Later that night, after following Hagrid all the way up to the castle, Harry and the rest of the first-years stood in a chamber off the Great Hall. They were given a stern lecture by Professor McGonagall, before being told to wait in the chamber.

"So," Harry heard a boy say at the back of the group, "everyone ready for the test? My brother said it hurts a lot, but I think he was just joking."

"Your whole family's a joke, Weasley," said Malfoy. "Any half-decent wizard should know about the Sorting Hat."

A distraction came in the form of many different ghosts floating in through the walls, after which Professor McGonagall ushered them away and led the first-years into the massive Great Hall ("The ceiling's enchanted to look like the sky," Harry heard the bossy girl whisper to someone). They were then made to stand side-by-side with their backs to the staff table, facing the rest of the students and the Sorting Hat.

After listening to the Sorting Hat sing its song, the first-years braced themselves as Professor McGonagall opened the large roll of parchment in her hands. She paused for a moment before calling: "Abbott, Hannah!"

Some pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails nearly fell out of line as she made her way up to the stool, beside Professor McGonagall. She sat down and placed the Hat over her head, which then yelled "HUFFLEPUFF!"

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down with them. The ghost of the Fat Friar waved merrily at her.

The next student to be called was 'Bones, Susan'. She took a deep breath and walked up to the stool, where she sat down for just a few seconds until the Hat yelled "HUFFLEPUFF!" again.

The Hufflepuff table burst into applause once more.

'Boot, Terry' went up next and was Sorted into Ravenclaw, as was 'Brocklehurst, Mandy' thereafter. They were followed by 'Brown, Lavender' becoming the first new Gryffindor. The table on the left cheered and whistled as Lavender made her way over to them.

'Bulstrode, Millicent' became the first new Slytherin. Harry could tell that they were an unpleasant lot.

The next two students ('Corner, Michael' and 'Cornfoot, Stephen') were placed in Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, respectively. They were followed by one of Malfoy's bodyguards, Crabbe, being placed in Slytherin.

"Davis, Tracey!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

Meanwhile, Harry started daydreaming about where in the world he was going to end up. His thoughts drifted to Gryffindor, as 'Dunbar, Fay' went their way; Ravenclaw, as 'Entwhistle, Kevin' was placed there; and then Hufflepuff, once the snobbish 'Finch-Fletchley, Justin' swaggered over to their table.

On and on it went. 'Finnigan, Seamus' became the third Gryffindor; 'Goldstein, Anthony' went to Ravenclaw; Malfoy's other bodyguard, Goyle, joined his fellow dimwit in Slytherin; and then 'Granger, Hermione' (the bossy girl from the train) was called up to the stool. She almost ran to the stool and jammed the Hat onto her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Greengrass, Daphne!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

Harry stared at the star-sprinkled sky as 'Hopkins, Wayne' went to Hufflepuff, and 'Jones, Megan' was placed in Slytherin. They were succeeded by Neville Longbottom, who fell over on his way to the stool. The Hat took a long time to decide with Neville, and when it finally shouted "GRYFFINDOR!", Neville ran off with the Hat still on his head. He had to jog back amidst gales of laughter to give it to 'MacDougal, Morag'.

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Macmillan, Ernest!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Malfoy, Draco!"

Harry kept his eyes fixed on Malfoy but didn't have to wait long, as the Hat barely touched Malfoy's head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"

No surprise there.

Malfoy went to join Crabbe and Goyle at the Slytherin table. He looked pleased with himself and shook quite a few hands.

There weren't many people left now. 'Malone, Roger' and 'Moon, Lily' each went to Hufflepuff, followed by the weedy-looking 'Nott, Theodore' heading to Slytherin.

"Parkinson, Pansy!"

The hard-faced Pansy Parkinson stepped forward and was placed in Slytherin as well. She strutted to the applauding table and took a seat opposite Malfoy.

Almost there.

Next, 'Patil, Padma' was placed in Ravenclaw, followed by her twin, Parvati, making Gryffindor.

"Perks, Sally-Anne!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Harry wondered whether there was anyone between 'Perks' and 'Potter'. But his thoughts were interrupted as Professor McGonagall said, "Potter, Harry!"

As Harry stepped forward, whispers broke out like little hissing fires all over the Great Hall. Many students were craning to get a good look at Harry as he went up to the stool.

"Hmm," said a small voice in Harry's ear, once the Hat had dropped past his eyes. "Difficult. Very difficult ..."

The Hat mentioned plenty of courage, a decent mind, loads of talent, and a thirst to prove himself.

"So," it said, "where shall I put you?"

My parents went to Gryffindor, Harry thought. That seems right.

"A gallant choice," said the Hat.

But I also like to study, like a Ravenclaw.

The Hat explained that house traits weren't always that simple. It even suggested Slytherin, for Harry's ambition, though Harry declined.

"Are you sure? You could be great in Slytherin, you know –"

No thanks. What about Hufflepuff?

They discussed the possibilities of Harry in Hufflepuff, which only made things even more confusing.

"Very well," said the Hat, "I shall put you in ... GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry was so relieved to be done with his Sorting, he barely noticed that he was getting the loudest cheer yet. The next few minutes felt like a haze as Harry took a seat at the near end of the Gryffindor table, shaking more hands (including a ghost's) than he could remember. He could see two redheaded twins boasting: "We got Potter!" over and over to the other houses (particularly to the Slytherins) and for the first time, Harry felt accepted in school (or they could be using him as a trophy, though Harry didn't care).

"Rivers, Oliver!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Harry could see the staff table properly now. At the end furthest him sat Hagrid, who caught his eye and gave him the thumbs-up. Harry smiled back, then swept his gaze left until spotting the Headmaster. He recognised Professor Dumbledore at once from the descriptions given by the Tonkses. He also spotted Professor Quirrell from the Leaky Cauldron, though Quirrell was looking rather odd in a large purple turban.

The next two students ('Roper, Sophie' and 'Runcorn, Alice') each went to Hufflepuff.

"Thomas, Dean!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry and the rest of his house applauded their newest member, though Harry was more focused on the next student than anything else.

"Tonks, Nymphadora!"

Over a minute passed until the Hat yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!" Harry breathed a sigh of relief as Tonks came to sit next to him.

There were only three people left now. 'Turpin, Lisa' went to Ravenclaw, 'Weasley, Ronald' came to join his brothers in Gryffindor, and 'Zabini, Blaise' went to join Malfoy and the rest in Slytherin.

With the Sorting Ceremony concluded, Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Hat away.

"Welcome!" said Professor Dumbledore, standing with his arms opened wide. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts!" Then he proceeded to say a few words: "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!", followed by "Thank you!"

What?

Harry was about to comment when, all of a sudden, the dishes in front of him filled up with food. He filled his plate with whatever he could reach, then stuffed himself while listening to Nearly Headless Nick and the students introduce themselves to one another.

At some point, while having dessert, Harry felt a sharp pain shoot across his scar.

"Ouch!" he said, clapping his hand on his forehead.

"Something wrong?" Tonks asked.

"Small pain. Not sure why, though."

Once the puddings had disappeared, Professor Dumbledore got to his feet and gave a lengthy speech regarding the Forbidden Forest being off-limits, the use of magic being forbidden in the corridors, Quidditch trials taking place during the second week of term, and the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side being off-limits to everyone who did not wish to die 'a most painful death'.

"Ooooh," said Tonks, rubbing her hands together. "So scary."

Percy the prefect frowned. "I wouldn't take that lightly, if I were you."

Dumbledore ended his speech by commencing the school song, which was interesting, to say the least. The students were then dismissed, and Harry's group followed Percy up to their common room. They met Peeves the poltergeist along the way, with many students being annoyed by his antics.

Once in the common room, Harry and Tonks were directed to their dormitories. Harry was so tired that he pulled on his pyjamas and fell into his four-poster bed.

"Great food, isn't it?" Ron said out loud to his roommates. There was a murmur of agreement before Ron scolded his pet rat, Scabbers, for chewing his sheets.

That night, Harry had a strange dream involving Quirrell's turban telling him to transfer to Slytherin at once, as it was Harry's destiny. But when Harry refused, the turban grew heavier and heavier while strangling Harry. And then there was Malfoy and his family, laughing at Harry in a high, cold manner. The dream ended with a flash of bright-green light, causing Harry to jerk up in bed, sweating and shaking.

Harry rolled over and fell asleep again. And when he woke the next morning, he couldn't remember the dream at all.

Harry's first day of classes consisted of Herbology and History of Magic in the morning, then Astronomy Theory in the afternoon. It was a decent bunch of lessons overall, apart from the droning Professor Binns.

Tuesday brought Charms and Transfiguration in the morning. Professor Flitwick caused much laughter when he toppled off his stack of books upon reading Harry's name on the list. And when it came to the lesson itself, Professor Flitwick started them all on the Wand-Lighting Charm, Lumos, which Harry and Tonks picked up in no time.

"Well done!" said Professor Flitwick, as Harry and Tonks lit their wands. "Six points to Gryffindor!"

At the end of their lesson, Tonks gathered everyone in the front of the class and promised to show them a very rare piece of magic. She started jumping up and down, like star-jumps, and spun herself round and round before coming to a halt.

"Er ..." Professor Flitwick looked as bemused as everyone else. "What are you doing, exactly?"

Somewhat dizzy, Tonks waved her arms like windmills and scrunched up her face. Nobody knew what to make of this until Tonks's shoulder-length, light-brown hair suddenly turned ruby red.

Everyone gasped, including Professor Flitwick.

"Oh my," he said. "So it is true!"

Hermione scratched her cheek. "What's true, Professor?"

Tonks made a finger-on-the-lip gesture at Professor Flitwick, then told her classmates that they could do it, too. Almost immediately, everyone started copying Tonks's routine. She took them through all the steps, though nobody managed to change their hair one bit.

"I don't understand!" said Hermione, tugging her bushy brown hair. "I did all the steps perfectly!"

"You're not spinning your arms enough," said Tonks.

On and on it went (Neville toppled over after a while), until Professor Flitwick intervened and said that Tonks was merely pranking them. There was an immediate uproar, which Harry couldn't help laughing at.

"That's not funny!" said Lavender, glaring at Tonks. "You're boring!"

Parvati stomped her foot and scowled. "Yeah! Totally boring! I'm never talking to you again!"

"Booooo!" said Fay, whose long brown hair remained unchanged. "You suck!"

Even Hermione lost her temper. "I completely agree! I don't know what tricks this is, but it's definitely not magic!"

Harry's roommates were more bemused than upset, given that Tonks's hair had actually changed.

"Weird," said Ron, furrowing his brows. "I mean, it still worked for her, right?"

Dean and Seamus shrugged, while Neville was still recovering from his spin.

Now that was random.

Harry had no idea what had happened, and decided to head out for the morning break. Tonks caught up with him in the corridor and was still shaking with the giggles.

"How'd you do that?" Harry asked, staring at her ruby-red hair in awe. "You didn't even use a wand!"

Tonks tilted her nose in the air. "It's my own special talent. You'll find out soon enough."

Break was followed by Transfiguration. As expected, Professor McGonagall gave them a strict talking-to the moment they sat down.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

She changed her desk to a pig and back again. And although the class were impressed and were eager to get started, they soon realised that they weren't going to be changing furniture to animals for a long time. Professor McGonagall gave them loads of complicated notes before making them change matches to needles. And by the end of the lesson, Hermione was the only one to accomplish the task, earning a rare smile.

"Professor!" said Tonks, once the bell rang. "I would like to say that I'm well ahead of this class."

Professor McGonagall raised a brow, while standing at her desk. "Is that so? I believe your match says otherwise."

"Let's make a deal," said Tonks, sitting up straight in her desk. "If I showed you wandless hair-changing magic, would you give twenty points to Gryffindor?"

"That remains to be seen, Miss Tonks."

The rest of the class stopped their packing to watch. Grinning, Tonks scrunched her face, snapped her fingers, and turned her hair from ruby red to bubblegum pink.

"I don't get it!" said Lavender, scowling. "How does she do that?"

Hermione swung her bag over her shoulder. "She's a Metamorphmagus. They're extremely rare and are born with the ability to change themselves at will. I asked Professor Flitwick after you left."

"WHAT?"

She's a shape-shifter?

Everyone gawked at Tonks. She gave a smug grin.

"Guess this means I can skip the Human Transfiguration part of our curriculum, right?" she asked Professor McGonagall, who gave a slight scoff.

"Absolutely not!"

Tonks slouched her shoulders and made an exaggerated sigh. "Fine. I'll try not to skive off then."

"See that you do," said Professor McGonagall. "Is everything OK, Mr Potter?"

Harry, who had been staring at the floor, was jerked out of his thoughts. "Er, yes. I was just wondering how you become a Metamorphmagus."

"You don't," said Professor McGonagall, beating Tonks to the sentence. "Metamorphmagi are born, not learned."

Tonks chuckled as she looked at Harry. "Bet you wouldn't mind hiding that scar sometimes, eh?"

"I guess so." Harry looked at his wand in his hand. "Maybe I should learn Human Transfiguration fast. Then we can both change."

"Brilliant idea!" said Tonks, and even Professor McGonagall smiled.

"While I admire your dedication, Potter, Human Transfiguration is highly advanced magic. N.E.W.T. level, to be precise."

Harry creased his brows. "What level?"

"Sixth year onwards."

After packing their bags and swinging them over their shoulders, Harry and Tonks left the Transfiguration classroom. They had a quick lunch, followed by revising their Transfiguration and then heading for Herbology in the early afternoon.

When the bell rang, Harry rushed to History of Magic but chose to study his Transfiguration textbook during class. He ignored Binns's droning as much as he could while brushing up on Professor McGonagall's theory.

Wednesday started with Astronomy atop the tallest tower at midnight. After that, Harry returned to his dormitory and had a good night's sleep before waking up for breakfast.

The day was fairly simple overall. Herbology came at nine o'clock, break at ten o'clock, History of Magic at half past ten, lunch at noon, and then Astronomy Theory at one o'clock. There were no more classes after that.

On Thursday, Harry did well in both Charms and Transfiguration in the morning. He'd performed an excellent Wand-Lighting Charm as well as its extinguishing spell, Nox, therefore earning five points to Gryffindor. And in Professor McGonagall's class, Harry surprised even himself by getting his match to change into a pointy silver needle, earning another five points to Gryffindor.

We could win the House Cup at this rate!

Unfortunately, Harry's (and many others') enthusiasm soon fizzled out in the afternoon. The class they'd all been looking forward to, Defence Against the Dark Arts, turned out to be a joke. Between the garlic stench, Quirrell's (questionable) tales, and the lack of practical work, Harry wasn't sure which one was worse.

"I hate that class," he told Tonks in the corridor. "Maybe we should complain."

Tonks shrugged. "Or we could just study on our own and shoot ahead."

"Good idea," said Harry. "But maybe we should brush up on Potions before tomorrow."

On Friday, Tonks spent the early morning entertaining various Metamorphosing-requests in the common room. She did a bird-like beak, cat-like eyes, and even a Dumbledore-like beard, among other changes.

The requests continued until Percy stopped the show and told them all to head for breakfast. Tonks ended her game by reverting to her usual heart-shaped face and ruby-red hair (which seemed to be one of her favourite colours these days), though she wasn't quite sure what to make her eyes.

Hermione snorted as she walked past, holding a thick book in her arms. "Oh, please. The two of you hang out so much together that you might as well do him, for a change."

"Wicked!" said Tonks, beaming. "What d'you say, Harry? I can be your eye-twin for the day!"

Harry chortled. "That's weird, but OK."

Tonks stared him in the eye for a few seconds before scrunching her face, and making her eyes the same as his.

Wow, now that is weird!

"Anybody messes with you," she said, with a slight huff, "then I'll put them in their place!"

Harry wasn't quite sure what to make of this.

Breakfast was followed by double Potions, in the dungeons. Professor Snape started the lesson by taking the register, then pausing at Harry's name. He gave a soft remark about Harry being their new celebrity, before carrying on with the list of names.

"Thomas, Dean."

Dean raised his hand.

"Tonks, Nymphadora."

Tonks raised her hand. For some reason, Snape froze for a moment before moving on with the register.

And now? Harry wondered.

Once the last two students, Ron and Zabini, were called, Snape rolled up the scroll and gave a long, stern speech regarding potion-making. Then he turned to Harry and demanded to know what he'd get if he added powered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood.

"Draught of Living Death, sir."

Snape's eyes narrowed. "Where would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?"

"In the stomach of a goat, sir."

"And what does it do?" Snape asked, looking more annoyed than pleased with Harry's responses.

Why's he picking on me? "Cures most poisons, sir."

At this point, Tonks and the other Gryffindors (except Hermione, who was desperate to answer) looked just as offended as Harry. It was clear that Snape had singled out Harry for no apparent reason, for which the Slytherins were sniggering.

"What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Harry tried hard to mask his anger. "Nothing."

"Nothing, sir," said Snape, glaring down at Harry. "And for your information, Potter, it also goes by the name of aconite."

Shortly thereafter, Snape put them all into pairs and set them to brewing a simple potion to cure boils. It was relatively smooth sailing for Harry as he worked with Tonks, until Neville melted Seamus's cauldron and caused their potion to seep across the stone floor. Snape berated Neville and told Seamus to take him up to the hospital wing. Then, all of a sudden, Snape snapped on Harry for allowing Neville to make a mistake.

"Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? Two points from Gryffindor, Potter."

"What's your problem?" Tonks asked Snape, startling Harry. "He didn't do anything wrong!"

Snape snarled. "Three points from Gryffindor for speaking out of turn, Miss Tonks!"

"Why don't you take points from yourself for picking on Harry?"

"Ten points from Gryffindor," said Snape. "And a detention this evening."

Harry whispered for Tonks to just 'leave it'.

"Something to say, Potter?" said Snape. The Slytherins shook with sniggers behind his back. "Well? Spit it out."

"You can't put her in detention, sir."

Snape raised a brow. "Oh, really? Then I suppose I'll put you both in detention this evening. Mr Filch will be expecting you on the first floor, in the Entrance Hall." He spun around and added: "And five points from Gryffindor for cheek, Potter."

"Stupid ugly git," Tonks muttered, once Snape was out of earshot. "He really doesn't like you, does he?"

Harry shrugged and continued with their brewing.

When the bell rang, Harry and Tonks left at once (with Snape reminding them about their detention). Harry was in low spirits as they travelled through the labyrinthine dungeon corridors, but Tonks cheered him up by changing her hair from ruby red to lime green.

"That looks mental," Harry said, with a slight chuckle. He was all smiles until coming across Draco Malfoy in the Entrance Hall. Great. What now?

"Think you're special, don't you?" Malfoy asked Tonks. "Tell me, what manner of trickery did your parents do to make you this?"

Tonks scoffed. "You jealous or envious?"

"No magic can make a Metamorphmagus," Harry said, glaring at Malfoy. "Any half-decent wizard should know that."

"Shut your mouth, Potter. Of course I know that."

"Shame," said Tonks. "Someone's feeling very insecure. Does Mummy and Daddy know? Are they sad that ickle Dwaco isn't so special?"

"Shut up!" said Malfoy, snarling. "Enjoy your stupid congenital gift. At least I'm not a half-blood!"

He's not even worth fighting today. I got better things to do.

Crabbe scratched his head. "What's congentinal?"

"Congenital, Crabbe," said Malfoy, shaking his head. "Something that's there from birth." He scoffed. "Come on, let's leave these freaks alone."

Harry was sorely tempted to hex Malfoy, but he stopped his hand from reaching for his wand.

"What a loser," said Tonks, as they entered the Great Hall for lunch. She changed her hair back to ruby red. "But I guess he's not the first one. There's been a lot of jealousy over Metamorphmagi throughout history, especially since we're so rare."

When they visited Hagrid that afternoon, Harry and Tonks were greeted by Fang the boarhound, then Hagrid himself.

"Make yerselves at home," he said, welcoming them into his cabin. Then he looked at Tonks and chuckled. "Copying Harry now, eh? Tha' sorta looks like his mum."

What? Harry looked at Tonks, who blinked.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't –"

"Nah, it's fine," said Harry. Then he turned to look up at Hagrid. "By the way, is my broom here?"

Tonks changed her eyes from bright-green to hazel, and started looking around. "Yeah! Where'd you stash it?"

Hagrid guffawed. "Eager, aren't yeh? Er ... why not wait until after yeh firs' lesson with Madam Hooch? Jus' in case."

"Just in case what?" Tonks asked. "Harry's not going to fall off his broom or anything, er ..." – she looked at Harry – "are you?"

Harry felt a rush of icy cold as he considered the possibility. "Er, I don't know. The closest I came to flying was probably in a dream."

"What dream?" Tonks asked, tilting her head slightly to the side. "Was it a magic carpet?"

Harry mentioned the dream he'd had a number of times already, about a flying motorbike. Hagrid grinned.

"Tha' was me! Taking yeh away from" – his expression fell – "Godric's Hollow."

Harry felt a strange mix of cold and warmth. He wasn't sure what to say, really.

"Yeh dad was a good flier, though," Hagrid said, breaking the silence. "One o' the best Chasers on the team, in fact ..."

He brought out tea and rock cakes, then spoke about Harry's parents back in their school days. Harry couldn't help smiling when he heard that both of them had been rather rowdy at times. Tonks tried to use this as motivation to get Harry interested in pranking.

"Hey, now," said Hagrid, as they sat at the table. "That's all fun an' stuff, but stay focused on yer studies instead."

Harry agreed. Tonks huffed.

"Just so you know, Fred and George gave me a dungbomb. I'm going to get Malfoy later on."

"Suit yourself," said Harry.

The topic then changed to Harry's broom. Hagrid confessed that he'd given it to Professor McGonagall.

Harry groaned. "Seriously?"

"Why'd you do that?" said Tonks, scowling. "We trusted you!"

Hagrid shrugged. "Didn't have any choice. Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore were both waiting fer me when I go' back. An' I wasn' about ter lie ter either o' them, especially not Dumbledore himself."

"S'pose it's all right," said Harry. He couldn't hate Hagrid, no matter what. "Flying Lessons starts this Thursday anyway. Might as well try one of the school brooms in the meantime."

"Those are rubbish," said Tonks, standing up from the table. "But OK. We forgive you, Hagrid."

Hagrid smiled. "I was abou' ter walk Fang anyway. Might as well see what yeh got."

Harry and Tonks wrapped their rock cakes and placed them in their bags. Then they left the cabin and made their way to the Quidditch stadium.

Hope I can fly like Dad.