Title: Oops!
Genre: Romance, Adventure, Fantasy, Supernatural
Pairing: Voldemort X Harry
Summary : Accidentally appearing in eleven years old Harry Potter's body was the last thing she wanted to happen when she decided to criticise self-insert stories in front of her crazy best friend. Now she was trapped in a male child's body, in a world she knew from children's story books and no way back home. She just had to be the unlucky protagonist, didn't she? Poor Natalie did not know that there was more to it.
Warning: Slash (Yaoi, Boy X Boy…), Sort of but not quite Girl!OC-in-Male!Harry's-body, Antagonist! Harry, No Bashing, Good Dumbledore, Harry will gradually shift to gender fluid
Chapter Five
Natalie was pleased that she arrived a good thirty minutes before the train was supposed to depart. There were few students and parents compared to what she was expecting and it was easy for her to find an empty compartment for herself. Of course, that was when she got lost in her books. She did not know the exact moment but a group of older students had joined her, she realised when she picked her head from her book, blinking at the other students also burrowing in their own books and then outside at the moving landscape. Huh. With a shrug, she went back to her reading.
All in all, the ride was quiet and pleasant, and also nothing particularly special.
When they finally arrived, Natalie left her trunk in the train as instructed but kept her books with her in her pocket. Hopping from the train, she looked towards where a familiar voice called for the first years. With a skip to her steps, she followed the other first years to Hagrid and down the slope. As they rounded the bend, they finally caught sight of Hogwarts. Among the awed whispers of the other first years, Natalie stared with wide eyes.
It was a sight right out of a fairy tale.
Which… was not so farfetched since she was literally in a children's story.
The castle's reflection shone on the lake, the illuminated windows and the floating candles giving the place an enchanted look. The architecture and the wide gothic arches brought a whole other look to the place in the light of the moon and the stars.
Natalie definitely did not regret going to Hogwarts. This was her childhood dream come true.
She joined three other children to one of the boats: two identical little girls huddled together on one side of the boat and a little brown-haired boy with a tiny mousy face who quietly sat down and turned solemn eyes forward. Natalie had half a mind to get one of her miniaturized books out but it was not like she could read anyway in the dark. Granted she could summon some light but that would mean bringing attention to her which would prevent her from actually reading, making summoning the light in the first place a moot point.
Natalie sighed. She supposed she would have to wait until dinner at least. They would definitely have enough lighting then.
After they disembarked from the boats, Hagrid led them to the massive doors that cracked open upon his resounding knocking. Out appeared an older woman with a stern, pinched face, dressed like the stereotypical witch, along with the frankly ridiculous pointy hat. Eh, to each their own, Natalie supposed.
"Firs' ye'rs, Prof'ssor," Hagrid rumbled.
"Thank you, Hagrid," the woman replied with a look at the man. Then she turned to the huddling first years gathered at the steps of the castle, like a gaggle of sacrifices waiting naively for their own slaughter. "Come in, children. Follow me." She led them to a small chamber and started informing them of the House system at Hogwarts. Natalie listened with a distracted ear, too busy looking around the place. The architecture was really splendid though it surprisingly did not compare to Potter Palace. Sure, everything was pretty but in a more… gaudy manner. Too shiny and golden for her personal taste but whatever. It was still better than the simplistic architecture that she had become used to in her real life.
They were left alone in the chamber to wait, the first years fidgeting restlessly, murmuring among themselves. Natalie heard someone mentioning Harry Potter coming to Hogwarts and she raised an eyebrow as the children started looking around, though others looked more confused – the muggleborns maybe? Wow, she really hoped this would not be the usual for the next few years.
Her fingers twitched towards her pocket that held her books.
Sudden screams from the back of their small crowd made her jump. She craned her neck to see what the commotion was all about and then blinked. Those were… ghosts. Actual ghosts! Natalie almost squealed in excitement but she thankfully managed to contain herself though she was pretty sure her eyes were shining as they stared at the floating, greyed out and see-through people in front of them. She did not hear what they were talking about as she was too busy boggling at them, itching to ask so many questions. One of the ghosts saw her staring. He cocked his head at her and her eyes shone brighter.
Unfortunately, before she could approach, McGonagall came back and ushered them into the Great Hall. Natalie allowed herself to pout but cheered herself with the knowledge she would have ample time talking to the ghosts since she was staying there for the year. She quickly got distracted with the Great Hall, or well, to be more precise, with the ceiling.
"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read it in Hogwarts: A History," a little voice whispered among their little crowd. Now, that was something Natalie would not mind learning. Hm… Maybe she would try it. All she needed was to find an empty room somewhere…
McGonagall placed an old hat – the Sorting Hat – on a little stool with three legs while the whole Hall quietened in anticipation. A slit appeared on the Hat and it started singing.
Even though Natalie had somewhat become used to magic after first ending up in this world, she still found it absolutely fascinating. The hat was made of old cloth and was still apparently from a thousand years before. She silently wondered what kind of magic could be used for that, to keep the hat from disintegrating through the years. And then she wondered to the degree of sentience the thing held. Was it like the moving portraits? How far could they both think for themselves? Or maybe they operated on a set of rules placed during first being enchanted into their current states?
She wondered how souls actually worked. She wondered if she could put a soul in an object and give it sentience... Hm, maybe she should look in necromancy. It could not just be about animating corpses, right?
"Potter, Harry!"
Natalie blinked. What…? Oh! The Sorting had already started while she had gotten lost in her mind. She mentally cringed when McGonagall's voice repeated 'her' name after she had spent too long not moving to the Sorting Hat, and whispers started from around the Hall.
Whelp.
With another inward cringe, Natalie took a step from the rest of the first years, conspicuously ignoring the whispers following her. However, just as she walked in front of McGonagall to make her way to sit on the stool, the Hat – that McGonagall was holding in her hand while waiting to place it on her head – made a sound before shouting for the whole Hall to hear.
"RAVENCLAW!"
Natalie stopped in her tracks and turned to blinked at it.
"Hat, what –?" McGonagall spluttered in a show of obvious surprise and confusion.
Said Hat snorted. "There is no other place for that one. I don't think I've ever Sorted anyone that easily," it commented dryly. While McGonagall spluttered again and the Hall fell into excited whispers, Natalie decided to shrug this off. Well, it was actually right since she did not think there would be a better place for her than the House of the… curious? Yeah, let's go with that. Besides, that also meant she could go back to her reading quicker.
With a spring to her steps, Natalie pivoted on her heel and made her way to the table with the blue linings. She sat down in the first empty place she found, at the far end of the table while the rest of the Hall stared at her moving form. Behind her, McGonagall cleared her throat and went back to the Sorting.
Natalie paid no mind to the curious children surrounding her. No one tried to talk to her during the rest of the Sorting, though she could see them shooting glances her way. Since there was nothing else for her to do, she looked forward towards the table where the teachers were seated. Finding Dumbledore was easy: he was seated right in the middle of the long table and had the distinctive long beard. Like a real-life Gandalf. Next was Snape, with his complete black get-up and long, straight and flat black hair. Aaaand the man was glaring at her. Okaaaaay, next! There was Quirrell with his distinctive turban but Natalie could not really recognise the other teachers. Oh, well.
It was not long after that the Sorting finished and the food appeared on the tables after a few words from Dumbledore. Natalie made to grab the closest dish which was a salad. She put some on her place and grabbed the next one.
"Hey, Potter!" a voice distracted her and as she looked up, she found numerous eyes locked on her tiny form. The speaker had been the older boy sitting opposite her. He had dirty blond hair and a slightly crooked nose, but otherwise could be considered handsome. He looked to be around fifteen or sixteen, much like the other students sitting around her. Well, she had apparently sat down in the middle of the older years instead of the other first years. Eh, whatever. "Welcome to Ravenclaw. My name is Samuel Guard."
"Er… Hello? And, thank you?" Damn it, it had come out like a question. Her father would have had her hide if he was there. The man was very firm about her manners…
The other students around her also introduced themselves but Natalie, to be honest, did not even register half of them. Her father would have been so disappointed in her.
Urg. Not like it mattered since they were no even freaking real!
She wanted to get out her book… but it was not exactly something to be done in polite company, much less during a meal and while people were trying to have conversations with her.
… Who cared!? Her father was not there to be disappointed in her.
With that thought in mind and a firm nod to herself, she decided, screw it. She was doing things her way. Besides those people were not real so their opinion of her did not matter.
She got out her book from her pocket and plopped it on her lap, opening it to the page she had left it earlier. Dinner was much more pleasant for her after that even if the children surrounding her shifted awkwardly at her sudden dismissal of them.
After dinner, the first years were gathered to be shown the way to their Common Room. The castle was great. The decoration, the moving paintings and suits of armour were all very interesting. It was like stepping in a medieval castle but much more fantastic. Still did not compare to Potter Palace though. Meh. Natalie had the feeling a lot of things paled when compared to Potter Palace, even in its decrepit state.
Their common room was located at the top of a spiral staircase. It was a long walk from the Great Hall but the First Years were too busy looking around excitedly to really care at that moment. The entrance was a door which, weirdly enough, had no doorknob nor a key hold. Instead it only had a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle. But then again, this was a castle of magic so Natalie should have expected this. She wondered how many hidden rooms there were and how many were still untouched…
A question later, an answer later and the little gaggle of first years were finally allowed inside the Common Room. Natalie immediately disregarded the décor, zeroing in on the giant bookshelves lining the walls. With narrowed eyes glancing around, homing in on the really, really comfortable looking armchairs and couches, Natalie decided that she had really chosen well. Ravenclaw was clearly perfect for her.
Later, after the first years were shown their dormitory – Natalie almost going with the girls before she caught herself – Natalie found herself alone with three other little boys. They were tiny little eleven years olds but it was not like she could really talk since apparently Harry Potter was even tinier. So, there Natalie found herself, in a circular room with four single poster beds, surrounded by the three new roommates apparently eager to get to know her – Harry Potter – and the shortest of the lot. It was not something she was used to since Natalie, in her real body, was more of average height, neither too short nor too tall and that had suited her just fine. But it was not so much of a surprise since Harry Potter – the body she had found herself in – had been a starved, scrawny little thing when she had first taken over. That had most likely stunted his growth and so, there Natalie was, the tiniest among tiny children.
After a quick introduction – Boot Terry, Corner Michael, Goldstein Anthony – the three were thankfully content to leave her alone as they went preparing themselves for bed. Natalie located her trunk beside one of the beds and went over to it with purposeful strides. Disregarding the presence of the other little boys in the room, she rummaged through her trunk and found her tent, the one she had stuffed in the trunk before leave Potter Palace. Pleased with her find, she hoisted it out and with a resolute gesture, she plopped the thing on the bed. Since it was just as small as a child's toy tent, it fitted perfectly the single bed, she noted with a nod, her fists resting firmly on her tiny hips.
"Err, Potter?" the confused voice brought her attention to the three boys that had stopped in their night rituals to stare at her and her tent.
Blinking at them, she turned determined eyes at her new roommates and declared without preamble, "That's mine. I'll be using that. No one gets to touch it." Then, without waiting for her bewildered roommates to reply, she closed her trunk with a snap, grabbed it by the handle and hauled it into the tent. Next, she climbed the bed, closed the curtains – spelling them to stick shut in case one of the children decided to open it, with a flick of her tiny fingers – and entered her tent.
Looking at the large bed, the bathroom, the kitchen and the little cosy lounge, Natalie decided that it had been a good idea to bring the tent with her.
Now, she needed to make a schedule to decide what to read and try first. She had so many new ideas about the use of magic and her fingers were itching eagerly to try them.
AN: Here's a new chapter. On a side note, I added in the warnings that Natalie will gradually shift to gender fluid but I'm adding it here in case you miss it.
Don't forget to leave behind your thoughts.
Leight