Slytherin Saviors

The door closed behind Draco leaving Snape alone to pace the floor in annoyance. Not even twenty-four hours in Slytherin and the damn brat had caused chaos! What did the idiot think he was doing wandering the school all night!

On the other hand, how many times had he caught the boy doing just that the past six years? Given the fact that the idiot Headmaster allowed the kid an Invisibility Cloak, Snape wondered just how many times he had NOT caught the boy during his midnight excursions.

A know on the door interrupted his furious musings. “Enter,” he snapped, knowing without being told who it would be.

Harry opened the door and walked in cautiously. He cast a glance at his new roommates who had taken up position outside the door before closing it with a firm click. He was just about to approach his Professor when the man descended on him, robe swirling in his fury.

“Where have you BEEN? Are you TRYING to start the year off in negative points and a month of detention?” His black eyes were flashing dangerously.

Harry took a step back and found himself pressed against the door. The sudden pressure on his back made him wince slightly. It was that wince mixed with the well hidden fear that caused Snape to back down. He turned and strode away as Harry began to stammer out an apology.

“Sorry sir. I um…I didn’t mean to be out all night. I was just too upset to go straight back last night and I wandered and sort of …er, well, I fell asleep in an empty classroom.”

Snape drew a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He wasn’t going to snap at the wretched idiot.

“Um, sir?” Harry queried his silent Professor.

“Yes Potter?” the man responded, his voice extremely quiet.

“I need you to help me with my back if you could. Please.” Harry held out the jar. Snape turned and nodded at his student, taking the jar. He waited silently while Harry removed his robe and shirt. He stood silently while those long fingers worked the salve into the bruises on his back, flinching only slightly when they rubbed a particularly tender spot.

“Did you take the ulcer and pain potions yet?” asked Snape.

“Yes sir. The ulcer one when I first woke, the pain one before I came down here,” Harry answered.

“Hmm,” Snape mused. “Stay there for a moment. I am going to run a quick scan. That should not hurt through the pain potion if it is a simple bruise.”

Harry nodded and ducked his head. Embarrassment was making his face red and he didn’t want his hated professor to see. He was starting to feel a bit cold without his shirt and he couldn’t hold back a shiver when he felt the cold wave of magic brush his skin.

“There appears to be a slight fracture to the shoulder blade. Nothing overly serious. I will take care of it momentarily,” Snape said quietly.

Harry nodded. “How did you know I had ulcers sir?”

“You have had more responsibilities heaped on you the past five years than any other single student and you have been starved the better part of the summer, it is only logical that you would be having stomach problems,” Snape answered before casting the healing spell.

“Can I assume by your question that your stomach is feeling better?” Snape asked. He had circled back towards Harry’s front and handed back the salve jar.

“Yes sir.” Harry answered. He started briefly when he felt Snape take his chin in his hands. The other man moved Harry’s face slightly to either side looking at the bruising around his throat.

“Does it hurt to swallow?” he asked Harry.

“Er,” he hadn’t really thought about it. Experimentally, he tried to swallow a few times and found that it didn’t hurt exactly, but did feel a bit strange so he relayed the information as best he could.

Snape nodded slightly. He conjured a glass of water and handed it to Harry.

“I want you to take a sip. I am going to feel the muscles as you swallow to make sure they are working properly. I think they are just bruised but I don’t want to take any chances,” He told Harry his tone steady and unthreatening, in spite of the implied threat of a hand around the younger man’s throat.

Harry nodded nervously and took a small drink of the water. He felt his throat muscles working against the hand. Within moments, he felt the hand pull away and couldn’t help a brief sigh of relief. His mind kept shying away from the memory of his uncle, his hands wrapped around his throat. It had only been the intervention of his aunt that had stopped him.

Not that she had cared; she just didn’t want to have to deal with the wizards that would show up. She was afraid of what they might do if Harry were to die. Uncle Vernon insisted that they would not come but had backed off anyhow.

Snape’s voice snapped Harry back to the present. “It is as I suspected, just bruised. However, some of your bruises appear very deep and will take a while to heal. Keep applying the salve.”

Harry nodded his agreement. “Sir, what about Professor Dumbledore? Are you going to tell him?”

“We will discuss that tonight. I believe that it is almost breakfast time and your roommates are probably growing tired of waiting.” Snape turned to the back of the room while Harry slipped on his shirt and robes.

Harry was just finishing with his tie and still had a couple more questions for his Head of House. He hesitated to ask, the snarky man had been rather… pleasant and he was afraid to upset him.

“What is it Potter?” the man snapped.

“Er, the potions. The ones I am supposed to take a few times every day?” Harry started.

“Yes, I am familiar with them,” the man sneered slightly.

“Er, you only gave me one of each. I was just wondering…” he trailed off leaving the question hanging in the air.

“I am not a hospital wing Potter. I do not carry a full stock of supplies. I will be creating the required potions for you while I attempt to teach the newest batch of idiot students. You will have you potions when you need them. Is there anything else?” Snape was looking at him with a barely suppressed anger.

“Sorry sir. Um, just one more thing,” Harry hesitated.

“Potter! I don’t have all day. Out with it,” Snape rubbed his forehead. Two more years of this brat. He wondered how he was going to survive. Iceland. Iceland was supposed to be a great place to hide. Or perhaps Jamaica. Surely not even Albus would expect him to be hiding in such a warm and sunny climate. Two years of this and Jamaica would feel like a fantastic place.

“I didn’t think I would be taking Potions this year. I didn’t get the books and supplies. I was just wondering…” Harry bit his lip nervously.

Snape walked toward the large cabinet in the back of the room. He grabbed a book from the bottom shelf and handed it to the younger man.

“You may borrow that one until you can get a copy of your own. Supplies, for now you can use some of my own again until you get your own at which point I expect you to reimburse me for the supplies that you have used,” this was said in a no nonsense tone.

“Now, if there is nothing else that we need to discuss at this time?” he raised a brow. Harry shook his head and turned to leave.

He paused, one hand on the door. “Sir?”

There was an exaggerated sigh from behind him. “What?” was the snarled response.

“Just one question. First year. If three students had come to you in a panic and told you that they needed Professor Dumbledore because someone was trying to steal the Stone, what would you have said?” Harry didn’t look back. He was almost afraid of the response.

The silence dragged on. He almost turned to look over his shoulder but still held his position.

“Potter, you and your little friends weren’t exactly subtle. For Merlin’s sake, standing in the middle of the hall talking about it where anyone could hear!” Harry flushed slightly. He had never really thought about that. “Who do you think kept that blasted beast asleep while the Headmaster went down there?”

Harry thought about that for a moment. Slowly he turned and looked the other man in the eyes. “Thank you,” he said. With those words he turned and left the room.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

In spite of knowing the others were waiting for him, Harry still gave a small start of surprise at seeing Draco and Crabbe and Goyle as well as Blaise waiting patiently, well, not patiently but waiting for him anyhow. He gave a mental shake and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Just before they reached the hall, a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He resisted the urge to shake it off. Instead, Harry turned to look at Blaise.

“Pot…Harry, be prepared. They may not be the friendliest,” the other boy had a closed look on his face but his voice was concerned. Harry thought for a few moments and nodded.

“I know. Not like it is going to be anything new. Let’s see, last year I was insane, I guess this year we are back to being a Dark Lord in training?” Harry smirked slightly, masking the hurt he felt. Yesterday he had been back to being the hero again. Ron, Hermione, Neville, Luna and Ginny were threatening to curse the next person to bug him on the train.

Draco snickered. “As if you could be a Dark Lord”
Harry bit back a snarl. He glared at the offensive blond, who gave a regal toss of his head and continued, “I mean, first of all, you are too short. Who can be intimidated by a person they are looking down at?”

Harry gave a snort of laughter before he could cover it.

“Besides, your hair is just atrocious. You look like a short porcupine. Or would that make you a hedgehog? Hmm, Hogwart’s hedgehog. That has a certain air about it. Perhaps we could do something with that after all,” the blond pushed open the door to the Great Hall and the group moved to the Slytherin table, Draco chattering on the whole way distracting Harry slightly from the mix of glares and confused looks that were being directed to him.

He refrained from looking towards the Gryffindor table. He still wasn’t sure he was ready to see the hostility on the faces of his former housemates. They were joined by Nott and his girlfriend Daphne Greengrass shortly. Along with several of the other students.

Harry pulled the two vials out of his pocket as the meal was served. He failed to notice Draco watching. Quickly, the other boy decided to create a diversion to prevent the others at the table from noticing and asking questions.

“So, before the Daily Prophet gets here, we were just about to start a pool. I think it is agreed that they are going to make Potter here out to be a Dark Lord. The question is, will he share the position, or will he try to kill off The Dark Lord and take over? And what will his title be? My money is on Dark Lord Hedgehog,” Pansy sputtered and spit her pumpkin juice across the table. Millicent barely moved out of the way to avoid being hit by the spray and everyone at the table was laughing.

Harry took advantage of the distraction and quickly downed the potions. He was half listening to the inane talk as suggested names were being tossed around. He couldn’t help laughing when someone suggested ‘Mini-Muggle Exploiter’ or ‘Mini-ME’ for short. He didn’t see who suggested it, but wondered if it was a coincidence or a Muggle-raised.

Draco elbowed him slightly. “What? You have a better idea?”

Harry snickered. “Well, given Vol…er You-Know…HIS red eyes, and my green ones, maybe we should team up and be known as Lords Christmas?”

Draco rolled his eyes. “That is truly lame. We know YOU wouldn’t be the brains of the operation.”

At that moment the mail was announced with the arrival of the owls. Harry still wasn’t about to support the Prophet, in spite of the wonderful things they had been saying about him this summer. In his mind, it didn’t nearly make up for the horrible things they had said in the past.

BOY-WHO-LIVED THE NEXT DARK LORD?

The headline caught his eye and he quickly turned his attention back to his plate. He was slightly surprised at the fact that he had eaten nearly everything on it.

Blaise’s voice was soft. “Well, I guess the question has been answered. He is going to fight for the top position.”

Harry sighed and pushed his plate back, suddenly not hungry anymore. As he stood to leave, Blaise laid a hand on his arm.

“Don’t leave. You leave, they win. Eat the rest of your meal, smile and don’t let the bastards get to you,” was the soft advise.

Draco gave an imperceptible nod and snagged a piece of bacon from the abandoned plate before pushing it back to Harry, making the whole movement look natural and like Harry was just giving him unwanted food.

“You are Slytherin now. Dark Lord or Golden Boy, you are one of us,” he contributed. He knew that Potter wouldn’t get it. It was going to take time. Hell, he found it hard to reconcile the person he was trying to hex just yesterday afternoon with the person that he was sitting beside today. But he had five years of living the life, plus eleven years of it being drilled into him.

The meal continued quieter than it started. Harry picked at his food finally finishing everything. He didn’t notice when Draco would dump a bit more on every time his head was turned.

When Snape was handing out their scheduals, Harry started to bite his nails. He started briefly when Blaise once again laid a hand on his.

“Quit that. Don’t let your nervousness show,” Harry rolled his eyes at the chastisement.

He opened his schedual and gave a sigh. Double Potions first thing. With Gryffindor.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

At Number 12 Grimauld Place, Remus Lupin opened his paper. He was debating canceling his subscription when he read the headline. After finishing the article, he growled in fury.

He slammed his paper down and prepared for a trip to Hogwarts. He wanted answers.

Molly Weasley took up the paper that had been abandoned. She gasped when she saw the article that had so upset Remus. Her first impulse was to send off a Howler to her all but adopted son. She checked that impulse and wondered what had happened. She had never heard of a re-sorting before and no matter what, Harry was her son. Whatever had changed, he deserved a chance to explain. She knew she would get answers soon enough.

Instead, she penned a quick note. Harry,

I don’t know what happened, or why you have been re-sorted but it doesn’t matter to us. You are still our son and we still love you. I just wish you had written to tell us yourself instead of letting us find out from the newspaper.

Expect Remus soon. He is a bit upset. Although, I don’t know if it is you or Severus that he is going to be “having a word with.” Never fear, he loves you as well.

Write. Tell me if you need anything.

Molly and Arthur Weasley

It took her several attempts, but finally she had found a note that she felt comfortable with and sent Errol off with the letter.

Voldemort was furious. His main spy had just been incapacitated by this newest change. He couldn’t demand any information on the boy from Severus and it was by his own ruling. He stalked the floor his mind racing. Severus wasn’t his only spy, just the best. He would have to find another way. All his careful plans were now ruined!