Author's Notes: Nothing bad in this chapter, but it is very long (8 pages.) I have a feeling there's some inconsistencies with the earlier chapters, so if you find mistakes, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!
Rowan turned to his parents, and his mother hugged him tightly. His siblings hugged him, too, although Todd tried to break his back in the process. His father watched, looking vaguely uncomfortable, and said,
"Well, Rowan…er, have a good term. I think…you'll like it there." That was a lot, coming from his father, so Rowan smiled and shook the hand his father offered.
Nearby, Alexei and his father were also saying goodbye, much more warmly than Rowan and his own father. Rowan heard Daniel say a name, "Sasha," and he was sure he referred to Alexei, but before he could ask, they were ushered on board.
"Bye!" their families called as they leaned out the windows and waved to them. Then, the huge train started forward, deafening Rowan when it finally got going properly.
"Come on," Alexei said to him, backing away from the windows. "Let's find a compartment. I don't want to stand the whole trip."
Rowan looked at him closely for the first time; Alexei was a little taller than he was, and his hair was a very rich blonde. His eyes were a dark gray, almost like ice, with bluish hints, and, much to Rowan's shock, there was a diamond stud in one of his ears.
Alexei motioned to him again, and Rowan followed him, glancing into compartments as they passed them. He saw all sorts of kids: older ones, all of whom were a lot taller, and younger ones, all with identical expressions of fear and excitement on their faces.
Most compartments were full of kids already, but finally, in the middle, they found one with two other boys in it. Alexei asked if they could go in, and the two boys nodded agreeably.
"I'm Alexei Dymtrov---call me Alex, or Lexi, whichever---and this is Rowan Dumas. We're first years." Lexi said.
"Us, too," the red-haired boy said. His eyes were blue. "I'm Brian O'Connor. My older brother goes here."
"And I'm Gabriel Lane. Call me Bree. I have a sister who's already graduated. How about you?"
"I'm an only child," Lexi said. "And Rowan's Muggle-born."
"Really?" Brian asked eagerly, "This must be so weird for you! How did your family take it?"
"My dad wasn't too happy, but everyone else was okay, I guess. I figured they'd just get used to it."
"Probably," Bree said placidly. He had very dark hair and very green eyes. They were a very dark green, almost brown in some lights.
"What years are your siblings?"
"My brother is in his sixth year," Brian said. "Gryffindor."
"My sisters are both in Hufflepuff," Gabriel said. "They're both above fifth year."
"I have three siblings," Rowan offered. "All older. Jenna's graduated school already, and Todd has only a few years left. Leena's closest to me; she's only three years older."
"Like I said before, I'm an only child," Lexi said. "But I have an uncle who practically lives with my father and me."
"Sometimes, I wish I was an only child," Gabriel said wistfully. Rowan wasn't sure if he wanted to be an only child, too, but sometimes…it would be nice to be one of one, instead of one of four.
"I like having a brother," Brian offered. "He's five years older, so we don't really fight much. I'm hoping that we get put into the same house."
"I think I'll go into Gryffindor." Bree said.
"Didn't you say your sisters are in Hufflepuff? I thought that families usually went into the same houses." Rowan asked curiously.
"Not always. Even twins are separated sometimes," Brian said.
"And besides," Bree added, "My father was in Gryffindor, and so was my uncle; the males in my family usually go into Gryffindor."
"Ah." Rowan said. There was a lull in conversation, and a polite knock came on the compartment door. Lexi got up and pulled the door open, and a friendly-looking woman smiled at them warmly. She was pushing a golden trolley filled with all sorts of candies, none of which Rowan had ever seen before.
"Anything from the trolley?"
"What is it?" Rowan asked curiously, peering over Lexi's shoulder curiously.
"This is the best wizard candy in the world—Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Licorice Wands…here, why don't we buy a bit of everything? It'll keep us entertained until we get there."
"A bit of everything is eleven sickles, seven knuts," the woman said. All four boys pitched in, since all of them planned on sharing the huge heap of candy, and then sat down, the large pile between them.
"Be careful with the Beans, Rowan," Lexi warned. "They've got all sorts of flavors—normal ones, and then gross ones, like vomit, grass, dirt…I usually don't eat them, because it's really not worth it."
Rowan hid a grin and put aside a handful, saying,
"I'm going to eat all of those, no matter what flavor. But first, I want to get a look at these Frogs."
The Chocolate Frogs were easily the most interesting candy, at least for Rowan. The packages were easy to open, but one had to be prepared, because the frogs leapt out at the first opportunity, and they had only one good job in them. Rowan liked the cards, too; he was a collector by nature, and having another thing to collect made him happy.
They all split the chocolate frogs, so he ended up with four cards: Circe, Ptolemy, Paracelsus, and Merlin. The pictures on them, much to his surprise, moved in and out of their frames, smiling and waving out at them.
"That's so weird," Rowan muttered. "Pictures aren't supposed to move."
"They do here," Lexi said. "Do you have any Muggle pictures?"
Rowan's wallet was still in his jeans pocket. He had a library card, some movie stubs, and two pictures: one with his family, and one of his dog, Bowen. He handed them to the others, and this time, it was Bree who muttered,
"So weird." They handed the pictures back, and Lexi said,
"It must be almost three by now. We've got another few hours, at least, before we get to Hogsmeade."
"That's the village across the lake from Hogwarts, right?"
"Yep. Colin says you just have to take a boat across the lake. There'll be someone there."
Rowan went pale. "I can't swim."
"Why not?"
"I went on a field trip in kindergarten—I was, like, five. We went onto one of those huge cruise ships, I can't remember the name. They showed us the whole thing, top to bottom, but all I can remember is them taking us underneath. They had a metal gangplank suspended from one end to the other, like, thirty feet above this huge pool of water. The water was lit up, so you could see everything—there was a fake diver opening a chest of treasure. That freaked me out, 'cause the thing was chained down to the bottom. And then, they tried to take us across the gangplank, and all I could think was 'the screws are gonna come out, it'll fall, and we're all gonna drown.' One of the attendants had to carry me across, and after that, I stayed away from water."
"…you have a very active imagination." Brian noted. Rowan shrugged. The memory didn't scare him too much now, but he still hated water, and had never learned to swim properly.
"Yeah, I guess."
"I can swim," Bree said. "My parents have a pool, and it gets so hot in the summer, I go in all the time."
The conversation turned to pools, swimming lessons, and on to various other things as the sky darkened; Rowan was quickly growing antsy, and he could tell everyone else was, too; more and more often, kids came down the halls, peered into windows, or went to find someone who knew what time it was.
Then, an announcement came, for everyone to put on their robes. Excitement tingled through the train; Rowan changed quickly and joined the others, looking out the window.
It was dark out, but still, they could clearly see the large castle: it was the most beautiful building he'd ever seen. It was very big, as well, and seemed to be situated on top of a mountain. Lights glittered in its many windows, illumination the many towers that rose from it.
"It's bigger than I thought," Brian said. "How will we ever find anything?"
"That helps, Brian, thank you," Rowan muttered. "As if I wasn't nervous enough."
The other kids didn't look much better; some looked downright terrified, while others looked as if they shouldn't have eaten any of the candy off the trolley. The train lurched to a stop, and everyone filtered to the front.
There, a giant of a man was yelling for first years. They all filtered to him, and Rowan saw that there were quiet a few—perhaps forty altogether, dressed in identical robes. The big man showed them to some boats that rested on the banks of the black river, and they all piled in, four to a boat, and they started off. Rowan stared at the castle the whole time, knuckles white from the strain of holding onto the boat's side.
The ride was far too long, and Rowan scrambled out the second they touched the ground. The big man led them up a flight of stone steps and they all paused, nervously, in front of a great oak door. The man knocked, and the door swung open.
A thin, severe-looking witch with black hair took them in, and then, she spoke,
"Follow me." The group followed her inside, into what had to be an entrance hall. Torches lined the walls, illuminating the great stone stairs. The woman led them to a small room, and started to speak.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet will begin soon, but before you can take your seats, you will be sorted into your houses. Your house will be like your family, and your triumphs and failures will earn or lose you points. You will spend most of your time with your houses—you will go to classes with them, sleep in the same dormitory, and spend free time in the common rooms with them."
"There are four houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. Each house has its own noble history, and has put out extraordinary wizards and witches. The ceremony will take place in a few minutes. Wait here."
Rowan turned to Lexi and whispered,
"Why do I get the feeling she doesn't like Slytherin?"
"She's head of Gryffindor; Slytherin and Gryffindor are practically enemy houses."
"Ah. What about the other houses?"
"My brother says that no really likes Slytherin; the other three houses associate well, though."
"I'd hate to be put in Slytherin. Can you imagine having a whole school hate you?" Rowan muttered.
"Most of them deserve it." Gabriel noted, but before he could say more, the witch returned.
"Follow me."
They entered a hall filled with other students. A table was situated at the other side of the hall, and it was filled with adults—teachers, probably. There were also four long tables in the room. Candles hovered over them, and he noted that each table sported a color—red, green, yellow, or blue. The farthest on the left was green, then blue, yellow, and red.
They were probably houses, Rowan reflected, following behind Lexi. The witch lined them up, and all forty of them huddled together, united if for only a minute.
Rowan could feel the gazes of the older kids on all of them; some of them, he knew, were on him because of his odd coloring, but for once, he didn't feel out-of-place. He wasn't the only one the other kids were looking at, and that felt pretty good.
Then, the Sorting began. Rowan was shocked to discover that the hat sang, and some of the others were, too. It was interesting, and Rowan had the absurd thought that it would go on until the end of term and he wouldn't have to put it on.
The song ended, though, and Professor McGonagall started reading names off the list.
'Atwater, Jack' became the first Gryffindor, followed by 'Ayan, Emily' who became a Hufflepuff. The list went on rather quickly after that, until suddenly, it was Lexi's turn.
"Dmytro, Alexei!" The blonde boy went up rather confidently, considering. The hat was placed over his ears, and the hat was quiet for a moment before it shouted,
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Rowan watched as Lexi made his way towards a table full of waving kids, and then, he heard his own name: "Dumas, Rowan!"
Rowan waded through two rows of kids and made his way to the stool, doing his best to breathe deeply and not faint. He sat down facing the sea of kids, but they were only visible for a second before the hat descended on his ears.
Ahh…a little of everything in you, I see. Ambition, courage, cleverness…not Hufflepuff, you like to put things off, don't you?...hm…well, then, I guess it better be--
"GRYFFINDOR!"
The hat came off and Rowan headed towards the table Lexi sat at, grinning in relief that at least one of his friends was in his house. Then, he remembered that he wanted to ask Lexi about his name.
Rowan took a seat right next to Lexi, who smiled at him, obviously relieved that they were in the same House.
"Hey, what's up with your name? The list says you're 'Alexei and your dad called you Sasha--"
"In Russia," Lexi said softly, "There are two forms of the name Alexander--Aleksandr, and Alexei. But, instead of the short form of it being 'Alex' or 'Xander,' like here, the short form is Sasha. Of course, that's used intimately; friends, family, lovers, etc."
"So, what do I call you?" Rowan asked curiously.
"Lexi or Sasha is fine. Do you have a nickname?"
"Not one I want used in public."
"Oh, come on," Lexi coaxed. "By American standards, 'Sasha' is a girl's name. Yours can't be that bad."
"Alright. My grandmother used to call me sion when I was little. She's Irish, and it's Gaelic for lion, 'cause of my coloring."
"And you're in Gryffindor?"
"My brother will never let it go."
The Sorting went on, and both he and Lexi listened eagerly when "Lane, Gabriel!" was called.
Much to their shock, the hat shouted,
"RAVENCLAW!"
They had expected that maybe they wouldn't be in the same House, but they had all been hoping. Bree looked at them regretfully before joining the table next to theirs. Rowan and Lexi were quiet for a moment, but then, they began to talk. They chatted easily, partly watching the sorting, but it wasn't long before, "O'Connor, Brian!" was called.
They waited nervously, half expecting it to yell out "RAVENCLAW!" again. But, almost as soon as it touched his head, it yelled,
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Ten seconds later, Brian joined them, smiling happily and looking elated.
"That's four generations of Gryffindors!" he said happily. "My parents wouldn't have cared, but still, this'll please them."
They didn't know anyone else after that, so they talked the whole time. In the end, it came out like this:
In the end, each House gained ten students, five girls and five boys. Gryffindor also got five girls who huddled together and two other boys, Jack Atwater, a boy with dark hair and startlingly gray eyes, and Brooklyn Beckham, a smaller boy with pale blonde hair and crystal-blue eyes.
The Headmaster stood, and the noisy hall went quiet. The man looked very nice; with a ridiculously long beard, and warm blue eyes behind half-moon glasses. Rowan had a feeling that many people went to him with their problems.
"Now, there are a few announcements to make before we eat. The forest on the edge of the grounds is forbidden to all, as there are things in there that no human would survive meeting. Also, the third floor corridor has been abandoned, and is thus forbidden, as it would be dangerous to go there. Mr. Filch, the caretaker, would like me to remind you that everything sold at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes is illegal, as are most of the items sold at Zonko's. A full list is available in his office. The village of Hogsmeade is off-limits to all below third year. Now, that being said...Tuck in!"
Then, the Headmaster clapped his hands, and food appeared on the large metal plates that rested in the middle of the tables. There was everything anyone could want: chicken, roast beef, pork and lamb chops, fries, peas, steak, potatoes, all sorts of breads and cheese...there were several kinds of drinks as well, some he'd never had before, like pumpkin juice. That tasted very good, and he was already full by the time desert came.
When it seemed everyone was done, Dumbledore clapped his hands again, and the food disappeared, leaving clean plates and goblets.
"Now, a few more notices: Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Contact Madam Hooch for details, please. Off to bed with you! Sleep, and may your dreams be full of peppermint humbugs!"
Peppermint humbugs? Is he joking? Rowan wondered. He followed the rest of the Ravenclaws out into the Great Hall, where they briefly merged with the Gryffindors. Rowan remembered that both the Ravenclaws and the Gryffindors resided in towers, while the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs lived in much lower levels.
"Classes start tomorrow, right?"
"Yep. We have to be up early, if we want breakfast; classes start at nine." Brian said, looking very put-out. "I love summers, mostly because I get to sleep as much as I want! I come to school, and I have to wake up."
Rowan hid a smile, and stopped with the rest of the kids as they came to a painting. It was of a woman, dressed in a very pretty dress. She was rather big, though, and Rowan realized that she must be the Fat Lady, the portrait who guarded Gryffindor tower.
"Password?"
"Gesundheit," the Head Boy, Ricky Delacrote, said with great dignity. The portrait swung open, and the whole House filed in, the first years following Ricky to stand in front of the fireplace.
"This is the common room. Everyone can be in here at anytime, although we do ask that you be courteous; house points will be taken if you cause trouble or wake someone up. Now, the boys' dormitory is upstairs and to the left, girls, the same to your right. Your things are there already, and I would advise that you go to bed; morning will come early, believe me."
Lexi was the first up the stairs, but Rowan got caught farther back. He went in to find Lexi already dressed in pajamas and Brian without shirt on. All of them were too tired to really talk, so Rowan just changed into pajamas, got into bed, and pulled the curtains shut.