There's a few bombshells that tend to be dropped on a kid before the school year starts. You know, parents deciding to move, or perhaps best friends suddenly transferring to different schools. Those are sad, but manageable.

Being told you are a wizard, on the way to wizard school, is not very manageable.

Rory couldn't get over the fact he was apparently capable of magic, though he could remember a few odd things happening throughout his childhood. Though, they could easily be explained away by the fact he'd always been a little weird. But weird enough to believe in magic? Not only that, but to cast it himself? This seemed like some elaborate scam his parents had fallen for.

Yet, everything seemed to check out. The acceptance letter seemed odd, but official. And even when he was sure he'd run straight into a very solid wall-an actual train platform had waited for him on the other side.

People-wizards-flitting about with their children, saying goodbye and helping them load up their luggage. It was so close to normal, if it wasn't for all the robes and wands and owls laying about. Rory could nearly see himself attending a very normal boarding school that was just very dedicated to its roleplay, or something like that.

The train itself seemed normal enough itself, even though there was a lady carting around a sweets trolley filled with things he'd never heard of. Unfortunately, he hadn't been lucky enough to get a compartment to himself, and a little gaggle of other kids filled up the remaining seats quickly. Not like Rory was really listening, nothing they talked about made much sense anyways.

"Do you think you'll get into Ravenclaw?" A girl with bouncing blonde curls asked, her leg sometimes bumping into mine obnoxiously.

"I don't know, I hope so," the boy replied quietly. "If I don't I think my parents'll be too happy."

"You'll get in, just like your brother," another kid confidently said, "My family's been in Hufflepuff for generations. It's just how it works!"

"You say that like it's impressive," the girl sneered, "Hufflepuffs are losers!"

"Are not!" The boy immediately protested, huffing and puffing in his seat.

Rory really hoped he wasn't a Hufflepuff, whatever that meant. He was just in luck, though, because the train made haste and reached its destination shortly. It pulled into a station that looked much farther from normal than the one back at Kings Station. Everything looked frozen in time, the time being ancient as all get out.

It was easy to get swept up in the excitement, though, and even following the crowd of first year students down to the lake seemed a bit intriguing. It got a whole lot less interesting when he realized they would be climbing into rickety boats that looked ready to capsize as the weight of a toothpick, though.

"Oh, who are you?" A girl asked me as I sat down across from her, face screwing up in barely hidden disgust.

"Roland," Rory replied quietly, "And you?"

"My name's Mary Church," she replied sourly, like she didn't enjoy talking to him very much at all.

Lucky for her, he had no interest in continuing the conversation at all, and she quickly got on her business ignoring him.

"Do you think you'll get Slytherin?" One of her friends asked her, looking just as peeved at the boy's existence.

"I hope so," Mary sighed irritably, "Anything except Hufflepuff, I already know my sister will be in there."

"Oh, she's not that bad, surely."

"Mm," Mary replied, unconvinced.

Rory decided then and there that witch girls were just as bad as normal girls, and he'd steer clear of them as much as possible. The last thing he wanted to do was be treated like he was filthy for getting in a boat with them, or, God forbid, sitting at a table next to them.

Clearly, he also didn't want to be in Slytherin. Everyone seemed to be talking about house names, that much Rory could gather himself. But what were these silly names, Hufflepuff? Slytherin? They sounded made up at best, and wildly stupid at worst. And as far as he was concerned, this was definitely the worst.

It was much better to spend his time looking everywhere except the inside of the boat, taking in the scenery. He could vaguely see carriages moving on the shoreline, and the castle only grew larger as they neared the opposite shore of the lake. It sure did look medieval, alright. He'd only ever seen castles preserved like this on school trips to museums and such, and to think he'd be living in it?

"Alright, first years off!" Rory looked over to see a terrifyingly large man standing on the docks, surely heavy enough to send the entire structure into the water.

Then again, it seemed he didn't need to worry about that, some kid took a tumble into the murky waters anyways.

"Oh, ew," Mary sneered, pointing and laughing with her friends. Something about it made Rory especially cross, though he decided it'd be best to bite his tongue. The last thing someone wants to do when arriving at a new school is to make enemies, anyway.

"Whoa," He breathed out as we walked under the front entrance's archway. The castle most definitely was larger than it seemed from across the lake. Everywhere was perfectly decorated, just as I'd imagined an old castle looking like. Paintings covered the walls and candles lit the hallways with warm, yellow light.

They began organizing all the first years in some sort of line, and two great huge wooden doors creaked open as they all began to walk forward. Rory's worst fear, an army of eyes looking at him, waited on the other side. He felt himself tense up and star at the kid's head in front of him to avoid freaking out.

Was this really necessary? He wondered that in his head over and over again, Couldn't they just sort us by last name?

Every adult in the room seemed to be dressed rather oddly, in a variety of long robes that brushed the floor elegantly when they walked. The woman herself was wearing something long and made of green felt, that rippled every time one of her limbs moved even a little bit.

Everywhere Rory looked, someone was already looking at him- the entire hall seemingly eager to get fresh pickings on their newest members.

A dusty hat sat atop a stool in front of the entire hall, right in front of a long table filled with adults. Rory could only guess they were teachers of some sort, but he was really interested in what was behind them. A large stained glass window overlooking the lake, something he imagined would be in a cathedral. He only stopped looking when he heard names begin to be called.

"Magdalene Church," an older woman called, her eyes scanning the line until a small, chubby girl stepped forward. Her hair was chopped short, and she had bright red cat-eye glasses perched on her nose.

Rory wouldn't help but think he robes looked a little too big as she stepped up to take a seat on the stool.

"Hufflepuff!" The hat called out.

Wait, what?

Rory couldn't believe his eyes as everyone took their turn to go put on the rotting hat, waiting for their house name to be called out. When his name was finally called, he was sure he was about to faint.

"Roland Thomas," the hat echoed lowly over his head, and Rory was convinced he was about to start sobbing in front of the entire school. "Gryffindor!"

What the hell is a Gryffindor?

Rory didn't bother thinking it through, stumbling to a table filled with kids screaming, hooping, and hollering in triumph as he was sorted into their house. Kids continued to be sorted despite the fact he sat there at the table, completely zoned out. Is this what culture shock felt like?

It was hard to grasp just what was going on, but he decided to pretend he was thoroughly invested anyway. He looked up to see two identical twin boys on their way for their turn.

"Fred Weasley," the woman called out, her green robe fluttering as she held up the scroll.

One of them stepped forward confidently, plopping down on the stool and already looking expectantly at the Gryffindor table. Sure enough, after his sorting he came over and sat right across from Rory-giving him a smile. It made Rory's stomach swirl, the first person who seemed to give him even a bit of decency.

"George Weasley," she called, beckoning the other twin forward. It wasn't like he needed to get sorted, though. He, too, was already looking at the same table his twin was at.

Weasley twins, Rory thought, he'd never met a pair of twins in his life. They seemed funny enough, immediately devolving into snide comments and jokes as more kids got sorted.

"Hello, I'm Lee" a boy to their left called, leaning toward the three of us. "What's your names?"

"Fred," one said, as the other replied: "George."

"And yours?" He looked at Rory expectantly, catching the boy off guard as he choked on his roll, "Up, nevermind, I suppose."

"Make sure to have some breath with your food," one of the twins snickered, Rory had already mixed them up again.

"Got to make our house proud," one of the twins beat his chest triumphantly.

"Isn't that right Percy?" One of them called down the table to an older boy who seemed to want nothing to do with them.

"Don't talk to me."

The boys snickered in response, the dismissal seeming to be the reaction they were going for. Rory couldn't help but find himself smiling, thinking they were rather funny in a goofy sort of way.

It was enough to just listen to their conversation, he could even say he knew people now. Or, at least he knew their names. That sort of counted as knowing someone, surely? Fred, George, and Lee. They seemed to become quick friends, and a slight pang of sadness shot through Rory when he realized he could just as easily join in their conversation-but he wouldn't.

There was some sort of speech to be given, and Rory was absolutely floored when the Headmaster introduced himself. The man looked older than the castle seemed to be, like he had witnessed the Big Bang. His hair was long, easily reaching down to his waist, and his beard was almost longer! It all was a pearly grey, nearly white in some areas.

He spoke of Hogwarts and what it meant, introducing the new defense against the dark arts professor, a number of other things Rory couldn't quite catch on to.

"Second years and above are dismissed, I wish you all good luck for this academic year." His voice was dry and ancient, Rory imagined this is what the core of the earth sounded like.

"First years, you will now follow your house prefect to your common rooms," he said after a brief pause to let the rest of the school leak out of the Great Hall, "I look forward to seeing your great accomplishments."

Rory awkwardly stood with the rest of the table, longingly looking at the remains of the buttered rolls left on the table. The Gryffindor boy prefect was short and stocky, looking like he could easily run Rory over if he wanted to.

"Hello, Gryffindors," he smiled, "My name is Charlie Weasley, and I'm your house prefect."

Another Weasley? They're bloody everywhere, it seems, and Rory quickly glanced at the twins to see their reaction.

"Alright, everyone follow me," the boy, Charlie, announced loudly, standing and gesturing for them all to start walking behind him.

"Oh, we'll follow you alright!" The twins called out, earning a bit of a laugh from the group.

"Keep bothering me, and I'll start the year off by deducting every single house point you earn," Charlie retorted playfully, a smirk pulling at his lips.

"Terrifying," one of the twins rolled his eyes, unable to hide his laughter.

Charlie began explaining every room they walked into, taking his time as they all meandered through the castle toward what he titled Gryffindor Tower. The castle was magnificent, the paintings really did move and talk-just like real people. The Grand Staircase was filled with stone stairs that moved according to a schedule that people just had to figure out-they moved as they pleased and didn't' really care if you had somewhere to be.

Rory's eyes were glued to the stairs that extended stories and stories above his head, watching with fascination as they slid and danced overhead. He was only brought back to the present when the other first years began jostling and moving forward, eager to continue onward to the common room.

After a short walk up the stairs, Charlie approached a large, floor length painting of a plump woman in a pink dress. Briefly, Rory thought perhaps she didn't move at all. In a castle full of paintings, not all of them can be magic, surely.

"Password?" Her mouth moved before her eyes slowly blinked, like Charlie's approach had awakened her out of a still sleep.

"Gillyweed," Charlie replied, like that was a real word.

The painting swung outward, revealing a short hallway that led to a wide open circular room. The walls were a dull red with gold detailing, but that was mostly covered up by more paintings. Only some of these ones moved, with groups of sports players jostling around silently from inside their frames.

Rory found himself looking back over to the twins, even though they were just right beside him. He could hear everything they said without turning their way, but he enjoyed seeing the way their eyes lit up when they recognized the boy from earlier, Percy, they called him.

"Welcome to the Gryffindor common room," Charlie gestured around vaguely, "This is where you'll be free to come and go from as you please until curfew, at ten o'clock. You'll find the boys' dormitories up these stairs to your left, and the girls to your right. If you've got any questions, I'll be here in the common area until..." Charlie briefly looked down at a watch on his wrist, "Six o'clock. Go on, now, get."

Charlie smiled as he shoo'ed everyone away, all the first years quickly devolving into excited giggles and laughter as they rushed up into their dormitories to unpack.

"Jesus," Rory muttered under his breath, taking a second to process once he found his bed. His luggage had already been delivered to his bedroom, and he glanced around to see his roommate's stuff was already here as well. Though, the actual people seemed to be missing.

That's fine enough, Rory thought to himself, beginning to leisurely unpack his things. It wasn't like he was excited to share a bedroom with three other boys, especially if they turned out to be nasty.

He hummed to himself quietly while putting away his few things, he hadn't expected his clothes to take up only one half of a dresser drawer-but at least his roommates wouldn't be knowing that. Even after unpacking all of his things, when Rory stepped back to take it all in, he thought it still looked like nobody lived there.

The only indication it was his space was his trunk tucked under the bed and his robe hanging on its hook.

That was fine enough, he decided, and it was back down to the common area to figure out what he was supposed to do next. It was barely even five o'clock, and Rory immediately looked for Charlie-at least that was someone he knew.

Charlie was in the corner talking with a pretty girl, and even though Rory was absolutely rolling in a puddle of awkwardness, he managed to approach the two without stumbling or acting stupid.

"Hey, kiddo," Charlie smiled, "What's up?"

"Um, where's the library?" Rory asked quietly, unsure why he chose to ask that.

His directions were somewhat confusing, with a lot of 'turn there' and 'if you see this, you've gone too far', but Rory walked out of the common room with a general idea of where he was going. That didn't stop him from bumping into every person that had a prefect badge and asking for further directions.

The library itself seemed normal enough, at first. He nearly let out a sigh of relief as he wandered between the shelves in search of a quiet place to sit. Then, the books started flying. Of course the books flew and went around to different shelves-why would it be normal?

Rory plopped down in a chair that was tucked into a chess table, sinking down in his miserableness. Up until now, he'd done a pretty good job of convincing everyone around him that he was happy to be here-but throughout the day he just kept feeling more and more irritated. Floating candles were fine, that he could deal with. But waving around a stick and causing objects to float and move on their own? That was odd.

"Looking a bit cross for Hogwarts Day," Rory flinched and immediately looked up to see the girl who startled him. She looked oddly familiar, and he vaguely recognized she was another first year that was sorted into Hufflepuff earlier.

She was rather short and stubby, with long brown hair past her shoulders. There was one thing Rory couldn't get over, though-he thought she was much too pretty to be wasting her time on him.

"Do you happen to need a partner?" Her tone was polite as she nodded at the chess set in front of him, seemingly not fazed by Rory's utter silence for an answer.

"Oh," he looked down at the pieces dumbly, a vague sense of confusion washing over him as he noticed the pieces moving on their own. "Yeah, sure."

Rory struggled to sit properly, attempting to subtly check if his hair looked okay. There was no way he was about to let on that he'd come into a corner of the library to sit around and sulk. That would not make for a good first impression at all.

"I'm not too good at wizard chess, so you'll have to be patient with me," she smiled, tucking her skirt against the underside of her thighs as she sat across from him.

"Well, I actually don't know how to play," he was comfortable admitting that much, "Is it like normal chess?"

"Normal?" She repeated, clearly not understanding what he was getting at. Her head tilted a bit and her eyebrows furrowed behind the red frames of her glasses.

"Oh, you know, like," Rory fumbled a bit, unsure if he was missing a made-up word here or there, "Like, non-wizard chess."

"Muggle chess?" The girl clarified, "Well, I'm not quite sure. I don't know how to play that either!"

She laughed, a glittering bright sound that Rory thought was splendid. For just a brief moment, the fact that it was him that elicited that perfect sound made him feel a bit invincible.

"Muggle?" Rory mumbled under his breath, clearly not quiet enough as the girl immediately looked taken aback.

"Sorry," she tucked some hair behind her ear, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Magdalene Church, please call me Maggie, though."

"Roland," he sighed, happy to at least hear a normal sounding name, "Roland Thomas. My friends call me Rory."

"Well, I hope it's okay if I become your friend, Rory," Maggie happily continued, "You're the white pieces, so you get to move first."

"Oh," he stuttered, "Of course." That was a rule of chess he recognized, and he scrutinized the board carefully. Rory picked what he thought was equivalent to a pawn and moved it forward one space.

"You should've moved me," one of his pieces snobbishly commented, "I would've been a much finer choice."

"You can ignore the piece if you want," Maggie giggled, "They're all very opinionated."

"Ignore who, me?" The piece indignantly responded, "Very well, if my thoughts are just so unwanted!"

"So the pieces are supposed to talk?" Rory asked lightly, secretly hoping she wouldn't find the question odd.

"Oh, yes," she nodded enthusiastically, eyes scanning the board to contemplate her move. "Though, you shouldn't rely on them too much. Some of them don't know what they're talking about."

It was fun, getting wrapped up in a chess game. Rory found the rules to be so familiar, he was even able to tune out his pieces' commentary altogether. Maggie made an excellent partner, as well, her jokes and laughter made Rory feel like everything was as close to normal as it could be.

"Well played," she congratulated as Rory cornered her king into a checkmate. "You don't happen to be in Ravenclaw, hm?"

"No, I'm in Gryffindor." Rory paused for a second to make sure he'd said the right made-up word, sighing in relief when Maggie nodded.

"I'm in Hufflepuff," she let out a short laugh, "You know what that means!"

"Sorry, I- um," Rory caught himself for just a second, wondering if now was a good time to confess he hadn't the slightest idea what had been going on all day. Maggie seemed nice enough, at least she didn't seem like she'd laugh at him. "I'm not really...from here."

"I beg your pardon?" Her eyebrows furrowed together again, the flitting realization that she had freckles zooming through Rory's head.

"I'm from London," Rory struggled to explain, "I only found out about this place when I got my acceptance letter."

"Oh," she said, like he'd really caught her off guard, "Do you mean to say you're muggle-born?"

"This is so embarrassing," Rory breathed out quietly, "I don't even know what that means."

"No worries," Maggie smoothed over expertly, "Muggle is just the word for non-wizard, is one of your parents a wizard?"

"Yeah, my dad. At least, I think so," Rory was relieved Maggie seemed to have answers.

"Well, there you go. Magic is like blue eyes and stuff, it gets passed down by your parents."

"Hm," Rory contemplated that, enjoying that she framed it in a way he could understand easier. "So, then-"

"Hey," a girl peered around a shelf before walking over to their table, "You two, it's curfew soon, y'know?"

Rory scrambled to check his watch, shocked that they'd chatted and played through dinner. Saying curfew was soon was a bit of an understatement, Rory's watch proudly read half an hour 'til ten-barely enough time to navigate back to Gryffindor Tower.

More importantly, he was a bit torn up about having to say bye to his first real friend.

"We had no idea," Maggie smiled at the girl, whose prefect badge shone in the candlelight, "Thanks for letting us know."

"It would suck to get detention on your first day," the girl snickered, "Make sure to leave before you hear the bell chime, alright?"

"Sure, sure," Maggie nodded, waving bye as the girl made to leave.

"Does that mean we can't hang out anymore?" Rory was caught off guard by how sad he sounded, not meaning for that to come out at all.

"Sort of, especially since we're in different houses."

"You can't come to my common room?"

"No, Hogwarts is funny like that," she smiled sadly, "People from other houses aren't really supposed to go into each other's spaces. That's why there's passwords and stuff, y'know?"

"Oh," he did his best to hide his disappointment, failing miserably.

"But, here," Maggie extended her hand across the table, lifting her pinky in to the air, "Pinky promise you'll meet me here tomorrow after class?"

Rory felt his face flush as he reached over to intertwine their fingers, thinking it looked rather silly. Maggie only looked pleased, smile growing wider.

"Can you tell me a bit more about Hogwarts then?"

"Did you not know you were a wizard until last week, or something," Maggie laughed a little bit. Rory didn't find himself taking offense, instead a smile breaking out on his face as her laughter became contagious.

"Uh, sort of," he sheepishly answered.

"Well, then of course! I'll answer any questions you have," she smiled. "Do you know how to get back to your common room alright?"

"Yeah, I think so," he lied. Rory only vaguely remembered Charlie's roundabout instructions, and he hardly had the willpower to reverse engineer a way back to Gryffindor Tower.

"Then, I'll see you tomorrow," Maggie nodded her head, like she was satisfied with their agreement. She walked off and out of sight, leaving Rory still in his chair reeling from the realization he'd just had with a real life witch.

The bell chimed loudly outside, the sound echoing through the corridors loudly. He imagined there'd be no way someone could not hear such an obnoxious ringing, no matter where they were. It was his sign to get up and leave, quickly, though. Rory followed the direction he thought he saw Maggie go, but it didn't help much.

Once Rory was out in the hallway he found himself getting lost and confused quickly, since every corridor seemed to look the same.

"You look a little lost, buddy," one of the paintings called out to him, the others in the hallway letting out laughs. "Need some direction?"

"Uh, yeah, I suppose," he mumbled, walking closer. "Do you know how to get to Gryffindor Tower?"

"Ah, first year," the man in the painting replied wistfully, "What a magical time, hm? I bet the feast was delicious."

"Yeah," Rory slowly responded, "Uh, about the tower, though?"

"Met my first love in first year," he continued, much to Rory's dismay, "Lovely girl named Juniper. Doesn't that sound beautiful? Juniper."

Eventually, Rory decided it was probably better to just walk away and leave him with his memories. It's not like he noticed the boy was gone, from the sound of his description of Juniper echoing down the hallway.

It must've been a few minutes past curfew when Rory rolled up to the painting, the woman leering down at him from behind her frame as he approached. She towered over him, and for a moment he wondered if she was going to outright deny him access for being a scrawny git out past his bedtime.

"Password?" She asked, just the same as when Charlie had stood before her.

"Gillyweed," Rory responded, puffing up his chest and trying to seem like he knew what he was talking about.

The painting creaked open slowly, revealing there were still some students laying in the common area by firelight. Girls were talking hushedly in the corner, and a few others were using their wands to make quills fly around the room like bird wings-flapping up and down above Rory's head.

Up in the dormitories was much quieter, only a low buzz of chatting coming from the rooms whose doors were still left wide open to reveal packs of teenage boys inside. Rory's room, however, was left closed. He thought it was a little intimidating, having older boys surrounding him, but it did make him feel cool.

"Oh, hey!" Someone called out right as Rory pushed the door open, immediately igniting his fight or flight. It leaned heavily toward flight as he scanned the room, realizing all of his roommates had returned in the hours he'd been gone. "I remember you!"

"Yeah, what was your name? Rolling?"

"Roland," he replied flatly, walking over to his bed, "You can call me Rory."

"My name's Fred," one twin blurted out, like he'd completely forgotten they'd already introduced themselves. "This is-"

"I'm George," the other quickly joined in, "Fred and George Weasley, that is, but with so many of us around I doubt you'll ever have a chance to forget."

"I'm Lee, Lee Jordan." The third boy smiled, Rory was a little relieved to see another black boy around. He stepped forward to shake Rory's hand, and he took it reluctantly, waiting for some sort of practical joke.

It seemed like the boys bored of Rory quickly, turning back to whatever conversation they were having before he'd walked in. Then again, he didn't particularly want to get involved, playing several games of chess had shockingly worn him out, and he was excited for an early sleep.

"Where's the bathrooms?" Rory took a chance and interrupted them, towel in hand.

"Oh, that's right, we've got to go wash up," Lee replied, "Come on, let's all go together."

That wasn't exactly what he signed up for, but it was much easier going down the hall following a bunch of rambunctious boys to take the attention off of him than going alone. Plus, despite their leaky, old appearance, the plumbing was rather good.

"What the hell!" George laughed loudly, his voice bouncing around the bathroom easily. The sound of wet towels smacking against skin rang out among shouts and yells. Rory huddled under the hot stream of water, letting the sound of water rushing over his ears tune out the other boys.

"Rory, are you just about done?" Lee called out after a little while, "We're ready to head back. Curfew's in a couple minutes."

"You guys can go ahead," despite his better judgment, a couple minutes left alone were worth getting in trouble for. He hoped by the time he was back in the dorm, they'd already be asleep.

The silence of the bathroom mixed with the sound of the shower was relaxing, and for the first time that day Rory allowed tears to collect. Nothing at Hogwarts made any sort of sense, and all he really wanted was to go home. There wasn't such a thing as wizard chess or using some fancy, overpriced stick to do things that weren't possible.

Home made so much more sense than Hogwarts.

By the time Rory was pushing the door to his room open once again, he knew his eyes looked puffy and red. Lucky enough for him, his wishes were answered with three passed out boys and the lights off.

Today had been horrible, terrible, not very good at all, but Rory could at least say he made one friend and a handful of acquaintances that seemed to tolerate him. Perhaps tomorrow would be easier; after all, there's no better way to learn the layout of a place than running all over it trying to get to class.

At least he could go to bed knowing one thing: someone was waiting to talk to him tomorrow.