Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

John McNamara- a ten-year-old with shoulder-length caramel-colored hair and bright blue eyes- bounced excitedly in his bed, trying to stay quiet as his eyes flickered between the window on the wall parallel to the base of his bed and the clock next to his bed. There were only a few minutes left. Just a few minutes until he’d be eleven. And once he was eleven, he could get his acceptance letter. His eyes were locked onto the window when the door to his bedroom slowly opened, draping the room in light from the hallway as Johns’ head spun around to face his visitor.

“John?” The invader asked as John came to terms with being caught. Standing in the doorway in a green flannel shirt and loose-fitting grey slacks, black hair pulled loosely behind the mans’ ears and green eyes set on John was Wilbur Cross, Johns’ father. 

“Hi, Dad,” John said quietly, figuring he was probably in trouble as it was 11:59 and he was supposed to be asleep at least two hours ago.

“What are you still doing up?” Wilbur asked, fighting back a yawn as he came further into the room until he could sit down at the end of Johns’ bed. John looked between the window and the clock, not saying anything at first as he realized how silly it would sound. Luckily, Wilbur seemed to put it together and let out a soft ‘ahh’ as he realized what it was.

“You know, John. The owls’ aren’t gonna be here the minute you turn eleven. They normally ship out the night before a wizard turns eleven, so they’re well-rested when they get the letter,” Wilbur explained. John nodded, looking down at his hands in his lap before looking back up at his dad as he spoke.

“I know. I was just hoping…” John trailed off and looked over at the window again.

“Hey, don’t worry about it. I did the same thing when I was your age,” Wilbur said a smile.

“You did?” John asked, finding that a little hard to believe as Wilbur seemed so… well, put together. John couldn’t imagine Wilbur sitting up in his bed, waiting anxiously for a letter to arrive.

“Yeah, really. I was so nervous. I didn’t sleep at all that first time,” Wilbur told him. John mulled that over in his head until Wilbur kept talking. “You, however, will not be doing that. You will be going to sleep so you have the energy to celebrate your birthday and your letter arriving tomorrow.”

“What-? But, dad,” John whined.

“No butts except yours in bed. Asleep,” Wilbur said. John went to whine when something tapped at Johns’ window. John glanced up at Wilbur curiously before looking at his window as something tapped at it again. Curious, John got up and crossed the room, Wilbur on his heels. Whatever it was tapped at the window a third time and Wilbur opened the window, revealing a large black Owl that was perched on the windowsill, some paper tied to his leg.

“It’s an owl,” John pointed out.

“I know, John,” Wilbur said, not sounding irritated, but more amused.

“I thought you said there’d be now owls til morning,” John once again pointed out.

“Well… I’ve been wrong before,” Wilbur said. The owl- seemingly tired of waiting outside- flittered in and landed on Johns’ shoulder, making him stumble slightly at the sudden two and a half pounds of feathers and wings landed on him. John reached up a hand to pet the owl as he eyed the letters on the birds’ leg. One of them had Wilburs’ name written in calligraphy and the other had Johns’ name written in similar handwriting and was sealed with the Hogwarts crest.

“One’s for you and one’s for me,” John said as he stopped petting the bird to untie the letters. He pulled the letters free and the bird immediately flew over to Johns’ bedpost. John handed the letter with Wilburs’ name to him, turning the letter for him over in his hand as Wilbur opened and quickly glanced over his letter. He finished it quickly and- looking a little irked- muttering something along the lines of ‘that asshole,’ under his breath before looking up at John.

“Who was it?” John asked, glancing at the letter in his dads’ hand.

“An old associate of mine from school. Don’t worry about it, why don’t you open your letter?” Wilbur said with a grin as John looked back down at the letter. John grinned as well and opened the letter quickly, his eyes scanning the letter excitedly.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Nicholas Lange

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mr. McNamara,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Shawn Leugh 

Deputy Headmaster

“I was accepted!” John cheered excitedly, bouncing on his toes for a brief moment before Wilbur pulled him into a hug.

“I knew you would be!” Wilbur said with a laugh. The owl hooted once- as if congratulating him- before taking off out the window and into the night. “What’re ya gonna need for your first year?” Wilbur asked after John managed to calm down a bit, gesturing to the second paper John had gotten. John shrugged before reading through the second paper.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
4. One winter cloak (black, any color fastenings)

Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

Treatment of Magical Plants by Nevil Longbottom

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble

An early guide to Mathematics by Carl Marx

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal vials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring- if they desire- an owl, a cat, a toad, Or a service animal.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS

ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK

Yours sincerely

Mathias Lange

Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions

“Mathematics? That’s a new class,” Wilbur said after John read-off the list.

“Do you think there’s a reason it was added?” John asked.

“Maybe. Considering who the deputy Headmaster is, I’m not surprised there’s a new class,” Wilbur said, looking like he was deep in thought for a moment before shaking his head. “Whatever. Now, it’s bedtime,” Wilbur said, closing the window and pulling the curtains shut before moving towards John, gesturing for him to get in bed. John didn’t whine or complain this time as he pulled himself back into his bed but stayed sitting up as he put the letters he got onto his nightstand.

“Hey, dad?” John asked as Wilbur approached the bed to put him to sleep.

“Yeah, Johnny?” Wilbur asked.

“What house do you think I’ll be in?” John asked. Wilbur seemed to think for a moment before answering.

“I don’t think it matters what house you’re in. As long as you’re happy there,” Wilbur said softly. John huffed in mock exasperation.

“I know that, yeah, but what house do you think I’ll get?” John asked.

“Well, that’s a little harder to decide. You’re passionate and honest so you could be a Gryffindor. You’re curious and witty so you could be a Ravenclaw.  You’re hard-working and kind so you could be a Hufflepuff. And you’re driven and determined so you could be a Slytherin. The only person who can answer what house you’re in now is the Sorting hat,” Wilbur told him.

“How does the Sorting hat know what’s right for me?” John asked. Wilbur worked his jaw for a moment before answering.

“I’m not sure. It’s a magic hat that seems to be able to read your mind and soul to decipher who you are… All I know is that your house will be yours,” Wilbur said. John mulled that over before nodding and finally laying down. He would have asked more questions, but he was really tired and wanted to wake up early. Wilbur tucked in Johns’ blanket and smiled at him.

“Goodnight, John,” Wilbur said softly. John yawned before responding.

“G’night, dad,” he mumbled before closing his eyes. Wilbur quietly left the room, closing the door behind him as John drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Text

     When John woke up he almost thought the night before was a dream. He glanced over at his nightstand before sitting up suddenly as he saw the letter and he realized it wasn’t a dream and he was actually going to Hogwarts. He jumped out of bed, read over the acceptance letter again, and started bouncing around the room to celebrate. After he was rid of some of the excited energy, he put the letter back down and started rushing around his room to get ready for the day. He quickly brushed his caramel hair, washed his face, got dressed in a dark blue shirt and grey pants, and brushed his teeth because he hated morning breath. 

     After getting ready, John left his room and dashed down the stairs into the kitchen where Wilbur was cooking something with another man, as a third guy sat at the table and talked. John recognized them immediately.

     “Grandpa Owen! Grandad Curt!” John cheered as he dashed over to Curt, who was closest to the door.

     “Johnny-Boy, hey! Morning, bud!” Curt said as he spun in his seat to pull John into a tight hug. As soon as Curt released John from the hug, Owen swept him up in another one.

     “Hello, dear. How are you on this happy birthday?” Owen asked as John smiled.

     “I’m good,” John said before his dad also picked him up in a hug for a moment before putting him down.

     “You’re about to be even better, I’ve got breakfast done,” Wilbur said, gesturing for John to go sit down at the table, which John happily did.

     “Finally, I’m starving,” Curt said as John sat in one of the seats next to him.

     “I told you to grab a breakfast bar before we left,” Owen said as he sat down on Johns’ other side.

     “I didn’t realize you’d take so long,” Curt joked as Wilbur sat down a plate in front of John and Owen. John smiled as he saw the golden waffles, topped with a scoop of ice cream, some whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and rainbow sprinkles. Wilbur returned to the table with Curts’ and his plates. He sat in the seat opposite John as he handed Curt his plate. 

     John grabbed his fork and was about to dig into his birthday breakfast until he felt someone nudge his foot under his table. He looked up at his grandpa Owen who winked and then looked over to Curt. John smiled- having grown up seeing dozens of scenarios when Owen or Curt would subtly gain his attention, then mess with the other- and took a bite from his breakfast as Curt got a large bite of waffle with a decent amount of ice cream and toppings balanced on his fork. Before Curt could sink his teeth in, Owen muttered ‘ Accio waffle ’ and Curts’ forkful of food flew into Owens’ mouth and Curts’ teeth clanked down on the fork, as he hadn’t noticed at first. His eyes shot open in surprise and he looked down at his plate to see if he’d dropped the food, before looking between John, Owen, and Wilbur in confusion. John could tell his dad was trying not to laugh- like him- but Owen was holding it together just fine.

     “Is something wrong, Love?” Owen asked around a mouthful of food. John and Wilbur both started laughing- Wilbur coughing a bit as he’d been eating- as Curt seemed to finally connected the dots.

     “Oh,” Curt said simply, causing Wilbur and John to start laughing even harder. Owen and Curt looked between Wilbur, John, and each other before they also started laughing.

     When they finally stopped laughing and got back to eating, a thought occurred to John.

     “I thought you wouldn’t be here until later,” John said around a mouthful of food, looking between his dad and his grandparents.

     “That’s one of the advances of being ex-spies. We can sneak out of work and get here earlier than planned,” Curt joked.

     “We also got your gift earlier than planned, meaning we could leave sooner,” Owen added. John nodded for a second before looking up curiously.

     “Gift?” John asked, earning some chuckles from the others at the table.

     “Later. Finish your breakfast,” Wilbur said, earning an exaggerated sigh from John. Curt snickered before finishing off his breakfast. As John kept eating he zoned out, wondering what his gift was and what Hogwarts would be like. As he finished eating he zoned back in to listen to his dad and grandparents talking.

     “-idea who the other new teachers are? Aside from… you know,” Curt said, confusing John a bit.

     “Aside from who?” John asked as he left his fork on his plate. The adults shared a look before Wilbur spoke up.

     “It’s no one, John,” Owen said. John noticed he had a piece of paper in his hand.

     “What’s that?” John asked.

     “It’s nothing, John. Don’t worry about it,” Wilbur said. John looked between the three and reluctantly gave up on trying to get information out of them, as his grandparents were ex-spies who were used to interrogation techniques, and John knew that if his dad decided he was keeping something a secret, not even Wizard God could change his mind.

     “Hey, Johnny, come with me. I’ve got something to show you,” Curt said as he stood up. John looked at his dad briefly before getting out of his seat, following his grandad into the living room. Wilbur and Owen didn’t follow them, staying in the kitchen to talk. John looked back at the kitchen door again until Curt kept talking.

     “Don’t worry about them, Johnny. We’ve much more pressing matters,” Curt said as he opened his suitcase, which was sitting by the door.

     “Like what?” John asked, stepping closer to Curt.

     “Well, firstly, you can’t tell Owen or your dad,” Curt said quietly, taking something that John didn’t recognize out of his bag.

     “Al...right?” John said slowly, looking between Curts’ face and the bag.

     “Perfect. Second, you gotta promise you use these to your full potential. Cause some real mischief,” Curt said as he held out the items for John to hold. John grinned as he recognized the no-heat explosives and instant darkness powder. “Happy Birthday, kid,” Curt said.

     “Thanks, Grandad!” John said.

     “Shh,” Curt said softly, looking over at the kitchen door. “Go hide these in your room,” Curt whispered. John nodded, but before he could run up the stairs, Curt told him to grab his school supplies list. John dashed back upstairs, quickly hiding the gifts at the bottom of his trunk and grabbing his supplies list before heading back down. 

     When he arrived back downstairs, Owen and Wilbur had emerged from the kitchen and were jokingly interrogating Curt about what he gave John.

     “Hey,” John said as he got downstairs.

     “Hey, Johnny. You ready to go?” Wilbur asked.

     “Go where?” John asked him.

     “Diagon Alley, of course. We need to get your supplies, don’t we?” Owen said. John grinned wider, knowing his birthday was going to be great.

     -

     John was getting fitted for his robes when his dad and Grandad Curt had to go check on something, leaving him with grandpa Owen, who was talking to the shop owner in another room. The robe shop was pretty small and pretty empty, with only one other kid around his age getting fitted for his robes too. John eyed the other kid- he was pale with blue eyes and short black hair- for a moment before speaking up.

     “Hello,” John said. The other boy looked surprised for a moment before responding.

     “Hi,” he said softly.

     “I’m John McNamara,” John introduced.

     “Paul- uh, I’m Paul. Matthews. I’m Paul Matthews,” he said.

     “Is this your first year at Hogwarts?” John asked him.

     “Um, yeah. What about- what about you?”  Paul asked.

     “It’s my first year too,” John said.

     “I heard there are hidden tunnels between all the House common rooms,” Paul said, surprising John.

     “Really?” John asked, sounding surprised. Paul nodded quickly.

     “Yeah. I have no idea if it’s true, but my parents’ once told me they found a clue on how to find them in their seventh year,” Paul said, perking up a bit. “Me and my friend, Bill Duke, we’re thinking of trying to find them.”

     “That sounds fun. Maybe I could help you and Bill,” John offered. Paul smiled nervously, but his eyes shone with excitement.

     “That’d be great, thanks,” Paul said. John nodded and looked over at Owen, who was still talking to the tailor. However, as he looked around the room, he realized Paul wasn’t with anyone.

     “Who did you come with?” John asked.

     “Oh. I came with my Grandma and Bill. Bill already had his robes and I already had my wand so Grandma took him to get his wand while I got my robes,” Paul explained.

     “That’s cool. I came with my dad and his dads,” John said.

     John talked with Paul until he had to leave to go get the rest of his stuff. But he left on a good note and an agreement to try and find each other on the train.

     “You seem to have made a friend already,” Owen pointed out as they walked out of Madam Malkin’s robes.

     “Yeah. That was Paul, he’s a first-year, too,” John told him.

     “Fun, maybe he’ll be in the same house as you,” Owen said.

     “Maybe,” John said as they approached another shop called ‘WandZe: Custom Wands’. Curt and Wilbur were standing outside the shop, holding bags, and talking.

     “Hey,” John said as he smiled at his family.

     “Hey, Johnny. Ready to get your wand?” Curt asked. John grinned excitedly and nodded. Wilbur pulled the door open and waved for the others to pile into the shop.

     The interior was dark and cottage-like, with large shelves lining two of the walls. One of the sets of shelves had blocks of wood set up, the other shelves had vials and glass jars full of all kinds of weird materials. Standing at the counter was a woman with chin-length dark brown curly hair who looked to be in her mid-twenties. She looked up as they walked in and smiled at them.

     “Welcome to WandZe. I’m Ze, how can I help you?” she asked before looking at John. “First proper wand?” she guessed.

     “Yes, ma’am,” John said.

     “Wow, so polite,” Ze said, coming around the counter with a grin. “Alright, let’s get your wand then.”

     “If you don’t mind my asking, actually, how does this work? I’ve never been to a wand shop like this. Normally they’re already made,” Owen said. Zes’ eyes lit up in understanding as they started digging through a small basket by their register.

     “Ah. Normally shops like that only use easy to use materials and sells the wand that fits into place with the wizard. Like a premade puzzle piece that you buy to replace a missing piece. It sort of fits, but it’s a tight fit and isn’t perfect. My wands- however- are customized specifically to the wizard. Much like when a wizard picks their wand, they just know it’s right. Here it’s the same thing. Your young wizard- what’s your name, young sir?” Ze asked as they pulled a measuring tape out of the little basket, which they draped over their shoulder.

     “John, ma’am,” John answered.

     “John here will find the wood and core that’s right for him, I’ll get his measurements to make the right size, you’ll pay for the materials before you leave, and then you can come pay for and collect your new wand within the next few days,” Ze finished as she crossed the room to the shelves with types of wood.  Each piece of wood was a large, smooth rectangle. About twenty inches by five inches by five inches.

     “Is that what those are? Wand cores?” Curt asked as he waved at the shelves full of jars and other materials.

     “Yup. Most stores only have a few different wand cores. Usually unicorn hair or dragon heart-string. Something easy to work with and generally cheap,” Ze said.

     “But not here,” Wilbur said.

     “Nope, I’ve seen first hand what having a proper wand can do compared to having one that just ‘fits’. I’ll spend the money when I need to stop that from happening so often,” Ze said. She went quiet for a moment before turning to them quickly.

     “Alright, John. You ready?” She asked.

     “Yeah. Uh… how do I do it?” John asked.

     “Just approach the shelves. You should feel a pull in your magic to the right wood,” Ze said, reaching a hand behind her to grab one randomly. She looked back and pulled the block of wood she’d gotten before pulling her wand out of her pocket, revealing it was the same type of wood. She put it back with a grin before waving for him to go ahead. John looked between her and his dad before stepping closer to the shelf of wood. 

     John was immediately drawn to three different blocks of wood, all next to each other. A tannish yellow block of wood, a tannish white block of wood, and a greyish tan block. John didn’t know why, but they drew him in. After a minute, he slowly raised up his hand and pointed at the tan-white block of wood.

     “This one,” John said. Ze stepped forward and picked it up with a grin, bouncing the wood loosely.

     “Alright. We’ve got ash wood. A fair choice,” she said.

     “Why's that?” Wilbur asked as Ze crossed to the counter, marking down something on a little note-pad and putting the wood on the counter.

     “Ashwood wands are generally loyal to one master. People with Ash wands are normally people who aren’t easily swayed from their beliefs. The owner can be stubborn and courageous, but never arrogant,” Ze said as if she had the information memorized. 

     “Did you memorize that?” Owen asked.

     “I… Yes,” Ze said after a minute before waving for John to head to the other wall.

     “I do the same thing with the cores?” John asked as he approached the other wall.

     “Yup. Go ahead and start,” Ze said as she turned to watch. John nodded slowly before going to the shelf and looking up. It took a moment longer for anything to gain his attention, but eventually, two jars did. A tall narrow jar of orangish-yellowish feathers, and a short, fat jar of silvery string. The pull was more subtle this time, but John eventually settled on the silvery string and told Ze such.

     “How fitting,” Ze said, picking up the jar and placing it on the counter.

     “What is?” Curt asked.

     “Unicorn hair. It fits surprisingly well with Ashwood. It strengthens the loyalty of the wand and has more consistent magic,” Ze told them as she marked something else down on her notepad. “Now I just need to get some measurements from John, and then I’ll be able to make his wand. It’ll probably be done by noon tomorrow.”

     “Alright,” Wilbur said with a nod before seeming to remember something. “Actually, how much is this gonna cost?”

     “Oh, it’ll be four gallons for the materials and measuring. And then six more when it’s finished,” Ze told him, pulling the measuring tape on their shoulder free.

     “Just ten galleons?” Owen asked, sounding surprised.

     “That’s what I said, yes. Two gallons for the twelve pounds of wood, one for the unicorn hair, one for the measuring, and six for the actual work…” Ze said, gesturing for John to stand in the middle of the room before speaking up again. “Is there a problem?” she asked.

     “No. I’m just surprised. That’s pretty cheap for a custom wand being professionally made,” Owen said as John stepped forward, allowing Ze to measure his arm.

     “Yeah, pre-made wands are usually fourteen galleons, at least,” Curt added.

     “Yeah, well the people who charge that much for a wand that doesn’t fit or isn’t the right size are assholes,” Ze said, writing down the measurement as Wilbur dug through his pockets for the galleons. Ze looked down at John before continuing. “Sorry for the language.”

     “It’s fine. They cuss all the time,” John said, nodding towards his dad and grandparents.

     “Cool,” Ze said as she measured his torso. Wilbur pulled a few galleons out of his pocket as Ze finished up.

     “Yeah, this’ll be an easy job. It’ll be done some time tomorrow. Just make sure you come in to get it, as I don’t do mail,” Ze explained, accepting the coins from Wilbur, which she quickly added to the til.

     “Yeah, we’ll be sure to come back tomorrow,” Curt said as they started moving towards the door.

     “Have a good day,” Ze said, smiling and waving at them. John waved back and smiled as he made it out the door. As he was walking out, a boy a few years older than him and some twin boys Johns’ age waited for them to clear the doorway before entering.

     -

     The rest of the day went by in a blur and pretty soon John was back in his home, bouncing around his bedroom as he very slowly managed to unpack his new school surprise and pile it into his trunk. Even though he wouldn’t be going to Hogwarts for another month, he was super excited. Owen, Curt, and Wilbur were downstairs, working on something away from John. It couldn’t be dinner because they’d eaten at the leaky cauldron. The only thing he was missing was his wand, which he was getting tomorrow.

     A knocking on his door got his attention and he turned his head as the door opened, revealing Owen.

     “Hey, grandpa,” John said with a smile.

     “Hey, Johnny. Once you finish putting up your school things, can you come downstairs?” Owen asked. 

     “Yeah, sure. Why-?” John asked, but Owen was gone before the words were out of his mouth. John shook his head and spent another few minutes putting his things away until he was finally done and went back downstairs. There was no one in the living room, so he entered the kitchen. The second he stepped in, the three adults started singing.

     “Happy Birthday to You,” they sang. Curt was singing the loudest- almost obnoxiously so- with Owen and Wilbur following closely.

     “Happy Birthday to you,” Wilbur was holding a short red-velvet cake, covered in white frosting, with eleven candles lit on top.

     “Happy Birthday, Dear John,” they continued as Curt waved for John to get closer so he could blow out the candles when they stopped singing.

     “Happy birthday to you!” They finished as John blew out the candles. Everyone cheered as Wilbur sat the cake down on the table and pulled John into a celebratory hug.

     “Happy Birthday, Johnny,” Wilbur said as Curt went about pulling the candles out of the cake.

     “Thanks, Dad,” John said as they ended the hug and John eagerly hopped into his seat. Wilbur sat across from him with Owen and Curt on either side, like they had that morning. Owen had pulled out his own wand and was cutting the cake with a quiet mutter of ‘ difindo ’. Soon the cake was being served and John took his first bite.

     As they were all finishing their cake, Wilbur pulled a wrapped gift from under the table and held it out to John. Curious what it was, John immediately tore open the wrapping, revealing a velvet box like the ones used to hold jewelry. Intrigued, John opened the box. Sitting inside was a black wristwatch with a round face, the hands and numbers were silver and there was a small second hand that told what the phase the moon was at.

     John loved it. He told them all as much and got up and pulled each of his family members into a tight thank you hug.

     “It’s great!” John told them.

     “We’re glad you like it,” Wilbur said.

     “Thing took us forever to get,” Curt added. Owen told him to stop complaining. John smiled and- at that moment- he knew everything was going to be okay.

Chapter Text

     John was startled awake by the sound of knocking on his door. He slowly opened his eyes as he heard Wilbur telling him to wake up and get dressed. Sunlight was shining through the window, illuminating his bedroom and helping him wake up. He laid in bed another minute, blinking drowsily until he finally got up and slowly started getting changed into a grey t-shirt and jeans. It wasn’t until he was halfway done brushing his hair that it clicked why he was getting ready. He immediately perked up and got ready with a lot more energy. 

     It was Sunday, September 2nd. The train was supposed to depart yesterday, but there had been several issues so instead, he was going today.

     John sped through brushing his hair and dashed downstairs, where a bowl of cereal was laid out on the table for him. Wilbur was also sitting at the table, reading a newspaper and holding a plain white cup full of coffee, and a plate of plain toast sitting in front of him. His hair was still a mess and he was still in his pajamas- some fleece flannel pants and a white muscle-shirt. He looked up at John, amusement in his eyes, before looking back at his newspaper.

     “Morning, Dad,” John said with a grin, sitting in his seat and starting to eat his breakfast.

     “Good morning, John. You seem excited,” Wilbur said as if this wasn’t one of the biggest moments of Johns’ life.

     “Just a bit, yeah,” John said, rushing through eating his food.

     “Slow down, you might choke,” Wilbur said dryly, not looking up as he spoke.

     “Love you too, Dad,” John said as he kept eating, now half done with his breakfast. Wilbur chuckled, looking up at John with a grin before looking back at his paper, taking another long sip of his coffee.

     “Don’t worry, John. It’s 8:15 in the morning. We’re not going to miss the train,” Wilbur told him. John glanced at the watch on his wrist, confirming what Wilbur had said.

     “I know… but I really don’t wanna miss the train,” John said, grimacing at how much it sounded like a whine. Wilbur smiled and finally put down his coffee to take a bite from his toast.

     “It’s fine, John. But don’t choke on your food. Doing so might actually make us late for the train,” Wilbur joked. John scoffed and finished his cereal before picking up the bowl and drinking the milk.

     John stood up and placed his bowl and spoon in the sink before spinning around to face his dad and held his arms out to the side.

     “Didn’t choke,” John said, causing Wilbur to snort and then start coughing as he had been chewing on his toast.

     “Fucking christ,” Wilbur said as he finally stopped coughing, his tone still hinted with humor.

     “Sorry,” John said with a small smile. Wilbur shook his head, still laughing a bit.

     “It’s fine, Johnny. I should have taken my own advice,” Wilbur said with a laugh. John also laughed before heading back upstairs to brush his teeth and check his bag.

-

     The morning passed slowly, but pretty soon they were both at the train station, Wilbur leading the way along the platforms. Admittedly, John wasn’t quite sure how to get to platform 9 and ¾. As they were walking, they passed a girl about Johns’ age with curly red hair in a pale green sweater. She was looking around, pulling a trunk along behind her, asking passerbyers if they knew where platform 9 and ¾ was. Most people were ignoring her, and she was starting to look upset. John looked up at Wilbur and stopped first, turned to her and asked where she was trying to go.

     “I’m trying to get to platform nine and three-quarters, but no one seems to know where it is,” she explained, she had a slight southern-American accent.

     “Taking the train to Hogwarts?” Wilbur asked her. She nodded eagerly.

     “Yes, sir. Do you know how to get there?” She asked hopefully.

     “Indeed I do, young miss. You can tag along,” Wilbur offered.

     “Alright. Thank you, sir,” Charlotte said, adjusting her grip on the handles of her trunk.

     “No need for the ‘sirs’, miss…” he trailed off, waiting for a name as they started walking.

     “Charlotte. Charlotte Smith-Chang,” she said.

     “Well, Miss Charlotte, I’m Wilbur Cross and this is my son, John McNamara,” Wilbur introduced them both. Charlotte smiled.

     “It’s nice to meet you, Charlotte,” John said.

     “Nice to meet you both, too. Thank you for helping me,”  Charlotte said.

     “Of course,” Wilbur said, taking another turn towards the platform.

     “If you don’t mind my asking, where are your parents?” John asked.

     “Oh, my parents aren’t magical. We weren’t sure if they’d be able to get to the train or not, so we said goodbye in the car,” Charlotte told them.

     “Ohh, okay. Learning about magic must have been a surprise,” John said.

     “Uh-huh,” She hummed in agreement. “It was pretty surprising, but Headmaster Lange was super nice about it,” Charlotte said.

     “I remember Headmaster Lange. He became headmaster in my fifth year after Albus Potter stressed Headmaster McGonagall into retiring,” Wilbur said.

     “What?” John and Charlotte both asked.

     “Albus Scarffy Potter. He was two grades above me and ended up stressing out Headmaster McGonagall so much with all his chaos, that she had to retire. Headmaster Lange took over and he was pretty chill,” Wilbur said.

     “How come you’ve never told me that story before, dad?” John asked.

     “Never had a reason to,” Wilbur said simply. John rolled his eyes with a scoff, and Charlotte giggled.

     “Are you excited for Hogwarts?” Wilbur asked Charlotte.

     “A bit, sir, yes. Admittedly I’m more nervous than anything,” Charlotte admitted.

     “Why’re ya nervous, Charlotte?” Wilbur asked her.

     “I didn’t even know magic was real until a few weeks ago, and now I’m going super far away to a school for it… I guess my great-aunt Cho was right, magic really does exist,” Charlotte said.

     “Well, Charlotte, as someone who went to Hogwarts for the whole time, I can assure you that you will find a second home at Hogwarts. You have nothing to worry about,” Wilbur said, looking back at her and smiling.

     “Well, we’re here,” Wilbur said, stopping in front of a brick pillar between platforms nine and ten. John and Charlotte shared a confused look.

     “This is a brick wall,” John said.

     “Do you think the wizarding world is gonna have a train station to a school of magic just out in the open? It’s hidden by magic,” Wilbur said.

     “Okay?” John said, looking at the wall in confusion.

     “Well, how does it work?” Charlotte asked, switching her trolly handles to her other hand.

     “Easy. I’ll go first so you can see, but you just have to walk through this wall,” Wilbur said before walking backward and through the bricks. John and Charlotte gasped and shared a look. John grinned and Charlotte eyed the wall nervously.

     “We’ll go together, okay?” John offered, holding out his hand for her. She looked at his hand and nodded, accepting it.

     “Okay,” Charlotte said with a smile.

     “One,” he started.

     “Two,” Charlotte said.

     “Three!” They both said before charging through the wall. 

     They quickly got through but hadn’t expected Wilbur to be so close to the entrance and the three collided, accidentally tackling Wilbur to the ground.

     “Oh, shit!” Wilbur said as he went down.

     They all recovered fairly quickly and got up, Charlotte apologizing frantically to him. Wilbur just laughed and helped them collect their things and moved them out of the way of the entrance.

     “It’s fine, Charlotte. Don’t worry about it,” Wilbur said as they approached the train. John glanced at his watch and grinned. It was 10:45, which meant there were fifteen minutes until the train left, and there was- assumably- enough time left to find an empty compartment.

     “I’ll explain quickly, as I’m sure you want to find a good compartment, but when you get on the train, you’ll leave your trunks in the compartment. Once you’re sorted into your house, your trunks will appear in your dorm room,” Wilbur explained. Charlotte and John both nodded.

     “Thank you again, Mr. Cross. I never would have figured out how to get here. I appreciate it so much,” Charlotte said.

     “Of course. If you ever need help with the wizarding world, feel free to send me a letter,” Wilbur said with a smile. “Now, I’m sure you both wanna go get on the train, so I’ll do my goodbyes quickly,” he joked.

     “We’ll find a compartment facing the station so we can keep talking,” John said. Wilbur laughed and pulled John into a hug before offering a handshake to Charlotte.

     “Talk to you in a minute,” John said with a smile.

     “See you in a minute,” Wilbur said.

     John and Charlotte smiled and dashed onto the train, quickly finding a compartment facing the station. They sat down their trunks and managed to pull the windows open, where Wilbur could see them. Wilbur strolled up to the window and they kept talking until 11:59 when Wilbur told him the train would be leaving soon.

     “I’ll see you kids around. Have a good school year,” Wilbur said.

     “Thanks, Dad,” John said at the same time Charlotte said

     “Thank you, Mr. Cross.”

     “Of course. And John, you better write me tomorrow,” Wilbur joked with a grin.

     “Of course dad,” John said with another grin as the train started pulling away. John waved out the window until he couldn’t see Wilbur anymore.

     Charlotte helped him close the window and they both settled down to talk until a knock at the door gained his attention. John looked back and grinned as he recognized the boy at the door.

     “Paul, hi. Come in,” John said, waving him in. Along with Paul came another boy their age, with dark skin and hair.

     “Hi, John. Is there some free room here?” Paul asked.

     “Yeah,” John said before looking between Charlotte and Paul. “Paul, this is Charlotte. Charlotte, this is Paul,” he introduced. Paul smiled awkwardly, closing the cabin door and pulling down the little curtain.

     “Hi, nice to meet you, Charlotte. This is my friend, Bill. Bill, this is John and Charlotte,” Paul said, introducing Bill. Bill smiled.

     “It’s nice to meet you both,” Bill said, sitting down on the same side as Charlotte as Paul sat down next to him. There was still room between them and Charlotte.

     “It’s nice to meet you too,” John said with a smile.

     “It’s lovely to meet you both,” Charlotte said with a smile.

     The cabin entered an awkward silence for about two minutes until someone else knocked on the door.

     “Come in,” John called, as the door opened, revealing another guy who was tugging a trunk along behind him. He was a little taller than John with dark skin and hair and brown eyes. Something about him immediately resonated with John, who fought to keep his face from flushing.

     “Sorry to bother you. Is there room here? Everything else seems full,” he said. John blinked once and nodded quickly.

     “Yeah, sure. Come on in,” John said, gesturing to the free seats beside him, as Charlotte, Bill, and Paul were all sitting opposite him. He smiled and sat down next to John before offering his hand to John.

     “Thanks. I’m Xander Lee,” he said. John nodded and accepted the handshake.

     “Nice to meet you, Xander. I’m John McNamara,” John answered. Xander smiled before turning and offering a handshake to the others.

     “I’m Charlotte Smith-Chang,” Charlotte said, accepting the handshake.

     “I’m Bill Duke,” Bill added, also shaking his hand.

     “Paul Matthews,” Paul added, smiling awkwardly as he shook his hand.

     “It’s nice to meet you all,” Xander said with a smile. “Are you all First years, too?” He gained a chorus of various versions of ‘yes’.

     “I’m excited,” Charlotte said. “I didn’t even know magic existed and now I get to go to a school for magic,” she said.

     “Oh, yeah. You mentioned something about that earlier. And a... great aunt?” John asked.

     “Yeah. My great-aunt Cho used to talk about magic and Hogwarts when she would come to visit. My parents used to say she was insane, but I guess she was right,” Charlotte said.

     “Oh, so you’re Muggle-born,” Paul said. Charlotte turned to him in confusion.

     “Muggle-born?” she asked.

     “Ya’ know. Someone born to a muggle,” Bill added. Charlotte frowned a bit before continuing.

     “I’m sorry, but what’s a muggle?” she asked.

     “It’s someone without magical abilities,” Xander said.

     “Ohh. Okay, thank you,” she said.

     “Of course,” Xander said with a nod.

     “I’m Muggle-born,” Bill told them.

     “Really?” Charlotte asked.

     “Yeah. That’s why I had to go shopping with Paul,” Bill admitted.

     “My granddad's a muggle,” Paul added.

     “My parents were both Muggle-born,” Xander said as well.

     “What about you, John?” Paul asked. John thought for a moment before shrugging.

     “I’m not sure. I never met my parents,” John admitted.

     “Oh, sorry,” Paul said.

     “It’s fine,” John said before looking out the window. “Wow. Look, guys,” he said, pointing out the beautiful countryside.

     “It’s beautiful,” Charlotte said softly.

     Some knocking at the door stole Johns’ attention, and he turned to see an old lady with a bunch of candy.

     “Would you kids like to buy some candy?” she asked. John perked up and pulled some knuts out of his pocket.

     “Sure. Can I get some Chocolate Cauldrons and…” John turned to them, “What do you guys want?” he asked. He was met with a chorus of- ‘You don’t have to buy us anything,’ which he responded to with ‘that’s nonsense, what do you want?’ Xander broke first.

     “If it’s not an issue, an acid pop or a sugar quill would be great,” Xander said. John nodded before turning to Paul, Bill, and Charlotte.

     “I’d love to have a Liquorice Wand,” Bill said.

     “I guess a skeletal sweet,” Paul said. John nodded to them both before looking at Charlotte.

     “I… I don’t know. I’ve never had anything like any of these,” she admitted. Xander eyed her for a minute.

     “I think you’d probably like a pumpkin pastie,” he said. Charlotte eventually shrugged.

     “Sure, I guess I’ll try those,” Charlotte said.  John turned back to the Trolly lady- who was smiling patiently- before speaking to her again.

     “Can I get five acid pops and six of each of those other things?” he asked. She nodded and he paid for the sweets before sitting back down as she moved on.

     John handed each of them one of each sweet, as well as a second of what they’d wanted. Meaning Xander had two sugar quills, Bill got two licorice wands, Paul got two skeletal sweets, Charlotte got two Pumpkin pasties, and John got two cauldron chocolates.

     “You didn’t have to buy us anything, John. Thank you,” Paul said.

     “It’s not a problem,” John said as he bit into his pumpkin pastie. “How’s your pastie, Charlotte?” he asked. Charlotte had been staring at the pastie, probably wondering how best to bite in. She looked up at John, noticed how he’d bitten into his pastie, and bit into hers. She chewed for a few seconds before breaking out in a grin.

     “Yeah, it’s great,” Charlotte said, covering her mouth with her hand as she talked around her food. “Thank you, John,” she said.

     “Glad you like it,” John said.

     “How’d you know I’d like this?” Charlotte asked Xander. Xander shrugged.

     “You just seemed the type,” he admitted. Charlotte accepted that answer and took another bite of her pumpkin pastie as she looked down at the licorice wand. “Do these work? Like, could you cast a spell with these?” Charlotte asked.

     “No, but they taste great,” Bill said.

     “My uncle’s a wand maker and according to him red vines make for good replacement wands if the wizard is strong,” Xander said. That surprised John.

     “Really?” John asked.

     “Yeah. He told me that when he went to Hogwarts professors would occasionally take students' wands because of all the duels going on at the time so they would take red vines into their duels instead,” Xander said.

     “What was the win-loss ratio for that?” Paul asked.

     “According to him it was like fifty-fifty, I think,” Xander told him.

     “I thought wands had to be made a certain way, how does that work?” John asked.

     “I’m not sure. I know the wand chooses the wizard… Maybe the red vines also choose the wizard?” Xander offered.

     “How does the wand choose the wizard?” Charlotte asked.

     “The wand just knows. You’ll feel it and know it’s right,” Xander said, pulling an orangish-brownish wand from his pocket to hold up. “Like, with my wand. It chose me and it felt right.”

     “I guess that makes sense. What kind of wand is that?” Charlotte asked, leaning forward in her seat.

     “Beech and White River Monster Spine,” Xander said.

     “I like it,” Charlotte said, digging through her trunk before pulling out a reddish-brown wand. “Mine’s Chestnut and Dragon Heartstring,” Charlotte told him.

     “Nice,” Xander said with a smile before looking between Bill, Paul, and John. “What did you get?”

     “Mine’s Laurel and Phoenix feather,” Bill said as he also drew a dark brown wand from his pocket.

     “I got, uh, Blackthorn and Horned serpent horn,” Paul said, stalling for a second as he also dug his wand out of his trunk. His wand was black towards the handle but more beige towards the end. Xander looked between their wands and nodded with a grin, before turning to John, who dug his wand out of his pocket.

     “I’ve got Ashwood and Unicorn hair,” John said, showing it off to them. His wand was darker then the wood had been originally, but John felt like the wand fit him perfectly.

     “My uncle says Ashwood and Unicorn hair goes well together,” Xand told them.

     “That’s what the lady who made my wand said,” John said, spinning his wand in his hand once before putting it away.

     This time conversation was more natural between the group and they talked until around six when another knock on the door stole their attention.

     “Come in,” Xander called.

     The door opened, revealing another student- a year or so older than them- with black hair and dark eyes. He was already wearing his robes and a green and silver tie.

     “Can we help you?” Charlotte asked as he looked around quickly.

     “Sorry to bother you,” he said, not actually sounding apologetic. “I was looking for someone. Doesn’t seem she’s here, though. I’ll get out of here,” he said, going to close the door.

     “Alright, have a good day,” Charlotte said, causing Paul and Bill to mimic her. The older kid scoffed and grinned.

     “See ya, firsties,” He said, going to close the door before pausing. “Oh, and you’re all gonna have to change into your robes before we get there,” he told them before closing the door. They shared a confused look and shrugged.

     “I should probably go find a bathroom to change, then,” Charlotte told them as she stood up, going to her trunk and pulling some of her own black robes out.

     “Alright, see you in a minute, Charlotte,” they all four called as Charlotte left into the hallway.

     Shortly after she left, John also started digging through his trunk. He pulled out his robes and pulled them over his head. The other three followed his lead and they all had on their robes as Charlotte arrived again, also dressed in her robes.

     John glanced out the window as the others talked. The sun was slowly setting- it probably wouldn’t be dark until eight or so- and the trees looked absolutely lovely. The train slowed to a stop and John checked the time on his watch, 6:13.

-

     They all made their way off the train to where all the students were meeting. Older kids were walking one way, and a guy with white hair and a mustache and a scar over his left eye was yelling for the first years to come his way. Standing to his left was a Hispanic woman with black hair in a pixie cut who was holding a broomstick. They were both yelling for all first-years to come to them. By 6:17 all the students who weren’t first-years were gone.

     “Hello, boys and girls. I’m Groundskeeper Up, this is your flying teacher Taz, how are you all on this fine day?” Up asked. Taz scoffed next to him as the children all gave various forms of ‘I’m good,’ and ‘hello sir’.

     “Alright then, let’s get going, shall we? Everyone follow me,” he said as he started walking in the opposite direction of where the other students went. Taz waited for everyone and followed along behind. They all walked for a few minutes until Up led them to a dock with about six boats.

     “Alright everyone, four students per boat,” Up said, waving for them to get in the boats. Bill, Paul, and Charlotte got into a boat together, with John deciding to ride with Xander so no one was alone.

     Another girl with curly brown hair got in with John and Xander. Following her was a boy with short black hair who had a small squirrel on his shoulder. 

     “Hello,” Xander said with a smile.

     “Hello,” the girl said. “I’m Schaffer.”

     “I’m Ed. And this is Peanuts,” the boy said, gesturing to the squirrel on his shoulder.

     “I’m Xander,” Xander introduced.

     “I’m John. Nice to meet you,” John said as well. He looked over to the boat Paul, Charlotte, and Bill were in to see another girl with brown hair pulled into several buns had also gotten in the boat. Up had gotten into a boat by himself and Taz had mounted her broom and shot herself into the air.

     “Alright, punks,” Taz started. “I’m going to be circling around above you to make sure none of you do something stupid like fall into the lake or harass the giant squid-”

     “Giant Squid?!” Several students exclaimed.

     “I’m Not Done! Shut Up!” Taz yelled. When no one said anything, she continued. “And if I find any of you have done something stupid like that, you’re going to run the quidditch pitch while your classmates have their first flying lesson, Understood?” she asked.

     “Yes, ma’am,” the students chorused.

     “Thank you, Taz… let’s go,” Up said and boats were off, slowly gliding across the water. The sky was orangish-pink and the sun was hidden behind the castle, allowing the beautiful view to be reflected on the water.

     As the boats reached another dock across the water, Up was helping children out of the boats. He was easily able to lift two students out of the boat without them touching the ground and pretty soon the kids were standing in a crowd by the door giggling as Taz draped the broom over her shoulder. Up whipped his hands on his pants before turning to the children again.

     “Follow me, everyone,” he called as he started up the hill. They all followed him up and into the castle, as Up and Taz paused outside a large door.

     “We’ll just need to wait a minute until Shawn arrives,” Up informed them. 

Chapter Text

No sooner had the words left Ups’ mouth, that the large door behind him opened up and another man stepped through. He was an Asian man with dark brown- almost black- hair pulled into a half-bun. He had dark eyes and was a little taller than Up. He wore black robes and the fabric was lined with something similar to copper. The tie he wore colidascoped between all the different house colors and a few shades of pink, light blue, and white. He had several black piercings in his ears and one in his right eyebrow. He smiled kindly at John and the other students.

“Ahh, Shawn. Lovely to see you. Here’s all the first years,” Up said.

“Thank you both. Feel free to take your seats, we’ll be in in just a moment,” Shawn told him.

“Alright. Good luck with the sorting,” Up said.

“What he said,” Taz added before the two walked through the open doors. John peered around Shawn to see the great hall, which was just as grand as Wilbur had always said. Shortly after they entered, the doors closed behind them and Shawn turned to face the children.

“Hello, children. I’m Deputy Headmaster Shawn Leugh. You all may call me Professor Shawn or Professor Leugh. In a moment, you will be brought into the Great Hall to be sorted into your Hogwarts house- either Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. This house will be a large part of your school experience, as you will share classes, dorms, and the common rooms with your house. Before I keep rambling on, are there any questions?” Professor Shawn asked.

John looked around to see if anyone had any questions and he watched as Charlotte shyly raised her hand.

“Yes, Miss?” Professor Shawn asked, waiting for Charlotte to continue.

“What’s the difference between the houses?” Charlotte asked.

“Ah. The four houses were created by the different founders. You'll learn more about that in both History of Magic with Professor Ken Davidson and in my class. However, you’ll find the houses are mostly divided as Gryffindor- the house of the brave, Hufflepuff- the house of the loyal, Ravenclaw- the house of the wise, and Slytherin- the house of the cunning. There’s a lot more to unpack about that, but we’ll tackle that in my class. Any other questions?” Professor Shawn asked.

“Um, I have a question,” a shorter boy with dark hair asked.

“Yes, Sir?” Shawn asked him.

“How does the sorting work?” he asked. The girl who’d ridden in the boat with Charlotte, Bill, and Paul turned to him with a mean grin.

“My older sister said that we have to go through a super painful test in front of everyone,” She said.

“What?” he asked, turning to her in a panic. Professor Shawn laughed softly, but it wasn’t mean-spirited.

“No, no. Don’t worry. It’s nothing like that. There’s no test of any kind. There’s a magic hat that you have to put on. It sorts through your memory and then tells you what house fits you best,” Professor Shawn said, causing the boy who’d panicked to relax. Professor Shawn turned to the girl and asked her name.

“Emma Perkins,” She- Emma- responded. Professor Shawn nodded.

“I know your sister. She adores you to death,” Shawn told her. Emma looked surprised before looking away.

“Any other questions?” Professor Shawn asked, looking between them again. No one spoke up.

“Alright then. There’s all the matter of the House cup. Over the school year, you will be able to gain points through good behavior, and lose points through bad behavior. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will gain the house cups. You can also gain points through the Quidditch games, but you won’t be able to play this year,” Professor Shawn informed them. He waited another minute to see if anyone had any questions.

“I need to go see headmaster Lange, but you’ll be watched over by the four head ghosts until I return,” Professor Shawn said as four separate ghosts came through the wall. A fat monk-looking man, a man in a ruff and tights, a tall witch in an old dress, and a ghost covered in blood. The monk and the man in ruffles immediately stepped between the bloody man and the witch.

“May I introduce The Grey lady, the Bloody Baron, Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, and the Friar,” Professor Shawn said, gesturing to each of the ghosts as he spoke. They were all intriguing to John for different reasons. With Sir Nicholas, it was his name. The Bloody Baron, it was why he was covered in blood. The Friar seemed to have an aura of mirth that drew Johns’ attention, while the Grey Lady seemed upset, but that also intrigued him. Several of Johns’ classmates said hello and he waved at the ghosts as well.

“Well, I’ll return in a moment. Just stay here and I’ll be back soon, children,” Professor Shawn told them. He stepped back into the Great Hall as Nearly Headless Nick spoke up.

“Hello, students! Ready for your sorting?” Nearly Headless Nick asked. A few children nodded and he grinned. “Hope to see some of you in Gryffindor,” he said.

“Of course, if not Gryffindor, any other house would do just as well. Say… Hufflepuff,” The Friar asked.

“Or Slytherin,” The Bloody Baron added.

“Ravenclaw’s also a good house,” The Grey lady signed. John only knew what she’d said because Wilbur had wanted him to learn British Sign Language. “Although whatever house they get into will be theirs,” she continued.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself, Grey,” Friar said with a smile.

John watched in amusement as the ghosts entertained his other classmates until the door opened again and Professor Shawn returned.

“Thank you so much,” Shawn said to the ghosts with a smile. The four ghosts nodded to him before floating into the Great hall. Shawn turned to the children and smiled.

“Alright now. Please form a line and follow me,” Shawn told them. John got in line behind Paul and in front of Xander. Looking ahead, John could see that Schaffer was directly behind Professor Shawn.

Professor Shawn led the way into the Great Hall, which was absolutely beautiful. The ceiling was enchanted to show the darker night sky. Thousands of color-changing and white candles floating in mid-air above the four different tables where older students were silently sitting, watching the First years as they walked towards a fifth table that was raised above the others that all the teachers were sitting at.

All the first years walking stopped as Professor Leugh set out an old stool and placed an old, pointed hat on top. For a few moments, nothing was said, until the brim of the hat split open, and it started to sing.

“I’ve been here longer then you’d know

Longer than you could perceive.

I am the Hogwarts Sorting hat,

I’ll tell you what you need.

I’ll tell you what your House will be,

Your Hogwarts Family.

So listen to my song,

And then your sorting will proceed.

Will you be with those Gryffindor

Brave, Practical, and True?

Or will the loyal and dependable

Huffles be there for you?

Or could you be with Slytherin,

Ambitious and Prepared?

Or maybe those Wise old Ravenclaws,

Will be your peers for years?

So many choices to be had,

Hard decisions to be made.

But that’s why I’m the Sorting hat,

And I’ll Sort all my days,” The hat finished singing and the Great Hall burst into cheers with everyone- except Paul, who instead had gone pale while the hat sang- applauding the song, even Professor Shawn, who had at first winced at the loud noise. The hat bowed to the tables and Professor Shawn stepped forward, holding a roll of parchment and patiently waiting for everyone to fall silent, which took a few minutes. When everyone was finally silent, Professor Shawn spoke up.

“I’m going to call your name. And when I do, please step up, put on the hat, and sit on the stool,” he said, smiling comfortingly at the First years before looking down at the paper. “Carr, Lukas!”

A boy with dark skin shuffled forward and towards the stool. He pulled on the hat- which covered down to his nose- and sat down. 

“HUFFLEPUFF!” The hat yelled after a moment or two. The Hufflepuff table cheered as he pulled off the hat and made his way to the table with a smile.

“Duke, Bill!” Professor Shawn continued. Bill smiled at Charlotte, Paul, Xander, and him as he made his way to the stool. He pulled on the hat and also sat down. It was a moment later that the hat continued.

“HUFFLEPUFF!” the hat shouted again, gaining more cheers from the Hufflepuff table. Bill took off the hat and smiled at them again as he made his way towards the Hufflepuff table.

“Goodman, Howard!” Professor Shawn said. The boy who had asked how the sorting worked stepped up, looking back at the boy he’d been next to before pulling the hat on.

“HUFFLEPUFF!” The hat called before he even had a chance to sit down. The Hufflepuff table cheered a third time as Howard looked back at the boy he’d looked at before and headed towards the Hufflepuff table, sitting down in the seat closest to the Ravenclaw table. 

“Kim, Angela!” Professor Shawn called. A girl with brown hair a bit past her shoulders marched forward and immediately pulled on the hat and sat down. After a minute or so, the hat spoke up.

“GRYFFINDOR!” The hat roared as the Gryffindor table cheered loudly. John almost thought he heard Professor Shawn mutter a ‘there we go,’ before continuing the list.

“Lee, Xander!” Professor Shawn called. Xander smiled at John before stepping forward and pulling the hat on as well. There was a two-minute pause before the hat yelled his answer.

“RAVENCLAW!” The hat yelled, gaining cheers from the Ravenclaw table. Xander had a wide grin on his face as he removed the hat and made his way towards the table.

“Leugh, Charles!” Professor Shawn said. A boy with black hair stepped forward, smiling at the Professor before pulling on the hat and sitting down.

“HUFFLEPUFF!” The hat yelled after a minute or so as the Hufflepuff table once again cheered. Charles grinned at Professor Shawn before heading towards the Hufflepuff table.

“Leugh, Gabriel!” Shawn called. Another boy- identical to Charles- walked up and also smiled at Shawn before sitting down.

“SLYTHERIN!” The hat called after a few seconds and the Slytherin table cheered. Professor Shawn smiled at Gabriel who made his way towards the table.

“Manion, Robby!” Shawn called. Another boy with black hair stepped forward. Twenty seconds later, the hat made its choice.

“RAVENCLAW!” it yelled as the Ravenclaw table cheered.

“Matthews, Paul!” Shawn called. Paul tensed up next to John, who nudged him with his elbow. He stumbled forward and slowly pulled on the hat and sat down. It took about three minutes before the hat yelled his answer.

“GRYFFINDOR!” The hat yelled as the Gryffindor house cheered. Paul removed the hat and quickly moved towards the Gryffindor table, his head down.

“McNamara, John!” Shawn called. John nodded to himself and stepped forward, picking up the hat. Before he could put it on, he caught Professor Shawns’ eyes, who smiled comfortingly at him. He nodded and pulled on the hat before sitting down. The hat covered his eyes like it had everyone else, and he was submerged in darkness.

“Lots of good choices already, I see,” a small voice said by his ear. John fought the urge to look around for the voice. “You’re pretty smart, I can already tell. Your parents were all pretty smart as well. But your dad was loyal as hell and made it to Hufflepuff. You’d fit well there, too. But you’re ambitious as well, like your mom and that Wilbur Cross. However, I think the best choice would be… GRYFFINDOR!” 

The yell of his new house rang in Johns’ ears and he got to his feet, barely registering the cheering as he crossed to the Gryffindor table. He looked back at the sorting hat briefly before looking back at his table, noticing Paul who he quickly went to sit by. ‘The hat knew my parents…’ John thought as he sat down.

“Welcome to Gryffindor,” Paul said with a smile. John shook the thought from his head and smiled at Paul.

“Welcome yourself,” he said.

“McNeill, Wallace!” Shawn yelled as a serious-looking boy with short hair stepped up. He pulled on the hat and a few minutes passed.

“HUFFLEPUFF!” The hat yelled as the Hufflepuff table cheered again. John wondered if they were getting tired of cheering.

“Lots of Hufflepuffs this year, huh?” An older boy next to him said. He looked a lot like the twins who’d gone up.

“You’re not kidding,” A girl with curly brown hair said.

“Morris, Bob!” Shawn called. John realized this was the boy Howard had been looking at before. He stepped up and pulled the hat on.

“RAVENCLAW!” The hat yelled after a minute. The Ravenclaw table cheered and Bob removed the hat and rushed towards his table, sitting in the seat closest to the Hufflepuff table.

“Nester, Rochelle!” Shawn Called. A girl with curly pinkish-blonde hair stepped up with a smile. It only took a few seconds for the hat to decide.

“GRYFFINDOR!” The hat yelled and John joined in the cheering as she made her way towards their table.

“Perkins, Emma!” Shawn called. Emma stepped forward, her chin held high, and she pulled on the hat.

“SLYTHERIN!” The hat yelled after maybe forty seconds. She removed the hat to the Slytherins’ cheers and marched towards the table, her eyes flickering over to the Hufflepuff table a few times before she sat down.

“Schaffer, Eliza!” Shawn called. Schaffer stepped forward and she’d barely sat down before the hat called her house.

“GRYFFINDOR!” The Gryffindor table went up in cheers as Schaffer made her way over, sitting across from Paul and sending a smile their way.

“Smith, Charlotte!” Shawn called. Charlotte made her way towards the hat and sat down. It took a minute before the hat spoke up.

“HUFFLEPUFF!” The hat yelled as Charlotte made her way towards the cheering table.

“South, Nerissa!” Shawn called. A girl with brown and blonde curly hair stepped forward with a smile.

“SLYTHERIN!” The hat yelled. She made her way over to her table.

“Stein, Ed!” Shawn called. Ed stepped forward with Peanuts still on his shoulder. He pulled on the hat and also immediately got an answer.

“HUFFLEPUFF!” Ed got up and smiled as he made his way towards his table.

“That’s the seventh Hufflepuff. That’s almost half of the grade,” The girl across from him said.

“Truths, June!” Shawn called. Another girl with reddish curly hair that was mostly smoothed down stepped forward.

“RAVENCLAW!” The hat called after half a minute. She smiled and made her way to the table, sitting down beside Bob Morris.

“White, Dominik!” Shawn called as the last kid stepped up. He took a minute or so too.

“SLYTHERIN!” The hat called and he made his way towards the table.

Professor Shawn had picked up the stool and hat and was taking them to a side door as a tall man with brown hair and a short beard stood up.

“Hello, Students. To Anyone Who Doesn’t Know, I Am Headmaster Nicholas Lange, You May Call Me Lange,” He said, his voice echoing across the Great Hall. “I’d Like To Very Quickly Say Welcome back to another- or maybe your first- wonderful year of Hogwarts. I Do Have A Few Announcements To Give, But Those Can Wait Until You’re Done Eating. For Now, Dig In!”

As he said that, food appeared at the tables, and immediately the students started piling food onto their plates. John was no exception as he very quickly had a mountain of mashed potatoes and two chicken wings on his plate, along with some steamed vegetables.

As John was eating his food, the girl across from him- the one who’d pointed out how many Hufflepuffs there were- introduced herself as Regina Beatty, a third-year. She also introduced the boy next to John, who was Robert Leugh. Paul and Schaffer talked with Regina and Robert, with John listening and occasionally popping in.

When John finished his first serving of food, he went to get more when Regina stopped him.

“You’re gonna want to save room in your stomach for dessert,” she warned him. John accepted her warning and instead turned his attention as a boy on Pauls’ other side- a blonde kid with shoulder-length hair- started calling out for sir Nicholas, who was a few seats away.

“Nearly Headless Nick! Nearly Headless Nick!” He called. The ghost sighed and glided over to him, looking annoyed at him before turning to Schaffer, Paul, and John.

“Hey, kids. Welcome to Gryffindor. We’re glad to have ya,” he said, ignoring the other boy.

“Thanks, Sir,” Schaffer said with a smile.

“Nearly Headless Nick!” The other boy said again. Nicholas sighed to himself and turned to the boy.

“Yes, Sam?” he asked.

“Why don’t you show these firsties how you got your name,” The blondie- Sam- said with a smirk. The girl next to him laughed obnoxiously.

“Actually, you don’t need to do that,” Paul said quickly, probably not wanting to see why he was named that.

“Yes you do, come on Nearly Headless!” Sam whined. John opened his mouth to give a rude remark to Sam, he could see Schaffer open her mouth as well.

“You know, you’re being really rude,” Paul said, looking away and taking another spoonful of the pudding he was eating.

“I’m sorry?” Sam asked, turning to him. Pauls’ face flushed a bit and he was avoiding eye contact, but he was about to open his mouth, only for John to beat him to the punch.

“He said you’re being rude. And honestly, I’m inclined to agree,” John said. Sam narrowed his eyes and went to say something else when a guy with red hair who was sitting on the other side of Regina cut him off.

“Christ, Sam. Shut up,” he said. He turned to the red-haired girl next to him and said “I did NOT miss him.” Sam glared at them all and silently fumed as he kept eating.

“Thanks for that,” Schaffer said, having to kind of lean around Regina to talk to him.

“Oh, no problem. I’m Tom. Tom Houston,” He said. The girl next to him also smiled.

“I’m Becky Barnes, It’s nice to meet you three,” Becky said with a grin.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” John said.

“Yeah, thanks again,” Paul added.

“Of course,” Tom said with a grin.

“We’re happy to help. If you ever need anything, just come find us,” Becky said with a smile. Before John could respond, the food disappeared and was replaced with desserts. Mountains of ice creams, towers of cakes, and cookies of all kinds. Once again, John dug in, piling ice cream and cake onto his plate, alongside the other students.

-

As John was finishing his dessert, he turned to look at the teacher table. One thing he noticed was that the amount of teachers had increased to maybe twenty or so. The only teachers John recognized were Headmaster Lange, Up, Taz, and Professor Shawn. Lange was talking to two women, they both had light brown hair and wore brown dresses. One of them had crimped hair, and the other had straight hair. Taz and Up were having an exciting conversation with a professor a bit younger than Taz. He had blondish-brown hair and wore a raccoon hat. Shawn was conversing with another professor- he looked to be the youngest professor here- and he had dark red- almost black- short hair. Shawn and the other professor kept sending suspicious glances to another professor with short brown, messy hair. John opened his mouth to ask Robert who the teachers were when Headmaster Lange stood up again and the Great hall went silent.

“Now that we’ve eaten and such, I’d like to go over a few things before we send you to your dorms. And older students, I’ll say now that some of what I’m going to say is going to sound repetitive, but bear with me, alright?” he asked. A few of the older students grumbled, but Lange kept talking.

“Firstly, I’d like to remind everyone that from 10 pm to 6 am you must stay in your house commons, no exceptions. As well as you are not to go into the Forbidden Forest under any circumstances. Secondly, Quidditch tryouts are two weeks from now and anyone interested in joining should find Taz in their free time and talk to her. And Thirdly, I’d like to introduce all the teachers here, for anyone who’s not yet met them.”

“Firstly, Deputy Headmaster Shawn Leugh, who teaches the life-skills class you all have,” Lange said. Professor Shawn had stood while Lange talked, and several of the older students- including Robert, Becky, and Tom- cheered and clapped. Shawn smiled and sent a small wave to them before sitting back down.

“Next, Professor Henry Hidgens, Our Charms Teacher and Head of Ravenclaw,” Lange said as a Silver-haired teacher in black stood up. The Ravenclaws all cheered at that and the professor gave a mock bow before sitting back down.

“Professor Sherrezade Morcos, Our Head of Hufflepuff, Astronomy and Divination Teacher,” An exotic woman wearing a loose, orange and red dress and had a cloth that was tucked into her hair stood up and waved at them as the Hufflepuff house cheered.

“Professor Ken Davidson, Our Head of Slytherin and History of Magic teacher,” A middle-aged guy with long dark, coffee brown hair and short beard in a vest and tie and wearing glasses stood up as the Slytherins cheered. He waved to them all and sat down.

“And Professor Bug Mills, our head of Gryffindor and Transfiguration teacher,” The young-looking red-haired teacher stood up and waved at them as the Gryffindors’ cheered.

“Professor Carol Davidson, Our Potions Teacher,” The Hufflepuffs’ cheered again as a woman with brown hair stood up and smiled, waving at the students sweetly.

“Professor C. H. Dikrats, Our Herbology Teacher,” The teacher in the raccoon hat who had been talking to Taz and Up stood up and waved, a wide grin on his face as Ravenclaws cheered.

“Taz Lopez, Our Flying Teacher,” Taz stood up, arms crossed over her chest and a grin on her face as students from all four houses cheered. Probably because she controlled quidditch.

“Professor Jamilla Caswell, Our Arithmetic Teacher,” The crimped hair teacher stood up and waved with both hands as Ravenclaw cheered.

“Professor Zazilil Craw, Our Ancient Runes Teacher,” The other teacher Lange had been talking to stood up and gave a lazy wave as Gryffindors cheered.

“Professor Brian Holden, Our Arithmancy Teacher,” he said as a teacher with short brown stood up. He also gave a bow as the Slytherins’ cheered again.

“Up Lopez, Our Care of Magical Creatures Teacher and Grounds Keeper,” Up stood up and saluted as all four houses cheered.

“Madam Rose Franks, Our Resident Nurse,” A slightly older woman with brown-blonde hair stood up and the whole school cheered again.

“Professor February Agustus, Our Muggle Studies Teacher,” A woman with a blonde bob stood up and gave an over-exaggerated wave as Hufflepuffs’ cheered before sitting down again.

“Professor Meredith Stephin, Our Ancient Studies Teacher,” A woman with dark brown hair below her shoulders stood up and waved with a grin to them as the Slytherin house cheered.

“Professor Dylan Saunders, Our Art Teacher,” A man with brown-red short hair and a round face stood up and waved at them as the Ravenclaw students cheered.

“Professor Denis Donovan, Our Muggle Art Teacher,” A woman with long dirty blonde hair stood and waved as the Slytherin students cheered.

“Professor Darren Chris, Our Earth Magic Teacher,” A man with curly black hair stood up and also bowed to the students as Hufflepuff cheered.

“Professor Jeff Blim, our Muggle Music Teacher,” A man with a brown beard and shoulder-length brown hair- who bore an uncanny resemblance to Professor Ken Davidson- also stood up and bowed as the Gryffindors’ cheered. 

“Professor Bonnie Gruesen, our Music Teacher,” a woman with long brown hair stood up and the Hufflepuffs’ cheered.

“Professor Brian Rosenthall, Our Ghoul Studies Teacher,” A man with dark hair stood up and waved at them all as the Gryffindors’ cheered.

“And Lastly, Professor Aladdin Adali, Our Defense Against The Dark Arts’ Teacher and our Newest Addition of Hogwarts,” The professor that Professor Shawn and Professor Bug had been glaring at stood up and Gryffindor cheered.

“And now that we’ve gone through that, let us all go to bed,” Professor Lange said.

Chapter Text

Two older Gryffindor students, a boy, and a girl stood up at the far end of the table and called for the other Gryffindors’ to follow them to their common rooms. John stood up and could see that the same thing was happening at other tables.

Paul fell into the pace beside John as they followed the older Gryffindors up several sets of stairs and down half a dozen different hallways until they finally came to stop at a large painting with a large woman in a light pink silk dress.

“Password?” She asked, looking over John and the other first years before turning her attention to the girl who’d led the way.

“Quod carmen Sirenum,”  The girl said. The portrait swung open and students climbed through into the Gold and Scarlet common rooms. Once everyone was inside, The Boy and Girl stood on the table and yelled to get everyones attention.

“Alright, We know you’re exhausted, but before you all go to your dorms please spare us your ear for just a minute so you actually know the password this year,” The boy called.

“We don’t want a repeat of last year,” the girl added. Once they were both sure everyone was paying attention, they repeated the password before dismissing all students but the first years. A few students- like Robert- stayed downstairs talking or chilling by the fire, but it was mostly empty.

The girl led Angela Kim, Schaffer, and Rochelle Nester to the girls' dormitory while the guy led Paul and him into a separate dorm room for them.

-

“Not a lot of students this year, huh?” John asked the prefect as he led them up the spiral stairs.

“Yeah, but according to my grandad, there’s loads more students now than compared to when he went,” The prefect said as he stopped outside a door.

“My grandma said the same thing. She said there were only five Gryffindors when she went,” Paul added.

“In her year?” John asked.

“Total,” Paul said.

“Yeah, this is loads better,” John said with a nod.

“Can’t argue. Anyway, this is your dorm room,” he said, pushing the door open for them. Paul stepped inside first and John followed after him. There were two beds with curtains that could be closed around them and a trunk was at the foot of each bed, along with two desks on the opposite end of the dorm. John took a second to realize one of these trunks were his and he stepped towards the bed to look around more.

“I’m going to bed. I’ll be two doors up if you need anything. Have a good night,” the prefect said.

“Night,” John and Paul both said. The door closed and John dug through his trunk to find some pajamas- an old white shirt and some loose grey pants- and his toiletries.

“I’m gonna take a shower and get ready for bed,” John told him.

“Alright,” Paul said as he also dug through his bag until he pulled out some ink, a quill, and some parchment. At Johns’ curious look, he explained. “My grandma asked me to write her a letter when I had the time.”

“My dad asked me to write to him, too. But I’ll do that later, I’m drained,” John explained. Paul nodded in understanding as John turned to enter the bathroom. 

There were three showers along the right wall separated by tiled walls, like stalls, and red and yellow shower curtains could be used to close off the separate showers. There was a bathtub in the corner next to the showers- a large one in a loose triangular shape- that also had a shower curtain to separate it from the rest of the room. Along the left wall were a few bathroom stalls and along the wall opposite the door were a few sinks and some towels hanging on a towel railing.

John grabbed a towel and left it and his clothing on the floor just outside the shower. Before turning on the hot water.

John showered quickly because he was tired and wanted to go to bed and brushed his teeth before heading back into his dorm where Paul was sitting at a desk, dressed in an old grey shirt and blue pajama pants.

“Hey, John,” Paul said, turning around in his seat with a shy smile on his face like he wanted to ask something but was embarrassed.

“Hey, Paul. Something wrong?” John asked.

“Do you… do you think there’s somewhere we can get a glass of water?”  Paul asked. John considered it but before he could come up with an answer, Paul kept talking. “I always drink a glass of water before going to bed, it’s like a routine.”

“We could go ask the prefect,” John offered. Paul frowned.

“I don’t wanna wake him or his dorm-mates,” Paul admitted. John tried not to sigh, but he could understand where Paul was coming from.

“Alright, why don’t we go check downstairs, see if anyone else is still awake,” John offered. Paul nodded and stood up.

“Okay,” he said, giving a weak smile. John gave a half-smile back before turning and leaving the dorm, Paul on his heels.

They both made their way downstairs to find Robert, Tom, Becky, and another student talking to someone by the fireplace. It took a moment for John to realize it was professor Shawn they were talking to. Shawn looked up as they approached.

“Hello, John and Paul. How are you?” Professor Shawn asked, smiling at them both.

“We’re good, professor. Thanks,” John said. “What are you doing here?”

“I like checking in on students after big events. Making sure everything’s settled, they can find their dorms, know their password, anyone who takes medication has their medication, etcetera, etcetera,” Shawn said.

“Yeah, dad’s cool like that,” Robert said.

“He’s your dad?” Paul asked, looking between Robert and Professor Shawn.

“Yup,” Robert said with a grin.

“Do you boys need anything?” Shawn asked them.

“Yeah, is there somewhere we can get a glass of water?” John asked. He didn’t really want water, but he thought it would be rude to single out Paul. Before Shawn could respond, Becky stood up and crossed the commons to some cabinets John hadn’t seen before. She came back a moment later with two empty glasses.

“Here ya go,” She said, holding them out to John and Paul. “You can get water from the sinks in your bathroom,” she said as John accepted his cup, Paul doing the same.

“Alright, thank you,” Paul said, sending a thankful smile to Becky.

“Thank you,” John echoed.

“Of course,” Becky said with a smile before turning to sit back down beside Tom.

“We’re going to go to bed now, good night,” John said, turning to go back to his dorm with Paul following behind him.

“Good night,” Shawn and the other students echoed. They’d just gotten to the stairs when Paul stopped walking and turned back to them.

“I have a question. Well, two, actually” Paul said.

“Go ahead,” Professor Shawn said, waving for Paul to continue.

“Is there a certain time we have to get up and where are we supposed to figure out our classes?” Paul asked.

“Well, classes start at nine so you have to be up and about by then, but breakfast starts at 7:30. You’ll get your schedule tomorrow at breakfast. And don’t worry about taking anything with you to your first class, these first few days are more for finding your way around the school and such,” Professor Shawn informed him.

“Okay, thank you, professor. Good night,” Paul said.

“Good night, boys. Sleep well,” Professor Shawn called as they made their way back up the stairs.

John and Paul got back to their dorm and closed the door. John stepped into the bathroom and filled his cup about halfway with water from the sink, Paul following his lead and filling his cup all the way.

“How are we gonna wake up on time?” John asked after a moment.

“My grandma taught me a spell that sets an alarm on your wand,” Paul told him.

“Really? How?” John asked as they walked back into their dorm.

“I can show you,” Paul offered. John nodded eagerly and they both set down their glasses of water as Paul withdrew his wand from his pocket. John also pulled out his wand and watched Paul eagerly.

“So you need to do a gesture like this,” Paul said, flicking his wand in an upward movement. “Think about when you want to wake up, and say ‘ Evigilat ’,” Paul finished, the tip of his wand glowed white and the symbols ‘VII’ appeared for a second before vanishing. It took John a moment to realize it was the roman numerals for seven.

“Like this?” John asked as he redid the hand gesture.

“Yeah, that’s perfect. And it’s ‘ evi-gi-lat ’,” Paul repeated, putting emphasis in his word. John thought about the time he wanted to wake up- seven am- and did the gesture again.

“ Evigilat ,” John said as he flicked his wand up. His wand glowed as well and ‘VII’ appeared over his wand for a few seconds.

“You did it,” Paul said with a small smile.

“I did it,” John said, a smile growing on his face as he held up a hand to high-five Paul. Paul returned it before yawning.

“Well, alarms are set, I’m in my pajamas… I’m going to bed,” Paul said, going towards the bed his trunk was at.

“Me too,” John said, turning to his own bed. They both sat on their beds and looked up at the candles lighting their room.

“How do we turn the lights off?” Paul asked. No sooner had the words left his mouth that the candles all extinguished on their own, leaving the two in almost complete darkness, aside from the moonlight coming through the window. John chuckled and laid down, laying his wand down beside his bed.

“Good night, John,” Paul said from his bed, not that John could see him.

“Night, Paul. See you in the morning,” John hummed.

“See you in the morning.”

-

John awoke to a buzzing coming from his wand. He untangled himself from his blankets and sat up, looking over to Pauls’ bed to see the other boy was laying on his bed, slowly opening and closing his eyes, staring up at the top of his bed. John picked up his wand- which immediately stopped buzzing- before addressing Paul.

“Good Morning, Paul,” John said. Paul groaned and closed his eyes again. “Not a morning person, huh?” John asked. Paul opened his eyes and glared weakly at John.

“Shut up,” He mumbled. John laughed and got out of his bed.

“I’m gonna use the bathroom,” John told him before heading into the bathroom and then one of the stalls.

Once he was done and had washed his hands, he started to brush his teeth. Paul entered the bathroom at one point- still exhausted, clearly- and he dropped a pile of clothes and a towel beside the shower he went into.

John finished brushing his teeth and stepped back into the dorm room. He dug through his trunk and pulled out a school uniform, including a red and yellow tie- which he did not have the night before, but according to his dad, that was normal. He pulled on his white shirt and black trousers, but struggled a bit with his tie and eventually gave up, tying it with a hairband so that it looked normal. He pulled on the grey over-shirt thing and was pulling on his white socks when Paul came out, his hair a little damp, but he was dressed in his uniform and awake.

“Hey,” Paul said.

“Hey,” John echoed. He looked over Paul and noticed he wasn’t wearing his tie. “Where’s your tie?” John asked. Paul flushed for a second and stammered a bit, before giving an answer.

“I don’t know how to tie it,” he muttered. “I was hoping you did,” he admitted. John chuckled a bit.

“I can tell you how I made it look like I tied it and lend you a hair tie, but I don’t know how to actually tie it,” John offered.

“I’ll take anything. This thing is impossible,” Paul said, stepping closer. John laughed and helped him ‘tie’ his tie before returning to pulling on his socks and shoes. He pulled on his robe and brushed through his hair with a hairbrush as Paul dug through something in his trunk.

“Do you know what time it is?” Paul asked after a minute. John glanced at his watch and answered.

“7:36,” John told him as he picked up his wand.

“Wanna go down for breakfast?” Paul asked, also picking up his wand and putting it in his pocket.

“Sure, let’s go,” John said and the two made their way down into the common room. They got to the portrait hole when a thought occurred to John.

“Do we know the way to the great hall?” John asked him. Paul frowned.

“Um…” he said before looking around. “We could ask her,” He offered, pointing to an older girl who was talking to Schaffer. John nodded and stepped forward.

“Hello,” John said as he stepped up.

“Hey, John,” Schaffer said at the same time the older girl said ‘Hello’.

“Sorry to bother you, but you wouldn’t happen to know the way to Great Hall, would you?” John asked.

“Yeah sure,” she said before explaining how to get to the Great Hall from there. John thanked her and pretty soon he and Paul were on their way to the Great Hall.

It was 7:52 when they got down to the great hall. The Great hall was mostly empty aside from a few teachers and a few dozen students. One of those students was Bill, who looked up at the door, looked down at his food, and then did a double-take before standing up and rushing over to them.

“Hey, Paul. Hey, John,” Bill said with a grin. Paul also grinned.

“Hey, Bill,” they both said. Johns’ stomach growled and he smiled at them apologetically.

“I’m going to go eat,” John told them.

“Alright, see ya, John,” they both said as John walked away. He ended up sitting in the seat closest to the teacher tables and quickly dug into some of the offered pancakes.

There were only six or seven Gryffindors’ at the table and John didn’t know any of them. It was the same way at the other tables, except he recognized one of the Slytherin students as the boy from the train who’d reminded him he had to put on his robes.

John turned his attention to the teacher table where he noticed another man with black hair and a beard was sitting next to the astrology Professor, Professor Sherrezade. They were smiling at each other and talking softly.  There was also the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Professor Aladdin, who was staring at an older girl who was sitting at the Slytherin table. 

John was almost done with his first serving of pancakes when Paul came and sat down, fitting a piece of paper into his pocket.

“How’s breakfast?” Paul asked as he also grabbed some pancakes.

“It’s really good,” John said. Paul bit into his pancakes and nodded in agreement. 

Slowly but surely, the Great Hall filled up with what had to be every single student as more teachers also arrived. At 8:40 exactly, hundreds of owls flew into the great hall through the windows and descended upon the students. 

One owl landed between John and Paul, a letter tied to either leg. John freed the owls’ legs of the letters and the bird flew off. John handed Paul the letter with his name on it before opening his own and finding it was his school schedule.

(I could think of no way to explain this in a way that makes sense, so here's a link to a google doc with the schedule if you wanna see it)

John was aware of Paul peering over his shoulder at his schedule but didn’t pay it much mind.

“We’ve got charms first,” Paul pointed out.

“Who did Headmaster Lange say that Professor was? Professor Hidgens?” John asked him. Before Paul could respond, an older student spoke up.

“Professor Hidgens? Lucky. He’s super cool and his class is fun,” he said. John recognized him as the other boy who’d been talking to Professor Shawn last night. He was a little taller than Robert and had dark skin and short hair.

“Really?” Paul asked him.

“Yeah. I could take you to his classroom later if you want,” the older boy offered. “I’m Michale Tolbert,” he introduced himself.

“I’m John Mcnamara,” John introduced.

“I’m Paul Matthews,” Paul also said. Michale smiled at them both before looking down at his schedule.

"We’ll need to leave a little before nine because I’ve got to get to transfiguration and that’s a lot of stairs to go up and down,” Michale said. 

“That’s fine. I’m done anyway,” John said.

“I’m almost done,” Paul also said as he took another bite of his own breakfast.

“Think you’ll be done in five?” Michale asked, taking a bite of the donut on his plate.

“Yeah,” Paul said.

“Alright, we’ll go then,” Michale said.

Five minutes later Michale was leading them up several sets of stairs and down a few hallways until they stopped outside a large dark brown door.

“Well, this is your stop. Professor Hidgens always shows up a few minutes late on Mondays, so don’t worry if it’s a little after nine that he shows up,” Michale told them.

“Alright. Thank you, Michale,” John started.

“Thank you,” Paul added.

They both said bye as Michale wished them both luck on their first day before leaving. John and Paul talked about this or that as other students showed up.

At 9:07 the silver-haired professor dressed in a black turtle-neck and dark-grey trousers arrived with a smile.

“Sorry For The Late Arrival, Children. I Always Have A Bit Of Bad Luck Getting Ready For Mondays,” He said as he pushed the door open, waving them all inside. He spoke clearly and projected his voice, walking with an air of confidence and a sort of flair that stole Johns’ attention. He and the other classmates followed him in and found a seat as Professor Hidgens went to his desk.

“Welcome to Charms Class, Students. I’ll be your Charms teacher, Professor Hidgens. And May I just Say Welcome To Your First Class Of Hogwarts,” he said with a grin. He looked down at a piece of paper on his desk before looking back up at them. “Slytherins’ And Gryffindors’. An Interesting Mix For Your First Class Of The Year. Did You All Find Your Class Alright?”

“Yes, Sir,” The class echoed. Professor Hidgens shook his head- seemingly amused- and walked around his desk and sat down on the front of his desk.

“Alright, I Know It’s Your First Day And Probably Your First Year At A School So Far Away From Home But I Promise You Don’t Have To Do The Whole ‘Yes, Sir. No, Sir’ Robot-Routine,” Professor Hidgens said. Again, no one said anything.

“Alright. How About This? Who Can Tell Me How Many Students Are In Here?” Professor Hidgens asked. The twin who’d been sorted into Slytherin- John didn’t remember his name- raised his hand slowly. “Yes?” Professor Hidgens asked.

“There’s nine students,” he said simply.

“Alright, And What’s Your Name, Young Sir?” Professor Hidgens asked.

“Gabriel Leugh, Professor,” Gabriel said.

“Ahh. I Taught Your Father, You Know. He Was Always So Bright. Tell me, Gabriel, What Class Are You Most Excited For?” Professor Hidgens asked.

“I’d have to say Transfiguration, Professor,” Gabriel said.

“Transfiguration. I Remember Taking Transfiguration So Long Ago. I Taught Professor Bug As Well. You’ll Enjoy His Class. I Need You To Do One More Thing For Me, Gabriel. Would You Please Select One of Your Classmates?” Hidgens asked.

“Uh… Sure, Professor. How about…” Gabriel trailed off and looked around before pointing at Schaffer. “Her?”

“Okay. What’s your name, young ma’am?” Professor Hidgens asked.

“Eliza Schaffer. But I go by Schaffer,” she said.

“Alright, Miss Schaffer. What Class Are You Excited For?” Professor Hidgens asked.

“Perhaps Defense Against The Dark Arts or Flying, Sir,” Schaffer said.

“Alright. Are You A Fan Of Quidditch, Schaffer?” Professor Hidgens asked.

“Yes, Sir. My father has been teaching me for about five years now,” Schaffer told him.

“What position do you play, Schaffer?” Professor Hidgens asked her.

“Keeper, sir,” Schaffer said.

“Well, I Happen To Know The Gryffindor Keeper Is Graduating This Year, Meaning It’ll Be Open Next year,” Professor Hidgens said, causing Schaffer to smile. “Would You Like To Pick Another Student, Schaffer?”

“Sure. How About… Her?” Schaffer asked, pointing to a Slytherin girl. It took John a moment to realize she was the girl who’d ridden in the boat with Paul, Bill, and Charlotte yesterday. It took another moment to remember her name was Emma.

“Alright. What Would Your Name Be, Ma’am?” Professor Hidgens asked her.

“Emma Perkins,” she said.

“Ahh, The Younger Perkins Sibling. What Class Are You Excited For, Emma?” Professor Hidgens asked her.

“I Dunno. I Guess Charms Sounds Cool,” Emma said with a shrug. Professor Hidgens smiled.

“Well, I’m Flattered, Emma. Would You Like To Pick The Next Student?” Professor Hidgens asked her.

“Sure…” She said, looking around the class for half a second before her eyes landed on Paul. “Him,” she said.

Paul seemed to shrink down a bit as Professor Hidgens turned to him.

“Wonderful. And What Would Your Name Be, Young Sir?” Professor Hidgens asked him.

“Paul Matthews, Professor,” Paul mumbled.

“Alright, Paul. What Class Are You Looking Forward Too?” Professor Hidgens asked him.

“I- uh… I guess, um,  herbology,” he muttered.

“I’m Sure Professor Dikrats Will Love Having You,” Professor Hidgens said as a few people snickered around the class. “Would You Mind Picking The Next Student?” Professor Hidgens asked him.

“Uh,” Paul looked around before turning to John. “him,” Paul muttered quietly. He sent John an apologetic look and John shrugged, trying to let him know it was fine.

“Alright, Young Sir, What Is Your name?” Professor Hidgens asked him.

“John Mcnamara, Sir,” John told him. He saw recognition flash in Professor Hidgens eyes.

“A McNamara, I Should have Known. You Look Like Your Father, You Know,” Professor Hidgens told him, surprising him.

“You knew my parents?” John asked. 

“Of Course I Knew Your Parents. Your Mother Was One Of My Head Students. I Would Have Loved To Have Her As A Ravenclaw,” Professor Hidgens said, shaking his head a bit. “What Class Are You Excited For, John?”

“Defense Against the Dark Arts, Sir,” John told him. Professor Hidgens frowned for a split second before smiling again.

“Yes. I Can Only Hope Aladdin Is A Better Teacher Then He Was Student,” Professor Hidgens said.

“Did he get into trouble a lot when he went here?” A Slytherin girl asked.

“Something Like That, Yes… Anyway, John, Pick A Classmate.”

-

The rest of the class passed in a blur and at ten am Professor Hidgens gave the Gryffindors directions to the Greenhouses where their Herbology classes would be and the Slytherins directions to the dungeons where their potions class would be.

“I hope we never have to do that again,” Paul said as they made their way down the hall.

“Never do what again? Introduce yourself?” John asked.

“Yes! I Hated That,” Paul said.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, Paul,” John said.

“Fine? It was Awkward ! I made a Fool of myself,” Paul whined, hiding his face in his hands. John patted his back awkwardly.

“Everyone will forget about it in no time, don’t worry, Paul,” John tried. Paul removed his hands and smiled thankfully to John.

“Thanks, John,” Paul said,

“Of course,” John said, returning the smile.

They got down to the greenhouse to find Professor Dikrats. He looked rather young with sandy colored hair half-hidden under a raccoon skin hat. He smiled at the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs walking up to him. He kept looking between a piece of paper in his hands and the students. John considered going up to him and saying hi when he heard a small, excited squeal behind him.

John spun around, only for someone to collide into his chest and a pair of arms to wrap around him. It took John a moment to recognize the red hair as Charlotte.

“Hey, Charlotte. How are you?” John asked.

“I’m great, John. Everyone is so nice and everything is so magical and amazing! Gosh, I don’t know why I was ever nervous,” Charlotte said as she pulled away, a big smile on her face.

“See, my dad was right,” John said, sending her a smile. He turned to see Bill and Paul were also talking. He opened his mouth to say ‘hi’ when Professor Dikrats spoke up.

“Hello, Children,” he said, a nervously- excited smile on his face as. “I am your Herbology Professor, You may call me Professor C.”

John and the other students said various forms of greeting as he did a quick headcount and checked the paper in his hand before looking back up at them again. 

“Alright, before we get started are there any questions?” Professor C asked.

“Why are we calling you Professor C and not Professor Dikrats?” one of the Hufflepuff students asked. A few other students laughed as Professor C frowned.

“I’m pretty sure you can figure that out yourself,” Professor C said before opening the door to one of the greenhouses and waving them in.

-

Professor C spent his whole class time going over safety procedures, rules, and what not to do if you don’t want to get poisoned or petrified. He was in the middle of giving instructions about what to bring to class tomorrow when the bell in the clock tower started chiming, signifying the end of class.

“Alright, that’s your fifteen-minute break. And yes, I know your schedule says your next class starts at 11:15, but you just have to be in class at 11:20. Before I take off, does anyone need to know how to get to their class?” Professor C asked.

“Um, yes, sir. How do we get to the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class?” One of the Hufflepuffs asked.

“Defense Against the Dark Arts? That’s a lot of stairs,” Professor C. said, wincing sympathetically before telling them how to get to the Defense Against the Dark Arts class.

“Sir, how do we get to the  Potions class?” John asked.

“Potions. That’s a bit closer. Go straight down that hallway,” he said, pointing towards where they came out. “Go through either of the doorways on that wall with the five big tapestries, go through the door on the right and then go left down the stairs there. That’ll take you to the dungeons and then Potions will be the first door on the left.”

“Alright, thank you, sir,” John said before turning to head to his next class.

Chapter Text

As John and Paul found their way into the dungeon, they found four other students waiting for class outside the potions room. John immediately recognized Xander who was reading a book, eating an apple, and leaning against the wall. John quickly crossed over to Xander who didn’t notice him until he was directly in front of him, and even that took a minute.

“Oh!” Xander said in alarm, coughing as he accidentally inhaled a bite of his apple. “John, Paul, I didn’t see you there, Hi,” Xander said with a smile as he stopped coughing.

“Hi, Xander,” Paul said with a smile.

“Hello, are you alright, Xander?” John asked.

“Fine, just a little choked up,” Xander said.

“Didn’t mean to startle you, Xander. Sorry about that,” John said.

“Startle me? You didn’t startle me,” Xander said.

“Really?” John asked.

“You seemed pretty startled to me,” Paul added.

“You didn’t startle me. My apple just went down the wrong pipe,” Xander insisted.

“Sure,” John said.

“Hello, students,” A woman's voice said as the door to the potions room opened up. John turned to look at a professor with straight brown hair a little past her shoulders wearing black robes and a Hufflepuff tie. 

“I am Professor Davidson and I shall be your potions teacher for the foreseeable future. Come in and find a seat,” she said, her voice light and cheery. stepping to the side of the door and waving for them all to come in.

The potions room was dimly lit with only a handful of torches and some glowing mushrooms in jars that were positioned on the edge of shelves to light up as much area as they could. The floors were smoothed down cobblestone and the walls were made of stone bricks that were the size of the potion textbook John had bought a month prior. There were dark brown shelves along three of the four walls, full of jars with glowing liquids and vials with weird plants and animal parts and thick ornate books. 

There were several dark oak tables around the room with chairs made out of what appeared to be stone and wrought iron cauldrons sitting on the tables. There was a large dark oak desk along the wall opposite the door that was probably Professor Davidsons’ and there was a door next to her desk.

John managed to find a table with three seats for himself, Paul, and Xander to sit at. Schaffer sat at a table in front of them with the other two Gryffindors and the other three Ravenclaws sat at a table to the left.

“Alright, I’m going to go through the roll quickly. When I call your name say ‘here’ or 

‘Present’ or something of the sort that will let me know it’s you,” Professor Davidson said as she shut the door, crossed to the front of the room, and picked up a sheet of paper.

“Angela Kim?” Professor Davidson asked.

“Here,” Angela said with a smile and a small wave.

“Hello dear. Xander Lee?” Professor Davidson asked.

“Present,” Xander said from where he was sitting to Johns’ left.

“Hello. Robby Manion?” Professor Davidson asked. A Ravenclaw boy with black hair responded.

“Hello,” Robby said.

“Hello, young sir. Paul Matthews?” Professor Davidson asked.

“Hello, Ma’am,” Paul said from where he was sitting to Johns’ right.

“Hello. John McNamara?” Professor Davidson asked.

“Present,” John spoke up.

“Hello. Bob Morris?” Professor Davidson asked.

“Here,” Bob, another Ravenclaw student, said.

“Hello. Rochelle Nester?” Professor Davidson called.

“Gift,” One of the Gryffindor students said. Professor Davidson blinked once and looked over at her.

“I’m sorry?” Professor Davidson asked.

“You said to respond to the role with ‘Present’ and I did,” Rochelle said with a grin. Angela and the Ravenclaw girl giggled and Professor Davidson smiled and shook her head.

“Alright. Eliza Schaffer?” Professor Davidson asked.

“I go by Schaffer, Professor,” Schaffer called.

“Understood Miss Schaffer. And lastly, June Truths?” Professor Davidson asked.

“Here,” the Ravenclaw girl said with a smile.

“Alright. Now that I know you’re all here, let’s go over a few things. As I said before you came into the classroom, I am Professor Davidson and I shall be your potions professor. Through your first year, you will learn to brew a total of six different potions, with each one being a higher percentage of your grade than the last. You will also be taught the properties of several types of potion ingredients and their effects. However, your next four or so classes shall be about safety so if anyone at the school enlarges a limb or poisons themselves, it won’t be the school's fault,” Professor Davidson said. A moment of silence passed and she awkwardly cleared her throat. “Joke. It was a joke,” she said before continuing.

“Anyway. This class will be relatively easy, as it will just be a beginner's class. However, if you try to get by through cheating, you will most definitely fail. Put in the effort, and you will succeed,” Professor Davidson told them.

-

The rest of the two-hour class passed slowly with Professor Davidson until the lunch bell rang. Professor Davidson gave them instructions to the Great Hall and sent them off.

“Potions are gonna be fun,” Paul said sarcastically as they made their way up the stairs out of the dungeons.

“Come on, Paul. It doesn’t sound too bad. It’s like the Professor said, As long as you apply yourself you’ll do fine,” Xander said. Paul grumbled but didn’t argue.

“If you’re ever having issues I can try to help you out,” Xander offered.

“Yeah, and I’ll help you out too,” John added. 

“Thank you,” Paul said, looking between the both of them with a smile as they left the stairway.

“No problem. Now let’s get up to the Great Hall, I’m hungry,” Xander said.

“You’re not the only one,” John said.

The three boys speed-walked the rest of the way to the Great Hall and split off to go to their respective tables.

Paul and John sat down in the first two free seats they could find at the Gryffindor table and immediately started digging into some of the sandwiches that were served for lunch. Paul and John talked about what classes they’d been to and got directions to the Defense Against The Dark Arts classroom- which they had to go up five flights of stairs to get to. They decided to head to their class a few minutes early, that way they wouldn’t be tired during class.

-

Paul groaned as they got to the top of the stairs.

“That was awful,” Paul whined, glancing down the stairways which were already moving away, meaning other students would have to find a different way up the stairs.

“Well, at least you made it,” a girls voice said from behind them both. John turned around first and recognized the two students who were standing there. The girl was Emma Perkins, the Slytherin student who had picked Paul in Professor Hidgens’ class, while the guy was the older student who had informed them they had to change into their uniforms on the train the day before. “Can’t say that for anyone else,” Emma continued.

“What do you mean?” Paul asked her.

“We’ve been watching the stairs,” Emma said. 

“If you stand in the way for just the right amount of time, it’ll make that stairway be off and won't sync up with the other stairs, meaning if you want to come up past that fourth landing- the one below us- you’ll have to wait for this stairway to get in the right position, and then the other stairways- which were synced up with the stairs below- also have to go back to their position,” the older kid added, they were both grinning now.

“Oh, I get it,” Paul said, looking at the stairs below them with a nod.

“I don’t, what does that mean?” John asked them.

“The stairs were on a schedule to get everyone where they need to be on time. They messed up the stairs so no one could get to where they need to on time if they need to come any higher than the landing below us,” Paul explained as the bell in the clock tower signified the start of class.

“And that’s my cue to leave,” The older student said as he turned to leave, addressing Emma with a joking tone as he walked off. “Great job, you little Poof. I’ll see you later.” 

“Bye, Ted, you ugly night troll,” Emma called as the door to the classroom opened.

Professor Aladdin Aladi, a tall man with a tan and short, curly brown hair, immediately had John feeling uneasy for some reason. Something about him just made John feel unsafe and- as he glanced over to Emma and Paul- he seemingly wasn’t the only one to feel it. The professor looked between them, his eyes flickering over Emma for a moment longer than they had on him or Paul before speaking up.

“Oh, hey, kids. You’re early. You can go ahead into the classroom while I go talk to Professor Jamilla Caswell. Let the other first years know to come on in while I’m gone,” he said, also turning to leave before they could say anything. As he disappeared and the sound of students chattering grew, John turned to Paul and Emma to see what they thought.

“Did he weird you out too?” Paul asked as they moved into the classroom.

“Yeah, he kind of freaked me out,” Emma admitted as she sat down in the back of the classroom. Paul ended up sitting at a table ahead of her and John joined him.

“He’s a new professor, right?” John asked.

“Yeah. The Defense Against the Dark Arts position is cursed, no one has managed to stay more than a year,” Paul told him. 

“Apparently it’s been like that since the ‘Dark Lord’ cursed it back in 1984. The fact that the curse is still around is part of why Death Eaters think he’s still alive,” Emma added.

“Death Eaters are dumb,” John said.

“Yeah,” Paul and Emma said at the same time.

“Anyway, if the position is cursed, then we don’t have anything to worry about. He’ll be gone at the end of the year anyway, right?” John asked.

“I guess so,” Paul said.

“That makes sense,” Emma said.

“Then we’ll just avoid him then,” John said. Paul and Emma looked between him and each other.

“Alright,” Emma said with a nod.

“Okay,” Paul added.

“Thanks for that,” Emma said. “I’m Emma Perkins,” she said, properly introducing herself.

“Of course, I’m John McNamara,” John said, giving her a curt nod.

“I’m Paul Matthews, Nice to meet you,” Paul added, giving her a small, awkward smile.

“Nice to meet you too,” Emma said, looking back to the door to see if anyone else was coming in yet. No one was.

“So, who was that guy you were talking to?” John asked her.

“My cousin, Ted Pawlak. He’s a second-year, an idiot, and a bit of a jerk, but he’s a lot nicer than my other cousin,” Emma said with a shrug.

“We saw him yesterday on the train, he was looking for someone,” Paul told her.

“He was looking for me. My other cousin made him carry her stuff for her so he didn’t know where I was,” Emma explained.

“Your other cousin sounds like a jerk,” Paul said.

“Oh, She sucks. But she’s the ‘Perfect Daughter’ so we can’t say anything unless we want to get in trouble with our aunt,” Emma complained before glancing at the door again. “Someone’s coming, shut up.”

“What?” John asked her.

“They can’t know I’m talking to you guys. I’m playing cold to all the Slytherins so they’ll leave me alone,” Emma explained.

“Why?” Paul asked.

“A lot of them are super pretentious and have a stick up their butts. Some of the second years are trying to buddy up to me and I hate it. Now shut up,” Emma said quickly. As soon as she was done talking, the other Gryffindor and Slytherin students came into view and stepped inside. Schaffer was one of the first people in and- after glancing around the room- walked in and stopped beside John and Paul.

“Where’s the professor?” she asked him.

“He went to go talk to the Arithmetic professor,” John told her.

“He kind of weirded us out,” Paul warned her.

“Alright,” Schaffer said, sitting down in the row in front of John- which was also the first row of seats. Angela sat down next to her, in front of Paul. The two Slytherin boys were the next two in and they sat down at the desk to Johns’ left.

The last two in were Rochelle- another Gryffindor who John had yet to talk to- and Nerissa South, the Slytherin student who was most likely Emmas’ dorm mate. The two girls both looked around the room. Rochelle noticed that the only free seats were the two behind the Slytherin boys and to the left of Emma, the one next to Emma and behind him, or the two in front of the boys and to the left of Schaffer and Angela, while Nerissa noticed the free seat next to Emma and perked up.

John watched as Rochelle started to walk towards the free seats at the front of the room, only for Emma to lean into the aisle, grab her arm as she passed, and yanker her into the free seat, telling her to stay in that seat ‘or else’. John could tell she didn’t have any idea what ‘or else’ meant, but Rochelle didn’t seem to put that together and stayed sitting next to her. Nerissa narrowed her eyes at Rochelle, but before she could say anything, the professor walked into the classroom.

“Heyyy, kids,” he said. He was smiling as he walked in, but there was irritation in his eyes and he still felt off to John. Everyone turned to look at him and his grin widened as he looked between them and then down at Nerissa. 

“Come on, find a seat,” he said as he placed a hand on her back and guided her over to the front desk with two free seats. She sat down, not saying anything, and he continued to his desk and dug through the mess of papers that were already piling up on his desk. He found whatever he was looking for and turned around so he was facing them before reading over the paper he had in his hands. Everything was quiet for a moment as he read it over before looking at them again.

“So, first year at Hogwarts, right? Well, it’s my first year teaching, so we’re all kind of in the same boat here, huh?” he asked. “My name is Aladdin Aladi, but since I’m so used to people using my first name, you can call me Aladdin, no professor required. I want to start off by saying that Defense Against The Dark Arts is a rather hard class, so anyone who ever needs help can come to me for one- on- one tutoring, which I will happily help you out with,” Aladdin said, his eyes flickering along their faces again and lingering on Nerissa for a moment.

John glanced over at Paul and could see that he looked just as uneasy as Paul felt. He wasn’t sure why, but something about him felt wrong. He glanced around the classroom and noticed all of his peers- at least who’s face he could see- also felt uneasy.

“You all seem nervous about your first day. How about we go around and introduce ourselves?” He offered. “I’ll go first. My name is Aladdin and I was the beater and head of the Gryffindor Quidditch team,” he said, flexing a bit before pointing at Nerissa. “Your turn,” he said.

Chapter Text

John stopped outside his last class of the day, Transfiguration. He still felt weird about his last class but was hoping that this class would make him feel normal. He glanced to his left at Paul as they both waited outside of their last class of the day. He was playing with a piece of parchment and looking at the other Gryffindors around them.

Apparently the last class Professor Bug had was fourth-year Gryffindor and Slytherins. The Slytherins had already scrambled to their next class, but the Gryffindors said they could afford to wait a few minutes since their next teacher- Professor Carol Davidsons’ husband, Ken Davidson- was ‘pretty chill about showing up late’.

He was curious about what other house he had this class with, but so far there was no sign of Bill and Charlotte from Hufflepuff, or Emma from Slytherin, or Xander from Ravenclaw.

He glanced back at Paul again- who had started a conversation with Tom and Becky about the professor- before he noticed that Shaffer was leaning against the wall next to him.

“Hello, Schaffer,” John said with a nod.

“Hey, John,” she said, returning the nod.

“How are you?” he asked her.

“Well, up until the last class I was pretty good. How about you?” she asked.

“I’m the same. Something about that last class made me feel…” John said, trailing off as he considered how best to explain how the class had made him feel.

“Creeped out? Uneasy? Anxious? Icky?” Schaffer supplied.

“I mean, I was gonna say ‘gross’, but sure,” John said with a shrug and a slight chuckle.

“What made you feel gross?” someone asked from behind him. John whipped around to see Xander there, smiling at him.

“Xander, hey,” John said as he turned around to greet him properly before looking between him and Schaffer, who were both looking at each other curiously.

“Oh, Schaffer, this is Xander. Xander, this is Schaffer,” John quickly introduced them. Schaffer offered a handshake, which Xander accepted.

“It’s nice to meet you, Schaffer,” Xander said.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Xander,” Schaffer returned. Xander smiled at her before turning back to John.

“So what made you feel gross?” he asked again.

“Oh, Professor Aladdin. The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher,” John told him.

“Why?” Xander asked after a moment.

“Something about him just made us feel uneasy,” Schaffer said.

“Not just us, the whole class. At least from what I could see,” John added.

“Yeah. I feel bad for that Slytherin student who was forced to sit in the front. She had no way to get away from him. What was her name?” Schaffer asked.

“I think her name is Nerissa South,” John supplied.

“That’s her,” Schaffer said with a nod.

“Nerissa?” Xander asked.

“You know her?” John asked.

“Yeah. I talked to her while we were waiting for Professor C. to get back from lunch. She was nice enough, if not a bit stereotypical,” Xander said with a shrug.

“Maybe next time she’ll be able to sit in the back of the class,” Schaffer said with a shrug.

“Hey, Xander,” Paul said from somewhere behind John.

“Hello, Paul,” Xander said as John turned to look at Paul- who had seemingly just noticed Xander- and Tom and Becky, who were still there.

“What are you talking about?” Paul asked.

“Professor Aladdin,” John said at the same time Schaffer and Xander did. Paul made a face at that.

“What’s wrong with Professor Aladdin?” Becky asked them.

“He made us all feel really creeped out,” Schaffer said. Becky frowned at that and looked at Tom.

“Well that doesn’t sound promising for tomorrow,” she said. Something about that made Schaffer start digging through her pockets.

“It really doesn’t,” Tom mused

“Tell me about it, I have him all morning until eleven,” Xander complained. John frowned and patted his shoulder sympathetically as Schaffer found whatever she was looking for- a piece of paper- and read it over.

“God- Darn it,” Schaffer muttered.

“What?” Paul asked her.

“We have him for third tomorrow,” Schaffer said with a groan. Paul and John both groaned.

“We have him just after you,” Tom said.

“Well, tomorrow’s gonna suck,” Paul said.

“I’m sure tomorrow will be fine. We just have to take it one step at a time,” Becky offered. John couldn’t help but smile at her optimism, even if he didn’t quite believe him.

“All right, Class. Sorry for the long wait, I- Mr. Houston, Miss Barnes, what are you still doing here?” the young-looking, read-headed professor who professor Shawn had been talking to last night asked. A part of Johns’ mind reminded him that the professors’ name was Bug Mills as he looked around and realized Tom and Becky were the only fourth years still here.

“Sorry, Professor Bug. We were just talking to some of the first years,” Becky said, flashing him an apologetic smile.

“Yeah. Plus, Mr. Davidson doesn’t care if we’re late,” Tom added, earning him a softly hissed ‘I’m trying to stay out of trouble’ from Becky. Professor Bug just sighed to himself.

“I know Ken doesn’t care, but I’m supposed to write you up for this,” he said. Tom looked down and didn’t say anything as Becky looked up at him sadly. Professor Bug sighed to himself again before looking left and right.

“Fine, I’ll let you off with a warning this time. But please don’t do it again,” he said. 

“Yes, Professor,” Tom said with a smile as Becky seemed to brighten up.

“It won’t happen again, Professor. Thank you!” she smiled at them before waving to John and his group and starting down the hall, her fingers intertwining with Toms’ as they went, whispering to themselves. John was pretty sure he heard the words ‘every year’ and ‘never going to do it’, but he wasn’t sure. Professor Bug cleared his voice and John turned away from the retreating fourth years and towards the professor.

“Right, sorry about that. Where was I? Oh yeah, come on in and find a seat,” he said, waving a hand for the class to enter the room.

The room was split into tables for three, much like Mrs. Davidsons’ class, and John once again found a table for Xander, Paul, and himself while Schaffer separated to sit with Angela Kim and Rochelle Nester and the other three Ravenclaw students sat together.

Professor Bug stepped to the front of the room and smiled at them. It wasn’t creepy like Professor Aladdin, but more comforting. John could already tell he would be liking this class more than the last one.

“Now for anyone who didn’t hear, I am Professor Bug Mills. You all can call me Bug. I am going to be your Transfiguration teacher,” he said, looking around the class. “Any questions?”

“Just to clarify, we’re going to be changing items into different items in this class, right? ” Angela asked. One of the Ravenclaw students was staring at her, to which she turned to him.

“Don’t give me that look. I didn’t know magic existed ‘til a month ago,” she said. He looked away quickly as Professor Bug spoke up.

“Yes, we’re going to be changing items into different items. What’s your name, miss?” he clarified before asking.

“Angela Kim, sir,” she said.

“Well, Angela, I’m sure you’ll find transfiguration much simpler than you originally thought,” he said.

“Thank you, sir. I’ve got one more question,” she said.

“Go ahead,” he said.

“Can we transfigure humans into things or animals?” she asked. He paused for a moment before slowly nodding.

“While you can , it is very much frowned upon. If you do happen to do that to one of your peers or, well, anyone then expulsion will be the least of your concerns,” Professor Bug explained simply.

“I have a question,” the Ravenclaw girl said, now raising her hand.

“Yes?” Professor Bug prompted.

“Have you ever seen anyone be transfigured?” she asked.

“I never have, But I’ve heard about two different scenarios, Miss…?” he said, subtly asking for her name.

“I’m June Truths,” she introduced herself. “Follow up question. What happened?”

“Well, I’m not sure I should be saying anything,” Professor Bug said.

“Please, Professor?” Rochelle Nester said. Professor Bug looked between them again before sighing.

“Alright. So, both of the scenarios happened here. Both of them were told to me by professors here. One of whom have retired and both of whom I shall not be naming for their privacy. The first one that happened was that one student was transfigured into an iron chest plate during a wizard duel. They weren’t changed for more than a few minutes, but their mother was mad. She sued the school, the transfiguration professor, and the students’ family for emotional damages and therapy. The school was able to payout, but the professor was forced to retire that year and the family was not able to pay. They ended up having to sell their house and weren’t able to afford school supplies the next year. Or the year after. According to the professor who told me, they’re still in debt today,” Professor Bug said.

“Do you know what they were fighting about?” Xander asked.

“I’m not quite sure, but the rumor was it was a girl,” Professor Bug answered.

“That poor family,” Paul whispered to John. He nodded in response.

“What about the other time?” Bob Morris- another Ravenclaw student- asked.

“Ahh, well, that one wasn’t just lawsuits, I’m afraid. I know a little more about this one, though. Not much, but I know it was started between two friends who had gotten into an argument during the summer and had been avoiding each other all year. One day, one of them called a duel on the other one. It started out fine enough until the one who had called the duel transfigured the other into a mouse seconds before casting a reflection spell that sent the others’ stupify spell back at them. One of the nearby watchers had a pet cat with them that was known to go berzerk when hunting mice,” Professor Bug explained. 

John gasped as he imagined that. Being stunned, in a body different from your own, with an animal of prey nearby. The rest of the class seemed to make the connection as well as they also gasped.

“Did they die?” Paul asked quietly.

“No! No, no one died. However, they were badly injured and had to spend a month in St. Mungos. Unfortunately they never fully recovered,” Professor Bug explained. Everyone was quiet for a few moments.

“Everyone in favor of never transfiguring another person, say aye,” Bob Morris said.

It was instantaneous for everyone to say aye.

“Glad we all agree,”  Professor Bug said.