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"The Longbottom's have been taken care of Master, those two Aurors will no longer cause problems."
Harry inwardly cringed at the hideous laughter that followed before the woman continued.
"They certainly lasted a long time though, but in the end, the Cruciatus Curse did its thing. Their minds are gone."
"Good job, Lestrange."
Harry shuddered slightly.
"You alright, Harry?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, sorry. Was thinking."
"About what? Looked like you were going to be sick," Hermione noted.
"I suppose I ate too much candy," he muttered.
The others glanced at each other slightly, before giving a shrug.
Harry made a note to himself to get to know Neville, after what his parents had sacrificed, their son deserved friendship.
"So, uh…Harry, for a moment there, I thought you were going to befriend Malfoy and his buddies," Ron said, giving an uneasy chuckle. "I was almost scared that you'd fall for his garbage."
"Like I'd become friends with a guy whose father is a murderous rampaging Death Eater," Harry nearly snarled.
The three of them reared back slightly, Harry himself blinking in surprise.
What the heck is a Death Eater? he asked himself, but knowing whatever it was, it was evil, and Draco's father was one.
"Sorry, I don't know why I said that…" Harry whispered, noticing their stunned silence.
"Don't be, that's pretty much what my dad thinks of him," Ron chipped in. "But, uh, if you don't mind me asking, why'd you let them take some candy?"
Harry gave a slight smile, realizing Ron was trying to lighten the mood.
"Though I don't fully agree with the saying 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer', I still think you should keep a close eye on your enemies."
They nodded in agreement, before Harry picked up a little cake.
"Here, there's no way me and Ron can finish all of these, take some," Harry said, pushing the pile closer towards Hermione and Neville.
The rest of the trip to Hogwarts was uneventful, although Neville's toad tried to escape once again, but was caught by Harry. Soon after that, they went and got on their robes, and before Harry and the others knew it, they were on their way to the Great Hall.
"Gryffindor-Gryffindor-Gryffindor," Ron quietly chanted.
"What are you doing?" Harry asked, staring at Ron.
"I'm hoping I'll be sorted into Gryffindor."
"Oh. Like Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin?" Harry asked, recalling them from his earlier reading last week.
"Yeah," Hermione said. "I, myself, am also hoping for Gryffindor, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be horrible."
"I'll probably be put in Hufflepuff, I'm not brave enough for Gryffindor…" Neville sighed.
"Better that than being put into Slytherin," Ron muttered darkly. "There's not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin. You-Know—oh, I mean, Vol-volde-mort was one," he whispered to them, fighting back a shudder.
"Voldemort went here?" Harry asked quietly, getting a horrid feeling in his gut.
Ron nodded. "My dad said so."
Harry quickly collected himself while they continued with the other students, and entered the Great Hall.
An old Professor, who quickly introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, told them to line up and to wait for their names to be called.
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"
Harry looked up at the people on the table, and as his eyes trailed over them, a quick succession of short memories and thoughts flew through his mind.
After taking a slow breath, he was able to make some sense of it all.
His eyes fell upon a rather intimidating black haired man, and from the thoughts he had gathered from him, he gathered that Voldemort had conflicting feelings about this individual. While he trusted him a great deal, there was this odd, uncertain doubt concerning him as well.
Harry decided to be safe, and made yet another note to himself. Don't cross this man, because if he is a follower of Voldemort, he doesn't have far to go to get to you.
Harry looked away, just before the man's eyes caught his own, and fell upon the man next to him, Professor Quirrell, as Hermione Granger was called to be sorted.
Harry didn't trust this man, something about him just felt…off, and it wasn't about the whole stuttering thing.
As names continued to be called, he looked at the center of the table to find Albus Dumbledore.
He smiled, gathering that Voldemort was actually fearful of this man.
Harry almost started when Dumbledore's eyes fell upon him, but he kept his gaze for a moment until he heard, "Potter, Harry!"
Had he been that focused in his own thoughts that he hadn't even bothered to wonder where he would be placed?
He heard the Great Hall go quiet, and then a rush of whispers. He knew he had turned a shade of red as the people in front of him parted like the sea and openly stared.
"Potter, did she say?"
"No way…"
"The Harry Potter?"
He shuffled forward up to the stool, put the hat on his head, and sat.
"Hmm…" a small voice began. "Now let me see…"
Harry's only thought at this point was, "Not Slytherin, Not Slytherin, anything but Slytherin…"
"Anything 'but' Slytherin? — Oh my-my…" the hat said, his voice trailing off as a memory emerged…
A pale handsome boy was sitting on the stool, and a less battered looking hat was upon his head.
"Ah…You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that — SLYTHERIN!"
"It's a rare thing when I see things I have not before…" the hat said, speaking again.
Harry felt everyone's eyes on him as he repeated his previous thought.
"Hmm…even though I have seen otherwise, you're sure, so — better be GRYFFINDOR!"
Harry thankfully hopped off the stool, and went towards the ecstatic Gryffindor table and sat beside Hermione, the twins yelling, "We got Potter! We got Potter!"
Neville was sitting across from him.
He looked back up to the High Table, finding Hagrid beaming with his thumbs up. Harry grinned.
When everyone had settled down, more names were called, and more were sorted. He noticed that Malfoy and his buddies were already sitting at the Slytherin table.
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Unlock a treasure trove of stories and join a community where your imagination can soar
become a Patron and dive into the adventure today!
you'll get exclusive early access to over 30+ chapters ahead of what's posted here!
(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)
http//patreon.com/NAnami725
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