A friend of my heads back to college today. And I told her I'd try and post an extra chapter early, just for her. (It's a very long trip.) So you all get something a little early, too! Yay!
Not as many notes today. Up top, at least. And we get our first real look at both magicks and the American Magical System. And I'm always happy to answer any questions you have.
Just one little thing, if you haven't noticed. Harry usually calls his cousin "Evie". But when she starts getting really sciency and he gets exasperated, he'll call her "Spengs", like Peter will Egon. It's kind of a warning for her that she's getting a little in depth, and needs to back off. And she listens... usually.
I don't own anything. Enjoy!
Chapter 2: In Which We Arrive At Hogwarts
Harry plopped himself down in his seat in the empty carriage they'd found and immediately opened Slimer's briefcase. The small green ghost popped out with a sigh of relief.
"Cwamped in dere," he informed them.
"Sorry, Slimer, we'll see about expanding it," Harry promised. "Make it more fun. Evie?"
Evie glanced up from her PKE meter. "What?"
"Do you want to look into maybe expanding the interior of Slimer's case?" Harry asked, waving it. "I have no clue how to do it. Not for something that would last, anyway."
Evie rubbed her chin. "I think I could probably whip something up. It would be a good idea to have somewhere Slimer can duck into if he needs to hide, anyway. Let me get my book…"
"Yeah, I need to study, too," Harry agreed. "Papa Ray said he'd be sending me quizzes to make sure I'm keeping up on my mythological creatures studying."
A few minutes later found Evie pouring over a book entitled "Historical Runic Inscriptions" and occasionally scratching a ruin into the lining of the case. Across from her, Harry had his nose buried in a copy of "Who's Who and What's That". (1) Above both of them, Slimer rummaged through their trunks in search of snacks.
They stayed like this for a couple hours, before Evie let out a triumphant cry. "I think I've got it!"
Harry looked up. "When you say got it, do you mean something completely successful, or something that still might blow up on the both of us?"
Evie didn't answer right away. That alone made Harry groan. "Spengs…"
"Well it'll probably work!" Evie snapped. "There's only a thirteen percent chance of a cascading failure, you can't just say that's it's going to-"
The door slid open, interrupting what would have no doubt been a fascinating argument. A girl with mousy brown hair stood in the doorway.
"Pardon me, but have either of you seen a toad? A boy named Neville's lost one."
Evie's eyes lit up. "What kind of toad?"
Harry groaned. "Damkianna, Evie, don't tell me this is going to become your mold thing." (2)
"It's not a thing, it's a collection," Evie returned. "And just because I happen to like amphibious creatures-" (3)
"No, it's really more what Papa Egon did to the first bathtub," Harry shot back. He paused, a grin stretching over his face. "I think Papa Peter blamed Slimer for that."
"You're American?" the girl asked in surprise. "What are you doing at Hogwarts? Shouldn't you be at Ilvermorney?"
There was a pause.
"Is that the focus type school in Virginia?" Harry asked Evie.
"I think so," Evie said slowly, tapping a finger to her lip. "It has a pretty limited curriculum, though. Not really a popular school, all things considered."
"Really?" the girl asked, fascinated. She sank into the seat next to Harry. "Are there other schools, then?"
"Several, yes," Evie agreed. "Of course, choosing a school is rather different there. It all depends on what sorts of magics you wish to study."
"Like Transfiguration versus Charms?" the girl asked curiously.
"No, like wanded casting versus runic casting," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "Or ritualist casting, verbal casting, kinetic casting, technomancy, divining… that's just a few. And then you get into the subcategories. Those usually look into your specific language or something along those lines."
"It gets rather complex, but finding your specialty really helps narrow down your future coven," Evie added.
"Coven?" the girl asked, eyes wide.
"Yes, coven," Harry agreed. "So it… it kind of starts like this. See, America doesn't have the same sort of government most of the magical worlds have. When the country first started, we had loads of small groups of magicals making their way to us in order to escape persecution in their own countries. They set up a series of magical groups called covens. At first, these covens were based mostly on location, but location has never been as much of an issue for magicals as no-majs. (That's for non-magical, by the way, us Americans never really liked the term muggle.) As time went on, the covens began to instead develop different methods of casting."
"As well as slightly different ideologies," Evie cut in. "And as the country grew, so did the covens. And the number of covens grew as well. Originally there were twenty. Now we have… a hundred thirty four, if I remember correctly."
"Right," Harry agreed. "So, it didn't take long for people to realize that not everyone cast best a certain way. So they instead started several smaller schools up across the country, to introduce magical students to the different magical theologies and methodologies of casting. Whether first-gen or not, everyone attends a school to explore their magics, and upon finishing school, is accepted into a coven."
"Most students end up joining the same coven as their parents, if they aren't a first-gen," Evie added. "But a significant percentage do join different covens, usually because they're simply gifted at a different methodology of casting. Though the ideologies are usually relatively similar."
"But how does the government work then?" the girl asked.
"Well, each coven elects a leader," Harry said slowly. "And that leader is granted a position on the governing Council. That Council also has a leader, called the Speaker, elected by the Council to lead it. Each voice on the Council has the same say, and the Speaker has a strict set of rules they must follow, to try and keep everything on the straight and narrow."
The girl thought about that for a moment with a frown. "That seems like a rather straight forward idea. Does it really keep corruption down?"
"Nothing keeps corruption down," Evie said dryly. She had returned to her book.
"What my companion is trying to say," Harry began, shooting her a glare, "is that there's always some corruption somewhere. And some of the covens are significantly larger than others, so it can be argued that they have less of a say in the government that those in the smaller covens… but really, it works well over all."
"It sounds so interesting," the girl gushed. "Do they teach all those different magics at Hogwarts, then?"
Harry laughed at that before growing suddenly serious. "No. Not at all. They teach almost nothing at Hogwarts. I mean, it prides itself on being the best in the country… but it's the only one in the country."
"That… that's disappointing," the girl said, face falling. "I was hoping to… learn more, I guess."
Evie looked up from over her book. "If you'd like, we could probably teach you a bit, if you like. We just have to be careful, because the British Ministry has outlawed about half our magics."
"Why?" the girl asked.
Harry and Evie both shrugged.
The girl shook her head. "I'd really like to learn, if you don't mind. Oh, I'm Hermione, by the way. Hermione Granger."
"Harry," Harry introduced, giving no last name.
"Evanna Spengler," Evie offered.
"Spengler?" Hermione asked, looking thoughtful. "I could have sworn I heard that somewhere before…"
"I think I had an ancestor run out of Britain for studying necromancy about a century ago," Evie offered.
Harry kicked her. "That's not it!"
"No, I was thinking American, actually…" Hermione mused, before her eyes lit up. "Yes, I was thinking of the Ghostbusters! Isn't there a Spengler on the team?"
Evie and Harry exchanged a grin. Well, Harry grinned, at least.
"Yes," Harry agreed. "Yes, that's Evie's Uncle Egon. And I was raised by them. And Slimer's practically a Ghostbuster himself!"
Hermione blinked. "Slimer? Not-"
Harry whistled, and Slimer came flying out of his trunk, leaving a dark spot on the rack above.
"Hawwy, wook! Swimer fouwnd snacks!"
"Agh, those were my chips!" Harry yelped, jumping up and reaching for the luggage rack, but it was clear what Slimer had found from the ring of cheese dust around his mouth. "Evie, fix the damn briefcase! I think he's slimed all my clothes!"
"Yes, probably mine, too," Evie agreed. "I suppose we'll just have to go to the feast in our other uniforms." She lifted the case and opened it again, then raised the knife she'd been carving the ruins with and gently pricked her finger. She rubbed a small smear of blood on one of the ruins, causing the whole thing to light up. A second later, it looked like the bottom fell away as the case expanded inside. "Slimer, can you go in here for now? We'll find you something to eat later."
"Okawy, Evie!" The small green ghost dived into the case and Evie snapped it shut.
Meanwhile, Harry was standing with an open mouth. "Wha- bu… you planned this! You planned for our robes to get slimed!"
"I don't like robes," Evie said flatly, carefully placing the briefcase next to her.
"But our books!"
"All the good ones are in our pouches. It's only the useless drivel in our trunks, and neither of us plan to use those if at all possible."
Harry buried his face in his hands. "Merciful Annunaki, I don't know whether to laugh or cry right now."
Evie returned to her book, trying not to grin.
Hermione just found herself looking between the two, bemused.
HP/RGB
The rest of the ride was filled with conversation mostly pertaining to what life was like in the states compared to Britain. Harry was able to give comprehensive information on both the magical and non magical sides, so Evie spent most of the time with her nose buried in the book Harry had been reading before.
Hermione, unfortunately was able to give very little information on the magical side of things, but there was a great deal of interest in the differences between her school and the home schooling Harry had grown up with. Evie didn't participate much at all, only occasionally correcting Harry or commenting on something.
They were interrupted three times.
The first was by a boy with red hair, who opened the door while Evie was in the middle of correcting Harry on the nature of the proton packs they used.
"No, it's a nuclear accelerator, actually, which gives them enough positronic energy to concentrate into a beam, which reacts upon contact with an ectoplasmic body-"
That was about the point the boy left.
The second was by the same blond boy Harry and Evie had met in the robe shop, who turned his nose up at seeing their non-magical clothing and immediately closed the door again.
"Ass," Harry muttered upon seeing him. Evie didn't even argue.
The final visitor was an older lady with a trolley full of snacks. Harry and Evie took one look at her, pulled out several galleons, and bought a mountain of treats.
"There's no way you're going to be able to eat all those," Hermione gaped.
"Oh, it's not for us," Evie said with a sardonic grin as she opened Slimer's briefcase. "Slimer! Snack time!"
"OH BOWY!"
Slimer shot out of the case with surprising speed, making a beeline for the food.
"How are you going to be able to keep him at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, fascinated.
"We'll think of something," Harry said with a shrug. "I can always claim he's a familiar, or something."
"But couldn't you get in trouble?" Hermione pressed.
"They could try, but in Harry's position, that probably wouldn't happen," Evie said with a shrug. "Him being the boy who lived and all."
Hermione's mouth fell open. "You- you're Harry Potter?!"
"That's me," Harry agreed. "Though, all things considered, I'd rather be-"
Evie smacked him upside the head. "That's still not funny."
"Yes it is," Harry said with a grin. "Hey, did you know there's a book series about me? Complete nonsense. Says I've been fighting monsters for years."
Evie cocked an eyebrow. "You have been fighting monsters for years."
"Yeah, but these ones aren't dead!"
HP/RGB
When the sky began to get dark, Hermione ducked from the compartment to change. When she returned in her robes, she found Harry and Evie both in Ghostbuster uniform. Evie's had a name tag reading Mini Spengs, and Harry had one reading Squirt.
Peter had been the one to order them.
Despite the ridiculous name tags, both seemed well at ease in the attire.
"You weren't kidding about not wearing robes, were you?" Hermione asked dryly.
Harry shrugged. "We really would have worn them, but they're a little covered in ectoplasm right now."
"We'll have to check our potions supplies later," Evie murmured, not looking up from her book. "To double check the supplies haven't been contaminated."
Harry scowled. "You're kidding. Didn't you think of that?"
"Actually, as I stored both of our supplies in lead lined boxes, it should be fine, unless Slimer somehow opened it."
"Well, that's some good news," Harry allowed. When Hermione glanced over, he offered a quick explanation. "Ghost proof."
"Ah."
"Not entirely-" Evie corrected, but Harry waved her off.
"Spengs is about to get technical, or something," Harry whispered to Hermione. "And sometimes, believe me, it's better to cut her off before she gets going."
Evie shot him a glare before returning to her book.
It wasn't much longer before the train pulled to a stop.
"Someone's going to have fun cleaning those trunks," Harry mused as Evie picked up Slimer's briefcase and returned the book to Harry. He slipped it into his pouch.
Leaving the trunks themselves on the train, the three made their way from the compartment, Harry and Evie picking up a few strange looks for their attire.
"First thing I learn to do with a wand is fix this damned name tag," Harry hissed to Evie.
"Fix mine as well, if you can," Evie agreed. "I'll look for something in my books, as well."
Previously, neither had thought much on the subject, especially as the new uniforms had been presented to them just before they left.
"You could just sew them," Hermione suggested.
The two exchanged a glance.
"...I would have come to that conclusion eventually," Evie declared.
"We'll do it tonight," Harry agreed. "Now I just need to decide if I want to have it say Potter or not. I'm kind of tempted to make it say Venkman."
Evie snorted at that. While not particularly well known, the Venkman name was a wizarding one. Unfortunately, it was not usually associated with men of good character.
"Uncle Peter would love that."
"I know," Harry snickered.
"First years! First years, this way!"
The three friends followed the call of a massive man (probably only part human, Evie had told them) carrying a heavy lantern. Evie, still holding Slimer's case, raised her PKE meter with her other hand.
"Fascinating," she murmured, scanning the area. "I have got to get a look at these wards-"
"Not tonight," Harry groaned. "Come on, I'm starved, and Slimer's probably getting hungry too."
Evie looked disappointed. "Yes, of course. I'll come out another time."
"Can I come to?" Hermione asked.
"I don't see why not."
Several other students seemed to give Evie and Harry a wide berth, partly because of the clothes, partly because of the beeping machine Evie was carrying. It did cast a rather curious image.
The huge man leading them stopped at the edge of a lake. "No more 'en four te a boat!" he shouted out, climbing into one himself.
Harry, Hermione, and Evie claimed one for themselves, and a dark skinned boy climbed after them.
"Sorry," he said, "I hope you don't mind me joining you all."
"Nah, it's fine," Harry said with a grin. "Welcome to the crazy boat."
"Harry!" Hermione hissed, though she, too, was grinning.
"I just saw the uniforms and the meter," the boy continued. "You're Ghostbusters, right? I'm a bit of a fan. The whole family is, really."
"Ooh, Evie, you hear that?" Harry asked excitedly. "We've got fans!"
"I thought that was rather obvious," Evie said dryly. She was still more focused on the meter. "Hm."
"Dean Thomas," the boy introduced. "Didn't know a thing about this magic stuff until the letter came."
"Hermione Granger," Hermione said easily, smiling. "I didn't have a clue either."
Harry glanced at Evie, who took his wordless prompting. "Evanna Spengler, and my cousin, Harry. We're both Americans and, I suppose, Ghostbusters in training, as it were."
"Hence the terrible name tags," Harry added, tapping his. "Papa Peter's awesome, but he can be an ass."
As he spoke, there was a call of "FORWARD!" and the boats lurched into the water.
"I think there are ghosts in the castle," Evie mused lightly, tilting the meter.
"I've read there are several ghosts, but they're not supposed to be bad ones," Hermione offered.
Harry frowned. "Hm. Something to look into, I guess."
"I'd say none are more than a class two," Evie added. "Probably just departed people hanging about."
"There are other kinds of ghosts?" Dean asked.
"Oh, yes," Harry said, grinning. "I mean, yeah, you got your basic dead folk, but then you've got goopers, gremlins, goblins-different species from the banking ones-, possessors, vapors, repeaters, demons, devils, terror dogs, demonics-different from demons, actually-, entities, manifestations, primal gods-"
"Okay, I get it," Dean said quickly.
Chatter picked up about trivial things, until the boat they sat in rounded the bend.
There stood Hogwarts in all her glory.
Harry's breath caught despite himself. "It's… beautiful."
"An awe inspiring sight does not a good school make," Evie dismissed, turning back to her meter as the others shot her incredulous glances.
Evie was… unique. Always.
"Ignore her," Harry suggested. "I end up doing that half the time anyways."
Not a huge amount more was said as they finished crossing the lake and made their way up to the castle. The man leading them banged loudly on the door.
It opened, revealing a taller woman with a stern looking expression.
"The first years, Professor McGonagall."
"Thank you, Hagrid, I'll take it from here."
"She's supposed to be a brilliant Transfiguration teacher," Hermione whispered to Harry, as Evie was still absorbed by the beeping meter.
"Hm. We'll see," Harry allowed as they followed her into the hall.
She led them quickly to an anteroom off what Harry assumed to be the Great Hall, where she gave a short lecture on how the houses of Hogwarts were supposed to be like a family. To be honest, Harry was mostly tuning her out, though Hermione was paying strict attention. If anything important was said, she'd pass it along.
It wasn't until Hermione nudged him that he glanced up and realized the professor was looking straight at him.
"Yes?" he asked.
"Where are your robes?" she asked, voice strict as she glanced between him and the oblivious Evie.
"In our trunks," Harry said with a shrug. "There was a small incident on the way here."
Her eyes narrowed. "What sort of incident."
Harry couldn't keep a grin off of his face. "They got slimed."
"Excuse me?"
Evie looked up, face expressionless. "They had a meeting with a class five full torso roaming vapor. Ectoplasmic discharge was an unfortunate side effect. It's rather lucky that my cousin and I had another uniform option."
"It's all been cleared with Dumbledore," Harry added cheerfully. "You can check with him."
"I think I will," the woman muttered, sweeping from the room.
Evie returned to her meter.
"Speaking of slime, we're going to have to find some way to the kitchens," Harry commented out loud, ignoring the eyes on him. "I don't think it's a good idea to release the little spud in the middle of a feast."
"It probably won't be a daily issue," Evie offered. Then she turned to face the wall. "We've got a swarm, approaching fast."
Harry tensed, one hand going to his pouch, ready to pull out his pack at a moment's notice. Hermione and Dean both tensed as well, and Evie looked ready to release Slimer if need be.
And then a swarm of silvery ghosts passed through the wall.
"All low class twos, we should be good," Evie announced, relaxing. Harry did so as well, even as several shrieks went up from the crowds.
"...Peeves has been given enough chances, and- oh, new students!"
"Shades!" Harry said cheerfully. "Oh, I love a good shade. They always have the best stories."
"I hope to see you all in my old house," one told them happily. "Hufflepuff, you know-"
"I say, it can't be!"
One of the ghosts, with a large ruffled collar had caught sight of Harry and Evie. "Ghostbusters in Hogwarts? I do hope it's none of us that have raised your ire."
"Nah, we're here for a nasty little gooper named Tom," Harry said cheerfully. As he spoke, he pulled a silver glove from inside his pouch and tugged it on, before offering his hand. "Nice to meet you all. Harry. That's my cousin, Evie Spengler."
To the surprise of the watching students, the boy was actually able to, with the help of the glove, shake the hand of the ghost. Quickly, the others lined up to shake his hand as well.
"Tis a curious glove," one ghost mused. "What is imbued within to let it touch spirits such as us?"
"Good question. Evie?" Harry asked.
"It's a combination of dried ectoplasm in the fabric and a few rare metals spun into the wool," Evie answered, her gaze still on the ghosts. "Tell me, do you all carry death scars?"
Harry stepped on her foot. "Rude, Spengs."
Evie blinked. "Oh, yes. My apologies. Perhaps we might converse at a later date?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "And… your Egon is showing." He made a show of glancing at his watch. "How much longer before that professor gets back, do you think?"
As he said it, the stern woman stepped back into the room, eyes widening slightly as she took in the sight of the ghosts.
"We will certainly seek you out to speak," the ruffled ghost said with a smile. "And do tell the others that some of us do appreciate what they did about the Traveller."
With that, the ghosts departed, heading into the Great Hall.
"Traveller," Harry grumbled. "Still can't believe that thing had a title."
"He had several," Evie reminded him quietly, finally stowing her meter back in her pouch. She picked up Slimer's case. "Traveller, Destructor-" (4)
But Evie's listing was interrupted by the professor. "Follow me," she instructed, and led them into the Great Hall.
Harry glanced around, hiding a grin at the number of people clearly staring at him and Evie, who was focused entirely on the ceiling.
"It's enchanted," Hermione informed her. "I read about it in Hogwarts, A History."
"Hm. I may have to find a copy," Evie mused. "You didn't see it when you were perusing the books at the Diagon bookstore, Harry?"
"To be honest, I was a little distracted by your shouting about the technomancy ban," Harry admitted softly. "And the book series supposedly about me."
"So that's what you were threatening a lawsuit about…" Evie recalled, mentally adding that she would need to get a copy of those as well.
The group of first years came to a stop at the front of the hall, where a hat sat on an old stool.
There was a pause. Harry glanced at Evie and Hermione, confused, before a fold in the hat opened up and it started to sing.
Harry jerked back instinctively and Evie's free hand dove for her PKE meter, immediately waving it in the direction of the hat. Evie read the screen intently before glancing at Harry and shaking her head.
Harry relaxed, grin coming back. So, the hat wasn't possessed. That was good. He could deal with weird enchanted stuff, so long as it wasn't possessed.
He'd had a bad experience with a cookie jar. And he'd heard his dads reminiscing once on how they'd beaten a group of possessed cockroaches.
But the hat was just a hat. So no worries.
By the time they'd reassured themselves, the song was over, and the professor had begun reading a list of names. To be honest, he wasn't paying attention again, at least not until-
"Granger, Hermione!"
Hermione practically flew up the steps to the stool, where the hat was sat on her head. There was a minute of silence before…
"RAVENCLAW!"
Harry grinned and clapped with the others, pretty sure that Hermione had asked to go there because she knew Evie would end up there.
He didn't pay much attention to the others, absently noting that the rude blond ended up in Slytherin. And then…
"Potter, Harry!"
There were more than a few gasps that rang out as he stepped up to the stool. The Harry Potter not in uniform? Even the first years he'd met were surprised, as well as the ghosts watching over the hall. After all, Harry had been very careful to never use his surname, only his first name, and then immediately connect himself with Evie. Because she did have a surname she gave out, most assumed they shared one.
Oh, how he loved tearing expectations to shreds.
Then the hat plopped on his head and he lost sight of everyone as the large brim dropped over his eyes.
Hello, there, came a small voice in the back of his head.
Hello, Harry thought back. Nice to meet you.
Oh, you are a curious one, aren't you? the hat mused. Difficult to place. Loyalty to your chosen family, and brave to a fault.
If it's possible, I'd like to go to Ravenclaw, Harry offered. I'd rather stick by Evie if at all possible.
Are you sure? the hat probed. You could be great in Slytherin.
I think I could be just as great elsewhere, Harry returned. I'm not about to let a house define me. It's really more of a logistical thing.
You'd do well in Gryffindor as well, the hat pressed. Your future would be legendary. That's where they expect you to go, you know.
Oh, I know, Harry assured. They've all said things like, "Your parents were in Gryffindor", or some such nonsense. To be honest, though, that's more of an argument for Slytherin than anything else. I never liked expectations.
The hat laughed at that. Yes, I can see. And perhaps this will do you good, in the end. Very well, better be… RAVENCLAW!
This last word was shouted to the hall, and though there was a moment of surprise, it wasn't long before clapping began and Harry headed to the table with blue decor.
There, he sat right next to a beaming Hermione, and looked back up to watch the rest of the sorting.
Most people he wasn't interested in, but it wasn't long before…
"Spengler, Evanna!"
This generated a new wave of whispers from the older families who recognized the name.
Evie, however, was again absorbed in her meter and didn't react.
The professor had to call her name twice more before Dean nudged her and nodded towards the hat.
Evie tinged slight. "Apologies," she said quickly as she picked up the briefcase next to her and headed up to sit on the stool.
The hat had barely touched her head when it shouted "RA-" and then abruptly cut off.
Harry frowned. What could have…?
And then he snickered. He knew exactly what was going on. Evie was wearing a hat that could read minds, and she was a child prodigy. The hat was probably curious, after years of sitting on really only children's heads, to get a look at such an odd one.
A minute stretched past.
And then two.
The murmuring amongst the students picked up and even Dumbledore was frowning as time stretched on. Six minutes passed before the professor prodded at the hat.
"Wha-what? What is it?"
"You're taking quite a while," the professor said carefully.
"...So I am. No, she's definitely RAVENCLAW!"
Evie had an odd expression on her face as the hat was lifted from her head.
"I sit in the Headmaster's office, Miss Spengler, if you'd like to drop by sometime-"
"I shall certainly endeavour to do so," Evie agreed before the clapping drowned her out and she headed for the Ravenclaw table, making a beeline for Harry.
"What took you so long?" Harry demanded, clapping her on the back. "You nearly gave me a heart attack, Spengs!"
"We were discussing the intricacies of magical theory," Evie informed them. "He really is a brilliant conversationalist."
"Only you would end up discussing that with a hat," Harry complained, rolling his eyes.
"Say what you will," Evie commented calmly, "he's a much better participant than you ever were."
Harry made a show of sniffing, as though insulted.
At the front, Dean became a Gryffindor. The three applauded as he joined the red table.
When the sorting finally concluded, the headmaster stood and gave a few nonsensical words before food appeared on the tables before them.
Hermione and Evie quickly launched into a deeply technical discussion on the makeup of ghosts. Harry, meanwhile, waved down the ruffled ghost he'd first shook hands with earlier, pulled out a notepad, and started bombarding the deceased wizard with questions. Mostly things he knew that his dads (well, Ray and Egon at least, Winston wouldn't be interested and Peter would actively avoid it) would want to know.
This had the welcome, if unintended, side effect of warding off others who wanted to speak with them. Harry hadn't been looking forward to the intense questioning the rest of the students would no doubt subject him to. And really, ghosts were so much more interesting.
But all good things must come to an end. Finally, as he was reaching the end of his questioning, the deserts vanished and Dumbledore stood again.
"Welcome to another year at-"
And Harry tuned him out again. Food made him sleepy, and it had already been a long day. Plus, the jet leg was playing havoc with his system (They'd gotten up rather early to help make the switch).
Also, a pair of ghosts seemed to be having a silent fight in one of the corners, and that was infinitely more interesting than a stupid speech.
He did pick up on a few tidbits. How the Forbidden Forest was forbidden. (Though exactly why they would have such a dangerous forest so close to a school was far beyond him.) And that they shouldn't go into the third floor corridor on the right hand side if they didn't wish to die a painful death.
Which really just meant they'd have to check it out. Obviously.
Finally, finally, the talking stopped, and one of the older Ravenclaws stood. "First years, this way!"
Shooting a grin at Evie (who had at some point during the meal pulled out some scanner he didn't recognize and was fiddling with it in a manner only she and Egon could), Harry jumped up and caught her arm, dragging her along. She didn't even look up.
Hermione grinned at Harry, seeing that. Yes, Evie was one of a kind.
Following the older Ravenclaw (who was apparently a prefect, whatever that was) brought them out of the hall and up several moving staircases. Apparently, the wards on those were enough to get Evie's attention, because Harry had to drag her away again, gathering even more murmurs surrounding the two weird students.
At the base of what Harry was pretty sure was one of the towers (though it was pretty hard to tell, as they were in a castle), the lead Ravenclaw halted in front of a door knocker shaped like an eagle.
"An eagle?" Harry asked quietly, scratching his chin. "Should we be insulted they stole our national emblem?"
"If you want to be technical, we stole theirs," Evie returned, cocking an eyebrow. "Hogwarts is older than our country."
Harry blinked. "Right… Okay. And we can't have stolen it, that's not a bald eagle, just a normal one."
"So, we can't be thieves, but they can?" Evie asked dryly.
"Yeah, that's about it," Harry agreed with a grin.
Evie rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Now, this is the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room," the prefect was saying. "To enter, you have to knock here, and then the eagle will ask you a riddle. Someone has to get the riddle correct in order to enter."
"What if you can't guess the answer?" one girl asked.
"Then you have to stick around until someone who does know the answer comes along," the prefect explained.
"It doesn't seem very secure, though," Hermione frowned. "What if someone from another house can answer the riddles?"
"If someone can, and that's a surprisingly large if," the prefect said, clearly pleased someone had thought to ask, "we're happy to welcome them into our common room as honorary Ravenclaws. That doesn't mean you should be making it easy for them, though! Half the fun is in discovering it for yourselves!"
With that, he reached up and swung the door knocker.
As he did so, the eagle seemed to come alive.
"Where do ghosts come from?"
"Well, that's an easy one," the prefect laughed, looking towards the first years. "Who wants to answer?"
"Ghosts come from dead wizards!" exclaimed one boy.
"Limited," the knocker said shortly.
The prefect blinked as the door failed to open. "I… I guess that it's looking for a more expansive answer. That… happens sometimes."
The though not usually, went unsaid. (5)
No one stepped up for a moment before Harry cleared his throat. "Evie? Where do ghosts come from?"
Evie (who had been absorbed in her scanner) looked up in surprise. "Well, it depends on the ghost. Some are deceased people or animals. Some are other dimensional entities. Some are manifestations of belief. Some are-"
"That's probably enough," Harry said smugly.
Evie blinked, confused, as the knocker's eyes glowed.
"Expertly stated," it said, and then the wall swung outwards, revealing the common room inside.
"Right," the prefect said, surprised. "This is our common room. As you can see, we have our own-"
He was cut off as Evie dashed past him, into the room, making a beeline for the books.
"...library," he finished weakly. "Well, breakfast starts at seven tomorrow, and your dorms are up the stairs over there. Girls on the left, boys on the right. Welcome to Ravenclaw?"
"You call this an extensive private library?! Where the hell-"
"Any other questions?" the prefect tried.
Harry hefted Slimer's briefcase and raised his hand. "Yeah. Where are the kitchens?"
HP/RGB
After receiving a good natured ribbing for wanting to see the kitchens after such a large feast, Harry was able to get a seventh year prefect to take him down, though he refused to tell anyone why. And after Evie was done ranting over the bibliographical selection, she was happy to join them.
This was how they met the house elves. And how the prefect met Slimer. And how Slimer fell in love with house elves (because they made SO MUCH FOOD). And vice versa (because he ate EVERYTHING THEY COOKED).
Of course, as Evie and Harry lounged around waiting for Slimer to finish eating, the prefect had panicked and run off to find a teacher. So, about five minutes later, McGonagall, Dumbledore, and a professor with greasy black hair and a hook nose came barrelling into the kitchen.
"Hi," Harry greeted with a lazy smile. "What's up?"
"Mister Potter," Dumbledore said, staring at the green ghost. "What exactly is the meaning of this?"
"Well, we figured it would be better not to release Slimer at the feast," Harry said with a shrug.
"Yes, class five full torso roaming vapors are not the best way to make friends, or so I've been told," Evie mused.
"You kidding?" Harry asked. "We hated each other until we worked together to bust that class five that snuck in the firehouse."
"Yes, but we're not normal," Evie reminded. "And Slimer… well, no one wants to be introduced to him at a feast."
"Touche," Harry agreed.
"But what is it?" Dumbledore demanded again.
"A class five full torso roaming vapor," Evie repeated. "And he's with us."
"Miss Spengler, if I recall, there is nothing in our letters about allowing… vapors in our school," McGonagall said sharply.
"Yeah, but there's nothing disallowing them," Harry pointed out, still lounging comfortably. "And you don't seem to have a problem with any of the shades running about."
"Shades?" Dumbledore asked.
"You know, the silvery ghosts," Harry said with a shrug. "I don't know why you'd let one type of ghost go wild and ban another."
This was not true. He could totally see why. And had, in many real life cases. But that didn't mean he was going to let them get rid of Slimer without a fight.
He liked the little spud.
"Slimer is a perfectly acceptable pet," Evie agreed.
Slimer made a dissenting noise, waving his arms, from where he was half-way through a cherry pie. "No! Nah pet!"
"I'm not saying that, Slimer," Evie said quickly, relatively certain that the wizards didn't know Slimer well enough to pick up anything he was saying what-so-ever. "Just… that…"
She looked at Harry for help.
"We're best buds, spud," Harry said cheerfully. "We wouldn't get rid of you for all the ice cream in the world." (And, to Slimer, that was the most powerful thing he could have said.)
Slimer made several bashful sounds before returning to his pie.
"So, Slimer's with us," Harry repeated to the teachers. "That's how it is. If you don't like it, we'll all leave."
"No!" Dumbledore said quickly. It had been enough of a headache to get Harry to come in the first place.
"What exactly are you hoping to accomplish here, Potter?" the dark haired teacher sneered. "Showing off your little pet? Hoping we'll bow to your whims?"
"Well, we hadn't exactly planned on showing off. That's why we came to feed Slimer after the feast," Harry mused. "And as for bowing to my whims, yeah, a little. We don't have to be here. It's you who all but demanded we come."
The man's lip twisted, but Dumbledore quickly cut him off. "Severus, this is, by all accounts, perfectly fine. Two students came to feed their pet in a manner to keep it out of the eyes of most of the other students, so as to not cause a fuss. There's nothing wrong with that."
Unfortunately, he hadn't been paying attention to Slimer, who was clearly getting irritated by the men repeatedly referring to him as a "pet". With a growl, the little ghost launched himself through the air, thoroughly sliming the two wizards.
McGonagall stared. Evie hid a smile. Harry straight up laughed. And Slimer blew a raspberry at the men.
"Well, I think that means you're good, right?" Harry asked Slimer innocently. "We'd best get back to our common room, then. Have a good night."
With that, he and Evie waved a quick goodbye to the cheerful house elves and pushed past the teachers to the hall way. Almost as an afterthought, Evie opened Slimer's case and held it up.
"Slimer! Time for bed!"
Slimer raced for the case, sliming both men a second time, before diving in. Evie clamped it shut, and without another word, followed Harry as they retraced their steps.
And ignored the shout behind them from the greasy professor, about taking "a million points" from Ravenclaw. After all, that was technically a punishment, which he couldn't carry out without permission from the Ghostbusters.
Oh, yes, this was going to be a very fun year.
A/N: And so it begins.
(1) A reference book mentioned in the RGB episode "The Grundel" (which also contains one of my all time favorite scenes.)
(2) Harry frequently curses in Sumerian. He picked it up from Egon. And, on occasion, Ray.
(3) Evie collects amphibians. She doesn't know this, but her parents are getting rid of all of them while she's away. (Why can't she collect something not living, like all the other 'normal' Spenglers?)
(4) Also called Gozer. If you don't know who that is, I question why you're reading this at all.
(5) My current head cannon: usually that answer would be appropriate, but the eagle head can tell if someone there is able to give a better, more complete answer, and looks for that.
Okay, that's everything! Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, and please review! They inspire me to write more, faster!