Chapter 1 - Day Zero

[] [] [] – Laila

The old steam train slammed its horn as it crossed into Scotland, on a dreary day deep in September as the rain struck the windows with a harsh clatter. The radio was broken, only delivering static as the steel brute pushed its way north to its destination. Of course, for the people onboard, it was anything but, because this train was due towards the illustrious Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

For everyone, there was an air of excitement, as good natured ribbing and running jokes permeated the older years, as friends reunited after a summer away. Among the first years, the mere presence of the miracles ahead provided enough excitement. The internals of the Hogwarts Express was never still nor silent, as the various prank tools obtained through means of varying legality detonated about the hall like rainbow hand grenades, which forced the incredibly grumpy Defence against the Dark Arts teacher to save the students from shell shock before they even arrive. Laila Faust sighed as the deep bellow permeated the several cabins through to the one the slim, quiet girl sat alone in. She for one was dreading what lay ahead, gazing deep into Northumberlands rolling hills as if they would offer a solution to her worried mind.

Instead, the black haired, pale girl got a knock on the door. Frustrated, she turned her head towards the frosted glass door, rich black hair waving across the cabin behind her, as calmly as she could word the beginnings of "I'm sorry, but I do not need anything off the trolley, thank you.", only to be interrupted by herself as she observed the small figure before her. She recoiled, before beckoning the girl in before apologising profusely. As Laila attempted to work out what she may have said in her moment of impetulance, the girl waved it off, and asked "Mind if I sit with you? Everywhere else is full, and I'm so lonely!"

Laila's face fell slightly, as the reddy-brown 11 year old exuded an air of absurd glee for the adventure ahead. 'Gryffindor,' Laila thought to herself grimly. 'Definitely.'

Still, never a bad time to make friends, unless her greatest enemy planned to haunt her so soon into her schooling. "What's your name?" she inquired politely as she had been taught, crossing her fingers the ditzy girl wouldn't be from an old family.

Unfortunately, her hopes were dashed as through a comically wide smile she squealed "I'm Anna Król!" She looked a bit downcast, as she continued "That names from Poland, it's an old wizard family, and I've been looking forward to this for ages... And yourself?"

Anna's eyes looked back up into the pale girls face, as she seemed to retreat out of a fear, as she realised what she was worried about. Laila moved forward, politely taking her hand to reassure her "It's quite alright. I don't mind at all about your nationality."

The Polish girls face lifted up in a new brightness, as Laila continued "I'm Laila"

She perked up to no end at this, returning to form with a gleeful fist pump, and yelling "Alright! Hey, when we get in why don't we work together and beat all the Slytherins!"

It was Laila's face's turn to fall, as she knew exactly which house she was going into. Her greatest enemy haunted her so soon out the gate. There was no way a Faust was being put into anything except Slytherin, unless you planned on being practically excommunicated for most of your teenage life. Growing up as a noble pureblood was no easy feat, owing to the fact that she wasn't allowed to have too many friends. Whatever "friends" she had were all only around due to her wealth and status. That's why she felt dismay as Anna described the adventures they were going to have, almost to the point that she missed the quiet cough at the door. As they both turned to the source of the noise, and were visibly shocked, not that it mattered with this person.

The sorry, slim figure leant on the door, as if the wind was about to blow him out the window and carry him away into the Scottish Highlands. All he wore was a knee length white hospital gown, with no shoes. His harsh lines looked unfamiliar with food, and his weary face looked unfamiliar with sleep. Of course, that was still not the most remarkable thing about the frail figure, as he wore a black ropelike cloth across his eyes, stretching back and tied with a reef knot at the back, with red blotches down the skin stretching below the fabric, a sign of the state of his eyes. As he spoke, he struggled to make himself heard over the noise of the train, with the voice of an eighty year old softly spreading around the room through a deep, if wheezy Welsh accent and a slight stutter.

"Do you.. do you mind if I sit here?" he whispered, unsure as to who was in the cabin, moving his head around the room, not even sure if he would get a response. The newly confident Anna spoke up. "Come on in! Sit beside me!"

His face stayed low, as he gripped the edges of the doors for dear life, as he brought himself round to the cushioned chair. Like an old man, he breathed a soft sigh as he rested. Laila, who found the boy curious, asked "Are you a first year too?", to which he turned to her, seeing her for the first time, before responded "Yes. Lucas Jacobson Beck, at your service." Before Laila could respond with the first sane person she'd met all day, from the train station and on, Anna butted in with "Awesome! I'm Anna, and this is Laila!" He nodded to the pair, before leaning back, and queried "What houses do you suppose you will be admitted to?"

"Both Gryffindors, right here!" Anna responded instantly, causing Laila to move about awkwardly, and quietly agree. His brow furrowed as he seemed to focus in on Laila, seeming to sense the tension. For a blind man, he certainly saw a lot, Laila thought. He gave a slight smirk, as if acknowledging her issue, before chuckling softly "I guess we'll see."

Before an awkward silence could permeate around the shaggy, quiet boy, a far louder one appeared, complete with short spiky blonde hair and a beret, holding a pair of headphones and a clean, confident face, eying up the last spot before peering at the occupants with a sly grin, and an eyebrow asking the unspoken question. Anna was somewhat distracted, so Laila invited him in as she greeted him in with "Of course, there is a free seat here." Immediately, Lucas broke in with "Who is it?" Laila frowned at his manners, before the confident boy responded by waving her concern, and charismatically responding "Names Tyler Brown, good to meet you!", greeting them with his arms as much as his mouth, gesturing to them all as he introduced himself. He looked quite handsome for an eleven year old, with fiery orange hair, and a tall, strong build. As he sat down, he asked the crowd "D'you want to be friends?" Lucas restrained himself to a respectful nod, Laila replied "Of course", in a mannerly way, Anna exploded over the fellow extrovert, introducing everyone present, as Tyler responded smoothly to each person. Laila went back to fiddling with the radio, and Anna and Tyler went back and forth, with Lucas occasionally interrupting with probing questions and sniping responses, as the train tirelessly moved north.

[] [] [] – Laila

The group departed onto the platform just past 10 o'clock, as the white smoke rose up from the tracks starkly contrasting the black night. The various hubbubs of groups departed, as Laila joined her new friends. Lucas had proven very difficult to manage to move, as while he claimed he could reasonably move about, one instance of walking into the station door was proof enough for the other three that he was going to need some serious help getting around. Laila was relieved that at least he was light as he leaned on them more and more on the walk to the carriages, Tyler jibing him all the way. As they hauled him in and onto the elevated seat an hour behind, shivering under the scowl of Caretaker Jech, a short man with wrinkles within wrinkles and a massive inferiority complex, they leaned back and caught their breath.

"Why do I get the feeling we're going to be doing this a lot?" Tyler quipped to the girls, before the sarcastic reply softly rose out of the carriage "You might say that, I couldn't possibly comment." Rolling his eyes, Tyler called back "You better learn to walk fast Lucas, or I might drop you if you keep that up!" A chuckle was all they got in response, as the Caretaker grunted, to hurry them in. As they all piled in, the springs along the axle fell under their pressure. It was well lined, with leather stitching along the brass edges and pulled by an invisible magic. Of course, that was not the focus of the night. As the carriage moved along into the night, Tyler, a half blood who only learned of the magical world when he received that fateful letter, quizzed Anna on the magical world.

"So we get to fly broomsticks? Woah, what's that like? Is it like in a game, or?"

"Nah, you fly it with your thoughts!"

"Nice! It's so cool you grew up with this stuff.."

Laila and Lucas sat on the opposite end, conversely silent. They were both deep in thought, occasionally asking questions but listening rather than talking. Laila knew exactly what her own problem was, but she found Lucas a mystery. Anna and Tyler were open books, but Lucas' resting scowl betrayed nothing. As if summoned, he finally spoke again "S-so how long have you known? About… magic..."

Caught off guard, she responded mannerly, unfamiliar with friends, especially ones wearing hospital gowns,but she responded courteously with "Yes, both my parents were magical, my whole family is. We're… we're referred to as pure bloods."

She looked ashamed saying that, knowing how superior it made her sound. But when she looked up, she was shocked to see a smile on his face.

"So, a…. pure blood by definition would imply a... higher status, but your... disdain in admitting it shows it's an old notion from the establishment. Of course, there is a…. likelihood of this being enforced more strongly a few generations ago much as in, and... old habits die hard. There will probably be others a little less considerate than you, which means I'm going to have to watch my back. Thank you... I now know a little bit about social history and you yourself, as you proved empathetic. From the train, when I asked your houses you were quite... apprehensive, which leads me to believe you may be put in a more conservative house due to family, where you fear you won't fit in."

She froze as he let out his final wheeze of analysis, wheels in her head turning at lightspeed. He had seen right through her. He could well be an eighty year old in boys body. Her eyes widened as he sat back and almost dialled out, not even giving his emotional hammer blow a second thought. Even the oblivious pair in the front noticed her disbelief.

"You alright?" Tyler asked, not missing a beat. Laila shook her head, and Tyler asked no more, engaging masterfully in small talk all the way to the lake, even drawing a few quiet, calculated sentences out of Lucas along the ride. After a while, they arrived at the shore of the lake, and transitioned from the carriage to the boats. The boats certainly proved interesting, after Lucas had changed into his Hogwarts gown in private in a toilet next to the lakeside, prompting the question from Anna as they entered the water "Why didn't you get your things before heading to London?"

Lucas paused, mid entry into the boat, turning back slightly and whispering "M-Maybe sometime else…", before sitting at the helm and gripping the light with white hands as the others began to row. As they set off into the Black Lake, he whispered "What… what does it look like?"

Tyler, who was sitting behind him, leant forward and whispered back "It's an old scottish castle, tall and grey, peaking up into the sky like a fairy story with the spiked tops. It has a bridge leading in from the lake, up to the edge where the castle rises like a wall with the earth, with hundreds of window, all lit up like halloween orange. It's split into three parts, a hall closer to the lake, a grand tower above it all, and a hubbub of smaller towers."

"Beautiful…" Anna finished, as Lucas smiled genuinely stroking his fingers into the lakewater, and taking in the night air. Laila sat at the back, still fretful. Lucas had seen through her, even if he was still too unfamiliar with the ins and outs of the wizarding world to give names, he saw the pattern. Anna was going to be horrified. Tyler seemed nice enough that he would understand, but he had seemed somewhat superficial.

Was she going to lose her new friends?

[] [] [] - Laila

They had been waiting outside the great hall fifteen minutes now, and the student body was beginning to get nervous and shuffly, as the temperature of the small room skyrocket from the hundred or so people standing in the confined space. Lucas and Anna were freaking out, though Lucas was doing it in a remarkably understated way, Tyler was introducing himself in his confident manner, and Laila's annoyance was punctuated by the arrival of the last two people she wanted to see.

"Laila, it's very good to see you."

She internally groaned as she turned to face her two acquaintances, Roland Artois and and Maria Da Carrara, the respective heirs to their families, and two of the three big European houses. Faust was the third, from Germany.

'Just like me…' She thought.

They had been introduced at a young age, always interacting in the gardens of their mansions in measured tones, not wanting to harm their respective families standing as hired guards watched from an apathetic distance. She would call their relationship… 'cold, but mutually beneficial'. Of course they would be joining her in Slytherin. Maybe her calling the relationship to the people she'd known longer than anyone 'cold' was a sign she was better suited than she thought.

"Indeed.." she responded to Roland, who had the better command of English. Despite her German background, she had been raised in England and spoke clearly and with good diction, if a little coldly, unlike the other two who lived in France and Italy respectively. Roland muttered back to Maria in Italian, before responding "It's good to see some people with manners around here. Speaking of which..." he affirmed, before turning to Lucas, who stood behind Laila, subconsciously gripping her arm to not get lost in the crowd, "I can't imagine your behaviour is appreciated by Miss Faust." Lucas turned to face him, noticing him seemingly for the first time, and seemed to drill holes into the aristocrat with an eyeless glare, before whispering "If you... seem so concerned regarding her… we-wellbeing, then why don't you ask her?"

This certainly was a shock to Roland's system, having lived surrounded by yes men, which was Lucas' exact intent. He visibly retreated, as Maria took up the attack.

Vaffanculo! This is outrageous! You cannae…. You cannae touch her! Lai-la! Tell him!

She turned her hissing face to Roland, screaming more obscenities, allowing Laila a moment to turn back to back to her new friends, Tyler in his element with a large group surrounding him, Anna planning her entire future with a few close people from her youth, and Lucas standing by, giving a knowing nod back at her.

"Go on" he piped.

Before she could enquire further, a middle aged, stocky man with shoulder length black hair with a low fringe commanded the attention of the room, entering silently but suddenly the loudest person in the room. He walked through the now still crowd, as even Tyler and Anna quieted down. As he spoke in a deep, bassy voice, native to the north, he commanded the attention of the room with "Good evening, and welcome to Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am your year head and Muggle Studies Professor, Mr Hagee. The other students are now assembled. Please make your ways inside quietly and wait to be sorted among the four houses of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Please, after me." he announced, before turning and waving his wand above his head grandiosely, opening the large doors to the Grand Hall. Laila had heard her uncles and father describe it when they spoke with her whenever the topic strayed from family matters, it would always go to Hogwarts. And it certainly lived up to any and all expectations, as everyone's heads were drawn upwards towards the clear night sky projected onto the roof, with the moon shining bright over the teachers row, which brought their eyes back to rest. Four rows of seats stretched from there back to them, with ornate decorations and classical carvings. They began to walk slowly up the aisle, Lucas holding close to Tyler and Anna, as they reached the far end. An elderly woman, with grey hair and a wooden cane at the centre of the row of teachers stood, and took position in front of a stand carved into the shape of an owl.

"Good evening" she began in an upper class English accent not unlike Laila's own. "I am Headmaster McGonagall. I look forward to your academic careers here at Hogwarts, and without further ado, let us get started with the sorting ceremony."

The ones who had heard what was about to happen began to shuffle in excitement as she read out the first name. "Roland Artois!"

The bulky, tanned boy walked up with a prideful step, no hesitation or lack of confidence as Lucas whispered to Anna and Tyler "What's going on?"

Tyler smiled to him, before resuming his running commentary "He's walking up to an old seat… she's putting an old worn hat on his head….."

A hush fell over the room, in anticipation, for nearly twenty seconds before the hat bellowed out "Slytherin!", causing a spontaneous round of applause from the green table, and a frightened jolt from Lucas at the unexpected yell. McGonagall smiled, before inviting the next student up. After a few students, the first of Laila's new friends was called up.

"Tyler Brown!"

[] [] [] - Tyler

Tyler walked up, head held high, up the steps towards the seat and hat. His smile was genuine, as he looked forward to what may happen. He turned and sat down into it, as he felt a weight fall onto his head, rough and

"Mmm…"

"Hullo?"

"My, we have an interesting case… certainly brave, but that isn't your prevailing quality, no, not at all. You care for others, even your enemies, and do your best to bridge the gap…."

"Carlisle…" He thought back to the incident that nearly got him arrested. It had been so plain, and even now thinking about it he refused to accept he was in the wrong in trying to help them. Why was there not a middle ground?

"You weren't. Don't doubt yourself. You are right more than you think. You certainly get your point across well. You often fail to see context, painting with a wide brush, with no nuance. Nonetheless, you host a lot of qualities, and can communicate between them to achieve your goals. It's a close call, but better be..."

The hat reared its head to announce "Hufflepuff!"

The room applauded, as Anna looked proud but disappointed, Lucas remained a mystery and Laila shook her head. Tyler himself was somewhat shook up, his minding reeling at the hats critique of him. Still, he managed to put on his strong face, as he seemingly always did. Anna had looked so sad, but Lucas was the wildcard.

As if the Headmaster could read minds, she announced "Lucas Beck!"

[] [] [] - Lucas

'Lucas Jacobson Beck..' he thought only half ironically as his mind went from testing the room with his feet, using the echoes of applause to sense the boundaries of the room, before turning his mind to navigating the stairs. He took a slow approach, testing the steps before applying pressure to them. Slowly but surely he moved towards the chair, placing his bony hands on the sides of the wooden seat, turning round to face the student body before sitting down. The seat was rough, even through the thick cloak, as he spread his hands onto the armrests unlike all the others before him. The hat was surprisingly light, and it fit very well, settling round the rim of his head. It whispered into his ear "Hmm…. despite your supposed mystique, you are surprisingly easy to read…"

He began to clam up, as the hat moved straight to his insecurities.

"You cover your pain through thought and value. Certainly not the worst coping method, but your introversion is your biggest obstacle. Not everyone's coming for your eyes…."

He bowed his head slightly, as the hat finished up by announcing, sounding unsurprised "Ravenclaw!"

One lane of the room broke into spontaneous applause, guiding him slowly to the far corner, as a student's hand brought him down to rest on the Ravenclaw bench. Wanting to catch up on time after the slow performance, McGonagall pressed her glasses at the bridge of her nose and continued "Anna Król!"

[] [] [] - Anna

The Pole followed up in her new friends footsteps, sitting down, putting on a confident face, but feeling like a nervous wreck. She stepped up to the plate, and on the hat went.

"So…."

She stiffed up in anticipation. She had been told that having your soul bared out in front of you in all its flaws was quite unnerving.

"Why are you holding yourself in? Putting a brave face on as it were... You have Gryffindors bravery, but discretion is the better part of valor. You don't know who you may be hurting. Still, better be..."

The hat yelled out "Gryffindor!"

With mixed emotions, she put the hat aside, and walked silently towards her table, thoughtful for the first time since boarding the train. As she sat onto her seat, the long awaited moment arrived, as McGonagall called out "Laila Faust!"

Anna held her breath in anticipation for her friend to join her at the table, as she had felt let down by both Tyler and Lucas's selections, as she held her arms close in hope. As the short girl stepped up to the seat and sat down. Laila immediately looked saddened and ashamed, and seemed to hold a conversation with the hat. Laila's eyes moved among her three friends, as did Anna's. With Laila holding a defeated expression, the hat announced to much fanfare "Slytherin!"

Anna reeled back in surprise. Laila walked down to a politely clapping Slytherin table, as she thought about their conversation.

"Both Gryffindors, right here!" Anna had responded instantly, causing Laila to move about awkwardly, and quietly agree. His brow furrowed as he seemed to focus in on Laila, seeming to sense the tension. He gave a slight smirk, as if acknowledging her issue, before chuckling softly "I guess we'll see."

She realised the hat was right. She made friends and stood up for those she knew, but didn't ask whether they wanted it.

Discretion is the better part of valor…