The Rise of Harry Potter

Adrian glanced over at the call where the smallest children were gathering near a man of truly towering proportions: the half-breed. Adrian had been warned about him repeatedly, by almost everyone. This was Hagrid, the groundskeeper for the castle and the nearby forests.

Adrian was shepherded along with other gaping, wide-eyed children to the lake, where a small fleet of wooden boats waited for them. Adrian's boat rocked precariously as he clambered in, threatening to tip him and the other three First Years into the inky black water. Probably they all did. Once the fleet of small boats were filled with every First Year, they were guided by invisible ropes, gliding smoothly and rhythmically over the surface towards the far side of the lake and Hogwarts.

Each boat had a glowing lantern, a single flame giving off enough light for Adrian to see a frightened brown-haired girl and a boy with false bravado in the boat with him. Off to the left, Adrian was fairly sure he had spotted the youngest Malfoy's white hair reflecting in the flickering lantern light.

Adrian's first proper look at Hogwarts left him speechless. The castle towered over the black lake, dozens of towers and ramparts giving him the impression of an impenetrable fortress, a fantastic closed-off world that he was now entering. Warm torchlight spilled from every window and doorway, reflecting off weathered stone and covered bridges, and made the school seem welcoming.

They piled out, forming a large mob as they were herded (very much like sheep) up along moving staircases and past moving paintings.

The half-giant handed them off to a stern-looking Professor who told them to prepare for the Sorting, then disappeared beyond enormous doors. Then they were left alone in what looked like an entry hall.

Low mumbled conversations started to spread through the group, rumors and speculation for how the Sorting would proceed. Was Adrian the only one who knew that the Sorting was done by an ancient, floppy hat?

"I heard we have to battle a troll!" One boy bemoaned, looking nearly ready to faint.

'For Merlin's sake...' Adrian thought to himself, shifting restlessly as the crowd around him became ever more anxious. If Adrian was expected to be clueless, Bella had certainly raised him wrong.

When the door opened, the First Years echoed with gasps and sounds of astonishment as they looked around with wide-eyed glances. The ceiling of the Great Hall had been enchanted to resemble the night sky. It was brighter, deeper than anything Adrian had seen before and there wasn't even a hint of light pollution or muggle contraptions.

All of the long tables cheered wildly at the sight of each of the First Years stumbling into the light. The chaos really began once the hat was brought out and that same strict-looking professor began to call out names.

"Abbot, Hannah!"

A blonde haired girl in pigtails ran forward, sitting down on the wobbly-looking stool. She looked absolutely terrified as the hat was lowered onto her head.

After a moment of quiet deliberation, the hat shouted, "Hufflepuff!"

"Bones, Susan!" went to Hufflepuff too. "Brown, Lavender!" went to Gryffindor. The names continued, eventually reaching the fabled name, "Potter, Skylar!"

At once the entire room was filled with a great hush, as if everyone had suddenly taken a deep breath and was now holding it until the boy in question was sorted. Skylar separated from the other First Years. He swaggered forward, confident and proud as he sat on the stool with his head held high. The hat was lowered and almost instantly it shouted the House: "Gryffindor!"

The red House went wild with cheers and applause. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw joined in, though more subdued. Slytherin remained notedly silent.

"Like nobody saw that coming," the girl standing next to Adrian muttered under her breath. He had only faintly heard her under the loud mantra of "We got Potter!" led by two frolicking twins. Adrian spared her a glance as the hall settled and the Sorting continued.

And then finally: "Selwyn, Hadrianus!"

Adrian was relieved that Bellatrix's spell had worked on the roster. He squared his shoulders and strode across the room, his shoes clicking loudly while everyone watched him curiously. He noticed glares from the Gryffindor table, likely assuming he was related to the well-known dark family with the same name.

(In truth, it was so much worse but it was unlikely anyone would ever actually know that.)

He climbed onto the stool and tried to calmly wait for the hat to drop onto his head and obscure his vision. The moment it did, he felt something blast right through the pathetic strings that were his occlumency barriers.

'My my,' he heard an indescribable, masculine voice whisper. It seemed to pause for a moment, before continuing along the path with a destination unknown. 'I was under the assumption you had died.'

Adrian's facial expressions twitched slightly. Thankfully, no-one would see with the hat over his eyes like it was. 'I did.'

'Well, If you would like to call it that I believe we could compromise. Harry Potter is dead.'

Adrian felt a wave of satisfaction from the blunt confirmation.

....

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