Chapter 4: Aftermath of the Night Before

It was very different atmospheres around each of the four house tables the first morning of classes. Normally people would be excited about their upcoming classes or logically about the upcoming tournament. Only Hufflepuff seemed to have that going for them.

When Hermione had awakened she'd actually felt doubtful about the ancient history she'd learned of the night before, it just seemed so unlikely, maybe something Lita had made up. When she'd gone into the common room she'd found Lita there talking with some of the other 7 year girls. Hermione had injected herself into the group so she could ask Lita more about it and had been happily surprised that Lita actually had a book about it. Hermione leafed through the book, using a charm Lita had taught her that would translate the pages temporarily into English. The book detailed some of the known history of the Silver and Golden empires, mostly the Golden. That Atlantis was their capital city surprised her. That several of her peers actually seemed interested in learning more about this history that no one else seemed to know about surprised her even more. The very long list of questions she was writing down would terrify lesser scholars.

Similarly, over at the Ravenclaw table most of the students were in a state of surprised confusion. Ami had had a few books detailing the animals Luna went on about, it used different names, but the descriptions were spot on in many cases. Ami, unlike Lita, kept an entire library on her. That Lita even had a book with her would have been a surprise if Rei hadn't forced the book on her before leaving Japan. Ami's wide range of interests and need to be prepared for whatever she might need without knowing what was in Hogwarts library had seen her spending almost all her allowance on books. That she'd been able to recognize what Luna was talking about when she didn't know the textbook name for it was a nod towards her perfect memory. When she'd had the moment of clarity and had rushed off only to bring back a book with an entire chapter on the Snorkacks had cause quite a stir in Ravenclaw. The description of the animal that had vanished over 600 years before on a different continent were the only main differences beside the name. Although the strange creatures that only Luna seemed to see were still in question the other ones actually reported about in the Quibbler were being verified in Ami's books.

"Why aren't any of these books available in our country?" a second year Ravenclaws asked one of the prefects only to be answered with a confused shrug as they both read the book Ami was lending him.

The current thought process was that somehow the Lovegood's had gotten hold of a magical creatures book from another country and translated some things wrong. But then the question became why weren't these animals included in their texts. Admittedly the main book Ami had was about magical animals that had mysteriously vanished or gone extinct so that would explain why they weren't in more modern books, but no mention of them were in any of the magical creature books they had.

Rei smiled as she took in her friends at the other tables. Unlike herself they seem to have made friends. Truthfully it didn't bother her if her housemates liked her or not. She had her friends and that was all that mattered to her. She wasn't meshing well with the other Slytherins, her revelation of being the daughter of a foreign Minister of Magic was causing all sorts of ripples in the house dynamics. Right now her father had a lot of political power, but it was known he wasn't running for re-election. He was expected to continue working in politics though. There wasn't any significant tie between the Japanese and British Magical societies, but the prophesies about the return of the ancient Empires was known in certain circles in Britain. Those who knew might start to spread that knowledge with Japanese representatives at Hogwarts. Rei imagines that there were many letters sent last night and many responses that would soon be arriving. Right now, the Malfoy name had a lot of sway in the British magical society, mainly due to their wealth, but the students didn't know if they could risk annoying Draco or Rei and were all walking on eggshells until they heard back from their parents on what to do.

Hufflepuff had been the only house not rocked by any revelations the night before. There was no knowledge of the tournament, ancient history, prophesies, or political ties to throw chaos into the normal functions of the house known for their loyalty. To say that Hufflepuff had thought everything was normal until they came down to breakfast would be an understatement. Gryffindors actually wanting to hear about what Hermione was reading and sharing, Ravenclaws casting weird glances at Luna Lovegood while clustered in groups around books of their own and Slytherins tip toeing about a gloomy Draco Malfoy.

END – Chapter 4

I decided to make some effort to work on and maybe finish some of my stories. I had such optimism at the start of the pandemic that I would fill my time writing. … I was very wrong. Can't even tell you what I did that first month.

When I plotted out this story I didn't expect to have so much to share and set up. They haven't even gone to the first day of class yet.