AN - This is just an early rough draft of a story I'm trying to develop. I just wanted to let people see it, get some feedback on it. It's a long time coming, the finished product, as I'm going to write it all out, then post it. Plus, I'm probably going to re-write much of this, to give it more depth and make it more similar to the first parts. So a warning, this will not be updated, at least for a while. Any feedback is accepted! Thanks!
Genesis - The Roots of an Empire
He looked at his ticket again, then back up an' around...
There's got to be something here I haven't noticed yet..
He was standing at the column marking platforms Nine an' Ten with a cart. It held his rather battered trunk bearing his initials, R.L. It also carried his books, robes and his wand among other assorted things. No one on the platform seemed to notice the slightly pale, orangey-brown haired, greeny-bluey-grey eyed boy, who looked a size or so small for his muggle clothes. Muggle and Wizardring measurements were different. He hadn't realized that when he picked them out. He was also a bit thin and weak-looking to some, but really just compact, as his reflexes, agility and senses were impeccable. His eyes roamed over the ticket yet once again. It showed nothing.
Well, it's a bloody good thing you're early then he thought as he sighed a bit and sat down on a bench to wait for something, anything, that might help him figure this out. Sometimes he would look at the ticket, a slightly unusual one it was, decorated with gold lines, and elaborate corners. It sure didn't look like any ticket he'd ever seen, then again, he'd also never seen a ticket with a fractioned stop either.
About a half-hour later, he began to wonder if this was a joke.
I mean, c'mon Remus, be reasonable.. Platform Nine and Three Quarters? It's hard sometimes to just find bloody Platform Fourteen.. Then again.. Diagon Alley was real.. At least, it seemed like it when that six year old accidentally turned me midnight blue.. He looked at his hands again, still a very pale, faint blue in the lines on his palms.
After a while, he noticed a small group of people that looked about his age with similar looking items on their carts. He watched them as they approached the platform and casually hung around it. Then, in ones or twos, they went up towards a barrier, and by one way or another, some leaned against it, some ran at it, went through it.
Well if that's not a sign I don't know what is....
He stood up and watched them all go through, slowly going towards the presumably parents with his cart at the same time. After the last had gone through he looked over at them.
"So.."
His voice was a little hoarse and he cleared his throat, but it didn't work.
"Just walk into it?"
They both smiled a bit and nodded.
He looked over at the barrier. It looked pretty solid to him. He turned his cart towards it and began walking, after checking that no one was paying any attention to him, not that they would, no one had all morning anyway. He didn't care though, it had been a good time to think, and he had much to think about.
He noticed that he was walking a bit slower and pulled himself out of his thoughts.
I'm never going to get through this thing.. he thought, speeding up a bit.
He finally got to the barrier. Instead of the rigid shock and sudden friendship with the bricks or concrete ground, as he had been expecting, there was a brief moment of darkness before he came out into another platform, the likes of nothing he'd ever seen before. It was filled with other kids, some boarding the train, some talking an' laughing, some standing around like he figured he was about to do with mixed expressions of awe, fear, excitement, curiosity an' wonder. He checked quickly to make sure he had everything, then walked away from the barrier, none too soon, as about four seconds later, a boy, quickly followed by a girl came through running. The boy almost immediately had an expression an' gave off such an aura that he knew he was a First year as well.
He looked back around at the platform. A magnificent Scarlet train set on the tracks, gleaming and being boarded by some of the students right at the moment. There were students already in the school robes, he knew 'coz he had previously purchased his in Diagon Alley, some still in muggle dress. Surprisingly, there didn't seem to be that many adults, in fact, he could only find three after a quick glance around. They seemed to be having just as much fun talking an' joking as the kids were.
He decided to sit for a while. He headed over towards a column and, checking it to solid, sat down on his trunk an' leaned against it, just watching the masses. After a while, he noticed that people just seemed to get on the train whenever, and glancing around, figured he'd better try an' get a.., whatever there was on the train. He put the trunk back on his cart, it wasn't that heavy, there simply wasn't much in it. He put it on the train and then boarded.
He walked through the corridor, looking for an empty compartment. After a while he found one and gladly sat down. He hadn't realized how long the train was until he had walked it, an' there were a few more cars still ahead. He settled into a seat by the window an' relaxed a bit. He had had to get up early to make it to the station, he wasn't allowed to apparate, couldn't anyway and wasn't sure he would've trusted himself even if he could. They didn't set up portkeys for simply getting to a school, besides, London was so crowded, one just would've had to walk quite a distance anyway.
His eyelids got a bit heavy as he moved to get more comfortable, he had his head beside the opening an' his feet at the end of the seat so he could still look out the window as he came close to dozing off. He was tired of rolling over in his mind what he was supposed to do after the sorting, before bed. Tired of thinking up ways to excuse absences from classmates an', if it happened, friends. He pushed it all away from his thoughts as he slowly went into semi-consciousness from the gentle bumping an' rocking of the train.
POV Change to James
There's got to be at least one left on this whole bloody train.. he thought as they passed into, what was it again? He had stopped counting when he had accidentally bumped into someone. He didn't think she had said her name, but she had mesmerizing green eyes. He had nearly gotten lost in them for a while. Anyway, that was about ten cars back.
"Oy, James!"
His buddy's voice burst over his thoughts.
"I think that one's empty..." he said, pointing to a compartment about four ahead on the left side of the train, their right. They walked over to it and peered in. There was just one person inside, and he was sleeping. He looked rather pale, and like he hadn't eaten very well lately. He wasn't very tall either, maybe a couple inches shorter than himself.
"You think he'd mind?"
"I don't care much for walking this entire train... Again..." he said, sliding into the seat opposite from the orangey-brown haired boy. They began to talk and joke about the coming year and past memories.
POV Change to Remus
A monster. Huge monster. He whirled around quickly, only to see the trees. He turned back to the person's head cradled in his hands. Dead. He knew the man was dead. He may only be six, but he knew dead when he saw it. There was a howl, long howl. He tried to get himself to think, not whatever he was doing. Then, suddenly, he was running. Running as fast as he could. Away from.. Something. A monster. Gigantic. Running through somewhere, the surroundings were hazy, it was pitch black out, cold, damp, a bit muddy... Something tore at his face, a clothesline, branches, he didn't know where he was. He instinctively brought up his arms to protect himself. A mistake. He couldn't see where he was going. He suddenly found himself on the ground. He wiped the mud from his face and eyes, getting up again, only to fall down, clutching his ankle. A growl. He didn't care about the ankle anymore. He was running again. And suddenly, a flash of fur, white fur, brown patches, another sound, cross between a growl and a howl, glimpse of glowing eyes, blood-red, brief moment of pain, his head and left side, and that was it.
He woke up suddenly, breathing a bit heavily and bringing a hand to his left side out of repetition. He sat up quickly, maybe too quickly. His head bashed into something that felt very, very solid at the moment. Sitting up, and checking to make sure he wasn't bleeding from his head, he rubbed his eyes a bit, to try and wake up. Then he noticed the other three boys in the car. One tall and muscular, with glasses and black hair that looked like it wouldn't behave even if it was only a half-inch long. The one beside him, with even blacker hair, so black it didn't need a shadow, which came down a bit longer than the spectacled boy's. He looked like he was particularly overjoyed to be here. They both had mischievous glints in their eyes. The third had blonde-ish hair, mix between light-brown and dirty blonde. He wasn't as muscular as the other two but wasn't out of shape, and he didn't share the glint the other two did either.
"You okay?" The spectacled boy spoke.
He looked over at him, then nodded a bit, bringing his hand down from his head."Nightmare? You look like you've seen a ghost.." It was the blonde-ish one.
He nodded again.
Worse..
"That's pretty normal Peter..." the pure-black haired boy asked in a joking tone, grinning a bit.
"Leave him alone Sirius... It's just a figure of speech.."
"Yea.."
"I think it's time to leave." The boy he figured was Peter said.
"You've come to this conclusion how?" Must be Sirius.
"We've stopped." The last boy said with a smirk, gathering his things.
"That could mean any number of things.." Sirius retorted, nevertheless, gathering his things as well.
That was the last he heard as he left, following everyone towards the exits. About six steps away from the compartment, he was toppled over.
"I'm so sorry.." A nervous girl's voice was said as she got off him.
"It's fine, you ok?" He said, getting up.
"Yea, sorry, just anxious I guess. First Year."
"Me too."
The girl had flaming red hair and startling green eyes that seemed to convey her jitteryness, but excitement, better than words.
"Lily, come on!"
She turned to look at another couple of girls, then back at him.
"Sorry again!" She said grinning a bit before heading over towards the girls.
He watched her walk off for a moment before turning and making his way towards the exit with the few people left on the train. There was someone calling all the first years to follow. He couldn't really see where the man was but everyone else seemed to know where they were going. After a minute or so, they came upon a bunch of boats beside a lake.
POV Change to Sirius
"IF we find a boat this year, lets see how many people we can fit into it before it tips over.."
"No more'n four to a boat!" The man called out again.
"That doesn't seem to be our problem at the moment now does it.." He muttered under his breath.
"Just be quiet and look for a boat.."
After a few minutes of looking, a couple boats leaving, they began to get desperate.
"There's one!" He said, pulling on James' sleeve and tugging him towards it. There was only one occupant, the same pale boy from the compartment.
"Do you mind if we join you?"
"Not at all."
No sooner had they sat down when a very red haired girl came up as well.
"All the others are full..."
"Sure."
"Thanks." She replied, settling into a seat.
There was a couple minutes wait until the boat started moving.
"What happened to the other one, Peter?" The boy asked after they were a few minutes into the trip.
"He went to sit with a couple other buds. We just met him on the platform today."
"Bloody Slytherins..." He muttered.
"Whom?"
"Pure-blood morons... That's what they are..."
"Ah... okay then..."
"They were trying to find someone..."
"But we... uh... How shall I put it... Detoured them for a moment. When they got back on track, the lad had vanished. Right into thin air..."
"A miracle..."
"They got a bit agitated..."
"Meaning one of them tried to put his foot through a wall..."
"That was funny..."
"Anyway... Any idea what house you'll be in?" James asked.
"No... I wasn't even sure I was magical until I accidentally turned someone bright orange and furry.."
"Really? That's brilliant!"
"Do you remember how by any chance?"
"No, sorry..."
James shrugged a bit. "Oh well. By the way, I'm James. James Potter."
"Lily Evans."
"Sirius Black."
"Black... Of the Blacks?"
"Are there any others?" he said with a bit of bitterness entering his voice.
"I didn't know you were a Black."
It's not exactly something I like to parade around...
"Sorry..." James muttered after catching what could have easily been a death glare.
"S'ok..."
He glanced over at the other boy as James and Lily began a small discussion over what classes they were most looking forward to, James talked about, what else, Quidditch, and tried to explain the majesty of it all. The boy seemed to be looking off into the distance. He looked like he was tired, plus he had a few scratches on his face that were beginning to heal up.
"What 'appened to you?"
No answer. The boy either didn't notice he was being talked to or was ignoring them.
"You there?"
Still silence. By now, James and Lily were looking at him too. After a few moments the boy seemed to realize the talking had stopped and everyone was watching him. He reddened a bit, or at least it looked like it, Sirius wasn't really able to tell.
"Sorry, guess I got a bit los' in my thoughts for a minute.. Did you ask something?" The boy spoke quietly, softly.
"What happened to you?"
"Oh... Nothin', just a cat... He just didn't feel like being held at that particular moment I guess."
"What were'ya lookin' at?"
Before he could answer, a cry of "Look!" echoed across the pond. Instinctively, everyone looked around until they noticed. A magnificent castle, lit by candles it looked like, reflecting in the lake, and bathed in the light of the moon, newly waning. It was truly a sight. One could see a forest silhouetted by the moon wrapping around a side of the castle. There were a few minutes of relative silence before a nervous babble took over.
POV Change to Remus
"My big brother told me we have to fight dragons for the sorting..."
"Is that guy a giant?..."
"I duburpn't care what ye said, burp, I still think ye hexed my burp snacks earlier..."
"You really think so? 'e doesn't seem like that..."
"Something just bumped up against our boat guys..."
He just picked up on bits and pieces of the many conversations as they drifted over the lake. He wasn't trying to listen to them, and forgot most of what he heard almost instantly. Earlier, he had simply been tuning out everything, but now he was trying to keep an ear on the conversation in the boat.
POV change to Lily
The conversation continued with small talk, going over what houses one'd like to be in and such until a cry of "Look!" interrupted the conversation as everyone, excluding the other boy, who had already been looking, turned to see a magnificent castle, lit by candles it looked like, reflecting in the lake, and bathed in the light of the waning moon. It was truly a sight. Lily glanced over at the boy, she didn't remember him saying his name.
He looks like he tried to fight with a cougar instead of having the family pet simply scratch him... Ok, that's exaggerating a bit but still...
He didn't really seem to be looking at the castle. No, his gaze looked higher. She started following it but before she found it's source, his gaze broke and he looked at the castle along with everyone else.
POV Change to Sirius..
He looked over at the castle, or rather, up at the castle, as they were now very close and seemed to be getting ready to dock. They all made their way off the boats, now following the people called 'Prefects'. The group of yearlings hadn't been able to see much of the castle, they were moving at what would be described not as really brisk, but not truly slow enough for them to linger for long, gazing at the castle, which actually carried a bit more charm and character on the inside than out. He noticed Peter a few feet away, chatting with another person, who seemed to be telling a joke as Peter's eyes suddenly lit up and he let out a quick laugh. The girl they had met in the boat, Lily, that was her name, was looking around with wide eyes and a small smile on her face. He glanced over at James, who seemed to be searching for something in his pocket, but stopped after a moment and greeted a passing painting.
Where's the other lad? I don't remember his name, but one'd think he'd stand out pret'y well in a crowd...
The group had rounded another corner or two before he found the other boy. He was looking around at everything with a vague interest, but without much emotion on his face, really not much different than he had looked last time. He shrugged and returned his attention to James and made a mental note to try and get the lad's name. James, who had now tried to do something, he had missed it looking for the other guy, was rubbing the side of his head vigorously. They turned yet another corner and just as he began to wonder how he was ever going to begin to find his way around this castle, the people ahead of him stopped. As he backed away from the sudden encounter with the back of the person in front of him, and a mumbled apology, he tried to peer over the people ahead of him. All he saw at first was a pair of great oak doors, he then noticed the person standing in front of them. She began speaking as they made their way up the steps.
"Welcome to your first year at Hogwarts. In a moment you will join your new peers for the feast, but first you must be sorted. There are four houses, Gryffindor.. Hufflepuff.. Ravenclaw... And Slytherin. Your house is like family, good acts will earn you house points, whereas mischief will lose you points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is presented with the House Cup. Now, if you'll follow me."
And with that, the woman turned and walked through the oak doors.
The small group followed her through the doorway, all the way past the rest of the students, some waving to siblings, many watching the ceiling, which was currently showing the same scene it had outside, a waning moon and a partially cloudy night. The company came to a halt at the end of the room, many still looking around when the woman stopped beside a beyond-antique-looking stool, and an even older looking hat.
That thing looks like it could fall apart if a baby sneezed anywhere within a one yard area around it...
"Now just what d'you think she's gonna do wi-"
Peter, who had come up to them after finishing up with his other buddies, was cut short, as a tear in the hat, previously invisible, opened up and poured out a voice which filled the hall, a great feat mind you, what with the ceiling being nearly cavernous.
"A very long, long time ago
Before any of you were born
There came about four wizards
The best, so some have sworn
They shared this vision, and planned their dream
That which was to create
A school to the utmost of magical things
The best 'twas ever made
Diff'rent things did they admire
The famous Hogwarts four
Set upon me the task they did
Of placing you all for sure
Gryffindor above all, praised
Those that were courageous
Whilst to Ravenclaw those of intellect
Seemed to be most advantageous
Hufflepuff held most high
The loyal and unafraid of routine
And Slytherin loved those of pure-blood
Who would do nigh anything to achieve their means
Now put me on 'round your head
You can't hide anything from me
I'll show you where you truly belong
'Coz I'm the Sorting Hat you see!"
After a moment of silence, the room erupted into cheers and applause. The lady quickly spoke up after it had softened a bit.
"In a moment, I will call your name. You shall come up, and I will place the hat on your head. After you've been sorted, you will walk over to your new table and wait for the sorting to end."
POV Change to Remus
"I can't believe she lied t' me about the sor'ing... She said we had to figh' a grindylow..... Wha's a grindylow anyway?.."
"What, no Dragons after all? And I looked 'em up for a bloody week... Wouldn't believe some of the looks I got from librarians..."
He caught a few of the murmurs going through the small crowd of first years, but paid no attention to them as he tried to recall all of the song. It was rather hard to remember the beginning, he had been in slight shock for a minute or so, not expecting the hat to suddenly burst out into melody.
"Aberforth, Adlena!"
A nervous looking girl with freckles and dirty-blonde hair went up and tentatively sat on the stool. It looked like she was muttering to herself or something, but he didn't really get a chance to tell, as it took all of about twenty-four seconds for 'Aberforth, Adlena', to become a...
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
He nearly winced as Adlena headed over towards a highly enthusiastic, loud, table. He glanced around, looking for 'Ademac, Evan!' who had just been called. He noticed him as the boy who had been talking about Dragons about two minutes ago and began watching the ceiling right after Evan became a...
"RAVENCLAW!"
POV Change to Sirius
"Baberath, Zach!"
He glanced over at the boy climbing on the stool and raised his eyebrows a bit at his pale green hair.
I'll have to ask if someone hexed 'im, an' if he remembers what it was...
"SLYTHERIN!"
Or maybe not...
"Black, Sirius!"
He looked up and felt a small nudge from James. He made his way up, trying to not appear very nervous, and actually doing an ok job at it. He settled himself upon the stool and was nearly plunged into darkness as the slightly-too-big hat was placed on his head.
Ahh, another Black...
Not Slytherin, not Slytherin..
No? Well that's rather unexpected from a Black... Now where to put you... You're a tough one, a long family tradition, plenty of courage though, a sharp wit... Guess it'll be...I
"GRYFFINDOR!"
He blinked as the hat was pulled off his head. He glanced over to the applauding table and figured that was Gryffindor. Grinning a bit, he headed over and sat down, ignoring the death-glares he was receiving from his cousins at another table, while 'Butler, Gerard!' became a...
"RAVENCLAW!"
POV Change to Lily
"Christian, Wolf!"
She watched Wolf become a...
"HUFFLEPUFF!" and Adlena held out a hand as he came over, saying "I told you I'd be first.."
After him, 'Donahue, Sarah!', became a...
"SLYTHERIN!"
While her twin, 'Donahue, Serena!' became a...
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Bizarre... Must be a lot of fighting in their home...
"Evans, Lily!"
That's me...
She thought as she slowly made her way up to the stool. She sat down on it as the hat was placed on her head, almost covering her eyes but not quite.
Hmm, never seen an Evans before... I sense a lot of loyalty, wit and a hard worker... You'd do well in Ravenclaw... But your courage suits you more towards...
"GRYFFINDOR!"
The hat was taken off her head as she tried to get over it talking in her head. She grinned a bit, nervously, and made her way towards a cheering table, sitting beside Serena and across from Sirius.
"Finnigan, Ruarc!"
POV Change to Remus
He watched the girl with striking red hair sit down nervously amongst claps on the back and many people offering congratulations. There were a good ten minutes before anyone else he recognized was called, in that time frame, Ruarc became a Gryffindor, there were three Slytherins, four Hufflepuffs, two Ravenclaws and three more Gryffindors.
"Johanson, Molly!"
He recognized her as a girl who had nearly gotten lost when they were walking through the castle. She had paused to look at something, only to scramble backwards when it turned to look back.
"RAVENCLAW!"
I think she said earlier she had recently moved...
He thought, noticing obvious Scandinavian traits.
"Lovegood, Scott!"
He watched as the noise in the hall grew softer and softer, while Scott sat on the stool, after, of course, nearly tripping on the steps. It was a good four minutes before he was sorted into...
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
At which point the noise erupted again as the Hufflepuff table stood and cheered.
"Lupin, Remus!"
Here begins the ride...
He made his way up to the stool and was plunged into what was almost complete darkness as the hat fell over his eyes.
Well, well, well... What do we have here? What are you doing at Hogwarts?
I could've asked the same thing...
Obviously, quick-wit is apparent. Lots of courage too, loyalty to friends, intellect... I sense another...
"GRYFFINDOR!"
The hat was pulled off his head, and top half of his face... He made his way towards the table currently giving a standing ovation.
I wonder if my hearing will be permanently damaged after this night...
He took a seat a couple places over from Sirius, grinned a bit and nodded a hello to the people congratulating him, then turned to watch the rest of the sorting.
"MacFarlane, Broc!"
POV Change to Peter
"Is that a badger?"
"Where?"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"On the Hufflepuff part of the emblem..."
"Negrate, Tony!"
"Yea, I think so..."
"Why a badger?"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Couldn't tell ya..."
"Nocturn, Matthias!"
"It just doesn't seem to fit with the others, y'know?"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"No, it doesn't..."
"Pettigrew, Peter!"
His eyes widened a bit and he turned to head his way up towards the stool. He sat down, and had the hat rest on his head, stopping short of his eyes.
Another new line... That's about three tonight... Now, where to put you... I feel potential... A hard worker, hmm... And a thirst for power... But I think you're suited more toward...
"GRYFFINDOR!"
He grinned and headed over to the cheering table, taking a place beside the boy.
POV Change to James
Not too many people left... Good, 'coz I'm half starved...
"Potter, James!"
That was fast...
He made his way up the steps, taking a couple measures to ensure that he wouldn't trip, and plopped down on the stool. He barely noticed the hat on his head, but did notice however, his newly hampered vision.
Ahh... A Potter... You're the same as the others, but possibly with a bit more quick-wit, enthusiasm for a good prank and arrogance... Among a brave heart, loyalty and charisma. I know exactly where to put you...
"GRYFFINDOR!"
IPerfect! Sirius an' Peter are in Gryffindor too! he thought as he went over towards the table and sat next to Sirius, who was quickly scooting over.
"Rhys, Phillip!"
"This is great, eh?"
"Yeah. Just one problem..."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"What?"
"Snape, Severous!"
At that precise moment, his stomach growled loudly.
"Ahhh...."
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Oy, he looks like he could use a shower..." Peter pointed out as Severous sat down at the Slytherin table.
"Strong, Ewan!"
"Yea... Wonder if he's ever blinded anyone before with the glint off his hair..." His voice trailed off absently as Sirius and Peter snorted and laughed a bit.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Ewan went over and took a seat next to Remus, who nodded a hello.
"I wonder if he ever talks..." James began.
"He talked in the boat didn't he?"
"Yea... Ok, I wonder if he ever begins a conversation or talks without being spoken to first."
"Thomas, Seon!"
"I wouldn't know, I've only known him for what, twelve minutes total? Not counting all the time he was sleeping."
"Ravenclaw!"
POV Change to Peter
"Good point..."
"Walker, Huey!"
He glanced over at James, who had a pale green streak running through his hair along the side of his head.
"Wha-" He cut off with a look from Sirius.
"SLYTHERIN!"
"Williams, John!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"So... Any of you know when, and if we're going to eat?"
"Xander, Berkley!"
"Aw, shut up Sirius, I know for a fact you had at least three pumpkin pasties, and a couple handfuls of candy on the train."
"Yea, it's not like you're going to starve." he pitched in.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"And just how do you lads know how much I eat? We've only known each other for..." He counted on his fingers.
"About eight hours? I happen to be having a growth spurt right this minute."
And to emphasize his point, Sirius made a show of slowly straightening up and craning his neck until he was satisfied that he couldn't stretch himself any higher.
"See?"
"Oh, cut it out... Hey, I think the sorting's stopped."
They all glanced up in time to see the lady walk away with the stool and hat, and to see another man step up to the podium.
"That's gotta be Dumbledore..." he whispered.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. I'd just like to take a moment to say a few things, as I'm sure you're all hungry."
The man had a twinkle in his eyes, and what looked like a small grin, but what there was of it was pretty much concealed behind his grey beard.
"Firstly, I've been instructed to tell you that First years are still not permitted to tryout for the Quidditch team, after the incident we had a while ago."
He glanced around the room, his gaze lingering on a few select students for a moment, then sweeping over the rest of the hall.
"Second, there has been a new tree planted on the south-eastern side of the castle. I'd advise anyone who doesn't want a quick lesson in hanging on for life to stay away from it."
Again, the traces of a grin behind the beard, but no hint in his voice, just the same, merry, jovial tone.
"I've also been asked to remind you all that the Dark Forest is strictly off limits to all students, unless you have a professor, in their proper state, with you."
There were a couple sniggers and about three people looked around innocently.
"And also to remind you all, that the right-hand corridor, on the third floor, is off-limits to everyone who doesn't want to die a terrible death."
Just a few nervous glance and some murmurings about what they all thought was in that particular corridor.
"And lastly, we have some changes to our ranks. I'd like you all to welcome Professor Patroclus, who will be filling the position of Charms teacher."
A tall man stood up to the sounds of applause, a broad smile on his face. He had pale, almost frosty-looking, green eyes, shortish light-brown hair, and, you could even tell from across the room, a twinkle similar to Dumbledore's. He looked like he had been on the receiving end of some minor hex, as his hair was sporting a similar streak to James'.
"And Professor Janus, our new Potions teacher."
As Professor Patroclus sat back down, a woman stood up to an ovation. She had a relatively passive look on her face, auburn long-ish hair, and ice blue eyes.
"Now," Dumbledore began as Professor Janus sat down. "Let's eat."
The tables seemed to suddenly grow food out of nowhere and there were a few gasps of surprise. The older students however, further down the tables, began to eat almost immediately.
"Woah.."
"Yoo sai it..." Someone replied around a mouthful of food.
"So what class are ye all waitin' on?" Someone else began.
"Flying." Chorused three voices at once.
"Transfiguration."
"Charms."
"I didn't know anyone actually waited for Charms."
"Defense."
"Ooh yea, that one seems good.."
"Divination."
"But that's not until third year..."
"So I'll be waiting a while..."
The conversation carried on much like this for a while. Everyone gradually began to get drowsy as the day's effects finally took their toll. Remus looked dead on his feet, along with a few other students.
"Now, if the Prefects could please take their houses back to the common rooms. Good night."
Dumbledore and the other teachers began to get up and head out.
"Alright now, Gryffindor, follow me please." A boy with blond hair and a startlingly brilliant smile began heading out the hall.
"God, he could blind someone with that thing..." he muttered as they made their way out.
"Woah..."
They had come into a tower that seemed to almost go on forever if you looked up. Plus, it seemed as if every inch of the walls, even the slanted bits, were covered with pictures, many of which were currently greeting the students.
"Watch the staircases now, they like to change." A female voice behind them said, and many turned to see the other prefect catching up.
POV Change to James
"Yeah, they really do..." he muttered to Sirius and pointing above them, where no less than ten staircases were currently moving.
"No sleepwalking then..."
"Only if you like waking up to a nice breeze..."
"And a rough morning very shortly after..."
"Rough indeed. More like 'splat' if you're high enough. That's tiled flooring down there."
"Ooh..."
"Just tie me to my bed tonight, ok?"
"Sure, but I might forgot to untie you in the morning."
"Nevermind."
He turned a bit to return the greeting of what looked like an Irishman from the late sixteen-hundreds when he noticed Remus brushing himself off and glancing around a bit.
"What happened to you?"
"Ghost."
"What? That's it?"
"No, he came through the wall. And me. Then apologized and went that way." Remus gestured to the opposing wall. "Like walking through ice-cold cobwebs or something..."
He was about to reply when he bumped into Sirius, who promptly bumped back. This caused him to hit Peter, who collided with a girl with red-hair, who stumbled into Remus, who hit the wall and stopped the chain reaction.
"Is it over?"
"I think so. Care to try again Sirius?"
"Me? You hit me in the first place. Y'know, if you keep your eyes open when you walk, it increases your vision by a factor of ten. Scientifically proven."
Sirius noticed the looks he was getting.
"Sirius-ly."
That earned him a few groans, to which he grinned. James was going to reply when he was interrupted again, this time by a very pompous voice.
"Password?"
"Hm.. Yes, the password..."
The female prefect grinned a bit and rolled her eyes slightly before saying,
"Conjunctio."
The portrait swung open to reveal a doorway.
"Hm... Literally a hole in the wall..." Peter mumbled as they walked in.
He grinned and glanced at Peter, then turned his gaze on the room. It was decorated in true Gryffindor style, all varying shades of reds and golds. It was rather like a den, softly lit by a fire, some slightly overstuffed chairs, a couch and a couple tables. And again, plenty of portraits on the walls.
"Now, boy's dormitories up the steps on your right, girls, the same on your left."
"You'll find your things have already been brought up for you."
If the two prefects said anything else, it was lost on at least half of the students there.
A small stack of parchment sitting on one of the tables caught his eye and he headed over.
Ahh, class schedules...
He sifted through them, finding the ones with his, Sirius' and Peter's names on them, then heading back towards them. He absently handed each of the pieces to them while reading his own.
"Oh, it's ok James, that's only my eye..."
"Oh buck up Sirius... What class do you have first?"
"Looks like Trans-, oh wait, that's first next week... Mmm... Charms."
"Me too."
"Yea."
"Hey, c'mon, lets go check these out in the dorms, I wanna see my bed."
"More like you want to see the inside of your eyelids."
"Funny Peter.. You should try humor as a career..."
"Hmm.. Lets see... Third Year Boys... Second Years... Fourth.... What happened to order? Ah ha, Firsts."
The room was decorated similarly to the common room, with the exception of actually being able to see the walls, there weren't as many portraits here. The prefect had been right, all their things had been brought up and set beside a bed, with additional robes, scarves and the like, all in scarlet and gold in true Gryffindor style.
"Here's my stuff, all marked with an absolutely lovely SB."
He and Peter rolled their eyes and glanced around at the other trunks in the room.
"Lets see.. We've got an 'ES'.."
"That'd be Strong.."
"What?"
"His last name. It's Strong."
"Ahh..."
"There's also an 'RL', 'BM', 'RF', and 'BX'."
"The 'BM' is Broc MacFarlane. 'RF' is Ruarc Finnigan. I don't remember the other two."
"Remus Lupin."
"And Berkley Xander. But just call me Xander. Please."
They turned to see two boys entering the room.
"Peter Pettigrew."
"James Potter."
"And Sirius Black, the humble, intelligent, funny..."
"Annoying..."
Sirius shot him a look and then turned back towards the other two.
"So what brings you two up here?"
"Just wanted to continue my explorations of my eyelids."
"Noticed the way you guys seemed to be eyeing everything up and wanted to inventory my things so I can see what's missing later."
"We share a room with sharp tongues I see."
"If you say so."
"Uh, Xander, your stuff is over there, Remus, you're by the window."
"Thanks. G'night."
"You're going to sleep?"
"Yep."
"Now?"
"Yep."
"After you slept for all but ten minutes of the train ride?"
"Yep. Is the inquisition over?"
"Yep." Sirius said, mimicking him.
"Anyone want to play a game?"
"What kind?"
"Hmm.. Gobstones, or Exploding Snap, or whatever.."
"How about Snap."
A chorus of affirmatives rang back. The rest of the night, at least as long as they could stay awake for, as even their excitement about new surroundings wasn't enough to keep them up all night, was spent proving that Peter and Broc had excellent poker faces, and that Xander couldn't play cards to save his life. It pretty much ended however, when both Ewan and Remus decided to throw their pillows at the group in an attempt to get them to be quiet.
"Go to sleep!"
"Go to sleep yourself Ruarc."
"I'm trying, but it's bloody hard when you people keep blowing up right beside my head!"
"We're not blowing up..."
"Oh shut up, it's too early to be technical."
"Early?"
"Yes early. What, none of you like watches or something?"
"As much as I hate to admit it, but he's probably right about the sleeping thing, considering classes start in five hours."
And with that voice of reason, and a few more pillows, the group finally decided to go to bed.
POV Change to Lily
"Could you please pass the.. Whatever-that-is."
"This?"
"Yea. Thanks."
"I wonder where they get all this food from? Who makes it and all..."
"I dunno but it's delicious."
"Agreed."
The Great Hall was filled with chatting, laughter, and the smells of good food, bacon currently the dominant smell.
"Hey Lily, what's your first class?"
"Charms. Yours?"
"Charms."
"When do you think we should start heading there?"
The other girl glanced at some time device and responded. "If I'm reading that right, and I don't think I am considering it has about five hands more than it needs, we should leave around now."
"Ok then."
POV Change to Sirius
"I'm sorry, I was just wondering, how exactly did we get lost again? Especially when we had written directions?"
"Be quiet James."
There were a few more moments of silence as they sprinted through the halls.
"This place needs a map."
"Yeah, or at least some 'You-are-here' signs."
"That'd work too."
"Will you two be quiet, I'm trying to remember how to get back to where we were when we first got lost."
"Why don't you just read the directions backwards?"
"That'd make it come out like 'nrut telf' instead of 'turn left'."
"I didn't mean literally backwards you git..."
"Let me see the directions."
"Uhh..."
"You still have them, right? 'Coz I'll have to hurt you if you don't."
"You guys good at retracing steps?"
"Oh. My. God." James slapped his hand to his face.
"That's got to hurt."
"Not as bad as what I'm going to do to you."
"Just find a picture."
"What?"
"Ask a picture for directions."
"It's so simple it just might work..."
POV Change to Remus
"Welcome to Charms class. I'm Professor Spurius Patroclus, or Loki if you prefer. I'm sure that this year will have quite a few laughs and some rather interesting things included, that is, if all of your classmates decide to come."
As if on cue, Sirius, James and Peter burst in.
"Ahh, thank you for showing up. If you'll take a seat, we can begin."
"That was better than expected..." he heard James remark as the group headed towards the table behind him.
"Now, the first things we will be learning this year will be incredibly boring, but they must be learnt so that more interesting things may be accomplished. Like say, the counter-curses for the leg-locker curse or, say, green-streaked hair."
There was a wave of soft murmurings and giggles as an incident that had begun on the train around lunch on the trip to Hogwarts, and had ended after traveling through five cars, three hours later was brought to mind. Not to mention that some students were still sporting the green locks.
"Right then, the very first thing I shall try to hammer into your hea-, teach you, is a movement called the 'Swish-and-Flick'."
"Sounds simple enough.", came a call near the back-right corner of the room, quickly followed by a few nods and affirmatives.
"Well then, let's just skip on to a simple charm spell shall we?"
James leaned over towards Sirius.
"I like this guy."
"Yea, but one can't help but notice that glint in his eye, like he knows something we don't yet."
"Now then," Loki began. "Since we are skipping the lessons on the 'Swish-and-Flick', I believe the next subject is the levitating spell. The phrase is 'Wingardium Leviosa.' Just practice saying it a couple times. Good. Now, see the rather large and fluffy feather in front of you? The ones perfect for tickling someone? Just try and get it a couple feet into the air and then bring it back down. Any volunteers to attempt it first before the rest of the class tries?"
"I will." Came another call from the same place as before.
"Perfect. Go on then."
The class turned to watch the boy do what he apparently thought was a 'swish-and-flick' as he pronounced the spell. Around three seconds later however, everyone was putting up books and hiding under desks to escape from the feathers that were threatening to break the sound barrier as they zoomed around. After a few seconds the Professor's voice rang out.
"Immobilus!"
James and Sirius came out from behind the desks to find several people looking around, Remus and Peter both staring down feathers very close to their faces and the Professor grinning like mad.
"Show of hands, how many people would like to learn the Swish-and-Flick properly before we go on?"
He glanced around.
"Glad to see it's unanimous then."
POV Change to James
"Well that was fun."
"Oh yeah, I always wanted to get myself poked by a feather."
"Honestly, who would've thought feathers, especially the showy ones, could be used as deadly weapons.."
"You can use anything as a deadly weapon, if you use it correctly."
"Ok... Think I'm going to stay away from you for a while..."
"Oh, shove off... I just know you can do that, I don't know how. Yet..."
Sirius wore a malevolent smirk for a moment, before laughing at his friends faces.
"That's not funny Sirius."
"Really, 'coz I thought it was great!"
"You would."
Sirius glared at James for a moment, while James just looked at him evenly.
"It's true."
"I know that, but you don't have to say it."
They laughed, Sirius joining them after a few seconds.
Consummatio - (For now..)
An - So? The characters are the way they are at the moment just because they are feeling each other out. And are eleven year old boys. I love looking to my little brother and his friends about this, such good examples sometimes.. Hehe.. Oh, and this won't be a slash fic, ever. Just to say. Anyway, Review please!