HARRY POTTER AND THE PRINCE OF HOGWARTS

AN: Hey guys! Sorry for the late update though I hope you like this chapter. Because- drumroll please!- we are finally done with September 1st (insert crowd cheering). Anyway, I'm super happy and I will try to be more punctual next week.

Disclaimer: This story is written for fun and not profit, and I make no claim to the rights or ownership of Harry Potter.

Chapter 6- The Sorting Ceremony (2)

In a grave voice, Dumbledore addressed the two boys. "Adrian, Harry, we're going to have to discuss this in my office."

With that, he, Snape, McGonagall, and Lily made their way to the double doors with a composed Harry and a downbeat Adrian in tow.

They walked away from the Great Hall and up to the Headmaster's office. Harry's mind was solely concentrated on keeping his Occlumency up and going over what had just happened, how he truly felt about the insults and why he felt that way. He was so submerged that he walked in the other direction- to a shortcut he always used- before realising that the others had gone another way and he had to run to catch up to them. But after that, his feet carried him to the gargoyles with no problem.

Still in his thoughts, he heard the Headmaster somberly say the utterly ridiculous password. (Cockroach clusters? Really? Of course, Rick insisting on the password being unpronounceable gibberish wasn't exactly mature either, but at least there was Sal, Ron, and Gaga to change it after him to something reasonable.) As soon as they could enter the passage, they all filed up the stairs and into the room, where only Harry, Adrian, and Dumbledore took a seat. McGonagall, Snape and Lily stood a few feet apart by the wall on Dumbledore's right.

"Now, my boys, I understand that it is your first night here and that there was maybe just a little too much excitement, though that does not excuse your actions this evening. I must say, this school year has not gotten off to the good start I had hoped for and I am disappointed in both of you."

Harry had to try really hard to stop himself from snorting. This grandfatherly I-am-disappointed-act was not one he valued nor cared for, but if this was all the punishment they would get, he wasn't going to be the one to stop him.

"What is our punishment?" Adrian asked, and unlike Harry, he seemed to actually be sad to have lost the Headmaster's approval, if only for one night.

"Since there are next to no House Points that I can take away, I think one week of detention for Harry and two weeks for you, Adrian, should suffice. Now-"

"Wait! I get an entire week more than him?" Adrian said, jumping out of his chair.

"You assaulted me at dinner and you ruined a perfectly good roast", Harry said nonchalantly, leaning back in his chair in a relaxed manner, keeping his face innocent all the while. All that so no one would notice how tense and ready to move he was- in case of a repetition of dinner but this time without a table.

He sputtered furiously. "Well, you said mean things to me!"

Harry actually laughed out loud. "I said mean things?", he asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow. He was under the impression that it had been the other way around.

"Enough! Both of you! A month of detention each should do. I'm sure Professor Snape here will be very pleased in making you both scrub cauldrons… non-magically. It might be a good bonding experience. I simply hate seeing siblings, especially twins, so hateful to one another. Should that not be enough to work out your differences, maybe another month is due. But we will decide that then. Now, Adrian, you and I need to chat, but Harry, you may go."

After all that, his eyes weren't twinkling anymore.

Harry stood up and said, "Have a nice evening, Sir." Then he walked to the door and only realized by the time it was half-open that it might be weird for him to find his way to the dungeons without ever being shown there (or so they thought). He'd never actually slept in the dorms during his time with the Founders, though he had been in the common room before and actually knew the actual dungeon by heart since his rooms used to be located there. Of course, there was also the matter of the password, but there were ways to avoid that.

He turned around, looking shy, "Umm, Sir, I don't know where to go."

"Sorry, my boy, I forgot about that", the Headmaster apologized, "Severus, accompany him to the Dungeon please."

Though it was phrased like a question, it was an order and Snape knew it. So, bearing a long-suffering expression, he followed Harry out, while Adrian barked out a laugh at the thought that Snakes had to spend their time in the cold, spooky dungeons.

They walked in silence. Snape seemed content to ignore him and stride ahead, though Harry quickly learned to keep pace with him. Though his face was unreadable, Harry could feel the hatred Snape was giving off, and decided to ask about it… getting straight to the point like a Gryffindor would instead dancing around it like a Snake- was just too damn tired, even if it is like second nature to him by now. But he needed to know, or maybe just get some information that could help him see if his assumptions and previous information were true or false.

"Sir, with all due respect, you haven't even met me and yet you literally radiate hate."

Snape said nothing- something that Harry had expected. But two could play that game. Though he was sleepy, it didn't mean he was going to let him win. Shutting up would be granting his wish for utter silence, so he just had to talk until the man broke in annoyance. It might not do much good to cure Snape of his hatred for him, but Harry needed an answer, even if he knew half of the story from Sirius already.

"So what is this about? My mother? My father?" Snape reacted to both with minuscule actions- lips tightening and eyes flashing, but Harry caught the movement. Though the first seemed to be one of regret, the second was pure hatred. He smirked, "So my father it is. The great, arrogant mess that is James Potter." Truth to be told, the first time he'd met his father James had been so shocked that he could not say a word. The time after that, Harry had tried to escape and fell off a tower, so honestly, he really had not gotten much of an impression, but he could guess from how Adrian turned out and what he'd heard and just assumed.

"I'm not much of a fan either, I must say, considering everything. I mean, he did some really inexcusable things- and not only to me, I'm sure. And I'm pretty sure he's bigoted to Slytherins, considering the stories I've heard. I wonder what he'll do when he hears of my Sorting. Anyway, the bigotry: its not new and he probably won't stop now. Say, Professor Snape, you were a Slytherin once, right?"

Again, no answer. Though he seemed to be getting really irritated.

"Stupid of me to ask, of course you were. I mean, if not you couldn't have become Head of Slytherin House. Well, I'm going to guess you weren't insanely popular back then. Though every... loner has a friend. So who was yours? Considering everything, he or she would probably not have been in Slytherin, or you'd have taken that mark willingly, if just to follow." His eyes widened. "You know, for an Occlumens and Legilimens, you are not exactly hiding your emotions very well."

That just made him stare even harder, but Harry continued, now on a roll.

"So who could it be? He or she obviously meant a lot to you, maybe even more than you think… until you did something you still regret, because he or she is now lost to you, though your feelings are not. Who? Or maybe the question should be: who other than the fiery, red-headed woman that glanced at you all during dinner while you resolutely did not look at her? The one and only Lily Potter!

"A Gryffindor while you become a Slytherin, and with that comes all the political pressure of being a Halfblood, and they made you cut ties with her. Or maybe being unpopular drove you to it. Maybe, if you could gain your classmates' approval, you'll be great! And now that you've done it, you regret it more than anything. Which is why you're stuck in the dungeons 24/7 trying to get through to us dunderheads with our incredibly thick skulls that absorb nothing potions-related. Isn't that right?

"Yet do you ever wonder? Wonder what would have happened if you kept on being friends with Lily, not taking the Dark Mark, not bounding yourself to Dumbledore's leash? Oh well, it's too late now anyway. All that to just get to the point now. Your hatred for James, intensified only when he married her and stole her away from you, has nothing to do with me. Hell, he didn't even raise me! I would bet you my entire fortune as heir that I have not an ounce in common with him, though I know that if I do that, we'll probably both end up liking chocolate frogs and you'll take everything, so I won't. But I am not my father. So don't make the next seven years hell for me just because your skull is too thick to realize that… Sir!"

Harry stormed away, leaving Snape looking slack-jawed after him, stunned with a mixture of hate, confusion, shock and… fear. How did he know all that? Whatever he'd expected when he'd heard a second Potter being called up to the Hat, it was definitely not that.

Numb, Snape turned around and went back to his own quarters, his brain unable to function and therefore forgetting to tell his Snakes the notices and his yearly 'welcoming' speech.

Meanwhile, Harry realized he didn't know the password to get, and was scared he'd have to spend the night outside when a passage opened up to his right. He didn't hesitate and followed it. Only Hogwarts had the power to change itself, and she didn't wish him harm, nor wanted him to be harmed. He'd walked about five minutes when it opened up in the boys' bathroom. Harry found the door and walked down into the Common Room with the intention to find Theo, only to come face-to-face with Draco Malfoy.

"Fancy seeing you in Slytherin" Draco said.

"Was it really a surprise, though?" Harry answered, trying to move around him to get to Theo, who he could see sitting off to the left on a bean bag, reading. Draco blocked him.

Harry sighed in defeat. "What do you want?"

Draco crossed his arms. "In the train, you did that weird thought-sharing thing where I can somehow know exactly what you want to tell me only by you moving your head by a fraction, and this time, the message was 'talk later'. It's 'later'. Let's talk."

Harry considered and then said, firmly, "No."

"What do you mean 'no'?!", Draco asked, outraged.

"I mean, there's nothing to talk about. You kicked me out. I had to deal. Now I'm still angry at you for it. It's your turn to go deal. Though if you like to take out your anger with violence, I'd rather not be standing in front of you now." Harry moved to walk past him but Draco blocked him again.

Harry's voice got threatening real fast. "Malfoy…"

"No. I have to talk to you. Please!" Draco's voice broke and he looked down. This was the make it or break it moment: he had Harry's attention, now he just had to say the right thing. "You don't know how hard it was to adjust to everything. Life without you made me miserable. I missed you so much. And then Sirius left too! I was rash and big-headed and idiotic, and I regret it with all my heart."

Any person's heart might have melted at that small speech… but Harry was not anyone. If anything, his anger grew. "Oh Draco", he sneered, "You never could lie to me."

Draco looked at Harry in shock, wide-eyed. "Wh- What are you talking about?!" he spluttered.

Behind them, a group of older Snakes yelled from behind them, "Stop blocking the passage!" "Move it!" "Get going!"

Harry ignored the question and the shouts. "Move, Draco." The other boy didn't budge. Harry's heart broke as he flicked his wrist, his wand snapping into his hand, but there was nothing else he could do. "I. Said. Move."

Draco paled at the sight of Harry's wand pointed at his face and looked at him in betrayal. Harry pushed down all emotions for now- he'd promised never to raise his wand against his family, and yet he'd just done so. But he couldn't let the tears come. Slowly, Draco backed down the rest of the passage, Harry still pointing his wand and advancing in time. Only when they arrived at the bottom of the stairs did he flick it back down, throwing one last sneer over his shoulder, and moved towards Theo. The boy had been drawn away from his book at the commotion, and like the rest of the people in the common room, was wondering what the hell that was about.

Whispers followed Harry as he went to sit down, but he shrugged them off, instead sitting down in a bean bag opposite his friend, who was staring wide-eyed at him.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "What? Is this place taken?"

That threw Theo off track, and he looked baffled for a second before shaking his head to clear it. "What? No! What in Merlin's name was that?"

"What?"

"That thing with Malfoy? The entire pulling-out-your-wand thing? I mean, you probably didn't notice, but it got deadly silent in here as soon as you did that. Everyone wanted to hear what you were saying/doing." Then he smiled mischievously. "Luckily for me, I am an insider, no?"

Harry laughed. "Sure. But it wasn't anything important. Just a… disagreement, that's all."

This time, it was Theo who raised an eyebrow. "Disagreement? Malfoy looks on the verge of tears!"

Indeed, Draco had shakily walked to where Crabbe, Goyle and Parkinson were sitting, though the last one seemed a little uncomfortable and looked as if she would rather be anywhere than here. Harry guessed the only reason she hadn't left was because of orders from Lord Parkinson to make a good impression on the Malfoy Heir, since it was only because they were Lucius' vassals that they were able to afford their Wizengamot seat. Draco had walked back, head down, and was now sitting on a seat across from his 'friends' with his hands covering his face.

Harry shrugged. "He wanted to talk, I didn't. Disagreement."

Theo still looked dubious but upon looking at Harry's face, decided not to push further. "If you say so."

They sat in silence for a few seconds before Harry broke it. "Hey, have you seen the dorms yet?"

"Nope. Want to go check it out? We were supposed to wait for Snape to give the announcements, but it doesn't look like he's coming anytime soon…"

Just then, a prefect stood up. She pointed her wand at her throat, muttered something, and suddenly her voice boomed across the Common Room. "Hello everyone! For the first years, my name is Emma Farley, your sixth year prefect. Professor Snape, our Head of House, was supposed to say the announcements, but it looks like something's keeping him. So, I'll cover the basics and his normal speech, which I know by heart since he literally does it every single year- complete with the whole cape-swinging thing that I will not be demonstrating this evening."

Several people laughed at that.

"So, the basics for and anyone who might have forgotten: the Forbidden Forest is named accurately, since it is, in fact, forbidden for any student to visit. Should you do so, you would make us lose several points and you'll end up with detention. Nobody wants that, so, I repeat: do not go in the Forbidden Forest.

"Next order of business: no magic in corridors and in between classes. Again, this could end with loss of points, detention, and a very angry caretaker. Additionally- this is mostly for first-years- you do not bring people from other houses here or tell them the password. Remember that. The other houses have the exact same rule to avoid… well, I'm not actually sure what they want to avoid, but I'm sure the rule was made for a reason.

"Moving on: there are also Quidditch trials sometimes soon and if you want to… audition? As you can see, not a big Quidditch fanatic. Anyway if you want to do that, our Quidditch team captain Marcus Flint here", she points to a muscular guy standing behind her, "who will arrange something with Madam Hooch. Though no first-years are allowed on the team." That last sentence was met by a lot of booing from the first-years.

"Anyway, usually after dinner, Professor Snape tells us- the prefects- the password, which, for anyone who doesn't know, is 'ophidian'." Maybe it was just Harry's imagination, but he could have sworn her eyes had flickered to him as she said that. "That too would be useful to remember because if you don't, you're stuck outside. Getting back to the point: we would normally show you to the entrance, and then, a little while later, he comes and gives his speech. Now I don't want to steal his glory since he might do it tomorrow, but here's the gist of it: Behave, support one another, always present a united front. Got it?" She was met by a round of nods. "Great. Now off you go! Actually you can also stay here, the Common Room's actually pretty cool. I don't know why I said that…" If she said anything else after that, no one heard it because she was now seated again and talking excitedly (at normal volume) with a girl next to her.

Theo turned to Harry. "Now?"

"Now", Harry confirmed, and both boys left to go see their dorm.

As he mounted the stairs he and Draco had been on earlier, Harry couldn't help but think that his seven years at Hogwarts were going to be one hell of a ride.

Meanwhile in Snape's Private Quarters...

12:30 a.m.

Severus Snape was brewing.

That wasn't strange for a Potions Master. Though the fact that he was rattled was- especially because with brewing and Occlumency, one could achieve a very calm state. Something that Snape was not in possession of right now.

The cause? Harry Potter.

When Minerva had called out his name, Severus' first instinct had been to reject the thought. 'There's no way the Dead Potter Twin is alive! I mean, that would be a fourth Potter I would have to deal with. Anyway, surely Albus would have told me' he'd thought naively.

Even before he'd looked at the Headmaster, he'd known that the whole statement was false. For one, Albus had only been a bit surprised, but had gotten over it quickly. Too little for it to have been caused by someone dead coming alive. Moreover, nothing on his face indicated that he thought the students were in danger, which meant that the Harry Potter that had stepped forward as soon as his name had been called was not a polyjuice copy.

The lack of trust in this matter had hurt just a little, but as he'd thought about, Severus would have done the same thing had he been in Dumbledore's shoes. Snape's irrational hatred of the Potters would not mix well with the announcement that there was another one.

As Potter had walked up to the hat, his face had been composed, his strides the same length, his chin up. It looked like he hadn't heard the whispers and hadn't felt the current of tension in the air.

To his own surprise, Snape had shifted in his chair into a more attentive pose. The movement had been so minuscule though that no one had noticed, especially with the appearance of Harry Potter.

The boy had sat down with more grace than anyone before him and he'd put the hat on. Like with the others, it had gone right over his head. The school as well as Severus had waited with baited breath. Despite himself, he had been just as intrigued as the others. Where would the Dead Potter Twin go?

As if on cue, Septima had leaned over and whispered, "So, Severus, what House will it be today for young Harry Potter? Minerva, Rubeus and Filius bet on Gryffindor but Pomona, Silvanus and Sybill on Ravenclaw. Obviously, we decided to leave Lily out of it since, well, …" he'd trailed off uncertainly and had gestured discreetly to the Lady Potter who was had not rocking the blotchy red eyes and snot. Severus had nodded.

The teachers didn't do this every year for every sorting, only when the outcome was hard to predict. It was a little fun that they allowed themselves during the school year for a change of their normally hard and serious work. They usually did try to keep Dumbledore out of the loop for obvious reasons, but Severus was almost sure that he knew but turned a blind eye to it all.

But he had been getting distracted: back to the point. It had been hard; Severus hadn't know what to vouch for. With what he'd known about the boy- which, admittedly, was little-, Hufflepuff was probably not an option. Ravenclaw could be; maybe he was more Lily than James, because Lily should have been in Ravenclaw with her love of books and studying. Or maybe it would be Gryffindor. That wouldn't be unusual; just another Potter in the House of the Brave. In fact, there hadn't been a Potter in any other House for two centuries!

But, there had been a tiny chance- incredibly minuscule but still possible- that Potter would be a Slytherin. The composure, for one, spoke for that outcome. Composure and a blank, unreadable face meant the study of Occlumency, and someone to have studied that art before the age of eleven (Severus himself only started at 13), meant that the student possessed a bit of paranoia. Paranoia leads to cunning and cunning to ambition- before you know it, you're sorted into Slytherin.

Severus had started to open his mouth but closed it again. Did he really want to bet against the odds? Was he really going to vouch for a Potter to go to Slytherin, to his house? It was true, he hated James and that would never change. Forgiveness, unlike the one he'd shown Sirius, was not an option for that guy. His kids though? From what he'd seen, he basically knew that Adrian Potter was the carbon copy of his father, but Harry Potter?

It had been frustrating but he'd gotten over himself. Sighing internally, he said, "Slytherin."

Septima raised an eye brow and asked, "How much?"

"10 Galleons?"

Septima had turned to the rest of the participating staff and whispered Snape's answer. He'd seen McGonagall nod and then Septima had turned back and had said, grinning, "Bet."

Although the sorting had been going on for a good five minutes, no one had said a word, waiting with baited breath. Snape could have sworn that in all the years he'd been there as a student as well as a teacher, it had never been that quiet before in the Great Hall.

Though they didn't have to wait very long anymore. 20 seconds after the bet had been finalized, the Hat had opened its mouth and had screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"

If anybody hadn't been busy whispering furiously with their friends about the outcome, one might have actually seen Snape smile victoriously and whispering to the losers of the bet, "Pay up!"

And then Snape registered what had just happened. He was now responsible for Harry Potter since he was his Head of House. The words had sounded weird even in his head. He'd the strong urge to bury his hands in his face at the oncoming headache.

Though he'd been immensely surprised when Harry had walked over to the Slytherin table and had sat down in the middle of the first-years as if he'd expected nothing else and started chatting with the son of an accused Death Eater. This was just getting more and more strange.

And then, when his idiotic twin just sauntered over and insulted the boy himself, his abilities, Salazar Slytherin and his house, Harry Potter had actually stood up for Slytherin instead of siding with his Gryffindor brother, something which stunned Severus.

But the cherry on the top was when Slytherin Potter (he really had to find a way to address the different Potters since 'Potter!' obviously wouldn't work) had basically retold his life in five minutes and reading his every movement to draw his conclusions. Then the boy just stalked away, leaving Snape speechless, which not a lot of people had successed at. He even made Snape forget that he actually had to give the announcements to his house that evening, but surely the Prefects could figure without him since he'd only realised that he'd forgotten about tthirty minutes ago- around midnight. At first, it had infuriated him to have been manipulated in such a way, but then he realised something- though his hatred for anything Potter swatted it away. It lingered, though, in his subconscious, repeated over and over again.

Maybe, just maybe, Harry Potter would become something great and do Slytherin proud.

AN2: How did you like it? Leave a review! Next week, on Sunday the 20th of November, 2021 chapter 12 (Title TBD) will be released!

See you then,

M. S.