A (Simple) Tour Through Hogwarts

Daisy woke up early the next morning. The unfamiliar room, full of unfamiliar people couldn't coax her into a deep sleep like her room at home could. It was only 6:30, but since breakfast didn't start until 7:30, she had plenty of time to get ready. Her earlier reluctance to go to Hogwarts was subdued by her curiosity and excitement. If only she had known more about what Hogwarts would be like before she came.

She pulled out her robes and got dressed before looking more closely at her surroundings.

The Hufflepuff dormitory was full of furniture in varying shades of yellow, and gold. The first year girls' room had five beds set facing towards the center of the circular room. Hanging vines lined the crevices in the walls, potted ferns and cacti grew on shelves, and quilts lay across the beds and chairs.

The common room was much the same, when she ventured down there. As she walked through the rounded door, hanging plants tickled the top of her head, and she noticed them draped over most of the ceiling. There were only a couple of people sitting in arm chairs, talking softly to each other, and none of them were first years, as far as she could tell.

"Daisy?" A hushed voice said from behind her.

Daisy turned, a little surprised anyone here would know her name, only to see that there was one first year sitting alone in a corner.

"Hi Jasper," she whispered back. Daisy sat down in a black armchair next to him, and they waited for the other first years.

Slowly more people joined them, quietly finding their place nearby. Everyone was wearing their long black school robes and a few people even wore hats too. Daisy even got to know the names of all the other girls in her year. Besides herself, Sophie, Regina Cattermole, Emily Macmillan, and Laura Eustace were also in her year. All of them seemed very welcoming, and there weren't any pre-made friend groups, because no one had met before the Hogwarts Express.

When Sophie, the last first year to come down, got there, the group followed a prefect through the halls to breakfast, where the other Houses had already begun gathering.

Plates of food were already laid out across the table. To Daisy, it looked like much more than they could possibly eat. Surely they didn't always get this much? Just on special days maybe? She decided on a simple breakfast, and placed two pieces of buttered toast and some scrambled eggs on her plate.

"So, how'd you like the common room? What do you think the rest of the castle will be like?" Sophie asked.

Daisy finished swallowing a bite of toast before answering. "I thought it was very… homey. It's great, really. The rest of the castle is way too big. Even after this tour, I'll probably still get lost. How could they not give tours or maps before the expansion? The castle can't have been that much smaller before."

Sophie shrugged. "Maybe they had it as some sort of test. I bet Gryffindors and Ravenclaws would think it would test your bravery or memory or something."

Although it didn't make much sense to to Daisy, she went with it. It was as good an excuse as any.

After breakfast time was over, Professor Mcgonagall pointed out their groups.

"For your tours, first years, please meet your house prefects at the head of your table. Prefects, don't forget to take attendance! Second and third years…"

Sophie was already pulling her to the head of the first year crowd to meet their house prefects near the staff table.

"Well, at least some people have some enthusiasm," the older boy said, seeing Sophie first, and then the rest of the curious, but tired, first years. The boy had a narrow face, and deep set eyes that were foreboding, but at the same time obviously held humor from the creases at the corner and the twinkle in his eyes when he spoke to them. The girl next to him had curtains of shoulder length light brown hair that curved around her face, covering much of it. It was hard to see what kind of person she might turn out to be.

"I'm Tobias Sanders, and this is Arianne Carver, we're your prefects and guides for today. Now, um, just a moment -" Daisy could see him silently counting them off to make sure they were all there. "Okay, let's go before all the other groups crowd the entrance!" He beckoned for them to follow, and as they formed a line in groups of two behind him, Arianne followed behind, herding the stragglers.

It took the group hours to make their way through the older part of Hogwarts, and by the time they were done, it was lunch time already. Most of the first years were amazed by how huge Hogwarts was, and those who came from non-magical families were astounded by its various differences. While walking through the halls, Daisy had witnessed portraits having conversations with each other, Peeves swooping by looking for someone to throw a water balloon at, a staircase she had just walked on moving, and she could have sworn she had seen a statue of armour scratch its nose, but when she looked again it was back in its original placement.

They had also met their head of house, Professor Cressida Sawyer, who taught potions. She had smiled and wished them all luck during their first week. She had also told them that she was available to talk to any of them if they needed anything.

"Now, on to the new part of the castle!" Tobias Sanders said to them cheerfully after they had finished a hurried lunch. After all this time, Daisy had still not heard Arianne say a single word, although she had seen her whisper something so a boy who kept lagging behind the group.

The first years now walked away from the lake side of the castle, to a more modern looking hallway.

"This is where you'll be taking your English, Math, and PE classes, and those of you unacquainted with the daily life of Muggles will have some of your studies here, and some in the technology building. There are also new choir and and band rooms over here," he gestured into a large room with lockers for instruments, "if any of you care to join in the music."

"And, finally, the technology building might be the best of the new additions, but to see it, we have to go out onto the grounds."

The doors to the outside were open, as different groups had to go through it throughout the day, and it was nice outside anyway. Tobias let Arianne take the lead as they headed out into the clear sunny day outside. It wasn't too far a walk to the gate at the edge of the Hogwarts grounds where Daisy thought they would be exitting, but at the last minute, their leader veered off to the left and headed towards a small door she hadn't noticed before.

All of them hustled through the door into a muggle hallway. There was no sign of any kind of magic anywhere, and there was even a security cam hanging not far from the door.

Arianne pushed open a nearby door and showed them inside. "This is the computer lab. All of you, at some point, will have to use the computers in here for one of your classes. They are also available for you to do whatever you please during the weekend, if you haven't brought your own." Arianne's voice was quiet, but unwavering as she pointed to different objects in the large room. Desks and tables were crowded into different arrangements, some clearly for groups to work with, and some for individuals working alone.

"And this," she showed them another room, "Is where any of you that have your own electronics will keep your stuff." The room that they were currently looking into looked like a combination of a gym locker room and a bank vault. There were metal storage units everywhere, with numbers and openings for keys.

"Feel free to decorate your area as you wish. Put your name on it, so it will be easier to find without counting all the numbers," Tobias added.

The other rooms in the technology building contained muggle kitchen appliances, workout equipment, televisions, and finally a large 'commons area' for all houses to sit together and hang out with their technology.

"Keep in mind that this building is only open until 7:30 for first years, as your curfew is 8:30."

They ended the day with a late dinner, after which they all got their class schedules and a map of Hogwarts, that Daisy thought was more confusing than helpful, but she took it anyway.

"Do you have English first tomorrow Daisy?" Regina, another first year asked.

"Yeah, I do. See you then?"

"Of course."

Sorry for the huge info dump, but I hope you liked the chapter all the same.

I'd love to see some new (and old) reviewers too! It really is encouraging. What's your opinion on the new modern Hogwarts? Teachers?