A/N: I want to thank the reviewer that pointed out that I made a mistake regarding Slytherin and the vaults, changed it to 1 000 years inactive, hope that helps.
I also want to name something else that was brought up and since I can`t adress the reviewer directly, I shall lay it before everyone(although I am sure, they won`t see it)
This is NOT a harem fic. This is NOT a OP Harry fic. This is NOT a 20 000 Lordships Harry fic (exaggeration for effect). Harry will be stronger than canon, yes. Harry will be smoother than canon. He will be what he was supposed to be if he grew up in a normal, loving home. Sirius is helping them be extra prepared yes, so they will also be smarter, but I just ask that people stick with it. This is my first fic, after all.
Harry won`t be able to claim Peverell, and the Slytherin lordship means nothing as he is too young and I am not setting him up for politics or 20 wives, so it is basically just there for background.
To those quietly reading and waiting in the background, I see you! I salute you as well.
Okay, rant over. Sorry. This one feels like de ja vu though, don`t know why.
Let us away!
Chapter 6 – A Whole New World
Wednesday, 7th of August 1991
Harry laughed loudly as he felt the wind rip through his shoulder length black and red hair. He normally tied his hair up when flying, but he wanted to be a little more carefree today. He pulled up on the broom and shot up into the air, higher and higher, until he stopped, pulled back and started falling backwards, letting the broom go with his legs so that he only had one hand on it. He started a free fall backwards and turned his shoulder just a little, to avoid the small feminine hand grasping for his shirt, leaving a stunned Dora up in the air as he fell towards the ground some 100 meters below him. Slowly, he climbed back in his broom and shot faster toward the ground, before pulling up and slowing down as Dora got closer. Harry started yelling loudly in excitement as he jumped off of his broom.
"Are you crazy?! You could have killed yourself!" Dora yelled at him, when she got to him, her face flushed, hair a vivid grass green, her violet eyes looking straight through him.
"Relax, Dora! I know what I am doing. Look, I am fine!" Harry told her, laughing, adrenaline still coursing through his started laughing harder at the dumbfounded expression on Dora`s face. She stalked over to him and punched him on this chest, eliciting a groan from Harry, rubbing his chest.
"God, you`re a moron! You scared me to death," Dora huffed, crossing her arms across her chest and stalking away, leaving Harry to take their brooms back. Harry followed behind her, feeling stupid. He started thinking that perhaps that wasn`t the best idea, especially during broom-tag.
They trekked back to the Manor and Harry stored their brooms and hurried after Dora as she made her way to the kitchen for lunch. Harry sat down next to Sirius, about to talk when Dora cut across him.
"He`s a friggin` moron, Padfoot. He almost got himself killed out there, because he acts like you," Dora said, kicking Harry`s shin under the tabled, causing him to yelp loudly.
"What did you do now, pup?" Sirius asked, looking at Harry next to him.
"Nothing, we were playing broom-tag and i just-,"
"Just decided to climb off his broom, 100 meters in the air, and drop out of the air! It was friggin` terrifying!" Dora cut across Harry, causing Sirius to drop the smile he had on his face. He looked like he wanted to say something, anger sparking in his eye as he clenched his fist under the table.
"Padfoot, you know I can handle myself on a broom. As soon as I dropped past Dora, I got back on and landed safely, I didn`t mean to scare anyone," Harry said, looking down at his plate, pushing his food around with his fork.
"That was fucking stupid, is what that was," Sirius shot at him, earning him a slap across the head from Andi, who just regained her composure. Dora started eating her food slowly, grumbling under her breath about stupid boys and hexes. Sirius breathed in and out a few times and looked at Harry, his face softening.
"Look, Harry, I know you are a natural flyer, just like your dad. He scared your mother senseless more times than I care to admit, professor McGonagall as well, for that matter. Even if you are good, don`t be reckless, especially if there is no help nearby," Sirius told him, before leaning closer to whisper into his ear, "Now, go tell Dora you are sorry. You scared her half to death. She`s still pale."
Harry nodded his head, stood up and walked around the table. He hugged Dora from behind, his head tucked against her neck and spoke softly, "I`m sorry, Dora. I didn`t mean to scare you, I was just messing around." Dora leant against his arms and just whispered for him not to do it again.
"Come kids, time to go. We need to go buy your school supplies. Hopefully the Alley isn`t too busy," Andi spoke up while the elf, Tofty, cleared the table. Everyone got up and started getting ready to depart. Harry and Dora made their way down the steps into the main foyer, both straightening their casual robes and pulling their hair into pony tails, with bands that they keep on their right arms. They have formed a sort of synchronicity with their movements, since they do almost everything together, practicing, shopping, etc. Sirius always laughed at them when they acted like that, telling them that they almost look like twins.
"Harry, when do you plan on cutting your hair?" Sirius asked as they stepped up to the fire place. Harry rolled his eyes at Sirius, before saying, "You know that we can adjust the length of our hair at will. I also like it long, because if it is short, it is untameable. Same with why I don`t need glasses anymore. That book you got us really helps with trivial problems like eyesight and unruly hair." Dora laughed out loud before stepping into the fireplace and vanishing in a green flash of flames. The rest of them followed shortly after her.
As they made their way down Diagon Alley, Harry and Dora looked very excited about all the shops they would be able to visit. After successfully adding to their growing libraries, they made their way over to the potions and writing supplies stores to get stationary and ingredients. Harry pulled Dora to Quality Quidditch Supplies, so that they could get everything they needed for the foreseable future. They stocked up their broomcare kits and bought gloves and pads and the like, before continuing. As they made their way down the Alley, Padfoot walked past Harry on his left, before transforming again, looking over his shoulder, releasing a long held breath.
"What was that about?" Harry asked Sirius, looking behind him, seeing a group of redheaded people, that look like a family, walking in the opposite direction.
"The Weasleys, mother, father and seven children. If they saw me, I would never get away. The Weasleys and Dumbledore have been trying to recruit me back under the banner of the 'Light' for the past four years. They seem to be under the impression that if you don`t follow their 'muggles are amazing, we need to embrace them' mantra, you are a pureblood bigot and a dark wizard.," Sirius said, shrugging his shoulders, grumbling something about light and dark extremes being stupid and childish. He really didn`t see the point in the divides in the political spheres. It made no sense, wizards and witches should look after each other and keep their existence a secret from muggles. Muggle-borns are another story, however, as their parents are notified of the existence of magic. Sometimes, however, the parents resent their children for being 'freaks', which leads to belittlement and abuse, or even worse in some cases. That is why Sirius wanted nothing to do with either the 'Light' or the 'Dark', thus he made subtle enquiries and started forming alliances that are currently working toward equilizing the two factions.
Currently, Sirius is leading the charge under the united banners of Black and Potter, along with families like Greengrass, Bones, Abbott and a few minor and mixed blood families that support in different areas. There are also a few families on either side that feel unhappy with the way things are, and as such, are considering joining Sirius.
Sirius shook the cobwebs from his mind and kept walking down the alley, they still had a few stops to make before they can head home. Harry led the group to Magical Menagerie, he wanted to have a look at what they have in the way of treats and such for phoenixes,seeing as Hedwig is starting to act like a naughty child, always stealing and hiding stuff. Harry had to beg her to give his broom back on more than a handful of occasions.
Harry walked out of the store with a little red and blue ball that looked a lot like a snitch. The owner of the store said that it will fly around Hedwig and give high pitch whistles to draw her attention and then fly away from her, keeping her busy when she gets in one of her moods. If he wanted to deactivate it, he just needs to set a passphrase that will turn it off, then the same to activate it again.
Harry looked at all the kids and adults walking around the Alley and wondered how many of them will be joining him for their first year at Hogwarts this year. He tried to file the faces away, just in case he saw them in school. He even thought he saw some people that he did know, others were pointed out to him by Sirius and Andi.
Walking past some book stores, Harry felt seriously glad that he looked nothing like the public thought he did. The Boy-Who-Lived book series protrayed him to look like a copy of his father, messy, black hair, round rim glasses, but with emerald green eyes. He was taller than portayed in the books. His hair was longer and had the crimson streaks in. He didn`t need glasses, like when he was even younger. He was more filled out, not skinny. His face was also a little sharper. If anything, he looked more like a mixture of his grandmother and mother, he didn`t look like a Potter at all.
They made their way to Madam Malkin`s to get Harry fitted for school robes as well. The group decided to split up at the door. Harry and Sirius entered the store, Andi and Dora made their way to Fortesque`s Ice Cream Parlour for some dessert and drinks and Ted made his way back to the law office to complete paperwork and see a few clients. He has been neglecting his work for the most part of the week, to spend time with the children and his family, leaving his partner and junior members to keep everything running.
About half an hour later, Harry and Sirius made their way further down the Alley, packages under arms, towards Ollivander`s store for Harry`s first wand. They decided to get a few extra robes and clothes and also one set of everything, that was a size bigger, in case Harry grew unexpectedly.
Outside Ollivander`s, Harry saw an adult man and woman in jeans and jerseys, looking around in bewilderment, pointing at things and whispering to each other in excitement. Harry thought they looked quite out of place and wondered if they were lost, but shook it off as muggles can`t enter Diagon Alley, because they can`t see it, unless they are escorted there.
Harry opened the door to the shop, ringing a bell above his head, followed closely by Sirius, who immediately barked out a loud laugh and bounded over to an older woman with a long, olive green skirt, black cardigan and her grey hair tied in a tight bun on her head. She snapped her head up at the sound and her stern expression immediately changed into a warm and friendly smile, that cracked into a laugh as Sirius wrapped himself around the woman. Harry stood there, really confused, as the only woman that can cause Sirius to act like that, to his knowledge, is Madam Bones, the head of the DMLE.
"Professor McGonagall! It is lovely to see you again, it has been far too long," Sirius said, as he stepped back, bowed and took her hand, kissing it gently, mishief shining bright in his eyes.
"Mr. Black, please, you finished school many years ago and I told you in your last year, if we are in informal situations or out of school, it is Minerva," the woman playfully admonished him.
"Minerva, please let me introduce you to someone I know you have been dying to see for a long time now, my godson, Harry Potter," Sirius said, stepping aside and pulling Harry closer. Harry stepped forward and the woman observed him closely and smiled brightly at him.
"Mr. Potter, it is a pleasure to see you again. The last time I saw you, you were only three years old and just like Sirius here," she said, stepping forward and holding her hand out to Harry, who, like Sirius, bowed and took her hand, kissing it gently, smiling at her.
"Professor McGonagall, it is a pleasure to meet you, I really hope to do your favorite students proud at school, since Paddy told me a lot about all the teachers," Harry said as he stepped back, earning a big smile from Sirius and a chuckle from the professor.
"Sirius, I see you already took him under your wing. I cannot say that I am looking forward to this particular mini Marauder wreaking havoc throughout our halls," she said, giving Sirius a pointed look, before seeming to remember something and spoke again, "Sirius, Harry, there is someone I want you to meet, please wait right here." With that, she marched off.
Harry and Sirius stood there confused and decided to wait, as instructed. A few minutes later, Professor McGonagall came back from somewhere in the shop. Next to her, walked a girl that looked to be Harry`s age. She had rather frizzy, curly brown hair and warm, chocolate brown eyes. She wore a knee length plain brown skirt and a pink sweater with a black criss-cross pattern, as well as white muggle pumps.
"Sirius, Harry, let me introduce you to Hermione Granger," the professor said, with a warm smile. Harry stepped forward when she raised her hand. He took her hand and bowed so that he could kiss her hand, not daring to break eye contact, then he said, " It is lovely to meet you, Miss Granger. I am Harry Potter, this is my godfather, Sirius Black. I do hope that we get along very well." Hermione immediately blushed a very cute pink across her face, almost hiding the light dusting of freckles across her nose.
"He-Hello, i-it`s nice to meet y-you too,' Hermione stammered shyly, looking down at her shoes, feeling very disorientated at the cute boy`s behaviour.
"Mr. Potter, Miss Granger here will be starting her first year at Hogwarts with you. She is born to non-magical parents and have almost no experience with our world. That is why I am helping her and her parents today. Can I be so bold as to ask that you help her feel at home? Help her learn about our world and such," the professor spoke to Harry with a warm smile.
"Of course, professor. I would do anything in my power to make her feel welcome and to help her learn more. It doesn`t matter what Houses we end up in," Harry smiled warmly at her, causing her to relax a little more and even smile back at him.
Hermione looked distractedly over his shloulder, until her head snapped back and she saw he was looking at her, causing her to blush again, before saying, "I-I need to go, my parents are waiting for me and I already got my wand." She tucked her hair behind one ear, slightly waved a thin box in her other hand and made her way out the store.
"Mr. Potter, I have been waiting for this day. I can still remember your father and mother and their merry band, including you, Mr. Black," and old, lanky man spoke up behind them, causing Harry to jump a little.
"Mr. Ollivander, it is good to see you again! I still have my wand, it still treats me well. I hope that we can find a suitable partner for Harry here," Sirius said, at which Ollivander left to the shelves and made his way back with a stack of boxes floating behind him, placing them on one of the tables. He motioned for Harry to approach him.
"Now, young man, I want you to open a box, take a wand and give it a whirl. Trust me, you`ll know when you find the right one. The feeling is indiscribable. Go on, then, give it a try," he spoke in a hushed voice, handing over the first box.
Harry opened the first box, pulled out a thin, light brown length of wood and made a motion for the Lumos light spell. Nothing happened. Disappointed, he put it back and on one side and pulled another box closer, and repeating the process, this time with a thicker, almost white wood. This process repeated itself over the next hour, with Mr. Ollivander making several trips for new boxes and banishing the pile of tried wands back to their places with his own wand.
"Mr. Potter, this is most unusual, follow me, please?" Ollivander ased Harry as he walked back to the shelves. He turned slightly to see a very worried child follow him, so he tried to give him some reassurance by saying, "Don`t worry, we`ll find you a wand. We just need to take a more outdated approach. We will walk through the shelves and you will listen. Put one hand on the shelf to your right, and when we turn, on the one to your left. Listen and feel for anything different and keep your eyes closed."
With that, they set off at a slow pace, navigating all the shelves in the front of the store, until they reached the end and had to go to the back of the store, where it was even darker and less well lit. Harry strained his senses for the first part and then gave up, deciding to use his meditative excercises to control his breathing and tracking the flow of his magic through his body. That was when it happened. He felt the magic in his body, when he felt a tug from somewhere close by. He turned toward it and walked off, away from Ollivander, who followed closely, with a curious excitement in his eyes.
Harry made his way toward the far back of the shop, following the mysterious pull on his magic. He came to the last shelf in the store and let his hands go up unaided, until he touched a very old and dusty box, pulling it down, sliding it open, he saw the box was lined with a black-purple velvet. The small groove contained the most beautiful craftmanship that Harry has ever seen. The wand was a soft black color, with a slightly raised handle, criss-crossing the handle, was engraved patterns of snakes, to form a grip. The design was flawless and the rest of the wand length was completely smooth and perfect.
Harry set the box down, reached for the wand with his right hand. He sucked in a lungful of air as soon as he made contact with the wand. He felt a chilling breeze sweeping through him, followed by a rising heat, settling in his bones, causing him to shiver. This happened while he heard a slight whispering through his mind, it sounded like muffled singing. He strained his hearing to make out words, but it died down as soon as it started. He lifted his wand into the air and a blinding white light shot out in pulses, lighting the whole of the shop for a few soconds, before dying down and leaving them in darkness once more.
"Merlin`s saggy sack, I never thought that I would have this honor, Mr. Potter," Ollivander spoke up behind Harry, breaking the silence like a rock against a mirror. Harry looked at the wand in his hand, the comforting heat slipping up and down his arm like a snake, coiling and uncoiling at irregular intervals.
"Ebony, with a Horned Serpent horn core, 31,75 cm in length, very rigid," Ollivander said, looking at the wand in Harry`s hand. He was amazed, to say the least.
"This wand, Mr. Potter, is part of a collection of wands I received from an American wandmaker. We have been in correspondence since our apprenticeships many years ago. When we reached our ten years mark of Masterships, we decided to exchange ten wands each, with each other. He managed to sell quite a few shortly after returning to America, as did I. He kept one that he said he didn`t want to sell, because of how beautiful and unique it is. This wand that you are holding, has been lying in the back of my store for almost 60 years, waiting for an owner to arrive," Ollivander explained, looking the wand over, admiring the craftmanship .
"H-how much does it cost, sir? I don`t know if I have enough money with me..." Harry said, concern flooding his face in an instant as the logical part of his brain kicked into overdrive.
"Oh no, no. That wand, young man, is unique, very much so. It is both too expensive and far too cheap, it is priceless," Ollivander said, chuckling at the confusion on the young man`s face, before going on, "It is part of a collection of another wandmaker and is to be given to the chosen witch or wizard at no cost, but if you will allow an old man to make a request and buy a care kit, I will be more that ecstatic."
"Really? I don`t need to pay for it? I will promise anything, sir, this is much too good to be true," Harry said, his eyes wide and gleaming as he looked up at the old man. He couldn`t believe his ears. There must be a catch somewhere.
"I would like you to look after that wand, take proper care of it, that is why I asked you buy a care kit. I would also like to invite you to meet the creator of that wand, because I will be sending him an owl as soon as you leave," he said, laughing softly at a joke only he knows of. Clearing his throat, he continued, "I also want you to get yourself a book on wandlore and woods and cores, as well as visit me whenever you can, so we can talk about what you learn. I ask this, because I saw the curiousity on your face as you inspected over 50 wands, not once did you look annoyed, only more interested. I would like to see if I can potentially cultivate a new wandmaker for our world." He looked at Harry expectantly.
"You are right Mr. Ollivander, I am very intrigued by what I saw so far and I would like to learn more, although, I cannot promise to become a future wandmaker, but I will get those books and come to you for many conversations on the topic. I will also write letters with many questions," Harry promised the old man, getting a warm feeling in his chest at a possible friendship and partnership.
They made their way to the front, greeted by a quiet shop and a lot of people outside, looking very irritated. Ollivander laughed at the sight, remembering that he closed the store for this particular search. Harry and Sirius bade the old man farewell after buying the promised polishing kit, heading to Flourish and Blotts for another round of books. Harry walked away with six books in total, two on wandlore and history, two on wood types and two more on core types, with hints on how to harvest them.
"Harry, do you still have the wand holster I gave you for your birthday?" Sirius asked Harry, who just nodded his head, looking up at him curiously.
"I left the holster blank for you, so that you can add your own runes and stuff to it as you learn about them. The only runes on it, is a small cluster for quick-draw. Just flick your wrist with the intent to draw and it will shoot out, but you need to practice, because you need to catch it, otherwise it flies away," Sirius told him. Sirius gifted Harry with a light brown dragonhide wand holster for his birthday, stating that it was his father`s spare holster when they joined the auror force and he kept it blank, with the intent to experiment with it, but never got around to it. Harry was really excited about it. It was the first thing he put on after his shower this morning, in preparation for his wand. He stopped to pull the wand out of its box and put it in the holster, bofore picking up his books and they made their way to meet Andi and Dora at Fortesque`s Ice Cream Parlour.
Dora and Andi were both speechless after Harry retold the story of what happened at Ollivander`s, with Sirius muttering under his breath about how smooth Harry is with the ladies. Upon questioning of this statement, Srius went on to explain how he managed to charm professor McGonagall and the new muggle-born girl, Hermione. This caused a loud laugh from Andi and a slight disappointed look from Dora, which no one noticed.
As they finished up, Harry told them that he would race them home, Sirius immediately transformed and bounded off to the Apparation points on the other side of the Alley, Andi started walking, laughing at their antics and Dora said, "You wouldn`t dare!", at which Harry winked at her and took of running, giving off a loud whistle, followed closely by a shouting Dora. She jumped forward and managed to grab the hem of his robes, just as a flash of fire surrounded them and spat them out on a marble floor.
Harry laughed out loud as Sirius came running through the door a few seconds later, cursing loudly at the sight before him. Dora rolled onto her back, kicking in disappointment and muttering, "Freaking teleporting birds," under her breath as Hedwig flew around the room, giving mocking shrieks before landing on Harry`s arm and nuzzling his neck with her beak. Harry stroked her breast softly, cooing about how beautiful and amazing she is, causing her to puff up in pride.
Ever since she mastered her flame travel ability, with Harry`s help, Hedwig used it as part of her mischief routine. She would randomly grab onto Harry or Dora and flash them to another part of the manor or the grounds. She even flashed Sirius up to the roof of the manor and left him there, forcing him to alter the wards so that he could apparate back down. This made him talk about how nice fried phoenix would taste everytime he knew that the bird could hear him. This led to a very interesting game of apparation tag. Sirius and Hedwig would chase each other and apparate around the manor and grounds in the hopes of tagging the other one.
Harry and Dora settled down in the living room, heated by the fireplace, surrounded by their new books. Both were wrapped in comfortable, wooly gowns. Dora decided to start reviewing her work for the second year, as she has already worked through most of it and just needed to brush up on everything. Harry, on the other hand, was reading through the books on wand woods, seeing as he worked through Dora`s books as soon as she came back from Hogwarts in June. They decided to leave the advanced reading of their next school year`s work for holidays and focus on their current year`s work and extra subjects and books for fun, during terms.
Sunday, 1st of September 1991
Harry, Dora, Sirius, Andi and Ted used the floo to travel to Platform 9 and ¾. As soon as they saw the train, Harry and Dora broke out into big smiles, hurrying toward the massive crowd, followed by a laughing Tonks family and a mock-crying Sirius. Some people, upon seeing Sirius, bowed slightly toward him.
Ater saying teary farewells and promises to write frequently, the children made their way onto the train. The adults shrunk their trunks for them and cast featherlight charms that would last until they reached their dorms.
Harry thought it might be best to alter his appearance until they were seated, even though it was unlikely that people would recognize him. He wore his hair in his preferred pony tail, but altered the color to an auburn color, also making it a bit more curly, instead of straight. He also altered his eye color to the same shade of grey as Sirius` eyes. Dora kept her hair the same length as Harry`s, but she likes to be seen, so she had it in a bubblegum pink color that stood out like a sore thumb. They both decided to wear their school clothes onto the train, because they asked Madam Malkin to make adjustments for comfort, at extra cost, of course.
They settled into the first empty compartment that they could find and spent a few minutes looking out into the sea of people outside. Harry took out the band from his hair and ran his fingers through the length, restoring the natural color and letting his eyes change back as well. Dora followed suite, but shortened it to a pixie cut, instead. They settled down, taking out books to read, just as a sea of red-heads moved past the compartment door.
"I`m looking for a toad, is there a toad in here?" came from the compartment door as it slid open. Harry`s eyes left his book and locked onto the chocolate-brown eyes of the girl from the wand shop. Hermione looked at him and seemed taken aback for a moment, before she started speaking again, "H-Hello, Harry, have you perhaps seen a toad? A boy named Neville seemed to have lost his."
"Morning, Hermione. How are you? Join us, please. My godbrother would remember how to summon Trevor soon enough," Harry smiled up at her, laughing at the surprise on her face.
"I`ve read about you, you know. You didn`t tell me you were famous when we met," Hermione told him, narrowing her eyes at him, trying to sum up his character with a single glance.
"He doesn`t believe himself to be famous. Hi, I`m Tonks," Dora spoke up, laughing at the witch when her eyes widened at her. She always got the same reaction to her appearance. She found it as amusing as Harry does. They love making people uncomfortable or shocked at what they can do.
"Just Tonks? Is that your name, or surname? What is going on with your hair and eyes? What about your hair and eyes, Harry? What do you mean you don`t-," Hermione fired of in rapid questions, running on fumes by the time Harry put up his hand to stop her, allowing Dora to start talking first.
"My surname is Tonks, but that is all I allow people to call me. I hate my name, so it is just Tonks, thanks," Dora huffed, looking back down to her book. Harry chose that moment to speak up as well, "Dora, there is no need to be rude, she`s just curious."
"Listen here, Harry James Potter. You know how I feel about my name as well as anyone. You, Paddy, mum and dad are the only ones allowed to call me Dora. Everyone else will call me Tonks, lest they want to be hexed into dust," Dora stated, her hair changing into a vivid shade of red, causing Harry to raise his arms in surrender and Hermione to stare at her, wide-eyed.
"She`s a big softy, just stay on her good side," Harry said, laughing at the look Dora threw his way, before going on, "To answer your follow-up questions, we are Metamorphmagi. It is an ability unique to the Black family and even then, it is rare. We are the first in over 50 years. It allows us to change our physical appearance to whatever we can imagine. It is sort of like a polyjuice potion, but foolproof, as far as we know. As for my fame, I am being honored for something my parents died for. They stopped him, not me." Harry looked over at Dora, who nodded, then back to Hermione, who looked at him in awe.
Harry and Dora went on to explain more on the extent and history of their abilities and Hermione sat there, absorbing everything like a sponge. Then they all went to talk about everything they loved and getting to know each other better. From favorite activities, to favorite foods and places. Harry and Hermione started talking about their favorite books, when Dora bade them farewell to look for her other friends. Hermione was so enraptured with Harry`s knowledge, that she immediately told him that they are now officially study buddies, regardless of what Houses they end up in. She felt like she found a kindred spirit in the pursuit of knowledge.
Hermione grew up away from other children, because they saw her as a bookish snob and a weirdo, especially when the accidental magic started. When professor McGonagall talked to her and her family, she felt so excited to be part of a world that would not see her as a freak. Her parents was wary at first, until they learned more, alongside Hermione, and they fully accepted their daughter`s new world when they saw Diagon Alley for themselves. They kept up with her in her book reading sessions, since all three of them made their own purchases at Flourish and Blott`s.
Harry and Hermione sat across from each other, reading their own books. They often made random comments or asked little questions about the other, but for the most part they were wrapped up in their own worlds. About halfway to Hogsmeade, the compartment door opened. Harry decided that he didn`t really care who it was and kept reading.
"I heard Harry Potter is on the train, have you seen him?" came from the door in a drawling voice. Harry rolled is eyes behind the book, peaking over it to see Hermione look at the door.
"Who wants to know?" Harry asked, still not looking up. He already decided, from the sound of the voice, that this person was too self-absorbed to actually be a friend.
"Draco Malfoy, is who. I want to help him see that there are certain people that are not really worth associating with," the boy at the door replied. Harry studied Hermione and instantly knew that this boy, Draco, directed that comment at her. She was about to say something, so Harry decided to cut across her, before she could put her foot in her own mouth.
"I`ll be sure to tell him that you are looking for him. If that is all, you are excused," Harry spoke with finality and authority, daring the boy to say more on the subject, still not looking up, but focusing intently on Hermione from behind his book. He saw her relax when the door slid closed, but she still looked affronted by the encounter.
"What was that about?!" Hermione raised her voice a coouple of decibels above her normal conversational volume, demanding an answer from Harry.
"It`s pretty simple, and a veiled insult," Harry stated, seeing the question in her eyes, he continued, "That, my dear, was Draco Malfoy, Heir to the Noble house of Malfoy. They are pureblood extremists that hate half-bloods and muggle-borns, much like yourself. They feel that anyone not of pureblood birth, is so far below them that they don`t even deserve aknowledgement, much less a place in the wizarding world." At this, Hermione started going red, her eyes burning with hatred. Harry jumped up, just as she moved to get up. He put a hand on her shoulder, motioning for her to sit.
He spent the next while explaining the basics of the wizarding world to her. How the government and society works, how the majority are judged and casted out because of their blood status by the minority in control. The saving grace was when Harry told her what Sirius was trying to do in the Wizenmagot. How he is trying to equalize the different groups and reduce the bigotry and the extremist ideas. When Hermione asked him about the extremists, he explained that there are three groups or factions in the Wizenmagot. The first was the 'dark' group, that made up the pureblood bigots, that wanted to exile and ostracize everyone not of pure birth and wanted to force everyone below them into submission. The second group, was the 'light' group, that consisted of muggle lovers and the like. They wanted to do away with the blood statusses and accept muggles and the changes that they bring. They wanted to unite the wizarding and muggle worlds to an extent, work alongside them and grow with them. Upon hearing this, Hermione started getting really excited and Harry had to calm her down so he could explain why that was a very, very bad idea.
He went on to tell her about how witches and wizards were forced into hiding by muggles and how the Statute of Secrecy came to be. He told her about how many muggle-borns go missing by the age of eleven, never to be found, how many more are abused for their abilities in their own homes. He had to soothe her when she started crying about how unfair it all is. He told her that is where the 'grey' faction in the Wizenmagot comes in. They are working towards the betterment of the wizarding world be evening everyone out. They want muggle-borns to feel welcome and safe by doing away with prejudices and bigotry. He also explained that they want to pull abused muggle-borns away from their families and embrace the families that accept them as is.
Hermione calmed down and agreed that the 'grey' faction sounded like the fairest of the bunch and that she would gladly throw her hat in with them if it means that things get better and people like the Malfoys are knocked down a peg.
"Is Harry Potter in here? I heard he`s on the train," came from the door, when it opened again. Before them, stood a boy with a lot of freckles on his face and almost orange ginger hair. Harry looked him up and down and saw that he had chocolate in the corners of his mouth and his clothes was disheveled.
"Sorry mate, haven`t seen him," Harry told him, causing Hermione to giggle into her hand, her head against his back.
"I`m Ron, Ron Weasly," the redhead said, pushing a chocolate covered hand towards them. Harry looked at his hand and pointed to the stains.
"The name`s James, this is Hermione," Harry told him, drawing louder giggling from his side. Hermione started clutching her sides at the sight of his hand.
"Y-You h-have, oh lord, y-you have chocolate on your hand and face!" she managed to say finally, hitting Harry on the arm for causing her to laugh.
Ron wiped his sleeve across his face and his hand on his clothes, then sat down and launched into recounting everything he heard about Harry Potter and how he want to be his best mate and that they would get along very well. Harry and Hermione kept throwing glances at each other and trying not to laugh, when the train finally made it into the station at Hogsmeade.
Stepping off the train, they were greeted by a mountain of a man with a mane of hair around his head. Harry bent over to Hermione and whispered, "That`s Hagrid, he`s a half-giant." Hermione jumped and squeaked at the voice in her ear.
"Firs` `ears afta` meh," Hagrid kept saying, pulling them along with him down a small pathway that led to a dock of sorts. Harry pulled Neville towards them and quickly whispered in his ear, "Call me James until we`ve been sorted, I want to make an entrance!" Neville smiled brightly and agreed, then they stepped into the four man boats with Harry, Neville, Hermione and Ron in the same boat. They spent the time talking animatedly about everything that they see. When they got closer to the castle, everyone looked at it with awe on their faces, drinking in the majesty unfolding before them.
They followed Hagrid up to the massive front doors that made up the entrance to the castle, where professor McGonagall stood, waiting for them. She gave Harry and Hermione a brief warm smile before slipping back into her stern demeanor. She spent the next few minutes explaining to them what will happen now and that they will all be sorted into different Houses that will become their families for the duration of their stay at Hogwarts and that any misconduct and rule-breaking will be met with swift punishment. The last statement, she directed in Harry`s direction, who just smiled innocently up at her.
She led them into the Great Hall. Harry stared up in awe at the ceiling, pulling on Hermione`s sleeve and showing her the same. He looked out in front of him and something bright caught his eyes. He zoomed in on it and saw Dora sitting with the Hufflepuffs, smiling brightly at him, her hair bright yellow with black streaks, much to the amusement of everyone looking at her. He waved back at her and stood in the neat row of first years, waiting for the sorting to start.
The hat began its song and everyone listened with rapt attention, two redheads at the Gryffindor table stood with hands over their hearts, swaying side to side, pretending to cry at the words. As soon as the hat finished its song, everyone gave a loud applause. Professor McGonagall silenced the hall and started reading from a large scroll.
"Abbott, Hannah," she called and a short girl with blonde ponytails made her way up the steps and as soon as the hat made contact with her head, shouted out Hufflepuff, followed by applause from said table. So it went on for a while.
"Granger, Hermione," the professor called and Hermione looked nervously over to Harry, he leant over and whispered, "Go on, it will be fine." Hearing this she blushed a little, pulled her shoulders up and marched to the chair. She sat down and the hat was placed on her head. Almost a full two minutes later, the hat called out, "RAVENCLAW!" and a massive applause broke out from the blue and bronze table. Then the sorting continued again with Daphne Greengrass going to Slytherin and Neville Longbottom to Gryffindor and so on, until...
"Potter, Harry!" professor McGonagall called out and everyone started whispering and looking around, wanting to see the famous Boy-Who-Lived. Everyone wondering where he will be seated. Harry chuckled lightly to himself and started walking forward, running his hands through his hair and tying it back into his high ponytail. Dora winked at him as he walked past and he just laughed at all the different expressions on the faces around him. He reached the stool, nodded his head at the headmaster and turned around to sit down. He almost started laughing at the stunned looks on Ron and Draco`s faces.
'Hmmm, very interesting...' Harry heard an old voice in his head and knew it was the hat, looking at his qualities.
'Heir of the House of Snakes, my, oh my. What to do with you... I see intelligence and a thirst for knowledge, but I also see cunning and ambition. You will go far in the House of your Heirship, but you will also obtain much in the House of ravens. What say you, young one?'
'Hello Mr. Hat. I have given this topic some thought and hope you don`t mind me posing you a question or two, regarding this. I feel that cunning and ambition require intelligence to be brought to fruition, don`t you think? Also, intelligent people need to be ambitious in their persuit of knowledge, as well as cunning in their sharing thereof, to be able to get ahead and convince people of their merits,' Harry said in his mind, causing the hat to laugh out loud.
'You are quite the bright spark, I see. I wonder. Pose your question and let`s see,' the hat said in his mind.
'Well, given my previous statement. How do you weight ambition and intelligence evenly and then decide which one wins out? If you take every person at face value, you can`t tell what type of person they are, but you have the honor of seeing into our minds and weighing our attributes on whichever scale you choose, selecting values you determine, to place us into a house that you think benefit us, but how about we assume that intelligence, ambition, bravery and loyalty can be weighed on the same scale and give the same weight. That means that people are being sorted into houses based on adolescent ideals and hopes, not mature experience and intuition. A Gryffindor today, can be a Slytherin in four years` time. The same goes for any of the houses. Now let`s say that you assign four scales and four different measurement systems. How do you assign a weight or a unit of measurement to a mindset? How do you measure an emotional response accurately enough to compare it to another?'
'Mr. Potter, I think you may give even the most intelligent people on the staff a run for their Galleons, given a few years to mature more. I think you are completely right, however. That is why I must disclose that this old hat was merely enchanted to listen to the calling of the soul. This allows me to make suggestions, which more often than not, is met with silence, thus I sort. You, however, have given this shaped piece of leather a lot to think on, so make your choice, give me a reason for it and I shall announce it for you,' the hat said into his mind, chuckling lightly.
'I choose Ravenclaw. I want to match my ambition and intelligence to further myself and others. I also feel that sorting me into Ravenclaw will surprise people. The third point I want to make, is that I wish to hide the knowledge of my Slytherin heirship for the time being,' Harry said, smiling at his points.
"A very interesting young man indeed, but the choice have been made for me, thus RAVENCLAW!" the hat spoke out loud, breaking the silence and drawing a large round of applause as Harry made his way over to where Hermione was sitting. As he stepped down, he changed his hair bright blue with bronze streaks, matching his new house.
"What took so long?" Hermione demanded of him as soon as he sat down next to her. He looked at her in confusion.
"What do you mean 'what took so long'?" he asked her, looking her in the eyes. Her gaze flicked up to his hair and back. The people around them looked and pointed at his hair as the sorting continued.
"You took forever! You just sat there for going on twenty minutes, until the hat finally spoke up again. I only sat there for two minutes." Hermione said, exasperated at his lack of awareness.
"Twenty minutes, really? We had a friendly debate, is all. He wanted to sort me into Slytherin and Ravenclaw, saying I could do well in either. So, I asked him how is it possible to assign weights to a mindset and compare them equally. I also asked him how is it possible to be intelligent without the ambition to further it, and how can you be cunning without intelligence to pull it off," Harry said, shrugging. Hermione sat there, slack-jawed, staring at him. Those around him that heard this, also looked at him like he grew another head. The sorting finished at this point and they saw food in front of them, so Harry decided to dig in.
"A few announcements, before we go to bed. Firstly, the Forbidden Forest is exactly that, forbidden. Also, the third floor corridor on the left is being renovated and therefore off-limits. Next, I would like to introduce our new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher, ex auror Johan Strauss, from the South African Ministry of Magic," the headmaster said, sweeping his hand toward a tall, tanned man in grey and green robes. He had silver-white hair and light grey eyes that speaks of unseen horrors and scars peeking out from his shirt. He nodded his head and looked across the hall.
"Now then, off to bed! First years, follow your prefects. Your Heads of House will hand out your schedules at breakfast," the headmaster bade them and left to a door behind the staff table.
Harry an Hermione fell into line behind the prefects and followed them down the halls and up the spiral staircase at the eastern side of the school, on the fifth floor. When they reached the top, it opened up to a landing decorated with a few paintings and couches and a big, room-wide blue carpet with bronze trims. At the end of the landing they found a large arch with big wooden double doors and an eagle head bronze knocker.
"The door will ask you a riddle that you need to answer correctly to enter, fail to do so and you will have to wait for someone to answer it correctly to gain entry," the prefect told them as they gathered round.
"What is black and white, and red all over," the knocker asked and the prefects looked at them expectantly. Harry and Hermione immediately shot their hands up, grinning at each other. The male prefect pointed towards Hermione, who was jumping up and down by then.
"The answer is a newspaper, of course!" Hermione stated with confidence.
"Correct, young one. Please enter and enjoy your stay," the door said, swinging inwards and allowing them entry. They went in and stared around them in awe. The door led to a wide circular room with soft leather couches, large bookcases and a high ceiling. There was windows around the room, giving a nearly 360 degree view of the grounds. There are a few fireplaces around the room. The whole room is covered in shades of blue and bronze. Across the room from the entrance, two staircases led up in opposite directions.
"Boys on the right, girls on the left. The first years are on the first floor and your names are on the boards on the doors. You will find your possessions inside already," the prefects said, before leading them up the respective staircases to their rooms for the night.
A/N; Hoooooooly Moly. This chapter took a lot more out of me than expected. Longest chapter so far. The first few chapters serve as an introduction of sorts and this is the official start of the story.
I hope you guys are still keeping up and finding the story entertaining. I made a lot happen in this chapter, hope it all makes sense.