"Mr. Potter, would you mind explaining to me exactly how you managed to make this particular potion explode?" Professor Snape said harshly, and then chopped his hand to the side, cutting Harry off. "Detention, tonight, Mr. Potter. I'll expect you immediately after dinner."

"Yes, Professor," Harry muttered, looking desultorily at his ruined potion. He'd been almost finished when someone had thrown something into his cauldron and caused the explosion. And it had been going perfectly, too.

"Tough luck, mate," Ron whispered as he struggled to understand the instructions enough to complete the potion creditably. Harry sighed.

"It happens, I suppose," he said resignedly. He looked across the room towards the Slytherins, and noticed that Draco was looking at him, eyes oddly guilty. Harry's eyes narrowed and the blond winced before turning back to his potion. Harry didn't say anything, not wanting to kick off another of Ron's anti-Slytherin moments. He'd listened to enough of them as it was. Turning back to clean up his workstation, though, he wondered why Draco had purposely ruined his potion.

"Professor?" Harry asked timidly, poking his head around the door frame. Professor Snape stood and strode towards him.

"Come. There's a Slytherin house meeting, and I wish you to be there." Harry nodded silently, trotting behind the professor. His relations with the Slytherin house had been odd. After the feast, they had been mostly condescending and standoffish, but the next day, he had been treated to skeptical and considering looks. Though they still hadn't spoken to him, with the exception of Draco, anyway. The blonde's more open curiosity about him had been one reason why Draco's sabotage had confused him so. He hadn't seemed the type to do something so pointlessly malicious.

The portrait swung open automatically at the sight of the head of house. Harry followed him in, noting the abrupt silence when the students noticed the man. Harry trailed along in the wake left as the students instinctively parted to let their professor through to stand before the fireplace. As he turned, he made a small gesture, and Harry dropped to sit on the hearth beside him, curling comfortably on a cushion someone had tossed in the corner. He rested his temple against the cool stone, letting his eyes flutter shut for a moment, focused on Snape's speech.

"You want us to treat this child like one of us, when he doesn't understand enough to even respect you enough to pay attention?" an older year protested, gesturing towards Harry. Snape glanced at him.

"Harry, what have I been saying?" he commanded. Harry recited the last five sentences without opening his eyes or moving his head from the cool stones. Snape raised an eyebrow at the student, who bowed his head in acknowledgment.

Snape clapped sharply, and Harry flinched, his eyes squeezed shut in pain. Snape looked at him oddly.

"What's wrong, child?" he asked. Harry shrugged slightly, forcing the expression from his face.

"I've had a headache since DADA. I think there's something in the room I'm allergic to or something, because it kept getting worse while I was in there, but it started going away once I got out. Though, it flared up at dinner, too..."

"But dinner is loud," Snape observed. Harry nodded slightly.

"Yes sir. It's mostly manageable now. You just startled me." Snape nodded. He turned and swept from the room, pausing in the doorway.

"I expect you to be in your own dorms by curfew, Potter," he warned, then was gone. Harry opened his eyes, and looked out across the assembled Slytherins. Most were content to ignore him, but the first years, about half of the second years, and a few of the third years were watching him curiously. He sighed softly, not really feeling up to socializing with them, but figuring he should take advantage of the introduction Snape had given him. He could tell from their stances that if he blew this, he wouldn't get another chance.

"Where ya been, Harry?" Ron asked sleepily when Harry returned to his dorm later that night. Harry shrugged.

"Detention with Snape, remember?" Ron winced. He'd experienced enough detentions with the man by now to not want to know what Harry had been put to doing.

"That sucks, mate," he said with feeling. Harry shrugged again.

"It wasn't too bad," he said. Ron thought he was putting up a brave front and clapped him companionably on the shoulder before going back to sleep, but in all honesty it was the truth. Other than the fact that his slowly dissipating headache had put him in a sour mood, he'd enjoyed the hour and a half he'd spent in Slytherin, which was as long as he could stay and still get back to the tower by the first years' curfew. It was interesting, being around a bunch of people who thought roughly the same way Fredrick did. Oh, but he missed the man though. He sat on his bed and pulled a sheet of paper from his satchel.

Dear Fredrick,

I miss you terribly. School's going pretty well, and I enjoy my classes. There's so many things here that I'd never dreamed were real. The school is in a real castle, and there are suits of armor in the hallways that sometimes follow the students around. Sometimes they even sing, but since their heads are empty they can't remember the words too well. There's a poltergeist that likes to hide inside the suits of armor when they're singing and put in rude lyrics when the armor can't remember the right words.

Ever since I got here I keep hearing 'he looks just like his father with his mother's eyes'. Quite frankly, it's annoying. I know, people are trying to connect with me, and all that, but I haven't known my parents since I was a year old. So while it's nice to know that I look like them, I really don't need to hear it from every adult I meet. But all the adults that knew them say it, and the ones that didn't stare at my scar. A few did both.

I hope you're doing well, not being treated to bad and all that, though I've heard that men in your situation often have trouble. I sincerely hope you aren't. I love you Fredrick, and you took better care of me than my family did.

On the upside, child services are watching my family now. My aunt gave me fifty pounds to redecorate my bedroom. It's a lovely dark blue with silver now, and a dark-wood canopy bed. I wish you could see it. I even found a desk and chair that almost exactly match the bed and nightstand. It's like they're a set. I love it. I'd love my room more if the company was better, but I can go into my room and be undisturbed for hours. Only my aunt ever comes in there.

Harry yawned and put the half-finished letter back into his bag, planning to finish it tomorrow, and slipped under the covers.

"Sorry I did that in Potions yesterday," Draco muttered, looking down at his hands. Harry shrugged and turned to inspect the small rosebush in the courtyard where they'd met.

"It's ok. Professor Snape told you to, didn't he?" Draco nodded.

"Yeah. Still, I felt bad about it." Harry shrugged.

"I'm sure he was watching me, knowing that he wouldn't see the end product. I wouldn't be surprised if I still got my right grade. It was just kind of frustrating to have it explode in my face when I was so close to being finished. And it was worse to know that it wasn't my fault."

"Yeah, I can imagine. But godfather needed a reason to give you detention."

"Snape's your godfather?" Draco shrugged, and then nodded.

"Yeah. Mother trusts him, and he was father's protégé for a while, and they're still friends." Harry looked at him for a moment, and then shrugged. It wasn't like it really mattered, but he made a mental note to give a little more weight to what Draco said about Snape, since the kid should know a bit more about his own godfather than the general student body. "He's been teaching me potions since I was five." Harry rolled his eyes.

"That's so not fair. No wonder you get everything right." Draco laughed.

"Father will tolerate nothing less than perfection when it comes to my schooling." He sobered a bit. "I'll be in big trouble if I don't get top marks." Harry nodded. It fit his understanding of the man from other things Draco had said.