Chapter 1
Been playing that hogwarts game and got inspiration, may continue, may not. Still need to work on my aot story, Like if u like and review if u feel inclined.
"Will! Will! Get up!" The high-pitched voice of his little sister rang in his ears drawing him from his dreams, he felt a sharp surge of annoyance at her at first. He was nice and wrapped up in his soft quilt and he didn't much feel like tearing himself away from this delectable comfort.
"Mmm go away" he mumbled out, waving a lazy hand toward her and burying his face back into the pillow. It was the wrong move however, instantly he felt his sisters' hands latch on his with a vice grip and he felt himself being dragged from the bed.
"Its time! Your going to Hogwarts get up lazy bones!" she yelled out, at that his eyes flew open and he dragged himself up, launching the grey coloured quilt on the floor of his bedroom and nearly falling on top of his sister who was already dressed and ready to go.
Leah was dressed in her neat school uniform, a crimson jumper, black skirt and similarly shining black shoes. Her golden hair had been brushed to perfection with it falling down her back with a pink hairpin holding it in place and despite it being so early her green eyes were sparkling in excitement for him.
Himself on the other hand looked the exact opposite of prepared. His blonde hair was unkempt and wild, his green eyes held bags underneath them and his pyjamas held tomato sauce stains from tea last night when he rushed through it in order to get back to studying.
Despite his preparation not up to the same standards as his sis, his excitement certainly was.
"It's time!" He mimicked, his face seemingly forgetting the sleep deprivation affecting him as a toothy smile came to his long face. He had been waiting for this moment the day he got his letter, an invitation to study magic at a school called Hogwarts.
He remembered the day like it was yesterday, he laughed it off, his sister thought it was a prank and his mum went quiet and contemplative. He didn't think much of it but later at dinner the dam broke.
Mum sat us both down and told us that the letter was real, and the reason she knew is that our father went there.
She didn't speak much of our father, he left when they both were little and that was all William needed to know about that deadbeat. When mum said he was a Wizard William thought he might've been killed by some dangerous beast or is on an adventure searching for lost artifacts.
But it wasn't anything so grand, he just left them and walked out, turns out being a Wizard doesn't mean you're a good person.
It soured the idea of Hogwarts for him, but after prodding by his sister and conversations with his mum he came around to the idea.
He wasn't going to let the shadow of a man he barely remembered influence his life.
"Quick get ready! Mum says if you miss the train you won't get to go!" Leah exclaimed breathlessly, throwing open the doors to his wardrobe and grabbing an assortment of clothes for him.
"Brush your teeth and get a shower! I'll handle this!" she commanded.
"Aye aye captain!" he responded, giving a thumbs up as he clambered out the door towards the bathroom.
His sister and him had a strong bond, they always had each other's back and it wasn't going to change when it came to this, instead of being jealous Leah had made him promise to write and tell her all about Hogwarts until she's old enough to attend. Meaning she was just as invested in getting him there in order to learn as much as she could about this magical world.
C'mon c'mon c'mon William thought, all but attacking the germs in his mouth with the toothbrush. He quickly spat out the minty paste as he yelled out for his sister.
"Clothes! And a towel!"
He heard the oncoming foot steps and heavy breaths of Leah, she must've been sprinting toward the bathroom.
The door was flung open, and a bundle of clothes were pushed into his hands and a pink towel got flung directly at his face causing him to have to catch it between his chin and chest.
"Than- "before he had a chance to thank her she was gone again, shutting the door behind her as he heard her stamp down the stairs yelling for mum.
He took it as a sign they were in a bigger rush than he realized.
His Pyjamas were off, and he was in the shower by the time Leah reached the bottom of the stairs.
After a brisk shower that melted away any remaining sluggishness, he dried himself, got dressed and tamed his messy hair in the mirror with his trusty hairbrush.
His outfit consisted of blue denim jeans and a black t-shirt with a faded Simpsons graphic on it that was slowly peeling off, it wasn't very flattering apparel but it would do until he changed into his school uniform; he was just praying he was going to be able to remember how to tie a tie like his mum had shown him.
He finished up by slipping on the pair of odd socks his sis provided and sloppily tying the laces of his trainers, they looked they would come undone at the slightest bit of wind, but he would worry about that later.
He barreled down the stairs like a hurricane, prompting his mum to poke her head out of the kitchen where the smell of toast and hot tea emanated out.
"William Hawke! What do you think your doing!?" she exclaimed, pointing a butter and crumb covered knife at him with a scowl.
He came to a skidding stop in front of her, all the momentum gone and feeling quite confused.
"Mum? I'm being quick, don't want to be late!" William said, they were in a rush, weren't they?
She gave him a raised eyebrow and cocked her head to the side slightly.
"The train leaves at 11, It's only 8:30 we have time" she explained, William felt like a sad balloon being slowly deflated.
"What? But Leah told me we were in a rush!" He sputtered, poking his head into the living room he saw her kicking her feet on the sofa while watching cartoons and sipping her tea. Like himself it seemed all the rush had deflated out of her.
"Oi! What happened to being close to missing the train and not being able go to Hogwarts?" he asked incredulously, Leah rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment and pulled her cup to her face to hide the smile on her face.
"Uh I thought you would've left at the same time as me…" she said, a wave of understanding hit him. Normal school starts at 9.
"Ah" he said, nodding slightly.
There was a silence between them for a few seconds with only the sound of the TV playing.
The silence broke when William let out a laugh, with Leah following just behind.
"You're an idiot!" he laughed, taking a seat on the couch next to her as they bantered back and forth.
The rest of the morning was quite normal for them, they eat breakfast, Leah debated him on the merits of each of the Hogwarts houses he had been reading up on and he let out a sigh of relief when his mum informed him she had already loaded his suitcases in the car.
Then it was off to drop Leah off at school, it was a cloudy day, with great grey blobs of the stuff stifling the sunlight and casting the world in a gray hue. He was used to it though, much better just a gray day than a gray AND rainy day like they usually got.
"What do you think Will?" Leahs voice drew his attention, drawing his eyes from the lined-up brick houses he had passed so many times in this car.
"Hm?"
"What house do you think I'm going to get sorted into?"
"You? Hufflepuff" he said with a smirk, he knew she loved Gryffindor and that she couldn't take Hufflepuff seriously with their symbol being a Badger.
"Oh, ha ha" she said, sticking out her tongue and shaking her head.
"Be careful not to get yourself to excited dear, lets wait till you show signs of magic first" Mum said from the front seat, they were told about this in the letter from Hogwarts. Sometimes young wizards and witches can make something magical happen if fueled by strong emotion or will.
"Yeah, remember me at Jacks birthday party? I really wanted a coke and the next thing I knew the water bottle I was holding turned into a bottle full of the stuff " He thought he was an actual loony when it first happened and spent the next couple days meticulously tracking every move he made just to make extra sure he wasn't going bananas
"Ah I'm sure it'll happen soon, in the meantime don't forget to write with that new owl of yours" she said brushing off the advice of mum.
"Teddy must already be at Hogwarts right mum?" he asked, Teddy was his owl, a beautiful snow-white animal, proud and pricky. He nearly took his finger off when he picked him out in Diagon alley but that didn't deter him, he found him too cool looking.
"Mhm, he has a cozy place in the owlery I'm told" she confirmed.
He heard door locks unlock as they approached the busy street that held his sister's school. It was naturally quite busy, kids back on their first day with fresh haircuts, gelled hair and new backpacks. All of them chatting happily with their friends while parents said their goodbyes. He even spotted a couple of his own friends, though they didn't notice him.
"Well, here we are" mum announced, pulling into a miraculously open parking space in between two cars.
William opened him mouth to say his goodbyes but before he got a word out Leah had wrapped him in a big hug which he quickly reciprocated.
"You better learn lots while your there, if you don't, I'll overtake you in my first year" he heard her say, her voice betraying the fact that she had a big smile on her face.
"Aha, I'm not even a little bit worried about that happening" he shot back as the hug broke.
"Oh well can't say I didn't warn you" she laughed, clambering out of the car and waving goodbye to mum and me as she headed towards a group of girls William recognized as her friends.
There was a strange sadness when mum starting to drive away from that school.
It really hadn't hit him that he wouldn't be seeing his friends, sister and mum for a long time. The excitement of learning about magic and Hogwarts had distracted him well enough that it never really sunk in.
The drive to Kings Cross only made the feeling grow inside him, with a pit forming in his stomach that he didn't expect.
Would he look like an idiot? He'd tried to learn as much as he could before the term began but would it be enough? I'm sure there are loads of other kids from wizarding families that know so much more than him. He's going to stand out like a sore thumb.
These thoughts bubbled inside of him, he wanted to talk about them with his mum to seek some reassurance, but she was currently on a phone call with her work, and it sounded important.
She was often occupied with work, another reason he'd been in such a good mood these last few weeks is that the school preparation had been a good time to interact with his mum when she wasn't completely exhausted and stressed out from work.
He thought it'd been good for her too, the bags under her eyes seemed less pronounced and she smiled more than she had in years on their trip to Diagon alley though he knew that soon she would be back to the grind, Hogwarts wasn't cheap.
I'll pay you back for everything you've done for us, I'll study hard and let nothing stop me He vowed in his head.
She wouldn't have to work another day in her life If he had anything to say about it.
The conversation she was having on the phone seemed to be heating us they approached, with mum getting more annoyed, using the voice she only used on him when he had messed up bad.
"What? Yes of course! No I- No you listen to me- Fine I'll be in soon" she hung up in a huff, mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like swear words.
They pulled up to the station and it was naturally bustling, important looking people in suits holding briefcases and other travelers holding luggage.
"Ok honey, I need to get to work quick so I can't walk you to the station" she said, looking back at him with a fake smile that didn't do a good job of hiding her disappointment in herself and anger at her boss.
"O-oh, it's alright mum I remember how I get to the platform" she gave a weak smile and nodded, he was worried she could hear his disappointment.
"Love you honey, have fun and be sure to write." She said, leaning into the back and giving him a light kiss on his forehead.
He gave her one last smile and nod before opening the car door.
He piled up all the luggage in the boot on a luggage trolley, it held a suitcase with all his clothes, books for all the subjects, a cauldron and all the other bits and bobs required. Most important though was his wand.
He had barely touched the thing since he got it in Diagon Alley, his mother had forbidden it and he read it was illegal. But if he was honest with himself the rules weren't what was stopping him, his curiosity was certainly there, it was his own fear of what might happen If he messes something up in trying to cast a spell he read from a book, would he explode? catch alight?
It was with trepidation then that he held it in his hand as he packed his stuff onto the trolley.
It was a pretty wand, beech wood with a Unicorn hair core. It was very finely made with winding engravings in the wood that spiralled around it's 13-inch length. He had seen fancier wands though, even some with what looked like precious gems set in them when he was in Olivanders, still It possessed a simple elegance he appreciated.
He shook himself from his thoughts, quickly placing the wand on the trolley and after giving a wave to the back of his mums quickly leaving car, he looked at the bustling station before him, took a breath and took the first steps of his new life.
"7…. 8…. 9!" He counted the number painted on each platform as he passed, ending up square in front of number 9. It was, perhaps unsurprisingly, the busiest platform. Although he didn't see any people that looked like they were heading to the same destination as he was, all looked remarkably ordinary, but then again maybe that was what they wanted an outside observer to see.
This should be it he thought, coming to a stop in front of a rather normal looking stone brick wall, in between the signs for platform 10 and 9. His mother told him to simply run at it and he should go right to the other side.
Looking around him though the platform was full of regular people, some even standing worryingly close to the entrance. Wouldn't they notice him?
He stood in that rather awkward position for a few seconds, eyes darting from the wall to the people around him and back to the wall again, trying to judge the right time to make a run for it without getting noticed but the longer he stood the more he knew it would be impossible.
I wish mum was here he thought to himself.
"Well? Are you going or what?" A voice called out from behind him.
Turning he saw a girl around his age with black hair, a scowl on her face and a button nose. She had a similar trolley as him by her side with similar sized packages piled up on it.
He fumbled and tripped over his words as he spoke up.
"Well won't they, y'know… see?" he got out, subtlety gesturing to the people going about their day.
Her scowl deepened at this, as if she got offended by the question.
"What?" she spat incredulously "Are you stupid or what? It has a charm on it, they won't see a thing" she explained it in a slowed down way like she was talking to an idiot, it took every bit of his self control not to snap back instantly.
"Now are you going to hurry up or are we both going to miss the train?" she finished. He bit his tongue and swallowed the bile he wanted to verbally spew back at her, despite the rude way she went about it, he was taught to be polite and that wasn't going to change… for now at least, he made no promises if she kept up with this attitude.
"Yes, thank you." He said simply, turning, taking a deep breath and running toward the wall with the luggage trolley rattling and shaking wildly, he shut his eyes just before impact with part of him still expecting a loud crash and a broken bone.
Instead… nothing.
He knew something was different before he even opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was the smell, instead of the rather bad smell he had come to expect from a train station he was greeted with a sweet fragrance that smelt like someone bottled happiness and released it in front of his nose.
It was enough to bring a smile to his face in fact.
A smile that only grew wider when his eyes opened.
Platform 9 and 3 quarters was bustling and beautiful, he saw students conversing eagerly with owls, cats and toads all hooting, meowing and croaking along with their owners, even the ones he assumed to be first years didn't seem uneasy or out of place.
The thing that drew his attention the most though was the shining crimson of the train that was sitting on the tracks with the sign 'Hogwarts express' attached right to the front, it was pumping out white smoke from its engine that hovered over everyone's head and caused the startling of one student when a mischievous owl flying above the smoke darted back below right on the shoulder of the girl producing a loud yelp from her.
"Brilliant" He mumbled.
He perhaps took to long in awe at his new surroundings though, not paying any mind to the fact that girl would be coming through the wall at any moment.
His legs were taking out from underneath him and he heard a loud clattering that rang out above all the conversations going on, he fell backwards with a yell on top of the rude girls trolley sending all her school supplies skipping across the floor with his own troller following suit with it smashing into a wall right ahead taking off two wheels with it and his poor packages went every which way.
As If his luck wasn't worse the girl that just crashed into him fell forward over the handles of her trolley with a yelp and ended up right on top of him, knocking the wind from him.
They both groaned in pain at the fall and felt the eyes of everyone turn to them, the chattering from before stopping dead.
"What the hell is wrong with you" he heard her say as she untangled herself from the school supply laden floor and rising to her feet, clenching her head and wincing.
"Sorry sorry" he repeated the word like a mantra. He rose to his feet with the help of a good Samaritan, a pink faced blonde girl with pigtails, already in her black robes, and who looked the same age as him.
"Are you both ok?!" she squeaked in concern.
"Yes" he said.
"No" she said.
They both spoke at the same time, his answer drew another attempted scowl from her, though It looked more pained annoyance than anything, she had taken quite the bump to the head.
"You absolute imbecile! Why would you wait there? Did you want me to break my neck?" she ranted at him, her face increasingly turning redder and more enraged. Like scary tomato.
"I didn- "he attempted.
"I bet you did, didn't you? All because you were embarrassed that I had to teach you about how the passage worked" she continued, the collision had drew eyes but this was maintaining that attention, he had no doubt some kids were hoping to see a fight break out for their entertainment.
"WHY WOULD I DO THAT, I GOT HURT TOO IDIOT!" he yelled out, his patience had ran out quickly at that absurd accusation.
This only sparked more fire behind her eyes though, as she took a step closer to him with a clenched fist.
"OH YEAH? I DON'T SEE YOU WITH A BIG BUMP ON YOUR HEAD, IM LUCKY MY SKULL DIDN'T CAVE IN" she matched his volume with a shrill yell.
A small crowd was forming around them now, a few of the younger students shouted out "fight!" while some of the older ones looked ready to intervene if things got to that level.
He thought about the vow he made earlier in the day, he wanted to be the best student possible, if he got into a fight before he even made it to the school and made an enemy of this girl, he looked foolish, not wise.
But he had to stand up for himself another part of him said, he couldn't back down now and look like a coward, it would be a reputation that stuck especially if he backed down to a girl.
In the end though what made him make his decision was when he thought about what the reaction of his mum would be when she got the news, she had spent all that money and taken crucial time off work to help him prepare, only for him to jeopardize that.
He would make sure that future didn't come to pass.
"YEAH? I SUFFERED A HUGE INJURY" He yelled, holding back the verbal venom he had when he called her an idiot.
"I THINK I CRACKED MY ARSE" he yelled out even louder, emphasising the last word and replacing his own scowl with a stupid grin.
"YOU-"she started, before her brain did a double take and heard what he actually said, she fumbled over her words a bit as he heard a wave of giggles and saw smiles at his response before they quietened down to hear the black haired girls response.
"Isn't it supposed to be though?" It was the girl who had helped him up, she asked in a way that sounded like an innocent and genuine question, she had a genuine look of confusion on her face though that told William it was a serious question, not a joke.
Though, of course, everyone thought it was a joke.
A wave of laughter erupted with William happily joining in, even the girl he was in an argument with struggled to maintain her anger, he saw her biting the inside of her cheek to stop herself from smiling.
It had done the trick, the tension dissipated in a second.
Who could stay angry with everyone around them laughing and smiling?
He decided to capitalize on it, quashing any possible remaining animosity.
"Look I'm sorry, it was a dumb mistake" he said to her, everyone else had stopped paying attention at this point, the younger kids disappointed in no fight and the older one's content they wouldn't have to break up a fight between two 1st years up, they all began boarding the train as the clock neared 11.
"Will by the way" he added, extending a hand.
"William Hawke"
She looked at his hand for a moment, with a flash of both disgust and curiosity flashing in her eyes, before she took it reluctantly, giving it a quick shake.
"Pansy Parkinson" she replied, allowing no further conversation by attending to her fallen luggage, he happily did the same. Piling it all back on with luckily nothing broken or fallen onto the tracks.
Though he couldn't say the same about the broken wheels of his cart, two of which lay pathetically on the floor, completely tore off. They would be impossible to repair quickly unless…
He retrieved his wand and knelt down close to the wheels.
The mending charm, also known as Reparo may be used to repair damage done to any inanimate object as long as said object was not under curse. If performed successfully it would result in the immediate repair of any damage, if unsuccessful may result in the disintegration of broken object.
He remembered the passage from The standard book of spells by Miranda Goshawk, it was the one spell he was tempted to use the most to fix his broken NES controller, though in the end his paranoia about failure and orders from his mother won out and he never tried it.
I will not miss this train he thought to himself gripping his wand tightly His fears be damned.
"A small swirling motion with the wand and a flick" he thought aloud, remembering the movement required to successfully cast the spell.
He performed the motion a smooth swirl and a flick, praying he wouldn't accidently disintegrate his possessions.
"Reparo" He spoke clearly and loudly, allowing no room for mistake.
The tip of his wand glowed a pale white and he watched with wonder as the broken wheels levitated themselves and attaching themselves perfectly into the snapped off trolley leg, with a similar pale white aura to that at the edge of his wand appearing surrounding both wheels before dissipating as quick as it came.
The wheels looked as good as new.
"Are you from a wizarding family?" He looked up and saw Pansy was observing his magical display, with a faint interest present.
He shook his head.
"Only my dad" he responded, rising to his feet and placing his wand back on top of the trolley, rather pleased with himself.
"You?" he asked in kind.
She nodded slightly, not looking very eager to expand upon that simple answer.
"Now hurry up, we don't want to miss the train." She said, turning from him and pushing her trolley towards the crimson train, he could already see through the windows the first two carriages were already packed up fully with students.
He raised a curious eyebrow at her switch from wanting to punch him in the face to making idle small talk, but he did appreciate it as debating silly things was a guilty pleasure of his, a pleasure that usually got him in trouble with other kids at his old school.
Leah would always keep up with him though, never taking it personally, If Pansy was the same, he imagined conversations with her would be quite amusing.
Though he could figure that out in the future, right now he was hoping some good seats still remained, he really didn't want to have to sit next to the one student that didn't remember to shower for the ride that was going to take a couple hours at least.
Taking one last glance at the station, he followed right behind Pansy and toward the crimson train and toward his (hopefully) bright future.
I read through this a couple times and im not fully satisfied with it but fuck it dude, may be some typos i missed but i tried to get em all. Till next time peace out girl scouts.
