"Hum," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult . Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, oh my goodness, yes - and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting.....so where shall I put you?"
Harry gripped the edges of of the stool and thought, "Not Slytherin, not Slytherin"
"Not Slytherin, eh?" said the small voice. "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that....
I'm sorry, but I think you will be best in ....SLYTHERIN" Harry heard the hat shout the last word, and he just sat there, afraid to take off the hat, hoping maybe it made a mistake.
"Potter, we're waiting" McGonagall said kindly, taking the hat off his head. He got up shakily and walked over to the Slytherin table. The Slytherin clapped, but not as much as they did for some of the other first years. He caught some dirty looks from some of them. I don't want to be here as much as you don't want me to be here, he thought glaring back. Soon it was Ron's turn, and he watched as he was sorted into Gryffindor, of course, with the rest of his siblings. Ron gave Harry a half shrug, and a helpless smile as he sat down next to one of his brothers. Turning around he took a good look at who would be his class mates for the next seven years, and he wasn't excited. There was Draco Malfoy, who he had already angered on the train, but then again he didn't want to be friends with him anyway. Crabbe and Golye were definite negatives on the friendship scale, and they seemed to be attached to Malfoy anyway. Last was Blaise Zabini, who didn't look that bad compared to the rest. At least he didn't seem to have a permanent scowl on his face. Harry could tell this was certainly going to be a very long term. The feast started, and Harry ate in silence. He didn't know everyone ignored him intentionally, or if it just happened. He glanced over at the Gryffindor table, and Ron eating and joking with the other Gryffindor's, and wished he could just be over there. It just wasn't fair. He remembered Hagrid saying that every evil witch or Wizard came from Slytherin. It semed quite depressing.
The feast ended, and the Slytherin's were heading off towards the common room. Down into the Dungeons of the school they went, to what the prefect said was the Slytherin common room. It was a dreary long room, with stone walls and greenish lights on chains. There were two doors on either side of the end of the room. One of them was the boys dormitories and the other was the girls. The first door down the boys hall was labeled first years, on which he entered, finding himself in a dark room with five beds with dark green curtains. Green again, how depressing, Harry thought, throwing himself down on his bed. This wasn't only going to be a long term, but a long seven years as well.
He wasn't exactly sure what woke him up in the morning, but it certainly wasn't the sunlight, considering there wasn't any natural light in his room. Looking at his clock, he realized it was seven, and probably time to get up anyway. The day past in complete confusion, as did the rest of the week. Class's were interesting, but with no one to help him out, given the fact the upperclassman Slytherin wouldn't talk to him, well not unless he talked to them first. The only person he seemed to get along with was Blaise, and he was as confused as Harry was. The most memorable class of the first week was double potions with Gryffindor. Snape, being the head of Slytherin, even though Harry had never seen him anywhere near the common room, was said to favor the Slytherins, and they were about to see how much of the rumor was true or not. He got to class early, sitting down in one of the double tables that lined the dungeon. Everyone filed in and sat down quickly, the only empty space left beside Harry. Oh well, just like Primary school, he muttered to himself. He was suppose to be famous, not ignored. Suddenly he heard a noise and Ron slipped in beside him.
"Hey Harry"
"Hello Ron"
"I got lost, stupid peeves" he said in a whisper, catching his breath.
"You didn't miss much, Professor Snape hasn't arrived yet"
"That's good." there was an uneasy silence between the two of them. Harry knew at that moment that as long as they were in different houses, they could never be friends. It was confermed by the looks by either house through out the class period. No body said anything, except Snape who commented on it once or twice, but Harry could feel the pressure, and next period he sat as far away from the Gryffidors as possible.
Not wanting to spend time in the Slytherin common room, he started to spend more and more time in the Library, reading up on wizard history. He noticed that he wasn't the only one who spent alot of time in the library as well. A Gryffindor by the name of Hermione was always there as well. He was sitting in one of the chairs reading Hogwarts: a history when she came up to him. "Umm...you have a book I would like to read, I was wondering when you were done I could borrow it?" He looked up, surprised at someone actually talking to him. "You're Harry Potter aren't you?"
"Umm...yeah" he replied, not used to everyone knowing who he was yet. "We talked on the train, remember?"
"Yeah, I know" she paused, "So, can I?"
"Can you what?"
"Borrow the book when you're done?"
"Yeah, I guess" He looked back at his book. She didn't leave, but instead sat down on the chair across from him. He was feeling quite conspicuous with her watching him. "Can I help you?" he looked up again.
"No, just waiting."
"Do you mind waiting somewhere else, you're making me a bit uncomfortable." She glared at him.
"Fine, you Slytherins are all the same" she mumbled under her breath, but loud enough for him to hear him as she walked off. That was another thing he hated was the Stereotypes, and the funny thing was that most of them were true. He finished what he was reading quickly, dropped the book in the girls lap and walked out of the library. Now where could he go? He couldn't go back to the common room, and it was way after supper had finished. He decided to wander till he got in trouble, or it was time to go to bed. Some time into his wandering he turned a corner, and almost ran right into Professor Dumbledore.
"You need something Mr. Potter?" He asked kindly.
"No Headmaster, just heading back to the common room." Harry said to the elderly gentleman. He had a gentle look on his face, and a sparkle in his eye, not the look of a professor who had found a Slytherin wandering the halls very close to the Gryffindor tower.
"The common room is that way" Dumbledore motioned towards the way Harry was coming from.
"I know Headmaster" Harry replied, trying not to sound like he was mocking him. He turned and started back.
"Mr. Potter" he turned back. "Is something wrong?" Harry thought for a second, wondering if he should really tell him about his thoughts of the sorting hat making a mistake.
"Yes....well....ummm..." he tried to figure out how to word it, but the headmaster got there faster.
"you think the sorting hat made a mistake."
"Yes" Harry was shocked. He swore the headmaster could read minds.
"I assumed that. You're not the first one to think that you know, now just yesterday young Hermione Granger came to me asking the same question. If you have time, I can offer you the same assurances I offered her." Harry shook his head yes. He supposed if the Sorting hat said Slytherin twice, then it was meant to be. "Minerva" he stopped the Transfigeration teacher as she walked past. "Would you be so kind as to accompany young Potter here and myself to my office for a moment."
"Albus, this Student isn't in my house, wouldn't it be better if you get Severus?"
"No, not at all, you will do fine. Come Come" Harry followed the two Professors down the hall and up a winding staircase to what he assumed was Dumbledore's office. It was a round room, with numerous gadgets and pictures, but the only thing that Harry noticed was the sorting hat on a shelf. Dumbledore picked it up and handed it to Harry. "You know what to do" Harry placed it on his head, and heard the soft voice again.
"Ah Potter, I expected to see you again, but not this soon. Something you wanted to discuss." It paused, "Wait, let me guess, you were wondering if I put you in the wrong house."
"Yes" Harry thought.
"Well, the sorting hat never makes mistakes. You would be great in Slytherin, Salazar would definitely be proud, and nobody can be great without a little suffering coming their way."
"I don't want suffering, I want acceptance" he mumbled.
"Well, why didn't you say that in the first place. If I had know that we could have been saved all this trouble. Alas the sorting hat doesn't make mistakes." It continued, as if it could feel Harry's hopes dropping, he was going to spend the next seven years in Slytherin." but we can alter our opinions. Just remember, you could be great. Gryffindor it is then" Harry heard the the last would out loud, and just sat there in shock. He couldn't believe his ears. "No, your ears didn't deceive you, now get going before I alter my opinion and put you in Hufflepuff." He quickly pulled off the hat, certainly not wanting it to do that.
"The Sorting hat made a mistake" Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye
"No Sir" Harry said, correcting him. "He altered his opinions"
"Of course, you are right."
"I better go tell Severus. He will be a bit disappointed I suppose" McGonagall said, a smile on her lips. She always wondered why the boy went to Slytherin in the first place, being that both his parents were in Gryffindor. If he was anything like his father he will certainly be a asset, she thought to herself. Turning she left the room, heading to the dungeons.
"Well Harry" Dumbledore placed the hat back on the shelf and turned to his student. "I suppose I should show you to your new dormitory now. Your trunk should be there by the time we arrive. I do say this is a surprise. Off we go then" He led Harry up to the South Tower, in which he stopped in front of a large painting of a fat lady. "Caput Draconis" The picture swung open, which was a large surprise to Harry, being that the Slytherin entrance and a stone tablet that moved aside, and almost impossible to find. There was a great silence when Dumbledore entered, with Harry close behind him.
"What is he doing here...he's a Slytherin" He heard numerous people whisper. What would be the point of this if they didn't accept him either, he thought dejected.
"Headmaster, may I ask what this is all about?" A boy that he recognized as one of Ron's brothers asked, standing up.
"Of course you may Percy, you just did actually. Now today we had a must extraordinary occurrence, something that has never happened in any of my years at Hogwarts.
"What?" Percy asked.
"The sorting hat had. how can I say this, a change of heart" A murmur again rose through the crowd. " I am sure all of you will make Mr. Potter here right at home" and with a swish of his cloak he was gone, leaving Harry standing there, with about fifty pairs of eyes looking at him, making him feel very conspicuous. He wanted to shrink down and disappear, that or turn around and run out of the hole again. But he did neither, but just stood there. It felt like hours, but was only about five minutes before someone spoke. It was Ron who had stood up from where he was playing chess.
"Here, I'll show you to the dorm room" He motioned for Harry to follow him up a set of stairs which he did most earnestly, happy to get out of that room. The room Ron showed him to was about the size of his old dorm room, only it had a completely different feel to it. It was red instead of green, and had windows on the opposite side, flooding the room with light. Harry layed down on the bed, staring out the window.
"Harry, I'm glad the sorting hat had a change of heart" Ron said
"Me too" He replied, happy for the first time in weeks. Things were definitely looking up.
And the rest in History
A/N - this is just something that I cooked up in my free time. It's not that good, but and I know it's been done before, or at least the plot idea anyway, but the rest in my own idea. But now it's over, and I'll have to think up a new idea, now that's the hard part...damn those plot lines. I'm running out of creative idea's...I wonder where my creativity ran off to..it's probably off partying with my motivation and alertness. Probably got wasted, and are lost some where in North Dakota. So if anyone sees them, please send them home, they are missed greatly. At least one funny thing resulted from this story. The spell check told me to change Draco's name to Drano...now that's funny, or maybe it's just to me, and then again I get bubbly when I'm sleepy. It's only midnight, it's not that late...is it ?>
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