Chapter Two: Snakes and Snake Charmers
Harry's snicker soon became a full-blown laugh as Dumbledore's mouth started to move wordlessly.
A rare sight, indeed.
McGonagall was having a hard time controlling her own shock. She, unlike the majority of the people in the hall, appeared to know exactly what this revelation meant.
The Malfoy's had raised Harry Potter.
The implications were widespread… and possibly devastating.
Severus Snape didn't look surprised so much as… apocalyptic. It was apparent that he'd had absolutely no idea that Harry had been right under his rather large beak all along.
It was all very amusing, to say the least.
Harry glanced over at Draco, his laughter ending in a snort at the look on his brother's face.
Ever the Malfoy, Draco had moved quickly from amused to bored… At least to all outward appearances.
Now that the big reveal was over, he wanted to get on with the real show.
Namely the sorting.
However, when he noticed Harry watching him, he winked slightly and then nodded in the direction of one of the tables. Harry turned his head slightly and followed Draco's line of sight.
And he laughed again.
There were a few familiar faces in the crowd of unknowns... Just as surprised as everyone else, but for different reasons.
Harry raised his hand and smirked as he waved at Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini... sending another shocked gasp through the assembled students.
Harry just shrugged and glanced back at Professor Dumbledore, He was relieved to see that the old man's shock and speechlessness had given way to muttering and sputtering.
Soon the old coot would have his formidable powers of speech back and they would get on with the sorting… hopefully before Drake made too much of an arse of himself.
"Are we going to do this or what?" Draco drawled, yawning dramatically. "So, he's Harry Potter. Deal with it and let's move on."
"Oh!" Dumbledore started slightly, coming back to himself. "Well, yes," he said, motioning to Professor McGonagall. "Mr. Malfoy first, if you please."
Draco stepped forward and sat on the stool, glancing insolently in Professor McGonagall's direction. The Professor sighed silently, but placed the sorting hat on Draco's head.
It surprised no one when the hat loudly proclaimed, "SLYTHERIN" before even touching Draco's head.
The newly appointed Slytherin smirked as he slipped off the stool and went to join his new housemates.
Harry took a deep breath before moving forward and taking the seat just vacated by his brother. So far so good. Now if only his sorting would go so well...
Yeah, that was going to happen...
Harry sighed slightly as the Sorting Hat was placed on his head, preparing himself for a fight...
"Ahh, Harry Potter at last," The Hat said faintly in his head. "Never did I think that I would get this opportunity. It is a pleasure my dear boy. Now where to put you? Let's see... Loyalty, yes, there is much loyalty in you… To a fault almost, I would say. You would do well in Hufflepuff, but that house is not the place for you. A good mind too. Oh yes. More than anyone in this world, except perhaps that 'brother' of yours, realizes. Ravenclaw would be good for you, but you would not be happy there. Let's see…Courage, strength…, and the foolish bravery that Gryffindor himself so admired. Yes, all of those qualities are yours. But the slyness… the cunning. Slytherin himself would have been proud with you in his house. And having been raised by the Malfoys…Yes… I believe that the place for you is SLY…"
"NO!"
The only sound remaining in the Great Hall was the fading echo of Harry's cry. Everyone had gone still and silent at the shout, never before having seen anyone disagree with the Sorting Hat so forcefully.
And it was apparent that Harry Potter was currently in the midst of a very heated, yet silent argument with the Sorting Hat.
Moreover, it wasn't too clear who was winning.
"Why should I stop?" The Sorting Hat asked. "You are perfect for Slytherin."
"No!" Harry thought emphatically. "I may have qualities of that house, but it is not where I'm meant to be. Put me in Gryffindor."
"Cheeky," The Sorting Hat said, sounding somewhat amused. "But you are only proving my point."
Harry's eyes narrowed. "Do you enjoy existence, my dear hat? Because if I am not sorted into Gryffindor, the consequences for you will be dire."
There was an audible gasp from The Sorting Hat, which had the students and faculty of Hogwarts exchanging startled glances.
"Not the words of a Gryffindor, my dear boy. Not at all." The Sorting Hat said, almost sadly.
"It doesn't matter," Harry thought emphatically. "I must be in Gryffindor. I know what you can see in me. I let you in. I know that you know my past, what I need to do for my future… for the future of the Wizarding World. Put me where I need to be!"
"Are you a snake in lion's clothing as I feel you to be? Or are you truly a lion in snake's clothing, as you wish for me to believe? Only time will tell... but I shall give you the opportunity to prove me wrong. You win Mr. Potter." Therefore, in the end, the Sorter threw in the proverbial hat. "I choose... GRYFFINDOR!"
Harry grinned and took the hat from his head, handing it to a speechless McGonagall. He headed for the Gryffindor table, ignoring the hat's continued mutterings, though Minerva McGonagall heard them quite clearly, paling slightly at the implications...
Meanwhile, at the Slytherin table...
When Draco had reached the Slytherin table, he'd taken the open seat between Blaise and Pansy... a seat that something in him said should always have been his. As soon as he sat down, he turned his attention to the front of the hall to watch Harry's sorting.
Pansy looked over at Blaise questioningly, getting a shrug in reply. She rolled her eyes at him and then leaned close to Draco. "So why is it that the Brother's Malfoy never informed their friends that they would be attending Hogwarts this year?" She whispered softly into his ear.
Draco smirked, letting his attention drift to the young woman beside him for a moment. "Which friends would those be, my dear?"
"Funny Malfoy," Blaise said, joining the conversation. The three started in surprise and looked at the front of the hall as Harry's shout cut the sorting hat off mid pronouncement. "More importantly," Blaise added, as he realized what the Sorting Hat had been about to say and what Harry's reaction to it meant. "Why is our dear snake charmer campaigning to be in a house other than our own?"
"Well, his parents were Gryffs," Draco evaded smoothly.
"But that's not the reason, is it Drake?" Pansy said, smirking knowingly. "You boys have been scheming..."
"Why Pansy, whatever gives you that idea?" Draco asked cautiously.
Pansy laughed. "Drake, Drake, Drake... When it comes to you and Harry, there is always a scheme..."
"Too true," Draco admitted.
"So what is it this time?" Blaise asked. "Murder? Mayhem? Death and destruction?" A sly smirk crossed his face and he raised his eyebrows suggestively. "Wanton debauchery?"
"You wish," Pansy sneered.
The three paused in their discussion as The Sorting Hat made its unwilling pronouncement of "GRYFFINDOR!"
"All kidding aside," Blaise said, studying Draco gravely. "Why are you and Harry here? And what possible reason could Harry have for willingly becoming a Gryffindork?"
"Well, you know Harry," Draco said with a shrug. "Still a Gryffindor at heart, much to my family's chagrin. As for why we're here at all..." A dark look passed over Draco's face. "That is a story for another time."
"Draco..." Pansy began.
"Not now Parkinson," Draco hissed. "What kind of Slytherin would I be if I revealed family secrets in the middle of the great hall?"
"But what happened?" Pansy insisted. "Last I knew, your father had stated that he would be rotting in hell before he'd allow the two of you to have any contact with 'the blithering, meddlesome old fool' and 'his merry band of blood traitors.'" Her face took on a contemplative expression. "He's not rotting in hell, is he?"
Draco snorted. "Alas, my father is still very much alive, but very much unaware that we are anywhere but Durmstrang..."
Pansy's eyes widened. "He doesn't know?" she hissed.
Draco shook his head and Blaise grinned. "And this is the very reason I have long wished that you and Harry had come to Hogwarts from the beginning. I have a feeling our lives are about to become a whole lot more interesting."
"Of course," Draco said coolly. "Now that the cat is out of the proverbial bag, we have the chance to really stir things up. I mean really, we were in the middle of a bloody wasteland. I can't believe that Father actually thought that he would get away with hiding Harry bloody Potter in Siberia for the next three years."
"I thought Durmstrang was in Germany... or something?"
"Or something," Draco agreed. "Really Parkinson, Siberia is simply an expression. You need to get out more..."
"So how do you plan on informing Malfoy senior that you are no longer attending Durmstrang?" Blaise asked, interrupting before the conversation could make a turn towards the unpleasant...
"I'm sure that the Durmstrang Headmaster has already informed him of our failure to arrive... and Harry will be sending Orion with a detailed explanation of where we actually are... in a day... or so."
"You're going to turn this school on its head," Pansy stated, a slightly wicked grin gracing her face.
Draco laughed. "Why, Pansy... that's only the beginning..."
Gryffindor Table
Harry made his way to the Gryffindor table, studying the faces of his housemates as he did so. The expressions ranged from distrustful, to awed, to welcoming... but that was to be expected. He knew that some people would have a hard time accepting anyone who'd been raised by a Malfoy, just on principle. And he couldn't say that he really blamed them.
Instead, he chose to ignore it, calling up a cheerful grin of greeting and taking the available seat between Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger.
"I had a feeling that you'd be joining us," Hermione said, smiling warmly at him. "Welcome to Gryffindor."
"Apparently, not everyone agrees with you," Harry said, looking down the table.
"Well, you came in with a Malfoy and you waved to Parkinson and Zabini... Not exactly the way to your housemates' hearts," Ron supplied helpfully.
"Ron!" Ginny hissed. She turned to Harry. "Excuse him. He doesn't believe in tact."
"Hey, tact is completely overrated," Ron said with a shrug. "It's just a lie wrapped up in pretty packaging. I don't see the need for that."
And Harry smiled. He could definitely get to like this Weasley kid... if only he could get him over his automatic dislike for Draco.
"I don't have any problem with honesty, Ginny," Harry said simply. "I know the reputation that the Malfoy name carries with it. And I know first hand just how evil they can be. As for Parkinson and Zabini... Well, Pansy and Blaise are two of my oldest friends in the world... Actually, they were the only two wizarding children that Lucius would allow near Drake and me."
"And you actually like them?" Ginny asked, disbelievingly.
Harry snorted. "Well, yes, most of the time. Why? What have they done to you?"
Ginny looked at Hermione uncertainly and Hermione sighed. "Well, I guess they have kept pretty low under the radar... but Slytherins in general go out of their way to make our lives miserable."
"And we return the favor."
Harry looked to his left and was faced with a pair of identical freckled faces.
"Fred and George Weasley at your service, Mr. Potter," one of them said. Both of them gave pseudo bows.
"Just so you know, he's George and I'm Fred," the other one added.
"Don't listen to him," the first said. "I'm Fred and he's George."
"Ah yes," George said, shaking his head slightly. "I was a bit confused... He's completely right. I'm George and he's Fred."
"That was some entrance you made," Fred said with a grin.
"Never seen Dumbledore in such a state," George added.
"So we just wanted to come over and shake your hand," Fred continued, holding out his hand, which Harry shook with an amused smile on his face.
"Yeah, we don't rightly care who you were raised by or with," George said, holding out his hand, which Harry shook as well.
"And we choose not to question your choice in friends..."
"Even if some of them happen to be Slytherin..."
"Slimy gits..."
"After that gag..."
"And considering the fact that you had the good sense to pick Gryffindor over Slytherin..."
"We just wanted to say..."
"Welcome to Hogwarts," the finished together.
"I thank you," Harry said with a grin... noticing with some relief that now that the Weasley twins had given him an official welcome, other members of the house seemed to be relaxing a bit. "And I do hope that others choose not to judge me on the person who raised me."
There was a smattering of muttering and uncertain looks were exchanged up and down the table.
"It's not like Lucius Malfoy was my choice," Harry continued, seeming to ignore any reaction to his words. "Unfortunately, I was only two years old at the time and had absolutely no say in the matter... And to put it as succinctly as possible... I don't like him, nor do I trust him. As for Drake, well, Draco is not his father. And their similarities end with their last name."
"Well, that is news," Fred said, looking thoughtful.
"The Malfoy heir, not so Malfoyish?"
"They'll never believe that back home..."
"Oh, would you two knock it off?" Ron said, sounding annoyed. "You'll have plenty of time to give him the third degree later."
"Okay Ronniekins," Fred said, with a wink at his twin.
"No need to threaten us with that shiny old prefect's badge..." George added, shuddering in mock terror.
"Which reminds me, we simply must check with Professor McGonagall to insure that he was indeed made a prefect..."
"And didn't merely steal Percy's old badge..."
"As we would have done..."
"Oh leave him be!" Ginny exclaimed, glaring at her older brothers. "And go sit down so the feast can start!"
Fred and George widened their eyes in mock terror and hurried theatrically back to their seats.
"I thank you Miss Weasley," Professor Dumbledore said, his voice colored with amusement. "I do have some announcements to make before we may begin eating, if everyone could quiet down..." He paused while the last of the noise petered out.
"Let me begin by informing all our new students and reminding some of our returning students," he looked pointedly at the Weasley twins, "that the Forbidden Forest is indeed forbidden. There are dangers there that you are not prepared to face." He paused for a moment before continuing. "The list of prohibited items is again on Mr. Filch's door. Mr. Filch also wanted me to remind you that there is no spell casting in the halls... or running."
Dumbledore smiled benignly at the smattering of giggling that answered his words. "Hmm, what am I forgetting?" He looked over at the Professor's table and seemed to take notice of the empty chair. "Oh, yes... Although he has yet to arrive, your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for the new term will be none other than... Mr. Sirius Black."