The Devil's Son

Honey! I'm home!

Finally the boat came to a rest, and Hades stepped out, understanding he must walk the rest of the way. Bidding goodbye to Charon, he walked up the long rocky tunnel until sunlight finally breached his vision. He squinted against harsh ray, crawling out to reveal a vast landscape of fresh green fields. He hadn't ever seen anything like this! Taking a deep breath in, Hades marvelled at the freshness of the air, the sweet scent of grass invading his nostrils. It was nothing like the dark sulphuric pits of hell he'd grown up in. It was amazing, and a part of him felt freed. Another part wanted to shield against the light, to claw away at it and return to shadows of his home. In the distance he could make out the silhouette of a castle against the deepening orange of the evening sky. Hogwarts.

In only a minute he'd reached the wards of the school, apparition cutting away the many miles quickly. In the distance, he saw a group of students walking from a lake towards the entrance of the castle. Silently he slipped through the shadows until he reached the group, no one noticing his presence. They entered the castle and the other children gasped at the sight. Hades only rolled his eyes, it was nice enough but nothing compared to his father's palace. A tall stern woman led them through large doors, revealing a grand hall full of people and candles and food. His eyes widened, he'd never seen this many living people before! The group stopped at the bottom of a large platform that clearly held the faculty of the school. It too had a large throne at its centre, but instead of his dear uncle Lucifer, a wrinkled old man with long greying hair sat in it. The man was watching intently as a child was brought up to the stool placed on the dias, joined by a tattered old hat. He was surprised when the hat opened its mouth, brashly claiming the child had better go to "Hufflepuff!" One by one the children were sorted into different houses. It reminded Hades of how souls were sorted into different circles by their sins, and couldn't help but wonder how this strange hat sorted the living. A name was called out, and the entire hall fell still, with hushed worried whispers echoing through. "Harry Potter?"

Minerva read back over the paper, shocked. The name was still on there! Why hadn't anyone thought to check, to remove it. She cleared her throat to continue on the list when a boy stepped out between the students, walking up and sitting on the stool. "Excuse me young man, it's not..." She was cut off when the child turned, familiar bright green eyes looking into her very soul from behind a mop of black hair that she'd recognise anywhere. Her suspicions were confirmed when his fringe fell to reveal the well known lightening scar, and the entire hall gasped in shock.

Hades suppressed a laugh at their shock, instead waiting patiently for the woman to collect herself. He'd vaguely recognised the name as the one his father had mentioned to him a few years ago. Harry Potter was his human name. The woman turned, looking over at the old man for direction. The headmaster, evidently, cleared his through before addressing Hades. "Mr Potter.... Are you well?" Deciding to mess with the human a bit, he smiled brightly. "Yes, quite thank you!" He turned back to the woman, looking expectantly. "Perhaps you would care to follow me to my office, Harry my boy." Hades turned to look at the man blankly, what was this guy's game? "No thanks." It was difficult to hold down his mirth at the man's confusion and sighed, elaborating further. "Right now I'd like to be sorted." Apparently no one knew what to say to that, and he simply turned, looking back at the hall. Each student was looking equally as shocked, and he couldn't hold back the quiet giggle any longer. Suddenly his vision was obscured by the hat, and he settled back, waiting to see what would happen.

"Well, well, well. Mr Potter you most certainly were not expected." Hades frowned, why was that exactly? His father had told him he'd been expected to go to Hogwarts. "Well yes, Harry Potter was expected, but then he went missing for six years." Had it only been six years since he'd met his father? It felt like an eternity. "Considering you grew up in hell, I'm hardly surprised." His eyes narrowed. So you can hear my thoughts then. That's not good. "Do not worry Prince Hades, I am bound to keep the secrets of all the students of Hogwarts. Now to sort you." Relieved, he relaxed, waiting to see where he would go. "Well I think there really is only one house that could handle you. The blood of the devil runs in you boy." Harry grinned at the compliment, looking forward to the results of his 'sorting'. Thank you, my father would be very pleased to hear that. That hat released a long dusty sigh. "Better be......."

"Slytherin!" Severus couldn't believe his ears. Or his eyes. Or anything that was happening! Harry Potter had appeared out of no where, acting as if it was perfectly normal, and had then been sorted into Slytherin. How was the child here? He and Remus had been searching for years, and everything it had brought them back to the small cupboard that the infant had disappeared from. He watched as Harry walked over to the Slytherin table, taking a seat next to his godson, who was in the same stunned silence as the rest of the hall. He would get answers. After all, the child was in his house.

Harry took a seat by a young blonde boy, who seemed very surprised by his existence. Then again so did the rest of the room. He smiled, watching as the rest of the students were sorted, before the feast began. It was eerily quiet, and he looked up to see the entire hall staring at him. "Well this is fun." Suddenly several student turned away with scared expressions, and Hades turned to see several older Slytherins standing behind him. "I apologise for the poor reception Heir Potter, and we would like officially extend the hand of welcome." Hades had a slight decision that this was important somehow, and looked into the older boys mind. Apparently this was some pureblood custom, and it was the first of a few tests to see if he deserved to be in Slytherin as he was something called a half-blood. He disliked the thought they considered him impure, when he was a Prince of Hell! He deserved their respect and he would get it. "My many thanks to you Heir Pucey, it's much appreciated." The students gave a subtle nod before returning to their seats.

Draco could not believe it. Harry Potter was in Slytherin! He'd heard so many stories, and he really wanted to be the boys friend. He cleared his throat, shifting slightly as the dark haired boy looked over at him. "I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. Some wizards are better than others, I'll help you with that." The boy stared at him for a moment, and it was rather unnerving. He shuffled nervously before he finally spoke. "Thank you Draco." He perked up at the use of his first name, he wanted to be friends too! "I'm Hadrian. Hadrian Morningstar. You probably know me as Harry Potter though."