When We Were Young

C H A P T E R T E N

September 1st, 1943

If Harry had to be described in one or two words, it would be "social butterfly".

He seemed to get along with everyone, bouncing from person to person and constantly making new friends. Harry just had that beautiful, irresistible charm that made people gravitate to him, everyone wanting to be the one to catch the butterfly.

While Harry was beautiful, he was not girly or feminine. His beauty was exactly like an angel's, positively radiant with a boyish charm.

With his sweetheart façade and looks, people were trapped the moment they saw him, many of the first years he had barely met cheering Harry on as he walked down the isle to get sorted.

Harry was unsure on whether or not to sit on the rickety old stool to get sorted, but people more heavy-set than him sat on the stool, so he reckoned that the stool wouldn't break under his weight.

So, Harry sat on the old stool, the dusty sorting hat soon being placed in his head by one Albus Dumbledore.

Albus had to admit, he was doubting his gut feeling that Harry was like Tom- conniving and dark- as he watched Harry interact with all the first years, but he told himself that he would need to watch the boy's behavior more to be certain.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" The sorting hat said, giving Harry a light message as he shifted through the boy's memories.

"Quite the cunning mind you have, Mr. Peverell. . . Oh, how curious! Memories of a second life! Interesting. . ." The hat continued, shifting through a few more memories before making his final statement.

"While you are courageous, you will not do anything without thinking of the consequences and chances first, as Gryffindors are usually act first question later types. While you are smart and like to learn, you don't have the competitiveness to be the smartest in the room and don't value book-smarts as much as Ravenclaws, believing that street-smarts is where you succeed in life. While you are loyal, you are willing to take short-cuts and will scheme to do less work while Hufflepuffs will face their work head on without complaint and won't think to do an alternative for less work. Your mind is cunning and ambitious, always searching for ways to better your situation in life and how to be at the top of the social ladder. Your self-preservation keeps you from rushing into anything. Therefore, I declare you as SLYTHERIN!"

Harry let out a satisfied hum, grinning brightly at the kids who still cheered for him even though he was a Slytherin. Harry did hate the bad reputation Slytherin had. He planned to make everyone see how not all Slytherin's were bad, and he was going to do it by climbing the social ladder, a skill that Harry's had since forever at the Orphanage.

The plain tie Harry had on turned into a jade green with white diagonal stripes going across, the inside of his robes also turning green and the Hogwarts crest being displayed over the cloth where his heart was.

Harry practically floated over to the Slytherin table and plopped down next to Tom, a genuine happy gleam in his jewel-like eyes.

The Slytherins that caught a glimpse of Harry's radiant smile couldn't help but melt a little. At first glance, they had dismissed the boy as a typical Hufflepuff that wears their heart on their sleeve, but up close, they saw the calculating little gleam in Harry's green eyes that turned them around. Right then and there, they knew that Harry was wearing a mask, one that would gain him a lot of 'followers'. They knew this right away, as they too have the same look in their eyes when speaking to other people. Although, they couldn't fathom why Harry would go out of his way to sway the other houses to his side. They were all sheep to the light propaganda against the dark.