DISCLAIMER- I don't own the creations of JK Rowling
I have read stories where Harry is sorted as apprentice, champion and headmaster but only one house would help him to see through the manipulator.
Reminder, my AU Dumbledore is played by Michael Gambon.
Chapter 14- Sorting
Today is the day Lily's son will step inside the castle. As I sit at the staff table and look at your ridiculous robes, I ponder over the staff meeting we had this morning. You told of Harry too and the words did not sound well to me- "All of you will treat him like a normal student- nothing less or more. I want him to have a normal school life like other children; I assure you that he had a normal childhood."
Your words seem dragon dung to me. When I basically said that you failed to save Lily, you said, without any hint of emotion, that she and her husband put their faith in the wrong person. I agree, that person is YOU! They were not the first, rather the last of your followers who met their end- facts speak for themselves. Next, you mentioned Lily's son while trying to play with my emotions- a bad move on your part. When the Lord will return- I doubt if you will have a good plan for saving him.
Normal childhood? You pompous liar! I found out about him and changed his life five years ago. Since then, I have checked him regularly to ensure his well being, directly or through his aunt Tonks but not meeting him. Your spy must be senile enough to not spot the differences; I did not feel you poking your long nose. Your words do not sound well to me. You talk as if the boy is your property or you his guardian. You prevented the Potter will from being presented in the Wizengamot, so wizards don't know what's there. For now, I am eager for his sorting. Will he be in Gryffindor like his parents?
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The door swung open immediately. The middle-aged woman who stood there was very severe-looking, clad in an emerald cloak and pointed hat, wearing spectacles on her nose. Hagrid mentioned the first years and she dismissed Hagrid, speaking in a Scottish accent. Then she looked at the first years very seriously as she looked over her spectacles, Harry even felt a little nervous.
She welcomed the children, introduced herself as Minerva McGonagall, the deputy headmistress of the school and made a short talk about the Hogwarts house system. The system was not new to Harry; even Stonewall High had houses- dedicated to competitions like sports and quiz but nothing else. But sharing a dormitory, the house points- it was new. Even then, the stern teacher did not mention any personal benefits of winning the house cup at the end of the term. Is there any extra incentive? The professor did not seem the right person to ask this question, maybe the senior ones know that.
She then asked them to smarten themselves up for the sorting, glancing once at the redhead and then at Neville, whose cloak was stuck up his left ear. As soon as she left the place, a chaotic murmur broke out among the students. Harry glanced at the first years around, Ronald was talking to two boys and Hermione had already closed her eyes, muttering something under her breath. The scene was suddenly disturbed by a low scream from some of the students within minutes.
A short bald man looking like a friar entered the place, talking to a rather elegant tall figure in long hair. Both of them had actually passed through solid wall, both were pearly white and transparent. Ghosts! However, the two of them were engaged in a conversation and did not notice the nervous students.
The friar was almost pleading to the tall figure "My good baron, you should consider giving him a chance to reform himself. Every soul deserve that chance, him too. Kindly pardon his mistake for once."
"Dear friar, you should understand the truth- who he really is. He is not like us, actually he is not one of us. I should keep him under watch, hey, what are these children doing here?"
The friar replied cheerfully "The new first years, I suppose. About to be sorted, dears?"
A few of them nodded silently, but before anything else could happen the Scottish professor came back and called to the children to follow her. They passed through a stone passageway with torches lighting the walls, but Harry could not smell anything burning- maybe the fire was magical. Then they stepped into what seemed like a huge hall room, the wooden doors opening automatically when McGonagall approached it. Harry gasped and took in the entire sight, it was splendid.
It seemed that the hall had an open roof, but right then he heard Hermione muttering about the enchanted ceiling. He looked at the four long tables and what seemed like the staff table at the end. A few ghosts were floating high up in the air, all staring at the new students. At that point, McGonagall stopped right in front of the staff table and gestured at a patched pointed hat that was standing on a three-legged stool, which at once began a song in a strange voice.
Harry soon got over the shock of seeing a hat having a mouth and singing, but began to listen attentively to the words of the song. He heard the hat describing the qualities required to be in each house. He now knew that Slytherin is the most ill-reputed one, in recent times his own nemesis was sorted there. So, over a hundred students in his year- all of them can be divided into just four categories? He guessed that he would be in Gryffindor if things were that simple.
The hat finished the song, bowed to each of the tables and then fell silent. The four tables clapped together, but the depute raised her hand and the students fell silent. She then stood with a parchment in her hand, the hat in other and said "When I call your name, come forward and sit on this stool. After the hat sorts you, hand it over to me and join your house. HANNAH ABBOT."
A blond girl in pigtails, with a nervous pink face stepped forward and sat on the stool. The hat was put over her head and moments later, the mouth cried out "HUFFLEPUFF."
The girl smiled nervously, took off the hat and went to join the table that was applauding. The depute gestured the students to be silent, but some of them stood up and patted Hannah on her shoulder. By that time, "SUSAN BONES"- a girl with round cheeks, long nose and brown hair was sitting on the stool, who was sorted into Hufflepuff too. The third student was announced a Ravenclaw.
Harry felt a little at ease. During his last days with his relatives, the words "his own kind" was repeated enough number of times to catch his attention. He now felt a little bored, glanced over the children to be sorted and guessed, watching a curly-haired Lavender Brown being sorted to Gryffindor, that if these children had walked past the Dursleys wearing muggle clothes, they would not have given a second look.
The name "MILICENT BULSTRODE" caught his attention. The girl who stepped forward had at least three-quarters of the height and breadth of Draco Malfoy's bodyguards combined in her, plus an aggressively jutting jaw. She became the first Slytherin, causing the table at one farthest end to applaud. Harry saw something unique in Slytherin- the applause was less enthusiastic and the older students were more interested in looking intently than clapping.
Harry looked for a while at the staff table. At the very centre, sat a tall man with silvery beard and long hair, clad in a glittering pink dress and pointed hat of similar colour, with sharp blue eyes. He was seated in a golden chair while the other staff sat in ornate chairs made of polished wood. So, that's the man who dumped me at my relative's door and flaunts political positions in a school letter.
Students had wooden benches, but Harry's eyes now found one interesting-looking teacher. The man was wearing a deep brown cloak, with long black hair and a sharp goatee. He was looking at the sorting with a blank look. Harry gasped at the man- he had differently styled hair and beard, a different-shaped nose but else, the face was exactly similar to the mysterious Mr. Prince he had met years ago. It was a happy memory, but evoking it now felt sad, so he pushed the thought out of his mind.
He scanned the other teachers; none were really remarkable except being clad in fine cloaks. Hagrid was dressed in the overcoat, sitting at one end and his chair was much bigger, just like his frame. One teacher was the opposite of Hagrid, a short bald man with a long white beard.
The sorting went on. Harry watched as Daphne Greengrass was sorted to Slytherin; she walked over to the table and sat down silently after giving a dignified bow to the clapping Slytherin students. Draco was sorted to Slytherin too and out of the people Harry had talked to in train, only Padma was sorted to Ravenclaw while the rest to Gryffindor, Neville having consumed a rather long time of the hat.
Finally "HARRY POTTER" was called. He stepped forward, walked to the stool and McGonagall placed the sorting hat on his head. He became aware that a loud murmur had broken out in the hall amongst the students and before the brim fell over his eyes, he found all the students staring interestedly at him.
"Now what?" thought Harry "the hat will shout Gryffindor, it did to both of my parents as I heard." but right at that moment, he was startled by a small voice that he could hear in his head.
I sort students by looking inside their minds, not how I chose their parents. I do not have a memory of what I did, so now let me look inside your mind and sort you. Now I see in your mind..
Harry mentally said "What can you see inside my mind?"
Intelligence, a desire to work towards your success and oh goodness, what have you done?
What? I don't remember anything.
You have done something a few hours ago. You have a capacity to doubt, are deceptive, hide your thoughts and though it seems to be someone's advice, you have taken all of it by heart, isn't it? You also enjoy watching people suffer, though it is purely for revenge.
Get OUT of my memories, none of your business. The world is not full of friendly people- you may not know that, being inside this castle and doing work once a year.
I sort students by looking inside their heads. I have no other purpose, no memory of even the student just before you. You are safe in my hands, boy.
Harry felt his shoulders slump in relief when the hat again spoke in his mind.
You are realistic in outlook. Want to keep secrets too? Enough! You are suited for SLYTHERIN.
The last words were said aloud to the hall. Harry took off the hat with relief that no one is poking into his mind, stood up and was then aware of the awkward silence that had fallen in the entire hall. He looked at the Deputy- she had gone very pale. He glanced at the remaining first years- Ronald Weasley was staring at him with a furious look in his face, not that Harry cared for it. All of Slytherin cannot be potential dark lords, plus he had a question in mind whose answer he did not know.
Thinking that, he ignored the silence and began to walk towards the silent Slytherin table when a slow, rhythmic sound broke his attention. He turned back to see the source- the black-haired teacher clapping slowly, his lips curled in a smile. Another sound broke out- one of the female staff wearing an elegant black cloak, who was perhaps in her late thirties but still had a beautiful, sharp face began clapping and gave a small smile at Harry. A third sound- he found that Daphne was clapping too, along with a pretty brunette girl sitting next to her. Daphne still had a blank face, but the other girl smiled a little at him. A smattering applause from the table followed after that, though much less than what the other newcomers to Slytherin had got. Many of them were looking at him with interest.
He heard the Deputy calling out the next name as he sat down at one of the benches. He glanced at the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables- the three girls he had befriended were looking at him with a sorry look on their faces, while Neville had his mouth hanging open. He did not bother about the rest and looked down at the table, no more daring to look back at the four of them.
Something strange happened just after that. He spotted a man in the staff table who was wearing a violet turban but judging by the looks, he was certainly a Caucasian. This fashion was not seen by Harry even amongst the crowd in Diagon Alley. The man locked eyes with him and immediately looked away. For a second or two, Harry felt something odd- as if something was pushing at his head. The feeling was rather short, it was gone as soon as it came- was he imagining things?
After the final student was sorted to Slytherin, he saw the Deputy roll up the parchment and laid it on the stool with the hat, which then floated away on its own towards an open door. Then the headmaster stood up and said about some announcement. Seconds later, Harry was soon left wondering if the man was mad or was it a joke that nobody seemed to get, but something pleasant followed immediately afterward.
The large empty plates were suddenly filled up with food- Yorkshire pudding, roast chicken, gravy, salad, fries and sausage while the jugs filled up with crystal clear water. He suddenly found out that he was very hungry- the food he had on the train seemed a long time ago. He piled up a bit of everything on his plate, it was a first experience to eat as much as he wanted, that too food like this. He tasted everything and all of it was delicious. He smiled at himself as he imagined Dudley's face as he helped himself to the food then looked at the other tables before casting a sweeping glance at his own house.
The staff and the students were helping themselves to the food, the hall echoed with the sound of talk and laughter. At his own table, he could see only around himself. He saw Draco talking with his cronies at one side while at the other, Daphne was talking to the girl beside her in a low voice and she did not have a blank face now but was smiling demurely at the brunette, the smile warming up her face and lighting up her eyes. For the first time he seemed to notice that Daphne was in fact very beautiful.
He suddenly found the tall long-haired ghost standing before him. He stared at the spectral man with his mouth full of food, but the man spoke first in an echoing voice "I am the Baron, house ghost of Slytherin. I am curious about you, boy. After all, I remember that Potters don't belong to this house."
Harry glanced at the other tables to see ghosts there too. The friar was now walking amongst the Hufflepuff table, an elegant lady was floating above the Ravenclaw while a man in ruffs and feathered hat was talking and bowing to the Gryffindor students. He now tried to talk back to the baron.
"Er, nice to meet you. So, you have met my father and others before that?"
"I surely have, but cannot remember clearly. Being around for a long time causes the memories to blur together, you may not understand what I mean. The castle has so many students all over the years, you cannot remember it all. The staff may stay longer, but they also change over time."
"You have been here for a very long time then, baron?"
"Almost since the founder's times. You can count me amongst the oldest specters of this castle."
The next question was almost automatic "Who is the youngest then?"
"She is Myrtle Warren, some girls of this castle know her. She was a student of this school, of Ravenclaw house about fifty years ago and still mostly lives in the bathroom she died in. She is rather weak of resolve, afraid to cross over yet not accepting her condition. Unworthy if you ask me."
Suddenly Harry became aware that the others around him were listening to the baron too. The man then looked around and said "A tip for the first timers, desserts appear after the main course, so keep space empty. Anything more that you would like to ask from me?"
Harry brushed aside the question how the baron was speaking in modern English but asked another which was bothering him "Who were the staff members that clapped at my sorting?"
"They are Professors Snape and Sinistra. They both are affiliated to Slytherin house and you will be receiving lessons from both of them in your year. Snape is the head of this house too." The baron's lips curled up in a strange smile for some reason "In fact, he will be making a speech to his house in the morning like every year. Anything else, lad?"
"You know that I am famous, right?" Meanwhile, the name Snape was ringing a bell in his mind, he could not place it.
"Yes, for somebody who was once a student of this house. If you ask me to recall, I remember him as a tall, dark-haired boy and nothing else. He did his terrible deeds outside the school, that too years after he left."
The next part was quiet. Harry focused on the food and when the food vanished from the plates, desserts arrived- chocolate gateaux cake, custard, treacle tart, apple pie and vanilla ice-cream topped with raspberry syrup. In the end, Harry had the best meal ever in his life and felt rather sleepy.
The headmaster now stood up from his chair and began making a speech. It made sense but at the end, Harry was pissed off. The forest is out of bounds, he may ask Hermione to find out what creatures reside there, but isn't this a school? Thank god the special door is supposed to have been painted red to warn the students. A student died fifty years ago, she is still here. At that moment, the headmaster looked like a walking cartoon to him and for some reason, he did not like the eyes at all.
The school anthem being sung drowned his thoughts.
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