Chapter 6: Hogwarts at Summer
I'm so sorry for not uploading in such a long time! The Truth is I lost interest. I had so many ideas, but writing became bothersome for a while. However, this fic is not abandoned. I will try to upload as often from now on.
Anyway, back to the story.
Harry couldn't help but smirk at Dumbledore's face as the old man literally ran towards him.
"Harry! What happened?", he asked urgently.
Harry opened his mouth but closed it again, deciding to try something he learnt from the Occlumency Book. He stared at the piercing blue eyes that he had come to recognize as an epitome of wisdom and pushed lightly and quickly retreated.
Dumbledore raised a bushy eyebrow but acquiesced. Harry felt his mentor slip in his mind and searched around briskly. Before long, Dumbledore had stopped the probe and was beaming!
"Well Done, my boy! Well done!"
Harry could see that Dumbledore was quite thunderstruck and was wondering why he didn't let Harry stay at Hogwarts in the first place.
There could have been many reasons, but Harry reckoned it was simply because Wizards tended to overthink or not even think about many things.
Dumbledore, still speechless, led Harry to an empty room right next to the Headmaster's Office. Apparently, it was a spare room for a Deputy Headmaster/mistress. McGonagall had apparently liked her Transfiguration Staff Room better.
Harry couldn't get why. The room was guarded by a portrait of an enchantress who held a staff and looked very beautiful. The room itself had a private bath, a spacious 3 room suite.
The castle was still home the Professors who chose to stay, including Slughorn, McGonagall, and Flitwick. Snape, apparently, had a summer home in a Muggle village and was not in the castle. Which, Harry thought, was a relief.
Dumbledore had decieded to keep Harry busy. His silver hand was glinting evilly as he gave Harry a pile of books to read. They were pretty interesting, and some were even exciting, but doing school work in the summer was boring and was something he never thought he would do.
Days passed by quickly. He spent at least an hour every night meditating and Occluding. The results showed, as his memory became sharper, and he himself picked up concepts faster.
Meals in the Great Hall with only the Professors were awkward to say the least. But soon, the teachers warmed up to him, especially McGonagall, Flitwick and Slughorn.
McGonagall even asked him to call her Minerva outside classes when not in company of his peers, and regaled him of tales of James Potter, who had been very close to her and even called her Aunt Minnie.
Flitwick and Slughorn told Harry stories of Lily Potter, who, he found out, was a Master of Charms and Potions. His father had been excellent with Transfiguration and had been learning Alchemy with Dumbledore when he died.
All this made Harry feel ashamed of not studying and resolved to work harder than ever before.
Owls were blocked from coming in and out of Hogwarts for the summer after Death Eaters had infiltrated Hogwarts. Aurors and Unspeakables were all over the castle, fixing each and every potential security flaw. All 7 secret passages were sealed, and the Cabinet was destroyed personally by Dumbledore. The Room of Requirement, however, still remained a secret.
As a result of the communication blockade, Harry had not been able to write to Ron and Hermione and Ginny and the rest. However, he was pretty sure they knew the reason as Bill Weasley had been part of the warding team in Hogwarts.
Finally, September 1st came. It was weird not being in the Express, and frustrating, as he waited all day for the rest of the students to arrive. The Teachers and House Elves were in a frenzy, getting the castle ready for the term.
Voldemort had been suspiciously silent over the summer. The Daily Prophet had been going crazy trying to figure out what he was up to, but other than a couple of disappearances and a single raid to a Muggle Village, nothing had happened.
When the time came, and the students rushed into the Great Hall, Harry was already sitting at the Gryffindor Table, and raised his hand in greeting when his friends spotted him and waved and grinned madly.
As they reached Harry, Ginny launched herself at him, stopping just near his face, remembering where they were and simple held his hand.
"HARRY!", squealed Hermione. "Finally!"
Ron simply grinned and gave him a pat, "How are you doing, mate?"
Neville sat nearby and smiled in greeting. "Hey, Harry."
The next few minutes were all about catching up. The rest were flabbergasted when he told them that he was on first name basis with McGonagall and Flitwick.
"Bloody Hell!", exclaimed Ron when he told them. "Mental! Imagine calling them Minerva and Filius."
Harry frowned. He had become pretty close to them over the summer. "Lay off, Ron!", he snapped.
Ron looked taken aback, but before anyone could say anything, the Firsties, led by Minnie, walked to the Stool. They all looked very scared, nervous and tiny.
"Did we use to be this small?", Harry murmured, a repeat of last year.
For centuries and ages back
As far as I remember
I'm brought out on a stool each year
The first night of September
The first years put me on their head
I say where they belong
But first you must indulge me in
Expository song
.
The song, you see is more than just
A stodgy old tradition
It also helps me better to
Fulfill my steadfast mission.
I primarily sort first years, but
I also feel the need
To help out the entire school
So older ones take heed!
.
I try, each year to clarify
Enlighten and alert you
To each house's history
And character and virtue
See, views about the Houses Four
Are oftentimes distorted
So here I am, the Sorting Hat
And I will get you sorted!
.
From those who are in one's own house
Your sisters and your brothers
You take a bright view of yourselves
A dim one then of others
But I have seen in ALL your heads
And so am qualified to
Say where you've got your houses right
And where you have been lied to
.
For Ravenclaw, the story goes
It's brains and nothing more
For Gryffndor, it's dash and verve
With sense thrown out the door
For Slytherin, I've heard it said
What matters most is blood
And Hufflepuff, it seems that oft
Their very name is mud
.
Admittedly, each point contains
A kernel of some truth
But mostly malice, ignorance
And bigotry and ruth
These misconceptions harm us all
So I'll explain to you
Step-by-step just how I go
On sorting like I do
.
The FIRST thing that I look into
Is not your brains or heart
Nor blood, nor skin, nor big left toe
No, that's not where I start
What strikes me first is not your deepest
Innermost desire
Nor skills, nor your abilities
-It's whom you most admire.
.
Houses, you see, are here for you
To find your motivation
They're not to dwell on who you are
But aid in aspiration
So, treasure wit, or verve, or sweat
Or wielding power effectively?
Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff
And Slytherin, respectively
.
Treasure wit, but have wit not?
It's Ravenclaw, despite it
For all have wit in some small form
So best to go ignite it
For in emulating those
Whose qualities you dream of
You grow to be a you your friends
May grow to have esteem of
.
The SECOND thing I look into
Is still not heart or brains
Though all those things come into play
A central fact remains:
At eleven, oftentimes
Such things have not developed
They'll grow according to the house
In which they are enveloped.
.
For instance, take a child who
May right now be a coward
But put her into Gryffindor
And she'll become empowered
Or take a child who's early on
Behind in all his studies
In Ravenclaw, he'll study hard
To keep up with his buddies
.
A lazy child in Slytherin
May learn to be ambitious
A friendless child may find the warmth
Of Hufflepuff propitious
I put very little stock into
Eleven-year-old deeds
It's not the house the child best fits
-It's which the child most needs.
.
From there I must admit that it's
Less science and more art
And everything from favorite food
To shoe size plays a part
But ere the school doth ever hear
A house called in my voice
I always give the boy or girl, if they desire
-A choice.
.
And thus, I say, as Sorting Hat
I've never yet been wrong
For it's you, oh so much more than me
Who say where you belong
I'm here to help, to prod, to poke
To nudge you if it's needed
And if you're happy with my choice
I'll know that I've succeeded
.
But that is not so hard a thing
For this is the reality:
The house in which I place a child
Is not that child's totality
For many, most, or all of you
Though you love your house best
You would have found an equal love
In any of the rest.
.
The other houses' flaws you see
Are mirrored in your own
And virtues that your own house has
The others all have known
Divided houses hurts the school
So let me be emphatic:
The differences between you are
Just idiosyncratic.
.
Badger, lion, eagle, snake
Red or yellow, green or blue,
None of these are vital to
What makes you really you
The sorting will start very soon
But I want this understood:
Though I quarter students every year,
You should not think it's good.
.
That's not to say that sorting's bad
(I'd quit if that was so)
But there's more, much more to Hogwarts than
The House to which you go
But that's enough from me just now
My warning's been imparted
There're first years who need sorting out
Let's get the sorting started!
The Students and Staff burst into applause. It was the longest song they had ever heard, and was indeed, the best. All the First Years looked decidedly relieved.
"That was a pretty good song," said Neville, clapping furiously.
Harry nodded silently. His thoughts drifted to Voldemort, who was still out there, biding his time. He thought of Sirius, his parents, Cho, Colin, Cedric, and his blood boiled.
The prophecy would come true. In his favor. Harry would make sure of that.
AND DONE! This chapter was a bit of a filler, and I was trying to get my flow back. However, I hope you enjoyed it. Credit to Reddit User Governor_Humphries for the Sorting Song.
Please review any thoughts you have.
My fanfic recommendation of the Chapter : Firebird's Son: Book I of the Firebird Trilogy By: Darth Marrs
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