Disclaimer: This is a work of fanfiction based on the Harry Potter universe. All recognizable characters, plots and settings are the exclusive property of J.K Rowling. I make no claim to ownership nor do I make any profit.


Acknowledgments: Thank you to my betas James Marx and Umar for their work on this story.


Self Promotion: I have a discord server where you can chat and read all of my chapters early. If you would like to join, simply copy the link on my profile and for . I had to write it in that format for the site to allow it on my profile.


Recommendations:

Harry Potter and The Prince of Slytherin by The Sinister Man.

Harry Potter and The Boy-Who-Lived by The Santi.

Growing Up Black by ElvindorkNigellus.

The Hero and The Veela by JackPotter.

Stepping Back, and Honour Thy Blood by TheBlack'sResurgence.

The Mind Arts by Wu Gang.

A Cadmean Victory by DarknessEnthroned.

Magicks of The Arcane by Eilyfe


"Speech."

'Internal Dialogue.

Parseltongue.

Memories/In Story Text.


Harry Potter and The Dark Lord's Equal

By ACI100.

Year 2: The Looming of Shadows.

Chapter 4: Welcome Home.


September 1st 1992.

The Burrow.

6:55 AM.

Harry found, to his great amusement, that he seemed to be the only one fully packed that morning as both Ron and Neville scrambled frantically to collect all of their things and judging by the sounds from the twins' room, it was likely that they were doing the same.

'Well, I'm sure Percy is packed, but that's to be expected.'

He had seen very little of the eldest Weasley child that summer. The older t boy had spent far more time locked up in his room then even Harry had managed, and hadn't even boasted about his outstanding O.W.L scores, something that Ron and the twins assured him was most out of character for the now sixth year Gryffindor prefect.

Harry had not been overly concerned, spending increasing amounts of time locked in his own room pouring over books and spells. He was fairly confident he had completed the third year curriculum in Charms, Transfiguration and Defense Against The Dark Arts in terms of theory, but he would need to make sure he could perform many of the spells. The defense curriculum would be the most difficult, as it was one he could not so easily gain practical experience with, seeing as it centered heavily around varying species of dangerous magical creatures.

While he studied relentlessly and made some time during the day to spend time with Ron, Neville and the twins, the nights were for his mother's journal. It had been started before Hogwarts, though unlike Harry, she already knew that she was a witch thanks to — of all the people in the world — Snape. Apparently, because the fates wanted to make his life even more complicated, Harry's mother had been rather close with his current Potions Master since the age of nine, though to Harry, this only made his behaviour towards him all the more confusing.

'He hated my father and got on with my mother, shouldn't that balance out?'

He wasn't too bothered with Snape if he was telling the truth. He had long since accepted that the man would likely despise him no matter the scenario, but he was admittedly curious to hear about the man's rivalry with his father from his mother's perspective.

Now, the diary was stowed in his password protected trunk, along with his clothes, school books and other personal belongings. He thanked Merlin for the feather light charm as he easily managed to transport his trunk down into the kitchen where Ginny was sitting alone at the table, reminding Harry eerily of the day that Dobby had arrived.

"Morning, Ginny." Said Harry, causing the girl to jump and hide something hastily in her lap.

'Odd.'

"Oh, hi Harry. You scared me!"

"Sorry," he apologized with an easy smile, "I didn't mean to."

She just shook her head. "It's ok." She said, and Harry noticed that she looked unusually tired; there were dark bags underneath her eyes.

"Did you not sleep well?" He asked, recognizing the signs all too well; it was what he saw in the mirror most days himself.

She flushed a bit. "N-not really, no. I-I've been a bit nervous."

Harry smiled in a way that he hoped would put her at ease as he leaned towards her, lowering his voice conspiratorially. "You can't be worse than Ron." He stage whispered. "The git was turning green when he stepped up to the stool." Ginny giggled, quickly stifling the noise behind her hand as she looked up to Harry in amazement.

"Really?"

"Yup." Said Harry cheerfully, remembering the exact shade of green in question. "And don't worry," he said, "if you're worried about the sorting, you'll be in Gryffindor for sure if your brother can make it. I mean — look at him." She giggled again, but fell silent quite quickly as her mother bustled back into the room.

"At least three of you had the brains to pack early!" She scoffed, heaving a trunk that must have belonged to Ginny out of the way and against the wall.


Mrs. Weasley's hectic morning was far from over, as her children seemed to push it to its utmost limits with their lack of punctuality. If that wasn't enough, they had to turn back several times on their way to the train station. Fred had forgotten his fireworks. George had forgotten his broom. And Ginny had forgotten her diary. By the time they got to King's Cross Station with little to no time to spare, Mrs. Weasley was almost frantic as she ushered them all towards the barrier. She went through first with Ginny, followed by Percy and Mr. Weasley, followed by the twins, leaving just Ron, Harry and Neville left.

"All in one go?" Ron asked, lazily pushing his trolly towards the barrier. Harry nodded, a bit nervous despite himself. He had not gone through the barrier before, always flooing directly onto the platform itself and bypassing the magical barrier altogether. He did not protest even in spite of that fact as he, Ron and Neville neared the barrier at some speed. Harry closed his eyes, wondering if it would feel at all odd going through the barrier when, to his utmost shock and horror, the only thing he felt was a fair bit of pain as their trolleys slammed into the barrier, spilling them and their trunks backwards.

'Thank goodness I sent Hedwig early; she'd be furious.'

"What the hell?!" Cursed Ron as they got to their feet, trying to discreetly press his hands up against the now solid barrier. "How is that even possible?"

"Uh… guys," said Neville, "we have two minutes!" Harry cursed, throwing a look at the time only to realize that Neville wasn't kidding.

"What do we do?" Asked a desperate looking Ron, gesturing frantically between the clock and the barrier.

"We could wait for your parents." Suggested Neville.

"Yeah, but the barrier might not let them through. They might just apparate back home and assume they missed us."

"Don't be thick," scolded Harry, "they're car is in the parking lot. They're definitely going to come back."

"The car," breathed Ron, a grin splitting across his face, "that's it! We can take the car!"

Harry's jaw fell open as he stared at Ron. "Please tell me you're not serious?"

Ron blinked. "What?"

"No offence mate, but that might be the most needlessly reckless thing I have ever heard. Why steal the car and risk the fury of your parents, crashing, or accidentally violating the Statute of Secrecy when we could just wait for your parents?"

Ron flushed red but he did not have time to say anything as another strong voice spoke from behind them, one that Harry had only heard once before.

"Please tell me that I have taken your comment about The Statute of Secrecy out of context?"

Harry turned and could have beamed in relief at the sight of the stern looking woman with the hard jaw that he knew both to be Augusta's friend as well as the head of the DMLE.

"Madam Bones," breathed Harry, "thank Merlin you showed up now."

Amelia's eyebrows rose. "I don't suppose your enthusiasm to see me has anything to do with the Statute of Secrecy, does it?" She asked dryly.

"No — well, at least not really. The barrier is sealed, we can't get through."

The woman's eyebrows rose even further into her hairline. "Sealed?" she asked incredulously. "How could it have become sealed?"

Harry shrugged, turning to the barrier and pushing against it with all of his force to no avail just as the clock struck 10:59.

Madam Bones frowned, stepping up and discreetly running her wand over the barrier. "It is no ward scheme I have ever seen." She muttered as she shook her head. "I will summon the aurors, and perhaps an Obliviator or two may not be a horrible precaution." She looked at the three of them. "Well, I suppose this means we will need another way of getting the three of you to Hogwarts. You three are lucky I chose to come back this way after dropping off my niece. I will call for an emergency portkey to be brought along with the aurors. One moment please." She stepped out of their earshot, quickly weaving her wand through the air and creating what Harry thought must be wards.

'Muggle repelling probably, and there's clearly a silencing ward.'

A few minutes later, she returned, stuffing something Harry could not make out in time back into her robes. "A team is on their way and the portkey will be with them." She turned to examine the barrier. "Surely it was not like this the entire morning or the station would be full of students?"

"It wasn't," noted Ron confusedly, "my parents and siblings all went through with no problem."

Madam Bones pursed her lips just as several cracks resounded around them.

"Madam Bones," one of the aurors asked, stepping forward. He was a tall, dark skinned man who was well muscled and carried himself with what Harry considered to be an impressive air of confidence.

"Shacklebolt," she addressed him, "the ward scheme is one I have never seen, though I trust you and your men will take it down?"

"Of course madam." He said, signaling for his men to follow him as he pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket. "The portkey, Madam Bones. It's password activated, the password is written on it." She nodded approvingly, gesturing for the three of them to gather round and all touch the parchment.

"Now, one of you just need to speak the password."

It was Neville who spoke first. "Express." And just like that, Harry was travelling through a blur of colours as he and his two companions seemed to be in the midst of travelling through space and time itself. Then, with a rather painful jolt that sent them all sprawling as they slammed into the sloping lawns of Hogwarts not ten feet from the main doors, they made their arrival

"Hey, Neville?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," said the other boy, sounding almost dazed.

"Can you do me a favour?"

He grimaced. "Depends what it is."

"Remind me NEVER to use a portkey again, will you?"

The other boy smiled as Ron snickered. "Yeah, sure thing mate." Neville promised, a lopsided grin breaking out across his face just as the front doors of the castle swung open and standing in front of them was Professor Dumbledore, dressed in vivid orange robes with professors Snape, McGonagall and Flitwick all on his tale.

Dumbledore shook his head, seeming bemused. "Ah, Harry, I suppose if something delightfully unusual is going on, I should have expected you to be at the epicenter of it all, shouldn't I?"

"Probably." Harry admitted.

Dumbledore chuckled but Snape did not. "Couldn't wait for the train, could you Potter? I suppose you wanted to make a grandiose entrance?"

"That will be enough, Severus." Dumbledore scolded lightly, and the man fell silent at once. "Well, I doubt the three of you simply managed to convince the ministry to craft you a portkey because you were so eager. I must ask, therefore, why have you arrived in such an unconventional manner?"

"It's the barrier," said Neville, "it's-it's… sealed I guess."

Dumbledore frowned. "Sealed you say?"

"Yeah, it won't let anyone through, it's just… solid."

"There are aurors looking at it now." Put in Harry. "We ran into Madam Bones — she's an acquaintance of mine and Neville's."

"Ah yes, I suppose she would be. Well, seeing as you are here regardless of circumstance, I suppose it is best that you all retreat to your common rooms to get a head start on unpacking your bags. The rest of the day is yours to do with as you please."

The professors all stepped aside to allow them entrance and Harry walked with his friends, suddenly painfully reminded of the warning he had promised Ginny that he would pass onto Dumbledore.

"You guys go on ahead, I need to use the loo." Neville didn't buy it, Harry knew that from the narrowing of his eyes, and he doubted Ron did either, but neither of them protested, simply shrugging and walking up the stairs. Once they were gone, Harry threw the cloak over himself and waited. Sure enough, footsteps came a minute later and Dumbledore made his way towards the stairs leading up.

"Professor?" Harry asked, taking off his cloak and appearing in front of the man, becoming more than a little bit impressed when the only reaction his sudden appearance warranted was a quirked eyebrow from the ancient headmaster.

"Harry?"

"There are some things I need to tell you if you have time, sir. I-I think they will be important, even if they sound a bit crazy."

The corners of the old man's lips twitched. "Well, I suppose you have asked the right man, for if you ask the opinion of many, I specialize in crazy!" Harry couldn't help but crack a smile at how pleased Dumbledore sounded about such a thing. "Shall we make the trek up to my office then? I can have a house elf deliver your belongings to your dormitory if you would like?"

"Yes sir, that sounds like a good idea."

Minutes later, they were walking towards Dumbledore's office. Harry made to speak but Dumbledore raised his hand. "If what you are going to tell me is as serious as I think it may be, I would ask that you wait until we are in my office, Harry. Unless of course, it is something of a lighter variety you wish to discuss in the meantime?"

Harry was a bit taken aback since there was clearly no one in the vicinity but he just shrugged. "How were your travels, sir?"

The man smiled. "Very taxing if an old man is to tell the truth. As I told you weeks ago, I find my old age does not hold up so well with the task of travel. Alas, it is necessary in my current position, but even amongst all of that, I found it most enjoyable!"

"Where were you for the first month if you don't mind me asking? I know you said you were going to Russia for the ICW? Was it Greece you had said?"

"Mind? Good gracious Harry, why on earth would an old man mind such an innocent question? I did indeed spend the first half of my summer in some of the older parts of Greece, many of which are remnants from what I believe the muggles would refer to as Ancient Greece."

Harry could not help but be jealous. "How was it?" He asked. "I've always wanted to go; I read a lot of books about Ancient Greece and their myths when I was younger."

Dumbledore's smile was sad at his proclamation but it was a smile nonetheless. "I will have to ensure that you find yourself there sometime in the future. Nevertheless, it was certainly the more taxing half of my holiday, but it was very enlightening. I have not learned so much in such a short span of time in many moons."

They had reached the gargoyle now, and Dumbledore winked at Harry before turning to the gargoyle and proclaiming in a voice more proud than Harry had ever heard. "Jelly bean!" The gargoyle jumped aside and Harry couldn't help but quirk his own eyebrow at the headmaster as he fought a smile. "A positively delightful muggle treat I discovered this summer that I am sure you are already familiar with?"

'Second hand thanks to the Dursleys.'

"Yes," he answered, "I never got to eat many of them, but I know what they are."

The sadness returned to Dumbledore's eyes but it lingered there for only a second. "Truly a shame," he noted as they reached the top of the staircase and entered his office. He reached for a bag on his desk and held it out to him, "shall we try and remedy such a travesty?

Harry couldn't help but smile as he took a couple and popped one into his mouth — it was quite good. "Thank you, sir."

"My pleasure, Harry." The older man returned, his eyes twinkling as he too took a small handful. "Now, I must ask what made you so insistent on speaking with me?"

Harry sighed. "You might think it's stupid, but-"

"Harry, I assure you that no matter what you bring forth, I will give it the attention it deserves. I think you will find there is very little you could bring to my attention that I would find to be beyond the levels of oddness I have observed over my years."

'Well, let's put that theory to the test.'

"Well sir, early in August, I was eating breakfast while Mrs. Weasley was out at the market and I was visited by a very strange house elf."

Dumbledore's eyebrows rose. "If I may ask, what was it about the creature you found so strange?"

"Everything really." Harry answered after a moment of pondering. "His outfit was literally a beat up pillow case. He said he was threatened daily with death by his masters and he was — eccentric and seemed to have an unhealthy obsession with me and my greatness." He made air quotes around the last bit and Dumbledore's lips twitched.

"With the exception of the eccentricity and aforementioned obsession, I think you will find that all of those traits, sad as some may be, are not all that unusual among their kind." Harry looked aghast and Dumbledore shook his head. "Come now, Harry, surely you have realized the horrible prejudice that grips our world? Surely you are not surprised that the ire of such men and women would apply to their own elves as well?" Dumbledore scowled. "Why waste valuable time and assets on a creature that has but no choice to serve you? Why waste the aforementioned time and assets on a creature that in most cases, would happily give their life to serve you?" Harry looked horrified as realization dawned on him. "You see now the dilemma that such creatures face." Said Dumbledore, and it was Harry's turn to nod. The headmaster sighed. "Please forgive an old man for his waffling Harry, I fear I have distracted you from your original line of thought. The house elf came to visit you?"

"Yes," said Harry, his mind coming back to the story, "he said I couldn't go back to Hogwarts, sir. He said that horrible things were going to happen at Hogwarts; things that not even you had the power to stop."

"I am far from infallible." Conceded Dumbledore with a sad smile.

"You believe him?"

"Perhaps," the old man answered cryptically, "do you?"

Harry furrowed his brows. "I don't know sir, I think he honestly believes it, but I have no idea if he is right."

"Oh, if he is being truthful, I have little doubt that he is correct. House elves often know far more than wizards give them credit for. Their magic is subtle and though they can not actively oppose their masters, there is nothing stopping them from obtaining their goals and intentions."

"This one seemed to think trouble was coming to Hogwarts." Harry closed his eyes, clearing his mind and trying to remember the conversation the best he could. "I asked him if it had anything to do with Voldemort and he said no but… the way he said it — the look in his eyes — it was almost as if he were trying to hint at something, but I have no idea what it was."

"If he was as concerned for your wellbeing as he seemed, I have no doubt that he was trying to warn you. Unfortunately, house elves are bound to the will of their master, so any help the poor creature attempts to give you must either be subtle or remain undiscovered." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Why in fact, I think it very likely that the elf in question is responsible for the sudden fiasco at platform nine and three quarters."

"You think he sealed the barrier?" Harry asked incredulously.

"It certainly fits," Dumbledore said thoughtfully, "it would make sense as well. It would be far easier for an elf to perform such magic. A wizard would need to either undo the barriers enchantments altogether or put into place a ward scheme. Either option would likely take a great deal of time and alert the ministry at once unless the wizard in question was of rather prodigious skill."

"It's starting to look like Dobby may have been right." Said Harry, fidgeting anxiously.

"Indeed," said Dumbledore, running a hand through his beard, "thank you for bringing this to my attention, Harry. I am afraid it will be rather difficult for me to take any action not knowing what the danger may be, but you have my word I will stay vigilant and act as best I can once the danger presents itself to the lot of us." Harry nodded and stood. "Before you leave me for the day," Dumbledore called after him, "I think our normal meeting times for Occlumency will suffice. How far have you advanced over the summer?"

"I can keep a blank and clear mind while performing normal tasks as long as they don't take too much thought."

"This is very good!" Beamed Dumbledore appreciatively. "It should only take a few more weeks at most before you can multitask completely unimpeded. I think you will find the branch of supplementary Occlumency rather interesting in its applications towards casting."

Harry nodded. "Is that what we will work on, sir?"

"Oh no," said Dumbledore with a smile, "I will allow you to work on the more obscure applications of Occlumency alone. All of them can be accomplished on one's own with repetitive exercises and the like. I will be teaching you to adequately defend your mind against potential intruders because that, unfortunately, can not be self taught beyond the absolute basics."

Harry nodded as a bit of nervousness creeping up at the thought of anyone in his mind. "Until Friday then, headmaster."

"Why Harry," said Dumbledore with a twinkle in his eyes, "do not be so farsighted, my boy! A far more accurate statement would be, until tonight, sir! The sorting and welcoming feast awaits us, after all!"

Harry could not help but leave the headmaster's office with a smile on his face.

"Damn, that old man is really growing on me.'


September 1st 1992.

The Room of Requirement.

12:49 PM.

Harry was more than a little bit surprised when he entered his training room within The Room of Requirement only to find it occupied by a familiar, round faced boy. "Neville?" He asked, a bit taken aback.

"Harry," he said, whirling around with his wand drawn and uttering an audible sigh of relief, "you scared the hell out of me!"

Harry's lips twitched, remembering the time when he had used those exact words on the boy in front of him moments before they went to see the Mirror of Erised together

"Sorry," he said, "what are you doing here?"

"Practicing," Neville told him, "defense mainly, but I want to get better at Transfiguration too."

"I'll make you a deal." Harry proposed as he took out his wand. "I want to see if I can cast the cheering charm or not. I know the theory, but I need somebody to practice on. If you let me try it on you, I'll help you with some defense and transfiguration."

The boy looked apprehensive. "You do know the counter, don't you?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Of course I know the counter."

Neville beamed. "Get on with it then!"


September 1st 1992.

The Great Hall.

6:07 PM.

Harry and Neville entered the Great Hall just seven minutes after the arranged time to meet up with their other friend, who was the lone occupant of the Gryffindor table. He was sitting in the dead center, somewhere that was almost always occupied by older students.

"And where in the bleeding hell have you two been?" Ron asked in a voice just barely quiet enough that the conversing teachers at the staff table couldn't hear them.

"Practicing." Said Harry with a smile. It had gone quite well; his cheering charm had been perfect and Neville had made leaps and bounds in Transfiguration, especially considering the short time they had to work together.

"Could've told me." Ron grumbled with a roll of his eyes. "Say, Harry, I don't suppose you could help me out a bit this year? I've actually been reading over the summer — OI! Knock it off!" He said when his two friends mimed shock. "No, I'm serious! I wanna better! You don't think you could help me, could you?"

"All you had to do was ask." Said Harry with a smile. "My schedule is a bit packed, but I'll help the lot of you when I can."

"Cheers!" Said Ron appreciatively as the first few students began to filter into the hall, wearing looks of surprise when they saw the trio of Gryffindors seated at the table.

"Where were you lot?!" Exclaimed a pair of voices in unison as the twins took seats opposite Harry and Neville.

"Here." Ron answered simply, wearing a smirk that was oddly reminiscent of the two twins sitting with them. "Bit stupid of you to ask, wasn't it?"

Their eyes narrowed. "Careful Ronikins." Warned Fred.

"Yeah," said George, "you don't want to start something you can't finish."

Ron snorted. "Don't get too full of yourselves just because you double teamed me at Christmas."

"It doesn't matter how many ickle friends you have, Ronikins." Warned George.

"You'll never out prank us!" They proclaimed proudly.

Ron just shook his head. "If you say so."

The pair of older boys grinned mischievous grins. "Oh," they both said, "we do!" And they got up and left, sliding further down the table to sit with their friend, Lee Jordan, who had just taken his own seat at their table.

"What did you just drag me into?" Harry asked exasperatedly, prompting Ron to smile abashedly back at him.

"The prank war of the century, probably. And… uh — sorry about that."

Harry sighed and muttered 'Typical.'

It was at that moment that the fourth member of their quartet took the seat across from Ron as he glared at the three of them. "And where in the hell have you three been?"

They all smirked at each other before looking back to Dean, who looked like he might explode. "Here and there." Ron answered evasively.

Dean snarled as he glared at Harry. "Don't here and there me! I wound up with Parvati and Lavender for the whole damn ride and they wouldn't stop asking me questions about you!" He said, pointing an accusing finger at Harry.

"M-me?" Harry asked, sounding taken aback.

"Yeah," said Dean with a grimace, "not pleasant images some of them, let me tell you."

"Fine," said Harry quickly, wanting to steer the topic away from such things, "we'll tell you where we've been if you'll shut up." Dean nodded and the tale began, with Harry, Ron and Neville all jumping in and out of the story as it progressed.

"Damn," said Dean, "I never knew something like that was possible."

"Dumbledore made it sound like it would be really difficult." Said Harry, choosing, for now, to leave out the bit about Dobby, though he planned on telling at least Neville later.

Their conversation was suddenly cut off as a few dozen new students entered through the side chamber, being led along by their head of house — Professor McGonagall.

"Ginny doesn't look nearly as bad as you did." Harry told Ron, earning him a mock hurt look for his comment. She was nervous, sure, pale and a bit shaky too, but she had not managed anywhere near the delightful shade of green that her brother had turned the year previous.

Though he still wasn't tall by any means, Harry at least took some comfort in the fact that he was certain he was taller than all but maybe two or three of the new arrivals, though that was more due to their height than his own.

Professor McGonagall led them into the center of the hall where she placed the spindle legged stool Harry remembered sitting on all too vividly and then, from the pocket of her robes, she pulled out the ancient Hogwarts sorting hat and the room fell silent as the brim opened wide like a mouth.

Many things change with the passing of time

but the four Hogwarts houses remain in their prime!

For time may pass, and values may change

but foundations stand strong if diligently arranged.

There were two great wizards, two great witches

who wanted nothing more than to pass on their wisdom.

Years and years were taught by the four

and many wondered what would happen when they walked out the door.

The founders foresaw this, and a plan they devised

for they needed things to be seen through their wise old eyes.

'Twas Gryffindor who schemed as he took me off his head,

he whipped out his wand, gave it a twirl and let me choose instead!

Now I await you!

The generations anew!

The houses define much, future, friends and foes

so you'll put me on, I'll have a look and tell you where to go!

For each great founder there stands a house, each built from greatness and prestige

so now I will explain to you what each house stands to mean.

First of all there's GRYFFINDOR

where thrive the noble and courageous!

Their bravery and chivalry have defined them all for ages!

Next up we have HUFFLEPUFF

where the lot are kind and loyal!

Underestimating such people could truly be your foil.

Thirdly there is RAVENCLAW

for those most studious among us.

Rowena valued intelligence, to her our brain defined us!

And then of course there's SLYTHERIN

where ambition rules the masses.

Opposing one of cunning is asking for disaster.

Different they may be, yet they shouldn't stand divided.

For the founders goal was singular and far from quadruple sided.

Though much is the same, time does cause some blunders

perhaps none more so than the houses torn asunder.

Each one has their values, and oh yes, each one has their flaws.

None of us are perfect, not me, not you, not those who lay the law.

'Tis our values that define us, and this the founders knew.

So put me on, let's have a chat, and begin your life anew!"

The students burst into applause upon the conclusion of the hat's song. Harry and the rest listened intently to the sorting, applauding loudly with the rest when a small, mousy haired boy by the name of Colin Creevey became the first new Gryffindor.

Harry only recognized a couple of names in the early goings, those belonging to a pair of twins — Flora and Hestia Carrow. The name was one he knew had served Voldemort during The Purity War, and he instantaneously made a mental note to remain wary of them.

The next name he recognized did not come until near the end of the sorting, when a tall blonde by the name of "Slater, Laine." was introduced.

'Powerful political family — neutral faction, I think.'

If his memory served him correctly, they were one of the major contributors to the faction within the Wizengamot that was led by Daphne's family. As if in confirmation of his musings, the hat sent her off to Slytherin with little to no hesitation.

After a few more minutes, finally, "Weasley, Ginevra" was called to the stool, and Ginny made her way towards it on shaky legs.

"Does she still look better than me?" Ron asked, clearly trying to hide his nervousness with humour.

"Much." Harry told him dryly, earning himself a shove from Ron.

Harry had been sure that like all others in the Weasley clan, Ginny was a shoe in for Gryffindor, but after the hat had remained upon her head for the better part of three minutes, he became less and less sure of that statement. He could feel Ron beside him tensing more and more as the time passed.

Finally, after what was nearly five minutes, the brim of the hat opened wide and it loudly proclaimed "GRYFFINDOR!" to the relief of all of the Weasleys. Harry could quite literally feel the tension leaving Ron's body.

A second later, Ginny had taken a seat near the end of the table, and Professor Dumbledore had gotten to his feet as Professor McGonagall swept from the hall with the stool and hat in hand.

"A most marvellous of evenings to you all!" Greeted Dumbledore, beaming at the lot of them as if every single one of them were a long lost friend of his. "The time is nearing for an old man's wheezing waffle, but it has not yet come. Dig in!" And food of all varieties appeared on the golden plates in front of them, causing many to whistle appreciatively as they began to dig into their meals.

"That was the longest I've ever seen the hat take." Ron muttered, but Harry shrugged.

"It took awhile with me, but I don't know how long it actually was."

"Yeah," said Ron, as if he were thinking of the event for the first time, "I always wondered about that. What took it so long?"

Harry internally winced.

'Way to go Potter, you walked right into that one.'

"It was debating between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw." He answered, conveniently leaving out the house of serpents. He had no idea how that would go over with Ron, and he didn't really want to test the fact. Plus, he wasn't lying, just telling two thirds of the truth.

Ron scowled. "Dumb question, I should've known." He said with a roll of his eyes. "How Granger landed in Gryffindor, I'll never know."

'Oh, I have a pretty good idea.' Thought Harry, remembering back to how she had tried her best to guard the third floor corridor against intruders.

He looked down the table, green eyes searching her out for the first time since the debacle. His eyes found her not a moment later. She was sitting near the first years, talking rather animatedly with the mousy haired Gryffindor.

'I do hope she finds some friends.'

He still felt rather guilty about the whole fiasco with the stone, even though he knew that he had no part in her being imperiused nor memory wiped of the whole thing.

They ate mostly in silence, speaking of their last few weeks of summer and verbally abusing Malfoy and his cronies; It was a good laugh. At last though, the desserts too vanished and Dumbledore got to his feet once again, prompting silence to fall without any true effort on his part.

"I would like to warmly welcome each and every one of you back to Hogwarts!" He said, the twinkle in his eyes working on overdrive.

'How the hell does he do that?'

"Speaking of warmth, there are a few start of term notices that must be addressed before I send you all back to the comfort of your beds in droves.

"Firstly, first years should note that the forest on the edge of the grounds is strictly forbidden for what I assure you are completely legitimate reasons." His eyes briefly passed over the Gryffindor table. "Though directed at the youngest among us, I always feel that others may learn from such words of wisdom as well." His eyes flicked almost imperceptibly towards the Weasley twins before he continued.

"In addition, the caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked me to remind all of you that magic is expressly forbidden in the corridors, as are three-hundred-and-eighty-seven other things that can all be viewed in Mr. Filch's office for your reading pleasure." There were a few chuckles as Filch glared at the lot of them from the very end of the staff table.

"Quidditch tryouts, if applicable, will be carried out by your house captains and set up at their leisure. If you are interested in acquiring yourself a most prestigious position on your house team, please present your name and preferred position to your head of house by the end of the weekend.

"And finally, Hogwarts has the most honoured privilege of welcoming a new professor into its hallowed halls, one that is far more decorated than most who have come before him." The students muttered excitedly as Dumbledore gestured to a beaming Lockhart. "It is my honour and privilege to welcome Professor Gilderoy Lockhart onto our staff. He is a man who has far more experience confronting the darkest of arts than just about anybody, aside, of course, if you will forgive my lack of modesty, from me." This raised a fair few chuckles as Professor Lockhart swept to his feet and went into a deep, elaborate bow.

"Now," said Dumbledore once Lockhart had retaken his seat, "I could practically see the longing in your eyes when I spoke of beds and warmth, and I shall not keep you from them any longer."

The scraping of hundreds of benches could be heard as everyone clambered to their feet and began to make their way towards their respective common rooms and Harry could not, for the life of him, manage to keep the smile off of his face.

'It's good to be home.'


Authors Endnote:

I know this chapter is technically out about an hour early but I'm bored and I doubt you lot are compaining.

It's a bit of a filler chapter but oh well, what can you do?

The sorting hat's song is one of my own creation and I've never considered myself remotely skillful when it came to poetry, so please take it easy on me in the reviews. I thought it was only right to include one since Rowling never did in canon and if there is any time to start trying new things, it is now.

Please read and review.

PS: The next chapter will be posted next Sunday, April 5th 2020 at approximately 3:00 PM EST.