I am editing Redemption. I hope you like the change. It may take me a while to get the posts out as I'm extremely busy, no longer have my copies of the first two books, and I'm currently also working on my own novel. I'd love to reply to each and every one of the reviews, but it'd probably take forever. Thank you all for your support and I hope you can continue to enjoy this fanfiction in its modified form.

Disclaimer: I am not making any money off of this and I own nothing.

Warning: I will only reply to nice comments. If you want to leave a mean review, feel free, but I will not reply to you.

Caution: Ahead there be yaoi, boy's love, boyxboy, manxman, homosexuality, or whatever it is you feel like calling it. Proceed at your own risk.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Harry sat on the stool for several seconds longer than necessary, not sure how to respond. Thoughts poured into his mind about how Ronald had told him how only Dark Wizards went into Slytherin or had it been the other way around? Did only Dark Wizards come from Slytherin?

Someone was talking and it took him a moment to realize McGonagall was asking him to hop off the stool and go take his seat at Slytherin table.

Feeling faint, Harry did as he was asked, the silence surrounding him almost palpable. McGonagall called the next student just as Harry slumped into his seat. A hand rested on his back and he looked up to see he'd sat next to an older student with blond hair and features, which appeared to have a hard time not being sad. He gave a small upturn of his lips, just enough to count as a smile, and Harry attempted to return it.

As the Sorting came to an end, Harry glanced up at where Hagrid sat. He was surprised when the man gave him a thumbs up and he quickly looked down at his plate as Dumbledore began speaking.

The dreamy feeling was wearing off and he glanced back at Ronald sitting comfortably next to his brother at the Gryffindor table. The redhead seemed to be staring pointedly at Dumbledore, almost as if he trying not to look towards Harry. He failed as he sneaked a glance over at the Slytherin table. A look of disgust rushed over the redhead's face and he quickly looked back at Dumbledore.

Realizing with horror the Sorting Hat had turned his dream into a nightmare, Harry tried to figure out why this was supposed to be better for him. Sure, the Sorting Hat thought he would do best in Slytherin, but couldn't the Hat see how much trouble being sorted in Slytherin was going to cause him? Then again, maybe the Hat knew Harry would become a Dark Wizard and therefore had insisted he be put into Slytherin where he could better nurture the darkness within him.

A sick feeling twisted inside his gut and he was shaking slightly as the feast began. He wasn't at all enthralled with the magically-appear food before him as he'd lost his appetite the moment the hat had shouted the dreaded House's name.

An elbow nudged him out of his thoughts and he was looking up again at the blond Slytherin sitting beside him.

"Have some food, Potter," the Slytherin encouraged as he tapped Harry's plate with his fork.

Harry begrudgingly reached for a spoon to scoop himself something, though he wasn't paying attention to what.

While he did this, the blond Slytherin watched him, brows pinched and eyes mopey.

"Um," Harry mumbled as he glanced at the blond. "What's your name?"

"Terence Higgs," the older boy replied. "I was Seeker for the Slytherin Quidditch team last year. I'm hoping to make it on the team this year."

Someone coughed from across the table and they both looked up to see a dark-haired boy only a couple of years older than Harry.

"Something to say, Pucey?" Terence asked in a voice so quiet Harry wondered if this Pucey could even hear it.

He appeared to have as he looked up in feigned surprise and then snapped a smile onto his face. Reaching across the table to Harry, he held out his hand.

"Adrian Pucey," he introduced himself as Harry shook his hand. "Chaser last year and I will be Chaser this year, you can count on that."

He settled back down into his seat.

Silence settled between the three and Harry shoved his food around with his fork before peering at the Slytherins in his year. They were all talking with each other, most appearing to have known one another from before Hogwarts. He began to feel even more left out and distant from the group as none of them even paid him any attention.

I'm not going to be a dark wizard.

The vow inside his head almost took him by surprise and he flicked his gaze down to his uneaten food.

He swallowed the lump, which had been forming painfully in his throat.

Terence made some comment about Harry trying some drumsticks or maybe the ham, but Harry could only manage a sound in his throat before having to hide his face as tears began to stream down his cheeks. The blond Slytherin didn't comment as he took the pointed hat from off of his head and passed it to Harry. Without saying a word, Harry used the hat to hide his face better as he tried to dry his eyes. A sound came from Adrian's side of the table and Harry dared a glance up to see the dark-haired Slytherin elbowing a snickering student his own age. With a reassuring glance Harry's direction, Adrian muttered something about Slytherin code and the snickering student fell silent.

That night Harry was glad there were curtains around the beds as it made it easier to hide his sobbing.

The following day Harry woke up almost wishing he was still in the cupboard under the stairs at the Dursley's House. Then he remembered he was at Hogwart's School and been sorted into Slytherin House. An empty feeling filled his stomach and he had to will himself to sit up. He'd ruined all chances of a friendship with Draco when he'd refused the blond's offer on the Hogwart's Express in favor of Ron. He was sorely regretting that decision now.

After changing into his school robes, Harry made his way down into the common room and for the first time actually gave the area a good look.

The entire room was washed in green light and the seats were all made of a black leather. On the far side of the room was a large window, but all Harry could see was a murky green and some lake weed floating past. He wondered if maybe Slytherin House was under the Black Lake.

Most of the common room was empty with only a couple of the upper years left grumbling about the heavy weight of their books that year. Terence was among those still in the room as he sat at one of the couches. When Harry noticed him, the blond stood and approached him.

"Going to breakfast, Potter?" Terence asked as he stopped in front of Harry and adjusted the strap on his bag.

"Er...yes," Harry answered, eyeing the older boy warily. "You?"

"Yes," came the expected reply followed by, "I was going to offer to help you to your first class. The castle is like a maze. You can get lost easily."

Not sure how else to respond, Harry accepted the Slytherin's aid and the two went down to breakfast together.

Before he had even managed to sit down at his House's table, someone gave him a good shove, sending him topping to the ground. Laughter could be heard echoing in the hall as Harry picked himself up to glare at whoever had pushed him. His stomach tightened at the sight of Ron plopping down into a seat between Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan.

"Slytherins," Ron was saying as Harry tried to get his emotions under control. "They're all Dark Wizards I tell you."

"That's rich coming from you," a cold voice suddenly spoke up and Harry looked over in shock to see Draco had turned around to watch the spectacle. He was speaking now to Ron as the redheaded Weasley faced him with a mix of disgust and surprise. "Think the world doesn't know about your grandmother? You think I wouldn't know? She was a Slytherin, but apparently a dumb one: she married a Weasley."

Ron stood up, but his twin brothers were already reaching across the table to grab him and yank him down into his seat.

"You take that back," Ron snapped at Draco. "You take that back right now!"

"Which part?" Draco asked coolly a smirk forming on his lips. "The fact she was dumb for marrying a Weasley or the fact your grandmother was a Slytherin?"

Ron was fuming to the point of being unable to do anything except glare as his face turned a red which matched his hair. Quietly, Harry took his seat, not sure if he should be thanking Draco or not. Terence eventually got Draco to stop pestering the Gryffindors and the Slytherin table settled into mild conversation. Plucking up the courage, Harry scooted closer to Draco and whispered a thanks.

Draco's brow arched up as he eyed Harry.

"I'm sorry," Draco hissed so only Harry could hear. "But I thought we weren't friends."

Again regretting his decision to refuse Draco on the train, Harry slid back over towards Higgs and picked at his breakfast as he wished his first year of Hogwart's would start improving already.

Terence turned out to be a nice guy. He was currently living with his grandfather, a Bertie Higgs who worked for the Ministry of Magic in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, while his parents were working and living in Indonesia. He wasn't like a lot of the other Slytherins. To start, both of his parents had been from Hufflepuff and his grandfather was from Gryffindor. Though Terence never commented about it, there appeared to be no problems at home with him being in the House of Snakes despite the Houses his family had all come from. He was quiet and reserved, but not very book-smart. He couldn't answer a lot of Harry's questions and instead pointed Harry to Adrian Pucey.

Adrian was nothing like Terence. He seemed full of energy and life, his face always showing his emotions and his attitude generally cheerful. He had a dark streak to him, which Terence didn't possess. It showed in his sense of humor and the remarks he made about the Gryffindors. Through Draco calling Adrian a Mudblood, Harry learned a new term and also that Adrian just laughed off the insult.

"It's not such a big deal," Adrian told Harry. "I get called it all the time, but it doesn't bother me."

Nothing seemed to bother him. He would give a great laugh every time one of the Slytherins insulted him and an even larger guffaw when someone from one of the other Houses tried to make fun of him. As it turned out, his method was effective as people stopped trying to make fun of him. They weren't getting any results, so their efforts were wasted. Adrian wasn't particularly book-smart either, but he at least knew how to look for information. When Harry had a question he couldn't answer, he could always find a book to do the answering for him.

They weren't Harry's friends exactly, but they were there for him. If he didn't know the way, they would get him to where he needed to go. If he was being pestered by Ron and his gang, they would chase the Gryffindors away. If Draco started making fun of him, they would interfere, which caused the snide remarks to then turn to Pucey. Harry felt a little better knowing someone had his back, though he was afraid all of that was going to end the moment Snape walked into Harry's first Potions Class.

Snape took one look at Harry and the boy swore the man's eyes were filled with hate and then the Professor proceeded to ignore him for the rest of class. Struggling over the lesson, Harry wasn't surprised when the Professor took one look at the result and asked Harry to remain behind. Ron made a snort of amusement at this, earning a "What's so funny, Weasley?" from Draco as the group left the classroom. With a swish of his wand, Snape shut the door to his classroom and then turned to peer down his nose at Harry.

A few seconds passed, the room filled with the smell of Neville's melted cauldron and the sound of dripping from somewhere in a far corner. Harry shifted anxiously on his feet and dropped his gaze to the floor.

"Mr. Potter," Snape's voice pulled Harry's gaze from the floor. "I expect you to thoroughly read the first chapter tonight as none of my Slytherins will be permitted to fail Potions. It becomes tedious when I have to lie and would be easier if you simply excelled on your own."

Harry's brows shot past the rim of his glasses as he stared at his Head of House.

Snape made a dismissive wave with his hand and Harry rushed out of the classroom.

Afterwards, he made his way down to have tea with Hagrid.

"Gringott's was broken into?" Harry asked in surprise when he saw the newspaper heading.

Hagrid was quick to dismiss the article and try to hide it from Harry. Curiosity plagued him, but as Harry made his way back up to the castle he decided it was probably best if he dismissed his concerns. There was-and Slytherin House would make sure he remembered this-absolutely no benefits to risking one's neck over silly speculations. If he ever did decided to pursue his curiosity, he would need sound proof it was worth it.