A/N: well, i finally got my PortKey authorship, which is both good and bad. yay because i finally have some readers that i can inflict this on, and bad because since i havent quite made much headway i cant do another super-multichapter-post again :D
Disclaimers: i suppose i should have done this earlier, but harry potter, hogwarts, yadda yadda, all belong to jk rowling, whos eyes she has bequeathed to our favorite boy wonder. im merely hacking up her story in my own little way and putting it back together in a twisted shadow of its former self.....but anyhow..
The Boys Who Lived
Chapter 3: The Welcoming Feast
The rest of the train ride passed without any extra fuss, unless you count a small, insignificant event involving a pair of red-haired twins, some candy, a few inventive spells, and the small matter of a gullible first year breathing enough flame to set his compartment on fire.
But who keeps track of little things like that?
Once the train pulled into the station at the outskirts of Hogsmeade, the students piled out of the cars and milled about the platform. Most of the students almost immediately headed for a long line of horseless carriages that were to one side of the platform, but as Harry, Neville, and Ron made to follow a booming voice caught their attention.
"Firs' years over here! Firs' years!" A large figure stood in the middle of the sea of students, waving a lantern high over his head. "Firs' years, right this way now!"
As the trio drew closer, the first thing they noticed was that the man wasn't just large compared to the students, he was positively HUGE. Most of the first years surrounding him barely came up to his belt line, and the mass of hair on his head almost gave him a sinister look. But there was a twinkle in his eyes that almost seemed to display childish excitement as he looked around.
"Blimey, he's enormous," Neville blurted out. His comment mirrored the conversations of the students around them, but the man focused his gaze on their group.
"Well I'll be. Yeh sure have grown, young Longbottom. And Harry! Good ta see you again!" he said.
The boys in question blinked in confusion as their guide's face fell. "Wha', yeh don't remember me do yeh? Well I feared yeh might not have...not seen me in...must've been years!"
Harry found his voice at the same time his brain woke up. "Years? Then you were the ones that found us back when our...when we were young?"
Neville caught on, "Oh, you must be Hagrid! Harry's dad told us loads about you!"
Hagrid was positively beaming as they spoke. Before he could reply though he seemed to notice the rest of the students gathered around, waiting on him. "Right then," he coughed. He pointed down towards the lake, where they could see a flotilla of boats down at small harbor. "Make yer way down thataways and grab yourselves a seat. Four people to a boat, mind you!"
It was a short trip to the dock and the three boys quickly loaded themselves onto a nearby boat. As the rest of the students sorted themselves out they traded speculations on how they'd be sorted into their houses.
"I heard they'd make us wrestle a troll, and if you lost you'd definitely be stuck with Slytherin," Neville moaned.
"Well it's a school right?" Harry said. "Maybe they'd just give us some sort of exam."
"Ugh, I hope not," Ron mumbled. "Still, it sounds better than what Fred and George told me. They said we'd have to squash a hundred spiders, and the splatter pattern would spell out which house we'd go to." He shuddered.
"I think that was the most revolting thing I have ever heard," a familiar voice chipped in.
They looked up to see Hermione standing beside their boat, looking a bit nervous. "The other boats filled up before I could reach them," she explained apologetically. "Is it okay if we share?"
Harry's face lit up for a moment before he schooled his expression to a polite smile. With a flourish he waved his arms to an empty spot on the bench as he spoke in his most official-sounding tone. "Miss Granger, we would be honored to have you join us."
He heard the other two quietly laughing at his behavior but kept his gaze on Hermione's face. A flicker of worry crossed his face as he noticed her frown and glance along the length of the boat suspiciously, then it turned to puzzlement as she opened her mouth.
"Neville, your toad is still with your trunk, right?" she asked.
Now it was Harry's turn to laugh as Neville's face went pale.
* * *
It was a pleasant trip across the lake to the school grounds. The spectacle of the castle standing serenely over the water was breathtaking, the twinkling stars in the night sky above and behind it magnificent. As Harry's mind took it all in, he could find only one word to describe the view: magical.
The view also had the added benefit of making Hermione forget about the possibility of another ambush from Trevor. Since her paranoia-induced inspections of the boat had caused it to rock erratically, he was sure that Neville and Ron were also thankful for the distraction.
Once inside the castle, Hagrid led the group up several flights of stairs where a stern looking witch stood waiting. "Professor McGonagall," he greeted.
"Thank you, Hagrid," she replied. "I will take them from here."
Behind her a set of doors creaked and slowly slid open to reveal a brightly lit antechamber. With a glance she told the students to follow her in as she walked to the large doors opposite the entryway.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," McGonagall said as she turned to face them. "Before we begin the welcoming feast you will all take part in the Sorting Ceremony. As this ceremony will determine which houses you will be part of. Your house will be your family during your stay at the school. You will live together in your house dormitories, spend your free time in their common rooms, and your classes will be with your housemates of the same year.
"The four houses here are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Work hard, for achievements will earn your house points for the House Cup, which is a great honor, awarded once each year at the end of the school term."
Whispers and comments began to circulate through the crowd until she raised a hand for silence. "You should be warned, however. Points can also be taken away from your house just as easily for poor behaviors and any infractions of the rules. I suggest that you keep the your housemates in mind should you decide to do anything...rash."
With a promise to return shortly, she entered the Great Hall to prepare the ceremony. As the doors closed the conversations picked up again, topics ranging from which houses they would be sorted into, to which monster they'd have to fight.
A few minutes later the doors creaked open again as Professor McGonagall poked her head through. "They are ready for you now," she announced as she threw the doors open the rest of the way. "Form a line and follow me, the Sorting will now begin."
* * *
The following events were a blur to Harry. McGonagall had led them through a side door to the Hall, which brought them facing the many professors of the school sitting at the faculty table. Behind them the rest of the students were divided up into four long tables, every one of them filled with whispering as the first years nervously fidgeted in place.
McGonagall had drawn their attention to a shoddy looking wizard's hat, which had surprised them all by breaking into a song. Relief had settled over several of the first years as they realized that they weren't going to fight any trolls, but Harry was wondering how exactly the hat would sort them all.
One of the tables cheered loudly as the first student called, "Hannah Abbott," became the first new Hufflepuff. "Susan Bones," also became a Hufflepuff amid cheers. And so it went down the list. Different sections of the room would clap and shout as each student was sorted into a house, though Harry thought he noticed a few scattered boos each time a Slytherin was announced.
He heard Ron groaning from a few places down the line as Hermione jumped off the stool and ran eagerly for the Gryffindor table.
When Neville's name came up the school went silent for a few moments as people made sure they hadn't been hearing things. The Sorting Hat seemed to take an awfully long time to decide for him as conversation picked up again, then the table closest to Harry roared in approval as the hat triumphantly shouted out, "GRYFFINDOR!!"
Neville was so relieved that he nearly took the hat with him in his haste to leave the stool, laughter following him back as he meekly replaced it on the stool.
The hat needed no time with Malfoy, Harry noted, as the blond swaggered past the remains of the line on his way to the Slytherin table.
There was another moment of breathless excitement as "Potter, Harry," was called. As Harry jammed the hat over his eyes so he wouldn't have to watch the crowd, he realized why it had taken Neville so long.
Well, well, well, a voice whispered into his head. Another difficult one, I thought I'd gotten through the ones for this year already. Hmm, plenty of courage, I see...a bit misguided but it's there. There's lots of raw talent, oh yes...that other boy doesn't even come close. Lots of ambition, I see...with a great thirst to prove yourself...I've half a mind to put you in Slytherin - except I don't have a mind...
"Not Slytherin," Harry whispered fiercely.
Oh no? the voice whispered back. That other boy was just as insistent as you were. Ah well... The hat seemed to sigh, which caused Harry's head to bob. I suppose the blood would tell in this case...might as well shove you with the others in...
"GRYFFINDOR!" it shouted. Harry grinned and carefully removed the hat before he dashed off to the spot on the bench Neville had cleared out for him.
Ron, like Malfoy, had only to lift the hat over his head before it mumbled something about "more Weasleys" and sent him on his way to the Gryffindor table, and with a few more students Sorted, the ceremony was complete and the tables were alive as the occupants greeted the newcomers.
The feast began after a kind-looking, elderly wizard stood from the head table and said a few words. Literally only a few words, of which their meanings were completely beyond the comprehension of anybody present.
"Mad?" a student across from Harry repeated as Harry asked about it. "Dumbledore's the smartest and most powerful wizard the world has ever seen, and the best Headmaster Hogwarts has had in ages." He looked thoughtful for a moment, "He is a bit mad though."
"Percy, older brother," Ron belatedly introduced as he chewed on a helping of potatoes.
"He's a prefect," the Weasley twins chorused from beside him. Their expressions suggested a great stain on their family's honor for that transgression, which Percy reciprocated with a scowl and a gesture which really would be a stain on his honor.
Harry looked out of the corner of his eye to watch Hermione, who had started a conversation with Percy about their lessons.
"I do hope they start straight away, there's so much to learn. I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know, turning something into something else, of course."
There was a snicker from Ron, which she pointedly ignored. "It's supposed to be very difficult..."
"Don't worry," assured Percy. "You'll be starting small, matchsticks into needles and that sort of thing. But McGonagall's a hard taskmaster, so you had better keep up with your studies."
"Oh I wouldn't dream of slacking off, not with the OWLs in only a few years."
"It's good to see a student that thinks ahead, Hermione. Hogwarts could really use more students with that attitude."
"Say," interrupted Neville. He jabbed a fork towards the head table. "Who's that teacher at the end? The one staring at us."
They all looked over in the direction he'd indicated. Two professors were engaged in conversation, one with greasy looking black hair and a hooked nose, the other with a turban obscuring the rest of his head.
"The one with his back to us, his head's in a turban, that's Professor Quirrell. He just came back from a year's sabbatical to 'get some experience'," Percy explained. "He's the Defense Against the Dark Arts, teacher. The one next to him is Professor Snape. If he's looking upset right now it's probably because Quirrell's here."
"Snape's been after the DADA position for years," George said with a grin.
From the look on his face, Neville wasn't convinced with that explanation, and Harry was of mind to agree with him. The look on Snape's face was more than simply 'upset', it appeared to be genuine loathing. More importantly, his gaze was not towards Quirrell at all, but focused directly at Harry.
As Harry's eyes met his, Snape's expression twisted into barely contained fury, and at the exact same instance Harry felt a sharp pain at his scar.
"Harry!" he heard someone exclaim. "Oiy, what's the matter with you?"
Dimly he felt a hand give his shoulder a shake as the pain faded. To his side he noticed one of the Weasley twins doing the same with Neville, who had a hand pressed to his forehead as well. As the pain faded, they locked worried stares on each other, oblivious to the questions being thrown at them from all around.
The conversation they'd had on the Hogwart's Express floated back to them, and they seemed to share a single thought.
Snape.