Notes:
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J. K. Rowling. No money is being made.
Beta: noirekitsune
Chapter 5 – Hierarchy
Before Harry noticed it a month had passed, nothing had changed, classes continued to be so easy that Harry found it almost boring and he continued to not interact with other students. Not that they would have wanted to, they still firmly believed that he was going to be the next Dark Lord, so most preferred to avoid him, besides Theo of course. Theo almost became his shadow, it was very rare to see Harry without Theo.
At first Harry didn't really know what to do with the boy, he'd never had a friend before, or anyone to talk to really, so Harry did not know which mask to use with the boy. He had no wish to behave like an innocent little child every minute he spent with Theo, but he didn't believe it was prudent to show his real self either. So the first few days he was mostly silent and let Theo do the talking. Not that the boy was the talkative type, but it did help Harry see what he was like.
They spent most of their time in the library, Theo studying their first year books, and Harry searching for things that caught his interest. After the first few days, Harry found that he did enjoy Theo's company. He was quiet, more mature than most children his own age and Harry could have an intelligent conversation with him. He may not feel like he could show his true self to the boy, but at least he could be more like his true self.
Today was one of the few times that Theo wasn't with Harry. Theo had forgotten that they had homework for the next day and decided to do it in his room, teasingly saying that every time they were in the library he would get distracted with the things Harry was studying, finding it more interesting than his homework.
Harry didn't mind. He may have become used to Theo but he was still a very independent and solitary person and enjoyed being alone. He didn't like people in general so the fact that he spent so much time with Theo was in his opinion something akin to a miracle. That he actually enjoyed it was almost mind blowing.
Seeing that it was almost curfew Harry packed his things and left the library. He made his way to the common room, said the password and entered.
As soon as he went in Harry knew that something was different. He felt a shiver go down his spine and discretely looked around the room. He immediately noticed that no Slytherin first years were present. The second thing he noticed was that the common room was divided in two, it was nothing obvious, but for someone who was looking for it, it was noticeable. The third thing he noticed was a group of five older boys that were separate from both groups, they had cruel smiles on their faces and were looking at him with contempt and hate.
Harry knew immediately what it was about. Apparently some Slytherins weren't going to let him continue his observations in peace, something that irritated him. Now he only had a matter of seconds to decide how he was going to react and how he could make it so that the situation could be used to be to his advantage. He only had a few moments to decide how he wanted them to perceive him, sweet and innocent, or dark and dangerous? Or anything in between, really. He could make it work for him no matter what he used, he just had to decide which one would be more advantageous.
Before he could think more about it the five students were in front of him and one of them shoved him against the wall, making his head hit the stone and leaving him a bit dazed. Two of the boys held his arms and the other three made a barrier in front of him.
Harry recognized the boy in the middle, it was a sixth year named Jugson, he had a nasty smile on his face and Harry was sure that he was the leader of this little gang.
"I think it's time that you learn how things work around here Potter," he said in a tone that Harry had no doubt Jugson thought was menacing, Harry had to stop himself from rolling his eyes, it was completely ridiculous, "It's time that you learn where your place is. You are nothing more than a disgusting half-blood, who shouldn't even be allowed in to Hogwarts much less the noble House of Slytherin. You are worth nothing. Your place is at my feet, licking my shoes, it's the only thing you're useful for. And you are going to learn that, one way or another." And Jugson and his two friends took their wands out of their pockets.
Before Jugson started to speak Harry was only going to do enough so that he would come out of this without injury, but now he was angry. He was worth nothing? His place was at his feet? If there was something that he could not tolerate, it was being treated like that, as if he were below them. At the orphanage they did it because he was different and here they were going to do it because of his origins, at the orphanage they learned not to mess with him, they were about to learn it at Hogwarts too.
"I see," whispered Harry, but everyone in the common room heard him, making more than one student shiver, "and who is going to, supposedly, put me in my place?"
"Me!" growled Jugson pointing his wand at Harry.
And that's when Harry did something that surprised every one of them, he laughed. Harry laughed and most students felt their blood freeze, it was cold and cruel and nothing like a laugh should be. And when Harry lifted his head Jugson and his two friends took a step back instinctively. Harry's eyes shone with magic and a sadistic smile made his angelic face seem demonic.
Harry lifted both of his hands, the movement followed by all those present, and put one hand on one of the arms of the boys holding him, the next moment the silence in the common room was broken by two agonizing screams coming from both boys. Both of them let go of Harry immediately, holding their arm to their chest, those closest to them could see their shirts getting soaked in blood and a few even saw a piece of bone sticking out of their flesh. Harry pointed in the direction of both boys and they fell unconscious.
Having taken care of the small inconvenience of being restrained in less than ten seconds, Harry turned his attention to Jugson and his remaining two cronies. Jugson's two friends lifted their wands in his direction, but before they could even open their mouths to say a spell, Harry had already acted and twin screams filled the common room. Both of them were on the ground with both of their legs broken. Harry pointed in their direction again, and the screams stopped, showing that both of them were unconscious.
Harry was focused on Jugson, however he didn't lose sight of the rest of the room, not missing the pale faces of some students, nor the fear that some of them couldn't hide. He would be lying if he said that he didn't enjoy it. Fear was truly such a wonderful emotion.
"You're going to put me in my place?" inquired Harry softly, never taking his eyes of Jugson. Moving with surprising speed he was standing in front of Jugson and took the wand from his hand, "May I know how you plan to do that?"
Even though his tone was perfectly friendly, his eyes promised pain and Jugson lost any and all color that he had in his face.
Seeing as Jugson was not going to answer Harry focused his magic in putting the teenager in front of him on his knees, as long as it was something simple he didn't need spells or a wand, his magic would do as he wanted.
With Jugson on his knees in front of him, Harry had no difficulty in caressing his face, it was a tender touch, soft and sweet and that only made his expression all the more terrifying to Jugson.
"I am a little annoyed with what you tried to do Jugson," Harry informed the other boy without taking his hand from Jugson's cheek, loving the way Jugson's eyes went wide and filled with fear, "I was perfectly satisfied with observing and studying, but you forced my hand, which, I have to admit, annoys me a bit."
When Harry finished speaking he had his right hand on Jugson's left arm, had pulled Jugson's sleeve to his elbow and was creating invisible patterns with his forefinger on Jugson's forearm.
"And all for what?" continued Harry, "Because of blood?" he asked in a soft voice, collecting his magic into his forefinger and making it cut Jugson's arm wherever his finger passed, "Tell me, how is your pure blood helping you now?" Harry asked, his finger creating a grotesque pattern on the other boy's skin, completely ignoring the pained moans the other was making.
"What matters is not the blood Jugson, it is the magic. Do you understand?" inquired Harry, as if he was a professor asking his student a question.
Despite the pain Jugson lifted his head and looked Harry in the eyes, he didn't know if it was a rhetorical question but he answered either way.
"I u-u-understand." And looking in to the eyes of the child in front of him how could he not understand.
"Good boy," whispered Harry caressing his cheek, as if he was a pet that had pleased his owner by learning a new trick, "Just so there aren't any doubts, where is my place?"
Jugson lost no time in answering.
"Above me." he said with conviction and he breathed a sigh in relief when he saw that Harry's eyes lost some of their cold look.
"I'm pleased to see that you are intelligent. Unfortunately that does not mean that you didn't annoy me, you know you will have to face the consequences, correct?"
Jugson nodded and dropped his head, he may have been a sixth year, but there was something inside of him screaming at him to submit, to obey and that's what he did, he submitted, lowered his head and waited for his punishment.
"Hmm... I hope that you don't make me regret giving you such a light punishment." Harry said a little above a whisper, touching Jugson's left hand he shattered every bone in his hand. Fortunately for Jugson he only felt the pain for a few seconds because Harry lost no time in stunning him.
"You," Harry said looking at a boy and two girls that were closer, "Take them to the infirmary."
The three Slytherins didn't even think twice about obeying him and a few moments later they had left the common room with the five boys levitating in front of them.
The whole situation hadn't lasted more than five minutes. Five minutes was all it took for Harry to define the Slytherin hierarchy. Himself at the top, followed by all the others, depending on their usefulness and relationship with Harry the closer to the top they were, they could fight it out between them. All of that was defined in five minutes, without Harry having to say a single word about the matter, they were Slytherins after all.
Harry observed the common room, his face showing no emotion, he didn't seem to care about what he had done, when he spoke his voice was soft and melodic, making some of them wonder how such a beautiful voice could sound so cold and cruel just moments before. Others thought it fit him, his voice just like his appearance, conceals a cruel and sadistic demon, it was far more terrifying than if he looked like a monster.
"I hope that the rest of you are as intelligent as Jugson, seeing as I would not be, at all, pleased if, due to your stupidity, I were in any way harmed."
Harry was rather satisfied when he saw some of them nod and others looking at him with understanding in their eyes.
Not wasting time he went to his room, there was a book he wanted to finish and he had already spent more time out here than what he wanted.
What he did not know was that in an alcove, hidden behind a tapestry, all the first year Slytherins aside from Theodore, had been watching everything that had happened.
"Did you see that Draco?" asked Blaise Zabini, his best friend, "What do we do?"
Draco looked at the other Slytherins that were there and they, just like Blaise, were looking at him waiting for an answer. However he didn't know what to say to them. What could he say to them? Before he came to Hogwarts he had it all planned out, he would go to Slytherin, he would climb up in the hierarchy of his House with ease, he was after all a Malfoy and a pureblood, and he would end up ruling Slytherin, just like his father before him. But five minutes, only five minutes, had changed all that. Maybe the best option would be to talk to his father and ask for his opinion, he was sure that his father would know what to do.
"We do nothing. We observe and do nothing. During Yule break I'll talk with my father, I'm sure that he will know what to do."
The rest of the Slytherins nodded and discretely left their hiding place to go to their rooms, they had a lot to think about.
That night the only Slytherins that had a peaceful night were Harry Potter and Theodore Nott, all the others could not close their eyes without seeing a angelic face with a sadistic smile and eyes the color of death.
The next day nothing appeared to have changed in Slytherin House. Harry and Theo continued to sit a little away from the other snakes and the students of Slytherin continued to have that superior and arrogant air about them. For practically every inhabitant of the castle nothing had changed. Severus Snape however was not one of those that saw nothing different about the Slytherin House.
For starters the night before he had received a floo call from Poppy, telling him that five of his snakes were in the Infirmary. Severus would never admit it but when he saw who the students were he was rather surprised. Jugson and his little group were some of the best students in their years. When he asked them what had happened he was even more surprised when they refused to say anything. Frustrated but knowing there was nothing he could do he went to bed, making a mental note to pay close attention to the students the next morning to see if he could get some more information about why five of his Slytherins ended up in the Infirmary. He knew that if some Gryffindors had done it they would not be able to hide it; Gryffindors didn't know the meaning of the word subtlety.
The next morning he didn't notice anything different about the other Houses and at first glance there was nothing different about his House either, but for someone like him, someone that was used to noticing every little thing about his surroundings and about other people just so he could survive, it was rather easy to see that all of his Slytherins were forcing themselves to behave like they usually did, all of them but two. Harry Potter and Theodore Nott. Both of them were behaving like they usually did, they were the only Slytherins that didn't appear to be forcing themselves. The strange behavior of his snakes and the five in the infirmary made him observe them with far more attention than usual.
The Slytherins seemed nervous, some of the younger ones couldn't hide the fear that sometimes appeared on their expressions, while some of the older ones couldn't hide the admiration, respect and in some cases the reverence that appeared from time to time.
Severus also noticed that those emotions only appeared when they surreptitiously looked at the two first year Slytherins.
Severus could only hide his shock with effort. No! No, it couldn't be. It was completely impossible. The conclusion that he had come to had to be wrong. Potter was a first year student, it was impossible for him to put five older students in the infirmary. 'But,' whispered a little voice in his mind, 'your Slytherins are behaving strangely and all those looks... Besides you remember the orphanage, don't you?' he was sure the voice was mocking him, he couldn't find a valid argument and he did remember the orphanage, he wished he didn't but he did.
He continued to observe his snakes and the looks in Potter's direction didn't stop. At lunch time, when the five Slytherins left the infirmary and joined the rest of the House in the great hall Severus paid close attention to the interactions between them and the rest of the House and he almost gaped when he saw that they only sat down, and the others only made space for them when they received a little nod from Potter.
That was the confirmation that he needed, but how? How had Potter done it?
That was one of the thoughts that tormented him for the rest of the day, until he had class with the first year Slytherins.
Potter just like in all his previous classes had handed in a perfect potion and Severus was not able to contain the desire to confront him. Since Potter had arrived at Hogwarts he was itching to find something to put the brat in detention and this was the perfect opportunity.
"Potter, stay after the end of class."
Potter just nodded and packed his things, telling Nott that he would catch up with him later. When all the students had left the room Potter approached his desk looking at him expectantly.
"Last night five students ended up in the infirmary with broken bones," Severus began hoping to see something incriminating in Potter's posture, however the only reaction he got was a raised eyebrow, "Is there nothing you want to tell me about it?"
Severus knew it had been him, he just didn't know how, and he had absolutely no proof that it had been Potter. But he was hoping that if Potter was pushed into a corner that he would confess or at least let something slip.
For a fraction of a second Severus could have sworn that he saw a smile grace the boy's lips, but when he looked again the only thing visible on Potter's face was confusion.
"Something about the five students? No professor, honestly I think I only ever spoke to one of them and I'm sure it was for less than five minutes. Theo and I heard this morning at breakfast, they were saying something about a duel between friends that got out of hand..."
If it were a different situation and a different person, Severus would have admired Potter's ability to lie without lying. Severus was an excellent Legilimens and as far as he could identify, without entering Potter's mind, Potter had told the truth, not all the truth but the truth nonetheless.
Severus knew that you had to be an excellent manipulator to be able to lie while telling the truth and he didn't know what to feel knowing that the boy in front of him was able to do it. An eleven year old boy.
No matter how hard he tried he couldn't stop thinking about the orphanage and the talk with Mrs. Brown, nor the conversation that followed with Potter. It couldn't be normal that a child made him remember the Dark Lord so much.
"Get out." Severus whispered looking at the angelical face in front of him, this time Severus was sure that a smile had appeared on that face, however it was the laugh that he heard when the door closed that made him shiver. It would not be the last time that Severus would curse the day that they had gone to that orphanage.
Albus was in the staffroom waiting for all the professors to arrive so they could start the meeting. While he waited he noticed that his Potion Master looked distracted and a bit agitated, making a mental note to talk to him at the end of the meeting Albus called his colleagues attention so that they could start.
As was usual they started with the older years, like that the professors that only gave classes to students third year and up were free to go when they reached the second and first years, considering that they hardly dealt with those students.
A little over two hours later they had finally arrived at the first years and Albus had to admit that he was curious to see how young Harry had adapted.
Harry was nothing like he had imagined and he couldn't help but feel curious about the boy.
"And is there a first year that has shown particular talent?" Albus inquired.
It was a usual question, he asked it every year, as did every Headmaster before him. There wasn't always a student that had more talent than their peers but occasionally there was a student that was particularly talented in one field or another and the professors would keep an eye on them and encourage them to study independently in those fields. Albus remembered perfectly some of those students, Severus Snape was a genius with Potions, he made potions when he was eleven that not all sixth years were capable of. James Potter was another one, however his field was Transfiguration, he made things in transfiguration that even surprised him. And of course Lily Potter, Charms was her field, there didn't exist a charm that she was unable to do.
But this year, although it was a usual question, Albus was particularly interested in the answer. Had Harry inherited his mother's or his father's talent? Or would his strength be in a completely different field? He could hardly contain his curiosity, however he did notice that the professors seemed to be far more animated than they previously were but none of them appeared to want to start. Minerva ended up being the first, she pulled something out of her pocket and put it in the center of the table.
"Minerva?" inquired Albus, asking himself what his long-time friend was doing.
"That was made by a student on his first Transfiguration class."
Albus raised an eyebrow and picked up what appeared to be a needle, and as soon as he saw the needle up close his eyes opened wide. The needle was a work of art.
The curious stares from his colleagues told him he hadn't been able to conceal his amazement. Knowing that if they didn't see the needle they wouldn't be able to understand Albus passed the needle to Filius who was on his left. Albus was pleased to see that the Charms professor was also unable to conceal his wonder. After the needle had gone around all the professors he asked.
"Who?"
"You didn't recognize the initials?" Minerva asked with a little smile, "HJP; Harry James Potter. Potter was able to achieve the transfiguration on his first try and he also turned the needle back into a match in the first try. Then he spent the rest of the class playing with his needle, changing it in every way he could imagine. I was the one to tell him to try and change the needle but I never expected this. I have never seen anyone with so much talent."
Albus hadn't seen Minerva this excited in a long time, she was practically gushing.
He heard Filius chuckle and saw the tiny professor shake his head.
"Apparently it isn't only my class that is child's play to him. I swear that he's bored in class. I don't think that anything I give them truly challenges him."
The other professors joined the conversation, all of them stating that Harry was among the best if not the best student of his year. Severus was one of the few who didn't say anything about Harry, Quirrell hadn't either but Albus believed it had more to do with his stutter than anything else. After almost a half hour, ten minutes of which were spent talking about Harry, Albus ended the meeting and dismissed the professors, asking Severus to stay behind.
"You appear distracted, is something wrong?" asked Albus as soon as they were alone.
"The brat, all the potions he made were perfect."
Albus sighed, having a student that talented in more than one subject was rare, the last one had been more than fifty years ago, it was strange how the similarities between the two continued to appear.
"Was that all that was distracting you?"
Albus was sure there was more to it, however if he didn't ask he was sure that Severus would not be forthcoming.
Severus looked him in the eyes and letting out a sigh he ended up saying.
"Five Slytherins ended up in the Infirmary last night. I know it was him Headmaster. I am certain it was him."
"Do you have any evidence?" inquired Albus in a calm voice, he doubted that he did, Tom had never left any either.
"Evidence? Of course I don't have any evidence!" Severus almost growled, "Albus there is something about the boy that unsettles me." Severus ended up admitting almost in a whisper and Albus had to refrain from smiling.
Fifty years ago it was him that was in Severus Snape's place having similar thoughts about another black haired boy with an angelic face and cold eyes.
The similarities between the both of them were so many, even so Albus still had hope because even though the similarities were many there were also many differences. Maybe it would be best to focus on the differences and hope that history wouldn't repeat itself, after all the biggest difference was that one of them was the Dark Lord and the other was the Savior of the Wizarding World.