Chapter Text
No one ever truly knows or appreciates how normal their life has been thus far until their life is drastically changed in what seems to be in the blink of an eye. One minute, their life is exactly as it has been for what seems like forever, and then the next, everything they had known about the world isn’t even remotely true.
Coraline Evans’s life was exactly like that. Since she moved to London’s Lower District a little over four years ago, Coraline’s life had been entirely mundane and, quite honestly, very uneventful. Each day that passed was almost an identical copy to the day before.
28th of August 1890. It had been a cooler August evening, thanks in part to the light breeze that passed through the streets in the Lower District. Coraline stayed at the Sir Jameson Finishing School for several hours after the end of the day’s lessons to get a bit more caught up with her classmates in her needlework. In the four years she had been required to attend the Finishing School, she had yet to truly gain any kind of skill in embroidery. Thus, she was constantly forced to stay at the school many hours after everyone else had gone home in an attempt to make her current piece even the slightest bit passable.
In her frustration of trying to get the piece to come together, she had completely lost track of time, causing the afternoon to slip away into the late evening quickly. It wasn’t until a loud crash echoed through the alley next to the school’s building that Coraline looked up, and her eyes widened once she realized how late it had gotten. She quickly threw her belongings together into her rucksack as she darted from the room and out the front door of the school.
Once she made it out onto the main street, Coraline slowed her pace to catch her breath and to try to keep her wits about her. There were only six blocks between her current position and the home she was staying in, but as a young lady walking alone after dark, it felt more like a thousand blocks. Coraline grasped her elbows tightly and pulled her arms against her chest for some semblance of security. However, as the first whistle echoed down the empty street, Coraline’s breath caught in her throat.
“What’s a pretty lady like yourself doing walking down the street this late at night without a fine gentleman accompanying you,” a gruff voice questioned from directly behind her.
Coraline’s sheer terror almost caused her to stop walking, but the rational side of her brain overrode that thought and forced her to continue walking quickly. She continued looking straight ahead, desperately hoping that if she ignored them, they would leave her alone. Only two blocks left.
Her focus on the home in the distance was quickly shattered as a hand reached out and clamped around her left bicep. Coraline didn’t even have time to turn her head to her left before the hand roughly dragged her into a dark, narrow alley. She attempted to regain her footing to pull her arm out of their grasp, but the hand continued to drag her before releasing their grip to throw Coraline into the brick wall like a rag doll. She barely managed to put her arms up in front of her to lessen the impact of the wall before she collided with it and was roughly turned around and pinned to the wall. The hand that had dragged her into the alley was now tightly wrapped around her throat, barely loose enough to allow her to breathe.
“That’s better. Now, let’s try that again, shall we?” Coraline grimaced at the burning smell of alcohol on the man’s breath as he leaned his head closer to hers.
“I was trying to be a gentleman, offering to accompany you home, and you try to ignore me?” He roughly stated with a clear accusatory tone, causing fear to continue to rise within Coraline.
She didn’t answer him for a myriad of reasons, though it was primarily out of fear of saying the wrong thing and angering him further. However, saying nothing did the exact opposite of what she was hoping would happen.
The man raised his other fist and aimed it to smash into Coraline’s face, causing her to close her eyes and cower from his incoming fist. However, the blow never landed. Coraline hesitantly opened her eyes to see that the man’s fist was just hovering a few inches away from her face. His fist seemed to have a very faint white glow surrounding it and almost seemed to be blocking his fist from getting any closer to her. She quickly opened her eyes fully and just stared at the man in front of her in utter confusion. His teeth were tightly clenched, and he was visibly straining, but the faint glow didn’t budge.
Suddenly, his fist dropped down to his side, causing the faint glow to completely disappear, and he seemed to relax slightly. Coraline just continued to stare at him, confused, as he brought a finger up to point, several centimeters away, at her face.
“Whatever games you think you’re playing, just know that they certainly won’t save you. You’re mine,” the man spat at her and moved his finger forward as if to jab it into her face, but his finger was instantly stopped a few centimeters away from her cheek. The same faint white glow appeared once more around his finger, seemingly blocking his finger from coming any closer to her.
Coraline blinked rapidly, trying to process everything, but it only left her more confused. She hadn’t moved at all, so it couldn’t be coming from her; how could she, with one of his hands still tightly clasped around her throat? She quickly glanced to her left and right to see if there was possibly anybody else around who was seeing what was happening.
“That’s it! You’re dead!” He yelled as he pulled his hand back and launched his fist at her face.
Coraline’s eyes widened, scared that his fist would meet his mark this time. Suddenly, a bright white light seemed to explode outward from her and forcibly threw the man away from her into the brick wall across from her. Coraline gasped at the release of his hand from around her throat, immediately taking deep breaths in an attempt to steady herself. However, her knees went weak, causing her back to slide down the brick wall until she sat on the ground with her knees tightly pressed against her chest.
Despite knowing that once he regained his composure, she would be in danger again, her body just wouldn’t move from her spot on the ground. She just stared at him, unblinking, for what seemed like an eternity until her brain started processing again to realize that he hadn’t moved once since he was thrown against the wall. Her body started moving without thought, shakily pulling her up off the ground and out of the alleyway. She couldn’t even bring herself to check to see if he was alright, too overwhelmed by everything that had happened.
Coraline’s feet quickly carried her to the home on their own accord. She barely even processed herself entering the home, saying a vague apology to the matron at the desk for her tardiness or locking the door to her assigned room immediately after entering. She stood there with her hand still resting on the door handle and took several deep breaths to try to calm down.
As the pounding in her ears started to lessen, an uncomfortable sensation of wrong seemed to wash over her entirely. She couldn’t figure out where the sensation was coming from as it felt like it was coming from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. It seemed as though the sensation was a bubble closing in on her, slowly seeping through her clothes and into her skin. As her body absorbed the sensation, it no longer felt uncomfortable or unfamiliar, but rather, a warm and comforting feeling coming from deep inside of her.
Coraline sighed lightly as her body relaxed to a state of peace that she hadn’t felt in years. Dazed by the warm feeling inside her, she set her rucksack down on the nightstand next to her bed and slowly switched her day clothes to a pair of pajamas. By the time she had fully dressed in her night clothes, she could barely keep her eyes open, and her head kept rolling forward as she simply just didn’t have the energy anymore to keep it upright. She collapsed forward onto the bed, landing on her stomach, and was fast asleep before she even had the chance to pull a blanket over herself.
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A loud knocking sound echoed through her room, pulling Coraline out of her dazed state and back to reality. She sat upright on her bed, slowly blinking as she tried to fully wake herself up and take in her surroundings. Upon realizing just how bright her room was, her mind snapped back to normal, as it had to be afternoon for her assigned room to get that much sun. She dragged herself over to the door and opened it to see the matron of the home, Mrs. Campbell, standing there mid-knock with a deep scowl on her face.
“Well, it’s about time you opened the bloody door, Miss Evans! I was beginning to think I would need to contact the police if you continued not to open the door!” Mrs. Campbell scolded sternly.
“Police? What are you talking about, Mrs. Campbell? You just saw me last night when I came home late,” Coraline stated, entirely lost as to why the matron was being so stern with her.
“Last...last night?” Mrs. Campbell questioned, her eyes widening just slightly, “Miss Evans, that was Thursday night, and it’s currently Sunday afternoon! No one had seen or heard from you for almost three full days, and your door remained locked the entire time!”
“But...” Coraline trailed off at a loss for words.
“Regardless of what day you think it is, make yourself presentable as you have a visitor waiting for you downstairs. I’ll get a plate put together for you when you join us,” Mrs. Campbell’s lips pressed into a tight line, and she gave a curt nod before walking away.
Coraline stood there in the doorway, still stunned by everything that had happened in such a short time frame. Whatever happened that night caused her to sleep through three nights without interruption, but still left her slightly exhausted. She also had to remind herself that Mrs. Campbell stated she had a visitor, which was equally as confusing as her ability to sleep through three nights.
In the four and half years of being a resident at the home for young girls, she hadn’t received a single visitor as she had no one outside of the home to visit her. Coraline found the coincidence that both those happened at the same time to be a little strange but brushed it off in favor of taking a quick hot bath and becoming presentable for a visitor.
She moved as swiftly as she could, getting ready so that she wouldn’t upset Mrs. Campbell further. She dressed in a simple light brown blouse with a dark brown tie and paired it with a plain brown skirt that matched the color of her tie, which went down to her mid-calf. Since Mrs. Campbell didn’t state what type of dress would be appropriate for the visitor, she assumed she was safe to wear a more casual ensemble instead of pulling out her nicer pieces in formal colors. As she walked out of her room and made her way down the stairs, she quickly twisted her white-blond hair into a simple bun so her hair was out of the way.
Once Coraline made it down to the main floor of the home, she was immediately ushered into the sitting room by Mrs. Campbell. She gestured to the elderly man with light gray hair sitting on one of the couches wearing a strange style of blue clothing that Coraline had never seen before. Coraline looked at the elderly man hesitantly, unsure about what this could be pertaining to, but after a slight nudge from Mrs. Campbell, she crossed the sitting room to him. Her fingers fidgeted with the sleeves of her blouse as she approached, but she was still able to remember her manners to be respectful to the man.
“Good day, sir. I apologize for the wait, I was not expecting a visitor,” Coraline greeted with a small smile, which caused the elderly man to look up at her.
“No issues at all, Miss Evans. You had no prior knowledge of my visit today so it is perfectly understandable,” He gave a small smile as well and gestured for Coraline to take a seat on the couch across from him, “Your matron, Mrs. Campbell, was more than happy to accommodate my wait with tea and biscuits.”
“I’m glad that your wait wasn’t terrible then, sir. What can I do for you, Mr. -”
“Fig. Ah, now it’s my turn to apologize as I didn’t introduce myself sooner. My name is Eleazar Fig, and I am a Professor at a special boarding school called Hogwarts.” He paused for a moment to gauge her reaction to his introduction as she poured herself a cup of tea, but when she showed no signs to indicate she knew about Hogwarts, he continued. “I am here on behalf of the Headmaster to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts for the upcoming term.”
Coraline was lifting her teacup to drink when she paused completely with a single raised eyebrow at him. She waited a few moments to allow him time to take back his words, but when he showed no signs of recanting his words, she set the teacup back on the table between them.
“Forgive me, Professor Fig, but I think you might be mistaken. I’m no one special, certainly not special enough to attend a special boarding school,” Coraline awkwardly clasped her hands in her lap, unsure where the conversation would go.
“Ah, and that is where I will disagree with you. I know for certain that you must be special, or you wouldn’t have been admitted to Hogwarts,” He paused for a moment, then repositioned himself a little closer to the edge of the couch and slightly leaned forward before continuing, “Hmm. Let me ask you something, so humor this old man for a minute, would you? Has anything ever happened that you couldn’t explain or done something that you couldn’t explain?”
Her eyes widened just barely, so little that if one weren’t looking for it, they never would have noticed it before blinking rapidly several times in surprise. Professor Fig, however, noticed it, and even though Coraline hadn’t said anything, he knew that she had experienced things she couldn’t explain. He didn’t say anything to allow her more time to process things, so instead, he picked up his teacup and returned to a more relaxed seated position.
On the other side of the table, Coraline’s mind was fracturing as she tried to process the strange things that had happened had come from her. Her eyes zoned out as she thought back to Thursday night and the faint white glow that prevented the man from hitting her. Could that glow have come from her? Suddenly it was like her mind knew exactly what he was talking about and flashed through several other memories from the past four years of things that had happened that she had just dismissed.
Coraline’s eyes zoned back to reality and flickered to make eye contact with Professor Fig. To her continued surprise, he was completely calm, just sipping his tea with what seemed to be a slightly mischievous glint in his eye. She didn’t need him to even say anything to know that there was some truth to what he was saying and that the weird things that had been happening were truly coming from her.
Professor Fig knew the exact moment Coraline realized and accepted what had been happening, so he casually set his teacup down on the table to resume the conversation. “Those experiences that happened that you can’t fully explain are caused by magic. Accidental magic technically, but magic nonetheless.”
“Magic? Are...are you saying that I can do magic?”
“Yes, Miss Evans. You are able to do magic and, therefore, a witch.”
“So when you say Hogwarts is a special boarding school, you’re actually saying that Hogwarts is a boarding school for witches?”
“Witches and wizards, aged eleven to seventeen, attend Hogwarts to learn how to control their accidental magic and how to properly harness that magic. Normally students start their magical education at age eleven; however, you will be starting as a fifth-year, so you’ll be with the other fifteen-year-old students.”
Coraline paused mid-sip of her tea when Professor Fig mentioned her age, caught off guard by how much he already knew about her. She wasn’t sure if it was worth asking about, despite her curiosity, or if it was just one of those things simply explained by magic. Ultimately her curiosity won.
“Sir - if I may, how do you seem to know so much about me already?”
Professor Fig smiled at Coraline’s perceptiveness, though still slightly surprised that she picked up on that detail. The other students he had introduced to the wizarding world prior to their start at Hogwarts didn’t bat an eye at his knowledge of their information despite never meeting them before.
“I don’t know as much as you might think, Miss Evans, but I’ll indulge you with the information I know.” He paused to wave his hand over the teapot on the table before refilling his teacup with steaming hot tea. Coraline gasped in surprise at the casual display of magic but said nothing to allow Professor Fig to continue.
“The Hogwarts Book of Admittance and Quill of Acceptance adds students' names that possess true magical talent to the list of their starting year. The Quill is often more lenient on what counts as magical power, opting to accept anyone with any level of magical ability, whereas the Book requires a larger display of magical talent before the student’s name gets added to the book.”
“The Book and Quill are sentient?” Coraline blinked rapidly as she processed that before muttering to herself, “Well, that’s certainly an unusual way to get accepted to a boarding school.”
Professor Fig chuckled lightly, “Yes, the founders of Hogwarts enchanted the Book and Quill centuries ago when the school was first built in order to keep track of each generation of magical children that would eventually grace the halls. My suspicion is that your accidental magic in the past hadn’t been strong enough for the Book to officially accept you until your most recent accidental magic experience.”
Coraline rested her saucer and teacup on her lap as she fidgeted with the edges of the saucer. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that he was referring to what happened on Thursday night with the man but was hesitant to give all the details of what occurred. Professor Fig subtly tilted his head a bit upon seeing her immediate change in body language in response to asking about the accidental magic occurrence. His heart dropped as he realized that something had happened to her to cause the accidental magic, so he changed his approach to ask for details.
“Now, you needn’t tell me anything about what caused the accidental magic if you don’t want to, but are you able to tell me if I’m correct in my assumption that this time it was a much stronger display of magic?” Professor Fig finished off his cup of tea and then discarded the teacup on the table.
Coraline relaxed a bit, mostly relieved that she wouldn’t have to talk about what happened just yet. She nodded, “Yes. The last time something happened, I could just feel that something had changed, but I didn’t know what. This time, it was obvious something different was happening when I could see the soft white glow surrounding me.”
“I see. That would definitely be recognized as a stronger display of magic. Moving on from the past, let’s focus on what comes next, shall we?” He clasped his hands together in excitement with a wide grin spread across his face.
Coraline couldn’t help but smile at his excitement, also grateful for the subject change, “Please.”
“Excellent. Well, I guess we should probably start with this then,” Professor Fig stated as he reached into his coat to pull out a small white envelope and passed the envelope across the table to Coraline with a small grin.
Coraline took the envelope from him and turned it over to reveal a dark red wax seal with Hogwarts and what she assumed to be the Hogwarts crest adorning the seal. She hesitated for a moment before opening the envelope, briefly glancing up at Professor Fig before returning to the envelope to reveal the letter inside.
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HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Miss Coraline Evans,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as a fifth-year student. Preliminary supplies have been collected for you and will accompany you on your journey to the castle. Term begins on 1 September.
As you may be aware, the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery prohibits the use of magic by those under the age of seventeen outside school. However, due to your unique circumstances, the Ministry has graciously agreed to allow Professor Eleazar Fig to help you hone your spell-casting before escorting you from London to the castle for the start-of-term feast and the Sorting Ceremony.
Yours sincerely,
Professor Weasley
Deputy Headmistress
-----
Coraline furrowed her eyebrows as she looked back up at Professor Fig, slightly confused. She took a breath and parted her mouth to speak until Professor Fig interrupted her train of thought.
“I’m sure that you have lots more questions; however, I believe it might be time to move this conversation to a bit more private location,” Professor Fig stated as he watched the other young girls in the home filter through the sitting room as it got later into the afternoon.
Coraline briefly glanced over her shoulder to look around the sitting room before turning back toward him, nodding, “Of course, Professor, we can continue this conversation in my assigned room.”
She led Professor Fig to her assigned room in silence while clutching the letter in her hand, knowing that any conversation they had would be best discussed behind closed doors. Once they made it to the room, she gestured for him to enter the small room first to allow him the additional moment to look around her room before continuing. She turned to close the door behind herself and heard a small whooshing noise behind her. As she turned back to Professor Fig, her eyes widened slightly in surprise at the appearance of a plush tan armchair in the spot that previously had her standing mirror.
Professor Fig chuckled lightly at her expression as he took a seat on the armchair and gestured for her to take a seat on the bed, “A transfiguration spell, quite handy when there aren’t enough chairs for everyone.”
He paused to allow Coraline the time to take a seat on the bed, then continued before she could chime in, “We’ll get to your questions in a moment if you don’t mind indulging me for a bit. I would like to go over a couple more things in case they answer your questions but also help you transition to the wizarding world a bit better.”
“Of course, sir, whatever you think is best.”
“Excellent. As you read in your letter, tomorrow is the first day of the new term. Normally students travel to Hogwarts via the train as the school is located in the Scottish Highlands; however, I got permission to take you to Hogwarts in a…more direct…manner. That way, we have a bit more time before departing to get you caught up a bit more.”
Coraline nodded, prompting Professor Fig to continue once more.
“Unfortunately, since we are scheduled to travel to Hogwarts tomorrow afternoon, we have very little time to acclimate you to the wizarding world. I’ll try my best to make it easier, so I’m not just throwing you into the deep end without teaching you how to swim,” Professor Fig lightly chuckled.
-----
True to his word, Professor Fig did his best to briefly cover as many diverse topics of the wizarding world as he could think of so that she could at least recognize the references to them. Coraline hung on his every word as he talked about the wizarding world for several more hours, absolutely fascinated with every aspect of the wizarding world. However, as the daylight slowly disappeared from the room, Professor Fig decided to wait to teach her some wand work until the morning.
“Well, Miss Evans, I think I’ve overloaded your brain with information for tonight. I’ll return in the morning to collect you so we can work on a bit of wand work before our journey to Hogwarts. I have already collected all your required supplies for your classes, but you’re welcome to put together anything else you might want to take with you.”
“Sir, um…” Coraline hesitated for a moment before finally taking a deep breath and asking, “Will I have to come back here?”
Professor Fig furrowed his eyebrows, confused at why she was hesitating so much to ask, but also the fact that she was hesitating to ask in the first place.
“Only if you want to, Miss Evans. We can discuss your lodgings for the summer holidays when we start to get closer to that time if you decide not to return here again,” He said with a small smile, hoping that his words would ease her worries at least a little bit.
Coraline sighed in relief and nodded, “Thank you, Professor.”
“I’ll be back to collect you in the morning, Miss Evans,” Professor Fig nodded once more to her as he exited her room.
He quietly exited the group home she resided in, deep in thought the entire time as he walked. He returned to the dark alley he had arrived in earlier, and after checking to make sure the coast was clear, he apparated away.