2 Whisked Away To Hogwarts

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September 1, 1990, 9:35 AM, King's Cross Railway Station

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Breathing in the frigid British air, I watched the Matron's Vauxhall Cavalier whirl around the corner, the roaring of its engine piercing the morning silence before disappearing from my sight. I turned around, huffing and puffing my way into the station, hauling my trunk behind me.

I only managed to get it onto a trolley thanks to a passing Samaritan. 'Thank God for good people… is that Merlin now, or maybe Akatosh considering I'm the Dragonborn?'

I chuckled, pushing my trolley along. I walked at a leisurely pace, taking my time as I drank in my surroundings. My hands quivered in excitement as I followed the appropriate signs and directions.

"Platform Seven, Platform Eight…" with each number, my anticipation grew until I stopped in between Platforms Nine and Ten.

I looked at the wall in front of me with slight apprehension. Although I knew that I wouldn't crash, I still couldn't help but wonder how stupid I would look if I ran into a solid wall. So I sauntered forwards, not bothering to run.

My trolley simply passed through the wall, as if the wall wasn't there in the first place and I soon followed after it. A sharp, bone chilling sensation flooded over me causing me to gasp and then subsequently shudder. Coming out of the other side, I swivelled, narrowing my eyes at the archway that now housed a sign that read the train's departure time.

The train in question was a vibrant red locomotive, its steam curling and rolling across the platform in lofty waves. It passed over the heads of grown adults and circled the heels of little toddlers who pointed at the train, laughing in glee.

After staring at the train for a considerable amount of time, I looked around at the scattered huddles of families sharing tearful goodbyes. I felt a pang in my chest once I thought about my mother from my previous life but I quickly squashed it down— this was neither the time, nor the place. 'I wonder how she's doing now…'

Luckily, I was disturbed by a tap on my shoulder, turning around to find a boy in jeans and a turtleneck sweater. He was tall for an eleven year-old and his thick raven hair fell over his forehead, failing to hide a pair of stone grey orbs that glinted with childish curiosity and a hint of mischief.

I stuck my hand out, not wanting to bear the brunt of childish awkwardness. "Asim Dovahkiin, nice to meet you."

"I'm Eddie Carmichael, likewise," He replied, gripping my hand firmly, or as firmly as an eleven year old could.

"So Eddie, not to be rude or anything but what can I do for you?"

He scratched the back of his head, his posture turning skittish before replying, "Erm, my mum told me to come over to you since she's going off to work..."

He pointed at a pretty young woman standing a ways away from us. Noticing our gaze, she waved at us, a pleasant smile adorning her face before she disappeared behind the barrier.

"So, what house do you think you're going to be sorted into?" I asked Eddie, my question forcing him to tear away his longing gaze from the archway.

He paused, holding his chin in thought before speaking. "Probably Ravenclaw though Gryffindor's also possible."

"I think it'll be a toss up between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, for me." I replied, chortling at his expression.

"Hufflepuff?" he questioned, his voice lilting with incredulity. "Why would you want to be a Hufflepuff?"

"They've at the very least got a good work ethic and the people are friendly. Though I agree that it wouldn't be my first choice— there's no real challenge there." I replied, mollifying the boy. "Wouldn't you like to be surrounded by nice and calm people as opposed to glory-hogs, cold bookworms and aloof snowflakes?"

Eddie paused, a thoughtful expression blossoming on his face. "You know what, you might be onto something…"

We spent the remainder of the time wandering around the Platform, exchanging stories and barbs. Over the course of our many conversations, I learnt that Eddie was the son of a Muggleborn witch and a Pureblood father, though his father died when he was young, making him a Half-Blood— he subsequently blundered by asking me about my parents, resulting in quite the awkward silence.

"Don't worry about it, honestly." I said, patting the boy on the shoulder. It did nothing to help his downcast expression. His lip was pouted and his head hung low in shame— honestly, why were kids such emotional wrecks sometimes… no, scratch that, all of the time? "But…" a pained look flashed across his face as he reared his head upwards, his inky-black hair bouncing.

"I'm serious," I began, looking him dead in the eyes. "How were you to know that I'm an orphan, hm?"

I was met with silence and I was thankful for it. If there was one thing that was worse than dealing with a child, it was dealing with an upset child.

"Exactly," I said, stopping his arguments with blunt finality. "Now, let's get on that train. I'd prefer to have our own compartment."

And we did exactly that. After finding an empty compartment, Eddie and I struggled to place our suitcases atop the luggage rack, eventually succeeding, letting out simultaneous sighs of relief.

It was an absolute pain and I loathed having to live as a tiny, puny prepubescent but there wasn't much I could do but wait it out.

Sitting down opposite Eddie, I opened up 'A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration' by a fellow named Emeric Switch. Although the book was useful, I had a feeling that those with little patience for the book's meandering nature would gain nothing but frustration from it.

Eddie was one such person, instead deciding to pass some time practising the spells from 'The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1'. His first spell was the locking spell, 'Colloportus'. I assumed that since the sanctity of our compartment hadn't been disturbed, his spell was a success.

A little while later, he attempted to cast the fire-making spell, 'Incendio', and nearly blew us, and possibly the rest of the train, to kingdom come. His execrable attempt at that Charm and the danger it posed to the preservation of both our existences was thankfully enough to dissuade him from further foolishness.

The day dragged on and a few hours later, it was soon time for lunch. There was a knock at our door, causing us to look up.

"Hello loves, I'm coming 'round with the trolley," said a croaky voice. "Do you want anything?"

Eddie scrambled for his textbook, flicking through it in a desperate bid to find the unlocking charm. However, it took him too long so I raised my wand.

Taking a deep breath through my nose, I uttered the incantation, raising my wand towards the door with the intent to unlock it. "Alohomora."

There was a subtle clicking sound from the door, indicating my success, causing me to suspire. I rose from my seat, opening the door just in time to see the trolley witch standing in front of our compartment. As her name suggested, she was accompanied by a trolley emblazoned with the Honeydukes logo that carried an assortment of confectionaries.

"Would you like anything from the trolley?" she asked us once again. Having said that, her pleasant demeanour was betrayed by her right eye twitching in what was no doubt annoyance at the delay to her rounds.

I looked back at Eddie, my eyebrow raised in silent question. I couldn't buy anything as I didn't have a single coin on me and the train ride had left the both of us famished. He looked at me with a smile before speaking.

"We'll take the lot." he said, fishing through a pouch that hung from his waist. He took out a great deal of glimmering coins that were mostly silver and bronze in colour though there were a handful of gold ones— if I remembered correctly; the gold ones were Galleons, the silver ones Sickles and the bronze ones Knuts.

The trolley witch gave him a crooked smile. I refrained from rolling my eyes as her entire demeanour performed a complete one-eighty, before she withdrew quite a few sickles and knuts and one or two Galleons from the sizeable stack of coins on the table.

"Thank you," I said politely, a sentiment that was echoed by Eddie to which she simply nodded, giving us a final wink before closing the door.

Now with a small mountain of namkeens and nibbles on the table in front of us, Eddie and I gave each other matching grins before taking our pick.

"How did you know which one the unlocking spell was?" he asked behind the wrapper of a chocolate frog.

Children at their finest. They remember such bothersome details whilst forgetting even the most simple of things. Then again, if I were in his position I'd do the same.

"I read ahead." I replied. "Professor Flitwick came to the orphanage to take me to Diagon Alley in July so I had a month to read over the material for the year."

He hummed in acceptance, turning his attention back onto his chocolate. On the topic of fondants, I had read that the Wizarding World's candy wouldn't rot one's teeth or cause the plethora of health complications associated with unhealthy food meaning I could stuff my face with candy guilt-free. 'Ah yes, an American's heaven!'

Before long, the sun began to set and the night began to extend its darkness across the lands, the light cowering away until daybreak ruled once more. All the while, the train continued its journey across the highlands; I had witnessed fields, expanses of nature, holts and more.

Stifling yet another yawn, I turned to Eddie.

"I think we should start getting changed." I said, getting up and reaching for the luggage rack, lowering my trunk with much toil.

"What subject are you looking forward to the most, Eddie?" During the six hours that we had spent in each other's company, I had not thought to ask him at all.

"Charms." he replied in an excited voice. "Charms seem really, really fun." And that's all he said on the matter.

I nodded my head. He wasn't wrong, not in the slightest. Charms weren't only utility-based though they were useful in an everyday setting. Charms, in my opinion, was one of the most important branches of magic a wizard could use.

"How about you?" he asked me, his rush of enthusiasm slowly wearing off.

"Everything," I began, snorting at his doubtful expression. "Think about it, we're in a school for magic for Akatosh's sake! We've got to learn everything we can, no?"

"I guess you're right…" he said, a thoughtful expression on his face. "But who's Akatosh?"

"The Dragon God of Time, of course!"

For a moment, he looked at me as if I were mad and I did my utmost not to not laugh. Unfortunately, my poker face didn't hold and I soon devolved into a fit of giggles as Eddie joined me.

'Life here isn't that bad…'

*

oOOOo

*

I looked up, distracted by the sound of the announcer's voice.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," It began, sounding somewhat nasally. "Thank you for your patronage on the 'Hogwarts Express'. Please leave your belongings on the train and walk to the platform where you will be met by our Groundskeeper who will give you further instructions. Thank you."

I looked at Eddie, who was reaching for his luggage, and gave him a shrug. We walked out the compartment, joining the throng of students leaving the train.

Standing on the platform, I shivered slightly at the cold. 'I'll have to remember to research some kind of Warming Charm once I've settled in. British winters suck.'

The bobbing of a lantern in the distance drew my attention and I could soon make out the hulking figure of Rubeus Hagrid, Hogwarts' Groundskeeper. He was tall, far taller than anything or anyone I'd ever seen but it was in an angular way. His fur cloak was draped around his shoulders, no doubt hiding the compact muscles beneath.

'I expected him to be big in the sense that he had to walk through doors sideways, but not lean. This is… different.'

His face was almost completely hidden by a long, shaggy mane of hair but his bear was trimmed properly. He looked like a Viking of old, except for his onyx eyes. They were as dark as the midnight sky and shone with pure-hearted kindness as he looked down at us.

"First years, first years over here!" he boomed, cupping his hands around his mouth. Not that he'd need to, his voice was loud enough as is. "Any more? No? Alright, follow me!"

He led us down a steep, narrow path, my vision obscured by the lack of light.

"You'll get your first sight of Hogwarts in a little bit." Hagrid said over his shoulder, flashing a smile at us. "Just 'round the bend here."

We travelled down the now-winding path, reaching the shore of a lake that stretched out as far as the eye could see. Across the lake and perched atop a cliff on the other side, its windows twinkling in the night sky, was Hogwarts itself— the sight was enough to take my breath away. I stood there for a length of time, marvelling at the castle's serenity before Hagrid brought me back to reality.

"No more than four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of boats sitting in the water next to a jetty by the shore.

Eddie and I clambered into a boat and were joined by two others. The first was a slightly chubby boy with black hair and rectangular glasses worn over evergreen eyes who, after meeting my gaze, smiled tentatively at me.

I returned his smile before turning my attention to the boat's second newcomer. Her hair was a deep brown and her eyes a cobalt blue that glimmered in constant mirth. We locked eyes and she gave me a toothy grin that threw me off before I gathered myself and responded in kind.

"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself on account of his size. "Right then, off we go!"

The little boats set off at once as they moved in unison across the lake. In all honesty, it looked quite beautiful. The moonlight hit the lake at the perfect angle causing it to glitter as we glided across it. I closed my eyes and breathed in the crisp air.

"So, what are your names?" asked Eddie, smiling at the two.

"I'm Katie Bell!" she declared, patting her chest.

"I'm Marcus. Marcus Belby." said the boy, adjusting his glasses to sit upon the bridge of his nose. "Nice to meet you!"

"Hold on," said Eddie, turning to Marcus in surprise. "Belby as in Damocles Belby? The inventor of the Wolfsbane Potion?!"

Marcus nodded, chuckling slightly at Eddie's reaction. "He's my Uncle."

Eddie stared at the lake vacantly, unresponsive to the many pokes directed at his shoulder. Katie snickered before turning her attention to the approaching cliff, gawking at the castle that sat upon it.

This prompted me to look up. I froze. In a single word, the castle was beautiful. Although I had seen it from across the lake, it drew my attention towards it.

The castle's windows twinkled in the night sky. The light from within bathing its panes in an orange light, its many spires standing tall. There were gasps of astonishment that echoed around, children tapping their friends' shoulders and pointing at the castle as if they weren't already looking at it.

It would be a place of wonder and an opportunity to become something more. 'But it's also a place of danger, both implicit and not.'

It was a sobering thought.

We entered a dark cavern, disembarking from the boats and walking up a set of stone steps that led up to the castle. The castle in question was even more magnificent up close. It stretched upwards, farther than the eye could see. We made our way up the stone steps before arriving at a large door.

"Nobody missing? Good!" Said Hagrid, knocking his huge fist on the door thrice before it swung open, revealing a poker faced woman clad in dark green robes and a pointed hat.

Her sable hair was pulled back into a tight bun. She fixed us with a steely gaze, her sage green eyes sweeping over the crowd before she began to speak.

She introduced herself as Minerva McGonagall before going into detail on what the four houses were and the point system before leading us into the entrance hall.

'This place has to have had a tonne of expansion charms applied to it cause there's no way it's this big on the inside.' I marvelled, looking around at my ornate surroundings.

There was a burst of laughter from behind the doors up ahead, prompting McGonagall to whirl around and slip through the door, furiously shushing the students from within before inviting us past the door's threshold.

Followed by Katie, Marcus and Eddie, I walked through the door, blinking at the bobbing candles spread across the length of the hall. My gaze was drawn to the teacher's table or more specifically, a certain grey haired individual with a flowing beard and twinkling cerulean eyes.

I was distracted by the clatter of a stool against the marble floor before McGonagall cleared her throat. "When your name is called, you will come and sit on the stool to be sorted. Bell, Katie!"

Katie stalked forwards, turning around and winking at the rest of us before taking a seat. The hat remained on her head for no longer than three seconds before roaring, "GRYFFINDOR!"

There was a tumultuous applause from the Gryffindor table, Katie's robes showcasing her new affiliation to the lions.

"Belby, Marcus!"

He shuffled forwards, the gazes of the hall no doubt the cause for his sudden anxiety. The hat was placed on his head before crying, "RAVENCLAW!"

A few more names were called out that were sorted to either Hufflepuff or Gryffindor before Eddie was called up. "Carmichael, Eddie!"

He strode forward, giving me thumbs up and grin before taking his seat. Pretty sure that he's going to be a Ravenclaw.

And lo and behold, that is exactly where he was sorted, his robes turning a midnight blue as the Ravenclaw sigil emblazoned itself across the left side of chest.

"Dovahkiin, Asim!"

'Thank the Divines, my guess on my first name was right…'

I swallowed, sitting down on the hard wooden stool, settling my nerves in preparation to face a mind-reading hat.

'Oh, I can only read surface thoughts, lad!'

'Well that's a relief…'

'Indeed,' the hat replied. 'Now, I'm going to be quite frank with you. You're most suited to the Hufflepuff house due to your compassionate nature but you also tend to vacillate between action and inaction and Hufflepuff, for all its upsides, will only enable that kind of behaviour.'

I felt a flash of righteous indignation at his remark before I realised that despite its bluntness, the hat was right. I always managed to procrastinate, convincing myself that it was better off to put things off for later, that I 'deserved' the rest for doing jack shit.

I'd always heard from friends and family that at some point, enough would be enough. Instead, I was trapped in a vicious cycle of procrastination and self loathing; one I was never able to escape.

'Of course I'm right!' it said haughtily. 'Who do you think I am?'

'So, where to next?'

'Well I'm going to send you somewhere that will force you to shape up.' it said matter of factly, the hat's tone of voice making me feel like an idiot. 'And the only place for that is GRYFFINDOR!'

Removing the hat from my head, I passed it idly over to Professor McGonagall, who looked at me with a soft smile. Nodding at her, I walked over to the Gryffindor table, its occupants welcoming me over with cheers and applause.

I took a seat next to Katie who gave me a friendly shove to the shoulder before dramatically placing a hand on her forehead.

"Couldn't bear to leave me alone, could you?" she said, an amused twinkle in her eye. "I'm just too beautiful for you to resist!"

I snorted, cuffing her over the head much to her chagrin as she pouted at me. "Yeah, yeah, and if that's the case, I'm the second coming of Merlin."

Our exchange, however, was put to an end by an older Gryffindor who leaned over, furiously silencing us, freckles rippling across his face. "It wouldn't do for us to lose house points on the first day back, we'd be the laughingstock of the entire school! Watch the Sorting in silence!"

Katie and I exchanged a look as I clamped my mouth shut, doing my best not to laugh at the seriousness in his voice. With much effort, I tore my gaze away from his flushed face and back to the Sorting.

I noted that a few notable figures had been sorted into the respective houses before Dumbledore stood up, bringing all conversations to a close.

"Good evening!" he said, his voice filling the hall. His majestic beard flowed down his robes, held together neatly by a rubber band. "As you are all no doubt famished from the arduous train journey, I shall not keep you long. A very warm welcome to our new students! I hope that you find your education as fascinating and joyful as the boat ride to the castle grounds. To our returning students, I hope that you have all had an enjoyable holiday amongst your friends and family and are ready to tackle whatever challenges your education throws at you."

His gaze, caring and compassionate, enveloping us like a warm blanket. I had to admit that if I knew nothing of his proficiency in the Mind Arts, I would be completely convinced. I had years of reading fanfiction to blame for my paranoia surrounding Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore.

'Why does he have that many names, anyway?!'

That being said, he could be genuine with his emotions or it may all be a facade and I wasn't willing to risk my neck to find out.

"Now, I only have a few more words to say. Noddy! Squall! Lumber! Heap!"

'Not the traditional Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment and Tweak?' I wondered in mild confusion before the food materialised on the golden platters across the tables. The jugs filled with drink and there was an audible gasp of surprise from the many first years scattered around the hall.

I stacked my plate with anything that caught my fancy, looking at Katie drinking from a goblet and whistling aloud.

"What?" she asked, her mouth full of food.

I wrinkled my nose, my face turning a shade of green. "Either eat or talk but please, for the love of Akatosh, don't do both!"

She flushed, her olive skin taking on a rosy hue before she swallowed her food.

"Why'd you whistle?" she asked once her embarrassment had faded away. "And who's Akatosh?"

"I whistled because I'm surprised that you even like pumpkin juice." I said. "And Akatosh is the Dragon God of Time."

She snorted at what she thought was a joke— little did she know that I was dead serious.

"I don't like pumpkin juice, not really," she began, sloshing around her goblet and looking at the liquid with distaste. "But it's the only thing you can drink around here, isn't it?"

"No, no it's not." I said, showing her my goblet of orange juice.

She spluttered, huffing at the injustice before I offered her an olive branch.

"You just have to explicitly say aloud that you don't like pumpkin juice. The House Elves will take care of the rest." I replied, her face illuminating.

'Talking about House Elves, I wonder if I can employ one… ?' But that was a problem for another day. I set my sights on the plate of food, ready to devour.

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