Chase grinned and bid a farewell to the train conductor, then ran back to the Lookout. He knocked.
"Who's.." The door opened. It was Katie. "Chase, son! You're back! Nice, you got an owl! What's his name?"
It turned out the family had tons of questions. So they all sat down on the magically heated rug and started to Q&A.
"His name's Galdur. He's a Barn owl. I'm leaving September First!"
"Cool!" Tuck said. He reached up to pet the owl. The creature hooted happily.
"He likes you," Chase observed.
"Did you make any friends? What house are you going to be in?" Ella asked excitedly.
"Not sure what house. Nobody knows yet, we need to put on the sorting hat to find out. And yes, I did make friends, Callum and Marshall Ritso. They're cousins, and they introduced me to Bang Bops!"
"Nice. I remember a Callum...but it's a popular name, so I guess it's nothing," Katie said. "Well, I do think you need some rest?"
Chase nodded. "I'm pretty tired. I'll retire for a nap."
"Sounds good. Please do leave your owl here."
"Sure, why not? You can play with him."
And with that, he went up the elevator to get a good rest for what would happen a week after.
"Whoa."
Chase stared. Stared at that perfectly shaped building.
Was it even his schoolroom? It didn't look like it. It was...it looked like a castle, perfectly hidden by trees and covered with beautiful paintings. A banner read:
Come in, Juniors!
"Awesome," Marshall breathed. "Let's go."
With shaky hands, Chase reached up to the door and pushed it open. A huge hallway beckoned them into the Sorting Room. But before any of them could take a step, a map flowed from midair and into Chase's hands.
"Wow, whoever did that, thanks," Chase said aloud. Then they started walking, and the sounds of excited whispers slowly got louder. Soon they were in the Sorting Room, where loud chatter was displayed.
"Where's Gryffindor?" Marshall asked Chase, who was holding the map.
"Here." Chase fingered at a section in the southeast of the castle. "You see, there's the logo with the lion. And Slytherin is right above it, and Ravenclaw next to it, Hufflepuff below."
"I hope I'm in Gryffindor," Callum said.
"I'd like to be with my cousin." Marshall nudged said relative.
"Me too," Callum said. "Hmm. But the sorting hat can bring us anywhere. Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor."
"Hufflepuff..." Chase trailed off.
"What about it?" Marshall queried.
"That's where Uncle Tracker was. So it's sorta tied up with Gryffindor."
"Where is he now?" Callum asked.
"...in heaven..." Chase sighed.
"Oh, sorry."
"His hair...it was so like yours, Callum." Chase smiled.
"Really!" Callum, for the first time since Chase had met him, looked nervous. "That's...that's n-nice!"
"Um, okay?"
Suddenly a loud ring sounded. A man with a whiskery beard stepped up.
"Good day. I am Burvis Bruxo Dewin Sahir Dumbledore, the great-great-great-great-grandson of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. I am here to hold to Sorting ceremony. Well, I trust we should not be going like this all day. I will read the names in alphabetical order, last names. Let's get started! We do not have much time. First up: Lilian Abtok."
A girl, trembling, stepped onto the stage. Burvis helped her get the hat on, and it yelled, "Slytherin!"
Chase clapped along with the crowd as the girl made her way to the Slytherin table. Then Dumbledore said,
"Yes! Please come on up, brother of Lilian, Richard Abtok!"
The boy, who look older than Lilian, put on the hat which yelled, "Slytherin!" He made his way to the table.
This went on for another ten minutes. Then finally it was the Ritso's turn.
Dumbledore yelled, "Callum Ritso!" as Samuel Risteo headed to the Hufflepuff table.
The boy got to his feet and marched up. In seconds the hat yelled, "Gryffindor!"
"Yes!" Chase cheered, along with Marshall. Then it was Marshall's turn.
"Gryffindor!" the hat proclaimed. Marshall, a broad grin on his face, headed towards the table.
It was almost Chase's turn. Riley Safa had stepped out and into the Slytherin table.
"Chase Safor!" Dumbledore said.
Chase trembled, have with excitement, half of fear. But he stepped onto the stage and put on the hat. It was a good three seconds before the hat finally agreed on Gryffindor rather than Hufflepuff. "Gryffindor!" it shouted loudly, almost loud enough to make Chase deaf.
Chase smiled and ran over to the table and was greeted by the leader, Albrun McGonagall.
"Hello, Chase! I'm Albrun McGonagall, the great-grandaughter of Minerva McGonagall," the woman said warmly, while the other children elected to Gryffindor cheered that they'd gotten Chase. He had no idea that he really was famous before this!
Suddenly a bell rang. The lights went out. Then the lights turned on again.
"What was that?" Chase asked, looking 'round.
"Me, Safor. I'm coming for you."
Chase started. The voice was in his brain. Not in the atmosphere. Nobody seemed to have heard.
"Lighting difficulties." Dumbledore shrugged. "Come on up, Rex Sagroy."
Chase watched the boy being sent to Gryffindor. He plopped down beside Chase. "You're Safor, right? I heard the voice. I'm pretty sure you heard it too, right? I'm Rex."
Chase nodded, shuddering. "That 'I'm coming for you'? Yes."
"I'm here to help. I'm pretty sure I'm in the same room as you. I saw a glimspe of the list."
"I see."
At that moment, Callum and Marshall noticed Rex.
"Rex, right?" Callum asked, grinning.
"Yup, that's me. I saw you guys are going to be in the same room as Chase."
"Great, no girls!" Chase said happily. "Rex might be in our room, too."
"Cool!" Marshall said. "Well, I say we just lounge and watch."
"Sure," Rex agreed, then laid back in his chair. A girl, Marie Secsut, had been called up and placed into Ravenclaw. Then Chip into Hufflepuff, Ricky into Slytherin, James into Hufflepuff, Riley into Gryffindor.
Suddenly Chase smiled. "Look, guys! A boy had been called to Hufflepuff, but he's heading to the Ravenclaw's table!"
"Heh," Callum giggled. "That's a little funny."
Soon the boy headed to the correct table. Then the last person was going up.
"Julias Zuzz, come on up!" Dumbledore proclaimed.
The girl was sent to Slytherin, and Dumbledore grinned widely. "Banquet time!" the headmaster proclaimed.
Chase felt like he was starving. He gulped down a few potatoes, some steamed broccoli, three cupcakes, and other foods not in the Muggle world.
Then he put a chocolate in his mouth. Immediately his stomach began churning.
"I don't feel so good," he moaned. "And I've only had ten pieces of food."
"Really? I've had twenty and I feel great," Callum said, looking worried.
"Is the voice acting up?" Rex hissed.
"No—oolp!" Chase ran out and came back a moment later wiping his mouth. "Rex, I heard it," he mumbled. "Heard it in the washroom."
They went to the washroom and started investigating, but only after they had told Callum and Marshall that they needed to get a puke bag.
"Rex. There's no use, it's inside my brain. Not the washroom." Chase sighed. "You'll literally have to go inside my brain to rid of it."
Rex cringed. "Yikes."
"Yikes indeed." Chase sighed again. "I really...I just heard it two times and I'm already scared."
"My my," cackled the voice. "I thought Gryffindor allowed people in who knew right and wrong?"
"Not be never scared," Chase muttered. "Rex, I heard it again."
"I just keeps coming?"
"Yeah."
"Chase, let's go back," Rex said softly. "You need a break."
Chase frowned at him. "You think I'm imagining it, do you?" he said sourly, the wrinkles on his forehead deepening. He did not seem happy, but his mood quickly shifted when he saw where Rex was pointing to.
Callum. It was Callum.
"Oh, so great!" the young boy whispered loudly. "You thought you'd keep a secret from a few-days-year-old friend?! And instead you'd tell someone you haven't even met for an hour?!"
"I would've told my parents," Chase said calmly. "I don't know why this is such a big deal!"
"Chase. Don't you remember? The Rotza?"
Chase stopped for a moment. Rotza..."The one who stole the Sorting Hat before even my parents were alive?"
"Yes! I heard him! Chase, don't you understand?!" Callum sounded exasperated, and he was. "Chase, Rotza is inside your brain. For real. And he's going from one wire to the other, typing in things, and letting you hear them. Chase. You're in danger, okay?"
Chase had gone pale. "I'm only seven."
"I know, and Rotza—its power—its power is big, huge."
"Its?" Rex asked.
"It can turn into anything. It's like its whole body is made out of Polydrink, which id like Polyjuice, but it turns people into objects. And it looks, Chase—it looks as though Rotza has turned into an electron in your brain."
"I don't care!" Chase burst forth, surprising his two friends. "I just need to know—why I'm not dead right now!"
"He wants it to seem like an accident," Callum replied.
"He doesn't." Chase shook his head. "He wants me to kill myself."
"How do you know?" Callum asked.
"Yeah, how?" Rex said.
"So he can see it himself." Chase's voice stayed strong. "He doesn't want to not witness it. The new and improved Polyjuice Potion makes that person go nuts after they do something bad, or villainous. Then he won't be able to see me die. And if I kill myself, he'll have the same result, of course."
"How do you know all this?!" Rex asked in disbelief.
"My sister Ella's a book maniac. She read it somewhere and told me. I'm pretty sure it was one of the assigned books for Junior Hogwarts, really no harm done at all."
"Good. No books about potions sitting in the streets of the world," Rex said.
"Guys. I don't want to die," Chase said quietly.
"Of course you don't. Marshall already knows. We'll get through this a little at a time. Let's go. We can't be gone too long," Rex said.
The others agreed and headed to the banquet, however not a single piece of food reached their mouths.