Hogwarts Academy for the Magically Gifted
Chapter I
By: Saadie
I promised, promised myself that I wouldn't start something new until I actually bloody went and finished one of my other fics first but I really couldn't help myself. So here's a new project and I hope you can all forgive me for not setting my priorities straight again.
Standard disclaimer, I don't own the Harry Potter-verse or any of its characters. My OCs are mine, however, so I have that at least. Here's my try at an HP AU. Enjoy.
He woke up to the bells tolling. Gong, gong, gong. A solemn, dignified sound that pulled all that had yet to wake from their slumber.
"Laertes!" an urgent whisper came from around the corner and he turned, bleary eyes adjusting slowly to the faint light from the barely risen sun.
"Jacquetta?" he called out his sister's name, "What's the matter? Which tower is ringing?"
She scurried over quickly, climbing into his bed and burrowing her tiny frozen frame against his side. "Ouch, watch it Jacq!" he hissed, "Your feet are like ice, how long have you been standing there? Why didn't you put shoes on?"
Despite his chastising tone, Laertes was quick to draw his younger sister closer, closing warm hands over her frozen limbs and rubbing at her skin soothingly. Jacquetta said nothing for a while, merely clinging to her brother, soaking in his warmth. Finally, she untangled herself slightly, clambering into his lap despite them both knowing that she was getting too old to fit now; Laertes reckoned he had no one to blame but himself, spoiling her as he had from birth. "Well, Jacq?" he prompted, bopping her gently on the nose, laughing when she scowled with him and hid her face in his neck.
"Stop doing that!" she whined, "I'm not a little girl anymore, I'm going to Hogwarts with you this year!"
"Oh, really? Does that mean I can treat you like a big kid now? Big kids don't sneak into their brother's beds at night because of nightmares."
He bit his lip to keep from laughing as she pouted, biting his arm in retaliation, "Ouch, dammit Jacquetta! Stop biting me like an animal."
"I am not!" her voice came out even higher than usual, pink spots adorned her cheeks, "I'm a lady, momma-" she stopped to correct herself, "Mother said so and you're just being rude. I don't think I want to tell you what happened anymore," she huffed, swinging her legs over the side of the bed and making to leave.
"Aww, Jacq, don't be like that," he wheedled, wrapping his arms around her waist and dragging her back into his lap with a grin, "You know you're my favourite sister, don't you? My favourite, lovely, lady-like sister whom I love more than anyone else in the world?"
She swatted at his arm half-heartedly, "I'm your only sister, you prat."
"Doesn't mean I don't love you most," he answered in a sing-song voice.
"Whatever," she rolled her eyes, "the scouts just came back, I just wanted to tell you first. I saw them bringing back at least four kids; do you think father will foster one of them?" she asked excitedly.
"Hmm, I don't know," Laertes mused, mind racing at the information, "We have our hands full with you already, but!" he declared, dodging a bony elbow, "You are old enough to go to Hogwarts now, another kid might not be that bad."
"Well," she wriggled out of his grasp, "I think I'm going to go and have a chat with them, see which one I like best."
She stopped to press a kiss to his cheek, "Come down to breakfast soon, brother, oh and I'm borrowing your shoes!"
"They're too big for you anyways, you little brat, you're going to trip," he called after her as she scampered away, too-big shoes slapping against the cobbled floor.
With a sigh, Laertes flopped back onto the bed. It was still too early, much too early and he wanted nothing but to go back to sleep. Why did his sister have to be such a morning person? With a groan, he pulled the covers back over himself; she'd come wake him again later anyways, he'd take all the sleep he could get over the hols.
Jacquetta hummed lightly to herself, skipping down the halls until she slipped into her room and toed off her brother's shoes in exchange for her own. There, much better, she decided, pausing for a moment to pull on a thicker cloak. Why on earth they didn't have carpeting was beyond her, stone kept them cooler in the summer, yes, but in winter the manor house was practically freezing. If only father didn't lock up her wand after lessons, she could do with a warming charm right now.
"Mally," she called out softly and was answered by a quiet pop as her personal House Elf appeared promptly in her rooms.
"Yes, Mistress Jacquetta? What do you need from Mally, young miss?" the small elf curtsied politely.
"Could you stoke the fires please? And perhaps a warming charm or two on my clothes, I do so hate this weather, Mally. And do you know where they're keeping the foundlings?"
"Of course, young miss, at once," a snap of her fingers and the fire was roaring and Jacquetta could feel a wonderful warmth rush over her instantly, "the foundling children are being kept in The Morningdale House. Is young miss wanting to go there?"
"Yes, yes I think I shall. Could you bring me a basket of finger foods too, Mally? And a container of hot chocolate; I'm going to go visit the foundlings," she declared, searching the top shelves of her closet for mittens and a scarf.
"Of course, young miss, but your lord father doesn't like you going out alone," warned the elf, wringing her hands slightly at the look her willful young mistress shot her.
"That's fine then, Mally, you'll just have to come with me," Jacquetta decided, "then I won't be alone and father can't complain."
"Yes, Mistress Jacquetta," the elf sighed, "I'll go get the food now, excuse me, Miss."
Jacquetta stopped for a moment before rummaging deeper into her closet and pulling out an old cloak she had out grown years ago. When Mally popped back into the room, food and drink in hand, Jacquetta flounced over and swept the cloak over the startled elf's shoulders.
"Here," she said as she secured the clasp around her elf's neck, "now you won't get cold. And I'm not giving you clothes, you're just borrowing that."
Mally gave her mistress a wobbly smile, "Thank you, young miss. You are most kind to Mally."
The house elf held out the basket for inspection, tugging tearily at the cloak. This wasn't the first time that the young miss had done something like this so Mally knew not to burst into tears. The Somersets were all kind to their House Elves by Wizarding standards but the young lady was uncommonly free with her affections to them, though Mally supposed that she would probably grow out of these childish whims once she matured.
"Right," Jacquetta declared after she had finished peering into each layer of the packed basket, "let's go! I want to get back before breakfast, come along Mally."
Justin could scarcely believe that he had been herded like sheep into a cell with the other boys. They'd separated the girls from their group a little while ago, pulling apart a pair of siblings who had been desperately clinging to each other. He had no idea where he was but Justin was positive his father would send someone after these men and free all of them.
He sniffled a little from the cold. He missed his bed with its warm silken covers and his fur-lined winter coat and everything else warm he owned. His pajamas did little to keep him warm, though he supposed, eyeing another boy, much smaller in stature and dressed in rags not far from him, he was much better off than some of the others. Deciding that it would be much warmer with someone else's body heat than alone, Justin made his way over to the small boy with messy black hair slowly, steering clear of the two brothers crying in the corner.
He settled down beside the startled boy, offering a strained smile, "Hi, I'm Justin, what's your name?"
The boy stared at him with wide, evergreen eyes before ducking his head down, hiding his face in his knees, " 'm Harry," came the muffled response.
"Nice to meet you Harry, though probably be better if we weren't here. How old are you? I just turned eleven a little over a month ago."
"I'm ten," came the quiet reply and Justin started, staring unabashedly at the boy.
"Really? You look much younger than that, probably because you're smaller though," he mused, watching at his companion's pale cheeks turned a faint red in embarrassment, "Do you have any clue what they're going to do with us? Hear them say anything?"
"No," mumbled Harry, shifting uncomfortably under the attention, "I went to sleep on my cot and just woke up in the carriage like everyone else."
"Oh," answered Justin after a beat, "Well that's a shame. I was hoping someone might know."
Before Harry could reply, he heard footsteps from down the hall and Justin shushed him quickly, tugging on his arm so that they both were pressed up against the bars, trying to listen to whatever was happening.
"Hello Mister Thompkins, how do you do?" the polite voice of a young girl could be heard.
"Ah, if it isn't Miss Jacquetta. What's a young lady like you doing here so early in the morning? Does Lord Somerset know you're running about alone?" answered the voice of one of the men who had led them into the cell earlier.
"I heard the bells and I wanted to see the foundlings," came the reply, "I thought maybe if I found one I liked enough, father might agree to foster one of them. And it's fine, Mally is here with me. Did you eat yet, Mister Thompkins? Here, have a pastry. They're still warm from the oven."
"Why thank you, young miss, this is much better than the dry toast I managed to scarf down earlier. Well go on then, I suppose, but be careful, they're wild ones," he chuckled, "would you like me to come with you?"
"Oh, no, I'll be fine. I'm sure they'll be behave. How many did you bring back this time?"
"Eight; five boys and three girls, an unusually large haul. The girls are being cleaned and inspected right now though, so you'll only see the boys I'm afraid."
"That's alright, I don't mind boys, I'm used to my brother. Although a girl would be nice. I'll talk to you later then Mister Thompkins, have a nice morning."
They could hear the footsteps coming closer and Justin scrambled away from the bars, dragging Harry with him again. The two brothers in the corner were still sobbing but noticeably quieter now. The corridor outside the cell was dimly lit by torches; Justin had no idea why they didn't just install lamps or something, but he was more curious about the young girl who was supposedly heading their way. She had called them 'foundlings', what on earth was that?
Before he had time to contemplate further though, a young girl their age appeared in front of their cell with a strange small, wrinkled creature standing behind her. He would feel himself gaping silently for a moment at how pretty she was, fair hair loose around her face and peculiar purple eyes set in a delicate face. Justin tried his best not to stare at the creature though; it looked odd and creepy, almost like a gremlin.
"Hello," she spoke slowly, in the same tone Justin used to coax his dog out from the bathroom during thunderstorms, "Are you hungry? You must be. My name's Jacquetta, I brought you all some food if you'd like some?"
For the longest time they were at a standstill, the boys too frightened to accept the food that she was offering while the girl stood staring at them imploringly.
"I have hot chocolate," she added softly as a bribe and the spell was broken when all four boys scrambled towards the bars at the promise of the warm, sweet beverage.
She smiled sweetly at them and doled out the drink to each of them. They sat down, huddled together with the warm cups cradled in frozen palms, an awkward silence descending again until the younger of the two brothers couldn't help himself and blurted out, "What's that thing behind you?" pointing at the wrinkled creature standing with the girl.
The girl pursed her lips and scowled slightly at the boy, "This is Mally and she's not a thing. She's a House Elf and she's mine."
"I'm sorry," the boy muttered, too uncomfortable to ask what a House Elf was.
She sighed, "Well I supposed it's because you don't know better so I'll forgive you this time. It's alright, you can be taught."
Justin stared at the House Elf silently, glancing at Harry to see the same wondering confusion in his eyes. But then Jacquetta started handing out warm pastries from the basket and both boys decided that it really didn't matter right now. They could ask her later after they filled their stomachs with warm food.
A/N: Like it? Hate it? Want me to just stop and focus on something else instead already, dammit Saadie, why? Hit the review button and let me know! I'm a little nervous about Jacquetta's characterization, to be honest, so if any of you could take a moment to let me know how she came across for you, I would appreciate and love you forever. I've not yet decided if this will be a Harry-centric story yet and am very much open to suggestion. Should I focus only on one character or give some other characters a chance to shine? Have someone in mind? Let me know!
Show some love?
-Saadie