Of Shadow, Shine, and Shades

Ch.20 Steady...

Children shuffled around him excitedly, their voices hushed from anticipation. The sight of Hogwarts majestic structure in the night with thousands of lights twinkling welcomingly in the distance had quelled most of their fears but had done nothing on the rush of anticipation that run through the eleven year olds waiting for their turn to be sorted. All around them hundreds of eyes were trained on the individual sitting the chair with a hat pulled over their heads.

Harry felt nauseated.

He and Caelum had travelled the busy bazaars of China's biggest cities, navigated through the crowded streets in busiest towns in Egypt and stopped by Tokio's greatest tourist attractions in Japan. And he felt pressured by the proximity of his future classmates.

Yes, he was almost having trouble breathing.

It didn't help that Albus Dumbledore, the man that had visited Harry's nightmares on a couple of occasions, was sitting just a few dozen feet away from where he was standing and his beady blue eyes were almost frantically searching for something. Harry had half hidden himself behind the bulk of one of the bigger girls but he still felt exposed.

This was one of the problems that Caelum had spoken to him about. He was used to being around adult figures and treated as one. Even if Zahra sometimes acted like a child, she exactly wasn't one. Here Harry would have to try and get along with his peers who were bound to treat him like a hero and teachers who saw him as an eleven year old kid. He held in a sigh. And the Sorting Ceremony would announce his name to everyone in the school, allowing them to recognize him instantly.

What a wonderful tradition. Now if onlyI could get my headache under control.

Because Hogwarts was giving him a headache. The entire castle was so saturated with history that the images leaked through Harry's Occlumency shields even when he did not touch anything. He had almost been paralyzed by anticipation and fear when he had gripped the boat for support and his Clairvoyance had reacted. In the two seconds that his fingers had touched the worn wood he had seen thousands upon thousands of faces of students past. It had been even more overwhelming than the pyramids since at least those had been empty for a while. The boats were used yearly.

He had not even tried touching anything in the castle itself. He was afraid he'd pass out.

With growing feeling of unease Harry listened to the letters get closer and closer to P and his name. He could do this. Lower his Occlumency shields if he felt pressure on his mind, Caelum had said. It did not matter what House he ended up in, the mage had said.

The few people he had met on the train worried Harry slightly though he had to admit there was a part of him that thought of them as just kids. But if Su, Megan and Wayne did not want to spend any time with him in the future it was on them. He had already seen them all Sorted into Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff but... No buts. He would let the Hat Sort him.

"Potter, Harry!" McGonagall called out and immediately a hush fell over the Great Hall. Harry could hear the whispers and finally let out the sigh he had been holding in for the last half an hour. He took a step forward.

Every eye was riveted on him as he walked forward. His face was blank to keep his thoughts to himself, and he needed it when snippets of the whispers reached his ears. At that moment he was so, so grateful for Caelum for preparing him for this and taking him in in the first place. This would have been horrible otherwise.

Finally he reached the stool and turned to look at the students. A sea of curious eyes stared back at him until the rim of the Hat fell over his eyes and blessed darkness took over his sight.

That lasted about a second.

At the contact with his skin, the feel of past events that had been hovering just at the edges of his consciousness slammed into his mind with the force of a sledgehammer. Harry let out a pained gasp and gripped the stool for balance. In hindsight that was a mistake as direct contact with his skin strengthened his Clairvoyance. Harry's mind was bombarded by everything every student that had sat on the stool with the Hat on their head had ever felt, thought and done. His heart beat in rhythm with their fear and awe. He trembled as they trembled. Shivers of excitement ran up and down his back and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.