631Sorting to Hogwarts
by Teddylonglong
All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC! Time travel! Ceridwen Hufflepuff is my own character, which I have been using in many of my stories.
Harry stared at the spot, where Hagrid had been standing until an instant ago. 'I don't want to return to the Dursleys'. I'd rather go right to Hogwarts, but I should only arrive on the first of September and not earlier. Otherwise, the headmaster will just take me back to the Dursleys' place,' he mused, as he looked for a bench to sit down and ponder his situation. 'With magic it should be possible to arrive at the right time and place,' he thought. However, since he had only known that he was a wizard for about twelve hours and just only had received his wand a short time ago, he was certain that he totally lacked the experience for such a stunt.
'On the other hand, sometimes I can wish for something, like when I often managed to heal my injuries,' he thought. 'It can't hurt to try,' he resolved and desperately wished himself to be at Hogwarts just when the other first-years would arrive for the Sorting, so that no one would take him back to his relatives.
ホグワーツへの組分け
Unbeknownst to the eleven-year old boy, his magic was extremely strong, and it did not only take him to his new school but also to the very first Sorting that was just going to commence at the newly built Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry and from where no one would even be able to take him back to his supposed to be home.
When the world stopped turning around, Harry took in his surroundings with excitement and curiosity. 'This is Hogwarts,' he realised, staring at the huge castle with many large towers that was right behind him. He found himself on the grounds together with several dozens of other students of about his age, who seemed to have just arrived together with their parents.
ホグワーツへの組分け
All of a sudden, everyone quietened, and a young man with brown hair and a friendly smile began to speak.
"Dear students, dear parents, welcome to Hogwarts. I am Godric Gryffindor, the headmaster, and these are my colleagues..."
Tuning out the headmaster's following introductions, Harry frantically thought, 'Oh no, I'm at the wrong school. Professor Dumbledore should be the headmaster. What am I going to do now?'
Just when he finally made the decision to speak with one of the teachers, as soon as the headmaster finished his speech, a girl of about his age spoke to him from his left side.
"Hi there, are you all alone?" she asked, curiously.
Harry shyly eyed the girl. She had long, brown hair, brown eyes and the most beautiful smile that he had ever seen.
"Hi," he said in a small voice, hesitantly returning a small smile.
"I'm Ceridwen Hufflepuff, Helga's sister," she explained, before she queried, "Where are your parents? Did you come here just by yourself?"
"Yes," Harry admitted and, seeing that the girl stared at him, apparently waiting for an explanation, added, "My parents are dead, and my relatives hate me because of being magical, so I just wished me here."
"You just wished you here," Ceridwen repeated, incredulously. "Come with me and let me introduce you to my sister. What was your name?"
"I'm Harry," Harry informed her, feeling slightly uncomfortable on the one hand, however, comfortably being taken care of on the other hand.
He did not protest, when Ceridwen motioned him to leave his luggage where it was and took him by the hand to pull him away. She made a beeline through the crowd and led Harry to one of the professors, who apart from her age looked very much like Ceridwen.
"Helga, I've already found a friend," she announced, sounding very happy. "This is Harry."
"Hello," Harry said in a small voice, ready to hide in any available mouse hole, as he noticed the teacher give him a critical look.
"Hello dear," Helga Hufflepuff finally greeted him in a friendly voice. "Welcome to Hogwarts."
"Excuse me Professor," Harry spoke up, hesitantly. "Is there another Hogwarts? I think I'm wrong here. I was supposed to go to the Hogwarts, where Professor Dumbledore is the headmaster."
The teacher gave him a surprised look. "No dear, there's no second Hogwarts, and we've just finished building her."
"This is the one and only Hogwarts," a male professor added, sneering. "Tell me boy, why are you wearing so strange clothes? Don't you have proper school clothes?"
"Oh Sal, leave the boy in peace," Hufflepuff lightly scolded her colleague, before she introduced him as her husband Salazar Slytherin. "Let's see if you're on our list of students," she said, lightly.
"I don't think so, Professor," Harry replied, thoughtfully. "I think Hagrid told me that Hogwarts has been built about one thousand years ago, so..."
"You mean you came here from the future?" Slytherin interrupted him in apparent disbelief.
"Considering how strange his clothing is, it could be," Hufflepuff replied, before she questioned Harry, "what is your date of birth?"
"31 July, 1980," Harry replied, thinking to himself, 'Now they're already going to find out that I'm just a freak.'
Suddenly realising that everyone else had already headed inside, Hufflepuff ushered her husband, sister and Harry inside and instructed the boy, "Attend the Sorting and come to see us again after dinner. Since we don't know how to take you back to the future, you'll have to stay with us for the time being." Seeing Harry nod, she quickly waved her wand at the boy to adjust his clothing to the current time.
"Don't worry," Ceridwen added, smiling. "I'm happy to have you here, and you'll see everything will turn out well."
ホグワーツへの組分け
Ten minutes later, Harry found himself standing in the Great Hall between the high table in the front and the four house tables behind himself. Professor Ravenclaw called the students one-by-one to come to the front and meet Sopho, the Sorting Hat. Harry felt very much reassured by the fact that Ceridwen remained firmly at his side in spite of the fact that he did not belong to where he was.
"Try to come into my house," the girl whispered, before she headed forward to be sorted.
'I'll try,' Harry resolved, with a small smile playing on his lips. However, the professor did not call him, and only after all the other students had been sorted, she motioned him to come forward.
Again realising that he was a freak and that the Dursleys had been right, Harry hesitantly let himself sink onto the stool, so that the professor could place the Hat on his head. Suddenly, a faint voice spoke up right in his head.
'Hmmm, what am I going to do with you?' it queried, almost causing Harry to panic, when the voice continued, 'You'd fit in all houses.'
'Hufflepuff please,' Harry thought back, urgently. 'I'd like to be together with Ceridwen.'
'For the time being yes, but the next time, I'm going to resort you,' the Hat replied, before it shouted into the hall, "Hufflepuff."
ホグワーツへの組分け
'That went well,' Harry thought, although it was not very comforting to know that he would be resorted at some stage. 'Probably, they'll figure out how to send me back to the future,' he mused. 'I like it here though. Ceridwen is very nice, and the professors too.'
"Harry here," Ceridwen waved him over to the empty seat next to her, and Harry happily sat down.
Apart from Ceridwen and himself, five other first-years, two girls and three boys, were occupying the house table along with five older students. They all introduced themselves to each other, and Harry noticed in relief that they were all very nice and that no one tried to single him out because of being a freak or anything else.
'I just hope Ceridwen won't tell them that I'm not supposed to be here,' he thought, however, to his relief, the girl kept quiet about the matter.
When dinner was finished, Professor Hufflepuff approached the table and instructed the students to follow her into the common room. To Harry she said in a small voice that the professors would like to speak with him afterwards.
'I hope they'll allow me to stay here,' Harry thought, as he followed the group to Hufflepuff house. However, he soon became distracted from his musings by Ceridwen's babbling. The girl told him one story after the next from the time when the Founders had built the staircase and the towers and informed him that she'd like him to help when she was going to assist the Founders again on the weekend.
"I'd love to do so," Harry replied, amazed. 'I'm going to help complete this castle, how cool is that,' he thought, although he had to admit to himself that it already looked quite finished.
"Tomorrow, I'm going to introduce you to Hogwarts," Ceridwen promised, grinning, just when they reached the common room. "You'll like her. She's really cute."
Professor Hufflepuff gave the students a short introduction about the rules in her house, as well as sleeping and meal times, before she instructed everyone to go to bed and instructed Harry to follow her.
"I'm going with you," Ceridwen insisted, when the professor led Harry back out of the common room.
"Don't you think I'll be well able to take care of Harry?" Helga Hufflepuff asked her younger sister on the way to the headmaster's office, glaring at the girl.
Ceridwen chuckled. "Yes, but I know Salazar, and he might frighten Harry, so it's better if I join you," she replied, causing Harry to feel very much reassured by his new friend's company.
ホグワーツへの組分け
Harry looked around in amazement, when he followed the witches into the headmaster's office. It was a round office with large windows, through which he could see the sunset behind the Hogwarts lake.
"This is beautiful," he blurted out in awe.
"Yes, I like it too," Ceridwen agreed, before she showed him the headmaster's phoenix. "This is Fawkes, Godric's familiar," she explained.
#Oh no, it's the chatterbox with another nestling,# the bird trilled, causing Harry to stare at him in amazement. #It's getting too loud here with all these nestlings,# Fawkes added.
"I won't disturb you," Harry promised in a small voice, smiling when the phoenix instructed him to pet his head feathers.
"Can you understand Fawkes?" Gryffindor suddenly queried in apparent surprise, seeing that the boy complied with the bird's command.
"Yes sir," Harry replied, confused.
"That means that you'll probably going to be a phoenix Animagus like myself," Gryffindor informed him, nodding in appreciation, before he motioned Harry and Ceridwen to sit down.
"Apparently, Harry comes from one thousand years into the future," Hufflepuff informed the headmaster, once everyone was seated.
"Is that so?" Gryffindor asked the boy, who returned a hesitant nod.
"How did you come here my boy and why?" he then queried.
"I just wished myself to the Sorting," Harry replied, shrugging. "I don't know why I ended up here and not in 1991. I just intended to go four weeks into the future and not one thousand years to the past."
"I'm glad you're here," Ceridwen threw in, smiling. "Please stay here in our time."
"You travelled one thousand years through time just by wish magic?" her sister spoke up, incredulously. "Are you feeling well after casting such strong magic?"
"I'm fine," Harry replied, uncomfortably. Ever since his travel, he had a splitting headache, however, he knew better than to complain. He absentmindedly noticed how his head of house waved her wand over him a few times.
"You're not fine," she said, sternly. "You depleted your magic to a great extent, and I can't allow you to travel back through time with wish magic for at least a month if not more."
"Very well," Gryffindor threw in, pleasantly. "I suggest that you remain here until the winter holidays and then decide if you wish to return to the future or continue living here with us. How's that?"
Harry nodded, gratefully. "Yes sir, thank you very much," he replied, relieved.
ホグワーツへの組分け
On the way back to Hufflepuff, Helga led the two first-years by the hospital room, where she handed Harry a small goblet and instructed him to drink. "It's a headache potion, and I know that you need it," she said in a no-nonsense voice, before she continued, "At breakfast tomorrow, you'll receive your timetables, and then we'll see which classes you will be able to attend, as I don't want you to do any magic for about two weeks."
"All right," Harry grudgingly agreed, understanding from the professor's voice that any protest would be in vain.
The two friends said good-night to the professor and returned to the common room, noticing in surprise that everyone had already retired to their dormitories.
"Oh well, good night Harry," Ceridwen said, smiling. "I'm happy that you're here."
"Me too," Harry replied, returning the smile. "So far, I really like it here."
With that, he clambered up the staircase to the first-year boys' dormitory, realising in amazement that the bed right next to the window was reserved for him. He changed into his pyjamas, resolving to ask the professor to transfigure them to something that was more adequate for this time, and went to bed. However, just when he was about to fall asleep, he saw something white - silverish float over his bed and looked up in surprise.
It was a ghost. "Hello," Harry whispered in surprise.
"Hello my boy, I'm sorry to disturb you," the ghost addressed him, before he introduced himself as Merlin.
'Wow, how cool is that?' Harry thought, staring at the ghost in amazement.
"There's something that you need to do," Merlin informed him and, seeing Harry cast him a questioning look, continued, "Since you're only eleven, you won't be able to do it now, but I'll come back and give you further instructions in four years' time."
"Excuse me sir, but what is it?" Harry queried in confusion.
"For the time being, it suffices if you help the founders finish Hogwarts. It still lacks lots of magical features like shortcuts between parts that are far away from each other and such. Do your best. I'll be watching you," the ghost informed him, before he bade him good night and floated away, right through the wall.
'What was that?' Harry wondered, feeling very confused. 'I'll ask Ceridwen in the morning. Maybe she'll know what he wants.' With that thought in mind, he finally drifted off to sleep.
ホグワーツへの組分け
In the morning, Harry's roommates had a hard time to wake up the boy, and Harry had to hurry to be on time for breakfast in the Great Hall, so that he did not have the opportunity to speak with Ceridwen about Ghost Merlin. 'I better speak with her alone, I wouldn't want the others to know that the ghost spoke with me. Maybe he talked to the others as well, but somehow I don't think so,' he mused, absentmindedly picking at his breakfast.
He was brought back to reality, when his head of house approached the table and handed out the time tables.
"Mr. Potter," she addressed him in a soft voice, "You may attend your Transfiguration, Charms, Arithmancy, Latin, Potions and Healing classes, however, you are not allowed to do any magic until further notice."
Harry inwardly groaned, but the teacher continued, "You must not attend Defence, Horse Riding and Sword Fighting classes. During these classes, I want you to go my colleagues' offices. The headmaster and my other colleagues will take turns teaching you other things or ask you to assist them with small tasks that don't afford magic. I have marked the name of the teacher who will look after you during a specific class on your timetable. You're not completely well yet, and if you feel unwell, I want you to come and see me at any time. Do you understand me?"
"Yes Professor," Harry replied in a small voice, absentmindedly rubbing his forehead, as he thought, 'Was it really necessary to discuss this in front of everyone else?'
"I'll look after him," Ceridwen pleasantly promised her sister, causing the professor to nod in appreciation, before she returned to the high table.
"Harry," one of the other first-years, whose name was Gawain, spoke up in a soft voice. "What's wrong if you don't mind me asking? Why are you not allowed to do magic?"
'What should I tell him?' Harry wondered and almost began to panic, when he heard Ceridwen say, "Just tell them the truth, Harry. You're one of us now anyway."
Harry let out a deep sigh. Realising that the whole Hufflepuff table was looking at him in expectation and Ceridwen nodded, encouragingly, he hesitantly explained, "I wished myself to Hogwarts, but somehow I messed up and travelled one thousand years into the past." Ignoring his housemates' collective gasp, he continued, "By doing so, I apparently depleted my magic, so I'm not allowed to do any magic for about two weeks."
"You come from one thousand years into the future?" Gawain blurted out and, seeing Harry nod solemnly, added, "Now that's interesting, thanks for telling us, Harry. We'll surely want to know many things about the future."
Several other students voiced similar comments, and everyone nodded, appreciatively, so that Harry felt strangely reassured by the fact that they all knew the truth about him.
"So now we all have to work together to help Harry adjust to our time, so that he won't do as much as think about returning to the future at any time," Ceridwen spoke up, smiling broadly.
"I already like it a lot here," Harry reassured her and immediately stood from his seat, when the headmaster announced that everyone had to leave for their first morning class.
ホグワーツへの組分け
To Harry's disappointment, the first-years' first morning class was Defence, and his head of house came by the house table to enquire if he remembered where the headmaster's office was.
"Yes Professor, thank you," Harry replied, smiling.
"The password for the gargoyle in front of his office is 'Go Sopho go'," Helga informed him, rolling her eyes in apparent annoyance at the choice of the password as she spoke.
Harry chuckled and made his way to the headmaster's office, where he exchanged a quick greeting with Fawkes, before he accepted the offered seat in front of the headmaster's desk.
"Mr. Potter," Gryffindor spoke up, giving Harry a sharp look. "Since you have no family or relatives here in this time, I need one of our professors to become your guardian, while you're here. Therefore, I'd like to take a drop of blood from you and cast a charm on it to see if you by chance are related to anyone here. Do you agree?"
"Yes sir," Harry replied in surprise. 'I just hope he won't tell me that I can't stay here because I'm a freak and no one would want to become my guardian,' he thought. As requested, he held out his arm to the headmaster and anxiously observed how the older wizard magically took a drop of blood from his elbow, which he applied to a huge parchment on his desk.
#Don't worry nestling, everything will be fine,# Fawkes reassured him, apparently sensing his anxiousness, while the parchment on the headmaster's desk was magically filled with hundreds of thin, red lines.
"This is interesting," Gryffindor finally spoke up, after quietly studying the parchment for a moment. "You are the heir of all four of us."
Harry stared at the headmaster in disbelief. However, Gryffindor motioned him to come nearer and showed him how the line from his name could be followed back to all four founders of Hogwarts.
"You see, your father James is a many times great grandson of Rowena and myself, while your mother Lily is a many times great granddaughter of Helga and Salazar," the headmaster explained, patiently. "This is probably why your magic brought you here in order to get to know your ancestors," he said, thoughtfully. "Did you live with your parents before you came here?"
"No," Harry replied and explained in a small voice how he had grown up with relatives who despised him because of being magical.
"That's what I thought," Gryffindor said, nodding. "Your magic sensed that you needed to grow up with relatives who appreciate you. It's good that you came here then. I'll speak with my colleagues, and I suggest that all four of us will become your guardians for the time being."
"Thank you very much, sir," Harry agreed, gratefully. He considered if he should tell the headmaster about Merlin's instructions, however, he dismissed the thought and decided to speak with Ceridwen first.
tbc...
