Mosag's Colony

My dream, what did it mean when it said, that my new body suits me? Who was I dueling in that courtyard, and where would I learn to duel like that? None of that dream made any sense, the dueling, the whispers, not even that giant turtle in a top hat...

As I lay there looking up at the ceiling, watching the light from the window grow brighter with each minute, I notice something, a familiar sensation overwhelming me...

"Not again..." I groan, as I now realize, I'm gonna puke, and I run my way to the all too familiar scene of my reflection in a toilet bowl. My body will take some getting used to the Polyjuice Potions. Harry had told me that I would need to take one in the morning, one at noon, and one before bed, every single day. He also said that after long enough, the potions would go down easier, and the effects last a bit longer as my body stops rejecting it.

Green this time, my puke was green with these odd swirls of blue. Like I'd puked up a Bluebird and its lunch... Thankfully, Harry also packed me enough mouthwash for life. As I reach into my bag to pull out the mouthwash, my hand stops immediately after going in. My holster is still on my arm from last night, and the wand inside of it. I guess some wands don't like the idea of being inside a spacial rift, which in my opinion is fair enough. So I instead reach in with my left hand to grab the mouthwash.

After getting my bags ready, I go over to Bertha's cage, and to my surprise, Bertha is lying asleep in the shade inside the cage. I guess the shop owner wasn't lying after all. I close the cage door with a small creek and pick up the cage, grab my trunk, my bag, and head off downstairs to meet up with Harry.

Once I got downstairs, I set my stuff up near the front door, and take a seat on the couch with The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1. I flip open the book and search through it, taking in all the memories. As I flip through the pages, I recognize an easy spell, Lumos, and I thought I might try it. Then I remember that underage magic is illegal, but would that even affect me since I'm only underage with a Polyjuice Potion? Perhaps I should ask Harry before I give it a go.

Finally 7:30 rolls around and Harry comes downstairs looking for me.

"Ah, I see you got up on your own huh? Well, let's eat breakfast real quick and we'll be on our way." He says, and orders 2 plates of hotcakes and bangers. (Pancakes and Sausages)

As we sit down at a table and begin to eat our breakfast, I decide to ask him about spellcasting.

"So I'd just like to double check before something goes wrong, If I cast magic right now, would they get me with the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery?" I ask Harry, as I cut into one of my hotcakes.

"Funny thing, I asked Hermione the same question. She said that since your real body is well overage, there won't be any detection issues. So I'd say feel free, but try to keep it away from muggles, other than that you should be ok." He says, now almost finished with his breakfast.

"If that's the case, I'm going to practice as much as I can, I haven't cast a proper spell since my old wand was broken." As I say this, I feel my wand shift in its holster, and suddenly my arm feels a little chilly.

"Careful Jasper, some wands are sensitive to what you say. I wouldn't talk about your old wand too much." Harry says, pointing out the sudden small layer of frost on my arm. "Anyway we should get going, you can practice all you want on the train ride to Hogwarts."

After he says this we both stand up from our seats, he leaves a Galleon on the table and we head out the front door with my school supplies. Once we're on the street, Harry calls a taxi and after loading up, we get in and he tells him to head for King Cross.

(30 minutes later)

"Alright boys, have a good day, and mind the weather!" The taxi driver says as we finish unloading our belongings.

"You too, sir!" Harry yells back as we walk ahead into Kings Cross Station.

As we approach, I see a few living statues making a show off to the side, and can hear the trains inside. The entrance feels so much larger now, the clock at the top of the center tower reads 10:15, and we head in through the small glass area on the left side of the building. Once inside, the roof feels almost like a dome now, with a white cross pattern in the ceiling and the only sunlight comes in from the doors around the building.

We begin to make our way to the platform, doing our best to avoid prying Muggle eyes. Oddly enough, nobody seems surprised by the large pet tarantula in its cage, though Bertha certainly does not appreciate all the noise and people. Kings Cross is much different now than when I brought Harry. There's so much more security, electronic boards tell what trains have arrived, and I see more foreigners now than I've seen in a long time.

As we make our way to platform 9, we cross the bridge that I left young Harry on before he went to Platform 9 ¾. In retrospect that probably wasn't the best thing to do... But I could only reminisce for a second before we needed to get going. The muggles had clogged up the doorway into kings cross and we didn't have much time left to catch the train.

We made our way down the stairs of the bridge, onto the cross-section between platforms 9 and 10. Moving down the cross section we finally reach our entry point, thankfully the security guards weren't around this time. It always concerned me though, an open entrance like this, and no security or muggle has just accidentally stumbled in. Regardless, I'm glad they haven't.

"Ready Jasper?" Harry says to me, patting me on the back.

"As ready as I'll ever be..." I say, a little concerned about running through a wall.

"I know it's been a while but I'll tell you what I was told my first time," Harry says with a smile, now leaning over to my shoulder. "Now, all you've got to do is walk straight at the wall between platforms 9 and 10. Best do it at a bit of a run if you're nervous." He explains while pointing at the wall and giving me a pat on the back.

I take a deep gulp and take my charge at the wall, I'm afraid, but it'll be ok. Every student has done this every year.... I take a running start at the wall, with a tight grip on my cart, I can't believe this, I can almost remember the feeling to pass through the wall...

*CRASH* My cart and trunk go flying as I slam into the wall, knocking the wind out of me. I lay on the ground for a second, stunned and confused, as I feel Bertha scuttle up my leg and into my coat. Harry then helps me to my feet, wiping the dust off of me.

"Oh no not again..." He says checking the time. "Wait, we've got plenty of time, why didn't it work?" He looks around the platform, helping me gather my belongings.

"Wait a minute..." Harry says, stepping back from the pillar and looking around. He then comes back over to me with a red face, trying not to laugh. "So uh..." He lets out a stifled laugh, "This is the wrong side of the pillar..."

"You're kidding me right?" I say, pulling my now half crumpled cart around the side of the pillar. "You're not kidding..." I then move my cart around to the other side of the pillar.

"So uh, did you catch what I said last time, or did the impact knock it out of you?" Harry says, still holding back a laugh.

"I'm good," I say, pushing my hand through the actual entrance to Platform 9 ¾. "Let's get going," I say, pulling my cart through the entrance with Harry following up behind.

The lighting changed dramatically, now the roof of the platform is glass, sunlight peeking through, giving the whole platform a warm yellow tint. Bertha crawls out of my sleeve and back to her cage, letting me open it for her. She then scuttles inside, and lays down, happy that she's safe once more.

The train is here, the gusts of steam make the air feel warm and humid. There are several other students here with their parents. All of them either being waved off as their parents go off about their day or being helped with luggage or having one last conversation with their emotional parents. I felt a little left out since my parents would never be here.

"Let's go get your luggage sorted out, I'm sure they still have the old compartments from back in my day," Harry says, patting me on the back.

"Alright..." I say, now following him towards the people helping out with the luggage.

"What's the name, sir?" Asks the Trainmaster to Harry.

"Jasper Woodloch, First year, 11 years old," Harry states confidently.

"Woodloch, Woodloch, ah here he is." the Trainmaster makes a mark on a clipboard. "Right this way!" he says, now leading us to one of the rear cars.

"Put your luggage in here, and if you have a pet, keep it with you, with the windows shut. We don't need another Longbottom incident." the Trainmaster says as he heads towards the front of the train.

After putting my luggage away, we head back up to the passenger cars. I notice that the cars have some webbing hanging off the bottom. Not too much but it seems to really be caked on there. No signs of spider either, but Bertha seems to get a little agitated at the sight of it.

Once we reached the passenger cars, it was time for me to board the train. Harry gets on one knee in front of me, so he's eye level with me.

"Are you ready? It's going to be a long train ride, probably around 6 ½ hours or so depending on the weather." Harry said, with a sigh.

"I'll be alright Harry, don't worry. It's not my first time on the train." I say, feeling rather awkward.

"There will be one more surprise for you when you reach Hogwarts, and here," He hands me a few Galleons and Sickles, "Buy yourself some sweets on the ride, the chocolate frogs are amazing," Harry says and gives me an awkward hug, and a pat on the back.

"Nobody should mess with you too much, I hope you make some friends on the train too. Oh, and don't forget to take your umm, medication." He says with a wink.

"Thank you, Harry, honestly, this means the world to me. Well, I guess I'll see you around Christmas maybe." I say and get onto the train, taking an empty room facing the platform, setting Bertha's cage down next to me. The train gives a small chug and sets off into motion. I look back at the platform one last time, and I see Harry waving at me.

"Have a great trip Jasper!!" He yells, waving at me. I wave back with the biggest grin ever. This is going to be a good ride, I just know it.

(15 minutes later)

We've only just gotten out of the city, and Bertha seems to have settled down in my lap, fast asleep. It's only 11:15 and it already seems like a long day. I hear other passengers playing around, talking about Hogwarts, sweets, and Hogsmeade. I decided to take my Polyjuice Potion now before I forget.

As I go to drink the potion, another First Year barges in, clearly out of breath. I quickly chug the potion and toss it in my bag, hoping he didn't see it.

"Hiya, sorry about that, we were just uh horsing around..." He says, slowly going pale, staring right at my lap. I look down, Bertha is standing straight up, clicking her teeth together.

"Easy girl, he doesn't mean any harm," I say to Bertha, gently stroking her back and getting her to lie back down. "Don't worry, she won't bite, she just doesn't like loud noises. You might be able to pet her if you like." I say, looking back up at the pale First Year, his eyes a pale blue, and his straight hair a dark shade of grey.

"Are you sure? She seemed pretty angry a moment ago..." he says, easing up a little bit.

"I'm sure, here," I say, picking Bertha up in my hand, and gently setting her on the seat beside him. "Just open your hand and place it on the seat. If she likes you she'll hop right up."

"O-okay..." he says, as he hesitantly lowers his hand to the seat. Bertha instantly backs up from him in surprise.

"It's okay Bertha, he won't hurt you," I say, giving her a stroke on the back. She then moves towards his hand and places one foot on his wrist. After a few moments, she lifts herself up onto his hand and settles down.

"Okay, now try to pet her. Stroke her from head to back with two fingers." I say to the First year. He does so and Bertha immediately seems much calmer than she was before. "See what'd I tell you."

"So what's your name?" The boy asks.

"Ha-" I stop myself remembering that I can't say that name. "Jasper Woodloch, First year. What about you?" I ask back.

"Giles Leva, First Year, at your service." He says with a nod, "So umm, what kind of wand do you have? Mines, 12 Inches, Ebony, with Phoenix Tail Feather."

"Oh mine, umm hang on," I say as I roll down my sleeve a small bit and unlatch the cap of my wand holster. I then give my arm a flick, my wand comes sliding up into my hand.

"Whoa!" Giles exclaims, "That was awesome, I've never seen a holster like that!"

"Thanks," I say, "Ollivander gave it to me with my wand." I raise my wand up gently. "Elderwood, 12 inches, and..." I pause for a moment, considering my words... There's no way he'd know the magnitude of the core. "And Lethifold Essence core."

"What..." he says, taken aback. "You. You're joking right?" He immediately opens the door, checks outside, and closes it again. "And you got that from Ollivanders, correct?" he asks quietly.

"Yea, I-" I begin but he cuts me off.

"That's the rarest core of them all. From what I read all the wands with that essence self-destructed after creation, or were locked away and thrown to the bottom of the ocean. They're said to be the best wands for dueling in the world." He explains, clearly enthralled by the idea of the wand.

Just then the train jerks a small bit, the lights flicker, and we continue on again. Giles and I both look out the window to see what's going on. Outside everything seems relatively alright, however, Bertha suddenly leaps over to my shoulder then the window, seeming very agitated. I can't imagine what she's so mad about.

I set Bertha back onto the seat, and Giles sits down as well. Bertha immediately scuttles over to Giles and lays down in his lap. Looking around I check my watch that Harry had so kindly shoved into my pocket when we hugged at the train station. 1:45 PM it read. Still, a long ways to go.

"I think I'm gonna catch the sweets cart, be right back!" I say and head towards the door.

"Alright, I'll get some too when you come back. Don't want to leave Bertha alone." Giles says, gently stroking Bertha on the back.

As I go to open the door, I make sure I have my money on me and that I have a good grip on it. I slide open the door, and to my surprise, the sweets cart is right there, and a lady is waiting for me.

"Did I hear someone say, sweets?" She says with a pearly white smile.

"U-um yes, ma'am. I was about to head out and buy some." I say slightly panicked.

"Don't worry about it deary, I've always had perfect timing, what would you like?" She says as she begins to sort through the cart.

"How much would this get me?" I say as I pull out my money. She goes wide-eyed and then instantly closes her eyes like she remembered something.

"Well good news, you can buy the entire cart with only half of that." She says, almost irritatedly but still smiling. "Would that be ok or is it too much?" I look over to my new found friend and think for a moment. We have several hours left on the ride...

"We'll take the lot!" I say enthusiastically. She then pushes the cart inside the room, I hand her the Galleons and she splits it by how much I had to pay, then leaves the room.

"What... The bloody hell... Was that?" Giles looks at me, with his jaw open in surprise. "I don't pay attention for two seconds, and you literally buy the entire sweets cart! Who the heck are your parents??" He exclaims.

"You honestly don't want to know," I say back, tossing him a chocolate frog and grabbing one for my own. "Help me eat this, I can't eat the whole thing on my own."

I sit down with a chocolate frog and pour a box of Bacon and Cheese flavored crickets on the seat next to me. Bertha hops from Giles to the floor, then to the seat next to me and begins eating the crickets. As I unwrap my chocolate frog, the foil seems much softer than expected. I go to open it and... I can't, the box simply won't open.

"Hey Giles, can you get this open for me, I think it's stuck," I say and hand him the box. He immediately opens it up without a problem.

"Hey, you got a new one! It's Rubeus Hagrid from Hogwarts. He's the groundskeeper!" he says and hands it to me. As I look into it, the chocolate frog stares back at me, and the portrait that would have me in it is empty.

"He's gone!" I say, actually surprised at my own disappearance.

"Well you can't expect him to hang around all day, can you?" he says back, now opening a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.

(4:15 PM)

"Ughh, I think I ate too much," Giles says from the seat across from mine.

"I think I did as well," I say, holding my stomach. "Maybe we should get some fresh air." I get up and gently pick up the now full Bertha, and put her back in her cage beneath the seat. I then move my way over to the window and open it up, however, the moment I do, the train gives a much larger jerk this time throwing me onto the seat opposite mine. I feel the car rumble a little as if we hit something, and then get back up to speed.

"What the bloody hell was that?" I say, "Giles, you alright?"

"Totally, totally, not alright," He says sluggishly and hangs his head over the trash can. I poke my head out the window, letting the wind rush through my hair. Many of the trees outside are dead, huge layers of webs are hanging off of them, and black dots move in the distance.

"What in Dumbledore's name happened?" I ask myself, as I hear Bertha relentlessly scratching at her cage.

"What's wrong girl? Are you ok?" I say looking down at her, then looking around at the train. It has a heavier layer of webs on it now, probably from excess that floated up into the air. The car gives another thump, and I look down to see what it was. A large hairy leg is wrapped up over the bottom edge of the train, It moves and the car gives another thump, knocking me backward onto the ground.

I take my wand out of its holster and quickly try to remember some of the spells in that textbook. The large hairy leg reaches over the corner of the window, then another one moves in the opposite corner. Why is this happening? There should be no reason for this, in my panic I can't seem to remember a single spell from that book.

The legs start to move again, moving further and further up, then I see two more, outstretched further apart. As it moves, up ahead comes into view, It's an Acromantula, probably about a year old. It moves up the side of the train and notices that my window is open. It sticks its head in the window, then one of its hairy legs as well. In my panic, I remember that in Ollivanders, a simple swish at least had some effect.

I point my wand at the Acromantula and give it a flick. The tip begins to glow green and then dies. The Acromantula now fitting two legs inside the window.

"Please work!" I say giving my wand another flick, and the green light returns even brighter. The Acromantula now pushing its way inside, clicking its mandibles. Finally, the green light glows blindingly bright, and a large green ball shoots out of it, knocking the Acromantula from the window and off of the train. I quickly get up and close the window as fast as I can.

"We will never speak of this event," I say to Giles, who I now realize is passed out on his seat. I holster my wand gently, locking the cap, and look around at the cabin. Looking down I notice that there is a large black orb stuck underneath the sweets cart. Once I pick it up I realize, it's an Acromantula eye. I quickly store it in my bag, knowing that they are hard to come by and great in potions.

I reach down and check on Bertha to see if she's alright. She seems a bit angry but is calming down by the second. Probably best to leave her alone for now.

"You awake Giles?" I say half-heartedly. No response, but he's definitely breathing. "Yea, you're right. Probably time for a nap..." I respond to his heavy breathing and lay down on the seat.

"I'm so gonna have nightmares from this," I say rolling over to face the back of the seat, and promptly pass out...

(7:00 PM, Hogsmeade Station)

"Wake up! Wake up Jasper, we're here!" Giles says shaking me on the seat. I jump up, almost out of my skin. "We're here man, grab Bertha, all the sweets you can, and let's go!" He says, filling his pockets up with sweets.

Once I collected Bertha, and a healthy collection of sweets, we got off the train with the rest of the First Years from our car. The air is damp, and the platform is lit by a few lamps and hanging lights. Looking over at the side of the car, I notice that the paint is scratched up, and there's a bit of blast residue surrounding the window of the room I was in.

"First years this way! I repeat first years this way" I hear a familiar voice calling, from one side of the platform. As I make my way over to the voice, I can't believe what I see. I see ME standing there leading the First years to where they need to be.

"Giles, wait here, will you? I need to ask this guy something." I say, Giles nods, pulling a few jelly beans out of his pocket. As I walk over to, well me, I see me? This is hard to explain even to myself.

"U-um hello?" I say to me, and me, the other me, looks down at me with a smile.

"I told you there was one last surprise." He says to me, and I soon realize what he meant as I instantly give him a hug. It's Harry, he's my replacement until I graduate!