A/N - I'm back temporarily. I am doing well with my new Nanowrimo story. My new HP Fic now has over 33,000 words and its only been 10 days so far! So I thought I would give my starving readers a new chapter. This is the Hogwarts Express and the Sorting ceremony. Also thanks to reviews pointing out continuity errors, I have made a few small corrections, nothing major. The biggest corrections were made in chapters 6 and 8 if you want to re-read those chapters.
On September 1st, Henry Selwyn, Archer Black and their new families all flooed to the Magical side of Kings Cross station early. Henry and Archer soon found an empty train compartment and settled in. As the time crawled closer and closer to 11 AM, more and more students began crowding the corridor of the train. Compartment doors slammed as students claimed their seats and placed their trunks on the luggage racks. Henry also heard several names being called out loudly as friends greeted each other after a long hot summer.
Henry leaned out the window and listened to a rather odd conversation. There was a large family of red-headed boys with one small girl, and a loud mouthed mother, who had entered the station on the magical side, taken all their luggage trolleys through the wall to the mundane side and then returned again some thirty minutes later. The mother was complaining, quite loudly.
"Well I never! Who does he think he is - telling me what I can and cannot say. I think I will tell the headmaster about him. He had no right at all!
"Actually, Mother" said the tallest red-headed boy who had a badge pinned to his robe. Henry couldn't see what the badge said, but he could certainly hear what the boy was saying. "He was right. You were breaking the International statute of secrecy by mentioning the platform number and the word Mundane in a really loud voice and on the Mundane side of the platform. He has every right to report you to the Ministry. It's a good thing you didn't tell him your name."
"Are you sure the headmaster told you to do that, mother?" asked another boy.
"Yes and why we did we do that, anyway?" asked his identical twin brother.
"You said we would find Harry Potter and that I could be his friend. You promised me. So where is he?" asked a third red headed boy.
"I don't know what happened to him, boys." sighed the mother. She was clearly frustrated. "The headmaster told me that Harry Potter was supposed to be on the mundane side of the station. Hagrid was told to get him to the station and then leave. I was told to have you all with me so that we could all help The Boy-Who-Lived get onto the right platform. I don't know why he was not there. I do hope he's OK, the poor child."
Henry quickly averted his eyes to avoid making eye contact with any of the red heads as they loaded several large trunks onto the train. He turned away from the window just in time to hear a loud Croak and see a frog hopping into his compartment. A girl with dark brown hair cut into a page boy style chased after him. "Ribbit. Come back. You are supposed to stay in my pocket."
"Shouldn't that frog be in a cage?" Archer asked.
"It's a toad, and yes it should, but the cage broke last week and I didn't have time to go to Diagon Alley to get a new one." the new girl replied.
"He can use my owls cage." Henry spoke up. "I sent Hedwig onto school to wait for me. She hates being cooped up."
The girl smiled. "Thanks. I'm Lilith Moon." The girl introduced herself as an afterthought, while she stuffed the toad into Hedwigs cage.
Henry and Lilith's eyes connected and held as they shook hand. Tingles ran up and down both of their bodies. The connection was broken once they let go of each others hands. Henry and Archer both placed Lilith's trunk in the rack and they sat down together.
"So, are you a first year, Lilith?" Henry asked, just to break the awkward silence. She nodded.
Once the train got moving, the three students spent the trip all getting to know each other.
There were four interruptions over the next four hours. The first was a red headed boy dragging his trunk behind him. He opened the compartment door and looked at everyone closely before asking if he could sit with them."There is no room anywhere else."
"No" Henry replied instantly, having heard the boy previously complaining about wanting to be Harry Potter's best friend. Henry now wanted nothing to do with him.
"Liar" Archer also spoke at the same time. Henry indicated for him to continue. "The train is magical. It can expand to fit in as many compartments as needed. Just ask the train for a new compartment. But you are not sitting here."
The red haired boy glared at Archer and Henry. "My brother is the headboy. He will make you pay for being horrible to me." He slammed the door shut and continued down the corridor dragging his trunk behind him.
Lilith spoke up. "I wonder why he doesn't shrink his trunk and carry it in his pocket?"
Henry gaped at her. "You can do that? Noone told me that!" Turning to Archer with a look of exaggerated pain on his face, he exclaimed. "You made me pull my trunk all the way down the corridor, when it could have been in my pocket? You should have told me. I bet I looked a real git dragging that thing."
Archer nodded. "Yep, it was funny watching you huffing and puffing while you hauled that thing down the corridor. I didn't want to spoil your fun!"
The youngsters all laughed at Henry's obvious pretence of being outraged.
An hour later, and someone knocked on the door. "Sweets for anyone?" Came the trolley lady's voice.
"Cool, Lunch time. The sweets are here." Henry flung open the door and purchased all the chocolate frogs he could afford as well as some ice mice and pumpkin pasties. He didnt get any of those horrible Bertie Botts Every Flavour beans. Some of those flavours were truly revolting. He shared his frogs with Archer and Lilith and managed to pick up 3 new cards for his collection. The rest he already had.
An hour after lunch, a girl with bushy brown hair dropped in. "I heard that Harry Potter is on this train. I've read all about him in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the 20th Century! Have you seen him?"
"NO!" was the reply from all three of the current occupiers.
The girl didn't get the message. She tried again."I'm Hermione Granger. Who are you?"
"Not interested." Henry stated crossly as he moved toward Hermione to close the door.
Hermione had a shocked look on her face as Henry pushed her back into the corridor and firmly closed the door.
Another hour or so later, the door was opened again. This time a blonde haired boy with a sneer on his face, and two large bodyguards behind him, stepped in.
"Is it true?" he asked. "They say that Harry Potter is on this train." His eyes fell on Lilith Moon, and his sneer got worse. "My mistake. Harry Potter would never consort with the likes of her. She is nothing but a squib. I'm Draco Malfoy-Longbottom by the way. I am heir to the houses of Malfoy and Longbottom. I can show you who the best people are, and who to avoid. Here's the first lesson for free. Dump the Squib. She should not even be at Hogwarts." Malfoy sneered and backed out of the compartment.
Archer closed the door and turned the bolt on the door to make sure it was locked. He was very thankful that Draco had not even looked at him, let alone recognized him.
"Humph." Henry muttered. "Hands up any of us who have squibs in the family or who are descended from squibs or have been thought to be squibs." Three hands went up.
"Whew! Thank Merlin for that." gasped Lilith. "I thought you would all kick me out once you knew."
"So who in your family are squibs, Lilith?" Henry asked gently.
"I'm the youngest of two children. My older brother is a squib. I'm the only daughter and obviously I have magic. Which means my brother cannot inherit the Moon title or the lands. I will either inherit or be regent for any male child I eventually have."
"Is your brother Alex Moon, by any chance?" Henry asked.
Lilith's face brightened up. "Yes." she replied. "Do you know him?"
"I'm sure you know not to mention this, but we both attended the same school he does. He was one of the first students I met when I first started at St Georges Academy, three years ago."
Lilith relaxed. Finally there was someone else who knew about squibs, knew about the Saint schools and did not reject her.
"My relatives thought I was a squib when I didn't do any magic as a kid. They dumped me at St Georges to be educated. Now they are forcing me to attend Hogwarts, just because everyone else in my family has been there. I would much prefer to stay at St Georges. Henry here is coming with me just so I am not on my own." explained Archer. "Otherwise, I might have been dumped out in the Mundane world."
"My grandparents are squibs, but my parents were both magical as am I. My mothers sister is also a squib." This was Henry's contribution.
The group were quiet for a time and then Henry spoke up again.
"Do any of you know what houses you might be sorted into, or that you want to be sorted into?"
"My father was Gryffindor and my mother was Hufflepuff." replied Archer proudly. "I've heard all about the Marauders from Gryffindor and how they were bullies. I hope to get into the house of justice and loyalty - Hufflepuff."
"My parents were Slytherin, but if Draco Malfoy and his ilk are also in Slytherin then I do NOT want to be in Slytherin. They will be bullying me for having a squib for a brother. It's not like I can control how much magic my siblings do or don't have." Lilith sobbed quietly.
It was Henry's turn next. "My mother should have been in Ravenclaw but she ended up in Gryffindor, alongside my dad. My dad was a bully and my mum was very very smart. I had to hide my intelligence when I was younger. But since I started school at St Georges, I have had so much fun. Now I can be as smart or as dumb as I want to be. But I am not going to be a know-it-all like that girl Hermione was. If I had to choose, I think I would prefer Hufflepuff for their loyalty and sense of justice rather than Gryffindor for their so called bravery or rushing into things without thinking, or Ravenclaw for their constant need to acquire knowledge. Being smart and foolishly brave, or leaping before you think, is not always a good thing."
Henry continued speaking. "So if I am figure this right, none of us have ever had any older siblings who have been to Hogwarts, right?"
The others nodded.
"Then let's decide on a house just for the three of us. A house that will support us, rather than expect us to compete with each other or risk our necks on daring plans. As for the sorting ceremony. It's not scary at all. My grandfather was told that it is nothing more than a sorting hat. A very old magical hat that can read the surface thoughts of your brain and decides where to put you. We have already seen some examples today. That ginger headed boy is a Weasley. I have read that the Weasleys are always Gryffindors. They are totally loyal to Old Dumbles. The blond arrogant ponce will, as Lilith said, probably be a Slytherin since he is so big on blood purity. That mundane girl with the bushy hair who read all those books - she will probably end up in Ravenclaw. So that leaves us with Hufflepuff - for Loyalty and Justice. I'm here solely to support Archer."
Archer nodded. "I have no wish to attend Hogwarts. I was forced to accept my invitation, or I would be disowned. That is what I was told, but over the summer I was disowned and disinherited anyway. But I was lucky enough to find a new family. I would have preferred to stay at St Georges Academy. I was doing very well there. My mother was in Hufflepuff. I can accept that. Besides, I believe the Head of House for Hufflepuff is currently the Herbology professor. Herbology is my most favourite subject"
Lilith nodded her head. "Hufflepuff it is then. How do we do that?"
Henry continued. "From what I understand, we each have to tell the hat, silently in our heads, that we want to be in Hufflepuff and nowhere else. Do NOT take no or any other house for an answer. The hat may argue with you, but if you claim that you will be happiest in Hufflepuff, then that is where it will place you. It cannot really put you where you will be unhappy and not strive to be your best.
"Archer, since you will be first, you say you want to be in your mothers house. Lilith, you need to tell the hat that if you get put into Slytherin, Draco will bully you for having a squib in your family. Indeed that he has already bullied for you for having a squib brother, and you are not willing to be bullied by him for the next seven years! Be strong and be firm!
Just as Henry finished speaking, there came a knock at the door. Archer opened the door and a prefect looked in. "It's time to wake up, tidy up and put your robes on. Just fifteen minutes to go now. Leave your trunks where they are. They will be taken up to the school later. Welcome to Hogwarts." The prefect withdrew, closing the door behind him.
Once the train had stopped at Hogsmeade station, Henry, Lilith and Archer all hung back to avoid the first rush of everyone else getting off the train. Soon they could hear a loud voice yelling, "Firs' years, over here. Firs' years to me."
Henry pushed his friends to get moving. "I think that's Hagrid. I guess we have to follow him."
Hagrid held up a lantern, and looked at the children gathering around him. Clearly he was looking for someone. Henry kept his head down and his eyes on the ground as they walked down to the lakeside. Pulled up on the beach were several small boats with no obvious means of propulsion.
"No more than four to a boat." said Hagrid waving his lantern towards the boats, and keeping his eyes on the children. It was obvious to Henry whom Hagrid was looking for. "No more than four to a boat." he encouraged the kids to find a boat and get in. Lilith, Henry and Archer all hopped into one boat and sat down quietly, not saying a word.
"Everyone in?" Hagrid asked. "Right then. Forward!" he yelled, and the boats began to move on their own.
Once on the other side of the lake, the children all got out of the boats and followed Hagrid up the path and the stairs to a large door, which Hagrid banged on. It was opened by an old lady with a witches hat and a sour looking expression on her face.
"The Firs' Years, Professor McGonagall." he said out loud. Then he leaned closer to the witch and said in a loud whisper. "He's not here. None of these kiddies look at all like him." The witch frowned and straightened up. "Thank you Hagrid." she said. "You may return to your duties now."
Looking at the children, she said, "Follow me." in a clipped tone before turning and walk away. Silently the children all climbed up several flights of stairs behind her, until coming out into a large room with a very high ceiling, several stairways going upwards along the walls and 2 sets of large wooden doors - one pair on each side of the room.
The witch stopped and cleared her throat.
"Welcome to Hogwarts." said the professor. Her eyes were also sweeping over the children, assessing them, clearly looking for someone.
"You will be able to sit and partake of the welcome feast, but before we can do that, you each need to be sorted into your houses. Your house will become your family for the next seven years. You will eat, sleep, play and learn with your housemates. There are four houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has produced some wonderful and famous witches and wizards and some of them have also produced dark lords and dark ladies. You must use your time here to determine which side you will be - light or dark. While you are attending this school, you are also expected to adhere to the rules of conduct. You will receive house points for good behaviour and achievements, and you will lose house points for bad behaviour and rule breaking. At the end of each year, the house with the most points will be awarded the House Cup. It is to be considered a great honour to win this and as such I trust everyone here will be at their best behaviour during the year."
The professor drew herself up tall. "Now I expect you all to smarten yourselves up. Please wait here. The Sorting Ceremony will begin shortly."
The professor disappeared through one set of large doors, while the new students waited and muttered.
A few minutes later there was a scream as several ghosts passed through. "New students for sorting?" one ghost asked. The students nodded. "That's good. Hope to see you in Hufflepuff." and the ghost disappeared.
The red-haired boy who had barged into Henry's compartment, and been summarily ejected, cleared his throat. "My brothers said we'll have to wrestle a troll." he bragged. "
Henry snorted."That is highly unlikely."
In a matter of seconds, the tall red haired boy was standing over Henry in a threatening manner. "Oh yeah, And what would you know, you pathetic mudblood?"
Henry put a questioning look on his face, and asked, "What's a mudblood?"
Noone heard or saw the professor return, but everyone heard her gasping.
"What did you say, young man?" she demanded.
Henry shrugged and pointed to the red haired boy. "He called me a mudblood and I was just asking what it means."
The red haired boy shook his head. "I did not say that word at all. I called him a mundane."
"Nope. I clearly heard the word mudblood come out of your mouth. So did everyone else." Henry appealed to the other students. They all had their eyes cast down and none of them sided with Henry.
"You have not even been sorted and already you are fighting? I see that you are going to be a lot of trouble, young man. For the record that word is a slur and supposedly describes a mundane born. It is never to be used in this school. If any staff member hears it, for every mention of that word other than a discussion in class, the speaker will receive an automatic 20 point loss and a detention."
Scowling at Henry, the Professor was not at all impressed. Addressing all the children, she continued with what she was saying. "Form into two lines and follow me. The sorting ceremony is about to begin."
Henry was also not impressed. "Is she is showing favoritism already? Since Weasley is probably going to be a Gryffindor, does that mean that Gryffindor is her house? Why did she not say anything to that horrid boy? That is not fair. The sooner we move back to St Georges, the better." He muttered to Archer.
Once in the great hall, Henry could hear the Granger girl commenting that the ceiling was charmed and she knew this because it was in Hogwarts a History. Henry felt like he was walking the gauntlet, between two long tables, jam packed full of students who were staring with curious looks on their faces.
As they all marched towards the front of the hall, the professor leading them eventually stopped beside a small stool and picked up a rather dirty old hat. Turning to the new students, she explained.
"As I call out your names, you will come and sit on this stool and the hat will tell you which house you will go into."
She placed the hat on the stool and its opened its mouth and sang a song of sorts. It was confirming that Hufflepuffs were loyal, Ravenclaws were smart, Gryffindors were brave and Slytherins were cunning. When it had finished the students at the table applauded. The Professor moved back to the front standing by the stool, and opened her scroll of names.
"Abbott, Hannah!" A blonde haired girl who was sorted into Hufflepuff.
"Black, Archer!" Archer stepped forward, sat down and placed the hat on his head.
"Well, well, well, who do we have here?" asked a voice in his head.
"Hufflepuff please. My mum was a Hufflepuff, and I have no intention of making waves. I just want to get through this year and then I can leave. Although if you can sort my friends to Hufflepuff with me, that would be great too."
"You and your friends are really going to shake this school up. Good luck, Mr Black." the hat replied.
"Hufflepuff!" the hat shouted. Archer removed the hat and walked over to the Hufflepuff table. His robes changed to show the Hufflepuff yellow and black crest, and the black tie changed to the house yellow and black stripes.
"Bones, Susan!" She too went to Hufflepuff.
The other tables began to get a little restless. The first 3 firsties all going to the same house? That was unusual.
"Which branch of the Black family do you come from?" an older Hufflepuff wearing a Badge that said P, asked Archer.
"Could we wait until the sorting has ended? I have friends I hope will be sorted to this house as well." Archer replied.
The perfect nodded and stayed silent.
Terry Boot and Mandy Brocklehurst both went to Ravenclaw. Lavender Brown finally went to Gryffindor. Millicent Bulstrode was the first to go to Slytherin.
Michael Corner and Stephen Cornfoot both went to Ravenclaw.
"Crabbe, Vincent!" He went to Slytherin, as did Tracey Davis.
Kevin Entwhistle went to Ravenclaw.
"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!" Archer Black recognised a rich Mundane from the upper classes by the way he held himself and by the cut and style of the clothes he was wearing. He was sorted into Hufflepuff.
Seamus Finnegan went to Gryffindor.
Anthony Goldstein went to Hufflepuff.
"Goyle, Greg!" Another one for Slytherin.
"Granger, Hermione!" The bookish bushy haired know-it-all from the train was drafted into Ravenclaw and Archer released a sigh of relief.
Daphne Greengrass went to Slytherin.
Wayne Hopkins and Megan Jones ended up in Hufflepuff, and Archer gave them a smile of welcome as they sat down.
Su Li went to Ravenclaw, and Morag MacDougal to Hufflepuff. Archer was pleased that the name of Longbottom was missing and that no fuss was being made about it.
Ernie MacMillan was another new firstie for Gryffindor.
"Malfoy-Longbottom, Draco!" The whole school gasped and there was silence! The hat had barely touched his head when it called out Slytherin. The blonde boy swaggered over to the house of the snakes.
Roger Malone went to Ravenclaw.
"Moon, Lilith!" Lilith sat down and waited for the hat to be placed on her head.
"Hello." said the voice in her head.
"Hello, Mr Hat. I'd like to be placed in Hufflepuff please."
"Oh, and why would that be? Your family has usually been sorted to Slytherin."
"If you put me in Slytherin, then that blonde bully Malfoy-Longbottom will do nothing but bully me for the next 7 years just because my brother is a squib. That will make me very unhappy, and you are supposed to place us where we will be happy and can do our best. I will not do my best in Slytherin."
"No, I can see that you won't." replied the hat. It didn't even try and argue. "Hufflepuff!"
Archer breathed a huge sigh of relief that his first new friend was safely with him in Hufflepuff. Lilith slid into the space on the bench that he had made beside him.
Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson both went to Slytherin.
Then came a pair of identical twin Indian girls. One went to Ravenclaw and the other to Gryffindor.
Sally Ann Perks went to Gryffindor.
"Potter, Harry!" Henry had made sure that his head was down and looking at the floor so that any reaction on his face did not give the game away. He did not move.
The whispering that had started when that name was called died away as no-one responded. The professor called the name again.
"Potter, Harry!"
Again no-one responded. Archer held his breath hoping that nothing would happen to spoil their plans.
The Professor frowned, looked at the staff table, and got a hand wave from the headmaster to continue. He was also frowning. She moved onto the next name.
"Rivers, Quinn!" She went to Gryffindor.
"Roper, Sophie!" went to Slytherin
Joanne Runcorn went to Gryffindor.
"Selwyn, Henry!"
Henry moved up to the stool and sat down. The hat was dropped onto his head. Nothing happened.
"Could you please drop your shields, so I can sort you, Mr Selwyn?" A voice spoke in his head.
"Do you promise not to tell anyone about anything you find in my head?" Henry asked silently. "Most especially you will NOT tell the old goat headmaster anything you find in my head. He must NOT know the truth about me. This is for MY safety and that of my friends."
"I promise on my magic that I will never ever tell the old goat headmaster who you really are." The sorting hat promised.
"Thank you." sighed Henry as he lowered his occlumency shields.
The hat was overwhelmed by the images of two vastly different lives and two completely different names."
"Wow, you weren't kidding, were you. You definitely have loyalty as your most dominant trait. Yes Indeed. Good luck to you and your friends!" Hufflepuff! The hat announced.
Archer breathed another sigh of relief. They had passed the first major hurdle. The three friends were all together in the same house. He wiggled around to make another space on the bench beside him. Henry smoothly slid into the gap. "Stage 1 done. Liftoff." he muttered as he sat down. Archer grinned.
Zacharias Smith and Dean Thomas both went to Gryffindor.
Lisa Turpin went to Ravenclaw.
Ronald Weasley, the red headed bully, joined his brothers in Gryffindor and Blaise Zabini went to Slytherin.
Dumbledore stood up and muttered a few odd words and then food showed up on the table in front of the children. The older ones started filling up their plates so the new firsties followed suit.
"Now can you answer my question?" the Prefect across the table asked Archer.
"Which branch of the Blacks do I come from?" Archer asked. The Prefect nodded.
"I was adopted by Lord Sirius Orion Black. I am the current scion heir to the house of Black."
The prefect gasped. "But he said after his trial that he had no heirs."
"That was true at that time he spoke those words. But that was three months ago. He has an heir now. Me!"
"So am I allowed to know who you used to be?" the prefect asked.
"Nope. I'm sure you will find out eventually." Archer winked and went back to eating his food.
HIPSHIPSHIPSHIPSHIPSHIPSHIPS
Up at the staff table, Headmaster Dumbledore was muttering about losing 2 scions of the Noble families.
"What are you twittering about, Albus?" Professor Snape asked.
"When did the Longbottoms go dark? And where is Harry Potter?"
"Does anyone know anything about this boy, Archer Black?" Minerva McGonagall asked. "I'm sure I have never heard of him before."
"And I'm sure I don't know of anyone named Henry Selwyn. I know all the Selwyns, but no-one of that name." Professor Aurora Sinistra, who taught Astronomy, added.
After the scrumptious deserts had all vanished, the headmaster stood up. He gave out a few notices. nothing of any note until the last one. Stay away from the left hand corridor on the 3rd floor unless you wish to die a painful death?
Henry could not believe the old man. That was a blatant invitation for anyone who wanted to try, to go and check out said corridor. Well, he would not be one of those intrepid explorers. Henry had no wish to die.
Henry, Archer and Lilith followed all the other Hufflepuffs down to the Hufflepuff common room after dinner was finally over. All the first years were on the same floor, but the rule was that each room had to have the same gender sleeping in that room. Some rooms had 2 beds and others had 3. Lilith found herself without a partner since Abbot and Bones took one double bedroom and Jones and MacDougal took the other.
With the remaining three boys opting to all sleep in one triple room, it fell to our little group having to the claim the last triple bedroom, and also the only mixed gender bedroom in the dormitory. Henry and Archer had to promise Professor Sprout, 11 ways from Sunday, that Lilith was their friend and that nothing bad would happen to her.
Lilith's bed was on one side of the room, next to the window. Henry and Archer slept in beds across from the window, on the opposite side of the room. Their wardrobes and desks lined up along a third side and the door was in the 4th wall with a bookshelf next to it. This actually left a rather large amount of open space in the centre of the room. This was an ideal space to use for dancing, conferencing, or just lying around chatting.
The first night took a little getting used to, because there was one extra person in their room. The ambient sounds were different as well. But still, Henry was tired and he fell asleep fairly quickly.