“Oh?” Behind his half-moon spectacles, Dumbledore’s bright blue eyes gleamed with an almost uncanny light, as though they could see straight through a person.
“Hmph…” Snape clearly had no interest in meeting Leo’s gaze and looked away, only for his eyes to land on Harry.
The moment he saw those green eyes, his expression stiffened almost imperceptibly and he shifted his gaze away again.
Professor Quirrell lowered his head somewhat awkwardly, looking as nervous and timid as ever.
Professor McGonagall placed a four-legged stool in front of the first-years, then set a pointed wizard’s hat on top of it.
The hat was patched, battered from years of use, and absolutely filthy.
Without warning, the hat twitched.
A rip near its brim opened like a mouth, and it began to sing.
“You may not think I’m much to look at, but never judge by appearances…” When the song finally ended, Professor McGonagall unrolled a long sheet of parchment.
“When I call your name, you will put on the hat, sit on the stool, and wait to be Sorted.” “Hannah Abbott!” A pink-faced girl with two blonde pigtails stumbled nervously forward and placed the hat on her head.
It slipped so low that it nearly covered her eyes.
A moment later, the hat shouted, “HUFFLEPUFF!” “Susan Bones.” “HUFFLEPUFF!” “Terry Boot!” “RAVENCLAW!” “Justin Finch-Fletchley!” “HUFFLEPUFF!” The Sorting was now fully underway, with students stepping forward one after another as their names were called.
Harry grew noticeably paler with every passing minute, and his breathing quickened as his turn drew closer.
“Hermione Granger!” “GRYFFINDOR!” “Leo William!” At the sound of his name, Leo gave Harry an encouraging pat on the shoulder before walking forward, sitting on the stool, and lowering the Sorting Hat onto his head.
“Ah, Leo William?” A voice immediately spoke inside his mind.
“Now this is interesting…
I don’t believe I’ve ever come across a situation quite like yours before.” ‘Good for you.
Just don’t say it out loud.’ “Heh…
I hardly even need to look to know where you belong.
Without a doubt—GRYFFINDOR!” The Sorting Hat shouted the final word across the Great Hall, then muttered inside Leo’s head, ‘You had the nerve to enroll at Hogwarts under someone else’s identity.
Gryffindor almost feels too tame for you.
Someone with this much audacity ought to be in Azkaban or Nurmengard.’ ‘I’ll visit eventually if I get the chance.’ Smiling, Leo removed the hat and set it back on the stool.
The Gryffindor table erupted into thunderous applause and cheers.
Fred and George Weasley jumped to their feet and led the celebration with a chorus of whistles.
“Pretty warm welcome,” Leo remarked as he greeted everyone and took his seat.
Harry was Sorted into Gryffindor soon afterward, causing the entire table to explode into celebration all over again.
“We got Potter!
We got Potter!” the twins shouted.
Ron was among the last to go forward.
The Sorting Hat had barely touched his head before it yelled, “GRYFFINDOR!” “Well done, Ron, excellent!” Percy Weasley declared in an absurdly grand tone.
Once the Sorting Ceremony was complete, Dumbledore rose to his feet, smiling broadly as he addressed the hall.
“Welcome to another year at Hogwarts!
Before we begin our feast, I would like to say a few words.
And here they are: Nitwit!
Blubber!
Oddment!
Tweak!
Thank you!” The moment he finished, the tables were suddenly covered from end to end with food.
“Every headmaster in the world should learn how to give speeches from this man,” Leo said admiringly before grabbing a roasted pork hock and taking a large bite.
It was decent enough, though nowhere near as good as Cleaver’s cooking.
“Ow!” Harry suddenly clapped one hand to his forehead.
“Oh?” Leo raised an eyebrow.
Harry had just been looking toward Professor Quirrell.
Apparently, his scar had reacted to the fragment of Voldemort’s soul hidden nearby.
Unfortunately, Harry had clearly blamed the wrong person.
“Percy, who’s that professor talking to Professor Quirrell?” Harry asked.
“That’s Professor Snape.
He teaches Potions and he’s Head of Slytherin House—” “He’s also my private tutor,” Leo added.
“What?” Percy stared at him.
“You’re joking.” “Um…
what sort of person is Professor Snape?” Harry asked Leo.
Leo thought seriously about it.
“He takes scholarship very seriously, knows an enormous amount, teaches well, and holds his students to high standards.
Oh, and he likes students with backbone.
If you act timid around him, he’ll probably mock you.
If he asks you something you don’t know, just look him straight in the eye and tell him honestly that you don’t know the answer.” Percy stared at Leo in horror.
“Which universe’s Snape are you talking about?” He could already imagine what Leo’s lessons must have been like.
Snape was bad enough when he had an entire classroom to spread his venom around.
One-on-one tutoring with the man sounded like the sort of thing that could permanently damage someone.
Percy gave Leo a deeply sympathetic look.
Leo paid him no attention and continued working his way through dessert, finishing one sweet slice of treacle tart after another.
Before long, the desserts and serving dishes vanished from the tables.
Dumbledore rose once again, and every eye in the Great Hall immediately turned toward him.
“Now that we have all eaten and drunk our fill, I have a few more words for you.
There are several beginning-of-term notices that require your attention.” “First-years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all students.
Some of our older students would do well to remember that as well.” Dumbledore’s sparkling eyes flicked briefly toward Fred and George Weasley.
“Mr.
Filch, our caretaker, has also asked me to remind you that magic is not to be used in the corridors between classes.
“Quidditch trials will be held during the second week of term.
Anyone interested in playing for their house team should speak with Madam Hooch.
“And finally, I must warn you that anyone who does not wish to suffer a most painful death should avoid the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side.” Harry laughed, but when he realized only a handful of people had joined him, he leaned toward Percy and whispered, “He isn’t serious, is he?” “Who cares?
We can go have a look tonight,” Leo suggested.
“Hey, don’t joke around with your life!” Percy hissed.
“And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!” Dumbledore announced brightly.
The smiles on several professors’ faces seemed to freeze in place.
Leo immediately covered his ears.
The Hogwarts school song soon descended into cheerful chaos as everyone sang the same lyrics to whatever tune happened to occur to them, and with that magnificent disaster finally over, the start-of-term feast came to an end.
..
After the feast, the students of each house followed their prefects back to their respective common rooms and dormitories.
Five boys shared each room, leaving Leo with Harry, Ron, Seamus, and Neville.
“That was some feast, wasn’t it?” Ron whispered to Harry through the curtains around his bed.
“Oi, get off, Scabbers!
He’s chewing my sheets again.” Leo merely shrugged.
He might know that Ron was spending every night in bed with a man named Peter, but saying nothing about it was simply a matter of British courtesy and mutual understanding.
Harry had been about to ask Ron whether he had tried the treacle tart, but sleep claimed him before he could get the words out.
They were all exhausted.
No one had the energy for another conversation, and one by one they changed into their pajamas and collapsed into bed.
“Good night,” Leo said to the already sleeping room.
Then he changed into a sleeveless shirt and shorts and headed for the door.
‘After finally making it to Hogwarts, there’s no way I’m wasting the night sleeping.’