CHAPTER 3 - A CURSE

After being taken to the castle, the kids were son gathered in the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was lit by what seemed to be a sea of floating candles, four long tables extended almost from one side to the other of the hall, separating the students into what seemed to be four different factions, the so-called houses. Archibald didn't really care about this, what made him surprised was the dark blue sky-like ceiling, he could see that it wasn't a real sky but even then, to think that magic could make part of a building transparent...

"I read it's bewitched to look like the sky outside, I read that in 𝘏𝘰𝘨𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴: 𝘈 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺." Hermione seemed to have noticed him looking wide-eyed upwards and decided to speak.

After being taken to the front, Professor McGonagall, a black-haired, tall, slightly old woman that wore dark emerald robes, placed an old hat on a stool. The hat shape was deformed in a way that would make you think it had a mouth and eyes.

Suddenly the Hat shook, and started moving on its own, it opened its mouth and started singing a song filled with rhymes and very pleasing to the ears.

When it finished, everyone in the Hall stood up and cheered the hat as if he was some great musician who just finished showing off his masterpiece. The hat then bowed to each of the tables, thanking every house for its support, then the place quieted down again.

"So, we just have to try on the hat?" Someone whispered.

But before anyone could answer that person, Professor McGonagall took a step forward, she was holding a scroll, she opened it up and said. "When I call your name, put on the hat and seat on the stool to be sorted. Hannah Abbott."

"Please, excuse me..." A low, sweet voice reached Archibald's ears.

Turning to see he gasped seeing the beautiful girl with a pink face, platinum blonde hair tied in two pigtails, and green eyes who was looking at him. Noticing what she meant, he gulped and let her pass.

"Thanks."

"Beautiful isn't she..." Neville whispered as both he and Archibald watched her go. Archibald just nodded but refrained from speaking, he noticed how Hermione frowned after hearing his words, he was afraid she might think of him as a pervert if he said anything.

Hanna put on the hat that was too big for her and fell on her eyes and sat down on the stool.

"Hufflepuff!" After a moment of silence, that hat spoke.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hanna walked towards them, the welcoming atmosphere was something surprisingly heartwarming to see, in London Archibald never saw a similar show of affection for a stranger, could every school in the country be like that? If that was the case... He shook his head and shake off the feeling of regret building up in his mind, even if he wanted he wouldn't be able to study there, he had no documents and didn't want to be sent to an orphanage once more, especially those from the church, he hated those more than any other, too many servants of the devil there.

"Susan Bones." The professor called another name, and one more beautiful girl walked to the hat. Archibald was starting to feel like he was in another world, never had he seen so many girls like this, could this be the difference between orphans and people with family, or wizards and normal people?

Most girls he knew were dirty just like him, they didn't have that many opportunities to bath, and that without considering that on the street no one actually thought about love or similar things, even the older kids were always looking up to each other, seeking means to survive at any cost.

"Hufflepuff!" With the hat's shout came another wave of clapping and cheering.

"Terry Boot."

"Ravenclaw!" The second table from the left clapped this time, several of them stood up to shake hands with him. After him, another girl was sorted into Ravenclaw and Lavander Brown became the first person sorted into Gryffindor.

Millicent Bulstrode was sorted into Slytherin, then another went into Hufflepuff, then a boy called Seamus was sorted into Gryffindor.

At that moment, Archibald suddenly felt chills running down his spine as something clearly locked its eyes on him, he barely heard Hermione being called to be sorted. His eyes swept the place left and right, there was something wrong, he never felt such a threatening presence before, it was almost like someone had put a knife on his neck and was waiting for the opportunity to cut him.

Not finding the culprit, he looked at Hermione who had closed her eyes and was holding the corner of her wizard robes with shaking hands. Almost four minutes later, the hat shouted. "Ravenclaw!"

The people cheered and clapped as she went to their table, Hermione had a big smile on her face, and a triumphant look in her eyes, as if she just won a battle of sorts.

Neville ended up being sorted into Gryffindor somehow, surprising Archibald that couldn't understand this, based on what heard, shouldn't he have been sorted into Hufflepuff?

At some point a boy called Draco Malfoy was called, he had hair similar to that of Hanna, but his hair was very short, he had an arrogant air about him, and those surrounding him gave space for him to walk as if he was a king.

The hat barely touched his head and shouted Slytherin. The boy put down the hat and walked towards his friend Crabbe and Goyle who were sorted into Slytherin first.

"Harry Potter."

Once this name was called, the whole place became quiet, Archibald wanted to ask Hermione what was going on but since he was pretty much alone there, he could just go with the flow and try to understand what was happening.

"Harry... Potter?"

"That Harry Potter?"

A slightly tall boy wearing glasses, who had short hair pulled back walked confidently to the stool, once he sat down and the hat was put on his head, it took barely 10 seconds for it to shout 'Gryffindor.'

The people at their table stood up, clapped, and cheered with all their might, it was like a cult cheering on the birth of their prophet. What was weird was how he seemed to be much more popular than other students, despite being a newbie just like the others.

Professor McGonagall had to step forward and remind them to stop the chaos since there were still other people waiting to be sorted.

Once the boy called Ron Weasley was sorted into Gryffindor and sat down right beside Harry Potter, it was finally Archibald's turn.

He felt weird because he was the last person called, as he walked towards the stool, he had a nice view of the high table, there were many people there he didn't recognize, but Professor Snape was there, sitting on a chair with his dark robes and depressive face, in the middle was a tall old man with a long white beard that seemed to match the description someone gave him of Santa Claus.

Seeing the hat, Archibald touched it but didn't put it on immediately, he looked eye to eye to the hat, then he turned to look at McGonagall, his eyes swept then the crowd behind him that watched in silence. He frowned, and the people who looked at him gulped.

At that moment some of them were starting to form an image of him, a rebel problematic kid, violent, dangerous, his eyes were enough to tell them that.

"Archibald, please put on the hat and sit on the stool," McGonagall whispered, she was giving him a slightly nervous look.

Seeing this Archibald chuckled, those people reminded him of the spineless adults he had got ridden off back in London, he himself couldn't understand what was going on with him, but his senses were telling him to assert dominance, this place wasn't his, but he felt like it should like those people had to pay him respect, just like the ones that think they own the street and can do what they wish with his people, the orphans.

"Cowards," Archibald whispered, but somehow the message was conveyed, everyone looked at him with a frown, especially the ones on the Slytherin table, they were fuming with anger, he looked at them and chuckled, "You especially, I can smell it, the fear."

"Oi! Who do you think you are to call us cowards!" One of the boys stood up and was soon followed by others.

"Please silence, let us not begin the school term with animosity." The white-bearded man stood up from his seat and asked everyone to calm down.

"But, Headmaster, this guy doesn't have the right to call us that, we demand something to be done about this matter."

Before Dumbledore could speak, Archibald reached out his hand and created a ring of fire above the boy's head, but as soon as he did that, no matter how surprised people could have been by this show of wandless magic, they wouldn't let him do as he wishes.

Snape who was already feeling a headache, together with the other teacher, acted, dispelling the fire he cast and pointed their wands at him.

"Mr. Wright, unless you wish to be expelled, I suggest you put on the hat to be sorted." Snape's words reached his ears, making him turn to look at the teachers.

Dumbledore seeing the look on the boy's face gulped and was suddenly reminded of someone, those eyes of his were wild, he couldn't understand the reason he was being so aggressive, but he wasn't a fool, there was something wrong with this sorting ceremony.

"Put on the hat? To let you spineless cowards decided my fate? Never, you don't have that right, no one does!" Archibald clenched his hand around the hat, which made no sound but seemed to be thinking of something. "I'll go whatever I want, and you won't stop me."

Dumbledore stood up and pointed his wand at Archibald. Thinking the man wanted to attack him, Archibald suddenly created a sword made of fire and prepared to move. But what happened was completely different than he expected, he just waved the wand, and something seemed to change when a shadow covering him disappeared before becoming momentarily visible, the weird feeling of being watched disappeared, and Archibald calmed down naturally.

"This... what was that?" Archibald looked at his own hands for a moment, he truly meant what he said, but he wouldn't have acted originally, just what happened?

"Curses aren't exactly difficult to get rid of, the one placed on you, however, was difficult to notice." Dumbledore calmly spoke. His eyes swept the room as if he was looking for something, but finding nothing, he blinked his eyes and sat down. "I believe we still have to see which house you'll be sorted in, isn't that right, Mr. Wright?"

"Uh, yes... I... yes." Archibald shook his head and put on the hat.

"You're a very interesting boy, I never saw someone like you before, this hat was placed on the head of half-giants, half-veelas, and many others, but you... I don't know what you are, those flames of yours aren't normal, they are flames that can heal, just like that of the Phoenix and some other mythical creatures... But what I'm saying, I'm just a hat, one that belonged to Godric Gryffindor, one meant to assist... With that being said, usually, I'd have put someone like you within Slytherin or Gryffindor, but there is something on you that shines more than your aggressive nature inherited from the fire, something even bigger than the power to destroy, it's an honored knowledge, an inheritance like no other I have seen before, but heard off, so let me help you one more time.

"The red sash has many meanings, but historically, what you should know is that if those who wear them are looking for you, then that means something big is about to happen, they are people who live in the shadow, and won't leave it unless there's a good reason for it, but know that, good and evil can't be resumed on the colors one wears or the words they speak, the path to hell is one paved with good intentions, follow the fire sleeping within you, and maybe, just maybe, you'll discover something very special."

Archibald listened to every world attentively, doing his best to remember them from the beginning to the end, but then, the Hat stopped and shouted. "Ravenclaw!"

Archibald took off the hat and walked to the table, no one cheered as he approached, in fact, the first, second, and third years seemed to be slightly afraid of him, Hermione was the only one that wasn't, as she had talked to him before, and she knew that he wasn't like that, such an aggressive person, besides, Dumbledore had said already, someone placed a curse on him. Maybe they were just afraid that it might happen again, either way, something didn't seem right.