Freak of Nature – Chapter 6 (The Sorting)
Harry had wound up picking a boat with Neville when they sailed across the lake. It had been the first time he had taken a glance at Hogwarts and was stunned into silence. The castle was amazing to gaze at when it was lit up at night.
At least he hadn't been the unlucky one to fall into the lake, that was the one thing that made him worry. Crossing the lake in an unsturdy boat? Not the best of ideas, so he tried to keep in the fear. He would not have got out of the water if that happened. At least he wouldn't have to worry about freezing in cold water. But least he didn't have to worry about that as soon as his foot touched ground. Trying to race away from the water without attracting too much attention.
Harry was at least thankful to see someone familiar when they ascended up the stairs.
Professor McGonagall.
He did listen to her speech, but he recognized her words when she spoke about the four houses. Like the others, he watched as she left the hall and then the room gathered into whispers.
Harry tried to ignore it; he really did. Though it was hard with Ron's annoying voice about fighting a troll.
He tried to avoid rolling his eyes, did they really thing they would set a bunch of first years without much knowledge of magic against a dangerous creature? It was barbaric.
Though his attention peaked when the ghosts of Hogwarts started appearing, he had read about them in Hogwarts: a History. So, it was fascinating to hear them talk to each other before they realized they were in the midst of new students.
That was how Harry found out that Hogwarts had a poltergeist. Before long, all the first years were soon guided into the Great Hall.
Harry noticed the four long tables running towards what he would learn was the Head Table for the professors. Seeing that each table held students with different colored robes. It wasn't hard to guess that each one was for each individual house.
Neville was standing by Harry's side as Professor McGonagall walked forward by a stool and an old hat.
"That's how we get sorted?" Harry whispered.
Neville had an excited look at his face as each name was called forth.
"How is a hat supposed to know where we should go?" Harry asked baffled, but grinned when he heard Ron complaining about his twin brothers had tricked him.
"From what Gran said, some type of magic or enchantment from the founders," Neville said.
"Hope we are in the same house. But we will stay friends no matter what," Harry whispered, squeezing Neville's hand. His body was encased with nerves as he waited for his name to be called. That was when Neville had been called up and made it into Gryffindor.
"Potter, Harry."
Harry knew that everyone would be looking at him. Either in shock, surprise, distain, envy, the list was endless. He kind of wanted back the moment where everyone didn't know who he was. He had no doubt that most everyone would now.
He already hated his fame as the whispers filled the hall. He didn't need to hear what they were saying, he didn't want to. He still didn't know what house he wanted; he just knew that he didn't want to be in Slytherin. He didn't want Snape for his Head of House.
Slowly the hat was lowered over his head and all Harry could see was the inside of the hat. Then there was a voice in his head.
It was the hat.
"What do we have here?" The deep voice echoed in Harry's mind. It wasn't intrusive or loud, it was kind of like when he had thoughts or talked to himself, but it wasn't him.
"Had a hard life for one so young" The hat stated blankly, devoid of emotion. "Survived by any means, did what you had to do. Not a bad mind either." The hat continued to muse.
"Not Slytherin. Not Slytherin," Harry pleaded, despite liking Graham and being proud of who his grandmother was, he couldn't do seven years of magic under what was essentially a thin black-haired Vernon.
"Not Slytherin Eh? Are you sure? they would help you reach greatness. They would guide you to your goals," the Hat informed him. He wanted that, he wanted to nurture his ambition, determination and he wanted to be a leader for his own achievements. But he couldn't be in Snape's house.
"Not Slytherin. Not Slytherin." He muttered again.
"Kind heart, loyalty is important, bravery standing up for those who need it. Determined to help others. Both Hufflepuff and Gryffindor would suit you well Mr. Potter. Eagerness to prove yourself and the nerve and bravery to jump in when needed. So, it better be... GRYFFINDOR!" the hat finally shouted the house aloud to the entire school.
Harry grinned happily as he took the hat off and ran over to the table that had erupted into cheers. He sat next to Percy with a shy smile, the older boy looked shocked since Harry was willing to sit with him. Whether it was because he was Harry Potter or because of his interaction with Ron, wasn't clear. But Harry didn't have any bad feelings about Percy and as Prefect he knew Percy would help him with anything.
Harry had also noticed a pair of identical twin redheads opposite Percy, they were shorter and stockier than Percy but still taller than most of their year mates. Cheeky grins on their faces as they chanted loudly "We got Potter! We got Potter!" They were clearly the twins that told Ron about battling a troll.
Neville was sitting across from him, a huge grin on his face.
"We both got Gryffindor!"
Harry matched his own grin, though the only downside is sharing at house and dorm with Ron, Percy's younger brother.
"Why didn't you tell me who you were." Ron demanded as he pushed the twins to the side so he could sit directly opposite Harry.
Harry proceeded to ignore him.
"Percy, is it true that there is a poltergeist? I overheard some of the ghosts talking about it."
"Ah Peeves." Percy nodded. "Don't worry too much about him. He is a massive nuisance. But he doesn't actively try to harm. But he will lead you the wrong way, throw water balloons at you, that sort of thing." Percy nodded.
"Or give away your location to Filch." One of the twins grumbled.
"Well if you weren't out of bed after hours pranking people, he wouldn't have been able to get you in trouble." Percy sniffed.
One of the twins, Harry didn't know which yet. Had grinned at that, as if that wasn't an option for them.
"You wound up, Perce," one of them laughed.
"You have to learn that rules were made to be broken." the other finished with an identical grin.
Percy just sighed; it was a losing battle with the twins.
"Hi, I'm Fred." the first one to speak, suddenly introduced himself to Harry and Neville.
"I'm Fred!" the other cried. Harry and Neville chuckled at their antics, they seemed kind and funny.
"Who cares, no one can you two apart!" Ron snapped in annoyance.
Harry's sharp eyes caught the pain before they masked it with humour.
"Anything to annoy you Ronnikins," The second one cooed.
"Thing one is George, Thing two is Fred." Percy rolled his eyes, using his fork to point.
Harry tried to hide his snicker, not very successful though.
"Oh Perce!" Fred cried.
"How could you?" George continued.
"Giving away our secrets?!" was said in mock outrage.
"Our own brother!" With that the twins proceeded to sob on each others shoulders as Harry, Neville and their own friend Lee Jordan laughed loudly. Even Percy had a small smile.
From there, Harry easily chatted with Neville over dorming together, Fred and George over pranks, and Percy about his classes and workload, that was soon cut short when Dumbledore stood up and cleared his throat.
"Ahem... just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you." Dumbledore started.
"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins. Both of them clutching hands to their chests, looking around innocently. Gryffindor laughed and those closest nudged the twins with winks.
Everyone knew that they liked to try to sneak off to the forest and how much they could get away with it before being assigned detention.
"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors," Dumbledore announced, nodding to the elderly frail man feeding his cat on his lap.
"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch or the House Team Captain."
He continued, the well-built boy sitting on Percy's other side grinned and placed his arm around Percy's shoulder whispering in his ear. Percy just rolled his eyes and muttered 'Quidditch fanatics…'
Percy's younger brothers, George and Fred looked offended by that as they made a huge gasp.
"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." Harry sent a startled look to Neville. The old coot couldn't be serious.
Harry barely remembered the school singing the school song, thinking over what Dumbledore had said. He would send an owl to Moony. He said to let him know about anything Dumbledore says or does.
Before he knew it, they were following Percy up to the Gryffindor Tower.
"Be careful, these staircases like to move" Percy said, voice loud and clear.
Harry honestly thought Percy was just joking when he said that, until he yelped when the staircase suddenly shifted. It was weird, suddenly feel the floor underneath you literally moving. But at least it wasn't hard to keep up with Percy and the rest of the Gryffindors. Though there were moments when half them of them would be separated because the staircases decided to move. So, they would have to wait for the stairs to move back before continuing on.
And that was another thing, portraits! They actually moved! They didn't just stay in one place like a lot of pictures in Petunia's house. That was until Remus had started enchanting some of them to start moving. Petunia had started clutching at her chest, she hadn't known that magic was able to do that.
But that was how they got into Gryffindor Tower. There was a large woman in a portrait, she was the guardian of Gryffindor Tower. But as soon as Percy spoke the password, the portrait opened for them.
The first thing that Harry noticed was the room they walked into was quite homey. He found he liked it. There were several portraits that were moving on the walls and chairs and tables spread throughout. They even had a fireplace; it was giving the room a steady warmth. He would later learn that this was called the Common Room.
That was when Percy went over to explain the rules while Professor McGonagall stood behind him.
"My name is Percy Weasley, and I am one of Gryffindor's fifth-year Prefects. We have two prefects for the fifth, sixth and seventh years. The rest of Gryffindor's prefects are to my left by the fireplace." Percy spoke calmly. The other prefects all waved hello to the first year students in front of them.
"We are here to help you. If you are being bullied, need help with homework, getting lost, miss your families or even just need to talk. We are all here for every student." Percy continued.
"Now, these stairs behind you? They lead to the dorm rooms." Percy said pointing, Harry and the other first years turned, behind them was a large entrance way with two staircases coming off.
"The girls to the right, boys to the left. Now, every year you are at Hogwarts you will move up a level. As first years, your dorm will the first level off the staircase." Percy rattled off. "Now I will leave you with Professor McGonagall.
"Hello Students. I am your Head of House and your Transfiguration teacher, Professor McGonagall." McGonagall greeted them. "We have rules in Gryffindor, and I expect them to be followed."
"The curfew overall is ten at night, you must be in the Common Room or in your dorm by this time. But I expect my students to be smart about going to sleep early and getting up in the morning. I do not accept tardiness and it will be your own fault if you don't get up in time. Breakfast starts at 6:30 and runs to 8:30. You will receive your schedules at Breakfast. I expect you to be in class by nine. Just because you are in Gryffindor House, does not mean you get any special treatment," Minerva said as she looked over all the first-year students.
"If you are struggling with your studies, you can find study group times on the notice board on the wall on the way out of the Common Room. Do not let your grades suffer. My office is always open, and I do expect the best of my students. If you are struggling, ask for help from the study groups, your prefects or the Professor of that class. But I do expect you to speak to a prefect first unless it is about an assignment, then your professor will be the best source of information for you," Professor McGonagall continued.
"Now, I shall also inform you, any misbehavior will result in punishments from whoever caught you. Professors all have their own detentions. Prefects will usually assign you to their Head of House or the caretaker Mr. Filch. However, any cases of bullying someone. Will come straight to me. This behavior will not be tolerated, and I promise you, you will not like the consequences." McGonagall said sternly, eying each student one at a time.
"Now, it is late, you have had a long train ride. Off to bed and explore your new rooms."
For as tired as Harry felt, he still felt oddly awake. And that was after a long train ride, riding the boats to the castle, the Welcoming Feast. He would love to have some sleep right about now. But he followed behind the rest of the boys. And like Percy said, he saw the plaque that said, First Years.
The girls had gone in the other direction to their own dorms.
When the door had been opened, Harry chose one of the beds to the first left and Neville pick the one to the right of his. He noticed there was an open door to the side. Most likely that was the bathroom, feeling his curiosity spiked.
Harry went over to see what the bathroom looked like.
The first thing Harry noticed was how spacious the bathroom was.
The second thing he noticed was the small size of the tubs
When you walked into the bathrooms, you had this pathway that led into the bathroom. You would see a line of mirrors on the far right with toilets and urinals on the left. There was a line of showers just past the mirrors on the right. And if you turned around the corner there were tubs at the end.
The tubs were a bit bigger than the one that Harry had been using at his aunt's. They would work though it would be a bit tricky to make sure nobody walked in. But he figured he would either use the days that Quidditch would take place on or use it really early in the morning when nobody would be awake yet.
And that was how Harry Potter spent his first night in Gryffindor Tower.