So Good at Being Bad

A giant comes to take Harry away to Hogwarts, and he's never been more excited in his life. Though the choice of messenger is decidedly strange, Harry really couldn't care less. He can finally get away from the Dursleys and go to the world he belongs to! 

In the morning, he's a little afraid that he dreamed the whole thing after all, but that's a ridiculous fear. He's magic. It all makes sense. So he gets up, and the giant's coat falls off of him, and Harry has to keep himself from jumping up and cheering right then and there. Then there's an owl tapping on the window and when he lets it in, it drops a newspaper on him - the Daily Prophet, whatever that is. It looks interesting, with all the moving pictures, but before he can get a closer look the owl is pecking him.

Harry glares at the owl (and really, what is its problem?) and he's about to wish for it to go away when the giant stirs and tells him to give it a few knuts. Harry, in a remarkable show of patience, reminds him that he's just learned of the magical world yesterday and has no idea what knuts are. Really, how dumb can someone be? The giant tells him that its the little bronze ones, and Harry rummages in the moleskin pouch for a bit before he pulls them out. 

Then he tucks them into his pocket, making sure to angle himself away and block the giant's view of the owl at the same time. Pffft. As if he's going to waste money on a bird when he hasn't got any of his own. The owl puffs up (it would look indignant, thinks Harry, if birds had feelings) and it looks like it's about to screech, but Harry does what he was planning to do in the first place and makes it go away. Honestly. Paying a bird, what a scam. 

The giant never notices anything. What an oaf, but it works out in his favor at least. 

∞∞∞∞∞

They enter a little dingy pub run by Thomas or something, and he's instantly crowded. Harry Potter, the people shout, it's Harry Potter! What luck! Quick, get his signature!

And if Harry preens a little bit at it, well, no one's going to notice in the chaos. He's not quite sure why they're cheering him, but knowing himself, it's probably for someone great he's done. The respect and awe is well deserved, he's sure. There's even a line for people to shake his hand, and it makes him puff up even more, but he's careful to look nervous and unsure. Harry knows that people like humble heroes, not arrogant ones. Some people even go back into the line to shake his hand again! Harry must be just that great. 

There's this one quivering guy who looks like he's constantly shivering in the freezing cold, even though the pub is pretty humid. He's going to be his professor at Hogwarts, apparently, Professor Quirrel, and Harry's a little skeptical. This guy is going to teach him Defense Against the Dark Arts? (Which sounds so cool, by the way.) But he knows he shouldn't judge by appearance, so he nods and smiles politely and shakes his hand too. 

Then the giant takes him aside when he asks why he's so famous, and stumbles around a name for several moments (really, a name, come on) and apparently Harry's famous because he survived a killing curse from the Dark Lord as an infant. Which, okay. An infant. Come on. That's like worshiping a toddler for learning to walk, it's not even something he's done! In fact, he's pretty sure the only reason why he survived is because the Potters did something - you know, his parents, actual magical adults - and not because infant him was the next coming of Merlin or whoever. Come on. How stupid can people be? 

But the fame is pretty nice. And the worshipping the ground he walks on, he won't deny that. Harry's very grateful to the Potters for that, at least. 

∞∞∞∞∞

The giant takes him to a magical bank, which is run by goblins, how cool is that, and they go down to his vault, and-

He's rich! 

He's quite literally rich. It's stacked full of gold coins (galleons, he remembers), jewels, and countless other shiny stuff. It's the most money he's ever seen in his life. Ha! Imagine the Dursleys' faces if they knew he had a secret fortune all along! After complaining about how expensive it was to raise Harry and how much of a waste he was! And all this time, he was rich! The Dursleys are high middle class, low upper class, but compared to what Harry's got, they might as well be paupers! HA!

Harry opens the bag that the giant gave him and shoves in as many galleons as he can. The giant looks at him oddly, and says that he probably won't need that much money, but Harry ignores him. He obviously doesn't know what he's going on about. One can never have too much money, after all. 

And! And he saw so many cool stuff in the windows of the shops in Diagon Alley earlier, and he thought it was all see and no touch, but now he can buy whatever he wants! He's going to get so many things. Which will all be magic and move on their own and fly like Dudley's toys never do. Stupid Dudley. 

∞∞∞∞∞

Then Harry meets a blond prick in the clothing shop, and would you look at that, he's got his newest target. Malfoy, introduces the prick, Draco Malfoy, and doesn't hold his hand out. Harry dislikes him instantly. He's got a pointy upturned nose and slicked back hair that's so blond it's nearly white, and high cheekbones. The picture of aristocratic. Harry's going to have fun messing with him. 

The boy goes off about some strange sport called Quidditch that's played on brooms. Honestly, what a safety hazard. But Harry's smart enough not to say that out loud, so he keeps his mouth shut and nods along to whatever the boy's saying and tries to school his expression into one of awe. He's not sure he succeeded, but the prick isn't looking at him so it doesn't matter. 

Then Malfoy sees the giant (what was his name again?) outside the window, and turns to Harry and tells him about how much of an oaf he is. It's the first smart thing he's said this entire conversation, but Harry already dislikes him so he makes sure to defend the giant out of spite. Malfoy turns pink at his vehement defense (it's not a very good color on him, and it brings Harry a little spark of joy for causing it) and sniffs arrogantly because he's not intelligent enough for words. 

Having had his share of fun, Harry hops off the stool and strides toward Hagrid, who takes him next to a bookstore. Harry's never been much of a fan of books, but this makes him want to change his mind. Blimey, the titles on some of these makes his fingers itch. He wants to buy at least half of the bookshelf, and he's definitely got enough to do it, but he holds himself back. Harry can't go spending his entire inheritance on books, after all. In the end he picks out two particularly promising books containing spells to 'use on your enemies', which sounds wonderful. He can't wait to use it on Dudley. But Harry makes sure to tuck them under his robes and check them out when the giant's not looking, since he doubts he would approve based on his reaction in Gringotts. Besides, what he doesn't know won't hurt him. 

They're out of the bookstore and about to go get his wand, his wand, he can't wait, when the giant stops him. Harry's about to snap at him, but then the giant says that he hasn't got Harry a birthday present yet, which-

which makes Harry go a little warm inside. No one's ever willingly got him a birthday present, he's always stolen them himself from Dudley. But if the giant's offering, then Harry definitely isn't going to refuse. He makes sure to duck his head and cast his eyes down and mumble about how he doesn't have to, because he knows that's what he's supposed to do in a situation like this. He's never quite understood why, but he guesses its to make the receiver look humble and then the giant comes back with a cage with a white owl. 

Oh dear, another owl. He hopes this one won't peck him for money, but at least it's pretty. Quite pretty. And its white feathers look really soft. Oh, he thinks he's going to like it. 

But finally, finally, they're getting his wand. Harry's been looking forward to this the most. They enter a creepy little shop and meet a creepy little man, and he's a little unnerved by the way the man is looking at him. Like he can see into the deepest part of his heart. Weirdo. But Harry endures, because he wants his wand and this guy is supposed to be the best wandmaker ever, and it takes so long. The creepy man tells him that wands choose their masters, as if wands have a mind of his own, but it only makes Harry irritated because it means that all those wands he's tried is rejecting him. Rejecting! HIM! He should be the ones rejecting them, how dare they, is he insufficient-

But then Olli-something hands him another wand, holly with phoenix feather, and-

Oh. Oh, it feels warm, and something fuzzy expands in his chest, and he feels the same way he did when he drowned Marge's dog, only better, without the dark edge. He feels whole. Oh. He understands now, why all the other wands didn't work. 

The creep's saying something about Voldemort and terrible and great, but Harry's not listening. He's too busy staring at his wand in his hand, and he's never felt this way before, and suddenly he doesn't want to ever let go. It's his now. Forever. His. Like the toys he stole from Dudley, like the money he nicked from Vernon and the giant, like the owl. His, and no one else's. 

They leave, and Harry walks dazedly beside the giant. 

∞∞∞∞∞

Apparently, Harry has to return to the Dursleys, which he's not happy about. He asks the giant if he can rent a room in the pub, or if there are any magical hotels, because he can afford it for sure, but the giant refuses. Harry's opinion of him drops a little, but he resentfully listens. At least he's got a wand now, and money. He may not be able to cast any spells yet, but he's definitely going to study those books of hexes. And he can still make them do what he wants. 

When the day comes, Harry steps up to Uncle Vernon and orders him to drop him off at the station. He turns red at the tone of his voice, (as if he's going to speak politely to a muggle like him) but otherwise agrees. Good. Harry goes upstairs, to the second bedroom now, and plops on his bed and waits for tomorrow. 

So at the crack of dawn the next morning, they drive off to the station and Uncle Vernon drops him off, muttering about how they have to take Dudley to a London hospital to get rid of that pig's tail. Harry gets a surge of vicious satisfaction at that, and watches them drive off disdainfully. He hopes the surgery goes wrong. Then he goes back to his business and wanders around for a bit, looking for platform nine and three-quarters. 

He kind of wishes the giant had stayed long enough to actually tell him where that is, because he's pretty sure they only have stations in whole numbers, but then he spies a family of redheads. Harry sneaks closer, because one of them has an owl cage like him, which means they must be magical too. He makes sure to stay close enough to overhear their conversation but far away enough to not look suspicious. The mother, it seems, is talking to a pair of redhead twins, and Harry waits impatiently for her to finish and get to the point. He hasn't got all day, but they sure act like they do. 

Finally, watching out of the corner of his eye, Harry spies one of the redhead twins charge at the wall. He thinks the boy is about to crash, and he waits eagerly for the resounding impact, but instead he slips through the wall and disappears. Harry has to consciously close his jaw, and he looks around to see if any of the muggles noticed. No one did. So there must be some kind of strange magic letting them be unseen. 

Squaring his shoulders, Harry steps up to the wall once the redheads are done and takes a deep breath. He knows what he saw, but with his luck it wouldn't be surprising if something went wrong and he got stuck in a limbo space or whatever happens when you get sucked into a wall. Bracing himself, Harry grips tighter on his trolley and starts running. The barrier is coming closer and closer, and his heart is speeding up, and if something goes wrong he's going to be so screwed-

But right before impact, he closes his eyes and doesn't crash. Warily, he opens them again only to see that he's in a whole different place! There's a giant train in front of him (a train, really, he thought wizards had broomsticks, why would they use such a muggle way of transportation) and there are other kids dressed in black robes like him, getting on. Following the crowd, Harry hops up and yanks his stuff in with him. Then he goes looking for an empty apartment, because he doesn't really feel like talking to a bunch of snooty kids right now. 

He finds it, and enjoys a few moments of bliss, until the door opens and another redhead enters. Harry's pretty sure he saw him at the platform with the family, but he wasn't looking closely enough to be sure. The redhead is painfully awkward and asks Harry if he can sit there, because the other carriages are taken (serves him right for not snatching one up quick) and Harry, because it's the polite thing to do, says okay. He wants to say no but that would be plain rude and he doesn't want to ruin his reputation before he's even stepped into Hogwarts. 

The redhead tries to make conversation, but Harry's really not interested and doesn't try that hard to hide it, so he stops talking eventually. About time. Harry can finally bask in the quiet and look at the scenery flying outside the window. He's never been on a train before, but he still thinks they should have chosen a different method. 

At one point, a bushy brown-haired girl rudely enters their apartment and asks if they've seen a toad (of all things, a toad!) because one of the students lost his pet. Privately, Harry thinks that it was for the better. If he had a toad for a pet, he'd have lost it at the first opportunity too. He hopes it got squashed under someone's shoe. It's probably just a green stain on the floor of some carriage already, anyway. He doesn't know why the boy is apparently trying to hard to find it. 

Before the girl leaves (he never introduced himself, or asked for her name) she tells them that they're about to land so they should start getting ready. Harry feels a little embarrassed that he forgot, and he had to be reminded by her. The fact that the moron next to him forgot too doesn't make him feel any better. 

But they get changed, and exit the train and line up by a lake. The giant's there now, yelling about four in a boat, and Harry quickly slips away from the redhead before he can get stuck with him as a partner. He joins three other random students that he doesn't bother getting the names of, and they're off, rowing across the great big lake that reflects the stars. One of the other passengers whispers about how there's a giant squid, and Harry's about to dismiss him when he remembers that this is the magical world and there really could be a giant squid under them right this moment. Fascinated, he leans over the side, but he can't see anything in the obsidian black waters. Pity, he'll have to see it another day. Harry wonders if it eats students. 

Then. Then, they come into sight of Hogwarts. It's simply magnificent. It cuts a jagged outline of black against the already dark sky, but there are huge windows of amber light situated here and there. It's so big. This is what the magical world is, Harry thinks. He's never seen something as grand as this. And he's going to be living here for the next seven years! He can hear the gasps and exclamations of awe from the other students, and for once he thinks it's for a good reason. Hogwarts is amazing. It's the best thing ever. 

He feels that happiness again, the sort that fills him up from the inside and makes his chest warm and fuzzy, and now there's a breathless feeling of awe too. Harry feels like the luckiest person in the world to be able to see this. (The Dursleys never will. Good riddance.)

Then - his eyes still glazed with awe - they disembark and enter the castle. Harry doesn't know if the outside or inside is more impressive. There's a transparent ceiling, and he can see all the stars and constellations he could never in his cupboard. The sky above is vast and endless and Harry feels so small, but for once it's not in a bad way. He thinks he's okay with not being big if this is how it feels. 

The teacher, Professor Mcdonald, leaves them alone and everyone shuffles awkwardly a few moments until the blond prick from the clothing shop - Harry forgot his name, but he thinks it starts with M - tries to establish himself as the top of the food chain. A redhead, the same one he sat with on the train, responds angrily with something, and Harry tunes the rest of it out. It's got nothing to do with him, and he's too busy admiring the place he's going to live in for the next. seven. years. He can't believe his good luck. 

∞∞∞∞∞

Harry's been watching everyone else get sorted, and he's been shaking with anticipation for his own name to get called. 

Whispers break out across the room when it does, and he can hear the other students. 'Potter, did she say?' 'The Harry Potter?' They're in awe, as they should be. But Harry knows what role he has to play, so he hitches his shoulders to his ears and looks at his toes and walks a little too quickly to the hat. It drops on his head (ew, it must be so dirty) and his vision of the great hall is obscured. Pity, he was enjoying their expressions. 

Well, what do we have here?

Put me in Gryffindor. 

You're a precocious boy, aren't you? the hat chuckles. Are you sure about that? You could be great in Slytherin.

Harry feels indignant at the insinuation. I'm already great! I don't need Slytherin!

Such confidence. 

Put me in Gryffindor already!

Boy, you're far more of a Slytherin. 

No, I'm brave! And noble! Harry cuts off the hat's chortling again, And I'm the boy-who-lived, so I MUST be a Gryffindor. Smug, now. 

Yes, you are, aren't you? Well, if you're sure it's not Slytherin, then I suppose it better be - GRYFFINDOR!

Triumphantly, Harry lifts the hat from his head and slides off the stool, angling to the red and gold table who's cheering and hollering in celebration now. (The thing that lives in Harry's chest quiets at proof of his superiority.)