Disclaimer: All characters and recognizable story elements belong to J. K. Rowling.

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"I won't tell you that the world matters nothing, or the world's voice, or the voice of society. They matter a good deal. They matter far too much. But there are moments when one has to choose between living one's own life, fully, entirely, completely—or dragging out some false, shallow, degrading existence that the world in its hypocrisy demands. You have that moment now. Choose!"

Oscar Wilde

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"Ah, well. You could have been great," the Hat said slowly in his mind. Harry could tell from its mental tone that it wasn't too pleased with him for some reason. "Instead you will be merely … average. But brave, of course," it added almost mournfully. "So very brave. Therefore … better be ..."

Harry sighed inwardly and interrupted this drawn out, deliberately slow delivery. "All right, I'll bite. What is it that you are trying to tell me, Mr. Hat?"

His curiosity had always been his downfall. Even when he should have known better. He could certainly blame many a day of enforced fasting in his cupboard on his dratted curiosity. But the Dursleys had never managed to squash it out of him entirely. Still … if there ever was a good time to indulge it, then it was probably now. After all, this sorting would define his next seven years. Maybe even longer. And McGonagall had said their house would be their family. He could surely spend a few moments to hear the Hat out, if it wanted him to reconsider that badly.

The Hat did an odd little jig on his head. Or at least it felt like it.

"Yes!" it exclaimed. "He asked! Excellent. What you need to consider, Mr. Potter, is if you really wish to throw your future away because of your 'friendship' to that boy."

Harry bristled instinctively. "What's wrong with Ron," he thought defensively.

"Oh, nothing wrong as such. Not excessively, at least. But also too little … right, to put it bluntly. Now, sortings are private. I cannot tell you about those of others, just as I will not be able to tell others about yours. However, I have not sorted Mr. Weasley yet. And I do not need to sit on his head to see what he is like. Which gives me a convenient … loophole. Which I shall utilize, for your sake, Mr. Potter. Maybe for all our sakes," it added thoughtfully.

And then it was as if Harry could see into Ron's head. Or maybe his heart. Or even soul. Perhaps all three combined.

It became instantly obvious why the Hat wanted him to chose differently, and was even willing to bend the rules to give Harry this insight into his ... friend. And what a lovely friend Ron would make.

Because the red-head was much too lazy for a Hufflepuff, and too self-centred to be truly loyal. He was also little interested in learning, as well as predisposed to form biased opinions on a whim … both of which meant he had no chance for Ravenclaw, either. He was also far too brash, unsubtle and undisciplined to survive as a Slytherin. Though he had plenty of ambitions. And they all revolved around himself. He also had a tendency to selfishness and greed, though he kept that suppressed. But as a result he was resentful and jealous of the accomplishments of others, while little inclined to actually work hard to achieve anything of his own.

Ron Weasley would most certainly go to Gryffindor. But not because he embodied its positive qualities. Rather he would go there because he was unsuited for anywhere else, and the Hat had to put him somewhere. And there was at least some Gryffindor in him, mostly due to the brashness. Because his thoughtlessness would likely make him rush into things, which could be interpreted as courage.

All in all, he was not necessarily such a very horrible person. No worse than most others, truth be told. He was mostly simply shallow and lazy. However, he would hardly make the ideal friend for Harry, who seemed destined to be plagued by fame, if what he'd seen from wizards so far continued. Ron would also not help Harry in making it through school successfully, with his lazy attitude. But most importantly, Ron's jealous clinging and abrasive personality would probably hinder Harry in making more friends, because the red-head would keep other people away from him.

"Do you see now, Mr. Potter?"

"Yeah. I guess I do. But ..."

Was his only alternative Slytherin? Did he really want to go there? He could still chose Gryffindor, and simply stay away from Ron. And what did the Hat mean with great to begin with?

"Slytherin would challenge you far more," the Hat told him quietly. "It would not be easy for you there, I admit that. You could go to either house. But which of them you chose, decides which of your qualities will be strengthened. As well as the expectations everyone will have of you. Yes, Gryffindor will likely be the easier choice. It is certainly the one expected of you. However, I believe you will ultimately grow stronger in Slytherin, because you will find more challenge there. I fear you may find much danger in your future. Would you rather face it with bravery, or with well honed cunning?"

"Can't I do both?"

"Of course. But while Slytherin is unlikely to turn you into a coward, Gryffindor might unfortunately discourage your cunning and caution."

"I … still don't particularly want to go to Slytherin. And what will people think, if I end up there?"

"That is certainly a consideration, young Mr. Potter. I cannot deny that. However, our world is inherently biased. Whatever you do, you will be judged. Neither path will be easy. Both houses hold those who embody its best virtues … you would be one of those in either case. Just as both houses have students I had to put there because I could not place them anywhere else."

"Why did you put Malfoy in Slytherin, then?"

"His sorting I may not tell you about, Mr. Potter," the Hat chided gently. "All I will say is that I could have found an alternative place for him, unlike Mr. Weasley. He may also grow into a stronger person, provided he outgrows his dependence on his father … which is understandable at his age. Your friendship could even aid in that. Mr. Weasley, by contrast ..."

"Yeah. He'd have to grow up quite a bit," Harry admitted reluctantly. "But what about all the other evil wizards that came from Slytherin? And … Voldemort?"

The Hat gave Harry the feeling that it would have shrugged, had it been capable of that. "Ambition, Mr. Potter. As well as the fact that I cannot help but place any there who are too cowardly, disloyal and unstudious to go elsewhere. Those most likely to seek the easy path through life. Though the one who took so much from you was not one of those. He would have shone in Ravenclaw. And when he was younger he knew how to take risks, oh yes. However, he was not only ruled by ambition, but also anger, hate and resentment. In the end, it was his own choices which led him down a dark path. Not necessarily Slytherin."

Harry felt torn. His desire to be near Ron had certainly cooled … but that still didn't mean he wanted to be close to Malfoy, either.

"It is your choice, Mr. Potter. I can easily send you into either house … I merely wished for your decision to be made as an informed choice, rather than based on unfounded bias."

How not very helpful. Given that this decision now seemed quite important. On the other hand, it was kind of nice that it was his decision. That was rather a first. Which still didn't help him in making it, unfortunately.

"No matter what you decide, always remember it is your choices that make you. Do not let people take that away from you. Consider, before you jump at the suggestion of others. Do your own research, gather your own information. Do not go charging blindly into something if you can help it."

Right. What did he actually know at the moment? Ron was definitely out as his 'best mate', that was for sure. He could be one friend of many, but no more. Otherwise … he could tell people expected him to go to Gryffindor, the 'good' house. What would they think of him if he went to the 'bad' one instead? Given how taken with the construct of 'Harry Potter the Hero' everybody seemed to be? He remembered the scene in the Leaky Cauldron with a shudder. Or the way Hermione had prattled on about the many books that apparently contained his story.

So, go with the expectations, and hide his Slytherin side amongst Gryffindor, nurturing it in silence? Or do the unexpected, and probably have everyone look at him with suspicion and distrust? Wouldn't that be almost like what he'd lived through until now, when his cousin had turned everyone against him?

Maybe he could become the Gryffindor who reached out to all the houses, since they all seemed to want a piece of him? By the looks of it, he'd be able to pick and choose. He wasn't that good at making friends, since he obviously lacked the practise, but his life had taught him pretty well who'd make a bad one. Which kind of begged the question why he hadn't spotted Ron? Had he really been so starved for friendship that he'd been willing to latch onto the first one who seemed interested in him? In hindsight that seemed quite stupid. Although in a way that confrontation with Malfoy had pushed him towards Ron, too. How very odd, if you thought of it like that. Probably not at all what the blond twit had intended when he sought out Harry.

In any case, it was much better to keep his options open, and see if he couldn't make some really good friends of his own choosing. Without being in the middle of what looked to be a feud between Ron and Malfoy.

Of course he could also be ambitious and try Slytherin after all, and see if he could change people's expectations. Yeah. Well. Right. His whole life so far had been a demonstration of how easy that was. Not. It would be far easier to swim with the stream, and be himself despite the expectations, than struggle against it, and try to change everyone else. Still … he was tempted to do it, if only to see the reactions he would get. And to become great, whatever that really meant.

"Choose, Mr. Potter."

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AN: Fan-fictions are inherently 'what if' stories. As such, the author of such a story has the advantage that the reader already knows how the original turned out. Most readers will also have ideas of their own how they would have liked the story to go. All a new variation can do is hopefully add to that, and perhaps make the reader think 'what if' in a new direction.

So this is the story of 'what if' the Hat wanted Harry to make a somewhat more informed choice, and not one solely based on 'nice' Ron versus 'nasty' Malfoy. I deliberately ended it before Harry's choice, which would in the end only be my choice. I am in fact quite curious what any readers of this story would pick in this situation, so if you have a second please do go and partake in the survey I put up on my profile!

Unfortunately, it is very hard to say whether Harry would have been better off in Slytherin. Yes, Snape might have treated him better, and even stepped in with the Dursleys. But he would very likely have faced a lot of internal antagonism in Slytherin, and definitely a lot of suspicion from outside. Certainly a lot of things could have worked out differently. Harry might have turned out stronger … or fallen to temptations. Lots of stories have been written about that, too.

Personally, I would have picked Gryffindor at this point. Not because I particularly like that house, but rather because at the age of eleven, totally ignorant of this new world and faced with lots of expectations from everybody, I believe he would not have done too well in Slytherin. And while I generally prefer a more Slytherin personality for him, I cannot really see canon Harry blossom in the snake-pit without a lot of struggle or help. But that is another 'what if'.

What I am convinced of, though, is that Harry would have done better with a different main friend than Ron Weasley. Let's face it, how much did Ron really contribute? Was there anything he did that someone else who was reasonably brave and competent could not have done just as well, or likely even better? And that is not even taking the dubious nature of his loyalty and faithfulness into account. Aside from being an ace at chess, I find Ron rather … lacking, overall.

As for Ron and Hermione as a couple … really? Personally, I cannot see the happy marriage of two so very different people, who frankly have no real shared interests whatsoever. Subconsciously, Ron would probably expect his wife to be like his mother, which Hermione simply isn't. Nor would Hermione have dealt well with his jealousy and perpetual under-performing in the long run. But apparently even Mrs. Rowling has come to agree those two are not ideal together.

Of course, I should give Ron the benefit of the doubt, but I simply do not like the character. I mean, try to imagine how he would have turned out if he had been the spoiled apple of his parent's eyes, instead of the youngest son? Frankly, I suspect he would have been another James Potter, only with fewer redeeming qualities. Even in canon, Ron was far too often a pretty bad friend, and held Harry back quite a bit. He was also the cause of a lot of the confrontations the trio had with Malfoy. Yes, he grew up eventually. But only after a lot of life-altering experiences.

Regarding Draco Malfoy's alternative placement: I suspect he might have made an adequate Ravenclaw, because it does not say anywhere that he was bad academically. And frankly, anyone who plays Quidditch cannot be a total coward, either. You simply cannot play a game where you barrel along at insane speed through the air while they shoot iron balls at you without having some guts. I would also dare to claim that a lot of what was wrong with him was due to his spoiled, biased upbringing, compounded by Harry's rejection of him.

Whether he would have made a better friend than Ron, especially given the circumstances … well, I suspect most people will have their own opinion on that one. However, those two were undeniably a major deciding factor in Harry going to Gryffindor, so having the Hat deliver a differing viewpoint of them … might make for a different choice of house. Maybe. Who knows.

Anyway, sorry for the lengthy author's note. Sometimes my thoughts like to get away from me to go for a good, long, rambling stroll through 'what if' country.