Food appeared on the gold platters in front of them. Harry gasped in shock as the smells of chicken, ham, and roast beef hit his nose. He had always gone hungry at the Dursleys and had been forced to suffer while his cousin could stuff his face. Being faced with this much food and many options was a little overwhelming. There were mashed potatoes, green beans, and roasted carrots in a honey glaze.
"Wow, this looks amazing!" Harry said. "I've never seen this much food before."
He regretted speaking for a moment, wondering if Theo or Hermione would find that strange, but Theo nodded and Hermione said,
"I know, right? This all looks so good! I hardly know what to choose!"
Harry was a little lost as well so he took a little bit of everything on his plate. The carrots had to be his new favorite, and as he had only had ham once or twice he was overwhelmed with the fattening flavor.
"So what was your first time doing magic?" asked Theo, as he helped himself to a chicken leg.
Harry hesitated, not wanting to share his less than pleasant story. But Hermione jumped into the conversation eagerly.
"Well, my parents threw away all of my Halloween candy. I got really mad and it all came flying out of the trash can, and into my room. My parents were frightened. Obviously, we didn't know what I was doing was magic until Professor McGonagall came to visit on my birthday years later."
"I made all the water on my dad's table freeze. He hadn't allowed me to sit at the adult table until I showed signs of magic. So one Christmas when I was alone at the kid's table, my cousin was teasing me about it, and I froze all the water glasses. What about you Harry?"
"Oh, I shrunk an ugly sweater my Aunt was trying to force on me," said Harry, naming the one time he did magic and wasn't punished. He quickly changed topics. "Theo, I know Professor McGonagall is head of Gryffindor house, who is head of Slytherin?"
"Professor Snape," said Theo. "He is the one in black robes and long black hair, next to the professor in the turbine."
Harry looked up at the staff table. The professor Theo was talking about was on the left side of Dumbledore and was talking to the professor with the purple turbine on his other side. He wore a sneer and his black greasy hair curtains around his face. As Harry watched he looked up and they met eyes. His nose was hooked, and his eyes were pitch black and cold. Professor Snape glared at Harry, and he felt goosebumps trail down his back.
"I don't think he likes me," said Harry. "He's glaring at me pretty hard."
"Don't worry about it," said Theo. "People say he favors the Slytherins. So that's one teacher we don't have to worry about."
"I still don't think professors should favor students from one house or another," said Hermione. "It's not fair."
Baron Von Stenberg let out a rusty chuckle.
"Ah, youth," he said in an ominous voice. "I miss my days in the sun."
The talking stopped after that, and the three of them focused on their food and something Theo called pumpkin juice. Finally, when they had their fill, the main course disappeared and desserts took their place on the platters. Blocks of ice cream, pudding, pie of all flavors, and best of all-
"Treacle tart!" Harry exclaimed.
"You like it?" asked Hermione.
"Well, it always smelled so amazing whenever my Aunt made it," said Harry. He had never tried it of course, but he wasn't about to tell them that. They might think that was weird. "And it's what my Potter Family Magics smells like."
"Your what?" asked Hermione, pausing as she scooped chocolate pudding onto her plate.
"My family Magics," said Harry. "Do you not know anything about Family Magics?"
"No, I didn't get any books that mention anything about Family Magics," said Hermione. "What are they?"
"Well Theo can probably explain better than me," said Harry. "I just found out about them."
Hermione turned to Theo expectantly. He had helped himself to Apple pie and vanilla bean ice cream.
"Well, some magical families that helped found the magical community in Britain back in the days of King Arthur were recognized and given seats in the wizarding government. It's called the Wizgamont, and the families have positions of power. Some names have died out and are now called something different, and others have died out completely. But they still help make most of the magical laws in Britain."
"So do I have a seat on the wizgamont now that I'm a witch?" asked Hermione.
Theo winced.
"The only way to gain any power would be to become Minister of Magic or marry into a family with a seat. That way your children could have a seat, and you could access the family magic."
"That's terrible!" exclaimed Hermione.
"Yeah, well it's been that way for centuries." said Theo. "And I don't make the rules."
"So I would have no political power at all?"
Harry could tell Hermione was going to work herself up into a fit. Meanwhile Harry just wanted to enjoy his treacle tart in peace. He quickly interrupted her.
"You didn't even ask Theo about what I meant by Family Magics," said Harry. "When I went to Gringotts I got a ring that represents the heirdom of the Potter family. And I got a family tomb. I learned that apparently different Heir Rings each give different powers. And the Family Tombs have family trees, and tons of spells that families keep secret."
"You mean there's magic out there that I won't get to learn about because I'm a muggleborn?" Hermione asked, outraged. She was practically hissing and spitting like a mad cat.
"Well, yeah," said Theo. "I never really considered it, but people, pureblood or not, that hold Family Magics tend to have more power and a better understanding of magic in general."
He looked at Hermione apologetically. Harry just focused on his treacle tart. He didn't want to think about all the extra power he might have with four heir rings that each represent their own Family Magics. It seemed like a lot of responsibility for one child to hold. Especially him, who just learned about the magical world. He thought that if he could share the responsibility with Hermione he would do it in a heartbeat. Harry kept remembering Professor McGonagall's face as she warned him about the Black and Slytherin Family Magics. He had taken her word for it that he should be careful with them.
"Don't worry Hermione," said Theo. "You're smarter than average, I can already tell. Loads of people in this school don't have any Family Magics, so I wouldn't worry too much about not being as good as the others, or falling behind in Magics."
"If you say so, Theo," said Hermione.
Soon dessert was done, and the plates on the table were sparkling clean once more. Harry was feeling comfortably full for the first time in his life, when Professor Dumbledore stood up. The hall quieted once more for him and he smiled.
"Now that you are all fed and watered, I would like to make a few start of term announcements. To start, first years should note that the forest is out of bounds to all students, and a few of our older students should do well to remember that as well." Professor Dumbledore said, his blue eyes twinkling in the direction of a pair of red-headed twins behind his half-moon glasses. "Another rule Filch asked me to remind you of is that magic is banned in the corridors between classes. And finally, everyone should note that the third floor corridor on the right hand side is off limits to anyone who doesn't want to die a most painful death."
"Is he joking?" asked Hermione in a worried tone.
"Oh no my dear, he is quite serious." said Baron Von Stenberg. "You should all stay away from there this year."
"Well, that is all for tonight!" cried Dumbledore. "Goodnight, goodnight to all of you!"
Benches pushed back from the slytherin table and everyone rose to their feet. Harry, Hermione, and Theo followed the crowd streaming out of the great hall. The students split into two groups. Most of them going up the grand staircase, and the Slytherins going down some steps, deeper into the castle.
"The Slytherin common rooms are in the dungeons," said Theo.
"So we should follow the crowd?" asked Hermione.
Theo nodded and the three of them went down the stairs into a cold stone hallway. Some doors lined the hallway, and there were a couple portraits. Harry noticed that the people and animals moved. They whispered to each other and slipped into one another's frames. Soon the crowd had stopped, and they all seemed to be filing into a wall, which had slid open. A boy with dark hair and crooked teeth turned to them and said,
"You're some of the new first years?" asked the boy, not really expecting an answer. "The password is 'Salazar'."
"Thanks," said Theo.
The boy turned away and started talking to a couple of his friends as they all entered the common room. Harry and his friends were some of the last to enter. Harry looked around at what would become his new home for the rest of the school year. The room was lit with green light, filtered in through windows that seemed to give a view from underwater. Harry realized they were probably so deep they were submerged under the lake. There were leather armchairs and dark green fabric couches. Banners with the snake emblom hung on the wall. A roaring fireplace in the corner made Harry wonder how a chimney could get all the way down here.
There was a staircase on the right where boys were heading up to their dormitories, and a hallway on the left where girls were walking down to their rooms. Harry, and Theo paused before going up the stairs and turned toward Hermione who was biting her lip and eyeing the other girls with apprehension.
"Are you going to be okay?" Theo asked.
"Yes, I think so," said Hermione. "They couldn't be any worse than the girls in Primary School could it?"
Harry wasn't so sure. These girls would be some of the most snobby purebloods in the school. And unlike the muggle girls she went to school with, these girls could curse or hex Hermione when her back was turned.
"Just hang in there. We'll meet you here at seven to go to breakfast, okay?" asked Harry.
"Sure. good night!" said hermione.
The boys turned their backs on Hermione and went up to bed.