AN: Hello! This is the first chapter and rather than have a huge amount of changes to the plot, I just had Harry meet some people from other houses and enjoy the feast. Future chapters will be much longer, but this mostly serves the purpose of introducing the concept. Next chapter will be fun though, I get to write about the dormitories!... I hope...

DavidoDaVinci

Chapter 1: The Feast

"Hufflepuff!"

Harry heard it shouted out to all the school. He realised that he was getting the loudest cheer he had thus far heard. As he sat down at the table, a fourth year student grabbed his hand and shook it.

"Hello." he said, happily. "I'm Cedric."

"Nice to meet you." Harry replied.

Looking on his other side, Harry noticed the rather shy looking girl he had seen being sorted first.

"Oh, you're… Hannah, right?"

She nodded, pleased.

Harry glanced up at the High Table. On the far end was Hagrid, who was beaming at him under slightly wet hair. Looking at the centre, he saw Dumbledore, as seen on his chocolate frog card. His attention was caught most, however, by Professor Quirell, who was wearing a strange looking turban.

Harry realised, as the hat shouted "RAVENCLAW!" that the sorting was obviously continuing. He whipped around, noticing that the hat was this time on Ron's head. The hat seemed to barely take any time in its decision.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry clapped much more happily than anyone else at the Hufflepuff table, which earned him a few weird stares. And after Blaise Zabini became a Slytherin, Dumbledore stood up to make a speech.

"Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin, I would like to say a few words, and here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

Everyone gave a round of applause. Harry glanced at Hannah questioningly, wondering whether or not to laugh, and from the look she gave him, he strongly doubted she had any idea either.

Looking down, Harry nearly jumped, which earned him a slight laugh from Cedric.

"It is a bit surprising that first time, isn't it?"

If by surprising he meant a huge amount of chicken, sausages, pork, beef, steak, bacon, potatoes, chips, ketchup, mustard, peas, sweetcorn, carrots, cauliflower, gravy, and practically every savoury food on planet earth being presented to him, then he was spot on.

He vaguely registered that Hannah was gnawing gratefully at a chicken wing, before beginning to eat some steak and mashed potatoes.

"And this just casually happens every year?" he asked, giving Cedric a questioning look.

"And Halloween. And Christmas." he answered, half laughing at the look on Harry's face. "And at the end of the year."

"What, and that's just normal?"

He was interrupted by the ghost who looked like a monk poking his head through Harry's plate.

"Hi, Friar." Cedric said, grinning. Harry found he was rather starting to like Cedric, and Hannah.

"Hello, Diggory!" he shouted happily. "Could you please acquaint me with these two young spirits?"

"Certainly!" he said, though dropping the mock formality almost instantly. "This is Harry, and…?"

"Hannah." she said, Cedric nodded.

"Lovely!" he said contently, disappearing into the depths below the table.

"That's the fat friar."

"Got it," Harry replied.

…

"RAVENCLAW!"

As Harry walked towards the table, he took in the huge amount of applause he was receiving, more so than anyone else who had yet been sorted.

"Hello, I'm Padma."

Harry jumped, looking around at her, which caused a nervous giggle.

"Oh, hi. I'm Harry."

She nodded.

Harry looked back up to watch the sorting. "RAVENCLAW!" came his way, before Ron put on the hat.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

He shot a nervous grin at Harry, before joining Fred and George's celebrations.

Dumbledore stood up, once Blaise had been sorted, to make a speech.

"Welcome! Before we begin our excellent feast, I have some words to say: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

Harry glanced at Padma, realising that she was looking at the plates in the middle of the table, an expectant look on her face.

After barely a second, the reasoning was revealed to Harry by a huge amount of food springing up in every direction.

Helping himself to some chicken, he remembered something.

"Your twin, Parvati, was put in Gryffindor, right?"

She nodded. "I thought that was a bit weird. Before I realised that I was obviously smarter than her."

Harry gave an awkward laugh, before continuing with his meal.

…

"SLYTHERIN!"

Was it just him, or was Ron giving him an angry look? He realised that the people at the Slytherin table included Malfoy, and his spirits plummeted.

He sat down as far away from him as possible, continuing to watch the sorting, before Dumbledore stood up, to make a speech.

As the plates in the middle of the table filled, he was able to put off all discomfort until he'd finished. There certainly seemed to be an awful lot of food to choose from.

This was not what he had been planning.

He eventually picked fish and chips, after making sure all the other Slytherins had been served. He glanced up at Ron, who was grimacing at him.

Well, at least he still had Ron, and Hagrid.

And, naturally, with nothing to interrupt them, these thoughts thrived for the next twenty minutes or so.