The door opened almost the instant Hagrid knocked on it. A very stern looking woman stood there in an immaculate set of bright green robes and a pince-nez. She had a strong look on her face, although as she looked around, Harry thought she smiled a bit when she looked at him.
"Firs' years here Professor McGonagall" Hagrid said proudly "One of 'em fell in tho, shes all wet"
"Thank you Hagrid, I'll take them from here" The lady, Professor McGonagall replied, her words precise and clipped. She took out her wand and waved it in the direction of the girl who had fallen in, and she stopped dripping.
"In a few moments, you will be entering the Great Hall for the Sorting ceremony. Which house you are sorted into will determine which dormitories you sleep in, your timetable, and many other matters throughout your time in Hogwarts. Please make yourselves presentable"
Harry noticed other kids brushing their hair down and smoothing their robes out. He decided not to bother, he looked ok, and people would want to his scar anyways.
' It's the only thing they find interesting about me after all'
After a short while, McGonagall nodded, opened the large double doors before them and motioned for the students to follow her in. They walked in, and Harry had his breath taken away.
"It's so beautiful" He whispered to himself.
The great hall was, as the name suggested, great. It was an enormous room, with four long tables running down it, two parallel each other, with a long main table at the head of the room which had a podium before it. The room was lit up by hundreds, thousands of floating candles, hanging in midair. Harry looked up and saw the sky, a clear night covered in stars.
"The ceiling's enchanted to look like the sky outside" He heard a girl saying.
The tables were covered with fine cutlery and crockery. The candlelight sparkled off gold and silver, casting hauntingly beautiful reflections and shadows around the room. The tables had lots of children sitting at them, varying widely in age.
Draco nudged him "That's the Slytherin table, see, that's Marcus Flint, he's Quidditch captain". Harry looked where Draco was pointing and saw a hulking boy waving at them. Everyone at that table was wearing green and silver ties.
"How do we get sorted?" Harry whispered to Draco.
"The sorting hat, oh look! There it is!"
Harry looked forwards and saw that McGonagall had placed a stool in front of the main table with a rather shabby hat on it.
' How the hell is that going to sort us?'
As he was wondering, the hat lifted itself up and a rip opened in it near the brim. It looked like a mouth. The hat began to sing!
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty, But don't judge on what you see, I'll eat myself if you can find A smarter hat than me. You can keep your bowlers black, Your top hats sleek and tall, For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat And I can cap them all. There's nothing hidden in your head The Sorting Hat can't see, So try me on and I will tell you Where you ought to be. You might belong in Gryffindor, Where dwell the brave at heart, Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart; 94 You might belong in Hufflepuff, Where they are just and loyal, Those patient Hufflepuffis are true And unafraid of toil; Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, if you've a ready mind, Where those of wit and learning, Will always find their kind; Or perhaps in Slytherin You'll make your real friends, Those cunning folk use any means To achieve their ends. So put me on! Don't be afraid! And don't get in a flap! You're in safe hands (though I have none) For I'm a Thinking Cap!"
' Well, that answers that. We just have to put it on'
Professor McGonagall walked up to the podium with a piece of parchment in her hands.
"When I call your name, you will come up to the front and be sorted. Afterwards, you shall sit at the table of your House"
"Abbot Hannah" She called out over the now quiet Hall.
A girl with her blonde hair in pigtails walked up to the stool. She sat with hat on head for a few seconds, then the Hat's 'mouth' appeared again and it shouted out:
"Hufflepuff!"
One table burst into loud applause. Hannah took the hat off and ran over to them, blushing furiously.
Professor McGonagall's voice cut through the noise of the crowd.
"Bones Susan"
She too was sorted to Hufflepuff.
"Get the wastes of space out of the way quickly" Draco whispered snidely to Harry.
Harry almost burst out laughing, and an instant later almost threw up.
' What if the Hat puts me there? The only thing worse could be Gryffindor. If I have to put up with being in the same house as Weasley for the next seven years I'll have to strangle myself'
"Boot Terry"
"Ravenclaw!"
A different table applauded this time, and Terry Boot headed there.
' I don't think I'd mind Ravenclaw so much, they sound all right. Although I think I'd prefer Slytherin, at least that way I'll know I'll have a friend'
There was another Ravenclaw after that, and then Lavender Brown went to Gryffindor.
While the Gryffindor table was applauding, Harry noticed the Slytherin table was booing and hissing. ' Wow, Draco wasn't kidding when he said there was a serious rivalry between those two'
A few people later, and Millicent Bulstrode became the first Slytherin. Draco joined the Slytherin table in clapping for her. Harry wasn't quite that sure on where he would be sorted and didn't want to offend anyone, so he just did nothing.
Crabbe and Goyle became Slytherins, and the annoying bushy haired Muggleborn girl from the train-Hermione Granger became a Gryffindor, as did Neville Longbottom.
"Malfoy Draco".
Draco Swaggered up to the hat, and almost the instant it touched his head it shouted out:
"Slytherin!"
Draco gave a brilliant smile, and walked over to the Slytherin table amidst cheers and clapping.
Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson also went to Slytherin. Harry began bracing himself after Padma Patil was sorted, not realising there was another Patil in the way.
Finally, the call came.
"Potter Harry"
The Hall went silent. A few mutters here and there broke the quiet.
"The Harry Potter?"
"It's the Boy-Who-Lived!"
"Move, I want to see him"
Harry ignored them all and walked forward, keeping his eyes straight on the stool and Hat which would decide his future. He stared at it until it filled his whole world, and before he knew it he was sitting on the little chair with the Hat on his head. It covered his whole head, and all he could see was darkness.
" Ah, interesting" Harry almost jumped.
" No need to be afraid" .
Obviously, that was the sorting hat. It had a most curious voice. If old dusty books could speak, that is how they would sound.
" What an interesting mind. Now, where to place you. You could do well in Ravenclaw, or perhaps Gryffindor but-"
' What about Slytherin? Would I not do well in Slytherin?'
" Slytherin? You could be great in Slytherin, this is true. Nevertheless-"
Harry didn't need to hear any more. He could be great in Slytherin, and he already had friends there. It was a no-brainer really.
' Please, put me in Slytherin'
" I am expecting greatness from you. If you are sure, then for you it shall be"
"Slytherin!"
Harry heard the hat shouting his new Houses name out to the hall. He pulled it off his head and started walking towards his table and Housemates. At first, there was a confused silence, until Draco started clapping. Spurred on, the rest of the table broke into loud applause.
Harry sidled into the seat next to Draco.
"You're bright red" Draco observed.
"I'm not used to such attention" Harry replied, trying to see his reflection in the golden plate in front of him.
"What took so long?" Draco said, "You were under there for like five minutes!"
"What! Really? It didn't feel so long" Harry said, feeling a bit lame.
"Well anyways, you're here now, and that's what matters," Draco said, looking back at the sorting. "Not many of them left now"
Harry meanwhile was shaking hands with the other Slytherins sitting to his left and across from him. Pansy Parkinson and a pretty Brunette sitting next to her were waving at Harry from a bit down the table.
"Sorry? I didn't quite catch that?" Harry said to Nott sitting opposite him, whose words had been swallowed in the Gryffindors' applause for Ron Weasley.
"I said, where've you been living all this time? There's been a lot of speculation you know"
Harry swallowed. He'd known this would be brought up but hadn't quite expected it to be so soon.
"I was put in an orphanage," He said shortly "I really don't know why. I wish I hadn't been though".
The reedy boy's eyes widened.
"I'm sorry, that must have been terrible. A muggle orphanage right?" He said, his voice a bit comforting.
"Yeah. I don't know why I couldn't at least have gone into a wizarding orphanage, but the Headmaster apparently decided that a Muggle orphanage was the best place for me"
Nott was about to reply when Blaise Zabini was sorted into Slytherin and they all sorted clapping again.
Dumbledore immediately stood up and smiled out at the room.
"To Our new students welcome, and to our old students welcome back. Just a few words before we begin the start-of-year feast, and here they are. Nitwit, Blubber, Ointment, Tweak"
With that bit of gibberish, he sat down, leaving Harry feeling exceptionally confused.
"Is he totally mad?" He said to Draco.
"Completely. You should hear how he talks about Muggles" Draco replied.
Suddenly the tables were covered with food. Harry looked around, not believing his eyes. He'd always had food to eat at the orphanage, but the only time he'd ever even seen food like this was in films.
There were meats of every type, whole roast chickens, and turkeys, plates of steaming potatoes and other vegetables. There was food beyond description, the tables groaned under the weight of it all.
For a few seconds, Harry just sat there staring, before he reached over and snagged a drumstick from the chicken.
It was amazing!
He started piling his plate up, pausing just long enough to fill his goblet with juice before diving right back into his food.
For a while, he did nothing but focus on his food. He devoured it, savoring every bite. He had never been starved in the orphanage, it's true. Maybe he didn't get as much food as a boy his age had needed, but there had always been food available. He simply hadn't realized up until right then, that the food at the orphanage barely had any taste. It wasn't bad tasting, it was simply bland. The food at Hogwarts though encompassed everything. There were sweet, savory, and spicy foods.
' If I wasn't already in love with this place, this would convince me to stay'
He surfaced from his plate after he started feeling full, and heard an older student sating something to Draco.
"I know you guys will want to mess around, but you firsties better not lose too many points for us"
"Points?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, points. You get House points for doing things right, you know, helping other people and answering questions right and stuff like that. They also can take away points if you do things wrong" The guy was pointing to four huge hourglasses "At the end of the year, the house with the most points wins the House Cup. We've had it my whole time here-the last six years"
"Don't worry Geoffrey" Draco said, "We won't get caught doing anything too bad, right Harry"
"Yeah, wouldn't want everyone pissed at me" Harry said.
Geoffrey laughed. "The year before I came", he said, "One of the fifth years got caught sabotaging the Gryffindors brooms just before the Quidditch finals"
"Whoa, what happened?" Harry asked. He couldn't imagine the school would go easy on someone who did that.
"The idiot lost us 150 points, and he got detention for a month. But never mind that, apparently he ended up in the hospital wing twelve times before the end of the year! And he had to stay because the fifth year is OWL year you know. The next year he didn't come back".
Harry was about to ask what the hell an OWL year was when the Hall went quiet again.
Turning around, He saw Dumbledore had stood up to speak again.
"Ah, it is always such a pleasure to look over the sea of those coming to be educated. Hopefully, you will finish this year with brains more full than now"
He paused his speech for a moment, beaming at them all.
"I would like to remind everyone of some of the rules. If you are comfortable you know them, please feel free to do whatever you wish-quietly of course"
"The forbidden forest is out of bounds at all times, unless you are with your teacher during class-time. And possibly detention"
' We get sent into a forest for detention?'
"Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you that spells are not to be cast in the hallways. Also, that Fanged Frisbees, as well as another 86 items sold at Zonko's, are forbidden. Please see the list in his office for more details"
Dumbledore's twinkling eyes suggested deep laughter as he looked around the room.
"Love Potions are strictly forbidden at Hogwarts. Anyone found in possession, or worse, use of one, will have to face severe consequences" He said seriously.
"And lastly, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."
Harry laughed, then stopped when he saw no-one else was.
"Was he being serious?" He asked Geoffrey
"Must have been. The man might be mad, but he wouldn't make a joke about something like that"
"First years! Slytherin first year! Please come over here"
Harry stood up at that, looking towards the pinched-faced boy who was calling. He looked to about sixteen and had a badge that said "prefect" pinned to his robes. Following the other first years, Harry walked over to the apparent prefect, at the end of the table.
"Looks like you're all here. My name is Jeremy Mumps. I am one of the prefects. You'll be introduced to the others over tonight and tomorrow. For now, please follow me to our dorm rooms" The boy spoke in a clear, strident voice.
Following Jeremy down to their rooms was an experience for Harry. There was just so much to see.
He could see the paintings pointing at them as they walked past and speaking to each other. He saw ghosts, floating past them. He could swear he had seen one of the suits of armor move just as they passed it, but when he spun around it was as it had been. He had to join the group heading to their dormitories, otherwise, he probably would have just stood there for a while puzzling it over.
He was definitely getting sleepy. He could feel his feet getting heavier with each step, and was glad when the crowd in front of him came to a stop.
"As you can tell, we are the dungeons. This spot of wall in front of you is the entrance to our common-room and dorms. Remember this column next to it, there's no other one like it in the castle so you can easily make sure that you're at the right place. The common-room opens with a password, which is changed every two weeks. The new passwords will be found the morning of the change on our noticeboard. Don't tell them to any non-Slytherin. The current password is Salazar. They will be more difficult later on." Jeremy finished talking, and the first years moved forwards into their common room.
Harry looked around. The walls were carved from stone but didn't seem to radiate cold as stone usually did. The floor was richly carpeted in an emerald and silver scheme, with a giant snake in the middle of the room. There were armchairs and couches around the fire, which was merrily roaring. The fire and hanging cast odd shadows on the floor, tapestries, and paintings. It felt comfortable.
"First years, your dormitories are up those stairs," Jeremy said, pointing to a staircase to the left of a bookshelf. "You will keep the same rooms over your entire stay in Hogwarts. Boys take the left staircase, and girls the right"
They all started moving towards the stairs when Jeremy carried on "Not bedtime just yet boys and girls. Professor Snape likes to have a word with the first years after the start of year feast. He should be here any minute"
Just as he was finishing his sentence, the common room door opened, and the sallow, hook-nosed teacher Harry had seen at the feast walked in, accompanied by a girl with her long her in plaits. Harry noticed her prefect badge glinting in the flickering light as the Professor stopped in front of the assembled first years.
"Welcome to Slytherin House. I am Professor Snape, your head of house" The man spoke, his voice low. Harry strained to hear him, getting the feeling that this was not a man to annoy.
"This is Sarah Perkins, another of your prefects. You will obey the prefects unless I directly tell you otherwise". The girl smiled at them, teeth blinding.
"As your head of house, I will be responsible for you. I will look after you as need be, and punish you as required. As a teacher, I am forced to deal with an exceptional amount of idiocy. I am sure you do not require me to tell you not to add to that idiocy. You will represent Slytherin, and you will do your house proud". He took a moment to look them over with his ink-black eyes.
"I am sure that you will all be excellent in your school-work, and I will not have to punish any of you for homework not done or the like?" He said, turning it into a question at the end.
"Yes, sir" came a rumbling from the crowd.
"Excellent," He said, lips curling up slightly, "Mr. Potter, a word please?"
Harry was jolted out of the trance he had entered during the man's speech. He walked after him, out the common room, and saw him heading away from it.
"Keep up Potter," Snape said, without turning his head back.
Harry walked fast after him, not quite running but wanting to.
' Why does he want to talk to me? I haven't done anything wrong, have I?
Oh, God! Maybe he found out about Joseph or Mr. Roberts! He's probably gonna want to keep my wand or make me sleep in a different room to the other kids. Shit, what am I gonna do?'
They reached a series of steps heading further down. The further down the steps they went, the cooler the air felt.
Finally, they reached a door. Following Snape through, Harry felt as if he had stepped into some mad scientists lair. There were jars of different size all over the shelves, shoved between books with strange shapes on them.
Odd things floated in liquids in the jar. Animal parts, plants, and-
' Is that an eyeball?'
In the corner of the room, besides the fireplace sat a cauldron with a low fire below it. Wisps of weird smelling smoke drifted out of it as a wooden spoon stirred it on its own.
Snape sat down behind the desk in the center of the room.
"Sit down Potter"
Harry sat shifting a little.
"Sir, what is-"
"This is my office Potter. I can usually be found here when I am not otherwise occupied with my onerous teaching duties. I expect you to come and speak to me if you are having any difficulties".
"Sir, if I may ask, why am I being singled out for this?"
A look of uncertainty crossed Snape's face for an instant.
"I know some of your upbringing Potter. The types of behaviors you have been exposed to are not tolerated at Hogwarts. I expect you to tell me if you are being harassed, be it by student, teacher, portrait or ghost. As your head of house, while you are here I am your guardian. If you are experiencing issues, I will put a stop to them" He said silkily.
"I don't think that will be necessary sir, thank you," Harry said numbly.
"Listen to me boy. You shall not suffer in silence. If there are any troubles, you will speak to me. Do you understand?"
"Yes sir"
"Good. Tomorrow, you have a free period after lunch. During that time you will go to Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse for a check-up. I will be making sure that you have been. Understand?"
"Yes, sir. Why is that necessary sir?" Harry asked, slightly confused about where this was going.
Snape heaved a great sigh.
"You do not yet know the magical theory necessary to truly understand this, so I will give a brief outline. The more complicated the effects of a spell, the more difficult to cast it correctly. Do you follow this?"
"I think so," Harry said carefully.
"Good. Now, the human body is one of the most complex subjects. In order for it to operate correctly, there are many different operations occurring at once. Thus, healing spells which are more complicated than curing a simple cut become very difficult to cast"
"Okay," Harry said slowly.
"You have used accidental, wandless magic to heal yourself. Accidental magic is generally the opposite of precise. It is a witch or wizard's magic responding to their desires or emotions. It is not cast with a clear intent in mind."
"But how does-" Harry started, and was interrupted quickly
"Potter now is not the time for a discussion on magical theory. Come back to me after Christmas if you have questions on that. For now, just comprehend this: While you may have been healing yourself, it is possible that at the same time you were causing yourself damage"
"Yes sir" Harry responded.
"Very well. Now, go to sleep. I will not have my Slytherins oversleeping the first day of the year"
Harry stood to leave, and was about to step away from the table when Snape spoke again, his voice just above a whisper, and somehow conveying urgency.
"I will deny saying this with every breath in my body, but what you did to those muggles was justified"
Harry was rooted to the ground, his mouth half-open.
"Not just justified, but right. They deserved it. Guilt will tear your mind apart if you let it. See that you do not. And remember, they hurt they- They deserved it"
Harry lay in his four-poster bed, the lake making comforting sounds against his window. He had barely a moment of conscious thought before sleep took him. And at that moment, he heard Professor Snape's words:
' They deserved it'