A/N: I probably misspelled a bunch of names, or objects, but Harry Potter has the worst names Ive ever done. At least the japanese names made sense... Still, here it is!

Harry was quite unsure how he should act towards this person, Ronald Weasley. Part of him, the small part which had not quite left the Dursleys, wanted to mimic his personality. After all, it would be better to just blend in, right?

Well, no. He hated who they almost made him, with an intense passion. They made him meek, fearful, and dependent. He hated those things about himself, and knew from the moment he set foot on the train, that he finally had a new chance. Not one to waste a chance, he had even begun to act differently on the train. The key to improving oneself was to adjust your actions and measure how they affect everything. He learned that early on...

Still, for him it was less of a mask and more removing his mask. To survive the Dursley's for eleven years, he had to wear a mask of complacency, one which made it impossible for him to stand out. Though he had been saved, in a way, he still had to live there, just keeping up appearances. After all, it would be dangerous if anyone knew...

So, ditching the mask of a fearful little boy, Harry smiled, hoping he appeared more charismatic than he felt, shaking Ron's hand. "Harry Potter." As Ron had already introduced his name, he did not expect him to say anything further. Though, perhaps he should have expected it due to his fame.

Ron's eyes widened, his smile widening. "Really? You know you have a few people searching for you on the train."

Harry did not expect anything less, accoridng to Hagrid his name was more famous than it should have been, reaching almost every single person. He had the kind of fame that most only dreamed of. "Were you one of them?" He smirked, not quite sure he could trust Ron after that statement.

"Nah, I just wanted a more roomy compartment." Ron shrugged, leaning back into his chair.

Harry shrugged, finding no reason to refute that. "Fair enough. Anyone in particular looki-" He wouldve finished the question, had some pale blond kid not forced open the compartment door. If that werent rude enough, he had brought two spare gorrillas as bodyguards.

"Ive heard Harry Potter is on this train." The obvious leader had a hint of disdain in his voice, though it was directed at Ron, rather than Harry. Strange, but perhaps their families had some sort of history. It did seem to be that the Wizarding World took family matters far more seriously than personal matters.

"As have I." Harry smoothly replied, acting much less annoyed than he felt. Well, he also felt a bit amused. Just how much could he fuck with this kid...

"Ah, I see." The rude brat immediately left, surprising Harry with how much he wanted to meet Harry... Interesting. Many would attempt to use his fame for their own purposes, believing him to be ignorant to politics. Sadly, the sheer backward nature of the Wizarding World meant that politics to them was essentially following whoever spoke the loudest and had the most gold. That... was somthing he could do.

"That was Draco Malfoy, real git. Obsessed with Blood Purity, of all things. Pretty cool how you got him to leave, though, howd you do that?" Ron seemed nice, but a bit thick. Well, that could be helped, and it wasnt like he was used to people being on the same level as him.

"He only wanted to talk to Harry Potter, I just agreed that I heard he was on the train, and he had no further purpose bothering us. Nice to know though, what is blood purity exactly?"

"Oh, some wizards believe that anyone born from muggle parents is impure. Halfblood, muggleborn, even squibs." Ron explained.

"Thats some... intense racism going on. How bad is it?" Harry was rather worred this new world would be as totalitarian as the Dursley house.

"Its gotten better, probably wouldve died out if not for You-Know-Who. Thanks to my dad, we have a muggle protection act, so that also helps."

Harry idly wondered if anyone understood that muggles did not need protection from wizards, especially not anyone half trained... However, what horrified him was not that there was a muggle protection act, but that it was necessary. "Sounds a bit worrying to be honest, just the fact that that kind of act is necessary makes me wonder about the state of the world."

"Well, its a pretty common thing, wizards not liking muggles. Ask a blood purist, theyll say the Statue of Secrecy is for the protection of muggles, or convinience, but in reality, its because they all hate and fear muggles. Its a good way to keep away from them, you know." Ron's statements only confirmed Harry's fears. That was... worrying.

"I see... hrm. Well, you are obviously informed, or raised magical at least, so mind if I ask you a few things? I was raised by muggles, not that horse shit those books spout." Worrying, but not enough to curb his interest in the magical world.

Ron obviously appreciated the attention, which was... well, it was something alright. Seemed like he never got any attention, or at least only got negative attention. It also seemed he was unused to someone else knowing less than him. "Im a pureblood myself, not a purist though. Whatd ya want to know?"

Harry chuckled lightly, amused by Ron's jovial nature. He was a pretty nice guy, really. "Well, I was wondering about this game, Quidditch..." The two delved into the aspects of the game, Ron telling Harry about the rules and positions, while Harry asked questions which Ron had no problem answering. He was quite knowledgable on the matter, actually.

The two were interrupted when Harry was learning the secondary ways the game could end, other than getting the snitch, as that would be a terrible game if it only could end through the Snitch. It did seem pretty intense for a sport, and Harry felt tempted to get in on it, if he were any good with a broom.

A decent looking young woman opened the compartment doors, not quite as rude as Draco, but not quite polite either, before asking "Have either of you seen a toad, a boy named Nevile has lost his." She paused momentarily, seeing how close the boys were to each other. "Er... nevermind, thanks anyway." She flushed before immediately fleeing before either of the two could explain.

The two suddenly looked at each other, as they had been leaning forwards when discussing Quidditch, before leaning and scooting back to avoid any further embarassment like that. "Not in a million years." Harry spoke.

"Not even if you were a girl." Ron agreed.

"Hey! Id make a great girl. Bet Id be hot as hell too."

"Uh... I dont want to even think about that."

"Fine, fine. So you were saying when the captain makes five consectutive scores in the same hole, the game ends?"

"Yep. It can also work out by ten successful blocks in a row too." Grammar was not his strongest suit, but Harry found he did not mind too much. So long as the message came across, there was nothing to worry about.

The train ride was boring for most of the latter half, though Ron had explained some of the customs of the magic world, though not the pureblood ones, as his family gave precisely no shits about those. He didnt phrase it like that, but Harry certainly did. It was far more fun than saying that his family was desensitized towards the articulate and complicated gestures indicating various complex emotional responses that were only understood by the elite of the society. Yes, much more fun and much more comprehensible.

Still, he realized, he was content. This place was much better than the Durselys, even if he had no idea what Hogwarts would be like. It was a school, and he was left alone at Schools, the Durselys had discouraged bad grades, so he always did his absolute best, and came out on top because of it. He had learned early on that they believed that if he learned 'normal' knowledge, he would become more normal. It was too bad for them that it was untrue, and that he began to enjoy the learning.

His thoughts, and Ron's light snoring, were interrupted once more, by the same girl, and a slightly chubby boy, though he knew better than anyone to not joke around about someone being chubby, or even outright fat. It was never a happy lifestyle, and, judging from what he had seen when Vernon and Dudley tried, intensely difficult to change. Besides, he was only chubby and not ridiculously large, like Vernon. There was a reasonable limit, after all.

Harry shook his head to clear those thoughts. "whats up?"

Taken back momentarily by Harry's apparently uncaring attitude, the girl spoke again. "Would you mind if we sit here? Someone took over our compartment while we were searching for his toad."

Harry smirked, feeling like messing with the girl. "Only if the pretty girl introduces herself."

She rolled her eyes, but complied, sitting down next to him, with Nevile next to Ron, who was still sleeping, albeit without the snoring. "Hermione Granger." She was... up-tight, really, introducing yourself was much more than a name, but maybe his comment had irritated her. Oops.

"Sorry, I was just messing with you. Im Harry Potter." Harry grinned, rather embarrassed about flirting with her, teasingly or not.

"Neville Longbottom." The chubby kid spoke, though given his posture and voice, Harry assumed it was more out of shyness than irritation.

He turned back to Hermione, only to see her lips pursed. "Oh you were only joking that I was a pretty girl?"

"What, no. I. was just... Agh. You got me, that was slick." He caught on halfway through stumbling with his words, realizing she was messing with him as well.

She giggled a bit, smirking right back at him. "Well, you didnt answer." Oh if she wanted to keep the game going, by all means!

"Well, the answer should be apparent whenever you look into a mirror."

"From it cracking?"

Harry paused. "I guess too much beauty could break a mirror, but I wouldnt know." He considered himself fairly plain, really. Messy black hair, not very muscular, not that tall, he was pretty average in terms of appearances.

On the other hand, Hermione didnt seem to stand out in that regard either, though perhaps it was due to the robes. Still, she had the most insanely curly hair he had ever seen, and in the bushy way too. She was about as tall as him, which most men would dislike for some reason, but in general she was... plain. Not unattractive, but not a great beauty. She did have buckteeth, but it wasnt terrible.

Hermione rolled her yes again. The three conscious began to discuss things for Hogwarts, realizing they knew almost nothing about houses or what each house was about.

"Well, Im hoping for Gryffindor myself, Dumbledore used to be in it, you know?" Hermione commented.

"House of the brave, not bad. Kind of surprising, but not bad. I figured you for a Slytherin or Ravenclaw, honestly. Ill probably fit in best with Gryffindor, but I could see myself in any of the houses." Harry responded.

"Ill probably go to Hufflepuff." The shy boy spoke up, which was pretty rare, but not unwelcome. He had an... interesting point of view.

"Ah, hard working and loyal. Great things to be, really. Not the place to find the usual leader, but the usual leader is a terrible one too. Besides, not everyone wants to be a leader." Harry shrugged.

Neville seemed quite embarrassed, but said nothing further. Hermione, however, decided to respond to something Harry said. "Slytherin? Why do you think I would be in that house?" She seemed defensive with her words, which was odd...

"Well, cunning and ambitious. You were sly enough to get that joke on me earlier, and with all those books, you definitely have a goal, or at least a intense thirst for knowledge, not that I can blame you." He said, motioning towards the trunk she had brought in, which had weighed more than Harry. That was particularly annoying because he had to lift it over his head to reach the rack... thankfully Neville was quite a bit stronger than he seemed, and helped out.

"Oh, Ive just heard that Slytherin was a terrible house to be in, all about blood purity and dark magic." Hermione mumbled out, her ears pink, though it couldnt be seen, from the compliments.

"Thats a load of shit, if they had a house that determined if you were racist and into dark magic, they would just expel that house from school. Actually... hm." Harry paused, placing his hand on his chin, in an exaggerated thinking pose. "I got it! Ill join Slytherin and turn the reputation around."

"Harry! Youll be subjected to dark magic and blood purity, Hermione wasnt kidding, and they have that reputation for a reason." Neville, speaking louder than he had before, tried to convince Harry to not join.

"All the more reason to join. I could save a few of them from going that route, and show that blood status means nothing. Results over everything." Harry grinned. "After all, what else would I do with my spare time?"

"You arent scared that someone might try to kill you?" Hermione had an absolutely adorable worried expression on her face, but Harry ignored that.

"Fear is a superpower, but not really. With me learning that I am famous, it means I have quite a bit of pull, and we arent dealing with eleven year olds, but fifteen or sixteen year olds who have the sense to not go after someone with such a profound fame. Besides, I intend to learn how to defend myself post-haste." Harry grinned wider, excited at the prospect.

"Just... be careful and think hard on it. You guys should change clothes, and wake sleeping beauty over there. Im going to use the bathroom." Hermione exited from the compartment, leaving behind a curious Harry, questioning why exactly Slytherin had such a terrible reputation.

The students arrived at the castle with only one person falling into the lake, which was a rare thing but not surprising. What did a bunch of kids know about controlling themselves? Hagrid certainly wouldnt control them, but she would. McGonagall knew she would regret the day Hagrid applied for Groundskeeper, but there were simply none better for the job. Why Dumbledore trusted him with so many jobs he simply wasnt good for was beyond her. She liked Hagrid, she really did, but he did not belong in anything involving safety, or small children, which was what she saw those fifteen year olds as. After all, compared to an eighty year old woman, what were they but children?

"Step inside, and wait for your name to be called. Once your name is called, come to the front and sit on the stool. You will be sorted by the Sorting hat, an enchanted hat belonging to Rowena Ravenclaw. Your house will be like your family at Hogwarts, so make sure you do nothing to ruin it."

Harry felt kind of worried about that, but ignored it. He knew the feeling would just hinder him, and it had no use in this. He needed to move forward for his desires, not hesitate in fear. He paused momentarily, realizing he would probably make a good Gryffindor.

When it was Harry's turn to go to the hat, he walked slower than everyone else, not too much, but enough for everyone to know he was doing it deliberately, and drawing their attention more. Slow walks seemed more purposful, after all. At least to him.

The teacher, or professor, placed the oversized, outdated, and frankly tacky, hat onto his head, before his vision was blocked out by the oversized brim of the hat. It seemed like Rowena had an enormous head...

"Or perhaps time stretches things. My word, I do get quite tired of being insulted in the heads of you children."

"You are a thousand years old, so I suppose 'you children' isnt so much an insult as an observation. So, how do we do this, questions, mental battle, or a psychic reading?"

"Quite the smart aleck, arent you? The process is closest to a psychological reading, but in a magical way. More refined and much quicker. Your mind is... quite something."

"Ill take that as a compliment. Think we could use similar magic to scan for potential dangers in students? Psychopaths, depressed students, sociopaths, abusive households, things like that?"

"Hm, its possible, but we are getting off track. Lets see..." Harry waited patiently for the hat to mind rape him. "It is not mind rape, you brat! Its a delicate art of understanding emotional triggers, responses, goals, and methods of thinking."

"Ah, so thats how you do it."

"Not exactly, its more of... imagine me as a mirror which replicates your personality and uses that to test you. It often reveals more than a casual scan of the mind. However, your mind is... odd." Harry raised his eyebrow. "I mean it, something is wrong. Still, not my area of expertise, and you seem sane... enough. Where to put you... Plenty of loyalty, and certainly no fear of hard work. Lazy though, but that works as efficiency over effort, eh? Understandable. Hufflepuff could work, but not quite perfect for you."

The hat continued, ignoring Harry's impatience. It had to have been at least five minutes by now. "Yes, yes, impatient. I cant say brave so much as you feed off of your fear. Quite an interesting trait, and gained through muggle Philosophy nonetheless, quite interesting. It works well enough, and you certainly are reckless, god you need help with that, maybe someone to help temper that out of you."

"I will turn you into a chamberpot."

"Right, back on track... Ravenclaw is a pretty good fit too, curiosity and intelligence abound, but... you are a difficult fit, arent you? Well, lets see... Quite a goal, certainly worthy of Slytherin Ambition. Cunning and sly too, but your methods do not fit with them... hrm. I am at something of a loss with you. Tell me, do you have any idea how the sorting works?"

"Why is a telepathic object asking me this?"

"I am empathic, not telepathic. I can mimic your personality, but not your knowledge. Ill take that as a no, though. To put it simply, I judge the values and traits of each individual when they put me on, as well as how they think. Someone who thinks circles around themselves would not fit in Ravenclaw, for example, the straightforward and patient thinkers. Someone who values family over all else would fit with Hufflepuff, and similarly for Gryffindor and Slytherin. Still, you managed to fit all of them. Happens at least once every three years, and its been due for a while, but still, quite interesting."

"Then tell me, how do I think?"

"Your thinking is very associative, and compressed, combined with your values, it fits with all houses. Valuing friends above all else, but with an intense desire to run wild and free. Combined with the ambitions you have, something I have never heard of by the way, and your complete obsession with knowledge... which house would you prefer?"

"Slytherin. It will do well for what I intend. Any other house would be expected, but the simple fact is that Slytherin puts me on the spot and lets the world know I have ambitions. Besides, itll make people take my words under much more consideration than otherwise, given the reputation. Theyll try to see if Im turning dark, and in that, I can slip messages in there to where I can make a secondary reputation known only by those that figure it out."

"...and you are the most terrifying student I have ever sorted. Not saying much given it used to be a bunch of eleven year olds, but still. Are you sure? Gryffindor would solidify your current reputation as well, and your... bravery fits perfectly as well."

"Maybe, but thats just it, if I chose Gryffindor, Id be showing that I am exactly what everyone expects. By joining Slythering, no one will know what to expect and they will be forced to get to know me rather than assume."

"Not a bad plan, but it will be a difficult path."

"I know, but I want this."

"Very well then, if you are sure..." For the first time, the hat spoke aloud. "Slytherin!"