Chapter Ten - Sorted

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to JK Rowling, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Warner Bros and some other high falutin' companies. Me, I'm just a PR professional. I don't profess to own - and would never dream of making any money off - JKR's wonderful world. However, its her sandbox and she's left the gate unlatched so we can go in and play a bit. Which, I've done.

Chapter Ten - Sorted

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After having worked, yet again, on his mental defences after Madam Bones left earlier in the day, Harry was currently reading through the reaction tables of the potions book Daphne had suggested he read for Hogwarts. In it, it explained so much more about potions than the text recommended by Hogwarts; 'Magical Drafts and Potions' by Arsenius Jigger. That one was more of a 'cookbook' than anything else; as it was almost full of various instructions on potions.

The companion book he was reading covered much more about care and safety when dealing with ingredients and 'potioneering'. It also answered a lot of questions about why things were done a certain way in 'Magical Drafts and Potions'. It made sense of what appeared to be non-sensical. He wondered why it, or a similar text, wasn't also recommended.

Hearing the sound of clamouring from the hovering journalists coming from outside the door, he knew he was about to receive company. He was soon joined by Cygnus, Isabel, Aunt Amelia and Gran.

"Braved the ravening horde, once more, have you?" he asked with a cheeky grin.

Amelia snorted and replied, "Insolent whelp!" as the other three all exchanged greetings with him. Both Isabel and Gran came over to give him a kiss on the cheek before moving away again towards Amelia and Cygnus.

Amelia stopped in the middle of the room and drew forth from her pocket a shrunken crate. She then conjured a pedestal that reached waist high and placed the crate in the middle of it.

With a tap of her wand she unshrunk the crate before removing the lid.

"Cygnus, if you wouldn't mind," she said, gesturing to the contents.

Cygnus reached in and removed what appeared to Harry to be a large stone birdbath. As he held it above the crate, Amelia removed the crate from the pedestal, and allowed Cygnus to place the stone item down upon it. Cygnus then stepped away.

"Now, Harry," said Amelia, looking at him. "Drag your carcass out of that bed and come over here."

Harry hopped out of bed and walked across.

"This is a court pensieve, also known as a solicitor's pensieve," said Amelia. It's slightly larger than a standard pensieve because it has the added function of being able to project a large image over itself of the memory being reviewed. Understand?"

Harry nodded.

Amelia then reached into a pocket of her robes and brought out a wooden frame that contained half a dozen phials; four of which contained what Harry now recognised as memory strands.

"Alright, the first memory is what I collected from Professor Filius Flitwick last Sunday night," she said as she poured the contents of one phial into the pensieve. She then tapped her wand to a symbol - what Harry had come to recognise as a rune - on the top edge of the pensieve.

Harry watched with the others as the memory played like a big 3d hologram in a sphere that measured about five feet across. He winced when he saw himself snarl at Professor McGonagall before storming off. And winced again when he ripped his outer robes off and stripped to the waist as he jumped up onto the Hufflepuff table. Then winced a third time, and felt not a little horrified, when he suddenly screamed, his magic pulsed, he collapsed onto the table and the wraith-like spirit was forcibly ejected from his forehead in a bloody mess.

He then watched in shock as the wraith attacked the professor wearing a turban and joined with another coming from the professor before fleeing out one of the blown open, shattered windows. He hadn't heard the gasps of horror coming from either Isabel or Gran, as he was focussed on what he was watching.

When it finished, he dropped his face into his hands and moaned, "Oh, God; what must they think of me? No wonder the Daily Prophet's been running those stories."

"As I said before, Harry; it's not your fault," said Cygnus firmly before he was hugged by both Isabel and Gran offering their own words of support.

Amelia had already removed that memory and returned it to the phial before she poured a second one into the bowl. "This is the first of two memories from Harry of what happened the night of the 31st of October 1981 in Potter Cottage, Godric's Hollow. It is in real time and, be warned, it includes the death of Lily Potter by Killing Curse from - Vo...Voldemort. There's a short period of blank space where it appears Harry is either asleep or unconscious, Then there's what happens afterwards."

Fidgeting a bit, Harry said, "I don't want to see this. While I've - come to terms with what happened - I don't want to revisit it."

"Nor do I expect you to, Harry," replied Amelia. "We will enter the pensieve, together, using our fingers. While we do so, I expect you to stand watch over us to ensure we are not disturbed. I expect we'll be gone for about half an hour."

Harry nodded in relief and stood back.

Each of the adults placed a finger in the bowl of shimmering liquid. Amelia then tapped another rune with her wand tip and all four adults' eyes glazed over with their faces assuming a blank expression.

Harry watched them with a bit of apprehension while they stood frozen to the spot.

A little over half an hour later, after Harry had moved back to perch on the edge of the bed and keep an eye on them, all four suddenly let out gasps of shock, pulled their fingers out of the bowl and staggered back.

Cygnus and Amelia both conjured comfortable armchairs and the four of them collapsed into them.

Harry remained sitting on the edge of his bed and waited for them to say something.

The first to recover was Amelia. She'd already witnessed the memory earlier in the day.

"Flopsy!" she called. And a little house elf appeared by her side. "Could you get me four glasses and the bottle of that muggle brandy I keep for times like this?"

"Yes, Miss Ami," replied the elf before it popped away again.

It returned a moment later with a silver tray bearing four glasses partly full of a dark substance surrounding a bottle half full of the same. She offered one to each adult, starting with Gran. Amelia and Cygnus quickly tossed the contents of theirs back down their throats, while Isabel and Gran just sipped at theirs.

"Alright, then," said Amelia. "Let's review. From what we heard, James was apparently downstairs. He must've heard something because he called out to Lily 'Lily, it's him, take Harry and run, I'll try to hold him off'. Lily runs from - wherever - and runs into the nursery. Before she closes and locks the door, we see the flashes of spellfire coming from the doorway. She picks Harry up and appears to attempt to disapparate.

"She puts Harry back in the crib. She quickly casts - whatever - over Harry and the crib. Whatever it is causes both Harry and the crib to glow with a golden aura. Just as she's finished the door is blasted inwards and V..Voldemort enters the room."

Amelia quickly refills her glass from the bottle and downs another quick shot.

"Lily stands between the crib and Voldemort. He tells her to stand aside and she refuses. She begs Voldemort to kill her instead of Harry. Voldemort tells her - he's promised her to - to Severus. Lily is furious but still doesn't move. He then kills her. Peter Pettigrew is standing cowering in the doorway.

"With Lily now out of the way he says something about Harry being the one prophesised to kill him. He fires the Killing Curse at Harry. Then it's blank.

"When Harry wakes up or comes around, it is to the sound of Severus Snape sitting on the floor holding the body of Lily, sobbing, and rocking it back and forth in his arms. Harry makes a sound and stands up in his crib. There's a fresh wound on his forehead. He begins crying.

"Snape, hearing the crying, lowers Lily's body back onto the floor and quickly stands up. He draws his wand and aims it at Harry. His arm is shaking, whether it's from grief or fury, we don't know. There's a sound from downstairs outside. It's the sound of a large motorcycle approaching. Snape flees the room.

"We then see Hagrid enter the room. He's crying. He picks up Harry out of his crib and says a few words trying to calm him down. He then carries Harry downstairs, where we see James's body on the floor just inside the blasted off front door of the cottage. Hagrid pauses for a moment to take a sad look at James before exiting the cottage.

"As Hagrid is walking away from the cottage down the front path, we see Sirius Black climb off the motorcycle and approach. He's distraught.

"Hagrid tells him James and Lily are dead. Black looks horrified and heartbroken.

"Black tells Hagrid to give him Harry and that Harry is his godson. He also mentions he is sworn to protect him.

"Hagrid refuses and says Dumbledore instructed him to take Harry directly back to him. Black hesitates for a moment, hands Hagrid a set of motorcycle goggles and tells Hagrid to take 'his' bike. And that he will go after 'the bastard' responsible.

"Hagrid gives a nod and mounts the motorcycle that Black had apparently arrived on. He tucks Harry, by the looks, into a large inside pocket. Harry is blinded by this, but we hear the motorcycle roar to life and rev away.

"Is there anything of importance I missed?" she finishes.

"Only that it was clearly Pettigrew who betrayed the Potters; not Black," replied Cygnus with a snarl. "And Black said he was 'sworn to protect Harry'. If that's the case, Black couldn't have betrayed the Potters, as it meant he would have broken oath."

With a little sad voice from where he was sitting on the edge of the bed, Harry asked, "So, that little fat man wasn't Sirius Black?"

All four adults suddenly looked at Harry as if they'd forgotten he was there.

As Isabel rose from her chair, walked over to Harry, sat on the bed alongside him, and wrapped him in her arms rocking him gently, Cygnus said in sad but angry voice, "No, Harry. That was Peter Pettigrew. Sirius Black was the man who arrived later on the motorcycle. Trust me on this, I knew both men quite well."

"As did we," said the other adults.

"And what is also apparent is that Severus Snape knew the attack was going to take place on the Potters," snarled Madam Longbottom. "Why else would - that man - say he had promised Lily to - Severus?"

"Further evidence to that was that Snape appeared to be the first on scene immediately after it happened. And, that he'd been there for a little while before Harry woke up again," said Cygnus. "It was well known in Slytherin that Snape was absolutely smitten with young Miss Lily Evans. He'd had his eye on her since the sorting. When she began dating James during Sixth Year, he was both enraged and heartbroken. It turned him into a very bitter individual."

"What is more informative is that the Potter adults weren't the target," said Amelia. "V..Voldemort was specifically after Harry. And that there is, or was, apparently a prophecy involved that says something along the lines of Harry will kill Voldemort."

"More questions," said Isabel from where she was comforting Harry. "How did Dumbledore know to send someone? Was he, in some way, monitoring the Potters? And, if so, why was he monitoring them?

"Why did he send Hagrid; a man unable to even use a wand? Why didn't he go himself? After all, Dumbledore was apparently the only person He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named feared. And why did Hagrid say Dumbledore instructed him to take Harry directly back to him?"

"There's my smart Ravenclaw," Cygnus said, almost automatically while his thoughts were clearly elsewhere.

While she was listening, Amelia had a small muggle notebook in her left hand while writing with a muggle pen with the other. "Those are all other questions that hadn't occurred to me, Isabel. Thank you," she said. "Any more?"

When she received three negative responses she closed the notebook and dropped it and her pen back into a pocket of her robes. Then drew the phials out again. She stood and scooped the memory back out, placing it back into a phial, before restoppering it.

"The next memory I have from Harry must have occurred a few hours later," she said, pouring another memory into the pensieve. "This one occurs as Hagrid is carrying baby Harry into the infirmary at Hogwarts."

"Turning to Harry, she asked, "Do you want to join us for this one, Harry?"

Straightening himself up and away from the comfort of Isabel's arms, he said, "No. Thank you, anyway. I'll keep watch again."

"Do you want me to stay out here with you, Harry?" asked Isabel.

"No, that's okay," he replied. "I'll be okay from here on."

With a hesitant ruffle of his hair, Isabel moved to stand with the others around the pensieve again.

Once again, the four dipped a finger into the bowl and Amelia tapped the rune. Once again their faces took on the glazed look Harry thought of as 'The lights are on; but, nobody's home'.

They returned less than fifteen minutes later.

With a frown, Cygnus said, "Why didn't Dumbledore discover Harry's so-called 'curse scar' was, in fact, a partial possession by a soul fragment? He's powerful and knowledgeable enough to have been able to recognise it straight away. And then why did he insist on Harry being taken the next day to the Dursleys. He should have been taken to the Longbottoms at the first available opportunity."

"The second half of that becomes apparent with the next memory," said Amelia. "I do not know the answer to the first, though."

While talking she scooped the memory out of the pensieve back into a phial before emptying the third, and final, of Harry's memories into the bowl.

"This memory of Harry's comes late on the next night. It's the 1st of November in a little township called Little Whinging in Surrey. The memory takes about fifteen minutes," she said.

Once more, all four adults disappeared into the pensieve. When they came out Cygnus, Isabel and Augusta were all furious.

"He dumped a baby on a bloody doorstep and left it there?" snarled Augusta. "It was bloody freezing!"

Isabel turned to Harry and asked, "Are you aware of when the occupants, your relatives, finally noticed you were there?"

Harry frowned and said, "I don't know what time it was, of course. However, Aunt Petunia woke me up when she screeched. I was still in the basket and was looking up at her from the doorstep, so it must have been when she first saw me. I could see that the sky was lightening up, so it had to be shortly after dawn."

"From what he said, it was also very obvious Dumbledore had no intention of finding out who the Potters wished for Harry to be raised by in the event of their deaths. He had already made the decision Harry was to be raised by the Dursleys," said Cygnus, standing up and pacing back and forth on the other side of the pensieve.

"There, right there," said Cygnus jabbing a finger at the memory strand in the pensieve, "is all the evidence you need to see him charged and convicted with going against the Will of an Ancient House. And that's irrespective of everything else!"

"Dumbledore will just claim he was unaware of the Will," said Amelia. "And, even if we prove he was aware of it, he'll claim he believed it was the Potter's wishes Harry be raised by his closest living relatives; the Dursleys."

"This is just one more example of why House Greengrass will not move to become a 'Light' House," he snarled. "As long as Dumbledore is the recognised so-called Leader of the Light, Greengrass will not be counted among their ranks."

"Well," said Augusta, chiming in with a huff. "House Longbottom is a 'Light' House but we will no longer be recognising Dumbledore as our leader."

"And the same can be said with House Bones," said Amelia.

Storming back and forth for a while, Cygnus suddenly stopped and turned to Amelia. "Right!" he said. "As Lord of House Greengrass and soon-to-be-acknowledged Regent of House Black, I hereby demand the Head of the DMLE bring forth Sirius Orion Black to stand proper trial."

With barely a hesitation Augusta chimed in. "As Regent for House Longbottom and soon-to-be-acknowledged Regent of House Potter, I demand the same."

That told Harry both were aware of the conversation he had with Amelia that morning.

"As does I, as Regent of House Bones, demand of myself, as Head of the DMLE," said Amelia.

Harry thought it was funny but recognised it was the way things were done.

"And that reminds me," said Amelia standing up. She drew forth from within her robes a small stack of parchment and carried them over to Harry.

"Harry," she said. "These are the documents that need to be submitted to the Wizengamot for Cygnus to become the Regent for House Black and Augusta to become Regent for House Potter. I need you to sign them in the places I'll indicate for you as Acting Head and Head, respectively."

She then drew a small elongated wooden box from within her robes and opened it. "Do you recognise what this is?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's called a blood quill," replied Harry. "I had to use one a couple of times when I was in Gringotts."

"Exactly," she said.

Harry took the quill and held it properly in his right hand, while Amelia sorted the documents for him. She then indicated the right places for him to sign.

When he was done he gave the back of his left hand a bit of a rub from the slight sting he was feeling within it.

"Excellent," said Amelia, as she checked over the documents and sorted them all out.

Using her wand she then created three extra copies. Each copy went to Harry, Cygnus and Augusta, respectively.

"I'll file these as soon as I get back to the office immediately after we wrap up here," she said. "It may not have been acknowledged by the Wizengamot yet, but it'll be a formality."

"It'll also depend on how fast you can get - my godfather - a trial," said Harry. "However, you may want to have his trial after you get those ratified. It may be only two votes, but they may be two important votes."

Cygnus snorted and said to no one in particular, "I told you the boy has a canny political mind. Not bad for someone who's only been back in our world for six weeks."

Turning to Harry he gave a small grin and said, "I look forward to receiving your first letter from Hogwarts where you tell us you were sorted into Slytherin."

Augusta started and mock exclaimed, "A Potter in Slytherin? Oh, the horrors."

Grinning back, Harry just said, "Dorea Potter."

Augusta harrumphed and said, "Yes, but she wasn't a Potter until well after she was out of Hogwarts. I prefer to think she was a reformed Slytherin."

Still grinning, Harry said, "Semantics."

While they were talking, a healer entered and browbeat Harry into drinking a couple more potions. Grudgingly, he downed them and immediately wrinkled his face up.

"Merlin, woman!" he exclaimed. "That would have to be the foulest tasting muck that's ever passed these lips!"

Cygnus couldn't help it. He burst out in laughter.

"Well, Mister Potter! I never!" she huffed back. "I was going to let you take back the remainder of the course with you. And let you self-medicate with them over the next few days.

"However, I now see I'll have to send them through to Poppy Pomfrey and have her force feed them to you!" Then she huffed again, spun on her heel and stormed out.

"It's not funny," said Harry with a grump to Cygnus, trying to wash the taste out of his mouth with water. "I'm convinced the woman is a closet dominatrix. I keep half-expecting her to come in here wearing skin-tight black leather and carrying a bullwhip! You've got to get me out of here. It's inhuman, I tell you!"

That had all the adults laughing.

"We're just waiting for the senior healer to give you the all-clear and you should be right to go," said Cygnus. "You should be back at Hogwarts for the evening meal. And, come to think of it, I think I'll stay to watch you be sorted. I'm very interested in seeing what happens."

Working in reverse of unpacking it, Cygnus and Amelia soon had the pensieve re-crated, shrunk and back in a pocket within Amelia's robes.

The three ladies left soon afterwards with Amelia heading back to the Ministry, Augusta also deciding to go with her, and Isabel heading back to Greengrass Estate to, as she put it, ensure Astoria had not burned the place down to the ground while they were away.

Cygnus hung around and was still with Harry when he was given the all-clear to return to Hogwarts. As the nurse had threatened, he discovered his potion regimen had been sent through to Madam Pomfrey on his behalf.

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With his trunk shrunken and in his pocket, and back to wearing the standard Hogwarts uniform, Harry and Cygnus stepped out of the fireplace at The Three Broomsticks. Harry immediately fell on his butt again. He'd forgotten what Isabel had taught him.

Grumbling, he clambered to his feet and stood there while Cygnus, laughing, cleared him of soot.

Together, they then took the short walk to the main doors of Hogwarts.

As they approached, Harry became a little more agitated each step closer.

Stopping just outside the doors, Cygnus grabbed Harry by the shoulders and spun him to face him. "Relax!" he said. "You did nothing wrong. Let them think what they want to think. It'll all blow over before you know it."

Harry just sighed and nodded. With a deep, calming breath, he squared his shoulders, gave the man a nod and turned back to the castle.

The pair of them then walked into the Great Hall just as the evening meal was being served. As they stepped through the doors, all conversation stopped and everyone stared at Harry. Some of those sitting at the closest tables of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw even shied away from him a little. Harry had the almost irrepressible urge to make a sudden move towards some of them and shout, 'Boo!' But, restrained himself.

As they passed the whispers start up behind them. Both ignored them as they walked towards the Head Table, who were watching as they came.

When they reached a spot just shy of the step up onto the raised platform on which sat the table, they stopped.

Dumbledore said, "Ah, Harry, my boy! It's good to see you've returned to us, at last!"

Harry waited a few moments before turning to Cygnus and said, "Do you see that, Lord Greengrass? You don't even rate an acknowledgement!"

Cygnus turned back with a wry look and said in a droll voice, "I noticed."

"Oh, and welcome to you, too, of course, Cygnus," said Dumbledore, obviously recognising the faux pas. "I'm just most pleased with seeing Harry returned to us hearty and hale! Please forgive the slight."

Cygnus just returned a slight nod in acknowledgement; clearly unimpressed.

"Now, Harry," continued Dumbledore. "If you'd like to take table at Gryffindor and enjoy the evening repast with us we'll have you sorted after the meal."

"Actually, Headmaster, I'd prefer to be sorted before the meal, just as my year mates were on Sunday night," replied Harry, loud enough for his voice to carry to the first years sitting at table. "After all, it wouldn't be right for me to sit with the Gryffindors for my first meal here if I end up sorted into, say, Slytherin?"

"Mister Potter," said Professor McGonagall, apparently scandalised. "Potter children have been sorted into Gryffindor for centuries."

"Then let us see if I manage to break that tradition before I take seat," replied Harry. "After all, the four founders imbued the Hat with the task you seem to be attempting to circumvent for a reason."

"Surely, Headmaster," interrupted Cygnus before the Professor could splutter a response. "You're not trying to influence where Mister Potter will be placed, are you?"

"No, no; certainly not!" he stuttered. "I'll have the Hat and stool brought here immediately."

Dumbledore looked away for just a moment and the Hat appeared immediately in front of Harry on a stool as Professor McGonagall rose from her seat and walked around to it.

While they were waiting the Hat said, "Ah! This is a surprise. A new student to sort. I dare say Mister Potter has returned."

As Professor McGonagall lifted the Hat off the seat of the stool Harry moved forward to sit, and Cygnus moved off a little to one side.

As he was moving into place, Harry brought forth his dreams and desires to meet friends and work hard at becoming a good wizard. Everything dealing with cunning, guile, and bravery he shunted right back and locked deeply away. He allowed his intelligence to remain just below the surface.

As the hat fell on his head to his ears, he felt the presence of the Hat drift into the surface thoughts of his mind.

'Ah!' said the Hat. 'You are Mister Potter. That was quite the performance you put on during the sorting feast a few days ago.'

'Friends! Hardwork!' thought Harry.

'Now, now; Mister Potter,' chided the Hat. 'You cannot influence me that way.'

'Hufflepuff!' thought Harry.

The hut burrowed deeper. 'Ahhhh - I see you figured out how I sort the students,' snarked the Hat. 'That's very clever of you. However, many have gone before you who tried to do the same. That's a Ravenclaw trait, you know.'

'I want to make LOTS of friends. I'm very LOYAL to all my friends and family.'

'A very cunning trick to try and hide your traits. It doesn't work, you know. I can always find the truth.' smirked the Hat. 'You would do well in Slytherin, you know!'

'I'll smother Malfoy with his own pillow in his sleep, if you do that! The guy would have me irritated with him enough to do it within the first month' snarked back Harry. 'And what the bloody hell were you thinking putting that blonde ponce in Slytherin, anyway. The guy behaves like such an idiot Gryffindor I expect to see him sprouting a mane! No, Hufflepuff's the House for me.'

'Hmmm - Not Gryffindor, either; even though that's where the Headmaster wants you sorted,' mused the Hat.

'What - the goat naffer wants me in the House of the cannon fodder? The House of - oooh look, it's a dragon! I think I'll just charge the thing with this here sword! Nothing can go wrong, right? Too bloody stupid to be sorted into a better House, that lot.'

The Hat mentally chuckled before Harry could 'feel' it rummage some more, 'Yes, you do want to make friends, you definitely know the meaning of hard work, but you currently lack loyalty. And you don't need to work hard when it comes to your studies, do you?'

'Yes, I am! And, yes, I can!' screamed Harry.

'No, your dominant defining trait is your eidetic memory and your ability to wield it,' said the Hat, more seriously. 'Plus, you have wit to spare. Therefore, your House better be...' "RAVENCLAW!"

As he felt the Hat removed from his head, Harry heard the Hat say, 'Good luck, Mister Potter!'

Turning to Cygnus he smirked and winked. Cygnus grinned back, slowly shaking his head.

He then called out, "Just so you're aware of it, my Lord; the Hat just informed me the Headmaster attempted to influence it to sort me into Gryffindor."

"Did he, just?" asked Cygnus back, glaring at Dumbledore. "Attempting to subvert the sorting process, Albus?"

Dumbledore just scowled and refused to answer.

As Harry hopped off the stool and started to walk towards the Ravenclaw table he received a light smattering of applause from his new Housemates.

Cygnus walked over to where Daphne was sitting at the Slytherin table, gave her a quick peck on the cheek, and whispered something into her ear. Whatever it was it made her grin from ear to ear and look across at Harry, who smirked back.

As Harry, was about to dig in to the food sitting before him, he watched as Cygnus walked out of the Hall giving Dumbledore a bit of a jaunty wave as he turned back down the centre aisle.

"So," said Harry to his year mates, as he was loading a plate. "What did I miss? And, can someone loan me a class schedule?"

"How about you tell us what the bloody hell happened on Sunday night, first?" asked one of the boys. "You scared the willies out of everyone; you know that?"

Thinking how to broach the subject for a few moments, Harry loaded his plate. "Remember how I used to have a scar right up here?" he asked, pointing to his forehead.

"One of the boys looking closely at his forehead said, "Yeah, it's gone now, though."

"Right," said Harry. "Well, apparently there was an itty bitty piece of Voldemort's soul lodged within it that was a holdover from when I supposedly blew him up.

"Secondly, I had a major burst of accidental magic that caused an infant binding on my magics to shatter. The shattering of that infant binding - which should have been removed by Dumbledore when I was about seven, so it's not surprising it shattered when I walked into such a magically charged environment as the Great Hall - caused the tiny soul fragment to be forcibly ejected from behind my scar."

With a shrug, he said, "It was as simple as that."

"It was a lot more than that!" another said. "What was all that about when you screamed at the Headmaster and McGonagall?"

"That was the matter that caused me to get angry in the first place," said Harry. "You can read all about that, hopefully, in tomorrow's Daily Prophet."

"Just give us the highlights," one of them said. "After all, we have to share a dorm room with you. I don't want to discover you trying to kill me in my sleep."

Harry sighed and said, "My anger is solely directed towards Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape and Hagrid. And it has to do with how I was raised. You lot have nothing to fear from me."

"Unless you get angry with one of us!"

"That won't happen," said Harry quite calmly. "My anger was exacerbated by the soul fragment giving me a blinding headache. Now that it's gone, so have my headaches. Now, can I please eat? You can ask me questions when I'm done."

Before another question could be asked, Harry shovelled a forkful of roast lamb covered in mint gravy into his mouth.

That didn't stop one of the girls from asking him a question. Instead of answering, Harry just pointed to his chewing mouth and cocked an eyebrow at them, before turning back to his meal.

"Oh, leave him alone," said a voice Harry recognised. "Let the poor boy eat. He's right, you know. You can ask him questions back in your common room after the meal."

Sitting behind him at the Gryffindor table he spied Hermione. He gave her a little wave before returning to his plate. There were no more questions.

When he was done, and had stuffed the last piece of treacle pie into his gob that he could, the dishes, plates and cutlery were all whisked away.

"Alright," said the girl who had asked the previous question. "How about you answer my question now?"

"How about we wait until we get back to the common room as Hermione suggested?" Harry retorted. "Dumbledore's about to speak."

Dumbledore had stood and walked around the Head Table as Harry was being pestered for the second time. Then he stepped up to a podium and said, "Now that our bellies are full I have only a single announcement before I send you all off to bed. Last Sunday night, one of our own, Harry Potter, took a nasty turn and had to be rushed off to hospital under Madam Pomfrey's expert direction.

"I hope that you have by now forgiven him of his actions and can welcome..."

Harry had stood when he heard the word 'forgive'. "Excuse me?" he called back. "Forgive for what? You make it sound like it was my fault; when, I assure you, it most certainly was not!"

"Errr - Harry?" stuttered Dumbledore. "Perhaps, I made a poor choice of words there. Please, take a seat and I..."

"There you go again," said Harry. "'Perhaps' you made a poor choice of words? There was no 'Perhaps' about it. Try again, please, Headmaster."

"Errr - yes," said Dumbledore with a frown. "Please take a seat so I can finish my announcements and you can all go to bed."

Harry sat back down and frowned back at the Headmaster.

"Anyways," said Dumbledore. "Now that Mister Potter has recovered from his ordeal, I hope you can all welcome him back amongst you. Thank you.

"Now, off you trot; toodley pop!"

Harry brushed the few flecks of food off his robes, he'd managed to cause land on himself while eating, and followed the rest of the Ravenclaws out of the Great Hall. He needed to find the Ravenclaw tower by being led there first. Once he knew where it was he'd be able to find it on his own in future.

_‗_

-==(oIo)==-

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