Harry
September 1, 1991
"Hurry up, mom and dad; we are going to be late!" Harry yelled up the stairs at his parents. He had been anxious for this day for his entire life, and now that it was finally here he felt like his parents were purposefully trying to go as slow as possible just to bug him.
"Slow down son, we have more than an hour until the train leaves. Plus we have a portkey to take us right to King's Cross, so it will take us less than a minute to get there," his father yelled from upstairs. Even though his father was right Harry still pouted at his answer.
"Now, Harry, like I was saying make sure when they put the sorting hat on your head that you put your hand in between your head and the hat. Moony was bald for our whole first year because he didn't think we were serious about the hat's teeth," his uncle Sirius said, drawing a roll of the eyes from everyone else in the room.
"Harry James Potter, don't you listen to a word that man says to you!" his mother yelled from upstairs having heard what Sirius was saying. The entire gang was there at his house and just about ready to see him and his kind-of-cousin Daphne off for the first year at Hogwarts. The Potter house's occupant total over the summer had seen a dramatic increase. After he had gone to Diagon Alley to get all of his school supplies for his first year his uncle Sirius, who was really just his godfather and actually had no blood relation at all to Harry, had brought his family over basically every day so they could spend the last few days of the summer together.
Sirius had married Hemera Greengrass before Harry was born. Hemera had been married to someone else before Sirius, although they avoided ever talking about him, and had given birth to Daphne who was also starting her first year at Hogwarts now. Sirius and Hemera also had a daughter together named Alina Black, though; Alina was one year behind both Harry and Daphne and would not be attending Hogwarts until the following year.
Even though they had seen each other a lot growing up and spent more than a few Holidays together Harry was not that close with either of the girls, not that he really minded that much, though. To be honest, Harry thought that Daphne was a pretty quiet and cold person. She had a close group of friends that she would hang out with now and then and seemed to be social and nice enough with them, but when she wasn't with them Daphne tended to keep to herself and read a lot. He wasn't sure how someone who grew up with someone as outgoing as Sirius for a father could be so quiet, but on the other hand, he was nowhere near as outgoing as his father had been so he guessed it was possible.
Even though Daphne's younger sister, Alina, was much more outgoing and a lot more like Sirius, Harry had still never grown that close to the girl. Alina was certainly more easier to approach and talk to than Daphne was, but still, she and Harry had never that much to one another. Both of them tended to want to do their own things when their families got together.
Even though he and his kind-of-cousins were not that close he and Daphne had spent a large portion of the past summer reading and discussing magic together as they both got prepared for their first year at Hogwarts. Daphne may not have been much of a talker like Sirius but she definitely had inherited her mother's smarts. From what Sirius and his uncle, Remus had told Harry growing up Harry knew that Hemera had been one of the top students at Hogwarts during her time, and had been one of the best transfiguration students to go through the school since Professor McGonagall. As much as Daphne already studied and researched he would be surprised if Daphne wasn't much the same.
Even without her saying much Harry knew that Daphne was just as excited as he was about finally getting to go to Hogwarts. Even Daphne's usual emotionless gaze had a similar tinge of nervousness to it, one that he was currently very familiar with. While Harry may have only started packing for his first year at Hogwarts a few days ago, he had been preparing for this day for what felt like his entire life. Ever since his mother had read him his first children's book, Merlin the Magical, magic had instantly become the biggest fascination of his life, and throughout the years the passion for magic and its world had only grown bigger.
While Harry, as his parents made very clear, was not allowed to actually practice any magic before going to Hogwarts, he had been brought up around magic his entire life. Ever since he could remember he had been watching his mother brew potions, grow a magical garden, and cast charms around the house. His dad, Sirius, and Remus, whenever his mother was out of the house, had told him countless stories growing up about their adventures and glory days at Hogwarts, and a few times had even let Harry try and cast a spell or two. They wouldn't let him do anything like some of the cooler spells he had read about but he had at least already learned how to do a simple lumos spell. Wherever he had gone so far in life magic was always surrounding him, and today was finally the day he got actually enter the world of magic and feed his anxious fascinations.
"I still can't believe you kids are finally going to Hogwarts. Feels like just yesterday that I was changing Daphne's diapers, time sure does fly," Sirius announced to the room, looking a mix between sad and proud.
"Dad!" Daphne shouted at Sirius, showing only the least bit of an embarrassed blush in her cheeks at his comment.
"What? It isn't every day a father gets to send his daughter off to Hogwarts! I'm allowed to embellish these moments!" Sirius argued back with a large smile.
"Has he been like this all week?" Remus asked Hemera as the two of them shook their heads at Sirius.
"More like all month," Hemera replied, a large smile forming on her face as she watched Daphne and Sirius argue.
"Sirius, leave the poor girl alone. I'm sure she is already scarred enough from just having to live with you every day, don't do any more damage to her," Remus said in a joking tone. Sirius seemed to have lost whatever argument he and Daphne had been having and playfully turned his head to now argue with Remus.
"One day, Moony, you will be doing the same thing! Besides James's has been twice as bad as I have been! Lily told me he had them take seven hours' worth of family photos last week to commemorate Harry's first year at Hogwarts!" Sirius argued back at Remus. Harry shuddered at the memory of the photo shoot day. He still had splotches of white in his vision from the non-stop barrage of camera flashes.
"Did he really Harry?" Remus asked him with a loud laugh.
"Yeah. . ." Harry answered, a little embarrassed.
"Well don't you worry you two, in just a few hours the both of you will be out of the reach of your fathers," Hemera said to him and Daphne.
"You make that sound like a good thing!" Sirius started to argue again.
"IT IS!" Harry and Daphne said in unison, causing Remus and Hemera to burst into laughter.
"I heard that!" Harry heard his father shout with a laugh from upstairs.
"Do any of you have any last minute advice?" Harry asked, looking for any more information he could get about Hogwarts and hoping their answers would calm his anxiousness and nervousness down.
"Just do your best Harry. You and Daphne have already read more books than me and your father ever did combined in our time at Hogwarts. You both will be fine as long as you do your best, anything less is a waste of the two of yours' potential," Sirius answered first. When Sirius was serious, which wasn't often, he really could give you good advice and almost sounded like someone with a lot of wisdom.
"Hogwarts has one of the greatest libraries in Europe, use it," Hemera added, short and to the point. Harry already knew the library was one of the first places he would be visiting upon his arrival at Hogwarts.
"Just have fun. These will be some of the best years of your life, try and enjoy them a little," Remus added with another warm smile.
"Just don't enjoy them too much or you will end up like your fathers did." Hemera quickly added to Harry and Daphne with a grin.
"Hey!" Sirius started to argue again but was interrupted by Harry's parents finally coming down the stairs.
"Okay is everyone ready?" his mother asked their group.
"YESSS, mom! We have only been waiting all day! Moony turned into a werewolf and back twice since we started waiting!" Harry answered his mother, getting a snort out of his father and Sirius for his sarcastic remark.
"Alright, alright! Well before we activate the portkey your father and I have a present for you. Go look on your trunk in the kitchen Harry," his mother told him. Harry quickly left the couch and ran into the kitchen excited to see what his parents had bought for him. There on top of his trunk was a large birdcage and perched on the bar in the cage was a white snowy owl.
"Wow, my own owl?" Harry asked his parents in a tone of disbelief and excitement behind him in the doorway.
"We figured this might be the only way you will actually send us mail," his father joked. "It's just like the one your mother and I had when you were younger," his father added. Harry made his way up to the cage and picked up one of the owl treats in a small box next to it. The owl nipped at the treat in between his fingers as he fed it, and Harry could have sworn the owl hooted a thank you as it finished the treat.
"She is so beautiful!" Harry said as he continued to look the owl over.
"What's her name going to be Harry?" Remus asked him from the doorway. Harry thought it over for a minute before a name came to mind.
"I think I will call her Hedwig," Harry answered Remus, who smiled in approval at the name.
"That is a pretty name Harry, I think it fits her well," his mother replied.
"Thanks again mom and dad, I promise I will write… at least once," he mumbled the last part under his breath, though from the roll of his mother's eyes it was clear she had heard him.
"Alright well get the rest of the family in here and I will get the portkey ready," his mother ordered. Harry went back into the living room and dragged everyone still there into the kitchen.
"Good luck on your sorting and your classes you two. Make us all proud," Remus said to him and Daphne.
"You aren't coming to King's Cross?" Harry asked him, upset that Remus wouldn't be seeing him off.
"I wish I could but I need to be getting back to work. I've already gone over my lunch break," Remus answered with a smile.
"Thank you for coming Remus," Daphne said, extending out a hand towards Remus who took it and shook it.
"Of course, Daphne, I wouldn't miss it. For anything," Remus returned with another smile.
"I'll make sure to send you an owl too when I find out where I've been sorted," Harry told Remus as he ran over to give him a final hug.
"I look forward to finding out," Remus said with a final smile and turned to leave the house. A small pop could be heard as he apparated from their front lawn.
As soon as Remus left they all stood around the coat hanger in the middle of the room, he never understood why they always made the weirdest things portkeys, and after his mother counted them down they grabbed hold and were off.
After all of the twisting and turning, followed by his graceful landing, they had at last arrived at King's Cross Station. Harry had never actually been to King's Cross Station before and the sight before his eyes at platform 9 ¾ was something that instantly made him stop in awe. His parents and family had described it to him before, but he never imagined it would be this cool and magical looking.
At the center of the station was an enormous red and gold train. At the train's front was a large steam engine that was spewing large black smoke rings, each of which was changing into a different animal as they reached the station's ceiling. The steam engine had all sorts of bars, levers, and pipes fixed all over it, but the thing that stood out the most were the large golden letters spelling out Hogwarts Express that seemed to be enchanted into the side of the train. The letters seemed to glow and twinkle each time the conductor from behind the small glass window in the steam engine pulled a lever to sound the train's horn.
Behind the front steam engine were a countless number of passenger cars. Each one the same deep red color with gold trims all around their sides and edges. Harry could see through the large windows on each of the passenger cars that a large number of students had already made their way aboard the train and were searching for a compartment to make the trip to Hogwarts in. The train was seemingly flowing with magical energy on the tracks, and all of the soon to be students like him and their families just added to the amazement of the image. Harry had never seen so many wizards and witches before.
Even though Harry had grown up around magic his entire life, the world of magic he had lived in had been limited. At an early age, Harry's family had told him everything they knew about what happened the night Voldemort attacked their family. So he knew growing up there was a reason why he couldn't go to Diagon Alley when it was crowded, or go to large magical events. His parents were always worried that he would be mobbed by admirers and that it would be best for him to grow up away from all of that.
It was hard to believe that people considered him famous for something he did not even remember. To be honest he would have never believed them if he had not experienced it for himself the first time Sirius and his father took him to a Quidditch match. Even though the match had been a small one within five minutes Harry had been swarmed by over fifty witches and wizards and forced to side along-apparate with his father back home. Normally Harry would have felt upset at not being able to freely go out in the world like others could but after that experience, he was content to lie low and keep out of the public's eye.
His parents had told him that he had been the first ever recorded survivor of a killing curse and that was why he was famous in the magical world. That added with the fact that not only did he survive the killing curse but in the process, his survival led to the defeat of a man everyone, outside of a few crazy people, hated only added to his fame.
His parents had tried to prepare him and warn him that people would approach him about it at school and he really wasn't too sure if he was ready for all the attention he might get at Hogwarts. The attention was honestly the only thing he was not looking forward to. The fame, reputation, and titles he had been given as a baby were unearned, and Harry over the years had honestly grown to dislike them all. Every kid wanted to be famous, and Harry was no different, but Harry wanted to make a name for himself and that was what he was most excited for about Hogwarts. He just wanted to learn magic, he didn't want anything else.
The train's loud whistle echoed across the platform and through the station, bringing him out of his daze of thoughts to once again look around King's Cross Station. Up until now, he had only really ever imagined himself alone at Hogwarts, but now with all the people hurriedly moving their belongings to the train or frantically saying their goodbyes his parents' warnings of Hogwarts being a crowded large place was slowly making sense. He couldn't help the wave of nervousness that ran over him the more he looked at the bustling station.
"You excited?" his father asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes I am father, I'm kind of in awe at the moment still. I can't believe it's finally time," Harry answered truthfully.
"You will do great Harry. Just promise me that you will behave yourself," his mother told him.
"I will mother, I promise," Harry answered as he gave his mother a hug.
"And no pranks like your mother used to do at Hogwarts you hear me? I expect you to be at the top of your class just like your father and I were Harry," Sirius joked as he made his way over to give Harry a hug.
"I will do my best Sirius. If I'm not at in the top three in my class I will actually finally go with you and father to a BallyCastle Bats games," Harry sarcastically bet with Sirius.
"Oh, they are not that bad. . ." Harry could hear Sirius saying as his mother and father walked him over to the train.
"It's okay to be nervous Harry," his mother told him, as she lowered herself to be eye level with him.
"Were you both nervous? You know on your first day?" he asked them both, again searching for something to calm the butterflies in his stomach.
"It was most nervous day in my life," his mother answered, putting her arm on his shoulder. "But the nervousness will disappear soon. As soon as you see the castle all worries go away and only excitement will remain," his mother added, giving him a sincere smile that made him feel better.
"What about the sorting? Weren't you nervous about that too?" he asked them both again.
"The sorting hat will put you where you are supposed to go, so you shouldn't be nervous. Wherever you end up is where you were meant to be," his father chimed in this time, putting his hand on Harry's open shoulder.
"Let the nervousness go away Harry. You will be fine, I promise," his mother said, squeezing his shoulder and helping the last few butterflies disappear in wake of her promise. The train's whistle sounded loudly again.
"That's the final whistle, you need to get on board now," his father started to say as he looked up at a clock over their heads on the wall. "Good luck Harry, make us proud," his father said as he gave him a last quick peck on the forehead.
"Please write us soon, your father and I want to hear what house you end up in and how your classes look. And you better study hard!" his mother told him as she also gave him one final goodbye kiss.
"I will mother. I promise," Harry said and turned from his parents, giving them one last goodbye glance as he made his way onto the train. Harry cursed himself that he had not tried to secretly learn a levitation spell over as he dragged his heavy luggage down the passenger cars.
The inside hallway of the passenger cars were all packed. Tons of students of all ages were running through the hallway only stopping to see if a compartment along the way was empty. Harry unconsciously pulled a few strands of hair over his face as he made his way down the hallway. He looked through a few of the compartment windows along the way as he made his way down the train trying to find the first one that was empty.
Unlike Daphne, who already had friends she knew would be attending Hogwarts; Harry would be going into his first year as a loner. He was honestly okay with that, though. Not having people to talk to and catch up with meant he had more time to prepare himself for classes. He had wanted more time over the summer to read his school books and was hoping that he could get a lot of reading done during the train ride.
He would never admit it to his father or Sirius, but Harry knew outside of his hair and looks that he was definitely more like his mother than like his father. Trying to imagine his father reading like Harry would be soon on a crowded loud train like this was almost impossible. His father was a Quidditch star, prankster, and Mr. Popular during his time at Hogwarts. He was, as his mother described, only seen with a book in his hand once during his seven years at Hogwarts. His mother on the other hand, was known as a star student who spent almost as much time in the library as the librarian did from what his father had told him. Although he enjoyed watching Quidditch, Harry enjoyed reading, discussing, and learning magic much more than playing magical games. His father had tried to get Harry to practice and play Quidditch all the time growing up but eventually, he had thankfully let up a little as he realized Harry's interests lie elsewhere.
After making his way through five different passenger cars Harry finally found an empty compartment. As he entered the small compartment he lifted his luggage onto the top overhead rack and grabbed a seat next to the window. Remus had told him before that the trip to Hogwarts took about two hours so he decided to bring out Hogwarts a History to make the time go by a little quicker and get in some last minute reading.
He had read about ten pages further in his book when the train's whistle sounded a final time and the train lunged forward. Harry lifted his eyes up from the book's pages to look out the window as the train began to move. He watched all of the parents still in the station waving at the train as each car passed them by. He craned his neck to try and get one last glimpse of his parents. He found them standing with Sirius and Hemera where he had left them and gave them all a final wave as his car passed them by.
As the train passed the last wall of King's Cross station the view from his window, quickly turned from that of a busy city landscape to an endless view of empty rolling green hills. After a few minutes of looking absently out of the window Harry returned to the pages of his book. He had made it about fifteen minutes into the train ride and into his book, where he was again for the second time in the past month reading the chapter on the four founders of Hogwarts when, when the door to his compartment opened.
"Excuse me. I'm sorry, but do you mind if I join you? Everywhere else is full," a young boy who looked about the same age as Harry asked. One of the boy's pockets was pulled out of his jeans and flapping in the air of the compartment and on the collar of the boy's shirt was a large green stain that looked to have been made recently. He looked like a mess.
"Yeah, of course," Harry said, a little annoyed that he wasn't alone anymore but still did not want to be rude. He stood up and helped the boy put his luggage onto the overhead rack on the opposite side. A large green toad jumped out of the boy's robes in the process and began jumping around the compartment from wall to wall. The boy ungracefully scrambled around the compartment for a few minutes until he caught the toad and put it back in his robe's pocket.
"My name is Neville Longbottom. Nice to meet you," the boy said out of breath but still in a friendly tone as he sat down across from Harry, extending his hand out towards Harry.
"Hi Neville, I'm Harry Potter nice to meet you," he introduced himself to the boy, cringing as he realized that he had said his last name. He had been prepared to go as long as he could at Hogwarts without people finding out who he was, and was hoping that now he would not have to spend the rest of the trip talking about himself. "Are you a first year as well?" he asked Neville, trying to quickly change the subject.
"Y-Y-Yeah I am. So you are the Harry Potter?" Neville asked nervously, stuttering over half of his words. Harry could tell Neville was looking at him intently, trying to discover if Harry was, in fact, the Harry Potter as he had said.
"Yup," Harry answered bluntly, wanting to avoid this conversation. He shifted his gaze back towards his book, hoping the conversation would stop at that and he could get back to his reading.
"My mother and father went to school with your parents. My dad was an Auror with your dad back when he worked with Auror Corp," Neville added. As Harry looked back up at him from his book he could see Neville was trying to avoid making eye contact.
"Oh really?" Harry said, suddenly interested in the conversation. "Did your dad tell you a lot about being an Auror? My dad hardly says anything at all about his short time with the corp," Harry asked, interested if he could learn something new about his dad. His father had gone straight to working with the Auror corp with Sirius after they had graduated Hogwarts. Both of them had left after just two years though and neither one of them ever said much about their time there.
"No, not really, I'm sorry," Neville said looking down. "My dad left shortly after your father did. My mother was attacked during the war and was in pretty bad shape for a while, so he took a lot of time off to look after her."
"I'm sorry to hear that. . . Well, are you excited about your first year?" Harry asked Neville not knowing what to say after that.
"More nervous than anything. My whole family were all really good students at Hogwarts, so I'm hoping I don't let them down, you know?" Neville answered.
"I'm sure you won't," Harry responded with a smile.
"Thanks. Chocolate Frog?" Neville asked him with an awkward smile. His hands were outstretched with two boxes of chocolate frogs. As much as Harry just wanted to get back to reading his book he could never say no to a chocolate frog.
"Yeah, thanks Neville," Harry replied, taking one of the boxes from the nervous looking boy and opening it. The frog immediately tried to take its one good jump as soon as the sealing on the package was gone but Harry snatched the frog in the air and instantly starting enjoying the chocolate treat.
"Who'd you get?" Neville asked him, pointing down at the card in Harry's hand. Harry looked down to see Alabastor Finnigan from the Chudley Cannons looking up at him.
"Just Alabastor Finnigan, I swear I get him in every other box," Harry replied, feeling a tad bit upset that he was still five years dry of pulling a Merlin. "How about you?" Harry asked Neville.
"I got Phyllida Spore. Don't know if I have ever pulled her before. Do you know who she is?" Neville asked him looking the card over.
"She was a Headmaster at Hogwarts, one of the first five I think," Harry replied, somewhat disappointed in himself that he could not remember. He had actually just read the chapter on the Headmaster's of Hogwarts only two nights okay.
"Guess I should have known that. I really am screwed this year," Neville replied, now looking at the car with a sick look on his face.
"I have the page on all the old Headmaster's marked if you want to read it." Harry offered, feeling bad for the boy. Harry still had some nervous feelings and could relate with the boy a little, but he knew as soon as he got into a classroom he would be fine.
"That would be brilliant! If you don't mind of course?" Neville said, his face looking a little less pale now.
"Not at all," Harry replied and handed Neville the book he had been reading. As soon as he got the book in his hands Neville's full attention went into reading. Now without a book, Harry stood up and reached up to his suitcase on the overhead rack. He pulled out the first book his searching hand found and sat back down, opening the book on beginner's astronomy.
After that, besides a few other bits of small talk about something interesting Neville found in Harry's book the ride was rather silent. Harry found it hard to believe that this was Neville's first time reading the book. As soon as Harry had received his supply list for this year he had immediately started reading all the required texts. If everyone else at Hogwarts was like Neville then getting the top spot in his year would be easy. Shortly after Neville had finished the chapter on Ambrose Swott and Harry had given up trying to read in his astronomy book the train halted to a stop signaling that they had finally arrived.
"It's finally time," he said in a whisper to himself as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before standing up.
Neville looked at him with a face a mixture between confused and fright as he handed Harry his book back and went to retrieve his stuff from the overhead rack. Harry pulled his suitcase off from the overhead rack as well and followed Neville out of their compartment. He made his way out of the train, having to dodge a number of students running through the hallway.
Outside of the train, there was a large bearded man, who looked like he was part giant from what Harry remembered from some of his reading, signaling for all of the first years to follow him. Harry and the Neville boy made their way towards the large half-giant man. It was easy to tell who the first years were and who wasn't as the groups separated from the train. All of the first years had nervously excited looks on their faces as they made their way over to the half-giant and Harry found it hard not to laugh at the reaction of each student when they saw the large man for the first time.
Harry knew he should remember the name of the half-giant. His parents had been friends with him before Harry was born and had told Harry a story or two about the large man. With all the anxiety and excitement inside Harry at the moment though he was finding it hard to think straight.
Eventually when the last few first years found their way to the half-giant they were led down a cobbled path that winded alongside a steep cliffside for a little ways until they arrived at a huge lake. One boat at a time the half-giant helped the first years board and depart into the black lake. In the darkness, it was hard to see anything outside of the lantern the half-giant was holding and the small sea lanterns aboard each of the small boats.
When Harry arrived at the front of the line he and Neville, who had stayed right beside Harry ever since they had left the train, boarded one of the small boats with another first-year boy and girl. There were no introductions this time thankfully as the half-giant pushed them out into the lake and the boat set sail.
For a few minutes, the world was black and silent. Although there were at least sixteen other boats skimming across the dark waters of the lake, no one was making a sound. Only the wind as it slashed across the water or the occasional large splash of a wave against one of the boats made a sound. All eyes were glued forward; waiting to get the first sight of the castle that they all knew was soon to come. As their boat entered further out on the lake Harry's eyes darted up towards the towering hillside that had revealed itself. Ahead of them, maybe three-hundred feet or so Hogwarts sat towering into the clouds on the hillside, waiting for them.
It was huge! Much bigger than he ever imagined it would be or possibly could be. The castle's reflection reached itself across the entirety of the lake's waters and its numerous bright windows lit up the entire grounds. Harry couldn't help the smile that came across his face at the sight before him. His parent's descriptions of the castle in all of their stories had seemed so unbelievable before, but now were becoming much more realistic.
From here out on the lake he could see almost every part of the castle. What he knew was the Great Hall was lit up brighter than any other part of the castle, and even from here he could see people moving behind the glass of the huge windows lining the sides of the Hall. Spread out sporadically along the hillside and the castle's walls were huge towers, each one stretching out into the clouds. Each of the towers tops seemed to be lit with candlelight as they each had a glowing light to them.
Hogwarts was, beautiful to say the least. Even from out on the lake's waters you could almost feel the magic emitting from the castle. In a scenery that was composed of a night's sky with an endless number of stars, a lake with a pristine view, and rolling hills all around still nothing could come close to the awe the view of the castle inspired. It was the most magical and amazing thing Harry had honestly ever seen in his life.
"Holy shit…" the boy sitting across from him with the gray eyes said, pulling Harry from his awestruck daze. The black-haired boy's jaw had dropped and his eyes wide looking at the castle and seemed to be as amazed and struck by the sight of Hogwarts as Harry had been. The remark earned a small laugh from Harry, who could relate to the boy and an elbow from the pretty brown-haired girl sitting next to the boy. After that break in the silence, the silence on the lake continued and Harry's amazement returned for the remainder of the short boat ride up to the school.
After another five minutes or so their boats arrived at a shoreline at the base of hillside Hogwarts castle was on. Here they docked their boats and were led up another cobbled path by a scary looking man that walked hunched over as if he was in pain towards the school. The walk towards the castle was filled with conversation from all of the first years. Each of them telling another about their reaction to seeing the castle for the first time and a few making guesses about what house they would soon be sorted in.
Harry kept to himself and followed the man leading them up to the castle closely. It appeared Neville and he had been separated since they departed from the boats as Harry was able to make the entire journey up to the castle's front door without having to speak to anyone.
"First years please gather here!" an older looking women, he recognized as Professor McGonagall, dressed in a crimson and gold robe called out to them as the last few first years in the back of the group approached the now open front doors of the castle. His mother still kept in contact with her old transfiguration professor and over the years the professor had even made a few appearances at the Potter house. Harry had spoken with the professor a few times over the years but most of what he knew about the woman came from Sirius and his father's stories, which meant he didn't know much outside of her being someone you didn't want to make angry.
"We are going to wait here briefly while the rest of the older students finish taking their seats. After which, you will follow me in a single file line into the Great Hall where you will then be sorted into your houses. The Sorting Ceremony, Special Recognition Ceremony, and opening feast are three of the greatest ceremonies at Hogwarts, so if there is any misbehaving out of any of you, you will find yourself back on the express and on your way home before you can say Quidditch." The professor finished announcing to the first years with a scary stern look.
After what felt like an eternity of waiting to him the main doors leading into the Great Hall opened by themselves and all of the first years, including himself, made their way inside. Again Harry was rendered speechless.
Not only was the sheer number of students sitting inside the Hall mind-blowing, but the Great Hall itself was truly a magical sight to behold. Four huge dark wooden tables lined the Hall, all of them filled to the brim with students craning their necks to get a good view of the first years. Each of the tables was lined at their centers with a long tablecloth decorated in the four different house colors and embroidered with the house symbols. Over all of the tables were floating candles that illuminated the Hall with a vibrant glowing light and, luckily for the students underneath, seemed to be enchanted to not drop wax as they burned.
Further up past the candles the ceiling of the Great Hall above was enchanted, just like in his mother's stories, to be see-through, and where a ceiling should have been instead was the same night sky that he had seen out on the lake only minutes earlier. Over each of the long, seemingly endless tables, large house banners for each of the four houses magically waved without wind.
Magic was amazing, was all he could think as his eyes tried to comprehend and take in everything inside the Hall.
At the end of the Great Hall another long wooden table had been turned perpendicular with the other four tables and sitting behind the tables were an odd looking array of older witches and wizards. All of whom Harry guessed were professors at the school. As the first years slowly made their way down between the two center tables in the Hall, Harry craned his neck to see if he recognized any of the professors behind the table.
Dumbledore was the easiest to spot, and even though Harry had only actually met the man once when he was much younger it was impossible not to remember the old Headmaster. Dumbledore was dressed in an immaculate gold pair of robes that was trimmed with white fabric along its edges that matched the exact color of Dumbledore's long beard. The Headmaster had a tall blue pointed hat on his head that was only outmatched in height by the half-giant who had found his seat at the table a few chairs down.
Other than Dumbledore not many of the other professors stood out much. Harry recognized the small head of Ravenclaw house, professor Flitwick. He had seen the small man in more than a few pictures in different papers and books, all of which had been acclaiming him as one of the best, if not the best duelist in Europe. The only other person Harry recognized was his mother's good friend Professor Snape, who had visited their house a few times growing up. Harry had never spoken with the professor he knew would be his potions professor, but he did know from stories from his parents that his mother and father had very different feelings of the man.
Harry almost bumped into the group of first years that had stopped at the end of the Great Hall in front of him as he scanned the teacher's table. He could hear the older students talking at their tables near him, and got a little more nervous when he overheard a small group making bets if anyone would throw up this year.
You will not throw up Harry! He internally shouted at himself. The betting and talking amongst the tables died down and you could hear a quill drop in the Hall as the Headmaster slowly got up from his chair and made his way towards the podium in front of the teacher's table.
"Welcome, all! The very best of evenings to you! I hope you all enjoyed your summers. As I'm sure you all are hungry let us get the sorting under way," Dumbledore said as he moved a nearby stool down to in front of all of the first years with a wave of his hand. Then as if magic, no pun intended, the Sorting Hat formed itself from nothing onto the seat of the stool. Harry made note as he laughed quietly to himself that there were, in fact, no teeth on the Hat as Sirius said there would be. The Great Hall got even quieter as the Hat started to move and its point perked up.
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
Just 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
Where power and knowledge are close friends,
Those ambitious folks use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get all in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!
At the Hat's finish, it bowed its point and the Hall erupted into a series of applause. Harry joined in on the applause, feeling more anxious to get sorted than he ever had been before.
"Wicked," said a ginger-haired boy in front of Harry. The boy had a large patch of dirt on his nose that apparently he had somehow failed to notice. As the applause died down Professor McGonagall made her way up to stand next to the stool and pulled out a long sheet of parchment that stretched all the way to the floor as it unraveled itself.
"Please remain quiet while I call you up one at a time. Simply put the Hat on your head and then proceed to take a seat at your house's table," Professor McGonagall announced to the first years and looked over to the list.
"Hannah Abbot." Was the first name announced by Professor McGonagall. The Hall remained silent as the girl made her way slowly up to the Hat, looking terrified that she had been the first name called. Harry thanked Merlin he had not been the first one, he was already having to fight the butterflies in his stomach enough as is. With shaking hands, the girl took the Hat off of the stool and placed it reluctantly on her head. The had fidgeted and moved around atop the girl, looking like it was literally burrowing itself into her head. After a few moments of silent anticipation, the Hat cried Hufflepuff and with a large smile the girl skipped over the now standing Hufflepuff table.
Harry had a hard time paying attention to the next few names McGonagall called out. His full attention was on trying to calm down and keep his stomach under control. Thankfully it appeared that McGonagall was going in alphabetical order, which meant Harry had plenty of time to calm his nerves.
Harry had never really given too much thought into which house he would end up being sorted into, however, as he stood amongst the other first years waiting nervously for his name to be called his mind was racing with thoughts of each house. Most of the times growing up when he imagined himself at Hogwarts or had dreams of himself inside one of the school's classrooms there was always a Gryffindor lion sewn onto his robes. He had always been more excited about the other parts of his imaginations or dreams, though and had always assumed he just imagined himself as a Gryffindor because he had grown up in a house of lions.
His mother, father, Sirius, and Remus had all been sorted into Gryffindor. Outside of Hemera, who had been sorted into Slytherin, all Harry had ever grown up knowing was Gryffindors. Even though it seemed Gryffindor was practically in his blood, Harry really was open to being in any house really.
Growing up his mother had more than a few times jokingly told him when she was tutoring him that he might end up being a Ravenclaw since he never seemed to stop asking questions. He would be okay with being sorted into Ravenclaw too. From what Remus had told him, the head of Ravenclaw house, Professor Flitwick, was the current European Dueling Champion so Harry figured he would be someone good to learn under. That plus a house that was literally known for being full of wit and learning sounded like the perfect house for someone like him who had such a thirst to learn all he could.
Honestly, he would even be okay with Slytherin or Hufflepuff too. Although, Sirius had once told him that everyone in Hufflepuff had to get a tattoo of a badger. So he used to not want to be in Hufflepuff, but after his mother told him that it was a lie he was once again open to Hufflepuff as well. The house did not really matter to him that much. As long he got to be at Hogwarts and learn all the magic there was, he could be in-house janitorial squad for all he cared. Okay, well maybe not that house.
The first three names McGonagall called out Harry did not recognize, not that he would probably actually recognize anyone anyway. With the fourth name though, McGonagall called Daphne up. Harry watched Daphne as she made her way up to the stool and picked up the Hat. Daphne's expression never changed from her usual stony facade as the Hat wriggled atop her head for a few moments. Harry continued to look intently at his kind-of-cousin until the Hat shouted into the Hall Slytherin! Harry clapped the loudest he had so far as Daphne made her way over to the Slytherin section. He shook his head as Daphne's expression still remained unchanged even after being sorted and greeted by all of her new housemates.
Some things never change. He thought to himself. Although even though outside of Daphne he did not actually know any of the other first years that made their way up to the Sorting Hat, he surprisingly did end up recognizing a few people. Most of which he had seen either at King's Cross, on the Express or during the boat ride to the school.
The pretty brown haired girl that had ridden in the boat with him and Neville to the school was sorted into Ravenclaw after the Hat had been on her head only a mere five seconds. The other boy that had been on the boat with Harry had so far had the Hat on his head the longest out of everyone else. The boy had the Hat on his head for close to five minutes before finally the Hat pointed upwards and yelled Slytherin out into the Hall. As the boy made his way over to the Slytherin table with a grin Harry tried to think but couldn't remember exactly what the record for the longest sorting ever was. Sirius had told him Dumbledore's sorting had taken seven hours and for three of the hours the Hat and Dumbledore had a lengthy conversation about whether or not top hats were in style. Sirius had said that in the end, his sorting had taken so long that the Sorting Hat had told Dumbledore to just pick his own house, but Harry couldn't remember if that was another one of Sirius's jokes or not.
McGonagall proceeded to call out name after name and with each one Harry grew more and more anxious. Finally shortly after Neville had been sorted into Gryffindor and a boy named Malfoy was sorted into Slytherin they were finally getting closer to Harry's name.
Thank Merlin! He thought to himself as his stomach growled, he had been so excited that day he had forgotten to eat anything. At least he hoped that was a hunger growl and not an I'm-gonna-throw-up-because-I'm-so-anxious-growl.
"Harry Potter!" McGonagall announced, pulling his attention away from his still growling stomach and making him cringe a little as he noticed everyone in the Hall was now looking directly at him.
So much for not getting too much attention my first day. He thought to himself as he allowed himself one more deep breath before he took a step forward towards the stool.
Cricket chirps from outside the castle could be heard as he made his way up to the stool, each one of his footsteps echoing throughout the Hall. The closer he seemed to get to the stool the louder the whisperings of students at their tables got. Harry even swore that a few of the professor's had leaned forward to get a better look at him as he made his way up to the stool. When he arrived at the stool he picked up the Hat and placed it atop his head, allowing himself one more quick glance into the Hat for teeth before he did so.
Hmmm Lily and James' famous Harry Potter has finally made it to Hogwarts. I wondered when I would get to see you. Now what to do with you, where to put you. You don't seem to have taken after your father and his…ways… so there is that to think about. You are even more focused than your mother it seems on wanting to be the top of your class. . . I see in your mind an immense curiosity for magic, and how much you love to learn and get lost in a book. Ravenclaw would suit you great on the path fulfilling your passion of learning all that you seek. But I see more here hmm… Difficult, yes very difficult. They call you the boy who lived yet you do not like this. You do not like that you were given fame and glory, yet you still seek fame and glory. That is quite the contradiction Mr. Potter. . . Yes. . . You are already a legend but you wish to make your legend on your own I can see. Hmm well, I think I know what to do with you, after all, it's clearly written here on the inside of your mind… It better be… GRYFFINDOR!"
The Hall erupted into another burst of applause, this round of applause seeming to be louder than any of those before as he made his way through the Great Hall to find a seat at the now standing Gryffindor table.
As soon as he arrived at the table he was immediately greeted by a plethora of other Gryffindor students, all of which who shook his hand and welcomed him to their house. One hand after another Harry tried to remember the name that followed each handshake but was too caught up in the moment to really pay attention. Just as his hand was started to grow tired thankfully he seemed to have shaken everyone's within distance and was able to grab a seat at the table in between Neville and a tall, black-haired girl who looked to be a few years older than him. McGonagall shushed the crowd as a few more people at the Gryffindor table tried to call out to him and introduce themselves.
As McGonagall called out the next name on her parchment Harry finally felt all of the anxiety in him dissipate. As the last of his nerves calmed down he felt his robes shifting themselves around. He looked down at them and he could see that they had already changed to now have the Gryffindor house sigil embroidered on their breast. He could not help but smile at the change, knowing his family would be happy at where he had been sorted.
McGonagall continued to call out more names from her list and the Hall continued to erupt each time another student was sorted. The last name the professor called was a boy named Blaise Zabini, was sorted into Slytherin. Following the last round of applause, the Headmaster rose again from his seat at the teacher's table and made his way back to the podium.
"Congratulations to all our newly certain first years. I hope that you follow in the footsteps of those who have built the foundations of your house before you and that you continue to add to the legacies of your new homes. Now it is time for the special recognition ceremony. Professor Sprout will announce the results for our new second years." The Headmaster finished his second announcement and a round, friendly looking women dressed in green robes made her way to the podium.
Harry's mother had told him about the special recognition ceremony a few times before. Apparently, it was one of the higher honors a student could achieve at Hogwarts, and if your name was called it meant that you were one of the best. In many of Harry's dreams growing up, his name was one of those called during this ceremony. In one of his latest dreams he had just finished his first year of classes, and he had recognized as the top student in every single one his classes along with being named the number one ranked first year.
That dream was one of Harry's more common dreams. And as Sprout announced the top-ranked student in each of last year's first-year classes Harry wanted to make that dream a reality more and more. He wanted nothing more than to be the best, and as he watched the students who were called up to be recognized he knew that he would settle for nothing less than being in their shoes come the end of the year.
The rest of the special recognition ceremony went on much quicker than the sorting ceremony. Harry watched on in awe as each student who was to be recognized name was called. Those students stood out amongst the rest and those who had their names called multiple times stood even higher. Harry found himself telling himself mentally that would soon be him countless times as the last seventh year was recognized as being the number one ranked wizard in his year, and therefore the entire school.
Another huge round of applause followed the end of the ceremony and the Headmaster once again got up from his seat and made his way back up to the podium.
"I believe we have made enough announcements. Dig in!" the Headmaster announced with a wide, twinkling smile.
The Headmaster opened his arms wide and the tables were all filled with an endless number of bowls, plates, and trays. Harry had to contain himself as a group of red hair wizards, who all looked to be related, nearby immediately jumped the table, grabbing food from every nearby plate. When Harry deemed it was safe to fill his plate he added a little bit of everything onto his plate.
Thankfully it appeared everyone was just as hungry as he was and the conversation among the table was kept to a minimum. Harry did have confirmed three different times that he was in fact actually Harry Potter, but other than that he got to just enjoy his food and take in more of the moment.
Following the feast, Dumbledore announced a warning about the forbidden forest and a forbidden corridor on the third floor. After that, each house's prefect stood up and led their tables out of the Great Hall.
The rest of the castle left Harry in as much awe as the Great Hall did. Each hallway was lined with immaculate sets of armor along with a countless number of picture frames. Each picture he passed by along the way shouted out a friendly greeting which Harry returned. The stairwell was probably one of the craziest sights Harry had maybe ever seen before.
Above them, an uncountable number of stairs were moving from one wall to the other, and two different times the Hogwarts section had to wait for the proper staircase to arrive before they could climb higher. After they climbed up a few more flights of stairs the Gryffindor Head Boy led them down a long hallway that ended with an enormous picture frame of a fat lady, who was currently singing in an awful tone.
"This is the entrance to the Gryffindor Common room," the Head Boy, who Harry noted looked to be another member of the red-haired family, announced to the first year Gryffindors. "When you enter girl's dormitories are to the left, boy's dormitories are to the right. The password to get in is Flubbious Gorgonius," the Head Boy announced again and at the sound of the password being said the large portrait swung open, revealing a doorway.
All of the first years were led into the Gryffindor Common room, which was already filled with older Gryffindor students who all seemed to be already lost in conversations. Harry looked around the common room, recognizing it vividly from the numerous photos his parents had taken during their time at Hogwarts. After taking the sight of the common room, filled to the brim with chatty lions, Harry quickly made his way up to the boy's dormitory.
Upon entry, he looked for the bed that was the closest to a window and the one that was most secluded. He quickly unpacked his luggage that was already in the room and sent off two quick letters with Hedwig, letting his parents and Remus know that he had been sorted into Gryffindor. He also told his father to tell Sirius that instead of a Sorting Hat this year that they had sorting sandals, he figured Sirius would find that funny.
After sending the letters out Harry climbed into his bed and drew the curtains, unable to stop the smile that was plastered on his face.
"I'm finally here," he whispered himself, letting the feeling that for so long had eluded him sink over.
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