A/N: Just to let you know, my days are numbered. As soon as my snakeaphobe friend Amelia reads the last chapter she will kill me. Let the little mortal girl try. hehehe
Review responses at the bottom. I have 5!!!!!!!
Disclaimer: I own nothing of Harry Potter except Ebony-Crested Dragon snakes and Amelia.
Chapter 4: A Shocking Sorting
----------------------------------------
McGonagall held up a long scroll of names after the Sorting Hat was finished with its song, and began to read out names, several nervous first years slipping the hat on their heads. For most people, the hat shouted their house quickly, like Draco. The hat didn't even touch his head before it shouted out "SLYTHERIN!" Harry quickly gave Draco the thumbs-up as his friend joined the Slytherin table. He hoped he could join Draco; Tom had said both his parents were Gryffindors. Is it possible?
The names went on and on, and more and more students from the line vanished. It was odd he hadn't been called yet. It seemed alphabetically sorted, but why had Ron been called just now? He gulped as he was the only one left standing as Blaise Zabini got put in Slytherin house.
Harry ran over to Professor McGonagall, seeing her about to take the Sorting Hat away.
"Wait! You didn't call me! I haven't been Sorted yet, Professor!"
McGonagall looked down at him, an odd look in her eyes.
"Were you supposed to be on the list, young man? You did get an invitation here, didn't you?"
"Of course! Can I see your scroll, please?" He searched through the names until he came across a crossed out name: Potter, Harry.
"There I am! Why did you cross my name out?" he asked the Professor, showing her the name.
"This can't be possible!" she muttered, looking into his face again, into his eyes, which he knew he had gotten from his mother. He could see the astonishment on her face as she turned to the headmaster, whispering quickly. The old man's eyes, which seemed to twinkle, widened ever so slightly as they roamed over Harry. Harry was distracted by someone, though.
Quickly the boy walked over to stand in front of the Potions professor who stared at him in shock.
"Uncle Sev?" Harry whispered leaning closer. The entire hall was buzzing with mutterings and moans of hunger.
"Where'd you get that name, boy?" asked Severus, eyes widening slightly. Only one person ever called him that, and Erebus never had this boy as a friend.
Harry just chuckled. "I figured you wouldn't recognize me without the Glamour Charm." He pointed at his cloak, at the clasp. "Does this look familiar to you?"
Severus, stunned, voiced, "E-Erebus?"
"That was just an alias for me until now, Uncle Sev!" He held out his hand. "My actual name is Harry. Harry Potter. Glad to finally be able to tell you!"
Severus just looked at the black haired boy in front of him. It had to be Erebus. He had specially made that clasp for him after one of his own from years ago. Yet here was a boy that was the spitting image of James Potter with Lily's eyes. But it had to be Erebus; this boy was speaking the truth.
Dumbledore leaned down the table to look at Severus. "Severus, if we have young Potter so he can be Sorted?"
"Yes, of course, headmaster. Go, Erebus."
Harry walked back over to McGonagall, who was now looking as though she were to burst into tears , and they walked over to the stool and hat. She said in a loud, choked voice.
"Potter, Harry!"
Harry sat down on the stool and put the hat on his head. It fell over his eyes so he couldn't see the hundreds of students staring and pointing at him. Then he heard a tiny voice in his head.
"Hello, Mr Potter. Come back from the dead, have we?" chortled the hat.
Harry grinned mentally and answered, "You have to be dead to come back from that. I never was in the first place."
"Clever lad. Let's see. A great deal of book smarts. More than I've seen any first year come in with. You would do Ravenclaw proud with your intellect. Yet... you have a great deal of power and ambition. You seek to make your caretaker proud of you more than anything. You have a great deal of Gryffindor courage, it's true, but you only use it after careful thought. Not a brash Gryffindor. Ravenclaw or Slytherin? Where shall I put you?" A moment, then...
"SLYTHERIN!"
There was no applause for him as he sat next to Draco and across from Blaise, just an increase of hushed voices. Amelia peeked out from his sleeve at the crowd, and Blaise gave an amused chuckle, the first noise anyone had heard from her all night.
"Is that your snake, Harry?" she asked, her voice rich and silvery.
"Yes, her name's Amelia and she's an-"
"Ebony-Crested Dragon snake." She laughed quietly at Harry and Draco's astonished faces. "My father breeds and raises rare snakes. Nice to meet you two."
She turned up toward the head table as Dumbledore stood up to address the Hall. He gave the usual notices and sent the students off to bed after dinner, watching as Harry had sat talking quite happily with Blaise and Draco.
"Mr. Potter, if I could have a word?" called Dumbledore. Harry slowly came up to the headmaster who was smilng at him. He conjured Harry a seat in front of him, and Harry sat down in front of the staff, feeling as though he would be interrogated for information.
"I just wanted to ask a few questions, Harry."
He was right. He was getting interrogated. He smirked; this would be both fun and interesting.
"Well, Harry, I might as well get this one out of the way: where have you been this entire time?"
"I've been living with the man that took me out of my parent's house that night when it was destroyed and my parents killed," he said quite simply.
"Who was that, Harry?" he prodded. All the professors were now focusing him.
"Tom."
"Tom who?"
Harry looked rather irritated, "Tom. Oh, what is it you guys call him, uh, You-Know-Who? I myself just prefer Tom rather than Voldemort, though. He dropped me off at the platform today. He's so nice to me."
By this time, every member of the staff was staring at him in horror. He leaned in towards Dumbledore.
"Um, can I go, Professor? I really would enjoy a bit of sleep before classes tomorrow. Perhaps finish this interrogation sometime in the future?"
A flash of light from Harry's cloak distracted him. "Where did you get that clasp?"
Snape froze in shock, though he concealed it. He knew Dumbledore knew Severus had made one exactly like it years ago as a spy. He couldn't be revealed now.
Harry just looked at the clasp and looked up, gesturing nonchalantly as though waving the question off. "This is something Tom's had for quite a while. Picked it up during one of his raids many years ago and gave it to me this summer. Isn't it lovely?"
"You're, ah, free to go then, Harry. Professor Snape will walk you down to the Slytherin common room."
"Thank you headmaster. Shall we go, Professor Snape?"
Severus stood up and walked out of the Great Hall with Harry following him. He only spoke once outside the common room entrance, a blank stretch of wall with a smear of what looked like blood.
"Erebus, I'd like to thank you for covering up the clasp. It could have cost me dearly."
Harry grinned. "I'm not Erebus anymore, Uncle Sev. I'm Harry Potter and always have been. And don't worry about the clasp. A Slytherin watches his fellows' backs, don't they? You always were my favorite, Uncle Sev, even if I knew you were a spy in most respects. Good night!"
And the young boy slipped through the wall, leaving a befuddled professor behind.
"Hey Draco!" Harry yelled throughout the crowded room, seeking out his friend and laughing, "You should have seen their faces when I told them Voldemort had been watching me all these years! It was brilliant!" The entire common room went silent at his words, and he scowled at them all. "What? Never heard his name before? Come on, Draco, I want to get some sleep."
Draco, smirking at the stunned faces, led him up the narrow stairway to a door saying "First Years" and stepped inside after the blonde. Harry found his trunk in front of a bed next to Draco's, four posters of green and silver lining the room. He quicky slid into pajamas and slipped into the bed, Amelia curling up under his pillow. It had been a long day and tomorrow would be even longer.
Meanwhile....
"Thank Merlin it was a full moon tonight!" whispered Minerva to Albus, looking up at the Great Hall's ceiling where the moon shone.
"Yes, Remus and Sirius could have made that a lot harder."
"Sholdn't we tell them before Harry walks into their class tomorrow, though?"
At this, Albus smiled. "Let them have a surprise. Goodness knows it will shock them out of this 10 year stupor. It's going to be an interesting year, Minerva."
-----------------------------------------------
A/N: Shocker ending! Yes, Remus and Sirius teach at Hogwarts jointly, and boy, are they in for a surprise! Meanwhile, Harry has just yelled to the entire Slytherin common room he was raised by Voldemort! Is the entire school going to know next morning, or will the Slytherins keep their mouths shut? Just to let you know, I am very Pro-Slytherin. Not that I have anything against the other houses or anything, even if I do call my friend a "Stupid Gryffindor". Blah blah blah.
Read and review!
Review responses:
Hermione Green: You are truly my most loyal reader besides my best friend! Thank you for all your nice words!
chocolate_frog: Love the name! Thanks so much! Here's the chapter you wanted, though this
ending isn't much better than the last one, is it? hehe
ReflectionsOfReality: Yes, I had to stop there! I ususally write short chapters because I'm a
talentless hack, and I couldn't have gone on without screwing it up. Thank
you for the lovely review!
Rouge Enchantress: Good spotting! Yes, Sirius and Remus will be teaching at Hogwarts. What
is going to happen? Thanks so much for reviewing!
Falafal: Your name is so cute! I have a good writing style? *blushes* I don't think I have that, but
you obviously do, and that's all that matters! grin grin
Shorty: Wow, you think I have talent? That one's new to me! Are you possibly thinking of someone
else? *grins* Yeah, when I thought up this story, I caught a flash of Harry saying "Uncle
Sev!" and I thought it was so funny I had to include it! I like Amelia, too! I myself would
really like a snake, but my parents won't allow it, so I'll have to wait until I can move out.
*sigh*. I found it so funny when you said that Amelia would be the bestest friend if she was
a person; I really named the snake Amelia because I have a friend named that, and she's
scared to death of snakes. I'm an evil little person, and most likely she will make an
attempt on my life. Thanks so much for your kind words!
You have no idea what these reviews meant to me! I mean, I got hysterical and called up my friend to tell her! You guys are so great! Thank you!!!!
(November 18, 2003)
Review responses at the bottom. I have 5!!!!!!!
Disclaimer: I own nothing of Harry Potter except Ebony-Crested Dragon snakes and Amelia.
Chapter 4: A Shocking Sorting
----------------------------------------
McGonagall held up a long scroll of names after the Sorting Hat was finished with its song, and began to read out names, several nervous first years slipping the hat on their heads. For most people, the hat shouted their house quickly, like Draco. The hat didn't even touch his head before it shouted out "SLYTHERIN!" Harry quickly gave Draco the thumbs-up as his friend joined the Slytherin table. He hoped he could join Draco; Tom had said both his parents were Gryffindors. Is it possible?
The names went on and on, and more and more students from the line vanished. It was odd he hadn't been called yet. It seemed alphabetically sorted, but why had Ron been called just now? He gulped as he was the only one left standing as Blaise Zabini got put in Slytherin house.
Harry ran over to Professor McGonagall, seeing her about to take the Sorting Hat away.
"Wait! You didn't call me! I haven't been Sorted yet, Professor!"
McGonagall looked down at him, an odd look in her eyes.
"Were you supposed to be on the list, young man? You did get an invitation here, didn't you?"
"Of course! Can I see your scroll, please?" He searched through the names until he came across a crossed out name: Potter, Harry.
"There I am! Why did you cross my name out?" he asked the Professor, showing her the name.
"This can't be possible!" she muttered, looking into his face again, into his eyes, which he knew he had gotten from his mother. He could see the astonishment on her face as she turned to the headmaster, whispering quickly. The old man's eyes, which seemed to twinkle, widened ever so slightly as they roamed over Harry. Harry was distracted by someone, though.
Quickly the boy walked over to stand in front of the Potions professor who stared at him in shock.
"Uncle Sev?" Harry whispered leaning closer. The entire hall was buzzing with mutterings and moans of hunger.
"Where'd you get that name, boy?" asked Severus, eyes widening slightly. Only one person ever called him that, and Erebus never had this boy as a friend.
Harry just chuckled. "I figured you wouldn't recognize me without the Glamour Charm." He pointed at his cloak, at the clasp. "Does this look familiar to you?"
Severus, stunned, voiced, "E-Erebus?"
"That was just an alias for me until now, Uncle Sev!" He held out his hand. "My actual name is Harry. Harry Potter. Glad to finally be able to tell you!"
Severus just looked at the black haired boy in front of him. It had to be Erebus. He had specially made that clasp for him after one of his own from years ago. Yet here was a boy that was the spitting image of James Potter with Lily's eyes. But it had to be Erebus; this boy was speaking the truth.
Dumbledore leaned down the table to look at Severus. "Severus, if we have young Potter so he can be Sorted?"
"Yes, of course, headmaster. Go, Erebus."
Harry walked back over to McGonagall, who was now looking as though she were to burst into tears , and they walked over to the stool and hat. She said in a loud, choked voice.
"Potter, Harry!"
Harry sat down on the stool and put the hat on his head. It fell over his eyes so he couldn't see the hundreds of students staring and pointing at him. Then he heard a tiny voice in his head.
"Hello, Mr Potter. Come back from the dead, have we?" chortled the hat.
Harry grinned mentally and answered, "You have to be dead to come back from that. I never was in the first place."
"Clever lad. Let's see. A great deal of book smarts. More than I've seen any first year come in with. You would do Ravenclaw proud with your intellect. Yet... you have a great deal of power and ambition. You seek to make your caretaker proud of you more than anything. You have a great deal of Gryffindor courage, it's true, but you only use it after careful thought. Not a brash Gryffindor. Ravenclaw or Slytherin? Where shall I put you?" A moment, then...
"SLYTHERIN!"
There was no applause for him as he sat next to Draco and across from Blaise, just an increase of hushed voices. Amelia peeked out from his sleeve at the crowd, and Blaise gave an amused chuckle, the first noise anyone had heard from her all night.
"Is that your snake, Harry?" she asked, her voice rich and silvery.
"Yes, her name's Amelia and she's an-"
"Ebony-Crested Dragon snake." She laughed quietly at Harry and Draco's astonished faces. "My father breeds and raises rare snakes. Nice to meet you two."
She turned up toward the head table as Dumbledore stood up to address the Hall. He gave the usual notices and sent the students off to bed after dinner, watching as Harry had sat talking quite happily with Blaise and Draco.
"Mr. Potter, if I could have a word?" called Dumbledore. Harry slowly came up to the headmaster who was smilng at him. He conjured Harry a seat in front of him, and Harry sat down in front of the staff, feeling as though he would be interrogated for information.
"I just wanted to ask a few questions, Harry."
He was right. He was getting interrogated. He smirked; this would be both fun and interesting.
"Well, Harry, I might as well get this one out of the way: where have you been this entire time?"
"I've been living with the man that took me out of my parent's house that night when it was destroyed and my parents killed," he said quite simply.
"Who was that, Harry?" he prodded. All the professors were now focusing him.
"Tom."
"Tom who?"
Harry looked rather irritated, "Tom. Oh, what is it you guys call him, uh, You-Know-Who? I myself just prefer Tom rather than Voldemort, though. He dropped me off at the platform today. He's so nice to me."
By this time, every member of the staff was staring at him in horror. He leaned in towards Dumbledore.
"Um, can I go, Professor? I really would enjoy a bit of sleep before classes tomorrow. Perhaps finish this interrogation sometime in the future?"
A flash of light from Harry's cloak distracted him. "Where did you get that clasp?"
Snape froze in shock, though he concealed it. He knew Dumbledore knew Severus had made one exactly like it years ago as a spy. He couldn't be revealed now.
Harry just looked at the clasp and looked up, gesturing nonchalantly as though waving the question off. "This is something Tom's had for quite a while. Picked it up during one of his raids many years ago and gave it to me this summer. Isn't it lovely?"
"You're, ah, free to go then, Harry. Professor Snape will walk you down to the Slytherin common room."
"Thank you headmaster. Shall we go, Professor Snape?"
Severus stood up and walked out of the Great Hall with Harry following him. He only spoke once outside the common room entrance, a blank stretch of wall with a smear of what looked like blood.
"Erebus, I'd like to thank you for covering up the clasp. It could have cost me dearly."
Harry grinned. "I'm not Erebus anymore, Uncle Sev. I'm Harry Potter and always have been. And don't worry about the clasp. A Slytherin watches his fellows' backs, don't they? You always were my favorite, Uncle Sev, even if I knew you were a spy in most respects. Good night!"
And the young boy slipped through the wall, leaving a befuddled professor behind.
"Hey Draco!" Harry yelled throughout the crowded room, seeking out his friend and laughing, "You should have seen their faces when I told them Voldemort had been watching me all these years! It was brilliant!" The entire common room went silent at his words, and he scowled at them all. "What? Never heard his name before? Come on, Draco, I want to get some sleep."
Draco, smirking at the stunned faces, led him up the narrow stairway to a door saying "First Years" and stepped inside after the blonde. Harry found his trunk in front of a bed next to Draco's, four posters of green and silver lining the room. He quicky slid into pajamas and slipped into the bed, Amelia curling up under his pillow. It had been a long day and tomorrow would be even longer.
Meanwhile....
"Thank Merlin it was a full moon tonight!" whispered Minerva to Albus, looking up at the Great Hall's ceiling where the moon shone.
"Yes, Remus and Sirius could have made that a lot harder."
"Sholdn't we tell them before Harry walks into their class tomorrow, though?"
At this, Albus smiled. "Let them have a surprise. Goodness knows it will shock them out of this 10 year stupor. It's going to be an interesting year, Minerva."
-----------------------------------------------
A/N: Shocker ending! Yes, Remus and Sirius teach at Hogwarts jointly, and boy, are they in for a surprise! Meanwhile, Harry has just yelled to the entire Slytherin common room he was raised by Voldemort! Is the entire school going to know next morning, or will the Slytherins keep their mouths shut? Just to let you know, I am very Pro-Slytherin. Not that I have anything against the other houses or anything, even if I do call my friend a "Stupid Gryffindor". Blah blah blah.
Read and review!
Review responses:
Hermione Green: You are truly my most loyal reader besides my best friend! Thank you for all your nice words!
chocolate_frog: Love the name! Thanks so much! Here's the chapter you wanted, though this
ending isn't much better than the last one, is it? hehe
ReflectionsOfReality: Yes, I had to stop there! I ususally write short chapters because I'm a
talentless hack, and I couldn't have gone on without screwing it up. Thank
you for the lovely review!
Rouge Enchantress: Good spotting! Yes, Sirius and Remus will be teaching at Hogwarts. What
is going to happen? Thanks so much for reviewing!
Falafal: Your name is so cute! I have a good writing style? *blushes* I don't think I have that, but
you obviously do, and that's all that matters! grin grin
Shorty: Wow, you think I have talent? That one's new to me! Are you possibly thinking of someone
else? *grins* Yeah, when I thought up this story, I caught a flash of Harry saying "Uncle
Sev!" and I thought it was so funny I had to include it! I like Amelia, too! I myself would
really like a snake, but my parents won't allow it, so I'll have to wait until I can move out.
*sigh*. I found it so funny when you said that Amelia would be the bestest friend if she was
a person; I really named the snake Amelia because I have a friend named that, and she's
scared to death of snakes. I'm an evil little person, and most likely she will make an
attempt on my life. Thanks so much for your kind words!
You have no idea what these reviews meant to me! I mean, I got hysterical and called up my friend to tell her! You guys are so great! Thank you!!!!
(November 18, 2003)