Harry Potter and the Walking Shadow
By Koinaka
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Macbeth Act 5, scene 5, 24–28
Chapter Four
Welcome to Hogwarts
The stern faced witch returned several minutes later. During her absence, Harry had observed those around him. They looked like normal eleven year olds for the most part. There was no distinguishing characteristics that would have made them stick out from muggles. Weasley and Granger were standing with Longbottom, casting wary - and hopeful? - glances at him every once in a while. Malfoy was standing with several witches and the two large boys. The others were scattered in groups. Harry was the only one who stood alone.
"I am Professor McGonagall," the witch began once everyone had quieted. "I am the Deputy Headmistress here at Hogwarts. Now, before you are sorted it is essential that I tell you about the house system. There are four houses, each named after one of the four founders of Hogwarts. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history, which you will come to learn, I am sure. Your house is to be your family during your seven years of schooling. You will be rewarded as one and, likewise, punished as one by the receiving and detraction of house points. The house with the most points at the end of the year receives the House Cup. Now, if you would follow me, we can begin."
Harry followed the professor into the Great Hall. It was just as breathtaking as the outside, even more so, really.
"I read in Hogwarts: A History that the ceiling is bewitched to look like that," commented Granger as she stared above them. The ceiling had indeed been bewitched to resemble the night sky. The hall itself was lit with hundreds upon hundreds of candles hanging midair.
The hall lived up to its name. It was large. The majority of the space was taken up by four long tables filled with chattering students. At the front of the hall was another large table facing outward. There he saw the Headmaster as well as Professor Snape and what he assumed to be the rest of the professors. In front of the table, there was a stool. And on that stool sat an old ragged looking hat.
Professor McGonagall led them right up to it. A moment later, the hat opened its mouth and began to sing a song.
"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 sleep 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 Hufflepuffm
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 folkuse any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're safe in my hands (though I have none)
For I am a Thinking Cap!
There was silence for about a minute before everyone broke into polite applause.
Unrolling a piece of parchment, Professor McGonagall addressed the first years. "When I call your name, please come forward to be sorted."
And so began the sorting. Harry studied the tables of students while the others were being sorted. The Gryffindor table was loud and boisterous. The Hufflepuffs were whispering quietly to one another. The Ravenclaws were silent. And the Slytherins... they were all studying him, something Harry did not care for at all. His newfound fame - for something he found utterly ridiculous - was becoming quite troublesome. He had learned early that those who were famous or popular were watched and certain things were expected of them. Harry did not want to be watched. Nor did he want to have any expectations placed on him. He noticed that both Professor Snape and Professor Dumbledore kept watching him as well.
Harry was pulled from his thoughts by a burst of loud clapping by the Gryffindor table as Granger went to take her seat with them.
Several minutes after Granger's sorting, Professor McGonagall looked briefly at her parchment before calling Harry's name. "Potter, Harry."
There were a few seconds of silence before the whispering began.
"It's Harry Potter!"
"The Harry Potter! Can you believe it?"
"I bet he'll get sorted into Gryffindor. All the Potters go to Gryffindor!"
"It's the Boy-Who-Lived!"
The hat fell over his head cutting off his vision of the Great Hall. There was a moment of silence before a small voice spoke directly into his ear.
"My, my, you are difficult. Yes, very difficult, indeed. A good mind, no doubt about that. You would do well in Ravenclaw. Oh goodness, yes. Such a thirst for knowledge. Yes, I think you would do quite well in Ravenclaw. I can see it all in your mind. But there is one thing you desire more than knowledge. Such ambition…It's not misplaced, no, I daresay you will do great things. So, where to put you?"
Harry's eyes narrowed slightly. Not Ravenclaw, he thought. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with Ravenclaw, but he belonged in Slytherin. He was a Parselmouth, an ability only known to be found in the Slytherin line. He must be related to Salazar Slytherin somehow. He belonged in Slytherin.
"Are you sure? Ravenclaw would help you on your way to greatness. You'd get far less notice there than else where – no? Well, if you're sure, better be – SLYTHERIN!" The hat cried where everyone could hear.
He took off the hat, placed it back on the stool, and went to the Slytherin table. Malfoy was already surrounded by his friends, so Harry took a seat near a pale boy he thought was called Nott or something similar. The silence that had dawned with the hat's proclamation ended when Professor McGonagall called out the next name to be sorted.
Finally, with Zabini, Blaise being sent to Slytherin, the sorting was finished.
As Professor McGonagall took the Sorting Hat away, Professor Dumbledore stood up. "I would like welcome everyone, both new and old, to another year at Hogwarts! Let me take a moment to say a few words before the start of the feast: Bippity! Abra! Bobbity! Now, everyone tuck in!"
And with that, huge platters of food appeared on the table, and their goblets became filled with a strange orange liquid that smelled vaguely of pumpkins and autumn to Harry. They weren't allowed to celebrate Halloween at the orphanage. Sister Agatha believed it was a pagan holiday, so he'd never gone trick-or-treating or carved jack-o-lanterns at home like the other children at school, but throughout the years, his teachers would bring in Jack-o-Lanterns, and Harry always loved their smell.
He picked up a goblet and drank tentatively from it. It did taste of pumpkin and was sweet, as well.
"It's pumpkin juice," said a quiet voice near him. Harry looked up sharply to see the Nott boy studying him.
The boy flushed a faint pink and broke eye contact with Harry, staring instead at the plate full of food in front of him. "I'm Nott, Theodore Nott. You can call me Theo."
Harry arched an eyebrow, but introduced himself to the boy. "Harry Potter."
Again the boy flushed. "I don't think there is anyone here who does not know who you are. You are famous, you know."
"Famous for something that I don't even remember," he sighed.
"Better that than for being the son of a Death Eater," muttered Nott.
Harry had read all about Death Eaters, of course. They were the servants of Voldemort. A lot of them had been captured and arrested, but some had managed to escape arrest claiming they were bewitched or so the books said. He wondered how they could tell the difference. From what he could tell, the Auror Corps tended to rely on rumor and unsubstantiated facts for convictions as there wasn't a great deal of proof to be had after the fact. It didn't seem to be the most effective way to capture criminals especially when they were able to use magic.? He was beginning to feel that certain areas of the wizarding world, besides the educational system, were severely lacking.
Harry realized then that he had never responded. "There is that, I suppose."
"Yes, well, my father's in Azkaban now. Got what he deserved, and all that, if you listen to them tell it."
Harry was unsure what to say, so he settled for saying nothing. He wasn't used for strangers pouring their heart out to him.
He spent the rest of the feast in silence. Contemplating his new "home" as it were. The castle was rather large. He would have to dedicate some time to exploring it in order to learn its secrets. He knew there would be a library. He was looking forward to seeing that as he wanted to learn all that he could about magic.
Harry took a moment to study the teachers. On one side of Dumbledore sat the rather large man who had accompanied the first years across the lake. He was making a bit of a spectacle of himself, waving at Harry though Harry had not acknowledged him. On the other side was an oddly familiar brown-haired man. He was drawn, pale, and a bit on the thin side. The robes he wore were obviously second-hand, and were very very tattered. Then, beside him, there was also a short fellow who reminded Harry vaguely of the creatures who ran the wizarding bank. And next to the Potion Master was a pale-faced, shaky-looking man who was wearing an odd purple turban, and seemed to be asking the Potion Master question after question, much to the man's dismay. The turbaned man looked up briefly, and he locked eyes with Harry. As he did so, a shot of pain erupted in his scar. He flinched and rubbed it.
Then, the Headmaster stood up.
"I'm sure you are all anxious to get to bed so that you can begin a new year of classes in the morning, but if you would allow me to impose on your time for several more minutes to give the start of term announcements.
"I am sure that you have noticed there have been some additions to our staff as well as some missing. Professor Kettleburn decided at the end of last year to retire. Taking his place is Professor Lupin.
"Now, then, on to our other announcements. I would like to remind all students that the Forbidden Forest is just that: forbidden. By that same token, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is strictly off limits to all students not wishing to suffer an extremely painful death.
"Last, but certainly not least, Mr. Filch has increased the number of banned items to two hundred and sixty-seven. The list of items, should you require it, is available in Mr. Filch's office. Now, bedtime. Off you trot!"
He clapped once and all of the plates on all of the tables vanished at once. Some of the first years looked around in awe, some with anxiety, Harry, however, was eyeing the Headmaster curiously.
A short, burly looking boy wearing a dark look and a scowl glared at the Slytherin first years, Harry in particular. "Come on," he said, shortly. "I 'aven't got all night to look after you lot."
Nott exchanged a brief look with Harry and both boys stood along with their house mates and followed the prefect out of the Great Hall and down several flights of stairs. They came to a stop in front of a blank stone wall. The bulky prefect placed a hand on the wall and a circle appeared.
"The password, which changes weekly, will grant you, and only you, access to the Common Room. If you forget the password, you should report to Professor Snape, our head of house, and if he is feeling generous, he may give you the password. If not..." he let the threat hang in the air.
He cleared his throat and continued. "The password for this week is purus."
With the required word, the circle swung open and Harry found himself in the middle of an elaborate room filled with silver and green.
"That's Latin for pure, half-blood," said an older boy, leering at Harry.
"I'm well aware of what it means," Harry replied coolly. He had planned to say more, but the prefect had swept around and begun to speak, cutting him off completely.
"Girl's dormitories are on the right, boy's on the left. Your belongings should already be in place."
-- edited by Koinaka on March 4, 2010 --
-- Thank you to my lovely beta, Mordac, for all of your wonderful help!--