Chapter 7

Harry, Hermione, and Draco were headed to their second class of the day, Potions. They would be sharing the dungeon classroom with the other first year Hufflepuffs, which all three felt was fine. The trio had just rejoined after Harry had curiously decided to spend the morning in the library upon the conclusion of their transfiguration lesson. This would usually be normal behavior for a Ravenclaw, but what caused it to not be was the simple fact that he didn't tell anyone where he was going or why. It could be assumed that he might be in distress from Sheldon possibly being hurt, but from what Hermione had experienced in the last day or so from Harry it just didn't seem likely. Harry hadn't told her things, a lot of things in fact, but they had barely split up at all since they had met on the train.

Draco felt the same way, but he had his suspicions. He had been paying a lot more attention in Professor McGonagall's class, but not to the teacher. Draco had been spending a lot of time looking at Harry, and had noticed him stiffen up when Professor McGonagall had mentioned animagi, particularly when she had said something about it being too complicated for first years. It was probably just a coincidence, though.

While the two were thinking about why he had disappeared to the library, Harry's mind was elsewhere. He took the professor's comment that it was too complicated for first years as a personal challenge, and he planned to become an unregistered animagus by the end of his first year. Not only would he have the pleasure of being one of the youngest animagi to ever attend Hogwarts, he could also hopefully get a break from all of the attention he gathered as the Boy Who Lived. It would depend on his animagus form, but if his form was something inconspicuous, like a bird or possibly a mouse, he could just transform and get away from the attention for a while. For now, it was time for potions.

As the three entered the potions classroom, the professor's eyes never strayed from them. It was mildly unsettling, as none of them particularly liked attention. Harry especially, with all of the Boy Who Lived shit he got daily. Fortunately, as they were part of the first few who made it to class, they got to sit near each other. As the rest of the class filtered in, the professor's eyes still never wandered, honing in on the trio.

Once the final few had made it to the classroom, the professor began to speak. "I am Professor Snape, and I have the pleasure of teaching you useless first years. Before we begin, I happen to have noticed that we have a certain celebrity in our midst today."

Harry turned bright red at his professor's comment. He hated being called a celebrity. What had he done to deserve that title? He had gotten lucky, it wasn't skill that had allowed him to escape death. His mom and dad deserved the recognition, not himself. They gave their lives for him. The faint memories from that night confirmed their sacrifice, although they did confuse him. He remembered a voice, who he assumed was Voldemort, telling his mother to stand aside, and then a woman, most likely his mother, whispering something that sounded vaguely like a spell. He couldn't make out the words, and probably wouldn't be able to make sense of them even if he could hear them. The annoying voice of his potions professor brought his train of thought back onto the rails.

"Well let us see if this celebrity knows anything useful. Potter, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry, of course, had absolutely no idea. He realized that the professor was just trying to embarrass him in front of a class, and lost control of his temper.

"Excuse me professor, but isn't the point of this class to learn? How am I supposed to know this on the first day of class, much less in the first five minutes? I'm sorry that I didn't think to memorize the entire textbook, but I am also just a first year and had no idea that I was expected to know everything on the first day of class."

"Twenty points from Ravenclaw! You are never to speak to me in that way again, or you will be facing expulsion!"

This caused quite an outburst in the classroom. Many felt that talking back to a professor that was just trying to make you angry was not even close to acceptable grounds for expulsion. Professor Snape was already gaining a reputation in the two houses, and it wasn't one to be proud of.

Harry could feel the anger radiating from his two friends. He hadn't known them long, but he hoped to in the future. They had only known each other for around twenty-four hours, yet he felt he had an unprecedented bond with them. He would easily do anything to keep these two safe, even if it put his life at risk. It seemed they felt the same way, as both Draco and Hermione rushed to Harry's defense. Draco was the first to tear into Snape.

"Are you kidding me? I'm not sure that talking back to a bully disguised as a teacher is an acceptable reason for expelling a student. How did you even become a teacher? Weren't you a Death Eater?"

Snape looked shocked at being revealed as a Death Eater by a first year and in front of an entire class. Hermione, seeing the professor's defenses weaken, took this as an opportunity to continue what Draco started.

"He's right. I thought teachers were supposed to teach, not spend their time bulling a first year because he defeated the Dark Lord! As a child! Now do you need to take more anger out on an innocent kid, or can we start class now?"

Snape turned away from the fuming pair. Harry just looked even more embarrassed, although he didn't even know that was possible until now. He watched a now silent Professor Snape write on the board, giving instructions on how to brew the most simple of potions, one to cure boils. He then, in almost a whisper, told them to get into pairs. He retreated to his desk, and started on a report for the headmaster.

The trio, noticing Snape not paying attention, decided to become a group of three, and started on their potion. While it was supposedly one of the simplest potions, several groups around them were failing to complete the task. Cauldrons were melting, boils were erupting all over students' bodies, and their professor did absolutely nothing to help.

Fortunately, with Harry, Hermione, and Draco working together, they managed to avoid any accidents, and successfully brewed the potion. When Harry glanced up at Snape, he wasn't surprised to find a look of disappointment on the professor's face. Draco was right, Snape really was just a bully disguised as a teacher.

As Harry and his two friends headed back to their dormitory after a long and dreadful potions class, Alendria caught up with them. Harry almost hit himself as he realized that he had forgotten about her, and she would have had to work with someone she didn't know during class. He was lucky that Alendria seemed to have not noticed, and actually had a look of joy on her face.

"I can't believe you three stood up to Professor Snape like that!"

Draco was the one who replied to her, almost in a yell. "Well what were we supposed to do? Just let him embarrass and bully Harry because he's a teacher?"

"No, it's just that I haven't heard of anyone standing up to him before. I may be a first year like you, but I have a few upper-year friends. Nobody likes Snape, but no one has ever had the courage to stand up to him like that, either. Are you sure you three are Ravenclaws?"

Harry was the one to respond this time. "Well that's where the Sorting Hat put me so it appears that I am."

A disturbed Albus Dumbledore was thinking the same thing up in his office. He had been so sure that Harry would be sorted into Gryffindor, yet he had been put into Ravenclaw. Albus had gone over every option, but he saw no reason that could justify him moving Harry to Gryffindor. It had never been done before, but he was one who liked to explore uncharted territory. It was time to speak to Harry.

Not long after the trio, plus Alendria, arrived back at the common room, a short man came into the dormitory, headed straight for Harry.

"Harry Potter, you have been summoned to the headmaster's office. Please come with me."

With a quick, scared glance at his friends, he followed the man. Hermione, Draco, and Alendria all looked suitably worried at the summons, but had no choice but to let him go. As Harry was following, the man introduced himself.

"Hello Harry, I'm Professor Flitwick. I have the exciting job of teaching you charms in this school. I'm dreadfully sorry that this was so sudden, but even I do not know why the headmaster has had you summoned to his office. It is quite unusual for someone so young to be summoned, but I suppose it's also unusual for someone to defeat a dark lord at the age of fifteen months, too."

"Yeah I guess, but it was either luck or my mom's doing. I didn't kill him with skill."

"Yes yes, but you are still the one that stopped him and lived, not your mother."

Harry was starting to like this professor less and less. "Well it doesn't matter that my mom died, she still might have stopped him. Just because I happen to have lived doesn't make her achievements any less."

"I suppose you are right. Anyway, we're here."

Harry didn't know where 'here' was. They had reached a dead end, and all that was there were two gargoyles. Suddenly, Professor Flitwick began to speak again.

"Lemon drop."

The gargoyle stepped aside, and allowed them to pass. They immediately ran into a staircase, and spent the next few minutes climbing said stairs. Once they reached the top, Flitwick spoke into Harry's ear.

"I am sorry to say this, but here is where I must leave you. The headmaster summoned you, not the both of us. I will see you tomorrow in class, Harry."

As Professor Flitwick was leaving, Harry slowly advanced into the room. It was easily one of the largest offices he had ever seen. It had to be at least the size of the Ravenclaw common room, and the ceiling reached about twice the height. He was terrified of why he had been summoned, and really didn't examine his surroundings well. Later, when asked to recall what the office looked like, he would realize that he didn't remember any of it.

Shortly after Harry's arrival, the headmaster seemingly appeared out of nowhere. One second the room was empty, the next and there he was. Harry jumped, as he hadn't seen the man approach, just him suddenly three feet away from him.

The headmaster looked distraught, and seemed to have no slept a second the previous night. His eyes were bloodshot, there were deep bags under them, and his shoulders were slumped. Harry felt bad for the man. He finally spoke after Harry finally made eye contact.

"Harry, do you feel you were wrongfully sorted?"

"I'm not sure what you mean, headmaster."

"Do you feel you should be in another house?"

"Other than Ravenclaw?"

"Other than Ravenclaw."

"No, professor. I like Ravenclaw. I have friends who support me even though I've only known them a little over a day, and they don't care that they might die standing behind me. I feel at home there."

"Are you sure, Harry?"

"Yes. Has the Sorting Hat ever made a mistake?"

"Possibly. Many students' personalities change to match that of their house, whether it's intentional or not varies. If the Hat did make a mistake, it might be righted by personality changes in the student. But what I'm asking you is do you feel that you fit the Ravenclaw traits perfectly."

"Not really, but I don't think that anyone is a perfect fit."

"Harry, would you consent to having the Sorting Hat put on your head again?"

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"Sure, headmaster. But know this. No matter what it says this time around, I'm staying in Ravenclaw."

This put a dent into Dumbledore's plans, but he could still work around it. He was sure he could make a case to his professors that Harry should be Gryffindor. He moved to grab the Sorting Hat from a shelf.

Harry sat there, confused by Dumbledore's curious actions. It seemed that he didn't want Harry in Ravenclaw. As he pondered this, Dumbledore returned with the Sorting Hat.

The Hat was lowered onto Harry's head for the second time, and again he heard a voice in his head.

"Hmm, so Dumbledore doesn't want his precious boy-who-lived in Ravenclaw. How surprising."

"What do you mean?"

"Dumbledore is questioning my choice of house for you. He wants you to be in Gryffindor, yet I disagree. You are curious, always questioning things around you, and you are quite a bright young wizard. I still say you should be in Ravenclaw."

"RAVENCLAW!"

Dumbledore almost fell out of his seat. It still put him in Ravenclaw? This couldn't be! With a wave of his hand, he dismissed Harry, leaving himself to think.

Harry was of course bombarded with questions once he returned to the Ravenclaw dormitory. While he would have been happy to answer them from people he knew, students he had never met before were coming up to him. After finally weaving his way past all the children, he managed to slip into his room, and promptly locked the door. Turning around, he noticed his three friends waiting patiently. Well, sort of. Hermione looked like she might burst, but at least she wasn't slamming him with millions of questions. Draco was trying to look uninterested, but Harry could see the curiosity in his eyes. Alendria looked genuinely uninterested, as she was just sitting there reading her potions textbook.

Harry stood there, wanting to see how patient they could be. Draco, surprisingly, was the first one to break.

"Alright! Since no one else seems to want to ask it, I will. What did the headmaster want?"

"Nothing important. He was just questioning me on if I felt like I should have been sorted into a different house. According to the Sorting Hat, Dumbledore really thinks I should've been sorted into Gryffindor."

Two voices cried out in unison. "WHAT?!"

"Yeah, but the Sorting Hat still believes I belong in Ravenclaw. Dumbledore will probably try something else, so we just need to be ready. Don't worry guys, I'll do everything I can to stay in this house."

While Hermione and Draco still looked shocked at the news, they still look pleased with Harry promising to do everything he could to stay with them. Alendria, however, looked more worried than when Harry had initially walked in.

"So you're saying he didn't want you to be in Ravenclaw?"

"Yeah. He seemed bothered that I wasn't sorted into Gryffindor."

"Harry, the headmaster's job isn't to question the Sorting Hat's decisions. He shouldn't be meddling in your business, especially this soon after sorting. In two or three years, yeah, you might have changed. But it's the day after we've been sorted. And he's not supposed to interfere with the Hat's decision anyway. He's broken several wizarding laws put in place by the school board. We can't prove he did, but that doesn't make it any less illegal."

"There are laws against this?"

"Of course. After previous headmasters moved students about the houses, most noticeable when they moved students they believed to be evil into Slytherin, the Hogwarts Board of Education inside of the Ministry of Magic put laws into place to allow the Sorting Hat to do it's job. It's one of the most important thing the board has done."

Hermione was skeptical. She may have only been at Hogwarts a day, but it seemed unlikely that Alendria knew all this as fact. "And may I ask how you know this?"

"Because my family was one of the main backers for this law to be put into place, and my great grandfather was the head of the board when the laws were implemented."

Hermione let out a simple, "Oh."

"Anyway guys, we should probably get to sleep. We have a 9 A.M. class tomorrow, and we've already stayed up late enough waiting for Harry's return."

The four were soon asleep, a long first day at Hogwarts behind them. They could only hope that tomorrow would be better.

Author's Note: I'm really sorry that this has taken me so long to finish, but I've just had so much going on with school starting and trying to balance schoolwork, friends, and my girlfriend. I've also been exhausted pretty much since Monday, and school's really just been shit so far.

As much as I will be striving for weekly updates, I don't know if that's possible. I've only written a page since Monday, the rest was written before school started. They may just end up being shorter chapters, or I may update every two weeks for better quality and longer chapters. It all depends.

Anyway, as always, please give me feedback on whether or not I'm doing okay writing. I do like knowing, even if it is something that I did wrong.