The House of Friendship

By Jamnaz79

Notice: I do not own Harry Potter. I do not make anything off of this or want to. I just do this because it is fun to write a bit and people seem to enjoy my ideas sometimes.

Eleven year old Harry Potter stood in line waiting for his name to be called. Despite the magic and beauty of the Great Hall he was scared. No, he wasn't scared he was terrified. He was currently surrounded by more people than he had ever been in his life. Normally he was kept at home locked up or doing chores not around others. The only exception had been in school and only then would he normally be in his classes. The large group now stunned him.

The too small eleven year old was too lost in his fears and stunned by the sight of magic around him that he missed the song that the hat sang. He missed too the first few names being called. But, when his name rang out he looked up. The entire hall had gotten quiet and started to stare at him. It too caused his breath to hitch and worry to worm into his stomach. He didn't want to be the center of attention, he didn't want to be noticed. He had learned when you stand out or are noticed then you end up in pain. He was tired of the pain.

His name was called the second time and finally he took a deep breath. Slowly Harry stepped forward from the final few students waiting to be sorted. His feet dragged as they carried him forward. He could feel them scuff against the ground each step fighting against him. Though he didn't look at anything but the hat he could feel every eye in the hall directed onto him. His lips pressed together in worry unable to shake the feeling he was too open, too vulnerable.

Harry slowly reached the stool which the stern looking mean lady had taken the hat off of. He remembered offhand that she was a Gryffindor and silently he prayed he didn't end up under her. That very thought was the first thing that the hat heard as it landed onto his head.

Harry closed his eyes worried what might happen from te magical item that now topped his head.

Calm down Mr. Potter. I swear that I would never harm a student. Especially one so important to us as you are.

"I am important?" Harry thought back at that hat in worry. "Why would I be important? I am just a freak!"

You are no freak Mr. Potter. You, Mr. Potter are a scared young man who from your memories has never known friendship or love. I am sorry that fate has seen to give you this hand. But, if you learn to get over these concerns and the life you have been forced to live you have the potential to be great.

"I could be great at being a wizard?" Harry thought about in confusion with a frown now touching his lips.

Yes Mr. Potter. You have the potential to become something truly special if you can find what will drive you to greatness. You have a mind that you hide to not upset your relatives. Remember they will never know or care how you do here so there is no threat that you will be in trouble for being a star student! You have the courage in your heart to accomplish great things. Mr. Potter you have the ambition buried in your heart to show you aren't just this boy-who-lived title people have given you. You could be remembered for something special. Finally, if you are shown love and caring you would be the most loyal friend anyone could ask for. You are a hard worker Mr. Potter, so good at tasks that relatives have abused you. But they have taught you a sense of hard work and accomplishment for the little things. The question Mr. Potter is where you want to go? What do you want most? Do you want to be known for Power or Prestige or Knowledge or family an friendship?

"I have never had a loving family. Can I go to whoever will give me loyalty and that I can trust?" Harry thought back at the Hat.

It had been ten minutes, by far the longest sorting that had taken place in decades. Finally the Hat opened and spoke up, "Hufflepuff!"

The hall was stunned as the Gryffindors had expected the hero of the wizarding world to go there. The Slytherins couldn't help but snicker. The Ravenclaw table recovered and started to clap politely. But it was the Hufflepuffs that showed their excitement and welcomed their newest member as only they could.

Harry slipped off the bench and walked to the happy table getting pats on the back and even a few hugs. The last being awkward since they were the first embraces he had since he was one years old. He quickly found himself seated at the table between muggleborn named Justin Finch-Fletchley and a red head witch named Susan Bones. He forced a smile at each of them and the Eric Macmillan boy across the way before he spoke up, "Hi, I am Harry. It is nice to meet you all."

Up at the staff table there was a lesser degree of excitement. First at the end of the table the new Defense teacher was stunned. The boy he had been trying to kill was a Hufflepuff? Sure if he had been a Gryffindor or Slytherin then he would be a threat to him. A Ravenclaw might be trouble in the future but a Hufflepuff? They were the backbone of wizarding society, they worked the hard day and ran the bureaucracy at the Ministry. There were more Hufflepuffs working there than anything else. Normally they made up the Neutral party and were the moderates that wanted the betterment of wizarding society. It was at that moment that Lord Voldemort started to believe that he made a mistake. The boy wasn't the child of prophecy, it was the Longbottom heir clearly who had gone into Gryffindor. This Potter child didn't vanquish him after all, it had been the boy's mother. He would spend the year watching the boys and seeing what he could find out and judge who was really the one to threaten him.

Next to the hidden Dark Lord sat another stunned Professor. While he was happy the Potter line didn't go into Gryffindor, perhaps the house of the trustworthy would end the prankster and troublemaker from the boy. If he had ended up friends with Weasley twins he could see seven years of hell breaking out. Instead the boy was in the house of the meek and hard workers. Perhaps he inherited Lily's attitude to get work done. He would have to wait to see if the spawn of Potter had anything of his lost best friend or not.

Despite the obvious happiness of Professor Sprout and even Flitwick over the assignment two past Gryffindors were less than pleased. Professor McGonagall saw the legacy of Potters in Gryffindor challenged before her eyes. She was stunned, the Potters had been sorted into Gryffindor for the past seven generations! Was it because the boy had been forced to live in the muggle world that he ended up there? He was very tiny and far too pale. Something must be wrong with this situation for the boy not to end up into the House of the Brave!

Finally the most upset person at the staff table was the Headmaster. He was upset for multiple reasons starting with the fact that he had ordered the Hat to place Harry into Gryffindor no matter what! Still the blasted artifact placed the boy into Hufflepuff of all things. Sprout would protect him and he would have plenty of friends so he wouldn't be isolated or look up to him like he had planned. What was just as important now he wouldn't be near the Weasley family and he had planned out the boy being strictly close to the light families! Now instead he was close to Bones, MacMillion, Smith and Abbott! The last thing he needed was for the boy to become part of the neutral sect! Not to mention the fact that they would tell him about his family's political positions. He needed to have the boy in Gryffindor for controlling him. He half wanted to demand a resort of the boy but that had never been done before. There had to be a way to change this to his advantage!

Harry of course would know none of this instead he spent the feast making small polite talk to the other new members of Helga's house. He would enjoy the feast immensely, partically because it was the most food he had ever had! In addition this was the first time he had actually been allowed to have sweets like cookies or other items. In all of his life he never had so much especially friends. He had a feeling in his chest that he didn't understand. At first he started to worry that he might be getting sick but finally he realized this is what it felt to have friends and be happy.

For the first time in his young life Harry Potter was happy.

Author note: Just an idea I had for a while. I always felt the Gryffindor was the house for the unwanted personally. Anyone can be brave and outgoing. But being a hard worker and loyal? That is something rare and treasured in business and personal lives. If Harry really came from a horrible home life the chance to have a house that really treated him like a family should have been his primary wish. The hat seems to bend to the wishes of the individual (like Hermione to Gryffindor). So it is fitting that Harry ends up in hufflepuff. I think I might do this story after His own Man ends. What do you all think?