Chapter One: Mysterious Disappearances
Godwin Le Fay had gotten accepted into Hogwarts and was soon to begin his first year. You would think he would be happy, but the truth is, he wasn't. In fact, he felt rather glum as he scanned the many books within Flourish and Blotts Bookstore. Standing up straight, he sighed and looked over at a brown-skinned young wizard who was wearing a pair of rather old glasses.
"Excuse me — Do you know where I can find the Standard Book of Spells?" He asked.
"Of course. It's over here." The wizard showed him where to find the book on a nearby shelf, and Godwin added it to his bag.
"I'm Rowan Khanna," the boy said, offering him his hand.
"Godwin, Le Fay," Godwin said, shaking his hand.
"Wait — Le Fay? Are you related to Jacob Le Fay from the newspaper!?" the boy said, eyes widening with a familiar surprise.
"Yes, I am..." Godwin said with a sigh. Truth be told, this wasn't the first time he had been asked about this, and he knew it likely wouldn't be the last time, either. Before he could say anything more, though, the icy voice of a witch interrupted him.
"You're related to that mad student who endangered Hogwarts? You must be so ashamed of him." His eyebrows furrowed as he cast a sharp gaze to a young witch who appeared next to him. She had creamy skin with striking violet eyes and eye-catching orange highlights in her wild, bushy brown hair.
"My brother isn't mad! He loved Hogwarts! He never would have endangered it!"
"Well, if he did nothing wrong, then why has he gone and disappeared? Seems like something only a guilty person would do." The witch said, a smug grin spreading over her face.
"I don't know, and I'm sick of people asking!" He yelled, " Whatever the case, he's innocent! I just know he is."
"Ha! I get it. You must be in denial. I hope you recover soon," she mocked.
"Get away from my Master!" a high-pitched voice rang out suddenly. It was a house-elf who appeared by Godwin's side, his glare potently protective as he clung to Godwin's pants leg.
The witch glared down at the house-elf. "With pleasure," she said and, with a flick of her hair, walked off.
"Thank you, Dale. You can wait here. I'll be done soon enough," Godwin said, smiling down fondly at the house-elf.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Rowan piped up then, only for Godwin to shake his head.
"Don't be. He's only disappeared, and I think I've got a good idea on where he went."
"So, you do actually know?!" Rowan asked, leaning into Godwin, who looked around him before stepping closer and lowering his voice to a whisper.
"Well, sort of. Between you and me, he became quite obsessed with the legendary cursed vaults of Hogwarts, according to his last few letters to me before the expulsion and disappearance, at least. I figure he must still be after them and refuse to return."
"Is that why you want to go to Hogwarts? You want to look for him?" Rowan started, sounding almost in awe, and cut off before he could properly answer "Can I help?, I would love to help discover the legendary cursed vaults of Hogwarts!"
"Well, Hogwarts is a big place. I'll probably need all the help I can get."
The two of them gathered the rest of their books together and then bid each other farewell as Rowan's uncle took him to get his robe fitted. Upon stepping outside, Godwin passed the bag of books to the house-elf. "Take these back to Avalon. Just the wand left now."
"Of course, Master." The elf disappeared in the blink of an eye, and Godwin made his way to Ollivander's Wand Shop.
The shopkeeper, Mr. Ollivander, greeted him with a warm smile. "Welcome, Mister Le Fey. My best wishes go to your brother."
"Thank you."
Mr. Ollivander measured him for a few moments. "I believe he had a ten inch maple wood with a dragon heartstring core." Walking to one of the nearby shelves, he went through his many wands until he found the one he was looking for. "Ah, here we are! A wand similar to his. Thirteen inches, maple wood, dragon heartstring core, and slightly more flexible."
Mr. Ollivander passed the wand to him with an encouraging nod. Holding the wand firmly, Godwin gave it a flick, and. . . BOOM! A stack of wands blew up, scattering all over the shop. The stunned Godwin broke into laughter.
"No, no, now that won't do! Pass that wand here at once."
"That certainly went well." Godwin said as he passed the wand back over with a soft chuckle.
"If I'm remembering correctly, that big brother of yours blew up my favourite ink pot when we were trying to find his wand. Sent ink flying everywhere, took me ages to clean up!"
"Really? Wow! What about my mother?, Please tell me she messed up too?."
"Nothing blew up, but she brought down a whole shelf full of wands," he said with a thin smile as Godwin chuckled softly. Mr. Ollivander took a moment before disappearing back into the many shelves behind the desk.
He soon returned with another wand." Here, give this one a try. Hazel wood with a dragon heartstring core, thirteen inches."
Taking a deep breath, Godwin gave it a flick. A tingling feeling rushed through his fingers, and a bright light shot from the end of the wand.
An even brighter smile spread along Godwin's face as Mr. Ollivander clapped. "Congratulations on your new wand, Mr. Le Fay! This wand will require a firm grip and is intensely loyal and capable of producing spells with flamboyant, dramatic effects. A dragon heartstring core can be quite powerful, but indeed temperamental, so please do take care."
Thanking him for the advice, Godwin made his way back home by flu powder and appeared within the fireplace of a great hall in the ancient castle. The wall in front of him was covered in many colourful murals alongside paintings, Arms, and Armor on display stands.
"Greetings, child. Best you prepare for Hogwarts now," a voice rang out through the great hall as he stepped from the fireplace. He looked behind him and towards the sound of the voice to see a moving picture of his great grandmother, Morgana, above the fancy sword resting over the fireplace. Godwin didn't have her long, flaming red hair — his being a short, dark brown — but he did have her dark eyes and fair skin.
"Ready as I ever will be, Grandmother."
"Remember, my family name rests upon you now. Be sure to redeem it!" The woman in the painting said sternly.
He gave his grandmother a respectful bow then helped himself to the apple from the bowl on the large table in the hall.
"Good day Godwin" another moving picture of King Arthur said on his way out Making his way up one of the three square towers, he stopped on the third floor and retired to his bedchambers where the house-elf had taken his Hogwarts' equipment.
He took his wand and its case and walked up to his bedside table where a picture of an older man stood. Godwin was the spitting image of the man in the picture, tall and broad shouldered. His father, however like his grandmother his father had flaming red hair. He placed his wand next to the picture and stroked the frame of the picture.
The pecking upon his gothic styled window interrupted the monument's silence. Godwin opened the window and his pet raven came flying into his room and sat beside a bowl full of berries that was also upon the bedside table.
Godwin's door creeped open and he turned to see his mother at the door. She was a gentle, short looking woman who had long wavy witht he same chestnut brown hair and light skin as Godwin.
"Are you ok? How was the trip to Diagon alley?" Godwin sighs and gives her a wordless nod. "Aww, baby, are you still upset?"
"I'm feeling alright, it's just. . . going to Hogwarts is intimidating enough without the newspaper dragging our family name through the mud." Godwin said as he stared into the floor. His mother pulled him into a big hug.
"If people are going to judge you on what the news said and what your brother did, then they are not friends worth having. If your father were here, he would tell you to do your own thing and don't let other people's opinions of you drag you down. He certainly never cared for what people thought of him."
The month flew by, and soon it was time to go to Hogwarts. Godwin travelled to London through flu powder and made his way to platform nine-and-three-quarters. Alongside Godwin was his pet raven, Morgan, who sat upon his shoulder the entire time.
After they walked through the portal, his mother pulled him to one side and groomed his hair, brushing down his robes. "Right. I want you to go to school and make our family proud. Remember to use your magic responsibility."
"Yes, Mother."
She hugged him, kissed his cheek, and sent him on his way. "Go on. Have a great first year!" She shouted encouragingly as he ran into the bustling crowd.
Approaching the train, he heard someone call out his name and turned to see Rowan pushing his way to him through the mass of people.
"Rowan, it's nice to meet you again."
Rowan shook his hand and, after saying goodbye to his uncle, boarded the train with him.
Making his way through the train, Godwin caught sight of the violet-eyed witch from before. The two of them glared at each other as he continued to walk by before finding an empty compartment to stay in. They had just settled in when a pretty girl with golden hair, light skin, and vivid blue eyes entered their compartment.
"Excuse me. Do you mind if I join you?'' She asked with a bright smile. Godwin sat up straight and gestured to the seat next to him.
"Please. You're more than welcome."
The girl sat down next to him. "I'm Penny Haywood. It's great to meet you both." Rowan and Godwin introduced themselves as the train left the station. Penny gasped upon hearing Godwin's name. "You're the brother of that boy who disappeared. I'm so sorry. I hope you're doing well."
"I'm fine. I just don't want to talk about it. Do you two have any ideas which house you want to be in? I want to be in Slytherin."
"Really? Even after you-know-who?" Penny asked in shock. "I don't care too much about it myself, but there are a lot of people who want to stay far away from the Slytherin house."
"I don't care if you-know-who used to go there. My family is pure-blooded, one that has a long history in Slytherin. He-who-shall-not-be-named has no effect on the wizard I'll become," he told her.
"Personally, I wouldn't mind being in Slytherin. All of the houses have their good qualities and their share of great wizards and witches," Rowan said.
"I want to be in Hufflepuff. It's the same for them. They are looked down upon just because they are seen as uncool. What petty nonsense," Penny scoffed.
"Your family is from Avalon, right, Godwin? What's it like? I've not found many books on it." Rowan asked Godwin.
"It's a humble little island near the coast that's been concealed with magic. It's covered in apple trees and has a humble village near our castle. We have a family burrow where we bury our dead like King Arthur and Morgan are buried."
"I must visit sometime, if you don't mind?" Rowan asked.
"I would welcome any visitor."
"Oh, me too! It sounds like a wonderful place to visit. It must be amazing to live in a castle. I live in a cottage in the countryside with my family," Penny gushed.
"I live in the countryside too. My family owns a tree farm where we make wood for wands and brooms," Rowan said.
Keeping each other company along the way, they ate sweets and enjoyed their journey together until the Hogwarts Express roared into Hogsmeade" station.
The trio exited the train together, staying close among the gathering crowd. Godwin's raven Morgan flew off from his shoulder into the air, though Godwin paid it no heed, trusting the creature to return to him. Instead, Godwin pointed out the girl with the violet eyes from Diagon Alley to Penny. She glanced over to her briefly before turning back to him.
"So that's the girl you mentioned. Her hair looks like a bird's nest." She said with a giggle. Rowan began to tap Godwin's shoulder furiously. He turned and stopped dead in his tracks as he looked up to see a giant of a man standing over them.
"I'm Hagrid, the groundskeeper of Hogwarts. First years follow me," the large man said and gestured towards the dark woodland path that they would follow him down.
During the journey, a fair skinned boy with short, neat blonde hair and brown eyes joined the trio, walking near them as his eyes scanned the distant tree line. "Do you mind if I join you?" None of them objected. "I'm Ben. . . Ben Cooper. Good Lord it's cold!" Cooper said, introducing himself.
The group of kids were led through the woodlands while Godwin's raven flew over head as they made there way to the black lake and the mighty castle of Hogwarts standing over it, a bright smile spread along the faces of the many first years. Hagrid then encouraged all the first years to get into groups of four and then went into one of the many boats awaiting them by the lake. The boats then began moving on their own as they crossed the black lake. Ben looked down into the murky depths of the water.
"Is there anything in this lake?" He asked with a shaky voice.
"It's thriving with life, but you're perfectly safe. Just don't fall in." Penny said, Ben swallowed the lump in his throat.
"You okay, Ben? You seem a little tense." Godwin asked.
"I didn't even know about wizardry or magic school until just recently. It's just a little intimidating. It's not dangerous here, is it?" He asked.
"It's perfectly safe. Death rarely occurs," Penny said with a smile all too pleasant.
"Deaths!" Ben said with a slight tone of panic.
"Don't worry about it. Listen to the teacher, keep your head down, and you'll be fine," Godwin said, trying to reassure him.
The many boats went under the cliffs and into an underground harbour beneath the castle, where they departed from their boats and onto a rocky beach and his raven flew back to Godwins shoulder after stretching his wings.
Hagrid took them up a passageway which led them outside the castle of Hogwarts and to a huge oak door where they were greeted by a mature woman with a pointed hat and green robes. Hagrid gave her a respectful nod and left the students to her.
"Greetings, students, and welcome to Hogwarts. You're right on time. I'm the transfiguration teacher, Professor McGonagall. We will soon be sorting you all into one of our houses, which are Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. Your house will be your family, and you will each earn points for your houses. Any teacher can reward and take away points for good or bad behaviour. Now follow me," she said as she guided them into the magnificent halls of Hogwarts and then into the Great Hall.
The Great Hall was filled with hundreds of students split between four long rows of tables, with each table belonging to one of the houses. The teachers had a long table at the end of the hall which all the first years were brought before. Sat upon a stool between the students and the teachers was an old, battered, mud-brown, pointed hat which burst into song.
"Welcome, first years! I'm the thinking, talking, sorting hat.
Approach, wizards and witches to be. Let's see where you'll be at.
You could be a Gryffindor, brave, daring, and courageous,
Or a Slytherin, determined, ambitious, and cunning.
You may also be Ravenclaw, wise, creative, and intelligent,
Or possibly a Hufflepuff, just, kind, and loyal.
Now, step forward, not one step back,
And put me on, the thinking cap!"
The students who watched broke into thunderous applause. McGonagall stepped forward from her place beside the stool. "I will call you up here one at a time. You will come up to me and sit on this stool, and I will place this hat on your head. The hat will then sort you into your house. The first student is Charlie Weasley." The ginger-haired boy strolled over, and the hat was placed upon his head.
"Hmm, let's see," the hat said, thinking out loud. After a few moments, it shouted out, "Gryffindor!" A roar of cheers came from the Gryffindor students.
It continued like this, with each student being called out one by one. When the name Merula Snyde was called out, it was the violet eyed girl from the book shop that stepped forward with a confident smirk. She was swiftly sorted into Slytherin.
Next, Ben Cooper was called out. Ben approached the stool like a cautious cat. When the hat shouted out Gryffindor, he shot to his feet, and the hat fell from his head before being swiftly caught by Professor McGonagall.
Penny was called next. She skipped forward joyfully. The hat was barely on her head for a second when it yelled, "Hufflepuff!" She jumped with joy and ran over to the Hufflepuff table.
One at a time the other students took their turn. Nymphadora Tonks in Hufflepuff. Tulip Karasu in Ravenclaw. Barnaby Lee in Slytherin. Andre Egwu in Ravenclaw. Badeea Ali in Ravenclaw. Jae Kim in Gryffindor. Chiara Lobosca in Hufflepuff.
when Godwin's was finally called, it started a minor commotion within Slytherin students, as it is the house his brother belonged to. When the hat was placed upon his head. "Hmm, yes. Slytherin, maybe, Hufflepuff or perhaps Gryffindor." As the hat began to think. The fear of not being put into the house, so many of his ancestors had been placed hit him.
"I would prefer to be in Slytherin," he stated, glancing up at the hat.
"Yes, very well. Slytherin!"
There were a few cheers, but not many. A few of the Slytherins whispered to each other with displeased looks, and Godwin felt his ears burning. Sitting down at his assigned house table, he watched as the last of the students were put into their houses, including Rowan, who was put into Ravenclaw.
When everyone was sorted, Headmaster Dumbledore made a gesture for the whispering students to quieten down.
"I welcome you all to Hogwarts and hope this is the beginning of a great journey for you all." He paused before continuing, "After a recent event, I feel the need to warn anyone against going after any mythical vaults in Hogwarts. One person is dead, and another has been expelled. I do not wish to lose any more talented students. I want each of you to have a great year at Hogwarts. Now, enjoy the feast!"
The sudden appearance of a vast array of food brought a slight smile on Godwin's face. During the feast, Godwin kept to himself.
Before the time came to leave, Dumbledore encouraged the teachers and students to enjoy singing the Hogwarts song together. This was followed by a number of groans as Dumbledore raised his wand, and with a flick, the words to the song appeared in mid-air above him.
'Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please.
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff.
For now, they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff.
So, teach us things worth knowing,
And bring back what we've forgot.
Just do your best.
We'll do the rest
And learn until our brains all rot!'
Each house was then taken by its prefect who guided them to their new dorms; the Slytherin prefect was Felix. The Slytherins found themself attacked by an outlandish looking ghost who came shooting out of the wall and swooped down at the students, making a handful of them scream.
The spirit had a jester hat, the bells on his hat were jingling away as he clapped his hands with delight. "Awww, itty-bitty first years, yippee!"
The perfect, Felix, immediately withdrew his wand. "I have no time for this Peeves. Get lost!" He warned sternly as he pointed his wand at him.
Peeves cackled as he spun in the air. "Aww, you think Pevee is scared of you?"
He made a number of cream pies appear out of thin air, and each one was then thrown across the hall, making students duck and hide behind each other. One of the pies splattered onto Felix's face and uniform.
Felix gritted his teeth. "Immobulus!" The light blue spell fired far too late, as the spirit had fled into a wall and out of the way. There were a handful of giggles from behind Felix as he wiped away the cream from the pie and took in a deep breath. "Be wary of him. He can be a royal nuisance."
When they arrived at their dorm, Godwin was taking in his surroundings when Merula and Ismelda approached him. Ismelda had long raven hair and a thin body with dark, piercing eyes.
"I can't believe you were put in Slytherin. You and your brother are a disgrace to the Slytherin name." Ismelda said.
Before Godwin could reply, Merula said, "From what I heard, your brother lost our house so many points last year that Ravenclaw won the house cup. All the more reason why you should do us a favor and get out of our house now!"
Godwin puffed out his chest and scowled, while his raven screeched at them "Just you wait! I'm going to become the greatest student to ever come here!" He yelled.
"Ha! Well, you're good for laughs, at least, because that's going to be me. Not a waste of space like you!" Merula scoffed.
"You know, I don't need to waste my time on you," he said, then turned and made his way up the boys bedrooms.
"Don't you turn your back on me!" Merula yelled in protest, but the yell fell upon deaf ears.