Chapter 4
The other kids around him gasped in awe as they turned around a bend in the lake and came into view of Hogwarts for the very first time. Harry had to admit, it looked very majestic. He sighed in relief. He was back. Draco saw him looking and gave him a wane smile. Harry grinned.
Harry zoned out a bit while Hagrid and Professor McGonagall spoke to the group of first years. He was too busy looking around at everything. It was awfully nostalgic for him, seeing everything as an eleven year old.
Behind him, he heard Ron talking with Seamus and Dean, most likely because Harry wouldn't talk to him.
"My brothers said they make you fight a troll, to see which house you get put into."
Hearing this, Harry chuckled. He leaned over towards Draco.
"You think you're still gonna be put in Slytherin?"
Draco scoffed. "Of course I'm going to be put in Slytherin. I'm not the one who got brainwashed into being put into the wrong house. Speaking of which, what house do you reckon you'll be in this time around? Not Gryffindor, surely."
"I don't know, it's pretty homey."
"You are ridiculous."
"Well how about you, what were you thinking?"
"I will be Slytherin of course, nothing will change that. And I bet you will be too. I will bet you a favor that both of us will be Slytherin."
"Deal!"
Ron continues glaring at the two of them, no doubt still insulted that Harry's laughing with a slimy snake.
All of a sudden, the ghosts swoosh into the room. The first years all gasp in amazement. Harry and Draco don't notice, still talking.
Well, they don’t notice until all the ghosts froze upon seeing them. Harry gulpes.
“Are they looking at you funny, Draco?”
“No, I think that's you…” Draco sounded a bit nervous.
“Why though?”
“Maybe they're impressed by the big old scar on your forehead?”
“Very funny.”
“I thought so”
“But they didn't stare at me last time?”
“Well, did you change anything yet?”
Harry laughed awkwardly. “Nothing except that the goblins and McGonagall know about his manipulations, they kinda found out when I did.”
“And you didn't mention that until now?” Draco hissed furiously.
“What are you two whispering about? Didn't you know there were going to be ghosts at Hogwarts?” Said a snotty voice from behind them. They whirled around and saw Hermione Granger glaring up at them. She went to say something else, most likely rude, when all the ghosts suddenly flew away, much faster than they came in. Maybe it was just him, but did the ghosts look afraid? All the other first years looked just as confused as they did.
“I don't know what all that was about, but how about you all come along now. It's time to get you sorted. And Mr Weasley, please smarten yourself up, I can see dirt on your nose.
Ron turned beat red and hurriedly tried (unsuccessfully) to clean himself up. Harry couldn't help but laugh, which made Ron glared at him once again that day. What had Harry ever seen in that guy?
The first years all shuffle themselves into the Great Hall, and all the children around them look at it in awe. Harry, already knowing where everyone is placed, zones out during the sorting. He perks up when it gets to be Draco's turn, but lo and behold, once again Draco gets put in Slytherin the moment the hat touches the top of his head. Behind him, someone whispers “I bet his Dad would have paid to get him in Slytherin if he hadn't made it in. Harry frowned. Were people outside of Slytherin this mean to Draco the first time around? Why should kids hate other kids like that automatically, before anyone has gotten to know each other? Harry makes a mental note to come back to that. New mission: try and make everyone get along.
“Potter, Harry!”
Everyone's eyes were on him, and everyone whispered in anticipation. Professor McGonagall looked at him worriedly as he closed his eyes, and the hat draped over his head.
“Hmm. I see I've sorted you before Mr. Potter.”
“Yes.”
“Hmm.”
“What's wrong?”
“You've changed a lot in the past decade Mr. Potter. I don't think I will sort you the same as I did last time. It's a hard decision… but I think I'd better be SLYTHERIN”
The whole hall burst into whispers, much to his annoyance. Harry groaned internally. No doubt, they would be doing that for the next seven years. He took a glance at the professors and laughed internally. Snape looked like he had swallowed one of Dumbledore's lemon drops. Speaking of whom, the old goat had an odd look on his face. He was full of rage but trying to hide it under his usual twinkle eye look, which resulted in his looking constipated. The rest of the professors look surprised, while Quirrelmort looks contemplative. The only one who looked happy for him was professor McGonagall, who smiled at him and offered a soft “congratulations” as he handed her back the sorting hat.
He walked over to the Slytherin table, and all the other students looked anywhere from hesitant and unsure to downright hostile. Everyone except Draco, who was smirking at him smugly. Harry groaned. He had forgotten about their bet. No doubt Draco would lord that over him for a while.
He slides next to Draco as the last of the first years are sorted. Dumbledore stands up and proceeds to give his announcements and leads the song, and finally the feast arrives. Harry eagerly scoops a bunch onto his plate. He hadn't gotten to eat as much as he wanted since coming back in time and staying with the Dursleys again.
The girl sitting across from him looked at him curiously. He didn't recognize her. It occurred to him then that he didn't actually know many of the Slytherins, and that he might have a bit of a hard time at first. The girl sitting across from him had dark black hair and bright green eyes similar to his, but had an analyzing gleam to them. She coughed politely, and introduced herself.
“Well met, Heir Potter.” She held out her hand in front of her. Harry took it, and shook. “Well met…”
She laughed a bit. “Daphne Greengrass, at your service. I forgot you wouldn't know who everyone is, all the other young heirs have known each other since we've been young. You'll have to catch up if you want to be a credit to our house.” Harry's face reddened a bit as she spoke. He glanced at Draco, and he was silently laughing at him. He went to respond when he heard a slight cough from behind him. He turned, and saw Professor McGonagall standing behind him.
“A word, Mr. Potter?”
“Of course, Professor. Excuse me, Heiress Greengrass, Draco.” He stood and followed Professor McGonagall outside the Great Hall.
“Mr Potter, if it is alright with you, I would like to speak with you in my office when we have a little more time. Many of the revelations we received at Gringotts disturbed me, and I want to make a plan with you to keep you as safe as possible. Could you come to my office after classes tomorrow?”
“Yes, of course professor.”
“Good. You may return to the Great Hall.”
“Thank you professor.”
Harry turned to return to the Great Hall when he saw the other first year Slytherins following one of the prefects. He ran to catch up with them, and together they all walked down to the dungeons. He wasn't sure he could get used to living underground instead of in a high tower.
They approach the portrait and the prefect says the password, and Harry gets his first look at the Slytherin common rooms. It's beautiful, he decides. The whole room has a luminous glow from the window showing the lake. The room seemed to be going with a bit of a lake theme, with lots of shell decorations along with the obvious snakes. It was much classier than the Gryffindor common rooms, that was for sure. Draco snickered at him, obviously he noticed Harry's awe at the common rooms.
The prefect that led them to the common rooms walked to the center of the room. And everyone went quiet.
“Hello everyone. My name is Gemma Farley. Welcome to Slytherin House. We have a few rules that we require every Slytherin follow. Firstly, outside of our common rooms, we are united as a house. Many of you might know this, and some of you might not, but you will find that the rest of the school thinks poorly of Slytherin house. For this reason, we ensure we are not vulnerable. While you are first years, I expect you all to stick together. Secondly, our head of house, Professor Snape, will be greeting you tomorrow evening. You will be respectful. Professor Snape always looks out for his house, but he does not suffer fools or disrespect. He has check-ins with students every once in a while, and more often if you are not doing well in your studies. Alright, I think that's everything. I suggest you all go to bed, you have a big day tomorrow. Good night everyone.” With that, all of the other students started to disperse. Harry yawned, and stumbled his way after Draco. It had been a very exhausting day, physically and emotionally. He couldn't wait to get to bed.