"Don't worry, you'll get to see Ravenclaw eventually," Harry reminded her. "The exchange is going all year. It's going to take time to get everybody through."

"I know, but I'm feeling impatient. I was hoping to get to go again before Christmas break and there's only a few weeks left."

"You never know," Harry said to encourage her.

Harry parted with Hermione and Ron as they went to sit at Gryffindor Saturday morning. Draco was back at Slytherin table and looked comfortable. He was whispering something to Teddy Knott and Pansy Parkinson as Harry made his way to Hufflepuff.

"Hello Potter," the Hufflepuff Quidditch Captain said as Harry sat down in the middle of the Quidditch team.

"Good morning."

"We have Quidditch today," the Captain said, "and our Seeker is visiting Ravenclaw. The Ravenclaw Seeker is visiting Gryffindor, and our game is against Ravenclaw."

"So-" Harry started, uncertain what they wanted since he wasn't even on their team and had never practiced with them before. He'd missed the first Gryffindor game because he was visiting Ravenclaw. He would like to play but knew he'd be scoring a win for Hufflepuff if he did.

"We want you to play," one of the Hufflepuff beaters said. "Ravenclaw has a back-up Seeker they're using."

"Am I allowed to play?"

"You're a Hufflepuff for the time being," the Captain said, as if that settled it. "And as of right now I'm putting you on the team. We don't have anyone else Potter. Our back-up Seeker is sitting at Slytherin today."

"I'll play," Harry told the table, since everyone within earshot seemed to be listening in on the conversation.

"We know you haven't practiced with us, but things should be about the same as being on Gryffindor team. We need you to make sure you don't catch the Snitch until we're up by fifty points though. Don't let Ravenclaw catch it either."

Harry nodded. "Got it."

"Game's in an hour Potter. Eat-up so we can get out onto the field. You've still got to run down to the dorms so you can grab your gear." Harry knew by now that his Quidditch robes had probably changed to yellow and black instead of red and gold. Just like his regular robes, his Quidditch uniform changed every time he moved to a new house.

Harry scarfed down two pieces of french toast and an apple and then followed one of the Beaters, Oliver Jones, down to Hufflepuff in the Kitchen corridor. There were several barrels stacked next to a round door and Oliver tapped a specific one in the rhythm of a song. The door opened and they climbed inside. It was the most cramped entrance to a common room Harry had seen yet, but he fit inside just fine. He barely had time to take in the round common room with a low ceiling and plants hanging out of planters everywhere before Oliver led him to a smaller round door, one of at least a dozen off of the common room, and pushed the door open. After climbing through this round door they found a small circular area with a small black couch and black armchair, and two more doors leading off of it.

"This door is the 5th year boys. That's my dorm. This one is the sixth year boys, that's you. Harry pushed the door open and Oliver followed him into the small round room. There weren't beds. Instead there were bed shaped holes in the walls, some higher up and some near the floor. It was like an animal's den. Harry searched for his trunk and found it on the floor next to one of the bed areas that was close to the floor.

"Looks like that's your bed," the boy said.

"This is where we sleep?" Harry asked, digging through his trunk for his Quidditch robes and all his gear. He felt rushed. He hadn't been anticipating playing in a match today.

"They don't look comfortable, but they are." Harry glanced up at his new bed. It still looked better than the floor of the cupboard under the stairs. It looked soft and warm. There were patchwork quilts in varying shades of gold, yellow, black and gray on all the beds and each quilt looked like it was hand-made and different than the last.

"The beds sort of swallow you whole, like a nest, or a burrow," Oliver said. "Come on, everyone will be waiting for us."

Harry jammed his flying goggles on, letting them sit on his forehead, wrapped his flying gloves up in his Quidditch robe, tucked the bundle under his arm and then grabbed his broom and followed Oliver out. He really wanted to try out the beds but it would have to wait until after the match.

Ravenclaw's backup Seeker was decent at flying it turned out. She kept trying to catch the Snitch and Harry kept having to block her path so he could wait until Hufflepuff was up by fifty points. It was exhausting following her around and blocking her and he could tell she was frustrated with him. Finally Harry heard the announcement that Hufflepuff was at ninety points and Ravenclaw at forty. Harry saw a glint of gold and tore off after the Snitch. The back-up Ravenclaw Seeker took her turn to finally block Harry, but Harry, having practiced with the Ravenclaws maneuvering off of his broom, leapt into the air over her head and caught the Snitch. It was only after the Snitch was in hand that he had a split second to worry over not landing on his broom again, as he never had managed in practices with Ravenclaw to find a broom to land on once he'd leapt off. His broom found him however and he landed, but only just, golden Snitch in hand. A cheer went up and Harry was glad, but also felt bad for the Ravenclaw Seeker at the same time.

"Sorry," Harry said.

"What are you sorry for?" she asked.

"You played really well. They just told me I had to wait til' they were up by fifty before anyone caught it."

"Well with a move like that, I'm just glad you didn't fall and crack your head open. We never would have tried that a hundred feet in the air."

Harry descended to the ground and met the rest of the Hufflepuff team.

"Where'd that come from Potter?"

"What?"

"Leaping into the air like that. I wasn't sure you would actually try to win for us."

"I said I'd play for you, and I am a Hufflepuff for two weeks. It wouldn't be right if I didn't keep my word."

The Captain and the rest of the team gave Harry an appraising look, but then they nodded and began to grin. "Gryffindor," one of the younger Chasers said, and Harry grinned at her. Maybe not all things people thought about Gryffindor's were negative.

After changing and showering in the locker rooms and being led back to Hufflepuff common room, Harry was surprised by how hard the Hufflepuffs were partying inside. It was like a Gryffindor party but with different people and different colors. Someone had a radio blasting wizard rock and younger students were dancing with glee around the common room at having won the match. Harry wished it were quieter. He wanted to go outside or retreat to the dorm but he couldn't remember which door lead to his dorm. Everybody was taking turns coming up to him and congratulating him in betwixt giving him their unsolicited opinion of him and saying how happy they were he'd actually decided to try to win.

After several minutes Harry began to feel dizzy and anxious with all the noise, motion, people, and nowhere to escape to. He was just headed back to the entrance thinking he might get an early start on lunch when Justin Finch-Fletchley and Ernie MacMillan came up to him.

"In here Harry," Ernie said, and led Harry to the correct circular door that led to the 5th and 6th year boys dorms.

"You we're starting to look pale," Ernie said in the quiet of the small space as he pushed the 6th year boy's dorms open.

"I don't like being around all the people in the noise," Harry said. "I wasn't sure which door came in here." He sat down on the bottom bed... or burrow, Harry wasn't sure yet, and sank into it. The bottom seemed not to be flat, but concave like he was lying in a shallow tub or a basin.

"Comfortable?" Justin asked with a laugh.

"Yeah. I've never seen beds like this."

"When they designed the place Helga Hufflepuff liked badgers so much she fashioned the entire house like a badger's den. I didn't realize any of the other houses were any different until I visited Ravenclaw last week."

"Yeah," Ernie said. We all kinda just thought all the houses were fashioned after the mascots. We were wondering if Ravenclaw was like a bird's nest and Gryffindor like a cave."

"Well, Ravenclaw is in a high tower with views over most of the grounds," Harry said, "and they go up on the tower roof to hang out sometimes. That's sort of like a bird's nest."

"I guess," Justin said.

Harry looked around. There were five beds but only three seemed to be lived in.

"Yeah, we only have three sixth year boys," Ernie said, "and Wayne's off visiting Gryffindor this week. Ours is the smallest group in Hufflepuff. The seventh year boys have nine in their dorm!"

"There's five sixth year boys in my dorm," Harry said. He wondered then if Justin, Ernie, and Wayne were close since it was just the three of them.

"You're not looking as pale now," Justin observed. "Wanna go to lunch? Then we can show you the rest of the house after."

Harry agreed and they went to lunch, but the anxiety brought on by the noise earlier crept back over him as soon as he sat down at Hufflepuff table in the Great Hall and people began chatting with him and congratulating him again. He just wanted to be left alone for a while, so he excused himself after barely two bites of lunch and went back out to the Entrance Hall.

"You want to go to the Hospital Wing?" Ernie asked. He and Justin had followed Harry out. Ernie had an armful of fruit.

"No," Harry said. "I just wanted some time away from everybody."

"Sorry," Ernie said. "We'll leave you alone."

"No-" Harry held up his hand, "a couple people is ok."

"How come you don't like parties?" Justin asked, handing Harry an apple and then giving a pear to Justin. They went out the front doors to sit on the front steps in the afternoon sun. It was chilly out and there was a breeze but the sun felt nice.

Harry shrugged. He just didn't. He was used to being all by himself at Privet Drive, and the Dursleys never spoke to him unless it was to tell him to do chores or yell at him for doing his chores wrong. At Hogwarts he usually only talked to the Weasley's and Hermione. Dean and Seamus were best friends and didn't speak all that much to Harry and Ron, and Neville kept to himself a lot.

"Come on, we'll show you the rest of the common room before everyone else comes in. The party's going to continue after lunch. We can find something else to do when everybody else comes back."

"You don't want to celebrate with everyone else?" Harry asked.

"It's just a party. We mostly stick together," Ernie said. "Like you and Ron and Hermione."

Back in the common room Harry was able to get a better look. It was sunny and the whole common room felt warm and inviting now that it was empty, despite that there was no fire going in the grate. There were less doors than Harry has initially assumed, but there were still a lot. Most of them led to dorms and a couple to bathrooms. One door led to a smaller room similar to the common room but it had study tables like the library and bookshelves lined with books.

"We do a lot of studying in here," Justin said. "It's quiet in here. You're not supposed to talk above a whisper and only to study with your group. People study in the common room too when there's not a Quidditch celebration going on."

"There're a lot of plants around," Harry observed, but it made sense considering Professor Sprout was their head of house and taught Herbology.

"We have all sorts of plants," Justin said. "That one cleans our air. We have the cleanest freshest air in the castle." Harry had to agree, it smelled like earth like they were out in the forest, and he loved it. The fresh air along with all the plants made him feel like he was outside, and he loved being outside. "Watch out for that one, it likes to reach out and grab people as they walk by, but only if it thinks you're being naughty or rude. It won't let you go until you apologize to whoever you were rude to, which can be difficult if they went into their dorms or out into the castle. And that plant's good for eating if you get hungry. It tastes like sugar."

"The kitchens are just down the hall," Harry said, "I thought you would all go to get snacks in the middle of the night since you're so close."

"No," Ernie told him. "The first years always try but the elves won't serve students for any reason. They tattle on you to Professor Sprout if you go asking for something to eat."

All of the tables in the room and in the study room were highly polished honey colored wood. They looked to Harry like brand new broom handles. There were small round windows along one wall near the ceiling that let warm light in, and outside you could see grass. Harry saw two pairs of feet walk by and was surprised. Someone must have been out on the grounds walking around after lunch. The entire room felt warm and cheery with it's dark honey tones, plants, and the light that filtered in through all the plants.

The entrance door opened and several laughing sixth year girls came in. "Hi Harry, Hannah Abbott said. Ruby Jones and Megan Jones waved at him and smiled. He held up his hand in a wave back but Ernie was urging him now to go to their dorms and he followed him.

"Are Ruby and Megan sisters?" Harry asked when they were alone.

"Cousins," Ernie said. "There's a lot of Jones' in Hufflepuff. Kind of like how a lot of Weasleys go to Gryffindor."

"So Oliver Jones-" Harry asked of the Beater who'd shown him to the common room before the game.

"Is also their cousin," Justin said.

Ernie and Justin sat down on the uneven floor of the dormitory on a large, soft, circular brown rug and motioned for Harry to come over to them. "Come on, let's play games."

Harry sat down across from them and one of the boys used a wand to call a board game to them from a rough brown wooden trunk that looked like it had seen better days.

"That's our game chest," Justin said. "Each dorm has one. Sometimes we switch games with other dorms in the house. It's tradition that each person donates new games when they graduate to replace the old ones that have fallen apart from use. When I graduate I'm going to buy a bunch of Muggle games and bring them."

"That'll be interesting," Harry said. He knew Muggle games would likely confuse Ron and others who hadn't grown up in the Muggle world.

They passed the afternoon playing games and then went to dinner, which Harry sat through because the rest of the house had finally quieted down about the Quidditch game.

"There's board and card game tournaments sometimes," Justin said during dinner. "I know you don't like to be around a lot of people, but there's one tomorrow."

"Is that what Hufflepuff's spend their free time doing?" Harry asked. "Board games?"

"Most of the time. What do Gryffindor's do?"

"We do games too, and fly, and go out on the grounds."

"Sounds like us then," Ernie said.

Aside from the way Hufflepuff looked, Harry had to agree that Hufflepuff did feel similar to Gryffindor from what he'd seen so far. He felt about as comfortable there as he did Gryffindor. No one had judged him, they'd let him play Quidditch straight away, and people seemed friendly enough. Ernie and Justin had also stuck to Harry like glue when he seemed uncomfortable around others like Ron and Hermione would have done. Harry wouldn't find out until Monday just how different Hufflepuff was from Gryffindor.

* * *

Snape was yelling at him, and his nerves were beginning to fray from the encounter. Harry would gladly take whatever detention Snape wanted him to do if only he'd stop yelling at him. He stuck his hands behind his back and held them tightly in the hope that they'd quit shaking. Snape didn't stop.

"You're just like your father!" Snape yelled. They were in the hallway leading from the bottom of the dungeon stairs to the dungeon classrooms. "Strutting through the halls with a pompous attitude, tie done up wrong, hair a mess, shirt untucked!"

Harry looked down at his tie. It was better than Ron's usually was. He supposed he should have waited to get back to Hufflepuff before un-tucking his shirt. That was his fault. The problem was he was wearing the same uniform slacks as last year because he hadn't had a chance to go to Diagonalley to get new school clothes before boarding the train and his slacks were too tight as it was without a shirt being tucked into them. He was lucky to even have school books for the year. If Flourish and Blotts didn't accept owl orders, he wouldn't. The shirt was his fault, but his hair he couldn't do a thing about. Nothing he ever did made it look better.

"Well what do you have to say for yourself Potter? I expect more from a sixth year!"

"I- er..."

"So eloquent Potter, as always," Snape snapped loudly.

Harry had had enough of the yelling. He couldn't take it anymore and finally shouted, "Just shut up already!"

Snape narrowed his eyes and said in a deadly tone, "Detention Potter. I will teach you manners if it is the last thing I ever have the chance to do."

Harry let go of his jittery hands and stuck them in his pockets.

"Excuse me, Professor Snape?" Justin came out from behind Harry. Harry'd been so caught up in the yelling and shaking he hadn't even noticed there were other students around. He looked around and found Justin, Ron, and a handful of others there who had been coming and going from Potions classes and the Slytherin common room. Apparently they'd all stopped to watch Harry get in trouble for his abysmal attire and grooming skills.

Snape sighed, pulled himself back from where he'd been leaning slightly towards Harry, and stood straight before he addressed Justin, snapping only slightly at him. His tone was so much different than it had been moments before with Harry, but those gathered could still tell he was irritated. "Yes Mr. Finch-Fletchley?"

"Harry's in Hufflepuff right now."

"Your point being?"

"Detentions go to Hufflepuff to be assigned."

Harry turned to look at Justin, confused, and then back to Snape who looked even more irritated.

"And I can trust you will relay the entirety of the events, and Mr. Potter's abysmal appearance to the court?"

"Yes sir," Justin said.

"Be gone then." Snape waved his hand, turned, and stalked off back into the dungeons, presumably to his next class, which Ron was just heading into. Harry and Ron gave each other a look of relief and then Justin grabbed Harry's sleeve and dragged him up the stairs and out of the Dungeons.

"What court?" Harry said. "Hufflepuffs don't get detentions from teachers?"

"Our house is student governed."

"What's that mean?"

"C'mon, we have to get to Herbology or we'll be late. I'll explain at dinner."

Harry was going to get more than an explanation however, he was going to see things first hand. As it turned out, when a Hufflepuff student was accused of wrongdoing by staff or another student, the house convened a court in the common room. Chairs and tables were pushed to the sides and one of the rectangular study tables was brought out of the study room and set in front of the fireplace with seven chairs behind it. Everyone's name (except who the trial was being held for and any witnesses) were put into a hat, and Professor Sprout picked names out of the hat until all seven chairs were filled at the table. There were two first years, a third year, a fourth year, a sixth year, and two seventh years. Harry didn't know any of the students sitting at the table.

Harry was told to stand in front of the table and the rest of the house gathered and sat on the couches and chairs at the back of the common room to watch. Professor Sprout stood back there as well. Just before things got started, the common room door opened and a seventh year Hufflepuff prefect came in with Ron. Harry wanted to ask what he was doing there, but had been told to be quiet until he was asked to speak, so he had to settle for finding out later.

One of the seventh years at the table said, "Court is called today to decide what punishment, if any, will be assigned to Harry Potter. Harry is accused of telling Professor Snape to shut up in the halls. Professor Snape has given a written account of his side of the story, as well as a request that Harry be assigned detention at seven pm tomorrow evening with him for disrespecting staff, and he would like ten points removed from Hufflepuff for doing so in front of a group of students." The boy looked at Harry. "I know you haven't been through a student court before. After we hear from you, read the Professor's statement, and hear from witnesses, we'll decide if there's a punishment and what it will be, and you'll have to agree to abide by it. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded. It was strange that his fate was being left up to a bunch of students, including students younger than himself, but he was hopeful that whatever they decided would be better than what Snape had planned.

"What do you have to say to the charges Harry?" the seventh year asked.

"I told Professor Snape to shut up."

"Why?" the sixth year girl at the table asked.

"He was yelling at me. I just wanted him to stop."

"Let's read the statement," the girl suggested, and the seventh year handed the parchment with Snape's writing over to her.

"Harry Potter frequently presents in class in an untidy manner." Harry paused to appreciate how nicely Snape had written his statement, and wondered if he'd chosen to write so he didn't have to be there in person. Harry was sure if he was there in person he wouldn't be able to help himself from being snarky and shouting. The girl continued reading. "His hair is frequently unbrushed, his tie is not straight, and he appears to take no care in the appearance of his school uniform and robes, allowing himself to be seen walking the corridors with his shirt untucked and hanging out from under his school vest on top of his trousers. Mr. Potter's shoes are never clean, and he appears to care little if at all of how he presents himself to the school. When approached about the subject he frequently mouths off to staff about it, and his habits of appearance never change."

Harry wanted to sigh. It didn't help that he hadn't been able to change yet and was still wearing the same too tight pants with his shirt untucked and his tie loose. The students of the court seemed to be looking him up and down and thinking the same thing and waiting for him to speak. Harry didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure if he wanted to tell a quarter of the school's population that he didn't know how to make his hair look nice, or that his relatives hated him and refused to take him for new robes or buy him new shoes or clothes.

"Is this how you looked when you met with Professor Snape today?" Professor Sprout asked from somewhere behind him. Justin had said she would be allowed to ask questions too although she wouldn't be allowed to take part in the court's final ruling.

"Yes maam," Harry said.

"Can you explain to the court please what reason you have to go to classes like this?"

Harry couldn't help but fidgeting with his fingers. "I'd like to make my hair lie flat maam, but it never cooperates. I do brush it a couple of times every morning before breakfast, but it never looks better. I wash it every night too," he said, hoping people wouldn't think he was just a disgusting slob. Sometimes they had to get onto the case of some of the younger Gryffindor boys about showering because they couldn't stand the smell of them any longer in the common room.

"And your clothes?"

"I thought my tie was ok maam, I didn't mean for it to look crooked. I untucked my shirt after Potions because my pants are too tight and the shirt being tucked in made it worse, but I should have waited until after class was over. These are the only shoes I have. They're all stained up. My friend Hermione tried to help me scrub the stains off with potions and spells but it didn't help much." The room was so quiet that in contrast to the jubilation that had previously caused Harry anxiety days ago after the Quidditch match, he actually began to feel anxious in the silence. Justin had said court would be quiet though when explaining to him what would happen.

"Witnesses to the incident in question?" One of the seventh years at the table asked. Justin and Ron stood up and came to stand behind Harry where he couldn't see them.

"Professor Snape was yelling at Harry in the halls," Justin said. "He didn't seem to care much that other students were all watching and listening. Harry did yell at him to shut up already, but to be fair Harry looked all pale and he was starting to shake. He doesn't like when people are loud."

Great, Harry thought, that's what he needed. A bunch of people thinking there was something wrong with him, shaking and not being able to handle loud noises. He would rather have taken detention with Snape instead of having it all aired out like this in a house court.

"Other witness?" someone at the table asked.

Ron cleared his throat. "Professor Snape is always on Harry about something," he said. "Harry does shower every night and brushes his hair a bunch of times in the morning. He's always complaining about how he can't get his hair to lie flat. Professor Snape is always saying nasty things to him about how he looks. Harry knows and tries to fix things when he can. He and Hermione spent three hours trying to make his shoes look better on the train ride to school."

"Witnesses dismissed," one of the students said, and Justin and Ron sat back down with the other Hufflepuffs.

"Do you have anything else to add Harry?" one of the seventh years at the table asked.

"I'm sorry I yelled at him. I was trying to just listen and not say anything at all. If I could do the day over again I wouldn't yell at him or disrespect him."

While the house waited quietly, the seven students at the table got up and went into the study room for ten minutes and then came back out with their decision.

One of the seventh years said, "Seeing as how Professor Snape was dressing down Harry in front of his peers, the demand for loss of house points for being disrespectful to a teacher in front of students is dismissed. Seeing that Harry has made an effort to make himself look presentable, and appears sorry for the disrespect shown to staff, the demand for detention is dismissed. Harry, by dinner tomorrow you have to go to Professor Snape and give him the same apology you just told to us. Since you yelled at him in public you'll have to apologize in public, so be sure to take Justin and Ernie with you. That should also prevent him from yelling after you give your apology. We'll wait until after your apology is delivered before we deliver the results of the court hearing to Professor Snape. Student court is adjourned." Everyone stood up and began talking about the case. Harry walked over to Ron and Justin and Ernie.

"I had no idea other houses did this," Ron said, looking around the common room as if he were in an alien landscape.

"You should sign up for the exchange," Harry said. "It's worth it."

"Well-" Ron said, "Maybe."

Professor Sprout told Ron he was excused back to Gryffindor tower and then beckoned for Harry to follower her out of the common room and into the corridor. Justin and Ernie followed.

"Where are we going?" Harry asked.

"To address the issue of your clothing and hair," Professor Sprout said. "In Hufflepuff it's customary to address any and all issues right away. If the issue with your appearance isn't fixed you're sure to have another run in with Professor Snape. We generally try to avoid that here."

Harry generally tried to avoid it to, but he always failed. Just a short distance down the corridor there was another round door. She whispered a password, tapped the door in the same rhythmic beat they used to get into the common room, and the door opened to reveal a sitting room. "Come in, hurry along now." The three boys climbed inside and immediately a warm fire sprang to life in the grate.

"Over here," Sprout said, motioning to a tall standing mirror. "Now, what to do about your hair?"

"I've tried everything," Harry said. "My aunt cut it once but it all grew back overnight."

"Did it now? Did you like the haircut she gave you?"

Harry shook his head. "No maam. Definitely not."

"Likely a bout of accidental magic then. If we can give you a haircut you like hopefully it won't grow back, unless your hair has been cursed, which I doubt. How shall we cut it then?"

Harry stared at his reflection in the mirror. His hair was wavy and curly and tangly and long and in general just a mess.

"If we could just make it shorter it might lay straight," he said. He looked at Justin and Ernie. "Maybe like Ernie's but shorter than that."

"We'll see what we can do then." To Harry's horror she pulled out a pair of gardening shears, but before he could protest, she was clipping here and cutting there and hair was falling in a cascade around him. After ten minutes, his hair looked neat and tidy. It was still a bit wavy, but Professor Sprout advised him to brush his hair right away after showering and not to rest his head against anything until it was dry, and to brush it again after it was dry.

"Thanks Professor!" Harry said, "I'll try that!" Even just being shorter Harry thought it looked a million times better than it had before.

"I'm afraid I can't do anything about your shoes," she said, "but I can adjust your pants up at least half a size. You'll have to go to the village on a Hogsmead weekend and order a new pair but this should do until then. She aimed her wand and said a spell and Harry's pants lengthened half an inch and relaxed a little in the waist. They still weren't comfortable but they were better than they had been.

"Mr. MacMillan, show Mr. Potter the spell for keeping ties perfectly in place," Sprout said, and Ernie demonstrated on Harry's tie. Harry's tie instantly straightened as though it had been starched, and seemed unwilling to move out of place from the center of his shirt. "It lasts all day if you do it right," Ernie said proudly. "No one will ever criticize your tie again."

Harry thanked Professor Sprout and Ernie and Justin and they left the Professor's living room and went back down the hall to Hufflepuff. This had been a night unlike any he'd ever experienced before. Snape had been shot down, Harry hadn't gotten in trouble at all, Ron seemed to be re-evaluating the House Exchange Program, and a Professor had actually helped him look nicer!

Harry settled into his bed in the dorms and let it swallow him. He was warm and comfortable. Hermione hadn't mentioned a court or how interesting the dorms were. He wondered then if she'd had a chance to see the student court. If she had, he bet she would have been fascinated.

* * *

"Harry, there you are," Hermione said, catching up to him after lunch the next day.

"Hey."

"What did you say to Ron to get him to change his mind? He went straight to Professor McGonagall's office this morning after Transfiguration and put his name on the exchange list for Hufflepuff."

"He came to court last night."

"Ooh! Did you get to see court? They told me about it but it didn't happen while I was there."

"See it? No. I went through it. I got out of a detention with Snape. I have to apologize to him before dinner though. I have to take Ernie and Justin with me to witness it."

"Ron said you got in trouble, but he didn't tell me about court. He didn't tell me where he got off to last night after dinner either."

"He was a witness."

"Now I am jealous. Everyone's got to see it except me."

Harry grinned at her. Then he spotted Ernie and Justin and beckoned them over. "Will you go with me to apologize to Professor Snape now? I'd rather get it over with since we have a free period."

Professor Snape was not happy to receive Harry's apology. He also wasn't happy that he could no longer say anything about Harry's hair or tie. Harry knew Snape hadn't gotten the results of the court yet, but bet he could surmise that Harry wouldn't be serving detention with him if he'd gone to give him an apology.

"That was good Harry," Ernie said. "You're a real Hufflepuff now."

"Because I apologized?"

"Because you followed everything Hufflepuff stands for. You followed all the rules and did what you were told, and we can tell you've been fair with us too. You acted just like a Hufflepuff playing Quidditch. You worked hard to win and didn't try to sabotage the game or anything."

"It's no fun to cheat, and I couldn't live with myself if I did," Harry said.

"Gryffindor," Justin laughed.

"Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"If ever there was a Gryffindor, all proud and courageous and just, it's you Harry."

Harry couldn't help but grinning.