Harry Potter and His New Standards

Chapter 27--The Hat's Second Duty

The sole advantage of power is that you can do more good.

*()%()*

"Have you picked one?" she asked.

Harry was first in line now, facing the stout woman with brutally short black hair who was standing behind a table. The table was covered with a black, velvet cloth, and across this were numerous rings, set there delicately, all with Slytherin color and symbol coordinates.

"Yes." He glanced over the rings, finding the one he'd selected from the booklet. They were supposed to choose one that went with their house, which narrowed down their options to about five different basic designs per gender, unless they had their ring custom-made.

"Which one, then?"

After several impatient twirls of the witch's wand, Harry urged his eyes to decide correctly between the two rings on the far right that looked basically the same. "This one," he told her, pointing to the one second to last.

"Papers," she commanded shortly, holding out a pudgy hand.

Harry handed over the parchment he'd previously filled out with his name, House, out-of-class activities, elected courses, and whatnot.

The witch flipped it open and glanced at it. After reading what was presumably his name, she did the smallest of double takes, her eyes fixing upon his scar and then examining his face for a moment before looking back down.

The witch set down the parchment on top of the growing pile and picked the ring up. Immediately, it was replaced by an identical in the empty space.

She tapped the ring a couple times to change the silver to gold, the emerald to a garnet. The snake on one side rippled and changed into an open-mouthed lion, and the small letter 'S' beneath it twisted into a 'G'.

The witch used her wand to emblazon Harry J. Potter on the inside of the band before telling him the total amount of money he owed her. Finding the correct coins and dropping them into her hand, the witch gave Harry his ring, and said "Next."

Harry turned out of the line and examined his ring as he crossed the Great Hall towards Ron, Holly, and Hermione. "This is simply a waste of Galleons and a flashy way to flaunt your House and extra curricular activities, if you ask me," Hermione stated, inspecting her ring.

"That's just the thing," Holly muttered light-heartedly, wiggling her fingers and admiring her own ring, "no one did." Hermione shot her a frustrated look, but Holly's eyes remained on her hand, pensive but untroubled.

Harry turned the little, golden ring over in his hand to look at the engravings on the other side--a broomstick, some stars (probably symbolizing either Divination or Astronomy), and a Golden Snitch, complete with fluttering, silver wings.

Ron smiled at Hermione. "You're just saying that because they're not all you had expected." She scowled. "And you have nothing to put on there other than in-class stuff."

"Personally," put in Harry, "I kind of like them. Although they seem a bit... useless."

"Not completely!" Hermione piped, seeming suddenly acceptant of her House ring. "Certain protective charms can be inserted in the gems," she explained, "and most jewelry can be made into manual Portkeys, for example."

Holly tore her eyes away from her new ring (she'd discarded a plain, silver band that she said came from a little change-machine at a Muggle fast-food restaurant) "I have to get to Sutorlond's room," she said.

Without another syllable she turned and walked off. Circles had started forming under Holly's eyes--she'd been getting less and less sleep, apparently, and had been showing up for fewer meals. The Christmas holidays couldn't seem to come any faster for Holly, with a chance to sleep in late and indulge in the famous Hogwarts feasts.

In fact, it was Thursday--and the semester ended after school the next day. Friday was set for Harry: tests, sixth-year meeting after class, then Hogsmeade. He had planned to go flying with Cho--but she said that they could meet up in the village instead, which gave his schedule a little relief... and he still needed to buy Christmas presents. Maybe she could help a little.

But she'd been pushing herself to the limit, studying nearly as hard for semester exams as Hermione was, coupling that with Quenya three nights a week and looking into "things" for Ginny.

On that note, Harry had kept his word. Not a soul knew that he had been informed about this minute crisis, and he hadn't gotten many more facts on it from his god-sister.

He didn't know whether to be afraid of Ginny--what if she turned into Riddle and attacked him in the middle of the night, or something?--or be supportive of Holly's cause (trying to help her develop the Soul-Switching), and Ginny's, well, curse.

All he knew was that Holly had it "under control", and was going to help Ginny develop the power early--had she the time. Ginny seemed perfectly fine with the Supantoris, but rattled by the dreams. Half the books in the library had been checked out by Holly, now, and were sitting in piles around Ginny's bed. This particular Weasley and Black seemed to fit together like a charmed Snitch in a Seeker's glove--inseparable after spotted and caught... refusing to go where the other couldn't follow.

Ron and Hermione were spending even more time together, bundled up and strolling around the lake at least once a day, for example. Ron sat in the library with her, doodling absently on parchment and devising Quidditch plays when motivated, while she did homework and research. Everywhere Hermione went, Ron was following--although that never seemed to be reversed. It was a rare time to see either part of that couple on their own.

Harry couldn't admit it, but he was a tad jealous. Ron had a girlfriend, and someone new to spend free time with, when Harry had--nobody, really. Ron was still his best friend, no doubt, but Hermione was the priority now (whether Ron was choosing to put her there, or she forced herself to be in that position). The same scenario applied to Hermione--but her priorities, outside of troubled times, never seemed to be relationships of any kind. So, in a heartbeat, Harry was the third wheel, any way he looked at it.

He still had Cho, though. Every Friday they had scheduled an afternoon flight, but never had there been a date, date. No fancy clothes, no nice restaurants--just Cho and Harry, straight out of class, racing around outside the castle in the bitter cold. Nothing was official, although he sorely wished it would be. The more they flew, though... the more it seemed like they were fitting the description and stereotypes of the "Just Friends" relationship. Harry could've swooped in for a kiss many times--but something was holding him back. He'd messed up before...

Also, Parvati was rarely seen out of Dean's lap or parted from his side. Ever since that Friday night they had been connected at the lip, so to say. Ron and Harry had placed bets at how long the relationship--if you could call it that--would last, and they both fell short. It wasn't a one-night stand, though both Hermione and Holly had actually found parallel opinions with their disgust, as the dormitory mirror was still fogged-up in the morning. "Poor thing," Hermione had said, "we had to wipe her down with what was possibly an entire roll of paper towels."

"It was--gross, frankly," Holly had added with a shudder.

But, Seamus didn't seem to experience the same mild yet sudden detachment from Dean as Harry felt he was with the other parts of his trio. Parvati on the boy's lap or not, Dean was always at Seamus' side. Ron and Hermione just seemed a bit less... disclosed about their relationship, taking the snog sessions out of public eye.

And why would Harry want to be by Ron's side for that?

Besides, what would Witch Weekly have to say if they spotted Hermione with yet another lucky wizard? Was there such thing as a love... rectangle? Parallelogram? Harry and Viktor would never see the end.

It looked like Neville was a new "best-bud" candidate. Late nights joking in the Herbology greenhouses, double-detentions from Snape...

Nope, it wasn't really the same.

Harry's eyelids were already drooping--too much last minute cramming for finals, too many relations to worry about. But, he had to find a way to stay up late... he had another galaxy to map out in the Astronomy Tower that night.

*()%()*

Holly set her half-empty bag down on the desk and slid into her seat as Sutorlond pulled the chair from the next desk out and turned it around so he could face her. He placed a couple books on the table and opened one to its first marked page.

"I found a couple beginner translation sheets I'd like you to try out--I didn't make copies, though," he told Holly, spinning the text around to face her.

Holly pulled some parchment out of her bag along with a quill and ink. "In normal lettering?"

"Sure."

Holly bit her lip as she tried to switch her mind over to the things pertaining to Quenya that she'd spent her time studying. The homework around this time of the year was overwhelming, of course, but she must keep her routine up. Quenya had at least half an hour of book-time every day, outside of Sutorlond's tutoring sessions, of course. 'I. Hello, sir.'

Holly squinted at the print for a moment before scratching her translation. "Vedui quendunya manë."

'II. Hello, miss/missus.'

Beginner. My. Ass, thought Holly savagely as she wrote, "Vedui quendinya manë."

She continued on to the end of the worksheet. They were all basic greeting and closing statements--relatively easy considering that there was no Tengwar involved (although she'd adapted decent talent at that through her time spent in History of Magic, an exam she wasn't planning on acing).

It had all seemed so complicated at first, the combination 'rh' being this symbol, but just 'r' being that one, and so on. But after Holly had gotten it running in her system, the dots, curves, and arrows all seemed to make sense--but she couldn't write or read it near as fast as Sutorlond.

Speaking the language was a little difficult--to Holly the pronunciations were a cross between French and English. The words were connected and flowing, like a line of jigsaw puzzle pieces half-melted together--but the syllables were more phonated. Holly spoke slowly, but (like Tengwar) over the past month or so she'd gotten the hang of it.

"Nice work," said Sutorlond after she handed him her parchment. "Let's step it up a bit, now... try this one." He flipped a couple pages in the book and tapped his fingertip on the next set of problems.

'I. I am.'

Holly dipped her quill, began a new column on her parchment, and wrote, "Ni ná..."

'II. Cold'

"Ringa"

'III. Warm'

"Lauca"

'IIII. Tall'

"Halla"

'V. Short'

"Sinta"

'VI. Intelligent'

"Handa"

The personal and physical adjective sheet went on for fourteen questions more, and Holly noticed that every translated word ended with the letter 'A'.

It was a long lesson of using up ink and exercising her wrist--and by the end Holly paused between each word to rest her aching hand. Sutorlond told her to have at least half of her Quenya translations written in Tengwar for him for their meeting Saturday night.

Holly left him in the classroom whilst sliding her used pieces of parchment into her bag. She strode slowly down the torch-lit corridors in the direction of Gryffindor. "Ni ná aptusa," she said to herself.

*()%()*

"I win," Ginny remarked, smirking.

"Again," added Harry, sitting back in his chair. "How do you do it?"

Ginny shrugged and said, "It runs in the family."

"I guess," he observed, shaking his head at his many abused chess pieces. They looked at each other for a moment before Ginny bit her lip.

"I--I've got to study." She half-scrambled out of her chair and swept her chess pieces into the little cloth bag she kept them in. "Um, see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah," he said, "thanks for the game." Ginny nodded and forced a smile before she left, disappearing through the girls' dormitories door.

Harry leaned his head against the side of the armchair, shutting his eyes and cursing fatigue. When he could feel himself dozing, Harry opened his eyes, fighting off sleep.

Holly plopped down in the seat opposite him and commanded, "Wake up."

"'M 'wake," he said groggily.

"You have late Astronomy Tower sessions with Cha-Cha to attend," she said, crossing one leg over the other.

"Mm." Harry sat up and rubbed his face. "Tell me, why am I so tired?"

Holly cocked her head to the side and looked up at the ceiling. "Because you've been cramming for midterms all week, choosing House rings, finishing late homework to avoid automatic detentions, and wondering whatever you might do while Cho's gone over Christmas vacation," she said knowledgeably. "Am I right?"

"Y'know, I think you are," he said.

With a self-satisfied smirk, Holly told him that she needed to look over her Potions notes before she went to sleep. "Yeah," he said, "you need it."

"Need what?"

"Sleep," Harry clarified.

Holly knew this was the truth, no doubt. She had to have noticed how hollow she'd looked for the past few weeks. There must be much more going on than what met the eye--Holly looked more drained than Hermione had back in third year. Not even her Technicolor attitude could cover the way she suddenly looked extremely venerable.

Wasn't her Charm supposed to protect against bad health?

"Thanks, Harry," she said, "best put... I look like shit."

"No! No...that's not what I--"

"Yeah, yeah, don't even try." Holly stood up, adjusting the strap on her book bag. "I haven't been sleeping too well lately--lots to do."

"I imagine," Harry stated, putting on a comfortable smile.

"Night," she said, nodding in his direction.

Harry replied, "Yep." Holly left through the door Ginny had earlier, and Harry averted his attention to the fire, which was crackling lazily in the grate. He ran the palm of his hand along the textured armrest of his chair, trying to do something to stay alert while he waited to make his way to the Astronomy Tower.

*()%()*

Holly trudged up the staircase, watching her feet. Everything was starting to stack up all of the sudden, and weariness had started to kick in.

First, she was balancing finals in all her classes--that wasn't too difficult, though, as most of the professors tended to review what they had gone over in class before midterm-week, and taking notes on that basically guaranteed you a good grade.

Then she had Quenya with Sutorlond, which demanded lots of time, practice, and attention. She was well on her way with the language, though--she'd mastered the basics, anyway.

Many of her free hours were devoted to helping Ginny with being a Soul-Switcher. Holly was positive that her friend could work that... and what would throw Voldemort off track more than encountering himself at sixteen years old?

And the Riddle inhabiting Ginny would never hurt her, anyway... that was the only body he had, why abuse it?

And Holly was dying to meet Tom--or a replica of him, anyhow.

Then there was researching the information on the Elves. Speaking Quenya was one thing, but spotting an Elven habitat was another. Like a lot of magical places--you couldn't see a section of forest, for example, where the Elves live unless you knew it was there. But, Holly had the tracking information emblazoned in her memory.

"I can't take it

What am I waiting for?

My heart's still breakin'

I miss you even more"

But those were the things that took up her time when the sun was shining over the grounds. What truly gave her the dark circles and deadened eyes was that, when trying to sleep, her dreams kept her awake.

The dreams about the woman were supposed to be guiding her--but all they did was keep her roused in what seemed like deep stupor. They weren't dreams, really, if she wasn't actually sleeping through them.

It had taken her quite some time, but Holly finally figured out the woman's name. Cliodna--she was a druidess, she was said to have an Animagus form of a wren or seabird, she'd discovered the properties of moondew, and could also control and summon water (choosing the transform into a sea wave now and then). Holly had to, in part, thank Hermione for this--Cliodna's was the other Famous Witches and Wizards Card she'd gotten along with Harry's.

After doing a bit of digging, Holly discovered that everything fit. Cliodna had three birds that could sing the sick to sleep and cure them. Three birds had been carved into the backing of Holly's Charm, and Cliodna had admitted the powers of her "magical avifauna" into the necklace.

The gem-filled palace that Holly entered in every dream she had was exactly like a temple erected for the druidess, magic keeping the various stones and gems from clashing horribly.

Cliodna's beauty, when in human form, was enough to woo any man into an instant infatuation with her (she'd been gorgeous, to say the least), and her name supposedly meant 'shapely one' (if only Holly had inherited that shapeliness more thoroughly). Some sources said that Cliodna was a lusty woman, who chose men to bring to the Otherworld or the Land of Promise with her.

Texts even told of an emerald goblet that turned water to wine.

Cliodna had fallen in love (really fallen in love) with a mortal man, Ciabhan. They escaped the Land of Promise together, but Manannan Mac Lir sent fairies to put Cliodna into a magical sleep after she'd had one child, and then sent a sea wave to take her back to the Land of Promise. There she remained--in a place no mortal could find (sort of like the Garden of Eden), and now she couldn't escape.

Holly couldn't find anything on a Cretionis Charm created by the druidess, but it had to have been made and gotten to her daughter somehow.

"And I can't fake it

The way I could before

"I hate you, but I love you

I can't stop thinkin of you"

And from then on, the Charm was passed down from the oldest heiress to the next, until it reached Holly. But, as soon as she'd taken hold of the Charm--as Dumbledore and Cliodna had explained the circumstance--the powers had been zapped from it. According to later dreams, every 100^th heiress was supposed to seize the "true power" of the Cretionis Charm. Holly's mother, Charisse, was one of those 100^th heiresses, and the power had been sucked out of the Charm as soon as she took hold of it. But Charisse never braved to have it Dedicated, and opted to keep it with the magic Cliodna had given it in place--healing.

But, Holly wasn't happy with that--she wanted the real masteries that the little necklace pendent held. And she knew exactly how to get them.

"It's true

I'm stuck on you"

Holly put an end to her vocal and carefully opened the dormitory door. She poked her head inside, and scanned the room with her eyes. It looked like Lavender was the only one in there: Holly remembered seeing Hermione in the common room, and Parvati was gone again--that was a given.

"Hey, Purple," she said, "wanna help me study for Potions?"

"Oh, sure," Lavender chirped, turning away from the mirror, blonde hair swinging around in the process. "I'll quiz you."

Holly rubbed her eyes, and then blinked her contacts back into place. "Sounds good."

*()%()*

After double-checking every answer, Holly handed in her exam. She found her seat again and sat her elbows on the desk, resting her face in her hands.

She hated the dungeon that Potions was held in--it was cold, green, and slightly smelly. The scent of the ice hockey arena in the area she'd lived in for the past few years, made out of stone and filled with ice like the Potions classroom was in the winter, at least smelt... well, good--too her, anyway.

Holly would talk to Ginny about it Saturday--she'd probably come with. They could leave Sunday morning... she could leave Harry a note, or something (He couldn't know before hand--it was obvious he'd do anything to stop her. That was Harry for you...). Maybe she could give a letter to Hedwig, with orders to deliver it Sunday morning.

It shouldn't take more than a day and a half--so maybe she should pack a change of clothes, just in case she encountered something... dirty.

Holly's train of thought was interrupted though, as the fine hairs on the back of her neck pricked and goosebumps started rising on her arms.

The feeling had been welling up for a while--just after she handed in her test--but then it came on full-blast. Just as it had in the library, it was that eerie feeling she was being carefully watched. Intense, like before, it was throbbing at the base of her spine and moving upwards.

Holly cast a look around the room, and not a single pair of eyes was on her. She tried to push the feeling off, concentrating on her plans, but it didn't budge--like it was eating at her thoughts.

The sensation began to fade, slowly, freeing her mind. Holly focused on her plans again, and the feeling flickered, then it was gone, leaving Holly as confused as she had been the first time it had happened, however long ago it had been.

*()%()*

After History of Magic, the sixth year Gryffindors dropped their things off in their dormitories and filed out of the common room. There was that meeting that had been scheduled, in the Great Hall.

Harry tagged along with Ron and Hermione, nodding and muttering agreements at the correct times with his comrade as Hermione went on about what she thought the meeting was about. She was probably right, but by the time she was a few sentences into her spiel, Harry had no idea what she was talking about.

Dean and Parvati were walking ahead of him (whatever happened to just holding hands?), so they were the first ones who ran into McGonagall in the entrance hall. She ushered the Gryffindors through the golden doors and into the Great Hall, telling them to choose a bench to sit down at.

It looked as though the Slytherins were taking their sweet time getting back from Defense Against the Dark Arts, as theirs was the group of sixth-years not present.

The Gryffindors seated themselves on the long bench and waited for Malfoy and Company to arrive--which didn't take too terribly long.

McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick, and Snape then gathered in front of the benches, which were situated in a half-circle in front of the High Table. The talking died down until it was near absolute silence, all eyes fixed upon the four professors.

Flitwick spoke up. "Annually, the Heads of Houses call all of the sixth years to a meeting after the first semester has come to a close," he said. "A meeting to explain what, exactly, a Supantoris is, and determine which belongs to each student."

From a brief glance around, the breakdown of a Supantoris wasn't needed for the majority of the sixth-years. Most of those with magical family knew what it was, anyway, but the Muggle-borns (other than Hermione) listened with interest along with Harry.

McGonagall picked up where Flitwick left off. "A Supantoris is a dominant power that each witch or wizard holds," she said in her usual clipped tones. "More complicated than an incantation and effect, this power makes all magical people unique from one another.

"One example is the gift of being an Animage," she continued. "It is possible for many to be designated an Animagus, yet the Supantoris is less common than those such as Flame-Throwers and Spark-Tossers, and few grasp the power. In this instance, the larger the animal you're to become, the more difficult to succeed in summoning your abilities."

McGonagall finished, and Sprout spoke up. It was almost like this was a rehearsed speech as the four professors took turns in explaining. "However, some Supantorises (the more rare) are severe burdens. Soul-Switchers, Mind Readers, and Seers are a few examples of these. They take more time to understand and more practice than the others do, as well. Once the skills are harnessed, they must be used with much wariness and responsibility."

Officially making the meeting look choreographed, Snape drawled a bit of the last part of the clarification speech. "The final three N.E.W.T. credits are given to those who can master their own, designated Supantoris by the close of their seventh year."

Flitwick picked up the Sorting Hat and waddled forward. "The Sorting Hat announces each persons Supantoris. We will call you, by House, into the antechamber off of the Hall to be, shall I say, categorized. We encourage you all to do sufficient research before attempting to acquire your given Supantoris. Ravenclaws, follow us."

The Ravenclaws trailed the Heads of Houses, Flitwick still carrying the Sorting Hat (If he was just going to bring it into the other room--why did they need to see the hat? They already knew what it was...), past the High Table. He told them to order themselves into an alphabetical line and stay outside the room as he commanded Terry Boot forward. After the door shut behind Terry and the Heads of Houses, the remaining sixth years broke into conversation again.

"I knew the meeting would be about Supantorises!" Hermione whispered excitedly.

Ron said, "I never thought the Sorting Hat would do double-duty."

Hermione looked aghast. "I talked about that before, though! At the Merrow Cave, remember?"

Ron opened and closed his mouth a few times before covering with, "Oh... oh yeah... yeah, I do..."

Although it sounded pretty flat to Harry, Hermione seemed to accept this 'sudden remembrance'. "Wonder if Parseltongue is a Supantoris," Harry thought aloud, "because I think I've already conquered that."

"I doubt it," Hermione answered, "it's just a language. But, it doesn't seem like a language one can learn through studies today, so the possibility is there. And yet, I don't think that that's your Supantoris--wasn't it just accidentally transferred to you by You-Know-Who?"

Somehow, Hermione could make anything sound like a streak of luck. "Yeah, I guess," Harry responded dejectedly.

It was a while before all the Ravenclaws had entered and exited the antechamber. Some of them had stayed to wait for friends, others had exited the Great Hall straight away. The last one, Lisa Turpin, told the Slytherins that they were up next.

The last Ravenclaw went out of the Great Hall and the Slytherins proceeded past the High Table and began to file into their line, and Crabbe went first through the door, but came back abruptly after discovering that 'Bulstrode' came before 'Crabbe' in alphabetical order.

"Brilliant, that one is," Ron remarked through the laughter of the other students that had noticed.

After all of the Slytherins had ensued one another in and out of the chamber, Blaise told the Hufflepuffs that they were up next.

They each entered and exited the antechamber, Sally-Anne coming out last and telling the Gryffindors that the professors were ready for them.

They rose from their bench, and determined the order of their line after only a moment of confusion.

"No, Seamus, you're in front of me, there you go."

"Am I last?"

"No, that would be me..."

"'L' comes before 'R'... damn it, looks like I'm first..."

Harry found himself between Parvati and Dean, who were talking right through him. Holly disappeared through the door first.

Harry looked at the closed door in silence for a while before the same fear that had gripped him at the beginning of his first year came back. What if he didn't have a Supantoris?

What if he just sat with that hat drooping over his eyes for a long time, the little voice picking apart his brain in awe. "No... no... I'm sorry... I believe you have nothing. No potential Supantoris here whatsoever." And then it'd announce "Squib!" to the professors, and start cackling like a satanic leprechaun.

Snape would sneer unpleasantly as Harry removed the Sorting Hat and say, "Too bad, Potter... looks like you're magical enough to be Sorted into a house, but you don't have sufficient power to hold a Supantoris. Pity, you must leave school--tonight."

The hat would have said his sentence so loudly that the remaining students outside the door would hear it through the door, and the facts would spread through the school like a fire caught on a dead field on a dry, summer day. He would be Harry Potter--the Boy Who Lived Just to be a Worthless Squib.

Holly came out of the antechamber looking happy. Harry motioned for her to stop as Lavender entered the room. "Er..." He didn't know what the correct way to ask this was, so he went with his original instinct. "What are you?"

"Animagus," she said proudly, "They have my stats, and they're thinkin' I'm a peregrine, from what the Sorting Hat said." She grinned and added, "But, you can leave for Hogsmeade when you're done, so... I'm on my way. Good luck!"

Harry definitely felt like he needed Lady Luck to smile upon him, until later when Neville came out of the antechamber and Parvati went in. His dorm-mate was grinning from ear-to-ear, and he anxiously told Harry, Dean, and Ron that he had Green Fingers, or the ability to make plants grow without wand magic.

They congratulated him on being distinguished with a Supantoris to his liking before he left for Hogsmeade. Harry was getting antsy--as soon as Parvati was finished he was up. But if Neville could have a Supantoris--so could Harry.

Padma came out eventually--looking angry. It seemed that neither her nor Lavender had been titled Seers, as her friend looked about the same way.

Harry stepped forward, and just heard Parvati complain to Dean, "Invisibility! It's not even fair!" before he shut the door behind him.

McGonagall, Flitwick, Snape, and Sprout were sitting behind two long desks, with various papers in front of them. Alongside each professor was a stack of Official Ministry Registration forms that were filled out by themselves and their House's students.

There was a new fire cackling under the mantle, and the high armchairs that were in front of the grate looked like they hadn't been sat in since the Halloween of the Triwizard Tournaments.

"Take a seat, Potter," McGonagall said, motioning for the stool in front of them, "and try on the Sorting Hat." Violet looked on from her frame.

Nerves starting to tingle and stomach churning, Harry did as he was told, and let the old hat fall over his eyes (although it didn't near cover his whole head, as it had in his first year).

The little voice in his ear piped up as the hat recognized its wearer. "Hmm... Mr. Potter. Slytherin?"

"Gryffindor," he said aloud, but quietly, through his teeth.

"Yes, yes, I'm sorry... Gryffindor. Let's see, now..." The Sorting Hat remained silent for a long junction, hooming and humming from time to time. Its long pondering made Harry even more nervous, and he crossed his fingers in his pockets. "Ah yes--haven't had one of these for quite some time..."

The voice escaped the inside of the hat, and now it spoke in the booming tone it possessed through the large flap that served as its mouth. "Pellmorph!" it announced.

Frankly, Harry didn't have any idea what that was, but there must be a more common name for his Supantoris. He waited for the hat to say more--but it didn't.

Relief was flooding through Harry as he removed the hat, stood up, and sat it on the stool. But as his eyes met those of the stunned professors, the relief froze into jagged ice in his veins. Each of them was wearing an identical expression of one trying to hide their speechlessness and shock: disbelieving, blinking eyes and slightly dropped jaws.