All aboard!
I had the remainder of Spring left until my 13th birthday in Summer, after which I'd receive my Hogwarts letter and my first year would begin in September. I spent my last few months ensuring I'd have all my affairs in order while I was away from the Pottery.
Firstly I had become compentent enough in apparition to finally qualify for use of a sling ring. Being able to finally use the more advanced forms of sorcery was exciting and to celebrate my achievement, the ancient one began her first lessons in the channeling of void energies. I learnt how to let the void flow with my magic, to intertwine the magic of my body and the void until they were one. All this time I've been having to use them as seperate forces, but now there was a little trace of the void in every piece of my magic. After learning to utilise it more efficiently I decided to test a theory that was in the back of my mind.
I sat out among the grounds of the Pottery, among the plant life. My gaze was focused on a specific blade of grass, there was nothing unique or special about this particular blade, it was simply the one I had chosen. I gently plucked it out of the ground and held it between my fingers, I let my magic flow through my hand and into the blade of grass until I could feel it as if it were a part of me. I concentrated on the smallest parts of the plant, down to the cellular level. Then I utilised a technique the ancient one had taught me, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I began meditating on the indiviudal components of the plant, the proteins, the organelles, the DNA. Eventually my magic flared and I could see .
My eyes were still closed but I could now see every part of this plant, the structure of its cells and tissues, not only that but I could understand their function now. Before I had to use my emotion and intent and have my magic fill in the gaps on what parts of the DNA I wanted. But now, I just knew which section of genetic material controlled what function and how it all worked. With that knowledge, I focused on the parts I wanted and I pulled .
After copying the traits needed from the plant I let go and watched the wind carry it away. I began meditating again, but this time on myself. I used my magic to apply the traits I wanted and have it mesh with my body. The trait in question? the ability to produce energy from sunlight. I couldn't use the chlorophyll that plants use for capturing sunlight, as that would make my skin green. Instead I managed to alter the genetic instructions until they were capable of providing the same function with melanin. My cells now had frankensteined animal and plant traits, capable of using the melanin my body makes to absorb sunlight and in turn produce energy. The only parts of my body that saw real use from this were my freckles, the little spots of high melanin concentration, even then the output was neglible. Thats fine though, while I will take any powerup I can, no matter how small, the whole point of this experiment was to see if I could incorporate the traits of non-human lifeforms. Another trait I made use of was the cell wall found in plant cells, I couldn't use this in most of my body as the thick rigid walls would have the cascade effect of making my muscles and skin too stiff. However I was able to apply it to my bones with little fuss, a nice little increase of strength to my skeleton.
After that I turned my focus to my wand, while it was a good fit, it was not an exact match. It felt like there was just a slight piece out of place. This wand was the one I had gotten from that Pottermore quiz back in my first life, but I was no longer just my old self, I was a combined soul of myself and Harry Potter. I made a little headway with the wand lore books in hopes of rectifyting the issue, I hadn't made any big discoveries yet, however I was now sure that I could forge a tiny addition that would attach to my wand and allow me to perform sorcery with it. Of course I'd need a forge first.
With that in mind I ventured back to Gringotts and managed to get a contract drawn up for an expansion of the Pottery, I let the goblin workers on to my property and they seemed quite impressed with the modifications I had made to the wards. Now, I could have just gotten a little smeltery and forge attached and called it a day, but in for a penny in for a pound.
The Pottery was no longer the little cabin it once was, although the outside had seen a significant change in scale, the inside was completely transformed, I had made use of expansion charms and impossible spaces to make my home feel like a manor. The main entrace was a nicely sized lobby with a grand staircase onto the second floor, two main doors on both the left and right sides of the room both upstairs and down. On either side of the staircase was a door that led to a connected back room, this room had a staircase that descended down into a small dungeon like area that contained both a potions lab and a forge.
Back in the main lobby the grand staircase led to an upstairs lounge as well as 4 guest bedrooms with their own bathroom, 2 on either side. The downstairs door on the left, led to an expanded kitchen which further connected to a dining room at the back. The downstairs door on the right connected to a large living room, which connected to a ballroom at the back. Both the dining room and ballroom connected to a courtyard at the centre of the property and a grand library at the far back of the property. The library being the biggest wing as I intended to eventually rival both Hogwarts and Kamar-Taj in knowledge. The library also contained a secret entrance that led to a tower which held my bedroom (because who doesn't want to live in a wizards tower?) but the tower also connected downward leading to the secret cellar, which was now expanded into its own forbidden section. This is where I would keep my more dangerous artifacts and magical texts. It also had its own potions lab and a secret tunnel into the forge.
It took less than a week for everything to be finished, I love magic. Once I had all my belongings in their new places I ventured down to the forge. Now a magical forge had a few extra tools and appliances compared to a mugggle one, goblins have an even larger forge than a typical wizards, with that in mind I obviously paid extra for a goblin forge. This meant my forge had many extra toys that required reading up on, once I was satisfied with my knowledge on the arts of metallurgy, smelting, and forging, I started improving my technique.
By that I meant I visited the Kamar-Taj blacksmith and managed to snag a part time apprenticeship. By the beginning of Summer I knew how to work around the forge without seriously injuring myself, the apprenctiship also gave me hands on experience with the creation of sling rings. Now way back in time, when wizards and sorcerers alike were more public with their appearances, there was a metal that held significant power when it came to enchanting. This metal was known as Orichalcum, there were many wars fought over this metal, as naturally occuring deposits were rare. The biggest and final war eventually resulted in the sinking of a few continents and the complete eradication of this metal from the earth. Most of the equipment made from this metal was also lost, so finding any remaining pieces was nearly impossible, Orichalcum itself was only bested by golbin silver, perhaps Vibranium (there aren't many accounts of vibranium as not many magical folk had come across it, although it was theorized that due to its nature, it held great magical properties.) and Mithril (another metal that had disappeared from the planet).
The original sling ring was made mainly from an orichalcum, bronze, and silver alloy. However once the metal was lost, the use of sling rings became tightly guarded. That was until a sorcerer had discovered a dimension with a metal they had called 'blue silver'. Blue silver was a metal with properties similar to silver with a deep blue appearance, during the forging of magical equipment it is common practice to imbue the metal with magic, this can make the metal easier to enchant and even change its properties. When blue silver was imbued with magic during forging, the metal itself took on near identical properties to Orichalcum, which meant that new sling rings could finally be created.
I became very intimate with the creation of sling rings and as payment for my services I was allowed to take a few samples of metal for my own use. At the Pottery my forge finally saw its first use, as I carefully channeled my magic into the melting pot of blue silver and felt its own magical aura slowly change. Due to the nature of my magic the aura of the metal also gained a hint of void energies, but this did not disrupt its magical capabilities. Once I had the metal alloyed with the silver and bronze I poured it into 3 casts. One cast was that of a sling ring, Having a sling ring forged by myself would result in a stronger connection between me and the tool. The other two casts were of small rings that were made to be fitted around the shaft of my wand.
My work wasn't finished with the forging of the rings, I had to take them over to a table outfitted for enchanting. My routine for June involved training my body and magic, studying texts, therapy and training with the ancient one and finally enchanting at the forge. I had to use what was essentially a laser drill but with magic to carve tiny runes along the body of the rings. Once that was done I performed many incantations and blessings on the rings to allow them to properly channel and direct multiversal energies. At the end of it all I let the rings soak in a bowl of my blood, I would come down every morning and night to channel my magic into the bowl. This step isn't necessary but I chose to do it so that the rings would become closely bound to myself, allowing for easier channeling (Also making it harder for anyone other than me to use them).
Finally by the first week of July I had them completed. I much preferred the portaling of a sling ring compared to apparition. The two rings for my wand were capable of growing and shrinking, which allowed me to slip them on to my wand without much trouble. Afterwards I could finally perform sorcery with my wand, the channeling of outside energies along with my inner magic went perfectly. Another thing I wanted to try was the channeling of ancient magic, but I would wait until Hogwarts for that.
Soon enough my 13th Birthday had arrived and with it, my Hogwarts letter. I was currently brewing a set of tea the ancient one had gotten me, when Fawkes had flamed into my kitchen holding a box of chocolates from Albus and my Letter. I fed the pheonix some bird food I kept around for him and he sung me a song, yes... he did sing me happy birthday in pheonix song. I wasn't showing it physically but I was excited, I mean getting a real life letter to Hogwarts? It's been a fantasy of mine since I was a child!
I open the envelope and unfold the parchment.
MR. H POTTER.
The kitchen.
The Pottery.
Potioneers field.
Lancashire.
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed, of Wizards)
Dear Mr Potter,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1st. We await your owl by no later than July 31st.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall.
Fuck yeah baby, I'm going to Hogwarts. I'm gonna learn to cast spells n shit and I'm gonna be fucking pleased. I grab a pen and paper and I write out my letter of acceptance, I give it to Fawkes and he flames back to Hogwarts. Afterward I go through the equipment list to find that I have already purchased the majority of items, still I am going to Diagon regardless. Soon enough I am in the living room packed up and ready to go, activating the Floo I grab a handful of powder stand inside and yell out...
"Diagon alley!" and I'm gone.
After a quick withdrawal from the bank I've gotten the other items on my list (as well as few extra quality of life purchases), my most expensive and note-worthy purchase so far being a trunk with various expansion and security charms. The trunk opens up into a small wardrobe and storage for ingredients and books, but the real noteworthy thing is a false back in the wardrobe section, it requires a drop of my blood and a taste of my magic. Once verified it opens up into a small apartment, with a small bedroom, kitchen, seating area and a workshop outfitted for general purpose brewing and enchanting. When I get home I also plan on making sure the workshop is capabale of muggle engineering as well.
Within my trunk I also asked for an empty doorway to be placed onto the wall, I got a strange look but it was done all the same. This doorway is completely unremarkable, it leads to nowhere as of right now. However I plan on using some of the spells taught at Kamar-Taj to link it to another fake doorway that I have within a secret room sealed within the Pottery, The secret room lies hidden within the library and requires my magic, blood, and parseltongue to be given to a specific section of the wall, doing so causes the floorboard to unfold revealing a ladder down into a stone chamber. The chamber is filled with multiple fake doorways in case I ever find other places of interest.
After my shopping spree I stand before a slightly rundown shop, bearing the name Ollivanders in peeling gold lettering. I enter the shop coming into a narrow space filled with shelves holding numerous boxes, I could hear singing from every wand in the store... it was quite the orchestra.
"ah mister Potter, I was expecting you." I turn around to see an old man with silvery eyes looking at me, there was no way he could've squeezed his way behind me without my noticing, but he seems to have done it anyway.
"I'm here for my wand sir." I state, betraying no emotion in my voice.
"Yes I'd assume you are, but then again it would be more accurate to say that your wand has been waiting for your arrival. After all the wand chooses the wizard." With that Ollivander proceeds to pick a box at random off a nearby shelf, as the measuring tape flies off his counter and begins getting the length from the corner of my lip, to my eyebrow.
"Your mother's was ten and a quarter inches, swishy, made of willow. excellent for charms work, this one here is eleven inches willow, hard, unicorn hair core." he hands me the wand and the song coming from it goes from a curious tone to a disagreeing one, he takes it back and we continue going through wand after wand until...
"Here, Holly, eleven inches, pheonix feather core, nice and supple." He hands me the wand and I hear what sounds like pheonix song, it sounds welcoming but its slightly off. That is until I hear a second pheonix joining in to complete the choir. I pull out my elder wand holding both in each hand, I feel a sense of completion.
"How peculiar, not only has that specific wand chosen you, but to have two wands sharing a wizard? Very peculiar indeed." Ollivander gets a faraway look in his eye.
"Do wizards usually have one wand only?" I ask.
"It is not unheard of for a wizard to have a second wand, but both of their wands would be complete on their own. To have two wands that require they both be used simultaneously is a very strange occurence. Mr Potter, may I have a look at both wands?" Ollivander holds his hand out and I give him both of my wands.
"Hmmm, 14 inches, Elder wood? a very picky wood, even stranger that it gets along with another wand so well, pheonix feather core ... and what are these? ah! you're a sorcerer, been awhile since one gifted in multiple magical arts has entered this establishment." Ollivander holds both wands together, observing them while changing the angle at which they are held, every few seconds.
Before I can say anything he speaks "Your wands present a very interesting challenge mister Potter, but I've never been one to shy away from the hardships of wand crafting. Come back in half an hour and I'll have the perfect wand sorted out for you." Ollivander changes the open sign to closed and retreats into the back of the shop.
With nothing else to do I wander the alley, coming to Eeylops Owl Emporium, I had the original intention for this visit to be my final, but needs must. Once entering the shop I immediately focus in on a snowy white owl giving the owner grief, I smile.
After getting everything needed for Hedwigs upkeep I let her out of her cage and tell her to stay in the area while I get my wand, she gives me a hoot of agreement and flies up to the roofs of Diagon alley to bully the pigeons. I wander back to Ollivander and see the sign reading open once again, I enter inside.
I am greeted by Ollivander at his counter, "ah Mr. Potter, there you are! Here it is, one of the more challenging pieces of work I've had the joy of making." He opens a box and holds out a wand, it has those same natural bumps my elder wand had, with that dark brown look. The two Orichalcum rings are situated beneath two of the five bumps. The handle is no longer polished wood, but is instead that natural Holly handle of canon Harry's wand.
"14 inches, slightly flexible, Elder wood with a Holly handle, Both Elder and Holly are known for choosing those who are tied to destiny, we may expect great things from you Mr. Potter, Twin Pheonix cores, Pheonixes are solitary creatures, so having two feathers from differing birds not only co-existing, but working together? You have a great destiny ahead of you, Perhaps terrible... but no doubt great. Of course there are also the two Orichcalcum rings, normally wand modifications are ill advised as they can disrupt the magicks of the wand, but Orichalcum is known to co-exist peacefully with most wand woods, the fact that the rings are not permanently fixed to the wand and can be removed also allows for an easier flow of magic." Ollivander hands me the wand.
As I take hold of it I feel my magic filling my body, it saturates every part of my being and flows down into the wand. The wands magic reaches out and connects to mine and the sense of completion is overwhelming, I feel invicible. I feel as if I could fight off an entire army, I could simply wave my wand in the air and re-write reality to my whims, infinity stones be damned. Soon enough the feeling settles down, but doesn't completely disappear.
"How much do I owe you sir?"
I spend August training my magic with my new wand, My magic comes easier and I feel my wand guiding my hand through the proper motions. I can feel the way the wand connects with my magic and gently folds it into the proper shape for a new spell, like a guiding hand. My spells have more oomph and I can cast much quicker, before I could send out a bombarda with a few seconds concentration but now? now it's nearly instinctual. Of course I'm only 13 so my reserves, despite being plentiful for my age, exhaust quick enough. Even when I practice wandless casting, I can feel my wand whispering to me from its holster, guiding my magic. I get the doorways set up in my trunk and home, this will make it easy for me to return home in case of emergency.
August rolls past, my sessions with the ancient have been adjusted for my soon to be school schedule, every second week certain days will have me be in Kamar-Taj to learn sorcery. I've gotten familiar with my wand and I've moved all my necessary school supplies (as well as a few bonus items) into my trunk. I've managed to also slim down the V.B.B so it can fit under more variations of clothing, really the limbs of the machine are there to direct the radiation, and it seems to follow along the runes almost as well as magic does, so a simple carving does the trick. The torso is where most of the bulk is. I put the V.B.B into the workshop of my trunk, because even if I'm in Hogwarts the grind never stops baby!
Its september 1st and after telling Hedwig to meet me at Hogwarts, I floo to platform 9 and 3 quarters. Its around 10:30 am, there are a significant amount of people with a few students boarding the express, my trunk is shrunk so I'm empty handed. I'm wearing plane grey robes with a large hood to conceal my face. I'm not changing my appearance with magic as this is my first outing as Harry Potter, but I'd like to remain incognito for as long as possible. There is a few small shops at the station, one of them does breakfast sandwiches, after a quick meal I head onto the train and am about to pick a compartment when an odd thought crosses my mind.
I start going down through the carriages, checking under the seat of every empty compartment. There is something I'm looking for, it was a cute little idea I saw in a fanfic once but it has the probability of also existing in canon. Soon enough I find what I am looking for under one of the seats.
Carved under the seat are the names 'prongs' 'padfoot' 'moony' and 'wormtail'. This must've been the compartment the Marauders claimed during their years, I contemplate adding my name but decide against it until I become an animagus, to keep with the theme. (Because I am definitely becoming an animagus, if 3 kids could do it during their school years then I sure as fuck can as well.)
I get settled in, taking out a notebook where I have my multiple studies all compiled, I flip through to the section on the Tesseract and make sure to document information from Kamar-Taj as well as findings from Howard I have not written down yet, as a simple way to pass time. I'm not worried about anyone seeing this, as its completely written in Tony's encrypted language. So it should only look like the scribbles of a child, or the ravings of an azkaban inmate.
Before I know it the noise in the station picks up as the departure time gets closer, I'm pondering if my choices have made a big enough knock on effect to alter my first meeting with a certain redhead. However a knock at the door seems to disprove that idea.
I answer the knock with a simple "come in". A lanky redhead with a passing resemblance to Rupert Grint pokes his head in.
"Hey is it alright if I sit in here? Every other carriage is packed and the weight of my trunk is killing me!"
With an amused tilt to my voice I reply "Sure, I'm not expecting anyone"
Ron puts his trunk away and sits down, "Thanks mate, if I had to carry that thing any longer my arms would've fallen off. Any way I'm Ron Weasely nice to meet yo-"
Ron finally gets a look at me and completely freezes at the realisation of who I am. Trying my hardest to keep the amusement out of my voice I speak,
"Hadrian James Potter, but you can call me Harry. Pleased to meet you!"
"I- um, bloody hell I heard you were attending this year but, Yeah you definitely got the scar, wicked! ah! that was rude sorry! I didn't-"
I cut Ron off with a light chuckle and soon enough the tension and awkwardness melts away. We get to talking and Ron opens up more, we talk about everything from our expectations of the school year to Quidditch. Ron, while he may not be academically gifted, has an emotional intelligence that is rare to see in someone his age. The trolley lady comes by and I get a few things for us to share. We continue our conversation for a short while until there's a knock at the door, I'm expecting a certain blonde Slytherin to open it but instead I'm greeted with Emma Watson's younger sister.
"Excuse me, a boy has lost his toad, you two haven't seen it anywhere have you?" She asks us, once she sees my scar howevern she gets sidetracked.
"Oh! You're Harry Potter! I've read all about you!" Before she can start going in to all the various details of the many books about my person I quickly interject.
"Ah, sorry to say I haven't been slaying dragons since age 5. Actually I'm not really sure how accurate the books on me are, anyway you said you were looking for a toad miss...?"
"Oh, um yes, I'm Hermione Granger nice to meet you. I'm looking for a toad belonging to Neville Longbottom, it's not anywhere in here is it?" Ron goes to the effort of checking under the seats while I reply.
"I don't believe so, however I can summon it if you know the name?" Both Ron and Hermione perk up at the mention of magic. Hermione replies,
"His name is Trevor, but, aren't summoning spells only taught to 4th years?"
"Yes, but I've got a good feeling" Before she can reply I clear my throat, raise my wand and say.
"Accio Trevor the toad!" Both Ron and Hermione feel a slight tingle of magic in the air, a few seconds later a toad lazily floats past Hermione and in to my open palm.
"Here he is! let's go return him shall we?" Me and Ron follow Hermione toward Neville's compartment, all the while both of them are asking me how I was able to pull off a fourth year spell. I simply say that I was tutored by my guardians and was allowed practice with a second hand wand.
We enter Neville's compartment to find him on his own, his face goes from worry to relief when he sees I have Trevor. Then it changes again to shock when he sees who I am, I'd be sick of that reaction by now if I didn't find it so amusing.
"Greetings god-brother! I have come to make your acquaintance and return your companion." I do my best impression of Thor, which seems to clear Neville of his stupor.
"Oh, um, ah thank you, and d-did you say? god-brother?" I give a quick nod of my head.
"Yes, your mother was my god mother and the same for my mum and you. That makes us god brothers" The connection via our parents helps to ease Neville into conversation.
I let Hermione and Neville know they are welcome to join me and Ron in our compartment and they take us up on the offer. Soon enough all four of us are engaging in conversation as we ride down the countryside, golden trio? how about a golden quartet.
Eventually it grows dark and we start nearing Hogwarts, 3 of us step out to let Hermione change and then we switch. We disembark, letting the House elves take our luggage (I still have mine in my pocket however). As we walk down toward the lake I see Hagrid ushering the other 1st Years.
He notices me, "Ah Harry! Havn't seen you since ye were a babe. Got yer da's hair you do and yer mother's eyes."
"Did you know my parents well sir?"
"Indeed I did, good friends with yer folks I was. A right well shame what happen'd."
"I'd like to know more about them, if you have the time." Hagrid becomes visibly happy.
"O'course, I'm usually by me shack durin evenin times, pop round an I'll put the kettle on." With the promise of a later meeting, I continue on toward the lake.
I find a boat with Ron, Hermione and Neville. Once everyone is in we set sail across the lake, I see Hogwarts come into view. The warm yellow lights from the castle windows contrast against the white of the stars and moon, both the sky and castle reflect off the water making it seem as if we're sailing across the cosmos towards a castle floating in space.
As we get closer I feel a warmth pass over me as we cross the wards. Dumbledore wasn't joking when he said the wards of the castle were like my house, I can feel them welcoming in the students, the castle itself feels as if its breathing, as if its alive. It's what I'd imagine the wards on my home to feel like once they've had time to grow and evolve. I reach out to Hogwarts with my magic and I can feel Hogwarts reaching back, the warmth is amazing and I can't help but smile at the feeling.
We dock at the castle and make our way up toward the entrance, Mcgonagall takes over from Hagrid and brings us to wait in front of the great hall. I see the house ghosts float past and the students around me start conversing, I'm brought out of my thoughts by a voice.
"Well, you must be Heir Potter, Draco Malfoy pleased to make your acquaintance." I turn around and am greeted by the blonde boy himself, this whole introducing yourself as an heir thing only started becoming common during the war with Grindelwald. So my legacy character has no experience with the current political climate, I however have made an effort to study it. (Also I am a master at bullshitting).
"Greetings Heir Malfoy, what can I do for you?" I reply, making sure to keep my posture correct but casual.
"I heard that you would be in attendance this year and wanted to see if the rumors were true, I'm pleased to see that you also are aware of our customs."
"Of course, I do have the responsibilities of house Potter riding upon me, but where are my manners? may I introduce you to my companions heir Longbottom, Heir apparent Weasley and first of her name Hermione Granger." Hopefully I can keep things civil with Draco for my school years and maybe turn him over to the dark side (or light side in this case).
Ron seems to stiffen but returns the greeting, Neville manages to keep composure and introduce himself and Hermione being the clever girl she is, is able to put together her own introduction based off the previous ones just now.
"A pleasure, I can't help but ask. What house are you intending on going into? I myself am planning on Slytherin, only the ambitious make it in there." This line of topic can very easily turn into a heated argument, however I am about to throw the biggest fucking curve ball these people have ever seen.
"Ah yes Slytherin, I quite enjoyed my time there the first go around. However I did all there was to do and am looking to hone my other skills this time, perhaps Ravenclaw? or maybe Gryffindor?"
Needless to say everyone is caught off guard by my comment, Ron speaks up "Harry, what do you mean 'first go around'"
"Oh did I not mention it? I am seer of a sort, I've had visions of a past life from the late 1800s. I was sorted into Slytherin then, the way the sunlight shines through the lake and into the common room is such a gorgeous thing, I will miss it." I state this as if it's a simple comment on the weather, and not a reality altering piece of information.
Draco comments "Visions of a past life? I've heard that is incredibly rare." Hermione also pipes in "Wait that's an actual thing?!?"
The previous tension is completely forgotten about as I am asked numerous questions about the phenomena. Mostly from Hermione, the fact that I can give historical details of the time from a first person perspective quickly wins her over on the belief of the subject. Draco remains skeptical but I give him details of the Slytherin common room only an insider would know about, I tell him to return to me after he's seen the inside to see if I am right.
Mcgonagall returns and we are brought into the great hall, the enchanted ceiling and the floating candles give a vibe that I am all for. I make a mental note to add some kind of floating lights to my own home. The hat sits at the top of the hall on the stool, it wiggles and a seam opens up in the shape of a mouth and yes... it sings.
Afterward the sorting begins, I notice my companions are a bit anxious.
"Oh man I hope I get in Gryffindor, my gran won't let me hear the end of it I'm not." Neville comments. I decide to alleviate his worries.
"Well the hat also takes into consideration your choice, I mean sure it sorts you based on your personality. But it also puts you in a house that will help grow whatever traits you desire, you wanna learn to face your fears? It'll put you in Gryffindor. Wanna learn how to better understand people and make long lasting connections? into Hufflepuff. Need to learn the process of learning itself? Ravenclaw. Wanna be more ambitious? Slytherin."
I can see I'm having an effect, I finish off my statement.
"Your house is going to effect how you grow as a person, so at the end of the day its ultimately your own choice where you end up. So think about what kind of person you wanna be and you'll go where you're suppose to."
My little speech has helped settle Neville's nerves, as well as the surrounding students. Even Draco seems more at ease afterward.
Neville, Draco and Hermione have all been sorted and soon enough its my turn. I give a quick nudge to Ron and a "talk to you soon" as I walk up toward the seat.
The whispers start up, I hear a few comments about my 'wicked' scar and even a few remarks on how 'dreamy' I look. Harry would've shied away from the attention, but with the added confidence of two full lives and the fragmented memories of a dark lord I take it all in stride. As I walk up I see Dumbledore giving me a subtle smile, Snape giving me a neutral look with just the tiniest glare hidden underneath and as my eyes roam toward Quirrel, I feel the sharp intrusion of a mental probe.
However the probe is pulled into the void I've constructed around my mind and in the same second I feel it desperately trying to pull away. It breaks free and I watch Quirrel start massaging his temples.
Get fucked snake face
I plop myself down on the stool and the brim of the sorting hat covers my vision.
'well, those are very impressive mental walls, but I'm gonna need you to take them down or we'll be here all night'
'ah right hold on'
'There we go lad, what's this? I've sorted you before... I was right, Slytherin helped you reach your full potential. You'd do even better this time around, you've already shown an ample amount of cunning and ambition. Oh? a third set of memories? Mister Potter you are full of surprises.'
'With the amount of knowledge and foresight you possess, I'd have Salazar himself come back from the dead to burn me if you didn't go to his house. Your parseltongue as well makes it a no brainer lad.'
I decide to give my input before a decision is reached.
'Okay fair, BUT, I've already done all I could as a Slytherin. It's not very ambitious if I'm just doing the same thing is it? Also the amount of risks I've taken with my grand escape, the rituals, visiting the sanctums, hell even merging with a body that was already halfway to an obscurus! If that isn't the Gryffindor brand of reckless thrill seeking, then I don't know what is'
'HAH! Godric would've loved you, but still... decisions, decisions.' I'm making progress, I just have to do a little more convincing.
'Besides, I could use the encouragement to be brave. You've seen the stuff that's going to be happening in the coming years, I'm gonna have to be as courageous as possible to face that head-on. Dark lords, alien invasions, I need to develop my sense of bravery to its fullest! besides the majority of Slytherins are the children of death eaters. While its not their fault, if I have to do the whole political song and dance every goddamn morning, I am becoming the next dark lord.'
'Well when you put it like that, yes, it better be...'
I take a deep breath and the hat shouts out,
"GRYFFINDOR!"
I exhale, I'm greeted by cheers and clapping as I make my way to the Gryffindor table.
The sorting finishes and the feast starts, the food is absolutely divine. With every bite I can feel my magicka reserves replenishing greatly, I'm half tempted to eat as Ron does with the experience I've had of being starved. Once all is said and done Dumbledore gives his speech, we are guided toward our dorms and we settle in for the night.
As I drift off my thoughts are of just what kind of secrets I'll uncover during this year.