A NEW WORLD
There is no end. There is no beginning. There is only the passion of life…
Federico Fellini
She watched him, standing calmly, looking down at the valley below him. He almost resembled a statue, with how still he was standing, but his hands betrayed him. There in his hands, he was worrying some prayer beads. He was nervous, she could tell. She stepped away from the pillar she was behind, her steps were silent but she saw his hands twitch; he'd heard her.
"Amma," he acknowledged when she came to stand beside him.
Instead of saying anything she looked down at the valley, their valley. The sun was just rising, painting the horizon a velvety pink, chasing away the chill of the night. The sky in the west was still dark, a deep blue bleeding into dark purple. Stars blinked, faint and defiant to the growing light. The mountains, snow-capped and jagged, jutted up, trying to pierce the morning sky; and it was between the shadow of two those mountains that the valley rested in. Tucked as it was between two mountains, it was out of sight from most eyes.
The valley unfolded, tumbling down the rocky mountain with fast frothy rivulets cutting across it, creating a green and pale patchwork. The streams joined until it was a large river; carrying fresh life-giving water down to the valley. High up, the river had cut into the rock, carving, shaping and creating a series of water falls; it was here on a large outcropping of rock, a plateau of sorts that a large magnificent villa sat.
High up on an east facing balcony, one that offered a view of the falls and the valley below, the two stood and looked at the valley below. In the early light the valley and village below looked pale and sleepy, a thin film of morning fog clung to the surface; picturesque and beautiful. Houses and shops jumbled down below, colourful and bright. Abandoning her observation of what was below her, she looked sideways at him. His eyes were ringed with dark circles and there was a slight stubble on his chin.
"You look horrible." Her voice was soft but sharp.
He let out a tired chuckle. "The days have been long." He sighed and ran a hand through his greying hair.
She let out an irritated tsk. When was the last time he had slept or even tried to rest, she wondered? "You are more than tired, you are worried."
He scowled at her, but it lacked any heat.
"You always could read me like a book mother. It has always annoyed me." he slumped, leaning forward onto the rail.
"It is a mother's job to know. Now tell me, what has happened? How did the meeting go?" She looked up at him, her dark eyes gleaming with both concern and curiosity.
He turned away from her then and looked down at the valley. He could see the people below starting their days, lighting fires, opening shops and children running about. He almost imagined he could smell the scent of fresh bread from the baker on the soft breeze.
When had he last had the time, the chance to take a walk down the streets? He glanced down at the beads he still held in his hand. They were dark, with simple swirls carved on them.
"All the families have refused to take responsibility for the attack on the mines. It seems they were just common bandits…" his voice was carefully careless.
"That does not make any sense. You read the reports yourself, Amrit would never lie to you. He examined them himself; their minds…" she gripped the railing tight, her voice disbelieving.
"Amma!" He spoke brusquely startling her. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down.
"I know what the report said and I share Amrit's suspicions. But that is just what they are suspicions. I need more if I am to oust one of the families, a lot more. I need to tread carefully…" he let out a frustrated sigh.
"You are High Lord…" she countered.
"Yes, I am, and that is why I must exercise caution. It was a fool's hope – that meeting, hoping that one of them would come forward." He let out a chuckle – mirthless and sardonic.
"There has been much tension between the families and I must maintain the balance. My power is not absolute. A careless accusation could very well spark conflict." He leaned forward resting his forearms onto the railing, his eyes set in a grim line.
They stayed in silence as she took the time to digest his words. She did not like the situation they had found themselves but his words rang true. They could not be seen to be pushing their own personal agendas. Still there was something that had been niggling at the back of her mind.
"Is that why you are sending the girls away?" She turned fully to him, her eyes watching his face.
He let out a grimace and turned away from her but his hands grabbed onto the railing, his knuckles turning pale.
"Yes and no – it keeps them away from all this," he gestured wildly and vaguely about him. "…but it also serves to expose them to the wider world. There are many benefits to sending them to Europe."
"Ever the politician," her tone was reproachful but he paid it no mind.
"Have you told them at least, why you are sending them away?" She asked.
He shrugged carelessly making her huff irritably.
"I'm sure Padma will figure it out eventually, probably already has. Parvati won't care, she loves going to places." He spoke biting back a yawn.
She shook her head at her son's assessment of his daughters, her granddaughters, it was not wrong. She glanced behind her, towards the pillars and frowned. She thought she had seen something, sensed someone. Her son shifted and she glanced at him and he looked apologetic.
"I have to go Amma, give the girls my love." He placed a soft kiss on her brow.
"Supper will be waiting for you, stay safe Devraj." She held him back for a moment, running her worn hands across his brow in concern.
He stepped back and gave her a small nod before with a half twist and crack he was gone. She let out a small hum and looked at the town that sprawled before her.
"I did not know that my own granddaughter snuck in the shadows of her own home." She spoke up to the empty balcony. There was a beat of silence before she heard some shuffling steps behind her.
"Sorry Awa." A soft voice spoke up.
"Come child let me look at you." She turned slightly to look at the young girl.
Her granddaughter shuffled out; hands clasped in front of her. A long braid of dark hair resting across her slim shoulder as the young girl bowed her head demurely – her ever curious golden brown eyes peered at her grandmother from behind long lashes.
"Why were you sneaking around Padma?" She admonished lightly.
"I was not sneaking," protested the girl, her tone a touch petulant.
"You and papa were talking – I did not want you to think I was eavesdropping." She shrugged her petit shoulders.
"So you heard nothing?" The older woman looked at the younger girl, her dark eyes searching Padma's lighter brown ones.
"I did not hear much that I did not already know." The younger girl lifted her chin defiantly.
"You are too smart for your own good my little flower." The older woman sighed, a fond smile creeping up her face.
The young girl opened her mouth to say something but her grandmother cut her off.
"Why are you up so early?" She gestured for Padma to follow her. They moved through the halls, passing by servants who bowed politely to the two.
"Sanjay is taking me to the Healing Houses – Healer Ashraj is finally going to let me watch as they prepare some of their salves."
"Just watch?" Her grandmother raised a questioning brow even as she gestured for a servant and rattled off a quick instruction. The servant bowed and left hurriedly.
"That's all I could get…" Padma huffed.
"Do not whine, it's unbecoming of your station." Her grandmother clicked her tongue.
Padma looked away, murmuring under her breath, "What do I care about my station..."
"Hmm? Did you say something?" Her grandmother asked her tone turning sharp.
Padma quickly shook her head. "Nothing Awa."
"I thought so." The older woman nodded, satisfied before she gave her granddaughter a considering look. "Did you do your chores already?"
"Yes Awa." Padma nodded dutifully. Her grandmother hummed, appreciative.
"You have done your morning exercises?" came the next question.
Padma gave her grandmother a glance but she was busy looking at long strips of cloth that a servant had brought. For a moment Padma could not remember what the bright sheets were for. Until she remembered the festival later that week.
"I have Awa." Padma answered evenly.
Something in her tone must have been off because her grandmother turned and looked at her. The older woman dismissed the servant with an errant wave.
"You must not neglect them my little lotus – that necklace is a crutch and you must not overly rely on it." Old eyes peered at the younger girl.
Padma ducked her head, feeling properly chastised. Her hand went to the golden necklace strung around her neck. Her fingers traced the delicate carvings there.
"I'm sorry Awa, it's just hard sometimes…" she spoke softly.
"Nothing worthwhile was ever easy my dear. But you are young yet and you have time to learn and grow." The older woman run her hands along Padma's smooth hair.
"Yes Awa." The younger girl nodded, her shoulders straightening.
"Now come, let us go wake your sister. That girl sleeps like the dead sometimes."
Padma laughed at her grandmother's antics and followed in her wake.
"I'm still not so sure about sending her to this school." His voice carried a hint of frustration.
"What else is there? You heard the Professor – she needs to learn how to control this." Her voice in comparison was calmer and distracted, cutting vegetables as she was.
"We could just as easily get her tutors, I'm sure they are available somewhere…" he suggested.
"Really…I didn't know they advertised in the yellow pages." Her voice had gone dry.
"Oh come off it, no need to go there." He rolled his eyes, irritated. She laughed at his whiny voice.
"What about her normal education, are we just going to let her abandon that?"
"The professor said that they have programs for that, to facilitate and integrate normal lessons, should a child wish to sign up." She explained absently looking at the fowl on her cutting board.
"So you're comfortable with us just letting her go off to some fantasy school. It could all be some sort of scam or something." He prodded.
She sighed and replaced the bottle of spice rub back into the rack. She turned around and looked at her husband – he had his hands folded across his chest, his chin upturned and one of his legs was twitching.
"Daniel," she almost smirked when she noticed him twitch at his full name.
"How is it that different from boarding school? We were planning on sending her to one after all?" she asked plainly.
He opened his mouth before closing it, a frown pulling his brow forward.
"You saw what I saw, that was no scam. Yes, she'll be learning things we won't have a clue about and things are suddenly different, but in so many ways they make sense – all those strange things we couldn't wrap our head around. It makes sense now." She couldn't help the relief flooding her voice.
Their daughter had always been gifted, impressively smart and inquisitive and they had been proud of that, but she had also been odd. Odd in that things always seemed to happen to her and around her. It had worried her, and she knew that it had worried Daniel, despite his constant scepticism.
"Seems rather convenient if you ask me…" he said mutinously.
"Convenient? Really? You just don't want her going because you'll miss her so much." She snorted exasperated
"Of course, I will. I was okay with a normal boarding school – but you said it yourself, this is different. You saw all that stuff at their hidden shopping district – a concept I might add that I'm still wrapping my mind around. There was freaky, crazy, stuff there." He gestured wildly, an unsettled light gleaming in his eyes.
"Look it's not that I don't get what you are saying – because I do get it, but you know as well as I do that we can't deny her this. She wants to go – she's been talking about it nonstop. A whole new world, a clean slate. Do you want to disappoint your daughter that much?" she looked at him then, earnestly.
"Obviously I don't…." He answered after a beat of silence.
"Good then – go wash up, dinner will be ready in ten minutes. Shu!" she ordered, effectively ending the conversation.
There was some grumbling before Hermione heard her father leave. She hesitated by the door feeling uneasy. She took a deep breath before she steeled her nerves and pushed the door open and walked into the kitchen.
Her mother did not appear at all startled that she had entered and the woman turned and looked at her daughter.
The two were quite similar in colouring, with both having brown hair and hazel eyes. Hermione had her mother's nose and cheeks, though hers still had a good layer of baby fat. What she did not inherit from her mother was her hair. The older woman had dark hair that fell in waves around her head; Hermione meanwhile had a mass of bushy hair forming a halo around her.
"I assume you must have heard some or all that?" her mother asked turning back to making supper.
Hermione had stopped trying to figure out how her mother knew such things a long time ago. Unbeknownst to Hermione was that the young girl had a very horrible poker face.
"Most of it…" Hermione tried to keep her voice light and failed. Clearing her throat to stem any awkwardness, she gestured toward her mother, "What's for dinner?"
Her mother gave her an appraising look before answering, "Roast duck, if it comes out right that is."
Hermione cracked a grin. Her mother wasn't a horrible cook per say, she just had a healthy amount of accidents happen in the kitchen.
"You should try and understand your father though. He's just worried." Her mother turned briefly to look at her, knowingly.
Hermione's good mood quickly evaporated and she looked away. "I know he is – it's just, I thought he would be a bit more excited for me."
"Well he was excited, until he started to think about all the dangers to his little girl." The older woman chuckled at the look of distaste her daughter made.
"I'm not a little girl anymore." Hermione's face twisted with a scowl on her face. Her mother let out a laugh, and Hermione flushed, knowing how whiny she sounded.
"You know you'll always be his little girl, even when you're grey and old. He's just being a father and trying to protect you, okay?" she wrapped her little girl in a hug and squeezed her gently.
"Okay…" Hermione mumbled into her mother's chest.
"Plus the moment he realizes that dragons are real, he'll go all nerd crazy."
Hermione couldn't help the laugh that burst from her.
"Is something funny?" Her father was stood in the doorway looking at the two of them bemused. Hermione dissolved in a fit of giggles.
September 1st found Hadrian feeling a strange blend of emotions; excitement, nervousness, sadness and a whole bevy of things he couldn't quite put into words. He was sitting in a train compartment – the Hogwarts Express was a crimson steam train. Hadrian had gaped at the train for a moment before boarding.
He had had to say his goodbyes to his family away from the platform – platform ; that had given Uncle Vernon a headache at the ridiculousness of wizards as he called it. Hadrian liked it though – a special platform just for wizards, hidden from mundanes or muggles as wizards liked to say. Muggles couldn't get in, as the entrance was hidden in the same way as the Leaky Cauldron.
Saying goodbye had been hard – Auntie had cried, just like she cried when Dudley had gone to Smeltings the other year. Dudley had punched him in the arm and told him to give 'em hell. Uncle Vernon had hugged him and told him to have fun. Hadrian was excited yes, but this would be the first time he would be away from his family for months and it was slightly unnerving. At least I will get to see Aunt Minnie every day. Well he would have to remember to call her Professor but she was going to be around and that eased his worries somewhat.
Hadrian had gotten to the station early and so had secured a compartment near the back all to himself. He didn't mind though and busied himself looking out the window, looking at all the people coming onto the platform. Some used the Wall entrance as it was called – they came charging through a pillar, some stumbling and some even crashing.
Hadrian loved the chaos. Some people came via some fireplaces that were lined up along the platform, appearing in bursts of green fire. That had surprised the heck out of Hadrian, and he had jerked back in surprise the first time he had seen it. He wondered what it was called, he would have to ask his Aunt at school.
Still the time flew by and the platform was soon crowded and noisy, kids who hadn't seen each other all summer called out to each other. Pets in cages let out all sorts of noises. Hadrian's eyes tried to follow all this, trying to take it all in. He saw families embracing, mother's crying, younger siblings looking jealous. He caught sight of a girl, she looked his age, with brown bushy hair coming from the Wall.
Another boy, who looked a bit plump was clutching a toad of all things and was standing next to a tall older looking woman. Was that a dead bird on her head? Hadrian shook his head and let his eyes drift. His eyes caught a flash of pale blond and he saw the boy he had met in the robe shop. His father and mother all had the same sort of hair as him, pale and blond. The haughty boy was blushing red in embarrassment as his mother hugged him. Hadrian grinned, the boy must have felt mortified.
A flash, well more like a blaze of red caught his attention. A large family, all redheads were on the platform, the youngest boy looked like how Hadrian had felt a bit earlier, excited with a blend of nerves. The youngest child, a girl seemed to be crying. Hadrian could understand somewhat how she must be feeling. When Dudley had gone to Smeltings Hadrian had felt horrible and lonely. He hadn't cried of course, Dudley would have never let him live that down but still, it had not been a pleasant feeling.
Shaking off his memories, Hadrian continued looking at the people outside, trying to commit faces of what he thought were his fellow first years to memory. If anyone looked at the young boy in the compartment wearing his muggle cap, he paid them no mind. There was no harm in looking after all.
Soon the train whistle blew and Hadrian heard the conductor shout out that they would be leaving in five minutes. For a moment Hadrian wondered how the conductor got his voice that loud, before he shrugged and threw the thought into the Magic I Have to Look Up section.
With a final whistle the train started to set off. Hadrian laughed in surprise as two of the red heads, twins if he was seeing right, had to literally jump onto the train after they almost forgot their trunk on the platform. Hadrian looked at his empty compartment, was he fortunate to be alone or…. A knock interrupted his thought. The compartment door slid open and a face with freckles, blue eyes and a shock of orange red hair poked in.
"Hey you mind if I sit here, the other compartments are nearly full?" The redhead asked.
"It's no bother." Hadrian said.
The other boy grinned and let out a quick thanks before pulling his trunk in. Hadrian glanced at it; it was chipped here and there and was obviously worn. He shrugged and got up to help the other boy. A bit of huffing and puffing and the two managed to put the large trunk up the rack. The other boy plopped himself onto the other seat across from Hadrian, letting out a sigh.
"Thanks for that. Oh, I'm Ron Weasley by the way." The boy thrust out a hand and Hadrian quickly shook it.
"I'm Hadrian."
Ron nodded before his eyes darted up to glance at the hat on his head. Hadrian suddenly felt self-conscious. Had the hat slipped?
"My dad has a hat like that, muggle design and all." Ron explained.
"Oh really? Umm why?" Hadrian answered caught off guard.
"He goes crazy for the stuff, likes to fiddle with some of them eclectic appliances." Ron's smile was wistful.
Hadrian imagined that Ron had joined his father in his fiddling.
"So what sort of appliances?" Hadrian asked humouring the other boy.
"Umm well I don't have their names off the top of my head – my dad probably could tell you all about it." Ron explained, his pale skin turning pink.
"I just know they run on eclectic." He finished, nodding to himself, satisfied.
Hadrian had a strange thought, as he realized something.
"Do you mean electricity?" Hadrian asked.
"Isn't that what I said?" Ron asked confused.
Hadrian tried hard not to snort in disbelief, he almost failed.
"Sorry, it's just that you pronounced it wrong…It's electricity. I'm pretty sure eclectic is a whole other word." He explained plainly, keeping his tone light.
Ron got a bit red in the face, "You sure? I mean it's how he says it…"
"I'm pretty sure." Said Hadrian with a casual shrug.
"You must be a muggleborn then." Ron said calming down.
"Well no, I was raised by muggles; my Aunt and Uncle, but I'm a halfblood." Hadrian explained, wondering why everyone wanted to label him.
"Oh that's something…." Ron seemed to realize something because he seemed to stop himself from asking something else.
"Umm what was that like then? Being raised by muggles." Ron pivoted, trying to learn something new from the dark haired boy.
"Seemed pretty normal to me, I didn't have something to compare it to so…yeah. This is all sort of new." Hadrian said feeling awkward, he had never had to explain something like that before.
"Well I suppose it would be for you…" The redhead seemed to come to some sort of realization because his eyes widened in excitement. "I bet you haven't yet got to see a spell huh?"
Hadrian made to protest but Ron had already pulled out his wand and also a large brown scraggly looking rat. Hadrian blinked at that; who the hell keeps a rat in their pocket? Ron was talking and Hadrian decided to pay attention,
"…. the twins gave me a spell, an incantation – it's supposed to change Scabbers' colour." Ron explained excitedly.
Hadrian nodded uncertainly at that, though he wondered what sort of name was Scabbers?
Ron raised his old looking wand up, getting ready to cast. Hadrian found himself leaning forward despite himself. The compartment door slid open, startling both boys.
"Has any of you seen a toad? Neville's lost his." The girl had wild bushy brown hair, a round face, with slightly large front teeth. Her brown eyes dashed all over the compartment, before they settled on Ron, specifically his wand.
"No, we haven't seen a toad." Ron answered his tone belying his annoyance.
"Are you performing magic then? Well let's see it…" the girl then flopped down onto the seat beside Hadrian startling him and peered intently at Ron.
The redhead fidgeted uncomfortably, Hadrian couldn't blame him, this girl was intense. Ron looked at Hadrian for a moment and Hadrian gave him a shrug. Ron seemed to draw courage from this because he once again raised his wand.
"Come ye mother of light from the east, come ye dashing father of colour, grant me and turn this lazy rat yellow!" Ron finished it with a flourish of his wand and then looked down at the rat in expectation. The rat was still brown and if anything, it looked even lazier.
"Umm are you sure you did it right?" Hadrian asked, moving his head to the side as he squinted at the rat.
"I did it like the twins told me – I know I did…" Ron looked at his wand in betrayal.
"Well then that must not be a spell then, it was all wrong." The girl's voice had a hint of smug in it.
Ron flushed in irritation. "How would you know that it wasn't a proper spell huh? I mean can you even perform one."
The girl sniffed in irritation before she looked down her nose at the redhead.
"I would have you know that all the spells I've tried have so far worked for me…unlike you." She finished smug.
Ron sputtered and his face flushed, going as red as his hair.
"Oi, oi! What's going on here – Ronneikins, made friends already I see."
The three kids turned to the two voices and were met with two indistinguishable faces with flaming red hair grinning at them.
"You!" Ron stood up, his wand jabbing straight at the twins. A bolt of magic streaked out, speeding towards the two.
The twins squawked and separated dodging the vermillion bolt of magic. The spell splashed against the wall, scorching it slightly. Ron gaped at his wand, looking back and forth between it and the wall.
"Brother, I think little Ronnie is trying to kill us, why is that?" the one on the left looked at the wall with faint surprise.
"Well I honestly have no idea, after all we have done for him, all the pranks we have done to him." The one on the right replied.
"You gave me a dud spell, that's what you two did." Ron accused.
"Did we?" the one on the left asked innocently.
"I don't remember that happening." The one on the right said.
"How is it our fault that you can't tell a spell from bad poetry." They grinned as Ron gaped at them.
The girl beside Hadrian giggled before clamping a hand to her mouth. Ron glared at her before he huffed and sat back down. The redhead then proceeded to studiously ignore his older brothers.
"Well since little Ronnie," the glare from Ron was ignored with ease. "- doesn't seem like introducing us…I'm George..." the one on the left said with a bow. "And I am Fred…" the one on the right bowed low, "Or is it the other way around, it gets confusing after a while." The two said in unison, grinning mad and winking exaggeratedly.
Hadrian chuckled; how long did they practice that he wondered. "Well I'm Hadrian and this is…umm."
"I'm Hermione, Hermione Granger." She introduced herself.
"Well it's nice to meet you two…" George said.
"Indeed, if you want some mayhem, find us." Fred said.
"Umm thank you." Hadrian said uncertainly. These two were a whirlwind to be around.
"Good man." George said with a smile and the two turned to leave.
"Wait!"
Hadrian turned startled to Hermione, but she ignored him. "Have you two seen a toad? Neville's lost his."
"Can't say I have, what about you?" Fred turned to his twin who shook his head. Hermione looked a tad disappointed.
"Well why don't you just summon the little bugger for you?" George asked.
"Wait, you can do that?" Hermione asked getting excited.
"Well yes, not us obviously." George scratched his cheek nervously. "Our summoning charms are still a bit iffy, but a prefect will help you in a jiffy."
"Oh thank you, I should have thought of asking a prefect…" Hermione frowned in consternation, clearly put off by her oversight.
"Well it's perfectly fine that you didn't think of it. You're only a firstie, but don't worry. Your elders are here to help." Fred patted her shoulder, his smile wide and patronising.
Hermione huffed in irritation. Before she could say anything else to show her displeasure the twins left. She turned to Ron and opened her mouth.
"Don't." The redhead cut her off, "I already know they can be a pain. I live with them."
She closed her mouth. For a moment there was an awkward silence before with a rustling of cloth, Hermione got up. "I better go find those prefects. Trevor isn't going to find himself."
Hadrian surmised that Trevor was the missing toad.
"See you later then…" she waved them goodbye and was gone just as abruptly as she had come.
"I hope not." Ron muttered under his breath, soft enough that Hermione didn't hear him.
"I'm glad she's gone. Mental she is." Ron leaned back, his posture relaxed.
"Well I wouldn't call her mental, a bit forceful maybe but she seemed nice enough." Hadrian frowned at the other boy who looked at him in honest confusion.
"Nice? She mocked me the moment she got here. Talking about my spell…" Ron complained.
"Well it's not like she was wrong…" Hadrian hedged, a small smile tugging at his lips.
"I know that – she didn't have to be smug about it though." Ron grunted out.
Hadrian shrugged, he really had nothing to say to that. Luckily, he didn't have to because once again the door opened. Familiar blond hair and pale pointed face. Hadrian immediately recognized the boy from the shop in the magical alley.
"You're that boy I met in the clothing store." Hadrian said with a surprised smile.
The boy who had been about to speak looked a bit startled. He had two other boys, taller, wider and meatier flanking him. The blonde looked at him, his eyes flitting over his form quickly before they settled on his cap.
"You're still wearing that ridiculous hat I see…" he said with an upturned nose. Hadrian grinned, not at all offended, he found the boy rather amusing.
"It was a gift you see…" Hadrian explained glibly.
"Ahh some gift – I never got your name...?" The blond proded, holding his hand out.
"Hadrian. You are?" Hadrian clasped the arm in a firm grip, just like Uncle Vernon had taught him.
The boy seemed to swell up and gave off an important air about him.
"My name is Draco, Draco…"
"Malfoy."
The two acquaintances turned to Ron. The redhead was looking at the newcomer with a glare. Draco it seemed had barely paid attention to the other occupant of the compartment. But now he looked at Ron, he took in the worn and somewhat frayed clothes and the flame coloured hair, the freckles and came to one conclusion.
"Weasley." His face twisted into a real sneer now, full of disdain.
Hadrian could literally feel the dislike the two boys had for each other.
"Um do you two know each other perhaps…?" Hadrian asked taking a half step back. The two boys didn't stop glaring at the other.
"Know him? No. But father always did say that if you see something worn, unkempt and red then it must be a Weasley." Draco gave a superior smirk as Ron flushed with anger.
"Well your father can shove it, everyone knows that he is nothing but…" Ron took a threatening step forward, his hands balled into fists.
"One of the governors of the school. I would watch what you say to me Weasley, you may not like how it ends." Draco matched the redhead, his grey eyes cutting.
Ron grit his teeth and swallowed the insult that threatened to escape him, he took a step back.
"I thought so…" Draco then turned to Hadrian. His grey eyes lost some of their intensity.
"I suggest you not hang around such riff raff Hadrian. You seem like a sensible sort; don't let the company you keep drag you down with it."
"Umm thanks for the advice." Hadrian replied still unsure what he had found himself in the middle of.
He winced as Ron threw him a wounded look. Draco nodded satisfied and turned to his two lackeys.
"Crabbe, Goyle, come on. Potter is obviously not here, let's keep looking." Draco said irritated.
Hadrian jerked in surprise, luckily nobody paid him any mind. With a last sneer at Ron and a nod towards Hadrian, Draco left. Hadrian was left with an ill-tempered Ron. They sat in silence, with Ron stewing and Hadrian waiting for his new sort of friend to blow up.
"You never said you were friends with bloody Malfoy." Ron accused, his blue eyes glaring.
"We aren't friends." Hadrian frowned and could feel himself getting irritated. "He and I met at Madam Malkin's, that's all and we barely spoke."
"Of course you met there…" Ron muttered his tone despondent.
Hadrian stared confused at that, what did the other boy mean by that. He would have asked but the other boy seemed to have been talking to himself.
"Well you two seemed pretty friendly to me." Ron eyed him suspiciously. Hadrian rolled his eyes at that.
"What's your problem with him anyway? You two were at each other's throats there…" Hadrian asked finally.
"He's a Malfoy," Ron said like that was all the explanation Hadrian needed.
Hadrian frowned, he wasn't having any of that. "So what if he's a Malfoy?"
Ron stared at him like he had grown a second head.
"His family is into all sorts of shady things, everyone knows that. The Malfoy family are bad news." Ron said leaning forward.
"Everyone knows?" Hadrian asked frowning. Ron nodded emphatically.
"Then why does nobody do anything about it then?" Hadrian wondered aloud.
Ron looked uncomfortable for a minute, and looked around the compartment. Hadrian was surprised with this cautious and paranoid side of the redhead. Ron leaned forward and Hadrian followed suit.
"Well my dad says that the Malfoy family has connections and deep pockets and that lets them get away with all sorts of things." Ron whispered conspiratorially.
Hadrian leaned back in his seat. He didn't really have any reason to not believe what Ron was telling him but he still had a hard time believing it. Draco when he had met him the first time had been arrogant and the second time had also shown that he was a bit of a jerk, but despite that Draco had been somewhat friendly.
It had only gotten messy when he met Ron. Hadrian shook his head, this wasn't any of his business, he had only just met the two and barely knew anything about them. It was best to just ignore it and have an open mind he supposed.
"Alright Ron, I hear you." Hadrian leaned back nodding.
The redhead seemed relieved to hear that and nodded seriously before he too leaned back in his seat.
There was still some tension in the air but that was soon dispelled when a lady with a cart full of all sorts of food and sweets came knocking.
Hadrian admittedly got over excited and may have splurged a bit and bought a lot of the treats. Still as he reasoned there were two of them and surely anything left over could just be eaten on the next day. Ron had been strangely reluctant to help himself to the pile of sweets when Hadrian had offered.
But Hadrian insisted and eventually the boy relented. Ron it turns out rather liked sweets and he liked talking. Soon the compartment was filled with stories and laughter. Hadrian enjoyed hearing about what it was like growing up in a wizard household. Ron did not quite understand why his knew friend was so interested in hearing about his home but he still indulged him with a few stories. And so the hours went by like that and the train chugged along the countryside eating the miles. Hadrian learnt of the most popular wizards sport, Quidditch. A sport played on brooms and with four balls and six goals.
Ron to Hadrian was a font of information and he enjoyed every minute of it. The sky outside the trees grew darker and the terrain changed. The two only noticed this when Hermione dropped by again and mentioned that they should change into their robes. It seemed that they were about to arrive.
Padma had been excited, the idea of going to a school in a train had seemed quite novel and so she had amused herself by watching the terrain go by outside their window. It had almost reminded her of her flying carpet back home; without the wind in her hair of course.
For a while that had been nice, sitting in the compartment with her sister and discussing what they thought the school would be like. But soon she got bored, there was only so much they could talk about a place neither of them had been to after all. Luckily though they had made tentative friends who had shared their compartment. Two girls had joined them; Lavender Brown and Su Li.
There was not much she could say about Su, other than that the girl was rather small, quiet and seemed rather studious. The pale girl had spent the entire journey after introducing herself with her head buried in a book. Padma couldn't really judge the girl after all Padma had also brought a book or two to read. Lavender on the other had was talkative and airy, her laughs came easy and she rarely seemed to lack anything to say. She, unsurprisingly to Padma, got along with Parvati, her sister.
The two had spent the journey chattering and gossiping, imagining life at school, all the stuff they would do, what houses they might end up in. Padma had been certainly been interested in the houses. She had a feeling that she and Su would fit in Ravenclaw.
Sooner than Padma had expected they heard the announcement that they would be pulling into Hogsmeade Station. Padma tried to peer outside her window but could barely make out anything, other than a large blocky building. The train came to a stop with a drawn-out hiss and whistle. The four girls looked at each other before shrugging and getting out. Their luggage would be taken care, or so they had been told. They joined the other students who were heading out the train.
Her first step outside and Padma realized she was no longer home, there was a chill in the air, the first preludes to winter. She looked around, the older students seemed to be heading to one direction and after sharing a glance with her sister they made to follow.
"First years, first years, ov'r here. First years…" The voice boomed across the station.
How did I miss that? She asked herself. There, wading amidst the various students was a man. He was massive and towered over everyone there and he wasn't even standing on the raised platform. In his hand was a lantern that glowed warmly and illuminated the little bit of his face that could be seen. He was very hairy with a large busy beard that reached down to his chest and shaggy dark hair that trailed down his back.
"Hagrid!" the young voice was from a boy wearing a cap.
The man's dark eyes seemed to light up at the sight of the boy. "You alright Hadrian?"
Padma couldn't quite see his face from where she was standing but she certainly felt him grin. The giant of a man nodded.
"First years come along."
The boy and three of what she assumed were his friends followed him. Without another choice most of the assembled first years followed.
The path they took was rocky, winding and somewhat slippery. They went downhill and in the dark Hagrid's lantern was barely any help. Luckily though it wasn't too dark out and though they had to go slow, they made their way without too much trouble. Soon they arrived and Padma looked askance at their transport. Boats, small rickety dangerous looking, were bobbing up and down near the shore of a dark lake.
"C'mon, four to a boat now." Hagrid boomed.
"Are you crazy? These things look like a hazard."
Padma didn't know who said that but she certainly shared the sentiment. So did a lot of the others. Murmurs of discontent broke out amongst the troop of children. Padma felt their anxiety press against her and she shook her head.
"These are perfectly safe, see?" To demonstrate, Hagrid quickly got into one of the boats, barely managing to fit in it and he certainly couldn't sit down, but other than a few wobbles as he got in, the boat seemed fine. Still nobody dared to be the first to brave a boat.
"Atta boy!" Hagrid whooped.
The boy in the cap had recklessly jumped into one of the boats. He turned to look at the other first years and Padma got her first look at him. Pale healthy skin, a somewhat round face, a toothy smile and the greenest eyes she had ever seen. The boy seemed to have opened the gates as people went ahead and climbed into boats. The boy was joined by his friends and soon everyone was in a boat.
Padma huddled next to her sister seeking warmth, they were sharing the boat with Lavender and Su. Huddled like this in small boats, in the dark, the smaller girl looked rather vulnerable. Padma sought out Su's hand in the dark and eventually clasped her cold hand. The girl turned her startled dark eyes to Padma. Padma squeezed Su's smaller hand and offered her a small but warm smile.
"Its okay to be nervous, but everything will be fine, ok?" Padma could feel the tension ease in the other girl, it was still there but lesser. She didn't let go of her hand. She noticed Parvati giving her a knowing look but she ignored her sister.
"Forward!"
A few people shrieked, startled as the boats shot forward into the water. Padma looked up, there were a few clouds above them but they did not completely obscure the stars out and about. Conversation slowly drifted in from the boats nearby.
"Why do we have to use the boats?" It was a girl's voice that Padma unsurprisingly didn't recognize.
"They're just being bloody mental is what I think?" came the petulant reply.
"Ronald!" the girl said outraged.
"Don't call me that!" Ronald bit back. "Imagine if one of us fell in here. Say Nev can you swim?" Ronald asked his other boat mate.
She never got to hear how that conversation ended as Hagrid told them to duck. They plunged into darkness – a cave of some sort with vines growing over the entrance. Padma tried not to shudder as the vines brushed over her.
"This is so freaky…" Lavender muttered.
Padma couldn't help but grunt in agreement. Why couldn't they have just gone with the older students. When she raised her head, she got her answer. "Wow…"
Wow was right. There perched along the cliff that jutted out into the water, stood the school. A massive castle overlooking the lake, its windows shone with warm light and behind it the cold light of the stars danced. It was majestic, it was beautiful. It was a sight that Padma was sure would forever reside in her mind unblemished.
Soon enough they came to a small hidden cove and dock. The group quickly disembarked and followed Hagrid up a set of stairs. Padma wasn't the only one who sighed in content when they entered the warm castle. She could hear voices and murmuring off to the side and she glanced to her left. Massive doors, carved with vines and woodland creatures. That must be the dining hall, she surmised.
Hagrid led them off to an antechamber off to the side. He told them to stay put and slipped out of the room. For a moment there was silence as the kids looked around the room, unsure about what to do.
"Why do they us have sneaking about you reckon?" A boy with freckles and brown hair nudged his friend.
"It has to do with the sorting – they must be getting it ready."
"How do they sort us?"
This seemingly innocuous question seemed to open the floodgates. A nervous energy permeated the group, everyone unsure of what came next. It had been bubbling under the surface and now finally it burst out and the room rang with nervous, frantic cries.
Padma grimaced and reached for the necklace hidden under her collar. The metal was warm under her fingers and she focused on her breathing, letting the waves of anxious pass her by, never letting her being latch onto them.
"I heard they have us demonstrate our magic."
"What!? But my parents didn't teach me anything."
"What if it's a test, a written test? I'm not so good at those."
"My brothers told me we have to fight a troll." this was said by Ronald the red headed boy and a few looked at him askance.
One boy beside him, brown-haired and slightly round nearly choked, gasping, his face paling rapidly. Padma hissed and clutched her necklace tighter.
Padma felt her sister reach out her hand towards her and she shuffled away.
"Don't…" she whispered, pained. Parvati quickly took her hand away, but it hovered only a few inches from her sister's shoulder.
"Are you okay?" Parvati asked, shuffling closer, her words low. Padma opened her eyes and met Parvati's worried eyes.
Padma ignored the questioning eyes of Su and offered her sister a smile but it came out more like a grimace. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Slowly she tried to clear her mind, focusing on her breathing and the sensation of her pounding heart. Her necklace warmed in her hand and slowly she felt the pressure and push of emotion lessen against her mind.
Once she felt it all retreat to the fringes of her perception, she opened her eyes. Su Li was still looking up at her and Padma offered her a reassuring smile, the other girl's eyes bored into her, curious before she nodded back. Padma turned to Parvati; her sister was looking at her like she might break at any minute.
"Parvati, honestly I'm fine. It just caught me by surprise is all." Padma offered a small placating smile.
Parvati's face cycled through a few emotions before settling on annoyed. "Papa told you to keep the necklace active, why would you…" Parvati whispered furiously.
Something flickered across Padma's senses and she cut her sister off.
"You can be annoyed with me later, the professor is here." Padma hushed her sister.
Before Parvati could say anything more, the door to the antechamber opened and in walked a professor.
The witch was tall, with dark hair pulled back, pale green eyes and the lines of her face were pulled into a stern expression. For a moment she went unnoticed and the group of first years continued talking among themselves. And then for the briefest moment her presence swelled, brushing against them like a stinging wind.
Students left and right jerked and flinched in surprise. Padma felt the professor's aura crash into her and tried not to lose control of her own. She felt the professor, nay she could almost taste her presence. She could feel herself slipping and then it was gone.
Just like it had come, the show of strength disappeared and Padma found herself breathless. She looked around the room and could see some others as breathless as herself. Everyone had been affected, to varying degrees.
"Now that I have your attention…." She sent a glare at a pale haired boy causing him to flinch. "…welcome to Hogwarts. As some of you know I am Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress." She spoke evenly, her words washing over them with ease.
"Soon we shall begin our sorting ceremony, to decide which house best suits your personality." she said grandly, her thin lips pulling into a small smile, but that quickly disappeared.
"While you are here, your house is your family, they will support you, care for you, share in your triumphs and defeats. Your merits will earn your house points and your rule breaking will lose your house points. I expect you all to comport yourselves favourably." She gave them all a steely look, daring them to disagree with her.
They made their way to the dining hall, the Great Hall, in two lines. Padma was behind her sister, with Su Li behind her and beside her walked the boy wearing the hat. The great doors to the hall opened and she gasped; it was stunning. Four long tables flanked the hall, two on each side – full of students. At the front was a raised dais with a long table on it, the teacher's table. They came to stand before the teacher's table, their backs to it.
The hall was warm and full of light – light from hundreds, thousands of candles, candles that were suspended above them, floating in mid-air. Banners fluttered in an imaginary wind above each table. To her far left a red banner with a rearing golden lion – Gryffindor, house of the brave. Then there was a blue banner with a bronze eagle – Ravenclaw, house of the wise and intelligent. To her right was a golden banner with a black solemn badger – Hufflepuff, house of the loyal and hardworking. Finally, to the far right, an emerald green banner with a silver snake coiled and poised to strike – Slytherin, the house of the cunning and ambitious. Above all this the night sky, full of stars glittered at them, the ceiling absent.
"It's amazing…" the words were whispered but she turned to look at the boy walking beside her. His large green eyes were turned up toward the sky.
"Yes, it is." She acknowledged.
He glanced at her and smiled for some reason. Padma turned away, flushing. She clutched at her necklace and calmed herself, pushing back on the echoes that threatened to envelope her. The hall was full of people and even as the first years went down the middle the murmur of voices continued, increasing in volume as the older students made their comments.
"It's not really opened to the sky…" the girl from before, with bushy hair started to say. "It's enchanted, to reflect the night sky. I read all about it in Hogwarts A History." The girl finished.
Padma felt a grimace pull at her face. The girl was so condescending and she could feel her superiority seeping through. Padma opened her mouth but the boy beat her to it, "You're right of course…" he whispered causing the girl to preen.
"How did Ravenclaw manage it I wonder? Maintaining such a spell for long – do you think she used a Charm-Rune hybrid and looped it through a stability matrix while grounding it on all four axes of the ward scheme…?" he trailed off as he saw both their blank faces.
Padma had not understood a single thing there and the other girl was similar, except she seemed to have been offended. The girl was red faced, her face pinched in a pained grimace of thought. She opened her mouth to say something then closed it, that happened a few times, before she moved away with a huff. Embarrassment, confusion, irritation – they were all clearer than day to Padma.
"That was mean, you know." Despite her words, she couldn't help the smile that twitched at her lips.
"What do you mean?" he looked bemused – and she could tell it was genuine, he really didn't know what he had done.
"I suppose it doesn't matter now." She shrugged. He frowned at her words, she could almost see the gears in his mind working something out.
"You're strange…" he said finally, his head cocked to the side. She couldn't help herself, she laughed. She stopped quickly though when her sister and several others turned to look at her. She turned to look at the boy and he was smiling softly at her. He felt warm in that moment.
"I like strange things…" his grin was full of mischief and Padma felt her face reflect it. She decided to be reckless and thrust out her arm.
"I'm Padma…" he looked at her briefly before he took her hand.
"I'm Hadrian."
She bit back a gasp – nervous, excited, curious, hungry and tired. In that brief moment she caught a clear picture of him and then it was gone, he had dropped her hand.
"Is everything…" He started but a commotion stopped him.
"You can't seriously expect us to put on that dirty old thing."
Padma turned to look at Lavender, her face was scrunched up in mild disgust at what professor McGonagall had placed in front of them. It was a hat – old, dusty, full of tears and mould, and it was sitting on a stool. They used a hat to sort them? Padma almost snorted. Then the hat began to sing and she gaped.
One of the tears near the rim was its mouth and its voice, hard and gravely come out and burst into song. Padma could barely follow the song and then people were applauding and cheering and the hat had the audacity to take a bow.
Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said, her tone sharp and direct.
"Abbott, Hannah!"
A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, she winced as McGonagall placed the hat on her, which fell right down over her eyes, and only her pigtails kept it from swallowing her head whole. A moment's pause —
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.
The table on the right cheered, whopped and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table, her face flushed with excitement and embarrassment. For the first time Padma noticed the ghosts floating about the room – specifically the rather fat silvery figure that was waving to the newest addition to Hufflepuff.
"Bones, Susan!" a pale girl with red hair and freckles was next to sit down.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah and the two obvious friends grinned ang giggled, happy to be together.
"Boot, Terry!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.
"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender!" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers.
"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. The cheering here was equally loud now and suddenly the ceremony was in full swing. Not everyone had a quick sorting, the hat taking a minute or so to decide.
The bushy haired girl, Granger Hermione, took a while to sort. They could see her biting her lip in agitation and Padma felt the bit of it that leaked out of the girl before the hat announced her to be a Gryffindor. Padma found herself surprised by the hat's choice; she'd thought the girl was a shoe in for Ravenclaw – she seemed to be a know it all.
For others though, the sorting went much faster. Malfoy, Draco – who she had met on the train briefly, barely had the hat touch him before it bellowed out SLYTHERIN. He joined the house of the serpents to much cheering.
"No surprise there, that's what Malfoys are good for." someone scoffed.
Padma glanced at the redheaded boy who was scowling at the newest Slytherin. She shrugged; it was none of her business.
The numbers dwindled and then, "Patil, Padma." She blinked. It was her turn and she suddenly felt nervous. Parvati gave her a shove and she was suddenly seated on the stool. Faces, hundreds of them, from across the hall peered at her. Her own eyes darted across the hall searching and finally settled on the startling green close to her and then darkness.
"Hmm, oh my. What do we have here?" the voice was all around her, coming from all directions. Padma felt a spike of panic, what was this.
"Shouldn't you be familiar with this – ah you are only capable of feeling for the moment, you will progress in time." The voice mused.
Panic bled into dread and Padma stiffened; the hat was in her mind, she could feel it. This was unacceptable.
"Peace child, all this is between us, I can never divulge what I find in your mind. My very magic ensures that." The hat soothed.
Padma calmed slightly and her mind kicked into gear working furiously, she could feel the truth in the hat's words and what it said did make sense. There was no way that the authorities would let the hat exist unless it was bound in such tight ways – mind magics as she well knew were dangerous and highly monitored. A deep gravelly laugh reverberated in her mind.
"What a wonderful mind you have, with a thirst for knowledge and not so little ambition. While your ambition is great and quite noble, it is ill suited to Slytherin, that plus your gift, well – it better be RAVENCLAW." The last bit was shouted out to the hall.
The Ravenclaw table burst into cheer and feeling ambivalent she went and took her seat. And then it was her sisters turn, GRYFFINDOR! Padma swallowed the tightness in her throat. This wasn't unexpected, she told herself. Twins they may be, but her sister and she were two different people. Still her eyes flashed towards her sister who seemed oblivious and was chatting with Lavender.
"Potter, Hadrian."
The hall plunged into silence so quickly she wondered if someone had bewitched them all. Still, she found herself leaning forward as much as everybody else, looking at the small group of first years left. Oh…The boy from before, Hadrian – she blinked, how had she not connected the dots? He stepped forward, his own hat in hand, sat and had the hat placed on his head. The whole hall held their breath and waited….and waited. This turned out to be the longest sorting yet and soon people started to get impatient – fidgeting in their seats. People started grumbling, complaining, their neighbours shushed them, "What if he hears you?"
Padma didn't think Hadrian could hear them. She hadn't been able to hear anyone while she was under. Still they waited and Padma wondered if this had anything to do with why the boy was so famous. Even in India they had heard of the Boy-Who-Lived.
RAVENCLAW!
The shout came so abruptly that some people were startled out of their seats and then there was sound. Like a blast of thunder rolling across the hills, the Ravenclaw table exploded into cheers, the table was banged and feet stomped. Hadrian, after an encouraging nod from McGonagall made his way to the table.
He was warmly welcomed, people shook his hand, slapped his back and one bold girl planted a wet kiss across his face. Hadrian in all this looked bemused, startled and distinctly uncomfortable. All the while the Gryffindor table bemoaned their loss. Hadrian sat next to another first year, Terry Boot, who immediately straightened up hoping to make a good impression.
Padma barely paid the rest of the ceremony any mind and it soon wrapped up. The moment McGonagall finished wrapping the scroll, the headmaster stood up.
Albus Dumbledore was an older man, with a grey mane of hair and an equally grey beard that was long enough to brush the belt of his robes of blue and silver. Bright piercing blue eyes stared down at the hall. His gaze held the students at sway and then he spoke, "Tuck in."
People gasped in delight, the golden plates and dishes that had graced the tables, previously empty were now laden with food. Dishes of all sorts were on display, a veritable feast. Nobody wasted time and soon everyone was piling their plates full of food and their cups full of drink. Conversation was free and light, laughter danced in the air. Padma could feel all the positivity and she basked in it, feeling euphoric.
"Give this a try Potter." Terry handed Hadrian a goblet full of some orange coloured drink.
Hadrian nodded carefully. "You can call me Hadrian if you like, you know." He took a sip and immediately started coughing. "Wow – uh that's too sweet."
"I know right? Isn't that cool?" Terry grinned at Hadrian, his lips stained orange.
"Here have this." Padma reached over and slid another goblet to Hadrian, he looked at it warily.
"What's in it?" he asked looking distinctly uncomfortable.
"Grape juice, with a fizz…" she took a sip of her own drink. Emboldened he took a quick sip of his and hummed.
"We like?" she grinned cheekily at him and he grinned back. He raised his goblet and clinked it with hers.
"We like." He answered her his grin bright.
The first years soon got to know one another, going around introducing themselves. Anthony Goldstein had a cultured air about him, well cared for dark blonde hair, brown eyes and an easy smile. Terry Boot had dark hair and blue eyes and seemed to be on a sugar high. Michael Corner had black hair and solemn brown eyes and seemed to be in charge of keeping anymore drinks from Terry.
There were four other girls other than Padma herself, Su Li, who Padma had already met, turned out to be the smallest of the group. Then there was Lisa Turpin, with darkish red hair and an elfin face. Morag McDougal whose pale face had a smattering of freckles and finally there was Mandy Brocklehurst, who was rather excitable.
"You're Harry Potter!" Mandy gushed.
Hadrian cringed and his smiled became strained. "Er… yes. But I prefer Hadrian. Only my Aunt calls me Harry."
"You'll have to forgive Mandy; she sometimes lets her excitement get away from her." Morag pulled back Mandy who had been leaning precariously close to their resident celebrity.
Padma blinked as she processed what Morag had said, excitement. Damn it! She closed her eyes and pushed outwards with her mind. Her hand wrapped around her necklace and slowly she felt the unnatural boldness and excitement ebb out of her. She opened her eyes and tuned into the ongoing conversation
"…so yea primary school was fun I suppose." Hadrian explained.
"Wow, I wish I had gone to a muggle school." Mandy gushed; her eyes longing.
"You didn't go?" Hadrian looked at her confused but she shook her head.
"Did any of you go?" he asked around his new classmates. They all shook their heads.
"Well don't look so surprised Potter, most purebloods never send any of their kids and half-bloods don't usually go either."
The group of first years collectively turned to the older boy. He seemed oblivious to them staring and was peering intently at a sausage on his fork.
"It's sort of an unspoken law. Most kids have bursts of accidental magic. We most certainly can't have them exposing us because of a bad boo-boo." The boy then proceeded to tear into his sausage.
"Huh my father never explained it like that at all." Anthony said finally.
"So where did you guys go to school then? If you did that is?" Hadrian finally asked.
The others looked around themselves before Morag decided to be spokeswoman, "Well there are beginner schools dotted about the country, in most wizard settlements. We learnt all sorts of boring stuff like math and language…" Mandy giggled at her friend's sour attitude.
"Don't mind her, she was just miffed that we never got to learn any spells." Mandy added.
"Well I for one hated that meditating stuff." Terry said, his eyes were shifting about so quickly, it honestly worried Padma. Quickly the discussion dissolved into all that they hated about their old schools.
Padma noticed that Hadrian wasn't taking part and he seemed to be staring at her. She blinked and resisted the urge to fidget.
"Was it the same for you in India?" he asked at her questioning brow.
"How did you know I was from India?" she asked curious.
He looked at her, raking his gaze across her, pointedly looking at her caramel complexion. She tried to look affronted but a smile tugged at her lips.
"I think it's your accent; its exotic – " He frowned his head tilting to the side, "– plus your last name is a give-away." He grinned at her.
"Oh – well it was about the same I suppose, though I was home schooled along with my sister…" she glanced over at the Gryffindor table – Parvati looked suitably excited. She turned back to Hadrian who offered her a simple smile.
"Tell me about India…" he prompted. The smile Padma graced him was small but genuine.
Soon though the food was gone and conversation petered out. Padma was so stuffed that she felt warm and drowsy. Dumbledore stood up and the hall quietened.
"A few words before we retire. First years should note that the Forbidden forest is named for that very reason, it is forbidden." His eyes to sweep across the room only to linger on a pair of red headed twins at the Gryffindor table.
"All upperclassmen who wish to attend language classes must submit their names to their respective prefects by the end of the week. Let's give enough time for Professor Fletch to prepare hmm." A ripple of laughter went through the class and one professor, a witch with blond hair had the decency to blush.
"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors."
"And finally, quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their House teams should contact Madam Hooch."
With the announcements over, the first years found themselves bundled and ushered out by the prefects. As they left the hall Padma glanced towards her sister and their eyes met. Parvati gave her a smile and waved to her, Padma felt relief flood through her and she waved back. She could do this.
The prefects took them along the long corridors and steep stairs of the castle. Padma should have paid more attention but she was drowsy and was half dragging Su, who looked half asleep already. Soon they came upon a large bronze door and it had a large raven shaped knocker. The prefect, a fifth year named Penelope if Padma remembered right turned to them.
"Now this is the entrance to our common room, and to get in you have to be clever…" she grinned impishly at them. "You have to solve a riddle and if you can't well…" she shrugged then took a step toward the door.
"I request entry." She spoke clearly.
The knocker twitched, coming alive and opened its mouth, "What can you hold without touching it at all?"
Penelope turned to the first years and gave them an encouraging nod. The children all looked at one another. Padma tried to think but she just felt too sleepy to hold a thought long enough.
"A conversation." Hadrian said then promptly let out a large yawn.
"Good man." Anthony pat Hadrian's back as the door swung open to reveal stairs. They grumbled as they went up and finally found themselves in the common room.
Padma barely took in the room before she said her goodbyes to her housemates. With lead feet she dragged Su up the stairs leading up to the girl's room and soon she was sleeping in a comfortable bed. Hogwarts did not seem so bad after all.
Edited 22-05-2024
Took a stab at the paragraphs and cleaned up some of the dialogue. May have missed some, but overall i did okay.
Read and Enjoy