Malfoy Flavor Chapters 1-14

Chapter Ten

  Chapter Ten

Harry rose early the next morning. He wanted a chance to talk with his father since he didn't have the opportunity before he went to bed the night before. He slipped through their connecting door to find his father sitting with a cup of tea and glancing through the Daily Prophet.

"Good Morning, Father," Harry said as he approached his father's sitting area and took a seat in one of the chairs.

Snape looked at him as he laid the newspaper down on a small side table. "How are you doing this morning, Dustin?" he asked, with just the slightest emphasis on his name.

Harry gave him a sharp look before answering, "Yes, Dustin is getting settled in as well as could be expected." He gave his father a smirk, "Maybe even better than expected."

"Indeed," Severus returned the smirk. "I noticed that you managed to rile up the entire student body last night. And you managed to do it without any hexes being thrown. That is quite an accomplishment." His tone became more serious as he asked, "But how are you doing? This can't be an easy adjustment."

Harry got up and went to sit in his father's lap to take a little comfort before starting out this new day of his new life. "I'm as good as can be expected, I suppose. It's just all so surreal. I know that even before you rescued me this summer and before I found mum's journal that I'd decided to make some major changes in my life. But I guess I still can't quite believe how much I've really changed." Harry snuggled a little closer to his father. "I should be glad, but I still feel a little disappointed that absolutely no one recognizes me. I don't miss much from my old life, but I do miss my friends."

Severus tightened his arms around Harry. "Harry, I know about everything that you've gone through this summer and I barely recognize you as the same person." He pulled Harry back to look in his eyes. "As much as it pains me to think that I missed out on your entire childhood, I think you left last year a child, and you've come back this year as a man. You've certainly grown a lot over the summer that I'm sure many of your school mates have not had to do."

"Thank you, Father. I think I needed to hear that today." Then Harry gave a smirk, "Then again, I think I've still got some teenage rebellion left in me." Harry laughed as his father pushed him off his lap.

"Indeed," he smirked back. "You will keep that teenage rebellion in check or you will pay the price. Things may have changed drastically, but I am still your professor as well as your father."

"Yes, yes. I'll behave!" he grinned cheekily. Then, "Are you ready to head up for breakfast?" Harry asked.

They made their way out of the dungeons and up to the Great Hall. All eyes turned to watch father and son as they entered the room. Even though everyone knew the professor had a son, it was still a shock to see him actually chatting amicably with a student. Even the professors were a bit shocked to see him as something other than the snarky bastard he usually was in everyone's presence.

As they approached the Slytherin table, Harry whispered quietly, "You do know that your reputation as resident snarky bastard may be ruined, don't you?"

Severus looked affronted at that statement. "Then they will be sadly disappointed won't they?" he sneered at Harry.

Harry just laughed as he sat down at his table and his father continued on to the head table.

Harry glanced around and realized almost everyone was either looking at him or his father. He grinned inwardly. If it had been anyone else, he knew he would have had that same shocked look to see Professor Snape treating anyone in such a casual manner.

Even the Slytherins who knew the professor to be fair to them had faint looks of awe on their faces. Harry quirked an eyebrow at them, which just got him more strange looks. He looked to Draco for an answer.

Draco answered Harry's unvoiced question, "With that expression on your face, you look even more like him. I don't think anyone has seen Professor Snape act quite so . . . human in school before." He laughed, "I know I saw you both in Diagon Alley just a few days ago, but it's still a shock to see him behaving like a parent rather than a professor."

Harry grinned at him. "Well, I did tell you my father was really nice. I wouldn't advise trying to slack off in his classroom though."

Draco grinned back, "No, somehow I don't think the rest of us would get the same treatment as you. I don't know if one person could change that drastically in just the last couple of months."

Harry just smiled to himself as he set about loading his breakfast plate. If only Draco knew how much someone could actually change. Professor Snape showing a friendly side was going to be nothing when people ever discovered who Dustin Snape really was.

Timetables were passed out and he listened as Draco explained some more about all of their classes. It was going to be interesting taking classes as a Slytherin rather than a Gryffindor. And as usual, the first class of the day was double potions with both Gryffindor and Slytherin.

They entered into the hallway outside of the potion classroom to wait for the professor with the rest of the students. Harry smiled when he saw Ron and Hermione waiting with the other Gryffindors.

He walked over to them and smiled, "Hi again. Ron and Hermione, right?"

Harry smirked as he watched every jaw in the hallway drop with the exception of Ron, Hermione and Draco. Will wonders never cease? First they saw their professor acting human, and now, now a Slytherin was being civil to two Gryffindors. And not just any Gryffindors, but Potter's sidekicks.

The Slytherins all looked to Draco who didn't look happy but he just shrugged. He'd already gone over this with Dustin, but Dustin didn't seem to care that they were Gryffindors. Dustin had said he wanted to form his own opinions.

Ron just glared not sure what to think himself, but Hermione gave a slight smile, "Yes. Good Morning, Dustin. How do you like Hogwarts so far?"

The other Gryffindors didn't lose their looks of shock when Hermione seemed to actually know this person.

Harry answered grinning inwardly at Hermione's typical show of Gryffindor bravery, "It's been good so far. Everyone seems to be really friendly around here. It wasn't always so nice at my old school. Too much school rivalry."

Both Gryffindors and Slytherins smirked at each other at this statement. Oh no, there wouldn't be any school rivalry at Hogwarts, now would there?!

Harry understood the looks but just continued on as if he hadn't seen them, "With this school being so much closer to the war with Voldemort," Harry paused for the usual gasps, "obviously everyone here can't afford to waste so much time fighting each other." Harry stopped there and just let that sink in to everyone around him. He knew most of them wouldn't remember it for long, but he could tell it had a few people thinking. Many of the smirks had dropped from the faces surrounding him.

Hermione looked thoughtfully at him. "The sorting hat was talking about unity within the school again."

Harry watched as his father swept around the corner, robes billowing behind him. He smiled at his father and followed the others as they walked into the classroom.

Severus started his lesson watching the students closely. What had Harry been doing out there in the hallway? Severus had never seen a hallway of Gryffindors and Slytherins so quiet and . . . almost subdued. In fact, as the lesson progressed, he realized that although there was plenty of whispering going on within the pairings as usual, there weren't the typical barbs between the two sides of the classroom.

Harry himself was quite pleased with the results. He didn't think it would last, but it was nice being in potions without everyone fighting for a change. Although he could see Ron smoldering a bit as Hermione obviously tried to explain things to him. Harry could practically hear Ron going off about evil Slytherin gits, but Hermione had obviously registered what Harry had been trying to say.

Harry was actually dealing with one of those 'evil Slytherin gits'. Draco was smoldering as much as Ron but he was hiding it better behind his cold mask.

"Is there a problem, Draco?" Harry finally asked.

Draco looked at him. "Yes, there is. Your father did tell you about Hogwarts, didn't he?"

"Yes," Harry said. "And yes, I do know that traditionally Slytherins have never gotten along with Gryffindors. What I don't understand is why not? It makes no sense."

Harry knew he could be royally stepping in it with his next statement since he didn't know for sure where Draco's loyalties lay. But he also supposedly didn't already know that Draco had been labeled as Death Eater in training. "Isn't there a war going on? There's some psychotic nut out there and his followers going around killing people for the hell of it. Shouldn't we all be against him rather than each other?"

Draco thought about what Dustin had said. Draco felt he knew more about the real situation in the school. Did Dustin even realize that his father was one of those followers, one of the Death Eaters? Draco was fairly certain that Dustin didn't know Draco's own father was also one of the Death Eaters.

Draco had done his own growing up over the summer. He'd been so angry with Potter for getting his father thrown into Azkaban. But his father had managed to get released a couple of weeks before school started. Lucius had sat Draco down and they had a long discussion about many things.

Draco had been shocked at first to realize that his father had been able to get out of prison, mainly by agreeing to spy for the Light. It seems his father gave up a lot of valuable information regarding the Dark Lord and his followers. The ministry had arranged things to make it possible for Lucius to be released on some technicality. It seemed impossible, but some story had been concocted to sound fairly convincing. Voldemort did not know that Lucius had switched sides while he was in prison. Very few people knew it but somehow Professor Dumbledore had been instrumental in making it all happen.

Draco glanced at Dustin. Did Dustin know all of this?

Harry seemed to understand the question being directed at him. He glanced around to be sure no one was listening in before he answered. "Yes, I know how our fathers feel about the war. I also realize that no one else knows. Nor can they find out for the time being."

Draco should have been surprised but found that he wasn't. It was obvious to the whole school that Dustin was close to his father.

Harry asked the question he so desperately wanted the answer to, "So are me and you on the same side?"

Draco just nodded. This really wasn't the place to be discussing this and they both knew it. He gave Harry a small smile. "At least now I know I'm not the only one in this position."

Harry let out the breath he didn't know he was holding and returned the smile. It did feel good. He wasn't the only one with an ex-Death Eater spy for a father. "Yeah. We're together on this." They went back to work on their potion with a new sense of camaraderie.

* * * * *

"I can't believe we've got so much homework already," Draco sounded completely exasperated. "We've only been in classes for two days!"

Draco and Harry were making their way down to the dungeons after their last class for the day. Harry's lips twisted into a grimace.

"Yeah, I've got a lot to be working on already," Harry said. "The professors here sure don't start the year out lightly, do they?"

"We could only wish," Draco drawled.

Harry gave Draco a sidelong glance. "We've got a couple hours before dinner still. Do you want to study in my room? It'll be quiet in there," Harry offered.

"Sure," Draco said easily. "Besides, I haven't gotten a chance to see your room yet."

Harry led them down a different corridor passing the entrance to Snape's rooms that all the Slytherins knew and stopped at a portrait of two men playing chess. The men in the portrait eyed Draco, but refrained from speaking.

Harry grinned. "Chamber of Secrets," Harry gave his password.

The two men both smirked at Harry as the portrait opened. Draco's eyebrows rose in amusement.

"Interesting password you've got there," Draco drawled as they entered Harry's room.

Harry winked at the portrait behind Draco's back as he ushered Draco in before him. "Yeah, I've heard the stories," Harry said as the portrait swung closed behind him. "Someone obviously thought it was amusing to give me that password considering that I'm the heir of the Head of House for Slytherin."

Harry wasn't about to tell Draco that he was the one who had chosen the password. The irony of the choice had been irresistible to him. During second year most people had considered him to be Slytherin's heir and now to find out that he was actually the heir to the Slytherin Head of House boggled his mind still when he thought about it.

Certainly his room was a Chamber of Secrets in its own way. Harry was keeping his entire identity a secret. As Suziana slithered out from the sleeve of his robes since they were 'home', Harry had the thought that he was just thankful that Suziana wasn't a basilisk.

Draco seemed to be thinking along the same lines when he turned and saw the small silver snake slithering up Harry's robes to encircle his neck.

Draco smirked at Harry. "At least your snake isn't a basilisk."

Harry smirked in return. "No, thankfully Suziana is far more gorgeous than a huge ugly basilisk." Of course, Harry was one of a very few who knew that from experience. Harry dropped his bag and began undoing his robe.

Draco studied Harry and the silver snake for a few moments before commenting. "Yes, very gorgeous," he drawled. "She suits you well."

Harry had to wonder if he was misinterpreting Draco, but it seemed like Draco was referring to him as much as the snake now wrapped around his neck. "Thanks," Harry gave Draco a genuine smile as he slipped his robe off and tossed it over the back of the couch. "My father gave her to me this summer. He said she seemed to suit my wardrobe choices."

Draco grinned as he raked his eyes over Harry. "I'd have to say that I agree with him." Harry was wearing black crushed velvet pants that fit him like a second skin and a long sleeved silk shirt left untucked. Suziana was a stark contrast against the dark purple of the shirt. She matched well with the silver snake earring in Harry's ear as well as the silver buckles on the knee high dragon hide boots.

Harry tossed Draco a grin over his shoulder as he made his way over to a small side table and placed Suziana in her tank. Draco began looking around the actual room.

"Wow, you actually match your room today," he drawled.

Harry chuckled. "It wasn't intentional on my part, but I do like the color scheme."

"I like it," Draco said smoothly. "Although I must admit, I'm surprised not to see the typical Slytherin colors like the dorms. Your room is far more luxurious."

Harry glanced around his room in obvious pride. "It matches my room at home. Before this summer, I'd never had a room even remotely like this. My father figured out that I was disappointed to be leaving the room I'd had for such a short time and put this one together for me here as a surprise," Harry explained.

"Must be nice having one of the professors for a father," Draco said wryly.

"It has its advantages," Harry smirked. Harry sat down in front of the coffee table and leaned back against the couch and began digging out his things to start on his homework. Draco slid down gracefully next to him and started searching through his own bag.

"You don't have to sit on the floor. You're welcome to use the desk if you want. I can study just about anywhere," Harry said thinking about all the times he'd had to study under his blankets by the light of his wand in the middle of the night at the Dursley's.

Draco shrugged. "This is fine. It's not like this plush carpet you've got in here is uncomfortable," he drawled, quirking his lips.

"It is quite comfortable, isn't it?" Harry grinned.

They soon settled down to their studies and worked in the pleasant atmosphere of Harry's room.

* * * * *