Trapped in a Serpent's Coils
Disclaimer: Own HP?* pouts* Wants please!
" Avada Kedavra"- English
$ Avada Kedavra$- Parseltongue
-Avada Kedavra- Thought Speech
A Tense Thirteenth:
When the children exited the train, Harry was swept off in the middle of the crowd. He was becoming quite terrified, as there were people pressing into him on each side, closer and closer… He desperately missed his parents. Harry gasped as a flailing elbow clipped his head as he wove through the crowd. Where was he supposed to go again? Then, out of the blue, Harry heard a very familiar voice call out.
"Firs' years, follow me!"
Harry scrambled over to the voice, ducking and weaving, until he saw the large form of the half-bred. Next to him, all clustered together, were the rest of the first years. Trotting quickly to keep up, Harry found himself thrust into a boat with the three purebloods he'd met on the train.
"Harry!" scolded Draco, "don't run off like that."
Harry had no chance to reply when the children around him started to gasp in wonder. Turning around, Harry himself had to struggle to contain his amazement. From this vantage point, Hogwarts was beautiful; she glowed as brightly as a jewel against the night sky. In that moment, Harry felt that it may actually be okay to spend seven years in this jail.
"But I'd die if I became a slimy Snake, wouldn't you?"
Then the moment was ruined by a gangly ginger on the next boat over. Harry glared over at the boy with very familiar hair. The red head had been wildly gesticulating at the plump boy who'd lost his toad, but now was pointedly glaring at the boat Harry was in. Harry was very confused at the animosity, but even more so at the disgust on his boat mates' faces. Bewildered, Harry turned to Draco.
"Who's the rude one?"
Draco sneered angrily.
"That Potter, is a Weasley."
Here, Draco raised his voice so the ginger could hear.
"My father told me all the Weasley's have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford.*"
Upon hearing this comment, the Weasley glowered at Malfoy. Draco just looked dismissively at him, before turning away. At this slight, the boy growled and spat out words to the children in his boat, namely the beaver girl, toad boy, and some other kid.
"See, that's a slimy snake for you. Git. "
Finally, the boats docked at the foot of the castle and the children got off. Looking sternly at the group was Professor McGonagall, herself. The professor then dismissed Hagrid and led the children into the castle. When the group reached a small chamber, the woman stopped and began a speech about Houses and sorting.
"Welcome to Hogwarts…"
Harry tuned out after that. The professor had already given this speech before to him, three times, over the summer and he was sick of it. Finally, she finished and, with a stern look at several of the kids, left the children in the room. The first years around him murmured and mingled nervously together.
"How do they sort us?"
The question came from the plump toad boy. Weasely began to ramble about trolls. Other students that had heard him were now staring in horror. Harry actually did roll his eyes this time. Was the ginger completely stupid?
Harry was about to snap at the taller boy to pipe down, when a group of ghosts floated from the wall. They were speaking about someone named Peeves, when a ghost in medieval clothing noticed them. A few words promoting Hufflepuff later, and the children once again found themselves in the presence of Professor McGonagall.
"Now form a line, and follow me*"
The group was lead to the Great Hall. When Harry entered the room, he was astounded. The large eating area was impressive as was, but now it was just stunning. There were candles charmed to float in midair, casting a warm, welcoming, golden glow upon the students.
The best part, though, was the ceiling spelled to show the night sky. Harry saw many constellation he was familiar with, the stars had always been fascinating to him. Caught in this awed stupor Harry, again, felt amicable towards staying at Hogwarts.
Of course, this feeling was extinguished once more by the know-it-all mudblood. Beaver teeth muttered arrogantly about the ceiling, referencing her books. Thus, Harry was subsequently reminded that staying meant all the annoying idiots. Oh, joy.
The quiet voices of the new first years were silenced when a stool was brought out. Harry craned his head to get a better look. McGonagall brought out a ratty old hat and the first years leaned in to watch…. Suddenly, it opened along a rip and began to sing.
Oh you may not think me 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!*
The Great Hall filled with applause at the end of the song and Harry clapped along as well. It was a remarkable piece of magic and he was curious as to what else it could do. McGonagall pulled out a long piece of parchment and began to read out names.
"Abbot, Hannah"
A pig tailed girl flounced up to the stool and the hat was placed on her. The other first years leaned in, eager to know her fate.
"Hufflepuff!"
The sorting continued in this vein. Harry wasn't surprised when Draco was sorted into Slytherin, but pretty much ignored the others. This continued until it got to Harry's turn.
"Potter, Harry"
The entire Hall grew quite with anticipation as he strolled over to the hat. Harry kept his poise, acting calm and collected, but was internally a wreck. There were so many eyes on him, and if he didn't get into Slytherin? His parents would be so disappointed…
The last thing Harry saw were the curious faces of his schoolmates, then the brim of the hat slipped over his eyes.
"Well, what do we have here?"
Harry almost had a panic attack at the voice in his mind.
"Interesting… so much darkness in one so young."
Finally, Harry realized who it must have been.
"Are you the hat?"
"Why, yes child, I am," The mind voice gave a chuckle.
"Please Slytherin, please Slytherin…"
"Slytherin, huh? I will admit you are ambitious, but perhaps smart enough for Ravenclaw as well?"
"Slytherin!" Harry begged the voice.
"Hmm… Gryffindor would suit you also… Such a brave child!"
"No!" Harry howled in his mind, what an awful choice!
"I suppose Hufflepuff would also be acceptable, your loyalty to your family is commendable."
Harry gasped, anything but that! What kind of a Dark Lord came from Hufflepuff?!
"No, please, not that!"
"Hmm…please you say? Alright then, little Badger, It is done!"
"Wait, but I-"
"Better be…"
* signifies quotes from the book
A/n: Well, first of all… hi every one! Sorry about the delay! I'm such a procrastinator, I'm sorry. I swear this was due out a week ago! Had become a beta for Cresendo noise is dead, but due to reasons, it didn't work out. Well, anyway, please don't hate me for the cliff hanger… Again, I'm really sorry about the wait. I just want to address a guest that said my sss's are stupid. Excuse me, but me went over this. I cut back on Harry and Käärme, I get to keep crazy mama snake as a guilty pleasure! Please leave it be. Reviews make me feel warm and fuzzy, so please do!
Cresendo noise is dead- Thank you for everything you've done for me.
KyuubiChild717- I can't wait to write the scene, either, it's going to be fun! Can you imagine them seeing two giant reptiles? I agree Käärme and Theo would get along, they're very similar.
SakuraKoi- I'm sorry, but I'm a slash writer, and this is a Voldemort/ Harry pairing. I'd love any other input you may have, but I'm sticking with my pairing.
xXTOFXx- Thanks for the correction, I got my hair colors mixed! I fixed the mistake, and thanks once again! I think I wrote the kids like that because they follow Draco, and he is at ease… Well, that and I'm not very good at pureblood mannerisms yet! Thanks for your review!
FraggleGaggles- Thanks!
Raven1493- Thanks for your sweet comment! Sorry I put off the sorting again… I must confess, you gave me the idea to do this cliff hanger, so… forgive me?
Stardust of Orion- Thanks for your always wonderful comments! I'm glad you enjoyed the house elf scene, I had a lot of fun imagining and writing it! I'm very happy you liked the social interactions as well, I look forward to writing more of them!
Charm13insomnia- I'm glad you're excited about that as well! Hmm, underhanded tactics, or blatant evil… Only time will tell!
RebelliousOne- I'm glad you liked it, and it will be very funny to see how Severus deals with Harry! I can't wait to write out jealous Hermione, for some reason I really don't like her. Hmm… maybe Dumbles will choke on a lemon drop!
Guest- Please don't make nasty comments on the sss's anymore it not only upsets me, but it also frustrates me and hurts my feelings. I am doing the best I can to give you an enjoyable story. So if you have anything to say, please do it in a polite manner.
TigerSnakeFang- Thanks! I'm really happy you enjoyed my story! Tähdet is wonderful, isn't she! I'm not quite sure what you mean by your question, sorry, can you please explain?
I 3 Zebras- Aww, thanks! I'm happy you liked it! I will I promise.
LavandersFlower- Thank you, I'm very glad you enjoy the story! I'll do my best to update faster!
Linaceae- I'm glad you like the story! I'll try to tone down the arrogance, I think that's just the crazy snake upbringing talking there! I've always thought that the majority of Harry's eye problems were due to malnutrition and extensive time in a dark cupboard. I did look it up, and malnutrition can affect the eyes, so perhaps that's why.
The snakes are dark because first of Tähdet is Bellatrix's ex-familiar, but also because of the mythology behind Käärme. Ajatar, a name that you've seen before in the story, is a demon in Finish mythology that is the mother of serpents and other reptiles. In the story, Käärme is the direct descendant of this creature, and so is also dark. If you have any other question, or want clarification, please feel free to PM me or ask in a review!
Gigimagic- Your welcome! I'm so happy that you enjoy my story this much! Don't worry, you're not the only one whose family thinks they're crazy, mine has also been subject to my insane laughter!
Aspygirlredo- Thanks, I'll start updating faster, I will!
Bookreader911- I'm sorry, I'll get right on to the next chapter!