Hufflepuff
Fourth Year Stand-In
Standard
Word Count: 1414
HC Prompt: [Event] Being re-sorted/requesting a re-sorting
MC4A Challenges: Hufflepuff MC; Gryffindor MC
Bonus Challenges: Second Verse: Mouth of Babes; Found Family; Some Beach; Mermaid; Casper's House)
~o0o~
In the Hogwarts boathouse, Harry lay on the bottom of a rowboat hoping nobody would find him here. Dueling Club just proved that nothing would ever change for him. If only he could erase Ron's and Hermione's expressions from his mind.
Heavy footsteps alerted him, but he didn't lift his head. It better not be Dumbledore coming to give him some cryptic wisdom. He didn't think he could stand that.
"Hello," said a pleasant voice. "Do you come here to obsess over the weight of life's problems, too?"
Harry peeked up and saw a boy with dark hair and grey eyes looking down at him with a kind smile.
"You should run," said Harry drily. "If you're around me then you'll probably get petrified."
"Promise?"
The boy must've seen Harry's alarmed reaction because he broke into laughter.
"I'm just teasing," he said. "I'm Cedric Diggory. Hufflepuff."
"Oh." Harry sat up and rubbed his face. "Justin has to know I didn't set the snake on him, right?"
"I think deep down he does," said Cedric, leaning against the opposite boat. "It's not easy being Muggle-born and Dumbledore isn't doing anything to stop the pureblood nonsense being spewed out. He's just scared."
"So… you don't think I'm the Heir of Slytherin?"
"Hey, I'm one of those purebloods that had to study pureblood lineages," he said. "While it's possible your dad might be related to him, it's more likely that you're parselmouth through your maternal grandmother's side. Did you know that fifteen-percent of parselmouths come from India? In India, snakes represent rebirth and in other places like Greece they represent medicine, which is why the god Hermes had a Caduceus with snakes on it."
Harry listened to Cedric info-dump on snakes for fifteen minutes. It reminded heavily of Hermione's info-dumps.
"Did you rehearse this, or do you just know this much about snakes?" Harry asked.
"Mm… bit of both."
Harry chuckled.
"There's something else eating at you," said Cedric. "I can tell."
Harry bit his lips together. Cedric seemed pretty trustworthy. Like you could tell him anything and he would keep it secret.
"I just… I never had friends before I came here," he began, resting his arms on the side of the boat.
Once he started, he couldn't stop. Everything spilled out.
"And so now it's feeling like primary school all over again," said Harry bitterly. "I have a friend for a little while and a week later I'm some friendless freak. Nothing but a no-good delinquent. And nobody cares about a skinny, little brown kid labeled as a delinquent."
"Wow," said Cedric. "First off… you're the Boy-Who-Lived and you're living with people who have been inadvertently trying to kill you for eleven years? I don't think so! You're coming home with me for Christmas, okay?"
"I usually just stay at the school…"
"Malfoy is staying behind with Tweedledum and Tweedledumber," said Cedric. "Do you really want to spend Christmas Day with that?"
Harry rested his chin in his arms.
"Can I tell you another secret?"
"Of course."
"The Sorting Hat considered putting me in Slytherin," said Harry. "What if that's where I'm supposed to go?"
"So, request a re-sorting."
"What?"
"Request to be re-sorted."
"Can I even do that?" Harry asked.
"Come with me."
Cedric led Harry through the school and to the library, while Cedric skimmed the shelves for what he was looking for. Those in the library stared and began to whisper.
"Here it is," said Cedric, placing an old tome down on a table.
"What is this?"
"The school rule-book," said Cedric. "I read it my first year so that I know all the loopholes and what I can get away with. Did you know you're allowed to carry a sword so long as it remains in a proper sheath?"
Harry didn't know how to respond to that, so he just looked over his new friend's shoulder while he flipped through the book.
"Here we are," said Cedric pointing to the page. "In the event that a student is feeling an outsider in their own House, they may choose to request a re-sorting. If the Headmaster agrees, then the Sorting Hat will have to abide and give a proper re-sorting as witness to the school."
"Great," said Harry.
"Let's go ask Dumbledore now," Cedric said, putting the book back on the shelf. "Curfew isn't for another hour and we can have you re-sorted tomorrow."
"Cedric?"
"Yeah, Harry?"
"Why are you being nice to me?"
Cedric looked around. "Do you want to know the truth?"
Harry nodded and leaned forward.
"Being mean makes me feel icky."
Harry barked out a laugh. Madam Pince shushed them, but it didn't matter because they were already out the door and running up to the Headmaster's Tower.
"I hope you know that I don't intend to ask nicely," said Cedric. "Dumbledore has done great things, yes, but I also believe that he's pitted this school against each other by allowing teachers like Snape to get away with everything short of murder. There's rampant bullying, no school counsellors, Professor Binns can't legally teach anymore but you don't have to pay a ghost as a teacher. Not to mention the curse on the Defense Position. Wouldn't just make more sense to open a new position and call it a different name?"
While Cedric ranted, Harry realized that everything this older Hufflepuff boy said was true. Dumbledore… was not a good man and Harry was not keen on trusting him anymore.
Unsurprisingly, Dumbledore was shocked and resistant about Harry being re-sorted. Stuff about 'friendship' and 'loyalty' and other sorts of things that Harry did not want to hear from the old codger. He was sick of being abused. Sick of being hated. Sick of being manipulated.
The next evening, at dinner, Dumbledore stood up in front of everyone.
"This is something rarely done," he said. "But the Sorting Hat and I agreed to allow Mr. Harry Potter to request a re-sorting."
"What are you doing, Harry?" Ron asked.
Harry stood and approached the stool no less intimidated than he was over a year ago. A million 'what-ifs' ran through his mind, nearly drowning out the Sorting Hat.
It seems what you need is a strong family to back you up, said the hat. Better be…
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Everyone gasped.
"Whoo!" Cedric cheered. He jumped to his feet. "Way to go, Harry!" He looked at those around him and began pumping his fist. "Potter! Potter! Potter!"
Harry could hardly believe it as all of Hufflepuff jumped to their feet and began to chant and cheer his name. He jumped off the seat and walked over to the Hufflepuff table where Cedric made room for him to sit.
"Welcome to Hufflepuff, Harry," said Cedric. "Sunday evenings, we have s'mores night around the firepit and Professor Sprout has open walk-ins on Sunday mornings. These are my friends Chevonne, Redmund, Lisha, Daven, and my best friend, Tabatha St. Vincent, is over at the Slytherin table."
"Aww, new baby badger," said Chevonne, hugging Harry. "Don't worry, we'll get you ferocious in no time."
After dinner, Harry followed the herd to the basement where they stopped at a pile of barrels.
"Alright, hold up," said Cedric. "Newbie alert. Harry, to get in you do second barrel up, third barrel over. This is the tune of Helga Hufflepuff."
He knocked a beat on the barrel and the lid swung open. Harry crawled in through the tunnel. It smelled warm, like when he would hide out in the garden. The Common Room itself was the epitome of comfort with squashy leather chairs and couches, blankets, and a warm fire put in the center. There was a set of shallow stairs that split off into two sections. People were already filing down them, but many called back a welcome over their shoulders at Harry.
Justin approached him looking nervous.
"So…" he said. "I- I guess you really were trying to get the snake away from me."
"What gave you that hint?" Harry asked waspishly.
"Well…" Justin flushed. "Looking back… the snake was getting away from me before Snape got rid of it. I'm… I'm sorry I misjudged you."
Wow… this welcome was all so sudden and yet it felt so genuine. More genuine than last year at the Welcome Feast. Last year, Gryffindor was excited to nab the Boy-Who-Lived. These guys… they were ready to meet 'just Harry.'
Cedric wrapped a friendly arm around Harry.
"Hey," he said. "Welcome home."