Runes of Reality
--------------------------------
Harry never had a life with the Dursleys because he grew up as Harry Devereux. Eleven years later, he is Sorted into Slytherin. Amidst the constant animosity, Harry finds friendship and a will to change the negative perception associated with the Serpent House.
--------------------------------
Main Relationship Focus: Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy/Blaise Zabini/Theodore Nott Friendship
Genres: Action & Adventure, Drama and Suspense
Rating: T for violence and language
Length: Epic
Warnings: Slight Dumbledore, Ron, Seamus, Dean and Justin bashing
Disclaimers: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros, Bloomsbury. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Some parts are from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
Beta: The amazing Kathryn
--------------------------------
IV: Rune of Discomfort
Harry peered out of the window as the train passed mountains and forests under dark sky. The train was slowing down, and the four boys were already dressed in their immaculate crestless black school robes.
"We'll be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately." Harry's stomach fluttered with excitement, though he made sure to keep his face showing only polite indifference. The young boy saw similar excitement shining in his three friends' eyes despite their cool faces.
The train finally stopped.
People pushed their way towards the door and out onto a tiny, dark platform. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a deep, booming voice.
"Firs'-years! Firs'-years over here! All right there?"
Out of the shadows came the biggest man Harry had ever seen, with a large, tangled brown beard and wild hair. Slipping and stumbling, they followed the gigantic man as he led them down a steep, narrow path. Nobody spoke much.
As they approached the lake, Harry shivered slightly despite his thick robes. It felt . . . mystical, magical. They got into little boats with instructions "No more'n four to a boat!" from their gigantic guide. When Hogwarts made its first appearance, Harry lost his earlier indifference and stared at it in amazement.
Perched atop a high mountain, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turret towers. From Draco, Blaise, and Theodore's stares, even they thought it was magnificent.
It was not long before the entire group landed and made their way up a rocky passageway. They found themselves gathered around a huge oak door. Hagrid raised an enormous fist and knocked three times. The eleven-year-olds waited with baited breath, curious about who or what would open the door.
It swung open to reveal a tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes with a very stern face. Draco bent slightly to whisper in his friend's ear, "That's McGonagall, the Transfiguration professor. She's also the Deputy Headmistress and the Head of Gryffindor."
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." Even her voice sounded prim, Harry thought, as she pulled the door wide. From the back, the stern Professor reminded Harry of his mother. They had the same commanding presence and were both rather tall.
They followed Professor McGonagall without question. Harry could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right – the rest of the school must have reached the room before them - but Professor McGonagall showed the first-years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer than they would usually have done, most peering about nervously. Harry did not like the crowds and shot Draco a beseeching look. The blond only quirked his lips and Harry rolled his eyes.
The silent conversation was interrupted when Professor McGonagall began to talk.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, the start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room." She paused to take a breath and then continued.
"The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points and any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.
"I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." Professor McGonagall then left the chamber, and chattering immediately started. The quartet took the chance to regroup.
"What the – ?" Blaise started when they heard several people scream. Harry turned and saw ghosts streaming through the walls. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to each other and hardly glancing at the first-years. They seemed to be arguing. A fat little monk was saying, "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance –"
"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost – I say, what are you all doing here?"
A ghost wearing a ruff and tights suddenly noticed the first-years. Harry smiled slightly, they were just like Jasper, the family's resident ghost.
"We're here to be Sorted, sir." Harry spoke up clearly.
"New students!" said the Fat Friar, beaming around them. Some smiled back, unafraid of the friendly ghost. "Hope to see you in Hufflepuff! My old house, you know."
"Move along now," said a sharp voice, belonging to Professor McGonagall, rang out, "The Sorting Ceremony is about to start."
"Now form a line and follow me."
Harry got behind Blaise, and they walked out the chamber, back across the hall and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall. Harry had never seen such a splendid place. Their ballroom at home was beautiful, but it could not even begin to compare with this.
The hall was lit by thousands of floating candles over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. The tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the Hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first-years there, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students with the teachers behind them.
Harry looked upwards to another magnificent sight – a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. They must have transfigured it somehow. Harry made a mental note to ask his mother whether they could do that at home.
He focused his attention back on Professor McGonagall as she silently placed a four-legged stool in front of them. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. The hat was patched, frayed and extremely dirty.
For a few moments, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched, and Harry's lips twitched with it as he smothered a smile. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth – and the hat began to sing.
Everyone was silent, until the conclusion of the song, when the whole hall burst into applause. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became still again. Professor McGonagall stepped forward holding a long roll of yellowed parchment.
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"
Harry paid slight attention, but at the looks of Blaise's bored expression, the Italian boy long had tuned out the voices. There were already three Hufflepuffs, four Gryffindors, two Ravenclaws and three Slytherins. Soon it was Draco's turn.
"Malfoy, Draco" brought the blond boy walking gracefully towards the stool. The hat had barely touched his head before it shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"
With a second glance at his friends, the blond boy made his way to the green and sliver table on the right side of Ravenclaw. There were not many people left to be sorted.
Theo who was Sorted quickly into Slytherin, and then his name was called.
"Potter, Harry!"
As Harry stepped forward cautiously, whispers broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.
"Potter, did she say?"
"The Harry Potter?"
The last thing Harry saw before the hat was dropped over his eyes was the Hall full of people craning to get a good look at him. Next second, he was looking at the black inside the hat. He waited.
"Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "You don't really like the attention, do you? But you've learned how to deal with it … Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see and chock full of loyalty. Not a bad mind, either. There's talent, oh my goodness, yes – and a nice thirst to acquire knowledge and to prove yourself, now that's interesting… you're a mix of your three parents. So where shall I put you?"
"Sir, I trust your judgement."
The little voice in his ear chuckled. "A quick tongue, I see. Which house would you like to go?"
"I don't really mind any one but I would like to go into Slytherin since my friends are there, I guess you would know what's best."
The hat chuckled again, "Glib, aren't you? Then it seems the best fit would be…"
"SLYTHERIN!"
Harry heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. He took off the hat and walked confidently to the Slytherin table amidst total silence. Then the whole Slytherin table erupted in enthusiastic clapping. Harry slid into the seat across Theo beside his blond friend and shared a grin with Draco. "Thanks."
"We Slytherins have to look after each other."
And there was only three people left to be sorted. "Turpin, Lisa" became a Ravenclaw and then it was the redhead's turn. "Weasley, Ronald" entered Gryffindor a second later. It was finally Blaise's turn.
"Zabini, Blaise."
"SLYTHERIN!"
With a brilliant grin, the tanned boy sat beside Theo. "Sweet! We're all Slytherins!" The four boys shared a grin and turned their attention to the High Table.
In the middle chair of the high table sat Albus Dumbledore. Harry recognised him at once from a card he had gotten from a Chocolate Frog and descriptions from his mother. The Headmaster's silvery hair shone as brightly as the ghosts. He got to his feet and beamed at his students with his arms open wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all at once.
"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words." Harry listened incredulously to the few nonsense words, wondered if it was some sort of code but discarded the idea, officially regarding the Headmaster as a barmy but probably brilliant wizard. The banquet subsequently began and everyone dug in into the delicious fare prepared by the house-elves.
At last even the puddings had disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent and everyone's gaze turned to the High Table.
"Ahem – just a few more words now we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you." The candlelight flickered softly, lending the hall a soft, warm glow.
"First-years should note that the forest in the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students should do well to remember that as well."
Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Gryffindor table, and Harry traced the line of sight to a pair of identical redheaded twins.
"I've also been asked by Mister Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.
"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."
Harry chuckled, but he was one of the few who did. "Is he serious?" Blaise muttered to an older student.
"Must be," said a student, whose name Harry remembered as Warrick from Draco's whispered introductions, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere – the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that."
"Now, before we got off to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Harry noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed. It was only a few more moments when the young boy figured out why for himself.
"Everyone, pick your favourite tune, and off we go!"
What came next was absolutely horrible to Harry's ears.
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot."
It was horrendous and everyone finished the song at different times and different tunes. The two redheads Harry had seen earlier – twins, he thought -- were the last to finished in a funeral-march pace.
"Ah, music! A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"
The Slytherin first-years followed Liam Huntington, a fifth-year Prefect, through the chattering crowd. Harry, Draco, Blaise, and Theo were four out of the six Slytherin first-year boys. Together as a group, the four boys pushed and were pushed as they made their way through the crowd to reach the dungeons.
At the very end of the underground passage hung was a blank stone wall. The perfect whispered the password, serpentine superiority, but everyone heard it clearly. The wall swung open to reveal a stone archway in the wall. They walked through it and found themselves in the Slytherin common room, an elegantly decorated room full of leather couches.
Liam directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the other end of the dungeons, the boys soon settled into a room with six four-posters beds hung with soothing forest-green curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk, they brushed their teeth, pulled on their pyjamas, and fell into bed.
Harry burrowed into the comfortable sheets and fell asleep almost at once. His mother was right – Hogwarts was going to be an experience for him.
--------------------------------
About half-past six, an alarm rang loudly and woke up all four boys immediately. The quartet quickly got ready for the day. When they walked out of their dormitory, they saw their Head of House, Professor Snape, waiting for them
"Good morning, Professor Snape," the quartet of boys chorused. The stern-looking man nodded curtly.
Their Head of House took a long look of his first-years – six boys and four girls – pointedly ignoring Harry, just as he had during the sorting and feast.
"For the next seven years, this will be your extended family and home. In the Slytherin, you will be respectful, help your fellow Slytherins in need, uphold the Slytherin name, and be united under the Slytherin banner." The austere man paused for a dramatic effect, and Harry had to concede that the man was a good orator.
"We, as Slytherins, are looked down upon by other Houses because we have 'ties' to the Dark. Let them think what they like; we do not answer to their stereotypes. You need only yourselves to survive and prosper. Stay together, there is strength in number, and you shall go far.
"We understand the need for knowledge; we recognize the necessity of secrecy; we appreciate subtlety; we encourage ambition; and we nurture talent. Education consists not just of academics, but of lessons in life – we strive to prepare you for the real word; the world that you will join once you complete Hogwarts." He paused here and sneered, "Other Houses encourage moral superiority and idealism, which will do little for you outside Hogwarts, while we instil realism and pragmatism."
"I will expect nothing less than the best grades and conduct outside of this common room. While you are in here, no rules will be broken. If these instructions are disregarded, the consequences will be dire. I do not tolerate insolence. Am I clear?"
The Potions Master received ten nods before adding, "Welcome to Hogwarts. I hope that each one of you will be a fine addition to the Slytherin House."
With a dramatic turn and billowing of black robes, the tall man strode out of the common room with a practiced elegance. Harry turned to his right to see admiration in Draco's grey eyes.
"Do you know him?"
"Professor Snape is Draco's godfather and a close friend of his father," Blaise helpfully supplied.
Draco nodded to confirm. "He's also one of Europe's finest Potions masters. I hope to apprentice under him one day." Harry smiled at his blond friend.
"Anyway, I'm hungry. Let's get some breakfast." Blaise's comment led to three eager nods and the four eleven-year-olds made their way quickly to the Great Hall for their first meal of the day. The breakfast fare was scrumptious. Besides the food, though, there were also pieces of parchment by each seat.
"Timetables! Oooo, what do we have first?" Bouncing with excitement, Blaise peered over Theo's shoulder to look.
"Classes," came his matter-of-fact answer, "and you have your own personal copy." Blaise shot Theo a cheeky grin and shrugged. The serious boy rolled his eyes but said nothing while Harry and Draco looked on with amusement.
Breakfast passed happily, but as the quartet left the table and made their way to classes, whispering accompanied them, to the point where even Theo was getting annoyed.
"There, look."
"Where?"
"Next to the blond kid, the Malfoy."
"Wearing the glasses?"
"Do you see his face?"
"Do you see his scar?"
Whispers followed Harry like a nasty stench. People queued outside classrooms standing on tiptoe to get a look at him or doubled back to pass him in the corridors again, staring. Harry wished fervently for the attention to stop. Often, Blaise had to shoo off some of the more annoying ones who came up to ask stupid questions. Draco just glared at them all while Theo ignored them.
Harry sighed, his mother was right in saying that he'd get no peace out of his common room. Crowds really do give him headaches, especially consisting of those with shining eyes and had their own image of the Saviour. His friends had noticed his aversion and had taken to loosely surrounding him as they walked outside of the dungeons to classes or meals.
Most in Slytherin respected his personal space and some older girls even thought that the quartet of first-years was adorable, like a set of cute quadruplets who were stuck in the hips. A couple were amused by the irony: the Light side's Golden Boy being in Slytherin and friends with the heirs of the three most powerful Pureblooded families rumoured to be Dark.
"Come on, let's hurry up," Draco suggested as the whispering and pointing increased. "We've got Potions first today. I wouldn't want to be late for Professor Snape's class on the first day," Draco picked up his pace and the rest followed suit. Harry grimaced as the whispering grew louder and then when he thought about his blond friend's words, he gulped.
Harry had a bad feeling about this class.
--------------------------------
TBC…
And we all know what happens next… right?
Sorry for the late update!! Hope you guys enjoy this!
Special A/N (it will be on my profile too): I will not be posting any chapters of anything until June because my IB finals are coming up real soon. Please be patient and I'll try to update asap. Thank you for your support!
J.a.S