Author's Note: Thank you so much for your reviews! I really enjoyed reading them! I post short review replies on my profile because it's not allowed to post them here with the chapter... I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
Chapter 2
Hogwarts was a beautiful old-fashioned building. It was much smaller but more luxuriant than the rather plain Jedi Temple. Anakin was relieved to see that really everyone here wore the set of black robes he had been given. The inhabitants were all humanoid. At the walls hung moving, hologram-like pictures, which greeted Anakin politely. Anakin was almost too late for the feast in the Great Hall because he replied all the people's greetings and presented himself. He realised too late that hardly anyone of the other students paid attention to the "hologram"-people. So he quickly excused himself to an old lady and hurried to catch up with the rest of the crowd. He entered the Great Hall, quickly looked around and checked the Force for any danger. It was difficult to sense anything particular in the Force when many excited people were assembled in one place, so he gave that up. He spotted Obi-Wan sitting at a table with the other teachers and he looked relatively relaxed. Surely, Obi-Wan would have sensed if anything was wrong. So there was really no reason for Anakin to double-check everything. Aside from the teacher table, there were four other long tables. Anakin assumed there were some rules where you had to sit, so he addressed a friendly looking girl with red hair, who was one of the last to enter the hall too.
"Excuse me, I'm new here. Are there some rules where you have to sit? Could you tell me where I have to go?"
"Sure. Have you already been chosen?"
"Yes, I guess," Anakin stated confidently. He had no idea what she was talking about but he was the Chosen One, right?
"Okay, which house are you in?"
"Um..." Anakin smiled apologetically at her. "I guess I haven't been chosen yet. I misunderstood you. Sorry."
"That's alright. So I'd suggest you just wait until the first years arrive and then you line up with them. Which grade will you be in?"
"Fifth year. And you?"
"I'm fifth year too. I'm Lily and that's Remus." She indicated a boy standing next to her. He seemed to be of the same age. "We're the prefects of Gryffindor."
"Ah, pleased to meet you." Anakin shook hands with both of them. "I'm Anakin Skywalker."
"Hi," the boy called Remus said. "We'd better sit down now. The first years are coming. Just follow them and do what they do. It's nothing difficult or dangerous. See you later."
"Thanks for your help." Anakin lined up with the first years. He felt really stupid between all these small kids. They looked extremely small. So he directed all the glances towards him. So much about not drawing attention to me, Anakin thought. He caught Obi-Wan's glance and his Master did not look happy at all with his behaviour, which was unfair, really. Anakin had not had another choice. Then a woman who was perhaps a bit older than Obi-Wan but was frowning just as much brought in an old-looking hat. The hat started singing a horribly rhymed song about Hogwarts' history. Anakin listened closely and by the end of the song he was a bit cleverer what the choosing and the houses were about. He was not sure he liked that. It reminded him too much of the day he had been tested by the Jedi Council. They had seemed to be able to look through him right down at the very bottom of his soul. What if that hat told him he was too old? Or that there was too much fear in him, which could lead him to the dark side? What if the hat detected dark side in him? It took an eternity until it was finally Anakin's turn to put on the hat.
"Hello." There was suddenly a squeaking voice in his head.
"Hello there," Anakin said, a tad uncomfortably. "When you said you'd place the students in houses because of their character traits and their abilities, does that mean you can actually see through me or do I have to tell you about myself and then you decide?"
"Hm, you're an impatient one, aren't you?" the hat replied, slightly amused.
"I know, that's what my Master says," Anakin admitted openly. He quickly bit his lip. He shouldn't have said that! "My father, I mean," he corrected himself.
"Indeed. Well, concerning your questions: I can more or less see through you but you could help me of course and tell me about yourself."
"Well, I'm... impatient, undisciplined, and I can't control my anger... I'm pretty bad at self-control, actually," Anakin enumerated all the things his Master kept telling him. "I'm disobedient, messy, chaotic, sometimes arrogant, too unpredictable... Yeah, that's it. Aside from that, I'm pretty good at everything."
"Hm, interesting, indeed, indeed. In addition to that, you are brave, yes, extremely brave, you are powerful. Yes, you would make a fine Slytherin."
"Okay…"
"Do you think pureblood is important?"
What's it talking about now?"Yes…," Anakin said slowly, not really sure what the hat expected him to say. "I think it's very important," he added for emphasis.
"Indeed," the hat muttered.
"Is that good or bad?" Anakin asked boldly.
"Depends on the point of view. To the Slytherins, pureblood is very important. The other three houses rather despise such an attitude towards blood and your heritage."
Anakin already felt sorry for the Slytherins. It was unfair of the other students to shun them just because they had another opinion. "So the students from the different houses don't like each other?" he asked curiously.
"Alas, there's much rivalry between the houses. But let's get back to the matter at hand. Where do I put you? Hmm, you are very loyal to your friends. That's not a Slytherin characteristic. You're loyal to the very end. And you are also intelligent."
Anakin blushed deeply because of that amount of compliments. He wished his Master could hear that...
"Hm, what am I going to do with you?"
"Just put me anywhere, I don't really care. But please not into the house with the many intelligent ones, I'd surely make myself look stupid there."
"Would you? Alright, if you say so... What about Gryffindor?"
"Dunno... That was the house with the brave ones, wasn't it?"
"Yes."
"Well, sounds nice. Could you put me there?" As Anakin had already got to know two students from Gryffindor and they had seemed nice enough, that seemed a good decision.
"So it be GRYFFINDOR!" The hat declared loudly so the whole hall could hear it.
"Thanks," Anakin whispered and took the hat down. The students at the Gryffindor table applauded and cheered loudly for him, which was really nice. Anakin threw a glance to the teacher table, where Obi-Wan applauded politely along with the other teachers. Anakin gave him a brief smile (which his Master did not return of course because he would always play his role so perfectly) and then he looked for a place at the Gryffindor table. He recognised the boy he had met earlier, Remus, and sat down next to him.
"Welcome to Gryffindor," Remus said and smiled at him.
"Thanks," Anakin said, pleased of such a warm welcome. It was already very different from his first day in the Jedi Temple.
"These are my friends, James Potter, Sirius Black," Remus indicated the two boys sitting opposite him, "and that's Peter Pettigrew." A small boy sitting next to Remus on the other side grinned sheepishly at Anakin. Suddenly Anakin recognised him.
"Hey, I've already seen you in front of Platform 9 ¾," Anakin said enthusiastically. "Do you remember? I and... Professor Kenobi were discussing things and you asked us to get out of your way so you could go through the barrier."
"Ah, that was you."
"Who's Professor Kenobi?" the boy called Sirius asked curiously.
"He used to be my private tutor," Anakin explained the story Obi-Wan had made up for them. "And then he got the post as the new teacher for Defence against the Dark Side."
"It's called Defence against the Dark Arts," Peter corrected him.
"Oh, yeah." Anakin shrugged it off. "What did I say?"
"Dark Side."
"Ah yes. That's probably because Professor Kenobi sometimes uses other words than the standard things here at Hogwarts. You know, he comes from another country, that's why. And he taught me many years and it kind of rubbed off, I think."
"What's he like?" Remus asked curiously. "Is he okay as a teacher?"
"He's great. He knows lots of stuff and he's very patient with me. I'm very thankful, um, that he has taught me all those years." In reality, there were many days when Anakin did not think Obi-Wan was great. He often thought Obi-Wan was much too strict, too cold, too serious and too meticulous. It was okay to think such things but Anakin would never say a bad word about his Master in public.
"That's good," James said. "The last Defence against the Dark Arts teachers we had were all crap."
"Yeah, the last year was pure horror," Sirius said. "I can't remember another year where I got so much detention. Let's hope that Kikibo is not such a stupid ass."
"His name is Kenobi," Anakin corrected Sirius.
Then the headmaster, Professor Dumbledore stood up and made a speech. Anakin liked him immediately. He was nice and funny and still, everyone seemed to respect him highly. Anakin thought that Obi-Wan should take a leaf out of his book.
Professor Dumbledore introduced Obi-Wan to the students and Anakin applauded politely with the other students. Of course, Obi-Wan did not spare him a glance. Then, finally, it was time to eat. The food was delicious. Anakin was really glad they were on such a mission. He hated missions where you had nothing to eat but protein bars for weeks.
"Do you like Quidditch?" James asked him curiously.
"Yeah, I think so," Anakin said indifferently. The truth was, he had no idea what, in the name of the Force, Quidditch was. Why had Obi-Wan not given him any information about that?
"I'm the captain of the Gryffindor team," James stated proudly.
"That's cool," Anakin said and quickly busied himself with eating again.
"James is a Quidditch-fanatic," Remus told Anakin. "I hope your favourite team is the Tutshill Tornados, otherwise your life is in danger."
Anakin grinned knowingly at Remus. He concluded Quidditch was a sport. Hopefully something with fast vehicles.
"I'm still looking for another Chaser," James informed him. "On Friday, there will be the tryouts. Why don't you come? Do you have your own broom?"
"Um, no, I'm afraid not." Shit, what is he talking about???
"You can borrow mine," Remus offered. "I was on the team last year but I was ill during the most important match and so he kicked me out of the team. That's James. A great friend."
"Just shut up, Moony," James said good-naturedly. "As the captain, I have a responsibility towards the whole Gryffindor house. I cannot afford a player who gets ill during the most important matches."
"Yeah, and Moony gets ill all the time," Sirius said, grinning mischievously at Remus (or 'Moony'???). "He's a real wimp."
Remus just rolled his eyes and continued eating relatively unperturbed by the insult.
"So, Anakin, something important you should know," Sirius addressed Anakin. "It's a Marauder tradition to test a new teacher by playing some pranks on him. Well, could you give us a few tips concerning Kinnobi?"
Anakin pricked up his ears. Playing pranks on Obi-Wan? That sounded great!!! He had already tried, of course, but so far, Obi-Wan had always noticed too early and had spoilt the prank. And afterwards, naturally, Anakin had had to do a lot of meditation on how he should behave towards his Master. "Well, he certainly needs to loosen up a bit," Anakin told the four boys. "He's often too strict and too serene. He always keeps to the rules, always worries and never relaxes. Maybe we could -"
"Ah, I got an idea!" James said enthusiastically. "That will be so amazing! Thanks for your help, Anakin!"
"What, what, what?" Peter asked eagerly.
"Later, I'll tell you in our dormitory," James said, a broad grin spread over his face.
"Come on, Prongs, please!" Peter pleaded.
"Later, later..."
"Uh, by the way, where can I sleep?" Anakin asked them.
"All the Gryffindor boys of one class share a dormitory," Remus explained. "We'll show you after the feast."
They finished their meal very quickly because they were all curious to learn what James planned for "Professor Kenobi". The boys' dormitory had cosy-looking four-poster beds.
"Now, spill the beans, Prongs," Sirius said and dropped down on his bed. The other four boys gathered around him.
"Hm, Anakin, do you like The Boggarts?" James asked mischievously.
"Yes," Anakin replied casually.
"And Kenobi? What kind of music does he like?"
"I have no idea," Anakin said, confused. "I don't think he listens to music at all."
"He certainly doesn't like The Boggarts, does he?"
"No, not at all," Anakin stated confidently, desperately hoping he did not say anything wrong. "I remember I once listened to The Boggarts and he grumbled something about uncivilised noise."
"Great." James rubbed his hands in anticipation. "He probably likes Celestina Warbeck?"
"Yeah, I think he does."
The four boys grimaced and made sounds of disgust. Sorry for that, Master, Anakin thought slightly guiltily, I didn't mean to create you a bad taste of music.
"And I thought he looked too young for Celestina Warbeck," Remus said, shaking his head.
"Perhaps you have to be older to be able to relax and have fun," Anakin mused.
"Like Dumbledore," Peter said.
And Yoda, Anakin added in thought.
"Anyway, I thought about making Kenobi dance and sing 'My Wand Explodes'," James explained proudly. The other boys erupted into laughter and Anakin laughed along with them. He had no idea what 'The Boggarts' and 'My Wand Explodes' meant but the mere idea of a dancing and singing Obi-Wan was utterly hilarious.
When they had all calmed somewhat down, Anakin asked, "But how are you going to make him sing and dance?"
"That's easy," James said casually. "We just have to brew a little My-Wand-Explodes-Potion and then we're going to use Tarantallegra on him."
Anakin slapped himself against his forehead. "Ah yes, of course, I didn't think of that. Easy, really."
"James, you can't seriously make him sing 'My Wand Explodes'," Remus said, torn between amusement and scepticism. "That's... No, the lyrics are too..."
"But that's the whole point of it!" Sirius exclaimed. "Anakin, does he have a wife or girlfriend?"
"No, of course not!" Anakin protested. The other four stared at him. "I mean..." Anakin blushed a little bit. He really should pay more attention to what he said. "Honestly, which woman would want him as her boyfriend?" he tried to explain away. I'm truly sorry for that, Master, but you will certainly acknowledge that I have to do it for the success of our mission.
"Is he so bad?" Sirius said. "I thought you said he was a great teacher."
"Yes, well, he is," Anakin said awkwardly. "He really is... Um, I just have never seen him with a woman."
"How very strange," Remus said sarcastically. "He certainly wouldn't bring his girlfriend to your lessons, right?"
"Who cares?" James said. "Let's start with the preparations. We need to brew the potion. I can donate some butterbeer. Moony, you got the other ingredients?"
"Do you really want to do that?" Remus asked worriedly.
"What?" Sirius sneered. "Now that you're a prefect you leave the Marauders, or what?"
Remus blushed. "I-I didn't... I mean..."
"Come on, or do you guys want to work throughout the night?" James said impatiently, pulled a large cauldron out of his trunk and emptied a bottle of honey-coloured drink into it.
"Did you just say that's butterbeer?" Anakin asked suspiciously.
"Yes, it is," James answered nonchalantly. "Moony, will you finally give me the other ingredients?"
"Alright, alright," Remus muttered and handed him lots of other stuff Anakin did not recognise.
"But that's not allowed, is it?" Anakin prodded.
Sirius gave him a funny look. "What exactly do you mean?"
"Butterbeer. Doesn't Rule 34 of the school regulation say: Students are not allowed to store butterbeer / firewhiskey / bubble champagne / elven wine / troll mead / any other drink with even the slightest alcoholic content in their rooms or anywhere else in the castle." Now all four of them were staring at Anakin, their mouths hanging open. Anakin winced slightly. "That's not right?" he said, embarrassed. "I'm not so sure yet, I'm new here... It was Rule 33, wasn't it?"
Suddenly, Sirius erupted into loud laughter. "Man, you really gave me the creeps!" He clapped Anakin hard on his back. "For a moment, I thought you were being serious. Sure, you're absolutely right, it's definitely Rule 33."Anakin was getting more and more confused when the others giggled hilariously too.
"We should really work on that now," James reminded them. He was cutting the stuff Remus had given to him with some really primitive knifes and scissors. "This potion is our speciality," he informed Anakin in the meantime. "We used it last year on Snivellus to make him sing Celestina Warbeck." They laughed again and it took them much time to calm down.
"Gee, that was the best day of my life," Sirius giggled. "Come with me to Taaaaraaaa", he piped in a high-pitched voice, "there's magic in the air, just for you-hou and meeee-heeee."
"Snivellus is our archenemy," James explained. "He's the slimiest creature ever. You'll recognise him immediately when you see him. A long nose and lots of stuff dripping out of it."
In his mind, Anakin pictured a Hutt, singing the love-song Sirius had just performed. He saw their point. He hoped he would learn how to brew such potions too, here in Hogwarts.
"And we made McGonagall do a rap," Sirius continued dreamily.
"She wasn't that bad," Remus said. "Her glasses broke during the performance, though. When she was doing acrobatics on the floor."
"My ears were still ringing three days afterwards because of her temper tantrum."
Anakin listened attentively. That McGonagall sounded like a potential criminal if she could not control her anger. Maybe that Voldemort-guy had disguised as her and had sneaked into Hogwarts posing as a teacher – just like Obi-Wan did.
"Yeah, and we got two months detention in the library," James continued.
"But it was worth it," Sirius said, chuckling at the memory.
"Definitely," Peter agreed.
"So everyone," James declared loudly, "the potion is finished so far. Time to turn on the music."
"Here we go." Sirius put something into something else and then hell broke loose. Anakin jumped at the first beat of the "music". It was loud. Really, really loud. A man was screaming something. Anakin could not understand a word. In addition to the screaming, there was some ear-splitting rushing and extremely loud drumbeats. Anakin used some of his Jedi exercises to relax and ignore the noise. He was utterly relieved when it was finally over. "Always great to listen to that amazing song again," he said dryly.
"Yeah, it's definitely my favourite," Sirius said. "Shall we listen to it once again?"
"Uh, no, no," Anakin said quickly. "I've still got... I've still got... I'm tired, really. I want to be well rested for my first school day at Hogwarts."
"Yes, you're right. Let's go to bed," Sirius said. It was odd that he was not suspicious because of Anakin's strange behaviour...
But soon Anakin would see why they had agreed so quickly to go to bed without listening to the song again. When he lay down, there was suddenly a squelching sound and his pyjama trousers got disgustingly wet. Alarmed, Anakin jumped up again. He already had his hand on his lightsaber hilt but when the other boys doubled over with laughter, he relaxed.
"What the..." On top of everything, the room was filling with a disgusting smell. "Urgh." Anakin gulped. "What's that?"
"Really, Anakin, you're disgusting," Sirius, who held his nose, cackled.
Anakin looked from one to the other, and finally he joined in their laughter. He probably deserved it. If it was a tradition to play a prank on a new teacher, it certainly was a tradition, too, to play a prank on a new student. That was really alright.
"Open the windows!" Remus shouted and they ran towards the windows, opened them and leant out of them, taking in deep breaths. The air smelled pure here, not like the recycled, exhaust-gas-poisoned air on Coruscant.
"It's nice here," Anakin said.
James clapped him on his back. "You got some backbone, man. Welcome to Hogwarts."
"And I thought you were so afraid of us that you had made a mess in your pants," Sirius teased him good-naturedly.
"Dungbombs in our own dormitory was not the cleverest idea we ever had," Remus said, pinching his nose.
Anakin refrained from pointing out to them that it was absolutely forbidden to use dungbombs in the school. He had already forgotten which rule it was, and it seemed as if the other boys did not care so much about rules anyway. Anakin liked that.
"We have new bedclothes for you," Remus told him.
"Yeah, that's Remus." James gave Remus a friendly punch. "He insisted that - if we really have to play such a cruel joke - we have at least new bedclothes for you so you can sleep in a dry bed." James shook his head in mock-despair. "Moony is just too human for this world."
"I'm completely normal," Remus protested. "It's just you who are so... bestial."
Anakin did not get most of the jokes the other boys exchanged - they were insiders, certainly - but he felt comfortable here nonetheless. He was really looking forward to tomorrow's classes. He finally wanted to learn magic. And he was curious to see the students' superpowers - if they were really superpowers.