The platform was busier than he expected, in fact, he had rarely seen this many young witches and wizards in the one place before. Children hugged their parents goodbye, others ran off as quickly as they could, eager to be reunited with their friends.
As eager as Teddy Lupin had been to finally go to Hogwarts, now that the time had come he felt frozen in place.
"I think it's time to get on board, Teddy," his Gran said to him quietly. She had a protective hand on his shoulder as she surveyed the platform. Her dark hair, still showing no signs of grey, was pulled back into a tight bun and her dark hooded eyes were narrowed as she scanned the crowds. She had a regal air inherited from her Black ancestry. Onlookers might have mistaken her for her sister, but Teddy knew her as the warm, kind and loving woman who had raised him.
"I'm going to miss you so much," she said pulling him into a hug. Rather than trying to squirm free from her embrace as he had recently began to do, instead Teddy squeezed her tightly. When she let go, Teddy turned to say goodbye to the other parental figure in his life, his godfather.
"You're going to love Hogwarts, Teddy," Harry said smiling. "The best years of your life."
"Let's hope your time there is a lot safer than your godfather's," Andromeda said wearily.
Harry smiled. "There's nothing to worry about any more."
Teddy was aware, as he usually was when he was in public with his godfather, that people were staring at them. Harry had obviously become so accustomed to being stared at that he didn't let it bother him. It did however, make Teddy rather uncomfortable.
"Watch the hair, Ted," Harry muttered. Teddy immediately became aware that he was changing his hair colour without realising. He made sure that it was his natural colour. His Gran simply rolled her eyes at Harry's warning.
"It's better to keep these things a secret, Andromeda," Harry said. "It could save him one day."
"You've been fighting Dark Wizards for too long, Harry," Andromeda said. "I've raised one metamorphmagus and let me tell you, there's no keeping it a secret where teenagers are concerned."
The large red steam engine next to them sounded its horn, alerting stragglers to the imminent departure of the train.
"Best be getting onto the train, Teddy," Harry said hugging him one last time.
"Stay safe, Teddy," his Gran said embracing him tightly. "I know your mum and dad would be so proud of you right now." She released him and as he turned to wave at his Gran and Harry one last time, he could swear that he saw tears in her eyes.
Once the train left the platform, Teddy became distinctly aware that he didn't know a single soul on the Hogwarts Express. So rarely in his life had he not been surrounded by people who he had known since he was a small child.
He knew that the Hogwarts Express was where Harry had met Ron, his best friend. Teddy couldn't help but feel that it was important for him to find friends on the train. However, he quickly realised finding a compartment with a seat would be harder than he thought.
He had almost reached the end of the train when he finally opened a door to reveal a carriage that only housed two occupants, a boy and a girl. It was a stroke of luck that they also appeared to be new.
"Hi, are you two first years?" Teddy asked. They both nodded. "Mind if I sit?"
"Yeah, go for it," said the boy cheerily.
"I'm Teddy," he said introducing himself.
"I'm Fionn," said the boy. "It's an Irish name," he said quickly noticing Teddy's confusion. It was then that Teddy noticed that the boy did have a rather thick Irish accent.
"This is Chloe," he said gesturing towards the girl next to him. She smiled at Teddy. She had bright blue eyes and long blonde hair tied in a high ponytail.
"Have you always known about magic?" she asked.
"Yeah, all my family is magic," Teddy said.
"Christ, that's a relief," Fionn said. "Both of us only found out we were magic a few months ago. We were hoping to meet someone who can explain some things to us."
"You're both muggle-borns! That's wicked. Muggles are so interesting. How do they live without magic? It's crazy," Teddy asked rapidly.
"Not as crazy as finding out magic is real!"
Teddy chatted happily to Fionn and Chloe. They were asking him very strange questions about the wizarding world that he had never thought of before. The conversation eventually shifted to Hogwarts houses.
"I've read about them," Chloe said excitedly. "Where do you think you'll be?"
"I think I'm a Gryffindor," Fionn said confidently.
"What makes you so sure?" Teddy asked, although, having only known Fionn for about an hour, he didn't doubt that he would be.
Fionn shrugged. "I've asked all my family and they said they think I'm brave. I'm not smart or ambitious or – what's the other one?"
"Hufflepuff's take the rest," Chloe said. "I don't know where I belong." She looked suddenly upset.
"Don't worry about it, Chloe," Teddy said in an attempt to cheer her up. "All the houses are good in their own ways." She smiled at him.
"Where do you want to go, Teddy?" Fionn asked.
"My mum was a Hufflepuff and my dad was in Gryffindor so either one of those would be great," he said. "Oh, and my Gran was a Slytherin but I don't think I'll end up there."
In truth, Teddy wanted nothing more than to be in Gryffindor like his dad and Harry.
"Does it usually depend on your family?" Chloe asked.
"Sometimes, but everyone is different." This was something that his Gran had been telling him for months. She knew that he wanted to be in Gryffindor like his father but she wanted to protect him from disappointment.
The carriage door slid open and two twin girls who appeared to be first years walked in.
"Are you first years?" one of the girls asked. She didn't wait for a response. "I'm Isabella and this is my sister Emmeline. We're trying to find all of the first years before we arrive at the castle."
"It's always better to be prepared," her sister Emmeline continued. "We have a rather small year so it will be easy to find everyone."
"Why is our year so small?" Fionn asked.
Emmeline and Isabella exchanged a glance. "Well, isn't it obvious?" Emmeline said patronisingly. Fionn looked at Teddy for an answer who looked just as confused as he did.
"Eleven years ago You-Know-Who was at the height of his power," Isabella explained in a rather pompous voice. "Very few witches and wizards wanted to have children during times like that."
"So our year is very small," continued Emmeline. "I think half the year must be muggle-born."
"We're muggle-born," Chloe said.
"All three of you?" Isabella asked raising an eyebrow.
"Of course, he isn't," Emmeline said gesturing towards Teddy. "You're Teddy Lupin. You were with Harry Potter on the platform."
"Err… yeah. How did you know who I was?" Teddy asked taken aback.
"We read the Daily Prophet society pages," Isabella said. "It's important to know about the important people in our society."
"Right, well lovely to meet you," Teddy said. He didn't like how they knew his name. He knew Harry was famous but he didn't realise how that would affect him.
"We haven't got what we've come here for. What are your names?" Isabella demanded abruptly.
"Chloe Shaw."
"Fionn O'Brien."
"We'll see you at the sorting," Emmeline said as they left in a flurry. "Perhaps we'll all be in Ravenclaw together."
"Are all witches like that?" Fionn asked, a slightly stunned expression on his face.
"I hope not," Teddy mumbled.
"How did she know your name?" Chloe asked. "Are you famous or something?" Teddy groaned. He was hoping that Chloe and Fionn had somehow missed that part of the interaction.
"I'm not famous," Teddy said. "My godfather and a lot of my family are though. He came with me to the platform, they saw me with him."
"Why is he famous?" Fionn asked curiously. "Would we know of him? I didn't realise that wizards had their own celebrities."
"I think I read the name Harry Potter in one of the history books," Chloe said thoughtfully.
Teddy paused. How did he explain in simple terms why Harry was so famous?
"He's not famous amongst muggles, so you've probably never heard of him. There was a war, well two wars. The last one ended about eleven years ago. Harry defeated the dark wizard and ended the war. He's a hero." He said the last part rather proudly. He caught sight of Fionn and Chloe's faces. They looked perturbed rather than impressed by his words as he had expected.
"I didn't know there were wars in the magical world," Fionn said.
"I read a bit about them," Chloe said softly. "The last war sounded really awful. So many people died in battle."
Teddy nodded. "Harry says that my par – the people who died, fought so that we can be safe. I'm sure you'll hear a lot more about it when we're at Hogwarts."
"It is safe now, isn't it?" Chloe asked, worry evident on her face.
"Hogwarts is the safest place to be," Teddy assured her. "There's no danger anymore."
Rather than dwelling on the war, Teddy changed the subject to what he had heard of the castle and the different classes they would be taking. Having never heard even the most mundane details about life in the magical world, they hung onto his every word. Teddy enjoyed the rest of the journey, and found himself getting on very well with Fionn and Chloe despite their different backgrounds. He even found himself questioning some surprisingly strange aspects of the muggle world. The fact that he had never watched television seemed to shock and amaze Fionn and Chloe.
They soon arrived at Hogsmeade Station. Despite it only being the 1st of September, the air was chilly and the students could see their breath as they huddled together.
"Firs' years this way!" Teddy recognised the booming voice instantly.
"Hello Hagrid!" he greeted the half-giant. Hagrid's face broke into a wide smile.
"Teddy, m'boy!" he boomed. "Harry's warned me ter keep an eye on you," he said with a wink. "Not that you'll be any trouble!"
Teddy grinned back at Hagrid and introduced him to Fionn and Chloe. Chloe seemed quite terrified of Hagrid, who, Teddy had to agree, might seem rather frightening if you had never met him before.
"I didn't know giants existed," Fionn whispered as he sat into one of the boats with Chloe and Teddy. "What's next, trolls?"
"Every mythical creature that you've ever heard of exists," said the fourth member of their boat. A small boy with a mop of blonde hair had joined them.
"What like fairies and mermaids?" asked Chloe, eyes wide in amazement.
"Yes, and goblins and vampires and werewolves." Chloe's eyes widened again, but this time in fear.
The boat had set sail at this point. They were in the middle of the Great Lake. The rounded a corner and emerged through some thick willow branches. The sight that met Teddy took his breath away. It was better than he had ever imagined. He had been to the castle before but had never come over the lake. The view was one he would remember forever.
The shortly arrived to the castle and Hagrid ushered them inside the castle. All of the first years were spinning their heads around, eagerly trying to drink in as much of their surroundings as possible.
They gathered in a room next to the Great Hall. It was only then that Teddy realised how few students there were in his year. There was hardly more than twenty people in the room, each looking more nervous than the last.
"I'm supposed to tell you all about the Hogwarts houses," Hagrid said. "There's Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. All o' them are good, no matter what ye hear. Work hard and you'll earn points but if yer bad ye'll lose 'em. Got it? I think that's all. Professor Flitwick will take ye in a mo'."
Sure enough, moments later the large doors swung open and a tiny wizard came out. "Welcome first years! I'm Professor Flitwick," he squeaked. "I trust Hagrid explained everything necessary?"
The first years nodded and murmured a response.
"Excellent!" Professor Flitwick beamed. He opened the large door leading to the Great Hall. "We're all ready in here, Hagrid" he chirped. "Come on first years, let's get to it."
As they walked through the Great Hall, the other first years around Teddy began swivelling their heads around and craning their necks in an attempt to take in all of their surroundings. The Great Hall truly was magnificent.
Despite the wonder that surrounded him, at the back of his mind, Teddy couldn't shake the thought that this was the room in which Harry had defeated Voldemort. His parents had died there. He tried to shake himself from his thoughts and stay in the moment. As he did, his stomach was yet again in knots as he thought about the sorting.
Professor Flitwick stood at the top of the hall in front of the staff table. Teddy scanned the staff table and was happy to see some familiar faces. He caught Neville's – Professor Longbottom's as he should now call him – eye and he gave him a cheery wave. Teddy managed a grin back at him.
Professor Flitwick stepped forward a placed a battered old hat on a stool. The students in the Hall sat up intently staring at the hat, as if waiting for it to do something. Suddenly, the brim of the hat broke open and the hat began to sing.
Once the hat had finished its song, the room broke out in applause. Teddy glanced around at the other first years. They were all looking as surprised by the singing hat as he was. How had nobody told him that all they had to do was try on an old hat.
Once the applause had died down, Professor Flitwick shuffled forward and the first student was called up to be sorted.
"Cornelius Birch."
A tall boy with hair neatly combed to one side walked to the front of the Hall. The room fell into silence as he took sat onto the stool, the Sorting Hat covering his eyes. The silence that encapsulated the Great Hall was deafening. About thirty seconds later the hat shouted;
"Ravenclaw!"
Applause broke out as Cornelius joined the Ravenclaw table and was greeted with pats on the back by his new housemates.
Helena Bulstrode, a rather burly looking girl was sorted into Slytherin next followed by Hugh Corner to Ravenclaw and Arthur Crow to Slytherin.
"Emmeline Forsythe." One of the twins who had spoken to Teddy on the train walked up to the stool. She gave her sister a parting glance before striding with confidence towards the Sorting Hat, her long ponytail swishing behind her. The hat had barely touched her head when it shouted "Ravenclaw!" Emmeline skipped towards the Ravenclaw table. Teddy noticed that her sister Isabelle looked considerably paler.
"Isabelle Forsythe." Whatever nerves she had been feeling had vanished and Isabelle glided towards the top of the room as her sister had done. The hat took no longer to sort her and she was happily joining Emmeline at the Ravenclaw table within seconds.
Christopher Lehmann became the first Gryffindor before Teddy's name was called.
"Teddy Lupin."
In the moment, all Teddy could focus on was keeping his hair the one colour. He wouldn't allow his abilities to betray his emotions. He walked to the top of the room and Professor Flitwick greeted him with a cheery smile.
"Teddy Lupin, I can't believe you're here already," he said with a sad smile. Teddy gave him a nervous smile in return and sat on the stool. Teddy's eyes scanned the crowd before they were blocked from his view as the hat covered his eyes.
"Well, well, well," a voice echoed inside his head. "It's been quite a while since I've had a Lupin on this stool. What are we going to do about you?"
Teddy felt the need to respond but he was left not knowing what to say. What was the hat going to do with him?
"You're a complicated one, Teddy Lupin," the hat said slowly. "Very intelligent, loyal and kind, like your mother, ambitious like your Grandmother, and brave like your father."
"Gryffindor," Teddy heard himself thinking. "I want to be in Gryffindor."
"You've got a lot to live up to, Mr Lupin. It's not going to be easy. Only one place for you… GRYFFINDOR!"
The crowd of students once again erupted in applause and Teddy could feel himself grinning from ear to ear. He joined the Gryffindor table and at once felt like he belonged. Several of the older students patted him on the back and welcomed him to the house. He sat next to Christopher Lehmann, the only other Gryffindor first year up until that point. He beamed at Christopher who then turned away to watch the next students be sorted.
Several other students were sorted and had joined their tables before Fionn's name was called. The tall boy half walked and half ran to the top of the hall. He caught Teddy's eye just before the hat went over his eyes and Teddy was surprised to see that he looked rather calm. Perhaps it was because he was a muggle-born and had no familial ties to any house. But Teddy thought it was something else. Fionn had seemed so confident that he would be in Gryffindor. Would that confidence be realised?
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Within a couple of seconds, the hat had made its decision. Fionn leapt from the stool and joined the Gryffindor table, sitting opposite Teddy.
"I knew I was a Gryffindor!" he exclaimed, eyes alight with excitement.
"Didn't doubt you, mate!" Teddy replied, happy that he would have at least one person who he got on well with in his house.
Several more names were called before another Gryffindor was sorted. Amina Shafiq – Teddy could have sworn he recognised the name Shafiq from somewhere. She was a petite girl with dark eyes, heavy brows and long black hair in a plait down her back. She had looked mildly shocked to be sorted into Gryffindor and had looked over towards the Slytherin table. She joined her fellow Gryffindors and Teddy gave her a warm smile which she returned rather shyly.
The fifth and final Gryffindor to join them was Chloe Shaw. Teddy and Fionn cheered loudly when she was sorted and Chloe joined them looking rather embarrassed at their blatant displays of enthusiasm.
The sorting soon finished with Laura Williams becoming a Hufflepuff. Once the last student had been sorted, Professor McGonagall rose form her seat to address the students.
"Welcome one and all to another year at Hogwarts. To our first years, I hope you find a home here at Hogwarts and experience everything that the school has to offer you.
"Many of you may notice that this year's first year group is significantly smaller than in previous years. It would be disrespectful not to comment on the fact. However, this year marks the first year in which Hogwarts students were born after the war. These students have grown up in a safe world. Granted, the tragedies of the war still impact all of our lives and I know that the same can be said for our new students.
"Eleven years later, I ask you to abide by Hogwarts' unspoken rules; unity, tolerance, and love. We are working to create a society of equality and acceptance. We may not be there yet, but as long as I am in Hogwarts, I will do my utmost to ensure that every student who leaves this school has those ethos."
The room was silent as Professor McGonagall scanned the room seriously. Her face broke into a small smile. "I won't keep you from your dinners any longer. Let us celebrate another year together." She raised her arms and the large plates on the tables magically filled with food. The students happily dug in.
"Lads, this is unreal," Fionn exclaimed. "The three of us were sorted into the same house after sitting together on the train." Teddy grinned back. What were the odds that he had found his friends on the Hogwarts Express like Harry had?
"I'm gutted I didn't find you lot on the train," Amina said. "It would have been dead convenient to meet my housemates before."
"Where were you sitting?" Chloe asked.
"With my brother and his friends," Amina said. She hesitated, her eyes darting towards the table on the far side of the room. "He's in Slytherin. I think he hoped I would be there with him."
"Sure you'll still see him around," Fionn said. Amina nodded sadly. Teddy understood the meaning behind the feelings. Certain families, particularly Slytherins, were not happy when one of their own was sorted elsewhere. It was likely that Amina was from an old pure-blood family and was about to face some backlash.
"Were all of your family in Slytherin?" Teddy asked.
"They can be traced back to the house for almost one thousand years" she said. "One of the noble and ancient pureblood houses. I may be blasted off the family tree by a few distant relatives." She said it with a hint of disgust.
"I know all about that," Teddy said thinking of the tapestry on the wall at Grimmauld Place. "My Gran was a Black. I'm half-blood though – she married a muggle born and was disowned." This didn't seem to shock Amina.
Chloe and Fionn were listening to the conversation with curiosity. Teddy expected talk about noble houses and blood status was unusual to a muggle-born. It was becoming less of an important topic in recent years but in some communities the prejudice remained. His Gran had always told him that blood-status meant nothing and you should only be judged by your actions. He couldn't argue with her given that she had abandoned pure-blood society and her family to marry the man she loved.
"My parents won't be angry," Amina said surely. "My brother will come around to it but my parents will be happy if I am." She turned to Chloe, clearly wanting to change the subject. "I guess it's just going to be the two of us in the girls' dorm," she said changing the subject.
The feast was well under way at that point. He had never seen as much food in his entire life – and he thought there was a lot of food at Christmas dinner at the Burrow.
Teddy spent the feast happily chatting to Amina, Fionn and Chloe, as well as some of the older students who were sitting around them. By the time they finished their meal, Teddy was feeling rather tired. Professor McGonagall once again rose from her seat and dismissed the students.
Teddy and the other first years followed the Gryffindor prefects to Gryffindor tower. Teddy had heard so much about it from Harry and the Weasley's that he felt like he already knew the place.
He followed Fionn and Christopher towards their dorm where three large four poster beds sat invitingly. The three boys set to unpacking their belongings straight away. Fionn had some muggle posters of bands and sports teams he liked. Teddy was shocked that the people in the pictures were not moving and when he asked Fionn the reason, he had inexplicably started roaring with laughter.
"I don't think I'll ever understand how muggles live," Teddy said when Fionn had calmed down. "What about you Christopher, have you been around muggles much?"
Christopher, their third roommate had been mostly silent the entirety of the evening. He hadn't joined their conversation at dinner and was quietly unpacking his trunk while Teddy and Fionn talked noisily to one another.
"No," Christopher said without looking up from his trunk. Fionn and Teddy gave one another equally confused expressions.
"Will your family be happy you're in Gryffindor?" Teddy asked, trying to make conversation lest the awkwardness take over the room.
"My father went to Durmstrang," he said simply. "He thinks the division of houses in Hogwarts is trivial."
"That's good, I suppose," Teddy said, not really sure what to make of his second roommate. He didn't know much about the other wizarding schools. He knew Victoire's mother had gone to Beauxbatons and had heard rumours that Durmstrang was involved in the Dark Arts but that was the extent of his knowledge.
"I'm sure my parents will just be happy I've survived this long," Fionn joked. "They told me to send them a letter since I can't text or call them and computers or internet don't work here. How do I do that?"
Teddy needed a second to comprehend some of the words Fionn had just said. "I'll help you send an owl tomorrow," he assured him.
"Thank God I've got you to help me, Teddy," Fionn said. "I don't think I could work out this magical world on my own!"
Teddy smiled. He was happy to help out Fionn. The two boys got on well so far and Teddy hoped that they would become friends. Christopher, on the other hand, might need some warming up to.
After sorting through their belongings, the three boys eventually went to bed. Teddy lay in his four-poster bed but was unable to sleep. His mind was racing thinking of all he had experienced that day. He felt relieved and excited at the same time. He was finally in Hogwarts. He had heard stories about the castle from his family for years. His only hope was that he made friends and memories like his father and Harry had.
Teddy had left the curtains of his four-poster bed open leaving the window visible from his bed. Through the narrow window, he could see the glow of the moon. Three quarters of the way full. He had one week. He turned over in his bed to face away from the moon, all feelings of excitement dissipated and were replaced by the familiar feeling of dread.
AN: Thank you for reading! I had a number of stories up a few years ago but deleted them all a year or so ago. I'm back on the fanfiction writing train with this story and I'm planning on seeing it through until the end. I've the plot mapped out and about 10 chapters written. I'll be uploading as I edit them.
This chapter was slightly dull and a bit of a pain to write but it was necessary to set up the story. The actual plot will start in the next chapter and things will start to get more interesting.
Please, please, please leave me a review, I'm trying to improve my writing. I want to know if you loved it, hated it or if there's anything you'd like to see happen throughout the story. I'd love feedback and I'm happy to take suggestions on board in relation to the plot. Thanks!