kbinnz - Harry's New Home

The breath caught in Snape's throat. Weasleys, Quidditch, his House... Harry! He abruptly shouldered past Flitwick and Sprout, making for the door at speed. Minerva gasped as she figured it out a second later, and then she was right beside him, hurrying to see what was going on. It took all of Snape's control not to shove the Headmaster aside as they reached the back of the milling crowd.

Even as the Headmaster's twinkling presence opened a path through the students, Snape's height allowed him to see over the heads of most. He caught sight of the touseled dark hair, being half-cuddled by one of the older Gryffindor girls, and his scowl intensified. He'd been right. Whatever it was that was going on, Potter had been in the thick of it, though at least he appeared relatively unharmed. He forced himself to take a deep breath and remain politely quiet, letting Dumbledore do the talking, though he itched to snatch Potter away from the other Gryffindor and check him over himself.

**--**--**--

Harry managed to grin as Flint and Wood rolled their eyes at whatever spell the other Slytherin prefect had been about to cast. For the first time since he'd heard the footsteps behind him, he felt safe. With the older kids from two Houses looking out for him, not to mention Ron and his brothers and even Hermione (!), he realized he wouldn't be the favorite target of bullies at this school, as Dudley had ensured had been the case in the past.

And Harry owed it all to Professor Snape. Hadn't Prefect Flint said as much? Harry belonged to Snape, so he was a snake. And the Hat had made him a lion. And Auntie Molly and Uncle Arthur (as they now insisted he call them) had made him a Weasley... Harry grinned to himself. Suddenly from having no one who cared about him, he had whole crowds of people lining up to help him.

"Oi! What are you doing?" A wave of Ravenclaws emerged from the Great Hall, trailed by some curious Hufflepuffs who were reluctant to miss out on the excitement. Seeing several of their Housemates sprawled on the floor or held against the wall, the Ravenclaws surged forward, only to halt in dismay as a phalanx of Gryffindor and Slytherin wands instantly targeted them. For a moment, it looked as if new hostilities might break out, but the famous Ravenclaw intellect allowed the new arrivals to rapidly calculate the odds and determine that an outright attack would be unlikely to end in their favor.

"Goodness gracious." Before anything else could happen, the Headmaster's mild tones made everyone freeze.

Ron sighed in relief. At last the faculty had realized something was amiss and quitted the staff table. The Headmaster, clad in bright purple and yellow robes, led the way through the throng of students, the Heads of Houses close behind him. "What seems to be the trouble this тАж?" Dumbledore's voice trailed off in shock as he realized that, contrary to his initial assumption that a full-fledged war had finally broken out between the Slytherins and Gryffindors, the two Houses were, for once, actually united as they faced off against a gaggle of disconcerted Ravenclaws.

"Erm..." He blinked several times but recovered quickly. "As I was saying, what is going on here?"

"Well, sir," Flint began, only to have Dumbledore raise a gentle hand.

"Perhaps, Mr Flint, we could have all wands lowered before we proceed any further?"

"Better not, Headmaster," Malfoy spoke up. "No telling what they might try if you did that. That one there," he pointed, a malicious glint in his eye, "tried to Crucio Ron Weasley."

There was an audible gasp. In the heat of the battle, few had actually heard Smythe's curse, and even Flint was stunned.

What happened next was even more shocking.

"YOU BASTARD!" A bolt of ruby energy blasted past the others and struck Smythe full in the face. He howled in pain as his skin was instantly covered in angry, festering boils. "DON'T YOU EVER GO NEAR MY LITTLE BROTHER AGAIN, YOU FUCKING COWARDLY SACK OF тАУ"

"Whoa, whoa there, Big Man," Jones said soothingly, placing a restraining hand on Percy's outstretched arm before he could fire off yet another hex. "Pas devant les domestiques, you know. Or les professeurs, in this case. Settle down, handsome. He's learned his lesson. For now."

Breathing hard and still glaring daggers at the now-weeping Smythe, Percy obeyed. Ron gaped at his older brother in astonishment, while the twins regarded Percy with newfound respect. Who would ever have imagined that their priggish, law-abiding prat of a brother could snap like that? His protectiveness rivaled Molly's.

"Hmmm," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. He flicked his wand, and abruptly the four boys who had been held under guard by the others were bound with ropes. "All right? Then perhaps the rest of you can put away your wands and tell me what happened."

Professor Sprout had already shooed her Hufflepuffs and most of the Ravenclaws back towards the Great Hall, while Flitwick, Snape, and McGonagall stood behind the headmaster, glaring sternly at their students.

"Well, Professor, we тАУ that is, Jones and I тАУ came into it on the late side. I'm not exactly sure what happened to start itтАж" Flint looked over at Draco, who looked at Ron, who looked at Hermione, who looked at Harry.

Harry waved his arms in frustration and shouted, but he was still under the silencing spell.

"I do beg your pardon, Harry. How remiss of me." Another wave of the Headmaster's wand, and suddenly Harry's voice returned.

" тАУ take off this BLOODY spell тАУ oh. Sorry," Harry blushed, avoiding Snape's eye.

"Harry, can you please tell us what happened?"

So Harry explained how the bigger boys had waylaid him, and how Hermione had interceded on his behalf, only to be knocked down. "тАФand then she kicked his kneecap out and he went down like a ton of bricks, right on his arse!" Harry said enthusiastically, then realized who his audience was. "Erm, sorry. I mean, he fell, and then they were fighting and then тАУ"

"I came by and saw what was happening," Draco interrupted, "so I went into the Hall and summoned our Prefects. By the time I got back тАУ"

"- I had come looking for Harry and saw them fighting, so I yelled for Percy and the twins and jumped on the one who was about to pull Hermione's hair out by the roots," Ron chimed in.

"Yes, and by the time I got there, he was about to Crucio you, so I tackled them all, and it was just a bit of a blur for a while, until," Draco sighed, but fair was fair, "Granger pounded Smythe's head into the floor and knocked him out." Now most people were eyeing Hermione with amazement, and she blushed under their scrutiny.

"As soon as Malfoy came and told Jones and me that some Ravenclaws were giving a kicking to one of our Firsties, we came running." Flint had obviously decided that the First Years had had the spotlight for long enough. "So Jones and I came out here and got Jeffreys and Peterson under control. Then I тАУ "

"One moment, Mr Flint," Professor McGonagall interrupted. "I'm a bit confused. You said that one of the Slytherin First Years was being attacked? But I thought it was only Mr Potter who was targeted."

Flint just looked at her. "Yes, Professor."

McGonagall glanced from Snape to Dumbledore. "When last I checked, Mr Flint, the Sorting Hat had placed Mr Potter in my House."

"Our Head of House has placed Potter under Slytherin protection, Professor," Jones cut in coldly. "That makes him ours too."

McGonagall opened and shut her mouth, but no sound emerged. Snape smirked. "Well put, Miss Jones, Mr Flint," he commended smoothly.

The headmaster beamed. "I agree. It is wonderful to see such a fine example of inter-House cooperation, as well as so obvious a display of respect for your Head of House. Fifty points to both Houses for working together and another ten to Slytherin for rendering prompt assistance to a first year. Now then, Mr Flint, I believe you were up to the point where you and Miss Jones came to the aid of Mr Potter?"