Series: The Golden Quadrangle
n.b. The Quadrangle is the name for the main square inside Oxford Colleges. It also means a four-sided shape – i.e. a triangle (Harry, Ron & Hermione) plus one more.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters and am making nary a groat from writing this story.
Authors Note: This is my first bash at a fanfic. I have done my very best to proof read, but will probably have failed miserably. The story is cannon, except it introduces a situation which Rowling never seems to envisage - Wizards at University (US: College). Having been a student at Oxford it seemed to me that Wizards could fit in quite nicely with only a little adjustment. The story is set a year and a bit after book 7, and assumes Harry and co, but not Ginny, had to resit a year at Hogwarts.
Oh, just a quick explanation of dates. Oxford has three times eight week terms - Michaelmas (October-December), Hilary (January-March) and Trinity (April-June). Weeks are numbered first week, second week etc within each term, each week beginning on a Sunday. 0th (noughth) week is the week before term starts, which in Michaelmas is known as Freshers week, hence the title of this story. So this story starts on the Saturday of minus 1st week, which means the day before Sunday of Noughth week (Freshers week). Clear as mud...
And finally - reviews much appreciated.
Story: Feel a little fresher every day
Chapter one – Saturday, Minus 1st week, Michaelmas Term, First Year
"I don't see why I can't drive" complained Ron, for the 7th time
"Because Ronald" Hermione said, emphasising each syllable of his name in a manner that Ron should have correctly interpreted as meaning he was in trouble "a) you don't have a muggle driving licence b) Harry knows the difference between 'turn left' and 'try to levitate over the central reservation in a car that doesn't fly' and c) even after we obliviated her I don't think that little old lady is going to be quite the same" Ron opened his mouth to reply "And d)" Hermione cut him off just in time "because you don't want to find out what happens if I point my wand at your trousers and try out my new shrinking spell"
"I wonder what it'll be like" this was hardly an original topic line for the journey, but Ginny had decided to take pity on her brother by changing the conversation. She nudged Harry to join in
"Hold on a sec" he said, concentrating on the road. "I've got to turn off in a minute, and I only learned how to drive this thing last month when you were at Muggle Summer Camp…". Too late Harry realised his mistake, as Ginny glared at him
"At least you didn't have to go to Muggle Summer Camp" Ron was successfully set off again, oblivious to everyone else rolling their eyes "Boring bloody lectures ever day. muggles don't expect broomsticks, muggles don't drink Firewhisky, muggles don't like their legs disappearing if they annoy you…"
"It's to make sure you fit in properly Ronald. There are about 100 wizards and 15000 muggles at the University and you need to…" Hermione broke off when she realised that Ron was pressing on regardless
"Muggle table manners, muggle sports and games, muggle politics…as for muggle popular culture if I never hear the Spicy Girls ever again it'll be too bloody soon. It's not like it's that bloody difficult to make two become one anyway – any 6th year could do that!"
"Spice Girls Ron" said Hermione in a tone of voice that suggested she'd heard this particularly complaint many times before "and they aren't talking about magic – it's about love"
"Love! Well that's another bloody thing. All that banging on about…plastic Colins"
"Rubber Johnnies Ron". Sniggered Harry "you need them to make sure you don't get pregnant" He noticed Ron giving him a funny look in the mirror "I mean you need you need than to make sure you don't get the girl pregnant" He wondered why Ginny was staring at him pointedly "I mean you need than to make sure that you don't get Hermione…" He broke off swiftly with a sixth sense that Hermione's wand was pointing in his direction "OK I'm just going to shut up now"
"That's what contraception spells are for" pointed out Ron
"Yes but if you went with a girl who didn't know about contraception spells…" Harry began before fading off abruptly "I was right to shut up the first time wasn't I?"
"Very right" said Ginny. "Turn right here down Woodstock Road".
A few minutes later Harry turned the car into Beaumont Street, right up St John Street, and right again into the rear entrance of St Cuthbert's College where a large sign greeted them 'All new students park in rear quad, and report to Porter's Lodge at front'. Harry was directed to a place on the grass by an older student who he didn't recognise, where he came gently to a stop and they all jumped out. Harry and Ginny tactfully studied the architecture for a moment so that they could pretend not to hear Hermione telling Ron off.
The rear Quad was mostly grass, but with many criss-crossing paths and box hedges, and enclosed on all sides by a stone pathway flanked with buildings. The buildings themselves were older than Hogwarts, less gothic and simpler – they reminded Ginny of a picture she'd seen of an old muggle manor house, made of a pale sandy coloured stone and with the first floor scattered with gabled windows. Directly behind, where they had parked, was a wide imposing staircase, that presumably led up to the main hall. In front of them, at the end of the Quad, was a wide open archway that appeared to lead to a similar quad in front. In front of them to their right was an open doorway with a large sign outside – 'JCR' but no one else seemed to be around, they had obviously to have made good time. Ginny snapped out of her reverie with a sudden awareness that Ron and Hermione were staring at her
"What are we waiting for" asked Hermione, evidently not for the first time
"We were waiting for you to…get out of the car" managed Ginny
"Which you've done now" chipped in Harry "Let's go find the lodge"
They passed through the archway, passing a small bronze plaque next to the great oak door that at one point used to close across it. Hermione registered that the plaque commemorated the burning of seven members of the college for witchcraft in 1532. The burning had evidently done more damage to the door than to the wizards as it still bore the marks, and at least two of the wizards were listed on the board opposite as having been provosts of the college some years after their executions.
The front quad was no busier than the rear, but they could now see that it had a similar archway at its front, with the far end opening onto the street - St Giles, Ginny remembered. They could also see the Chapel – an unusual building for wizards but presumably required in an institution that claimed to belong to an obscure sect of the Catholic Church. The Chapel had high arched windows filled with stained glass, with a steeple rising majestically from its top, intricately carved though it was difficult to make out the details from the ground. Over the door was a lintel, also intricately carved, with a representation of the last supper. This quad also differed from the first by having no pathways across the grass, and bearing a fearsomely large 'do not cross the grass by any means' sign that must have been quite confusing to muggle visitors who didn't know that there was more than one way to cross grass.
As they walked along the pathway around the grass they turned left into the front entrance, noticing the booth in the left hand side, and coming face to face for the first time with the ultimate power of any Oxford College.
"You'd be new then?" inquired the rather imposing figure in a dark muggle suit, and wearing what appeared to be a black trilby hat.
"Yes…uh Sir" replied Ron, as it seemed wise
"Not Sir, Sir" replied the man reprovingly "I'm Dawkins, the Head Porter. And you would be…?
"Errm…a wiz…" began Ron, receiving his 4th elbow in the ribs of the day
"Weasley R, Weasley G, Potter and Granger" said Hermione crisply.
"Very good miss" replied Dawkins, reaching for a set of envelopes, and displaying no apparent interest at all in hearing these particular names "these would be your keys, mail in the post-room over there code 5312, put this card up in the car windscreen, then you'll want to go to the Junior Common Room in the main quad for your welcome packs, and then I believe you'll find that you're all on Staircase 12. Welcome to St Cuthbert's". This was all said without pause for breath or indication that the speaker was in any kind of hurry, and as he concluded he appeared to be instantaneously back in his booth reading the paper.
"What, was that?" hissed Ron as they hurried back towards the main quad
"That Ron" replied Hermione "was the Head Porter. Sort of gatekeeper, mail sorter, message taker and village policeman"
"and he's a wizard?" asked Ginny
"I wouldn't have thought so – according to the guidebook" she ignored Ron rolling his eyes "they mostly used to be in the muggle army. I expect he did too – looks like it.
"Then how can he be working in a wizarding college?" demanded Ron. Hermione shrugged
"No idea. All I can think of is that all of the places in England Oxford is the one that comes closest to bridging the gap between muggles and wizards…"
The conversation was cut short by their arrival at the door with the 'JCR' sign, and the discovery of two familiar faces inside.
"Oh heck Katie" said Angelina. "Here's Harry and Co., trouble can't be far behind"
"Not my fault" said Harry "anyway I'm well and truly out of the fighting mass murdering death eating scumbags phase of my life now."
"At least until it comes to playing Malfoy in the Intervarsity Quidditch!" suggested Katie
"Malfoy? He end up at Cambridge then?" asked Ginny
"Yeah. Best place for him. Still now we've got you lot here they won't be any trouble"
"What's that then?" asked Ron, suddenly spotting Katie and Angelina's name badges, declaring them to be 'President' and 'Entz Officer' respectively
"Oh we're both on the JCR committee. Well I run it really – it's the representative body of the Undergraduates, making sure that the Senior Common Room take our views into consideration" she broke off suddenly realising that she had lost everyone but Hermione "Oh sorry, getting the JCR stick up my bum again" she said aiming an elbow at Angelina who was nodding vigorously – "the SCR are the tutors, the JCR is us; and you elect a bunch of us to put our views across. Don't worry about it, not that important"
"What is important however" cut in Angelina "is that as your Entz officer I'm officially in charge of making sure that you enjoy Freshers' week, and don't get a bit drunk"
"Really" asked Katie in apparent disbelief
"Yes, I've got to make sure they get very drunk. Oxford tradition. Now enough of us – you'll want to get your stuff into your rooms cos you have to shift your car within the hour. You can shrink it and stick it in the car rack under Staircase 9. Here's your welcome pack – College Handbook, Freshers week timetable, meal times, rule book, reading list yadda yadda yadda. Just get settled in, and be in the JCR for Katie's welcome at 6pm".
Staircase 12 was in the corner of the main quad, a few doors away from the JCR. Entrance required passing through a locked wooden door that baffled Ron and Ginny for five minutes until Harry, who had been clearing out the car, told them to put their wands away, and entered the number 5312 on the key pad. Inside, at the foot of a winding staircase, was a black board which proclaimed in golden lettering the names of its inhabitants
'Staircase XII
Ground Floor
Room IClinton
Room 2Lovegood
Room IIIGranger
Room 5Weasley G
First Floor
Room VIIWeasley R
Room 11Potter
Room XIIILongbottom
Room 17Seagal
"Why is it only prime numbers?", asked Ginny
"And why are half of them in roman numerals?" Harry wanted to know
"Never mind that. Why is it girls on one floor and boys on the other?" demanded Ron
"This is Oxford" suggested Hermione, and everyone decided not to bother asking which question this applied to.
The four students grabbed their own crates, each the size of an average muggle novel, and headed into their new rooms. Ginny had drawn the room at the front, looking out onto the quad. It wasn't particularly large inside, but it seemed comfortable enough. The walls were pretty bare, but then a wizard undergraduate who couldn't decorate her own room was likely to be in trouble. To the left of the entrance was a desk, with a few bookshelves and a blank noticeboard above. To the right of the room, opposite the desk, was a single bed – too small she thought instantly, and then blushed at the idea. In front of her, below the window, was an easy chair, whilst opposite the window was a small wardrobe. Opening the door she realised that one side was in fact a sink and mirror, leaving limited space for clothes, at least for anyone other than a wizard. Having gathered her bearings Ginny placed her crates on the bed and drew her wand "Finite Incantatum" she declared, and the shrinking spell quickly reversed itself revealing large quantities on books, clothes and enough Mum-cooked food to feed a family of four for a fortnight. Ginny spent a pleasant few minutes arranging her possessions, and deciding on a soft yellow for the walls, at least until she'd had time to choose properly. The scratchy green carpet became a thick cream rug, and the three feet of shelves managed to comfortably accommodate her 87 or so books. Having arranged matters to her satisfaction, Ginny bounded across the corridor to have a look at Hermione's room. She remembered to knock at the last minute, just in case Ron had broken his personal best for unpacking by several hours and got there first, but the quick 'come in' reassured her.
Hermione had obviously followed a similar pattern of settling in, with a deep blue carpet nicely setting off the sparkling silver walls. "I'll need to change those if any muggles drop by" Hermione commented quickly, as she noticed Ginny admiring them "I'll also have to change the desk back". Ginny followed her gaze and noticed that the cheap plywood, which was presumably the same in all rooms, had become a thick 18th century walnut .
"Nice. Didn't think of that" said Ginny approvingly. "I wonder what the boys are doing with their rooms"
"Well if I know Ronald he'll have gone for an ever so tasteful Orange and Black covered in Chudley Cannon's posters. Dunno about Harry though" she added, with a faint hint of a question in her voice
"Something warm I expect" said Ginny "He likes warm colours after…well everything really". There was a brief moment of silence as both reflected on what had happened, quickly passed with a new knock on the door.
"That's quick. Come in!" called Hermione again, expecting Harry and Ron, but instead getting another familiar face "Luna!"
"Hello Hermione. Hello Ginny" Luna appeared as ethereal as ever, not helped by a distinctly individualistic take on what undergraduate muggles wore – a long kaftan in what appeared to be green tweed, and a hippy-relic tie-die purple waistcoat, topped off with a red beret. Hermione had just about managed to recover and return the greeting, when she was stopped afresh by the sight of the heavy Doc Martins in Gold and Pale Blue.
"Hey Luna" greeted Ginny – more adaptable when it came to the muggle rules of fashion "Nice outfit"
"Thank you" said Luna "My father researched it for me. He said tweed fitted my subject"
"I…ermm…" Hermione tried to choose her words carefully "Tweed labcoats is a new one on me Luna". Luna smiled serenely in return
"I'm not studying Medicine anymore Hermione – I've switched to Classics."
"Really?" asked Ginny "But I thought you wanted to work on diseases caused by Magical Creatures?"
"I looked at the reading list they sent me, and do you know what I discovered?" Luna looked momentarily almost serious "They don't study the effects of Crumplehorn Snorkak Bites. Or the symptoms of Nargle Flu. Or the consequences of inhaling the breath of the lesser spotted…"
"I see" interrupted Hermione, recognising the potential for a lengthy Luna moment. "So why classics?"
"They study all the ancient history – about when Snorkaks roamed the earth and man and Nargle lived in harmony"
"Oh you mean myths and leg…I mean Oh, how nice!" corrected Ginny, thinking fast on her feet. "Shall we go and find the boys and have a look around?"
The boys turned out to have bumped into another old friend – hardly a surprise as they knew Luna and Neville had planned to travel up together. They seemed, without any hint of actual romance, to have become more or less joined at the hip. Neville was looking well – he had never managed to put back on the weight he had lost before the battle of Hogwarts fifteen months earlier, and the slight premature retreat of his hairline gave him a distinguished look. He had also grasped the dress-code a little better than Luna: he too was clad in tweed, but in his case it was a slightly battered tweed jacket that seemed to suit him.
The next couple of hours were spent enjoyably exploring their new surroundings, and bumping into other old friends. 'Which staircase are you on?' and 'which subject do you do?' appeared to be the questions of the day. Mostly it was first years, as the others didn't tend to arrive back until the Monday unless they were helping out with the new arrivals. Justin Finch-Fletchly and Harry spent several pleasant minutes reminiscing about their delayed final year at Hogwarts and the chaos they had managed to cause, whilst Hermione and Ginny chatted to Padma Patil about the latest on her twin sisters witch-fashion business. Padma and Justin had, like Harry, Ron and Hermione, not attended Hogwarts in their original seventh year, and had re-sat it after the war. Padma was studying Medicine whilst Justin, like Luna, was reading Classics and was another tweed wearer.
Notes were also swapped on the other members of Dumbledore's Army – some, like Parvati, Seamus Finnegan, Lee Jordan and Hannah Abbott had decided to skip university; whilst rumour had Dean Thomas on a gap year doing something with daring with Dragons halfway around the world. Others had already come up to Oxford having managed to finish Hogwarts before Harry: Terry Boot and Susan Bones were in their second year and Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecumbe were with Katie Bell in the third, whilst Alicia was in her 4th. Lavender Brown was late but expected to arrive that evening. Others, including Ernie McMillan, Michael Corner, Anthony Goldstein and Zacharias Smith, were at Cambridge. Dennis Creevey was back at Hogwarts, and hoping to come up in the future. There were others too of course – those who had joined the DA later, or not at all – even some who had been on the dark side and were to be avoided. Mostly though they were people you'd be happy to see, for many of the others were still keeping a low profile. Despite their absence it was still a big group – the graduating year from Hogwarts had been the biggest ever, with all the DAs and muggle-borns who'd had to re-sit.
By five to six the JCR was looking busy, and in need of some hasty conjuring of extra chairs. Katie was also in evidence, shepherding the newcomers to their places, and constantly accompanied by Angelina and a few others than were either faintly recognisable as ex-Hogwarts or else hadn't been. At exactly six Katie climbed onto a box that had, until twenty seconds before, been a tray of cutlery.
"Right then, everyone, listen up. Welcome to Cuths!" the chatter died down "tomorrow you'll get all the official stuff from the Provost and then on Monday it's Freshers week. Before that though there's a few bits and pieces you need to know.
First don't forget to read your rules books. Very important" Katie appeared to ignore the sniggers of her fellow JCR committee members "in particular don't forget that if you tap them three times and say Accalaro then they'll all highlight in useful colours. Green are the ones you can't physically not break, orange are the ones everyone expects you to break, red are the ones you're supposed to keep but will break anyway, and black are the ones they actually get bothered if you break. Pink is the one that we'll be very impressed if you manage to break and would certainly require a dislocation spell, several bottles of firewhisky, and at least three live goats and a pigeon" Katie paused a moment for breath and to check that her audience were still with her "second you'll get all the muggle reminder stuff tomorrow as well, but for now do not go out of college unless you know what you're doing and aren't too off your face, whoever tells you that it's OK". Katie paused again, this time to glare at Angelina who appeared to be studying her nails and trying to look innocent. "Third: remember that the whole point of Freshers' week is to enjoy it – if you're ever short of someone to talk to come down to the JCR, or else have a chat with one of the gargoyles above Staircase 15, except of course on Wednesday and Friday's after 1pm when it's muggle season. Fourth dinner will be ready in ten minutes in the hall, and after that the bars open downstairs!" Katie stepped down from her box to general murmurs of approval.
Dinner was not at all dissimilar to Hogwarts, only without any adults around – apparently they all tended to eat in the Senior Common Room until all the students had arrived. The ceilings of the hall were high and enchanted, albeit with the ability to instantaneously appear to be like a muggle ceiling if any non-wizard came into the hall. The food was varied and plentiful, but with more of an international flavour than at Hogwarts – with curries, stir-fries, paellas, gumbos, and something that appeared to be, if not precisely alive, than at least still twitching. The reason for this swiftly became apparent as Ron found himself seated between two overseas students – Fifi, whom he vaguely recognised from the Beaubatons delegation years earlier, and Wai-Shan, from Shanghai. Around the room a number of different accents could be heard, as Cuths was known for its international students. There were other wizarding universities of course – usually hidden in muggle institutions sufficiently old and idiosyncratic not to show up too obviously: Padua, Heidelberg, the Sorbonne, and, the baby, Harvard, but that never seemed to slow Cuths down. Similarly Ginny found herself chatting to the two unknown students from Staircase 12 – Sophie Clinton and Chuck Seagal. They'd both gone to the school at Salem but, because they were from prominent American families, wanted a wizarding university a bit further from the American press. Sophie, like Harry, was reading Charms and Transfiguration, whilst Chuck was doing Law and Defence – he explained that he wanted to join the Federal Bureau of Incantations after he had graduated.
After dinner there was a general move in the direction of the bar, where Angelina was just itching to introduce all the purebloods to the joys of muggle drinking. Butterbeer and Firewhiskey were there of course, but Angelina wanted to make sure that they all knew what to expect if they drank at non-wizarding colleges. At least that was her excuse. Ron opted for something called 'Stella' and was disappointed to discover that it wasn't remotely starry, whilst Ginny got happily sozzled on Babycham, and Harry tackled a pint or two of Guinness – something Seamus had solemnly assured him was good for his health, the last time they had met. Hermione contented herself with low alcohol white wine, and the happy knowledge that she could feel smug in the morning. Eventually, and with much singing of songs from the Weasley Wizarding Wheezes Party Songbook (produced in conjunction with Jordan's Jolly Japes), the gathering broke up, and all staggered back to their beds.