The Headmaster's Only Mistake

Potions Class

A shy smile crept onto his face as he took the note and placed the flowers in a vase. He set the bouquet on the coffee table and finally threw himself back on his bed.

···

Harry was very excited. Today would be their first potions class, and of course, their first lesson with the Gryffindors. Normally, the first week of school, the first years would not share classes with other houses so students could get used to their lessons and  house mates, but because potions was a  double block, they had decided to merge the Hufflepuffs and the Ravenclaws as well as the Gryffindors and the Slytherins. Harry  thought this was absurd, considering house rivalry and the dangers of potions.

Half of the Slytherin table was already in the hall by the time Harry and his friends walked in. Harry was feeling quite confident. So far, he had managed to avoid Ronald  and start planting a small seed in Slytherin to grow his sway and impact. He was doing well in his classes as well, which meant the teachers were deciding to challenge him more often and give him slightly more advanced course work. He acted like it was slightly difficult, but he always managed to accomplish his tasks by the end of the class, which he would mostly spend completing homework or talking with his mate.

Harry sat down beside Draco and Daphne and started piling a few fruits and a piece of toast on his plate. He quietly talked to his friends and made small talk with a few of the older years from time to time.

Half-way through breakfast, Luna and Hermione arrived with Mandy and Terry Boot in tow. They joined the rest of their friends at the Slytherin table and joined the conversation on their transfiguration homework.

Harry chuckled fondly at the memory of the first time that had happened. The Slytherins, Ravenclaws, and Gryffindors of their group had gone over to sit with the Hufflepuffs for lunch, which had caused the whole hall to stare at the chatting group for ten minutes before the teachers applauded them and gave twenty points to each of the houses. This had caused the great hell to erupt into cheers, and Albus Dumbledore's glass to shatter as his eye twitched in annoyance. Through the noise, no one but Harry had noticed the headmaster's bleeding hand as he quickly repaired his glass and healed cuts.

Now, it had become a normal occurrence to see them sitting together at any of the house tables except for Gryffindor. Despite the fact that most of the Weasley twins and Lee's friends would mind them, most Gryffindors were still prejudiced against the snakes. 

It was also a relatively easy transition considering how vocal Harry had been to the press about his opinion on house unity. If anything, it would've been shocking if Harry had not decided to sit at the other tables at random.

Harry was proud to say that most people weren't as wary about them as they had once been, but there was still a long way to go for the Slytherin house to be truly accepted like the other houses. He had also been slowly wriggling himself into the hearts of many, not just because he was Harry Potter the savior, but because he simply Harry. The more genuine he seemed to be, the more people wanted him around.

"Honestly, I don't understand how McGonagall expects us all to have the essay done by Monday when most of us haven't even managed to transform the matchstick into a needle. It goes against everything I know to transform a natural resource into something with entirely different components!" Hermione huffed. They had been assigned a essay on how and why the spell worked and how it changed the aspects of wood to steel. Hermione, despite being a brilliant witch, never really ventured to the things off the page of a book."

"That's just the thing, 'mione. Forget science, we are literally learning about magic. The rules of muggle science are thrown out the window. Stop thinking about theory, and just imagine the match elongating and turning silver. Get the transformation clear in your mind before casting the spell." Harry instructed, bringing the spoon full of cereal to his mouth and remembering what Rowena had taught him long ago.