Harry Potter is owned by JK Rowling

The Protector's War is owned by SM Stirling

Slytherin Rising was created by J.L. Matthews

Uther Windsor was in the classroom with the other members of his house. It was a large room, not as large as the arena in which the sorting of 10,000 students had taken place, but large enough to hold 1,000 students at their desks. Uther was trying to pretend that his eleven-year-old uncle, Sigurd had not been sorted into his house when a tall blonde man strode in with his black robes trailing behind him like the wings of a bat.

"Quiet!

Welcome to House Draconis. I am Professor Draco Malfoy. You shall refer to me as Professor Draco or sir. You have all been judged and found wanting. If this were not so, you would currently be a short distance away at Hogwort's. Since this is not the case. We'll just have to do the best we can with what we've got. When we were dividing up the students, I asked the Hat for those students who have the greatest thirst for power. Look around . . . the faces you see are the leaders of tomorrow. You should get to know the other members of your house. The people in the room with you will be your greatest allies and your greatest rivals.

Many of you are unable to read or write. Over the next year, I will be acting as literacy instructor. If you have failed to learn the basics of reading and writing by the end of the year. the consequences would be . . .

. . . unfortunate . . .

You should pay particular attention to you Magical Gardening class. The top 1 of Gardening students will be allowed, next year to take Herbalogy, with Professor Longbottom. But this is not to say you should not neglect your other classes. Those students, whose average, is in the top 1 will be permitted to take Potions next year. Since this class will be taught by me, I expect this class to be dominated by members of my house. For some of you Herbalogy and Potions will be the key to your future success. Because this school only has the facilities to teach these subjects to a small number of students, after you graduate, experts in these fields will be in great demand."

When the new students of Lovegood class came into the room, there was a woman sitting in the teacher's desk at the front of the room in a lotus posture. She was wearing a royal blue sari with an iridescent purple see-through burka over it. She had dirty-blonde hair with pink tips. She was absolutely motionless. She didn't even appear to be breathing.

Mike Benton was beginning to this she was dead. He crept forward through the thousand students to the desk in the front of the room. He was about to shake her when, suddenly, her eyes open and she stared at his.

"Oh, Hello Mike," said Luna

She slipped off the desk and stood up.

"Class, I am Professor Lovegood" she began. "I will be you Head of House for the next seven years. When you get to 3rd year. You will be able to take O.W.L. options. I know most of you will choose the subject I teach, Divination. I asked the hat for those students who have the gift of sight the strongest. So I know you will all do well in my class. For the next two years, I will also be your literacy instructor. Some of you think that if you are a seer, being able to read and write is not that point. Nothing could be further from the truth. The more knowledge you have, the easier it is to interpret your visions. Reading will allow you to gain a greater and more varied breadth of knowledge than life experience alone."

'Trisha Smith filed in with all of the other students into the large classroom, large enough to hold 1,000 students. After a few minutes, 'Trisha was beginning to wonder where the other students were. One of her fellow students stood up and walked to the head of class. She looked to be of Far East Asian descent. She closed her eyes and concentrated.

Suddenly, she gained two feet in height her facial structure changed to a more European appearance and her hair changed from black to dirty blonde with pink tips.

"Good Morning" she began. "I am Professor Tonks. I will be you Transfiguration teacher for the next seven years. I will also be your Head of House as well as your primary literacy instructor. As you can see, I am a metamorphmagus. While none of you is likely to be metamorphmagi like me, with Transfiguration, you will be able to perform similar feats, using your wand. In addition, I will also be helping those of you who cannot read and write to catch up.

I asked the Hat for the most unusual students. My gift made me something of a misfit when I was in school. Many of you may feel the same way. Well for the next seven years, you'll be in a House where your eccentricities will be quite ordinary. Eventually, after all of you have graduated, I, like all of the other Heads of Houses will be establishing my own school. Some of you may even become instructors at this school.

But now, let's get started on our first lesson. We'll start with turning matches into needles . . ."