An one time opportunity

4. Chapter

Lunchtime was filled with chattering from Mortimer (never call me Morti or something bad will happen) and Mandy. He also got to know some of the other team members. The seeker told him that he hated to play in this position and would rather be a keeper, but there was nobody else who wanted to take his place so he was damned to do the job. That was why he was quite relieved to have Harry here. They were all curious as to how good he really was. Harry had to once more admit that he enjoyed himself even though it disturbed him that Severus was so obviously ignored. But he didn\'t want to pull him into a conversation about that topic so he let himself be distracted by discussions about technique and strategies, most of them quite devious, they were Slytherins after all.

Soon they were done and it was time for the next lesson which was Magical history, and no surprise there Professor Binns, the ghost, was their teacher. Therefore the lesson was spent dozing while Severus read a thick tome about potions. As the bell rang Harry stood up hastily ready to run out of the room but his new friend still sat deeply engrossed in his book. All the students left and the ghost vanished through one of the walls. The boy who lived didn\'t want to startle his new friend with a touch and he suddenly had an idea; smiling evilly he pulled his wand out and pointed it at the book, murmuring an Animatus charm, he watched as the letters started to move. Most of them fled to the corners while all the R\'s gathered in the middle and started to dance like Cancan dancers in Paris. Harry grinned and started to laugh as he saw Severus\' wide eyes. Now the S\'s, E\'s, and U\'s joined them and they danced in a circle in which a single V rotated.

Severus looked up at him and as he saw the amused Harry chuckling at the letter\'s behaviour he realized that their was no malicious intent behind the little trick. A little smirk appeared on his lips, Harry stopped chuckling and took a step back. The long haired boy pulled his wand out slowly and said softly \" You like this immature kind of magic?\" Harry backed off further and gulped \"Uh,..\" The Slytherin pointed at the book and whispered something that sounded like Mobilius then directed his wand at Harry and all the letters followed. Harry stumbled into a desk and the little black letters began to climb up his trousers. Harry let go of a rather girly squeak and tried to brush them off \"Seeeveeeruuus!!!\" The letters reached his waistband \"Help!!\" and then disappeared after checking himself over several times he let out relieved breath only then registering the sound coming from Severus. Harry looked up from his trousers and saw the boy shaking with silent laughter. The new Slytherin glared playfully at him and that was enough to set him off loudly. Harry smiled in awe at the beauty that was Severus Snape laughing heartily.

Soon the boy caught himself again and looked at him, \"You should have seen your face It was hilarious!\" Harry blushed but couldn\'t stop his awed smile \"You should laugh more often, you\'re beautiful when you do that.\" At this the dark haired boy sobered. He stared at Harry for a moment and something akin to fear ghosted through his eyes but was easily banished as he turned and gathered his books. Hurrying out of the room he said brusquely \"I have to go, I have a potion project and you Quidditch practice. So, excuse me\" And with that he vanished out of the room nearly as fast as Binns. Leaving behind a stunned and remorseful Harry.

Wondering he looked at his muggle watch only to conclude that he still had an hour time until practice began. Way to much time, which he would spend beating himself up about showing his intent towards the boy so obviously, Harry thought. `Really you know him barely two days and then come on so strongly, what do you think a suspicious guy like Snape would do?´He slapped his own forehead in frustration, but a little voice in his head said that even his obvious come-on didn\'t explain the fear in his new friends eyes. Something else was going on here. And the former Gryffindor thought that he wouldn\'t really like what Severus\' behaviour hinted at. Frowning he walked out of the classroom.

At the back of his head there was something else that he had made a note to himself to do. `What was it again` then it came to him, ´right I need a broom!` With that thought in his mind he made his way to the headmaster\'s office. Where he told the Gargoyles his password and was soon admitted inside the holiest of Hogwarts. The headmaster\'s office. As always in exact the second before his fist could hit the door the man called out enthusiastically \"Come in Harry.\" Shacking his head in amusement he stepped inside only to find that Dumbledore had a visitor. Andreij Avarejus, Arithmancy Professor and Head of the Slytherin House, as Harry recalled the headmaster introductionary description last night.

A shudder ran through Harry\'s body as the steely grey eyes fixed upon him. Their coldness something that neither Lucius Malfoy\'s nor Snape\'s gaze could ever reach. They were right there in a league with Voldemort\'s eyes. That little observation scared Harry immensely. \" Ah Harry, hello, I hope your first day went well?\" Dumbledore asked without a lot concern, his twinkling eyes speaking of too much information he shouldn\'t be able to obtain. \"Professor Dumbledore, \" he gulped and said uncertainly towards the rigid form of his new Head of House \"Prof..Professor Avarejus.\" At least he pronounced it correctly even if he couldn\'t stop himself from stuttering a bit. \"Yes it was o.k. I just had a question, but as I see you\'re.. you have a visitor, so I\'ll äh I\'ll just wait outside.\" The disgust on the short man\'s face told Harry exactly what the man though of his eloquence but the headmaster stopped his retreat. \"No, no, do stay Harry. We\'re done anyway. Right Andrej?\" Not even waiting for an answer he stood and with a swish of his wand conjured a new tray of tea and biscuits.\" The slim man stood and said coldly \"Of course headmaster. I will see you at dinner.\" He didn\'t even acknowledge Harry\'s presence. Which suited the young man just fine. He surely didn\'t want this guy\'s attention on him. With his departure the new Slytherin relaxed and sat down.

\"So what is it that you need?\" Asked Dumbledore after he\'d seated himself and a filled teacup floated into Harry\'s hands. He caught it and took a little gulp. Nice caramel flavour exploded in his mouth, nearly achingly sweet. He smiled and explained \"Well as you introduced me so nicely as a seeker hope,\" this was not said without irony \"my new classmates would like to have me tryout for the position. But I don\'t even have a broom here, and with your description it would seem strange if I used one of the school brooms.\" After he\'d said that he leaned back and hoped against all eventualities that he\'d managed to catch the headmaster in one of his own scheming nets. But the amused twinkle he got deflated him immediately. \"You are right my boy, but fortune will it that just this morning, my dear friend Willhelmius Fordon, who works as a broom constructor, sent me one of his newest models to check for spell safeness. As I already did in the hope you would maybe like to use it for the duration of your stay with us.

´Well he tried´ Harry thought morosely and could only nod and murmur \"How fortunate indeed.\" The headmaster went to a closet that was hidden behind a huge red wand carpet with the picture of a door(!) on it. And after some minutes of disturbing clatter, muffled \"Oh, here it is,\" and \"Haven\'t seen that for a while\" s he came back with a Nimbus100 ? That was the newest broom? Harry\'s mouth fell open. Ron\'s broom was a Nimbus200 so that meant it was really old. He\'d flown the rather sluggish thing. It was catastrophic in comparison to his Firebolt. How would he ever be able to cope with an even older version? The headmaster noticed his look and said \"It\'s probably nothing compared to what will be developed in 20 years. But I\'m sure you\'ll manage. After all it\'s the player that counts, not the broom\" ´Right,´Harry thought with a big load of sarcasm in it ´after all he\'d always had the best broom in his school, but then it would be the same now. This was the best.` \"Sure professor, I\'ll just try not to expect my broom to behave like the one I usually fly. Thank you. I\'ll better go now and get used to it.\" He took the broom in his hand and was surprised at it\'s heaviness. longing for his FireboltChampion filled him as the headmaster jerked him out of his contemplation. \"That\'s the spirit Harry! And please come into the potions classroom after dinner and bring Severus with you. We could use his help if we are to ever find out what went wrong during your potions accident.\" Harry nodded and left.

He walked brusquely to the Quidditch field, his face turned towards the floor and ignored all the awed whispers he got from the students in the halls. ´Another time, same procedure`Harry thought and then told himself to lay off the sarcasm or he\'d turn into Snape earlier than the man did. Finally, as he arrived at the same beloved sight of the Quidditch field that he knew from his time, he relaxed and took a deep breath. He didn\'t have Quidditch clothes but that didn\'t matter right now. He only wanted, no, needed to fly. To feel like himself in all the strangeness his life had turned into. Not thinking about it he climbed on his broom and pushed off the ground. Only when he noticed the slowness of his ascent did he remember where he was, and even then just for enough time to adapt to the changes. Then he lost himself in flying figures, descending and rising, looping through the air, and all in all just reacquainting himself with his element: the air.

So absorbed was he into his flying that the sudden clapping that sounded through his surrounding after a rather daring little stunt nearly made him loose his balance. He regained it and sank to the ground where the whole Slytherin team, plus it\'s manager Mandy stood in old fashioned Quidditch uniforms. It was funny to see the clothes he only knew from the pictures in \"Quidditch through the Ages\" in reality and he grinned at his new housemates. Mandy seemed ecstatic as she immediately began to talk 50words/second.

\"Oh Harry that was amazing, I have never seen somebody fly like that. And what kind of a broom do you have, I have never seen one like it. Really you must take the position of our seeker. With you, we\'ll surely beat the Gryffindorks! So you don\'t have a choice really. It\'s your responsibility as an unloyal Slytherin to be loyal only to your House and bring all your cunning and fortune into it. Talent belongs to the last. So there it is...\" Her next words were muffled as a large Arabian looking boy behind her put his hand over her mouth. Harry who had nearly become dizzy while trying to follow her words could only look thankfully at the guy. He thought his name was something with Sharey, Shari, he was lost.

So he turned to a slightly grinning Mortimer \"Well I have to admit Mandy is right\" he drawled. \"As the Slytherin team Captain I officially ask : Will you be our seeker Harry.\" He offered his hand. There really was no choice. The messy haired boy took the slim hand into his and replied seriously \" It would be an honour and I\'ll do my best.\" Mortimer nodded satisfied \"Well with these formalities aside, we can now start our practice. Get up and fly yourself warm. Mandy let him go. \" This was said without turning back and Harry looked confused to the girl ... who had the Shar-something guy in a full body bind and stood with her wand trained on his figure, obviously contemplating what to do next. She pouted at the blonde\'s words but released her victim. Harry looked at Mortimer in surprise. The boy said nonchalantly \"She\'s is rather adapt at cursing, why do you think nobody ever interrupts her?\" With that he pushed up from the ground and Harry after a slightly maniacal grin from the dark haired girl followed.