Disclaimer: I continue to own nothing

The shopping trip to Diagon Alley had been short and hurried. Harry barely had any time to explore the exciting Wizarding World, but he got all of his supplies taken care of, and Hagrid got that important "Stone" of his from Gringotts without much of a fuss, so he couldn't complain.

All he had left to do was wait patiently for school to start. Harry abided his time and spent his days quietly reading.

When September 1st finally came, Harry was slightly concerned about the Platform Nine and Three-Quarters mentioned on the ticket. Last time he checked, people didn't name platforms with fractions, but he decided to leave it for now and get to King's Cross station first. Taking the subway was out of the question with a huge luggage bag and Hedwig, his owl (he read names from his magical history textbook until the owl pecked him at Hedwig, so Hedwig it was). That left him with one option.

"Uncle Vernon" Harry approached the man after he was all packed up and ready to go "It says on my ticket that I need to get to Kings Cross Station today. Will you drive me?"

Vernon lifted his head from the newspaper and said gruffly "If you think I would be your personal chauffeur after all those blasted noises you made every night, think again."

"But how can I get to the station if you won't drive me?"

Vernon's face stretched into a nasty grin "That's not my problem, boy. I suggest you throw away that stupid bird of yours and try public transportation."

Harry fought down the urge to roll his eyes. He got what was going on here: Vernon wanted to see him beg for a ride. How cute. That poor man, holding a grudge against him for so long without an outlet, but Harry wasn't about to let him get what he wanted so easily.

"Fine" Harry tossed the ticket on the table and walked away.

Within seconds, his uncle's booming voice called after him. "Wait! What do you think you are doing?"

"I guess I'm not going to Hogwarts then" Harry shrugged "I was having second thoughts about it anyway."

"Second thoughts!" Vernon shouted, as if he found that very idea extremely offensive.

"Yeah, I can just study magic on my own at home, and do what I really want to do-follow my dreams of becoming a drug lord. I can start small with selling drugs in the streets, and if I'm lucky I can even start my own drug cartel in five years."

"You! You will not terrorize this house any longer!" Vernon said in horror "You will go to that freaks school, where you belong!"

Harry seemed completely unfazed by this outbreak "Yelling won't help you, Uncle. It's my own choice."

Finally, the seriousness of this situation downed on Vernon, who almost teared the newspaper in his hands while frantically searching for words "But this is your opportunity to get away from us, and...you get to use your freaky powers freely!"

"Sure I may be free and rich in the Wizarding World, but there's this super evil Dark Lord who killed my parents, and he wants to kill me too " Harry said "I gave it some thought, and I think there's a smaller chance that he will find me if I just hide here with you guys."

Vernon shot out of the sofa like a canon ball "You will get in the car with me right now and go to-" he read from the ticket on the table "-Kings Cross station!"

Harry raised an eyebrow "Are you ordering me? You know I hate that."

"You-!" Vernon opened his mouth wide and closed it "Be reasonable..Harry" he visibly choked on saying that name "Just let me drive you there, and you'll see that it's the better choice for you."

"Say 'please', and I'll consider it" Harry smirked.

The man had turned so reddened, and shaking so violently, Harry was afraid he would fall into a stroke. Deciding that he'd better not push Vernon's buttons too hard, Harry skipped to the garage happily "Fine, let's go then. Be good and get my luggage into the trunk for me, please?"

A fuse in Vernon's head probably burned out from an overload of anger, because he stayed still, frozen in his standing position like an overweight statue. Hearing no reply, Harry poked his head back into the living room "Oh and by the way, you totally deserved those 'blasted noises' I made for throwing away my birthday cake. Hurry up now, we haven't got all day."

-A few hours later-

As soon as they were at the station, Vernon threw Harry and his luggage out of the car like a plague, and drove away with the speed of someone who just robbed a bank. Harry was in a good mood, and began searching for a Platform Nine and Three-Quarters immediately. Green eyes darted from Platform Number Nine, then to Platform Number Ten, and stared at the empty space and red brick wall between them.

"Maybe it's a test for Hogwarts, and the ones that don't get on the train in time get expelled." Harry thought excitedly. Just as he was brainstorming for a good approach, Hedwig hooted haughtily in its cage - a signal that she wanted out.

"What do you have for me, girl?" Harry barely hesitated before setting the snowy owl free in the crowded train station.

Hedwig flapped its wings and took off into the air. It flew over an ocean of travelers and carts, made a circle midair, and plunged straight at the wall between Platforms Nine and Ten. Just before its body hit the solid bricks, however, it vanished into the wall without a trace.

"Ok" Harry muttered to himself "that was easy."

After a few looks around to make sure no muggles were watching, Harry broke into a small run at the wall and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he was in an entirely different world.

Before him was a busy platform, full of families and children of different ages, with so many different types of pets making a cacophony of hoots and squeaks and meows. A majestic red steam train, filled to the brim with students, awaited him under a plastic sign that read Platform Nine and Three Quarters.

Hedwig swooped down and landed on Harry's luggage. "Good girl" Harry said, pushing his cart forward. The first dozen compartments were already completely filled, and he had to walk past half the train to find a compartment that seemed to have an empty seat available. Harry took a deep breath, and began unloading his luggage. Or, to be more exact, he was making a pathetic attempt at lifting the luggage while hoping that some kind-hearted stranger would feel compelled to give him a hand.

"Need a hand with that?" A tall, red haired boy asked.

"Yes, please." Harry said.

The kind-hearted stranger lifted his luggage effortlessly. Harry noticed that he had on a billowing black robe and a silver pin with the letter P.

"First year?" He asked.

"Yeah."

"There you go" He said when Harry's luggage was safely tucked away in a corner "I'm Percy, the Gryffindor prefect, you can come to me if you have any questions."

"Thank you." Harry shook his hand briefly.

"You should try to put on more weight, you know." Percy said with a hint of concern.

Harry's smile faltered. Number one rule of peaceful coexistence with Harry Potter, is that you do not talk about how small or short he is. Ever. Harry wanted to tell the boy to fucking mind his own business, but it came out as a "Really? I haven't noticed."

Percy did not pay much attention to his reply though, after all it was only an off hand comment for him. He stepped into the compartment, and Harry followed.

"Why isn't anyone here?" Harry asked curiously. The compartment had several luggage bags lying around, but was otherwise empty.

"Lee Jordan and his bloody tarantula." Percy said under his breath, and started walking towards the middle of the train in large strides.

Harry's radar for interesting things beeped at that, and he quickly followed the red haired prefect.

They arrived at a compartment in the middle of the train. It was almost packed with students, mostly upper classmen. Percy was shouting "Prefect, coming through" and peeling through the crowd. In the middle was a dark skinned boy with neat dreadlocks. He was holding a suitcase but slammed it shut the moment he saw Percy's face. Whatever creature was in the suitcase did not have time to properly get back in, for a hairy, long leg stuck out of opening, twitching.

"Show me what's in the case, Lee." Percy crossed his arms authoritatively at Dreadlocks.

"Come on Percy-"A voice said.

"-Don't be such a killjoy!" Another almost identical voice finished the sentence.

Harry found that they were a pair of twins, who looked like perfect clones of each other.

"They are the Weasley twins, and they are said to be very successful pranksters." A boy next to Harry caught his curious look and supplied. He was around Harry's age, and chewing on a piece of orange colored food. The wrapper said Pumpkin Pasty.

"You guys are causing a commotion before we even got to school" Percy chided "Tarantulas are not allowed as pets."

"Nobody ever said we can't have a tarantula, mate." Dreadlocks had finally tucked that disturbing leg back into his suitcase and said.

"Exactly, dear brother-" the twins echoed "-Can you find where in the school rules it says that?"

Harry watched their interactions with interest, albeit a bit disappointed at not seeing the huge tarantula.

"Shame, I wanted to see what it looks like."

The boy next to him sighed "Me too."

"Are you also a first year?" Harry asked.

"Yes. Seamus Finnigan. You?"

Harry lowered his voice "Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter?" Seamus's eyes widened "the Harry Potter?"

"Harry Potter!" An exaggerated cry came from a student standing before them, having unintentionally eavesdropped on their conversation.

"What?"

"Harry Potter's here?"

A hurricane of whispers took over the entire compartment. Disappointed bystanders who shuffled out when the tarantula was put away immediately doubled back. Even the dreadlocks, the twins and the prefect stopped in their heated discussion to look at him.

"Yes I am" Harry said to Seamus "and it's a tad bit inconvenient sometimes."

An empty space quickly formed around Harry and Seamus. The people around them all took a few steps back to take in the whole picture of Harry Potter. Seamus was just the unfortunate collateral damage by proximity. Layers and layers of people were staring at Harry now, eyes focused on his forehead as if they could lift up his bangs by sheer force of concentration.

Harry was about to show them his scar to satisfy their curiosity once and for all, when a bush of brown hair squeezed through layers of people and landed in front of him.

The bush turned out to be a young girl. "Excuse me, has anyone seen a toad?" She asked bossily, completely oblivious to the intense situation before her, until she laid eyes on Harry.

"Why are they all staring at you?" She asked with a frown.

Harry smiled awkwardly and lifted his bang.

A few more gasps came from the crowd. The news of Harry Potters presence was now spreading like fire over wood drenched in gasoline, and more people swarmed into the compartment to see him.

"Oh, you are Harry Potter!" She said quickly without stopping "I know all about you. Of course- I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."

"..I see" It was a very rare for Harry to be at a loss for words, but this girl did it.

"Didn't you know? I'd found out everything I could if was me. I'm Hermione Granger by the way" The girl started chatting him up right there, surrounded by a wall of gawking spectators "Do you know which House we will be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'll be in Gryffindor. It sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad.."

A few proud Ravenclaws from the crowd looked very indignant at being called "not too bad."

"Wait, I remember seeing a toad!" Harry blurted out "It was in the second compartment that way."

Harry pointed to his left.

"Oh Why didn't you say something earlier?" The girl said "Anyway, I've got to go find it now. You should get back to your compartment, the train would leave in a minute."

With that said, she stormed away, the crowd parting to make a path for her this time.

Harry sighed in relief, before he could have time to deal with the crowd still around him, though, another child's voice cut through the now silent compartment. "Is Harry Potter in here?"

Two thickset boys forced their way through the crowd, and a pale boy with an odd platinum hair color emerged between them. He looked at Harry, who was literally in the center of all people, and declared "You must be Harry Potter."

"Very acute observation." Harry deadpaned.

"And you have a very sharp tongue" the boy said with a smirk. He was looking at Harry with a raised chin despite being only two inches taller "I am Malfoy. Draco, Malfoy."

His name seemed to have piqued the crowds interest even more, for they were now all staring intently with unreadable expressions.

Harry shook the boy's outstretched hand quickly to get it over with. After being stared at like some rare animal and intruded on by weird children, his good mood had now completely gone sour.

"So you already know who I am, Malfoy, what do you want with me?"

"I would like to invite you to my compartment and meet my friends" the boy drawled "You will find that some families in the Wizarding World are more worthy of befriending than others."

Another radar in Harry beeped, sounded the siren and flashed red lights. He sized the boy up carefully, from the slick platinum hair to the smug smile to the two heavyset henchmen behind him.

It was blatantly obvious. How didn't he see it sooner? He could always recognize a shark when he saw one.

"Sure, anything to get me out of here." Harry said with a faked casual tone.

Silver-blue eyes lit up "Good, follow me. Where's your luggage? I can let Crabbe bring it to us."

"Thanks. It's three compartments away, the one on the left." Harry said cheerfully, relieved at having someone take care of his luggage.

And just like that, before almost fifty pairs of watching eyes, Malfoy led Harry into his compartment and shut the door.

Harry confirmed his radar to be 100% accurate after meeting Malfoy's group of friends.

There were two boys already siiting there, whom Malfoy introduced as Zabini and Nott. Parkinson and the girls visited from a different compartment for a look at Harry Potter as well. It was weird to be treated like a celebrity wherever he went, but it was nothing he couldnt get used to. At the same time, he was curious about the statement Malfoy made earlier on families, and soon he was given a short tutorial on bloodlines, heritages and traditions. He used to think that only adults obsess over those things but apparently he was wrong. Potter happened to be one of these ancient "pureblood" families too, according to Malfoy. Not that it really mattered, because he was the Boy Who Lived, and no one could question his right to sit among them.

Frankly, Harry didn't care about any of that-he barely cared about anything. But he played along. It had always given him a strange sense of comfort to sit among the predators, which the boys no doubt were, especially that Blaise Zabini, who was always so calm and composed-Harry could tell his blood was ice cold. They chatted amiably through the train ride, and Harry gained a wide range of information on Hogwarts and the Ministry.

When the train arrived at Hogwarts, Harry was surprised to see Hagrid there, holding a lamp for the first years in the dark like a mini lighthouse.

"First ' years! Firs' years over here! All right there Harry?"

Hagrid beamed at Harry, who gave him a small nod in reply.

"You let that half breed call you by your first name?" Malfoy asked with a look of disgust.

"I can't control what he says" Harry said with ease, and smiled through Malfoy's disparaging comment that followed. It was too easy. He had been playing the game for years and pretense came to him as natural as breathing.

Harry knew that to be a member in this new group, he had to tread carefully, because they were of a much higher caliber than the bullies in his muggle school. He could feel something special about them. They knew for a fact that they were born into the top of the food chain. And with that knowledge there was a look of confidence bordering on arrogance and an insatiable hunger in their eyes. A hunger that Harry did not possess. But that only intrigued him more. It felt like a great adventure to play this game.

Looking up at Hogwarts from the lake, the grand castle with its breath-taking beauty, Harry felt a tinge of excitement in his heart.

What Harry did not know was that eventually, all that excitement turned out to be useless because the Sorting Hat put him in Gryffindor.

The entire sorting process for him took less than two minutes. Harry heard his name called by the stern professor McGonagall, and walked up.

Sitting on the stool Harry had a view of the entire magnificent hall, lit up by thousands of floating candles, and also a view of all the students with their eyes fixed on him. The hat was quickly dropped on his head and covered his eyes.

In the darkness, Harry heard a voice

"Difficult, very difficult...You have an impressive labyrinth in your mind for someone your age, um, indeed, very twisted."

"That's a bit harsh" Harry commented in his head.

"Not that twisted. No, I don't mean it like that. " The Hat explained quickly "What I meant to say is I have encountered many twists and turns. Very interesting. A healthy labyrinth, but easy to get lost too..."

Harry smiled. The Hat sounded a bit mad, but it didn't matter as long as it could shout out a House-preferably Slytherin. His group of new friends had told him everything they knew about the Sorting ceremony back on the train, and were quiet adamant that Slytherin was the only option. If the Hat was unsure where to put you, they said, you should insist on going to Slytherin.

"I'm glad to hear that my head has been fun for you, but people are waiting for me to be sorted."

"Yes, the sorting...That's where it gets difficult. You see. It seems like you have none of the qualities any of the Houses want." the Hat said.

"What?" Harry was shocked, and frankly, very much insulted. From what he heard about the Houses, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff may be far-fetched for him, but Gryffindor and Slytherin? Really? What does it mean he has none of the qualities?

Harry was suddenly feeling very uncomfortable about exposing his mind completely. If the Hat was a person standing before him, he could control his body language or even conjure up a polite smile, but the Hat had every access to his mind and heard that bewildered cry in his head loud and clear.

"There's no need to feel insulted, I'm not denying your talent or your potential" The Hat went on "Indeed, you would make a great Slytherin, if you even had an ounce of ambition; or a great Gryffindor, if you had more courage..."

"Anyone has some degree of ambition. Just because I suck at planning for the future doesn't mean that I'm an exception." Harry said.

"You may think that is true, but I see through the traps and behind the closed doors, and I couldn't find any desire to approve your worth anywhere!"

"Maybe you are broken" Harry almost said, but he bit his lips and ordered himself to calm down. When Malfoy told him about the Sorting Hat on he train, he should have known. It was his mistake to not think of a strategy beforehand to deal with something that can get inside his head and read his bloody mind! This whole exciting magical world experience had made his careless.

The Hat was not wrong that he had no ambition. He could not think of a single thing that he desires above all else-It's simply not worth the trouble. If he had learned anything from his years at the Dursleys, it was that desires and ownerships were all burdens. Didn't his life get better when he stopped yearning for things he could not have and wanting approval from those fickle people? When he became the one with nothing to lose, it was as if he had taken a step back, and from a distance he saw how ridiculous they all looked, struggling to hold on to the things they care.

"Say you are right about me having no ambition" Harry conceded "but I am very resourceful when I need to be, that should count for something."

"Slytherin is the home for the ambitious" the voice said "despite what others may think, that driving force is the most important quality of a true Slytherin. I'm afraid you don't belong there."

"...What if I insist?"

The hat shifted on his head "I still cannot put you where you don't belong."

"Fine" Harry's hands gripped the edge of the stool tightly "but you have to put me somewhere. What about Gryffindor, I'm told I can be extremely reckless." He said in a tone of self mockery.

"Recklessness and self abandonment are not the same as courage"

The Hat's voice was soft and even, but it rang like a mocking laugh in Harry's ears.

"So you think you know all about me, with your damned mind magics" Harry was losing control of his mental voice "Just send me back then, there's nothing I can do to stop you."

"Oh no, that I can not do" the Hat said "I must place you somewhere. A placs that helps you grow...Things change. I trust that, with time, you will care, like everyone else does, and maybe you will even learn real courage! Courage and fear, they are inseparable you see..."

Harry frowned. The crazy old Hat was getting on his nerves.

"Impatient to be sorted, uh? There's only one place that's the best for you, and that is GRYNFFINDOR!"

The last word was shouted to the entire hall. The Gryffindor table erupted into the loudest cheers this night had ever heard

"We've got Potter! We've got Potter!"

So Neville was cut out when I squeezed two chapters content into one...LOL

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