Author's Note:
Thanks for the follow, favs, and reviews.
Now Harry takes the train to Hogwarts and gets sorted. I am going to do a slightly different take on the Sorting Hat. Some of you have left great suggestions on where he should go – and I really considered them – but I ultimately ended up with this. I think there is untapped potential with this one. Hope you like what I decided on.
Here is my disclaimer that says I do not own anything Harry Potter related. Everything belongs to JK Rowling, except in universe 47837. Probably.
As the first of September approached, Harry felt confident that he had prepared himself as well as he could have to enter the wizarding world. Obviously he would have preferred more than just a month to acquaint himself with the concept of magic and his role as the Boy Who Lived, but felt ready nonetheless. During his formative years with the Dursleys he had learned how to make the most of his time.
While he was aware of the current political and social issues of the world he was about to enter, he would never pretend to be an expert on them after only spending a few weeks catching up on the various topics and other myriad facets that he needed to be educated about. Still, it was far more than any eleven year old would have reasonably been expected to know about, judging by the more advanced language used in those supplemental texts that he had picked up at Flourish and Blotts. Those books were far more sophisticated in their prose and better geared towards his reading level than the uninspired and basic drivel he found within his introductory schoolbooks required by the school.
But he wasn't just a normal child about to go to a school of magic, he was apparently famous and thus had expectations hoisted on his shoulders as a result. Thankfully, he possessed an advanced intelligence that allowed him to be aware of and then deal with this unexpected burden. Or so he hoped that he would be able to.
Because even with his intellect and limited knowledge of the wizarding world, he wasn't entirely sure about how he was going to behave in it yet. Again, he required more information before he made a decision on the way he would carry himself. Harry needed to see more of this world in person to get a better sense of how he would or could fit within it. Therefore, and to be on the safe side of things, Harry had decided to take a cautious approach where he would just observe and do his best not to let anyone get on his nerves.
In other words, he was going to try and blend in before seeing how best to make things turn out for him; much like he had after being skipped a few grades the first time during his days at muggle school to avoid being sent even further ahead. Pragmatic would have been an apt descriptor for him.
For the moment, the only thing that he was immediately concerned about and would have to deal with in the near future stemmed from his intense scrutiny of Hogwarts: A History. This act of being sorted into a house at Hogwarts intrigued him and presented him with a pressing decision that he would have to make before anything else. Which would likely impact future decisions that he would be presented with based on where his life took him.
From his brief encounter with the many stares from Diagon Alley and from what he had read, he knew that it would matter significantly more for him as opposed to the other first years regarding which house he went into.
It seemed that the wizarding world just loved to label things and make broad generalizations – and it didn't escape his notice how Voldemort had been able to take advantage of this system. To be honest, the man had been ruthlessly efficient in how he was able to rile up certain factions.
Reading about the different houses and now being somewhat aware of the sociopolitical issues that dominated the different texts that he read, led him to contemplate which of the houses would be most beneficial to him and what he wanted to achieve in his life.
After reading the book on Hogwarts, Harry understood that a hat would be placed onto his head and that it would sort him into one of the four houses. While he knew that each house had very different implications for him because of who he was, he didn't know how the hat worked and if he would have a say in the matter.
All that he could do was to prepare himself for being sorted into any one of the four houses and so he spent a good amount of time over his last few days running through the different scenarios that would result depending on which house he happened to be sorted into.
When the time finally came for him to depart to the train station, Harry took a last look around Privet Drive as he lifted his feather-light trunk down the stairs. Not that he would miss this place after seeing the spectacular moving images of the castle that he was headed to, but this was where he had grown up and discovered his powers. It would always hold a special place in his heart for that reason; this was his beginning and it had shaped him immensely.
Besides, he knew that he was going to miss using the Dursleys to perfect his control of magic. They had been instrumental in allowing Harry to work through the subtle differences that were required when using magic to make his will come to life.
Without them to practice on, Harry wouldn't have known the distinct and subtle variations between what it took to control someone completely or simply have them perform a discrete task. Furthermore, he was just getting into exploring how he could see into their minds and look over their thoughts. He had even discovered that he could relive their memories. All of them.
It had been such fun to see Petunia twitch as she was forced to experience Dumbledore's letter over and over again, which had rejected her plea to join her sister at Hogwarts. Because he would never forgive them for withholding the knowledge that he could do magic; it pained him to think about how much more he could have learned about his craft had he been aware of what he could do at a younger age.
Still, he at least had something to look forward to when he returned in the summer. Who knew what knowledge he would have by then and he would need someone to practice on.
In the meantime, he gave his Aunt one last parting gift that left her sobbing on the floor as he read her the letter that he had memorized by heart since he had made her see it so often.
Perhaps when he returned in the summer, he would make Vernon recite it instead. Or even reenact it.
Of course, his uncle had also been given a little something but Harry had responsibly made sure that he got to enjoy it fully the night before. Harry needed to be sure that Vernon was able to drive this morning without twitching, for he had learned that a person needed time to recover after a little bout of pain before returning to normal. It would have been most unsafe to both him and others on the road, and he couldn't have that.
Then, Harry infused as much of his will into his magic as possible, which then washed over them in order to make them behave for the rest of the year without his constant guidance. Once satisfied that things would be the same when he returned next summer, Harry had then instructed Vernon to carry his stuff to the car where they made their way to King's Cross Station.
The trip was quick and soon Harry was on his own, standing exactly between platforms nine and ten. He was starting to suspect that the entrance was hidden, much in the same manner that Diagon Alley had been, when he caught sight of a woman wearing a vulture as a hat. It was so out of place that he at once knew magic had to be involved.
Harry did his best not to stare and casually observed her as she walked by.
Her face had started to wrinkle with age and Harry reasoned that perhaps she was the grandmother of the boy who lagged nervously behind her with his trunk and kept his eyes on the floor in front of him. It was obvious that the boy was anxious, but Harry wasn't sure if it was because of going to Hogwarts or his association with the vulture lady.
Harry watched as the pair quickly disappeared as the woman led them through the brick divisor that separated platforms nine and ten. Smirking to himself for correctly guessing the nature of the entrance despite not knowing exactly where it had been located, Harry put a curious and polite mask on his face before walking straight towards the wall himself.
He felt a slight tingle in the air as he passed through the brick wall and came out the other side to a wide platform with a glistening, red train in front of him. Not many people were present at this time but Harry had hoped that it would be that way.
His plan had been to make sure that he arrived early enough to miss most of the crowds since he didn't want a repeat of the stares that he had gotten in Diagon Alley. Also, extra time was allotted for his journey in case they ran into hiccups along the way since it wasn't an option for him to miss the train. But because he had arrived so early and without delay, he wasted no further time in stowing his stuff into a compartment in the very back of the train and settled in.
Since he had about an hour before their scheduled departure, and then a considerable trip to wherever this school was located, Harry removed a book from his bottomless satchel to pass the time. In addition, he decided to let Hedwig out so that she could be free to roam around the enclosed compartment.
During his month with her at Privet Drive, Harry had become quite attached to the white, snowy owl. She was an exceptional hunter and he found her to be quite intelligent – which only brought them closer together. He appreciated that she was affectionate but at the same time didn't need to be constantly showered with attention. Likewise, she was protective of Harry but didn't feel the need to watch him around the clock and much-preferred the freedom to fly whenever and wherever she wanted after being in the pet shop for so long.
The atmosphere inside the small compartment was perfect and Harry became so lost in the book that he was reading that he barely noticed the train begin to move as it departed for Hogwarts.
However, a few minutes later there was a tapping on his door as a redheaded boy gingerly put his head through. Though it was several seconds more before the boy found the courage to speak.
"Mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full."
His eyes looked weary and Harry wondered from his body expression if the boy had been turned down from sitting in other compartments.
Harry wasn't particularly thrilled with this development but perhaps the boy would prove useful. After all, this was the first wizard besides Hagrid that he really had the opportunity to have a conversation with. And Harry was nothing if not opportunistic in these situations.
Although from the moment that the other boy discovered that he was talking with Harry Potter, Harry had immediately regretted his decision to let the boy sit with him.
The redhead kept staring at his scar and asked him all of these inappropriate questions, like if Harry remembered his parents or if he remembered facing off with the Dark Lord. It took all of Harry's patience not to use his magic on the boy and teach him a lesson.
Except that as Harry fought against making the boy silent in the same way that he had dealt with his relatives, he inadvertently thought of something else that suddenly changed how it felt to be in the other boy's presence. It was too tempting for him to see how his magic would react with that of another wizard like himself; in the end his curiosity had won out and decided to see if he could do the same things to this boy that he had done to his Aunt and Uncle.
Only this time, the other boy wouldn't be made to suffer like the Dursleys.
Harry wanted to behave himself, he didn't want to get into trouble on the first day.
And the more he thought about it, the more he wondered if there was a difference between muggles and wizards in getting them to do things with magic. For instance, Harry was curious if the innate magic of a witch or wizard would fight against him if he tried to make them do something with his own will and magic.
Since he was already reasonable sure that using his powers would not lead to detection – even though he was itching to use his wand for the first time and he considered this to be an extension of Hogwarts which would have made it acceptable – he just needed to find a way to distract the boy while he tested out his theory. If would do no good if the other boy was aware of what he was doing; or worse, tell others what Harry had been trying to do.
Luckily, a polite knock at the door from a woman selling all sorts of candies that made the red-headed boy's eyes light up soon presented an opportunity for Harry to do just that.
For Harry soon discovered that Ron loved to eat and often focused so intently on what he was shoving into his mouth that it made it quite easy for Harry to sit there across from him and concentrate on bringing his will to the surface without being noticed.
Almost at once, Harry realized that this would be much, much different than the many times that he had taken control of his relatives. His magic met resistance almost immediately and his eyes narrowed as he worked to overcome the invisible force that he was fighting against.
Ron, meanwhile, remained unaware that anything out of the ordinary was happening at all and continued happily stuffing Pumpkin Pasties, one right after the other, down his throat. If Harry hadn't been concentrating so hard on what he was trying to accomplish, he would have been amazed that Ron hardly seemed to chew his food before swallowing.
It was then that Harry noticed how different Ron's magic felt from his. While his magic was comforting and whole and had a warm darkness to it when Harry let it fill the room, Ron's appeared stuttered and dim in comparison. But it was feisty in small bouts, and constantly worked to evade Harry's dominance.
Never before had Harry's magic faced opposition to enacting his will – though, that didn't mean that Harry would be unable to find a way to overcome this.
At the same time, Harry's magic noticed Ron's pet rat as it too feasted on sweets, but he was too busy with what he was trying to do to pay it much thought to notice how different the rat felt from his owl.
He redoubled his efforts and focused intently on breaking through Ron's defenses. At first, he wasn't sure how to direct his magic as it moved out from his center. With the Dursleys, taking control of them had been easy and all he had needed to do was to touch their mind with his magic that had the intent to control them. It had never seemed to matter how he had done that just as long as his magic's tendrils had reached them.
But here, Harry wasn't just dealing with Ron's mind, he was also dealing with his magical core that Harry could now sense squarely in the middle of Ron's chest.
He thought for a moment and drew his magic back into him.
Like before, Ron remained oblivious to what as going on; though he did pause in his feasting to offer Harry some of the chocolate frogs that Harry had bought for the pair of them to share.
"No thanks," Harry managed with a forced smile, causing Ron to shrug his shoulders and focus hungrily on his horde of food again.
With a better idea of what to do this time, Harry unleashed his magic again in the small compartment.
Instead of just letting it flow evenly in Ron's general direction, Harry sent out his tendrils in two directions. The first was aimed at Ron's core, and Harry willed his magic to enclose it fully. It was more of a struggle than Harry would have liked to admit – and beads of sweat did become noticeable on his brow – but in the end he succeeded in surrounding all of Ron's magic with his own.
Harry took a deep breath and then focused the other part of his will and might at Ron's now-unguarded mind. Internally, he was quite pleased when he saw the familiar expression of Ron's eyes glazing over, which was quickly followed by Ron swallowing the last remaining bit of food in his mouth before sitting upright and looking directly at Harry for further instructions.
It was straining on Harry's magic and he knew that he wouldn't be able to hold both the other boy's magic and his mind hostage for much longer. But he had done it and Harry was certain that he would be able to perfect this, just like he had perfected his domination over the Dursleys.
However, the feeling of his magic overcoming someone else's was even more euphoric than controlling a muggle and Harry was enjoying the feeling so much that he began to loose focus and soon his control got away from him.
Just as Harry's magic released the other boy, who had seemed to think that he had just dozed off, the compartment door opened and this girl with brown and bushy hair stormed in with the boy Harry had seen alongside the vulture-hat lady at the train station.
Thankfully, the obnoxious girl with no manners was so intent on why she had burst through the door without knocking that she didn't immediately notice the sweat on Harry's brow or the drool on Ron's face. It would have been awkward trying to come up with a plausible explanation.
"Have any of you seen a toad? Neville here has lost his," she announced as if that was reason enough to barge in without asking. Even Ron had managed to have some decorum and knock first.
"No," Harry said curtly.
But the girl wasn't picking up on his social cues of not being happy with her presence and continued chatting incessantly about Hogwarts and how she was just ever so excited about this opportunity. It was nauseating.
Eventually, Neville tugged at her sleeve to urge her on. He desperately wanted to find his toad before they arrived and judging by the twilight outside, they didn't have much time left.
With them gone, Harry dressed quickly into his school robes and cleared his mind before calling for Hedwig to put back in her cage. He then needed to center himself after the rush of subjugating another wizard to his will without them even knowing it.
He couldn't wait to do it again and hoped that he would have more opportunity to hone his skills at Hogwarts.
All of the first-year students took a different journey to get to the castle than the rest of the students. While the older witches and wizards had gone in the direction towards carriages that seemed to move them in small groups without anything pulling them, the first years had to follow Hagrid towards the lake.
The giant, thankfully, didn't make a big show that he knew Harry, but he did provide Harry a way to ditch Ron. The youngest male Weasley had decided that a single afternoon spent together meant that they were going to become best friends, which just didn't work for Harry in the least. Therefore, when Harry saw an opportunity to escape Ron by hiding behind Hagrid at an opportune moment, he took it.
Which left Harry in a boat with the boy who was bereft over not having found his toad. Strangely, it wasn't odd or annoying to be in his presence and Harry took the opportunity to note the castle and the layout of his surroundings since he wasn't forced to talk.
The journey over the lake was quick and the boats let them out in a vast cavern that was directly underneath the castle. Though, that did mean that there were many flights of stairs for them to take but Harry was happy to see that they were exactly the type of stairs that he had expected a castle like this to have. They were wide and the stone had chiseled filigree on the side that culminated in handrails. Most of the students used it to steady himself or herself as their attention was not focused on their feet but on the moving paintings that peppered the walls around them.
The bolus of ascending students also acted to keep Ron separated from Harry, who preferred to linger towards the back and observe. When they reached the top, no one knew exactly where to go and so they halted just across the hall that led to two large doors.
As Harry had never had any real desire to interact with many people, or make friends, he passed the time leaning against one of the railings and took in the nervous chatter of students debating which of the houses they were more likely to go into.
In fact, he had found over the years that he could even pick up useful tidbits of information if he carefully listened to what others unintentionally revealed.
In this case, Harry was still unsure how the hat decided an individual's fate. He knew that the hat could talk and had a fondness for breaking out into song every year, and Hogwarts: A History had even devoted a picture of the hat moving about for his visual reference.
But what he didn't know was just how far into a person's mind the hat went to do its job. For one thing, Harry wasn't particularly pleased at the thought of the hat venturing so deep into his mind that it saw what he had done to the Dursleys. Of course, that had only caused him to become momentarily worried with what the hat would do with that information.
But then Harry really thought about children in general, or at least those around his age and younger, and he became less worried. He knew that kids were often very cruel to each other and acted most of the time without thought to anyone else. Furthermore, they usually had no motive, and if they did, it was likely transient and spurious. In his case, Harry had needed to do those things against the Dursleys because it had been a matter of life or death. Surely, the hat would see just how restrained Harry had been when he had finally ensured his own safety.
Hadn't Vernon gotten a promotion and Petunia found satisfying work? Well, at least he thought she would have been satisfied if she could think for herself. Even Dudley had changed for the better and he never even had to use his magic on him! Certainly the hat wouldn't begrudge him for the one time – okay, several times - that he had taken his anger out on them. Even though they had clearly deserved it!
No one was perfectly in control all of the time.
In the end, Harry just wasn't worried about what the hat did or did not see. He was primarily concerned with which house he would go to because that would affect the way that he needed to act because of how others would view him. That was much more important than what a silly hat saw.
From what the book had described, he could have seen himself in any of the four houses based on what they were known for. He was brave, intelligent, hard working, and he always managed to find a way to stay on top of things. But each of them came with different caveats as they had different reputations, and he just knew that where the so-called Boy Who Lived went would have an impact on his future direction. It was all he had thought about during the previous few days.
So Harry listened closely to those around him and became somewhat more relaxed when he heard from those who had heard from their siblings just what would happen. Apparently the hat picked your house based on the qualities that it saw in you and tried to match you to the one you aligned best with.
It didn't help him all that much since he had many of the traits that each house prized, but it gave him a general idea of what he could expect. If he were going to go to a house that exemplified him best, he would have put money on Ravenclaw. That was the house that he most desired to go to with his love of books and knowledge, but it was also the house that he thought would also go well given that he was Harry Potter.
Any other house would make things more complicated, and he wasn't a fan of that. In Ravenclaw, he wouldn't have to deal with the expectations that would come with Gryffindor nor the suspicion that Slytherin would bring about, and Harry was reasonably sure that Hufflepuff was out of the picture. While he could see the utility in the anonymity that being a badger would provide once people got over Harry Potter being sorted into Hufflepuff – generally considered to be the lamest house – he still had reservations about going to that extreme.
His musings were interrupted by an aristocratic blond with impeccable hair, who had taken to berating Ron for his hand-me-down robes and the fact that he was a Weasley. As a former victim of the well-worn and baggy clothes condition, he didn't exactly approve of the choice of teasing material but noted how the two boys acted during the exchange. The blond clearly had an internal sense that he was leagues above Ron – and Harry saw the satisfying glint form in his eye as Ron's cheeks matched the color of his red hair in response to the blond's jibes.
Harry didn't care about whether or not someone had money – though it was certainly useful for providing someone with the opportunity to make his or her own way – he judged people based on what they were capable of or how they could be used. Likewise, he noted that this Malfoy character – as Ron had indicated in a not-so-good comeback – was clearly skilled at cutting someone down with his words while Ron struggled to control his emotions.
But just then, as Ron started to raise his fists in anger, a very severe-looking woman with dark hair, which was mostly hidden under a pointy black hat, interrupted the group.
She introduced herself as Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, and gave them a short speech about the events that were to follow.
Harry liked the no-nonsense nature of this woman and something inside of him told him that he would have no problem getting along with her.
She then turned around and led them through two very large wooden doors that opened to reveal the expansive Great Hall.
All of the other students were already seated in four large tables that ran lengthwise down the hall and ended perpendicular to a fifth table on a raised dais.
Harry was thankful that he at least had an idea of what to expect from his book on Hogwarts before seeing the hall.
Otherwise, he was certain that he would have had an awestruck look on his face like he had had when seeing Diagon Alley or the castle for the first time, which thankfully had been masked by the darkness as they had sailed over the still, black waters. Magical was a word that simply didn't properly describe what he was seeing.
It was more than that; and Harry knew that he was home.
Though, he was careful to carry himself in a respectable manner, and so he only allowed a slight smile to show on his face. First impressions were important and he knew that everyone's eyes would be on him shortly, if they weren't already.
The group of first years was led to the front of the room where the entire school was then serenaded by the hat about new beginnings and reaching one's potential and all that. It was easy to see who had never been exposed to magic before or were still getting used to the idea that they were a wizard or a witch by the gapping expressions on their face due to the whimsical decorations floating over their heads.
When the hat was finished with his song, McGonagall called them up alphabetically and one-by-one they each sat on a stool and the Sorting Hat was placed on their head.
While he was waiting, Harry spent his time going over why Ravenclaw was the best for him; however, he became distracted once or twice by individuals at the teacher's table. Dumbledore, who had to be the one with a beard even longer than Hagrid's, was sitting in the middle of the table with robes that looked very different than what the other professors were wearing. But that wasn't what had called his attention away, for he had caught the man several times looking directly at him with an unknown expression on his face.
It only added to the mystery of this man and why he had factored so prominently into Harry's life.
In time though, McGonagall called out his name and the murmurs started at once. Students even began kneeling on their seats to be able to get a better look at the Boy Who Lived.
Harry ignored them and he walked up to the stool at a neutral pace, doing his best to tune out the stares and the whispers from everyone craning their necks in the hopes to see which house he went to. It was fortunate that he had been able to remain relatively unknown on the train and while he was among the group of other first years on the stairs. It seemed that no one had known what he looked like, but they wouldn't forget his face now.
He made it to the front and sat on the stool. Harry did everything in his power to keep his face emotionless as he looked out at all of the students staring right back at him. Thankfully, the hat that was soon placed on his head and hid the sweat that was just starting to form on his forehead.
Now, the Sorting Hat was old, much older than Hogwarts and likely even predated the written word. It had no memory of how it had come to be and its purpose of sorting the students was much different than what it was originally used for in the ancient world.
Before it had come to Hogwarts, people would travel many miles to visit the hat and place it on their head for they perceived it to be an oracle. In fact, when it was housed in early Greece, it was the Oracle at Delphi – which was assumed to be the mouthpiece of the Gods.
However, the hat's true gift was not in divining the future but by helping an individual reach their greatest potential. It had the power to peer inside one's mind and see everything that that person was, and likely, where that individual was headed.
Its advice, which for untold eons was mistaken as a prophecy, was quite simple: what is the best path forward, all things considered.
Like many things, the hat was lost to time and sat motionless for hundreds of years in a dormant shrine buried beneath the earth. That was until Rowena Ravenclaw, an exceptionally young and bright witch went looking for the fabled hat of legend. She was thirsty for knowledge and all types of magic and eventually found the hat and placed it on her head.
The hat was quick to declare that her best path forward lay in teaching and it caused her to reconsider her friend's offer in starting a school of magic.
Rowena kept the hat with her for many years and consulted with it frequently. It was because of following the hat's advice that her name grew to be synonymous with wisdom and intelligence for she never seemed to make a wrong move.
Towards the end of her life, and after Hogwarts had become a school of magic of great renown with four houses named after the Founders, she perceived that the hat could be of use to further generations. The Founders had been divided on how the incoming students would continue to be sorted when they were gone. But she was concerned that others would not use the hat as she had and so she devoted her remaining years to prevent someone from abusing it. Shortly before her death, she was able to enchant the hat to only be able to use its abilities to sort a child, which would become its only purpose and solve the issue of ensuring the Founders' legacies.
But in doing so, the hat forgot its origins and now sits unused except for the one day of the year where it guides students to become the best version of themselves.
And every person is different. So one time the hat may find that a person needs to develop a certain trait that a particular house is known for, and in others it may instead believe that a child ought to hone a specific trait that they already have.
After sitting on the heads of thousands upon thousands of people, the hat believed that it had seen and heard everything, and so it was mildly curious when it was placed on the head of Harry Potter.
'Well, well, well,' an ancient and mesmerizing voice sounded from somewhere inside Harry's mind.
'It's not every decade that I glimpse a mind with as much potential as yours.'
The hat paused for a few seconds.
'In fact, it reminds me of someone from many years ago. He was exceptional in many ways, some of which I find that you also posses. How interesting.'
The hat chuckled.
Harry's pulse quickened at the thought. He was intrigued with the notion that someone else was so similar to him given what his life had been like and wanted to know who this man had been and what had become of his life.
'Any chance that you would tell me his name?' Harry ventured.
'And what if you don't like what I tell you? I daresay you will hear this comparison more than once from a certain someone, though to be honest, I'm not sure that you will mind after seeing what I have of your thoughts.'
The hat was being blunt and Harry appreciated its frankness.
'I'll get over it. Besides, I may even have a few guesses.'
'Yes, I imagine you could already guess this,' the hat agreed.
'Voldemort?' Harry took a well-educated stab based on this discussion and his previous thoughts on the matter. He had wondered if Voldemort had gone to Hogwarts and now he had his answer.
'Yes, quite similar,' the hat answered in a roundabout way.
'So, does that bother you?'
It was easy to see how being compared to the person that had killed his parents and irrevocably changed his own future could be a touchy subject for Harry. But he had already thought about the man a great deal after learning about what he had done and didn't have enough information to judge him by, just as he didn't have enough information to say that his parents were good people. Which was difficult in and of itself because judging the goodness or badness of someone or something was complicated and often was best told in shades of gray anyway.
Besides, there was no doubt that the man had gone on to be a great wizard, and so Harry didn't begrudge the comparison on that fact alone.
'I take it that it doesn't,' the hat answered for Harry.
Sometimes it was easier for him to answer since the hat knew a person's response almost instantly, and he did have to get through a few dozen students. Although, the conversations did pass far quicker here than they would have in the Great Hall that others watching experienced since they happened entirely within the student's brain.
But even though he was extremely intelligent, that didn't mean that Harry thought of everything instantly and so he passed over the thought that Voldemort wasn't the name the student had gone by when he had been sorted. Not that the hat would have told him; some things did need to be discovered by oneself.
This was especially true since the hat moved the conversation along and it instantly changed what Harry thought about.
'Now where to sort you?' The hat mused.
'And no, I'm not asking for input as kids are so often wont to do. If that were the case, then I wouldn't need to be here at all, now would I?'
'I see your point,' Harry thought with slight trepidation at the revelation that he wouldn't get to offer his input into where he went. He had been preparing an entire speech in favor of Ravenclaw while he had been waiting for the others to be sorted.
'Though, not many people realize this and some try and fight me tooth and nail and oftentimes I don't have it in me to get into the same fruitless conversation with them.'
'Anyways,' the hat continued quickly, 'I exist to help a person achieve their full potential, which is dependent on who they are and the house that they go into. Which ultimately can influence the experiences that they have – and you know all about that I see. In your case, you already know that you would do well in any house; however, your case is also unique. Not many people – none that I can recall in fact – come with the specific considerations that you do.'
'And that will make all the difference with what house I sort you into. You have an exceptional mind and the magic to make your will come to life.'
Harry didn't know quite how to feel as there was so much to consider but he agreed with what the hat was saying so far and how it was going about it.
'And it's good that you have given the different houses a great deal of thought, I suspect that you will come to see the utility with what I ultimately decide.'
Ever since the hat had revealed its true purpose, Harry had had a feeling that his previous notions about which house was best for him needed to be revised.
'So what then? Which house would benefit the Boy Who Lived the most?' Harry asked of the hat.
'Hard to say,' the hat replied honestly. 'There are so many things to take into account that don't necessarily involve you. Hmm.'
Harry waited as the hat thought for a moment.
'Gryffindor would do little to give you confidence in your abilities. You are already fearless or else you never would have stood against the Dursleys. Exceptional use of underage magic by the way.'
Harry smiled darkly at the compliment.
'So I'm afraid that house is out. The weight of the expectations would crush your spirit and your growth. It is unreasonable for a child to be seen as a savior of sorts and I'm glad you can see the ridiculousness of that, even though you cannot escape it.'
'That was more or less the conclusion that I had come to as well,' Harry thought back.
'Indeed.' Harry could have sworn that the hat had smiled along with its reply.
After a brief pause the hat spoke again.
'Slytherin would be a perfect place for you. I can see by your nature that you are not what people expect – which is why we removed Gryffindor – and you would continue to hone your ability to make the situation work for you in that house. But I'm concerned about placing the Boy Who Lived here. It could be very problematic. Just as in Gryffindor, you would be under intense scrutiny and it may stunt your unlimited growth since you would always need to throw off suspicion – and that does tend to take up an awful lot of one's time.'
Harry couldn't find a single point that he disagreed with and so the hat continued. Perhaps Ravenclaw was still in this.
'We are now left with two houses… not as different as Gryffindor and Slytherin, but each come with unique offerings. In Ravenclaw, you would have free reign to indulge your love of understanding all things - be they light or dark – and no one would bat an eye. Unfortunately, people tend to assume that Ravenclaws are sometimes too learned for their own good; believe me when I tell you that that is not the case. Therefore, I fear people would pigeonhole you, labeling the Boy Who Lived instantly as the brightest wizard of his age. Of course, they would be right but it would mean another thing you had to live up to. While there is no doubt that people will one day learn just how exceptional you are, I think it would be better if the reveal of your intelligence were left up to you. Alternatively, in Hufflepuff you would fall into the background. No one would expect anything of the Boy Who Lived after he went into the house some people view as an inability to make it into the other houses. Which isn't true by the way – some people need to learn how to be loyal and have a good work ethic! I'm tempted to place you here simply because no one would expect it and it would give you the chance to develop who Harry Potter is away from the spotlight of the Boy Who Lived. You will be great wherever you go, but I want you to be more than great. Your abilities demand it.'
When the Hat was finally finished, Harry took it all in. He couldn't find a single fault with what the hat had told him. In fact, the more that he thought about it, the more he saw the usefulness of it all.
'It's funny,' Harry started. 'Going to Hufflepuff would make me the ultimate Slytherin. It is also a move that a Ravenclaw would make for the reasons that you laid out and I could fearlessly become whatever I wanted, much more so than a Gryffindor would have made me.'
'Very well,' Harry finished, preparing himself for the likely response that people would have with the outcome of his sorting. He felt far better about this knowing the exact reasoning behind the hat's forthcoming decision.
'Good luck, Harry Potter, and be patient. I know that you are unafraid of toil and only wish I could see your greatness realized.'
Harry felt the consciousness of the hat leaving his head to ready the mouth on its brim.
"HUFFLEPUFF," the hat shouted very loudly to the crowd, instantly silencing the Great Hall and causing more than a few jaws to drop.
McGonagall removed the hat from Harry's head and looked at him with a bit of sadness and disappointment in her eyes. Harry didn't get a single feeling that she was making a judgment against him, and reasoned that as the head of Gryffindor, she had simply wanted him in her house. In fact, it was almost a maternal feeling that he was getting off of her.
But he couldn't sit there and dwell on it, he had needed to stand and then make his way towards the Hufflepuff Table that sat to the far left of the platform that he was on. As he was walking towards his new house, all the Hufflepuffs started yelling in masse excitedly that they had gotten Potter. His sorting had come as such of a shock that they had been rendered speechless and had only just found their voices.
Every pair of eyes watched him take his seat as McGonagall called out the next name, but all Harry could do was to sit there and smile. It was hard to keep the smirk off of his face knowing that he was on his way to greatness.
Went back and forth on this one, but ultimately felt like it was the best place for him to be for the reasons that I highlighted. Anyways, think of the fun that he can have now! No one will see this coming – until it is far too late.