Disclaimer:
I solemnly swear that the literature and works of the Harry Potter Verse belong to JK Rowling, Bloomberg and Warner Bros. The only thing I own are the one-shot ideas that popped into my head and whatever OCs I would create for them. This is a work of pure fiction made solely for fun, constructive reviews will be welcomed, flames will be ignored. Any references to characters in real-life or fiction are purely coincidental. If I could make money out of my ideas, it would be nice...
Mischief Managed Damn It!
Title: Book 1, Chapter 7
Posted Date: August 26 2020
Updated Date: Dec 12 2020, Nov 20 2021, Dec 24 2021
The sounds of chatter filled the Great Hall of Hogwarts as the denizens of the castle await the arrival of the prospective students to come. Some were looking forward to their younger siblings or relatives to join them to their house; others waited to find who would be their likely opponent for certain matters in the house. A few even thought of the sorting as the start of their final year before graduating from Hogwarts and entering the world to work.
But there was one person that plenty were looking forward to for better or worse: Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived.
The boy who had defeated the dark wizard Voldemort and then hidden by Albus Dumbledore for his supposed protection and training, only to be revealed in the newspaper that the boy had no contact with the old man whatsoever, and that he was left at the mercy of abusive relatives without much knowledge of the magic world for the first few years until a mysterious benefactor came forward to whisk him away. After that no sighting was found, although there was apparently some correspondence between him and the Daily Prophet after the newspaper had switched owners and underwent a major restructuring to ensure the newspaper was no longer a gossip rag or a mouthpiece for the Ministry, something that many had remarked to be a miracle on its own. There were a few who had considered it to be a hoax until Harry got another interview with another reporter, again with the same conditions to tell the truth before talking about what he was dealing with regarding his situation around Dumbledore and how he felt about his fame.
It was also around that time that a number of children and adults had cheerfully remarked that the boy had managed to bypass the illegal mail wards stuck on him and replied back to them for their thanks. That in turn reduced the noise on how the boy was seemingly arrogant to not reply to his fans, further aided when Harry's lawyer produced proof of the illegal mail wards on him that prevented him getting the letters. The fact that the boy apologized for something out of his control and went to the trouble of answering back gave the recipients a good impression of the boy. And based on the last interview, it seemed that Harry Potter was going through quite a number in a short time to make sure that those who had sent him mail would get the replies.
There were a good many from old established lines, good or bad, who knew of his family, the likes of Fleamont, Dorea and Charles being the bigger factors in their memories, and they waited to see how this boy would compare to them. For the older students, particularly those who aim to go into politics upon graduation, they would see with their own eyes if the boy would grow to become a major player for the country, or an obstacle to be dealt with.
At the front of the hall was the staff table, where most of the professors were seated waiting for the potential students to arrive, each one with thoughts of their own regarding the boy in question. For the younger professors such as Vector and Babbling, they were indifferent aside from hoping the child was not some blow-hard. For the senior staff, many were hoping to get a glimpse of the boy who they had the pleasure of carrying in their arms and enjoyed his shrieks of happiness even in dark times. For the remaining five, there was a mix of expectations.
One had hopes of the child remembering her as his pseudo-aunt while praying he did not pick up his father's mischief for pranks, even as she got out of her seat and made her way to the awaiting first years.
The second was waiting to see if the child had a green thumb to help with the greenhouses like his mother used to have, or a messy student like his father.
A third was waiting to see if the boy was as arrogant and scornful as his father or as caring and brilliant as his mother, all while having a sneer on his face and hiding thoughts on all that had happened over the past month.
A fourth was looking forward to seeing the child of his favorite student to see if he could apply some of his ideas to the institution and perhaps bring up the standards.
And finally, the fifth who has designs for the boy and wishes to have him under his thumb until a time his usefulness becomes a liability, then he would decide what to do later.
Filius Flitwick sat in his chair eagerly awaiting the arrival of potential Ravenclaws and more importantly the son of his dear student, cheerfully noting how a few of his Ravens were comparing notes and stories of their summer. His own summer was quite unique since he got the chance to interact with Harry and exchange ideas and stories of his family, the boy was certainly eager for stories regarding the Potters and his heritage, wondering about their expertise and flaws. Filius would take great pleasure in enlightening the young boy about stories of his grandfather Fleamont and great-grandfather Charles, on how they were often compared between the two for being so different and yet similar in manner. He also took the chance to witness some of the wandless spells the boy had reproduced to aid with his work and the few runes he had designed to make do in an area that could be explained away without the use of magic.
His eyes peered at the back of his oldest colleague with his smile slightly dampened in thoughts of the past month. Minerva had gained back some of her old fire when she was dealing with the issues of the education and Harry, but somewhere halfway she started regressing to a 'yes' woman without warning and it took a fair bit on his hand to get things moving properly. The thing that really got to him was the unusual air of smugness being projected by Albus during the last few meetings when Minerva seemed to cave under his words, and it was only with quick thinking on Filius and some help from Harry's barrister that he managed to get the necessary bits done. After the fifth such meeting, Filius had told her to get to a Healer at Saint Mungos to check herself out and let him handle those meetings, which certainly sped things up in his favor.
His eyes then went to a certain potions master, recalling the man's behaviour upon his return to the country and hearing about the new additions for rules and lessons. The man kept going on about 'spoiled princes' and 'arrogance like his father' until Filius had enough and dumped the folder containing the extracts on Harry's medical history and abuse before walking out of the office. The man was not seen until the next day when he appeared in Filius's office to return the folder and walked out silently with a notable air of solemnity and pain. Even now, behind the veneer of sneers, Filius could see that Severus Snape was looking forward to seeing the child of his once lost love, if only to see if he was to be vindicated in his beliefs or to be abused by them.
And finally, his eyes went to Albus Dumbledore, his grandfatherly image firmly in place with the air of a man awaiting for new students to grace the halls, while hiding a certain level of 'something' that made Filius resolve to keep an eye on Harry to ensure his safety. He knew the old man must have done something to Minerva, and likely to himself as well considering his latest cleansing ritual purged a fair number of potions in his system. Normally done bi-weekly, he had to increase his regiment to every odd day for the past month alone. His cousins at Gringotts were not pleased at the fact that he was effectively getting poisoned so easily and wanted retribution, but it was difficult to prove who did it considering the location, even if they had no doubts on the possible identity.
It was not just the possibility of potions involved that made Filius wary. For the past month, Albus had been pushing for bills to try and get heirs of certain lineages under his wing, citing how they could be better protected, but thanks to the lawyer working for Harry, they were revealed to be attempts to take control of heirs and in turn possible family lines and their fortunes. And while most of the pure-blood families stopped at that point, Filius looked through the wording and knew that Albus was attempting to spread his net as wide as possible to grab Harry. This was perhaps one of the times the Blood Bigotry actually came in handy for someone not in the list of the Sacred Twenty Eight, as the Potters were considered 'impure' due to their marriages with muggle-borns or squibs, thus invalidating a fair number of Albus's bills. There were however a few that could be used against Harry in the event he wished to take the OWL Exams early, even if they could be somewhat subverted depending on conditions.
There was also the issue of the old wizard ignoring his and Minerva's attempts to better the education classes. If it was not for the Ministry deciding to send in an inspection team to check on the teaching conditions and the education levels, Filius got the feeling that Albus would have just ignored everything just so everything could stay the same in that little world he appeared to be living in. He really wondered if Albus was actually sabotaging Britain with this attitude.
All Filius could do was to watch over Harry and protect him, while trying to collect evidence of Albus's indiscretions. Too long Filius has stood by not questioning Albus's actions enough, this time he was going to take an active role to ensure Hogwarts was still standing with her students safe from harm and manipulations. That man may lose his position as Supreme Mugwump and perhaps the Chief Warlock position in the near future, but he still held a lot of power to retain the seat of Headmaster, and it would take a lot of effort to oust him out of that for even a little while.
The sounds of the doors opening broke his thoughts and drew his attention to the prospective students coming behind Minerva as she led them to where they would be sorted, inwardly surprised at how fast time seemed to move when he was thinking. His sharp eyes picked through the faces to find the one he hoped to see, a part of him relieved that the boy was here even if it was with some reluctance since his parents had placed his name in the registry after his birth. He still hoped that Harry would enjoy his time in Hogwarts, and that he could get a chance to teach him what he taught to his mother.
~ooOOoo~
(10 minutes ago)
Harry looked on in silent interest at the stern looking woman who answered the door after Hagrid knocked hard on it. She looked to be in her mid-fifties with her hair tied up in a tight bun and dressed in dark robes similar to your stereotypical witch found in literature, complete with a pointy witch's hat to boot. Even in the current lighting, one might expect her to start throwing fireballs or casting spells to turn them into toads for daring to enter the castle.
"First years, Professor McGonagall." Hagrid announced to her while waving a hand, before leaning in to try and whisper some words. 'Try' being the optimum word since they could still hear him even from behind. "I counted them, there are a few missing, and I can't find him!" Hagrid spoke with a hint of sadness.
"Calm yourself Hagrid. I am certain that we will know more later, we will discuss this later. I will take them from here." The stern woman spoke before turning to the children. "Come in, we have been expecting you." With that the children went into the castle, a few waving to Hagrid as they passed him. Harry slightly turned his head as the giant looked about them and missed him again before following the rest of the group, taking his time to view the structure from inside for the first time. Honestly speaking, he could fit the Dursleys' house in the Entrance Hall alone with ample space for the chimney. The stone walls were lit with the flaming torches much like those done in Gringotts, throwing light and shadows upwards to a ceiling too high to make out, with a marvelous marble staircase that would take them to the higher levels.
The children went up said staircase and across a flagged stone floor that must have been great in its prime before years of students walking about had worn it down to its current state. In the quiet ambience, Harry could make out the drone of hundreds of voices a doorway a little to the right side - 'That must be where the rest of the students are seated.' - but Professor McGonagall led them to the left where they gathered into the small empty chamber. The group of children packed themselves together a little closer than they normally would, now feeling the nervousness of getting sorted before the rest.
"Good evening to you all, and welcome to Hogwarts." The woman greeted them sternly, her gaze holding them in place alone. "My name is Minerva McGonagall, and it is my pleasure to greet you here in the school of the Founders. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you can take your place in the Great Hall, you must first be sorted into your houses where you will stay for the next seven years. With them, you will have your classes, your meals, your sleep in the dormitory, and others."
"There are four houses here that represent the strengths of wizards and witches in Britain. We have Gryffindor, the house for the brave and bold; Hufflepuff, the house of the hard working and loyal; Ravenclaw, the house for the intellects; and finally Slytherin, for those of cunning and ambition. Each of these houses has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards that have contributed to history. While you are here at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose said points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will be awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours." She continued as she looked at each of them. "The sorting will take place in a few minutes in the Great Hall in front of your future classmates. I suggest you use that time to smarten yourselves up as much as you can while waiting." She added while looking pointedly at some people who were looking scruffy before moving out of the chamber, giving them the chance to let out a breath of air they were unconsciously withholding.
"Oh dear, is it a test? Do I need to change something on the spot? Have I learned enough spells?" Hermione started to hyperventilate as she went through the spells she read up, unintentionally making the ones closest to her start panicking.
"Miss Granger, you need to calm down." Harry placed a hand on her shoulder when she was not doing that, while mentally channeling the 'Force' through her to make her relax. "Hermione, you can relax on this. The sorting should not require any of us to perform magic so early on."
"And how would you know that for sure?" A boy asked with dark hair and a notable sneer on his face, something in Harry's opinion was very out of place for one so young. And the manner he spoke in drew the attention of the others, making Harry sigh mentally. Well at least he could try to ease their minds.
"We are first years from all walks of life, I highly doubt that they would ask us to perform much magic in front of them, certainly it cannot be some form of fighting." Harry pointed that out to them. "Furthermore, the professor already gave a clue to us on that sorting."
"She did?" One of the girls asked with a tilt of the head.
"She was stating the traits of each house earlier, that means we would go into the houses based on our personalities." Harry shrugged. "My guess? We will be introduced to an artifact to undergo their equivalent of a personality test."
"Yeah right, like that would be the case." the first speaker snorted derisively at Harry.
"It is your choice to believe me or not, I am just making an educated guess." Harry remarked unimpressed with the boy clearly trying to rile him up. "As I said, they can't expect us to pull magic from the start, because there would definitely be an issue in demonstrating it since a fair number of us are first generation wizards or witches, and even half-bloods raised in the muggle world. And even for those raised around magic, I doubt that they would ask for very advanced magic."
"Whatever, it is not like I care about that." The boy puffed up his chest. "All I know is I will be in Hufflepuff, and I will lead it since it is my birth right." Harry barely resisted rolling his eyes, and noted the few who did roll their eyes at the boy's words. Something about that action and the boy's tone made him think the boy had repeated this many times before.
"So be it then, not that I care." Harry turned to Hermione with his back to the rude boy, something that must have rankled him and amused the others given the snickering and growling. "Anyway, it is not likely for us to do something this early." She did not look too convinced so he decided on a different route. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a cloth bag and stuck his hand in, briefly sticking his entire arm to find the item before pulling it back out to reveal a book. That certainly got her attention and some of the muggle-raised children who were comparing it to Doctor Who.
"Let's try something else. Were you given this book?" Harry handed the book to Hermione who took it with thanks and looked at the cover with interest, with the others moving closer to view.
"[Guide to Entering Magical Britain: Cultures, Manners and Proper Understanding]." Hermione read off the title with a tilt of the head, noting how it looked a lot like modern textbooks as opposed to the old books of parchment like the spell-books they have for the year. "I don't recall buying the book. And this looks like something from regular publishers instead of those from around here."
"It is a new book that was published about a few months back." Harry answered her unasked query. "Pardon me for asking this, but as a first-gen, you must have been approached by one of the tellers in Gringotts or an officer from the Lily Evans Foundation regarding a form to sign?"
"Ah! We have been approached by both during our visit to the bank roughly three months before, something about protection and sponsorship?" Hermione asked with other first-generation children nodding their agreement while their counterparts looked to each other with confusion or interest at the name of the group.
"The foundation was created to cover first-generation and mundane-raised half-bloods. The students are granted sponsorship and a certain amount of protection by certain families in the magical sector to ensure they are not held back by costs and not taken advantage of. I do not know if you have subscriptions to the Daily Prophet at this point, but Albus Dumbledore has his rights as a pseudo guardian removed last month due to infractions and abuse of power. The foundation is the answer to ensure the students previously under his supposed care are granted another level of protection. Arguably speaking, the foundation provides a better aegis for first-generations and half-bloods."
"How so?" Padma asked curiously.
"Well, the story is a little glossed over due to the severity, but Hogwarts does not boast the best in nurturing students in a safe environment. There have been cases of bullying that had gotten out of hand either from the house rivalry or other oddities like blood purity." Harry answered noting how some of the students nodded or looked surprised at the statement. "There is also the unspoken bit regarding Dumbledore's policy of not properly punishing the offenders. As you can imagine, the Board of Directors along with the parents are not impressed and as stated, removed his guardianship rights. The foundation had been created beforehand to ensure the students would be protected beyond that removal."
"And why should we care about that?" The rude boy from earlier spoke out rudely. "Not like the muggle-born would do much for the community. They would just leave anyway." Harry could see that lines were getting drawn early on as a few nodded their heads while others moved away from them and closer to Harry subconsciously. Oddly enough, there was one blond haired boy who looked torn between agreeing and looking away from the first speaker.
"It is that type of thinking that makes Magical Britain a bit of a laughing stock. If you had checked the papers, we are losing out because of that silly blood purity issue. Everyone has strengths to contribute, to discard them over blood purity of all things is making our economy bad, and the citizens to be ridiculed." Harry spoke out firmly. "To you, it may not be much. To a few of us, the foundation is like a pebble thrown into a lake, it will create ripples that change the surface. This book is one of the ripples to help the first generations or mundane-raised get a leg up in a society we are entering tonight. We have a chance to make this world better, I say we give it a shot."
"I could not have put it better myself."
Harry turned quickly on his heel while a few of the students screamed, his mind speeding through ideas of different spells he had read or created, only to pause at the entity before him.
"Hello there!" The apparition of a short and fat monk dressed in the old tunic and habits of the old days greeted Harry cheerfully, not bothered by the fact that a fair number of the children were backing away from him or the other ghosts coming through the wall. "Could not help but listen in on your conversation, and I must say, it is very refreshing to hear someone speak out about the issues of the world."
"Indeed." A second ghost came forward, this one sporting a what some have considered to be the Medieval clothing of 14th to 17th Century Britain, consisting of a doublet, a pair of tights and breeches, and an unusually thick ruff around his neck, all of which complemented the thick curly hair, small mustache and goatee. "You are surprisingly open-minded and mature for your age."
"I just feel it is a waste of time and talent to worry over something as silly as blood purity when there is no evidence to say that one's blood is better than the other." Harry shrugged while looking about and pausing at the sight of a female ghost who had entered last through the wall, looking completely bored at the proceedings. He supposed she was beautiful, with her supposed age around late teens to early twenties, the waist-length hair and the floor-length cloak, although she did look a touch haughty at first glance. There was a hint of something, Harry was not sure what it was, but it felt that she had a hint of melancholy as she looked upon them.
Harry nodded his head respectfully at her, which she returned after a moment's pause. While the other ghosts garnered the attention of the other thirty-six first years, this particular one floated over to him and spoke softly while tilting her head. "There is something different about you. Something which sets you apart from the other children and I am not referring to your appearance or your views." Harry was surprised but managed to contain it to a raised eyebrow. He wondered if she could sense his magic being a little different from the others or perhaps the seals he had on him for protection. He kept his thoughts inward while giving a bow to her.
"A good evening to you, my lady. My name is Harry Evans," He glanced at the other children, noting none were close enough to listen "although that is more of a cover name. To whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?" He decided formality was good, especially given how old the ghost could be (though he kept it in his mind to avoid angering the female ghost). She smiled and held her hand out to him as if to let him kiss it.
"I believe I know what your real name is, for those eyes of yours are a pair I have seen once before in recent years. As for my name, it is long forgotten in these halls. Most call me the Grey Lady, but you may call me Helena." Harry reached forward with a hand to hers, a touch curious at the prospect of interacting with an actual ghost. With that thought, Harry lightly pushed a bit of Force Magic to his hand and touched hers, following through with the action to kiss it as part of tradition while inwardly wondering at the solidness of the ghost hand in his grasp and beneath his lips despite the light chill from it. He got further confirmation at the oddity when he heard a startled gasp from Helena.
"I'm guessing that was not supposed to happen." Judging by her reaction she had definitely not expected to make physical contact, and…
Was that a blush on her cheeks?
"No, I..." Unfortunately before she could finish what she was saying, Professor McGonagall had returned to the chamber and began to chivvy the ghosts along and lead the first years into the Great Hall. With a last glance at him, Helena drifted through the wall and disappeared.
"Come along now, they are waiting for you." Professor McGonagall called out to the rest of the students at the doorway. With a mental note to talk to Helena again, Harry made his way to the others. With all of them rounded up, the professor then proceeded to herd them out of the door and through the big set of doors that led to the Great Hall where there were four long tables that went the length of the hall itself. At the far end of the hall was apparently the Staff Table, a tiered table that evidently gave some idea of the status of the teachers. Before them and between two tables was a stool with an old hat placed on top of it, the supposedly fabled Sorting Hat he had read about from John Doe. Above them was an enchanted ceiling that had been charmed to display the night sky from outside, something Harry could hear Hermione talking about to her neighbour from 'Hogwarts A History'.
His attention was returned to the front when the hat started singing to them all. It was one thing to expect it based on John Doe's descriptions, it was another thing altogether experiencing the singing. As Harry listened to the lyrics, he frowned at the meaning and the presentation from it. From what he had gathered from John Doe's diary and his own observations, the houses were being depicted very objectively.
Gryffindors were supposedly the chivalrous who dared to tread where no angels walk, but in effect were reckless idiots who go about with abandonment and seemingly boast about being the 'light' of the four. A house for the jocks and popular kids that might look down on those wanting to be more than brawn.
Ravenclaws were the scholars who seek intelligence, but in practice were considered the geeky researchers who hoard knowledge and not spread it out properly. A group of possibly close-minded individuals who seek confirmation solely from books without proper fact-checking or experimenting.
Hufflepuffs were the general workforce if one were to be blunt, people who were loyal to each other and hardworking if only to prove to the other folks that they were not the leftovers who could not fit in with the rest. A group that could easily turn on others outside of their house if even a hint of injustice against one of their own was applied.
Finally, there were the Slytherins, people who have cunning and ambition to obtain what they desire, considered to be for those dismissing morals in pursuit of their dreams and constantly backstabbing one another for power no matter the course, thus labeling them as 'dark'. A literal pit of vipers if one were to describe them.
Granted, they had a magical hat that would go rummaging through their minds to supposedly pick apart their memories and personalities to fit them best, but Harry felt it was not a good representation of who they could be. They were only eleven, you ended up sticking a label that would be with them for seven years and possibly longer.
His thoughts temporarily stopped when his senses picked up something from the hat that felt familiar. Reaching out, Harry raised an eyebrow at what felt like a compulsion on the hat, something that he would not have noticed if not for the fact that it stuck out like a sore thumb among the other enchantments he could sense from the hat. There was also the bit that it had a very familiar signature that Harry had encountered a few times from the letters sent to grab his location.
So, it would appear that the headmaster had a hand in trying to control the sorting. Now that just won't do.
Harry glanced around him to make sure no one was watching him (something that was easy considering the majority were focused on the hat, and anyone trying to look at him were blocked those around him), before focusing on the hat and flicking a finger in its direction just as the professor called out the first name.
"AHCOO!"
Many of the students and staff jumped at the sudden sneeze given off by the hat; Professor McGonagall dropped the hat on the stool in an instinctive reaction to grab her heart at the suddenness, not helped when the sneeze dislodged a clump of what appeared to be years of accumulated dust and dirt from inside the hat and on to the seat with bits of it dropping off the side.
"So sorry about that. Don't know what came over me." The Sorting Hat sniffed while twisting about to look at Minerva. "But whatever came over me actually helped a lot, feels like years of dust got removed!"
"It did." Professor McGonagall looked at it and the clump of dirty dust with her disapproving expression, one that went further when she noted Hannah Abbott looking like she had second thoughts going under the hat. She raised her wand to vanish the dust away and after a brief pause, applied a cleaning charm to the hat's interior.
"Oh my, that tickles!" The Sorting Hat wiggled about before turning to the girl. "So sorry for that, please step forward. Don't worry, she cleaned me out." The girl looked very reluctant to do so but stepped forward to have the hat placed on her. The hat wiggled a bit on her head before humming, a little bit comical in Harry's opinion.
"Hmm, interesting… Very well then, Hufflepuff!" That earned a cheer and applause from the table with yellow and black colours, even as the young girl came to them with her robes changing accordingly. This was followed shortly by the next girl named Susan Bones, someone that Harry had read up to be related to Amelia Bones.
"Gryffindor!" The third girl broke the trend and went to the house of gold and red, earning a couple of wolf-whistles from the red-haired twins he saw earlier on the train. After that it was just students moving to their allocated houses as they get called in alphabetical order.
Harry did keep a cursory eye on Dumbledore as the old wizard looked at the sorting and likely for him at the same time. It may have been a good thing that he removed that compulsion from the hat as it was clear that the old man was trying to influence the sorting without making it obvious about it. It was subtle, but Harry could see that he was doing something with his finger at specific moments when a certain child got called up, and it was also clear that he was not getting the results he wanted, especially when a Vincent Crabbe got called up and after a few moments sorted him into Hufflepuff, something that made the denizens of the hall whisper in disbelief. From what little he could hear, Crabbe was supposed to go to Slytherin like his family.
Well then, Dumbledore was likely going to hate the time when it comes to Harry, considering he removed the chance of him being shunted into Gryffindor without his approval.
The sorting went on, with Harry taking note of certain names that came up from his studies of Magical Britain and a few students going to houses that were total opposites to those taken by their parents. One Gregory Goyle went to Hufflepuff much to the disbelief of the residents, while a Melissa Bobbin went to Slytherin, something that Harry gathered was odd based on the chatter about her family normally going to Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. There were students who instantaneously went to their houses while a few stayed under the hat for quite some time, and during those cases Harry could hear a few betting on where they would go. Hermione Granger went to Gryffindor after a rather lengthy period that Harry guessed was her arguing with the hat, given how disgruntled it looked announcing the name. Neville Longbottom stayed for a good seven minutes until he called out "Hufflepuff!", which the boy looked very happy to go to, and in his haste forgot to remove the hat, leading others to laugh. Harry merely clapped and nodded to him with a smile and a thumbs up, acknowledging his entry.
The blond-haired boy from earlier, apparently named Draco Malfoy, also took some time for the hat to sort him out, something that evidently made a few speculate if he would also go to a different house compared to others. It was almost comical when the hat finally announced his place in Slytherin, there was a collective sigh of relief from everyone in the hall as though it finally saw reason to put him in the appropriate house. One Daphne Greengrass went to that house along with Tracy Davis, the former moving with a grace and elegance that Harry and likely all the older students could tell would make her quite eye-catching in her older years at Hogwarts, even if she was already showing early signs of it with her long dark hair with strands of gold present, pale skin and the air of a cold individual at first glance. The latter was also eye-catching in her own way with her brunette hair done in twin-tails and lightly tanned skin, though she moved in a manner that made people think of a cat ready for mischief. Harry could have sworn Professor McGonagall looked to the ceiling as if she was praying for deliverance. The Patil sisters were, as he thought, heading to the different houses he had guessed, the both of them offering a smile at him as they went their respective ways.
After a couple more names under the alphabet 'P', finally his name came up. Harry held back a smirk as Minerva paused at the name to look up at the remaining prospective, before calling it out.
"Potter Evans, Harrison."
Showtime.
~ooOOoo~
Flitwick grinned like a mad man as he watched the boy step forward amid the whispers of the hall, not showing any signs of listening to those around him wondering about his appearance and his extension of the name. He had the feeling that Harry's appearance was likely a big factor for the confusion; despite the lawsuits against the authors for spreading the unauthorised stories, people still associated the image of a younger James Potter as the basis for young Harry's appearance, with the messy hair, thin frame, glasses and more importantly, the lightning bolt scar as the identifier. It was pretty much repeated time and again by people and children about his description as the way of identifying the lad.
That was clearly far from the young man they were looking at. Harry evidently gained more height from the last time he had met the boy, along with a more pronounced build, his hair properly cut and maintained neatly, his emerald eyes displayed for all to see, and of course the biggest factor was the absence of the signature lightning bolt scar. All of that proved his thoughts that Harry could walk down the streets and no one would know it was him unless pointed out.
From his side, Filius could hear his fellow staff members chatting about Harry's appearance, with Severus looking like he had seen a ghost while at the same time a touch of pleasant caution, possibly due to Harry not looking like a carbon copy of James Potter. Albus on the other hand looked like he had swallowed too many of his blasted candy without taking water. Considering how many times he kept proclaiming about the boy looking so much like James Potter, this was definitely off the mark. Filius would need to keep an eye in case the old man tried to cast aspirations of Harry being a fake.
Harry's name seemed to be picked about by the more traditional groups, not that Filius was surprised too much. The magical registry was self-updating for the most part, unless one went to Gringotts or certain ministries in other countries to ask for a name change. Considering how many people knew Harry by his informal name, his real name may only be remembered by some of the more traditional families. Filius had also noted the name addition when preparing for the evening and kept silent on it to see if the others were alert (much to his disappointment, no one seemed to have realized it). The muggle-borns would not be that curious, but to have an additional name is something of a big deal in the magical world since names have power and some have hidden meanings for the additional. Most times it would be the addition of a family line, to ensure one of the old families does not become extinct, either through marriage, line of succession or rights of conquests. It was however something that, if appeared in an automatically updated list of names, meant that the family magic involved had been considered to be valid for the person in question to carry on the new line. Usually that was reserved for the major family lines like Black or Rosier, or clans from the old British lines, and not for typical names from the muggle world.
Considering Harry's addition of his mother's maiden name, that meant magic had accepted the claim that his mother was considered the first of her line to allow the creation of a clan at the very least. And thus, he would be the head of one British Pure-Blood Line and one Family Clan. It would be interesting to see how far he could go with these two, let alone any possible lines he could inherit.
For now, he would enjoy the sorting.
~ooOOoo~
'Right, no pressure.'
Harry thought to himself as he stepped forward to the Sorting Hat while whispers surrounded him and the students were either leaning forward or even standing on their seats to catch a glimpse of him. Harry made sure to portray a confident front without appearing to be arrogant and to walk with a clear stride as he was taught how to do from his guardian, all so he could make a good impression of the populace.
Although he was confused by some of the girls giggling and commenting on him being cute. He was a boy, boys are supposed to be handsome, not cute.
He did not think much of that as he arrived at the stool and sat on it, waiting for the woman to place the hat on him. The professor did lower the hat but paused just before laying on his head to look at him with a forlorn smile. Before Harry could respond, the hat covered his eyes and he waited for something to happen.
"Well, you are certainly different."
Harry stiffened at the sudden voice in his ear but managed to relax quickly. John Doe did state in his journal about the Sorting Hat peering through his mind, but it was another thing to experience it.
"You have heard about me from this 'John Doe'? Curious, I do not recall sorting anyone with that name before. And if I am right, I have you to thank for removing that little compulsion off me."
'John Doe is a moniker the mundane uses to refer to someone whom they do not know the name of, normally meant for law enforcement. In my case, John Doe is the person who left behind a journal for me to read about Hogwarts and his name was not written except that he was around the same year as my parents. As for the compulsion, I was not sure what that was or if that was meant to be there. The feeling was 'foreign' if I had to describe the sensation. It was also because I had experienced that a few times in the times when the headmaster tried to find me using the letters.' Harry answered in his mind.
"My thanks to you for that. I am not giving names, but a certain someone has been trying to influence the sorting of the students for quite some time, and for this evening he decided to give me the extra strong version, supposedly to 'put them in their rightful places'." Harry could hear the quotation remarks in the tone used by the Hat and likely eye-rolling action even if it was an inanimate object. "Thankfully you got it out, so I could sort the students in their rightful houses, though I imagine a few do not expect their placements."
'That is putting it lightly.' Harry smirked internally at the faces of the students and the reactions of the staff.
"Right then, without further ado…" Harry got the sensation of someone trying to wiggle their way into his mind, not a very comforting thought. "Oh my, you have quite the mind-scape for one of your age group. Though this is giving me a bit of problem since I need to access your memories and WWAAAHHHHH!" That last part got shouted out loud in surprise to the hall, and Harry could feel one of the more benevolent traps tripped at that point.
'Oh dear. Please wait for me.' Harry closed his eyes to focus inwards, then with the sensation of falling into water, he slipped deeper into his psyche and into his mind. After a few seconds, Harry opened his eyes to view his mindscape.
There was a saying, Harry could not recall whom or where he had heard it from, about how a person's mind was likened to a garden. It could be cultivated or let loose, but it would always grow forth; it was just a question of whether anything useful would grow in it and be allowed to grow in numbers. Harry liked that reference and with the books on Occlumency, started trying out different ideas for his mindscape. He did have a hard time trying to settle on one considering the number of ideas he had to protect his mind and the memories, then he got a brainwave while reading John Doe's notebook on Occlumency and suggestions.
Why settle for one type of mindscape when he could have multiple, each set differently for various visitors or intruders?
It took a couple of months to get the 'bones' set and the better part of a year to get the mindscape structured well, but Harry finally got his working in the form of a giant glass-dome diorama that had multiple extensions branching out to smaller dioramas to represent different parts of his mind and personality, each with their own set of traps and precautions. Anyone visiting would be immediately shunted to one of the smaller 'balls' which represent the various entrances keyed to their intent. If they have good intentions, they would come to a more relaxed setting like a garden or a small town. Ill intent would bring them to places that Harry got ideas from history books, horror novels and movies. On the off chance someone avoided those and landed outside, they would only see the diorama with the glass fogged to ensure they could not see inside, and if they tried to destroy it, his more drastic measures would be a good deterrent.
Harry was almost gleeful in hoping someone with ill intent would try, if only to see how they would fare with the likes of Jack the Ripper or the Terminator.
From what he could tell, the Sorting Hat was just trying to examine his mind when it got shunted to one of the more benign dioramas and the traps did not recognize it as one with permission but had no ill intent to harm. In this case, Harry was currently in the diorama of Treegarth, the forest of Isengard from the Tolkien Fantasy Book. The forest was lush with greenery with the signature tower of Orthanc visible in the distance, the black marble reflecting off the evening sun from its surface. With a thought, Harry flashed to the tower where he found the Ent Guardians surrounding the suspected intruder.
"Hello there, Treebeard." Harry called out to the lead guardian of the diorama. The Ent in question turned to him while holding the intruder in his hand, his eyes glittering with light as he looked down.
"Good evening, Young Harry." The Ent answered in the deep booming voice that Harry imagined him to have based on the books, one with a low tone and currently with a tinge of wariness. "It seems we have our first… visitor here. Hrum~" Harry nodded while looking at the intruder in question.
"Erm, hi there?" The representation of the Sorting Hat greeted in a lame tone, clearly out of its depths from the suddenness of the trap. It was interesting to Harry considering this is the first time anyone had tried to enter his mind without permission; the only other person who Harry allowed to walk through his mind was his guardian Lord Thornwood, who still looked the same as he did in the real world. In this case, the Sorting Hat was represented as a figure that was a cross between a scare-crow and a mannequin damaged by time, with a somewhat cartoon-ish version of its real self on the head. "Mind letting me go?"
"That depends." Harry answered while looking at the figure. "Do I have your guarantee that whatever we discuss and what I have to show you for the sorting is kept secret?"
"The spells holding me together prevent me from telling what I find in a student's mind aside from such things like if they are friendly or optimistic people and stuff like that. Even if the headmaster demands it, he won't get words from me. The only time I might say a word about a student is if said student places the school in genuine danger or if the student has an idea that they cannot convey without breaking oaths." Harry nodded in reply.
"Regardless, I will need a magical oath from you. The fact that you can be controlled by a compulsion means you can be susceptible, and I can't afford to have the headmaster on my case more than required. And I really do not want to have to burn you to ashes in the event you do tell someone." Harry paused for a moment. "I'm sorry but I can't keep referring to you as a hat. Do you have a name?" The avatar paused for a moment while the other Ents gathered around them.
"No one has asked that in a long time, not even the headmaster bothered to do that. Godric referred to me as Alistair after a friend who helped with the building of Hogwarts, but Rowena always called me Floppy just to piss me off. I would personally prefer the former if you don't mind. As for your oath, I understand your worries, so I will give it." The avatar recited a standard binding vow while Harry had raised an eyebrow at the hat's words and actions.
"Did you have a lot of contact with Rowena Ravenclaw?" Harry asked curiously. There were very few records on the witch, so a sentient artefact around the time of the Founders with information on it would be a valuable witness.
"Indeed. When the founders created me, they pooled together their magic and wisdom to impart a small portion of their personalities along with their memories. You could say that I am an entity made up of the four." Alistair answered as Treebeard lowered it / him to the ground, satisfied that he meant no harm to Harry. "Rowena was more private with her contributions. If you would, she would place me on her head and spend hours sorting through all the information. Ah~ those were the good old days."
"And now?" That brought a snort from the hat avatar.
"I am an old hat that gets set on the heads of eleven-year-olds once a year and gets shoved onto a shelf in the headmaster's office the rest of the time. Rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat. I am bored and seem to have picked up some of the inquisitive nature of those I've touched over the centuries. I want to read books and see the outside damn it!" Alistair got rather impassioned there at the end with the whole clenched fists and loud declaration. That was when Harry got the metaphorical light bulb lit in his thoughts.
"Whoa! Too bright!"
"Whoops." Harry sheepishly banished the light bulb while the Ents chuckled in their deep tones. "Sorry about that, but I might have an idea for an exchange or a deal if you would?" The avatar raised an eyebrow while tilting his head.
"As you can imagine, my mindscape allows me to store my memories differently, including whatever books I have read and locations I have been to, perfectly memorised and rendered for interaction. In exchange for viewing them, could you inform me of any hare-brained schemes involving me you become aware of? Chances are good that you might get a fair number from the headmaster in his office." Alistair looked at him, or at least its featureless face did. That would take some getting used to, like perhaps a few weeks. After a while Alistair chuckled in a manner that found the situation he was in very funny.
"You know how to drive a bargain, young lad. All right, it is a deal. I can ask one of the house-elves to take me there. I will see you tonight wherever you end up." Alistair brought forth his hand towards Harry who grabbed it and gave it a firm shake. Stepping back a bit, Harry summoned one of his 'keys' that was in the form of an odd-shaped blade with etchings and bumps. Gripping the handle, he held it in the air briefly before twisting the handle, giving the impression of him opening a door in mid-air. The blade itself stayed in place while shifting its form before stopping with a loud click and a crimson beam of light appearing before the two. It then split to create a portal for them to walk through, with Harry leading the way.
"Oh my." Alistair looked at the new area they were in. Where they were once in a forest with Ent Guardians, this was now an unusual cavern with orbs of light floating about them, the dark marble upon which the two stood reflecting the glow from them and giving the cavern a rather holistic atmosphere. "This is quite the mindscape. That was a shortcut you did if I am not mistaken?"
"You can think of it that way." Harry gestured with a hand to the crystal lake that shimmered with a light of its own. "Here we go, Alistair. This lake represents most of my memories." Harry looked at Alistair who leaned forward to examine the lake. "The more important bits I have to lock it up for safe keeping."
"I understand, Mister Potter. You do need to protect some of your thoughts." The avatar straightened himself up and looked at Harry. "So how do I view them? I wish not to disturb any other security traps around." Harry sighed knowing his nervousness. With that in mind, Harry stepped up beside Alistair and brought him to a dais that he conjured up for this occasion. Made out of solid crystals, it was roughly up to his chest height and with a miniature book laying on top of the crystal mantle decorated with small wings at the side.
"You may place your hand on this. It should grant you temporary access to my memories." Harry stated while turning to Alistair. "I will of course be keeping watch, just in case." The avatar tilted his head at his words.
"Are you by any chance related to Alastor Moody?" The avatar asked curiously.
"I do not know who that is, so no." Harry arched an eyebrow at that question.
"Thought you might be, the level of caution you have been displaying reminds me of him for some reason." Alistair shrugged before stepping up and placing his hand on it. Harry crossed his arms and watched as the book glowed along with the lake.
'Time for the waiting game.'
~ooOOoo~
The staff and the students were staring at the Sorting Hat that still sat on the head of the boy-who-lived. It had been ten minutes worth of silence since the initial scream of surprise, something the older students were telling their juniors that it was a first. Just as the students were starting to get restless, an odd rasping sound resounded in the hall. The folks looked around for the source, unsettled by the manner it was done, then as one turned to the Sorting Hat that was shaking on Harry Potter's head. As though to confirm their suspicions, it drew itself straight and let out a bellowing laugh that sounded creepy to a good many while making a few perked their ears in anticipation, particularly a pair of red-haired twins who sprouted mischievous smiles for recognizing the laughing. This wasn't a deep belly aching laugh of a very amusing joke. Oh no, this was the sort of laugh you'd get when you realized someone else's day was about to get a hundred times worse and you had the best seat in the house to watch a lot of plans come crumbling down their heads!
"Oh, this is so~ going to be good!" The Sorting Hat let out a chuckle as everyone waited for the verdict. "I think I know which house to sort you into. You have more than enough bravery for Gryffindor, your loyalty is without question, you are a very intelligent individual who values knowledge and you have enough deviousness and cunning for Slytherin. However, there are two traits combined in you that I feel define you the best, especially with all that you have experienced, young lad." Everyone leaned forward to hear its decision.
"Yes, you will do very well in the house… of Ravenclaw!"
Author Notes:
Hi to all, I hope you are enjoying this story. I am thankful for all the reviews that have been coming in thus far.
There have been a couple of reviewers who wrote about the 'not so childlike' behaviors displayed by Parvati or Harry. While I have updated the chapter, I thank you guys for pointing it out. For one, it was actually one of my older versions that I uploaded by accident, and the second, it has been many years since I have been a kid, and I am trying to recall how I used to be as a kid. While I do want to present Harry as more mature compared to the others due to his upbringing, I will try to get him to be a kid of sorts.
As you can imagine from the chapters, there will be a few changes going on. Whether they will be significant in the future is up for grabs.
Until next time, I will put my pen down for now...
Update:
I went to correct some spelling and change the sorting name to reflect Harry's birth name.