Hello everyone! I'm so sorry about the lack of updates, life's been busy for me lately. Anyway here is the next chapter for Abandoned Raven, I hope you guys like it

Silver

~Abandoned Raven – Chapter Two: Hogwarts Express and the Sorting Hat~

The days went by quickly and all too soon it was time for Harry to head to Hogwarts. He was looking forward to it but he would miss Vivian and unfortunately be seeing more of Eugene, at least at Godric's Hollow he was always in the attic and therefore rarely saw him.

Harry sighed softly as he looked around the platform. On the platform, surrounded by many onlookers, was James seeing Eugene off after he had decided to have the audacity to hug Harry for the many cameras around them and whispering threats in his ear should he 'disgrace' the Potter name.

Harry hadn't cared what the man said and had removed himself from the man's grasp with a barely contained sneer and walked away from him without a word or backwards glance. The many reporters and observing strangers had stared and whispered at his blatant disrespect but he hadn't cared and merely moved onto the train after giving Vivian a hug goodbye and a promise to write.

As a Professor of the school Lily wasn't there to see Eugene off or pretend to give a damn about Harry for the public. No doubt she would be receiving a letter about Harry's actions and she would try to punish him for it in the form of a lecture and being grounded once he was back home for the Summer Holidays.

Not that being grounded concerned Harry in the least, he was never out of his and Vivian's shared room in the first place so being confined there wouldn't be a problem at all.

Harry looked away from James and Eugene and instead settled his gaze on Vivian who had returned to loiter on the outskirts of the assembled group, waiting silently in the background, happily being overlooked by the crowd.

Vivian caught his eye and sent him a small warm smile which he returned before turning and entering the Hogwarts Express, dragging his trunk with difficulty up the single step. Maybe he should have packed more clothes rather than his books, though he had left several behind for Vivian to read half his trunk was filled with books.

After scowling at his trunk a good five minutes for daring to be so heavy Harry heaved a sigh and moved further into the train to find an empty compartment. This proved to be rather easy seeing as most students had returned to the platform as soon as Eugene was spotted, which was also the reason he hadn't been cursed at for blocking one of the doorways for five minutes as he glared at his trunk.

After another five minutes Harry decided upon a compartment towards the front of the train, knowing that Eugene would choose one near the back of the train. Pulling his trunk in behind him Harry was faced with a dilemma – how to get his trunk into the overhead compartment without crushing himself.

Harry thought for a while before coming to the conclusion it just wasn't possible without assistance or serious injury so simply dragged it further into the compartment and set it under the window. Trunk organised Harry turned back and shut the compartment door behind him, hoping he would be undisturbed but knew he would be and so settled down with his Transfiguration book to enjoy what little amount of peace he could get.

Fifteen minutes later a loud whistle startled Harry from his book; apparently they were about to embark. Closing his book briefly Harry looked out the window and searched for Vivian in the crowd. He found her in the shadows near James and she had apparently already located him for she was staring right back at him. Harry gave a smile and a wave as the train moved forward, quickly losing sight of her.

Turning from the window with a sigh Harry proceeded to jump through the roof when he found three pairs of eyes looking curiously at him. Muttering an oath as his heart slowed down from its sudden race Harry looked from face to face in confusion.

"When on earth did you get here?" He asked, straightening in his seat and ignoring the giggles of the identical girls sitting in front of him.

"About ten minutes ago." Harry flicked his gaze to the boy who answered. "We did knock and try to get your attention but you were too lost in your book and didn't notice."

"Oh." Harry wasn't sure what to say to that, he'd never been in a situation where he had been so lost in a book he didn't notice who was around him. Then again it was usually only Vivian around him and she was just as lost in the book as he was so that was a moot point.

"Sorry about that." Harry offered after a moment. "My name is Harry." Harry may not have ever had a friend outside of his own sister but that didn't mean he didn't know how to make them and the three before him looked friendly enough.

"Nice to meet you Harry I'm Terry." The brown haired boy said with a smile, his hazel eyes shining in excitement. "And these two lovely ladies are Pavarti and Padma, twins obviously."

"A pleasure." The two girls chorused together with identical smiles. They appeared to be of an Indian background with smooth light brown skin, black hair and dark brown eyes. Terry on the other hand had fair skin, brown hair and hazel eyes.

"The pleasure is mine." Harry responded, giving a tentative smile and received bright ones in return.

"What are you reading there Harry?" Harry turned his attention to Terry's question, holding up the book so they could see.

"Transfiguration, it is the only one of our course books I haven't read yet and the one most difficult for me to understand." From there on conversation pertained to Transfiguration before they moved onto Charms and steadily made their way through the first year subjects.

By the time they had arrived in Hogsmeade Station Harry had loosened up and begun to relax around his three companions but the entire ride to Hogwarts wasn't entirely peaceful. Eugene had decided to track him down and taunt him.

He had appeared in the doorway flanked by Ron Weasley, his best friend and an equal thorn in Harry and Vivian's side. You see Ron had been a frequent visitor in the Potter Household and had enjoyed picking on Harry and Vivian, no doubt to impress their stupid brother who enjoyed torturing his siblings.

Either way the encounter was not one he was eager to replicate any time soon but, surprisingly, when Eugene had insulted him and basically told his three companions he wasn't worth the dirt beneath their feet and they should be friends with him, someone worthy and great, all three of them had quite strongly rebuffed him and defended Harry, leaving Eugene to sneer and insult them before storming out of the compartment.

Harry had been in shock and the conversation that followed was one he would look back on with fondness. They had all been eager to meet the famed Boy-Who-Lived but they had never expected him to be an arrogant brat with a complete disregard for others. Consequently they now wanted nothing to do with Eugene and firmly told him they were on his side, despite only knowing each other for a few hours.

Harry was feeling happy, he had three potential friends and they didn't care he was the brother of the Boy-Who-Lived and certainly no longer wished to know Eugene. Usually if anyone knew his last name they would ask questions about Eugene and try to use him to get close to him; Harry hated it and had rudely rebuffed anyone who tried.

"Oh wow." Harry was brought out of his thoughts by the breathy exclamation by one of the twins, he had no idea how to tell them apart but he swore he would find a way to do so.

Flicking his gaze to where they were looking Harry found himself awed by the castle sitting brightly lit on top of the cliff above the lake they were currently crossing in little boats. Harry smiled, he had heard many a tale about Hogwarts as he listed to James and Lily regale Eugene with tales of their time in the beautiful castle.

Harry had to agree with the stories and the many murmurs around him. The castle really was beautiful, breathtaking and he couldn't wait to be inside and start learning, whether it be magic or the corridors of the castle itself.

"Heads down!" Harry blinked at the sudden cry from the half-giant, Hagrid, from the front of the small fleet of boats. He quickly realised however that it would be in his best interest to follow the suggestion lest he wish to end up with a large bruise on his head and ducked just before his boat went through the ivy that grew on the cliff face, hanging down to the water and concealing the low entrance of a cave.

After passing through the wall of ivy and a short dark tunnel the first year students found themselves in an underground harbour where they clambered carefully onto the slippery rocks and pebbles that littered the shore.

"Well, what a way for us to get our first look at Hogwarts." Harry muttered to himself, he must have missed out on this part of the story, he had only ever heard about the high ceilings, many corridors, the Forbidden Forest, Great Hall and most importantly – the Library.

"Well it certainly leaves an impression doesn't it?" Terry commented from beside him.

"Certainly." Harry replied back, idly listening as Hagrid asked Neville Longbottom – a shy child from what he could remember of brief glimpses – if the toad he had found was his before leading the first years through a passageway that lead up onto smooth damp grass, right before the large front doors of Hogwarts.

"Everyone here? You there, still got your toad?" Hagrid asked, stopping on the front steps of the school and making sure everyone was present before raising a large fist and knocking on the door.

The door swung open immediately, revealing a tall stern looking witch with her black hair in a high bun and dressed in emerald green robes. Harry quickly ran through his memory for the name of the woman and guessing from what James and Lily had told Eugene; that the witch was Professor McGonagall, Transfiguration Professor and Head of Gryffindor House.

"The first years Professor McGonagall." Harry mentally patted himself on the back for his correct assumption.

"Thank you Hagrid, I will take them from here." Professor McGonagall pulled the doors wide to allow the first year's entrance to the castle.

The entrance hall was very large and would equate to the entire length and width of the Potter's house were the two floors side by side. The stone walls were lit by flickering torches like the ones he had seen in Gringotts and directly in front of them was a grand staircase that lead to the upper and lower levels of the castle.

A buzz of chatter fell around the first years as they followed Professor McGonagall across the flagstone floor to a chamber off the side of the hall and opposite a set of double doors which no doubt led to the Great Hall if the drone of voices was anything to go by.

The first years crowded into the room, standing closer than was normally comfortable with many casting around nervous glances. Harry, for his part, calmly stood with Terry, Padma and Pavarti quietly waiting for the Professor to address them.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, the start of term banquet will begin shortly but before you take your seat you will be sorted into your houses. While you are here your houses will be like your family, any triumphs will earn you house points while any rule break will lose house points." Harry had briefly overheard James telling Eugene about the Houses and point system so this was nothing new for him.

"At the end of the year the house with the most points wins the house cup." McGonagall continued, casting her stern green eyes over the first years. "There are four houses, they are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours." Harry didn't really mind what house became his as long as it wasn't the same as Eugene he'd be happy.

"Now the Sorting Ceremony will begin in a few moments before the rest of the school. I suggest you take the time to smarten yourselves up a bit." Here she looked pointedly to a few of the assembled first years before continuing. "I shall return when we are ready for you, please wait quietly."

Professor McGonagall exited the room and once again excited chatter filled the room as the first years tried to figure out how exactly they were going to be sorted into their houses. Harry didn't know the answer to that question either, James and Lily had told Eugene it would be a surprise.

"So Harry how do you think we will be sorted?" Pavarti? No Padma, he wasn't certain which asked the question. Unlike Eugene and Harry, Pavarti and Padma were completely identical.

"Well I think it would be something that could judge our suitability for each house based on the attributes we have and decide which house these attributes are most useful or similar." Harry replied with a thoughtful tilt of his head.

"Well that does make sense but what on earth could they use to decide that?" Harry shrugged at the equally thoughtful Terry. He had no clue what they could use short of looking into their minds somehow.

It was a couple of minutes later that someone screamed, breaking Harry out of his thoughts with a jolt. Turning Harry found himself looking at several transparent floating ghosts. They appeared to be unaware of the first years and having a conversation about someone called Peeves.

"Oh hello, what are you all doing here?" Harry eyed the ghost, his acting skills were terrible. It was obvious to Harry that they most certainly knew they were there.

"New students!" If Harry remembered correctly then it was the Fat Friar who had spoken, he was the ghost of Hufflepuff. "About to be sorted then. Hope to see you in Hufflepuff, my old house you know." Harry decided to ignore the ghosts and went back to thinking about how they were going to be sorted.

"So it's true then," Harry blinked at the voice that cut across the room, apparently the ghosts were gone. "What they were saying on the train. Eugene Potter has come to Hogwarts." Towards the front of the group Eugene stood with Ron, eyeing the blonde before them with disgust.

Harry closed his eyes and turned away from the small confrontation, not wanting to listen to the words that spewed from his idiotic brother's mouth like verbal diarrhoea. By the appearance of the blonde boy, with his platinum hair and silvery grey eyes, he was a Malfoy and James had been telling Eugene since he could understand that the Malfoy's were evil.

Thankfully it wasn't long before Professor McGonagall was back and broke up the pending violent argument between the Malfoy and Eugene. Despite Professor McGonagall's good timing, Harry new a rivalry between the two had just been born.

"We're ready for you now." Professor McGonagall said and motioned for the first years to follow her and lead them across the hall to the now open doors of the Great Hall.

A sea of faces greeted them as they walked between four long tables to the front of the hall. Terry walked beside him with a grin on his face and barely restraining himself from bouncing in his excitement and behind him he could hear a girl whispering that the ceiling was bewitched to look like the night sky.

When they reached the steps in front of the High Table where all the staff were sitting, Professor McGonagall motioned for the first years to spread out at the bottom of the steps. Above them, beside the Professor, was a stool and on top of the stool a hat sat innocently.

Harry stared at the hat in confusion and had he looked away or blinked in that moment he would have missed it when a sudden tear appeared and opened wide and much to Harry's horror it began to sing. A singing hat? What on earth? Harry wasn't the only one staring at the hat, everyone was some in horror like Harry, while others in fascination.

Suddenly Harry felt eyes on him and he turned away from the singing hat and glanced up at the High Table. Almost immediately his eyes were met with a pair of deep stormy grey eyes that he could barely remember but instantly recognised.

Harry smiled. Sirius Black or Professor Black, his former Godfather – James had removed him from the position when Sirius had questioned the condition of Harry and Vivian – had somehow managed to convince the Headmaster to allow a new class, Duelling Class and had subsequently secured a place on the Hogwarts teaching staff and therefore access to Harry and Vivian when they attended the school.

Harry truly hated James Potter in that moment, Sirius was more of a father than James ever was to both Harry and Vivian but the bastard had managed to get the Muggle equivalent of an AVO against him, so Harry hasn't seen Sirius for a good eight years.

Sirius gave him a grin and winked at him before giving a small gesture that told Harry he should pay attention now. Apparently the song had ended and it was time to get on with the sorting; Professor McGonagall held a piece of parchment in her right hand and the Sorting Hat in her left and called out the first name.

"Hannah Abbott." A girl with blonde pigtails and a pink face stumbled out of the line and up the steps to sit on the stool. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on her head and quietly everyone waited while the Hat decided where she would go.

With his horror now gone, Harry had to say that was a rather brilliant way to sort students, despite the obvious mindreading the Hat did. It was a sentient being from what Harry deduced and was likely made by the founders and knew the qualities for each house well and could judge the best place for the students to be placed.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" Harry gave a small jolt as the Hat yelled to the hall. He really needed to stop getting lost in his thoughts.

"Susan Bones." She too went to Hufflepuff and sat down next to Hannah.

Next to be called was Terry who gave him a smile before walking up to the stool; a minute later he was sorted into Ravenclaw and on the sorting went, Harry only paying attention when it was one of his new friends being sorted. Padma was also sorted into Ravenclaw but Pavarti was sent to Gryffindor.

Harry gave Pavarti a comforting smile as she passed and she returned it. It was a shame she wouldn't be in the same house as her sister but that certainly didn't matter and Harry would continue to be her friend.

"Eugene Potter!" The whole hall went deadly silent and Harry had to stop himself from rolling his eyes and glaring at his brother's back as he sauntered up to the stool like he owned the damn castle.

Professor McGonagall had barely placed the Hat on his head before it called out 'Gryffindor' a similar occurrence had happened when it was the young Malfoy's turn, Draco he believed his name was. Either way Harry wasn't surprised by his brother's house and ignored the smug look he sent his way, like he wanted to be in that egotistical house anyway.

"Harry Potter." Harry was faintly amused when all the loud clapping and cheering for his brother suddenly died down again, there was likely those who didn't know of him despite his picture turning up in the paper now and again.

Harry calmly walked up to the stool, flicking a glance to Sirius before turning and sitting, allowing Professor McGonagall to place that Hat on his head. The Hat covered his eyes so all he saw was darkness as a voice whispered into his mind.

'Hmm difficult, very difficult Mister Potter, much more interesting than your brother.' Harry had to stop a smirk from appearing on his lips but the Hat obviously knew of his amusement.

'That doesn't surprise me.' Harry thought back. 'He's always had a one track mind.'

'Indeed. Now then what shall I do with you,' the Hat mused. 'Plenty of courage I see and loyalty oh yes such loyalty to those you care for and a nice dash of cunning and ambition. Yes you would do well in any house but it is your thirst for knowledge that trumps them all so it had better be…'

"RAVENCLAW!" Harry just barely refrained from wincing at the loud shout and thanked the Hat before it was removed from his head to reveal the staring hall. Harry almost snorted at the look on Eugene's face as he moved to the politely clapping blue and bronze table and sat next to Padma who greeted him with a warm smile.

"This is so cool!" Terry exclaimed from his seat on the other side of the table, having moved down to sit opposite Padma. "We're all in the same house, barring Pavarti, we're going to have so much fun." Harry gave an amused smile at the other boy who was almost bouncing in his chair.

"Not to sound rude Terry, but have you per chance had any sugar today?" Padma asked even as she kept half an ear tuned to the rest of the sorting. Harry wasn't certain but he was getting the impression the pair knew each other already from before, perhaps they grew up together?

"Um…." Terry looked thoughtful, a frown marring his forehead for a moment before a sheepish expression overtook his features. "Yes actually, I was so nervous this morning and kind of had a whole bunch of chocolate frogs and liquorice wands."

While Padma and Harry were snickering quietly one Blaise Zabini was sorted into Slytherin and the sorting was now over and then the Headmaster stood up and said some ridiculous words before sitting back down.

Harry shook his head at the Headmaster's oddness and began piling his plate with the various foods that had suddenly appeared on the table. Unfortunately for Harry though he was subjected to many questions from his housemates about Eugene, who he could still feel glaring at his back.

Irritated by the questions, Harry ignored them and found himself once again closing himself off, his face going blank. Terry and Padma were surprised by his sudden change, after all Harry had been open with them but thinking back Harry did become distant and cold when Eugene had come to their compartment on the train.

So in defence of their new found friend the two told their housemates to back off and leave Harry alone. The pair got a grateful smile for their efforts but there was another emotion hiding in Harry's eyes that they couldn't place or name but they resolved to find out.

So I'm really not sure how well this went so if you could let me know what you think it would be great XD