Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and can't get money for this, but I can make him into a Mafia Prince.
Warning: Some chapters (the ones including pranks) might not be appropriate to read at work. Laughter may ensue leading your co-workers to see you as even more insane than they previously thought.
Chapter 16: A New Day
Dumbledore agitatedly paced around his office, the Sorting Hat on the stool in front of him, as he furiously sucked on a lemon drop.
"Slytherin," Albus was practically shouting at the hat, "you put the hope and savior of the wizarding world in Slytherin. What were you thinking?"
The hat merely sat there and if a hat could smirk this one was. Dumbledore continued to rant, having no one else to vent his frustrations to.
"Both his parents were Gryffindors; the Potters have always been in Gryffindor, was it really that hard to put another Potter in Gryffindor. We had talked about this earlier before the Sorting. Harry is the hope of the light. Slytherin turns out more dark wizards than any other house. The older students could influence his decisions and tell him the wrong things."
The hat frowned and finally the rip near the brim opened up, "as Headmaster of this school you should know the untruth behind the words you just uttered. I sorted Harry Potter into Slytherin house for who he is and who he can be, I did not sort him by thinking of how the wizarding world thinks of him or how they think they want him to be."
Dumbledore suddenly looked his years, his worried anger deflating.
"I swore the night his parents died that I would guide Harry along the right paths and protect him. I can't protect him in Slytherin, not as well as I want to. Severus somehow manages to prevent my interference with the Slytherins as he tries to protect them from the prejudices of the world, but Severus hated James Potter and I'm afraid that hate will extend to Harry. Please resort him, say there was a mistake, a spell cast."
The Sorting Hat tipped its topmost point forward, "I cannot do that Headmaster. I cannot be tampered with and I did not make mistakes with the sorting. Harry Potter will remain in Slytherin."
Realizing a losing battle when he saw it Albus Dumbledore retreated to his bed chamber and prepared for sleep, thinking of all the methods he could employ to guide the savior of the wizarding world along the path of light.
Back in the Headmasters office the Sorting Hat turned to the crimson phoenix resting on a plain perch.
"Things have been set into motion my old friend," the Hat spoke gravely, "changes will happen in the wizarding world and the powerful Albus Dumbledore is about to learn of the extent of his magic and mortality. Harry Potter will indeed shake the foundations of Hogwarts but the aftershocks will spread through the wizarding world."
Fawkes merely trilled, a light chuckling sound. The Hat was always so grave and pessimistic after a Sorting. Fawkes had seen as many ages as the Hat, both had once belonged to Godric Gryffindor after all. Yet while the Hat had to think ahead and delve through the minds of each new batch of students Fawkes himself lived for the present and couldn't wait to see what havoc Harry Potter and his friend wrought. They might even prove to be more entertaining than the red-haired twins.
Instinct woke Harry not long before sun up even though he hadn't gotten to bed all that long ago. It was disorienting to wake up in a room listening to the sounds of other males sleeping, at least two were snoring loudly, and the only light was coming from a crackling fire instead of seeping through curtained windows. It was a wonder he had been able to relax enough to sleep at all. For a moment Harry just lay there soaking in the magic. Stretching languidly Harry slipped out of bed his feet moving silently across the thick, dark green carpet covering the stone floor to help ward off the chill of the dungeons. Using the faint light from the fire Harry was able to make his way across the unfamiliar room to the door without waking his roommates. Moments later he was cautiously entering the Slytherin common room causing the torches to flare to life as Blaise stepped into the room from the opposite doorway. They smiled at each other and joined together in the center of the room.
"It's almost time, where at?"
Harry looked pensive for a moment. Even if they could find their way to the outside he didn't know if they were allowed out onto the grounds and he wanted to get a feel of the castle and the rules before going against them. The better you knew the rules the easier it was to break them without getting into trouble.
Making his decision Harry turned east to face the grand fireplace and fell into position.
"No matter where we are at the sun rises from the east."
Beside him Blaise fell into position as well and they began to walk The Path as Sensei taught them. First position, second…Harry felt his eyes flutter closed and he imagined he was in the yard of the Darkov mansion with his father, Sensei, and Trevor as the sun rose to play warmly across his body along with a gentle breeze…last position. Harry's eyes opened and he was once again fully in the Slytherin common room. Harry didn't have to look at Blaise or even ask to know that the girl had not experienced the same gift, the same vision that the magic of the castle had just given him.
"Good morning," Harry greeted Blaise and received the usual echoed greeting in return.
Neither noticed as the shadow of a black robe whipped around the corner and out of the common room as they headed back to their dorms to get ready for the day.
Harry made a bit more noise as he made his way back to his dorm, he didn't want it to seem as if he was sneaking around and give people a reason to try and spy on his and Blaise's morning ritual. Harry ducked in the door to his room, just in time too, as soft footsteps came down the hall signaling that some of the older years were already up. Peering through the crack he had left between the door and frame Harry saw one of the male prefects from last night stumbling past, everything else was silent. Fetching his Hogwarts uniform Harry ducked into the bathroom and eagerly ducked under the hot spray of the shower, the hot water running refreshingly over his toned body. Twenty minutes later Harry was dressed and had just pulled his damp hair back into a low ponytail. Satisfied Harry headed once again towards the Slytherin common room knowing that if necessary his currently unassuming appearance could turn dangerous. The gun hidden inside the folds of his school robes and the knife tucked in his boots gave Harry a feeling of secure confidence as he got ready to face new people and the hopes and perceptions they held for him.
Entering the common room Harry found Blaise already waiting for him but the prefect was snoring loudly on the couch, making an occasional odd grunting noise as he did.
"I think this lazy lump was supposed to show us the way back to the Great Hall for breakfast," Blaise rolled her eyes, "but I don't think he is going to be much help."
As if on cue Harry's stomach growled and after a few minutes of futilely trying to wake the slumbering prefect he and Blaise gave up and left through sliding wall to find their own way to breakfast, only admitting that they were lost after having passed the same portrait for the third time though the frame looked suspiciously different and Blaise finally remembered her father saying something about the pictures being able to move between frames to visit other portraits.
"We are so lost," Blaise groaned as they rounded yet another corner, "we'll never…"
Blaise suddenly stopped talking and froze alongside Harry as they came face to face with the Headmaster. Neither had heard the old man coming.
"Good morning Mr. Potter, Ms. Zabini," Dumbledore greeted the new first years jovially, "you're up early for first years and heading in the wrong direction if you wish for breakfast. Follow me. Lemon drop?"
Declining the lemon drops Harry and Blaise fell in step with the Headmaster as he rattled on about seeming nonsense before cunningly turning the conversation to the real point he wished to make.
"And that reminds me Mr. Potter that I am afraid we had a bit of trouble with the owl we sent to you. We of course received your acceptance letter but there was no address, something that is needed for the school records."
For a moment Harry opened his mouth to answer before closing it quickly and twisting his tongue around a new reply to give to Dumbledore before he walked through the doors to the Great Hall.
"I received the owl perfectly fine and the address was correct on the envelope. I don't see how there could be a problem with you not knowing the address if the owl was able to find me. And if I read Hogwarts, A History right the letters are only addressed with a name and the address is spelled to appear as the owl approaches the recipient of the letter since an owl can deliver its burden at any time, not just to the home. Thank you for leading us to the Great Hall, I doubt we would have found it anytime soon on our own and I really am hungry."
With a nod Harry and Blaise parted ways from Dumbledore and headed towards the Slytherin house table as the Headmaster made his way to the head table.
Sitting down at the nearly empty Slytherin table Harry and Blaise idly noted that not many other students were present at this early hour and only a few teachers were at the head table, their own head of house included. Satisfied that no one was near enough to overhear their conversation the two friends piled food on their plates from the dishes that had magically appeared and bent their dark heads together as they talked.
"What was that all about Harry," Blaise was referring to the conversation with the Headmaster, "he seemed like a batty old man at first rambling like he did, but he skillfully turned the conversation and almost caught you up. If you and Manuel didn't play word games like that so often he would have had you, for a second I think he did."
Harry nodded; he had barely caught his slip in time and had just managed to salvage the situation. He didn't know why the headmaster was suddenly interested in learning his address from him.
"I don't know what he was digging for but I'm sure he would have kept trying had we not walked away then. We'll have to watch ourselves around him until we figure out possible ulterior motives."
Turning their conversation to more innocent matters, such as what their classes would be and what homework they would get, Harry and Blaise continued to eat as more students sat down to breakfast. Harry found himself glaring at various people as they pointed and whispered loudly about him but his expression turned to one of slight amusement to see the sleepy Slytherin male prefect leading in the first years followed by a worried looking Melantha. She was muttering something about already having lost two first years and Harry couldn't help but grin at the thought that he had already inadvertently began to cause trouble. When Melantha spotted them the two friends could tell they were in for a slight tongue lashing but were saved by their head of house silently passing out their schedules.
"Potions first," a boy to their left commented to them, "with our own head of house. Too bad the Gryffindorks are in there too. It might have actually been an interesting lesson. I'm Theodore Nott and you're Harry Potter and Blaise Zabini."
Theodore held out his hand to the two and spent the rest of breakfast talking to the two friends as if he hadn't just met them that morning. As they left the hall to head to potions with the rest of their year, following directions given to them by an older student Blaise flashed some hand signals asking what Harry thought about trusting Theo. For a moment Harry hesitated before flashing back 'caution' and 'go ahead' without missing a beat in the conversation he was having with Theo regarding defense against the dark arts and the trembling looking teacher they had discovered would be teaching it. They only stopped talking when they joined the silently nervous group of first year Gryffindors outside the closed door of the potions classroom.