CHAPTER ONE
THE SORTING CEREMONY
Somewhere deep in the highlands of Northern Scotland, where hills of green rolled like wind-driven waves in a great earthen ocean, the Hogwarts Express chugged along as though powered not by steam, but magic. The train was a dart of crimson, and all of the occupants nestled comfortably inside of its hull watched the hills outside pass by in a whizz as they barreled on towards Hogwarts castle. Some faces wore expressions of glee, some uncertainty, but most seemed indifferent.
Albus Dumbledore was one of the uncertain faces staring out of its rain-speckled windows. He had heard many good things about Hogwarts from his family, but he dreaded the prospect of leaving them behind at Godric's Hollow to deal with the circumstances which had so recently rocked their world.
He cursed the timing of it all under his breath. Surely he could've had just a little more time to prepare his mother for his absence? Even an extra day to reassure his little sister, Ariana, that he would be back as soon as he could. The letter inviting him to the school was crystal-clear regarding the start of term, however, and that coupled with mother's insistence was enough to keep him moving forward towards Hogwarts. Albus pushed away the painful thoughts of family trauma and refocused his gaze on the Scottish Highlands. Before long they would all be looking upon the castle itself.
Albus didn't utter a single word from the moment he had crossed the magical barrier at Platform 9 to the time the train jolted to a stop at Hogsmeade Station. No one had entered the compartment he had made his own either, and he was ok with that. Though he desired to make friends at Hogwarts he felt more concerned with finding his place at the school before getting ahead of himself with developing friendships. With that in mind Albus opened the sliding door of his compartment and filed out into the narrow hallway full of others searching for their bags, pets, and a proper footing.
He had purchased an owl himself; a male named Barnabas with dark brown wings and snowy white feathers to fill out the rest, and a somewhat raucous personality which he had only recently had the chance to interact with following its purchase at Diagon Alley the day before. He kept him contained in his cage, which he had tied and secured to the top of his trunk and wheeled alongside him as the line of students allowed. Beyond the train a voice could be heard calling orders.
"First years! First years, gather to me! Everyone else carry on, but don't carry any of the first years with ya!" The man was short with a thick, stocky build and big round ears. He had a misshapen nose and two competing rows of yellow rotten teeth which he flashed lovingly at anyone close enough to see. Albus noted his large head and hands in comparison to the rest of his body, which was slightly smaller or shorter than he thought was probably average.
After a minute or two a surprisingly large congregation of what appeared to be first years were all amassed together as they waited for further instruction. Albus looked at the faces around him and was somewhat relieved to see the uncertainty and nerves that he himself felt. At least he wouldn't be alone in that regard.
"Right then," the man said. It seemed some were discovering that he was the gamekeeper. "This way." Albus and the other first year students followed while their trunks, bags, and pets were taken by others to be taken up to the castle separately.
It seemed the gamekeeper was a man of few words, yet maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. When Albus was growing up he often found that trait to be an annoying one in Ariana, but now he understood that it was just her nature. She was reserved and slow to speak. Albus had been trying to be that way too, if not for his own sake than certainly for the sake of others.
"Err— watch it! That's my foot," one of the students said as Albus stepped forward a bit too hastily.
"Sorry," he said. An excited symphony of footsteps and chatter began to flutter amongst them all. Just over the hill in front of them, framed against a darkening haze of purple and orange, Albus spotted the formidable and impressive castle of Hogwarts.
A sea of lights danced and intermingled against the night sky. Stars twinkled in the foreground and the moonlight beaming just above the tallest tower of the castle shone down on the lake below, casting a shimmering glow on its beautifully peaceful surface. He could see now that that's where they were headed, as below the gamekeeper was corralling the students into a multitude of small boats docked on the shoreline.
The ride over the lighted surface of the black lake was his first true glimpse of the magic of Hogwarts. He may not have had much in life up to this point; a father in Azkaban, a brother lost in his anger with very little hope in his spirit, a sister entirely withdrawn into the unfortunate circumstances surrounding her trauma and the self-blame that accompanied it, and their mother left behind to tackle it all alone— but at least he had this. Albus felt a wave of shame wash over him. Why should enjoy such experiences while his family was forced to endure back home? Once again he felt the inner turmoil of his heart pulling in opposite directions.
Before long they had all disembarked from the boats and were taken on a slow but steady trek up the face of the sloped lawns surrounding the castle. They entered into the torchlit interior where the castle took on a new life of its own; large corridors with amazingly high ceilings, intricately made archways, beautifully lit and sconced with torches from one end to the other. Albus had never seen anything like it, and judging by the looks on the faces of the other students around him, neither had they.
Before long the gamekeeper had vanished and they found themselves grouping together at the top of a staircase before the matronly-looking figure of a red-haired, middle-aged woman with rosy cheeks and an endearing flood of freckles. Albus noted the dark robes she confidently donned and its contrast against her pale complexion.
"Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! My name is Professor Weasley. I am the Professor of Transfiguration here at Hogwarts, a lesson you'll all become very familiar with over the course of the school year, and which I will be most pleased to teach you! As we speak, all of the rest of the students are awaiting your arrival this evening in the Great Hall where you will be sorted into your houses. As I'm sure you all may well be aware, the four houses of Hogwarts are the following: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. When the time is right, I will guide you all through these doors behind me to see you sorted, and then the feast shall be allowed to begin! In the meantime however you will stand here and wait for my signal."
Professor Weasley spun on her heels and disappeared discretely beyond the great doors separating them and the rest of the school. As Albus tried to listen closely for any other sounds that could be heard from within the Great Hall, he heard instead the buzz of anticipation from those who stood around him. Looking to his right, he noticed a boy with an unnatural green hue and ugly pockmarks written into his skin. Albus noticed the others were keeping their distance from the boy, likely out of fear that whatever was wrong with him was contagious. He felt a ping of sympathy for him, and decided to approach and provide some sense of comfort.
"Albus. Albus Dumbledore," he offered, holding out a hand. The boy, seemingly shaken by his attempt at friendliness, took his hand and shook it vigorously.
"Elphias Doge! Pleased to meet you. Are you mad?" Elphias was just a touch shorter than Albus and had a round, bulbous nose and reddish-brown hair.
Albus laughed. "Maybe I am. I'll let others decide that for themselves. Is it Dragon Pox, by the way?"
Elphias Doge nodded his head ashamedly. "I've just been released from St. Mungo's this morning. It's the after-effects now. I'm not contagious anymore! Just in time for the start of school; I couldn't have been any luckier!"
Albus appreciated Elphias' optimism. The other students nearby who weren't entirely lost in their own conversations seemed to relax upon hearing the news of their safety in proximity to the boy, and their absolute bewilderment at Albus' willingness to take a chance and approach in the first place.
In an instant, almost as quickly as Elphias' spark-inducing sneezes had burned away the eyebrows of an unfortunately placed student standing nearby, Professor Weasley returned with a scroll in hand and an expectant smile spreading across her face. "Follow me!"
Albus and Elphias followed the rest of the students behind Professor Weasley. The great doors separating the Entrance Hall and the Great Hall swung open before them, casting a wide ray of light onto their eager faces. Four long tables packed with students on either side dominated Albus' view upon entering the hall. Elphias tilted his head up at the ceiling and let out a noise that indicated awe. The ceiling looked as though it wasn't even there, like a large gaping hole existed to allow the night sky above to shine down upon them.
At the end of the Great Hall professor Weasley stopped and turned around to face them. Albus took note of all the older faces staring at them. He was sure he was imagining it but— were they all staring at him? He couldn't quite tell. Upon the professor's dais not a seat remained empty, and Albus was sure he spied out the Headmaster of the school when a middle-aged wizard with black hair and black robes caught his eye near the end of the dais. Besides Albus, Elphias seemed to shudder at the sight of the Headmaster, as though he too sensed something off about the man.
"Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The start-of-term feast will be beginning very shortly, but before you take your seats you will be sorted into your houses. As I said earlier, the four houses of Hogwarts are as follows: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. I trust that you will find that those who are in your house will be like your family. With that said, when I call your name please step forward and I will place the hat upon your head." Professor Weasley gave her speech in a way that suggested it was the same every year, and likely it was.
Albus watched with jittery nerves as the students around him slowly began to be picked off one-by-one from the long scroll from which Professor Weasley called names to be sorted into their new house. With each student came a brief speech by the hat, the name of a house, and a chorus of applause from the corresponding table.
"Elphias Doge," Weasley said, lifting her gaze up from the scroll to watch the green-skinned boy totter up to her side. The sorting hat was placed upon his head and Elphias sat with baited breath as he waited to hear where he belonged. The hat delayed a moment longer and then, "Gryffindor!" A round of cheers went up from the table of Gryffindor students immediately to Albus' right.
Only a few names later and Professor Weasley called the name, "Albus Dumbledore."
Albus stepped up to take his place beneath the hat, unsure how such an object, no matter its given name, could possibly be qualified to sort him into the house he would belong to for the next seven years. Far too late to be asking the question seriously, he resigned himself to the way things were and took his seat on the chair in front of him. He felt the hat rest easily on his crown, and awaited the answer the hat saw fit to give. For a moment he found himself hoping he would be sorted into the same house Elphias had been; the boy seemed nice enough and talking to him came naturally as well. After what seemed like an eternity the hat began to speak, but not what Albus had been expecting.
"Exceptional, yes.. truly exceptional! They say bright minds are made at Hogwarts, yet perhaps it is Hogwarts that will be made brighter by a thinker such as yourself. I sense wisdom, courage, kindness, and love amongst many other things. Are you daring, or loyal, or intelligent, or clever? Perhaps you'll outgrow them all, but only time shall tell. Very well then — Gryffindor!"
The lengthy speech was met with an explosion of applause from the Gryffindor table. Elphias was amongst those who seemed to celebrate the loudest. Albus took up a seat next to his new friend to watch the rest of the sorting ceremony.
The last name called upon was Marthe Visiegny, who was sorted into Hufflepuff house and joined their table with haste. There was a short period of awkward silence before the man Albus correctly guessed to be the Headmaster stepped up to the podium to address the hall.
"Well I would do my best to give an invigorating and inspiring speech for your sake, but it seems we are behind schedule on tonight's proceedings. As Headmaster, ultimate authority here at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I reserve the right to warn you to adhere to the strict standards of moral conduct expected here at the school. This is not a place of fun, but of learning. If you wish to succeed here than it would be better for you to treat it as the latter, and to abhor the former," Headmaster Phineas Regulus Black said. He took a few brief seconds to scan the crowd of students looking up at him. "Yes, well — best get to it then. Let the feast begin." Just as briefly as he had appeared he was then gone, and a wide variety of different kinds of food suddenly popped into existence in front of them. Albus and Elphias were just as amazed as any first year was, and both eagerly began to fill their dish.
Albus learned that Elphias had a deep interest in studying and caring for magical creatures. It was a field that he was no doubt interested in as well. Come to think of it, Albus wasn't sure there was any magical subject that didn't sound appealing to him. Whether it be charms, potion-making, or anything else, all offered Albus a chance to learn and make him a better wizard every day.
"What sorts of magical creatures interest you most?"
Elphias Doge tore away with vicious hunger the meat off of a chicken bone. "Mooncalves, dragons, fwoopers, just to name a few. I have experience with many different creatures, even dragons, but still I find fwoopers to be the most terrifying!"
Albus stifled laughter through a mouthful of mashed potatoes. "What's so scary about a fwooper? The name alone seems quite unimposing."
"It's the eyes," Elphias said with no hesitation. "I'd rather stare down the mouth of a dragon than endure the cold dead eyes of a fwooper."
After close to an hour of talking with or listening to many of his new housemates the prefects were directed to escort the new first years to their common rooms. The prefects for Gryffindor House were Jarred Snidegrass and Margaret Burchley, who both took the opportunity to call out to the new students of their house. Albus joined the others in following the prefects out of the Great Hall, through the Entrance Hall, up the many moving and unpredictable magical staircases of the castle, all the way up to the seventh floor corridor where the portrait of the fat lady hung awaiting their arrival. Jarred waited until most of the first year Gryffindor were lined up directly behind him, and then he turned around and delivered a password for entry: "Jelly Slugs."
Albus watched in amazement as the portrait swung open to reveal a small entryway into another room. He filed in with the rest to discover the warm and inviting atmosphere of the Gryffindor common room, where plush crimson furniture blended with walls dominated by lion tapestries and a great fire that offered comfort to any who should sit near to it. Albus had never seen such a place before.
"You'll find your school schedules and supplies, as well as your personal belongings and any pets you may have up in the sleeping quarters. That will be just best beyond this door here, and up the staircase immediately following," Margaret Burchley informed them all. Many older students were already settling in, and Albus soon found it was preferable to get to bed early so as to get more than enough sleep to meet the morning with confidence. Though he didn't say it, Elphias seemed to be thinking exactly the same. They both ascended the staircase and entered a circular room decorated with many unoccupied beds..
"Ugly bed hangings!" Elphias pushed aside the red curtains surrounding his bed and plopped down in it as though the two had been separated for an unbearably long period of time. Albus agreed with his new friend's assessment and did the same. Before his head even had a chance to hit his pillow he found the warm and deep embrace of peaceful sleep.