For 16 Galleons

Chapter 10

The ride on the Hogwarts Express had been wonderful. Harry had never seen so many children in his life. Most of the children who had attended Master Draco's birthday parties stopped by their compartment, so he got to see Sally-Ann and Dean again. They chatted for a bit while their masters talked. Harry was beginning to get angry watching Miss Pansy hang onto Master Draco's arm.

After a bit Miss Millicent joined them. She now had a slave with her as well. Harry introduced himself and the other two. The new girl, who had rather large front teeth, brown eyes and bushy brown hair, introduced herself as Hermione.

The four slaves were every bit as excited about going to school as their masters. Hermione had already read all her books and was hoping they would be allowed access to the library so she could learn more on her own. Harry was excited about learning but thought that this girl was going just a bit overboard. He and Dean had just started talking about the Quidditch program when he was distracted by Draco and Pansy.

"Get off me, Pansy! You're like a leech."

"But, Draco, I just want you to know I love you," the stupid girl replied.

"Gross! Why don't you love me from over there," he said as he pointed to the other side of the compartment.

"Come on, Pansy," said Miss Millicent. "Boys just don't understand love." Pansy stuck her tongue out at Draco and stomped over to sit by Millicent.

"Girls," grumped Blaise, shaking his head.

Harry smiled to himself, glad to see the twit put in her place. He had never forgiven her for those comments she'd made at Draco's 8^th birthday party. He and Dean moved near Draco and Blaise so they could talk about 'boy' things while the girls huddled together giggling. The boys all thought it was disgusting.

When they arrived at Hogwarts they were ushered by a huge man into several small boats. Harry and Draco sat with Blaise and Dean. The ride across the lake was wonderful. The castle was incredible. On the other shore, they got out and walked up the front stairs in a tight group. At the top they were met by a tall, skinny man with stringy black hair and a large nose and a slightly shorter, slim man with light brown hair and eyes. The first man scowled but the second one had a welcoming smile.

"I'm Professor Snape," the first man informed them. "I am the Deputy Headmaster. I need all students to line up over here and all slaves to gather around Professor Lupin over there."

Harry glanced at Draco and saw that his master was just as nervous about this as he was. They both schooled their faces like they had been taught and didn't let any of the other children know their feelings. Harry moved away from his master and joined the other six slaves with the smiling professor, who looked at him oddly for a moment.

When the two groups were separated, Professor Snape told them all to stay where they were while he and Professor Lupin checked to see if the Headmistress was ready. As soon as he was out of site a red haired boy turned on Draco.

"You must be Malfoy," he hissed.

"Why yes, I am. No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and hand me down robes," Draco arrogantly shot back.

The Weasley boy glared at Draco. "Hmph," sniffed the red head. "I might have known a family like yours would own slaves," he said as he looked over at Harry.

"Well, it doesn't surprise me that you don't have one. Obviously your parents can barely afford you. Perhaps you should help them and hire yourself out as a servant. I'm sure we could find someone to take pity on you."

As Weasley's face turned red, Harry moved to his master's side, not caring what the professors might say when they returned. If someone was going to attack Master Draco they were going to have to get past him first.

"Ha! You can't even fight your own battles. You have to own someone to do it for you."

As Draco pulled his wand on the prat, Harry stepped closer. "Master Draco doesn't need anyone to fight his battles for him, but if you are going to attack him, I will fight with him," he growled. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Draco standing next to him, sneering at the other boy. Together they could take on anything.

Before things could go any further the two professors came back. They stopped, taking in the situation quickly. "If our combatants will kindly stand down," Professor Snape said, scowling at the three of them, "and return to their proper places," he sneered at Harry, "we can proceed with the Sorting Ceremony."

Draco put away his wand with a last smirk at Weasley and Harry returned to the group of slaves. The red head grumbled and turned back to another small group of boys.

Professor Snape addressed the students. "You will follow me into the Great Hall and proceed in an orderly manner to the front. You will stand patiently until I call your name. When you hear your name, you will sit on the stool and place the Sorting Hat on your head. Once the Hat announces your new House, you will proceed to that House Table. Does everyone understand?"

All the students nodded in agreement. Professor Snape opened the huge double doors and Harry watched as his master and the other students filed into the hall. Professor Lupin then turned to his students.

"We will wait here until your masters are sorted. Once you see which table they are going to sit at, you will enter the Hall quietly and go sit at this end of your master's table with the other slaves in your House. Does everyone understand?"

They all nodded and craned their necks to see into the Hall.

"After dinner, you will all accompany your masters to their rooms. Your things will already be there. Tomorrow morning you will return to the Great Hall with your masters. You will always sit at this end of your House Table with your fellow slaves. When we are finished, we will all proceed to class together."

"Are you a slave, too, Professor?" Sally-Anne asked. Hermione rolled her eyes and Harry wanted to do the same. The professor wasn't wearing a collar.

"No. I'm not, but I am going to be your instructor," he answered as the ratty old hat at the front of the hall finished its song and called out the first student's name.

Harry watched anxiously as Draco got closer to being called. When it was his master's turn, he held his breath. Draco sat on the stool, looking as arrogant as he could be. The hat didn't even sit completely on his head before it yelled out "Slytherin!" He saw what table Draco was heading for and began walking that way. Shortly after Draco sat down, Harry was seated at the slave's end of the table. Draco glanced over at him and gave a slight nod before returning his attention to the sorting.

Harry didn't really care where any of the other students ended up so he looked at the other tables. He was surprised to see that the numbers of slaves was not evenly distributed. He had never really thought before about whether or not everyone owned a slave. He counted twenty-one slaves at the Slytherin table besides himself, three slaves at the Hufflepuff table, ten at the Ravenclaw table and five at the Gryffindor table on the far side of the Hall. Up at the Head Table, only the Headmistress and Deputy Headmaster had slaves of their own.

Once during the feast he caught Professors Lupin and Snape speaking quietly to each other and looking up directly at him. Suddenly Professor Snape glared at him before turning the look upon Professor Lupin and speaking sharply. Professor Lupin laughed and smacked the Deputy Headmaster on the shoulder before quickly jumping out of range as Snape shoved at him. Professor Lupin sat down still grinning and Harry swore he saw an amused smirk on Professor Snape's face as he turned back around to eat.

When the ceremony and speeches were finished, the table filled with food. The students ate and talked noisily. When they were all finished, the Headmistress stood and gave several announcements about the rules. They were all then told to go to bed. Harry waited for Draco and followed him down into the dungeons to their new quarters. The Slytherin dormitories were a warren of passages and rooms. The older students said it was the largest House dormitory in the school. It turned out that Slytherin students who had slaves got their own rooms. The Prefect told them that the other houses weren't as lucky.

The room had two beds. One large four poster was centered on the far wall and a smaller one on the wall nearer the door. Harry checked that all his and Master Draco's things were put away properly. He made sure that Crunch and Puff had suitable hiding places behind their headboards, too. They didn't want any of the other students to know they had brought their stuffed dragons with them, but neither boy had been willing to leave the toys at home. Then he and Draco gathered their things and wandered to the bathroom to get ready for bed. Finally, after what seemed to be the longest day of their lives, the boys crawled into their beds.

"Good night, Harry."

"Good night, Master."

To be continued.