Author's Note: I am not worthy. Your past reviews and favorites have all been brilliant and then I go on and disappear for months without posting anything. I'm so sorry!
Work and then life and then more work hit me during the holidays and after that I just moved and quit my job so life's been a bit of a mess. But I promise I should start back up on regular/semi-regular updates from here on out, especially with covid-19 keeping me apartment bound for now.
Thank you again for all of your amazing support your wonderful people you.
As always, I own nothing, it all belongs to JK Rowling (though I wish it didn't), the creators of Merlin, and now the creators of Avatar the Last Airbender (because yes, yes I went there full force).
Now, on with the chapter.

Chapter Seventeen: Hogwarts, Finally.

Harry sat bolt upright as a smile spread across his face. It was September 1; he was going to Hogwarts. Throwing himself from his bed he tripped over his slippers and stumbled causing Hedwig to ruffle her feathers and glare at him.

"Little speaker what are you doing?" Nagini hissed at him from her nest among his sheets, her head tilted slightly as Harry kicked at his slippers.

"It's Hogwarts time Nagini! We're going to go to Hogwarts!" Harry replied.

Shaking her head at his exuberance Nagini twisted and then lowered her head and fell back asleep as Harry began running around the room trying to remember where he set his clothes for the day. He'd asked Bitty for a simple breakfast that morning, knowing that they'd be running late since Padfoot and Moony were terrible at waking up on time. Tugging his maroon sweater over his head while holding his glasses in one hand he ran down the hall.

"Wake up! Wake up! It's Hogwarts day!" he shouted as he ran down the hall.

A messy head of brown curls poked out from the room Mumgana shared with his uncles as Moony blinked sleep from his eyes.

"Harry its eight, we have time, calm down."

"We don't want to be late though. Come on, we have to get going," Harry replied as he continued down the hall and to the staircase towards the second level with the kitchen.

Shaking his head at Harry's enthusiasm, Remus smiled and turned back towards his bedroom where Morgana was already dressed and trying to convince a bundled-up Sirius to move.

"Move Sirius, your godson wants to have breakfast with all of us before we leave," she said, jabbing him with her fingers in his sides.

Sirius popped his head out of his burrito of blankets to glare at Morgana as she continued to poke at him, his hair sticking out at all sides as he did.

"I'm up, I'm up. Knock it off."

"You're only up if you're moving, Pads," Remus chuckled as he headed towards the bathroom to get started for the day, ignoring the rude gesture Sirius threw at him as he began untangling himself from his blankets.

Ignorant of the childish actions of his guardians, Harry was already halfway through his first cup of tea as they all trudged into the dining room. Bitty was standing over him with an apron around her neck that had the words, "World's Best House-Elf" emblazoned in emerald green across the middle.

"Master Harry needs to slow down, or he'll get sick," she scolded him, waving her spatula at him as she did.

"I am," Harry pouted up at her, widening his eyes as he did.

"That no work on Bitty," she replied, shaking her head as she did, her ears flapping.

Harry shrugged and grinned back at her before turning towards the food arrayed on the table and dishing up a plate of bacon and eggs for himself while Bitty tried to subtly add pieces of fruit to it.

"Morning Bitty, thanks for breakfast," Remus yawned as he sat down and took the cup of coffee the house-elf proffered to him.

"Of course Bitty makes breakfast, it's a very important day for the young master," with a fond smile at Harry, Bitty disapparated back to the kitchen.

Settling down at the table Morgana picked up a piece of toast and began to nibble on it as Sirius laid out the plan for getting to King's Cross.

"We'll be apparating there at 10 and we'll meet up with Narcissa and Draco. The Granger's said they'd be driving and that they'd meet us there and we know Augusta wanted to get there early with Neville on the off chance he wakes up on time." Sirius had taken a much more hands on role in parenting Harry after Arcturus was killed several months before. The Black Patriarch's murder had rattled him and woken him up to how important it was to live in the moment, and he'd started teaching Harry about the history of their House and House Potter. He was sad that those lessons had to come to an end now that Harry was heading off to Hogwarts, but the Wizengamot was about to reconvene and he had to take up the mantle as Lord Black. Things were changing for everyone and he was determined to be serious about life from here on out.

Morgana smiled at Sirius as he detailed the next few hours to everyone. They'd already discussed their plans the night before, but the fact he felt the need to go over it again so seriously showed how much he'd matured over the last few months, or years rather. He'd come a long way from the stubborn man who'd refused to see a mind healer when they first met. She was proud of him, proud of the way he'd taken up his heritage as a Black while maintaining his Gryffindor pride and courage. He was set to take up his historical seat on the Wizengamot in several weeks while Remus was taking over her research into the Old Religion as she started her next plan of attack. Tom, well she wasn't sure what he was planning on doing exactly. The former Dark Lord was rather reticent on sharing details of his plans with her just yet, something she attributed to her rather harsh denigration of his past plots.

Speaking of the man, she smirked as he wandered into the dining room, his hair perfectly styled, and his shirt and trousers pressed and unwrinkled. Sitting down next to Harry he fit in quite well next to her wild ward who was gesturing about with a spoon as he told his uncles his plans for the train ride. Her smirk widened as Harry turned and greeted Tom, her boy had all but adopted the man as a third uncle, surprising everyone, but none more so than Tom himself who still expected Harry to hate him.

"Morning Tom," Harry chirped at him, his green eyes wide as he smiled up at the older man.

Tom tried to hold back his smile but failed rather spectacularly; there was something about Harry that made it impossible not to care for the boy. He had an unfailing kindness in him, something that Tom had never seen before and wanted to never fade. He knew though that the boy was heading into the lion's den, and Dumbledore would be there ready to manipulate him like the rest of his pawns. He wouldn't let the old fool have the satisfaction though, he'd ruined Tom's childhood, he tried to ruin Harry's early on, but he wouldn't let him do any further damage. The boy's past with the Dursley's was exactly the sort of cruel malfeasance that he expected from Dumbledore, and Tom was excited to join in on the coven's vengeance upon the horrid muggles - he'd promised Morgana his aide in that endeavor very early on in their acquaintance.

Pushing past thoughts of stringing up the muggles and hitting them with the Cruciatus, he turned his attention towards breakfast and let himself get pulled into the mundane shenanigans that filled Corvus Place.

Soon it was time to head off to King's Cross, and Tom broke off from the group, heading to his rooms to study for his Mastery in Potions that he was determined to get. He couldn't quite get out fast enough and found himself roped into a hug from Harry who all but tackled him.

"I'll write every week. I want to hear what you and Remus discover in those old texts Mumgana had in her vaults," Harry promised as he wrapped his arms around the older man's waist.

Patting Harry awkwardly on the back, Tom replied that he would and warned Harry to take care of himself at Hogwarts.

"You've built yourself a strong group of allies over the years, but Hogwarts is different than that little school you went to. There are witches and wizards from all backgrounds, and you need to broaden your horizons. You'll be separated from your friends in different Houses. Don't do what I did and limit yourself to your House, be smarter than that, and be wary of Dumbledore. He's been quiet for too long and I know he will seek to influence you since you'll be directly under his nose."

"I know, and I will Tom. Thank you," Harry replied before turning to join his guardians to apparate to the train station.

The four of them appeared with little fanfare on Platform 9 ¾ at one after ten o'clock and quickly set out to find Narcissa and Draco. The former Lady Malfoy was seated on a bench not far from the train, her young daughter in her arms as Draco paced back and forth in front of her. Seeing Harry, he lit up and ran to greet his best friend, his grey eyes shining as he began to babble in excitement.

"Can you believe it? We're finally here," he said.

"It's going to be totally awesome," Harry replied with a laugh as Draco hugged him before turning back towards his mother and sister.

"Are you sure you and Cassie are going to be alright mother?"

Narcissa shook her head at her son's worry, her face light and unburdened after so many years of living in shadow with Lucius.

"We will be my little dragon, now is your time to shine."

"Mum," Draco kicked at the ground, his cheeks flushing as his mother began to chuckle at him.

Morgana and Sirius sat down next to Narcissa, Sirius quickly stealing Cassie from his cousin and covering her face in kisses, barking out laughter as the little girl squealed and giggled in his arms. Remus shook his head at his mate's antics and watched over Harry and Draco with a fond smile as the two boys began to animatedly detail the epic game of exploding snap they were planning as soon as they boarded the train. A familiar yell drew everyone's attention down the platform where they saw Hermione come rushing towards them, her bush of curls flying behind her. Her parents were walking at a steady pace to reach them, their calm a direct contrast to Hermione's manic energy as she flew into Draco and Harry's arms, babbling a mile a minute about all the books she'd been reading.

"Did you know that there's books about you Harry? There's one called "The Rise and Fall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named" and it says you defeated him with dark blood magics," she barely managed to catch a breath as she blurted it all out.

"Yeah I've read it. It's all a load of rubbish, Mumgana tried to have the publisher's pull the books for factual inaccuracy but they didn't listen to her and said they were protected by freedom of the press." Harry said, rolling his eyes as he did.

"I thought the book was pretty funny," a voice said from behind them and they all cheered as Neville's face appeared next to Draco.

Pulling him into a hug Hermione beamed at the other three, content that they were all together at last.

"If only Luna was old enough, then everyone would be together," she said, her voice wistful at the thought of the airy blonde's absence.

"We'll all be together at Hogwarts soon enough. Now come on, we have to get our stuff on the train, Blaise and Theo already have a compartment picked out that will fit all of us and I've already seen Susan and Daphne," Neville said, tugging on Harry's arm to get the children moving. Together they all gathered their trunks and marched towards the train, leaving the adults to gather the rest of their belongings and follow.

"They've already forgotten about us," Sirius pouted as he held Hedwig in front of him.

"They're excited, remember how you were at that age. Their adventures are just beginning," Morgana reminded him, her eyes glistening with tears as she thought of the paths before her young ward and the strengths of his friendships.

"I'm proud of all of them," Narcissa murmured and Helen Granger burst into tears, prompting Remus to pull the woman into his arms for a hug. Augusta met them on the train, her eyes wet too as she motioned them towards the compartment where their children had congregated. Already they were laughing and joking about their journey just beginning. Entering the compartment, the adults quickly put away the cages and miscellaneous belongings while their children began their goodbyes.

Draco pressed a kiss to his little sister's head as his mother hugged him tight. Hermione got trapped in a hug between her parents, her hair the only thing visible. Neville lightly embraced his grandmother only to be pulled into her tight grasp as she kissed the top of his head. Harry wrapped his arms around Morgana and buried his face in her middle as Remus and Sirius pulled the two of them into one big embrace.

Pulling away from Harry Morgana wiped her eyes as the Marauders whispered their goodbyes to their Prongslet before he turned to say goodbye to her.

"Be safe and be happy little one, and know that I am always with you, as are your parents. We love you Harry," Morgana whispered as she bent down to meet his emerald gaze with her own before leaning forward and kissing his forehead, imbuing no small amount of her own powers of protection on the boy.

Turning to pull Sirius and Remus onto either arm, Morgana left the children to their compartment and to their own paths.

Harry grinned at Draco and pulled out Nagini from her resting place in his sweatshirt pockets, placing her on his lap for optimum pets.

"We're going to have so much fun," Draco said his grey eyes alight with mischief as Hermione shook her head and pulled out a book, she wanted no part in whatever pranks the boys had planned.

"So many pranks," Neville whispered, laughing as Blaise who'd been silent until then rolled his eyes at them.

"As long as they're not directed at me, I don't care what you do. Just don't be stupid, that's all I ask," the boy said before turning towards Susan who walked in after the adults left to ask her a question about her aunt's new policy on repeat minor offenders.

Theo said nothing as the three demons began their plotting, preferring to do as Hermione did and read quietly. While he'd like to help with the pranking, he wasn't one to instigate anything and would rather wait for them to come to him for his help.

The compartment was relatively quiet for some time, only the occasional excited yelps from Draco could be heard, mainly when he said something stupid and Neville or Harry walloped him. A couple hours had passed, and it was nearing lunchtime when the doors opened and revealed the identical faces of the Weasley twins.

"Look here Fred, looks like we've just found our favorite new little firsties," one of the redheaded twins said, his eyes dancing with unholy mischief.

"Looks like you're right George, but then it's been a few years since we've last seen them, maybe they've lost that cool factor," the other replied.

"We're plenty cool," Harry shot back, standing up to glare at the older wizards.

"We'll see," Fred said as he smirked down at the first years.

"Prank war, week one. First ones to get a score of ten out of ten wins," George added.

"Who'll judge?" Neville asked as he stood up next to Harry.

"We need someone impartial but with a sense of humor," Draco said.

"Our friend Lee could do it," Fred offered but Harry turned him down.

"If he's a friend of yours he won't be impartial."

"I'll do it." Susan and Hermione said it at the exact same time, startling everyone in the small compartment. Hermione had put down her book and was sizing the two groups up while Susan had pulled out a piece of parchment and started to list down a set of guidelines.

"We need a set of rules. Starting with nothing that can hurt anyone. Nothing illegal. And nothing that gets anyone into serious trouble, including but not limited to, more than one detention and suspension from school," Susan said as she began to list out her ideas.

The two groups agreed and signed her hastily drawn up contract, the twins excited to prank people and to see what the younger kids could come up with. Harry and company were just excited to start up the Marauders next generation and live up to Sirius and Remus' stories.

The twins left after Susan finished up the guidelines of their little war and Harry started to think of the first prank they would pull. Draco had suggested using one of the spells Remus had taught them that would change the color of people's robes. The lunch trolley came by soon after and between splurging on candy for everyone and getting actual lunch to eat the group contented themselves with eating. Nagini had found her way around Harry's neck and had settled her head in the hollow of his throat as he finished eating and turned towards a noise outside the compartment. There was a knock at the door soon after.

"Come in," Harry called out, lifting a hand to pet at Nagini in thanks for her warning.

A young man with dark hair that covered the side of his face ducked into the apartment. Lifting his head to meet Harry's gaze his hair fell back revealing a horrifying burn scar across the side of his face, skin twisted and bright red, the edges of his eyes compressed to the point where his pupil was barely visible.

"Hi, um. I'm Zuko, my Uncle said I should come and greet you. He's friends with your mother," Zuko lifted his hand in an awkward wave.

"It's nice to meet you Zuko, I'm Harry and these are my friends, Draco, Neville, Hermione, Blaise, Susan, and Theo," Harry replied as he gestured over to his friends.

Draco nodded his head at the older boy, his eyes darting back and forth from the scar to Harry before he finally blurted out, "You're the son of the Fire Lord, right? From the Fire Nation islands in the south of Japan?"

Zuko flushed and nodded his head, twitching slightly at hearing his father's title.

"Yeah, I'm his son. Or I was before Uncle and I were exiled. We uh…haven't been back in years."

"You're a Gryffindor by your tie, right?" Hermione piped up, her eyes flicking between glaring at Draco's insensitivity and curiously looking at Zuko, "What year are you?"

"Fifth year. Are you looking to be a Gryffindor?" a small smile slid on his face as Harry pulled Zuko down to sit next to him and join them.

"It's between that and Ravenclaw for me. I'm just not sure which house would be the best fit for me," Hermione confessed.

"I'm between Gryffindor and Slytherin myself," Harry said, "Mumgana is a total Slytherin which shows they're not like the stereotypes people say but my parents were Gryffindors."

"Both are good houses. Uncle often reminds me that while the houses are sorted by different character traits, we all have different facets to ourselves and we shouldn't try and narrow ourselves," Zuko said as he took a chocolate frog from Neville.

"That's really good advice," Susan replied after a minute of silence from everyone.

"Well I'm going to be a Slytherin," Draco boasted earning a series of slaps from Harry and Neville and giggles from the girls.

"The day you're cunning and clever is the day my mother settles down and stops marrying," Blaise muttered, shaking his head as Theo covered his mouth to stifle his laughter.

Unfortunately, Draco had caught Blaise's words and took extreme offense. Launching himself at the other boy with a war cry the two wrestled on the floor. Harry tried to pull Draco off Blaise only to end up with an elbow to the stomach and so he joined them wrestling. Zuko was torn between stepping in and helping and just watching them with silent laughter but the decision was made for him when Hermione stood up and with her wand out.

"Rictumsempra," she snapped, her wand flicking from boy to boy, hitting them with the tickling charm stopping the fight. Their faces went bright red as they shook with laughter, tears forming at the corner of their eyes.

Sitting back down in her seat she stowed her wand in her sleeve and went back to her book, muttering the word boys as she did.

The rest of the train ride went smoothly as Zuko stayed and fielded questions about classes and professors from the kids. He vacillated between amused at the questions and wildly concerned.

"What's Aunt Minnie, I mean Professor McGonagall like?"

"When do we get to start practicing spells?"

"Do we get to do any flying besides the flying lessons?"

"Do people get seriously injured in practical lessons? What's the ratio of dismemberment to permanent spell damage?"

"Do people ever die from not using their magic?"

"Do you trust the headmaster?"

At the last one Zuko frowned and shook his head, Albus Dumbledore had been against his enrolling in Hogwarts from the beginning. Citing that the child of a warmongering Fire Lord would bring nothing but darkness to Hogwarts. The board of governors had overruled him and Zuko had been allowed to attend but he'd never forgotten the headmaster's stance on him.

"He's a paranoid old man with delusions of grandeur and self-importance. He defeated one Dark Lord over fifty years ago and he thinks that he's the only one who can lead the so-called 'Light'" Zuko made finger quotes as he said the word before making a rude hand gesture and cursing under his breath in his mother tongue.

"Awesome, so you're totally on our side then," Harry said.

"Your side?"

"Yeah the anti-Dumbledore side. We're small now, but we'll grow in number and then Morgana will kick him out of the Wizengamot, Hogwarts, and the ICW," Harry's words were animated and he practically vibrated in his seat as he talked about their plans to ruin Dumbledore. He knew the man's role in placing him with the Dursley's and his role in keeping Sirius in Azkaban. While he would normally give the man a second chance, since everyone deserved at least one, Dumbledore had been rude to his Mumgana, and that was a line he crossed that he could never come back from in Harry's eyes.

"I am honored to be on your side then," Zuko smiled slightly at Harry, the younger boy's enthusiasm was infectious, and he couldn't help but get swept up in it.

"I knew you were a rotten egg, but this just proves it," a voice said from the compartment doors, drawing everyone's attention to the newly arrived Ron Weasley. Flanked by two boys, one with soot along his forehead and short brown hair and the other tall, with skin just barely lighter than Blaise's.

"You don't know anything Weasley, butt out," Harry replied, glaring over at the boy. He remembered him from their encounter years ago and he didn't look upon his interruption fondly.

"Yeah well I know you have to be a dark lord in training, look at the company you keep, baby Death Eaters and Fire Nation scum, all murderers in the making," Ron said back, his face red as his voice began to rise.

"Ron you said we were just going to introduce ourselves, maybe we should go," the brown-haired boy said, tugging on the redhead's sleeve as he did.

Looking at Harry and then looking behind him, Ron gulped as he saw the group of people he'd been insulting with wands drawn and in their hands.

"Yeah whatever, come on Seamus, Dean, we should go get ready." Turning on his heel he stomped off, not seeing the apologetic looks on his companions faces before they followed behind him.

"Well he was unpleasant," Hermione snapped as she shut her book.

"Stupid Weasley," Draco sniffed.

"What's his problem?" Zuko asked, raising his one eyebrow.

"Dunno, he's just always a prat when we see him," Harry replied, glaring at the door.

"Not even at Hogwarts yet and you've made an enemy," Susan shook her head as she grabbed Hermione's arm, "Come on we have to go get changed, we're almost there."

The girls left to go get changed and Zuko followed soon after to go get his robes and change himself. The boys all shrugged and pulled their robes out and started to get dressed, they were almost there.

The train pulled to a stop, and they all clambered against each other to get off. A loud voice shouted on the platform drawing their attention.

"First years, first years over here."

"Shall we go?" Hermione asked, jerking her head towards the congregation of first years at the end of the platform.

Nodding his head, Harry walked after her as the others just shrugged and followed. As they reached the end of the platform, they all came to a halt as they took in the form of a massive man holding a lantern aloft as he called for the first years. He was huge, bigger than anyone Harry had ever seen before with wild dark hair and large dark eyes, he was smiling as he met Harry's gaze.

"Come along then Harry," he said, his voice a rough burr as he reached to pull Harry under his arm.

Hermione ducked her head as Draco sneered at the man and pulled Harry away from him saying, "What do you think you're doing?"

"I was just trying to guide Harry to the boats, I'm Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys at Hogwarts, it's my job," the man replied, his rough voice sounding softer at the end, a touch of hurt in his words.

"How did you know who he was?" Neville peered up at the large man, his blue eyes widening as Hagrid started to laugh.

"He looks just like his da, doesn't he? Except for the eyes, he's got his mum's eyes," Hagrid replied, making Harry cringe while the others pulled him along, away from the exuberant man. He felt weird, everyone always seemed to know who he was, and even though Hagrid seemed nice, it was a sign of what was to come in Hogwarts, he just knew it. Following his friends to the boats he stepped into one behind Draco, his mind off in a cloud as he worried over the future.

"Everyone in?" Hagrid's voice boomed across the slew of boats bobbing on the water, jarring Harry from his reverie, "Right then—FORWARD."

The boats moved as one, gliding across the dark waters of the lake. No one spoke as everyone took in the sight of Hogwarts looming along the horizon, it towered over them as they sailed closer and closer to the cliff it was built upon.

"Heads down everyone!" Hagrid yelled as the first boats reached the cliff; everyone followed suit, bowing their heads as the boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. The waters carried them through a dark tunnel, which seemed to take them right under the castle until they reached an underground harbor where the boats came to a stop. Clambering out onto rocks and pebbles Harry tripped over a wet stone, catching himself by grabbing a hold of Draco's back, earning a glare from the blonde. Hagrid stood at the end of a passageway, a lantern illuminating the way as they came out onto smooth, damp grass beneath the shadow of the castle.

A set of stone stairs led up to a huge, oak front door, which Hagrid lifted one giant fist to and knocked three times. The door swung open, revealing a slightly smirking Minerva McGonagall. Bright emerald robes made her black hair stand out all the more and her glasses seemed to sparkle in the candlelight.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I can see that," she replied, making Harry snicker as Draco burst into a fit of giggles.

Hagrid shuffled off as she pulled the door wide, letting them see the massive entrance hall. The stone walls were lit with flickering torches, the ceilings reaching higher than Harry could imagine as a marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors. Following McGonagall across the flagged stone floor, Harry could hear the droning of the rest of the school, hundreds of voices overlapping each other. Instead of entering the main hall though, McGonagall showed them into a small, empty room off the hall. They crowded together, Neville peering around to look at everyone while Hermione seemed to vibrate with pent up excitement.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, the start of term banquet will begin shortly, but before you can take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into Houses. The Sorting is an important ceremony as your house will become something like your family within Hogwarts. You have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your dormitories, and spend free time in your house common rooms," here she paused and leveled an eyebrow at Harry and his friends who had long resigned themselves that they would be in separate houses.

"That is not to say that you cannot befriend people outside of your House, in fact, interhouse friendships are encouraged. The four founders of the Houses were great friends. The houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each of them has a deep and rich history attached not just to the founders, but to each member, and you will add your own stories as you go. While you're here at Hogwarts, you will earn points for your House, in lessons and outside of them, while any rule breaking therein and out will cost you house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points wins the house cup, a great honor that carries into the next year. I hope that each and every one of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."

Looking at Harry and his friends again, McGonagall let a real smile cross her face, lightening her eyes and taking several years of stress away.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you freshen yourselves up as you wait. I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." She left the chamber as Harry swallowed down another laugh.

Everyone began to talk amongst themselves nervously and Hermione started to pester Draco to tell her how they would be sorted. Morgana hadn't told them anything of what to expect, mainly Harry suspected, because she had never been to Hogwarts, but also because she claimed she wanted them to have the full experience. Everything seemed to be coming together, he was finally at Hogwarts, he had his friends with him, and with Aunt Minnie on his side, Dumbledore wouldn't know what hit him.

"Do you think they'll make us perform any spells?" Blaise glared over at Theo and Neville who were whispering back and forth about the sorting.

"It's a hat, idiots. We put on a hat that tells us what house we go to, it's not a test of anything. It's just a tradition. Mother said the hat is sentient and can read our thoughts," Blaise said.

"Well that's anticlimactic," Draco muttered as Hermione sighed and wrung her hands.

"I don't like the idea of something reading my thoughts," Harry frowned, after all his lessons with Mumgana, and before her Grandpa Arcturus, he knew that he shouldn't trust anything that wanted access to or could get into his mind.

"It does seem a bit suspect, what does a hat need with our thoughts?" Hermione asked, her head tilted as she began to run through several ideas.

"It's tradition," Blaise shrugged and glared over at several people who shrieked as a group of ghosts floated through the chamber, "Tradition is a big thing in the Wizarding World, if you haven't learned that yet, you're hopeless."

"We know, it's just frustrating that we have no say," Harry replied, frowning as the door opened again and McGonagall stood before them.

"Move along now, the Sorting Ceremony is about to begin. Form a line and follow me," gesturing with her drawn wand she stood there until everyone started to file behind her. Getting in line behind Draco and Hermione, Harry felt his stomach sink at the thought of facing the crowds of students. He could hear the whispers as they started to file into the hall, people murmuring his name until it got louder and louder and he could hear everything.

"Look its Harry Potter."

"I heard he was raised by an American."

"He looks so small."

"He survived a Killing Curse."

"Can you see his scar?"

"Who's he standing next to?"

"There's no way he's going anywhere but Gryffindor."

Wincing as the whispers got louder and louder the deeper they got into the hall, Harry tried to duck his head behind Neville who was just a hair taller than him. Seeing that, Hermione reached out and grabbed a hold of his hand, squeezing it in her own as she did. Draco grabbed the other hand, his face pinched as he glared down the offending hall.

With Hermione on one side and Draco on the other, Harry tried to breathe slowly, in and out of his mouth. He knew that Aunt Minnie was saying something, that there were several first years moving to and from the front of the hall where he'd glimpsed a worn hat sitting on a stool, but he couldn't focus on that. He could barely focus on his breathing. He knew abstractly that he was famous, it was a very tangible part of him, but Mumgana had always sheltered him from this, this madness. He was a baby when Voldemort attacked him and killed his parents. Even Tom said there was nothing too special about him, that it was his mother's blood magic invocation that saved him. But people didn't know that, and he doubted they'd believe it, Mumgana said the Wizarding World were sheep that followed Dumbledore blindly to the slaughter. He tried to keep himself from shaking, he had to keep it together, it was his first day, he was stronger than this, stronger than these sheep who wanted to unnerve him.

"Granger, Hermione." He felt Hermione's hand leave his own before hearing her named called, drawing his attention back to the Sorting. Looking around the hall, he saw Susan Bones sitting in a sea of gold and black; she'd been sorted into Hufflepuff, and Hannah Abbot was sitting next to her.

Hermione looked so small sitting on top of a rickety old stool, the old hat settling deep over her eyes. She seemed to fidget in place, her hands twisting along the folds of her skirt. He knew what house the hat would pick, even if Hermione had been waffling between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor earlier that day.

"RAVENCLAW!" the hat called out and Hermione pulled it off with a bright flush crossing her face as she set it down before running off towards the bronze and blue table.

"Well that was a given, girl reads more books than Uncle Remus," Theo muttered, glaring at Blaise as the boy mouthed the word 'uncle' at him. Theo spent most of his time over at Corvus Place when he wasn't at House Zabini, his father had washed his hands of raising his son and basically given him to the other families to deal with.

"What do you want to bet the hat isn't even on a second before Drake's sent to Slytherin?" Harry asked, trying to change the topic to keep Theo from getting unsettled.

"That's a fools' bet, I'd rather bet on which house Nev's gonna get in," Theo replied.

"Oooh, it's definitely between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, depends on whether Nev values bravery over loyalty," Blaise cackled, rubbing his hands together.

Neville glared at the two of them before heading off towards the Sorting Hat as McGonagall called his name. He knew what house he'd be sorted into; the others were just being ridiculous. The hat barely sat on his head before it was screaming out, "HUFFLEPUFF."

"Loyalty it is then, that's nice to know," Harry muttered, earning a smirk from Draco before the blonde sauntered up to the hat as his name was called.

Just as Harry predicted, the hat was barely on Draco's head before it called out, "SLYTHERIN," earning an even wider smirk from Draco and a giggle from Hermione amidst the sea of blue as Draco's tie turned green and silver.

Their little friend group was whittling down as more and more names were called to the sorting. Theo ended up in Ravenclaw along with Hermione. Parvati Patil was a Gryffindor, while her sister Padma was sorted to Ravenclaw and sat next to Hermione, obviously grateful for a familiar face. Harry rocked back on his heels as Aunt Minnie narrowed her eyes at the crowd, seeking him out. As her eyes alighted on his own green ones, she called out his name, "Potter, Harry."

The hall went silent as he walked up towards the stool. He knew that this moment, while immensely important in some respects, was ultimately meaningless. Mumgana had told him no matter what house he was sorted into she would be proud, and while Padfoot joked that he'd disown him if he was a Slytherin, he knew his godfather was being ridiculous when he said that. He didn't really care where he went, he just wanted it to be his choice, not some stupid hat's.

" So, you think I'm stupid ?" a voice whispered in the back of his head, startling Harry, he hadn't even realized that the hat was on his head.

Wincing Harry tried to deny it almost immediately, but then decided better of it, why should he be polite to a hat that was digging around in his head when it had no permission to do so?

" No permission eh? All the permission was given when Godric and Rowena enchanted me all those years ago. I'm the Sorting Hat, I've sorted thousands of Hogwarts students and I'll sort thousands more, just because you're the ward of Morgana le Fey and the Boy-Who-Lived doesn't mean you're special. You're just a boy, and I think I know where to place you."

What did that mean? Harry shifted on the stool, his feet dangling over the edge swinging back and forth. Before he could think of a response, he felt a strange surge of magic flow from the hat and into him as the hat called out, "GRYFFINDOR."

Pulling the hat from his head, he winced at the roar that erupted from the red and gold table. While he was ecstatic he was in the house of his parents, of the Marauders, of Aunt Minnie, he knew it was going to be a difficult transition, for the other side of his family was most definitely made of Slytherins. Walking over to the table he sat down between the Weasley twins, the two boys grinning broadly as they clapped him on the back.

"Welcome to the lion house little Harrykins, glad to have you here," one twin said while the other gave him a crooked thumbs up.

"It's good to have you here Harry," Zuko said as he leaned around the twins to smile at Harry who smiled back, it was hard not to, Zuko's face was so seldom happy, it inspired happiness in those around him.

"Thanks guys, I can't wait for the prank war now. It'll be even easier getting at you when we share the same house," Harry let out a wicked grin as the twins cackled in response and Zuko slowly shook his head. He knew that Blaise would go to Slytherin, leaving him the only one in their immediate circle in Gryffindor, having Zuko and the twins on his side would help his transition into a new house without his family.

A/N

RHatch89: Thanks!

Marcus1993: Yeah Merlin does have some guilt regarding Harry and his parents as well as some other things that will become apparent later on. I'm glad you liked the play, I thought something light hearted wouldn't go amiss. Yes, Quirrell is still possessed by Voldemort, the spirit that lingered after the murder of Harry's parents didn't get added to the ritual that brought Tom back, mainly because Morgana knew he was batshit crazy and didn't want it affecting Tom lol.

geworden: Thanks for your review! I enjoy writing a scheming Dumbledore!

osterreicher97: The play was super fun to write and it will play a factor in some events later on. Merlin and Morgana aren't going to be the friends and lovers they were again, but they are learning (slowly) to trust each other again, which I have to say is a bit of a struggle to write as I just want to shake them both for their canon choices lol. Kilgarrah definitely poisoned Merlin against Morgana in canon, so here he's not going to willingly want to work with her, even though he knows she's the best chance they have to bring back Albion. Tom is a tricky character, but I've always been of the opinion that if he had a strong foundation with trust and caring behind him, he wouldn't be as monstrous as he was in canon (cough if Dumbledore hadn't made a snap decision cough). Arcturus's death definitely has an impact, one that will become apparent in later chapters and the side story of the House of Black. Thank you again for your lovely detailed review :)

Meowmeowmerida: *cue evil cackle* Sorry, Arcturus had to go for reasons... muahaha

rswknight: Thanks for your review!

PLPanda: ... no comment :) But yes Harry is a descendant of both Morgana and Merlin.

G1ntsuk!: Thanks for your review! And Merlin like Arthur Weasley has a strange affection for rubber ducks lol!