Chapter 2: Slytherin
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The real adventure, it turned out, was to start the very next day. While his mother slept in, as this was her day off, there was a tremendous BANG outside Cody's house, and wondered why the stupid bus had to be so noisy! He ran downstairs, hearing his mother's sleepy voice from the master bedroom asking what that was. Shrugging, Cody called, "It's okay! I'm just going to Hogwarts now, okay?"
"Okay," said his mother sleepily. "Have fun!"
"I will!" Cody poked his head out of the front door, and waved at the purple bus, holding up a finger to indicate he needed to have a minute. He raced upstairs, threw some socks and underwear in his trunk, then took his pajamas off and threw those in as well. After a moment, he added a few of his favorite books, a couple of action figures he liked, his Simba stuffed animal, his Sword of Omens, and a few toys. Then he pushed the heavy trunk towards the stairs, with his bat's cage on top of it. He needed a name for his bat, he realized! A good magic type name. Merlin! He thought that plenty of people probably named their pets Merlin, but that was okay, he didn't mind. He liked the name.
"Are we going to King's Cross Station?" Cody asked eagerly, once he was on board.
"Well of course we are," said the teen, sounding irritable. "'Ow else d'you fink we're goin' to get you to 'Ogwarts, eh?"
"Um, I dunno! Doesn't the Knight Bus go there?"
The teen snorted. "Course not. We're not allowed, well not usually, anyway. Students are s'possed to take the train. Go on back and get a seat now, willya? We've got a sched-ul, 'ere."
Cody shrugged agreeably, dragged his neon-colored trunk into the back, and climbed into a chair. He tried to read on the way there, but one of two things always happened; either he got distracted by the scenery outside, or perhaps the people inside the bus, or he dropped the book every time they made a gigantic leap ahead in the bus.
During one of the quieter spells, Cody let Merlin out to fly around a bit, and discovered that the reason he never heard anything from him last night was because the cage somehow cut out the sound. It must have a spell on it, he decided.
Soon, however, the bus pulled into London, at the train station. Feeling an almost unbearable burst of hyperactivity and excitement, Cody jumped up and down, waiting for the doors to open. When it did, Cody dragged his trunk and Merlin's cage out of the bus, and looked around, at a bit of a loss. He was in London, a city he had never been in before, save for when he was in Diagon Alley. Should he just go into the station? He supposed that he ought to. Cody wondered what time it was. He knew that it should be a very different time here than in America, but strangely, when he looked at a clock inside the station, that it was just about the same time, around ten AM.
It took a lot of asking, but Cody finally found an employee at the station who was not too busy to lead him to the gates, and very soon he found himself at gate 9 in King's Cross station. He giggled nervously, as he looked around the familiar place. He thanked the staff member and looked around, wondering where it was he was supposed to go through the barrier. He went around, feeling all the brick walls, but could not seem to find one that would let his hand through. Maybe he had to walk or run into it, like in the book? What if it was the wrong one? He'd run right into the wall, if that were the case.
Well, he had time. In the end, he decided to wait and see if anyone else went through one of the barriers. Surely he was not the only one here going to Hogwarts!
At ten to eleven, Cody finally got a break, when a blond-haired boy of sixteen or so passed him with a trolley full of three suitcases and a cage of white mice. "Hey!" Cody called eagerly, running to push his cart to meet up with the boy. "Um...hi, are you...are you going to..." He trailed off, wondering what this boy would think if he were not a wizard, and Cody went asking about Hogwarts. But then he noticed that there was a design on the boy's suitcases, one that was an H surrounded by a badger, a raven, a lion, and a snake, and Cody realized this was the right person to talk to. "How do you get to the platform?"
The boy seemed a little surprised that Cody would be going on the train, but shrugged it off. "Follow me," he said. "I'll take you to the right one."
"Thanks," Cody said gratefully, and tagged along.
Once they reached the correct place, Cody saw others who had strange pets, or odd clothing. Definitely wizards, he thought.
"There," the older boy said, pointing to a brick pillar between platforms nine and ten. "See?" Cody looked, and saw two young girls walk right through it, as if it were only illusion. "Go on ahead, kid, I'll see that you make it through okay."
"Okay, thanks." Cody frowned, shrugged, then ran all out towards the brick. Expecting to collide, he gasped as he reached it, but the collision was not forthcoming. In fact, he went right on through, just like he was supposed to! "Cool!" he exclaimed, moving out of the way so that the next person through didn't run into him.
The blond kid came through a moment later, and smiled at the boy. "Good job. Need some help with your luggage?"
"Yes, please," Cody said politely. The older boy helped him willingly enough with his trunk, while Cody carried Merlin's cage into the train. "Thanks! Oh...I'm Cody DeDannan. What's your name?"
"Kyle Tiller." The boy extended a hand, and Cody shook it. "Good luck, kid."
"Thanks!" As the older boy walked away, Cody saw that the crest on his luggage next to the Hogwarts one was a Slytherin logo. Well, he thought, of course they're not all jerks.
Cody found a compartment that had some space left, and ended up with a bunch of Ravenclaws and a few Hufflepuffs. A few asked him why he was going to Hogwarts when he was so young, and he had shrugged and said he didn't know. He just got the letter out of nowhere. This was readily accepted, and the rest of the trip consisted of mostly talk about Hogwarts, and what they were going to be doing that year. Cody felt a little left out, but the conversations were interesting enough that he didn't mind.
When the lunch cart came around, Cody got some goodies off of it, including some Bertie Botts' Every Flavor Beans. He was feeling adventurous! Most of those tasted okay, but there were a few that he wasn't entirely impressed with, and one nasty enough that he spit it out of the train's window. A couple of the other students giggled at this. "What flavor was that one?" one of the girls asked.
"I dunno!" said Cody, looking utterly disgusted. "It was really gross, though!"
"I hear Professor Dumbledore ate a vomit flavored one once," the girl said, looking like she might gag just from the thought. "I haven't been brave enough yet to try ones that I can't identify for sure."
Cody didn't really blame her. The Chocolate Frogs were better, though. He had three, and watched them hop around before eating the chocolate, which was the best he had ever had. Plus, he got a card of Dumbledore, one of Gilderoy Lockhart (which he snickered at), and one of Merlin, which he thought was totally and completely cool. He showed his bat. "See? That's who I named you after!"
Cody was excited, but he was also tired from all the activity. He ended up napping for much of the way to Hogwarts, despite all the people talking, and kids yelling back and forth, and even the occasional spell being set off.
When the train stopped, and there was the call for everyone to get off the train, Cody woke, his eyes going wide. They were really there!
The boy started for where he had stowed his stuff, but was told by an older student that their belongings would be sent up while they were at the opening feast. The opening feast! Just like in the books, where Dumbledore would give out the announcements, and he'd get Sorted – Sorted! Cody bit his lip, suddenly feeling a sort of stage fright. What if he ended up in Hufflepuff, or worse, Slytherin? He wasn't bad enough to be in Slytherin, was he?
He followed the crowd towards the ground of Hogwarts, and got his first astonished glimpse of the castle. It was huge! He found himself both awed and intimidated by its size. How could he ever find his way around something that big?
And speaking of big, Cody's attention was caught by a gruff voice calling "Firs' years this way!" He supposed he was a first year. He turned towards the voice and his eyes widened. Hagrid! And boy, was he huge! Especially to a boy as small as Cody was. And he noticed he was not the only first year that was gaping at the man-mountain; the others seemed as awed.
After a moment, Cody began looking around, hoping eagerly to catch a glimpse of more people that he would recognize, but they were being ushered along so fast he had hardly any chance to look.
The little group of first years was led down to a lake, black in the night, and told to get into the boats that awaited them. Each boat had a lantern on a pole to light the way, but the light did not reach far through the inky air. It did shine eerily on the black water, though. Hagrid filled one boat all by himself, while the others held four students each. Cody sat at the bow of one of the boats, staring in fascination at the lit castle before them.
The ride was smooth, and no one took a dive into the lake, like Cody remembered happened later in the series. He himself made sure he stayed sitting down, so he didn't embarrass himself by doing just that. He tried to get a glimpse of the giant squid, but could see nothing in the black water.
When the boats reached the far side of the lake, the first years were led up to the castle, where a severe looking Professor McGonagall led them upstairs, to right outside the Great Hall. She explained to them how the Houses worked, and about earning and losing points. It was a completely alien concept for Cody, and he was a little nervous. What if he lost a bunch of points for Gryffindor? Could he change the outcome of the story? And then once that was thought, he wondered if he would now be in the book.
While McGonagall headed inside to see if they were ready for the first years, the students talked among themselves, but this was soon interrupted by a screech from one of the first years, and then a few more. Cody looked up and gasped. The ghosts! The Hogwarts ghosts were trailing past them and into the Great Hall. He stared, and then laughed. A real ghost! Just wait until he told Mom about this!
After a while, the children were led into the Great Hall, which was grander and more breathtaking than Cody could have imagined. He could not only see the magic in the place, but he could feel it, too. He could hear it, and even smell it. Even reading could not have put such a place in his imagination.
They were all gathered in a line before a stool that held the Sorting Hat, an ancient, battered, torn hat that looked far too big for anyone there to be able to wear and still be able to see. It was covered in rips, and as each student sat on the stool and tried the hat on, a rip in the hat shouted out the name. Cody blinked, wondering how the hat talked, if it didn't have a throat or lungs! He supposed that magical things didn't have to have either of these to be able to talk, but it was still a very strange sight.
With a name beginning with "d", Cody was one of the first to be sorted, and he swallowed hard when his name was read for everyone to hear. Well, that settled whether he was supposed to be here or not! He stepped up to the stool, giving the hat an uncertain look. He looked up at Professor McGonagall, who gave him an impatient look, then picked up the hat. He climbed up into the stool, shut his eyes tight, and put the hat on.
The hat sank all the way down below his nose, and he heard some muffled giggles from outside the hat. That was okay, he thought. He probably looked pretty funny! He adjusted it a little so that his breathing wasn't restricted, and then waited.
"Interesting," the hat said quietly in his ear, and the boy nearly jumped off the stool. "Don't see many your age here, now do we? Hmm. Plenty of adventure and rebellion in your mind here, some cleverness and mischief. Hmm." Cody waited, holding his breath, and hoping sincerely to hear "Gryffindor" from the hat's mouth. "Well, I think you'll fit well in...." The hat raised its voice to shout, "Slytherin!" and Cody once again nearly feel off the stool, this time in astonishment.
"Slytherin?" he cried in disbelief, as the professor nudged him off the stool. How'd he end up in Slytherin? A little dazed, the child wandered down towards the table that was a mass of black, green, and silver, and was welcomed by the students there. He ended up sitting next to Marcus Flint, he realized, who was captain of the Quidditch team. The older boy clapped Cody on the shoulder. Cody was still trying to figure out how he had ended up in Slytherin, when "Potter, Harry" was called up front. Like most everyone else, Cody stood, craning his neck to see. He ended up having to stand on the bench to see over the older students.
Wow, Cody thought. He looks as nervous as I was! Harry was pronounced a Gryffindor, and the Sorting went on. Weird, Cody thought. Weird, how he had ended up in Slytherin. He wasn't sure if he thought that was cool, or if it upset him. He certainly didn't like Snape much! He hoped Snape wouldn't be as mean to Cody as he had been to Harry. And what if he was mean to people in front of Cody? He didn't think that he could just stand there and let them! Teachers in England seemed meaner than teachers in America; at least they were in all the stories. And if he stood up for Harry Potter against the Slytherin teacher...
Frowning a bit, Cody settled back down as the Sorting concluded.
Dumbledore greeted the students, bid them welcome, and invited the feast to begin!
The food appeared on the tables as if from nowhere, to the gasps of surprise and awe from the newer students. There was no end to the things that kept delighting Cody in this place, and he looked at the food first, before indulging. And then, as the whiffs of fantastic food greeted his nostrils, Cody realized how hungry he was. He looked down at his shiny plate and goblet, then shrugged, taking a little of everything to try. A lot of things he could not recognize, and he seemed to remember that Hogwarts had some weird sounding stuff. Either that, or England just had weird food!
He didn't care for the pumpkin juice, or for some of the food, but the rest was to his liking. He nabbed some of what tasted like a very refreshing apple juice, and was content with that as his drink. He picked out Draco Malfoy, who was sitting next to the Bloody Baron, the ghost of Slytherin. Draco looked less than pleased, and Cody didn't blame him! That Bloody Baron was really creepy! Cody was glad it was Draco, and not him!
Cody listened to the conversations as he ate; mostly it seemed to be about their lineage, whose father was in what house, and how many siblings people had, and the like. There was a bit of talk about Muggles, both unfavorable and fairly neutral, and then someone asked Cody a question. "Your name's Cody, huh?" It was Marcus, the one Cody was sitting next to. Cody looked up and nodded. "So how old are you, anyway?"
Cody finished his mouthful and answered. "Seven."
Marcus raised his brows. "Seven? You sure, kid? I mean, I've heard of people starting early, but..."
Feeling mildly offended, Cody nodded. "I'm sure. My birthday's March thirteenth! I'm gonna be eight when it's spring again." Or would he? He thought. It only just then occurred to him that it had been early summer when he first got on the Knight Bus, and Hogwarts didn't start until the fall! But then, who said magic had to make sense?
"Wow. Well you got your letter, someone must know what they're doing. DeDannan...never heard of that family. But then you're from America, right? Probably the only American here."
Cody was silent a moment, finishing a delicious bite of the bird whose drumstick he had been dining on. He wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his robe, and answered. "I don't know who my real mom and dad are...were," he said. "I was a baby, and they died. I got adopted, an' that's where I got my last name!"
"Your adopted parents are magic folk, right?" a girl asked. Cody thought she might be Millicent Bulstrode, but he wasn't sure. Her voice was annoying enough, certainly. Maybe Pansy Parkinson.
"I don't think they are."
The girl frowned. "So they're Muggles?"
Cody nodded. "Yep! But they're really good Muggles, not the jerk kind. So no making fun of 'em!" Cody tended to be protective of his family. "Besides, it's just a mom that adopted me. An' she adopted another kid that's my little sister now."
Cody found he was getting a few strange looks, as if the ones wearing those looks weren't sure how to take Cody, but he didn't mind. He had said what he said, and he meant it! Soon, the conversation shifted to the classes, how hard they were going to be, and all the other things that the first years wanted to know about. Cody listened to these with interest, again worrying that being so much younger than everyone else, that he would not do as well. He sure hoped that he didn't make too much of a fool of himself! After all, Slytherins were supposed to be clever at least!
Once everyone had stuffed themselves silly, the food and plates disappeared from the tables, and Dumbledore again stood to address the students.
The start of term notices were given, all ones he recognized from the book. He did not have a whole lot of interest in the third floor, knowing what was up there, but the forest sounded like a grand place to explore! He was wondering just how hard it would be to sneak off into there and look around a little. He blushed a little bit as he realized he was already thinking about rule-breaking, and remembered what the Sorting Hat had said about mischief. Well, maybe Slytherin wasn't that strange for him, after all.
When Dumbledore used his wand to write the school song in the air, and told everyone to pick their favorite tune, Cody was little taken aback. To the horrid "singing" that followed, with each student singing a different song from his neighbor, he giggled. But then he joined in, singing the school words to the theme song of the ThunderCats. He thought it sounded pretty good! And once the twins were done droning their version of the song, it was time for bed.
The Slytherin common room and dormitories were down in the dungeon, and Cody shivered a little bit as they descended. It was cold and clammy down here, and he didn't much like the cold. He heard that it was never very warm in England, and he supposed that was true. That's the only thing he thought he wouldn't like about the place!
The Slytherin prefect led the first years down gray, stone steps, until they reached a blank bit of wall, and Cody hoped he could remember where it was. Getting to classes the first couple of weeks wasn't going to be all too easy if he had to do it alone! The prefect stopped by the door, and turned to the students. "You need a password to get inside," he told them. "This password is not to be given to anyone outside of Slytherin. Now remember this: the password for now is: Serpent Tongue. If the password gets changed, you'll need to find one of the prefects and ask what it is." The boy turned back around, repeated the password, and the cleverly hidden stone door slid open, opening the way.
Cody thought the common room kind of creepy, with its stone walls and greenish lamps all around the room. He half expected to see shackles hanging from the ceiling, but there were none. It was warm, though, as there was a fire blazing in the fireplace. Several high-backed chairs sat near the fire, with several more scattered around the room. A few tables sat here and there, as well as a sofa along one wall.
"The dormitories are to either side of the common room," the prefect said, gesturing to opposite sides of the room. "Girls to the left, boys to the right. Your things have been brought there already, and your beds have been made up."
Cody wanted badly to stay up and explore, but he figured he had all the time in the world for that. For now he was staggering, he was so tired, and he could not quit yawning. When the other first year boys headed for their dorm, Cody followed.
The boys' dormitory consisted of a long, dark hallway with seven doors. One for each year, he realized, which he was happy about. He didn't want to sleep with too many people, especially if they snored!
When the first years opened their door, Cody peered around Vincent Crabbe's robes into the room. It was a largish chamber, with a handful of four-poster beds in them, the kind that Ebeneezer Scrooge slept in, in A Christmas Carol. "Neat!" he exclaimed, creeping into the room.
Cody's bed was to the right, near the wall a little ways from the door, with his trunk and Merlin's cage between the wall and the bed. He grinned and said hello to his bat, who seemed to squeak back, but the enchanted cage prevented the noise from reaching Cody's ears. He intended to bring Merlin everywhere with him at school.
Draco Malfoy expressed an interest in Cody's bat, and Cody showed him off to the other boys in the dorm. Draco introduced himself, Crabbe, and Goyle, and Cody told them his name. "And this is Merlin," he said, indicating the bat.
Draco nodded. "He's pretty cool. Better get some sleep, kid. Classes are gonna be hard at first, to someone who's never studied magic before."
The trio turned away towards their own bunks, and Cody wasn't sure if he'd just been insulted, or not. Finally, he figured it was Draco, and that was probably as nice as he got! Yawning, he rubbed his eyes and pulled back the drapes around his bed. It looked warm and cozy. Cody climbed inside, spent a few moments struggling to close the drapes, and slipped under the covers.
The bed was surprisingly comfortable, and Cody sank into the soft mattress. This was just the kind of bed he would like to have at home, he decided, laying his head on the down pillow. He let out a contented sigh, closed his eyes, and was out within seconds.