Chapter 7: The Sorting
Maximum Security Block, Azkaban, Somewhere in the Atlantic
Night had almost fallen, and Sirius Black was pacing the few feet around his cell. If anyone had looked in, they would have noticed that he seemed unusually healthy for a man that had been in that very cell for the last ten years. It was all thanks to the food that now appeared each morning and night, courtesy of the mysterious Blazewing.
Sirius also had a letter, crumpled and looking as though it had been read dozens of times in the past few days, in his hand, scrunched within his fist. The letter had said that he had to return to Harry today, but how?
Tonight was the first full moon since he had recieved the letter, and Harry would be arriving at Hogwarts within a couple of hours, but he was still stuck here. Was there something he missed? Some sort of clue? What did he have to do?
Suddenly, Sirius heard his cell door creak open behind him, causing him to spin with lightning reflexes, restored back to normal along with his health, towards the cell door. Sirius didn't move for a minute, not daring to hope that someone was allowing him to escape. Slowly but surely, he crept to the cell door, looking around and seeing noone. Taking a step forward, he was outside his cell. He was almost free! Now he just had to find a way out.
"Sirius Black."
Shit. The voice came from the darkness, where he had failed to notice two people standing with one of the auror guards. Sirius growled in anger. They were far from the first people that he expected to turn up here, especially tonight.
"You got me, Dumbledore," Sirius snarled. "What are you going to do? Have the dementors kiss me, to prevent me from escaping again? I didn't open the door, but I wasn't about to let the chance go to waste. I need to go to my Godson."
Dumbledore stepped away from the wall and into the light, looking particularly ruffled, as if he had endured a very long day. "You misunderstand, Sirius," Dumbledore said quietly. "I am sorry for the years that you have spent behind these walls, an innocent man, but you are free. We opened your cell, Sirius. Cornelius and I are here to take you away, and to give you your freedom, along with our most heartfelt apologies."
"Save it, Dumbledore. You could have prevented this. You cast the spell, making Peter the secret keeper. All you had to do was provide evidence that I was innocent!" Sirius cried.
"Be that as it may. And I do regret that I did not speak up for you sooner. However, had I given testimony to the fact, there was still no evidence that you did not murder Peter and those muggles that day after you cornered him."
"At least I would have gotten a trial!" Sirius yelled. "I could have asked for veritaserum to prove the truth."
At this point, Fudge stepped forward. "Now see here, man. We are here to release you, and offer you reimbursement for being so wrongly accused and imprisoned. But let me tell you, Sirius Black. I know Barty Crouch. I have worked with him for several years. The man's a fanatic! He wouldn't have given you a trial anyways, much less veritaserum! You would have just been a casualty of war. At least now, the truth is finally out. Are you willing to put all the past differences aside and work with us? We took your life away, and we want to help you rebuild it. For starters, Dumbledore has asked to accompany me with an offer. I suggest that you hear him out."
"Fine," growled Sirius. "But first, tell me how you finally found out that I'm innocent."
Fudge and Dumbledore looked at each other, communicating silently. "We found Peter," Dumbledore finally answered.
"W-What? Where? How?" Sirus stuttered out. "Where is he now, I still want to murder him for what he did to Lily and James!"
"Calm down, man. Peter Pettigrew is dead!" Fudge said exasperatedly.
Sirius looked stunned. "Dead?"
"I have a feeling that if you read the Daily Prophet tomorrow, you will be able to read the story for yourself. I believe that Cornelius made a very good decision earlier today regarding the matter," Dumbledore said. "For now, we must be going. Would you like to come with us, Sirius? You can, of course, stay if you like. You are a free man, after all."
"I'll come, but can I see Harry?"
Dumbledore raised his arm, and their method of travel became apparent as Fawkes appeared beside them. "We'll see if we can work that out. Hold on tight."
With a flash of pheonix fire, they were gone.
Great Hall, Hogwarts, Northern Scotland
Gabby's mouth dropped open as she looked around the Great Hall. It really was quite a splendid place. It was
lit by thousands upon thousands of candles that were floating in midair over the four long house tables, where the rest of the students were sitting.
Just as Harry remembered the feasts, the house tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the
top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting.
Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them.
The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Sitting in various places amongst the students, the Hogwarts ghosts shone misty silver. Gabby was 'Oohing' and 'Aweing' as she was entranced by the velvety black ceiling that was currently dotted with stars.
"Do you like it?" Harry asked her.
Gabby looked at him in excitement. "Oh, Harry. It's beautiful. Every time you look up, you can just stare into the heavens."
Harry chuckled, "Then I should take you outside at night, sometime. The ceiling is bewitched to look like the sky outside.
"That's right, Harry," Hermione interjected. "I'm glad to see that at least someone has done their reading. It's in Hogwarts, A History."
"Quiet, please," Professor McGonagall said sternly to the first years as she placed a four-legged stool in front of them. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. The Sorting Hat was patched, frayed and extremely dirty. Several of the first years stole confused glances towards it.
For a few seconds, the was complete silence in the Great Hall, as everyone in the hall, Gabby and Harry included, stared intently at the hat.
Then the Sorting Hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth, and the hat began to sing:
"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 cap 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 Hufflepuffis are true And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready 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.
For those of you who stand above the rest,
United, as the Founder's sought,
Come right up, take a bow;
Let's welcome back, the Emrys House!
Long ago when I was new, and Hogwarts newly born,
The Four bowed to their Master, of old, old legend, never once scorned.
A House he was provided, removed until the day,
The blood and magic of the Founders Four at last combined;
His true Heir would then return, the balance of magic sway!
So let us welcome back the Warrior, the heir of the Divine,
Lord Emrys, please step forward, you're the first in line!
Normally, the whole hall would burst into applause as the hat finished its usual yearly song. But instead, as the Hat bowed to the now five tables, an empty one now set in the middle, the every student and teacher that had already been seated stared in awed silence at the first years.
If everyone else was surprised, that was nothing compared to what Harry felt. He was utterly stunned speechless. Harry stared up at the Hogwarts crest behind the staff table, which now had a blank spot in the center. There was also a blank banner on each side of the great hall, in the middle of the others. Harry had expected to come back to Hogwarts and rejoin the Gryffindors. He had Gabby had spoken, and they both agreed that it would be better for Harry to do his best not to be noticed, not least because of how much he hated his fame. They also knew that it was not wise to change the past too much, and Harry wanted to work out his plans behind the scenes, as unnoticed as possible. 'Fat chance of that now, the Sorting Hat just gave me away. I suppose it was too much to hope that the Sorting Hat would not recognize me as the Heir right away. Thanks for the welcome, Hat. You just let everyone know exactly who I am,' Harry thought angrily to himself.
~Harry, everyone is waiting. You can't just stand here forever.~
Harry heard Gabby's voice in his mind, but when he looked at her, her lips weren't moving. 'I guess the surprises aren't over.'
The solution coming to his mind, he quickly entered his mindscape and found a beautiful, white, marble bridge that hadn't been there before. Standing on it, he could feel Gabby's presence within his mind. Coming back out of his mindscape, Harry gave Gabby a brilliant smile.
~You like it, Harry? Our bond is maturing much faster than I could have ever dreamed.~
~Love it, Gabby. Now, no matter what, we will never be apart. We will always be connected, a part of each other.~
Gabby fidgeted next to Harry, but he could see the broad grin on her now beaming face.
~I love you, Harry. You know that, right?~
~Of course, my Gabrielle. I love you, too.~
~Still, everyone is looking at all the first years expectantly. I think you should get a move on. I for one, am starving.~
~Time to get it done, then. This really sucks, you know?~
~I know how you feel, Harry. But at least this way, it will be easier for you to get things done, at least while we are here at Hogwarts.~
~True, but I could have revealed the truth to the few needed in order to make those changes.~
~Not the board of Governors, Harry. Remember, Lucius Malfoy is on the board. As soon as you tried to make changes there, he would have let it leak, and you know it.~
~At least then it would have been on my own terms. Oh well, let's do it.~
Harry looked around again, noticing the looks that every one of the first years was now getting. Draco Malfoy's eyes were wide and he was looking around haughtily at everyone. Ron looked ready to step forward himself, hope and greed shining in his eyes. Harry sighed. Leave it to Ron to want to take credit for something that he had nothing to do with. Granted, Harry understood how he wanted to be noticed, to stand above his brothers, but he still shouldn't be dumb enough to make a fool of himself. Not much chance though, seeing as Ron normally acted well before he thought about what he was doing.
Dumbledore, on the other hand, seemed to have caught the part of the Sorting Hat's song, where it said "welcome back the Warrior", and was staring straight at Harry, disbelief in his eyes. Catching his eye, Dumbledore slowly nodded, and Harry took Gabby's hand, and they both walked forward, stopping just short of the Sorting Hat.
There was gasps all around the hall.
Harry could hear Fred and George yelling. "Way to go, Harry!" Other than that, the entire school was silent, staring comprehensively at the two first years.
After a second, the Sorting Hat spoke again.
"Welcome, Lord and Lady Emrys. Welcome back to Hogwarts. Before we begin, I must ask you to show your Head of House rings, to verify to the world your identities."
Harry and Gabby looked at each other before raising their left hands, the Head of the House ring showing on Harry's index finger, and the Lady of the House ring showing on Gabby's. As he did, the ancient crest behind the staff table began to glow, as did each of the house banners on both sides of the wall, along with every Hogwarts crest on the student's robes and badges. After a moment, it stopped. Where there had been a blank spot on the Hogwarts crest, and a blank banner hanging from the ceiling, there now showed a family crest, all too familiar to Dumbledore, who's mouth dropped.
Since he had recieved the letter, Dumbledore had been researching the old families, and the Ministry's records of family crests to find this particular one, but all his searching had been in vain. There was no record of it. Either it didn't exist, or it was so ancient that it had long been forgotten to the ages past. Never once did he suspect that the answer would be revealed to him at Hogwarts, and so casually, as if it was an everyday occurrence!
"Very well," the hat said. "Harry Potter and Gabrielle Delacour Potter, you are both sorted into Emrys House! After the Sorting, you will be introduced to your new Head of House, who will show you to your dormitories."
Harry and Gabby both felt a bit awkward, walking to an empty table, especially since every eye in the great hall was on them, but quickly got over it as Professor McGonagall stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"
A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moments pause, and the crowd of students leaned forward eagerly.
"EMRYS!" shouted the hat.
Harry and Gabby both cheered and clapped as Hannah walked to their table, sitting down next to Gabby before turning to watch the rest of the sorting.
"Bones, Susan!"
A cute girl with straight red hair and already showing signs of a busty figure moved forward and slipped the hat slowly over her head.
"EMRYS!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit right next to Hannah.
"Boot, Terry!"
"RAVENCLAW!" The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws standing up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.
"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too.
"Brown, Lavender!"
Lavender Brown, as Harry remembered it, was one of the most giggly girls he had ever met, and along with Parvati Patil, was the biggest gossip queen in their year. Harry didn't know how, but the second the sorting hat touched her head, it screamed, "EMRYS!"
Harry groaned, but he could still see Fred and George catcalling after her. Ron's eyes seemed to be glued to her bum also as she walked by him and the rest of the first years, taking a seat directly across from Harry, giving him a wink.
"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became the first Slytherin. They were a rather unpleasant lot, even though Malfoy hadn't joined their ranks yet.
"Davis, Tracey!" Tracey Davis had been known as the best friend of the infamous Ice Queen, Daphne Greengrass. And although she did date more than Daphne had, she wasn't known to put out any more than her friend did. Still, she was a very cute blonde Harry thought as he watched her move towards the Sorting hat. Within seconds the hat had shouted, "EMRYS!" She looked rather ruffled, but she joined them at their table, sitting next to Harry on the opposite side of Gabby.
"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Finally, "Finnigan, Seamus," a sandy-haired boy, and Harry's ex roommate, sat on the stool for almost a full minute before he became the first Gryffindor. The table on the far left, full of Gryffindors, erupted into cheers.
"Goldstein, Anthony!" went to Ravenclaw. Harry didn't fail to notice that so far, most of the new students had either come to Emrys, or went to Ravenclaw.
"Granger, Hermione!"
Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head. "EMRYS!" shouted the hat. Hermione was ecstatic as she sat joined them all at their table, directly in front of Dumbledore.
"Greengrass, Daphne!" Now there was a beauty. If Harry didn't already have Gabby, his eyes would have been glued to her. No wonder all of the blokes had been after her. She hasn't even grown out yet, and she's already gorgeous. She was tall for her age with silky midnight black hair that cast the light of the candles above them beautifully. Harry was fully aware of the intensity of the gaze of her bright, silvery eyes that had fixed upon him, sizing him up while waiting for McGonagall to return to take them to the sorting ceremony. Moving quietly and haughtily, as the daughter of a powerful pureblood house would, she reached the stool, and carefully slipped the hat onto her head. It took nearly half a minute before the hat screamed, "EMRYS!" and Daphne sullenly took the hat off, and joined Tracey, who was on Harry's right and side, while Gabby was on his left.
When Neville was called, he very nervously shoved his way through the crowd, nearly tripping on the hem of his robes on his way to the stool. Harry half expected the hat to take a while to decide where to put Neville, but almost immediately the hat screamed, "EMRYS!"
Looking extremely relieved, Nevill placed the hat back on the stool and made his way over to their table, sitting beside Lavender, just as "MacDougal, Morag" became a Ravenclaw.
"MacMillan, Ernie!" became a Hufflepuff, and then Professor Mcgonagall called out "Malfoy, Draco!"
Swaggering forward as soon as his name was called, he sneered around at the other students. He barely had time to sit on the stool, because as soon as the hat touched his head, it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" Looking extremely pleased with himself, Malfoy quickly joined Crabbe and Goyle, who were already sitting at the Slytherin table, staring at the golden plates hungrily.
There weren't that many people left to sort by now. "Moon" and "Nott" came before the cow Pansy Parkinson was sorted into Slytherin. Harry always had hated her, and not just because she was always hanging all over Malfoy. She always had something horrible to say, not unlike Malfoy, but at least Malfoy knew when to keep quiet at times. There wasn't a subtle bone in Pansy's body.
Next up were the Patil sisters, who were both eyeing Harry with interest. Harry gulped. Obviously they knew of the contract that their father had signed with his mother, and they definitely approved. Harry didn't know what to think. It might make it easier getting to know them, but Parvati had always been right beside Lavender, gossiping. Harry didn't even know Padma all that well, seeing as she had been a Ravenclaw his first time around, but really, how different could identical twins be? Just look at Fred and George.
"Patil, Parvati!" Professor McGonagall called, still reading the large roll of parchment in her hands.
Parvati glanced once over at Harry, and rushed forward to sit on the stool with the hat on her head. The hat seemed to have a difficult time with her, but after about a minute it screamed, "EMRYS!"
"Patil, Padma!"
Maybe Harry was imagining it, but Padma seemed a bit more shy than her sister. Perhaps he should have gotten to know her before he came back, but it wasn't often that you got to know people in the other houses that well. Slowly, keeping her head to, as if to go unnoticed, Padma walked forward and put the hat over her head, but almost immediately whipped it off again as the hat screamed, "EMRYS!"
After the Patil twins, "Perks, Sally-Anne" was sorted into Gryffindor. That's different, Harry thought. If he recalled correctly, he had noticed Sally-Anne Perks giving Ron looks before he came back, and he heard rumors that she fancied Ron, but she wasn't a Gryffindor. Then again, Ron had never been able to talk to girls, but look at what he tried with Gabby. Harry hadn't realized that by coming back, he could possibly be changing the way people were, too. As he thought about it, he remembered Merlin's story of the ripples in the pond. Little changes in a person's environment could very well cause them to change their thinking, but what had Harry done that could have made such drastic changes? 'Perhaps this way, they'll hook up early. He could use someone to keep him on track, the way he is going this time around.'
Now that most of the people were out of the way, Harry could at last see the staff's table properly. At the end nearest him sat Hagrid with a broad grin. Catching Harry's eye, he gave him the thumbs up. For some reason, there was still an empty seat, besides Professor McGonagall's.
And there, in the center of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore, who, every now and then, would watch Harry for any kind of reactions. Dumbledore must have cleaned himself up a bit since earlier, since his robes were spotless, and his silver hair was the only thing in the whole hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts.
Harry had to refrain from scowling as he spotted Professor Quirrell too. He was looking his normally peculiar self in a large blue turban.
Next was "Su, Li," who Harry faintly recognized to be one of Cho Chang's younger friends, although she didn't look as giggly as she normally did. She had her jet black hair plaited down her back, and moved quietly up to the stool. Sitting the hate carefully on her head, the hat took only a moment to decide where to put her. It shouted, "EMRYS!" With more than a few sets of eyes on her, she set the hat back on the stool, and took a seat at the very end of the table, alone.
"Thomas, Dean," another of Harry's old roommates, was sorted into Gryffindor before "Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw.
Now it was Ron's turn. Harry had been anxious, waiting to see where Ron would end up, half hoping that it would be with him, so that he and his old best friend may be able to work things out, but also dreading it, because he didn't want to take that kind of chance with Gabby's safety. He needn't have worried, though. As Ron stumbled forward, pale green by now, he jammed the hat onto his head. Scrunching up his face, he actually looked like he was trying to squeeze something out his arse, when the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Ron looked better almost instantly, and rushed to join his brothers at the Gryffindor table, taking the empty seat beside Percy, who was pompous as ever. Harry could hear him from where he was sitting.
"Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy.
Taking his eyes off of the last first year to be sorted, Harry watched as Proffessor McGonagall got a strange look in her eye when she went to roll up her scroll. Whatever it was, she didn't look too happy as she read it to herself.
"Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin, but Professor McGonagall did not pick up the stool and take the Sorting Hat away, like she normally would have done. For a few seconds she was silent, but then she spoke.
"Those of you, when I call your name, will stand up and take a seat at the Emrys house table. If I read your name out, please move quickly, for you have been resorted into the House of Emrys."
Gabby's face showed her surprise. Obviously, she, like Harry, thought that this was it. Neither one of them had imagined that there would be anyone resorted into their new house.
"Please listen while I call your names. When I am through, you may get up and go to your new tables," Professor McGonagall continued. "Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, Nymphadora Tonks, Alicia Spinnet, Fred Weasley, and George Weasley. Please move now."
The entire great hall sat stunned as the students, whose names were called, got up from where they were and moved to the middle table, where the house of Emrys sat. Tonks beamed brightly as she sat across from Harry and Gabby, followed closely by Fred and George, who though looking very confused, nonetheless appeared pleased. They sat on either side of Tonks, who didn't seem to mind. Strangely enough, Harry didn't mind either. Although he had grown fond of Tonks, he trusted the twins, and knew that Tonks was waiting until she could get her hands on him, as she had promised. Harry was surprised that now most of the Gryffindor team seemed to have been resorted into the Emrys house, which had to have Professor McGonagall fuming, but Harry liked it. In fact it was a good thing since they all seemed to know and trust each other. The three chasers, Katie, Angelina, and Alicia, all stayed close to the twins, but occasionally stole glances at Harry. Katie and Alicia both had knowing glints in their eyes, and looked at him curiously, but Angelina seemed to only have eyes for George.
As Harry and Gabby looked up at the staff table, Professor McGonagall had returned from taking away the sorting hat, and was whispering something in Dumbledore's ear. Whatever it was, he looked as if he had conflicting emotions, but was at least a little happy about the news he had just been given. A second later, Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, looking very much like a welcoming grandfather.
"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words to you all. First off, let us welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher! He will be taking over all of the first through fifth year classes, while Professor Quirrell teaches the N.E.W.T. students. I have just recieved news that he has also been appointed as the Head of Emrys House. Please join me in welcoming Professor Sirius Black!
The doors to the great hall opened, and striding through them, with a broad grin on his face, was Harry's Godfather, Sirius Black. His hair was long, as Harry remembered it, but his black robes looked to be fresh and brand new. Sirius had obviously cleaned himself up a bit, and his long black hair was combed, which surprised Harry a great deal. Almost as much as seeing Sirius at Hogwarts in the first place, even though Harry had known that it couldn't be long until they released him. He certainly wasn't expecting anything like this. Sirius was even his Head of House!
Walking up the path between the tables, Sirius stopped at Harry, recognizing James in his son, and gave him a broad grin. "Hello, Harry. I'm Sir-"
But at that moment, Harry cut him off. Harry had gotten up and thrown his arms tight around Sirius. "Sirius, I'm glad you're out. I'm sorry that it took me so long to help you."
Sirius was thrown back. He didn't know what to think. Until now, he didn't know whether Harry believed him a murderer or not. But here was his Godson hugging him tightly, and the boy obviously loved him! 'This has turned out to be a really wierd day,' Sirius thought to himself. Even more so when a beautiful young blonde rose from beside Harry, introduced herself as his bondmate, Gabrielle Delacour, and gave him a hug just as tight.
Not everyone was as excited to see Sirius there. As soon as he walked through the door, there were gasps and screams all over the hall, as students pointed at him and took out their wands. Snape, however, stayed quietly in his seat, staring coldly at Sirius, with a look of deepest loathing. Even more people shouted and stood, backing away from Sirius, when he approached Harry. Draco Malfoy's look of extreme pleasure turned to shock as Harry embraced Sirius. Like many people in the great hall, Draco was stunned at the familiarity Harry showed. After all, everyone knew that Sirius Black was a mass murderer, and betrayed Harry's parents to boot!
Dumbledore however, had been expecting the reaction, and taken out his wand, shouting over the crowd of students that were panicking. "Silence," but nobody was listening.
"SILENCE!" It took several purple sparks shouting out of the tip of Dumbledore's wand, each with a loud bang, to finally get everyone's attention. "Professor Black, would you kindly take your seat at the staff table."
Still having his arm around Harry's shoulder, Sirius glanced up at Dumbledore, who had a kind smile, and looked again at Harry quickly before sighing and let Harry go to walk up to the staff table. Harry might have been mistaken, but he could have sworn that he saw a tear make its way down the old Headmaster's face. Maybe there was still hope for him after all.
Before he came back, Dumbledore had always seemed to care a great deal for Harry, maybe too much, and granted, following Dumbledore's orders had never once led him into harm, but he still had some serious flaws. Harry wouldn't, no couldn't, allow that to happen this time. Dumbledore had always kept a very close watch on him, always knowing Harry's every move, and forcing him to return to a home where he was miserable every summer, without ever telling him why. While in between, Harry and ranted and raved like any child or teenager, as well as many adults would, when his parents told him exactly how closely Dumbledore had watched him over the years, carefully meddling in his life. His dad certainly didn't agree with Dumbledore, but he also couldn't deny Harry's outbursts that Dumbledore did indeed seem to have developed a caring weakness for his son. That didn't excuse his actions though, in fact it made them worse the way Harry and his parents saw it. Dumbledore had several chances to tell Harry everything during those his four years at Hogwarts, but he never did. The fact remained that he had always seemed to care more about Harry's happiness and peace of mind, rather than the truth. Dumbledore had never trusted Harry, or believed in him enough, to burden him with the weight of such responsibilities that Dumbledore knew must one day fall on his shoulders.
'Well,' Harry thought to himself, watching Sirius take his seat at the high table. 'I will find out soon if he can be trusted to work with me this time around. But even if he does, I'm going to have to make some changes. He's been losing his touch for years now, and it's time for someone else to step up.'
As Sirius took his seat, Dumbledore continued to stand, speaking to the students who had yet to sit back down and put away their wands. "I see that a fair few of you recognize our new Dark Arts Professor. In light of recent events, I have offered Professor Sirius Black a job teaching here at Hogwarts, to attempt to reconcile with my old friend for giving false testimony, which in turn imprisoned him. Earlier today, a drastic discovery was made, and I do not want to bore you with the details just now. I feel that you will all be most satisfied reading the story in the Daily Prophet tomorrow morning. I have just a couple more notices. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."
Dumbledore's perpetually twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.
"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death.
Harry nodded. At least some things haven't changed.
"Now, just a few more words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"
"Is he mad?" Neville asked.
"Not really," Fred said.
"But he has always been a bit off his rocker, I'd say," George replied.
"Well," Hermione said. "I've heard that he's the best wizard in the world. He's the only one You-Know-Who ever feared."
Gabby and Harry both frowned. "Hermione, not everyone is as blinded by authority as you are," Gabby said.
"What do you mean by that?" Hermione replied harshly, putting some mashed potatoes on her plate.
Harry had barely began listening to the conversation himself; he was starving. The table had filled itself with many delicious foods. There were ribs, roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon, steak, boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, chocolate pudding, cherry pie, apple pie, dinner rolls, garlic bread, cheesecake, corn, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and even turkey.
Filling his plate with some of his favorites, Harry listened as Gabby answered Hermione. "What do I mean? Were you listening to yourself back on the train? You said that Dumbledore is the one who convinced your parents to sign that contract between you and Harry, without even asking you first. And you were okay with it. You said it yourself, that if your parents and Dumbledore thought that it was a good idea, it was good enough for you. When are you going to stop being so naive? Not all authority figures can be trusted. Does it even matter to you anyways? The way you just laid it out for Harry seemed to say not."
Hermione looked irrittable. "What makes you think that you have any right to judge my parents or me? If I am okay with people who know what's best for me to make those decisions, that is my choice. And if we can't trust Dumbledore, who can we trust? I've heard almost everyone in the wizarding world likes him, and trusts him. He also had some good valid points when he talked to my parents about it. Being engaged, and then married to Harry, will enable me to reach many of my goals, which would otherwise be unattainable. Being a muggleborn isn't easy, or so I've heard. The purebloods are in control, and they plan to keep it that way. By marrying a pureblood wizard from such a powerful family, Dumbledore said that it would help me do what I want with my life."
Harry had stopped chewing as Hermione spoke, and Gabby's mood was deteriorating quickly as she became more and more incensed. Several of the others at the table had their heads together, staring at the two girls, especially the Patil twins.
Enraged, Gabby leaned forward and hissed, "So Harry is just someone for you to use? You plan on marrying him, just for his money and influence?"
Hermione was shocked at Gabby's sudden hostility. Having burst into tears, she wiped her eyes with a napkin before she replied, "I didn't mean it that way," Hermione said through her tears. "Th- That's just the way Dumbledore explained it to my parents... the way they explained it to me. I'd never think to use somebody like that. It's just... I've never really had any friends before, and I was really excited when I got my letter, but when Dumbledore told me how us muggleborns are viewed, I tried to hand him back my letter. What else was I to do? I was going from being in a normal public school with no friends, just because I love to study. I've always been a bookworm. But why would I freely walk into a whole new world, where I would still be treated that way because of my love for books, but also hated, just for being what I am!"
Hermione wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her robes, and Gabby appeared to be put off and slightly simpathetic. "I'm sorry. When my parents explained it to me, I saw it as my opportunity to throw that life behind me. I wanted to come here and learn magic, but I also wanted friends. Even if they wouldn't like me for who I am, they would at least accept me because of who I was with."
Gabby's mouth open and shut, but no sound came out. Harry was just as speechless as she was. He had always known what Hermione's bookworm reputation did to her social life, but he never dreamed that her insecurities went that far. For a few moments, there was silence at the table, until Padma spoke up.
"What's your name? Hermione, right?" Hermione nodded.
"What I don't get," Padma began quickly, "is why you would want friends like that? They wouldn't be real friends, even if they acted like it. How about you be yourself, and let us get to know you? Let us judge for ourselves whether we want to know you. It's not as bad being a muggleborn as you think. In fact, the Slytherins are probably the only one's who care. They're a bunch of pureblood fanatics."
"And I bet with your brains, you'll make loads of friends," Harry said. Too stunned that Harry was still talking to her to keep crying, Hermione stared at him quietly. "I bet they haven't made a spell that you can't do, Hermione. Just you watch. Everyone is going to want to know how you do it, when you figure out things that people would never see coming."
Sniffling, Hermione said quietly, "Th- Thanks, Harry."
"No need to thank me, Hermione," Harry replied. "Just be yourself. And for Merlin's sake, show some self confidence! I know you've got it in you."
"Hey Harry," Parvati called across the table from beside her sister. "How many girls are you supposed to marry anyways?"
Harry shrugged. "Why?"
Parvati looked at him and giggled. "Just curious. You know your mom signed a contract with our father, right? Padma and I are both contracted to marry you." Padma coughed, and several of the other girls had stopped eating. Neville was looking at Harry with an awestruck expression, not noticing the gravy dripping onto his lap from his fork.
Harry frowned. "Does it really matter?"
Parvati thought for a second, deciding whether to say what was on her mind or not. Then she responded, "No, not really. In our culture, multiple marriages and marriage contracts are practically a custom. We are used to it. But we haven't heard of a coven in Britain in hundreds of years."
"That's right, Harry!" yelled Tonks. A few of the students from the other tables turned their head momentarily before resuming their dinner. "I want to know how many girls I have to share you with."
Fred and George both looked at Tonks in between them, and Harry could see the disappointment rolling off them in waves. Harry grinned, but thought better of it when he saw every eye at the table on him. Damn.
Well, uh... the girls that I've already met are Gabby, she's right here beside me. Then there's you, Tonks. There's also Ginny Weasley, Hermione, and now you Padma and Parvati," Harry answered.
"What about the one's you haven't met, mate," Fred asked.
Harry looked around. He was quite sure that more than one of the other girls at the table was supposed to marry him, and he had no idea what their reactions would be. Best get it over with. "Let's see, a girl from the Davis family, the Abbot Family, the Bones family, the Lovegood family, the Li family, the Bell family, and the Spinnet family. There's also a set of sisters from the Greengrass family."
Several of the girls had dropped their forks. Everyone at the table, save for Gabby, was gawking at Harry, who simply leaned back in his chair, waiting for it to hit them.
"Damn, mate. Are you sure? Seems to me like you got nearly all the good ones," George said.
"Pretty sure, yeah," Harry replied.
Just then, Daphne spoke up. "But how can we be sure that you are telling us the truth. I mean, I'm certainly not going to just believe that I'm supposed to marry you, just because you say so."
"Yeah," Tracey said. "I bet you're just loving this. Not a very nice prank, Potter."
"I can have my auntie look up the records, if there are any," Susan piped up. "I bet she would love to hear how I'm engaged to Harry Potter at the age of eleven." The sarcastic tone in her voice was clear enough for even a gorilla like Crabbe of Goyle to hear. Harry had nearly forgotten that Susan Bones' aunt was Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Angelina Johnson turned to George. "Didn't he mention your baby sister? Did you know about this?"
George winced. "Our dad told Ginny a few days ago," he answered.
"He also told her that Harry was coming over that night, and that's how we found out," Fred finished. "Ginny was excited and nervous about it all day, but whatever Harry said to her worked, because she calmed down pretty well. At least until Harry and Gabby left. You see, our baby brother Ron decided to do something very... distasteful, and Harry made him pay. Ron hates Harry now, but Mum and Dad both told him it was his own fault. They don't blame Harry or Gabby in the least."
George turned to Harry, "Yeah, I forgot to mention that. Mum and Dad wanted me to pass that message to you, and to tell you that you are welcome back to the Burrow at any time. Mum made Ron swear that he would mind his manners next time. You should have heard Mum and Ginny go at him. I didn't know Ginny could yell like that, but she gave Mum a run for her money. I tell ya Harry, I don't envy you, if you're ever on the recieving end of Ginny's temper. Right scary, she is."
Harry chuckled, looking around at everyone. Half of them were still in shock, and a few of them, namely Daphne, Tracey, and Susan, were eyeing him were slight distrust, but the rest of them looked very interested, for various reasons.
"Susan."
"Yeah, Harry?"
"How about I do you one better. Once we get to the dormitory, I can hand you all of the contracts. You can find a way to try and break them if you want, even though the goblins told me that it was impossible to break any of them."
Susan was stunned. Tracey's jaw dropped. But Daphne still gave Harry a look of cold indifference. "Why would you want to break them," Daphne asked. "You're a bloke, I bet you're loving this."
"No he's not," Gabby said hotly. "I was there with him when we both found out. Before that, it was just him and me. The first thing he asked was how to break the contracts, and it wasn't easy to get him to agree to fulfill them honorably when the goblins told him it was impossible. Even after that, it took me over a week to get him to accept it. You saw him a second ago. He's still trying to figure out a way out this this whole situation."
Unconvinced, Daphne retorted at Harry, "Why is that? Why did you give in, just to try to weasel out of it again?"
"I never fully gave in," Harry replied. "I accepted the fact that there was a good chance that I had no choice in the matter. But I still believe that every one of us, Gabby and myself included, should have the right to choose who we love and get married to. I don't want to force myself onto anyone, and I refuse to do it. Just because I gave you the knowledge that the contract exists, and is inescapable, doesn't mean that any of us have to let it control our choices. I simply decided to go with the flow, to get to know each and every girl that I'm supposed to marry, and hopefully forge some kind of bond, a relationship. I haven't given in, I merely decided that if I have to do it, it will be under my own terms, not anyone else's. Don't we all deserve that option?"
Daphne was still scowling when he finished answering her, but Harry could see something flicker in her eyes. Daphne was used to having to hide her true emotions, being brought up as she was. She was used to having to see through the masks that various people wore when they came around her family, after all, the Greengrass's were a powerful, but neutral pureblood family. Daphne was born and raised a critic. Harry knew this much from before he came back, but that's about all anyone had known about the infamous Ice Queen of Slytherin, except for her best friend Tracey.
"You mean you have actual proof?" Susan asked incredulously.
Harry smirked. "I have the official contracts themselves. You can all take a look if you want." Several of the girls murmered between themselves. Susan's eyes widened.
As students were finishing their meals, the noise level in the great hall began to steadily rise again. After everyone was finally done, Dumbledore stood up. The talking ceased at once. "Ahh! Now that you are all fed and watered, it's off to bed! I'm sure none of you would like to miss your first classes in the morning. Off you trot!"
There was the usual scraping of hundreds of chairs as students and teachers got up, and made their way out of the great hall, headed to their dormitories.
"Emrys house, to me!" Sirius' voice called over to them from a door at the back of the great hall, beckoning them to him. It took a few minutes, and a few bumps as they each made their way through the throng of students, but finally they were all standing next to Sirius.
"Okay, first off, my name is Sirius. I doubt that any of you trust me, except perhaps Harry, but if you ever need anything, I am here to help you, to teach you. Please don't ever be afraid tocome to me with any problems you need help with, because that's what I am here for. Now if you would please follow me, and make your way through this door. The Sorting Hat was kind enough to provide me with the location of your new quarters."
They all started through the door behind Sirius, as he watched them to make sure none fell behind, but Harry felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Professor McGonagall. "Not you, Mr. Potter. Professor Dumbledore would like to see you in his office at your earliest convenience."
As if Harry hadn't been expecting it. He gave Sirius a look that spoke volumes about what he was thinking at that exact moment before turning to follow Professor McGonagall to Dumbledore's office.
They marched in silence out through the great hall, through a few corridors, which were dark, damp, and lit by torches, until finally, they stopped stopped before a large and extremely ugly stone gargoyle.
"Lemon drop!" she said. Instantly, the gargoyle sprang suddenly to life and hopped aside as the wall behind him split in two. Behind the wall was a spiral staircase that was moving smoothly upward, like an escalator. Harry had never failed to be amazed every time he had gone to Professor Dumbledore's office. As he and Professor McGonagall stepped onto the rotating staircase, Harry heard the wall thud closed behind them. They rose upward in circles, higher and higher, until at last, slightly dizzy, Harry saw the gleaming oak door of Dumbledore's office, just ahead, with a brass knocker in the shape of a griffin.
A moment later, they stepped off the stone staircase at the top, and Professor McGonagall rapped smartly on the door.
"Come in." Harry could hear Dumbledore's voice, along with Fudge's, on the other side of the door which opened silently for Harry, and he entered.
Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts, Northern Scotland
"Ah, Harry! How was the train ride here?"
"It was... decent," Harry answered curtly, stepping into Professor Dumbledore's office. Harry had always been impressed, each time he came to the headmaster's office.
The office was a large and beautiful circular room, full of funny little noises. A number of curious silver instruments and dark detectors stood on spindlelegged tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. The walls were covered with portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses, all of whom were currently snoozing gently in their frames. There was also an enormous, claw-footed desk, and, sitting on a shelf behind it, was the shabby and tattered Sorting Hat. Harry turned to close the door. Standing on a golden perch behind the door was a handsome red and golden phoenix, Fawkes.
"Hello, Fawkes," Harry said, as he stroked the phoenix's head. Turning once more, Harry faced Dumbledore, who was seated behind his desk, and Fudge, who was in a squashy armchair on Harry's side of the desk. What surprised Harry, though, was that he also noticed Professor Flitwick, invisible, and seated near the wall. Harry had a vague idea of what professor Flitwick was doing there, but Harry sincerely hoped he was wrong, even as he felt a very subtle probe on the outside of his mental barriers.
Before Merlin taught Harry anything else, he taught him occlumency. When Harry asked why, Merlin pointed out that a well organized mind was able to learn and apapt far quicker, and retain things much easier. Learning occlumency would increase the speed of Harry's training tenfold.
When Merlin had taught him Occlumency, he had said that emptying your mind of all thoughts, feelings, and emotions was just one way, the more difficult way, to keep a legilimens away from your thoughts.
By emptying his mind, an occlumens created an empty space, devoid of any thoughts or emotions, which the legilimens would find themselves in if he or she attempted to break into the occlumens mind. The problem with this, was that unless the occlumens was good enough to make the darkness deep, and impenetrable, as Harry's was, the legilimens could simply imagine that they were able to see, and the place would light up. The legilimens could then continue to probe, until they found what they were looking for which had previously been hidden.
For this reason, since many could never reach that level of occlumency mastery, it was prudent to teach the budding occlumens to first organize their mind. What Merlin had taught Harry at first, was how to calm himself, emptying his mind of his thoughts, learning to meditate, concentrating on entering his mindscape. Harry had succeeded almost at once.
Upon entering his mindscape, Harry had found all of his thoughts, emotions, knowledge, and memories just thrown around haphazardly. Harry was horrified. A legilimens would have no trouble whatsoever finding exactly what he or she was looking for.
Slowly, Harry spent hours upon hours in his mindscape, sorting through everything, and seperating them. He then focused on creating a towering city within his mind. Full of buildings, shops, several lakes, a large fountain, a river flowing through the city, a park, a power plant, a museum, a conservatory, and even a library. Each pile, containing what Harry had sorted, Harry hid in a different place.
Harry placed his thoughts on several billboards which he had erected within his mind, while also filling several others with fake thoughts, to throw a legilimens off. Only Harry, who knew the exact way that he had organized each of his thoughts, and where he put them, could find them. Anyone else would have a lot of guesswork to do, since many of his thoughts and fake thoughts contradicted themselves, an occlumens would be highly confused.
Harry locked each of his emotions away within the conservatory, each one able to be activated or deactivated with its own lever, which if pulled by anyone other than Harry, would merely rotate the large telescope around, up, and down, controlling its movements. Only the password from Harry could activate each lever's true effects.
Harry's knowledge, which thanks to his years in between was quite vast, he hid in the museum's library, which was extremely large with hundred of thousands of books. Harry filled each one of these books with fairytales, or just figments of his imagination to confuse and befuddle anyone who looked at them, just as he had the regular library downtown. The real books containing Harry's knowledge was hidden behind a wall of books, which would only move to the side, revealing the chamber behind it by pulling out a certain book, and touching a specific word on the right page.
Last, but certainly not least, Harry locked his memories within the waters of the large fountain, which was in the center of the park, in the main town square. Harry enabled it to work like a pensieve, so that he would always be able to recall things perfectly when need be. The trick, was activating the correct sequence of invisible runes that Harry had placed all over the fountain. On the outside, around the rim, all over the inside wall, and scattered over the floor of the inside of the fountain. Only by careful examination of the fountain, would one find the secret compartment that opened, containing the last rune to be pressed, activating the fountain's hidden effects. With the thousands of runes that Harry placed, it would take a legilimens years to figure out the correct combination, but even if they did, you still had to use your finger to draw the precise swirls, in the right direction, in order to call up each memory. One false move, and the fountain would shut down, activating the town's alarm and alerting Harry of the presence of the legilimens.
It took Harry weeks within his mindscape, but in the end he filled every shop with fake thoughts, memories, and emotions to throw a legilimens off, in the event someone actually made it this far through his defenses. Flying over the city, Harry set a dragon, which could only be controlled by him, to guard and watch for intruders.
Always watchful, never sleeping, the dragon acted as a seperate personality, which was controlled entirely by Harry, and could draw forth Harry's thoughts, feelings, emotions, and memories in an instant, bypassing all of the defenses and traps that Harry had set for intruders.
By now, even Merlin was unable to get a proper read when using legilimency on Harry. Finally, Harry had one spot left that he had plans for. Within the power plant, Harry placed runes all over the outside and inside of every machine, and on every gear that worked them. In the central control tower that controlled the power plant, Harry placed seven levers that controlled seven massive pistons hidden in plain sight within the power plant. By pulling these levers, Harry could release or bind his magic. It was Harry's goal to be able to control his magic at each level, also enabling him to hide his true powers if he wished. With each piston that was released, another seventh of his magic was unlocked for him to use. By mastering the use of his magic, with just one, two, or even all seven pistons released, Harry fine tuned his control and accuracy, along with the magical channels throughout his body.
When he was done with his city, Merlin showed Harry the next stage in his defenses, the wall. "The more layers you add to your wall," Merlin said, "the stronger it will be, since a legilimens would have to manually take apart the wall before he or she could get through."
The first layer of his wall, Harry spent days building. He had wanted to just imagine it there, but Merlin said that if he built it, brick by brick, Harry would be more in tuned with it, making it stronger and alerting him to intrusion much faster. Besides, if he just imagined it there, a legilimens could simply do the opposite, bypassing the wall immediately. So Harry labored. Brick by brick his first layer went up, all around his city. Within it, Harry placed several traps and chambers, designed to lure a legilimens in and trap them there.
After the first layer, Harry used cinderblock, then cement, then titanium, and next he used crystal. Each layer of wall, Harry used different materials, warding each layer and adding several traps and chambers to each one. Harry also made sure that the wards on the walls went all the way down through the ground, and over the top, covering Harry's entire mindscape, as if it were a large dome, sitting on a huge piece of land, just floating in the impenetrable darkness of Harry's mind. When he was finally done, having spent a few years within his mindscape, although barely any time had passed outside where Merlin waited, Harry had several dozens of layers of wall, the outer layer of which, Harry had fitted a far larger the usual number of traps, wards, and spells that would defend against a legilimens, and possibly subdue all but the most powerful of intruders.
Harry also fashioned several torture chambers, with which Harry could actively trap other people's minds within, including legilimens, and torture them there. He could make them see whatever he wanted them to see. He even set a few of the chambers to act as fake memories, trapping the intruder there, not knowing that they had been trapped until they tried to remove themselves from the memory. Each time an intruder entered one of these chambers, the door would slam shut behind them, making it impossible to turn back.
"The final step," Merlin had told Harry, "Was to finally step backwards in his mindscape. Since Harry's mind was now free of the clutter, and his mind blank, Harry stood in the darkness and observed what appeared to be his city, floating on a large piece of rock in the black nothingness. By organizing his mind the way Harry did, the darkness was truly impenetrable, and only the most accomplished of legilimens would be able to bypass it.
Around the entire glowing globe that represented his city, or his inner mind, as Merlin called it, Harry fixed another warded barrier, made up an indestructable metal called adamantium. Though Harry made it transparent, so that a legilimens wouldn't know it was their until they ran headlong into it, the newest barrier completely enclosed Harry's city. Even so, there was always light in the city of Harry's mind.
Within the darkness, Merlin showed Harry how to summon deep fogs, swamps, forests, and mists, which covered the ground and the air. All around, Harry scattered fake memories, thoughts, and feelings to slow down any attacker. The trick was, to feed the legilimens a fake memory, making them believe that they had found the thoughts or memories they were suching for when, in fact, Harry's true memories were still hidden and safe. Harry could also feed these fake memories in a succession, even looping them over and over until the attacker found a way to stop them, slow them down, or banish them altogether. These tactics were all used to slow an intruder down, and help to alert Harry of an attack. If successful, which normally only happened against an inexperienced legilimens, the attack would be halted dead in its tracks. If however, the legilimens was able to navigate their way through the darkness, across the swamps that Harry placed, and through the deep mists that covered his city, blocking its glow and making it invisible, the legilimens would find themselves at the barrier that Harry had placed around his city, walls and all.
It had taken Harry a few weeks to understand the concepts that Merlin had explained to him, but in the end Harry was successful beyond his parent's or Merlin's wildest expectations. All three of them tried for several hours, but never once succeeded in penetrating Harry's mind, until Harry himself drew them in and showed them everything he had done, including showing them his hiding spots and organization methods.