Dark Sister

Chapter 17 Secret of the Forest

Severus held his breath as the sorting hat was placed onto his nephew's head. Silence followed for a few minutes while the hat seemed to be having a whispered conversation with the boy, and then the hat screamed out GRIFFENDOR at the top of its voice. The Gryffindor table erupted into cheers and applause.

Harry took his seat at the Gryffindor table and watched as the rest of the students had been sorted. Then the headmaster stood and spread his arms happily with a beaming smile on his face and said," let the feast begin." Food magically appeared on the golden plates. Harry looked at the full table with plate upon plate of sumptuous food. He had never seen so much of his favorite foods in one place, and had a grand time eating till his heart's content.

As they ate Harry turned to see Professor Snape again watching him from the staff table and turned to Percy Weasley to ask him about him. "Say, Percy, who is that teacher talking to Professor Quirrel?" he asked as he pointed up toward the staff table. Percy looked up toward the staff table to see what Harry was talking about before he answered.

"That's Professor Snape, the head of Slytherin house," he said.

"What does he teach?" asked Harry curiously.

"He teaches Potions, but everyone knows that it's the dark arts he fancies. He's been after Professor Quirrel's job for years," said Percy as he took a sip of his pumpkin juice.

Later that night as everyone else in his dorm slept Harry sat in the window seat of his dorm room stroking Hedwig's soft white feather's lovingly and looking out onto the moon lit grounds below. As he looked towards the blackness that he assumed to be the dark forest he could see the lights from a little hut near the forest's edge. He heard the sound of what he believed to be a horse's whinny and saw what he thought was a black horse with wings flying happily through the air over the dark forest tossing its head as it flew around Gryffindor tower before flying back into the darkness of the forest below. Harry smiled as he closed the window after releasing Hedwig then slid himself into his bed so he could get some sleep for his first day of classes.

The next day after being late to Transfiguration Harry sat in Potions class with the others waiting for the class to begin. The class fell silent as Professor Snape burst through the door. As Severus entered he noticed Harry sitting on the front row of desks with his friends. He wanted to test the boy to see if he had inherited any of his mother's talents so he smirked as he began his class.

"There will be no foolish wand waving or silly incantations in this class" he said as he turned to face the class of students. "As such I do not expect many of you to understand the subtle and exact science and art of potions making... However for those select few who possess the pre-disposition, I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses."

"I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death," he said as he looked around the room. He then noticed Harry scribbling on a sheet of parchment and decided to put his plan into action. "Then again maybe some of you have come to Hogwarts with such powerful abilities that you feel comfortable to not pay, attention," he snapped angrily making Harry look up from his parchment.

"Mr. Potter, our new celebrity. Tell me what would I get if I were to combine powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of worm wood?" asked Severus with his arms crossed expectantly. Harry shook his head in confusion. "You don't know? Well let's try again. Where Mr. Potter would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?" asked Professor Snape as Hermione Granger's hand shot up for the second time.

"I don't know, sir," said Harry softly.

"Then tell me Mr. Potter what is the difference between monk's head and wolves bane," asked Professor Snape as Hermione's hand stretched higher into the air.