When they left the train, the group of friends headed towards the horseless carriages that had transported the school's students for many years. However, the group had to split in two, as there were too many of them to fit into a single carriage. The journey was filled with friendly jokes and questions, many concerning the upcoming Sorting Ceremony and where the new students would end up. Fred and George were worried about their little sister and hoped she'd be sorted into Gryffindor, where they could look after her, whilst also maintaining that Brian would definitely end up in Slytherin, much to Draco's indignation.
The sight of Hogwarts, as ever, was just as welcoming. Even though that summer hadn't been as tragic as others, it didn't remove the strong underlying fear in Magical Britain. Voldemort had been a presence for many years, killing anyone who stood in his way, and that was something that would surely last for several more years. But, despite fears and insecurities, there was one premise that perhaps would never change: Hogwarts would always be a safe place.
"It's something I'll never get tired of seeing," one of the twins murmured. "I'm sure Ginny will enjoy her view by the lake."
"I always thought it reminded me of a fairytale castle by fairies," Harry murmured.
The entrance to the school grounds was full of excited, smiling comments, as well as some remarks from the boys about how hungry they were and how they'd have to leave the Sorting until after dinner, to the girls' laughter and amused smiles. By the time the carriages stopped in front of the castle and they were able to disembark and regroup, they exchanged knowing glances before heading to their seats at their house tables. Hunger prevailed, and the sooner they were settled, the sooner the Sorting would begin, and before that, they could finally have dinner.
They were all seated at their respective tables when the doors of the Great Hall opened again, and Professor McGonagall entered, followed by the first-year students. With only a few exceptions, they looked incredibly frightened, glancing around nervously. It was obvious that the entire Sorting Ceremony was designed to intimidate the poor rookies – a goal that had been quite achieved. As soon as they arrived in front of the Sorting Hat, they stopped to see what would happen. It was funny to see the shock and fright that more than one displayed when the Hat began to sing a song explaining the qualities of each house.
"When I call your name, you will come here to be Sorted," Professor McGonagall said, unrolling a scroll with the list of student names. "Ashton, Annabel."
Everyone watched as a girl with long black hair ran to where the Hat was and, quite nervously, placed it over her head. Perhaps it was because she was at the top of the list, or perhaps it was just pure curiosity, but not the slightest murmur could be heard as they waited for the Hat to give its verdict. It took a few minutes, but finally, it shouted "RAVENCLAW!" to the entire Great Hall, which was very soon followed by applause from that house. She was followed by a boy, Evan Andrey, who was sorted into Hufflepuff.
The Sorting continued its course, dividing first-year students among the four houses. Most of the time, the children seemed terrified, but others were simply extremely enthusiastic. Harry watched the Sorting carefully, applauding as enthusiastically as the rest when someone was sent to a house. Despite everything, the Sorting he anxiously awaited was his brother's, so when Professor McGonagall called his name, he felt a knot form in his stomach.
Brian approached the stool with a confident, rather bored step, almost as if it were a waste of time to have to be Sorted, presuming he was going to a specific house. It wasn't very difficult for Harry to know where his brother wanted to go – Gryffindor – and seeing how the Headmaster leaned forward, showing his interest, it wasn't hard for him to guess that he, too, wanted him in that house. Despite what might have been expected, the Sorting of the youngest Potter lasted relatively little, though longer than one might have imagined. Obviously, the Hat wasn't very clear where to send him, but finally, after two or three minutes, it shouted for everyone to hear, "GRYFFINDOR!" Although, if one were to go by the horror-struck expressions of the twins, Neville, and Hermione, that decision brought them no joy at all.
It was quite amusing to see Brian give the Hat an angry look; he obviously disagreed with the idea that it had considered sending him to another house. Then, with an arrogant stride, he walked up to the Gryffindor table, sitting next to a blonde first-year… Creevey, if Harry hadn't misheard. Meanwhile, the Sorting continued its course, and a girl named Quentin Rachel was sorted into Slytherin.
If looks could kill, the one Professor Snape was sending Brian would have killed him instantly, and then the ones he was receiving from the rest of the members of his house would have finished him off. Not only was Brian not paying attention to those still to be Sorted, but he also wasn't leaving others alone, something that was already earning him many enemies. By the time they finally got to Weasley, Ginevra, the twins, her brothers Ron and Percy, and many other first-years were on the verge of committing murder. Luckily, thanks to a swift kick from another first-year sitting directly in front of Brian, he was silenced, and the indignant young Weasleys could hear their little sister and welcome her to Gryffindor.
Finally, when the Sorting was finished, the Headmaster stood up to welcome students to a new term and allowed them to comment on the food that appeared on the various tables. It was funny to see how the conversations that took place were repeated from the previous term, as they got to know each other. It seemed so long ago to everyone when they themselves first started attending Hogwarts, which felt strange.
"Look, Harry, they're making a fool of your brother," Athenea murmured.
"It seems he hasn't gone down very well," Susan Bones added.
"I'm not surprised, with his attitude," Harry commented. "I'm sure no one will say anything to him… I'm sure they don't want to receive a telling-off from my father."
The others (except his friends) looked at him in surprise, giving him curious glances, unable to imagine it could be so bad. Whereas most Hufflepuffs were quite good-natured, it was very difficult for them to believe someone could be cruel for simple pleasure… Often needing to see it for themselves, something that in itself, never turned out pleasantly.
Deciding to ignore it, everyone went back to their dinner, choosing to disregard what was happening to Brian at the Gryffindor table. By the time they were done, they were so full they could barely stay awake from all the food they had ingested. So, practically no one paid attention when the old Headmaster made his customary welcome speech, giving the instructions for the school year. The vast majority weren't paying attention; after all, they already knew that the Forbidden Forest was, as its name indicated, forbidden, and all those other things, so they remained semi-awake until Dumbledore allowed them to go to sleep.
New School Term
The next day, classes began, much to the joy of some and the horror of others who would have preferred that the holidays never end. Breakfast was mostly full of rather grumpy people, unaccustomed to getting up early after a whole summer of sleeping in. The few people who were awake enough and in a good mood could be counted on the fingers of one hand. While they all remained half-drowsy, when the different Heads of House distributed their timetables, everyone was roused to run to see what they had been assigned, as well as which classes they would have that very morning. Harry was no exception.
"What do you have now, Harry?" Athenea asked.
"Double Charms with Slytherin," Harry replied absentmindedly. "Then Double Transfiguration and this afternoon, Ancient Runes. What about you? What do you have?"
"Herbology… We'll see what Professor Sprout has prepared for us for her class," Jonathan chuckled.
"Well, see you at lunch then."
After joining their fourth-year classmates, they went to Charms, where the Slytherin students were already waiting, impatient to begin their classes. Starting the term with Charms felt almost as if the holidays were continuing, since classes with Professor Flitwick had always been enjoyable and fun. The Professor showed his joy at seeing them and explained the objectives for the term, all very similar to what usually happened during the first days of the school year.
Even though for most, the content was extremely difficult, for Harry, it represented something quite simple. For many of the different charms, it only took a deep understanding of the concepts behind the necessary magic to carry them out; it was quite simple to know how to perform a new spell. If all went as planned, and it had been planned, he would be able to study for his classes, continue researching, and still have plenty of free time to spare and use for other things.
The boy liked the fact that they were already starting with new material; the previous year, he had been very disappointed when on the first day, they weren't taught anything useful. On this occasion, Professor Flitwick had decided to teach the first charms of personal hygiene – very useful things, especially when Harry considered that they should be taught during some lower year, perhaps not during the first year, but by the end of the second, students already had the capacity to learn. By the end of class, only Harry and one of the Slytherins had managed to learn how to perform the cleansing spell, although Harry had done so long before the other boy.
One might think that the rest of the students would feel quite humiliated that a twelve-year-old boy was able to learn their course material with much more ease than them, but to tell the truth, they all seemed to have accepted that this boy had a better understanding of the main concepts of magic than they did. So no, they didn't have any kind of problem with it.
All the teachers were able to verify that, just like the previous year, Harry showed an incredible ability to learn and that it would be very beneficial if he continued to advance through courses. So, they began the process of scheduling his special classes for the pre-adolescent. Although everything pointed to the Headmaster seeming somewhat disappointed, he again gave permission for his teachers to do what they thought fit, whilst also informing Harry's parents about the recent events.
Harry was informed about the teaching staff's decision during breakfast just a week after the start of term – in other words, the week hadn't even been completed; there were still two days. During that breakfast, a school owl flew to where Harry was having breakfast with his Hufflepuff friends, handing him a letter on which he could clearly see his name written in his Head of House's handwriting. He was about to open the envelope when a quick hand snatched it from his hands. It wasn't very hard to tell who it had been, if not for the fact that he knew who would behave that way, it was due to the expression of displeasure that had appeared on his friends' faces.
"Brian, I would appreciate it if you would return my letter," Harry said in a completely calm voice.
"Who would want to write to a complete useless person like you?" the younger Potter said in a voice full of displeasure. "Remember, from now on, I'm here too, and I'll make sure everybody knows how useless you are… You're nothing but waste, you should know that by now, don't you think? Within a very short time, the whole world will notice, and you'll be left alone as you always have been."
Surely the little speech would have lasted longer, but despite the fact that Brian had enough ammunition for a while, and that all the Hufflepuffs were about to show that they, too, could be fierce when one of their own was bothered, the young Gryffindor was stopped by none other than his own house. In fact, by the Weasley twins, Hermione, Neville, and incredibly, by Ginny Weasley. They had snatched the letter from his hands and gave him the contemptuous look number thirty-six, patented by Professor Snape.
"Do us a favour, Potter, and get the hell out of here," said one of the Weasleys. "You're not just getting into trouble with the Hufflepuffs, but also with the whole school, you imbecile. Do us all a favour, why don't you get lost for a moment and give us a break? Are you leaving alone? Then we can rest from you; we desperately need it."
"How dare you...!?"
"I dare because there is no one who can stand you… Let's see if you realise once and for all… I don't know who the hell you think you are, but here, you're just another student."
If looks could kill, Brian would have committed murder, because he threw such a look that it would have frozen hell itself. But it was clear that the girl was not only accustomed to bad looks but also knew how to launch her own, and perhaps much better than Potter himself. So, trying to gather all the pride he could, he left the Great Hall with as much dignity as possible, ignoring the various rounds of applause that were given at several tables, including his own.
"Please! What a nightmare!" Hermione murmured as she sat quietly next to Harry, and the rest followed her lead.
"Harry… you are a saint," Neville said very seriously, surprising everyone present. "You must be one to have endured him for so long."
"How is he behaving?" Harry asked, without truly wanting to know, believing he already knew what the answer would be.
"Would we be lying if we told you that no one in our house can stand him?" Fred said heavily. "Not even us, who already knew what he was like, but all the others… yesterday Ron almost cursed him, and many more like him."
"Yes, you would be lying."
"The teachers are to blame for all this," Jonathan said. "Even though he should have already earned several detentions, they turn a blind eye to his behaviour. The only teacher I have seen putting him in his place has been Snape, and you've already earned your brother's unconditional hatred. They don't even react when he approaches you in the middle of the corridors!"
"He always goes with that superior attitude of his," Ginevra Weasley said. "You should see him in class… It's not that he's bad… It's just that he's abysmal. He is always the last to learn things and therefore, of course, the last to grasp how they should be done."
"In other words," Hermione laughed, "he's nothing like you."
That earned a few laughs, especially because for once, that kind of teasing was completely justified. Then George handed Harry the letter that his brother had previously removed. It took no words, no gesture. Harry opened it quickly and nervously, wondering what Professor Sprout might be trying to tell him. Therefore, he read it with avid interest.
As he read, a wide grin grew more and more on his face. There was no need to worry; it was obviously good news, or at least, good news for him. Surely anyone else would have thought it had to be a big nightmare. By the time he finished, all his friends present at that table waited, holding their breath.
"Well?" Athenea finally said after a few minutes of silence.
"Well, what?"
"Harry! You know what we mean…! Spill it!"
"Ahh… well… It's from Professor Sprout… Apparently, the teachers consider that I still don't have enough stimulus, and they want us to continue the same as last year."
"Seriously?"
"Yes."
"Oh, Harry, congratulations!" Athenea exclaimed, as most of those present acted similarly, giving him big hugs at what was obviously good news for their friend. Hermione couldn't help but wonder what Brian Potter's reaction would be when he learned that his brother was going to be one or more courses ahead again.