Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, Fate Stay Night or anything else.

Fate: Emiya Night

Chapter14: Sorting

September 1991
England: London
King-cross Station

Hari had stayed in a room at Leaky Cauldron for the last few days leading up to the first of September and had spent his time going over the books he got from Diagon Alley concerning the course material and the introduction manuals for 'Muggle-borns' who were new to the Wizarding World. Despite the apparent attitude towards those of muggle descent, Purebloods didn't have a problem profiting from the sales that the manuals generated.

It was early in the morning when Hari arrived at Kings-cross Station and he spent a good half an hour trying to find the right platform. He was only able to stop it because of the prana signature it was giving off was similar to a Bounded Field so he was familiar enough to recognize it and get passed through it. In the end he stepped out onto Platform 9¾ where the Hogwarts Express train was taking on passengers. Hari's trunk was at his side, being pulled along the ground as he approached the train.

It was a bit busy but not overly so and he soon boarded the train. Finding an empty compartment was rather easy since from what he understood, the Magi population in Britain had taken a severe hit during the last war against Voldemort and his minions—Death Eaters they were called—ten years ago so the train wasn't packed with students. He closed the compartment door and put his trunk on the overhead shelf before sitting down with his back against the wall next to the window so he was facing the door.

Maybe he was a bit paranoid but with the things he'd seen, he wasn't going to be taking any chances. There were only two ways into the compartment and that was through either the door or the window. The window was an option but it would cause a commotion if someone outside burst in and the authorities would respond to the threat—or at least he hoped they would. The door on the other hand was easily opened and anyone could get in, wand in hand and spells flying before anyone would tell what was going on.

Naturally as a precaution he had his own wand gripped in his hand hidden at his side just in case…

It wasn't long before the train started moving and upon glancing out the window he saw green fields beyond it. He spent half the time reading more of his books trying to find out anything about Wizarding legends and myths that may help him in his search for the cure needed to save Illya. Sadly there was nothing he could see in any of the books he had and sighed knowing that his best bet was the library at Hogwarts itself.

During the course of the journey from London up to Scotland, two boys had opened the compartment door and seen him. The first was a redhead or should I say orange-head because unlike the blood red hair of himself and what Shirou used to have, the boy had hair that was completely orange. He didn't say anything, merely took one look at Hari and then left in a huff, as if he was searching for something and was growing frustrated at not finding it. The second boy had blond hair similar in shade to Illya's and Shirou's though theirs were completely white. He had a pair of large idiots with him likely as extra muscle for him to order around but like the orange-head from before, he took one look at Hari, sneered in disgust and then left, taking his two thugs with him.

To be honest Hari didn't care what they thought of him because he had no interest in socializing with anyone at Hogwarts at all, and after this year was over he was going to transfer to Mahoukoro one way or the other. One year, that was how long Illya had left to live, and whether he succeeded or failed, this would be his only year attending Hogwarts. Maybe this all wasn't necessary, maybe Shirou would be able to achieve another miracle and save Illya, maybe he didn't really need to do anything.

No…

Shirou had gone as far as to sacrifice his own humanity just to save them and no one could ask anymore of him. It was Hari's turn to do the saving for a change, as Emiya Kiritsugu's youngest son and the former Master of the Servant Assassin. He had often complained about the fact that he was the most normal of the entire Fuyuki Magi group but that was before, now it was different, he was different. He wasn't just Shirou and Illya's little brother, he was a wizard from a world other than their own.

Emiya Hari wasn't going to just give up…

The compartment door slid open and his gaze shot up from the book in his hand. It was a girl roughly the same age as him with blond hair and was already dressed in Hogwarts robes.

"Hello," she greeted with a smile. "Can I sit here?"

"Sure," Hari nodded and gestured for her to sit down. "Trying to avoid someone?" he asked her as she took the seat opposite him. Even if he had no desire to make friends while at Hogwarts, he would at least mind his manners and be polite.

"Unfortunately the answer is yes," the girl sighed and then introduced herself. "Daphne Greengrass."

"Harry Potter," Hari returned purposely stating his original name.

The magical community hadn't discovered that it was no longer his name and couldn't track him down without help from the mundane populace. He intended to keep using that name up until he transferred out of Hogwarts next year and effectively leave them all stumbling around in the dark trying to find him. They'd locate him eventually but by then years would have gone by and by then he wouldn't need to worry about their attempts to gain control of him by that point.

"Potter?" Daphne eyes lit up in recognition. "I've read about you."

"If you're talking about those fictional books they published over the last ten years then I'll tell you right now that they're all fake," Hari countered swiftly. "They don't know a damn thing about what happened to me since the night my birthparents were killed."

"Oh?" Daphne mused with a smirk. "And why would someone do that?"

"To make money obviously," Hari answered with a shrug. "Not that I care," he sighed and then sent her a questioning look. "Pureblood?"

"Yes," Daphne nodded in confirmation. "Eighteenth generation."

"I see," Hari sighed.

This was certainly turning out to be an interesting start to the school year…

The train arrived at Hogsmeade Station on time and were greeted by a rather big man named Rubeus Hagrid. He told the first years to follow him and they made their way down to a series of small bouts that they used to cross the river. Hari and Daphne got a boat together and couldn't help but be awed when Hogwarts castle came into view. The trip from the bouts to the castle was short and all too soon the first years found themselves standing outside of the Great Hall.

"Good evening students," Deputy Headmistress McGonagall started. "My name is Professor McGonagall; in just a few moments you will be led through these doors and be sorted into your houses. They are Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. While you are at Hogwarts your house will be like your family. Any rule-breaking will result in a loss of points; at the end of every year the house with the largest number of points will win the House Cup. Wait here a moment," she disappeared inside a second later.

A sudden commotion to the side caught Hari's attention and turned to see what all the fuss was about. The two boys from earlier were speaking angrily at each other with the orange-headed one loudly proclaiming that he will be 'Harry Potter's best friend' while the blond-white haired one was saying that Potter wouldn't talk to such penniless nobodies never mind be friends with them and that he would only associate himself with the 'right sort' of people.

So it was him they were after…

Hari snorted in disgust, he was barely here five minutes and already people were fighting over who would get the right to 'claim him' for their respective factions. He'd heard stories of the Clock Tower and the Department of Mysteries, but he had hoped that he wouldn't have to deal with politics like that at all while he was here. Wishful thinking, that's what it was, and right now he was biting back a groan as he realised that the situation was a lot more complicated then it first looked.

Still…

There was no way that he was joining either side in this barely suppressed conflict…

"This way," McGonagall returned and ushered them inside.

The first thing he noticed when he entered the Great Hall as part of the line of first year students was the fact that the ceiling was laced with prana, projecting the image of a starry sky. The second thing he noticed was four sets of tables, each with flags draping down from above coloured differently. At the far end of the hall was the staff table with a stool in front of it and a hat that seemed to be 'alive' for lack of a better term.

It was singing…

He didn't pay any attention to the words because what he really cared about was asking the question of what the hell the thing was since the last time he checked, hats couldn't talk much less sing. Was it like the Kaleidosticks that Rin and Sakura now had? Soon enough McGonagall started calling out names and the first year with that name went up and sat on the stool as she placed the hat atop their heads. It would then shout out the name of the house the first year would go to and they'd disappear to their assigned table

"Greengrass, Daphne," McGonagall read aloud from the list in her hand, peaking Hari's interest. Daphne's face was set in a cold frown as she sat down on the stool and a moment later the hat was placed on her head. This particular sorting lasted for several long agonising seconds before the hat made its decision.

"Slytherin!" the Sorting Hat exclaimed and Daphne sent Hari a smirk before scurrying off to the Slytherin table.

More students were called and sent on their way until...

"Potter, Harry," McGonagall spoke clearly to the remaining first years.

The silence that followed was thunderous…

Hari stepped forward, his back straight and as much confidence as he could muster in his stride. He heard the barely restrained whispers from the other students as he walked, excitement and awe in their voices as if they honestly hadn't expected him to show up. He partly understood that since according to them, he had mysteriously vanished ten years ago the day after he was placed at the Dursley house and hadn't been heard from since.

Apparently Albus Dumbledore had been taking a lot of flak for that mess…

There was also the fact that he looked different then what they expected; for some reason they expected him to show up looking like his birthfather with the only difference being the green eyes he inherited from his mother and a jagged curse scar on his forehead as a lingering mark of the killing curse he survived. His hair was blood red and he certainly didn't have a scar which had apparently thrown everyone off since from what they all knew, curse scars like that didn't vanish completely, they only faded away.

Not that he cared what they thought of him…

"Sweet Salazar's balls," the Hat yelped aloud as McGonagall placed the hat on his head. "That's a first," it added and seemed to squirm.

"What is it?" Hari inquired.

"I can't get a read on you," the Hat replied seemingly unnerved. "Usually when I do the sorting, the student's mind is like an open book but your head is messed up even by my standards young man. I can only see a snow-covered wasteland where your mindscape is supposed to be and I don't know what to make of it."

A snow-covered wasteland? What in the hell did that? It was true that he had recently started studying under Rin and working on ice elemental Magecraft but it was only in the beginning stages at best. Magecraft was inherently dangerous and could end up blowing up in the user's face at any moment if their calculations were off even for a second. Did the hat's words mean something more? He would worry about it later but for now he had more pressing concerns like being sorted and securing his new room.

"Can you still sort me?" Hari asked it.

"I know what this is…but it can't be…Rowena was the only one who…" the Hat muttered before declaring in a loud voice. "Slytherin!"

Slytherin huh? Well, at least he would have some peace and quiet to conduct his search for the cure. He wouldn't be surprised if someone confronted him directly sooner or later but he would handle that when it came and just ignore them. McGonagall picked up the hat with a shocked look on her face—a look that was shared with most of the people in the Great Hall—and he rose to his feet before heading over to the Slytherin table. Naturally he sat down next to Daphne and away from everyone else.

"So you ended up in Slytherin after all," Daphne commented with no small amount of amusement. "You do realise that there are children of the Dark Lord's followers in this house, don't you?"

"I dare them to try something," Hari responded with a look of his own. "I'll crush anyone stupid enough to do so."

It wasn't an empty boast to say that there wasn't anything left in this world that could frighten him, not after standing before an unborn Angra Mainyu in a crumbling cavern and knowing that there was nothing he could do about it. What could mere schoolchildren do compared to that? What about the teachers? Or the British Ministry of Magic? He admitted that he didn't really know them very well but he liked to think that he had a good head on his shoulders and he'd already setup a number of contingency plans just in case everything went south fast. Namely if he didn't give the others in Fuyuki a call once a day then they would know something was wrong and probably find some way to be in Britain by the next morning.

He could handle a bunch of kids his own age at least…

By the way that the older Slytherins and a few of the younger ones were looking at him he knew that they would do one of two things. Either they left him alone and tried to isolate him or they'd try and mess with him. Hari found that he didn't really care which way they chose to deal, he would deal with them when the time came. The ceremony continued after everyone pulled themselves together after Hari's surprise sorting and the last of the names were called out. After the remaining first years were sorted a large assortment of food appeared on the tables and everyone immediately began to feast. After they were finished Dumbledore began his welcoming speech and gave a warning about the Third Floor Corridor of the castle that was apparently off-limits this year to anyone that didn't want to die.

What the hell had he gotten himself into this time?

Harry followed his housemates down the stairs towards a pair of emerald green doors covered in jewels. The Head Boy stepped in front of the door and said a few choice words causing the doors to open. Once inside they were greeted to the sight of a large room fitted with furniture of every kind centred round a fireplace in the wall. Overall it wasn't a bad place and the mana in the room was contained reminding him a bit of the Emiya shed back home or Rin's workshop at her place. It was here that he was accosted by the white-blond haired boy from earlier who was arguing with the orange-head before they were all sorted.

"So it is true," the blond boy spoke up so that the whole common room could here. "Harry Potter has finally come to Hogwarts and has even been sorted into Slytherin."

"You seem to know my name but I don't believe I've had the pleasure," Hari responded almost overly polite and gestured towards the blond boy in front of him.

"Malfoy," he introduced himself. "Draco Malfoy," he extended his hand in greeting. "You'll learn sooner or later that there are some people in this world that are better than others and it would be best to choose your friends carefully. I could help you greatly…"

That was his first mistake…

Hari smiled and grasped his hand seemingly to shake it. "Freeze," he incanted as his Magic Circuits flooded with prana and ice formed between their hands. Funny thing about ice, it can be formed from the water molecules in the air itself though he could only make them form in small amounts right now and he was still working on the details. There was also the issue of the incantation; while Rin usually spoke her words in German, Sakura in Japanese and the Wizarding World seemed to use Latin, both Hari and Shirou used English.

So it was rather obvious what he'd done to those watching the encounter…

The moment their hands made contact, Hari tightened his grip as Draco yelped in surprise from the sudden cold sensation he got from the ice. Hari quickly Reinforced his body beyond what would be considered normal and literally pushed the Malfoy heir down to his knees in front of him. Draco winced and with his free hand reached for his wand only to feel the tip of Hari's own wand now at his neck and glowing an angry red.

"You seem to be mistaken about something," Hari spoke coldly as he stared down at the Malfoy heir. "I don't need nor want your help."

"Y-you-" Draco started as he glared up at the redhead standing over him. "Wait until my father hears about this!"

"Your father?" Hari snorted in disgust. "As if I care about some stuck-up Magi."

"You—you dare!" Draco gritted out as he brought his wand up only to be pushed over and knocked to the floor. He quickly got back up only for Hari to be right in front of him and backhanded Draco's wand out of his hand. "Gah!" he grunted as Hari grabbed his neck and pinned him against the wall with the ice now coating his hand.

"Ten years ago I 'defeated' the Dark Lord Voldemort," Hari declared with a cold smile. "He was called a monster," he chuckled at the word. "I wonder which one of us was the real monster that night," he couldn't recall anything about that night but from what everyone in magical Britain had told him, Voldemort was the monster lurking in their closet and hiding under their beds. Hari knew some real monsters though and as far as he was concerned, Voldemort just couldn't compare to the likes of Angra Mainyu or Gilgamesh and Kotomine Kirei. Hell, almost everyone he knew was either a Sorcerer or a Heroic Spirit straight of legend.

And was he becoming a monster now too?

The Grail War had changed him more than he'd realised, and he wasn't sure if he liked the change or not. Before it happened, he was just a regular kid who practiced Magecraft in his spare time and hung out with his brother. Then the Grail War happened and he'd survived the week long nightmare that it was. Assassin was killed, Saber was killed, and Hari had looked upon the unborn Angra Mainyu in despair as the realisation that there was nothing he could do hit him. At the end, two worlds had collapsed and merged together into a new one.

Never again…

He swore that nothing like that would ever happen again…

Was that why he was doing this?

Was that why he was causing this scene?

To show everyone that to mess with him was to invite disaster…

Yes…

That's exactly it…

"Enough," a new voice echoed through the common from the doorway.

"Professor Snape," one of the older years spoke in surprise.

"Potter," Severus Snape said clearly. "Put him down," Hari let go of Draco's neck immediately and the white-blond boy collapsed to the floor with his back to the wall. "There will be no fighting in this house, do you understand me? This is the house of Salazar Slytherin, one of the Four Founders of this very castle, and I will not have any of you tarnishing his name with such uncouth displays, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir," Hari answered as he turned away from Draco.

'That filthy half-blood dares to make a fool out of me,' Draco thought angrily as he shakily stood up and levelled his wand at the redhead's back.

"Enough, Mister Malfoy," Snape said again but it was already too late.

"Serpensortia," Draco incanted and conjured a snake which launched itself right at Hari's unprotected back.

"Stop," Hari hissed and the snake recoiled away from him. He heard gasps from around the room as he turned towards the now pale Malfoy heir and his conjured snake. "Wrap yourself around the white-haired one behind you," he commanded and the snake obeyed.

"W-wha!" Draco bit back a scream as the snake slithered over to him and coiled itself around his shoulders.

"He's a Parselmouth?" a fellow first year Trace Davis commented with wide eyes much like everyone else in the room.

Only two wizards were commonly known to have been Parselmouths and those were Salazar Slytherin and Lord Voldemort. Every Slytherin in the room was now looking at the redhead in confusion mixed with excitement and some of them were no doubt thinking back on the few rumours that had been circulating since that Halloween night ten years ago. Some people had wondered if maybe Voldemort was not really gone but simply transferred himself into the Potter boy's body and intended to from the beginning.

Was Harry Potter destined to be the next Dark Lord?

Even Snape was staring at him like he was some kind of puzzle now…

"To attack from behind because you know that you are completely outmatched," Hari's sneer was worthy of Gilgamesh at that moment. "How unsightly," without another word Hari turned and headed for his new dorm room.

And so ended his first night at Hogwarts…

Author's Notes:

And so ends Hari's first day at Hogwarts with him ending up in Slytherin. Massive foreshadowing this chapter and as you can see the Grail War has affected him more than even he realised. Some of you think that this Hari is rather plain but that is only because technically his journey has just started, and for the record Hari isn't plain at all. He may seem that way but he's really not—after all I've made a kind of running gag in the past that Hari is the most 'normal' of the Fuyuki group when in actuality he is the strangest of them all. Please have some patience and see for yourselves what becomes of 'Harry Potter' here.

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See Ya Later…