Hagrid took him to Diagon Alley and bought his a post owl Hedwig by the end of it as a late birthday present.
He also helped him fill out the forms including one to muggle authorities to say he was attending a boarding school that had his name down since birth as opposed to needing to go to the local state school. Hagrid explained that the form was a wizarding version of the muggle form. It looked normal but had a confounding charm placed on it so that muggles who read it saw Hogwarts as the name of a registered school, but did not remember the name in particular.
When Hagrid left Harry spent the last several weeks before Hogwarts pouring over his books - it was the most interesting thing he'd ever read - and theorising with the hat.
Most of the knowledge in the books seems shallow. But I suppose it must be for beginner students. Harry said one afternoon as he was sprawled on his bed with the hat atop his head.
Of course. You'll have to look deeper to outsmart Voldemort and defeat him. Said the hat.
Since the trip to Diagon Alley Harry had learnt the real name of the Dark Lord from Hagrid and also to not say it in public because of the fear it spread.
This is still interesting though. Harry said.
Of course. I'll leave you to you reading. The hat merely said back quietly.
Harry fell into a neat rhythm of life when Hogwarts started. He bought a cheap wig and muggle makeup kit with some muggle money he'd exchanged the amount in his Gringotts vault for, allowing him to change the shape of his eyebrows and add some freckles to change his looks a little. It had felt unnerving disguising himself as someone else, it seemed so theatrical, like in those children books of detectives he'd read for the first two terms of second grade. He had never exactly fit in with the rest of the students at his school and so took refuge in the library, reading during lunchtimes. But then Dudley saw him there one day and got jealous because the librarian sometimes spoke to him and apparently Dudley didn't want Harry to be better liked by any teachers than he was, so he bought his friends in there to 'pull Harry out', and Harry quickly got up and ran away from him as sneakily as possible that day. He only managed to escape because he knew the second exit to the toilets better than Dudley did from being there all the time. After that he'd stopped going to the library but he's read a smorgasbord of children chapter books then and still remembered some of the erratic stories they told - pirates, detectives, explorers of new lands and space, fairyland, mermaids, circuses, and more.
He had felt a little theatrical, a little silly, in his disguise, but changing one's hair colour (in his case to a shiny blonde) and a few facial features did add a layer of difference and prevented someone from immediately recognising him if they were to see him again. It was not totally useless in his situation. He managed to pretend he was late to boarding the express, pretended to be disappointed that the compartment he snuck into was situated by a group of third years (when in reality he chose students that looked a little older to avoid the eager chatter of first years), and managed to get of the Hogwarts Express without feeling like he'd made any friends that would sacrifice themselves or their family members for him and his cause against Voldemort when he was older.
He snuck away somewhere between the walk to the grounds, though it helped that Hagrid turned a bit of a blind eye to this, and found himself scrambling towards Hogsmeade before anyone could catch him. He walked along the backlanes, and the places where the town met the treeline for several hours until he came to the shrieking shack. Hogwarts: A History, had mentioned just enough of the (honestly empty) shack that simply had a lot of holes in it's old foundation the wind whistled through it loudly that students thought it was haunted, for him to get an idea of where to stay.
Inside the shrieking shack he was pleased to see the plumbing was still working (well, most of the time run down buildings didn't exactly have their plumbing disconnected, just that no one was bothered to use it), and that there was a trapdoor leading to a cellar that was so hidden behind a large cabinet he didn't think any students went down there, and judging from the thick layer of dust there, he was right.
That would be his hiding place for Hogsmeade weekends.
The cellar was his new home. The shack was mostly boarded up during the day, though sometimes villagers from Hogsmeade visited. Harry was able to use the facilities of the shack at night and live in the cellar during the day or times when he didn't want to be seen. It was an ideal home for now. It was also close enough that he could purchase food and drink when he ran out.
So far though, he was living of his muggle rations of food and MRE (military ready to eat) meals he had purchased and bought along with him before he left.
Hedwig didn't like being underground and she was really too conspicuous, so Harry told her to make herself busy for about a month or so whilst he figured out what to do with her, and she seemed to understand what he'd meant, so she flew of and had no trouble with it. Every few days however Hedwig would fly back with a few small dead animals, sometimes half eaten, hooting happily and nudging at it towards Harry, as if to say she was having fun exploring the forbidden forest and had no issues about the state of living they were in. She was a bird afterall, and animals had different needs to humans. Harry was fairly happy though his meals could be a little more colourful if he was honest with himself.
Sometimes he wondered what it was like to be Hedwig, soaring through the skies, or to know the secrets of the forbidden forest.
He made a timetable for himself, as if he was really at Hogwarts, and studied through his textbooks during the day, practicing incantations and practical spells as if he really was there. He still wanted to gain all the knowledge a standard year at Hogwarts would give him. Often he figured out a little more of the theory behind the magic with the Hat atop his head, but they couldn't go too far of the content in the textbook for it was only first year, and gave very little true opening to magical inquiry. It was mostly the magic Harry did with the hat in his other hours that allowed him to get closer to the secrets of magic.
What house would I be in? Asked Harry one day. He had read in Hogwarts: A History, that the sorting hat used to sort students into the 4 houses but had been missing since the same year He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named met his downfall. The book mentioned that the Ministry of Magic had asked Professor Dumbledore what happened to it, but the headmaster didn't give an definite answer, he simply said it was time for a change, fresh breath of air, and that Hogwarts had been using the hat for too long. Also that whilst it was a good system for students to find others they felt shared similar values to at the beginning of boarding school, it sometimes created unnecessary division and too much emphasis placed on something like a house. Instead Hogwarts students were now assigned to houses by professors based on their old school reports, sporting activities, and hobbies, so that there was hopes they'd find other students similar to them in the first few years of Hogwarts to settle in more easily. There was no element of blood status taken into account, much to the chagrin of some traditionalists, the book had mentioned.
After reading it Harry knew the hat was likely The Sorting Hat, but there was still so little he truly knew about it.
I don't know. Once I am outside of the wards of Hogwarts I cannot remember classified knowledge from within it. I am simply a hat that can read people's thoughts, though I'd prefer a direct conversation, and talk a little with them. But I am ultimately an inanimate object, though a highly enchanted one, and if you had any deeper inquiries, you're better of finding real people to talk to. The hat said.
Does the name 'Sorting Hat' ring a bell at all? Harry thought.
It seems like the sort of thing I did. Because the book's descriptions are a hat that sits atop user's heads and talks. Based on what you have told me about myself, the fact that I can read your thoughts, and the fact that you haven't mentioned any other hats casually seen in society or mentioned anywhere with my ability, it seems likely that I am also the hat that was at Hogwarts. Because I am the only hat that fits the description. I also know that I had a purpose once, though I do not know if it was Hogwarts or not, but once I am outside of the wards of the magical place of my purpose, I am enchanted to forget all knowledge that should've only been available if I was within the wards. Hogwarts also matches up to it so I'd say it's likely I am the hat. Or at least, with my abilities of deduction, I would recognise a similarity, but I do not have any memories of it no. The hat said.
If you told me the descriptions of the houses in Hogwarts: A History, I can use my thinking abilities alongside yours to help you arrive at logical conclusions about which house matches you best from the description in the book, but I will not be able to embody the true spark of the Sorting Hat as described within the book. I believe, that time is over, those days are over. The book seems to suggest the headmaster thinks it's time to move onto something new, that taking one's house too seriously opened a school society to certain risks. I think he will be in no hurry to get back the Sorting Hat and it is not wise to be too upset over things that are gone, perhaps for the better. I am simply just a thinking cap, and perhaps there is magic in that. The hat explained.
Oh yes, a lot. You still have your charm even if you're not a Sorting Hat. Is it even worthwhile to guess which house I would be in? Ravenclaw seems like a solid guess because I am learning the depths of magic to take down Voldemort, but I'm only turning to knowledge because it might be one of the only ways to defeat a highly knowledgeable wizard like himself without sacrificing anyone else's life for my life's purpose. If it weren't for that would I really be a Ravenclaw? Harry asked.
Based on what you've told me so far the book seems to suggest there are bits and pieces of all of the houses in all people. Perhaps life situations cause people to strongly turn to certain tendencies at a point in time. You may be doing more Ravenclaw things Harry, but you are more than just this house, or any of the houses. More than that Harry, same with every other human being. More fleshed out, more intricate, more complex. The hat said.
Thank you, that's pretty helpful even though you're not the Sorting Hat anymore. I agree I'm doing more Ravenclaw things for this stretch of my life. Harry said.
Your welcome. I am a thinking cap afterall and they tend to be handy. The hat mused to himself.
Are you the only one? Harry asked. Even though this knowledge was not exactly learning the depths of magic he still found it fascinating, and wanted to know the inns and outs of the hat. How it all worked and everything. He had been so excited over his schoolbooks and settling into the shrieking shack in Hogsmeade he'd neglected to ask earlier.
I have the knowledge that I am an unusual and rare magical item. That sense still lives on in me. I also have the knowledge that a thinking cap that talked back to you if you put it on your head was what many witches and wizards wanted for years. But it was difficult to charm one to last forever, or to truly engage with one's thoughts. I would be a priceless magical artifact if anyone tried to put one on me you could say. The hat explained.
It looks like it. How do you read people's minds? Asked Harry. No, that's not right. You're not a person, you can't answer it. I suppose the better question is...how would someone charm a hat to be able to read people's minds. Though you don't exactly read people's minds because you told me you prefer it if I thought my thoughts to you instead of relying you to just know. So I don't think you exactly can read mind's otherwise you would have no issues just reading my thoughts before they were formed.
I can sense your emotions when you talk to me. Anger, hatred, fear, jealousy, bitterness, sadness, longing, regret, awkwardness, embarrassment, shame, wistful, bored, content, and lots more. I can sense the stronger memories you've experienced in your life, even if they aren't at the forefront of your mind all the time. It's like you're a walking orchestra of sound and all the main emotions are different classes of instruments and I can hear them playing in the background, no matter how far away they are, but depending on your current emotions and thoughts, different instruments appear closer and I can hear more of them. When you've put me on your head around about now, I've sensed contentment, going through the emotions, curiosity, duty, and a general sense of calmness for most of the time, as you haven't experienced anything truly confronting yet. Just that I don't mention it to you because it is not relevant to our conversations but I can sense it. The hat explained.
I can sense some of your thoughts before they are formed. But it is to do with general life. Such as when to cook breakfast, that you're going to pull out a chair before you sit on it, that you want to scratch an itch you notice on your hand. I can sense you have more complicated thoughts at times, but I am unable to pick it up. It's like a signal that's just too far away. I suspect the Sorting Hat at Hogwarts, if it was me or not for we don't know for sure, was able to sense an individual's thoughts in relation to the values and attributes for the four houses, without them thinking it, and their general thoughts. The Sorting Hat at Hogwarts would not be able to read a student's entire mind or thoughts, just the ones relevant to their job, and general things. But since I am not The Sorting Hat Employed at Hogwarts, I cannot do that. So I can only sense an individual's general thoughts now. Which means more complicated thoughts I cannot sense. And you must directly think them to me.
That make sense. Said Harry. Could you try sensing more complicated thoughts if you wanted to?
No. I can only sense more general thoughts and attempt to make deductions about it. I might be able to keep up a bit if I'm making a lot of deductions but conversation would be slow and you're better of directly thinking things to me. The hat said. I do have one other goal though. And that is to help you, so I am able to think independently of being on your head a little, for things that could potentially help you. I can only work of the information you have told me, but I can think independently based of what you have told me, and I could arrive at a conclusion you could've worked out yourself too, but earlier, if you didn't think about that as much.
Help me? Is that your new goal since you left Hogwarts? Were you placed with me on purpose to guide me? Harry wondered.
I do not know how the Sorting Hat left Hogwarts, nor how a thinking cap ended on your head. But I do have a general sense that I must help you, and some greater magical abilities in relation to you, so I do have a greater connection to you than any other magical entity I am aware of yes. I suspect if someone else were to put me atop their head, I may be able to pick up what they're thinking or preoccupy myself with their thoughts and predicament even less than I am with you. I may not even be able to think any thoughts back to them. I may simply be a hat atop their head. The sorting hat said.
Does it ever sadden you? That the height of your life is over? Or I guess, that such an advanced piece of magic is gone. Harry mused. Some part of him couldn't help being disappointed at that. The Sorting Hat sounded like one of the greatest pieces of magic at Hogwarts, and here it seemed this was lost without any sort of public book on how to the magic used to create one like it worked.
Sadness over lost knowledge. What a Ravenclaw thing to say. Was all the hat mused.
Author's Note: Thanks for the 2 reviews, I did jump to some conclusions in the beginning few chapters because I wanted to make it clear what the flavour of this story was going to be (Harry will debate some ethics of magic as well as how it works when he gets up to that type of magic, he will theorise about it so deeply it'll look like some scientific theories that always hold true to some degree) and I was just excited to add in a bit of that. But I thought it wasn't the most supported scenes (or thought processes) of Harry to write at this point in the story because he hasn't discovered as much supporting knowledge/logic of them as he should. I didn't know how clear the illogicness of it would be to readers though, but now I think it's noticeable so I'll stick to a more supported approach in future chapters, and make sure whatever Harry discovers is really supported logically throughout all of these chapters.
There's a scene I've planned coming up that updates his methodology for figuring out magic so it'll really nail it in then. There would be more information about the wand in the next chapter!
Sorry that this chapter didn't have much theorising about magic, it kind of had to cover how he settled into his Hogwarts year. I'll try to write a really juicy knowledge-based one next chapter to make up for it!
