Sacred is the Windswept Time

Three: Sorting the New Student

Albus Dumbledore had just sent off Harry "Granger", as the boy was calling himself, to the library, which probably meant that the boy was exploring the castle to see how different it was from the Hogwarts of his time. Albus sighed as he popped another tootsie roll in his mouth, and then he winced as the door to his office burst opened and was sharply slammed. Apparently Minerva McGonagall was now aware of Hogwarts' newest student.

"Albus! Since when have boys simply dropped from the sky and were suddenly admitted as students in this school?" the woman demanded, as Albus looked up, his twinkling eyes meeting her fierce gaze.

"Now, now, Minerva. This boy is rather special. He also deserves the right to a proper education in magic, as he is a very powerful wizard. I have already admitted him, as a seventh year, and he will be sorted tonight at dinner. Do you have a problem with this?" Albus asked.

The woman looked stunned for a moment and then narrowed her eyes at the old headmaster. "How can you be so foolish? He just fell out of thin air, for Merlin's sake! We have no idea who he really is or where he comes from!" she snapped.

"The question is not where, Min, but when," Dumbledore added with a small grin.

"Will you quit talking in these silly riddles and tell me what you know?"

"Mr. Granger, as he calls himself, is quite an interesting young man. From what I have learned of him, I will say only this, tonight's sorting will be rather interesting..."

The woman rolled her eyes and looked heavenward completely infuriated with the headmaster. Albus Dumbledore might have been a powerful wizard, and exceptionally intuitive, but his ability at keeping secrets knew no bounds, and served only to annoy the Transfigurations teacher and Head of Gryffindor House to no end. She wasn't interested in this strange boy's potential. She simply wanted to know if he was a threat to the students. What if the boy was connected with the strange group of wizards and witches calling themselves Death Eaters? What if he came to Hogwarts to turn good students to the ways of darkness?

Having had enough of the headmaster's carefree attitude she stormed out of his office and down the stairs. Once she was in the corridor she began to walk toward her office, and suddenly stopped, her keen sense of hearing picking up on the sound of something fleshy hitting a wall. Her body stiffened as she braced herself to face what she assumed to be another physical row between a Gryffindor and a Slytherin, but was surprised to see the black haired boy, sitting on the floor next to the Charms classroom, his knees drawn up, arms wrapped around his legs, pounding his head backward methodically against the wall.

She looked down at the boy and rolled her eyes. "Mr. Potter, this is becoming quite annoying, and doesn't that give you a headache boy? If you wish to have a word with Miss Evans, why not simply go up to her..." she stopped in mid-sentence as the boy looked up at her, his eyes flying open behind the glasses, and her breath stilled. 'This boy was not James Potter, because James Potter did not have those bright green eyes, nor did James have a lightening bolt scar on his forehead,' she thought before regaining some semblance of control and stating rather bluntly, "You are not Mr. Potter."

The boy's expression twisted into one of irony as he looked up at the woman and a snort escaped him. "I'm not the Potter you know now."

"And just who are you then?" the woman asked with a raised eyebrow, as she looked at the boy, and noticed that he was actually wearing school robes with the Gryffindor colors and crest.

He suddenly stood up, and she almost had to do a double take, hardly believing that the boy standing before her wasn't James Potter. His green eyes burned fiercely with a worldly intelligence that both overwhelmed and frightened her as she looked into them, and the boy's bitter laugh sent a chill up her spine. "I've taken to being called Harry Granger."

"Ah, then Mr. Granger, answer me this," the woman's voice was brisk. "What are you doing wearing Gryffindor colors when you have yet to be sorted into a house?"

"Well, Professor McGonagall, I'm rather fond of red and gold, I suppose, and besides you wouldn't believe me any way. You're far too logical to believe me. At least that is what Hermione would have said. Now I'm going to head on to the library. I have research to do. I guess I'll see you at dinner. You are the head of Gryffindor House, right?" the boy said with a smirk, before he left the Transfiguration professor gawking in his wake.

Harry hadn't lied to her either. He was headed toward the library, a grin crossing his face at the thought of Hermione falling into a dead faint at the idea of Harry Potter actually willing to do research, but he would do anything to return to his own friends, his own time. He didn't think he could stand being in a time where he could see his parents, even get to know them, and not try to prevent the inevitable. He didn't want a glimpse at something that would leave him wondering what kind of parents they would have been. He was past fantasizing about having parents that cared about him, and tending to his scraped knees and comforting him when he had nightmares. They'd loved him, that much had been proven when they had died to protect him. He didn't want to have fantasies of what ifs once he got to really know them. He'd almost had that with Sirius, before Sirius had been taken from him, and he really didn't think he had the strength to survive that again, not with knowing.

Harry pushed open the double doors of the library, and then headed toward the section where all the books on Potions were kept. He threw a glance at the librarian's desk and noticed that Madam Pince had been the librarian in Hogwarts even in 1977. She looked down her bespectacled nose at the boy, and then returned to her task at hand. She had a lot of cataloguing ahead of her. Harry sensing that he would be overlooked quickened his pace until he reached the section of the library where shelves of upon shelves of potion texts were housed. He groaned, wondering where to even begin looking, when a slight hand fell on his left shoulder.

Within a moment Harry reacted, instinct taking over, as he sensed the unfamiliar presence as a threat. He grabbed the hand and managed to press the owner of the hand against a random wall of shelves, his left arm barred against their throat, with his wand quivering threateningly in his right hand, pointed at the person's face.

Upon realizing just who it was that he faced, he relaxed, pulling back, allowing his left arm to rest at his side, as he replaced his wand back up his sleeve and ran his right hand through his messy black hair. He felt heat flood his cheeks, as he looked down at his feet and then up at the girl that was frightfully pale, her back still pressed firmly against the bookshelves behind her, only this time it was of her own volition. She swallowed thickly, before regaining her composure and looking curiously at the boy.

"Hello," she began in a shaky voice and then quickly cleared her throat. "My name is Lily Evans. We sort of met earlier; I'm the Head Girl. I'm sorry, but I don't know your name, or why you tried to attack me a minute ago..."

"Look, about that, I'm sorry. I'm just tense, and you snuck up on me. I wasn't expecting it. Where I'm from you have to always be on your toes. Constant vigilance," he said with a smirk and then introduced himself to the pretty redhead with striking green eyes. "I'm Harry...Harry Granger."

"Well, about startling you, I didn't mean to, you know," she said shyly, and then Harry's eyes widened, as he noticed the girl's face flush faintly as she avoided his glance.

Was his mum trying to hit on him or something? Usually he was pretty thick when it came to girls, but he noticed the shy way his mum was acting, and recognized it as the way Ginny Weasley used to get around him. He sighed, figuring he'd better nip it in the bud before things could go out of hand.

"Uh, look...Lily, not to sound odd or anything, but I'm not your type, believe me," Harry said, and then turned away from her and began to peruse the shelf, looking for a title to pop out at him.

Of course with him being unfamiliar with his parents, he didn't realize the mistake he'd just made, before he felt a finger poking him sharply in the shoulder. When he stood up to his full height and turned around, imposing over his mother's slight frame by nearly half a foot, he winced, realizing much to his horror, that he'd said something horribly wrong, because she looked indignant, and he remembered the rants that Hermione could start in on when she became indignant.

"Now you look here, Granger, I don't give a damn who you think you are! I didn't come over here to swoon over what you must arrogantly think is such a lovely male body. I only thought I would introduce myself and ask if you needed help finding something. But if you are this whole, holier than thou git like James Potter then you can..." Lily couldn't finish, as Harry cut in, angry at the idea that she'd had the audacity to call him arrogant.

"Now wait a tick, I am not arrogant. You've got the wrong soddin' idea, and I'm nothing like James Potter! To be honest, I'm not all that great looking, and you would have a better shot at dating Potter anyway, as he actually fancies girls!" Harry snapped, and immediately regretted it as he saw the girl's expression of indignation falter, and then her eyes widened as she tried to stammer out an apology.

"Oh...God, I'm...s...sorry. I didn't realize. You mean you... You like blokes?" she asked.

Harry rolled his eyes and then using his left hand rubbed at his temple, as he was beginning to get a massive headache from all of this, whatever it was. He seemed to remember it being a lot easier coming out to his best friends with the fact that he preferred boys to girls. He could hardly believe that he was actually telling his seventeen-year-old mother that he was gay.

"Yes, I like blokes," he replied, and then added in a tone laced with sarcasm, "Is there anything else you would like to know?"

"Well, I suppose asking you if you've been involved romantically with anyone would seem a bit inappropriate as we've only just met. I've never actually met a boy that fancied other boys before," she said in awe.

Harry shook his head as he looked at her, his green eyes locking with hers, and he chuckled. "Yes you have. Look at Remus for instance. He's definitely into guys. From what I recall I think he once had a crush on Snape, and from what I've noticed about Sirius, well... He has a thing for d...James."

Lily's mouth fell open at what Harry had just revealed to her. "You can't be serious? Sirius Black having a thing for James? That's ridiculous. Everyone knows that Sirius has dated nearly every single sixth and seventh year girl from Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw, with the exception of his cousin and me, of course. There is absolutely no way Sirius fancies boys. And Remus with Severus? You are out of your head. No Gryffindor has ever dated a Slytherin. And besides Remus dated Amelia Everheart from Hufflepuff for nearly six months, of course they broke it off a few weeks ago, but that doesn't mean that he fancies boys."

"Oh believe me, a gay boy can date a girl," Harry said, and a grin played across his mouth as he recalled his brief dating experiences with Cho Chang, Ginny Weasley, Lavender Brown, Padma Patil, and Luna Lovegood. "You might actually be surprised at how easy a gay boy can get on with girls."

"You're havin' me on," Lily said, and smiled at the boy before her, feeling a strange sort of bond between them.

"No, I'm not... Before I began dating Blaise, which was a horribly brief disaster as the bastard only used me to get to my best friend Hermione, I had dated five girls. It was quite a shock to my friends when I came out," he replied calmly with a shrug.

"But what about your mum and dad? What did they have to say about it?" she asked.

"Nothing," he answered soberly. "My parents died when I was a year old."

"Oh," Lily gasped, her eyes widening, as she looked at him, wondering what kind of life he'd had to endure to make him such an alert and emotionally cut off individual. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. You didn't kill them."

"Still," she spoke softly. "It must have been difficult growing up without parents."

"You've no idea," Harry said with a sigh. "I grew up with words like freak and nuisance and bothersome boy tossed about instead of my name. I spent most of my childhood locked in a cupboard under the stairs, when I wasn't doing chores and being beaten and ridiculed by my cousin. Muggles can be cruel at times."

Harry's eyes widened as he realized what he'd just admitted aloud. What was he thinking? Spilling all of his childhood horrors to his own mother? He noticed the wash of emotions in her eyes, were her eyes always so expressive of her emotions?

"I don't want your pity," he snapped.

"Would you accept compassion and friendship instead?" she asked, and then blushed.

Harry looked at her, his expression softening, his heart melting as he realized that he couldn't simply turn away and ignore the fiery personality that was his mum. With a heavy sigh he tilted his head to the left and a smile spread across his face. "All right, Lily. I could do with a friend about now."

They continued to chatter, Harry getting to know his mum in ways he'd never imagined. He never thought that he'd picked up so many habits from her, like the way she tapped her quill on the table when she was nervous, or the way she worried her lips with her teeth when she was deep in thought. He watched her as he began to read through a passage in one of the large tomes of Potions they had gotten from the library's shelves, as she'd volunteered to help him in his research, whatever it was. He noticed her lips move as her eyes ran over sentence after sentence, and he smiled, as a flood of emotions tore through him. Maybe getting to know his parents wouldn't be so difficult, although when it was time for him to leave them again... No, he would save that thought for another day, because for once, Tuesday was turning into a perfect day for him, however roughly it had begun...

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Harry suddenly straightened in his chair, lifting his hands above his head as he slowly stretched and moaned, his aching muscles finding sweet release from the pressure of remaining in one position for too long. Lily looked up from her reading and her eyes widened noticing how he looked as he stretched. She didn't know why he thought he wasn't good looking. He was a very attractive boy, much like James, but where James was an arrogant nuisance, this boy was solemn, and while odd, he seemed decent enough.

She was just tilting her head back down to her book when she heard hurried footsteps approaching, and groaned when she heard a very familiar gasp. "James? I just left you in the common room with Sirius..." Remus said, but his eyes widened when the boy turned and he was met with the features of one of his best friends with two differences, green eyes and a scar.

"Hello Remus," Harry said, and Lily noticed a glint of mischief in the boy's green eyes.

"Lily, what are you doing here with him?" Remus asked, and looked back and forth between Harry and Lily.

She sighed. "I was helping him with some research. Why? Am I not allowed to make friends? And will you please clarify to James Potter that I am not nor have I ever been his property?"

"You really should just talk to him, Lily. And I came here to tell you that it's time for dinner," Remus replied and then ran his eyes cautiously over Harry.

Harry rolled his eyes and stood up, once again stretching. "Bugger, the bad thing about the library is all the kinks I get in my bloody neck," he said with a groan, and then he ran his hand through his hair and looked at Remus who was ogling him. "What? Look, I know you fancy boys, but I know I'm not your type. Bet you go for the overly intelligent, snarky types. It's perfectly all right you know. You should be honest with your friends about it though. They have a right to know."

Remus was reduced to gaping at the boy, before he began to splutter, "Wha... But how did you?"

Lily looked floored. "You mean it's true?" she shot at Remus.

The shy boy, blushed faintly, and he looked down at the floor, his light brown hair falling about his face as he tried to hide his golden eyes. "Remus! Why didn't you just tell me?"

"Sorry to cut in and all, but dinner is sounding pretty good right now. I haven't eaten since breakfast, which feels like twenty years ago," Harry spoke up, before things got too awkward between Remus and his mum.

Remus looked up at him gratefully and then Harry began to lead the way to Great Hall. Remus and Lily exchanged a look, wondering how Harry knew his way around the school so well, as he'd only just arrived that very day. Catching up to him Remus asked, "How do you know where you're going?"

Harry chuckled. "I have a lot of secrets Mr. Moony."

Lily's eyes narrowed at the strange boy, wondering how he knew about Remus' nickname among the marauders. How could a stranger know so much about them? Upon reaching the double doors, Harry slipped in and was followed by Lily and Remus. They were the last students to arrive for dinner, and found themselves under the scrutiny of everyone present in Great Hall. Harry looked up at the staff table, and smiled as he noticed a rather large familiar face. Hagrid was sitting at end of the table, and was looking curiously at Harry. Harry couldn't help the grin that spread wide on his face, and most of the staff at the table winced, as they were reminded of James Potter, and this boy looked almost exactly like him.

James of course had stood up upon seeing his doppelganger enter Great Hall with one of his best friends and Lily Evans, and was approaching the motley group, Sirius Black by his side. James narrowed his eyes at Harry for a moment and then shook his head. It was hard to confront someone that looked like your own reflection, so instead he turned to Lily, and something strange happened. His eyes locked with hers and he noticed how she was looking at him.

"James," she spoke quietly. "I think we should talk."

James looked gob smacked, Sirius looked stunned, and Remus looked smug, and before anything else could happen, Albus Dumbledore stood up and addressed everyone present.

"Ah, Misters Black, Potter, and Lupin, and Miss Evans, if you would take your seats so that we might begin. Mr. Granger if you would. Please come forward. Harry took a deep breath as he approached the staff table, and noticed the dusty old hat sitting atop the stool, but the hat wasn't singing, in fact it looked kind of cranky from being brought out so late in the year.

Harry quickly cleared his mind as he took a step onto the raised floor where the staff table was. Professor McGonagall was standing by the stool and took the sorting hat, as Harry sat down, and looked around, all eyes were locked on him.

"Now, to see to your sorting Mr. Granger," McGonagall said and dropped the hat on his head, but this time instead of falling over his face it just stayed on top of his head. He groaned as he heard the hat speak in his mind.

"Ah, a boy with secrets. Someone brave, but what's this? Cunning as well? I see great things ahead of you, Mr. Potter, great things indeed. There is a desire to do well, to succeed, and you can be ruthless in doing what needs to be done, and you're rather knowledgeable in magic already..." the hat trailed off in his mind and suddenly shouted for all of Great Hall to hear, "Slytherin!"

Harry's eyes widened and he visibly paled as he looked toward the cheering Slytherin table, his eyes falling on two familiar faces. One a pale face with piercing dark eyes, a large hook nose, and long black hair, the expression on that face dour, and his black eyes fixed on Harry, and the other face, also watching him with interest, belonged to a fair skinned boy, with sharp grey eyes and platinum blond hair. Harry swallowed thickly, wondering how he'd ended up in the serpent's den...