On anxious legs, the returned first years made their way off the train and out onto a tiny platform. Just like the last time around, Harry shivered in the cold night air. This time, though, he found himself wishing for his leather jacket. Sirius' jacket. Twice too big for him even in the future, but he would have died before letting it go.
He had died before letting it go.
Smiling into the dark night, Harry let that memory go. A thought had occurred to him during the train discussion and he'd guarded it jealously ever since. Sirius was alive in this time. Ron had Peter Pettigrew tucked into his coat pocket. They could have Sirius exonerated in days. Even if Sirius wasn't back, freeing him so much earlier than their last life would be its own bliss.
Harry scanned his idyllic surroundings. Ron and Neville were roughhousing playfully just in front of him. His smile grew. This life had so much potential. He swore he wouldn't squander it.
A booming voice shook Harry from his musings. A lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students and all the first years heard a familiar voice bellow again, "Firs' years! Firs' years, over here! All right there, Harry?"
Beside Harry, Lavender let out a tiny sob. Neville and Ron's heads whipped up from their horsing around to exchange pain-filled glances with Harry. Even Draco looked a little shaken at the voice of Hagrid.
"Yeah," Harry said, as brightly as he could. Ron appeared by his side and wrapped a friendly arm around his shoulders, Neville half a step behind him. Hagrid was dead in their time. He had been killed during a battle in the Forbidden Forest. No help had come from the castle.
Hagrid's big, hairy face beamed over the sea of heads. "C'mon, follow me. Any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years, follow me!"
Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. Despite the weirdness of making this walk again, Neville couldn't stop a smile, thinking of all the strange and beautiful plants that grew among the thick trees lining the path. Oh, but Hogwarts really was home, even this far from the castle.
"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "Jus' round this bend here."
There was a loud 'Oooooh!' Even having already spent so much of their last lives here, the returned first years couldn't help but give in to the awe. Truly, there was nothing like Hogwarts. Perched atop the high mountain on the other side of Black Lake, the castle stood like a glittering guardian lit by hundreds of warm lights. Just looking at it felt like coming home.
Eager to be inside those familiar walls, the returned first years quickly sorted themselves into the fleet of boats waiting for them on the lip of the lake, Hagrid managing overall. Ron made sure that Neville and Harry got in first and followed them into the boat with Theo at his side. Ron smirked, pleased. There would be no sight of Hermione Jean Ganger for him this time around.
"Oi, you there! Is this your toad?" Hagrid called as they reached the other side of the shore.
"Trevor!" Neville cried blissfully, holding out his hands.
Ron growled as Neville embraced the creature. He cursed the thing under his breath. "Couldn't have stepped on the bleeding thing, could you, Hagrid?" he muttered. Neville shot him an irritated glare and Ron quickly shut up. Harry snickered in the background, though Ron noticed he still had his wand in hand.
Ron frowned for a moment. They would need to speak about that, at some point. There was no time to do so then, however, as Hagrid was quickly shepherding the first years up the trail from the lake to the castle. When they reached the door, he knocked thrice with big, heavy thumps. The door swung open at once, revealing a tall, stern woman in green robes.
"McGonagall," Harry murmured.
From there events proceeded just as they had before. McGonagall led them into the side hall, where she read them her riot act about expectations and houses. Her eyes again lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear from his horsing about with Ron. Neville tipped his chin confidently under her scrutiny. He had faced scarier thing in his nightmares than an old witch, no matter how 'formidable.'
"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall, looking away. Neville grinned triumphantly. "Please wait quietly."
Once she'd left, Harry turned to Ron with a smirk. "So, how do you wager they sort us?"
Ron snorted. "Some sort of test, I think." Ron made his voice quiver with false fear, "Fred said it hurts!"
Harry looked around and saw that everyone else looked terrified, or else was pretending to be. Harry bit back a snicker. No one was talking much, though, except for Hermione Granger, who was whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learned and wondering which one she would need. Those actual first years who had the misfortune of standing by her looked the most anxious. Those poor firsties nearly had a heart attack as the ghosts descended. Harry had needed every ounce of will he had to keep his laughter down to the minimum when Gregory Goyle shrieked, all but jumping into Crabb's arms.
Soon enough though McGonagall returned and shooed the ghosts away. Before he rightly knew it, Harry was again standing in the Great Hall of Hogwarts. He was breathless a moment as nostalgia suffused him. The thousands of candles shimmering in the air; the four tables laid with their golden crockery; the ghosts hanging like pearls above the sea of black-robed students. Those students, whose eyes seemed to bore into the first years as they lined up at the front of the hall.
Remembering his old trick for when the staring was particularly bad, Harry subtly fixed his eyes up on the velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. He could almost believe that it was more than a charm; that the ceiling of the Great Hall really did open up to the heavens. Then he heard Hermione ruin the effect with, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History."
Harry rolled his eyes. He didn't have time to be too annoyed, though, distracted by the whole hall bursting into song. McGonagall had set up the Sorting Hat while he'd been lost in thought. "Those cunning folks use any means / To achieve their ends." Yeah, Harry liked the sound of that.
"We've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered playfully after McGonagall had gone through her instructions. "I'll kill Fred. He was going on about wrestling a troll!" Harry and Neville grinned back at him. Privately, Harry wondered if they would be able to avoid fighting the troll this time. He could definitely do without being covered in boogers again.
McGonagall began the ceremony that minute, drawing Harry from his smelly memories. The A's went by as expected, as did the B's, until finally McGonagall called for, "Bones, Susan!"
Susan did her best to smile as she sat on the stool. She would be the first sign to any of the other students or teachers who had come back. The first inkling they would have that they were not alone. She could not mess this up. She had to keep to the plan and wind up in Slytherin. Merlin. And she'd thought the ceremony had been nerve-wracking the first time around!
Susan waited with bated breath as the hat debated with itself. Oh, please, Susan thought. I need this plan to succeed.
That, apparently, was the deciding factor. The hat bellowed, "Slytherin!"
The green table burst with applause. Fred and George Weasley stood up at the Gryffindor table and gave her a whoop, too, which immediately singled them out as returned. She gave them a little wave as she walked by.
Harry and the others watched the staff table for any kind of sign. There was none.
"Boot, Terry!"
From the Slytherin table, Susan watched with frozen eyes. He hadn't recognized her on the train, but could he have regained his memories since then? Surely that hadn't all come back at exactly the same time—could they have? Surely, surely…
"RAVENCLAW," the hat shouted.
Ravenclaw burst into applause, several students standing to shake hands with Terry as he joined them. To Susan it sounded as though they were cheering for her heartbreak. The next names flew by with Susan in a daze until the McGonagall called for, "Brown, Lavender."
Lavender smiled prettily as she sat down to be sorted. The hat didn't even seem to bother arguing. In a heartbeat, she joined Susan in "Slytherin!"
Susan smiled as Lavender sashayed to her seat. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but she thought that Slytherin looked a lot more welcoming than it had the first time she was a first year.
"Finnegan, Seamus."
Seamus sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat shouted, "Slytherin!" He left looking smug.
"Granger, Hermione!"
Hermione eagerly took her position. "GRYFFINDOR!" Rung out a moment later. No surprises there.
"Greengrass, Daphne!"
Daphne tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder as she sat down on the stool. Instantly, the Sorting Hat announced, "Slytherin!" Daphne snorted as she walked to her table. As if a few more thoughts of revenge would ever change her place in Slytherin House.
When Neville was called, he again fell over on his way to the stool. Harry winced in sympathy. How someone who could fight so gracefully with a blade was still so clumsy with everything else amazed him. He gave Neville an encouraging smile, which predictably made Neville blush harder. Harry smiled. Well, at least Neville was cute about it.
The hat took a long time to decide with Neville, relegating Ron and Harry to watching on nervously. When the hat finally said "Slytherin" they both let out a sigh of relief. Neville, so relieved, once again ran off still wearing the hat, and again had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to, "MacDougal, Morag." Harry shared an affectionate glance with Ron.
Turning his eyes to the professors' table, Harry noticed that they had broken into mutters at Neville's placement. Harry was unable to resist a smirk. If Neville had them muttering, he wondered what they would do with him. Beside him, Ron grinned viciously until Harry jabbed him in the side for being obvious about it.
Draco swaggered forward when his name was called. Just like last time, the hat had barely touched his head before it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!"
The hat seemed to have gotten into an argument with Theo, who wasn't backing down, until it gave in and announced, "Slytherin!"
"Patil, Padma," was called. Parvati glared, gritting her teeth until her own name was called.
Parvati sauntered up to the stool and sat down, much like Malfoy had done. The hat took barely half a minute to place her in, "'SLYTHERIN!"
"Potter, Harry!"
Just like before, Harry took his place to the hissing of whispers. Just as before, he did his best to block them out. He waited in the darkness a long while, and then—
"Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Believe me when I say your secrets are safe with me, Mr. Potter. And may I say, welcome back. You're a difficult placement, even more so than last time. Very difficult, still plenty of courage, I see. A much better mind, though. There's talent still, oh, my goodness, yes… So. Where shall I put you?"
There we go, Harry thought. Harry gripped the edges of the stool and pushed Slytherin House to the front of his mind.
"You'll be great, you know, it's all here in your head," said the hat. "Let's do this right this time, Mr. Potter…" And for all the hall to hear, the hat bellowed, "SLYTHERIN!"
There were gasps and whispers, settling into a stunned silence. As Harry made his way to the Slytherin table, he glanced over his shoulder at McGonagall. She was having trouble concealing the shock in her eyes.
Harry grinned.
He sat down next to Seamus and Neville, who immediately teased him for causing, "Such a stir, Harry, really," in scandalized voices. At least he could see the High Table properly, now. At the end nearest him sat Hagrid, who caught his eye and gave him a thumbs up. Harry grinned back, glad to see that Hagrid would still be his friend despite the dire warnings he'd given Harry about Slytherin. In the center of the High Table, in his damned throne, Albus Dumbledore was gazing at Harry with a curious, disappointed gaze.
Harry struggled to keep his wand buried in his pocket, where his fingers could curl threateningly around it all he liked. He stewed until McGonagall's call of "Thomas, Dean!" pulled him out of his haze.
Dean didn't bother with smiling. His main job was to keep himself from cursing Dumbledore to death. Within seconds of wearing the hat the damned thing seemed set on trying to convince him of his own bravery, which resulted in Dean rolling his eyes a lot. He knew he was bloody brave. He also knew that his aspirations involved the death of the most respected wizard in Britain. If that wasn't considered ambitious, he didn't know what the hat was smoking.
The hat took his point. "'Slytherin!"
"Weasley, Ron!" McGonagall seemed to be fighting back a smile when she called his name. The smile didn't last long, however, as Ron was barely there two minutes before the hat sorted him to, "Slytherin!"
Ron smirked as he sauntered to his new House. He had been the final sign to those in the Great Hall who were brought back. There were cheers from the Slytherins as he walked, as well as from those encouraged by to do so by the Gryffindor prefect, Percy Weasley. Regardless, Fred and George were still loudest in the hall.
Ron's smirk eased into a soft, relieved smile. Well, that's three brothers safe, he thought.
"Zabini, Blaise."
Blaise was nothing but regal as he sat and was sorted into "Slytherin!" He went about taking his place beside Draco with the same air of royalty.
McGonagall seemed put out and it was obvious as to why. There was only one new Gryffindor this year. She cleared her throat, "If that is all—"
"I wish to be resorted!"
McGonagall sighed. She didn't really pay attention to who said it. There was always at least one re-sort every few years. Either they were from Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. Usually they went back to where they came from. "All those who wish to be resorted, stand before me in a line."
Fred, George, and Percy Weasley, Lee Jordan (who had blinked owlishly before scrambling to follow the twins), and Oliver Wood stood up. The Great Hall was dead silent as the five made their way to the front.
McGonagall looked tiredly at the twins and Lee Jordan as they got in line. "Misters Weasley and Jordan, you are aware that this is a matter not to be taken lightly." She paused. "And that there is only one re-sort per student." She added when they didn't move.
"We're aware, Professor," Fred said flatly.
"Very aware," George echoed. Neither twin smiled.
Lee Jordan nodded mutely. His eyes were fixed on the twins. He was a bit weirded out by their behavior, but they had never steered him wrong before. He trusted them more than he did anyone else in his life. Firmly, he said, "Yes, professor."
McGonagall lifted an eyebrow, prepared to hide her amusement at the joke she thought the trio were playing. Far be it from her to wreck their fun. She would just handle deducting the points later if things got destructive. "Very well. I take it you two wish to go first?"
Fred and George nodded.
Fred sat on the stool first. McGonagall waited expectantly to hear her house called. When the hat yelled "Slytherin!" her jaw dropped.
The weird smattering of applause broke out among the students, the new first years looking around in confusion when only they clapped. The rest stared at Fred with a sort of disbelieving horror. The older Slytherins were too busy weighing their future to even consider it. A few very observant students noted a pained expression slip briefly across Professor Snape's face.
Oh, Morgana, Severus thought. So it begins.
Instead of walking to the Slytherin table, Fred merely stepped to the side and waited for his twin to be sorted with an obliging bow. George took a seat after giving his twin a deep, theatrical bow in return, bringing a few shaky laughs from the stunned students. Like his twin, George wasn't there long before "Slytherin!" was announced.
George joined his twin, and the pair settled down to wait for the third member of their band. Lee had watched the proceedings in absolute shock, but still he bravely approached the hat. Even still, they didn't have to wait long. Lee and the hat seemed to have a brief argument before he, too, was made a "Slytherin!"
The three went and sat at the Slytherin table in a disbelieving silence.
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat, expertly burying her shock for later. "Next to be sorted, step forward please."
Percy came to face her and, if possible, the silence became even more severe.
"You are aware, Mr. Weasley, that by doing this you give up you prefect badge?" McGonagall asked, unwilling to believe that Percy Weasley would ever give up his station.
Percy took the prefect badge off his uniform and placed it in McGonagall's hand. He regarded the badge sadly. "It was never worth it anyway."
Slytherin!" Was called after even less time than Fred had taken.
Percy walked proudly to the Slytherin table and sat next to Adrian Pucey, who couldn't seem to keep a pleased grin off his face. Graham Montague narrowed his eyes at Adrian from Percy's other side.
Oliver Wood did his best to keep his face polite when McGonagall turned to address him. "Mr. Wood, are you giving up your captaincy?"
As one, the hall seemed to hold its breath.
He nodded and sat down on the stool. Stoically, he said, "There are more important things than being captain."
There was an echoing gasp, but as many people would later point out, Oliver hadn't said that there were more important things than Quidditch. As such, the world probably wouldn't implode within the next five minutes. Probably.
"Slytherin!" The hat called. Oliver turned and gave his captain's badge to McGonagall before moving to sit next to Marcus Flint at the Slytherin table. The Slytherin Quidditch team, sitting loosely around their captain, could barely contain their excitement. Oliver was by far the best Keeper in the school. The House Cup was theirs before November even arrived.
Marcus Flint leaned over to whisper in his once-and-future husband's ear. "Who would've thought? Oliver Wood, willing to play under my rule."
Oliver rolled his eyes. "We'll see." He blushed when he felt Marcus's hand on his upper thigh.
As the hall dissolved into a roiling mess of gossip, Ron looked at the brother closest to him and smiled. "Happy to be back?"
Percy smirked viciously. "I am absolutely exploding with excitement."
I was in such a great mood after answering my amazing reviewers that I decided to stay up and get this out to you guys! Originally, this and the next chapter were one big piece but I decided cutting it up was better. I hope you guys agree! Quite a few changes were made here and there so I hope everyone likes them. Mostly, they're being made to slow the plot down a bit so I can fit in some slower moments and make events a little more believable. As always, feel free to ask questions if you'd like something cleared up! Also, this chapter has also been recently edited (8/14/2022) for the sake of the timeline/plot/my peace of mind so I hope those of you who noticed enjoyed those slight alterations as well.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You people are the reason I write!
Sincerely,
BlackRoseGirl666
PS: The original author paraphrased a lot of this chapter from the books. I've tried to change that but if you see something you recognize, that's why.