Magic of Name

Finding an empty compartment, Harry settled in and placed Hedwig down beside him. Laying down on the seat, he willed his school robe to be summoned and his mother's trunk responded to his wishes, and a large robe appeared above, covering his body. Similarly, he summoned his wand and pointed it at the door. Remembering the incantation and wand movements, he cast the locking spell.

"Colloportus!"

With an odd squelching noise, the door slid shut. Harry relaxed into his seat, he did not wanted to deal with children, especially those who grew up with 'Boy-who lived' nonsense. Waving his hand, he telekinetically opened Hedwig's cage and removed his glasses, before deciding to get a shut-eye.

It was well into the afternoon that he woke up. He felt his magic calling to him, seeking his attention. Sitting up, he smiled, knowing what it was. He eased into a seat beside the window showing the passing rural landscape and summoned Ember's letter and sure enough, previous words were erased and new ones appeared.

"Harry, how are you feeling?"

Harry took out his pen and wrote back, holding back none of his feelings.

"Dread and fear, but somehow I am also feeling a little excited."

"It is understandable to be excited, Hogwarts is a magical place in and of itself."

"Yes, reading about it made it feel so amazing."

"By the way Harry, are you alone?" Ember wrote, completely changing the flow of conversation.

"Yes?"

"I was thinking of teaching you a spell."

"Would it not be too complex for me?"

"Do not worry, it is quite a simple spell. I made it when I was at Hogwarts."

"What is it called?" Harry was curious.

"It is called 'Observe'"

That simple spell took hours, with Ember patiently explaining how to cast it, a cast that did not expend any magic. Harry tried out for hours, pointing his finger at annoyed Hedwig and shouting 'Observe'.

It was only when evening approached that Harry got it working, barely.

Pointing finger at Hedwig, he spoke, "Observe"

[Hedwig]

"Yes, it worked."

Immediately he wrote to Ember. "It worked!!"

"Great! I thought it might take you a day or two."

"Tell me seriously, was it really a simple spell?" Harry questioned. It rarely took him more than few minutes to get most first-year spells right, but this one took him the better part of the afternoon."

"No, tell you the truth, it would be difficult to classify it at all. It is very different from normal spells in the way that it does not use any magic. It is so counter-intuitive to conventional theory that it should be placed in a different category of its own."

She continued, "Also that is why I taught it to you so early. Higher understanding of magic only impedes in learning this spell."

He was about to question back when rough knocking on the door demanded his attention. Looking through the glass, he noticed three boys, wearing Hogwarts robes without any house color, banging on the door. Harry decided to ignore them, going back to the letter.

The blond boy in the middle seemingly took personal offense at that. Taking out his wand, he yelled at the lock, "Alohomora"

It did nothing, the boy yelled again, jabbing his wand at the lock. After a few tries, the locking spell gave way and the door opened.

The blond boy walked into the compartment, followed by two others who gave Harry a distinct impression of Dudley.

"Who do you think you are, huh?" Blond boy's voice dripped with hate. He raised his wand and pointed it at Harry's face.

"Who are you?" Harry questioned back, not giving away his name. Harry was not wearing his glasses, and his messy hair covered his scar.

"I am Draco Malfoy, heir to House Malfoy. Not that you know the importance of Malfoy name, mudblood." Malfoy spat, looking at Harry's clothes.

"Crabble, Goyle, hold him down. Let us teach him how to treat his betters." Both boys step forward.

"Expelliarmus", "Expelliarmus", "Expelliarmus"

Harry summoned his wand and before Malfoy and his cronies could do anything, all three of them were flying out the door, being at the wrong end of three very overpowered disarming charms. Their wands flew from their hands and landed in front of Harry's feet.

Harry picked up their wands and walked into the corridor. Students were opening the doors of their compartment and pocking their heads out to watch the commotion.

Harry looked at the groaning bodies laying prone on the floor. Malfoy's pale face was red with anger and humiliation, which only increased when Harry threw their wands at them.

"I will make you pay for this" Malfoy growled.

"Oh ok"

Harry's nonchalant attitude only further infuriated him, "When my father hears about this..."

"Colloportus"

What Malfoy was saying cut off as the door slammed shut. Harry rolls his eyes, try as he might, he could not take the situation seriously. There was a time when running from Dudely felt like running for his life. But now, he was locked in odds with two of the most powerful wizards alive. At times, he felt like he was in a three-way chess match, fighting alone against enemies who had full set of pieces. Compared to them, Malfoy's temper tantrums felt like just that, tantrums of a child.

Ignoring the Malfoy who was once again using unlocking charm and failing at opening the door, he turned back to Ember's letter and continued his lesson on the spell.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

A few hours later,

"No more than four in a boat!" Hagrid shouted as first-years made their way to the docks and started filling into small boats. Harry remained behind most, putting some distance between him and Hagrid. As much as he liked the gentle giant, he really did not want to meet him now.

Settling in the boat with a shy, chubby boy and the bushy-haired girl he remembers from the station, he turned to face the chubby boy whispered 'observe' under his breath, trying to use a more advanced version of the spell.

[Neville Longbottom]

The spell fizzled out halfway, returning with only the name.

Just then Hagrid shouted something and boats started moving. Other occupants of the boat remained silent until the bushy-haired girl could not take it anymore.

"Hello, I am Hermione Granger, nice to meet you."

"Neville Longbottom" The boy mumbled.

"Harry Potter," He said. That drew a sharp breath from his boat mates.

"Oh, I read all about you, in books..."

"That is pure friction, Miss Granger, my life was not even remotely that exciting." He cut her, those books were pure hearsay. 'Not that I would like a life like that, slaying basilisks and saving damsels every other day.'

Hermione seemed put off but did not say anything. Turning to face Neville, he nodded his head in acknowledgment, "Mister Longbottom."

The shy boy returned the courtesy similarly, not using boing, overtly formal greeting expected of the heir of a noble house.

After passing through the scenic view of Hogwarts and Lakes, their journey came to an end. Harry practiced the observe spell all the way, using it on everything he could see. Non-living things returned nothing while living things returned only name or species, spell always fizzled out before returning anything more than that.

Hagrid brought all first-years to a heavy set of doors and knocked on it with his large hands. A stern witch wearing green robes and top hat opened the door, and after a short exchange with Hagrid, lead all students to an ant chamber.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats 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."

Harry rolled his eyes, if even half the things Ember had to say about House's were true then they were going to be anything but like family.

"How do you think they are going to sort us?" Hermione turned to Neville and Harry, "Oh my God, do you think they are going to test us? I memorized all my first-year textbooks, will that be enough?" This made Neville even more anxious.

"What, a test? My brothers said we had to wrestle a troll." a redhead boy said, drawing gasps from surrounding students. Everyone around now looked even more terrified.

"Idiotic, second-hand robes, red hair, looks like we have a Weasley" Draco Malfoy sniggered, and a few boys behind him laughed.

The red-haired boy's skin face turned red with embarrassment, "No one is asking you Malfoy." Harry cast observe on him.

[Ron Weasley]

Just when Malfoy was about to fire back, screams drew the attention of everyone to twenty-something pearly white and translucent figures floating near sealing.

"Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance –"

"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost. I say, what are you all doing here?" A ghost wearing a ruff and tights asked upon noticing the first-years.

Fat Friar came forward, smiling and few students recoiled back in terror. Just when he was about to say something, a new figure phased through the wall, and every ghost stopped. Unlike the rest of ghosts, the figure's skin was more grey than white and she was barely translucent.

Ghost's reaction frightened the first years even more, and students near her scruffled back. The ghost lady ignored it in favor of scanning the room, her gaze settling on Harry for a split second longer.

A ghost with wide, staring black eyes and robes that looked covered in blood came near the new arrival, "Grey Lady, you are..." Without dignifying him with any response, Grey Lady turned around and vanished into the stone wall.

It was then Professor McGonagall entered, students huddled together, ghosts frozen in air and the whole room pin-drop silent.

"Move along now," she coughed, gaining the room's attention, "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." One by one, the ghosts floated away through the antechamber wall.

"Now, form a line, and follow me."

Harry, flanked by Neville and Hermione, walked through a double pair of doors into a great hall. Harry's eyes widened upon seeing the scene and several first-years gasped in wonder.

Thousand upon thousands of lit candles floated midair, over four long tables filled with rest of the students. Plates and goblets laying on them glittered gold in candlelight, creating a mesmerizing scene along with silver figures dotting around the hall. At its top, another long table stood, filled with teachers and a golden throne at its center seating an individual with the longest beard and most outrageously colorful robes.

Harry lifted his head to look up and away from Headmaster. Squinting his eyes to look past the candles to see the ceiling, but instead, he saw velvety black night sky dotted with stars.

Hermione whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside, I read about it in Hogwarts: A History." He nodded in thanks.

Professor McGonagall put a three-legged stool in front of the hall and placed a ratty and torn hat on it. And much to the amazement of First years, hat twitched and started to sing.

"And now, sorting shall start." Professor McGonagall addressed the hall after the Hat finished its song.

"Abbot, Hannah"

"Observe"

[Hannah Abbot]

Harry kept using the spell but it never quite worked beyond giving him the name of his target.

"Granger, Hermione"

"Good Luck," said Harry, Neville too emulated him but his voice was barely above a whisper. Hermione thanked them, looking a little less anxious than before.

As she sat for her sorting, Harry once again used observe, and this time spell clicked.

[Hermione Granger] ['The' Prodigy]

Harry smiled, both at his success and at Hermione's title, 'I think she will be in Ravenclaw.'

"Gryffindor" and he stands corrected. Hermione moved to the clapping Gryffindor table, her face bearing a confused expression.

Neville too ended up in Griffindor, while hat declared Malfoy before McGonagall even removed her had off it. More names came and went before it was Harry's turn.

"Potter, Harry"

The Great hall quieted down as Harry walked to the sorting table. Every eye in the hall was on him, even teachers leaning forward in interest to watch the sorting of Boy-who-Lived. Headmaster sat on his golden throne, his eyes twinkling as he discretely waved his wand under the table.

Harry sat on the stool and Professor placed the sorting hat on his head. He readied himself to fight off the intrusion but nothing came. Moments passed and he suddenly Sorting Hat started twitching, and Harry smelled something burning.

"Griffindor" hat shouted, and smiling McGonagall lifted it from his head. Harry could swear he heard hat sighing in relief.

The silent Great Hall erupted in a chorus of cheers and applause, with even a few Slytherins joining in. Harry could make out Draco Malfoy sitting there, his jaw hanging open.

Griffindor table was especially rowdy, many standing in their seats and applauding, two red-haired twins loudly shouting, "We got Potter! We Got Potter."

Harry made his way to the Griddindor table, shaking hands and nodding in thanks to the congratulations he got from fellow Gryffindors. It took few minutes before the commotion died down and Harry flopped beside Neville, exhausted.

Sorting continued and Harry looked around before his gaze landed on Professor's Table. He looked around and recognized Professor Flitwick, Sprout, and Snape from Ember's description. His eyes moved to the center of table, looking straight at Albus Dumbledore, who looked back at his eyes with a smile and toasted his empty goblet.

Harry's face clamped up, trying to keep his emotions in check. He cast observe, but the results did not make him any calmer.

[Albus Dumbledore] [Demigod of Mind and Lies]

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Author Notes:

And from here, the story truly begins. Harry has entered the death trap that is Hogwarts, and both Dumbledore and Voldemort are right there with him. All odds seemed to be stacked against Harry but everything is not all as it seems. The second Gamer, Ember is not someone to be messed with and neither is Harry as weak as he believes himself to be.

Magic of Name, the title of the chapter says it all. Observe is just one facet of it, the other is being a Demigod. And if Dumbledore can become Demigod, so can Voldomort.