Parseltongue- Harry speaking ; snakes speaking

'mind talking/ communicating'

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Harry made it into the potions class just in time. Muttering an apology to a frantic-looking Draco, he sat next to him just as the doors bellowed open. Most of the class jumped; but Harry had heard the professor coming from behind him and stayed seated. The professor was a middle-aged man with black and greasy hair and black robes named Severus Snape. He quickly described what potions was, and you could tell from the way he was speaking he was not someone to mess with. It seemed that he hated all students, especially Gryffindor, with the exception of his own house. Except Harry.

"Harry Potter... our new celebrity," Snape said when he had gotten to his name. Harry could tell by the tone of his voice Snape hated him, for what reason, he didn't know. Suddenly Snape turned around and yelled, "Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Thankfully, Harry had read his book cover to back.

"Asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death, sir," Harry answered quietly, looking down. If one hadn't been looking closely, they would have missed the emotions on the professor's face.

"Hmm...so you did bother to open a book. Let's see how much. Where would you look if I asked you to get me a bezoar?"

"A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons."

"And what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?" 

Harry thought for a minute. "Both are the same plant, sir. They also go by the name of aconite." Snape nodded his head. He turned to the rest of the class.

"Well, why aren't you copying this down?" There were shuffles of papers and quills as students got ready. Then the professor started to write a potion down on the board. Harry and Draco teamed up for the potion, and Harry went to get the ingredients. All was going smoothly until Ron and Seamus blew up their potion, spraying it all over themselves.

"Boys! Couldn't do anything right! I bet you added porcupine quills before turning off the heat! That will be 5 points taken from both of you! Now go clean up!" Just then, the bell rang the Professor Snape dismissed the class. While Harry was packing his supplies, he thought back to the first question the teacher had asked. When shopping, Harry had gotten a book that listed all the ingredients used in potions and their meaning behind it. Asphodel was a kind of lily that meant my regrets follow you to the grave. Wormwood means absence, which symbolized bitter sorrow. If you add them, the meaning behind the two plants would be 'I regret Lily's death.' Harry looked at Professor Snape, who was grading some papers, and whispered, "Thank you." The only way he knew Snape had heard was a pause and a nod of the head.

The rest of the day went by a breeze. After Herbology, the Slytherins had charms with the Ravenclaws. Draco, Harry, and Hermione sat together, though people gave them weird looks for sitting with different houses. Not that it mattered to them. When lunch came around, Neville and the twins were waiting for them outside the Great Hall.

"Hey guys," Harry greeted them.

"Hello," the three answered simultaneously. They all grinned.

"So, should we sit with the Puffs now?" Harry asked.

"Sure," they all answered. Together, they walked into the hall, plunging it into silence. Harry was in the front with Draco and Neville at his sides. Behind them were Hermione in the middle with the twins on either side of her. Harry led them to the badgers, where everyone made a space for them. Harry, Neville, and Draco sat on one side, while Hermione, Fred, and George sat on the other in front of them. Ignoring all the whispers that had started, the six started up a conversation and started eating. Fred and George took Harry's empty plate away and gave it back after setting some food onto it.

"Guys...This is too much," Harry said. The twins crossed their arms and looked at him.

"Well, you have to eat-," Fred started.

"-or you won't be able to function-," George continued.

"-for the rest of the day."

"This is barely anything, Harry," Draco coaxed. "And you hardly ate at breakfast." Harry huffed and started playing with his food.

"Eat as much as you can, please?" Neville asked. Harry sighed and reluctantly started eating. After a few minutes, somebody cleared their throat from beside the six.

"Hello," a boy said. "My name is Justin Finch-Fletchley. Muggleborn. Nice to meet you." He held out a hand. 

Harry glanced at the hand and shook it. "Pleasure. I'm Harry Potter. These are my friends Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Fred and George Weasley, and Draco Malfoy."

"I heard about you. Aren't you supposed to be in Gryffindor? Why are you in Slytherin with the slimy snakes?" Justin asked. The Hall grew silent, waiting for his response. Harry saw this, and he put on his most innocent look.

"I don't know. But I quiet like it in Slytherin," he said in a cheerful tone. Then he frowned. "But why are you calling Slytherin slimy snakes? Have they done anything wrong to you?" Justin shifted uncomfortably.

"Um...no... But it is said that every dark wizard that ever came was from Slytherin."

"Well, Slytherins are only mean to people who are mean to them. Basically like fighting fire with fire. And in the wizarding world, most Slytherins are ambitious with big goals, leading people to think they are evil or rebilious. That's why they portray us as the mean guys. But can you blame us if everyone is against us before even knowing us?"

Justin looked troubled. "If you put it that way, I guess it makes sense why they go down that path. But still, there haven't been any good wizards coming out of Slytherin."

"What about Merlin?"

"What?"

"Merlin was a Slytherin. Are you saying he was evil?" Justin shook his head. "Then, you should find your own opinion instead of listening to rumors. And snakes are not slimy. Right, Sicily?" The snake came out from under his robes at settled on his shoulders. With that, the group of six continued on what they were doing. The Great Hall was shook. It was already hard imagining the Golden Boy in Slytherin, but they didn't imagine him defending the group. People started to debate if what they thought of Slytherin was true or not. The students missed the curious glances the teachers were giving the six. A girl sitting next to Neville finally got courage and smiled at the six.

"Hello, I'm Hannah Abbot. It's a pleasure to meet you." Hermione smiled her.

"Hello, nice to meet you too," she said.

"This is my friend, Susan Bones. We were wondering if you would let us be your friends."

Draco glanced curiously at them. "But why? There are 2 -3 if you count Sicily- snakes here."

Susan smiled shyly at them. "Like you said, we want to form our own opinions. So, will you let us?" The six looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Then everyone looked at Harry. He nodded and turned to the two girls.

"Welcome to the group," he said smiling slightly.