Harry looked at the ceiling of the hall in interest and appreciation. It was beautiful. He would have to try that spell sometime. It looked complicated from the amount of energy swirling around behind the illusion. A girl near him chatted excitedly about a book and the ceiling. He ignored her and all the other students in favour of now looking at the hat at the front of the hall. Now that looked like a very complicated spell. There was so much energy around it, it almost glowed. Must be old; at least as old as the school itself which also glowed with energy.
He was simply amazed by the amount of energy (magic) in the school itself. In just the stone and the wood. Not counting all the paintings and such everywhere. He half listened to the woman's talk and watched half heartedly as the students walked up to the stool and sat under the hat. The energy would reach from the hat and gently wrap around the student, reading them, before sending them off to a table. As he heard his name he gracefully stepped forwards. He was annoyed at the stares and whispers that followed him. He did not like such attention. He sat down and the hat covered his eyes.
"Harry Potter." The hat whispered. "Would you mind letting me in your mind?"
He was sure no one else had heard and slowly let the energy seep out from around his mind.
'Interesting. Those were almost like occlumency shields, yet something else. You were just using your magic to block me out, not mental shields; no mental shield could keep me out.'
'That makes you dangerous.'
'If I could tell anyone what I had read, yes, it could be dangerous. But I have spells around me to make sure all students keep their privacy.'
Harry gave a curt nod.
'Now let's see…'
The hat was silent for a moment.
'Oh my…A fire elementist. And you already have a solid grasp on wandless magic. Simply amazing. Not even Dumbledore can do what you have done and he's hailed the strongest wizard of the centaury. You are powerful….I believe the last time I saw such power was in my makers. The Founders.'
Harry just tilted his head slightly.
'Ah, but that's not the issue. I'm just here to sort you.'
Harry smirked slightly.
'Where to put you….Where indeed?'
Harry let the hat riffle through him.
'I believe you would do well by yourself, don't you?'
Harry gave a small smirk. He preferred alone. But there were only four houses, each quite full, so what did the hat mean alone?
"HOGWARTS APPRENTICE!" The hat shouted.
There was a dead silence through the hall as Harry gently set the hat on the stool. It seemed to give him a wink. Then chatter burst forth as the students looked absolutely confused. It took a bunch of sparks from the headmaster to make everyone silence.
"This is a very rare occurrence." Dumbledore said smiling. "Many of you may wonder what the hat meant. Hmm?"
Nods everywhere.
"'Hogwarts Apprentice' is a not exactly a house because it never has more then a people at a time. In a sense it's a house for people who could fit in all houses and have above average power levels. You must have both to get in this house."
Some seemed to just smile and laugh like they should have expected that of the 'Great Harry Potter'.
"This hasn't been done in over seven hundred and sixty four years, but it is not a bad thing. Harry Potter will get a different schedule and dormitory but will have no point system or table. Harry, you may sit where every you like." Dumbledore smiled.
Harry could see curiosity burn in the twinkling blue eyes as he headed to sit at the yellow and black table. He could already see the Ravenclaws would love to study him, the Gryffindors would just put him in the spot light, and the Slytherins would not be the best to just sit with at the moment. Hufflepuff though would most likely treat him equally. He got welcoming smiles as he sat down near a girl with blonde pigtails. He stayed silent and they saw he wished to be left alone. So they left him. He tuned out the rest of the sorting and only half listened to Dumbledore's speech. When the food appeared he dug in silently.
.--.
Harry followed the headmaster down the halls to the south tower. When they reached a large portrait of the night sky he stopped and turned to Harry smiling.
"Now my boy, we'll have your schedule tomorrow morning. Being in this house is almost like being the castle's apprentice, so don't be alarmed if things randomly appear in your rooms. The castle is a sentiment being and as such can change herself or move things. Also, even though you can not have points taken you can be given detention so be good. Also with your house title you get quite a few advantages. You have no curfew, you are allowed to use any empty classrooms you wish, you may use magic in the halls, and you may take points from other students like a head boy. Don't abuse the power. I believe there are also some other rules but as I have never been around when they were enforced I can not tell you. There are very few books on the subject."
Harry gave him a nod.
"You may talk to me if you ever need my boy. Goodnight."
The headmaster walked off humming softly leaving Harry in front of the large portrait. He watched the sky a moment seeing the full moon drift behind grey clouds which blocked the stars from sight. Suddenly he spotted an old face in the moon. It was painted perfectly to blend in with the moon unless it wished to be seen. The mouth opened and the old man in the moon laughed.
"A student in my house? Finally." It chuckled.
"I'm Harry Potter."
"Just call me Elder." The man chuckled.
Harry gave a nod.
"Now do you wish your room to be here in the southern tower?"
Harry blinked.
"It can be moved?"
"Of course! Hogwarts can easily move the rooms and me to another location in the castle, if you wish."
"What's the view like?" he asked after a moment.
"I believe you can see the forest and the lake from this tower?" The man grinned.
"I'll stay here for now."
It gave a laugh.
"What do you want the password to be?" He asked.
Harry thought a moment. Then he smiled.
"Emerald."
The portrait gave a smile and swung open. He stepped into the room and the portrait closed behind him. He gazed around his common room taking in everything. There was a large fire place to the left with two large comfy chairs and a coffee table between them. To the right the tall wall was taken over by two large shelves in the corners and a huge window between them. The window was as tall as the wall and about ten feet wide. The shelves were about three feet wide each and also very tall. He stepped into the room, his feet brushing the thick carpets on the stone floor. The whole room was just a dull black and white. He knew there was a reason so he left it.
He looked to the fire and threw his arm towards it as if throwing something. A fire ball leapt from his fingers and ignited in the fireplace. The room was almost instantly being heated by the white flames. The white slowly died to red and Harry headed across the room to a set of tall winding stairs. As he reached the top of the stairs he found himself on a balcony overlooking the common room. He found a door waiting and opened it to find his bedroom. It was nice.
It had a large four poster bed opposite of the door with two large arched windows on either side of it. There was a small plain nightstand, desk, and wardrobe also in the room. There was also another door connected to the bedroom leading into a plain white bathroom. He pulled his trunk from his pocket after he finished looking and set it on the desk. Then he just stripped to his boxers and fell onto the bed almost asleep as he hit the pillow. As he drifted off he faintly noticed the castle's magic slipping into his mind.
.--.
When Harry woke he had to blink in surprise. The room was different. The four poster bed was now a comfy double bed covered in forest green and wood brown. There was a nightstand on either side of the bed made of oak. The floor had a thick chocolate brown rug and the windows both had velvety light brown curtains. The desk was large and set with quills and parchment. There were also a few shelves with his things like his violin on them. The trunk at the end of his bed was empty, unpacked. The wardrobe was also oak now and more ancient looking. Near one of the windows was also a beautiful carved bird perch with Hedwig was perched on. He cracked the window open so she could leave and enter when she wished. There seemed to be a spell over it so the wind and cold didn't enter the room.
As he wandered to the bathroom to have a shower he found it full of reds, oranges, yellows, and whites like flames. There was a large marble tub at the end of the large room and a shower off to the side. There was also a sink, a toilet, a full length mirror, towel racks, a laundry basket, and shelves full of soaps and such. When he finished he shower and dressed eh found the crest on hid robes changed. It looked like a shield divided into four. In one section was a black badger, then there was a golden Griffin, a green snake, and a black raven. The background was silver diagonal from silver and violet diagonal from violet.
When he exited his room he found an arch way at the end of the balcony across from the stairs. He walked in to find a small muggle like kitchen. There was a stainless steel table that sat two, a fridge, a stove, a counter, a sink, a microwave, cupboards, and a few other things. There was a real light that turned on as he entered the room and a window at the far end of the room which let in quite a bit of light. The floor also had linoleum squares, not stone. The room was a mixture of crimson red. It looked like blood. He found all the cupboards full of what ever he need. He briefly wondered how the fridge and stove worked around magic but waved it off for now. He gave a small smile and exited.
The balcony now had an elegant wire-work railing. The wire was worked into patterns of bare trees. He moved down the stairs and into the sitting room. The room was lovely. The window now sported a large stain glass center showing a navy blue flower in bloom. The chairs by the fire were now old fashioned, colored violet, and cushioned with silver pillows. The table was elegant with carved edges. The shelves had been painted black and were full of books. The fireplace was made of grey stone and the carpet in front of it was silver with wisps of violet. There was a large picture hanging over the fire now. It was a picture of a crescent moon hanging over a forest. There was now also a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It was made of black metal and seemed to be a crescent moon holding white candles that lit the whole room when the window wouldn't.
Harry found his black book bag on the table between the chairs, already packed along with a book beside it. The book's title said 'Hogwarts Houses'. There was a blue bookmark marking the chapter about the Hogwarts Apprentice house. Harry smiled at the room and swung the bag over his shoulder. Then he turned to look out the window. He found himself looking over the greenhouses at the clear lake and forbidden forest. He smiled softly to himself.
"I love it." He said out loud.
He briefly saw the magic around the room flare a bit. He smiled and headed for the portrait door to go to the great hall.
.--.
End Of Chapter 4.