Cedrella at Hogwarts
Black Manor/Hogwarts 1928
The morning of the first day of August, 1928 found Cedrella Black in her room. She had moved out of the communal room she'd shared with Charis the same week she'd attended her first Children's Ball. After all, once she was attending the Ball, she was no longer considered a toddler in need of constant supervision. At that point, she was no longer confined to the Children's Wing of the Manor, and sharing a bedroom was both unnecessary and unseemly.
In the privacy of her room, Cedrella permitted herself to express her dismay at the day's impending event. She had no desire whatever to go to Diagon Alley. Not when it was going to be lousy with Muggles and their spawn. Muggles, she had been told, were nothing but ignorant savages, and their magical spawn were no better. Up to now, Cedrella had never (knowingly) met so much as a half-blood, never mind any lesser creature.
Unfortunately, there was nothing for it. Some of the Diagon Alley shops did not begin to stock and sell Hogwarts equipment until the first of August. Ollivander, while he sold wands year-round to adults who needed a replacement wand, point-blank refused to sell wands to underage witches or wizards except in August. The same was true of the apothecary. They sold ingredients year-round, but the Hogwarts kits were only available in August. Of course, that could be gotten around by purchasing the items individually, but it was an unnecessary bother.
The only shops that sold Hogwarts things year-round were Madam Malkin and the cauldron shop. Both sold year 'round because children grew, and new robes could be required at any point in the year thanks to a growth spurt, and replacement cauldrons could be required at any point in the year thanks to a disastrous accident.
Having given vent to her dismay, Cedrella gathered her things and went to perform her morning ablutions. That accomplished, she headed downstairs. Her parents were both up and already at the dining table, conversing quietly. Cedrella settled herself silently at her place at the table. Moments later, a plate full of her favorite breakfast foods appeared, as did a goblet of pumpkin juice.
She had just picked up her fork – breakfasts were an informal affair in their house, meaning she did not have to wait for her father to officially begin the meal – when her sisters arrived. They similarly sat down at the table in silence, knowing better than to interrupt their parents. Moments after they were seated, plates of food and goblets of juice appeared before them.
They had almost finished breakfast before their parents were done talking among themselves.
"Callidora, Cedrella, we will be leaving for Diagon Alley in two hours." Father announced.
"Yes, Father." Cedrella and Callidora chorused.
"I know that being forced to mingle with lesser creatures will be unpleasant, Cedrella." Father continued. "But this must be endured. Consider it a trial run for your years in Hogwarts, when you will be surrounded by the creatures for months on end."
Cedrella mentally made a face, though she made sure her distaste did not show in face or voice. "Yes, Father."
An hour and a half later, Cedrella retreated to her room once more to choose an outfit to go to Diagon Alley in. She chose one of her more conservatively cut robes as both armor against the lesser creatures and a visual cue that would set her apart from their uncouth, uneducated masses. The robe had a high neck, and fitted sleeves that were mostly concealed beneath a fuller outer sleeve. The bodice, like the sleeves, was double-layered, one that was snug against the body and another cut more fully to largely conceal what the under layer covered. The skirt was made of a heavy material and cut in such a way as to prevent any accidental exposure of one's legs if the wind was blowing strongly, since a more form-fitting under layer was impractical. The under layer, which was visible at throat and wrists, was a deep charcoal gray. The outer, concealing layer was a lovely lilac color.
Once appropriately dressed, she headed downstairs. She nearly laughed when she realized that Callidora was dressed in a robe virtually identical to her own, save for the color of the fabrics. Callidora's was a more sharply differentiated black under layer and sea blue outer layer. It made her feel somewhat better that Callidora found it necessary to wear a sort of armor when dealing with the lesser creatures.
It was a sore test of her control when Father and Mother appeared a few moments later in similarly conservative attire. Mother was in a grown-up version of the same robe that Cedrella and Callidora were wearing. Hers had a pale, silvery gray under layer and a deep forest green outer layer. Father was wearing the men's version: A white, high-collared, long-sleeved shirt under a very dark (almost black) purple vest, which was under an identically colored high-collared overcoat. He also wore black trousers and knee-length black boots. Over all this was a sleeveless black open-fronted robe.
"Callidora, go with your mother. Cedrella, I will take you." Father commanded.
Immediately the two girls moved to their assigned parents. Moments later they were side-along apparated to a corner of Diagon Alley set aside for such travel. Cedrella was thankful she had long since become accustomed to the uncomfortable sensations involved in side-along apparating.
She was also glad Father had been the one to take her to the Alley, because the immense crowds and racket were rather alarming. It was probably not all that seemly to hide behind her father's bulk, but Cedrella did it anyway, giving the flood of strangers a leery look from behind that sanctuary.
Unexpectedly, Father neither brought her to task for her momentary timidity, nor did he move away. He stayed where he was and allowed Cedrella to regain her equilibrium. After a few breaths, Cedrella managed exactly that and stepped away from her father a bit.
"Forgive me, Father. I was momentarily indisposed." Cedrella said.
"Quite all right, Cedrella. It is understandable, under the circumstances." Father told her. "Now, we shall go to Ollivander's first, then the trunk shop. Then Madam Malkin's, I think. Best to get there before the day is too far gone. Madam's temper will be frayed later in the day, after having had to deal with so many."
Cedrella nodded her acceptance of that itinerary, and they departed from the apparation point. Cedrella quickly found it was easiest to walk directly behind her father, allowing his larger, more intimidating figure to cut a path through the crowds rather than attempting to forge one for herself. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Callidora doing the same with their mother. And even Mother had aligned herself so that she was close enough to benefit from the path Father was cutting through the crowd. She merely forced the crowds to part a bit further, rather than forging a path of her own.
Cedrella could not help but observe the crowds. There were children everywhere, of course. Most of them behaving in the most appalling manner she'd ever seen. Father and Mother would have put her on punishment for *months* if she were ever to behave in such a manner in the privacy of their own home, never mind in public! Had these beasts neither pride nor shame, that they comported themselves so poorly?
Eventually, they made it to Ollivander's. Fortunately, he was between customers when they arrived, allowing them both privacy and his undivided attention. Mother and Callidora stood near the door, waiting to see what wand chose Cedrella.
Ten minutes later, Cedrella was the owner of a Cedar and Unicorn Tail-hair wand, ten inches, quite springy. Father and mother seemed surprised, but also pleased.
"Cedar indicates strength of character, loyalty, and perception." Father said. "The unicorn hair will mean consistency in your casting, and a general lack of accidents. It will also not turn to the Dark Arts without serious effort."
Ahhh, that explained their surprise. Between the wood and the core, it meant that Cedrella was never going to be a Dark Arts practitioner, despite the familial predilection towards the Arts. Some small part of Cedrella was disappointed, but she had long since discovered in herself a reluctance at the thought of performing many Dark Arts spells. She had no real want to hurt others, not even the ignorant cattle of the Muggle world.
From there, they went to the trunk shop. Choosing a trunk was a surprisingly difficult affair. Cedrella immediately disdained the cheap, plain, barely adequate trunks foisted off on the uninformed by several harried clerks. Those trunks, which had neither interior expansion spells nor separate compartments to organize one's belongings, would not suffice for a full seven years of tuition. The trunk would be getting crowded as of third year, thanks to the additional wardrobe required for Hogsmeade weekends. By fifth, thanks to the additional studying required for OWLs and one's eligibility to attend the in-school Balls (necessitating yet more wardrobe additions) the situation would swiftly become untenable.
At minimum, a three-compartment trunk was required. One compartment for one's wardrobe, another for one's ever-increasing library of books, and the third for one's other school equipment. Unfortunately, that really didn't narrow down the options. Trunks came with every variety of options that Magic could manage. Some of them were quite clever and reasonable. Others were much less so. Eventually, Cedrella settled on a handsome green-and-silver trunk that had space enough for a reasonable wardrobe and a quite ridiculously large library, as she fully anticipated eventually bringing tomes from the Black Library with her to school as reference material in her later years.
Madam Malkin's was a madhouse, with no less than six families and their attendant clerks in the shop despite the early hour. Seeing the crush, Cedrella fully appreciated her father's wisdom in coming here early in the day. After a full day of dealing with that sort of crush, even the most patient person would be quite cross and uncivil.
Madam herself attended them. Cedrella fancied she saw something like relief in Madam's eyes at dealing with knowledgeable folks. It certainly took them no time at all to obtain the requisite robes. They immediately fled the store and headed out into the street.
"Where shall we head next?" Father asked, glancing at Cedrella and Callidora.
"The apothecary, Father." Callidora opined. "That way we have time to get the foul odor out of our noses before we stop for lunch."
"A sensible suggestion." Father agreed. "And then Flourish and Blotts, I believe, before the best of their stock gets picked over, followed by Scrivener's."
And so it went. About the time they finished at Scrivener's, it was time for lunch. Father took them to a small, discrete restaurant tucked in the relatively quiet zone between Gringotts and the main thoroughfare of shops that carried Hogwarts equipment. As a result, there were rather fewer lesser creatures about, providing a break from the crush.
Once they'd finished lunch, they made a few last stops – to pick up a telescope, phials, scales and protective gear for potions-making and Herbology. And then they were finally done, and could retreat to the Manor once more.
Cedrella breathed a sigh of relief when they were back at the Manor, then looked up at her father. "I almost thought you were exaggerating." She admitted. "But they truly are uncouth, unprincipled beasts, aren't they?"
"Yes. And quite happy to continue to wallow in ignorance." Father said. "Or worse, actively attempt to abrogate our traditions and laws because they see them as 'backwards'. They care nothing for the fact that things are the way they are for a reason."
Cedrella shook her head. "You would think they would attempt to learn *why* things are the way they are before they started throwing a fuss."
"One would assume that, yes. And one would be wrong." Father said. "Worse, if certain members of the Wizengamot had their way, the creatures would be humored, even if to do so would do more harm than good."
Cedrella was appalled. "That makes no sense!" She objected.
"Nevertheless, it is the way things are, currently." Father said.
Cedrella shook her head in dismay.
Three weeks later, it was time to board the train. Here again, Cedrella discovered some of what her father mentioned. She overheard more than one of the lesser breeds complaining about the long trip, and being forced to make their way to King's Cross, when they lived close to Hogwarts. The ignorance showed by such comments astounded her.
Yes, the trip on the train might seem odd from an outsider's perspective, she supposed. But the trip permitted everyone a chance to socialize before the school year officially began. This was especially important for the new First Years, as it provided the only chance they all had to come to know each other before House rivalries put stumbling blocks in their paths, and conflicting schedules made getting together all but impossible.
Even Cedrella, for all her disdain for the lesser creatures, forced herself to at least attempt making acquaintance with some of them. She was surprised (and delighted) to stumble across a few such creatures who were, while still ignorant, quite tolerable. They were even willing to listen to the wisdom of their betters, who understood the magical world, how and why it worked in a way no non-pureblood could, at least not this early in their magical tuition.
Despite that, when they disembarked from the train, Cedrella ensured she got a boat with only other purebloods. That was easy enough to manage, since there were currently five scions of the House of Black alone in Hogwarts, never mind the other Pureblood Houses.
Once in the school proper, Cedrella immediately neatened her appearance, since her robes had become somewhat disarranged in the boat. She took her place near the head of the line. They had been organized alphabetically by Professor Dumbledore, in order to speed up the Sorting slightly. It also allowed for more decorous behavior, since lining up alphabetically eliminated any need to push through the remaining group of unSorted children. Only the current Abbott scion preceded Cedrella.
When her name was called, she calmly took her place on the stool and permitted the Hat to be placed on her head. To her surprise, the Hat considered Ravenclaw for her at first. While it was not the preferred Sorting, it was certainly not a shameful one. While Blacks predominantly Sorted Slytherin, there had been a few Ravenclaws in the line over the years.
In the end, though, the Hat chose Slytherin. Cedrella's ambitions were … quieter … than some, she supposed. At least, she did not trumpet her goals to all and sundry, nor have grandiose, unachievable aims. But despite that, ambition she had in plenty, even if she didn't quite know what to do with it yet, other than becoming the very best at … whatever career she eventually settled on. All she knew was that she would not be content to merely be wife and mother. Oh, she wanted a husband and children when she got older, of course, but she wanted *more* than that for herself. She wanted to be able to stand on her own two feet, apart from her husband, and be recognized for her own contributions to society other than the children she bore and the parties she held.
She put all her will into her classes, determined to perform faultlessly. To, if at all possible, outshine the Ravenclaws, who normally took top honors scholastically. To her pleasure, she did exactly that in Transfiguration and Charms. Herbology, on the other hand, was an eternal trial. Cedrella did not approve of getting dirty, and could not see the logic in learning to tend plants. While she was sure such a thing had an applicability to future Potions Masters and Herbologists, she could not see where the rest of them would ever have any call to even remember most of what they learned in that class, never mind use the knowledge they obtained.
Astronomy was a delight, if only for the fact that her relatives carried the names of many of the constellations, and seeking them out in the heavens brought memories of home to mind. History of Magic was boring, but she had it on good authority it had been so for many years. Cedrella was just thankful she'd had six years of tuition in the subject at home, or she'd come away from that class as ignorant of the history of the magical world as the muggleborns did. Potions was both informative and amusing. Their Head of House, Professor Slughorn, managed to make what could otherwise be a tedious subject interesting, fun, and challenging.
She came away from her first year with all E's and O's, much to her pleasure, and managed to steal the top spot in her year in Charms. She'd gotten second in Transfiguration, behind one of the first year Ravenclaws. Her other classes, while she was not in the top five, she was in the top fifteen at least, top ten for all but Herbology.