Fall from Grace

The Serpent's Nest

Chapter 3

The Serpent's Nest

Harry woke up to a fresh change of clothes and an empty headmaster's office. He was thankful that the room was empty and took advantage of it to change into fresh clothes. As he finished, the door opened, and Professor Dippet walked in. "Good morning Harry, I hope you've slept well," he smiled.

"Good morning, sir," Harry muttered. It wasn't a dream.

"Ah, one last thing I forgot to ask last night," Professor Dippet said. "I assume you've taken your OWLs, yes?" Harry nodded. "For what subjects? And which ones were you hoping to discontinue?"

"Uh on top of the usual core classes, my electives were Care for Magical Creatures and Divination, but I was thinking of dropping them as well as History of Magic," Harry said.

"Interesting choice, and all to become a what?"

"An Auror, sir," Harry answered. He frowned, "but recently I've been second-guessing that."

"Not to worry, those classes are still good for many different types of professions," Professor Dippet said. "I just want to make sure before I work with your future teachers to make your timetable." Harry just nodded along as he watched the Headmaster move to the front door. Silently, the two left the office and made their way down to the Great Hall. It was still early in the morning, and Harry found himself longing for something caffeinated. Professor Dippet led Harry to a small room that connected to the Great Hall and told him to wait there. "I will introduce you to the school before we eat," he said before leaving.

Harry waited nervously as he listened to the growing crowd of students outside. The sleepy murmur of voices all begging for food and coffee before they could properly start their day. The murmuring stopped and a moment later, Professor Dippet's voice filled the room. "Good morning everyone! I hope you all had a wonderfully pleasant night of sleep. My night personally was quite busy," the old man chuckled. "Last night something unprecedented happen: Hogwarts has decided to become home to a new student. A new student who is starting a little late, in the sixth year actually, but worry not, I am positive that he is more than capable of keeping up with all of you." Harry frowned at this, why was the man making him sound simple? "As for where he was during this time... Grindelwald's war affects us all in different ways. His family moved from here to America long ago, but the war forced him to come back. Please, I ask that you give a warm welcome to our new student, Harry Peverell."

Polite applause rang out and Harry forced himself to walk into the Great Hall, glancing at the sea of students but keeping his eyes straight on the sorting hat that waited for him. He heard his name being whispered, and a few girls mentioned that he looked "cute" and "unique" with his hair. Harry touched his messy hair self-consciously, his cheeks turning pink. Silently, he took the sorting hat and sat down on the old stool. Both felt smaller than when he was eleven years old. He placed the sorting hat on his head and shut his eyes to keep from looking at anyone else. He waited and a voice whispered in his ear.

"Peculiar... out of time, Mr. Potter? Or is it Mr. Peverell now?" the voice chuckled.

You remember me? Harry thought, feeling hopeful. Maybe the hat will put him in Gryffindor immediately.

"No, but you know me. You've been sorted before I see, forced me to put you into Gryffindor. Not to worry, I will not be so easily bullied this time," the hat chuckled, and Harry felt his heart drop.

No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no—"

"Better be SLYTHERIN!" The hat shouted. The Slytherin table clapped politely but Harry did not move immediately. Professor Dippet removed the hat from him and motioned towards the Slytherin table. "Go on," he whispered. Harry glanced at Professor Dippet and then back at Slytherin's table. He forced his feet to move. How could this be possible? This had to be a nightmare. Harry prayed that this was a nightmare. His eyes moved down the table, searching for an empty place. He saw boys that looked around his age and swallowed as he immediately recognized platinum blond hair. Opposite of him was a free space. Harry took it and he felt like he was betraying his old friends. They already hate me for being gay, what would they think if I got sorted into Slytherin?