STEALING THUNDER
Chapter 5
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
AN: I was going through my story, re-reading it, and I couldn't help but notice the bad quality of the writing, mostly on the earlier parts since I basically rushed through them. So, I was thinking of slightly editing them when there's time. And I read a review that stated the grammar to be problematic. Is it really that bad, tho? :/
This chapter was supposed to be the conclusion of the childhood arc, but I changed my mind. So I decided to make this chapter a mix of the conclusion and the transition to Hogwarts itself since I think that 30k words for prologue would be a stretch.
Anyway, thank you for your supports! The reviews, favorites, and follows are dearly appreciated! Here's chapter 5!
Bolts of lightning struck from the sky, accompanying the hard and heavy rain. It was a storm. And the wind was wild, a hurricane in its own. The dark clouds swirled in one motion, creating a circle as if they were trying to suck everything below them.
From the center of clouds, a light gleamed. As though as a divine intervened, something shone from the eye of the storm.
Another bolt of lightning struck, and this time, the flash went so bright that his vision turned completely white.
"The door swings both ways."
"The door swings both ways."
He heard twin voices saying the same thing in unison.
He was going through a tunnel, not made of solid, but instead, it was a tube of swirling clouds. He could see the light from the end, however, dim it might be.
The next thing he saw was a glorious, flapping animal. It was golden in colour. It possessed three pairs of majestic wings. It had a head of an eagle, with sharp beak, and sharp eyes. It was a thunderbird, and a gargantuan one at that.
The thunderbird flew toward him, and it opened its large beak. It swallowed him whole.
He was falling, he could see the sky above getting higher. His body started going limp. Then, in an instant, he wasn't falling anymore. He was flying.
"Fly." a soft voice in an almost solemn voice whispered to him, the sound barely getting through the rough wind.
The strange thing was that he saw himself. He was flying yet he saw himself falling.
And then the space tore. Shattered. No longer was he aware of where he was, or what he was feeling.
Out of all things possible. Out of all things considered. He was now standing in front of a door instead. The door was a golden one. It stood tall and proud, uncaring of its bare surroundings.
He pondered on what he should do. But before he could decide anything, the knob of the door turned the slightest bit as if someone was turning it from the other side.
Then he was pushed. Away.
The last thing he could register was the same whispery voice that said to him, "Where the lies lie, knock but you shan't turn."
Darius stood up from where he fell asleep. Slowly, his brain was registering back the dream he had just dreamt before he awakened.
He rubbed his eyes as he tried his best to gather his wits. He noticed the opened book in front of him, and he could make some of the scribbles from the yellow-stained pages. He had just fallen asleep while reading on his desk yet again. It happened quite often to him, maybe thrice a month if he'd wager.
He closed the half-finished, bare black book. He turned to check the time. He saw the clock pointing at 1:37 am.
With a hint of disappointment and annoyance, he said "Oh man, why does it have to happen now? Today of all time! Mother's going to kill me if I don't wake up early."
He mused on his strange dream for a while, then he made up his mind. Darius climbed up to his bed as he tried to go back to sleep, for later today would be a day of most importance.
King's Cross Station, London, England.
Hogwarts Express, 11 o'clock
The sign overhead told Darius what he needed to know. That this was very real.
The 11-year-old who was actually neared to 12-year-old instead was now standing on a platform, and to his left, an archway could be seen gleaming in black with the words Platform Nine and Three-Quarters on it. And to his front, a scarlet steam engine adorned his vision.
Darius felt a tug on his left sleeve. He turned to the side to see a younger boy furiously yanking it.
"It's not fair! I want to go too!" said the younger boy.
"Ernie, we've been going through this several times already! You'll come too in just two years, remember?" he said to the child.
"But I will be alone, now. I don't want to be alone."
"Hey, you're hardly going to be alone. Mother and Father will still be there with you. In any case, it is me that is going to miss you all! I am going away from home, after all. And I promise you that I will go home on Christmas, can you wait for me until then?"
"Fine, I'll wait. But you have to promise to send letters!"
"I do promise that already, right? I'll write to you at least once a week."
Finally, the child relented.
"Don't mind him, Darius. It's natural for a child to miss their sibling. Your uncle Henry was the same when I first went to Hogwarts. He'll be fine in no time." assured his father.
"Your father is right, dear. Your brother will understand in time. Now, are you sure you've everything ready?" added his mother.
"I am," he answered curtly.
Currently, Darius's hands rested on the handle of a trolley filled with his belongings. An owl cage could be spotted easily. Inside the cage was a short-eared owl. It had large chartreuse yellow eyes, a big head, a short neck, and broad wings. Its bill was short, strong, hooked, and black. Its plumage was mottled a light brown with a barred tail and wings. A leatherbound brown trunk could also be seen on the trolley. It was quite large in size, and it sported a fresh and refined look, with the letters D.M. engraved on its front. There were also several smaller boxes on the trolley, though they were covered and stashed atop of the trunk.
The trunk was new since he had gotten it from Diagon Alley itself, the most famous and biggest magical shopping center of Britain, the alley that was the centre of Wizarding London. Darius remembered his first visit to Diagon Alley, he was only 9 at the time, his father had taken him there to cement his status as the family heir at the Gringotts Wizarding Bank.
"Woah."
"Darius, welcome to Diagon Alley." said his father from the side. They arrived there through the method of apparition, a magical form of transportation, in which the user travelled instantly from one location to another, without traversing the space in-between.
The feelings of knots in his stomach bubbled up, no doubt as to the side-effect of travelling through the said method. Darius was still accustoming himself to the feeling for he had never side-apparated before. But despite this, he straightened himself, colour a bit lost from his face.
He scanned his surroundings, taking notice of the little details of the view of the Diagon Alley, "It's so- so alive!"
Diagon Alley was bustling with people, shops lined up along every direction he could see, and the architecture was familiar, a sight that Darius had loved from afar.
"It is. Now we best hurry, the goblins won't like it if we're late."
And with that, they walked into a large building, pearl-white with engravings on its door
Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.
Flanked with goblins left and right, they walked through the door, with the intention of sorting out Darius' inheritance from the family vault, and his status as heir. They took their steps across the grand marble hall, passing through tens of goblins behind their respective stools, lined up on their left and right. They approached the counter, where a goblin with white hair took notice of them.
"Lord Macmillan? Just on time of the schedule, Longclaw will see you now."
And of course, the most memorable part was definitely not a conversation with a stingy and a miser of a goblin, but rather, it was when his father took him to visit their family vault.
"This is awesome!" said Darius excitedly as their cart went along the railways at high speed.
"Indeed, young lord." responded the goblin they shared their cart with.
"You really are taking this much better than I expected. Why, I wasn't embarrassed to admit that I was a bit green myself during my first ride."
Meanwhile, Darius who was losing a part of himself in half-remembered memories of theme parks and attractions said to his father, "Are you kidding? This is like the best thing ever!"
Suddenly, they went through a rather open part of the underground, a white large beast could be seen on the ground.
"Wait what, a dragon? Damn, it really is a dragon!"
Sadly, he wasn't able to see much of the dragon. Instead, they soon arrived at their destination not long after that.
"Vault 37, here we are."
Darius had visited Diagon Alley and Gringotts several times after that. Sometimes, he went there with his mother on a trip of his mother's needs. Some other times, the family went together, eating dinners at the wizarding restaurants there, or just himself and Ernie enjoying some ice creams at Fortescue's. The last time he visited Diagon was to buy his Hogwarts supplies, in which he went there alongside Cedric, though mostly he spent most of the time waiting since he already had a wand, while Cedric took nearly 2 hours to get his. He had also arranged a financial matter for his time in Hogwarts as he visited the bank on his last visit.
On a related manner about finance, Darius had learned, or rather, confirmed back then, that his family was practically rich. Their vault at Gringotts saw to that as it was filled with piles and stacks of galleons in golden gleams that glittered.
Darius was brought back to the reality around him as his father asked him from the side, "Let's go meet the others, now, shall we?"
He nodded. They walked across the platform, passing the locomotive. The platform was filled with people. Families shared hugs and goodbyes, some tears were shed, and some laughs and smiles were also visible. They continued in their steps until they encountered the other family. It was a group of three, of a black-haired man, a brown-haired woman, and a black-haired girl that looked a year or two older than Darius.
"Ackley, here to see the kids off?" greeted his father to the man.
The man in question was no one but his tutor. Ackley Walker had been Darius' tutor since his ninth birthday, so it had been nearly three years. Darius thought of the man as a quite good tutor, even if he didn't have any prior experience teaching. The man was smart, that much was easy to deduce. Sure, Mr. Ackley often lost himself in his own thoughts and his own ramblings, but he was still a dedicated teacher. He had maintained a pretty good relationship with his tutor, mostly to appease his father, even if the relationship never became a close bond or something more than just discussions and learnings.
"Darius, ready to finally tackle Hogwarts, eh?" asked his tutor.
"Yes, Mr. Ackley. Your lessons have been very valuable, and I think I'm more than ready for Hogwarts, now."
"That you are. You will definitely ace your first year. I have no doubt of that."
"Thank you, Mr. Ackley."
After that, the two men engaged in a conversation. Meanwhile, Darius was observing his surroundings. He could see Andrea, who was Mr. Ackley's daughter, and there was also Mrs. Leyla, who both he had met a few times throughout the years. His mother had also engaged in a talk with Mrs. Leyla. At the same time, Darius was left in an awkward silence with his tutor's daughter, but thankfully, he had kept himself busy by chasing after Ernie who had wandered around.
"Hey! Ern! Don't go running around like that! Ernie, come back here!" he half-shouted near the end for his brother had gone out of vision, lost amidst the many people in the crowd.
Darius left from his spot, feet marching, eyes searching. He had only taken a few steps, no more than a dozen, when he found what he was looking for. Ernie had collided with someone when he was not looking, as he nearly always was. Thankfully, the person who he had collided with seemed to not mind it. In fact, the person was someone they both recognized.
"Ced, you're here, too!" he heard his brother said as he jumped off a bit.
"Oh, Ernie? Why are you here all alone? Where's your brother, or your parents?" answered the person.
Before they could talk further, Darius had reached the spot where the both of them were standing.
"Ernie! What did I say about running off again?" He asked the boy in an exasperated manner.
"Not to do it?" the boy answered sheepishly.
"You're lucky mother and father haven't noticed yet. And Cedric, it's good to finally see you, I have started to think that you're not coming at this rate." He said.
"As if that would ever happen. It was just a little something that came up, so we were held back for quite a time."
"Anyway, where's your mother? I know that your father is abroad, but is your mother not coming?"
"No, she's here, too. She was just talking to Mrs. Weasley earlier." answered the brown-haired boy.
"Ah, that explains it then." It was no secret after all, that Mrs. Weasley could be very chatty when in conversation.
"Ernie, go to father and mother, please?" asked Darius to Ernest.
"No! I want to say goodbye to Cedric, too!" argued the child.
"It's fine, Ernie, we'll get to that later," assured Cedric. And so the younger boy left the two older boys.
"So, Hogwarts, eh?" I said.
"Yes." he returned with a nod.
"Can't believe it, we're finally going there."
"I know, I've waited for this day like forever!"
The two shared a grin for the thought, for the day finally came. The day of September 1st, 1989. Cedric and Darius soon got into their usual manner as they walked through the platform, sharing quick laughs or jokes.
"11 months! Can you believe it? It has been nearly that long since we got our letters!"
"Yeah, the excitement of waiting turned boring real quick when you have 11 months to spare."
Although he spoke of that, Darius still fondly remembered the day he got his Hogwarts letter. He treasured the memory of receiving an owl with an envelope attached to its talons, the address on its front written in emerald-green ink.
"Mother, Father! It's finally here! I think this is my Hogwarts letter!" shouted a boy who was furiously running through the room.
"Brother is going to Hogwarts? That's cool! I want a letter too!"
Mr. D. Macmillan,
The second-largest bedroom,
Macmillan Manor, Berkshire, England
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorcerer, Chief Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizard)
Dear Mr. Macmillan,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July,
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Darius excitedly ripped the envelope open and began reading the letter. He had expected this, he had expected the words, but expecting it and actually receiving it turned out to be quite different and a lot more interesting experience for him.
"Congratulations, Darius." said his mother who had just entered the room alongside his father.
"We're proud of you, and we know you'll do great at Hogwarts." added his father from the side.
"Wow, this is real, wow. I can't believe it! I'm finally going into Hogwarts!" said Darius in an excited tone in the beginning but had turned into a shout in the end.
It was an emotional experience. For the letter had been something he had dreamed of as a child in his first life. Back then, it used to be nothing but a pipe dream, a mere hope for literally every child. But, now. Now the letter was resting on his hand, words as clear as a day, and its meaning was as sure as the sun rising in the east. His life now was going to involve going to a magical castle to learn magic for 7 years.
Darius found himself lost in the thoughts. He knew the day would come and it should be no surprise. But there's always that traitorous little voice at the back of his head shouting that he won't be going, that he wasn't a real wizard, that Hogwarts would somehow find out. During his inner musing, however, his brother, Ernie, was busy pestering his parents for his own letter.
"I'm going to floo-call Cedric to tell him about this!" said Darius suddenly, as if he just got snapped out of his thoughts.
He ran to the fireplace nearby, took a grain of floo powder in his hand then threw it on the fireplace, shouting the name of the destination of the call. Then, he proceeded to tell his best friend about finally getting his own letter, for Cedric had gotten it two weeks earlier, as his birthday had come first before him.
Darius was pulled out of the memory when he noticed two young redheads his age standing in front of him.
"Hey, George. It looks like someone's a bit lost, isn't he?"
"Right one, Freddie. Big boy here seems like he was a little bit distracted, perhaps?"
"Oh, maybe it's something in the air?"
"Hmmm doubt it, Fred. Ceddy here looks just fine. And we know them both, always together."
"Hey! What in the name of Merlin are you two talking about?" Darius couldn't help but ask, a little bit annoyed.
"You just spaced out again," answered Cedric, completely ignoring the part that Darius was actually annoyed by.
"Bloody hell, I can't even understand why I'm friends with the two of you. You both are incorrigible."
"Anyway, Fred, George. Want to share a cabin for later?"
"Yeah, fine. Right, Fred?"
"Yeah. It's still better to be with you guys rather than some arrogant pricks. Even if you two would end up talking boring stuff with each other."
Darius had met the Weasley Twins a few years ago. He was first introduced to them by Cedric when said boy was having a birthday. The fact that the four of them were of the same age had also helped a lot about them getting closer to each other, even if Darius and Cedric would often find themself victims and subjects of the twins' many experiments.
Fred and George Weasley were every bit of what was described about them in the books or portrayed in the films. He had noticed that George was the calmer, or gentler of the two, not that it made much difference. Fred, on the other hand, was the more active and chatty one, especially with strangers or new people. He had learned that Fred was the pseudo-leader of the duo, the instigator of many of their mischiefs, although it couldn't be denied that George was somehow the more showy of the two.
The Weasleys were an interesting bunch, and it was said often enough. Darius himself wasn't that close to the rest of the Weasleys excluding Fred and George. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were nice and warm people, both as kind as one would expect. The eldest of the Weasley children, William, or rather Bill, was a quite stereotypical popular and talented child, one of the best students at school, and all that. In fact, he had just graduated out of Hogwarts earlier in the summer. The second son, Charles, or Charlie was currently in his sixth year of Hogwarts. He was famous for his talent in Quidditch, one would know from how Fred and George were basically worshipping him, and apparently, he had already found his interest in dragons from what Darius had spoken little about with the man. The next child, Percy, was only two years above them, so he was entering his third year now, and it had seemed that Percy hadn't quite been obsessed with ministry careers yet. Fred and George's younger siblings, Ron and Ginny, both of whom rarely interacted with Darius, which Darius himself felt grateful for, since he was afraid that he might end up screwing their personalities before they even went to Hogwarts.
In regard to Quidditch, Darius himself had watched two or three of the matches, even if he was only there because of Cedric's pestering. Darius didn't actually have much interest in said sport, but he did enjoy a good flight every once in a while. His father had taught him how to fly when he was 9, and it was a surreal experience for him.
Back to Darius, Cedric, and the twins. The four of them would frequently visit each other, albeit more often than not, they would gather at Cedric's house. That also meant that Darius had had his visit to the famous The Burrow of the Weasleys, and it looked similar enough to what he could recall from his memories. The dynamic between them was interesting to say the least. After all, Darius and Cedric would easily found their rhythm in discussing quite the broad varieties and subjects of magic, while the two mischiefs would only pitch in when they were talking about practical things and applications. Even if the four of them were close, Darius couldn't say that they would grow absolutely inseparable or something like that, since the Weasley Twins were still due to meet their third benefactor, all things considered.
"Quick guys, Percy is closing in, fast!" said one of the twins, of which Darius still couldn't differentiate easily.
And Percy even though he hadn't been obsessed yet, had already found his calling in serious study, and in turn, he was trying his best to enforce everyone around him to take their study as serious as him, which obviously, was a big "NO" in red sign and capital letters for the twins.
"Fred, George. It's just your brother."
"Exactly, that's-
"-OUR brother."
"Oh no, we're too late, George!"
"Merlin help us all!" cried George dramatically.
"Percy! It's nice to see you."
"Cedric, and Darius. Nice to see the two of you too. So, eager to start Hogwarts? Anything you want to ask, just ask me, okay?" he asked
"We are. And we will make sure to ask you if we have any questions. Don't worry."
"That's good," Percy said before turning to Fred and George, "You two should take example of your friends here. You need to take this seriously, Fred, George."
Fred and George chose to ignore that bit completely, and thankfully, Percy didn't stay long after that.
The clock showed 10:50, it was 10 minutes until the departure of the Hogwarts Express. And so we went back to our respective families.
"Don't worry too much, okay? Remember, we will always be proud of you." said the oldest blond as soon as they finished their hug.
"Listen to your father, dear. But that doesn't mean that you could just do what you want, you still have to be responsible, and do your best. And we know you would."
"I will. I won't disappoint the two of you."
Darius then turned to face the scowling child in front of him, he lowered himself for a moment, and met the child in the eyes.
"I already made my promises, right?" he said as he patted the child in the hair.
"You'll come back, won't you? I won't forgive you if you don't, and also if you don't send me stories!"
"Careful, now. Your face might get stuck like that, dearest brother. And don't worry, I will."
"Hmph." muffled the child as he crossed his arms on his chest and turned his head sideways.
"Father, Mother. Goodbye."
"Goodbye son." said his parents
"I'll see you all Christmas then. Bye, Ernie."
Then he heard a small voice that said, "Goodbye…."
And with that done, Darius turned to face the train door. He dragged his trolley behind.
"Harry Potter, here I go... " Darius whispered so softly that even a person with a good hearing would be hard-pressed to hear it. He looked to the side to see Cedric finishing his own farewell with his mother. To his other side, however, it appeared that the Weasleys were still in their moment.
He couldn't help but to feel nervous as he took his first step on the stairways to the carriage, heart beating slightly faster than normal.
"To Hogwarts?" a voice was heard from his left, which turned out to be his best friend, Cedric, who asked him that with a small smile, if not a little bit nervous too.
Despite this, however, Darius couldn't help but to feel some of the doubts washed away, at least he wasn't going there blind, or alone. "To Hogwarts," he answered with a resolute smile and a nod. He dragged his belongings through the steps, and then he was standing inside the carriage, facing the many sets of compartments lined up on each side of the train.
He strolled through the carriage, searching for an empty compartment. And after a few rows, he finally found an empty one.
"This one?" he asked Cedric, to which the other boy just nodded.
Darius took the seat next to the window, while Cedric took the seat next to him, leaving their opposed empty for Fred and George.
Just in time, the door to the compartment slid open, and two identical boys walked in.
"You didn't wait for us!"
For the first few minutes, the four of them chatted happily, bathing in their shared excitement and enthusiasm, before the atmosphere turned calm and sound. Darius felt a little solemn in his seat. He was sure that his journey at Hogwarts would be one unforgettable for the rest of his life, but the seeds of uncertainty and unfamiliarity had also planted doubts and nervousness in his heart. On the other hand, he'd also certainly miss his home, the manor, his parents, his little brother, and even his house-elf. They had grown only closer as time passed, especially Darius and his brother, who had taken to trying his best to emulate Darius. It was an adorable and funny thought if he hadn't been swarmed by emotions first. For even the many annoyments he got on a daily basis, Darius had truly come to love his current life. And he beamed a little bit at the reminiscent.
Darius took out a book he had prepared for the journey.
To Dare with Crafts by Alestor Raymond
It was a book about magical experiments. Darius never had the intention of becoming a full-time researcher, an Unspeakable of the Department of Mysteries, or to a self-driven Potioneer, but he realized that he'd be doing quite the number of experiments if his many theories were any indication. The fact that a magical experiment could also help him on the subject of spell-creation is also a factor. He flipped the cover open, tracing the bottom part of the pages as he turned it over to the first chapter. It turned out to be a mediocre book at its finest, the details of the content itself were mostly glossed over in favor of the author's own pitchings and notes that strayed from the topic most of the time.
Darius half-reminisced his memories of learning from his tutor, Mr. Ackley, who had insisted to be called that, since he didn't want "Mr. Walker," and that Darius denied the request to call him "Ackley". He had spoken to the man about some of his theories a couple of times. Sometimes, they made good use of their discussions and Darius found himself a little closer to his goal, while the other times their sessions ended at an impasse. He had studied under the man for nearly 3 years since he began after his ninth birthday.
"But, Mr. Ackley. Won't the extra-presence of the residual magic not interfere with the process?"
"If our theory is correct, then it should, but we could create a way to somehow erase said residuals, hiding any traces of the previous magic user!"
….
"Now, give it the final stir, and make sure to stir it clockwise and incredibly slow."
Darius reached to the potion and gave it a single stir to the yelling of "No! Wrong, Darius, wrong! You just stirred it counter-clockwise!"
The potion bubbled up and it created an explosion from where the cauldron once stood, its content splattered across the room.
"Guess this means that I'm not destined to be a potioneer, after all."
"Beginner's mistake. I'm also not too talented on potions either, and don't even ask your father. Now, we can try it again."
….
"Now, repeat after me. Wingardium Leviosa."
"Wingardium Leviosa."
"Watch for the hand motion, Darius. Remember the swish and then the flick at the end. Try it again"
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
….
"The veelas are notorious for their charms! They said a veela could enchant and ensnare a person with just their voice! Which proves to me that magic could be projected through sound!"
"You are skipping over one big fact, the Veela is a magical creature, it's in their nature. While we, wizards, we don't possess the same incline."
"I'm quite sure we could replicate the effects with charm. The key to it would be the target's brain, I think. We only need for the sounds to affect the brain, altering it into a trance!"
"Wait, you do have a point there. We just need to simplify hypnosis into a spell, a charm. The muggles are slightly more advanced than us in the psychological department, and I recall some theories and research on the brain's reaction to some voices and mind-tricks. Your theory might just actually work!"
"Perhaps there's also a way of pinpointing the catalyst of the spell to other than sound. Like a wampus cat with their eyes! An illusion conjured by both sounds and sights could be easily dangerous and lethal in battle!"
"Alright, let's not get ahead of yourself there. We still have a long way to go to incorporate the allure and snaring through sound, let alone eyes and others!"
In the end, some of their theories worked, and others not so much. Their sound experiment was still unfinished, and Darius was planning to work on it further in Hogwarts, possibly creating his first spell based on it. Under Ackley's tutelage, Darius had grown to be a remarkable wizard for his age. They had covered most of the bases and basics of the Wizarding World. Central subjects like Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, Defense, and Herbology were also integrated into their lessons. Darius found his calling and talent at Charms, the art of enchantment and alteration, while lacking at Potions and Herbology, as the mostly passive arts were not to Darius' passion and dynamic. He had also expanded his spells repertoire, yet again, mostly covering parts of the first year and a tiny part of the second year lessons of Hogwarts. But, Darius's favourite part of the tutoring had been magic theories. The shared discussions of his ideas and hypotheses to Mr. Ackley were pivotal and imperative for his future plan, especially those for the subject of spell-creation.
Darius's tutoring with the man itself was already finished. He had chosen not to continue it during his holiday from Hogwarts. Not that Darius had anything against the man, but he just felt that he would deserve those holidays to be actual holidays, instead of an extended study that would stretch throughout the year. And he knew that the Hogwarts Library would prove to be a valuable source and replacement to that, and that he could just discuss his questions with the professors there.
With a sigh, Darius closed his book. He noticed that the twins were currently whispering furiously with each other, no doubt they were up to their schemings again. Meanwhile, Cedric was reading a book like he did before, he couldn't see the full title of the book since fingers were wrapped around that part, but he did manage to get a read of the words "Shape", and "Magic", so it's probably something about transfiguration. Darius leaned his head to the right, resting his face to the glass window, gazing over the quickly departing lines of trees outside.
Soon, Fred and George got up out of their seats, hands hidden away in their pockets.
"Oh, what are you two doing?"
"Nothing, dearest Darius-
"- except for-
"the coolest-
"awesomest-
"prank ever-
"for dear Percy!" finished Fred cheerily as the two slipped out of the compartment.
In reaction to the happening in front of him, Darius just shook his head in an exhausted manner, already accustomed to the twins' antics. 'Guess they really are their canon counterparts'. Fred and George Weasley were actually the first main characters that Darius could compare to their canon counterparts, for his own family was never explored much aside from his brother who was a tiny side character. Cedric and his family were also not in the count since they were also barely explored. Cedric himself didn't have many lines or dialogues in the story, most of his personalities were just explained through other characters' opinions and point-of-view. So the twins, and by extension, the Weasleys (even if Ron and Ginny were still children) were the only subject for a comparison until now. Since he got on the train, he hadn't seen any of the familiar faces from the story either.
He knew that there were few notable characters of the year above him, aside from Percy Weasley and Nymphadora Tonks, who was a Hufflepuff, the house he was aiming to join. Instead, most of the 'older' recognizable faces would come from his year, for examples, Gryffindor's Angelina Johnson and Lee Jordan, Slytherin's Adrian Pucey and Graham Montague, and Ravenclaw's Roger Davies, the same boy he had met on that ministry party all those years ago. And so far, he hadn't met any of those faces.
"What are you reading?" he asked Cedric on his side.
"Oh, this?" said the boy in question as tilted his head from the side of the book, "it's a book on the correlations between the shape of an object and its effects on casting magic on said object. It's pretty boring, actually. What about you? You also read one before."
"Magical experiment, it's just ramblings, so I stopped reading."
"Then it seems like these books aren't the best company for a train ride," he said as he clapped the book close.
"Turns out that a train ride to a magical school is quite boring."
"I agree with you. Where are Fred and George anyway?" asked the brown-haired boy.
"They're off pranking poor Percy again," answered Darius.
Suddenly, the door to the compartment was slid open. Stood there was a blond boy slightly older than the two.
"David! What are you doing here?"
"Darius, found you. Father asked me to check on you during the ride, perhaps you want to sit in my compartment? Roger and his brother were there too."
David was Darius's cousin, a son of Daven, the brother of Elizabeth, Darius's mother. They first met around 7 years ago. They saw each other regularly on joint family dinners or on such occasions like the birthday of a family member throughout the years, and though they didn't connect much more than just cousins, David was still someone Darius could call a friend at least. David himself was 2 years older than Darius, so he was currently in his third year, the same as Percy.
"Eh, no thanks. But I'm comfortable here, already."
"Alright then, I'm in the third compartment on the left, the carriage next to this one if you need me for anything."
Darius himself was a bit elated by the gesture, but he didn't put much further thoughts into it.
"David looks a bit different than the last time I met him," said Cedric. He had met David a couple of times, mostly during a birthday celebration since Cedric is now invited too alongside family members.
"Yeah. Anyway, you think you're a shoo-in for Hufflepuff?" asked Darius
Hearing this, Cedric shrugged, "Maybe. Maybe not. But I supposed I could try asking the hat for Hufflepuff."
The two of them had pestered their respective parents to tell them about the details of the sorting. Not that Darius needed them much, but a gesture like that would help explain his knowledge of the subject.
"I think I'll do the same. Gryffindor seems a bit too extreme, and so does Slytherin. And Ravenclaw is a bit boring, I think, even if we both like books."
The two of them continued their discussion about the houses after that until a great clattering could be heard from the outside. A smiling, dimpled, and friendly-looking plump woman in her old age could be seen holding a trolley filled with sweets and treats.
"Anything off the trolley, my dears?" asked the lady
Darius and Cedric shared a look before they both leapt to their feet, hands going through their pockets. Darius took a small bag of coins his parents had given to him.
"I would like two cauldron cakes, two pumpkin pasties, and six of the gums, please. And you can keep the change," said Darius as he handed the coins to the woman.
"Can I get two liquorice wands, a Bertie Bott's, and three of the cauldron cakes?" this time, it was Cedric.
Darius took his sweets from the woman, but before he returned, he glanced at Cedric, "You think Fred and George would want some too?"
"Probably."
"Eh, then can I get some more of these, please?"
After their business was sorted out, they returned to the compartment. They both took their seats back and began to eat the sweets they had bought. Darius immediately went for the cauldron cake, his favourite, since it was similar enough to his previous favourite treats. The two just enjoyed silence as they ate, while also waiting for the return of Fred and George.
"Quick, Fred. Here!" a panicked voice sounded from the door.
"Go!" and another responded to the earlier voice.
Fred and George hastily opened the door to their compartment, walked in, and quickly took their seats.
"Wow, what happens to you?"
"We were caught-
"-by the prefect. But I think we lost her."
"Of course Percy would be friends with a prefect!"
"Yep, we didn't think that one through."
"Right you are, Fred."
"Naturally, and- is that a pumpkin pasty?"
"Yeah. Here you go. We have some excess from earlier." said Darius as he handed them the sweets.
It was nearing sunset. The sky outside of the window was blazing in orange. And to the distance, the sun could still be vaguely seen.
It had been a few hours since the train had departed from King's Cross. During which Darius and the others spent mostly chatting with each other.
"WE ARE NEARING HOGWARTS. ALL STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO CHANGE INTO THEIR ROBES"
"Are we in Hogsmeade, already?" asked one of the twins
"Might be, best to just directly change, now," said Cedric, ever the responsible.
"Yeah, I think we should," added Darius
Soon, they changed into their still blank, not yet crested, black Hogwarts robes. The sky had turned even darker, from orange, it had changed into a darkish purple, the moon was already somewhere up in the sky, indicating that night had truly come. The view outside of their window had also changed, now it was full of forests and mountains, the panorama was becoming more desolate. A change could be felt in the air, even if they were still inside the train, perhaps it was just the thought of arriving at Hogwarts, but the mood and atmosphere they felt right now were slightly more sacred than before.
"WE WILL BE REACHING HOGWARTS IN FIVE MINUTES' TIME. PLEASE LEAVE YOUR LUGGAGE ON THE TRAIN, IT WILL BE TAKEN TO THE SCHOOL SEPARATELY."
Darius felt his stomach turn, the color slightly drained off his face as he went a bit pale. True, he had waited for this. But it didn't change the fact that he was nervous. He felt a sense of gratitude and relief as observed his friends going through the same experience, Cedric's face had the blood drained off it, while the twins were slightly sweaty and their hands shake.
The train began to slow down until it finally stopped. People went out of their compartments, jostling through the narrow corridors trying to make their way toward the door. Darius himself left his compartment the last. And just before he slid the door, he took a final look at the compartment, a small smile appearing on his face. He followed the others' footsteps as they walked to the platform outside. It was dark, there was no post lamp or something of the sorts, no torch or any extra source of lighting at all, except for the silvery light from the moon above. Darius noticed that it was very cold, the temperature must be severely lower than that of his home, he couldn't help it, he shivered as the wind blew through him. It wasn't quite autumn or fall yet, but the breezy summer had certainly passed here.
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"
A giant of a man could be seen nearby with a lantern bobbling in his hand. It was none other than Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper, the Keeper of the Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts. He had shaggy, wild, black hair, and an unkempt beard. Hagrid was certainly as tall as he imagined, or perhaps even taller. From what he could see, Darius estimated Hagrid's height to be around 8'3 or 8'4 perhaps. And definitely much taller than he was, for Darius himself was around 5'1 bordering 5'2 last time he checked, pretty much average and normal for a soon-to-be 12-year-old.
"C'mon, follow me — any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"
And with that, the sea heads and hairs immediately went through, following the steps of the half-giant. Hagrid took them through a narrow and steep path, it was dark, and they were surrounded by bushes. The night was eerily quiet, the silent moon was their only visible companion, and even the light of the moon didn't manage to quite pass the thick trees standing tall around them. The conversation was filled with naught but silence. The children only glanced at each other, questioning and asking assurances with their looks. As they continued down the path, they began to whisper to each other.
Cedric, who was still at his side, leaned a bit toward him and said, "Do you think this is the Forbidden Forest?"
"No, it can't be. They won't take a bunch of first years through the Forbidden Forest on their first night." answered another from their behind. It turned out to be a girl with fair skin. Her face was filled with freckles, and she had a straight nose. Her eyes were pale, slightly grey if one would take a close look at them. She had auburn hair that burned fiercely, 'kissed by fire' would be an appropriate way to describe it.
Darius and Cedric of course didn't recognize the girl. They shared a questioning look, obviously wondering the identity of the person that interjected their question. Before they could react or asked the girl, however, "Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here." And with that, the conversation was disrupted.
There was a collective gasp of "Woooooaaahhhh!"
The path had ended there, and from its end, a whole new world seemed to unravel. It was the edge of a great lake, with colour so dark it was pitch black. The water body seemed to be endless, and there was nil but reflections of lights on its surface. And precisely, it was the source of the light that had drawn the better part of the gasp. There, standing across the lake, atop a hill, was a massive castle. Its many towers graced the sky view, turrets and lights from the castle stood nearly side by side with the stars in the starry sky.
"No more'n four to a boat!" a voice suddenly said.
Hagrid was pointing to the fleet of small boats floating on the end of the lake by the shore. Darius strolled to one of the boats still empty, Cedric behind him. Their gaze was searching, only to find the Weasley twins already on a different boat with two other children, a boy, and a girl, both with black skins and black hairs. Unexpectedly, someone spoke to them from their behind, "May I join you?"
It was the same girl from before.
Cedric was the first to react, "Sure. What's your name? I'm Cedric Diggory, and that's Darius Macmillan." as he pointed his finger toward the other boy in the boat.
"My name is Agatha, Agatha Jenkins. So you two knew each other already?"
"Yeah, we first met when we were 6, and we became best friends afterward and eversince."
"That's nice. So, where do you think you'll be?"
This time, Darius answered the question, "Erm, we are hoping for Hufflepuffs, actually. It is kind of a family tradition at this point."
"Oh, really? Me too." said the girl in a surprised tone.
"Are you, now? I'm sure we will be good friends should we make it to Hufflepuff together."
The girl sneaked a look at the castle before turning back on them, "Well, I certainly hope so. You two seem nice, unlike some of the other children I met before."
"Everyone in? Right then — FORWARD!" shouted Hagrid who had a boat to himself.
And the boats began to move by themselves, peacefully making their way across the great big lake.
"It's really beautiful."
"I agree, I'm speechless."
"My mother had said it would be amazing, but honestly I didn't expect it to be this…."
Their eyes were glued to the majestic castle overhead. It became taller and taller as they neared it. Its presence was dominating as it towered high to the sky, but also strangely soothing, radiating calm and peace.
Unconsciously, Darius hummed a tune that he still remembered perfectly from his previous life, for it had seemed that there was no more perfect moment as the current one.
A little bewildered, Cedric looked at him questioningly, "What are you humming?"
"Ah, it's nothing!" answered Darius quickly. Meanwhile, the third of their group just smiled a little smile at their interaction.
"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as they made their way into a cliff. Darius found himself smiling a little, for the bending heads were completely unnecessary for them anyway since none of them was a full-grown half-giant like Hagrid himself. The cave underneath the cliff was dark, so terribly dark. They were travelling through tunnels. And to be honest, Darius felt an overflowing excitement inside, a real adventure. After some time, they reached an underground dock of the sorts and disembarked out of their boats.
Hogwarts Castle, Highlands, Scotland, Great Britain
The door in front of them swung open. A tall witch in a pointed hat was making her way to them. She had emerald-green robes, glasses resting on the bridge of her nose, her face straight and stern, her presence commanding respect.
The witch led them to a hall, an entrance hall to be precise. It was large, its ceiling was so very high, and its walls adorned by flaming torches. The floor was made of stone. From across the great door, mutterings and muffled voices could be heard. They were standing at the entrance to none other but the Great Hall of Hogwarts.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," said the professor. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your House common room.
"The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each House has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rulebreaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House becomes yours.
"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."
The witch who was Minerva McGonagall turned and left the chamber. Darius noted the similarity and resemblance of the speech he had just heard. Soon, the entire chamber fell into discussions and mutterings. The other children were asking questions about the sorting process. Darius and Cedric just stood on the side, not caring much about the topic of their discussions. Agatha also found herself to their next, simply enjoying their presence in silence. In the middle of talks, the whole group gasped in favor of multiple silvery-white apparitions who had just come through the wall. It was the famous ghosts of Hogwarts.
"Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance —"
Darius found himself smiling broadly in the experience. Although it didn't last long, for Professor McGonagall soon came back, "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." she said in a stern voice.
"Form a line of two, and follow me."
The great pair of double doors swung open, and Darius, like the other children, followed the witch's lead and entered the room. The Great Hall of Hogwarts, lit by a thousand floating candles, four large tables lined up, with another large table perpendicular to the other on the end of the hall. Silvers and golds dressed the tables in the form of plates and many ornaments. White mists who were actually ghosts could be seen floating around in the hall. And on top of it, the glittering ceiling that looked like an exact copy of the soothing starry sky outside. Darius saw hundreds of faces in the hall since most of them were looking at the group of first-year students. Yet again, he couldn't make any familiar faces from among the older students.
They made it to the front of the teacher's table. Darius stole a glance at the wizard sitting in the middle and biggest chair, a wizened old man with a long white beard, and long white hair, who wore half-moon glasses, clothed in an absolutely ridiculous form of a dress. Albus Dumbledore, the strongest wizard in modern time, and the only one He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named ever feared. Next to him, both on his left and right, many professors and staff sat on their seats. He saw Severus Snape, the Potion Master in black robes, black of hair, and face scowling. Professor Filius Flitwick was also easily spotted for his stature, the tiny half-goblin wizard was very conspicuous after all. Darius could also make several of the other professors, one of them was a witch in a battered hat, she was a squat little witch, but her warm smile made complement of her look. She was Pomona Sprout, of whom Darius hoped he would be taken management of.
Professor McGonagall took out a four-legged stool, and revealed an ancient-looking hat, the Sorting Hat. It was obviously dirty, unclean, and patched already. Its fabric was frayed already. Then, the hat twitched, and the brim of it widened, akin to a mouth, and it began to sing:
"Welcome, welcome, one and all
the show is about to start
I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
and it's time to play my part
You may call me worn and ragged
if that's all you truly see
But listen close and I will tell
where you're supposed to be!
Go ahead and try me on
there's nothing left to fear
I'll find right where you belong
by looking between your ears!"
The hall burst into cheer and applause as the hat finished its song while mutters of reliefs and disbeliefs could be heard among the first years. Professor McGonagall stepped forward, and on her hand was a roll of a long parchment, "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted,"
"Aldrin, Dennis."
A boy with chubby cheeks walked and sat on the stool, and after a minute or two, "RAVENCLAW!" said the hat.
"Bletchley, Miles."
A moment of pause and the hat yelled, "SLYTHERIN!" to the applause and clap of the Slytherin table.
"Boot, Talia."
This time, it took a bit longer, "HUFFLEPUFF!", although the cheers were noticeably louder this time as the brown-haired girl went to sit down on her house table,
Darius waited and waited. He didn't know how much time had passed but he knew that Cedric had been sorted into Hufflepuff, as well as the Jenkins girl. From what little of the attention he had paid, it seemed that the sorting was going mostly right so far, with Roger Davies being sorted to Ravenclaw, and Angelina Johnson with Jordan Lee both sorted into Gryffindor.
A round and rather short boy, "Lambert" . . . , then another boy, this time tall and probably among the tallest of their year, silver-haired, "Lancaster" . . . , "King" . . . , then a girl with glasses who looked terribly nervous, "Kirk" and then, at last —
"Macmillan, Darius."
McGonagall's stern voice jolted Darius out of his thoughts. It was his name. And it was time. He walked slowly to the stool, not rushing or overeager, but not nervous and unsure either. Darius knew what to expect, he had prepared himself for the upcoming moment. He had no doubt that the Sorting Hat would saw through him directly. Occlumency wouldn't be much help either. Up until now, Darius had tried his best to gather and learn from the little knowledge of the mind arts. Of course, he had focused on Occlumency more than Legilimency, but he didn't have that much success. "Clear your mind!" turned out to be a little aid. Although, he had begun to train himself in manipulating his thoughts. Darius was still unable to shield or block his mind much, but he had taken on a technique where he would project his surface thoughts instead, with the condition that said thoughts were something that he intended to actually be read.
He stepped forward, and the hat was put on his head.
"Hmmm, oh! You're an interesting one, aren't you?" asked a small voice that seemed to be inside his head, "Yes, yes! You are a most enticing specimen, young one. With great secrets and a shrouded past, you are an enigma yourself. You carry yourself a heavy burden to bear. Great secrets, oh, what great secrets." Hearing this, Darius couldn't help himself but to panic slightly, although he had resigned himself. "Don't worry, the secrets are safe with me. The Founders made sure of that. Now, where shall I put you, then? You have the courage, boy. And you certainly don't lack the wits and wisdom to be Rowena's, and your ambition, such a drive for one so young. But you're actually not, are you? Hmmm, let's see. Ho ho, Hufflepuff, eh? You sure you want to be a part of the house of badgers?"
"I am. Hufflepuff will be the best house for me" said Darius to the hat, although he wasn't sure whether he was saying that in his mind or actually saying it from his mouth. Nonetheless, the hat heard him, "The house of the loyal and the hard-working? Loyalty, you certainly have, your desire of protecting those close to you is admirable, after all, you'd know better than the other children. And your willingness to learn, one could mistake you for a Ravenclaw or an obsessed Slytherin if they didn't know what drives you to be this diligent. Yes, yes, you'll make Helga proud as one of hers. People often underestimate the yellow and black to be soft, to be nobody but losers and fools. Oh, but how wrong they are. You'll show them, boy, for badgers could also be ferocious, and for a badger still has claws. Better be — HUFFLEPUFF!"
Darius heard the hat shouted, and with a sigh of relief, he let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. But before he took off the hat, a voice whispered in his ears, "You have much at stake here, boy. And you carry a secret with you that you don't even know you are carrying. Prophecies are dangerous things, and we all have our role to play, you just haven't realized yours yet…" trailed the hat off as McGonagall took it from his head. But Darius still heard a faint voice of "Find it." as the hat was finally off his head.
There were clapping and cheers, mostly from the Hufflepuff table. He could see Cedric waving excitedly at him, sitting among the front part. He walked to the table, steps a little shaky from the Sorting Hat's ominous words as he approached his destination. "Welcome to Hufflepuff!" said an older girl in a yellow Hufflepuff robe who Darius deduced was a prefect. The girl stood from her spot and offered a hand at him, "My name is Cassandra Yearwood, and I'm the fifth year prefect."
Darius politely introduced himself back. He took a seat next to Cedric who had been kept empty. He smiled, "We make it to Hufflepuff!"
"Yeah, we do."
At their conversation, a certain auburn-haired girl couldn't help but to interject "And I make it too! Just like what we talked about on the boat."
The three looked at each other, letting a smile show on their faces.
"Monroe, James," said McGonagall as the sorting continued. "HUFFLEPUFF!"
Minutes later, they were finally nearing the end of the sorting, the mood had changed a bit, the cheers and applause were slightly less energetic as the students grumbled about their dinner. "Weasley, Fred."
"GRYFFINDOR!" and then, "Weasley, George."
"GRYFFINDOR!" and finally, the last of their batch, "Yates, Dear."
The black-haired and cold-looking girl sat on the stool, and after a minute the hat concluded the sorting with, "SLYTHERIN!" and with her done, Professor McGonagall rolled back her parchment and took the sorting hat away.
Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster, stood up from his seat in the middle of the staffs' table. He brought both his hands up in a welcoming manner, "Welcome! Welcome to another year of Hogwarts! Now before we start our banquet tonight…"
That night, Darius Macmillan became a first-year Hufflepuff student of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
AN: So that's it. I intended to post the chapter yesterday but I wanted to expand it from 7k words to around 10k instead. I had also pondered on the possibility of splitting this chapter into two but decided against it in the end. So we're off to the First Year! And I am not planning to spend much time on the earlier years since the plot is still non-existent at this point. But don't worry, I will also be adding original plots and sub-plots in the future so this won't turn out to just be a retelling of the Harry Potter story. After all, there will inevitably be quite a lot of original characters for this story. And Darius won't just befriend all the main characters. And yes, the dream at the beginning and the sorting hat's words are somehow connected to each other. So, reviews and recommendations? And I'm still open to any suggestions on pairing by the way.