Starts just after the letters begin arriving at privet drive but before they leave and hagrid takes Harry. I truly hate writing the stereotypical Diagon alley chapters but they are a necessary evil. Before it begins I in no way own Harry Potter or the universe.
If you were walking through a library of an English public primary school during a lunch break you would most likely be alone amongst the selection of books as the children played and caused mischief outside. But at Stonewall Primary in Surrey, England this was not the case. Tucked away amongst the shelves sat a young boy who loved books, not only for the knowledge they gave him but also for the shelter they provided from the unfortunate lot he had been saddled with in life. Harry Potter brushed the unruly raven hair that his aunt often cursed from his eye, Removing the obstruction that stopped the green orbs of his eyes from devouring the text he held in his hands.
Sighing in rare contentment the boy continued his reading enjoying the work that was Shakespeare's, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' which he discovered amongst the small range of more complex literature the school library held, after he had exhausted both the fiction and educational works for children his age over the past few years. It baffled his teachers that a child who spent most of his time outside of class in the library could have such average academic results but they put it down to the fact that the quiet of the library suited the reserved child rather than any drive or thirst for knowledge. However his lack of academic achievement was the result of a much wiser mind than those that judged intelligence strictly from books and aced tests, no it was a more perceptive wisdom that led to young Harry quickly realising that if he outperformed his whale of a cousin grade wise it would only increase the grief he had to deal with from his aunt and uncle. So he stored the information he learnt in his youthful growing mind waiting for the day he would be free to use his mind and skills to make something of himself away from his relatives, at times he suspected he had photographic memory but the lack of books on the human brain and its learning processes stopped that line of curiosity from being answered. His teachers did not know about this cunning decision and therefore dismissed the boy as a mystery not expending much more thought on the subject then their government salaries necessitated. No one took more than a passing interest in Harry James Potter.
Harry's contentment was cut short when the book was slapped clumsily from his hands. Looking up in surprise which vanished when he saw who it was Harry gave a slightly sarcastic smile at his pudgy, fat cheeked cousin, whose posse of weak sycophants crowded behind him unable to move past their leader's rotund body.
"Duddykins, how...nice of you to come and visit. I must admit I'm surprised you know where the library is."Harry's voice sounded disinterested and bored as he stood up to face another session of cousin-ly bonding or Harry hunting as his cousin liked to call it.
Dudley's face coloured at the nickname, increasing the family resemblance he shared with his father in Harry's opinion. The large boy spluttered hearing muttered chuckles from some of his less idiotic followers before trying to gain back the advantage over his thin cousin who stood before him unconcerned further troubling the slow witted bully who was use to seeing a fearful, easy target.
"Shut up Freak! Thought you could get away huh?" Dudley was trying to sound intimidating, like father like son Harry thought ruefully.
"I don't see how I was 'getting away' as you put it when this is where I come every lunch time. Couldn't wait until you could catch me walking back to class this time Dud? Patience is a virtue." 'Which you don't practice' Harry finished in his head, feeling strangely fearless today as generally he tried to avoid drawn out confrontations with his cousin knowing it would come back to bite him later. Dudley screwed up his face in concentration obviously having difficulty in following his cousin's casual retort. Seeing that most of Dudley's followers had left after there wasn't the physical outcome they had been expected, Harry shouldered his way past Dudley intent on ignoring him until a surprisingly intelligent reply made him stop.
"Patience, you mean like whoever keeps sending those letters to you? Must be freaks like you. Not very patient are they?" Well for Dudley that passed as witty repartee. Harry forced himself to start walking again as the lunch bell rang signalling time to get back to class, Harry didn't want to spend any more time then he had to near his cousin, his mind did wander onto the subject of the mysterious letters that had begun arriving over the past few days sending his relatives particularly his Uncle into fits of rage while his normally sharp Aunt looked worried constantly wringing her hands whenever she wasn't busy and peering out windows regularly. He figured they knew what was going on, hell even Dudley knew something was going on. As Harry walked into the classroom and was buffeted by Dudley's large shoulder as his cousin waddled in hurrying to not be late Harry then took his seat in the middle row, not too far back to be near Dudley and not too close to be considered a teacher's pet, he wondered for the thousandth time what was happening with the letters?
Harry didn't have to wait long. Walking back to Privet drive making sure to be a few blocks ahead of Dudley and his goons to avoid any unpleasant surprises, Harry planned on how to get some free time to complete his homework making sure to remember to dumb it down to an appropriate level. Perhaps he could slip out of a few of the nastier chores and hide out in the garden bringing his books. Yes that should do it. Knocking on the ordinary door that fit into the nothing out of place theme that the Dursleys endeavoured to maintain he was surprised to see a jumpy looking Petunia at the door to greet him.
"Harry," that was strange he hadn't been addressed by his given name by the Dursleys in months, "Please go into the lounge room there's someone here to see you." Harry tensed. This was certainly a surprise, perhaps they had finally got someone to come take him to a mental institution like Vernon constantly threatened to do, Harry sneered in his mind as if that was a threat. He'd welcome the chance to leave the Dursleys he hadn't forgotten the times spent in the cupboard regardless of the Dursleys sudden change to move him to the spare bedroom. He slung his bag off his shoulder and mindful of the books inside which he had borrowed from the library, carefully placed it on the hall table topped with the ghastly pink tablecloth that matched the equally atrocious curtains Petunia hung around the house. Walking into the lounge where Vernon Dursley was sitting in his abused brown recliner which grunted under his immense weight clutching the armrests in a vicelike grip Harry took in the stranger was seated on the three person couch which for Dursley use meant it was sized for Dudley and Petunia.
"Ah Mr. Potter, it is good to finally meet you. Here is your letter," the stranger, a stern looking grey haired woman with a Scottish accent threw a contemptous look at his uncle, "It is fortunate that I thought to bring a spare as your uncle tells me they had misplaced the others."
Harry took the letter. Approving of this woman if only because of the slightly angry air she seemed to hold towards Vernon, "May I ask what this is about?" The question seemed to only anger the lady further, her lips pursing into a thin line and cast another angry look at Vernon.
"Of course, it is a letter extending an invitation to attend the boarding school in Scotland which I teach at. Your parents put your name down when you were born, I'm...surprised you were not informed of this by your aunt and uncle." Harry was also surprised but tried not to show it on his face; he didn't want to get ahead of himself lest this all turn out to be bullocks. At the woman's gesture he carefully opened the letter and drew out two pieces of yellowing parchment. Seeing one seemed to be an inventory he started with the other which was headed by a large crest. The shield containing a large H surrounded by a Lion, Eagle, Snake and what seemed to be a Badger was set above the words 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry'. Harry shook his head and shot the two adults, one calm the other silently frustrated, a quick look before continuing reading with a raised eyebrow.
"So let's see if I get this right, this is a school for magic?" Harry was disbelieving but had an open mind, although all the science books he had read disproved much of what was regarded as 'Magic' he knew that most things could not be explained by books or textbooks. The stern woman nodded before reaching into her bag and withdrawing several books.
"These are books that we give to muggle born students when they receive their acceptance letters. I suggest you read them as they give a basic understanding of the wizarding community," she pulled out a pocket watch and checked the time, "Well I must be leaving for now but Mr. Potter I will return tomorrow to take you to buy your school supplies, goodbye." She gathered her bag and began moving to the doorway before Harry realised he didn't know her name. By the time he remembered to ask she had left and house and upon inspecting the yard had appeared to vanish out of thin air.
Turning back to his Uncle and Aunt with the books under his arm, Harry saw the annoyed expression on Vernon's face and the scared one on his Aunt's and decided to get it over with.
"So do you mind telling me why I never knew about this before, you obviously did." Vernon flushed and opened his mouth to begin pitching a fit when Petunia raised a hand cutting him off.
"We didn't want you to know because we hoped you had avoided their freakishness but clearly we were wrong." Her face had taken on an ugly look of jealously, anger, fear and loathing.
"Their? You mean my parents I suppose, I would have missed that but luckily it does make some sense they didn't die in a car crash did they?"
"NO! Of course they didn't," Petunias voice had risen, "They got themselves killed by one of you freaks and then we got stuck with you by one of their old professors. Now go up to your room and don't come down." She pointed up stairs obviously wishing to end the conversation and knowing that he would get better information from the books he complied, turning and beginning to leave the room.
"Boy," Ah Good Old' Vernon, "I don't want any of your freak nonsense here so keep it at that school of yours or else I'll have you out on the street in no time no matter what those other freaks say." Petunia laid a hand on his arm and guided him back to his chair. Harry registered that both Vernon and Petunia had talked about another 'freak' in relation to his presence here and added it to a now dizzying list of things to find out. Retrieving his bag from the hall he trudged upstairs and sat at his desk opening a heavy book titled 'Hogwarts: A History.'
'Over a thousand years ago Four Wizard and Witches came together to found a place of learning...'
The following morning after being browbeaten into cooking breakfast for his relatives a tired Harry Potter sat on the edge of the Dursleys spotlessly clean porch waiting for the nameless professor to return. He put this time to good use mentally running through the small node of information on the wizarding world he now held in his mind. 'So apparently I defeated a dark wizard when I was a baby,' this was a startling fact he had found in the book titled 'A Modern History of Wizarding Briton'. Harry had read about Voldemort's rise over the years and his reign of terror that stopped abruptly when he visited Godrics Hollow that fateful Halloween. He didn't see why people where so afraid of him there were similar terrorists in most countries but 'muggles' as he remembered they were called didn't act like headless chooks. He was similarly sceptical of the fervour that surrounded the 'Boy-Who-Lived,' he didn't remember the incident yet he was hailed as a savoir by a community he wasn't even a part of. A community, he reflected with a grimace, which seemed to be prone to bigotry and racism not unlike that which he read about in his textbooks on colonial America and the slave trade.
Reading 'Hogwarts: A history' and the few other historical wizarding texts without being blinded or distracted by the obvious surprise that magic was real. Harry could see that much of the problems in their world were caused in student's formative years at Hogwarts. The storied rivalry of Gryffindor and Slytherin seeped into every aspect of wizarding life and the labels of what house you were in dictated the role you were assigned in society. Harry had caught on that Gryffindor's were those of action, Slytherin's were the politicians and shrewd businessmen, Hufflepuff's did a bit of everything and Ravenclaw's were on the frontiers of new discoveries such as spell inventors and warders. While disgusted by the way Hogwarts divided wizarding Briton, on the books alone he felt Ravenclaw suited him the most, he could stay out of the way as much as the 'Boy-Who-Lived' could and study hard. Looking up the drive hearing the sounds of feet hitting the pavement he climbed to his feet to greet the stern, bespectacled woman dressed in what he assumed was the wizarding version of a black business suit with a tartan cloak thrown over the top.
"Mr. Potter good morning, are you ready to leave? The woman's greeting irritated Harry that he still didn't know her name.
"Yes madam and I'm sorry I didn't catch your name yesterday..." he trailed off waiting for her answer as he fidgeted with his shirt, cursing the drab castoffs of Dudley's that left him looking threadbare in comparison to the stately looking witch.
"Oh, my name is Minerva McGonagall but I will prefer Professor. I teach transfiguration at Hogwarts. Did you manage to get a look at the books I gave you?"
"Yes Professor," he was glad he finally had her name it made the situation that much easier, "I found the books...intriguing." The pair began to walk out of the front yard, McGonagall slightly in front obviously knowing where to go. She stopped on the curb and held out her right hand.
"Intriguing you say?" She looked down at him her brows furrowed as she concentrated on his face obviously surprised at his answer. He found that amusing but of course she must have expected him to wax lyrical about the existence of magic as if he was an excitable child who read the books with a head full of dreams. Still amusing but also confusing was her holding her arm out as if hailing a cab. To Harry's surprise a loud bang and small puff of smoke. Appearing in front of them was a triple decked bus in a curious shade of purple whose side proclaimed in 'The Knight Bus' in golden lettering. The door opened and he followed the Scotswoman on where she greeted a pimply youth dressed in a purple shirt that matched the bus whose badge stated 'Trainee, if he doesn't help chuck him off the side'.
"Ello professor that time of year again." The young man's crackly voice changed octaves at least twice during that sentence. Reminding Harry that soon puberty would come and hit him as well. Oh Joy!
"Yes, Mr. Shunpike it is. I must say I am relieved that you will not be joining us for your final year I don't think I can handle fixing your transfiguration mistakes for another year." McGonagall handed the man some coins as he gave her some change and two tickets.
"Cor, Minnie that hurts that does!" He waved them onto the bus not seeing the Professors eyes narrow at what Harry assumed was an unwanted nickname. They found empty seats near the front and sat down, McGonagall turning back to Harry.
"As I was saying, you found the books intriguing?"
"Yes," Harry answered unsure of how much he should reveal to the teacher while he did not know her views on Hogwarts and society, "I would like to go to Hogwarts and study hard but from what I've read of the house system it doesn't seem like the most beneficial environment for students to learn." McGonagall pursued her lips, a gesture he remembered her doing yesterday on multiple occasions. He felt he may have annoyed her but he didn't really care, he didn't need to have a favourite teacher anyway but to his surprise she then nodded her head slightly.
"Yes that's a valid concern shared by many, it's quite silly how something so simple is ruined by human nature but I'm afraid there's not much that can be done to change the opinions of the majority of society." Her tone held both approval for his opinion and reproach for the system which failed in many ways to do its primary job. Minutes passed, spent in silence by the duo but not awkwardly so until the Bus pulled to a halt and the trainee called out 'Diagon Alley!"
"Here is our stop Harry." McGonagall rose and led him off the bus nodding to Shunpike as she did so.
"Where are we?" Harry asked his curiosity overcoming his primary instinct to be quiet and simply observe. They pushed through the crowd of people walking along the sidewalk until they reached a dark little shop that if he hadn't been with the professor Harry probably would have missed. McGonagall open the door to what now looked like a small, creaky looking pub as she replied.
"London, this is the Leaky Cauldron is leads to Diagon Alley there wizarding shopping district." Harry nodded although internally he was surprised at travelling to London from Surrey so fast, almost like magic he thought amusedly.
Walking through the seedy, dark pub by McGonagall's side Harry saw a range of shifty look people sitting at the square, rough looking tables. The unlikely pair by some unspoken agreement picked up their pace and quickly moved through the room past the bar, McGonagall nodding at the barman pulled out her wand as they ended up facing a blank brown brick wall. Harry watched as she leaned shake and move like children's blocks being packed away until it formed an archway that led to a busy, congested street full of people wearing robes and cloaks. Some similar to McGonagall's state of dress others more colourful, more worn or less formal all forming a kaleidoscope of different colours and styles that wouldn't have looked out of place in the 1800's.
Harry fell in behind the professor as she marched down the street, the crowds parting as they recognised the imperious transfiguration teacher. She led Harry down towards a pure white building that read Gringotts above the door with the symbol of golden scales that Harry, correctly, assumed was a bank after recognising the name from one of the books. A bank run by goblins, an interesting proposition he thought. As they moved through the door he saw the inscription warning potential thieves of the dangers of practising their shady profession within the walls of the bank and shivered, note to self he said to himself wryly don't rob the goblins. Walking up to one of the free desks a goblin fixed him in his stare before turning to McGonagall, Harry took the opportunity to look at his first goblin up close. Murky green, brown skin, overly large ears and balding heads right out of a science fiction novel he thought they didn't look overly scary until the goblin addressed McGonagall showing a row of sharp teeth that made the creature much more threatening.
"Business?" the sharp, inquiry reminded Harry vaguely of aunt Petunia when she was angry. The goblin even looked a little like her too. Ha.
"Mr. Potter would like to make a withdrawal from his vault." She slid a heavy looking key across the counter to the goblin. Who picked it up with nimble fingers and inspected it.
"That seems to be in order, except I must ask why Mr. Potter did not have the key in his possession." The goblin fixed his eyes on the Scotswoman and Harry was paying strict attention to this conversation after hearing about his 'possession' of a vault. This was the first he'd heard of it and the goblin did make a good point he thought, why did the professor have HIS bank key. She shuffled nervously before replying to the goblin.
"Albus Dumbledore has been looking after the Potter estate while Mr. Potter has been staying with muggle relations." The goblin grimaced at that and replied.
"Well Mr Dumbledore is not Mr. Potter's guardian nor is he the manager of the Potter estate so clearly you have either been fed lies or Dumbledore simply overstates his importance he will be penalised for violating one of our clients security. Mr. Potter? I assume," the goblin turned his attention to Harry, who had been listening intensely annoyed that he was only learning about this now. The goblin gave the key to Harry who tucked it into his pocket, "we will take an evaluation of the Potter vaults and properties and send you necessary information by owl. You should have visited us sooner but I now understand that must have been impossible." The goblin gestured to a nearby goblin.
"Griphook please take, Mr. Potter and his guest down to his trust vault for a withdrawal," the goblin put his hand under the desk and drew out a leather pouch roughly the size of a normal muggle wallet, "This pouch can hold an limited amount of money Mr. Potter and when it runs out of the amount you place in simple send it to us via sealed owl with a request for however much and we will send it back to you." Harry took the pouch and quietly thanked the goblin who looked surprised before nodding back. He assumed that owls were some sort of delivery service in the wizarding service taking care not to confuse it with the O.W.L tests that 'Hogwarts: A History' talked about being conducted at the end of fifth year.
Turning and following a confused and thoughtful looking McGonagall and the goblin named Griphook, who led the two humans to a mining cart at the top of what looked like a deep mining shaft, Griphook gestured them into the cart before taking a position on the side and slapped the cart into motion. The ensuing velocity of the ride left Harry feeling slightly dizzy and he saw that McGonagall didn't look any better. They staggered out of the cart and up to the large metal sheet that did crudely resemble a door which Griphook stood next too.
"Potter Trust Vault." The goblin ran a finger up and to the side and the metal melted away with a brief shine of colour. It revealed a mountain of gold, silver and bronze coins, seeing Griphook standing unmoving Harry took the initative and moved forward grabbing handfuls of each colour coin and shoving them into the small pouch which strangely didn't feel any heavier. This was clearly a lot of wealth and judging from what the senior goblin from earlier told him it was only a small part of a fortune his parents had left him and it left him feeling angry that he had so much money and was left with the Dursleys ad treated like crap. Finished he walked out of the vaults and back into the cart where McGonagall was attempting to catch her breath.
"Where to now Professor," even after hearing her interaction with the goblin and her stern exterior he couldn't help but like the aging teacher who he was sure could help him master transfiguration quicker if he fashioned a decent relationship with her. She didn't seem like one to play favourites, which was alright with Harry he would rather work hard for success then have it given to him anyway.
"Flourish and Blotts, Madame Malkin's for robes, then potions ingredients before we finish at Ollivanders." Having no clue what two of the shop names meant he simply nodded as the cart speed back to the surface. Idly he wondered how it would have achieved such speeds going up if they didn't have the goblin using magic to power the cart.
They left Gringotts, McGonagall obviously shaken by the experience of the cart ride and chewing out by the goblin and Harry more confident with the knowledge of his wealth, glad he could be self sufficient in this world without the Dursleys to rely on for money. In silence McGonagall lead him, much to his joy, to the bookstore where she helped him find books from his booklist and he bought a few other titles that he found interesting. Better to get a head start in case he took to magic easily. They moved on to the Potions shop where he bought the essential cauldron, scales and knives with the basic potions ingredients. Harry found this particularly interesting almost like a cross between cooking and science, he hoped that his skills gained by cooking for the Dursleys over the years would help it was also here that McGonagall insisted he buy a few weeks worth of nutrition and growth potions which she said would get his body to its natural stature almost as if the malnutrition and terrible conditions from living with the Dursleys would never have happened, that she advised, he should take once a day.
Going to Madame Malkin's clothing shop, he was pressured into buying not just his school uniform and robes but a selection of muggle clothing. This surprised him he didn't think he'd be buying muggle jeans, shirts, shoes and a coat for winter weather from the wizarding retailer but both the shop assistant and McGonagall insisted on getting clothes that fit instead of the hand-me downs which earned him terrible looks from the store staff, who obviously considered themselves fashion gurus. They also stopped by a shop which sold school trunks in which he stored his purchases glad that he didn't need to carry them around. Finally Harry followed McGonagall into an older, dustier shop where they were greeted by an ancient, frail looking man whose hair reminded Harry of pictures he'd seen of Albert Einstein.
"Hello Mr. Potter I have been looking forward to meeting you for a long time." Harry shot a look at McGonagall but she didn't seem too perturbed by the man's strangeness so he relaxed slightly. The man came forward with a tape measure.
"Which is your wand arm Mr. Potter?" the strange man looked at him impatiently.
"Err...Sorry Mr..." Harry wasn't sure what he was being asked and the man looked at him in exasperation.
"I'm Ollivander surely you saw the sign boy and what hand do you prefer to write with."
"Oh," Harry flushed embarrassed that he didn't pay any attention to the outside of the shop, so much for being observant, "um...right hand I guess."
Ollivander took his right arm and measured it before disappearing into another room. Harry turned to McGonagall in curiosity.
"Is he always so...?"
"Yes Mr. Potter, is a very strange man but don't be fooled he is a very capable wizard and his wands are among the finest in the world. You would do well to pay attention he is a very profound man and you may learn something which I'm sure you will appreciate." She finished speaking as Ollivander entered the room with a small pile of boxes.
"Here Mr. Potter, Yew and Dragon string fourteen inches." Ollivander took a stick out of a box and gave it to Harry indicating that he should wave it. He did so and a window smashed, Ollivander snatched the wand back replacing it with another before Harry even blinked.
"Oak and Unicorn Hair, Thirteen inches." He gave this wand a wave and an angry looking red light shot out of the wand and bounced off the roof. Ollivander continued giving Harry new wands and replacing them just as quickly until the boxes piled up. Finally the frail looking man returned from the back room with a single box and looked to be muttering to himself.
"Maybe...just...maybe this will work...not sure....other feather," he took the wand out of the box and presented it to Harry like he had with the dozens before, "Holly and phoenix feather thirteen inches."
Harry took then wand and gave it a small wave, anticipating the same results as the last wands. He was struck to surprise when instead of a small accident the wand shot out gold and green sparks in an almost joyful salute. He was startled from his surprised stupor by the clapping of both adults.
"Excellent Mr. Potter you were quite a challenge weren't you? Never mind. It is curious however...the phoenix who gave a tail feather to your wand also gave another. The brother wand of your own just so happened to be the one who gave you that mark." The man leaned forward and almost brushed his hand along Harry's scar before he jerked away. McGonagall cleared her throat.
"Thank you but we must be going." Harry hurriedly dumped some gold on the counter and they were waved out by the outlandish man who began humming happily for some unknown reason. Walking back towards the leaky cauldron by McGonagall's side Harry looked at the stern faced professor.
"Professor, thank you for your help today," Harry's gratitude was met by a thin smile as the Scotswoman looked down at him with a small smile.
"No problem Mr. Potter, this part of my job does beat doing the paperwork for the upcoming term." The pair moved through the Pub, which was slightly fuller then it was during the day before moving off to one side of the sidewalk outside the unfriendly looking building. Harry looked up at McGonagall waiting for her to summon the Knight Bus again but instead she put her hand on his shoulder.
"Instead of catching the bus I will be apparating us back to your relatives, take a deep breathe the sensations of apparition are not comfortable for first time users." Harry complied and clutched the handle of his trunk tighter. He felt a constriction on his midsection before closing his eyes and when he opened they were standing outside the number four.
"There," McGonagall let go of his shoulder and reached into her pocket withdrawing a single train ticket, "Now this is your ticket for the train to school. It leaves on September the first so please don't forget. If your uncle does not agree to transport you simply come to the curb with your trunk and hold out your wand arm and the knight buss will arrive ask to be taken to King's Cross and you'll be set."
Harry nodded and looked at the train ticket noticing something peculiar as the Scottish professor had turned to walk away.
"Professor wait, what does it mean platform nine and three quarters, is there something I should know?" The professor looked relieved.
"Yes, I'm sorry Harry I should have mentioned this. At King's Cross there are the signs for platform nine and ten, to get to nine and three quarters you simply walk in that wall and let magic take care of the rest." She gave harry another thin lipped smile before turning and apparating away.
Harry went and knocked on the door, his trunk falling in behind. He was greeted by his Aunt who glanced around suspiciously before letting him in.
"Got everything did you?" she asked, surprising Harry with her question.
"Yes Aunt Petunia."
"Good, I don't want you to bother me with you needing anything else before you go to that place. Now go up to your room." Harry complied not bothered by the curt dismissal by his aunt, dragging the trunk up to his room before falling on the bed and quickly following into sleep.
Weeks later, a slightly bulkier, healthier looking Harry sat on the knight Bus finishing his reading of the first year potions textbook. It was the last of the first year textbooks he had to read and in his opinion one of the most interesting although his interest in the subject was exceeded by his fascination with Charms and Transfiguration
"King's Cross, London." the same pimply young man who greeted McGonagall on his previous ride of the bus announced his destination and Harry put away the book before standing up and making sure his trunk was properly locked. The Bus came to a sudden halt causing Harry's white, coarsely woven beanie, one of the few clothing items from the Dursleys that he kept, to fall from his head. Scooping it up and jamming it back on his head as he guided his trunk out of the bus with a nod to Stan, Harry pulled his dark jacket tighter against the afternoon chill and reached up to his dark green scarf making sure it wasn't about to fall off like his beanie had, oblivious to the looks he was getting from the surrounding muggle pedestrians.
Harry pulled his trunk behind him and walked into the station, glad that he had kept the beanie which hid his famous, or in his opinion, infamous scar from view. Walking past Platform Seven he overtook a large group of redheads who were also carrying similar trunks, he overheard the mother trying to keep her children together.
"George, stop doing that to Percy. Fred leave Ron alone and Ron stop bugging your little sister..." Harry felt some sympathy for the women, dealing with so many children must be a handful but the group was quickly forgotten as he approached the wall between platforms nine and ten. Looking around to make sure none of the muggles were watching him too closely, he saw one of the station security guards standing nearby give him a small wink. He gulped nervously before walking towards the wall slowly increasing his pace to a slow jog, his gasp of surprise at the strange sensation of his body meeting the wall with no resistance as he moved right through it died in his throat when he saw the bright red train. Harry stood, drinking in the sight before he moved away from the entrance way in case he was in the way of more people coming through and moved into the bustling crowd that surrounded the train. Walking past families as they hugged children farewell caused Harry to think about his parents. He hadn't thought of them since he was much younger, if they were alive today would they be hugging him goodbye? Would his mother be smothering him with attention? Would his father be pressuring him to write as soon as possible? He shook his head impatiently, being sentimental wouldn't help him. His parents died resisting some idiot so that he could live he shouldn't be standing there moping about. It wasn't constructive for their memories or for him.
He moved down the train passing Hogwarts students, some already in their school robes others like himself still in muggle clothing. Eventually he boarded the train and found an empty compartment near the back as he lifted his trunk up into the overhead baggage rack the door slid open revealing three students who look to be his age, a girl with auburn hair saw him and nudged her companions.
"Hi, do you mind if we sit in here?" A blonde girl asked. Harry gave a response that was somewhere between a nod and a shrug that the girl and her friends took as an affirmative. The three entered the compartment and packed away their trunks in the overhead while Harry got out the still unfinished potions book and took a seat nearest to the window quickly focusing back on the book. The three newcomers took seats while shooting sidelong glances at him and each other. The auburn haired girl took the seat across from him, the blonde girl next to her and a silent brown haired boy took the a seat on the same side as Harry. The blonde haired girl who spoke earlier broke the silence.
"I'm Hannah Abbot," she indicated the auburn haired girl, "this is Susan Bones," she then pointed to the boy, "and this is Neville Longbottom. We're firsties are you?" The three looked at harry obviously waiting for a response. Harry looked up from his book, annoyed that they had interrupted him but when he saw the nervousness that filled the room he decided to respond instead of just shrugging, after all he may wish to be left alone but there was no need to be outright rude.
"Yes first year, my names Harry." The three all chirped back a "Hi Harry" in their own ways and he was glad that they didn't press him for a surname; he didn't need that reaction quite yet.
"So Harry," Hannah continued clearly she was the most outspoken of the trio, "any idea what house you'll be in?"
Harry looked at her and noted the interested reactions of the other two. Clearly the question was a test of character and he felt a rush of irritation that the house system was already at work dividing the students before they'd even been sorted.
"Ravenclaw," he replied quietly, he didn't want to encourage them to ask too many questions.
"Oh," Hannah must have been expecting a more uncertain answer because she looked taken aback by his directness, "well I think I'll be in Hufflepuff like most of my family but as long as it's not Slytherin I'll live." Susan quickly agreed and Neville nodded before adding that his parents had been in Gryffindor.
Harry frowned and went back to reading his book; the others got the hint leaving him alone as he read. He tuned out their convocation and for much of the journey until a knock at the door signalled the arrival of the food trolley.
"Anything from the trolley dears?" the trolley mistress asked them and Hannah, Susan and Neville got up to purchase an assortment of foods that sounded quite strange to him as he wondered if she had muggle crisps.
"Excuse me but do you have any crisps?" The trolley lady shook her head and apologetically explained that she only had wizarding foods stocked. She left soon after and Harry soon regretted his inquiry for crisps as it opened a new round of questions from his compartment companions, this time it was Susan.
"So are you muggle born?" Harry shook his head beginning to wish he had gotten here earlier and fallen asleep for the trip to Scotland.
"My dad was a pureblood and my mum was a muggle born." Harry wasn't sure if that made him a half-blood because his mother was muggle born or if he was a pure blood because they were both magic users but quite frankly it didn't seem much of a difference to him.
"Ok, we'll all three of us are purebloods. That's how we know each other you see, we've been meeting each other at society balls for years." By her statement Susan clearly wanted to draw him into the conversation and as kind as it was Harry preferred to stay out of it when he wasn't entirely confident in his knowledge of the wizarding world. Textbooks could only get him so far after all. He returned to his book only pausing when it was time to change into their Hogwarts robes and uniforms. In doing this he was careful to turn away as he took off his beanie, making sure to smooth his fringe down to cover the lightning scar.
Glad he had avoided the discovery of his identity for a little while longer Harry leaned back against the seat as he looked out the window, surprised at how much time they had actually spent on the train as it was past sunset. He was about to try to drift off to sleep when his companions conversation broke through his indifferent mood.
"...yes Harry Potter is meant to be starting this year, I wonder where he's been all this time."
"Well my aunt says that the ministry hasn't been able to find him, so she thinks he's been living with muggles. Imagine that Harry Potter living with muggles!" Susan giggled as if there was no possible way that was true, Harry mentally sighed being Harry Potter was going to attract much more attention then he thought. His peers thought he was some kind of hero for crying out loud!
"Well I think he'll be in Gryffindor, can't image him in any other house really. They say You-know-who was a Slytherin so it's only logical." Hannah added her opinion and Harry felt he had to say something when then train began noticeably slowing down.
"Oh Goody," Susan and Hannah squealed, "We're here!" The four children pulled down their trunks and moved into the corridor trying to fight through the rush of bodies as people hurried to the exits of the train. Harry held his trunk in one hand and stuffed the other in his robe pocket as he shuffled along at the back of the group deciding to stick with Hannah, Susan and Neville rather than trying to find his own way and possibly getting lost. The group disembarked and looked around nervously unsure of where to go until a dark haired girl with a 'P' badge on her robes came towards them.
"First years? Alright follow me and I'll take you over to Hagrid and the boats," They followed the girl as she led them over to a group of kids their own age standing by a large, hairy man in a moleskin coat, "More first years for you Hagrid."
"Thanks Clearwater," the giant man boomed as he beamed at the group of first years who shuffled nervously around the giant, who cut an imposing figure in the darkness. Harry hung at the back of the group realising that their trunks had disappeared, strange. The group began to follow the giant Hagrid towards a small dock lined by tiny boats hung with lanterns. He could hear the faint lapping of the water and shivered suddenly missing his jacket and scarf, as he climbed into a boat with Neville, Hannah and Susan. Harry sat in the back of the boat and closed his eyes hoping that they wouldn't capsize or fall in; he never learnt how to swim after all. Hannah and Susan were whispering excitedly to each other and Neville looked to be having similar thoughts to Harry as he clutched something under his robes. Finally the boats started moving across the water, without anyone paddling, this caused a few murmurs of surprise from the students until eventually they rounded a bend and standing in the distance was a castle on the shoreline. "Hogwarts," breathed the collection of students. Harry had to admit the large medieval castle cut a breathtaking view, he only hoped that the quality of education matched the scenic beauty of the castle as he overheard a nearby girl talking loudly to her boat companions.
"That's Hogwarts I read it was over a thousand years old..." Harry only hoped that if she was in Ravenclaw she wouldn't be as loud or bossy as she sounded. He was certain that the other students had grasped that the castle was Hogwarts, after all it is the reason they were all there. The boats reached the shore and bumped gently against the makeshift dock which grunted with the added weight as the group of first years climbed out of the boats. Harry waited until the rest had started following Hagrid until trailing along the back of the group, a red headed boy he recognised from the platform was talking in loud voices with a dreadlocked black boy and gesturing wildly with his hands and as they walked up to the castle Harry couldn't help by overhear.
"Yea I heard Harry Potter's in our year; I wonder which of these kids are him." The black boy looked at him strangely.
"Harry Potter? Who's that Ron?" The red haired boy Harry now knew was Ron looked gobsmacked for a brief second before nodding at the black boy.
"Sorry Dean I forgot you were muggle born, Harry Potter defeated You-know-who and he'll totally be in Gryffindor with us! I know he will!" Dean looked impressed with Ron's certainty and hastily agreed with the redhead. Harry internally sighed, some people truly were stupid in the wizarding world and it seemed someone agreed with him, in Ron's case anyway.
"In your dreams Weasel, even if Potter is a Gryffindork what makes you think he'll be friend with you?" A pale, blonde haired boy smirked at Ron from where he walked with two burly boys who resembled Dudley too much for Harry's liking, Ron glared back. Soon the two had started bickering over money, blood purity and houses causing Harry to lose interest and start ignoring them again.
Finally they reached the castle door and Hagrid knocked before turning and beaming at the crowd of first years. The doors opened and the group was greeted by McGonagall, who thanked Hagrid as he walked away. She ushered the children into the castle before turning and facing them. Harry spent his time taking in the entrance hall and looking at his peers while the Scotswoman gave a speech about the houses and their importance. He found this quite amusing given the professor had expressed her on doubts about the house system once she had finished she opened the door and led the first years into a large hall filled by four large rectangular tables. Harry was overwhelmed for a moment by the size of the hall and although he had read about it, even more so by the roof. He looked up to see the dark clouds and stars that he had been walking under only minutes ago, it truly was one of the things that made magic so alluring. Hearing the bossy voice from the boats he looked forward to see a bushy, brown haired girl telling those close to her about the enchanted ceiling as the group of first years walked in between the centre two tables. He idly wondered whether she could see the annoyed looks she was being shot by people around her, he'd feel sorry for her but then again it wasn't his problem as long as he was left alone he didn't care if she felt the need to spout off her knowledge.
He looked around at the tables full of students surveying the new first years, pointing to them and making comments. Harry wondered what they'd do if they knew he was the Boy-who-lived, he'd probably be mobbed. The group followed McGonagall out to the far left corner to the side of a stool on which rested a battered pointy, wizarding hat. The hall suddenly quieted as, to Harry's great surprise, the hat ripped at the brim and began singing.
"You may not think I'm pretty,
I might not be all that,
But listen to me closely,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat.
I will put you where you fit,
Where you'll grow and learn,
My judgement will help you know,
Where the points you earn will go.
To Gryffindor if you think bravery and mighty deeds,
Will earn your friends acclamation,
Or maybe Slytherin, where cunning and ambition,
Will help you rule if that is your inclination.
Could it be Ravenclaw?
Where the smart go to ponder,
Or is it Hufflepuff,
They never let their friends wander.
Wherever I say you'll go to sleep,
You'll prosper and grow,
Why is that you might ask?
I am the Hogwarts sorting hat, you know."
The students in the hall burst into applause at the end of the hat's strange song. Harry joined in wondering if the hat ever did anything more than sing a song about the four houses, you know anything useful. McGonagall strode out next to the stool and opened a scroll as the applause died down.
"As I call your name come out and sit on the stool to place the hat on your head, Abbot, Hannah!"
Harry watched as one of his train companions walked towards the stool and grabbed the hat before placing it on her blonde head. True to her earlier prediction it quickly screamed, "HUFFLEPUFF!" She took the hat off her head before running to the table on the far left which had exploded into cheers. McGonagall then called Susan to the front where she soon joined her friend at the Hufflepuff table, Harry was glad to see the annoying bushy haired girl go to Gryffindor as the sorting proceeded with the houses cheering their new members loudly. The only exception was the table on the far right, that of Slytherin, which clapped politely as it greeted its new members with penetrating stares as if judging their worthiness to be placed in the house of serpents. Harry saw this and wondered if he should be placed in Slytherin how much it would ease the hysteria behind being the boy-who-lived. Seeing the pale blonde haired boy who had been arguing with Ron Weasel, was that the boy's last name? Walking out the front Harry was jolted out of his reverie as he heard the boy's name. "Malfoy, Draco." They were getting closer to Potter and he suddenly felt incredibly nervous at how the hundreds of students would react to learning which of the incoming first years was their 'saviour,' as Malfoy was sorted into Slytherin.
"Potter, Harry." All the staff sitting at the high table leaned forward and the hall erupted into whispers.
"Potter...is that who I think it is?"
"Gryffindor for sure."
"I thought he'd be taller..."
Harry walked towards the stool and hat slowly, climbing up onto the chair as the hall fell silent. Hundreds of pairs of eyes fixed onto him.
'What have we here?' A voice appeared in Harry's head as he put on the sorting hat.
'Huh?' he thought wildly, 'do you do this for everyone? No wait that was a stupid question may I have a mulligan?'
'Yes, I do and no but we must play golf sometime I use to have quite the game. So you're Harry Potter, you certainly an interesting individual aren't you?' Harry didn't know how to respond so he didn't which seemed to only intrigue the hat more. 'This is different, most people freak out and ask nonstop questions when they hear me in their head. Now where to put you Mr. Potter this is the most difficult sorting of the night. Too driven for Hufflepuff, too much of a thinker to be Gryffindor, Albus will be most displeased. You're much to focused on learning to be a Slytherin but you have a fair amount of ambition...better be...'
"RAVENCLAW!"