The children take the train to school and spend their first night in the castle, Neville Longbottom has the best day of his life, a touching reunion is had in Gryffindor tower, and a scandal is aired in the dungeons
As Thorfinn followed the little firstie onto the train, he wondered what sort of trouble she could possibly be in to have gotten his father's entire legal team working all night trying to sort it. Tootsie had told him she was a real Lady of a noble house, but she looked like any other eleven year old boarding the express. Although… no, her eyes were a little too mischievous. He wasn't terribly older than her, he was only starting third year himself, but he was sure she looked far too knowing to be just any other firstie. She was different somehow. He was going to find out.
As he ducked past rowdy students heaving their trunks and animal cages up onto luggage racks, he nearly tripped over the obnoxious older Weasley that was standing in the middle of the walkway acting like a pompous little junior conductor. He rolled his eyes at the way the officious bloody ponce seemed to think he owned the damn train, whoever had decided to make him prefect this year was a grade-O industrial strength nutter. Looking around himself, he gave the prat a swift kick in the shin as he shoved past him.
He caught sight of the girl and her brother up ahead, and was surprised to see them head into a compartment with Weasley's younger siblings and the Malfoy brat. Quite the mixed company. He leaned against the opposite door and listened for a minute, even more surprised to hear snatches of hushed Danish from inside. His eyes widened at what he could make out of the girl and her brother's conversation.
Her voice reached his ears first "-og du kommer aldrig til at tro, hvad Ófnir fortalte mig i aftes, det var sindssygt. Der er åbenbart profetier om os! Skæbne og skæbne, det er latterligt" [-and you'll never believe what Ófnir told me last night, it was insane. Apparently there are prophecies about us! Fate and destiny, it's ridiculous]
"Du spøger - profetier om os? Men vi er bare børn!" [You're joking - prophecies about us? But we're just kids!]
"Ja! Jeg ved, det er vanvittigt. Han sagde, at hans forfædre i det gamle Island bragte historier om dem herover, når de kom. Der kommer en form for katastrofe, vi skal forhindre. Hold da op, jeg sagde for meget, nogen lytter..." [Yes! I know, it's crazy. He said his ancestors in old Iceland brought stories of them over here when they came. There's going to be some kind of disaster we have to prevent. Hang on, I said too much, someone is listening…]
He startled where he stood, straightening up and narrowing his eyes as the pocket door rattled open with a slam. He was certain he hadn't made a sound, how in Salazar's name had she known he was there? He tried to affect a casual air, but failed utterly as her gaze passed over him.
She stood in the doorway to the compartment, tiny of body and huge of hair, and her eyes found his instantaneously. They held an intensity he hadn't ever seen on another child before, and he felt a sudden jolt of fear zip up his spine. It was as if one of his parents had just leveled their sternest gaze his way - if he hadn't already been flat against a wall he'd have reared back. He would have sworn for half a second he'd seen those grey eyes glow molten silver, but that had to have been a trick of the fall morning light.
With a slight flare of her nostrils, the ferocious expression fell from her face and her mouth curled up into a sweet cherubic little smile. She beckoned him to come closer with a pointed tilt of her head, and as if in a trance he followed blindly and dumbly as she made her way back inside. She sat next to another dark haired child and the Malfoy brat, and on the bench across from them were altogether too many redheaded Weasleys. The previously loud and boisterous compartment was suddenly silent as the other children stared at him.
He squeezed in next to her, and patted his robes down, pulling out the letter for her. He cleared his throat "Sorry for eavesdropping, I was looking for you. I'm Thorfinn, and this is from my father, Asmund Rowle. I'm to tell you that he's been working on your request since the moment he received your owl last night" he said as he handed it over to her.
She grinned as she took it, and then to his utter shock she twisted her wrist and a razor sharp inch long claw popped out of the tip of her index finger. She pulled it along the seam of the envelope, casually and effortlessly cutting it open like he'd seen his father do a million times in his study with his own letter opener. Before he could even blink the claw had disappeared, and her little hand was back to normal.
He nearly slid off the bench when his mind caught up and put it together. Hermione Greyback. Glowing eyes. Claws erupting from her hands like nothing doing. This little girl was a fucking werewolf. His simple animal instincts told him to press up against the wall of the compartment as far away as he could get from her, but his body froze instead. He stared at her and began to hyperventilate as she read the letter from his father as if nothing was the matter.
The twins that were in his year glared at him rudely "She's just a kid, mate. Don't overthink it" one scolded, and his doppelgänger nodded in agreement. He felt heat rise to his face. As much as he didn't want to engage with the notoriously mischievous twins, his pride had been called into question "A kid who happens to be a werewolf?" He shot back petulantly, not missing the hurt looks that came over her and her brother's faces that they quickly hid.
He hesitated for a second, realizing he'd angered all the other children in the compartment. His curiosity got the better of him, and though he felt like he was digging his own grave he couldn't help but ask "How did you even get invited to Hogwarts, I thought dark creatures weren't allowed to attend. Is that what my dad's helping you with? Did you have to appeal the board of governor's to get a place at the school?"
Whatever hurt or anger she was feeling, the girl's face gained a thoughtful expression "You can do that? I guess it'll be our next move then to try and get the others here" she said, addressing her brother rather than him, even though it had been his question. He felt a pang of annoyance at being ignored "What others, do you mean to say there are more of you filthy half-breeds trying to get into our school?" He asked thoughtlessly, only realizing how very undiplomatic his question was after it had already left his mouth.
This time she fully scowled at him, lips curled back and brow furrowed in disgust "How dare you, get out! I don't owe you answers about our home life just because your father is in my employment" she hissed at him, rising from her seat and cornering him against the door of the compartment. He noticed with a spiraling panic that the teeth in her mouth looked sharper than they had a moment ago and he scrambled desperately for the handle of the door behind him, pulling it open as soon as his fingers got a grip on it and sprinting out and away without a second thought.
He didn't give two bronze knuts if she was an important client or not, his dad could get stuffed. He'd just come face to face with a bloody werewolf.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Ron sat a bit dumbfoundedly between his older brothers, unsure of what to say to comfort his cousins. It was immediately apparent to him that neither of them had the slightest idea of just how frightening most of the other students would likely find them. He had spent the last eight months getting to know the sweet and funny children he now considered his best friends and they still absolutely terrified him out of his mind sometimes without even meaning to.
He made eye contact with Draco, who he knew had a harder time than him or any of his siblings getting used to the idea of being friends with a pair of werewolves. Even that spoiled snot-nosed prat had never called them dark creatures or half-breeds, and it occurred to him that they should have perhaps made more concerted of an effort to warn them of just how extreme the general reaction to their wolfishness might be. The blonde's eyes were wide and a bit guilty, and he knew the prat was thinking the same thing.
His brothers beat him to the action before he could even open his mouth "We'll find a way to fill his bed with frogspawn" one said confidently "Yeah, Malfoy junior over there can help us sneak into the Slytherin dorms to do it" the other intoned cheerfully. Hermione smiled but her eyes were tight and her lips stayed covering her teeth in a way that told him they hadn't shrunk back down yet. She leaned her head against Harry's shoulder, who rubbed his hand over her opposite arm "Who even was that tosser?" He asked mildly.
She sniffed and wiped at the corners of her eyes with her sleeve "That's one of the things I was going to tell you a bit more privately but… after how upset dad was last night I sent a letter to the black family solicitor and asked him to help dad make sure his custody of you is all legal. I wanted to give him some peace of mind and help him feel better about us being gone. This is a letter back from him, apparently that was his son he had deliver it for him" she picked it up off the floor where it had gotten stepped on, and after her brother had given it a look they passed it around for the rest of them to take turns reading.
Dated the 31st of August, 1991
From the Desk of Asmund Rowle Esq.
Law Offices of Rowle & Associates
Diagon Alley, London
Lady Black,
Where to begin? Thank you for reaching out to me, I am more than happy to help you take care of this matter. Custody law is one of my specialties, and I am well versed in what we will need going forward to resolve it to your family's satisfaction. You are correct that I am the official solicitor for the House of Black, but unfortunately I haven't worked in that capacity for a while. Your family vaults have already paid the annual fee for my retainer, and I have arranged a daily rate with your accounts manager Gornuk.
My entire legal team is working overnight to set up a second office in Hogsmeade. My immediate first step once that is complete will be making sure the correct parchments were filed for your brother's adoption, and correcting that if they were not. This will be our biggest stumbling block going forward if it isn't done or was done incorrectly, and seeing to it will give your father ironclad protection in the eyes of the law.
I will investigate, and interview both your father and Mr Lupin as you suggested. Thank you for that lead by the way, I anticipate getting nearly everything I need from the two of them. I will contact you again as soon as I have more information to share. Please be reassured that I am working on this and you and your family are not on your own. I am in your corner.
Have a wonderful first day of school, and do enjoy the train ride. I will approach your father gently, have no fear of that.
Asmund Rowle Esquire
In the service of the House of Black
Ron felt a brief spike of jealousy that she was able to so easily have adults beg and scrape for her favor, but it faded quickly as he reminded himself that she wasn't just a normal kid like them. It was really only fair that adults treated her like one of them when she had adult responsibilities she had to take care of. She was good at them too, if this morning's little kerfuffle wasn't counted. If he had gotten a fortune and a noble title dropped into his lap like she had, the first thing he'd done certainly wouldn't have been to think of family members he'd never even met before.
Across from them, he heard Draco inhale sharply as he read it "This is really good, Hermione. Rowle's one of the absolute best in the business, I've heard father call him a shark and that's saying something! Oh and supposedly he's never lost a single case. He actually successfully countersued his own clients for ignoring a legal will when grandmother Druella tried to bring charges against Aunt Andromeda over the inheritance she received from your grandfather Alphard, it was totally unheard of at the time!" He said, making his eyes extra wide.
The girl giggled, and it was a relief to everyone in the compartment "Listen to you tell us as if we weren't all there when she shared that story over Easter" she snarked back at him, and he sniffed imperiously and turned to his eagle owl's cage to give the mean thing a treat "The thanks I get for trying to cheer a friend up!" he muttered under his breath, to all of their laughter. Rolling her eyes, she leaned back and smiled, and this time it was genuine and her teeth were back to normal "Thank you Draco, that does help" she said softly.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
A bit later there was a knock at the door of their compartment so quiet the humans didn't hear it at all. Her and Harry did a quick rock paper scissors to see who would answer it, and she lost and swore mildly. She stood and was about to open it, but caught a whiff of nearly unadulterated humiliation unlike anything she had ever smelled before. She turned baffled back to her brother with a searching look on her face and he sniffed in deeply, making the others go quiet. He gagged, clearly smelling what she did, but had no helpful knowledge she didn't already possess, and shrugged with a grimace.
She opened the door as gently as possible, putting on as welcoming a smile as she could "Yes, hello?" She asked the boy standing in the hall outside of their compartment. He was a little chubby, but clean and well dressed with soft brown hair and eyes. He was trembling like a little leaf, and was drenched in the thick and unpleasantly sour scent of anxiety. She'd have only guessed that he was a bit nervous if she hadn't had her ears and nose to rely on. Thankfully her exceptional hearing told her that his heart was jackrabbiting in his chest so hard she almost wanted to call the conductor to summon a healer for him. She wished she had a calming drought she could give him.
The boy stood staring at her having something akin to a prey response, and she wanted more than anything to comfort him and take some of his fear away. She clasped her hands in front of her so he could see they were unoccupied "Can I help you with something?" She asked as gently and warmly as possible. He relaxed just the slightest bit and she saw his shoulders physically lower a fraction of an inch, she considered it a win even though he was still tense. Timidly, he met her gaze and cleared his throat "H-hello… I-I'm Neville Longbottom, and I w-w-was wondering if- erm if y-you've per- perhaps s-s-seen my toad?" He fought to get out, and as sad as she was for how scared he was, she was proud of him.
"Did he get out of his cage while you were loading your things into the overhead compartment?" She asked conversationally, only trying to get him to open up a bit more, but to her dismay his face crumpled "I kn-kn- erm, well I know he should've been in his tank… B-but it's put away in my trunk and I d-d… I didn't want him to… to get scared in the dark" he finished a bit pathetically, volume at nearly a whisper and sounding absolutely miserable. Her heart ached for this boy, and unthinkingly she reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder as lightly as she could, giving him what she hoped was a comforting little squeeze. He jolted like he'd been struck by lightning, and his eyes flung open wide, but he made no move to get away.
"That was really very thoughtful of you, honestly! I don't think toads get scared of the dark so he probably would have been fine in your trunk, but I get the impression that most people don't care much about their pets feelings like that and it shows a lot of compassion that you did. Have you seen all the poor owls in their tiny little cages? I know I'd much rather spread my wings and fly ahead to the school than ride on a train if I were a bird! Oh but you're toad, right. So if you don't mind me asking, where was he if he wasn't in his tank?" She asked, keeping her voice light and her tone easy breezy. Support and comfort, nothing to fear here.
The boy was staring at her completely slack jawed, and she was starting to wonder if she had said the wrong thing when he blurted out "It's all my fault, I had him in my pocket like a silly twit and he's probably fallen out somewhere and gotten stepped on" he moaned, covering his face with his hands. She realized then that he might not have been exactly as fearful as she had initially thought, some of the sour smell on him could possibly be explained away if he had really been holding a toad in his hands. She relaxed fractionally, the smell and his elevated heart rate combined had painted a rather grim picture. He must just be a very nervous person.
She thought about his predicament for a good moment, not wanting to upset him more than he already was, but deciding there was something terribly sweet about him that she felt inexplicably drawn to "I can help you find your toad, but it might be a little strange and I don't want to scare you" she said only just loud enough for him to hear. He looked up at her with hope shining in his eyes "You couldn't possibly scare me" he rushed out, and then the tips of his ears blushed beet red and his eyes shut briefly in mortification. "I just mean… You seem very kind" he said, and she bit her lip to avoid giggling. She didn't want him to think she was laughing at him.
She looked both ways down the hall to make sure no one else was around to see, and grabbed his hand and pulled it to her nose. She closed her eyes in concentration and sniffed in deeply, getting every scent she could off of him. There was surprisingly little of the grubby unwashed smell she'd come to associate with boys in general, and an overwhelming smell of dirt and earth and green things. She let out a bright laugh that echoed down the hallway - he was a gardener! Of course he had a toad, everything she'd read suggested that they were excellent assistants for growing magical plants. As soon as she realized that it was very easy to locate the distinct smell of his toad, and she knew she'd be able to run it to ground as long as it was still on the train with them.
She knew when her eyes opened again they must have shifted to silver because he gasped and his heart rate increased again wildly. But interestingly enough he didn't pull his hand away. She felt a bit self-conscious, and shuffled her feet a bit "You're going to learn some things about me when I tell you my name" she said "So maybe I won't yet. But I'm good, I promise. I can prove it" she said, tugging his hand and pulling him along after her as she followed the trail of the toad's distinct scent down the train.
It had hopped, lazily lingering in some places and frantically evading people's footfalls in others, down the hall and into the boy's toilet at the very end of the train car they were in. She reached back behind the sink and pulled its soft lumpy body out of a small puddle of standing water that had gathered there from a leak somewhere in the plumbing. Crouched on the floor of the loo and holding his toad in both hands, she looked up to see him standing over her, his entire face beet red and his eyes as wide as dinner plates. She rushed to her feet just as he bent down to gallantly help her up, and her forehead smacked painfully against his chin.
"Ow! Fucking bloody buggering bollocking wankshite" she ground out, and he wheezed an incredulous laugh "Merlin's pants, my gran would skin me alive if I ever swore like that" he said, sounding more comfortable and relaxed than he had in the entire time they'd been acquainted. She grinned "That was nothing. You should hear my dad swear, he makes it an art form" she crowed proudly.
Rubbing her forehead with one hand, she hefted the toad up with her other and thrust it towards him "Well I'm sorry about that, let's just say it was both our faults. Anyways, here he is. I think he must have just been thirsty - they like to be wet right? Because they drink through their skin? Something like that. I think in the future if you keep him with you outside of his tank he can probably be convinced to stay put if you just make sure to wrap him in a damp flannel" she reasoned. He looked at her like he had something to say but seemed speechless, his mouth opening and closing silently.
"G-gosh" he finally worked out "you're just as clever as you are-" and he blushed again "A-a-as you are… kind. You're very kind. Thank you, please tell me your name, I promise I won't be scared" he begged. But she only shook her head and smiled "I want to be friends for the rest of the train ride at least" she said, pulling back her hand that still held his toad and bringing it to clutch against her body like an ugly squishy little baby. With her other hand she dug her hanky out of her pocket and wet it thoroughly in the sink, then wrapped the little creature in it gently. It looked like it had little white robes on, like a tiny toad Gandalf.
She barked out a laugh at the thought, and when he looked at her curiously she told him what she'd just imagined. To her dismay he'd never read the Lord of The Rings, so of course she had to fill him in on what he was missing. He was spellbound as she recounted one of her favorite stories in as much detail as possible, and before long he had slowly started to come out of his shell. Hours later as the train came to a stop, she and Neville were still sat right there on the floor outside the loo laughing and talking up a storm when her brother approached them.
"Goddesses be good Nene, but I thought you'd fallen off the bloody train! I've been imagining dad and Óffy taking turns beating me half to death the whole ride since you disappeared" he exclaimed, voice thick with exasperation "Introduce me to your new friend at least" he demanded petulantly. Next to her she heard Neville whisper "Nene? She doesn't seem like a Nene" under his breath. She bit her lip to keep from laughing at him and stood, brushing her pants and jumper off. She reached down to help him up, and he seemed shocked by how much of his weight she was able to take.
Her face fell a bit, realizing this would be the moment she'd lose her new friend. It had been nice for a while. She sighed sadly, and tried to hide her disappointment as best as she could "Harry, this is Neville. I helped him find his toad Trevor. Neville, this is my brother Harry. He's in the same year as us. He's adopted but we're technically twins, it's kind of a long story" she said shrugging and hoping to swiftly move past it.
Both boys eyebrows shot up, one set in disbelief and one set in indignation. Her brother scoffed "That's how you introduce me to people? Rude! So rude. I'm going to start telling people you're the one who's adopted" he muttered, and hip checked her. He turned to Neville "Please excuse my sister, I'm Harry Potter Greyback" he said matter of factly, and then froze when she snarled at him with real anger. She had to control herself to keep from swiping a paw at him.
There were tears in her eyes as she turned to her new friend, the timing was terrible - other children were starting to stream out of compartments all up and down the train. She panicked, and dragged the two of them into the loo with her, shutting the door and accidentally slamming it and pulling one of the sets of hinges out of the wall. She swore, pressing the butts of her palms into her eyes.
"I'm so sorry Neville, I was hoping to avoid this for as long as possible. I really wanted us to be able to be friends, but it was going to come out eventually… Harry and I are Fenrir Greyback's children, and we might be werewolves like him but all the rumors about him are false. I told you I'm good, please believe me" she pleaded, feeling foolish and out of her depth and hoping he wouldn't react like Asmund's son had earlier. She felt her brother's hand on her back "I'm sorry Hermione, I didn't mean to… I've made a mess of things, haven't I?"
She sniffed, wiping at her eyes "No, I'm sorry I worried you. I should have come back to the compartment but I was having such a good time. I- I made a friend all on my own" she said quietly. He chuckled at her, and she heard Neville make an indignant sound in the back of his throat in her defense. She couldn't help but smile, he'd come so far from being so frightened just a few hours ago "It's alright mate, good things happen when she makes friends. I'm proof positive of that" Harry said with a cheeky wink "She met me and made friends with me and brought me home and that was that. Only a light bit of kidnapping, but a happy story all 'round"
She banged her fists on her brother's chest and he turned away squealing with laughter "Stop telling people I kidnapped you!" She cried, and was startled when Neville laughed loudly. He raised a single eyebrow, which impressed her tremendously as only the coolest adults were able to do it "You do seem to have a bit of a bad habit of dragging people away from where they're supposed to be, don't you" he said warmly, gesturing around them at the boy's loo they were standing in and smiling hugely.
She gasped "Neville Longbottom, don't you start too!" She said with a happy grin "I'm sorry for not telling you sooner, we met someone earlier today that… wasn't very happy when he found out who and what we are. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to make any friends at all here once everybody finds out, and you were so sweet that I couldn't bring myself to scare you" she said in a rush, crossing her arms and looking down at her shoes. She was shocked a moment later to feel his hand on hers, grasping it tightly "I thought I told you, I couldn't possibly be scared of you. No matter what" he said sweetly, and she smiled and threw her arms around him in a hug.
"Plus I had a bit of a feeling you were special. You tracked my toad down by scent on a crowded train. Hermione's a great name by the way - and I'm pretty sure there's a dahlia varietal called that too. Is yours like from Shakespeare or from Greek mythology?" He asked genially, and he laughed again when she just hugged him all the more tightly.
Neville Longbottom was fairly certain he was in love, but at the very least he was positive he was having the best day of his life so far.
It hadn't started nearly as well, his gran had rushed him through breakfast and double checking that he'd packed all his things. He knew he had probably forgotten a few here and there, but the stack she'd come up with of items he'd neglected that were apparently essential was taller than their elf Thistle. He'd barely been able to cram all of it into his trunk. He was certain he didn't actually need at least half of what she'd insisted on adding.
To make matters worse, her parting gift at the station had been just about as useless and humiliating as possible. With his shiny new rememberall he would be able to perform the spectacular task of knowing the exact moment when he'd forgotten something important. Critically though, she had stressed that it wouldn't give him a single hint about what he might have forgotten, instead encouraging him to remember for himself. What a bloody joke, it was like she wanted him to be made fun of as much as possible.
The tight smile he gave her was probably closer to a grimace, and as per usual neither of them tried to hide their overall disappointment. She gave him an awkward kiss goodbye on the forehead, and both of them seemed to have disliked it.
Trunk and toad in hand, he boarded the train with scarcely a look or a word backwards, and quickly found a compartment where he could sit quietly by himself for a little while before having to try and be social. He was glad he at least had Trevor with him, he didn't think he'd be able to do this by himself without any friends or even a wand that had actually chosen him. He felt ridiculously unprepared for the beginning of his school career, and was almost certain he'd be turned away at the doors. His anxiety rising as the train began to pull away from the station, he stuffed his hand into his pocket to pet Trevor's wet skin and realized it was empty.
His heart fell down deep into his stomach, and he frantically checked all his other pockets and then dropped to his knees to check under the seat and on the floor around him. It hadn't even been an hour, how could he have lost his toad already? He hadn't even gotten to the school yet and he'd already lost his damn toad! This had to be a record, he thought on the verge of hysterical laughter. Glancing around the compartment and coming to the realization that Trevor was nowhere in sight, he opened the door and looked out in both directions down the hall.
Neville didn't know what he had been expecting, but his toad wasn't immediately visible, and he had the heart-stopping realization that he would have to actually interact with other children if he was going to check the nearby compartments. He'd almost rather jump off the train, and it was really starting to build up some speed. He had to go admit his biggest insecurity to classmates he hadn't even gotten a chance to introduce himself to yet.
"Hi I'm an idiot who can't be bothered to keep track of his things, and I'm too stupid to find my own pet that's escaped because it probably hates me. Can you please help?" he imagined himself going up and down the train asking people. That would surely go over just phenomenally. He couldn't bring himself to actually admit to another human being what a bumbling fool he was, and for a while he just searched up and down the train hoping he'd come across his wayward toad by accident.
Eventually he had to acknowledge that Trevor wasn't anywhere in the halls, he knew because he'd thoroughly checked all of them. In every car. He had to start actually going into compartments and looking, or asking people to help him look. This was so bloody humiliating, he wished he could just wither on the spot and turn into dust. He decided that he might as well get it over with, and that he'd knock on the door of the next compartment he passed. He did so as timidly and quietly as possible.
Excited that maybe they hadn't heard him and he could move on to the next compartment, he despondently realized that after a moment the door was in fact sliding open. Bugger. He rubbed his sweaty palms down the front of his robes and tried unsuccessfully to calm himself. What was his heart doing? He'd been anxious plenty of times before but at the moment it felt like a hummingbird inside his chest, beating so impossibly fast it was almost vibrating.
He briefly considered calling off the hunt for his toad and simply laying down to succumb to whatever death spiral was clearly overtaking him. He was just about to actually sit down and try and prevent his oncoming heart attack when he caught sight of a fey little face in the doorway, surrounded by the biggest mass of bushy brown curls he'd ever seen. He couldn't bring himself to say a word as she fully exited her compartment and asked if he needed something.
Internally he was crowing YES, FRIENDLY, WILLING TO HELP, GOOD. Externally he was clearly making her believe he was incapable of speech because she sweetly pressed again, asking if there was anything at all she could do to help him. He barely heard the words spilling out of his mouth as he fumbled through introducing himself and begging for her help looking for his toad, he stuttered and nearly choked on his own tongue.
Just as his mood started to rise it fell again as she asked him how his toad had gotten away in the first place. He was forced to admit to this kind lovely soul that Trevor hadn't been in his tank at all, that he'd gotten away because he'd had him in his pocket like a dimwitted buffoon. Then as if someone had dosed him with a truth compelling potion, he had actually said out loud with his human mouth that he'd been worried his toad might be scared of the dark in his trunk… Gods this nice girl was going to think he was such a bloody fool.
He nearly jumped out of his skin when, to his absolute shock, she put a soft warm little hand on his shoulder and told him that she thought it was very compassionate of him to have taken his pet's feelings into consideration. She said that if she were an owl she'd rather fly to school than ride in a cage on the train, and his brain nearly shorted out at that because he'd had the exact same thought seeing all the poor birds squawking and hooting as they'd been loaded in with the luggage!
He couldn't bring himself to say it though, he didn't want her to think he was just trying to suck up to her or something. He'd never tried to be friends with a girl before, but he imagined they got tired of people agreeing with them all the time. What was he thinking, he had to say something! He mindlessly blurted the first thing that he could think of, a further self-recrimination for how foolish he'd been to have his toad in his pocket in the first place. Great, he'd be lucky if she didn't go back in and shut the door in his face.
Hesitantly, she offered that she had a way to find his toad, and he immediately gratefully took her up on it. She must have been older than she looked, maybe she already knew the summoning spell! That would certainly make things easier. Thank the gods he'd found someone competent to help him. His faith in her faltered for a brief second when she said she didn't want to frighten him, but he quickly assured her that she couldn't possibly, and was gobsmacked to see a faint rosy flush rise to the apples of her cheeks.
He may have spoken too soon though, as a moment later she had his wrist in her grasp and was… sniffing his hand like a bloodhound. What in Helga's green garden was she doing? Her eyes fluttered closed and he would have swore he could see them move back and forth behind their lids as if she were reading a book. She laughed and he was almost offended for a moment but it was such a bright happy noise that he was instead further entranced.
When she opened her eyes again they had changed from a stormy grey to glowing molten silver, and the sight of it took the very breath from his lungs. She smiled though, and somehow he wasn't afraid. She said something about not telling him her name, and that she could prove she was good. It didn't make much sense, but in his defense he was also barely listening. He was so hypnotized by those silver eyes he thought he might just miss it altogether if the train crashed right then and there.
Pulling him along by the hand, she led him down the hall of the train to the boy's loo in the very last car. He blushed furiously as she dragged him into the toilet with her, and ducked down low to root around under the sink. To his complete astonishment, when she pulled her hand back out, she had grasped in it none other than his wayward toad. Realizing she had actually found his pet, he reached down to try and help her up just as she was launching herself back to her feet, and they crashed into each other spectacularly. He was no stranger to bangs and bruises, and had long since learned to take it on the chin without complaint when he earned his lumps for being a clumsy oaf.
She startled a laugh out of him when she swore like a particularly salty sailor. She said something about her dad being even better at swearing, which he thought was simply a ridiculous thing to boast about, but she had smiled proudly as she said it so it couldn't be that silly. Then she got her own hanky wet and wrapped Trevor in it, and told him that he'd probably run away because he'd gotten dry. He could have clubbed himself over the head, he knew his toad preferred to be damp, the poor thing had probably been absolutely miserable in his pocket. He was lucky Trevor hadn't just dried out completely into a sad little husk.
He was about two seconds from proposing to the girl on the spot when she barked out a graceless but incredibly joyful laugh, and told him his toad in the cloth reminded her of someone called Gandalf. He wasn't familiar and told her so, and she had proceeded to sit him down on the floor outside of the loo and spend the next few hours telling him the most incredible story he'd ever heard.
The friendly little creatures she described called hobbits reminded him of house elves, and the stout warlike dwarves sounded more like goblins, but he listened all the same, totally enraptured. The men and elves and dwarves and hobbits and the powerful old wizard (who sounded a great deal like Dumbledore) and giant walking trees (Incredible! That had been his favorite part) all fought against an evil leader who controlled others with rings and commanded armies of monsters. He sounded a great deal like you-know-who to him, but she insisted her story had been written decades before they were even born and by a muggle of all people!
It was an incredible tale of action and adventure, and he so enjoyed hearing her tell it. He realized quite suddenly that he could probably listen to her read a floo directory and get a similar amount of entertainment from it. She was just such a presence, such a big personality. Kind and funny and bossy and helpful. He couldn't believe that they'd spent hours laughing and talking and getting to know one another and he still didn't know her name.
As the train pulled to a stop a boy came up to them who had apparently been looking for her, and she introduced him as her adopted twin brother Harry. He had called her Nene, which didn't sound right. She didn't seem like a Nene to him at all. She helped him to his feet, pulling him up with a great deal more strength than he expected from her tiny frame. Her brother seemed like a bit of a drama queen, and wasn't happy about the way she'd introduced him. He re-introduced himself as Harry Potter Greyback, and she panicked at that and dragged them both back into the boy's loo. He knew he wasn't the sharpest spade in the greenhouse, but he was starting to put some of the pieces together. She had seemed properly convinced he would be scared of her if he knew who she was, and he wasn't exactly surprised now that he was giving it some real thought.
He'd seen her eyes glow, she'd tracked his toad down by smell, and she'd practically lifted his whole weight off the ground without any real effort. Also he was pretty sure she'd just broken some component of the door frame. Her last name was Greyback. It was pretty obvious she was a werewolf - not exactly a hard puzzle to deduce. He should be scared, terrified even. He should probably run screaming, but he realized he was already at least a little bit in love, and he couldn't bring himself to leave her side now for all the toads or new wands in the world. She was stuck with him. Hopefully for forever.
He finally learned her name and it was the most musical lovely collection of sounds he'd ever heard strung together. Hermione he thought blissfully. Hermione Longbottom someday maybe, he thought dreamily. Somehow he managed to rid his head of that insane thought and say something a little bit smooth and clever, and it seemed to actually work to make her feel better. That was a massive win in his book, and her bright smile and tight hug were well worth all the many times he'd embarrassed himself earlier throughout the day.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Getting off the train with her and her brother, he still felt like a million galleons. He almost couldn't believe he'd so successfully made a friend, and he had an in with another person who he might be able to become friendly with as well if he kept this up. It was miraculous. They drew him over to a crowd of chattering redheads and a smirking blonde who he recognized as the awful Malfoy boy he'd met at a few dinners and functions. His heart sank, but he tried not to let it show on his face.
She made her way right into the center of their group, pulling him along with her "Hey guys, sorry for disappearing like that. This is my new friend Neville. Nev, these are all of our cousins I was telling you about! The redheads are all Weasleys; this is Ron he's in our year, and the twins are his older brothers Fred and George, and the oldest is Percy who's a prefect this year. And this is our other cousin Draco, he's also in our year" she said happily, and they all waved and smiled at him, even the Malfoy boy who had been so rude to him in the past. What upside down world was this where he was suddenly making friends and being smiled at by poncy pureblood scions? Better to not question it.
They said goodbye to her older cousins as an absolutely enormous man called them over to the shore of the lake. They were going to take little boats across, and his heart sank yet again as he realized it was only four to a boat. She had a brother and two cousins, he would have to ride alone or with strangers. He nearly kicked himself for getting so attached so quickly, he already felt as if his heart wouldn't be able to take it if they were separated so soon.
To his surprise and her family's visible and vocal disappointment, she swapped places with a mousy looking boy and hopped into the next boat with him behind two twin Indian girls with inky black eyes and long dark hair. He nearly fell out when he saw something moving in the water next to them, but she gripped his arm tight and told him she wouldn't let him drown under any circumstances. From anyone else it would have seemed like a useless platitude, but having felt her strength already once when she lifted him up from the floor of the train he was significantly more confident on her ability to make good on such a promise.
The view of the castle up on the cliff side as they crossed the lake was spectacular, and he knew the image would stay with him the rest of his life, no matter how much more forgetful he may become. He was glad they got to see it together, and he tentatively pulled his arm out of her steely grip to hold her hand instead. She squeezed his hand back tightly, and out of the corner of his eye he saw her smile outshine the billions of stars twinkling up above in the sky.
As they got out at the boat house and made their way up the steep steps carved into the cliff side, he began to worry a bit that he was perhaps even more out of shape than he realized. He was huffing and puffing while she was cool as a cucumber next to him, and he started to feel a bit self conscious. She leaned over and whispered softly in his ear "Werewolf, remember? I could do full speed sprint runs up and down these steps twenty times before starting to get winded" she told him, which made him feel a great deal less pathetic. Additionally she pointed with raised eyebrows and a smirk at her cousins Ron and Draco, who were also looking a bit peaky and out of breath.
The blonde boy saw her pointing and gave her a two finger salute, which she cheerfully returned. As they passed he whispered a bit nastily for her to go chase her tail, but she only laughed and pretended to chomp the air after him. The boy yelped and darted away, and she laughed harder "He's so easy" she muttered, shaking her head.
They waited outside the main doors for a bit until a stern woman he vaguely recognized as one of his gran's friends came out and told them they'd all be sorted shortly. Hermione lit up next to him "That's professor McGonagall! She came all the way to the compound just to see us" she said with a huge smile on her face, bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet.
A snooty looking boy with dark hair and olive skin turned around and towered over her where he stood on the step above them, sneering down at her "Doesn't someone only go to your house if you're a mud- ahem! That is to say, if you're a muggleborn?" He asked viciously, his lip curled up and his nose scrunched. Neville saw red at what the other boy had nearly just called his friend, but she put her soft little hand on his shoulder and winked at him playfully.
Taken a bit aback but knowing she could more than likely take care of herself if that's what she wanted, he happily resolved to follow her lead. She gracefully sidestepped the boy, shooting up two steps so they were eye to eye, and leaned her elbow heavily on his shoulder "They also come to your house to make special arrangements for you if you're a member of the British wizarding peerage" she said, which caught the attention of everyone within a fifteen foot radius.
She nodded at her brother, who grinned and mimed blowing a medieval horn "You, sir, are lucky enough to be in the presence of her honorable Ladyship Hermione Elena, the head of the House of Black" he announced with a flourish of his robe, and a low and flamboyant courtly bow "My lady graces us with her general air of aboveness" he said in a rather groveling manner to which she laughed and curtsied back. She waved her cupped hand in small circles like a princess.
The boy looked like someone had just pissed in his pumpkin juice, and Neville felt like he was going to burst a blood vessel in one of his eyes from trying to hold in his laughter. Draco Malfoy sauntered over, and to the crowd's abject shock he sneered at the boy who had been so rude "Really Zabini, if you have a problem with the head of my family then you also have a problem with me" he said warningly, and that caught even more people's attention. "So do we have a problem?" Malfoy asked Zabini quite cuttingly, to which the other boy lowered his eyes and shook his head, an angry blush rising to his cheeks.
She nodded at him regally "Thank you cousin, but I'm sure Mr Zabini just didn't realize to whom he was speaking" she said incredibly graciously, with a raised eyebrow at the boy. Through gritted teeth the other boy choked out the most bare bones half-assed non-apology Neville had ever heard in his life. His gran would have had his head spinning if he'd attempted something like that in her presence.
Before they had a chance to escalate the situation further, the professor had called for order and began leading them all into the castle. They followed her through an impressive foyer and into a grand hall where hundreds of students were already seated at long tables displaying the colors of the four houses. At the front of the hall was a perpendicular table where staff members sat, and the headmaster was right in the front in a chair that resembled a golden throne.
The woman, who it turned out was the deputy headmistress, began calling them up one after another to try on a dusty old hat that they took turns putting on their heads and that then screamed out what house they were to go to. Of all the ways to possibly sort them, this hadn't at all been what he was expecting. As he stood in line and waited his turn, he realized Hermione and her brother would both be going before him. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to follow her to whatever house she'd be put in.
He had long suspected that if he was allowed in at all, that he'd surely be a puff if anything. He wasn't smart or brave or ambitious enough to go anywhere else. He was briefly reminded that all his fears of being turned away were about to culminate. What if the hat simply said nothing when he put it on his head? Would he have to go back to the Hogsmeade train station and ride home again? Could he survive the humiliation? Could he survive being parted from his new friend?
As Goldstein was sorted Ravenclaw and Goyle and Greengrass were sorted Slytherin, she reached out and grabbed his hand. She looked over at him a bit nervously and whispered "Friends no matter what house, right Nev?" And he nodded emphatically "Of course!" He whispered back much more confidently than he actually felt. As long as he was still at Hogwarts, they'd definitely still be friends.
"Greyback, Harry Potter" called the deputy headmistress, causing the entire hall to fall into a hushed silence that had a heavy weight to it. Oblivious, Hermione gave her brother a friendly punch to the shoulder as he passed them and headed up to the hat, and cheered and wolf whistled sportingly as he put it on his head. Some of the other girls around them were looking at her like she was nutters. He wasn't sure what the hat was doing on the other boy's head for so long, but it must have been deliberating because he swore he could see Harry's lips move as if he were talking to it.
After several long minutes, it cried out "Gryffindor!" And quick as a flash he saw professor McGonagall grin excitedly before she settled her lips back into a pursed line. Behind them a quarter of the hall exploded into loud boisterous cheers, and as Harry made his way to the Gryffindor table he was greeted like a returning MVP. Neville halfway expected the students there to lift him up onto their shoulders, some of them were so worked up.
Hermione was called up next, and though he was worried and anxious that they'd be separated at best and he'd be sent home at worst, he forced a smile and patted her shoulder as she passed him. As she approached the deputy headmistress, she whispered something to the woman, who rolled her eyes but nodded "Miss Greyback would like the student body to know that although Mr Greyback comes before her alphabetically, she is in fact the older twin by ten months" she announced deadpan, to confused whispers from all around the hall.
The hat hadn't even properly settled on her head, it had only barely brushed the top of her bushy curls, when it shrieked "GRYFFINDOR!" Louder and more urgently than it had for anyone else yet, as if it wanted off of her head and as far away from her as possible. Her cousins and brother all cheered loudly, and the professor clapped politely, though for whatever reason not many other people did. There were a lot of scared silent looks exchanged. He couldn't fathom it.
She smiled and waved at him as she rushed to her table, and though he smiled and waved back there were tears welling up in his eyes. As excited as he wanted to be for her, he knew it was the end of the road for the two of them. He was the biggest coward he'd ever met, and there was just no way they'd be in the same house now.
There were a few more sortings, and then it was finally his turn. He felt like he was walking to his own execution. As the deputy headmistress put the hat on his head and the brim came down over his eyes, he saw a vivid image of himself earlier on the train. He looked pathetic, hyperventilating and on the verge of a panic attack just from having to knock on a door and ask for help. He didn't want to see this, and as he was about to close his eyes a jolly little old voice from inside the hat told him "Keep watching, look at how well you did" how well he did? Not bloody likely.
He saw himself have to muster up the courage just to knock on the door, and even then it took him an embarrassingly long time. It was painful to watch when Hermione came to the door and he had to see himself talk to her, gods above and below had he really stuttered so badly? He watched her eyes dilate and her head tilt, and wasn't sure what to make of it. He watched her eyes shift silver all over again as she scented his wrist, the way she'd tracked down his pet, the way she had lifted him to his feet effortlessly. Was it just letting him relive his best afternoon like when you give an old dog one last happy day? Was he about to get kicked out of the school? Would his very memory of it be obliviated from him if he had to live as a squib? How had he not considered that terrible possibility before now?
Suddenly the perspective shifted and they were back in her train compartment. "Don't tell her I've shown you this, the poor thing would be dreadfully embarrassed you'd seen it" the voice said. He realized he wasn't there in the new image, and that this must be Hermione's memory. She was talking to her brother in a language he didn't understand, then she opened the door and told a huge older boy to stop spying and come in. He delivered her a letter, but as soon as she opened it he simply lost the plot.
He called her a werewolf in such a nasty tone, and then a dark creature, and then a- he didn't! How could anyone call her that? What a bloody tosser! The boy ran away with his metaphorical tail tucked between his legs, and the look on his face was one of absolute terror - what was wrong with him? No wonder poor Hermione had been so worried he'd be afraid of her if she'd had such a bad experience just earlier in the day.
The images faded, and he was left mulling over what he'd just seen when the voice spoke to him again in that same friendly way it had before "Dear boy, do you understand why I showed you that? You're not a coward, you made best friends with a bloody werewolf on the train today. That nasty little prick couldn't even handle being in the same compartment as her and he's a third year! You're one of the bravest children who's put me on their head in years. You don't have to be fearless to be brave, you just have to not let your fear stop you. You Neville Longbottom, have the heart of a true Gryffindor" it said kindly, and he felt incredibly seen.
It rang in his ears like a bell when he heard the hat loudly and triumphantly cry out "Gryffindor!" And he took it off to see the whole school staring at him as one. He looked up to professor McGonagall to see that she was smiling, but her brows were furrowed "That was quite the hat stall, Mr Longbottom" she said "what was it deciding between if you don't mind me prying?" She asked a bit hesitantly. He wasn't sure if he should tell his new head of house this, but today had already been so weird "Erm, only one choice ma'am. It was just trying to convince me I actually belonged in Gryffindor" he answered quietly, hoping no one would overhear him.
Suddenly a sharp whistle rang out, and Hermione and her brother and their Weasley cousins at the Gryffindor table all began cheering like mad, and eventually encouraged the whole rest of the house to join in as well. He smiled ecstatically, for all that he'd worried they were in the same house after all! After handing the hat back to the deputy headmistress he practically sprinted over and sat heavily in the space next to her that she'd cleared for him. They hugged tightly, and he felt like he'd just caught a train that he'd been running desperately to catch. He was on it safe and sound now, and there was no falling off or lagging behind. He was safe on the train.
Another few people were sorted, and then her Malfoy cousin was called up. She and her brother cheered and whistled again, this time to venomous looks up and down the table. He suddenly worried that as brave as she was this might not have been the best place for her. The Hufflepuffs all looked so friendly. Maybe all three of them would have been better off over there…
Just like with her sorting, the hat had barely touched Malfoy's blonde head before screaming that he was a Slytherin. When she and her brother cheered again this time, they got sworn at viciously by some of the older years. She deftly ignored them, but it made him worry all the same. Why were they all being so hostile towards a first year?
There were a ton more sortings after that of students they didn't know or particularly care about, but that they clapped politely for all the same. Finally there were only two boys left, Ron and that Zabini boy. Her cousin was called up and Neville overheard the twins say something about a "Guaranteed Gryff if ever there was one" as the hat was placed on his brilliantly red head. It was taking a bit longer than he had been expecting. He asked the twins how long it had taken them to be sorted, and they nervously responded at the same time "Half a second" "Two thirds of a second"
He was about to ask how long he'd had the hat on, when it shouted out "SLYTHERIN!" to outraged cries all up and down the Gryffindor table. One older boy actually yelled at Harry and Hermione "A Weasley not in Gryffindor? You little monsters have bloody jinxed us!" He said cruelly, and a few others nodded in agreement with him. She just looked him dead in the eyes with a murderous glare and started clapping slowly for her cousin, woo-ing and whistling deadpan.
"Clap for your brother" she casually commanded the twin Weasleys with a voice that gave no room for argument, and they startled out of whatever trance they'd been in and started cheering loudly. He wasn't sure if it was genuine or an act, but they at least made every effort to let their little brother hear them from across the hall. Their eldest brother looked somewhat ill at ease, but also pathologically unable to be so discourteous as to not at least be seen clapping. He heard one of the twins mutter under their breath about not being responsible for the howler they were going to get the following morning, and flinched in an involuntary nerve response.
He'd be keeping a close eye out for owls bearing red envelopes.
It had been a long day. They'd gotten called fun new slurs by their legal counsel's half-wit son, he'd officially lost his sister for several nerve-wracking hours, and when he found her again she'd gone and made a brand new friend without him. He was a little put out to be honest, but he could tell she was feeling a bit sensitive about it and he didn't want to be a complete prat on their very first day of school, so he let it go for now.
Gryffindor tower was extremely warm and cozy, and he could see himself getting very comfortable on one of those couches by the fireplace in the near future. They were still being lectured by their fifth year prefect about what they could expect from their new life at Hogwarts as Gryffindor lions, and there was no end in sight to his rambling speech. Their cousin Percy was a pompous git who loved nothing more than the sound of his own voice, and had been bloviating non-stop since they left the great hall.
He was glad they hadn't ever really had to spend much time with him one-to-one, as the older boy was a major bummer to be around - just a general downer. He was a self-acclaimed expert on everything and anything under the sun, and though he informed them that they were free to come to him for guidance and wisdom and tips and tricks and whatever and whatnot, he could not have sounded less welcoming or encouraging if he tried. He clearly did not actually want to be in any way bothered or inconvenienced by lost and confused firsties.
Needless to say, Harry had stopped listening a long time ago. He was currently daydreaming about that sofa by the fireplace, it felt like it was calling his name. Actually, he concentrated his hearing and realized that someone was literally calling his name. He startled alert, and glanced around himself surreptitiously. It wasn't his sister, she was standing over next to Neville, still making sweet dopey cow eyes at him. And wasn't that going to take some getting used to.
He couldn't help but feel the slightest bit put out that she had a new buddy and that Draco and Ron had both ended up in Slytherin. He had hoped that at least one of them would be in the same house as them, but he supposed it was probably for the best that none of them were alone anywhere. He tried to act tough and cool most of the time, but he knew he'd have been absolutely gutted if he and Hermione had been separated, it wouldn't have been worth being with either of them or even both of them in a different house from her.
He wasn't really surprised that the two of them had ended up as lions. As much fun as he thought it probably could have been to be a pair of sneaky snakes, his sister was the bravest person he knew and he had been confident beyond the shadow of a doubt that she'd end up where she did. It had only made sense to let the hat place him in Gryffindor to be with her when it told him he'd do fine in either house, since he knew she was bound for this one.
He shook his head to clear it from wandering thoughts and to focus - right, someone had called him. He glanced at the stairs that curved out of view around the outside of the tower, and saw a house elf sitting on the bottom step of the right hand side. He hissed out a sharp *psst* to draw Hermione's attention, and gestured over with his chin to the elf. She made eye contact with him, then glanced over and stiffened when she saw it "That's not Asmund's elf, I don't recognize it" she whispered under her breath.
She glanced up at Percy, who was now discussing his own OWL courses and study schedule for the year, and rolled her eyes. She hesitated before tugging on Neville's hand, and pressing on his opposite shoulder so he'd crouch down a bit and telling him to follow her. The two of them made their way over to him, and the three of them slowly made their way around the outside edges of the crowd in the common room until they were back up against the stairs.
She flashed her eyes at him and he ducked his head in agreement. Even though the elf was there to talk to him he would always defer to her protective nature, and so he gladly allowed her to approach it first. She crouched a few feet away "Can you show us which one is the boys' room so we can talk to you in private?" She asked it in a whisper, to which it nodded and lead them up the winding castle steps. The first year boy's dorm was apparently at the very top of the tower, and though it wasn't that difficult a climb from the common room he probably would be a lot less happy about it if he was starting from the ground floor or godesses forbid somewhere in the dungeons.
They poked their heads into the room, and he knew it was the right one when he saw his trunk in the middle of the room with three others. He ushered them in after him, and they settled on the bed closest to the window. The elf kindly snapped her fingers and his heavy trunk zipped into place at the foot of the bed they were sitting on "Thank you, what's your name?" He asked mildly, and was horrified when the little thing burst into tears.
"Young master doesn't remember Kipper at all! She be knowing this is coming but it still hurts her to be hearing, oh it hurts her so!" She moaned into the hem of the little tea towel she was wearing as a toga. It was clean and had the Hogwarts crest on it, she had to work in the castle so he couldn't for the life of him fathom why she would be calling him master. His sister looked disturbed by this as well, but neither of them had any real experience with house elves outside of being briefly served by Malfoy elves during meals.
They both looked desperately at Neville, who sighed and looked like he sincerely regretted telling his sister about being raised by the Longbottom elves. He addressed her very gently and kindly but firmly "Kipper, that's enough of that now please. I'm sorry you're upset, and I'm sure whatever has you so sad must be awful, but if you want us to help you with something you need to calm down and tell us what it is in a way that we can understand" with clear directives in place to fall back on, the change that came over the creature was nothing short of miraculous.
Sniffling and wiping the tears and snot and gunk away from her nose and eyes, she sat up straighter with clear and alert eyes "Kipper is being very grateful for young sir, she is just being so overwhelmed to see her young Master again" she turned to look at Harry, and reverently held out her wrinkly little hand for him to take "Last time he be seeing Kipper, he is being her baby" she said softly, and Neville gasped and his hand flew up to cover his mouth.
The other boy looked at him with wet eyes "Harry… Kipper must have been your nanny elf. She would have helped your birth parents raise you from the time you were born. Is that right, Kipper? How on earth did you survive away from him so long, surely your bond must have broken?" He asked the creature, and as he did Harry had a troubling thought "Is it true, were you my nanny elf Kipper? Were you there the night my parents died?" He asked, and regretted it immediately.
She had started to smile and nod her head eagerly, her little ears waggling up and down adorably, but her face fell as soon as the last sentence had come out of his mouth. He wished he could cram it back in, could make it so that the little person in front of him hadn't gone through whatever trauma she had in service of his family. Why couldn't he ever think before speaking? Bugger!
Trembling where she sat on the foot of the bed, her little hand left his leg and she brought it up to cover her face again "Kipper is already tellings her story three times today. Mister Rowle's naughty elf Tootsie be getting Kipper to give up her secrets to her, then again to Mister Rowle, then again for young Master's wolfy father and Master Remus. Please young Master, Kipper is being so tired and so sad. So happy to see that her Baby Harry is being a big boy now, but so sad and so tired at how much of him growings up that she missed" the elf said monotonously, utterly dejected and exhausted. It was the single most depressing thing he'd ever seen, and he had absolutely no clue how to respond.
As the other boy swooped back in to save his bacon, he vowed right then and there to always have Neville's back no matter what. Unless it was an argument with his sister. Anyways, the boy placed a hand on the little elf's back comfortingly and worked his magic again "Now now, Kipper, it's alright. You don't have to talk about that again until you're ready. Can you please just nod or shake your head for me yes or no while we ask you a few questions? You can speak or not speak, up to you"
Just like before, having a clear set of instructions seemed to be the key. Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy when she raised her head and nodded, and Harry felt a stab of painful guilt that he'd been so thoughtless. He wracked his brain about what to ask her, but his sister of course was quicker on the draw "Kipper, do I understand correctly that you met with our father and Mr Rowle today?"
She nodded "Yes, young Mistress" she said quietly, and her and Hermione's brows both shot up. He already knew what the next question would be "Kipper… are you bound to me through my bond with Harry?" She asked with awe in her voice, and the elf thought on this for a moment and nodded slowly, wide-eyed. The two of them looked at Neville, who shrugged "I'm not an elf expert, I just was raised with a few of them!" He said a bit defensively. Harry couldn't help but laugh at the picture the three of them made.
"Kipper, are you also bound to our father the same way? By his bond with Harry?" His sister pushed and the elf nodded a bit more eagerly now, seeming to perk up as she realized she had a whole family to serve again "Yes, yes Kipper is! She is being bound to everyones in the entire wolfy family that was involveds in her baby Harry's adoption ritual. Master Fenrir and young Mistress Hermione!" The elf said with tears in her eyes, and an absolutely enormous radiant smile on her face. It brought tears to his own eyes, and he had absolutely no shame about it because all four of them were now openly crying.
It was a beautiful moment, and it was utterly wrecked by the door slamming open and two boys barging in mid-discussion about the primary differences between football and quidditch. Their loud sports philosophizing came to an abrupt halt as the darker skinned boy let out a little yelp "What on earth is that?" He said pointing at Kipper, while at the same time the other boy cried out "There's a girl in our dorm!" In a strong Irish accent. They looked at each other than back at the four of them on Harry's bed "Why is there a house elf on the bed?" Said the Irish boy at the same time that the black boy said "Why is there a girl in our room?" And they laughed at each other and came and joined them over by the window.
They introduced themselves cheerfully, and a moment later Harry answered their questions "This is my sister, and this is apparently the elf that raised me when I was a baby. We only just met again now. Oh, hey Kipper I meant to ask, how did you get here - do you work at Hogwarts?" She nodded and smiled "Kipper is being bound directly to the castle, and is serving its students and professors in the kitchens" she said with pride. Dean smiled widely at her "So you helped make our dinner? It was incredible, thanks!" He said, and she bowed happily "Young sir is being very kind! Many elvesies be working together to be making the meals. Kipper lives to serve" she gushed, and turned back to Harry a bit shyly "young Master be calling on Kipper again soon, and she be telling him about Master James and Mistress Lilly?" she asked him as if they lived in a world where he might ever possibly turn her down.
He practically shouted "Yes! Yes, of course" he cried, pulling her into a fierce little hug. She wiggled happily in his arms, and they laughed and giggled together. "How long do you think you need to recover from today, Kip?" He asked softly "I feel so bad that you were forced to relive bad memories, I'm really sorry they all made you do that" she sniffled again, burrowing into the crook of his neck. When she sighed a moment later she sounded utterly content "Kipper's baby Harry is growing up to be such a nice boy. Kipper only be needing a day or two for resting, the castle's magic is being very strong and tasty. All young Master or young Mistress needs to be doing is saying her name when they wants to be seeing her and Kipper be popping in to see them right away" she replied, sounding almost on the verge of sleep.
Next to him, Neville quietly said "I'd like to speak to a Hogwarts elf, please" and another one appeared on the bed next to them, making Dean gasp and then laugh. It looked around and frowned "This is not being a naughty prank, is it? Young sirs is not supposed to be having girls and elves in their dorm with them!" It said more sternly than Harry had expected, but its little squeaky voice was so high and darling that it painted a very cute picture despite its irritation with them, and he struggled not to laugh and undermine its authority.
Neville shook his head and held up his palms supplicatingly "No, not a prank I promise! We've all just had a big surprise and learned that Kipper here was Harry's nanny when he was a baby. They're quite happy to be reunited, but it's been a difficult day for her, so if you could please help her back to wherever she bunks down for the night I'm sure we'd all appreciate it very much" he said diplomatically, and the elf's hard demeanor softened dramatically at hearing this.
His eyes were wide and his little ears swayed back and forth as he shook his head slowly "Goodness gracious! So many sad elvesies be coming to the castle after losing their families, but Goosie is never seeing a reunion before! Kipper is being a very lucky elf, Goosie be helping her back down to the kitchens young sirs… and miss" he said with a low bow and a mischievous little smile, before grabbing the other elf's wrist and popping them both away.
All five of them continued to sit in silence on Harry's bed for a moment, until Seamus said loudly "So I think it goes without saying that we'll be needing more of an explanation than that, Greybacks" breaking the tension and making them all laugh. Hermione checked her little wristwatch and groaned "I should really be getting back down, I haven't even laid eyes on my own dorm yet! Don't tell them too many of our family secrets" She said with a grin, pressing a kiss to his cheek. She smiled and waved at Neville, and left in a flurry of goodbyes and 'nice to meet you's for the two other boys.
Dean and Seamus made brief eye contact with each other, and when they looked back at him both of them seemed quite embarrassed "I guess it's alright if she's really your twin sister, but please just at least let us know in the future when she's gonna come up to visit. We've got to change clothes in here - what if she came in while one of us was naked?!" Dean said, dark splotches of color rising to his cheeks. Harry couldn't help but laugh "I don't think you need to worry about that, we've got very good hearing. I always know when she's coming, I wouldn't let her barge in while any of us were in the buff"
They boggled at that, their eyes wide "So it's true then, eh?" Seamus asked him a little too excitedly "You really are werewolves? Just how good is your hearing? Will you know about it whenever we have a flirty wee wank?" The boy asked with a deviously lecherous grin. He chuckled awkwardly and scratched at the back of his neck to try and hide how uncomfortable that question made him "I'd definitely hear it, but fair warning I'd also smell it and I'd really rather not do either" he said scrunching his nose up in disgust.
They all howled and doubled over laughing, and it made him relax a bit. He caught Neville's eyes, and the boy nodded and smiled earnestly. If his sister felt like she could trust this guy then he figured he could too "Hermione has a lot more control over her senses than I do, but basically we can sort of selectively focus and decide what range we want to use when we're trying to hear or smell something. Cause if we had our full wolf senses active all the time we'd get totally overwhelmed by all the things happening around us. So erm, like if I think I hear or smell something faint or far away that might be interesting or important I can concentrate and try and pick up on it better. Like… hang on a second" he said and closed his eyes and focused his hearing intently to the other side of the tower. He grinned, it was easily within range.
He listened for a minute, and opened his eyes back up to see his dorm mates staring at him with baited breath "She just made it up to her room, it's directly across from ours. The other first year girls are asking her where she's been" he said, tilting his head a bit and letting his eyes go out of focus. He suddenly growled "One of them is asking her if she's got a boyfriend already - oi, she just called her a slag! What the hell?" He said furiously, flashing his eyes and popping out his claws.
He made to get up but the other boys all put hands on him and pressed him back down onto the bed "You've got to let her fight her own battles or they'll never respect her. When they're in groups, girls develop a hierarchy and it can get vicious" Dean said knowingly "Four little sisters, trust me" he added, which gave him some serious credibility in the boys eyes. Harry wanted to go support his sister, but he saw the others both nodding in agreement with Dean.
Frowning, he listened in again and this time he nodded in approval at what he heard "She told the girls off for being rude, but she was nice about it and the one who called her that apologized" he said proudly "It's really easy for her to come on too strong, it's the natural alpha in her. She was born to be the next leader of our pack. Before I was a wolf I didn't understand and I thought she was just bossy, but she always steps up and leads when the situation calls for it. She doesn't even realize she's doing it most of the time"
Neville was listening raptly, clearly eager to learn more about his sister. It was sweet, he thought, that the two of them had clicked so instantly and were crushing on each other so obviously. He wasn't sure what exactly he was allowed to say - he would normally consider it his duty to guard all her secrets, but he knew she liked the boy a great deal. Would it be a betrayal of her confidence to tell her crush all about her just because they were dorm mates?
But then again half the reason they were here was to make friends, and weren't you supposed to be honest with friends? It was a bit of a pickle. Ever the reliable beta, he decided to deflect a bit and wait until the morning when he could get a definitive response from her one way or the other.
Ron was pretty sure he was going to get genuinely disowned from the Weasley family for this, and would end up having to beg his cousins' huge scary dad to take him in at the werewolf compound in the middle of the woods. He wasn't supposed to know exactly where it was, but he'd visited a few times and they'd let slip enough context clues over the last year that he was fairly certain he could find it if he tried. He knew it was in Snowdonia anyways, and that was enough of a start.
He was glad he was at least with Draco, but he was pretty bloody peeved that he was completely separated from literally the entire rest of his family. Harry and Hermione and their new little friend had all been sorted as lions, and he was pretty sure they'd also been the only three in the entire school who'd clapped when he had been sorted Slytherin. Down in the freezing dungeons with the evil bloody snakes that all hated the very sight of him, he was starting to seriously regret letting that moldy old hat have its way. Just about the only thing worse would have been if he'd been sorted as a puff, at least he'd been spared that indignity.
Draco had been more than prepared for becoming a little princeling of high society, he'd practically been born and bred for it like a show pony. Ron on the other hand hadn't even considered that he might be sorted anywhere other than with the rest of the masses in Gryffindor, and had been thoroughly blindsided when the hat had whispered to him of his own sly cunning that desperately needed the proper surroundings to be cultivated. He supposed he was insightful, and good at strategy. That's all fancy pureblood social maneuvering really was when you broke it down.
After having been to an event or two at the Malfoy's sprawling estate over the spring and summer, he'd been unimpressed with the clumsy machinations of the children their own age. He'd expected Machiavellian intrigue and had instead gotten stilted blood-supremacist talking points brought up clumsily over canapés at garden parties. Most of them were clearly just repeating things they'd heard their parents say verbatim, with no thought for what it actually meant or how to transform it to fit the situation's context.
He had thankfully recognized nearly every upturned first year nose at the table earlier, despite none of them giving him even a first glance let alone a second one. He'd met the Parkinson and Greengrass girls before, as well as most of the lads. Crabbe and Goyle were just as slow as he remembered, and he wondered how either of them would survive away from elves specifically tasked with taking care of their every earthly need.
He figured his best bet for making alliances was to try working on Nott. His father had been a died-in-the-wool death eater, but he'd also notoriously killed his wife and his son supposedly hated him for it. Even if he did turn out to be sympathetic to the cause, he still might be willing to make friends just to get back at his old man. He'd need to tread carefully there though.
Tracey Davis had actually introduced herself quite politely, and he'd quickly realized it was because even as a blood traitor he technically outranked her half blood status in the eyes of the other snakes. He was happy to have an ally already other than just his cousin, but wasn't sure yet if it had been a smart move on her part or not - she'd reached for low hanging fruit that was more likely to accept her, but also risked alienating herself from the other Slytherins in the process. She might have made a mistake trying to befriend him, and he hoped she wouldn't suffer for it. She seemed nice enough after all.
The entire house was gathered in the common room waiting for something, he wasn't sure what. Their prefect had shown the firsties the way down from the great hall and had told them the password for the next fortnight (his poor mum would box his ears if she heard him say always pure). The furniture all looked like it belonged in a museum, antique silks and velvets and damasks upholstered the ornately carved and fragile looking wooden frames. He'd have to be much more careful about the way he sat, no more plonking down like an elephant for him or he'd humiliate himself by being the first Slytherin to ever break a chair. Although if either Crabbe or Goyle got any bigger they might just break that record themselves…
As much as he felt a bit cheated out of getting to sit comfortably on the squashy sofas and armchairs he'd heard tell of in Gryffindor tower, the green glow filtering in the huge round window down through the lake had been absolutely breathtaking the first time he'd seen it. Draco and Nott had laughed themselves silly when he'd been startled by an enormous tentacle creeping into view, but no one had told him he'd have to interact with aquatic life in his common room!
Ron's only mental framework for what a Hogwarts common room might look like was the cozy warm red and gold description he'd heard all his life from his parents and older siblings. He'd realized the dungeons probably wouldn't fit that description exactly, but he had been entirely unprepared for just how dramatically different it actually was. Everything was black and green and silver, and though the walls were dark stone they were neither wet nor cold to the touch like Fred and George had suggested. There were rich tapestries and wall hangings everywhere, and they obviously helped keep in a great deal of warmth that would have otherwise seeped out. The heat in the cavernous room did seem to disperse rapidly only a few feet away from the fireplace however, and he anticipated many frigid evenings ahead.
Just as he was starting to get quite sick of waiting around for nothing a tall thin man in black robes with a long nose and longer hair came storming through the trick wall entrance that lead out into the hallways of the surrounding dungeons. He realized the descriptions his siblings had given of the man were a bit cruel, for surely this was professor Snape. He was certainly severe looking, but not nearly as ugly and wretched as they'd claimed. Fred and George had said he looked like a tall goblin! What a pair of tossers. He leaned forward eagerly to hear what the man would say, and as he did so he was thrown off by Draco whispering in his ear excitedly "That's my godfather, He's the smartest wizard I know!"
What a juicy detail to save until the last minute, that absolute rapscallion.
The room fell to a silent hush as the man stopped in front of the fire place and pushed the hair back from his face making a dramatic silhouette "Older students, do not yet retire to your rooms" he commanded casually, and like an edict from an emperor the second through seventh years all made themselves comfortable throughout the common area. His voice was somewhat nasal, it would have to be with a beak like that, but also deep and smooth. He turned to address the first years "I am Severus Snape, and I am both your head of Slytherin house and your potions master. Outside of this room, we are as a whole despised by the rest of the school, and I do not only mean by the rest of the students. As a house you must present a unified face. I do not care if you hate your housemates, I do not care if you have literal blood feuds with them," he said pointedly, eyeing Draco and himself.
"Fight them all you like within this room. Debate each other, duel each other, turn each other's hair blue for all I care. But outside of this room, you are allies. You will not speak a word against each other, you will vouch for each other, you will not sabotage or entrap or otherwise provoke each other! I can show you favor in only the most superficial of ways, and if you are caught breaking the rules my hands are tied. House rivalry is nothing to scoff at, and lions hunt in packs. Do not let yourself be separated from your house mates, do not walk the halls alone, and for Merlin's sake avoid the- avoid the Weasley twins like the plague" he finished a bit awkwardly, sweeping his gaze quickly past Ron.
Swirling around with a billow of his dark robes he addressed the room at large "There is once again a member of the British wizarding peerage here at Hogwarts! Not merely an heir or a scion of her house like many of you are, but a genuine Lady. The head of the house of Black, no less. You all saw her and her brother sorted this evening, she is Hermione Greyback. Their circumstances are no business of mine and I could not care less for whatever scandal or gossip you may discover. That being said, know this: she is legally an adult! She can defend herself or her brother from attack, and furthermore should she so choose she is within her rights to see attackers against her person brought on charges before the wizengamot! If you must have a target for your frustrations, choose a smarter one. I will not lift a finger to help a student of mine who intentionally provokes her" he said with a sneer, and the silent room burst into a murmur of whispers.
A familiar voice broke through the air and Ron's heart dropped as they shouted out "She's a werewolf, though! I saw her flash her eyes and pop her claws out on the train right in front of me like nothing doing. Why is the board of governors even allowing her to attend?" Said the tall blonde boy they'd had such a horrible encounter with earlier in the day. He scowled and made to stand up and tell the prat just exactly where he could stick it, but Draco gripped the sleeve of his robe tightly and wouldn't let him move a muscle, shaking his head emphatically.
"You can't!" The boy breathed through his teeth "We can't, we'll be absolutely fucked for the next seven years in here if we try!" He argued desperately, eyes wild and panicked. They needn't have worried though, as their head of house made good order of slinking over to the boy and set about verbally eviscerating him in front of everyone present.
He towered over the cowering third year, and bent down like a bird of prey to speak directly into his face "And what exactly did you do or say to make her 'pop her claws' as you so crudely put it? Mr Rowle, did you not hear a word I said mere moments ago? So she's a werewolf, half the population of wizarding Britain that have graduated since I took up the position of potions master are of the sincere opinion that I am a vampire. There are ghosts floating down the halls of this school and one of them teaches you history. If you sit and watch through our lake view window long enough you'll eventually see merpeople swim by. Lady Black is a member of the aristocracy! Her forefathers overflowing vaults funded the founders expedition to build this very castle that we stand in! The day that a Lord or Lady of the realm is denied admission to this school for a matter so benign as them howling at the moon is the day that Hogwarts forgets the very foundation it was created upon - that every magical child in this country be granted the right to a wizarding education"
He looked the now trembling boy up and down in clear disapproval "Whether their fathers be lords… or the lawyers employed by them" he hissed, straightening out and drawing his robes up around him like an owl fluffing itself.
"Holy shit" Draco whispered next to him in awe "He makes destroying people's whole lives look so cool and effortless"
"Yeah alright, fair enough. But did you notice that he's clearly got skin in the game?" Ron whispered back, and his cousin looked at him askance. He shrugged sheepishly "Don't you think it sounded like he took Rowle's taunt a bit too personally? I'd bet every last knut to my name that he's recently gotten a rather interesting letter from a mutual acquaintance of ours" he said with a bit of a cheeky grin.
"You've altogether far too few knuts to be betting with them in the first place" Draco muttered back petulantly as he folded his arms in front of his chest, proving that he clearly had no better refutation of his theory and was simply cross he hadn't noticed it first.
As soon as it looked like the professor was done, their prefect swooped back in to lead them to their dormitories. Even having been tempered by the shock of the common room, his expectations still left him completely unprepared for the fact that apparently the bloody Slytherins all had double rooms - no sharing six to a dorm. As they all began to pair up he whirled around desperately to find his cousin looking contemplative, the rat bastard.
"Come on, it's where we sleep - don't make this political" he heard himself whine rather pathetically, to which the great blonde prat only chortled "Everything is political, I imagine I could do quite well rooming with Nott" he said as if butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. Ron frantically glanced over his shoulder to see that Crabbe and Goyle had paired together, shocker, and that Nott and Zabini had already formed a duo as well "You absolute tosser" he ground out, relieved beyond belief. He made his way into their room to the sound of Draco's fiendish laughter.
For only housing two first year boys, it certainly wasn't small. They each had a dark wood four poster bed made up nicely with emerald green linens, a desk the likes of which you'd see in a proper lord's study, and a fine wardrobe. Their trunks and Draco's owl cage were waiting for them in the middle of the room. There was a door off to one side, and Ron hesitantly peeked through it only to be delighted to find that they had an attached bathroom with both a full shower and a luxurious bathing tub all to themselves, all of which was carved from spectacular black marble.
Thoroughly satisfied with his new arrangements, he made his way over to sit next to his cousin on the bed the other boy had claimed "After seeing this, you'll never believe me when I tell you how rough they're living up in the lions' tower" he said with a smug grin. This immediately caught Draco's interest "What, do they have to sleep three to a room?" He asked as if that would be a fate worse than death. Ron just laughed "it's split into boys and girls, but everyone in the same year shares the same dorm, and they all have to share a communal bathroom. Fred and George have four other room mates!"
His cousin's face fell dramatically "Shut up, that can't be true. Tell me you're joking right now, Weasley"
Ron laughed and shook his head "I'm not - it's true. Remember all that business about Hermione being the richest witch in the British isles now that she's the head of the Black family? Well if my recollection of the sorting is correct they've got her up there in that tower sharing a room with at least three other girls. It's a bit ironic don't you think?"
"Merlin's saggy left bollock… Do you know what, but I think I'd actually rather be a puff. Why on earth would they make them live like that? No wonder they think we're all snobs, they're sleeping stacked on top of each other like cords of firewood! That crazy giant is living better out there than they are - at least he has his own hut to himself!" The seriousness with which Draco said it only drove him onto the floor in a fit of uproarious laughter, until he realized something important and shot straight back up.
"How are they going to sneak out every month for the night of the full moon if they're sleeping in a room with three other kids each!?" He asked, instantly sobered. Draco looked shell shocked, as if the circumstances leading to such an event happening were so far fetched they would never possibly have occurred to him to even consider. "Everyone in Slytherin heard what Rowle said in the common room tonight" he said contemplatively "if what father and mother have told me about the Hogwarts rumor mill is true, we should expect everyone in the entire bloody school to have heard some version of it by the end of the week at the latest, whether they actually believe it or not. The rumor is out there, and there's no stopping it now - the best we can hope for is that everyone also hears what a fool Uncle Sev made of him" he added.
Ron nodded along thoughtfully "If everyone's already heard the rumor, then the only thing we can realistically do to mitigate its effect is find a way to thoroughly discredit the source," he reasoned "let everyone know he only found out in the first place because he called a sweet little girl a hateful slur"
Draco stared at him so long he began to think he'd misspoken, before breaking out into a sly smirk "If anyone ever asks me if you're really a snake like the rest of us I'm going to tell them you started a smear campaign against an older student before we even went to bed on the first night after arriving" he said, sounding proud beyond measure.