Hello, readers. This is my first time writing for this website so I hope I live up to all of your expectations. I truly hope you all enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. The story starts off a bit slow, but I have a lot of ideas for it so please just bear with me. Thank you all so much for taking the time to read it, and enjoy :).
"Simon...you have to wake up."
Simon's muddled dream was interrupted by someone gently shaking his arm. He slowly opened his eyes, blinking against the light that immediately met them. He turned to find one of his best friends, Nellie Redford, staring at him with a small smile on her face.
"We've arrived at Hogwarts." She told him as she stood up and began to gather her things. Simon nodded and stood as well, stretching out his stiff muscles. He noticed the others had gone ahead of them to grab a carriage. He followed Nellie out of the compartment and off the train, searching the bustling crowd for the rest of their group. They were already situated in a carriage, which were supposedly pulled by a magical creature called Thestrals. They apparently resembled something of a decaying Pegasus, but despite their unsettling appearance, were actual quite docile in nature. Simon stepped up onto the carriage, before turning and helping Nellie up. The Hufflepuff plopped down between Derek Duncan, who was a Slytherin and Tatiana Morrison, a Ravenclaw. Their group of friends was quite distinguished. Derek, Simon, and Marie Phillips were all Slytherins. Madeline Dumas was a Ravenclaw like Tatiana, while Nicholas Caudwell was in Gryffindor. Despite the fact that most Slytherins and Gryffindors usually had an incredibly hard time getting along, Simon had instantaneously gotten along with his two Gryffindor friends. Of course, he had been introduced to them through Nellie, who's judgment of people he trusted 100%. After all, she had taken the time to break through his defensive walls and earn the place as one of his most trusted friends.
"It's so nice to finally be back home." Nellie sighed, a grin spread across her face. Simon smiled and nodded in agreement, turning to look towards the slowly approaching castle.
"Summer lasted forever." Marie complained. Nicholas nodded in agreement, a frown on his face. Simon knew well that the two of them disliked being home, as both had problems getting along with their parents. It was because of this common ground that they were able to become friends. Nellie had made sure that Marie was introduced to Nicholas first, so that she would be more open-minded when befriending Madeline. It was mainly because of Nellie that they were all so close now. She had literally forced them to communicate with each other. Of course, they were all grateful for her persistence.
"I quite enjoyed my summer. Florida was quite wonderful. The beach was especially beautiful." Tatiana spoke up. Simon noticed her dark skin did seem a bit healthier, as an after affect of spending so much time in the sun.
"Is the beach nice? Did you see any sharks? Or dolphins?" Nellie asked excitedly, eyes sparkling with wonder. Nellie herself didn't come from the richest of families. Vacations for her were basically visiting one of their houses for a day or two. She had never complained though. She simply expressed a deeper interest in their own vacations whenever one of them happened to go on one.
"No, I didn't see either of those. They tend to swim in deeper waters, away from people." Tatiana responded with a small smile. Nellie frowned a bit, but quickly shook off her disappointment.
"What about you sleepy head? How was your summer?" Madeline asked, effectively directing everyone's attention to the brunet. He shrugged, not really knowing how to respond to their question. He hadn't done anything worth bragging about.
"Same as usual, I finished some homework, practiced Quidditch, hung out with you guys." He told them.
"So you did what you do every day." Derek pointed out with a smirk. Simon rolled his eyes at the raven-haired boy. Derek and Simon had started out hating each other. It wasn't until Nellie came along that they started getting along. Simon had never ceased to be amazed at how easily the blonde could see the good in everyone.
"Don't be such a smartass." Marie snapped at Derek, who simply shrugged.
"Smartass is Derek's middle name." Nicholas said, sending him a cheeky smile. Derek narrowed his eyebrows at the dark-haired boy, but didn't respond.
"To be honest, the same thing could be said about you." Nellie pointed out. Nicholas' smile only widened. He was fully aware of his own sarcastic and witty nature.
"Guys, we're here!" Madeline announced excitedly. They immediately made their way off the carriage, grabbing their extra luggage and following the rest of the students down the path towards the castle. Already, Simon could see the cozy yellow glow emitting from the castle, beckoning the students in for a warm welcome and a nice hot meal. Simon watched as Nellie and Madeline skipped, arm in arm, towards the castle, both overly excited to be back. Simon understood their excitement, though. He had no problem admitting that Hogwarts was, and always would be, his second home. In fact, he was almost positive that's how all of the students felt.
As they entered the dining hall, they each said their goodbyes and headed off to join their respective house table. Simon followed Derek and Marie to the Slytherin table, politely nodding his head in greeting to some of his other acquaintances. He took a seat across from Derek and watched as the rest of the students filed in. He couldn't help but find himself wondering who would be joining the Slytherin house this year. As the rest of the second-seventh years founds their seats and settled down, the first-years began to file into the room. Even from his seat, Simon could see the nervousness and excitement he had felt on his own first day of school clearly in their expressions. Headmaster Belius stepped onto the stage and cleared his throat to silence the dining hall. Immediately, all heads were turned towards him. He smiled warmly, his deep green eyes observing the students.
"Good evening, students. I'm always so warmed to see such a lively turnout of young pupils each and every year, both new and familiar. It makes an old man so very excited to see the next generation of wizard leaders present and ready to learn. I hope we all have a wonderful year filled with laughter, friends, and learning both together, and from each other. Without further ado, let the sorting ceremony commence." Belius finished his short speech with a clap of his hands, before stepping back to allow Professor Kechus to begin calling names.
"Rhonda Aileron." He called. A small girl with brown hair and freckles stepped onto the stage, making her way to the sorting hat. Despite her size, she walked with a certain confidence, and there wasn't a trace of fear on her face. The hat was placed onto her head, and was only there for a few moments before the hat called out "RAVENCLAW!". There was loud cheering from the Ravenclaw table as the girl strode over to join her new house, a large grin on her face.
"Molly Anders." A blonde girl stepped up next. The hat barely even grazed the top of her hair before calling out "HUFFLEPUFF!". Molly squealed in excitement and ran to join her house, almost tripping on her way there. Simon immediately knew Nellie would want to befriend her, as she actually had tripped after she had been sorted. After that, the sorting dragged on. Ten students in, nobody had been sorted into Slytherin. Simon found himself feeling quite disappointed. Finally, after the twelfth student went up, Professor Kechus called out "Jeremiah Khandor". A tall boy with sandy hair and icy blue eyes stepped onto the stage. He had the sorting hat on his head for quite some time before it finally called out "SLYTHERIN!". The table exploded in clapping and cheering as he made his way over to the table. He squeezed his way into the small space next to Simon.
"Hey Jeremiah, I'm Simon. Welcome to Slytherin." He said politely. The boy looked straight at him, his eyebrows furrowed as he observed Simon. After a solid minute, Jeremiah turned his gaze to the table without saying a word. Simon felt slightly put off by this and looked at Derek and Marie who simply shrugged. Simon frowned, looking at Jeremiah, who remained stone still staring at the table. Simon shrugged and turned his attention back to the ceremony. By the end of the sorting ceremony, four other students had been sorted into Slytherin. Headmaster Belius gave another short speech welcoming the new students to Hogwarts, before beginning the feast. Simon immediately dug into the turkey and mashed potatoes. The food was delicious, as always. He turned to look at Jeremiah, only to find he wasn't eating anything.
"You know, the food's really good." Simon told him. Jeremiah gave him a side glance, but picked up his fork and slowly began to place food onto his plate. Simon engaged in small talk with Derek and Marie as they finished dinner and enjoyed a slice of apple pie for dessert. After the meal was over, the houses made their way out of the Great Hall and towards their respective common rooms. Simon walked alongside Derek and Marie through the castle, towards the dungeons. He had missed the Slytherin common room. It wasn't exactly cozy, but in his opinion it was way cooler than any of the other common rooms. Once they were in the dungeons, the group arrived at a large stone wall and stopped moving.
"Alright listen up, Slytherins. This is the current password. If you don't hear what it is, it's a real shame for you." The head of the house, Peter McMahon, announced loud enough for everyone to hear. He turned towards the stone wall and in a voice just as loud as the one he had just used, called out "Potions". Simon heard Derek let out a small sigh of disappointment. He turned and gave him a questioning look.
"I was hoping it'd be something a little cooler." He explained with a displeased look on his face. Marie snorted at this, and Simon simply shook his head. The three made their way into the common room. The dimly lit room looked the same as it had the past four years Simon had been at Hogwarts. The black leather sofas, dark green armchairs, blazing emerald fire, skull decorations and dark wood cupboards. All of it was as neat and organized as always. Marie waved goodbye to the two before heading over to talk to Piper Garroway. Simon couldn't but stare at the tall brown-haired beauty.
"I reckon we should start unpacking." Derek sighed, breaking his attention away from her. Simon could tell Derek had no real desire to unpack, and he wasn't exactly jumping for joy at the idea either. However, it had to be done eventually, and it was better to get it out of the way now. Simon followed Derek into the boy's dormitory, where their luggage was already waiting for them at the edge of their beds. Simon sighed and flipped open his trunk, immediately getting down to folding and organizing. He had to make sure his clothes were separated into their respective groups. All of his shirts were folded neatly and color-coordinated. Derek, on the other hand, just shoved his clothes into his drawer in no particular order. It made Simon's OCD kick in, and he usually ended up organizing his drawers for him when he was sleeping. Derek would probably be mad about it for a few hours, but eventually get over it when he realized it was easier to find his clothes. Simon put his neatly folded and organized clothes into his dresser, before plopping down onto his four-poster bed. He hadn't realized how tired he was until he had laid down. He had slept half the train ride here, too.
"Phew, I'm exhausted." Derek huffed as he lay down on his own bed. Simon let out a small grunt of agreement.
"Cheers to a new year, Si." He said with a loud yawn.
"Cheers to a new year, Derek."
We've reached the end, yay! Of this chapter, anyways. Once again, thank you all so much for reading. This chapter was a bit on the short side, but I promise the next chapters will be longer. Comments and constructive criticism are always welcomed and encouraged. Thanks again! :)