A/N: Another revised chapter and another thanks to Scooter for the beta, s/he did a long time back.

Chapter 5: Hogwarts

A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes was standing at the door to take them. Dudley, on seeing her, whispered into Harry's ear, "She is not the one to cross. Beware of her." Harry had to agree. She had very stern looks.

She introduced herself as Professor McGonagall. She welcomed them to Hogwarts and then told them about the sorting, which would begin soon. "There are four houses." she told them, "Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history. While you are here, you live with your house mates; your triumphs earn your house points, whereas, any rule breaking will lose points."

After telling the new students to 'smarten' themselves up a bit, she left, telling them that she would come back for them when it's time for their sorting. As soon as she left, muttering started.

"And what are the houses like?" asked Harry.

"As Professor said they all have their own noble history," answered Hermione, "but in short, Ravenclaw stands for wit and intelligence --"

"Which means studious and boring," cut in Ron.

Hermione continued as if there was no disruption, "Hufflepuff is for trustworthy and loyal people --"

"Where no one wants to go." Ron muttered under his breath.

"Slytherin is for people who are clever --"

"Or let's say cunning, and most of the time blood-purity-obsessed-people or death eaters," Ron mumbled.

"And Gryffindor," continued Hermione, raising her voice, "is where the people brave at heart dwell."

"And where I would love to go." finished Ron, smiling.

"How do you get sorted?" Dudley asked Ron.

"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."

"Or maybe we have to fight a troll." added Neville thoughtfully.

At this Harry and Dudley exchanged looks, both were frightened. Dudley might have a chance fighting against troll, but what about me? thought Harry.

Thinking their ideas were getting too crazy, Ayesha decided to intervene, "There is a hat known as the Sorting Hat, which kind of looks into your head to find qualities that fit the houses best and decides the house for you. How do you think they would manage to finish the sorting in a night, if we were to fight trolls?" At this, all five of them laughed, feeling relaxed.

Soon Professor McGonagall entered the chamber and took them to The Great Hall. It was a strange and splendid place, lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. The returning students had already taken seats at the tables, and were waiting impatiently for the sorting to end so that they could finally eat. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting.

Professor McGonagall led the first years up there, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Dudley looked upward and saw a velvety black sky dotted with stars. He heard Hermione whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History." Dudley looked around to find many first years looking at the ceiling, too.

Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall silently placed 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. Even before Harry could catch the words of hat, it finished the song, and the whole hall burst into applause. The hat bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.

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!"

And thus went the sorting. Whenever a student was selected into a particular house, that house cheered for the student. Soon it was Dudley's turn.

Dudley went, a bit nervously, to the stool and put on the hat; the hat seemed to take a while thinking which house to put Dudley in. After all there is no house for sporty and naughty people, mused Harry.

"Ravenclaw," shouted the hat.

"Impossible!" shouted Harry over the applause given by Ravenclaw. He turned around to look at Ron, "Are you sure about the studious stuff? Dudley is not that type." Ron shrugged. Harry looked at Dudley, who looked equally shocked.

The sorting went on and Hermione was sorted into Gryffindor, which made Ron a bit unhappy. As expected, Malfoy was sorted into Slytherin.

The hat took quite a long time for Ayesha and finally put her in Ravenclaw, thankfully for Dudley. At least he will have some good company, thought Harry. Dudley seemed to be thinking along the same lines, as he was whistling, earning glares from Professors and prefects, alike. Dudley was clearly behaving in a most un-Ravenclaw way. And then, at last – "Potter, Harry!"

It took a moment for Harry to realize that he was being called. He ran to the stool and put on the hat quickly to avoid the stares he was receiving.

"Gryffindor!" shouted the hat.

Harry was relieved that he was not put in Slytherin, but he was sad about being separated from Dudley. When he saw Dudley clapping and whistling, he cheered up.

Ron was sorted into Gryffindor, and soon sorting was finished.

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. Harry didn't know whether to laugh or not. "Is he -– a bit mad?" he asked Percy uncertainly.

"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?"

Harry's mouth fell open. The dishes in front of him were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table. Harry looked over to Dudley, who was similarly surprised, whereas Ayesha was at ease, as usual.

With dinner started the chattering; students were telling about themselves and asking about others. Neville was a pureblood like Ron, whereas Hermione was muggle-born. Seamus was half-blood just like Harry (this was told by Hermione, as Harry had no idea about his parents). Harry was now feeling warm and sleepy and was dreaming of a bed to sleep on.

At the Ravenclaw table, similar discussions were going on. Prefect Laura was a cheerful girl and had initiated the talk. To his surprise, Dudley came to know that Ayesha was a pure blood. As would be expected of Ravenclaws, the talk soon went on to studies.

"So when do classes start? Next week?" asked Dudley, his mouth full.

At this Laura laughed, "Tomorrow."

"What?" Dudley said in mock anger, "We deserve rest after --"

"Whole day of ranting?" quipped in Ayesha.

"No! I meant --"

"The difficult exercise of eating chocolates and pasties and whatnot?"

"No --"

"Then it must be visiting tarantula that must have drained you."

The Ravenclaws were having fun listening to this conversation. Dudley and Ayesha were really quite different from the usual Ravenclaws.

Dudley exclaimed with a huff, "Excuse me! Am I allowed to complete my sentences on my own? What I meant was that this is a big castle. We should be allowed to roam around for few days, you see, to get accustomed to it."

At last, the desserts 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." 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."

Harry laughed, but he was one of the few (among them were the twins, Dudley and Ayesha) who did.

"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 your favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"

Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins 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!"

The whole hall rose to go to their dormitories. Harry quickly ran to Dudley, to congratulate Ayesha and Dudley. Then they went off in opposite directions.

Upon reaching the common room, Dudley quickly went to his room and came back with a quill and parchment. "I am going to write to my parents," he answered the questioning look on Ayesha's face. Ayesha's face fell for a second but, in a moment she regained her composure. Soon, she sat beside him writing a letter to her distant uncle, Rahul. This confused Dudley a bit (not writing to parents first, but a distant uncle), but he did not press the matter.

Harry was doing exactly the same thing in his common room. After finishing his letter, he went to his room and slept. Tomorrow would be a great day.

--

Whispers followed Harry the moment he left his dormitory. He asked Percy how to find the Owlery and quickly left for it. He was surprised to find Ayesha and Dudley there. They sent Hobbit and Hedwig with the letters, whereas Ayesha used a school-owl to send her letter. Soon they were on their way to The Great Hall. Harry spotted Ron, and they all went to sit with him. Soon after breakfast, Professor McGonagall came to hand out the time-tables.

"What are you two doing here?" she asked Dudley and Ayesha.

"Of course, Professor --" started Dudley.

"-- having breakfast" finished Ayesha

"You are supposed to sit with your house … there," answered Professor pointing to the Ravenclaw table.

"But Professor we are promoting --"

"-- inter house unity" answered Ayesha and Dudley with proud looks on their faces.

Before Professor McGonagall could say anything, Professor Flitwick came to the Gryffindor table to hand out Dudley and Ayesha's time tables to them. He was amused to see both of them there and went away saying something about inter-house unity. Professor McGonagall also left.

"Which classes you have today?" asked Harry

"Day starts with Transfiguration, which we have with you --" started Dudley

"And ends with History of Magic, which we share with Hufflepuffs," continued Ayesha.

"In between Transfiguration and History we have double Potions with you and Charms with Slytherin" finished Dudley.

"Good! Let's leave for our first class. I don't want to end up on Professor McGonagall's bad side." said Ron getting up from the table.

Professor McGonagall was a strict and clever teacher. Dudley had been quite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross; she gave them a talking-to the moment they sat down in her first class.

Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started. They soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time.

After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. Harry was surprised to see that Dudley was very much interested in the subject and even seemed to have a natural flair for it. He was the first to change his matchstick into a silver needle. By the end of the lesson, only Dudley and Hermione Granger had made any difference to their matches.

As the walked from transfiguration to Potions, they were discussing Professor Snape "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favours them – we'll be able to see if it's true." said Ron

It was colder there than up in the main castle, and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls. Harry, Dudley, Ayesha and Ron sat together on the first bench.

Professor Snape started the class by taking the roll call. When he finished that, he gave his introduction, which silenced the class further.

With his opening speech finished, the professor stalked to the front of the class and began his opening class inquisition. His first target was Harry, "Potter! …." said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry, not realizing that it was him whom Snape was asking the question, continued with taking notes.

"Potter!' bellowed Snape

Ron nudged Harry; only then he realized that he was being addressed. He got up, looking confused.

"Ah, famous Harry Potter doesn't deem it necessary to answer questions asked by teachers, does he? He is above all these trivial things, after all." Snape said silkily.

At this, Dudley got up to answer Snape. "He is not used to that name, Sir. It's that simple. You went into unnecessary elucidation."

"Who authorized you to speak, Dursley? Let's see then, whether you are as big a dunderhead as your cousin or not. Answer me. What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Dudley had no idea about asphodel or infusion of … what did he say? He glanced at Ron, who looked as confused as Dudley was; Hermione's hand had shot into air.

"No idea, Sir."

Professor Snape ignored Hermione's hand.

"Let's try again. Mr. Dursley, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Dudley didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was.

"Again, no idea, Sir. Why don't you ask Hermione? It seems she knows the answer."

"You are not going to tell me what I should do in my class. You are as arrogant as your cousin Harry Potter."

"But you have not given him any chance to utter a single word, let alone show his arrogance," said Dudley glaring at Snape.

The whole class was watching them with rapt attention. No one talked to Snape like that.

"10 points from … Ravenclaw for your lack of respect. You will serve a detention with me tonight if I hear you utter another word." glared Snape before moving towards the class, "Let's see, who has got a better mind than the Dursley cousins. Yes … Miss Malhotra seems to share the qualities of these cousins; not showing any interest in the class. Answer me."

Ayesha quietly put her quill down (with which she was playing during the previous conversation) and got up, taking her own time. "When I did not find anything academic going on in the class, I switched over to playing with the quill." Snape glared at her.

The whole class gasped. Ravenclaws were clearly getting worried about another loss of points.

"Anyhow, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion, known as the Draught of Living Death. And a bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat." finished Ayesha.

Snape glared at Ayesha before agreeing that the answers were indeed right and telling her to take her seat.

Ayesha spoke again, "Won't I be getting some points for the answers, Sir? You were not that slow cutting down the points."

"No, Miss Malhotra. These answers, in fact, saved your house from losing more points."

--

Soon it was lunch time. This time Dudley, Harry and Ayesha were sitting at the Ravenclaw table.

"Is it true what we heard?"

They turned around to find twins looking at them with mischievous grins on their faces.

"What?" all three asked.

"The way you treated Professor Snape." asked Fred in a mock stern tone, while George was shaking his head in disapproval.

"Oh … yes! He is a git, idiot and …" started Dudley, again losing his temper.

"Dunderhead." finished Ayesha.

"What. Are. You. Two. Doing. In. Ravenclaw?" yelled twins together.

"Guys, you should have been in Gryffindor. We might have planned few pranks on him together." said George thoughtfully.

However, this incident apart from earning them recognition among the students, also made their potion lessons difficult. Dudley had made it his mission to work hard in potions just to teach Snape a lesson. Ayesha had a natural flair for it, but Harry was finding potions quite difficult, what with Snape constantly towering over them.

The first week went by, and soon it was Saturday morning. Other subjects were interesting except for Defense against the dark arts, where Professor Quirrell turned out to be a joke. Not only because he was wearing an over-sized turban, but also because he stuttered.

Just as they were having their breakfast at the Gryffindor table, Hedwig and Hobbit fluttered down to Harry and Dudley to deliver a few letters. Their mother and father wrote asking how they were and how classes were going, and Hagrid wrote to invite Harry to tea. Harry asked the other three to accompany him, and then wrote to Hagrid telling him to expect the four of them that afternoon.

--

Soon they were seated around a table in Hagrid's hut. They shared with him their first week of classes. Dudley took Fang, Hagrid's dog, out to play. Ayesha immersed herself in reading a copy of the Daily Prophet. The headlines said that someone had tried to rob Gringotts bank. Harry realized that the day of the attempted robbery was the same day that Hagrid had taken him and Dudley to Diagon Ally and the bank. He also realized that the vault the article said was broken into was the same vault from which Hagrid had withdrawn something.

The trip to Hagrid's had given them enough to ponder over in the weekend. What did Hagrid remove that day from Gringotts? Was it the reason for theft? Who broke into Gringotts?