Disclaimer: I do not own wizarding world, JKR does. There are over 800k stories in this FanFiction forum alone. So I'm sure most ideas I have are long done and dusted. As an avid fanfiction reader for almost 10 years, I'm sure to write something influenced by some stories I've read here. I'm a new writer, also have a bad memory of who wrote the story plot. I'm not claiming credit for others work but just claiming that it will be too long a list of writers to mention. If you find my plot similar to what You have written, I offer my thanks to you for the well written plot that has stuck in my brain all these years.
Author's Note: I just need one thing highlighted here, it is completely AU. This story happens when students arrive at Hogwarts for their first year. There is no blood purity discrimination in this AU.
Power Play [ONE SHOT]
Excerpt from History of Magic Textbook:
Chapter: The Merlin Power Scale
The Power potion is a alchemical concoction rumored to be created by the Greatest Wizard to ever live, Grand Sorcerer Merlin (Myrrdin - name according to some sources). This potion upon consumption and then adding a single drop of blood on the enchanted parchment (In recent times, enchanted parchment is also used to identify genealogy. Look at chapter for inheritance) will display the current magical power of the candidate tested. If the candidate is a minor, who has not reached his/her magical maturity i.e. has not reached his/her full magical capacity, additional value of potential max value will be displayed after removing any magical blocks on their magic circulation system. Though the potential value displayed is not accurate, it has an accuracy rate of 75% i.e. the candidate will definitely reach 75% of the potential magical power and the power beyond that will depend on the personal growth and aptitude. The power scale for reference was established by Merlin with his power level as the upper most value as he was the strongest wizard on record till date. An average wizard level ranges from 85 to 115 in Merlin scale. With muggles having power level less than 5, and not a zero, they have the capacity to sire magical children. If the power level is less than 20, the person will not have enough power to cast spells and will be classified as a squib. On the other end of spectrum, anyone with power level up to 200 on merlin scale is classified as above average, anyone with power level up to 400 on merlin scale is classified as Mages (most mages go into power dependent careers like Aurors, Hit Wizards, Curse Breakers, etc. A team of 4 mages has the ability to bring down even a Sorcerer level wizard easily.), anyone with power level up to 600 is classified as Warlocks (only one in 100 is identified as a warlock and most warlocks go into research as their ability to access and manipulate magic on instinctual level gives them the understanding to further the magical fields.), anyone with power level up to 800 is classified as Sorcerers (only a couple of sorcerers are born in a century and they go on to be the most accomplished both in academics and become famous leaders. Most Notable Warlock is Nicholas Flamel who is the famed alchemist and only known creator of Sorcerers stone), anyone with power level up to Merlin's level of 1019 is classified as Grand Sorcerers (only one Grand Sorcerer is recorded to be born once a couple of centuries). (Latest edition update) Recent Century is the second recorded century to have more than one Grand Sorcerers born and alive during the same time, the first being the Founders of Hogwarts. Grand Sorcerer Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore (947 Merlin power scale), Grand Sorcerer (Dark Lord) Gellert Grindelwald (936 Merlin power scale), Grand Sorcerer (Dark Lord) He-who-shall-not-be-named (Allegedly 985 Merlin power scale. This value was confirmed by Albus Dumbledore since no one knows the origins of the Dark Lord, and Albus Dumbledore was not available to comment on how he got the Dark Lord's power level, and with the records for 1940's missing, one could only assume, the Dark Lord purposefully destroyed the documents to keep his origins mystery).
According to historical documents, this power potion was rumored to be created by Merlin in his last years. But the formula was lost after couple of centuries during the Norse Viking invasions. This potion recipe was rediscovered during a tomb excavation and curse breaking expedition conducted by the Gringotts bank in 1685 in a tomb in Inverness, Scotland. This tomb was expected to be the resting place of the Grand sorcerer after Merlin. They found the potion recipe engraved in stone tablets in the tomb. The Goblins and then later the Department of Mysteries after the establishment of the Ministry in 1707 AD, took around 35 years to decode the recipe and recreate the potion. Since its rediscovery, the potion has become an ICW standard in evaluating the growth a magical child and the child is evaluated three times. The potency of the power potion does not allow the child to consume any more without damaging the developing magical core. The potion is first time administered when the child is 11 years old before the start of their education and the power level determines the education track for the following years. The initial value usually ranges between squib level to above average level with potential value ranging from squib level to Grand Sorcerer level. The second time the potion is administered after the third year to asses the growth and refine the accuracy of the magical potential and further customize the education. The third time the potion is administered after the seventeenth birthday, the day a wizard comes into his full magical inheritance. After receiving the full magical inheritance, anyone can take the power potion every year to track if they have reached their full magical potential but so far there has never been a recorded incident where the magical power scale increased after the seventeenth birthday. The various departments and guilds start scouting for the talents to take on as an apprentice during the end of every NEWT level terms. There are departments like International magical co-operations, Department of magical Sports and Games, etc which does not depend on magical power scale, instead they conduct aptitude tests at the end of OWLs as screening test for their personnel requirement.
(couple page flips later...)
Chapter: Blood Purity movement to Power Play Movement.
Before the rediscovery of the Power potion, the Blood Purity movement was more prevalent. This was mainly due to witch burnings during the medieval ages. About 100 years before Hogwarts was established, around 850 AD, the magical clans and tribes came together to form the wizards council. In those days there was no separation between the magical world and non-magical world. The Magical council was headed by the Royal Court Magician under the headship of the Monarch. Even though there was a separate council, magicals were still subjects of the Monarch. After the establishment of International Statute of Secrecy in 1692, King George II gave the permission for self governance and to establish a structured and organized establishment, the Wizengamot and the Ministry were formed in 1707. In those days to avoid the non-magicals and their witch burnings, the wizards discriminated against the non-magical born/ first generation magicals, because they were the primary source of security breach. There were few clans who ventured outside the safety of their clan walls to save the first generations.
After the formation of the Ministry and its departments, the translation of the power potion recipe was finally completed in 1715. With the introduction of power potion, within fifty years it was discovered the clans who tend to intermarry closely had the power levels decreased due to inbreeding. The clans who went out to bring new magical blood tended to be more magically powerful. This turned the blood purity movement on its head and lead to the drastic drop in discrimination against blood status. Every family started to invite powerful new bloods with lucrative offers, usually through marriage and a place in established family and society. This created a competitive environment and many clan feuds were fought over powerful children and many children were killed due to intrigues. Children born with low power to the traditional families were sidelined or in some cases killed. This lead to the establishment of a new laws to stop the killing of magical children. No magical children should be killed and no matter the power, they should be given an aptitude test to determine their talent. Additionally, No first generation magical children should be added to the clan before the magical majority i.e. seventeenth birthday. Families can instead cultivate a friendship during their years of education and they can be recruited to the families. If the child already belongs to a family then they can attempt an alliance with the family with marriage offers. Any child without magical family must be given a heritage test to identify if they belong to any extinct Houses. This last amendment to the rule was added when some squibs left the magical world to marry muggles.
Harry potter closed his History of Magic textbook with a sigh. He felt nervous. It was August 31 evening. In just 24 hours everyone in the wizarding world will be looking at him expecting extraordinary results from the Boy-Who-Lived. He hated that moniker. Every time someone called him using that epithet, he felt as if they were saying, 'You lived while your parents died'. To make matters worse, after the invention of Wizarding wireless, every september first the sorting ceremony and the power scale identifying ceremony was broadcast live. He gave out a heavy sigh and tried to get at least couple of hours of sleep.
Next day, the Dursleys dropped Harry in Kings Cross Station and drove off without any glance at the bespectacled boy. Harry found a trolley to place all his things and went towards the Hogwarts express. He was an hour early to the station. After the crowding incident in Diagon Alley he did not want to take a risk and arrived early. He found an empty compartment on the scarlet train and stowed his items in the overhead shelf. He asked his snowy owl if she wanted to fly to Hogwarts and upon receiving an enthusiastic nod, he let her out through the window. He moved to the corner seat and looked out at all the families slowly making their way to the platform. The volume on the platform slowly rose with the crowd. Everyone was excited to find out the Power level or the house they will be sorted. He could see some children fidgeting nervously and their parents trying to make them relax with encouraging words. He felt a pang of jealousy looking at the families.
He suddenly heard the door to his compartment open and turned towards the new comer. He saw a pudgy little boy with blond hair and a toad in his arms.
"Hi. Can I join you?" the boy asked nervously.
"Sure. Come on in." Harry replied eager to make a friend who will not be driven away by his cousin.
The boy shelved his items and turned towards Harry and extended his arm, "Hi, I'm Neville Longbottom. I'm a first year."
"Nice to meet you Neville. I'm Harry Potter."
Neville's jaw dropped and his eyes shifted towards his lightning bold scar. Harry gave a sigh thinking, 'Not another fan boy'
Noticing Harry's sigh, Neville quickly apologized, "Sorry for staring. It's just... no one knew where you were for so many years, it is a surprise."
Harry nodded at his apology thinking, 'At least he has good manners and apologized.' and decided to give him a chance, but it was Harry's turn to stare with his jaw dropped.
"Did you know... umm... the Potters and Longbottoms are allied for the past 140 years and your mother is my god mother and my mother is your godmother, making us god brothers?" Neville asked shyly.
It took a moment for Harry get over his shock. He shook head showing he did know this information. Now he was skeptical, 'Why was he sent to live in the muggle world under sketchy upbringing when he had a god mother?' and he voiced his concerns to Neville.
This time Neville sighed and sadly said, "Just like your parents, my parents were also under hiding during the last war and when the news reached about your parents death, my parents came out of hiding to bring you home, but they were attacked by death eaters." Here Neville's eyes started to tear, "They were tortured to insanity and are permanently in St. Mungos' ward. I was raised by my grandmother and before she could bring our family matters to order you were sent to live with your muggle relatives in undisclosed location. We couldn't do anything."
Harry became sad for Neville. "I'm sorry about your Neville. I'm not accusing your family. But at least we have each other." He stood up and pulled his god brother into a hug. "Blood or not, we are brothers for life." he said softly.
Neville nodded and said, "Brother for life."
As soon as they separated and sat down the door opened again, this time to admit a bushy haired girl. "Do you mind if I sit here?"
After receiving yes, she placed her things under the seat and introduced herself, "Hi, I'm Hermione Granger. A muggle born student."
"Hi I'm Neville Longbottom and this is my God Brother Harry Potter." Neville introduced with Harry waving a hi.
"Are you really?" Hermione exclaimed enthusiastically. "I know all about you. You are mentioned in the Rise and Fall of Dark arts, Significant events of the Century, and various story books." She continued in a single breath.
Harry looked at her with a raised eyebrow and said, "I'm sorry to be blunt, but isn't it rude to say you know everything about me? Also for your information, every book written about me is false."
Hermione was flabbergasted. 'How can the books be false?' To Hermione who was a bookworm, it was inconceivable. "B.. but.. but..." She stammered.
Harry sighed and looked Hermione over closely. It was a survival skill developed to escape his bully of a cousin. He could reliably guess the character of the person based on their mannerisms and appearance to an accuracy of 80%. He determined with Hermione's appearance and speech, she was a bookworm and bullied regularly and has very few friends if any. He always had a soft spot for bullied children. "Tell me Hermione. What did the books say about the night my parents died?"
"That you are the only one found alive and the Dark Lord was defeated and you became the only known survivor of Killing curse."
"Now lets analyze that statement. If I'm the only survivor, who saw me surviving the killing curse? and I was only 13 months old, the Dark Lord who was recorded as the highest in Merlin Power Scale in recent times was defeated by a baby who was not out of his nappies? Both my parents were Mage level magicals, why couldn't it be something they devised for my survival? And wouldn't be me who knows everything about myself and not a third person?"
Both Neville and Hermione stared incredulously at Harry.
"I'm not saying this to snub you Hermione. I can deduce based on your reply, you like books. As a child who was bullied, I can understand you don't have many friends, We would very much like to be your friends. But a word of advise, don't rely on unverified information to judge others." Harry said in a soft placating voice.
Hermione thought about Harry's response and her behavior and understood she had come across as a rude person judging Harry without even speaking a word to him. "I'm Sorry for my behavior. I'd very much like to be your friend. To both of you." She said with watery eyes.
"Hey hey. No need to cry. We are friends, there is nothing to forgive among friends." Both Neville and Harry calmed her down. Hermione gave a watery smile and was joyed to have made two friends.
They felt the train start to move and the door to the compartment was opened with a bang. A red headed boy stood awkwardly at the door. "Do you mind? Every where else is full.." He said.
"Of course. Join us. I'm Hermione Granger." Hermione said.
"Hi. I'm Ron. Ron Weasley."
"I'm Neville Longbottom."
"I'm Harry Potter."
Ron's eyes widened and he looked at the lightning scar on the forehead and Harry sighed.
Their rest of the journey went smoothly. Even though Ron often said something rude, when pointed out, he quickly apologized. Everyone else shored it up to his upbringing and relieved that at least he was polite and sorry if he made any mistake. Ron was the sixth child in a large family with seven children. According to Ron everyone had their own talent from curse breaking, quidditch to Jokes and pranking. They discussed lightly till they reached the Hogsmeade village.
They were mesmerized by the sight of Hogwarts from the boat ride over the lake. Hermione unable to hold herself back started to spout facts from the book, Hogwarts: A History. Neville and Harry shared a look and sniggered at Hermione.
After the welcome speech by Professor McGonagall, they were left alone waiting till they were called for the ceremony. A pale blonde boy followed by two kids who looked like thugs stepped up to Harry, "So It's true then, what they were saying on the train. Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts. (some of the students are heard whispering, "The Harry Potter?" Blond boy turned towards his two friends.) This is Crabbe and Goyle. And I'm Malfoy...Draco Malfoy. (Ron and Neville snickered at his name) Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask yours. Red hair, and a hand-me-down robe? You must be a Weasley. And you are the squib heir of the House of Longbottoms. How the two Ancient and Noble house have fallen. You'll, soon find that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. Don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." He extended his hand to Harry.
Harry looked at the offered hand and replied coldly, "I can tell who the wrong sort myself Malfoy. Thank you very much."
Draco glared at Harry at the snub by refusing to shake his offered arm. Before he could reply, Professor McGonagall returned and announced. "We are ready for you now. Follow me."
They left the antechamber and she lead everyone through two large doors and into the Great Hall, where there were four long tables with thousands of students, as well as floating candles. The roof appeared to be the sky.
Hermione said, "It's not real, the ceiling. It's just bewitched to look like the night sky. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History."
They stood grouped near the front. They could see a stool placed on the raised dais and a table with bottles of potions to one side. On one end of the dais, they could see a wizard and a witch sitting with a mic giving running commentary. But try as he might he couldn't hear a word they were speaking. When Harry asked about that to Ron, he just shrugged and said, "They must be under silencing charm to prevent them from disturbing the sorting with their report."
At the same time Professor McGonagall reached near the stool and unfurled a long parchment. "When I call your name, you will come forth and sit on this stool. You'll be given a potion to drink and a drop of blood will be taken from you by the School matron Poppy Pomfrey to find the Merlin power scale value and added to the ministry registry. Then, I shall place the sorting hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses."
Hermione gave quick historical stats, "majority of the students will be classified between average and above average. with 15-25% students at mage level and 1% above mage level. There are currently 8 Warlock level students in Hogwarts everyone above 4th year, groomed in their field of choice and there hasn't been a Sorcerer level in 10 years and No Grand Sorcerer level since You-know-who in 1940's"
"Abbot, Hanna"
A short girl with pigtails ran forward and sat on the stool and quickly drank the potion. Harry saw the medi-witch of the school used her wand to get a drop of blood and placed it on a parchment on the table. Everyone anxiously awaited the results. Madam Poppy announced, "87 with potential up to 124". Everyone just shrugged. She was quickly sorted to Hufflepuff.
"Bones, Susan"
There was murmur here, when Harry asked what that was about, Neville quietly whispered, "She is the niece of the head of DMLE. She is also an war orphan." Harry immediately decided to add her to his friend circle. He turned to see Madam Poppy adding her blood to the parchment. She waited a breath and announced, "165 with potential up to 377". Everyone started whispering again. She was also sorted into Hufflepuff. Susan looked relieved and proud. Harry could make out from the lip movements of the wizarding wireless reporters, "Looks like we have another Auror in the making from the Bones family. Madam Amelia Bones must be proud about her niece continuing the family tradition." Harry did not pay attention to the next couple of sorting until he was jerked to attention when Hermione's name was called.
"Granger, Hermione"
Hermione eagerly ran to the stool and plucked the potion bottle from matron's hand and downed it in a gulp. There were some chuckles among the teachers and senior students. The reporters also chuckled into the mic, "Well looks like we have another first gen magical who is eager to find out their magical power." Madam Pomfrey announced, "197 with potential up to..." She paused for a sec here, increasing the curiosity of everyone. She cleared her throat and continued, "with potential up to 548". There were loud exclamations. The reporters were frantically shouting into the mic. Madam Pomfrey cleared her throat once again, there were excited whispers again, "A old house revived?" some students near Harry whispered. "Heiress to the House of Dagworth-Granger". Everyone clapped their hands enthusiastically. It wasn't everyday an exitinct House is revived. Hermione was sorted into Gryffindor. Much to the jealousy of other houses.
The sorting excitement died down for a little with the following sorting of mostly above average levels and couple of mid mage levels and surprisingly another Warlock level in Daphne Greengrass who went to Slytherin
"Longbottom, Neville" Professor announced.
"Good Luck Neville." Harry clapped on his back. Neville gulped loudly and shuffled nervously towards the front. As soon as he drank the potion. There was a slight glow. "So he had a magical block. No wonder everyone teased him to be a squib." Ron exclaimed. Madam Pomfrey announced, "135 with potential up to..." Again she paused to look at the boy and then the teachers table. Everyone got excited, 'could there be another warlock level wizard?'. It was an open secret in the wizarding community that the last Heir of House of Longbottom had not shown any accidental magic till he was 8 years old and did not have more than two magical outbursts. This lead to the speculation that he could be a squib or below average wizard. When Poppy continued, "potential up to 629", the noise was even greater now. A Sorcerer level wizard. Even if he is on the lower end of Sorcerer level and reaches only 80% of his potential, he'll still be near top Warlock level. Many girls were eyeing Neville in different light now. Malfoy was scowling and sneering. He had just called Neville a squib in front of everyone in the ante chamber. Now Longbottom was a Sorcerer level. Neville's sorting took the longest yet. Every house was eager to welcome the new Sorcerer to their group. After nearly three mins of silence, the hat announced, "Gryffindor". The table with scarlet and gold clad student rose to their feet and cheered loudly. There were loud groans from other tables. Students loudly protested that it was unfair both Warlock level witch and Sorcerer level Wizard went to the lions.
The sorting continued in vain as there were no additional warlock level student. Only average and above average with couple of Mage levels. Malfoy to his chagrin was only 159 with potential up to 428 Warlock level. He stomped to the Slytherin table. The dark ritual performed by his father on him definitely increased the power level. But instead of the attention being on him, there were two other Warlock levels above him and most importantly a Sorcerer level. It was supposed to be his day. His thugs, who were sorted earlier were borderline average. This did not look good for the Political ambitions of House of Malfoy. Being the second powerful in the House of Ambition did not sit well with him. He dreaded the letter from his father whom he was sure was writing the scathing letter after hearing the Wireless. Why couldn't there only be Mages this year. Then he would not be in trouble.
"Potter, Harry"
There was complete silence now. Everyone craned their necks to look at the boy celebrity. If the Great Hall is indication then the entire wizarding world held its breath for Harry Potter's results. Harry steeled himself and walked towards the stool briskly.
There was a huge crowd in the Leaky cauldron in Diagon Alley and Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade. It had been this way since the wizarding wireless was introduced. Everyone closed the shops huddled in the pub nursing a drink and speculating on the power levels. There were even book makers taking bets on how many mages, warlocks, sorcerers, grand sorcerers. The spread was extensive and all kinds of odds were given. People from different Guilds and masters of different fields also tuned in to get some info about future apprentices. When Hermione was announced as Warlock level, everyone was excited. Ninth Warlock level student in Hogwarts. Two more than the other premier Magical schools of Europe. Everyone was happy about Hogwarts still being considered top school for Witchcraft and Wizardry. When the same Hermione was announced Heiress to an extinct house, and the House whose Head Hector Dagworth-Granger who was a head of Potions guild, the Potions Guild decided to keep a close eye on the girl and if the interests align, then nab her before every other guilds. When another warlock level in Heiress of Greengrass was announced, everyone cheered. The Potions ingredients trading guild geared up to follow the young Heiress' career. The House of Greengrass has always been a patron of the said guild. Next up, when the near squib heir of House Longbottom was announced. Everyone pitied the poor boy. The rumor was spread wide about the magical level of the scion of the Ancient and Noble House. No one wanted another house to go extinct. Everyone sharpened their ears to hear the verdict.
"Next up for the evaluation is the Young Scion of House of Longbottom. It is an open secret that he has trouble with his magic. Whether that is his power level or any blocks is up for speculations. The potion is administered. What is this?..."
There was a pause and every one was rooted to the spot.
"It looks like he had a major magical block. As soon as the potion is administered, there was a glow breaking the magical block."
There were few cheers and few wizards turned towards their bookkeepers to cash their winnings, as this a more speculated bet.
"Now let us see what the magical power level is... and it is 175 such a high number again today... Hold on even Madam Poppy is stunned by the result..." The reporter 1 announced.
"The magical potential is.. I don't believe it.. There is a new Sorcerer level wizard. Ladies and Gentlemen. The first Sorcerer level in 14 years. The power level potential is 629. Even if he realizes only 75% of his potential he'll still be a warlock level. Congratulations to House of Longbottom. After recent loses of Lord and Lady of House of Longbottom. The young heir will take the mantle admirably."
There were loud exclamations and jaw drops. Those who knew the hardships the House of Longbottom faced, were happy for Neville. The traditional houses started calculating strategies about how to go about nabbing the young Heir. The prestige of having an alliance with House of Longbottom just skyrocketed to the top.
"Following this, even the Mage levels will not be exciting. But we may never know. Let us continue following the evaluation."
After few disappointing results, "The Malfoy scion is next. With the Lord Malfoy making waves in the political arena, he will be eagerly waiting for the result. This will only add more value to his Political capital. Lets see... Not bad... 159 with potential up to 428 a Warlock level. In ordinary circumstances a Warlock level would have been a source of celebration but with a Sorcerer level stealing the show, and two additional more powerful warlock levels it kind of dampens the value. But still it is still a good outcome for the House of Malfoy."
After fifteen mins of further sorting.
"Well looks like the excitement is reducing with average results."
"Well up next we have the most awaited evaluation of the night, the one and only Harry Potter. The-Boy-who-lived himself. I had the privilege of being an acquaintance of Late Lord James Potter being only an year behind him. So trust me when I say, he looks just like his father but with his mother's green eyes. When he grows up, those eyes of his is going to be reason for many heartbreaks. Just a quick background, after the fateful Halloween night, Harry Potter was sent to his muggle relatives. With the threat of DE over his head, the Wizengamot decided to remove him from the Wizarding world. After 9 years... almost 10 years exile, The Potter Scion has finally returned to the Wizarding world. The potion is being administered now. I'm sure everyone is eager to see the results. Lets see what those results are... Current magical power 154 not bad, not bad... let us see the potential.. But Madam Poppy is currently speechless and is having a discussion with Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Could it be another Sorcerer level?... the suspense is stifling. I can see even the students are holding their breaths waiting for the results to be announced. And the results are... Dear Merlin!"
Hearing the exclamation of the reporter every one in the pubs and home scooted near the radio.
"Ladies and Gentleman, with the potential of 923, It is my privilege to announce the fourth Grand Sorcerer of this century, Harry Potter."
Everyone was shocked. There was a silence for a moment and then everyone cheered.
"I can confidently say with two of the Grand Sorcerers of this century being Dark Lords, I believe Harry Potter will be taken under Albus Dumbledore's mentorship to be his protegee and nurtured to be the next Leader of the Light."
"Hold on folks. The matron of Hogwarts is again in deep discussion with the Headmaster. Looks like along with the Lordship of House Potter we are looking at revival of another House. This could result in huge Political power change."
"The House Mr. Potter is the Heir to is... SLYTHERIN... Slytherin? Everyone is asking Madam Pomfrey to check the results again. But the Matron and Headmaster confirms it. Harry James Potter is the new Heir of Slytherin."
There was pandemonium in the pubs. "I thought You-know-who claimed to be the descendant of Slytherin?" "I thought Potters always were Gryffindors. How could he be Heir Slytherin?" These the common questions everyone was asking.
"With more confusion here in Hogwarts, I'm one hundred percent sure it will be the same everywhere. Headmaster is being asked to give a comment. Here is Headmaster Dumbledore with an explanation regarding the current predicament."
"I'm sure with Professor Binns enthusiasm about Goblin Wars everyone must have overlooked the other smaller events in the history. Time for a small refresher in History lessons. The Founders lived more than a thousand years ago. So many generations have come and gone. Many families have ties to the Founders line. For example, The Potters, The Longbottoms, The Dumbledores, The Weasleys are all descendants of Gryffindor family branches. The Smiths and the Prewitts lines descended from the Hufflepuff Family branches. The McKinnons and the Doges are descended from the Ravenclaw Family lines. The Blacks, The Gaunts, The Lestranges had ties with Slytherin main Family line. And all these families have historically intermarried and it is difficult to identify who is the Heir of the Founders. Even with all these families no one has been able to successfully claim the Lordship of the Founders family lines. There is a reason for it. Some centuries back, few documents were found by Headmaster William Fortworth, who was the Headmaster of Hogwarts in 1364 AD. This Document was written by the founders about claiming the Lordship of their lines. Apparently the Founders were not satisfied with the aptitude of their heirs, so as a test of eligibility have added an hidden condition to claim the Lordships. For the Gryffindor line, anyone worthy of wielding Godric Gryffindor's sword will inherit the title. With no one able to find the sword since Godric's passing, the line went dormant. Except for the Gryffindor line, we do not know what that condition is. With no one able to claim the Lordship of the Founders lines, this was forgotten but this is a recorded fact and you can verify it in the documents from Ministry Archives or Hogwarts Library. But if the condition is met then the Lordship of the Founder line will be revived. Albeit uncommon it was the practice for many Ancient houses to identify worthy Lords for their house and it also was the reason many of them start to go extinct and the practice was dropped to prevent further loss of such houses. We do not know what condition our young Mr. Potter has satisfied to be eligible for the Heirship. We could only speculate but it will take a long while to determine the exact reason. We'll look into it at a later point in time. I believe we are holding up the sorting ceremony and delaying the dinner for our young students."
"Thank You Headmaster for the clarification. Let's continue with the sorting. Harry Potter despite being the Heir of Slytherin, gets sorted to Gryffindor. May be he is more closely related to Gryffindor. At this point my surprise factor is maxed out. Nothing can surprise me anymore today. But one thing is certain, today is a monumental day."
Back in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, the rest of the sorting went without any excitement. Ron Weasley was the second from last to be sorted and he had the power level of 127 with potential to reach 185. When he was sorted to Gryffindor he sat near his friends with a stony face but his eyes betrayed the anger simmering underneath. Jealousy reared it's ugly head in his heart when his friends were levels above him in power while he was stuck in average level. Just like with his brothers. His eldest brother
Harry was listening to Hermione and Neville talking about some differences between Magical and Non-Magical worlds, wondering if the people would stop staring so much at him. Nearly everyone in their table at one time or other craned their necks to take a good look at him. There were even students from other tables standing up to look at him. Sure he had an unusual higher level of power but power is not everything. There were so many career paths which does not require power. A country cannot work on power alone. There were all kinds of geniuses. There were so many instances where lower power level person defeating a powerhouse. It all comes down to the experience and efficiency of usage of the magical power available.
Once they were done with the dinner, the plates vanished and the table went back sparkling clean. Harry was startled to notice the Wizarding wireless reporters missing. It was Percy, Ron's third eldest brother who explained, "They always leave when the dinner starts. They stay only for the exciting part and go back to prepare for the next story."
Albus Dumbledore gave the usual welcome speech and added an ominous warning about the third floor corridor and dismissed them to their dormitory. After such a heavy dinner, with eyes drooping, students trudged their way to their dorm rooms. They had an early day next day, starting with education counselling to decide the subjects and schedule. Harry closed his eyes and went to sleep with one thought. 'Well you expected a fish bowl scenario, but you got a rare animal exhibition scenario. No point in crying over the things not under your control. From your experience with Dursley's, you know what to do. Make the best of what you got and Survive.'
Author's Note: This plot bunny invaded my thoughts one day. I have an idea on how to continue the story but I'm not sure when I can pen it down, what with getting busy with work and family obligations. For now it will be one shot. Anyone who wants to use this as a premise feel free to do so, just ping me your story so I can enjoy your plot twists.