"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?" said Hagrid.

The half-giant was in charge to help the new students to can go to the school. Hagrid loves this part of his job.

Guiding the kids to small boats, Hagrid was smiling. The boats moved by themselves to a castle. The "wow's" from many kids was heard. Harry was impressed about the size, but the impact was not as strong as the other kids.

"It needs maintenance urgently," thought Harry. "Magic can only help so far, but if they keep doing reparations only with magic, this place will be a nightmare, sooner or later".

The boats were slow, as it was their mission to impress the kids with the view. The trip that could have been for only a couple of minutes lasted almost 30 minutes.

Harry tried to recognize the architecture of the castle. "It may be a gothic style," thought Harry, but the lack of saturation of ornaments made him think that it was not the case.

Hermione, who was in the same boat, said, "The castle was built back in 993. I read about it in Hogwarts: A history."

Harry heard her and said, "Well that means that they used a Romanesque style for it. But due to the size of it, I will say that they also get some inspiration from the gothic style". Hermione looked at him and then turned again to the castle, like scanning it all over, "you may be right", said the girl while nodding.

Neville, whose toad was given back by Hagrid, was also in the same boat. He heard the small conversation between Harry and Hermione but understood nothing. Ron was also in the same boat, but he didn't put attention, he was looking at the castle.

The kids entered the castle in a passage, that only can be described as a "backdoor". Harry could not help but think that they have not updated the castle since its construction.

When they got out of the boats, the half-giant knocked on the door three times. When the door opened, the person behind was Professor McGonagall.

Hagrid made a smile and said, "The firs' years, Professor McGonagall". The professor thanked him and took the lead from there.

Professor McGonagall guided them inside the castle. While she was walking, some kids were amazed by the size of the entrance hall. Harry, could not help but compare it with the house he lives in, which was bigger, so he was not that impressed. Still, He reaffirmed his guess about the architecture style.

When they were close to another door, this time it was a big one. The professor turned to see all the new students. Harry could hear some voices behind the door, so he guessed that the next room was where the students assemble for special events.

"Welcome to Hogwarts", said Professor McGonagall. "The term always opens with a banquet, which will start shortly. But before you sit in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses", said the professor while scanning the students.

Once she got the attention of all the kids she continued, "the sorting of your house is very important, as the house will become something like your family in Hogwarts. You will take classes, sleep in the house dorms, and spend free time in your house common room."

Harry looked at the other students and found different reactions. Draco was with a smirk and confidence. Hermione was with a stern look, like if she was determined to do something, and in contrast, Neville and Ron looked like they were looking into their doom.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history, and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards", the professor continued, "your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honour."

After that, she said that the sorting will be taking a few more minutes and asked the kids to wait and suggest to them to put their best image.

A few ghosts passed over them, but Harry did not pay too much attention.

After a little while, Professor McGonagall returned and asked them to form a line. Once everyone was formed, the old witch guided them inside a "great" hall.

"Small and rusty. But I guess that everything will pale if you compare it to the Great Tomb of Nazarick", thought Harry.

While walking, many other students were impressed by the hall. Especially by the ceiling that made it look like they were staring at the night sky. Harry, at that sigh, just snorted a little, "they are not at the same level as the talent of Blue Planet-san. This is just a child painting compared to the 6th floor", thought Harry. At his back, he could hear Hermione saying that it was bewitched to look like that, "I read about it in Hogwarts: A History".

Harry looked in front and watched at the high table. At the end of one side of the table was Hagrid, the half-giant that helped them arrive, the one that was caught by CZ when he tried to trespass the Suzuki residence. In the middle was the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Harry recognized Dumbledore due to the different books that talked about him.

All the kids stopped when they were in front of an old hat. Suddenly the hat started to sing about the houses of the school.

Harry thought it was part of the ceremony and downplayed the song until one line took his attention. "There is nothing hidden in your head the sorting hat can't see" sang the hat.

The song continued, it was talking about the different attributes that a student needs to have to be sorted in one house.

"I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll", murmured Ron.

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

Then Professor McGonagall started to call for the kids by alphabetic order. "Abbot, Hannah!" shouted the professor, and a girl walked up nervously to the front.

"This is bad. I can't let anyone know about the whole plan," thought Harry. He cast [Lesser Mind Protection] on himself. Fortunately, no one was watching him as everybody was focused on the current kid in the chair.

A few names were called, none of them was recognizable by Harry until he heard the name: "Bulstrode, Millicent" which was the first sorted in Slytherin that night. Her last name was listed as one of the sacred twenty-eight in the book Pure-Blood Dictionary.

After her, some other kids were sorted. As Harry did not recognize their names, he did not pay attention. But then the next person was:

"Granger, Hermione!"

Shouted Professor McGonagall, and the girl he met on the train stepped up. After a few moments, the hat said, "Gryffindor!"

The table of the Gryffindor house started to clap.

Harry heard another name from the list of the Pure-blood dictionary, "Greengrass, Daphne". The girl looked like your average daddy's girl. With a frown, she sat, probably disgusted by the old hat. Fortunately for her, the hat decided her house right away, "Slytherin!"

After her, a few other kids, another last name cut his attention, "Longbottom, Neville!".

Harry was surprised that the kid was part of a family listed as one of the most important in the wizarding world. The kid was a nervous wreck and was the same kid that lost his toad even before the classes started.

When the hat was placed in his head, it took a long time to decide, then it shouted, "Gryffindor!" Neville drew a big smile and ran to the table of the lions still wearing the hat, which made laugh to most of the students.

After a few other kids, the professor said, "Malfoy, Draco!". Only for the hat said "Slytherin!" as fast as the hat touched his head. Draco looked pleased and went to take sit next to Crabbe and Goyle.

Another two kids caught Harry's attention. "Nott, Theodore!" a kid that looked rather timid, and "Parkinson, Pansy" a girl that looked proud of herself and with a cute face. Both kids were sent to Slytherin.

Many other kids were called by professor McGonagall until it was Harry's turn.

"Suzuki-Potter, Harry!"

"Was it really necessary to also say his old last name?" thought Harry, hoping that the spell will be strong enough against the hat.

There were murmurs from the other students. Questions were heard, some asked, "Did she say Harry Potter? The Harry Potter". Some minority, the muggle-borns and half-bloods were saying, "Suzuki? As the Suzuki's family?" and others said, "Ainz Ooal Gown successor is a wizard?!"

The hat had troubles. It wanted to talk to the kid, tell him that he should not be afraid of it. But without any real connection with his mind, that won't be possible.

Say it aloud, perhaps that will be the answer, but the hat realized that this was a scheme of the kid. The kid is showing that he is stronger than the hat, that he already knows a stronger enchantment than the founders. He wanted to show how powerful is him in front of all the school on his first day. Such behaviour is no doubt from a:

"Slytherin!"

Harry stood up and walked to the table of the snakes. He ended up sitting next to Draco and Crabbe. Draco drew a smirk.

Harry took a glance at the professors. They were sitting at the big table in front of the hall. Harry asked one of the prefects about the teachers. Once the information was given, Harry thanked him.

After a while, the headmaster stood up and said:

"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 listened to the words and thought about them. Thinking about the small reading he made about the wizarding world, and especially about the school, he realized what he meant and said, "Oh, I see". Draco turned to him, surprised that Harry was able to understand the nonsense that the headmaster said.

After that, the food appeared in front of them.

While the students were still eating, Draco approached Harry and asked him, "we will be partners for 7 years, so I want to ask you about the whole Suzuki thing?"

"Right, 7 years will be a long time", said Harry. "Nothing much to say. I was adopted by a magic family, the Suzuki family. I do not have the age to can proclaim the Potter last name, that's why I do not announce myself as one. Curious that the school used that last name."

Draco only nodded at it, and then they continued eating their food. The other students that were close to them heard everything and also nodded.

At the Slytherin table, people were already talking. The wizard community is not a long one, and there are only a few pre-blood families, making it for Harry easy to accept that people already knew one another, especially when Slytherin is known to be selective with the blood status of its students.

Harry knew about the fame of "Harry Potter", and realized right away that Draco will be sitting next to him to can gain reputation. Harry was going to also use Draco influence to can have connections to the most prominent families.

Draco was pleased that he was sitting next to Harry. Not only he will bust his influence, but he will be helping to not sit next to Crabbe and Goyle at the same time while eating, as both of them eat without any education. "I still do not know how their families were not able to install table manners to them," thought Draco.

The girls create a group right away. They started to talk with each other in whispers. Occasionally, some looks were directed to Harry and Draco, who decided to ignore them.

Suddenly, Harry started to feel a hot pain in his scar, but he decided to act like nothing while scanning the scene. He realized that two of the teachers were looking at him while talking. One was wearing a black robe and had greasy hair. The other professor was wearing a turban and was a nervous wreck. By the information that was given by the perfect, they should be professor Snape and professor Quirrell, respectively.

After a while, the food disappeared. Most of the students already had ended their eating, but Goyle and Crabbe looked disappointed.

The headmaster stood up and cleared his throat to make more announcements. First, it was about the forbidden forest, which was forbidden. "Redundant," said Harry while rolling his eyes. Crabbe heard him and snorted.

The second thing was about a restriction of the usage of magic in the corridors between classes. That didn't make sense to Harry. Draco realized Harry's face and said to him, "Filch is a Squip, but he was still hired by the school. But it's because of him that absurd rule was placed". Harry listened and nodded.

The third thing was about the trials to the Quidditch teams, which will take place in the second week.

And the final announcement was the restriction in the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side while warning them about a painful death.

After the announcements, Dumbledore asked the students to sing the school anthem.

Harry could not believe the noise. Everybody was singing differently. You could hear some kids singing faster than others to can end their torture.

After the torture was over, the headmaster asked them to go back to the dormitories.

Led by the perfects. They walk down to the dungeons, and they pass them and continue going down. After a while, the perfect stopped in front of a wall. No pictures or any particular thing was around to can realize the exact location. Only maybe the number of columns they passed, "the perfect seem to be counting the columns" thought Harry.

The perfect cleared his voice and said aloud, "No more mud-bloods".

The walls started to move, and a door appeared. The perfect turn to them and said to the first years, "remember the password. If not, you will be sleeping outside".

Once they entered the Slytherin Common Room, a professor was already there. Thin, with grassy black hair and wearing black robes.

"I am Severus Snape, the Head of Slytherin", said the professor. "Learn right now, the school will be against you, but you are not allowed to show any weakness to them. Problem with a fellow Slytherin would be handled inside this wall. Outside you must protect each other".

Snape was looking at all the new students, and then he left his eyes in Harry, "Do not get in trouble, because I will not hesitate to take points to my own house". Then he started to look at the other students, "If you get detention with the other professors, you should expect another with me. Am I clear?"

"Yes!" was the answer of all the students.

"Go to your beds. Your schedules of classes and your belongings should be there already", concluded Snape.

After that, Professor Snape left the room. The perfects told them that the room for boys and girls are separate, and no male will be able to go to the girl's room as there is an enchantment to prevent that.

Harry and the other kids went to their dorm. Draco bed was next to Harry.

"Malfoy, May I ask you something?" said Harry. Draco was walking to his bed. He sat on the edge of his bed and nodded to Harry.

"Did your family also study in Hogwarts?" asked Harry.

"Of course. This is the only school of magic with enough reputation for a Malfoy."

"House teaching is something that happens to the family that wants to keep certain family knowledge. I did not mean to offend you."

"Not a problem. But I guessed that you asked for another reason", said Draco.

"Perceptive, are you? I only want to know what can I expect."

"Like Snape said. The school is against us. Father said that they do it because they fear us" answered Draco. "They will forgive anything from other houses, but for us, the small thing will take a lot of points".

Harry was listening carefully.

"Professor Snape is a family friend, and he already told me about the school's current favorites: The Weasleys twins," said Draco with a contemptuous face. "If they were in Slytherin they would have been expelled years ago. Worst is, their pranks are always against our house, more reason for the school to minimize the problem", conclude Draco.

"I see. Also, do you know if professor Snape has something against me?" asked Harry.

"Well, Potter is a last name that has always been linked to the Gryffindors. You may be the first Potter in Slytherin", answered Draco.

Harry thought for a moment and then turned to Draco, "What if we make a small pact?"

Draco only raised one eyebrow, "What kind of pact?"

"As you already know, I befriend Ron Weasley, so I should be able to get more info about their brothers and their pranks. In exchange for that information, I want you to talk good about me to professor Snape. Made me look like the perfect Slytherin in his eyes", Harry said while extending his hand to Draco.

Draco smirked and shook his hand.