What if Harry Potter Was in Slytherin (The Sorcerer’s Stone) Chapter Nine: Quick-Thinking and the Coward

Harry was very nervous about flying lessons, not that he would admit it. He was not that nervous about flying; him, Eva, and Hermione had all poured over Quidinch through the ages, and there was bound to be plenty of other kids who had never ridden a broom before. What worried him was being around both Gryffindors (who hated him even more now, since they suspected that he had been the one to put the rock cakes on their table) and Slytherins.

Harry walked down to the pitch with Hermione, whom Harry was starting to consider friend, even if she could be a little bit of a know-it-all, and they found broomsticks at the edge of the Quidinch pitch to claim their own brooms. They were later joined by Neville Longbottom, but everyone else was avoiding him like the dragon pox.

When Madam Hooch came out and gave eveyone the order to tell their brooms “UP!” Harry was one of the only ones to get it right on his first try, and then helped Neville and Hermione, who were both struggling. Honestly, Harry did not know what was so hard about controling the broom, but he supposed that the two Gryffindors just lacked confindence. Though, Ron, who was bragging endlessly about his flying, had his broom hit his face, so maybe there was something more to it.

Soon, they were tasked with flying a couple of feet into the air, though Neville somehow managed to fly before he was supposed to, and loose control of his broom, so that he kept flying higher, and higher, and higher...

But Harry remembered how he had willed his broom up earlier, and tried to get some control over the broom in the air. Down, down slowly, you got this, there you go, Harry thought as the broom stopped rising and then slowly started floating towards the ground.

As the broom started to fall, Harry felt himself grow weeker and weaker; he seemed to be shaking, but there was pure consentration writen on his face. As Neville landed safely on the ground, Harry fell to his knees, shaking.

“Someone get him to the hospital wing!” Madame Hooch shouted, before adding quietly, “And, Harry, fifty points to Slytherin for saving the life of your peer.”

***

When everyone left class and found that Slytherin had fifty more points, no one was surprised, at least not until a third year Hufflepuff said that they had just gotten out of potions with the Ravenclaws- meaning that Snape could not have been majorly favouring his students.

That is when Neville, Hermione, Tracey, Daphne, a couple of Gryffindor first year girls, and Blaise Zabini, a nuetral first year Slytherin boy, started explaining how Harry Potter, whom everyone though was a future dark lord, had saved Neville.

Eva had smiled at that story, turned to face Ron, and said, “Ha, I told you so,” before dragging Neville and Hermione off so that they could make cards for Harry.

So, by the time Harry woke up, at around six, Harry woke up to find his nightstand full of ten cards and five boxes of sweets, as well as Eva, Hermione, and Neville standing over his bed, each holding a homemade card.

“Thanks for saving my life, Harry,” Neville croacked solemly as soon as he saw Harry’s eyes flutter open. “I knew that the rumors about you could not be true, with how nice you were before then, but now the whole schools knows how great you really are.”

“Yes, Harry,” Hermione agreed, biting her lip nervously and looking at Harry with a face that showed consern, but also looked like she was trying to figure him out. “Neville’s right- everyone admitted you were decent.”

“Even Ronald Weasley did!” Eva agreed happily.

“Uh, wow,” Harry murmured in surprise. “I was not expecting that- but I suppose that’s good, even if it gives them all another thing to whisper about.”

“What are you three doing here?” a stern looking woman in a nurse uniform exclaimed. “I said you could deliver your cards, and then leave! Now I find you talking to Harry! Out I say, out!”

The three misfits who came to see Harry turned and fleed, thankful to have avoided detention (Eva and Hermione because they wanted to be the best students they could, and Neville because he had granphobia).

“So you’re awake, Harry,” the nurse said more calmly, turning to Harry. “Come here now, let me look you over, and then you can go back to your friends, okay?”

Turns out, when he went looking for his friends (his first stop being the library), Harry did not run into them, but instead, Ronald Weaseley.

“So you saved someone’s life,” Ron asked. “That’s nice I guess- you aren’t totally evil yet. But you are a Slytherin, so... I bet you can understand why I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Yep,” Harry replied. “You’re a coward.” He then turned away, not entirely sure why he said that.