Top Secret
by Shealtiel
Rated: T for sexual references, adult themes, violence and mild coarse language
Summary: "Oak, fourteen inches, unpliant and resilient, excellent for Transfiguration with a knack for Charms. Veela hair core."
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Wednesday, September 1st, 1971
1:40pm
Hogwarts Express
I'm on the train. It was so weird coming to the station and everything. Like Professor Manson said, we literally had to walk through the barrier between Platforms Nine and Ten, but I thought it was so weird, I couldn't do it. So we just stood there and watched it for a while, and there were actually quite a few families who we saw go through the barrier. It was so weird. One second they were there, and the next they were gone.
Anyway, finally my parents plucked up the courage to ask a family who they could hear talking about Hogwarts. They have a son who's about my age. He's really pale and thin and his name is Remus. He didn't say much, he just kind of stared at me. So we went through the barrier with them anyway, and when we got on the other side, it was amazing! There was this big red train with Hogwarts Express written on it and families all over the Platform (Platform 9 ¾ the sign said) saying goodbye to their kids and there were students hanging out of the windows of the train shouting at their parents and stuff. Once we walked through, the big clock on the Platform already said 10:57, so I had to get my big trunk on the train straight away and then say goodbye to Mum and Dad.
It was pretty sad saying goodbye to them. Mum cried. But I get to see them at Christmas, so it won't be too bad. I had to get on the train then, and I found that boy Remus and sat in one of the train compartments with him, since he was the only one I knew.
A girl named Lily and a boy named Severus came and asked if they could sit with us as well, so I've just been chatting with them. Lily's a Muggle-born, so she doesn't really know very much about magic except what Severus has told her. He lives near her, so he's been telling her all about magic and he's even taught her some spells already and stuff.
It's really cool being here. There's a snack cart that came around earlier, and I bought some stuff I've never had before. A pumpkin pasty, which was my favourite, and a cauldron cake, and then there were these Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans. They're like jelly beans, but there are some seriously gross flavours, so I decided to leave those, but I enjoyed the other stuff I bought.
Anyway, I'm gonna try and find out a bit more about Hogwarts before we get there.
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10:09pm
Gryffindor First Year Girls' Dormitory
So. Where do I start? Once we got off the train, this really big guy with long hair and a beard took us across this big lake on little boats. His name was Hagrid and he was nice but really hard to understand.
Once we got across the lake, he led us into the front hallway of this giant castle, which I guess is the school. Then one of the Professors came out and explained the Sorting Ceremony to us. So there're four different Houses, and whichever House we get Sorted into, we do everything with that House. We eat together, sleep in the same dorms and go to classes together.
Anyway, she finally led us into the Great Hall. It's beautiful. The ceiling looks like the sky, and whatever the weather is outside, that's what the sky in the Great Hall does too. There are floating candles above four long tables that run the length of the Hall, and at the far end of the Hall from the entrance there's a table running horizontally across the Hall, and that's where all the teachers sit, looking on at the students' tables, which are vertical.
In front of the teachers' table, there was a stool and they got this old Wizard's hat out, like one of those pointy ones, and sat it on the stool. Everyone in the hall was completely silent, like they were waiting for something, and all of a sudden, one of the folds in the hat opened like a mouth and the hat started singing!
I don't remember the whole song, but the hat talked about all the different Houses and the founders of the school (who each have a House named after them). There's Ravenclaw, which has a raven as their mascot, and their colours are blue and bronze. All the really clever and smart students are in Ravenclaw. Hufflepuff is yellow and black and has a badger, and they're loyal, hard-working and honourable. The Slytherins are really ambitious and cunning, and they all seem kind of proud. Their animal is a snake and the colours are green and silver. Gryffindor has a lion and the colours scarlet and gold, and Gryffindors are brave, daring and chivalrous (which I thought was only something guys could be, but I guess not).
So they called us all up one by one in alphabetical order to sit on the stool and put the hat on our heads. Lily got Sorted into Gryffindor as well as some others, and then I went up and put the hat on my head, and it fell down over my eyes 'cause it's so big. I was a little nervous, but once the hat was on, it started whispering in my ear.
It said, "You're very interesting. There's certainly a lot you don't know about yourself, but I think it's safe to say you were born to be a GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted that last bit to the whole Hall. So then I went over to sit with Lily and the other Gryffindors and they were all cheering. I was probably kinda red, but it was nice. Remus was Sorted into Gryffindor right after me as well, but Severus was Sorted into Slytherin. He doesn't seem mean enough for the Slytherins to me though. All the other Gryffindors don't really seem to like the Slytherins either. One of the older Gryffindor students told me to steer clear of them, because they just use people for their own gain most of the time. I hope Sev can still be our friend though. He seems really nice, even though he's a little awkward sometimes. I'm glad Lily and I are in the same House though. At least I have a few friends already.
Anyway, the Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore, made some weird speech then. He has long white hair and a long white beard that was tucked into his belt. He looked really old. Mum always says that men with long hair are hippies, so apparently we have a hippy for a Headmaster. That should be interesting.
After that, all these food dishes appeared out of nowhere on the tables. It was a pretty amazing feast. There was so much food, and I was so full by the end.
While I was eating, a real live ghost actually floated by me and said hello! (Although, I suppose he wasn't 'live' if he's a ghost, come to think of it.) I noticed then that there were a bunch of ghosts floating around. They're mostly transparent, so they're a little hard to spot at first, especially when you don't know they're supposed to be there at all.
After we were done eating and I was practically full to bursting, the Headmaster got up and made a proper speech. He welcomed us all and then went over the rules of where we can go on the grounds, banned items, curfew, things like that. It was pretty boring. He dismissed us after that, and one of the Gryffindor Prefects led us up all these staircases and past all these moving portraits and paintings. It was unbelievable. We got to this big portrait of this fat lady in one of the hallways, and the Prefect started talking to her. She could talk! I think my mouth was permanently hanging open at this point, but I was in good company, because Lily was seeing all this for the first time too. So he gave her the password, which is Pinus Radiata (so I don't forget it), and the portrait opened up to reveal a hole in the wall, which all the students started climbing in. Once I climbed in, I got to see the Gryffindor Common Room, which is super cool. It's all decorated in scarlet and gold, and there are couches and beanbags and everything all through the room and around a huge fireplace and then there are two massive staircases. One goes up to the boys' dormitories, and the other one goes up to the girls'.
I have my own big four-poster bed that has curtains all around it. Lily and I are sleeping in a room with all the other Gryffindor girls in our Year Level. When I got into the room, my trunk was already at the bottom of my bed. It's all so surreal. I can't even believe all this is happening. It all feels like such a dream. It'll all hit me tomorrow and I'll probably have a mental breakdown.
Anyway, I'm super exhausted after the day I've had, so I'd better get to sleep. Classes start bright and early tomorrow morning.
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