Of Hogwarts and Inheritances

Chapter 3: Where It All Starts

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the sky was bluer than it had ever been… Or rather, it would have been bluer than it had ever been if a plume of black smoke hadn't risen up, obscuring the bright and wonderful colour with its polluted nastiness.

"Augh!" Sarah yelled, wrenching her car door open as she stumbled out, slamming the door shut and glaring mutinously at her car. "You stupid piece of trash!" She exclaimed at it, kicking the underside of the car with her foot. A curse expelled from her lips when pain ignited sharply through her boot, and she clutched the sore appendage while hopping on her other foot.

"Sarah?" Toby called out, emerging from the house with his trunk filled with his school supplies. The elder Williams turned to him, limping on one foot as her gaze lingered on the magical items stowed away in the magical trunk. "You okay?" He asked when she didn't respond right away, jolting her out of her thoughts.

"The car won't start again." She griped, limping around and slamming her fist on the front of the car. It sputtered, but didn't start, and Sarah tried again, this time with both hands. Toby dragged his trunk down the steps with both hands and made his way to the side of the car, setting it down. His goblins were right next to him, helping him lift the heavy trunk, and Toby turned to Sneek. They both nodded at each other.

"Try being gentle?" Toby wondered out loud as Sneek made his way to the rear of the car, muttering obscenities about his spear being a weapon and not a cleaner of clogged pipes. Sarah retorted back by saying she didn't need to be gentle; she just needed a new car. It was at that moment that Sneek stuck his long spear into the muffler of the car, knocking around until it sputtered and started up.

Toby grinned at Sarah's growl.

"Okay, fine. I'll try being gentle next time." She mumbled, grabbing Toby's trunk and throwing it into the back of the car, slamming the cover shut. Toby simply wandered over to the back seat, letting his goblin protectors' filter in first before he climbed in next to them. They always had the same conversation whenever Sarah's old car wouldn't start up, and she had never tried being gentle no matter how many times he 'persuaded' her to.

"You're gonna see me off, right Sarah?" Toby asked as they pulled out of the driveway, snapping his seatbelt shut. Sarah's lips tightened from the driver's seat, and she glanced at him through her rear-view mirror.

"I'm sorry, Toby, but the Headmaster wants me to oversee the feast being cooked today. I'm already late because this stupid car wouldn't start up, so I can really only drop you off." Sarah spied the disappointed expression that flashed across his face, and her heart squeezed, hating the feeling of letting her brother down. He was quick to plaster on an apathetic aura, shrugging nonchalantly and turning his head to look out of the window.

"S'ok." He answered. "I get it. And it's not like you won't ever get to see me off again, right?" The question was rhetorical, but Sarah knew how much it hurt Toby for her to be away on his official first day of boarding school. Despite the devil-may-care attitude he was portraying (like a certain King of the Labyrinth), the young woman knew that her little brother was terrified of this new environment he was being shoved into. He was absolutely clueless about the magical world, and there were probably lots of kids in the school that grew up with magic, putting him at an extreme disadvantage.

Sighing inwardly, Sarah turned into the station and parked by the side of the road, twisting her body to look at her little brother. "You gonna be okay from here, Tobes?" She asked softly, using her special pet name for him. Toby scowled half-heartedly at her in response to his alternative name, gruffly unclipping his seat belt and wrenching the car door open, much like his sister had done before him.

"I'll be fine." He shouted as he exited the car, Sarah following after. "I can read one of my textbooks and get ahead or something." He popped the lid of the back of the car, grabbing his trunk. Sarah helped him, finding a cart and loading his things onto it for easier transport. It was a smaller cart, useful for younger children who wanted to feel important and responsible. Sarah handed Toby his ticket for Platform nine and three quarters, stopping him just as he was about to take off.

"I'm sorry." Sarah said again, and Toby shrugged.

"Its fine; whatever." He answered, pointedly ignoring locking eyes with his older sister. Sqeek, Sneek, Skuell and Maelicious surrounded him, shuffling nervously when Sarah knelt to be eye-level with her young half-brother, smiling softly.

"It's okay to be scared." She told him quietly, and his head snapped up at her, blue eyes narrowing.

"I'm not scared." He scoffed, crossing his arms. Sarah just laughed, ruffling his silvery blonde locks before pulling him into a fierce hug. "Sarah!" He cried, astonished and embarrassed. She ignored him, savouring the feel of her brother safe in her arms.

"I know you're going to make a lot of new friends." She whispered into his ear, and he shrugged as best he could while surrounded by his sister.

"Of course I am. It's me; I'll have tons." He mumbled into her shoulder, starting to give in to the bout of affection. Sarah grinned as she smoothed a hand through his messy hair, resting her chin on the top of his head as she suddenly had a slight sense of déjà vu.

"And I guess… with so many friends, you won't need me anymore, right?" She asked softly, pausing for his answer. Toby was quiet before he backed away and looked up at his older sister, his expression entirely serious. So serious, Sarah wondered for a moment if he was really a child.

"I'll always need you." He admitted almost silently, a little frown at his lips. "It doesn't matter how old I get; I'll need you forever."

Sarah's throat went dry, and her eyes started to glitter ever-so-slightly as she smiled. Toby turned around in embarrassment, snagging the handle of his luggage cart and running into the train station, his steps quick as if to escape the disgustingly mushy moment with his sister.

"Forever," Sarah whispered, her words a breeze in the silent air, "that's not long at all."

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...

Toby hurried through the crowds in the train station, weaving expertly through the people as he made his way along the platforms. His goblins were not as swift as he was, however, often finding themselves kicked a few feet back because they ran into some walking humans. Toby didn't worry too much about it, as they always appeared right next to him a few seconds later, out of breath and without a scratch on them. (Goblins were notorious for being almost indestructive.)

Peering around a burly man that had gotten in his way, Toby spied platform nine and platform ten, unsurely pushing his cart towards it as he wondered why there wasn't a platform nine and three quarters. His goblins had caught up to him, leaning against his cart as they gasped for breath, Sqeek flopping to the floor as he struggled to breathe properly.

"I don't get it…" Toby muttered, crossing his arms as he glared up at the nine and ten signs of the platforms. "It's supposed to be right here!" The young boy scratched his head, looking around and trying to see if there were some other witches or wizards who would help him. But everyone was dressed in normal clothes, and there was no hint of magic anywhere in the train station. Growling, Toby turned around, preparing to stalk angrily away from platforms nine and ten, when he came face to face (almost literally) with a pair of wide blue eyes and pale blonde hair.

He blinked, yelping a little as he jolted back. The girl he almost bumped into, who was a little shorter than him, didn't react to his reaction. It almost made Toby start questioning science on the spot, because for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction… right?

"Um… hello?" Toby greeted, reaching up to rub the back of his head. She didn't reply, and simply continued to stare up at him through her long blonde lashes, unblinking. Unnerved, Toby wondered if she was looking at someone else other than him, and glanced around to see if there was anyone paying any attention to them. But there wasn't, and when Toby looked back at the girl's face, she was still staring (rather strangely and rather silently) at him.

"C-can I… can I help you with something?" He asked, trying to goad a response out of her. The wide-eyed girl reacted now, remaining silent but tipping her head to the side as she studied him. At least, that's what it seemed like she was doing. Her eyes never left his face, and Toby wondered if there was a piece of food on it. He reached up, a little unsure that was the reason.

Behind him, Toby's goblin protectors tittered nervously, creeping up to hug Toby's legs as they, too, stared up at the unusual girl. For a slight moment, her eyes flickered to the floor, but it didn't seem like a reaction in shyness or uncertainty. She had locked onto something at Toby's feet, before looking up again with a strange sense of understanding in her stance. She was silent for another moment or two, before her lips parted and Toby's senses dulled at the sound of her dreamy voice.

"Are you going to go through?" She asked, and it took a second for the question to filter through Toby's brain and register it as a question. He burned in embarrassment when he realized he was staring gobsmacked at her, but she simply continued to look at him through her dazed blue eyes, swaying back and forth to some unknown breeze blowing through the station.

"I… uh… what?" Toby asked, confused at her question. He looked around, wondering if there was a door close by or something. But all that was behind him was the stupid brick wall between platform nine and ten.

"To platform nine and three quarters. Are you going to go through?" She asked again, and Toby's head whipped around the station, wondering where the platform was. His blue eyes locked back onto the girl, a little jolt in his chest telling him that this girl was not all she seemed to be. Her gaze was almost divine in being, as if nothing in this world could harm her, and that nothing in this world would surpass her either.

And Toby realized with another rapid blink of his eyes that this girl was a witch.

...

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...

Luna peered up curiously at the boy blocking the gate to the Hogwarts train, still waiting patiently for his reply as a stray lock of blonde hair fell across her forehead. From her peripheral vision, she could still see the small creatures huddled around the young boy's feet, whispering conspiratorially to each other. She was pretty sure they weren't nargles, because there wasn't mistletoe anywhere, but she was a little concerned that she had never seen them before this day.

Quietly contemplating this new development of magical creatures needing to be studied, Luna did not move when she felt her father's presence walking up behind her, and continued to stare at the young boy who was looking lost in thought. He was soon jolted out of them though, as her father spoke up from behind her.

"Luna! Why aren't you going through? If you don't hurry all the compartments will be taken, love." He goaded, coming to stand beside her. She transferred her gaze from the boy up to her father, eyes still unblinking as she answered almost bluntly.

"He's blocking the gate." Her tone was nonchalant, as if she was merely stating that the sky was blue and the grass was green (although Luna really knew that the sky was purple and the grass was orange). Xenophilius Lovegood turned to stare at the boy, who, from the motion of his adam's apple, had gulped in what seemed like fear. Or nervousness?

"I… I really don't know what's going on." He admitted, flushing in embarrassment. "My ticket says I need to get to platform nine and three quarters, but there's only platform nine and ten here." Luna tilted her head at him, blinking for the first time as she realized this young boy was muggleborn, and obviously unused to using his sight to see what was right in front of him. (Like many of her fellow witches and wizards.)

"Of course platform nine and three quarters exists." Luna interceded, smiling slightly. "Just look behind you."

He did, and then turned back to look at the both of them with a puzzled expression. "But—" he started, only for Luna to shake her head, her wide blue eyes urging him to look beyond what he saw. He heeded her goading, turning back to the brick wall and staring uncertainly at it. One of his hands came up, inching steadily to the brick wall before the tips of his fingers touched the surface, slipping easily through the bricks.

With a yell, he reared back, falling on his back from the shock. Luna sidestepped as he came crashing down on the spot she vacated, still staring unblinkingly and dazedly at him. She gave him a few moments to recover, before inquiring again with her dreamy voice.

"So are you going to go through?"

...

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...

Toby took a shuddering breath as he scramble back up onto his feet, ignoring the dust on his pants and gazing somewhat disbelievingly at the gateway to platform nine and three quarters. He never imagined it would have to be taken so literally, but Toby supposed he should have seen it coming, seeing as he had to step through a fireplace to get to Diagon Alley.

Striding forward to grasp at the cold handlebar of his cart with his sweaty hands, he positioned it right in front of the wall, self-consciously looking around. Toby wondered how much commotion it would cause if he slammed into the wall, or why they seemed rather oblivious to the little kid getting ready to crash into the bricks.

"Well? We don't have all day." The older man spoke, and Toby jumped a little in fright.

"Don't worry." The strange, dazed girl said to him, still swaying on her feet. "There isn't any mistletoe here, so the nargles won't bite." Toby looked at her, the terrified glaze in his eyes not leaving as he wondered what nargles were.

Gulping, Toby squared his shoulders and faced forward, gripping the handlebar tighter before pushing his cart towards the wall… rather slowly. Sqeek, Sneek, and Skuell groaned in disappointment, hoping their charge would be spooked enough to take a running start at the wall. Toby couldn't hear them, though, shrinking into himself as the front of his cart began to disappear behind the supposedly opaque wall. Cringing, Toby's eye squeezed shut as more of the cart was swallowed into the wall. His body eventually followed, and there was a strange tingle that crept through him, similar to the tingle that he felt when he used his magic. But this magic seemed rougher; weaker.

Shaking off his wandering thoughts, Toby's eyes peeked open and his mouth dropped when he saw the hustle and bustle of platform nine and three quarters. Owls were hooting every which way, cages clanging noisily against each other. There were kids shouting, hugging parents and pretending to gag as they were given goodbye kisses. Behind him, the strange blonde-haired girl was smiling slightly up at her father, promising to "mind the nargles" as he handed her a trunk decorated with animated swaying flowers and glowing fireflies.

"Do you have your butterbeer necklace?" The father asked, and she nodded in reply, eyes still unblinking as her gaze wandered around the crowded platform. She locked eyes with Toby, tilting her head curiously again. Toby flushed a little, turning away quickly and spying an entrance into the train. He was about to head off for it, but paused and turned back around to glance at the strange girl. Her father was nowhere to be seen, and she looked dreamily around at all the other children converging with their childhood friends. Toby noticed that many of the children would give her looks, sniggering to each other and discreetly pointing at her and laughing.

Feeling indignation welling up inside of him, Toby squared his shoulders and strolled confidently to the wide-eyed witch. She stared at him as he grew closer, tucking her slightly wavy hair behind her ear and revealing radishes that hung from her lobes. Around her, the snickering grew louder and Toby's face hardened in determination. When he came close enough, he gave her a pointed look and asked, "So are you coming or not?"

She paused at his question, before a larger smile spread over her face. Toby took that as a yes, and hauled his trunk towards the entrance of the train. The witch followed after him, her trunk strangely not making any noise as she dragged it along the ground. They entered the train, finding and grabbing an empty compartment. Toby hauled his luggage over the seats (with the help of his goblins), and offered to do the same for the witch. She looked at him blankly, an expression that always seemed to be on her face, and nodded, whispering her gratitude.

"No problem." Toby said absentmindedly as he grunted, shoving the rest of her flowery trunk over the top of her seat. "Sarah says I should always offer to help girls, even if I don't want to." He plopped on the opposite side of the compartment, sighing in relief when everything was done. The strange, dazed girl was already sitting down (rather primly), staring unabashedly at him like she did in front of the platform. Toby was already starting to get used to the scrutinizing, feeling the girls blue eyes trained on him intensely.

"Is Sarah one of your goblin friends?"

Toby jolted up, his eyes wide and his mouth open as he, in turn, stared at her. The goblins squeaked loudly, scrambling to hide behind Toby's legs or his torso, peeking out suspiciously at the girl across the seat. She remained calm, even as Sneek hesitantly held out his spear, threatening to know how she could see them. In fact, the girl started to ramble offhandedly to herself, not giving Toby a chance to answer or recover from his shock.

"Although goblins have never really liked humans, so I don't suppose they would care to terribly about making human friends. Then again, your goblin friends don't really look much like the goblins I know of, which means they are probably a relative of some sort from another part of the world." Toby eyed her with trepidation when she stopped rambling, tilting her head curiously at him. "Does America have a Gringotts?"

"H-how… how did you know I was from the U.S?" Toby asked, his eyes blinking rapidly.

"Your accent is very strange." She commented, radish ears swinging from her lobes. "Very American. And yet you seem to have grown up here in England. Peculiar." She seemed to pause in thought again, before thrusting her hand out with lightning fast speed. "I'm Luna Lovegood." Toby blinked, reaching out to grab her hand.

"Toby Williams." He said dumbly, trying to wrap his head around the fact that she had somehow known he lived in the U.K most of his life while maintaining his American accent. "I, um… I moved here when I was four." The last part was added on as an afterthought, maybe to answer unspoken questions that ran around in Luna's eyes. But then he remembered how the whole conversation started in the first place, and blurted out, "You can see them?!"

She simply nodded.

"B-but… not even Sarah can see them!" Toby sputtered, his eyes passing from Sqeek to Maelicious as they gathered on the other end of his seat. Luna followed his gaze, her eyes studying the four of them, still sitting primly in the middle of her seat.

"Sarah can't see goblins even though she is a goblin?" Luna asked, eyes blinking for probably the second time as she contemplated the new development. But Toby shook his head, ruffling his hair as his head tried to wrap around the idea of someone else being able to see his protectors.

"Sarah's my older sister." He said hurriedly, and Luna nodded in satisfaction. "But… but you can see them?" The witch looked back at the little goblins staring at her curiously just as she was.

"They look rather blurry to me." Luna admitted, though she didn't squint to see if she could see them more clearly. "But yes, I can see them."

Toby looked to his goblin companions, a thudding of fear growing in his chest. "Can… can other people see them too?" He asked, and breathed a sigh of relief when Luna shook her head a little sadly.

"It's a pity." She murmured, her hand twitching as if she wanted to reach out and touch one of them. "Such magnificent creatures, forever to live in the shadows." Toby chose not to reply to that, actually feeling the opposite of Luna's melancholy emotions.

Skuell spoke up then, grinning wickedly as he brandished his curved sword. "Can we kill 'er?" He asked, rubbing his hands together in preparation. "She knows 'bout us, so cans w'kill 'er?" Sneek, his partner-in-crime despite their differences, cackled heartily at the thought of wreaking havoc on an Aboveground life. Toby glared at them, relieved to find Luna looking only mildly curious at the apparent bloodthirsty appetite of his companions.

"No way." Toby emphasized, glaring dangerously at Skuell and Sneek. "I already told you before; no killing." The two bandit goblins deflated at that, muttering about how there were no stupid laws against killing down in the Underground. Toby ignored them, and Sqeek crawled forward to sit beside Luna, staring up at her with happy smiles.

"Hello missy-with-the-sight!" He greeted, giving a cute little bow at the waist when she turned her wide eyes to him. "I's is Semaphorus Quickius Easius Elasticus Komfortabilis! I'ms is one of young master's goblin protecytors!" His chest puffed out as he introduced himself, obviously filled with incredibly pride at the weight of the job given to him by his king. Luna blinked again, and responded to him in a little bow.

"It's very nice to meet you, Semaphorus—"

"You can just call him Sqeek." Toby cut in, grimacing at the thought of always having to recite the goblins ridiculously long name. "That's what I call him." But Sqeek's mouth dropped open, and he shook his head rapidly at Luna, large eyes almost pleading before he turned to Toby

"Please no, young master!" He exclaimed, eyes narrowing as a pout coloured his face. But Luna simply shrugged, smiling down at Sqeek.

"Semaphorus Quickius Easius Elasticus Komfortabilis sounds like a wonderful name." She said dazedly. "It would be a shame to shorten it." Sqeek crowed in excitement, and Luna began to hum softly as Toby stared gobsmacked at her once more. Sneek and Skuell snickered at the strange girl, and Sneek jabbed his spear in the air.

"I am Sneek! The smartest and fiercest of all young master Tobias' protectors!" He boasted, his helmet rattling with his cockiness. Skuell snorted unkindly, pushing the shorter goblin on his helmet to roll back and forth, sheathing his sword and smiling with his fangs bared scarily at Luna.

"M'names Skuell, and I'm the fiercest o'all the protectors." He corrected, to which Sneek popped back onto his feet and cried deceit, and the two goblins started to duel right in the compartment. Luna and Toby ignored them (Toby having many years to practice) and beckoned the last goblin protector forward.

"This is Maelicious." The young boy introduced, grinning a little. Maelicious's armour clanked as he stepped forward, giving a little bow to Luna as she reciprocated the gesture. "He's like my bottomless trash can. I use him whenever I need to hide or get rid of something." The tallest goblin didn't respond much to his master's praise, remaining quite motionless and silent. Luna patted him on the head, her eyes dazedly curious. Toby watched the both of them, grinning a bit when she stepped on his toe, revealing his rather nifty ability.

Suddenly, Luna perked up, standing and grabbing at her trunk. "It's time." She said wistfully, grabbing her school robes and swirling them around her petite form. Toby blinked at her, and then quickly checked the time on his magical cell phone. They were about an hour from the school, so Toby followed Luna and quickly donned his robes.

They both sat down again, and a somewhat awkward (at least, awkward to Toby) silence fell over them. The young boy found himself grasping for conversation topics, gleaning things from his somewhat limited knowledge of the school. (They were all mostly things Professor McGonagall had explained to him in her sparse visits to him or Sarah.)

"So… um… what house do you think you'll be sorted into?" He asked, twiddling with the hem on his robes. Luna's dreamy stare didn't so much as flicker, and Toby was starting to realize that was what she looked like when she was thinking (so essentially, she never stopped thinking). "I was thinking Gryffindor might be cool to be in. But Hufflepuff seems more likely for me, 'cause my sister's so uptight about fairness and she's loyaler than a dog." He seemed to deflate a little at that, and Luna cocked her head at him.

"Loyaler isn't a word, though I suppose it should be a word because it's much easier than saying 'more loyal'." Luna contemplated, her dreamy expression turning dazed. This was the indication that she was more confused than thoughtful, trying to work out a puzzle in her head that made no sense. Toby just grinned a little at her strange reasoning and how she completely disregarded his actual question.

"Luna? Houses?" He prompted, and she snapped to attention. (Well, actually her dazed expression returned to a dreamy one.) She spent a few more moments thinking about it, before cocking her head and shrugging.

"It doesn't matter much to me." She admitted, her eyes softening in sadness. To others, it would be unnoticeable, but Toby could pick out the slight nuances in Luna's facial expressions that expressed her feelings.

"Why not?" He asked, and she shrugged again.

"No matter which house I'm in, no one will want to be friends with me." Her head turned to look out the window now, the setting sun gleaming against her pale blonde hair. Toby blinked in surprise and he scratched his head as he looked anxiously at her.

"But… but aren't we friends?' He asked uncertainly, and Luna's head snapped at him (this time, literally). Her eyes were impossibly wider, but this time with a sort of clarity in them, and copious amounts of surprise and… hope?

"Truly? You… you really want to be friends?' Her voice was breathless now, instead of their normal dreamy and wistful. Toby flushed red, rubbing his neck and nodding as the red stood starkly against his somewhat pale skin. A stunning smile blossomed across her face, and she nodded her head, her radish earrings dangling happily. "I would… I would very much like to be your friend… Toby."

Toby smiled now, feeling a little lighter as he made his first friend in the magical world. Granted, she seemed a bit… not there, but Toby really wouldn't have picked anyone better. She may not be as normal as some of his elementary friends, but the young boy thought he rather preferred a whimsical and out-of-sorts friend. It made life much more interesting.

Just then, the door of the compartment opened, and a boy with bright red hair peeked in, wearing a badge pinned to his robes.

"First years?" He asked after Toby jumped in fright. Luna nodded, staring somewhere behind the older boy. Toby noticed how he stared a little disdainfully at her, and his eyes narrowed. Beneath him, the goblins started to cackle as they discussed the first prank to be played would be on the "pompous redhead who dares be rude to" "the missy-with-the-sight!"

But Luna paid no mind to the staring, and Toby reluctantly followed the boy as they were lead out of the compartment to the entrance of the train, where they would be taken outside and congregate around a lake. There was an incredibly large man there, yelling at the top of his lungs, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" Toby scrambled over to the voice, feeling undaunted at the rude stares and snickering sent over their way as he grabbed her hand, leading them both to a boat to share.

When the little boat set off and they came up to the magnificent view of Hogwarts, the both of them were temporarily stunned at the majestic sight of a brilliant castle lighting up the night sky. Toby looked at Luna, who had also met his gaze, and the two of them smiled at each other as the little boats docked. For a moment, the muggleborn couldn't believe that this was really happening to him. That he was virtually in a whole new world, with new places to explore and things to learn; not only about magic, but about himself as well.

From the docked boats, they were led to the Entrance Hall and a pair of tall double doors that stretched up so high Toby craned his neck to see the top of it. Professor McGonagall was there, briskly ordering them to file into alphabetical order in front of her, barking out names as she did so. Toby was a little disheartened when Luna swept away to join the line, but was intrigued when he filed in as the last student, behind a familiar redheaded girl he saw at Diagon Alley.

"Alright, come along then." McGonagall announced, spinning to walk through the doors as they magically opened, displaying the incredible view of the Great Hall, and the even more dazzling view of its ceiling. Toby lagged behind a little, tripping over his long robes as he walked through the centre of the room. There were two sets of long tables situated on either side of him.

One table, decorated in silver and green, sneered at the line of first years or snickered at them and their obvious anxiety. Another table, one donned in blue and bronze colours, just stared apathetically at the line of young children, almost eyeing them in scrutiny. Across the hall, the table dressed in black and yellow were smiling supportively at them. The table next to it, in colours of red and gold, were raucously waving hello, grinning as they called out greetings. Two students at the table seemed particularly rambunctious, targeting the little girl in front of Toby. They were also redheaded, and Toby wondered for a moment if they were all in the same family.

Looking up at the Head Table, Toby spotted Sarah sitting nervously on the very end of it, the tall, bearded man from the lake coming to sit next to her. She perked up when they locked gazes, and Toby waved a little, sending a reassuring smile at her. The reassurance didn't seem to work very well, but nevertheless Sarah tried to stop tugging at a lock of her brown hair in nervousness. She was wearing a set of dark red witch's robes, and blended in rather well with the other adults at the staff table. But Toby could tell from some of the disdained snarls sent her way that she had been undoubtedly exposed as non-magical. Beneath him, the goblins tittered angrily.

The line stopped, and Toby ploughed into the unsuspecting girl in front of him at the sudden halt. She shrieked, whirling around, her face flushed red as she narrowed her brown eyes at him. Gulping a little, Toby murmured a short apology, and the incident was avoided from blowing out of proportion. Up at the Head Table, Sarah chewed on her bottom lip nervously.

McGonagall cleared her throat, her robes swishing as she fetched a stool with a ratty old hat sitting on top of it. The hat and the stool were set in the centre of the stage, and the Transfiguration professor stepped back to give it space. For what reason, Toby had no idea, but his answer was moments away as a large rip in the hat began to move, and a voice filtered out through this seemingly empty hat.

Hear ye, hear ye!

Listen rapt, and listen well

For I am the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

As most of you can tell

I may not look particularly nice

The lot of you have guessed

So put me on, right on your head

Let me show you I'm the best!

Maybe sweet Hufflepuff's the place to be

For you who are loyal and fair

Or might brave Gryffindor take you on

With your courage and your dare

Perhaps your sharp and clever wit

Would be at home in Ravenclaw

Unless Slytherin is the better fit

Your trickery overcoming all

So drop me on your head

And let's see where you will go

But I cannot guarantee, little ones

That's where you do belong.

Though the song was initially very bright and cheerful, the voice coming from the old hat turned sombre as the last few lines were sung. And almost immediately after the animated headgear stilled, there was a hushed murmuring through the four tables. Some people looked a little unsure, as if maybe they had been placed in the wrong house and the sorting hat made a mistake. Toby wondered why it mattered, and for a moment wondered why they even needed to be separated into groups anyways. (They had never done this in his elementary school.)

But he jolted out of his thoughts when Professor McGonagall began to unroll a piece of parchment in her hand. "Creevey, Colin!" She shouted out in her brisk tone, and the first boy in the line started forward, nervously sitting down on the vacated stool as the witch grabbed the Sorting Hat to place it on his head. There was complete silence for a few moments as everyone in the room waited with bated breath.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The table of red and gold burst out in applause and cheers, and the young Colin Creevey flushed red as he stumbled down to the end of the table, sitting down in a vacant spot on the bench. The rest of the first years in the line moved a step forward, and Professor McGonagall called another name. Toby began to tune her out, looking around the Great Hall and becoming entranced with the strange, magical ceiling that twinkled with tiny stars. He didn't register the line continuing to move forward until he heard a familiar name being called.

"Lovegood, Luna!"

Head snapping down, Toby watched his new friend sway over to the stool, her eyes still wide and unblinking. When the raggedy hat was dropped over her head, Toby wondered if her eyes were still open under them. Normally, he would've doubted it, but Luna didn't exactly apply to normal standards...

There were a few moments of silence, until the Sorting Hat shouted out, "RAVENCLAW!", and she swept down to the table of blue and bronze. There was a wide berth between her and her fellow housemates, and Toby started to wonder again what house he would be placed in. He didn't think he was particularly smart or anything (if his non-magical grades had anything to say about it) but one of the criteria for Raveclaw was a sharp wit. And Toby liked to think his wit was pretty sharp.

"Weasley, Ginevra!" Professor McGonagall called out, and Toby jolted a bit when the girl in front of him, with the fiery red hair, flounced up onto the stool. There was a blank expression on her face, but Toby was pretty sure she was just as nervous as he was, especially since the two red-haired twins at the red and gold table were hooting loudly and cheering. They got so loud that McGonagall glared icily at them, barking "Misters Fred and George Weasley!" Apparently, the two were quite familiar with the Transfiguration teacher, and simply bellowed a hello, before sitting back down and elbowing the people sitting beside them.

Toby turned back to the Sorting Hat just as it shouted out, "GRYFFINDOR!", prompting a whole new slew of cheers from the table of red and gold, and even louder exclamations from the two twins. Professor McGonagall just sighed exasperatedly, and Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled in mirth as the twins high-fived each other, before sweeping down to give their baby sister a jointed hug. Professor McGonagall quickly shooed them back to their seats, before glancing at her parchment and then at Toby.

"Williams, Tobias."

Toby grimaced at his full name but scrambled onto the stool, facing the four tables and getting a small glance of every eye in the Great Hall boring into him. It sent a shiver down his spine, until the Sorting Hat flopped down over his eyes and the only thing he could see was black.

"Hmmm…" He heard the hat mumble. "Plenty of courage in you. Wouldn't do too bad in Gryffindor. But you got a lot of cunning. Very, very sly fellow, you are. Slytherin would be good, but you're muggleborn." The hat continued to 'hmm' some more, as if very torn between the two houses. Toby fidgeted under the hat's scrutiny, and it suddenly chuckled in his head. "No, your wit isn't good enough for Ravenclaw, boy. It's has to be Slytherin or Gryffindor." Toby's eyebrows furrowed, and the hat sighed. "I'm not putting you in Ravenclaw. You wouldn't survive the first day."

'But… but Luna's there!' He argued in his head dejectedly. The hat still refused, and a vein in Toby's head started to tick. 'Ravenclaw!' He ground out stubbornly.

"Ohh, stubborn yeah? Well than, I guess it'll have to be—"

Toby saw it coming. He knew the hat was going to shout out the house he didn't want to be in, and started up quickly, grabbing the frayed edges in his hands.

"GRYFF—"

He tore the Sorting Hat from his head, shouting out, "NO!" before it hit the ground. The hat, so shocked with the young boy's rough handling, stopped in mid-shout and went quiet. Beside him, Professor McGonagall drew in a scandalized gasp, scrambling forward to gently lift the precious magical artefact from the ground.

"Mr. Williams!" McGonagall shouted just at the same time Sarah rounded the head table, exclaiming, "Toby Williams!" with her reprimanding voice. Toby was numb when his eyes rose to lock with Luna's, who was staring sadly at him as well. He could somewhat hear Sarah's furious whispers at his atrocious behaviour, and turned to look at McGonagall dusting the Sorting Hat off and looking somewhat haggard. "Honestly, the term hasn't even started yet and one of my Gryffindors is making trouble…"

An idea sprouting in his head from McGonagall's distracted mumbling, Toby reached forward, quickly nabbing the hat from the teacher and spinning to the side, slamming it on Sarah's head to shut her up.

There was utter silence throughout the Great Hall, and the only person who was totally unsurprised, and rather intrigued, was the Headmaster Dumbledore sitting in the golden throne right behind Toby.

The hat stayed on Sarah's head for a little while, until McGonagall regained her bearings and started forward to take it off the muggle's head. But Dumbledore stretched out an arm, stopping her at the same time the Sorting Hat gruffly stated, "Hold on a minute." Shocked into another stupor, everyone in the Great Hall watched the young woman with the large hat on her head, wondering where she would be placed (if she could be placed at all. The Sorting Hat has only ever been used on magical humans).

Sarah, dumbstruck when the hat first dropped on her head, now started to shake ever so slightly as the hat sifted through her different characteristics. It was covering part of her face, but Toby could tell she started to pale under the scrutiny, though what she wanted to hide, Toby didn't know. It wasn't long before it bellowed out, "GRYFFINDOR!", and Sarah whipped itoff her head, almost dropping it like it was hot coals.

"I… I'm so sorry about all of this." Sarah whispered to McGonagall, handing her the Sorting Hat. She barely registered the older woman's reply, turning to set her brown eyes on Toby's startling blue ones. Her breath hitched, and she quickly turned to dash back to her seat at the end of the table. Everyone in the Great Hall was bewildered (except Dumbledore), especially when the hat spoke up from McGonagall's arms.

"Put me back on the kid's head." He said, and Toby obediently allowed the hat to collapse over his eyes. A doomed feeling quickly settled in the pit of his stomach, and he once again searched for his whimsical friend out in the crowd of blue and bronze. There was a comforting lilt to her smile, and she nodded ever so slightly at him.

'It's okay.'

"You're a troublemaker, you know that?" The hat asked rhetorically, and Toby flinched. "After what I've seen from your sister's head…" He trailed off, chuckling, and Toby had the inkling that the Sorting Hat was talking about seeing much more than simply the pranks he pulled as a child. (But the Toby didn't know it went beyond that. Beyond just him, and Sarah, and the goblins that followed him around like lost puppies.)

(He would never know that this…)

"I hope you're tough enough for this, kid, 'cause for you it'll have to be—"

(This is where it all started.)

"SLYTHERIN!"

A/N Betcha didn't see that coming did'ya? (Well, maybe.) Sarah was pretty hard to choose to. I was debating on sorting her into Hufflepuff, 'cause loyalty is really big with her. But I just love the dynamic of Gryffindor and Slytherin, so it was almost a no-brainer.

Now, of course as you can tell, none of you got the first question from the last chapter right. Quite a few of you nailed the second question, but the first question was a total hit-and-miss. So, sadly, none of you got a sneek peak of this chapter.

But do not dread! For I have two new questions for you. The same rules and rewards apply here. You must answer BOTH questions correctly to get a sneak peek at chapter 4. So without further ado, here they are!

1. What position has Sarah been assigned at Hogwarts?

2. Who will be Toby's second friend?

Now keep in mind the first question is hinted at in one of the chapters (I'm not telling which one~). The second question is another blind-in-the-dark. That being said, happy guessing!

(And please review!)

Snowflake Flower