Chapter Two: Sorting it Out

Harry stumbled into Dumbledore's office, his stomach churning.

Another attack. This time it was Justin Finch-Fletchley and Nearly Headless Nick. He'd stumbled over them while following that damn voice, and of course everyone thought he'd been the one to attack them. Especially since the events at the Dueling Club. Justin had been convinced that Harry had set the snake on him, and now everyone was whispering that he'd decided to finish the job.

Nearly Headless Nick was just icing on the cake. Harry swallowed hard. Even Hermione and Ron had looked scared as McGonagall marched him away.

His gaze flickered around the room, taking in the knickknacks, the decrepit looking bird on the perch, crooning softly. The Sorting Hat on the shelf nearby.

The Sorting Hat. Harry stared at it, remembering. Remembering the things the Hat had said. He bit his lip, then marched over to the shelf, picked the Hat up off the shelf, and jammed it on his head.

'Back again, Mr. Potter? Something on your mind?'

Harry chewed his cheek a moment, then responded. "When you were sorting me..."

'Ah. You were a difficult case. Strong attributes for all the Houses. Excellent potential. You could be great. And I still say you would have done well in Slytherin.'

Harry's stomach flip-flopped. "I don't want to be in Slythern." Not the House that supported people like Snape and Malfoy. Even if the one girl, Daphne, had been the decent sort.

'And yet you don't seem to be content where you are. You seem to have a bit of a bee in your bonnet, as it were.'

Harry considered a moment. But the Hat wasn't likely to tell anyone anything, except Dumbledore. "It's just...everyone thinks I'm the Heir of Slytherin. No one listens when I say I haven't done anything, even though they haven't any proof against me. It's just because I can speak Parseltongue. Ron and Hermione are afraid of me because I can hear things they can't. And...there's just so much I don't know. I don't even know what I'm trying to find out." He huffed out a breath. "Everyone...either they think I'm some sort of ruddy Dark Wizard, or they expect me to be...well, they want Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. The Gryffindor Seeker. I just want...I want to know things, to understand. I'm tired of bloody rivalries and everyone staring at me like they think I'm going to attack them. Or like they think I ought to save them."

'Quite the conundrum indeed.'

Harry sighed, slumping into the chair. "I just wish...I wish I could find a place where no one cares, where I could get some answers."

'Well, I can't promise that no one will notice you, as a matter of fact, that's the last thing I could promise. But if you're truly sure you want a change, I can send you to a place that might meet your requirements.'

Harry sat up straight. "You can what?"

'Well, Mr. Potter, I won't say that I don't think Slytherin and Gryffindor are your best Houses. I stand by my decision. But it's also true that you do show a strong potential for all Houses. Now, I don't normally agree to this, but you do seem to be facing more than your fair share of problems. So if you're truly feeling overwhelmed, I could re-sort you. It isn't recommended, no not at all, but it is possible.'

"Re-sort me? You mean, put me in another House?"

'Quite right. But I'll only offer it once, so you'd better be absolutely sure it's what you want. I won't put you back in Gryffindor if you decide that this doesn't work out.'

Harry clenched his hands on the chair arms.

Re-sorting. He'd be out of Gryffindor. Out of these stupid rivalries. Maybe he'd get away from the whispers, the fear. Away from the wary glances and the subtle shunning.

But...he'd have to leave Hermione and Ron. True, they could still be friends, there was no rule against it, but it wouldn't be the same. He wouldn't share a dorm with Ron, Seamus, Neville and Dean. No curling up in the Gryffindor Common Room after hours and talking over the things that were on their minds, like the voices he was hearing. No doing homework and coaxing Hermione to give him all the answers. No laughing when Seamus's latest attempt to turn something into rum backfired. They'd probably have different schedules too. And he probably wouldn't be the Seeker for his new House.

But the Hat said it show him a place where he could find answers. About Parseltongue, maybe about the voice. Maybe about the creature petrifying people. Maybe about himself.

And if he had different schedules from Ron and Hermione...well, he'd also have different schedules from Draco Malfoy and his cronies. Maybe classes would be easier, without them distracting him, messing with his work.

He might even be able to do better in Potions...not that Snape would be any fairer about it. But at least people wouldn't be tipping things into his cauldron, exploding it or turning his potions to sludge.

"Mr. Potter?" A new voice broke him out of his thoughts. He jumped, then shoved the hat backward so he could see out from under it, though he didn't take it off.

Dumbledore was standing by the desk, his expression grave. "Harry...might I ask what you are doing?"

He swallowed hard. "I...I wanted to ask the Sorting Hat something. It told me something, when I was Sorted last year."

"Indeed? And I assume this has something to do with the situation you currently find yourself in?" Dumbledore stroked the back of the bird beside his desk. Harry had noticed it before, but then it had been a decrepit, elderly thing. Now it was a tiny thing, hardly more than a fledgling. It cheeped and nuzzled Dumbledore's fingers.

"It said I could do well in all the Houses...but it said I'd do best in Slytherin. And now...everyone's saying I might be Slytherin's Heir..." He bit his lip, and then the words burst out of him. "I'm not! I know I'm not! But just because I can speak Parseltongue, everyone thinks..."

"I am aware of what everyone thinks. I am also aware of your particular abilities, and of the rumors being spread about them. I have done my best to contain them to the school, but alas, my powers are not extensive enough to prevent them within it. However, rest assured, I also do not believe that you are the Heir of Slytherin."

"But you don't know. Because Slytherin lived a thousand years ago. Anything could have happened."

"That is true. Nevertheless, I do not think it likely that you are the Heir of Slytherin. More to the point, I know for a fact that there are others who have equal or greater claim to the title, and far more desire to have it." Harry sat upright, but Dumbledore lifted his hand before he could voice even a word. "I think it wise to leave names out of the discussion. You may rest assured that I have been keeping watch over those people that reside within Hogwarts, and for those who reside out of it."

It might have been reassuring to know, but it wasn't satisfying. Harry swallowed.

"Harry?" Dumbledore's tone was kindly, questioning, his expression neutral.

The neutrality was what made him speak. "Sir...the Hat said it could re-sort me. And honestly...I can't take a breath without people treating me like a hero or a threat. I can't go to classes without being treated like a pariah. I can't...I just want to…I want to understand things. I want to get away from all these stupid House rivalries. It's bad enough worrying about things like Voldemort, or the Heir of Slytherin, or being a Parselmouth. I don't need that too."

"I see." Dumbledore stilled, and his expression went from neutral to solemn. "Harry...the Hat places each student in the place where they will do best. To be re-sorted..."

"I'm already not in the place I could do best. At least, according to the Hat. It wanted to put me in Slytherin. But it also said I could go into any House. And honestly...I love Gryffindor. I really do. I love my roommates, and Ron, and Hermione, and the others. But...even they're afraid of me now. I can see it in their eyes. And I...I'm tired of waiting for something to happen, to make them walk away from me. Maybe being famous, maybe being The-Boy-Who-Lived means I can't have normal relationships. Maybe I can't have friends like that. But if that's the case...I don't want to stay there and deal with it either."

"I see. You do indeed have many burdens." Dumbledore resumed stroking the little bird...which was already somewhat larger and growing new red and gold plumage. Harry blinked at it. At least, Dumbledore sighed. "I cannot say that I agree with the idea of re-sorting. However it is, in the end, a decision only you can make. And, as you say, there are clearly both positives and negatives in either case. And so, I will leave it up to you."

Harry swallowed hard. He'd hoped that Dumbledore would give him some advice on the matter. Maybe even encourage him, or forbid him. But no, the decision was his.

He slipped the Hat back into it's proper position.

'Back again I see. And have you made a decision, Mr. Potter?'

Had he? Well, he'd put the Hat back on rather than take it off and put it on a shelf.

His heart was pounding. The thought of losing his friendship with Hermione and Ron, of everything that he might lose...he might end up friendless and alone, as he'd been before, when he'd had Dudley scaring off all his friends.

But...if he could just find answers...if he could just do something, rather than endure this constant staring and whispering…

Well, at least if he got re-sorted, they'd have something new to stare and whisper about. Something he'd actually done, rather than just things they thought he'd done or were afraid he'd do.

He made up his mind. "I want to be re-sorted."

'Are you sure? Remember, you can't take it back if you go through with it.'

He clenched his fists on his knees, biting his lip so hard he was sure it would bleed. "I'm sure. I want to be re-sorted."

'Very well then. It's not ideal, but it may just help you find your feet after all. So, as you wish, better be…RAVENCLAW!'

Harry slumped in his chair and pulled the Hat from his head.

It was done. He was now a Ravenclaw.

He just hoped he'd done the right thing.

Author's Note: So...Harry changed houses. Next up...a lot of backlash, but it might not be all bad.