The Other Harry
"Slytherin!"
The husky voice of the Sorting Hat rang out through the now silent Hall leaving nothing but an awkward pause in its wake. Upon the hard wooden stool Harry Potter sat before his audience, unmoving in disbelief trying to comprehend what had just happened. He had been so sure the Hat would have placed him in Gryffindor not just because it ran through his family but because he had asked to be in it – surely it should have listened to him? Thinking perhaps he had heard it wrong Harry focused on the sea of faces before him yet they were simply a mirror image of his thoughts. Ron Weasley's jaw was on the floor and Hermione Granger's face was twitching in a mix of anger and intrigue as even she had no answer for this. Harry felt every pair of eyes in the room on him, their owners beginning to quietly judge the scene in front of them. How could this have happened? Ever since Harry had learned of his magical descent everyone had told him how amazing his parents had been and how sure they were that he was going to make a fine Gryffindor. Would his parents still be proud of their son if he were a Slytherin? Any other house perhaps but not Slytherin. Draco Malfoy was a walking advert for why everyone hated them – they were rude, arrogant, cunning and of course evil.
I'm not evil...am I?
After what seemed like a lifetime Harry rose from his seat and walked slowly towards the table where the students bore green and silver upon their robes. It was heartbreaking. Not even five minutes in and Harry's world was already crumbling around him. Of course, he was used to disappointment thanks to living with the Dursley's yet when he had found out about magic he foresaw a fresh start in which things would begin to go his way. He was wrong. Would Ron and Hermione still talk to him? Would he be pointed and stared at now for being the "Boy who lived" or simply ignored after the disappointment of being a Slytherin – or would this cause even more attention? Harry did not mind the hushed conversations behind his back about him but the thought of being despised disgusted him. It wasn't until he sat down when he finally realised the worst part – he would be in the same house as his parent's murderer. He would sit at the same table, lounge around in the same common room and share the same dorm. Harry felt physically sick at the thought. Yet regardless of all this, a small voice began to cry out in the back of his mind telling him that everything happened for a reason. Perhaps it was his destiny to be a Slytherin, maybe he was to bring a new age to the hated house in which Slytherin's would be civil to the other houses and incorporate their traits such as bravery, intelligence and loyalty. On the other hand however, perhaps Harry was everything he feared to be but was this necessarily a bad thing? Like the Hat had said, maybe he was destined for greatness – only time would tell. Too lost in his own thoughts he hadn't realised the focus was no longer on him and the sorting had recommenced. He'd also missed that he had chosen the seat next to Draco Malfoy yet he did not receive the cold response he had been given earlier, in fact it was quite the opposite.
"You belong here Potter, you'll go far and I can help you there"
Staring at the blonde boy before him, Harry shook his hand and smiled.
"I know"