Becoming Alpha

Chapter two

Harry walked into the Great Hall, hungry and in the need of some breakfast. With him were the other first year boys, the girls following them. Harry was actually in the middle of the group of boys, the boys agreeing that protecting one of their own was a very important thing to do.

Once all of the young Slytherins were sitting down at their table and eating, Professor Snape, the Potions Master and their Head of House, came down and started handing each student a schedule. As he handed Harry his schedule, the professor gave Harry a searching look, quite similar to the ones the other professors were giving him. Harry met Professor Snape's look head on, looking him right in the eye and daring him to make a scene at breakfast. Snape moved on quickly after that, handing out the other schedules and moving onto the next group of students.

Looking at his schedule, Harry saw that they had Defense Against the Dark Arts first thing that morning with a break following it. Shrugging, Harry went back to eating, knowing he would have to go and grab his books for the day before he went to class. The other first year Slytherins were discussing their schedule and how much of a pain it was.

"Can you believe it? Two hours of Potions every Friday with the Gryffindors!" Draco complained. "I'd rather have it with Ravenclaws or Hufflepuffs than Gryffindors."

"We have Charms with Hufflepuffs," Daphne said. "Great."

"I'm looking at the idea of Herbology with Ravenclaws to be the worst, personally," Theodore said, looking down at his schedule with distaste.

"What do you think is the worst, Potter?" Draco asked suddenly, turning to look at Harry curiously.

"Why does it matter who we have classes with?" Harry asked as he swallowed his bite of eggs. "We're all students here. I mean, sure, we aren't all in the same House, but we're all just eleven-year-olds who have been separated because of our traits. We're all here to learn, so why bother worrying about who we have the classes with as long as we learn in the classes?"

Daphne, Tracey, Blaise, and Theodore were all looking at Harry curiously, as if they didn't know what to think of him. Draco, on the other hand, was glaring openly at Harry. Pansy, Millicent, Crabbe, and Goyle were all just looking at Harry without much expression on their faces, though it looked as if Pansy was thinking of Harry as something disgusting.

"Why does it matter who we have classes with? Potter, it makes an entire difference!" Draco said while waving his arms around a bit. "We're the best of the school. Because of this, the other Houses try to make us look bad so that we lose points every period. The only classes that are okay are the ones with Snape as he's our Head of House and any that we have alone. Snape favors us above anyone else, and when we're alone, the teachers can only take points off of us for something we actually did do."

"Then why not tell the rest of the school what you think about it?" Harry asked rationally. "Why not inform them that we're all human over here, not reincarnates of the dark? Tell them that we're just like them but we have more ambition and cunning, making it so that we become more powerful easier because we have the minds to sneak past those who don't have the ability. Just let them know how you feel, how the whole House feels, and they'll listen."

"That's not how Hogwarts works, Potter! Ask anyone in Slytherin and they'll tell you the same."

"What would happen if I talked to someone from Hufflepuff, from Ravenclaw? What if I told them what I'm really like? Do you think they'd listen? I think they would. I think we'd get people off of our backs if we just talk to them and stop trying to make their lives miserable."

Daphne, Theodore, Blaise, and Tracey were all looking at Harry with newfound respect along with a lot of curiosity. They were truly interested in what he had to say, though it looked like Theodore Nott also seemed to be listening to Draco, though not as much as he was to Harry.