Harry lined up behind the olive-skinned boy, with the Indian twin girls behind him. Somewhere nearby, Ron mumbled, "I really hope Fred was joking about fighting a troll".

Upon hearing that, Harry's throat tightened in fear, 'Would he be forced to expose his demigod powers already?'.

One of the twin girls noticed his terrified expression and, incorrectly guessed what was troubling him. She said, "I'm sure it won't be something like that. We're only First-Years, and going up against a troll is pretty much suicide. Hi, I'm Padma Patil, that's my sister, Parvati"

Harry fought down the urge to snicker at the irony of the statement. However, he controlled himself and gave a small nod and introduced himself. Together, everyone filed out through an imposing pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

When he took in the scenery, he could not imagine a more beautiful scene. Only Olympus could outstrip it in terms of majesty. Artemis had taken him on the day of the Winter Solstice because Lord Hades wished to speak to him. The God of the Underworld had personally bestowed upon him a quest to seek out the Horcruxes and destroy them, after Thanatos reported to him with the soul fragment from Harry's scar. The Dark Lord's wraith was also at large, but was proving too elusive for his Kindly Ones.

Bringing his mind back to the present, he gazed up at the ceiling. Inky black sky, dotted with twinkling stars, greeted him. He overheard Hermione mutter, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History."

When he looked back to the front of the hall, he saw Professor McGonagall put a stool in front of everyone and place a ratty-looking hat on it. Suddenly, a rip near the brim opened wide, almost like a mouth - and the hat began to sing:

"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

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

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folk use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on!

Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

With that, the whole hall reverberated as everyone burst into applause, as it finished its song.

"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered harshly.

Padma shot him a triumphant grin, "Your brothers were probably pranking you."

He grumbled, "Wouldn't put it past them to do that."

As they talked, Professor McGonagall stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. She announced, "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted."

Hannah was up first, and after a moment's pause the hat hollered, "HUFFLEPUFF!".

The table with students clad in yellow, cheered and clapped as she joined them. Susan Bones also joined her, while a boy called Terry Boot got sorted into Ravenclaw.

Harry caught Hannah and Susan's eyes, and sent a silent message. The meaning was clear, "No matter the House, we're still friends, right?"

They subtly nodded back, as the sorting continued. Mandy Brocklehurst became Terry's new housemate, while Lavender Brown, a blonde girl, who looked a little dolled up, became the first new Gryffindor. Harry had no doubt in his mind that the daughters of Aphrodite would love to get fashion and makeup tips from her. After Lavender, a large girl with a mix of muscle and fat, strode forward. Before long, Millicent Bulstrode joined Slytherin. Harry noted that in a fist fight between her and Clarisse, it would be a tough call. Sometime after a few more names, a boy called Justin Finch-Fletchley got sorted into Hufflepuff.

The next one of his friends to be sorted, was Hermione, who was promptly carted off to Gryffindor. More and more students got sorted, and Harry was starting to miss his Rubik's cube. He fidgeted on the spot so much, he almost missed Daphne Greengrass being sorted into Slytherin. Neville drew a few laughs when he hurried to the Gryffindor table while still wearing the hat.

Pink-faced, he handed the hat to Morag MacDougal, who got sorted into Ravenclaw. Malfoy sauntered forward, as if he owned the place, and the hat barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!".

Both of his thuggish bodyguards, Crabbe and Goyle, were already there. Lily Moon headed to Ravenclaw, Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson headed to Slytherin. Surprisingly, Padma Patil and her twin sister, Parvati were split up in Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, respectively. Sally-Ann Perks joined Hufflepuff.

Finally, McGonagall called out, "Potter, Harry!"

Harry stepped forward, pointedly ignoring frenzied whispers. However, he could still hear them. "Potter, did she say?"; "The Harry Potter?".

He internally rolled his eyes, 'Great… This was just like when his godly mum claimed him at Camp Half-Blood.'

As the hat dropped on his head, he heard a voice in his ear. It said gleefully, 'Oh ho! Now this just got interesting. Haven't had to sort a demigod wizard in millennia. Not since the Founders themselves! Worry not, young demigod, no one can hear this but you and I.'

His eyes widened under the hat, 'The Founders of Hogwarts were demigods!?"

'Aye... Godric was the son of Zeus, and he was mighty proud of the lad. Helga was a child of Demeter, Rowena was a daughter of Athena, and Salazar was the son of Hecate.'

Harry thought back, "But I though the Big Three pact was in place?"

'The pact was struck long after Godric's time. Anyway, let's get you sorted, Child of the Moon, people are getting suspicious. Now let's see… Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, my goodness, yes - and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting... So where shall I put you? You are fiercely loyal to the Hunt, so Hufflepuff would love to have you. Your friend Annabeth's influence has impacted you well, so Ravenclaw is an option. I was tempted to put you in Slytherin, but I doubt the house would survive with you in it. You'll be fine, but I doubt the students there would be fine. As for courage, you have it in spades! So, it better be-'

The hat bellowed, "GRYFFINDOR!"

The red table burst into cheers, and a pair of red-headed twin boys were dancing a jig and chanting, "We've got Potter! We've got Potter!"

Just before he removed the hat, it whispered in his ear, "Come again one of these days, and I'll tell you more about the Founders."

Harry trotted over to the Gryffindor table and slotted himself next to a sandy-haired boy with freckles, called Seamus Finnigan. With that, he watched the sorting, and also noticed Professor Dumbledore seated in the middle of a very long table. He began to fidget once again, and Hermione glared a little. She hissed, "Do you mind? It's just been five minutes since you've sat down!"

He whispered back, "Sorry, I kind of have ADHD, and I'm also dyslexic."

Her glare softened to a more sympathetic look. She nodded, "I see… will it be any problem for you?"

"Well… I can't read English well, but I'm fairly okay with Latin and a little Ancient Greek. Headmaster Dumbledore told me that a lot of our spells are based on Latin. However, I may have issues with subjects like Herbology or Potions."

She smiled, "I'll tell you what, if you can teach me some Greek, I can transcribe my notes for you to read. As for homework, you can write it in Greek and I'll translate it for you. Deal?"

"Deal!", and they shook on it.

Eventually, Ron Weasley joined them, after being sorted into Gryffindor. When he came over, Percy and the twin red-heads congregated around him and patted his back enthusiastically. After Blaise Zabini was sorted into Slytherin, Professor McGonagall rolled up the scroll and took the hat away.

After she did so, Dumbledore got to his feet and beamed at the students. He spread out his arms grandly and spoke, "Welcome, Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! "Thank you!"

Harry was just beginning to wonder if he was a bit dotty, until his empty plate shimmered and was piled high with food. Everyone dug in, but Harry got up with his plate, headed to a nearby fireplace. He closed his eyes, murmured a quick prayer to his mother and scraped a juicy chicken drumstick into the fire. It flared a little, and went back to normal.

He sat back down, amid gapes from others around him. Ron exclaimed, "Mate! What the bloody hell was that all about? What a perfect waste of a nice chicken leg!"

Harry explained, "Yeah, about that… It was just how I was raised."

He lied smoothly, "My foster family are pretty religious and this was a tradition in the household. They were originally from Greece and still worshipped some of the Greek gods. From what my foster mum told me, it is tradition to sacrifice part of your meal for the gods. You can't give them bits of food that you don't like, because it's disrespectful."

Hermione nodded in understanding, as did Parvati. Ron simply muttered, "You're bloody mental… Food is food."

Parvati shrugged, "I don't see what's wrong. My sister and I are Hindus, and our religion forbids us from eating beef."

Those listening in, nodded in understanding. Percy spoke up, "Okay Harry, these are your traditions. We're not going to question them."

After a few minutes, a ghost dressed like he was in a medieval nobleman, floated up to him. Harry looked up and smiled at him, "Hi! I'm Harry."

"I am Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, at your service!"

Ron blurted, "Blimey! You're Nearly-Headless Nick!"

The ghost huffed irritably, "I prefer Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, thank you very much!"

Seamus asked, "How can you be nearly headless."

Harry couldn't stop himself, "The same way the Dread Pirate Roberts was only mostly dead."

Hermione snorted in laughter, with Dean Thomas also joining her. The dark-skinned boy leaned over and clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder, exclaiming, "You and I… We're going to get along just fine!"

Ron, Neville, Seamus, Parvati and Lavender were a little lost. Harry gestured that he would tell them later. Meanwhile, Sir Nicholas had a smirk on his face, before he grabbed his left ear and yanked it upwards. On cue, to everyone's disgust, his whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder. Obviously, he had been beheaded, but the executioner had done a bang-up job of it. Sir Nicholas flipped his head back on properly and had a smug look at seeing their green faces, before floating on to greet other Gryffindors.

Eventually, they all talked about their families. Seamus said, "I'm half-and-half. Me dad's a Muggle. Mom didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."

Neville piped up next, "Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch, but the family thought I was all- Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me. He pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned. But nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced, all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here. They thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."

Harry frowned, "Stop me if I'm wrong, but isn't that child abuse? Does the wizarding world have any laws against committing child abuse? Surely your Great Uncle Algie would have been in trouble because he could have potentially killed you."

At their blank looks, he groaned.

He spoke, "Alright, my turn. Remember I spoke about living with a foster family? We live in America, but my family was originally from Greece. I'm actually the only boy there, but I have many sisters."

Everyone was a bit fascinated, then he let the next person take over. Eventually, there was a lull in the conversation, and he was slowly starting to get drowsy. He looked up at the High Table spotting Professor McGonagall talking to Headmaster Dumbledore.

He spotted a nervous-looking man in a turban, talking to another man, with greasy black hair. Harry nudged Percy Weasley, "Hey Percy, could you tell me who the professors are? Professor McGonagall introduced herself earlier, and Headmaster Dumbledore took me to Diagon Alley."

The prefect pointed, "The one with the turban is Professor Quirrell, the one he is talking to, is Professor Snape. Quirrell is the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, and Snape teaches Potions. He is also the Head of Slytherin House. Just a heads up though, he hates all Gryffindors on principle, and he can and will take away points for any trumped up reason. So my advice is, don't tick him off. That means, no protesting his deductions, no matter how 'unfair' it is. He will only use that as an excuse to take away more."

After finishing his talk with Quirrell, Snape made eye-contact with Harry, and something happened. Harry internally thanked Lady Hecate for warning him against mind-readers, and helping him shield his mind. The hook-nosed teacher flinched very slightly, as his Legilimency probe crashed into a barrier. Harry's emerald and silver eyes narrowed at Snape, and the faculty member shuddered slightly.

After a while, the food disappeared and Dumbledore stood up, "Ahem, just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well. I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. Finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

A few students laughed nervously, but Harry was incredulous. This so-called warning was as suicidal as a Child of the Big Three using a mobile phone outside Camp Half-Blood. This was pretty much a death sentence.

Percy was puzzled, "That's odd, he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere. The forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least."

Back at the head table, Dumbledore led everyone through the school song. Harry cringed a little, as he was sure that Apollo and his children would have killed the song with fire.

Once everyone was done, the Headmaster gestured for them to head off to bed.

Percy led the exhausted Gryffindors through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. After ambling up more staircases, they came to a sudden halt. Harry spotted a bundle of walking sticks floating in mid-air ahead of them.

Percy stepped forward, and the walking sticks were suddenly flung at him. The prefect dodged before whispering to the students, "Peeves, A poltergeist."

His voice rose sharply, "Peeves! Show yourself! Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?"

A *pop* answered him, and a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross- legged in the air. He cackled, "Oooooooh! Ickle Firsties! What fun!"

"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy.

After the poltergeist made himself scarce, Percy advised, "You want to watch out for Peeves. The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are."

Percy stopped at the end of a corridor, in front of a portrait of a fat woman in a pink silk dress.

Fanning herself, she lazily asked, "Password?"

"Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it and found themselves in a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs. Percy and a female prefect directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase they found their beds at last. As the train conductor promised, their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pajamas and fell into bed.