Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Hello! This is the introduction page for my fanfic. Here you can request any events you would like to happen, or find the DNI.

Requesting rules:
1. Nothing NSFW, please; keep it PG-13.
2. Don't stray too far from canon.
3. Please keep to the ships that I have provided if that is alright.

DNI:
MOGAI phobes, LGBTQ phobes, MAPs.

Disclaimer: like in the books, Slytherin isn't exactly liked, at the beginning at least.

Thanks for reading :]

Chapter Text

“Firs’ years this way!”
Harry pushes out of the busy train, Ron coming straight after them. His eyes dart from side to side, trying to find the source of the familiar voice. A blonde boy - he recognises him from Madam Malkin’s, he offered to be his friend some hours ago, Draco Malfoy, isn't it? - pushes past him. Harry is pushed to one side and is forced to let the stream of people pass.
"C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years?"
Pushing through the river of people, Harry finally reaches Hagrid, beaming up at his face.
"Alright there, Harry?" the groundskeeper smiles at him. The boy smiles back and opens his mouth to engage in conversation but is carried away, along with the rest of his year. Ron yelps as he meets the same fate. Looking out of the corner of his eye, he sees Hagrid sigh and yell,
"Follow me!"
The crowd of first years is somehow controlled and the towering gamekeeper leads them to a… a lake? The crowd suddenly halts, falling silent.
"The Black Lake," a voice whispers excitedly, nearly making Harry jump. It's Hermione Granger, the girl who came in about Neville's toad. "It is about half a mile in diameter and is inhabited by many creatures, like Gryndilows, merpeople, and a Giant Squid, and the castle behind it is-"
The rest of her words were drowned out by Hagrid's booming voice.
"Now, to get to Hogwarts, you'll have to cross the lake. No more'n four in a boat!"
There is a rush to get to a boat together, and luckily Ron and Harry manage to not get separated. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry sees Hagrid hand Neville's toad. In a few minutes, the small fleet is moving forward, with the only sounds being the sound of the boats cutting the water. Harry looks over his boat mates once in a while - Hermione would be looking at the castle in wonder, Ron would be looking at Hermione in curiosity, Neville would be looking at his toad in fear that it might escape again.
Once they finally reach the castle, the crowd is buzzing with excitement.
"What house d'you think you'll be in?" he hears someone say.
"I don't know, Hufflepuff?"
Eventually, Ron asks him the same question.
"I don't know… hopefully not in Slytherin," he replies honestly.
Ron nods in agreement, "yeah, same."
"How do we get sorted into houses?" Harry wonders out loud, curious.
"I don’t know, probably a test or something. Fred said it'll be painful. Maybe he's joking, maybe not - you never know Fred."
Harry's stomach drops. He doesn't perceive it when Hagrid hands them to Professor McGonagall, or when Professor McGonagall tells them about the houses. Painful? And what if it’ll be a test or something? Harry doesn’t know any spells - he barely had any time to read the books he bought.
As they walk, Harry feels himself growing anxious. With every step, they’re closer and closer to the test… He looks around, eyes darting. Some students are buzzing with excitement, some are, like him, scared and worried.
In a few minutes, Harry finds himself standing in a neat-ish line that leads up to an old, worn hat. He only breaks out of his anxious trance when Ron nudges him and whispers:
"We only have to wear this old fucking hat? Fred told me we had to wrestle a troll!"
Harry nearly jumps at his voice but chuckles and sighs with relief. So, they don't have to pass a test then. Just… put on the hat. Easy enough.
"Abbot, Hannah!" McGonagall calls out.
A short girl walks to the stool where the hat is placed. She puts it on and it immediately shouts,
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Hannah quickly takes off the hat and runs to what Harry thinks is the Hufflepuff table.
"Bones, Susan!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
The process repeats and the line becomes shorter. Ron is sorted in Gryffindor and the girl from before, Hermione, is sorted in Ravenclaw. Her friend [?] Neville ends up in Gryffindor with Ron. Just like he said, Draco Malfoy, the annoying / mean boy from Madame Malkins that offered to be his friend, is sorted into Slytherin, reinforcing Harry's wish to not end up with him. The more people get chosen, the more anxious he gets. Will he even get picked at all?
Soon enough, McGonagall calls out his name.
"Potter, Harry!"
The hall's excited voices quiet, and suddenly, Harry finds thousands of curious eyes on him. Like everyone else, he walks up to the stool and puts on the Sorting Hat.
"Hm…" Harry nearly jumps at the voice. "Difficult. Very, very difficult. Lots of courage but not a bad mind either. And some curiosity, too… where shall I put you?"
Harry tapped on the stool anxiously.
"Better be…"
Harry's heart sped up.
"Slytherin!" cries out the Sorting Hat.
It's like time slows down.
Harry vaguely hears the Slytherins cheering. Slowly, he takes off his hat and looks around. The rest of the houses look… disappointed. Harry can't bring himself to look at Ron's face.
So this is it.
He is going to be in the worst house of all time and he just lost someone who he could call a friend.
He runs to the Slytherin table and looks around, unsure where to sit. There aren't many empty spaces left… one is next to Draco. He offered to be his friend, right? Perhaps he isn't as much of a rubbish person as Harry once thought… he sits down next to him.
Finally, Harry looks at the Gryffindor table and finds where Ron is. When they make eye contact, there's a look of betrayal on his face. Then, he turns away.