Chapter Three
Magic was absolutely fascinating - even the Potions part of it was way more interesting than the mundane equivalent, which is Chemistry. I don't understand how everyone isn't completely captivated by it and studying all the time. I mean, I get that it can be kind of boring during some bits of it but just the thought that it's relevant to doing magic can motivate me through any dry reading. I understand why Hermione constantly had her nose in a book - there are just so many spells to read about. My first three weeks, the only time I left the house was to get food so that I wouldn't starve - otherwise, I was practicing and reading. I still exercised regularly, this body was used to running just as much as my last one thankfully, and I took a small break every now and then. I started by going over everything that Jasper, that I, already knew. Levitation charm, transfiguring basic things, stunning curse, disarming curse, and things of that nature. That only took a couple of weeks because of how good of a memory I had now and the fact that I already knew it. After I felt I had gotten 'caught up' so to say with this bodies magical endeavors, that's when I began to learn more. I learned about shield spells, different wards (there was this one that people often used around camp sites that would make someone think there were angry bears ahead), and other various things that I thought were fascinating. The only thing that was almost too boring to get through was History, even though it was slightly more interesting than muggle history, it was still enough to put me to sleep sometimes. I couldn't imagine what having Professor Binn's voice being the one lecturing would be like.
The fourth week of my self-imposed exile brought me my first houseguests. I had heard my doorbell ring and instantly got my wand out, approaching the door with caution, because it had to be someone magical since the muggle repelling charms were so strong. I cracked the door open to see who it was and my jaw dropped - standing on my porch was a red-haired woman with one child on her hip, the other had a big container full of some kind of stew, and another red-headed child clinging to her legs. Her head jerked when she heard the door crack open and she had a smile on her face instantly.
"Hey dear, My name is Molly Weasley, Dumbledore told me to drop by and see you." Molly Weasley introduced herself, readjusting one of her kids on her hip from where he was sliding off. "I would offer to shake your hand but my hands are full."
"Let me help with that." I offered, opening the door wider so that she could step in, and then getting an armful of red-haired child. I opened my mouth to tell her that I had meant I would carry the stew in her hands but she was already bustling past me towards the kitchen.
"Oh, thank you. That's Bill, and the one hiding behind me is Charlie - they're both my sons." Molly introduced, stopping and tsking at my kitchen when she saw it and the contents of my fridge. My face flushed when I heard the noise - I had meant to go grocery shopping earlier but I couldn't get this non-verbal curse down correctly. "Dearie, look at this. Good thing I brought some food over, no sense in you starving."
"Thanks." I murmured, face still pink from embarrassment and still holding Bill in my arms. Internally, I was freaking out a little because - Bill Weasley was in my arms! The future kick ass cursebreaker was a little, adorable kid who was yawing and twisting to get a better look at his mother.
"It's no problem at all, Jasper dear." Molly brushed off my thanks, whipping her wand out and surprising me as she got a pot to fly out of the cabinet, poured the stew in, and then set the oven to heat it up. She also flicked her wand towards the dishes and they started scrubbing themselves clean, drying themselves, and then put themselves neatly away into the correct place. I shook my head in amazement at all of the magic she had just done, non-verbally I might add. She glanced up at my face and just smiled, showing all of her teeth. "Magic makes things so much easier. So how are you? Terrible thing that happened to your family, I am sorry for your loss."
"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley. I've been fine, just studying a lot." I answered, giving her a brief smile of assurance to let her know that I was really doing fine.
"Oh good to hear, good to hear and please call me Molly" Molly said, brightening up a little. We talked about a couple of things that I was studying, about Bill and Charlie, about her husband Arthur, and she even helped me with the curse I was struggling with. She only agreed to help if I ate all of the stew in my bowl, which was a lot by the way, before we started working on it. Molly stayed for a couple of hours, just visiting really, and I honestly enjoyed the company. It didn't dawn on me how lonely I had been until someone was here visiting. After Molly left with promises to come back in a couple of weeks, the house once again returned to being quiet. It was a lot more clean now though, which was something, so I went back to studying.
My next visitor came a week after Mrs. Weasley and if I was surprised when a young Mrs. Weasley had shown up, it was nothing to the shock of seeing Professor McGonagall on my doorstep in her emerald robes and pointy hat. Professor McGonagall was one of my favorite characters in the entire series - and you find out almost nothing about her throughout. She was fair, stern, and a powerful witch - Her magic felt like a stone, impenetrable. She had come by to check and see how I was doing, to tell me a little about Hogwarts, and to help me pick out the classes that I wanted to take this coming year.
"So, it appears you got an Outstanding in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, and Astronomy. An Exceeds Expectations in Arithmancy, Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, and History of Magic. This, as you no doubt know, means that you can apply for almost any career field." Professor McGonagall said, her lips upturned just a little bit as she read my scores off. "And Congratulations, these truly are excellent scores. It said on the results you were considering being either a Professor or a spell inventer, is that correct?"
"An Auror." I replied instantly, before thinking about how interesting I would find both of those jobs. McGonagall's eyebrows rose a little bit in surprise but wrote down what I said nevertheless.
"That is quite a career change. May I ask what brought that about?" Professor McGonagall asked, her lips thinning a little.
"My parents were murdered, Professor, and the murderer's got away." I said slowly, considering the words I was saying. "I would very much like to be a Professor like yourself one day, but I feel like this is what I need to do now."
"Very well." Professor McGonagall said, eyes softening a little in understanding. "In that case, you will need to continue to take Defense, Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, and Potions. They require a minimum of five newts and no grade under exceed expectations, although if your work continues in this manner I do not see that being a problem for you. Then you would be required to undergo a stringent series of character and aptitude tests at the Auror office. It's a difficult career path... they only take the best."
"I understand, Professor." I said, nodding along with what she said. "I would also like to continue with Care of Magical Creatures as well."
"Very well." Professor McGonagall said, writing down on a piece of parchment that I could see had my name clearly written at the top. "This is a difficult career path you've chosen, and a dangerous one, so I hope you are prepared for it. I can tell you are a bright student, Mr. Tatham, so I look forward to teaching you at Hogwarts."
"Thank you, Professor." I said, smiling at her and pinking a little bit at her praise. I know for a fact thanks to the books, if they were even accurate but so far they seemed to be, that she did not compliment people often and for no reason, so it meant a lot to hear those words from her.
"Now, I have to get going, but if you need anything at all please don't hesitate to ask me. I will see you on September 1st, that is the same day you will be sorted at the Welcoming feast. Do you know about the four houses?"
"Yes, Professor." I answered, wondering which one I would be in. I had done the test's online before and almost always got Ravenclaw, so I was leaning towards that being the house I'd be put in.
"Good. I wouldn't mind seeing you in Gryffindor, but we'll have to wait and see." Professor McGonagall said, smiling thinly at me before she left my house and disappeared with a turn and a 'pop'. I could not wait until I could apparate legally, it was so convenient. Shrugging my shoulders, I turned to close the door and go back to studying the stronger version of a shield charm I had been reading about prior to Professor McGonagall knocking on my front door.
The months flew by with random visits by Molly, rarely without the kids, and she usually stayed for at least a couple hours just talking with me. I was extraordinarily thankful to Dumbledore and Molly for these visits because not only did it ease the loneliness but it gave me a chance to ask questions about some spells I had run into that I couldn't do for one reason or another. Molly was pretty bright, and not for the first time, I wondered what she would have done if she had not had so many kids that she had to be a housewife. I knew she was strong, I mean she defeated Bellatrix Lestrange in a duel, but I never knew she was as smart as she was. I asked her one day, after I thanked her for her help, and I was honestly surprised by her answer after she got done laughing.
"I always wanted a big family, dear. In fact, my husband and I are going to keep trying until I have at least one girl, so we will probably have another soon." Molly said, smiling radiantly at me as she held her tea with both hands and looked at her wedding ring. "After my kids are grown up and have jobs of their own, I always thought I might open a restaurant up."
"I can see that perfectly." I told her, smiling because I honestly could. Molly always brought me food over when she visited and if this is what it tasted like know, and I couldn't imagine it being any better, than I can't wait to see what it would taste like after twenty years of experience. "What would you call the restaurant?"
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe The Burrow?" Molly said, laughing lightly.
"That's what your house should be called." I said lightly, only half-jokingly. "Although, with how good your cooking is, if you opened a restaurant I'd probably eat there more than I would at my own house."
"You are such a charmer." Molly laughed, squeezing my shoulder as she got up to get a little bit more tea. "I should call my house The Burrow though, it sounds so familiar and warm."
"That it does." I agreed, hiding my smile behind my cup. I thought it was hilarious that I was the one who had put the idea in her head this time around to call her home that.
Before I knew it, it was August Thirty-first and I was due to head to Platform Nine and Three Quarters tomorrow morning in order to catch the Hogwarts Express. I was beyond excited, a little nervous, and just a tiny portion of me was confident. I had learned a lot these last few months, I had gotten all of my school supplies tucked away in my trunk, and I felt confident that I was going to be fine as far as schoolwork went. I knew they introduced non-verbal spells this year, but I had been practicing those the entire time since my stay in the hospital and used most of my spells without saying them now, and I had already read ahead by at least three chapters in every subject's book so that I would be prepared. Overkill, maybe, but I wanted to make a good impression and wanted to stay ahead in case there was something I got stuck on and needed to spend a little more time.
I looked in the mirror the next morning, combing my dark golden blonde hair down so it wasn't sticking up everywhere, put on a royal blue t-shirt that brought out my eyes and a pair of pants that hugged my legs and butt quite nicely. I know I was here to learn, but I had a pretty nice looking face and a good body, so might as well show it off just a little. I wasn't sure how the magical world viewed homosexuality, but I was hoping it would be a little more progressive than the muggle world. My dad, the one from my past life, had hated the fact that I was gay and was constantly trying to 'fix me'. Even though he couldn't accept me, I had loved him and I know he loved me; it was just something foreign to him that he couldn't understand and he wanted me to be normal. The problem was that it's not some disease you can fix - I was born this way, I like being this way, and not even dying and being reborn in another boy's body was going to change the fact that I liked guys.
Shaking my head to get rid of the rather deep thoughts, I went downstairs where my trunk was sitting, closed, next to the door. With a flick of my wand, I drew all of the blinds in the house and I quickly made sure all of the lights were turned off before locking the door on my way out. I raised my right hand, my wand gripped loosely between my fingers, and with a 'bang' the Knight Bus was in front of my house and Glen was offering to help me load my trunk.
"I've got it, Glen." I told him, smiling in greeting and performing a non-verbal levitation spell so that the trunk would float in front of me onto the bus. Glen shook his head, he thought it was awesome I could do magic and I was only sixteen even if it was because of morbid circumstances, and I quickly found a spot to sit down as the bus shot off to head towards the Leaky Cauldron. We let a few people off so they could go to Diagon Alley, a couple more people disembarked at one of the entrances to the Ministry of Magic, and finally we arrived at the train station. I dragged the trunk off manually because of all the muggles around, paid Glen and Ernie, and then headed into the train station.
In my letter it had told me how to enter Platform Nine and Three Quarters, and I wondered why they hadn't included something like that in Harry's letter. Part of me thought that maybe Dumbledore had planned for him to run into the Weasley's, knowing Ron was the same age and from a good family, and that's why he hadn't. I didn't waste much time thinking about it though because there was no way to know for sure, so with purposeful strides I walked to the barrier and went through the bricks that stood between platforms nine and ten. When I got to the other side, I stepped out of the way just in time as a couple of kids ran through the barrier a moment later, and I stood looking around with a smile on my face. The train looked exactly like it did in the movies and I soaked in the sounds of families saying goodbye, friends reuniting, and just people in general.
I stood and observed all of the people for a moment longer before making my way to the train in order to find a compartment. Hopefully, it wouldn't be too full and I could find one with just one or two people inside of it even though they were meant to fit six. I walked down the aisle, looking into compartments and dragging my trunk behind me, before I finally found an empty one. I grinned to myself at my luck and stowed my trunk on the luggage rack above the seats. I had a backpack that I carried my Hogwarts uniform in so I wouldn't have to get my trunk down to change and luckily I had also packed a book so that I could read on the way there. I was reading quietly in my compartment for about five minutes before I heard a loud noise that came from down the hall of my compartment, then a lot of girls started screaming so I tentatively opened the compartment door up and stuck my head out the door to see what was going on. I saw two boys come racing down the corridor, and before I knew it, they had moved me out of the way and pushed themselves into my compartment. I stepped back, eyebrows raised at the audacity of the two and wondering why they had been running, and waited for them to catch their breath and quit laughing.
One of them had messy black hair, hazel eyes, glasses, and was wearing some kind of jersey and a pair of jeans. The other had shoulder length black hair, gray eyes, and was wearing a faded t-shirt with some band on it and a pair of well worn jeans. Looking between the two, my mouth fell open, because this had to Harry's father - James Potter. Which would mean that the guy in the band t-shirt? That was Sirius Black. My mind kind of fried at that point because wow, they were extraordinarily hot. I mean, James was hot in an athletic kind of way, but Sirius was hot in every form of the word. His skin was slightly tanned, completely clear, and he had a bone structure that would make anyone envy him. His eyes were gray and they seemed to dance while he laughed, which did oddly enough sound kind of like barking just like the book described, and the clothes he was wearing fit him in all the right places.
I noticed pretty quickly that they had stopped laughing, so I ripped my eyes off of Sirius' chest and looked up just to see that they were looking at me expectantly. James had a questioning look on his face and Sirius was smirking just a little, the corner of his mouth just barely tipped up. I flushed, pink dusting my cheeks, because I would be willing to bet they had said something and I was too busy checking out Sirius to notice or hear what they had said.
"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" I asked sheepishly, rubbing my neck
"I said sorry for barging in here, mate. We set off a dung bomb in the Slytherin's compartment and they were on a warpath, mind if we hang out in here for a little bit?" James asked, apparently again.
"Oh, n-no problem." I said, wincing internally when I stammered a little bit. Okay, I needed to get a grip. Yes, they were extraordinarily handsome and this body had a lot of hormones racing through it right now - but I had seen attractive guys before, no need to get all weird about it.
"I'm James Potter, this is Sirius." James introduced himself, waving a hand in Sirius' direction. "We're in Gryffindor."
"Erm, nice to meet you." I replied, smiling a little and showing my teeth. "I'm Jasper. Jasper Tatham."
"Good to meet you, Jasper Tatham." Sirius drawled, lazily collapsing on one of the seats across from where I was now sitting. "I've never heard your name before, what year are you in?"
"I'm a sixth year." I replied, putting my hands in my lap as I spoke and glancing between the two surprised faces the Gryffindor's in front of me were making.
"Really? Us too, what house are you?" James asked, leaning forward a little as his interest was piqued. "I swear I've never seen you in class before mate, no offense."
"I'm new, so you wouldn't have seen me, so no offense taken." I replied, fingering my book nervously as they looked at each other. If you have ever watched two people who have basically grown up together or have known each other for a very long time have a silent conversation, that was what was happening right in front of me. It was disconcerting, for me at least, because I had no idea what to expect when James turned his face and hazel met my own blue eyes.
"Well, Welcome to Hogwarts!" James said charmingly, showing off his white teeth and messing with his hair a little. I smiled back, eyes flicking over to Sirius who just looked bored.
"Thanks." I replied
"So, what house do you want to be in?" James asked, a curious glint in his eye.
"Oh, that's easy.." I replied, trailing off for a moment as I got an idea. They were known as pranksters, I mean they were the Marauders, so why not play a bit of a joke on them? "Slytherin."
"What?!" James cried out, looking disappointed and mildly upset "Why would you want to be with those snakes?"
"Seriously, mate, I'm questioning your taste now." Sirius said, sitting up a little in surprise when he heard me say I wanted to be in Slytherin.
"Well, they are just better than all of the other houses." I replied, keeping a straight face even though James looked like he was about to explode. Sirius' eyes narrowed as he looked at me, almost daring me to continue.. So I did. "I mean, they have the right sort of people, they are ambitious, clever. Sounds like a winner to me."
"And what in merlin's beard do you mean by 'the right people'?" James thundered, his voice getting louder the more he thought about what I said. I figured it was enough winding them up, no sense in getting cursed for no reason, so I explained.
"Y'know, the right people. Liars, Idiots, Back Stabbers, future Death Eater's, elitists, snobs, and chauvinists." I said, listing off descriptors that were in all fairness accurate for at least some Slytherins. I wanted to be in the Marauder's good books though so I figured they would appreciate a little snake bashing. As I spoke, I saw Sirius' smirk return and his eyes crinkle at the corners as he looked to see James reaction.
"Har har, you're hilarious." James grumbled, his face fading from the red it had been out of exasperation or anger. I smiled innocently in return, which made James laugh and the tension that had been in the compartment moments ago faded away. "So, being serious this time, which house?"
"Ravenclaw or Gryffindor." I said, shrugging a little bit.
"Well, the right choice is Gryffindor." James exclaimed, throwing his hands up a little bit. "Tell him, Padfoot. It's the where the brave at heart dwell, the courageous! We also have the best Quidditch team!"
I laughed, shaking my head at his enthusiasm "Well, you've got me sold, but I think it's up to some sort of hat, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is. You know a lot about Hogwarts for a transfer." Sirius said suddenly, his eyes still looking at me but the bored expression was wiped off of his face completely.
"Oh, yeah. I guess I do. My parents went and I've read up on it." I said, hiding my nervousness at the rather blunt question that could have been taken as an accusation. Luckily, Sirius just nodded and let it go. James, however, had his interest piqued.
"Oh, your parents went here?" James asked, curiosity evident in his facial expression. "What houses were they in? Why are you just now coming?"
I combed through my memories so I could answer the first question, thankful my parents had actually came to Hogwarts. I had just thrown that out there randomly but at least it was true; I needed to be more careful. "My Mom was a Ravenclaw, my Dad was a Gryffindor. Up until this year, I had been homeschooled, but I can't be anymore."
"Oh, do you play Quidditch?" James asked, skimming over the topic of why I couldn't be homeschooled easily which made me grateful.
"I've never played." I answered, ignoring James gasp of disbelief which made Sirius chuckle. "I've flown before, but I've never played an actual match."
"Are you a good flier?" James asked, eyes glinting with something.
"Prongs, you don't even know if he'll be in Gryffindor yet." Sirius said, smacking James' shoulder lightly.
"He could be! And I'm just wondering!" James defended himself, rubbing the area Sirius had hit him at even though there was no way it had honestly hurt him.
"Oh bollocks, don't even try to play innocent." Sirius said, pointing an accusing finger at James who just grinned in a way that made him appear slightly maniacal.
"Um, I'm lost." I said, confusedly looking between the two guys sitting in front of me.
"You were being unknowingly scouted." Sirius told me, smirking at the look on James face. "Prongs here made Team Captain this year. We lost a of our players because they graduated, so James has been thinking of who can replace them all summer."
"And you have the perfect build for what I need!" James interjected, and my face went red as I blushed at the implication. Realistically, I knew what he meant, but remember those hormones? Yeah, they kept my mind in the gutter sometimes. Sirius took one look at my face and busted out laughing, which just made me flush more, and James had a horrified look on his face when he realized what was going on.
"You have a seeker's build!" James clarified, shaking his head rapidly at me. "You are thin and kind of small, so you can go fast; I'm looking to replace our seeker, that's what I meant. Not that you aren't.. Er.. handsome? But I meant you have the perfect seeker build and I am looking for one of those. A Seeker."
"Please stop." I mumbled, shrinking down into my seat and trying to force my face to stop blushing by sheer force of will. Needless to say, it wasn't working and Sirius was not helping at all with the way he continued to laugh.
"Oh Merlin, Prongs, that was great. Keep going." Sirius said, alternating between clutching his stomach and clapping his hands together.
"Shove off, git." James snapped back without any heat, a smile threatening its way onto his face. Shaking my head at the two of them, I picked up my book without another word and flipped to the page I had been reading before they had come into my compartment.
"So, want to try out for Seeker?" James asked after the compartment was silent for almost an entire minute. This caused Sirius to laugh again and I looked up from the book, raising an eyebrow and taking in the hopeful expression on James' face.
"You've never even seen me fly. I could be terrible." I pointed out, thinking about how I could get out of this. I wasn't terrible, I had absolutely flown after I got out of the hospital; it was one of the first things I did and it was amazing. I wasn't sure if I wanted to do that with other people in the air, trying to find a ball the size of a golf ball that flew around at incredible speeds, with members of the opposite team trying to maim me. I wasn't sure about all of that.
"That's what tryouts are for." James replied breezily, dismissing my admittedly pathetic excuse.
"I may not even be in Gryffindor. Technically, I have a twenty five percent chance of being in there. Which means a seventy five percent chance of not." I said, scrambling to think of another reason because I knew he would just dismiss that one.
"Okay, fine." James said, making my eyes widen in surprise at how easily I had won that- "If you get into Gryffindor, you have to try out. Padfoot, let's go, Moony and Wormtail are probably waiting for us."
"Yeah, yeah." Sirius said, waving James off even as he stood up and stretched a little bit. While he stretched, his shirt rose up, exposing a sliver of tanned and defined abdominal muscle. Oh fuck.
"Bu-but I never-" I started to say, tearing my eyes away from Sirius so that I could argue with James about not trying out for Quidditch.
"See you, Jasper! Tryouts will be the second saturday down on the pitch, I'll post it on our bulletin and remind you though so don't worry." James called over his shoulder as he walked out of the room. Sirius gave me a smirk as he followed his friend, closing the compartment door behind him and leaving me in absolute silence.
'Well.. that couldn't have gone better' I thought sarcastically, picking my book back up and rereading the page to remember where I was. I put the odd exchange with one half of the marauders out of my mind, only taking a break from reading when we got close enough to Hogwarts that I had to change into my uniform. Everything was black, colors not being assigned until I get a house, so when they train pulled into the station at Hogsmeade I jumped off of it with my trunk in tow. It was easy spotting Hagrid in the crowd, he was the man with a bushy black beard towering over everyone calling out for all of the first years. Resigning myself to the inevitable, I lumbered over to where he was and stood next to him.
"Ah, 'ello there. Me names Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper o' keys and Grounds at Hogwarts. Ye must be Jasper, righ'?" Hagrid asked, smiling at me through the black, curly beard. Hagrid was obviously a gentle giant (pun intended) because he had the warmest eyes I had seen on someone in years. There was something very comforting about him despite the fact that he was three times my size, so I replied that I was indeed Jasper and we had a little bit of small talk while waiting for the first years. After everyone lined up, we got into the boats and a collective gasp was heard as the young children caught their first glimpse of Hogwarts. I would be lying if I said my breath didn't catch in my throat. It was honestly one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen; The castle stood, proudly outlined against the night sky with the moon hanging above it, and had candlelight pouring out of the windows which gave it a cheerful vibe. It was picturesque.
When the boats pulled to a stop and we all got out safely, Hagrid led us up to the Entrance Hall where Professor McGonagall was waiting. I was at the head of the group, some of the first years were using me as a shield basically, and I smiled warmly at her. She returned the gesture with a smile of her own and a nod of her head.
"You will wait here until I come back to get you, and then we will begin the sorting. The sorting will dictate what house you belong to; Your house will be like your family while you are here at Hogwarts. Do things worthy of recognition, you earn your house points; do things you shouldn't, and points will be deducted. There are four Houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Each house has it's own admirable qualities and there have been famous witches and wizards come from them all." Professor McGonagall said, looking over the nervous crowd of first years with an ease that spoke of how often she did this - every year, that is. "Now, wait here and I will be back to fetch you."
"What do you think we have to do to be sorted?" I heard one of the first years ask another behind me.
"I don't know." The girl replied "Ask him, I bet he knows."
I felt a hand tug on the back of my robes and just barely caught myself before I snapped at the young boy. They were just curious and nervous, I told myself, don't get angry. I turned to face the slightly pudgy boy with freckles and he gulped a little bit, before summoning whatever amount of bravery he had and asking me if I knew what the sorting involved.
"You have to fight a troll." I deadpanned, fighting down the urge to laugh at how pale his face got after I said it. I heard a throat clear behind me and I turned to find McGonagall giving me a seriously disappointed gaze. Ah shit, I haven't been here five minutes and I've already- is that a smile trying to fight its way onto her face? It definitely is. She thinks I'm funny. I shrugged, smiling whimsically at her in return, and she shook her head before clearing her throat and announcing that they were ready for us.
We walked in double filed lines between the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor tables. I was a step behind McGonagall and when people noticed me, which wasn't hard considering I was at least a foot taller than most of these kids, whispers broke out across the hall.
Well, I thought, scowling a little bit at the gossip that was Hogwarts. How considerate of them. Not like I'm nervous or anything.
We finally made it to the front of the room, where the Sorting Hat was resting on a stool, and Dumbledore stood for a moment, making the room instantly quiet. He gazed out over all of the tables and all of us gathered in front of the teachers table, his eyes stopping on me for a second, before clearing his throat and speaking.
"When your name is called, please step forward and allow the hat to be placed on your head. It will call out what house you are in and you should immediately go to join your new housemates." Dumbledore said, still scanning on the nervous new faces before settling on me once again. "As some of you may have already noticed, we have a transfer student for the first time in a long time. Whatever house he joins, he will be a sixth year this year, so please be kind and welcome him the best you can. Professor McGonagall?"
"We'll start with you." Professor McGonagall said lowly to me, approaching the front of the room and turning to face us before unrolling a scroll that most likely had all of the names on it. "Jasper Tatham."
I walked up to the stool at a casual place, turning to face the multitude of eyes on me and slipping the hat over my head. Thankfully, it covered my eyes, so I didn't have to worry about watching all of them watch me. That was when the hat began speaking to me, which startled me even though I knew it was going to happen.
'Well, well. This is interesting. From a future, are we? Most interesting.' The Sorting Hat said, chuckling a little bit inside of my head. 'And thinking about changing things, hmm?'
'Thinking about it.' I replied cautiously, wondering if he would tell Dumbledore my secrets.
'Not to worry, I won't tell anyone what's going on in your head. Now, where to sort you..' the Sorting Hat said, mumbling a little as he considered. 'You're loyal, but not kind enough for Hufflepuff. Clever, but I don't think you have the ambition or inclination to join Slytherin.'
I agreed with that assessment, so I didn't say anything, just waiting for him to come to a decision even though I was pretty sure it would be Ravenclaw.
'You're intelligent and studious enough for Ravenclaw, no doubt about that. You are brave though, considering what you've overcome in the last year.' the Hat said, seeming to mull it over in silence for a moment. It felt like the Sorting Hat had been on my head forever and the idea was only cemented in my head when I heard people talking none too quietly in the great hall about how long it was taking. 'Yes, I think I've got it. Better be..'
"Gryffindor!" the Sorting Hat called out loud, causing the table full of students wearing red and gold to burst into applause as I placed the hat delicately back on the stool. I was more nervous now that I had been sorted into Gryffindor because I had never truly thought it would happen. So, now I'm sharing a dorm room with three animagi and a werewolf who don't know that I not only know some of their biggest secrets but also their future as well. Joy. As I was freaking out, I saw James waving me over with a smile on his face, and sitting beside him was the shocked, rather pale face, of Remus Lupin. Who honestly looked kind of terrified, although I wasn't sure why.. Oh. It was because I was going to be living with them and he's afraid I'll find out their secret; which could mean Azkaban for the three animagi and hell for the young werewolf if I exposed them. I needed to do something about easing that worry sometime soon.
"Told you that you'd be in Gryffindor!" James said, clapping me on the back rather hard. I grinned back at him, pretending I didn't notice Remus's withdrawn look or the concerned look Sirius was directing towards him. It was a relatively easy meal, I asked a couple of questions about classes and got introduced to Remus and Peter, and pretty soon it was time to head up to the dorm and pass out until classes started the next morning. Knowing that the four would most likely want to talk, especially with how cagey Remus was being, I bid them all goodnight and closed the curtains around my bed. Thankfully, with all of the excitement of the day, I was really exhausted so I fell asleep easily and decided to think about a plan to deal with Remus in the morning if he was still being strange.
A/n: Okay, so that was a long chapter! Review and let me know what you thought, any input is awesome input! I know the end was kind of sudden, but I'll go more into detail about Remus and Peter on the next chapter as well as introduce a couple more people. Thanks, as always, for reading!