Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling.
Standing in the Great Hall with the rest of the first years, waiting to be sorted, Harry looked to the Head Table to see Primrose sitting with their parents. She was shifting in her seat a little and Harry gave her a sympathetic smile, knowing from personal experience how their mum and dad handled wandering off. It wasn't pleasant. At least their parents had let her come to the feast.
"Merlin, I'm nervous," Ron said as they waited to be sorted. "What if I'm not in Gryffindor? I'd be the first in my family not to be!"
"I wouldn't worry," Harry said. He did wonder if the hat would sort him into Gryffindor once again. He hoped so as he thought it would be cool with his dad being Head of House. Although he wouldn't be upset with being in Slytherin, he would have Draco as a dorm-mate and Sev as his Head of House. He suddenly had a memory...
"Not Slytherin, not Slytherin..."
"Not Slytherin, eh? Are you sure?
Harry shook his head of the memory and frowned. Why had he been so insistent not to go into Slytherin? Because of Voldemort? Well, he wouldn't be upset if was sorted into Slytherin now.
"Granger, Hermione!" McGonagall called.
"Definitely a Ravenclaw," Ron said confidently.
Hermione nervously sat on the stool and the sorting hat was dropped on her head. After several moments, it shouted out, "Gryffindor!"
"No way!" Ron gaped. "But she's obviously a bookworm!"
"Longbottom, Neville!"
"He'll be a Hufflepuff, like his mum," Ron said with a nod as they watched Neville sit on the stool.
"Gryffindor!"
"Oh, come one!" Ron complained.
Harry laughed. "Don't worry, maybe eventually you'll get one right." He teased.
"Malfoy, Draco!" McGonagall called.
"With my luck, he'll be a Gryffindor." Ron muttered as Draco walked past him.
Draco shot him a dark look before sauntering up to the stool and smiled as the hat was sorted on his head. It took awhile before shouting out, "Slytherin!" Draco hopped up, a relieved look on his face as he headed to the Slytherin table.
"Potter, Harry!" McGonagall called.
"Harry Potter?"
"The boy-who-traveled-through-time?"
Before the hat was dropped onto his head, he could see students craning their necks to get a look at him.
"Hmm," The hat said. "Here we go again, right Potter?"
"You know?" Harry asked in surprise.
"Of course I know. I'm a very powerful hat." The hat said with a touch of arrogance. "Still a thirst to prove yourself, I see. Loyal, brave, hmm...still a thirst to prove yourself, interesting. Hmmm. Better be Gryffindor!"
Harry beamed and hopped off the stool. He looked up at his parents, who gave him a proud look. He then looked at Snape, who gave him a mock scowl. Harry grinned at him as he went to the Gryffindor table and sat next to the twins.
"We got Potter!" Fred and George cheered.
Harry rolled his eyes good-naturedly.
"Merlin, Ron looks like he's going to faint." George snickered as his younger brother walked to the stool.
"Maybe because he was terrorized by two of his older brothers who said he would have to fight a troll," Harry said.
Fred's eyes widened. "Bill and Charlie told him that?" He asked innocently.
Harry shook his head and laughed. The twins were something else.
"Gryffindor!"
Ron ambled over to the table, a relieved expression on his face.
"Congratulations, little brother," Fred said.
"Yes Ron. Very well done. Mother and Father will be most pleased," Percy said primly.
"Yes, Ronald. Good show!" George clapped loudly.
Percy scowled at him.
"Well, at least I didn't have to fight a troll," Ron said with a mild glare at the twins.
"Of course not. You don't do that until after you've been sorted." George said.
Ron's eyes widened.
Harry, Fred and George burst into laughter.
"You're such prats!" Ron huffed. He glanced down at the empty plates. "Where's the food? I'm starving!"
"Patience, little brother. Dumbledore always speaks first." Fred said. "Besides, first years eat after the rest of us."
"What?" Ron's mouth dropped open in horror.
Fred and George began snickering. "Merlin, you make it so easy." George shook his head in amusement.
Ron's face darkened. "You two are such -"
"Language, Ronald." Percy spoke up.
Ron blinked. "I haven't said anything yet!" He protested.
"And now you won't." Percy said calmly.
Harry swallowed a laugh. "Calm down, Ron. Look, Dumbledore is standing up. After he talks, we can eat!"
Dumbledore smiled out at his students. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Second through seventh years, welcome back. And first years, welcome to the castle! Please note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to enter. Perhaps some of you older students should remember that as well." His eyes glanced at the Weasley twins before continuing. "For second through seventh years, Quidditch try-outs are next week, please speak with Madam Hooch if you are interested in joining. Also, please know that the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds. And lastly, I would like to welcome two new professors. Professor Potter will be teaching Transfiguration and is also taking over as Head of Gryffindor." He gestured for James to rise as the students politely clapped. "And our other Professor Potter will be teaching Charms." He motioned for Lily to stand up so the students could applaud. "And now, we eat!"
Suddenly the dishes on the table were piled with delicious looking food. Roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops. There was also boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, vegetables, salad, pitchers of pumpkin juice. Harry was practically drooling as he surveyed the food and he joined his house-mates in quickly filling his plate.
"So good," Ron said through a mouthful of chicken.
Harry nodded in agreement. A ghost passed through their table, startling all the first years except Harry. He had already met several of the ghosts yesterday as well as Peeves the poltergeist. "Hi Sir Nicholas!" He said.
"Hello young Harry! Congratulations on being sorted into Gryffindor." Sir Nicholas smiled. "My old House, you know."
"Sir Nicholas? I've heard about you!" Ron said, studying the ghost with interest. "You're Nearly Headless Nick!"
"Uh, Ron," Harry stared to say. He'd heard from his parents that Sir Nick didn't like to talk about it or be called that.
"How can someone be nearly headless?" Hermione asked curiously, looking up from her plate.
Sir Nicholas gave a huff. "Like this!" He pulled on his left ear and his whole head swung off his neck and onto his shoulder. Obviously someone had tried to behead him but had not quite managed it. After causing the students to gasp, Sir Nick flipped his head back onto his neck. "There. Now you know." He gave a slight smirk. "So first years! I certainly hope you will help us win the house championship this year. Last year Slytherin won and the Bloody Baron still won't be quiet about it."
"The Bloody Baron?" Neville asked nervously.
Sir Nick gestured to the Slytherin table, where the ghost in question was sitting with blank eyes, a gaunt face and robes that looked stained with silver blood. Harry noticed he was sitting next to Draco, who didn't look too pleased about it.
"Ooh," Neville shuddered and turned back around. "I'm glad I'm not in Slytherin."
"Anyone normal person would be glad not to be in Slytherin," One of the other first years said. "Who would want to be in that house?"
"I wouldn't have minded," Harry said.
The boy stared at him. "Really? Why? I'm Seamus Finnigan, by the way."
"Dean Thomas," The boy next to him piped up. "So why would you have been okay to be in Slytherin?"
"The Slytherin Head of House is like an Uncle to me," Harry said evenly. "And Draco Malfoy, who was sorted there, is one of our friends. Right, Ron?"
"Yeah," Ron said, although he didn't sound enthusiastic about it.
"Malfoy? Wasn't his father a death eater?" Dean asked in a loud whisper.
"Yeah, but he was killed years ago. His step-father is Remus Lupin, who is also like an Uncle to me." Harry said. "Remus was also a Gryffindor." He added. "And another uncle was a Slytherin and he's brilliant."
"How many uncles do you have?" Seamus asked exasperatedly.
"Four. They were friends with my parents in school and I've known them my whole life." Harry said. "Sirius and Regulus Black are also like family. And Reg was the one who was a Slytherin and is now an Auror, as is Sirius." He said proudly.
"I heard the Black family rooted for You-Know-Who and are a nasty family," One of the other first years said.
"Not all of them." Harry said in irritation. "Regulus is awesome and so is Sirius. And Sirius and Reg's cousins were Slytherin and they're really cool. Well, two of them are." Harry amended. "Draco's mum is one of his cousins."
"Oh." Seamus said, glancing at Dean with a shrug.
"And Sev, er, Professor Snape is awesome as well." Harry finished.
"Professor Snape is awesome?" An older student laughed. "He's super strict! He takes points for smiling!"
Harry rolled his eyes.
"He also hates Gryffindors." The student continued.
"Nah, he isn't so bad," George spoke up. "Unless you goof off in his class." He grinned at Fred.
"Well, potions sounds like a dangerous subject." Hermione said thoughtfully. "I imagine he would need to be strict."
"Just don't be surprised if he doesn't like you anymore," The student smirked at Harry. "Now that you're a lion."
Harry glared at him. "You don't know anything." He snapped. Sev loved him and that wouldn't change. After all, he was best friends with his parents, Sirius and Remus and they were all Gryffindors. Deciding to ignore the annoying student, he turned to his own friends. "So is anyone surprised to be in Gryffindor?"
"Not me," Ron said as he shoveled more food into his mouth.
"I'm surprised." Neville admitted. "I really thought I would be in Hufflepuff, like my mum. Although my dad was a Gryffindor so I figured it could go either way." He shrugged. "My grandmother will be happy about it. Shocked but happy."
"I'm a muggle-born but I read about all the houses in Hogwarts, a History." Hermione shared. "I was hoping for either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor although honestly, I'm just happy to be here at all."
"I'm half and half," Seamus said. "Me dad's a muggle and mum is a witch. She didn't tell him until after they were married. Bit of shock for him."
Harry laughed along with the others. When everyone had seemed to have their fill of dinner, the food disappeared and dessert appeared. Tons of ice cream in a variety of flavors, assortment of pies, treacle tarts, chocolate cake and eclairs and doughnuts...
"Ron, you're going to make yourself sick," Percy said in disapproval as he watched his younger brother overfill his plate.
"Don't nag me," Ron mumbled through a mouthful of apple pie.
"Do you think we'll start learning right away, after all there is so much for us to grasp. I'm really interested in Transfiguration although it's supposed to be very difficult." Hermione said to Percy.
"It's one of the more challenging classes," Percy told her. "You'll be starting small, just matches into needles, stuff like that. It should be interesting to see how Professor Potter teaches, Professor McGonagall was the Transfiguration professor for a long time."
"Are you nervous having your parents be your teachers?" Dean asked Harry curiously. "Imagine if you failed one their tests!"
"Yeah, that wouldn't go over very well." Harry said with a chuckle. "Same with potions, Sev wouldn't be very pleased."
"You're not going to call him that in class, are you?" Ron asked with wide eyes.
Harry snorted. "Are you kidding? No way! I'm not mental, after all." Although it would be priceless to see Sev's reaction. Maybe on my last day of Hogwarts, he thought with a snicker. He glanced up at the Head Table to see his parents engaged in conversation with Sev, McGonagall and Dumbledore. Primrose was chatting happily with Hagrid. Harry was about to focus back on his dessert when one of the professors caught his eyes. Harry didn't recognize him, he hadn't met him yet. The professor noticed him looking and his own eyes narrowed slightly. Harry flinched a little at the clear dislike on the man's face. "Hey Percy? Who is that?" Harry asked quietly.
"Who?" Percy followed his gaze to the head table to the man Harry was looking at. "Oh, that's Professor Quirrell. He teaches Defence Against the Dark Arts. He's a good enough teacher."
"Oh." Harry mentally shrugged and resumed eating his ice cream. Maybe Quirrell was just tired or something. He looked normal enough, short brown hair, purple robes. It probably wasn't personal, he assured himself.
HP
After the feast, the first years were instructed to follow their prefects to their dorms.
"Percy, I'll catch up! I want to speak to my parents," Harry said and rushed off before Percy could stop him.
Harry ran to the front of the Hall, where his parents, Sev and Prim were standing. "I'm a lion!" He beamed.
"Did you doubt you would be?" James asked teasingly, pulling him in for a hug.
Harry shrugged with a lopsided smile.
"Congratulations Harry!" Primrose squealed.
"Thanks Prim!" Harry hugged her. "Are you okay?" He whispered in her ear.
Primrose pouted. "Yeah but I got a spanking and have to go to bed early tonight" She complained quietly.
"At least they didn't ground you from coming to the feast," Harry pointed out.
"True." Primrose agreed. She brightened. "It was so fun to see everyone sorted! Will you and Draco still be friends even though you are in different houses?"
"Of course," Harry said. He looked at Sev. "You're not mad, are you?"
Snape looked at him in surprise. "Of course not. Why would you think so?"
"Well, some older kid said that you might not like me anymore since I'm a Gryffindor." Harry explained.
"Oh really? Do you know this kid's name?" Snape asked, his eyes darkening.
Harry shook his head.
"Harry, you know that what he said is not true." Lily said softly.
"Of course it isn't." Snape huffed. He put his arm around Harry and gave him a hug. "I'm very proud of you."
Harry smiled. "Even though you don't like Gryffindors?" He asked teasingly.
Snape snorted. "I don't like most students, no matter their house." He joked. "I'm very happy for you, Harry. I look forward to having both you and Draco in my class."
"Harry, Percy waited for you." James said, nodding to where Percy and the Gryffindor first years stood at the door, an impatient look on Percy's face. "Go on. I'll be there soon to greet the students."
"Okay." Harry gave his mum and Prim and hug and quickly re-joined his house-mates.
TBC: