Hey guys, thank you for reading this! This is my first fanfiction, so it may not be the best. I do hope you enjoy the story I have put out! Please let me know what you think, and tell me if there is anything I should fix.
A boy was leaning against the window of a train, fast asleep. He had brown hair, short on the top and faded as it went down his head. The clothes he wore were the black and yellow robes of a Hufflepuff student at Hogwarts, but outside of class he wore a Quidditch house hoodie and shorts. He had a strong jaw, brown eyes and tan skin. All in all, a handsome young man. River Knotts, a Canadian wizard, was shaken awake from the train ride as it stopped in Hogsmead train station. He straightened his brow-line glasses and yawned. "We already there?" He turned to the three others in his compartment, which included Penny Haywood, Talbott Winger, and Ben Copper. Talbott smirked at River and said, "Yeah, we are. Thought you'd sleep through the sorting ceremony the way you were out." They all chuckled and River stood up to grab his trunk. This was his seventh year, along with the others. River saw Penny struggling with hers and set his down on the seat. "Here, let me help you with that." He took the trunk from her and pulled it down. "Thanks River!" she flashed him one of her brilliant smiles and as he handed it to her, he felt his hand brush against hers and his heart started to beat faster. "No problem Penny." She walked out of the compartment and Talbott and Ben smirked at River. "Come on, when are you going to make a move, Knotts? It's our last year, and you've been eyeing her since day one." River blushed at this. It was true, he had fancied her since their first year, but River had never quite worked up the nerve to ask her out. Plus, for the past year and-a-half, he had been dating Merula. Things had been shaky since the start though, and things hasn't gotten better when River found out she had joined 'R', but couldn't say anything. River grabbed his trunk, "Come on guys, let's go. I can't miss the sorting ceremony." The two grinned and they made their way to the great hall. As they hiked up the trail to the carriages, River looked up at the castle and grinned. "There it is. Home." The three boys made their way to where the carriages were waiting and met up with Penny. "Hey. What took you guys so long?" Talbott and Ben smirked slyly and River threw them a dirty look. "We were talking about stuff." Talbott laughed, "Yeah, stuff." River gripped his wand, Laurel and Phoenix Feather, 11 ¾", but smirked as well. "Shut it, Bird brain." Talbott shook his head, "Make me dog breath." The two chuckled. This was an inside joke between the two friends, as they were both Animagi. Talbott turned into a Spanish Imperial Eagle, and River turned into a handsome brown dog. The other two looked confused, it was common knowledge among the friends that River was an Animagus, but Talbott still kept his ability a secret, even from the ministry. "Should I be concerned about this?" River turned to Ben, "No, just a joke. Come on, carriage is here." They all turned to see the carriage pull up. River quickly stroked the Thestrials before getting in the carriage. They made it to the great hall doors, and the four friends went to their respective tables. Talbott, to Ravenclaw. Ben to Gryffindor and the other two to Hufflepuff.
The welcoming feast went rather well, and the ceremony was pleasant. Hufflepuff only gained eighteen new students, but it wasn't too much of a big deal. After Dumbledore's opening speech, they all started to eat. As they were, a paper swan flew down and landed in front of River. He opened it and it read, 'You aren't going to get a lot of time this year. Ask her out in the first week, or I will make sure Tulip pelts you with dung bombs! T-' River glanced to the Ravenclaw table and spotted Talbott, who making not-so-subtle hints to ask her. River scowled and scribbled back his reply, 'Fine! I'll do my best to look for an opportunity.' He sent the swan back to Talbott, and he nodded satisfied. River turned to Penny and wet his lips. "Hey, Penny?" She turned to him as she took a sip of pumpkin juice. "Would you be interested in…" he mumbled the last words and Penny frowned. "Would I be interested in what?" River opened his mouth to answer, but Professor Sprout clapped her hands and said, "The feast has ended. Prefects, lead the first years to the common room!" River shook his head. "Forget it, never mind. I'll talk to you maybe tomorrow if I see you." He stood up and said, "First years! First years, over here! Follows me!"
River was the male prefect for the Hufflepuff house, and the other was Chiara Lobosca. He found her four seats down and the two met up. "Chiara, how was your summer?" She shrugged. "Not bad. My parents found a way to get better quality Wolfsbane, so the nights weren't as bad." River nodded, "That's good. Merlin's beard, they get smaller every year. First years, follow me! Over here!" Once all the first years were gathered in front of the two, River started his introduction. The other house prefects were doing the same. "Good evening, I hope your time so far in Hogwarts has been enjoyable. I'm River Knotts, and this is Chiara," he gestured to Chiara and she nodded. "We will be your house prefects this year, but don't expect us to be here next year, this is our last here. We will do our best to guide you, and we hope you all become fine witches and wizards. If you have any questions, feel free to ask us. We are pretty lax prefects, and we will try our best to help you and get to know you. But, that does not mean you can get away with everything you do. Prefects patrol the halls after hours and we have the authority to take and give points from any house, and we may also give detentions. If you follow the rules, we will get along as the best of friends. We aren't here to torment you, and we don't hate you. Consider us like an older sibling, a mentor of sorts." He then gave a brief overview of what Hufflepuff was and what it stood for, and gave many a reason why it should not be regarded as the least of the houses. "Now, if you'll follow me, I will lead you to our common room, and Chiara will follow in the back to make sure none of you get lost on our way there." They made their way there without a hitch. "Boys, you dormitories are on the left, girls on the right. The doors are enchanted, so they lead to a different room for each person. The rooms all look the same, and you will have three roommates with you. The only way to get into another person's dormitory is by going through the door with the intention to get to their room. Boys, there are enchantments to keep you from getting into girls rooms, so don't try it. Girls, you can go into the boys rooms, but unless you have their permission, I will give you a detention. You'll find your things in your rooms already waiting for you. Good night, I need to start my rounds."
As soon as the door closed behind him, River turned into a dog and started his patrol. A trick he learned from Filch and Mrs. Norris, he would patrol as a dog and follow any students he found after hours. Once he got close enough, he would turn back without them seeing and give them the necessary punishment. He was registered with the ministry, but he kept his ability quiet outside his friend group so he could use this tactic. Only a few knew about his ability, Talbott and Penny, they helped him actually do it, Tonks, Tulip, Chiara and Barnaby. He had told the professors as well, so they knew that he was patrolling the halls and so he couldn't abuse his ability on them. The only event that made his shift interesting was catching a pair of first-year Slytherin twins trying to break into the kitchens, for which he gave them each a detention. He made his way back to the common room, where he found Chiara sitting on the sofa in front of the fire, reading the 'Daily Prophet.' He made sure to turn back before be spoke to her. "Hey, what are you doing up? I didn't think you had a shift tonight…" Chiara folded the paper and said, "I do, sadly. I'm gong to have to drink some wideye potion before class tomorrow. You did really well with those first years by the way." River shrugged, "After three years, you get used to dealing with them. Anyway, I'm tired and I need to get some sleep before tomorrow. Good night." Chiara nodded. "Good night. Talk to you tomorrow…?" River thought for a moment. "Um, I don't know. Maybe, we'll see." With that, he went into his dormitory where Diego and McNully were already asleep. The fourth bed was laid as a tribute to Rowan Khanna, who had been murdered by Madam Rakepick two years prior. River sighed and changed into his silk black and yellow stripped pajamas that had cost him a fortune, but he found they helped him sleep better. He crawled under his sheets and lay awake. 'Talbott is right,' He thought to himself. 'I can't really stay in a relationship with Merula. I don't even like her, I like Penny and I have since our first year. She's a good friend, I'll give her that, but she's a toxic girlfriend. Why did I even start dating her?' They had started dating after Merula had asked him awkwardly on a date. The 'date' was just them sitting in the courtyard while Merula bragged and complained about her personal life while River nodded and agreed, letting his thoughts wander. She had asked him a few more times after that, and eventually assumed he would agree and started telling people that they were dating, so River was kind of tied down.
