One Day They'll Know Your Name

Thats not my name

Marcus Flint walked by again, speaking more loudly than he had to Harry. "Alight, firsties, follow me, we don't want you getting lost and wandering down in the dungeons forever on your first night here." A couple of the older students snorted, clearly knowing something Harry's year didn't.

All the new Slytherins followed the older boy out of the Great Hall, down a large number of moving stairs, and into the dungeons. They stopped in front of a seemingly blank wall, but, looking closer, Harry saw a few carvings of snakes in the wall. They seemed to be looking right at him. Flint stepped forward.

"I'm going to say the password. Don't forget it, or at least have someone with you who won't forget. The password is alihotsy."

Harry watched as the snakes slithered inwards quickly, then seemed to pull on a crack that had appeared. The door opened as they pulled. It was so fast, if he hadn't been watching the snakes he would have missed the movement. The doors opened to reveal a green and silver themed room with a fireplace and couches and chairs scattered around tastefully. Not everything was green and silver thankfully, that would just make it boring. There was some black, and the walls seemed to be painted a deep blue.

Flint spoke up. "Welcome to the Slytherin common room. This is your home for the next seven years. The dorms are this way." He gestured as he said it. "Girls on the right, boys on the left. Your trunks will already be there."

Harry noticed a slightly deeper shadow in one corner and assumed the Head of House, Professor Snape if he remembered correctly from Professor Sprout, was standing in it. He was proven correct a moment later when the shadow moved and a tall man in all black stepped out. His hair looked a little greasy, but Harry could tell that it wasn't really. He presumed there was something about the potions that made his hair more difficult to keep clean.

"My name is Professor Snape. I am your Head of House. Slytherin House will be your home for the next seven years, as Mr. Flint has said. If you need to see me for any reason, my office is just through that door over there. My office hours are posted on the bulletin board." His voice was silky smooth and it sounded like he was always struggling not to sound sarcastic. Harry suspected that any student who found his ire would be on the receiving end of quite the verbal beat down. The professor continued. "If I am not available, one of the prefects can help you. Now, off to bed with you. Classes start in the morning. I'll have your schedules ready for you at breakfast, so be sure to arrive on time."

With that, Professor Snape swished out of the common room. The first years stood for a moment longer, then headed to find their rooms. As they walked into their room, they discovered that all the first year boys were in the same room. It was shaped like a large hexagon, with a bed on each side. Harry wondered if it was the castle magic making sure the room was the right size or if there were always six boys in a class. He decided not to question it farther and found his trunk quickly in front of the bed between Draco's and Theo's. He also noticed more snakes decorating the walls and suspected that they could move just as the door snakes could. He wondered if they went and got Professor Snape or a prefect if the students were in trouble or something. He shrugged mentally and went to grab sleeping clothes from his trunk. After changing and washing up in the bathroom, he went to bed, falling asleep almost instantly.

The next morning, Harry woke to, surprisingly, Theo jumping on his bed. "Get up! If you want time in the bathroom before we have to go to breakfast we should get there before Draco." Harry giggled at the accuracy and then went and jumped on Blaise's bed to wake him up with the same message. They left Crabbe and Goyle for now, not knowing them well enough. The three boys quickly got ready for the day and only then did they wake Draco. They threw pillows at Crabbe and Goyle before they did, supposing that even the so far silent boys should get a headstart on Draco. When Draco was finally done they all headed out to the common room to find Pansy and three other girls. Harry remembered that their names were Daphne Greengrass, Millicent Bulstrode, and Tracey Davis.