Ch. 10
Expressive Sorting
The door to Harry's compartment opened. "So, it's true, Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts."
Harry looked from the window to the door. Standing in the open doorway was the same platinum-blond haired boy from Diagon Alley. Behind him were two trollish looking boys who looked as if they shared half a brain. Without asking, the three walked in and sat down; the blonde kid being the definite leader. Harry stared at them for a moment, remembering the blonde's last name from Daddy, then looked back at the window. "I didn't give you permission to sit," he said.
He smiled to himself as he saw the blonde boy starting to get annoyed. "Listen, Potter, you'll find out very quickly that there are certain people you shouldn't associate yourself with," he began but Harry interrupted him.
"And which one are you, Malfoy?" he turned and smiled at them. "Yes, I know your name. Your father used to work for my Daddy, but now you've made my Daddy mad. Do you remember that?" Harry made sure his face was as cute and innocent as possible as he smiled at Draco and the two trolls. "You made fun of me and Daddy because your father didn't teach you any manners. But don't worry, Daddy will make sure your father learns your lesson just as I will make sure you learn yours. After all, my Daddy wants me to be the best Dark Wizard I can be. And we can't go disappointing the Dark Lord, can we?"
All three children's faces paled. Harry smiled at that.
"That man… he was…"
"The Dark Lord? Yeah, but more importantly he's the man who raised me," Harry said. He stared at their faces for a moment. Malfoy looked almost like marble, his face seemingly drained of any blood as he stared at Harry, both scared and something else that Harry couldn't identify. The two trolls were just scared. Harry stretched in his seat. "One more thing," he sighed. "My name is Harry Riddle. So please, don't call me Potter."
Harry pulled out a book from one of his inside pockets. It was a rather small book that Logan's mom suggested to him after she overheard Harry gushing about Merlin and Morgan Le Fay to Logan. It was a children's version of the Story of King Arthur. He read in silence as the three sitting across of him slowly recovered from shock. He stopped in the middle of the page and looked up at them. "Do you collect chocolate frog cards? You look like the type who do," he said to the two trolls. "Or, at the very least, the types who eat chocolate frogs daily."
They did not reply, their faces only looking half a pale and looking rather dumb-struck. Malfoy, however, was just staring at Harry. Harry frowned. "You know, conversations work both ways," he said. "I never had any problems talking with Logan or his brothers, and they're muggles! Do you not know how to hold a talk or something?"
That seemingly snapped the three out of their stupor. "Muggles? You talk to muggles?" Malfoy sneered.
"Of course, who else was I going to talk to? The thick snake hates me," Harry shrugged. "I met Logan at school, he's my best friend. I had to pester Daddy to go there, but I won obviously, and now Daddy… well he accepts Logan. We can do anything together and Daddy doesn't get too mad."
Malfoy's eyes flickered. "Harry, Harry, you really should be more careful about who you pick as friends. I mean, what if this Logan talks about you being a wizard? Then you'll be in all sorts of trouble."
"He knew since I was seven," Harry said. "If he was going to talk about it, he would have done so already," Harry shrugged. He smiled at Malfoy. "If you want to be my friend, Malfoy, you just have to ask. No need trying to be sneaky about it."
Malfoy stared at the cute boy for a moment. For some reason his cheeks began feeling red. "Very well then, will you be my friend?" Malfoy asked.
"No," Harry hummed.
"Excuse me!"
"I want you to apologize first," Harry said sweetly. "You insulted my best friend. I don't like that. So, if you want to be my friend, I want you say 'Harry Riddle, I am sorry for insulting your best friend.'"
Malfoy looked more annoyed than ever. Harry guessed that he was a boy who was never told 'no' before. He waited patiently as the boy in front of him fought with the growing annoyance and ego inside. Finally, Malfoy looked at him and said sourly, "Fine. 'Harry Riddle, I am sorry for insulting your best friend.' …Happy?"
"Definitely," Harry smiled. "Now, I will be your friend." He stood up and squished himself between Malfoy and one of the two trolls. Malfoy glared at him confused, but Harry shrugged. "This is how I sit with Logan. He loves it when I sit on him… you don't want a muggle to beat you being my friend, don't you?"
Malfoy said nothing. Harry chuckled and moved back to his seat, smiling at the three. "Shame… you know, if I was with Logan and his brothers, they would practically fight to see whose lap I'll sit on. Though Daddy doesn't have to know about that," he said. He smiled at their confused looks. "I'm kidding! God do purebloods not know how to take a joke?"
He sighed and shook his head.
Malfoy continued to stare at him. His look of shock turned into an angry annoyance. "There is no way," he snarled softly, "that you, Potter, are the Dark Lord's son."
Harry's smile disappeared in an instant. His eyes narrowed, and his face lost any happiness or joy as it became icy cold, if not cruel. "Get out," he said. Though it was not his own voice. It was an icy high voice that did not fit the boy. The three boys did not move. "Get. Out." Harry stressed, and the two trollish looking kids ran out while Malfoy stayed. The two boys stared at each other, Malfoy looking obviously scared, but wanting to put up a good front while Harry did his best to keep the cruel face on. They sat there, just staring at each other. Harry did not know why they were doing that, he just felt like he couldn't look away from Malfoy. He felt that, in that moment, if he looked away, he would lose to Malfoy.
And he did not want that.
So they stared at each other.
And stared.
And stared.
Stared.
Their faces relaxed into an expressionless position, Harry's eyes started to strain as he stared at Malfoy. Noticing the way the boy fashioned his platinum blonde hair, the way his steel-gray eyes flickered in the afternoon light, his nose that looked a little too long…
Then he blinked.
Malfoy couldn't help but smirk. He stood up and offered his hand. "Draco Malfoy," he said.
Harry looked at the hand and took it. "Harry Riddle," he smiled.
"I will see you in Slytherin, Harry Riddle," Draco smirked.
"Likewise," Harry said. They stared at each other for a moment, holding each other's hand. Then, Draco let go and Harry let his hand fall to his lap. The blond turned, and left the compartment, leaving Harry alone again.
Harry smiled to himself as he pulled out his small book again. It looks like he already made his first friend at Hogwarts. I wonder how Daddy would react, knowing I already made friends with a Malfoy, Harry thought to himself. Maybe he'll go easy on Mr. Malfoy… nah.
He was left alone for most of the rest of the ride, which Harry didn't mind much. He supposed he'll just meet the other kids at Hogwarts. At some point the lunch trolley came and Harry took full advantage, getting as much candy as he could. He reminded himself, as he ate his fourth chocolate frog, to find some of the sweets to bring home with him to show Logan.
For some reason, Harry thought that he was going to have more visitors. After all, those twins and Draco Malfoy recognized him as Harry Potter. He guessed he was famous for supposedly "killing" his Daddy, which made the boy laugh as he thought about it. He loved his Daddy. He loved his Daddy very much. Why would he want to hurt him? If not outright kill the man? It just made no sense to Harry.
Outside it was getting darker, so Harry changed into his robes and before he knew it, before he was really ready, the train slowed to a stop in a small station. He joined the crowd that pushed their way toward the door and out onto the tiny station. Harry shivered in the cold night air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a booming voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"
Slipping and stumbling, the first years headed towards the owner of the voice. He was vast and big, looking like the size of two men wearing a moleskin jacket and having grizzly black hair and beard that somewhat hid a cheery face. The man led them down a narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Harry thought there must be thick trees there.
Suddenly, they turned a corner and there was a loud "Ooooooh!"
The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.
"No more'n four to a boat!" the man called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry got into the closest boat, followed by Malfoy and the two trolls.
"Everyone in?" the man shouted, who had a boat to himself. "Right then—FORWARD!"
And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the like, which was as smooth as glass.
"By the way," Draco Malfoy said. "This is Crabbe, and Goyle."
Harry hummed and looked at the two trolls. "I don't care," he said.
The boats carried them towards the cliffside of the castle, into a wide opening hidden by ivy where they departed onto a small harbor. The man, whom Draco sneered as "Hagrid," made sure that everyone had everything before he led them up a set of stairs towards a large oak front door. He raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.
It opened, revealing a tall, black-haired witch with emerald green robes. She had a very stern face, and Harry's first thought was that she was not someone to mess around with.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said.
"Thank you, Hagrid, I'll take them from here." She pulled the door open wide. The entrance hall was so big Harry felt you could fit all of Logan's house into it and still have room. The stone ceiling was too high to make out as the stone walls were lit with torches.
They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Harry could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to their right—but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. "Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said. "The start-of-term feast 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 like your family. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.
The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points wins the House Cup, a great honor.
"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."
Harry looked over himself, made sure that his robes were straight, his hair wasn't sticking too much at odd ends (Logan's oldest brother, Shawn, liked to tease that Harry always looked as if he just rolled in the hay… whatever that means), and that his glasses weren't crooked.
Professor McGonagall came back a moment later and instructed the first years to form a line. Harry squeezed himself between two tall boys, one of them having red hair while the other was dark skinned and short black hair. Harry looked at the red haired one, before recognizing him. "You're Ron," he stated.
"Umm—"
"Your brothers helped me get my luggage on the cart, and your mum and allowed me and my Dad to go before you through the corridor," Harry said. "Sorry about that."
"Oh! No problem," the red head said, now recognizing the boy. "I'm Ron, Ron Weasley."
"Harry Riddle," Harry said and they shook hands.
"Riddle? But my brothers told me—"
"That's me," Harry said quickly, "but my last name is Riddle. After my Dad."
"Ohh, I see," Ron nodded. Harry liked him immediately. Unlike Draco, Ron just accepted that his last name was now Riddle.
The Great Hall was a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands of floating candles that floated over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These 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 up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them.
Professor McGonagall placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Harry wondered what they had to do with the hat when the strangest thing happened. The brim of the hat ripped, as if forming a mouth, and the hat began to sing.
Oh you may not think I'm pretty, You can keep your bowlers black, There's nothing hidden in your head You might belong in Gryffindor, You might belong in Hufflepuff, Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, Or perhaps in Slytherin So put me on! Don't be afraid!
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends.
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!
The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and became still again. Professor McGonagall stepped up holding a long scroll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stood to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"
A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause—
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table.
"Bones, Susan!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Boot, Terry!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Brocklehurst, Mandy!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Brown, Lavender!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Bulstrode, Millicent!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
And so it went on as the first years went up one by one to get sorted. When it was Draco Malfoy's turn, the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"
Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased with himself.
There weren't many people left now.
"Moon" …"Nott" … "Parkinson" … then a pair of twin girls, "Patil" and "Patil" … then "Perks, Sally-Anne" and then, at last—
"Riddle, Harry!"
There were whispers as the students stared at him.
"Doesn't she mean Harry Potter?"
"I heard he's Harry Potter."
"Is that really Harry Potter?"
Harry stepped forward and sat on the stool. He placed the hat on for not even a second before it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"
There were some cheers from the Slytherin table, though, for some reason Harry couldn't tell, the Gryffindor table and other tables looked slightly defeated. Harry frowned and looked at the three first years still need to be sorted, giving Ron an encouraging smile.
Malfoy left a space free for him. "Why did you smile at Weasley?" he asked.
"Because he looks nervous," Harry hummed. "Besides, he seems nice, and his brothers are helpful."
"Nice? Those muggle-lovers," Draco scoffed.
Harry gave him a sharp glare before looking back at the sorting. He clapped along with Gryffindor as Ron was sorted into that, and he also clapped politely with the rest of the Slytherins when the last kid to be sorted, the tall black boy who was in front of Harry named Blaise Zabini, got into Slytherin.
"Also," Harry said as Dumbledore stood up. "He did not exactly hang on the detail of my last name… Malfoy." He turned to Blaise Zabini, who was sitting across of him, and smiled, extending his hand. "Hello, I'm Harry Riddle," he said.
"Hello Harry, I'm Blaise Zabini," Zabini said, shaking his hand. "I see you met Draco."
"Unfortunately," Harry sighed. "Would you believe the first time I met him, he made fun of me and my Daddy?"
"He did?" Blaise asked, raising an eyebrow. "That sounds like Draco," he chuckled.
Draco gave Blaise a sharp look.
"So, Harry," Blaise went on. "Where were you hiding?"
"What?"
"Where were you hiding?" Blaise asked.
"I wasn't hiding… I was living with Daddy," Harry said.
"Daddy?" Blaise repeated.
Harry nodded. "Yeah, my dad," he said. "You know…"
"The Zabinis were neutral cowards," Malfoy drawled. He looked at Blaise and said, "You-Know-Who raised Harry."
"O-Ohh," the boy said as he looked at Harry again, who was frowning at Malfoy. "Sorry! I didn't mean to be so open," Zabini said.
Harry sighed and shook his head. "Can you not?" he asked both of them. "Who cares who my Daddy was… now he's just my Dad. So please, don't try and act different just because Lord Voldemort is my dad."
The two gave huge gasped and jumped in their seats. Harry frowned at that. "Honestly," he muttered before looking at the food that now appeared in front of them. The food was amazingly spectacular. Harry couldn't help but moan a few times as flavor burst onto his tongue with each bite. His house-elves wished they could cook like this. During the feast, he made small talk with Blaise, smiling and laughing at the jokes Blaise told him while making the Zabini laugh hard at the fun Harry had with Logan and his brothers. Draco was giving them weird stares, but Harry didn't mind. If the Malfoy wanted to be his friend, he had to get over the fact that Lord Voldemort was Harry's Daddy.
Harry was sleepy when the feast was over. He barely paid attention to Dumbledore's ending speech, catching something or other about the third-floor corridor being off limits. Before he knew it, Harry was being led with the rest of the first year Slytherins out of the Great Hall and down a set of stairs into the dungeons. Harry just wanted to go to bed. He listened to the prefect rambled about something (Harry was losing interest as his mind turned to comfortable beds and Logan) before said prefect directed them towards their dormitories, which was down another set of stairs.
Harry immediately went into his dormitory, ignoring everyone else, and found his trunk sitting in front of a large four-poster bed with green sheets. Harry bent in front of his trunk and opened it, pulling out two pieces of parchment and a quill. He began writing on a desk nearby.
Daddy,
I'm in Slytherin. The hat barely touched my head before calling out "SLYTHERIN!" Malfoy is also in Slytherin, as well as two trollish looking boys named Goyle and Crabbe. Did their dads work for you? Because it seemed like they did. Also I met a boy named Blaise Zabini. He seems nice, and he was the only one who didn't insult Logan when I talked about him. Draco Malfoy did. For some reason, everybody knows me as Harry Potter. Do you know why? They're talking about stories about me and you but I don't know any of them, or how they started. Do you?
Anyway, I know it hasn't already been a day but I missed you, Daddy. It's going to be weird sleeping away from you. But I'm still more worried about you. Please don't stay home by yourself all day, every day! You already went outside with me, so do it some more on your own! Talk to people, scare your old followers—just do something! For me? Please? I don't want to picture you sitting home alone with only the snakes as company.
Also, I know it might annoy you but I don't think Mr. McMann would appreciate owls flying to his home every week or so, so can you please give Logan my letter? AND DO NOT READ IT PLEASE! It's supposed to stay secret between me and Logan, okay?
I love you Daddy!
Love,
Harry
Smiling to himself, Harry wrote the second letter
Logan,
I have a lot to tell you! First off, the candy here is amazing! Inside the letter is a chocolate frog. Yes, frog. As in the candy is shaped like a frog and will hop around. It is delicious! And it comes with a Famous Witch and Wizards Card! So far I have Morgan le Fay, Merlin, Andros the Invincible, and Newt Scamander (the guy who wrote that textbook I showed you, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them). The chocolate is very good, but I like your guys' chocolate better. Especially with the special sauce you use.
Anyway, I got sorted into Slytherin, the House that Daddy was in, and my housemates are… interesting. One of them is a straight up prick. His name is Draco Malfoy and I swear he acts like he has a stick shoved way up his bum. He has a big ego, and thinks that he's better than you just because, well, he's a wizard when in reality, he's just a prat. Honestly, he's insufferable! And don't get me started on Crabbe and Goyle, those two trolls are the ugliest human beings I have ever met, if they somehow start dating, then their dates must either be blind or equally as ugly. Blaise Zabini is nice though. He's this tall handsome boy who didn't give a fig (am I using this correctly?) that you're my best friend! There's also Ron, though I barely talked to him but he reminds me of you and your brothers. Nice red hair, freckles.. He has these twin brothers, and they were helpful and seemed very nice. Though they're in a different house than I am, Gryffindor. I hope we share the same classes together, so I can talk with him more.
Strange as it is, I really miss you Logan. I should have stolen some of your clothes the last time I was over just, so I can have some "regular" clothes as you call it. I mean, I love my robes, they look very nice, but I would at least like a tee to wear under them, or maybe some jeans? Please don't show this letter to your brothers or they'll think I'm weird and send me your underwear or something!
Anyway, I think my dormitory is under a lake, there's this huge black lake here, and by the sounds of it we're either under it or in it! I don't know… but it's slightly eerie and cool at the same time.
I'll keep you updated on the prick Malfoy, and others. I think I saw a cow walking with us towards the dormitory, though maybe she's just a girl, I can't really tell the difference she was so huge! Like massively huge! Is it weird that I'm paying more attention to the boys than the girls?
Oh well. I will see you and your brothers during Christmas though, so make sure to make some special chocolate for me!
Love,
Harry
A/N: For some reason I think that I get more reviews when I reply to reviews… though that just might be paranoia.
AnnaMerteuil: Well, here's a moment where people learn that Voldemort is #1 Daddy
Gime'SS: Welcome!
littlepanter: No Severus reaction, come back later. But Draco's a prat, to use Harry's words.
Hazel-faerie: Voldemort doesn't wear cotton. And I am in the greatest house of them all: Slytherin! (According to Pottermore)
Gurgaraneth: Here's something: Why is it that everyone loves the twins but hates Ron? Like what did Ron ever do to you guys? And just saying it now: No Luna in this story. Sorry, just don't like her character, or, more precisely, what the fandom thinks her character is.
Babesbraves: And you would be one hundred percent correct.