That night, Harry didn't even try to sleep. He pretended to while the others were awake, but as soon as he was sure he was the last one awake, he grabbed a book and went to the common room, not wanting to forget he was a Slytherin and end up having to return after they were all awake while still in his pyjamas, they were more comfortable than his robes.

He still wanted to stay warm, though, so he grabbed one of the Weasley jumpers he had been given each Christmas, all of them still fitting, and pulled it on as he sat in front of the fire. He noticed as the elves tentatively started cleaning around him, not wanting to disturb one of the students, so he acted as though he didn't know they were there.

With nothing else to do, Harry reread the same book three times that night before he started to hear some people start moving and returned to the boys' dorm.

"And where have you been?" Draco's unimpressed voice came from the bed, curtains drawn, almost scaring Harry out of his skin.

"I woke up early and couldn't sleep so I was reading in the common room." Harry lied, after his heart had returned to an almost normal speed.

"Sure." Draco drawled, clearly not convinced, but too tired to deal with a lying housemate so early in the morning.

-----

"Harry, did you even sleep at all?" Pansy asked after Harry yawned for the fifth time as she was trying to do his makeup.

"Yes, I did." Harry said, rolling his eyes, not that Pansy could see as his eyes were closed so she could decorate his eyelids with a more subtle smokey green. "You're sounding like Hermione."

"Well, seeing how much concealer I had to use to cover those dark circles under your eyes, I would say she's right to ask about your sleep patterns." Pansy said, playfully hitting his nose with a makeup brush.

"You could have just used magic." Harry pointed out, not wanting her to use too much makeup on him. Judging by how much Petunia had yelled at him when Dudley had gotten his hands on hers when they were in year 3, it was expensive. He hadn't gone to school for a week after that, and basically had to survive off apples, not daring to eat anything Dudley liked.

"You see, you knowing that as someone raised by muggles makes me more worried." Pansy sighed, continuing her work.

-----

"Harry!" Hermione called, almost knocking the boy in question over as she jumped on him, crushing him in a hug.

"'Mione... Can't... Breathe." Harry got out between gasps for air.

"Sorry Harry, I just missed you. It's weird to not have you in Gryffindor." Hermione said, letting go.

"I know, it's strange for me too." Harry said, smiling awkwardly.

"We're still your friends, everyone from Gryffindor." Hermione said, making sure he knew he wasn't alone.

"I'm glad, we can still hang out at Hogsmeade and weekends." Harry said, hoping Hermione and Ron would be willing to do that, he hoped they could still do their homework together as they always had.

"Of course! Let's do homework together tomorrow!" Hermione said with a kind smile before they all went into the Potions classroom. Was it too much to ask for Snape to be nice to Harry now?

-----

It had taken a while for Harry to get used to his new schedule, often following Ron, until Draco or Blaise grabbed him by the collar, pulling him after them. Thankfully nobody laughed at him, although he did get a few funny looks.

Unfortunately, now it was time for his detention with Professor Umbridge, did that woman even know how to teach? She was hardly a teacher, let alone professor!

"Ah, Mr Potter, you're late." Umbridge said, not looking up from the letter she was writing on a pink and decorated piece of parchment.

Harry looked at the pink clock that was covered in cats and saw that he was actually early. Deciding not to argue, knowing that it would just make everything worse, Harry sat at the desk, opposite the vile woman.

"What are you waiting for? You know what to do." She said, her voice sickeningly sweet as she gestured to the quill and parchment.

Writing the same line over and over again, Harry noticed a piece of parchment sticking out of one of the draws. Shifting in his chair a little, Harry realised it was the parchment he had used last time. This toad was keeping his lines written in his own blood!? Why? As some kind of trophy?

When the words were no longer healing themselves and some blood dripped on the almost full piece of parchment, Umbridge finally seemed pleased with the amount he had written. It was only then that Harry realised it was throbbing, used to the pain by now. His heart sank as he realised that he wouldn't be going back to Gryffindor tower, so he wouldn't be getting the Essence of Dittany to soothe his smarting cut.

-----

Harry stood just outside the door to the office he had once loved and wrapped his hand gingerly in a bandage Hermione had given him. It almost looked like he had sprained his wrist with the white cloth wrapped firmly around his hand and wrist to keep the dressing over the cuts.

Harry bumped into a student he had never seen before, turning into a secret passage way that made it faster to get to the Slytherin common room, not that he had ever used it, they collided. The student looked to be in first year, long red hair that was a pale blue at the ends. Before he had time to apologise for walking into them, or notice their lack of house colours, they had run off.

Shaking it off, intent on getting to the common room, Harry continued on his way, hoping nobody asked about the bandage, much less tell him to go to Mme Pomfrey about it, he had been to the Hospital Wing more times than he needed to in his life. He was outside the blank stretch of wall when he realised he could use the same spell he did to hide his eye bags on the bandage.

Having to stop himself from groaning at his lack of thought, Harry pulled out his wand and cast the spell, the bandage changing colour to match his skin.

"Navigandum." Harry said, the wall melting away to show the passageway leading to the Slytherin common room.

Unlike the Gryffindor common room at this time, there were still a fair number of Slytherins up. They were mostly 5th year and up, but there was the occasional first year nursing a mug of hot chocolate, a few asleep in their chairs.