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Balance Factor Chapter 2

Year One

The Sorting

A/N: Another chapter for you peeps! Things are just flying out, aren't they? I want to say not to expect this as a common occurrence, but my plot bunny is still jumping.

Flashbacks/Thoughts

Within twelve hours of meeting the so-called being Hagrid (who managed to insult the Dursleys, give Dudley a pig tail, and deliver his letter again), Harry was well on his way into the magical world. He glanced at the shops littering Diagon Alley, trying to figure out what he should see first and how much money he had.

"Hagrid, you said that my parents left me money," Harry said slowly. "In the bank, right?" He trailed behind Hagrid, a bit unsure about the large man. He seemed like a nice person, but Hagrid had also been expelled for breaking the rules, hadn't he?

"Yup! Ain't no safer place," Hagrid declared proudly. "Except, perhaps Hogwarts."

Harry looked at the goblins respectfully, watching them work. They seemed quite dedicated to their work. He could understand that.

The goblins flattered when they saw him watching them, hesitating before choosing to ignore him. Hagrid pushed Harry forward to get into the cart before seating himself in the back. Harry smiled at Griphook as he sat down.

"Good morning, good sir," he said politely. The goblin seemed shocked at his manners, but collected himself soon after.

"Good morning, Mr. Potter," it replied. Harry smiled, gripping the handle as the cart shot into the darkness. He felt his stomach turn at the twists in the tunnels and at one point, he felt like throwing up from the speed when they passed something that looked oddly like a dragon. God, this was worse than asking Kou to give him a ride in his dog form.

After they screeched to a halt, Harry stumbled out of the cart, dizzy and feeling a little bit ill. He shook his head a little to clear it and rubbed his eyes. They were in front of the Potter's vault, it seemed.

Griphook opened the vault and Harry stared at the size of the mountain of gold, silver, and bronze.

"Wow… All of this is mine?" Harry asked, stepping in the vault. Griphook nodded and Hagrid passed Harry a sack for his money. Harry slipped the sack in his pocket and then turned back to the goblin and half-giant. "Ready."

Hagrid had another stop though. Harry swore by the end of this, as he watched Hagrid grab a grubby little package out of the vault, he wouldn't ever complain about Kou being too rough in his strides again.

-0-

Harry wasn't stupid. He had noticed the stares and bows that people had given him. He simply wasn't reacting to them. Hagrid didn't mention anything, so Harry didn't probe. Hagrid wanted to take him to buy robes, but Harry insisted on the bookshop first. He wanted to get his books, perhaps even buy a few extra for himself.

Hagrid left to run another errand as Harry entered the bookshop. Immediately, he walked over to the Potions isle, glancing at the titles of the books, smiling to himself.

"Father?"

Ryuuko looked up at his son as his son entered. He smiled down at the pot in front of himself and said, "Come in, Kazuki."

Kazuki walked closer to his father, looking in the pot as well. Ryuuko placed a hand on Kazuki's shoulder.

"Father, what is that?" Kazuki asked, looking at the mess of brown and blue goo. Ryuuko laughed and stirred it twice, counterclockwise.

"It's a potion, son," Ryuuko had said. "I'll make it into the paste form for Shisui. He's always complaining about healing my burns."

"It'll heal burns?" Kazuki asked. Ryuuko nodded.

His father, Ryuuko, had loved experimenting. It was sort of a hobby to him. Ryuuko had never taught any of his personal recipes to Kazuki, but he had taught him how to prepare some of the ingredients. Kazuki had learned not to ask what they were.

Harry opened the book, looking at the recipes. He didn't recognize any of them, but he did appreciate the wonderful pictures.

The thing that had surprised him the most were the moving pictures. It had never occurred to him that people in the magical community threw around their powers into every little thing, but he supposed it wasn't that bad, considering the mechanism of how they obtain magic for their cores.

Harry closed the book as the door to the bookstore opened. He gathered his books and threw a few on top of the pile. A Complete Guide to Potion Making as well as Advanced Spellwork was added to his pile. He made his way to the front, waiting behind a pale blond boy and his mother.

"Hey, you first year too?" The boy asked, spotting him.

Harry nodded and asked, "you too?"

"Yeah, my mum's getting my books," the pale boy said, almost sneering. Harry didn't know what to think of the boy just yet, so he kept his mouth shut in reply to that. "What about you? Where are your mum and dad?"

"They're dead," Harry said.

"Oh. Sorry," the boy replied, managing to not sound sorry at all. "But they were our kind, weren't they?"

"I think so," Harry said. But as soon as he said it, the boy's mother ushered her child away, back out the doors. Harry moved closer to the counter, placing the books he wanted to buy on it. "I would like to make some purchases."

"First years?" The women asked, looking at him shrewdly over her glasses. Harry nodded, not minding the stare. "Hogwarts?"

"That's right," Harry said. The women glanced at the titles and shrugged, starting to ring him up.

"If you're going to Hogwarts, perhaps I can interest you in Hogwarts: A History," the women said. Harry paused at that, but then nodded.

"Sure."

Harry left the bookstore significantly heavier than he had been entering it. He stopped by a traveler's shop to make a quick purchase to store his books in and then headed to the wand shop.

Mr. Ollivander was hidden behind some stacks of wands, but Harry sensed his presence as soon as he entered the shop. "Excuse me; I would like to make a purchase."

Ollivander gazed at him in wonder.

"Mr. Potter… Welcome!" He seemed overjoyed to see him there, moving around the counter. "I sold both your mother her wand, and your father his. And… This is…" He reached up and touched the scar on his forehead, a slight frown on his face. "I'm afraid I sold the wand that did this as well."

Harry backed away a little from the strange man, frowning. He didn't appreciate being touched.

Ollivander smiled.

-0-

Harry twirled his new wand between his fingers a few times, trying to get the feel of it. It was eleven inches, holly, and phoenix feather core. Harry didn't particularly like having a wand since he was more used to channeling his magic through his hands or body, but perhaps it would be easier.

Hagrid came back, holding a cage with a lovely snowy owl. Harry had been both surprised and pleased. It was his first gift in a very long while, after all. Hagrid had offered to take him back home, but Harry had refused, instead booking a room in the Leaky Cauldron for the remaining stay of his summer. Hagrid had objected at first, but then given in since Harry promised him that he wouldn't miss the train. After giving Harry his ticket, Hagrid left.

Harry sat down on the floor and opened the first book in his pile: Hogwarts: A History

-0-

Harry delved into the art of potion-making and the skills needed for spell casting. He tried a few simple charms, such as repairing objects, levitation, and even a spell to change his hair color. He read about potions that corrected eyesight, hearing loss, the flu, and even something called Dragon Pox. It was a world he never knew existed.

In his opinion, though, there were many spells that he felt were unnecessary. When would he ever need to turn a tortoise into a teapot or a mouse into a snuffbox (he would never use a snuffbox if he had found out it was transfigured from a mouse). The sheer thought of having to know how to do something so completely useless gave him a headache.

Still though, there were many curses and jinxes he thought might be helpful. The cutting curse was definitely one he should learn for combat, as well as the disarming spell and the stunning spell. He wasn't sure how much his Factor affected his resistance to spell work, or if it made him more vulnerable. These were small things that he needed to test out.

Through one of the books he had bought, he spotted his name. He paused and sat back, wondering if they really had been talking about him. Harry had, somehow, at the age of one, defeated the Dark Lord.

Harry knew that was completely bogus. Harry Potter was dead. Only his body remained with Kazuki's presence. He was Harry Potter, but only in body.

Harry shut the book and stood up. It would be a good time to get his eyesight fixed.

Three nasty tasting potions later, Harry walked out of Potions for Everyday Use with perfect vision. He tucked his newly repaired glasses away and glanced in his money sack. He still had a fair few gold coins left, but he really did want to get back to studying. Who knows what the teachers were like in magic school.

-0-

The train ride was rather dull. Harry read the large potions book all the way there, only pausing to nod to a red headed boy with a whole lot of freckles about his question to sit. It wasn't until they had almost reached the school when the door opened once more.

"So you're Potter?"

Harry glanced up at the pale blonde boy, pausing in his book. He set it down and sat back. "I am."

"Huh, well what do you know. Potter has come to Hogwarts," the boy sneered. "I think you'll find… that some families are superior then others." He gave the red head a nasty grin and offered a hand. "I can help you there."

Harry looked at the hand and then at the boy. He took the boy's hand and gave it a small shake.

"Thank you, but I would rather see things for myself."

The boy nodded slowly, lowering his hand. Harry went back to his book. After the door closed, the red head gaped at him.

"That was Draco Malfoy!" he said in surprise. "His whole family is into Dark Arts!"

"I would prefer not to judge a person by what his family has done," Harry said, looking up at the red head. "I don't believe I caught your name."

"Oh! My name is Ron. Ron Weasley."

"Harry Potter," he returned, nodding his head in acknowledgement.

Ron, as he figured out, liked to talk. It was a bit irritating, but at least it meant that he had willing company. Harry eventually put down his book to talk, tucking it away. He glanced at a bushy brown haired girl as she asked about a toad and shook his head.

The castle was large. Not as large as the Light Palace, but still quite large. And very confusing. The entire castle was saturated with magic, almost overflowing. Magical residue was everywhere. In the walls, the floor, the spell worked starry sky of the Great Hall. It was almost suffocating to his carefully honed senses. The appearance of ghosts didn't surprise him, but most of the other students gasped or cried out in shock. With the amount of magic in the air, he wasn't surprised that ghosts could manifest here.

Harry followed as the group of students was led into the Great Hall for sorting. He had long finished Hogwarts: A History so these things didn't surprise him. He simply gave a deep sigh as he walked up to the stool when his name was called, ignoring the hush and whispers. The hat's brim fell over his eyes.

Well, well, well… This is sure interesting.

Harry gave a sharp jerk when he heard the sorting hat talk in his head. Immediately, his meditation skill walled off the intruder, his Factor pulsing with his emotions.

Oh dear. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to place you in a proper house.

Harry hesitated, but then dropped his mental barriers, letting the hat enter. The hat delved into his memories, searching, watching. Kazuki had years and years of memories with Ryuuko and Shirogane.

There was a very long silence. It lasted perhaps ten or twelve minutes. Then the hat spoke to him.

You have quite a history, Balancer. But where to put you? Slytherin would benefit from your cunningness, Gryffindor would admire your bravery, Hufflepuff would love your loyalty, and Ravenclaw would suit you well. But I think the best place to put you would be…

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry felt the hat being removed and headed towards the table with the loudest cheers. He glanced up at the high table, spotting Dumbledore and a greasy haired man. Dumbledore smiled at him. Harry looked away.

"We got Potter! We got Potter!"

He did wish they would stop chanting that.

-0-

A/N: Read and review, as always.