Author's Note:
DISCLAIMER I: I don't own the lyrics those belongs to The Beatles.
DISCLAIMER II: I don't own some of the scenes below as interwoven from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by the lovely JKR — there were just some things that were mandatory in my opinion.
Reviews and Comments: To alix33: Thank you, I quite agree. Dogwood does sound just like Sirius! Sirius definitely bought a great wardrobe for our Harry. To E-Dett: Thank you for saying I do a good job at "portraying how overwhelming it is for Harry to have to live up to the standards his parents set." Yes, I think Harry having those fears about having the same wand as Voldemort should have been mentioned. He's confused. To Claire Fraser: Thank you! Sirius is a mother hen and I'm glad you're enjoying it. Thanks for saying it's nice to see Harry wanting to be babied while still being ready to be treated like a big kid, that's exactly what he's going through. Thank you!
Thank you very much for reading and please, please review!
Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you!
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR:
The One With the Sorting
The night of the Billy Idol concert was great. Harry stood on a table, Sirius' arm wrapped around his waist most of the night so that he could see the concert. He watched in amusement as Tonks jumped up and down, singing loudly and dancing with Remus, with Harry, and with Sirius as often as she could.
It was loud rock and he had an amazing time.
When he woke up the next morning, he carefully ticked another day off on his calendar, smiling. Only two more weeks until he would be going off to Hogwarts.
He made his way downstairs, stomach grumbling, and helped himself to a banana while he opened cabinets, trying to find something to eat for breakfast. He had just poured himself a bowl of cereal when he heard some loud noises coming from the direction of the Morrison house. It sounded like a lawn mower, he realized.
Sirius stepped into the kitchen stifling a yawn. "Fruit Loops, eh? Those do look good," he said, helping himself to a bowl.
Harry pointed out the kitchen window. "I think someone has moved into Mr and Mrs Morrison's house."
Sirius listened for a moment. "Or getting ready to. Remus said that there was a sold sign out front yesterday, so they are probably getting the house ready. The new people should be moving in soon."
Harry nodded. "Do you think that Mr and Mrs Morrison like it in Australia?"
"I'm sure they do, Harry. They are with their family," he said as he took a seat at the kitchen table with his bowl of cereal. "We'll have to keep a look out to see about meeting the new neighbours. Maybe it's a big family with some kids you can play with. Jennifer Berry said that she wanted to find a family for the house."
Harry wrinkled his nose in distaste.
"What was that look for?" Sirius asked him in surprise.
Harry looked at him from underneath his lashes. "I didn't like her."
"Berry?" Sirius asked.
Harry nodded. "She wore too much perfume and she spoke to me like I was a baby."
Sirius smiled at him. Jennifer Berry was a woman that he had enjoyed shagging, but was very much relieved to have out of his life. It alarmed him a little that Harry hadn't liked her much himself and he had barely seen or spoken to the woman.
"Well, if the house is sold, you're not going to be seeing her around anymore so don't worry."
"Good," Harry told him, finishing his cereal.
Sirius decided that changing the subject was definitely in order. "So, what's on the agenda this morning, Harry? We still have two weeks until you head off to Hogwarts."
"I don't know, can I some friends come over?" Harry asked.
"Sure, send an owl or two, whoever you want."
Harry simply grinned at him. "Okay."
~ ASC ~
The next two weeks seemed to fly by and the next thing Sirius knew it was the thirty-first of August. He was excited for Harry, he knew that, and he said as much to Remus as they helped him pack and organize his trunk with his new robes, Muggle clothes for the weekends, undergarments and socks and his extra school uniform supplies, his toiletries, his textbooks, school supplies, and all of the little last minute detail items that he would need for a successful year.
Sirius had a wooden box that he filled with owl treats and told Harry to leave Hedwig's cage in his bedroom as Hedwig could fly to Hogwarts on her own. The owl hooted happily and soared off into the night, a small letter clutched in her beak for McGonagall. Sirius simply sent her a card wishing her luck and to treat Harry like he was her favourite, which he knew would make her smile and that she would ignore as McGonagall never showed favouritism, not even to students of her own house (not for lack of trying on Sirius' part).
Harry closed the lid of his trunk, grinning gleefully. "I can't believe that I get to go tomorrow!"
Sirius smiled at him as Harry hopped into his bed where Marauder was already sprawled out and waiting for him. "This will be my last night tucking you in for a few months."
Harry grinned up at him. "I'm not a little kid anymore, Uncle Sirius. I can put myself to bed, you know."
Sirius smiled, sitting on the bed as well. "Just because you can doesn't mean you have to, Prongslet." He leaned in and kissed Harry's cheek. "My baby boy's growing up on me."
Harry rolled his eyes. "Uncle Padfoot," he groaned, rolling his eyes at him a second time only because he knew that Sirius expected it — but he was secretly happy that Sirius was here in his bedroom to tuck him in for his last night before he went off to Hogwarts for the first time.
Sirius smirked at his response and leaned in and kissed him again, covering Harry's face in kisses as Harry struggled to push him away amidst his laughter.
"All right, all right, I get it. You're not my baby anymore." Sirius said, brushing his fingers through Harry's dark messy locks. "I'm going to miss you like mad, kid."
Harry moved to cuddle close to his father. "I'm going to miss you, too."
Sirius kept his arms wrapped around Harry and they both just sat like that for a few minutes.
"Uncle Padfoot?"
"Yes, Prongslet?"
"Can you… can you sing to me like you used to when I was little?" Harry asked, his voice quiet.
Sirius smiled, his fingers still gently in Harry's locks. "I'd love too, Harry." He swallowed slowly, making himself comfortable on the bed as Harry cuddled into his side. "Who knows how long I've loved you, you know I love you still. Will I wait a lonely lifetime, if you want me to — I will. Love you forever and forever, love you with all my heart. Love you whenever we're together, love you when we're apart. And when at last I find you, your song will fill the air. Sing it loud so I can hear you, make it easy to be near you, for the things you do endear you to me, you know I will. I will. Love you forever and forever, love you with all my heart. Love you whenever we're together, love you when we're apart. You know I will love you forever and forever, love you with all my heart. Love you whenever we're together, love you when we're apart."
Sirius continued to sing the one verse over and over and when he looked down, Harry was fast asleep, his head over his heart. Sirius smiled in contentment, holding the child close. As excited as he was for Harry to get on that train tomorrow, he was going to miss him something terrible.
What was he going to do without his boy?
He planted a kiss on Harry's cheek, carefully sliding himself out from underneath Harry's body. He pulled the blanket up and gently brushed a finger along Harry's smooth cheek before leaving him to sleep.
He had a big and exciting day tomorrow and Sirius couldn't wait for his son to go off on his own new adventure.
~ ASC ~
When Harry woke up the next morning, he blinked in disorientation for a moment and then he grinned widely, he was going to Hogwarts today!
He jumped out of bed, hurrying into the bathroom to brush his teeth and comb his hair before he got dressed. He made his bed and stared at his room for a moment realizing that it would be four months until he slept there again.
He carefully hoisted his trunk up, wheeling it behind him with loud clunks as it came down the stairs.
His grin widened when he stepped into the kitchen and saw Sirius and Remus sitting at the table, a full steaming plate of pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and fruit waiting for him.
"Good morning, Prongslet," Sirius said, bringing his cup of tea to his lips with a smile.
"Big day today, little Prongs," Remus added as he smiled.
Harry grinned at them as he sat down. "Ron, Neville, and I are going to have so much fun! I hope we're all in Gryffindor together!"
Remus chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm sure that the Sorting Hat will indeed sort you three marauders out."
"I wish that Filch wouldn't have nicked our map in seventh year. It would be grand for you to have it straight off, Harry," Sirius told him with a grin. "You can find the secret passageways and know where the teachers are so you don't get caught. Maybe you can sneak into Filch's office and steal the map back?"
"Sirius, let's get him to his classes first before detention, yeah?" Remus said in exasperation, but he was grinning and his eyes were twinkling in laughter.
Harry simply grinned at them. "I'll be good, I promise."
Sirius winked at him. "A little trouble now and again never hurt anybody."
Remus rolled his eyes. "Eat up, Harry. We're going to Floo to The Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley and then take the tube to the train station, so we have to leave within the hour if you're going to make it on time."
Harry grinned and eagerly helped himself to his breakfast. Sirius and Remus spoke to him about their first day: How Sirius had met James and Lily on his first train ride, how Remus had been so scared that he wouldn't make friends, how wonderful the welcome feast would be, and about their first few classes.
He finished breakfast and brought his dishes to the sink to wash and Sirius placed his hands on Harry's shoulders.
"Leave those for me, Prongslet," he said, leaning down to kiss Harry's forehead. "Go brush your teeth and double check your bedroom to make sure that you have everything you need. I can always send you anything you forget, but still check it out."
Harry nodded and hurried up the stairs. He said a little goodbye to his room, brushed his teeth and made his way downstairs. Remus had already Flooed ahead with his trunk and Sirius was waiting at the bottom of the stairs for him, worn blue jeans, a black dress shirt rolled to the elbows and unbuttoned with a white tank underneath. Marauder sat next to him.
"Say goodbye to Marauder, Harry. He won't be coming with us to the station," Sirius told him.
Harry knelt down next to the dog, surprised to find tears at the back of his throat. "I'm going to miss you, boy. I wish that I could take you with me to Hogwarts, but there are no dogs allowed. You take care of Uncle Sirius, okay?" He wrapped his arms around the dog, burying his face in the soft reddish gold fur. He kissed Marauder's neck, wiping tears from his eyes and whispered quietly to the dog, "You can sleep with Uncle Sirius; make sure he doesn't have bad dreams."
Marauder barked in response and Harry hugged him tighter, kissing the dog's head once more before he stood up, wiping his tears away.
"I wish I could bring him with me," he said, his green eyes on Sirius.
Sirius draped his arm over his shoulders. "I know, Prongslet, but dogs are not allowed as personal pets at the school. I'll take good care of him, I promise, and he'll be waiting here for you when you come home for the Christmas holidays."
Harry nodded and scratched Marauder behind the ears. "Bye, Marauder."
"Are you ready to go, Harry?"
He kissed Marauder's head once more and nodded. "Yes." They stepped into the Floo together as Marauder made crying noises and disappeared in a cloud of green smoke and came out into the pub where Remus was waiting for them with a smile.
Sirius pulled Harry's trunk for him as they headed into Muggle London and took the London Underground to King's Cross station. They headed through the crowd and Sirius stopped in between platforms nine and ten.
"Now Harry," Remus said with a smile, his hand on Harry's shoulder, "The Hogwarts Express is on Platform Nine and Three Quarters."
Harry's brow furrowed. "But there's only a Platform Nine and a Platform Ten?"
Remus' smile widened as he squeezed Harry's shoulder in reassurance. "It's invisible, Harry, and it's only open between ten and eleven AM today for students to catch the train." He held his hand out to Harry who grasped it tightly in his own. "Come on, little Prongs."
Harry's eyes widened as he squeezed Remus' hand tightly as his father led him towards a tall brick wall. "It's through the wall?"
Remus nodded with a smile. "It is. We'll go through together, yeah?"
Harry nodded and he closed his eyes, holding his father's hand tightly in his own before they went through the wall and when he opened them again, a beautiful scarlet steam engine stood before him as the platform was crowded with returning students and new students and their families. Remus let go of his hand, placing it on his shoulder instead and Sirius' hand landed on his other shoulder, squeezing in reassurance.
"The Hogwarts Express really is a sight to behold," Remus said with a smile. "I almost wish that I was going back."
Harry grinned at them. "It's really here!"
Sirius glanced up at the clock and smiled. "You have twenty minutes to spare, let's get your trunk on the train, yeah?"
Sirius and Remus boarded the train with Harry's trunk, tucking it into an empty compartment for him before he followed them off of the train again.
"Do you think that Neville and Ron are here already?" Harry asked.
As if in answer to his question, the redheaded family arrived next to him.
"Oh, please, Mum, can't I go, too?" Ginny begged for the umpteenth time, her hand tightly bound in Mrs Weasley's.
"You're not old enough, Ginny, now be quiet," Mrs Weasley said. "Percy, dear, get your stuff up onto the train. You too, Fred."
"I'm not Fred, I'm George," Fred insisted, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, woman, you call yourself our mother. Can't you tell I'm George?"
"Sorry, George, dear," Mrs Weasley said in exasperation.
"Only joking, I am Fred," he said, moving out of the way to avoid the swat across the head from his mother as George winked at her and headed onto the train after him, trunk in tow.
The three boys soon came off again, smirking as Percy was in the lead with his chest puffed out to show off his brand new prefect's badge.
"I can't stay long, Mother, I'm up front; the prefects have got two compartments to themselves —"
"Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?" George exclaimed with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea."
"Hang on," Fred said, "I think I remember him saying something about it, once —"
"Or twice —"
"A minute —"
"All summer —"
"Oh, shut up!" Percy exclaimed in exasperation.
Sirius chuckled. "You boys are going to give your mother a brain aneurysm the way you carry on."
George beamed at him. "We are perfect little angels, Sirius! I have no idea what kind of shenanigans you are implying."
Mrs Weasley rolled her eyes. "Angels, that's a good one! You two better behave yourselves this year!" she insisted, wagging her finger at them. "If I get one more owl telling me you've gone and blown up a toilet or —"
"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet!"
"Great idea though, thanks Mum!"
Sirius chuckled and squeezed Harry's shoulder tighter. "Harry, I give you full permission to blow up a toilet if the opportunity presents itself."
Remus smirked, shaking his head in exasperation. "Harry, please don't blow up a toilet."
Harry smiled up at them as the Weasleys gathered around their mother and sister to say goodbye. "I'll do my best not to, Uncle Moony." He smiled when Ginny appeared at his side to hug him tightly. "Bye, Ginny!"
"Bye, Harry! I wish I was going, too!"
"Next year," he told her with a smile, grinning when she hurried over to Percy to hug him goodbye.
Harry smiled up at Sirius. "I wish Ginny was coming this year — I bet she'd blow up a toilet."
Sirius chuckled and tugged him close, wrapping his arms tightly around him. "She is a spitfire. I am going to miss you something fierce, Prongslet. You have the best first year that you can possibly have, you hear me?" He kissed the top of his head with a smile. "You are going to love it there and have so much fun!"
Then Remus was hugging him tightly, kissing his head. "You behave yourself and study hard. I want to know what you're learning and I want to see you keep those grades up as I know exactly how smart you are, little Prongs."
Harry nodded. "I will, Uncle Moony, I promise to work hard."
"And have fun!" Sirius insisted, "A few pranks or misdemeanours are always welcome."
"Harry!" Neville called out, his hand in his grandmother's as they hurried towards them.
"Hi, Nev!"
Neville held his hands out to show Harry the toad. "I named him Trevor. Uncle Algie gave him to me for getting into Hogwarts." The toad leaped from his hands and he shouted in alarm, grinning gratefully up at Remus who had swiftly captured him. "Thanks, Remus."
Sirius clasped Neville on the shoulder. "Well, are you boys ready to head off into your first year?"
Neville nodded. "I think so, yeah."
Mrs Longbottom pursed her lips at her grandson. "Neville, keep watch on that toad and you make me proud, young man. I expect nothing but greatness from you."
"I'll do my best, Gran, I promise." He hugged her tight, clutching his toad in his hand.
Sirius gave Neville a one-armed hug with a smile. "You are going to be a great wizard one day, Nev. Remember, son of Frank and Alice, I know you'll be a badass."
Neville grinned widely and hugged Sirius tight. "Thanks, Sirius. Bye!"
Harry hugged Remus again, smiling when he kissed his cheek and then he threw himself into Sirius' arms one more time, his hands fisting at his waist. "Bye, Uncle Padfoot! Bye Uncle Moony!"
"Hurry up, boys!" Mrs Weasley called out. "There's only two minutes left!"
"I love you, Harry," Sirius said, kissing his cheek. "Have an amazing term and write home at the end of the week, yeah?"
Harry kissed his cheek back. "I love you too, Uncle Sirius."
Harry, Neville, and Ron hurried onto the Hogwarts Express as the whistle blew for last call. The three of them waved madly to their families on the platform.
Sirius watched the train move away until it was out of sight and he smiled at Remus, tears in his eyes. "I miss him already, Moony."
Remus slapped his friend lightly on the shoulder. "Me too, Padfoot, me too. Come on; let's get a drink."
~ ASC ~
Harry, Ron, and Neville made themselves comfortable in the compartment where they had stored their trunks. They had just sat down when Draco Malfoy sauntered in, his bright blond hair slicked back instead of the messy tousled look he had worn the last time that Harry had seen him. He stopped when he saw them.
"Potter," he said, taking a seat on the bench as a lanky dark-skinned boy came in behind him.
"Hi," the boy said with a smile, extending his hand. "I'm Blaise Zabini."
"Harry Potter," Harry said, accepting the shake.
Blaise's mouth opened in surprise. "Are you really?"
Draco rolled his eyes. "Is everyone going to treat you like some sort of celebrity?"
"I hope not," Harry told him as Ron snickered next to him.
"No need to ask your name," Draco said hotly, his eyes flashing in menace at Ron. "Father's told me all about you. Red hair, freckles, and a hand me down robe, you must be a Weasley."
Ron flushed.
"No need to be a prat, Draco. His name is Ron and he's my friend and this is Neville Longbottom."
Blaise grinned at Neville. "Wasn't your father an Auror?"
Neville nodded, flushing a little. "Yes."
"Brilliant," Blaise said with a grin.
Draco merely rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, now we've all been properly introduced, big whoop. Still hoping to be in Gryffindor, Potter?"
Harry nodded, his eyes flashing in annoyance. "More than ever."
Draco smirked at him. "I'm telling you, Slytherin is the better choice."
Ron crossed his arms in front of his chest. "There's no witch or wizard or who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin, why would we want to go there?"
"Are you a dark wizard, Weasley?"
At Ron's blank look, Draco rolled his eyes. "Exactly. Merlin, I hope not all the first years are such complete morons or I'll never find anyone to appreciate my wit."
Blaise snickered. "Maybe that's for the best, Draco."
The door to the compartment slid open and a tall, beefy looking boy stood there.
Draco's eyebrow rose. "Are you lost, Goyle?"
Goyle's eyes moved almost menacingly around the compartment and when they landed on Neville with a sneer, Neville jumped, and Trevor escaped from his grasp.
"Trevor!" Neville exclaimed, sighing when his toad made a mad escape into the hall. "Come back here!" Harry made to follow his friend out but Neville waved him off. "Nah, I got him, Harry."
Goyle seemed amused by the escaped toad and turned to leave again.
Draco shook his head. "I'm telling you, morons the whole lot of them."
"Who was that?" Harry asked him as Blaise stood up to shut the compartment door again.
"Greg Goyle, his father is a friend of my father's, but he's a complete idiot," Draco informed them in annoyance. "Father says that I should try to befriend him."
Blaise nodded. "My stepfather said the same thing. 'Have to stick with the friends you know, son; families stick together.' It's rather annoying. I almost hope I get placed in Hufflepuff just to see if my stepfather has a heart attack."
Harry grinned at him. He liked Blaise immediately and he could see why Draco had made friends with him. "Hufflepuff would be all right, but I'm hoping to be in Gryffindor like my godfather. Plus my uncle and my parents were all Gryffindors."
Ron nodded, looking a bit nervous at the idea of the sorting. "All of my brothers are in Gryffindor, too."
"How did we get stuck in here with these Gryffindor-wannabes?" Draco asked Blaise.
Blaise shrugged and leaned back in his seat. "Um, because Pansy started talking about her shoe collection and we abandoned Theo to her?"
"Oooh, right," Draco said grinning. "He's going to make us pay for that later."
"I'd rather hear Theo retell the story than Pansy tell it the first time," Blaise admitted with a grin.
The compartment door slid open again, but this time the trolley witch was there with a smile offering snacks. Harry, Draco, and Blaise immediately bought a few handfuls of sweets, Harry giving Ron half of his with a grin as they all chatted amicably and traded off chocolate frog cards.
As the afternoon stretched into early evening, the compartment door opened again but this time a bushy haired brunette stood there with rather large front teeth. She was already changed into her school robes.
"Excuse me, have any of you seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one?"
Harry shook his head. "Tell him to stop looking, Trevor will find him."
The girl looked taken aback by this and stepped inside. "I take it you've already been asked then?"
"Obviously," Draco said as he stared at her. "Tell him to use his wand and maybe he can summon him."
"I doubt as a first year he will be able to use such an advanced charm," she said, hotly, brushing her bushy curls away from her face. "How is that going to do any good? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard — I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough — I'm Hermione Granger, by the way."
She said all of this very fast and Draco merely quirked an elbow. "Muggleborn? How completely uninteresting."
Blaise smirked at him. "You're just jealous because you didn't learn all of your course books off by heart."
"Of course not," Draco said hotly, "I'm not a brown nosing twat."
Hermione flushed pink.
"Some of us actually have lives, Granger," Draco told her in annoyance.
Blaise smiled at her kindly. "Ignore him, I usually do. Blaise Zabini," he said, offering his hand which she shook with a smile. "This prat is Draco Malfoy, the redhead is Ron Weasley, and the scrawny one in glasses goes by Harry Potter."
Hermione offered each boy a small smile, but her eyes widened at the mentioning of Harry's name. "Are you really? I know all about you, of course — I got a few extra books, for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."
"Am I really?" Harry asked, the back of his neck burning in embarrassment.
Sirius and Remus had definitely failed to mention that.
"Didn't you know?" she asked in surprise. "Anyway, I expect we're arriving soon, you better get changed into your robes." She turned to hurry out of the compartment again, stopping and glancing at Ron. "You have dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know? Just there," she said, pointing with her finger before hurrying out.
Ron grimaced in annoyance as he rubbed at his nose. "Whatever house I do get put into, I hope she's not in it."
Harry laughed and stood up. "She's right though, we should get changed."
The four boys all dug out their school robes, having just finished changing when the train pulled into the station at Hogsmeade.
Harry recognized Hagrid's gruff voice calling out for the first years and he gestured to Ron to follow him.
"Hi, Hagrid!"
Hagrid grinned down at Harry. "Harry! Welcome ter Hogsmeade Station. Come along now; firs' years get ter take th' boats across th' Black Lake ter th' castle. It's a real treat!"
Harry and Ron found Neville (who had finally found his toad). The three of them ended up in a boat with a pretty blonde girl they learned was named Hannah.
Ron wiped his sweaty palms on his trousers. "Do you think it's going to be hard, the sorting that is?"
"What do you mean?" Harry asked him, gripping Neville's hands in his own in order to try to keep Trevor from leaping into the Black Lake.
"Fred said that we have to wrestle a troll and that sometimes students die before a house chooses them."
Neville paled. "A troll?"
Harry laughed. Leave it to Fred and George Weasley to make up such a ridiculous story up for their little brother.
"Ron, you should know better than to trust anything those two tell you! Uncle Sirius said that it's a hat. It tells us!"
Ron grinned as Neville looked relieved. "Thank Merlin, I'm going to kill those gits!"
They followed Hagrid into the castle, eyes wide. Seeing the castle all lit up was truly a sight to behold. They were in the entranceway when Peeves the Poltergeist found them. Harry knew who he was because Sirius had warned him about the troublemaking ghost who wore orange. He was cackling in laughter, but whatever he had planned was immediately put on hold when Professor McGonagall appeared.
She was smiling kindly at them, but the sternness to her stance showed that she was definitely not to be trifled with. "Welcome to Hogwarts. I am Professor McGonagall. I teach Transfiguration, am Deputy Headmistress of the school, and am Head of Gryffindor House. In a moment, you will follow me through to the Great Hall where you will be sorted into your houses. The four houses are as follows: Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. Your house will be like your family while you are here and you can earn your house points for a chance to win the House Cup at the end of the school year, any rule breaking will result in a loss of points. Now follow me, students."
Harry followed the group out into the Great Hall, past the four long house tables. McGonagall led them up to the front where a stool stood with a very old and shabby looking pointed hat. Then to Harry's surprise, the brim of the hat opened into a mouth and the hat began to sing all about the founding of Hogwarts and what each house represented. Then McGonagall pulled out the roster and began to read the names of the students.
"Abbot, Hannah," McGonagall called and the pretty blonde girl from their boat stepped forward and took a seat on the stool. McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on her head and then a few seconds later the hat yelled "Hufflepuff!" and the table under the yellow and black banner with a badger on it, cheered in glee.
Harry watched with interest as the names were called and each student went up to be sorted. Bones, Boot, Brocklehurst, Brown, Bulstrode, Corner, Cornfoot, Crabbe, Davis, Entwhistle, Finch-Fletchley, Finnigan, Goldstein, Goyle, and then Granger, Hermione.
When the hat called out Gryffindor, Ron groaned from next to him, making him laugh.
Then it was Greengrass, Hopkins, Jones, Li, and Longbottom, Neville.
Neville swallowed slowly as he made his way up to the front. He was pale and he looked so nervous as he took his seat. The hat was quiet for a bit and then a loud "Gryffindor!" was yelled to all and Harry cheered loudly for his friend.
MacDougal, Macmillan, and then Malfoy, Draco. Draco sauntered up to the hat with a smirk and the hat barely touched his head before belting out "Slytherin!"
Malone, Monroe, Moon, Nott, Parkinson, Patil, Patil, Perks, and then Potter, Harry.
Harry glanced nervously around him. When McGonagall had called out his name the entire hall had became almost eerily quiet with loud whispers of "Potter? The Boy Who Lived? Where? I see him! Can you see his scar?"
He tried not to look at anyone, but instead kept his gaze on McGonagall who was smiling warmly at him. He took his seat on the stool and blanched at the sight of every single student staring at him before the hat fell over his eyes and engulfed him in darkness.
"Difficult," a voice spoke in his ear. "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's interesting… so where shall I put you?"
"Not Slytherin," Harry thought desperately as he gripped the edges of the stool. He wanted nothing more than to be in Gryffindor, but he knew that he really didn't want to be in Slytherin House.
"Not Slytherin, eh?" The small voice said, "Are you sure? You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that — no? Well, if you're sure, better be — GRYFFINDOR!"
Harry let out a sigh of relief and hurried towards the screaming table who were cheering for him so loud and amongst the cheers he could hear Fred and George chanting: We Got Potter! We Got Potter!
It made him smile as he sat down next to Neville as Rivers was called forward.
"Sirius was right," Neville told him with a grin. "Same house."
Harry grinned back at him. "I'm glad."
They both listened as Rivers was sorted into Hufflepuff and then Roper, Rowle, Runcorn, Smith, Thomas, Turpin and finally Weasley, Ronald.
When the hat called out for Gryffindor, Harry and Neville cheered loudly, slapping Ron on the back as he sat next to them. And then Zabini, Blaise was last and he was sorted into Slytherin.
Professor Dumbledore stood up, welcoming them to another year and soon a feast unlike anything Harry had ever seen before appeared before him. Ron's eyes had become as big as saucers and he immediately began to dig into the feast.
Harry simply grinned at Neville and his friend grinned back at him.
They were really here.
And they were all Gryffindors.
End Author's Notes:
The Hogwarts students in Harry's year are as follows:
Gryffindor Girls:
Hermione Granger
Lavender Brown
Parvati Patil
Sophie Roper
Natalie Monroe (Original Character)
Gryffindor Boys:
Harry Potter
Dean Thomas
Seamus Finnigan
Neville Longbottom
Ron Weasley
Hufflepuff Girls:
Hannah Abbot
Susan Bones
Megan Jones
Sally-Anne Perks
Hufflepuff Boys:
Ernie Macmillan
Kevin Entwhistle
Justin Finch Fletchley
Wayne Hopkins
Roger Malone
David Runcorne (No first name known so I chose David)
Ravenclaw Girls:
Mandy Brocklehurst
Su Li
Morag MacDougal
Lily Moon
Lisa Turpin
Padma Patil
Ravenclaw Boys:
Stephen Cornfoot
Michael Corner
Anthony Goldstein
Gary Rivers
Terry Boot
Slytherin Girls:
Millicent Bulstrode
Tracey Davis
Daphne Greengrass
Pansy Parkinson
Ophelia Rowle (Original Character)
Slytherin Boys:
Vincent Crabbe
Gregory Goyle
Draco Malfoy
Blaize Zabini
Theodore Nott
Thank you for reading and please review!