Snake Sorting

Dumbledore catches Snape's eye and leans over as the students start getting sorted, a troubled look flashing on his face, "He's been trained..."

""Abbott, Hannah... Hufflepuff!""

"Indeed. And seems to know you quite well, judging by the hostility in his glare. I wonder what his 'guardian' has been teaching him." Snape remarks, unwilling to mention how unsettled he was by the interaction. His legilimency probe had easily been caught and torn to pieces by the young boy, leaving him with a dull headache that would undoubtedly last until tomorrow. He was hesitant to speculate what would've happened had he attempted a full, forceful legilimency assault.

""Bones, Susan... Hufflepuff!""

"And you, Headmaster? What did you find?"

Albus gives a small shake of his head, "As much as you, I'm sure. He was prepared for an attack, if not by us, then someone else. It felt like I was approaching a coiled snake, waiting to pounce..."

"Speaking of snakes... I heard a troubling rumour from the House-Elves watching the train. Potter appears to be a Parseltongue."

Dumbledore's eyes widen at that, he thought the snake the boy had brought was just a demonstration of rebellion against himself, and an attempt to pair himself with the Slytherins who would otherwise scorn him for his actions years ago... Apparently he was wrong... "It seems that my worst fears have come to light..."

""Crabbe, Vincent... Slytherin!""

"What will you do?" Snape questions, having half the mind to strap the boy down and funnel Veritasium down his throat.

"For now? Nothing. I will call him to my office before he's pulled to whatever House he ends up in. His Occlumency might be strong, but he is a child in the end. Ferreting out information should be rather easy if handled with care."

"I suspect he's too vigilant for the 'Carrot and Stick' routine, Headmaster. Nor stupid enough to eat one of those muggle candies you leave lying around." Snape drawls.

""Granger, Hermione... Gryffindor!""

Albus nods and adjusts his spectacles, "Yes, I'd be surprised if the meeting approaches anything neutral, we should have seven years to bring him around however."

Snape just shakes his head, unconvinced that they'll get anything by blatant hostility from the boy. Whoever took him will have trained him well, brainwashed him to see them as the irredeemable enemy... That is what he would have done anyway.

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""Terry, Boot... RAVENCLAW!""

Harry ignores the sound of Terry getting sorted and continues to contemplate the merits on trying to burn Dumbledore and the greasy-haired cunt next to him. All while Kali tries to calm him down with mental assurances of revenge.

Their attack on him had only cemented his original thoughts, he knew his enemies now... All he needed was time to deal with them. This would need to be done carefully however, while he was powerful, he had no illusions that he was as strong as the old man yet, especially with him wielding a wand supposedly created by death itself.

""Granger, Hermione... GRYFFINDOR!""

There goes Hermione, the girl sending him a smile as she shuffles over to the boisterous table coloured in red and gold.

"If I asked you, would you kill Dumbledore here and now, Kali?" Harry mental asks his familiar.

The bat on his shoulders shakes its head, "No, unless you ordered me I would refuse. I told you before, Master, having me do all your work would make you weak and too reliant on me. Not to mention the manhunt that would ensue..."

"Good." is all he responds with.

""Longbottom, Neville... GRYFFINDOR!!""

Harry looks over and spots the relatively tall boy with the remnants of baby fat on his face now walking over to the Gryffindor table. His back was straight and his expression was firm, as if he'd been drilled in etiquette for hours on end. Poor kid.

They lock eyes for a moment, and only stop when Neville almost stumbles over some fabric on the floor hanging from a nearby table. He reddens in embarrassment but quickly recomposes himself, playing it off to those at his table as an intentional joke.

"Keep an eye on that one, he's stronger than that Hermione girl." Kali remarks in his mind.

""Malfoy, Draco-SLYTHERIN!"" the hat instantly shouts before it was fully on the boy's head.

Draco smugly turns and sends an imperious glance at all the unsorted students, only to shrivel under Harry's own glare. He quickly looks down and marches robotically to his table, sitting with his bodyguards.

"Pathetic."

"Indeed."

Soon enough, Harry's own name is called out by Professor McGonagall, the whole hall going silent as if a spell had been cast. Ignoring that, Harry walks over and takes a seat on the small stool, whispering to Nanthisk to stop scaring the overly, or perhaps under-cautious Professor as she drops the hat on his head.

"Send me to-" he starts, only to be interrupted when the hat bellows "SLYTHERIN!!" at the top of its lungs. He wasn't even able to tell it to send him to Ravenclaw when it'd sorted him, leaving him stunned in his chair.

"Hey, take that back and send me to Ravenclaw you ragged dishcloth!" Harry mentally shouts.

"Haha! What's wrong, boy? Don't think I sorted you right? WELL YOU'RE WRONG! You're the most Slytherin student I've ever seen, barring maybe two exceptions! ENJOY YOUR NEW-" the hat's cut off as McGonagall lifts it off of Harry's head.

"Don't tarry, there are others who need sorting... Welcome to Hogwarts, Harry." she offers with a reluctant smile, her eyes slightly moist for some reason.

Harry stands but doesn't immediately leave, "It didn't sort me correctly... You know how the Slytherins will treat me, can't you do anything about it?"

McGonagall frowns and shakes her head, "As much as I want you in my own house, no... There are only a few reasons you would swap houses, and you aren't applicable for any of them.-I hope you never will be, too."

Harry lets out a sigh and marches over to the Slytherin table, taking a seat at the very end of it as the other students clear the area around him with obvious fear and hostility in their expressions.

"Look on the bright side, Master. This way you can always claim self-defence if you ever end up breaking your fellow students." Kali assures.