Chapter Three: Sabina
September 1st
It was early morning. Calanthe's alarm clock was set to wake her at eight to get ready, but that was thirty minutes from now. Calanthe could barely contain her excitement. She was finally going to Hogwarts! It was hard to believe that two weeks ago she had had no idea that such a place existed. Calanthe looked to the foot of her bed where her trunk stood open. She had packed all her school robes, planning on changing on the train as the Professor had suggested. Everything was packed. Calanthe looked over to where her cat, whom she had named Rajani, slept on her window seat. Every time Calanthe saw her she got a little thrill of happiness and her excitement increased. She was going to Hogwarts! She was going to be a witch! In a few hours, everything would finally be happening.
Unable to contain herself and sit in bed any longer, Calanthe went to get dressed. She barely looked at what she threw on, except to make sure that it was neat, clean, and looked reasonably nice. In her mind, Muggle clothing wasn't even nearly as exciting as wizard clothing… but she would have to make due with this for the time being. But that didn't stop her eyes from straying, every so often, to her trunk where her robes lay, packed of course. In search of something to do, anything, Calanthe brushed her teeth and combed her hair. Then, she polished her glasses and put them on. At a loss for what to do next, she sat back on her bed. There were over two hours until the train left, and she had nothing to do but sit here. Sighing, Calanthe decided to read more of her school books.
She had already finished reading most of her course books, but not quite. Normally, she wouldn't do this for any class… but she felt that she was already so behind in the Wizarding World and she wanted to be good at at least something. So she had read and made an effort to know everything for most classes, except History of Magic and Defense Against the Dark Arts, which she hadn't gotten to yet. So far, Charms and Transfiguration were easily her best subjects. She hadn't tried any of the Transfiguration spells yet – they were warned against, being very tricky magic – but she had tried a couple of the charms spells. (Professor Longbottom had said that this was okay, because she couldn't do any real damage anyways with this level of training. But after her first year there would be consequences.) She could levitate a leaf off of her desk and mend something broken, so long as it wasn't too big. Potions had been impossible to study for, as you had to brew stuff for that and she didn't want to use all of her ingredients before she even got to school. She could memorize what certain potions did, though, and what happened when you added certain things together. Herbology, Professor Longbottom's subject, wasn't very interesting at all to Calanthe. She like looking at the pictures of the various plants, but memorizing their Latin names and what the plants did was simply boring to Calanthe. She had forced herself, though, to memorize the names and properties of basic plants and how to recognize them. She thought she had gotten pretty good at it too, in spite of her dislike of the subject.
Calanthe propped herself up on her pillow and began to read her History of Magic book. To her surprise, she liked the subject. She hadn't ever liked history at all in her normal, Muggle, schools… but something about the historical Witches and Wizards and what they did was just fascinating. Of particular interest to Calanthe were the brief mentions of Hogwarts History among the various feuds and law-makers of the Wizarding World. She paid particular attention to the information on the four founders on Hogwarts; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. She had reached around the middle of the book (with some skimming) by Nine Thirty when her mother came to get her.
"Ready, Calanthe?" she asked. Something in her eyes looked a little bright.
Calanthe went over and hugged her mother. "I'll send you and owl as soon as I can," she said.
Her mother looked confused.
"Owls carry the Wizard Post, mom," she explained, smiling. In surprise, she discovered that she was crying too. What was wrong with her? She was going to Hogwarts! She shouldn't be crying about leaving this place behind! And yet, somehow, she was.
After a few minutes, they pulled away from each other and Calanthe wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. "Really, I'll write as soon as I get there," she promised.
Her mother nodded. "Thank you sweetie," she said. "I'll help you carry your trunk downstairs."
Everything was going without a hitch. Mike was still fast asleep, from all the sounds coming from his room.
The car was loaded. It was time to go. "Ready?" asked Calanthe's mother.
Calanthe nodded, and the car pulled out of the driveway. As Calanthe glanced back up towards the house one last time, she saw her brother looking out of the window. She had no idea how different she would be when she saw him again.
They arrived at King's Cross at around ten thirty. "Better hurry!" exclaimed Calanthe's mother, checking her watch. "You only have thirty minutes to be on that train!"
Calanthe's eye's widened. "Aren't you coming with me?" she asked her mother.
"I'll come with you as far as the barrier, just to make sure you get through," she said. "I don't think I can stand to watch the train leave with you on it."
Calanthe felt rather hurt that her mother didn't plan to see her off, but there wasn't time to think about that. She still had to get to the platform on time! Calanthe ran and got a trolley and her mother placed the heavy trunk onto it and her cat's basket onto it. It made Calanthe feel very conspicuous, to be wheeling a trolley into the station with a heavy trunk and a magical cat. She swallowed her feelings, though, and tried to look as normal as it was possible for her to look. Swiftly, glancing at her watch every few seconds, Calanthe's mother led the way into the station. Platforms 1, 2, 3 – they passed them quickly, but it seemed to take forever. Calanthe had fifteen minutes to get on that train, and it was passing fast.
At last, they reached the barrier between platforms Nine and Ten. Calanthe was surprised by how completely solid it looked. She wondered if Professor Longbottom had been pulling her leg, that this was all, somehow, a huge joke. But no, no one could have rigged Diagon Alley. And besides, her mother had seen the rabbit-cushion too. No, it must all be real. But all the same, the barrier…
"Well, this is goodbye, sweetie," said Calanthe's mother.
Calanthe bit her lip, but looked happily up into her mother's face. "I'll be fine, Mom," she said. A huge sense of purposeful excitement was bubbling inside of Calanthe, but it was marred just a little by uncertainty. She hugged her mother one last time.
"Bye," Calanthe said. Her mother, who had already started to walk away a little, waved. And then she was gone into the crowd, out of the station. Calanthe took a deep breath, and turned her cart around towards the barrier between platforms Nine and Ten. She was about to push her cart through it, when she heard someone shout from behind her.
"Hey, wait!" On reflex, Calanthe turned and looked behind her. There was a girl around her own age waving and smiling at her. Calanthe had never seen her before in her life, but she waved back uncertinly. The girl caught up with her. She had long reddish-gold hair which was held out of her eyes by a piece of red ribbon, sparkling blue-grey eyes, and pale skin.
"I'm Sabina," the girl said confidently, giving Calanthe a smile. "You going to Hogwarts too?"
Calanthe nodded. "Yeah," she said. "First year."
Sabina nodded. "Me too. Want to sit together on the train? I don't know anyone else who is going. I'm Partblood, but my Dad was killed by the Deatheaters, so my mom – she's a Muggle – had to raise me by herself. So I don't know much about magic." Sabina spoke very fast, and Calanthe wondered if this was some sort of nervous reaction, because she couldn't believe that anyone could talk this fast all the time. It would wear them out, wouldn't it?
"Okay," she said. "I'm Muggle-born, so I guess I don't know much about magic either. Like, what exactly are Deatheaters?"
Sabina looked at her wisely. "You-Know-Who's followers. He was a Dark wizard that was killed around… twenty years ago."
Calanthe had noticed a problem with this. "But if You-Know-Who was killed twenty years ago, wouldn't you be older or something?"
Sabina smiled. "Nope. These were just some who escaped capture." A frown crossed her face. "Actually, I don't really know completely what happened. The Ministry of Magic wouldn't give me or my mother much information on it for some reason. But I guess I wouldn't remember anyways. It happened when I was around two, after all."
"I'm sorry," Calanthe said.
"It's okay. I really don't remember him much. And I've still got the rest of my family. Oh gosh, we've got five minutes to get on the train, we'd better hurry!"
Calanthe pushed her cart through the barrier without thinking about it, and was followed a second later by Sabina. Together, they hurried along towards the end of the train and hauled their trunks aboard. Outside, Calanthe heard the whistle blowing and she could feel the engine warming up as the whole train vibrated.
"Hmmm," said Sabina. "There don't seem to be many empty compartments… ohh how about this one?" Without waiting for an answer, she pushed her way into a compartment where a lone girl sat, head leaning against the window.
Calanthe followed her inside. "Hi," she said to the girl by the window. Um, is it okay if we sit here?"
The girl looked at them. She had short black hair and brown eyes. "Okay," she said, and turned back towards the window. Sabina took a seat one away from the dark-haired girl, and Calanthe sat down across from her.
Sabina was bouncing in her seat. "I'm so excited!" she said, grinning.
Calanthe grinned. That was something they had in common. "What house do you think you'll get into?" she asked.
Sabina's face took on a blissful look. "I'm hoping Gryffindor or Ravenclaw," she said. "But I don't really mind that much. I had an Uncle – on my Dad's side obviously – who was in Slytherin, so I guess that wouldn't be too bad. But the description in Hogwarts, a History made them seem a little dark."
Calanthe nodded. "I read that part too," she said. "I don't suppose I'd mind Hufflepuff too badly either, but the book made it sound like they were hardworking, but otherwise they were the kids the rest of the houses would reject!"
Sabina frowned. "It did kind of sound like that, didn't it? Maybe the writer didn't capture Hufflepuff's view? Because some really talented people have come out of that house." Sabina seemed to be calming down a little.
"I wouldn't know," Calanthe grinned. "Muggle-born." She didn't let on exactly how worried about that she was.
Sabina shrugged. "Actually, I don't really know either," she grinned. "I just read it out of the book!"
Calanthe considered for a moment. "I guess I'm hoping for Ravenclaw or Gryffindor too, even though I don't think the other two would be bad either."
Sabina grinned, as though that settled the matter. "Hey, maybe we'll be in the same house!"
Calanthe grinned excitedly. "I hope so!"
They went on talking and laughing for the next few hours. Calanthe let Rajani out of her basket to stretch her legs and walk around. Sabina, as it turned out, had brought a silvery-grey owl with her. As they talked, it peered down from the luggage rack at them. Calanthe was surprised at how easy it really was to make friends. Of course, it helped that they were weird in the same ways that she was.
A few hours into the journey, someone banged on the compartment door. "Want anything from the trolley dears," said an old witch, sticking her head inside. For the first time, the dark-haired girl by the window stirred and looked at the witch. "Okay," she said. Calanthe and Sabina followed her out of the compartment to where a trolley stocked with sweets sat. Calanthe had never sampled Wizarding sweets before, so she followed Sabina's lead for the most part. Not that, according to Sabina, anything was bad; she loved it all. Calanthe bought a couple of chocolate frogs, cauldron cakes, and some every-flavor beans. When they were done, the three of them went back into the compartment together.
Sabina, too, had apparently just woken up to the dark-haired girl's presence, because when they were all seated again, she asked "What's your name?"
She was staring out of the window again. "Irene Chang," she said.
"Nice to meet you," Calanthe offered. She wondered what it was about having a friend here that was making her feel secure. But for some reason, she felt bolder than she would have at home, where she ordinarily wouldn't have spoken.
"You too," Irene said, continuing to stare out of the window.
Sabina, apparently, wasn't being discouraged by her lack of interest in them. "Are you excited to go to Hogwarts?" she asked.
Irene nodded, still staring out of the window.
"What house do you think you'll be in?" Calanthe tried.
"Hmmm… I don't know," Irene said, barely paying attention.
Sabina was beginning to look a little offended. "Sorry for bothering you," she said, a tad huffily.
Irene looked at her in surprise, and then, to both of their surprise, she burst into tears.
"I'm s-sorry," Irene sobbed. "I didn't mean," she choked on her sob, unable to finish the sentence. Sabina looked as though she wasn't sure whether to be sorry or confused.
"What's wrong?" Calanthe asked gently.
Irene sniffed, trying to stifle her sobs. "It's my mother," she said.
"Are you homesick?" asked Sabina.
Irene shook her head. "No, it's not that. It's just that, I don't know where she is." Irene let out another shaky sob, but this one was quieter. It appeared that letting out a little of the emotion she was feeling was making her feel better.
"Has she vanished?" asked Calanthe.
Irene shook her head again. "Not exactly," she said. "But she goes on business trips a lot – she works for the ministry – but I haven't heard from her in four days and she promised she'd come and see me off." Another sob, still quieter.
"Awww, I'm sorry," Calanthe said, unsure what else she could say. "You can owl her when you get there, though, and stay with us in the meantime." But this, it appeared, was enough. Irene gave her a little smile, and both she and Sabina smiled back, and they all went onto talking about what it would be like at Hogwarts, what each of them had heard about the teachers, that sort of thing.
At last, Sabina looked at her watch. "We should only have another hour before we arrive," she said excitedly. "We'd better get our robes on!"
They looked excitedly at each other for a few moments, and then they each opened their trunks and begun to dress.
"Ohhh the sorting!" Irene said, her eyes wide. "I wish I knew where I was going! I'd feel a little better then."
Sabina but her lip, but then squared her shoulders and took a deep breath, "I'm sure we'll all manage where ever they put us," she said. But Calanthe thought she looked a little nervous too. She crossed her fingers, even if she wasn't sure what she was hoping for.
When they were all finished putting on their robes, Sabina took out a brush and smoothed her hair.
It caught Irene's eye. "Your hair is so beautiful," she told Sabina. "So long."
Sabina blushed; it appeared she wasn't used to compliments. "Uh, thanks," she said. "I like yours too."
Calanthe straightened her glasses, and took her hair out of its ponytail. Maybe it would look better, not so thin, down. She was suddenly very self-conscious; she wasn't used to it.
After a few more minutes, they all sat down again. Calanthe noticed that Irene kept looking at herself in the window on the compartment, and pulling at her reflection. "What do we do when we get there?" she asked nervously.
Sabina thought for a moment. "Get sorted?" she said. "I don't know what happens after that." She yawned. "I hope we get to go to bed!"
Calanthe grinned at her. "I second that."
Irene said, "I just want to get through this evening. I'll worry about sleeping later."
She said it so seriously that the other two laughed. But before long, the train began slowing down more and more. As it pulled to a halt, the three of them could barely do more than sit there and look at each other, fear in their eyes.
A speaker blared. "Everyone, please leave your luggage and pets on the train. They will be taken to the school separately," it crackled. Calanthe shut Rajani in her cage; the cat was miffed, she had been sleeping on a seat, but Calanthe couldn't care. She barely noticed what she was doing, her nerves were so alive with electricity.
As they exited the train, they all grabbed hands to keep from being pushed apart by the onrush of students.
"First years, over here," called a rough voice from not too far off. They stared at each other.
"Us?" Sabina squeaked.
Calanthe nodded; Irene's eyes just got wider. They set off towards the voice, and when they got a little closer Irene let out a little squeal; the man calling out 'first years!' was a huge mountain of a main with a beard like a thicket of wild brambles. Calanthe's own eyes went wide for a moment at the sight of him, before she remembered that this was a school, and so the teachers and staff probably weren't dangerous. At least, not much. And not to the students.
They joined a little crowd of students who appeared to be around their age. Calanthe lost track of the faces; they all looked the same with wide eyes, sometimes nervous or even terrified expressions.
The giant man looked around at them. "That everyone? Yeah? Okay. Follow me." And he led the way into the darkness. After a few minutes, he spoke again; "Okay everyone? You'll get your first sight of Hogwarts in a 'mo."
And it rose before them. A giant castle towering above them, lighted windows illuminating it. It was magnificent, and Calanthe almost stopped in her tracks to stare at it. Abruptly, she wasn't as nervous as she had been before. The sight of the castle seemed to steady her. She didn't have time to stare, though, because the giant was leading them towards a little fleet of boats that waited at the edge of a lake.
Calanthe, Irene, and Sabina, all took a boat followed by a boy with white blonde hair and grey eyes. None of them spoke; they were all too awed, too captivated, and in some cases too nervous to speak. As one, the little fleet of boats settled off, and a few minutes later they were gliding into an underground passageway underneath the castle. She heard Irene gasp again as they went under the ground, but she needn't have worried; as soon as they entered the tunnel a lighted boating ramp was visible at the end of it. By the time the boats had reached it, there was someone standing there. It was Professor Longbottom.
"Hello," he greeted them cheerfully. "Rose, Calanthe, Maddox, Albus – everyone else – Welcome."
Calanthe glanced around and saw some other kids looking at the Professor as though they had met him before, but she didn't pay much attention because Professor Longbottom was leading them into a long hallway and then out into a well-lit hall that could have fit the whole of Calanthe's house inside it.
"This is the entrance hall," the Professor said cheerfully. A great deal of noise was coming from a doorway at the end. "In a moment, we'll enter the Great Hall together for the Sorting."
Sabina elbowed Calanthe in the said. Calanthe elbowed her back, returning her nervous smile.
A small blond boy, not the one who had some with them in the boat, asked how they were going to be sorted.
Professor Longbottom smiled, and answered that all you had to do was try on a hat, which sorted you into your prospective houses. Everyone relaxed visibly, as they realized that no one was going to be having them do magic right away.
After that, the Professor went and peered into the room at the end of the hallway. He turned to them, smiled, and motioned for them to follow him. They did, shuffling their feet. The Professor led the way into the room.
What looked like the whole rest of the student body sat there, staring at them. Calanthe felt her throat go dry, but she followed Professor Longbottom up towards where a three-legged stool sat with an old, patched, dusty, hat sat looking entirely unmagical. But then, the hat burst into song;
"Many days and many night's it has been,
since our school was started,
and our founders swore back then
that they'd never be parted.
Alas, though, how they were wrong!
For Slytherin left not-long after!
And since then they have not been kin,
And they have not known laughter
Stay strong, my friends, take heart!
For if we work together,
The bonds once-severed my be forged again
And something new will started."
There were many outbursts of muttering as the hat finished it's song, but for Calanthe it was just as surprising that it had sung at all. She wished she was more used to magic. The Professor began to call names, and one by one students filed up to try on the hat.
"Susan Brown," was first. The hat had not been on her head for more than a minute before it called, "Hufflepuff."
"Albus Potter!" A dark-haired boy with glasses was next. He quickly became a Gryffindor.
And finally, "Irene Chang!"
Calanthe watched with bated breath as Irene crossed towards the hat. It sat on her head for three full minutes before calling out, "Gryffindor!"
Calanthe could have sworn she heard Irene sigh in relief.
The minutes dragged on. Calanthe waited for her name to be called with bated breath. Was there a possibility that she wasn't on the list after-all? Maybe there had been a mistake. Maybe she would have to go home. Maybe-
"Calanthe Rogers!"
Calanthe took a deep breath and walked towards the hat. When she put it on, it slid down far past her eyes; it was much too large.
"Hello, my dear. I've been waiting a while to meet you," said the hat.
"You have?" Calanthe wasn't sure whether she had spoken aloud or not. She hoped she hadn't.
"Indeed yes. But never mind that for the moment. For now, the question remains where to put you…"
Calanthe waited with bated breath, wondering what its decision would be. She just hoped it would put her where she would fit in, at least a little bit.
The hat laughed, "There's no chance of that not happening. But as it is, I think I'll put you inGryffindor!" She could tell it said the last word aloud and, smiling in relief, she took off the hat and went to sit with Irene who was sitting with another boy – was Albus his name? – who had been called earlier. They all watched as the next girl – who was called Rose Weasley – was made a Ravenclaw.
The boy who might be Albus groaned, his eyes wide. Their eyes met for a moment, and the girl shrugged. She went to sit at the Ravenclaw table. A moment later, she was followed by a boy called Scorpius Malfoy.
"Sabina Felix!"
Calanthe saw Sabina stumble up to the stool and ram the hat down over her eyes. A few minutes later, she joined them at the Gryffindor table. She begun talking immediately out of sheer relief. "It was so close to putting me in Ravenclaw!" she exclaimed. "But then it seemed to change it's mind, and then," but she was cut off as the Headmistress, whom Calanthe recognized because of her luxurious chair and because she sat at the center of the table, began to speak.
"Students of Hogwarts," she said gravely. "I won't bore you with the rules and regulations now. Let the feast begin!" And as she said the last word, the table filled with food. Calanthe, surprisingly, didn't feel very hungry. She ate a little, while having a conversation with Sabina, Irene, and the boy whose name might be Albus.
"That was a strange song for the hat to sing," the boy said.
"Why?" Sabina demanded.
He shrugged. "My Dad told me that it normally sings about just what describes the houses. It only ever alters the song when something going to happen."
Sabina's eyes widened. "Really? I wonder what's happening now."
The boy shrugged. "I haven't got a clue," he admitted.
"I'm so tired," Irene said.
Calanthe nodded. "Me too."
"I wonder what beds are like here," the boy speculated.
"When do we get our schedules?" Calanthe asked.
But nobody knew, and before long the feast was finished and the Headmistress began speaking again. Calanthe didn't pay much attention; she had been tired when the feast started, and now she was tired and filled with warm food. She had to shake herself to stay awake.
At the end, the prefects led the way up to the dormitories. Calanthe kept resting her head on Irene's shoulder. She had a brief impression of five four-poster beds before she had collapsed into hers and fell asleep.