"You have ambition, and are rather cunning. You could do well in Slytherin." The hat stated in his mind. Harry grimaced in distaste. Malfoy had gone to Slytherin and he didn't really want to interact with the blond prat.
He knew what the hat was talking about in terms of ambition though. Harry wanted to secure his future by fixing his Family's financial situation and by becoming stronger and more knowledgeable in Magic. With financial security came stability and with magical knowledge and power he could, theoretically, go out into the world and study all sorts of Magic. Perhaps even unravel ancient secrets or create wondrous Artifacts the world had never seen. In the meantime, there was no need to put up with people like Malfoy when there were other options available.
"Not Slytherin then." The hat agreed, feeling Harry's displeasure at the offer. "You're not afraid of hard work either. Hufflepuff would be good for you. You could make friends there."
'I already have a friend there.' Harry thought back. 'But she graduates this year so there isn't much point in going to Hufflepuff based on that.' Harry reasoned. Other than Tonks it seemed as if most of the people of the Magical World were going to be more interested in befriending his fame rather than him.
The hat almost seemed to sigh. "I see that holds little appeal for you, very well then. You do have a good mind and want to learn, so it better be...Ravenclaw!"
Harry took the hat off his head and walked over to the table of blue and bronze, trying to ignore the loud cheering that had started after a moment of stunned silence. The other students around him went to introduce themselves with far too much enthusiasm to even pretend at being casual, but were fortunately not nearly as annoying as Malfoy had been. The last few students were sorted without incident and the Headmaster stood up to speak.
"Welcome!" Dumbledore greeted. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"
'Why?' Harry thought to himself, before examining the food that had suddenly appeared. That was another interesting bit of magic he'd eventually look into. A lot of it seemed to be several varieties of meat, with various vegetable dishes between the platters of meat. Harry picked out some vegetables, potatoes and a bit of steak for himself. The goblets were filled with some kind of orange liquid, but it certainly didn't smell like orange juice. A tentative sip sent an unexpected rush of sweetness onto his tongue. Was this made from pumpkin? Who added so much sugar to pumpkin? Who decided to juice pumpkins? What was wrong with normal fruit juices? Were they not 'magical' enough? Thankfully there was a pitcher of water within arm's reach and Harry was able to switch drinks. He spent the rest of the feast filling his stomach and politely declining conversation with anyone that looked at his forehead before speaking to him. The feast eventually ended and Dumbledore stood up to speak again.
"Ahem, just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you." Dumbledore started once he had everyone's attention. "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."
That sounded reasonable to Harry. Even a regular forest wasn't something you should be wandering into haphazardly. If the Forbidden Forest stayed true to form for the Magical World, it was probably filled with monsters like feral werewolves, red caps, trolls, and giant spiders.
"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." Dumbledore continued.
That was a rule Harry didn't plan on following. He had already learned to conjure fire and water but he had no plans to stop there! He planned to conjure lightning as well since Hogwarts' ancient stone walls were non-flammable and non-conductive. He wouldn't be able to learn how to do that if he followed that ridiculous rule.
"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch." Dumbledore announced next. Harry knew only the basics about the sport. He knew it was played on flying brooms and that the player composition made no sense. The Seeker made every other position redundant unless the game was both very long and mostly one sided.
"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 most painful death." Dumbledore finished up the announcements with that ominous warning. Why did that also sound like some kind of 'important plot point' from his fantasy books?
"But before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Dumbledore exclaimed with a large smile. Harry didn't even know Hogwarts had a school song.
-Ravenclaw Dorm-
Harry collapsed on his very comfortable bed, face down, and exhaled into his pillow with deep sigh. He still felt like his ears had been physically assaulted from hearing the 'school song'. Good music was hopefully not a rarity in the Magical World or else Harry would have to create a trinket or charm that could record Muggle music so that he'd have something nice to listen to. To be honest he had mixed feelings about the Magical World so far.
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