I scratched at the hair that was irritating me under my cap, I was the most nervous that I had ever been and Iwas wearing the most uncomfortable outfit I could remember ever having to wear. The woollen shorts were itchy against my milky skin, a far cry from the fine silks I was usually adorned in, and the polyester and cotton shirt was crumpled around me and a size to big, wearing the smallest one that was offered, yet I still swam in it. A grey tie was fastened around my neck, learning to tie them was simple, a task that I would never have thought I would have to accomplish. My bag was beaten and dirty... my brothers in fact, to help me play my role.
I shouldn't be complaining, I mean, I asked for this... For all of this. The oversized shirt was a god send, hiding my curves, and the pants hardly suited anybody that wore them, making my petite thighs look a lot bigger than they actually were. And in this rear occasion that was a good thing. I was looking out the window, watching the depressing grey rain covered landscape whiz past me. This was not what I was used to yet again, I would fly over the blue and white mountains in France and get lost in the pure white untainted snow which seemed almost endless... But here, the same colour was tiering... grey, grey, grey, grey, bluish grey, grey, grey. The train rocked with the aged track which caused me to bump my head against the window.
"Ouch." I muttered rubbing my forehead. It hadn't really hurt, but I guess when things pile up like this everything is worse that it seems. I remember being with my mother when we had first visited my new school. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizadry. The name was terrible, and the location was worse, in the heart of England. I would have to eat hearty English food, and live in a cold and depressing wet country. I remember my mother talking about what i was going to say, or more so what she was telling me to say
We stood waiting beside a hideous gargoyle statue that was winding and lifting us though a secret compartment in the arrived in front of an extravagant oak door, in a cozy waiting area with a rich red carpet and what seemed an impossible amount of paintings hung in portrait. Shoclinly it seemed that all of these people were snoozing! "Mother," I whispered, pulling on her sleve, "The people in these paintings are all sleeping." I said in a hushed tone, as not to disturb what will hopefully be my new Head master.
"What do you expect, we have to sleep sometime don't we lass!" One of the pictured yelled out at me. My eye widened in surprise, as I took a step to my right to get away from the portrait with the cranky old man who was now shaking his fist at me.
"Ohh shh!" I sounded taking a step toward him trying to put my hand over his mouth, but not being quiet game enough to touch the painting. "Sorry sir..." I said, nervously waving my arms about trying to get him to stop but still hesitant to put my hand on the painting. "I didn't mean anything by it..." I started to explain, but yet another painting had started to speak up.
"It's children these days, you know back in my time we were no strangers to a bit of punishment, mongered respect you know, back in my day, I would have strung a student from the owlery and made them clean the owl droppings with no magic!" The second portrait started to exclaim, even louder than the first. I rushed over to the second painting, which, annoyingly was on the opposite side of the room. My mother was looking at me with wide eyes that were glaring at the same time, all top off with a frown. I flushed red with embarrassment as I tried to hush the painting.
"Oh, please, this is the first time that I am meeting..." I started, but the room fell silent as the large oak doors swung open and standing in a rather deep (and some what amusing) purple elegant velveteen robes, was an aged man with a long and crooked white beard, a long nose that more than defined his face. His shinning eyes comforted me in my most nervous state, almost as if the effect was enhanced behind characteristic half moon spectacles.
"Ahh, Mrs and Miss Reivour, please, step into my office." He said, bringing his arms up in a wide welcoming manner, the cuff s on his sleeves of his robes fell all the way to the ground. I nodded a greeting then quickly slipped past his outstretched hand and into the strangest office that I had ever seen. It was different in all ways to my last headmistresses office. Her's was huge and clean, where as the room she was in now was smaller, but was made to look about ten times smaller because of the amount of wiring, buzzing, smoking, clicking and spinning nicknaks lining every single space possible. Madame Maxine's office had sleek blue and white walls, clean and cold, whereas this office was filled with pictures, the frames touching on most, all the way to the top of the domed ceilings and where the paintings didn't touch with a gap, there was cracked and golden bricks peeking though. There was a golden haze coming through a window which shone over everything in the room, making it glitter. In the corner was a Pheonix, which was perched in a giant and rather antique looking cage. I remember Madame's office to be scentless, it was the strangest sensation entering a room which was charmed to have no sent, where as this room smelt of lemon, sweet lemon which may have been stranger than no scent at all. The floor in this room was clod grey cinderblocks, but they were covered by about three different rugs, all golden and red in colour. I took a seat on a small stool that was almost hidden between giant stacks of dusty old tombes. I sat and watched my mother, having to lean forward as the stacks of books were higher than my head. She took a seat on one of the two remaining options, a grand leather plaid chair that was deep green in colour but with blue feet sticking out at strange angles. The Headmaster closed the door behind him, and walked to his desk with surprised posture, speed and strength for somebody of his age. He sat at a large golden chair, or more so a throne that reached about two meters in height, with rich mahogany winding and curling arms rests with a thick hard base at the bottom of the chair made of the same rich mahogany wood. He curled his hands together on his desk, and looked at my mother, than to me with an encouraging warm smile. "Now," He said, "I know the circumstances of this meeting, and I have been rather eagerly anticipating this meeting if I may say so. This is a rather curious situation, and I would like to hear the details of the decision." He said, in a way I felt that he has asked me the question, just by reading his friendly body language, but my mother took the question as her own.
"I want my daughter to have the same advantages as other students, without any prejudice," She said, "And we want her to successful, and we believe that this will be the best way to do this." She started, I knew that it was a sensitive subject for her, well it was for me too, but before my mother was able to get too carried away, Dumbledore offered his two sense.
"I assure you Mrs Reivour, that Hogwarts is an equal opportunities academy. The gender of a student is never considered..." He started but my mother cut in.
"So.. Mr. Dumbledore.." She said hesitantly.
"Please, call me Albus." He chimed in with a cheery voice.
"Ahh, yes. Well sorry Albus but you cannot argue with facts, and the fact is that Durmstrung has produced some of the best students in the magical community." She said, with a determined frown, it was true, the fact that boys who came out of Durmstrong usually went on to the bigger and better careers. Dumbledore just nodded in a polite way to let her to continue, where she was slightly thrown. She had expected him to have protested by now, so she was unsure how to continue. "And, I guess that all we can say is that we want the best for our daughter, and she is willing to do this." She concluded, then eyes glued to the grey man, waited his reaction.
Dumbledore took a breath, and without a faultering smile, he looked to me. "So, Miss Reivour, you think that you will be able to do this?" He asked, I was almost scared to answer.
"Yes, well, I guess so." I said.
"And you think you will be able to keep this a secret?" He asked.
"Yes, I mean, I think I can." I stuttered, looking to the floor nerviously.
"And you will be able to give a convincing charade?" He asked.
"Yes, I, I've been practising." I said a little bit more confidently.
"And you understand that I will not be able to give you any considerations. You will be expected to keep good grades and share a dormitory... and a bathroom." He said.
I nodded confidently, which was lucky because I probably would have been left speechless if I had been talking at the mention of having to share a bathroom... I didn't know why I hadn't seen this coming.
"Well, then Nichole Reivour, welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchraft and Wizardy. I will see you in Spetember, as Mr Nicolas Reivour.
That had been the easiest part. The month of training after that was actors and dancers, trying to perfect my walk and stance, then voice and dialogue coaches.. that was something I was not able to get the hang of. They said that my voice was still to high, it would pass but only just. Then the shopping for clothes was one of the worst parts. I love shopping, what girl wouldn't? But the fact was that the clothes I had to buy were unflattering and out of my comfort zone. I had a rather plain face, and plain hair that hung in a plain way, with skin that was made less attractive with a few light freckles. My eyes were boring, not a shinny green, or dazzling blue but brown. Not even a 'deep' or 'golden' brown... just brown. My eyelashes didn't curl and make my eyes larger, and no matter how many charms I cast I could never get my eye brows even. My face was plain in every way, I used to wear makeup everyday, which, yes made me pretty, but now that I was playing a member of the opposite sex, I would not have that any more... So it was a sad day when I realized that the only thing I ever had going for me was my petite body was also going to be taken. It made my average looking face much prettier, when I was wearing clothes that showed of my petite clothes. Fine silk shirts and flowing skirts, but now I would have to wear lumpy jumpers, and chord pants that itched. I had to cover up my legs because they were charmed with a permanent hair removal spell, like most women. I was told not to draw to much attention to my arms as the hairs were thin, white and barely noticeable. I had to wrap bandaging around my chest, to reduce my bust. I was still tiny, for a boy, but I was hoping to get away with a swift sporty type.
I could see the castles windows in the distance, blurred with the rain, there was a countless amount of tiny lights like a garden filled with fireflies, giving me an idea of just how big the castles way. I scratched at the back of my neck, and shirted my wig once more. Soon the act would start. I'll be the man.