5

Chapter 5: Hogwarts, we're coming!Notes:

Hello everyone,

once again thank you for all your feedback, that's pretty overwhelming.

Here we go, it's finally time for our heroes to reach Hogwarts.

Have fun!

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Over the course of the following weeks the two kids met twice with Neville, spent quite a lot of time at Potter Manor and often went out into the muggle world to enjoy themselves before Hogwarts began. But September first came quicker than expected and on that Sunday morning they all got up earlier than usual to enjoy a thorough breakfast one last time before the term began. They laughed a lot and Emma Granger cried when she said goodbye to her daughter, as she had to leave for work. Both kids got a crushing hug from her that seemed pretty familiar to Harry. Like mother, like daughter. 

A while after that Dan loaded the two big trunks into the car, as well as Hedwig in her cage, though she didn't seem too happy about it. The drive to King's Cross didn't take them too long and they arrived around quarter past ten, quickly hurrying to the platform. As Hermione's father couldn't pass through the barrier he said his goodbyes before they went onto platform nine and three-quarters. Right after the young witch had crossed the barrier, Dan held Harry back.

"Please, Harry. Look out for her. Don't tell her that I said that but you made her life so much better, please continue that and keep her safe. You are not the only one with experience of bullying, as you know. Don't let that happen to her, cheer her up and be there for her. Owl me, keep me posted on the truth, I want more then the stories she'll tell her mother."

Harry nodded, and shook the hand Dan offered him. For the first time in his life he had found a proper father figure, the situation had never allowed Remus or Sirius to take that role properly. And Dan cared, not only because he was good for Hermione, but because he saw how Harry had been treated and wanted to offer him a better life.

"Oh, and on a side note: Emma expects both of you back on Christmas, don't you dare disappoint her."

He laughed at the last sentence, and so did Harry, stating that he would never do that, because he wouldn't willingly risk the fury of one or even two Granger women. Harry ensured that he'd be there for Christmas and then quickly hurried through the barrier as he was able to see a bunch of red-heads coming closer. That was strange, because he was certain that the last time the Weasleys entered the platform together with him, nearly half an hour later. Had that been Dumbledore's plan? Hagrid not telling him how to enter the platform and running into Molly Weasley, loudly talking about muggles, so Ron would be able to join him afterwards. It actually made sense now that he thought about it. He'd need Hermione's opinion on that.

Hermione had already found an empty compartment and waited for her best friend to appear, which he did soon after. It was quite comfortable to be back in the Hogwarts Express, and without Ron it was even very quiet and both of them started reading a book they had packed for the train ride, as someone knocked on the door. They looked at each other, sharing the same thought: " Malfoy or Weasley?" But surprisingly it was neither one of those, but Neville, whom they welcomed into their compartment. He seemed way more confident than last time around, a bit fitter and Trevor was sitting on his shoulder. Apparently the toad liked the change in character of its owner and stopped disappearing. Harry and Neville exchanged the formal greetings as they were in an alliance but then both grinned and dropped the formal attitude: "That should have been enough to satisfy your gran, now let's drop that, come on and sit down. How is it going?"

When the train slowly started to move, they already were in a deep conversation about wizarding history, though it was mostly Harry and Neville, since Hermione was reading Hogwarts - A History once again. And then, after a while it finally happened. Ronald Weasley opened the compartment door without even knocking and looked around, wanting to say something but then realised they were all reading books and seemed rather familiar with each other.

"Oh, hey Longbottom. I was going to ask if I could join but since you future Claws can't seem to stop reading I'll find another compartment with more fun going on. Maybe I'll even find Potter, but Mum said maybe he didn't find the way to the platform, even though we… Forget it, I'm talking too much. If you see him though, he'll certainly be lonely and in need for a best mate, just tell him that I was looking for him."

With that he left, leaving the three first speechless, then laughing as Weasley totally embarrassed himself there. 

"What was that all about, Harry? Ever had something to do with the Weasleys until now?"

"Nah, probably another person wanting to get their piece of fame being best buddies with the boy-who-lived. I guess Dumbledore had something to do with that, remember what we said at Gringotts? He's looking to manipulate me, but thanks to Minerva… Professor McGonagall he can't really do that. I'm pretty sure he sent Hagrid on purpose so I'd learn close to nothing about the magical world so I'd be needing a friend to help me out and that Weasley guy would coincidentally be there for me. And he calls himself the Leader of the Light."

It didn't take really long until the basically obligatory visit by the ferret. Pompous as ever Draco Malfoy entered the trio's compartment with his two totally stupid goons.

"We finally meet again, Potter. What kind of company is that you're in here? The squib Longbottom and this mudblood again. The Malfoy family would like to get allied with you as you would certainly need a strong and powerful ally."

While Harry glared at Malfoy for the usage of THE word, Neville started to laugh: "Malfoy, you're really pathetic. Neither the Noble and Most Ancient House of Longbottom nor the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter would need any kind of assistance from a mere Noble House, whose wealth is nothing in comparison to either of our houses. Shove off and leave my ally alone."

"And don't you dare insult my friend here ever again. I take great offence on the use of that word and it will have severe consequences if it'd ever happen again."

A both very surprised and angry Draco Malfoy took off rather quickly after that. It had been his father who had told him to approach Potter again, as House Potter was extremely old, wealthy and powerful. They hadn't expected him to be aware of all that, as he was raised by muggles and the so-called Leader of the Light kept him away from every bit of information to shape the young Potter for his own plans. At least that's what his father had gathered over the past years. Sometimes Lucius Malfoy had really wondered how Albus Dubledore had been a Gryffindor, not a Syltherin, seeing how he had acted during the past decade. But now the Malfoy family had to wait and see how the game would continue, which Albus Dumbledore had been playing since Halloween 1981. Would he be able to manipulate the Potter Heir and take all his political and financial power for himself or use it for the greater good? That was the main question.

The rest of the train ride was rather unspectacular, no one else tried to enter their compartment anymore. Yes, they did buy some sweets and this time Harry got the same card from a chocolate frog as last time: Dumbledore, which had given them the hint towards Flamel and the philosopher's stone at some point. But aside from that nothing really happened, reading was basically all that they did. When Hogwarts came closer, they changed into their school robes, this time Harry wore ones with a better quality, with automatic resizing and cleaning charms just like those his father had gotten before his first year. It really had been so nice to read his parents' diaries before Hogwarts, it gave him quite a variety of new and helpful input for the next few years.

Now, as they slowly started leaving the train, Harry thought about his plans for the future and all he wanted to achieve. Sirius should walk free as soon as possible, first of all to live with him, but also because of the locket and the Wizengamot seat of Lord Black for political power. Dumbledore unfortunately had to stay until the triwizard tournament was initiated, after that he wanted Minerva to be headmistress, and Remus for DADA and the head of Gryffindor. For that they had to find out where the curse on the position was coming from. Harry's theory, and Rowena had concurred that it was most likely thanks to Riddle after he got refused for that position, maybe even a side product of the missing horcrux. That would mean it was at Hogwarts, which seemed plausible. Like with the Gaunt shack or the cave from his orphanage days, Hogwarts was an important place in Riddle's past. But those thoughts had to wait, because right now Hagrid was collecting the first years. The giant man briefly smiled at Harry before he continued to lead the students towards the boats.

The fourth person in their boat, besides Neville of course, was a blonde girl Harry didn't recognise. She did ask very politely if she could join them, so they invited her to sit with them. When the boats started to move towards the castle, both Neville and Harry spoke up at the same time to introduce themselves as Augusta had told them to in the final week of the holidays.

"Building friendships at Hogwarts is important, boys. Not only for now, but especially when you'll be sitting in the wizengamot. Be polite, no matter what your opposite's blood status is, but be especially formal when dealing with purebloods. As Lords you are most likely going to run into those in the future."

Both boys started to laugh and even Hermione giggled a bit, but then Neville did take the lead and introduced himself first, as well as his companions.

"I'm Neville of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Longbottom, to my right there is Harry of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Potter together with his best friend Hermione Granger, born to non-magicals. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss…?"

"Greengrass. Daphne of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Greengrass. It's an honour meeting all three of you."

Now Harry recognised her, the blonde girl was one of the more reserved but smart Slytherin girls. She had never been part of Malfoy's group, and had often been seen with Tracey Davis or Blaise Zabini, some of the less dark members of this year's Slytherin students. If they could befriend the eldest child of a sacred twenty-eight family with neutral to grey tendencies in the wizengamot, they might be able to form connections beyond the light families. That was something his great-grandfather Henry had suggested.

"You know, Harry, even though you'll find great support among the light families, don't forget the neutral and grey ones. Sometimes even dark families can be of help if you sell them your proposals and legislations well enough. With my marriage to my dear Electra I gained an easy way to approach dark families."

"So you suggest I marry a dark pureblood witch? You remember that Hermione is my soulmate?"

"That's not what I meant, and believe me, I married Electra out of love. But being married to the eldest daughter of House Black,made my life so much easier when I came to politics. What I mean is: make friends, even in Slytherin House. Maybe not the Malfoys, but for example the Notts and Greengrasses. Those families were always cunning and calculating, but never the biggest blood purists and bigots."

Those words in mind he started chatting with Daphne and included Hermione quite a lot, hoping that with a few weeks and months of work she'd get more tolerant towards muggle-born students, or at least Hermione. Like every other student, she was a bit nervous but played it down, trying to create a cold and serious image of herself. This facade broke as soon as the boats were slowly sailing through the curtain of ivy into the long tunnel, enlightened by only a handful of torches, until they finally reached the end. Now it was time to walk up the stairs, meet Miner…Professor McGonagall, as Harry corrected himself, and then there would be the sorting and feast. That was good, because, knowing what to expect, he didn't eat a lot on the train. 

Just like the last time she took all the first years and brought them in the smaller chamber next to the great hall. Even her speech was nearly identical:

"Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats among the other students in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rulebreaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

For a few seconds Minerva let her eye wander across the room and as soon as she saw Hermione, Neville and Harry, she smiled at them, before she left, asking them to wait for her return. Instantly the same muttering as last time started and everyone was panicking about the sorting ceremony, especially because Ron Weasley was spreading the same rumour about having to fight a troll, but this time around Harry wasn't freaking out, but instead laughed at Weasley.

"Do you really believe everything your older brothers tell you? Believe me, the sorting is totally easy and has nothing to do with fighting. The sorting hat is going to decide which house we'll be going to.

The students became much calmer, but Weasley couldn't stop spitting stupid comments and proclaiming that he was right, until Draco Malfoy spoke up.

"It's funny, you know? You out of all people, the one person who ran up and down the train to look for Harry Potter now calls him a liar. The wizarding community is right in calling the Weasley family poor and worthless, you're the perfect example for that."

The soon-to-be Slytherins - except Daphne, Theo and Blaise, mainly Draco's little gang - started to snicker, which led to Ron pulling his wand out, but before he was able to point it at Draco, McGonagall came back in and someone else, Harry thought it might have been Dean, though he was too far away to be sure, warned him. Weasley tried to look as innocent as possible and luckily the professor hadn't noticed and started to lead them into the Great Hall, at the same time a variety of ghosts came floating through the walls and started chatting with the new students. 

Yes, entering the Great Hall for the first time was certainly impressive, but for neither Harry nor Hermione this admittedly impressive place was anything new. For years they have been walking in and out of that very room, even though they tried to act as impressed as anyone else, it wasn't really authentic. 

"Wow, look at that! What an impressive ceiling. It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History. "

When she heard those words Hermione looked around, seemingly surprised. As soon as she had realised that it had been the boy to her right, making fun of her, she playfully punched him and quietly said under her breath: "Prat!"

He grinned at her, damn well knowing that it was she, who had said that the last time around. Harry was doing a good job at making fun of her, or rather her "know-it-all" persona. Since she had grown out of that, it was quite likely that this kind of bullying wouldn't happen this time. 

This time around it was quite clear that it was Harry who led the group of firsties down the great hall. He showed confidence and leadership skills, combined with the fact that he had calmed everyone down about the sorting all other students were following his example. With Hermione to his left and Neville to his right he walked up to Professor McGonagall, beaming at him proudly, while the others formed a queue behind them.

Now the professor placed the stool with the sorting hat on top of it in front of them and let it sing his song again:

"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

if you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folks use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

Harry thought to himself that this all felt like a big déjà-vu experience and despite this strange feeling he tried to act as normal as possible, because even from afar he was able to see the headmaster, whose twinkling eyes were trying to get into his mind. Thank god that he was a natural Occlumens and without that parasitic fragment of Riddle he could finally embrace his talents. But he didn't want to be too obvious, so he just turned away from Dumbledore and started chatting with Hermione. 

As soon as the new first years entered the Great Hall, Albus Dumbledore instantly tried to find young Harry. It took him nearly half a minute, since he wasn't in the company of the Weasley boy but rather Neville Longbottom and a witch he didn't recognise, probably a muggleborn. Not only wasn't he in a company he neither had expected nor wanted, he also led the group of students and showed more self-confidence than a boy coming from an abusive home should have. Something was off and he deemed it wise to use his Legilimency against the boy, strengthened through the Elder Wand. Not even Severus was able to resist that, despite the fact that he was probably the best Occlumens in Great Britain. He just needed a good look into his eyes and then…what was that?

It took all of Dumbledore's willpower to stay calm and not start yelling in anger. How could Harry resist his Legilimency without even knowing about Occlumency? Yes, that trait ran in parts of the Potter family, but with the Horcrux, that shouldn't be dormant, if existent. Albus made a mental note to himself to ask Severus if he'd have the same issues with getting into the boy's head. If that were the case then it would make everything more complicated. 

Harry felt the incoming attack on his mind by Dumbledore but it was more than easy to defend himself, Snape really had tried to teach him Occlumency, it was only due to the Horcrux that he had failed. After the mental attack had ended he again focussed on McGonagall, who just now started the sorting by reading out Hannah Abbot's name, Both Susan and her became Hufflepuffs before Terry Boot got sorted into Ravenclaw. Soon, it was time for Mione to be sorted and when Minerva said: "Granger, Hermione!", he grabbed her hand for a second and held it, giving her reassurance that he was with her. 

This time around it took even longer to sort Hermione, but after a few minutes the hat once again shouted "GRYFFINDOR!" The girl smiled and walked down to the table, where the other lions were already cheering for her.

After a long list of names, including Daphne, Neville and Malfoy it was finally time for Harry. During Sally-Anne Perks' sorting he smiled, knowing that they had already changed things. This time Neville hadn't lost Trevor, hadn't been nervous at all and definitely didn't run to the Gryffindor table with the sorting hat still on his head. In the past weeks, he had become more confident, something to look forward to.

"Potter, Harry!"

Just like last time, the murmurs started as soon as Minerva called his name, but this time with a bright smile on her face. By now Harry was used to being famous and wasn't remotely as nervous as during his previous sorting.

Oh, I see. You're the reason for the young lady remembering a different future and life. Mr. Potter, you seem to be a quite unlucky person with a destiny to fulfil. Not many like you have sat under me, and you are always the most interesting to sort. Having lived a life, but being stuck in such a young body. All the others are young and not yet formed, but you already show your true character.

"Then why did you put Hermione into Gryffindor? She would have been a great Ravenclaw and just wished for Gryffindor because of Dumbledore."

Another's sorting is nothing for you to worry about but since she is your soulmate… Just think about the years with her and the battles with her on your side. She's brilliant, but even more brave. Don't you know that?

But now back to you, Harry. You have lived a life, filled with dangers and obstacles. You never backed down and your friends always had your back. You wouldn't be wrong in Hufflepuff, loyal as you are. But you are more than that, the young boy that confronted the darkest wizard of your time over and over again, braver than anybody else. Last time around Gryffindor was the right choice for you, and it wouldn't be wrong now either, Lord Gryffindor.

On the other hand, thanks to the lovely Miss Granger you have discovered the scholar inside you, that would make you a nice addition to this year's Ravenclaws. All this talent, combined with your enormous power, shouldn't be wasted.

And just like I said last time, Slytherin house would suit you well, my Lord Slytherin. All your meticulous planning and your cunning to reach your destiny, your fantastic skills. Ideal for someone to rule over the dungeons of Slytherin.

"Well, it seems like you have one hell of a decision to make. I can understand all of your points, every house would suit me, but there can only be one decision. And to be honest, I don't think I could survive seven years with Draco in my house, and even with Ron I would have my issues, but on the other hand I don't want to leave Mione alone. But maybe Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw could be something new and different this time. I don't know, but you saved my life by giving me the sword, so I trust you and your decision."

Well, Mr. Potter, the others are slowly getting impatient. As much as I like our chat and that glimpse into your mind, it's time to make a decision now. Your house for your whole new life at Hogwarts will be…

Notes:

Sorry for the cliffhanger, people, but that was just way too ideal.

Wanna take your guesses?

Oh and by the way, I finally decided where we're going with this story in the long run, be prepared for some madness.

See ya all next week