"So you're sure about this, then? This school?"
Dirk looked up at his mother, and a flicker of doubt settled in his mind for the first time since discovering he was a wizard. The letter had made everything seem too good to be true – how could he be a wizard? The thought had sounded preposterous. But a professor from the school had come to explain everything, and from that point on, Dirk had only felt excitement surrounding this strange school.
.
When they had gone to Diagon Alley to pick up his supplies for the upcoming term, Dirk was in awe. He had never pictured a place that looked quite so magical. This new world seemed to inviting, as though he'd always been a part of it, just unable to see it clearly. His parents, on the other hand, seemed to think if they were pinched, they'd wake up.
Dirk tried to convince them when they returned home that night, pulling out spellbooks, opening them to random pages, and reading off the first spell he set his eyes on while waving his new wand. Nothing happened.
"Not yet," he insisted. "I've got to learn how to do it properly first. But I definitely felt something when I tried."
Mr. and Mrs. Cresswell smiled at him, realization beginning to set in that yes, there were such things as wizards and yes, apparently magic is more than a far-fetched fantasy.
.
But when she asked like that, he admitted that he wasn't entirely sure that Hogwarts was real, that it was anything more than some dream they were having.
"It couldn't hurt to see, could it? We're almost at the station…"
Moments later, she pulled up to King's Cross Station. Mrs. Cresswell turned to her son in the seat behind hers, concern etched on her face. She took a deep breath. There was something unsettling about sending her son off to a school she hadn't heard of before. She was still trying to figure out how Dirk had turned out to be a wizard. "You ready?"
Dirk nodded, a grin spreading over his face. "Ready."
"I wish your father didn't have to work today, he wanted to see you off," she said once they'd found their way onto the correct platform (Which, admittedly, took longer than they'd expected. There was no sign for Platform 9 ¾. They'd needed to ask three different people – a guard at the station included – before they'd found someone who could help them).
A glance at the clock told her it was five minutes to eleven. "Be good, you hear me? Have fun. Write to us, let us know what you're doing. I love you," his mother added, hugging him close and kissing the top of his head.
"I should go, Mum. I'm going to miss the train. Love you."
Dirk dragged his trunk behind him, up a few stairs to the train door, and boarded. He went down the hall, dodging older students who were greeting friends for the first time since last term. A little way down, he spotted a boy who looked about his age – and had the same aura of uncertainty and nervousness about him – in a compartment all by himself. Dirk decided it was his best bet, seeing as he'd rather not join a compartment of older students, and he'd honestly rather not walk any further if he could get a seat here. There was no telling how full the rest of the train would be by this point. He could hear the train's whistle signaling that it was time to leave Platform 9 ¾.
Dirk opened the compartment door, pulling his trunk behind him. "Hey," he murmured, trying to smile through the awkward introduction.
The other boy smiled. "Barty," he said.
"I'm Dirk. Mind if I sit?"
"Not at all." Dirk grinned, lifting his trunk up onto the carrying rack before taking a seat opposite Barty.
"Excited for Hogwarts, then? I'm assuming it's your first year, too?" Barty looked interested in Dirk, head slightly to one side.
"Yeah, I suppose. I'm excited to learn magic, to see what Hogwarts is all about."
"You don't know?"
"No one in my family's been before. I'm the first one who's a wizard."
Barty looked surprised. "Muggle-born?"
"What?" Dirk asked. He couldn't quite tell from Barty's tone what the connotation of the term was, and he hoped it was good.
"Just means your parents aren't magical." He cocked his head even further to the side, reading Dirk's expression. "Mudblood is the one you don't want to be called."
Dirk nodded, and conversation deepened into Barty explaining the basics of Hogwarts and the Wizarding world, and Dirk asking him questions that he'd been wondering since he'd received his letter.
.
x
.
"Cresswell, Dirk."
He walked towards the stool with the Sorting Hat, his legs feeling weak beneath him. Everything Barty had told him about the different houses kept popping up in his mind. Nervously, he sat down as the Hat fell over his eyes and the hall before him fell silent waiting for the Hat's decision.
"Interesting…" The voice, Dirk recognized, was the Sorting Hat's, but it was speaking quietly in his ear now, instead of shouting to the entire Great Hall. "There's a thirst for knowledge, a thirst to learn all you can here. And ambition, certainly. Dedication. Now where should I put you? Of course…
"RAVENCLAW!"
Dirk smiled brightly as he removed the Hat and placed it back on the stool. The students at the Ravenclaw table erupted in cheers when the Hat made its announcement. Barty had mentioned this House as the one he'd want to be Sorted in. Dirk wished Barty would end up here with him, so he'd have a friend going into school.
Luckily, only a few minutes later, Barty was taking his seat at Dirk's side, having also been Sorted into Ravenclaw.
The Sorting Ceremony continued, and a good number of their fellow first years joined Dirk and Barty at the Ravenclaw table.
As he looked up at the long head table, Dirk couldn't help starting to feel good about Hogwarts.
x
For the Quidditch League (Round 5 as reserve Captain for the Magpies. Mandatory Prompts: Dirk Cresswell, First day at Hogwarts) and the Represent that Character Challenge.