HARRY POTTER - THE PAST REWRITTEN

Chapter 7

The doors swung open at once. Professor McGonagall stood there. She took the children to a chamber and informed them about Hogwarts and all the four houses. She then told them to form a line to get ready for the sorting.

The Sorting Hat was placed on a four legged stool. It began its song.

Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your tops hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell brave of heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And you won't get in a flap!
You're safe in my hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!!

The whole Hall burst into applause as the Hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four House tables and then became quite still again.

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. She called out names alphabetically while the Hat sorted them into houses. Finally...

'Granger, Hermione' 

Hermione walked confidently and sat on the stool. After a while, the hat shouted, 'SLYTHERIN!' Whispers like 'A muggleborn in Slytherin!' broke out.

Then Draco's turn came. Again, he was sorted into Slytherin. No biggie. Then the one everyone waited for...

'Potter, Harry'

As Harry stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall. 'Potter, did she say?'                                                                                                                                                             'The Harry Potter?'

That was the last thing he heard before the hat was dropped on his head.

'Hmm,' said a small voice in his ear. 'So, another time traveler... I still recommend you be sorted in Slytherin.'

"You better." Harry replied to the Hat.

'Okay then, SLYTHERIN!' the hat shouted at the top of its lungs (if it had any).

Everyone was shocked into silence. No one had expected that the one who defeated the Dark Lord would himself be sorted into the Dark House. Dumbledore had that twinkle in his eye again. And Weasley realized that he had met Harry Potter  himself in the train.

The only thing Harry feared was what his parents would say. But they had told him that they loved him no matter which house he was in. Soon, the Sorting ended with Weasley being sorted into Gryffindor. The Feast began and a while later they were sent to bed.

When he woke up the next day, he was really excited to start a new life in Hogwarts with his best friend Hermione and his new ally Draco Malfoy.

Whispers followed Harry from the moment he left his dormitory. People queuing outside classrooms stood on tiptoe to get a look at him, or doubled back to pass him in the corridors again, staring. But Harry ignored them and made his way to the classes with Hermione and Draco on his sides.

This morning, Hedwig(he had bought the same snowy white owl on purpose) dropped a note on Harry's plate.

    Dear Harry,                                                                                                                                                                            Please visit me in my room this afternoon. I know you get Friday afternoons free.                                 P.S. I like 'Lemon Drops'.                                                                                                                                                         Dumbledore

'So now he is gonna try to put some sense into me, isn't he?' Harry thought.

With Weasley not around, this time he was actually able to reach all of his classes on time. And well, being in Slytherin also had its own advantages like being favoured by Professor Snape.

In this timeline, Snape asked Ron the bunch of questions that he had previously asked Harry. When Ron was unable to answer any of the questions, he asked if anyone else could answer them. Three hands stood up in an instant - Hermione's, Harry's and Draco's. When the 'Silver Trio' answered all the questions correctly, Snape awarded them 20 points and told the Gryffindors to learn from the Slytherins.

Weasley eyed Harry with so much hatred that Harry had to put all his effort in trying not to smirk. He couldn't imagine how he was friends with him in the first place.

Immediately after Potions class, Harry told Draco and Hermione that Dumbledore had called him to his office and so he had to go. Hermione told Harry to tell her everything that goes on inside and Harry had to agree.

When he reached the gargoyle statue, he said the password and entered. Dumbledore seemed really furious to see a confident and cunning boy in front of him instead of the scared and confused child he had wanted him to be. But the twinkle in his eye suggested that he had a plan B.

"Harry m'boy, do you know anything about horcruxes?" Harry was not sure why he was asking but he said no.

"Horcruxes are certain objects which contain part of your soul. If someone sends a killing curse towards you, part of your soul will still remain inside the horcrux. Through magic, you can get a new body and continue to live your life," Dumbledore told him.

"But sir... it sounds like Dark magic." Harry was still not sure why Dumbledore wanted him to know about a piece of Dark magic but he had some theories.

"My dear boy, magic can be classified only on the basis of the user's intentions. I have been thinking that since you may fight Voldemort, who I think is still alive, in the future, your life is at risk. I don't want you to be killed as that would mean Voldemort won. So, I advise you to make some horcrux of your own to save yourself."