"Albus, in all my years I've been here, I never once seen the Sorting Hat behave like that," Professor McGonagall commented to Dumbledore while everyone was eating.

"Actually it did but it was in 1970 when you missed the first month of classes because of a family emergency. If I recall it did it twice that year. Once for Remus Lupin and again for Peter Pettigrew. When they were sorted, the hat shouted 'By Gryffindor'," Dumbledore replied.

"What caused the hat to behave like that?" McGonagall asked.

"It means that one of the so called Hogwarts' heirs that were sorted into the house named after their distant ancestor wanted the person to be sorted into their house," Dumbledore answered.

"Then that means an heir of Slytherin is here at the school?" Severus asked from a few seats away after taking a swallowing some squash.

"But You-Know-Who had no children Albus. There is no way..." McGonagall pointed out before being interrupted.

"I have a theory but this isn't the place to discuss it because knowing how students like to gossip about things that we say to each other, the Daily Prophet will get wind of the rumors and the public will be needlessly put into panic mode, especially if Rita Skeeter is the one who writes the article," Dumbledore answered.

Severus didn't need Dumbledore to say what his theory was. The school got confused about who Harry's distant ancestor because the boy unintentional absorbed part of Voldemort's soul. As a result, Hogwarts itself recognized Harry as an heir of Slytherin and gave Harry all the privileges of it. Its just want Severus wanted. A nephew that could not only interfere with the sorting process but override any punishments handed out by the staff if he remembered correctly. With Harry, Henry and their friends' knack for trouble, Severus decided to put off telling Harry about the privileges he had and desperately wished he could strangle the idiot who came up with the idea of special privileges for Hogwarts heirs. Dumbledore much have looked down the table at Severus while he was deep in thought because Dumbledore said something to him.

"Severus, if you are concerned about a person in your house being able to overrule the staff when it comes to punishments, I assure you that is an exaggeration. The school would only let them overrule if the 'heir' is convinced the person or people being punished are innocent. Other than control of the Sorting Hat and pardoning framed students, all other privileges aren't true. A certain Gryffindor a year above you proved what an heir can and can't due repeatedly."

After the feast, the prefects lead the students out. Harry went with the rest of the Slytherins to the dungeons. Soon they came to a stretch of bare, damp, stonewall.

"A Better Heir," a boy prefect who Flint was a 5th year named Raoul Wazlib spoke to the wall and door slid open. Once everyone was in the common room, the prefect address the new Slytherins. "If everyone would please wait here in the common room. Professor Snape wants to have a house meeting. He should be here shortly."

Harry looked around the common room. It just wasn't the same as the Gryffindor common room. It was a long room with stonewalls and dark despite the fact it had round-greenish lamps hanging from the ceiling. There was also a fire in a fireplace that had elaborately carved mantle. All the chairs and couches in the room were either green or black. In a few minutes, Severus came through the common room door with an annoyed look.

"Please don't bother to memorize current password for the common word until I have a chat with the portrait of Salazar Slytherin, who is responsible for setting the password. There will be a new password in the morning. I will announce the new one then," Severus announced.

"Wouldn't the portrait have to be on the door?" a boy who Harry believed to be a third year asked.

"There is one but it requested to be made invisible when I was still a student after a person in the year below me took offense at something the portrait told him and shot some impressive hexes at it," Severus explained.

"What did Slytherin say to the student that make him mad?" the boy asked.

"I don't know. I was in the common room when that incident occurred. However, I believe we have house meeting to conduct this evening," Severus explained.

"First of, I would like to welcome the new additions to our house. I except you to all help them get familiar with the layout of Hogwarts as soon as possible if they weren't here last year. First impressions are the most lasting and being late for class during the first week does not leave a good impression with the other professors.

"For those who don't know who I am, I am Professor Snape. In addition to being the resident Potions Master, I am the head of Slytherin house. I am responsible for your behavior and academic performance while you are here at Hogwarts. If you have any problems with other students or professors, come to me first if possible. I expect each and every one of you to be on your best behavior and get at least an Acceptable in all your classes. If you have any problems with your work for your classes, I will arrange for a tutor to help you. Also, second years and fifth years, at the end of the spring term I will be discussing in private with you what classes you will be taking next year so you better start thinking about them because the end of the spring term will be here before you realize it." Severus explained. Harry had no idea what classes his uncle was talking about and decided to ask about them later on.

"Now for the first order of business, I believe we should go over the rules for Slytherin house. First of all, we will be having a house meeting to discuss all issues, problems, and suggestions you have every Friday evening. The only excuse you have for missing a house meeting is if you are in the hospital wing under the care of Madam Pomfrey. As I supply a large number of the potions she uses in the hospital wing, I will know if any of you are lying to me about being there.

"Second rule: assist each other when appropriate and possible. I've had a lot of complaint these past few years from the others that has lead me to believe that many of you are interpreting that rule as presenting a united front to the rest of the world. The problem with interpreting that rule in that way is that whenever one of you do something that reflects badly on our house, the rest of you rally to that person's defense ruining Slytherin House's reputation even further. Slytherin House has a bad enough reputation in part to certain individuals who used to be in it, it does not need it to be ruined any further by you succumbing to a mob mentality. You all have a brain; please use it to think for yourself. If you feel anyone is disgracing Slytherin House, do not show that person any support. Slytherin House is the house for the ambitious and cunning, not the house for those who mindlessly follow the leader," Severus continued. Draco let out a groan earning him a glare from Severus and a few snickers from other students present, including Harry.

"Third rule: Present your best self to the rest of the world. If you get caught behaving like the school's resident poltergeist, you won't get far in life. Your friends and family aren't going to be here forever to bail you out of any bad situation you get into for breaking this rule. The parent of the student responsible for last June's attempt on Harry Potter's life wants make sure that his son and his friends understand this rule and the previous one completely," Severus said, continuing to glare at Draco.

"Are there any questions about the rules?" Severus asked sternly to which there were a number of no sir's.

"Good. I also have to make an announcement. I'm only telling you this because I'm sure everyone is going to know it by the end of the winter holidays if I say nothing. Due to the unanticipated effects of the curse that failed to kill Harry Potter, it was decided that Harry and his brother Henry couldn't return to their muggle relatives. Being that I am the late James Potter's half-brother and Harry Potter's uncle, Harry and Henry Potter are living with me so do not think anything of you seeing them in my office or near my quarters. There are enough rumors about the Potters and I going around and I would appreciate it there aren't any new rumors started. Now is this anything you wish to discuss?" Severus asked, handing over the meeting to the students.

"Is Potter going to be playing Quidditch for Slytherin or is he still going to be playing for Gryffindor?" A fourth year girl asked.

"He'll be playing for Slytherin. He agreed to play for us earlier today," Flint replied causing a few cheers to break out.

"Is there any more?" Severus inquired. "Very well. Next meeting will be on Friday after super. Ha-Mr. Potter, Professor Dumbledore and I want to talk to you in private. The rest of you are dismissed." Harry and Severus left the common room while all the other Slytherins either headed for the dormitories or stayed in the common room to finish the conversations they were having at the feast.

"I can't believe my uncle wanted to keep Azure locked up in his quarters," Harry wrote to Tom while he was sitting up in bed. He was glad that Azure was now allowed to leave Severus' quarters when Harry didn't have class. However, Azure wasn't allowed in the dormitories after lights out not that Azure objected. Azure didn't like Draco and preferred to avoid him saying something about Draco reminding him of a ferret he had the unfortunately crossed paths with.

"That is a cruel thing to do to a creature from the wild, especially to one that can fly. But given the stigma of being a Parselmouth, I don't blame him." Tom wrote back.

"Why is everyone convinced all Parselmouths are evil?"

"It is because of there have been a lot of dark wizards who were."

"But Parseltongue is just a language. Being able to speak it is no different than being able to speak German during the world wars. You could help fight the evil parselmouths with it." Harry reasoned.

"Spoken like a true Slytherin, both Professor Dumbledore and Slughorn felt the same way about Parseltongue. I'm a Parselmouth myself but Professor Slughorn told me in my first year not to let anyone know because they might get strange ideas about me."

"You're a Parselmouth?" Harry wrote, shocked.

"Yes. I discovered by accident when I was seven but back than I didn't know I was a wizard."

"Are you a muggleborn?" Harry asked.

"No. A half-blood. My mother was a witch and father a muggle; I never knew either of them. I was told they died when I was a baby and I ended up living in a muggle orphanage. I didn't know I was a wizard until Professor Dumbledore, who was then the Deputy Headmaster and Head of Gryffindor, told me."

"You are lucky. At least you got a proper bedroom. All I had was a cupboard... Looking back, I think the only reason my aunt and uncle didn't take me to an orphanage, like my uncle's sister Marge kept telling them to do, was because of the blood wards Professor Dumbledore set up." Harry wrote, feeling jealous. He decided to take a look at the clock before seeing what Tom's reply was. It was getting late and Harry felt he should wrap up his conversation with Tom soon.

"Funny. For people who hate magic, it's rather odd for them to want to use magic to protect themselves," Tom replied.

Harry blacked out for what seemed like a second but the clock said he was out for less than a minute. What was even odder was that he hands felt as if he had just washed them. He told Tom that he needed to go to sleep. As he put his diary away, there was some dust on his trunk and the floor around it that wasn't there before. It didn't seem right. Not wanting to dwell on it, he went to bed and fell asleep.