Alright, I know it's been much longer than usual, but I've been busier than ever at my job. I'm hoping to get some more time to write soon. For now, enjoy everyone's time on their first day at Hogwarts.
After he woke up from his first night back in the castle, Harry was eager to pack his bags for classes. In addition to his books, Harry tucked his amulet under his robes. Harry quickly checked the amulet; it weakly pointed toward Dumbledore's office, where the locket was likely hidden. He walked down the stairs to get out and grab an early breakfast but stopped when a posse of younger students stood at the entrance. Mostly first and second years, but there were one or two third years.
"Morning, Harry," a third-year said. Harry took a moment to recall her name, Romilda, or something similar. "So, we were talking last night, and we heard a rumor started on the train that you're an animagus."
"Ginny told us you look like a really cute plush toy," another girl giggled.
Harry looked at the back of the group, where Ginny Weasley stood. He looked at her with an expression mixing disappointed and exasperated. Ginny merely blushed and tried to hide her face. Harry slapped his forehead and rubbed his eyes.
"You're not going to leave me alone, are you?" Harry groaned.
"Please?" a first-year asked. "Just show us, please?"
"Sweet Celestia, I thought the mares on the Island of the Returned were bad," Harry muttered. "Fine, you know what? I'm up early, so I'll show you, but then I'm gone."
The girls squealed at Harry's decision. Harry closed his eyes and cast the transformation spell. He dropped to all fours as hooves replaced his hands. His horn grew out of his head, his mane grew, and a tail popped out of him. His clothes vanished while fur replaced them. When the transformation was complete, Harry opened his eyes. A tidal wave of young girls grabbed at Harry like children fighting over their favorite toy, in which case the toy was Harry.
"Oh my gosh!"
"He's like a stuffed animal!"
Harry was passed around like a show-and-tell exhibit by the Gryffindor girls. Some were petting his mane (some more harshly than others) while a few poked and "booped" his nose or horn. It was decidedly worse than Harry had expected. Harry spotted Ron walking out of the dormitories.
"Ron, help!" Harry shouted.
Ron paused, looking at the mess before him, then slowly crept back into his dorm.
Harry sighed irritably. "Alright that's enough!"
Harry's body disappeared in a flash of light as he teleported. Harry looked down from where he stood, then froze. He stood at the top of a staircase in Gryffindor Tower, but the stairs were opposite the guys' dormitories. He was in the girls' dorms, not the guys'! Ponyfeathers. Can this day get any more annoying?
"I think I heard him!" One of the girls in the common room said, her voice echoing up the stairs.
Several of the girls walked up the stairs, where they caught sight of Harry. Thinking quickly, Harry paced a hoof on the staircase. The girls' staircase turns into a slide if a boy goes up them. The whole staircase folded into a slide, causing all the girls to glide down to the bottom. Harry chuckled, not expecting it to be as effective as he had thought. So if I'm at the top, it affects every step below me. I guess they can't get me now. Thank Celestia for little miracles, I guess.
"Harry? How'd you get up here?" Hermione's voice rang out.
Harry spun around to see Hermione and Angelina Johnson standing just outside one of the dorm's doors. They walked forward and glanced down the sloped staircases, where a few disgruntled girls could be heard trying to get up the not-stairs. Harry sighed and transformed, careful to balance with one foot on the slide, keeping his "admirers" far away from him.
"Harry can transfigure himself?" Angelina asked.
"Long story," Harry sighed. He glanced down the slide again. "I should probably go before they find a way up here."
"Are you going to teleport?" Hermione asked.
"Just to the portait, I need to get out of here. I'll see you at breakfast." Harry said.
"We'll come with you," Hermione said. "That works, right?"
Harry nodded and pulled out his wand. He would need that to handle a three-person teleport. Hermione urged Angelina to grab Harry's shoulder, smiling a little too wide. Harry cast the spell, making them reappear in front of the Fat Lady.
"Oh, Harry, one more thing!" Angelina said quickly. She pointed to the badge on her robes. "Listen, I've been made Gryffindor Quidditch Captain. We need a new Keeper now Oliver's left. Tryouts are next Friday at five o'clock and I want the whole team there, all right? Then we can see how the new person'll fit in."
"Yeah. I'll be there as soon as I can."
"Great. You haven't lost us a game yet," Angelina said before she hurried down the hall.
"I forgot Wood left," Hermione noted. "I don't suppose that will change up the team?"
"Definitely." Harry sighed as he walked to the great hall. "He was a good keeper..." Harry looked back at the dormitory and figured he should leave.
I hope Twilight's having a better morning than me.
Twilight woke up feeling refreshed from a good night's sleep. She stretched her hooves and wings out with a yawn. The beds here were very comfy, almost the same as the ones in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, albeit much larger. Twight transformed back into a human and put on a robe Molly had helped her select during a trip to Diagon Ally.
There was a knocking at their door. Twilight walked to the door, opened it, and poked her head out. She was greeted by the sight of Yvonne, and who must've been a few of her friends.
"Good morning," Twilight said as she left the room.
"AH!" one of the girls yelped, surprised by Twilght's introduction. Twilight covered her ears, surprised by the sound.
"Becky, calm down!" Yvonne scolded the girl. "It's just Twilight the new teaching assistant, remember?"
"Oh, yeah," the girl, Becky, said. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting you to be so... purple."
"Yeah, you're purple. Is that normal?" Another girl gestured at Twilight.
Twilight looked at her hand. My illusion must've worn off again. How'd I not notice that? I was sure I had it permanent this time! I need to keep better track of this spell, I'll just have to refresh it.
"Tomoko! You just can't ask why someone's purple!" Yvonne exclaimed.
"I'm sorry, I forgot this wears off." Twilight waved a hand over her face, reapplying the illusion to her skin, removing the purple color tones that were definitely not human. Twilight turned to the new girl and offered her hands. "So, are you all friends of Yvonne?"
"Yep," Yvonne said. "This is Becky Arncliffe and Tomoko Kajiwara."
"Hello," Becky said.
"Hi." Tomoko said, shaking Twilight's hand. "So... if you don't mind me asking... Why was your skin purple? I mean, human skin tones barely reach pink. It could be a jinx, but that's incredibly mundane for a permanent condition. Do you have any nonhuman blood by any chance?"
"It's just natural for me," Twilight explained. "I forgot that my illusion wore off."
"So you're not human? Or, rather, not always human?" Tomoko asked.
"Most of the time. It makes conversation easier," Twilight shrugged.
"Wait, so if you're not human..." Yvonne murmured. The girl then broke out into giggles. "Wait until those pure-blooded hypocrites downstairs realize one the new teaching assistants ain't a wizard!"
"I doubt they're all bad," Twilight said. "I doubt everybody there's as bad as Malfoy."
"Well, there are some good ones, but it doesn't take long before they're ostracized or indoctrinated," Tomoko said.
"I'm sure there's some good there," Twilight declared firmly. "So, what're you three doing here, doesn't breakfast start soon?"
"We were wondering if you'd like to talk about magic," Yvonne said. "Everything you talk about is so fascinating. If you want to talk, that is."
Twilight smirked. These Ravenclaws students were like students at Celestia's school; Twilight didn't have a chance to make friends there, but maybe they'd have a good chance.
Sunset was a light sleeper, always had been. In Canterlot she rose with the light of Celestia's sun, and in the mirror world was up at the crack of dawn every day. And she was up and at it, ready to take on the world. That was probably why Sunset felt so tied when she woke up in the room she'd been assigned; it felt like a perpetual state of night, what with all the ambient dark magic in the dungeons. A few minutes later, she stumbled out of her room with a large yawn, dressed and refreshed but hardly looking or feeling it. I hope wizards have coffee at breakfast, Celestia knows I need that stuff right now. Sunset walked into the hallway outside, to find it devoid of people. Good, I don't want to talk until I've got something to eat.
Sunset continued walking from her room toward the Great Hall until she heard someone shout her name.
"Sunset!"
Sunset recognized the voice as belonging to that younger girl from last night, Penelope Padgett. Sunset stopped walking, tried to put on a more alert face, and turned around. Two girls followed Penelope. The first had an almost sickly appearance, with unnaturally pale skin contrasting her black hair. The second girl resembled the first, albeit looking significantly healthier and a little older.
"Morning, Sunset!" Penelope said with more energy than she had any right to. She bounded over to Sunset with matching zeal, only to pause an arm's length away, her expression turning to concern. "Hey, are you okay? You look sick."
"Just tired," Sunset replied, trudging toward the exit. "Just get me some coffee and I'll be right as rain."
"No, I mean, you look really sick. Your skin's yellow." Penelope reached for Sunset's hand and raised it. True to her word, Sunset's hand was bright yellow. Not this again, Twilight said it was permanent. I guess I should've inspected the spell a bit closer.
"Is it a blood curse?" the sickly-looking girl asked. The elder one gently jabbed her with an elbow. Sunset glanced at the girl with a raised eyebrow; she wilted and looked terribly embarrassed. "Don't worry, we won't tell anyone. I understand if you don't want to talk."
"Not, it's perfectly normal," Sunset said, taking her hand back from Penelope and replacing her illusion. "See?"
"Are you cursed with yellow skin?" Penelope inquired, trailing behind Sunset. "You should have Madame Pomfrey check that out—"
"Penelope!" the same girl scolded her. "You should know better!"
Penelope's eyes widened. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to—"
"It's fine, trust me," Sunset said to Penelope. She looked at the new girls and extended her hand to shake. "I'm Sunset Shimmer. And you are?"
"Astoria Greengrass," the girl, Astoria, introduced herself.
"Daphne Greengrass, her older sister," the other girl said. She jabbed her elbow into Penelope's side. "I'm sorry about her. She should know better than to ask about other people's blood curses."
"Blood curses?" Sunset asked. She pointed at her skin. "You mean this? It's natural, everybody back home is like this. A rainbow of pastel colors, it's perfectly normal."
"Oh, I suppose I've been rather rude, haven't I?" Penelope said with an embarrassed blush on her cheeks.
Sunset chuckled at the look on her face. "Don't sweat it, kid. As I said, it's natural for where I come from." She turned around to walk backward up the stairs that led to the exit of the dungeons.
"So it's not a blood curse?" Astoria asked, looking let down.
Sunset was rather confused. Why would she be disappointed someone wasn't cursed? Unless... she wanted something to have in common, Sunset realized.
"You have one, don't you?" Sunset asked quietly.
Astoria nodded.
"I'd appreaciate it if you didn't tell anyone," Daphne said. "It's an open secret, but it's not something to talk about. I don't kow how it works where you're from, but talking about them is considered..."
"Rude, I get it," Sunset replied. "So, why were you looking for me?"
"I've been thinking about your question," Penelope said. "And I don't know. I'm going to see if the library has anything about it."
"You really want to know that spell, huh?" Sunset asked.
Penelope shook her head.
"No. It just... made me think. I don't have an answer, but I want to know what you think."
"I don't have one," Sunset replied, much to the three girls surprise. "I wanted you to think critically. The answer doesn't matter as much as the question. Anyways, I'm planning to join Twilight and Harry for breakfast; why don't you two join us?" Sunset offered with a smile.
"Join? You mean to sit at another table?" Daphnee asked.
"Is that not allowed?" Sunset replied.
"It's a point of pride with Slytherin, the informal rules against the "lesser" houses. Don't sit with them, don't let them sit with us, don't let them in our common room, and a few others." Penelope listed a few "informal rules" of Slytherin.
"You sound like you don't like the rest of your house," Sunset remarked.
"We're not all bad," Penelope said. "Astoria's an okay one." Astoria looked somewhat offended by this comment. "Most of them have a massive superiority complex. Their ambitions are for themselves. We don't want the same things."
"What do you want?" Sunset asked.
"I want to be better, and I'm willing to do anything I need to get there."
"Whatever?" Sunset echoed.
"Now anything, anything! I mean, we all have limits; I don't want to hurt anyone," Penelope quickly corrected herself.
Sunset chuckled slightly. Is that what a good Slytherin could look like? Sunset and the other three walked up the last set of stairs to the great hall at the exact time two other groups arrived. Twilight and three other girls arrived, chatting idly. Harry also arrived, Ron and Hermione at his side. The three groups paused, stunned at the timing; they all arrived at the same time.
"Morning, Twilight! How'd you sleep?" Harry said, walking up to his friend.
"Great. I gave them a scare with my skin, but otherwise fine."
Harry rolled his eyes at Twilight's indirect antics. He reached for her hand as they continued to the great hall.
"Well, I had something similar. A bunch of girls ambushed me and said I looked like a stuffed animal. I'm glad no one snuck up on me in my sleep."
"Speaking of sleep, Sunset, what happened to you?" Twilight asked.
Harry had to resist the urge to laugh at Sunset. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes had heavy bags under them. She looked like she'd crawled out of bed half-dead.
"The dungeons. I can practically feel residual dark magic down there. Threw off my whole sleeping pattern."
"Yeah, Slytherin's not known for... keeping themselves in check," said the girl who followed Sunset.
Two of Twilight's friends split off to join the Ravenclaw table, but the girl with glasses and scarlet hair stayed. The same happened with Sunset, with the Greengrass sisters going to their table. The group sat down at the end of the Gryffindor table, despite the odd looks they got from some nearby students. Harry sat next to Twilight while Ron and Hermione sat across from them. Sunset and her friend sat next to Twilight, while the last Ravenclaw girl sat across from Twilight.
"Why don't we all introduce each other?" Twilight said while everyone loaded their plates.
Everyone went around the table, quickly stating their names for the group. Twilight's friend was Yvonne Bampton, a seventh year, and Sunset's was Penelope Padgett, a third year.
"So, you're making friends with Slytherin? Bet everyone's all the same, talking about their parents," Ron noted, his mouth stuffed with food.
"Ron!" Twilight scolded.
Harry agreed with her irritation, and not only because he was obligated to back her up. He hated Slytherins as much as the next Gryffindor, but Sunset was just walking with them.
"What?" Ron said, incredulous.
"No, he's right, mostly," Sunset admitted. "Everyone was sucking up to the talented assistant. The first thing that happened was Malfoy 'introducing' himself to me. You should've seen them when I told them I spent time at a muggle school, he looked ready to drop dead. I kind of want to tell him that I'm not a normal human."
"Wait, she knows? Why?" Hermione exclaimed, pointing at the other Slytherin.
"Honesty is a good policy with friends. You should try it," Sunset snarked lightly.
"Well if you ever do tell him, take me with you; I'd like to see that myself," Harry said.
The rest of the breakfast passed quickly enough, and then they had to get assigned classes. The head of each house handed out schedules for each student's classes for the year. His was a little bizarre. Harry, unfortunately, had two potion blocks and a double Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry wasn't sure what to do about any of this. He liked Defense Against the Dark Arts, but abhorred Snape. On the other hand, Harry's dislike of Potions might've come from Snape's presence, and this Slughorn fellow seemed decent enough. While Harry was comparing his schedules with Hermione's and Ron's he noticed Dumbledore walking up to their group.
"Ah, I was hoping to find you all together," Dumbledore said, gesturing at their group. He fished two papers out of his robes. "Miss, Shimmer, Miss, Sparkle. I've taken the liberty of creating some hours this week for you to help students." He handed the two papers over to the girls, who opened and read them.
"What's this 'ancient studies' note?" Sunset asked.
"That would be the ongoing research you two will be conducting on particular artifacts of my choosing. Those will be taken up in my office on days of my choosing. I think your unique skills will be most helpful." Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes. He left the hall immediately after.
Harry knew what Dumbledore was talking about, they would (probably) be investigating the horcrux or anything of similar nature. Equestrian magic had contained one before, they might be able to help with the rest. If anyone could help, it would be Twilight.
"What was that about?" Hermione asked.
"If I were to guess, it would be those things I told you about, the ones like my scar. Dumbledore's working on a project," Harry said. He checked his schedule. "Ponyfeathers, we got a history of magic today."
Well, I guess Twilight will have a better day than I will.
History of Magic is the most boring class in Hogwarts, all things considered. But, hey, there's no risk of death in that class at least. I'll do my best to update in a timely manner as soon as I can.