1st September
Perhaps the best thing about the Wizarding World, thought Harry, was the fact that it never changed. It didn't need to, with Kingsley as Minister the uncorrupted Ministry had abolished blood prejudice, interhouse unity was at a record high and magical creatures were recognized as equals and treated fairly. Nothing needed to change.
Harry looked around the platform, packed with parents and students, the train puffing out steam while birds squawked and cats prowled. Teddy was ringing his hands, looking around.
"Hey cub, it'll be fine."
Teddy gave him a shaky smile, and almost fell over when Ezekiel's soft voice asked.
"Ted?"
Ezekiel had left Harry between Teddy and himself, and was standing a little farther away than conventional, Teddy looked between Ezekiel, Harry, and his own feet.
"Hey... Hey Ezekiel."
Ezekiel beamed and moved forwards but Harry stopped him, glancing at Teddy who had his eyes shut tight.
"Here Ted," Harry slipped a vial of calming draught from his pocket and gave it to Teddy, who knocked it back like it tasted good.
He physically shuddered and looked at Ezekiel, who stared back at him.
"I'll go Ted, it's okay, baby steps," he smiled, if a bit disappointed, and left.
"I'm a bad person," Teddy cried, holding his head in his hands. Harry shook his head and hugged the boy to his side.
"No you're not, cub, you're trying, and it will get better." Harry helped him onto the train, waiting for it to leave the station before he turned to go home, and then to Hogwarts via floo.
The platform was so quiet after the train left, it was a morbid quiet, contemplative parents all filing back to the barrier to go home, knowing they won't see their children until Christmas, Harry strolled off the platform, whistling a happy tune knowing he would see Teddy again that night.
"Chirpy morning, Potter?"
The whistling stopped and Harry glanced over his shoulder at Draco Malfoy, who was wearing a muggle suit and walking a few paces behind him. Malfoy smirked.
"Sadie is so excited to start," He said, the smirk never leaving his face, "Hope you don't ruin it for her, remember my little warnings, Potter, and don't think I won't be checking up on them, I know Sadie will be in Slytherin, and I won't let you bully her into turning against me."
Malfoy had a very serious look on his face, but Harry was seething.
"Malfoy, I understand why you won't let me see her, fine, okay, but for Merlin's sake stay away from me, you selfish prick."
Malfoy laughed hollowly at him as he turned on his heel and left the station with a crack, knowing he was in a spot the muggles couldn't have seen him.
Harry was running around Grimmauld place, putting dust covers over everything and making sure there was no food that would go bad while he was at work. He grabbed his own trunk, one significantly bigger than his old school trunk and hefted it towards the fire in the kitchen. He tapped the box of floo powder on the mantle to unlock it (for reasons obvious) and grabbed a handful.
"Slytherin's Quarters," He stated clearly, the fire turning green and he stepped in.
There was puff of ash and Harry tripped and fell, his trunk following him with a crash. Coughing he stood up and brushed his coat off, before dragging the trunk into his room and unpacking it methodically, he then shrugged on a robe and grabbed his 'teaching things' and headded for his office.
Harry was re-arranging his desk when there was a knock at the door.
"Hello?" He called, the door creaked open and a head of chocolate brown hair poked through. "Gil!" Harry greeted the boy who smiled a shy smile and came into the room, closing the door softly behind him.
"How's Teddy?" Gil asked, Harry shook his head.
"Keep your distance, mate," Harry told his son's friend, "he's fine with the letters but he just panics... you know."
Gil nodded. "Aunt Minerva wanted me to ask you to bring Teddy to her office after dinner, and the password for the common room is toaster."
Harry smiled.
"Aunt Minerva?" He asked, amused, Gil blushed.
"Professor McGonagall, she insisted I call her Minerva but I just couldn't. Professor Minerva annoyed her and she wouldn't have me call her Mum or Grandma - not that I would have- so it ended up being Aunt Minerva."
"How do you like it, Gil?" Harry asked, motioning for the boy to sit down.
"It's brilliant," Gil said, "Having a family," He looked at his feet. "You know, for the first time ever, I don't have everything I own in my school trunk. I actually left my Defense book at home!"
Harry gave him a look, Gil blushed.
"Right, sorry about that, Professor, she said she'll pick it up for me tomorrow afternoon."
"It's good Gil," Harry told him, "I never got that feeling, not until I became a teacher."
"Oh, but you - you're relatives - oh, right, sorry."
Harry smiled, it was never a nice topic when someone forgot how his relatives treated him, and everyone knew, it was one of the biggest parts of his story, after all.
"Teddy told you about my relatives?" Harry asked, genuinely curious as to how Gil, who grew up in the muggle world and was younger than those articles knew about it.
"My mum told me the story," Gil said quietly, with a little smile. "The great Harry Potter who grew up with the horrible muggles saving the world."
Harry smiled at him. "you remember your mother, then?" He asked, then paused. "If you don't mind me asking."
Gil nodded, "I was only little when I - they died, one, according to the orphanage, but I remember her telling me that story. Maybe because when I got to the orphanage, at first I thought it was better than your childhood. At least a normal one might have been."
"A normal one?" Harry frowned at him, Gil shrugged. "I was in an orphanage for the mentally unstable and children who had lost their parents, er, violently."
"Why?" Was all his professor asked, Gil's eyes darted around the room.
"Just because, I best get going," He stood.
"Gil," Harry stopped him, "Wait, just a moment, please."
Gil took a deep breath and turned to face his professor.
"If you ever need someone to talk to," He told the boy, "About your parents or the orphanage or the lycanthropy, anything, I'm here ok, or Neville, sorry, Professor Longbottom. We might be in a better position than most to help."
"I...er...thanks." Gil said, then he darted from the room.
Harry looked at the door with a suspicious look as it swung shut behind him, but was brought out of his musings by a tap on the window. He didn't recognize the owl, but wandlessly opened the window to let it in. He untied the letter from its leg and it took off straight away. Opening the parchment, Harry read;
Professor Potter,
I was just wondering if maybe you might possibly want to go to Dinner sometime, you know, this year, anytime really I was just wondering, thanks.
Maxine Lane.
Harry stared at the parchment with utter shock.
"I believe that's an invitation for a date."
The voice was drawling, and ever so hated, and made Harry yelp as he jumped back from Malfoy, who was hanging over his desk and reading his mail upside down.
"MALFOY! what the bloody hell are you doing here?"
Of course the prat laughed at his reaction and snatched the parchment off him, reading it and tearing it up.
"She's much too young for you," He said slipping the shredded note in the bin, "Wouldn't want to give young children any disgusting ideas."
The way Malfoy leered at Harry made Harry feel ill. So he leveled a glare at the blonde man and stood up.
"I know she's too young," Harry defended himself, "So I was going to let her down kindly, however, I don't appreciate you noseing through my private mail!"
Malfoy laughed at him and patted his head, Harry tried to swat the hand away but missed. "I'll be noseing around this year Potter, you'll have to get used to me." And with that he turned on his heel and sauntered out of the room.
Harry glared after him.
Harry once again waited for the first years under his cloak in the entrance hall, trying to remember who's children - apart from Sadie - might be in that year. Pascal Zabani, he knew would be here and Catrina Finnegan, Seamus' eldest daughter, and One of Oliver's kids, Maisy, if Harry's memory served correctly.
The first years filed into the entrance hall looking around worriedly. Hagrid came in after them, a big smile on his face even thought they were all drenched.
"Welcome to Hogwarts!" Harry said with a dramatic sweep of his arm, removing the cloak. The first years jumped, their awe - filled gazes taking in the wizard before them... Harry loved his job.
Sadie was standing at the front of the group, a huge smile on her face and she waved at him happily, Catrina was next to her, also looking giddy with excitement and Harry cleared his throat to get their attention.
"In just a moment you will walk through these doors and be sorted into your houses. There are four Hogwarts houses, Huffelpuff, Slytherin, Gryfindor and Ravenclaw, while you are here you will eat and sleep and learn with your housemates, your triumphs will earn you points, while any mischief will lose your points. At the end of the year the wining house gets the house cup." Harry turned on his heel and slipped into the hall, getting the hat and stool and list while Minerva shushed the older students. The ghosts flew into the hall at that moment, and the whole student body chuckled as one of the little girls in the entrance hall screamed particularly loudly.
Harry went back to the entrance hall, pushing the doors open and waving the kids inside, he led them up the center of the hall and stood next to the hat. Pryderi twitched then the tear at the brim opened and the hat sang;
A new year begun,
Time for more fun,
Pranks, and NEWTS and all,
Gather round like before,
In the same old hall,
Everyone do make haste,
The firsties will find their place,
Sorted into houses four,
Weather they are in Gryffindor,
For those, brave is their way
And Chivalry is their forte
Or in kind old Hufflepuff,
Even when times are tough,
Are loyal beyond compare,
Those kids there,
Are always fair and will always care,
Or will you be in Ravenclaw?
Full of wisdom and wit,
Through any lesson they will sit,
A love of learning and all things fact,
Will be a Ravenclaw, or I'll be sacked.
Or with the Slytherins is your place
Cunning, sly and two faced?
Are you as slippery as Salazar?
And determined to go far?
Founders four created me,
For inside your minds to see,
And find out a fitting quality,
And see where it is you ought to be,
There is no other hat like me,
Not one as smart,
I tear all the others apart!
The staff and students applauded, one of the first years looked gobsmacked at the singing hat and Harry chuckled at her, muggleborn, probably. He stepped forward and unrolled the scroll, clearing his throat and calling out "Abigail Adam," The girl stepped forward quite confidently, her hair was short and red and her face was quite pinched, she sat on the stool and Harry placed the hat on her head.
"GRYFFINDOR!" It yelled, her shoulders slumped, Harry couldn't tell if it was relief or disappointment and she went to the cheering table.
"Leon Bole," Harry called, and a shy looking boy came up.
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Iona Bull,"
"HUFFELPUFF!"
"Derrick Carlyle."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Elwyn Dane."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Conner Davies." Harry paid more attention when he recognized the surname of a kid, and it was entirely likely Connor was Roger Davies son, so Harry had to watch out for him on the Ravenclaw Quiddich team in the next few years.
Yes, Slytherin had won the Quiddich Cup since Harry was made head of house in 2007, yes it was killing Minerva inside.
"RAVENCLAW!" Oh sorting. Right.
"Catrina Finnegan," Harry called and couldn't help but smile as Seamus' daughter waltzed up to the hat.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Of course.
"Ellen Goyle." The poor girl was a carbon copy of her father.
"SLYTHERIN!"
Great! Sarcasm.
"Anata Holt." Anata was a shy girl, judging from the way she shuffled up the steps glancing over her shoulder at a tall boy - the tallest of them all - with dark hair. She hid behind her own long, gold hair, and her eyes stayed on her feet as she sat on the three legged stool.
"HUFFELPUFF!"
"Loki Holt." Harry called and the tall boy walked up to the stool, the picture of confidence, he seemed to be older than the others, but that was impossible.
"SLYTHERIN!" The hat cried, and the boy turned and walked off, throwing it on the floor angrily- trying to, Harry caught it.
That one was a weird one.
"Bryce Hooper."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Benjamin Hopkins."
"HUFFELPUFF!"
"Julia Jones."
Don't yawn, don't yawn, don't yawn.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Francis Kirke, William Lewis, Kennith Mance and Lyn Mattaisan
were then made Huffelpuff, Ravenclaw, Huffelpuff and Ravenclaw.
"Randy McLaggen." Merlin not another one, thought Harry and Cormack McLaggen's son sauntered onto the stage.
"GRYFFINDOR!" Haha not my problem.
"Mark Migden."
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Sadie Malfoy."
She walked up to the hat with a smile on her face, and sat down, Harry hadn't even put it on her head when it cried "SLYTHERIN!" Just like her father's sorting had been.
"Helena Oliver."
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Angelus Palmer," Harry watched the boy as he came onto the platform, he was twitching.
It was just his hands, flicking out as if to check his robes were still there or something. His eyes were dull, the right milky and obviously blind, his rectangular glasses made his nose look too big and his dark hair was a little bit too long to suit him.
"SLYTHERIN!"
Harry may have actually been sleep sorting as the ceremony continued and finally he called "Pascal Zabini," who ran up to the stage and yanked the hat on his head.
"SLYTHERIN!" It cried and Pascal ran to the Slytherin table and stared at his plate.
Harry banished the hat and stool and walked back to the staff table as McGonagall stood to address the students.
"Enjoy your meal!" She cried and the tables filled with food. Harry smiled as he reached to grab some mashed potatoes and chicken and Neville laughed at him.
"I think I fell asleep," He said, Harry laughed.
"Me too. Some weird ones this year, one of them was twitching and I'll have to talk to Aurora about the Holt siblings; I have a funny feeling." Harry yawned, and then took a swig of pumpkin juice.
"And you got McLaggen's son!" Harry laughed at Neville who groaned.
"If hes anything like his father I'll have to keep him away from the Quiddich pitch."
"Just the beaters bats," Harry said shaking his head.
"You think there'll be any problems this year?" Minerva asked, leaning over to get Harry's attention.
"I have a feeling." Harry said, "er, Palmer? And the Holt Siblings, and maybe the Russian girl, and the Taylor twins they were weird." Minerva nodded. "I'll talk to Pryderi as soon as dinner's finished."
"Do you want me to come?" Harry asked. She nodded.
"Won't hurt."