To a New World
Harry woke that morning and prepared to face the world that he had been born into. Looking himself over in the mirror, he found it hard to see Harry Potter in him. He looked very similar to his father, with just a slight touch of James Potter. The only trace of James that was left was in his hair, only because it never laid flat. However, the part of him that he was most proud of was his eyes, because they were the same brilliant shade of green as his mother. Sometimes he was upset that he had no memory of her, but today was not the day to dwell on it he told himself.
Harry finished getting ready and joined Remus for breakfast. They spent most of the time planning for winter break and making sure that nothing was forgotten. They joined the Grangers and were soon off to a new world.
Harry and Hermione discussed what to do when they got to Hogwarts, a part of Harry knew that they would be in the same house no matter what, and what they thought would be their hardest class. Harry was sure it would be defense, since his father had said that it required the skill of most other disciplines that were taught at Hogwarts. Hermione was sure that it would be transfiguration, as it required bending the rules that governed how things should be.
They discussed the merits of each and agreed to disagree. They soon arrived at the train station with plenty of time to spare. Harry and Remus walked slightly apart from the Grangers so as to allow them to say their good-byes in relative privacy. Harry looked at his father for a moment before hugging him.
They both said nothing, as was their way of dealing with hard times. Finally it was time to board the train. Hermione and Harry found an empty compartment and placed their things inside. Both pulled a book out and started reading, Harry read a book on jinxes, Hermione read Hogwarts: A History. After a few minutes they heard a rather loud group outside their window.
"Fred, George I want you two to behave this term," said a woman with flaming red hair addressed the two identical twins.
"Ah come on mom, we can't all be angels like Percy," one said.
Some of us have to play devil's advocate," said the other.
The woman glared at them before fussing with one who appeared to be the eldest. Finally she turned to her youngest son and made a fuss, "you have dirt on your face, here let me get that for you." The youngest jerked away quickly.
"I'm fine mom, really."
One of the twins turned slightly away from his mother, "don't worry Ginny, we'll send you a toilet seat since you can't come this year."
Their mother made a large fuss about that, but Harry noticed that she radiated sadness and happiness in equal volume. Soon enough the train whistle sounded and she gave each a hug. After they had boarded, the youngest ran alongside the train the end of the platform waving at least until they couldn't see her any more.
Turning back to their books, Harry heard someone stop outside the door. Having learned long ago that most people found it unsettling that he reacted to sounds that they couldn't hear, he waited until the person opened the door. Turning as the door slide open, he saw the youngest boy from the family he had overheard.
The red head asked, "mind if I sit in here? Everywhere else is full." Harry looked at Hermione, who simply nodded. Accepting the invitation, the boy put up his belongings. He introduced himself, "Ron Weasley," and held out his hand.
Being polite, Harry extended his hand and shook it, "Harry Lupin." He watched as Hermione introduced herself and they sat back in silence for a few minutes.
Finally Ron decided to break the silence which, for him, seemed to have made him uncomfortable. Harry chatted levelly with him, seeing as he had little interest in sports, mostly because he found that his heritage made him ferociously competitive. However Harry didn't say that.
Finally Ron decided to show off, from his perspective at least, "want to see some magic my brother showed me?" At their nods, he said, "sunshine daises, butter mellow, turn this stupid fat rat yellow." The effect was humorous as the rat jerked but nothing happened. Ron muttered, "stupid wanker knew that it was a dud I bet."
Deciding to leave well enough alone, Harry decided to inspect the rat. As he moved closer, the rat, Scabbers, sniffed the air and started moving to get away from Harry. Harry froze when he saw the rat move away as if frightened. Deciding that frightening a rat was the last thing on his list, Harry sat back and continued reading his book on hexes.
Ron, lacking a book himself, started asking about the hexes that Harry was reading about. Happy to have a topic that actually interested him, Harry explained the various hexes and how to perform them. They sat for most of the trip talking about how to perform the various spells that were listed.
An older lady opened the door and asked "anything from the trolley dears?"
Ron shook his head, "no thanks," he held up sandwich, "I brought something."
After glancing at Hermione, Harry purchased a large amount. Sitting back down, he held one up to Ron, "want some?" He tossed one to Hermione, who caught it deftly. A couple of seconds went by before Ron nodded.
They spent most of the trip eating various wizard candies and talking about their various properties. So far Harry enjoyed Chocolate Frogs and Pumpkin Pasties out of all the ones he tried. Harry was hesitant to try Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, especially after Ron said, "they mean every flavor. They have peppermint and chocolate, also spinach and tripe."
They spent the trip trading details about Wizard and Muggle worlds, what people did for fun and what they ate. Ron was very interesting in that he had lots of knowledge about the world he lived in, but nothing specific. Harry and Hermione learned that Ron was the sixth son, something that they were slightly envious of him, as they didn't have siblings themselves.
They talked for awhile, until a boy with platinum blond hair opened the door. Harry vaguely wondered if that was his natural hair color as he kept his attention on the muscle behind the boy. The boy looked around, as if he smelled something rather offensive. Though the only thing Harry could smell was Hermione perfume, and that was so light that it was hard even for him to smell it.
The boy, since he had yet to give a name, walked over to Harry and looked at him with a superior expression, "you wouldn't happen to know which compartment Harry Potter is in? I can make it worth your time if you have a favorable answer."
"I've not met anyone by that name, sorry I couldn't be helpful," Harry replied evenly. Already he knew that he didn't like him. This person apparently thought that he was superior to Harry, something that grated against Harry's nature rather badly.
The boy nodded and leaned in close, "a word from the wise, you would be better off ditching those two pieces of garbage. You could go a lot farther without them."
Harry wasn't sure exactly what happened after that, all he knew was that the boy and his two goons were thrown rather violently out of the compartment after that statement and that he did it. Harry wasn't the violent type, no matter what he had never lost his temper about anyone.
Ron and Hermione sat in shocked silence for a couple of moments before Ron said "bloody hell, that was amazing!" This broke the trance and suddenly Ron was talking rather animatedly about it. He even left to talk with his brothers about it. Harry sat with his head bowed, not really wanting to look Hermione in the eye after attacking someone, no matter how deserving.
Hermione got up and moved next to him. For awhile neither of them said anything, mostly because they weren't sure of what to say. Hermione shifted her weight and asked, "what did he say that set you off Harry?"
Harry closed his eyes, "he said 'a word from the wise, you would be better off ditching those two pieces of garbage. You could go a lot farther without them'. I wasn't aware I did anything until I was standing over them." He looked at her, "all I know is that felt more angry at that than I have ever felt in my entire life."
They sat in relative silence until they heard that they would be pulling into station in ten minutes. Harry pulled his robe over his head, not bothering to do more than make sure it was on straight. They soon were on the platform surrounded by a sea of their peers. Over all the noise the heard, "first years, first years come over to me."
They followed the sound of the voice and soon stood in front of an impossibly large man. The man, Hagrid, gathered them together and into boats to cross the lake. Harry sat with Hermione, Ron, and a boy named Neville. As they came around a bend, several sounds of amazement could be heard. Harry looked at the castle, this was where his parents had met, where they fell in love.
Hermione must have noticed something, because she placed a hand on his arm. He smiled at her and sat trying to enjoy the trip. He wondered how many of the teaching staff would figure out who he was related to, and how they would react.
His father had told him that only Professor Dumbledore knew that he was Harry Potter as well as Harry Lupin. He hadn't understood why it mattered, until he got his hands on a history book. Apparently Harry Potter was given high praise as the "boy-who-lived", which he found slightly disturbing as they also wrote "you-know-who" in the same history books. "Harry Potter" was supposed to be attending school this year, which made him smirk as it was both true and yet not.
Soon enough they arrived at the docks and made their way to the main doors. Hagrid raised the giant knocker and let it fall. A hollow boom echoed, and soon the doors swung inward to reveal a severe looking woman who gestured for them to follow.
Harry leaned over to Hermione, "that's Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor house." Hermione nodded, knowing that he had talked to his father about the professors. They walked side by side into an antechamber and were told "you will soon stand before your peers and be sorted into one of the four houses."
"For the remainder of you time here, your house will be like your family. Perform well and you earn points, cause disruptions and you will lose points." Professor McGonagall looked at the crowd, her eyes giving the impression that she was looking each of them in the eye. Harry noticed her eyes widened when she looked at him, but he didn't think anything of it.
She left for a moment to see if they were ready and soon came back to lead them in. Soon enough they stood before every house waiting to be sorted. Professor McGonagall placed an old worn out hat on a stool, and after a few seconds it began to sing.
Oh you may not think me pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!
Everyone clapped, and the sorting hat bowed to each of the four houses then stilled. McGonagall pulled out a roll of paper and began calling people to be sorted. Harry could sense the nervousness that was rolling off the people around him, which had started to make him slightly nauseous.
"Granger, Hermione" was called and he watched as she walked with a quick stride as if she was sure to where she was going and just needed to get the formality out of the way. Harry knew better of course, she was nervous and covered for it very well. Harry stood watching, all the while wondering how long until he would know where his closest and best friend would be.
He was sure that he had been waiting for hours, though it couldn't be more than a minute, until the hat called "Gryffindor!" Letting out the breath he hadn't realized that he was holding, he smiled as she glanced at him.
Harry ignored the others that were being sorted, only listening for his name, but he noticed that sometimes the hat called out houses quickly and other times it took awhile. Finally he heard "Lupin, Harry" and walked towards the hat. He saw a few of the older teachers looking at him oddly, but he didn't really worry about it.
Harry felt the hat fall over his eyes and soon heard a voice saying, "Interesting, very interesting."
"What's interesting?"
Your mind is similar to a boy I sorted awhile ago. The dear boy happened to be a werewolf and had a very organized mind."
"Was his name Remus Lupin?"
Harry felt the hat's surprise, "yes, is of any relation to you?"
Harry smiled, "he's my dad."
"I see," said the hat and drifted into silence for a few moments. "Plenty of courage. . . not a bad mind. . . talent. . . and a nice thirst to prove yourself. You could do well in Slytherin, but you also have a wolf's sense of right and wrong which will cause problems with their habit of exploitation."
Another silence, this one was longer by a marked amount. Harry decided to speak, "perhaps you could place me in Gryffindor, it's where I want to go anyway."
If the hat could smile, he was sure it would be. He heard "Gryffindor" shouted to the hall and quickly made his way to a seat across from Hermione. She gave him an odd look, but he shook his head to signal that he didn't want to have a conversation here.
Eventually the sorting was over and Professor Dumbledore stood up and spoke some complete gibberish and sat back down. Harry looked at the table and began piling food on his plate. He noticed that Hermione had dropped her jaw in surprise, but quickly shut it and began to get some food to eat.
Sooner than anyone would have liked, the feast ended as the last of the food disappeared. Professor Dumbledore stood and said, "now that we are all feed and watered, I have a few start of term announcements."
"First, I would like to remind you that the Forbidden Forest is forbidden to students without a teacher present. Some of our older students would do well to remember that." He glanced at the Weasley twins, who smiled back.
"Second, Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you that magic is forbidden in the halls and that there are twelve more items that are now not allowed in the school. The full list is outside his office if you wish to review it in its entirety."
His posture said that what he was going to say next was very important. "Finally, the third floor corridor on the right side is off limits to anyone who does not wish to die a painful death." A few people laughed, but not for long.
The Headmaster stood looking around the room for a moment before dismissing them. Harry noticed Hermione beside him and said quietly, "later, when there's not so many people around." He could tell she agreed and they walked in silence to a picture of a rather plump lady dressed in a pink dress. "Password," she asked in an imperious voice.
"Caput Draconis" responded Percy, one of Ron's older brothers. The picture swung to the side and allowed them to enter. Percy directed the girls to one door and the boys to another. Harry looked at Hermione and shrugged, they would be unable to talk about this now.
Walking up to their dorm at the top of a spiral staircase, they found five beds, their trunks already brought up. Changing into the sleeping clothes, they got into bed and were quickly asleep.
A/n: 2905 words. Many thanks for the reviews.
