Happy New Year!
What better way to start 2020 than to churn out overdue updates?
This was supposed to go live last December, but near the end of it, my dad became critically ill and it tossed everything into disarray. Luckily, thankfully, he's doing better now and is making a steady recovery. I should consider myself fortunate. Not all stroke victims get second chances like his.
That said, enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 4:
The Second Sorting
"Ho ho, what do we have here? Another Weasley?"
The split-second quiet of earth colored darkness, broken by the round, throaty tone of an old, jovial man. It would have been nice, if it didn't start with a line that really sets him off.
"Oh come now, I don't mean anything by it! You really need to work on those insecurities. They won't do you any good!"
What would you know? He snapped in his head. How would you know what it's like to have six siblings? You're just a bloody old hat!
"My, and such fiery temper! But mind you, I did not have centuries of experience going into students' heads and not picking up a thing or a hundred. Trust me when I say that unlike what you so believe, there IS something special about you. Mr. Potter chose you over Mr. Malfoy, didn't he?"
He felt his ears burn up then. That time in the train felt like ages ago yet he still couldn't believe it—him, being friends with the Harry Potter? It was like something straight out of a fantasy, almost too good to be true, on top of Harry being actually a decent bloke.
"And so are you, Mr. Weasley, even if you are still unable to fully understand the fact. Hot tempered and stubborn you may be, but there is a good amount of bravery in you. Loyalty as well. Trying times will be coming for Mr. Potter, and he will need a friend like you to stand by him when they come."
…Really?
"Now off you go to where Mr. Potter and your friends are waiting for you in…"
"Well this is certainly a surprise!"
The Sorting Hat boomed into Ron's ears after the red head managed to force his wobbly legs to get to the damn stool without fainting in front of the entire Great Hall. But with the way his throat was still coming into knots with the taste of bile and corned beef clawing up to it, Ron knew he wasn't safe from the risk of embarrassing himself just yet.
Yeah, yeah, another Weasley. Bloody brilliant, isn't it? Now can you just sort me into Gryffindor and not look too deep into—
"Too late, Mr. Weasley." The Hat cut in cheerfully, sending an iceberg into Ron's bottomless pit in the process. "I have sorted hundreds of students before, but I have never had the privilege of engaging the mind of a time traveler. Let alone someone who has bested Death Itself!"
Ron swallowed hard against the brown void drowning his vision. …You already got that much? That fast?!
"I have been a Legilimens for centuries, Mr. Weasley. And if I was going to finish sorting through the lot of you under an hour, I ought to be fast! But this moment is not about me." The Hat then tutted. "My, my, what do I do with you? I have never met such a peculiar student before. And here I thought Mr. Potter will be the only difficult sorting for the year…"
What's so hard about me? The time traveler snapped. You saw my memories, didn't you? Saw that I'm still that same hot-tempered, back talking idiot—?
"Oh, hardly!" Said the Hat. "You still have a temper, true, along with that stubborn streak and your needless insecurities, but you are far from that boy my other self met in the past! You would not have defeated Death and won Its respect if you were!"
Won Its respect? I barely managed to scrape a win because I became too dramatic. No wonder Snape got pissed! I was a fucking whiner!
"But you fought back, despite falling apart. You persevered." Came the soft reply. "As it was during your journey with Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger. You may have lost your way, but all that matters is that you came back."
The memories of his desertion of Harry and Hermione because of that blasted locket made Ron's eyes burn. Even until now, the guilt, hurt and shame from that mistake still felt like a fresh gaping wound over his chest. Despite his friends forgiving him, perhaps it is a wound that will never truly heal or let him forget…
"Time, Mr. Weasley. It heals all wounds, enough to make them bearable to live with. You have much of that now, in this second life you have rightfully won from Death. Use it to your fullest advantage, and I will guide you to the House that will help you best."
I already have a House!
"But is it what is best for you now? As I have said, you are not that same eleven-year-old who wore me for the first time. Some of the potential I have seen in you before has been brought to the surface: Wisdom. Perception. Loyalty. Humility. Even a bit of ambition."
Ron's grip on the stool tightened. Around him, the sound of whispers began to seep into the brown void. You—you can't be thinking of sorting me into—
"Slytherin? My dear boy, surely you do not think so badly of them now, do you?"
W—Well, no. I mean, looking back, the only snakes who were really at it against us were Malfoy and his goons.
"You desire to correct your mistakes in the past. You wish to save those who have fallen too soon. You have already made your initial plans, but other than knowledge and skill, you will need connections. Connections that the Slytherins can help you create."
And I can't make those connections in a different house? Why not Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff? From what you said about me, you can pretty much put me in whatever House you want just because!
Much to Ron's surprise, the Hat actually laughed. "Fascinating indeed! It is not every decade that I encounter a student on the way to understanding the magnum opus that is the Sorting!"
…Magna what?
"But while you possess the potential of intelligence for a Ravenclaw, your rebellious, independent-minded nature will make it hard for you to fit in with your peers there. And while you have the loyalty worthy of Hufflepuff, your passion may be too strong a fire for them."
The whispers were becoming louder against a silence in his head becoming more pronounced. But somewhere in his chest, there was a spark.
Ron's blue eyes hardened. …Make me a Gryffindor.
"Mr. Weasley..."
You thought Harry would be better in Slytherin, didn't you? But he asked you not to, and you listened to him. So you'll have to listen to me too. Ron began. I get that you mean well, and know loads more than I probably ever will, but you can't put me in another House. Even if I get why it's best for me. You made the decision for me the second you sent Harry to Gryffindor.
"Had Mr. Potter gone to Slytherin—"
Then I would have made you send me to Slytherin, because I promised Harry. Two of the worst mistakes of my life were abandoning him on the two times he needed me most, but there won't be a third. The flicker within him burst into a blaze, sending through him a surge of confidence he didn't know he could possess. And there's no better place for me to do just that than to be in the same bloody House!
"…Every bit as stubborn and loyal as your Founder!"
Ron nearly jumped out of his seat when the Sorting Hat's voice boomed over his head, making the whispers grow into something akin to furiously buzzing bees.
OI! What the hell do you think you're doing?!
"You and Mr. Potter are such an interesting pair! I still believe both of you would have done well in Slytherin, but your bravery and loyalty, Mr. Weasley, your burning devotion to your brother in all but blood. They stand above all that is within you, and it is to where it calls home that I shall be sending you."
The boy's heart leapt. Does that mean…?
"Though some parting advice, if you care: your quest is a long and arduous, but one that you need not take alone. You can find the help you will need here in Hogwarts. You only need to ask. Also, worry not, your time travelling secret is safe with me.
Really? You—you're not telling Dumbledore?
"It is a secret that I will be taking to my grave. And if you need further advice, you know where to find me." The Hat assured him. "Now go, to where perhaps you have always belonged, to…
...Years after my first Sorting, the Hat can still pull a fast on me!
Despite his words though, Ron lay on his bed that night with a smile on his face.
The darn thing may have nearly given him a heart attack, thinking of sorting him to anywhere but Gryffindor. He may not mind the other Houses as much as he used to, but at his heart, Ronald Bilius Weasley has and will always be a Gryffindor through and through.
Not that the Sorting Hat doesn't have a point. Ron mused. I mean, really, now that I think about, isn't it possible to have a bit of the Houses in them? Hermione once said that since the Sorting Hat's got the essences of the founders, it sends the students to the Houses the way the Founders would have picked students for theirs. Gryffindor for the brave. Ravenclaw for the smart. Slytherin for the ambitious. Hufflepuff for the loyal.
But if it were really as easy as seeing which part of a student stands out best then sending them to the right House based on that, there wouldn't be Hatstalls, would there? Ron came to conclude. Like what mine nearly was!
Ron hadn't realized it at the time, but his sorting was a few seconds from four minutes long, which was what made everyone whisper about so anxiously. It had made even Dumbledore look at him with such interest that the redhead had to remind himself to not meet those twinkly blue eyes.
Instead, Ron focused on taking that seat next to Harry while drowning himself in the loud cheers of his housemates.
"Way to start your first year, little brother!" Fred immediately clapped him on the back as soon as Ron sat down between him and Harry.
"Just had to go and steal the show, eh?" Added George. "Imagine, our little Ronniekins, the first near Hatstall the Weasleys ever had in generations!"
"Hey, it's not my fault the Hat couldn't figure where to bloody put me right." Ron said with a shrug. "I told him I wanted to be a Gryffidnor, but it nearly wanted to put me somewhere else. The thing's gone senile!"
"But still you managed to get into Gryffindor," said Percy from across the table and next to Hermione. "I have to say I was worried for a while there, but of course, I remained confident that you would make it."
Sure you were. Still, Percy's display of concern made Ron smile. "As if I was going to let it Sort me somewhere else, Perce!"
"You nearly didn't get sorted into Gryffindor?" Harry whispered, making Ron pause thoughtfully before nodding.
"Yeah, weird, isn't it? All Weasleys have been Gryffindors for ages, well usually. Wouldn't want to do anything to change that." Ron gave a quick glance to the twins and Percy who had their attention drawn back to the last student to be sorted. ("Zabinin, Blaise!")
"Just between you and me, Harry? The bloody thing wanted to sort me to Slytherin! Slytherin! Not like I've got a problem with, err, most of them, but can you imagine what a mickey Fred and George will take out on me when they find out?"
Harry's green eyes were glowing with wonder and something else Ron couldn't tell at the moment, but it made the redhead think that he made the right choice. If there was one good thing about this unusually long sorting of his, it was that it gave him something else in common with Harry. Maybe that will help his old friend feel less alone this time, Ron hoped.
But before Harry could respond, Ron heard the student body chorus in thanks to their Headmaster, and the Weasley knew immediately what was to come next.
"Potatoes, Harry?"
Ron had freely laughed out loud at the way Harry's eyes nearly popped out of his head at the sight of all that food on their table, much so that the other boy had to smack him on the head to shut him up.
He hadn't known until then how much he missed that innocently easy to surprise side of his best friend. Not to mention the food at Hogwarts too! His mum's cooking was still the best in Ron's opinion, but the Hogwarts house elves' cooking came close second.
Speaking of that lot, I should probably drop by the kitchens sometime soon. I still remember how to tickle that pear, I think. Ron's smile then dropped to a more pensive expression. And then there are those other places too.
It amazed him how much he could still remember after going back through time. So far, he hadn't experienced any holes in his memories, and was able to remember whatever he needed to recall about something at any given moment.
Or maybe it's just that I haven't encountered something I don't remember yet. Ron shook his head. I'll just deal with that as I go along. What matters for now is that I still know how to get into the kitchens, the Room of Requirement, that one-eyed witch passage and the Chamber of Secrets. Not that I'm going to go in there anytime soon, but it's nice to know that I can.
Thinking of the Chamber made Ron think about Ginny, though, and it made his insides clench hard. I'm not going to let Voldemort use you again, Ginny. I don't care if it's too big of a change in this timeline, but I'm not letting it happen. I'm not gonna fail as your big brother, not this time—
"AH!"
—Harry?
Ron sat up from his bed, shooting out of the curtains of his four-poster bed to Harry's right next to his. A quick draw of the thick red sheets revealed Harry sitting up with glazed eyes and a heavily breathing frame.
"Harry?" Ron said slowly, his years of dealing with Harry's nightmares coming to the surface as he knelt to Harry's eye level. "Harry, you up, mate?"
"R-Ron?" Nope, Harry's eyes still looked glazed, but at least the black-haired boy acknowledged him somehow.
"Yeah, it's me." Ron paused for a bit. "Bad dream?"
Harry nodded slowly. "There was screaming...loads of green light...that voice, like...a hissing snake...mum and dad...dead…"
Ron bit his lip to gather his calm before speaking again. "Hey, it's OK. It was just a dream. You're at Hogwarts, Harry. You're safe."
"Hogwarts…?"
The deluminator in his pocket warmed up.
"Right, Hogwarts." Ron repeated. "The safest place in the world. He's not coming for you here. I won't let him. You'll be safe here." He then gently pushed his friend back down the bed. "Now get some sleep in, you. We still got an early morning tomorrow."
The confused Harry could only nod dazedly before slipping back into the covers. But even as he closed his eyes, his mumbling did not stop. "A man...silver...two heads...green light...mum…"
Ron didn't say anything else, however. He just watched, steady by Harry's bedside until the other boy's breathing evened out and the whispering died on its own. Only then did Ron loosen his crouched position to a cross legged seat, his back on his own bedpost.
So Harry's already having nightmares ever since he started Hogwarts? I thought they all began after that disaster in the Forbidden Forest with the unicorns…The eighteen-turned-eleven year old shook his head. No point in dwelling on that. Don't worry, Harry, I'm not letting that son of a bitch get to you or anyone else. Not if I can help it. I'll make things right this time. I swear it on my life.
Ron's gaze went from his best friend to a certain fat rat snoozing carelessly in its cage. His blue eyes hardened. His deluminator remained warm in his pocket.
Starting with him.
Somewhere in a vast dark woodland, a pair of feet rustled against the leaves.
A lone phantom tore through the expanse of wood, leaves and brush in a frantic run. There was no sound from behind, but it was only a matter of time until they catch up to him.
He cannot return to that prison again. He'd rather slit his own throat.
But to where should he go? Where was he even?
Where…?
"Hogwarts."
The sudden voice in his head nearly made him stop. He drove a foot hard to the ground to send him bursting through a blocking shrub instead.
Who was that? He thought, frantically expanding his senses. He was certain no one else was here. No one had to be. He had staked his life on that absolute-
"Right, Hogwarts. The safest place in the world."
There it was again. That voice. But unlike the kind he used to hear, it was young. Soft but strong. Kind. Gentle.
Against his better judgment, reassuring.
Hogwarts, was it? He thought. He had never heard of such a place before. A safe place then? Could he trust what he had just heard? Was that voice even real?
"He's not coming for you here. I won't let him."
A bang. A flash of red from his periphery.
Gods above, no!
He propelled himself forward, making a mad dash for the nearest tree he could find.
Barely dodging another blast of red light, he scampered to a branch, going higher and higher. Not daring to look down, not daring to think about where his instincts are leading him.
"Hogwarts."
North, his gut told him, and when he turned, his face was bathed by the hovering moon.
Another loud bang behind him, the whooshing of brooms in flight. They were getting closer.
There was no time to second guess.
Jump.
"Hogwarts. The safest place in the world."
From a tall pine in the forest, a small figure leapt forward, into a dazzling light.
A roar of thunder.
"You'll be safe here."
Yay! Gryffindor
So grateful to everyone who followed/favorited this story. Even more thanks to those who left reviews. I'm sorry if I can't reply to everyone yet, but I promise to once I got the time. You guys have been looking forward to Ron's sorting so I hope I did it justice. And oh, Ron's doing the eye thing on Scabbers again. Does he have a plan?
Why, yes Second Chance notebook, thank you for not answering.
And as for who that person is at the end…
(…You won't mind an OC, would you? :sweatdrop:)
Let's just say he'll be a big help for Ron in the future. A bit farther into the future. Like chapters away.
What do you guys think? Do leave any comments/suggestions/corrections. I do backreads from time to time and edit them as necessary (you know, the grammar things).
Thanks again for reading!
UP NEXT:
Ron's first day (week) in school. Which means we'll run into professors, including that guy who teaches (?) Potions. And maybe some new friends.
