A/N: Ok, here's a summary of what's been happening so far:
Harry feels abandoned by his friends and betrayed by Dumbledore. He gets kidnapped while trying to rescue Hagrid, but manages to escape and defeat a plot to take Hogwarts using an ancient magical artifact, the Orb of Tomsduval. Harry realizes Hogwarts isn't safe from him and takes off, leaving a heartbroken Hermione behind. During the summer away, while Harry trains, he peeks into Voldemort's head and sees that he's reconstructing the Orb (which Harry busted) and planning another attack. He goes to Dumbledore and they concoct a plan for Harry to return to Hogwarts as a transfer student. Harry arrives at the school in the guise of Sean Harrington and awaits his sorting.
21. The Return and Sorting
Harry leaned against the wall as the Sorting Ceremony continued. As Harry watched, he couldn't help but feel a little jealous of the ten and eleven-year old children. Unlike Harry, they probably wouldn't have to go through their Hogwarts years with a madman after them; have to face death and Dementers; be accused of various evil things one day then hero-worshipped the next. Instead, these kids were going to have a nice, normal life, one that Harry Potter would never have. Harry shook his head, chastising himself for feeling so sorry for himself lately. The first years were sorted, and Dumbledore stood.
"Welcome and congratulations to our newest students. But the Sorting is not over yet," he said, causing curious whispers from around the Great Hall. "For the first time in over a decade, we will have a transfer student at Hogwarts." Murmurs and quiet conversation broke out, and Dumbledore motioned at Harry. Reluctantly, he stepped forward and walked the length of the Great Hall by himself as the entire school looked on. "He will be a seventh year student, and he will be sorted. I know you will all accept him with open arms," Dumbledore said with a warm smile, and then sat down.
When Harry was before the stool, Professor McGonnagal gave him an appraising look before reading from her scroll, the same scroll that listed all the first years' names. "Sean Harrington!" she called out.
Harry approached the stool and sat, remembering the nervousness and fear the first time he did this. Although the fear was gone (for he knew he wasn't going to be sent home), the nervousness remained. What if the Hat could tell who he was and broadcasted it to everyone in the Great Hall? Harry fidgeted as the Sorting Hat was placed on his head; to his surprise, instead of the expected voice, he heard nothing. In fact, he endured roughly ten seconds of silence before he heard the Hat cry out, "GRYFFINDOR!" The Gryffindor table burst into applause, and Harry, very relieved, glanced at Dumbledore, who slyly winked at him. Harry escaped from under the hat and headed for the Gryffindor table. A spot was made for him among the seventh years, and he noticed with relief that the seat was between Neville and Dean. He didn't think he could handle sitting in his old spot near Ron and Hermione on his first day back. He smiled and shook hands with many Gryffindors as he made his way to his seat. Once he had sat down, Dumbledore made his final remarks, and with a clap of his hands, the feast began.
"So Sean," Dean said while reaching for a plate of mashed potatoes, "where ya from?" Although various conversations were going on at the same time, everyone near Harry had one ear on what he was saying, very interested in their new seventh-year classmate.
"My last home was in Boroughbridge, up near Harrogate," Harry said, deciding to stick to the truth as much as possible; it was easier to remember that way. "My parents died when I was young, and a Mr. Leonard and his wife, a nice wizarding couple, took me in."
"How'd you get to be a transfer student?" Neville asked.
"I got my Hogwarts letter when I was eleven, but the Leonards couldn't afford it," Harry said.
"Aye, tough break there, mate," Ron said sympathetically. Harry nodded at him, but didn't make eye contact.
"So instead, I went to a lot of the smaller schools out there, like Torrey, Riviera, Doral, Quail Hollow, and Avenel."
Hermione joined in. "I've read about those schools. Very specialized magic schools that focus on one or two subjects, like Transfiguration or Charms," she said for the benefit of the many students who looked confused at the strange names. "But I've never heard of someone going to so many. Did you go to them one at a time or all at once?" she asked.
"Mostly at the same time," Harry said, not looking at Hermione.
"Very impressive," she said, as the others nodded in agreement.
"Did you have to take your OWLs then?" Lavender asked.
"Yeah, going to all those schools helped me to prepare, and Dumbledore gave me a scholarship because of my OWLs. But none of the other schools had any of the advanced level courses," Harry said, "So I'm probably very behind the rest of you," he said with a gloomy look.
"Ah, don't worry about it," Dean said, putting an arm around his shoulder. "We'll help you through it, right guys?" Everyone nodded in agreement.
Harry smiled gratefully at his fellow Gryffindors. "Thanks everyone."
"Now then," said Ron. "It's time you learned the best thing about Hogwarts," Ron paused dramatically, "the food!" Everyone moaned good-naturedly, and Harry reached for a plate, smiling.
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After the feast, Harry attached himself to Neville, Dean, and Seamus as they walked to the common room. On the way, they described the various intricacies of the castle, like the fake step and the moving staircases.
"And this," Seamus was saying, "is the door to the common room. It's actually a portrait, and you have to give her the password, which changes every now and then." The portrait of the Fat Lady smiled benignly on them.
"But don't worry if you forget," said Ron, "Neville forgets all the time, and he always manages to find a way in," he teased. Neville blushed, but didn't object.
"Caput Draconis," Hermione said, and they all walked through the portrait hole. Once inside, they all looked at Harry expectantly. Harry was confused for a moment, before realizing what they wanted.
"Wow! This place is amazing," Harry said, forcing a look of surprise and wonderment on his face. This pleased his fellow classmates, and they went about describing the common room and the dormitories, things that Harry already knew about. Harry joined Dean, Neville, and Seamus in a couple of games of Exploding Snap! before bedtime while Ron, Hermione, and Ginny left the common room to perform their prefect/Head Girl duties. Finally, it grew late and Ron and Hermione returned. The boys retreated to their dorm room, showing Harry the way. Harry entered his old room and, without thinking, he headed to his old bed. He was pleased to find his trunk at the foot of the bed, and he reached down to open his trunk and retrieve his pajamas. Straightening up, he suddenly noticed a heavy silence. Turning, he saw the other boys looking at him uncomfortably.
"What?" he asked, confused.
Dean, Seamus, and Neville looked at Ron. Ron cleared his throat, "It's, um, nothing Sean," he said, looking at the others meaningfully. "A former classmate of ours used to have that bed, but he's been gone for a year now. There's no reason for you not to have it." That broke the tension, and the boys returned to their activities. When Harry couldn't help but remark on Ron's latest Chudley Cannons poster, he revealed that he was a Quidditch fan, to the delight of the others.
"Do you play any, Sean?" Ron asked with interest.
"A little at my old school," Harry said warily.
"Oh? What position?"
"Er, um, seeker." Harry had given a great deal of thought to whether or not he wanted to play Quidditch. Actually, it wasn't whether he wanted to. Of course he wanted to. But rather, was it smart to bring attention to himself, especially if he played his old position? Harry had mostly decided to skip the Quidditch season.
"Seeker? That's great!" Ron exclaimed. "Any good?"
Harry nodded modestly. "Pretty good, I was always on the school team," he couldn't help himself from saying.
By this point, the others had gathered around. "That is good news," said Dean. "We could really use a good seeker, ever since, er, um, last year. Not that Ginny's not good," Dean said quickly, looking at Ron.
"Yeah, Ginny's our seeker now," Seamus said. "She's that pretty little red-headed prefect, and Ron's little sister," he said, laughing at the glare that Ron shot at him. Harry couldn't help but laugh at Ron's expression.
"Ginny's not good?" he asked. Harry knew in fact that she was good, but he couldn't let them know that he knew.
"Oh, she's good, don't get me wrong," said Ron. "But she's a much better Chaser, and she prefers to be one anyways. She's only Seeker because there's no one else." Ron grew thoughtful. "Listen Sean, why don't you go to try-outs this weekend? If you're as good as Ginny, or even just a little worse, you can be on the team, and Ginny can replace Anna Soren; Anna's not a bad Chaser, but she needs another year before she could be really good."
"Well, I don't know," Harry began. "I figure I'll need all my spare time to catch up on homework."
"Please Sean," Ron pleaded, "I'll get Hermione to tutor you. Hermione's the smartest witch in school, and she'll do anything for Quidditch," Ron said, ignoring the snickers from the other boys.
Harry looked at Ron's face. It was hard to refuse him, especially since Harry wanted to play so badly. "Alright Ron, I'll try-out, but I can't guarantee that I'll be good enough."
"That's great Sean," Ron said happily. "I'm sure you'll be fine. I was beginning to get worried about the team; I want to make sure we win my last year! We'll practice every other day, and I'll make sure we have the best strategies and plays!" he said determinedly.
Seamus shook his head. "Uh-oh, now you've gone and done it. Captain Ron is at it again!"
Harry was taken aback. "Ron is the Quidditch Captain?" he asked, surprised.
Dean answered, for Ron had already returned to his trunk to pull out his Quidditch playbooks. "Yup, he was Captain last year after, er, the old Captain resigned."
"Wicked!" Harry said. He was truly pleased that Ron was captain; Ron was born for the position, for he had an endless supply of energy when it came to Quidditch. But Harry learned one other thing: he would have to get someone to talk to him about himself; it would be a long year if everyone suddenly become awkward whenever the subject of Harry Potter came up. Exhausted after the full day, Harry changed into his pajamas, climbed into bed, and fell asleep instantly.