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Chapter Text

Thomas's dad died when he was little, and for a long while it was just Thomas and his mum, and that had been okay. Difficult, especially to start with, but okay. His dad had been pureblooded, born into the Magical world, and his mother had been Muggle born, so for a while they'd had to adjust to navigating a Magical World without the support and guidance of his dad's knowledge.

Alexandria taught him how to ride his first broom, gifted him a Remembrall to combat his terrible memory, and read to him about anything and everything from Magical Creatures to the rarest Magical conditions, from Veelas to Werewolves. Together they had learned everything about the Magical World that she could legally lay her hands on, and she made sure he had all the chances to try anything he liked, Magic or Muggle. She took him to get his wand when he turned eight. They went on flying adventures, and went swimming in the Muggle pools. They rode the bus, and the tube, and went on holidays by plane instead of apparating. He went to Muggle Primary School, and made lots of friends. He played football. They cooked pancakes and made potions. They had picnics and went camping, had nature walks and lazy reading days. He'd had her all to himself until he was ten, when along came the day she met Myro, and Alexandria had fallen hopelessly in love with him.

And it wasn't that Thomas wasn't happy. Quite the opposite, in fact. Even at his young age Thomas had seen that Myro made Alexandria so happy that Thomas himself had done everything he possibly could to aid their transition from friends to lovers to spouses, everything he could do to ensure his mother always smiled. He respected Myro, and loved him too, and it was clear to anyone with eyes that Myro truly adored Alexandria.

Thomas was definitely happy about the whole situation, relieved that his mum could be happy and loved again. And Myro was a good guy, too. He spent a lot of time getting to know Thomas, and helping him out with homework, taking him on trips and introducing him to several children his age who would be going to Hogwarts with him. He was funny, down to earth and incredibly knowledgable on a lot of topics, and he was a fantastic cook. Myro was great.

It was Gally that Thomas couldn't stand.

Myro's wife had left them when Gally was six, and he'd never forgiven her. The man she'd fallen for was a Muggle, and she'd left the Magical World behind to be with him. Thomas found the story incredibly tragic, she'd left everything she'd ever known to be with the one she loved, and he wasn't stupid. Gally may not believe that his mother loved him, believing she'd run off because she didn't, but Thomas just knew that she did. Mothers love their children, they just do.

Gally didn't think it was tragic, or romantic or anything that Thomas thought. Gally was furious about it. And he'd let it poison him, to the point where he despised Muggles, and had a treacherously strong view on Muggles and Blood Status that most certainly didn't come from his dad. When Gally had learnt that Alexandria was Muggle born, he'd instantly leapt on the chance to needle Thomas, sniping snide Half-blood comments at him, tripping him up and goading him into fights by referring to Alexandria as the Mudblood. He barely held himself in check when his father scolded them, sneering at Thomas when Myro couldn't see. Gally was two years older than Thomas, and built a lot wider, so Thomas had learned fast how to duck and weave and used his slighter frame to his advantage. Gally and his friends made sure to make Thomas' life hell, and when Myro and Alexandria told the boys they were engaged, it only got worse.

Gally was a slinthead, if you wanted to put it politely. Try as he might, Thomas just couldn't like him. He was such a crank.

Gally's little brother Chuck, on the other hand, was so much more like his dad that Thomas almost believed Gally had to be adopted.

Chuck was a year younger than Thomas, and instantly latched on to the older boy. It seemed that Gally's hatred of everything did not fully extend to his little brother, but nor did he seem to love him either. If anything, Gally spent his days spitting insults at Thomas and pretty much ignoring Chuck.

Chuck didn't seem to mind. He took to following Thomas around all the time. If they were at home he'd follow him to the kitchen, chatting a hundred miles an hour and getting under Thomas' feet as he tried to make them sandwiches. He'd been eager to join Thomas at his Primary school when Alexandria suggested it, and although he was incredibly dorky and a little on the chubby side, he had charmed the muggle children just as easily as he had Thomas.

Life settled down, and Thomas settled into the new experience of having a busy household. Gally played incredibly loud music all the time, Alexandria and Myro held dinner parties, and Chuck pleaded continuously for Thomas to play video games with him. Despite the constant annoyance that was Gally's existence, Thomas loved his new household. On the rare days when Gally was civil, the three of them would compete at several of Chuck's video games, assuming Thomas and Chuck allowed Gally to win often enough that he'd stick around.

Of the children Myro had introduced Thomas to, he'd quickly taken a liking to Minho, a broad-shouldered dark-haired boy with a sarcastic sense of humour. He was sassy and daring, and unbelievably clever, and if it wasn't for his cool personality, he'd be a stereotypical Geek. He read, and he played football with Thomas and Chuck in their garden, and best of all he backed them up when Gally and his friends were being utter cranks.

Life was good, and with the excitement of Hogwarts on his horizons, Thomas felt uncountably lucky.

Chapter Text

The day had finally come, and Thomas was a bundle of nervous energy and barely contained excitement. His mother had spent the night before and the whole morning trying -and failing- to hide her anxious and fearful thoughts. Myro had drilled Gally very sternly on how he expected his son to behave, and to help Thomas settle in as best he could. To his credit, in the week leading up to the big day Gally had been the model of civility, but Thomas suspected that that had more to do with his own excitement at returning to Hogwarts than anything Myro had said to him.

Stepping through the barrier was like bursting a sound bubble. As Thomas hit the other side he couldn't help but exclaim in wonder. The platform was awash with noise, laughter and shouting, warm sunlight alighting on the many, many, many hurrying forms. The air was full of an intoxicating concoction of steam and new clothes and something herby, and there was a tingle laced amongst the excitement that felt like Magic.

Thomas had never been this excited in his life.

They made their way through the crowd, Thomas paying little attention to his mum as she listed off out loud everything she had done and everything they needed, stumbling over the word robes and beginning to worry that she hadn't packed his Remembrall. Chuck assured her she had, and Thomas turned at his voice, grinning when his mum simply smiled almost bashfully and squeezed Chuck's shoulder in thanks.

Gally disappeared almost as soon as they hit the platform, and Myro assured Alexandria that this was totally normal, and that Gally wasn't new to this, remember? She smiled, relaxing, but her face was still etched with a worry that reminded Thomas that his mum was a much better person than him. He found it difficult to even just abide Gally, but his mum worried about him because she cared about him. Even if he was a snide little slinthead every now and then. Thomas had to admit that in the last few weeks he had noticed a softening in Gally's attitude towards her, and he hadn't heard the word mudblood in a while. But Thomas still thought he was a crank, really.

Thomas's first sight of the train enthralled him. Steam and grey smoke coiled and danced around the engine, which gleamed a ruby red in the light, the beautiful golden gilding catching and scattering the light. Polished to a deep shine, the contraption was breath-taking, and Thomas couldn't contain the glee that rose up from his toes, exclaiming loudly and looking to his mother. She was teary-eyed but grinning so widely that Thomas knew her face would hurt when she stopped. She embraced him in a tight hug, and as she pulled away Thomas heard Chuck laughing. He looked at him.

"I forgot, you've seen it before!"

Chuck nodded, blushing a little as he looked up at Thomas.

"I was louder than you the first time i saw it though, much more embarrassing."

Thomas simply grinned and ruffled Chuck's hair, both of them laughing as a voice called Thomas's name. He turned to see Minho sprinting towards him, dancing between the people moving along the platform.

"Thomas! Chuck! Hey you two!"

He grabbed Thomas in a bear hug, drawing back to high five both him and Chuck.

"Hey Mr Darwin! Mrs Edison! You excited?"

His last words were directed at Thomas, and his grin lit Thomas's up in return.

"Like you wouldn't believe! You?"

"Course i am, you deadhead." quipped his friend, and Thomas laughed, crying out indignantly when Minho dodged his swat and clipped his ear.

"Gotta be quicker than that, Tommo."

Thomas rubbed his ear with a laugh, promising he'd get his friend hack for that. Minho simply grinned wider, and tipped his fingers in a mock salut.

"I have to get back, my mum'll be going nuts. My sister gets on ASAP to bags a good carriage, and mum's worried the train will leave early with me still on the platform, as if! I'll find us a carriage, yeah? See you shank!"

Without waiting for an answer the bigger boy was off, weaving through the crowd expertly and making Thomas laugh again. The anticipation to be off grew, even as the feeling of missing his home began to dawn.

"Right you."

Myro's voice was warm and gruff, and when Thomas looked at him he could see his mother's worry and pride mirrored in his blue eyes. Thomas smiled, reaching over to hug him. Myro chuckled and ruffled his hair as he drew away.

"Lets get you on this train, yeah? Can't have Minho fighting off the sixth years trying to steal your carriage on his own, can we?"

Thomas laughed and agreed, gathering up his rucksack from where he'd left it at his feet. Gally was nowhere in sight, and Thomas was relieved, really. It would be all very fine and well having someone older to walk him through the day, but in truth Thomas would rather find his way with Minho than have Gally hold his hand. And he suspected Gally would agree.

After kissing his mum's cheek and giving her a brief hug goodbye, Thomas had thrown his arms around Chuck and the younger boy had clung tightly to him in return. Thomas had readied himself for saying goodbye to his mum, had been expecting it for years. But he had not thought to prepare himself for the sharp sting of sorrow he felt while hugging his little brother goodbye.

Gally was, and forever would be his step-brother. But Thomas saw Chuck very decidedly as his little brother, and as he drew back, he saw the sadness in Chuck's brown eyes. He bumped the smaller boy's chin with his knuckles, smiling back when he gained a smile from him.

"It'll be Christmas before you know it, and i'll have so many stories to tell you. I'll bring you so many things back."

He tried to persuade Chuck to agree with him.

"You've got free reign in my room, kay?"

At that, Chuck did cave, smiling at Thomas in a way that let him know he knew what he was trying to do, and that he was letting it work. As Thomas hoisted his rucksack higher on his shoulder and reached for the handle of his trunk, Chuck reached out to grab his arm.

"You'll write to me?"

Thomas grinned and nodded, love warm in his chest.

"Of course, and you me, yeah?"

Chuck's eyes were eager, serious.

"Promise?"

Chuckling and ruffling the chocolate curls, he bent down so they were eye to eye.

"I promise. Don't get into trouble at school, okay?" he joked, Chuck never got into trouble. The younger boy simply nodded, and as the whistle blew Thomas straightened up, flashing his parents a grin and returning his gaze to Chuck's young face.

"I have to go. I'll miss you, Chuck. I'll write first thing tonight, okay? Bye!"

With an excited wave, he was off, dragging his trunk over the bustling platform to where the train gleamed like a jewel amidst the silver smoke.

Seated in a carriage with Minho and a few of Minho's friends whose names he couldn't remember, Thomas felt the excitement brewing heavy in his stomach. Minho grinned at him, eyes gleaming, and he grinned back. This was going to be the best thing ever!

As the train pulled away, he waved frantically at his family through the window, laughing as Chuck bounced up and down like a kangaroo on caffeine.

It was finally happening. He was off.

Chapter Text

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Chapter Text

The rest of the Sorting Ceremony went by in a blur after that, full of noise and laughter and acceptance. Thomas was beginning to relax into Hogwarts, his fear from before blown away. By the time the tables filled magically with an abundance of incredibly delicious-looking food, Thomas was starving.

Throughout the meal, Thomas had taken as many chances to look around the room as possible, as many of the other first years were doing. He and Minho had exchanged grins and waves, and at the moment his friend was deep in conversation with the girl and boy on either side of him, their heads close as they laughed at something he'd said. Thomas grinned. Minho was probably in his element, making as many of his geeky jokes as he could get away with. He chatted with his own Housemates, trying to memorise names and laughing at the playful banter that seemed the prevalent form of communication in Gryffindor.

After the tables were cleared and they were spoken to briefly by Professor Dumbledore, their Headmaster, Professor McGonagall took the attention again, hush descending.

"Five minutes of Inter-House now. First Years, you will now have a few minutes to mingle with the other Houses to speak to siblings and such, before your Prefects will escort you to your Common Rooms, and from their your dorms. I need not remind you all that House Passwords are in place for a reason, and that you are still to avoid sharing them for the moment. Inter-House Unity is a newer concept we are developing here at Hogwarts right now, and your Professors will be able to explain this to you in detail in the days to come. Five minutes, and then your Prefects will lead you out. Good Evening, and Welcome to our first years."

There was a polite applause as she stepped down, seating herself next to the Headmaster and engaging him in conversation. Thomas looked around at the room, noticing that although many students were beginning to wander around to other tables and form small groups, many students also stayed seated, conversing with their Housemates. He stood.

Finding Minho was difficult, the Ravenclaw had made several new friends already and was standing amongst a large group when Thomas finally caught sight of him. He clapped his friend's shoulder as he passed by, and he and Minho exchanged a few words and a promise to see each other in the morning before Thomas set off to look for Gally.

Gally was still seated at his table, as was most of his House, and Thomas grew nervous as he approached. He began to fidget again, his nerves returning as he wondered how Gally would react. He had tried to get into Slytherin, but the Hat had insisted, and Thomas had believed that the Magical Object would know better than he did. Now he began to wonder if he should have stuck to his guns. His step-brother's blue eyes flicked to him and he swallowed, smiling and waving a little awkwardly as he read he'd the table.

The Slytherins on Thomas's side of the table looked over when Gally did, and then they parted silently to allow him a space. Thomas decided not to take it, and awaited Gally's reaction.

The dark blue eyes were unreadable, and Thomas was sure he'd made the biggest mistake of his life before Gally did a very surprising thing. He smiled, and it was almost friendly.

"I knew you'd be a sodding Lion."

His tone was odd, almost teasing, and Thomas boldly grinned in reply, clearly startling several of Gally's Housemates.

"You sound almost jealous, Gally."

He knew he was toeing the line, but Gally's good humour held, and he barked a short laugh.

"In your dreams, Gryffindor. You've missed out."

Thomas snorted, and kept his eyes on Gally, ignoring the cluster of black and green robes surrounding the older boy.

"Well, i did ask, but the Hat insisted."

Gally raised his eyebrows.

"Hmm."

Their conversation was clearly over, and Thomas nodded, preparing to leave.

"Goodnight, Gally. I'll see you around."

It was cheeky, he knew, but oh well. He'd learned over dinner that Gryffindors were bold and brave and cheeky, and that suited him just fine. Gally rolled his eyes.

"Sod off you wanker."

Thomas waved cheerily, at the whole bundle of Slytherins, before heading off to see if he could catch Newt before the Prefects took them away. As he was leaving the table he would almost swear he heard Gally talking to his friends.

"Remember his face. A no-go, understood?"

Thomas spotted Newt sitting off to the side of a huddle of Hufflepuffs, absently toying with his bottom lip and listening to their conversation but not really taking part. It didn't look like they were shutting him out, just that Newt was keeping his distance for now. Newt was perched atop the table, feet on the bench and looking totally out of place and perfectly at ease at the same time. Thomas frowned a little, curious. He was almost beside the smaller boy before he was noticed, and the dark brown eyes landed on him as a smile lit his face. He grinned automatically in return.

Dropping on the table beside Newt, Thomas nudged his shoulder playfully with his own.

"Not up for mingling?"

The smaller boy reddened a little but shook his head, his lips quirking in the same half-smile as before.

"Not right now, no. Think maybe i'm just needing forty winks."

Thomas nodded, looking out across the sea of chatter thoughtfully.

"They'll be giving us our Class Timetables when we get to the Common Rooms." Newt commented.

"Oh?"

Thomas looked back at him.

"Yupp. Apparently they usually create two pairs of Houses, say Gryffindor and Slytherin, and we'd do all our lessons like that, but they've recently put in a rota system that means we have different classes with different Houses. Part of the Inter-House Unity Programme they're developing."

Thomas watched as Newt spoke, becoming more engaged and enthusiastic as he went on, and Thomas grinned when he realised that Newt talked with his hands, gesturing and emphasising his point.

"It's really very clever. I think it's a great idea, working to banish House Hate."

He smiled widely, a little sheepish at his own enthusiasm. Thomas laughed.

"Sounds like a lot of work, to be honest."

Newt looked a little wounded, but simply shrugged and looked away across the room when he spoke again.

"We might have classes together."

His voice was shy and soft, uncertain, and Thomas almost missed it. When he worked out what the other boy had said, he smiled.

"Well in that case i think it's a great idea."

Newt flushed bashfully and Thomas chuckled again, bumping their shoulders together. Newt flicked him a look just as McGonagall called for them to line up behind their Prefects. Thomas hid his disappointment badly as he slid from his perch. Newt did the same, landing beside him and cocking his head in Thomas's direction.

"Well, i hope i'll see you tomorrow." said Thomas, eyeing the way that the other boy shuffled awkwardly.

"Me too." Newt murmured, before darting off to find his Prefect.

Thomas watched him go with a grin, fairly confident in the knowledge that Newt and he would very soon be fast friends.

Chapter Text

Thomas decided right away that the Gryffindor Common Room was shucking awesome. The huge round tower room was glorious in Reds and Golds, a massive fireplace surrounded by low coffee tables and huge squishy-looking couches that looked like you could fall asleep on them. Thomas had never seen so much furniture in one place. There were candle-beacons and long banners on the stone walls, the entire room a warm riotous chaos of colour and noise that assaulted you the second you scrambled through the Portrait Hole.

The room was full of cushions, and before long there were piles of them dotted between beanbags and sofas and armchairs, Gryffindors seated on them as the evening chatter permeated the air. The curves of the round walls were filled with desks, each piled with stacks of books and papers and quills and various other bits and pieces. Thomas got the impression that they didn't really belong to any one student in particular but collected the trappings of anybody and everybody.

Before too long he was lounging on one of the scarlet beanbags amongst a group of other First Years. It seemed they had naturally drawn together, and they were chatting wildly, each of them loud and excitable. Thomas loved them all already. Particularly a small, lean girl who had dropped on her stomach on the golden beanbag next to his, her china doll face surrounded by a wild curtain of thick dark hair, blinking at him with bluer eyes than he had ever seen.

She had smirked in greeting, a charismatic twist of her dark lips, and scrunched her nose as she introduced herself.

"Teresa Agnes. And you are?"

"Thomas," he grinned at her, shaking her outstretched hand. "Thomas Edison."

Her reply had been a lift of her eyebrows and a deeper smirk. Her eyes flashed intelligently and that was that. Thomas was totally and utterly hooked, certain that this girl was meant to be his friend. They had fallen into easy conversation, laughed over the fact that they shared the habit of talking wildly with their hands, and by the time the older students were retiring to their dorms for last-minute studies before bed Thomas and Teresa had become firm friends.

"Who're you writing to, Tom?"

Thomas looked over to where Teresa perched on edge of the sofa she'd migrated to. She and another boy, Winston his name was, were playing a game of Wizard's Chess and she looked to be winning.

"My little brother." he answered. "Well, he's sort of my brother." He laughed at the ridiculousness of it. "He's basically my brother, closest i've got anyways."

Teresa tipped her head to the side, keeping one eye on the chessboard as one of Winston's pawns drew him a dirty look before being blitzed by Teresa's rook.

"Step or foster?"

Her tone was so casual and natural that Thomas released the worry he hadn't known he'd been harbouring. It seemed there wouldn't be a need for long drawn-out family history. Perhaps further down the road of their friendship.

"Step. His dad, my mum."

Teresa smiled, knocking out Winston's bishop easily, as though she wasn't even paying attention.

"What's his name?"

Thomas looked up again as he finished the word he was on and smiled back at her.

"Chuck. It's short for Charles, but it suits him better."

"Chuck." Teresa rolled the name around her mouth as though committing it to memory by feeling it on her tongue. "I like it." she said brightly, and Thomas grinned, flushing happily.

"Yeah, me too."

"Hey," piped up Winston, "Isn't Chuck the name of Gally Darwin's little brother?"

Teresa looked at the other boy, curious. Thomas simply shrugged noncommittally as though it didn't really matter.

"Yeah, Gally's my other step-brother. Chuck's like his total opposite. Like, the difference between the sun and…" he paused, thoughtful. "The fiery pits of hell." he smirked, pleased when the others laughed.

"Yepp, that about sums Gally up. He's a right creep." muttered Winston, and Thomas grinned as he returned to his letter, deciding that yes, he liked those two very much indeed.

Chuck,

Already missing you, man!

You're going to love this place, it's absolutely shucking incredible! I'm already looking forward to when you come next year. I wonder what House they'll put you in. The Hat is alive, by the way. They put this old Hat on your head and it goes into your brain and tells you what House you'd be best in. I kind of wasted to go into Slytherin with Gally but the Hat thought it'd be a bad idea.

So Hey, your step-brother's a Gryffindor! ROAR!

It's kinda funny being in Gally's enemy House. Maybe you'll join me!

Although he's being weird and almost friendly. I think he's up to something, it's crazy weird.

There are brilliant people here, i think i've made two friends already. I think you'd like them.

Anyway, i'm about to head to bed, buddy. I'll write again when i next get the chance.

Give mum and Myro my love,

Thomas.

He rolled up the parchment after signing his name, tying it with a blue string and scribbling a crude little picture of a bear on the outside with a smile. For whatever reason, his little brother was almost obsessed with bears. He had books on them, stuffed bears - realistic ones with inset glass eyes and little leather claws. He and Thomas had spent part of their summer together sitting out on the back porch with little chunks of wood and the pocket knives Myro had given them when Gally got his new bicycle, whittling little figurines from the soft wood.

Chuck had taken to the task like a duck to water, and before long the two of them had crafted a little troop of bears in different poses. The day before they set off for King's Cross Thomas collected the few successful figures he had managed and taken them to the room they shared, and together they had decorated Chuck's windowsill with them.

"All done?"

Thomas started as Teresa's voice reached him, realising he'd been staring at the rolled letter in his hands. He smiled, getting up from the embrace of the beanbag to stretch. He made his way over to the couch, plonking himself down beside her.

"Yeah. One of the fourth years said they'd show me the Owlery tomorrow before breakfast."

Winston glanced up, his knight between two fingers.

"Oh! I'll come with you, i promised my mum i'd write her the first night."

Thomas nodded, setting down the parchment and stowing his quill in the box on the table, leaning over to watch them play.

"You looked at your timetable yet?" Teresa asked, losing a pawn to Winston with a shrug.

"I did, i have Charms first thing. So excited." He watched Teresa win back some ground by taking out a bishop.

"Oh. Me too, and then Potions?"

Thomas looked at her, excited. "Yes!" He cried, "Me too!"

She grinned back at him as they both looked across the low table at Winston. He knocked over Teresa's last knight before looking up at them both with a smile.

"And then Divination, right?"

Thomas and Teresa beamed at him. It looked like they were going to be spending many of their classes together. Brilliant.

Chapter Text

Thomas was up with the sun, filled head to toe with excitement. Magic school. It was like a dream. He threw aside the red and gold covers and slid his feet out of bed and onto the lion-embroidered rug, barely noticing the cold Flagstones as he padded across the Dorm room to the bathroom. The shower room was huge, with a shower for each of the four six boys in his room. Thomas chose one near the middle and stood under the deliciously warm spray of water with a grin so wide he felt his face might split in two.

"You're keen." remarked a voice from behind him.

He peered over the shower stall door and grinned at Winston.

"Aren't you? I can't wait to see what Magical classes are like. Gotta be a different story from Muggle, yeah?"

Winston chuckled at him eagerness and he stepped into his own stall, the gushing hiss of hot water joining Thomas's like a second voice in a soothing and refreshing choir. As the boys washed and dried, the remainder of their dorm traipsed through, a few grumbling about the hour but most feeding off of Thomas's excitement to fuel their own.

The Common Room was already starting to fill with older students, and the fourth year who had offered to show Thomas the Owlery found him as the Prefects were aligning First Years to escort them to breakfast.

"Anybody else need to know where the Owlery is? Once on a lifetime opportunity here!"

"Don't be long," warned one of the Prefects - Thomas thought his name was Adam, "and make sure they get to breakfast okay."

The fourth year rolled her eyes and nodded. A few faces popped up eagerly, and Teresa appeared just as they were leaving, rushing over to Thomas's side.

"Figured i'd come for the walk." she grinned at him as they scurried after the long-legged fourth year.

The Owlery was pretty huge. Every room Thomas had seen at Hogwarts so far had defied spacial expectations. The floor was strewn with several inches of straw and thousands of feathers in a spectrum of colours. Every foot or so of wall had perches of all shapes and sizes, long ones like curtain rods and short blocks which seemed to be designated to the largest owls.

Thomas stared, enchanted by the sheer number of owls in the room. Even as they stood there there were owls flying in and out of the large arched windows, feather drifting down like speckled snowflakes. It was incredible. There were giant Eagle owls, golden brown and fierce looking creatures with long hooked beaks and frowning eyes. There were barn owls, brown and beige and golden blonde. There were several snowy white owls that stood out like pale white splashes amongst the hundred shades of brown.

The variety was so well-rounded that Thomas had to force himself to close his gaping mouth. There were tiny owls, itty bitty things smaller than the palm of his hand, with eyes that seemed too big for them and wings so delicate it seemed surreal that they could carry their weight. The room was filled with twittering, the odd screech sounding from unknown angles. The sound of so many wings shuffling and settling was like the sound of wind through snowdrifts, and Thomas couldn't help but grin. The Owlery was shucking awesome. He'd have to write to Chuck again, just to tell him about this. He knew the younger boy would be just as enthralled as him, if not more.

"Okay guys, you've got two minutes to get your letters tied off and then we're off to breakfast. Can't have you late your first day."

Thomas looked at Teresa, and was relieved to see he wasn't the only one overwhelmed by the number of birds in one place. Winston had already chosen a school owl, a quiet brown and black speckled barn owl with wide brown eyes. Teresa didn't have anything to post, but she reached out her arm for a small snowy to land on, stroking the bird's startling feathers and cooing at it. Thomas smiled. She was so fiery, from what he'd seen the day before and yet in that moment she was adorable. He felt his face flush a little and he looked away, up to the high sloped ceiling, thousands of eyes blinking back down at him. It was almost enough to make him feel dizzy.

He let out a soft whistle, a three-note sound that was answered by a familiar cry from far above. Thomas grinned as an owl dropped from one of the highest perches, drifting down gracefully on delicate wings. The compact body spiralled before landing on Thomas's forearm, rubbing the crown of her head under his chin in greeting. She coo'ed and Thomas murmured back to her, stroking her chest feathers softly. The tiny beak nipped affectionately at his fingertips and he laughed.

The owl wasn't the smallest in the room but she was on the small side. Her feathers were unique, a rare try-colour combination of ashy grey, sooty black and golden auburn. She had large round eyes framed by soft downy feathers and one was blue and the other green. She was an oddity that Thomas had taken to right away, and because she'd been abandoned as barely a hatchling and been with Thomas ever since, she was the best behaved owl anyone could wish for.

Teresa came over, her snowy greeting Thomas's owl with a short keen. The smaller owl blinked back calmly.

"Oh my gosh, who is this little beauty?"

Thomas beamed at her, loving the way her eyes glittered. He was very proud of his unusual little owl. He continued to stroke her velvety feathers as he introduced her.

"This is Glade. She's unique. No other owl like her, isn't that right?"

He punctuated the last part by dipping his face to tap her head with his nose as though it were a beak and she hooted softly back. Teresa reached out a slow hand.

"May i?" she asked, and Thomas wasn't really sure who she was asking.

Glade blinked and shuffled her small feet on Thomas skin before she leaned in, allowing Teresa to stroke her head. Teresa giggled, grinning widely. She turned thrilled eyes on Thomas and he could see the childlike delight in their sapphire depths.

After tying Chuck's letter to Glade's leg and giving her one last nose bump Thomas watched her take off into the air, swooping through the window into the morning sky. Teresa chattered about her all the way down to breakfast. Her enthusiasm was so infectious that Thomas forgot to feel nervous about their first day.