Just 1 Little Change...
Disclaimer: I don't own them, I swear!! They just followed me home one night and I thought I'd keep them! It's the truth!!
A/N: Harry and company get put into their houses this chapter! I am just warning you now, this chapter is really pretty boring. I used many sections of this chapter right out of the book. Those parts are J.K's writings not mine. Just in case you were wondering... Well please read and review!
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Harry, Ron and Draco walked slowly down the train steps. People were everywhere. It was utter chaos! People trying to find their bags, friends reuniting, owls hooting loudly and cats running between peoples legs. How were they supposed to find out where they were going? Just then Harry heard a loud first screaming.
"Oy, all first years over here! All first years this way!"
Harry, Ron and Draco looked over to see where the voice was coming from. It wasn't hard to find out. Towering over everyone else was a teacher carrying a huge lantern and talking at the top of his lungs. The man had a very bushy face, his hair was thick and curly. He wore a beard too and Harry wasn't sure where his hair ended and his beard began. But that wasn't the most remarkable thing about him. He was huge, both up and across, and Harry wondered for a second if there could be Giants in the wizarding world. The thing that confused Harry the most though was that he could have sworn he had seen the man before. A very long time ago...
Harry shrugged and followed Ron and Draco over to the huge man, struggling against the sea of other students. Finally they made it and climbed into the boat that the man, Hagrid, had assigned them to. There was one other girl in the boat with them. She had very frizzy brown hair and rather large front teeth. Still she seemed nice enough. She smiled warmly at them as they got in.
"Hello, my names Hermione, what's you guys' names?"
Ron smiled a little. "Hey Hermione, I'm Ron Weasley!"
Harry looked at Draco, expecting him to chip right in, but Draco had closed up again. His face was a total mask, hiding all emotion. He had obviously not decided if he liked Hermione yet."
Harry rolled his eyes at Draco, then turned to Hermione and said, looking a little embarrassed, "Hey, I'm Harry Potter and this here's Draco Malfoy."
Hermione smiled at Draco. "Oh hey, I've heard of your family before." Draco scowled a little bit, but Hermione simply said, "They are a very old line of wizards, aren't they?"
Draco smiled then, obviously he had made up his mind about her. "Yep, we Malfoy's are pure blood wizards. Every single one of us have been in Slytherin too. In fac-"
Harry cut him off, smiling "In fact, they are known to be very stuck up and arrogant, isn't that right Draco?"
Draco scowled at him for a second, then smiled mischievously,
"Yes we are. In fact we are second only to Potters. 10 Years ago we were in first, but then a certain boy-who-lived was introduced into the family." Harry gave him a good-natured push, laughing along with the rest.
Hermione turned to Harry. "So then you are the boy-who-lived. When you said your name I wasn't sure if the last name was Potter or Jones. Do you have the scar?"
Hermione looked at him with interest only, not the admiring look most of the other people had given him. He was utterly grateful for this. He obligingly pulled back his messy brown hair from his forehead. Draco and Ron leaned closer, they hadn't seen the scar yet either. Ron gasped as he saw the red lightning bolt Harry had cut into his head.
"Do you remember any of it Harry? How you-know-who looked like or anything?" Ron said excitedly.
Harry smiled but shook his head. "No, nothing. Or hardly anything. Sometimes if I concentrate really hard I can remember a green flash. I guess that's a spell."
"Neat. I have read a lot about you, you know Harry. You were in 2 books I read." Hermione said, looking at him, seeming a little impressed.
"I am? Weird." Harry said.
"You had better hope none of the books we read in school mentions you. Wouldn't that be embarrassing if there was a whole section on you Harry?" Draco said, his silver eyes sparkling with mirth.
Harry groaned at the thought. Suddenly he looked around him for the first time. They were almost at the castle now. Harry noticed that all the boats were traveling at exactly the same speed, and even though there was no motors he could see, nobody was doing any paddling. 'Just got to get used to this magic stuff.' Harry thought, shaking his head.
The castle was huge, Harry wondered if he would ever be able to find all his classes. It was a gray stone and had 6 different towers, each with a flag and an observation platform on it. They were on a lake that seemed bottomless. It's surface was totally calm and it was a chilling blue-gray. Hagrid's boat was in front and was just landing on the green field on the other side of the lake. The other boats followed and Harry experienced a fluttering in his stomach for about the thousandth time.
The foursome's boat landed gently on land. Harry looked at Ron and Draco, with resolution in his eyes and stepped confidently out of the boat. Draco followed with the same impassive look on his face, then came Ron and Hermione, looking a little more nervous.
They met up with all the first years on the steps of the castle. Everybody was looking nervously about them. Then he heard Blaise, who was standing near him, say in a stage whisper to the boy next to him.
"Hey have you heard, that boy there's Harry Potter!"
The boy he had whispered to looked at Harry, with amazement on his face. He was a rather fat kid and very short. Clutched tightly in his hands was a rather ugly toad.
"Really? Are you sure? Couldn't he just be making it up?" The kid said in an ignorant voice, obviously too stupid to realize that he was falling for the boys trick.
"Ya" Blaise whispered in an even louder stage whisper. "Go ahead and ask him to show you his scar if you don't believe me!"
The boy looked nervous for a moment, then squared his shoulders. "Ok, I will!"
He marched over to Harry, but before he could even ask Harry pulled back his bangs, pointed at his scar and turned back to his conversation with Hermione, smiling to himself.
Blaise was just about to say something else to the fat kid when the big wooden doors swung open, revealing a stern-looking wizard. She had her brown hair pulled back tightly into a bun and her skinny mouth was in a pinched, stern-looking smile. All conversations stopped suddenly and everyone turned their eyes respectfully on the teacher.
(a/n This part is straight from the book. It would still be good if you read it anyway though.)
"Welcome to Hogwarts. I am Professor MrGonagall, your transfiguration teacher. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The sorting is very important because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.
"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will be awarded house cup, a great honor. I hope each one of you will be a credit to whichever house will be yours."
Draco elbowed Harry in the ribs. Harry looked over and followed his gaze. Blaise was standing there, his pale face even paler. He looked so white in fact Harry couldn't imagine he actually had any blood in him. He smiled at Draco. The stupid prat was obviously terrified at being sorted. Draco winked at him, then turned back to the Professor, a blank look on his face again.
"We will go inside shortly. You will wait in the passage-way while I make the last arrangements to the test. I would suggest you use this time to straighten yourselves up a little bit," her eyes traveled over Harry's messy hair and Neville's cloak. "I will be back shortly."
Harry nervously tried to flatten his messy hair, his own face a little paler, although it remained expressionless. He wasn't to keen on unknown tests, and although he was sure this one couldn't be too unsafe, he was still a little wary of `tests'. After all last time someone had said that he was almost killed.
Draco looked over at him with an oddly sympathetic look on his face. 'Its like he read my mind!' Harry thought, smiling to himself.
Professor McGonagall returned and silently led them into the room in a single file line. Harry heard Ron gulp next to him. He put a hand encouragingly on his friends shoulder, then, ignoring that his legs felt like lead all the sudden, he walked into the great hall.
Harry had never imagined such an amazing place. The great hall was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. The tables were lined with golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall there was another long table where the teachers were sitting.
Professor McGonagall led all the first years to the front of the room so they were facing the other students. Harry was suddenly aware how young he was, every single face here were older, and they were all staring at him. His mask fell apart, and suddenly he felt much more nervous. Here and there Harry spotted the glittery forms of...ghosts?! He stared at the ghosts, amazed. They were shiny, almost like mist, except they had a faint glow about them. They had on old-fashioned clothes, and one of them seemed to have blood on his tunic. Harry shuddered slightly, then turned his eyes on the ceiling, trying to avoid peoples eyes. He gasped despite himself. It didn't seem like there was a ceiling! Instead he was looking up into a cloudless night, the velvety blackness sprinkled with stars. Hermione looked up at the ceiling also and whispered in Harry's ear, "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in a book called /Hogwarts: A History./" Harry smiled at her, then turned his eyes back to Professor McGonagall.
She set a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of it she set a battered wizard hat. It was very frayed and patched and extremely dirty. A crazy thought passed Harry's mind `Maybe we have to pull a rabbit out of it!' He looked again into the crowd of students. They were all looking expectantly at the hat. Harry looked at it also. And it twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth- and the hat began to sing:
"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge by what you see.
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter had than me!
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can top them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The sorting hat cant see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You may belong to Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave of heart,
Their daring, nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindor apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal
Thos patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends
Those cunning fold use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
Your in safe hands (Though I have none)
For I'm the thinking cap!
The whole hall burst into thunderous applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to all four tables, then became quite still again. Harry was somewhat relieved. Well at least he didn't have to do a spell, or fight a troll, but a hat that read minds didn't seem that appealing to him. He had some rather nasty thoughts in that mind of his.
Professor McGonagall stepped forward again, now holding a long scroll of parchment.
"When I call you name, you will step forward and put on the had to be sorted." She opened the parchment, "Abbott, Hannah!"
A blond girl with a rosy face stepped up to the stool, sat down and put on the hat. It fell over her eyes. She sat there in silence for a moment, then the hat cried in a loud voice
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
The Hufflepuff cheered loudly and Hannah went down to sit at their table, a huge grin on her face.
"Bones, Susan!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
The hat shouted again and Susan ran off to join Hannah.
"Boot, Terry!"
"RAVENCLAW"
"Brocklehurst, Mandy!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Brown, Lavender!" Became the first Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see the Weasley twins catcalling in the background.
Harry was starting to feel a little sicker now. He had less of an impassive face and more of a scared face as the seconds went on. Harry noticed that the hat sometimes shouted names at once and other times it took it a long time."
"Longbottom, Neville!" Harry watched the short fat kid who had asked to see his scar walk nervously up to the bench and put on the hat. He sat there for almost 2 minutes, his hands balled. Finally the hat opened its mouth.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Neville ran off to the Gryffindor table with the hat still on, he was so relieved. He had to run back amid laughter to give the hat to Professor McGonagall.
"Granger, Hermione!"
Harry watched Hermione walk up to the bench, a calm look on her face, panic showing only around the edges. She jammed the hat on her head determinedly and sat down.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Again the Gryffindor table exploded in cheers. A couple of people went up, then
"Malfoy, Draco!"
Draco sauntered up, his face the image of calm. Only Harry could see behind the mask he often wore. Behind it Malfoy was trembling horribly. Harry smiled to himself. There was no doubt in his mind that Draco would be a Slytherin.
Surprisingly though, Draco sat there for almost a minute before the hat cried out
"SLYTHERIN!"
Draco looked totally relieved when he took the hat off and walked happily up to the Slytherin table.
Harry, watching Draco walk up to the Slytherin table almost wanted to be there with him. With the group that had real character. But he quickly pushed that thought aside, he didn't really like Slytherin, it was just to evil for him. Although he liked Draco, he knew that he was too soft-hearted for them.
A number of names passed "Moon...Nott...Parkinson...Perks..."
Then at last-
"Potter, Harry!"
Harry checked himself, putting on the same expression as Draco and stepped forward, trying to ignore the whispered that followed his name.
The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes were people craning to get a good look at him. The next second he was looking at the black inside the hat.
"Hmm." A voice said inside Harry's head. "Hmm, difficult, every difficult indeed Potter. Plenty of courage I see, not a bad mind either. You seem pretty loyal, and oh there is a great thirst for power here. Hmmm... So Harry, where do you think I should put you?"
"Not Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, please not them!"
"Ah yes, I can see you would be rather miserable there. Interesting still, I can see you cant really decide between Gryffindor or Slytherin. Strange that, usually people want one or the other!"
"Now lets see here, Slytherin would be very good for you Harry. You have a very cool attitude, you could be a master of slyness, nobody could ever touch you, you could learn to hide all emotion, be the picture of cunning. Yes I can see a part of you would like that."
"But another part of you is Gryffindor. You would never desert your friends. In fact I am willing to bet you would die for many of them. You have an amazing amount of courage! The most I have seen in a very long time Harry. Your fight with Voldemort last month may be the bravest thing I have ever heard of someone doing. You are the picture of courage, a total hero. But then again, you don't want that. You hate all the attention already. That is both Gryffindor and Slytherin in you Harry."
Still its true Voldemort was a Slytherin and I know you don't want to be like him, you have to much kindness in you. You also want desperately to be like your father, although you never knew him. Yes I suppose you would have to be a-
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Harry took off the hat to and looked around him once more. Everyone was watching him and the Gryffindor table was going crazy.
"We got Potter!" One of the Weasley twins shouted loudly.
Harry smiled at them and walked over to his new group and sat down next to Ron and Hermione.
"Alright Harry! I knew you would be in Gryffindor! Still it took you an awful long time up there! You were sitting there for almost 5 minutes! I guess the hat was giving you a hard time..." Ron talked on animatedly to Harry. Harry smiled and nodded, hardly listening. He was to busy thinking.
"You could be the master of slyness Harry... The picture of cunning..." Harry shuttered. He didn't want to be that, although a part of him did. He knew now that he couldn't give in totally to his Slytherin part of himself. He would lose his identity. Nobody could see his emotions and eventually he wouldn't have any. He had to keep a part of himself Gryffindor. He smiled at himself, shaking his head. `God sometimes I can be so serious. Scary sometimes...' Harry thought to himself, shaking out of his meditative mood and joining the conversation about Quidditch that Ron and Semus were having.
Finally the last name was called and Professor McGonagall took the hat and stool away, not to be used till next year. Albus Dumbledore got to his feet. He beamed at he students and opened his arms wide, as if he was really happy that everybody was back.
"Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts. I would like to congratulate all the first years on an excellent sorting and I wish you all a good year at Hogwarts. Now before the banquet begins I only have a few more words for you-Nitwit! Blubber! Tweak! Thank you."
Harry laughed along with the rest but he wasn't really sure about Dumbledore, he seemed a little crazy.
Soon all thoughts of Dumbledore left his mind though as the banquet started. He was amazed. All the empty dishes in front of him had suddenly filled with food! Harry gasped, trying to take it all in. There was everything he loved there. Roast chickens, mashed potatoes, roast beef, pork chops, fries, peas, bacon, steak, carrots, gravy, and for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.
Although Mrs. Bradshaw had by no means starved Harry in anyway, they had never had much money at all. Harry was amazed that a table could hold so many amazing dishes. He almost never at Roast beef unless it was a tv dinner! Harry soon stopped staring and dug in, talking happily with his new friends and learning more about his new roommates.
He also learned about the Gryffindor's ghost, nearly headless nick. It was rather disheartening to see someone's head hanging on their neck by a flap of skin, but Harry figured that he would get used to things like that. He looked over at Draco and the other Slytherin's in the middle of the meal. Draco was sitting by the Bloody Baron, as Nearly headless nick called him, and didn't look too happy about it. Still he was talking animatedly to one of his housemates and seemed to be enjoying himself. Harry's eyes traveled along the rest of the Slytherin table. He was rather glad he wasn't there, none of the Slytherin's looked that friendly and he didn't really think it would be that fun hanging around them all the time. He soon caught sight of Blaise. He was sitting between two enormous people who looked like his body guards. Harry vaguely remembered their names. Something like Crabbe and Boil? Oh well, it didn't matter. They looked utterly stupid to anyway. Kind of reminded him of Dudley.
Finally the last of the food disappeared from his plate and Dumbledore stood up again.
"Just a few more words before I let you all go to get some sleep. I have a few start-of-term notices you must know. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is strictly forbidden to all students. It seems that a couple of our students last year, er, /forgot/ that little rule." Dumbledore turned his eyes on the Weasley twins, who were grinning from ear to ear.
"Also Mr. Filch says to remind you that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.
"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house team should contact Madam Hooch.
And now before we go to bed, lets sing the school song!"
Harry noticed that the teachers winced at this, they were obviously hoping that he would forget this part. He didn't.
"Everyone pick their favorite tune. And off we go!" Dumbledore waved his wand and a long gold string floated into the air, forming the words.
There was a chaos of voices until finally only two people were left. The Weasley twins, who were singing a slow funeral balad. Dumbledore conducted them with his wand until they finished.
"Very good and thank you for that amazing solo Weasleys." The twins bowed. "And now the Perfects will take you all to your room. Now go, off you trot!"
Dumbledore sat back down and the prefects stood up, motioning their tables to follow them upstairs. Harry got up and walked after Ron's older brother, Percy. Suddenly he felt exhausted. So much had happened today. He walked slowly down the hallway, trying to listen to what Ron was saying, but he couldn't get his mind to focus. They walked up staircases, down passageways, and up more staircases. Harry wondered if he would ever find his way to breakfast the next day! Then he heard Percy say "The staircases tend to move around a lot. Oh and watch out for the 3rd stair here, it's a trick stair, traps you tight it does!" Harry stepped over the stair, wondering why Dumbledore didn't like put a sign or something to warn people about it. Finally they stopped in front of a picture of a very fat lady in a pink dress. She turned her head to them and said primly, "Password?"
"Caput Draconis," Percy said proudly, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a sort of doorway in the wall. They all scrambled through and found themselves in the Gryffindor Common room. Harry forgot his sleepiness at once. The common room was beautiful! There was a cosy fire burning brightly in the fireplace, and the lights cast a homey glow across the whole room. There were many couches, loveseats and a couple armchairs near the fire. They were all a beautiful dark red and the carpet underneath them was also dark red with a picture of the Gryffindor lion, who was currently sleeping soundly. The rest of the common room was filled with round tables and comfy chairs for people to sit and do homework or play cards at. There were two doors leading out of the common area, one on the left and one on the right. Percy led the boys to the one on the right.
"This way boys. This will be your dormitory. You are not allowed in the girls dormitory under any circumstance. Breakfast will start at 7:00 and will go until 9. Now get some sleep." Percy said rather pompously and walked out.
Harry walked tiredly over to the bed next to Ron's. It had comfortable-looking sheets and a deep red velvet curtain around it. Harry got into bed without a word, as did the other boys. Soon the whole castle was asleep...
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A/N: So what did you think? Kind of boring I know. The next few chapters will be. But don't worry, I still have a plot! At least I know its somewhere around here... Lol. But anyway, thanks so much for all the reviews! I would thank you all separately but I don't have enough time. I have 54 reviews! At least last time I checked I did! People if you read this, review please! I love reviews. I don't have any flames yet, isn't that weird? I'm not complaining or anything though! Well read and review! Thanks!!!!
Disclaimer: I don't own them, I swear!! They just followed me home one night and I thought I'd keep them! It's the truth!!
A/N: Harry and company get put into their houses this chapter! I am just warning you now, this chapter is really pretty boring. I used many sections of this chapter right out of the book. Those parts are J.K's writings not mine. Just in case you were wondering... Well please read and review!
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Harry, Ron and Draco walked slowly down the train steps. People were everywhere. It was utter chaos! People trying to find their bags, friends reuniting, owls hooting loudly and cats running between peoples legs. How were they supposed to find out where they were going? Just then Harry heard a loud first screaming.
"Oy, all first years over here! All first years this way!"
Harry, Ron and Draco looked over to see where the voice was coming from. It wasn't hard to find out. Towering over everyone else was a teacher carrying a huge lantern and talking at the top of his lungs. The man had a very bushy face, his hair was thick and curly. He wore a beard too and Harry wasn't sure where his hair ended and his beard began. But that wasn't the most remarkable thing about him. He was huge, both up and across, and Harry wondered for a second if there could be Giants in the wizarding world. The thing that confused Harry the most though was that he could have sworn he had seen the man before. A very long time ago...
Harry shrugged and followed Ron and Draco over to the huge man, struggling against the sea of other students. Finally they made it and climbed into the boat that the man, Hagrid, had assigned them to. There was one other girl in the boat with them. She had very frizzy brown hair and rather large front teeth. Still she seemed nice enough. She smiled warmly at them as they got in.
"Hello, my names Hermione, what's you guys' names?"
Ron smiled a little. "Hey Hermione, I'm Ron Weasley!"
Harry looked at Draco, expecting him to chip right in, but Draco had closed up again. His face was a total mask, hiding all emotion. He had obviously not decided if he liked Hermione yet."
Harry rolled his eyes at Draco, then turned to Hermione and said, looking a little embarrassed, "Hey, I'm Harry Potter and this here's Draco Malfoy."
Hermione smiled at Draco. "Oh hey, I've heard of your family before." Draco scowled a little bit, but Hermione simply said, "They are a very old line of wizards, aren't they?"
Draco smiled then, obviously he had made up his mind about her. "Yep, we Malfoy's are pure blood wizards. Every single one of us have been in Slytherin too. In fac-"
Harry cut him off, smiling "In fact, they are known to be very stuck up and arrogant, isn't that right Draco?"
Draco scowled at him for a second, then smiled mischievously,
"Yes we are. In fact we are second only to Potters. 10 Years ago we were in first, but then a certain boy-who-lived was introduced into the family." Harry gave him a good-natured push, laughing along with the rest.
Hermione turned to Harry. "So then you are the boy-who-lived. When you said your name I wasn't sure if the last name was Potter or Jones. Do you have the scar?"
Hermione looked at him with interest only, not the admiring look most of the other people had given him. He was utterly grateful for this. He obligingly pulled back his messy brown hair from his forehead. Draco and Ron leaned closer, they hadn't seen the scar yet either. Ron gasped as he saw the red lightning bolt Harry had cut into his head.
"Do you remember any of it Harry? How you-know-who looked like or anything?" Ron said excitedly.
Harry smiled but shook his head. "No, nothing. Or hardly anything. Sometimes if I concentrate really hard I can remember a green flash. I guess that's a spell."
"Neat. I have read a lot about you, you know Harry. You were in 2 books I read." Hermione said, looking at him, seeming a little impressed.
"I am? Weird." Harry said.
"You had better hope none of the books we read in school mentions you. Wouldn't that be embarrassing if there was a whole section on you Harry?" Draco said, his silver eyes sparkling with mirth.
Harry groaned at the thought. Suddenly he looked around him for the first time. They were almost at the castle now. Harry noticed that all the boats were traveling at exactly the same speed, and even though there was no motors he could see, nobody was doing any paddling. 'Just got to get used to this magic stuff.' Harry thought, shaking his head.
The castle was huge, Harry wondered if he would ever be able to find all his classes. It was a gray stone and had 6 different towers, each with a flag and an observation platform on it. They were on a lake that seemed bottomless. It's surface was totally calm and it was a chilling blue-gray. Hagrid's boat was in front and was just landing on the green field on the other side of the lake. The other boats followed and Harry experienced a fluttering in his stomach for about the thousandth time.
The foursome's boat landed gently on land. Harry looked at Ron and Draco, with resolution in his eyes and stepped confidently out of the boat. Draco followed with the same impassive look on his face, then came Ron and Hermione, looking a little more nervous.
They met up with all the first years on the steps of the castle. Everybody was looking nervously about them. Then he heard Blaise, who was standing near him, say in a stage whisper to the boy next to him.
"Hey have you heard, that boy there's Harry Potter!"
The boy he had whispered to looked at Harry, with amazement on his face. He was a rather fat kid and very short. Clutched tightly in his hands was a rather ugly toad.
"Really? Are you sure? Couldn't he just be making it up?" The kid said in an ignorant voice, obviously too stupid to realize that he was falling for the boys trick.
"Ya" Blaise whispered in an even louder stage whisper. "Go ahead and ask him to show you his scar if you don't believe me!"
The boy looked nervous for a moment, then squared his shoulders. "Ok, I will!"
He marched over to Harry, but before he could even ask Harry pulled back his bangs, pointed at his scar and turned back to his conversation with Hermione, smiling to himself.
Blaise was just about to say something else to the fat kid when the big wooden doors swung open, revealing a stern-looking wizard. She had her brown hair pulled back tightly into a bun and her skinny mouth was in a pinched, stern-looking smile. All conversations stopped suddenly and everyone turned their eyes respectfully on the teacher.
(a/n This part is straight from the book. It would still be good if you read it anyway though.)
"Welcome to Hogwarts. I am Professor MrGonagall, your transfiguration teacher. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The sorting is very important because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.
"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will be awarded house cup, a great honor. I hope each one of you will be a credit to whichever house will be yours."
Draco elbowed Harry in the ribs. Harry looked over and followed his gaze. Blaise was standing there, his pale face even paler. He looked so white in fact Harry couldn't imagine he actually had any blood in him. He smiled at Draco. The stupid prat was obviously terrified at being sorted. Draco winked at him, then turned back to the Professor, a blank look on his face again.
"We will go inside shortly. You will wait in the passage-way while I make the last arrangements to the test. I would suggest you use this time to straighten yourselves up a little bit," her eyes traveled over Harry's messy hair and Neville's cloak. "I will be back shortly."
Harry nervously tried to flatten his messy hair, his own face a little paler, although it remained expressionless. He wasn't to keen on unknown tests, and although he was sure this one couldn't be too unsafe, he was still a little wary of `tests'. After all last time someone had said that he was almost killed.
Draco looked over at him with an oddly sympathetic look on his face. 'Its like he read my mind!' Harry thought, smiling to himself.
Professor McGonagall returned and silently led them into the room in a single file line. Harry heard Ron gulp next to him. He put a hand encouragingly on his friends shoulder, then, ignoring that his legs felt like lead all the sudden, he walked into the great hall.
Harry had never imagined such an amazing place. The great hall was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. The tables were lined with golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall there was another long table where the teachers were sitting.
Professor McGonagall led all the first years to the front of the room so they were facing the other students. Harry was suddenly aware how young he was, every single face here were older, and they were all staring at him. His mask fell apart, and suddenly he felt much more nervous. Here and there Harry spotted the glittery forms of...ghosts?! He stared at the ghosts, amazed. They were shiny, almost like mist, except they had a faint glow about them. They had on old-fashioned clothes, and one of them seemed to have blood on his tunic. Harry shuddered slightly, then turned his eyes on the ceiling, trying to avoid peoples eyes. He gasped despite himself. It didn't seem like there was a ceiling! Instead he was looking up into a cloudless night, the velvety blackness sprinkled with stars. Hermione looked up at the ceiling also and whispered in Harry's ear, "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in a book called /Hogwarts: A History./" Harry smiled at her, then turned his eyes back to Professor McGonagall.
She set a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of it she set a battered wizard hat. It was very frayed and patched and extremely dirty. A crazy thought passed Harry's mind `Maybe we have to pull a rabbit out of it!' He looked again into the crowd of students. They were all looking expectantly at the hat. Harry looked at it also. And it twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth- and the hat began to sing:
"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge by what you see.
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter had than me!
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can top them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The sorting hat cant see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You may belong to Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave of heart,
Their daring, nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindor apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal
Thos patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends
Those cunning fold use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
Your in safe hands (Though I have none)
For I'm the thinking cap!
The whole hall burst into thunderous applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to all four tables, then became quite still again. Harry was somewhat relieved. Well at least he didn't have to do a spell, or fight a troll, but a hat that read minds didn't seem that appealing to him. He had some rather nasty thoughts in that mind of his.
Professor McGonagall stepped forward again, now holding a long scroll of parchment.
"When I call you name, you will step forward and put on the had to be sorted." She opened the parchment, "Abbott, Hannah!"
A blond girl with a rosy face stepped up to the stool, sat down and put on the hat. It fell over her eyes. She sat there in silence for a moment, then the hat cried in a loud voice
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
The Hufflepuff cheered loudly and Hannah went down to sit at their table, a huge grin on her face.
"Bones, Susan!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
The hat shouted again and Susan ran off to join Hannah.
"Boot, Terry!"
"RAVENCLAW"
"Brocklehurst, Mandy!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Brown, Lavender!" Became the first Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see the Weasley twins catcalling in the background.
Harry was starting to feel a little sicker now. He had less of an impassive face and more of a scared face as the seconds went on. Harry noticed that the hat sometimes shouted names at once and other times it took it a long time."
"Longbottom, Neville!" Harry watched the short fat kid who had asked to see his scar walk nervously up to the bench and put on the hat. He sat there for almost 2 minutes, his hands balled. Finally the hat opened its mouth.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Neville ran off to the Gryffindor table with the hat still on, he was so relieved. He had to run back amid laughter to give the hat to Professor McGonagall.
"Granger, Hermione!"
Harry watched Hermione walk up to the bench, a calm look on her face, panic showing only around the edges. She jammed the hat on her head determinedly and sat down.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Again the Gryffindor table exploded in cheers. A couple of people went up, then
"Malfoy, Draco!"
Draco sauntered up, his face the image of calm. Only Harry could see behind the mask he often wore. Behind it Malfoy was trembling horribly. Harry smiled to himself. There was no doubt in his mind that Draco would be a Slytherin.
Surprisingly though, Draco sat there for almost a minute before the hat cried out
"SLYTHERIN!"
Draco looked totally relieved when he took the hat off and walked happily up to the Slytherin table.
Harry, watching Draco walk up to the Slytherin table almost wanted to be there with him. With the group that had real character. But he quickly pushed that thought aside, he didn't really like Slytherin, it was just to evil for him. Although he liked Draco, he knew that he was too soft-hearted for them.
A number of names passed "Moon...Nott...Parkinson...Perks..."
Then at last-
"Potter, Harry!"
Harry checked himself, putting on the same expression as Draco and stepped forward, trying to ignore the whispered that followed his name.
The last thing Harry saw before the hat dropped over his eyes were people craning to get a good look at him. The next second he was looking at the black inside the hat.
"Hmm." A voice said inside Harry's head. "Hmm, difficult, every difficult indeed Potter. Plenty of courage I see, not a bad mind either. You seem pretty loyal, and oh there is a great thirst for power here. Hmmm... So Harry, where do you think I should put you?"
"Not Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, please not them!"
"Ah yes, I can see you would be rather miserable there. Interesting still, I can see you cant really decide between Gryffindor or Slytherin. Strange that, usually people want one or the other!"
"Now lets see here, Slytherin would be very good for you Harry. You have a very cool attitude, you could be a master of slyness, nobody could ever touch you, you could learn to hide all emotion, be the picture of cunning. Yes I can see a part of you would like that."
"But another part of you is Gryffindor. You would never desert your friends. In fact I am willing to bet you would die for many of them. You have an amazing amount of courage! The most I have seen in a very long time Harry. Your fight with Voldemort last month may be the bravest thing I have ever heard of someone doing. You are the picture of courage, a total hero. But then again, you don't want that. You hate all the attention already. That is both Gryffindor and Slytherin in you Harry."
Still its true Voldemort was a Slytherin and I know you don't want to be like him, you have to much kindness in you. You also want desperately to be like your father, although you never knew him. Yes I suppose you would have to be a-
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Harry took off the hat to and looked around him once more. Everyone was watching him and the Gryffindor table was going crazy.
"We got Potter!" One of the Weasley twins shouted loudly.
Harry smiled at them and walked over to his new group and sat down next to Ron and Hermione.
"Alright Harry! I knew you would be in Gryffindor! Still it took you an awful long time up there! You were sitting there for almost 5 minutes! I guess the hat was giving you a hard time..." Ron talked on animatedly to Harry. Harry smiled and nodded, hardly listening. He was to busy thinking.
"You could be the master of slyness Harry... The picture of cunning..." Harry shuttered. He didn't want to be that, although a part of him did. He knew now that he couldn't give in totally to his Slytherin part of himself. He would lose his identity. Nobody could see his emotions and eventually he wouldn't have any. He had to keep a part of himself Gryffindor. He smiled at himself, shaking his head. `God sometimes I can be so serious. Scary sometimes...' Harry thought to himself, shaking out of his meditative mood and joining the conversation about Quidditch that Ron and Semus were having.
Finally the last name was called and Professor McGonagall took the hat and stool away, not to be used till next year. Albus Dumbledore got to his feet. He beamed at he students and opened his arms wide, as if he was really happy that everybody was back.
"Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts. I would like to congratulate all the first years on an excellent sorting and I wish you all a good year at Hogwarts. Now before the banquet begins I only have a few more words for you-Nitwit! Blubber! Tweak! Thank you."
Harry laughed along with the rest but he wasn't really sure about Dumbledore, he seemed a little crazy.
Soon all thoughts of Dumbledore left his mind though as the banquet started. He was amazed. All the empty dishes in front of him had suddenly filled with food! Harry gasped, trying to take it all in. There was everything he loved there. Roast chickens, mashed potatoes, roast beef, pork chops, fries, peas, bacon, steak, carrots, gravy, and for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.
Although Mrs. Bradshaw had by no means starved Harry in anyway, they had never had much money at all. Harry was amazed that a table could hold so many amazing dishes. He almost never at Roast beef unless it was a tv dinner! Harry soon stopped staring and dug in, talking happily with his new friends and learning more about his new roommates.
He also learned about the Gryffindor's ghost, nearly headless nick. It was rather disheartening to see someone's head hanging on their neck by a flap of skin, but Harry figured that he would get used to things like that. He looked over at Draco and the other Slytherin's in the middle of the meal. Draco was sitting by the Bloody Baron, as Nearly headless nick called him, and didn't look too happy about it. Still he was talking animatedly to one of his housemates and seemed to be enjoying himself. Harry's eyes traveled along the rest of the Slytherin table. He was rather glad he wasn't there, none of the Slytherin's looked that friendly and he didn't really think it would be that fun hanging around them all the time. He soon caught sight of Blaise. He was sitting between two enormous people who looked like his body guards. Harry vaguely remembered their names. Something like Crabbe and Boil? Oh well, it didn't matter. They looked utterly stupid to anyway. Kind of reminded him of Dudley.
Finally the last of the food disappeared from his plate and Dumbledore stood up again.
"Just a few more words before I let you all go to get some sleep. I have a few start-of-term notices you must know. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is strictly forbidden to all students. It seems that a couple of our students last year, er, /forgot/ that little rule." Dumbledore turned his eyes on the Weasley twins, who were grinning from ear to ear.
"Also Mr. Filch says to remind you that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.
"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house team should contact Madam Hooch.
And now before we go to bed, lets sing the school song!"
Harry noticed that the teachers winced at this, they were obviously hoping that he would forget this part. He didn't.
"Everyone pick their favorite tune. And off we go!" Dumbledore waved his wand and a long gold string floated into the air, forming the words.
There was a chaos of voices until finally only two people were left. The Weasley twins, who were singing a slow funeral balad. Dumbledore conducted them with his wand until they finished.
"Very good and thank you for that amazing solo Weasleys." The twins bowed. "And now the Perfects will take you all to your room. Now go, off you trot!"
Dumbledore sat back down and the prefects stood up, motioning their tables to follow them upstairs. Harry got up and walked after Ron's older brother, Percy. Suddenly he felt exhausted. So much had happened today. He walked slowly down the hallway, trying to listen to what Ron was saying, but he couldn't get his mind to focus. They walked up staircases, down passageways, and up more staircases. Harry wondered if he would ever find his way to breakfast the next day! Then he heard Percy say "The staircases tend to move around a lot. Oh and watch out for the 3rd stair here, it's a trick stair, traps you tight it does!" Harry stepped over the stair, wondering why Dumbledore didn't like put a sign or something to warn people about it. Finally they stopped in front of a picture of a very fat lady in a pink dress. She turned her head to them and said primly, "Password?"
"Caput Draconis," Percy said proudly, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a sort of doorway in the wall. They all scrambled through and found themselves in the Gryffindor Common room. Harry forgot his sleepiness at once. The common room was beautiful! There was a cosy fire burning brightly in the fireplace, and the lights cast a homey glow across the whole room. There were many couches, loveseats and a couple armchairs near the fire. They were all a beautiful dark red and the carpet underneath them was also dark red with a picture of the Gryffindor lion, who was currently sleeping soundly. The rest of the common room was filled with round tables and comfy chairs for people to sit and do homework or play cards at. There were two doors leading out of the common area, one on the left and one on the right. Percy led the boys to the one on the right.
"This way boys. This will be your dormitory. You are not allowed in the girls dormitory under any circumstance. Breakfast will start at 7:00 and will go until 9. Now get some sleep." Percy said rather pompously and walked out.
Harry walked tiredly over to the bed next to Ron's. It had comfortable-looking sheets and a deep red velvet curtain around it. Harry got into bed without a word, as did the other boys. Soon the whole castle was asleep...
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A/N: So what did you think? Kind of boring I know. The next few chapters will be. But don't worry, I still have a plot! At least I know its somewhere around here... Lol. But anyway, thanks so much for all the reviews! I would thank you all separately but I don't have enough time. I have 54 reviews! At least last time I checked I did! People if you read this, review please! I love reviews. I don't have any flames yet, isn't that weird? I'm not complaining or anything though! Well read and review! Thanks!!!!