If there was one word Harry Potter could use to describe himself in this very moment, it would be terrified. Why would he be terrified? Well, the poor boy was just Sorted into Slytherin house.

Safe to say, not everybody was happy about that since the Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff tables were dishing out boo's and negative remarks.

So, the child kept his head down, and just took it. After all, this was nothing he wasn't used to. His housemates, on the other hand, were less than pleased with this.

And the worst part is that none of the professors, with the exception of Flitwick, Sprout, and Prince, did anything to stop them.

Finally, casting a Sonorus, Professor Prince yelled out, "ENOUGH! IT'S OVER AND DONE WITH, SO LET'S CONTINUE THE SORTING!!"

Begrudgingly, the students quieted down, although there were some glares thrown at the Slytherin table. Cautiously, the boy next to Harry wrapped an arm around his shoulders and slowly brought him against his side.

This seemed to help Harry calm down, even if he was startled by the initial contact. "Thank you, Draco," the boy whispered softly, earning a smile from his neighboring housemates. Before long, dinner and dessert were over and the students were being led to their common rooms. However, the Slytherins couldn't leave as Harry was now fast asleep.

Professor Prince walked over to his snakes, and smiled gently at the smallest snake. Without prompting, he picked Harry up and cradled him in his arms before quietly asking the Prefects to lead the others to the dungeon.

When they arrived in the Slytherin common room, the boys and girls were lead to their dorm rooms and Harry's room was shared with Theo Nott, Draco Malfoy, and Blaise Zabini. Severus followed Draco and after entering the room, placed Harry into his bed and tucked him in.

"Sleep well, my little ones. Te mane," and with a whispered Nox, left the dorm to return to his own room.

The next morning, about thirty minutes before breakfast was due to start, all members of Slytherin house were gathered in the common room with Professor Prince going over the rules.

"Now, since we have a bad reputation amongst the school, I want all of you to protect each other. If you absolutely must break the rules, do not get caught. One more thing: Do not trust either Professor McGonagall or Headmaster Dumbledore. Both of them openly favor the Gryffindors and they are the most prejudiced against Slytherin,"

It made sense, if the students thought about it since neither of them made any effort to stop the negative treatment Harry had received after his Sorting.

Fearing that it might happen again, Harry ran and hid behind Severus, grasping the man's robes in a tight grip. Severus, not minding this, simply smiled and led his snakes to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Upon arriving, the students sat down at their house table and started fixing their plates. Harry, the poor thing, had never seen so much food, and even after all these years, couldn't stomach much.

To his credit, he did manage to eat a quarter of the plate Draco made for him, and that was enough for everyone.