Yay! New chapter and Hayden finally gets to Hogwarts! So, not the greatest chapter, or the longest, but here it is. I hate the beginning of school stuff, but it's done now, and all the fun is to come.
Enjoy!
CHAPTER 12
Jack stared at the people swarming around the entrance of Kings Cross Station unhappily. "Why exactly," he said, turning to look at Ianto and Hayden, "do we have to come all the way back down here to catch the train? What about all the people who live just as far away from here as from the school? It should be making stops."
Ianto nodded. "The magical population seems to be lacking in many basic reasoning skills." Then, without further delay, he went to fetch a cart to stack Hayden's luggage on.
"Hey, Kiddo," Jack said. "You ready for this?"
"I'm not sure."
"Well, send us a letter tomorrow. I'm sure there's someone who can show you where they keep the messenger owls. As for the train ride, your tad probably wouldn't approve, but if you really don't want to talk to someone, trust your instincts. If you pretend to not speak English, they'll probably go away."
Hayden nodded.
"Remember, you're Hayden Dieithr Harkness and you can do this. And you'll see me in four days when I come for the weekend."
Hayden nodded again.
"Okay."
Ianto reappeared with the cart and they loaded Hayden's stuff onto it. When they got to the wall that was supposed to contain a pocket universe, Jack and Ianto each took one of Hayden's hands and they stepped through together.
Hayden let go immediately after they were through and stared around at the smoky platform, filled with the sounds of people and owls and cats. It was loud and hard to see, but once he'd gotten onto the train, his dad lifting his trunk for him, everything seemed a lot calmer. They found an empty compartment and Jack shoved the trunk up into the luggage rack.
"Don't worry, bach," Ianto said. "You're going to be fine." Hayden nodded, biting his lip nervously. "Write to me. I'll be up to visit you as soon as I can. A month or so, tops."
"Okay."
The couple left Hayden to stare at the seat across from him and passed an older man and his blonde daughter, both dressed very brightly, pass them as they stepped off the train.
"He's going to be alright," Ianto repeated to himself.
"Yes, he is."
They waited until the train had left, then went their separate ways, Ianto back to Wales and Jack to Scotland, pausing only for a brief kiss before their parting.
ooo
A girl with long dirty-blonde hair who looked about his age entered Hayden's compartment not long after his fathers had left it and he looked up to meet her eyes briefly before averting his gave slightly.
"Do you mind if I sit here? Ginny will probably join me later, so it could be quite daunting for you, having two girls you've never met before sitting with you."
He wanted to say no, but instead he found himself nodding. "It's fine."
She smiled and a man who was probably her father floated her trunk—which was painted with flowers—up into the luggage rack beside his. He hugged her goodbye and Hayden politely ignored their conversation.
"I'm Luna," she said, shocking him into looking up again. "What's your name?"
"Hayden."
She nodded. "Hello Hayden."
And then she pulled a magazine out of her bag and started reading it, leaving Hayden in peace to read the book in his lap. He found he liked her so far.
ooo
When Ginny found them, it was a whole different story. The girl, who had flaming curls falling down most of her back and freckles covering most of her face, wanted nothing more, it seemed, than to talk. Hayden seriously considered doing the language thing, but with Luna there, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to pull it off. He just didn't know how to gauge how she'd react to things yet. When Ginny finally finished exclaiming over her excitement at going to Hogwarts and the fact that "this is actually happening!" she turned to Hayden. He froze on the spot, his eyes probably wide enough that he resembled a deer caught in headlights.
"So how much so you know about Hogwarts? Are you muggle-born?"
Hayden nodded. Ginny grinned. Luna smiled vaguely, going back to her magazine.
Two or three hours later, Ginny was leaning back in her seat with her arms crossed, thinking seriously about projectile physics of spells and Hayden was finally able to get back to reading. He had a very old and large book in his lap and was muttering under his breath in the Latin it was written in.
"Is that a spell book?" Ginny asked.
Hayden sighed, looking up at the ceiling dramatically. "No."
"Oh. So what house do you think you'll be in?"
Luna's smile broadened behind the pages and Hayden scowled at her.
Thankfully, before that could get too far, a pair of identical twins, with just as many freckles as Ginny had, pushed open the door of their compartment and dragged Ginny away.
"Luna?"
She looked up at him.
"Does she always talk that much?"
She nodded.
He sighed again.
"What are your parents like?"
"What?"
"I saw them leaving as I came in with my father."
"Oh. Well, they're great. I mean, they've taught me everything I know, so there's that, and they do good things. They're fighting right now. They're trying to keep it from me, but I know."
"Mm. They'll work it out."
"It's been months."
Luna nodded and he didn't know why, but it was comforting. "They'll work it out."
When the train started to slow down, all three of them had changed into their robes already and now Hayden was just jittery. Ginny was practically jumping up and down. Luna seemed calm though.
A blond boy in from of them slipped on a patch of mud on the way down to the boats because he couldn't stop staring up at the giant man that was leading them. Hayden found it disconcerting too, but was trying not to think about it. When Professor McGonagall told them all to smarten up, she looked straight at the boy and sighed, realizing t was a lost cause. And then, in what seemed like no time at all, they were in a giant room with a ceiling that wasn't visible and there were ghosts and the candles were floating and everyone was staring at them and Hayden hugged himself, but couldn't seem to close his eyes and…
He didn't even notice the stool and the hat, which he later found out had sung, and didn't really notice much of anything until Luna nudged him, trying as he was to just focus on breathing in and out to calm the panic flooding his mind.
Already, sixteen people had been sorted.
"You go up and put on the hat," Luna whispered gently.
He gulped and nodded, still concentrating on the in and out movement of air, but moving towards the stool now. He picked it up, plonked it onto his head, and sat down, grateful that he could no longer see the ceiling that wasn't there.
Ah, new to magic.
Hayden jumped.
No, no, calm down, shh, every once in a while, there's someone who gets overwhelmed, but you're fine. I'm just here to put you into your house. Yes, there now, breathe.
Hayden too big gulping breaths of air, gripping the seat of the stool tightly. 'How?' he thought loudly.
I just look at the traits you have and the ones you value and decide where you'd fit in the best. Now, you're not really Gryffindor material. Not that you're not brave, but, well… moving on, you've certainly got the brains for Ravenclaw, Slytherin? No, maybe not. You are a Slytherin soul, Hayden, but with the current state of affairs in that house, I couldn't in good conscience place a muggle-born there. Not unless that's where they asked to go and were strong enough to handle it. And even then… Ravenclaw is a good fit, but again, your safety is in question. You're clever, maybe a bit too much. You wouldn't be accepted. Its dorms are also in a tower, which is probably a bit too exposed for your likings. No, I think where you'll find a home is "HUFFLEPUFF!"
Hayden flinched away from the noise, then pulled the hat from his head to see the table to his right cheering the loudest. He looked back at the staff table and several of the teachers nodded towards it. He set down the hat and jumped down to take the nearest seat.
Everyone was trying to shake his hand or introduce themselves then without much warning and Hayden froze up again. It was getting repetitive now. At least he had enough sense not to look up again. An older student soon realized that he needed some space though, and they all backed off, smiling apologetically.
"This can all be a bit much, I know, the dark-haired boy said. Hayden estimated him to be three or four years older.
Elian Honeycutt sat across from Hayden at the table, Terrance Huddleson going to the table in front him and Joni Kidd joining the loud table on the other side of that one. Luna Joined Ravenclaw as well, turning in her seat to smile at him. Keefe Mitchell went to Slytherin, behind him, and a Geoffrey something followed. Lucille went to Gryffindor, Normina to Slytherin, and Daren and Zacharias joined the Hufflepuff table. Then there was another Slytherin and another Gryffindor. Finally, it was just Ginny and one other girl. Ginny sat on the stool for a whole before finally, to the apparent surprise of the entire hall, the hat yelled out "SLYTHERIN!" He didn't see why it was such a big deal, but when she sat down directly behind him, she looked like she couldn't believe what had just happened. The second girl sat further down the Slytherin table and Dumbledore stood up to say a few words.
Hayden didn't really hear them, too busy staring at the plate in front of him and pretending it was the only thing in the world. He was only a little bit more grounded when once again, the hall erupted in noise.
The food shocked him, but he felt too numb all over to care, and when they finally all rose to go to the dorms, he couldn't have been more relieved. Moving from the giant hall to the mostly underground corridors was comforting, and watching the prefect tap in the wrong code and get squirted with vinegar actually made him laugh.
When he slid down the chute into the common room though, he felt like he could finally breathe again. It was warm and cozy and felt… alive.
Thanks for reading! Reviews always brighten my day! :)
-MP
Abby: Thank you. I don't normally reply to guest reviews, but thank you. I really needed to hear that tonight and I appreciate it. I always worry about my plot, but there should be some more of it coming up soon.