"You're nothing but a liar Malfoy..."
"Well, where is he Bones? Your aunt is the head of the aurors, has she ever seen him? No one has seen hide or hair of Harry Potter since that night. My father often has the minister of magic over for dinner, and even the head of our ministry has never seen Harry Potter. If it wasn't for that oaf Hagrid spouting stories in the pub every time he gets drunk, no one would know anything about that night."
One of the redheads, who'd also been looking for Harry on the train, reacted rabidly to Malfoy's claims. "Dumbledore has seen the boy-who-lived, he's kept him safe from evil creeps like your father."
Malfoy was more than a match for this verbal attack, he immediately taunted right back. "Perhaps the great Dumbledore dropped him off at your hovel weasel, what's one more kid amongst your tribe. Does your mother even remember all your names? Harry Potter isn't here because he's dead, and dead people don't come to Hogwarts."
This was met by screams, not against Malfoy but for the irrefutable proof he was wrong. A bunch of ghosts had just passed through the wall, and a few prospective first years. By the time the group had recovered from this shock, Professor McGonagall had returned to lead them into the great hall.
Harry was now in full public face mode so Hermione tried to match his confident poise, the trouble was she felt anything but confident. Another downside to this was that both now stood out amongst their oh-ing and ah-ing peers. When the tattered old hat began its song, Hermione was left to wonder just how strange this new world was.
A girl called Hannah Abbot was called forward first and sorted into Hufflepuff, it was soon clear the process was being carried out alphabetically by surname. When Vincent Crabbe headed off to join the green-trimmed robes of Hermione's earlier tormentors, both expected Harry to be next. When Tracey Davis name was called, they knew something was up.
Harry continually whispered reassurances that he could handle this but still had to practically push Hermione in the direction of the hat after her name was called. It didn't take long for the hat to place her in Ravenclaw. It was only after she was joined there by Padma Patil that the fun really started.
McGonagall called for Harry Potter, and no one moved. You could feel the mood in the hall drop as none of the remaining students stepped forward. McGonagall, knowing that the number of students she started the sorting with corresponded to the total names on her list, called his name again - with the exact same lack of results.
Hermione was gripping the wooden table hard enough to leave marks when Padma whispered a question to her. "Why wasn't Harry's name called?"
She really could reply honestly. "I don't know Padma, he should have been sorted before both of us. I just hope he gets into Ravenclaw, sorry you got separated from your sister."
"I'm not!" was the last thing said before the Deputy Headmistress continued with the sorting.
They were now down to just two boys left standing awaiting their turn under the hat. When McGonagall called on Blaise Zabini, there was finally only one. As Blaise headed off to Slytherin, all eyes were now focused on Harry.
"What is your name son?"
"Harry Crow professor."
McGonagall checked her list again to confirm what she already knew, there was only one name there she hadn't yet ticked. "I don't seem to have you down here Harry." "My father confirmed I would be attending, and the circumstances surrounding my attendance..."
This was Dumbledore's moment, he would force the boy to choose in front of the entire hall. Once that initial choice had been made, there would be no going back to this goblin nonsense.
Dumbledore stood and waited until he had everyone's attention before speaking. "Perhaps I can shed some light on the matter Professor McGonagall. I did indeed receive Mr Crow's letter, and read the special circumstances he's alluding to. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to comply with those circumstances. This is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, we have no accord or charter to accept a goblin into our school."
The headmaster was noted for his quirkiness, one might even go as far as to suggest he was a touch mad. His comments had certainly shed no light on this matter as the boy left standing there was clearly not a goblin. Dumbledore wasn't finished though.
"If young Harry here wants to attend Hogwarts, it will need to be under the name his birth parents gave him. Harry James Potter."
"If young Harry here wants to attend Hogwarts, it will need to be under the name his birth parents gave him. Harry James Potter." The silence that followed that announcement lasted mere seconds as everyone then attempted to shout at once. Dumbledore stood there with a satisfied smirk on his face and watched as the hall descend into chaos for a few moments. The boy simply wouldn't be able to refuse in front of all these witches and wizards, and then Harry would be back under his control. Albus would have until the summer holidays to find a suitable family to place the boy with, so there was no rush for that.
McGonagall finally restored order to the hall before rounding on Harry. "Is this true, are you Harry Potter?"
Harry and his father had prepared for his identity becoming publicly known, it was time to put those preparations to good use. "The headmaster is well aware that my adoptive father for the last ten years has been Barchoke, Senior Accounts Manager at Gringotts, and yes I was once called Harry Potter."
The mayhem this time kicked off instantly and took longer to get back under control. Harry Potter had been raised by a goblin? A goblin he even called father! It was a shocked McGonagall who once more turned to Harry. "How is this possible? I was there the night we left you with your muggle relatives..."
Hermione was of course watching her friend intently and thought she might just have caught a glimpse of Harry's third face. At McGonagall's revelation, he stood that bit straighter and stared directly into her eyes. Dangerous was the only word Hermione had to describe this version of Harry.
"And by what right did you participate in that atrocious event, Deputy Headmistress?"
The professor actually needed to take a step back at the venom radiating from those green eyes, before gathering her wits once more. "I was a friend of your mother and father's..."
The rest of the school couldn't believe it when a student, who hadn't even been sorted yet, cut right across the Hebridean dragon that was Minerva McGonagall. "I think 'was' is the operative word there. Don't expect any warm greetings should you ever meet them again. You did a great disservice to House Potter that night - as well as ignoring multiple laws set-up to protect children. Are you sure you should be working in a school, professor?" The sarcasm Harry loaded the word professor with couldn't be missed by even the thickest of Hogwarts students.