Harry Potter
The Fourth Son
Chapter Three
The Sorting Ceremony
The next morning was complete chaos within the Potter household. Ginny was rushing getting Lily to hurry up with getting ready to leave. Lily of course had finished packing and realized she had forgotten some of her books, so that had to unpack and then repack everything. There was of course the occational argument about this between the mother and daughter about everything always being done last minute or that it should have been done ages ago.
Jason knew that when this was happening to stir clear of his mother. For she would always find something that anyone hadn't done yet. So that was why Jason was walking around his room, making sure he had everything he needed, he double checked his trunk and looked at his snowy owl, Hedwig II. Jason looked at the owl as she tilted her head and hooted. Jason walked over and poked his finger into the cage and petted his owl, brushing his finger along the side of its head. The owl nibbled affectionately at his finger and Jason grinned. He heard the sound of someone knocking and looked up to see his father.
"You got everything you need packed away" he asked
"yeah" said Jason "and I double checked too"
Harry let out a sigh of relieve and crossed the room and dropped down onto his son's bed. He looked at his son as he laid next to him.
"good" he said "cause your mother is on a rampage"
Jason laughed lightly at how frightened his dad acted when mom was angry like this. The two laid there silently as they looked up at the ceiling.
"you nervous about leaving home for a whole year" asked Harry finally
"a little" admitted Jason "I mean you'll still be there and Lily is there too, so its not like I am gonna be completely homesick right"
Harry sat up and looked at his youngest son, with a surprised look. The look faded as he then looked at his son and saw through the façade. He saw that deep down Jason was nervous as his other siblings were when they first started at Hogwarts. Harry put a hand on his son's shoulder as he sat up.
"you are right" he said "but you know your mom won't be at the castle, she will be here all alone"
Harry winked at Jason and the two shared another laugh. Harry got up from where he sat and walked to the door. He peered outside of it and made sure the coast was clear before turning back and sitting down next to his son.
"before your mother comes here" he said as he pulled out rectangular box and held it towards Jason. Jason looked at it as he took it from his father's hand and opened it. Inside was a small mirror. Jason raised an eyebrow and looked at his dad.
"that Jace is a two-way mirror" said Harry "If for some reason you need to talk or need help with something, just say my name and I will answer"
Jason looked at the mirror with an intrigued look on his face. He then got up and put it in his trunk on top of his school robes and closed the turnk. He then went to his dad and hugged him tightly. Harry was at first shocked by this, he then wrapped his arms around his son.
"you'll do great" he muttered
Soon the Potter family were on their way to Kings Cross Station. Harry got their school things on two trolleys and then headed to the platform. Lily went through the barrier first, and Ginny followed behind her. Harry got next to Jason as he put on hand on the cart and the other his son's shoulder. His green eyes met Jason's blue and he nodded. They then turned their attention to the barrier and took a running start at it. The two passed through the barrier and arrived onto Platform nine and three quarters. Jason looked at the train with excitement on his face. He was excited that now he would be going to Hogwarts.
"i'll see you on the train Jason" said Lily as she quickly said good bye to their parents "I have to meet with the Gryffindor Head boy and girl and get my prefect assignments out of the way"
Ginny bide her daughter a farewell and told her to watch out for her brother at school. She told her mother she would and hurried to the train. This left Harry, Ginny and Jason to themselves. The two walked with Jason to the door that led onto the train. Jason suddenly stopped as his parents kept walking. Harry took notice and nudged his wife. She looked over her shoulder and saw the frightened look on her son's face.
"i'll handle it" said Harry "you handled Lily on her first year, my turn for his"
Harry let go of the Trolley and turned on his heel. He walked to Jason and stood next to him.
"you ok there champ" he asked
Jason shook his head and looked up at Harry nervously.
"Dad" he stammered "what if I get-well you know"
Harry chuckled inwardly at what his son was mentioning and remembered the same thing had happened with Albus. He knelt down in front of his eleven year old and firmly grasped his shoulders.
"Jason" he said "you don't need to worry about that, whatever house you get sorted into will have a amazing student in it, all that me and your mother care about is that you do well in your studies, but if this is something that truly bothers you, like I told you other siblings, the sorting hat does take your opinion into account"
Jason nodded. Harry looked into his son's eyes and knew that there was something else bothering the boy. He pondered for a moment what it could be and then it hit him as he noticed people were gawking at the man with his son. The famous Harry Potter.
"Jason" said Harry "there is more to it then just the sorting ceremony is there"
Jason nodded. He breathed in and let out a shaky breath.
"what if people only look at me and well see the son of Harry Potter" he said "what if they don't see me for who I am and not just the son of the world's famous wizard in all of history"
Harry chuckled at his son's outburst of the truth.
"Jason" he stated "to be honest I have little to no worry that you will overcome that, you will make everyone see you and no one will expect you to do as great things as I have, I bet you will get people to see you as Jason Evans Potter..not Jason Evans Potter son of a famous wizrd, But Jason Potter..the boy got all Outstandings on his O. , or Jason Potter the Gryffindor Head boy, or even if you want..Jason Potter Gryffindors best Seeker who has broke his father's record"
Jason laughed at what his father said and Harry knew he had cast away any of his son's fears. He pulled his son into a tight hug before letting go.
"remember that ok" said Harry "don't let what I did overshadow what you can do"
Jason nodded. The shistle blew signaling that the remaining students should board the train. Jason hugged his mom and dad one last time before running onto the train. Harry turned to his wife and kissed his quickly.
"he will be fine" he said as he picked up his suitcase "don't worry I will keep an eye on him as well Gin"
Harry kissed his wife one more time before heading onto the train. He watch her wave goodbye as the train rolled away from the station and heading to Hogwarts.
/
The train ride was a fun experience for Jason. He got to sit in a compartment with fellow first years and soon tthey were friends. He met a first year witch whose father was a famous magizoologist, and a normal wizard. When they first met Jason was very vague about his family. That was until the mentioning that his father was a professor at Hogwarts and then the beans were spilled when his sister popped into the compartment and introduced herself to Jason's new friends. Jason got embarrassed by this but his sister helped him overcome it as he explained to his friends why he didn't fully tell about his family. His two new friends understood and accepted his reasoning.
"I mean having a father like mine is one thing" said the Witch, Farrah "but your dad being Harry Potter, that is a whole other level"
Jason looked to his friend Ben.
"It doesn't matter to me" stated the first year
Soon the train came to a slow stop as the train arrived at Hogshead Station. Jason and his friends exited the train in their new school robes and were lead by Groundskeeper and keeper of Keys Rubeus Hagrid. The first years were taken by boats to the castle. and as the slowly sailed acorss the balck lake, many were looking up in amazement at the huge castle. Few were whispering amongst themselves on which house they would be put iin. Jason looked to his friend Ben as they exchanged looks of excitement. Soon the group of first years made it to the docks and were lead up the large stair case to the front entrance fo the school. Hagrid would lead them to a large hall outside a set of Oakwood doors that would lead into the Great Hall.
At the front of the doors stood Harry Potter in his wizardin grobes. In his hand was a piece of rolled up parchment. His eyes scanned the first years as they settled in around him.
"I would like to welcome you to Hogwarts Schoof of Witchcarft and Eizarfry, behind this doors lead to the great hall here a large feast awaits you, but before that can begin you will have to go through the sorting ceremony, the ceremony is used to determine what house you would belong to for the next four years"
Harry cleared his throat.
"for when in these house your trumps will earn yu points and any rule breaking will cost you points, at the end of the year the score will be tallied and the winner of the house cup shall be named"
Harry motioned towards the doors and they slowly opened revealing the great hall. Harry led the group of first years inside and stopped whn he came up to the stool with the old wizarding hat on it. Harry stood beside it and looked at the first years, he noticed how nervous they looked and spotted his son in the group. He smiled as he saw a girl beside him talking to him. He then looked behind him to the staff table and saw Professor McGonagall stand up.
"To all who are new welcome to your first year at Hogwarts" she said "to all who are old, welcome to another year, before we begin the ceremony I would like to remind those who are returning that the forbidden forest is well forbidden to enter without a teacher, Mr. Filch has kindly reminded me that all Weasley joke products are banned from the school. I would also like to remind you that using spells outside of class is forbidden, Mr. Potter if you will"
Harry cleared his throat and looked at the first years again. He then looked at the Hat as it began to move.
"ah a new batch of first years to sort" it said "Let me introduce myself"
The hat looked as if it took a deep breath before it 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 folks 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
Harry pulled out a roll of parchment from his robe's pocket and started to unravel it. He looked to the new students.
"when I call your name" he said "please come up and sit on the stool"
Jason sat in the group as he heard his father call name after name. He looked at his new friend Farrah and Ben and the three looked at each other. Ech wanted to be put into the houses they wanted, as they had talked about on the train ride to the school. Soon Harry called up for Ben and the young wizard went up and sat on the stool. Jason watched as his friend was sorted into Ravenclaw. The boy hopped off and went to be greeted by his new house and took a seat at the table. Harry then called out Farrah.
"good luck" muttered Jason
"thanks Jace" she said using the new nickname she had just come up with
Farrah sat on the stool and Harry set the Hat on her head. From Jason's perspective he just saw her moving her mouth quietly as if she were talking to herself. Suddenly the Hat stopped talking to itself and then it yelled "GRYFFINDOR". Farrah hopped off of the stool with a huge grin on her face as she skipped along to her new house table. Jason noticed the group of first years were getting smaller as they were sorted into their houses.
"Jason Evans Potter" called out Harry
Jason looked up as his name was called, and suddenly he felt as if his legs were a ton of bricks. He made his way up to the stool and sat on it. He then began to panic slightly. What if he didn't get sorted into Gryffindor..what if he got sorted into Slytherin. He knew that he was being silly for thinking that. He knew that his brother was in Slytherin. But Jason really wanted to be in Gryffindor, not because his entire family was sorted into Gryffindor. But because he knew he would have a family member in the same house as him.
am I being childish for thinking like that He thought in his head
Soon Jason felt the feeling of a hat being placed on his head. The hat began to stir again.
"ooooohhhhhh another Potter" said the hat "hhhhhmmmmm, the last one i placed in Gryffindor, and the one before in Slytherin. You seem to he courageous, no intellectual, Ravenclaw would suit you"
"Please Gryffindor" muttered Jason
"Gryffindor you say" said the Hat "ah i see it now, you want to follow in your fathers footsteps, interesting, i do see the spark of a true gryffindor within, your heart is noble, and i do see great things that you can achieve...this old hat has decided GRYFFINDOR"
The gryffindor table erupted into applause as they had gained another Potter. Jason felt the hat being taken off and looked at his dad. His father gave him a quick smile and nodded his head. Jason got off the stool and made his way to the gryffindor table. He took a seat next to his friend Farrah. The two high fived each other. Jason leaned over to see his sister on the other end of the table, giving him a thumbs up. Jason smiled as he leaned back and watched the other students get sorted. Soon the sorting ceremony ended and Professor McGonagall rose up from her seat.
"Now before we begin the feast I would like to fill you in on a few staff changes" she said "taking over for Professor Sprout is our former student Neville Longbottom, he will be taking over as the Herbology Professor, Our own Mr. Potter has agreed to take on another year as our Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher and I do hope he stays on staff permenantly, now with that out of the way, let us enjoy the feast our wonderful house elves have cooked for us"
Soon the once empty tables were filled with every food imaginable. Jason looked at all the food infront of him and immediately grabbed some of the roasted turkey, and some potatoes. He had also grabbed a goblet of pumpkin juice and began to eat. Between eating he and Farrah were talking about the ceremony and how weird it was that the hat knew everything about them. Jason then looked up and noticed that his dad was talking with Professor Neville Longbottom and then remembered why he knew that name. The new Herbology Professor was an Auror for the Ministry of Magic. So why would he suddenly quit and become a Teacher?
Jason voiced his concern to Farrah.
"well maybe he decided to change careers" she suggested "Being an Auror is quite dangerous you know"
"yeah but it doesn't make sense to me" said Jaosn "i mean just the other day my dad was talking about how Neville had hi meet himat the Auror's office for lunch to discuss something, Dad wouldn't tell me of course"
Soon the feast ended and Lily being the house prefect, lead the first years up to the Gryffindor common room. She showed them around the room, pointing to where the boy's dormitories were and the girls dormitories were. Jason went to his dorm and found all their stuff waiting for them. He went to his bed and took off his robe and laid it inside of his trunk. On his bed he found a new set of robes, The robes had the Gryffindor house crest emblazoned on the chest, and a yellow and scarlet tie, along with a sweater vest that was trimmed with yellow and scarlet. Jason placed the new items into his trunk before he dug around for his pajamas. After a few moments he pulled them out and went to the bathrooms to get changed and brushed his teeth. He came out and put his clothes into his trunk and dug around again, he found one of his books he brought with him from home and laid on his bed to read.
He soon felt his eyes closing on their own and put his book on his nightstand and took of his glasses. He put them ontop of the book and pulled the blankets of his four poster bed over him and rolled over and fell asleep. The nights events played out in his mind in the form of a dream, and he smiled.