Simon Lowell stepped with trepidation onto the Hogwarts Express. He was quite excited for his upcoming year as a Hogwarts student, but as one might expect, he was slightly nervous. Here was an entire school in a foreign country full of people he didn't know at all, with a completely different culture despite speaking the same language. At least magical Britain had apparently been pretty peaceful for the past thirty years, otherwise he probably wouldn't have been able to come. The transfer program he'd entered as a sophomore hadn't been very hard; all it'd required beyond an essay after he returned was a promise that he wouldn't embarrass his home country or school while at Hogwarts and that he'd bring something new to the school. He'd been so excited to have this wonderful opportunity to see the world, or at least another part of it, but he couldn't help feeling nervous.
As Simon wandered through the train in search of somewhere to sit, he pondered what he already knew about Hogwarts and magical Britain. He knew some things about Hogwarts, mainly that it had four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, each representing one of the school's founders and their defining traits. Personally, Simon thought he was a shoo-in for Ravenclaw. He had always been a good student and thoroughly enjoyed learning, as well as creative endeavors. Though, now that he reflected upon it, he had quite a few Slytherin and Gryffindor traits, as well, if what he'd heard and read was correct. So he wasn't entirely sure which House he would be Sorted into. He would have to simply wait and find out.
After a few more minutes of searching, he finally found a compartment with space. He knocked thrice on the door, and it was answered by a cool-looking girl with close-cropped brown hair and a nose piercing.
"You mind if I sit here?" Simon asked. "This is the first compartment I've found with any space. I'm Simon Lowell, by the way."
"No, not at all," replied the girl. "I'm Mary MacDonald, and that's Lily Evans." She pointed to the other girl in the compartment, a pale-skinned redhead with bright green eyes who immediately caught his attention.
"Hey! Nice to meet you," Lily Evans said warmly. "You can put your stuff up there," she pointed to a luggage rack above the compartment.
"Thanks," he replied, stuffing his suitcase and guitar case where she'd indicated before stepping inside the compartment. "It's—it's nice to meet you both. I'm a transfer student—that's why you've never seen me before. I'm from America."
"Oh, you're from the States?" Lily asked. "That's so cool! What's your school like?"
"It's called Ashbury, and it's pretty small, definitely not among the largest magical schools in America. At least, it's not as big as Ilvermorny is. That's the world-famous school we have, but it's on the East Coast." And it's irrationally overrated, Simon thought to himself.
"You have multiple big wizarding schools?" Mary asked.
"'Course we do. America's huge; if every magician went to the same school, it'd have to be fucking massive. Does Britain only have one magical school?"
"Magician?" Lily inquired. "And yeah, there are some smaller academies and such, I think, but Hogwarts is the only major wizarding school in Britain that I know of."
Was the word 'magician' really just an Ashbury thing? "Magical people. It's the gender-neutral term for wizards and witches. Do you all really not use it here?" Britain was a large country, at least in terms of population if not landmass, so it was strange that it had only one large school while the United States had ten? Eleven? Simon couldn't even come up with the number. And that wasn't even counting all the culture-specific schools—the hyper-traditional Christian academies in the South and the Mormon school in Utah and the countless other places. "We have a lot of schools, and a lot of magical children. A lot of magical kids also don't go to school, for whatever reason." I guess Britain isn't as culturally diverse as America—or maybe the magical government just doesn't recognize some cultures. Like ours, occasionally.
Lily looked a little confused. "No, we don't… Magical Britain is pretty backwards when it comes to a lot of things, though, from what I've seen."
"You can say that again," added Mary harshly.
"America's backwards, too, just...not in the same way, I think," Simon explained.
"What do you mean, not in the same way?"
"I won't go all political on you—I just met you, after all—but let's just say America's magical government has some of the same issues its non-magical government does with regards to cultural diversity." At the girls' confused looks, he added, "Basically, there are a lot of unique cultures in America, people who've been there for way longer than white people have, but they don't get the recognition or the rights they should." That was about the easiest way to put it without going into detail, and Simon really didn't want to alienate a couple of seemingly cool people with his oft-judged 'radical opinions.'
"That's pretty fucked up," Mary acknowledged. "We're both Muggle-born, by the way, so we have a...personal view on this kind of stuff. Speaking for myself, at least."
"My parents aren't magical, either, so I totally get that. I live in a very progressive area, so I'm definitely sheltered, but not all of America is like that."
Mary raised her head to look Simon straight in the eye. "It's not easy, being Muggle-born at Hogwarts… Certain people haven't been the nicest to us, because our parents aren't wizards. Magicians. No one—no one seems to care enough to do anything about it." She looked awfully serious, like this topic brought up bad memories for her. Thinking about it, Simon realized that it probably did.
Simon wasn't exactly surprised to hear that. Bigotry against non-magical people in America really depended on where you were; he, living in Seattle, hadn't had to endure a lot of it, but he knew that wasn't the case for Muggle-born kids in other parts of the country. Especially the South.
"That—you shouldn't have to deal with that, Mary. I don't know exactly what it's like for you, of course—we don't really have much blood purism or Muggle prejudice where I'm from, and the people who still hold onto those beliefs don't really spout them—but I feel bad for you." Then, after a moment of thought, he added, "If you ever need help dealing with bigots like that, let me know. I don't like...I don't like prejudiced people." It came out more speech-y than he'd expected it to, and it was kind of a presumptuous thing to say to two people he'd only just met, but he found himself not regretting a word once he finished.
Both girls looked a mixture of surprised and relieved, and Lily took a breath before speaking. "Thanks, Simon… There really isn't a lot of support for Muggle-borns here, like Mary said, or Muggle culture in general, really. The Muggle Studies curriculum is awful, for example. It's like…it's like non-magical people are like—like animals or something. People don't think their lives matter—I've been wanting to do something about it for a while, so I'm glad you're here." That made him feel good. Maybe he'd be able to contribute more to Hogwarts than just his often-mediocre music.
Simon nodded in acknowledgment. "I'll help in whatever way I can." The conviction in his voice surprised him. He didn't think he normally sounded so...intense. At least, he hoped he didn't.
Lily, clearly wanting to talk about something a little lighter, changed the subject after that. "Was that a guitar case I saw you putting up top before?"
Simon grinned, happy to talk about his favorite hobby. "Yeah. It's electric, but I don't need an amp. A normal one, anyway. Me and a few friends of mine figured out how to make amps work with magic. It's pretty cool. You play?"
Lily shook her head. "No, but I—we know someone who does. Sirius Black. You two will get along, I think, he's big on Muggle issues even though his family's wizarding nobility. He's a little...much, sometimes, but he's a nice guy."
"Most of the time," Mary added. "I'm with Lil, though, he'll be super interested in what you've done—he's always trying to make that damned guitar of his work at Hogwarts, so he'll be happy that you've apparently figured it out. That is, if he admits he ever had trouble in the first place."
"Thanks, I'll talk to him. He sounds like a chill guy." Simon hesitated before asking his next question. "So. I've told you about Ashbury; what's Hogwarts like?"
Lily beamed at him, launching into a spiel about how lovely the castle was, how fun and interesting the classes were, and how great Gryffindor House was. For the first time, Simon kind of hoped he'd get in there. Apparently that Black guy, the guitarist, was also in Gryffindor, along with another friend of theirs called Marlene.
The three teens spent the rest of the train ride discussing Ashbury, Hogwarts, music, and their general experiences as Muggle-born wixen. Though many of his peers at home were partially Muggle-raised or at least knew a lot about Muggle culture, Simon was one of the only true Muggle-borns he knew, and it was nice to meet not one, but two friendly people in similar situations. He said as much, at one point, and Lily and Mary both agreed. Apparently there really wasn't a large Muggle-born population in magical Britain; Lily and Mary were two of perhaps fifty in a school of about a thousand.
At one point, an old woman pushing a trolley full of what appeared to be British magical candy knocked on their door offering them said candy for money. Lily glanced briefly at Mary before pulling some silver and bronze coins out of her pocket and handing them to the witch. Simon bought a package of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavored Beans using some of the British magical currency he'd exchanged money back home for.
The first bean he ate produced a metallic taste tinged with something else, and he quickly procured a tissue and spat it out. "Oh, shit, this one's—I think it's rust."
Lily laughed and swatted him on the arm playfully. "Don't be such a baby, Simon! That's not even near the worst flavor you can get!"
"I guess they really do come in every flavor," he admitted.
With all the talking they were doing, the rest of the ride passed fairly quickly (though a voice did break up the rhythm of their conversation near the end of the ride, reminding everyone to change into their Hogwarts robes), and before Simon knew it the train had come to a stop. Lily and Mary led him out, assuring him that his luggage would be magically transported to the castle.
Simon was then escorted to Hogwarts Castle with the incoming first-years in a group of small boats.. He rode with the gamekeeper, a very large man who called himself Hagrid and spoke with a thick accent—but from where, Simon couldn't tell.
"Never been t' the States myself," Hagrid admitted. "Hear it's nice there, though."
"Depending on where you go, it can be quite nice," Simon replied. "I'm from the Pacific Northwest, so I'm lucky—we have some really beautiful landscapes where I live."
Lily was right, Hogwarts was magnificent. America didn't have a school this stunning. Ilvermorny, the oldest and largest one, didn't even come close. The walls were pristine stone, almost glowing, with magic rolling off the entire building in waves Simon could only barely sense, let alone see. He hadn't even entered the grand old castle yet and he could already tell this was a very special place. Admiring it in person for the first time, it made sense to Simon that this was the most prominent wizarding school in all of Europe. He probably looked like a wide-eyed child, walking into the castle for the first time with his head pointed at the ceiling, but he didn't care. It was fucking beautiful.
As he entered the castle, he was greeted with all sorts of sights and sounds that all came together to form a wonderful cacophony that embraced his senses and made him truly feel like he was in some sort of fantasy world. As he was led through the hall by a stern-looking woman (who introduced herself as Professor McGonagall), he felt the same kind of awe that the first-years' faces showed. Hogwarts was as incredible on the inside as it was on the outside.
When they reached what was referred to as the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall explained the Sorting process. They were supposed to put a talking hat upon their heads, and it would Sort them. This was exactly the sort of thing Simon expected from crackpot wizards, and he couldn't help but chuckle.
As the first-years were Sorted, Simon watched not the first-years themselves, but the other students. The Gryffindor table, where he recognized Lily and Mary sitting at, cheered the loudest in general for every student, but got significantly quieter whenever a new Slytherin was Sorted. The Hufflepuff table cheered quieter for everyone. The Ravenclaw table seemed to be too busy debating various topics to care, and only cheered when students were Sorted into their House. But the Slytherin table was the most interesting. They clapped politely at every Sorting, even those of Gryffindors. When a student was Sorted into Slytherin, they clapped louder, but not boisterously like the Gryffindors. The House system was clearly more complicated than what Simon had heard—at least in terms of relations between Houses. They seemed almost like fraternities and sororities in Muggle colleges, except you couldn't choose not to join one. And, judging by the reactions of some of the first-years (specifically ones Sorted into Slytherin), you didn't get to pick which one you ended up in. Interesting.
It seemed to take ages for the incoming first-years to be Sorted, causing Simon to zone out for a bit. Thus, he was a little startled when it was finally his turn. He tried to look confident as he walked up to the stool and placed the hat upon his head. To his surprise, it began to speak to him within his mind.
"Ah, the transfer student from America. A very interesting mind you have. We don't get many transfers here at Hogwarts. Don't worry, I won't spill your secrets. I'm but a talking hat."
Thanks. I'm not quite sure how this works—we don't use talking hats to sort students where I come from. We don't have Houses, either, though.
"Oh, of course. It must be odd. Never fear, though, young lad. I'm perfectly harmless. Now where to put you? It is plain that you would definitely do well in Ravenclaw, though I sense a strong desire to break away from what you're used to. Perhaps Rowena's house wouldn't be the best choice for you then; you would be surrounded by others quite similar to you were I to place you there. You only work hard when the work interests you, and you only value loyalty to those you deem worthy of it. You might make a great Slytherin, but I don't sense a lot of ambition in you..."
From what I've heard of Slytherin, it wouldn't be my first choice… Also, is it just me, or are the kids who go there…unhappy?
"Slytherin has an…interesting reputation, both among denizens of this castle and the world outside of it. There are those who loathe the thought of their children being Sorted there, just as there are those who wouldn't accept anything else. Don't let what you hear from others influence your future friendships, though, my young Yank. Salazar's House is full of perfectly decent children, as are the three other Houses."
Okay...that explains it, I guess. Where—where are you going to Sort me?
"Well, I seem to have ruled out all but one. You clearly have already developed a friendship with Miss Evans and Miss MacDonald, and I see you have a desire to experience something new and out of your comfort zone, so I think you'll make a fine GRYFFINDOR!"
The hat shouted the last word for the entire room to hear as Simon stood up and removed it. He admired how the trim on his robes and tie bloomed scarlet and gold as the Hat made its declaration before placing it upon the stool and walking towards the Gryffindor table, smiling to himself.
Simon sought out Lily, and when he found her sitting next to Mary, he pointed to an open seat next to her. She nodded enthusiastically, so he sat down.
"Surprised to see you here, Simon," Mary said. "Thought you'd be a Ravenclaw for sure, being a musician and all. They take most of the creative types."
"Well, the hat thought differently, I guess," Simon replied. "Are these your friends?" He gestured to a group of kids, both boys and girls, sitting close to his two new companions.
"Yeah, I'll let them introduce themselves."
A mousy-looking girl with long blonde hair looked at him with a smile. "Marlene McKinnon, pleased to meet you," she said.
"And I'm Dorcas Meadowes" said a pretty brunette with olive skin sitting across from Marlene.
"Nice to meet you both," Simon shook both their hands politely before turning his attention to the Headmaster, a wise-looking old man in half-moon glasses robes of a bright purple, who began speaking at that very moment.
"Welcome, everyone, to another year at Hogwarts! I am Headmaster Dumbledore, and I only wish to say a few words before I let the feast begin. Firstly, let me introduce this year's Traveling Scholar, Mr. Simon Lowell." Simon suddenly felt all eyes on him, but he didn't stand up, and Dumbledore didn't make any motion for him to. "He has traveled here all the way from the Northwestern United States to attend Hogwarts this year, and I hope you will all treat him with the respect and decorum you'd treat anyone else with. Secondly, the list of banned items has been updated once again, due to some...ingenious pranks pulled last year," Simon saw a boy with messy black hair a few people down the Gryffindor table from him smirk at a short blonde boy, who smirked back, "and it can be found on Mr. Filch's door. Lastly, the Forbidden Forest is, as it has always been, forbidden to students. And before I release you… Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"
Simon raised his eyebrows as food magically appeared on the table in front of him. "Is it just me, or is he a little...odd?"
Lily laughed, a pleasant, musical sound that Simon couldn't help but notice. "Oh, that's just Dumbledore for you. He's cryptic, but he's a pretty cool Headmaster."
Simon and the others began to eat, and they fell into easy, light conversation, mostly about America and what it was like there. After a few minutes, they were interrupted by a loud voice coming from a few seats down.
"Oi, Lowell!" Simon turned his head to see a handsome boy with jet-black hair down to his shoulders. "You're the Yank, right?" At his nod, the boy continued. "I'm Sirius Black! Nice to meet you!"
Simon echoed the sentiment and added, "You're the guitar player! Lily's told me all about you!"
Sirius grinned wide and nodded. "Yeah. I'm not Muggle-raised, but I've been practicing a little. Remus here can't get enough of my playing." He playfully punched the brown-haired boy next to him in the arm, who only smiled in response. "You'll have to show me what you can do later. Come to the common room tonight and we can jam, or whatever it is musicians do together." He sounded genuinely excited.
"Sure thing, Black," Simon replied with a smile; though he hadn't yet been told exactly what the common rooms at Hogwarts were, he could guess by the name. "I look forward to it."
Simon didn't talk much for the rest of the meal, instead deciding to observe the students around him. Sirius conversed mainly with the boy he'd identified as Remus, as well as the two boys who'd smirked when the Headmaster had mentioned the list of banned items. The foursome appeared to be very close friends, and were clearly enjoying themselves, as were the gaggle of girls around Simon.
An interesting thing he noticed was that the messy-haired boy talking with Sirius and Remus kept unsubtly glancing over in Simon's direction. He wondered what that was about; he hadn't even met the boy yet. He wasn't sure if the guy was mad at him for some reason or just confused. Guess I'll have to talk to him later.
After dinner, Lily and her friends led Simon up to Gryffindor Tower, where their House's common room and dormitories were. Gryffindor's common room was warm and lively, with laughing teenagers clearly enjoying themselves lounging on couches and chairs, while a fireplace roared by the far wall. Overall, it was a very pleasant scene, and it made Simon think not for the first time that he'd made a good choice coming to Hogwarts this year.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Sirius Black asked, sidling up to him.
"Yeah. I'm actually kind of impressed." Sirius snorted in response before abruptly grabbing Simon's arm.
"Come on, let me show you the dorms. You're with Remus and Pete and James and me."
Simon followed Sirius into the room he'd be living in for the next ten months and was delighted to see that it had a similar aesthetic to the common room downstairs. Five large four-poster beds sat in the room, and on the rightmost one Simon saw his suitcase and guitar case lying there as if they'd been teleported straight from the train.
He was quickly greeted by a high, friendly voice coming from the blonde boy he'd seen at dinner. "Hey, welcome to Hogwarts, mate! I'm Peter, I see you already know Sirius, and Remus and James should be here soon."
"Thanks for the welcome, man," Simon said as he walked over to shake Peter's hand. "It's nice to meet you."
He then walked over to unpack his suitcase, and noticed a dust-covered turntable against the wall between two of the beds. "Nice record player you've got," he remarked to Sirius. "I brought mine, but I guess I should have expected someone here to have one. Why's it look like it hasn't been used in months?"
Peter turned towards him as he rummaged in his bag for something. "It hasn't. Remus and I have them at home, James doesn't really listen to music, and Sirius…" He looked at his friend somewhat desperately, but the other boy only laughed heartily.
"If I'd brought a Muggle record player home this summer, I wouldn't have made it as long as I did in that house!" There was a light pause as Simon didn't really know how to respond and Peter looked confused. "Sorry," Sirius amended. "I don't have the brightest sense of humor. My parents really don't like Muggles, or anything to do with them, like, at all. I don't live with them anymore, though." He abruptly shut up, and Simon didn't question him about his family any further, preferring to leave his nose out of other people's business.
"...oh," he finally said. "Well, I brought a few records, so…"
"Yeah, I'll check 'em out later. Where the fuck are James and Remus?" He looked almost worried.
A new voice interrupted just then, as a tall, lanky boy with light brown hair stepped into the room. "Don't be too loud, Padfoot; we don't want to scare off the new guy. I'm Remus, by the way. Remus Lupin." He shook Simon's hand firmly. "I hope Sirius and Peter haven't overwhelmed you with information."
Simon chuckled. This guy reminded him of Stuart, his bandmate and best friend, with his deadpan humor. "No, no, they've been perfectly welcoming. I was just admiring your turntable."
Remus nodded. "Yeah, Sirius loves that thing. It's a nice little contraption, though I've no idea how Sirius got it to work around so much magic." He whirled around to face his handsome friend. "Where's Prongs? He should be here by now—I swear, if he's already pestering Lily on the first day…"
The black-haired boy shrugged his shoulders. "No idea. He hasn't come up here yet."
Simon thought James was probably the kid who'd been staring at him. "I noticed you guys talking to a guy with messy black hair and glasses during dinner—he was looking at me weirdly, as well, but I couldn't tell why."
Sirius laughed again, eyes glinting. "Yeah, that's James. He was probably wondering why you were so chummy with Evans. He's kind of obsessed with her—asks her to Hogsmeade every chance he gets, even though she always turns him down. At this point, it's hopeless, but it's funny."
"That makes sense, then, I guess," Simon acknowledged. It's just simple jealousy, nothing out of the ordinary. "So, should we head down to the common room? I'd like to see how good you are with that axe of yours, Sirius."
Sirius practically beamed at him. "Sure! Let me grab it. I've got an amp, but I can never get it to work properly, you know how magic fucks with Muggle electronics…"
"That's actually not a problem. I—me and some friends kind of figured that out." Simon opened his suitcase and rummaged around for a moment, taking out two metallic cubes about the size of large apples. Each had several knobs and a quarter-inch input jack.
"These are magical amp heads. Plug your guitar in and turn it on, and it'll amplify your sound as well as a normal one would."
Sirius grinned excitedly. "Basically a Sonorus charm in a box. I love it!" He then rushed over to his bed to pick up his guitar case. "Remus, Peter, you comin'?"
"Sure," replied Peter.
"Wouldn't miss it, Sirius," said Remus somewhat jokingly.
Simon grabbed his own guitar case and followed his three new roommates out of the dormitory and down the stairs to the common room.
Lily greeted him with a warm "There you are! I wondered where you all ran off to! Good to see you, Remus, Peter," and he smiled at her in acknowledgment before plopping himself down on an unoccupied couch and opening his guitar case. Sirius sat down across from him, copying his movements as he brought out his own axe and waving hello to James Potter as he walked into the common room.
"Oh, there you are, Prongs. We were looking for you, mate."
"Don't worry about it, mate. I see this is our new roommate?" He looked questioningly at Simon.
"Yeah, that's me. I'm Simon. Nice to meet you." He offered his hand, and James took it with a moment's hesitancy.
"You, too," he said, before shutting up and going to sit down next to Remus. Sirius raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
Simon thought it a good time to begin. "Here, dude, you'll need this," he said, tossing Sirius a quarter-inch cable for him to plug in to his magical head. "Just plug one end into the guitar, yeah, you've got it."
Simon then prepared his setup, pressing the little 'on' button he'd modeled after the ones on regular amps. He tuned his guitar, but it wasn't particularly easy due to all the chatter.
Sirius Black, thankfully, had no problem ordering people to quiet down. "Hey! Can you all shut the fuck up? We've got instruments to tune here!"
Surprisingly, he was instantly obeyed, and most of the common room's attention diverted to the two musicians. Simon briefly looked up at Lily, who gave him a small smile, as if encouraging him. Not for the first time, he noticed how pretty she was, but now was not the time for such thoughts.
Once they'd tuned, Simon glanced at his musical partner with uncertainty. "Know any songs, Black?"
"I know some, but I'm pretty shit at guitar. Why don't you start us off, new guy? I'm sure there's plenty of people here dying to hear you play." Remus' soft laughter filled the room at that, and Simon knew he was blushing a little. He did not glance at Lily, but instead sat up straighter and nodded to Sirius.
"Alright, Black, you're on. I'll start with…" he paused to figure out what song to begin with, not sure how much these British magicians knew of music. "I'll start with, oh, fuck it. This is a song by a guy from my hometown of Seattle, Washington, called Jimi Hendrix. Hope you all enjoy."
With that, he tapped his foot a few times to set the tempo before launching into the absolutely sick opening of Hendrix' "Hey Joe," one of his favorite songs to play in general. After the introductory lick was over, he launched into the first verse and was surprised to hear Sirius' guitar ringing out the rhythmic ghost notes and occasional arpeggios of the song's second guitar track. He grinned wide despite himself, and started to sink into the groove as Sirius began to sing—and sing well.
As the two continued the song, Simon began to feel that kind of intense connection he felt with Mal and Gareth and Stuart, the people he regularly played with and clicked with musically—that kind of link that indicated that what you were doing was special and right, and he finished the song in a sort of musical high, unbothered by anything in the moment.
"Holy fucking shit, dude, that was awesome!" Sirius looked positively radiant as he stood up, mock-bowing in response to the raucous applause from the surrounding students. Simon hesitantly stood with him. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, America's finest young rockstar, now come to this fine institution, the illustrious Simon Lowell!"
Everyone's eyes were on him and he knew he didn't look anywhere near as confident in the spotlight as Sirius did but he found he didn't care. He basked in the room's congratulations, not even bothering to hide his immense giddiness when Lily exclaimed how much she'd loved it.
He'd thought Sirius was the type of person to relish being at the center of attention, but he seemed perfectly content to nod and smile and let Simon have his fame, though the common room's attention didn't last very long. After about ten minutes Simon silently retreated up to his new dormitory, bidding Lily and the other girls good night and promising Sirius that they'd play again later, he was just tired.
Lying on his luxurious new bed, Simon felt overwhelmed and tired, but those feelings didn't compare to his raw excitement.
He was in a new school, in a different country, with all-new people, but he felt so much better about it than he'd expected to. He'd already made friends who shared some of his experiences, and he'd already made a musical connection with his roommate, and Lily Evans was exceptionally pretty when she smiled...
Yeah, this year would be good. Maybe even better than another year at Ashbury would have been.
He fell asleep in minutes, and if his dreams featured a particular redheaded girl, well, he wouldn't remember them anyway.