CHAPTER FIVE
No one bothered them the rest of the way there. Harry discovered that Dennis was actually quite funny once he opened up, and Dennis did several more impressions for him, including a funny one of Lucius Malfoy examining in his face in the mirror every day. Harry had no doubt that Dennis was spot on.
Harry pretended to be enthralled with the scenery as they got closer to Hogwarts, and Dennis pointed out the looming rooftops of Hogsmeade as the train slowed. He had just finished explaining where Honeyduke's was when the train stopped and the stampede began.
Dennis kept letting people push him, so Harry led the way off. Dennis looked on, wide-eyed, as Harry pushed back a group of Slytherins with a casual apology. Harry grabbed his arm and steered him out the door, and they both took a deep breath.
Suddenly, a shadow fell on Dennis's face. Harry jumped to hear a familiar voice behind him. "So you'll be the new 'un, eh?"
Harry turned around and smiled slightly. Hagrid was looking down on him kindly, and Harry noticed he gave Dennis a second look, much to the poor boy's horror.
"Come with me, ya got to be sorted with the others."
Harry gave Dennis a small wave and followed after Hagrid, and Dennis, clearly terrified, tore off the second he got a chance. Hagrid shook his head and yelled over the increasing noise, "Kid's still 'fraid of me."
Harry grinned. "I wouldn't take it personally."
Hagrid grunted and began his customary call. "Firs' years! Firs' years, over 'here!" Mostly in pairs or ones, a few dozen of scared-looking 11- year-olds gathered around Hagrid. Some of them looked at Harry oddly, but most were too busy trying to keep their lunch down.
Harry followed closely behind Hagrid until they approached the lake. He got in a boat by himself, then was joined by two pale twin girls, who gave him wary looks. He smiled, then grabbed one of the oars and began to row.
He didn't know how long it was before they got their first sight of the castle. The first years gasped and squealed, and Harry felt far calmer; Hogwarts always gave him a feeling of security. In the back of his mind, he remembered that his parents were in there, and he felt a shiver down his spine.
"Cold?" The girls, or at least one of them, had decided that he wasn't about to push them off.
They spoke lightly for a few minutes before they reached the opposite shore. He helped them both out of the boat - they both giggled at that - and they joined the pack following Hagrid.
The whole scene gave him a strong sense of déjà vu. Hagrid banged on the door to reveal McGonagall. She led them into a room off the great hall and told them to tidy up, only pausing to give Harry a second look. The second she left, the whispers began. It seemed no one in the group knew how they would be sorted, and Harry decided not to tell them. How would he explain why he knew? Besides, he thought a bit sullenly, no one had told him.
He gazed around the room as the 11-year-olds fretted until McGonagall came to retrieve them. He felt the butterflies in his stomach start to flock together and his eyes wander to the right. He lectured himself sternly. He would not attract attention.
The others gasped at their first sight of the magnificent Great Hall. Floating candles lit the room, and the house banners hung over the tables, and the overhead sky was clear. A sudden sense of warmth and comfort engulfed Harry, and he locked his eyes on the teachers table.
He skimmed over Flitwick, Tome, McGonagall, and Hagrid, and locked eyes with Professor Dumbledore. Dumbledore nodded to him slightly, and he smiled back. He took a deep breath to steady himself, and let his gaze wander from the Slytherins of the left, over to the rest of the Great Hall. He found Dennis at the Ravenclaw table, but Dennis didn't see him. He willed his heart to slow down and he looked to the Gryffindor table.
They weren't hard to spot. His mother - she was so beautiful - was sitting in the middle, smiling at a joke one of her friends had made and watching the new students with ill-concealed eagerness, her curiosity shining through. Her prefect badge shone in the light. Harry flicked his gaze from one head to another, and easily found a boy with hair as messy as his own.
James Potter was grinning mischievously at the first years. Harry was sure it was for a far different reason, though. Sirius Black was sitting across from him, grinning insanely. His hair was shorter, just brushing his ears, and he looked care-free, not knowing the horrible fate destiny planned to hand him.
Next to Sirius, a far less haggard looking Remus Lupin rolled his eyes, and across from him - Harry fought down the bile in his throat when he saw the rat. Pettigrew was laughing at something, and watching the proceedings with interest. He was sitting next to the boy who he would one day betray.
Suddenly, Pettigrew locked eyes with him. Pettigrew looked startled at the intensity of Harry's gaze, but smiled politely and turned around, looking unnerved.
Driven by hate, Harry looked to the Slytherin table. No, no.. Yuck, there was Malfoy, the nasty git. he spotted two Crabbe and Goyle look-alikes, but he didn't see Lestrange off the bat.
None of the students seemed to be too concerned about him. He figured his height made him blend in well enough in the group. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or annoyed by this.
Harry turned to McGonagall and fought down the bitter taste he felt in his throat. It would do no good if he attacked Pettigrew or anyone else out of nowhere. Dimly, he realized he had missed McGonagall's direction. The hat yelled for "Able, Michael" to go to Gryffindor, and the house exploded in applause for him.
He took several deep breaths and reminded himself that his name was Graham, not Potter, and that he went by Daniel. He felt the roaring in his ears subside a bit, and he surreptitiously turned his gaze back to his mother, listening to the hat carefully. As it reach "Fife, Warner", he turned back to the sorting and prepared to be called. However, McGonagall called next for "Hunt, Nathaniel", and Harry stilled. He supposed they were choosing to call him after the sorted first years.
The sorting seemed to take far longer than any other he had attended. He estimated at least 9 or 10 new first years for each house. And now that he looked, the house tables seemed more crowded than he had ever seen.
Dumbledore wasn't exaggerating, he reflected, people were definitely sending their children where they deemed it safest.
Finally, the line ended with "Young, Vivian", and Harry was standing alone. The students got a better look at him and began to murmur a bit, and everyone was watching him. This was far from a new development, so he kept his eyes level and ignored the stares. Dumbledore stood up, and Harry focused on him.
"Today, we welcome a new sixth year student, Mr. Daniel Graham. Mr. Graham, it is your turn." Dumbledore was watching him closely to see how he handled the attention, sizing him up.
Harry found his legs moving towards McGonagall, and he sat down and let her put the hat on his head - for what was this, the fourth time? It slipped a bit over his forehead, but he could still see the students craning their necks. He closed his eyes.
The voice was familiar, definitely. Ah, Mr. Potter. What an interesting surprise. Now, let's see. Cunning, yes. Loyalty, oh yes. Talent, oh my goodness, yes. a thirst to prove yourself as more than a famous name, well you seem to have made good use of that. Harry felt a sliver of fear, and silently prayed the hat wouldn't put him in Slytherin. Oh, come on, you.
It chuckled in his ear. No, no, don't worry. Slytherin's qualities may be prominent in you - and don't hesitate to make use of them, but that's not where you've chosen to belong.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He fought to keep his hands steady as he handed the hat to McGonagall, who gave him a pleased smile. He held his head high and strode to the Gryffindor table, finding an empty space a few seats away from his mother. Lily, he reminded himself forcefully. It couldn't very well call her "Mum" now, could he?
The girl next to him turned and smiled as McGonagall took away the stool and hat. "Hi, I'm Victoria Thomas."
He grinned back. "Daniel Graham."
The girl to his right introduced herself, "I'm Susan Thomas." He looked back at Victoria and then to Susan again. Not identical, but they looked very much alike. "Fraternal twins?"
Susan laughed. "Yes, we are."
"There seem to be a lot of twins here, aren't there?"
Victoria shrugged. "Twins are more common for wizards, I've heard. Our father was a wizard, but our mum's muggle."
There was a brown-haired boy across from him. "I'm Evan Rose. Victoria, Susan, and I are all fifth years."
Harry was pleased to have found such a friendly group, but he found his eyes wandering a lot. Evan went back to talking with the other boys in his year, but Susan and Victoria noticed his divided attention and decided to point people out.
"-now Phillip's great at Transfiguration, but not much else. He's always blowing things up, otherwise. Adam's a nice guy, but not too bright, either. That's why they get along so well, I guess. That group down there is the Marauders." Victoria and Susan giggled in tandem.
Susan continued, "There Remus Lupin - he's really nice, but he's absent a lot, he has some ailing family. He's really smart, too. And there's Peter Pettigrew." Harry fought down the anger and tried to look normal. Luckily, Susan didn't seem to think much of him, either.
"Pettigrew's nice, really, but he's a bit of a klutz, and he has a lot of trouble here. Hero-worships the others, bit sickening. There's Sirius Black.." She took on a dreamy look.
Victoria picked up, giggling. "Who's she's had a major crush on since first year. Sirius is smart, but he's not really the studious type. He's a major prankster - the whole group is - so watch out. The last Marauder and their leader is-" She sighed and took on the same look Susan had had a moment earlier. "James Potter."
Susan added, "Who Victoria's had a crush on for the same time. James is on the Quidditch team and he plays a lot of pranks."
Victoria started, "Sirius and James were best friends the moment they came to Hogwarts, and then they picked up Remus and Peter."
The group continued talking about the people at the table, and Harry's ears perked up further when he heard his mother's name.
Susan waxed lyrical about the redhead's qualities, her blue eyes shining - apparently she was a big admirer. Victoria merely looked bored, but noticed how intently he stared at the redhead. "Yeah, she's quite pretty, of course, but Potter's always hitting on her."
Harry felt a shudder of revulsion. "Oh, no, that's not it. She looks so much like someone I knew. I can't remember." He pretended to be lost in thought.
Victoria still looked suspicious, but let it slide. Susan picked up, "That girl sitting next to Lily is Matilda Gibaldi, and across from her is Monica Brown. They're all kind of a group. There's another girl, Lindsey, but she prefers to be with her sister in seventh year."
Harry inspected each of Lily's friends with interest. What had happened to these girls? If he ever died, he would expect Ron and Hermione to have something to do with his child, if only to send a Christmas card. Why hadn't they? Had they split up right after leaving school? Or were they dead?
In recalling the feast, Harry would never quite understand how he made it through without doing something, whether crying or punching out Pettigrew, to whom his gaze kept wandering.
The feast passed in a sort of haze, and quite suddenly Harry found himself rising to go to the dorms, Susan and Victoria chattering the whole way.
He feigned surprise at the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, and gazed at the common room as if seeing it for the first time. He said goodbye to Susan and Victoria and headed up the boys dorm. He reached the dorm (Huh, he was right about the math for once. This was the fifth year dorm in his time) and opened the door.
No one bothered them the rest of the way there. Harry discovered that Dennis was actually quite funny once he opened up, and Dennis did several more impressions for him, including a funny one of Lucius Malfoy examining in his face in the mirror every day. Harry had no doubt that Dennis was spot on.
Harry pretended to be enthralled with the scenery as they got closer to Hogwarts, and Dennis pointed out the looming rooftops of Hogsmeade as the train slowed. He had just finished explaining where Honeyduke's was when the train stopped and the stampede began.
Dennis kept letting people push him, so Harry led the way off. Dennis looked on, wide-eyed, as Harry pushed back a group of Slytherins with a casual apology. Harry grabbed his arm and steered him out the door, and they both took a deep breath.
Suddenly, a shadow fell on Dennis's face. Harry jumped to hear a familiar voice behind him. "So you'll be the new 'un, eh?"
Harry turned around and smiled slightly. Hagrid was looking down on him kindly, and Harry noticed he gave Dennis a second look, much to the poor boy's horror.
"Come with me, ya got to be sorted with the others."
Harry gave Dennis a small wave and followed after Hagrid, and Dennis, clearly terrified, tore off the second he got a chance. Hagrid shook his head and yelled over the increasing noise, "Kid's still 'fraid of me."
Harry grinned. "I wouldn't take it personally."
Hagrid grunted and began his customary call. "Firs' years! Firs' years, over 'here!" Mostly in pairs or ones, a few dozen of scared-looking 11- year-olds gathered around Hagrid. Some of them looked at Harry oddly, but most were too busy trying to keep their lunch down.
Harry followed closely behind Hagrid until they approached the lake. He got in a boat by himself, then was joined by two pale twin girls, who gave him wary looks. He smiled, then grabbed one of the oars and began to row.
He didn't know how long it was before they got their first sight of the castle. The first years gasped and squealed, and Harry felt far calmer; Hogwarts always gave him a feeling of security. In the back of his mind, he remembered that his parents were in there, and he felt a shiver down his spine.
"Cold?" The girls, or at least one of them, had decided that he wasn't about to push them off.
They spoke lightly for a few minutes before they reached the opposite shore. He helped them both out of the boat - they both giggled at that - and they joined the pack following Hagrid.
The whole scene gave him a strong sense of déjà vu. Hagrid banged on the door to reveal McGonagall. She led them into a room off the great hall and told them to tidy up, only pausing to give Harry a second look. The second she left, the whispers began. It seemed no one in the group knew how they would be sorted, and Harry decided not to tell them. How would he explain why he knew? Besides, he thought a bit sullenly, no one had told him.
He gazed around the room as the 11-year-olds fretted until McGonagall came to retrieve them. He felt the butterflies in his stomach start to flock together and his eyes wander to the right. He lectured himself sternly. He would not attract attention.
The others gasped at their first sight of the magnificent Great Hall. Floating candles lit the room, and the house banners hung over the tables, and the overhead sky was clear. A sudden sense of warmth and comfort engulfed Harry, and he locked his eyes on the teachers table.
He skimmed over Flitwick, Tome, McGonagall, and Hagrid, and locked eyes with Professor Dumbledore. Dumbledore nodded to him slightly, and he smiled back. He took a deep breath to steady himself, and let his gaze wander from the Slytherins of the left, over to the rest of the Great Hall. He found Dennis at the Ravenclaw table, but Dennis didn't see him. He willed his heart to slow down and he looked to the Gryffindor table.
They weren't hard to spot. His mother - she was so beautiful - was sitting in the middle, smiling at a joke one of her friends had made and watching the new students with ill-concealed eagerness, her curiosity shining through. Her prefect badge shone in the light. Harry flicked his gaze from one head to another, and easily found a boy with hair as messy as his own.
James Potter was grinning mischievously at the first years. Harry was sure it was for a far different reason, though. Sirius Black was sitting across from him, grinning insanely. His hair was shorter, just brushing his ears, and he looked care-free, not knowing the horrible fate destiny planned to hand him.
Next to Sirius, a far less haggard looking Remus Lupin rolled his eyes, and across from him - Harry fought down the bile in his throat when he saw the rat. Pettigrew was laughing at something, and watching the proceedings with interest. He was sitting next to the boy who he would one day betray.
Suddenly, Pettigrew locked eyes with him. Pettigrew looked startled at the intensity of Harry's gaze, but smiled politely and turned around, looking unnerved.
Driven by hate, Harry looked to the Slytherin table. No, no.. Yuck, there was Malfoy, the nasty git. he spotted two Crabbe and Goyle look-alikes, but he didn't see Lestrange off the bat.
None of the students seemed to be too concerned about him. He figured his height made him blend in well enough in the group. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved or annoyed by this.
Harry turned to McGonagall and fought down the bitter taste he felt in his throat. It would do no good if he attacked Pettigrew or anyone else out of nowhere. Dimly, he realized he had missed McGonagall's direction. The hat yelled for "Able, Michael" to go to Gryffindor, and the house exploded in applause for him.
He took several deep breaths and reminded himself that his name was Graham, not Potter, and that he went by Daniel. He felt the roaring in his ears subside a bit, and he surreptitiously turned his gaze back to his mother, listening to the hat carefully. As it reach "Fife, Warner", he turned back to the sorting and prepared to be called. However, McGonagall called next for "Hunt, Nathaniel", and Harry stilled. He supposed they were choosing to call him after the sorted first years.
The sorting seemed to take far longer than any other he had attended. He estimated at least 9 or 10 new first years for each house. And now that he looked, the house tables seemed more crowded than he had ever seen.
Dumbledore wasn't exaggerating, he reflected, people were definitely sending their children where they deemed it safest.
Finally, the line ended with "Young, Vivian", and Harry was standing alone. The students got a better look at him and began to murmur a bit, and everyone was watching him. This was far from a new development, so he kept his eyes level and ignored the stares. Dumbledore stood up, and Harry focused on him.
"Today, we welcome a new sixth year student, Mr. Daniel Graham. Mr. Graham, it is your turn." Dumbledore was watching him closely to see how he handled the attention, sizing him up.
Harry found his legs moving towards McGonagall, and he sat down and let her put the hat on his head - for what was this, the fourth time? It slipped a bit over his forehead, but he could still see the students craning their necks. He closed his eyes.
The voice was familiar, definitely. Ah, Mr. Potter. What an interesting surprise. Now, let's see. Cunning, yes. Loyalty, oh yes. Talent, oh my goodness, yes. a thirst to prove yourself as more than a famous name, well you seem to have made good use of that. Harry felt a sliver of fear, and silently prayed the hat wouldn't put him in Slytherin. Oh, come on, you.
It chuckled in his ear. No, no, don't worry. Slytherin's qualities may be prominent in you - and don't hesitate to make use of them, but that's not where you've chosen to belong.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Harry breathed a sigh of relief. He fought to keep his hands steady as he handed the hat to McGonagall, who gave him a pleased smile. He held his head high and strode to the Gryffindor table, finding an empty space a few seats away from his mother. Lily, he reminded himself forcefully. It couldn't very well call her "Mum" now, could he?
The girl next to him turned and smiled as McGonagall took away the stool and hat. "Hi, I'm Victoria Thomas."
He grinned back. "Daniel Graham."
The girl to his right introduced herself, "I'm Susan Thomas." He looked back at Victoria and then to Susan again. Not identical, but they looked very much alike. "Fraternal twins?"
Susan laughed. "Yes, we are."
"There seem to be a lot of twins here, aren't there?"
Victoria shrugged. "Twins are more common for wizards, I've heard. Our father was a wizard, but our mum's muggle."
There was a brown-haired boy across from him. "I'm Evan Rose. Victoria, Susan, and I are all fifth years."
Harry was pleased to have found such a friendly group, but he found his eyes wandering a lot. Evan went back to talking with the other boys in his year, but Susan and Victoria noticed his divided attention and decided to point people out.
"-now Phillip's great at Transfiguration, but not much else. He's always blowing things up, otherwise. Adam's a nice guy, but not too bright, either. That's why they get along so well, I guess. That group down there is the Marauders." Victoria and Susan giggled in tandem.
Susan continued, "There Remus Lupin - he's really nice, but he's absent a lot, he has some ailing family. He's really smart, too. And there's Peter Pettigrew." Harry fought down the anger and tried to look normal. Luckily, Susan didn't seem to think much of him, either.
"Pettigrew's nice, really, but he's a bit of a klutz, and he has a lot of trouble here. Hero-worships the others, bit sickening. There's Sirius Black.." She took on a dreamy look.
Victoria picked up, giggling. "Who's she's had a major crush on since first year. Sirius is smart, but he's not really the studious type. He's a major prankster - the whole group is - so watch out. The last Marauder and their leader is-" She sighed and took on the same look Susan had had a moment earlier. "James Potter."
Susan added, "Who Victoria's had a crush on for the same time. James is on the Quidditch team and he plays a lot of pranks."
Victoria started, "Sirius and James were best friends the moment they came to Hogwarts, and then they picked up Remus and Peter."
The group continued talking about the people at the table, and Harry's ears perked up further when he heard his mother's name.
Susan waxed lyrical about the redhead's qualities, her blue eyes shining - apparently she was a big admirer. Victoria merely looked bored, but noticed how intently he stared at the redhead. "Yeah, she's quite pretty, of course, but Potter's always hitting on her."
Harry felt a shudder of revulsion. "Oh, no, that's not it. She looks so much like someone I knew. I can't remember." He pretended to be lost in thought.
Victoria still looked suspicious, but let it slide. Susan picked up, "That girl sitting next to Lily is Matilda Gibaldi, and across from her is Monica Brown. They're all kind of a group. There's another girl, Lindsey, but she prefers to be with her sister in seventh year."
Harry inspected each of Lily's friends with interest. What had happened to these girls? If he ever died, he would expect Ron and Hermione to have something to do with his child, if only to send a Christmas card. Why hadn't they? Had they split up right after leaving school? Or were they dead?
In recalling the feast, Harry would never quite understand how he made it through without doing something, whether crying or punching out Pettigrew, to whom his gaze kept wandering.
The feast passed in a sort of haze, and quite suddenly Harry found himself rising to go to the dorms, Susan and Victoria chattering the whole way.
He feigned surprise at the entrance to Gryffindor Tower, and gazed at the common room as if seeing it for the first time. He said goodbye to Susan and Victoria and headed up the boys dorm. He reached the dorm (Huh, he was right about the math for once. This was the fifth year dorm in his time) and opened the door.