First Day
"Don't forget to write!" Mum cries as she grips tightly onto Hugo's hand. It looked like she was afraid that if she did let go, her baby would also be leaving the nest. Hugo looked absolutely annoyed by her actions and dad ruffles his brown locks, smiling proudly at me.
"Mum, people are staring." I say in between my teeth. She looked like she would burst into sobs any second.
I glance at the other people. Whether they were new students, old students, or just the families, they all managed to get a good look at the show.
Mum lets go of Hugo's hand long enough to engulfs me into a hug. She rubs her hands on my hair and face with watery eyes. "Do you have your inhaler? And your medication?"
"Yes mum" I pat my pocket where the small blue device is held, hoping to calm her nerves. "My meds are in my luggage."
Then dad pulls me into a hug, whispering "Remember to stay away from that Malfoy."
Mum must have heard him and punches him in the arm. "Rosie, honey, you can be friends with whoever you'd like to." She says as she wipes tears away from her eyes.
Hugo yanks me into a hug. I smile, breathing "two more years, Hugh." I pick him up and twirl him in the air, something I've done with him since he was old enough to say my name. I put him back down and pull him into another hug. "I'll miss you"
The train whistled, indicating departure was soon.
I look back up at my parents, knowing this is the last time I'll see them until the holidays. I pull them into another hug before stepping back and onto the train.
Looking for my cousins is simply dreadful. You'd think with there being so many of them, it'd be extremely easy. Nope. Opening door after door does get quite embarrassing. I open another compartment door to find a couple in a very passionate moment. They swore profanities at me and I could feel my face reddening as I stuttered an apology before slamming the compartment door shut.
I flung the door next to the couple and with a relieved sigh, saw Albus sitting there.
"You will not believe what I went through to find you, Al. Can you believe that students would actually snog on a train full of people? I mean, at least have the decency to go into a corner or something. But in a compartment, where anyone can walk in! This is so-" I stopped, noticing that Al was not the only one in the compartment.
The boy sat across from Albus, clearly not amused with my rant. He had light blond hair and blue eyes that resembled ice. He had sharp features and wore freshly pressed robes.
"Well, you're quite annoying, now aren't you?" He sneered, talking down to me how a person would talk down to a homeless dog.
I snapped back at him "Well, you're quite rude, now aren't you?"
He was about to reply when Al butts in. "Rose this is Scorpius. Scorpius this is Rose, my cousin." Albus pats the cushion next to him, indicating for me to sit there. I sit down, sending a glare towards Scorpius.
"Ah, so you're the daughter of the famous Ron and Hermione Weasley." He looks over my face and body. "Hmm. I'd think you'd be prettier."
My fist clench and I can feel the heat radiating off my face. I've never thought of myself as ugly. I've never thought of myself as pretty either. My bright red hair was twice the size of my head, I was covered in freckles from head to toe, and my two front teeth were larger than would be expected. I wasn't skinny. I know I had a stomach to me, which I blame entirely on Grandma Weasley, but it wasn't large. But I've always been content with how I looked.
Until now.
I feel my chest tighten and my breath starts coming out in short huffs. No, I will not have an attack here. Not in front of him. I stand up so fast I'm pretty sure I felt bones in my back crack and head for the door. A hand wraps around my wrist and I look down to see Albus glancing at me with an apologetic look on his face.
"Please don't leave Rose. You just got here and I'd really like to talk with you." He says. I close my eyes and tensely sit back down next to him with a few long calming breaths. It helped and my chest loosened up. "Scorpius was just telling me about how it's like to live at the Malfoy Manor."
My eyes fly open. "So you're the Malfoy, huh? That has to explain your obnoxiousness."
"Shut your trap Weasley!" Malfoy shouts.
Al takes control of the situation. "Enough guys! You've just met and you're already like this!" A silence follows this and Al continues. "This is our first train ride and I'd like to enjoy it and talk about which houses we want to be in and eat chocolate frogs and licorice wands!" He takes a deep breath and slouches against the cushion.
I give him a sloppy smile. "Sorry… er… so which house do you want to be in, Al?"
He beams back at me. "Well, Gryffindor obviously. It's the best house of them all! I'm terrified of being in Slytherin. James says that's where I'm going to be."
"I'd rather be in Slytherin." Malfoy adds.
"It's not like I'd be stuck in Slytherin anyways." Al continues, ignoring Malfoy. "Dad says that the Sorting Hat lets you choose which house you go to." Malfoy seems to smile at this.
I frown. "Albus that's impossible. When the founders started to worry how they would continue to sort the students after the four of them were gone, Godric Gryffindor pulled his hat off his head and, with the other founders, enchanted it with brains and personality." I quote the textbook. "Why would the Sorting hat just let you choose if it has all the information it needs to sort you itself? Wouldn't you want to be in the house that is best suited for you?" Albus seems to think about this.
"You're annoying, ugly, and a know it all? Jeez, we must have hit the jackpot." Malfoy says with an intolerable smirk. I kick his shin as hard as I possibly can. "Bloody hell" He mutters to himself, rubbing his leg.
There's a slight knock on the door. "Anything from the trolley?" A round elder woman asks with a sweet smile.
"We'll take the lot." Albus says, pulling out a handful galleons out of his pocket.
She sends us all a very disapproving look as she drops off the treats and leaves.
"Aren't those galleons meant for emergencies?" I ask, looking doubtfully at the sweets.
Albus takes a bite in a licorice wand. "This is an emergency. A snack emergency."
Scorpius sits there with his hands folded neatly on his lap, staring down at all the delicious snacks Al bought. Feeling that it would make Al happy, I picked up a Chocolate Frog and lobbed it at him. Or maybe I chucked it at him. Albus must have missed the chucking part and sent me a gracious smile.
I open a box of Bertie Bots Every Flavor Bean and toss one into my mouth. My face scrunches up and I stick my tongue out in disgust. Banana.
The rest of the train ride was uneventful. Malfoy and Al spent the entire time talking about something. Whether it was there collection of Wizard Cards, Quidditch, or the worst flavored Bertie Bots Every Flavor Bean flavor they've ever gotten. They never seemed to run out of topics. As they chitchatted, I chose to spend my time wisely and get a head start on the curriculum reading.
When the train pulled into a stop, I grabbed Albus's wrist and pulled him out of the corridor. Once off the train, I could easily spot Hagrid yelling, "Firs' years! Firs' years follow me!"
All the other first years cower under Hagrid's massive form and I can't help but send him a bright smile. "Hello Hagrid. How was your holiday?" I ask. The other students send me odd looks.
Hagrid looked down at us with a smile. "'ello Rosie! Albus as well! Me holiday was the same, yeh know." He sniffed and continues calling the first years over.
I take a seat in one of the boats that is closest to Hagrid's. When I look back to Albus, I see him sitting a boat a few down from me. With Malfoy. Al must have ran away when I wasn't looking.
If it weren't for the fact that he was sitting with Malfoy, I'd be okay with it. But it's not like Al and I grew up together. It's not like we're best friends or anything. It's not like he's my only friends. It's not like I'd want a friend for the biggest day of my life. I'm fine.
Completely fine.
.
I let my fingers dangle in the water. I watched the ripples cascade away until they were slowly no more. In a flash, a webbed grey hand reaches out of the water and grabs hold of my wrist. I let out a slight gasp and pried my wrist from the thing. A grey, scaly head appears out of the water. It narrows its yellow eyes and sends me a low hiss.
I watch the water with wide eyes as it disappears. A merperson? I turn to tell Albus what just happened and with a pang in my chest, I remembered he wasn't on this boat with me.
The other three first years in my boat introduced themselves as Lyle Wood, Clary Youngblood, and Dylan Goyle. Lyle was boring and Clary seemed to be a quite girl, whilst in comparison Dylan couldn't seem to stop talking about his 'Pure Blood' status. When asked my name, I answered. Clary and Lyle seemed impressed with my surname and Dylan sneered, muttering something about "mudbloods and blood traitors" under his breath. I mostly kept to myself with my hands tucked neatly on my lap.
When there was a large gasp from nearly everyone, my head snapped up and I sucked in a deep breath. Hogwarts was beautiful. My textbooks did not do it justice.
And soon enough we were swept off the boats and were soon outside the Great Hall. Neville – er - Professor Longbottom greeted all the first years with a bright smile. "As some of you may know, there are four houses. For those who don't, those four houses are named Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. Ravenclaws are known for their intelligence and wit. Hufflepuffs are extremely loyal, dedicated, and hard-workers. Gryffindor are seen with courage and chivalry. And finally, Slytherins are cunning and ambitious. While you are at Hogwarts, any rule breaking will lose house points and any achievements will earn your house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will win the house cup. Any questions?" Either everyone already knew this or they were too afraid to speak up, as no one raised their hand. "Good." Neville adds. "The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes, I will return when you are to be called in." With that, he exited through the large double doors.
Many new students bounce on the balls of their feet and chat nervously with each other. My eyes subconsciously kept going to Al and Malfoy, happily talking about one thing or another. I stand by myself wringing my hands together, until a hand reaches out from behind me and taps on my shoulder. I turn around to see a girl a few inches taller than me, with short brown hair, and very familiar features.
"Hi, I'm Alice Longbottom!" She introduced herself.
"Oh, Alice! I know you!" I smile, glad to have a potential friend here.
She sends me a grin. "I know Rose. I just didn't know if you remembered me. We haven't really hung out since we were seven. You always preferred to be around your cousins." Alice says. "Where is Albus by the way? Isn't he our age?"
I shuffle my feet and look down. "Yeah, but he's talking to his new friends right now." I nod at Al and Malfoy.
"Oh" She says, looking over at the two boys. After that, she talks about anything in my ear until Neville comes back and ushers us into the other room. He sends his daughter a wink as we past him.
The Great Hall was… well, great. The ceiling was a beautiful cloudless night with stars twinkling down on us. If the stars weren't enough light for us, candles on the walls and floating above the tables helped. There were four long tables in the room all adorned with the respective colors, and another table in the front for the professors.
"Oh, wow." Alice breaths, looking at the sky.
"It's enchanted you know." I say. She hummed her response.
Once everyone was gathered in the hall, Professor Longbottom placed a raggedy old hat on a three legged stool. As soon as the hat landed on the stool, it started singing. All the first years jumped back in surprise, including me. The older years chuckle at our reaction.
Once the song was over and everyone clapped, Neville began calling students up to the stool. "Ackart, Zander" As soon as the hat is placed on his head, it yells "GRYFFINDOR". The red and orange table screams and cheers as they welcome their new housemate.
I zone out until I hear "Longbottom, Alice" The hat took no time before blaring out "HUFFLEPUFF".
"Malfoy, Scorpius" Professor Longbottom says. The Sorting Hat must have had a hard time deciding where to put Malfoy, for it took it four minutes and thirty-seven seconds – I counted – before it shouts "SLYTHERIN"
"Potter, Albus" James lets out a few whoops when he hears his younger brother called up to the stand, only to stop from glares from the professors. Albus tries to shrink himself smaller as he walks up. I can see the fear and panic in his eyes before the hat covers his eyes. The Sorting Hat took a lot less time than Malfoy, but still longer than expected. Finally it bellowed "SLYTHERIN"
Everything came to a standstill as Al happily skips over to the Slytherin table. "No!" James screams. "There must have been a mistake! Put the hat back on him!"
"Mr. Potter-" A professor – a woman, tall and quite muscular, which led me to believe she ordinarily didn't plan on being a professor – starts to scold James, but he cuts her off.
"But he's a Potter!" James yells. I look over at Albus and see that his eyes are now as wide a dinner plate and glassy and the color has been completely drained from his face. "He's a Potter! Potter's are supposed to be in Gryffindor!"
"That is enough Mr. Potter!" The professor scolds again, only to have James storm out of the Great Hall.
Neville clears his throat. "Shall I continue?" He says "Ramsey, Liam" The hat yells out "RAVENCLAW"
Again, I zone out. Albus, my cousin Albus, was placed into Slytherin? He's practically the most anti-Slytherin in the family, beside dad. With all the rubbish Al was shooting, about the hat letting you pick which house you choose… it must have all been a lie. His imagination caught up to him.
What will dad say, when I get thrown into Slytherin? Will he disown me? Will I be kicked out of the house? Oh Merlin, I'm going to have to live in the gutters with the rats. I wring my hands together. Calm down Rose, I think, everything will be okay. Everything will be per-
"Weasley, Rose" Professor Longbottom calls out. Oh Merlin.
I stride towards the stool with my head held high, trying to look as confident as possible. When I sit down, I notice how uncomfortable the wooden stool actually is. I look over to Albus and to my surprise; he's sending me a smile. I smile back to him before the hat is placed on my head.
Hmm, another Weasley? The Sorting chuckled. Your intelligence is extremely high, like your mother. A nervous one, are you? Mostly reserved to your family, hmm? You would make an excellent member to the Ravenclaw house. But… The hat pondered about something before declaring, I got it!
"GRYFFINDOR!"
The hat is taken off my head and I see the red and orange table cheering for me. I happily make my way over there and sit next to a girl in my year.
The professor that scolded James steps up to the podium and clears his voice. "Hello students. As some of you may know, I am your new headmaster. You may address me as Headmaster, Headmaster Lace, Professor, or Professor Lace. Whichever you see fit." Many students send pull faces at her, obviously upset of losing their beloved ex-headmaster. If I remember correctly her name was Minerva McGonagall. "The Forbidden Forest is, well, forbidden. If it wasn't, it'd be called the 'Come on in Forest'." The Headmaster chuckles. This seems too lighten the mood as many students laugh along, happy to see their new headmaster at least has a sense of humor.
"Mr. Filch would like me to remind you that no students should be out their dormitories after hours. The feast will now begin." At her closing statement, food appears on all the tables and many of the first years gasp at the large quantity.
The hum of chatter filled the room quickly as everyone talked about their holiday. Looking around for someone nice to talk to, I see a nice looking fifth year across from me reading a book.
I clear my throat and when she doesn't look up I let out a timid "H-hello."
She looks up from her book with a scowl on her face. "Sod off. Can't you see I'm busy?"
I mutter "Sorry" as she looks back down at her book. Deciding that was enough social interaction for today, I fill my plate up and devour it all.
When dinner was over, the Gryffindor prefect calls out to the first years to show us the common room. The prefect ushered us all into our dorms after we finished marveling at the beauty of the room. Not in the mood to socialize with my new roommates, I pull the curtain around my bed, trying to sleep through their constant squeals of excitement and giggles as they gossiped about one thing or another to each other.