Slytherin Adoption

Hagrid

          Harry slowly opened his eyes the next morning and mentally groaned. Breakfast would be soon and he wasn't even remotely ready to face the rest of the school. He could still feel the glares and hear the whispers that there were after he got sorted into Slytherin. He'd almost turned and ran, when the entire Slytherin House clapped loudly, causing him to blush. It was nice to feel accepted, though all the attention made him feel uncomfortable.

          When he'd sat next to Draco he had been told that everyone had expected him to get into Gryffindor because one, both of his parents had been Gryffindors and two, he was the Boy-Who-Lived and Slytherin had a reputation for being dark. Harry thought the whole thing was stupid.

          After all, he didn't remember his parents so how could everyone expect him to follow in their footsteps? And why judge a whole house based on the actions of a few individuals?

          He didn't know much about the Boy-Who-Lived business except that he had somehow vanquished some Dark Lord when he was a baby, which seemed farfetched, and now he was famous. He sighed and grabbed his things, rushing to take a shower before his dormmates woke up. Even in the Wizarding World, he was still different.

          As he showered, he thought about how much his life had changed in the past month. First, he'd received a letter on his eleventh birthday. He'd seen owls circling his house all day, which was very odd, but it wasn't until they started trying to hand him letters that he realized just how odd it was.

          He'd caught sight of the front of the letter he'd taken from one of the owls, which was written in green ink, when Dudley snatched the letter out of his hands and ran to find his parents. As he was unable to read, since the Dursleys refused to send him to school, he had no idea who the letter actually was for.

          There had been loud shouting from the kitchen and the next thing he knew, they were in some shack that sat on a rock, in the middle of the ocean. At least he wasn't spending his birthday, alone, in his small cupboard. Instead, he was spending it on the dirt covered floor of a small, rundown cabin, running away friend owls of all things. If his uncle didn't look so angry, he might have laughed at the absurdity of it all.

          Then, the giant had come. The giant, well half-giant as he would later tell Harry, had introduced himself as Hagrid and presented Harry with both a birthday cake and a letter. Not wanting Hagrid to know about his inability to read, Harry had told him that he couldn't find his glasses, and Hagrid had read the letter.

          Harry turned off the water and dried his body, before quickly getting dressed and heading downstairs. He curled up on a armchair by the fire and waited for Draco.