:-[Chapter 45]-:
"This is the great Boy-Who-Lived? How... disappointing." the man said, sneering in the process.
"Yes, Father." Draco said, toothily smiling. "So, Potter, you only have a sad little house-elf to accompany you to the station? Pathetic if you ask me."
"The only difference between you and me, Draco, is that at least I give my parents something to be proud of." Harry remarked. "Have a good day, see you at school."
Harry took his leave without waiting for an answer from the Malfoys. If they were to treat him as such, the young wizard would answer back without remorse. Walking towards the Hogwarts' Express, Harry received the help of one of the magical employees who helped the young children put their trunks inside their compartment.
Taking only Hogwarts: A History with him for reading during the trip, Harry climbed aboard the train and went into a compartment, waiting for his friends to arrive.
:-[T.A.B]-:
The journey to Hogwarts was uneventful. Harry passed the time with his friends talking and having some fun. After years of hard climate and hard training in Westeros, it was nice to simply relax with other people, without worrying that a war was coming.
Hermione had been ecstatic when she had seen Harry reading her gift. She was the first to arrive after the young wizard. After her, Susan Bones was the next and she shyly asked if Hannah Abbot, her best friend since early childhood, could come with her. Harry quickly agreed, wanting to know more people. Neville was the last to arrive, still with Trevor the toad in his hands.
When two minutes to eleven o'clock arrived, Harry saw multiple redheads passing through the muggle gateway. One by one, they ran towards the red train and boarded it.
"Why are they coming from the muggle's side? Surely Mister Weasley knows how to Apparate." Susan said, seemingly as puzzled as Hannah and Neville.
"I can't say why but they did the same last year. Why, is that uncommon?" Harry asked the group.
"Well, they are a pureblood family. It is simply strange that they decided to enter from where the muggleborns come from." Neville answered. They watched as the Weasley's entered the train as fast as they could.
"I cannot believe they are this late." Hermione said. "They have almost miss the tr..."
She did not have the time to finish her sentence before the train started moving. The group watched as the Weasleys walked by their compartment, probably going to look for theirs or the one with their friends in it.
"Well, I guess we'll see Ron pretty soon." the raven-haired boy said. "So, any guesses on who's going to be the new professor of Defense against the Dark Arts?"
"My aunt told me they found a man at the last second. Apparently, the new professor used to fight in the last war against You-Know-Who." Susan said, blushing at the attention.
"At least he seems competent if that's true." Hermione said, holding her second year charms book. "It wouldn't do to have an incompetent teacher."
:-[T.A.B]-:
Hogwarts was truly a sight to behold. For the other students, only a couple of months have passed since they had seen the castle but, for Harry, it had been years. The sight was truly magical, even from the carriage pulled by magic.
"You look like you haven't seen the castle in years, Harry." Hermione observed, looking up from her book.
"It was a long summer, Hermione. A lot has changed since our first-year." Harry answered. "I am sure glad to be back."
The carriage rolled slowly towards Hogwarts. The night had come, giving the castle a mystical look. Torches were illuminating the massive building creating an inviting look. Once the carriage stopped, Harry was the first to get out and help the others step down.
"Boy am I happy to see you, Hogwarts!" Ron said. "Cannot wait for the feast to start, I'm starving."
The group entered Hogwarts, under the scrutinous gaze of Argus Filch, the caretaker. Entering the Great Hall, the group separated to their respective tables. As more and more students were pouring in, Harry took the time to look at the professors' table but saw that they weren't all there yet.
They waited for around ten minutes when the giant doors closed on their own as the last student entered. Ron was becoming impatient about the upcoming feast.
"Calm down little brother, we need to do the Sorting before we get to the feast." Fred said.
As if he was heard, the side antechamber doors opened, letting Professor McGonagall enter proudly, followed by a bunch of small first-years. Ginny was among them, easily spotted by her fiery hair. Beside her, was an even smaller blonde girl who was looking around in fascination. Her eyes darting to and fro becoming wilder by the moment. She suddenly looked in Harry's direction and gave him the biggest smile the young boy ever received in his two lives.
The first-years stopped at the bottom of the dais, where the Sorting Hat was patiently waiting for yet another year of working. The piece of cloth suddenly started moving and then singing.
Glamourous is not a word
That people use for me
But don't let that fool you, as most
Will eat their words, you see.
You can keep your witch hats pointy,
Your fedoras black and slick
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
I'll cut them to the quick.
There's nothing you can hide from me
I can read your mind
So try me on and I will tell you
What I therein find.
You may do well in Gryffindor,
Where courage is respected
Their bravery and daring
Are only to be expected.
Or perhaps it is in Hufflepuff,
You'll find your real friends
Where hard work and loyalty
Are the beginning and the end.
You might belong in Ravenclaw,
If you possess and value wit
Intelligence, knowledge, learning–
That's the place for it!
Or perhaps it will be Slytherin,
That will form your truest home
Their cunning and ambition
Lends them great renown.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
Don't get your knickers in a knot!
I've Sorted many, I'll Sort you
I'll give it all I've got.
The students around the Great Hall clapped politely to the hat's song. Professor McGonagall made a long list appearwith a flourish of her wand, making the younger students look at her in awe.
"When I call your name, you shall come forward and put on the hat." the Animagus said, before starting with the first name.
"Cannot wait to see where our little Ginevra is going to go. Maybe Slytherin?" George said, adorned with a big smirk.
"Shut up... uuhh Fred!" Ron said, becoming red. "As if a Weasley could ever be a slimy snake."
"Ron, first of all," Harry started. "This is George, not Fred and wherever your sister goes, you should support her. There is nothing wrong with ambition."
"Lovegood, Luna!" McGonagall said, her voice firm.
Harry looked at the small girl literally hopping towards the Sorting Hat, making many students in the Great Hall snicker at her.
"Ravenclaw!" the Sorting Hate shouted.
"Well good, at least we won't have Loony Lovegood in our House." Ron said, still sulking about not having any food yet.
"Ronald, you seem to eat everything, including your own foot!" Harry admonished quite loudly.
Ron became as red as his hair but said nothing in return after noticing half the table watching him.
"Weasley, Ginevra!" the Animagus said.
The last student to be sorted approached the stool where the Sorting Hat was and waited for her new professor to put it on her head.
"Ah! Another Weasley yet again, but a girl this time. Good for those knuckleheads that you dare call brothers. You will do well in... GRYFFINDOR!"
The table exploded in applause at their new classmate who came running over to the table, Harry among them. The young wizard looked at Professor McGonagall who was about to take the Sorting Hat and stool away.
Harry approached the dais, upon reaching the bottom steps, McGonagall took notice of him and said in a firm voice. "Mister Potter, why aren't you sitting at your table?"
As she said this, the noise in the Great Hall seemed to quieten slightly. "I would like to request a Resorting, as per the Hogwarts' Charter."
As Harry responded, the noise in the Great Hall fell to a whisper. Dumbledore, who had been sitting at the head table, speaking to Professor Sprout who was seated next to him, looked up and asked. "Mister Potter, I must have misheard you. Could you repeat that?"
"Of course, Headmaster Dumbledore, I Harry Potter, would like to request a Resorting, as per the Hogwarts' Charter." Harry responded factually, his hands clasped behind his back.
Blood and color seemed to fade from Dumbledore's face, as he took in the words of the second-year student in front of him. Whispers burst into existence from behind Harry's back who ignored them for the moment.
McGonagall sputtered, seeming to be a loss for words but still, she responded. "Mister Potter, do you know what you are asking for?" she asked in a voice just short of shrill.
"Of course, Deputy Headmistress. I am asking for a Resorting. Now do I have to repeat it for a fourth time?" Harry said, getting impatient.
McGonagall's lips pursed at the response she received so she turned to look at Dumbledore questioningly, leaving the matter in his hands. The old man had seemed to partially recompose himself from the shock and responded. "Mister Potter, of course, we must oblige by our Charter. Minerva, if you would."
"B-But Albus!"
"Minerva, please." Dumbledore challenged.
The Animagus did as she was told, letting Harry sit down on the stool for the second time in two years. The Sorting Hat was placed on his head and the young wizard could hear the voice of the magical item once again.
"Mister Potter, you returned so soon?" the Sorting Hat snarked.
"Yeah well, life, experiences and all that, are the best teachers." Harry responded, equally sarcastic.
"Oh yes, I see that. What an... adventure you have had as you called it. That would definitively change a person, so your request for Resorting is valid. So, I imagine that you have an opinion on the matter. I would like to properly hear it, if you please."
Harry chuckled out loud, finding it funny that the Hat wanted to hear something when it could just look into his head.
"I would prefer in all honesty, the independence of the Ravenclaw House, I hear that they get singular rooms and have a personal library only accessible to them." Harry answered mentally.
"I see. Anything else before I render my judgment?"
"Is the library of Hogwarts as gutted as I believe it to be? It seemed kind of small compared to how long the school has been running."
"Ahh, so you are brighter than when you were first sorted. Good, good. You'll need that in your new house. To answer your question, regrettably Mister Potter, the school has lost much under its current Headmaster. RAVENCLAW" yelled the Sorting Hat, making the blue and bronze table full of students jump to their feet in celebration.
Harry snorted at this, finding this whole House situation and competition pretty funny and stupid in the fact that it caused the student to compete for nothing real. They didn't get to take the trophy home when they returned for the summer, so the whole thing was pointless, in his opinion.
The young wizard took off the hat and returned it to Professor McGonagall who looked as if she had been punched in the gut. Then he walked toward the table of celebrating eagles, his head held high. He turned and saw his friends faces, who sported various looks of betrayal and confusion but Harry knew he could answer those questions later. As he reached the edge of the table, he stopped suddenly. Turning, he looked back at the Head table and spoke.
"Mister Albus Wulfric Brian Percival Dumbledore. I, Harry Potter, last of the Sons of Potters, put forth this inquiry. When you placed me with my muggle relatives, did you know I'd be starved, beaten, abused, and made to feel like I shouldn't even exist? The first piece of evidence and the most damning is the fact that the last Son of Potters did not know his own name until he was five years old. Is this how the House of Dumbledore treat its members and allies? Who gave House Dumbledore seniority over the House of Potter?"
The sound in the Great Hall had disappeared completely. You could hear a pin drop, which happened. McGonagall's face had turned ghostly white and then went to a shade that could only be called bloodrage as she whipped around to face Dumbledore.
"Abuse!? Starvation and beating? I told you, Albus. I have told you they were the worst sort of human beings possible." she spat in the headmaster direction.
Dumbledore had collapsed in his chair after the first sentence in Harry's vitriol. He had turned ashen white after the second. Seeing that Dumbledore wasn't physically able to respond, the young wizard turned and faced the four tables full of students. He noticed that the small blonde girl, Luna Lovegood, was the only one smiling at the Ravenclaw table.
"Last year, I watched all of wizarding public celebrate my parents' cold-blooded murder and learned that you do it every year. On the same day I was presented my first ever troll. During that whole day, I observed British wizarding society and at its core is composed of sheep and cowards. In conclusion, my parents' sacrificed themselves for sheep and cowards. The House of Potter's honour has been challenged by the entire magical society of this country. You have spat on our sacrifice for you and now, as a House, we claim SHAME."
"Potter! How dare you speak to us in that way!" Snape yelled.
"And what way is that, Severus Snape?" Harry snapped back, his hands clasped behind his back.
"Fifty points from Ravenclaw, Potter!" the potions professor shouted, spit coming out of his mouth. Students at the blue and bronze table shouted their indignation at the unfair display.
"Another shinning example of how we are treated here at Hogwarts. Very well, Mister Snape, I accept your punishment."
"Twenty-five points from Ravenclaw! I am your professor and I will be referred to as such by the likes of you, Potter!" snarled the man.
"I would call you a professor if you actually acted like one and not like a pitiful bully. You have had it out for me since I started here and that doesn't seem to changing anytime soon. So, teacher Snape, I will be referring to you as such in the future, because it is the truth."
McGonagall who looked like she had been through a hurricane, red face and all, turned to Snape and snapped out. "Professor Snape, please mind your tone and attitude. These are students and not adults. These points are immediately rescinded and Ravenclaw is back at zero points like any other House. I have told you for years to let go of your hatred or you would never amount to anything as a professor otherwise."
"P-Professor McGonagall?" said a timid voice.
"WHAT!?" she all but shrieked, seemingly overwhelmed by the emotion.
"I'd liked to request a Resorting, as per the Hogwarts' Charter." Neville quietly said.
"Me too!" Hermione said, following her friends.
Nobody but Harry noticed the Headmaster quickly taking his leave. Upon noticing this, Harry raised his voice making overheard thoughout the Great Hall.
"Mister Dumbledore and technically Headmaster in this position. The House of Potter still demands its satisfaction. I would have an answer from you in a month's timeabout my inquiries. Also I wouldn't try to use any of your positions in this society, just your House."
:-[T.A.B]-:
Harry was standing in his personal bedroom, inside the Ravenclaw Tower. It was way better than what he anticipated. A double size bed with bed covers adorned with his new house colors, blue and bronze. A small desk was in one of the corners, next to the window where Hedwig would easily be able to come and go.
His plan went very well. He hadResorted into House Ravenclaw and to his own surprise, with Hermione Granger in tow. It was a huge bonus for his plans to get stronger and become a better wizard. After all, she was a very bright witch and even if her control-everything side of her was a little bit annoying, Harry knew he would not have passed the second chambers without her wit.
Of course, things were a lot different now. The young wizard knew he was stronger than he was only a few months ago in the real world. Now he was going to use the fact that he had way more liberties in Ravenclaw than in Gryffindor to study and possibly asked for advice from Professor Flitwick as soon as he got the opportunity to do so.
Suddenly, a soft knock at the door put Harry out of his inner thoughts. Dressed in only his pajamas, the young wizard went to the door and opened it slowly, revealing the small blonde girl who adorned her biggest smile still.
"Hello, Harry Potter!" she chirped happily.
"Why hello to you, Miss Lovegood." Harry answered, unable to stop his own smile from forming on his face. "How may I help you tonight?"
"Do you want to be friends? I know you are much older than me and probably not ready for anything else." the small Lovegood girl said.
'Does she know? Impossible, Kalvyn told me to tell no one, which means he has not said anything to anyone and why would he." Harry thought, slightly taken aback by the young girl.
"Don't worry, Harry Potter, your secret is safe with me." she shushed with a finger in front of her mouth. "So do you want to be friends?"
"Well of course, but my friends call me Harry."
"Yay!" Luna said, jumping on him for a hug. "Please call me Luna. I don't like Loony."
Harry noticed she was a little sad when Luna said the last part.
"I will never call you that, Luna. Are you settling ok in Hogwarts?"
:-[T.A.B]-:
Albus Dumbledore was livid. What could have possibly happened? Harry Potter had been a weak child, mentally and physically during his first-year at Hogwarts. His master plan had worked until now. The child was raised without an ounce of love coming from his aunt and uncle. He had no magical knowledge about his House and even less about his family history.
Now, the little shit had suddenly decided to grow some balls and was all of a sudden acting more like a lord than ever. When Harry had requested the Resorting, he had been forced to cooperate, to keep face in front of all his employees and subjec... students. It took everything for Albus to keep his cool.
The oldest wizard in Hogwarts started to pace around his office, thinking about the next part of his plan. It was paramount that Albus take back the control he had on the Boy-Who-Lived. He had already managed to get himself Declared of Age in the eyes of the Ministry. A great feat to be sure, at his very young age.
"What do you intend to do about this, Albus?" the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black asked the Headmaster. "This little stunt of his can ruin your plans for the future."
"I know this, Phineas, thank you." Albus retorted. "I just need a way to make sure the boy comes back to the fold."
:-[T.A.B]-:
Theodore 'Ted' Tonks was working like a maniac for what seemed to be yet another consecutive night of work. His wife was starting to ask questions about the fact that he wasn't home for the umpteenth time. Ted could not, however, tell her the truth as he was bound by his oath as a lawyer to the House of Potter.
The lawyer looked at the numerous documents scattered on his desk and sighed in slight desperation. He was working day and night to find a way for his most important client to visit his godfather, Sirius Black in Azkaban. Said godfather being in the most secure block of the wizarding prison, it was almost impossible to get approval from the Ministry.
Almost being the appropriate word for any other lawyer than himself.
Ted had worked hard to manage this without having the entire Wizengamot on his arse. It took him a couple of months to accomplish it but he had done it. All he needed, was the signature of Azkaban's director, Martin Hardway and it was done. The muggleborn wizard hoped that his client would be satisfied once again by his work.
:-[T.A.B]-:
Thank you everyone for reading Chapter 45 of The adventure begins! Please let a review in the comment, letting me know what you think about my story or what you would like to see.
Criticism is always welcome as long as it is constructive.
Thank you to abarai72 for his amazing help in developing this story!
To Claudiomir: Gracias por leer cada semana mi amigo. También agradezco todos sus comentarios. ¿Qué opinas de la historia hasta ahora?
To Blaze1992: Yes the grand-parents add another layer to the Potter Manor. For the parents', stay tuned!
To rajeskont: You are right, I am doing smaller chapter for the moment as I as more comfortable with this length. There will be bigger chapter coming up like the last one of Westeros, but they will be rarer. One chapter a week is my go to for now. I like to post a bonus chapter here and now when me and my beta aren't too tired to do the correction! Thank you for reading as always.
To modelbuilder1fan1: Thank you again for the review and for reading!