A few minutes after Brian had finished changing and resumed reading his book, a voice echoed throughout the train, making both Brian and Damien jump slightly.
"We're about five minutes from Hogwarts, for those of you who still need to change, now's the time to do so. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be brought up to the castle shortly."
"Are you nervous?" Brian asked Damien as the boy put away his book, offering him a reassuring smile as the boy suddenly looked nauseous upon hearing they were close to their destination.
"No! Of course not! Why would I be?" He said defensively, his face telling Brian otherwise. Brian held back a laugh.
"It's alright to be nervous Damien, everyone is at some point in their life. I know I am, this is going to be our school for 7 years!" Brian told the boy, doing his best to reassure him. He'd been waiting for a chance to go to Hogwarts for years and it was finally time for that dream of his to come true. His stomach was in knots at the thought. Damien smiled back weakly at Brian at his words.
"Okay, maybe I am a little nervous," Damien admitted shyly. Their conversation ended abruptly when the train finally came to a complete stop, prompting both boys to leave their compartment.
"Just how many students does Hogwarts have?" Brian thought to himself with a wince as he opened the compartment door only to find a mob of students pushing each other in their race towards the doors.
"Well, off we go then," Brian said to Damien, pushing his way into the crowd of children. Brian allowed the flow of the crowd to guide him towards the exit, until he finally stepped off the train and onto the small platform it had come to a stop at.
"You'd think wizards would at least have some way of lighting it up around here. Surely this can't be safe." Brian wondered to himself as he stepped to the side of the crowd of students, looking around the dark platform. It was a simple stone construct without any of the extravagance he'd come to expect from wizards. On all sides of the platform were trees with a wide path cut between them leading towards where Brian assumed the carriages were waiting, though the darkness prevented him from being able to tell. Brian noticed a lamp floating above the heads of the crowd of students, drawing his attention. A huge man that was easily over ten feet tall with a build to match slowly came into view as the light drew closer, revealing the man holding it.
"Damn, he's even bigger than I imagined," Brian thought to himself as he got his first look at Hagrid. He knew the man was larger than the movies had portrayed him as but he still hadn't imagined the man would be as large as he was.
"First years! Over here! Gather round first years!" He heard Hagrid call, prompting him to move towards the man that was effortlessly cutting through the remaining students with his sheer size. A group of around thirty students slowly formed around the man as he continued his shouting.
"Right then, first years follow me," The man bellowed, turning and walking towards the stairs that led off the platform. The students, including Brian, scrambled to catch up to the man, following after him. He led them onto the main path the other students had walked on momentarily, taking a sharp turn onto a much narrower side path that led off into the woods. Brian spotted Damien stumbling slightly at the front of the group as they made their way along the less maintained side path. As they were walking, the path opened up more and more until suddenly, Brian could see it. A massive lake was in front of them, and on a cliff on the far side of the lake, resided Hogwarts, in all its glory. Children all around him stood and gaped at the sight, with a few letting out exclamations of surprise as well as they all stared up at the castle.
"It's even better than I imagined," Brian thought to himself, staring at the castle with its towering spires, illuminated periodically by lights from various windows.
"Beautiful innit? Takin you first years here is one of my favorite jobs," Hagrid said cheerfully, smiling widely at the group as he turned to face them. Brian returned the half-giant's smile, it truly was a magnificent sight. Hagrid allowed the group a few more moments of staring at the castle before instructing them to climb into the boats, letting Brian get his first proper look at his fellow first years as they spread out among the boats. He counted fourteen girls and eighteen boys counting himself.
"Isn't this pretty small for a year's worth of kids?I only see 32 students. I know Harry had roughly forty kids in his year as well, but why are there so few kids for each year of a school that is for the entire country? Is it that rare to be a magical?" Brian mused to himself as watched the others climb into the boats. It took him a few moments to realize the reason for the lack of students.
"Voldemort, his war is why," Brian realized, his expression darkening as the realization set in. The books had said many were killed during Voldemort's first rise to power, Brian just hadn't really considered it since most of the atrocities Voldemort committed before his resurrection were merely briefly talked about. Brian shook himself from his thoughts, remembering he had to get into a boat. He quickly made his way over to the one he'd seen Damien climb into with two other boys, managing to claim the last available seat beside his acquaintance.
"Hey there Brian, I thought you'd gotten lost," Damien greeted him with a wave as he sat down.
"Heya Damien, I was just at the back of the group, that's all," Brian explained, the boy offering a small nod of understanding.
"That makes sense, I somehow ended up at the front. He sure is huge isn't he? My parents told me about all the Hogwarts staff before I came here. Judging from his size, our guide's name is Hagrid, my parents think he's a half-giant, though it's never been confirmed," Damien said excitedly, looking towards the half-giant who was attempting to climb into a larger boat that looked to be specially made for him.
"I don't like making any assumptions based on rumors, but he is definitely larger than normal. Maybe it was a potions accident or something similar," Brian offered in return, reluctant to aid any rumors about the cause of Hagrid's side
"The books always showed a pretty prominent prejudice was present, even in the Ministry of Magic when it came to half-creatures. Hagrid seemed nice in the books, he doesn't deserve the issues that might bring him," Brian thought privately.
"Right then, off we go, FORWARD," Hagrid bellowed at the first years as he finished settling into his boat, his shout causing the boats to all begin moving on their own, gliding across the lake. As the boats began moving forward, the other two boys on the boat spoke up.
" I haven't heard of a Brian in our year from my parent's briefing about the purebloods attending Hogwarts this year. Aren't you ashamed of associating with those below your station?" One of the boys said. Brian turned towards him as he spoke, narrowing his eyes. He was tall for his age, with a stiff posture even as he sat in the backless chairs of the boat.
"I can speak with whoever I want to. I'd thank you for minding your own business Lucian," Damien replied with a glare towards the boy in question.
"Really Damien, you should be ashamed, noble blood such as yours associating with a half-blood as equals!" The boy sitting next to Lucian put in.
"I didn't know Draco had an older brother," Brian thought to himself, glancing over at the second boy. He was on the shorter side with blonde hair that looked as if it had been meticulously combed, a sneer on his face that left Brian feeling slightly impressed. While he knew the boy was almost certainly not a Malfoy, he still strongly resembled how Draco had been described in the books.
"I'm muggleborn actually, sorry to break it to you," Brian interjected snidely. The two boys looked momentarily taken aback before they both sneered at him, expressions of disgust on their faces.
"I knew there was some major bias against muggleborns present in the wizarding world but the kids are indoctrinated into the bias as well? This is ridiculous!" Brian complained. The two boys didn't leave it at that though.
"Muggle filth, my parents told me I wouldn't have to see your kind here for at least a few more years. What a disappointment, eh Derrick" Lucian replied, shooting Brian a glare as he looked at his friend..
"Well a few did slip through the cracks, it can't be helped," His friend replied with a smirk. Brian's eyes narrowed as he looked at the two boys.
"Surely they don't mean what I think they're referring to," Brian thought, looking over at the two boys in contemplation.
"Lucian! Derrick! You're going too far! That's not something you should even joke about! Much less to a muggleborn!" Damien yelled, drawing the attention of the children from several other boats, who looked over at the commotion. The two boys glared hatefully at Damien, but both stopped talking as they noticed the students around them watching.
"I'm sorry Brian, they're both bigots through and through. What happened to muggleborns in the last war was terrible. I just want you to know not every pureblood is as awful as they are," Damien apologized to Brian in a murmur so that the others couldn't hear what he'd said.
"Muggleborn children, they were hunted weren't they?" Brian asked quietly, trying to confirm his suspicions. Damien looked taken aback at the question.
"You didn't know? Brian from what I've been told, over a hundred muggleborn children were hunted during You-Know-Who's reign, both Hogwarts students and younger. They monitored used spies in the ministry to know when muggle neighborhoods showed signs of accidental magic in order to find them. This is a small year even by after the war standards but there used to be around sixty students per year, with around ten of those being muggleborns. Nowadays there's only two or three muggleborns per year at Hogwarts. At least until the ones that were born after the war finally start turning eleven" Damien whispered. Brian froze momentarily as the implications of Damien's words sank in.
"I see, thank you for telling me Damien," Brian replied, the two boys falling into an awkward silence after that.
"I bought a few books on the history of the wizarding world, but none of them so much as mentioned that muggleborns were hunted systematically during Voldemort's war. Was the author just a pureblood who didn't think muggleborn deaths were worth mentioning or is there something else at fault?" Brian wondered to himself.
"Mind your heads," Brian heard Hagrid yell from his position at the front of the pack of boats. Turning, he noticed they were rapidly approaching the cliff Hogwarts resided on. The boats continued onwards anyway though, pushing through a section of the cliff covered in vines to reveal a hidden tunnel.
"He does know he's like 7 feet taller than anyone else here right?" Brian thought to himself, noticing Hagrid had to stoop over to prevent his head from hitting on the ceiling, a problem no one else on the boats even came close to having.
The tunnel continued on for quite some time until it finally began opening up, revealing a small underground harbor, their boats proceeded towards until they finally reached the rocky shores of the harbor. They all clambered out of the boats at Hagrid's prompting, slowly making their way over a large door that Brian assumed led towards the castle. The students slowly gathered around the door, prompting Hagrid to knock on the castle door. It swung open slightly to reveal someone Brian had met several months ago, Professor McGonagall.
"The first years, Professor," Hagrid announced, gesturing towards the group of students.
"Yes, thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here," She told him, opening the door the rest of the way. Hagrid slipped past her, heading deeper into the castle while McGonagall addressed the first years.
"Follow me and do try not to get lost," She instructed the students, guiding them through the castle. They walked through a long stone corridor illuminated with torches, turning right at a fork that led them towards a giant staircase.
"This is the grand staircase, it can take you to any level of the castle you need but, beware, it is known for occasionally playing tricks on students, with false stairs, moving staircases and such. While the movement of the staircases does have a pattern, it's one that's quite difficult to learn," McGonagall said instructively as they walked up the stairs. She led them off the stairs into a large corridor before guiding them into a side chamber where Brian could faintly hear the sound of talking coming from the other side of the wall.
"Now then, let me first say Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall announced, "For those of you who don't know, I am Minerva McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress and Gryffindor Head of house here at Hogwarts, as well as the Transfiguration teacher. In a few moments you will all be led into the Great Hall for the Sorting to take place. For those of you who aren't already aware, The Sorting Ceremony is quite a significant event given that you'll be staying in the house it places you in for the next seven years. Each house values different traits which will be used to determine what house you are sorted into. There are four houses here at Hogwarts, each with a rich history full of outstanding magicals among its alumni. The four houses of Hogwarts are Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff."
"That said, I shall return in a few minutes to bring you all into the Great Hall to start the ceremony. It will be in front of the rest of the school, so I'd suggest you do your best to prepare yourselves," She told the group, glancing towards one boy who looked ready to faint as she spoke. McGonagall turned and left the chamber as she finished speaking, leaving the children unattended.
The moment she left, the room became alive with chatter, various students talking amongst themselves excitedly, each predicting where they'd be sorted. Damien grabbed Brian's hand, pulling him towards two other boys who were chatting excitedly.
"Edward! Thomas! This is Brian, we met on the train, he's hoping to be a Ravenclaw too!" Damien told the two excitedly, gesturing towards Brian.
"Oh? Is that so? I'm hoping for Gryffindor myself, though my mom is hoping I end up in Ravenclaw like she did. Dad's happy I'm hoping for Gryffindor. I'm Edward, Edward Hopkins," Edward said in greeting, extending a hand towards Brian.
"Gryffindor isn't bad, but personally I feel like Ravenclaw fits me better, I'm Brian Williams," Brian told him, shaking the boy's hand. It was then that the other boy piped up.
"You guys both have it wrong, everyone knows hardwork is what really matters. Nice to meet you Brian, I'm Thomas Abbott," He said, also shaking Brian's hand.
"Nice to meet you Thomas," Brian told the boy sincerely. HeDamien started to say something in response, but before he could get a word out, McGonagall returned.
"They're ready for you now, form a line and follow after me," McGonagall told the students.
"Well, good luck guys," Damien put in quietly, falling into place in line as they made their way out of the chamber. McGonagall led them back into the hallway and through a huge set of double doors into the Great Hall. Brian did his best to ignore the hundreds of student's eyes that he could feel upon him from the four house tables, instead glancing towards the table at the far end of the hall, where the teachers were sitting, with a small stool with an old black hat resting in front of their table. There at the middle of the table in a large golden chair, he saw an old man with a silvery beard wearing purple robes with pink polka dots, Albus Dumbledore.
"He looks so… old," Brian thought, doing his best not to laugh at himself for the thought. The books had described Dumbledore as an old man, but that hadn't done him justice. While he didn't look like he was about to keel over on the spot, everything about the man seemed to scream to Brian of a man who had lived for far longer than anyone he'd ever met. Brian's attention turned away from Dumbledore as the first years reached the end of the hall and, to his ears dismay, the hat resting on the stool began to sing. While the song itself was actually quite informative about Hogwarts and its four houses, the hat's singing was so terrible Brian couldn't find it in himself to applaud with the rest of the school when the hat finished. McGonagall stepped forward as the applause died down, pulling open a roll of parchment.
"I will read your name from this list, when your name is called, sit on the stool and put on the hat so it can decide where to sort you," She told them all.
"Abbott, Thomas," She called, reading the first name off the scroll. He came forward, placing the hat on his head only for it to shout Hufflepuff almost immediately. The Hufflepuff table burst into thunderous applause as their house was called, welcoming the boy warmly.
"Bell, Damien," She read next, prompting Damien to leave Brian with a nervous smile. The hat actually took a moment with his sorting, an awkward silence filling the hall until, eventually, "RAVENCLAW!"
The Ravenclaw table applauded at the news, a few of the younger students cheering slightly. And so it began, name after name being called as the students were slowly sorted, one by one leaving the front of the hall. Edward ended up getting his wish of Gryffindor, whilst both the two bigots Brian had dealt with on the way to the castle were put into Slytherin. Unfortunately for Brian, the list appeared to be alphabetically sorted, so it wasn't until he was the last student to be sorted that he was finally called.
"Williams, Brian." McGonagall called, rolling the parchment closed as she did so. Brian stepped forward, walking towards the stool and sitting down, placing the hat upon his head as he did so.
"Oh my, what have we here? Knowledge of a future yet to pass? A seer of some sort? Intriguing, I haven't sorted a seer in years!" Brian heard a voice in his mind, causing him to freeze for a moment before growing confused. While he certainly had knowledge of the future that was hardly the only odd thing about him. Could the sorting hat not see those memories?
"A seer? I'm afraid I don't understand," He questioned, doing his best to project the thought.
"Oh yes, certainly, the knowledge you possess of the future didn't appear there on its own after all. But where to put you? So eager to learn, so curious about everything to do with magic! And the plans you have! The things you seek to accomplish, the ambitions! Oh yes, I know just where to put you," The hat said without pause.
"Wait, ambitions? No, not-" Brian thought desperately, but it was too late.
"SLYTHERIN!" The hat roared out to Brian's dismay. The hall was silent for a moment as the hat came off Brian's head, the Slytherins eerily quiet before finally beginning to clap softly, a sharp contrast to their greeting towards the other first-years who had been sorted into Slytherin. Brian resisted the urge to try some more wandless fire magic on the hat for its decision. Doing his best to remain calm, Brian made his way over to the Slytherin table, trying to ignore the intense glares some of the other students at the table were sending his way. As Dumbledore rose to his feet and began to speak, Brian only had one thought in his mind.
"Well shit."
AN: Firstly, I know it's out a day later than I said, I apologize. I've had a busy few days so even though I wrote for a few hours on Sunday, it took me until super late on Sunday to finish the chapter and I was too tired to edit it, so I waited until today to proofread and post. Secondly, I reread the beginning of Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone to write this chapter, and I realized a few things I didn't know before. For some reason, I never realized that in the books the first years go into a literal underground water area beneath the castle with a separate door that leads to the castle. Also, did you know that McGonagall's hair is described as black in the books? I never really processed that until I reread Chapter 7 of book 1. McGonagall is like 70 in that back, so her having black hair and not gray never really processed I guess. Anyway, Next chapter we'll cover Brian's first week in the castle, as well as him trying to adjust to life in Slytherin.
Also, thank you guys so much for all the support, we're at over 80 favorites and over 120 followers, which means the world to me. What do you guys think? Do you think Brian belongs in Slytherin? Please leave a review and tell me your thoughts if you've enjoyed the story so far.
Next Update: January 29