Back and Forth by WyL

Immediately after he was seated, Harry felt thankful for his house placement. He glanced over to another table, Gryffindor it seemed, only to see students pushing and shoving each other in a playful manner. The table he occupied, however, held many older students who were engrossed in a book. If only the first year's items had not been taken to their respective dormitories, he would be able to pull out his own books.

Beside him was a boy with light brown hair, another first year. The kid hadn't spoken to him as of yet, not was he gaping gormlessly at his face, thinking 'Oh! It's Harry Potter!', luckily for himself. Pulling himself together, he plucked the courage to talk to the other. "Harry Potter, and you?"

The sudden conversation starter seemed to startle the boy, causing a smidge of satisfaction to rise in Harry. "Uhh, Ryan! Nice to meet you… Ryan Francis." The awkwardness was quite endearing, he thought. Harry was also glad that the other hadn't offered a hand to shake, touch was not favourable, in his opinion.

After a while, Harry took note of a girl who was sitting adjacent to him. She had smooth dark skin and long black hair, and wore black framed glasses that rested on her nose. When she noticed him looking in her direction, the girl offered a wave in greeting, alongside a small smile.

"Harry, right?" She asked, and he nodded in response. "Ravenclaw huh? Must be a proper bookworm, I'm Ari!" Her British accent shone through in her quiet voice. She wasn't wrong, Harry did enjoy a good read. Sometimes, engulfing himself in the realm of knowledge was the best thing to do when surrounded by incompetent idiots. "They all thought you'd be a Gryff."

He snorted at that, of course they would assume he would follow in the footsteps of his parents he didn't even remember. "Yeah, well… It doesn't matter that much anyways." He shrugged, "As long as I can do my thing, I don't really care." Harry didn't really care if he sounded too uncaring, the house system was ridiculous anyway. It is simply counter productive to segregate students based on their specific personality traits, and does not prepare them for the future where they would be acquainted with all types of people.

Finally, all the students were sorted and Dumbledore gave his speech. Granted, Harry didn't listen to a word of it, too preoccupied with observing his surroundings and peers. The other first years looked at the bearded wizard in awe, but Harry wasn't all too convinced. He was just a typical book-story wizard, nothing special. If they want a true authority figure, they should look for the quiet ones, the people who don't spout empty promises and fruitless words.

In primary school, Harry had placed his trust in authority figures quite often. The kind lady with red hair, or the portly man with an infectious laugh; they all had something in common, they all left. Promises spoken in hushed tones of a happier future were broken like the heart of the young boy who listened, who believed. Harry was self-sufficient, sure. But his endless optimism had left him as the years progressed. The kid glanced at the eyes of Ari and Ryan across from himself, a reflection of the shine he wore at seven, now dulled.

–

Albus needed new material, Severus thought as the meal progressed. Just one more word on school rules and his eyes would droop closed and his plate would become a pillow. How eleven year olds could take in this information like a sponge and have the energy to actually listen was beyond him.

Minerva rolled her eyes when she spotted Severus' expression. "You know it's necessary." She muttered, and though it was true, the man still offered a scoff.

Watching Potter had become boring, the boy looked as bored as himself, and lacked the enthusiasm the others did. Even his slytherins were more disruptive than Harry, which said a lot since the house was known for their decorum. After what seemed like hours, the food was served and the feast began.

It was no different than usual, Severus finished his meal without disturbance and led his new snakes to the dungeons. The chill of the castle seeped into his skin, goosebumps faded when the group entered the warmth of the common room. The head of house delivered his yearly speech, captivating the younglings with his ever-interesting tone. Draco Malfoy, son of his school acquaintance, stood tall. He kept emotions in check, ensuring to pander to new potential friends and showing well deserved respect to his professors. Though he controlled his expressions, Severus noted that the boy acted nothing like the famous Ravenclaw.

Potter seemed in a constant state of disgust, and sometimes anger. (Almost like the potions master himself) There would be an interesting year ahead of him, that was for sure.

–

Their first interaction was quite interesting.

Severus was simply strolling through the halls, classes did not begin until the day after to allow the first years to settle and unpack. Harry was exploring the castle, ensuring he did not get himself lost on the way to classes, as it would do him no good to anger the higher ups.

It was midday, lunch around the corner and Severus had dropped a few quills which were on top of his stack of books, onto the ground. Suddenly a gust of wind and flash of raven hair passed the man's vision.

Harry swooped down swiftly to aid the Professor in picking up the items. "Here you go sir." He placed the Quills on top stack, receiving a raised eyebrow and a moment of silence in response. Severus wasn't sure how to react, the Boy brought up repressed distaste from within himself, however the kid had just helped out.

Deciding to go with the safest option, the Professor responded, "Thank you, now stop roaming the halls like a dunderhead and get along now. Go!" He demanded, gesturing away with his head, cloak swinging in a snape-like manner. He turned away from the boy and stalked down the halls once more.

Just as he was almost out of earshot, he heard the student mutter, "Ungrateful prat." And if he hadn't been so amused, Severus may have turned around to reprimand Potter.