I do not own any of the characters from the Zoophobia and Harry Potter canon. They are the rightful property of Vivienne Madrano and J.K Rowling respectively.

Chapter 13: Food for Thought.

Draco Malfoy always knew he was special.

From the moment he was born, to where he sat now on the Slytherin table at Hogwarts, Draco knew that he was destined for greatness. It was in his blood. In the blood of all members of the prestigious Malfoy family.

His ancestor, Armand Malfoy, served King William I and was rewarded with great wealth, as well as the land to which the ancient home of Malfoy Manor stands to this very day.

Nicolas Malfoy purged filthy Muggle squatters out of the lands that rightfully belonged to wizardkind.

Brutus Malfoy was a pioneer and advocate in protecting witches and wizards from the dangers of Muggles during a time of rapid discrimination and persecution against the wizarding race.

His grandfather, Abraxas Malfoy, protected the wizarding world by ousting a Mudblood prime minister that would have threatened their magical way of life.

His own father fought for the Dark Lord faithfully, and would too have succeeded and brought forth a Golden Age for the wizarding world, had it not been for the Boy-Who-Lived.

Ah yes, the Boy-Who-Lived. While many former Death Eaters were bitter at the half-blood child for defeating the Dark Lord - many still, wondered if his victory over the Dark Lord was a sign that an even greater Dark Wizard was coming.

But alas, the boy died. Of his own volition.

Some Death Eaters, especially his aunt and uncles in Azkaban, may rejoice and celebrate, but the more cunning and pragmatic such as his father used the boy as the perfect example to showcase to the entire wizarding world, especially that hippie Dumbledore, that Muggles were completely unhinged savages with a tenacity for barbaric acts. After all, how could something human possibly drive a small child to suicide?

And so their ranks swelled. While a majority of them weren't exactly fully on board with the issue of Dark Magic use, it matters not, for they were all united in their stance against muggles and the other filth that could possibly be infiltrating wizarding society to harm it from the inside.

Change came. Not because of the Dark Lord, but because of the Boy-Who-Lived. He brought wizarding society out of the scum that it was falling into and brought in back on the correct path.

But not everywhere.

For while Mudbloods were denied and rightfully removed from high positions of work and some public services, particularly those in Knockturn Alley, Hogwarts still remained a bastion of the old way of thinking. Mostly in part due to the works of Dumbledore.

Dumbledore may have lost pretty much every semblance of a reputation in the Wizarding World, but he still had a firm grip on Hogwarts. Hogwarts remained opened to the Mudbloods and Blood traitors, promoting his pathetic ideology that wizards and witches should breed with Muggles and Mudbloods. Most laughable of them all was the notion that Harry Potter was still alive, based on some writings that could have easily been hoodwinked into the Book of Admittance and Quill of Acceptance.

Malfoy came to Hogwarts, fully confident that this year was going to be the year the Dumbledore was finally ousted. Just watch, Harry Potter will not show up and Dumbledore will finally be disgraced as his father said he would, allowing a new headmaster to take over and start fixing the place up as it should be.

He just didn't expect to be completely surprised.

...

Perhaps, 'surprised' was the wrong word. Mortified sounds better.

Yeah, mortified will do.

Just like everyone else in the Great Hall, Malfoy stared with his mouth agape as the boy who stepped up, the Mudblood boy who stepped up claiming to be Harry Potter, was sorted in Slytherin. The atmosphere was chilly, maybe even bordering on volatile. Stares became dagger-like looks as the professors, Dumbledore and even the Prefects and Head boys and girls of each Houses glared at the acclaimed Harry Potter standing on the elevated platform with a great deal of suspicion and disbelief. Other students, primarily the seniors from years five to seven, were still on edge but looked at Harry Potter with a great deal of vested interest. Fear and paranoia, however, plagued the younger students.

Just looking into Potter's eyes, Malfoy could see that he was fully aware of the tension in the room. But there was also the spark that showed he most likely didn't care, as he gave a mocking bow in front of the whole school. He stepped off the platform then, walking calmly to the Slytherin table with his hands behind his back while his stupid white rabbit rode on his shoulder. In the silence of the Great Hall, the clacking on his boots reverberated across the whole Hall, all for them to hear.

"Hello again, Mallory" Malfoy flinched, as Potter sat down next to him. Glancing around for Crabbe and Goyle, he felt his heart sunk as he realized that Goyle was sitting on his left while Crabbe sat opposite him, leaving the right space free for Potter to plop down next to him. The other Slytherins had moved back, once they realized that Potter was walking to them.

Traitors!

"Fancy meeting you here" He felt the shock travel down his spine, reactively averting his gaze from Potter, "What's wrong? Cat's got your tongue? I did say this is going to be the beginning of a very interesting friendship"

Malfoy remained silent, the gears clicking in his head as he tried to rationalize the situation he found himself in. Here he was, sitting next to someone that was supposed to be dead for the last three years! What the hell was he supposed to do? Nothing came to his mind, so he decided to remain silent until the high from his shock died down and he could formulate a plan.

Potter clicked his tongue and huffed, "How rude. The decent thing to do would be to respond when someone is speaking to you. Did your mother never teach you some manners? Oh well, you can't find manners in all of them."

Malfoy's fists clenched as he fought back the urge to refute something snarky Potter. No. Not yet. He will not allow himself to be captured in this imposter's net. He will bide his time and retaliate then.

"*cough* *cough* W-Well then!" McGonagall cleared her throat and tried to direct attention back to the front, which some of the students did, but not all, "Onwards with the Sorting. Rivers, Oliver?!"

Malfoy barely listened as the boy wearing circular glasses was sorted into "RAVENCLAW!". In fact, he barely listened at all as the last few names came rushing by.

"Roper, Sophie!"..."HUFFLEPUFF!"..."Runcorn, Tobias!"..."GRYFFINDOR!"..."Smith, Sally!"..."HUFFLEPUFF!"...Some Mudblood boy named "Thomas, Dean!" also went to "GRYFFINDOR!"..."Turpin, Lisa!"..."RAVENCLAW!"...And then-

"Weasley, Ronald!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

Malfoy was stunned as the Hall clapped politely. He certainly didn't expect that. The blood traitor family Weasley was notorious for ending up in the Gryffindorks just as much as his family was known for going into Slytherin. If he thought he was surprised than his brothers certainly were more.

"Wahoo! Would you look at that! Little ickle Ronnie is the first in the family to go to the house of ravens!" yelled out one of the twins, clapping enthusiastically.

"Don't you go giving us Weasley's a bad name now, ya hear?!" said the other twin, pushing his first down to get a chance to speak. Malfoy could see the eldest brother, a notorious suckler for the school rules, scold the two twins while the rest of the Hall chuckled at their antics. Weasley just kept his head down the whole time, looking absolutely green-faced as he sat down to Rivers.

Malfoy sneered. Weasley's.

As the last first-year, "Zabini, Blaise!" was sorted into "SLYTHERIN!" and sat down next to Potter, McGonagall rolled up the parchment and took the stool as well as the Sorting hat away. The Headmaster, Dumbledore, stood up and beamed at the students with his arms open wide. Malfoy and most of the Slytherin table sniggled as they noticed his large beer belly, disheveled robes, and yellow-stained beard.

Whether Dumbeldore had anything to respond to the giggles and snide remarks from the Slytherins and the first-years, he didn't show it, instead remaining as amicable as ever. If anything, he seemed slightly amused.

"Welcome!" he said joyously, "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts for our newest arrivals! A world of magical education and intrigue awaits you. And for out senior student body, welcome back!"

Malfoy watched Potter, curious as to how the imposter would act. To his surprise, Potter remained completely impartial to Dumbledore's words, staring at the Headmaster silently despite the stares coming his way from down the Slytherin table and beyond.

"That being said, I would like to say a quick few words. Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" Dumbledore gave a small bow as the Hall erupted into cheers and claps. Malfoy didn't join in with the rest of his fellow Slytherins, who clapped out of the most minuscule of respect - instead, more focused on the imposter sitting next to him.

Potter also didn't seem to have much of a reaction to the Headmaster's words, instead, focusing on his rabbit which he placed down on the table.

Malfoy frowned. Was it a trick of the light? He could swear he saw the rabbit wink at Potter.

He didn't exactly eat well, despite the plethora of food that appeared out on the table for him. There was roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, chips, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, salad, and, for the after the meal digestive soother, mint humbugs. Despite picking a steak, one of his most favorite foods, he didn't eat it much as most of his time was spent watching Potter. In fact, most of his house and some from the surrounding houses just stared at Potter.

Potter, despite piling his plate high with meat, ate very little of it, instead just munching on a bland salad and one lamb chop. The rest went to his rabbit.

Now Malfoy wasn't sure if it was a rabbit or not. What kind of rabbit eats meat with a kind of ferocity and gusto akin to a tornado? The creature would hold the slab of meat in place with its feet and then proceed to bite and tear into it, ripping it apart in a shower of blood and sauce As the creature devoured the meat, Malfoy saw that it possessed rows of razor-sharp teeth lined up like a shark's.

"Cool..." mumbled a voice opposite him. Malfoy, and a good portion of the students, turned to see Crabbe staring at the rabbit with awe and envy, "Wish I had a pet like that..."

"But all you have is a toad" interjected Goyle. He looked at Crabbe as if he was thinking intensely, "Probably got some toad's blood in you as well"

"Hey! Screw you!"

"Excuse me?" The table fell silent as Potter spoke up. He raised his head from his food and watched all of them questioningly. "Is there something you wanted?"

"Umm..." Malfoy gulped and spoke up, seeing as the rest of his housemates ducked their heads and redirected their attention back onto their food. He even saw a few of them create mock conversations on the spot - as if they've been engaged in conversations with one another long before, "Nothing. Crabbe here was just complimenting on your pet" said Malfoy as politely as he could. He had to be careful here. His interactions with Potter beforehand wasn't exactly the most beneficial to his current predicament.

"Who, Vespa?" Vespa must be the name of his rabbit as it raised its head like a meerkat to look at them, "She's one of a kind, isn't she? There are not many places in the world you can get a carnivorous rabbit as a pet"

Potter reached out and began stroking his rabbit, slowly and affectionately as his fingers played around with her fur and the joints on her spine. Malfoy just watched him strangely, "I've only had her for a year now, so she's still relatively young" Vespa pressed her head into Potter's palm, eager for more stroking. Potter complied, rubbing the animal until it was on its back, "But she's still a tough little bitch, aren't you girl?!"

Potter's fingers slinked in and began scratching the floof on the rabbit's chest, ferociously. The rabbit legs buckled and flailed in the air as it squeaked and squealed from Potter's rather rough handling of it. The surrounding Slytherins watched him as if he'd gone mad.

A few girls gasped as there was a large *SHULK*. Potter lifted his hand up slowly, Vespa attached to the other end and hanging from his hand as she had sunk her teeth directly into his fingers.

"Oh yes, and that happens sometimes" sighed Potter. He reached up and tickled the rabbit on the neck, "C'mon darling, let go now"

The rabbit obeyed, spitting out his fingers and landing on the table. The Slytherins look in horror at Potter's mangled fingers dripped blood. One of them was even hanging from a single tendon of muscle.

"Sweet Merlin! Are you okay?!" One of the fifth-year girls from down the table shrieked out in panic, drawing in the attention of the other houses.

"It's no big deal..."

"No big deal?! Your fingers are hanging from a thread of muscle! You need a Healer and fast!" Her shrieks were now bringing in the attention of the professors. Malfoy watched with increasing panic as he saw Professor Snape, a long-time friend of his father's rise, from his seat.

"No, seriously, it's no big deal" Potter placed his mutilated fingers into a napkin and rubbed the blood from them. When he pulled them back out again, to their amazement, the wound had been completely sealed off. It was as if no damages to fingers had never happened! "There. See? All fixed now"

Before Malfoy could point out that the blood from the napkin had vanished to the rest of his house-mates watching with amazement and to some degrees, fear, there was a large swooshing sound, accompanied a sudden drop in the temperature. Glancing around, he noticed that from the walls, a number of figures emerged from it. Pearly white and translucent, the four of them floated towards their specific tables.

"It's the Bloody Baron!" called out one of the seniors sitting further down the table. Malfoy watched with reverence as the gaunt, chain-shackled ghost floated over to them sombrely. Malfoy heard a lot about the Bloody Baron, mainly from his father.

"Parkinson" acknowledged the ghost, nodding to a black-haired girl with a Bob cut, "Greengrass, Davis, Bulstrode, Perks, Moon, Nott, Goyle, Crabbe, Malfoy, Zabini, and Potter..." The ghost stared at Potter intensely, to which Malfoy noticed Potter stare back at him with just as much intensity. The Baron floated up and gave the first-years a deep bow, "I humbly welcome each and every one of you to our most Sacred House. I do so hope that your...increased...cohort numbers will bring much achievements to our vaulted House. Now, if you will excuse me, I must go and greet our returning senior students"

Another deep bow and the ghost drifted off.

"How'd he get those chains?" asked Potter. The rest of the first-years looked with bewilderment as Potter and his pet continued to eat as if nothing had happened.

"How can you continue to eat after seeing him?" asked Davis stiffly. Her friend Greengrass was looking, funnily enough, green herself. Nott seemed to be shaking and Zabini was clutching his fork a little harder than needed.

"Was I meant to feel something?" Potter raised an eyebrow, "Who knows? But anyway, so how'd he get those chains?"

"Oh, I heard that-" began Goyle, almost too eagerly.

"In case you were wondering, we are eating Goyle" Goyle pouted as Zabini chided him harshly. Malfoy and a few of the others laughed at his predicament. It was exactly through the Bloody Baron's appearance and Zabini's scolding, that the ice was broken amongst the first years. Soon, Malfoy and the other first years took turns to introduce themselves and most importantly, their family's accomplishments.

For the girls, first up was Pansy Parkinson, from a pure-blood family that specialized in breeding and selling house-elves. Next was Daphne Greengrass, again, another pure-blood witch whose family owned a line of successful apothecaries. The same couldn't be said for her childhood friend, Tracey Davis, a half-blood and a rather standard one at best. Next to her was Millicent Bulstrode, another pure-blood whose only distinguishable traits were that she was as large and bulky as Crabbe and Goyle.

The two remaining female Slytherin first-years were what you could call the black sheep of the Slytherins. First up was Lilith Moon, a tall half-blood witch with wispy straw-colored hair and large blue eyes. She largely stayed out of the main group's conversations, instead, staring off into the distance and only speaking to confirm that her family were known telescope makers before falling silent once more. The bespectacled girl Sally-Anne Perks got it worse than Moon, not even being acknowledged by the other girls until Potter spoke up for her. It was then that she confirmed to everyone what Malfoy already knew long ago.

She was a Mudblood.

From the boy's side, there was Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, but everyone went to calling them Crabbe and Goyle for simplicity's sake. Not that they actually cared, instead, shrugging their shoulders while they feasted on the dessert that arrived after the main course had been cleared off from the table. Then there was Theodore Nott, a small weedy looking boy who didn't speak much. Malfoy knew better than to pass over on Nott, as he remembered seeing Nott act much more...impulsive when he visited the Nott residence with his family for one Christmas. Let's just say Nott had a rather...interesting display of animals.

Zabini was next, a handsome and cool-looking boy who was son to one of the most famous - or infamous based on how you looked at it - witches of all time. Married and widowed seven times, each of her husbands died mysterious deaths and left Mrs. Zabini with an enormous amount of money, something that refined Blaise's high-class pedigree.

"My family is the purest of the pure. I'm even a direct descendant of Salazar Slytherin himself" boasted Malfoy. He smiled as he saw his fellow first-years look at him with awe, though it faded when he looked at Potter. Potter looked absolutely bored with their conversations. "Bored, Potter?"

"As a matter of speaking, yes" replied Potter, "Hearing you all speak about your family accomplishments is so...what's the word? Trivial" He ignored the hostile gazes being sent his way from his fellow first-years, "No offense, of course, but that was their accomplishments, not yours. Seems to me that all of you just piggyback off it"

"Because it helps with influence within the house" stressed Greengrass, "You'll find that in this house, you have to have a reputation to be considered someone of value. What about you, Potter? What about your family? And if you don't mind me being blunt - how in Merlin's beard are you alive when you should've been dead for the last three years?!"

Yikes! Greengrass wasn't holding anything back! Malfoy can respect that.

"Well..." Potter looked uneasy as the rest of the first-years leaned in to get a closer listen. Goyle and Crabbe ditched their treacle tarts while Malfoy noticed that a good number of the senior year students from Slytherin and other houses alike, also listened in, "I didn't exactly die-"

Before Potter could say anymore, all the food on the table vanished. A sign that the Feast was over and that Dumbledore was about to do his annual speech. The Hall fell silent as Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again.

"Ahem- just a few more words before we retire for the night. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First-years should not that the forests in the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well"

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled in the direction of the Weasley twins. Malfoy sneered.

"I have also been asked by our resident caretaker, Mr. Filch, to remind you that no magic should be used between classes in the corridor. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Keep in mind that trials are only open for those of second-year and above. Anyone interested in playing for their houses teams should contact Madam Hooch" Then for a moment, Malfoy noticed Dumbledore adopt a more serious expression, "And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death"

Potter laughed, but he was one of the few who did.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore, returning to his joyous mood. Malfoy noticed that the other teachers' smile had become rather fixed. Dumbledore gave his wand a little flicker and a long golden ribbon flew out of the tip, which rose high into the sky and coiled like a snake until it formed words.

"Everyone, pick your favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "And off we go!"

Malfoy sang as quietly as he could, trying to eliminate the shame from himself. The same could not be said for Crabbe, who was bouncing up and down as if he was on a spring while singing in a booming voice.

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,

Teach us something please,

Whether we be old and bald

Or young with scabby knees,

Our heads could do with filling

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,

Just do your best, we'll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot."

The majority of the Slytherin table finished early, followed by Ravenclaw, Hufflepuffs, and then the Gryffindorks. The last to finish was the infuriating Weasley twins, singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand, and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped the loudest. Malfoy rolled his eyes at the blatant display of favoritism.

"Ah, music," he said tearfully, wiping the tears from his eyes, "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you go, chop-chop!"

Seeing as how the rest of his fellow Slytherins hadn't moved from their seats, Harry emulated their actions and remained in his seat, despite movement from the other tables. It was then that two senior students with silver badges on the front of their robes walked over to the group of silent first-years.

"Stand up!" barked the male student with faded brown hair. Harry stood to attention quickly, while the rest of his housemates stumbled to their feet to stand in line with him, "You there! Tuck in that shirt. You! Take that stupid thing off your head!"

Goyle fumbled to shove his untucked shirt into his pants, Tracy scowled and took her beanie off, revealing locks of mocha-colored hair that cascaded down her back. The male senior student ignored them both, continuing his inspection of the first-years.

"My name is Corban Yassi" explained the boy with authority in his voice, "Prefect for Slytherin house. My...lovely companion...next to me is also a prefect for Slytherin house. You are to treat her with respect at all times! Do I make myself clear?!"

"Gemma Farley," said the black-haired girl next to Yassi pleasantly. There was a noticeable blush on her face, "There are four prefects in total for each house, as well as a Head Boy and Head Girl. You'll be introduced to them shortly as well as our Head of House. Until then, let me be the first to welcome each and every one of you to the prestigious house of Slytherin"

"Oh, I like her" Harry did as well. She was a lot more pleasant than her male companion, who prowled between them like a guard dog.

"Acceptable," said Yassi after a while. Harry swore he saw Yassi give him and Vespa the stink-eye, but other that, didn't say anything else as he pulled his wand out. Farley followed suit. The two of them went down the line, Farley for the girls and Yassi for the males, tapping their robes as they went along. Harry watched in amazement as his tie, once bland grey, became dark green with silver stripes. The badge on his chest, before the school chest, also became the crest for the house of Slytherin.

"Follow me! Single file and don't fall behind!" Harry followed behind Zabini as the procession of first-years left the Hall last. The rest of the house had walked off ahead of them, so they were the last group to leave the Great Hall. They left the massive doors and entered the corridor, before walking down a flight of marble staircases.

"Memorise the patterns in the stairs" called out Yassi, ahead of them, "These stairs like to move around of their own volition"

His words rang true when there was a loud rumbling noise above them. Harry craned his head to look up and saw one of the flights of stairs move into a platform that had previously not been connected to anything. This left a group of the Gryffindors stuck on the platform.

The group continued down the marble staircases, deeper and deeper into the confines of the castle. There was a noticeable drop in temperature around them and the only heat and light sources were the torches lined on the stone walls. Vespa began to shiver on his shoulders, so he took her down and carried her in his arms.

Eventually, the group reached a bare stone wall.

"Pedigree," said Yassi, seemingly to no one in particular. To Harry's surprise, the stone wall twisted and reformed itself, much like the brick wall in Diagon Alley. Behind the wall, was a door, which Yassi swung open to let them walk in.

"Welcome to Slytherin common room," said Farley gently. The Slytherin common room was a long, low underground room with rough stone walls and ceiling, from which round, greenish lamps hung from chains, bathing the room in a greenish tinge. This was not helped by the windows, which only added to the green aura by bringing in shades of black from the outside.

That's not to say that there weren't any lights, as a fire crackled in an elaborately carved mantlepiece in front of them. Sitting around this fire, on couches and armchairs of different shades of green, was the rest of the Slytherin student body. There wasn't much chatter, mostly silence, as the first-years were herded to the center of the room.

"That there is Prefect Lyanne Wreath" Yassi motioned to a girl with caramel curls sitting smugly in an armchair, "And that there is Prefect Quintin Buckler. Head Boy Victor Stone. And Head Girl Winona Thyme"

The thin and pale Quintin, broad-chested and mountainous Victor and regal-looking Winona nodded their heads respectively. Harry noticed that not a single one of them raised a voice after that. In fact, they were holding their tongues, as if in anticipation for something to happen.

Harry didn't need to activate his demon senses to see him coming, the billowing robes could be both seen and heard as the man descended from the stairs. He was a tall individual, towering over all of them, and dressed in macabre black robes that gave him the appearance of a vampire. This was also added with the fact that he had very pale skin, shoulder lengthed greasy black hair and a large hooked nose.

"Thank you, Yassi. I shall take it from here" said the man quietly. His black eyes skimmed over the group of first-years judgingly. Harry noticed that for the briefest of moments, they lingered on Harry slightly longer than need be. "My name is Professor Snape, you shall address me as either Professor Snape or sir, your Head of House for the prestigious house of snakes, Slytherin"

He slowly walked around them, obviously making a show of superiority. "Our house prides itself on our superiority above the rest of the other houses, and rightly so. Whilst the common rabble of the other houses engage in meaningless talks of chivalry, wisdom, and loyalty, we Slytherins are more aware of the true value at hand. Success. Life is, but a chess game and someone will always not win. This house will ensure that you shall find success once you finish your time here at Hogwarts" Harry could feel the endorsement coming from his fellow first-years, "Make no mistake, every single one of you are privileged to find yourself sorted into this house, so you shall do well to ensure that you remain up to the standards set by the house. Forgo your previous alliances with anyone outside of our house. The only friends you shall need are your fellow vipers. Rollcall is to be conducted at 7:30 am every morning, with curfew at no later than 11:00 pm at night. Breakfast, lunch, and supper shall always be eaten together, never alone, for a single viper is not a predator, but a prey to the lion, eagle, and badger"

"Finally, and most importantly, there shall be no ill-conduct from any of you" He seemed to direct that statement at a few senior students sitting at the back, "Slytherin holds itself to a much higher standard than the rest of the Hogwart houses. There shall be no nonwhimsical wand-waving and nonsense like baboons - sorry, Gryffindors." He smiled forcibly as a few boys chuckled to his statement, "The loss of house points in kind is unacceptable. If you lose house points than you shall receive detention with me. Continual loss of points will label you as a pariah in this house, something I assure you, you do not want to happen to you"

"Now, Stone?" Snape gestured to the mountainous Stone who stepped forwards and clearly his throats.

"Alright, now listen up!" said Stone, "There are two quarters, boys and girls. Boys dormitory are to my right, the girl's dormitory is to my left. Do not attempt to sneak into one another's quarters as the doors are enchanted to not open to you no matter how much you try to force them open. As you proceed into your designated dormitories, you shall find the doors labeled with numbers, they are evocative of your year group. Again, do not try to force yourself into another year's quarters cause the doors will not open to you"

Harry nodded as Stone explained the concept. As he seemingly finished his explanation, Harry stepped forward to enter the male's dormitory, quite eager for some sleep. It was then, that he noticed he was the only one walking across the room.

He stopped. There was a rustling sound behind him. Harry slowly turned around to see a majority of the house members had withdrawn their wands and were now pointing them at him. From third-years up to seventh-years, wands of every length and wood were pointed in his direction. Yassi, Farley, Buckler, Stone, even Snape had their wands pointed at him. Harry noticed that Wreath and Thyme had their wands out and were holding the second-years and Harry's fellow first-years back.

"That is quite enough, imposter," said Snape dangerously, his black wand glistening underneath the pale lighting of the green chandeliers, "I do not know how or why you managed to infiltrate Hogwarts, but that is as far was your ploy goes. Whether you are just plain stupid or brave enough to use the guise of Harry Potter to sneak into this castle, I do not know, but I will not allow you to hurt anyone here. Show us your true self this instance!"

So they caught on. Hah...he should have known that this would happen eventually. It's a shame that he wasn't able to formulate a plan during dinner.

"I can take them if you want," said Vespa into his ear, "What do you think?"

"Not possible. There's too many of them...thirty-five wands are pointed our way, and that's not taking in account the prefects and the Head of House" replied Harry, assessing the situation. He internally sighed. "Guess there's no point trying to hide it anymore. Might as well come clean now, then later"

"Be careful!"

"I know...we may be demons, but that doesn't mean the spells won't affect us in some way or another."

"Let me be the first to-" Harry never so to finish his sentence as a streak of silver erupted from Snape's wand and grazed his cheek. The heat from the spell was still felt by Harry longer after the spell collided with the stone wall behind him.

"Did I not make myself clear? Tell us right now! Who are you?!" snarled Snape. The students surrounding him grew even tenser.

Harry huffed. "Fine...I'll show you" With that he removed his ring, allowing the familiar warmth to envelop his body. When the fires died down, the reactions he received were as expected.

There were shrieks. There were shouts. There screams. There were even a few wands that moved, partially in the process of conducting a spell until the spellcasters were halted by their peers. All around Harry and Vespa, the two of them watched as Slytherin's house devolved into a screaming mess. Junior students shuddered with fear as they looked at him, while older students questioned one another to the spectacle that they just witnessed. Prefects and the Head Boy and Girl did little to calm them down, as they too were shocked at what they saw.

There was a loud bang. Everyone fell silent as Snape stepped forward, his eyes hardened and his wand emulating smoke from the firecracker charm he just conjured.

"SILENCE!" And there was silence. Snape rounded onto Harry, who watched with curiosity as Snape looked at him tensely. Their staring match went on for quite a while until Snape finally broke the silence.

"What...in all the names of great witches and wizards before us...are you?" Snape didn't ask, so much as he demanded an answer to that question. Harry had to admit he was taking it very well compared to the rest of the house. Then again, in situations like this, it was best for the leader to stay calm as to not evoke panic within the larger crowd.

"I am the same person that Professor McGonagall read off the list. I am, Harry Potter" replied Harry calmly.

"Bullshit!" This came not from Snape, but Stone. Attention was directed towards the older Head Boy who stared at Harry defiantly, "That's not possible! Potter's been dead for the last three years!"

"And yet, here I am, after three long years here I am again. In the flesh" Harry gestured to himself, "So what does that mean? Simple. I'm not dead. But then again, I'm not exactly alive, so that's a bit of a problem"

"Look," said Harry before anyone could have a chance to speak up, "I get it that many of you are confused at the turn of events. But it is getting late and I would like to at least get the minimum amount of sleep required for someone of my age. I'll let you ask three questions" He raised up three fingers to further emphasize his point.

There was silence in the air. Many of the Slytherins didn't speak but instead just gave him disbelieving looks.

Eventually, the silence was broken.

"Are you really Harry Potter?" squeaked a small girl, most likely a second-year.

"Haah...that is a hard question to answer. I easily answered 'yes', but let's be honest, who here would actually believe me?" Harry shrugged his shoulders, "Heck I wouldn't even believe myself. So I'll fire this one back at you, what can I give to you that will prove that I am truly Harry Potter?"

There was some hesitation there.

"Show us the scar," said Nott, "Show us where the Dark Lord touched you"

Scar? What does his scar have to do with anything?

"Alright, very well then" Guess there was no harm in showing them. Harry lifted up his hair and showed to them the lightning bolt scar that adorned his forehead, "Is this enough?"

"It's him," said Snape simply after a minute of tense gawking from the Slytherin. Everyone turned to Snape who was looking at Harry with pursed lips as if he was sucking on a particularly sour lemon, "That is Potter's child alright. My turn, what did you mean why you said you weren't dead but at the same time not exactly alive?"

Man, these were rather hard questions they were pressing him with. Not that he wasn't sympathetic, considering their situation.

"I meant it as I said" answered Harry, noticing the confusion gracing the faces of his fellow Slytherins, "Perhaps I should explain this to you better. Three years ago, I threw myself off the roof of that...dreaded school, that much is true. I was successful in carrying out the act. But at the same time, I failed to properly die. So for the last three years, I stayed floating between the planes of the living and the dead"

"Like a ghost?"

"Don't be stupid Quintin! Does he look transparent to you?" Wreath reprimanded her fellow prefect. He noticed that the girl was looking at him with an enormous degree of interest, "That being said, if you are not a ghost, then what are you?"

"Bimbo"

"Oh shut it"

"Technically this counts as four questions, but I'll bite if this means this will be the last question for the night," said Harry to the group of Slytherins, "What I am, and what my pet is,...is an interesting conundrum. But I believe that the revelation of such information only serves to be detrimental to the current situation. How about this? You, try to figure out what I and my pet are at the end of the year. Get it wrong and you lost nothing. Get it right and I will reveal to you, the secrets of this world, and the one beyond it"

The growing excitement from his fellow Slytherins palpable. He could feel it. They were slowly being roped in by their curiosity.

"That being said, I can't have myself running around the school in my native form, nor any of you babbling about me to the other houses" He slipped on his ring and fire once more shrouded over his demon body. He then snapped his fingers as the Slytherins shot him confused looks, "You all have been cursed with my gift. If you look at your hands, there should be a rune circle there. These runes cannot be broken or overruled in any way. Don't worry, these won't harm you" added Harry as alarmed looks graced the faces of his house-mates, "Well...maybe they'll harm you. A lot. But only if you start gossiping to the other houses. So watch what you say" he said that last part in the most foreboding tone he could do. It worked, as no one raised a voice after that.

Seeing that as his queue to leave, Harry replicated the same action he did at the Great Hall, bowed to the mass of Slytherins watching him. Looking into their eyes, there was a noticeable trace of lingering fear, but amongst that apparent fear, there was also curiosity, suspicion, amazement, and intrigue. His eyes fell on Professor Snape, who returned his nonchalant gaze with serious and hardened eyes.

Harry smiled and tilted his head.

For some reason that seemed to set Snape off.

"Wait-!" Before Snape could finish his words, Harry slammed the doors leading to the dormitories behind him.

"So..." Harry sighed as Vespa clambered from his shoulder and landed onto his palm, "How'd I do?"

"Smooth. Real smooth Harry," replied Vespa sarcastically. Harry smiled bitterly.

"C'mon, let's go to bed. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow"

Smudgley shook his head as he tossed the file behind him. No. That will just not do.

He propped his feet onto the expensive wood of his office table, sighing as the smoke from the cigar he smoked made it's way up to the noticeable cloud already at the top of his office.

In front of him were three more folders, each draft article made by his reporters, now just needing his approval to be placed onto the front page of tomorrow's edition of the Daily Prophet. The subject in the folders all wrote about the same thing, but with radically different titles.

Dumbledore: The Man-Who-Lied? by Walter Yarra.

Dumbledore's Debacle: Why This Latest Stunt Demonstrates Insanity by Tommen Little.

Dumbledore: Daft or Dangerous? by Rita Skeeter.

He won't lie, he was almost tempted to go with Skeeter's article after a day of getting no results from the train station. Little's was too long and Yarra's was a direct play on the Boy-Who-Lived. The people would like to see something interesting when they open up the newspaper in the morning, after all.

It can be said that life has been good for Smudgley. Ever since he decided to do research on Muggle newspapers and take some pointers, he found that the popularity of newspapers was quickly soaring within the younger generations. Who knew this, 'comics' idea was so popular?! Especially his political comics!

Sure, he might have gotten some complaints from parents, but what did that matter when he was finally promoted to fricking editor-in-chief!

Ha! Take that Billy Comte! Bet he's regretting shoving this nerd's head into the toilet now!

Smudgley's happy moment was cut short when the doors to his office slammed open. His secretary, a female witch stood at the door, panting in exhaustion.

"What's going on?" asked Smudgley, alarmed.

"*Huff* Hog...*Huff*...warts...Potter...*Huff*...alive"

What?

"What?" Smudgley's cigar fell from his mouth, staining the carpet with ash and soot.

Author's notes: Happy New Year!