The puff of the train hissed through the evening air as the compartments emptied and cool, fresh air rushed inside. Clutching the bag tightly, Luna followed the crowd. Laima rested in the inner breast pocket of the black cloak, right next to the wand. Surrounded by other students, their chatter breaking through the atmosphere and casting the evening in an exciting light, she eyed the adjacent house, the hedge in front of it, a bench, little things her father had always told her about. Hogwarts was in immediate vicinity.
Her gaze wandered over older children, over those who were probably her age, and ultimately lingered on a tall man standing with a lantern in his hand like a small lighthouse in the midst of curious poffle.
She approached him, watching him grow with each step, and stopped right in front of him – eyes fixed in rigid fascination. The tangled hair and tousled beard bobbed up and down with every movement. Motions, which he used to step from one leg to the other. Part of Luna wanted to believe in a giant inside of him, waiting to accompany his flock over the mountains. The rest of her simply waited in the bright glow of his lantern.
His gaze brushed her twice. Twice he looked down, met pale eyes that held him in their sights without blinking.
"You're very tall." The third time, Luna addressed him. A few words that made him open his mouth, making him feel like a funny person somehow, while no sound crossed his lips. Then he nodded, more to himself than to her, before actually raising his voice and addressing all the students present.
"Over here!" Expression firm, he waved in his direction with a simple gesture. "This way to the boats. Come on." Impatience made him turn and take the lead. "Follow me!"
Lined up in a row with two or three people running side by side, they followed the seeming giant. Luna at the front alone. Straight down the path to the lake in which the sky reflected gloomily. The boats on the shore and the small lanterns on thick wooden stems left the shadowy feeling of a magical fairy tale that Luna could no longer remember. Nevertheless, she was the first to reach for her own light and climb into one of the boats, followed by three other students who settled down with bated breath. Eyes fixed firmly on the castle where dim brightness lurked.
The stranger pushed them off the shore, making the water ripple, and the magic took hold. Without oars, they drifted ahead, out into the open blackness that caught Luna's attention. She couldn't see herself reflected in the darkness, only looked down into deep uncertainty that settled over her like a mute shroud. The glass of magical light drew bright streaks across the water, beaded white from the depths.
Luna bent further down to the water. Careful not to tip the boat. A few of the strands brushed the wetness, becoming soaked. Something pinched her scalp. The blonde glimmer of a hair followed a single, small wave, barely noticeably pushed off the boat.
Then she stared into dark purple.
Eyes in a slight red.
A face as pale as death, which had afflicted her mother, joined with lips that shone redder than cherries. A woman who looked up at her with ghostly grace moved her mouth and faded into silence. Immediately afterwards, she vanished. Withered like a rose in the shadows. Disappeared; and made Luna pull her head back.
Again her gaze shifted forward, to the same spot everyone else was keeping an eye on. The castle grew with each breath they took on the water. The rocks gained in texture. The clouds formed a picturesque background, pierced by the moonlight that in some places broke through behind the solid walls.
The low murmur that ran through some boats just chased past Luna. The inner calm didn't fade for a second, and only the fascination behind it remained. A painting that sucked her in. For minutes, until she couldn't put her head any further back in her neck and the boat stopped.
Carefully she slid out along with the others, found her footing on uneven ground, heard it crunch and glanced at her feet. Small stones were rolling around.
Her head lifted again as the tall man arrived and gestured with a hand towards the entrance of the castle. With a slight nod, he conveyed they should go ahead as more and more students arrived and found their way out onto land. So Luna turned away, walking ahead, straight towards the light.
Steps led through an archway, into the warming embrace of cold stone. Goblets of fire lit the way, offering her a straight path up the stairs, a woman looking down from the top balustrade.
The young witch's steps didn't falter for a moment as she climbed the first steps in a springy gait and the goblets were replaced by small, black lanterns on corner posts. The rest remained unadorned facade passing her by.
At the top she paused on the penultimate step, bobbing up and down once, while the kindly old face of an old witch rested above them all. The crowd gathered. The youngest had remained and the black cloaks once again bathed the corridor in shadows.
"Welcome to Hogwarts." The first greeting in this place, which made Luna lift her head a little further. A few of the students seemed to grow as the old witch held her hands in front of her lap. Just a little longer before she clapped. "So, in a few minutes, you will step through these doors and join your classmates. But before you can take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses. There are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin." Her voice lowered. "While you are here, your house will be equal to your family. Your triumphs will earn you points. Break the rules and you will have points deducted. At the end of the year, the house with the most points wins the house cup. The house sorting will begin any moment."
All at once, she turned away and disappeared through the doors into another room, leaving the newcomers behind. Luna enjoyed the brief silence before whispers spread behind her. Vague words she didn't follow. Instead, she began to bob up and down again. Bouncy. Serenely. Hands folded in front of her lap, the bag with her father's things still close to her. Laima moved in her cloak.
A few minutes later, the witch returned, almost silent on her soles. "We are ready for you now. Follow me."
She strode ahead and Luna followed her in soft jumps, straight into the Great Hall. Past the house tables, centred towards the teacher's table on a rise that held a few interested as well as grim faces. Strange eyes bored into each of them and although the festivity in the hall wasn't lacking, Luna didn't allow herself to be distracted for a second.
Before the step to the elevation, they all stopped as if frozen. Coughs wheezed through the silence that echoed off the walls, and the old witch stood beside a stool a few feet away from them, armed with a parchment scroll.
"Now, when I call your names, you will come forward and I will put the Sorting Hat on you," she lifted an old, shabby looking hat, "and you will be sorted into your houses." Her gaze dropped instantly to the list. "Piper Linquist."
A girl stepped out of the group, hair as black as the cloak she wore. With an upright gait and stiff shoulders, she tottered to the stool, only to drop into it and wince when the hat was placed on her.
It took barely a breath longer for the folds of the hat to move. A voice rose, started with a hum, and caught the word immediately after. A boy beside Luna swallowed uneasily.
"I see," the hat spoke to itself. "It's not hard to decide then. Ravenclaw!"
The students at the Ravenclaw table started clapping. Cheers erupted momentarily. The girl jumped off the stool and settled down between them, a proud smile on her lips as she brushed her shoulder-length corkscrew curls back before silence fell once more.
"Ginny Weasley."
Again, a girl stepped forward. Lips pressed tightly together, she barely seemed to breathe. The hat was already sliding down on her head before she had actually found a seat, and the decision was made almost as quickly when the hat made a startled sound. "Weasley again? That can only be Gryffindor!"
The spectacle repeated itself, bringing new students to Slytherin and Hufflepuff, some to Gryffindor, some to Ravenclaw. The hat had more to say to some than others. Luna listened to each of them, keeping each name in the back of her mind until the old witch called her name and her joy jumped a little too high.
Light-footed steps brought her to the stool, where she settled in anticipation. The old fabric found a place on her head and her thoughts instantly drifted to the tables where everyone was eagerly awaiting the verdict. Would there be pudding in this place? Or chocolate frogs?
"What refreshing thoughts!" the hat exclaimed, then hummed again thoughtfully. "With your head in the clouds and yet ..." He waited, listening to Luna's thoughts as they became more and more entangled in questions. Were there seekers in this place?
"Ravenclaw!" the magical object on her head exclaimed a moment later, instantly snapping the young witch out of her thoughts. Somewhat slowly, she pushed herself off her chair, only to settle down at the table of her new classmates a moment later. They clapped and cheered for her, too. The joy of a new member was there; and Luna noticed it with a thin smile.
Almost like a plop, she settled down on the long wooden bench – between a boy and another girl who had also been assigned to the house. The empty plate and the golden goblet gave her a home-like place in this scene. Still, her gaze moved back to the sorting, watching more students become part of their houses. All so incredibly different because the magic began with oneself.
Twenty more students fell under the judgement of the magical hat and twenty times Luna clapped with the others until the last newcomer took a seat on the stool. Only afterwards, when no one was left, and the hat had lost its first charm, did the hall fill with excited murmurs. Older classmates turned to the newcomers, acquaintances were made, the lively interest swept through every table and for a moment Luna kept an eye on every conversation. The life that prevailed in those seconds had a magic all its own - until someone hit a goblet with a spoon.
The clinking sound rippled through the fronts, silencing the murmurs and sliding all attention back to the teachers. At the same time, the Headmaster rose from his seat – Dumbledore, the man almost everyone knew.
"I have an announcement to make concerning you all." His old, raspy voice filled the entire hall. "First years, please take note that the Dark Forest is off limits to all those who do not seek an agonising death."
"He says that every year," a second grader at Luna's table breathed in the direction of the newcomers. "They say there are ancient shrines where offerings are made to the guardians."
"Now that this has been noted, let the feast begin."
His words released magic that made Luna breathe a sigh of relief as the tables filled with food. A feast, as it was in some books and elicited a tone of astonishment from many first years. At the same time, a soft yelp chased through the crowd, joining the laughter of some of the older students and drawing the Ravenclaw's attention straight to the centre of the table, through which one of the house ghosts chased, rising to the ceiling moments later. Luna kept her eyes firmly on it, examining the individual representations of the houses alongside it. The eagle of Ravenclaw seemed to stare at her for a moment. Only briefly, before she thought it averted its gaze.
And she did the same.
Turned her attention finally to the food.
At which there was no pudding.
SEEK ME!
Up the steps that criss-crossed through the corridor, changing positions whenever they pleased, straight to the fifth floor. Stone walls passed her by, and the height grew with every time she looked over the parapet because the magical mechanism brought with it a charm all its own. So did the paintings, whose movements and biting comments to each other fitted perfectly into this castle.
Hogwarts was great. A place full of secrets where she would find even more unknown creatures than she already had at home.
Again and again her fingers grazed the walls, noticing bumps and cracks, until they reached a spiral staircase that would take them high into a tower. Steps that made knocking sounds echo off the walls with each step, while shadows stretched eerily and some students pressed themselves so close to the wall that they barely made it up a step without taking a panicked breath. Something Luna took lightly; even elated.
Hands folded behind her back, she followed the prefect – the pretty Penelope Clearwater – whose curls bobbed up and down with every movement. It had a hypnotic effect that made Luna tilt her head to see if she might spot a creature enjoying a joke.
"Hey!" someone whispered insistently at her from the side, and though Luna still hadn't found a being, she very slowly put her head straight again and glanced at the girl at her side. "Do you see something there? You look so fixated."
"I'm not entirely sure," the young witch replied, "but I think there's a Blibbering Humdinger tangled in her hair."
"A what?"
"A magical creature."
"I didn't even know those things existed." Puzzled, the girl looked back at Penelope and narrowed her eyes. But she just shook her head. "I can't see anything."
"They're called Blibbering Humdinger and they're not really known to anyone yet except those who've seen them," Luna explained in a soft tone, only to watch as the stranger slowly fell back, brows raised, nose wrinkled. Luna followed her disappearance among the others for only a moment before turning back to the prefect, forgetting the girl's face in the same breath.
The stairs ended in front of a simple, unadorned door, where a bronze door knocker in the shape of an eagle waited for magical hands.
"You must know," all at once Penelope turned to the crowd and Luna thought she lost sight of the magical creature in her hair, "here in Ravenclaw, a razor sharp mind is always in demand." She tapped her head with a smirk. "To get into the common room of the house, you must knock on this door knocker and answer a question wisely. Only then will you gain entry."
She demonstrated by knocking, and the eagle's head came to life. Its beak rose and fell as an ancient voice asked a question that Luna blanked out. Instead, she looked back over her shoulder into the crowd; unable to find the girl again.
The door opened barely a moment later, and the crowd continued to press forward, so Luna turned once more towards the way up, climbing the last few steps to ultimately enter the common room. Arched windows on one side carried only outward blackness at this hour. Darkness that was chased away by burning torches and wondrous stars on the vaulted ceiling. All that remained was this room, bathed in bronze and blue, overrun with books, chairs and tables, guarded by a statue whose countenance remained kind, yet demanding.
"This is our house founder, Rowena Ravenclaw. She was the smartest witch of her time, so don't let our house's image down," Penelope elaborated briefly before pointing to a door. "That way is to your dormitories."
Once again, she took the lead, guiding them all forward and eventually assigning them to their rooms. Luna, with all the commotion, merely followed the directions until she stood in the middle of a room designed for three girls. Beds in light wood had found space against the slightly curved wall. The duvets blue, the pillows white.
The luggage was already in front of the sleeping places and Luna immediately spotted her brightly coloured suitcases among the plain colours. They literally glowed in this room, gave her this feeling of having arrived. For a full minute, her heart pounding slightly, until another girl's snort got through to her.
"Well, wonderful. I'm in a room with the weird one."
Instantly, Luna turned to face the entrance. In the middle of the room stood a girl, her eyes wandering skeptically over the furnishings. The black, shoulder-length hair shimmered in the dull light. Shortly after, this witch's piercing green eyes lingered on Luna and she raised the chin of her round face. "And your name?"
She didn't really seem interested in Luna's name at all, but she said it anyway. The girl returned it with a dismissive hand gesture before she approached one of the beds and let her index finger wander over the wood. At the same time, another girl strode through the door.
The first thing Luna noticed was the heavy glasses on her tiny nose, which gave this girl an intriguing appearance. The waist-length brown hair curled at the tips and her narrow smile seemed to match the narrow eyes. "Hello."
"Well, now that we're all here, I can get on with it." The girl with the black curls didn't even address the greetings of the others. Instead, she thrust her hands on her hips and raised her chin once more. "My name is Piper Linquist." Momentarily, she pursed her mouth. "And that one over there is Luna."
"Hello." Cautiously, Luna raised her hand, watching as the young witch in the doorway indicated a short bow.
"Rowan White," she introduced herself. Then she walked silently to her own bed, turning her attention directly to the first suitcase.
"By Merlin, one weird and the other mute." With a sigh, Piper dropped onto the bed, took a breath and didn't utter anything for a whole moment. So Luna, too, turned her attention to her things. She opened one of the suitcases, only to pull out a bright green t-shirt with red strawberries on it.
"Where did you get that? From the Muggle old clothes collection?" Piper's voice came up again and Luna turned, her gaze still dreamily fixed on the fabric in her hands.
"Actually, I bought it at a clothing shop."
"I wouldn't have thought of that now," the other groaned, only to roll her eyes. "Honestly, who wears something that ugly? Doesn't your family have class?"
Without further ado, Luna shrugged. "I'm sure we all have one."
"Well, I think it's quite intriguing," Rowan interjected. "It's daring."
"With your collection of grey, I'm not surprised."
"Lights out in fifteen minutes." Out of nowhere, Penelope spoke up. She had taken a brief hold in the doorway before continuing down the corridor to remind the other students of bedtime as well. Silence remained, which lasted for a few moments before they all went about their own routines.
While Luna, with a slight wave of the wand, stowed the clothes in the designated chest, Rowan tied up her hair. Piper, on the other hand, grabbed her sleeping clothes and left the room. A quiet, half-dreamy beat set in, letting Luna pack away what she needed. Among them was the item she had been given by the first guardian, which lingered unnoticed in the chocolate frog box. Laima had simply grabbed it and put it away shortly after the dream. The warning had been clear: she wasn't allowed to look at it, or something would happen that even the sylph didn't know what it was.
She had almost forgotten about it. This little thing that had been placed in her hands to look after without knowing what exactly it was. Even under the T-shirts in the chest, the unknown still seemed to stare at her conspicuously. So the witch closed the box and left the contents behind.
Only then did she turn her attention to the rest of the routine. The same procedure she used at home, in which she washed the daily grind from her face in the bathroom and brushed her teeth. Then came the pyjamas. And shortly after, a hair band she had once received from her mother, which she tied around a strand at her side.
In the few minutes they all had left, they stuck to the rules and found their way to bed on time. Piper was already rubbing her eyes and Rowan fluffed the pillow once more while Luna took one last look around the room.
"Goodnight," she said then, immediately drawing Rowan's attention, who nodded barely noticeably and then lay down. Piper remained silent. So Luna dropped into the pillow, pulled the covers up to her nose and closed her eyes at the same moment the light in the room went out.
The blackness behind the lids caressed her senses. In those seconds she wasn't in a new place, or a strange room, but at home, in her own bed, surrounded by familiar beings to whom she always read a story in the evening. Something she skipped this night. She hadn't yet been able to make friends with any of the creatures of the castle; and she hadn't brought a storybook with her at all.
The sigh on her lips remained mute as the silent cloak of sleep fell over her senses. The world lured her down into a hole, dropped her. Walls were spinning. She could hear her breath in her ears. There was this slight chill that made her hands reach for the blanket.
Fabric that was no longer there.
Instantly, Luna opened her eyelids, only to be greeted by white walls and even whiter tiles.
"From the looks of it, you're already expected." Laima's voice broke through to her and it took a moment before Luna could tilt her head to the side where the air spirit floated detachedly up and down. The green eyes swivelled in the young witch's direction barely a second later. "Ready?"
Luna couldn't help but just look at Laima. Since they had left the train, the sylph had remained in her cloak, hidden next to the wand that kept her safe. She had faded into the background.
Now she seemed like a dream instead.
Only a dream that couldn't harm her.
So she nodded.