Chapter Four: Starting Hogwarts
Raiden woke up the day of September first in a good mood. He was starting Hogwarts, and even better, he would get to see his master again. He thought it was incredibly ironic that the Dark Lord, a master of the Dark Arts, would choose to possess the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. The only thing that would be more ironic would be if Voldemort got his body back and then actually taught the class. Shaking his head, he left his room, which was still the cupboard under the stairs, and walked into the kitchen for breakfast.
After a leisurely breakfast Raiden un-shrunk his trunk and went through his supplies. His textbooks for first year were in the first compartment, along with the quills, ink and parchment that he would use in classes. His wand was in his wand holster on his arm, and his robes were neatly folded in the third compartment. His owl, who Raiden had named Salazar was not pleased at being in his cage, but grudgingly submitted when Raiden told him that it was only until they got to Hogwarts.
The train left at precisely eleven am so Raiden persuaded Vernon and Petunia to take him to King's Cross station, and he didn't even need magic. It would seem that the prospect of having him out of the house for most of the year was very appealing to them. The trip up to London was therefore quiet, and Raiden only sneered when the Dursleys left him at the station after telling him that the platform didn't appear to exist.
'Of course it doesn't exist to you, idiots, its magical' he thought irritably. Looking at the barrier between platforms 9 and 10 he spared a moment to admire the fact that it was hidden in plain sight so to speak and walked towards the gateway. He felt a slight tingle of magic as he walked through the seemingly solid wall. When he stepped onto the platform his breath caught in his throat at the sight of the gleaming scarlet train. He then had to step aside as a crowd of red headed children swarmed through the barrier.
Sneering at the loud, boisterous crowd he scanned the rest of the people for any sign of Draco. After a few minutes he spotted him, along with Lucius and a woman that Raiden could only assume was Draco's mother. He made his way over to them, noticing that his friend was scanning the crowd for a sign of him as well.
"Draco", "Harry" they said simultaneously. Raiden smiled at his friend and then turned to the two adults.
"Mr Mafoy, Mrs Malfoy" he said with a bow. Lucius raised an eyebrow while his wife smiled.
"Hello Mr Potter, it's a pleasure to meet you. Draco has been talking of nothing else but you since you met in Diagon Alley. I'm Narcissa and I believe you know my husband Lucius already."
Raiden nodded and relaxed a bit, knowing that they wouldn't harm him. "I was looking forward to meeting again as well. Being here is like something out of a dream although I know it's not. The next seven years are going to be fun."
"Yes they are," Lucius said calmly. The Malfoy patriach, although cool and collected in public, really liked his son's friend. He'd been prepared for Harry Potter to be an arrogant upstart like his father; however, the cool, calm and very Slytherin young man in front of him was nothing like his expectations. He also instinctively knew that anyone attempting to manipulate him would be badly shocked.
Just then the train whistled sharply and there was a rush to find compartments. Draco gave his parents a last hug and then scrambled for the train, yelling, "Harry, come on you don't want to miss the train." Raiden looked at Draco and then turned back to the two senior Malfoys.
"It was a pleasure to meet you again. I'll see you later."
"Goodbye Mr Potter," they said simultaneously. Raiden turned and jumped on the train, being met by Draco almost instantly. As the train gathered speed and pulled out of the station the two boys found an empty compartment and sat down.
"Made it. I was afraid you'd miss it for a second there Harry," Draco said. He looked around and then asked, "Where's your trunk and everything else?"
Raiden smirked. "My trunk is right here, Draco."
So saying, he withdrew the trunk from the pocket of his jeans and set it on the floor, before quietly hissing enlarge in parseltongue. Draco was stunned momentarily at the hissing before pulling himself back under control.
"Merlin you're a Parselmouth," he muttered. "Are you a descendant of Slytherin?"
"I don't know," Raiden admitted. "I know practically nothing about my family, but I don't think I'm a descendant of Slytherin. I could be wrong but I'm not sure. Please don't mention it to anyone."
"Sure," Draco said agreeably. There was a brief silence before a knock came at the compartment door. Raiden looked up as three more people came into the compartment, two large boys that seemed to be lacking a few brain cells, or at least that's what Raiden thought, and a girl that was as sarcastic and witty as Draco himself.
"Ah, Harry, this is Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and Daphne Greengrass," Draco said as he made the introductions. "Guys this is my new friend Harry Potter."
There were sharp gasps before the three shut up at a glare from Raiden. "Please don't stare at me like that," he said sharply. They nodded and sat down; peppering him with questions about what his life was like. Raiden answered most of them, and they all enjoyed a good Muggle-bashing session.
Raiden in turn asked questions about Dumbledore and Hogwarts, and other things. Although he'd bought books on the magical world, there was nothing better than learning from other people, especially people who'd been taught how to handle the situations that he would find himself in. Raiden was especially interested in politics as he recognized that his status as the Boy-Who-Lived would land him smack in the middle of that arena sooner or later and he wanted to be prepared.
"Well, there's plenty of time to get you caught up on that Harry," Daphne was saying. "We're all only eleven and you won't be dealing with politics for a while yet. However, you'll need to know some things now. Don't trust Dumbledore being the first one. He'll try to use you to gain more status in the wizarding world."
Raiden nodded. "I wasn't planning on it believe me. I suppose you all want to be in Slytherin?" Nods all around greeted his question so Raiden leaned back. "Wonderful."
A knock came at the door and a head popped in, belonging to a boy who had been part of the sea of red hair on the platform earlier. A bushy haired girl was with him and they seemed impatient.
"Has anyone seen a toad?" the boy said. The five future Slytherins shook their heads. The bushy haired girl seemed disappointed until she caught sight of Raiden's scar.
"You're Harry Potter!" she squealed before going on for a bit on how he was ever so famous and she'd read all about him and he was in several books and she was so pleased to meet him and,
"What's your name?" Raiden snapped finally, tired of her prattle. The girl blinked.
"Hermione Granger," she said uncertainly. Draco, Crabbe, Goyle and Daphne sucked in a breath, and then Draco sneered at her. "Granger. That's not a family name I know. What do your parents do?"
"Well, I'm the first in my family to have magic and," Hermione said now confused at the hostile stares she was getting. Raiden sneered.
"So they're Muggles," he said. Hermione nodded. Raiden switched his gaze to the redhead standing behind her. "Who are you?" he snapped.
"Ron Weasley," the boy replied.
Draco snorted behind Raiden. "Oh look Harry, a Weasel and a Mudblood, how appropriate. In case you didn't know, the Weasley family is the poorest of the purebloods, and they actually like Muggles."
Raiden wrinkled his nose. "Ew how can they. Muggles are idiots that will turn on us and annihilate our civilization if given a chance." Looking up at the two interlopers he sneered again before saying coldly, "Remove yourself from our presence mudblood and take the weasel with you."
Daphne smirked and then added, "Yeah, we're getting tired of the stench." Ron and Hermione blinked, Hermione looking to be near tears, and then left. Draco stood up and then rummaged through his trunk, finally pulling out a set of robes. Getting the hint the rest of the group got out their robes as well.
The compartment was turned into a dressing room as they all changed. Although Daphne was the only girl there, Draco, Crabbe and Goyle didn't seem bothered by undressing in front of her, and Raiden followed their lead. Since they were all occupied anyway, there was no staring involved and they were soon sitting back down again, this time robed properly.
Half an hour later they were pulling into Hogsmeade station. They rose, leaving their trunks on the train, with the exception of Raiden who merely re-shrunk his trunk and put it in his pocket. Salazar had been let out earlier and had flown off to the owlery. Draco's own owl, who he'd named Athena had joined Salazar in the owlery.
The first years joined the throng on the platform, heading towards Hagrid who was calling for all the first years to join him. Raiden looked around, annoyed at all the jostling and shoving that his fellow first years were doing. He remained with his new friends, seeing that they were staying calm and generally unaffected by the chaos around them. In a group, they slipped and slid down a rocky path to the edge of the lake where a fleet of small boats waited.
"In you get. No more than four to a boat" Hagrid called. Raiden, Draco, Crabbe and Goyle got in one boat, with Daphne in the one behind them. After all the first years had got into a boat, Hagrid tapped the side of his own one and the fleet started forwards, moving across the smooth and calm lake.
Raiden gasped at his first sight of Hogwarts. Draco echoed it, before whispering, "Impressive huh?" Raiden nodded wordlessly, caught up in the moment. As they moved closer, Raiden's keen eyes saw the passage they were heading for.
"Heads down!" Hagrid yelled. There were grunts and yelps as some students weren't fast enough to duck. Raiden bent almost in half from his waist, as did Draco. Crabbe and Goyle bent as far as possible, but still got a bit scraped due to their height. They all got out of the boat at the other end, the ones that had got hit grumbling a bit and rubbing their heads.
They followed Hagrid up to the castle front doors. Hagrid stopped at the door and knocked three times. The doors opened to reveal a stern looking witch, her hair done up in a tight bun at the back. Raiden's immediate thought was that he didn't want to get on her bad side.
"The first years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said.
Professor McGonagall nodded before replying, "Thank you Hagrid, I will take them from here." She looked at the group of children and then smiled faintly before saying, "Follow me."
They followed her to a small chamber near a set of large double doors. There they stopped and fell silent when McGonagall held up her hand.
"These doors lead into the Great Hall. Before you take your seats with your fellow students you will be sorted into your houses. The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. While you are here, your house will be your family. Points will be given for any triumphs, while any rule breaking will lose points. At the end of the year the house with the most points will be given the house cup. I am going to make sure that things are ready for the Sorting Ceremony. When I return I will lead you into the hall. I suggest you smarten yourselves up a bit before I do."
Throughout this speech, Raiden had listened attentively. Although he knew most of the information from reading Hogwarts: A History, he still listened because it was rude not to. He straightened his robes with a few tugs, and made sure that he was standing upright and balanced the way his martial arts teacher had taught him, always ready to move quickly at a moment's notice. Beside him, Draco did the same, as did Daphne, Crabbe and Goyle. Raiden was slightly amused to notice that Ron had a smudge of dirt on his nose that he hadn't bothered to wipe off, and another boy, whose name he didn't know had his robes fastened under his left ear.
Professor McGonagall returned at that moment and swept her keen gaze over the group. Her gaze lingered on Ron and the unknown boy but she said nothing beyond "We're ready for you now. Follow me."
The first years formed a rough line and walked behind Professor McGonagall up the center aisle of the Great Hall. Raiden noticed the older students watching them intently and tightened his mental shields even further to avoid being overwhelmed with all the thoughts bouncing round the room.
He looked up at the Head Table, seeing the rest of the staff watching. His gaze swept over the staff, recognizing Dumbledore from the pictures in the books he'd brought with him. Other staff he only knew from Draco's description of them. One he especially noticed was Professor Snape, who was glaring at him. Raiden narrowed his eyes and stared right back. He felt a slight probe in his mind and realized that Snape was a Legilimens.
Tightening his shields he reinforced the image of being a clueless eleven-year-old and felt the probe leave after a few seconds. Raiden then switched his gaze to Professor Quirrell and felt his scar react slightly again. Suppressing a smirk he waited patiently for the Sorting Ceremony to begin.
An old hat was placed on a stool in front of the first years. After it sang a song about the different houses it fell silent, waiting for the first student to be called up.
The first student to be called up was Hannah Abbot. She went to Hufflepuff. Apparently the students were going to be in alphabetical order. This was fine by Raiden who waited patiently while his fellow students were sorted. Soon it had got down to the P's, and he saw Draco sitting at the Slytherin table, along with Daphne and another girl named Millicent Bulstrode. Crabbe and Goyle were also sitting with them and they all smiled encouragement to him.
He smiled back, keeping his nervousness off his face. The Muggle-born that they had insulted back on the train, Hermione Granger, had gone to Ravenclaw, which was no surprise given her love of books. Raiden snorted, she had looked disappointed in the Hat's decision.
'Probably been hoping for Gryffindor' he thought with a mental snort. He returned his attention to the ceremony just as his name was called.
"Potter, Harry" Professor McGonagall called out. As Raiden strode over to the stool and sat down he thought he saw the staff sit more alertly, and Professor McGonagall smiled at him before the hat dropped over his head, cutting off the whispers that had sprung up around the hall, speculating on what House was going to get him.
Raiden was silent as he caught a presence in his mind. Smirking, he encircled and confronted it.
"What are you doing here" he demanded silently. The presence seemed startled.
"Mr Potter, I am the Sorting Hat. I need to look around your mind to see where you would best be placed. Your mental shields are quite impressive, I didn't sense them until you brought them around me."
Raiden smirked. "That was the general idea. Now, I'll let you have access to my mind, only if you swear to not tell ANYONE, and I mean anyone what you see."
The Hat seemed annoyed now. "Young man I am bound by a confidentiality oath to not tell anyone what I see in the minds of the incoming students. Not even the Headmaster himself can get me to tell what I know, and I know a lot. Now, if you please, open those shields and let me do my job."
Raiden reluctantly opened his mind to the Hat and felt it go searching round his memories.
"My my Mr Potter, you have quite the number of secrets. I can see why you were cautious about me being here. Now, where to put you…"
Inside the Hat, an argument between the essences of the Founders was going on. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw stayed out of it, Raiden was certainly bright but not study driven enough to survive in the Raven's Nest, and while he was loyal it was only to those he deemed his friends and family. So the argument was between Gryffindor and Slytherin.
"His parents were in MY house, Salazar!" Godric Gryffindor growled agitatedly.
Salazar Slytherin merely smirked and examined his fingernails. "Indeed, Gryffindor, but as the boy himself has pointed out he is NOT his parents. Also, he has been my Heir's apprentice for the past three years, and his character is decidedly Slytherin. He is brave, I'll grant you that, but he is not prone to rushing headlong into things like your lion cubs are. He is a serpent, through and through, and he has plans to remodel the Wizarding World. That is pure ambition and cunning. He belongs in the Serpent's Lair, not the Lion's Den as you well know. Now, let me have him."
Gryffindor threw up his hands in disgust. "Very well, you take him then. Just don't lose him to the Dark like you did Riddle."
"That was Dumbledore's meddling that did that you foolish idiot. Harry Potter will bring him back, and will be the anchor that my Heir needs to retain his sanity and do what he originally planned to do before he sank into madness. Stop being a pessimist."
The argument concluded and Raiden became aware of the Hat muttering to itself, "Courage in bucketfuls but you don't jump headlong into things, loyalty only to your friends and those you consider family, a love of learning, but only as it meets your needs, and ambition and cunning worthy of Salazar himself. Oh yes, there's only one place for you, young Potter. Have fun and do try to leave the school intact at the end of your years in SLYTHERIN!"
Raiden removed the Hat and stood, to dead silence. You could have heard a pin drop and the staff looked shocked, with the exception of Quirrell who raised his glass slightly.
Dumbledore looked disappointed, while McGonagall looked almost heartbroken. Raiden began walking over to the Slytherin table who stood as one and clapped loudly. This snapped the rest of the Hall out of their shock and they clapped as well albeit half heartedly.
As he sat down next to Draco, he heard the name of the next student to be called up. This continued until the last student, a boy who had a spark of mischief in his eyes but was otherwise very serious looking, was sorted into Slytherin. The boy sat down next to Harry and held out his hand.
"Blaise Zabini. Nice to meet you."
Raiden shook the outstretched hand and replied, "Likewise. I'm Harry Potter."
Blaise nodded and introduced himself to the rest of the Slytherin first years, who accepted him into their group almost immediately. Apart from Harry, the other Slytherin first years were, Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle and Blaise Zabini for the boys. For the girls there were Millicent Bulstrode, Pansy Parkinson, Daphne Greengrass and Nora Moon. The nine students began quietly discussing the potential classes until the other students fell silent. Looking up at the Head Table Raiden saw that Dumbledore had got to his feet.
"Ahem. I know that you're all hungry so I'll make the announcements brief. First years please note that the Forbidden Forest is exactly that, forbidden. No student may go there except in the company of a staff member. No magic is to be done in the corridors and our school caretaker, Mr Filch has a list on his office door of all banned items. Also, this year, the right hand corridor on the third floor is out of bounds at all times. If you go exploring there, please be aware that you will suffer a horrendously painful death. I do not wish that upon any of you so do not go there. Since I can hear your stomachs growling from here I will simply finish with these words. Nitwit, oddment, blubber and tweak. Thank you."
As the old wizard sat back down, Raiden turned to one of the older students who was sitting a few seats down from him, and across the table. "Is he mad?" he queried.
The student swallowed a piece of steak and kidney pie before answering, "Yes a bit. He's brilliant and powerful of course, but he is a bit off his rocker. Have you tried the roast beef yet?"
Raiden shook his head and promptly helped himself to some of the succulent meat. Whatever else Hogwarts might hold in store for him, he would never go hungry that was for certain. Over the course of the meal he found out that the older student he'd talked to was one of the sixth year Prefects, called Emma MacDonald. The sixth year Prefects would be the ones looking after the firsties for the first few weeks, showing them the way to classes and such, although any of the Prefects would gladly help them out if the sixth years were unavailable for some reason. Raiden shrugged at the information that there would be an orientation meeting later on and finished his dessert, a bowl of trifle and apple crumble before the dishes disappeared.
Before they all went to bed, Dumbledore stood up and asked that they sing the school song. Raiden privately sneered at this but joined in nonetheless. He didn't want to make Dumbledore suspicious after all. It was a cacophony of different tunes and at the end the only ones left singing were the Weasley twins who had chosen a funeral march for the tune.
Raiden shook his head and walked with his friends as Emma and her male counterpart, Aaron Dolohov showed them the way to the Slytherin Common Room. Once there, they flopped down onto the beanbags. They were tired but wanted to have the orientation before sleeping. The prefects looked amused and slightly sorry that they had to keep the tired firsties up even later and got the meeting started.
"Right," Aaron started. "There are several things you need to know in order to survive in Slytherin House. First and most important is this: Stick together. Outside this common room we are one. Any personal problems or grievances that you have with another Slytherin stays in here. If you show a weakness outside here then you're fair game for our enemies. We are not well liked by the other houses, Gryffindor especially. Ravenclaw is neutral enough but Hufflepuff will stand with Gryffindor against us."
As the first years nodded, Emma took over. "Second, never get caught breaking the rules. If you do get caught, assign blame to somewhere else. Never take blame for anything. We have held the House Cup for the last six years and we don't want to lose it."
Aaron took over again. "Third, Dark does not equal Evil, just as ambition does not automatically mean power-hungry. Make your own choices in life and stick to them, don't let anyone sway you from them."
"Fourth, Professor Snape, as our Head of House is always willing to listen if you have a problem that you need to talk about if you can't come to us. He will protect and care about you while you are here. Just don't interrupt him while he's brewing. That's suicide."
There were chuckles all around at that point and then a low, baritone voice interrupted Emma. "That is quite right, Miss MacDonald."
Professor Snape stepped into the light, surveying the new first years, his eyes landing on Draco and then Raiden. Looking to the prefects he said, "I apologise for interrupting but I need to add my own message to this orientation." Upon their nods he continued, this time talking directly to the firsties.
"What your prefects have told you is perfectly correct. I will add this one thing. I expect each and every one of you to uphold the pride of Slytherin House. Do anything that results in tarnishing that pride and the consequences will be severe. Now, as you've heard everything that you need to know, you are free to go to bed. Mr Potter, may I have a word with you before you go though."
Draco and Raiden's other tentative friends looked startled but Raiden stood smoothly. Looking back at his friends he said, "Go on, I'll see you soon." With reluctant nods they left, leaving Raiden alone with Snape and the prefects who quickly excused themselves too.
Snape looked Raiden in the eye for a few seconds before motioning to one of the couches. Raiden sat and looked at his Head of House in confusion.
"You can drop the façade, Mr Potter. Although you were almost successful in hiding your shields I sensed them very briefly while I was withdrawing. What is your purpose for having them?"
Raiden cursed mentally, and then looked his professor in the eyes. "Sir, I have certain secrets that I can't tell you yet. I don't want Dumbledore to know about certain abilities of mine lest he try and use me."
Snape sat down and looked seriously at Raiden. "Mr Potter, I am your Head of House. Whatever you tell me will be treated as confidential. Not even Albus Dumbledore can get me to tell him what a student tells me in confidence and my own Occlumency shields are more than sufficient to keep your secrets. Tell me. You need to trust someone here, why not me?"
Raiden looked away and sighed. "Sir, may I go to bed? I promise I'll tell you everything tomorrow morning, it's still the weekend and I can think better with more sleep. Please?"
Snape growled inwardly, what he'd told Raiden was true, he wouldn't tell Dumbledore anything of what was told to him, and he was impressed that Raiden had managed to pick up the fact that Dumbledore was planning on using him. He'd have to add that to the list of questions he planned on asking. Knowing that Raiden was waiting for an answer he said, "Very well, go to bed. I'll be waiting in my office tomorrow after breakfast, ask one of the prefects to show you the way. Have a good night's sleep, Mr Potter."
"You too Professor" Raiden said quietly as he rose and headed up the hall that he'd seen the other first years going up. Withdrawing his trunk from the pocket of his robes he put it beside the unclaimed bed before unshrinking it and getting out his pyjamas. Changing swiftly he climbed into bed and was soon dead to the world. Meanwhile Severus Snape had retreated to his own quarters to sleep as well. His last thought was that he was going to enjoy unraveling the mystery of one Harry Potter.