I guess it's been a little while since I posted one of these, but to be honest I hadn't had a lot of time to edit in the midst of everything for the other 2 fics that I regularly post (So much editing to do...) Hopefully, with the advent of summer I will have the time to catch up on all that editing and get back to work on this side project, so yay!...? ~F
Chapter Four:
The Road to Hogwarts
The last few months before he and Faykan were set to go Hogwarts was probably the best time Harry ever had. Mrs. Figg was far nicer to Harry than he had ever remembered her being; he presumed it was because of Faykan's presence, but at the same time it was rather unusual behavior from an adult to Harry.
At first when he had arrived, Harry was worried about her reaction to all of his and Faykan's magical things that they had bought at Diagon Alley, but when the owls swooped in over the weeks to deliver their new items, she didn't even bat an eye at the events. When Harry eventually brought it up, Faykan told him that she was a squib, a nonmagical child born to magical parents, and thus was quite familiar with their world, although unable to participate fully within it.
All that did was raise more questions in Harry's mind though, mainly as to why the elderly woman had never once told him about his family or tried to contradict anything that the Dursleys had told him his entire life. It also made him somewhat sad, knowing that she had indeed known all these wondrous things, but could take part in them for a lack of the ability to cast spells.
Harry did also wonder why he had never heard of Faykan before from all the years he had been at Mrs. Figg's house. She had shown him enough pictures to have covered her entire family, although they had mostly been of her cats. It left Harry so very confused at all the many secrets people kept keeping from him. But it seemed Mrs. Figg was either unable to unwilling to answer his questions related to that, and when he tried to ask Faykan, the other boy was careful to avoid all inclinations toward the topic.
Faykan had planned out all the time they had during their last two months before school started, primarily setting aside a great deal for both Harry and himself to study their books, and additionally for Harry to practice writing with a real feathered quill, because Muggle pens and pencils tended to react very poorly with the kind of parchment still used in the wizarding world. It seemed to serve Faykan's purpose of avoiding certain questions quite well, as their schedule was all but full from day to day.
When they did take time off to relax from studying, Harry liked to take his new owl, which he chose to name Hedwig, outside and watch her fly around. Faykan always came with him, and occasionally brought his pet raven, Roac, to join Hedwig in the air. These moments were always very peaceful for Harry, watching the two birds dip and dive through the evening air, or just listening to random stories from Fay about this or that magical thing.
Harry woke up extremely early the morning of September the first, and was far too excited to go back to sleep. As he crept out of his room he collided into Faykan, almost knocking them both to the floor. Squinting in the early morning light, Harry realized that the other boy had clearly awoken early as well and was about to open Harry's door himself when he had emerged.
"Can't sleep?" Faykan asked.
"No, what about you?" Harry replied, grinning.
"Na, I'm way too nervous," Faykan said, smiling back at him. "Get dressed, I'll go and see about getting us some breakfast."
Several long minutes later, Harry having had difficulty deciding whether to wear regular Muggle clothing or Wizards robes, (finally settling for Muggle attire until he and Faykan got onto the train,) he trudged down to the kitchen where the smells of the sausages and eggs that were awaiting him at the table. Neither Faykan nor Harry spoke while they ate, and afterward they returned to their rooms to finish packing up the last of their things.
When they finally returned, Mrs. Figg was sitting at the table with a cup of tea sitting in front of her, while she read the wizarding newspaper, 'The Daily Prophet.'
Mrs. Figg had been rather strange the entire time Harry had been in her home with Fay, rather aloof and glazed eyed, often just leaving the two boys to their own devises. Faykan had said that she was rather fond of letting him do as he pleased, so long as he didn't get into too much trouble.
"Morning, boys," Mrs. Figg said happily as they entered, "just let me finish the paper, and we'll pack up the car and be on our way to King's Cross."
The car ride went by rather quickly; at least Harry thought so. Faykan helped Harry pack their trunks and bird cages onto two carts and Mrs. Figg waved to them as they entered the station before she drove off. They walked briskly until they reached the small area between platforms nine and ten, where Faykan stopped, looking around with a puzzled and annoyed expression.
"Uh oh," he said slowly, "Not to worry you, but I believe I've forgotten how we get onto the platform, Harry."
Naturally, Harry started to panic slightly at that, until both boys turned as they overheard a nearby plump, red haired woman talking to a group of four boys as they walked toward the barrier between the platforms.
The only reason they even noticed was because she had mentioned the word Muggle, and they noticed that they had similar trunks and even owl cages. The boys watched as the family, all with bright red hair, walked straight through the solid wall between the platforms one by one, disappearing into it as if it wasn't there.
"Ah ha," Faykan exclaimed, "that's how, can't believe I forgot something so simple; let's go, Harry." They started toward the wall they saw the family disappear into, slightly jostled by the crowd as they passed with their laden carts. Harry was slightly worried by the quite seemingly solid brick pillar, but followed behind Faykan quietly until they were right next to the wall.
With a little encouragement from his friend, Harry leaned against the wall, and was shocked as he stumbled backward through it, pulling his cart behind him. Turning around to look behind him, his eyes met a scarlet steam engine waiting next to a platform packed with people. Someone nudged him from behind, and Harry moved as Faykan came through the illusory wall, grinning like a madman.
Faykan led Harry down the platform until they found an empty compartment, where they stowed their pets and were just lifting Harry's trunk onto the train when one of the red haired boys they'd followed through the barrier came and started to help with the trunk, as they were struggling with its bulk.
"Hey, you two look like you could use a hand. Oof!" his face turned beet red with the strain of lifting Harry's trunk, "What you got in this thing, bricks?" The boy joked good-naturedly.
Between the three of them they finally managed to get Harry's trunk, followed by Faykan's and the other boy's, into the empty compartment. Panting for breath, the three boys collapsed onto the seats, and Harry brushed his sweaty bangs away from his eyes.
"Hey, what's that on your head?" said the taller, red haired boy, once he had finally regained sufficient oxygen to speak.
"Oh, it's nothing." Harry said, moving his hair back to hide the scar the boy partially saw. He wasn't really in the mood for people gawking at the relic of his parent's murder.
Before the boy could press Harry any further, Faykan interjected, "So, who are you then?"
"Oh, sorry, I'm Ron. Ron Weasley." The boy said holding his hand out towards Faykan, who shook it.
"Faykan Undol." He replied. Ron then turned to Harry, who smiling, took the offered hand and shook it formally. "And I'm Harry. Harry Potter."
Ron's eyes widened in awe as his eyes jumped from Harry's hand to his forehead and back again. Harry sighed inwardly as the boy put two and two together in a flash
"Then that's where…" he said pointing at his own forehead timidly.
"Yeah it is, but he doesn't remember anything about it." Faykan said, answering for Harry, who smiled appreciatively. He really didn't want to answer all the very personal questions that Ron probably wanted to ask. Momentarily, Harry winced as he realized that the same sort of reception was bound to come up over and over again once they reached Hogwarts as well.
"Oh… guess that's probably for the best though, you think?" Ron said, slightly disappointed.
Harry and Ron then spent the next hour questioning each other about the magical world, and about living with Muggles. Faykan sat quietly, letting Harry lead the conversation, and together they learned all about Ron's five older brothers: Charlie, Bill, Fred, George, and Percy, who all had either left Hogwarts or was an upper years there. Faykan finally chimed in, asking about the rat that Ron had pulled out of a pocket midway into his and Harry's conversation.
"Oh, this is Scabbers, by the way. He used to be Percy's rat, but he got an owl when he was made a prefect this year, so I got him. He rather useless though…"
Harry had noticed that all of Ron's things looked rather worn and secondhand, but didn't comment on it. He listened as Faykan told Ron about how he and Harry had met, and their time in Diagon Alley.
"Can you believe that his family never told him about his parents or him being a wizard or Voldemort or anything?" Faykan was saying, when Ron gasped loudly.
"What?" said Harry, surprised at the boy's reaction to a rather benign segment of the tale.
"He said You-Know-Who's name!" Ron said, sounding both shocked and impressed at the same time.
Faykan just rolled his eyes. "Honestly, it's not like he's the scariest Dark Lord who ever lived, or even the most powerful. Not saying his name is just stupid."
Just about that time a witch pushing a cart stopped outside their compartment, slid open the door, and said to the compartment at large, "Anything off the trolley dears?"
Faykan leaped to his feet and before Harry or Ron could say anything, walked over to the witch and purchase some of everything on the cart for the three of them. Turning back with his arms full of a plethora of sweets that Harry had never seen before, Faykan tipped them on the empty seat next to Ron and gestured for Harry to pick what he pleased. "On me, friends," he said.
Harry leaned over to get a good look at some of the most strangest candies he'd ever seen. The three boys enjoyed picking their way through the pile of sweets. Harry really enjoyed the Pumpkin Pasties the best, and got an 'Albus Dumbledore' card from a Chocolate Frog, which was intriguing enough until the man's portrait decided to leave rather abruptly. Ron laughed when Faykan made a face after pouring a rather large handful of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans into his mouth all at once and Harry had to slap his back a few times until he could breathe again.
Faykan finally suggested that it was about time that they changed into their robes, so they wouldn't have to do it at the last minute. As Harry was pulling the robes over his head, he heard Ron give another cry of surprise.
"Bloody hell! What's that on your back?!" the red haired boy was shouting.
Harry pulled his head through the neck hole of his robes in time to see Ron pointing, horror struck, at Faykan's bare back, as he'd just removed his shirt. Faykan's back was incredibly pale, but traveling down on either side of his spine were grayish-black spiraling lines, almost like twin intersecting snakes.
The lines circled down both his arms, went up to his neck, and disappeared below the waistline of his trousers where Harry could only assume that they continued down much farther. Within the lines seemed to be printed letters, so small and chained together in a script that Harry had never seen before, but they seemed to shimmer with a sort of familiar light…
Harry wondered why he hadn't ever noticed that they were there before, even slightly. Then it occurred to him that he had never seen Faykan not wearing long sleeve shirt with a high collar before, even in his pajamas. They didn't seem so bad to Harry, just a bit strange, yet oddly familiar at the same time, but assuredly not worth the entire ruckus that Ron was making over them.
"Hmm," Faykan said, without any concern. "Oh those, they're just family tattoos that were put on me when I was little, my father and grandfather had similar ones also."
Ron still looked uncomfortable and slightly nauseated at the sight of the tattoos, and Harry wondered if the red haired boy knew something more than what Faykan was letting on, but if he did, he didn't comment futher. Faykan simply shrugged and pulled his robes on to hide them, but Harry could still see the tips poking up on either side of his neck now that he knew what to look for, due to the cut of the robes.
Just then the compartment door slid open and a round faced boy came in with a bushy haired girl next to him. She was already wearing her robes and looked very concerned.
"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a rather bossy sort of voice, and slightly larger than average front teeth.
Harry and Ron shook their heads, but Faykan had his back turned to her as he was pulling out his wand. The girl, noticing the wand in his hand, ignored both Harry and Ron and focused intently on Faykan.
"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." She asked, or demanded, instantly, stepping further into the compartment.
Faykan turned to look at her, slightly puzzled, but recovered quickly.
"Actually no, I wasn't, but if you insist," he said waving the wand in his hand, "Accio Toad!" A second later, a small toad zoomed out of the corridor, past Neville and into Faykan's opposite hand.
"Trevor!" Neville cried, holding out his hand for his pet. The girl looked both impressed and slightly shocked. "But, wasn't a summoning charm… That's far beyond our year, isn't it? How could you possibly know how to do that level of magic? You've got to be only a first year yourself, from the lack of house colors on your robes… Oh I knew that the extra books I bought weren't going to be enough to catch up to everyone else." The girl plopped down and Harry wondered if she would actually start to cry.
"Whoa! Calm down, um, Miss…" Faykan said, sitting next to her and looking very uncomfortable at trying to comfort the hysterical girl.
"Hermione Granger." She sniffed between her fingers.
"…Granger," Faykan finished, before continuing what he had intended to say, "Your reasoning is quite unfounded. I'm actually extremely advanced when it comes to magical learning, thanks to my parent's rigorous training, but I can honestly say that you definitely will not be behind in the classes." Faykan assured her softly, patting the girl's arm.
She sniffed once, and wiped her eyes on her robes, although Harry still wasn't sure if there were tears there or not. "I'm sorry, I'm being utterly silly; of course you're right." She said at last, standing up and adjusting her robes. "So, what are your names?" she said, more curiously, looking between Faykan, Harry and Ron.
"I'm Faykan Undol," Faykan started, "he's Ron Weasley, and he's Harry Potter." He said pointing to each in turn.
"Are you really?" Hermione said, turning to Harry, eyes widening and starting to speak very fast. "I know all about you, of course. You in three different history books I got for background reading. You see, neither of my parents is magical at all. It was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased. Do any of you know what house you'll be in? I hope I'm in Gryffindor, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be so bad. Anyway we'd better go; I expect we'll be arriving soon." She turned to leave, but quickly turned back to Ron and said, "You've got dirt on your nose, did you know? Just there," she said indicating a spot on her own nose. Ron scowled, but rubbed at the spot vigorously after she and Neville left the compartment.
The three boys looked at each other after she left, shrugged in unison and settled back down to wait out the rest of the trip to Hogwarts, but not a few minutes later their compartment door opened again, and the same pale faced boy that Harry and Faykan had seen in Madam Malkin's shop came in, flanked by two of the largest eleven year olds that Harry had ever seen.
"So it's true then, what the rest of the train is saying," the pale boy said. "You both are in this compartment."
"Clearly." Harry said shortly, really getting tired of all the interruptions and not wanting in the slightest to speak with this boy again. even Ron looked clearly put out, and he hadn't had the experience that both Harry and Faykan had had with this other boy.
The boy turned to his companions and pointedly told them to wait outside. They obeyed quickly and closed the door behind them. The boy turned back, suddenly looking nervous, and shifted on his feet several times before finally blurting out, "Look, I'm really sorry for what happened in Diagon Alley. I didn't mean to insult either of you. Had I known who either of you where I probably wouldn't have even said any those things."
The boy had a pleading look in his eyes and Harry could tell he was being sincere, or at least trying his hardest to be. Faykan looked as though he wanted to forgive the boy, or at least hear him out, but he glanced at Harry, saying with his eyes that it was his decision and his alone.
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Draco watched as Harry Potter sat there with his friends, Faykan and a red haired boy Draco was certain could only be a Weasley. 'Oh goodie, now I'll have to put up with a Weasel if I want to befriend these two.' Summoning up the last of his courage, Draco let out a short breath and plunged on. "Could we please just start over?" he pleaded, and noticed that Harry was eyeing his two bodyguards who were standing outside the door, buffering anyone away from the compartment by cracking their knuckles menacingly.
"Oh, those are Crabbe and Goyle," Draco said hesitantly, "And my name is Draco, Draco Malfoy." The red haired boy coughed, but it sounded like he was trying to hide a snigger. Draco's cheeks flushed slightly, but he tried his best to ignore him. Harry looked like he wasn't actually considering his offer, and Draco almost was almost about to turn to leave dejectedly when Faykan spoke up.
"Malfoy…Malfoy, where have I heard that name before…" he said, tapping his chin in thought. "Oh, I remember my father told me about a Lucius Malfoy he went to Hogwarts with. Wouldn't that be your dad, Draco?"
"Yes, actually," Draco said proudly, puffing out his chest a little, a measure of pride returning.
"Hey, Ron, didn't you say that your dad and Lucius Malfoy didn't get along too well?" Faykan said to the red haired boy, confirming to Draco that he was indeed one of Arthur Weasley's many progeny.
"Yea," Ron said with a smirk, "my dad said all the Malfoys are nothing but slimy dark wizards, and that nothing good ever comes from associating with them." Draco balled up his fists in anger, but held his tongue, knowing that the Weasley boy was only trying to goad him into doing something that would tip him out of Potter's favor. His jaw dropped when Faykan spoke again.
"Now, now, Ron, don't judge the sons for the sins of their forefathers. I'm sure an eleven-year-old boy couldn't possibly be a dark wizard, even if they have a fair bit of bad manners passed down…" Turning to Harry, Faykan continued, "I think we should forgive him and forget about what had previously happened, what do you think Harry?"
Harry sat silently for a long moment, and Draco started to sweat, before the other boy finally nodded in agreement. Draco almost let out a whoop of pleasure, but kept his composure. Sitting down at Faykan's request, they started chatting about what they could expect to encounter during their years at Hogwarts. When the subject turned to Quidditch, even Ronald finally came out of his silent angry shell and added in his two knuts. Draco noticed that Harry just sat quietly, listening to the by-play of his three friends, or sort of friend in Draco's case, and he nudged Faykan to point it out.
"Hey Harry," Faykan started, "didn't you know your father played Chaser for the Gryffindor team when he was at Hogwarts?" Harry's face lit up at that.
"Really?" he said in awe.
"Yeah," Faykan replied, grinning, "He was a natural flyer from what I had heard my dad say. They were at school for only three years together, but he said that he hadn't seen a better flyer in all his years at Hogwarts."
Harry looked like was going to press Faykan for all the information he knew about his dad, when a voice echoed throughout the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time." The voice continued to say that they were expected to leave their luggage on the train, as it would be brought up separately for them.
"So," Faykan said at last as the train started slowing down, "I think we should agree that no matter what houses were put in, we should always be at least friendly toward each other." Taking a long look at both Ron and Draco, he continued, "Also, I think we should not allow past events or family matters dissuade us from doing what we see fit concerning what happens at Hogwarts, agreed?"
Draco saw Harry nodding almost immediately, so he immediately accepted the terms also. Turning to Ronald, who had a small scowl on his face directly at Draco, Faykan poked him slightly in the stomach, and he jumped. "Oh, alright then..." He said finally, and they all shook hands on it.
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The four boys crammed the last of the sweets into their pockets and left the compartment, to join the throng of students who were exiting the train.
"I'll see you when we get inside." Draco called, moving over to Crabbe and Goyle, and they slipped into the crowd back along the train toward other compartments, presumably to get some of their own things before disembarking.
Harry shivered in the cold night air as they left the train. Then Faykan pointed out a lamp that came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Harry heard a loud booming voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All Firs' years over to me!" A literal giant of a man came wading through the sea of students, and Faykan, Ron, and Harry scrambled over to look up at him. The giant man beamed down when he saw Harry.
"An' here's Harry!" the giant said "Las' time I saw you, you was only a baby! Yeh look a lot like yer dad, but yeh've got yer mum's eyes."
"And, who might you be?" Faykan said, slightly defensive, as he moved to stand next to Harry.
"True, I haven't introduced meself." The giant man said, " Name's Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, an' a good friend o' Lily an' James."
Hagrid broke off abruptly, called out again for the first years to follow him, and led them all down a narrow path to the edge of a great black lake. Faykan talked with Hagrid quietly as they walked, questioning him about his job as gamekeeper, and a few other things. Hagrid had all the children get in groups of four and pile into about a dozen little boats that were by the shore once they arrived at the massive lake partway between the train station and a large valley where Harry presumed the school was located within.
Faykan, Ron and Harry climbed into a boat together, and were soon followed by the bushy haired Hermione. Harry saw Draco, Crabbe, Goyle and another rather weedy-looking boy in another boat nearby. The unknown boy was staring at them with unnerving interest. After everyone was seated, Hagrid's loud voice boomed out the command for the boats to move forward across the lake all on their own.
Everyone was quiet as the boats rounded a corner, and many people gasped as the magnificent castle drifted into view. They all got out when the boats reached a small harbor, directly at the foot of the castle's main entrance, and they followed the bobbing light of Hagrid's lamp around the parameter until they reached the huge oak front doors.
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Professor Severus Snape, Potions Master of Hogwarts School, sat at the staff table in the Great Hall, idly listening to the stuttering rambles of one Quirinus Quirrell, the current Defense against the Dark Arts teacher. Snape did not like Quirrell in the slightest, even less so than he did most of the others he worked with, teachers or students, but as the Head of Slytherin House he constantly strived to maintain a cool and professional composure when dealing with his fellow staff members.
Thankfully, Deputy Headmistress Minerva McGonagall finally brought the first year students into the Great Hall, and the babbling turban-headed man was finally silenced, allowing Severus to watch The Sorting without distraction.
Severus scanned the lines of approaching students, looking for potential new Slytherins, and one other in particular. He found Draco Malfoy almost immediately, his godson's blond hair shining in the candlelight like a beacon, but Severus paused at the sight of the two black haired boys that Draco was walking with. They definitely were not the youngest members of the Crabbe and Goyle families, as he had assumed would be flanking the son of their father's associate, Lucius Malfoy.
However, these two boys both struck Severus as familiar regardless, which was why he had paused to observe them so intently. One of the boys looked the spitting image of his old nemesis James Potter, and Severus could only presume that the boy must be the great and famous Harry Potter, the Boy-who-lived. Severus smirked inwardly; he would enjoy reenacting a small taste of what the boy's father had done to him while he was in school, but only if the boy was as arrogant as Severus guessed he must be.
As Severus continued to scan the rest of the twin lines of students, his eyes kept being draw back to the second raven haired boy between Potter and Draco. 'Could it be,' Snape wondered. The boy looked exactly like his old friend who had left Hogwarts in Severus' third year, much to his great disappointment. He decided to watch this group of boys during their sorting, thinking that it might prove somewhat interesting. He continued observing the boy as the new first years stood in the center isle of the Hall during the hat's silly little song, and in doing so Severus noted immediately how confident this child was acting as he chatted quietly with Potter and Draco during the Sorting Hat's song.
The boy seemed completely calm, or at least portraying a strong appearance of calmness, which was odd considering that every other child, even Draco who was trained to control his appearance, looked ready to bolt for the door at the first loud noise. The look of this child almost screamed in Severus' mind that he was destined for Slytherin house, and Severus hoped that that would be the outcome, as he would relish the chance to ask the boy about his family.
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Harry stood nervously as the hat was placed on student after student, calling out one of the four houses each time. Draco was right when he said he was going to be put into Slytherin, because the hat had barely touched him when it cried out the name of the house. Harry's heart hammered when his name was finally called. As the hat was dropped on his head, terrifying thoughts kept plaguing what was left of his confidence, which Faykan had been keeping built up during the song. His last sight before the hat covered his eyes was Faykan giving him a 'thumbs up' from the midst of the crowd of waiting first years, then blackness.
Harry almost gasped when the sorting hat's voice sounded inside his head.
"Hmm, difficult, very difficult… Plenty of courage, I see... Not a bad mind either... There's talent, my goodness yes, and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that is interesting… but where to put you… Not Hufflepuff, your talents wouldn't be tested enough, but sadly Ravenclaw would drown you with your lack of motivation, no offence my boy... Now Slytherin, that's a thought... You could be great you know, and Slytherin would help you on the way, no doubt about that... Hmm, but you seem too honorable to wish to use their ways to the fullest benefit... So, it had better be… GRYFFINDOR!"
The hall exploded as the hat shouted the last word for them all to hear! Harry took off the hat and made his way to the Gryffindor table, staggering slightly from getting constant slaps on the back and vigorous handshakes from his new housemates along the way.
When Harry sat down, he turned back to face the Head Table, and watched as the last four new first years yet to be sorted. Ron looked like a bundle of nerves, standing between Faykan and a tall black boy who had just been called. Harry looked at Faykan and noticed that despite his cool front, he was actually mildly nervous. Not nearly so much as Ron, but just enough that Harry's three odd years of knowing the boy allowed him to see in the way Faykan's mouth twitched every few moments. Then, at last, it was time:
"Undol, Faykan!" McGonagall called, and he walked forward and let her drop the sorting hat upon his head.
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When the young black haired boy came forward, Severus Snape almost choked on the drink he was sipping at the name of Faykan Undol. Severus stole a glance at Dumbledore to see if the older man had reacted as well, but the Headmaster was watching with almost a bored expression, quite the opposite of what Severus was feeling. Perhaps that made sense, as the Headmaster had rarely taken interest in those from Slytherin house.
Still, in Severus' mind there was no doubt of the boy's parentage remained, as he had known a personal named Faykan Undol when he was at school, this boy's father most likely, but the family had been reportedly killed off during the Dark Lord's rise to power.
There was no way that an heir had survived, not without someone like Dumbledore being aware of it. Glancing at Albus again, Severus wondered if the aged Headmaster realized any of this or why he didn't have the decency to at least look surprised. It couldn't be a lack of care regarding the matter, as the man was decent to all he encountered in any favorable light, regardless of their background.
The hall sat quietly while the hat perched silently upon the boy's head. Finally, a short gap of time that felt like more like five minutes due to the silence that reigned after the hat was placed on the child; it began to call out, "SLYTH…" but stopped abruptly.
Undol's face couldn't be seen, because the hat was draped over the young boy's head so far only his jaw was visible, but from his angle behind and far to the right of the stool Severus could see that it had clenched tightly when the hat had started to cry out. There was a deafening silence as the entire hall watched what felt like the longest sorting that anyone could remember.
Whether it was another few moments, or nearly twenty minutes later, no one could tell, but the gathered hall held their collective breath until the hat finally sighed and called out in a tired and gruff voice, "Fine you extremely stubborn one, GRYFFINDOR!"
Snape was as shocked at the rest of the hall, and somewhat irritated. Never in all his years at Hogwarts, learning or teaching, had anyone managed to force the sorting hat to change its mind once it had selected a house. Undol had managed to slip away from being placed in Slytherin, but why? What tiny hope Severus had had to talk one on one with the boy was dashed in one selfish, and quite Gryffindor-esk, move.
But even more worrisome Severus discovered, as the boy yanked the hat off his head and dropped it carelessly on the stool, was that the Potion's Master could tell from the boy's face that he not only had changed the hat's mind, but had meant to do it. Could the boy have actually known what the hat was going to do? And if so, what else were those of Hogwarts to expect of this young boy?
Shooting another look at the Headmaster, who was now also watching the boy behind those obnoxious twinkling eyes, Severus could tell that his mentor's curiosity had been peaked, and that he was at the same time plotting out his little war with the Dark Lord, factoring in a possible new piece on his side of the chess board of Great Britain.
Potential Spoilers Ahead, You have been warned!
Firstly, I wanted to put a slight bit more emphasis in Mrs. Figg. I truly felt that at this point in the original, as well as later on in the beginning of the 2nd book, that I more or less brushed her aside, which to be fair she isn't terribly important, but still. It's a realistic thought that she would come up at least once in a while, especially with the supposed family relation that she has with Faykan, so I plan to rectify that and restore some semblance of 'hey what about... so and so,' long and short, she was enchanted to believe everything that Fay told her regarding his relative status, as he knew that she was one of Dumbledore's spies, and not doing a terribly good job of it either... I never felt that was perfectly sent across, but there you have it. hopefully, with the other additions relative to her that will become more clear. Reason being, it ties back into the plot of 'Faykan isn't telling Harry the whole truth, and he's figuring that out little by little.' and I felt it was a missed opportunity for added emphasis.
Next, Fay forgot where the platform was? it has been many years since he went to Hogwarts, you know, the two other times, and a lot happened in between then and now, or did he sense the Weasleys and want to avoid them at that particular time...? You make the call!
No, this story was never meant to be a bash on the Weasleys, (nor a bash on Dumbledore for that matter, but the cards fell where they lay, and he made himself out to be a bit of a antagonist all on his own) as many are probably curious as to why I never wrote from Ron's perspective. Honestly, I had enough main male characters, and Ron never particularly interested me as having a unique perspective... in this story. for those who are reading Power of the Dark Side/Rise of Darth Veneficus, it hasn't happened yet, but Ron will be making a comeback in what I feel is the most poetically right way possible. But anyway, I just felt that already using Harry and Draco as the main character male protagonists kinda shunted Ron to a backseat, and he never became more important till book 5, and then only marginally. just the way it went I guess, don't hate him, just didn't overwhelmingly like him either.
Draco's supposed 180 degree spin from canon, well, to be fair, a spoiled, probably loner of a 11 year old going to school for the first time, away from parents and usual comforts, naturally the first thing they want to seek out in peer acceptance. Crabbe and Goyle don't really count, as they're 'friends' because their fathers are friends, so when the opportunity to make his own presented itself (back in Madam Malkin's) draco tried his hand, and was burned, realizing that the way he was raised isn't the end-all of everything good and pureblooded. I feel that that would have intrigued him, especially as the Undol family are supposedly a well known and powerful bloodline, why exactly they think that way, not that he necessarily agrees, and you can tell throughout the story that Draco always has a rather different idea about how things work until late in the game, but for now that shaking up of the foundation that was canon Draco with someone he supposed was an equal would, in my humble opinion, be enough to set him on a different path, and once rewarded with real friends, become a permanent change in him.
Hermione insert, yeah, somewhat canon and what not, but I had to do something with that scene, as she wouldn't have left them alone in any other scenario I projected...
Hagrid, much the same... Hagrid is hard to write, and I don't mean just the accent (although it most certainly doesn't help) the man is too kind and generous, and altogether star struck with Dumbledore to really do much, and contact with him just tends to always fall back squarely into canon for me. maybe it's a bit lazy but the character just didn't pan out to be as useful when Faykan is already three steps ahead on a lot of things, and can just as easily steer Harry in the right direction, although I wasn't going to deny his inclusion and just write him out, so I did try to make Hagrid work, but, it was what it was...
And yes, people may notice that I added a bit from the beginning of the next chapter to the end here, and that is because the next one got a massive extension, which pushed my normal boundary of 13 MS Word pages per chapter (roughly 6-7k words) and I felt it would be better to share the extra across multiple chapters rather than have one massive one smashed between relatively short ones on either side.
Ahhh Snape, probably one of my favorite canon characters across the board of all my stories, so suitable to subtle shifts in behavior, and eventually development in any direction I wish, protagonist, antagonist, helpful, hindering, you name it, with the right twist, he can do it, and do it well. I've actually rarely seen a badly made Snape in any work of fanfiction... barring romance of any sort, as I refuse to read that...
But yeah, quite an ramble on this one... until next time, enjoy! ~F