Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Star Wars.
Beta'd by HowInMadHowie
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Chapter 6: Hogwarts
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The Hogwarts Express eventually left civilization behind in its travel towards Hogwarts. Now, grasslands and mountain ranges filled Harry's window. He turned his gaze away from it and to his owl. He opened the cage with the Force to let Hedwig out and held out his arm for her.
She left the cage and flew towards his outstretched arm, nibbling on his ear affectionately as he scratched her head.
The door to his compartment opened. Harry turned to face it and saw a black-haired girl standing in front of his door, looking at him with her electric blue eyes.
"Hey," she said, grinning at him. "Can I bunk with you?"
Harry smiled back and nodded. "Come on in. I got plenty of room."
"Thanks!" she replied, pushing into the compartment and tucking her trunk away. When she put it aside, she settled down on the seat across Harry with a loud sigh. "Finally! I couldn't find a compartment anywhere! They were all full!"
"They filled up fast, huh?" asked Harry, making her nod.
"Yup! It's crazy." She shook her head. "But it's fine! I'm here now!" She pointed at Hedwig. "Is that your owl? She's so pretty!"
Hedwig puffed her chest out in pride at the praise, making the girl laugh aloud. Harry chuckled as he scratched her head. "Yup. This is Hedwig."
"Nice to meet you, Hedwig." She held out a hand to him, grinning again at him. "Nice to meet you too! I'm Tracey Davis!"
Harry took her hand and shook it. "I'm Harry, Harry Potter."
She blinked at him. "The Boy-Who-Lived Harry Potter? The Harry Potter that dad said beat that dark wizard ten years ago?"
"Erm...yes. I'm that Harry Potter."
"Wow! I can't wait to see dad's face when I write to him that I met you on the train. He said that you were just a year old when you did it. Is that true?"
"I think so, yeah. I don't really know anything except what Professor McGonagall told me."
"That makes sense." Tracey nodded, leaning back and pulling her arms behind her head. "If you were a year old, you wouldn't remember anything. You said that you didn't know anything until a professor told you about it. Weren't you raised in a magical home?"
Harry shook his head. "I was raised by my aunt from my mother's side. My aunt and uncles are Muggles and they're not really fans of magic. My aunt said that she didn't have a good experience with them."
"Oh, that sucks," she said. "Magic is so cool though! My dad does it all the time and it's amazing."
He nodded. "Yes, it is. Professor McGonagall brought me to another witch's house and turned her coffee table into a pig and back again; it squealed like one too."
"Crazy." She shook her head, grinning widely.
"What about you?" asked Harry. "You said that your dad does magic. What about your mum?"
"She doesn't have magic," she admitted. "It's just me and dad who could but he said that I can't really use it until I'm old enough." She huffed impatiently. "That's a bummer."
Harry laughed. "I'm sure it's so we don't do anything too crazy with them."
"Doesn't matter," she grumbled. "It's still a bummer."
Laughing again, he said, "Well, we'll get to Hogwarts soon. We get to learn and do magic eventually."
Her sulky mood vanished instantaneously and she leaned forward in her seat, a giddy expression on her face. "I know! I really can't wait! What class are you looking forward to? I'm thinking about that Defense class dad talked about. That sounds fun!"
He put a hand to his chin. "I'm thinking more about Transfiguration. Turning one thing into another seems really interesting, especially when it involves living beings."
"Ooooohhhh." she said, nodding at him. "That sounds cool too."
Harry never considered himself as one for small talk since he focused more on his training and the people in his neighbourhood either were poor conversationalists or didn't share the same interests as him. But he had to admit: talking with a fellow magic user was nice.
When the door opened again, it was opened by a kindly old lady pushing a sweets trolley. Smiling at them, she asked, "Anything off the trolley, dears?"
Tracey jumped to her feet, pulling out a small pouch. "Oh! I'll take some Chocolate Frogs, please!"
Chocolate Frogs? Harry blinked, bewildered by the named sweet, as the trolley lady took the coins from Tracey and handed her a few small packets.
"And for you, dear?" she asked, turning to Harry.
Curious about the food of the wizarding world, he said, "I'll take a few of everything, if that's okay."
While Tracey gaped at him, the trolley lady let out a laugh. "A growing boy, aren't you, dear?" she asked.
Harry chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Sorry. I'm new to this."
"Oh, it's no trouble at all, dear."
He paid for the sweets and helped the trolley lady put the sweets into their compartment. Afterwards, she bid them goodbye with a nod and a smile before moving to the next compartment.
"Can you even eat all this?" asked Tracey, eyeing the sweets on the seats.
Harry laughed. "I bought this for us both. I told you that I'm new so I don't know any of this."
She looked surprised as she pointed a finger at herself. "You mean...I can have some?"
He nodded. "Of course."
She grinned wide. "Thanks, Harry!"
"You're welcome." He reached out and picked up a small box. "So, you asked this from the trolley lady. Are these good? These Chocolate Frogs?"
"They're really good!" said Tracey, fiddling with her packet. "Like, really, really good!"
"They're not...real frogs, are they?" he asked hesitantly.
She shook her head with a laugh. "Of course not! That'd be gross. They just act like frogs. Dad said it's because of the beans they're made from. Their pods jump around when they're removed from their tree and they make croaking sounds then they're opened."
"I see." He watched as Tracey opened the box and her hand immediately grabbed the frog from the package.
"Gotta be careful, though. They have one big jump to them and they usually save it for their big escape."
Humming in thought to himself, he opened his own box and watched as the frog look up at him. Then, his hand snapped up just as the frog jumped, catching it in midair.
"Good catch!" exclaimed Tracey, impressed. She then popped the chocolate frog in her hand into her mouth in one move. "Mmm!"
He was still not sure about swallowing food that was still moving but he decided to give it a try. He looked down at the frog in his hand and put it in his mouth. He hesitated briefly before chewing. Blinking, he gave it a few more chews before swallowing. "You're right. This is really good!"
"Told ya!" she said, grinning at him. Then, she pulled out a card from the Chocolate Frog box. "Chocolate Frogs are also famous for these things. Chocolate Frog Cards! They talk about famous witches and wizards in history. Dad has a small collection while he was in school that he gave to me." She looked at the card and beamed. "Oh. Rasputin," she said. "Nice."
Harry chuckled at her before looking down at his box, taking out the card inside it. Looking down at it, his eyes widened as he gasped out, "It-it's me!"
Tracey gasped as well, her eyes wide. "No way! That card is really rare!"
"I'm on a card?" he asked, disbelieving. "Why?"
"I mean, it makes sense," she reasoned. "You survived You-Know-Who while you were just a year old. I don't think there's anyone alive who doesn't know who you are, Harry."
Harry's jaw tightened but quickly relaxed as he looked down at his own card. It was very bizarre, he found, looking down at a baby's face that bore some resemblance to his own. He idly wondered where they got an image of his face as a baby to be able to make the card as he turned it around to read the inscription on the back.
HARRY POTTER
The Boy-Who-Lived
Born to James and Lily Potter, Harry Potter is famous for being the only survivor of the feared Killing Curse and for causing the downfall of the dark wizard Voldemort on the night of Halloween 1981. Being only a year old at the time, he alone survived the encounter and is regarded as the one who vanquished the most feared dark wizard since Grindelwald.
He pursed his lips after reading it and turned the card back around. He blinked and then gave a small smile when his baby self in the card had curled up to sleep. He kept his smile as he pocketed the card and looked back at Tracey.
Both of them spent the next few hours discussing the various sweets Harry bought. Tracey introduced him to another famous sweet named Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.
A risk with every mouthful? Harry asked himself as he inspected the box. "What does it mean by every flavour?"
Tracey was grinning conspiratorially. "When they say every flavour, they mean every flavour. Go on! Take one and give it a bite."
Given her expression, the title and tagline were meant to be literal, that a bean can be any flavour. He was admittedly intrigued so he reached into the box and took a white bean. Tracey's expression hadn't changed so he couldn't really tell whether he picked a good bean.
He opened his mouth and popped the bean in. After a bite, his face scrunched in confusion. "Is that...mayonnaise?" he asked incredulously.
Tracey guffawed. "That's really lucky! A white bean like that could also be glue!"
"Well," replied Harry, swallowing the bean, "it's a good thing I didn't get glue then."
They continued to share the sweets until the door opened to their compartment. The mousy-looking boy who lost his toad from earlier stood outside it.
"Have you two seen a toad anywhere?" he sullenly asked, sniffling.
Tracey and Harry shook their heads.
"We didn't see any toads," replied Harry. "Sorry."
His face fell further. "Oh...well...if you do see him, c-can you let me know?"
Tracey smiled at him. "Don't worry. We'll let you know if your toad comes up!"
With a sniff and nod, he closed the door and moved onto the next compartment.
"Man," she said once the boy left, "having a toad for a pet sucks. They're just like cats; they can't sit still too long."
"So you guys have an owl too?" Harry said.
"I don't have one. Mum doesn't like animals that much. She calls them messy and too much work to look after."
"Yeah," Harry agreed. "My aunt doesn't like them either. She made clear to me that I'm the one cleaning up after Hedwig and that she's not allowed anywhere else in the house except my room." He turned to Hedwig and scratched her head. "Hedwig here loves to fly out at night and come back with a dead mouse in her beak. She also tends to leave her feathers all over my room."
Hedwig barked and pecked his hand indignantly, making him laugh.
"Peck me all you want, Hedwig. You still make a mess."
She glared at him and turned away in the human equivalent of a huff.
Grinning, he scratched her head. She didn't rebuff his touch but she still remained looking away.
Tracey and Harry laughed just as the door opened again.
Hermione was at the door this time. Already wearing her Hogwarts robes, she smiled when she saw Harry. "Oh, hey, Harry! I was wondering where you were. Say, you didn't happen to see a toad around, did you? A boy named Neville lost his and we've been looking for a while."
Harry shook his head. "No, we haven't. It's just been me, Hedwig, and Tracey here for a while."
"Tracey?" she asked, turning to Harry's companion. "Hi there. I'm Hermione, Hermione Granger."
Tracey smiled back, nodding her head. "Tracey Davis."
"Pleasure," she replied before turning to Harry. "Well, if Neville's toad does come here, can you hold onto him until we get to the castle?"
"Will do," replied Harry.
"Thanks!" she exclaimed before closing the door and moving off.
Tracey looked at Harry. "You know that girl?"
He nodded. "Yes. Professor McGonagall picked us both up and brought us to Diagon Alley to get our school stuff."
"She seems nice," she said.
"She is. But she has a lot of energy. She asked the professor a lot of questions about magic, the school, and the classes on our way home and she bought a lot of extra books, not just the one on the list."
She blinked. "Really? That's a lot of reading. I don't think I'll be able to read all of that and not go crazy!"
Harry shrugged. "She's a – what did Professor McGonagall call it? - Muggleborn so I can understand why she'd want to know as much as she could about magic."
"Ah," she said, nodding in understanding.
By the time they finished the rest of the sweets, it was getting nighttime and the other children were getting rowdy, running up and down the corridors. Harry had to retract his senses before he got overwhelmed by the excitement they were all exuding.
A voice echoed through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train; it will be taken to the school separately."
"Huh," said Harry looking to Tracey. "I guess we should get changed into our robes, huh?"
Tracey nodded, getting to her feet. When Harry turned around, she took off her jacket and put on her long robe. While she was straightening her robe out, Harry pulled out his own and his wand holsters from his trunk. He fitted the holsters onto his body, making sure they were easily accessible to him. He then put both wands into the holsters before putting his robe on.
When they finished, the train started to slow down and the other students were starting to pile out onto the corridor. Harry and Tracey joined them in leaving the train onto the station. He shivered from the night cold, same as the other students.
"Firs' years!" a gruff voice shouted over the chattering of the students. "Firs' years, this way!"
The gamekeeper, Hagrid, held a lamp above his head as he called out to the aforementioned first years. He beamed when he found Harry. "Alrigh' there, Harry?"
"Hello, Hagrid," replied Harry, smiling back with a nod.
Hagrid led them down a narrow road, away from the older students, who took a different route away from them.
Hagrid led them to a massive lake overlooking a large castle atop a mountain. Harry's eyes went wide as he looked up at the bright castle, lights coming from a majority of the windows. The other first years shared his sentiment, letting out sounds of awe at the sight. Even while not actively reaching out with his senses, he could sense the sheer amount of energy contained within the castle.
"No more'n four on a boat," said Hagrid, dragging the attention back to him.
The gatekeeper had hopped onto a boat, filling it up by himself. There were other boats on the shore, which Hagrid pointed at.
The first years clambered onto the boats. Harry and Tracey shared their boat with Hermione and the sullen boy who lost his toad, Neville.
"Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid. "Right then – FORWARD!"
The boats started to move forward, taking them through the middle of the lake and towards the castle. They were eventually taken to a small cave under the castle, where a small dock awaited them. The boats finally stopped and the students and Hagrid stepped off the boats.
"Whose toad is this?" Hagrid asked, pulling out a toad from one of the boats.
"Trevor!" Neville shouted, rushing forward and taking the toad in his arms.
As he returned to the group, Hagrid finished checking the boats before leading the first years from the docks, up the passageway to the school grounds, and into the large wooden doors leading into the castle itself. Hagrid raised a fist and knocked on the doors.
The doors opened and Professor McGonagall stepped out, peering down at Hagrid and the first year students behind him.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.
"Thank you, Hagrid," she said, nodding at him. "I will take them from here."
Hagrid bowed at her and left her with the students, passing by her and up the stairs inside the castle.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "Now, in a few moments, you will pass through these doors and join your classmates. But before you can take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Now while you're here, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you house points. Any rule breaking and you will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup. 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."
She gave a few students critical looks, Harry saw, before she spoke again.
"I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly."
When she left, the mutterings started.
"How are we getting Sorted?" someone asked.
"Some sort of test, I think," another answered. "Fred said it hurts a lot but I think he was joking."
"He must be joking," Hermione interjected. "They won't give us a test that's going to hurt to first year students. It's probably just going to be us trying out any spell that we know!" She then started listing down the spells she had studied beforehand.
"A test?" asked Tracey worriedly. "Why would they give us a test? I haven't studied anything; I didn't even practice with my dad at home!"
"I don't think it's that kind of test," Harry replied. "I think it's more of a personality test or something, so that they know which House to send us to."
"You think so, Harry?" she asked, looking at him anxiously.
"It's possible."
"Harry?" a pompous voice called out. "You wouldn't be Harry Potter, would you?"
Harry turned. A pale boy with platinum blond hair pushed through the students and to him. "So, it is true. Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts."
More mutterings reached his ears.
"Harry Potter?" they asked among themselves.
"This is Crabbe and Goyle," he said, nodding to the two rather large boys flanking him. "And I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."
A few snickered at his name.
Draco turned to the closest student, a red-haired boy. "Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask for yours." He eyed the redhead up and down with distaste. "Red hair and a hand-me-down robe? You must be a Weasley." As the redhead's cheeks reddened, the pale boy turned back to Harry. "Well, you'll soon find that some Wizarding families are better than others. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there." He held out his hand to Harry.
Harry raised a brow and looked down at Draco's hand. On the one hand, he really didn't like this boy's attitude. On the other hand, he'd be foolish to dismiss his...help because of it. So, Harry took the boy's hand and smiled at him. "Well, I'm new to all this so I won't turn down any help. I'll take any I can get."
The boy looked proud and important so he puffed out his chest. "Don't worry, Potter. You'll fit in nicely."
He sensed a few shock and surprise from the other students but he ignored them.
Professor McGonagall returned with a scroll in her hand. Her eyes narrowed when she saw Draco and tapped his shoulder with the scroll.
Turning, Draco kept quiet and stepped aside.
She kept her eyes on him for a few seconds before turning to the group as a whole. "We're ready for you now," she said. "Follow me." The doors opened and she led the group into a large hall.
Four long tables were lined neatly along the hall filled with students and a fifth sat at the very end, where what seemed like the professors sat. Numerous candles floated above the tables and above them was a ceiling that looked like the night sky.
Behind him, Harry heard Hermione say that she read that fact from Hogwarts: A History. Beside him, Tracey let out a quiet "Wow" as she looked up at the ceiling.
At the end of the students' tables, a stool was placed by Professor McGonagall. Then, she put an old and patched hat on top of it. When she stepped back, the hat twitched and then seemed to come to life. A tear opened on the bottom part like a mouth and started to sing.
Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me
Harry soon tuned out the singing to look around. The students in each table were very distinguishable from each other by the colors on their robes: red, yellow, blue, and green. Turning his gaze to the professor's table, he locked his eyes to the person at the center of the table for multiple reasons.
The first thing that Harry noticed was the brightly-colored robes he wore. In stark contrast to the other professors in their dark robes of green or black, this professor's robes were an eye-catching purple. The second thing was the silver beard that seemed to reflect the light from the candles. The third thing that caught his attention was the sheer power contained with the man. Even though he was within a castle that was already brimming with the Force, he was even more impressive.
Such power! Harry stared at him in quiet awe, unable to tear his gaze away. He must be Professor Dumbledore. The books clearly didn't do him justice.
It was only when Professor Dumbledore seemed to sense his gaze and look back at him that Harry snapped out of his reverie. He flushed as Dumbledore gave a smile and nod, making him give a nervous smile and nod in return. He quickly looked away to the other professors on the table.
Most of the other professors seemed normal in comparison, in appearance, clothing, and presence in the Force. His gaze paused briefly to a small wizard, so short that his face was barely seen over the table, before eventually landing his eyes on two wizards in conversation with each other. The moment he looked at them, he had to hold back a gasp. The two had a touch of the dark side within them – his very first experience with people with such a dark side presence – that he stared just as he did with Professor Dumbledore.
The one wearing the purple turban was turned away from Harry so he didn't see him staring. However, the other wizard, the one with a noticeable hook-shaped nose and rather greasy hair, did. His black eyes stared back at Harry's. Almost immediately, Harry flinched as he received a burst of hatred and pain and looked away. By the time he recovered, the hat had finished singing and Professor McGonagall had unfurled the scroll in her hands.
"When I call your name," she said, "you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." Looking down at the scroll, she called out, "Abbot, Hannah!"
Harry watched as a pink-faced, blonde girl with pigtails stepped forward and put on the hat. The hat then shouted out, "HUFFLEPUFF!" before the headmistress pulled the hat off her head and gestured towards the table with the students in the yellow robes.
As the next student, a girl whose auburn hair was tied into a plait behind her named Susan Bones, was also sorted into Hufflepuff, Harry looked back at the dark-robed professor but he didn't look back at him so Harry turned back to the sorting.
Names and Houses passed through his ears.
When Tracey was called, she eagerly walked up to the stool and put on the Hat.
After a few seconds, the Hat shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"
She grinned wide as the Hat was pulled off her head and she went over to the table of students in green.
A few names later, Hermione was called and took quite a while to be Sorted. She was eventually sent to the Gryffindor's table, the students in red cheering loudly as she joined them.
Draco's name was eventually called and strutted over to the stool, chin proudly raised as he sat down. The Hat barely made it to his head when it shouted, "SLYTHERIN!" He smirked as he too joined the Slytherin's table.
More and more students went and got Sorted. Neville Longbottom, the boy with the toad, also took a while to be Sorted like Hermione before him but eventually got sent to the Gryffindor table.
His turn was almost up. Moon, Lily. Nott, Theodore. Parkinson, Pansy. Patil, Padma. Patil, Parvati. Perks, Sally-Anne.
And finally...
"Potter, Harry!"
Once again, mutters from the other tables started at hearing his name.
"Did she say Harry Potter?"
"The Harry Potter?"
Harry ignored them again as he walked up to the stool. He sat down on it and his vision was eventually blocked by the hat over his eyes. He stiffened when he felt some sort of prickling inside his head, as if someone was trying to poke and prod in his brain. He slowly reached out to the presence and communicated mentally. H-Hello?
My, my, this is quite interesting, a soft voice spoke within his head. In all my years sorting students, I've never come across a mind like yours.
Are you-are you...the Sorting Hat?
That I am. And you, boy, are the first student with such a protected mind. How...curious.
Is this how you are able to sort the students? You look into their minds?
That is indeed the quickest way. Their experiences thus far and their reactions to them provide an effective method with which I use to sort them to the appropriate House.
So...how does that work? If a student shows, like, bravery, you sort them into Gryffindor?
The Sorting Hat chuckled in his head. It's not that simple, Harry Potter. But we don't have the time for me to explain it to you so that'll have to do. That said, can you let me in?
I...don't think that's a good idea.
Oh? Do you hide that big of a secret? Very curious. Would it help if I told you that I can't share what I discover to anyone, not even the headmaster?
Really?
Oh, yes. It's a precaution the Founders enchanted into me to preserve the privacy of those within these walls once they were gone. Knowing that, will that change your mind?
Erm...not...really... Sorry.
The Hat laughed. Fair enough, Potter. I am but a stranger to you, after all. Let us talk then.
Harry blinked, confused. Talk?
Yes. Talk. You can learn quite a bit about a person by talking, you know. If a student's House needs some more deliberation, I am allowed certain liberties to further help with my decision.
I see.
So, I'm a bit curious. Who taught you how to protect your mind? I can't imagine any common mentor willing to teach something like that to a young boy.
Umm...
Oh, I'm sure that's one of your many secrets, isn't it? It laughed again. I'm sorry about that. Let's talk about something else. So, Potter, what did you do during the summer?
During the summer? I read up on the school books to get ahead.
Ah, a studious one, aren't you? That's good. Wouldn't do to be ill-prepared for your classes. But surely, you didn't spend your entire summer studying?
Well, I also did some training and some meditating when I'm not studying.
Training? Meditating? Those don't sound fun at all.
Harry huffed silently, indignant. I think they're fun. I like doing them.
Is that so? Most children spend their summers playing their toys and their games. Some prefer the silence of books. Having the discipline for meditation and exercise, though, is a rare sight.
He sniffed. I'm not most children.
Clearly, was the Hat's dry reply. What made you take those up? What draws you to those two activities?
I can't explain it. I just like doing them. It feels nice.
I see, I see. Did you also do them during your school years? Before being accepted into Hogwarts?
Well...yeah...
Very interesting. What a difficult choice, you are. Your discipline for meditation and training makes you suited for Hufflepuff and your studiousness makes me think you'd fit in quite well with Ravenclaw.
That makes sense, I guess, Harry replied. So, which one am I going to?
Which of the two do you value more? The means or the end? The journey or the destination? Knowledge or its pursuit?
Erm...the end, I think. I want to know what I'm going for before I figure out how to get there.
Very well. Better be... "RAVENCLAW!" the Hat suddenly shouted into the Hall.
The entire Hall erupted into applause but the table of Ravenclaws was the loudest.
The Sorting Hat was lifted off of Harry's head. Harry turned to Professor McGonagall.
She smiled down at him as she stepped back to let him stand. "Congratulations, Potter," she said, gesturing to the table of blue. "Off you go."
Harry beamed back as he joined the Ravenclaw table. Almost immediately, he was bombarded by pats on the back and words of congratulations from his fellow Housemates. Sitting down, he returned their greetings with his own. He turned his gaze towards the Deputy Headmistress as she called for "Roper, Sophie" to Sort her.
When she was Sorted to Gryffindor, Harry felt someone's gaze on him. He looked past Professor McGonagall and saw Professor Dumbledore looking at him.
The Headmaster gave him another smile and a nod, raising a goblet in a toast. Harry gave a grin back.
The list of students to be Sorted became smaller and smaller until "Zabini, Blaise," a dark-skinned boy, got sent to Slytherin House.
Professor McGonagall furled the scroll and stowed it into her robes before taking the Sorting Hat in one hand and pulling out her wand in the other. With a wave of her hand, she sent the stool hovering to the side while she returned to her seat beside Professor Dumbledore, who stood up.
Spreading his arms wide, he said, "Let the feast begin." Before their very eyes, food appeared on all the plates on all the tables.
The students helped themselves and started piling food on their plates. His eyes wide, Harry followed suit, putting some sausages and vegetables on his plate.
"Man, you sure took a long time with the Sorting," someone beside him said. It was a dark-haired boy, his blue eyes peering at him. "I'm Michael Corner, by the way," he introduced himself.
Harry smiled. "Harry Potter," he replied.
"I know. I don't think there's anyone who doesn't know you." He looked at the professor's table, missing Harry's small grimace that returned to his smile. "What happened with the Hat?" he asked curiously. "You took a really long time with it."
He shrugged. "It talked to me about the Houses I could go to. It said that I could go into Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw."
"Wait," another boy said. "You could've gone into Hufflepuff? I thought you'd be a Gryffindor, like your mum and dad."
Harry turned and saw a brown-haired boy with a surprised look on his face. His brows furrowed. "I think it helps but it's probably not that big of a factor. And you are?"
"Oh, sorry. I'm Terry Boot," the boy introduced himself, holding out a hand. As Harry took his hand, Terry shook his head incredulously. "Still, that's just weird. Hufflepuff as your House, man..."
Harry's brows furrowed. "What's wrong with Hufflepuff?"
"Erm...well...nothing's really wrong with them," replied Terry slowly. "It's just that they're, well, boring. At least, that's what my dad said."
"Boring?" Harry asked. "I don't think a House full of magic can be boring."
Terry shrugged, taking a bite of turkey. "I don't know. That's just what my dad said. Me? I think that they like yellow too much. It's just too bright."
Compared to green, red, and blue, Harry thought to himself, yeah, yellow is bright in comparison.
"So where are you from, Harry?" asked Terry. "People said you were hidden away after you beat You-Know-Who but no one knew more than that."
He replied, "I was raised by my aunt on my mother's side. They don't have magic so they didn't tell me about it until I got my letter."
"They're Muggles?" Michael asked, surprised. "You were in the Muggle world all this time?"
Harry nodded. "Yes."
"I've never been to the Muggle world before. What's it like there? It's weird to think that they can live without magic."
"There's not much to tell," explained Harry. "The street I lived in wasn't that interesting. All the houses look the same and the people are very similar to each other."
Michael looked disappointed. "Really? That's disappointing. I thought there'd be interesting stuff to tell about Muggles."
He shrugged. "I'm sure not all Muggles are like that."
"Probably," he replied.
They kept on asking him questions while they ate until, finally, Professor Dumbledore stood from his seat and spread his arms, addressing the students. "Now that we've all been fed and watered, I'd like to give a few words of announcements before sending you all to your dormitories.
"Firstly, to all our students, first years and beyond, the forest on the school grounds are forbidden to all.
"Secondly, Mr. Filch would like me to remind you all that there will be no magic used in the halls between classes.
"Thirdly, for our second years and above, Quidditch tryouts will be held in the second week of the term; please see Madam Hooch, our Quidditch instructor and referee if you wish to try out or to learn more.
"Finally, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is closed and out of bounds to all. Any who disregard that warning will have a personal appointment with me."
Harry furrowed his brow at the warning. The third-floor corridor is that important?
Terry asked aloud, "What's up with that? What's so important on the third-floor?"
"No idea," an older student replied, frowning. "We prefects weren't notified about it so we know just as little as you. But, if it's that important, we'd do well to obey."
"Now," Dumbledore suddenly said, bringing out his wand and waving it. Letters appeared and formed words above his head, "before I let you go to head to your dormitories, let us partake in the school song."
Harry looked around and saw that a lot of students and professors didn't look too enthusiastic about singing.
"Pick a tune," continued Dumbledore, "and let us begin!"
+-*/
The singing was a bit much, Harry thought to himself as he and the other Ravenclaws headed towards their dormitories. But it was...interesting. The Ravenclaw prefects, a blonde and a brunette, led them to one of the towers and up a spiral staircase. They finally came upon a door with a bronze knocker shaped like an eagle.
The knocker seemed to come to life and then started speaking, "What belongs to you but other people use more than you do?"
The blonde turned to the group and said, "For the Ravenclaw common room, you will need to answer a riddle to gain entrance." Turning back to the knocker, she said, "My name."
"And a pretty name it is, too," the knocker replied before opening the door.
Someone in the group asked, "If someone has to answer a riddle, won't that mean that someone from another House can get in?"
"Only if that student is accompanied by a student or allowed by a professor," the prefect replied, ushering the students into the common room. "The common rooms can tell which House a student is in and can allow or deny them from entering if they're in a different House."
"So, I can bring my friend from Hufflepuff here?" another one asked.
"You can but they'll be your responsibility. Whatever trouble they'll cause will fall on your shoulders."
The first year Ravenclaws were wide-eyed and in awe of the circular room. Blue and bronze silks hung from the ceiling and a blue carpet covered in stars covered the floor. There were tables, chairs, and bookcases lined along the walls and there was a marble statue of a witch in front of a staircase and a door on the other side of the room.
The prefect continued, "Welcome to the Ravenclaw common room. The dormitories are in the door behind the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw, our House namesake. Boys' dormitories are past the door and up the stairs to the left. Girls are on the right. When you're not in class, you may stay in the common room and enjoy reading from any of the books in the shelves if you don't feel like reading from the school library."
The other prefect added, "Or you can just take a nap." When they stared at him, he gave a grin. "Plenty of us fell asleep while listening to the sounds that reaches the tower, usually the wind outside the tower."
The girl elbowed him, making him cough sheepishly into his hand. With a sigh, she said, "Anyway, you will find your things already brought up to your beds. Tomorrow, Professor Flitwick, our Head of House, will hand you your schedules after breakfast in the Great Hall. Lights out in a few minutes."
The first years shuffled past the statue, up the stairs, through the door, and into their respective dormitories True to the prefect's word, their luggage have already been brought up to the dorms, each one placed at the foot of each bed. Harry found his and changed into his pajamas before flopping down on his bed with a sigh.
"You can say that again," Michael agreed, dropping onto his own bed, also dressed in his pajamas.
Their bellies full, the other boys in the dorm didn't take long before they fell asleep and the room was filled with sounds of snoring.
Harry, however, didn't go to sleep just yet. He sat up on his bed, crossed his legs, and closed his eyes. Opening his eyes, he grinned at seeing his two masters in front of him. "Revan, Meetra," he greeted.
Meetra smiled back. "So, you're about to start your first day here," she replied. "How are you feeling, Harry?"
"Nervous," he admitted. "But I also can't wait."
"Good to hear," said Revan. "Did the castle interfere with your senses too much?"
He shook his head. "Mm-mm. I pulled back when we got to the lake. But even then, Hogwarts is just...wow! The Force is very strong here!"
"Indeed," he replied. "This castle is one of many places rich with the Force. It'll be a challenge to focus yourself here."
"That's okay!" exclaimed Harry. "I like a challenge!" He tensed as someone let out a snort. Turning, he saw one of his Housemates roll over in his sleep, still deep in slumber. "Sorry..." he murmured.
Revan chuckled. "You are no longer in the privacy of your home, Harry. You can't be as free as you were then. Consider this a test: continue your training in the Force in this castle teeming with life while keeping it a secret from your fellow students and professors."
"Yes, master," he said. "But why keep it a secret? You don't want to get another student, Revan?"
"They haven't shown themselves worthy of my teaching," Revan sternly replied. "You have been taught from a young age, under our watchful eyes. The others around you have not. They were taught different things by different people. I know you can be trusted with the knowledge of the Force; they cannot."
"Oh, okay. When would be the right time? I don't want to keep this a secret forever."
"Start small but start smart," he said. "You already have a small circle of people you know: Granger, Davis, and these boys around you. Start with them. Get to know them and them you. Then, everything else will follow."
"I understand," Harry said, smiling up at him. "Thanks, Revan."
"What did you think about the line of professors, Harry?"
Harry nodded, his eyes wide with awe. "Professor Dumbledore is very strong. Even the school can't hide his power. It makes everyone seem...dimmer by comparison."
"That's a fair observation," said Meetra. "But the others are also nothing to scoff at."
Harry then frowned. "The others? They were strong too but I'm more worried about the two who had the dark side in them. The one in the turban and the other one - I think he's that Snape guy that Aunt Petunia told me about. Messy, oily hair, sunken eyes, and a nasty look on his face."
Revan nodded. "That they do."
"What should I do about it? You told me to be careful of the dark side."
"It's best to always be careful around such people but they're still your professors," he replied. "So, I suggest you learn from them but keep your guard up."
"Yes, master."
"But don't show it," Meetra told him. "It won't do well if they start poking around because you acted all suspicious around them. Remember those mental exercises I taught you?"
"I do," he said with a smile, tapping his temple with a finger. "I'm doing a lot better with it now."
"Good." She then learned forward and gently nudged Harry to lie down on his bed. "That's enough for tonight," she said. "Get some rest, Harry. You need your energy for your first day."
"Okay, Meetra," he muttered, already feeling his eyelids closing. "Good...night..."
As Harry's soft snores reached their eyes, both Jedi ghosts looked at each other.
"Do you think he'll be ready?" she asked him. "A giant three-headed dog isn't really something we taught him."
"Neither were the creatures we fought all those years ago but we triumphed over them," he replied. "We taught him all that he needs to know. He'll be ready or he'll learn to be."
+-*/
After all this time, I finally have a new chapter. School sucks the time and life out of you.
Read and review!