Author's notes:
I decided to split my previous chapter 6 into two chapters, since it was too bloody long. Plus, I noticed that the chapter was divided into two pieces anyway, so separate chapters made sense. I guess this all proves to show that my writing style is still too hobbyist, since I didn't plan stuff out beforehand. Oh well, those that were deluded into thinking I had written up another chapter they hadn't read yet, my sincerest apologies. To those that haven't read these chapter yet, hope you enjoy them and don't forget to review.
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Chapter 6: The chat with Dumbledore…
Hogwarts looked magnificent in the night sky. Almost arising from the lake, you could see the golden specks of dancing all around the castle. The reflection in the lake rippled and at times washed out over the surface as a huge tentacle emerged from the water.
"Gabriel Rayon?"
Gabriel turned as the female voice called his name. He turned to the source and found himself looking at an adult, but still fairly young-looking witch. Her brown hair was long and bushy, reaching freely from under her witches hat. Her robe was an extremely dark navy-blue and just as formless as the school uniforms. Gabriel thought she looked nice in them though.
She smells weird though. Kind of dusty, but with some static as well. I wonder what she wants.
"That would be me."
"Ah, good." The woman let out a breath, as if she was relieved about something. "My name is Hermione Granger and I am the Transfiguration teacher, as well as the Head of the Gryffindor House."
"Pleased to meet you. But is it necessary to meet me now?"
"Just a bit. Dumbledore thought it would be good if I took you to the castle now, so he could talk to you before the rest of the students got there. That way he could explain some things about the school in peace."
Gabriel nodded and thought it over a bit. Going to the school now could be good and getting to see what it was like empty would be fun. Plus, he also wanted to know what Dumbledore would have to say to him.
"Okay then, I'll come."
Gabriel turned to Helena, who was watching the exchange with some curiosity. Gabriel nodded his head at her and said goodbye. Then he turned again and went with Hermione to the castle. Before they stepped in the carriage though, Gabriel left his trunk in a wagon that contained the rest of the trunks. The house elves in Hogwarts would arrange the luggage while the students would be at the opening feast.
Hermione and Gabriel walked towards a carriage that looked rather differently from the others that the students were boarding. It was an open carriage and a lot smaller than the other. You could probably only seat two people in it comfortably.
Gabriel also saw the two skeletal-looking horses that were attached to the reigns, they looked rather stronger than the other ones, drawing the student carriages. Their leathery wings flapped nonchalantly and as the horses grazed a bit before having to move to the castle.
As he and Hermione stepped into the carriage, they left for the castle, the eerie horses drawing the carriage forth with tremendous speed. But even though they were going at least thirty, Gabriel didn't even feel a breeze.
The carriage must be enchanted. But it's weird going fast and not feeling any different than if you were walking.But these horses sure are fast, I wonder what this breed is called?
"Ms. Granger?" asked Gabriel.
"Yes, Mr. Rayon? You wanted to ask something?"
"Please, call me Gabriel. I hate it when people are too formal with me. But anyway, what breed of horses are these? I've never seen them."
Gabriel noticed that Hermione's expression darkened slightly when he asked this. He started to wonder if he had said anything wrong.
"They are called Thestrals, Gabriel." Hermione said, her voice sounding more saddened than before. "They're pretty, aren't they?"
"Yes," Gabriel looked back at the Thestrals and nodded. "they're pretty in their own eerie way."
"It's a sad thing that you can see them though." Hermione continued.
"Oh? Why's that? Can't everyone?" Gabriel asked.
"No. Thestrals are only visible to those that have seen someone die. I think that nowadays there are a lot more people that notice them."
Gabriel thought about this, being very puzzled by this bit of information. He was very sure that he had never seen someone die. And yet, here he could see these creatures as if there was no reason at all for him not to see.
"But let's not dwell on that." Hermione said, brightening up. "How do you think you will like it here at Hogwarts?"
"It'll be great. I'm going to enjoy going to a real school for once." Gabriel said enthusiastically.
"Yes, I heard about you being home schooled for three years. Why did your parents decide that?"
Gabriel's voice fell slightly at this, but he didn't think that Hermione noticed.
"Oh, with dad working at a Muggle hospital as a surgeon, he has to take care of a lot of the emergencies that come in. It leaves mom lonely a lot and she thought that seeing me go would be too much. I love her, so I complied." Gabriel had to tell people this more often (though he left out the Muggle parts, since people that used to ask him were Muggles themselves), so he lied very easily to her.
"You're a good kid then. But they let you go this year?"
"Well, my mother didn't feel as lonely anymore as she used to and she thought it would be good for me to go to Hogwarts. With some extra persuasion from Headmaster Dumbledore, my parents allowed me to enroll."
"Well, you'll like it here immensely. I know I loved my time here. Just as long as you don't break any rules and study hard, you'll do great."
Aha, so that's why she smells like that. The dusty smell is from the books she's around often. And the static is the transfiguration magic that she keeps working with.
In the meantime, they had arrived at Hogwarts. Stepping out of the carriage, they moved through the castle to what Gabriel presumed to be Dumbledore's office. He, on the other hand, was paying more attention to the interior of the castle than trying to remember the way.
The inside of the castle was magnificent. It was all Gabriel imagined a magical, medieval castle to look like. Fantastic drapes running along the walls, suits of armor standing around, gorgeous paintings to look at. The fact that all these things acknowledged Gabriel and Hermione's arrival, didn't disturb Gabriel to much, even though on of the suits of armor startled him by clanking a greeting when he walked past it.
Eventually, they arrived at a wall which had a gargoyle placed along it. Hermione stood next to the gargoyle and said: "Arctic Sweets". The gargoyle muttered an acknowledgement and swung aside to reveal a winding staircase leading up a large tower. After climbing all the way up, Hermione gave a slight knock on the door and then opened it.
"Ah, welcome Gabriel," the hearty voice of Dumbledore, sounded as he saw the pair walk into his office. "welcome to Hogwarts. And thank you for retrieving the boy, Hermione."
"My pleasure, Albus. It was no problem at all."
And with that, Hermione left the office, leaving Dumbledore and Gabriel alone to talk to each other. Gabriel had taken the time to look around the office. There were a lot of interesting things to see in it. Lots of paintings of aged, snoring wizards were placed on the walls and lots of interesting devices with no apparent function littered the shelves, glowing and sparkling. He also noticed a bird perch on Dumbledore's office, but he assumed that the owl that sat there might have been out on an errand.
"Now, Gabriel. I understand that my office might be very intriguing to a student, since most do not come here, but please sit down," said Dumbledore, indicating the comfy chair that stood in front of his desk. "Would you care for a Lemon Drop?"
"Thanks sir," replied Gabriel, taking one of the yellow sweets from the bag that Dumbledore flourished in front of him.
"Now, as you might know, Hogwarts does not often accept transfer students. This is not because we don't want them, but because there is hardly no reason to take them, as most students finish their education at the place where they started." Dumbledore readjusted his half-moon spectacles before continuing.
"And I'm still sorry to say that none of other the magical schools is interested in setting up student exchange programs. But that all has no relevance at this moment. Now, I trust that Rachel told you about the Sorting?"
"Yes sir," said Gabriel politely.
"Now, I might understand if you wanted to have a private Sorting to avoid unnecessary attention." Gabriel shook his head slightly, which Dumbledore did notice, but he carried on. "But that wouldn't be possible, since the Sorting Hat has been rather grumpy after sorting people without singing his song and bluntly refuses to do that again. But I believe you will have no problem with standing in line with the first-years, correct?"
"No, sir, no problem with that at all."
"Perfect. I'm sure that you'll like it here at Hogwarts immensely. Now, to mo-…"
Dumbledore was interrupted by a shrilly tone coming from the window behind Gabriel. He turned his head to see what Dumbledore was looking at and what made that sound, but saw nothing but the open window. Then, he felt a weight on his head and tiny talons nestling in his hair. Oddly enough, it didn't hurt, but Gabriel was surprised nonetheless.
The hell? Why in the world is an owl perching on my head instead of on the bird perch. You'd think that Dumbledore would've trained it better. Wait… this doesn't smell like an owl. It smells like fire…
"It looks like Fawkes has taken a liking to you already, Gabriel." Dumbledore's voice sounded amused and a twinkle could be seen in his eyes.
"Fawkes? This isn't an owl, right? It smells like fire."
"That is correct. Fawkes is indeed no owl that I own, but instead a phoenix that I have befriended. And he is a dear friend, I might add."
"A phoenix? That's nice. Now, why is it sitting on my head?"
"I truly have no idea. Perhaps he thinks you're quite attractive?"
Gabriel groaned.
Great, even the headmaster and a phoenix think I'm a girl. No, dammit! I'm not getting rid of my hair! I like it!
He lifted his hand above his head and extended a finger. He felt the phoenix grip it playfully with his beak. He then drew his hand back in front of his face, gently taking the phoenix' head with him. Fawkes looked at him curiously from an upsidedown view, having stretched his neck to keep up with the hand and now facing Gabriel.
"Hey Fawkes." Gabriel said to Fawkes, who in reply let go of his hand and let out a cheerful, shrilly twirp.
"I'm not a girl, right?"
Fawkes cocked his head a bit, as if examining his features closely, and seemed satisfied. He flew off Gabriel's head and settled himself on the perch by Dumbledore's desk. Dumbledore smiled and continued talking.
"Well, it seems that Fawkes has been convinced that you're not a girl. But to resume after this interruption, I want to speak to you about your condition."
"You mean curse." Gabriel said, looking slightly crestfallen.
"No, I mean condition, Mr. Rayon." Dumbledore saying his last name, made him sound more serious than Gabriel had heard him yet. "I know that you consider what you have a curse, but I myself am not convinced it is that yet. But I also cannot go as far as saying that it is a gift, for it may yet be either one."
Bringing his fingertips together, Dumbledore looked at Gabriel. To him, the headmaster suddenly seemed to be more imposing than before. Gabriel began to shift slightly in his chair, feeling slightly awkward now. Dumbledore, noticing his discomfort, took the need for a reply away and resumed talking himself.
"Now, I know that after your unfortunate incident when you were eight, you have never yet let such a thing happen. Else I would've heard about it one way or the other. But tell me, do you have a grasp of when you feel your other side emerging?"
Gabriel had anticipated a question like this. It was one of the first things he wondered himself after he collected himself enough to think his curse through. But he had noticed that he grew anxious or exited at various times, ranging from times of emotional distress to the phases of the sun and moon.
"Just that I'm affected by what's happening in the sky. Full moons get me more riled up than usual, though it's nothing dangerous. I just tend to be a bit hyperactive then. But I have to regain control whenever I get emotionally distressed…" Gabriel paused then, because he knew that what he was about to say next was rather odd. "and also when there is an eclipse. Solar eclipses seem to affect me more than lunar ones."
"But there are less of those, which might be a good thing," acknowledged Dumbledore. "but it's good that I'm aware of these facts, since I can anticipate what might happen. But I have however every confidence that you will not lose control at any given time while you reside here in Hogwarts. But still, my door is always open to you if you want to have a talk. I'm sure you can get future passwords on your own behalf."
"Thanks, sir." Gabriel had to grin at the last comment. It showed that the headmaster truly did anticipate all scenarios.
Gabriel was relieved though that the headmaster wasn't afraid that something would happen to his students because of Gabriel. Briefly he had feared that Dumbledore had changed his mind and would send him straight on home.
"Now," Dumbledore said, regaining his happy expression once again. "I believe it is time for us to retire to the Great Hall. The rest of the students will be there shortly and you will have to join the first-years at the Sorting."
"Right, sir. Mind if I walk along with you?" asked Gabriel. "I don't know my way around the castle yet."
"Of course, Hermione already left to welcome the first-years. Well then, I ask you to follow me and try to pay attention to the route. I know that the castle is magnificent, but you might find it useful to know where my office is located in the future."
Gabriel nodded as he and Dumbledore left the office and made their way to the Great Hall. Gabriel could already hear the voices of the students echoing from the stone walls of the hallway.
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Reviewer thanks:
SSC – You're my second reviewer since I reposted my story! Thanks a lot, I was almost thinking that I was writing this story for the enjoyment of my proofreaders alone.