AN: Hello everyone. I am painfully aware at how long it's been since I last updated. I offer no excuse nor explanation, and I doubt apologies mean much to you all at this point anyway. I have here for you two chapters. I hope you enjoy them. I certainly enjoyed writing them!
Anywho, from this point forward, much of the story will take place in Hogwarts. I regret to say that I am horribly lacking in the British slang department, and while I will try my best to do the dialect justice, I am destined to miss a lot as well. So, If anyone sees an instance where a British character is using an American word where a British word would work better please let me know and I will fix it. Please send these corrections through a PM, however, as it will be easier for me to access and also so it won't get lost in a long stream of reviews.
I hope you all enjoy these next two chapters! Remember, constructive criticism is always welcome so please review!
The night before the Hogwarts Express was scheduled to depart, Harry had the most troubling sleep of his night. He spent the night laying in a state of semi-consciousness. Whenever he began to truly sleep he was immediately jolted awake by some unknown force. On the rare occasions that he did sleep, his eyes refused to remain closed for more than thirty minutes, and nightmares plagued his rest. He dreamed of his parents, silent and unresponsive to all his actions; he dreamed of Mrs. Weasley sobbing over Kreature's dead body; he dreamed of Ron and Hermione, wearing crowns, watching Mrs. Weasely indifferently; and yet again, he dreamed of himself walking through that long, dark corridor that ended at a locked door.
Eventually dim light began to filter into the room. Harry glanced at the small clock sitting on his bedside table; 5:43 a.m. it read. He briefly considered cutting his losses on sleep and trudging down to the kitchens for a pre-breakfast snack while he waited for the rest of the household to wake. He decided against it, however, when his feeble attempt to stand ended with his face falling back into his pillow. Harry grunted, slowly rolling onto his back. He resigned to simply lay there until morning, unwilling to try for sleep again for fear of having another nightmare; but his eyes refused to remain open. It became increasingly harder and harder to keep them from closing until exhaustion finally caught him and he found himself falling into another dream.
This time, Harry dreamed he was sitting in a small room, empty except for two dark dining chairs and a lit, old, stone fireplace. He was vaguely aware of the smell of rotting wood and the tick humidity in the air. Harry's body felt…weird: taller, stiff and frail. He felt slightly awkward in the slim lanky frame; he felt weak, and the realization of that twisted a knot in his stomach. He lifted his pale, bony hand. Someone handed him a paper: a newspaper. The title on the front page caught his attention. Muggles at Hogwarts. Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore once again demonstrated the effects of his declining mental health when he announced his decision to allow two muggle boys to enroll in Europe's most prestigious school of magic.… Harry didn't read any further. He threw his head back in laughter. A thin smile stretched across his face. And a voice echoed in his head: That old fool. Those boys will destroy the school.
Harry was violently ripped from the dream by the sudden presence of a hand on his shoulder. His body jolted forward, and he found himself sitting up in his own bed. Behind him, he heard Ron shuffling about the room, tossing objects into trunks.
"…better hurry up, Mum's gone ballistic. She says we're going to miss the train."
"Ron," Harry moaned, rubbing the sleep from his face, "You will not believe the dream I just had."
"Yah, well tell it on the train." Ron stated hastily, throwing a pair of jeans at Harry. "We've got to go."
Robin and Wally arrived at Hogwarts with a sudden thud. The ground reemerged without warning, crashing into the boys' feet from beneath, and causing their knees to buckle. Robin lost his breath as his butt hit the cold, stone floor. Wally landed much less gratefully, falling flat on his back and knocking over his luggage. Robin groaned at the unusual method of teleportation, and—after making a mental note to create a portable zeta tube, because he was not using one of those every time he wanted to visit Gotham—took stock of his new surroundings. The room they had teleported in was large, long, and boasted an impossibly high ceiling; in fact, Robin couldn't see the ceiling at all. Instead he saw a reflection of the sky outside. The architecture style was clearly early Middle Ages, most likely maintained through magic as Robin saw no signs of remodeling or restoration. The only major furniture consisted of four plain, long, wooden tables that stood parallel throughout the room, and a fifth, more ornate table situated on top of a stage platform at the far wall.
A large group of witches and wizards sat at the nearest table, idly chatting among themselves. At the heroes' appearance most of the wizards rushed to the pair's aid. Robin and Wally found themselves quickly surrounded by a ring of concerned faces. Robin smiled sheepishly, pushing himself off the ground, and received many amused smiles and some laughter in response. As far as first impressions went, this was not one of his best.
Dumbledore chuckled behind them. "I'm sorry, I suppose I should have warned you about the reentry. Although, you did very well for your first portkey; most wizards vomit after their maiden journey." The elderly Wizard moved past the boys to stand with the other wizards. "Welcome to Hogwarts. This is the Great Hall, where all meals are served. And this is my staff."
Dumbledore gestured to the group behind him. Many of the witches and wizards bowed slightly in greeting, while others waved politely from the back of the group. One witch, with thinning blond hair and dull blue eyes, gave Robin a most curious look. Robin smiled and waved at her directly. The gesture startled her out of her stare; she turned her head, furrowing her brow in thought. It also displeased Robin to see that Umbridge was among those present; the witch looked positively revolted to see him and Wally and quickly looked away to avoid any eye contact.
Overall, the group matched what Robin had come to expect from the wizarding world. With the exception of Umbridge, clad in her iconic pink skirt and cardigan, all the staff wore floor-length robes in a variety of dark colors. Most also wore ornate pointed hats, which looked ridiculous on some and cartoonish on others. Robin wondered if wizards knew about modern fashion trends, or just preferred the traditional, old-fashioned garb for all formal occasions. He sincerely hoped it was the latter; he had no intention in spending the next year in a dress. It would seriously impair his acrobatics.
One elderly witch stepped forward, staring sternly down at the boys. She was a tall woman, made to look taller by the large pointed hat on her head. "Hello, I am Professor McGonagall, instructor of transfiguration and Head of Gryffindor House. Am I to assume you are Robin and Rudolph?"
"Yes Ma'am," Wally responded, "I'm Rudolph Garrick and this is my best friend, Robin Smith."
Wally pulled Robin into a side-hug and smiled up at the Professor. A few of the other teachers chuckled. Robin playfully nudged the speedster off his shoulder and extended his hand to the professor, which she hesitantly shook.
"I know neither of you boys will be required to take my class, but you may come to me if ever any problems arise; my door is always open to all students." McGonagall stated before returning to her group.
"Thank you very much, Professor." Robin replied.
Then another witch, short and plump broke apart from the crowd. She too wore a pointed hat, although hers lacked a wide brim, allowing her grey, wavy hair to escape in all directions from her head. "Hello," She stated kindly, "I'm Professor Sprout, The Hufflepuff Head of House. I teach Herbology. I do hope you enjoy my class. Perhaps if you're lucky, you will even be in my house."
Robin returned the woman's kind smile, but her words baffled him completely. In all the correspondence between Dumbledore and the League, there had been no mention of houses. Perhaps they were simply dormitories; Hogwarts was a boarding school after all. Or perhaps the houses corresponded to a particular track of study students could choose from. Whatever houses were, they seemed to be an important aspect of the school life here. Robin looked towards Dumbledore for an explanation. The Headmaster caught Robin's quizzical gaze and chuckled slightly before addressing the plump Professor.
"I regret to say that young Robin and Rudolph will not be sorted into any house during their stay here at Hogwarts. Instead they will—"
All at once the entire staff erupted into cries of outrage. Even Umbridge seemed to want to share her two cents on the issue.
"Never before in the History of Hogwarts!"
"They deserve the complete Hogwarts experience!"
"You've clearly forgotten how to run your own school!"
Robin responded to Wally tapping on his shoulder, and the two teens shared a brief moment of amusement.
"Clearly," Wally whispered into Robin's ear, "Their communication skills at the school are as stellar as at the Ministry."
As Wally laughed quietly to himself, Robin became aware of someone looking at him. He looked up to see that the blonde haired witch had resumed her staring. Robin crossed his arms, returning her stare, raising one eyebrow above his sunglasses. Whether the witch was simply oblivious or unintimidated, Robin found himself on the losing end of the stare down. The witch's unwavering gaze caused Robin to slouch slightly; he dropped his eyebrow and increased his scowl. To save his dignity, Robin sent the woman one last glare, before returning his attention to the rest of the arguing crowd.
The wizards continued to bicker for many more minutes. Dumbledore simply stood still, allowing his staff to assault him with their complaints. The Headmaster's face remained perfectly stoic, save for the mischievous glint in his eyes, which—as far as Robin was concerned—seemed to be a permanent fixture to Dumbledore's appearance. Eventually, either having enough of the verbal onslaught or noticing how Robin and Wally had begun fidgeting, Dumbledore raised his hand to silence the group. The group did quiet after a few moments; although their stares remained less than friendly.
"As I have said," Dumbledore began, "I have decided not to sort Robin and Rudolph due to their unique situation. I have already developed a schedule that will allow them to interact will all four houses and made preparations for their sleeping arrangements."
"Uh, Professor Dumbledore, not to interrupt," Wally interrupted, "But what exactly are houses?
Dumbledore ignored the increasingly poisonous stares from his staff, answering calmly. "The students here at Hogwarts, upon arrival in their first year, are traditionally sorted into one of four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin. Each house represents and cherishes certain qualities within an individual, and students are sorted based on their personality. Normally, students will live and attend classes with their house; and the houses become a kind of family for our students. However, the houses can get, at times, quite…political," Robin did not miss the snorts of some of the teachers, "And so I believe it would be in your best interest for you two to be separate from the houses, so you may enjoy your stay at Hogwarts unhindered by house politics.
"I have assigned Charity Burbage to be your faculty supervisor. She will serve as a Head of House towards you two." Robin's stomach fell slightly, and his fists clenched when the woman who had still not stopped staring at him stepped forward, "Professor Burbage is our Muggle Studies instructor and is well acquainted with Muggle traditions and technology. I do believe she will be a great confident during your stay here."
"It's a pleasure to meet both of you." Burbage finally broke her gaze at Robin to smile and shake hands with Wally. When she returned to greet Robin, it took all his experience as a performer to keep his concern from showing and return her smile.
"Well now," Dumbledore announced, clapping his hands together, "I do believe that's all the necessary introductions. I hate to leave you boys alone; however, there are many things my staff and I must attend to before tonight." Dumbledore gently guided the boys out the large double doors at the end of the hall. "Leave your things here, we will have someone take your luggage to your room. You are, of course, free to explore the castle until dinner. Although I will warn you, the staircases do like to move. I expect you two back here at 7:30 sharp.
"Oh!" Dumbledore smiled at the boys while still standing halfway out the door. The Headmaster lowered his voice slightly above a whisper: "As I said, some of students can get very opinionated; they may doubt your abilities as a muggle. Therefore, when I make your introductions tonight it might not be a bad idea to show off."
