Ambervale returned as Draco was explaining other wizarding games. After listening silently for a moment, he said, "If you wish to play Exploding Snap with any sort of regularity, you should try to find a set of cards with a docile disposition. The more temperamental ones can explode prematurely or bite if you continuously try to put them somewhere they don't wish to go." He smirked when both boys jumped. "Having fun?"

 

Draco shuffled his feet. "I...I was just trying to teach him about wizard games. That's all."

 

Ambervale's smirk widened. "So I heard."

 

Harry glanced up at the counselor. "He just explained Quidditch to me. It sounds...neat."

 

Ambervale snorted and sat down across from them. "Ah yes, Quidditch. No other game has love of flight, joy of the chase, and thrill of victory all rolled into one." He settled back into the seat. "And no other game lets you cheer for ball to hit player you don't like." His voice was tart. Over Draco's snickering, he said, "It's dangerous game, never forget that, no matter how fun it is." Harry nodded. "Good." He watched quietly as the snidget zipped through the air above their heads. "That bird presents unique situation."

 

Harry blinked at him, watching the snidget too. The little bird darted through the air a few more times before it suddenly dived down to land on Harry's shoulder. "What do you mean, sir?

 

The counselor frowned minutely. "It makes for difficult problem." He straightened up. "Because of the rarity of the golden snidget, its numbers are very closely monitored as are its habitats. You see, it is so rare because wizardkind hunted it almost to the point of extinction. Many muggles and mortals did too, and many will still kill it if given a chance. Not to mention the fact that it has a blatantly magical look to it." His frown deepened. "Because of this, ownership of them is strictly prohibited, and all sanctuary snidgets are fitted with unbreakable and unalterable identification and tracking spells. If one got out, it would be the work of moments for any sanctuary owner or government employee to capture it."

 

Draco snorted. "Father would disagree."

 

Ambervale rolled his eyes. "Not everyone in the Ministry of Magic is incompetent." He waved a hand. "The strange thing is that this snidget has no spells of any kind on it, which leads to inescapable conclusion that somewhere, there are wild snidgets thriving. The Ministry will want to know where it came from, but I doubt you have any more idea than we do." Harry nodded in agreement. Ambervale drew his wand and aimed it at the bird.  "In dubium nodus."

 

Looking like a thread, a thin gold line appeared, connecting Harry and the snidget. Ambervale put his wand away, looking satisfied. Harry just felt confused, and Draco looked mystified. The snidget, however, looked mildly affronted, or at least as much as it was possible for a bird to look.

 

The professor leaned back. "I suspected as much." Both boys stared at him. "The snidget has chosen to be your familiar. As the spell shows, you have already begun a bond."

 

Harry blinked. "But I'm only allowed one pet. What am I going to do?"

 

The counselor laughed. "Hogwarts has provisions for special circumstances. This qualifies. For now, let matter rest. I will contact a Ministry representative once we arrive at the school and go from there." He waved a hand airily. "Make yourself comfortable. It will be a long ride." Harry nodded and settled back in his seat with his sketchpad.

 

Draco hopped up next to him. "What are you going to name it?"

 

Harry shrugged. "I don't know if I can keep it. Didn't he say ownership was strictly prohibited?"

 

Draco grinned. "Well, usually yeah. But Father once told me that the Ministry doesn't interfere with things like familiar bonds."

 

"Correct." Ambervale was smirking again. "Which puts snidget in legal gray area. Ownership is prohibited, but so is bond interference." His smirk broadened. "My guess, bond will win over ownership prohibition."

 

"Why?" Harry stroked the snidget's back. The little bird let out a soft trill.

 

Ambervale's smirk dropped faster than thought. "When a witch or wizard bonds with a familiar, they tie them into their magic. Damaging the bond can harm the witch or wizard's magic and/or the owner's health. The effects can be life long. It's not something that should be tampered with."

 

Harry shivered as he felt a chill run through him. Beside him, Draco asked, "But that hardly ever happens right? I mean, no one's dumb enough to mess with a bond, are they?"

 

Ambervale scowled. "One would think, but sadly no. There was a case about two hundred years back. One wizard wanted another's familiar for himself, so he severed the bond. The resulting magical backlash killed the familiar and seriously injured its wizard and the caster of the spell. After that, tampering with a bond by anyone but a trained professional became punishable by death."

 

Harry shivered again. Spoken in Ambervale's peculiar accent, it sounded even more ominous. That's definitely not something I needed to hear.

 

As if reading his thoughts, Ambervale shook his head. "If it comes to that, it won't be a problem. At this stage, the bond is still tenuous enough that breaking it won't make a difference. It's really better not to worry about it until the time comes." He leaned back into his seat as the train finally shuddered into motion. He reached into his sleeves and muttered something, eventually pulling out a book. Handing it to Harry, he said, "This will be of some use to you, I think."

 

The book itself was very thick. It had an odd shield emblem, on which were four animals: a lion, a snake, a raven, and a badger. Underneath the shield were the words, "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus." Above the shield was the book's title, "Hogwarts: A History."

 

Harry looked up when the counselor spoke again. "Not perfect unfortunately, but it's one of the few sources that documents back to the school's beginning. No book exists that tells everything about Hogwarts." He watched as Harry squinted at the words beneath the shield. "That is the school's motto. When translated, it reads ‘Never tickle a sleeping dragon." He burst out laughing at the expression on Harry and Draco's faces. "I believe one of the founders said it from experience."

 

Draco snorted. "They didn't really?"

 

Ambervale's smile turned a little wry. "He certainly did. From what I understand, it was in reference to a cousin's actions rather than his own, however. How it managed to become the school's motto...well, world may never know." He made a dismissive gesture and stood. "Read it, and don't let cover fool you." He opened the door and peered out. "Seems alright, but looks can deceive." Stepping through the door, he said. "I'm going to check to make sure everyone settled alright. Will bring lunch when I return." He stepped out, shutting the door with a snap.

 

After a few minutes, Draco said, "I still think he's a little odd."

 

Harry let out a huff of silent laughter. "Okay so maybe he is a little strange. But I still think he's pretty cool." He blinked as he remembered something Pamela had said to him once. "A friend of mine told me once that all the best people are a little strange. I think she was right."  He frowned and resolved to ask Professor Ambervale about her the instant he came back.  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Draco pull a pack of cards from his trunk, and start shuffling them.

 

Draco looked up after a minute. "Um...do you want to play?" He flipped down an armrest. "I can make it two players, if you want."

 

Harry frowned minutely and shook his head. "You'll probably cream me."

 

Draco frowned back. "Not if I teach you!" He reddened. "Well, not after a few games anyway."

 

Harry let out another silent laugh and set the book aside. "Oh, all right then. I suppose you've convinced me."  Draco grinned.

 

They were halfway through their second game of exploding snap when they were interrupted. By this point, both of them had had at least one explosion. The fringe of Harry's bangs was still smoking slightly. They both looked up to find a girl with a face that reminded Harry of a pug. She was flanked by two muscular looking boys. Upon seeing them, Draco calmly licked his fingers and pinched the still burning cinder in Harry's hair, dousing it.

 

The girl wrinkled her nose, probably trying to look haughty. All it really did was enhance her resemblance to a pug. "Draco! Darling! We've been looking everywhere for you!" She seemed not to have noticed Harry. "Why in Merlin's name didn't you come and sit with us?"

 

Draco coughed with his face slightly reddening. "I...um." He didn't sound as though he was going to come up with an answer any time soon.

 

The girl evidently thought so too. "You what?" She put her hands on her hips and looked at him accusingly. Then she looked around and spotted Harry. "And just who is this?" She sounded utterly scornful.

 

Draco straightened up. "Harry, this is Pansy Parkinson." He pointed to the girl. Then he pointed to the boys on either side of her. "That's Crabbe, and that's Goyle." Both boys nodded at him. Pansy just gave a disdainful sniff. "Everyone, this is Harry-"

 

Pansy cut him off before he could finish. "You needn't bother, Draco dear. I can see his standing already." She sniffed. "But it was decent of you to point out his betters to him. At least he won't have to find out himself." She flinched when Hedwig hissed at her from the luggage rack. The snowy owl had obviously taken offense on behalf of her owner. After a moment, the girl regained her composure. "Forget the Mudblood, Draco, and come sit with us."

 

The red in Draco's face became much more pronounced, scaling towards a nasty brick color. "He's not a mudblood!" he snapped.

 

Pansy blinked, looking rather startled. Then she scrutinized Harry a little more closely. "Half blood then, but still not worth our time."

 

Draco let out a low growl. "If you must know, Pansy, this is Professor Ambervale's compartment, and Mother wanted me to ride with him." He made a gesture at Harry behind his back that Harry understood to mean he was lying through his teeth.

 

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Fine then, we'll just sit here."

 

"I'm afraid that is not possible." Everyone jumped as Ambervale made his presence known. Harry wondered how long he'd been there. "Have important personal matters to discuss with them, so off you go." He breezed in carrying three trays of food. He set them down before rounding on the trio and making a shooing gesture with his hands.

 

Evidently recognizing that it wouldn't be wise to disobey, they left, looking somewhat sullen. Harry looked at Draco. "Are all your friends like that?"

 

Draco shook his head. "Pansy's not usually that bad. And Crabbe and Goyle are better conversation pieces than conversationalists." He frowned. "It's just that they're all...well-"

 

Fortunately, Professor Ambervale apparently decided to rescue him. "Pansy Parkinson, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, and indeed Mister Malfoy himself are what our world calls Purebloods." He said the word with a strange sneering emphasis that seemed rather out of character for him, which told Harry only too clearly what he thought of the idea. "This means that they have no muggle or mortal ancestors anywhere within their family tree." He waved a hand airily. "At least none that they can find." He frowned. "Most of the pureblood families are rich in land, money, or both. This and the fact that they are purely magical makes the majority of them proud and prone to look down on those of mixed blood or muggle birth." He paused. "Though some families are better than others."

 

Harry frowned and looked at Draco again. "So I'm supposed to be beneath you or something?"

 

Twin patches of scarlet appeared on Draco cheeks. "You're not!" He coughed. "I mean, half bloods and mud-muggleborns are supposed to be, but-"

 

Ambervale took up where he left off. "In pureblood society, there is much emphasis placed on blood and social status. As a half-blood, that is someone with only one magical parent, you would therefore be lower in status than them, but above one who was a muggleborn, which is someone born to two non-magical parents." He grinned slightly. "You, however, fall in different category. Both because of your actual bloodline and because of your role in the events surrounding the end of the last wizarding war." He started chuckling when he caught sight of the utterly confused look on Harry's face. "My advice is not to worry about it. Worry instead about which house you want to go in."

 

Draco grinned. "I'm hoping for Slytherin."

 

Ambervale's lips quirked. "Slytherin is the house of the cunning and ambitious. It's not as bad as many make it out to be, but it gets bad reputation." He scowled. "Unfortunately, is true that a remarkable number of dark wizards have come from there, Voldemort himself included." He huffed. "House also attracts extraordinary number of purebloods."

 

Harry frowned. Slytherin was starting to sound less and less like a place he'd want to be.

 

Ambervale shook his head. "Regardless, all houses have something to recommend, so can't say one is better than another." He gave Harry and Draco a once over. "Well? It's not poisoned. Eat your lunch." Both boys grinned and tucked in.

 

It was sometime later that Harry found himself being shaken awake. Draco was looking at him worriedly. "Are you all right?" Harry flinched away from Draco's hand before he could stop himself. The dream had felt far too real.

 

This time he had actually gotten a good look at the red-eyed creatures. He shuddered again. "Skeletons." He could still see their eerie faces leering out at him, bony smiles firmly in place.

 

Ambervale frowned at the seemingly nonsensical answer. Then his expression cleared. "Ah, a nightmare."

 

Harry shook his head. "Didn't feel like one, at least not there at the end"

 

Ambervale smiled as he produced a handkerchief from one sleeve and wiped Harry's forehead with it. "Oh? What makes you say that?"

 

Harry frowned. "There was a lady. She was smiling at me. She got rid of the skeletons too. I think...she saved me."  Thinking very hard, he managed to recall a little bit of her. She had been tall; a good six foot something, had blue eyes framed by a heart shaped face, and along with the glove, or gloves rather, had twin blue spheres hanging from her ears. He vaguely remembered something gold. Hair perhaps? Unfortunately, there his memory of her appearance failed him.  He huffed a little, frustrated that he couldn't remember more of her.  Her victory over the skeletons, however, he remembered very clearly. She had clasped her hands together before making some sort of flinging motion. This had resulted in a cloud of sparkles of light that had enveloped the creatures. They had instantly fallen apart amongst gouts of thick gray smoke, letting out unearthly howls and terrifying screams.

 

Then she turned to him and smiled. After a moment, she spoke. That too he remembered clearly. "That was quite a close call, dearie." She reached down and held out a hand to him. "I can imagine how frightening this must be, and it's okay to be afraid sometimes. But I promise you that you're safe with me and everything will be ok. Just have courage." Her smile had widened. "No matter how nasty they are, even the worst of creatures respect true courage. So have a little of that, and remember that you aren't alone here. I promise I'll get you back safely." Looking back at it, Harry realized she meant every word. It was...strange to hear someone making a promise like that to him of all people.

 

Ambervale was eyeing him rather strangely. "Often times a dream or nightmare tries to make us realize something we need to know."

 

Harry frowned. "She told me that no matter how nasty they are, even the worst of creatures respect true courage."

 

This time the counselor grinned. "Very true. The most powerful man in the world would be next to inconsequential if he lacked the courage to use it." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Amazing what one can do when they have courage to try it." He frowned. "Just remember, courage is not a patch for common sense, so have a care."

 

Harry nodded, looking and feeling slightly perplexed. He cast about for a moment before asking, "How much longer will it be?"

 

To his consternation, the counselor burst out laughing. "You mean you haven't noticed?" He gestured at the window. "The train's already arrived at station. That's why we woke you up. Been asleep for hours, but just as well because you looked like you needed it."

 

Harry hauled himself up and peered out the window. They had indeed arrived at a station. Steam billowed around the compartments, and the station lights gave it a strange unreal look. Then there was a mighty hiss, followed by a loud, piercing whistle.

 

Ambervale clapped his hands together. "And there's the signal. Time to get off." He suddenly had his wand in his hand and gave it a flick. There was a sudden maelstrom of activity as both boys' belongings repacked themselves into the trunks, and the remains of their lunch vanished away. Harry heard Hedwig give an indignant and rather undignified squawk of surprise as she found herself returned to the cage. The snidget, however, landed on Harry's head, looking defiant.

 

Ambervale let out a snort. "Fine, be that way." He glanced at Harry. "Keep him in a pocket until you're alone. Let's not cause any more problems than we need to." Harry nodded and reached a hand out tentatively towards the bird. To his surprise, the little avian hopped instantly into his outstretched hand. It didn't make so much as a sound as Harry put it into an inside pocket of his robe. After shuffling around for a moment, it went still, apparently going to sleep. Ambervale smiled slightly at the look of surprise on Harry's face. "I have always believed that most animals are more intelligent than they let on."  Harry grinned.

 

The three of them were among the first to disembark. A rather enormous shadow was at one end of the train station, partially obscured by the steam from the engine. Ambervale steered them towards it. As they drew near, a faint rattling sound came from it. A lantern was suddenly blazing, throwing light in all directions and causing the shadow to reveal itself as Hagrid.

 

The groundskeeper must not have noticed them. He checked the lantern before straightening up and giving a booming shout of, "First years over here!" Then he looked down. "Harry!" His voice was mercifully quieter.

 

Ambervale chuckled. "I shall leave them in your hands, Rubeus."

 

Hagrid nodded. As the professor made to leave though, he snapped his fingers. "Oh! Professor!" Ambervale turned back around.

 

"Yes, Rubeus?"

 

Hagrid looked a little sheepish. "Sorry. I just remembered. Can you go and see Madame Pince? Apparently the Restricted section is having problems."

 

Ambervale frowned. "Problems? How? Usually the Dark Maiden keeps it well in hand." He glanced over at Harry and Draco. "Dark Maiden is ghost that usually haunts restricted section of the library. It's not her real name, but very few know what that is."

 

Hagrid nodded. "Aye, and a right secretive ghost she is too." To Ambervale, he said, "I said the same thing, but Pince tol' me she's not seen her for close on a week. Matter o' fact, last any of the other ghosts saw her was at their annual meeting night before last. Madame Pince's ready to go spare. A bunch o' the more dangerous books got into a brawl last night.

 

Ambervale's eyes widened. "How long did that last?"

 

Hagrid shrugged. "Dunno. Neither does Pince." He broke off for a moment to let out another shout of, "First years over here! First years this way!" Then he turned back to Ambervale. "Pince said she broke it up when she came in this morning. Apparently, it spilled out into the rest o' the books. The place was in a right state last time I saw with papers and binding everywhere."

 

Ambervale shook his head. "Whichever one started it was obviously waiting to be sure Dark Maiden wasn't around."

 

Hagrid nodded. "Pince was hoping you could help her get things fixed, or at the very least track down the Dark Maiden."

 

"I shall do both. I just have to send a message to the Ministry first. Was there anything else?" Hagrid shook his head. "Very well then, I shall see you all at the feast. Until then, gentlemen." With that, he turned on his heel and disappeared with a loud crack.

 

By now, Hagrid had quite a crowd of first year students gathered around him. Although if it was from the shouts or Hagrid's enormous frame, no one was certain. Regardless, it only took a few more renditions before Hagrid determined everyone was there. "All right then, you lot, follow me!" He led them off the platform and down a path that seemed to go on forever. Finally, though, they reached the edge of what appeared to be a gigantic lake. There was a small fleet of boats tethered to the ground near them. Hagrid led them there. "Everybody, in now. No more'n three to a boat."

 

Pansy Parkinson chose this moment to appear and latch onto Draco. "Come on, Draco! Everyone's been wanting to talk to you!" With this, she tightened her hold and more or less dragged the pouting boy over to a knot of students.

 

Hagrid chuckled. "I don't think he much wanted ter do that." He turned to Harry. "Harry, you're with me." Then he reached down and scooped something out of a boat. "Oi! Somebody lost a toad?"

 

"Trevor!" A trembling round faced boy shot forward out of the throng of students and scooped up the toad.

 

Hagrid put his hands on his hips. "You'll be wanting to keep a good eye on your pets at Hogwarts," he said this to the crowd in general, but it was mostly directed towards the boy. "They can wander as they please, but if they get in trouble, they're your responsibility." The boy nodded. Hagrid grinned. "All right then. Everybody, inter the boats now! Wouldn't do ter keep the whole castle waiting."

 

He watched as the students climbed into the fleet of boats. Harry was unsurprised to see that Draco ended up with Pansy Parkinson. The third occupant was either Crabbe or Goyle. Harry didn't remember which one was which. The two boys were for the most part utterly unremarkable. They're like Tweedledee and Tweedledum.  Harry flinched when Hagrid lifted him up into the boat before climbing in himself.

 

As before, Hagrid either didn't notice Harry's reaction, or he politely ignored it. Instead, he pointed a finger in the general direction of the lake ahead of them. "Let's be off!" Instantly, the entire flotilla of boats started moving. It was nowhere near the manic pace that had been taken by the boat that driven them from the hut on the rock. This was much more sedate, almost leisurely in fact.

 

Harry blinked. "It's almost like they do this every year."

 

It wasn't until Hagrid answered him that Harry realized the quill had written it as a statement. "Aye, that they do. It's tradition to bring the first years to Hogwarts by boat, been doing that ever since the school first opened. It's our way of reminding ourselves of our roots." He grinned. "Professor Ambervale found a way to help you speak after all eh?"

 

Harry nodded. "Yeah. It'll take me while to get used to it, but it works great!"

 

Hagrid nodded. "Knew he would, of course. When Professor Ambervale sets his mind to it, there ain't much he can't do. And he's been acting as counselor for as long as anyone can remember. A good man he is." He suddenly raised his voice. "Eyes up front now! You'll be getting your first view of the castle in a few minutes!" To Harry, he said, "Wait'll you see it. It's always a beautiful sight at night."

 

They rounded a bend, and Harry found himself in complete agreement with Hagrid. There a short distance away, an enormous castle rose from out of the darkness, every window blazing with warm light. The entire structure shone like a beacon, casting a pale orange glow across the rippling water, and giving the castle itself a faint glowing nimbus of light.

 

Hagrid grinned. "I've always said that there's no place better'n Hogwarts."

 

Harry nodded. "It looks wonderful." 

 

Hagrid's grin widened. "Knew you'd say that. Said the same thing myself the first I saw it." A few minutes later, they arrived at a small dock. This time Harry made certain to get out of the boat before he was picked up again. Hagrid led the knot of children up to a large door and gave several booming knocks. It opened almost immediately to reveal a rather stern looking woman. Hagrid coughed. "The first years, Professor McGonagall."

 

Harry's first thought was that this was a person whom it wouldn't be wise to cross. She didn't do anything to dispel the impression either. "Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take them from here." Hagrid nodded and trudged away through a side entrance. As soon as the door had shut behind him, Professor McGonagall turned to face them. Without preamble, she said, "While you are here at Hogwarts, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you points. Any rule breaking, and you will lose them. I expect all of you to be on your best behavior." She strode towards a door and opened it. "This way please."

 

She led them into an enormous hall and between several tables lined with students. When they reached a clear area in front of what appeared to be the head table, the professor stopped them and accepted a battered three legged stool and a tattered looking wizard's hat from Hagrid and set them down in front of them. The hat looked particularly forlorn. Harry knew that Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it within ten feet of her front yard.

 

Then to Harry's surprise, the hat quite suddenly straightened up, opened a rip near the brim, and burst into song.

 

  "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 top 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 steady mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk 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 applauded with the rest of the hall, thinking that the hat sounded somewhat airy, which he supposed made sense considering its condition.

 

Professor McGonagall soon regained order. She unrolled a rather large scroll and called out crisply, "When I call your name, you will put the hat on your head and be sorted into your house after which you will join your housemates at your table." She cleared her throat before calling, "Abbott, Hannah!"

 

A trembling girl hesitantly came up and sat down on the stool. McGonagall gently placed the hat on her head and stepped back. The front of the hat immediately contorted into a rough approximation of a smile. Then it started mumbling. Finally, it shouted, "Hufflepuff!" A table underneath a banner with a badger on it started cheering.

 

Harry glanced around the hall as the sorting continued. The other three tables, bearing banners of a lion, snake, and raven, were watching the hat intently. When a sudden shout of "Slytherin!" rent the air, the table underneath the snake banner started applauding.

 

Harry frowned. They certainly look full of themselves.  The majority of the occupants of the table were either sneering at the unsorted first years, or scowling and looking bored.

 

"Granger, Hermione!" Harry looked back up front as a girl with bushy brown hair came up and sat down on the stool. She looked a mix of determined and terrified.

 

The hat took longer to decide with her than the others. Finally, though it shouted, "Gryffindor!" The table with the lion banner started cheering. This table actually looked a sight more welcoming than the Slytherin table, and not just because they all looked interested in the sorting.

 

The last table he assumed to be Ravenclaw. This was confirmed a moment later when a student was sorted into the house. They too looked more welcoming, if a bit more formal about it.

 

After a particularly long sorting for "Longbottom, Neville," who accidentally left with the hat and had to run back amid copious amounts of laughter, came "Malfoy, Draco!" The boy sauntered up to the stool, looking only slightly nervous.

 

As it turned out, he needn't have been. The hat's decision was almost immediate. "Slytherin!" Harry suddenly noticed Professor Snape was actually clapping along with everyone else, something he hadn't done for any other student so far.

 

"Parkinson, Pansy!" The hat took even less time with her than it had for Draco.

 

"Slytherin!" She sashayed over to the clapping table and sat down, latching onto Draco's arm and giving a rather haughty looking smile.

 

Finally, after "Patil, Padma!" and "Patil, Parvati!", who went to Ravenclaw and Gryffindor respectively, came "Potter, Harry!"

 

As he walked up to the stool, he heard loud whispers flying around the hall. "Potter, did she say?" "The Harry Potter?!" Then the hat went over his head, and all the sounds were cut off as the brim covered his eyes.

 

~Measurements~

 

Professor Snape sneered slightly as the Headmaster leaned forward in his seat. "Headmaster, you're like a little child."

 

Albus turned away from the brat on the stool just long enough to give him a reproachful look. "Now, Severus, the sorting is quite a special event."

 

Severus snorted. "Really? I haven't seen you show this much interest in any of the other students." He let his lips turn up slightly as the Headmaster coughed and sat back in his seat.

 

~Measurements~

 

Harry flinched slightly when a voice suddenly started talking in his ear. "Hmm...difficult, very difficult. Now let's see... There's courage, plenty of courage, and a thirst, a thirst to prove yourself. But where to put you? You'd do well in Slytherin."

 

Harry gripped the stool. Unbidden, the voice of the woman from his dream rang through his mind. "Even the worst creatures respect true courage."

 

He steeled himself and gripped the stool harder. Not Slytherin, he thought.

 

The hat evidently heard him. "Not Slytherin, eh?" Harry got the impression that it had been caught somewhat off guard. "What's the matter? Got something against Slytherin?"

 

Harry grimaced slightly. I should ask you that.  His frown deepened. ‘Or perhaps in Slytherin, you'll make your real friends, those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends,' he quoted. You don't exactly paint them so well yourself.

 

~Measurements~

 

Severus felt his brow dip in puzzlement as the sorting hat suddenly went ramrod straight, looking more like a muggle imitation of a witches hat than its usual tattered self. Then it burst out into a loud bellowing laugh that was quite unlike its usual voice. The Potter whelp flinched so hard he almost fell off the stool.

 

Poppy snorted from her seat next to him. "It's finally gone mad. I always knew it would go round the twist."

 

Mahalestro, who was sitting next to her, quirked an eyebrow. "Why is that?"

 

Poppy's answering snort was even less elegant than the previous one. "It uses some strange form of legilimency to read students and sort them. And I'm given to understand that it remembers all of them too. It had to cause problems sooner or later."

 

Mahalestro tapped his chin. "Fair point, I suppose." Poppy smirked. "Except for the fact that it only remembers those it wants to remember." Her smirk dropped like a rock to be replaced with surprise. "It usually employs some sort of memory spell that lets it forget others unless it needs to recall them for something." Then he turned back to the hat, leaving a thoughtful looking matron.

 

~Measurements~

 

The hat meanwhile had finally calmed down, or at least enough to talk to Harry again. "Well, now. In all my years, no one's ever dared quote my own song against me! That takes courage!" It sounded highly amused and a touch impressed. "But honestly, do you have something against Slytherin?"

 

Harry sighed gustily, making the brim ripple slightly. "Let's just say I've seen enough. Draco might not be so bad, but..."

 

"But it would take more than that for it to be bearable for you." The hat finished. It let out a mental sigh. "Very well. That being the case, and after a show of daring like that, I suppose it better be...Gryffindor!" Harry realized the last word had been shouted out to the hall at large.

 

~Measurements~

 

Severus scowled at the cacophony of noise that erupted from the Gryffindor table. The Weasley twins were jumping up and down shouting, "We got Potter! We got Potter!" He made a mental note to deduct points the first class he had them in.

 

Then he frowned as he saw the sorting hat. "Is it...disappointed?"  It looked strangely limp and wilted in Minerva's hand.

 

Ambervale evidently agreed with him. "Hat looks remarkably unhappy," he commented. "Looks like it was denied great treat."

 

Severus snorted. "What could it possibly have to be dejected about?" he snapped. "It's put the boy where he belongs." Ambervale merely quirked an eyebrow and turned back to the sorting. Severus shook his head and leaned back in his seat. He didn't notice that the hat wasn't the only one that looked rather disappointed. One of his own first years felt the same. However, the young boy kept his expression schooled.

 

~Measurements~

 

Harry quickly found himself wedged into a gaggle of redheads with the bushy haired Granger girl sitting across from him. The redheads were particularly boisterous, shooting questions at him faster than he could follow. It made it even more difficult because of the fact they were speaking in loud whispers. This was because Professor McGonagall had sent the table a look that could have curdled water at the racket they were making.

 

The rest of the sorting went by without much fuss with the exception of another redhead, "Weasley, Ronald!" being sorted to the Gryffindor table. It seemed the whole family was in the house.

 

The Headmaster's speech was also similarly uneventful. Other than saying that the third floor corridor on the right hand side was out of bounds to anyone who didn't wish to "Die a most painful death," and his few words, "Nitwit, oddment, blubber, tweak," there wasn't much to take note of. Until the Headmaster sat down, that was. As soon as he was seated, the golden plates and platters suddenly became loaded down with every sort of food imaginable. The newest Weasley attacked them as if he hadn't eaten in days.

 

~Measurements~

 

Severus sneered at the Gryffindor table before he leaned over to the Headmaster. "I was under the impression the students were going to be informed of Mahalestro's project."

 

Dumbledore smiled and waved a hand airily. "Yes, of course, Severus, but not today. I didn't think it particularly wise to drop an announcement like that before our new students had even had a night to settle in."

 

Severus nodded and sat back, noting the somewhat disturbed look on the Potter brat's face. Given the obscene table display occurring next to him, though, the potions master supposed it was understandable. The new Weasley child is going to be a nightmare. Then he pushed the Gryffindors out of his mind and tucked into his own meal.

 

~Measurements~

 

All too soon, the feast was over. It was the most Harry had ever eaten. The Dursleys were never keen on feeding him much. That is if they did at all. As the students started to file out of the hall, one of the red heads stood up. "First year Gryffindors, over here please." He sounded rather pompous. When the small knot of students had gathered around him, he said, "I will show you how to find the Gryffindor common room. Make sure you pay close attention, particularly when you're on the stairs. They like to move about." With this rather cryptic statement, he turned and led them through a large set of doors at the end of the hall.

 

About halfway up one of the staircases, Harry understood what he meant. A low rumbling came from farther up, and he watched as a stairway suddenly started moving, coming to a halt when it connected with the staircase they were on. The tall redhead, whom Harry later found out was named Percy, said, "They're behaving today because you're all new. Next week they start following their own patterns, so learn the way now while you have the chance."

 

As they rounded a corridor a few minutes later, they came across what appeared to be a large pile of walking sticks floating in midair. Percy made motion to the first years to stop and strode forward. "Peeves! Show yourself!"

 

The pile of walking sticks blew what was unmistakably a raspberry. Then one of the sticks detached from the pile and arced lazily towards the group.

 

Percy caught it and scowled. "I mean it Peeves! Show yourself and be gone! Or else I'll send for the Bloody Baron and the Dark Maiden!"

 

That had an immediate effect. The air around the walking sticks shimmered for a moment and resolved into a scowling little man in a suit. "You're nothing but a spoilsport." His voice was high and rather nasal. He turned his attention to the first years. "Watch out, ickle firsties! Peevesies watching you!" Then he threw the walking sticks in the air and zoomed away, cackling madly.

 

In the ringing silence that followed, Percy started to gather up walking sticks and said, "That was Peeves. He's a poltergeist. Best just to keep out of his way if you can. The only ones that can really control him are the Bloody Baron and the Dark Maiden. He doesn't usually mess around if there's a professor nearby, though." He finished picking up the walking sticks and handed them to a nearby suit of armor, which accepted them and gave him a salute before going still again.

 

One of the first years towards the back piped up. "Who are the Bloody Baron and the Dark Maiden?"

 

As they set off again, Percy said, "The Bloody Baron is the official house ghost of Slytherin. I'm not sure exactly why Peeves obeys him, well, other than the fact that the baron is stronger than the average ghost."

 

"And the Dark Maiden?"

 

"She's another ghost, and she primarily haunts the restricted section of the library. She's perhaps the most anti-social inhabitant in the castle. I only ever see her at certain important meetings. She comes and goes where she wants, but she's the first ghost the castle ever had, and she's very powerful. She doesn't even look much like a ghost. Peeves is terrified of her and won't even go near the library." He frowned. "Regardless, if you need either of them, they will respond in their own way. Though, the baron is far more likely to appear in person."

 

They rounded another corner and came upon an enormous portrait of a rather large woman. Several students jumped when she smiled and turned to face them fully. "New Gryffindors?" When Percy nodded, her smile widened and she clapped her hands together. "Splendid!" She spread her arms and gestured behind her, which somehow gave her painting a very odd perspective "I guard the Gryffindor common room, dears. As with all portrait-guarded rooms, there are emergency methods of entry, but they only show up in extreme situations. Most of the time, you'll need to have a student inside let you in or give me the password." She looked at Percy. "Speaking of which..." She trailed of inquiringly.

 

Percy nodded. "Caput Draconis."

 

She nodded. "Quite right." The painting inside the frame swung inwards. "Come in."

 

Percy nodded, but held them back for a moment. "As she said, the Fat Lady will not let you in without the password, so make sure you don't forget it. You'll get your class timetables in the morning. For now, I suggest you take the time to get settled in and get some sleep. Boys, your dormitories are the staircase on the right. Girls, the same on your left. You'll find your things have already been brought up. Look for your name on the door to find your dormitory."  With that, he led them inside.

 

Harry, who was at the back of the group, thought he heard a huff from the portrait at the start of Percy's explanation. As soon as he was inside, it shut with a rather forcible snap. I don't think she liked that much.  His attention was drawn back up front when Percy suddenly drew in a sharp breath.

 

"Mister Weasley, are you always that long winded? You really need to learn to make things succinct. I've been waiting quite some time now." Harry's head snapped towards the front of the group almost of its own accord. That voice was one he knew and remembered very well.

 

Percy flushed slightly and turned to face the group. "Everyone, this is the Dark Maiden." He turned back. "We actually would have been here sooner, but we encountered Peeves along the way, Madame." He paused. "Was there something you needed from me?"

 

The Dark Maiden snorted. "Peeves, I might have known. He always goes for the Gryffindors." Then she let out a quiet laugh. "Need something from you? Well, yes, in a manner of speaking." She let out another quiet laugh. "I came to see a student you're escorting." Harry abruptly realized that the common room was full of students of all ages, all of whom were whispering with each other. From what he could gather, this was the first time the Dark Maiden had ever entered the common room.

 

The Dark Maiden ignored them entirely. A strange breeze blew through the group, making several people stumble. "Budge up, and spread out everyone." They finally did, revealing the speaker and making it so that Harry's useless straining was no longer needed.

 

He was not disappointed either. There, floating in midair in front of them was Pamela. She was almost exactly as Harry remembered her. She was wearing a gown reminiscent of a princess, jet black with silver trimmings. Embroidered around her right sleeve was a silver snake with the head resting just in front of her hand. Her hair cascaded freely down her back, clouding away like smoke as it reached her feet. The almost white blond hair still shone with the faint green tint that he remembered from before, and to a lesser extent, so did her pale skin.

 

She squinted around at them for a moment before she spotted what she was looking for. When she found the student she was looking for, her bluish-purple eyes instantly widened in satisfaction. "Kiddo!" She flew over to Harry, and before he knew what was happening, she had swept him up in a hug. "You're finally here! I don't mind telling you it's been quite dull without you around." She backed up a pace or two. "And don't you look smart! Muggle clothing never did suit you." Then she laughed and hugged him again.

 

Harry hugged her back. The entirety of Gryffindor house was staring at him, but he didn't care. He had his first real friend back.