Chapter 4

Harry felt slightly overwhelmed by the bustle and noise of Hogsmeade station. All around him students were calling out to their friends and exchanging pleasantries after a summer apart. Harry had, reluctantly, left Hedwig in their compartment after a red headed prefect had instructed them to leave all pets aboard. Apparently they would be taken up to the castle after the sorting. Harry wrung his hands, standing next to Theodore. They had lost Malfoy and the others in the bustle of people. Luckily the taller boy acted as a bit of a shield against the throng around them. Harry wasn't sure where they were supposed to go. Were they meant to find their own way up to the castle? The answer to that question came quickly enough.

"Firs' years, firs' years. over 'ere!" A booming voice called over the throng. Theodore glanced down at Harry. He slowly stretched out his arm and grasped Harry's.

"So that we won't get separated." He said in his usually clipped tone of voice. Theodore then started forward, Harry on his heels. It took great effort not to trip on his new robes, he had never worn garments so long before. They followed the voice, who was still shouting out for first years. When they finally spotted the man Harry gaped. The man was the tallest he had ever seen and not just tall, all his proportions were at least two sizes too big for a normal person. He had long dark brown hair in addition to a just as long beard. He quickly closed his mouth as to not be caught staring, it was rude. The man gathered all the first years and bade them follow him, so they did.

They arrived, after a short walk, at the large lake that surrounded the castle. They were instructed to get into the boats that were bobbing in the lakes murky waters. They climbed into the boat nearest to them, Theodore having let go of Harry's arm. After some time they were joined by a girl with long auburn coloured hair. She introduced herself as Daphne Greengrass and was kind enough not to look to surprised when Harry gave her his name. The giant man, who Harry learned was called Hagrid and was the groundskeeper, sat himself in a slightly bigger boat and the rest and then they were off. Gliding across the lake was a magical experience, on Harry would not soon forget. Hogwarts castle slowly came into view as the approached the middle of the lake. Harry was a little nervous as he had never learned how to swim. Dudley had gotten lessons as a child, but Harry had never been allowed to come with him. Not that he really relished the idea of Dudley having the opportunity to drown him.

When they finally made their way to land once more, Hagrid instructed them to march in single file up to the castle. They approached the grand entrance and Harry let out an awed sigh. The castle was beautiful. Grand and fantastical. He had never seen it's like. A witch strode towards them from the other side of the entrance hall. She stopped in front of the groundskeeper and said in a brusque tone of voice:

"Thank you Hagrid I'll take them from here."


Some time later the new first years marched into the Great Hall of Hogwarts in single file after Professor McGonagall. She was stern, but Harry did not think she would be an unfair Professor in classes. Harry, along with the others, looked around in awe. It seemed the Hall didn't have a roof. When seeing the confused faces around her, a bushy haired girl took it upon herself to explain that the roof was enchanted to look that way. Harry nodded to himself. Of course the answer was magic. It was still a little disconcerting to walk directly below lit candles that floated in mid air. He felt as though he was going to get hot candle wax dripped on him any second.

The Great Hall was just that, grand. Four long tables were placed inside and on benches on each side of them sat students, all dressed in different colours depending on which house they belonged in. Harry would soon be seated on one of those benches, next to what McGonagall had said would be his family while residing in the castle. The thought was strange. Would people he'd never met before really accept him as one of them? Just like that? He looked around at the students, he would be one of them soon.

At the front of the room another long table was placed, this one placed so that those seated would look out over the students and the rest of the hall. Seated behind the table were what Harry thought must be the teachers. He was glad to see Professor Snape among them. He gave the man a small smile and he received an almost imperceptible nod in return. The dark haired Professor was seated next to what could only be Headmaster Dumbledore. On the raised platform, on which the table was placed, stood a three legged stool, and on top of it, a hat. This must be The Sorting Hat that Malfoy had been speaking of earlier, Harry. He was surprised when the hat opened a mouth and began to sing. It sang of the four houses and of their qualities, of the importance of unity and friendship. Once the song ended Professor McGonagall stepped forward, scroll of parchment in hand.

"When I say your name please step forward. Abbot, Hannah." A blonde girl with pigtails stepped up and seated herself on the stool. She was so short that her feet didn't reach the floor. For a few moments the Hall was silent, then:

"Hufflepuff!" The Sorting Hat's call echoed out through the Great Hall, but was quickly drowned out by cheers and clapping from the table with students dressed in yellow and black. The girl seated on the stool, looking flustered, practically ran to the Hufflepuff table. And so the sorting began. Professor McGonagall called out a name and one of the first years stepped forwards to have the hat be placed upon their head. Once sorted, the students went to join their new houses. All the boys from Harry's train compartment were sorted into Slytherin, including Theodore, who Harry had thought would surely be placed in Ravenclaw. The girl who had introduced herself as Daphne Greengrass was also sorted into Slytherin. The boy who had been looking for his toad on the train was sorted into Gryffindor, together with the bushy haired girl and a red headed boy who Harry recognised from King's Cross station.

And then, finally:

"Potter, Harry." Harry walked forwards and willed himself not to focus on the whispers that had broken out around the hall. He seated himself upon the stool and saw that some students had stood up to see him clearly. He felt then that he wanted to disappear. Everyone in this hall knew him for his parents murders and subsequent vanishing of Lord Voldemort. Before he could start despairing about his notoriety, (would he ever just be normal?), the Sorting Hat slid onto his head and over his eyes. He was staring at a black nothingness for a few moments before he heard a voice. A voice in his head.

Hmm. Difficult. Very difficult. Plenty of courage, I see. Not a bad mind either. There's talent, oh my goodness, yes — and a nice thirst to prove yourself, now that's interesting... So where shall I put you?"

Harry blinked. Was the hat asking him? And if so what house should he request? Harry had always been alone. Without friends or real family. That was what he really wanted. He thought about it for a few moments before hesitantly thinking back:

Somewhere where I'll have real friends. Somewhere where I will be appreciated for who I am. The Sorting Hat was quiet for a few more moments and Harry wondered if it could even hear him or if he'd been foolish to try and talk back to it. Then the voice returned:

I understand my boy. Well then if it's true friends you wish for then it better be-"SLYTHERIN!"

The last word was shouted out into the Great Hall for all inside to hear and suddenly the whispers that had permeated the space ceased. The Hall remained quiet as McGonagall took off the hat from Harry's head and he made his way towards the Slytherin table. It seemed that all eyes remained trained upon him as he slid onto the bench next to Daphne Greengrass, so Harry looked down into his lap where his hands had twined themselves together in an anxious knot.

He begged silently for McGonagall to continue the sorting ceremony when someone from across from him pointedly started to clap. Harry's head shot up, only to see Theodore sitting across from him and giving Harry a one manned applause. The boy looked completely unbothered by the hundreds of eyes that had suddenly swivelled away from Harry to fixate upon him. Next to Theodore Blaise Zabini gave an exasperated sigh and slowly started clapping as well. This seemed to release a chain reaction across the Slytherin table. Suddenly the entire table was clapping with all their might, louder than they had that entire night. Whistles and whoops were also heard among the clapping. The noise of clapping echoed around the Hall and Harry gave Theodore a small, grateful smile. Theodore only shrugged in return.

Harry looked up towards the staff table only to realise that his own table was the only one clapping. When other students had been sorted, the whole hall had been clapping, if not as enthusiastically as the Slytherin's currently were. When his eyes landed on the Professors he realised that they were clapping as well now that the Slytherin table had started doing so. Harry looked at Professor Snape and saw that he was clapping as well along with his colleagues. The dark haired man was wearing a look of surprise on his face, but the expression quickly disappeared when he saw Harry looking towards him.

McGonagall cleared her throat pointedly after a while, but the Slytherin students only continued to cheer. It was only when Professor Snape silently held up a hand that they quieted and sat back down in their seats. McGonagall gave them another glare before continuing the sorting.


After some rather odd words from the Headmaster, a bespectacled, tall and silver haired older man, they were told to dig into the food. Harry was glad, many in the hall hadn't stopped staring at him since his sorting. The food seemed to distract however and Harry couldn't believe his eyes when plates of dishes appeared, seemingly out of thin air. He was hesitant so serve himself at first, but after seeing the way everyone around him seemed to have no qualms about digging in, he reached for a plate of what looked to be boiled potatoes. When he'd served himself a couple and was contemplating what to reach for next he was suddenly interrupted by a voice from behind and to the side of him. Harry looked up to see two older Slytherin students, they looked to be in their last years at the school. One was a brown haired girl with freckles, the other a dark haired boy with a long face. The girl reached out a hand towards him.

"Hello, my name is Gemma Farley, Slytherin fifth year prefect and this is my counterpart Nasir Shafiq." She gestured to the boy beside her who gave Harry a nod. Harry took the hand offered to him and shook, then did the same when another was offered by Nasir Shafiq. "It's our duty, as prefects, to guide those students of.. muggle upbringing. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to come to us for answers." Harry thanked them and they returned to their seats at the other end of the Slytherin table. He turned back towards his food only to be met with surprised looks from his year mates.

"What is it?" Harry asked, nervous. Blaise Zabini gave him an incredulous stare.

"You lived with muggles?" He asked, that incredulous look still on his face. Harry flushed. Was living with muggles not common in the wizarding world? But Professor Snape had seemingly given the same speech he had given Harry many times before so it couldn't be completely unheard of. "I didn't mean it as an insult," Blaise said quickly. "It's just a bit strange isn't it? The Boy Who Lived growing up with muggles." Harry relaxed a little.

"Well, they are my only living relatives." He said with a shrug. Trying not to give away how the thought of his aunt, uncle and cousin made him uncomfortable. Daphne Greengrass gave him a sad smile.

"Of course Harry, apologies. We can all be a little thick headed at times, forgive us will you?" Harry nodded at her and she held out a plate of chicken for him to take from. Malfoy still looked beyond surprised and Theodore gave him a pointed glare which finally made the blonde boy close his gaping mouth.

The rest of the meal passed pleasantly even if he could still feel the stares from around the hall. He was introduced to three others in his year. Pansy Parkinson, a dark haired girl with a bob. Millicent Bulstrode who Harry was intimidated by at first until he realised that her glare was simply part of her normal expression, and finally Tracey Davis a shy girl who handed Harry the plate of treacle tart once dessert was served. At regular intervals during the meal, older students made their way down towards Harry to introduce themselves and shake his hand. He had been prepared for this as Professor Snape had told him about his fame, it didn't make it any more bearable however. He was introduced to Marcus Flint, who proudly proclaimed that he was on the Slytherin quidditch team. At one point he was accosted by two read headed twins, who had apparently made their way from the Gryffindor table just to introduce themselves. They introduced themselves as Gred and Feorge, which Harry highly doubted was their real names. After some time of chattering happily at Harry Professor McGonagall gave them a pointed look and they scurried back to their own table.

After eating more food than he ever had at one time in his life and speaking to children his own age without them being afraid of retribution from his cousin, Harry felt quite content. He still felt overwhelmed by the attention he got from other students and he wasn't used to being around so many people at once, but all in all it had been a pleasant evening. Malfoy was currently entertaining the table with anecdotes about his home life. He told all about his family's albino peacocks and of the private quidditch pitch on the manor grounds. Both Blaise and Theodore looked beyond exasperated and the others looked like they had heard it all before, but Harry felt that he didn't mind listening. It was interesting to hear about what it was like to live in a magic household. Malfoy told them of something called a "house elf", a kind of servant of another species who apparently served in the castle as well. Harry felt uncomfortable by the idea. He was pretty sure that he had learnt in school that unpaid labour was morally reprehensible.

Malfoy was interrupted however, by Professor Dumbledore standing to address them all once more. The headmaster had swung his long white beard over his shoulder to better reach his food and looked quite pleased with himself. He welcomed the first years and bid the older students welcome back, he then introduced what was apparently the new defence against the dark arts teacher. A nervous looking man in a turban stood and waved hesitantly around the hall. Harry suddenly felt a sharp stab of pain in his forehead when looking upon the Professor. He massaged his temples, feeling out of sorts. Theodore shot him a slightly concerned look, but Harry just shrugged as if to say that it was nothing.

The headmaster continued his speech with speaking of some of the rules around the castle. Both the forbidden forest and the third floor corridor was out of bounds this year apparently. Harry couldn't hold back a shudder when the headmaster mentioned that a grisly death awaited any who wished to break those rules. He finally finished his speech with declaring that they would all sing the school song. Harry felt a little confused since he didn't know the song, but Professor Dumbledore summoned a silk band from out of his wand and it in turn formed words in the air. What followed was a disjointed and stumbling attempt from all the students to sing in different tunes all at once.

When the song was finally over and Harry didn't feel as though his ears were bleeding anymore the head master waved them to bed. Suddenly chairs scraped as students stood and made their way out of the Great Hall. The same two prefects as before walked down the table to Harry and the other first years, and they were told to follow them.

They made their way through winding corridors and down grand staircases. Along the way they saw a ghost or two along with more moving portraits. The people depicted in the portraits waved at the first years as they passed. After some time all the windows that had been lining the corridors higher up in the castle disappeared and harry realised that they must bee in the dungeons. Finally they came to a stop in front of statue of a blank wall, the only thing marking it as different being the snake statue that was coiled down on the floor adjacent with the wall in front of them. Prefect Farley turned to them.

"This is the entrance to the Slytherin common rooms. You will need to say the password to gain access to it. You will not, under any circumstances share this password with any student from another house. Is that understood? Good. The current password is enchantment." The moment she said the password the snake statue lifted its head from above the ground and curled up into the shape of a door where before there had only been a blank dungeon wall. Prefect Shafiq ushered them all inside the door that swung open.


Later, Harry lay in his four poster bed up in the first year Slytherin dormitories, looking to the glass windows where he could've sworn he saw a mermaid or rather a merman swim by just a few minutes ago. He had managed to get one of the beds closest to the grand windows. It seemed no one had wanted to argue with him about it. Draco and Blaise had no qualms about arguing over who was going to get the bed across from Harry's however. They were so preoccupied with their argument that they only realised that Theodore had already sat down on it when his trunk appeared in front of the bed, ending any further arguments. Harry had been disappointing to realise Hedwig had been taken up to the owlery instead of being placed in his dormitory with him, but he supposed it made sense. What if someone else had a rat or some such? Hedwig might've thought them a snack.

Professor Snape had appeared before they had gone to bed to officially welcome them to his house. Harry hadn't known that he was their head of house so it was a pleasant surprise. Professor Snape warned them that he wasn't lenient and that they would be shown no favouritism simply by being placed in his house. He expected them to excel in classes regardless and Harry resolved to do just that. He also expected them to keep the dormitories tidy, when Draco had complained that they had house elves for that the Professor had only given him an unimpressed look. The professor left them after that and told them to get to bed. Harry found a pair of pyjamas with the Hogwarts crest embroidered upon it in the small wardrobe next to his bed, they were soft so he slid them on. It was strange to undress in front of so many people but he managed it.

Harry fell asleep that night to the soft sound of breathing in the room around him and to the view of the lake from the window.