1.0 - The Sorting

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter then I'd be British, Rich and a Woman, as I am neither I don't own Harry Potter.

Definitely inspired by OneFallLeaf's: Yes, I'm a Hufflepuff, and I Resent Accusations To The Contrary

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Chapter 1: Arrival The Sorting

I stood in the Great Hall; it really was magnificent. The castle itself was as many children had imagined. Everything inside felt vibrant, for lack of a better term. It was as if everything thrived and was alive.

It had been a couple of hours since I had found myself on the Hogwarts Express, and I had the natural reaction of freaking the fuck out. If it wasn't enough that I'd been suddenly ripped away from everything that I'd ever achieved - which, admittedly, wasn't much - I found myself with round-circular glasses that were broken and held with duct tape. I'd immediately touched my forehead, swiping away at it, until I felt something jagged, which I traced to a lightning bolt. I'd not only arrived in a separate world with a Dark Lord and psychopathic murderers, but I'd also taken over the body of the main fucking character.

I always despised long rides, especially on trains. For the first time in my life, I was thankful for it. I'd immediately locked the door, and I was slowly but surely calming myself. Eventually, I was able to remember more, more of the memories of this body, though admittedly they were vague. Thankfully, I wasn't in a universe with comically abusive Dursleys. I wasn't liked or wanted by any means whatsoever, a fact of which I was reminded constantly by the drunken rants of Vernon.

There were a few times the door was knocked on, which I ignored. Instead, I'd thrown all my effort into learning as many spells as I could manage in eight hours, a surprisingly large amount.

I'd learned the Wand Lighting Spell, which to me wasn't particularly impressive - anyone who claims that I stared at the light for ten minutes straight is a lying liar who lies - also making shit float around and move effortlessly is a power trip. Other than that, I'd learned the Sparks Charm, Colour Changing Charm, and the most useful spell ever known to mankind - would it be wizardkind? - Reparo, the repairing spell. The sheer amount of torn shirts and pants I had to fix got me plenty of practice on that one, it was the most difficult one as the Wand Movement was a semi-circle and the pronunciation guide in the book was horrendous. It took several hours to fully figure out the spell.

Now, I stood in the Great Hall. I'd ended up standing to the side, so the confrontation with Draco Malfoy hadn't happened.

Apparently, I'd been out of it for longer than I realized, as I heard the name being called out.

"Potter, Harry!" came the neutral voice of Professor McGonagall. I took a small breath before I started to move towards the stool. Every single student was looking at me; I could feel it. There were hundreds of voices murmuring to each other. If there was one impact that the source material had underestimated, it was the fame of the "Boy-Who-Lived".

I calmly sat on the stool as I looked at the entirety of the Great Hall. A breathtaking sight, really. The Hall itself was lit by the floating candles, thousands of them. There were four House Tables, each having their own colour indicating the colour of the student's tie, some had scarves wrapped around them which showed the House they were a part of as well as a crest on the robe, depicting a Lion, Eagle, Badger a Snake. Every single student was looking at me, even the muggle-borns who were likely copying the "Half-Bloods" and "Purebloods".

Professor McGonagall promptly dropped the hat over my head; it was large - if I remember correctly, it was that hat of Godric Gryffindor - as the hat covered my vision.

"Hmm… It's been quite a while since I've sorted one of your kind. How very difficult," the hat whispered in my ear, its tone scratchy.

"One of… my kind?" I asked cautiously. I wanted to sigh; I suppose it was too much to hope that the Hat wouldn't be able to see my past memories.

"An Outsider. There have been a few of your kind that have come here indeed. Merlin was a notable one."

That's interesting trivia. I have to wonder if he knew of the books as well? Though I suppose if he did, then everything would likely be different.

"Fortunately for you, the memories are not something that I can reveal or get out of me unless the person in question is an active threat to the school and its occupants, which you do not qualify as."

"Hmm, there is plenty of ambition to prove yourself. Though what truly stands out is your desire for magic and to understand and develop it further, for which I wish you the best."

"I know just where you'll fit in, Ravenclaw!" The last word was shouted for all to hear.

A flicker of surprise was present on the faces of everyone, Professor McGonagall included, if only for a brief second. After a couple of seconds, cheers alongside claps and whistles began from the table where the students of Ravneclaw sat. My own crest had changed from an empty one to the Ravenclaw's Eagle.

"Markus Hallow," said one student, an older one who was interrupted as someone pushed him out of the way, "Sebastian Grey," another said excitedly shoving his hand out for a handshake, and the same thing happened, "Adam, it's really an honor," and after that, it was such a whirlwind of introductions that I was barely able to put face to name. I'm sure I'll get some wrong in the future.

"Give him some space! He's clearly disoriented," came a sharp reprimand. Glancing over, I saw a girl with wavy blonde hair and blue eyes, her robes having a "P" shaped badge stuck to them.

A couple of them muttered not-so-good things about the girl but backed off nonetheless, as I let out a light sigh of relief. If this was what the original had to live with, I can understand why he wanted to avoid his fame.

"Sorry for not interfering earlier, I'm Penelope Clearwater," she introduced, sticking out her hand which I shook, "If you need any help or have any questions, I'm always available, Potter," she offered with a smile.

"Thank you. Please just call me Harry, Clearwater," I said, giving a slight smile.

"It's Penny to you then, Harry," she said, patting me on the back, "Best to take a seat, people are staring."

"They always are," I said, already feeling tired of the incessant chatting. Did they think that I couldn't blatantly hear them?

She gave me a pitying look as I went to the end of the table where everyone sat scattered, while in the front, everyone was grouped together, which left little breathing space for me. I tried to tune everything out.

Soon enough, everyone was finished being sorted as the Headmaster stood at the podium.

He truly did look like the typical quirky Archmage. He had a long white beard-I will strive to have a majestic beard like that-his eyes really did seem to twinkle, and his robes were colorful with different stars which glowed with their own inner light.

He held his arms out as if he wanted to do nothing but give us a long big hug.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, and to our returning students, welcome back." His voice had the strength of Michael Gambon with the grandfatherly joy-filled tone of Richard Harris.

"I'm sure you're famished by now," he did an exaggerated wink, "Before that, I have some start of term notices. First of all, it is reminded to all students that the Forbidden Forest is indeed Forbidden," he glanced at the Gryffindor Table, though I couldn't see the chaotic twins.

"Second, the list of banned items has been further added to, to which a full list is available out of the Caretaker Mr. Filch's office."

"Lastly, the third-floor corridor is out of bounds for anyone who does not wish to die a painful death."

"Onto the feast! Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment, Tweak!" As soon as he finished, food of all kinds appeared on the tables.

It must be a testament to what he usually said that there wasn't a single person talking about the corridor that would result in a supposedly horrible and painful death.

I wouldn't eat much as I'd had a bit too much candy. Unlike the canonical asshole, I actually left some for the other children. I took some chicken and ate it. Some people had come my way, but Penelope had swiftly redirected them, to which I shot her a grateful look.

Until yesterday, I'd been a nobody muggle; today, I was the Boy-Who-Lived with thousands of people wanting to meet me after fourteen years of complete silence.

As we made our way to the Common Room after the Feast had ended, we all grouped up by the year we were in.

There were six other students that had been sorted into Ravenclaw: Terry Boot, Michael Corner, Anthony Goldstein, Lisa Turpin, Su Li, Padma Patil.

We were all quite reserved with each other, since we were all dead tired and in need of sleep.

"Now, this is the Entrance to the Ravenclaw Common Room. Anyone from any House is free to enter so long as they use their wits and solve the riddle. Simply knock on it," she did as she said, and the knob, shaped like an Eagle, spoke up, "I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with wind. What am I?"

"Echo," she answered confidently as the walls shifted to make an entrance large enough for all of us to enter.

I'm going to get stuck often here, aren't I?

The Common Room was tastefully decorated, with a large fireplace and comfortable chairs all around, surrounded by bookshelves, and a statue of the Founder Rowena Ravenclaw near the stairs.

I was going to be sharing a room with Terry Boot. He looked dead on his feet, so I doubted he'd talk much. As we entered the room, he took off his robes, showing his T-shirt and shorts. Following suit, both of us jumped on the bed, closed the privacy curtains, and promptly fell asleep.


Word Count (Pre-Disclaimer AN): 1628

Author's Note: Please don't be overly harsh, it's my first (uploaded) story. I decided to do a SI!Harry. The story just wrote itself out to be honest, I'm very surprised. It's going to be an AU, mostly to fix some inconsistencies and plot-holes, make the heroes and villains smarter, magic less stiff, etc.

Interact with the story, the more interaction there is, i.e Likes, Replies, Reviews, Follows, etc. The faster I'll write.

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