A Tale of Life and Death
Dark Lord Rising; Year 1 | Masquerade of Snakes
Chapter 3 | Forefather's World Pt-3
"The right to be different, whether by choice or necessity, is our greatest right as human beings. And dealing with differences is the greatest of all human challenges. People react anxiously and fearfully to differences. We learn to hate, glorify, deny, exaggerate, or eradicate a difference."
― Harriet Lerner
- POV HARRY -
"Most definitely Slytherin." Said Draco in a prideful manner, answering his sister's question of which of the Hogwarts Houses they thought they'd be in. After some cooling down, peace, and quiet, the group decided to talk about the Hogwarts Houses, particularly which house they wanted and thought they were going to be in. "All Malfoys go to Slytherin." He said it as a matter of fact.
When the five of them came back, the box became really tense as they all saw that Harry was seething, only after many pointed looks that told the others not to ask, did the restless and uncomfortable feeling in the room begin to dissipate.
"You never know," Hermione casually added, "I might go somewhere else." Draco gave his sister an incredulous face, full of disbelief and shock of what he was hearing. Realizing what her brother was thinking, she elaborated. "Oh Merlin, no, I am not trying to get into Gryffindor. I was talking about Ravenclaw!" She said in outrage and offense.
Draco let out a breath he was holding while the others snickered or laughed at him. "Oh, thank Merlin." He whispered to himself, causing his sister to roll her eyes.
"Well, Crabbe, Goyle, and I are going wherever Draco is going, our apparently parents made previous agreements, so our decisions have already been decided for us." Pansy lazily commented.
As per law and tradition, Vassal Houses, specifically those who've sworn fealty were to send their children go into whichever Hogwarts House their Lord, sometimes Lady, went into. This was done to cultivate a relationship between future Lords, Ladies, and Vassals. Though it was law, it was followed only by the purely traditional families, and nowadays, many of them were now allowed their Vassals to go to whichever of the four Hogwarts Houses they liked.
"I know for a fact my father didn't talk to yours about that." Hermione rebuked, rousing suspicion and interest amongst everyone. "He told me that you're going to join Slytherin because of-"
"Shut up," Pansy interrupted, cheeks pink with embarrassment. Her back was tense and rigid.
"Oh?" Daphne smiled coyly. "What's this about you joining Slytherin 'because of,' Pansy? Because of what?" She squinted her eyes as she stared imperiously at Parkinson. "Or perhaps, because of… who?"
"Well, I think I'll be joining Slytherin," Gerrod loudly interrupted, catching everyone's attention, Pansy discreetly mouthed a thanks to him. The others nodded in agreement, there was no way he would survive the other Hogwarts Houses being a descendant, the grandson, of Gellert Grindelwald. "Though I think it'd be funny if I were put in like Gryffindor, imagine the chaos I could wreak." The others smiled or chuckled.
"Slytherin or Ravenclaw for me," Historia said with melancholy, she sounded disappointed with her available choices. "I'd rather not have to deal with defending myself every day for some dumb reason, some stupid student in Gryffindor decides they don't like about me. And I don't think I'll get along well with Hufflepuffs." Murmurs of sympathy arose.
"Any of the Hogwarts Houses work for me, to be honest," Daphne said with a shrug. "Though I probably will end up in Slytherin, it'd be nice to be in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, I quite like their colors and mottos. But unfortunately, with the current political landscape it'd be quite annoying to be stuck with a bunch of dunderheads from the Light, who act as if they know everything." Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle laughed aloud while the others smiled or snickered.
"Isn't that what you do?" Hermione asked teasingly, Daphne just snarkily stuck her tongue out.
"I'd like to be in Ravenclaw, they tend to stay out of politics." Said Nermaius in a quiet, bored tone. "I have no aspirations to join the Great Game. It was what raised the Lovegood name to prominence, and it was also what blackened it as well, I don't want it to be its end." The others nodded grimly to what he said, and they did not blame him for not having any aspirations.
"So you're taking the safest route to ensure the survival of the Lovegood name?" Daphne asked curiously. To which Nermaius gave a curt nod as his answer. "Fair enough, I can see why you're hesitant, and I don't blame you."
"I suppose I'm going wherever you're going, Daphne?" Tracey asked timidly, looking at her for an answer.
Daphne nodded in confirmation. "Correct," she said, then she turned to Harry, "what about you Potter? Which of the four Hogwarts Houses does the great and mysterious Harry Potter hope to be in?" She jokingly teased, the others soon joined in.
"Yeah, which is it, Potter?" Draco said with a smile, "Are you too good for us and are going to choose Hufflepuff?"
Pansy laughed and added to Draco's comment. "I can see it now, Harry Potter, the Hufflepuff menace." She said dramatically, waving her hand in the air as she envisioned the title, as others gave their own suggestions aloud.
"Harry Potter, the pastry king."
"Harry Potter, the above average delinquent."
"Oh, I got it, Harry Potter, world champion of warm hugs."
"Harry Potter, the boy who created a food crisis at Hogwarts."
"Alright, alright, I get it, enough!" Harry shouted over the others. They stopped, but continued their snickering and laughing. "You're all insufferable." He said, his voice condescending and sharp.
Daphne wheezed out a chuckle and replied. "Oh, quit being a sore sport, now which Hogwarts House do you think you'll be in or want to be in for that matter?" Harry sighed, giving an answer none of them expected.
"Any of them, I don't really care, so long as I'm not with Charles, I'll happily take whichever one my brother isn't in." Harry spoke the word brother with animosity and a hard voice. An act which caused many to wonder why he was so hostile to Charles Potter, his own flesh and blood. The mood fell quite a bit after Harry said that, a sad truth that many of those who were in the box came to realize, was that Harry cared little to nothing for his blood family.
"Guess we're gonna have quite a bit of Slytherins this year," Gerrod commented with a minuscule smile.
The rest of the train ride seemed to go by at an abysmally slow rate, the only things that allowed everyone to pass time were either reading ahead in their studies or their personal books, waiting for the trolley cart to pass for snacks, or talking with each other. It was also during that long span of time did gossip of Harry and Charles' one-sided argument made rounds throughout the train and some of its staff who were riding it. Many of the older students had gone to give their greetings to the Lord Heir of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter.
Those who gave their greetings to Harry were suspicious in his case, unlike those in the box he sat in, he didn't have a good read on their intentions as he did with those he was sitting with. Some of his first instincts were to keep away from them, others he found them pleasant with the way they carried themselves, but very few caught his interest. Of them being the Lady Heiress, Renѐea Selwyn, of the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Selwyn, to him she seemed genuine.
Harry didn't really get a good look at what she looked like as she happened to be passing by with friends, companions of some sort when she hastily introduced herself before leaving. Another was a student by the name of Marcus Flight, Draco and Hermione had informed him that he was the acting Lord of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Flint, giving vague information as to why, but the tidbit of information that intrigued Harry to no end, and that he was Slytherin's Quidditch Captain.
A trolley cart once again passed for snacks furthering another several hours of idle chatter, bouts of quiet, and much reading among everyone, including Crabbe and Goyle surprisingly, when finally, the train stopped.
Many of the more rambunctious students ran down the corridors of the train and onto the grounds of Hogwarts, one would think hell was chasing them, they were running so fast. Harry and his group waited for the stream of trampling buffoons to pass by their box before exiting and making their way out towards the grounds. Hogwarts Express stopped at a, not even a station, it was a roofed open platform made of stone that had three pillars that held said ceiling up, in the middle of seemingly nowhere with ramps and stairs for the students to walk off of. The train tracks curved away from the platform, running for a half-mile to make sure it didn't hit itself turning around and to allow more carts to be built and attached to the train for the future when more and more Witches and Wizards were born and sent to Hogwarts for schooling.
Harry exited the train and walked off the platform in trepidation, he was anxious and showed it through his stiff posture. He noticed that the grounds of Hogwarts seemed never-ending, grass fields stretched far and wide. Harry also noticed tall towers in the far distance around some kind of stadium with odd structures that had upright hoops in the air. He saw the outlines of an enormous castle that seemed to blacken the sky more than it already was, it was like a looming entity of darkness, something that was unimaginable to the feeble mind.
Harry heard the sound of water running from somewhere near. As he looked more intensely, he could see outlines of a moat of some kind that he guessed, encircled all around the castle. To the sky were several long bridges, Harry made out the obvious outline of three in the dark and guessed there was a fourth as the bridges, he noticed, were at a perfect ninety-degree angle. The bridges ran on lengthy arches and pillars which reached over and past the waters, though in the barely lit darkness, he could barely see where it led to, which was the entrance of the castle.
He had read that Hogwarts Castle was built from a mountain by the Four Founders in less than five years, Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Helga Hufflepuff each contributed their own secrets to the famous school. Apparently, the Four Founders saw fit to make the castle sentient in a way that would have it act in the best interest of the students it housed. It cared not for good nor evil deeds, just to help whoever was in need.
The castle was measured at over a thousand and a half feet, the island which was isolated by a moat-like body of water was a combined over five thousand feet of land alone, that was excluding the outer land which was more than two miles worth, Harry read. And somewhere in those two miles was probably where the Quidditch field was kept, the stadium with weird towers and hoops in the air.
Quidditch was an immensely popular Wizarding sport in which players rode flying brooms and scored with a ball, Harry likened it from what he read, to football, only that any part of the body could be used, and that it was more violent. Hogwarts Castle was also said to even have a Kraken swimming in a body of water called the Black Lake. There was also some small village called Hogsmeade located somewhere hither on the lands.
The old pictures which Harry looked at, and knew and memorized, weeks before in Hogwarts; A History, did not do the ancient castle justice of its magnificence as they were severely outdated. Since when the photos were taken, the castle in the photos only had one bridge at the time. Harry also read that the entire school grounds, while protected by various layers of Magic, were also surrounded by an extremely dense forest that were apparently alive. He could not wait for the morning, so he could explore. He hoped that the Professors wouldn't be assigned homework the first week and allow everyone to explore and get used to the school first.
"First Years!" The bellowing voice of a giant of a man hollered from the top of his lungs, he had to be at least ten feet tall. The man was dressed in rugged, heavy furs, enormous steel-plated boots, a great thick dark beard adorned his face as well as thick locks of black hair that ran past his shoulders. The large man was holding a lantern to his face as he waved aimlessly in the air to catch the attention of the First Years. "First Years with me! O'er here now!" The First Year scrambled to the giant of a man like sheep, completely anxious of what they were to be doing at the moment, well, those whose parents hadn't told them of the Sorting Ceremony and the separate traditional First Year inauguration to which they're shown Hogwarts in person for the first time of their lives.
"Who the heck is that guy?" Harry whispered to Hermione as he walked, Hermione had taken the liberty to walk with him as her brother and the others walked at a slower pace, wanting to speak in private for a moment, most likely to make fun of someone as laughter rung from their group.
"He's Hogwarts' Groundskeeper, my Father told me that he's apparently a Half-Giant, don't know why they'd need a Groundskeeper when they could just use a bit of Magic." Hermione whispered back as the two eventually stopped in front of the large crowd that gathered around the Half-Giant, waiting for the rest of their group to catch up. Harry gave a hum in thought as he observed his surroundings, noticing a fleet of boats on sandy shores ahead of them. It seemed to him that the First Years were to arrive on boats unlike the older years who, Harry barely caught in the dark, were walking up the hill and into the void.
Once the Half-Giant saw that all the First Years were present and was done talking to Charles Potter, which earned the ire of several of the students as they saw that the colossal man clearly favored The-Boy-Who-Lived, he gave everyone instructions. "Right, welcome to Hogwarts." He said boisterously. "As you all can see behind me, we have boats for ye to get into, six a boat, don't worry 'bout navigating or nothin', the waters will guide ye safely across. Alrighty?" The group nodded blankly. "Alright then. Off with ye, go on, on ye go." The group tore away in a chaotic scramble and tornado of shouts, friends trying to gather friends into groups, strangers huddling up with other strangers. Harry and his group just stayed where they were and just stared at the chaos before them in contempt, the same with several other students who just looked embarrassed at the behavior of their fellow peers, wondering who in the world raised them to act like animals.
Harry and his group split evenly, with him grouping with Draco, Gerrod, Historia, Hermione, and Nermaius. Daphne, Tracey, Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle, and some brunette girl took another boat, though Daphne practically strong-armed Crabbe and Goyle to push the boat she and the others were in before allowing them to board. A callous move was what Harry thought of it, but it was something he expected Daphne would pull, seeing as she was at the top in social and political standing, the two didn't really have a choice in the matter.
Hogwarts was beautiful in the dark, the castle was like a looming giant, a shadowy colossus, the lights of lit rooms were sparkling in the dark as if the stars were planted on the earth and the building itself. Yet the building gave off an impressive and commanding aura, one could feel the Magic that has been imbued into the grounds of the school. Magic tingled and crackled in the air, a feeling of electricity rushed over the students as they passed the barrier threshold which surrounded the school, right around the middle of the body of water the students rode. The First Years watched from afar in their boats as their seniors, who were black obstructions to burning torches on a wall, entered the castle through the main gates that seemed to connect to the titanic of a bridge, without them. The waters they floated on were able to Magically, due to something, most likely the Magic from the castle which spilled into the waters over the years causing it to become part of the near sentient building, guide the boats they were on to the shore where one of the lower entrances of the castle was. A small beach-like landing at the foot of the sculpted mountain Hogwarts was built on.
The first to jump out of their boat was the Half-Giant who evidently began to pull all the other boats further inshore, with each boat, students began filling out, walking inland away from the water as well to give others room to get out of their own boats. The Half-Giant had his lantern in front of his face so he could see in front of him, though the beach was lit up with a torch in the ground here and there, it was still quite dark. When Harry got out with the others, he noticed that the beachy shore had a cave further along that was shining a dim light from it its mouth, he lightly slapped Draco's arm to get his attention before jerking his head toward the cave's opening, asking his question with his curious eyes. Draco, unfortunately, didn't know what the cave was or led to, giving a shrug as his answer. Harry turned to the others to ask his question.
"What are we supposed to do now?" He asked aloud.
"No idea," Daphne answered, she looked around expectantly, wondering why they were just standing on a beach in the cold in the middle of the night. A very dangerous thing to do in her opinion as she knew from what her Mother and Father told her, that the most unpleasant of entities always revealed themselves in the shadows of the night. "Though I don't like the fact that we're sitting ducks on a this beach."
"Come now, Daphne, you really think someone would try and attack Hogwarts at the start of its school year?" Hermione scoffed at the seemingly inconceivable idea. "No one would be that stupid." Daphne rolled her eyes at Hermione, keeping her almost voiced comment to herself.
"Alrighty," the gigantic man said, "you all make your way to that cave over there yonder." He pointed at the mouth of the cave that was lit with a glowing light, the very same cave that Harry noticed when he climbed out of the boat his group was in. "Well, go on. Off with ye." The students obeyed with anxious stares, oddly, and annoyingly enough in Harry's opinion, his brother Charles with his freckle-faced friend took the lead, giving some excited and confident exclamation to follow him, The-Boy-Who-Lived.
"Why do I feel that we're going to die," Nermaius muttered to himself.
Gerrod caught his comment and muttered an answer back in sarcasm. "Well, we ae being led by the wonderful," he exaggerated with a roll of his eyes and a condescending voice, filled with sarcasm, "Charles Potter, I can only wonder why you're feeling bouts of dread." Their group of ten broke into barely contained laughter and snickers. Pansy seemed as if she was dying from it.
They entered the cave to find it larger than any of them expected it to be. In the cave was a wide flight of stairs, seven steps that looked wide enough to be able to fit at least ten people a step. At the top of the stairs was a spacious platform, two heavy-looking doors, and a young woman with hair of fiery red. She had eyes like shining emeralds, just like Harry's, a youthful face full of life and joy, one that lit up when she saw Charles Potter leading the First Years into the cave.
Harry noticed her as well, the Lady Lily Jean Potter née Evan, the mistress of the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter of the Founding Twelve, his mother. Harry recognized her instantly, seeing picture after picture of newspaper cutouts in his history books, detailing the life of the Potter Family, the happy family of three. Wanting to not catch his Mother's eye, Harry kept his head down, something his group noticed, well those who actually paid attention to another's facial expression.
Those being unsurprisingly Daphne, Draco, Gerrod, Historia, Hermione, and Nermaius who almost always observed a person's body language and expressions, and surprisingly, Pansy, who liked to feign ignorance to keep the attention off her, and keep others underestimating , and Goyle didn't really care about such things, they were part of Vassal Houses, so their only job was to heed the orders of their Lord, unlike Pansy who strived to make a name for herself and improve her social standing.
Tracey on the other hand, while she noticed some changes in body positioning, facial showing, and tonnage of the voice, she preferred to stay out of such interactions with other more powerful Noble Houses. Not because she didn't want to, she'd love a chance to make a name for herself, but because Tracey knew her Noble House did not have the social standing nor power the others' had to back themselves up. She may be a Noble, but she was part of a fairly new Noble House, one that lacked any wealth as well as connections. Her friendship with Daphne, while it kept her safe for the most part being her Lady-In-Waiting and best friend, it only went so far for her to use to her advantage when trying to further House Davis', her Noble House's, standing. Being the last surviving member of House Davis, besides her Muggle father, put all the pressure on her to continue her Noble House's name and legacy, however small it was.
The Half-Giant walks up to Harry's Mother to speak to her. The two turned to their sides, one on the left the other on the right, making sure the students who were sometimes too smart for their own good, could not read their expressions. "All students accounted for, Professor Potter." Lily nodded in acknowledgment.
"Thank you, Hagrid," Lily said gracefully, "do go inside, the Headmaster wishes to speak with you." She told him, indicating for him to leave via the doors behind her. Hagrid nodded and rushed as fast as any Half-Giant could, to see what the Headmaster wanted with him.
Lily turned to face the student after watching Hagrid leave. "Welcome to Hogwarts, where you'll spend the next seven years of your life learning of your world to graduate and join us in progressing our amazing society. Inside this castle, you are students, learners, you are our future. In but a few hour's time you will all be Sorted into your Hogwarts House, be it Gryffindor, the house of courage and bravery," Charles jumped excitedly at the mention of Gryffindor. "Ravenclaw, the house of knowledge and wisdom, Hufflepuff, the house of loyalty and companionship, or, Slytherin, the house of the sly, ambitious, and… cunning. Come, hurry along, let us get you all Sorted, shall we." Harry didn't know why, but the way he heard his Mother describe Slytherin really irritated him, she made it seem like it was a crime to be ambitious, to be cunning and clever.
The crowd of students followed Lily in excitement, lightly sprinting past her, but not too far as they did not know the way. As Harry followed the crowd inside, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that his brother had gone up to their Mother, whispering in her ear as she walked slowly and leaned down to hear his words over the other students' eager exclamations.
Harry, out of the corner of his eye, caught his mother staring at him, she had somehow picked him out of the flood of students, not that it was hard to do as his brother had pointed at the general populace of where he was. Most likely telling her of their oh-so-pleasant interaction that occurred on the train. He didn't care, not for their opinion at least, but if it were his Aunt Petunia's or Cousin Dudley who were admonishing him, then he'd listen and contemplate their words and opinions, maybe.
Professor Potter led the students through long corridors, twisting turns, hallways that were so tall an echo could be heard whenever one spoke. There were Living Portraits who greeted and welcomed them to Hogwarts, some more boisterously than others. The group also ran into a trio of Ghosts, the Professor had introduced them all to the students, there was Nearly Headless Nick, who was Gryffindor's Ghost, The Fat Friar who's real name was Farlin Foust or Father Foust, and then there was The Grey Lady, Helena Ravenclaw.
Nearly Headless Nick, though he insisted on being called Headless Nick, wore a suit of armor from the 1500s, one that looked worn and had nicks, cuts, and dents in it. Headless Nick was mustached, beady-eyed, and crooked teeth, he had a lighthearted face and a cheery voice. The Fat Friar wore a typical robed garb, one that had a belt tightened under his large and hefty stomach, a round pudgy face with eyebrows that were as thick as bushed, a double chin, and a round, pudgy nose. He was Hufflepuff's Ghost, a soft-spoken one too, very timid when doing so, so much so that it looked as if a mouse could scare him to… further death. The Grey Lady looked emotionless, devoid of any youth she had when she was tragically killed. She wore a Bell Sleeve dress, it seemed to be only of one color, the sleeves reached past her hands, giving the dress its name, Bell Sleeve, as the shape of the sleeves at the end was, as one guessed, shaped as a bell. Helena Ravenclaw was Ravenclaw's Ghost, one that offered sagely advice, though in riddles. She had an elegant face, one befitting the name of Ravenclaw, as the Noble House was known for its beautiful women, despite whether the husband was handsome or ghastly. The Grey Lady also wore a jeweled belt around her waist, one that had four animals engraved into it along with the jewels, a lion, a serpent, an eagle, and a badger. She had translucent, black hair that seemed to constantly float as there was the wind blowing on it, making it look as if her hair was underwater and that she was swimming. On that head of hair was a tiara, which some believed was the mythical relic of the Most Noble and Most Ancient House of Ravenclaw, the Diadem of Ravenclaw, crafted and imbued with the Magic of Rowena Ravenclaw, but it wasn't. The Diadem had been lost in the 8th century, four centuries after the death of the Four Founders, and six centuries before Helena was born. A shame.
Professor Potter led the group up several flights of stairs that randomly, but also not so randomly, changed, switching here and there to different destinations. The first thought that the more sensible First Years had, was that whoever created the moving staircase of seven flights, did it with the intention of wanting to kill students. No one, except Charles Potter and his redheaded friend who thought the staircase was amazing, could see any benefits whatsoever of having randomly moving staircases that didn't even have anything to protect them from falling and hurting themselves. It was utterly pointless.
They finally reached their destination. Two massive doors that were looked to be at least fifteen feet tall and ten wide, amiable chatter sounded from the open doors. From what Harry saw, the others had just been seated, given that several older students were running past them in a hurry, his Mother giving exasperated sighs. Before they entered the Great Hall, Lily had told them all that they would be sitting at the Round Table, the same Round Table from Camelot, it had been recovered by the Wizard Merlin after its sacking, and given to Hogwarts as a gift, it now resides permanently in the Great Hall. Upon entering the Great Hal, the first thing one noticed was that the Round Table was in the middle of the room, that was because it was meant to encourage interhouse bonding and relations.
The Great Hall was extremely spacious, guess Magic really did solve everything, while it looked small on the outside, it was quite enormous on the inside. Harry reckoned that the room had to be about the size of one of those football fields he'd seen on the telly; he read that those fields were usually more than three hundred yards long and at least fifty yards wide. As the group of mostly timid First Years, save for Harry's group who seemed to walk as if everyone were beneath them, took a seat at the Round Table, the other tables of the four Hogwarts Houses watched them critically.
The tables were placed around the Round Table to form an unconnected kite, Gryffindor and Slytherin were placed in the upper half, Gryffindor on the right, and Slytherin on the left. Ravenclaw was placed on the bottom right while Hufflepuff was on the bottom left. And at the very end of the Great Hall, was a lifted stage that hosted the table of the school's Professors and the Headmaster. In the middle, upfront, was a golden podium of elegant work, it had three legs, two in the front and one in the back, lined in the middle, all three holding up a slanted table where one could rest their handheld items. Mantled on the front two legs was a curved, shield crest of Hogwarts, with the banners of Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff, quartered evenly to fill in the blank white canvas of a shield.
An elderly-looking woman, Witch, wearing dark green and black robes stood beside the podium, in front of it was a chair of wood and silver, four legs, and an open backrest with three rows. On the elderly-looking Witch's head was a pointed, conned hat of the same colors. Grey and black hair were tied up in a downward bun and gold spectacles that were rectangular in shape. She cleared her throat before speaking, eyeing many of the students, who immediately cut their conversations short.
"Please come and sit when I call out your name." A lot of the older students, Harry saw by discreetly eyeing them all, looked bored, but then he noted that while their faces were barren of any emotion, save for boredom, their eyes were intensely staring at those of the Round Table. Though most of the said stares came from Slytherin, well, the more intellectually and curious looking stares at least, it seemed. Gryffindor seemed to be only focusing on his brother, Charles, while Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were indifferent of who they judged and watched. Of all of them, Slytherin was quite keen on listening to who was being called up, Harry believed they were already determining who, individually, they were going to welcome, for their own benefit of course. Unlike the other Houses of Hogwarts, it seemed Slytherin never stopped playing the Great Game, and looked like they played for keeps.
"Abbot, Hannah."
The Abbots were part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. They were noteworthy in Harry's opinion, though he didn't know what the state of their Noble House was, being new to the Great Game and all. He certainly had much to learn. Luckily he picked up on things quite quickly, having studied as thoroughly on the Wizarding World, especially on the Great Game, as much as he could. While lacking in many of the proper etiquette and mannerisms that he was supposed to have, given his status, he certainly couldn't do as bad as his brother, given what he's seen, or that Longbottom boy who's certainly had more teachings and lessons. As much as the books he purchased a month ago helped him, they weren't enough, seeing as he noticed many of the Slytherins eyeing him dangerously.
Hannah Abbot had golden hair to her shoulders, tan gold to be specific, a fair face, Harry couldn't see what the color of her eyes was but his quick observance of her as she stood still would allow him in the future to recognize her, that if she didn't change too much during her transition to adulthood. She was Sorted into Hufflepuff all but a minute later earning a cheer from the table who shouted loudly and proudly of being the table who received the first Sorting. The next person called up was another girl of the name, Bones, Susan Bones of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Bones, and like Hannah Abbot, she too was Sorted into Hufflepuff, causing the table to shout in joy louder.
The next few students weren't really important in Harry's opinion, they were of the common folk as well as some of them being Maji, Muggles of Wizarding ancestry, born with Magic after years of Squibs, Wizards or Witches born without Magic, and eventually plain Muggles. They were called Maji because they weren't considered Wizards or Witches until they sired or birthed a Magical child. Two got Sorted in Gryffindor, one in Ravenclaw, and one in Hufflepuff. Slytherin was the only Hogwarts House that hadn't received a new student yet, many of the other students in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff found it quite funny. Those of Slytherin were unfazed by such events, it was always like clockwork, every other Hogwarts House receives students for the beginning of the Sorting, and during the middle of it as well, it was only then, did Slytherin receive their new students, usually deriving from only the best and brightest.
The next couple of students weren't really of any political importance, a girl of the name, Lavender Brown, of the Most Ancient House of Brown and the other, Millicent Bulstrode, of the Ancient House of Bulstrode. Brown had gone to Gryffindor while Bulstrode went to Hufflepuff, still no sign of a Slytherin Sorting. Until a pair of twins were Sorted, Hestia and Flora Carrow of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Carrow, their Sorting brought enthusiastic clapping from Slytherin's table. After the Carrows, a foreign girl, she looked to be from Asia, was Sorted into Ravenclaw, Cho Chang was her name, Draco explained that the Changs were practically one of the few Noble Houses in China. Another member of a Lesser Noble House was Sorted, a boy by the name of Michael Corner, he had a smug smile on his face, it wasn't Draco Malfoy smug, it was a smugness that portrayed a superiority complex. It was a good thing he was Sorted in Gryffindor, Slytherin defintely would have been the death of him.
Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Hufflepuff. Not a single one for Slytherin, that is until they reached those of the letter G. "Greengrass, Daphilia." Daphne, as elegant as ever stood with a graceful yet calm and neutral face, walked up to the chair in front of the podium in measured steps, oddly enough Tracey also stood and followed her, he was about to ask why but then Harry remembered that on the train, she said she'd be going wherever Daphne went.
The old Sorting Hat that had been placed on the heads of other children was placed on Daphne's, Harry had pondered how no one had gotten lice, and then he remembered that this was the Wizarding World and they had Magic. The Sorting Hat took around two minutes before Sorting Daphne, in a loud shout Sorted into, "Slytherin!" The other Hogwarts Houses didn't clap or cheer for her, instead, they just looked at Daphne apprehensively, Slytherin politely clapped for her, Harry guessed that that was as excited they were going to get. And so, the third and fourth Slytherin of the year were Sorted, as Tracey followed Daphne into the house of ambition.
"Gr-" The elderly Witch paused, double-checking to see if she was reading the list that Hogwarts had written out for her properly. "Grindelwald, Gerrod." Whispers throughout the Great Hall ensued.
"Grindelwald as in the Dark Wizard?"
"No way, it can't be, Grindelwald has a descendant?"
"I thought House Grindelwald died out!"
"No, the Tree of Magic would have blackened their name if it were so."
Gerrod calmly walked down the aisles, don't bothering to listen to the whispers around him, nor even bothering to look at those blatantly staring at him as if he were a disease. Sitting on the chair, the Sorting Hat was placed onto his head. Many students of Slytherin had adopted a small smirk and curious faces as they thought to themselves of what an interesting development. It seemed to Harry, especially from Draco's cocky smile, that only the Lord Heir of Malfoy knew that the progeny of Grindelwald were attending. Albus Dumbledore himself seemed to have almost bolted up from his seat with wide eyes.
"Slytherin!" The Sorting Hat almost immediately called out, the House of Slytherin clapped decently loud, some even stood during their applause. Historia was called up next which caused even more whispering and heated chatter.
"Silence!" The bearded Headmaster roared evenly. The students instantly piped down and quieted themselves.
Historia's Sorting seemed like it was obvious, Slytherin, but the Sorting Hat decided to throw a curveball and she was Sorted into Ravenclaw. The Ravenclaws apprehensively clapped for their newest member, more out of fear than joy. The remaining students in the G category weren't really important, nor H, there were no students for I, and no one important for J.
The only people of interest for L were Nermaius who went to Ravenclaw after a near Hatstall and the Longbottom boy from the train, Harry finally able to put a name to the face. Neville Longbottom of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Longbottom was an extremely timid and shy boy in Harry's opinion, one who surprisingly went to Gryffindor, to his and everyone else's surprise. Harry personally thought that Neville should have gone to Hufflepuff.
The many names called next were unknown to Harry, some of lesser Noble Houses, some major, some commoners, and some Maji were called until another name he knew was finally called forth.
"Malfoy, Draconian." Draco stood with a now unsmiling look, he walked over to the chair in as suave manner as he could muster and sat down. Following him were Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle.
Barely touching his head, the Sorting Hat immediately placed him into Slytherin without a second's delay. It wasn't uncommon to have many Vassal Houses under one's command but to have them all be in the same Hogwarts House as their sworn Lord told a lot of the power and influence of House Malfoy. Clearly, it was the case as many of the students in Slytherin stood up straighter at attention when Malfoy walked past them to the end of the table, furthest from the table with all of the Professors. Students of the higher years always sat closer to the table of Professors, the lower years always sat at the furthest end, it was a hierarchy.
'Just how much influence does Draco's family have?' Harry asked himself when he saw that Draco was sitting in the upper echelons at Slytherin's table.
Hermione was the next one to be Sorted, and she took quite a bit of time to the point where students were whispering that she was a Hatstall, a student who took more than five minutes to be Sorted into a house.
The Sorting Hat finally placed her in Slytherin, Hermione received gentle clapping, but not as much as Draco as she went to join her brother near the top of the table. After her came a boy from the Noble and Most Ancient House of Nott, who was also Sorted into Slytherin. And then, after a few more names that practically no one reconized, came the name every student was waiting for.
"Potter, Charlemagne." Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff burst into an excited discussion, every student in those houses was excited and eager to know which one of them The-Boy-Who-lived was going to be Sorted in. That is, every student who wasn't a Slytherin, many of those who were in Slytherin held Charles Potter in contempt because of his less than polite attitude towards their family. Boldly accusing them and, if they had any, their siblings, their parents, and relatives of being allied or in league with the Dark Lord, Voldemort, or for following and practicing the Old Ways.
Charles stood up with a… cocky smile, he looked at his older brother for his attention as if searching for a sign of approval, which Harry gave neither of them, completely ignoring him in favor of speaking to a boy named Blaise Zabini of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Zabini. This caused Charles to frown as he walked towards the chair for his Sorting. Little did he know that Harry was watching his brother's every move from the corner of his eye.
"Gryffindor?" The boy, Blaise, asked with an amused smile. He was dark-skinned and had a shaved head as well blue eyes that held an unmatched intelligence to them. His face was oval-shaped, a noticeable jaw and cheek that still had a bit of childhood fat on them.
"Most likely." Harry quickly replied.
"You know you're really different from your brother, I've met him several times, each time he was quite annoying and loud." Blaise chuckled at Harry's raised eyebrow, it was as if he were asking if he was surprised. "You, on the other hand, you're quite quiet and reserved, aren't you? You look like you take everything around you, and analyze it."
"GRYFFINDOR!" Screams of what sounded like victory and such erupted like cannons in the dead of night from the Gryffindor table, Harry, out of the chaotic celebration, picked out what looked to be a pair of twins dancing and chanting.
"We got Potter, we got Potter!" He heard. The table joyously shouted as loud as they could as Charles happily strolled over with a smile, being welcomed in with open arms. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were clapping in celebration as well, while a little bummed that they didn't get The-Boy-Who-Lived, they were still happy for Charles' Sorting. The Slytherins on the other hand rolled their eyes at the overdramatic behavior of the Gryffindors.
"Pot-Potter, Hadrian." The elderly woman's voice rose up an octave when reading Harry's name, she was, for lack of a better term, shocked. So were the other students, well, those who weren't in the same box on the train with Harry. Even though the rumors were gossiped heavily on the train, none of the students believed them, Charles Potter neither confirming nor denying them added to their belief, that it was a lie.
'Hadrian, really? Well, better than Charlemange.' Harry darkly thought as he stood, a grim, annoyed look on his face.
Harry sat with his back toward the table of the Professors, and when he turned to face it, he saw that his Mother, who had been sitting at the very end on the left side, was standing and staring at him in shock. At least he hoped it was shock, given that his Mother had her mouth dropped open, and from what Harry was seeing as he walked towards the chair to be Sorted, was also restraining herself. From what exactly, he didn't know nor did he care.
Whispers ensued.
"I didn't know Potter had a brother. So the rumors are true."
"Think he'll be in one of the other Hogwarts Houses?"
"No way, Gryffindor for sure."
"He could be in Ravenclaw, he looks pretty smart."
"Has to be Gryffindor, most if not all Potters are."
"Why haven't we heard of him before?"
"Who knows. Think his parents thought he could have been a Squib?"
"I mean, it's possible, his Magic could have presented very late. Maybe they wanted to save face from the possible embarrassment?"
"I don't really blame-" The ones who were talking abruptly stopped when they realized Harry was staring at them blankly, not moving another step as he waited for them to shut up. He eyed the talkers, all of them which were mostly Gryffindor, slowly turning in a circle counterclockwise. Making every student who had talked, sheepish and awkward, as well as causing other students to give admonishing glares at them. The only table he did not linger at was Slytherin, for they were the only ones who had been staying quiet the whole Sorting, aside from clapping respectfully.
After the very awkward and quiet stare down Harry gave nearly every student, he proceeded his walk towards the chair to be Sorted. He sat down with his legs crossed, like a king on his throne before his subjects, overlooking them with a condescending glare. The moment the Sorting Hat was placed on Harry's head, he immediately lost consciousness and then violently woke up floating in a vast black void.
'Well, well, well. Hadrian Potter.' An amused voice spoke aloud, it came from everywhere, an echo that seemed to forever linger. 'I see so much potential in you, so much power, bravery, intelligence… ambition.' The voice laughed, it was the voice of a man, raw in hubris and amusement.
'Who are you?' Harry said as he somehow stopped floating, his feet planted on some platform of nothingness.
'I am Eshar-Del the Wise, or the Sorting Hat as you all call me. Named long ago from a language, long dead and unspoken. My name is the only thing that has survived.' A somber voice reminisces.
Harry rolled his eyes, not really caring. 'My condolences.' He said in a not even remotely close to sorry voice.
Eshar-Del scoffed and harrumph, 'I'm sure they are.' The voice sarcastically drawled, 'Shall I Sort you, Hadrian Potter?' While a question, it was more commanding, as if the tonnage Eshar-Del used wasn't giving Harry a choice in the matter, it was almost… rhetoric.
'Please.' Harry politely said. Silence was the answer he was given, the black void Harry weightlessly stood on was never-ending, he saw nothing, just blackness. It was a truly peculiar place, what made it more perplexing was the constant shining aura of light that flowed from all over his body.
After what seemed like an eternity, the Sorting Hat spoke. 'Your memories… such sadness, such pain, I have seen much in my time, but only once with another of circumstances similar to yours, but that was centuries ago.' Eshar-Del seemed… regretful. 'I see anger…, built from years of suffering, and from that suffering, ambition. An ambition and need to prove your worth, to a world which abandoned you, no less.' The voice seemed to be mocking Harry, pointing out the irony of his personal reasons.
Harry didn't say anything, he just stood in the void and waited for the Sorting Hat to place him in one of Hogwarts' Houses. 'I want to place you in Gryffindor, but that would be selfish of me, your dislike for your family would cause you much grief in the house of courage.'
'There's no courage in one who abandons their own son.' Harry retorted icily.
'Perhaps. I suppose there isn't,' Eshar-Del said in a voice that sounded like he was contemplating something. 'You would do well in any house, brave as any Gryffindor, wiser than most Ravenclaw, loyal to a fault, you'd make an abundance of allies and friends in Hufflepuff, but most of all, you are the embodiment of all Salazar Slytherin held in high regard. Which shall it be, Hadrian Potter, adventure with Gryffindor, dutiful studying of unknown knowledge with Ravenclaw, a pseudo family with Hufflepuff, or would you like to join the den of snakes? And play the Great Game?'
"Harry is officially a Hatstall." Hermione murmured to her brother, Draco nodded in agreement as he continued watching Harry's upright, unconscious form.
"What is taking him so long?" Draco asked aloud with a strained and bored look. Draco continued staring at Harry until he noticed that he was abruptly waking up. "Hey, he's awake." Hermione's head snapped towards where Harry sat before hearing the hat speak.
"Better be, …SLYTHERIN!"
Silence. Shock. Mortification. A flurry of emotions ran rampant as Lily Potter stood up in sheer disbelief, tried as she might, she couldn't process what had just happened. Had she heard right? Her son, a Slytherin?
At Gryffindor's table, Charles wasn't doing any better, in fact, he seemed to be doing worse than his mother. As he watched his brother walk to Slytherin's table without so much as looking at him, Charles' world became fuzzy, the claps from the Slytherin students drowning his thoughts, a constant echo, bouncing back and forth, going from loud to quiet and distant. Charles hugged himself as he rocked back and forth, hyperventilating. His breaths of air, loud, many, and fast, he had an almost crazed look to his eyes. He whispered to himself that Harry's Sorting hadn't happened, that it was just a joke, a sick joke. Yes, that's it, Fate was playing a cruel joke on him, yes, that's what it was, a cruel joke, a cruel, cruel, unfunny, joke.
"Charles?"
"Ah!" Charles gasped in surprise, he looked around to see several were staring at him, looking at him like he was crazy. He looked to his right to see Neville with his hand on his shoulder. "What?" He asked as he fought himself to calm down.
"You alright?" Neville questioned with worry in his voice, he had a very concerned face. Charles gave Neville a nod and grabbed onto the edge of the table, gripping onto it for dear life, to stabilize himself. The rest of the Sorting went by with a blur, Charles was too lost on the thought of his brother being in Slytherin, what was his mother thinking, even more so, what was their father going to say?
Nothing was able to get Charles out of his trance-like state, not even the news of his best friend, Ronald Weasley, being Sorted into Gryffindor, not Albus Dumbledore's yearly grand speech, not the Great Feast that the students have at the beginning of the school year, every year. And while Charles was stuck in a limbo of sorts, Lily too was lost in her own thoughts to even think of eating. Harry, on the other hand, was having an absolutely pleasurable time talking with all his fellow Slytherins.
"So Potter, tell me about yourself." Young Theodore Nott said as he took a bite out of a chicken leg, washing it down with spiced pumpkin juice. He was sitting across from Harry, observing him like the other Slytherins as well, discreetly eyeing the Gryffindors to the Potter Heir's back to also gauge their reactions. To his right was Blaise Zabini, and to his left was Hestia and Flora Carrow and further down was Daphne Greengrass speaking with Hermione and Pansy.
"Not much to tell, Nott," Harry said evasively as he stared contemplatively into his cup. "Not much I want to… reveal about myself either." He gave Theodore a look, something akin to a warning. Theodore smiled and then laughed.
"Alright, keep your secrets, for now, just know, in Slytherin, nothing isn't not known for long." Theo said with an amused smile. "This is going to be a fun year." Gerrod and Draco, who were sitting on the right and left side of Harry, both smiled.
"Indeed it will be," Harry muttered, "indeed it will." He looked up to the ceiling of the Great Hall, watching the candles ever-burning in the air as they floated aimlessly in the starry night sky that had been conjured into life by Magic. A synthetic night, quite odd, yet beautiful and captivating. The other Slytherins were quite discreet when they were watching Harry, casually glancing at him, talking and facing in his general direction, some even, not so discreetly, walked over to grab some food from the area he was sitting at, hoping to eavesdrop.
The feast soon finished, every student eating their fill, though many of the Slytherins looked over to the Gryffindor table to overhear Ronald Weasley complaining about not being done yet. Albus Dumbledore once again stood and walked to the golden podium, placing both hands on top of the sides of the slanted table of the podium.
"Once again, I welcome you all to a another glorious year at Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." The old man had a beard that reached just inches past his waist, he wore half-moon glasses that looked to be golden, several rings adorned his fingers, and the robe he wore was deep purple with silver, golden stars stitched onto it. "I've just a couple more announcements to make, firstly, as per tradition, there will be no homework given this first week-" loud cheering ensued from the younger students, "-in order for all new First Years to get acclimated with the school's property, the older years and Professor Potter shall be giving tours to any of you who are interested in exploration of the castle grounds. That being said, I ask you all to explore in pairs should do so alone, to mitigate… trouble.
"Secondly, this year's prize for the House Cup will be a free weekend to Hogsmeade before school is over, the winner shall be announced a little more than a week before. The winning House of Hogwarts shall have no school given to them and all exams, tests, and studies will be excused for the trip at the end of the year. So I suggest that you all study your hardest, hmm?"
Excited talks were now in the air when Dumbledore announced the year's prize for winning the House Cup. Though such information as the prize for the House Cup was nothing compared to the next bit of news the Headmaster would then reveal.
"Thirdly, I have received word from the Board of Governors that First Years will indeed be allowed to play Quidditch this and upcoming years, though if on a team, must be on reserve until their Second Year. Playing time will only be allowed in occurrence of injuries or for casual pickup teams."
More cheering.
"Lastly, as I'm sure you do not need to be told, but for safety, must be said, the Forbidden Forest, as the name implies, is not to be entered under threat of expulsion and even quite possibly, charge of criminality. This is a rule we at Hogwarts take very seriously. Only those with the express permission of I, the Headmaster, and or the accompaniment of at least five others who are fit to my standards may explore it. With that being said, our Caretaker of the castle, Argus Filch, has posted a list of banned items on the bulletin board that can be found in the school library, I hope you are not caught with any of them on the school grounds. On another matter, if any of you are so inclined to be dueling in the halls, which we severely punish for, I suggest that you take such matters to the Colosseum of Champions. Fighting inside the school, if found, implemented, and caught, will result in immediate expulsion." Dumbledore gave all the students a hard look, scanning the room for any possible naysayers and unsatisfied students of the rules. "Now that the unsavory business of rules has been dealt with, will our Head Boys and Girls, and Prefects, please lead your Hogwarts House to bed. Chop chop, now, the quicker you are to bed, the quicker morning comes."
To be continued…
~ATOLAD's Discord Link On Profile Page~