I Think I'm Going To Like It Here

Chapter 6

Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry

When the train had stopped at the station, McGonagall found them in the sea of students in black robes.

"Now," She started. "As you should know from the books I gave you, only the Headmaster or Headmistress can Apparate onto the Hogwarts ground, but to make it easy for you, I will take you all one at a time to the castle. Sam, you can go first. Take hold of my arm." Feeling thoroughly awkward, Sam clasped his hand around her arm and felt a sharp tug somewhere near his navel. Dean and Cas watched as the two of them disappeared into thin air.

"Hey Cas, I wonder if you could angel mojo us there." Dean would rather Cas took him there, seeing as he knew the side effects of the angel transportation.

In response, Castiel grabbed Dean's hand and teleported onto Hogwart's grounds, much to the shock of McGonagall. She quickly regained her poise and asked, "It's an angel thing, isn't it?" Dean could hear them discussing the semantics of apparating vs. angel mode, but he was too awestruck. Nothing that Cas had said about the size of the Hogwarts castle could prepare Dean for what lay before him. Simply put, it was bigger than The Men Of Letters bunker back in Kansas.

They were standing on a grassy hill next to a large pumpkin patch and a little stone hut with moss covering the cone shaped roof. The pumpkins still had time to grow, but they were already to Dean's knees with long, twisted vines. To the right of the hut, Dean noticed a creature that resembled a black horse lying down, half hidden by a large tree stump. As he moved closer to get a better look, the creature suddenly woke and stood tall with its bat-like wings flared. When it spread out its left wing, however, it gave a piercing shriek and Dean saw that it had a large gash going from the top of the wing down to the tip. The animal's cry got the attention of McGonagall as she lead Sam and Cas down the hill to where Dean was.

"That, Dean, is a Thestral. They are usually used to pull the carriages that bring the students up to the school, but this one, as you can see, has injured its wing. Our gameskeeper and advanced Care of Magical Creatures teacher Hagrid and his assistant Lindsay Grady have been trying to nurse her back to health. Lindsay teaches the beginner courses of Care of Magical Creatures as well as being the Head of Hufflepuff House. I can't say I am surprised that you three can see them," She added. Dean walked closer to the Thestral, who bowed its head at him. The animal had no fur or feathers, only a thick, leathery skin stretched over prominent boning.

"Why wouldn't we see her?" Sam asked as Dean gingerly reached a hand out to pet the large creature. The Thestral carefully sniffed his hand before allowing him to pet her.

"Thestrals are very special," She explained as she watched Dean run his hand over the animal's head and neck. The skeletal creature's pure white eyes had partly closed in enjoyment at Dean's attention. "Only people who have seen death can see them."

"What's her name?" Dean asked as she nuzzled his jacket. Castiel walked closer to the Thestral, causing her to jerk her eyes open.

"Lindsay named her Halina and she seems to like it." McGonagall observed as Cas took another step towards Halina. Her stance went from comfortable with Dean to hostile as Cas got closer. When he got too close, in her opinion, she moved away from Dean before bucking and raising her good wing threateningly. It reminded Dean of the first time he had met Cas, when the angel had his shadow wings raised high and intimidating.

"Looks like she doesn't like anyone else with wings, Cas." Dean said as he worked on calming Halina down. He knew by Cas' expression that he had wanted to pet her like Dean did, but she seemed really angry at the angel's presence.

"Or she doesn't like competition," Sam laughed. His joke fell short when he saw Castiel's unamused face. "We should probably get to the castle."

"The students will be arriving very soon and you all need to get dressed." McGonagall informed them as she started up the hill leading to the castle.

"Dressed?" Dean murmured to Sam as they followed the Professor.

"Robes, I guess." Sam shrugged. They walked into a courtyard that led inside the castle, and once in, walked up a large staircase. It wasn't long, however, before the staircase moved, shifting from one floor to another. Cas remained perfectly still and balanced, while Sam and Dean had to hold onto the staircase's sides to prevent from falling. McGonagall failed to comment on the moving stairs as she walked onto the third floor with the trio following closely behind.

"This is the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, and this is where you all will be staying." She showed them a small set of rooms just off the main classroom. Each room had a four-poster bed, a wardrobe, and a desk with parchment and a quill. Their luggage had been brought up, Dean noticed appreciatively. He hadn't been looking forward to bringing the bags up those stairs.

"I will leave you to get dressed and will meet you by the great staircase. The sorting will begin soon." McGonagall turned and left, leaving Cas, Sam, and Dean in one of the rooms.

"So what do we do now?" Sam asked as he touched the soft blanket on the large bed. "We don't have any robes."

"Actually," Castiel corrected. "I took the liberty of buying us all robes." Sam and Dean exchanged confused looks before turning to watch Cas pull out several pieces of fabric from one of his suitcases. He handed a sage green one to Dean, who took off his leather jacket to put it on. He dug through his bag for a blood red robe for Sam, then finally a deep blue one for himself. Dean looked at himself in the mirror, inspecting from every possible angle. "Hey Cas, thanks."

"Thanks man." Sam put in as he closed the clasp on his new robe. The robe fit perfectly.

"You are both welcome. Now, are we all ready for the Sorting?"

"Yeah, let's go!" Dean said excitedly as he opened up the door that led out of the classroom.

Professor McGonagall was waiting for them down at the stairs like she had said. "Now the Sorting," She explained. "Is where the students will be put into the Houses. I trust you know of them?" Sam nodded, so she continued. "All teachers sit at the head table, where I will introduce you after the Sorting is over with." She showed them to the Great Hall, where they took their seats by Katherine and Gryffin.

Katherine's face looked the same as when they had met, but her hair was dark purple. "Nerves," Gryffin whispered to Sam, who sat beside him. "She's worried about the Sorting."

"Why?" Sam asked quietly. To Sam, Katherine didn't seem like someone who would mind crowds or new people, seeing how she acted when they first met. He looked over past Gryffin to see her animatedly talking to Dean and Cas, no anxiety in sight. It looked like she was telling a story, which drew a smile from Cas as Dean laughed and responded excitedly. Sam turned his attention back on Gryffin.

"Well, she knows one of the new students; he's a Metamorphmagus like her. Katie knew his mom and she took it hard when…" Gryffin trailed off, looking over at her. Dean was telling a story now and she was nodding enthusiastically. Her hair started bleeding back down to a reddish-purple color. "Well it took a long time before she was okay again. I was really worried about her. She had stopped changing her appearance and didn't go to see him for a while. Now she feels like he is her responsibility."

Sam was about to comment, but students had started filing into the Great Hall. Within ten minutes, the four long tables in the large hall were filled with eager and anxious students. The staff table's seats were all taken except the one that was obviously the Headmistress'. Chelsey was sitting next to a woman in green robes with long, strawberry blonde hair. Sam guessed that this was the "Angela" of Slytherin house she had warned them about. Next to her was a woman who was talking to a very large man with a beard. The man must have been two feet taller than him and twice as wide. On the end of the table was a tall, thin man who kept looking around wildly, as if confused by the whole ordeal. Lastly, there was a hat on a stool in the space between the teacher's table and the students. The hat shape was like a traditional children's wizard cap as seen every Halloween, but that's where the similarities stopped. This hat was shabby and looked ancient, with patches covering old holes from years of use. It almost looked as if the hat was breathing.

The large doors across the hall opened, and McGonagall led in lines of kids in black cloaks and pointy hats. They looked like they were around the age of ten, so Sam figured that they were the first years that needed sorting. The Great Hall quieted down as the old hat started to sing.

"Hello to one and hello to all,

I've come to answer your call

Where will you be placed,

Only I know all.

But I'll make haste

So you can go stand tall

Are you the brave during war

Like Godric Gryffindor?

Or are you intelligent and maybe you draw

Like one Rowena Ravenclaw

Perhaps caring and friendly, sure enough

You're just like Helga Hufflepuff!

But if you're cunning and like to win

Maybe you'd side with Salazar Slytherin

No matter the House, no matter the trait

You'll always find friends to change your Fate

But be careful who you know

They might just turn out to be a foe"

The hat's song ended with a round of applause while McGonagall pulled out a long piece of rolled parchment.

"When I call your name, please step up to the stool and I will place the Sorting Hat on your head. From there, you will be placed into a House that will become your home," She explained. "Natalie Adams."

A small girl walked up to the chair, shaking with fear. McGonagall set the hat on her head. Several seconds passed before it yelled out, "Ravenclaw!" One of the tables started cheering loudly, and the girl smiled and sat down.

The rest of the sorting went the same: an anxious child's name being called, the hat thinking before calling out a House, and the child going to sit at the table with the cheering occupants. Sam noticed that halfway through, Katherine's hair started gradually turning purple again. She and Gryffin were holding hands under the table and she looked increasingly more nervous.

"Edward Lupin."

A boy with blue hair walked up to the stool and looked over at Katherine before sitting down. His hair shifted to green as the hat was put on his head.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat confidently yelled. The boy smiled and ran over to the Hufflepuff table where he was hugged by several people.

Katherine's hair turned back to red as she smiled and looked over to Gryffin. Soon, the Sorting was over and McGonagall had gone up to the podium to speak.

"Hello and welcome back to Hogwarts. We have three new Professors this year. Taking over the position of Defense Against The Dark Arts is Sam and Dean Winchester," Both stood up when their names were called. McGonagall waited for the polite claps to stop before she continued. "They have little experience with our type of magic, but I feel they will be a great fit. Our other Professor is going to teach a new program called Muggle Religions and Their Theology. This is Castiel," Dean hit his arm so Cas would stand up, which he did. "He is…" She trailed off and looked in their direction, unsure of how to introduce him.

"I am an Angel of the Lord." Castiel explained to shocked faces. There were hushed whispers, but one phrase was loud enough to distinguish.

"Like Lord Voldemort?!" A girl from the Slytherin table yelled, shocked. This caused an uproar of disbelief at the name and a handful of Gryffindors started glaring at a very confused Cas.

"Quiet!" McGonagall yelled, quickly silencing the room. "He is not connected to Lord Voldemort in any way. These three men fight evil to keep people safe. They should be treated like any other Professor. Now," She continued as Sam, Dean, and Cas all sat back down. "It is time for the feast." Dean's face perked up at the mention of food. "Chocolate Creme Puff."

Suddenly, the tables that were bare moments before were now covered in food of all kinds. Dean recognized some immediately, while others had to be tried. The atmosphere was joyful and pleasant, with conversation flowing through the room. Some students stole glances at the new teachers before gossiping back at their table. Dean spent most of the time eating, but he still had time to share stories and give comment on things his brother and Cas said. Dessert came and went, with all three being stuffed to the brim with food. They dismissed to their rooms, only getting lost twice. All in all, it had been a good day, Dean decided.