[1989 Pt. 5]

Nathan frowned at the choices he was offered. He had planned on going to Ravenclaw and building a few connections while increasing his personal strength as he kept a low profile until he could take on an adult wizard.

The hat wanted him to find people he could associate with.

'So this is how Lord Voldemort came to be.'- Nathan couldn't help but realise that what the hat did had been far deeper than just sorting a child in a school house according to the trait they admired most. The hat also wanted to sort the child where they could find people they could associate with and for someone like Riddle who believed he was destined for greatness by virtue of his existence, Slytherin was the perfect place because that was the place with the most people that believed in the same idea.

'It does not sort people because of what they value or what they are but by what they can associate with.'--- The conclusion explained the sorting of people like Peter Pettigrew and Percival Weasley as well. They were both more qualified for Slytherin but the hat put them in Gryffindor because the people they admired were in Gryffindor. And it was the people, not the trait that they admired but the people in the house. Percival probably wanted to be in the house of the great Albus Dumbledore while Pettigrew probably wanted to be in the house of James Potter and his ilk.

It was a sobering conclusion and Nathan couldn't help but feel that he needed to make his decision by thinking things through.

'There is a war coming. And the majority of Gryffindors will stand against Voldemort. The majority of Slytherins will stand with him. The Ravenclaws will stand in either direction depending upon the their personal interest. But the hufflepuff's will remain the most undecided.'---Nathan already had a connection with the Weasley Twins and he could probably get along with most Gryffindors pretty well. The Slytherins were a lost cause, salvaging any would be too time and resource-consuming.

'Though Draco Malfoy is a possible option I can go after, it is a risky bet and won't pay any dividends before my sixth year though.' The Malfoys were a powerful family in both economic and political circles.

The Ravenclaws were too divided as a house and very individualistic, and Nathan had honestly no need for them. He did not need knowledge that he could seek himself. Nathan would need soldiers and workers more than anything.

Hufflepuff was the best choice. It had treasures like Cedric Diggory, Nymphadora Tonks and Susan Bones. A direct connection to the DMLE would be useful in the coming times. And Amos Diggory's position in the regulation of Magical Creatures would be useful too.

Nathan decided that he had his answer and sent a message to the hat's mind that stated, 'I choose Hufflepuff.'

'Why Hufflepuff?' The hat sent feelings of curiosity with its message.

'I want to bring change to this land. The Lions are too set on their ideas of chivalry to look at the larger picture.'

'And the honeybadgers aren't set in their ways too?'

'They are, but I am confident that their loyalty to me will outweigh their stubbornness.'

'You really do qualify for all four houses, Nathan Grey. Just remember that change is a process.'

Nathan opened his eyes as the hat's legilimency probe disappeared from his mind and he heard the voice proclaim in a loud voice, "HUFFLEPUFF!!!"

There was polite clapping as Nathan got off the stool and walked towards his house table and took a seat beside a boy that was in his first year like himself. Most seats around him were empty as the older students had left them open for any newcomers.

"Nathan Grey," Nathan introduced himself even as he waved at the twins who were grinning at him before looking towards Merton who was looking at him with a small smile and giving the boy a friendly nod.

"Orion C-carlisle," The boy sitting to his left had hazel eyes and wavy brown hair and was looking at him with a shy and nervous smile.

'Damn, he's a cute kid.'-- Even as Nathan thought this, he returned the most confident smile to the boy he could before saying, "Nice to meet you, Orion."

"N-nice to meet you too," the boy stuttered a little but Nathan could see that he was a good kid.

"So, where are you from?"

"Wales."

"I am from London."

Orion nodded at Nathan's words just as the sorting ended and Albus Dumbledore stood up from his throne-like chair to give his beginning-of-the-year speech.

********** ************* ************ ************* ********

The feast had ended and Nathan was currently looking around the Hufflepuff common room along with the rest of the thirteen first-years in his class. It was well-illuminated and brighter than the dreary hallways of the castle.

'Honestly, I already like this place.'- Nathan could see multiple potted plants ranging from various varieties of beautiful flowers to magically shrunken strawberry, blueberry and blackberry shrubs. The whole place was filled with the house colours of black and yellow.

The prefect that had been guiding them saw him looking at the berry plants and said, "Anybody can eat them, the blueberries are a favourite of mine and my friend, Tonks."

Nathan smiled at her attempt to help him feel comfortable and asked, "So are there fixed places that everybody has to take or anybody can sit anywhere regardless of age? And what about using magic in the common room?"

"You all are free to sit anywhere, though please don't disturb OWL and NEWT students. The sixth and fourth years are responsible for helping you with anything you might need help with- though if anyone tries to bully you, go to the Head of House, Professor Sprout who will meet you all tomorrow morning. As for magic, use only spells that you already know, this is not an area for experimentation. You can experiment in one of the abandoned classrooms but kindly ask a senior of yours to accompany you, ok?"

Nathan nodded his head in understanding before saying in a respectful tone,"Yes, Prefect Jones."

She nodded before telling them all that they could take whatever dorm rooms they wanted and at what time they should be up by the next morning.

'This is going to be fun,' was the only thought in Nathan's mind as he walked towards the dorms to end his eventful first day of Hogwarts.

A|N:

Hope you liked the chapter. Drop power stones if you did and comment your thoughts about my take on the sorting system.

I have read many fics about OCs older than HP and most kind of forget like Charlie Weasley, Tonks, Bill, etc. exist unless they are romantic interests in the early years of the OC(Kinda Gross!!!). Most of the older gens like Tonks and Bill are still in school.