When Harry found Severus in the common room, he gave Harry a questioning glance. “Well, Alex told me what happened in class. So what did Slughorn want?”
Harry pulled Severus into a quiet corner of the room before giving him a cautionary look. “He put me on the quidditch team. No one knows yet, but I’m the new Slytherin seeker,” Harry whispered and watched as Severus’ eyes went wide with shock. “The other teams will think we don’t have a seeker until the morning of the first game, and then when they see me…” He smiled when he thought about how the other team would react.
“I’ve never heard of a first-year playing Quidditch on the school team! This is amazing. To be put on the team before tryouts! The other team won’t know what hit them,” Severus said, picturing the look on the Gryffindor’s faces when they lose to a first-year seeker.
“Yeah, Slughorn’s going to talk to Dumbledore tonight, and they’re not even going to tell the other staff just yet. It’ll be a surprise for everyone,” Harry explained. “Hey, isn’t the first game against Gryffindor?”
“Yeah, I hear James is trying out for seeker this year,” Severus said, a wicked glint in his eyes.
“I’m sure he’ll love losing to me,” Harry said, laughing.
“He’ll love it more because of how hard he tried to get on the team last year, and you get on without even trying.”
Harry could only imagine the fit James was going to throw when he saw Harry playing for Slytherin during his first-year.
That evening at supper, James was smirking at Harry, clearly thinking Harry had gotten in trouble for his stunt in flying lessons. The whole school had been talking about how Slughorn dragged Harry off the pitch. There were rumours spreading about the punishment Harry had received, but Harry knew that not even one of them was remotely close to the truth.
James whispered something to his friends and pointed to Harry with a loud snort. Sirius laughed along with him, but not as loud. Peter made a chattering noise that resembled laughing, and Remus just made a face and gave a half-hearted laugh at whatever James had said.
“Are you going to try out for the team?” Harry asked Severus.
“No, I don’t need to give James any more reason to tease me when I show the whole school my horrendous Quidditch abilities,” Severus said, chuckling weakly to himself, but clearly unhappy about his lack of skill.
“Quidditch is only good while you’re a student. You might not be good at the game, but you will grow up to be the youngest Potion’s Master in history! And James will only have his little Quidditch trophies. So, who’s looking better now?” Harry said, watching as Severus perked up.
“You’re right. But you’re well on your way to beating me in that department, too,” Severus said.
“Better me than James. Besides, I’m not that good,” Harry said with a shrug. “I’m really not all that smart; the Dursleys told me every chance they could.”
“Trust me, Harry. When we were working on potions this summer, you showed promise and talent. I’m certain you get your brains from your mother,” Severus said, glancing over at Lily, his cheeks flushing as he watched her talking to her friends. “These Dursleys sound like a bunch of clowns, and if Petunia in the future is anything like she is now, then she’s just jealous.”
“Yeah, I can see why she’d be jealous. James is a creep, but at least he doesn’t look like a walrus, like Vernon and his fat son,” Harry said, causing Severus to laugh. “Vernon looks like a walrus with a wig, and his son is a pig! And they’re stupid, too.”
As Harry was speaking, he began to squirm uncomfortably and rub his back. A pained look crossed his face.
“Are you okay?” Severus asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I just don’t understand how she grew up to hate magic so much,” Harry said, frowning. But what he actually wanted to know was why she had hated him so much.
Severus was quiet for a few minutes, as though trying to find the right words to say. “Sometimes, jealousy can move you to some really dark places, Harry. That’s why they call it the Green-Eyed Monster.”
Later that night, Harry and Severus spent some time in the common room studying. Harry finally decided he was ready for bed at 9:30 and trudged upstairs to get ready. Severus was about to follow when he spotted Harry’s textbook still sitting on the couch; he knew Harry would be missing it, and went upstairs to take it to him. When he entered the first-year boys’ dorm, he was horrified by what he saw.
Harry was sitting shirtless on the bed, putting on his pajamas. Much of his back and chest were covered in scars—some looked a few weeks old and some were clearly older. Severus recognised the signs of whippings. There were even a few hand and fist-shaped bruises.
When Harry spotted Severus standing there, he hastily threw on his shirt.
“Harry!” Severus gasped, unable to believe what he had seen.
“Severus, it’s not what it looks like. I…I fell!” Harry said, shamefaced.
“Into a cage of vicious animals?” Severus asked, knowing perfectly well what those marks meant, for he had received a share of them from his drunken father.
“Umm…”
“Your relatives did that to you,” Severus said, making it clear that he knew the truth.
“You have to understand, I deserved it,” Harry said, looking at Severus with pleading eyes. “I made freaky things happen and I took food from Dudley’s mouth and I…”
“I don’t care what you did, Harry! Nothing justifies that kind of treatment! It’s abuse. Do you think I’d deserve such treatment for making freaky things happen?” Severus sternly asked.
“Of course not! But I’m a…”
“Don’t say it! You are not a freak. Do you hear me? You are not a freak.” Severus said, sitting beside Harry. He lifted the boy’s shirt and looked at the freshest welts. “These need to be treated! Some are infected. You could get really sick if you don’t get them looked at.”
“But they’ll ask questions and I’ll…”
“It will be fine. Madam Pomfrey knows where you came from; how else do you think we got nutrient potions for you? She had to be told everything, or she would have pushed for an investigation, since you were so malnourished.”
Harry wasn’t used to having someone worry about him, and wasn’t sure how to react. But he definitely didn’t want his other classmates to know about this.
“If you like,” Severus continued in an encouraging tone, “we can tell them you are getting your vaccination update, because I’m sure Madam Pomfrey will want to take care of that while we’re there, anyway. Nobody else will find out.”
Feeling that he could trust Severus, Harry finally sighed and agreed to get his scars looked at.