The ride across the lake was quite literally magical. JP had never experienced anything quite like it, and he was immediately curious how the boats were propelled. They moved silently – a useful thing, for a boat.
Although he'd finished out the train ride with Malfoy and his cronies, he'd gravitated back toward Neville, Ron, and Hermione for the ride over to the castle. It was pretty obvious that Ron and Hermione were getting on each other's nerves and quickly headed toward open warfare, which was causing Neville quite a bit of anxiety. The kind boy kept trying to play peace maker while Ron and Hermione talked over him. Thankfully they had both fallen silent for the ride across the lake – yet another reason the ride was magical in JP's eyes.
As they passed through the curtain of ivy, he couldn't help feeling like he was coming home for the first time. Guilt tickled at the back of his brain. His aunts and uncles had worked hard to provide him with a supportive home. They'd been a little less successful with stability and consistency, but even though the occasional running-for-our-lives disrupted JP's childhood, at least he had always felt loved.
Hogwarts felt stable and consistent, and later JP would swear the castle was capable of love. For now, it just felt like home.
For Ron and Hermione, passing through the curtain of ivy was like the lifting of a silencing spell (yet another useful spell JP needed to look into). They fell back to their earlier argument with hardly a preface. JP exchanged a helpless glance with Neville, then took the coward's way out and edged over toward Malfoy and his crew.
Malfoy raised an eyebrow as he noticed JP sidling over.
"This is why you need to stick with us, Leverage," he sneered. "We don't squabble." He spat out the word as though it left a bad taste in his mouth.
Nott snickered while Zabini's lips curled up.
"Draco's right," Zabini said quietly. "We prefer nice clean backstabbings followed by two or three generations of family feuding that will inevitably be reconciled by a star-crossed Hogwarts romance."
"That's the real reason Malfoy doesn't like the Weasleys," Nott added with a shit-eating grin. "It's generation four and he's terrified that he'll fall-"
Whatever Nott was about to say was unfortunately cut off by the arrival of Professor McGonagall, who ushered them into a hallway, then left them to their own devices while she went to check whether everything was in place for the sorting.
A hissed conversation between Malfoy and Nott resulted in a quick handshake and Nott's adamant refusal to continue the earlier line of conversation, much to JP's disappointment. He remembered the little redheaded girl from the platform.
A scream from the other side of the group grabbed his attention, and his eyes widened as a group of silvery figures drifted through the wall, carrying on their own conversation. It took all his effort not to gape like a fish, and he only managed because he could feel the assessing gazes of Malfoy's crew on the back of his neck. He turned away with some effort, looking carefully nonchalant.
Minutes later McGonagall was once again ushering them forward. The cafeteria was nothing like JP had imagined. Behind him he heard Hermione comment on the charmed ceiling, citing "Hogwarts: a History." Maybe he ought to read it after all, even if it did look a little dull. It would've been nice to be prepared for this.
McGonagall led them to the front of the cafeteria, where a battered hat sat on a tall stool. He waited for Hermione to gloss this strange sight, but she stayed silent on the subject. Before he could turn and ask, a rip in the hat opened like a mouth, and it began to sing. He listened in a daze, then watched as "Abbott, Hannah" scurried up to the stool and put the hat on. A moment later the hat called out "Hufflepuff," and one of the tables began clapping politely.
"Granger, Hermione" was on the longer end of the sortings, but she was sent off to Gryffindor with a pleased smile. JP was beginning to get a little nervous. H, I, J, K passed in a blink and JP could feel his heart fluttering in his chest. Where would he end up?
Then "Li, Su" was called, and JP felt his stomach turn to lead. He met McGonagall's eyes for a second, but she wouldn't hold his gaze. Her brief glance at the table full of adults, as though looking for support, told him everything he needed to know. He felt betrayed. It was silly, he supposed, because McGonagall didn't really owe him anything. She'd even warned him that he probably wouldn't be able to use his real – excuse him – his MUGGLE name at Hogwarts. He was so caught up in his churning emotions that he missed Neville and Malfoy's sortings completely.
But after M came N, which went straight to P: Patil, Padma. JP's eyes closed to block out the strange looks he was getting from those he'd met on the train. Zabini had come up on his left and was frowning down at him, obviously wondering what was going on. JP held his breath as Padma was sorted into Ravenclaw. Next was…
"Patil, Parvati." Of course there would be two Patils. He took a deep breath and straightened up. At this point there was nothing he could do to stop the train wreck, so he should probably start making the best of it. Uncle Nate would be disappointed that he'd wasted time on a panic attack when he should've been prepared. Parvati went to Gryffindor.
And then McGongall did something slightly unexpected. She looked at the next name, then sought out JP's eyes. The smile she sent him was somewhere between apologetic and fierce.
"Potter-Leverage, Harlin," she announced in a clear, carrying voice. It was a compromise, and JP wasn't entirely sure he was grateful for it. Still, it was far more than he'd dared hope for after she'd skipped his name.
The cafeteria went deathly quiet, then a torrential outpouring of whispers flooded the room. He lifted his chin and marched up to the stool, managing a weak smile for Zabini and Weasley, who had yet to be sorted and were standing there gaping at him.
The hat went over his eyes and ears, blocking the whispering, staring crowd from his senses.
"Well now," a voice muttered behind, or possibly inside of, his ear. "What have we here? A most… unusual upbringing, Mr. Potter-Leverage."
JP wanted to shrug, but didn't want to telegraph his conversation to the other students.
"Quite alright," the hat assured him. "I can hear your sentiments just fine."
JP wondered if thinking about a rude gesture would also translate to the hat.
By the half-amused snort from the hat, it translated just fine. "No need for that," it assured him dryly. "Well, loyal enough for Hufflepuff, but you aren't a very easy-going lad, are you. Nor do you put any real stock in hard work for its own sake."
JP was immediately put in mind of all Aunt Sophie's lectures about procrastination and homework.
The hat latched on to this thought. "Hmmm. You've never really cared for school. Always bored? Well, Ravenclaw could help you find joy in learning. But no. You've got the heart of a Gryffindor and the mind of a Slytherin. So which will it be?"
JP wasn't sure whether the hat was asking his opinion or just musing to itself, but either way it was a good question. Did he want to go to Slytherin with Malfoy and his crew? The hat was right – the Slytherins thought like him. He had a feeling that his aunts and uncles were all Slytherins.
Except Uncle Nate. He was a Gryffindor.
So that was the real question. Did he want to be a thief amongst thieves or did he want to be a good man? Did he want to surround himself with ambitious, cunning people with questionable morals? It would certainly be mentally stimulating. But even though he hadn't bothered to read Hogwarts: a History, he had picked up a few other books. He knew that to be a Gryffindor meant being beyond reproach. And JP knew the value of being shiny on the outside.
"Thought like a true Slytherin," chuckled the hat, who had apparently been following his thoughts quite closely.
I want to be like Uncle Nate, JP decided firmly, pushing all other thoughts aside. I want to be a good man - someone people can trust.
The hat seemed to consider this for a moment before bellowing "GRYFFINDOR" to the eagerly awaiting school.
JP pulled the hat off his head and was met with a beaming McGonagall as the Gryffindor table exploded. The other kids didn't get so much fuss, JP noted thoughtfully as he handed the hat back to the professor and headed over to the screaming table. He found Neville (ah! So he'd made it into Gryffindor. Excellent!) and sat next to him. Hermione, sitting a few seats down, smiled and waved. He grinned back before being confronted with hands to shake and excited children to greet.
He glanced over at the Slytherin table, looking for Malfoy's scowling face. He decided not to smile when their eyes finally met, worried that it would come across as disingenuous in the current circumstances. He would need to seek the blond out sooner than later, though.
The sorting finished soon after. Ron joined him at the Gryffindor table and Zabini joined Malfoy with the Slytherins. The Principal – no, the Headmaster, JP reminded himself – stood and gave a short speech before food suddenly appeared on all the tables. JP was a little suspicious – conjured food sounded like a terrible idea – but upon seeing his frown, a nearby teenager quickly explained that the food was prepared elsewhere and merely transported to the table. This didn't completely reassure him. It also served to spark another spat between Hermione and Ron, who had somehow managed to end up near enough to yell at each other.
The feast ended with an announcement about a forbidden forest and an out-of-bounds corridor. JP wondered if the twinkling old man realized that he'd just issued a verbal invitation for mischief makers and the insatiably curious. (JP considered himself a card carrying member of both groups, and intended to take the Headmaster up on his invitation at some point during the year.)
It was a relatively long walk from the cafeteria (or "the Great Hall," according to the other students. JP had to admit that "Great Hall" fit the décor) up to Gryffindor Tower. At one point the group of students he was with got cut off from those ahead when the staircase got bored and decided to try being an empty space for a while. Luckily the older kids knew another way up, and the second staircase was satisfied with its lot in life, and it obligingly remained solid under their feet.
JP couldn't wait to explore.