Of Mice and Magic – Part 02
(co-written with dragonchrysalis)
Severus stared at the scared group of as-yet-unsorted first years. He knew that little Harry Potter was somewhere in that huddle. It had been so long since he'd seen the boy, on pain of Dumbledore's machinations.
When he finally spotted the head of black hair – so reminiscent of his father – Severus was surprised at the boy's attire. It was obvious that he'd stopped at Madame Malkin's (as most school children do for their uniforms) but there were additions. On the right shoulder was a carefully embroidered outline of the Potter Family crest in an acceptable black neutral. While not as noticeable, not even Malfoy had gone so far as to have the uniform altered to include his House's emblems.
Who would've given Harry such an idea?
Even Severus wasn't sure the school charter allowed it. However, if it wasn't, it had fallen out of favor as it was provocative.
Harry himself was well-groomed with bits and bobs tied throughout his hair. A couple of bright white owl feathers were attached down the right side of his face. Several beads of a variety of colors were to the left side. On a fourth look, Snape guessed that those braided decorations were serving a purpose: taming the characteristic Potter hair out of its stereotypical wildness.
On a seventh look, Severus noticed the small, almost imperceptible figure hiding in the boy's hair. A mouse. Fur so black as to blend in practically completely. The only thing that gave the mouse away were the inner pink of its ears – which it helped to conceal by keeping folded backward – and a few colored buttons.
"Merlin's beard." he breathed. Minerva gave him a curious look, but said nothing.
There was no mistaking this mouse for an ordinary field mouse. Even from a distance, Severus knew what it was, even as logic was protesting the impossibility. Since the mouse was standing on Harry's left shoulder, the buttons were first assumed to be more decorations in Potter's hair. Thus the mouse became invisible again by people's lack of expectations to see a mouse riding on a boy's shoulder. If Snape hadn't known of the Potter's colony of Aeslin mice, he doubted he would have spotted the tiny creature either.
It was simple and ingenious.
But why had the boy brought the mouse at all? Severus didn't recall James or Lily ever bringing the mice to Hogwarts. Though he hadn't known of them at the time, so perhaps had just never looked.
As thoughts of the Aeslin came back to him, Severus realized another thing that had been bothering him. Harry's additions to his clothing and hair were entirely Aeslin in design and style. Bits that had been scavenged and repurposed to suit the wearer. Those careful stitches of the crest were certainly small. Perhaps the mice had done it themselves? They certainly had the capacity. He'd seen stranger accoutrement on the rodents!
"Potter, Harry!" Snape found that he'd missed almost the entire Sorting in his musings of his godchild when he heard McGonagall's yell.
Whispers broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall. He grimaced in annoyance, then decided he wasn't going to move. Especially when he heard some of the whispers.
"Potter, did she say?"
"The Harry Potter?"
The smaller-than-normal-for-his-age boy stepped forward without hesitation and pulled the hat upon his head. Snape was barely able to catch the mouse as it moved further backward; just a flash of button catching the light.
Several long moments passed as the hat and boy communicated back and forth. Harry's facial expression was mostly neutral, but had bouts of amusement, fear, and annoyance. Finally the hat yelled, "HUFFLEPUFF!" to the surprise of the entire Hall.
Severus privately mused that if Harry was influenced by the Aeslin as much as his appearance suggested, then the child's chosen House wasn't as odd as many might think. Hardworking and loyal certainly described the Aeslin well!
Applause was slow to start. However, it was politely offered (even with the surprised confusion on many faces) as it had been with all the other first years being sorted. The House that seemed to be the most reluctant was, surprisingly, Gryffindor.
"We didn't get Potter?" one twin asked.
The boy walked past the red and gold table to sit at the yellow and black decorated students. Snape nodded shortly – all the praise he was willing to bestow for actions that should have been done either way, no matter the child sorted – to the Hufflepuff Prefect that had deliberately made room beside herself. She blinked at the potions professor in surprise, but nodded back at him.
The rest of the Sorting Ceremony was uneventful. Severus focused on eating as the food finally appeared.
"Thank you," Harry Potter said politely to the older girl who had gone out of her way to make room for him.
She smiled, "No problem, kiddo. Give the others some time to get used to the real you, instead of bedtime stories."
"Bedtime stories?" his head tilted, showcasing his confusion.
"There's a whole book series devoted to your childhood adventures. Didn't you know?"
He shook his head. "I've lived with my muggle relatives since my parents died." He paused to eat. Then asked hesitantly, "How many people have read those books?"
Several others waved to signal. "I have." "Me too." "My mother read them to me when I was a kid."
"But…" Harry was still confused. "No one ever came to talk to me. People don't actually believe those stories… Do they?"
One of the oldest students there grimaced as he added his tuppence to the conversation. "In the absence of true fact or conflicting story, most will believe whatever they hear without thought to the logic behind what they are told." He gave the young celebrity first year a sympathetic look. "They will either learn that what they were told is in direct conflict to what they see in your behavior and realize the fault lies with their assumptions, or they will resent you being different to their expectations and react antagonistically."
"Oh," Harry said, looking down at his plate.
At last, the desserts disappeared, and the headmaster got to his feet yet again. The hall fell silent. "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.
"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 two redheaded twins. "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.
"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their House teams should contact Madam Hooch." The old man paused, giving the room at large what Harry assumed was supposed to be a stern glare. "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."
"He can't be serious," another first year down the table muttered.
"The man is insane and more manipulative than any other staff member." An older boy answered further down the table. "However, he knows he'd get sacked if any student were seriously injured due to his own actions."
"Meaning the chances that he's not serious right now are slim," an older female continued. "I'd stay out of that corridor if I were you."
The first years nodded quickly in agreement.
"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. He gave a flick of his wand, as if he were trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.
Harry was impressed with the bit of magic, but then clapped his hands over his ears in an attempt to block out the horrible cacophony of sounds. They were all singing different tunes! He kept his ears covered until the uproar died. "Ah, music," Dumbledore said, wiping his eyes dramatically. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"
"This way!" A Hufflepuff Prefect called to the newest members of her House. Rather like a mother duck gathering babies to follow her, she led them down halls and staircases until reaching the Hufflepuff dormitories. "Here we are. The password is 'always loyal' for now. It gets changed once a month. Be sure to get the new password or you might get locked out until someone comes along that does know."
A male prefect gestured as they entered a large circular den-like meeting area. "This is our common room. Over there is a noticeboard you should check often. It has any meetings posted or sign ups, along with our House Rules. You can look at them in the morning. For now, girls dorms are to the left and boys to the right. Your name is written on your door, along with your roommate. If you want to switch roommates, that can be arranged after the first week, but you have to take your case to our Head of House, Professor Sprout. In the morning, don't leave the common room without a prefect. We'll be directing you to your classes this first week until you get used to where everything is. Good night!"
Obediently, the group sorted themselves out by gender and filed past.
As luck would have it, there were an odd number of boys in the first year of Hufflepuff and since Potter was the last name sorted into the House, Harry got a room all to himself. He was pleasantly surprised to find his trunk already at the foot of his bed. He also had a knee-jerk instinct to rush forward and stick his head down. "Are you all right?" he called softly into the seeming disarray of clothes, books, and other school materials.
"Hail!" came the chorus from inside the trunk, six small heads popping out to gaze up at him adoringly.
Harry exhaled. "Good. Now, listen to me. You're welcome to my food at meals, but don't go off hunting for awhile. I don't want you eating someone's pet thinking it's a good catch."
The head priest, recognizable by his squirrel-skull hat, clambered slowly to the top of the fray. "We shall Refrain from Unauthorized Hunting." he squeaked.
"Hail, Refraining from the Unauthorized Hunt!" his congregation echoed. No one said capital letters like an Aeslin.
"Establish amongst yourselves a rotating schedule so that every member of the colony can accompany me to class at some point." Harry saw his head priest's whiskers go back in a sort of shocked dismay. "I don't want anyone trying to play favorites." He knew that the Aeslin had a rather strict hierarchy and part of him didn't want to change their society. However, another part of him really didn't like how only a select few of his priesthood were allowed to speak with him directly or even ride on his shoulder. Instead of saying this however, as the Aeslin would get offended, he said, "That way, everyone gets a chance to come with me and you all can share the burden of being still and silent."
Now the whiskers of several twitched. "Truly You are Wise," the head mouse intoned. None of them liked having to hide, even if after living with the Dursley's for so many years they had learned the necessity. This chance to rotate the duty of being with him as well as the burden of Being Out of Sight would be beneficial.