Harry had to admit, Hogwarts wasn’t what he expected. The boat ride was intriguing; Harry had seen few enchanted vessels such as these boats, yet such seemed common here. The differences in their styles of magic were far more subtle than he had thought, although privately he wondered if wand magic led one to a lazy constitution. A great deal of everyday effort seemed to be completely avoided.
As for the castle itself, Harry was as stunned as everyone else. Forget the tiny guild he had been studying at, Hogwarts dwarfed the Atlas City guild. And it was a great deal more fortified, although it didn’t have a walled city around it so Harry guessed it would have had to been fortified back in the dark ages. Harry regretted a few skipped lessons; just last month he blew off a locator spell that would probably save him from getting lost the first week or two in this monster of a school.
Then they were in a kind of grotto. Harry was fairly certain they were under the castle, and there was a dock just ahead. They lined up, Neville lost his toad again, and they made their way up a few staircases until they met an old, severe-looking witch in front of a great set of doors.
“I am Professor McGonagall,” she introduced herself. “Welcome to Hogwarts. The start of term banquet will begin shortly, but first you must be sorted into your houses. Your house will be your family while you are here. Your schedule, where you sleep, and the students you spend the most time with will largely be determined by your house. The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each is named for one of Hogwarts’s founders and each has produced many extraordinary witches and wizards. While you are here, your triumphs will earn your house points, any demerits will lose you points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points wins the House Cup. Now, the Sorting Ceremony will begin soon. You will be watched by all your fellow students, so I suggest you make a good first impression.” Her eyes drifted to Neville’s cloak, which was poorly fastened, Ron’s frumpy clothes, and Lina who still wore her demon blood talismans.
Neville and Ron made an effort to straighten up, but Lina returned the witch’s gaze evenly. “What is the ceremony?” she asked.
McGonagall frowned at being asked a question, particularly one not respectfully asked, but she was first and foremost a teacher, and saw no great need to punish a student for asking a simple question. “I will call your name, and you will come forward. I will place the Sorting Hat on your head. It will read your mind and announce the house most suited to you.” She saw some discomfort at this, from Lina and other students. “The hat has been used for centuries and has never shared anything it has learned. Your privacy will not be unduly violated, I assure you.”
McGonagall saw that the students seemed reassured, at least as much as they could be, and went in the Hall to prepare.Lina nodded and caught Harry’s eye. “Headbands,” she said, removing hers.
“You’ll think they’ll block it?” Harry asked, confusing many of the students around them. But he removed his headband, showing his scar for a moment as he did.
“So it’s true then,” came a young voice. Harry looked to see a boy with horribly blonde hair slicked back so hard he could have been a bad vampire knockoff. “Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts.”
“Inverse,” Harry corrected tiredly. “My name is Harry Inverse.” This was going to become a mantra, he just knew it. He could already hear frantic gossip behind him.
The blonde child waved the correction off as if it didn’t matter and walked over. He took a step higher and looked down at Harry, although that could have just been him avoiding the children between them. Two large boys followed. “This is Crabbe and Goyle. And I’m Malfoy. Draco Malfoy.”
Ron snorted at the name, and Harry silently agreed. Obvious villain name, said with that kind of pride? The poor boy didn’t have his head on straight.
Draco was furious and turned to Ron. “Think my name’s funny, do you? Hardly need to ask yours. Tattered robe, red hair? Another Weasley.” He turned to Harry. “You’ll soon learn that some wizarding families are better than others. You don’t want to make friends with the wrong sort.” The sick smile, the kind you only saw on a snake-oil salesman, came back to Draco’s face. “I can help you there.”
Harry looked down for a moment and shook his head slowly. When he looked back up there was something Draco didn’t expect to see. Contempt. “When I need help from a third rate sorcerer, I’ll let you know,” Harry said calmly.
Draco’s mouth fell open and he just stared at Harry in complete and utter shock.
Harry held his expression steady. Malfoy was a bully like any other. He knew how to respond to anger, frustration, fear, weakness, and anything he thought was weak. Harry threw how pathetic the boy was right in his face, and did it with all the idle certainty of someone commenting on the weather. It simply wasn’t something Draco’s tiny little mind could handle.
Before Draco could even hope to get his wits back together, McGonagall was back and most displeased with the blonde boy standing over his peers. She tapped his shoulder a little more firmly than necessary. Draco schooled his features into a neutral expression and returned to his place at the side of the stairs.
“We’re ready for you,” she announced.
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(Posted Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:04)
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