Chapter 4: The Term Begins
"Minerva, I know having Harry take the Hogwarts Express might be a waste of time since the boy is already in the castle but he could make some friends during the journey." Dumbledore advised her.
"He can make several friends at Gryffindor Common Room after he's sorted." Minerva replied, still angry at the Headmaster for leaving Harry with the Dursleys. Professor Snape snorted at her comment.
"And may I know what's so funny, Severus?" She asked him.
"You think the brat will want to be a Gryffindor after the so 'wonderful' first impression you made." Snape bluntly answered. "I could expect the brat's father or Sirius Black to make that mistake but not you or anybody else."
"Severus!" Professor McGonagall was scandalized at the Potions Master's comment. "Harry Potter will be a Gryffindor! His parents were Gryffindors! The Potters were always Gryffindors! That's how it is!"
"Sirius Black came from a family of Slytherins and yet…" Snape argued until McGonagall interrupted him.
"Black was a fluke." She said. "Or perhaps it had been planned from the beginning. Black might have hexed the Hat to put him at Gryffindor to spy on James."
"I HEARD THAT!" The Sorting Hat shouted in anger. "The Founders placed enchantments on me to prevent that from happening. Any students not behaving as expected by the House only shows eleven is too early for a kid to have their character established."
"Anyway, I can't let Mr. Potter annoy the other students with his muggle relatives' made-up theory about Sirius Black being innocent." McGonagall said. "I must minimize contact between him and any other students until he accepts the truth or he'll suffer the same ostracism Xenophilius Lovegood suffered during his days as a student for his theories on the Crumple-Horned Snorkack."
"Great. Just what I needed." Snape sarcastically remarked. "A reminder of what awaits for us next year." He said while thinking about Xenophilius' daughter Luna Lovegood.
"Anyway, since Mr. Potter is already here, there's no meaning making him take the train." She stated.
Later on, as Groundskeeper Rubeus Hagrid took the other first years to Professor McGonagall, she and Harry were waiting for them. Professor McGonagall gave the students a speech about the importance of the Houses, how the students' achievements earn points to their respective Houses and how their rule-breaking would cost points from their Houses.
"Are you Harry Potter?" A red-haired boy asked in surprise after they entered the castle and Professor McGonagall left them to join the rest of the school staff.
"Yes." Harry calmly answered. "And you?"
"I'm Ronald Weasley. Why weren't you at the train with the rest of us?"
"That despicable McGonagall took me away from my family because they made me realize how barbaric this world is." Harry explained to the shock of his year-mates.
"Why do you consider this world barbaric, Potter?" A blond-haired boy arrogantly asked.
"The Ministry can make people rot in prison without bothering to check if they're guilty or not." Harry explained.
"Are you barmy?" Ron asked in surprise. "Several Death Eaters cheated justice and are still free." He then pointed at the blond boy. "Malfoy's father, for example."
"My father is innocent." The Malfoy boy protested.
"If being innocent were enough to keep one from imprisonment, my Godfather would have been released a long time ago." Harry replied.
"Harry!" Ron was shocked. "Are you suggesting Sirius Black is innocent?"
"Wouldn't surprise me." Harry calmly replied. "There's not even proof that Peter Pettigrew really died in that explosion."
That comment scared a rat living in one of Ron Weasley's pockets. Said rat, that Ron called 'Scabbers', filled the pocket with urine.
"Look!" Malfoy exclaimed. "Rat-pee Weasley." Most students laughed.
"This is not nice, Malfoy." A buck-toothed girl scolded him. "And, Potter, I've read all they found of Peter Pettigrew was a finger."
"Exactly." Harry agreed. "Just a finger. Where's the rest of him?"
"It was destroyed at the explosion." She answered.
"That's the conclusion people jumped to back then." Harry argued. "How can anyone be sure he didn't escape and leave that finger to trick everyone?"
Before anyone had a chance to react, the doors to the Great Hall were opened and the students took seats at a table located in the middle of a group of five. The other four tables were taken by already-sorted upper years. In alphabetical order, each first year had to put on the Sorting Hat, which would decide where each student would be sorted. For example, Susan Bones (She caught Harry's attention for having the same surname as the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement) became a Hufflepuff; Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom became Gryffindors; and Draco Malfoy became a Slytherin. Eventually, it was Harry's turn.
"Hmmmm." The hat mumbled. "Afraid of our world. Not that I blame you. Anyway, I agree with Professor Snape. Leaving England would work better than trying to stay away from the Wizarding World. I see you desire for connections that'll protect you and you believe Slytherin is the only place where you can get those. Well, I don't necessarily agree but you don't want to be at a House headed by Professor McGonagall and I see a potential for greatness and the best place to reach it is… SLYTHERIN!"
Professor Snape was divided between giving Professor McGonagall his in-your-face look for being right about Harry not becoming a Gryffindor and being upset James Potter's son joined his House. The others were just shocked. Ignoring their reactions, Harry went to Slytherin table. Harry sat next to Malfoy. "Welcome to Slytherin, Potter."
"Thank you, Malfoy."
"Potter, it's time we introduce ourselves properly." Malfoy commented. "My name is Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."
"And I'm Potter. Harry Potter." Harry replied, assuming Draco was a fan of James Bond. "So, any idea of why is practically everyone shocked I became a Slytherin?"
"You were expected to become a Gryffindor."
"Why would I join the House headed by the one who took me away from my Uncle and my Aunt?" Harry asked in confusion.
"While many people in Slytherin would consider being rescued from Muggles a good reason, there's also the fact the Potters are usually sorted at Gryffindor." Draco Malfoy explained. "It'd have been less shocking if you had been sorted into Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw but Slytherin is the worst case because of the long-standing rivalry between the two Houses."
After the sorting ended, (Ronald Weasley became a Gryffindor, by the way) Headmaster Dumbledore made announcements. He told the students the Forbidden Forest was, of course, forbidden to all students and the third floor corridor must be avoided by all students who don't desire a painful death. "How odd." Harry commented.
"I know." Draco replied. "Students not being allowed into the Forbidden Forest are no news but I've never heard of any restrictions to the third floor. I'll owl father. He's in the Board of Governors."
"What's the Board of Governors?" Harry asked.
"They supervise the Headmaster and make sure he's keeping Hogwarts up to proper standards, Potter." Draco answered. "Father has long wanted to sack Dumbledore but the other Governors wouldn't agree. They'll probably be interested in learning why he's so keen to keep students away from that corridor."
After the opening ceremony ended, the students went to their dormitories. Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were disappointed that Harry not only went to Slytherin but also befriended Draco Malfoy. "All we can do now is hope that, just like Sirius Black revealed himself to be a true Slytherin, Harry will reveal himself to be a true Gryffindor, Minerva." Dumbledore told her.
At the Slytherin Common Room, House Head Snape gave the Slytherin first years a lecture. "Attention. As probably all of you must know, Slytherin is known as the evil house and students from other houses tend to hate us. Whenever you leave the common room, leave in groups so you'll be able to defend yourselves. I myself was a constant victim of a group of bullies back when I was a student. It didn't help matters that the Dark Lord was a Slytherin student and picked his first followers among his housemates from that time. In fact, most people think there weren't any Death Eaters that weren't Slytherin students but they're wrong. Even if you don't count Death Eaters who attended other schools, some Death Eaters came from the other houses. Even from Gryffindor."
A student raised his hand. "You mean Sirius Black, right?"
"That is correct, Goyle." Snape replied and then noticed Harry was about to protest. "Even if he turns out to be innocent as theorized by some, James Potter's closest friends were all Gryffindors, including Peter Pettigrew, and Potter wouldn't have trusted anybody else."
Harry seemed to accept that explanation. Snape then continued. "If you have any disagreements among yourselves, keep them within out common room. We must keep a united front to the rest of the school. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Sir." They said. Professor Snape then gave general instructions the other Heads of House gave their students.
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