The House of Snakes: Book One

The Potions Class

When Harry awoke, he was confused. His bed had never felt so comfortable before, and his sheets had never felt so soft. Everything came rushing back to Harry and he sat up with a gasp. His curtains were still drawn so he grabbed one and yanked it open, to which he was greeted by the blurry images of his roommates walking about the room. Jamming his glasses on, he was shocked to see them all in their uniforms.

"Oh, you're finally awake are you? I wanted to wake you up ages ago but Draco here told me to leave you alone," Blaise jabbed his thumb in Draco's direction, and when Harry looked over he saw the blond standing in front of the mirror, brushing his hair with a methodical precision. "I suggest you get dressed as fast as possible, we're all pretty hungry," Harry jumped out of bed on the side that didn't have the curtains open. He was still in his cousin's clothes and while he was embarrassed to be seen in them, he figured he could handle the shy boy's stares better than out-spoken Blaise or Draco.

Once he had dressed he ran his fingers through his hair quickly while grabbing his socks from his trunk, only stopping when he saw Draco's appalled stare.

"Honestly, Potter, I thought your hair was simply wild, but you mean to tell me that your hair is in such a state because you don't brush it?" Draco's eyebrows seemed to be up as high as they could go and Harry's cheeks reddened. "You would think you don't own a comb!"

Harry's breath caught in his throat. He was going to make a fool of himself, these boys would never accept him, he wasn't enough like them, with their proper behavior and expectations. They probably had the wrong Harry Potter anyways and they would cart him away, possibly dump him somewhere like the middle of the ocean so he wouldn't tell anyone about the magical world. Harry cut off his panic, forcing his eyes away from Draco.

"I, um, I don't," Harry had been wrong before, Draco's eyebrows weren't as high as they could go, they had shot up further still, but quickly dropped down into a look of confusion.

"What do you mean you don't own a comb?" Blaise elbowed Draco sharply and Harry thought he heard him whisper something about being rude, but Draco ignored him, staring at Harry expectantly. Harry's hands shook as he tried to tie his tie around his neck.

Giving up, he dropped it on his bed before turning to his shoes. "Well, I don't own a lot," Harry had purposefully dropped to his knees on the other side of his bed, it was much easier talking to a blanket than strangers about his life. "The family I lived with, er, well, my family, didn't allow me to have much, you see. They didn't believe in having too many belongings," Harry was lying, but the boys didn't know that and he hoped they would be content with his answer. It apparently it wasn't, for when Harry stood up he found Draco holding his pajama shirt between two fingers with disgust.

"Ah yes, because having few possessions means wearing rags worse than the Weasleys'," Draco let the garment drop to his bed before casting his eyes once more on Harry. "Honestly, Potter, where have you been for the past eleven years? You're acting odd, you dress in rags, and you act as though you have never seen better than this school," Harry shuffled his feet, nervous at how close Draco was to the truth without even realizing.

"I told you, my family," Blaise suddenly thrust Harry's tie under his nose, tied in a perfect knot, effectively cutting Harry off. Harry took it from him and slid it over his head. "Thanks Blaise, I should really learn how to do that," Harry took the distraction gratefully, even allowing Blaise to tighten the tie for him and tuck it under his collar properly.

"I'll teach you tonight after dinner, it's not hard," Blaise slipped his own robes on over his uniform before turning to Draco. "Now, if Draco is done with his mother-henning, we should leave before we completely miss breakfast. Come on Nott, Crabbe, Goyle, we're heading out, the girls have probably been down there for ages." Harry quickly grabbed his satchel and followed the other boys out of the dorm, up the stairs and into the common room.