Milly
A Fate Decided
After coming to a stop on the train and floating across a pitch black lake, Sirius, James, and I arrived at the shores of Hogwarts. It was even grander than I'd imagined. Old stone towers reached into the cloudless night, large bits of the castle were hanging over the water without as much as a pebble keeping them attached to the side of the cliff. A reflection was cast over the lake, the candlelight from the open windows giving the appearance that will-o-the-wisps were dancing across the water. I watched closely as birds flew towards the tallest tower, and from it as well, while their silhouettes contrasted the stark white moon off in the distance.
You could say I was entranced by the place. And you'd be correct. Places the likes of Hogwarts just simply didn't exist anymore. I read about them in books and got a gist of them from the pictures but you can't grasp the magic wafting off such a beautiful building in a flat two dimensional photograph. As I sat next to some girl I didn't even care to learn the name of I reached into my robe and pulled out Truffles who had been curled up in an inner pocket. He blinked his beady black eyes up at me and yawned. What a cute little creature.
We arrived at the shore much sooner than I liked. As our enchanted boat carried itself onto the rocks I sighed in reluctance. If I had it my way I would never have gone to classes at all. I would've just sat and watched the mystical castle until I grew tired, fell asleep, only to wake up early the next day and do it all over again. But, sadly, there wasn't a class at Hogwarts for sitting and staring. Besides James was the one who would've gotten an Outstanding on his O.W.L.s in that subject with him pining after the same redhead for seven years. He was the expert at sitting and staring.
Speaking of the mop topped lug, him and Sirius' boat had just pulled itself up onto shore next to mine. They were arguing about something or another and pushing each other to get out of the stupid thing. While they tried their darnedest not to fall face first into rubble I decided to leave the company of my fellow boatmate to join them. They smiled when they saw me, waving and shoving each other one last time before ceasing that rubbish.
"Long time no see!" James said jokingly.
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah. It was a heart wrenching twenty minutes."
The boys smiled at my typical sarcasm and we regrouped with the rest of the first years and Hagrid, a giant of a man that was tasked with greeting us and escorting us to the castle. Standing at at least eight feet Hagrid cast a wide and lengthy shadow over James and Sirius as well as myself. He held a lantern high above everyone and squinted his black eyes at us.
"Keep close now!" Hagrid bellowed for all to hear. And as we were within close enough proximity to the man we winced when our ear drums began to ring. "Der's all sorts of creatures that'd love ter take a bite outta ya younglin's lurkin' beneath this here castle!"
Once the word "creatures" left Hagrid's lips, more like left his beard, I turned to Sirius and hissed, "He can't be serious!"
He nodded but was grinning deviously. "You're right. He can't." He paused to cast me a wink. "I'm Sirius."
At first I was confused. But eventually I put together his little joke and gave his arm a good knock. Sirius rubbed the spot I punched him but was still smiling valiantly. I had fully intended on giving him a firm verbal reprimand when the awkward group of eleven years old began shuffling along after Hagrid. By the size of him he'd been heading towards the castle for a while. He almost appeared to be a normal bloke from this distance. Which couldn't be further from the truth.
As we walked forth while trying not to trip over each other's robes, attire I surely loathed when compared to my comfy jumper, an indiscernible amount of worry arose in me. The most challenging confrontation I had faced up until then was pulling my favourite bag from the jaws of el Cornetto, my long since dead dog, rest in peace you foul mutt. And I just ended up throwing a treat out into the lawn to avert his attention. So I was pretty good at cheating my way through such things.
But creatures? No way, no fucking way. Even the small amount of magic I had tried to produce up until then was barely anything at all. I guess I sort of understood what Ollivander meant when he said my wand was "temperamental". Just a few orange sparks and not much else. I was just hoping that this Hagrid was better apt in using a wand than I.
To pass the time I pulled out something I'd tucked away in the pockets of my robe. It was a bit of my story that I'd written on the train after meeting the boys. There wasn't much but I didn't actually remember most of it so a reread was clearly in order. I unfolded the bit of parchment and began reading.
The four men that had so gratefully saved the Queen from the hags turned out to be a group of knights on patrol for a nearby kingdom. They were aware to the state of her kingdom and had their eyes out for her since. They tried to convince the Queen to leave behind the caravan to join them on their journey back to their king. And though she was quite hesitant in accompanying four strangers into the unknown, she eventually complied with their requests. They had rescued her, hadn't they? If it weren't for them then she would've probably been harmed by the hags. The knight, they provided her with a beautiful auburn steed and they rode onwards towards the south, towards a new life for the Queen.
Some time later they came to the drawbridge of the knights' kingdom, a soldier from his post above waved the Queen and her company through. As they approached the castle droves of citizens moved to either sides of the dusty streets to allow them passage. They seemed to know who the Queen was; her name was often heard whispered amongst them. But that wasn't the only thing she noticed…
Not only did men and women line the streets, an assortment of animals did as well. Beasts and creatures of all sizes, none the likes she had never seen before. Large felines apparently talking to villagers, frogs and other slimy creatures sat regally on counters and exchanged gold coins for food or cloth; it was as if these animals were a result of some sort of witchcraft. It disturbed the Queen to no end.
"Do no fret, your Highness." One of the knights called from behind her, clearly aware to her perturbed gaze. "Those around you would rather do harm onto themselves than frighten the benevolent Queen."
Over her cloaked shoulder she nodded at the knight. She was just unnerved was all. She may not have been born with a silver spoon between her lips but she'd long since grown accustomed to the royal life. But she was now a Queen without a kingdom. Practically a commoner. There were few she could rely on to keep her safe and out of harm.
Finally, though, they came to the castle. The knights dismounted first and one with scars riddling his face came and helped the Queen down from her steed. She nodded her thanks and followed the four men as they marched boldly through the castle doors. And even though she at first carried herself strong and brazen, she soon found her jaw agap and her senses bombarded by the most beautiful tapestries and décor of rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and citrine she had ever seen.
In front of her sat an old man in a magnificent throne. To his side stood a lanky thin man with greasy black hair and a narrowed gaze. At his feet sat ever more animals, a large lioness sat poised in a serious manner, a python that had wrapped loosely around a small badger, and a raven that had perched itself comfortably on the old man's bony arm. With closer inspection, the Queen realised that she recognised the King.
It was none other than the sorcerer who had aided her in her escape and had tried so hard to keep her kingdom standing.
"You…" She breathed with a smile on her face as she shook her head.
The sorcerer's face wrinkled in kindness. "Miss Millicent. It's good to see that you are unscathed."
The Queen nodded. "It would not have been so if your knights hadn't saved me when they had."
His eyebrow raised in confusion. "Knights? You mean the four brothers?"
The King gestured to the four men who had lowered themselves to kneel before their monarch. "We're sorry, you're Highness. We left to search for her without being told to do so." One spoke out earnestly.
"'Tis true, Milord." Another piped in. "We could not sit around on our asses in good conscious."
"We know that we are not knights, nor are we of the royal court, we are four simple sons of a poor wizard who could not bear the thought of Lady Millicent being without protection when she was at her most vulnerable." A third offered in a tone a bit quieter than his other brothers.
The last had a bit to contribute as well. "Despite that we are not soldiers of the crown we could not deny the urge we all felt to protect the Queen."
For a moment everything fell quiet. The King smiled to himself and the Queen looked on in confusion. She had been lied to. It was not a feeling she was accustomed to experiencing. She did not know them personally so she wasn't completely devastated but there was the slightest bit of pain from the small betrayal. She decided in a brief thought to put it behind her. She was a queen, not a mewling quim.
The brother's all continued to prattle off excuses for what they had done but the kind King motioned for their silence. "I am not going to punish you, brave ones. But rather I am going to do something to excuse your rash actions." He paused momentarily to moisten his old and cracked lips. "You are to be knighted under the protections of one of the four Earls."
"I beg your pardon." The lioness grumbled as she glared up at the old man.
The King nodded solemnly to the talking feline. "My sincerest apologies, you will be knighted under the protection of either the Earls or by the Countess. I had actually intended for them to serve under your crest."
The Countess smiled wide, her fangs shining over her curled lips. "A smart match, indeed." She agreed wholeheartedly.
Beside the King the lanky man the Queen had taken notice to before spoke up. "Sire, are you sure? They acted against royal decree! Do condone their actions is to open the floodgates for all sorts of naysayers!"
"To save one of the only fair and just monarchs in the land, I can allow them a bit of a reprieve." The old man countered before rising and unsheathing his sword.
He raised the decorative blade high above his head and brought it down carefully onto the shoulders of each of the sons. They were dubbed the bravest in the land under decree of the Countess de Aslan and were each given a name to fit their strongest traits. The youngest and smallest was given the title of the Stealthy One. One of the older brother's was given the Sacrificial One, the one whose face had been so thoroughly ravaged by beast. And to the two that remained they were given the title of the Loyal one and the Brave one. Fitting titles to say the least for the Queen's valiant knights.
When I finished reading through my brief excerpt I realised that my fellow first years and I had arrived at an old and musty door. Oh, no, that was Hagrid's coat. He was standing in front of the door. On either side of me were James and Sirius, both with excitement clear on their childish faces.
"When'd we get here?" I asked no one in particular.
The curly haired one gave me an incredulous look. "Just now. Fall asleep on us, did you?"
I rolled my eyes and didn't answer him. Because obviously I didn't. I was walking.
"No one get lost?" The large man called out through the cramped chasm, his boisterous voice bouncing off against the walls, distracting me from Sirius altogether.
There was no sound to suggest otherwise so Hagrid turned towards the grand door he'd been blocking and knocked a total of three times. And almost like magic it swung open immediately after, slowly and surely. Waiting for us on the other side in the middle of a grand hall was a stern looking older woman with black hair that wore cascading emerald robes and a matching witch's hat. Safe to assume that she was, in fact, of a bewitching nature. While I laughed internally at my little joke the woman adjusted her glasses and looked to our very large escort who was granting her a mighty grin.
"Got our newest batch of hatchlin's!" Hagrid bellowed in glee. "Fresh off the train!"
The women sighed in exasperation. "If you could refrain from referring to the students as newly hatched dragons, it would be most appreciated."
He nodded in agreement. "Righ'. Sorry Professor."
Hagrid said a small goodbye to us hatchlings and moved towards a large door the 'professor' was simultaneously leading us away from. We approached the smallest door we had seen so far and she waved her hand and again, like magic, it opened.
"This magic shit sure is cool." I muttered subconsciously. My foul language got a chuckle or two from my future classmates but a glare from the professor. Guess having the mouth of a smarmy sailor was frowned upon in this establishment! I looked down at my high tops in embarrassment. I'll admit it, my cheeks were getting a bit pink. And I could even swear that Truffles was snickering at me from the spot he nestled in. Which just happened to be my hair.
Down another corridor we continued to shuffle. We were incredibly crowded. About fifty young souls being forced to deal with everyone's prepubescent body odour was a bit more than I could handle. To help myself suffer through it I made gagging sounds to my two new mates. They lapped it up. Luckily it didn't last for long because the professor came to a halt at, yet, another door. Through it was a modest chamber where we could've spread out more if we wanted to, but apparently we didn't.
The professor approached a much grander door than before and turned to face us. "I am Professor McGonagall and I'd like to welcome you to Hogwarts." She said in a very slight cheery tone. "In a few moments the start-of-term banquet will commence. But before you join the rest of the students in the Great Hall you're to be sorted into your individual houses. The Sorting Ceremony is one of the most important parts of life here at Hogwarts because where you're sorted determines where you'll live and the sorts of people who will become your family in the years to come.
"You will sleep in the house dormitories, you will attend classes with your house, and you'll more than likely spend most of your time in your house common rooms. The four houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin, so named for the four witches and wizards that banded together and founded this fine school. Each of the houses has produced a multitude of powerful and talented witches and wizards so you're sure to find opportunities no matter where you're sorted.
"While you're here at Hogwarts you'll participate in what's known as the House Cup. You win the House Cup by earning points for your house through your triumphs and success in academics. Though rule breaking and tomfoolery with result in house point deduction. When term comes to an end the house with the most points is awarded the cup. I dearly hope that each of you will help your house to win and not hinder them.
"Now the Sorting Ceremony is about to begin." McGonagall said as if she were about to wrap up her speech. "You'll be sorted in front of the rest of the school so I suggest you make any efforts to make yourself presentable."
I was about to call out rude when I started to notice that we did, in fact, smelt like sewer. And there was a bat dangling from my scalp. She probably thought it was a vermin from the caves. She was in for a surprise when she found out that Truffles was sticking to me like glue for years to come.
"I'll return for you when we're ready." The professor finished before she left the chamber.
A room full of eleven year olds. What could go wrong.
Nothing actually went wrong; I'm just being the sarcastic little tit that I am. No. We sat and talked about the wonderful Hogwarts and the mysterious Sorting Ceremony. If it came down to wrestling a troll or riding a dragon I was pretty sure we were all significantly under qualified. Good thing it was nothing like that. Not that we even thought about that as the doors were opened and the magic of everything just overwhelmed a good portion of us. Me included.
Author's Note: I'd like to apologise for delayed posting, this is a story I'd like to get right so I'm taking my time with it. No Millicent next chapter, just Leandra and the sorting and getting to know the rest of the crew. Hopefully we'll get into the magic soon. But we're only three chapters in! Be patient and it'll pay off I swear! xoxo, Momma Love
