As the train began to move Harry opened his eyes to watch out the compartment windows. The sight of the numerous families waiting on the platform, waving to their children for as long as they could be seen, caused a small twinge of pain deep in his heart. However, Harry was well practiced at ignoring the pain that stemmed from watching families interact. He long ago gave up hope that he would experience anything similar, or so he thought.
Soon enough the metropolitan scenes transitioned to the rural countryside and then finally landscapes untouched by man. Harry never thought he would spend so much time simply staring out the window, but he was transfixed by what he was seeing. For a boy who had never been out of his neighborhood other than a single trip to a magical shopping center, the scenery held a magic of its own. The sight of endless fields, great trees rising into a dense forest, rivers, and even the ocean were mesmerizing to the eleven year old. Harry strained his eyes looking for any animals hiding in the shadows of trees or running along the edge of a field, but gave it up as an impossibility with the speed the train was traveling.
After three hours of staring out the window Harry forced his eyes away from the scenery and pulled the chain bearing his trunk from around his neck. After placing the matchbox sized trunk on the ground he tapped the rune while pushing magic to his finger to expand the trunk back to its proper size. One of the first things he had done over the last month was organize all of his new purchases into their proper compartments so he could easily find anything he needed. All of his new books, except his class required book, were stored in the library compartment, organized by topic and then alphabetically. His class books he kept in the compartment for school supplies along with his multitude of notebooks, pens, pencils, quills, ink, and other assorted necessities. His personal compartment was the emptiest of the five since he had no possessions, toys, or precious mementos to bring along with him. The only items within that particular compartment were a few long lasting food items such as granola bars and cans of fruit and vegetables that he was able to purchase the week before.
He grabbed one of the granola bars to nibble on while he changed compartments to pull out his class books and their respective notebooks. He had reviewed the first several chapters of each book but he wanted to review them one more time before classes started. Even as he opened his Transfiguration book he questioned the theory that was presented in the first two chapters. Each of his 'wanded' classes, as he decided to classify them, presented the same theory at the start of their books. Each talked about how to access your magic and funnel it through your wand. Wands were focuses that helped direct a wizard's magic through the right path and without them wizard's could not access their magic. Harry was living proof that this entire theory was inaccurate.
It did bring up concerns in the young boy, though. If the books were accurate, or thought to be accurate as the case may be, then Harry knew he would have to hide his abilities just as he had throughout his young life. He knew to hide his differences. A small part of him mourned having to hide himself even in the magical world, a world that he had hoped to find those just like him, but it seemed it wasn't meant to be.
Harry would have to find out how much he could get away with in class by not having his wand on him. The punishment would have to be severe to make it worse than the terrible sucking sensation the wand caused as soon as he touched it. Making any plans now were pointless however. He was entering a brand new environment without knowing any of the rules or how anyone else would react to his lack of a wand. He would have to see how the class went and how his teachers reacted before he could do anything further. He returned his focus to his book, not wanting to waste any more time with speculation.
Time passed in the compartment with only the sound of pages flipping breaking the silence. That silence was shattered several hours later as a voice announced they would be arriving soon and that they should change into their uniforms while leaving their trunk in the compartment once they departed as they would be transported to their dorm room independently. Harry began putting his books back neatly in his trunk and pulled out his uniform. He changed quickly but carefully, avoiding rubbing the welts on his back as much as possible. Once he was finished he closed and shrunk his trunk, placing it back on the chain around his neck and completely ignoring the order to leave their trunks on the train. His trunk contained everything he owned. It didn't even cross his mind to leave it behind as told.
The train began to slow and Harry turned his attention to the window in the compartment. The sun had set not long ago leaving only the light of the moon to see by. Before his eyes could adjust to the darkness lights lit up buildings and cobble stoned streets to reveal a small village. Only a few people could be seen walking through the streets but all were wearing cloaks, making him assume that it was a magical village. Most turned to the train as it passed by before carrying on with what they were doing before. Soon the village was replaced be trees in a dense forest that blocked out the little light the moon had provided. The train continued to slow so Harry took down the notice me not charm on the door along with the silencing bubble he had put up shortly before the train left due to the noise outside the door.
Voices immediately broke the silence, almost jarring in their intensity. Voices ranging from the high pitched of preadolescence to those deepened with puberty could be heard, all chattering in excitement about arriving at the school and looking forward to the welcoming feast after such a long trip. If students were already lining the corridor then Harry was content to wait to in his compartment until most departed.
Eventually the train came to a stop next to a small train station lit up by what appeared to be old fashioned gas lamps and students began to pour out onto the platform. Harry watched out the window for a few minutes and noticed that all of the older students were entering carriages that moved down a dark path further within the forest while the shortest students, who he assumed were other first years were moving towards an extremely tall man holding a lantern. As the sound outside his compartment had dwindled down and the group outside grew, Harry cautiously opened his compartment door and stepped into the corridor, keeping his distance from the few other students. Once he was outside in the cool night air he heard a booming voice calling for first years coming from the direction of a gathering of around 50 students that he had earlier thought to be the first years. With his thoughts proven correct he moved to stand at the edge of the group, keeping a small distance from the other children.
As he observed his surrounding Harry considered if the man gathering their group together was in fact human, or fully human at least. He was the tallest person Harry had ever seen, easily over 10 feet he thought. In comparison the first years looked like ants shifting around beneath him. The main feature, once one got past the height, was the bushy black hair that continued down into a large beard that covered most of the man's face. He was dressed in a large coat that had definitely seen better days. He supposed, though, that finding clothes of that size had to be a harder task than normal. Although, with magic, he wondered if it should have been easier than one would normally think.
He turned his attention to those around him next. The group of students had a nervous energy to them as they whispered back and forth with their friends and new acquaintances from the train ride. Thankfully, their wait was not long before they were being led down a dirt path towards a large lake the was an inky black with only a reflection of the moon lighting up the water. Harry stayed at the back of the group, having no need to try and jostle to the front like the majority of the children were doing. What was the point? They were all going to the same place.
As the group rounded a curve he could hear the gasps and exclamations of amazement from those at the front of the group. Harry understood when he saw what was hidden by the hill they just came around. High above them, sitting on a rocky cliff face, was what could only be described as a castle glistening in the night. He prided himself on his ability to remain calm in any situation, but Harry unashamedly gaped at what must be his new school in open shock and amazement. Never in any of his imaginations could he have thought he would go to school, live, in a building such as this. The age of it, the history it must contain, was just mind-boggling. And he would get to live there, learn there, where he could discover all of its secrets. It was amazing. They were allowed to stand there for a few minutes to just drink in the sight of the castle before they were encouraged to move on down the path.
"No more'n four to a boat!" boomed out the voice of their guide as they were lead to the shore of the lake where a number of small wooden boats were waiting. Harry quickly moved to the last boat in the mini fleet as the others all clambered to get the first few, as if that made them special somehow. In the lead of the group were two boys, one with platinum blonde hair and the other with a bright shock of red hair. They seemed to be fighting over who would get the first boat and to his great amusement a girl with bushy brown hair and a book clenched to her chest stepped past them and sat in the boat, paying no mind to the now gaping boys. As their guide sorted out the boys and got the other students moving into their own boats, Harry contemplated placing a notice-me-not charm over his boat just as he did with the train compartment. However, there was a chance that there would not be enough boats for him to have his own and if a student was left on the shore without a place because they didn't notice the empty spots he could be seriously punished, something he was hoping to avoid for as long as possible.
Harry hoped that his boat would remain empty, but it wasn't to be. Two boys calmly walked towards him, paying little attention to the students fighting behind them. One was a dark skinned boy with short black hair and the other was slightly taller with light skin and dark brown, wavy hair and blue eyes. Both were dressed impeccably, even while just wearing the school uniform. It seemed to be a different material then most of the others he saw. Judging by the finer clothing, graceful walk, and aristocratic features, both were clearly rich, probably from old blood if he had to guess. They had one student like that in primary school. He was always sneering about how he was too good to go to their school and he was above the other students because they didn't have as much money. Several of the kids were intimidated by him or tried to ingratiate themselves. Harry just found it ridiculous. If he was so inherently better than the rest of them, why was he still attending the same school and completing the same assignments, or not, as the case sometimes was?
"Hello, I'm Blaise Zabini and this is Theodore Nott —"
"It's Theo!" interrupted the blonde boy with an indignant yelp.
"-do you mind if we sit with you?" the dark-skinned boy blithely continued on despite the interruption.
Now, if he was going to be completely truthful the answer would have been something along the lines of, "Yes I mind and absolutely not!" Of course, Harry had that sort of honesty beaten out of him at a very young age. Instead, he just pushed himself a little further into the corner of the boat and away from the larger boys while keeping his eyes focused downwards. Apparently, this was seen as acceptance for the two and they climbed into the small boat, both sitting on the bench in front of him.
Harry stayed very still, letting his hair cover his eyes, and conveniently his scar, as he watched the boy's bodies for any sign of movement that would precede an attack. He felt panic begin to rise as the boat jolted forward, beginning to steadily move on its own across the lake behind the others. Even that magical sight wasn't enough to stop his fear at realizing he was now trapped on a boat with two much larger boys, in the middle of a lake, on the very last boat, and with absolutely no idea on how to swim. If he was pushed overboard no one would know, no one would see. Harry tensed further as the other two traded a loaded look as they observed his behavior. He forced his breathing to remain steady, despite the adrenaline rushing through his veins, not wanting to give away his agitation at the situation he found himself in.
They stayed that way for over a minute before another round of loud exclamations from the boats ahead interrupted the awkward silence. All three jerked in surprise at the sudden noise, Harry worse than the other two. Before them was an even better view of the castle then what they saw before. There was nothing interrupting their line of sight of the magnificent castle that was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was the renewed sight of their school that allowed Harry to think through his panic. He could use magic. He did not need anyone else to save him. He had his magic, the force that has always helped him. If he was pushed from the boat then he would use his magic to help hold him above the surface. He was not helpless. He would survive as he had always survived.
With that comforting thought Harry got his breathing back under control as he focused internally on his magic. He pulled it forward, wrapping himself in his layer of protective magic. If anything happened he wanted his magic out and ready, not wasting possibly critical seconds accessing it. He kept his eyes low, allowing his hair to cover his face so he could observe the two boys in his boat but they couldn't see him. He focused on their legs, knowing he would see their tensing muscles if they decided to attack him.
Their boat remained silent, the only sound being the chattering voices that drifted from the boats ahead of them. Harry enjoyed the silence, and in other circumstances could have enjoyed the boat ride on the peaceful lake. Silence was safe. Silence meant no yelling voices, no labored breathing after a beating, no one close enough to harm him. In this case, there were those that could harm him; two boys that were clearly not as comfortable with the silence as he was. He watched them shift uncomfortably as they were clearly having a silent conversation with each other. Harry didn't care what they thought, as long as they stayed on their side of the boat and left him alone.
With the silence his mind focused on the oddity of the boys joining his boat in the first place. He wondered why they weren't with the rest of the children jockeying for the boats closest to the front. He went to the last boat to keep his distance from the other children and for his own safety. However, they seemed comfortable with others judging by their greeting and willingness to join his boat despite the one in front of him having been empty. Did they not care for the competition, the need to prove themselves? Either way, he made note to keep an eye on the both of them. They were breaking pattern, making them unpredictable, and that always bore watching.
Their boat moved further across the lake, approaching the base of the cliff that Hogwarts sat upon, until they moved into the cliff itself in a tunnel revealed behind hanging ivy. The tunnel was dark, only lit up every few meters with more gas lamps. While he was more interested in figuring out why they were still using gas lamps and not some form of magical light, the other two boys seemed more concerned with the small confined space they had found themselves in. He watched their nervous twitching as they craned their neck to search for a light at the end of the tunnel. It made his opinion of them drop slightly. The childish reactions reminded him of their age instead of their capacity to cause him harm. In the end, they could hurt him, but not more than he could handle, not enough to truly affect him. Any residual fear fully left him and while he remained watchful it was done calmly and not out of a sense of panic.
Eventually the cave opened up into a larger cavern, an underground harbour of sorts where the boats docked to let the students off. Harry waited until the other two left before carefully stepping onto land once more and following the other students up another stone passageway. Eventually, they arrived in front of the castle entrance, marked by two giant doors. Overall, Harry thought it was rather a pointless, roundabout trip. The view was wonderful, that was true, but it was an awful lot of walking over dangerous terrain for young children. He could hear several panting for breath when they finally came to a stop, including both of the boys that sat in the boat with him. They, at least, were controlling themselves better than some, probably due to their proper upbringing. For Harry, it wasn't all that tiring due to Dudley's favorite game 'Harry Hunting'.
They only had to wait outside for less than a minute before the great doors were opened and out stepped a woman in deep green robes and a very stern look as she observed the children in front of her.
"The firs' years, Professor," boomed out their guide in a cheerful voice. Harry jerked slightly at the unexpected loud noise before straitening once he realized he wasn't in any danger. Thankfully, he was at the back of the group and no one noticed his reaction.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will see you in the Great Hall shortly," replied the professor before turning her attention to the first years. Harry took note of the man's name and stored it away as he watched the man disappear into the castle.
"Follow me," was the curt, but not unkind command as they were led into an absolutely magnificent entrance hall. The sheer size was something he had a hard time wrapping his mind around. Never in his life had Harry been in or near a building this massive. It was beautiful, and highly intimidating. Harry liked small, enclosed spaces. They meant safety, where others couldn't harm him. This huge open space made him tense up uneasily. There were so many places that someone could hide, too many places for him to observe them all. He wanted to enjoy the beauty, the magnificence of the sight in front of him, but every instinct was screaming that he was not safe. He wrapped another layer of magic around himself, strengthening his barrier he kept up and felt slightly calmer. His magic humming against his skin was always soothing. It meant safety, a softening of the constant pain.
Thankfully, they didn't stay long in the entrance hall and were soon moving into a small room off of another set of large doors that did not fully contain the noise of hundreds of students. Harry guessed it was the dining hall based on what he read within Hogwarts: A History. The other student's clearly beat them here, not that he was surprised considering their own journey to the castle.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. My name is Minerva McGonagall and I am the Deputy Headmistress and Transfiguration Professor. In just a few minutes you will be led into the Great Hall for the sorting ceremony, where you will be sorted into one of four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. Your house will be your family for the next seven years. You will share your meals, classes, and dormitories with your house. Your achievements will earn you house points and any rule breaking will remove points. At the end of the year the house with the most points will be awarded the house cup. I am sure each of you will be a credit to whichever house you end up in. Now, I will return shortly and the sorting will begin. Until then, I suggest you smarten yourselves up." She gave a significant look to a redheaded boy, the one that was arguing with the blonde over the lead boat if Harry remembered right, that had dirt on his face. The boy turned red and rubbed frantically at his face as the professor left out a different door, briefly flooding the room with the chatter of hundreds of students.
Once the door closed the students broke out into whispers, mainly asking if anyone knew how they were sorted and what house would be the best one, or the one they hoped to get into. Harry stayed against the wall with his head down while listening to find out if anything important was said. The suggestion that they had to battle a troll was quickly discarded. It seemed children were the same everywhere, magic clearly did not correlate to intelligence. A few of the surrounding students glanced his way, but quickly lost interest when he remained silent and didn't make eye contact, just how he preferred it.
Harry was the first to notice the pearly, translucent figures that passed through the wall and were talking amongst themselves. They were… fascinating. Were these ghosts? Did everyone in the magical world become a ghost? If not, what were the requirements to become one? Were there magical exorcisms? He had so many questions and couldn't wait until he could raid the famed Hogwart's Library to find all his answers. The other students soon noticed the specters, and being typical children, promptly screamed in fright. Were ghosts unusual in the magical world? Or was it someone raised in the non-magical world that started the chain reaction. He noticed after the initial reaction most of the students calmed down and dismissed the ghosts. Perhaps they were common after all if those raised in the magical world were so dismissive of them. Their conversation seemed to center around another ghost, or maybe not really a ghost? What was like a ghost but not a real ghost? Harry would have to investigate this 'Peeves' further.
Eventually the ghosts noticed the students, but before any real communication could occur Professor McGonogall came back and moved them along before getting the first years into a line and leading them into the Great Hall. This room was just as massive as the entrance hall. It wasn't that surprising since the entire student body and professors had to fit inside at once. Harry trailed along at the end of the line and observed the room. To his left were the four student tables, each table made distinct by the colors of the robes of students; red, yellow, blue, then green. Hogwarts: A History had described the four houses and their house colors, so he could match the tables to their house names; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. To his right was a long table for the staff, with a large throne like chair in the center. He assumed it was the Headmaster's chair. The other children seemed to be most captivated by the ceiling that showed the night sky with thousands of candles floating above the table. The same book stated it showed the sky outside. He wondered what happened when it rained or snowed though. Surely it didn't rain in the middle of the Great Hall. And the clouds, were they the exact same or just generic clouds? The more important question, could he copy it? Having a false ceiling in his cupboard would be wonderful and give him something to look at when he was unable to move after a beating. He added this to his mental list of things to research as soon as he could. Once he had a chance he would also add it to his notebook of questions, thoughts, and ideas so he wouldn't forget.
His attention was soon drawn to a stool placed before the staff's table that had a ragged brown hat on it. The Hall went silent and before Harry could question why the hat broke out into song. If Harry wasn't on the verge of a panic attack he might have pondered more on the occurrence of a singing hat. As it was, his mind got stuck on a specific verse of the song.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The sorting hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
The hat could see into his mind? His most private thoughts? His mind was the one place he was allowed to be free, allowed to be himself. No one could stop or silence his thoughts. His mind was his safe haven. And now, a hat of all things could break into the one place that was his? If even that wasn't safe… No. He would not allow it. He would protect his mind with everything he had. He refused to allow anyone or anything into his mind. Harry started wrapping magic around his head, like he did with his personal form of protection, but with many layers. He tried to imagine them sinking down to wrap around his mind, to protect, to keep out. The calling of names and houses were ignored as he frantically worked to create as thick of a layer of magic as possible. Already, he could feel himself growing tired, but refused to stop.
The ringing words of 'Potter, Harry' and the immediate silence followed by an outburst of sound finally caught his attention. He could see the students all searching for their first look at their 'celebrity' and didn't fail to see the same behavior reflected in the professors either. The immediate attention was highly uncomfortable as he started to walk towards the stool. He kept his eyes forward, trying to ignore hundreds of stares and whispers and focus only on his task of keeping his mind safe. Soon enough, he was sitting on the small stool and the brim of the hat blocked out the sight of the Great Hall.
All was quiet for a moment. Perhaps he was successful?
"How interesting," came a whispered voice that had Harry almost jumping off the stool if not for his rigid self control and training under Vernon Dursley. Harry's heart seemed to stutter with his panic. No! His mind was supposed to be safe. To think that someone else could be rifling through it was almost enough to break Harry. His magic, why wasn't it protecting him? Why wasn't it working?
"Calm down, child, you are safe," the aged voice spoke again, although it was much softer than before. Safe! How could he be safe with someone else in his mind?
"Shh, child. I can feel your fear. I swear, nothing I see in your mind can be shared with anyone else. It is amazing though. You have created an equivalent of basic Occlumency shields with just raw magic. If I wasn't as powerful as I am, they would have worked to keep myself and most beginner Legilimens out. Very impressive, Mr. Potter."
Clearly, they weren't impressive enough! His attempts failed! Even now, he could swear he could feel the Hat's presence in his mind, like ghosting tendrils sinking into every part of him. He wanted to cry, to scream and rage, to destroy everything around him, to hide in his cupboard where it was dark and he was alone.
"I'm truly sorry, child. I wish I could do this without causing you such distress. Don't lose hope now, though. You are strong, stronger then you or those around you know. You will overcome this, just as you have overcome so much in your short life. Learn, Mr. Potter. Learn and grow. Now, join your house where you will be accepted. They will help you develop into the powerful young man that you truly are."
With a loud shout that left silence in its wake, the hat boldly declared,
"Slytherin!"