I do not own Harry Potter

Harry's Pov

Harry followed Dippet through the halls as they took the familiar route to the Headmaster's office. Once they got to the entrance he saw Dippet tap the statue with his wand before the stairs started moving up. He was a little surprised, he'd always thought that the statue needed a password but apparently the headmaster didn't need to use it.

When he entered Dippet's office, he looked around curiously and noticed it was a lot more different than Dumbledore's, more welcoming in the sense that everything was in neutral colours not favoring any house.

Dippet walked behind his desk and sat in his chair before gesturing at a comfortable looking armchair in front of him. Harry went and sat down as he contemplated what house he'd be best suited for this time around. Yes he knew he ran into trouble more often that not but he hoped that wouldn't get him sorted into Gryffindor, he refused to let that happen again. Maybe he could be in Ravenclaw, he was a lot smarter than others gave him credit for after all. Hufflepuff would also work as he would always be loyal to his friends the way they were to him, well except Ron's jealous episode this year but he had known it was coming for a while, he'd just hoped that it didn't have to happen when he needed his friend's support the most. So all in all he would be alright in any house except Gryffindor. Realisation then hit him suddenly, Tom Riddle was in Slytherin, in his fifth year, that meant he'd open the chamber of secrets, kill Myrtle and make his first horcrux, which he wouldn't have known if it wasn't for Lani, who had researched into this type of magic and realised why his scar hurt in Voldy's presence, so he couldn't let that happen but he wouldn't know about any useful information to stop Riddle unless he was in Slytherin. Surprisingly the thought didn't seem to disturb him, despite baby Voldy being there, he was actually rather curious about life in the snake pit. He'd always wondered what life would have been like had he let the hat sort him there the first time around so he actually hoped the hat would still believe that he was better suited for Slytherin.

"Right Mr Peverell so I'm going to introduce myself, as I had forgotten to previously in the shock of everything, I am Armando Dippet and the headmaster of this school. You may call me Professor Dippet or Headmaster, Mr Peverell.' He said politely before continuing when Harry nodded at him.

"Mr Peverell I will the place this hat upon your head and I know this may sound confusing but it's the standard procedure for every child sorted here. Once it's placed on your head I assure you there's nothing you need to be alarmed about. So are you ready Mr Peverell?" Dippet asked kindly.

"Of course sir." Harry responded making himself appear curious before the hat was placed on his head. He remembered how in first year the hat had went over his entire head yet now it only covered his eyes, it was clear how much he'd grown in the span of 4 years.

'Back again Mr Potter or shall I say Mr Peverell?' A slightly surprised voice from the hat said to him. Harry was shocked and he was pretty sure it showed on his face, Dippet would probably take it as him being surprised about a voice coming from an inanimate object not the fact that the sorting hat from 50 years before his time remembered him from a time 50 years later.

'Mr Peverell for now Alistair.' Harry responded remembering the name of the hat that he had asked in second year when he had asked whether he was put in the right house. He had answered with 'you're wrong' when Alistair had stood by his decision that he would have done better in Slytherin because he knew Dumbles was lurking somewhere near, despite the fact that he had wanted to say that Alistair was somewhat right, however he was glad that he had gotten in Gryffindor at first because Mione and Ron were great friends and he wouldn't trade them for the world.

'You're the first person that has called me by name, even the teachers never bother to ask.' Alistair responded surprised.

'Well I'm no ordinary boy no matter how much I'd wish to be.' Harry responded slightly bitterly.

'Normal is overrated Mr Peverell but you are right, you are no ordinary boy. It's not every day someone manages to travel in time. Quite the situation you've gotten yourself into.' Alistair responded sounding slightly amused.

'Tell me about it. I swear fate must have it against me. All I asked for was one normal year. Just the one and no instead of answering my prayers she thought it was a great idea to propel me through time to meet the baby version of my tormentor, AKA Voldyshorts, so now, not only do I have to find a way home, I also have to figure out how to stop Riddle from doing something potentially drastic that could cause serious problems for future me, well the future me of this time, wait does that mean there are currently two me's, what if I change something and I'm never born, would I just cease to exist, or what if..." Harry started rambling in a panic as he thought about all the possible scenarios in which him being here would end badly before Alistair cut him off.

'Do be quiet will you, your thoughts are giving me a headache.' He groaned as much as a hat could groan.

'You're a hat, you can't have a headache, that would actually require a head.' Harry responded logically.

'Why I never! I have never been more insulted in my entire life.' Alistair said actually sounding offended.

'You spent part of your life telling children what house they'll live in for the rest of their Hogwarts years and the rest of it on a shelf waiting for that day, I doubt you've been insulted at all.' Harry deadpanned.

'Touché, Mr Peverell, touché.' Alistair said.

'It must get pretty tedious though. Wait, can a hat even get bored?" Harry said looking like he was contemplating the answer to himself.

'As a matter of fact I can, so I sleep most of the time.' Allistair answered sounding slightly more annoyed though it was mostly playful.

'Wow you sleep for that long. I have never heard of a hat going into hibernation.' Harry said before a strange expression made its way onto his face as he continued, 'You know I never thought those words would ever come out of my mouth. That was strange, even for me.'

Alistair snorted slightly before he said, 'Maybe we should get on with the reason I was woken up from 'hibernation' as you say.'

'Right. So what house will you sort me into Al, may I call you that?' Harry asked politely.

'Yes you may. Now let's see..." Alistair said as he rummaged around in his head.

Harry grimaced, it wasn't painful but it felt too invasive to feel comfortable.

'Well Mr Peverell I can safely say that from the things I'm seeing in your head Godric would love to have you in his house..." and just as Harry was about to panic he continued, 'however you would never fit in being the person that you want to be, the person that you have hid from your peers. Hmm no, whilst you have courage in spades, Gryffindor is not the house for you.'

Harry breathed a sigh of relief, thank God, Dumbles would have been insufferable had he been his head of house and Al was right, had he not dumbed himself down and acted the way he had, he would never have fit in in Gryffindor. He'd allowed Mione and Ron to see glimpses of the boy he actually was and he knew that Mione was smart and she'd probably catch on in time for she always seemed to look at him with an inquisitive look on her face as if she was trying to see through him. Ron had looked at him strangely sometimes but he had still stayed, so he hoped, one day, that when they see the real him, they'd stay by his side like he knew he'd do for them.

'You're smart as a whip, I must say Mr Peverell, mostly thanks to that friend of yours, she's quite an interesting witch is she not?' Alistair asked.

'Yeah that she is but she's the bestest friend anyone could ever ask for.' Harry acknowledged, understanding who the hat was talking about.

'Hmm stick with that one Mr Peverell, she's done you a world of good and for some reason I sense that that there's more that she'll do. There's something about her, something different. I suggest not letting her go, you won't find someone like her again.' Alistair said, centuries of wisdom from searching through so many minds, clear in his voice as he spoke to him.

Harry took those words to heart, he had always known Lani was different, that she wasn't like the rest, it's what had drawn him to her in the first place and he knew he would never let her go, because not only will he lose his sister in all but blood, he'd also lose Ana who he'd come to care a lot about and the mere thought of losing the both of them was too painful to even think about. He then responded, 'Believe me Al, I know that, and letting her go is the last thing I'd ever do and even then I would have been seriously drunk or utterly delirious or both drunk and delirious.'

Alistair snorted at his wording and said, 'I have a feeling this is going to be quite an interesting year with you Mr Peverell.'

'We'll see Al, we'll see. Now what house am I suited for because I think Dippet will most likely be thinking something's wrong.' Harry said as he realised that he may have been under the hat for quite a while and Dippet was probably concerned.

'Of course Mr Peverell. As I was saying, whilst you're exceptionally intelligent and Rowena would also love to have you in her house, you would find Ravenclaw monotonous because despite the fact that Gryffindor's not the house best suited for you, you still have a few qualities of Godric that attracts you to adventure, ergo danger, so Ravenclaw is not the house for you.' Alistair said as he continued to browse through Harry's head.

'Excuse you I'm not attracted to danger, danger seems to find me wherever I go, it's not like I walk head first into it except that time in first year, but that was to stop Voldemort from coming back and there was that time in second year, although that was to save Ginny, and also the time in third year, but that was to free Sirius and Buckbeak. OK yeah, I get your point, but in my defence I couldn't not do anything." Harry responded a little sourly as he recalled all his adventures that many would consider potentially dangerous though he thankfully managed to make his way out of them with all his limbs, surprisingly.

Alistair actually laughed out loud before saying, 'Let's see now Mr Peverell. You're only loyal to a select few people and again, the same problem in Hufflepuff, is that you won't find the adventure you crave so whilst Helga would be delighted to have you, Hufflepuff is not the best house for you. Since we both know where this is going and I hear no objections, you will be sorted into SLYTHERIN!'

The hat was pulled of his head and Harry's clothes changed into the customary Slytherin uniform though it was slightly different than what he was used to seeing. Dippet was looking at him in wide-eyed astonishment and when he had asked why, he had been told that he was the longest hatstall in hogwarts history. It seems he had broken 3 wizarding records in less than a day. First he had travelled through time, then he had somehow broke through Hogwarts' wards and landed himself in the Great Hall and now he apparently was the longest ever hatstall, yeah, he really needed sleep.

Dippet then told him to wait a moment before contacting someone through the floo. He was curious as to what was going on when Dippet came back over to him and said that he was calling his head of house and the head boy to come and take him to the Slytherin common room. Dippet said that Professor Slughorn, the head of Slytherin house, will fill him in on everything else he needs to know.

As Harry waited, he thought about all the possible ways this entire situation could turn downhill before sighing in a mixture of resignation, curiosity and slight excitement at the thought of being a former Gryffindor, now a newly dubbed Slytherin, in the snake pit, 50 years back in time, with the teenage version of Voldemort and the scheming mastermind in the form of his former headmaster, what could possibly go wrong?

He just had to ask, didn't he?

He had somehow forgotten that the head boy was otherwise known as Tom Marvolo Riddle.

Wonderful, just wonderful.

God, he really needed sleep.