They finally arrived at the castle.
It was like a dream come true. The tall castle, with its many illuminated windows, the delicious scent of the most varied foods, the giant doors, it all was just like how he remembered when he had come to the place as a child. A smile formed almost automatically on his face. Finally, he was there.
For a moment he could forget the man of the well, the nightmares, the fear of getting addicted to dreamless sleep potions, he could forget the cold and the anxiety. No more questions and doubts about subjects such as "esoteric dark arts". It was as if each of his problems suddenly disappeared. The expectation invaded him and he couldn't wait to start his year at Hogwarts.
It would be great. It would be fantastic. The best year of his whole life.
"Happy, aren't you, Potter?" comment Sallinger, when they disembarked from the precarious boats.
"Yes," Albus answered still with a huge smile on his face.
Finally. Finally. Finally.
He felt as if all his problems were gone... at least for now. Now he could relax and eat (he was starving!), he'd think about his problems later, he didn't have to worry about it now!
Let the man in the well there... to rot. Let's leave things in the well, for now, he thought optimistic.
Albus saw the other first years, some of them seemed afraid and anxious, while others were overly happy to finally be there (just as himself). Right now... he didn't felt anxious, he felt overjoyed. Time for better days to come, time for magic, Hogwarts' time.
He couldn't explain for sure such euphoria, perhaps it was his particular general perspective had had some kind of change...
"Something has changed, I'm not home anymore, I'm at Hogwarts! The man in the well can't affect me here, because this is a magical and fantastic place where dark and evil things like him don't come in!" He thought enthusiastically.
He saw the boy with a deep and long scar on his face again, anxiously waiting for the sorting, he was still accompanied by the boy with messy hair. When he, along with Salinger and Barnaby approached, the two moved away, Ross gave Sallinger an angry look, but the boy didn't seem to notice them and if he did, he didn't care.
He also noticed a very peculiar boy he had not seen on the train. He had tattoos on his neck, arms, and hands, clear eyes, tanned skin, and an anxious look on his face. People cast curious glances at him.
Albus wanted to get close to Eli, Hector, and Emilio, but Oscar continued to give him unfriendly looks. Everyone said that the people you sit with on the train can turn out to be your friends for the whole school year, but that didn't seem to be the case. At least not while Oscar kept being so hostile towards Albus. The others seemed nice, but Oscar seemed to hate him... and did it so openly, pulling Eli with him to the other side of the hall.
Eli cast him an apologetic look.
"If I were you, I wouldn't passively tolerate that Potter. You have to impose yourself, if you keep acting like that, you might end up bullied," criticized Sallinger. He was close. Too close. When Albus turned the first thing he saw were those half blue, half violet eyes. He immediately jumped back, which made the blond boy let out a mischievous laugh.
"See? We are already friends, do you really need Oscar? When do you have someone like Michael Salinger, a future successful and unscrupulous journalist?" Said the boy, in a playful (but somehow mockingly) tone.
"He doesn't like me... maybe."
"He hates you, Potter. Stop sugar-coating it. But he doesn't even know you yet, right? Or you have some kind of relationship with my half-brother I don't know about?"
"Half-brother?" Oscar seemed to have heard that, he looked in his direction, then at Sallinger, and gave him a murderous look.
"Don't worry Potter, he has always been like that," he explained to him, calmly. Albus wanted to know more about it, but maybe later. Sallinger was being okay with him by now, but he didn't know if he could really trust Michael Sallinger. He wished he could, but he kept noticing some mocking and passive-aggressive undertones, and the boy really was provocative (the boy now cast a defiant look at Oscar). He also... had wanted to interview him at first. What if something that Albus said to Sallinger ended up being published in the journal? He wouldn't want that!
He looked around and saw Emilio and Hector chatted with the tattooed boy in a friendly manner, but the boy seemed to be rather shy.
"Why do you have so many of those marks on you... what are these?" Asked Emilio, confused "Are you... a muggle-born?"
"Emilio, they are tattoos... how have you never seen one?!" criticized Hector, shocked.
"I don't know these muggle things..." he answered sounding a little bit insulted.
"They are not muggle-things, they are from my tribe... a wizards' tribe," answered the boy, shyly and quietly, with a very strong accent.
Emilio blushed, Hector looked at his friend trying not to laugh.
"Sorry," answered Emilio, embarrassed.
"It's okay, most people don't know. I-I'm Lukas Mitterand Ygarcervic," answered he, extending his hand.
"Oh! Now I know... you must be the Russian international student, my father told me about you, he has some business there," explained Emilio, formally.
"Yes... my tribe is in Russia, but I'd prefer to be known as a Prikyam citizen...," clarified the kid. Hector saw Albus from afar and waved at him, but the teacher arrived before Albus could talk with the boys.
"Hello, students, my name is Edward Daniels Ikabonf, but before you are influenced by many rumors without any basis, I promise you all I am not a vampire," said the tall man, who had straight long black and white hair, and looked, bizarrely, young and old at the same time for how his visible dark circles and his old face contrasted with his athletic build. He wore a scarlet pyramid-shaped earring and a neck tattoo with something written on it, accompanied by an image that Albus could not discern very well because the man's neck was partially hidden by the collar of his elegant robes that were adorned with many red rubies.
Edward Daniels Ikabonf... An Ikabonf.
"You will soon be sorted into your respective houses, I hope you respect the school rules, your house should be just like a big family, so it's good that you all try to cooperate and remain on good terms with each other. Please, no fights or duals in the middle of the night, no trying to fly your broom without permission, no kissing in the corridors, no nothing that isn't strictly allowed!" said the teacher in a very serious tone.
"How can he not be a vampire? I told all my friends I'd be having classes with a vampire!" Albus could hear a girl complain, visibly scandalized and frustrated.
"Don't worry Denise, I'm also super disappointed!" Comment another girl, outraged.
The teacher summarily ignored them, continuing his speech.
"Understand that Hogwarts is a school whose name only should generate respect and admiration! As a teacher, my job is not only to teach but also to maintain order. I am the Head of the Gryffindor House and I demand obedience, and commitment! The House of Lions is the House of the brave and courageous, in it we must have clear discernment between good and evil! And I choose "good"! For I am against all EVIL!" shouted the teacher, dramatically with a shady expression on his face, for some time he seemed to be deep in thought.
"Good is good and evil is evil. No in-between. No gray areas. So, do not let anyone trick you. Despise relativism," insisted the man, apparently determined to convince the students about his own particular beliefs.
"Ravenclaw, House of Eagles, that shall shine wisely rising in the sky with knowledge. But wisdom doesn't mean anything without practice. Hufflepuff, House of loyalty, cooperation, friendship, and unity. And he who unites can defeat the horrible loneliness and defeat all villains," he spoke theatrically, as if he were an actor in a long-fetched play, gesturing and dramatizing. He stopped a little with a sudden expression of displeasure.
"And... Slytherin, House of Snakes."
Then turned around, his robes fluttering, the students followed him.
What a strange performance. He could notice that professor Ikabonf didn't seem to like Slytherin a lot. Perhaps his strict division between good and evil influenced his judgment. Were there really no gray areas? Was everything so simplistic as to be able to be defined as something good or evil in its entirety? The world seemed much more complicated for Albus. To think like that was too childish. He really didn't think the teacher thought like that, it was way too simplistic... the teacher seemed to be trying to convince himself of it, but not being able to.
If there was a supreme good there would have to be supreme evil, as a way to balance. Albus couldn't think of something that was that good...
(so are you saying that the man in the well may not be evil in his entirety? That he may—)
He stopped his thoughts immediately, he didn't want to think about it now... his mind really wandered a lot!
Focus, Albus. Focus! He thought.
When he entered the great hall he became aware of all the stares they were receiving... that he was receiving, most importantly. He could even hear some comments coming from the first-years at the back of the group.
"—It's him! It's him, Miriam, the kidnapped kid, has been in all the wizarding national and international newspapers, but since you're Muggle-born you shouldn't know, I'll explain— "
"—That kid... doesn't he look kind of weird, I'm not sure what's weird about him, but something is not right—"
"—It's Harry Potter's son! It's him. He lost the year, and now has to—"
"—1 galleon if he's in Gryffindor!—"
Albus stared at the floor, trying to ignore the incessant comments and the fingers that pointed at him, followed by whisperings in an almost conspiratorial tone that, unfortunately, were not very discreet, with people shrieking and exclaiming.
He felt as if he were in a museum exhibit: Only today! Introducing: Harry Potter's traumatized and weird son, will he be in Gryffindor? Well, he lost the whole year because he was kidnapped, it was in all newspapers, so if you have one galleon, bet now! But, be careful! Something's not right with him. Beware!
All the looks on him made him feel overwhelmed, he avoided looking at the crowd of students and tried to think of other things, but it was hard to ignore the noisy environment.
Noisy and crowded.
He wanted to be sorted soon.
He tried to ignore it all by looking at the Great Hall decoration. The lights were beautifully lit in multicolored tones that gave the whole environment a warm and pleasant atmosphere, which cheered him up a little.
He looked at James who seemed to wait for him in Gryffindor... strange. He always teased him saying that he may be in Slytherin. Well... at least Slytherin's table seemed quieter. The Gryffindor table was the loudest and most crowded, some older students knocked with the fork on the table, demanding that the banquet be started soon.
He could see Rose there too, she was with a group of girls who were lots of make-up, who talked to a tall blond boy, Rose had changed her hair which was now beautifully curly at the end, with a complicated color gradient pattern that went from very light blond to brown and to black, her makeup was almost natural she smiled at the boy chatting excitedly with him.
Louis (yes, he was part veela) sat near Dominique and he could see Victoire sitting further ahead together with the seventh-year students. Of the three, he talked more to Dominique. Louis was a little arrogant (even unintentionally) and his cousin Victoire was much older than him, she went to their house when Teddy went too. They were engaged and were to get married next year, as soon as Victoire finished Hogwarts and Teddy finished his auror training... All of them were in Gryffindor.
Fred and Roxane seemed to argue because of something, they both had very strong personalities..., but Albus wasn't worried, because their discussions were generally quickly solved, it was mostly about Quidditch. Fred, who had a passion for pranks, just like James, usually was a very calm person... until the subject was Quidditch, then he became extremely passionate. He and Roxy had sent a letter to the Scottish team The Winged Wizards of Victory (WWV) hoping to receive a probationary internship opportunity in the fifth year by the new program aimed at recruiting young quidditch players.
Molly and Lucy were there too. Molly sat very far away and seemed a little sad, Lucy was trying to talk to her, but she was ignoring the girl, pretending to read a book, with teary eyes.
The noise made his ears hurt.
Hagrid, who blinked encouragingly at his direction held the list of students' names next to an old wooden stool. Everyone was waiting for the sorting hat to start the song, which was taking longer than usual.
Some students looked confused, while others just looked bored and hungry. It took a few minutes before the hat started to sing a very strange song, which seemed to suck all the heat from the hall. No longer warm... Cold. Just cold. The voice coming out of the hat was hoarse and flawed, almost ghostly, the words seemed to float in the air and echoed ugly in the great hall. The tone was guttural as if the voice came from a cave. The tone of the hat's voice was sometimes more acute.
Look at the sky, while the night flies,
The moon looks at you and cries:
You may not see it yet, but...,
The end of the world as we know is near.
The truth can set us free,
But free some don't want to be,
On dark days, you shall seek the sun,
No friendships shall be undone.
Is a violent revolution the answer?
If you were Proud would you the world enhance?
Revolt has its causes, movements have risen,
But are you ready to make the ending decision?
This other threat may not be from this world,
Theories are made, but the truth is still blurred,
A dark thing crawls through these majestic corridors,
This warning, do not ignore!
What is it? What it seeks?
Not even I know about such antiques,
From where it came? How it entered here?
I wish it never again appears!
With infinite hunger,
Ghosts will prefer,
An evil presence,
An evil essence, omnipresent.
This is all so you don't say,
That I didn't warn you all today,
About the dark years to come,
I pray no one will succumb.
Darkness approach.
After that, the sorting hat stopped for a moment under the shocked eyes of all members of the students and teaching staff.
What a sinister song! Albus thought.
Proud... decisions to make... revolution... a dark thing that crawls these corridors... dark years to come.
The joy he felt seemed to be gone. He felt anxious and cold.
A somber atmosphere took over the entire great hall, with confused students staring at each other, others looking frightened. Some looked at the door as if they expected something or someone to enter the hall. A tense silence now prevailed. A girl stared at the window as if waiting for something to jump on her.
"It's the crawling danger, it can come out of anywhere. It has already entered here. It's hungry," Albus thought with a shiver that seemed to numb his whole body.
Finally the silence..., but Albus no longer wanted it. This kind of silence was terrible. His restless mind thought absurd things in the disturbing silence that reigned on the hall. He wouldn't want to think about something crawling there at Hogwarts... he wanted to think about the better days to come!
"(...) dark years to come (...)"
(And with the crawling horror he would come... he... the man in the wel—)
"Hey, Albus," whispered Sallinger, looking at him worriedly, holding his arm to call his attention "I was talking to you, did you hear me?"
"Erm... no, sorry."
"That's fine... Are you ok? You are pale, like... very pale," observed him.
(No. Of course, I'm not. Because I'm afraid the man in the well will come and take me with him, he comes through your dreams, you know?! But what if he can come at any time? I thought a was safe here, but with this crawling thing, am I... really?! Am I? I was too naïve thinking that—)
"Yes, I'm fine," he said in a way that didn't sound convincing at all. But he couldn't help... his thoughts were frantic and even paranoid. Maybe in the future, he'd realize that what he thought wasn't at all rational or plausible, but... well, fear is not rational and his emotions were taking over.
But he had to calm down.
"That was... unexpected," said a very old man at the teacher's table, diplomatically.
"Well, well... erm... erm... Um... w-we... we... the hat..." another man at the table was trying to say something, probably trying to reassure student and calm them down, even though he seemed to be much more nervous than some students with sweat dripping from his forehead, he gesticulated seeming to ask for calm, but his tone of voice denoted clear nervousness, he was fairly young.
Hagrid cast a shocked glance at the sorting hat that was now quiet, other teachers muttered in genuine surprise and confusion. Some first-years seemed frightened or confused, but others now were starting to talk about the strange message of the sorting hat.
"—What was that? Is that hat broken—"
"—I'm scared. My father doesn't think this school is very safe! He wanted to send me to another one—"
"—Hey, do you see something on the window?—"
"—Oh! Stop scaring us! There's nothing there, Will! You're so childish!—"
"—It's a prank!—"
"—It may be dark magic!—"
"—Someone invaded Hogwarts! It happened once when my parents studied here—"
"SILENCE!" Said Professor Ikabonf in an authoritarian manner, with the voice magically louder.
"Who did that!?" He asked. The nervous young man who trembled at the teachers' table seemed to feel great relief at seeing Ikabonf take the lead, letting out a relieved sigh. The students looked at each other, nervous. A little girl cried at the Gryffindor table, frightened. A first-year began to weep near him, trembling.
"Whoever did that will pay! Is this a prank?" Screamed the man, threatening.
"Did someone enchanted the hat?! You better come out now and reveal yourself! Take the responsibilities for your actions!" Demanded the man, angrily.
The students looked at each other frantically, very frightened by the teacher's angry tone, all waiting for the alleged culprit to come forward. But no one showed up. Mr. Ikabonf prepared to scream again, but the very old man, visibly bothered by the other teacher's behavior, spoke.
"Mister Ikabonf. Please, mister Ikabonf—"
"Respectable Mr. Abramovic, you know very well that I'd rather be called Mr. Edward Daniels," if looks could kill, Mr. Abramovic would be dead on the ground...
"Oh. I know that, Mr. Ikabonf. But, unfortunately... my manners won't allow me to call you by your first name... Respectable " answered the man. Professor Edward Daniels (he would call him that for now... not to get in trouble) gave him a furious look, which the other solemnly ignored.
Ikabonf...
"All Ikabonf are evil" had said Eli.
"No gray areas. Good is good and evil is evil," had said Mr. E. Daniels.
Well, if there are no gray areas... and all Ikabonfs are evil (they were at least known to be evil, and involved in "esoteric dark magic" in the past)... he would be evil by that logic. Why did he defend that kind of ideology then? Maybe Albus wasn't understanding his ideas at all. Maybe he believed more in the individual, that he would be able to become good while his family was evil. That he could understand. But... was the teacher... "good"?
(And was his family really evil?! How can you generalize so much Albus Severus Potter?! Do you know all Ikabonfs to say that? Have you personally met all of them?)
To scream aggressively at children, threatening them... was it good behavior? Was this being good?!
"Hey... are you okay?" It was Sallinger who asked again, putting his hand on his shoulder, Albus looked at him for a few seconds.
"Y-Yes, what a strange song," said Albus in a slightly shaky voice, hiding his hands that were now shaking in his robes. Salinger looked at him curiously.
"This hat is crazy. My father and I defend the idea of completely replacing this old and dirty thing, "complained the boy, looking at the hat that was still mute.
"All students, please, keep calm. Everything is in control. No need to be frightened. Whatever this is all about, you're safe here. We're teachers and are here not only to protect you but also to guide and advise everyone. In the ancient mythology of the old Suk'ya'ha tribe of Turkey, darkness is no more than the prelude to light. Do not freat. We're here and will be conducting an investigation, if necessary," said the man, in a serene tone. He had a heavy accent, maybe from Russia.
But again... what darkness, exactly, was approaching them? Were they in danger?
Just to hear it some students already seemed calmer. Professor Ikabonf seemed affronted by the man's words.
"Whoever did this shall be punished with expulsion! This is very serious!" insisted the man. The young man who was up to the moment staring without the hall without expressing great reaction suddenly seemed alarmed.
"No, professor Edward Daniels... expelling would require me to deal with the parents and they can be terribly insistent and incisive, I'd prefer not to. Can we just suspend them or—"
"Expulsion!
"Mister Ikabonf, we barely know what is actually happening. This could merely be a warning... or—"
Suddenly the hat continued to sing, interrupting the teachers, who stayed silent in order to listen. The tone of the hat's voice now seemed completely out of tune and bizarre, getting thicker or thinner at times, the boy wasn't able to hear certain words that were hummed.
It's time to select students to their homes,
Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff,
Which one Is best for you?
Maybe SlyTherIn, in order to [_] goalS [_]
Or maybe Gryffindor Is the best choice,
With true friendS, courage and [_].
Hufflepuff will never disappoint you,
They [_] be trusted [_]
Or who knows? PerHaps your place is RavEnclaw!
SmaRt and creativE [_]
Albus found it a little small, but he was happy that the song was over because the first part made him anxious, and now he just wanted the house sorting part to end quickly so he could eat and then rest for a while.
Hagrid cast an inquisitive look at the teachers... Neville Longbottom signaled for the man to start to call the students names.
"We can't continue! We must investigate the hat, of course! It looks pretty suspicious to me!"
"I think we should continue," insisted Longbottom.
All eyes now went to the young man that Albus thought to be the Hogwarts' Principal. He seemed nervous with all this attention, sweated a lot, and blinked several times before answering.
"Erm... let's continue! It's the protocol, isn't it? Let's go!" Said he in a falsely excited tone.
The teachers looked at the hat with some concern, a few seconds passed, but as none of them verbally objected to the Principal's idea (but it was true that Mister Ikabonf didn't seem happy with any of that), Hagrid began to pronounce the names of the students who would soon be selected.
"Astros, Arabella."A little girl with brown hair and ponytails walked up to the stool looking quite confident, she wore makeup using many different shades of pink and purple, her hair was shiny and had wavy curls, tied with a red butterfly ribbon. She was soon chosen for Ravenclaw and the people in the house applauded loudly.
At least the hat seemed to be sorting people as usual... nothing to worry about, right?
Many were selected for Gryffindor, the house had received the largest number of first-year students so far, the second most popular house was Hufflepuff, then Ravenclaw, and then Slytherin, many of the students who went there seemed a little disappointed.
"Carrow, Hector." He was pretty sure he had heard the surname before in one of his uncle Ron's stories.After a more or less long time he was selected to Slytherin, he smiled and then sat down next to the other first-year students, looking genuinely happy.
For a brief moment, he had the impression of seeing Hagrid and some other teachers cast strange looks towards the boy when the moment his surname was spoken. Barnaby Cirley was also sorted there too.
"O'Neill, Oscar."The boy seemed determined, exchanged one last look with Eli, and, almost immediately, the hat shouted "RAVENCLAW!"
Oscar gave Eli a very sad and disappointed look, he didn't seem happy with his sorting. Oscar sat next to the girl, Arabella Astros, and just waited. Emilio Parkinson was selected for Slytherin, immediately sitting next to Hector.
"Potter, Albus" Finally it was his time. He cast a last look at the Gryffindor table where he was able to see James talking to some friend. Rose looked at him with a big smile, as did some of his older cousins.
"Albus Potter ... Oh, it's the missing child. He should have started last year, but he was kidnapped and everything else," the ponytail girl who was sitting next to Oscar said to another ponytail girl.
More people also commented, but he couldn't quite hear what they were saying (and he didn't even want to). He sat there with the big hat on his head. Then the hat started talking.
"Interesting, wHERE should I put it? Your mind is... I can't read your mind, young Potter. Your mind... it's like a closed box. I can't hear you. There is no need for occlumency with me, Mister Potter. I just want to know some things about you, no big deal. Can you open your mind to me? It's hard to select you for a certain house if I'm unable to analyze you...
Albus was shocked and confused, what did he mean? Could he hear everyone's thoughts except his? He had to open his mind...? But his mind wasn't "closed"! He wasn't doing anything. At all. Can I person unconsciously do that? He didn't even know occlumency?! What was the hat talking about, really?
"What did you mean by that? I'm not doing anything. And what is this darkness that is approaching— "He thought in his head, he had to ask, he was curious (a little afraid too) and he knew that if he didn't ask, he would be thinking about it all night.
But the hat did not respond. Albus heard bizarre unintelligent hoarse sounds, a strong headache, and that intense cold came without explanation. The hat made an exclamation sound. The hissing went on for a few more moments, and, interestingly, Albus thought he heard someone whispering under the uncomfortable sound.
"RAVENCLAW!" The hat shouted, Albus awkwardly got off the stool, cold and confused. He went to the table under the blue flag and sat, still bewildered, next to Oscar, who looked at him crossly... but the boy was the only person he had ever seen before.
It had been so sudden. What did the hat mean? Albus was sure he wasn't doing anything. He wasn't even able to perform occlumency... it's rather difficult magic! He was just a child!
Closed mind...? The hat said he couldn't read his mind... that he should first open his mind so he could analyze it. He remembered Mister O'Neill wasn't able to read his mind either.
The sorting was taking a little while later. Albus was nervous and wanted it to end soon, he was very cold and his hands continued to shake, his head was sore. Some people showed their impatience.
Ravenclaw... actually, he was quite happy about it. He really only wished that more people he knew were selected there (who knows, Salinger?)... that there were people other than the frigid Oscar who solemnly ignored him at the time.
"Come on! I want to eat." A tall boy with black purple hair said a little too loudly. Albus looked at the Gryffindor table, where his brother looked a little disappointed.
The ponytail girls looked at Albus with an interested look, curious and eager to start a conversation.
"Rosier, Eli" It was time for Eli to be sorted.
"Please, let it be Ravenclaw," Oscar was whispering slowly and after a long time.
"Ravenclaw!" The hat said as soon as the boy put the hat on, the boy gave Oscar a last cheerful look and sat down next to him.
"Ross, Edmund"
The boy with scars on his face walked to the stool slowly and anxiously. The boy took the hat in his shaking hands and sat down. After some time, he was also selected for the Ravenclaw, he came and sat with the new first years, on Albus's side.
"Salinger, Michael"
"Please don't be Ravenclaw," Oscar whispered to himself, in a prayerful tone, closing his eyes and putting his hands together. But then "Ravenclaw!" He heard a small curse escape Oscar's lips.
Michael Salinger, without any remorse, pushed Ross Edmond away and opened up space for him to sit next to Albus, who actually felt relief at the boy's selection for the same house as him. Albus noticed that Salinger was eager to ask him something, but the table was too noisy. Another student "Shacklebolt, George" was selected for Ravenclaw. Edmond, who was still staring at Salinger with an irritated expression on his face, clapped loudly when the boy sat down beside him.
The hungry boy with purple hair, whose name was Tómas Ranirus, asked another veteran who sat next to him about Edmond's scar in a not very discreet tone. Well, Albus thought, if they're talking about him, they're not talking about me.
"Ygarcervic, Lukas Mitterand" said Hagrid, having difficult at correctly pronouncing the boy's name.
"Oh my... look at that boy, all those tattoos, so ugly!" Commented Arabella Astros loudly, while her friend giggled, nervous.
"I kind of like it... you know, it's different."
"Exotic, you mean," said a tall redhead girl.
"Say all you want, for me, it's just a sign of delinquency!" said Arabella incisive, twisting her nose as if disgusted by it. Albus particularly thought that the tattoos looked fine on Lukas. Albus thought that it wasn't right to judge someone just because of that...
"Ravenclaw!" Said the hat, Lukas come to sit with the other first years. Arabella launched him an arrogant look but soon started to talk with her friend, excitedly.
"I'm on a diet, Susie... one of the best diets of the world! Recommend by magical nutritionist and all, was in the Witches' Weekly magazine, Camilla Silvi's diet! For dinner, some lettuce, four olives, and some juice! All you need, really, to be fit and healthy!" bragged her, straightening her hair.
It clearly wasn't healthy.
Albus decided to present himself to Lukas... he seemed to be a nice boy, right now he was looking at Arabella in pure disbelief over her diet choices ("for a snack only six chestnut or half a carrot!").
"Can I ask what your tattoos mean?" Asked Albus, genuinely curious, Lukas gave him a shy smile.
"What do you think they represent?" Asked him, mysteriously. Albus gave them a closer look, analyzing them further.
On his arm was a set of parallel black lines cut by curved lines that crossed themselves near the neck, he saw an oval... or circular form too. On his neck, Albus thought he saw images that resembled birds and there was also something that resembled the shape of a river..., maybe the sun... or was it the moon?
The parts below did not portray elements of reality, but rather representations of them... perhaps? The curves were the river, the parallel lines could be the birds and the oval or circular shape was the sun or the moon.
He presented his reasoning to the boy. He looked at him surprised, his eyes wide in shock. He then smiled.
"You are the first one that can guess it at the first time. Congratulations. Do you know some esoterical beliefs, then? Magical esoterical symbology?"
"Huh... what? No..." said Albus. He guessed that because it made perfect sense for him.
"Most people say it means nothing, they say to me that doesn't mean anything," said the boy, appearing to be highly offended "Are you Albus Potter, right?" He asked, his tone neutral.
"Yes..."
"It must be hard to have people whispering behind your back all the time...," he said throwing a glance at Arabella that now exhibited her skills of making sophisticated hairstyles, laughing with Susie at a short black-haired girl because of her badly made braid.
"I guess so... hey, why did you come to Hogwarts?"
"Well... it's a bit complicated but in summary, Mister Horton Cirley is encouraging an International Students' Program and I ended up being chosen to test this initiative. I always wanted to go to a magical school. In my tribe, we learn all we know from our elders and the special magical school there, but they'll only teach you the basic... and the magic we learn is different. Nothing like that kind of magic, no Transfigurations or flight lessons. But we do have what you call here Herbology, Astrology, and Divinations," said the boy, enthusiastically.
"Do you learn esoterical magic?" Asked Albus, very interested.
"Yes... how do you know that this is the type of magic we learn? Generally, very few people know about esoteric magic...," asked him, at the same time puzzled and happy, not seeming so shy anymore.
"I read on a book," said Albus, nervously. In a book about esoterical dark magic.
"I knew you did some kind of study beforehand," said him, playfully.
"Yes... hey, let me ask you... do you have any books about esoterical magic?"
"I-... well, most knowledge about it is taught by villagers elders, it's almost fully oral," answered him "Why are you so interested?"
"I just find it fascinating," it was only half-truth... he did find it interesting, but his major justification to learn more about it was that it could help him get rid of the man in the well.
But he couldn't directly ask him about esoterical dark magic in the middle of the great hall... actually, it would be better if he didn't ask about this subject directly... he remembered what happened to the book's author... even though they were in modern times, Albus didn't want anyone to know that he was trying to investigate something like that... he would get tips and related information, it had to be enough.
"My parents didn't seem really happy about it, but has helped our tribe for quite some time, he talked with them and convinced them so they'd let me go," told Lukas, smiling. Happy that Albus was interested in his culture.
Albus wishes he didn't have to worry about the man in the well... he wished he could be genuinely interested in esoterical magic... without secondary interests, but that wasn't the case... He felt guilty and anxious too... what if Lukas found out and became mad at him... he was being horrible... it was mean... he saw the genuine smiles Lukas was giving him and the guilty only intensified. It was like he was using Lukas to get information.
You are mean, Albus Severus Potter. In order to solve your problems, you are prepared to use others!
"Do you like Hogwarts so far?" He asked, a bit shaken by his own line of thought.
"Everything is so different. I never before had traveled by train, for example. But I think I may like it."
Albus heard something and looked at the table where the young man was sitting in the Headmaster's chair, he seemed calmer now, he had very clear blue eyes and shiny curly blond hair that went up to his shoulders, with black robes and a neutral look. He seemed now ready to make a nice speech to welcome everyone there.
"Welcome to Hogwarts! It's a great pleasure to have so many students here. I apologize for what happened... something like that had never happened before. I believe the hat is getting old" Sir Edward Daniels grunted, visibly contradicted "I hope your year will be enriching and that you can learn a lot about our noble wizarding culture and—"
The director's speech was long and tedious. Albus felt sleepy, many other students yawned. Sleepy... He hadn't slept well, after all.
He managed to remain awake, for he knew he could not sleep there in the middle of the great hall without taking his potion, but strangely... felt that "sailing" sensation. Then extreme cold. His vision went dark for a while (but he didn't know for how long, exactly, it couldn't have been long), then he felt the same sensation again...
Then he was... back?
But had he gone somewhere?
Almost immediately... it happened.
The sorting hat suddenly seemed to have been swallowed by a black substance, half gaseous, half liquid, of unknown origin, Albus didn't know what was happening, it was as if ... acid was eating away the fabric? No, it looked more like the hat was just disappearing. Vanishing...
The students looked at each other in alarm, not understanding anything. The teachers also looked equally surprised by the sudden occurrence. The Principal, still making his tedious discourse stopped immediately.
"Finiti Incantatem!" The Headmaster tried, shyly, promptly raising his wand and making a complicated and complex (at least for Albus) elegant movement with his wand.
Nothing happened.
The Director looked at various corners in the hall, confused, and pronounced "Homenum Revelio!"
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. And the black substance continued to devour the sorting hat, half of it was gone. What was happening?
"Albus? Albus ?! Hey!" He hadn't noticed, but he was holding Salinger's arm (the boy sat near him) very tightly, he let go immediately, his face red in embarrassment, Salinger's eyebrow was raised and he looked worried, his gaze rested on Albus for a while until the screams of surprise and shock intensified.
"Gone! The sorting hat is gone! " Shouted Arabella Astros with his squealing voice.
It was true.
A strange black mist had now appeared, but was gone in a few seconds, being mysteriously absorbed by the ... ground?
It was impossible to define. Soon the black substance disappearing together with the hat, the stool was the only thing left.
The sorting hat was gone.
When he glanced at the place where the teachers were, he noticed that Professor Ikabonf looked particularly shocked, his wand frozen in a defensive position and his eyes wide in a strange mix of surprise and terror.
Professor Ikabonf approached very quickly and examined the scene very carefully. His face became scarlet, pure fury was stamped on his face, he looked at the hall and seemed to scan the students very carefully.
Why?! Could any student do that?!
(Why did your vision go black just a couple of moments before this thing appeared?)
The Director cleared his throat uncomfortably.
"Well, erm ..., d-don't worry, this will be investigated, for sure, don't worry," said the Director, his voice now uncertain and hesitant, which seemed to make him look much younger as his face flushed. He cleared his throat again, straightening his curls, awkwardly.
"Okay, welcome, let's welcome you all ... Welcome. It is an honor to welcome you all here. I am Laurent Baltus, the new Director, as I already said. I remind you that the Forbidden Forest is absolutely off-limits and Raven, our new school's caretaker also asked me to say that some products from the Weasleys Wizard Wheezes are not allowed here."
The atmosphere of shock and surprise still seemed to envelop the room, Albus felt as if a cold hand squeezed his chest, the cold had returned with tremendous intensity. What was that?! He could hear several students talking about it, loudly or in a confidential tone:
"Did you remember that this tattooed boy was the last one to be sorted?!" whispered Arabella Astros, staring at Lukas with a startled look.
"Excuse me! I had nothing to do with that," exclaimed the boy, alarmed. The Director seemed to be doing his best to ignore all the noise in the great hall, speaking very loudly.
"Also, as a replacement for Professor Binns, we have the Professor of History of Magic, Mr. Nolan Abramovich!"
The tall, very old man with gray eyes and white hair, with a very thin and tiny mustache, stood up and formally greeted them. He seemed to be a severe type of person, his face was rigid and he did not smile. He was probably older than most of the teachers there (even Professor Ikabonf), with dark circles under his eyes. His robes looked chic and expensive, but they were also very traditional, with no specific details, giving him a sober atmosphere. With a curious and serious look, he looked at Professor Ikabonf who at the moment cast several spells near the area where the hat had been minutes ago, very concentrated. Professor Ikabonf cast a strange look at the teachers' table as if analyzing them as well.
"The sorting hat is gone, are we going to just proceed as usual?!" Commented a sixty-year Ravenclaw, shocked, from afar, he heard various murmurs.
"I knew this school wasn't safe," said Susie, with teary eyes. Arabella agreed silently.
"You must be shocked, as a muggle-born, about this Susie! I understand. I went to muggle school to learn some basic things in Spain... quite boring! But at least not dangerous!" She then proceeded to show her friend how perfect her Spanish was. Suddenly, for her, her Spanish being good enough to get her a Spanish boyfriend seemed to be more important than the whole sorting hat incident.
"What was that?" Edmond Ross asked, tense, pointing to the stool that was now being removed by the school's caretaker. This was something Albus would like to know too!
"It's dark magic," Oscar said, suddenly, in a somber tone. Eli gave his friend a very brief warning look.
"Anyway, I can't wait to see the common room," said Eli loudly, in a clear attempt to change the focus of the conversation, but everyone continued to stare at Oscar.
"Everyone saw..., it has to be dark magic," insisted Oscar.
"Said O'Neill, our expert in dark magic," teased Salinger, Oscar turned to him promptly and seemed about to say something not very polite.
"Hey! Hey, we're not going to argue, not on the first day at least, Oscar, "said Eli a bit irritated.
And all Albus had wanted was a peaceful year!
Why couldn't he have it?
A bad beginning already.
He just wanted to make some good friends, learn interesting subjects, graduate, and get a good career later.
Having, of course, solved the man in the well problem... but he was on it, he would be able to make it. He just needed more information. Right now, at Hogwarts, he felt more optimistic about his chances. He had a whole library to search to find some answers, he had the book (the one he stole..., but he would apologize, he promised to himself), he would figure something out...
(At least it was better to think that way...)
"It has something to do with the sorting hat song." Stated Albus.
[...] may not be from this world [...] dark thing crawls through these majestic corridors [...] such antiques [...] infinite hunger [...] an evil essence, omnipresent.
"[...] new Potions professor will be Mr. Leo Noctis."
Albus looked, surprised, at the Principal, still fighting to be heard.
This time, a short man who was almost the opposite of Professor Nolan stood up. He had a very peculiar fashion sense, with shiny purple robes, flashy round glasses, and long black boots. His hair was a short, messy brown. Extravagant. But at least he seemed more friendly and warm than Professor Nolan, as he now waved his arms, greeting them with a smile. Maybe he was trying to defuse the tensions in the ambiance. Some students seemed shocked, some were almost crying.
"And finally, the last new teacher who will start his job at Hogwarts this year will be the Transfiguration teacher, Mr. Lynn Campbell!"
A tall man got up slowly this time, he had long black hair and black eyes. He wore black from head to toe. Except for his face, they couldn't see his skin anywhere, as he wore long, heavy leather gloves and the collar of his robes covered the entire length of his neck in a seemingly uncomfortable way, too tight. He looked younger than Mr. Nolan but much older than Professor Leo. He just raised his arm slowly. He looked bored.
"The class schedule will be delivered tomorrow morning during the meal. Now, I can see that you are all hungry and tired now, so that's it. Let's start with the banquet," said Laurent Balthus, with a fat drop of sweat falling from his forehead, Mr. Ikabonf was slowly returning to his place at the teachers' table, he had cast lots of specific spells on the region and seemed irritated, he sat down with a sullen and annoyed expression.
He started to talk avidly with the Principal in a low tone.
The four tables were suddenly filled with delicious food of various kinds: sugary apple pies, tortillas of all flavors, all kinds of soups, chicken, salad, juices, pudding, and much more food than Albus didn't even know the name of.
He wasn't that hungry anymore ... and his head was aching again. A lot.
"Aren't you going to eat?" Salinger asked, staring at him as he filled his plate with a large piece of cheese tortilla with pepper cream.
"No." He replied more sharply than he wished, placing his hand on his aching head.
"You'll be hungry later," warned the boy, placing a small sandwich on his plate. Albus looked at the stool again and, for a very short time his eyes met Professor Ikabonf's and he felt a strange shiver and a wave of repulsion for no explainable reason.
"Do you need to go to the Hospital Wing?" Asked Salinger, whispering in his ear.
"I'm fine, "assured Albus, turning his gaze to the meal, Salinger gave him a look that denoted total disbelief in Albus's statement.
"Are you afraid, Potter?" Oscar asked caustically, with a provocative tone.
"Shut up, O'Neill," said Salinger, without even looking at the blond boy who gave him one last angry look. Albus had no idea why Oscar was acting like that.
Sallinger was being nice to him..., but he was still a bit alert around him. He had said earlier that he'd like "an interview", would he tell anything to his father, Dennis Salinger? The journalist that wrote that he was "fragile" and "delicate"? And spoke ill of his dad?
"Eli, you are eating a lot...," noted Oscar, focusing on his friend, with a raised eyebrow and a critical tone, looking at the huge pile of food he had on his plate, the boy gave him a funny look and put some on Oscar's plate.
"Hey, I don't want it!"
"Do you think the new Professor of History of Magic will be as strict as he looks?" Albus asked Lukas, but the one who answered, mistakenly thinking he had asked her, was Arabella Astros
"Well, I think he did look strict. But also... it's History of Magic! Who cares? It's not that difficult. I'm more concerned with that strange-looking Transfiguration teacher or the Potions teacher ... ugh! No sense of fashion!"
"-I am Muggle-born, my parents almost freaked out when they heard that I would be coming here to study magic!" A small boy with shaved hair on the side spoke to George Shacklebolt in an animated tone.
"-I'm a half-blood, but that doesn't matter anymore in today's wizarding world, we're progressing in the right direction as a whole," assured him the boy, optimistical and diplomatically, getting an incredulous look from Edmund Ross who seemed to emphatically disagree with his friend's opinion. Albus did not know how true the statement was, but he thought he was more on Edmond's side.
Were they progressing? Was society getting "better"? Maybe for some muggle-borns, compared to past times, but they didn't seem to be progressing "as a whole". Look at what happened with the werewolves in Cheshire, look at how they were required to wear tracking bracelets.
Could progress really be considered true progress if some parts of society weren't contemplated by it?
"What about you, Potter?" Asked Sallinger suddenly. Albus wasn't paying attention to the conversation.
"What?"
"Quidditch"
"Quidditch... what about it?" He asked, confused, trying to understand what they were talking about. Sallinger let out an exasperated sigh.
"You are going to try out, aren't you?"
"We are first years, we can't," he answered, simply, very confused.
"God, Potter! What have you been thinking all this time?"
He explained to him that, as the Ravenclaw Perfects had just now said, first years would be able to try out for a special training team and would have more chances when entering the official house team in the second year.
"No, I don't plan to... at least not right now," he answered, truthfully.
He had never been exceptionally good at Quidditch and... he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of anyone there... didn't want them to see him shake pathetically on his broom. He didn't want to feel the anxiety of having to live up to expectations before an important game, hear the noisy crowd cheering for him, only to disappoint them later. Maybe he was being too pessimistic, but he didn't feel ready for it.
"Why not?!" Asked Sallinger with wide eyes, shocked and curious.
"I will, of course," said Oscar, loudly, to no one in special, casting to Albus an arrogant look that Albus preferred to ignore.
"I will cheer for you if you try out," he answered Sallinger that gave him a puzzled look. He filled a large cup with tea but still did not feel hungry.
"Hum... what is Quidditch?" Lukas asked suddenly, whispering in his ear. He started to explain to him. In the end, the boy seemed eager to try to play it.
"I don't have a broom..."
"Maybe you can use one of the schools' broom," he suggested.
"I'll talk to Barnaby, he has a broom collection, he could ask his butler to send it here," said Sallinger who obviously was listening to the conversation.
"A butler?! Broom collection? He must be so rich!" Said Arabella meddling in the conversation.
"His father is," corrected Sallinger.
"Who is his father?" Asked Lukas, curious.
"Horton Cirley."
"Horton Cirley, one of the richest men in the whole wizarding society?" Meddled again Arabella, seeming to seek the boy in the crowd. Sallinger seemed bothered by the girl's attitude... he fixed his hair and bent over to talk to the girl.
"I heard you had an interest in the Witch Weekly Magazine...," he started talking about the time he interviewed, along with his father, some celebrities from the wizarding world. Upon hearing the names of some, Arabella was wide-eyed, she now seemed to analyze Sallinger for a couple of seconds, she then began to talk to him excitedly, letting out happy giggles, with a blushed face.
"Oh! I can't believe you talked with Bellinda Hills! She's a true role model!"
Oscar looked furious at Sallinger.
He looked at the Slytherin table where Barnaby was talking happily with Hector and Emilio. He felt that someone was looking at him and turned back to Ranvenclaw's table, from where a blond boy looked at him for a few moments, but soon continued eating. He had already seen him somewhere.
The banquet was over some time later and soon the prefects called the first years.
The sorting hat... gone...
"My name is Fernand Patris and this is Emilia Zatory, the captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. Follow us to the common room. As a perfect, I must help any new student adjust to Hogwarts' life, so if anyone needs any kind of help, just reach out to me or Emilia. I wish everyone can contribute to the House Cup so that Ravenclaw can win this time. "
Fernand had a very serious expression and a strict and demanding tone of voice during all the time he spoke and seemed to take his duty as a monitor very seriously, unlike Emilia who just looked at her nails with a bored face. She was very athletic, her blonde hair with brown and silver locks tied in a messy ponytail, she was tall and muscular, two golden snitch-shaped earrings swayed in her ears. A lot of boys were looking at her, she didn't even acknowledge it, instead held Patris' hand affectionately when they conducted the first years to the common room.
While they were going to Ravenclaw's tower, he could see the moving stairs, but he still hadn't seen any ghosts. He wanted to see a ghost because he had never seen one before, not even when he came here with his parents to visit the castle.
"To enter the common room you need to first, answer a question," said Emilia with a bored tone.
"What if I answer wrong?!" Asked Arabella.
"You just have to keep trying. It just wants you to try to formulate your own answers, try to think a little bit," clarified Patris "I'll answer first, then you can try later, it's not that hard."
They heard:
Can ghosts die again?
Such a strange question, Albus did not know, he had no idea of how to answer that.
Was it about Professor Binns?
Not even Fernand Patris seemed to know it, as he raised an eyebrow and adjusted his glasses to think for a moment, passing his hand through his dark hair.
"They can if we flexiblilize the meaning of death," tried Patris uncertain.
"A good answer."
The door opened, some first years looked at the door, a bit anxious.
"Don't worry, I forgot to say some of the questions can be adjusted according to students' age... don't worry... none of you will get too difficult questions," reassured Patris.
Fernand Patris continued to explain the rules, taking the lead, while Emilia sat on the sofa near them.
"I think we have with us now some wonderful minds this year, a good start for Hogwarts and, most importantly, for this house. Well, girls and boys have, of course, separate bedrooms. I advise you to respect the rules and not leave the common room after the curfew, as some here always try to do." He looked at Tomas Ranirus and his friends by the fireplace with a penetrating look.
"Just follow the rules and if you want to know more about them you can read the newspaper I just put on the wall. Make sure you make some contribution to Ravenclaw by being good students. That's it." After that, he went on to say the names of the first years that would be in the dorms.
Albus, Edmond, Sallinger, Lukas, and a boy who looked very anxious would be staying together in a dormitory, while Eli, Oscar, George, and two twin first-years would be in another. Edmond seemed sad to have been separated from his friend.
They all climbed the steps of the stairs covered with an elegant blue carpet. In the common hall, there were some shelves with random books, several armchairs, a fireplace, and several windows, the atmosphere was warm and comfortable... yet Albus pulled his garments against his body, for he felt cold. The headache had at least subsided.
Still, he was concerned about the incident with the sorting hat, but... they were safe at Hogwarts, weren't they? That weird thing apparently ate the sorting hat, but nothing would happen to the students, right?
Albus knew he had the whole problem with the well-man, but he didn't want to have a problem with that thing too (whatever it was).
It could be said that it was a gooey black substance that turned into... fog? What was that? Were any spells cast? Albus struggled to remember something else that could help him determine what had actually happened.
Professor Ikabonf perhaps knew something, maybe...
"All Ikabonfs are evil", Eli said on the train.
But why were all Ikabonfs evil? The family seemed, from what Albus had noticed when he was reading the book, to have been, in the past, involved with esoteric black magic, but he knew nothing more.
"Hey, Potter! You're distracted again, aren't you? Earth to Potter...," Sallinger spoke to him.
"What? Um... sorry I-"
"You were thinking about the sorting hat incident, weren't you?" It was Lukas who spoke, looking at him, interested.
Oscar looked at them, equally curious.
" Erm... Let's talk about it in the dorm, okay?" Albus suggested.
They soon arrived in a large room with five beds in blue and silver colors, but unlike the common room, the room was a bit cold. Sallinger advanced before him and got one of the two beds near the window, his suitcases were already there, in the center of the room.
Lukas chose one of the beds far from the window, as did the anxious boy, Edmond chose the bed in the central position and he stayed with the other bed near the window. He thought he would like the view (when dawn came, for it was now too dark to discern anything), but he realized that the window was not well installed there and he could feel a cold breeze and hear the ominous sound of the wind who blew phantasmagorically
"Lukas, do you want to trade with me?" Asked Albus, timidly.
"No, sorry, sleeping near windows brings bad luck," he replied mystically, Albus did not understand his reasoning, but did not comment anything, it must be something specific to his tribe, some cultural belief.
"Erm... you are..." He addressed the nervous boy who was now pulling a very heavy suitcase near another bed with great difficulty, Albus helped him.
"How much stuff did you bring?" They could barely drag the suitcase across the floor (which ended up getting a little scratched, because one of the wheels had broken because of the excessive weight).
"Oh, thank you, really. My name is Hayato Fuyuki, but everyone calls me Yato..., but it could be Yuki too, or Haya, or Fuyu... it's a pleasure to meet you, " said the boy in a nervous tone, half extending his hand to him half bowing.
"Pleasure, Yato or Yuki, or Haya or Fuyu..., my name is Albus... Potter," he said, smiling slightly.
"Potter? The one from the chocolate frogs?" He asked, taking a little card out of his pocket that read:
Harry James Potter,
Hero of the Wizarding world and Head of the Auror Department of the British Ministry of Magic, defeated the dark wizard Lord Voldemort with the help of his friends Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger in his youth, continues to contribute to the maintenance of security and order in magical society.
"Yes, that one," Albus confirmed, struggling to catch the large suitcase so he could pass through a crack on the floor.
"Cool! Sorry for the heavy suitcase... I am muggle-born and everything is new to me... I didn't know for sure what to take or not, so I took everything I thought was important. All my socks, all my coats, the collection of extra books they sold me, all my scarves, the hundred potions' ingredients kit, the fifty feathers kit, the scroll's collection, the rulers to measure scrolls' size," Yato enumerated several things he brought, most of them in absurd quantities. He had brought, for example, a hundred ties, in case some of his got dirty or torn, had even picked up some of his fathers' ties (Albus thought his dad wouldn't be too happy about it when he found out).
"We have our Barnaby Cirley II here," commented Sallinger, who now organized his clothes in the large community closet in the center of the room. Yato didn't seem to understand. At that very moment, Edmond headed to where the last suitcase was... and took it with him quickly. It's wasn't a big one, more like a small-sized little bag, from there he took a scant quantity of clothes that he immediately put in the drawer under his bed. The amount was only enough to fill half of it.
"Maybe you can donate some of these things to him...," Sallinger said caustically.
Edmond cast him an angry look.
"Do you have a problem with me?" He asked, promptly.
"No... of course not!" Commented Sallinger softly with a tone of debauchery and arrogance "Understand, Ross, I'm just worried about you, your erm... condition... things here can be a little difficult for you. Just that... don't get me wrong... but for people like you, Hogwarts can be a challenge," Sallinger had an almost innate ability to deeply offend someone without appearing to be doing so, he had an aggressive passive behavior that masked, behind apparent politeness, very offensive comments. He never went to the point, just "circled" it... blaming others for not understanding his "real" intentions. Albus didn't like this.
Yato seemed to feel guilty, while not fully understanding what was happening.
"Erm... Sorry? Did I do something wrong? I'm sorry—"
"Excuse me," said Sallinger before leaving the room. Bumping into Edmond, he whispered something..., but the anger contained in Sallinger's tone was so much that his voice was a little louder and Albus heard clearly...
"If I were like you, Ross, I'd kill myself."
He saw shock, sadness, and anger in Edmond's expression, the boy stood still for a few moments, not knowing what to do. Finally, he decided to just lay on the bed, closing the curtains. Lukas cast a confused look at him, Yato also seemed not to understand... but Albus thought he himself understood well
Edmond was probably the werewolf his parents spoke of... The one he didn't understand was Sallinger. Why did the friend seem so angry about that fact? Some people might fear werewolves, but hate them? Why? Albus might be too naïve, but he didn't really understand that. He'd talk to Edmond later... and maybe he could talk with Sallinger too.
It would be better for all if everyone got along.
After a tense mood, in which the remaining boys finished emptying their suitcases quickly, Albus lay down in the soft, comfortable bed and was ready to sleep. He took his dreamless sleep potion.
The wind noise was ominous and disconcerting, he also did not like the icy breeze that blew from the crack at the window, but in the end, he managed to get some sleep.
Even if he had had dreams...
Bizarre geometrical shapes that levitated around a star, but those shapes seemed to be all wrong, there was something horrendous in the many diffuse features and asymmetrical lines. About the star...
It wasn't really a star... Albus knew that.
The Star was the Circle and the Circle was the Star.
But what was the meaning of this all?
In his strange dreams, later on, he could perceive the presence of the black substance that had eaten the sorting hat, crawling through the corridors... corridors and more corridors. The thing was hungry, very very hungry. But his hunger was insatiable, for all eternity it would seek a way to satisfy itself, but nothing sated its supreme hunger. What was it? What was that black substance, crawling?
...
Whatever crawled in there, it wasn't alone.
Albus had woken up scared in the middle of the night, had taken another sip of the potion... even though he knew he shouldn't because he could get addicted to it, and he didn't want that.
He was just scared he would end up finding the thing who was with the crawling substance...
In his dreams, he had the suspicion of "who" it was...
(Those things come from the well)
He didn't know exactly if the things he dreamed about could be later confirmed in real life... He didn't want dreams and reality to mix, because his dreams were terrible and grotesque.
It would be dangerous to bring to reality the dreamlike horrors that haunted him.
It would be dangerous to let things like the man in the well come to reality. He had to stay in the well, to go back to the dreams. Albus couldn't let him haunt anyone else. What if he tried to hurt Lily, or James, or his father, or his mother, or his uncles, or his cousins, or his friends? He felt a shiver run down his spine, he couldn't let that happen. He had to protect everyone. But he was only a kid.
He suspected that the well man would be way more powerful if he told anyone about him, he was afraid he would be called crazy and would have to go back to mental ward if he told anyone, that he wouldn't be able to go to Hogwarts anymore. Afraid that he was really becoming mad.
Was he evil? Was he being punished for something? Did he deserve what was happening to him somehow? Why couldn't he be just a normal boy?
He was afraid his parents and friends would be mad at him for not telling anything to them. His father would be mad... if he did tell him he was researching esoterical dark magic... How would his always fun and cheerful uncle Ron react?
(You are going to let them all down. You are going to disappoint them badly. They want to help you and you keep things from them. You lie to them. You use your friend to get information in order to solve your problems. You refuse to ask for help and try to solve everything yourself. Just who do you think you are? You will fail, Albus Severus Potter. This is dark magic. Dark Magic!) He thought bitterly, at night he sometimes reflected and thought about his attitudes.
His thoughts were becoming frantic and disordered... anxiety took over... he wanted the potion to take effect soon, he was starting to panic.
(Why your vision went black when the black substance appeared?)
And the cold. Too cold. He pulled the covers, but he knew very well, from experience, that it wouldn't do much.
He cried himself to sleep, thinking of all these problems... he only wished for a good year and a wonderful day tomorrow.