HARRY POTTER AND THE SNAKY DRAGON SINCE 1991
CHAPTER ONE – RESORTED –
"Welcome and welcome back to Hogwarts, school of Witchcraft and Wizardry," began headmistress McGonagall, standing up from the highest seat at the teacher's table were once Dumbledore held his speeches.
Harry remembered with a smile how his old and belated headmaster spoke those three to four nonsensical words before the feast started and the meals appeared. Good old times that weren't even close to the heaviness of grief following the summer after the Battle of Hogwarts. The war had cost many lives, bore many victims and damaged a lot of buildings, somewhere even whole villages. Harry had spent his summer in helping rebuild Godric's Hollow, the place he wanted to move in to after his last year at Hogwarts. Ron and Hermione had helped him while the rest of the Weasley's had helped the Ministry in rebuilding Hogwarts.
"It was a hard summer for all of us but for those of you who are new to join our world, I'd like to say some words."
This year, different from the previous years at Hogwarts Harry remembered, the new first year students sat at a new table in a new created centre between the four great House tables. It made the Hall look much greater and maybe it was created for them to listen to McGonagall's speech.
"A war so terrible shook the wizarding world that even the expansion to the muggle world was inevitable. A dark wizard claimed the exclusive Lordship and rights over our world in the most dictatorial and painful way. He and his followers killed and subordinated everyone who stood in his ways or didn't tally with his views. But a group of brave wizards and witches-" her eyes swiped over the Gryffindor table, "worked consistently against him. Some of them even before he was a mighty being and some of them even before they reached their twelfth birthdays." Harry sank down in his seat when the new students gasped and the others murmured. Hermione blushed and sank down, too, but Ron sat straighter and puffed his chest. "The two former and belated headmasters Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape were part and the heart of this group." The background noise grew louder and passed the six tables in the Hall like a wind. "They, like many others, left their lives for people like you and me-" her gaze was flying from student to student and Harry thought she could stare at all of them at once, "for us, so we could live in a peaceful world. Thanks to them, and thanks to all the people who joined forces in May, the dark wizard was dispossessed at the greatest Battle Hogwarts has ever seen." Harry's heart swelled with gratefulness when McGonagall didn't once mention his name. He had asked her previously not to, but he wasn't sure if she would stand to her word. "Now I'd like you to join me in a moment of silence for the belated Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape, and for all the wizards and witches who lost their lives during the war."
Harry closed his eyes and let the sudden stillness wash over him. Images filtered through his mind; Dumbledore and him in the cave, getting the false Horcrux and fighting Inferi - Dumbledore falling off the Astronomy tower - Snape teaching him Occlumency - Snape being attacked by Nagini - Snape giving him his memories in his bloody state - Sirius smiling at him but falling behind the veil - Cedric Diggory being killed at the graveyard - Nagini crawling out of Bathilda Bagshot's skin and attacking him and Hermione - Ron destroying the locket - Ron, Hermione and him in Gringotts, stealing the Hufflepuff cup - Dobby with Belatrix Lestrange's knife in his chest – Xenophilius Lovegood's house exploding with Hermione's spell when Death Eaters arrive – the three of them fleeing from the ministry and Ron splinching himself – Hermione and Ron with the destroyed cup and the Basilisk tooth in hand, grinning at him - Crabbe, Goyle and Malfoy cornering him in the Room of Requirement - Crabbe casting the fiendfyre and destroying the Ravenclaw diadem - Crabbe vanishing in the flames - Malfoy standing on a hill of trash in the Room of Requirement, on the verge of dying - Malfoy sitting securely behind him on his broom, clasping his waist for dear life while he flies to the exit - Neville piercing Nagini with Gryffindor's sword - Fred falling down in between rocks of broken ground - Lupin, Tonks and the Creevey's bodies lying under the dead in the Great Hall - Voldemort casting Avada Kedavra on him in the forest - Voldemort casting Avada Kedavra on him in the Great Hall - Voldemort falling with his own repelled curse.
He opened his eyes and only realized then his heavy breathing, his hurting palms because he clenched his fists too tight, and Ginny's hand rubbing soothing circles on his back. She leaned in and whispered in his ear. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah," he nodded and put a confirming hand on her thigh while trying to avoid the embarrassing moment with the onlookers. He lied to her, he would never be all right. Instead he let his gaze wander into the distance and just like that, he caught Malfoy staring at him from the very empty Slytherin table, his pose telling him he'd been doing that for quite a moment. He didn't even look away when their eyes met, Malfoy had the guts to stair down at him with fierce eyes. So Harry was the one to turn away, he didn't understand why Malfoy looked so mad at him, as if they were still first year rivals. Harry didn't have any ill feelings towards Malfoy any more, in fact, he felt nothing towards him. He felt neutral and it probably came with the maturing, he told himself. He looked back to the Gryffindors, Ron and Hermione looked worried at him but he smiled at them and they smiled back in relief. He kissed Ginny's cheek then, feeling a little better with his lie and his act, and thankfully McGonagall's speech went on.
"Thank you very much," her Sonorus-enhanced voice said, ending the silence. "I'm happy that you all came back to school to retake classes that were wrongly, or never taught to you. This means that first year students from last year are still first year students this year, second year students from last year are still second year students, and so on, and seventh year students are still seventh year students. One difference will be that we will have twice as much first year students. Now you have probably noticed that we are lacking dormitories in some areas, but on the other hand we have some extra space in the Slytherin House thanks to the students there who are absent this year." Several students dared to chuckle in the pause she left here. "That's why we will be enforcing the second difference with the allowance of the Ministry. There will be a resorting."
"What?" many voices shouted out and hell broke loose.
"Merlin's balls! They can't do this to us!" Ron cried and Ginny agreed while Harry panicked inwardly. He already knew what would be coming.
"Obviously they can, she said the Ministry agreed to this," Hermione chimed in.
"When did we ever do what the Ministry told us?" Ron countered in a high and scared voice. "Tell her, Harry."
Hermione rolled her eyes till Harry gathered some thoughts together. "Ron's right,"
"See!"
"But-"
"No but - no but, come on, mate-" Ron started to panic, too.
"But the Ministry's now under Kingsley, he's the right man for the job, and McGonagall's just trying, it's her first year, let's not work against her."
Ginny put an arm around his waist, a motion that told him he convinced her. "Harry's right. McGonagall is ours."
"See, Ron," Hermione reproved him. "Besides, it's a logical and practical solution, there's obviously not enough space. Since Slytherin can provide it, why not?"
"But don't you see the snake in it, 'Mione?" Ron asked louder, "that means a bunch of us has to go to Slytherin!"
"Oh, Merlin," Harry breathed.
McGonagall had obviously turned the volume of her Sonorus louder because everyone cried and complained about the ringing in their ears. "As I was saying," she shot daggers with her glare while talking, the first year students probably pissed themselves, Harry thought, "resorting means; you step forward when I call your name, sit on this stool, put the founder's hat on and it will tell you your new House. Same procedure as every year. This time, however, it will search a bit more for Slytherin trademarks in you, and if you have them, you'll be sorted into Slytherin. As simple as that."
The whispers gained volume again and everyone besides the ones at the Slytherin table, probably eight students, was a mess. The Slytherins just didn't look happy, the cause to this was clear, they had to share their precious dungeons.
Harry heard Seamus repeat a mantra of "not me, not me, please, not me". It made him grin till he remembered the one thing he couldn't prevent but knew with a hundred percent certainty. He would definitely be resorted into Slytherin.
"I hope we stay together, no matter in what House," Ginny whispered into his ear and took his hand in hers. She then kissed his cheek and he felt bad when he answered with a "me, too."
The hat's founder-song had new lyrics again but it told the same old story of every founder's characteristics and trademarks, and how the bonding between the Houses was more important now than any other time. The sorting was alphabetical like every year, no matter how old you were. Harry only paid closer attention when names were called he already knew. Like Hannah Abbott, she stayed in Hufflepuff, or Terry Boot and his friend Michael Corner who stayed in Ravenclaw, Bullstrode stayed in Slytherin, too and Lavender Brown in Gryffindor. Justin Finch-Fletchley was sorted into Hufflepuff again and when it was Seamus Finnigan's turn, he cried in relief when he was resorted into Gryffindor. Three fourth of the new first years was sorted into Slytherin, though. And sometimes the old hat went totally crazy. It put, for example, the whole third year Hufflepuffs into Ravenclaw and two fourth year Ravenclaws into Gryffindor. Then the first Gryffindors were put into Slytherin, two male students from the fifth year, Ginny told Harry because she knew them. Anthony Goldstein stayed in Ravenclaw. Gregory Goyle was called next and this was another moment of surprise, he as the first Slytherin was resorted into Gryffindor. The floor under Harry's feet shook when a trembling Goyle joined the Gryffindor table. He made sure to sit at the very end, though. Next was Hermione's name to be called. Harry looked at her and saw Ron hugging her tightly before she freed herself.
"I'll still love you," Ron muttered beet-red.
"Ron, we're not going to break up over this," she rolled her eyes. Her fingers trembled nonetheless, Harry noticed.
"RAVENCLAW!" bellowed the hat.
"NOOOOO!" bellowed Ron.
Several eyes in the hall looked at him and laughed, Harry sent him his sympathy with his own stare. "I'm sorry, mate."
Hermione came back to their table whatsoever and consoled her boyfriend with hugs and little kisses.
Harry only tuned in again when Neville was called and resorted into Hufflepuff. "I'm sorry," he said to him when Neville walked over to the Hufflepuff table.
"It's okay. I'm fine with it," Neville even managed a half-hearted smile when he looked at him.
"Lovegood, Luna!" called McGonagall and Luna danced to the stool.
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Oh my God!" said Hermione. Ginny's jaw dropped in the same way Ron's did. Harry didn't know what to say either. That could have been me, he thought.
Ernie MacMillan remained a Hufflepuff and next was Malfoy. Harry recalled how the hat had barely touched that blond hair when it had called 'Slytherin' the first time. Now it seemed to really struggle with Malfoy. In the end the result was still Slytherin.
Theodore Nott was sorted into Slytherin again but what Harry was more interested in was the Patil twins' result. Padma was resorted into Slytherin, creating more shocked out-cries, but Parvati was resorted into Gryffindor. Parvati was in a bad mood when she came back to the Gryffindor table. "Still not together, I hate school," she muttered under her breath.
"Potter, Harry!"
Harry tore his eyes away from Padma who was taking a seat on Malfoy's left side and tried with his every fibre to look cool while he walked to the stool.
"Hey, old buddy," said the hat and if Harry didn't know it better, the hat sounded smug.
"Who's the old one here?"
"Witty like a Slytherin."
"I know what you're going to do," Harry thought, "and I won't like it one bit."
"Like what you want, but I told you so from day one! Slytherin would have been so good for you. And it still will be! You could have had years-"
"Yes, you said so. Please make it short and painless."
"SLYTHERIN!"
The Hall didn't breath when he made long and quick steps to the Slytherin table. He wanted the ground to swallow him when the only noise came from the old and new Slytherins clapping their hands together all of a sudden. Only Malfoy didn't clap, Harry was quick to notice. Yet, the grey eyes followed his every step when he took a seat next to Luna and to Malfoy's right. "You can stop the staring now," he told him over the distance.
Malfoy looked down at his fingernails and drawled, "I didn't stare." Even so, he sounded embarrassed.
"Liar," he muttered when the next name was called and sorted. Finally the Hall seemed to breath properly, filling the room with voices tuned low like it always used to be.
Another seventh year being sorted into Slytherin was Zacharias Smith.
"Big surprise," Harry heard Hermione's voice now from the Ravenclaw table nearby and grinned at her when she looked at him.
Zacharias stared grimly at Potter, then ignored him completely and took the seat opposite Malfoy, stretching his hand out to him before sitting down.
To Harry's little shock, Malfoy took the hand nonchalantly.
"Hope we can be friends and live in peace together," Smith said in his I'm-better-than-anyone-else-voice.
"Sure," Malfoy gave another drawl with an emotionless nod.
"Hey, Draco," Padma aimed to gain his attention when Dean was called up.
"Still Malfoy for you, Patil."
She put his retort away with a hand motion and continued. "I heard the Slytherins give a party for newbies every year. Can we have one?"
"Old Slytherin traditions won't be broken just because former students of other Houses outnumber the original Slytherins." His voice was firm this time, as if he told them a most important law.
Padma smirked whatsoever. "I like your attitude," she said and moved closer to Malfoy's side.
Harry ignored Padma because he never liked her and now she seemed less likeable than usual. Nobody who liked Malfoy's attitude could be seriously likeable. He focused on the sorting and only got a glimpse of Dean's last steps to the Hufflepuff table.
For that one he didn't even feel sorry, on the contrary, he growled when Ginny was resorted with the hat's scream of another "HUFFLEPUFF!" and she walked straight away to Neville and Dean's side.
"I'm going to kill him if he touches her," he muttered the words aloud before he even knew it.
"What a stupid Gryffindor way of articulation," Malfoy said highly amused.
"You shut up. I am a Gryffindor."
Suddenly Malfoy looked seriously at him. "No, you are not anymore. Don't forget that."
"I bet you won't make me."
"A Slytherin, " Malfoy continued above Harry's complain, "would 'think' of killing but 'say' manipulating, destroying. Whatever your heart desires."
Ron's name was called up. He stood up and stumbled to the stool. "GRYFFINDOR!" it screamed and he grinned but lost it when he saw Hermione still at the Ravenclaw table.
"And it's not like that Thomas never touched her before. I once caught them in a promising situation and I bet not even you went that far with that-"
"No, you didn't!" Harry shouted at him, his fists re-clenching.
"You can have the memory if you have a Pensieve, Potter. But it's really not something to look at, it was quite nasty. You're better off without her, believe me."
Harry turned as fast as a thunderbolt and clasped Malfoy's front robes with both his hands, hurting him with the tightness he pulled into the clothes. "Not one more word. Shut. Up." he said threateningly and Malfoy gasped when the air around them thickened, magic sparkling in a way they could feel but not see it.
Malfoy gave no more sounds and when he heard Luna's dreamy voice calling his name, he realized what he was doing and let go drastically. Panicked that he scared the people surrounding them, he shot up from his seat and left the Great Hall. He never joined the festive meal following the Sorting which he had been hungry for since two years.
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