is approved by the Head of House, and you can invite only up to four people to sit at our table. There is only so much room, you know. You are absolutely forbidden from going to the kitchens at night. If I find that you have snuck in food or you are out after curfew, I do not care that you are my house, I will take away points. And lastly, for those of you that have pets, I expect you to take care of them and clean up after them. I do not want this room to smell like a barn. Is that all clear?"
    

At the students' "Yes, Professor Sprout!" she clapped her hands together. "Great! Wonderful! Now, there are privileges you can earn as well. On the wall back there, everyone's name has been written down. If you do something good, like earn Hufflepuff points or do great on your school work, you will receive a point, much like the point system for the houses. You can earn and lose points, which will be dictated by the prefects and myself. The person with twenty points at the end of each week will receive a prize of their choice, such as staying up later or food from the kitchen or prolonged visiting time with friends." The kids all looked excited. Neville promised himself that he would do every good deed in the book in order to get those twenty points each week so Harry could stay longer.
    

"I am so glad to see that you all have made it into my house. Now, it is eight thirty. You have thirty minutes to pick a bed and get ready to turn in for tonight. I will be checking to see if everyone is in bed by nine. Go on, now. Get ready."
    

There were multiple other little Hobbit holes in the wall. One side said 'Girls' and another said 'Boys'. Neville chose one at random on the boy's side, and was pleased to see that Justin was following him in. There were five four poster beds in a semicircle with side tables on either side. Dark earthy brown tapestries hung from the rafts with yellow vertical stripes. A bookshelf was underneath a circular window. The crest of Hufflepuff was above one bed at the end. Neville chose one on the end, underneath the crest, and Justin chose the one opposite him. As soon as he sat down on the bed, his trunk appeared. Three other boys climbed in as Neville was changing into his pajamas. The one that took the bed next to Neville flipped off his shoes and they flew right by him, nearly hitting his head.
    

"Oh, shit! Sorry, mate," he apologized as he grabbed his shoe back.
    

"It's fine." He grabbed his toiletries and headed for the bathroom. He quickly brushed his teeth and washed his face and returned back to his room. When he walked back in, he saw Isis curled up into a ball on one of his pillows. Trevor was chilling out on the lampshade on his bedside table.
    

"Alright, move over, Isis." He nudged his cat. She gave him a glare, her blue eyes glittering, and hopped off to curl on top of his trunk. He pulled out some parchment and a self-inking Quill and began to write.
    

Dear Mum and Dad, you'll never believe what houses Harry and I got sorted into...
                                                                     

*`*`*`*`
    

Severus tried to keep the annoyance out of his voice as he told the welcoming speech and rules. Potter was looking at everywhere but him, which irked him to no end. If he thought he didn't need to listen, then it was his own problem. He could figure out the rules and procedures on his own.
    

"And finally, nobody from outside our house is allowed inside the Slytherin common room. We have prided ourselves for successfully keeping our place hidden for the last five centuries. We will not stop just because you wish to chit chat. If you wish to visit your friends from another house, I would suggest going to their common room. Anyone that gives the password or location will get immediate detention and a loss of points. Do I make myself clear?"
    

All of his first year snakes except for Potter chorused "Yes, sir!" and went to find their beds. Severus watched as Blaise Zabini grabbed Potter's hand and led him towards the first year dormitories. Hopefully he would relay the message he had just spent and hour ranting.
    

He didn't know what to feel about the youngest Potter being in Slytherin. On one hand, he was proud that Potter didn't believe the hype of Slytherins and rejected his house, most likely thanks to Lily. On the other, he knew James was going to send him a letter (or with his bad luck, a Howler) with some very choice words and possibly try and "talk" to his son. The man still couldn't get it wrapped around his thick head that Slytherin was not the only house to protruded Dark wizards, despite the fact that he had nearly been destroyed by one of his own friends.
    

After it was a bit past the children's bedtimes, he walked towards the first year boy's dormitory, taking the steps two at a time. He knocked, just in case. He really didn't need to see some things. When no shouts of protest rose, he turned the knob and entered. All of the boys were either under the covers already asleep or just getting into bed. The only one that was not in bed, or even in his pajamas for that matter, was Potter. He was sitting at one of the desks, writing a letter presumably to his parents. When the door opened, he jumped up quickly and dived for his covers, but they both knew Severus had already seen.
    

"Mr. Potter, what are you doing? You should already be in bed like your other dorm mates." The boy fidgeted a bit, not looking at Severus.
    

"I was writing a letter to my parents. They want to get an update of where I was sorted and my first day here."
    

Severus quirked an eyebrow. "Be that as it may, you need rest." A loud snore from Malfoy interrupted him and he and Potter grimaced. "You can finish your letter tomorrow and send it during breakfast."
    

"Oh, I'm already finished, sir. It wasn't that long. But I guess I'll send it with Hedwig in the morning." Potter began to take off his shoes and socks.
    

Severus didn't know what prompted him, but he picked up the letter and folded it. "I'll mail it with my owl, Mr. Potter. You go to sleep. You are going to have a big day tomorrow."
    

Severus was just about to exit the dormitory when he heard: "Thanks, Uncle Sev!" He stilled, one foot out the door. He turned. Potter looked just as shocked as he felt. His eyes were wide, almost comically so, and his mouth hung open in a perfect 'o'.
    

"I-I didn't mean it-I...I don't know why I said that. I'm so sorry-" Potter stuttered. Severus said nothing. He just turned back around and walked out.
    

He tried to lock the memory away as he walked back to his chambers, letter clutched in his hand. He hadn't been called that name in so long, it felt almost weird being called that again. His heart clenched. It had been so long since he had seen Harry and Neville. He knew he should have visited them more often, but he knew his presence wasn't welcome in their home. So he had kept his distance.
    

He had a duty anyway. He still kept tabs on Lucius Malfoy and the Death Eaters that had escaped. He still stayed in their good graces for information. It wouldn't do to be seen in the company of the Potters. It hurt, it really did. He used to love baby sitting those boys on full moon nights when the Marauders and Lily had taken to their Animagus forms for Lupin. But then Lucius was freed of all charges and he had to leave.
    

He pushed open the door to his rooms, and Apollo flew down from his perch and nipped his ear.
    

"Hello, boy. Did you miss me?" He scratched behind his owl's head, which prompted a happy hoot from the bird. He fed Apollo an owl treat, and he flew back to his perch to munch on it.
    

"Don't get too comfortable there. I'm going to need you to mail some letters in a minute." Apollo hooted an affirmative. He got out his own ink and quill and dug around in his drawer for a spare piece of blank parchment.
    

Lily, It began. After a moments thought, he added and James.
    

As your trusted adviser and your friend, I deemed it appropriate to update you on some things. You may have already read the letters from your sons, but if you have not done so already, let me inform you.
    

Neville has been sorted into Hufflepuff. Just like Alice. It took the hat a while to decide. I believe it is because he shares traits with all four houses, but that may not have been the case. It is just speculation.He has already made a friend as well, it seems. He has become friends with a Hufflepuff boy named Justin Finch-Fletchely.He is in the capable hands of Pomona Sprout now. I trust no one better to take care of him. Believe me when I say that she will be a good mother-figure and protector to him while he is here.
    

Harry has been sorted into my house, Slytherin. Before James blows up, let me tell you that I will make sure nothing happens to him. He will be under my protection. I will keep him in line and make sure he will do good in his classes. If not, I will ask for your advise on what to do with him.
    

He has also made a friend, the Heir to the Pureblood Zabini family. I do not know about this friendship, seeing as his father was a Death Eater. But his mother is known for being purely Light, so we will have to see. Harry also got into a spat with the Malfoy Heir during the Welcoming Feast. Zabini broke them up. It was a good thing, too. Harry and Malfoy had both began to pull out their wands. Merlin only knows what would have happened if the boy hadn't broken them up.
    

As promised, I will watch over both of them to the best of my abilities. I will also make sure Malfoy does not get under Harry's skin. You have my promise that I will do everything in my power to ensure that Harry and Neville come back unharmed and have many great stories to tell of their first year here at Hogwarts. I will keep you updated.
         

Regards,                          

-S. Snape

     He rolled up the parchment and attached it to Apollo's leg along with Potter's letter. He opened his window, and the black owl flew out into the night sky, melding in with the darkness.    

"WHAT?" James and Sirius both yelled as they scanned over Harry and Neville's letters. Lily and Remus rolled their eyes as they continued on Severus'.

"Really, James. It's not that bad," Lily tried consoling her husband. Finished, she rolled up the letter in her hands and handed it to Remus who threw it away in the trash can.

     "Not that bad? Not that bad? Lily, Harry's a Slytherin. And Snape is his Head of House! It's really bad! At least Neville got sorted into a Light house. Snivelly is going to turn Harry Dark, mark my words!" Sirius nodded along passively.

     Lily resisted the urge to rub her forehead and sigh. "James..."

     "No, Lily. You don't understand-"

     "Oh, I don't understand, do I?" James quickly snapped his mouth close. "I understand perfectly, James. You don't understand. Severus would do nothing to harm Harry or "turn him Dark". He loves Harry just as much as you do." Sirius snorted and Lily sent him a glare.

     "Be glad for him, James. Harry is in a place where he can finally make friends and be with other people besides Neville. It will be good for him to branch out. And what's wrong with being a Slytherin, anyway?" She sent a pointed glare. James gulped. He knew just as much as anyone else that Lily came very close to being in Slytherin, and she showed it constantly.

     "I-uh, well yeah. I guess not. I am proud of them.They will make their houses proud." Lily nodded, glad she made her point and James accepted. Sirius still looked a bit peeved, but wisely said nothing. "But I'm still writing a letter to Snape!" James added. Lily groaned.

     "Me, too!" Sirius joined in. They both went to the living room and came back with a large roll of parchment. They sat down at the kitchen table and just as they both put their quill to the paper, Remus cleared his throat. He pointed to his hand-me-down watch.

     "It's already six thirty. You're going to be late. Again. Moody's going to have your hide." Both James and Sirius looked at each other then at Remus.

     "Holy f--!" They scrambled over each other as they headed towards their bedrooms. They came out a moment later with their Auror uniform in different stages of disarray. Sirius had his on backwards and James had only one arm in, the other flapping behind him as they ran to the fireplace.

     "Ministry of Magic!" they both called out and in a flash of green was gone.

     Lily sighed, running her hand through her long auburn hair. "I swear those two haven't aged a bit since Hogwarts."

     Remus snorted, the laughter making his sunken eyes shine. "I'm right with you."



                                                             *`*`*`*`         

      Harry tried his best to avoid Snape as much as possible the next day. He still couldn't believe he had said that to the man. He didn't know what came over him.The name just popped into his head, and it seemed right. He was definitely in trouble now. He just knew it.

     He walked beside Blaise on their way to breakfast. Hermione and Ron joined them as they passed each common room. Neville walked past them with the other Hufflepuffs and Harry, Ron and Hermione waved. Neville smiled wide and waved back. Justin poked Neville and he turned back to their conversation.

     They went to their respective tables and food popped into existence in front of them. Harry chowed down on pancakes with strawberries and Blaise filled his plate with French toast, smothering it with syrup and butter.

     "Does your family usually allow you to eat like that?" Harry asked, motioning with his fork towards the mass of syrup and soggy cinnamon toast.

     "Nope!" Blaise replied, crumbs flying from his overfull mouth. "But they're not here, so I can do what I want." Harry snorted and went back to his pancakes. One of the Prefects stood, a stack of papers in his arms. He began calling out names and giving a piece of paper to each person he called out.

"Harry Potter!" Harry raised his hand and the sixth year Prefect gave him a piece of paper.

     "Wha's tha'?" Blaise asked with his mouth full, peering over Harry's shoulder. A bit of toast landed on the corner of the paper and Harry flicked it off.

     "You'll see when you get your own!" Harry shoved Blaise back towards his plate. Blaise was back not a second later, physically moving Harry when he landed his head against his shoulder.

     "But I'm the last one on the list! It'll be ages before I get mine! Come on, let me see!" Blaise wined. Harry rolled his eyes but brought the paper into Blaise's line of sight.

     "I think it's our schedule for this week. Let's see..." Harry peered at his schedule.

Monday:


7:00 am-8:30 am- Breakfast


9:00 am-10:00 am- Flying lessons w/ Madam Hooch.


10:30 am-11:00 am- Introduction to Hogwarts

11:30 am-2:00 pm-Lunch and Meet and Greet


2:30 pm-4:00 pm- Dorm


4:30 pm-6:00 pm-Dinner



Tuesday:


7:00 am- 8:30 am- Breakfast


9:00 am-10:00 am- Beginner Potions (w/ Gryffindor)


10:30 am- 11:30 am- Transfiguration (w/ Ravenclaw)


12:00 pm- 200:pm- Lunch


2:30pm-3:30 pm-Defense Against the Dark Arts (w/ Hufflepuff)


4:30- 6:00 pm-Dinner



Wednesday


7:00 am- 8:30 am- Breakfast


9:00 am-10:00 am- Charms (w/ Ravenclaw)


10:30 am-11:30 am- Herbology (w/ Hufflepuff)


12:00 pm.-2:00 pm- Lunch

 2:30pm- 3:30 pm- History of Magic (w/ Gryffindor)

4:30pm- 6:00pm- Dinner


     "It repeats the sequence from Tuesday onward after Wednesday," Harry noted, putting down his paper and resumed eating his pancakes.

     "Blaise Zabini!"

     "Oh great. Now I get my schedule!" Blaise groaned and took the paper. "Hey, after this we get flying lessons! That's going to be awesome!"

     "I already know how to fly. My dad taught me and Neville when we were seven." He took a sip of pumpkin juice.

     Blaise pouted. "No fair! You two are going to be ahead of everyone else!" Harry grinned cheekily at him.

     "I bet you're not as good as me, Potter!" Malfoy said. He moved from his seat and sat right in front of Harry. Harry noted that Professor Snape was staring at them with interest.

     "My father got the best flyers from the world to teach me!" Malfoy sniffed haughtily and held up his chin, as if that piece of news was supposed to be impressive.

     Harry ignored him, focusing on his food instead. Blaise joined in, filling his plate with more French toast and adding bacon into the mix that time.

     Malfoy didn't like being ignored one bit. He slammed his hand down in front of Harry's plate, making a strawberry fall off and roll onto the floor.

     "Potter! I'm talking to you! Listen to me!" He hissed. Harry got another strawberry out of the fruit bowl and ate it.

     "Do you hear anything, Blaise?" Harry asked.

     "Nope. Nothing but the wind."

     Harry resisted the urge to snicker as Malfoy seethed. "Why you-! How dare you ignore me! Do you know who I am?" He shrieked, his voice going up several octaves.

     "I swear I'm hearing something, Blaise. It sounds like a little nagging fly."

     Malfoy jumped up, his face beet red, and pulled out his wand. A tall shadow appeared behind him.

     "Mr. Malfoy."

     Malfoy spun around, his face going even paler than it usually was. Snape stood over him, annoyance etched into every part of his face.

     "I would appreciate it if you do not start fights at the table. I do not want to send someone to the Infirmary on their second day."

     Malfoy resembled a fish out of water at that moment. His mouth was opening and closing, but nothing came out.

     "B-but Potter! He-" he managed to stutter out.

     "I do not care what Mr. Potter did, Mr. Malfoy. I do not wish to see you first years fighting. I would keep that in mind for next time unless you want a detention. And you," Snape focused his look at Harry.

     "I do not want you two egging him on or you will wind up in the same predicament with Mr. Malfoy. Do I make myself clear?" All three nodded rapidly.

     "Good. I would suggest you move back to your seat and try and not bother anyone again, Mr. Malfoy." With that, Snape turned back around and headed back towards the teacher's table. Malfoy gave Harry a glare but moved back and sat next to Crabbe and Goyle.

      The bell rang a little bit later, signaling the end of breakfast. Harry and Blaise gathered their things and walked with the rest of the Slytherins to the Quidditch Pitch. Harry was glad to see that there were a group of other students from each house. He saw Ron with the Gryffindors, Hermione with the ten or so Ravenclaws and Neville was with a small group of Hufflepuffs.

     They each got beside a broom that was laying on the ground. Harry and Blaise went and stood beside Neville. Justin waved from the other side and Harry grinned and waved back.

     "Hey. I'm Justin. Nice to meet you."

     "I'm Harry. Nice to meet you too."

     "Blaise Zabini. Pleasure."

     They heard a whoop and all the students turned towards the sky. Someone was doing figure eights and loop-de-loops in the sky. They skidded to a halt in front of the line of students. An older looking woman with spikey grey hair that looked even more disheveled that Harry's took off her flying goggles. She had on striped robes, a referee uniform for Quidditch. Harry's first thought when he saw her was 'awesome'.
    
     "Alright, munchkins! Time to learn how to fly. I'm Madam Hooch, and I'll be your flying instructor for this evening." She blew her whistle, and multiple students that were right in front of her clutched their ears.

     "First things first. Hold out your hand over your broom and say "Up!"

     Harry  and Neville did as they were told and instantly their brooms shot into their hands. They grinned at each other. Justin's took two tries before his broom went into his hand. Ron's shook a bit then came shooting up, smacking him in the face, and Hermione's just rolled over. Blaise's shot up almost as instantly as Harry and Neville's.

     "Alright!" Hooch said once everybody had their brooms in their hands. "Now, you mount the brooms." She went around to everyone and showed them the proper way to sit. Harry, Blaise, and Neville snickered when she told Malfoy that he had been doing it wrong for years. 'So much for the best flyers in the world' Harry thought. Malfoy's face turned red and he flipped Harry off when Hooch wasn't looking.

     "On the count of three, push off the ground and hover. Do not go any higher than three feet! One..two..thr-"

     Neville got too excited and shot off early. He steadily rose higher and higher until he looked like he could touch the clouds.

     "Neville! Use what Dad taught us!" Harry yelled.

     "I'm trying!" he shrieked back, flailing his legs. "It's not working!"

     "Hold on, Mr. Longbottom-Potter! I'm coming!" Hooch took off, leaving a cloud of dust in her wake. She got to him and grabbed his broom handle. She slowly came back down, manipulating two brooms. Neville's face was a bit red. Harry couldn't blame him. After all their dad had taught them, Neville had just threw that out the window.

     About ten feet from the ground, Neville lost his balance and fell. Harry heard a crack! as he landed and Neville cried out. Harry, Justin, Hermione and Ron ran towards the fallen figure. Blaise came along as well but stayed back a bit.

     "Are you okay, Neville?" All five asked. Harry helped him sit up. Neville sniffed.

     "I think so." He tried to move his right hand to his forehead and flinched. "Ow. I think it might be broke."

     Harry tutted. "It wouldn't be the first time."

     Hooch came over, moving Harry out of the way. She took Neville's arm and examined it, making Neville flinch again. "Yes, definitely broke. You're going to have to go to the Infirmary, young man. Don't worry," She helped Neville stand. "Madam Pomfrey will fix you up in a jiffy. All of you stay exactly where you are. Do not move until I come back!" She looked Malfoy right in the eyes and moved into the castle.

     Harry turned back to the other four. "I hope he's alright," Hermione said, twisting her hand in her robes.

     "He'll be alright. This isn't the first time he broke his hand. This one time when he was nine, he was de-gnoming the yard and he was messing around with a gnome, spinning it around and stuff. The gnome bit his hand so hard it broke." Ron looked a tad bit disgusted. Hermione and Justin looked confused and Blaise shrugged.

     "Serves him right." Blaise said. Harry just shrugged in response, not really knowing what to say to that.

     "Hey, look! Longbottom dropped something!" Malfoy said. Harry turned to see Malfoy walking towards where Neville had fallen. He picked up something. It glittered red in the sunlight.  

     "It looks like a Remembrall." Harry stilled. His mom had stuffed the Remembrall into Neville's robes just as he was getting on the train. It was one of Neville's favorite things. He was constantly forgetting stuff, so it came in handy a lot.

     "Give that back, Malfoy," Harry growled. Malfoy turned to face Harry, a smirk on his face. He waved the glass orb under Harry's nose, taunting. Harry tried to grab for it, but Malfoy swiped it away before Harry could.

     "You want it? Come and get it." Malfoy hopped on his broom and flew up. Harry mounted his, Hooch's warning fleeing from his mind.

     Hermione grabbed his robe, preventing him from taking off. "Harry! Hooch said to stay here!" Harry ignored her and shrugged her hand off. He flew to face Malfoy. He held out his hand, making a grabby motion.

     "Give it, Malfoy."

     Malfoy tut-tutted. "That's not the proper way to ask. Say "please"."

     Harry swiped forward, but Malfoy flew away. He began to throw it back and forth to each hand. Harry flew towards Malfoy at a quick speed, but Malfoy weaseled his way out again.

     "You're going to have to do better than that, Potter." Malfoy tossed it up and caught it with the other hand. He held out the hand with the Remembrall in it and dropped it.

     "Oops."

     Malfoy cackled as Harry swooped down to catch the falling ball. The tips of his fingers barely brushed the glass, but he couldn't grab it. He sped up his broom, using every technique that his dad taught him. The ground came closer and closer. Just as he was about to crash land, he grabbed the ball and pulled up, his feet dragging on the grass.

     Malfoy seemed a bit peeved that Harry caught it, but smiled suddenly. Harry didn't like that smile. It looked evil.

     "MR.POTTER! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?"

     Harry spun around, dropping his broom. Professor McGonagall was speed walking towards him, a look of fury on her face. A boy about fifteen was behind her. He seemed a bit excited, if his large grin was anything to go by.

     "Just what went through your mind to make you do something so stupid?" She stopped right in front of him, folding her arms. Harry felt abut two inches tall.

      "Malfoy took my brother's Remembrall and I was just trying to get it back," Harry said weakly.

     "You risked your life for a glass ball?" Now Harry really did feel small.

     "It's important to him." His voice was barely a whisper. Professor McGonagall sighed.

     "Mr. Flint, take Mr. Potter to Professor Snape and explain the situation. Mr. Malfoy, come with me. You have some explaining to do." Malfoy went with McGonagall into the castle. He shot Harry a glare as he passed. It wasn't as if it was Harry's fault. He was the one who had started it.

     The boy, Flint, motioned for Harry to follow. Harry got into step behind them. They passed by Madam Hooch and Neville on their way in. Harry tossed the Remembrall to Neville, who looked at him confusedly. 'Later', he mouthed. They continued down the corridor.

     "You know, I'm the Quidditch captain for Slytherin," Flint said suddenly. Harry looked at him. "You're really good. I saw you from Professor McGonagall's window. That dive you did was amazing! Nobody on the team last year could do that, and they've been on the team for years! Slytherin could do great this year with you on the team as a Seeker.You have the build for one, too."

     "I thought first years couldn't join Quidditch?" Harry asked, walking a bit faster to keep up.

     "Well, yeah. But we can make you reserve Seeker or something. I'll have to talk to Professor Snape about it. I'm sure he won't mind. He'd do anything to win against the Gryffindors, and you're definitely winning material." Harry thought it was a bit ironic. His father trained him in Quidditch in the hopes that Harry would join the Gryffindor team, but now he was possibly going to be playing for Slytherin. He hoped his dad or Sirius wouldn't be too mad.

     They reached Snape's office and Flint knocked. "Enter!" came a moment later. Flint pushed open the door and Harry suddenly felt nervous. What if Snape wouldn't let him on the Quidditch team? What if he gave him a detention? He certainly deserved it, thinking back on it.

     He walked in beside Flint and the door shut automatically behind Harry. Harry jumped forward a bit. Flint stood almost at attention in front of Snape's desk. Harry walked beside him and tried to copy his stance.

     "I have already received word from Professor McGonagall," Snape said, folding his hands under his chin. His black eyes glittered with something Harry couldn't place. Worry? Anger? Whatever it was, it didn't help Harry's stomach stop from doing flip-flops.

     "Mr. Flint, I would like to speak with Mr. Potter alone for a moment, if you do not mind." Flint nodded once curtly and stepped out, shutting the door quietly behind him. Harry wished he would come back. Perhaps Snape wouldn't kill him if someone was there.

    Snape began shuffling papers on his desk, organizing and placing in piles. He began writing, what Harry didn't know. Snape didn't even so much as glance at Harry the entire time, as if Harry wasn't there or didn't exist. After what felt like an eternity, and after Harry felt the fear and guilt would explode inside him, Snape looked up. If he had small talking to McGonagall, he was nearly microscopic talking to Snape.

     "Professor McGonagall has already given me a report of what she saw, but I would like to have your version of the story." He set down his quill, and began tracing his lips with a potion-stained finger.

     Harry fidgeted a bit. He opened his mouth once, and nothing came out. His voice got stuck in his throat, and no matter how many times he tried to talk, he couldn't speak. Snape was waiting patiently, still tracing his lips. He leaned back in his chair and folded his long legs.

     "I-I..." Harry took a deep breath. "Malfoy took Neville's Remembrall and I tried to get it back but he flew up so I followed even though Madam Hooch said not to and Malfoy was tossing it back between his hands and he dropped it on purpose and I dove after it and caught it and that's when Professor McGonagall came out," he said in a big rush.

Snape blinked. Harry hoped he caught all of that because Harry really didn't feel like saying it again. He already felt bad and felt like he was going to cry. He didn't want to relive the feelings again.

     "You caught it?" he asked. Harry stopped fidgeting in shock. He wasn't expecting that answer.

     "Uh, yes, sir."

     "I see." Snape leaned forward. All impressions of Harry catching the Remembrall seemed to vanish. "And what prompted you to follow Mr. Malfoy? You know he was just trying to rile you up."

     Harry shifted from one foot to the other. "I know sir, but he had the Remembrall and I wanted it back. It's important to Neville."

     "And it didn't occur to you that your parents could have bought another one?" No, Harry did not think of that. He had acted thoughtlessly and nearly got hurt because of it. His guilt grew tenfold.

     "I'm sorry, sir," Harry whispered, staring at his feet.

     "Your forgiveness will be dictated by your mother and father. I will be making a firecall to your parents later today," Snape said, standing up. Harry looked up quickly. His eyes widened.

     "Yes, I will be speaking to your mother," he remarked, seeing Harry's expression. Oh dear God. Oh God oh God. Harry was in huge trouble now. His dad and Uncle Padfoot would have been more proud than mad, but his mother...and Uncle Moony was staying with them that week for the full moon, so he would be home, too. That just doubled the punishment. No doubt Harry would be receiving a Howler later that night or tomorrow. Dread replaced guilt. 

     "Please, sir. I've learned my lesson. Please don't tell Mum," Harry pleaded. A shadow of a smirk appeared on Snape's face. It was gone just as quickly as it appeared."I am sorry, Mr. Potter, but it is protocol when their child does something this extreme." Harry hung his head.

     Snape opened the door and peered outside. "Mr. Flint, you can come in now. I wish to speak with you about something. Mr. Potter, flying lessons are almost over. Return to the common room for Introduction to Hogwarts."

     "Yes, sir," Harry said dejectedly. He dragged his feet all the way down to the lower dungeons. He flopped down on the black leather couch, putting a pillow over his head. He screamed, not out of anger or madness, but fear, the pillow muffling the sound. His mother was going to kill him. He just knew it. Why oh why did he have to follow Malfoy? He knew Malfoy was baiting him, and he fell for it completely. Now he was probably going to be grounded for all eternity and will never be able to play Quidditch. His only consolation was that Malfoy was getting in trouble as well.

     A tap on the window made him put the pillow down in confusion. What could be tapping on the glass? Certainly not an owl.The dungeons were underwater for Merlin's sake. He slipped off the couch and walked towards the window. Seaweed and schools of fish swan in front of him, and Harry put his face up against the cool glass to get a better look. He could never get over the beautiful view of under the Black Lake.

     A large tentacle came and tapped on the glass. Harry jumped back with a short cry. The Giant Squid's eye filled the window and seemed to wink at him. The tentacle returned and tapped again.

     "Stop that!" Harry said, clutching his heart. The squid nearly gave him a heart attack! The tapping continued.

     "Stop it! You're gonna break the glass!" He made shooing motions towards the Squid, but he didn't move.

     "He does that a lot," a voice behind him said. Harry spun around. Snape was walking in, his robes flapping around his ankles.

     "It amuses him. Let him be. He'll go away in a moment." Snape sat in one of the leather armchairs next to the fire. Harry sat in the one opposite. Snape didn't seem mad anymore which was a good thing. He didn't even seem to remember the "Uncle Sev" incident, which Harry was grateful.

     "So what did you talk to Flint about?" Harry asked, tucking his feet underneath him.

     "That is none of your concern." There was a tad bit of bite in his voice.

     "Oh. Sorry." Harry looked into the constantly burning fire.

     "Are you still going to tell my mum?" He asked a moment later. Snape let out a small bark of laughter which brought another sense of familiarity for Harry.

     "I am still going to tell her. You pleading will not stop me." The first year students came pouring in at that moment and cut their conversation short. They crowded around and Harry the Professor like children at story time, pushing each other and fighting for spots on the floor and couches. Malfoy sat as far away from Harry as possible, which suited him just fine. He didn't really want to see his ferret face anyway. Blaise came and sat down on the arm of Harry's chair.

     "You cant sit on the arms. It's against the rules," said a kid with large front teeth.

     "Where else do you want me to sit?" Blaise snapped. "On his lap?"

     Harry snickered and patted his leg jokingly. Blaise sat on his lap all proper with his legs folded and leaned against Harry. Harry put his arms around Blaise's waist and they made kissy faces at each other.

     "Never mind! Sit on the arm!" The kid said, blocking his eyes with his hands. Harry and Blaise laughed as Blaise got back on his original seat.

     "So are you in trouble?" Blaise whispered.

     "Oh, yeah. With my mum. She's going to be pissed. But I didn't lose any points for Slytherin, though, so that's good," Harry whispered back. Blaise nodded in agreement.

     Introduction to Hogwarts was just as boring as it sounded. It was sort of like story time in that children crowded around and adult, but that was where the similarities ended. Snape told the age-long tale of how Hogwarts was founded and the tales of the Founders.  He told of the bravery of Gryffindor, the charms of Slytherin, the honesty of Hufflepuff and the quick wits of Ravenclaw.

     Other students were listening with rapt attention, soaking up every detail. Harry was nearly asleep, drool dripping down his fist as he held his head up on the armchair. Blaise kept poking Harry every time he let out a little snore. It wasn't Harry's fault. He had heard these stories multiple times from his dad, and there was only so many times you could hear a story before you got tired of it.

     Finally, it was time for lunch. Harry quickly got up, nearly sending Blaise toppling to the floor. "Come on! I'm hungry!" Harry shoved Blaise out the door, the other skidding his feet on the slick tile.

     "Alright, alright! I'm coming!" Blaise laughed.

                                                                           *`*`*`*`
   

Neville laughed as Justin shoved him out the Hufflepuff common room. "I'm hungry! Hurry hurry hurry!"

     "Okay, okay. Jeez." Neville fell into step beside Justin and the other Hufflepuffs. Professor Sprout was walking in front of them, practically skipping down the corridor.

     "During lunch," she began, turning around to speak to them. She was still skipping, which Neville though was a bit impressive.

     "You will be able to go to other tables and meet other students. That's why its named "Meet and Greet"!" Neville rolled his eyes. He could have figured that out for himself. "You will abide by the other House's rules while sitting there. If you do not, you will lose points. It would be best for you to sit at every table at least once, but you do not have to. However long you stay is up to you."

     The doors to the Great Hall came to view, and Professor Sprout turned back around. "I hope you have a good time!" Inside, the Great Hall was chaos. Everyone was walking up and down tables, multiple plates balancing in hands and heads. Kids were running back and forth down the middle, waving and yelling at friends and siblings. Even the teachers looked terrified.

     Neville managed to spot Harry and Blaise through the swarming crowd and walked towards them, Justin on his heels. Ron and Hermione spotted Neville and walked beside him as well. The foursome plopped down at the Slytherin table, receiving glares from upper years and polite smiles from first years. Malfoy spotted them, sniffed in disdain, and moved as far away down the table as possible.

    "Hey, Neville!" Harry yelled over the noise, giving him a fist bump. "Hey Justin, Ron, and Hermione!" Blaise waved then tucked into his chicken.

     "So how's your arm feeling, Neville? Is it okay?" Harry asked, poking his arm. Neville laughed, pulling his arm away.

     "It's fine. Madam Pomfrey fixed it almost as soon as I got there. She's really good." Harry poked his arm again for good measure. Blaise took Harry's hand and put it by his side.

     "He said he was fine, Harry," Blaise laughed.

     "I know. I'm just messing with him."

     "So, Harry," Ron said, dumplings dripping off his fork, "What did Snape do to ya? You're still alive, but is there any lasting damage?"

     "What?" Neville asked. "What happened? What do you mean? Are you in trouble?" What did Harry manage to do while he was in the Hospital Wing? He always got into some kind of trouble.

     Harry sighed, looking a bit embarrassed. "Malfoy took your Remembrall and I flew up after him."

     "Don't put it like that, Harry! You nearly died!" Hermione chided, hitting him on the head with her book.

     "WHAT?" Neville gave Harry a shocked look. "What where you thinking? What did you do to nearly die?"

     Harry rubbed his head where Hermione had hit him. "I dove after your Remembrall after Malfoy dropped it and nearly hit the ground. But I pulled up before I did!" He added after Neville smacked him as well.

     "Ow! Is this gang up on Harry day?" Harry asked, rubbing his arm.

     "Yes," all five said at the same time and lightly hit him wherever they could reach him. Harry groaned.

     "You risked your life for my Remembrall?" Neville nearly shouted. "Mum and Dad could have just sent another one, you dunce!"

     "That's what Snape said."

     "Good. Listen to him." Neville smacked Harry's arm again.

     "So what did Snape do? Do you have detention?" Justin asked.

    "He didn't take any points or anything, but he did say he was going to tell mum."

     "Oooh." Neville's eyes widened. Their mum was like the devil in disguise when she was mad enough. She was the definition of scary. "You are really in for it."

     Harry nodded slowly, his eyes closed in despair. "I know." Dread filled his voice.

     Neville felt the back of his head burning, as if someone was staring at him, and looked up at the teacher's table. A man sitting next to Snape was staring straight at him and Harry. He had dark purple robes on and a red turban on his head. He was creeping Neville out a bit.

     "Hey, was he here yesterday at the feast?" Neville asked, poking Harry in the side and motioning towards the man.

     Harry squinted his eyes. "I don't think so. Who is he?"

     "That's Professor Quirrell," Hermione said. "He's the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He came in yesterday after dinner."

     "He's creepy," Justin said, and they all nodded in agreement. Trying his best to ignore Quirrell's stares, he piled food onto his plate and dug in.



                                                                                *`*`*`*`

     Lunch was Hell. Severus had already downed two Headache Relievers and it wasn't even done yet. He always hated the Meet and Greet lunches at the beginning of the year. It never failed to end in utter chaos and give all the teachers major headaches that never went away until around four o'clock in the morning, no matter how many potions they took. The only one that seemed immune to the headaches was Albus, as per usual.

     Quirrell was staring at Harry and Neville with a passion that made Severus uneasy. He was definitely up to no good. He was going to have to keep an eye on him.

      Finally, the bell for the students to go back to Dorm rang, and Severus pushed his chair back so quickly it nearly fell. Luckily, everyone was focused on their conversations and didn't notice. He nodded his head to Minerva as he passed and walked out of the Great Hall, students parting a path in front of him as he walked. Sometimes it paid to be feared.

     He walked to his office and shut the door. Finally, some quiet. He sat down in his chair and stretched, popping his back in the process. A tapping on his window drew his attention and he reluctantly got up from his comfy chair.

     "Hoo-hoo!" Apollo greeted as Severus opened his window. The black owl hopped onto Severus' shoulder and Severus scratched right on the top of his head. Apollo's eyes closed in bliss.

     "Do you have something for me, boy?" Severus asked. Apollo held out his leg with a letter attached. Severus undid the string and rolled out the parchment.

      Sev, it began. Definitely from Lily.

      Thank you so much for writing your letter. It's so good to hear from you again!It's been so long.

       Just as you predicted, James didn't take the news very well that Harry was in Slytherin, but he got over it soon enough. We are both so proud of our boys! Remus is very happy as well. The only one not in the same boat is Sirius, but I'll deal with him later.

     Severus rolled his eyes. Trust the mutt to make everything Slytherin bad even if it included his Godson.

      I have heard of Ms. Pomona and I agree with you. I feel she will lead Neville down the right path and treat him right. James wonders if you will do the same, but I am confident you will. I trust you completely, Sev.

     I do feel conflicted about him being friends with the Zabini boy. Hopefully his father won't be the better influence. I trust you will keep an eye on the boy. I am glad he has found a friend, but I do not want Harry associating with the wrong crowd. Hopefully you will make a decision and step in if it starts getting bad.

    I will keep you to your promise. Please inform me when something else happens.

          Love,
                    -Lily P.



     Severus rolled the letter up. Short and to the point, just what he expected from Lily. He set the letter on the table and Apollo flew from his shoulder to his perch.

     He sat back down at his desk and took out his quill.

     Lily, he began writing a reply. He stopped, not sure what exactly to write. Black ink dripped from his quill and splatters littered the parchment. He balled up the paper and threw it in the bin. This was better face-to-face than in a letter. He got up and grabbed his cup of Floo powder from the shelf and threw it in.

     "Potter's residence!" The flames flashed green and Severus poked his head through.

     Lily was sitting at the kitchen table, writing out bills. A pot of something was boiling on the kitchen stove.

     "Lily," he said. Lily jumped and put her hand over her heart.

     "Sev! You scared me!" Severus chuckled a bit evilly.

     She motioned patted the chair beside her. "Come on through."

     "Your husband isn't home?" No doubt James would try and beat him to a bloody pulp if he saw him in his home with his wife.

    Lily shook her head. "He and Sirius are at work."

    Severus took his head out of the flames and stood up.

    "I'll be back shortly, Apollo," he said to his owl. Apollo opened one eye and hooted

     He stepped through the fireplace, dusting off soot and grime from his robes. Lily got up and hugged him and he hugged her back. They swayed back and forth a bit like they used to do when they were younger. She drew away, her hands still on his arms.

     "It's so good to see you again!" She smiled and the entire room seemed to brighten. 

     Severus couldn't help but smile back. "You too, Lils." He held out the chair for her to sit in. She fake curtsied, pretending to hold the edges of a dress out.

     "Thank you, darling," she said in an exaggerated snobby voice. She sat down, folding her legs and swishing her hair over her shoulder and he pushed in her chair.

     "You are quite welcome, dear," he replied in an equally exaggerated voice. She giggled and he beamed. It was just like old times. He sat down next to her. She finished up the bill that she was writing and turned to face him. Their knees touched.

     "I can't believe you're here again!" she squealed.

     "I know! But you know why I had to leave," he said a bit sadly. She nodded solemnly. "Damn Malfoy."

     "Indeed." Severus nodded. "What are you making?" he asked, pointing his chin towards the pot.

     "Baked ziti."

     "Ooh! That sounds good." Lily punched him lightly on the arm. He pretended to be hurt by rubbing it where she hit.

     "You know I can't cook that well. This is basically the only thing I can make, and even then its not all that great."

     Severus scoffed and rolled his eyes. "And yet you are a prodigy at potions. Besides, you can out-cook Molly Weasley any day," he said. She gave him a deadpan stare.

     "Now you're pushing it." Severus snickered.

     "Here," he got up an walked to the pot. He picked up the recipe off the counter."I'll help. What steps have you done?"

     "Only the first. I just started bringing it to a boil when you popped your head in." He hummed in acknowledgement. He began rummaging through the cabinets for the rest of the ingredients.

     "Where is your ziti pasta?" he asked, poking his head into the fist cabinet.

     "On your left." He grabbed the pasta along with the jars of spaghetti sauce. He went to the fridge and got the onions, cheeses, meat, and cup of sour cream and dumped all the ingredients on the counter. He stopped an onion from rolling off and falling onto the floor. He picked up two knives.

     "Come help me chop." He held out the other knife handle-first to her and together they chopped up the onions and sliced the provolone cheese.

     "You added salt to the water, right?"

     "Yes. I can read directions you know."

     He got out a skillet and added meat and the sauce and it began to simmer. After the water came to a full boil, he added the pasta.

     "Now, we wait," he said as he turned the knob on the oven and began to preheat.

     Severus sat on top of the table and Lily sat beside him.

     "So what did you come here for?" she asked. "I know it wasn't to help me cook ziti pasta."

     He had completely forgotten the entire reason why he came. He had gotten so distracted with cooking that it slipped his mind.

     "Oh! Right!" He smiled apologetically. "I came because-"

     "I hear a conversation. Who do you have in your kitchen, Lily?" Remus Lupin came walking through the kitchen door, hands in his pockets.

     "Something smells good!" He stopped when he saw Severus.

     "Oh. Hello, Severus," he said with a bit of forced politeness.

     "Lupin."

     "What are you doing?"

     "I'm helping her cook."

     "Ah. It's uh, been a while since you've been here. Nearly seven years, to be exact." Lupin scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

     "Yes, I know how long I've been absent." Severus stared at Lupin and Lupin stared back. Neither said anything. Severus gently swung his legs back and forth.

     "Anyway, Severus, what were you saying?" Lily put her hand on his shoulder, drawing his attention from Lupin to her. Lupin got his cue and left, whistling out the front door, hands still firmly shoved in his patched up jean pockets.

     Severus cleared his throat. "Anyway, the reason I came here is because your son Harry managed to get himself in a bit of trouble."

     Lily rolled her eyes and groaned. "It's only the second day! What did he do?"

     "Well, it was certainly provoked, I'll tell you that, so It's not completely Harry's fault. Neville had fallen off his broom during flying lessons and broke his arm. From what Harry and Minerva have relayed to me, Neville dropped his Remembrall and Malfoy picked it up and began taunting Harry with it while flying up."

     "Of course it would be Malfoy," Lily grumbled. "What happened next?"

     "Harry went after him, despite his teacher's warning to stay down. Malfoy threw Neville's Remembrall towards the ground and Harry dove down to catch it, nearly hitting the ground himself. If he hadn't of pulled up when he did, he would have hit the ground from about fifty feet up or higher going full speed."

     "Oh Merlin! That boy I swear! He's going to be grounded until he's graduated!" Lily grabbed fistfuls of her hair and pulled. Severus gently took her hands and untangled them.

     "Lily..." Severus had a warning tone in his voice.

     Lily sighed. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I really need to control my anger." She got up and began working on the food again, stirring the pasta in the pot rapidly. Severus stood back a bit but kept his eye on her as she cooked.

     The Floo roared to life from the living room. "Honey, I'm hoooome!" The voice of James Potter greeted.

     "Something smells fuckin' fantastic! Lily, have you been experimenting from cook books again?"

Sirius Black waltzed through the door and stopped when he saw Severus. Severus got an odd sense of déjà vu.

     "Snivvelus." Black sneered.

     "Black." James took that moment to walk in and stop as well.
    
     "Sniv."

     "Potter."

     "Lily, why is Snivvy in our kitchen with you? Alone?" James took out his wand and took a step forward. Lily groaned, massaging her forehead.  "James, I really don't need this right now....you know Severus would never...."

     "Tell me Lils, or else I'm going to hex his balls off," James growled. Severus put his hands up, palms facing outward.

     "I am not here for that, James," Severus began, trying to keep his voice neutral. "I would never take your wife from you. She is like a sister to me, nothing more."

     "Waoh. What's going on?" Remus stood in the doorway, a look of confusion on his face. James didn't seem to notice him, still pointing his wand at Severus.

     "Then what are you here for?" Sirius snarled. His Animagus form flickered over his human form, and a low growl erupted from his chest. Lily looked like she was about to explode.

     "Sirius, please." Remus grabbed Sirius by the arm and began to drag him away before he could fully transform. "Let's go. I think this is between Severus and them."

     "I'm not leaving until I know why he's here! He left! Why is he back?"

     "I'm sure it's for a good reason. Now come on. I think I saw old man Alpheus outside. Why don't you have a talk with him? You haven't spoken to each other for a while..." He dragged Sirius out the door, who was still struggling to get free.

     James watched them go then turned back to Severus. "If you are not here for "that", then why are you here? You know what we talked about seven years ago. Why have you come back?"

     "It is for school reasons.That is all. As Harry and Neville's teacher and your advisor, it is up to me to update you on the things happening with your sons at school." Severus slowly put his hands down as James put his wand away.

     "What's happening?"

     Severus opened his mouth to answer but Lily beat him to it.

     "Our son Harry did a death dive on his broom to catch a damn glass ball!" Lily shouted, stirring the pasta even more firmly.

     "Lily, I think you've murdered the pasta now..." Severus said, peering into the pot. Yep. Definitely gone.

     "What? That's awesome! How high up was he?" James' eyes sparkled behind his large glasses.

     "No, James! It is not awesome! Harry could have died!" She turned to face him, her hair flying around her face.

     "But he didn't! And he caught the ball? He's a little Quidditch star already! Is it possible for him to join the team?" James turned to Severus.

     "The notion has been brought to my attention..."

     "James! Listen to me! Harry is not going to be playing Quidditch! What he did was a very bad thing!" They were in each other's face now, yelling at the top of their lungs.

     "I'll just...be going now..." Severus slowly inched towards the fireplace, careful not to bring much attention to himself.

     "Bye! Thanks for coming!" Lily said-screamed, really-, not all pleasantly. She turned back to James. He quickly speed walked the rest of the way to the living room and Floo'ed back to his rooms.

     Well that....certainly did not go the way he planned. If James and Sirius hadn't of shown up, he could have been in and out in a flash and could have avoided being in the middle of that fight. He walked to his rooms and changed out of his teaching robes, putting on something more comfortable. He put on black pajama pants and a blue t-shirt with the words "I'm not sarcastic, I just hate everybody" on it.

     He pet Apollo on the head and fed him owl treats until the owl flew away. He flopped ungracefully down in his wingback chair and leaned his head back. Oh, he just wanted to sleep, and it wasn't even dinner yet. He looked at his clock. It was only 3:30. He groaned and closed his eyes. He wasn't required to go to dinner anyway. He could go to sleep early....

     The Floo coming to life woke him up an hour later. He sat up, confused. Nobody except Albus or Minerva could access his Floo without his permission. He looked up. James Potter, still in his Auror robes from earlier, stood on his rug, dusting off soot onto the floor.

     James looked at him. "Nice shirt," he commented. Severus ignored it.

     "What are you doing here? Nobody can access my rooms without my permission!"

     James looked pleased with himself. "I have my ways. Auror ways, but still ways." He smiled cheekily. "Anywho, Lily told me the whole story, and that's why I'm here."

     Damn Ministry admissions. Severus arched an eyebrow. "Go on."

     "You made a comment about the notion that Harry could possibly be on the Quidditch team, even though he's a first year..."

     "James, you know Lily wouldn't allow it."

     "I'm Harry's parent, too and I have a say in what Harry can do and not do, and I want him to play Quidditch. He could be a reserve for all I care, just as long as he gets a chance to be on the field."
    
     Severus was surprised. He would have though James would have balked at the idea of Harry playing for the Slytherin team.

     "Even though he's playing for Slytherin?"

     James sighed. "I honestly do not care what team Harry plays for. I just want him to be happy. He has this amazing opportunity that nobody else has, and I don't want him to miss out on something like this. He is amazing at Quidditch and I know he'll be a great asset for Slytherin."

     So Lily finally got to his thick head that not all Slytherin was bad. Good. "If you're so sure..."

     "I am. Now, is there some sort of form or something I can fill out?"

     Severus cleared his throat. "I will have to talk to Harry first to see how he feels about all of this then I'll send you a form to sign. His academic life is also in question. What if Harry cannot juggle Quidditch and his class work? There is a reason why first years are not allowed to play."

     "I'll deal with the consequences if any arise. You can take Harry off the team until he gets his grades up."

     Severus nodded. "There is also the possibility that he won't even make the reserve slot when he tries out. It all comes down to the Captain."

     "Well then, there wouldn't really be anything to worry about then if that happened, would there?" James pointed out, hands on his hips.

     "No, I suppose not." Severus scratched his chin, picking at the small hairs that were there. "I will talk to Harry and send you a form if he agrees. I'll disguise my handwriting, so watch out for that."

     James grinned. "Thank you Sniv-er, Severus. This means a lot."

     "You are welcome. Although Lily will murder both of us if she finds out."

     James waved away the notion. "I wouldn't sweat it. She may seem angry now, but she'll get over it." 

      "Somehow I highly doubt that," he mumbled. James grabbed the Floo powder. "Oh, and James?" Severus cut in before he could leave. "I neglected to tell Lily this simply because it slipped my mind at the time, but Harry called me 'Uncle Sev' yesterday."

     James froze, hand still poised to throw.  "But that means..."

     "Yes, I know. Do you want me to do anything about it?"

     James thought for a moment. "No. Just leave him like he is. If anything else happens, I'll see what we can do. Has Neville said anything?"

     "I do not think anything has happened to him, but if anything arises, I'll let you know."

     "Good. Keep me informed."

     "I will."    

Neville watched Harry in breakfast the next morning, slightly amused. Harry was jittery, looking nervous, and kept glancing at Snape and at the ceiling as if he was watching for something. Neville had a feeling he knew what was about to happen. The owls fluttered in with the morning post and packages and-ah. There it was.

Archimicarus, his mother's owl, swooped down and dropped a red envelope in Harry's oatmeal. Blaise took one look and scooted as far away as possible. All color drained from Harry's face. Harry snatched the letter up and ran to the large doors, but he didn't make it in time.

Harry dropped the Howler as a rip formed in the middle. The Howler drew in a deep breath, and the voice of their mother filled the Great Hall.

"HARROLD JAMES POTTER! WHAT ON EARTH WERE YOU THINKING, TAKING A DIVE LIKE THAT? YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED! YOU COULD HAVE BEEN SERIOUSLY HURT!"

"Lily, it's not that bad-" their father's voice cut in.

"SHUSH, JAMES! I SWEAR NEXT TIME I SEE YOU YOUNG MAN, YOU WILL GET THE WHOOPING OF A LIFETIME AND YOU'RE GROUNDED UNTIL YOU GRADUATE! DONT YOU EVER, I MEAN EVER, DO ANYTHING LIKE THAT AGAIN. IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE, YOU ARE COMING STRAIGHT HOME, DO YOU HEAR ME, YOUNG MAN?"   

"Lily, come on-"

 "YOU ARE SO LUCKY THAT I WIL ALLOW YOU TO TRY OUT FOR QUIDDITCH NEXT YEAR! IF IT WERE UP TO ME, YOU WOULD NEVER SET FOOT ON THAT FEILD!"

 "Thank Merlin for some small miracles..." Neville could hear his Uncle Padfoot mumble in the background.

The Howler turned towards Neville.

"Oh, and Neville, dear. I am so glad you are feeling okay and that your arm is all better. Congratulations on making Hufflepuff. All of us are so proud. I hope you have been having a good first couple of days." With that, the Howler turned back to Harry, huffed, then ripped itself to shreds.

The entire Great Hall was completely silent. Everyone looked shocked, looking at each other to make sure that what just happened was true. Then a giggle arose from the Gryffindor table, and soon, the entire hall was giggling, including some of the teachers. Harry looked like he wanted to melt into a puddle on the floor, and Neville felt the same. It wasn't that he was embarrassed for himself, he just felt extreme second-hand embarrassment for Harry.

Harry slowly walked back to his seat, a pink-red color beginning to rise on his neck, face and ears . He sat down, and Blaise patted his back comfortingly. A hoot sounded above them and everyone looked up. Neville felt a small sense of dread fill his stomach when he spotted his father's owl, Amethyst, fly towards him. Harry followed the owl's descent towards Neville and mouthed 'good luck'.

     A small sigh escaped him when he noticed the letter was a plain white instead of Howler red. He fed Amethyst some of his bacon and she hooted in thanks and took off, spilling his pumpkin juice into his cereal. An apple rolled off his plate and Justin snatched it up and took a bite.

"Hey!" Neville laughed and lightly hit Justin on the arm. Justin grinned, a bit of apple falling out of his mouth.

"Oh my god that is so gross." Neville pretended to gag. Justin stuck out his tongue, apple mush covering the entirety of it.

"Ew." Neville shoved Justin and opened the envelope, peering inside. There were two letters folded neatly beside each other. He picked the closest one.

Neville, it began in his father's loopy handwriting.

I hope you have had a good first couple of days. How's Hufflepuff treating ya? Tell Harry that we are proud of him getting into Slytherin as well. Your mother was too much into a rage to remember to congratulate him.'

Neville snorted and Justin peeked over his shoulder to see what was so funny.

'Anyway, I hope you-

A long black line went across the page, as if someone had jerked the quill from his father's hands.

Hey Neville! The spikey handwriting of his Uncle Padfoot took the place of his father's writing.

How you've been? I heard you got into Hufflepuff. That's great! It's one of the better Light houses there, so that's good. I hope you're keeping an eye on Harry. Make sure he doesn't associate with the wrong crowd. You can never trust Slytherins. While you're at it, make sure you keep an eye on ol' Snivelly Snape, too. Greasiest git if I ever saw one.

Neville felt a memory began to tug it's way to the surface when he read 'greasy git', but it faded away just as soon as it came. Why did that sound so familiar?

I'll be sending something awesome for both of you soon, so watch out for-

Another line of ink.

Sorry about that, Neville. Your Uncle Padfoot took the letter away from me and ran upstairs to write his own bit.

Neville rolled his eyes. He expected that was the case.

I agree to an extent to what Sirius said. Keep an eye out for who Harry hangs out with. Not all Slytherins are bad, but you never know. But with how his encounter with Malfoy went I don't think we'll have to worry much. Snape is okay. Leave him alone. Your uncle is just being paranoid.

A splotch of ink was in the middle of the word 'paranoid', as if his dad was letting the ink drip.

Sorry about that smudge. Your Uncle Moony says 'hi', by the way. Anyways, I love you, and I hope you're having a good time. Write often and I'll see you at Christmas.

                         -Dad
P.S. Give the other letter to Harry when you see him. 

 Neville neatly folded the letter back and put it in his pocket alongside his Remembrall. He figured his dad was being nice about Harry being in Slytherin because his mother was breathing down his neck, but who was he to know. He could have finally grown up and realized how bigoted he was being when Harry got sorted. His Uncle Padfoot though...he knew he wouldn't change much. He was still so immature, despite being in his thirties.

The bell rang for the end of breakfast and Neville got up along with the other Hufflepuffs. He spotted Harry talking to Ron and Hermione and tapped him on the head with the letter.

"It's for you." Harry took the letter and peered inside.

"Thanks. See you later in Defense." They tapped fists and Neville followed the other firsts years to Transfiguration.

                                                                      *`*`*`*`
    

Harry took a quick peek at the letter from his dad and put it in his satchel next to his books. He tightened the strap and walked beside Blaise.

 "Ugh, I cant believe we have Potions first thing in the morning," Blaise complained, stretching. His arm bumped the back of Harry's head and Harry shoved it away.

 "I'm not even awake yet. Watch, I'm going to blow up our potion because I fall asleep." Blaise yawned, and Harry yawned with him.

"Hey! Don't make me tired, too!" Harry yawned again. "I'll wake you up if you do. But I don't think we have to make a potion on our first day. I think we just go over rules or something."

Blaise huffed. "Bo-oring. I want to blow stuff up!" Blaise pumped his fist in the air.

Harry scoffed light-heartedly. "You sound like a Gryffindor."

"Hey! What's wrong with being a Gryff?" Ron came walking beside them, swinging his arms at his side. Harry clapped him on the back in greeting.

"Nothing." He grinned. "I should know. I live with four of them."

They reached the Potions classroom. Snape was waiting for them, arms crossed and looking rather fierce. Harry was a bit shocked to see his professor. He didn't see him leave before them. How had he gotten there without Harry seeing him pass?

Snape held open the door. "Go in and pick a seat," he growled, sending them all a dark look. Harry scurried behind Ron and Blaise into the classroom. His head of house was definitely not in a good mood this morning.

Harry chose a seat between his two friends near the back of the room. He pretended not to notice Malfoy sit right in front of him and pulled out a notebook and quill, Blaise and Ron following his lead. Snape walked in and shut the door, nearly slamming it shut, making Harry and a few others jump in their seats. He turned and faced them, leaning against his desk

"Put your wands away," he said, his voice ringing around the room. "You will not need them for this class." Some students grumbled, looking a bit put out, and shoved their wands in their pockets or packs. Snape's gaze swept slowly across the room, studying them, making the students lean forward in attention. 

"Today," he began, his voice going eerily quiet. "you are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making. There will be no silly wand-waving in this class. As such, I suspect many of you do not consider this magic. However, for those of you who possess the pre-disposition, I can teach you many things." His voice got even quieter, dramatically so. Despite this, Harry could hear every word he was saying, as if he was charming the walls to echo every word.

"I can teach you how to bewitch the mind, ensnare the senses. I can teach you to brew glory, bottle fame, and even put a stopper to death..." Some students gasped, and Snape smirked.

 "Now!" he barked, making multiple students jump. "Can anyone tell me where to find a bezoar?"

No students raised their hand. Harry swore he heard a cricket chirp somewhere to his left. Harry inched his hand up, but quickly brought it down when he noticed nobody else made an attempt to raise theirs.

"Nobody?" Snape tut-tutted. "Shame." A sneer twisted his face and his voice was laced with venom. "It seems nobody bothered to open a book before coming here, eh? Did you think you would not need to learn such trivial knowledge? Is that what you think?" His voice rose, angry, and some students in the front shrank back in fear. 

     "You are just like the bunch of dunderheads I usually-"

Harry raised his hand. "Sir?" he called out, cutting his professor off mid-sentence. Blaise and Ron's eyebrows went up nearly to their hairline in shock.

"What are you doing, Harry?" Ron hissed at him.

 "Shut up," he hissed back. He turned back towards Snape. "I know the answer, professor."

Snape looked mildly annoyed. "And why didn't you answer before, instead of interrupting me?"

 Harry's hand fell a bit. "Uh..."

Snape waved away his stutter. "No matter. Let's see if you actually read the book. Mr. Potter, where would you look to find a bezoar?"

Harry gathered up his inherited Gryffindor courage, trying to remember all the lessons with his mother over potions, and tried not to stutter. "In the stomach of a goat, uh, sir." He started off confidant, but his voice trailed away to a whisper as more people stared at him.

Snape nodded. "Very good. What is the difference between monkswood and wolfsbane?"

That was easy. Harry could answer that one in his sleep. Living with a werewolf for an uncle taught him a few things. "Nothing sir. They are both the same plant and are also known as aconite."

Snape seemed impressed. He folded his arms and crossed his legs at the ankles, still leaning his hip against the side of his desk. He cocked his head sideways.

"And what, Mr. Potter, would I get if I added a powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry had to rack his brain for that one. He tried to remember his mother's lessons, but nothing was coming. 'Think, Harry! Think! Mum went over this a million times!' 

"Er...I..." Harry stuttered, trying to find the right words. Malfoy and some other students snickered, but a glare from Snape shut them up.

Blaise raised his hand, and Harry let a breath of relief escape. At least Blaise could answer the question for him! "I don't know, sir. But I think Blaise knows. Why don't you ask him?" Harry motioned towards his friend. Blaise waved his hand a bit, making little grunting noises. 

     "Put your hand down, Mr. Zabini." Blaise slowly lowered his hand, looking a bit rejected. "Mr.Potter, I am asking you, not him. I expect you to know the answer." Snape waited expectantly.

Harry wanted to scream. 'Asphodel and wormwood. Asphodel and wormwood. What is it?!'

A memory wiggled its way to the surface. A man with a deep voice was reading to him, telling him something from a book.

*"Now listen closely, Neville, Harry. Harry, quit playing with Archimicarus and pay attention. Thank you." The man cleared his throat, and Harry sat beside Neville on his lap. "Basic Potions for Beginners," the man began. "Chapter One: Sleeping Potions. Asphodel and wormwood. Harmless on it's own. But when mixed together can create a very deadly potion. The Draught of..."* The memory faded, and Harry shook his head, a bit annoyed. Of course the memory would end there.

'A powerful sleeping potion?' Harry thought, recalling the man's words. "Maybe...'

"Uh...the Draught of Living Death...?" Harry took a shot in the dark, hoping his intuitions were correct. To his surprise, Snape nodded.

"Correct again, Mr. Potter. See, was it that hard?" Even Ron snickered this time. 

Snape went up to the board and began writing. "The Drought of Living Death: a sleeping potion so powerful that whoever drinks it will go into an instant coma so strong it is like death. So far, there has been no cure and all the patients remain in a deep sleep even now." He turned to them. "Well, why aren't you writing any of this down?" The sound of parchment rustling and quills scratching filled the room as everyone hurried to write everything down.

 Snape seemed to have lost his bad mood from earlier and the rest of the class went smoothly. Or as smoothly as it could with Gryffindors and Slytherins sharing a room for an extended period of time. Finally the bell rang, and Harry, Ron, and Blaise quickly began to walk to the door. Snape motioned for him to come over and Harry branched off from his friends.

 "I'll join you in a bit, Blaise. Tell Professor McGonagall where I am. I'll see you at lunch later, Ron." He waved to his friends and walked towards Snape's desk. Snape finished erasing the chalk from the board.

"I would like to congratulate you on knowing the correct answers, Mr. Potter. Not many first years do. That material is usually for third years." Snape dusted chalk off his hands and sat in his chair.

"But then why is it in Potions for Beginners?" Harry asked, readjusting his strap on his shoulder.

Snape looked a bit confused. "You remember the...?" he mumbled then shook his head. "Nevermind. I just wanted to congratulate you and five points to Slytherin for your extensive knowledge." Then Snape did something that Harry thought he would never see: he smiled.

Harry stood in shock while Snape wrote out a note for his next class. He took the small green slip from his teacher's potion-stained hands and walked out the door, still a bit in a daze. Granted, the smile wasn't even a really big one. It didn't even reach his eyes. It was just the sight of the most feared professor smiling-if only a little-let alone at Harry, was odd. No doubt no one would believe him if he told. 

He stepped through the threshold into the Transfiguration classroom. McGonagall was standing in front of the class, taking roll. She peered at him out of the side of her eye as he walked in and placed the note on her desk, but didn't pause in her talking. He found Hermione and Blaise near the front of the room and chose an empty seat beside them. 

 "Harry Potter?" McGonagall called.

'Just in time,' Harry thought as he raised his hand and replied, "Here!" Some of the students stared at him, blatantly obvious, until their names were called. They answered then went back to staring. Hermione glared at them while Harry shrank in his seat. It seemed the Howler incident from breakfast was still fresh in their minds.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and the students turned back to her, which made Harry relived. Hermione quit glaring and turned to face McGonagall, which suited Harry just fine. He had to admit, she looked rather terrifying when she was angry, and was glad the glare wasn't pointed in his direction.

 For the next hour and a half, Harry was shown how to Transfigure multiple things into other things. His dad had always gushed about how Transfiguration was his favorite subject, how Harry would excel in it because he had James' blood and obviously had a natural knack for it, but Harry didn't really see the point. Sure, it could be useful, but Harry wasn't about to go about his everyday life Transfiguring a mouse into a glass every five seconds. Harry turned to whisper his opinions to his friends was unpleased to find Blaise and Hermione listening with rapt attention.

He didn't want to be rude to his professor, so he paid attention and tried to Transfigure his rat into a needle, which to his disappointment, was one of the only few that got it on their first try besides Hermione. It seemed he did have a natural knack for it after all. It wasn't going to make him like the class any better, though.

When the bell rang for lunch, Harry was one of the first ones out of the class. He speed walked to the Slytherin table, Blaise panting behind him trying to catch up. He scarfed down chicken and bread, drank his pumpkin juice with one gulp, and sat jiggling his leg up and down, receiving odd looks from the other Slytherins.

"Harry?" Blaise asked, swallowing a bite of potato. "What on earth is wrong with you? Dinner started not five minutes ago, and you're already done?"

Harry barely heard him. "Hmm? Oh, I just can't wait for Defense." His leg jiggled even faster.

Blaise put his hand on Harry's knee, affectively making him stop. "Stop shaking your leg, Harry," he said with a small laugh. "You're making me nervous." Harry gave him a small apologetic smile.

Blaise let go of his leg, turning back to his plate. "If it's about seeing Neville, he's literally right over there." He pointed his thumb behind him to Neville at the Hufflepuff table, who was in a heated conversation with Justin over Merlin-knows-what. "You can just walk over and talk to him."

Harry shook his head. "It's not that.". Defense was the one class he had been looking forward to ever since he had gotten his letter. With the combined excitement from his Uncles and his father, Harry had practically buzzed with excitement each time he had heard stories of Defense class. He wanted lunch to be over as soon as possible so he could experience the same excitement his family had.

"Well then," Blaise replied. "do something else then, besides shake the entire table. Eat some treacle tart, read that letter you got this morning, something!" With a small shove, he made the plate of treacle tarts and pumpkin pasties move towards Harry and then returned to devouring his potato.

Something clicked inside Harry's head. That's right! Harry rummaged in his bag, looking for the letter. He had completely forgotten about the letter from Dad that Neville had given him. Finding it wedged between his Potions book and some spare parchment, he yanked it out, smoothing the edges that got crinkled.

Hey, Harry! his Dad's handwriting spread across the page.

I just wanted to say how proud we are of you getting into Slytherin, all of us! And that includes Uncle Padfoot.

Harry blinked at that. Surely not. His mother had to have written that.

I also heard of that little debacle you got into with the flying lessons.

Harry's felt his face turn red. Great, he had gotten in trouble with his mum and now his dad was going to tear him a new one as well.

I talked to your Head of House, Professor Snape, and we both came to the conclusion that you can try out for the Quidditch team. How awesome is that! You can try out, and your a first year! That hasn't happened in nearly one hundred years! Of course, it is all up to your Captain if you get a position or not, but I wouldn't sweat it. You're a natural. But don't tell your mother. We haven't told her yet. (And I honestly don't want to. She's terrifying when she's angry!)

Harry swore his jaw hit the table. He could try out for the Quidditch team?! He looked up at the teacher's table, where he spotted Snape talking with Professor McGonagall. Snape noticed him staring and turned to look him in the eyes. Harry held up the letter with a questioning raise of an eyebrow, and Snape simply nodded, as if he knew exactly what the contents of the paper was.

On the other hand, Professor Snape and I both agree that if you do make the Quidditch team and it makes your grades suffer, we will have no guilt in pulling you from the team either infinitely or until your grades get better. Most likely the latter. I don't want to make you suffer.

 Anyway, you need to talk to Snape about it sometime this week, before tryouts. If everything is the same as it was like I assume it is, tryouts will be held around next Saturday. Better get started on that!

I am so proud of you, and I hope you have a great time.      

-Dad.

P.S. Don't reply to this letter. Don't want Mummy finding out do we?

Harry folded the letter and put it back into his bag in silent shock. He grabbed a pumpkin pasty and nibbled on the tart until lunch ended, where he walked beside Blaise and Neville to the Defense room, still in a daze. They poked and prodded at him, wanting to know what was wrong, but Harry didn't answer, still mulling the contents of the letter over in his head.  

The sight of the Defense classroom door snapped him out of his thoughts and he eagerly ran to the front of the line waiting. Quirrell came not far behind Harry, stuttering out an apology for being late, and unlocked the door. Harry quickly chose a front row seat, and Blaise and Neville sat on either side of him.

"H-hello, c-c-class," Professor Quirrell stuttered as he stood in front of the chalkboard, where 'Defense 101' was written in spikey, jerky handwriting. Instantly, the smile fell off of Harry's face only to be replaced by a look of irritation. Great, the one class he had looked forward to, and it was taught by a bumbling idiot.

With a sigh of resignation, he rested his head on his hand and tried his best to keep his eyes open and pay attention. Merlin, he wished he were anywhere but in the garlic-filled classroom.

                                                                           *`*`*`*`
    

Neville couldn't keep the shock off of his face as Quirrell taught-if one could call it teaching- at the front of the classroom, stuttering and trembling, even tripping over the corner of his desk. The shock quadrupled when he pulled out a giant iguana seemingly out of nowhere and began to pet it as he stumbled through his speech. What was the iguana for? What purpose did that serve in Defense class? Was it some Dark iguana that they were going to fight to see how much they knew?

 He shot an unbelieving glance at Justin beside him, who shrugged, a mixed look of confusion and shock written over his features as well. This was the class that his family loved so much? Things definitely must have been different back in their day if this was the "fun" class.

As it turned out, the iguana wasn't something that they should have feared or fought, and certainly wasn't Dark by any means. It passed gas multiple times, apparently something Quirrell didn't notice, but the class certainly did. The iguana toots plus the overwhelming smell of garlic made nearly everyone want to gag.

The remainder of the class was spent trying not to breathe in the toxic fumes of the iguana's flatulence and try and stay awake over Quirrell's stuttering. Neville really regretted sitting in the front row, and by the look of it, so did Harry. He glared at Quirrell and the iguana over the robe that covered his mouth and nose, making it blatantly obvious what he thought of the class, and didn't even stop when Quirrell looked him dead in the eyes. 

     Quirrell seemed to have a fascination with Harry and Neville. He stared at them both the entire time he talked, only breaking eye contact when a student asked a question, then went back to staring creepily at them. Neville narrowed his eyes. Something was definitely wrong with the professor, besides the stuttering, although he shouldn't judge. Some people couldn't help having a stutter. Quirrell, when not petting the giant reptile, would fiddle with a strange golden locket that hung around his neck, shooting what appeared to be almost menacing looks at them the entire time.

Neville was more than happy to leave when the bell rang. He grabbed his bag, swung it over his shoulder and walked beside Justin, Blaise, and Harry out the door, not even taking a backwards glance to the turbaned professor.

Harry slowed his walk midway to the Great Hall, falling behind. Neville turned to him, concern showing on his face. "What's wrong, Harry?"

Harry peered at him over the rim of his round glasses, an emotion that Neville couldn't place flashing in his green eyes. "Nothing. I'm not really hungry. I think I'm going to go to the common room. I'll see you guys later, okay?" With that, he turned on his heel and headed down the hallway in the opposite direction, not even waving goodbye. Blaise gave Neville and Justin an odd look.

"D'you think something's wrong with him?" Blaise asked. Neville shrugged, while Justin made an "I don't know" noise. Blaise furrowed his eyebrows, his dark eyes shining with worry.

 "He seemed sad. Why would he be sad?"

"Perhaps it was because the Defense class sucked," Justin piped in. Neville had to agree whole heartedly. Blaise's worry frowns deepened. "No, I don't think so," he muttered. He took a couple of steps in the direction Harry was going, then turned in their direction.

"I think I'll head to the common room as well. I'll check on Harry. See you tomorrow Neville, Justin."

Neville and Justin waved at the retreating form of their Slytherin friend. Neville watched with a sense of concern and worry. What was wrong with Harry? He seemed fine before Defense. Did Quirrell do something without them realizing it?

Justin tugged on his wrist, pulling him towards the large doors of the Great Hall. "Come on, Neville. There's no reason to worry. I'm sure Harry will tell us later."

Neville hummed in reply, still looking down the hallway, and Justin sighed. He got behind Neville and shoved him forward, effectively making him walk towards the Great Hall. "Harry will be fine, Neville. You can worry about your brother later. Right now, we need to focus on not being late for dinner. Professor Sprout will be mad if we're not there with the other Hufflepuffs."

With reluctance, Neville walked with Justin to the bustling and loud room. He barely ate, mind still caught up in worrying about Harry. Justin kept flashing him looks, both worried and slightly angry, as he ate, but other wise left Neville alone. As if in a daze, he got up with the other Hufflepuffs and walked in a single file to the common room, where a Prefect tapped on the correct barrels to let them in. He quickly dressed in his pajamas and shuffled under the silky sheets, letting a small sigh of content escape.

Justin threw a pillow at Neville's head, which Neville quickly threw back with a small laugh. Another Hufflepuff that Neville didn't know the name of put his finger to his lips, shushing them. Justin and Neville gave another small laugh, much to the annoyance of the other Hufflepuff, and finally settled down.

Justin gave Neville a small look from behind his pillow, which he was clutching to his chest. "See, there's the Neville that I know." His eyes crinkled from the large smile.

Neville gave his own small smile back. He looked down at his sheets, fiddling with the smooth fabric between his thumb and forefinger. "I just can't help but worry about him, you know? He's my brother."

Justin nodded, which surprised Neville. "I know what you mean. I have a little brother at home that I worry about constantly. But Harry will be fine, Neville. If he wants to talk about it, he will. Now, go to sleep, okay? Professor Sprout will be here any moment to check up on us."

 Neville complied. He settled back down under his sheets, turning off his lamp with a single twist of the little knob. "Goodnight, Justin," Neville whispered.

"Goodnight, Neville. Sweet dreams."

"You too."
                                                                   *`*`*`*`
    

Harry tried to ignore the twinge of hunger in his stomach, and closed his eyes. He knew he wasn't going to get any sleep. His dorm mates had come in after dinner and had promptly fell asleep after hitting their heads on their pillows. That had been nearly three hours ago, and Harry was still as wide awake as he was when he first came in.

Blaise let out a little snuffle and rolled over to face the window. Harry looked at his friend, who slept one bed away. The moonlight that travelled it's way into the Black Lake illuminated their dorm with watery swirls and ripples. It was serene and calming. Blue light covered each of their black bed covers, making the outlines of the kids sleeping visible. 

Harry had feigned sleep when Blaise had walked in after Harry. He knew that Blaise knew he wasn't asleep, but silently thanked the other boy in his head when he didn't bother Harry, seeming to understand that Harry wanted to be left alone. Blaise had ordered dinner from a House Elf, and had even left some for Harry to eat, but when it was obvious that Harry wasn't going to eat the offered food, he called the House Elf back and it went to the kitchens.

Now Harry had wished he had eaten at least some of the food. His belly rumbled constantly, and nothing short of putting his pillow over it could muffle the sounds. He was hungry, and he missed his home. He missed his Uncles, his mum, his dad. He even missed Neville, despite the fact that he had seen him not five hours earlier.

He didn't know when his homesickness began, but after Defense class, he had felt drained, tired, and sad, and wanted nothing more than to lay in bed and wallow in his own thoughts. And he had done that, until Blaise popped in.

 Harry sighed, bringing his pillow to cover his face. He wanted to see Neville again, to curl up with him like they used to do when one or the other had a bad dream. Maybe then some of his homesickness would go away.

Mind set, Harry put on his slippers, threw back his cover and headed for the portrait. He padded down the cold dungeons, hoping that he was heading in the right direction, and prayed to whoever above that a teacher didn't spot him. He had heard an older Hufflepuff give directions to a first year and tried to remember exactly where he was going.

'Past the pear portrait, then left a bit-aha!'

He stood in front of multiple barrels in front of a giant Hobbit hole. He tried pushing on the door, but it didn't budge. He looked around, hoping to spot something that would open it. He leaned against a barrel, thinking, then got the shock of his life when the barrel he was leaning against and others suddenly exploded, drenching him in what smelled like vinegar.

"Oh, yuck!" Harry flapped his arms, shaking away some of the salty liquid. He heard the Hobbit hole begin to creak open, and without thinking, booked it as fast as he could down the hallway, knocking over a barrel in the process, making even more vinegar go sloshing onto the floor.        

He didn't pay attention to where he was going, he just ran. Finally, when he got too tired, he stopped, leaning against the hard wall to catch his breath. He realized he wasn't in the dungeons anymore, and wrapped his arms around himself, shivering from the cold that was seeping into his body.

All he wanted to do was visit Neville. He didn't want to be soaked to the bone with vinegar! He leaned his head against the wall, wincing at the rather hard thump it caused. He sighed. Well that didn't help him one bit. And what was up with the vinegar?

 A cat's meow caught his attention and he swiveled his head around to see two large green eyes looking at him from the shadows, and a small sense of dread filled him. He had heard of Mrs. Norris from his mother. Apparently that cat loved to slink around at night, catching students off guard and go running to her master, where he would then appear out of the clear blue and give horrifying detentions. Just what he needed. A detention on his third day.

 The cat gracefully walked out of the shadows towards Harry, her green eyes still locked firmly on him.

"Heh, nice kitty. Good Mrs. Norris," Harry tried, holding out his hand to sniff. The cat wrinkled her nose, as if she was displeased.

"You're not Mrs. Norris?" Harry guessed. The cat cave out a 'mrow' in agreement, and Harry slunk back against the wall, relieved. The grey tabby cat came closer, and this time wrinkled her nose at Harry's stench.

 "Yeah, I know. Apparently the Hufflepuff's warding against intruders is soaking them in vinegar. What type of warding is that?" Harry threw his arms up, and brought them down against his sides, which made a disgusting squish sound.

"I just wanted to see my brother," Harry grumbled. The cat came closer, and Harry ran a hand over her sleek fur. She didn't seem mad that he was getting her fur wet, so he continued to pet her. He began to rub the velvety ears, which made a rather loud purr erupt from her chest. Harry laughed.

 "Whose cat are you anyway? I'm sure they're missing you right now," he mused as he rubbed all the way down to her tail. The tabby gave him a sideways glance, her large green eyes glittering with something, and began to walk down the hallway. She stopped and turned back, her tail twitching, as if to say "Well, aren't you coming?"

Intrigued, Harry got up from the ground, leaving a small puddle of vinegar, and followed the cat. She seemed to know Hogwarts well. She zoomed past suits of armor, went out of Peeves' way, even managed to slip past Filch!, and began to travel down the dungeons to what Harry only assumed was her owner's rooms.

 A rather familiar black door began to come into view, and Harry had to look down at the cat in wonder. The cat belonged to Snape? Then Harry realized where exactly he was heading, and felt a twinge of guilt and fear. No doubt Snape would take away points for being out so late.

The tabby sat on her haunches right in front of the door and gave a rather loud yowl. When nothing happened for a few moments, she did it again. The doorknob rattled, and Snape poked his head out. He looked like he hadn't even gone to bed. His hair was the same as it always was, hanging limply around his face, and he still had on his teaching robes. When he spotted the cat, he stepped all the way through the door, not even noticing Harry. If he did, he didn't let on.

"Hello, Minerva. Here to give me back one of my wayward students?" Snape asked. 

 Harry had to take a step back in shock when the cat in front of him transformed into professor McGonagall. Instead of feeling terrified that he had been caught by not one, but two teachers, the first thought that ran through his mind was, 'I was petting my Professor?!'

"I found him not far from the kitchens, Severus. I'm sure you'll know what to do with him." At Snape's nod, she twirled on her heel, and most curiously, placed her hand on his shoulder and squeezed as she passed, seeming to give him courage to face the Potions Professor. With a gulp, Harry turned to face the wrath of Snape, expecting to see a look of pure fury over his Head of House's face, but instead turned to see Snape with a calm mask softening his features. Without a word, Snape opened the door wider and pointed inside, where Harry quickly scurried past the black robed man and into the abandoned classroom.

 Snape shut the door and sat behind his desk, where stacks of parchment were piled high. Harry had a sense of Deja vu from when he stood in the exact spot after the flying lessons travesty.

"I assume you weren't heading to the kitchens for a late night snack?" Snape said suddenly, making Harry jump. Snape had his hands folded together, his black gaze fixed squarely on Harry.

 "Oh, uh, no sir. I'm not hungry," he said, but then not a second later his stomach growled loudly. Snape raised an elegant eyebrow, and with a wave of his wand, a plate full of sandwiches appeared. Harry slowly grabbed one and took a giant bite, settling his rumbling tummy.

"Why then, pray tell, were you near the kitchen corridor?" A slight sneer graced his face, making his onyx eyes go even darker.

 "I just wanted to see Neville," Harry complained. Snape seemed to notice then the stench of vinegar rolling off of Harry in waves, and with a wrinkle of his overlarge nose and another wave of his wand, Harry's clothes became dry, the stench evaporating with the wetness.

"I should take points, Mr. Potter, for being out so late," Snape snapped. Harry ducked his head.

"M'sorry, sir. I just wanted-"

"To see your brother, yes, I know. But did it ever occur to you that you could have waited until breakfast?"

Harry looked up. "Yes, sir, I know. I just...miss him. I'm not used to being away from him so long. Or my parents."

Something akin to understanding shone in his eyes, making Harry feel a little bit of relief.

"I see. You're homesick."

"Yes, sir." Harry nodded.

Snape made a 'come here' gesture, and took a vial of purple potion from one of the shelves above the desk. Harry walked forward and took the potion from Snape's outstretched hand.

"What is it, sir?" Harry asked curiously.

"It's a Calming Draught. It will keep your mind clear of thoughts and soothe you. It should help you go to sleep without any problems. Take it before you go back to bed."

 Harry nodded, clutching the vial tighter. Harry went to exit the classroom, but was stopped by Snape.

"And another thing, Potter. If you are ever homesick again, come straight to me. Don't go wandering around the corridors. You don't want another incident like this one to happen again, do you?" Snape smirked.

Harry shook his head vigorously. He never wanted to even see a bottle of vinegar again.

 "I will give you another Calming Draught if you ever feel homesick again, but please try and not make this a habit. Calming Draughts can get addictive, and with one as young as you are, it can happen very fast," Snape said.

"Thank you, sir. For the potion, I mean," Harry thanked. Snape inclined his head slightly in a small nod, turning back to the parchment on his desk. Before leaving the room, he stopped for a second time, remembering something.

"Oh! Sir!" he added, twirling around. "My dad sent me a letter. He said something about Quidditch-"

Snape's head snapped up. "We'll discuss that at a later time, Potter. For now, I would suggest you go back to your dorm before another teacher spots you."

Snape motioned for Harry to leave with a wave of his hand, and Harry went his way, closing the door softly behind him, the Calming Draught stuffed into his pajama pants pocket. He tiptoed the rest of the way to the common room, taking extra precaution to avoid the teachers that might be lurking in the darkness.

He managed to get into his shared dorm without waking anyone and quickly uncapped the cork on the vial. He got himself comfy underneath the covers, creating a loud squeak from his bed. He paused. Blaise opened one eye, snuffled, then went back to sleep. Harry sighed, then quickly downed the potion. He placed it on his bedside table then snuggled deep under the silky black bedcovers.

He went to sleep with no homesickness and no dreams.