Title: Child of Hogwarts
Author: Knife Hand
Feedback: Constructive feedback appreciated, flames unappreciated
Spoilers: None. Things will be different from the get go.
Rating: M
Disclaimer: I do not own Hermione, or Luna, or Ginny, or Cho, or... I would buy them all but I am broke.
Summary: After seeing baby Harry interact with a Student after the death of his Parents, Dumbledore has a better idea of where Harry should be raised. Inside the halls of Hogwarts.
A/N: tumshie, as a general rule you are correct. Most British civilians don't have concealed carry permits and most British shop owners don't have shotguns behind the counter. Triela is not most people, her weapons are part of who she is and will be the only character in the story who carries guns. Also Highly Regulated does not mean wholly absent. There are a lot of rules background checks around who gets licences, and rules around storage and securing firearms. Shotguns are still legal to own though Pistols were made illegal in 1996 (end of Harry's Sixth Year/start of Harry's Seventh Year) due to one Mass Shooting, one of 3 I could find ever happening in England. As of 2017 there was an estimate of 2.7M guns in England and Wales, which is 4.6 guns per 100 people. Small but not non-existent.
Five minutes after Primrose Malfoy left with her annoying little brother, the door opened again.
"Sarah!" Harry said jumping to his feet and hugging the Seventh Year Hufflepuff girl. "Congratulations on getting Head Girl."
"Thanks, Harry." Sarah said. "Can you come with me? We need to discuss a few things."
Harry followed Sarah out of the compartment and forward to the massive compartment just behind the engine which was used for Prefects Meeting so could comfortably hold twenty. In the compartment waiting were the four Seventh Year female Prefects, the four Sixth Year female Prefects and a Sixth Year Hufflepuff girl.
"We're having this meeting because we don't know how Harry's Sorting is going to go and if the TC will be happening." Sarah said.
The meeting only went for twenty minutes. The non-prefect Hufflepuff, Kelly, was his scheduled Big Sister, though they all agreed that the nature of Big Sisters would change this year, though all of the Big Sisters agreed he would be welcome in their Dorm Rooms if he wanted and was sorted into their house. If the TC did go ahead, it would be the last year of the TC, which made everyone slightly emotional.
After the meeting Harry made his way back to his original compartment to find Hermione had been joined by three others. Two girls and one boy, who were introduced as Sally-Anne Perks, Su Li and Neville Longbottom.
"Sally-Anne, are you related to Danni Perks?" Harry asked.
"Yes… She's my big sister." Sally-Anne said.
"Mine too." Harry replied with a smile, before sitting down and joining in on the conversation.
Harry watched as Uncle Hagrid passed the First Years to Mummy M. He would call her Professor McGonagall around the others but in his head, she would always be Mummy M.
"So, Harry, any tips?" Neville asked.
"What the hell are you asking a damn Half-blood for, Longbottom?" Draco Malfoy interrupted.
"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to interject yourself into other people's conversations?" Harry countered. "Not only is it rude, it is also bad etiquette."
"When my father hears about this…." Draco began.
"I would be more worried about your mother hearing about this than your father, given what happened on the train this morning." Harry replied.
While Draco was still gaping at Harry, McGonagall returned and led the group into the Great Hall. Harry's eyes scanned across High Table. Grandpa Dumbledore was there, along with Mummy P, Uncles Hagrid and Flitwick and Aunties Sprout, Vector, Babbling, Sinistra and Helgasdaughter. There was also the new DADA professor and the Divination Professor, who always kept to herself.
He did not pay much attention to who was sorted into each house, apart from confirming a few of the guesses that he had made about some of his fellow first years. When his name was called the entire hall went deathly silent. He walked forward and Mummy M put the Sorting Hat on his head.
"You're kidding, right?" the Sorting Hat said, surprising everyone. "He is a child of Hogwarts."
No one quite knew what to make of the Sorting Hat's statement, so after a second the Hat sighed and continued.
"Fine. For the record. Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Slytherin." The Sorting Hat announced.
After another moment of silence, all of the Sixth and Seventh Year Girls broke out in cheers, which soon spread to the other students.
Harry stood up and moved to sit next to the Hufflepuff table, sitting next to Kelly rather than with the other First Years, getting a few murmurs from the other Houses
"TC is on!" Sarah announced loudly once the cheers died down, getting another cheer from the Big Sisters.
"For those not in Hufflepuff, do not worry." Dumbledore said. "This possibility has been considered. As has been traditional prior to this year, Mister Potter will still have access to all four dormitories, and will have his schedule done up to have classes with all four Houses. All House Points for Mister Potter will be applied to all four houses."
With that out of the way the rest of the sortings proceeded without much more drama.
Kelly and Harry walked into the warmth of the Hufflepuff Common Room with Sarah, Rachel and Tina behind them, having just come from what would be the last TC. Rachel was the Seventh Year Hufflepuff Prefect and Tina was Prefect for the Sixth Years.
"Remember, you are expected to sleep most nights in your own dorm room, here or in the other Dormitories." Sarah was saying. "Especially the first night in each House."
"Yes, Big Sister." Harry replied. "But I can still come and visit?"
"You better." Kelly said. "I expect you to spend some time with us tonight."
Tina nodded at this pronouncement. Sarah went over to the two Fifth Year Prefects, who had the responsibility of leading the First Years to the Dorms and explaining expectations of the House to the new Hufflepuffs. After a few moments' discussion with the prefects, Sarah addressed the First Years.
"Right, you all heard what happened at the Sorting with Harry Potter." Sarah began. "You probably don't fully understand what it means though. There are certain restrictions that either do not, or not completely apply to Harry. For example, boys are completely banned from the girls' dorms, enforced by a magical barrier. Girls are not similarly magically restricted from the boys' dorms, though if a girl is found in there, they better have a damn good reason. As Harry has been raised by successive Sixth Year Girls, he has been allowed access past the barrier, though he will be in trouble if he is found in any of the Girls Dorms except the Sixth and Seventh Years."
"Should bloody hope so." Rachel grumbled.
"Love you too, Big Sis." Harry said, giving Rachel a hug.
"Another thing." Tina added. "Do not pressure Harry to share any of the secrets of any of the other Houses. It has been a long-standing agreement between all of his Big Sisters. Don't as him, just like we wouldn't want him telling our secrets."
Harry spent an hour in with his Sixth Year Hufflepuff Big Sisters in their dorm room before heading back to the First Year boys dorm.
"How come you get special treatment?" Justin Finch-Fletchley asked when Harry entered the Dorm. "Access to all houses and entrance into the Girls Dorms?"
"I had my parents brutally murdered in front of me when I was a toddler and then spent the last decade being raised here." Harry replied. "To you this is a school, to me it is literally my home. Most of the staff are family to me. You want to see it as me getting special treatment, go ahead, but to me you are guests in my home. We may become friends, we may not, but it is expected you will keep a civil tongue, to all students. Healthy rivalry between Houses is fine but any Hostility, to an individual or group, is not. That comes from Grandpa Dumbledore and is respected all the way down to Caretaker Filch."
With that said, Harry closed the curtains around his bed, having changed into his pyjamas earlier in the shower room, and went to sleep.
TBC….
A/N 2: Ok, yes, I made Sally-Anne the younger sister of Danni. No, Sally-Anne is not like Dani, but did accept when her older Brother became her older Sister. I also put Harry in all Houses, like that was a big surprise.
Professor Helgasdaughter is the Potions Professor who was hired after Snape turned down the job. She is Scandinavian, with their naming convention used for some surnames, a female's surname being her mother's name followed by 'daughter' and a male's surname being his father's name followed by 'son'. This means the Professor's mother's name is Helga. No relation to Helga Hufflepuff. She will not just be a placeholder Professor, I plan for her to have a significant role in the story.
Also, due to the co-operation of the Big Sisters over the last decade, while there is House Pride and a healthy competition between the Houses, there is none of the toxic House rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor in this fic, and Slytherins won't be looked down on by all the other Houses.