Part 6
Sorting
The first years showed up sooner than Harry thought they would, and he was glad that they were too distracted by the sights around them to pay much attention to the two boys they passed sitting against the wall off to the side.
The Sorting, however, felt like it took forever. Harry and Hadrian both sat and listened as McGonagall's ringing voice floated into the hallway, announcing one student after the other, accompanied by the Sorting Hat's announcing shouts of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.
Finally, at long last, Snape appeared and beckoned them through the doorway. Hadrian stood more quickly than Harry, who froze minutely, and helped him up so they could enter right after Snape stepped out of the doorway to let them past.
"This year we have a special Sorting taking place." Dumbledore was standing and addressing the school with a bright smile, and he held out a hand towards Harry and Hadrian as they walked the length of the table towards him. "We have a new fifth year student. Everyone, this is Harry."
"In case anyone is confused, I'm Hadrian." Hadrian grinned widely, saluting the school. People laughed, and Harry rolled his eyes with a sigh.
"Yes, Mister Potter is accompanying our new student because, as you can tell, the resemblance is uncanny. However, please don't hassle these two about their relation; it's not polite, as I'm sure you understand." Dumbledore laughed, "Now, on with the Sorting!"
McGonagall looked down at the paper and frowned. Harry shifted nervously, and she looked up at Snape for a moment to beckon him down to her. With an irritated sigh he descended the steps and joined her, looking at the paper. He frowned too, and Harry wondered if he didn't have a last name after all. Would Death have given him one? Did Death care at all if Harry was the weirdo without a last name? Harry supposedly had parents, and he'd told Tom he had an Aunt who gave him up when he was three. He probably should have a last name, right?
"Harry." McGonagall said finally, earning a glare from Snape.
"I knew it." Harry muttered, and Hadrian gave him a sad smile before Harry descended the few steps down from the High Table to sit on the stool. The Hat slid down over his eyes, as it had both times Harry'd previously worn it, and he waited.
"Hmmm… such power, I see, not a bad mind either… there's talent, yes… yes… and a nice thirst to prove yourself… ah, but fear of power, a need to understand it… I know…"
Slytherin!
Harry blinked into the light as the Hat was removed, and he glanced back to see Hadrian jogging down the stairs to him with a grin.
"Look at you, a secret Snake." Hadrian said with a laugh, "What'd it say?"
"Uh…" Harry hesitated.
"You don't have to tell me." Hadrian shrugged, "I'm just curious."
"No it's fine." Harry frowned, "It said I had talent and I want to prove myself, but… also a fear of power and a need to understand it." Harry sighed, but Hadrian smiled at him.
"You don't need to be scared of your magic; it's a part of you, Harry, and that's not a bad thing." Hadrian said softly, taking his hand and squeezing it. "I hope you realise that in Slytherin."
"I'll try."
"Your House is over there." Hadrian directed Harry to the left hand middle table as the applause was dying down. Harry had already known that, but he didn't say so.
"Thanks." Harry nodded to Hadrian and made his way over, leaving Hadrian to stride towards Ravenclaw.
"And with that… dig in." Dumbledore spread his hands with a wide smile, and a feast appeared before the students as they always did. The first years gasped in delight while the older students just started collecting food. Harry hesitated, but then he followed suit.
"So, you're Harry." Looking over, Harry saw Malfoy leaning an elbow on the table and looking right at him.
"Yes."
"No last name?" Malfoy raised an eyebrow.
"No." Harry snapped, "I'm just Harry." Malfoy blinked in surprise. Surprisingly, he seemed to realise it was a touchy subject.
"Anyway, I'm Draco Malfoy." Draco said, changing the subject. "So, just Harry, how'd you meet the Potters?" Some of the Slytherins around them looked at him like he was losing his marbles for suggesting Harry wasn't a Potter, but Draco just had his eyes on Harry.
"I ended up at Potter Manor by accident, and Hadrian ended up… where I was. We swapped." Harry said. Internally, he was impressed how quickly Draco caught on to his lack of relation to the Potters, but outwardly Harry shrugged. "Lily and James freaked out, obviously, and when we tracked down Hadrian I just sort of… stayed."
"So you're not related?" The boy sitting next to Harry asked. It took a moment of staring and remembering, but finally the boy's name came to him. It was Blaise Zabini.
"No." Harry shook his head.
"They adopted you?" Draco tilted his head.
"I guess." Harry shrugged, "That's how Hadrian explains the situation, anyway."
"Are you wearing a glamour?" Blaise asked, "Is that why you look just like Potter?"
"No, I've always looked like this." Harry told him, "It's just a coincidence. Hadrian likes to say that we ended up switching like that because we look so alike." It wasn't the truth, but Harry couldn't exactly explain the whole reincarnation/sent to an alternate dimension by Death thing.
"That's weird." Pansy Parkinson said from across the table, wrinkling her nose.
"Magic is weird." Harry shrugged.
"I'm guessing the whole mix up happened over the summer?" Blaise asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, back in June." Harry confirmed, "They've been good to me." He tried not to think about Lily's conflicted eyes or James' quiet disconnect. He wasn't family.
"Where were you before the Potters?" Blaise asked, "You didn't say."
Harry didn't reply as he took a bite of his food, and he remained silent as he took another bite and then another. Blaise seemed to realise that Harry wasn't going to answer, and sighed.
"Potter seems to like you, do you get along?" Draco asked when Blaise opened his mouth again. Blaise shot him a glare that Draco pointedly ignored.
"Yeah, Hadrian is great." Harry smiled, "He's been awesome with helping me adjust and everything."
"That's nice." Draco nodded.
"Do you know him?" Harry asked, tilting his head.
"Not well." Draco shrugged, "Theo does, though, they study together in the library." He gestured to Theodore Nott three seats down. He had a book in his lap and was eating small bites of his food without even looking at his plate or what he was eating.
"Don't talk to him while he's reading." Blaise nudged Harry, "He'll hex you, no joke."
"Ah, okay." Harry said, casting a glance at Theo again. He did look peaceful reading, so it made sense he hated being interrupted.
The rest of dinner, after most of the Slytherins in the fifth year introduced themselves, was small talk that Harry didn't really participate in. It once again hit him, as he sat with the Slytherins, just how different everything was. The people around him were people he knew, and yet didn't know at all.
Whenever Draco laughed, scrunching his nose and snorting occasionally if he was laughing particularly hard, Harry was reminded of the Draco Malfoy that laughed like that when he made those Potter Stinks badges in fourth year.
When Pansy rolled her eyes, Harry could imagine her tossing insults at Hermione and calling her mudblood. It was the same for Millicent Bulstrode and Daphne Greengrass.
Theo was a little different. Harry only remembered him because he was part of the crowd Malfoy hung around with in fifth and sixth year, after Voldemort's resurrection. Theo would sometimes lean in towards Draco and whisper while they stared at Harry, and Harry had just known they were talking about their Death Eater fathers.
Blaise had just been a wallflower background character the first time around. He showed no emotion, only hung around Draco because they were in the same House, and Harry hadn't ever really noticed the boy until sixth year. This Blaise was so different Harry barely recognized him.
It was hard to get the images of the twisted and manipulative Slytherins out of his head. He could obviously push it aside to talk to them, but Harry knew it would be a continuous struggle. They were different people, and it was unfair of him, but Harry couldn't help it. They looked the same, the same way Hadrian looked liked Harry. They were all basically the same people in different fonts.
Once dishes were magically clean, empty, and done with, Dumbledore stood up and clapped his hands.
"Alright, now that everyone is done with their dinners and the younger years are ready for bed, I'd just like to say one thing." Dumbledore said once all eyes were on him, and Harry straightened. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts."
Okay. Weird.
Rightly so, Harry was stunned by how short and pleasant the words were; there were no cautionary announcements, no threats to the school, and no sullen words of warning. It was a little bizarre, but hardly the weirdest thing he'd heard all day.
"Come on." Draco caught his attention, and Harry realised everyone had climbed to their feet to head back to their Common Rooms.
"Right." Harry said, standing up to join Draco and his group. However, he caught sight of McGonagall rushing out of the room with Snape on her heels. The suspicious part of Harry's brain was too strong to ignore, unfortunately. "Hey, do you mind if I hang back? I wanna talk to a Professor about something."
"Oh sure, just make sure someone shows you how to find the Common Room." Draco said. He hesitated briefly, then jogged over and cupped his hands over his mouth and leaned close to Harry. "The password is Welcome." He whispered in Harry's ear, then stepped away again.
"Thanks." Harry said, and Draco nodded to him. Harry waved before slipping out the side door after the two Professors.
It reminded him so much of the sneaking around he'd done in his first life, except he wasn't wearing the Invisibility Cloak and he didn't have Ron and Hermione with him. It was definitely weird, but still. He wanted to know what they'd say. Maybe it was about his last name?
Harry walked as quietly as he could, and he came upon them two hallways down, around a corner. He could hear them, but only barely. After he slowly made his way closer, careful not to make a sound, he finally paused to listen.
"You can't hide this–" Snape was saying in a snappish voice, but he was interrupted.
"This could be a serious problem." McGonagall hissed, "Hold your tongue. He doesn't deserve this burden, he doesn't know anything about our world or what this could mean for him."
"That's not your right to take away from him." Snape rebutted angrily, "I assured that boy he'd have a last name, and you've made him think he has none!"
"Dumbledore will be the first to know." McGonagall sighed, "I showed you to make sure I wasn't hallucinating or misreading it, not so you'd be against me."
"This is about Harry, not us!"
"I don't care." McGonagall said after a small pause, "This affects all of us, whether you like it or not." Harry was listening so intently that he nearly screamed when a hand touched his shoulder.
He whipped around and saw nothing, which was deeply unsettling until a shimmering silver cloak shifted to reveal Hadrian underneath pressing a finger to his lips. Harry blinked in surprise. It should've been obvious Hadrian would have the Invisibility Cloak, and yet Harry was still surprised by it.
Hadrian grabbed his hand and pulled him under, then started walking in the opposite direction of the corner where McGonagall and Snape were still talking. Harry clenched his teeth in irritation, but he let Hadrian keep a tight grip on his hand and lead him away.
Harry recognized the path Hadrian was taking him, down to the dungeons, and by the time Hadrian finally stopped and tossed off the cloak, Harry knew the Slytherin Common Room was just around the corner.
"You noticed something was off too." Hadrian said, surprising Harry with his serious expression. "You followed them because you were suspicious of that."
"They weren't exactly subtle." Harry huffed, shoving his hands in the pockets of his robes. "Here's the part where you tell me I shouldn't have followed them, should've gone with my House, and kept my nose out of it, right?" He looked away when Hadrian sighed.
Harry wasn't expecting Hadrian to say nothing, then just step forward and wrap his arms around him in a tight hug. Harry stiffened for a moment, but then he relaxed and pressed his face into Hadrian's shoulder.
"I'm sorry." Hadrian said, not letting go. "Uncle Sev's right. It's not fair of them to hide your last name. It should be up to you whether or not you want to use it, not them."
Harry hadn't realised just how badly it was weighing on him until his eyes felt misty and he clung to Hadrian a little desperately.
"Thank you." Harry whispered, "I don't know why I care so much, it's not like it's going to change anything. It's not even my name anyway, I don't have a family to connect to it. Knowing the name shouldn't matter to me." Harry didn't know how to better explain, because he couldn't. How was he to portray that the name he'd been given shouldn't matter because it was completely made up by Death?
"It does matter." Hadrian disagreed, pulling back to put his hands on Harry's shoulder and meet his eyes, green on green. "It may not be a name you recognise, or resonate with, or even like, but it's yours nonetheless. Taking that away from you is wrong, whether McGonagall wants to admit it or not."
"Okay." Harry nodded, exhaling slowly out his nose. "Thanks for following me, I guess, even if you did it with some weird magic cloak."
"Ah, this is my Invisibility Cloak." Hadrian laughed, gesturing to the silvery material draped over one arm. "It's been in my family for generations, I got it from Dad when I turned eleven."
"Oh, that's really cool." Harry said, and he looked away with a sigh. "So, where's my Common Room?"
"Actually it's right here." Hadrian grinned, and he walked around the corner to reveal a perfectly blank stone wall the same as the rest of the corridor. "You need a password to get in, did your Housemates tell you?"
"It's Welcome." Harry said with a shrug, and without pause the wall became transparent, allowing him to look down a long hallway with a door at the end.
"There you go." Hadrian laughed, and he squeezed Harry's hand one last time before stepping back. "Have a good night, Harry. Don't think that because we're in different Houses that we're separated; we're not. Come find me any time, and I'll be sure to visit as often as I can outside of classes."
"Thanks." Harry smiled, and Hadrian beamed at him before disappearing underneath the folds of the Invisibility Cloak.
With a deep breath, Harry stepped through the entrance to the Slytherin Corridor. The tunnel was beautiful carved stone, and the door was sturdy wood that looked heavy but was surprisingly easy to open. On the other side of the door was the Slytherin Common Room.
Harry vaguely remembered it from his first life, but now he took a closer look because it was going to be his new House for years to come. He had to admit, it was beautiful.
The Common Room was stone, and there were massive windows around the room that looked out into the Black Lake. Plants drifted in the current, as did small fishes of every colour, and Harry could understand why some students were curled up in green comfy looking chairs near the windows to study or read.
The fireplace to his left was large, much more ornate than the one in the Gryffindor Common Room, and there hung a portrait of a Snake above the mantel. Its eyes were sweeping around the room, hissing slightly as it went. Harry wondered, if he crossed the room and got close enough to hear, could he understand the snake portrait?
The Common Room was decorated in green and silver and black, while tapestries depicting battles and people and vast abstract designs covered the walls. It was a studious atmosphere, coupled with soft green light glowing from pretty lanterns and gentle quiet, so unlike Gryffindors rambunctious noise. For some reason it was a comforting sort of place, nothing like the cold dungeon Harry remembered it being when he was twelve.
It occurred to Harry then that maybe it had always been the way it was, and it just might be that Harry had changed, not the Common Room.
"Harry! There you are." Draco appeared with a grin, "You made it."
"Hadrian showed me the way." Harry nodded.
"Well, what do you think?" Draco asked, gesturing to the room at large. "Not too bad for a dungeon, right?"
"Not bad at all." Harry agreed, and he smiled slightly as he looked around again. "I like it here."
"Good, because this is your new home." Draco grinned, then he turned away and beckoned Harry to follow. "C'mon, I'll show you the dorms."
"Okay." Harry could get used to this, he thought, and he let himself smile again as he was led through a door and up a staircase to the fifth year dormitories.