Chapter 4

Four more kids were sorted after Harry, with Blaise being the last one. Like Daphne and Tracey, the Zabini heir was sorted in Slytherin, the house of the ambitious, cunning, and resourceful ones. The hat had agreed with the latter two but disagreed with the first. According to it, all four houses were supposed to value ambition. After all, the four founders would have never achieved so many great feats and created Hogwarts if they weren't ambitious.

Harry felt a bit bad about not being sorted there with the other three, but the hat had convinced him that wasn't the place for him. Tracey's look of sheer disappointment didn't help him feel any better. Blaise seemed to have a slight frown while Daphne's face was unchanged. Harry wanted to use his ability to check on their thoughts, but he had a hard time doing it in Hogwarts. If they were a bit closer to him, he would've been able to reach them.

Every time he brought his mental shields down, the castle would connect with him and submerge him with its feelings. Hogwarts couldn't speak but was able to communicate with intentions and emotions. He would have to get better with his telepathic ability before he could freely use it in the castle. For now, he was only able to hear the thoughts of the people that are close to him.

Gryffindor, the house that valued bravery, daring, nerve, and chivalry, was where the hat wanted to sort him at first. It believed Harry had to be brave to come to Hogwarts with the intention of facing against a Dark Lord. Dumbledore had also subtly tried directing him towards that house, but he didn't think that's the place for him. It didn't feel right, so he outright refused to go there.

The choice was between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. However, they were able to come to a decision with ease. Hufflepuff valued hard work, dedication, patience, loyalty, and fair play. Harry was hard working. At least he believed that, but he didn't think he played fairly, not when he used his ability to hear the thoughts of other people. Loyalty was another problem, as well. Who was he loyal to? Himself? Certainly. The school and the Wizarding World? Not so much. He didn't plan on staying there any longer than necessary.

In the end, he was sorted in Ravenclaw, the house that valued intelligence, knowledge, and wit. And if the hat was to be believed, he was more alike Rowena Ravenclaw than the other three founders. It didn't say why, but it was adamant that they had a lot in common. Harry was pleased with the house of the eagle, especially when he learned that they had a private library in their common room. The hat also had another reason to believe that Harry should be sorted in Ravenclaw.

There was a short, very short, man on the teachers' table, or professors as they were called at Hogwarts, that looked downright ecstatic at Harry being placed there.

Dumbledore wasn't too off-put with Harry not being sorted in Gryffindor. His parents and even the old man himself were in that house, but Ravenclaw wasn't a bad choice. Harry's mother would've been more than suitable for the house of eagles, and Dumbledore was almost sorted in that house as well. The boy would have a bit of a harder time making connections with the other kids, but he will try to change that.

After everyone was sorted, Dumbledore gave a speech. He warned that spells aren't to be used in the halls and that the Forbidden Forest was, well, forbidden. He also informed them that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side was out of bounds to everyone and blocked off. If someone manages to get past the magical protection, they would only be risking their life.

The tables were then filled with greasy food that appeared out of nowhere, and everyone started digging in. Harry tried to be picky about his food, but he didn't have much choice. Worst of all, there wasn't even any water to drink, only pumpkin juice, which tasted godawful. He had no idea how everyone was drinking it without a care in the world.

Penelope Clearwater, a blonde prefect of Ravenclaw, gathered the first-year students. She led them towards their common room. They passed a tight spiral staircase before they reached a door with a bronze eagle-shaped knocker. Penelope explained that they would need to answer a riddle every time they wanted to enter their common room. If someone didn't know the answer, he would have to wait for someone else to help him enter. She knocked on the knocker, and it gave them a riddle.

"My life can be measured in hours,

I serve by being devoured.

Thin, I am quick

Fat, I am slow

Wind is my foe.

What am I?"

"Does anyone know the answer?" Penelope asked them with a smirk.

The kids stayed quiet until a raven-haired girl named Sue Li raised her hand and said. "A candle."

The door swung open at her words, and they entered inside the common room. It had arched windows, and the walls are hung with blue and bronze silks, the colours of Ravenclaw. The domed ceiling was painted with stars, which were echoed in the midnight-blue carpet. Tables, chairs, and bookcases covered the expanse of the floor, and a white marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw sat next to the door that led to the dormitories above.

Harry climbed the stairs leading to the male dormitories and found his room. Unlike the rest of the houses, each person in Ravenclaw got a very small room of his own. Harry was more than happy with that since he wouldn't be able to do this. "Ryze!"

In a moment, a flame popped above him with Jean's phoenix flying out of it. It landed on his shoulder and nibbled on his ear affectionately. He had learned that due to his connection with the bird, he was able to call upon it by calling its name. He gave Ryze a few scratches before pulling out a piece of paper and a pencil from his trunk. Just because it was required to write with a quill and ink didn't mean he wouldn't bring a pencil with him. He wrote Jean and Ororo a letter before handing them to Ryze, who nibbled on his ear one last time before disappearing with a burst of fire. With that done, he removed his robes and got in his bed.

The morning of the next day, the first-year Ravenclaws gathered in the common room. They were handed their schedules for the year before they were led to the Great Hall for breakfast. The classes were shared with the other houses, promoting inter-house relationships. Ravenclaw shared Herbology, Potions, and Flying lessons with Hufflepuff. Astronomy, Transfiguration, Defence Against the Dark Arts were shared with Gryffindor. And finally, Charms and History of Magic were shared with the Slytherins.

At the Great Hall, everyone was pointing fingers again and talking about him. Harry felt uncomfortable with the attention, so he stood up and left. He had Charms as his first class for the day, but he didn't know the way to the classroom. They were supposed to be led by one of the older students. Having no one to lead him there, he decided to try something out.

Harry brought his mental shield down and allowed Hogwarts to connect with him. He asked the castle for directions, and it was more than happy to lead him to his destination. Harry had to go through a door that was hidden behind a painting, go down stairs that moved while he was on them, and climb another moving stairs afterward. He shortly reached the classroom and wondered how everyone else was supposed to learn all those hidden passages. He didn't bother thinking about it too much and closed his eyes. In his mindscape, he continued reading the books he had already stored there. Harry wanted to finish them as soon as possible so he could move onto the library in his common room and the library in the school.

About a dozen minutes later, two groups entered the room. Tracey walked up to him and eyed him up and down. "How'd you find your way to here?"

Harry beckoned with his hand and brought it to his mouth as if he was about to tell her a secret. Her eyes shined brightly, and she sat down next to him, eager to hear about it.

"Magic," Harry whispered, and Tracey lightly hit him on the shoulder. "Prat! If you didn't want to tell me, you just had to say so. Anyway, I'm excited about the class! Professor Filius Flitwick is the best and most knowledgeable Charms master alive in the world today. He used to be a Duelling Champion when he was young, you know? I wonder if I will be able to try out dueling. It sounds fun, but let me tell you..."

Tracey's mouth didn't stop moving even for a second. Harry listened to her with one ear and looked around the rest of the kids in the classroom. Most of them were looking at him, and since the room was pretty much the range of his telepathic powers within Hogwarts, he brushed their minds one by one.

Almost all of the kids wanted to come to talk to the Boy-Who-Lived. They weren't interested in Harry Potter, but the monicker he was given. Draco was fuming with anger by the fact that he had embarrassed him on the train, and he was plotting ways to pay Harry back. He had to be on the lookout with the blonde boy. Daphne and Blaise were conflicted. They weren't sure if they should go sit next to him like Tracey, or if they should stay with the rest of the Slytherins. In the end, that choice wasn't theirs to make.

"Daphne, Blaise, why are you standing there? Come sit next to us." Tracey called out, and when they started walking towards them, she turned back to Harry. "Anyway..."

Shortly, Professor Flitwick entered the classroom. He was the short man that was ecstatic by Harry being sorted into Ravenclaw since he was the head of the house. Since the desk in front of the class was too big for him, he stacked a bunch of books and hoped on top of them. He then started reading the names of the kids from a list. When he got to Harry's name, the entire class turned towards him, as if they didn't know he was there. Or maybe they were expecting him to do a jig?

Thankfully, Professor Flitwick comically fell off his books, and the class started laughing. Harry wasn't sure if it was done on purpose and couldn't even check since the Professor had strong mental shields. He could bypass them with force, but that would certainly alert Flitwick.

The short man was a good teacher. He made sure everyone was paying attention to him by making jokes and even rhyming. Flitwick wasn't teaching them by the books and started off by showing them what he called one of his favorite spells, the Colour Changing Charm (Colovaria). It took Harry two tries before he succeeded in changing the colour of Tracey's robes to pink.

"Good job, Mr. Potter! 5 to Ravenclaw for being the first to cast the charm," Flitwick congratulated him with pride.

"Hey, change it back! I don't look good in pink!" Tracey protested, not liking her new robes while the rest of the class laughed at her.

"Do not worry, Ms. Davis. The Colour Changing Charm will expire within a few minutes. Why don't you pay him back by changing the colour of his robes?"

Flitwick knew how to motivate the kids. The intent of a person was very important for casting magic. With her new goal of changing the colour of Harry's robes, Tracey managed to succeed after a few failed attempts. Without her desire to pay him back, it might have taken her a lot longer to successfully cast the Charm.

Harry's next two classes were Herbology and Potions. Both with the Hufflepuffs. With the help of Hogwarts, he was able to find the greenhouses behind the castle with ease. The Professor for the class was Pomona Sprout, the head of Hufflepuff. She was a squat little witch with short, grey, wavy hair.

The only thing of note that happened during Herbology was that the Hufflepuffs attempted to get to know him. Unlike the kids from his own house, they had to courage to talk to him. He found a kindred spirit amongst them in Susan Bones, a girl with long red hair and brown eyes. Almost everyone from her family had died during Voldermort's rebellion, and her aunt was the only other surviving member of the Bones family. Not that she told him that, but he was interested in why she was trying to befriend him.

Hannah Abbot, a blonde girl who wore pigtails, was another girl he got along with. She was quite flustered off talking to him but didn't want to be left behind by her friend. She was afraid that Susan would abandon her and that she wouldn't be able to make new friends.

After the Herbology ended, Harry decided to walk with the rest to their next class rather than go on his own. Seeing that he wasn't much different than them, the rest of the Ravenclaws his year mustered up the courage to talk with him. One by one, they introduced themselves; Anthony Goldstein, Terry Boot, and Michael Corner from the boys' side, and Lisa Turpin, Sue Li, and Padma Patil from the girls' side.

They reached the Potion classroom, which was in the dungeons, and sat down waiting for their professor. Harry was looking forward to this class, not only because creating magical elixirs sounded intriguing, but because he found out that the professor for the class was Severus Snape. From his aunt's memories, he had found out that as a boy, Snape had lived in the same village as his mother, and the two had been close. Harry planned to ask him if he can tell him a few stories about her.

The doors to the classroom slammed open with the entrance of Severus. He was a thin man with sallow skin and a large, hooked nose. Black robes covered his boy, making him resemble an overgrown bat. His shoulder-length black hair was greasy and framed his face in curtains.

"There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantation in this class. As such, I don't expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion-making. However, for those select few who possess the predisposition... I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death." His voice was even and steady without a single emotion in it.

Snape looked over all the kids before taking a list and reading the names one by one. The last name on the list was Harry's. "Potter. Harry Potter, our new celebrity."

"Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry was a bit surprised at being singled out like that, but he was able to answer the question. "A very powerful sleeping potion called the Draught of Living Death."

The only reason Harry knew the answer was because he was fascinated with potions and their effects. He had read quite far ahead out of pure interest of what one could achieve with the magical elixirs. Harry wasn't sure why Snape was asking him this, and he couldn't check since the professor had a mental shield that was stronger than even Flitwick's.

Unnoticeable to everyone in the classroom, Snape's eyes widened ever so slightly. That was a sixth-year potion, and he wasn't expecting Harry to answer him. Snape studied him carefully. His face was that of James Potter, someone who he loathed. Harry didn't wear glasses, but the resembles was hard to miss. His eyes, however, were the same emerald that his mother had. Snape steadied himself, his Occlumency kicking in, and continued with his emotionless voice.

"Correct, Mr. Potter. Where would you look, Mr. Potter, if I ask you to find me a bezoar."

"In the stomach of a goat, sir."

"Correct, again. And do you know what a bezoar is, Mr. Potter?"

"It's a stone-like object that can cure most poisons, sir." Again, the boy surprised him. Harry had actually studied and prepared for his class. It reminded him so much of Lily, he had to steel his emotions for the first time in years.

"Yes, Mr. Potter, you are correct once again. One final question. What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Harry had to enter his mindscape for that one, but it only took him a few seconds to find the answer. "It's one and the same, sir."

In any other class, those answers would have awarded him multiple points for his house, not that Harry cared about them. Snape, however, only nodded. "You are correct. If you had told me that it also goes by the name of aconite, I would have awarded 1 point to Ravenclaw." The professor glanced at the rest of the kids, who were quietly looking at the two. "Well, why aren't you all writing it down? Or maybe all fo you already knew those answers?"

Snape then returned to his podium and continued the class. It mostly consisted of theory, and at the end of it, Snape gave them homework to write an essay about the potion that they would brew in their next class. The moment the class was over, all the kids left the room as soon as possible, except for Harry, who stayed behind.

"What is it, Mr. Potter?" Snape asked him with his emotionless tone.

"You were friends with my mother, sir." Harry started.

"That wasn't a question, Mr. Potter," Snape replied to him. Harry wasn't sure why he was acting this way, but he wanted to know more about his mother, so he pushed through.

"I was wondering if you could share a few stories about her. Didn't you go to school together?" Harry asked with a hopeful tone.

"No," Snape refused him without a second thought. "For your gall to ask me this, you will serve detention with me from six to seven, every Friday, for the next two weeks. Am I understood, Mr. Potter?"

"Yes, sir," Harry replied and left the room, missing how Snape's eyes nearly watered.