Chapter 7

The sun coated the tower in the early hours of the morning. In the midst of Ron's terrible snores, Harry woke up as usual from his nightmares. Frustrated at his lack of sleep he got up and headed to the shower to get ready for his day. Half an hour later, he made his way down to the great hall for breakfast. There was not many students out and about at this hour. Which Harry was grateful for as he was able to enjoy the peace before the day began. He knew it was going to be a rocky start to his school year, with the changes he was going to make. He hoped it would go well.

He sat down at the Gryffindor table among a few older students who were already deep into their breakfast and studies. He smiled as he saw the breakfast spread. One thing he had really missed was Hogwart's Breakfast. That had always been one of his best memories. He had never eaten as much with the Dursleys. He poured himself a large glass of pumpkin juice and began to eat. Halfway through his breakfast the other students started to come down. Draco had also walked in during this time and gave him a small wave which he returned. Soon Neville followed and sat down in front of him.

"Morning Harry, sleep well? I was so nervous for today" Neville said, as he piled a stack of pancakes to his plate. Harry shrugged as he drank his juice.

"I got some sleep, I was nervous as well, I came down earlier, Ron's snoring woke me up" He said with slight malice when saying Ron's name. Neville looked at him and nodded slowly.

"I've never heard anything so horrible, it took me a while to fall asleep because of him, I wonder if there is a spell to block that!" They both chuckled at that.

"Timetable boys, here you go. I hope you take your studies seriously, I have high expectations of Gryffindor's first years" They heard Professor McGonagall behind them. Harry took his schedule and looked down at it. He already knew it was going to be potions with Snape but checked it anyways.

Harry was conflicted about Snape. In his first life, Snape had automatically hated him. He made his life at Hogwarts miserable. That's all he had ever known until the end. When he gave him all his memories at his moment of death. Dumbledore had manipulated him as much as himself. Everything Snape did was at the orders of Dumbledore. Snape had loved his mother, he had vowed to protect him. From what he understood later on was that Dumbledore had use his legilimency to mess with his memories. In the end, Snape was able to take conrtol but he died from the venom of Naginis bite. For his mother, for his sanity, he needed to have Snape on his side this time.

Gathering his things, him and Neville began their way down to the dungeons. They were out of the great hall when they saw Draco waving at them from a group of Slytherins.

"Potter! Over here, you both got potions with us." Draco said. He turned to who he remembered was Blaise and waved goodbye then joined him and Neville.

"Good Morning Malfoy, is Slytherin really in the dungeouns?" Neville asked Draco. Draco smirked and nodded. They kept walking as Draco described the Slytherin dorms. They were almost to the classroom when they saw a head of bushy hair go past them.

"Oy Granger, not so fast" Harry heard Draco call out. He saw Hermione make a sudden stop before she turned around to stare in surprise. Draco motioned for her to join them. This shocked Harry. Draco Malfoy was speaking to Hermione again. Draco Malfoy was being friendly with her and him. He didn't know how to take this.

"Good Morning, I hope you slept well. Sorry about that, I don't want to be late to our first class" Hermione said quickly. Harry smiled at her.

"Good Morning Ms. Granger" Harry returned with a huge smile. Harry had not spoken to her since the day before. He wasn't ignoring her, but he wasn't seeking her out either. In his first life, Hermione had been a snooty girl from the beginning until they had saved her from the Troll. She had not made any friends with her dorm mates. Part of him felt incredibly guilty. He felt responsible that she didn't enjoy Hogwarts and her youth. He didn't want it to be the same this time. It was always something happening with them three before, so because of that she never went out with other girls her age. The changes of this life were big. Never had he expected that just a few words and actions could change everything but he hoped for the best for Hermione.

"Come with us Hermione, we are heading there too" Neville said encouragingly. Harry nodded to her as well. Hermione stood for a few seconds just looking at them with a small blush on her cheeks before a smile appeared on her face and nodded. The four began heading towards the dungeon.

They all piled into the class and sat down. Harry this time was not as nervous as his first life. Of course, he didn't know anything then. This time he was prepared.

The dungeon door opened with a bang and Snape strolled in his cloak billowing behind him. Looking as intimidating as before.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making, there will be no foolish wand waving. I don't expect many you to appreciate the beauty that is potion making. I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory and even stopper death, that is if you aren't as stupid as you look.." He said sharply, in a whisper, but every word was heard. He walked through the students, nothing heard in the class but the breathing of the students. Harry saw him zero in on him, and move quickly in front of him.

"Potter….our new celebrity" He said sarcastically. "Tell me, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry looked straight at his face and answered in a neutral tone "Draught of Living Death Sir"

Snape's eyes narrowed "Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

"A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it can save you from different potions, sir." Harry again answered neutral, still staring at Snape.

Snape's face hardened "What is the difference between monshood and wolfsbane?"

"They are the same plant sir, it is also known as aconite" Harry said in a polite tone.

They stared at each other for what seemed hours, without blinking. Snape seemed to try to figure out what had just happened. Giving him a slight glare, he turned to the class "Well! Why aren't you all writing this down. Potter is correct"

A few held releases of breath were heard before they rushed to quickly get their quills to write down the information. Harry looking around noticed, Hermione's face turn a bit red before she began to write. No doubt feeling annoyed that she wasn't the only one to know that. Harry turned to Snape and listened to his lecture. The rest of the lesson went on normally. Snape had not singled him out or taken any points. Neville had also been incredibly focused. Feeling relieved that his relationship with Snape had not immediately gone down the drain, he continued to write his notes.

The entire dungeon rushed out of the dungeon as soon as the bell rung dismissing them. Harry had debated on whether to stay back and talk to Snape. He decided now was not the time and followed Neville and Hermione out to the next class.

Transfiguration had gone the same as his first life, only this time he was not the one that was late. He was able to see Professor McGonagall's cat transformation, which he was in awe of. This time Ron had come in late with Seamus. Professor Mcgonagall took point for his tardiness. She had not done that the first time. They were working on turning a matchstick to a needle again. By the end of this class, both Hermione and himself had been able to transform the matchstick into a needle. Earning themselves 10 points for Gryffindor.

Happy about his day so far they headed to lunch in the great Hall. They sat down and began eating when he saw Ron make his way to them sitting next to Neville.

"Hey mate, what a day! Snape was such a git wasn't he" He said as he began to stuff his face with a sandwich.

"Professor Snape" Both Hermione and himself said at the same time. Hermione looked surprised at that but gave him a small smile.

"Manners Ron, I thought he was really intimidating but he knows what he's talking about. I was really surprised he asked you all those questions but he is known to especially dislike Gryffindor" Neville said.

Harry shrugged " He must have just wanted to see if I had read. Probably trying to make sure I wasn't taking the celebrity thing seriously"

Neville looked thoughtful at his statement and nodded "That's true, maybe he thought you'd be arrogant about it. But that was great, how did you know the answers? I didn't think they were in the first year book"

"They're not! Those were 3rd year questions!" Hermione chimed in. "I read ahead you know, I raised my hand but he didn't let me answer"

"Your crazy, reading ahead, wanna stay away from this one mate. Quidditch is what you should be worrying about, can't have those evil gits in Slytherin winning. Our house should win the cup this year" He said, dismissing Hermione.

Harry just shook his head at his antics. "There's more important things than Quidditch Ron especially since first years can't play so why should I bother. Anyways, I didn't have issues in Transfiguration, I'm really hoping we learn how to become animals like Professor McGonagall did!"

Both Hermione and Neville nodded enthusiastically. "I couldn't turn the match into the needle. It was hard. That was so great you both could do it! It just didn't seem like I could do magic."

"I thought about and imagined it in my head, then somehow pushed my magic through my wand" Harry explained to Neville.

"Hmm my wand gives me a bit difficulty, but my dad didn't have issues with it" Neville said while looking at his wand.

Harry looked at Neville and then to his wand, remembering that he didn't have his new one yet. "That was your father's wand? Neville, you do realize another wizards wand wont work the same for you. The wand chooses the wizard, that's what Ollivander said. Maybe that's why it was difficult?"

Nevilles eyes widened "My grandmother said this would work for me, that I should be proud to use this"

"Harry's right Neville, I read about wand making and each wand is specifically made for the Witch or Wizard" Hermione said.

"That would explain it! I'll write to my grandmother and see if I can get a new one!" Neville said with excitement. "I'll let you know how it goes!"

"Must be nice" Ron muttered from behind them.

The trio rolled their eyes at him ignoring him. They finished their lunch and headed to their last class of the day. Professor Flitwick was once again on a stack of books. He welcomed them all and began a lecture on the history of charms. The class in all went on as the one in his first life. Harry answered a couple of questions along with Hermione earning them another 10 points. Harry felt pretty proud.

Dinner had been a fun affair, with the twins showing off a couple of pranks. The students were all deep in discussion about their classes. After the day was done, he felt that it had gone better than he thought. His first life always in the back of his mind, he drifted off to sleep excited and nervous for the rest of the year.