Inside their New Houses

Harry followed the Slytherin prefects to their common room. The journey requires fewer issues with the moving staircases that he has heard about mostly because the Slytherin's common room is in the dungeons. It was obvious when the temperature has gotten colder. Except that, while the rest of the Slytherins especially the first years are chatting with one another, Harry suddenly felt it.

The vibration of magic was all around this place. Parselmagic to be more specific. The last time he felt this was back in India. However, this one was more prominent, palpitating, and most of all, more ancient than the ones in India although he heard that the ones in Persia (Middle East) and Egypt are said to be more ancient than the ones in Europe.

Ancient magic compared to modern magic is actually more powerful. This has nothing to do with time or the type of magic being used in the past but ancient magic like the ones he felt now is recharged continuously through the exposure of magic from either the leylines or the people with magic. This fortifies it longer and longer making it more difficult to copy or even dismantle. This is why magical places and locations with historical value are stronger and more difficult to penetrate than newer ones despite many curse breakers who were assigned to look into it. Much of the knowledge of ancient magic is lost as back then, magical knowledge wasn't preserved as they are now. This is because preservation charms regarding books and other texts are only a few hundred years old. This is also why compared to the older schools, younger magical schools like Ilvermony are more at risk of a breach due to their magic being newer than Hogwarts.

Harry was in his world as he looked around the dungeons and even more so when he entered the Slytherin dormitory. The magic was stronger here and he could sense it practically talking to him. The magic however is also a little dark but not in an evil way. Harry noticed runes in parselscript though some he does not recognize possibly some ancient runes. He'll ask Iris if she knew something about it. But why does he feel like dancing with it? Harry couldn't help but smile as he looked around at the black ceiling, the snake-like design of the beams, and the beautiful black carpets and Victorian furniture. It says "class" if you look at it.

He returned to the real world and noticed Blaise's gaze.

"What?" Harry asked.

"You seemed pretty happy for someone who is sorted to Slytherin," Blaise said. "Ecstatic even." He noted how Harry looked around with awe at their common room.

"Was there any indication that I should not be in Slytherin, Blaise?" Harry replied.

"Your family are Gryffindors. As much as I knew you and yeah you can be ambitious but I just thought your bravery still trumps it. Though your sister getting sorted to Hufflepuff was a surprise to me. She does tend to be braver than you." Blaise said with a shrug.

"Like the whole glitter, high heels, and bubblegum incident?" Harry asked.

Blaise looked at him with wide eyes. "She told you about that? I thought she promised."

Harry snorted. "No, she didn't. I just know it involves those three things and despite all my effort to get it including bribery, she still won't tell me."

"And that's what I like about her." Blaise smiled smugly.

"You just like someone for once who knows your secret and is not planning to blackmail you," Harry muttered. "Although if you pissed her off, she will reveal it."

Blaise just rolled his eyes at him.

"Never really pegged you as a Slytherin, Potter." Draco Malfoy piped into their little conversation. "I mean I think you were alright in Diagon but I just expected you somewhere else."

"Are you telling me there is something wrong with our house?" Harry asked.

"What? No."

"Oh, so you're telling me there is something wrong with me then?"

Malfoy sputtered and flailed earning smirks and chuckles from both Harry and Blaise.

"Welcome to the house of Slytherin, the greatest of the four." A loud, cold, and tyrannical voice sparked everyone's attention.

Severus Snape, head of the House of Slytherin has made himself known. The moment his voice and his presence were detected the entire room went silent. That call for such attention even amazed Harry and he can feel the level of respect it showed among the members of the Slytherin house towards their head of the house.

"We welcome the new members." Professor Snape said but for some reason, Harry could feel the look of disdain when Professor Snape looked at him. Harry does not recall he has done something wrong to him.

"You should all know the rules of the Slytherin house by now but I will go over them for those who do not. Take note of all that is said for if you fail, there will be no forgiveness. We are a great and noble house and have power and respect but the other houses do not share such a view. You will be faced with terrible prejudice. But you should not give them satisfaction. No matter what disagreements you have within the house stay within our house and as you go outside you are united. You will not show weakness and if you wish to retaliate, do not get caught. If you will, know that help will not be there."

The man then outlined the various school rules of Slytherin including how to reach him when they needed something from him but Harry got a feeling if he did that, he might get hexed himself. Then their head of house asked the first years to introduce themselves and tell one thing about themselves. The introductions were interesting, to say the least.

The girls were asked first and they all gave up some general or nonchalant introductions about themselves. One of them, he believes is Lilian Moon, told the entire house that her parents were both squibs and she didn't know she was a witch until she was barely nine. Well, that was a stupid move. Harry thought. The girl practically just gave the house her weakness. This was when Harry realized that the introduction was a test. This was a house where power is very important so either Lilian Moon was being stupid or she was intentionally trying to make the whole house underestimate her.

The boys were amicable at best. Malfoy prattled along about his father like a fanboy gushing over his idol. This only earned eye-rolls from almost everyone in the common room. The other boys gave nothing away. Zacharias Smith only said that his family is the direct descendant of the Hufflepuff house making him a Hufflepuff heir which most people seemed to already know. Everyone then turned to Harry.

"Harry Potter. I like treacle tart and the one in Hogwarts happens to be the best." That only earned raised eyebrows from everybody but they knew that he was being evasive.

"Are you really Godric Potter's brother?" one of the Slytherin asked.

"Yes. Please note, if you ask me to get his autograph I will hex you." That earned some chuckles from the rest of the house even Blaise whom Harry already know does not have a positive opinion of his brother noting from previous letters about his complaint about the famous boy – mostly because he was just famous and he has enough seeing all the billboards with his face on it.

But Professor Snape gave him an odd look.

Once that was all over, they were sent to their dorms. All the first-year boys shared the same dorm. Their dorm room like their common room has stone walls and everything is black, green, and silver though mostly black.

"I expected Malfoy to be a prat tonight but he is remarkably quiet," Blaise whispered.

"Maybe because his two bodyguards aren't with him." Theodore "Theo" Nott, whispered back at them.

"I can hear you; you know!" Malfoy's voice sneered at them before the blonde closed the curtains on his bed for privacy. The Slytherin dormitory is just as cold. They don't exactly have a fireplace in here. Each of the boys has a four-poster bed that is made of black wood and Harry could feel that the material used in the curtains and their bed is high-quality silk.

Silk though a symbol of wealth which is not surprising for a house where the majority of the students come from well-known, powerful, and wealthy families is a great fabric to fight off the cold. His bed and his desk (they even have individual bookcases and a chest of drawers) are right next to the door which Harry did not like in case someone was to come in here, he is the first easy target especially since he is already a target in their house anyway.

Harry went to bed and thought about the day and what to expect. It was both exciting and stressful and in the cover of darkness, Harry realized that this will be the first time that he will not have Iris with him most of the time. The two have always been inseparable and whenever he needed her, she was there. But she's in a whole different house now.

Bzzzzz. Bzzzzz. Harry felt a vibration coming from his pocket. He reached out and pulled out a small compact silver mirror. Some words came out of the mirror. Goodnight Harry. Harry can't help but smile. A two-way mirror is expensive and rare in the magical world but Harry and Iris were able to convert one, with the help of their two uncles. However, most mirrors used for communication usually reveal the person on the other side, not words. Only sending words was new. It was Harry's idea as a written message has much better privacy than actually talking to a person and they can see the message without them needing to wait for the person to be available. The only disadvantage of this is it's a two-way mirror. You can only contact one person at a time and only that person who has the other mirror. It's not like cellular phones where you can receive multiple messages from different people. He wondered if that was something they should look into.

"Goodnight, Iris," Harry whispered and the mirror shone indicating that the message was sent.

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

The Hufflepuff dormitory is found in the dungeons which surprised Iris very much. For a house that is considered a very happy one that values kindness, hard work, loyalty, and tolerance, you'd think their location be near a forest (because for some reason that's the first thing that comes to Iris's mind) not in the cold dungeons. But the moment they entered the Hufflepuff common room it was very bright and warm and for the moment there, Iris could describe it as "sunny". The entire room buzzed with smiles and joy as the higher years openly greeted and welcomed the first years. It was sweet.

However, Iris also noticed that there were some wary stares toward two of the bulky boys in their year, Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle. From what Iris heard from the conversations at the Hufflepuff table their family are death eaters and very bigoted mostly towards anybody who is not a pureblood (which technically includes her because having a muggle-born mother is the same as having a muggle parent). But she felt sorry for the two because the two boys looked so crestfallen and terrified at the same time. Though none of the housemates were openly hostile to them. Iris is not sure why they are terrified. Crestfallen, she gets probably from not meeting their family's expectations for getting sorted to Slytherin but terrified? Their family won't hurt them, do they?

The Hufflepuffs have decided to extend the party to the common room. Was their house always up to parties? She has always assumed the Gryffindors were the ones who are like that or was that a stereotype Iris has to correct herself off? She likes parties just not the intense ones. "Tomorrow is Sunday." One of the older years said.

"Oh, that's why there's a party?" Susan Bones asked and the older years nodded.

"What does that mean?" Iris asked.

"Well, normally parties like these don't happen during school nights except during really special occasions." Hannah Abbot said. "Since tomorrow is a Sunday, we don't have classes yet."

"Huh, it never occurred to me that the Hufflepuffs like parties this much," Iris said.

"Oh, they do." Hannah smiled. "My parents told me all about it. They are both Hufflepuffs too."

"I'm more surprised that you wind up in Hufflepuff, Ms. Potter." A blond-haired boy said. Iris remembered him as Ernest Macmillan or Ernie as he prefers to be called. "Most of us didn't even realize the boy who lived has a brother and a sister. Triplets he says?"

"Yes," Iris answered. "It's not surprising to me. Harry and I grew up in the muggle worlds so our upbringing might have played a part in our sorting. The Potters thought we were both squibs, so there is bound to be some difference."

"So, you'll be joining Justin over there in the wizarding class? Most if not all of us are taking muggle studies."

Iris nodded. "To be honest, I have some experience in the magical world but mainly in the United States since that's where I was staying. You can just call me Iris. There are three Potters in our year."

"I'll say. There are even four Weasleys in this school now. We can't always call them Weasley, Weasley, Weasley, Weasley!" One of the female older years piped in and laughed.

"But it's much easier for you since you're a girl. You're the girl Potter." Another older student said.

Iris just rolled her eyes and shrugged. From what she understood, the purpose of the wizarding class is to integrate the magical students into the magical culture. Its target is mostly muggle-borns, some of the half-bloods (mostly those with one parent who is a muggle and not a muggle-born), and those who are muggle-raised. While muggle studies are the substitute for those who were fully raised in the magical world. Iris, Justin, and one other girl, Megan Jones in their house will be taking the class. Everyone knows Justin is a muggle-born and Megan Jones' mother is a muggle.

It was interesting talking with a lot of the people in the house. They were so open. Most of her year mates are half-bloods but unlike Iris, they grew up in the magical world and most of them have a muggle-born parent who has chosen to integrate themselves into the magical world while only having some small connection to the muggle world. The only muggle-born in their year is Justin Finch-Fletchley. For some reason, Iris couldn't recall where she has heard the name before.

Iris didn't stay long for the party. She felt tired. One of the prefects did remind the first years that they are still young and shouldn't be staying up late. That earned some booing from the older years when she told them to sleep early.

When Iris arrived in their dormitory, Iris knocked on their walls.

"What are you doing?" Sally Smith asked.

"I'm just shocked that our walls looked like wood under the castle. It feels like wood but I also know it is not wood," Iris said in awe as he continued to knock on it earning some chuckles from the girls. It was true. The Hufflepuff dormitory is very cozy, with lots of earth tones mainly and yellow with some black colors in the fray and wooden beams above them. Each bed also has its cork board above the headboard which surprised Iris and they each have their desk, bookshelf, and chest of drawers. Her bed is near the door and the bathroom which Iris likes. She noticed everyone unpacking and putting everything in their place. Hannah Abbot has potted plants all over her desk and bookshelf.

Iris decided to also unpack.

"What is that?" Susan asked looking at the orca and whale shark plushie that Iris placed on her bed.

"I didn't know you like sea animals, Iris," Megan commented as she placed a large white teddy bear on her bed. Megan noticed a whale-shaped clock on Iris's desk and a sea horse decoration on the drawers. Though there is a wolf conservation poster on the corkboard.

"Yeah, this is an orca and this is a whale shark." Iris pointed them out.

"I have never seen or heard of these creatures before," Susan said looking at it in awe.

"They are cute, aren't they?" Sally peered at the orca.

"These are nonmagical creatures so they can only be found in the muggle world. Also, the orca may look cute but it is very deadly. If you are in the muggle oceans, please swim away if you see them. Their other name is the killer whale."

"That's a scary name," Susan commented.

"But aren't sharks dangerous?" Hannah asked.

"Not this one. A whale shark is more whale than a shark. It's also enormous but they are gentle giants." Iris explained.

The entire time the girls wind up talking about sea creatures to muggle and magical creatures and their differences until they found themselves discussing where they wanted to go tomorrow since it's a break before the first day of classes. The five girls talked for hours before they find themselves sleeping with Hannah and Susan talking about considering going to the muggle world to see this large aquarium that Megan told them about.

Iris lay in bed happy. She was also even happier when she received a reply from Harry, telling her good night. She admits she is going to miss her older brother being near her.

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

"It's going to be okay, Godric," Ron told his friend as they prepare to sleep in their dormitory. His bed is right next to Godric and their tower is full of maroon, red, and gold colors and wooden furniture.

"He's just a traitor. At least your sister's in Hufflepuff. Hufflepuff's is not that great but at least they're nice I guess?" Ron said. "I mean, there is no Hufflepuff who is dark."

"Thanks, Ron," Godric muttered.

"I don't get it. Why is he mad about his brother being sorted to Slytherin?" One of their dormmates, Dean Thomas asked. He was a handsome boy with olive skin and curly hair. Everyone knows he is the other muggle born in the first year of Gryffindors. "I thought all houses are noble?"

"You're a muggle-born you won't understand." Seamus Finnegan said.

"Slytherins are evil. They're all death-eaters in the making. Look what Your-Know-Who did. I lost two uncles because of them. At least Godric was able to beat him." Ron explained.

"Is that why you are famous?" Dean asked.

Godric just nodded. He was just both angry and disappointed. More so on Harry than on Iris. I mean, he couldn't fault Iris. Hufflepuff is known for its kindness and Iris is really nice and despite not knowing her very well, Lilac talks about her a lot. Harry was cold to him but he felt an utter betrayal that his brother would join the Slytherins. Any house he would accept, but why the Slytherins? Didn't his brother know what they did? To them? Their family? To him?

"If Slytherins are so evil, why does it still exist anyway?" Dean asked.

"I don't know. It's just is." Ron frowned as he climbs onto his bed.

Once the light was off and the snores can be heard, Godric has trouble getting to sleep so he stood up, took a piece of parchment, and started to write.

Dear Dad...