As Professor Quirrell and Harry entered the orphanage Mrs. Lanning looked up from her desk. After a quick discussion between her and Quirrell, in which he informed her that he would escort Harry back to his room, and that he would be back on September 1st to pick him up for school the pair quickly made their way down the hall. Once inside the room Quirrell began talking.
"Harry do you remember how I told you I would pick up some supplies you would need for our private lessons," at seeing the affirmative nod from the child he continued, " Well I picked up two items today, one I will give you now, and the other you shall receive on Christmas." With this said he proceeded to remove a small book from his cloak and handed it to Harry who inspected it curiously.
"Sir, what is Occlumency?" the boy asked.
"Occlumency is the art of protecting ones mind from an outside source," seeing the confusion on the boy's face Quirrell began explaining a little more," some of the teachers at school such as Headmaster Dumbledore and Severus Snape the Potions master can read your mind with the help of Legilemency." Harry looked a little shocked at this revelation.
"So, if they wanted to they could read my mind all the time and find out if I was lying?" Quirrell nearly applauded the young boy in front of him, he was very quick on the uptake.
"Yes, but if you learn Occlumency you can block them. Occlumency can be very difficult and will take many years to master, but if you practice using that book and follow the instructions in it every night until your first day of school then you should be able to hide your memories enough that they won't notice. After all, no one expects an eleven year old child to come to Hogwarts knowing Occlumency."
Harry took a moment to get all of his thoughts organized. The fact that someone could just rifle through his head was a bit unnerving, and he swore to practice Occlumency every chance he got. But he also wondered why he would need to hide memories in the first place. Sure it could be useful for getting out of trouble if he caused an accident, and to hide the private lessons, but why did the lessons need to be hidden. Finding himself starting to get frustrated he asked the Professor in front of him.
"Ah… you see Harry, not everyone will approve of what I will be teaching you. Because while in class you will learn how to cast spells I will be teaching you how to use them in a duel or fight. I will also teach you some harder spells as the year goes on, but most of our lessons will involve practical application of spells you already know. Now one last thing to discuss before I leave you for the night. Your wand. Mr. Ollivander said that it was perfect for the Dark Arts, and I believed I mentioned them when I told you about the Dark Lord right?" Again he received a positive nod, "Many people in the Wizarding world believe that those who practice the Dark Arts are evil. This statement is completely wrong. While some people can be taken over by the immense feel of pleasure and power they give those who have a strong will power can use the dark arts without being effected too much. In order to keep you from being consumed by the Dark Arts you should not start using them until your summer after your third year at Hogwarts. But I have gotten slightly off topic, the most important thing I wanted you to remember was, dark does not equal evil. " With that last statement Quirrell stood up and with a soft pop he disappeared leaving behind one tired yet confused Harry Potter.
The next day Harry woke up and almost immediately yesterday's events came back to him. He was a Wizard! And he was going to leave this orphanage for almost a whole year! Not only that but Professor Quirrell had offered to give him advanced lessons. Everything seemed too good to be true, so in order to reassure himself Harry reached under his pillow and grasped for his wand. To his immense relief his hand closed around the skinny piece of wood. But this brought with it a new string of thoughts to him. Why had Mr. Ollivander looked so sad when he had given the wand to him? Was he afraid that Harry would be consumed by the Dark Arts? How could anyone label a young child like that based on a wand? Seeing that he was getting more questions then answers, and not feeling very hungry Harry pulled out the book that his Professor had given to him and began reading.
The first chapter of the book was called Finding Your Focus. As he started reading Harry found that some of the words were too big for him, but he managed to get through none the less. The chapter gave a brief description of what Occlumency was and the proceeded to give instructions on starting it. In reality what you were doing was building a wall around your mind. It seemed simple enough Harry thought. The best way to start was to learn to meditate. So following the books instructions Harry set to work trying to meditate. The book said the easiest way to do this was to concentrate on one thing and let it be your only thought. Now for a full grown wizard or witch this may seem simple, but to an eleven year old who has just learned he is a wizard there was a multitude of thoughts to choose from. Eventually after half an hour of trying multiple images and nothing happening Harry began to become impatient and decided to try more later.
Not really wanting to be hassled by the other boys or Mrs. Lanning today he picked up his other textbooks for school and began reading. He found Transfiguration to be incredibly interesting. The thought of being able to turn one thing into another just seemed fascinating. Idly he wondered if you could transfigure humans. Pushing that to the back of his mind, and mentally reminding himself to ask Professor Quirrell about that later he continued reading. By the time noon had rolled around Harry had become hungry. He knew lunch was being served, but didn't really want to go face the others. He gave in though when his stomach rumbled rather loudly in protest to the thought of skipping lunch.
As Harry walked down the narrow hallways until he reached the tiny cafeteria, he was praying that the others would just leave him alone. Unfortunately, almost as soon as he had entered the room someone was in front of him. Great just what I need, thought Harry, as he looked up to see the face of none other then Steve. While it was true that everyone made fun of him, most of the time it was Steve that did all the physical harm. Looking around Harry noted the absence of . What a surprise, he thought wryly, she always seems to disappear just as these things happen. Deciding to try and head off the fight Harry started talking.
"Listen Steve, I don't want any trouble. I am just looking to get something to eat then I am going back to my room."
"Aww look guys" he said rather loud so everyone can hear, "Potty doesn't want to play today." To Harry's immense annoyance the others began snickering.
Seeing that this wasn't going to work Harry went with plan B. He made a mad dash for the food and grabbed a few pieces of bread. He then started running for the door again narrowly dodging Steve's arms which tried to grab him. After Harry got back and closed his door he took a moment to catch his breath. After catching his breath, Harry sat on his bed and began to eat. When he was done he laid down and drifted into an easy sleep.
When he woke up it had gotten late and the stars were just starting to come out. Looking out his window Harry suddenly got an idea of what image to use for his Occlumency shield. Sitting back and closing his eyes he focused on the pitch blackness of the night sky with the stars twinkling in it. He could feel the dark blanketing his mind and was immensely proud of himself, but almost as soon as it had gotten there it left. As his eyes opened again he got hit by a sudden wave of exhaustion. Remembering what his Professor had said about Occlumency being difficult he concluded that he had managed to get this far on the first day was good. And so it was with those happy thoughts and feelings of pride that he fell asleep.
That was basically how the days leading up to September first went. He would wake up practice his Occlumency for a while, and then Harry would go and grab lunch. After that he would head back to his room and read his textbooks he had tried a few of the spells in his books and had gotten some results. He could now cast a charm that would levitate a book. He hadn't managed to lift anything heavier yet. And he had practiced transfiguring a wood splinter into a needle, but had only gotten a slightly silver gleam to appear. After his practice and reading sometimes he would grab a small dinner, and then he would head back and practice Occlumency again.
It was the night before he would be leaving, and Harry was sitting practicing his Occlumency. He could now hold the very frail wall he had developed for about 20 minutes. While it wasn't very long he hoped Professor Quirrell would be happy with his progress. Finding his thoughts beginning to wander and losing concentration Harry decided to call it a night. After all he didn't want to be exhausted for his trip tomorrow.
It was 9 o'clock and Harry had finished packing. And now all he had to do was wait for Professor Quirrell. Trying to pass the time quicker Harry pulled out his train ticket and examined it. Platform 9 ¾?, he thought, good thing Professor Quirrell is taking me I don't think I would be able to find it without him. Looking down at his slightly beat up watch he saw that only three minutes had passed. With a groan Harry through himself back onto his bed and waited. After what seemed like hours, but was only twenty minutes he heard the click of the door handle being turned. Looking up over his stomach he saw professor Quirrell standing in the doorway.
" I trust you have everything packed and are ready to go?" Professor Quirrell asked.
"Yes, sir." Harry responded.
"Good now, how did that assignment I assigned you go?" he asked with interest.
"It went well, sir, I can now hold a thin wall for twenty minutes."
"That is indeed a fine accomplishment." Quirrell praised and Harry having received so little of that thus far in his life seemed to glow." But enough chat we must get to the station and get you on the train. I still have to get back to Hogwarts in time to finish setting up , after all." With that Quirrell pulled out his wand and shot two quick spells at Harry's trunk. Seeing the confusion and interest on the boy's face he elaborated." One was a feather light charm, and the other was a touch activated size charm. Simply touch it with your wand to shrink it or enlarge it." When Harry touched the trunk it shrunk down to the size of a match box, picking it up he put it in the pocket of his robes.
"Good now that everything is taken care of we can go, hold onto my arm I will side-along apparate us there." Doing as he was told Harry felt the sensation of being squeezed through an extremely tiny pipe. Once the sensation faded he looked around and got his first look at King's Cross. It appeared to be a normal muggle station. Seeing his Professor already moving Harry followed him. Professor Quirrell then stopped right in between platforms nine and ten.
"You need to run at the wall in front of us, it is an illusion used to hide the platform." Quirrell explained.
Trusting the Professor, Harry took off running at the wall and to his relief he passed right through. Turning around he saw his Professor had followed him through.
"This is where I leave you. I would assume you can figure out how to get on the train from here." Not waiting for an answer Professor Quirrell promptly turned and with a soft pop he disappeared.
It was when Harry turned around that he got his first view of the train that would be taking him to Hogwarts. It was a large bright red steam engine. On the front in gold lettering was the number 5972. And even Harry had to admit that with all the families bustling around and the train in the background that the whole place just screamed welcoming. After taking a few more minutes to observe the train he worked his way over to the door, and on to the train in search of a compartment.
After walking to the end he found a compartment that was empty and decided to sit there. Taking out his trunk he tapped it with his wand and pulled out one of his textbooks to read before putting the trunk in the luggage rack. Harry didn't know how long he had been reading, but when he looked out the window the train was moving so he assumed at least half an hour had passed. Deciding to try and sleep so he wouldn't be tired at the feast and sorting later he leaned back and closed his eyes. Just as he started to drift off he heard his compartment door open, and a voice he did not want to hear started speaking. Opening his eyes Harry confirmed what he already knew, the beaver girl had found him.
"Oh my it's you again. I had hoped to see you on the train. But I can't talk too much now because I am helping Neville find his toad. I don't supposed you have seen it." She asked him.
"No I have not seen his dumb toad and I would appreciate it if you and your mess of frizz that you call hair would leave my compartment now." Harry responded irritated.
"I just asked you a question there was no reason to be rude." She huffed and then left slamming the compartment door in the process. Good, Harry thought, maybe she will leave me alone now. Harry again tried to fall asleep and almost made it only to be interrupted by someone else opening the door. Opening his eyes to see who was disturbing him now he saw a medium height boy with tan skin and dark hair. The boy's eyes were blue. By his appearance the boy was a first year just like Harry, himself, was.
"Hello, do you mind if I sit in here with you?" The boy asked politely.
"No I don't mind, but if you are looking for conversation I am not the person you are looking for." Harry told him honestly. After all he didn't have much experience with talking to people his own age except when he was in a fight.
"That's fine I prefer to just read my books anyway. By the way my name is Terry Boot." The boy told him.
Deciding it wouldn't hurt to be friendly Harry greeted him. "Nice to meet you Terry my name is Harry Potter." After he said this he held out his hand and Terry shook it briefly. Figuring he wouldn't get much sleep Harry pulled out the book on Dark Lords he had picked up from Flourish and Blott's and began reading. Terry raised his eyebrow a little at the choice of book, but said nothing. So that's how most of the train ride went with the two boys sitting reading in silence. Towards the end of the ride though they received some unwelcomed guests.
Two boys burst into their compartment; one was a gangly red-haired boy with freckles, hand-me-down robes, and a smudge of dirt on his nose. There was a chubby boy, who seemed to look down on them as if they were lower then him. He also happened to be the one who talked first.
"I am Neville Longbottom, the boy-who-lived, and I order you to tell me if you have seen my toad." The chubby boy said arrogantly.
Looking over to Terry Harry could see the boy was trying to stop himself from laughing at the boy. Making eye contact with him Harry mouthed the words arrogant idiot, and this set Terry over the edge. He started snickering and tried to cover it as a cough , but Neville noticed.
"Think something is funny do you? Come on share then, we all want to laugh." Neville said this in that same arrogant tone. And the redhead was nodding along absent mindedly.
Not giving Terry a chance to answer Harry spoke first. " He is laughing at the fact that your head looks like an over inflated balloon." After saying this Harry started to laugh along with Terry.
"How dare you! I am the boy-who-lived! You cannot insult me, I am the reason the dark lord was killed." If anything Neville seemed to puff up even more making him look more like an over inflated balloon. This set Terry and Harry laughing again. Seeing that they wouldn't be getting a reaction out of the two here Neville and the redhead left.
After another few minutes of laughing the boy's looked up and smiled at each other.
"That was great, Harry." Terry said, " I thought for sure he was going to pop if he kept puffing up."
"Thanks, but I didn't do anything besides tell the truth." Harry responded somewhat embarrassedly.
"So , what house do you think you will be in Harry?"
"I don't know, but I am hoping for Slytherin, but Ravenclaw doesn't sound too bad either." Harry responded, " What about you?"
"Ravenclaw is the only house for me. I absolutely love to read and gain new information."Terry told him.
Further conversation was halted as a voice rang out announcing they would be arriving at Hogwarts in fifteen minutes. Terry wasn't in his robes so he had to change. Soon enough the two boys could feel the train slowing down, signaling they had reached the station. As they grabbed their trunks and got off the train they heard someone calling the first years over.
" Firs' years o'er here." Turning to the see who was calling Harry recognized the giant man Professor Quirrell had been talking with when they went to Diagon Alley. It seemed he was leading them down by a lake, and there were boats. The giant told them to get in a boat, but no more then four each. Terry and Harry quickly got in a boat, and were soon joined by two girls who introduced themselves as Padma and Parvati Patil. The ride across the lake was fairly short, but the view was absolutely breath taking. The castle seemed to glow with the moon behind it and the light from windows spilling onto the lake's surface.
Once they reached the other side there was a set of rocky stairs that they had to climb in order to get to the castle. Once they reached the top they were greeted by a stern looking woman.
"Thank you Hagrid, I will take them from here." She said.
"O' course Professor McGonagall." And with that Hagrid turned and headed back down the stairs.
Wordlessly she beckoned for them to follow her. After another short walk they reached a large door. Professor McGonagall opened it and walked in. As they enter what appeared to be a waiting chamber Harry took in his surroundings. He didn't get to far in his observations because Professor McGonagall had begun talking.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. In just a few moments you will be sorted. Until then please wait here. I will come and fetch you when it is time. Also I suggest you take the time to smarten yourselves up a bit." With that said she turned walked through a door on the other side of the room, and all the students were left to talk. Harry and Terry were again recounting the episode from the train with Longbottom to each other. They were cut off though when a girl gave a loud shriek. Turning to see what the noise was about the two noticed a few ghosts who appeared to be arguing. Just then a rather large ghost spoke loudly.
"Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance—"
"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost—I say, what are you all doing here?" A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years. (p Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.)
Seeing that nobody else was going to answer the ghost Harry told him.
"We are the first year students waiting to be sorted."
"Excellent, hope to see you in Hufflepuff," said the Friar," My old house you know."
"Come along now." said a sharp voice," The sorting ceremony's about to begin."
Because of the ghosts the students had missed Professor McGonagall returning to get them.
"Form a line and wait for your name to be called before going to the front of the Great Hall." The students all did as they were told. Harry stood behind Terry. As she led them through the door she had used earlier the students received their first view of the Great Hall. There were four long tables, one for each house thought Harry. There was also a table at the front where older witches and wizards sat. Those must be our teachers. But what stood out the most was the stool up at the front of the hall, and on top of the stool sat an old looking wizard hat. As they entered the Great Hall quieted down. And up in the front the brim of the hat opened, and it began to sing.
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true,
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends;
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"
Everyone applauded once it had finished its song. Once everyone had quieted down again Professor McGonagall went up to the front and started speaking again.
"When I call your name, please come up and put the sorting hat on.'
"Abbot, Hannah!'
HUFFLEPUFF!
Bones,Susan!
HUFFLEPUFF!
Boot, Terry!
RAVENCLAW!
And so that was how the sorting went. Each person had a varying amount of time. Everything seemed to be going good until Professor McGonagall called out.
"Longbottom, Neville!"
Whispers began to spread through the hall.
"The Neville Longbottom…"
"Can you see his scar?"
Neville strode confidently to the front of the room, and put the hat on. Silence filled the hall everyone waiting to see where the savior would be sorted. Most expected Gryffindor, but there were a few skeptics. As the time passed Neville's face seemed to be going paler and paler he almost looked to be pleading with the hat now. Finally, he seemed to brighten up just as the hat opened its brim and shouted for all to hear.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Longbottom practically ran to his new table. He had to come back to the front though because he had forgotten to take the hat off. Once everything was returned the sorting continued again. Finally Professor McGonagall came to Harry's name.
"Potter, Harry!"
As Harry was walking up he chanced a glance at the table of professors. He saw that Professor Quirrell seemed to be watching with attention now. When he put the hat on it was too big so it fell forward covering his eyes.
Ah hello there young Potter, a voice said inside of his head. This did not startle him much because Professor Quirrell had explained how he would be sorted. Not sure if the hat wanted a reply Harry just sat quietly. The voice spoke again.
"Lets see what's inside your head shall we. Oh my, you have a thirst for knowledge, yes Ravenclaw would suit you well. But then again maybe not for you seek to use that knowledge for things that Rowena would not have approved of. What else do we have here? Ah a dislike of the muggles because they have hurt you. Hmm… you are brave but not recklessly so, therefore Gryffindor is out, and you are only loyal to those that you feel have earned it. So the choices are Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Which one do you think Mr. Potter?"
"I don't know, isn't that your job, to pick the house?" Harry thought back sarcastically.
"Oh yes there is no choice then. Let SLYTHERIN! guide you on your quest to prove yourself Mr. Potter."
As Harry took the hat off and began walking towards the table of serpents he looked again to the professors' table. Quirrell seemed to be pleased by his house. But next to Quirrell sat a greasy haired man that resembled a bat, and he seemed to be torn between curiosity, surprise, and anger. Harry took a seat at the end of the table away from the rest of the first years. He had noticed the pale blond boy from Madam Malkin's and did not want to be bothered by him. The rest of the sorting seemed to pass in a blur with the final person, a tall dark skinned boy by the name of Blaise Zabini being sorted into Slytherin. Blaise took a seat across from Harry, and then the Headmaster stood up.
"Welcome" he said" Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our feast I would like to say a few words, and they are Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!. Thank you." He then sat down as food appeared on every table.
Turning to an older student next to him Harry asked a question.
"Is the Headmaster barmy?"
The older boy let out a small snort and answered" If you ask anyone from the other houses they will say he is a genius. If you ask anyone in Slytherin they will tell you he went off his rocker years ago." And with that the boy turned back to eating.
Hearing his stomach rumble Harry began to pick food from the mounds in front of him, and piled it on his plate. Blaise Zabini then addressed him from across the table.
"Hello, I am Blaise Zabini." The boy said, " I have to admit I am surprised that you, a Potter, are in Slytherin."
"Why would you be surprised I was in Slytherin?" Harry asked interestedly.
"Well, your parents were both Gryffindors and as far as I know no Potter has ever been in Slytherin."
"How do you know that about my family?" Harry asked incredulously.
"I am from a family of Purebloods so I learned all about the different families and their history before we come to Hogwarts."
"Oh." Was all Harry said. After that the rest of the feast passed in relative silence between the two boys. After everyone was done eating Dumbledore stood again.
"Ahem—just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you." Harry tuned out most of what he said but the last part caught his interest.
"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor-corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." Some people laughed at this while most remained silent. Harry couldn't believe them, who laughed at a death threat?
"And now before we go to bed let us sing the school song." What ensued could only be described as a train wreck. Everyone had a different tone and speed. Yet Dumbledore seemed to think it was great. Harry decided then and there that the man was barmy.
"Now prefects please escort the first years to the dormitories." Harry noticed the boy he had talked to earlier stand up and yell for first years to follow him. As the boy led them through what seemed like a maze , Harry got the distinct impression that they were going lower and lower. Finally the boy stopped in front of a stone wall.
"This is the entrance to our common room and dormitories." He explained, "You will need to remember the password to get in, it is Basilisk." When he said this, the bricks on the wall started to open and revealed a small passage leading into a lit room. Once they entered Harry couldn't help but marvel at the room. There was a fireplace that was furnished with snake carvings on either side. Couches and chairs made of silk were spread throughout the room. The carpet was green with silver trimming. And on each side of the room there was a staircase.
"Boys dormitories are to the right, and girls are to the left. Each dormitory holds two people. If you need help finding your classes tomorrow feel free to ask myself or another prefect. That is all good night." And with that he strode up the right stair case. The first year boys and girls wished each other good night and went up. It turned out that Harry would be sharing a dormitory with Blaise. Deciding to for go Occlumency training for the night the last thought Harry had before he fell asleep was, I'm home.