Slight revisions, yet again. Sorry about that but when I reread anything I want to change things. Little things with dialoque and the like as I get to know the characters better.
I do not own Harry Potter or profit in any way from these writings. Some dialogue from Prof. McGonnagal and Hagrid may be taken directly from the Sorcerer's Stone. Origional characters by me may not be used without my permission. I hope you like them though!
"Your uncle will be here any minute sweetie, hurry it up," called Yvetta Piers to her son early on the first of September.
"Coming," he said, although his answer was muted by a bed ruffle. Logan had been saying goodbye to all of the housecats and currently had the top half of his body wedged under his mother's bed, where a particularly fat tabby refused to come out from. He gave her a last pat on the head and hurried out to fetch his things.
Logan's trunk stood ready and waiting for him in his room. He had been so full of anticipation the night before that he'd rearranged the contents of it five times before going to sleep. A knock on the door signaling the arrival of Uncle Hyperion came from below as he clamored down the stairs with the monstrous trunk.
"He's always so early," said Logan's mother. She opened the door and told Hyperion that they were coming.
"First dragon gets the feast," replied Uncle Hyperion in a chipper voice.
"Hello Uncle," said Logan to the large man in the doorway while he dragged the trunk down the last of the steps.
"Splendid, boy, splendid. You're all packed and ready to go. Put some muscle into it now, that trunk can't be that heavy can it? Ah, good. I'll have the coach take it form here. Oddsworth?" shouted Uncle Hyperion, "Put this in the trunk would you?"
"Did you borrow the car again Uncle?" Logan asked.
"Borrowed one from another friend, yes. It's important to be well connected my boy, you'll see that once you enter the world. Now if we're all ready let's be off," said Uncle Hyperion.
"Wait just a minute Hyperion. I haven't said goodbye to my son yet," said a perturbed Yvetta Piers. She grabbed her son and led him back to the steps for a bit of privacy.
"I'm going to miss you so much," she said to Logan, pulling him into a hug.
"I'll miss you too, Mom," said Logan.
"Do what your uncle tells you, and listen to your teachers."
"Of course I will, Mom."
"You're coming back for the holidays."
"Okay."
"And I don't want to hear about you getting into any trouble young man! Oh, let me get a last look at you," Yvetta said pulling her son back and grasping his face between her hands. She gave him a final kiss on the forehead before sending him off towards his uncle.
Logan found he was going to miss his mother terribly. She'd spent their final week they were together making all of his favorite foods and had closed the shop early each day so they could spend more time together. His mother had even let him riffle through the ingredients that she kept locked behind the counter for special customers only. Among the stash were bundles of dried hungry grass, doxie eggs, pixie larvae, ground dragon's scales, and even one large dried out hippogriph tongue. Logan had been allowed to take enough to 'play around with'.
The car ride was longer than the previous one. It gave Logan plenty of time to think while Uncle Hyperion droned on about unimportant things.
"…in Zanzibar but that's another story altogether. Told him that woman was no good, but nooo, does anyone listen to me? Not when I'm giving good advice, it seems…"
Logan was worried he wouldn't be as good as the other students. When he'd been accepted Logan had found himself filled with overwhelming joy. But now…what if he didn't have enough magic in himself? What if he was as good as a squib? Would they kick him out of school, expel him for being a failure?
"…as a prototype it was a failure but it produced some surprisingly good results. 'Course we thought Wilkins would never walk again but you have to take one for the team now and again, don't you?"
There was also the increasingly prominent fact that Logan would be away from home for the first time in his life. Logan had never been good at making friends, although part of that problem had been social stigma. Though his mother tried to give Logan everything he needed there were no cool points to be found by wearing second hand clothes to school and eating leftovers out of a paper sack at lunchtime. Yvetta Piers was also gossiped about, being the town drunk who sold love potions at the top of the lane, and other kids taunted him for it. Was he a weirdo just like his mother?
"…don't think it'll happen even if you are a bit soft, my boy. That house just isn't in our blood."
"What did you say, Uncle?" asked Logan.
"Humph. I was just saying I hope that hat doesn't sort you into a house unworthy of the Piers' name. As if a Piers was ever a Hufflepuff, or worse."
"Oh, schoolhouses. Mom said she was in Slytherin. Were you in Slytherin house, too, Uncle?"
"Yes, I was indeed in Slytherin. You'll find the best of the best in Slytherin house, and lifelong connections as well, my boy. You keep that fact in mind; it is never too early to start networking."
"Is Slytherin a friendly house then?" asked Logan, hoping that it would be easier to make friends in a house that was welcoming of newcomers.
"Joining Slytherin is like joining a brotherhood. The people you meet there hold the same ideals and morals that you yourself do. It will be like returning home to family, my boy," answered Uncle Hyperion.
"That's great Uncle," said Logan, and it really was. It put his mind at ease for the rest of the trip.
Once at King's Cross station in London the two found the correct platform with ease. Uncle Hyperion had told Logan "just barrel on through, don't stop, that's the ticket!" when it came time for the young boy to cross the barrier to the train.
The Hogwarts Express stood gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight. Students milled about saying goodbye to their parents and saying hello to all the friends they'd left behind the year before. There were feathers wafting in the breeze from so many owls atop student's trunks. Multicolored smoke rose from the chimney of the train as it sat waiting impatiently for the students to embark. Despite arriving early Logan saw it was already becoming quite packed. All the energy was making him excited so he bid a quick goodbye to his uncle.
"I'll do my best, Uncle," he said.
"That you had better, for the family name if not for your own wellbeing," said Uncle Hyperion who gave his nephew a solid handshake. Despite his sometimes harsh demeanor Logan felt he was going to miss his uncle as well. He was becoming a familiar face.
"Here you go, my boy, a parting gift. Just make sure you write and update me on your schooling. Anything you request shall be provided, as long as you keep up your grades," added Uncle Hyperion. The tall man produced a silk purse clinking with coins from his pocket and set it in the boy's hands. Later, when Logan opened it on the train, he found it was overflowing with over twenty shining galleons. That was more money than he'd owned in his life.
"I will try my very hardest, thank you," he said to his uncle. At that the two parted ways; Hyperion Piers back to London, and Logan to the train.
The train was filling with students at an alarming rate but Logan found a compartment in the middle that was vacant. Not long after stowing his trunk a boy about his own age joined him.
"Hello," Logan started nervously. His new companion was a rather stunning young man already dressed in wizards robes that were well tailored. He let off an air of casual elegance that can only come from old money. His hair was black and so in turn was his name.
"Yes, nice to meet you, I'm Regulus Black," said the youth. The boys nodded at each other.
"Is this your first year?" asked Logan.
"Oh, gosh, can you tell?" answered Regulus. He blushed most aristocratically.
"Nah, it's just I'm a first year as well. I was just hoping you were too."
"Yeah, it's my first year. I've been waiting eleven years for this day. Finally, to be out of that house," he joked.
The train let out a whistle and began moving along. It jostled the luggage and notified the lingering students in the hall to find a seat to occupy. A group of three boys all dressed in silver and green came tumbling into their compartment.
"This one's got room," shouted one of the boys.
"Well lookie here, ickle first years holding down the fort for us," said another boy. He had a shaved head which was a bad look for him considering that his skull was rather lumpy.
One of them, the greasiest of the lot, stopped and started eyeballing Logan's companion.
"Are you Sirius Black's brother?" he demanded angrily.
"What's it to you?" said Regulus to the hostile older boy.
"C'mon get it going first years, this is our spot," said the bald-headed boy.
"Merlin, would you two stuff it, they weren't bothering anybody," said the first boy.
"Shut your trap, Rosier, they were bothering me," replied the bald boy to his friend.
"Don't worry, we were just leaving," Logan said to the intruding group. Regulus reluctantly joined him in the hallway, closing the door on the three older students harder than necessary. The greasy one was still glaring at Regulus.
"Ugh, my brother's in a compartment near the back with his cronies, let's see if there's any seats left up front," said Regulus and so the two boys started forward.
It took a good looking for but they finally found a compartment with a bit of room left in it close to the front of the train.
"Can we sit here," asked Logan politely to the occupants. The two girls in the compartment looked like they weren't happy with the idea of more people in their spot but one of the boys ushered the two waylaid first years in happily. The cabin became pretty crowded at that point but only the girls seemed to be upset about it.
"Sorry, we're new and a bunch of jerks kicked us out of our spot," Logan explained.
"No worries here mate, we're all newcomers in here. Name's Bertram Aubrey," said the boy who'd ushered them in. He was a large sort of fellow reminiscing what Uncle Hyperion would have looked like at age eleven or so. The boy gave Logan a friendly pat on the back with one of his large hands as a greeting.
"Yeah Raneg was just about to show us his toad," Bertram told Logan and Regulus. One of the girls snorted behind her hand, not nearly as impressed by this as Bertram was.
"It's a horned Shambhalan toad, they're really rare," said the boy called Raneg who Logan was now sitting next to. He was small like Logan and foreign judging by his accent.
"Let's see it then," said Regulus. He seemed as enthused as the girls: toads were universally known to be lame.
Raneg surprised them by lifting out one of the ugliest looking creatures Logan had ever seen. It was a small brown lump in a toad-ish shape with little pearly bumps covering its skin…and how they pulsed! The frog also had little horns just as it's name had promised. It was slimy and gooey, and it took one giant leap from Raneg's hand and landed onto one of the girls sitting across from him. A trail of goo followed.
"AAHHH, get it off me!" the girl screamed.
"Snuck a cobra in my trunk, too," said Raneg to Logan just loud enough for him to hear.
The girls fled the compartment while Raneg and Bertram sprang up to capture the toad. Regulus meanwhile was doing his best to not touch it. Bertram caught it with a grand splat and gave it to Raneg to stow away once more.
"Interesting," said Bertram. It was an understatement.
Although none of the boys was fit to eat after seeing all that slime, a witch with a trolley full of every goody imaginable chose that moment to come by.
"Would you boys like anything from the trolley?" she asked.
All four boys grabbed as much as they could carry and sat down to their unhealthy feast. Logan was particularly hungry for the sweets since he never had much pocket money growing up.
"I only ever get to eat these on my birthday," he said ripping into a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans.
"Rough mate, is your mother one of those helicopter moms that that never let's you have any fun?" asked Bertram.
"Sorta," said Logan.
"What is a helicopter?" asked Raneg through a mouthful of cauldron cake.
"It's a flying contraption muggles use. My cousin is a muggle and that's what he calls his mum," Bertram explained.
"But your parents are both magical, right?" said Regulus.
"Yep, although my mother is muggle-born," said Bertram.
"Bad luck mate; I hope you'll do alright at school. I've heard said that the more contaminated your lineage is the less raw talent you will have. I happen to be a pureblood myself," said Regulus proudly.
"Now just where did you hear that?" asked Bertram who was keeping his calm quite unlike Logan. He was hearing his worst fears come to life. Was his blood really muddled?
"My father," said Regulus. Bertram didn't seem to think this was a reliable source.
"You should read The Source of Magick by Linda Brisby, she's well-renowned in her field. I used it in a research paper one year for school. It was very enlightening," said Bertram.
"Yeah, well, whatever," retorted Regulus.
The topic changed as the train chugged along but Logan's fears refused to leave his alone. He couldn't strike it from his mind that he was inferior and contaminated. He felt he would give anything not to be a talent-less embarrassment to his family. For so many years he had believed that he was, that he'd had no magic. Now if only he had the normal amount of magic that other children did.
"I think we're here," said Bertram.
It was dark outside the train. The wind blew strong and the students pulled their cloaks tightly around their arms. A lantern bobbed up and down in the night like a will-o'-the wisp while a voice called out from the mist.
"Firs' years? Firs' years this way. Follow me now," boomed a giant of a man with a tangled beard.
Logan followed as he was told and was led to an enormous lake with inky black water promising to swallow each of them whole in the dark of night. Beyond the lake was a castle, complete with towers and spires rising high into the air. The castle sat high atop a mountain with the lake water lapping at its feet. The sight took Logan's breath away.
"Beau'iful innit," said the beast of a man leading the group. "Boats over there, no more'n four to one, ya hear!"
It wasn't a moment after Logan, Bertram, Regulus, and the small foreign boy, Raneg, had climbed into one of the boats that the fleet took off, gliding into the night. The water rippled out creating patterns on the dim surface of the lake. Logan wondered what sorts of creatures lived below in the chilled belly of those dark waters.
"Heads down!" shouted their guide as the fleet reached the cliff. The boats flew under a tunnel where an underground harbor lay. Logan was the first out of their boat, wetting his sneakers in the water.
The group of first years were led all the way up a passage and to a steep set of stone steps. After knocking on the large oak door at the top the gigantic man led them into an entrance hall as large as a house. The magnitude of the castle sunk in for Logan in that moment, who lived in such a small cottage with his mother.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said their guide to a tall woman with a sharp bun who wore jewel toned robes. She looked very strict to Logan and he hoped that not all the teachers at Hogwarts would be so intimidating.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here," she said.
A cacophony of noise could be heard from a door on their right but the Professor did not take them there just yet. She held the group off to give them a quick speech before introducing them into the hall where the rest of the school sat waiting. Logan found himself not listening to a word she said as the moment grew closer and closer. The moment when they'd be sorted.
"I better be in Slytherin," whispered Regulus into Logan's ear. Logan was yet unsure of which house he belonged in. He was certain that he didn't want to be in Hufflepuff though, mainly due to his uncle's reaction. How on earth could he write home saying he was sorted into Hufflepuff?
"Do I look presentable? I'm one of the first up, you know, and everyone will be watching. Nothing on my face?" asked Bertram.
"No, you're good," said Logan. His insides were twisting up now. To think everybody in the whole school would be watching this!
"Alright quiet now students. Form a line. The sorting will begin in a moment," said Professor McGonagall.
Logan had time for a few deep breaths before McGonagall's sharp voice rang out. "Follow me everyone," she said.
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