AN: Hi, this is evansentranced's friend, the one she asked to post updates. Sorry that it took so long; didn't take kindly to my laptop and it took a while to get things sorted out. Now that things seem to be working, updates will be a little more frequent (that is, until I run out of thing to post for her). Anyways! Onto the chapter! I did give it a glance over for typos and such, but if I missed anything, include it in your review and it'll be seen to. Enjoy.
"You came back," the bearded man said, smiling at Harry. "Welcome."
Harry crossed his arms. "We'll have a boon for every day that I stay."
"What kind of boon?" the bearded man asked, frowning curiously at Harry over his half moon spectacles. "Food-"
"I can get my own food," Harry said dismissively. "Other things. And I come and go as I please. I'll stay on or around the grounds if you continue to make offerings, but I won't follow your rules if they don't make sense to me."
"You'll stay on the grounds," the bearded man said. "Or in the castle. And if our rules don't make sense, you may discuss them with me and I'll explain them. You may come and go as you please, but you will need to check in with Hagrid or Professor Snape or myself every morning to receive your boon and every night so that we know you are safe. And we will renegotiate before September."
"When is September?" Harry asked, cocking his head. The bearded man smiled.
"In three weeks."
Harry nodded. He could stay here for three weeks. The forest was large, and it would take him longer than that to explore it fully.
Over the next three weeks, Harry began to feel suspicious. The people from the castle gave him the strangest offerings. On the first day, he got a trunk. Harry did like it though, especially since it fit into his bag. He used it to store his books and more delicate amulet-making materials. After that, they presented him with a series of items including clothing, parchment, a cauldron, phials, gloves (he already had gloves, but these were apparently dragonhide), books, vials of things like beetle eyes, shrivelfigs, nettles, and other odd organic materials (he didn't really object to these or the books, he just thought the choices were strange), and one day, an owl.
He wasn't really certain why they had given him an owl, and was incredibly offended by the cage that came along with her. He let her out, then tipped it over and let it clank down the steps into the dungeons of the castle, to the dark haired man's consternation, along with the food. She could bloody well feed herself. Even Harry's snake was repulsed by the idea of caging the creature, and he hated birds.
He chirruped at the owl in greeting, and she cooed back. She was snowy white with small black spots, and seemed friendly enough. Harry went outside and let her fly off into the forest, ignoring the dark haired man's protests.
About one week after Harry had agreed to stay a while, he noticed a large crowd of people at the gates to the grounds. He had been exploring the Quidditch stands when he spotted them, and recoiled slightly. There were at least twenty people out there all pacing around, obviously wanting entry.
"They're reporters," the giant explained when Harry asked about them. "They heard you're here and they want to talk to yeh."
"What?" Harry scowled and stood. "How did they find out I'm here? And why do they want to talk to me?"
"Yer famous, o' course," the giant said. "They found out through that woman who told Snape about you, I reckon."
"That arsewipe," Harry fumed, ignoring the giant's admonition. Wizards and humans never liked it when he swore. "She was an awful woman."
The giant shrugged and patted the dog on the head when he came racing up.
"Why am I famous, anyway?" Harry asked suddenly. "I mean, I know you're not used to forest elves-"
"Oh, it's not to do with elves," the giant interrupted. "It's because o' what happened when you were a baby..."
The giant's story about Harry's miraculous escape from the evil dark wizard only served to bolster Harry's good opinion of his elf nature. No wizard had ever survived the killing curse, as the giant had explained.
Then it was fortunate that he was an elf instead of a wizard, Harry had replied, which caused the giant to fall into a thoughtful introspection.
The next day, the dark haired man met Harry at the castle steps wearing a cloak. He didn't taste or smell like death today, but Harry knew better than to forget things like that. He waited for the man to offer him some new trinket.
"Today, we must travel to obtain your item," he said instead. Harry frowned at him.
"Where are we going?"
"We are going to a center of commerce," the dark haired man said. "Diagon Alley, in London."
"How are we getting there?"
"If it wasn't for the gaggle of reporters, we would apparate," the dark haired man responded. "As it stands, flooing is the better option. If you would follow me."
The man returned to the castle, and led Harry up to the bearded man's room. There was a fire burning in the hearth, which Harry thought excessive considering it was a beautiful summer day outside.
"Flooing entails travel through fire," the dark haired man explained, lifting a small jar from next to the fireplace and offering it to Harry. There was powder inside. "You take a pinch of floo powder, throw it in the fire, and call out your destination," he continued. "You must focus on the name, and try not to move around too much once inside the Floo network."
Harry took a pinch of the powder and examined it, fascinated. It tasted of strong magic and dust. He had never heard of travel by fire, but there was definitely something to this powder.
"If you will," the dark haired man said, stepping back and indicating the fireplace to Harry. "Enunciate clearly. Diagon Alley."
Harry narrowed his eyes, struck with a sudden thought. "Are you having me on?" he asked. The man sighed. He seemed to exist in a state of almost constant exasperation, as far as Harry could tell.
"I am not, Mist-. I am not having you on," the dark haired man said. "This is a common method of travel. Plebian, even."
Harry remembered the white haired boy from Wiltshire using that word once or twice, but he had never been completely sure of its meaning outside of it being an obvious insult.
Either way, Harry decided to give this a try.
"Hang on," he said to the dark haired man. "Hey," he whispered, lifting his shoulder to get the snake's attention. "We're about to travel somewhere through fire."
"Are you having me on?" the snake muttered. "That sounds dangerous."
"It's safe," Harry said, though he didn't really know this. "Think of how warm it will be."
"Hmm." The snake fell silent and curled himself around Harry's upper arm, a sign that he was ready to go. Harry smiled. The dark haired man was staring at him askance, but he had told the wizards he could talk to animals. It wasn't Harry's problem that the dark haired man was skeptical of everything.
He threw his pinch of powder into the fire, took a deep breath, and said, "Diagon Alley." Then he stepped forward.
After a minute or so of vivid colour and stomach wrenching spinning, Harry was spat out of the flames in a pub.
"I feel sick," the snake moaned. Harry agreed, clutching his midsection. He wasn't feeling too fantastic himself.
"We'll go back a different way," Harry promised, glancing around the pub. It was dark and tasted just like almost every other magical pub Harry had ever been to. The dark haired man whirled out of the flames a moment later, and they were on their way.
The street the dark haired man led him into was crowded. Harry had never seen this many people in one place. He took one look at them all and stepped back into the small alley they had just come out of. The taste was more overwhelming than the castle, if only because of all the different people mucking up Harry's senses. The snake lifted his head and hissed in alarm as well. After a few seconds during which Harry stood stock still in the alley, the dark haired man glanced back, did a double take, and turned around.
"What is the matter?" he asked, stepping back into the alley. There was that exasperation again. Harry stared past him at all the people and crossed his arms.
"I don't like it," he said.
"We have to go in there to get your item," the dark haired man said. Harry shook his head.
"I don't want it, then," he said. "We'll do today for free."
The dark haired man raised an eyebrow at him, then looked back at the bustling street.
"What don't you like about it?" he asked, sounding resigned.
Harry waved his hands demonstratively. "There's too much... the tastes are too... and there are so many..." The dark haired man stared at him. "The people," Harry said, crossing his arms over his chest and sticking his chin in the air. "There are too many people."
After a pause during which the dark haired man continued to stare at Harry, he spoke. "I am willing to apparate us to our final destination."
"What's apparate?" Harry asked, wrinkling his nose. All these new travel methods were unpleasant.
"We disappear and reappear at a new location," the dark haired man explained. Harry's face cleared.
"Oh," he said. "No, I can do that. Where's our destination?"
"You shouldn't be apparating," the man frowned. "You shouldn't even be able to manage such a feat at your age, never mind the illegalities. It is incredibly dangerous."
Harry shrugged. "Elves can disappear when they're little. Just because wizards can't..."
The dark haired man shook his head. "I will apparate you."
"Like you did last time?" Harry glared, backing away. "I don't want to. I can do it myself and I will. Just tell me where we're going."
The man's lips were pinched as he stared at Harry's uncompromising expression, but he eventually sighed and lifted a hand. "It's a small, dark shop further down this street on the left hand side. It is called Ollivanders."
Harry nodded. He could do that. He took a deep breath, cast one more glance at the crowd, and disappeared to a small alley part of the way down the street. From his new position, he glanced around. No shop. He spotted another alley further along, and disappeared there next. He moved quickly, jumping to each new location, eyes darting around for his destination. He spotted it after four jumps, and disappeared right up to the door.
He slipped inside and looked around. The dark haired man followed him inside a moment later, looking faintly relieved.
The store was small, dusty, and box lined. It tasted strongly of ancient, tamed magic. A part of Harry wanted to walk around and breathe in each box.
"Harry Potter." An old man appeared from a back room, and stared at Harry with protuberant eyes. Harry frowned at him, and then at the dark haired man.
"It is good to see you back where you belong, unharmed," the old man said. "You will be wanting a wand, I presume?"
Harry took a step back.
"No," he said. "Elves don't need wands, and I don't want one."
The old man and the dark haired man both stared at him, nonplussed.
"You are attending Hogwarts?"
"No," Harry frowned. "I'm visiting right now."
"He's considering it," the dark haired man said, with a dour expression. "Please match him for a wand."
"I don't need a wand," Harry insisted.
"You want to do magic, don't you?" the old man asked, already puttering around at one of the shelves.
"I can do magic just fine, thanks." Harry was offended. To demonstrate his words, he sent the boxes the old man was setting on the desk into the air. The old man stopped muttering to himself and turned back to Harry, staring.
The dark haired man sighed.
"You require a wand," he said. "When you move on to more advanced magic-"
"No, I don't," Harry insisted. He sent the boxes flying around the room above their heads, and set his hand on fire for good measure. "Elves don't use wands."
"You must-"
Harry disappeared back into the alley behind the pub. He didn't want a bloody wand, and that meant he was free to go.
"What do you think?" he asked the snake as he slipped back into the pub. "Want to go to Essex again?"
"Is that where we found the long-tongued furballs in that village?" the snake asked, interested.
"Yeah," Harry said. "Those were pretty tasty. We'll go find some more."
He spotted the door and darted around several tables to slip outside before the dark haired man could figure out where he'd gone and follow him.
Harry's eyes widened as the door to the pub shut behind him. However much it tasted like most pubs, this one had one very salient difference. It wasn't located in a small village or on the outskirts of a rural town.
It was right in the middle of a bustling city.
Harry pressed himself against the wall as people jostled past, feeling somewhat panicky. There were no nearby alleys on this street, and no tall trees. He didn't know what to do.
What's worse, the moment he edged away from the pub, all he could taste was stale. None of these people were magic or even interesting. The buildings were stale, the cars were stale, the traffic meters were stale, everything. It made the strange magic still clinging to Harry all the more obvious. He pawed at his jaw with his palm, trying to rub the magic off, but right now it was really the least of his worries.
Harry breathed through his nose and tried not to compare this place with the castle and grounds, or even with the crowded street on the other side of the pub. He thought instead of one of his forests, and felt faintly sick. This was as far from a forest as he had ever been in his entire life. Even the Dursleys' house had flowers and grass and trees.
Harry spotted a gap in the crowd and began walking at a brisk pace, trying hard to remain unobtrusive despite feeling like a sore thumb. He decided disappearing was way too likely to attract attention in this place, which was a shame because he powerfully wanted to be somewhere else. He ducked down the first side street and sighed with relief. There were a lot less people on this road, though still too many for his liking.
After about twenty minutes of speed walking through concrete and asphalt and buildings and stale, and far less grass than Harry thought was proper, he saw a tall tree up ahead. He started jogging. He didn't like the looks he was getting from the humans around him, and was worried that one of them might contact the police. He needed to get back into the countryside. He hoped this wasn't a false alarm like the last tall tree he'd seen, which had been standing disappointingly alone in front of an elaborate building.
The tree was in what looked like a rather large park. Harry would have approved, but it was mostly wide stretches of grass and there were a lot of humans wandering around, mucking up the place. He climbed the tree anyway, as high up as he could, and reached into his bag for his map of the UK.
Hyde Park had been what the sign said at the beginning of the green space. Harry looked it up in the index and flipped to the London map.
London was vast.
And he was right in the middle of it.
It would take at least a day's walk to get out, if not more. The buildings got in the way of Harry's calculations. He couldn't just go through them, and in such a large, stale, populated area, he couldn't disappear out either. It was bound to attract too much attention.
"This place is awful," the snake said, flickering his tongue out. "What are we doing here?"
"We're trapped," Harry said in a wavery, scratchy voice. "I don't know how to get out of this place. It's too big."
"Trapped?" the snake wound down around Harry's wrist to inspect the map. He flickered his tongue at it and dismissed it. "How? Can't we just leave?"
"There are too many people," Harry said. "One of them will catch us."
"We should wait until the night," the snake agreed. "They sleep at night."
Harry took a deep breath and tried to calm down. His snake was right. He could try disappearing then, when less people were around to notice. He and the snake sat in the tree and waited, tense, speaking to each other at intervals but mostly trying to avoid the notice of any of the stale people below them.
After a couple hours, a voice from the ground called up to them.
"Come down now," it said. "Cease this childish game."
Harry peered through the branches. It was the dark haired man. The relief Harry felt upon seeing him was palpable. He was a familiar sight and a magical taste, and Harry felt himself relaxing almost immediately.
"I don't want a wand," he called. "I won't use it. Elves don't use wands."
The man sighed. "Don't use it then," he said. "I am unmoved by the prospect. But we must purchase one for you."
"Why?" Harry felt himself pouting, and tried to pull himself together. After spending a couple hours in the stale world, the prospect of returning to the castle actually sounded pretty attractive.
"Because it is a requirement of being a student at Hogwarts," the dark haired man said. "We would like you to eventually hold that position."
"But..." Harry wrinkled his forehead. "I didn't agree to that. I don't know if I want to go to your school."
"You want to keep your options open, don't you?"
Harry bit his lip and thought.
"Are we going with the dark haired man?" the snake asked, letting himself dangle off his branch to better peer at the man standing in the grass below.
"He still wants me to get a wand," Harry explained. "But he said I don't have to use it."
"Sure," the snake said. "That doesn't sound like a trap at all."
"I'll just chuck it in the lake," Harry suggested. "Then they can't make me."
"If you're sure," the snake said. "Let's just get out of here."
"Agreed," Harry said, and offered his wrist to the snake. After he was secure, Harry swang himself down from the tree in a series of graceful leaps, eventually landing in a crouch in front of the dark haired man.
"Ready?" he asked, offering his arm. Harry made a face at him, but took it. He couldn't disappear that far on his own, and he just wanted to leave this awful place.
It took a while, but Harry eventually had a new wand, holly and phoenix feather. He stuffed it into the bottom of his bag and forgot about it, having decided to wait until he made up his mind about the school before chucking it in the lake.
The next night, he met with the bearded man.
"September begins in three days," he told Harry. "Have you made your decision regarding your presence at our school?"
Harry squinted at him. "What would I have to do?"
The bearded man leaned back in his seat and steepled his hands together. "On September first, you will be Sorted along with the other students. After that, you will live in your House and go to classes with them."
Harry raised his eyebrows. He wasn't a house elf. He most certainly would not be living in a house. He'd had enough of that sort of thing when he was little. Not having noticed Harry's reaction, the bearded man carried on with his monologue.
"There are seven classes: Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Astronomy, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and History of Magic. You will receive a schedule detailing when and where your classes are. Breakfast begins at seven am, lunch at noon, and dinner at five thirty. Curfew is at eight o'clock for first years."
Harry frowned and prodded at the delicate instrument he'd been examining. That sounded complicated. "What are classes like?"
"Your professors will use combination of lecture and practical application, depending on the class," the bearded man explained. "History of Magic is mostly lecture based, for example. Story telling and explanations. Potions is largely practical, which means you will be creating actual potions in class. You will be assigned homework, which you are to complete out of class and return on the assigned day."
That sounded complicated, too. "Wait," Harry said. "How do I know when I'm supposed to be places?"
"As I said, you will be given a schedule."
Harry wandered over to the perch sitting in the corner, filled with ashes. He poked at them thoughtfully and watched them shift. "So how often would I have classes?"
"Most of your classes occur two or three times a week," the bearded man said. Harry's forehead wrinkled and he shrugged off the mess of information. He'd figure it out later.
"And you feed me three times in one day?" He hadn't forgotten that part. The bearded man watched Harry wander away from the perch, toward a shelf of books.
"Breakfast, lunch, and dinner," he said, smiling. "And the kitchens are always available."
"What kind of food?"
"We serve a variety of dishes at Hogwarts," the bearded man said. "Just about anything you can imagine."
"Pheasant?" Harry asked. He liked pheasant. The bearded man nodded again.
"On occasion."
"Treacle tart?"
"Frequently."
Harry leaned back against the bookshelf, satisfied.
"I'll give it a try," he said. The bearded man beamed. Harry held up a hand. "But I make no guarantees. If I don't like it, I'm leaving."
"I would request that you first come to me with any difficulties you may have," the bearded man said. "We can be flexible, if you do not find some aspect of life at Hogwarts to your liking." He paused. "But I must ask you to compromise as well, or mutual satisfaction will be hard won."
Harry nodded, focusing distantly on the design in the carpeting. He knew this would be different from what he was used to. He was inside a building right now, even! He was compromising already. "I understand."
"Wonderful! The robes we have provided you with are your uniform," the bearded man said. "You should wear them during the Sorting Feast, and during classes."
Harry shifted uncomfortably at the idea of a uniform, but assented. He could try it on a trial basis.
"The Sorting Feast begins at seven o'clock in three days time," the bearded man told him. "I would like for you to be here at sunset, so that we can be certain you are prepared."
Harry nodded again. Seven o'clock was a bit of a mystery, but he could do sunset.
The night of the Sorting Feast found Harry pacing anxiously on the grass outside the castle. Sunset was approaching. Having tried on the robes and found them uncomfortable, he compromised by leaving his tunic and boots on and donning the unfastened robes over them.
He even took a dip in the lake earlier and trimmed his hair a little bit with his knife. He and the snake were ready, but Harry was beginning to have doubts. The snake had never stopped having them.
"They said there were other students," Harry said. "What if there are a lot of them?"
"It is a large castle," the snake agreed. "There will probably be many of them. Maybe fifty."
Harry paled a little bit. "Do you think I have to stay in the room with them after I get Sorted?" he asked.
"I don't think they would make you do that," the snake said. "That wouldn't make sense."
"Do you think the classes will really happen every day?" Harry frowned and held his wrist up to look at the snake more clearly. "I was thinking about it, and that is a lot of classes for a lot of time."
"I hope not," the snake said. "Are the classes outside, at least?"
"I don't know!" Harry ran a hand through his hair. "The bearded man said he would give me a schedule, but I don't know what that is. It's supposed to explain everything."
"Maybe some kind of book?" the snake suggested. "Or magic of some sort?"
"I don't know," Harry said. "Want to just go?"
"Yes," the snake said. Harry started walking across the grass toward the forest, but stopped suddenly.
"But I made a boon with him," he said. "I can't break that."
"Why not?" The snake curled comfortingly around Harry's wrist. Harry paused.
"That's a good point," he said, and started walking again. Before he got very far, though, the door opened.
"Come inside now, it's nearly time." It was one of the women Harry had met a few weeks ago. He looked at her as she waited in the doorway, and stepped forward cautiously.
"We're not going?" The snake poked his head out from under Harry's restrictive robes and hissed. "Be careful, at least."
"I will," Harry murmured, and went inside. The woman directed him to a small room, where he immediately went to the largest window and crouched on the sill, watching. She frowned at him and spoke.
"Fasten your robes," she said. "And where is your tie?"
Harry looked down at his clothing. "My what?" He remembered dimly that Uncle Vernon had used to have things called ties, but he didn't remember if they were the things you put on your feet or the things you put round your neck.
She produced a length of black cloth and offered it to him. The neck one, then. Harry decided that he hated those.
"You should leave your bag here," she continued as Harry stared at the tie. "The house elves will take it to your room for you after you are Sorted."
Harry perked up. "There are house elves here?"
"Yes," she said, frowning at him in a pointed fashion. "They will take your bag for you."
"I don't want them to," Harry said. He never took his bag off unless he was having a swim. "I'm fine, thanks."
She stared at him, her mouth a thin line.
"I will speak with Dumbledore about this," she said eventually, and left.
Harry backed up against the window and watched the sky outside. This window didn't open, which was upsetting on a few levels.
"I have a tie now," Harry told his snake, who had travelled up his arm during the conversation and was now situated comfortably on Harry's collar.
"What's a tie for?"
"It's a bit of cloth you put around your neck," Harry explained, holding up the fabric for the snake's perusal. He flickered out his tongue.
"Sounds awful."
"It does." Harry decided his snake could substitute for the tie, and put the cloth in his bag with the others. He had been using them to tie his new clothing into bundles, and for that at least, they were useful.
"I must ask you for a favour." The bearded man had arrived in the room. Harry stared at him with suspicion.
"Tonight is a wizarding ceremony," he explained. "And part of the ceremony is that each child to be Sorted will have their name called out."
Harry frowned.
"So everyone in the room will know my name?"
The bearded man bowed his head. "I'm afraid they all already know your name. You are quite well known in our world."
Right. The dark wizard that killed his parents had made sure of that. Harry wrinkled his nose. He liked it better when his parents had died in a car accident.
"Fine," Harry said ungraciously. "But I want that in exchange."
He pointed at the bearded man's hat. It was petty and he knew it, but it made him feel better all the same when the bearded man handed it over without comment.
"Your professors will have to be able to call you something," the bearded man ventured, conjuring a new hat with bright purple polka dots and settling it on his head. "You will be one of many students in their classrooms."
That sounded awful. "Well they bloody well don't get to just make something up," he said, feeling anxiety bite at the back of his throat. "I'll get back to you on that."
"Language," the bearded man admonished, and left.
Harry sat in the room alone, wishing the windows would open. After about half an hour, a thunderous sound from the hallway made Harry's ears perk up.
"What is that?" The snake poked his head out of Harry's collar, flicking his tongue out.
"I don't know," Harry answered. They both considered the strange scent for a long moment, before realizing what it must be in unison.
"People," Harry said. "Lots and lots of people."
"More than fifty, even," the snake said in a soft hiss. Harry pressed closer to the window.
"They won't all come in here, right?"
The thunderous noise died down, and Harry sighed. A smaller sound started up not soon after, and moments later, the door opened, admitting a crowd of children about Harry's age. Harry plastered himself to the window, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible.
The children chattered at each other as they waited, and soon the woman came back, ordering them into lines.
"Everyone line up," she said pointedly, and Harry finally slunk down from the windowsill and joined the back of the messy lines. The other students organized themselves more uniformly, not having noticed his arrival in their midst. They all marched out of the room, Harry trailing them cautiously.
Their destination was the large room with the fake sky. Harry considered that room the best of a bad situation, and felt slightly cheered until the doors opened and he saw how many people were inside.
All the tables were full. Those tables were long. Harry didn't even know how many people that was. As many as the wizarding street the dark haired man had taken him to, maybe.
The woman led the crowd of children into the center of the room, but Harry hovered in the doorway, his eyes darting around in a panic.
"They want us to go in there?" the snake hissed. "That is a lot of humans."
"I know!" Harry said, his voice slightly higher than usual. "And they're going to say my name to all those humans!"
He watched as the hat sang. Not soon after, the first name was called out. Abbott, Hannah. The child sat on a stool in the middle of the room, and they covered her eyes with a hat.
Harry watched as each child went through this ordeal, one by one. A different house name was called out for each. Harry counted four, so far. There were five tables. He looked at the last and realized it was made up of the people he'd been told were professors. The bearded man was there, and the dark haired man. They were both watching him in the doorway. The dark haired man looked less exasperated than usual.
"Patil, Parvati," the woman called out. She went to Gryffindor.
"Potter, Harry," she said next. The room filled with whispers, and some people even repeated the name, to Harry's consternation. Everyone was looking around for him. The dark haired man was staring directly at him. Harry took a bracing breath and crept into the hall.
As he passed the other children, people started noticing him and the volume of the whispers increased.
He glared at the woman as he approached the stool. She tilted her head at it expectantly. He took one more look at the bearded man and the dark haired man, then sat down.
She dropped the hat over his eyes, and Harry shoved it up immediately, looking around the hall. There must have been hundreds of faces staring at him.
The hat tasted of absolutely ancient magic. It was strange and compelling, and Harry breathed it in again and again, trying to distract himself from all the eyes.
"Calm down," a voice said inside his head. "None of them will hurt you."
"Who are you?" Harry asked suspiciously, still staring around the hall. He tried inching off the chair, but caught sight of the woman from the corner of his eye, watching him closely.
"The Sorting Hat," it replied. "Weren't you listen- no, of course you weren't. It's alright. I'm just going to Sort you, and then you can go sit down."
"In here?" Harry asked. He hoped he could get his incredulity across without speaking out loud. The hat chuckled.
"They won't hurt you," the Hat repeated. "Now... an elf, hmm?"
"Yes," Harry said stubbornly. "Not a-"
"Not a house elf, a forest elf," the Hat finished. "Yes, I see that. You realize... yes, you do. Or you will. Alright. Now where to put you?"
"What's the difference?" Harry asked, shifting uncomfortably on the stool
"Quite a bit," the Hat explained. "Each has its own qualities, you know."
"Well pick one, then," Harry said. "I don't like it up here."
"You have the makings of a good Ravenclaw," the Hat said. "The library very nearly won you over all on its own, didn't it?"
Harry shrugged. "It's a good library."
"Indeed," the Hat agreed. "But Ravenclaw isn't quite for you. Gryffindor... no. You're brave, but necessarily cautious, aren't you?"
Harry waited impatiently.
"Your loyalty is strong," the Hat continued. "But your loyalty is predominantly to yourself... You are ambitious and clever, aren't you? And you would be with the Malfoy boy... yes, you need a friend right now."
"With who?" Harry asked, peering up at the woman, who was watching him with a frown.
"Yes, I think you'd do best in SLYTHERIN!"
The Hat was removed from his head, and Harry stood up. The whispers had stopped, but everyone was still staring at him. After a moment, the table on the far left seemed to gather themselves and started clapping and cheering. Harry narrowed his eyes at them and glanced back at the professors' table. The dark haired man had covered his eyes with one hand.
Well. He was Sorted. His job here was done. He started walking toward the door, thinking to head out into the forest for the night. He had nearly reached the exit when an older student hurried up to him.
"The table is over here, Potter," he said, pointing at the table full of people wearing green. They had stopped applauding and were watching him. Everyone was watching him.
"But I..." Harry backed away from the student and pointed at the door with a vague gesture. "I was gonna just go..."
The student frowned at him. "No, you have to come sit at the Slytherin table now. We're going to eat."
"But I already ate today," Harry protested.
"You can't walk out halfway through the Sorting," the student told him. He gestured toward the table. "Come on, go sit with the other first years."
Harry looked back up at the dark haired man, who looked thoroughly exasperated again. He jerked his head at the table and raised an eyebrow a fraction.
Harry sighed. "Fine," he said, and approached the table cautiously. The woman called out the next name as Harry edged toward the people dressed in green. They all stared at him as he watched them through narrow eyes, at least until one of the other new students waved a hand at Harry.
"Over here," he called as the table decorated in yellow clapped. It was the white haired boy. Harry stared at him, the only familiar face in an enormous sea of humans. He hurried over to where the boy sat and ducked down to speak to him. He breathed in the magic surrounding the boy. It was his old companion from Wiltshire for sure.
"You're in Slytherin," he said. "Just like you said you would be."
"You're at Hogwarts!" the boy said, wide eyed. "Just like you said you wouldn't be. And you're Harry Potter! Why didn't you tell me?"
"Elves don't give out their names, usually," Harry said, staring darkly up at the woman, who was still reading off names. "The bearded man and I have an agreement."
"But you're Harry Potter!" the white haired boy exclaimed. "You're not an elf at all!"
Harry glared at him. "I am! I'm both."
The white haired boy rolled his eyes and glared at the boy next to him. "Budge up," he demanded. "Here, Harry, sit down."
"Don't do that," Harry said, glaring at the other boy until he moved over even more. Harry sat down next to the white haired boy, leaving enough space for another chair between him and the next boy over. "I didn't tell you you could call me that."
The white haired boy stared at him. "Well, can I?"
Harry huffed. "No."
"Fine," the boy said, frowning. "And also! You said we'd see each other again soon!"
"We can see each other right now," Harry said, feeling rather grumpy and inching closer to the white haired boy when a girl across the table smiled at him. "How's that?"
"That's not soon," the boy pointed out. "It's been almost three years."
The tone in his voice made Harry glance at him. The white haired boy looked genuinely hurt. Harry felt like a git suddenly.
"I would have come to visit you," he lied. "But I couldn't. There are rules, and then I was being chased by the dark haired man, and-"
"What rules?" the white haired boy asked in a low tone. "You're Harry Potter!"
"I'm still an elf," Harry said. "We have rules."
"What dark haired man?" asked the white haired boy, apparently willing to accept Harry's lies for now.
"That one," Harry said, pointing up at the table where the professors sat.
"Professor Snape?"
"With the nose, right."
"Why don't you call him Professor Snape?"
"Elves don't use names," Harry said, making a face. "It's weird and rude and strange, and it's not how things work in the forest."
The white haired boy paused. "You've really lived in the forest all this time?"
Harry sighed. "Yes."
"With elves?"
"Yes."
"Well..." the white haired boy glared around at all the nearby students, who were staring at them and clearly eavesdropping. "What are you doing here, then?"
"The dark haired man caught me," Harry began.
"Snape," the white haired boy interjected.
"Right," Harry said. "And he brought me here. And he and the bearded man-"
"Dumbledore?"
"I guess. The really long white beard. They explained about my parents and gave me a tour and gave me daily boons-"
"Like Dobby and I used to." The white haired boy shook his head. "You tricked us."
Harry smiled at the memory. "Maybe."
"You tricked them too!"
"Maybe. And then they explained about school and showed me the library, so now I'm here on a trial basis, to see if I like it." Harry considered mentioning his conversation with the giant, but he thought the giant might like to keep to himself too. He wasn't here right now, which said a lot. Harry wouldn't be here if he had the choice.
"You'll like it," the white haired boy promised. "Hogwarts is going to be great, you'll see. There's Quidditch and Hogsmeade and learning magic and my mum is going to send me sweets all the time, and you can even have some, and-"
"Shhh!" The older student who had forced Harry to come to the table scowled at them. The Sorting had finished and the bearded man was speaking now. Harry put his chin on his fist and shifted uncomfortably. He didn't like chairs. He much preferred sitting on the ground or on a tree branch.
He was just wondering when he'd be allowed to leave when the bearded man clapped his hands and piles of food appeared on the table in front of Harry. His eyes went wide and he stared for several moments as the other students reached for serving utensils and filled their plates.
"We just... eat all of this?" he asked, glancing at the white haired boy for confirmation.
He nodded and frowned at Harry's empty plate.
"Eat," the white haired boy ordered. Harry nodded and reached for what looked like a turkey. It was large, and would feed him for at least three days all by itself. Harry considered the bread as he pulled out a bit of cloth and wrapped up the turkey.
"What are you doing?" The boy on the other side of Harry was staring at him as he worked. Harry inched closer still to the white haired boy and glared.
"Getting food," Harry said. He pulled a piece of turkey off the bone and held it up to his collar. The snake hissed a thanks and ate it whole. Harry stowed the turkey away and picked up the bread next.
"Hey." The white haired boy swallowed a bite of potato and stared at Harry. "You're supposed to eat it now."
"What about later?" Harry asked, still wrapping the bread.
"They'll give you more tomorrow at breakfast," the white haired boy said, exasperated. "You can't take all that for yourself. You have to share."
Harry looked around at the other students, several of whom were still staring at him.
"The bearded man said we get three meals a day," Harry said, having just remembered. "So... okay... I guess I can..."
He put the bread back with jerky motions, and hoped the white haired boy wouldn't comment on the turkey. He wasn't quite that prepared to accept this idea at face value.
Harry fidgeted in his seat for the rest of the meal, having eaten his fill quickly and efficiently. He still didn't like the crowd, but now that it was less focused on him it was easier to bear, though still a source of anxiety at the back of his mind. The old, familiar presence of the white haired boy next to him was helpful. Harry would have left ages ago if not for that. The stress was making his head hurt terribly, which was unusual and upsetting.
When they were finally dismissed, Harry shot up out of his seat like a cork and made a beeline for the doors. Ignoring the shouts behind him, he left the castle, aiming for the forest. He had done quite enough for one night, and was exhausted. He climbed a tall tree that let him have a decent view of the castle and settled in, breathing in the familiar scent of forest, and the familiar taste of untamed magic.
"That was lovely," the snake commented. Harry snorted.
"You only liked it because of all the food."
"I ate five different kinds of bird tonight," the snake answered, slurring his hisses in his satisfaction. "I like that place."
"I think they'll want me to go back tomorrow, too," Harry said, biting his lip as he watched lights go on all around the castle. "I don't know when classes start. I should check, I think."
"Will they feed us again?" The snake slipped a coil over Harry's shoulder in a lazy way.
"Yes, they said three times a day."
"That might be too much, even," the snake said, delighted. Harry had been thinking the same thing.
"I don't think we have to eat each time," Harry offered. The snake hissed with amusement.
"But we can, if we want to."
"I guess." Harry continued staring at the castle as his snake drifted into a satiated sleep. He didn't like how much work this was taking. If it didn't get easier soon, he didn't know that he'd stay. But he wanted to try.