Potter Luck

Harry was used to being stared at and whispered about. He had been the topic of more gossip than he cared to remember. Therefore, when Professor McGonagall explained the circumstances of his re-sorting and called him to the rickety old stool at the front and center of the Great Hall, Harry rose with grace and kept his head high. He hoped he looked as intimidating and strong as he did in his photo in the Daily Prophet.

Around him, voices buzzed while everyone wondered where he would end up, others remarking on his changed appearance. The magic of Hogwarts sang to him, bringing with it comfort. He scanned the head table as he approached the stool. Sirius sat beside McGonagall’s empty seat, beside Professor Flitwick. He winked when Harry caught his eye. Further down the table, Hagrid’s seat was filled with Professor Grubbly-Plank. Finally Harry looked to the center of the table where Albus Dumbledore stared at Harry intently, an unreadable expression on his face. Harry locked eyes with the twinkling blue ones and felt a presence at the edge of his mind. Harry’s eyes narrowed. He sent a stream of his magic at the invasive presence and it was gone.

He raised an eye at Dumbledore, surprised the old man would attempt legilimency in the middle of the Great Hall. Harry knew that his Lordship rings would protect him from most legilimens, but he was grateful for his instruction in the art of occlumency so he could defend himself. Dumbledore smiled blandly at Harry. Does he know I am no longer under his compulsions? Harry wondered.

Finally he came to a stop in front of Professor McGonagall.

“Welcome back, Harry,” she greeted more fondly than Harry had ever heard from the stern woman. “Remember what I said in my letter, and take a seat.”

Harry did as instructed, instantly transported to a different time when he was a different boy. He almost felt like a first year again. Every eye in the Great Hall was on him. No one spoke as they seemed to hold their breath. Many Gryffindor’s looked almost disinterested, so sure in his sorting. Harry noticed Ron attempting to catch his eye. He shifted his attention to the Slytherin table where Draco sat tall and proud. He smiled easily when he saw Harry looking. He gave a small nod, and Harry looked at the other Slytherins. Many watched with an appraising look. Draco had laid the groundwork, it seemed.

Harry felt Professor McGonagall approach behind him. When she lowered the hat upon his head, it did not slip over his eyes as it had six years ago. It fit like a normal wizard’s hat.

Oh oh oh, what do we have here? The gruff voice of the hat spoke directly in Harry’s mind. It has been such a long time, Lord Slytherin. It almost purred. I have met the heirs and lords of the other three, but never one of Salazar’s. How did you escape my notice when I first sorted you? Hmmm. It is clear I made a grave error.

“Well, at the time I asked for you to sort me into Gryffindor, but I suspect there were other forces at work,” Harry thought his response to the hat.

Other forces indeed. I can see the scars left from those interferences. Albus Dumbledore has committed a great crime against you, Lord Slytherin. He will not escape justice. Harry was shocked at the promise of violence from the hat. Tell me, Lord Slytherin, how is it that you have reached Majority in a time where you should be barely into your fifteenth year?

Harry sent the relevant memories from his captivity to the hat who growled in response.

The false heir has committed many crimes, but he is not past the point of saving.

“I’d love to see you call Voldemort that,” Harry remarked, wondering what made Voldemort redeemable where Dumbledore was not.

Place me atop his head and I will. Harry laughed out loud, causing several students to jump. Many exchanged looks and whispered to their friends.

Are you ready to accept your destiny and fulfill the promises that you made to your house? The sorting hat asked seriously.

“I am,” Harry replied honestly. When the hat next spoke, it did so out loud for all to hear.

“I am not one to make errors. In the thousand years that I have been sorting students, I have never made a single mistake. It is clear to me that that is no longer true. Outside forces have led to a most grievous injustice committed against the Lord upon whose head I rest. There is only one house that was ever deserving of the Power and Greatness of this Lord. SLYTHERIN!” There was a moment of silence that stretched to breaking point across the Great Hall. It was broken by shouts and cheers from the Slytherin table. It seemed that the hat’s admission was enough to get initial acceptance from the house of snakes. Harry saw Hermione, Neville, Ginny, and the twins clapping enthusiastically for him, even if there was a sadness in their eyes. The Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws clapped happily, surprised.

Welcome home, Lord Slytherin. The hat whispered in his mind before Professor McGonagall removed it. Harry stood to face her. She had a small smile on her face. “We’ll talk after class,” she said quietly and patted his shoulder. Harry smiled gratefully at his ex-head of house and turned to join the Snake Pit for the first time.

Draco stood from his seat, beaming with pride as Harry approached. Harry smiled back, knowing that everything would be okay. Draco clapped him on the back when Harry reached him and gestured for him to sit between himself and a dark skinned boy Harry recognized to be Blaise Zabini.

The Slytherin table eventually settled down when Harry took his seat, many sending him interested and evaluating looks, none of the surrounding students displayed open hostility.

“Well met, Lord Potter,” Blaise Zabini said, holding his hand out to Harry. He took it with a smile.

“Well met, Heir Zabini,” They shook hands briefly before straightening to face the front of the hall. Dumbledore stood to give his customary greeting. Slowly the hall quieted down. Harry’s eyes found Sirius who gave him a nod of approval. It was Harry’s turn to wink.

“Welcome!” Dumbledore greeted enthusiastically. “It seems as though the events of last year occurred just yesterday. I am pleased to welcome back every one of our returning students, and happy to have the newest ones joining us. Remember that despite the colors we wear, we are all united under the Hogwarts banner. And with that, tuck in!”

“It's a bit ironic coming from him, isn’t it?” Harry muttered to Draco as the platters filled with food in front of them, tables almost groaning under the weight of it all.

“I don’t think he’s too pleased with your sorting,” Draco agreed. Harry’s eyes flicked to the Headmaster who was frowning down at his plate. Harry’s eyes scanned the rest of the head table to find a pair of black eyes drilling into his own. He had forgotten about Snape.

“Almost as pleased as Snape,” Harry observed.

“Professor Snape,” Draco corrected. “And he’s not displeased. That’s his confused face,” he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Like I said, you spend way too much time with the man,” Harry muttered. Draco’s retort was cut off by a pointed cough.

“Draco, dear, you’re being quite selfish right now,” Pansy Parkinson said sweetly from across the table from Draco. He rolled his eyes in exasperation.

“Right, sorry,” he cleared his throat and donned the face of Heir Malfoy. “Heirs Parkinson, Knott, Crabbe, Goyle, and Greengrass, I present Lord Potter.”

“Well met,” Harry greeted, shaking their hands in turn.

“Well met, Lord Potter,” they each greeted in turn.

“You can call me Theo,” the Knott Heir greeted. Harry distinctly remembered Lord Knott from his summer trip. Harry vowed not to hold it against Theo, or any other children of Death Eaters.

“Harry, then,” he told Theo who smiled shyly.

“Lord Potter, you can call me Pansy,” Parkinson batted her eyelashes at Harry who hid his grimace behind his goblet.

“Sweet Salazar, Pansy, Lord Black threw your father’s marriage proposal in the fire,” Draco said, rather harsher than necessary. Pansy was unabashed.

“I’m just being friendly, Merlin,” she rolled her eyes but stopped eyeing Harry like a prize. “Anyways, everyone calls me Pansy. Like everyone calls Blaise Blaise, Daphne Daphne, and Crabbe and Goyle Crabbe and Goyle,” she rolled her eyes again.

“What do they call Draco?” Harry asked

“Prat,” Pansy, Blaise, and Theo echoed together. Harry laughed heartily at Draco’s offended look.

“So not only your mother, but all of your friends agree too?” Harry wiped his eyes, barely holding back more laughter.

“Lady Malfoy called you a prat?” Daphne looked interested, “I knew I was in love with her,” she said longingly.

“She’s spoken for,” Draco replied dryly. Blaise snickered. Harry began eating, taking his cues from those around him and sitting straight-backed like Draco had taught him. He ate slowly and swallowed before talking. It was the most civilized meal he had ever eaten in the Great Hall. He didn’t miss Ron spitting food across the table as he talked.

“So,” Pansy began tentatively. Harry braced himself. “The sorting hat admits to making a mistake in sorting you into Gryffindor? That must be rather shocking news.” Harry was relieved at this line of conversation. He had expected her to bring up the summer.

“Surprisingly it is not. I knew it wanted to sort me into Slytherin first year, but due to some outside influences,” Draco coughed something that sounded a lot like Dumbledore’s name, “I was sorted into Gryffindor. I suppose fate always has a way of getting what she wants,” Harry gestured to his chest which had already filled in with the green and silver emblem of his house.

“What exactly did the headmaster do to influence your sorting?” Blaise asked, shooting a glare at Dumbledore.

“This isn’t really a conversation for the Great Hall. The walls have ears,” Harry nodded in the direction of the portraits hanging behind them. The others nodded solemnly.

“So Harry, I’m guessing Draco gave you an idea of what to expect once we get to the common room?” Theo asked quietly. His demeanor reminded Harry of a more confident Neville.

“He did,” Harry confirmed.

“The sorting hat’s announcement probably placated a lot of people, but I know there are a few seventh years that will be too blinded by the opportunity to earn favor with the Dark Lord by causing harm to you,” Theo explained in a low voice. Harry nodded as Theo spoke. If only they knew the Dark Lord’s newest policy regarding Harry Potter. Draco exchanged a loaded look with Harry. Dinner was replaced with puddings. Wordlessly Draco passed the treacle tart.

“The good news is that a lot of Slytherin will most likely close ranks around you against the rest of the school, if need be. They’ll view the last four years as a personal insult. The hat said no other house had been deserving of you, the fact that Gryffindor stole you until now won’t be forgiven. I doubt the Gryffindor’s will heed the hat’s word though. They’ll think we stole you from them. It’s probably going to get ugly,” Blaise explained.

“Internal politics are a whole other monster though,” Daphne warned. Harry nodded, Draco had gone into detail about the politics and hierarchy within the Slytherin house. The fifth years were unusual in that the majority of them valued their friendships as much as alliances. The rest of the house generally operated on an alliance system and leaned heavily on power, both magical and political, to determine value.

“You’re going to shake up the hierarchy,” Pansy said.

“More like completely dismantle,” Draco chimed in. Harry had let Draco in on the Lord Slytherin secret the previous night, after making him swear on his magic not to reveal it to anyone else without Harry’s permission, express or implied, or until it came into the open by other means. He was shocked at first, but quickly got over it, muttering something about Potter Luck. Then he was just excited. Harry had been worried that Draco would be jealous, but quickly realized how silly that notion was. Draco knew too much of what Harry had gone through to be envious of anything that looked to bring positivity to Harry’s life.

Harry finished his treacle tart, savoring the taste. No treacle tart would ever taste as good as Hogwarts’. He sighed, content, putting thoughts of what was going to happen in the common room to the side. Finally, Dumbledore again rose to his feet. The tables cleared and all eyes moved to the headmaster.

“Now that we have all been fed and watered to our heart’s content, let’s get into the start of term announcements. First, I want to reiterate how happy I am to see all of our students returned to us, safe and sound. As you all know, one of our numbers was taken and held by Lord Voldemort. Let us all raise a glass to Harry Potter and his safe return,” Dumbledore paused so everyone could raise their goblets in a toast. Harry had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. He heard Fred and George shouting ‘to Harrykins!’

“On a related note, as outlined in your letters, your possessions have been searched for dark or dangerous items. We live in a dangerous time where students are no longer safe from outside forces or influences. I implore you all to keep your eyes open and to operate with the best interests of your fellow classmates in mind. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to approach a member of our staff,” he paused dramatically. “And now, let me inform you of some changes in staff. First, Professor Grubbly-Plank has returned to fill the role of Care of Magical Creatures professor while Professor Hagrid is on a leave of absence,” there was polite applause from around the hall. Grubbly-Plank stood and gave a small wave.

“And now, I’d like you all to give a warm welcome to our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Lord Sirius Black,” There was enthusiastic applause from many. Harry wolf-whistled and earned another wink from the professor. Sirius looked impressive where he stood giving a small bow to the Great Hall. He wore black dueling robes over a dark green shirt. His hair shone in the light from the suspended candles. Sirius caught Harry staring as he returned to his seat and smirked at him. Harry flushed and let his attention return to Dumbledore.

“With that, I will remind you all that the list of banned objects has expanded to include fanged frisbees. If you would like to examine the full list of contraband, see Mr. Filch. And now, off to bed with you all. You may have the weekend before classes start, but I would advise you all to finish any summer work you may have forgotten. Off you trot!” Harry stood with the others as benches scraped and the volume in the hall increased.

“I’ll see you in the common room,” Draco muttered to Harry before disappearing with Pansy to direct the first years. Theo and Blaise sandwiched Harry between them and he descended to the Snake Pit.