Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. All rights go to JK Rowling. I do, however, own Nathaniel Harrison, as that is my representation of me in this story.
Chapter One: Introductions
"Wake up honey! It's your birthday!" called by a tired tender, yet exciting voice, of Nathaniel Harrison's mother. "Come on, Nate! We got presents!" Young Nate bolted upright from his sleepy moans of being woken up at the simple word of "presents."
"Yay! Presents!," the cheery, now eleven year old boy exclaimed. He jumped out of his bed, and he ran out of his room, rushing down the stairs and stopped with such ferocity the house could've wobbled off balance. He saw loads of presents, fourteen presents to be exact, with a large pile of birthday cards from Nate's many school friends, his cousins, and of course, his parents.
Nate observed both piles with awe and happiness, with his eyes twinkling as bright as the stars at night and his smile so large it covered his whole face. His father had prepared a large pile of pancakes, Nate's favourite breakfast, and watched with glee as his young boy looked as happy as he could ever be. Nate finally glanced away from the present extravaganza in front of him to his father holding the plate of pancakes, and he suddenly became even happier than he originally was. How that was possible, he wouldn't know, but his parents showed the same enthusiasm as Nate quickly yet carefully plucked the plate from his father and sat down and dug into the blueberry flavoured pancakes, topped off with thick maple syrup and a singular, one inch by one inch square of butter as the cheery on top.
Nate took no more than ten minutes to finish the plate, of course with his parent's help, as they normally ate together, when he jumped out of his seat and bobbled up and down as he asked his parents if he could start opening his presents, starting with the one he had in his hands. His mother happily agreed, and his father laughed merrily as Nate opened up each of his fourteen presents, growing happier by the second. His parents showed extreme happiness when Nate opened up their present: a large atlas that showed the entirety of Europe in details maps and pictures. Nate was thrilled. He bounced up and down at the mere sight of the book and gingerly placed it with his other presents. He then jumped up to grab the bursting pile of letters, cards, and small trinkets of items from practically everyone he knew. But one was very thick, looked old and brown, and was personally addressed to "Mr. Nathaniel Harrison of 14 Sugerbeet Lane" and as it looked the most interesting to him, he decided on that first.
His parents exchanged a quick glance of uncertainty at the large letter but shrugged it off when Nate carefully flipped it over and saw a thick, dark maroon stamp on the back of the envelope with the word "Hogwarts" etched into the top of it and a sort of shield underneath. He carefully opened the envelope up, being extra careful to remove the stamp in one piece, to his realization that there were three pieces of parchment in there. Curiosity got the best of him and before his parents could take away the opened envelope, Nate had snatched all three items out, oblivious that his parents were trying to take it from him.
He looked at the first letter, which took him by surprise. On it was again, the word "Hogwarts" followed by a larger and more detailed shield that was under it. "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus" he muttered, wondering what on earth that meant. He read the acceptance letter, eyes going wide when he finished. "Please send your owl no later than July thirty-first," said an awestruck Nate, "but… but that is today! Today is my birthday! July 31!"
"What happened, Nate?," his mother asked tenderly.
"Oh, uhm, this" as he passed his Hogwarts acceptance letter to his mother. He quickly looked at the next page to reveal a list of everything he would need. Now, at this point Nate believed he was too thickheaded to notice that he had no idea where he could get these obscure items, or even to know what some of these items actually were. He obviously know that "Cauldon" meant pot, however it listed a specific type that he had no idea of. He brushed it off as he looked at the third parchment, but not before his mother gasped in awe, at his acceptance letter, and at that gesture he passed his supply list to his father. When he laid eyes on the third parchment, he felt like he had lost his breath. His mother noticed that Nate was frozen in shock about something on the paper he was holding, so she asked him to read it to them. Nate nodded slowly at the request and began reading:
Dear Mr. Harrison,
My name is Professor Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. If you are reading this, do not worry about a reply just yet. If you have read this on July thirty-first, You will meet a grey owl outside your doorstep at two P.M. Please give it a letter that will state if you will be attending. As you have two non-wizard parents, you are a muggle-born wizard. It is a rare yet joyful experience. You can ask any questions you have about Hogwarts or magic or any of that sort when a man named Rubeus Hagrid comes to help you get your school supplies. Most of us professors here at Hogwarts trusts this man with our lives. He is a kind and gentle man, so don't be worried about him. He will come on August fourteenth. Congratulations on getting accepted and enjoy your birthday. Sincerely Yours,
Professor Minerva McGonagall
Nate looked at the letter, doing a triple take, as he let it sink in. He, out of a lot of - muggles - was a wizard? Nate's mother looked at the clock and noticed it was only noon. Nate nodded and carefully put all three items back inside his Hogwarts envelope and, with even more excitement than before at his discovery of being a wizard, he opened up the rest of his birthday cards.
By the time Nate had opened up all his birthday cards, collected the various gifts of money from the twenty or so other envelopes scattered by his friends, cousins, and his parents, he was exhausted. Not exhausted in terms of fatigue, exhausted in being happy about everything. The glory and happiness Nate expressed for nearly six hours straight had an effect on the young boy, if not in a good way. He had come out with money, gifts, pictures, toys, and most importantly, an acceptance letter to Hogwarts.
Hogwarts. Something about Hogwarts lingered in Nate's head. Until it popped. "My letter! I need to write it up! Is it ok if i do that mum?," he asked. With a happy nod of approval from his mum and a thumbs up from his dad, Nate ran up to write a quick but enthusiastic letter to the school:
Thanks for the opportunity, I can't wait!
I'll be coming, my parents are ok with it!
From,
Nate Harrison
And with that, he hopped downstairs to hear an owl peck at the window sill. He eagerly hopped outside to a happily hooting gray owl, looking intently at his note.
"Bring this to Hogwarts for me, will you?," Nate asked. The owl hooted happily, and Nate held the letter out as the owl grabbed it with its beak, nodded at Nate, and took to the skies, on its way to Hogwarts. Nate beamed, happier than he had before, as he went back inside to spend the rest of the day with his parents as they celebrated his eleventh birthday.
As soon as the owl flew off, Nate's head suddenly bombarded his brain with questions about Hogwarts. He decided to go thru his Hogwarts letter again, not knowing if there was something that he had missed. After three back to back takes of the contents, Nate concluded he hadn't missed anything. By now, he was slightly upset, and as he was somewhat dumbfounded to hide his feelings, his parents caught on fairly quickly that their son was not happy.
"Lets take him out to dinner!"
"Pizza or fast food Emma?"
"You know very well Mister Harrison I hate it when our son eats fast food," she said in a stern tone.
"Alrighty then, pizza it is," a chuckling husband stated.
"Thank you Ben."
Both parents giggled a little before turning to their son.
Nate gave his parents a "what-on-earth-are-you-talking-about-except-I-heard-pizza" look. "Pizza?," asked a curious Nate.
"Yes, Pizza Nate!"
"Yay! Thanks Mummy!"
"You're Welcome, Nate! Let's go now!"
"WooHoo! Pizza!"
Nate and his parents end up getting their favorite pizza: plain! For Nate, the next two weeks of August were the longest weeks of his life. Nate had only told one other person about him getting accepted into Hogwarts: his best friend, Anna Hooper, a brunette girl with blue eyes and a happy smile. Anna was adopted when she was 3 months old, but it hadn't mattered to her. Anna and Nate were best friends for as long as they could remember. And because of that, they were inseparable. They did practically everything together, despite being teased and Nate being bullied for supernatural actions which had occurred.
For Anna, however, a student teasing her had been tossed into the wall by "wind" or as she called it "Nate's strength." Obviously, Nate had not launched the boy using strength, but by anger. Well, somehow, at least. He was angry his best friend was being teased. No one who believed him knew how to explain it, how a boy was launched twenty-five feet into the wall with no contact by either Nate or Anna, or anyone for that matter. They shrugged it off but Nate was given detention and suspended for a week as a result.
"That's mean, what they did!," Anna had angrily stated when Nate was allowed back in school.
"It's alright Anna, I'm here, its okay." That is how that situation was, let's say, handled with.
Now, don't be mistaken, although Nate was teased and bullied for events such as the boy in the wall incident, he was still very friendly to those who were nice to him. This made the specific group of bullies harder to bully Nate, simply because they would either get tattled on or they wouldn't be able to get to Nate because of his friends.
As far as Nate was aware, he had five instances of supernatural actions happening, only four that Anna knew about. He had somehow burst all the pipes in the boy's bathroom, causing the toilets to crack and the sinks to shatter, set off the fire alarm, blew every light dead in the school, and even overturned a row of tables he was nowhere near in the cafeteria.
Nate didn't know how to explain it, and neither did Anna. But Nate always got in lots of trouble due to it, and each time it involved the same bullies that harassed him before. The school, however, overlooked it and never punished them. Nate had decided that when Hagrid came to help him get his school supplies, he would ask him all sorts of questions and hope for all sort of answers to ease his mind.
August Fourteenth arrived with a whimper. Nate was up most of last night just being excited about his upcoming trip to get his school supplies. However, the three heavy knocks at the door heard just after eight A.M. confirmed that Hagrid had indeed arrived.
Nate jumped out of bed before you could say "coming!," and bolted to the door. He opened it and saw a large man, probably seven or eight feet tall, and large. He had a massive jacket and a long beard but had a kind face and a gentle smile.
"'Ello Nate! My name is Rubeus Hagrid. Keeper of keys and Grounds of 'ogwarts school of Witchcraft 'an Wizardry. Ya mind if I come in?," asked the man.
"Yes! Come on in," exclaimed the excited boy.
Hagrid stepped in the house and sat on the couch as Emma and Ben walked down the stairs.
"'Ello Mr. 'Arrison, Mrs. 'Arrison. How do ya do?"
"Very good, thank you. And you must be Hagrid?," Ben asked.
"Yup. That's me alright. Professor McGonagall sent me 'ere to help young Nate get 'is school supplies for 'ogwarts!"
"Very well than. How long will you be gone for? And how much will it cost to send Nate to Hogwarts and to get the supplies?," Emma asked.
"Don't yer worry 'bout the cost. 'ogwarts is free and the supplies are already funded. And I reckon today or tomorrow, at least. Dependin' on how long 'e takes to buy 'is stuff. I'll bring Nate home safe and sound," Hagrid said while giving Ben and Emma warm smiles.
"Alright then, thank you Hagrid," Emma turned to her son, "And you be careful, and have fun, alright Nate?"
"Yes Mummy, I will!"
"Good then, I'll let you two get on your way!"
"Thanks mummy, I'll see you soon!"
And with that, Nate hugged both his parents, grabbed his Hogwarts supplies list, and walked out of the house with Hagrid, to go to Diagon Alley.
The trip to Diagon Alley would take a while, according to Hagrid, since Nate lived all the way near the southwestern shore of England. Hagrid had explained that although he could have his motor bike fly, he could only do it at night. Again, it was to hide the Wizarding world from Muggles. The trip to Diagon Alley took about 6 hours, as they had to head all the way to London, to an old pub called the Leaky Cauldron. Hungry and thirsty, Nate asked for some water, which he happily received. Hagrid also booked Nate a room for that night and the next night, if needed.
Now, the actual opening to get into Diagon Alley is what stunned Nate the most. Until that point, any - what was the word - magic that was created had been unintentional. But with five taps from Hagrid's umbrella on specific parts of the brick wall, it opened, creating an archway that led directly to what was the most crowded street Nate had ever seen.
"Welcome, to Diagon Alley!," Hagrid exclaimed.
Nate was stunned. Diagon Alley was huge! It had so many shops, and so many people! He never knew there were these many Wizards in England, let along the world! Shop after shop Nate passed, until Hagrid directed him to an older building with crooked marble columns.
Walking into the building that Hagrid had deemed the "Second best secure place" called Gringotts Wizarding Banks, Nate was thrown for a loop. If anything could scare him more than the bullies, it had to have been the many goblins working for Gringotts. They all looked evil towards Nate, but he rubbed it off.
"'Ello Griphook. Mr. 'Arrison would like to make a transaction," Hagrid stated.
"And does Mister Harrison have his key?"
"Yup, right 'ere," Hagrid stated, handing the key to Griphook.
"Very well, follow me," Griphook replied sternly, looking sour towards Nate.
The ride to Nate's vault was a roller coaster. Nate imagined he was on his favorite ride from the amusement park when he was younger. It only took about three minutes to reach Nate's new vault.
"Vault seven thousand three hundred and fifteen," Griphook said, before unlocking and opening Nate's vault.
Inside his vault Nate was surprised. He had a large stack of gold coins, or as it were referred to in the Wizarding World, Galleons.
"There are one hundred Galleons in your new vault, Mr. Harrison," Griphook stated.
"I'll take out fifty Galleons, Griphook," Nate stated.
"Very well."
Nate took the bag of Galleons that the goblin had given him and the trio made there way back to Diagon Alley. Hagrid directed him towards an older looking shop. It was Ollivander's Wand shop.
Nate walked into Ollivander's and an old man was sitting behind the desk.
"Um, excuse me, but can I get a wand?"
"Ah, hello new Wizard, let me get some for you to try out," the old man said.
"Thanks," Nate replied.
Ollivander came back with a long dusty box and pulled out a long stick that Nate assumed was a wand. He handed it to Nate, and Nate, oblivious on how to work it, just looked at Ollivander with a questionable look on his face.
"Well, go on! Give it a wave," Ollivander stated.
Nate waved the wand but it tore down a shelf packed with wands.
"Oops... Sorry!," Nate said as he placed the wand back on the desk.
"No worries, it means we have to keep looking!," Ollivander replied, while waving his own wand to fix the toppled shelf and wands.
The same ritual was continued four more times. Nate managed to shatter Ollivander's ladder, crack the glass, and make whole shelves of papers fly everywhere, until he was handed his fifth wand attempt when it suddenly glowed so brightly that Nate had to close his eyes.
"Aha! A Perfect match! 12 1/4 inches, Unicorn hair core, with Cedar wood. That is your wand, Mr. Harrison. The wand has chosen you!" Ollivander said happily. "Good job, Mr. Harrison. Remember that you will perform your best with your wand, not with someone else's wand."
Nate nodded and thanked Ollivander, paid him the six Galleon price tag, and walked out of the store. He met up with Hagrid, who had been watching everything from outside. The rest of his day went by in sort of a blur. He bought all of his schoolbooks, got the required uniform and accessories, bought his cauldron and the required equipment to go with it, a telescope, and a set of Brass scales. He also got several small cases of common ingredients in potions, to further assist him while at school.
Hagrid had recommended getting lots of parchment and quills, so Nate had taken the liberty to getting extra parchment and a set of ten fine tip quills and ten bottles of ink. When Hagrid asked Nate if he really needed it, Nate had replied with "It's always better to be over prepared than not." Hagrid chucked at Nate's enthusiasm.
The last thing Nate wanted was an owl. He headed to where the different school animals were sold and picked himself out a beautiful light brown owl that he named Annalise, after his best friend. She hooted happily at her name, and after paying for her and the owl cage, Nate found himself with not much money left. Nate asked Hagrid if he could get extra books about Hogwarts and the history of Magic and was delighted that Hagrid agreed to help him find them. Nate got several additional books, including Hogwarts: A History and other common books. Hagrid was delighted that the young wizard wanted to learn about the Wizarding World and Hogwarts.
That evening, Hagrid had helped pack Nate's supplies into his motorbike. The duo set off late into the night, as Hagrid flew instead of driving, saving many hours of travel.
Annalise hooted questionably at Ben and Emma, but Nate had quickly explained to his parents that Annalise was his new owl and to Annalise that Ben and Emma were his parents. The owl quickly softened up and hooted apologetically. When Hagrid had finally unloaded all of Nate's supplies, the once clean living room was now filled with several small stacks of neatly wrapped packages, ranging in sizes and weight.
"Nate dear, how much did that all cost?," Emma asked.
"About fifty Galleons, or a few hundred pounds," Nate answered.
"My goodness. And how may I ask did you pay for it?," Ben asked.
"It was in a vault for me. It was from the Wizarding World," Nate explained.
Hagrid stated, "Nate 'ere got loads of supplies, he stocked up on just about everythin' a first year would need, and then some!"
"Well, that isn't unusual, Nate does pride in being prepared," Emma explained, "But as long as there is no cost that we need to pay for all the supplies Nate can get whatever he needs for school."
"Mum, I did! It is all here!," Nate exclaimed.
"Alright, sweetie."
"Also Nate, 'ere," Hagrid gave Nate a small slip. "This is yer' ticket, and you want to stick to it. September first at Kings Cross Station, the train leaves at eleven A.M. sharp.
"Thanks Hagrid! See you at school!," Nate replied.
"You too, and g'day Nate, Mr and Mrs. 'Arrison," Hagrid bowed politely before leaving.
Nate spent most of the moonlight explaining everything that happened when he was in Diagon Alley, from getting to the Leaky Cauldron to buying lots of Quills, parchment, and ink, to owning Annalise. His parents were impressed with how good Hagrid had helped him, and we're thrilled that Nate was excited about attending Hogwarts.
Nate however, banged his head against his hands, as he had yet to ask Hagrid a single question about the Wizarding world, however, he had learned a bit from reading parts of Hogwarts: A History.
So, between August sixteenth to August thirtieth, he told Anna all about Hogwarts, his experience in Diagon Alley, and even introduced Anna to Annalise, which Anna blushed heavily at. Nate read the entirety of Hogwarts: A History, and his "A History of Magic" course book twice over. His parents surprised Nate with four large trunks to pack all of his belongings in. He labeled everything properly, packed everything nicely, double and triple checked his lists, and finally August Thirty-first arrived. It was time for Nathan to head to Hogwarts.
The journey that Nate was experienced would go down as perhaps the most exciting yet exhausting day of Nathaniel Harrison's life. He, of course, hadn't known that, but reflecting on this day perhaps a year later would spark that energy that would classify this day as such. He would go from the warmth of his bed in his home to the warmth of his bed in Hogwarts in a day. When Nate's clock rang at four am, He was carried out of his bed and into the car by his mother, while his father tossed his belongings in the trunk of their car.
Anna had wanted to know all about the Wizarding world, but wasn't allowed to ask anybody what so ever as per her promise to Nate and to the world he was a part of. It was almost like a bond, except that this bond, if broken, could possibly lead to Nate's life going completely downhill, and Anna punished in the Wizarding World. However, Anna hadn't kept her promise entirely for Nate's safety, it was because Nate trusted her with information that he wouldn't have been allowed to disclose otherwise. She loved her friendship with Nate, he was one of her only friends.
Annalise hooted happily as both, as Ben called it, overloaded trunks were loaded into their car and the trio (or quartet, if you included Annalise) kicked off for London. Annalise wanted to fly to London, but Nate denied her access as he didn't want her to get lost or even killed. She understood and eventually nuzzled herself in Nate's lap as both calmly fell asleep.
BING! BONG! BING! BONG!
Nate jumped awake and received an angry "hoot" from Annalise as she was awaken by his sudden movement.
"Sorry Annalise."
"Hoot!"
Ben and Emma were fast asleep in each other's shoulders, the nearly six hour drive had taken a toll on their minds. Nate looked at Big Ben's massive clock face to read just past ten A.M.
The three found a nice café and shared a large egg, cheese, and sausage omelet before walking back to their car. By the time Nate had both his trunks on his trolley and Annalise's cage settled on top, Big Ben was chiming its ten-thirty tune.
"Dad, can you wait here for Annalise while I find my train?"
"Of course son. Your mum and I are going to tour London after you go."
"Thanks, dad!"
"No problem, Nate."
And with that, Nate ran off with his trolley to the most logical place Platform nine and three-quarters would be: between platforms nine and ten. When Nate finally got there, he saw a girl with bushy brown hair. He approached her as politely as possible and noticed she had the same looking ticket he had.
"Excuse me, but are you also trying to get on Platform nine and three-quarters?"
"Umm... Yeah, uh, are you too?" she asked, clearly worried.
"Yeah, sorry, I didn't know."
"It's ok," she said, then smiled, "I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger." She stuck her hand out.
"Nate. Nate Harrison," he extended his hand and shook hers.
For the briefest of moments he saw her chocolate eyes twinkle and glimmer with joy.
"Dan, Dan! Have you seen Hermione? I hav-," she saw Nate, did a double take, shook it off, and turned to see Hermione smiling.
"I'm here mum," she said cheerily.
"Thank god for that," as Hermione's mom sighed in relief.
The four chuckled to themselves before Nate suddenly snapped.
"Hermione, I need to go get my parents, but are you going to still be here when I get back?"
"Yeah, I'll be here until I can figure out how to get through to our platform!"
Her smile reminded Nate of Anna. He smiled back and leaving his trolley cart with Hermione and her family, ran back to where he left his parents. Nate ran back towards the entrance to the station, where an angry Annalise continued to hoot until Nate found her.
"Stop making noise please," Ben asked.
"HOOT!"
"I don't know where Nate is, if that is-"
"Mum, Dad," Nate called out, "I'm here! And you Annalise are coming with me!"
Annalise hooted happily and hopped onto Nate's arm.
"I don't think you guys can get to the platform, it's enchanted and I'm assuming so only I and other witches and wizards can pass. I'm sorry dad, but I love you bith and i'll be back for the holidays!"
With that Nate was drawn in by his father for a tight but fierce hug, before being released and hugged by his mother.
"You be safe now, you hear me," Ben asked sternly.
"Wouldn't think of anything else dad! Bye!"
"Be safe, sweety!" His mum waved at him.
And with that, Nate floored it back to the platform. The clock read ten fifty. Nate was panicking and he was running faster, Annalise flying close behind. Nate reached the area where he last was and to his surprise, Hermione was there alone, with both their trolleys.
"Hermione! Where's your parents?"
"They had to leave, something about work, but they wished me goodbye!"
"That's good, anyways, do you know how to get on the platform?"
"Yeah, here's this transparent wall, This large family went through it but I didn't go as I had your stuff too."
"Sorry, but do you want to go together?"
"Yeah, sure!"
"Lead the way Hermione," Nate said as she turned around and mentioned for him to follow her.
She smiled as he followed her to what appeared to be a brick wall between platforms nine and ten. She then carefully walked towards the wall and much to their surprise, she slid through. Nate did a double take before Hermione stuck her head back through.
"Come on Nate! It's this way!"
"Coming!"
Nate pushed his cart through the wall and suddenly he was on another platform. Well, their platform. Platform nine and three-quarters. Nate followed Hermione onto the scarlet express carriages and managed to hop into a compartment. The train whistled and departed Kings Cross.
"Hogwarts, here we come," a beaming Nate stated.
Nate and Hermione helped each other put their trunks above them. Hermione seemed to have a cunning interest to read. Much to her surprise, Nate did too. There were a lot of things right off the bat that he and the brown eyed bushy haired girl had in common: they were both muggleborn, they both loved magic, and both loved to read. It wasn't until about ten minutes into the train ride that a boy stuck his head in the compartment.
"You mind if I sit here?"
The boy in question looked about the same as Nate. Black hair, small frame, though this boy had green eyes and a pair of round glasses.
"Not at all," Hermione said.
"Thanks."
The boy sat down, both Nate and Hermione helped him put his trunk above them.
"So, who are you?" Nate asked.
"I'm Harry. Harry Potter."
"Nate. Nate Harrison."
Hermione just looked speechless at Harry before speaking.
"Holy crickets! You're Harry Potter! You defeated You-Know-Who! I'm Hermione Granger."
"Heh. Yeah, I heard a lot about that," And Harry simply smiled. It was a little after that when another boy came in.
"Do you mind? Everywhere else is full."
"Not at all," Nate said, "Come on in."
"Thanks!"
The boy who walked in had red hair, loads of freckles, blue eyes, and worn out robes. Nate helped the new boy put his much-used trunk with the others.
"I'm Ron by the way. Ron Weasley."
"Nate. Nate Harrison."
"Hermione. Hermione Granger."
"Harry. Harry Potter."
"Oh my goodness is it true? Do you have the- the- *gulp* the scar," Ron asked.
"Oh, yeah," Harry chuckled as he raised his bangs to show a lightning bolt scar on his forehead.
"Wicked!" Ron exclaimed.
From that minute on, the four of them started talking about whatever they could think about. Harry talked about how he was looking forward to Hogwarts, Ron was looking forward to hanging out with his brothers, and Nate and Hermione were both excited to learn about magic and spells. About an hour into the train ride, Nate excused himself to use the toilet. He hopped out of the compartment and headed down the corridor. Caught by the scenery, he didn't see where he was going when a blonde-haired and a black haired girl bumped into him and accidentally fell backwards.
"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry," Nate exclaimed as he helped the girls up.
"It's okay. Thanks though. I'm Daphne, by the way. Daphne Greengrass."
"And I'm Pansy Parkinson. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Nate Harrison. Nice to meet you too."
Both girls smiled. "I think we both want to be your friend, right Panz?" Daphne asked.
"Yeah! I can agree to that too! Well, see you around Nate!" Pansy waved as both girls made their way down the aisle as Nate reached the toilets.
"Nice. Toilets on a train. Bleh." After that monstrosity was over with, Nate headed back to his compartment, where soon after the four of them were munching on sweets, well, mostly, Hermione wasn't eating a lot of the candy.
"You alright there Hermione?" Harry asked.
"Oh, yeah, it's just my parents are dentists, they would kill me if I ruined my teeth."
The four of them laughed at that joke.
As Daylight turned to Dusk and Dusk turned to night, the group was losing energy. But Nate had met four others on the train: Susan Bones, her aunt was part of the Wizarding government, Neville Longbottom, who's best trait seemed to be losing his toad, Draco Malfoy, whose best gift was to make his life miserable and definitely his new enemy, and Kate Bell, a Second year Gryffindor who was over enthusiastic about quidditch, whatever that was to Nate. The Hogwarts Express had pulled into Hogsmeade Station at precisely six P.M. The four hopped out of their compartment and walked off the train, following the other first years where Nate and Harry saw Hagrid for the second time since getting their letters. Hagrid had led the anxious group of first year students to the docks where several boats were waiting for them.
"First 'ears into the boats! First 'ears into the boats!" boomed Hagrid.
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Nate hopped on a boat while Susan, a girl he didn't recognize, Neville, and another boy he didn't recognize were in a boat. Draco, Pansy, and two boys Nate didn't know were in a boat, and Daphne, a brown-haired girl, and two other boys were in a fourth boat.
Much to Nate, Harry, and Hermione's surprise, their boats suddenly leaped forward as if they were being powered by magic. It only took about ten minutes to get to Hogwarts, but for Nate and his friends it felt like forever. The bright glimmering lights of the Hogwarts castle beamed against the still waters of the lake they were crossing. Nate was perplexed at the sight. He had never seen anything so magnificent nor large in his life before. It was all over too soon, however, because they had reached the dock house where the first years disembarked and headed to a set of doors where an older professor in dark green robes and a pointed hat was standing.
"Before you can settle in, you need to be sorted. There are four houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Your House is like your family. Good behavior will gain you points, rule breaking will lose you points. Now please follow me. We are ready for you," the lady stated.
All of the students followed her into what was the Great Hall. All the students as well as all of the teachers were there, and at the head of the room was a stool and an old hat on it. "When I call your name, come up and sit on this stool, and I will place the Sorting hat on your head. Susan Bones," she called.
The young redhead stepped up nervously as the hat was put on her head.
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
The Hufflepuff table cheered as Susan hopped over to their table.
"Ronald Weasley!"
Ron gulped and sat down.
"AHA! Another Weasley. I know just what to do with you… GRYFFINDOR!" The sorting hat boomed.
This time, it was the Gryffindor table to erupt in cheers.
The Sorting continued. Draco, Pansy, and Daphne ended up in Slytherin. Neville and Harry ended up in Gryffindor, despite the hat wanting to put Harry in Slytherin. The first year mob thinned out. The Sorting hat almost put Hermione into Ravenclaw after a three minute stall, but placed her in Gryffindor. Nate was beginning to wonder if he was not supposed to be there. Until he heard his name.
"Nathaniel Harrison!"
All eyes in the Great Hall were on Nate. He was the last first year to be sorted. He walked up and sat down, the Sorting hat going on his head.
"Very difficult. You posses traits that each house would value. However, which one describes you the most?"
"Your honesty and good-natured mood towards your friends would be great for Hufflepuff. Your desire to outshine them makes you a good candidate for Slytherin. Your want for intelligence and smarts would make you a wise Ravenclaw. And your natural talent of sticking up for your friends, and for what you believe is right makes you worthy for Gryffindor. Let me think."
After what appeared to be several minutes of internal debate between the Hat and its mind, it finally made a decision.
"You belong in… GRYFFINDOR!" the Sorting hat boomed out loud.
The Gryffindor table was cheering. Hermione was screaming happily at the top of her lungs. Nate hopped over and sat next to Hermione, who engulfed him in a bone crushing hug.
"You were there for four minutes, Nate! Four!"
"How?"
"The hat was thinking, I suppose!"
"I'm glad to be in Gryffindor, with you guys, my friends!"
This earned an even tighter bone crushing hug from Hermione and some whistling from some of the older students. Suddenly the Headmaster stood up.
"I have a few start of term announcements to make. First years should be reminded that the Forbidden Forest is forbidden to all students. Also, Mr. Filch would like to remind you that the right side of the third floor corridor is forbidden. Anyone wandering there without permission may find themselves a most painful death. Now. With that out of the way, let the feast… BEGIN!"
The four long tables were suddenly filled with food as all the students began devouring it. Ron had a thing for chicken legs, as that is all the young boy seemed to eat. Hermione was eating with proper etiquette, using her knife and fork as if she was at a formal dinner. After the dream that was the feast, the students were lead to their respective house dormitories. Harry, Ron, and Nate shared a dormitory with Dean Thomas, Neville Longbottom, and Seamus Finnigan, First years. Nate was surprised to find his trunks and Annalise had been delivered to his bed/dormitory. She hooted happily at the sight of her owner. The six stayed up late into the night talking about their journeys into the Wizarding World, before falling asleep. When Nate finally closed his eyes, the clock had struck midnight. He fell asleep in his new home, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Author's Note: Happy birthday New Magic! Yes, I am rewriting this story. And I'm sorry for those who liked the original. It was getting out of control for my liking, and I really needed to start over. I have re-written the whole story (it is the same plot, however written "better"). This one will continue, however, as I have finally gotten the balance between IRL, ASL, NM, and my other projects correct.
My writing style and methods have evolved drastically over the past year, so for those who have been here since the beginning, thank you so much for your support!
Au Revoir!
BC5
