Harry had not gone back to Privet Drive after getting his foci, which, because of the rarity of it, he had, in fact, had to pay what most people will consider a small fortune for, though it had been worth it. Twirling the ring on his finger, he could, quite literally, feel the power of magic and death coursing through his body, itching to get out and be used, held back by the afore-mentioned ring. As he twisted and turned the ring, he thought on how to get to Potter Castle. He needed time to train and grow his powers and he knew the ancestral home of the potters could offer him that. He then remembered that the cleansing ritual he underwent earlier awakened innate soul abilities that he knew how to use instinctually, like teleportation. Not apparition, which is more like high-speed flying, but actually punching a hole through space and time. Harry thought hard on the address of the potter castle, which he found out at Gringotts, and teleported there.
Harry appeared in front of the gate to Potter Castle. It was a large black gate with a golden lion head on it. Instinctively, Harry touched the lions head and immediately felt the wards of the ginormous building prodding his magic, as if looking for something. The pressure of the wards disappeared as soon as it appeared as harry felt the knowledge of the wards enter his mind as he took control of said wards. It seemed like every ward available was placed on the castle. 'There's a time ward' Harry thought. 'That should give me more than enough time to train and master my powers.'
The next month or thirty months for him was agonizing. He had to relearn all of the millions of spells cataloged in his mind, along with his elemental abilities-he could create and control all elements, animagus (he had to find and make a connection to every animal, mundane or magical, in other to shift into them), healing, necromancy and shapeshifting. Yes. It was indeed extremely hard a few months. He also performed a few rituals to bring his abilities to the top range. As Master of Magic, he had an innate connection to all magic, be it wizardry, supernatural or inter-dimensional magic, not strong enough that he could manipulate it outside his own core. One of the rituals he performed, suggested by Magic herself (though he didn't know that), was one that increased his connection to magic on a hundredfold, increasing his magical core and allowing him to perform godly magic, which, unsurprisingly, he trained hard. He also relearnt occlumency and telepathy. He was a master at both: not even the strongest telepath or wizarding Legilimencer can get into his head.
But finally, it was time for Hogwarts.
Harry teleported to Kings cross station and silently stepped through the portal to platform 93/4, unsurprisingly located in the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. The platform was crawling with people dressed in flowing robes, and there was a large scarlet steam engine train with the words 'Hogwarts Express' embossed on its side in gold. He thought it was ironic to see bigot purebloods gladly using a mundane invention to get to a Magic school. He lifted his trunk up to the train carriage with practiced ease and making his way through the throng, he quickly found an empty compartment. As he had read most of his school books (quite useless to him as he already has knowledge of all spells that exist and gains knowledge as more are created), he pulls out the only book he had yet to read. He sat there reading 'Hogwarts, a History' for about half an hour before the train started to move. He stretched and continued reading his book, hoping there'll be no interruptions.
"Have you seen a toad? Neville here has lost one."
Harry looked up from his book to see a bushy-haired girl with buck teeth and a chubby boy that looked scared.
"No," Harry replied. "I have not seen a toad. But I could summon it for you" Harry offered with a smile.
"That would be great" the boy replied shakily. "He keeps getting away from me. I'm Neville, by the way. Neville Longbottom."
Harry's ears perked up at that. 'Longbottom.' He thought 'I recall that was my godmother's surname. This must be her son'
"I'm Harry. Harry Potter" Harry said with a smile.
"Are you really?" The bushy-haired girl cut in, effectively cutting Neville off whatever he was going to say.
"I'm Hermione Granger." She said.
"Pleasure," Harry replied curtly. "If you could describe the toad, I can summon it for you"
Neville launched into a detailed description of the toad-boy sure knew his toad *wink*.
"Accio!" Harry whispered, waving his hand, with the toad in mind and surely enough, the toad comes flying through the door. "Here you go," Harry said with a smile as he returned the toad to its owner.
"Thank you," Neville replied and turned to leave
As soon as Neville left, Hermione turned to him and said accusatorily.
"How did you do that?" She asked. "Do you have your wand hidden in your sleeves?"
"No. I don't even have a wand." Harry replied defensively.
"I suppose it's not hard to believe." She stated. "I don't suppose I could stay for a while?"
"Of course you can," Harry replied with a smile.
They chatted a bit more aimlessly for a while until suddenly the door was pulled open and in stepped three people. The two in front looked like some sort of prepubescent bodyguards with a boy standing betwixt them. Both of them were tall and extraordinarily large for their age. They stood at about five feet tall, and Harry didn't even try to guess their weight, but they looked to be twice as big as Dudley.
Behind them stood a boy. Harry recognized him immediately. It was the same boy Harry had met at Madam Malkins, Malfoy, was it?
"Rumor has it that Harry Potter was on the train and in this compartment." Draco began. He pretended to look around as if searching for someone before his eyes settled on Harry. "I believe that you" He finished, looking at Harry with a smile.
"Yes. And to whom do I owe the pleasure?" Harry asked, equally smiling.
Draco, still smiling, stretched his hand out to Harry "I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy. And these," He said, pointing at the two bodyguards, "are Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle" He finished.
He finally looked at Hermione. "And who might you be?" He asked.
"Hermine Granger pleased to meet you." She replied
"Pleasure." Draco drawled. "Well, I'll see you guys later. Gotta go bully some Gryffindors" He stated as he left.
The next hour was uneventful and passed without consequence except for a rather annoying redhead who seemed to believe he was Harry Potter's Best friend or will be when he finally meets him.
At long last, the driver's voice came through the intercom. "We will be arriving at Hogsmeade Station in five minutes time, please leave all your luggage on the train, it will be taken up to the castle for you. The Hogwarts staff kindly tells me to remind you to make sure you are changed int your uniforms, thank you."
With a wave of his hand, Harry opened his trunk and summoned his Hogwarts robe. He quickly put it on and slid out of the compartment, Hermione following closely behind, heart racing with bridled excitement to see the school built by his ancestors.
They were finally here.
Harry waddled through the sea of people until he heard a loud, booming voice, like a clap of thunder.
"Firs' years! Firs' years! All firs' years over here, follow me"
Harry hid his amusement behind his weighty occlumency shields. The man In front of him looked way too big to be allowed. Standing at easily eight and three-quarters feet tall, and twice as wide as a normal man, obviously a half-giant. In one enormous hand, he held a lantern as he rounded up the first years and led them down towards a fleet of boats that they would be taking across the lake.
Harry ended up in a boat with Hermione and Draco, and another boy. He was dark-skinned, with soft dark brown hair, and dark eyes.
"Blaise Zabini." The boy introduced himself, arm outstretched toward Harry.
"Harry Potter," Harry replied, taking the offered hand. The boy sported a stunning look for a slight second before he schooled his features.
After a few seconds of silence, the boy spoke up again, this time with a question. "What house are you going if you had the choice?" He asked.
"Slytherin!" Draco replied without a moment's hesitation.
"Ravenclaw or Griffindor" Hermione replied, shyly.
"What about you?" Blaise asked. "I imagine you're a lion at heart?"
"We'll just have to wait and see during the sorting," Harry said with a cryptic smile.
"Okay then" Blaise replied. "It'll be Slytherin for me though."
"Keep yer heads down!" The half-giant called over the chatter. "Ye'll get yer first view 'Ogwarts in a minute.
Harry gasped as he felt his connection to the castle's wards awaken. The ancient building was literally overflowing with magic. Most of the other students also gasped at the sight of the castle, but for a totally different reason.
"It is rather impressive isn't it?" Blaise asked, to which everyone replied in the affirmative.
A few moments later the boats came to a halt, and the students clambered out and trotted up to the front door of the castle, dead silence reigned over the scene. The half-giant, now known to be called Hagrid, raised a ginormous fist and rapped on the door, hard, thrice.
PART 2
The doors opened with a creak and behind it stood a tall, grey-haired woman. She wore emerald green robes that looked to be made of a silky material and had a stern face. Harry's first thought and everyone's was that this woman was not one to cross.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall." Said Hagrid Proudly.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take them from here."
They made their way across the stone floor. The entrance hall was massive but Potter castle was way bigger. As they passed a closed-door, Harry could hear the whisperings of hundreds of voices as they excitedly awaited the sorting ceremony. They were led into a plain room with wooden torches serving as the only light source in the room.
"Welcome to Hogwarts." The professor started. "The start of term feast will begin shortly, but before you take your seats amongst your peers in the great hall, you will be sorted into your various houses. This is important as, while you are here, you are here, your house will be somewhat of a family to you within Hogwarts. You will attend lessons with the bulk of your house, sleep in your house dorms and spend free time in your house common room."
There were a few mutterings and whispering and some students began to realize just how big of a deal the houses were.
"Each of the Four houses - Griffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff - has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will win your house points and the opposite for any rule-breaking. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will win the House Cup, a great honor for whichever house wins it. I sincerely hope each of you will be a credit to your respective houses."
As she was speaking, Harry sensed a powerful foreign magical object in the castle. He traced the magic down to the castle's basement, protected by different spells and charms.
"I suggest you all smarten your selves up as much as you can while waiting" Professor McGonagall finished, her stern gaze fixed on the annoying redhead from earlier.
As McGonagall left the room, the chatter exploded.
"I wonder how they'll sort us"
"I heard it hurts a lot."
"My brothers said something about wrestling a troll"
Harry let out a snort at that. Honestly, this boy was a clown.
"Something funny?" He snapped at Harry. Harry just grinned.
"Yes," Harry replied. "I find it a bit amusing that you believe they'd let a bunch of first years wrestle a troll." He finished, with a smile.
The boy turned a bright shade of red, nearly rivaling the fiery mane of hair on his head. His state was not helped by the laughter that ensued. "Sod off!" He said finally before turning a worrying shade of purple as he stalked out.
"Not bad, Potter," Draco whispered.
A moment later, all the first years, bar Harry and the few students informed of the phenomenon, screamed in fright and jumped a few feet in the air as a few dozen ghosts glided into the room, bantering back and forth before pausing and bowing to Harry then drifting off through the opposite wall and Mcgonagall came back into the room.
"The sorting ceremony is about to begin" She stated, Her lips a thin line. " Make a line and follow me."
She opened a set of black oak doors and led them into one of the most magical rooms Harry had ever seen, barring Potter Castle and Gringotts of course. Glowing candles floated close to the roof which reflected the sky outside. "It's enchanted to look like the nights' sky" Hermione reiterated with so much enthusiasm that made Harry smile. Of course, unlike others, Harry could see the spell matrix surrounding the ceiling and that made it a much more spectacular view for him. Four long tables lined the room where the rest of the students sat. These tables were laid with glittery golden plates and platters that seemed to reflect the light from the overhead candles. The hundreds of faces looked like dim lamps in the face of the shimmering candles.
Harry's reverie was broken when McGonagall walked onto the podium, carrying a patched up hat and a wooden stool. She placed the hat on the stool and a mouth-shaped rip opened up near its brim,
"You may not think I'm 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 may belong in GRYFFINDOR,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry,
Set Gryffindors apart:
You may belong in HUFFLEPUFF,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil:
You may belong in 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!"
"so we just have to put on the hat!" the red-haired boy from earlier squealed so loud that the entire great hall heard, sounding rather outraged.
"When I call your name," McGonagall started, facing u=the first years. "You will sit on this stool and place the hat atop your head, and you will be sorted into your houses."
"Abbot, Hannah"
An average height girl walked up to the hat confidently albeit nervously.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat declared.
"Bones, Susan"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
'Boot, Terry' and 'Brocklehurst, Mandy' became the first Ravenclaws while some girl named Lavender was named the first Gryffindor.
***Time skip****
"Granger, Hermione." Hermione walked up with confidence to the stool and placed the hat on her head. Her sorting was probably the longest one, lasting for several minutes, though that was entirely her fault as she seemed to be arguing the hat. At last, the hat had made its decision and from the look on her face, it wasn't her first choice.
"RAVENCLAW!" The hat yelled in a smug voice. She stalked to the Ravenclaw table seemingly unhappy with the hat's decision but one glance at her eyes and the smile that was threatening to break out, you could tell she was anything but.
"Greengrass, Daphne"
"SLYTHERIN!" the hat yelled after deliberating for only a few seconds, a significantly shorter time than the former.
***Time Skip***
"Malfoy, Draco"
"SLYTHERIN!" the hat declared even before touching his finely gelled golden locks.
'Of course' Harry thought. 'the boy had been daydreaming about this since Diagon alley.'
***Time Skip***
"Longbottom, Neville"
The shy boy walked shakily towards the towering professor holding an ugly hat. His sorting lasted even longer than Hermione's which was already pretty long.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted with conviction. As the boy walked towards his new table, Harry sensed something familiar. His core was blocked, much like his was, by the same magical signature. 'That was weird.' Harry thought. He vowed to free the boy's core before classes began.
***Another time skip cuz' the sorting is long***
"Potter-Evans, Harry"
The hall erupted and echoed with murmurs
~The Harry Potter?~
~Hmmm. I expected him to be shorter~
~Can you see the scar?~
But of course, none of those bothered him. What bothered him and surprised him was the malicious magic that connected to the hat the moment he walked down that aisle. Harry, being who and what he was, harry traced the source of the magic, which strangely bore the same signature with the magic that had bound his and Nevilles magic, back to the headmaster. Harry looked up at him with a frown. Turns out the magic was meant to force the hat to put him in Gryffindor. The hat, a magical artifact belonging to and created by his ancestors and founders of the school, an artifact that was meant to be fair and just. Harry's frown suddenly turned into a sadistic smirk that had the headmaster scared. Harry broke the spell apart, following it back to its source, an insane old man holding one of the keys, the Elder Wand, harry absorbed more than half of the man's magic making him a little less than the average wizard. He also disintegrated the wand and absorbing 80% of his power, channeling the rest to break the block on Neville's magic. Harry then fortified the protection on the hat making it invulnerable to any and all external magic. All this happened in the 10 seconds it took for Harry to waltz up to the podium and place the hat on its head.
"Harry Potter. For long I have expected you. And I must say, it's worth the wait. Master of Magic? And well on his way to becoming Master of Death. And… ooh. Already a minor god of death, magic and magical knowledge, I see. And a nice set of skills. All well and good. But where to place you? Now that's quite the question."
"Well that's your decision to make, isn't it?" Harry replied.
"Ah… well, I guess it is. You surely are brave enough for Griffindor, but not quite as stupid." And with that, it was clear Salazar was the mastermind behind the hat.
"And quite the ambition and more than enough cunning for Slytherin, that's for sure. I can see a deep desire for gaining knowledge, though that would be quite an easy task. And loyal too. But only towards the ones you trust. I think I know where to place you."
"SLYTHERIN" the hat shouted. Silence reigned. The students in Slytherin clapped scantily while the rest of the school stared, wide-eyed and drooling. The headmaster, though, had an aura of anger about him. He looked as though he was about to explode. But it seems the hat wasn't done. Harry raised his hand and take off the hat when it yelled…
"AND RAVENCLAW!". More silence. You could hear pin drop. And you did as the red-head twins in Gryffindor decided at that moment to drop a pin.
Harry waltzed to the Ravenclaw table and sat with Hermione, waving at Neville on the way. He could see how confident the boy had become since having his magic released. He was probably a delta-level magic-user at this moment and well on his way to gamma-level and then beta. Harry himself was an Alpha-level sorcerer, being the master of magic and a god to boot.
This was going to be a long and fun seven years.