Authors Note: Don't worry, I'm still here! I know that it's been ages since I last updated but I'm very sorry for not Updating for so long, I recently started University and I've been really busy. Anyway, the updates should be every two weeks or every week if I've got some free time :)
Second Note: I thank everyone for reading my story and a very special thanks to those who review; I love all of them! I really like hearing what you all think and like/don't and I'll happily answer any questions you all have. I've got like 100 story alerts and favourite story alerts so thank you!
Anyway, enough of my ramblings, because you've all waited so long I've made this my longest chapter yet with 10,877 words and over 25 pages! As usual, answered questions at the bottom of the page.
Warnings: Minor reference to spanking but it's not that serious or a big focus but I thought that I'd just mention it just to be safe.
Please enjoy :)
Harry Potter in a Different World- Chapter 10 The Sorting
Hogwarts looked even more magnificent up close and Harry had to tilt his head right back to keep on looking at the castle as the boats floated them all under a dark tunnel which seemed to be taking them right underneath the school. They then came to, what Harry could only guess, was an underground dock and the walls were lit with flaming torches and Harry could now clearly see the other students; Harry's soon to be classmates, and hopefully his friends.
They then clambered out of the boats and on to the rocks and pebbles that served as their path. Harry had to catch himself from falling twice as his feet kept on slipping on the wet, uneven surface.
Harry saw that several of his classmates weren't so lucky to stay upright and had gotten the back of their robes slightly wet from where they had landed on the ground. Apparently, the designer of the Hogwarts shoes needed to be introduced to the invention of better grip for the soles of their shoes.
Looking back around, Harry saw that Hagrid was double checking the boats. There were about 10 boats in total and counting quickly before they were moved on, Harry totalled 12 boats in all.
Following the others, Harry did another quick mental calculation, recalling the information that Hagrid had told him that there was 4 to a boat; Harry came to a total of around 48 students, not including him.
Somehow, Harry expected there to be more students than this but Harry remembered Remus telling him on the train that there were usually around 20 first years per house, 10 boys and 10 girls for each house giving a total of 80 students per year, but in recent years the amount had been declining. For the size of the school, Harry thought that this was very unstable. Then Lily had gone on to explain that this was because of the threat of the first war everyone was reluctant to have children which caused the low birth-rate. Remus then argued against this and said that parents were now choosing to educate their own children at home or send them to another school, but Lily was adamant that it was the low-birth rate and so proceeded to describe them the recent patterns and factors that were associated with it.
Harry tuned them out at this point, it had started to sound like a Geography lesson. Despite liking to learn; Geography was an iffy subject for him. Harry enjoyed learning about the Physical Geography such as hurricanes, volcanoes and how we got different types of weather. Harry particularly enjoyed learning that there were all different types of clouds from Altostratus to Cumulus clouds. And there was also the added bonus that it confused the hell out of the others; especially Miss Cole when he spoke of the long Geographical terms. Whereas Human Geography-Harry wasn't to keen on as it tended to focus on negative topics such as the mass famines, starvation and disease; all which ultimately led to a high death count. This tended to put Harry in a depressing and sombre mood.
Harry was brought out of his musing Hagrid telling; well it was more like bellowing, them all to follow him.
They then all clambered onto a passageway, following Hagrid, and they made their way through it until they came to a smooth stone grey passageway that was much easier to walk on.
They walked up a flight of stone steps; and Harry found himself behind a long blonde haired girl whose hair was in a low ponytail.
They then were all crowded round a huge oak door. There were several carved squares in the doors and Harry could see that round the outside of the door it was decorated in swirls. Inside of the carved squares, there were a couple of engraved animals and trees, as far as Harry could see at this distance. Harry would of liked to have a closer look, suddenly, Harry was very grateful that he had had the laser eye surgery all those years ago-Merlin only knows what his eyesight might be like now.
That was another thing, Merlin, since finding out that he was a wizard Harry had taken to saying 'oh Merlin' instead of 'oh God'. It just seemed appropriate; and he kind of liked saying it.
The noise of Hagrid clearing his throat brought Harry out of his thoughts.
"Everyone here?" Hagrid bellowed, and when a few muttered 'Yes' and a lot of shaky nods, Hagrid raised a huge, gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.
No sooner had Hagrid knocked, the door had opened almost at once and Harry instantly recognised the woman behind them-it was Professor Minerva McGonagall.
This time, instead of the suit she had been wearing when she came to the orphanage, she was dressed in deep emerald green robes and Harry suddenly thought that when she was in 'Professor Mode' that she was not someone to cross due to her very stern face.
"The first years here for you Professor McGonagall." Hargis said, sweeping his giant arms in their direction causing those close to him to duck said swinging limbs, which were more like thick swinging branches.
"Thankyou Hagrid," Professor McGonagall said, eyeing the children who had ducked with concern, "I will take them from here. Children, please follow me." And with that she swiftly turned around and briskly walked off.
As they all walked around Hagrid who was beaming at them all, when he saw Harry he clapped him on the back; nearly sending him catapulting into the girl in front of him.
They were led into the entrance hall before Professor McGonagall ushered them into a large empty chamber off from the hall; but not before Harry heard the sudden noise of hundreds of students talking-the rest of the school must already be sat down through the golden double doors.
They all huddled into the room, it was large enough to fit another 30 or so more students in; but they all stood closer together than they normally would and Harry found himself stood with two other boys and the same blonde haired girl from before.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall began, "The start of term banquet will begin shortly so I will not keep you for long. Before you can sit down in the Great Hall with the rest of the students, you must first be sorted into your houses. While you are here at Hogwarts, your houses will be like you family. Triumphs will earn you house points, however, any rule breaking and you will loose points. The house at the end of the year will be awarded the house cup. The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin."
Harry noted that she had said Gryffindor with pride and a little smile.
Harry didn't honestly know which house he would end up in, when reading Hogwarts: A History, Harry realised that he could fit in any house.
Gryffindor is well known for its bravery, daring and nerve. Harry had definitely been brave and daring when confronting Michael and the other bullies at the orphanage; but how would he fair in the Wizarding world?
Hufflepuff is known for its loyalty, honesty and tolerance. Well, Harry had been very tolerant with the bullies before he stood up for himself. But he wasn't very loyal, as he'd hardly had any friends to be loyal to, but he was loyal in what he believed-why should he act different to appease someone else?
Ravenclaw values intelligence, wit, creativity and wisdom. Harry was extremely intelligent, could remember things easily, and he was very book-ish. His creativity came from his love for drawing and ideas of combining spells. But would this be enough to fit in Ravenclaw?
Slytherin values cleverness, cunning, ambition and resourcefulness. Again, Harry was extremely clever, Harry thought himself cunning for being able to sneak out of the orphanage. He also had ambition to be something; not just another orphan. As for resourcefulness, Harry had not spent his much needed galleons on a pet that he didn't really need; therefore he had more money to spend on things that he might need in the future.
So ultimately, Harry thought that he could fit into any house.
Due to Harry's rambling thoughts about houses, he missed the rest of what Professor McGonagall was telling them.
"...and I will return for you when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly and smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you're waiting." She then left the chamber.
Almost at once, when the door was firmly shut; nervous chatter broke out from the other students.
Harry turned to the dark skinned boy to his left, seeing the he wasn't engaged in any conversation.
"How exactly do they sort us into our houses? Is it some sort of test?" Harry asked the boy next to him, he was a little taller than Harry and had dark chocolate brown eyes.
Harry saw the dark skinned boy begin to answer, he really should have asked for his name first Harry thought mentally kicking himself. But before he could reply to Harry, the blonde haired girl that Harry had walked behind turned around to face him.
She had a look of superiority on her face that Harry swore he had seen before, and she had ice blue eyes but they looked slightly cold. Overall, she wasn't very friendly looking.
"No, there is no such test. My father says that it's done in front of the whole school. Of course, my father and cousin, the latter who currently attends Hogwarts, were quite tight lipped on how they actually sort you into your house. But he insured me that is doesn't hurt; well I don't really believe my cousin. I'm Natalia by the way. Natalia Lucan." She said, offering her hand out to shake. She had a slight expectant look on her face.
"I'm Harry," He replied, shaking her hand, "Harry Walker."
Suddenly, her hand was ripped out of his own as if she had burnt it. Harry looked up and saw a look of pure disgust on her face and she was wiping her hand on her robes. Her very expensive looking robes; she must be one of those old fashioned purebloods. Typical, the first person that talked to him was now looking at him like he was a piece of filth.
"Walker...that's not a pureblood name, nor is it halfblood. I would have been made aware of a pureblood or halfblood married a muggle. I can't believe that I allowed you to shake my hand." Natalia said with a sneer, Harry had definitely seen it somewhere before and her whole tone was full of distain.
"Actually, I don't know for certain that I'm a muggle born, I could be a halfblood or even a pureblood," Harry informed her, he didn't really want to continue seeing as others were listening in but he wanted to get things straight, "I was left at an orphanage, so technically, I don't know my true heritage. My mother could have been a pureblood and made to give me up at birth. Or even a halfblood family that couldn't afford to look after me. So don't you go and look down on me when you don't even know me." Harry told her, a little bit of forcefulness was in his tone. Looking around, Harry cringed when he saw that the majority of those in the room were listening; some with pity etched on their faces and some that looked at Harry with disgust, just like Natalia.
Natalia looked so shocked that she had been spoken to like that, and couldn't think of a reply so she just sneered again and stalked of to a blonde haired boy. He had the same shade of blonde hair as Natalia and she looked as if she was whispering to him.
Harrys thought was proven correct as the blonde haired boy suddenly looked up and glared at him. With the very same ice blue eyes, oh great; they're twins.
Harry turned back to the dark skinned boy on his left and hoped that he didn't think along the same lines as Natalia Lucan. But before Harry could speak, the boy held out his hand and spoke first.
"Hey, I'm Niccolò. Niccolò Zabini." His voice was surprisingly deep; it also had a slightly exotic tone to it, possibly Italian.
"Hi, Harry Walker. Erm, as you probably already know." Harry said with a grin, as his cheeks coloured slightly in embarrassment while shaking the other boy hand.
"Yes," Niccolò said with a smile, "And I do know how we get sorted, but I'm not going to tell you." He finished off with a cocky smirk; it was one of those where you know something someone else doesn't know.
"So...we don't have to face a huge green monster or something similar do we?" Harry asked, half joking and half serious when remembering that strange dream he had last night.
Niccolò gaped openly for a moment before he started laughing, "That's a good one Walker. No, we don't have to face anything like that, thank Merlin. Just don't worry about it. You'll be fine." Niccolò reassured him, still looking too amused for Harry's liking, but it was all in good humour.
"So..." Harry started nervously, "Are you like Natalia? You know, with the way you think and act towards certain people? All pureblood-ish."
"No, no I'm not. Although I am a pureblood myself, I'm reluctant to take part in prejudices as you limit yourself to only certain types of people. My father isn't happy about it but I convinced him that it's in my best interests to socialise with others and for now he's fine with it; besides, I'm his favourite. My brother, Carlos, however is reluctant to share my views; he's in his sixth year. Oh and one more thing, avoid calling anothers by their first name unless you are friends with them or you have their permission as it's not proper in Wizarding customs, especially if it's your first meeting with them and after that, well, it's not so bad. Just use their last name as it's more respectful." Niccolò told him quite seriously.
"Oh...may I have your permission to call you by your first name?" Harry asked uncertainly, all the while wishing that he'd read the section in Wizarding Law and Behaviour by Magnus John Aurelius about 'proper etiquette'.
Niccolò eyed him without a hint of emotion on his face and Harry was worried that he might have pushed him too far and had been too upfront. Now, he'd probably gone and ruined whatever friendship he might have started.
"No, you may not have my permission," and Harry's face fell with disappointment. But Niccolò then surprised him by smiling widely showing his very white and straight teeth.
"As my friend, you already have that honour." Smiling even more at the gob smacked expression on Harry's face.
"R-really," Harry stammered, "I'm your friend?" He consciously asked.
"Of course, I don't say things that I do not mean. May I call you by your first name?" Niccolò teasingly asked, imitating Harry's earlier question.
"Oh yes, definitely." Harry stated, nearly shouting in excitement. He'd made his first new friend.
Before the two new found friends could talk some more, the doors opened once more which silenced everyone immediately. Professor McGonagall had returned; they were ready for them.
"Come now, we're all ready for you now. Form an orderly line, follow me" she told them.
Harry felt slightly odd; his legs seemed to have stopped working. Niccolò gave him a gentle shove in the back to get him moving. Swallowing thickly, Harry felt is legs begin to move as he walked out of the chamber back into the entrance hall and through the pair of golden double doors into the Great Hall.
Harry hardly noticed that Niccolò was still pushing forwards with a steady hand on his back; he was completely enraptured with the sight that greeted him.
It was simply magnificent, amazing, magical, grand, stunning, and beautiful. The words just kept on coming and Harry had never seen anything like it before and he could have never had imagined it.
The Great Hall was lit by thousands of candles which were floating in mid air above four long oak tables where all of the rest of the students were sitting, and they were staring at them as they all walked by.
They came to a halt when they reached the front of the hall and they all gathered round in front of a four legged stool, and on top of the stool sat a old, worn looking pointy wizard hat.
A few meters away from the stool, at the top of the hall was another long table where all of the other teachers sat. Avoiding the gaze of the teachers, Harry looked upwards and saw a dark blue night sky dotted with stars.
Harry looked behind him and his vision suddenly went fuzzy and slightly blurry, he couldn't hear anything; squinting his eyes, trying to see better, Harry could vaguely see a brown bushy haired girl also looking up towards the ceiling. Harry heard her whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the nights sky outside, I've read about it in Hogwarts: A History." She had a bossy, factual sort of voice. Harry saw her lower her head and he was startled to see that she had no face, it was blurry.
Shaking his head and closing his eyes, Harry was assaulted with the sudden murmur of the students talking to each other. Slowly opening his eyes, Harry looked back around but could see any girls with bushy brown hair. None of the girls had bushy hair.
What the bloody hell was that all about? Why did he have one of these weird dream things stood up? He wasn't even asleep! What if...
Harry was brought out of his musings by Niccolò who had tugged at his robe, he had a slightly concerned look on his face, like he had been silently trying to get Harry's attention for a while, but he inclined his head towards the front of the Great Hall where Professor McGonagall stood, now with a neatly rolled scroll fastened with a red ribbon in her hands.
The teachers, as well as the students were all staring at the hat in complete silence, Harry was about to ask Niccolò what was going on but he abruptly closed his mouth when the hat twitched. The bottom of the hat opened like a mouth and then to Harrys; and all of the other first years surprise-the hat began to sing;
A thousand years or more ago
When I was newly sewn,
There lived four wizards of renown,
Whose names are still well known:
United by a common goal,
They had the selfsame yearning
To make the world's best magic school
And pass along their learning.
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.
Now each of these four founders
Formed their own house, for each
Did value different virtues
In the ones they had to teach.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
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 folks use any means
To achieve their ends.
Oh, know the perils, read the signs,
the warning history shows,
for our Hogwarts is in danger
from external, deadly foes
And we must unite inside her
or we'll crumble from within
I have told you, I have warned you...
let the Sorting now begin.
Now slip me snug about your ears,
I've never yet been wrong,
I'll have a look inside your mind
And tell where you belong!
The entire hall burst into applause as the singing hat, as Harry had decided to call it, finished its song.
"No way!" Harry whispered to Niccolò who was hiding a smile, "All we have to do is try on a hat?"
"Of course Harry, they wouldn't make us do anything dangerous like fight a green monster for example." Niccolò teased, arching an eyebrow when Harry sputtered excuses in embarrassment which caused a few of the nearby students look upon the two in curiosity.
Professor McGonagall had stepped forward and she was now in line with the stool, and once again there was complete silence.
"Now, when I call your name, you will put the Sorting Hat upon your head and sit on the stool to be sorted. Once sorted, proceed to your allocated house table and sit down." She informed them all; she then opened the scroll and read what was written.
"Aaliyah, Ava" A girl of Asian appearance, who was at the front of the group walked towards the stool and placed the hat on her head before she sat down. There was silence for a couple of seconds before-
"RAVENCLAW!" the hat shouted.
The table second from the left clapped and cheered widely as Ava Aaliyah joined her new house.
"Aleia, Saskia" A girl with dark brown hair was next "SLYTHERIN!"
The table on the far left, near one of the walls clapped as one and a few shook hands with the very first Slytherin.
"Arrington, Eric" A tall boy with dirty blonde hair walked up, "RAVENCLAW!"
Because Harry was watching everyone's reactions to each individual student, Harry ended up missing half of his classmate's sortings. Doing a quick count, Harry could watch about 26 of his fellow student's sortings, missing out on the remaining half. This was because he wanted to watch and see how the other students and teachers reacted to certain names.
"Bailey, Melanie" "GRYFFINDOR!"
"Bones, Cody" "HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Cane, Atticius" "SLYTHERIN!"
"Colton, Mathew" "GRYFFINDOR!" Professor McGonagall would smile slightly when a new student joined this house. She must be head of the house or something Harry thought.
"De Vere, Sophia" "SLYTHERIN!"
"Jonas, Felix" "RAVENCLAW!"
"Kyler, Austin" "GRYFFINDOR!" Again, Harry noticed that it was the Gryffindor students that made the most noise when applauding a new member of their house. Harry subtly looked around to the table to where Austin was heading for and could just about see Lily with her flaming red hair sat halfway down the table clapping politely, once the clapping stopped Harry saw two dark haired boys; Sirius and James lay their heads on the table only to shoot back up again to clap for a new Gryffindor.
"Le Roux, Laura" "GRYFFINDOR!"
"Lesner, Daniel" "SLYTHERIN!"
"Lucan, Alexander" A blond haired boy stepped forward, quite arrogantly so. Ah, he must be the brother of the girl who looked so disgusted when he gave his name. They were definitely twins, along with the same surname, Harry saw that they had the similar looking features although Alexander had higher cheekbones and had darker eyebrows than his sister.
The hat barely touched his head when it shouted, "SLYTHERIN!" And the table on the far left clapped louder than before and Harry could just about see Lucius Malfoy, because of his vibrant long blond hair, smirking with a proud look upon his face. He must be the cousin that Natalia was talking about. They definitely had the same smirk...He would have to be wary of them.
"Lucan, Natalia" She elegantly walked over to the stool and placed the hat on her head, it didn't shout out Slytherin straight away like it did with her brother, Natalia seemed to be arguing with the hat as her lips seemed to be moving silently and quickly. Harry swore he saw her hand go towards her wand before the hat shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"
She then went to go and sit with her brother, nodding to her cousin when their gazes met; because Harry was so focused on watching the other students at the Slytherin table acting towards the twins and Lucius Malfoy, Harry had missed it when Philip Marcus became a Hufflepuff. But their loud welcoming shouts brought him back to looking at the sorting.
"Mary, Susan" A girl with slim round glasses passed Harry and stumbled slightly as she made her way up. The hat shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!" A few seconds later and she went to go and sit next to Philip.
"Morgan, Olivia" "RAVENCLAW!"
"Pearson, Rhys" "HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Remington, Theodore" A regal looking boy stepped up to the stool and when he placed the hat on his head, he looked around the hall with a bored expression on his face before lowering the hat fully on his head, and to Harry, he looked as if he didn't really want to be there. The hat finally shouted "SLYTHERIN!" and Theodore just swept a bit of hair that had fallen into his eyes when he took the hat off and walked off to the Slytherin table.
Surprisingly, it had only occurred to Harry that Professor McGonagall was reading out their names in alphabetical order. The letter 'W' was at the end of the alphabet and Harry didn't want to be left till last, standing on his own in front of all of these people.
"Riverty, Kaylee" "GRYFFINDOR!"
"Rose, Tianna" "RAVENCLAW!"
Looking towards Niccolò, who was looking slightly bored, Harry could have smacked himself, Niccolò was a Zabini and 'Z' was at the very end of the alphabet so he hadn't have anything to worry about. Although he felt slightly sorry for him as he had to stand alone.
"Ross, Lorraine" "HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Rozellina, Poppy" "HUFFLEPUFF!"
There was only four students left now to be sorted including him, and Harry felt very small standing in font of the rest of the school. He just wanted Professor McGonagall to call his name and get his sorting over and done with.
"Skye, Caleb" "RAVENCLAW!"
"Taylor, Jaiden" "GRYFFINDOR!"
"Walker, Harry" Oh it was him.
Harry slowly stepped forward, fully aware of everyone's eyes on him, he looked up as he lifted the hat off the stool and saw that Professor Dumbledore was gazing at him with a slightly hopeful and eager expression on his face as he stepped forward to be sorted. As Harry sat down on the stool, he didn't see Dumbledore lean forward a little in his seat.
The last thing Harry saw before he lowered the hat on his head was Niccolò, a reassuring smile on his dark face and a small supportive nod before he was looking at the inside of the hat and all Harry heard was silence until a voice whispered in his ear nearly making him jump up from the stool in shock.
"Ah-ha three boys in a row this time. Well then, let's see where to put you...hmm...interesting...no...that can't be right..."
'W-what cant be right? What's wrong?' Harry nervously thought back, not wanting to speak out loud to the rest of the school.
"I'm not quite sure young one, it seems that I've sorted you before...but I can't have done..."
'P-please d-don't send me back.' Harry stuttered to the hat. 'I want to stay here, everyone's nice and-'
"Now, now there's no need to panic. I've seen what life you have at that place. But I do wonder...Mr Walker, I need you to clear your thoughts of everything and yes I know it's difficult sensing your panic but in order to sort you I need to see into your past. Focus on something calm, something blank. You may experience a headache after or later in the evening, if you do please go to the hospital wing."
Harry, desperately wanting to stay here and be sorted tried to clear his mind but couldn't help thinking that none one else's sorting took this long.
"Mr Walker, do as I say. Now."
The hats sharp instructions knocked Harry from his thoughts and he immediately complied. He thought about a blank piece of paper. How crisp and clean it was before he began to draw on it. He focused on the smell and texture of the paper; he proffered the expensive thicker professional paper when he could afford it, as it was easier for the pencil to glide across and apply appropriate shading...
"Well now that is a surprise. Ah Mr Walker you are full of surprises aren't you. What a past you've had..."
Harry was so startled when the hat suddenly spoke to him and interrupted him from his thoughts that he actually squeaked quietly and jumped in surprise. Harry had hoped that no one had heard him, but unfortunately Professor McGonagall had as she pulled the hat off his head.
The rest of the hall was surprisingly quite and a confused Harry turned a concerned looking Professor McGonagall that was looming over him.
"Are you quite alright Mr Walker? You've been under the hat for quite a while and I heard your noise of distress. Do you want-"
"What on earth are you doing you daft woman? Put me back on the lads head immediately. Stop this tomfoolery! You want this sorting over do you not? Ah and I see that I still have one more to sort after Mr Walker. Well then, hurry up and be quick about."
Professor McGonagall was so shocked that the hat had spoken to her like that, as was the staff and students; well Professor Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling in mirth and amusement at his flustered colleague. Although a majority of students were sniggering behind their hands, and Professor McGonagall could only nod and place the hat back on to Harrys head.
Meanwhile Harry had developed a slight headache from whatever the hat had done and he resisted the urge to go and close his eyes and lie down in a dark room.
"Now that's better, never before have I been so rudely pulled of someone's head before..."
Harry thought that if the hat was a person that it would be shaking its head in annoyance.
"Sorry about the headache, seeing as your having it now means that it will stop in a while. Let's get to your sorting then..."
'Hang on,' Harry mentally interrupted, 'aren't you going to tell me what you found out? You sounded positively giddy when you made me jump.'
"Ah...I'm sorry about that Mr Walker, but it isn't my place to tell you. However I can assure you that you will find out everything. You are very important...yes...but now isn't the time, fate hasn't decided yet however, I'm feeling obliged to give you a hint. Please do consult the book you bought on hereditary, I would also suggesting consulting some of the books in the library when the time comes and follow through with your plans for discovering you ancestry."
Harry was now extremely confused and frustrated, this hat knew more about him than he did and he wasn't going to tell him.
"Truly, I'm sorry to not be able to tell you more and I can feel your upset and frustration but, alas, I must continue with the sorting. I fear we've been here far too long; this may be a new record. Now then let's see where to put you..."
Harry took a deep breath and reluctantly accepted that the hat wouldn't tell him anything further.
"Hmmm...difficult, very difficult...you're gaining courage, I see. Excellent mind, oh yes and a talent. Such talent...yet to be discovered, and there's a definite thirst to prove yourself and stand apart from the rest. But those who are important to you, you hold most dear and you don't take for granted. Hmmm...should I stay true to my original sorting before I changed my mind...And I see that you've already self analysed yourself, yes you could fit into any house. But, ultimately, I feel it has to be-SLYTHERIN!"
The last word was shouted out to the entire hall and Harry shakily took the hat off and placed it back on the stool as he stood up. Harry looked down and saw that his previous plain black tie had changed to his new house colours; green and silver.
The rest of the students seemed to be jolted out of their stupor and began to clap unevenly, Harry made his way over to the Slytherin table and gratefully sat down next to Theodore Remington, who looked at Harry out of the corner of his eye but he didn't say anything.
The students at the Slytherin table looked at him with apprehension and suspicion; probably because he took the longest for the hat to sort...and that the hat had shouted at Professor McGonagall. They all probably wanted to know what was said to him.
Harry turned to watch Niccolò who was the last to be sorted and he was already seated on the stool when Harry looked at him, the sorting hat was silent for a few seconds before it shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"
Harry clapped along with the rest of his house, feeling very glad that his first friend had been sorted into the same house as himself, Harry grinned at Niccolò as he sat down next to him; and Niccolò in turn patted him on the shoulder with a casual smile.
Professor McGonagall rolled up the scroll and it vanished, she then picked up the sorting hat and pulled out her wand and vanished the stool before walking around the back of the head table and disappearing being a door.
Everyone turned to look at the high table as Professor Dumbledore stood up, wearing a purple, green and yellow swirled robe; he was beaming at the students with his arms opened wide in welcome.
"Welcome students to another year at Hogwarts! I won't keep you from the feast as I can see some of you starting to get impatient," Dumbledore indicated with a small smile and a bright twinkle in his eye to the middle of the Gryffindor table where Harry assumed he was referring to James and Sirius, and Harry was proved correct when they both chanted 'Food, food, food' until Professor Dumbledore continued with a chuckle "Yes, yes, save your singing until the end boys. Now then, I will leave the notices until the end of the feast. As for now I only have two words to say; tuck in." And with that he swept his hands out again before sitting back down and Harry gasped out loud with all of the other first years.
It was amazing; Harry had to stop his mouth from falling open in astonishment. The entire Slytherin table was filled with delicious smelling foods.
Harry had never seen so many different foods on one table before: roast beef, roast chicken, lamb and pork chops, roast turkey, sausages, ham, steak, bacon and different types of fish that Harry didn't know, roast potatoes, boiled potatoes, jacket potatoes, mash, chips, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, green beans, sweetcorn, asparagus, ketchup and piping hot gravy.
Harry was dumfounded, he didn't have a clue what to pick, in the end, after watching everyone else pile up their plates Harry decided to serve himself roast beef, a couple of roast potatoes, a spoonful of peas and carrots, a nice dollop of the creamy looking mash and two Yorkshire puddings with a generous amount of gravy on top. Harry was defiantly going to gain some weight while at Hogwarts, the orphanage had never exactly starved Harry but he'd never been allowed to eat as much as he wanted.
Conversation at the Slytherin table was light and occasional as they ate their food. Harry hadn't spoken to anyone apart from Niccolò yet, but Theodore Remington politely asked Harry to pass him the boiled potatoes when their eyes caught and Harry obliged with a friendly smile and Harry swore that he got a small smile back along with a grateful nod of the head.
Wary of the mass amount of gravy on his plate, Harry carefully ate his food and turned to Niccolò who was tucking into a jacket potatoe, fish, sweetcorn and peas and started up a small conversation with him.
As it turns out, Niccolò is also a fan of muggle sports, just like Harry.
"Oh definitely Harry, not only does muggle sports keep you fit it's also fun and it can involve a lot of people. I mean, Quidditch is great and all, but it can get rather boring just sitting on a broom, especially if you're watching. I'd much rather play football or go running, wizards really need to get a grip and invent some other sports that we can do. What sports do you like Harry?" Niccolò asked, cutting up his fish and piling a few peas on his fork.
"I like pretty much everything, but I'm better at swimming and running than football. Did you here about Usain Bolt? He's been signed up for the Olympics and apparently he's the youngest ever and he's tipped to win the most gold medals," Harry excitedly told Niccolò, unknowing that Theodore Remington was listing with undisguised interest, "I bet that I'm faster than him." Harry stated, sitting up straight in his seat; causing Niccolò to snigger.
"No, I don't think so Harry...I'm definitely faster as I have the longer legs and more muscle mass than you." Niccolò assured Harry, placing his utensils on his golden plate.
"Ha, no way Niccolò," Harry playfully bantered, "I'm the faster one due to my high stamina. I'm excellent at enduring my physical and mental strength that allows me to run for a long time and speed up at just the right moment." Harry declared, swinging his fork around in enthusiasm causing a few older Slytherin's to send him reprimanding looks but he paid no attention to them.
Harry was having so much fun, he'd never talked to anyone like this before and he loved every minute of it. The more Harry talked with Niccolò, the more relaxed he felt and he was coming out of his shell.
"Ah-ha, well we'll have to see about that Harry. We'll have a race to decide who's the fastest. We'll have to explore the ground this weekend and pick the right spot." Niccolò suggested and Harry hurriedly agreed.
When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food disappeared from their plates and a couple of minutes later the desserts appeared.
Blocks of ice-cream in all different types of flavours were pilled on top of each other and Harry suspected that there was a cooling charm on them as they didn't run or melt into each other. There was also: treacle tarts, apple pie, chocolate éclairs, chocolate muffins, profiteroles, trifle, jelly, rice pudding, an assortment of cakes, strawberries and cream, and several large bowls of fruit cocktail.
If Harry wasn't so full he might have tried more than one, but seeing as he had a lot of chocolate and sweets on the train Harry decided to go for something healthy. And so he opted for a spoonful fruit cocktail; only one spoonful as he hadn't had it before.
Peering into his bowl, Harry saw that he had an variety of diced fruits; peaches, pears, pineapples, whole grapes both red and green, and a couple of cherries.
Sticking his spoon inside his bowl, Harry cautiously brought it up to his mouth eying the clear fruit juice with uncertainty, much to the amusement of Niccolò who was grinning round his ice-cream.
Popping the spoon in his mouth Harry was silent for a couple of seconds before smiling and humming contentedly with the satisfying taste before digging his spoon in his bowl for another before stuffing it in his mouth.
"Enjoying your desert are we?"
The sudden voice from his other side caused him to choke slightly on the larger bits of fruit in his mouth, after a pat on the back Harry had turned to the owner of the voice. Completely red faced, Harry wiped his chin where a little of the sweet syrup of dripped down and faced Theodore Remington who maintained a straight face although the laughter in his eyes were easy to see.
"Yes thankyou, how about you?" Harry coolly asked but before he could answer Harry continued, "Woops, it looks like you've spilt some chocolate on your robes, just here." Pointing to his own robe to indicate where the stain was.
Theodore looked alarmed before looking to his own expensive looking robe, Harrys badly muffled laughter brought his head shooting straight up and he was looking to the teasing smile on Harry's face.
"Just kidding, the names Harry, Harry Walker." Harry introduced, offering his hand once he had deposited his spoon.
"Theodore Remington, or just Theo. It's a pleasure, Harry." Theodore said as he shook the proffered hand that belonged to a grinning Harry.
Harry seemed to be doing that a lot, grinning.
Harry and Theodore had begun to have a conversation about the lessons and which ones they were most looking forward to, and occasionally Niccolò would be enticed into the conversation but he was happy to just listen, nod at the appropriate times and eat his ice-cream.
Theodore never asked Harry of his blood status or his parentage, and for this Harry was very grateful for, but Harry suspected that there must be a reason for it; seeing as out of all of those who had been sorted into Slytherin, Niccolò was the only one to talk to him especially after hearing Natalia express her reluctance to be near Harry.
Just as Harry was reaching for another spoonful of fruit cocktail, he heard Natalia exclaimed loudly informing their end of the table as she talked, more like shouted, to someone who was sat in the middle of the Slytherin table. Niccolò just rolled his eyes and started mixing all different flavours of ice-cream together before timidly licking his spoon; his face twisted and hastily reached for his golden goblet and he began to drink deeply. Suppressing a laugh, Harry decided to listen subtly to the conversation, he had pretended that he hadn't noticed the stares that some of the older students were sending him so he didn't want to get caught, lifting the spoon to his lips trying to act as normal as possible.
"...of course but Alexander and I weren't originally going to attend Hogwarts you know, our father is here on a business trip and we all had to relocate from Canada, mother wasn't best pleased but she was easily pacified when father gave the go ahead to stay with Uncle Abraxas, which is Lucius's father by the way as mother and Uncle Abraxas are siblings. So hopefully, we'll only be here for the year." Natalia Lucan informed those who were avidly interested and openly listening. Her brother then started to speak,
"Yes that's right; imagine having to stay here for seven years. The state of the education is severely lacking and personally I can't wait to get back to Canada. They are more exclusive when selecting the students there. I pity Lucius for having to study here." Alexander stated pompously, looking around the Great Hall with disapproval.
Lucius Malfoy, upon hearing this turned to face Alexander fully, as he had obviously been listening to Natalia as he had nodded a few times in affirmation when she spoke.
"Why is that cousin? I wouldn't dream of wanting to go and study at the school that Aunt Asteria is thinking of sending you to, there the one for using corporal punishment. You know, the cane and such. I can't imagine you being let a floo call home to get the special balm to use on your delicate backside." Lucius finished with a smirk while swirling his goblet elegantly with ease, obviously there was a story to go with the little insult or joke as Alexander had turned pink in the cheeks and ears.
The others around were sniggering, while Daniel Lesner, Harry thought it was, glared at everyone as he tried to save his friend from embarrassment.
"Oh stop it, it's not as if any of you haven't been on the receiving end of a spanking before. And I know some pretty good stories." Daniel stated threat clearly in the air which caused the others to sober up immediately.
Unfortunately, Natalia couldn't quite control herself as she was still sniggering in her hands; evidently because her shoulders were moving unevenly as she tried to calm her breathing.
Lucius saw this and once again smirked as he suddenly remembered what Grayson Travers had told him when his cousins had been sorted, Harry saw him clear his throat, holding a hand to his mouth before he turned his gaze to her.
"Oh Natalia, what is this that my dear friend Grayson tells me about you arguing with the sorting hat? You weren't going to be sorted into Gryffindor by any chance were you?" Lucius asked, lips quirking when he saw that Natalia stopped laughing straight away.
The reaction that Harry was expecting was a pale face and to start getting nervous or stutter, but what he wasn't expecting was Natalia to smile sweetly and happily tell those around her, as well as her cousin, what had happened.
"Of course not. You see Lucius, that blasted hat realised my extremely high intelligence that is far superior than your average Slytherin so it wanted to place me in Ravenclaw. Obviously, I declined but the hat was adamant that I was destined for Ravenclaw," Here, Harry heard Natalia scoff incredulously at the thought, "So, I regretfully informed the hat that if it attempted to sort me into any house other than Slytherin, it would have a few, how should I say it...disfigurements to it's appearance." Natalia finished off with an evil grin.
Lucius merely raised an eyebrow, smirked and raised his goblet while Harry saw that Alexander was quizzing her sister on what she had threatened to do to the hat.
Harry turned to Niccolò, only to find that he also had decided to listen in on their conversation. Their eyes met and Niccolò raised an eyebrow lifting yet another spoon of ice-cream into his mouth from a fresh bowl.
"Well, at least that's revealed some good news then. The Lucan twins won't be staying here for long, I've only met them a couple of times at business gatherings and they're a right pair of posh stuck up little spoilt brats. Trust me, my brother even says that Lucius doesn't even like them half the time they're around." Niccolò shrugged before he protested loudly when all the desserts suddenly disappeared; including the spoon with a large dollop of mint ice-cream on it.
Harry just laughed and patted his new friend consolingly on the back, "Well, that shows you then doesn't it? You shouldn't waste time messing with your food, making all them weird concoctions."
Harry and a slightly pouting looking Niccolò turned to face the Headmaster, who had stood up and walked to a golden stand with a large decorative owl on the front. Professor Dumbledore clapped his hands twice and everyone in the hall fell silent.
"Thank you. Now that you are all happily fed and watered," Here Niccolò snorted to himself causing Harry to fight a grin as a few first years closest to them sent them funny looks.
"I have a fair few start of term notices to give you. Firstly, the first years should be aware that the Forbidden Forest is forbidden to all students. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." Harry swore that Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flickered to the middle of the Gryffindor table where James, Sirius, Peter and the others were sitting.
"Secondly, Professor McGonagall has asked me to remind you that no magic is to be used on the corridors. Now, there are a few changes in staffing this year. Professor Flitwick has returned from his travels and will be resuming his position as Charms teacher. Let's welcome back Professor Flitwick."
Harry saw a very tiny goblin looking wizard wave his hand excitedly and everyone clapped politely and a few older students whistled. This teacher was obviously well liked and respected.
"The next change in staff is that Pomona Sprout, some of you might have seen last year covering Herbology lessons, has permanently took over from Herbert Beery. So, Hufflepuff also has a new head of house. Welcome Professor Sprout."
A slightly plump looking witch stood up and bowed her head before quickly sitting back down, Harry thought that she had a kind, friendly look about her as he clapped along with the rest of the school.
"And lastly, Professor Korbin has taken on an apprentice. So when you head out for your flying lessons, you may see Rolanda Hooch around the castle. Be warned students, Miss Hooch will have the same authority as a Professor."
As Professor Dumbledore said this, Rolanda Hooch stood up and nodded her head just like Professor Sprout. Miss Hooch was possibly in her early twenties and Harry suddenly saw that she had yellow eyes, Harry would behave around her. She could probably spot trouble as quick as a hawk.
When the clapping died down, Dumbledore smile and opened his arms like he had done at the start of the feast.
"And now before we all go off to bed, let's all sing the school song. Everyone pick a tune and off we go!" And with that, a smiling Dumbledore waved his hand and a long ribbon materialised out of thin air and the words began to appear.
While this was happening, Harry noticed that some of the teachers' smiles had become rather fixed; Harry swore that he saw Professor McGonagall actually roll her eyes. But the Slytherins' were openly glaring at Dumbledore.
The school then bellowed:
'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'
Everyone finished at different times, although the majority of the Slytherin's had chosen to remain silent; glaring at those who had sung along.
Only James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were left singing; they stood up and started swaying to a slow version of the school song; although Harry noticed that Remus was reluctant to stand up but Sirius had grabbed his arm and hauled him up to his feet.
Everyone clapped when Dumbledore conducted the last lines, wiping his eyes. His face was crinkled in wrinkles as he smiled in happiness.
"Well done everyone. Now, off to bed. Prefects will lead the first years. I bid you all goodnight." With that said the entire hall bustled in movement.
The Slytherin first years followed a prefect called Dylan Demzar, as he introduced himself, and he led them out of the Great Hall and away from where the rest of the school was heading.
Typically, Alexander and Natalia were at the front and Harry followed Theodore, with Niccolò behind him.
They were led further down into the castle as it started to get slightly cooler and the stone looked darker, older, and they left the noise of the rest of the school behind them.
After a few more minutes of walking, Dylan Demzar led them to a stop. Going on his toes, Harry could only just peer across Theodore's shoulder and Harry saw that they'd come to a halt in front of a large portrait of a regal looking man with grey hair. He had a cane in his hand, and he was sat in a large emerald and silver chair in front of a black marble fireplace. Harry could see what appeared to be a snake slithering around in the portrait.
"This is the entrance to the Slytherin Common room, each week we have a different password so make sure you know it. If you don't then it's your problem. The password for this week is Survival."
As soon as Prefect Demzar said the password the portrait nodded gracefully and the portrait swung openly silently.
Harry entered the common room and a double height atrium carved in smooth grey stone was presented to the rest of the first years; the space was somewhat magnified due to the light being reflected off the numerous green lamps hanging on the walls and high ceilings, opposite the magnificent black marble fireplace were several black and green sofas and chairs embodied with little silver snakes into the fabric which seemed to glisten in the firelight, the sofas were surrounded by several coffee tables.
Looking past everyone's heads Harry saw a suspended sculptural dark oak staircase which was carved with snakes, again. There definitely seemed to be a theme of snakes going on here Harry thought and the snakes were entwined all the way up the banister.
Harry looked up and saw a balcony sticking out slightly over the common room.
Dylan must have notice all of their stares and so he had informed them all that it was a private library for the Slytherins and it held several copies of all the assigned textbooks for every year so that if anyone lost their copy, they could borrow it here instead of trekking all the way up to the library.
Looking to the far right hand side of the common room, Harry saw that there were 4 sliver and black velvet chaise lounges and each had a small table and lamp beside it.
To in the far left of the common room, there was an area that looked like to be a small study area as Harry could see several large desks with new ink pots and spare quills piled neatly in the centre of the table; just waiting to be used.
There were lots of interesting statues and figurines dotted around that common room and an expensive looking clock decorated the mantelpiece over the fireplace.
Harry's inventory of the common room was interrupted by the prefect who had led them all down.
"Right then, gather round here you lot, hurry up you three at the back; I've got a prefect meeting to attend to soon. Now there are seven boys and six girls so, for the girls there are two dorms with three beds; go up the corridor then up the stairs to the first floor and it's the second and third doors to the right. And the boys, oh we have an odd number." Dylan paused here for a moment, seemingly trying to remember something.
"Ah yes, that's it. We'll have one set of three in one dorm and a set of four boys in the other. Your dorm is up the stairs to the second floor and it's the third and fifth door to your left. Don't look at me like that; the Slytherin dormitories look bigger than you think, we have the whole of the underground castle for ourselves. Now then, go on off to bed. Don't be late down here in the morning; our head of house is going to talk to you before you head off to breakfast so get down here for 7:30 at the latest." With that said, the prefect swept out of the common room through the portrait.
The girls rushed off to pick their room as did half of the boys which left Harry, Niccolò and Theodore left ; so hopefully Harry thought, that the three of them would be sharing the room that held only three beds.
Harry and the other two boys walked slowly down the corridor, following the prefects instructions, not needing to speak to one another.
The comfortable silence ended when they came to their floor, it appeared that the other boys had taken the third door, due to the loud noises coming from within, and that the names of the occupants were inscribed in sliver on the dark oak door.
They walked a little further down the corridor until they came to the fifth and last door on the left; it too had their names inscribed in silver;
First Year Dormitory-Boys
Theodore Remington
Harry Walker
Niccolò Zabini
Seeing as Harry was the one closest to the door, Harry cautiously opened it and surprisingly the door was quite heavy to push open and he was amazed at what he saw. Hogwarts just seemed to get better and better.
Harry's new room was like a mini version of the common room but it hadn't lost any of its magnificence. There were three four poster beds and a beautiful dark oak 5 draw armoire placed between each bed, effectively separating them a good decent space apart.
Looking to the right, there was another door about 150meters away from the main door where they were all currently stood which led to their private bathroom; due to the sign 'Bathroom'.
The beds were more to left side of the room, Harry quickly understood why. There was a small fireplace in their room, a black marble one; just like the one in the common room.
Harry grinned and thought this is so cool!
A couple of large empty shelves lined the walls, just waiting to be filled with all their school textbooks.
Finally entering the room, Harry let Theodore and Niccolò choose their beds first. Theodore chose the bed at the far left, Niccolò opted for the one in the middle and so Harry took the bed to the far right. Their respected trunks popped to the ends of the beds immediately.
Harry was feeling all of a sudden very heavy and exhausted as he opened his trunk to pull out his pyjamas, Harry decided to wear his new navy blue long cotton pyjamas in the hope that they would keep him warm in the slightly chilly part of the castle despite the heat from the fire; and so he slowly changed into them.
The four green lights were slowly dimming as they all got closer for being ready for bed.
Lifting up the dark green and silver bed sheets, Harry quickly snuggled into the soft mattress and pulled the covers up to his chin. Closing his eyes Harry sighed quietly and whispered to the other two boys,
"Night guys." He said, yawning at the end.
"Night." Theodore said before Harry heard him the rustle of the bed sheets indicating that he'd turned over.
"Night Theo, Harry." Niccolò muttered, sleep thick in his voice.
That night Harry felt more at home at Hogwarts and he slept peacefully and happily in an undisturbed sleep.
And there you have it! Thankyou all for reading and please leave me a review letting me know what you thought :)
Next update, maybe at the weekend or sometime next week.
Here is a question that I was asked;
Why would Lucius want to talk with Harry? Severus told Lucius about the boy that saw him selling the venomous tentactualla leaves and worried slightly that he would tell somebody so Lucius only wanted to make sure that Harry didn't squeal on him. You'll see more of this in the next chapter
The Sorting Hat song: A mixture off all three songs from the books.
Total of students in the year: 47
Slytherin: 7 boys and 6 girls =13 students
Gryffindor: 7 boys and 5 girls = 12 students
Ravenclaw: 6 boys and 5 girls = 11 students
Hufflepuff: 6 girls and 6 boys = 12 students