Summary: Accumulates Harry's years at Hogwarts with Severus Snape as his adoptive father. Sequel to Bond.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Harry Potter. All characters that you see that aren't in the novels or movies, however, I do own.

A/N: Here's the sequel to Bond! I hope this chapter makes up for the lousy last one of Bond.

Part 1 of 7

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Chapter One

Hogwarts definitely didn't change any, Harry noted as he and the rest of the first years walked through the Great Hall to get to the front of the room where McGonagall at the Sorting Hat were. The Great Hall, in Harry's opinion, looked immensely good. The Hall was lit with candles that hovered in the air, lighting the Hall up. When Harry glanced up, he saw the ceiling (that was enchanted to show the night sky), he found that it was calm out.

As they approached McGonagall and the hat, Harry felt nervousness cling to his stomach. Then, he stopped walking with the rest of the first years, but his stomach still did nervous flips. What if he was sorted into a house that made Severus ashamed? What if that did happen? He didn't want his guardian to be ashamed.

Harry glanced sideways at Draco Malfoy, who stood looking fantastically calm. Harry wished he was that calm. The other boy looked so sure of himself. Harry wondered that even if Draco looked calm on the outside, maybe on the inside Draco's stomach was doing flips, too.

He wished Nathaniel—or Slyther—was with him now. Instead, before the other students had arrived, Harry kept his snake, who was also his best friend, in Severus's chambers. That way Slyther wouldn't of said anything that would make him laugh during the Sorting Hat's song, because knowing Slyther, he would've had some witty comment that would make Harry laugh out loud.

Harry listened in to the song which the Sorting Hat was finishing. He clapped along with the rest of the students, then swallowed and wished that his stomach would stop doing flips and somersaults.

"I know I'm going to be put in Slytherin," Draco whispered to Harry confidently as Professor McGonagall called out a 'Abbot, Hannah.' "What do you think you're going to be put in, Harry?"

Harry looked at Draco and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Does it really matter what house you're put in?"

Draco's eyes widened. He looked stunned. "Of course it matters! I think I'd die if I was put in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. Or worse—Gryffindor."

Harry gave a small shrug, but didn't say anything further. He didn't think Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Gryffindor were bad houses. His parents were in Gryffindor when they attended Hogwarts.

Then, while McGonagall continued to call out names and the Hat continued to call out houses, Harry started to wonder what house he really wanted to be put in. Ravenclaw values intelligence, knowledge and wit. He wasn't exactly intelligent, so he immediately decided that he wouldn't be put in that house. What about Hufflepuff? They valued hard work and patience, loyalty and friendship, justice and fair play. He was a hard worker, and occasionally patient. He was loyal and friendly. He didn't know about justice, but he was a fair player, too. That house might be an option.

Then Harry thought about Gryffindor. They valued courage, chivalry and boldness. He didn't know whether or not he was courageous, or what chivalry meant, but he knew that at times he could be bold. And lastly—what about Slytherin? He knew that they were ambitious and cunning. Well, he could be ambitious at times. And cunning … could he be cunning? He didn't know.

Harry looked up what McGonagall called out Draco's name. They both exchanged grins before Draco walked up to the stool and sat down. Harry watched as McGonagall lowered the Hat, and barely touching his head, the Sorting Hat called out, "Slytherin!"

With a satisfied, proud smirk, Draco stepped off the stool and walked over to the Slytherin table and sat down with two other boys.

Harry waited patiently as the other six or seven people were sorted into their houses, then at last the Professor called out "Potter-Snape, Harry."

With an uneasy feeling still clinging to the bottom of Harry's stomach as the Great Hall erupted with murmurs, Harry felt himself walk up to the stool and sit down. McGonagall set the Hat on his head, and the next second the rim of the hat was down over his eyes, causing Harry to see black all around.

Then Harry heard the Sorting Hat speak.

"Well … what have we here? Potter-Snape? Ah …" The Sorting Hat paused for a brief moment. Harry didn't care what house he was put in, as long as it was a house that he could do well in. "A house you could do well in? Well then, it ought to be … SLYTHERIN!"

There was a ephemeral silence before the Slytherin's started clapping loudly, then uncertainly, the rest of the houses joined in. The Hat was lifted from Harry's head, and Harry made his way to the Slytherin table. Since there were no more seats by Draco left, Harry sat down by a boy with dark brown eyes and chestnut colored hair.

The boy wordlessly looked up at Harry as he sat down, and Harry offered a small smile and said, "Hi. My name's Harry."

The boy, after a minute, nodded. "I know who you are. I'm Nicholas. Nicholas Nixon."

Then Nicholas looked up at Dumbledore, who said, "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" and the dishes that were placed in front of them piled with enormous amounts of food.

Harry smiled. This wasn't the first time that he had seen this much of food, since he did eat here in the Great Hall last year.

"Wow," Harry heard Nicholas mutter before he started putting roast beef on his plate. Harry started doing the same, but was surprised when Nicholas decided to speak to him.

"Is your last name really Potter-Snape?" the boy asked. Harry nodded, and Nicholas started to look interested. "So Professor Snape really did adopt you?" Nicholas shook his head. "My brother said he did, but I didn't believe him. Even if it was in the Daily Prophet."

"Is your brother in Slytherin?" Harry asked, taking a bite of roast beef.

Nicholas nodded. "Yeah. Well, was. He graduated last year. What do you think of Snape as your adoptive father? Is he nice to you?"

"Yeah," Harry replied. "He is nice."

Nicholas nodded again, taking a bite into a sausage hungrily. "So—" Nicholas said this while chewing, and stopped right after that word came out of his mouth so he could finish chewing and then speak. "So do you know anybody in Slytherin?"

"Draco Malfoy," Harry replied. "And you."

"I don't know anybody in Slytherin except for you," Nicholas responded, taking another bite from the same sausage.

"Was your whole family in Slytherin?" Harry asked, since he knew that Draco's family was in Slytherin, and wondered if Nicholas's was, too.

"Well … some. My dad was in Slytherin, so was my mum, and my brother was, too. My grandparents weren't, though. I think they were both in Gryffindor, or one was in Gryffindor and the other was in Slytherin …" Nicholas trailed off, looking confused. Then he shrugged.

"Would your parents mind if the Hat put you in Gryffindor?" Harry questioned. Harry already knew that Draco would also find it shameful if he was placed in any house other than Slytherin. Did any other Slytherins think the same thing? Maybe.

"I dunno," said Nicholas. "I wasn't sorted into Gryffindor, so I wouldn't know. Hey—can you pass the bacon? Oh, wait, never mind … the steak! Yes, the steak."

Nicholas thanked Harry as he passed the plate of steak over, and then both sank into the thick air of silence between them again. Harry's eyes searched the staff's table until he caught Severus's eye, then gave a smile.

Harry noticed the new Defence Against The Dark Arts Professor, Evangeline Fraus. She had come to try out for the job almost immediately after Annabella Bellulus, the former DADA Professor, had said she wouldn't come back to teach this year because, over the Summer, she had accepted a proposal and was getting married sometime (Harry forgot when the date was).

Evangeline Fraus was rather short and had honey coloured eyes with light, brown hair. She had dimples when she smiled, and thin lips. Harry hadn't known her for that long, and barely talked to her, but when he did he found that Evangeline was a rather odd character.

"Hey!"

Harry only realized then that Nicholas was talking to him. Harry turned to look at the boy, saying, "What?"

"Can you pass me the chips? I've been trying to get your attention for a while now," scowled Nicholas. "Something on your mind?"

"Yeah. Sorry," Harry apologized. "I was just thinking. Here." He passed Nicholas the chips.

Both boys finished as much food as they could, and when they did the desserts replaced the food that used to be on the tables. Harry gave a low groan, finding that he couldn't eat another bite. Even if the desserts looked delicious.

"Oh, come on," Nicholas said in disbelief when Harry didn't bother to touch any of the desserts that appeared in front of him. "You're not telling me that you aren't going to eat any dessert, are you?" When Harry cast a disgusted look at the food, Nicholas gave his head an incredulous shake.

"I can't believe that you're not having any dessert. Do you see the things here? Amazing. Delicious!" Nicholas dipped his spoon into a bowl of ice cream and shoved it into his mouth, grinning, as if to prove his point.

Harry turned to look at a jam doughnut that just seemed to sit there, waiting for somebody to eat it. So, Harry slowly reached out and took the doughnut, putting it to his lips and taking a bite. Nicholas grinned triumphantly.

"See? Good, eh? I knew you couldn't just not eat any of that wonderful looking food …" Nicholas scooped some more ice cream into his spoon. "You'd have to be mental not to, I say. Mmm, that chocolate éclair looks good."

Nicholas looked at the éclair longingly, then back at his bowl of ice cream, and then up to Harry. "I don't think I can eat another bite."

Harry laughed. "After you got over saying how amazing and delicious the food was, and I'd be mental not to eat it?"

"I did eat it!" Nicholas insisted. "A bit anyway. It's just … I think I ate too much roast beef. That, or too much bacon. Maybe I ate too much of everything." He pushed his unfinished bowl of ice cream aside. "I'm done."

Harry finished eating the rest of his doughnut before he and Nicholas started chatting again, then Dumbledore stood. The Hall quickly quieted, and Dumbledore started with his speech.

Harry listened intently as Dumbledore explained that the forest near Hogwarts was forbidden, and that nobody was to go near them. Then Dumbledore said that Quidditch would start up again the second week of term, and that anybody that was interested should see Madame Hooch. Then, before the Professor finished his speech, he said that the third-floor corridor, located on the right-hand side, was prohibited.

Harry glanced at Nicholas as the Hall erupted with singing. Over the chanting, Harry asked, "Do you know why the third-floor corridor is out-of-bounds?" Harry didn't know why Nicholas would know, but maybe, the boy would.

Unfortunately, he didn't.

"Nope." Then Nicholas started to join in with everybody else, starting with, "With some interesting stuff, for now they're bare and full of air, dead flies and bits of fluff, so teach us things worth knowing, bring back what we've forgot."

Harry joined in from there, but it didn't sing that much since there wasn't that much left to sing. A smile flickered on his face as everybody ended the song at different times, then he heard only two rather similar voices sing a slow funeral march.

Harry stood up as Dumbledore announced that it was time to go to bed; Nicholas doing the same. As the Slytherins followed the Slytherin Prefect out of the Great Hall, Draco joined the two.

"I'm glad you're in Slytherin," Draco said to Harry. "I had a feeling you were going to be sorted into Slytherin, anyway."

Harry grinned. "Me too. Oh, Draco? This is Nicholas Nixon. Nicholas? This is Draco. Draco Malfoy."

Both nodded at each other, while Nicholas smiled lightly and said, "Nice to meet you."

They continued through the corridors with the rest of the Slytherin first years until they reached the portrait of a serpent.

"Password?" the snake hissed.

"Cauda Draconis."

The portrait swung open to reveal a large room, the Slytherin common room. To the side there was a large fire, and in front of that fire were two sofas facing each other. All things there were either green, silver or black.

Then the Prefect directed the boys to their dormitory, and the girls to theirs. Nicholas, Draco and Harry went to their dormitories and found their beds, four-posters with green curtains. Their stuff had already been brought up, and exhausted, Harry slumped onto his bed.

"I feel sick," Nicholas moaned as he, too, fell onto his four-poster bed and buried his head into his pillow.

Harry snorted. "I wonder why."

"Too much dessert?" Draco guessed, his voice heavy with weariness.

"Too much of everything," Harry replied as he slipped into his pyjamas. He went under the covers of his bed, almost immediately falling into a deep slumber before a muttered an almost mumbled, "G'night," to Draco and Nicholas.

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A/N: As said before, I hope this chapter makes up for lousy last chapter of Bond. I actually posted this earlier than expected, but that's better than later, isn't it? You should read Bond before this if you haven't already, by the way. Review!