** Dimension Wander **

By Tvillinger

Life One -- Part II

"You don't have ta shove!" a slightly squeaky voice called out of the crowd.

Charlie Weasley, withdrawing himself from the many arms of his family, was the only one who heard it. "Mum, why's there a kid alone at the station?"

"What?" Molly looked around and spotted the little tike instantly, her mother sense buzzing. "Oh the poor dear! Do you think he's gotten separated from his parents?"

The 'poor dear' couldn't be much older than five or so, the top of his face almost completely hidden from view by such a bundle of black hair, the like of which Charlie had never seen. Charlie scratched his own bright red hair with his trademark confused look. "I don't know, he looks pretty confident by himself."

AS if he heard them, the kid turned and stared at the family, freezing in complete shock. And the Weasley family reacted no better.

Molly screamed.

"Harry Potter! It's Harry Potter, here at the train station!"

Heads swirled to stare at where Molly was pointing, most of them muggles with no idea who Harry Potter was. But the many wizarding families there to drop their Hogwarts students off all dropped whatever it was they were doing (resulting in more than one indignant owl), scrabbling furiously to see the famous Boy Who Lived.

Charlie saw Harry wince, could have sworn the child swore, and followed him as the boy took off, trying to lose the wizards and witches in the crowd. As discreet as possible, Charlie strolled over and examined the little pile of luggage Harry had been sitting beside. He didn't believe his eyes when he saw nothing other than standard Hogwarts supplies, all marked in the same lazy scrawl: Harry J. Potter.

"Aw, no! I told you, Sirius. It doesn't matter how mature you think Harry is, he won't be okay left alone."

"Hey, hey! I'm not the one responsible for this-"

"Balderdash. You're his godfather, for crying out loud. Now come on, we better find him."

Charlie wasn't sure whether he had fallen asleep but it sure felt like it as the two men walked towards him, arguing loudly. But when he saw the other wizards/witches' reactions, he knew he wasn't the only one. There he was, being approached by none other than Sirius Black, the famous Auror responsible for bringing in over half of all Death Eaters in the Ministry's custody, and Remus Lupin, the man who single-handily reversed almost every unfair law against werewolves and other 'dark' creatures. The legal guardians of the one and only Harry Potter.

"Excuse me, have you seen a small boy, 'bout yay high?" Sirius Black was asking everyone, his hand at his hip in an accurate measurement of Harry's height. "Glasses, black hair? No, well thanks."

Remus smiled tightly at Charlie. "You've seen Harry, right?"

Charlie could only nod dumbly, pointing off in some vague direction. Remus groaned and called over his shoulder, "I think there's a problem."

Sirius jogged over. "What?"

"Wizards." And Sirius groaned as well.

"I-I can help you find him," Charlie volunteered, rubbing his neck absently. "I saw where he went." Remus smiled and Sirius slapped Charlie on the back.

"Good boy. Now, lead the way."

*

Harry was scowling to himself, angrily watching the crowds at the station, and swearing to himself that Sirius had only one more minute, or Harry would go through the barrier alone. And if one more of those crazy witches caught sight of him…

"Look, there he is!"

"Harry!"

He took off, not even bothering to see who it was. His black hair flew like a twisted cloud around his head, and glasses slipping down his nose, threatening to fall off.

"Harry James Potter! Get you skinny butt back here, or I'll sick the werewolf on you!"

And he stopped with a relieved sigh. "Sirius."

Sirius grinned and scooped Harry up. "You sure run fast. Couple more years and we'll try you out to play Quidditch. You remember what Quidditch is, right?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "'Course I do." 'More than you know.' "Can we go now?"

"Sure." Sirius ruffled Harry's hair, annoying the teenage boy stuck in the childish body to no end. "Remus got's all your stuff in the train. But there's still a couple minutes left until the train gets here. What, you so ready to leave? Am I that bad a dad?"

"You're not too bad," Harry confessed, feeling ready to blush. "'Cept that time you dropped me. And when you turned my bath into a swimming pool-"

"Shh, shh," Sirius looked around to see if anyone heard. "You still remember that?"

"Course." Harry felt like rolling his eyes again, but a six-year old could only do that so many times before people got suspicious. "So can we go now?"

As much as he loved his godfather, there was seriously only so much Harry could take of the jokes, and the jokes, and the jokes. Remus was of the same ilk, so when the two of they ganged up on unsuspecting muggles, wizards, and witches, Harry laughed until it hurt. When they ganged up on him, he got back. And then he hid for the few days after, hoping that they're tempers would cool enough to let them remember how extremely important Harry Potter was to the wizarding world.

Neither of them yet suspected him of being anything other than their best friend's son, not even when the jokes he pulled were as great as their own. It was, to say the least, much better than life at the Dursley's.

But as he said before, Harry could only take so much before he went insane.

Sirius chuckled and patted Harry's back, leading him towards the barrier. Harry's hands went up to flatten the hair around his bangs, trying to keep his identity unknown.

Molly had greatly calmed down but her eyes were zooming across the crowds, trying to pick out the dark haired child again, while those around her were shaking their heads, thinking she was just seeing things. The twins, looking as troublesome as they always were, tried to sneak away, supposedly to stick the long sticks they carried behind their backs in one of their siblings' bags. Arthur was no where to be seen but Harry suspected that he was causing a stir, babbling over some muggle invention or other.

There weren't many others Harry recognized. He didn't really expect to, as most of the students would be ten or so years older than him. Charlie would've finished school last year, and Percy didn't start for another year. Harry wondered why the Weasley family was even there.

"So, you're sure you'll be all right?" Sirius asked, going into his parental mode that sometimes seemed to take over his godfather's body. "Not going to be scared of being by yourself?"

Again, with the urge to roll his eyes. "Yea, I'll be fine," Harry muttered, lowering his head and blinking. Crying? Was he crying? He lifted a baby hand to his eyes, wiping away the burning tear before anyone else realized that he was crying. "I better go."

Sirius wrapped Harry up in a great hug, tears coming from his own eyes, and they stayed like that for a few moments before the Express' whistle sounded to all magical ears, a last call for all departures. "You're a very special boy, Harry," Sirius murmured, "even if you don't want me to know."

Harry's eyes widened but Sirius didn't notice how stiff Harry's body suddenly went. "And I know that, while you're not as stupid as you act sometimes, you're not invincible like some seem to think you are. So, if you ever need to talk to me, I'll be just an owl away."

Sirius let go of his godson slowly, then leapt to his feet and strode away, not looking back once. Harry wiped at his eyes once more and turned to go through the barrier. Remus was there, mysteriously appearing with his own eyes twinkling, watery with tears. "Come on, Harry," the werewolf started, voice gruff with emotion. He pulled Harry along and stopped before the wall-that-was-not-a-wall to impulsively grab Harry into a hug.

"All you need to do is walk through that wall, and don't be scared," Remus was instructing through his soft sobs. "And there's nothing to be worried about."

"All right, Remus. I'll be all right." Harry smiled. "See you at Christmas, right? You're still coming?"

Remus sniffed and nodded, pulling away. "Sirius already moved to Hogsmeade, and Dumbledore gave you permission to go home whenever you want during the weekends and-"

"Goodbye, Moony." Harry gave Remus one last smile, feeling as close to the older man as he ever had, and walked through the barrier.

*

"Firs' years, over here! Firs' years over here!"

Personally, Harry thought that having as big a man, as scary looking a man as Hagrid being the first teacher most students ever saw was not a good idea. This view was supported when several first years fainted dead away.

It was raining hard, lightening streaking against the black sky. Harry's hair was matted down, sticking to his head. Not that he was complaining; the rain did more to hide his scar than most things Harry had tried in his life. Everyone was shivering, some huddling together for warmth, all making their dreadful way towards the huge half-giant swinging his lantern, looking to all the world like the legendary Big Foot.

"Is he going to eat me?" one first year whimpered. Harry chuckled, then coughed. Hagrid noticed this and noticed how small Harry was, even if he didn't notice who Harry was.

"'Ey? Ya gettin' cold there, little guy?" Hagrid asked, walking over to stand beside Harry. He towered over the six-year old, looking to be as tall as the sky.

"Um-"

"'Ere ya go, it'll keep ya warm," Hagrid continued, taking the massive robes from his shoulders and draping them on Harry. The weight nearly knocked him over. "Eh, it looks ta be a bit big for ya. Don't matter, I sup'ose. It'll keep ya warm. Firs' year, right?"

Harry shook his head and tried to say something.

"Wha'?" Hagrid leaned over. "Not a firs' year? What year are ya? Or you jus' comin' ta visit yur brother or sister? Look too small ta be in 'Ogwarts."

"I'm a fifth year," Harry repeated, trying to say the words as loud as he could.

Hagrid blinked then set to work cleaning his ears of the rain. "Sorry, but I thou' you said fifth year-" He stopped when Harry nodded enthusiastically and frowned. "Right then. This some sort'a joke? Can't be a fifth year, yur too small…"

Harry groaned in frustration as Hagrid deftly lifted him up and carried him to the boat with the other first years. The robes stopped his shivering but enveloped Harry in a deep, musky world of the unknown pocket of Rubeus Hagrid, where live mice made their home. He shifted uncomfortably, trying to adjust the robes to fit him better, but there was no denying how extremely large they were compared to him.

Needless to say, Harry Potter was not a happy camper when the boats finished their lake crossing and the first years were dumped at Hogwarts' front gates. But he did manage to meet the two other first years in his boat, even if they did look down on him. Literally, Harry grumbled. Dumbledore wouldn't mind if Harry cast a growing charm on himself, now would he?

The girl was very shy, whispering that her name was Madeline Taru, before shutting herself down. Either a Ravenclaw of Hufflepuff, for sure.

The boy, who either bravely or stupidly announced his name to be Aden Gray, gave Harry the impression of a Slytherin but he could as easily be a Gryffindor, depending on just how brazen he turned out to be.

From Aden, Harry learned of the local class bully, Brett Clayton, who was infamous for his mean pranks and tricks, though from what Harry heard, Clayton's works couldn't begin to rival the twins'. Clayton's most famous stunt was pouring a bucket of cold water down a first-years' shirt. There was also some girl Aden briefly mentioned, Nadi Faye, who seemed to be the exact opposite of Clayton. When Aden said Nadi's name, Madeline gave a start but wouldn't say what bothered her.

"'ere we 'r'," Hagrid announced, standing in the boat as it slowed, coming near the shore. He looked happy, seeing how everyone managed to stay in their boats this year but that smile vanished when several first years tried to follow his example, falling out of their boats or tipping everyone over with them. "'ey! Stay in yer boats, you don't know 'ow ta keep tha boats steady! Everyone, stay sittin.'"

Harry smiled and bravely stayed seating. Aden wasn't as smart and tried to stand, almost falling had Madeline not caught him as quick as she did. Fast reflexes, Harry commented to himself as Aden immediately fell to his back, clinging to the boat's side. "You have fast reflexes," he repeated aloud and Madeline blushed heartily, casting her eyes down. "You might be able to get on the Quidditch team next year."

"A'right, then, everyone stay in yer seats 'til I tell ya to get up," Hagrid was calling out, not noticing how close to the shore the boats were getting.

"Hagrid, watch out!" Harry called but it was too late. Hagrid turned where he stood to see what the matter was just as the bottom of the boats lightly skimmed the lake's sandy shore, bumping the boats with just enough force to send Hagrid reeling. Without thinking, Harry leaped to grab the half-giant's hand, absently noting Madeline doing the same. But the two were no match for Hagrid's sheer bulk and they went tumbling into the water after him.

When Professor McGonagall got to the scene, she was met with the extremely soaked first year population, many shivering from falling into the water as well as being beaten from the heavy rain. Hagrid was still dragging two young children from the lake's reach. "Well, don't stand there gaping," she snapped not unkindly. "Follow me." She looked uncomfortable there, standing in the rain, but Harry was hardly the only student who noticed with no little envy the way rain seemed to fall all around her, never actually touching her.

Harry hurriedly returned Hagrid's robes before taking after her, losing sight of her between taller classmates. "Professor McGonagall? Professor McGonagall?"

The woman stopped, turning to answer the call. "Yes?"

Harry shoved through the crowd, ignoring the cries of "Hey!" and "Watch where you're going, mate." "Professor, I need to speak with the headmaster."

McGonagall tapped her toes impatiently. "And what makes you think I'm going to just drop my schedule and take you to the headmaster, who everyone knows is busy enough?"

"Um…" Harry smiled winningly. "Because I said 'please'?"

Rolling her eyes, McGonagall waved him away and started leading the first years again, not stopping despite Harry's desperate called. When she got to the Great Hall, it was exactly like Harry remembered. She made some excuse or other to leave the students alone and with her disappearance, the ghosts of Hogwarts ran amok. Whatever bravery was left in the muggle-born students was stomped out as the ghosts either tried their best to be helpful or took fun in terrifying the students to death. Peeves was running through the crowd, not on the ground but from head to head. He took great fun in sometimes letting his ghostly hands slip through a person's body.

"Peeves! Knock it off!" Nearly-headless Nick was trying to stop the ghost's antics and was only ignored for all his efforts. Nick sighed and quickly apologized to the nearby students shaking in fear. "You'll have to excuse him. After awhile, you won't even be scared of him so he tries to get all the fun he can while you're still new to Hogwarts." His apology went on several minutes but he didn't seem to notice how it did nothing to quiet the students' fears; if anything, they were more afraid than ever.

"Off with you, now. Go on, shoo," McGonagall's piercing voice carried through the hall along with the echoes of the other classes. The other years all went and sat at their tables, eyeing the newbies with interest. Some poked out likely candidates for their respective houses, others just pokes fun: "That's a Ravenclaw, no doubt. You see all those extra books she's carrying?" "He's got the shiftiest eyes I've ever seen. I'll bet he goes straight to Slytherin." "He'd better not be in our house. I couldn't stand someone so ugly."

When the murmurs quieted down to a tolerable level, McGonagall stated that all first years were to come up when their names were called and place a hat, a hat that few of the first years had even noted until now, on their heads. "That's it?" one first year complained to himself and his small circle of friends. "I could've sworn we had to face down dementors or something." Harry hid his smile, listening to the Sorting Hat's new song.

"Abrams, Cody." Abrams rushed up to slam the hat against his dark head, blinking in mild confusion when Harry guessed the Hat spoke to him. He had it on but another moment before it shouted out: "Hufflepuff." The Hufflepuff table went wild, welcoming the first student enthusiastically.

Harry let his mind drift as more students were called up, each being sorted to their own houses. Jessica Asher went to the Ravenclaws and Travis Avery was welcomed to the Hufflepuffs before McGonagall called out "Clayton, Brett."

Clayton was very timid looking, surprising Harry who had envisioned a Malfoy look-alike. He had dark black hair, looking more like a lost boy than a bully. But the hat barely touched Clayton's head when it screamed "Slytherin!" giving the table its first new addition. They didn't look pleased.

"Duncan, Ian," "Evans, Michael," and "Faber, Tabitha" were all sorted and set (Ravenclaw, Slytherin, Hufflepuff) before Aden was called.

The hall went silent for the near minute before the hat yelled "Gryffindor!" The Gryffindors' applause was earth shaking, especially when several jumped out of their seats to stomp their feet. McGonagall glared until the noise went down while Aden beamed, walking to the Gryffindor table where he was slapped and cuffed playfully, older students moving over to give him a seat.

The sorting resumed, the hat taking its own time to examine each student on an individual basis and each table wanting to make their new house feel as welcome as possible. Rafael Hynes became a Gryffindor, along with Amanda Keaty, Marcus Latham, Teal McKie Shelby Smith, Madeline Taru, Hamlet Troy, Tilly Valentine and Vincent Wolf. When Madeline became a Gryffindor, Harry was reminded of when Neville became a Gryffindor: nobody thought he belonged in the house, but he showed some courageous traits no one knew he had. And it took a lot of courage to keep going after what had happened to Neville.

The other students were sorted, an equal number in each house. For the Hufflepuffs, there was Sarah Jolson, James Letson, Becky Myer, Reeve Poole, Alexandria Reed, Jared Shaw, and Rachel Way. The new Slytherins was Abbie Jackson, Elena Kerrin, Jim Page, Crystal Reed, Troy Stone, Daisy Tate, Hilde Wale, and Jason Winn. Sam Kane, Monica Kirk, Matt Lake, Taffy Malony, Freddy Saul, Wren Tidd, David Veck, and Lacy Wolf joined the Ravenclaw table and dinner commenced.

Or at least it would have, had Harry not been left standing impatiently, tapping his foot and wishing that everyone would find someone new to look at. McGonagall looked baffled. Apparently, there had never been a student left over and she had no idea in how to deal with the situation.

Dumbledore saved her at the moment, standing up and drawing everyone's attention. "Minerva, you can sit down. Harry, would you come up here for a moment?"

McGonagall tried to save face and walked to her seat, sitting down. Her cheeks were rather red.

And she left Harry to begin the long walk, alone, to the staff table. With every single eye in the room focused on him, each reflecting some degree of confusion. Holding his head high and trying not to trip on his robes, Harry reached the table as Dumbledore met him there, placing a hand on his shoulder and clearing his throat before addressing his students.

"You may be wondering just who this is, and why he is here. Many of you know him by name if not by sight. May I have the pleasure of introducing," and he paused here for what Harry could only guess was drama, "Harry Potter."

When the noise dried to an amazed, unbelieving silence, Dumbledore continued: "Harry has accepted this chance to attend Hogwarts-"

"What?" a tall teenage boy called out from the Gryffindor table. His friends shushed him.

"-as a fifth year-"

And this time, more than one student was jumping to his or her feet, gaping with wide eyes and mouths and the Boy Who Lived. Harry thought that they resembled fish. Now Dumbledore looked annoyed, waiting for a few minutes for the students to take the initiative and calm down. When they didn't, he raised his wand and sent a rainbow of sparks flying over their heads. Girls screeched but everyone quieted down again.

"He will not be given 'special treatment,' as I'm sure many of you fear. In fact, he will be treated by any other fifth year student at Hogwarts." And then Dumbledore smiled. "Except that he's shorter."

"Professor!" Harry squeaked, going as red as Ron's hair. The joke had the desired effect and the Great Hall died of all tension. Dumbledore strode over to the Sorting Hat and examined it.

"As a student, you'll be sorted. So if everyone will be seated, we'll get this over with and then you may eat." Satisfied smiled appeared on everyone's faces and those that had been standing sat down with sheepish grins.

Dumbledore handed the hat to Harry, whispering in a quiet voice so that none would hear, "I believe you've been through this, but you must keep all appearances up of a normal student."

Harry took the hat, feeling no anxiety, and placed it on his head.

And who might you be? Ah… Harry Potter. But something seems wrong… a different time? It doesn't seem possible but then again, that deals with things out of my range. So let's see: yes, very cunning and ambitious when you've a mind to, but you're extremely loyal. And you seem to be especially clever. Gryffindor at heart, I see. There's Slytherin in you, though. Yes… a difficult choice.

'So, I don't really belong in any house?' Harry asked, beginning to feel nervous.

Don't belong? No, I'd say you're very nearly a perfect image of what each of the founders had in mind when they made me. You're not a pure blood but your magical inheritance cleans any muggle-ness out of you, or that's what Salazar would say. You even have his special abilities, the snaked tongue.

Harry gulped, noticing how everyone was staring at him, realizing how long he'd been standing there with that hat on his head. 'Do you think you could hurry up? I think I'm beginning to look a bit silly.'

This isn't a choice you can make and retake whenever you feel like it. Now, you're ever bit as loyal as Helga would want you to be, and willing to work your way through all your problems. And you've a mind Rowena would be proud of- she'd tell you to develop it more, but then again, that's what she'll tell everyone. Godric would tell you to go with your heart, so I believe the choice is up to you.

'Me? What do you mean me? You're the magical device thingy, you're supposed to be able to do this!'

If you're sure you want me to choose…

'Yes,' Harry thought stubbornly.

Then I'll have to say "The Four Houses!"

"What? No! You're supposed to choose one house for me! One house!" Harry's voice yelled through the hall after the shock wore off. He ripped the hat off and glared at it. "Figures every time I put you on, you find some new way to get me upset-"

"Harry," Dumbledore had a smile on his face but his eyes had none of their usual twinkle. "Perhaps you'd like to give me that Sorting Hat back?"

Feeling even redder than before, Harry reluctantly handed the weathered hat back and tried to smile. "I don't suppose there's another one?"

"I'm afraid not," Dumbledore replied. "We'll have to work with what the Sorting Hat gives us." He looked around the silent Great Hall. "For tonight, at least, I think you should stay with the Gryffindors."

Harry nodded and dumbly made his way to the Gryffindor table. They watched him before one student began whispering, "We've got Potter. We've got Potter." Soon, the chant was picked up by the rest of the table and the six-year old was lifted up and placed in a chair, and cheered loudly. Some things never changed, Harry thought with a wry smile as Dumbledore made a quick comment about having announcements announced at breakfast before summoning food for the hungry mouths.

"We've got Potter!"

*

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