Chapter 5
That morning, all the students going to Hogwarts were in attendance. There was Atria, Anson, Jasmine, Haytham, and a few other upper year students, but the vast majority of them were first years that were starting the program. It was strange, Atria thought, to be that selective but then allow the first years in without too many restrictions or testing.
Luckily enough for them, Itachi, Kisame and the blonde man, Deidara, would be the primary guards coming and going from Hogwarts to Ilvermorny. They were run through the itinerary for the day- they would be leaving in about ten minutes to be at Platform 9 ¾ in time to take the train with the rest of the students to Hogwarts.
They would apparently be sleeping at Hogwarts as well, but traveling between the schools to take classes. At least that part wasn't changing- and they would get their full schedules tomorrow morning, after the sorting. Atria knew that she would be waiting for Headmistress Cross' missive, summoning her to do the placement exam, though.
Until then, everything had to be perfect. Her classes at Ilvermorny already were, after all. Hogwarts wouldn't be too different.
Somehow she managed to completely avoid Atreus that morning, but she was sure he was too busy regaling his friends in Wampus with stories of knowing a few of the Professors before he even went to the school.
Atria was definitely going to try to be in any other house than he was. She wasn't picky-she'd even take Hufflepuff. If he wasn't put there, of course.
"So, everyone's going to get in a single file line and we're going to send you one-by-one through the floo to Platform 9 ¾ . Please enunciate clearly and step out as soon as you arrive."
It was easy enough-but instead of the usual green flames, the hearth flickered blue. So that's how it differentiated…
It was definitely a lot more confusing and a lot more nauseating, Atria thought, but she came out the other side, at the train station, mostly unharmed. Other than her breakfast wanting to make a reappearance on her shoes.
She made sure her wand was tucked into the inside of her robes and she smoothed the non-existent wrinkles out of her uniform shirt. Soon, all the exchange students from Ilvermorny Academy were there, looking up at Danika Cross with tired eyes and yawning mouths.
"I'll be at the sorting this evening to make things go as they should," She warned. "Now that we're here, you must board the train and once we arrive at Hogsmeade you are to follow Hagrid. He'll make himself known to you. If you get lost, please find your closest guard and ask for directions."
There was a murmur of assent through them and Headmistress Cross motioned to the train, "You don't want to be late!"
The students found their friends and boarded the train, most of them standing back and looking at the handsome, gleaming red and black train sitting in front of them. The cars were beautiful as well, and Atria could feel the magic rolling off it in waves. It was well-warded and safe, she assumed.
"Let's get on, then!" Anson basically yanked them off the platform and into the compartments and they hurried to find one that was completely empty. The compartments themselves looked to have been magically enlarged for higher student capacity, and each one looked like it could comfortably seat 9 students without a problem.
Atria yanked the blinds down and closed the door behind them, throwing herself on one of the leather benches. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. "You know, I'm so tired.."
"It's from jumping time zones," Jasmine explained, "Even though floo, we're not used to the time here. That, and we were up at like 4:30."
"Sounds about right," Atria agreed.
Anson was already snoring by the time a boy with messy black hair, wire-rimmed glasses and green eyes slid open the compartment.
"Mind if I sit with you? Er.. everywhere else is full." Harry had already been swamped by people at the platform, he hoped this compartment was a little better than that..
"Sure." Atria sat up in the seat and patted it, "We've got room."
"I'm Atria, and this is Jasmine, and the boy sleeping in the corner is Anson."
"You have an accent.." It seemed to be blurted out, "But I'm Harry. Harry Potter."
"Nice to meet you, Harry. Yeah, we're from Ilvermorny Academy of Magic in America. Hogwarts is doing an exchange program this year and we managed to get in.."
"Jasmine here has the highest grade average, Anson is good at healing and herbology and wants to be a doctor-" Atria was interrupted by the door opening again to a lanky boy with red hair and blue eyes with a bit of dirt on his nose.
"Hogwarts has a lot more students this year than they did last year, according to my brother Percy," He sat down across from Harry at Jasmine and Anson's sides. "Spect your friend has the right idea, so I think I'm just gonna.."
And Ron fell asleep. It only took a few minutes for him to begin snoring, his head leaned against the glass of the window.
Atria sighed. "He didn't even tell us his name.."
Harry's lips quirked up in a grin, "He might tell us when he wakes up, then."
It was a few moments after, in the comfortable silence that four more people entered the compartment. There was a man, wearing a mask and the strange headband that the guards seemed to wear, angled over his left eye, and three children.
One of them had candy pink hair, one looked eerily similar to Itachi, and the other was blonde with blue eyes, and he was gesticulating and speaking in what Atria assumed was japanese. She'd heard it enough between Itachi and Kisame, and had picked up a few things, small words and phrases that Kisame taught her after their practice sessions.
"Hey! Everywhere else is mostly full. Do you mind if my students and I sit here?" His voice was smooth and his demeanor unassuming.
"Go ahead!"
"No problems with me."
"They're sleeping so I don't think they care one way or the other," That was Harry.
"You must be a few of the american exchange students. I'm Assistant Defense Professor Kakashi Hatake. You can just call me Kakashi-sensei."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Atria Auxatia, the sleeping boy with the brown hair is Anson Riverson."
"I'm Jasmine Grave."
"Harry Potter."
"So I see Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts." Atria palmed her wand and her eyes narrowed a little bit.
All the people going in and out were getting.. Annoying. Atria caught the way that Harry pushed his fringe down, over his scar and she filed that away for later.
"Mm. And so are the rest of the magical children from America and the United Kingdom, but you don't see us going around to every compartment and harassing them, do you, Heir Malfoy?" Her voice was sweet like honey and drawled over the words like molasses off a spoon.
"Heir Clare-Auxatia. I see you're finding the right sort for yourself, Heir Potter. Well done." His chin rose up a fraction, "I'd like to extend my offer of friendship between our three.. Er four, houses."
"Er.. sure. It's nice to have friends." Harry's voice was hesitant as Ron's eyes peeked open.
"Heir Malfy, I accept your offer of friendship. May it be long-lasting and forever warm."
"I'll see you later, at Hogwarts, then." And he turned and strode from the compartment.
Atria's wand flashed from the inside of her cloak to her fingers as the door closed, and the locking spell collided with the door, followed by a notice-me-not charm. It would at least stop the pesky first through third years from entering without too much trouble.
"Thank Merlin. Atria, that was the most stuck up kid I've ever seen. 'Cept your brother of course.."
"At least he was somewhat friendly after he recognized you. What was that about, by the way?"
Atria knew that the others were listening in, but she couldn't bring herself to care. "So the Malfoy family had business dealings with my grandfather, and currently my father. He, his father, and mother were at my Auxatia heir ceremony. He had to be like six or something. I'm surprised he remembered it."
"Not everyone is heir to two families," Jasmine pointed out.
"True, but considering what they had to choose from…"
"Fair point, fair point."
"So what's with calling people Heir? Is that something like wizarding only?" Harry's curiosity got the better of him. "And how can you be heir to two families?"
"Well," Atria's voice mellowed slightly as she began explaining, "There are families that have inherited seats for the government, such as my father's family, and my mother's family, and they have to choose heirs for the inherited seats as well as to pass on our family's inherited magical abilities. Some families are very small, some have died out, some are more powerful than others. In the case of my mother's family, my grandmother is Lord Clare due to the line being matrilineal, and my father is currently Lord Auxatia, and that is chosen by the power of inherited magics. Both choose heirs based on ability rather than direct line, as my mother was relieved of her heir title when I was five. The Clare family has nearly died out and I'm one of the last living female descendants. My father's family, the Auxatia, tests children throughout their childhood through… bloodline limit training, and then assigns heirs based on that and their potential magical core or core's size, as that has a direct correlation to magical power. I.. uh, you know."
"Atria's really good at magic, in other words."
"Thank you, Jasmine."
"So.. what's your bloodline powers? Does Potter have any?"
"An enhancement on elemental manipulations," Atria said as Jasmine snorted, "And a resistance to mental attacks from magic are mine. As far as I know or remember, the Potter line is exceptionally good at Transfigurations and Light-style magic. I don't know if that's the specific bloodline, as most families guard what they are with their lives..."
"Oh. So I'd have to look into it?"
Atria wondered where Harry's parents were. "Yeah. If you're direct Heir, you can prove it through blood tests, usually Gringotts can perform them and that'll give you access to the entirety of your estate, it's holdings, and.. All the information on your specific bloodlines."
"If you choose to claim Heir status, or Lordship, there's a lot of politics involved and a lot of different customs you have to follow-"
Atria only had half a second's notice before the door slid open.
"Oi. You brats doing okay in here?" Kisame stooped and stepped in the compartment. He had spoken in japanese, and his eyes fell on her.
"Yeah," Atria answered honestly.
"I noticed your magic and thought something might be going on in here." He continued in english, and he shifted just out of the way as a girl with bushy brown hair bounded into the compartment.
His eyes slid over Kakashi and the expression on his face went slightly twisted. So they weren't' friends, Atria understood. "We just had someone come in and proposition our families for an alliance and I wanted to head off the rest of the crowd."
He chuckled, "Sounds about right."
"See ya later," He said, and walked out from the compartment and shut the door behind him. And then, everyone was looking at the bushy-haired girl.
"Has anyone seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one."
She took a look around and noticed Atria's wand, "Oh? Are you doing magic? Let's see it then. I've only tried a few spells on my own, and they've all worked. I'm Hermione Granger, by the way."
"Open the compartment door, if you please. I can give you two-in-one." Atria seemed to be full of good humor today. She twirled her wand through the motions for a summoning charm, and felt it take hold.
"Accio."
So the toad was on the other side of the car, great.
"It didn't do anything," Hermione tilted her head to the side.
"Be patient, Hermione," Atria chided, "You'll see in a minute."
The girl huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. True to Atria's word, a few moments later, the toad sailed into the compartment, less worse for wear than Atria thought it would be.
"Voila! Neville's toad."
"Oh thank you!" Her eyes were wide and she turned to the door before turning back around. "Your glasses are broke, let me fix them-"
Her wand was out and pointed at Harry's face. Atria's hand twitched and her wand rose just as Hermione intoned, "Oculus Reparo."
The glasses fixed themselves.
"Thanks," Harry said, taking them off and looking them over.
"We'll be arriving in Hogwarts in a few hours. It'd be best to change into your robes soon." And then she was gone.
Atria jabbed her wand at the door again, it closed, and she reapplied the locking and notice-me-not charms.
"I thought you had to say words for spells," the girl spoke, "I'm Sakura, by the way."
"Magic is ninety percent intent and then ten percent wand movements, saying the spell just gets you to use to how quickly or slowly you do the wand movements," Atria explained, "And it's entirely possible to do wandless magic as well-"
"Which Atria can do," Anson muttered fondly, "It's not fair."
"What's not fair is your ability to heal."
"You're just mad that you're actually bad at something."
"Maybe. But I think it's cool that you can save people. Or you're going to be able to save people-"
"There's wandless.. Silent.. Magic?" The blonde asked.
"That's just what she said, Naruto," Sakura's voice was bland.
"Is wandless magic hard to do?" This came from the black-haired boy, "I'm Uchiha Sasuke."
Jasmine and Atria shared a look, "Only about five percent of the magical population can do wandless magic. It's got really strict classes, too.."
"So you have to train to do it?"
"You could say that with enough training you could eventually get it, but most people either have the ability for it or don't.."
The door swung open again, and Atria glanced at it sharply.
"What's up, munchkins?" It was Haytham, with Hermione Granger. "Looks like you all got room for one more in here. Something happened in her previous compartment and yeah-"
"Haytham! You've got a prefect's badge-!"
"That I do! They want me to be a prefect for whatever house I'm sorted into later," Haytham sat at Atria's side, between her and the door, while Hermione sat between Sakura, who was at the window, and Harry, who was between her and Atria.
Hermione sat between Anson, who was sleeping, and Jasmine, who had leaned forward in her seat and reached across the aisle to slap Haytham's arm. "That's what you get for not telling me."
"I was sworn to secrecy! What should I have done?"
"Told us anyway," The two chorused together.
"If it's against the rules, he shouldn't have. He did the right thing," Hermione interjected.
"Just because it's a rule doesn't make it applicable all the time, you see," Jasmine reasoned, "Haytham here was supposed to be Head Boy, and he's my cousin! I expected to see a Head Boy badge!"
"Mm." Atria hummed along.
"So what houses do you think you're going for? I'm hoping for Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, myself! I've read all about it in Hogwarts: A History."
"I'll probably be going to Ravenclaw," Jasmine commented, "Or Hufflepuff."
"Definitely Gryffindor, then," Atria teased.
"Wha..?" Anson had finally woke up and began rubbing his eyes, "Wha's goin on..?"
"We're debating on who's going to what house," Haytham explained.
"You're going to Hufflepuff, you're too nice sometimes," Anson decided.
"I was going to say Ravenclaw because he studies more that Jasmine and I do, and that's saying something-"
"Hey hey-just because my family are researchers-"
Anson snorted into his sleeve.
"Ano, what are Houses?" Naruto asked.
Ron's eyes flickered open, "What do you mean, what are houses?"
"When you go to a magical school, you're sorted based on what your personality type.. Or your abilities are like. You're grouped with like-minded people to study with or spend time with. It causes less fighting between students when you only have to look after specific groups that attack each other instead of students as a whole." Jasmine's explanation was concise and simple, and Ron nodded along.
"I think Atria might be going to Slytherin," Haytham said.
"There hasn't been a witch or wizard that went bad that wasn't in Slytherin," Ron said, clearly and with surety.
"Why are Slytherins evil, then?" This came from Harry.
"You-Know-Who was in Slytherin!"
"Who?" Anson asked.
"You know, you-know-who?"
"What? Are you joking or something?" Atria's eyebrows pressed together with confusion as Anson continued to ask questions.
"Are you talking about the evil wizard Voldemort?"
"We don't say his name-"
"That's silly. If his name is Voldemort, use it…" Atria ended up grumbling to herself, and then she addressed Harry, "No matter what house you're sorted into, your choices and your abilities are your own. One person doesn't speak for the entire house, and the entire house doesn't speak for one person. There are good and bad in each house, and it's as diverse as the people that make it up."
The formal words fell off her tongue in tandem and with a calm intonation. "If you end up in Slytherin-or if anyone ends up in Slytherin- It doesn't mean they're evil. In fact, resourcefulness, cunning, and ambition are good traits to have. Of course, they have their drawbacks, but.. Isn't the other side of bravery stupidity? The other side of hard work over work? Knowledge is good, but just for knowledge's sake, without any use.. Well, it's just wasted time, then, right?"
Hermione's head nodded along. "You make decent points.."
Ron's eyes narrowed and his expression didn't change. But, he did ask, "Haven't you lot ever dealt with a dark wizard before?"
Silence permeated the compartment. This time, it was Haytham that spoke, "Light and Dark Magic- is a perception of how people interact with magic. Those that use dark magic use the ambient magic around them to power their spells. Those with light magic mostly use the magic that they create within to cast spells. Just because someone has a dark affinity-it doesn't mean that they're an evil wizard."
"Tell that to every Dark Lord that's ever been," Ron sneered.
"Are you telling us.. That Atria's grandfather.. Who fought in the war against Grindlewald.. Was a dark wizard? Are you saying that about Jasmine's grandfather, Percival Grave?"
Haytham's voice was incredulous.
"Maybe."
Atria took a breath in and coughed.
"Atria? You alright?"
"Just my asthma, no big deal." It was aggravated by stress. She looked at Ron. "Do you even know who Percival Grave is?"
"No."
"It would be like us not knowing who Dumbledore is," Anson supplied helpfully.
"Yeah, I don't want to be around Dark Wizard sympathizers. I'm gonna find another compartment." And he left.
"Atria, are you alright?"
"Sure. I guess.. Just sudden asthma attack."
The words were coming out through soft wheezes, and Haytham patted her on the shoulder. "Use your inhaler. You can scream your lungs out later. Or duel me into the dirt again, take your pick."
The inhaler was pulled out from her pants pocket and she used it quickly. "He's going to be as bad as my mother and brother, I swear-"
"So why's Atria upset?" It was Naruto that asked.
"Atria's granddad took a curse meant for mine and it killed him four years ago. It was a really bad curse that slowly killed him and there wasn't really anything anyone could do about it." Jasmine said softly.
"Oh. But your granddad is a hero, then! Aren't wizards supposed to live a really long time though?" This was Hermione's response.
"He died maybe 70 years before his time. According to the estimations and the average lifespans of adult wizards." She was slightly irritated, but due to Haytham's ability to change the subject, that was soon left behind.
"I don't care what House I'm in," Harry finally said, "They're all good."
And thus, the conversation fell to Grindlewald, and then to Germany, and then France's revolution. Atria had to admit that Haytham was good at leading a conversation to other places. They were only interrupted by a small chime, and that's when Haytham left.
"It's time for the other students to dress in their robes. We'll be arriving in about thirty minutes." As he excused himself from the compartment, he waved his wand and dividers sprung up between each person. "They'll go away once they've changed, don't worry."
"We'll be able to see him before sorting," Jasmine said, a little less confident than before.
"Jasmine, don't be upset over what he said. We know differently, and our cultures are different. There are going to be differences, but it was wrong of him to accuse your grandfather of being evil-I've seen blood feuds started over less, actually.."
"Well, I believe you," Hermione interjected, "Everyone knows that Americans are like that funny uncle you invite over for Christmas. Kinda cool with nice presents, leaves at the right time and cleans up after himself. Can't be much different in the wizarding world."
Jasmine laughed.
"Yeah, I'm still not used to the wizarding world yet, either, but I think I'd take your advice over his any day," Harry added.
"You're no-mag born?" Anson asked.
"Er, not really. My parents were magical but they died when I was a baby," Harry admitted, "And my aunt, a muggle, raised me."
Anson almost flinched at the word.
"Yes!" Hermione responded, "I only got my Hogwarts letter a couple months ago and I.. just feel like I'm home-like, I have loads of stuff to learn, of course-I have to at least catch up to the people that were raised as wizards.."
"I am too," He said, and then he looked over at Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto. "What about you all?"
"You could call me a no-mag born," Sakura responded, nodding a bit. "Neither of my parents are able to do magic."
"I never met my parents, so I don't know.." Naruto's voice was sad for a moment, "But at least we have friends like you, right?"
"Well, still, if you want to know more about the wizarding world, I'm sure that Atria and Jasmine wouldn't mind showing you things and teaching you like they did for me. We actually had a program at Ilvermorny that introduced no-mag borns to it and explained cultural differences and stuff. They're both what you would call pureblood."
"I told you not to take to any of that type of thinking," Atria said.
"People are bigoted! It's best they know ahead of time. You and Jasmine won't always be around to protect them from it," He cut a look at them, his eyes understanding.
"Regardless," Atria said firmly, "If anyone-and I say anyone- comes to you and uses the word mudblood, come to me immediately." Her face twisted into a disgusted snarl at the word, and she sighed afterwards.
"What does that mean?" Hermione asked.
"Dirty blood. It's a really foul name for someone who's no-mag born. It's a slur," Jasmine spoke bluntly. "And entirely unacceptable."
"Some people think.. That no-mag borns are undeserving of magic, and that they're less than those born to non-magical parents-that they have less magic, that they aren't as good at magic," Atria continued, "They're wrong-studies have disproven everything they say entirely."
"And what would you do if we were to find you? What are you going to do to them?" Sasuke's voice cut through like a hot knife through butter.
"First, we would do our best not to leave you alone with them," Anson replied, "And then we would report that person to another Professor, Head Boy, or Prefect, so they would be looking out too."
"And, well, if you told Atria,er, she's good at turning their own words against them. She knows everything about anyone. I'd hate to be on her bad side," He admitted, "But it's the best chewing out you'll ever see."
"I see." Sasuke nodded, "We'll make sure to come to you, then." It would be useful for them to have someone from the wizarding world, even if they were American.
The train whistled as it pulled into the station, and the group ascended and then descended the train together, and then split apart at the sheer din that all the students were creating. "First years! Over here, Student Exchange, Over here!"
"Oh, that's Hagrid!" Harry spoke up, "Hagrid!" He called.
"Heya Harry! I see you've met some friends! Come right this way, wontcha?"
"Hagrid's great," Harry said, "You'll see!"
Atria, Anson and Jasmine followed behind him at a more sedate pace, taking in everything at Hogsmeade station. Well, as much as they could at night time, anyway. But-what they were soon to get excited about were boats-magically enhanced-to carry them across the great lake. Hogwarts sparkled on the other side, the lights glinting off the wine-dark surface.
"Wow-" Anson voiced what everyone was thinking.
The spires and towers were beautiful, Atria thought- Ilvermorny was beautiful in an imposing sort of way while Hogwarts-well, it felt like you were returning home after a long, hard adventure. It had to do with the wards, she knew. MacUSA wanted parents to feel like their students were well-protected, while Hogwarts seemed more welcoming overall..
Atria's magic lapped against the side of the boat and down into the water-so there were actual merpeople? And the giant squid rumor was true, too! She retracted her magic and smiled as Harry gasped next to her. As they got closer, the castle was more defined and Atria understood. As far as out as they were, she had a good grasp of what the magic felt like, but up close it was like someone with a sensitive nose taking a bath in perfume.
"Merlin's-" Jasmine smacked her hand over Atria's mouth, silencing her.
From the next boat over, Kakashi noticed Atria's reaction. To him, it was much the same thing-the school was basically a beacon of magic, of chakra, and it set him on edge. Was she magic sensitive? He briefly wondered before turning his eyes to his own students. Sakura was staring in open-mouthed awe while Sasuke's eyes were pulled open wide and Naruto was leaning over the side of the boat, pointing at it, "Wow!Wow!Wow! An actual castle! Do you think there's a Princess somewhere inside?"
The talking trailed off into silence as the children got closer and closer to Hogwarts, and then got off the magical boats at the small pier at the edge of the lake. One of the students-Neville, Atria guessed, as Hermione tried to get Hagrid's attention.
"Oh, Neville," She heard her mutter.
With a twist of her wrist, Neville was out of the water and completely dry on the wooden pier.
"Not a big deal," Atria said and ruffled his hair. Atria swore she could hear Atreus laughing at Neville, and she filed that away for future reference.
"Thank-you, Heir Clare." He swallowed nervously and nodded, "Really. You didn't have to."
"Regardless, if I have the power to make someone's day a little better, I'm going to." Atria's voice was quiet, only pitched to where Neville could hear. "You got your toad?"
"Yeah!" He held the toad out from under his cloak, as if sharing a secret.
"Oh wow! Look at him! He's got really cool skin!" Anson patted him a few times.
At that point, the students were beginning to trail up to the castle. "Come on," Atria urged, "We're getting left behind."
She didn't notice Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto in the boat behind them, watching them carefully. As they hurried to catch up with the other students, Sakura asked, "Did you see what she did? And without handsigns!"
Kisame scoffed as he jumped onto the pier, "If you think that's cool, wait until you see what their elemental classes are like. Besides, Atria's a little bit different than the rest of 'em."
Itachi, using a genjutsu to appear as someone else, was soon beside Kisame. "Everything's ready, no students were left on the train, and the late students were sent by carriage."
"We had a kid fall over, but Atria fished 'em out."
"Aa. Atria-san would do that, probably give him a sweet and tell him that he was brave for doing so."
"A soft spot for people isn't a bad thing," Kisame defended, "In our line of work, yeah, but she's a civvie."
"I would have to disagree with you. She knows, Kisame-san."
"If you say so," Kisame said, and the matter dropped between them and a comfortable silence ensued as they began their trek up to the castle at a shinobi's pace.
Team 7 hurried their way to the castle, having to keep shinobi's pace just to catch the door as it was closing.
"Team 7," Kakashi spoke, "From now on, you're alone amongst the students. Yes, You'll have backup from your fellow genin, but you won't really be able to make contact with me until classes tomorrow morning-and that's if you have a class with me. Everything must be covert. So, Naruto," Here, he singled him out, "No making it obvious. Think about it as a year-long prank."
"Got it, sensei."
"Sure."
"Okay."
And with a nod, Kakashi disappeared, leaving a few leaves in his wake.
They hurried to catch up to the rest of the students, and while the others didn't notice, Atria, Jasmine, Hermione and Harry did. "You're lucky," Atria commented as they walked through the doors to the dining hall, "That you were able to catch up in time. I'd hate to have seen Professor McGonagall come down on you so hard on your first night."
"Kakashi-sensei had some stuff to remind us about!" Naruto said.
"That makes sense, considering." At that point, they'd made their way to the front of the room, where there stood a stool and a hat-and once it was lifted up, it began to sing.
Atria smiled to herself- this seemed less direct than Ilvermorny's sorting- and it had it's own flair.
"We'll be doing the exchange students first, and then move on to Hogwart's first years," announced Professor McGonagall, "In alphabetical order."
"Atreus Auxatia!"
Atria's eyes were locked on her younger brother, who had broke off from the red-haired boy from the train.
It took a few moments, and it looked like Atreus was arguing with the hat, but it finally yelled out, "Gryffindor!" And the house with the gold and red ties exploded in a flurry of celebration-clapping and cheering. Atria politely clapped along with the table and Atreus turned to her and gave her a double thumbs up.
"Atria Auxatia?"
Atria stepped up to the stool next, and as she sat down the hat was lowered on her head.
The voice that entered her mind was rough and wise and she jumped a little. It'd been so long since someone else was able to access her mind-her memories, her experiences.
"What do we have here?" It whispered, "Such a thirst to prove yourself to your peers, and to those above them. A thirst for power, but tempered by staunch morals.. And compassion. You'd fit in well anywhere, child. You thirst for knowledge, for power, are ambitious, brave enough to do what you want and are hard working enough to achieve it all."
"So where to put you..?"
Not Gryffindor, Atria thought, Anywhere but there.
The hat laughed in her mind. "Slytherin!"
The green and silver table clapped and cheered, albeit a little less exuberantly as Gryffindor did. Quite a few of the new students clapped as well, Atria realized. Perhaps she was making a name for herself..
Regardless, she drew herself out of her musings as she sat at the Slytherin table, watching as the rest of the students got sorted.
"Haytham Bonneville?" Professor McGonagall's voice rose.
Haytham walked forward and sat upon the stool. It wasn't on his head for a single second before it barked out, "Gryffindor!" Atria clapped loudly.
She wasn't too surprised that Haytham went there-he was, after all, brave enough to consistently stand up for those that couldn't do it themselves. He was overall, too chivalrous, in her opinion. But, if that's where he fit in, that's where he fit in.
On her cue, a few of the Slytherins also clapped politely as well.
Atria clapped politely as the next few students were sorted. "Jasmine Grave?"
The hat barely touched her head, "RAVENCLAW!"
Atria smiled. Exactly where she thought Jasmine would go! However, it was starting to worry her that no one else so far had ended up in Slytherin.
"Sakura Haruno," it was the same for Sakura as it was for Jasmine.
"Hinata Hyuga!"
The girl shook as she climbed the few stairs up to the stool and sat upon it. It took a few minutes, but finally the hat screamed out, "Gryffindor!"
"Neji Hyuga!"
He had the same, strange pupiless eyes that Hinata had, but he had a small black band across his forehead without any adornments. Strange, that, Atria noted. The hat took it's time with him too, and it eventually screamed out, "Slytherin!"
The rest of the transfer students were sorted quickly, and Slytherin only picked up one more, Uchiha Sasuke- who she knew from the train. After that, the sorting went much quicker. It probably had to do with the fact that these students were younger.
"So when does dinner start?" Neji asked.
"No idea. Maybe when they're done with the sorting," Atria answered, "Not too much longer, then."
"Hermione Granger," went to Gryffindor, and Atria couldn't help but feel that was a mistake.
A few people joined the Slytherin table, Draco Malfoy being one of them. "Heir Clare, it's nice to see you in your family's old house. My family's been in Slytherin for centuries- your Auxatia family was as well. As for the Clare family, they were a mix between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor."
"Heir Malfoy, it's good to see you here. I wouldn't have expected any less of you," She returned easily, "It's a shame, really, that you never got sorted at Ilvermorny, I think you might have ended up in Horned Serpent. I do, however, give you leave to use my given name, if you so choose."
The boy's eyes lit up, "Very well, Atria. I extend the same opportunity."
"Oh, Harry's getting sorted next!" Atria and the rest of the table turned to watch.
Harry was nervous, she realized, as the entire hall hushed and looked at him. He was under the hat's brim for a solid five minutes, she counted, but overall, the result was, "Gryffindor!"
Atria was a little bit disappointed. "Rotten luck," Draco muttered, "D'you think he'll still want to be allies?"
"Sure. I don't see too much of a difference. Just because he's got a lion on his robe doesn't mean he can't be friends with you," She said, "I'm in Thunderbird house, Jasmine is in Horned Serpent and Anson is in Pukwudgie and we're still friends. House is cool and all, but you can still be friends and ally with other people. Cutting yourself off from other houses only endangers yourself when your house can't make an alliance with anyone else."
Draco nodded emphatically.
"So, who are you and I noticed that you're some of the exchange students. Are you from Ilvermorny?"
"No," Sasuke answered, "We're from Hidden Leaf Academy in Japan. He's Neji, and I'm Sasuke."
"We're top of our year, and it won't be any different here," Neji said, "So whoever's competing with us will have to work for it."
"What year are you in?" Atria's question came out after she raised an eyebrow.
"I'll be in my second year. Sasuke's in first year."
"I'm in third year-"
"Yeah, but she's taking fifth-year classes," One of the older Slytherins jibed, "My dad said she was going to be taking an offensive magics assessment sometime next week to see if she can skip higher."
"Maybe if you'd get your head out of your arse, Rowle, you might not have to be jealous of her." A feminine voice spoke, and the boy ducked a smack to the head.
"If you're competing, she's the one to beat around here," she added.
Atria sighed. At least Ilvermorny students already wore this out. It seemed like she would have to climb the social ladder here as well. "That would be true," she acknowledged.
Draco's eyes were wide, and he smiled. "That's decided, then! You're my new study partner."
She laughed as Dumbledore began his announcements. Huh? An out-of-bounds corridor? One that happened to cause a most painful death? Really? In a school full of curious children? She rolled her eyes.
She'd definitely be bringing that up to Professor Starling.
Regardless. "I'd also heard that the Most Noble and Ancient Houses of Clare and Auxatia was also very, very ill. At least, lately."
Rowle's family was one that usually ran in the medical field. "An heir that's so sick that she can barely walk up a flight of stairs-"
"If you would like to challenge me, the first dueling club meeting is this Saturday. Unless you'd like something a little less official, in which case, I can oblige you sooner rather than later," Her lips twisted into a wry smile. "And then I can show you exactly how sick I am."
"Er-"
"Rowle, you asked for it. Man up, for Merlin's sake."
"Fine. This Saturday, at the dueling club. Can't wait to wipe the floor with you."
Atria rolled her eyes.
"Can we attend this dueling club?" Neji's voice drew her out of her thoughts.
"Sure, it's one of the clubs that they've moved to Hogwarts, so anyone should be able to attend. Though, if you're a first year, you won't be casting too much." She directed the last line to Sasuke, "You'd just be learning the different types of duels, the rules for each, the proper attire, weapons and whatever else."
Regardless of the boy's antics, dinner went down well and they were led to their dorms by the prefects. The girl's name was Vivienne Avery, and Atria came to like her quickly. Like in the Thunderbird dorms, Atria had her own room in the Slytherin dorms. There weren't very many Slytherins, and there were more than enough rooms to go around. Except for the first years-some of them had to room with others.
That night, in her new bed, she went to sleep easily and didn't wake until her wand forced her awake. School-and all the flights of stairs. Gross.