"Shut it, you half-blood freak." Zabini pointed his quill at Harry's forehead. "Besides, what the hell do you know about hand me downs? Your parents were loaded when they bit it."
"Yeah, well, you'd be surprised what I know," Potter said, and Severus saw a twitch along the boy's jaw. He'd seen the boy's clothes, what he'd scooped from the floor when he'd tried to escape the infirmary second time. Aside from his new uniform trousers, shirt and tie, the rest of his clothing – socks, vest, underpants, trainers – was in woeful shape, not to mention much too large for him, quite like the Muggle shirt he'd been wearing the night before last when Severus had accosted him in the dorms. He would bet a whole vial of basilisk venom that the boy knew quite a lot about hand me downs.
And now he was also fairly sure he knew why the Brat had wanted to use the owl post, just after learning the rules about clothing. He would have sworn at his own blind misperceptions if he thought it would do any good.
Instead, he watched as Potter scooted his chair closer to the girl and said, "Here, try it this way." For the next few minutes, he went through the motion several times for the Wingardium Leviosa, but very, very slowly, and encouraged Bullstrode to mirror his movement. Once she was following him along almost perfectly, he said, "You end the swish here, see, and start the flick when you say the 'v' part of Leviosa. Like this," and demonstrated again, this time with the incantation. He watched her arm carefully, and nodded when she started the incantation on just the right syllable. His face lit up as much as hers when her feather took flight.
"Hey, good one, Milly," Draco said, entering the conversation at last, and then he elbowed Harry in the side. "You, too."
Zabini rolled his eyes but said, "Yeah, okay. Let's try the next one . . ."
Severus, of course, did not smile. Instead, he nodded to Flint and said, "You'll need to be selective at tryouts, then. They'd better be soon, or your practice time will be cut short. And for heaven's sake, see if you can't get Beaters who can actually sit a broom, too. I'm weary of red heads flying circles around our team."
"Yes, sir," Flint said. "I'll put up the notice tomorrow."
"See that you do," Severus told him, and left the common room before witnessing another sickeningly sweet display of the Brat's wonderfulness. He knew he was being unfair, and that he had some more serious readjusting of his thinking to do, but decided he could do it better on a full stomach. He'd missed dinner, what with one thing and another, and so ordered up food from the House-elves before settling back to his grading, this time with a clearer head.
The next day, the answer to the Slytherin Seeker problem fell, almost literally, into his lap. Once again, Potter had broken rules almost as soon as they were handed out, but this time, what with the catch Severus witnessed and the visions of the Quidditch Cup now dancing madly in his mind, he could hardly make himself care.
He did give the Brat Who Could Apparently Make Bloody Rainbows Bend to His Will detention for a week, though. And a week for the Malfoy boy, too. He wasn't going to allow that much leeway, no matter how impressed he was. It was enough that he would need to secure the Brat a decent broom before the first official team practice. Hm. And some gear that fit . . .
TBC . . .
A/N:
I know it's kind of a short chapter, but the next one will be longer, I swear. Thanks to everyone who's been so encouraging about this story! Thanks, especially, to Angry Girl, who originally requested I give it a try. It's been a joy to write, actually, and I hope to keep the characters IC as much as possible as it goes along. I'm sure you'll let me know if I muck it up.
Remember, every day is a good day to review! Hugs to all.
*Chapter 9*: Chapter 9
Better Be Slytherin! – Chapter 9
By jharad17
Disclaimer: Not mine. Alas.
Summary: As a first year, Harry is sorted into Slytherin instead of Gryffindor, and no one is more surprised than his new Head of House.
Previously:
The next day, the answer to the Slytherin Seeker problem fell, almost literally, into his lap.
Harry slept poorly, just like he knew he would. Stupid, interfering professors and their stupid interfering nurses. One good thing had come of the whole ordeal, though. At least he didn't have to hide to take a shower the next morning, as his bruises were mostly gone. Zabini was as snotty as usual, making some remark about how Harry must have finally gotten over being shy, but Harry ignored him. It was easiest to do so. He didn't know what the other boy's problem was, but he'd known bullies aplenty back in Little Whinging, so he wasn't unused to the concept.
At breakfast, surprisingly, Millicent sat on one side of him, while Teddy sat on the other. She gave him a shy smile, which he returned, but didn't say anything, so he returned that, too.
"We've got flying lessons this afternoon," Teddy said after swallowing a mouthful of eggs. "You ever been on a broom before?"
Harry shook his head. "Raised by Muggles, remember?" He was, himself, trying to forget it. But last night had put paid to that possibility. "Have you?"
Teddy gave him one of his half-smiles. "Yeah. But don't worry about it. Half of the Gryffindorks haven't been up yet either."
Harry snickered a little over the nickname; it was fairly lightweight compared to some things he'd heard in the Slytherin common room. "We're to have our lesson with them?"
Teddy nodded, as his mouth was full of bacon. Then he pointed at the bottle of blue sludge still sitting by Harry's plate, untouched, where it had appeared soon after they sat down, and swallowed. "Who's sending you potions?"
"Madam Pomfrey," Harry admitted with a shrug, figuring a lie was pointless, and if he could act casually enough about it, Teddy wouldn't see how upset the whole thing made him. "She thinks I need extra nutrition or something. I had to go see her the other day, remember?"
Teddy nodded. "Looks disgusting."
"It is," Harry agreed fervently. "I'm trying to figure if I can mix it with something to improve the taste."
"Not potions, you don't want to mess about with that. You could ask our Head. He's the Potions Master, after all."
Harry wasn't going to be asking him anything. Ever, if he could help it. "Nah, that's okay. I'll choke it down. It'll just take me a minute."
"Good luck," Teddy said with a smirk.
"Gee, thanks."
Teddy laughed quietly, and Harry plugged his nose again before taking up the bottle. He didn't even want to smell the awful odor of it first this time. The potion was just as bad as the one last night, and again, Harry had to try and keep it down by force of will. He hurriedly drank a whole glass of pumpkin juice right after, to wash away some of the taste. Blech.
Millicent was giving him a concerned look as he put his glass down. "Don't choke or nothin,'" she said. "Who'll help me in study group, else?"
"Aww, you just want me for my Charms, then?" he teased.
She laughed. "Got it in one."
Across the table, Draco snorted through a mouthful of juice, making the rest of them laugh as he mopped his face. "Thanks, I didn't know you cared," he groused.
From the other end of the table, several Prefects growled at them to mind their manners, making Harry and the others sit straighter and school their laughter and expressions to something less raucous. Harry chanced a look at the Head Table, and was disconcerted to find Snape watching him. Again.
Hadn't he done enough already?
He glared back at Snape, then cocked his head toward the empty bottle, so the interfering git could see he'd already drunk the nasty gunk down, before he turned back to his toast.