When the train stopped, James was asleep. So was Percy and Annabeth, but she awoke abruptly when the soothing movement of the train discontinued. "Percy," Annabeth said, nudging him. "Wake up. Wake up, seaweed brain." Percy jumped up blearily from his sleeping state, which was leaning on Annabeth's shoulder.
"What happened?!" Percy asked, fazed in fuzzy alert.
"We're here," Sirius said, looking at James, who was still fast asleep in his Hogwarts robes. After recognizing that the boy next to him wouldn't budge awake, he poked him several times over. James barely opened his eyes, only half awake when he stood up and nearly fell over. Annabeth held a hand up to her mouth, trying to conceal her laughter but miserably failed.
People were already getting out of their compartments and leaving their luggage, so James figured he should do the same as well. Sliding open the glass door and yawning, he turned around and said, "I think we should leave our luggage here."
"Right," Annabeth replied, already on full alert. James wondered how she did that, being so awake only thirty seconds after doing the dreadful process of waking up. Percy was gaining ground, but far from her.
James noticed Sirius and Rachel looking rather sour, being the only two people in the compartment that didn't fall asleep. He wondered if it was just because they were both tired, but couldn't fall into their dreams.
Sirius, on the other hand, knew perfectly well why he was bitter. He and Rachel had a round while the other three were dreaming. Her American accent had really ticked him off, and angered him even more as she kept it up, especially while she was mad. It was just too much-her voice was just too think with foreignness. What he couldn't get his mind off was that the girl was so good and arguing. Sirius considered himself as one of the best at disputes, but Rachel was right up there with him.
Rachel briskly got up and Sirius could see nervousness take her over. He smiled to himself. No matter how badass you are, your first time at a wizarding school is always the worst.
"Hey, seaweed brain, you can put the pen away now," Annabeth said, slightly amused. Percy apparently hadn't realized that he was holding a ballpoint pen tightly in his hands, and sheepishly put it in his front pocket of his robes. Both James and Sirius thought this was odd. Maybe it was the first thing near to him that felt like a wand?
Leading the way, James was closely followed by a Rachel who got poked in the back frequently by Sirius. He pretended like he didn't mean it, that it was an accident; but when Rachel nearly punched him, Sirius got the message, and continued to annoy her. A certain satisfaction came to him by doing this.
When James reached open air, he threw his arms open and breathed in, slapping a blonde second year. Nothing like midnight air and mean looks from girls to wake you up.
"Firs' years'! Firs' years, this way!" A deep voice bellowed from above. James instinctively looked directly up; but found nothing but stars. "C'mon now, firs' years! Don' be shy! All firs' years, ohver here!" the voice shouted again. Annabeth brushed passed him from his right, and James turned to see where she was headed.
A huge man towered over everyone, even dwarfing the seventh years. He had a small beard with beady eyes that shined by the light of his lantern, which he held by his one pointer finger. James had a feeling the man could break it easily if he wanted to.
Sirius pushed him on a little bit, which snapped James out of his trance from the fact he was here. Here at Hogwarts. Literally, his life would start here. And James was sure he was going to make hell out of it.
Sirius saw Annabeth arguing with Rachel. He silently willed for Annabeth to win, his hate for the redhead still prevailing. James, in turn, wondered what they were quarrelling over.
The two jogged over to the stranglings, catching a few words of Rachel and Annabeth's quarrel. Annabeth favored waiting about something, while Rachel took on telling everyone.
"What are you two bickering about?" Sirius asked, curious.
Annabeth glared at Rachel and replied, "Nothing important." she glanced at the giant, still calling the first years to him. "Um, James, who is that by your, um, standards?"
"No idea," James said, giving her a half-smile. "Let's find out."
He disappeared in the crowd, Percy following behind him. Sirius grinned at Rachel, who liked seeing her mad from giving into Annabeth's side of their little argument. He slipped into the first year crowds, but being slightly taller than the other children his age, Sirius didn't disappear like James did. More and more first years swarmed around the original group and the large man waited patiently for the group to expand. After a stretch of time passed, the giant started yelling once more. "Alrigh' then, firs' years, follow me!" He started walking along the train platform and the large group followed suit. Sirius thought that everyone rather looked like a scared flock of sheep.
Grinning with excitement, James thought for sure he would be sorted into Gryffindor. Just like his father. His smile faltered for a second, remembering he best not tell anyone who his father is.
Sirius saw James' grin stop, even if it was only for a millisecond. He didn't really think a lot of it, as his own face gave an expression of intense dread. Looking around, he saw everyone wore a look of slight fear. He knew perfectly why; they wondered, and feared, what house they would be place in. Sirius had a certain conflict within himself, but tried not to dwell on it. Whatever house he would be placed in was the house he belonged to. Sirius was sure of that fact.
They arrived to a huge lake, it's bottom unseen, completely black. Small boats were lined up against the shore, without ores or steering mechanisms. The large man turned around to address the group. "Alrigh', this is the Black Lake, yer'll be taken the boats across here an' yer off to Hogwarts! Now, get in these here boats, four students per boat, now!"
The crowed lingered, not sure if to move yet, but when the giant told them to do so, they scuttled for the boats, claiming their own craft before anyone else. James got his hands on a boat near the middle, with Percy and Sirius jumping in, making room for James as he climbed in.
Soon the crowd thinned and only a few first years remained. "Hurry on now, haven't got all day," The man said. A thin boy with choppy brown hair hurried into the boat that the three boys had settled in, bursting with nervousness.
Percy looked around. "How do we get to the other side?" He asked.
"Magic, of course, how else?" James said, not bothering to look around.
"Ok, we'r' off!" The giant said, having a whole canoe to himself. Then, as if by magic, the boats nearest to the giant threw itself with him, sailing off. The girls, Annabeth and Rachel, looked terrified as they were taken to the middle of the lake. Sirius saw a slim look of regret on Percy's face. When Sirius turned to see what Percy was staring at, he saw Annabeth. Looking back, Sirius remembered the connection between the two stranglings on the train. He wondered how deep that connection went.
At the lurch of the boat, James gave a big woop!, hanging onto the support stick of the lantern. The mousy-hair boy flinched, but no one noticed.
Percy grinned wide for the first time, and put his hand in the lake. It disappeared, invisible by the darkness inside the water. "I can see why they call it the black lake."
.ii.
Sitting next to a blue haired girl, Remus watched the horizon as a magnificent structure appeared before him.
The sun was just coming up, and the tips of the astronomy tower glowing in brilliance. The boat paddled nearer, and Remus inwardly gasped as the sun caressed the towers, making the body of the castle shine. Colors danced to introduce the rising ball of light, making the palace's foliage wave back and forth. Luminosity, already emitting from the body of the structure, set out light waves, falling in sync with the sunrise.
It was the most beautiful thing Remus had ever seen.
He had seen many gorgeous things in his eleven years of life, but this capped them all, one-million percent. Even the garden of moongrass, daises, knotgrass, lavender, and monkshood his father had made for him would have paled in comparison to the flora growing on Hogwart's walls. Remus thought he had even seen a willow tree growing on the side of a tower, but it disappeared around a corner before he could get a better look at it.
"It's incredible."