Silence. Harry cringed, too scared to open his eyes. Unlike everyone’s else’s sorting, applause did not follow, and instead only shocked whispers could be heard.
All the hope and excitement Harry had been feeling plummeted to his stomach and made him feel sick. ‘Slytherin is where all the worst sort of wizards come from’ Ron’s words echoed in his mind. He thought of Draco Malfoy and then of Voldemort who killed his parents.
Only Harry would be given such an amazing opportunity and mess it up. Even in the wizarding world he was a freak who messed everything up.
Harry felt the sorting hat being lifted from his head and looked up to see Professor McGonagall smiling softly down at him. She kindly placed a hand on his back, and he took the message and hopped down from the stool. He felt eyes on his from every direction and whispers about Slytherin, Gryffindor, his parents and you-know-who. He kept his eyes resolutely on the ground as he trudged over to the Slytherin table and sat with the other first years.
“Who’d have thought little Potty-Pot would’ve found himself in the snake pit.” Draco murmured from across him as the sorting continued in the background and he cringed. Could this have gone any worse?
“Weasley, Ronald!” Harry’s head snatched up at Ron’s name and he saw Ron do as he did before and sit upon the stool.
Maybe Ron could be in Slytherin with Harry and keep him company? Harry hoped, but his hopes were crushed as a loud “Gryffindor!” sounded throughout the hall and a cheer erupted from the Gryffindor table.
Harry sighed, that should’ve been him, if only he hadn’t had been such a freak.
Harry saw Ron grin with pride, and he went to join the other first years and he saw Ron’s brothers which Harry met on the platform, yelling and patting Ron on the back, making Ron flush and he laughed along with them.
Harry had to look away and down at his, now green, uniform as the rest of the sorting continued, and few more first years came to sit beside him. The sorting soon finished, and Professor Dumbledore came up to the front to make a speech. Harry tried to listen but his head was spinning.
He tried to stay positive. This could still be a new start for him. It didn’t matter that he was in a bad house or that he was separated from Ron or that he was yet again going to be living in close quarters with a bully (nothing new with that).
The feast began and while the other Slytherins resolutely ignored him (taking the lead from Draco), Harry tried several times to make eye contact with Ron from the Gryffindor table but had no luck. He tried to eat a little but all the sweets from the train and the added discomfort of the sorting, had make him feel a little nauseous.
Nearing the end of the feast, Dumbledore announced that the prefects would be escorting the new students to their dormitories. As everyone stood up to leave, Harry stuck another glace up at the staff table and noticed Hagrid looking at him. When he saw Harry looking back, he gave him a happy wave which Harry returned, relief flooding through him that Hagrid still liked him.
“Quite fitting how you’d made acquaintance with that massive oaf, Potty.” Draco drawled and the other first years laughed along. “Don’t you agree Blaise?”
“Yeah, they were both raised by filthy animals.” The boy who Harry assumed to be Blaise bumped Harry’s shoulder nastily as they all followed the Slytherin Prefect, and the other Slytherin first year boys roared with laughter.
Harry tried his best to remember the route they were taking, as the Prefect led them through the confusing corridors of the dungeons. He stopped in front of an unassuming brick wall and Harry stepped on his tip toes to try see how they can enter the Slytherin common room as he knew no one would help him.
“Foxglove.” The prefect said and with that, the plain brick wall transformed into a passageway of stairs. Even though Harry didn’t want to be in Slytherin, he couldn’t help but be impressed and a little excited as if he was part of a secret club.
They were all greeted with a rather large stone room, lit up with a green hue coming from the windows which Harry noticed were underwater, as small fish which harry didn’t recognise swam past. A large fireplace stood in the back, surrounded by green couches and clad with Slytherin students who curiously looked at the new students. Above the fireplace was a large snake statue, which to Harry’s shock, moved its head to look at the new students as well!
Harry’s attention was diverted when all the student’s chatting quieted to whispers and they all looked to the right, where Harry saw the tall dark teacher from the great hall striding into the common room. Harry gulped as he remembered how he glared at Harry with a dislike even before he was sorted and knew that this teacher definitely didn’t like him.
“Welcome…to Slytherin house.” He sneered. His voice was quiet, but it didn’t make it any less frightening. His eyes scanned over the first years and scrutinized them. “I am Professor Snape, Potions Master at Hogwarts but I am also Head of Slytherin House. While you are at Hogwarts, your house is your home, and your housemates are your family. Within Hogwarts, Slytherin tends to have a bad reputation,” Harry saw Professor Snape’s lip twitch as some of the older Slytherins sniggered. “But that only requires Slytherins to present an even more united front. I implore you to prove the…superstitions wrong.”
Harry smiled at this. He hoped that he could prove this superstition and reputation wrong and be a good wizard, to not be a freak. Maybe if he proved that being in Slytherin didn’t change him, Ron would still want to be friends with him…
“Ahh, and who would have thought…Harry Potter, in the snake pit…” Professor Snape drawled nastily, and Harry’s head whipped up at his name to see his head of house looking down on him cruelly, and all eyes across the room stare at him. Harry shuffled uncomfortably at the attention, his smile dropping instantly. “Celebrity status and fame will get you no where in Slytherin house, Potter. Better you know that now- save time.”
Harry felt his face burn with embarrassment as everyone sniggered once again at his expense. Even Professor Snape’s lip twitched in satisfaction. His grit his teeth and lowered his head, waiting for the ridicule to be over.
Harry was suddenly overcome by exhaustion. Today has been a long day of excitement that sadly ended in sudden disappointment and Harry was just looking forward to getting to rest his head and forget it all.
Luckily Harry’s prayers were answered, and Professor Snape moved on from Harry after getting no response and after a few more rules (including not to antagonise the squid through the window), he instructed all the first years to go to bed. All the Slytherin Dormitories were through doors of the left for the boys and the right for the girls.
Harry’s heart plummeted once more when he realised who his dormmates were. Harry trudged behind the other first year boys into the dorm and once spotting his trunk, made his way to the adjacent bed, glad to see he was closest to the exit and furthest from the other boys. Perhaps the castle knew which one he would like the most.
It was late and Harry wanted to do as Snape said and go to bed so he opened his trunk, grabbed his PJ’s and went straight to the bathroom to change- there was no way he was taking his clothes off with the other boys in the room.
He quickly changed and brushed his teeth and slipped back into the dormitories, hoping that they would all just forget he was even there. He wasn’t so lucky.
“Where’d you get the rags from Potty?” Draco called out from his bed and all the other boys laughed along.
Harry just wanted to be alone. Even at the Dursleys he had somewhere to escape all the bullying, even if it was just his small cupboard under the stairs. He’s never even slept in the same room as someone else before.
The small, tired boy ignored them and crawled into his four-poster bed, clad with emerald silk sheets, and reached for the curtains to give himself some privacy. He did feel a sense of relief when he was safe in his curtained bed and listened to the other boys chat away excitedly about Hogwarts, ignoring Harry’s existence.
Harry allowed himself a little excitement from the bed. Harry had never slept on a bed before, but this was the grandest bed he’d ever seen. He fell into the soft sheets, cushioning his body and he sighed as he thought about his day.
How could it have gone from such elation and excitement to the dread and loss he felt now. He thought about Ron up in Gryffindor without him and what could have been. It just wasn’t fair!
But Harry had learnt early on that life simply wasn’t fair, and especially not fair for one Harry Potter. Tomorrow would be better, Harry thought to himself. He let himself be happy for small things such as the magnificent bed surrounding him. It sure didn’t compare to his small mattress in his cupboard.
The soft mattress and silky sheets were pulling him in, and he curled up, listening to the other boys chatting away. Not until the last goodnight was uttered by the other boys could Harry finally relax and let himself drift off to sleep.
Chapter 2