Hi guys, I'm back with a new chapter! I wanted to thank everyone for their reviews and for those who added this story to their Favorite/Follow list.
So this chapter, you finally get to learn about which House Danny's being Sorted into, anyone excited? A lot of this chapter was actually taken from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, as I didn't want to end up slaughtering the description. So if any of it seems familiar, now you know. That's it for now, see you at the bottom.
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Several weeks later found Danny and the Malfoy family at Platform 9 and three quarters. Danny nervously watched everyone walking and talking around him. His master and wife were talking to both boys, but Danny wasn't able to focus on what they were saying while he was trying to focus on everyone else.
He had learned that most wizards and witches that had come to his master's mansion would hurt him if given the opportunity, to teach him his place as his master put it. He was waiting for someone to pull out their wand and do the same to him.
He was pulled out of his thoughts when his master cleared his throat. His eyes darted up to his master's before going down to the floor.
"Well boys, I think it's time for you to get on the train. Remember to uphold the Malfoy name, after all, we will know if you don't." Lucius fixed both boys with a glare before saying, "Remember Daniel, listen to your cousin, Draco, watch out for him."
To others around him it may have sounded like a father/uncle reminding one boy to behave and the other to watch out for him, but Danny knew the true meaning behind the words. Listen to whatever orders Draco gave him or there'd be hell to play.
Lucius and Narcissa bid the boys farewell before they boarded the train. Danny followed behind Draco, unsure of what to do since neither his master nor his master's son had given him an order.
A few seconds later Draco turned on the young half ghost with a snarl. "Get away from me you bloody mongrel, sharing a last name's bad enough, I don't want people to associate the two of us more than necessary."
Danny shied away from Draco, if he was anything like his father, then it was better for Danny to keep away when he was in this mood. He turned and decided to head down the other side of the train, that way he was less likely to run into his master's son and piss him off even more.
As he walked down the hallway he decided to take a look into the little rooms on both sides. All of them had a variety of students in them, ranging in age and gender. They were either immersed in books or chatting amongst themselves. Danny avoided all of them, he didn't want to interact with any of them, in fear of them either punishing him or them reporting to his master and being punished as soon as he returned.
He was so busy looking into the compartments he didn't see where he was going and he ended bumping into a young girl. He squeaked in alarm as they both tumbled to the ground, Danny scrambled to his feet and watched warily as the girl stood up and shook herself off.
She huffed angrily as she turned her gaze to the person who had caused her to fall. "You do know its common courtesy to apologize when you run into someone right?" The boy's eyes diverted his eyes before mumbling a small apology.
Danny turned to the side to let the girl pass him this time before returning to his search for an empty compartment.
In the end all of the compartments were filled with people so he hid in one of the bathrooms on the train. Only a few people knocked on the bathroom door, but for the most part he was left alone. He spent most of the train ride reading through his schoolbooks, making sure he knew everything inside of them. He took a small break to change into his robes and use the bathroom, but he never left the bathroom.
Eventually the train came to a stop and Danny wondered if the ride was over. Danny peaked out of the bathroom and saw that all of the students were leaving the compartments. He closed the door to grab his trunk before joining the rest of the group.
He kept his head ducked as they walked through the train and out onto the train platform. He was going to follow the majority of the students until he heard a booming voice call out "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" Danny looked up to see a really large man holding a lamp and calling for the first year students. Danny's heart panged at the sight of him, the man reminded him of his own father in a weird way, probably because of his build.
"C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"
Slipping and stumbling, all of the students followed the large man down what seemed to be a steep narrow path. Danny tried to look around at his surroundings, but it was too dark for him to see anything around them.
"Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," The large man called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."
There was a loud "Oooooh!"
The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black take. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.
"No more'n four to a boat!" The tall man called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Danny got into a random boat with two boys and girl already in it. "Everyone in?" shouted the man, who had a boat to himself. "Right then - FORWARD!"
And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.
"Heads down!" yelled the man as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles.
The tall man ended up finding a toad in one of the boats and returned it to its owner before they moved forward. They walked up a passage in the rock, following the man's lamp and ended up coming out onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadows of the castle.
They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door.
"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" Danny was really curious about this kid's toad, why did it keep running away?
The man raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.
The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Danny's instinct told him was someone who deserved complete respect.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said the man.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."
She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was huge, bigger than even the Malfoy mansion. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.
They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Danny could hear hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right, which put him slightly on edge, but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, most of the kids standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously. Danny however, kept his distance from the students, still not sure if he could trust them.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.
"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.
"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." Danny watched as some of the students around him tried to straighten out their appearance. He didn't move though he had cleaned himself up while he was in the bathroom.
"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."
Danny listened as he heard the students around him talk about the Sorting. He doubted there would be any form of physical test, but none of the books he read said anything about the Sorting process, so he had no idea what was in store for him.
Danny gasped when a cold shiver ran up his spine and puff of blue air escaped from his mouth. He heard other students around him gasp and scream as about 20 ghosts glided into the room.
Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance -"
"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost - I say, what are you all doing here?" A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years. Nobody answered.
"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?" A few people nodded mutely.
"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."
"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.
"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."
Danny moved with the rest of the group into a line, ending up behind a girl with puffy brown hair and in front of a boy with brown hair and green eyes and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.
Even after all the reading he had done, Danny was not prepared for what he saw. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them.
Danny's attention was quickly grabbed by the black ceiling that was dotted with little white stars. He had read about that as well, but his love for the stars made it the most amazing thing to him. He quickly located the constellations he knew, and was busy tracing invisible lines between them when he heard the hall go silent.
He saw Professor McGonagall silently place a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty.
For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth - and the hat began to sing:
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"
The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.
So that was how Sorting worked, Danny thought, didn't seem too difficult.
Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"
A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moments pause -
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.
The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Danny saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.
"Bones, Susan!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.
"Boot, Terry!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.
" Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling.
"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin.
"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Sometimes, Danny noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," another boy went up to the seat, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.
"Granger, Hermione!" The girl in front of him, who ended up being the girl he ran into on the train, almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.
"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat.
When Neville Longbottom, the boy who had lost his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."
Danny became nervous when he realized his name would be coming up soon. When Professor McGonagall finally called out "Malfoy, Daniel," He gulped and walked up to the stool.
He sat on the stool and the professor put the Sorting Hat on his head.
"Hmm," Said a small voice in his ear. "Interesting, very interesting. You have quite a thirst for knowledge, but not the wit or individuality. You're upbringing didn't leave you with much courage or ambition. What you need is the support of others to help you move on, and the perfect House for this would be—HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat shouted the last word out so the rest of the hall could hear it.
Danny took off the hat and made his way to the table where the others Sorted into Hufflepuff went. He took a seat and watched the rest of the Sorting take place.
He watched as his master's son was Sorted into Slytherin and several more students were Sorted into other Houses.
As "Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.
Danny looked down at his empty gold plate. He hadn't eaten at all that day, he had been too nervous to eat breakfast, and now he was starving.
An older man, who Danny recognized as Albus Dumbledore, had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.
"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!
"Thank you!"
He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered, Danny cocked his head in confusion before turning back to the table. Only to find all the plates piled with all kinds of food. Danny's mouth watered at the sight and he quickly filled his plate with all kinds of food. He dug into his food, wolfing it all down. However, he did pace himself. He wasn't used to eating so much food back at the mansion, he usually got smaller portions than his master's family.
Danny heard other students around him talking about all kinds of things, ranging from parents to classwork, to even pets." Danny kept out of it though, still not wanting to interact with others, mostly out of fear.
When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate eclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding.
Danny's eyes lit up, he hadn't had sweets since he was 4. Although his master had gotten him ice cream when they went to Diagon Alley, that had only been for show. He never got a treat when he was at the mansion. Like with dinner, he took some of everything, trying to find what his favorites were. He discovered that very much like his father, he had a love for fudge.
At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.
"Ahern - just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."
"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."
"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.
"Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!" And the school bellowed:
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot.
Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only two students were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.
"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"
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So what do you guys think? Sorry if the spacing is weird for the school song and the Sorting Hat's song, but that's how it was spaced in the book and I didn't want to change that.
Now that you know which House I Sorted Danny into, anyone want to guess why I Sorted him into this particular House. I did give a little bit of the reason through the Sorting Hat, but I was wondering if you guys can figure out why that House in particular.
Anyways, that's all for now. Love it, hate it, just review it! Buh-bye!