Right, Great thanks to my reviewers, I'll answer some of your questions, the timeline will alter signifigantly, it's inevitable, for a start Dumbles has his memories. The Dursleys will remember, Vernon can't change, he's to much of a prejudiced idiot (no abuse though, sorry all people who like to see poor Harry being whacked with belt buckles), Petunia may be able to change, but it's very unlikely we shall have to wait and see, Dudley (lucky sod) has already been changed and he's got another seven years to go from 'I don't think you're a waste of space' to 'Goodbye Cousin Harry, loads of good luck and all my love' I'm not sure he'll actually say that, but fictional characters are very unpredictable these days (References my Immortal and all of the Snarry Fics out there). If everybody remembered it wouldn't be as fun, but it's not just Harry's friends, it's people who were important to him or made a large impression on him, or were a signifigant part of his life, but not many of the bad guys, or idiots, so Cedric Diggory will have his memories, but Lockhart won't, even though Harry knew both personally for the same time, Cedric made much more of an impression on Harry than Lockhart could ever have hoped for. Hermes and Ron may make an attempt to be a couple during Fourth and Fifth books, but I have other plans for Ron (Grins evilly). So, all that's left to do is disclaim, much as I would like to have wrote Harry Potter (And recieve all that lovely money!) I don't, it all credit goes to the amazing J.K Rowling, oh and sorry for the wait.
Chapter Four
Fred and George were happily talking with Lee Jordan, it felt nice to see him, after all that had happened and all the time that had passed, an old friend was almost as comforting a presence as Hogwarts was, now it was whole again. Oliver Wood was manically signaling to the rest of the Quidditch team, who were ingnoring him, and Percy was discussing future careers with the female Gryffindor Prefect (who for some reason is completely unamed and unnoticed, any suggestions?) then strangely, because something like this never happened at Hogwarts, Cedric Diggory got up from the Hufflepuff table and walked over to Fred and George, he looked ever so slightly unsure of himself, slightly unsteady. It was strange because, while the houses were friendly, they were all rather self contained, a student from one house did not suddenly get up to go and talk to two others, in a different house, in different classes, with different friends.
"Fred, George, can I talk to you?" he asked.
"What about?" Fred asked, "Is it something to do with Harry Potter?" George asked
"Yes, you don't mean you remember too?" Cedric sat down.
"We do." From George "Don't we Gred?"
"Yes we do Forge." From Fred, "Can I tell you something Cedric." Fred asked, almost in a whisper. The normal student babble was resuming, the shock of seeing Cedric Diggory, star of Hufflepuff, talking with the infamous Weasly twins was going.
"Yes..." Cedric replied, almost anxious about the reply, Fred leaned in closer to Cedric, lowering his voice. "I got killed too, a couple of years after you 'course, in a battle, here actually." He told Cedric, "We'll tell you about it later, the sorting's gonna begin in a minute, you'll have to go back to Hufflepuff." George told him.
"Okay, good to know I'm not the only one, well, Cho remembers too, she told me on the train, and cried, on me, said it was nice to see me again, she's a bit emotional really, specially since Harry's a girl now."
"Wait, you know that bit?" Fred and George cried in unison.
"Yeah, our memories kind of got flooded with stuff from this version of events. Nothing from after the train ride, just quite a bit about Harry being Harriet Potter, the Girl-Who-Lived, instead of the Boy-Who-Lived. See you."
"Well I never Fred."
"No George, who else do y'think remembers?"
"I can guess, some of them, you know like,"
"GINNY!" they said together. The hall doors swang open, to let the first years in.
After all this time Harry still marvelled at the Great hall on the night of a feast. It was always such a strange and splendid room, the tables covered in their gleaming golden plates and goblets, the thousands of candles floating in mid-air, the huge flaming torch brackets on the walls giving the whole room an aura of warmth and the bewitched ceiling a velvety balck expanse, dotted with stars, somehow the ceiling was the most reassuring part of the hall, it was the same night sky Harry had seen when she was first sorted. McGonagall was getting out the old four-legged stool and placing it in front of the first-years. The frayed and dirty sorting hat was placed on it.
Harry remembered all the things she had thought she would have to do, rabbits out of hats and all sorts of silly stuff. The hat twitched. The large mouthlike rip near the brim opened, and the sorting hat began the song Harry heard for the first and only time, on this spot, seven years into her past.
"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 may belong in Hufflepuff, Where they are just and loyal, Those patient Hufflepuffs are true And unafraid of toil; Or yet wise old Ravenclaw, If you've a ready mind, Where those of wit and learning, Will always find their kind; Or perhaps 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!" The entirety of the hall burst forth with commendation for the hat. Ron looked at Harry and winked.
"You know Ron, you never did kill Fred for saying that you had to wrestle a troll." Harry whispered.
"I didn't need to someone else did it for me. A bit late though." Ron replied, more solemnly than Harry had expected, awkward silence reigned between the two until McGonagall stepped forward with the parchment to call everyone to the sorting.
"When I call your name, you will put the hat on and sit on the stoo to be sorted."
"Abbott, Hannah!" Hannah Abbott stumbled over to the hat and put it on. It waited before announcing,
"Hufflepuff!" Hannah went over to her cheering table. McGonagall rattled on through the list.
"Hufflepuff!"
"Ravenclaw!"
"Ravenclaw!"
"Gryffindor!"
"Slytherin!"
"Hufflepuff!"
"Gryffindor!" And so on, soon it was Hermes' turn, he did it with much more dignity than last time. The hat paused for a second or two before shouting,
"Gryffindor!" When Neville's turn came, Harry was almost dissapointed when he just took the hat off and walked to the table after the Hat shouted,
"Gryffindor!" Later Malfoy walked up to become a,
"Slytherin!" the Hat proclaimed. He didn't smirk this time.
"Slytherin!"
"Slytherin!"
"Ravenclaw!"
"Gryffindor!"
"Potter, Harriet!" Harry at last had to walk up to the stool, it was quite like Déjà vu. The same questions asked, the same whispers, the same stares, the same few hundred pairs of eyes staring right at her as the hat dropped over her head. The hat never spoke. It just waited for a second and shouted,
"Gryffindor!" Harry made her way over to the Gryffindor table, relieved and calm. At least it hadn't tried to put her in Slytherin. The Gryffindor table was creating a monumentous noise cheering for her, Harry suddenly realised just how loud it was this time, she hadn't really payed attention earlier. Fred and George were doing a little conga with the Quidditch team, yelling "WE GOT POTTER!" Again. Hermes and Ron were falling off the benches in laughter and even Percy was suppressing giggles, though rather well, and they were all shaking hands with Harry and congratulating her.
Harry watched the rest of the sorting with very little interest. She went through the feast almost mechanically, she was beginning to feel tired and sleepy. She heard the school song and vaguely followed it. Eventually she could feel her feet carrying her up to the common room, Percy's rehearsed voice directing the first years and finally, a warm bed and sleep...