Chapter 5 is finally here, sorry about the long wait.

Chapter 5

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Fortune favours the bold

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'To quote an Englishman… Bollocks'

Xander thought grimly to himself as he stood and stared at the doors to the Great Hall; this was it, the moment of truth. He had never been good with large crowds of people, always preferring to stay in the background and make changes from there, like playing a game of chess. It had been like that for the first two years of his return to Sunnydale, staying in the shadows and using Angel to make gentle nudges here and there.

He'd been, or so Angel and the others had thought, their direct link to the Powers That Be, and in a manner of speaking he was, just not in that context.

Unfortunately, thanks to that wish, he was thrown into the limelight, put on the centre stage, as it were. And to add insult to injury, he had a problem.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

Xander was interrupted from his musings as he looked at McGonagall: the tall overpowering woman reminded him of Giles; she looked tough, strict but fair. In addition, at the same time there was that hidden something in the back of her eyes, that 'Ripper twinkle' that had frightened both the future and normal Xander on so many occasions. The woman caught him looking and offered him the crook of her smile; she barely nodded, so small was it that he was certain none of the other soon-to-be students had seen it.

They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Xander could hear the drone of hundreds of voices sounding much like an angry beehive coming from a doorway to the right. 'The rest of the school must already be here,' he thought, but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the Hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.

"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 rule breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House cup, a great honour. 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."

"Harry," Xander felt Neville tug his arm. "My toad's still alive."

He smiled ruefully. "I promised Hedwig a treat if she didn't eat Trevor."

Neville chuckled nervously. "I'm scared."

Xander nodded. "Face your fear, Neville. Step forward into the light and be brave; the Hat will do the rest."

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

Several ghosts appeared, and the Fat Friar made his introduction. McGonagall returned and barked at the ghosts and they all disappeared. She made them form a line and then turned to the doors. The teacher pulled the massive wooden doors open and the entranceway to the Great Hall opened like the Red Sea before them; he saw brilliant candles illuminating the hallway, the starry night stretching overhead and thousands of faces looking upon them with idle curiosity. At the table, Xander made out Dumbledore sitting in the middle of the table, Hagrid on his right, beaming proudly, Snape, and Quirrell, the host of Lord Voldemort on his left. The Headmaster's eyes even from this distance were twinkling hard and looking directly at him.

"Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts A History." Xander nodded politely.

"I've got a copy of the book myself," Hermione said, her eyes widening. "I wanted to know about the school and society I was getting into."

"Make sense to me," Ron muttered.

Professor McGonagall placed a four-legged stool and sat a familiar-looking hat on it. Xander arched an eyebrow and looked at Ron with a smirk.

"I'll kill 'em," he said in a half whisper.

"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 well 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!"

"There's nothing hidden in your head The Sorting Hat can't see…"

And that was what was worrying Xander: would the hat betray him to the teachers? Would he end up locked away in Azkaban as a possible connection to Voldemort? Or would the Hat simply let him be? Xander almost ran out of the hall.

'If I ever told Giles about this he'd lose his nut,' Xander chuckled darkly.

"So we've just got to try on the hat?" Ron whispered. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll!"

"Eh? This is a school for witchcraft and wizardry; I wouldn't put it past this school to have trolls in it."

"Please…" Hermione said with a tut. Xander smiled and said nothing of the future events.

"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. There was a moment's pause before …

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

The list went on like that: Hermione ended up in Gryffindor, as did Neville, Malfoy and his two thugs went or rather staggered to Slytherin. Finally, 'Potter, Harry!' was called. Xander straightened himself and walked forwards without hesitation. He lifted himself up and onto the stool with a graceful movement.

He ignored the looks, tuned out the whispers and waited. She put the hat on him and a deep throaty chuckle invaded his mind.

"Hmm," said a small voice in his ear. "Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, oh, my goodness, yes … and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting... So where shall I put you?"

'Wait,' Xander asked mentally and the hat paused. 'You don't care about who I am?'

"Oh I care," the voice rumbled. "I see a young man hiding in the shadows, making directions and commands, like a puppeteer."

A flash of Xander giving Angel instructions, of him sitting in the bar and telling him not to sleep with the Slayer; Xander could feel the hat smile. "Very Slytherin."

'Not Slytherin,' Xander demanded.

"Are you sure?" the hat asked. "Your unique foresight, cunning and patience and your ability to make the right friends are all traits of Salazar's best and brightest."

Xander mentally put his foot down, but the Hat continued. "They could help you achieve greatness, bring forth your realisations and help put your plans in motion."

'No, I have a mission, my friends need my help. Besides, I already know of Malfoy's little schemes and they aren't worth any effort, at least not yet.'

"Well, if you're sure … better be GRYFFINDOR!"

'Thank you,' Xander said with relief. 'You won't be disappointed.'

'I'm sure I won't.'

After a few moments, Xander sat next to Hermione and smiled at her; he met and shook the hands of his fellow Gryffindor students including Percy Weasley who was sitting next to the twins. Ron soon joined him and sat down on his right. Dumbledore stood up, cleared his throat and the room fell silent instantly.

"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!"

Xander shook his head in amusement.

"Thank you."

"Muggles have a saying," Xander said looking at Percy. "There's a fine line between madness and genius."

"He's a little of both, but definitely more genius than mad, but can you blame him? Potatoes, Harry?"

Xander thanked him and took the offered bowl. Percy smiled and chatted to him and Ron; the twins kept the conversation light with some of their jokes and recent developments.

"That does look good," said a voice from overhead.

Xander's stomach growled at the sight of all the food as he lifted his head and let the smell fill his nostrils.

"Yup," Xander smiled at the ghost. "Sorry you can't join us, Sir Nick."

The ghost smiled pleasantly. "That's quite alright, my dear boy, you get used to it after a while."

"Oi, I know you, you're Nearly Headless Nick." Ron said while pointing a fork at the ghost.

"Really tactful, Ron." Hermione snorted through a mouthful.

"I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy…" the ghost began stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnigan interrupted.

"Nearly Headless? How can you be nearly headless?"

Xander groaned loudly as Nick yanked his head and it toppled, dangling by a loose thread; the kids at the table let out a groan and some looked like they were going to be sick. Xander grimaced and took a sip of drink.

"Like this," the Ghost barked loudly. "So … New Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the House Championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the Cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable … he's the Slytherin ghost."

They sat and talked, Xander asked Percy about the teachers, and the young pompous soon-to-be man explained what each one did.

'Snape teaches Potions but we all know it's the Defense Against the Dark Arts job he wants.'

Xander already knew all of this, but it did not hurt to keep the flow going. He asked all the people around him who and what they were: Seamus explained about his dad and his mother, Neville about his gran and family, although he stayed quiet about his parents, and even got Hermione to open up a little. After about ten minutes of chatting, the Headmaster stood up.

"Ahem … 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."

Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.

"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."

Xander arched an eyebrow but otherwise remained quiet.